Isaiah Chapter 21

This is a B-Greek reading Group for the LXX Isaiah. This reading group is going through two chapters of the LXX Isaiah per week. Ken Penner, the B-Greek moderator for the "Septuagint and Pseudepigrapha Forum" is writing a commentary on the LXX Isaiah and is sharing his notes with those who wish to read the Isaiah LXX. Dive in, if you dare!
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Isaiah Chapter 21

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  • 21.1 Τὸ ὅραμα τῆς ἐρήμου.
116. The vision of the desert (21:1–2)
Ὡς καταιγὶς διʼ ἐρήμου διέλθοι ἐπʼ ἐρήμου ἐρχομένη ἐκ γῆς, φοβερὸν 2 τὸ ὅραμα καὶ σκληρὸν ἀνηγγέλη μοι. ὁ ἀθετῶν ἀθετῇ, ὁ ἀνομῶν ἀνομεῖ. ἐπʼ ἐμοὶ οἱ Ἐλαμεῖται, καὶ οἱ πρέσβεις τῶν Περσῶν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ ἔρχονται.
117. My groans of remorse (21:2-5)
νῦν στενάξω καὶ παρακαλέσω ἐμαυτόν. 3 διὰ τοῦτο ἐνεπλήσθη ἡ ὀσφύς μου ἐκλύσεως, καὶ ὠδῖνες ἔλαβόν με ὡς τὴν τίκτουσαν· ἠδίκησα ὡς τὸ μὴ ἀκοῦσαι, ἐσπούδασα τὸ μὴ βλέπειν. 4 ἡ καρδία μου πλανᾶται, ἀνομία με καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία με βαπτίζει, καὶ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐφέστηκεν εἰς φόβον. 5 ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν τράπεζαν· πίετε, φάγετε· ἀναστάντες, οἱ ἄρχοντες, ἑτοιμάσατε θυρεούς.
118. Babylon has fallen (21:6-11)
6 διότι οὕτως εἶπεν πρὸς μὲ Κύριος Βαδίσας ἑαυτῷ στῆσον σκοπὸν καὶ ὃ ἂν ἴδῃς ἀνάγγειλον· 7 καὶ εἶδον ἀναβάτας ἱππεῖς δύο, ἀναβάτην ὄνου καὶ ἂν ἀναβάτην καμήλου. ἀκρόασαι ἀκρόασιν πολλὴν 8 καὶ κάλεσον Οὐρίαν εἰς τὴν σκοπιὰν Κυρίου. καὶ εἶπεν Ἔστην διὰ παντὸς ἡμέρας καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἐγὼ ἔστην ὅλην τὴν νύκτα, 9 καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἔρχεται ἀναβάτης συνωρίδος. καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν Πέπτωκεν Βαβυλών, καὶ εἰπόντα τὰ ἀγάλματα αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ χειροποίητα αὐτῆς συνετρίβησαν εἰς τὴν γῆν. 10 ἀκούσατε, οἱ καταλελειμμένοι καὶ οἱ ὀδυνώμενοι, ἀκούσατε ἃ ἤκουσα παρὰ Κυρίου Σαβαώθ· ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἀνήγγειλεν ἡμῖν.
  • 11 Τὸ ὅραμα τῆς Ἰδουμαίας.
119. The vision of Idoumaia (21:11-12)
Πρὸς ἐμὲ καλεῖ παρὰ τοῦ Σηείρ Φυλάσσετε ἐπάλξεις. 12 φυλάσσω τὸ πρωῒ καὶ τὴν νύκτα· ἐὰν ζητῇς, ζήτει καὶ παρʼ ἐμοὶ ᾤκει·
120. The multitude of victims of war (21:13-15)
13 ἐν τῷ δρυμῷ ἑσπέρας κοιμηθήσῃ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ Δαιδάν. 14 εἰς συνάντησιν διψῶντι ὕδωρ φέρετε, οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες ἐν χώρᾳ Θαιμάν, ἄρτοις συναντᾶτε τοῖς φεύγουσιν 15 διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν φευγόντων καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πλανωμένων καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς μαχαίρας καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν τοξευμάτων τῶν διατεταμένων καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πεπτωκότων ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ.

121. Kedar will fail in a year (21:16-22:1)
16 διότι οὕτως εἶπέν μοι Κύριος Ἔτι ἐνιαυτὸς ὡς ἐνιαυτὸς μισθωτοῦ, καὶ ἐκλείψει ἡ δόξα τῶν υἱῶν Κηδάρ, 17 καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν τῶν τοξευμάτων τῶν ἰσχυρῶν υἱῶν Κηδὰρ ἔσται ὀλίγον, διότι Κύριος ἐλάλησεν ὁ θεὸς Ἰσραήλ.
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
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Notes on Isaiah 21:1-2

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116. The vision of the desert (21:1–2)
Ὡς καταιγὶς διʼ ἐρήμου διέλθοι ἐπʼ ἐρήμου ἐρχομένη ἐκ γῆς, φοβερὸν 2 τὸ ὅραμα καὶ σκληρὸν, ἀνηγγέλη μοι. ὁ ἀθετῶν ἀθετῇ, ὁ ἀνομῶν ἀνομεῖ. ἐπʼ ἐμοὶ οἱ Ἐλαμῖται, καὶ οἱ πρέσβεις τῶν Περσῶν ἐπʼ ἐμὲ ἔρχονται.
A red cross mark appears at the beginning of this title. Compare the mark at 21:11.
1
διέλθοι] a rare instance of the optative in Isaiah; it only appears seven times.
ἐπʼ] changed by ca to ἐξ, with B (Rahlfs, Ziegler)
ἐρήμου] the genitive with ἐπί is normal for expressions of location.
φοβερὸν] neuter, taken with τὸ ὅραμα rather than καταιγὶς, unless it is adverbial, in which case the καὶ in verse 2 would be awkward.
2
σκληρὸν] without the article, this adjective should be predicative, so the finite verb ἀνηγγέλη must be part of a separate clause.
ἀθετῇ] subjunctive; changed by cb3 to the indicative ἀθετεῖ, with B (Rahlfs, Ziegler). The parallel verb ἀνομεῖ (spelled ανομι by scribe B) is indicative.
Ἐλαμῖται] changed to Ἐλαμεῖται as also in B; Rahlfs, Ziegler spell it Αιλαμῖται.
πρέσβεις] early synonym of πρεσβευτής, which normally indicates advanced age, but in the context of a nation indicates agents or commissioners.
Comparison with Hebrew
In verse 1 we immediately see a change from plural storms to singular. Did he have a specific storm in mind? Not likely, considering the verb is optative, which is remarkable since the optative is uncommon in Isaiah.
The Hebrew yam is omitted; why change “wilderness of the sea” to “wilderness”? Perhaps he thought wildernesses only belonged on land. Or is it possible that he had in mind the fulfillment of the prophecy on land?
It is interesting that both midbar and negev become ἔρημος “desert.” But that’s not really a change, since ἔρημος is the second most common rendering of Negev in the Pentateuch. Therefore there is no change of meaning.
φοβερὸν “fearsome” was changed from modifying “land” to “vision.” This is reasonable since the translator is working through the text sequentially; evidently he thought the sentence ended with eretz, so his next sentence begins with noraah chazut, a predicative order for adjectives. Now that he has understood the adjective predicatively, he has to add the article to his translation.
In verse two, ἀθετέω is translated as expected from בגד, but שדד more often becomes ἀπολλυμι (four times) in Isaiah rather than ἀνομέω. It is possible that he was guessing at the meaning of this word, since it does not occur in the Pentateuch. As is typical in Greek Isaiah, nations are referred to using the plural of their inhabitants, Elamites, rather than Elam.
An ambiguous word, עלי, which is pointed as an imperative “Go up!” in the Masoretic text, was reasonably misread as “upon me.” Apparently the translator did not have a reading tradition to guide him in vocalizing this word. Only once (40:9) does he understand the seventy occurrences of this consonant cluster as an imperative. This interpretation will have significant consequences for his rendering of the rest of the verse. He has a preposition and a subject, but no verb, then he encounters what he takes to be another noun (mistaking the waw for a yod) in the construct state, and renders tsirim as πρέσβεις, just as he does in Isaiah 57:9. The Medes become the Persians, just as they do in Jeremiah 32:25. Reaching the end of the clause, and still without a verb, he supposes the sense is that they are coming, so repeats the “upon me” and adds ἔρχονται.
Reception
Gregory of Nazianzus (On The Holy Spirit, Theological Oration 5[31].3) quotes 21:2 “Let the treacherous deal treacherously, let the transgressor transgress” to refer to those who deny the Holy Spirit a place in the Trinity. He says, “We shall preach what we know” without fear. Also he quotes “the heedless is heedless and the lawless man acts lawlessly” in reference to human obstinacy despite God’s correction (Oration [16].11).
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Ken M. Penner
Posts: 881
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Notes on Isaiah 21:2-5

Post by Ken M. Penner »

117. My groans of remorse and dread (21:2-5)
νῦν στενάξω καὶ παρακαλέσω ἐμαυτόν. 3 διὰ τοῦτο ἐνεπλήσθη ἡ ὀσφύς μου ἐκλύσεως, καὶ ὠδῖνες ἔλαβόν με ὡς τὴν τίκτουσαν· ἠδίκησαν ὡς τὸ μὴ ἀκοῦσαι, ἐσπούδασα τὸ μὴ βλέπειν. 4 ἡ καρδία μου πλανᾶται, ἀνομία με καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία με βαπτίζει, καὶ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐφέστηκεν εἰς φόβον. 5 ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν τράπεζαν· πίετε, φάγετε· ἀναστάντες, οἱ ἄρχοντες, ἑτοιμάσατε θυρεούς.
3
ἐνεπλήσθη] aorist passive of ἐμπίπλημι
ἐκλύσεως] genitive of ἔκλυσις, which denotes loss of force.
ἠδίκησαν] plural, changed by cb3 to ἠδίκησα, with B (Rahlfs, Ziegler)
ὡς] removed by cb3, with B (Rahlfs, Ziegler); the sentence is smoother without this word.
τὸ] with Rahlfs, Ziegler; B has τοῦ, indicating the purpose rather than the manner of being hasty.
4
πλανᾶται] the active form means to cause to stray; the passive, to stray.
ἀνομία με καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία] καὶ ἡ was added by cb2 before ἀνομία; καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία με was deleted by ca, resulting in καὶ ἡ ἀνομία με, with B (Rahlfs, Ziegler).
καὶ ἡ ψυχή] ἡ ψυχή
ἐφέστηκεν] intransitive use of ἐφίστημι
5
ἑτοιμάσατε] plural; B (Rahlfs, Ziegler) has the singular ἑτοίμασον, but the plural form here matches the following plural imperatives. The reason for preparing the table is not as clear as the reason for preparing the shields.
πίετε, φάγετε] with Rahlfs, Ziegler; B reverses the order: φάγετε, πίετε
ἄρχοντες] recalls the address to the leaders in 13:2; almost always in Isaiah ἄρχων is a negative label (e.g., 1:23; 16:4).

Comparison with Hebrew
In verse three, כל “all” becomes νυν “now,” perhaps reading כן rather than כל. The Hebrew word for “loins” is plural, but this is changed to singular for good Greek.
In verse four, the qatal becomes the present tense “wander” and “immerse.” Πλανάω is a reasonable rendering of תעה , but he didn’t know what to do with פַּלָּצוּת so called in ἀνομια, as he tends to do when at a loss. He also apparently didn’t know what to do with בעת and figured the similar-sounding “bapt” would be a good substitute. Neshef was certainly read as nefesh, becoming ἡ ψυχή; חִשְׁקִי was then slightly redundant, and was omitted.
In verse 5, the translator ignored צָפֹה הַצָּפִית. The reason is not readily apparent. It’s possible that he didn’t understand the word, so omitted it, but this is not likely if he familiar with Exodus, where it appears dozens of times, usually translated as a compound of –χρυσ-. He understood the string of infinitive absolutes as imperatives, and changed the imperative string to a participle and imperative, for Greek style. But there is no apparent reason why he changed the singular of imperatives “eat” “drink” to plurals unless he did identify them as infinitive absolutes. No reason for reversing the order of eating and drinking is apparent.

Reception
Jerome, in his Commentary on Daniel 2.5.31, said Isaiah exhorts Babylon to battle, but he is not working from the Greek text, which does not mention Babylon or beloved in this verse.
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Ken M. Penner
Posts: 881
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Note on Isaiah 21:6-11

Post by Ken M. Penner »

118. Babylon has fallen (21:6-11)
6 διότι οὕτως εἶπεν πρὸς μὲ Κύριος Βαδίσας ἑαυτῷ στῆσον σκοπὸν καὶ ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς ἀνάγγειλον· 7 καὶ εἶδον ἀναβάτας ἱππεῖς δύο, ἀναβάτην ὄνου καὶ ἂν ἀναβάτην καμήλου. ἀκρόασαι ἀκρόασιν πολλὴν 8 καὶ κάλεσον Οὐρίαν εἰς τὴν σκοπιὰν Κυρίου. καὶ εἶπεν Ἔστην διὰ παντὸς ἡμέρας καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἐγὼ ἔστην ὅλην τὴν νύκτα, 9 καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἔρχεται ἀναβάτης συνωρίδος. καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν Πέπτωκεν Βαβυλών, καὶ εἰπόντα τὰ ἀγάλματα αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ χειροποίητα αὐτῆς συνετρίβησαν εἰς τὴν γῆν. 10 ἀκούσατε, οἱ καταλελειμμένοι καὶ οἱ ὀδυνώμενοι, ἀκούσατε ἃ ἤκουσα παρὰ Κυρίου Σαβαώθ· ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἀνήγγειλεν ἡμῖν.
6
διότι] ὅτι
πρὸς μὲ Κύριος] with B; εἶπε κύριος πρός με (Rahlfs); εἶπε κύριος πρός με (Ziegler)
σκοπὸν] watch-person
ἑαυτῷ] B (Rahlfs, Ziegler) has the more specifically second person σεαυτῷ.
ὃν ἂν] masculine, changed by ca to the neuter ὃ ἐὰν, with Ziegler; B (Rahlfs) has ὃ ἂν. Note the difference between Rahlfs and Ziegler.
εἶδον] although at first glance it would seem more natural to take it as a first person singular, this could be third person plural. It could also be an imperative ἴδον (as it is spelled in S), in a string of imperatives beginning with στῆσον, continuing with ἀκρόασαι, and ending with κάλεσον. Even εἶπεν could be an imperative, since the final ν is indicated only by an overbar in S.
ἱππεῖς] nominative or accusative, but ἀναβάτας is already an accusative, so nominative is preferable, unless either ἀναβάτης or ἱππεύς is an adjective, or the two nouns are in apposition. Ottley has “I saw two mounted horsemen,” and Silva has “I saw two riding horsemen,” both treating ἀναβάτης as an adjective.
ἀναβάτην] with Rahlfs, Ziegler; B has καὶ ἀναβάτην
7
ἂν] lacking in B (Rahlfs, Ziegler)
ἀκρόασαι] aorist middle imperative of ἀκροάομαι, “listen”
ἀκρόασιν πολλὴν] reading this as an adverbial accusative fits better than as direct object: “listen to a long recitation.”
8
Κάλεσον] imperative of καλέω, here with the prepositional phrase, used in the sense of summoning or appointing.
Κυρίου] Rahlfs, Ziegler have κυρίου; lacking in B.
καὶ εἶπεν] with Rahlfs, Ziegler; B has Κύριος εἶπεν. Κύριος written as a nominum sacrum would be Κ̅Ϲ̅, resembling ΚΕ. Without Κύριος, the (third-peson) speaker would be Ourias.
διὰ παντὸς] throughout
ἐγὼ] with B, representing the Hebrew אנכי; lacking in Rahlfs, Ziegler.
9
αὐτὸς] redundantly emphatic subject
συνωρίδος] συνωρίς is a pair of horses; the “rider” must have been a charioteer.
Πέπτωκεν] with Rahlfs, Ziegler; B has the repeated Πέπτωκεν πέπτωκεν, like the Hebrew.
εἰπόντα] corrected by cb3 to πάντα, with B (Rahlfs, Ziegler). In the original text, εἰπόντα must be the nominative neuter plural predicate of the ἀγάλματα.
ἀγάλματα] statues
αὐτῆς] that is, Babylon’s
χειροποίητα] things made by human hands
συνετρίβησαν] plural, with Rahlfs, Ziegler; B has συνετρίβη, the singular form, appropriate for neuter plural subjects.
10
καταλελειμμένοι] Swete spells it καταλελιμμένοι
A red cross mark appears at the end of this title, at the end of the line before the paragraph number. Compare the mark at 21:1.
ἡμῖν] the (unexpected) plural probably refers to Israel.

Comparison with Hebrew
In verse 6, we see a misunderstanding that will have significant consequences for the rest of the oracle. He apparently translated the Lamed-Kaf twice, the first time as the imperative lek, becoming Βαδίσας, then then again as לְךָ, becoming σεαυτῷ. He reasonably understood this לְךָ to refer to the person who was to become the watcher, as in “set yourself as a watchman.” Since he understood the watchman to be the prophet, so he changed the 3rd person יִרְאֶה to the 2nd person ἴδῃς, and likewise, the 3rd person יַגִּיד to a 2nd person imperative.
In verse seven, the watchman continues to be the prophet, so now the verbs become 1st person rather than 3rd person. The word vocalized as rekev in the Masoretic tradition was read as rokev.
In verse eight, The initial Aleph of the word vocalized as Arieh in the Masoretic Text and read as Ouria by our translator was likely originally a He, haro'eh, according to the Qumran Great Isaiah Scroll. Here, the continued identification of the prophet as the watchman causes even the 3rd person וַיִּקְרָא to be changed to a 2nd person imperative. This move requires Ouria to become the object rather than the subject of the verb. The Mizpeh was reasonably understood to be in the construct state, resulting in Κύριος in the genitive rather than vocative. When the translator finally encountered an explicit first person subject pronoun אָנֹכִי, he realized he needed to change to the first person, so he added the third person εἶπεν to introduce the first-person speech. The word that is a present participle עֹמֵד in the Masoretic text was reasonably read as a qatal form `amad, and therefore became an aorist indicative. Interestingly, but expectedly, both עמד and נצב are rendered as ἔστην.
In verse nine, the צֶמֶד “yoke” which was rendered as δύο in verse seven is now rendered as a συνωρίς, for no obvious reason. The two wayyiqtols was changed to a participle and aorist indicative, for Greek style. The singular αὐτὸς ἔρχεται matches the Hebrew זֶה בָא. The double “fallen” is simplified in the Greek, for no significant reason. אֱלֹהֶיהָ “her gods” was read as ’elileyha, which typically gets rendered as χειροποιητα. Since two separate nouns were now understood, an “and” was needed. The singular active “he smashed” was changed to the plural passive “were smashed.”
In verse ten, the reasons for changes are less clear. The imperative “Listen” was added, possibly because the Hebrew sentence was going on too long without a verb. The first person pronoun “My” was removed from “downtrodden and “son.” Possibly the dalet of מְדֻשָׁת was read as a resh and transposed with the shin, so that a form of שאר was read.“My son of threshing” was changed to “pained,” and the first person subject and second person object “I reported to you” was changed to the third person subject and first person object “he reported to us.”

Reception
Eusebius said the “forsaken and tortured” for verse 10 were not “those of the circumcision” but rather “those of the time of the apostles who regretted and lamented the evil of humanity” (Proof of the Gospel 2.3).
Gregory Nazianzen claimed to take the role of a “watcher,” announcing the disobedience of his people (Oration [16].16).
Jerome quoted “Babylon is fallen, is fallen” in reference to the downfall of John of Constantinople (Letter 113.1).
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Ken M. Penner
Posts: 881
Joined: May 12th, 2011, 7:50 am
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Notes on Isaiah 21:11-12

Post by Ken M. Penner »

119. The vision of Idoumaia (21:11-12)
Πρὸς ἐμὲ καλεῖ παρὰ τοῦ Σηείρ Φυλάσσετε ἐπάλξεις. 12 φυλάσσω τὸ πρωῒ καὶ τὴν νύκτα· ἐὰν ζητῇς, ζήτει καὶ παρʼ ἐμοὶ ᾤκει.
In the manuscript, the title of this vision appears before the paragraph number.
11
Πρὸς ἐμὲ] the addressee of the voice is singular here.
καλεῖ] the subject of this verb is not yet specified.
Φυλάσσετε] the addressee is now plural.
ἐπάλξεις] plural of ἔπαλξις, a defensive fortification. G read חילה for לילה.
12
φυλάσσω] present, either indicative or subjunctive. The first person is unexpected; the Hebrew is a participle, so perhaps φυλάσσων was intended. Corrector ca changed this to an imperative, but cb3 reverted it.
ᾤκει] imperfect indicative; B (Rahlfs, Ziegler) has the present indicative or imperative οἴκει “and dwell with me.” Probably the imperative was intended, from the Hebrew (plural) שׁבו, since this clause makes little sense with an indicative.
Reception
No allusions are found among the early church fathers.
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Ken M. Penner
Posts: 881
Joined: May 12th, 2011, 7:50 am
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Notes on Isaiah 21:13-15

Post by Ken M. Penner »

120. The multitude of victims of war (21:13-15)
13 ἐν τῷ δρυμῷ ἑσπέρας κοιμηθήσῃ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ Δαιδάν. 14 εἰς συνάντησιν διψῶντι ὕδωρ φέρετε, οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες ἐν χώρᾳ Θαιμάν, ἄρτοις συναντᾶτε τοῖς φεύγουσιν 15 διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν φευγόντων καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πλανωμένων καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς μαχαίρας καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν τοξευμάτων τῶν διατεταμένων καὶ διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πεπτωκότων ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ.
13
ἑσπέρας] genitive of time
14
συνάντησιν] meeting, encounter
ὕδωρ] accusative, since the verb is second person plural
οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες] vocative, since the verbs are second person
συναντᾶτε] cognate with the earlier συνάντησιν. This is the last finite verb in the paragraph; what follows is a string of phrases beginning with καὶ διὰ τὸ (providing the reason for fleeing), translating ומפני (describing that from which they are fleeing).
15
διατεταμένων] participle of διατείνω, “extend,” as when a bow-string is pulled back.
φευγόντων] with Rahlfs, Ziegler; B has πεφονευμένων
διότι] with B; Rahlfs, Ziegler have ὅτι
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Ken M. Penner
Posts: 881
Joined: May 12th, 2011, 7:50 am
Location: Antigonish, NS, Canada
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Notes on Isaiah 21:16-22:1

Post by Ken M. Penner »

121. Kedar will fail in a year (21:16-22:1)
16 Διότι οὕτως εἶπέν μοι Κύριος Ἔτι ἐνιαυτὸς ὡς ἐνιαυτὸς μισθωτοῦ, καὶ ἐκλείψει ἡ δόξα τῶν υἱῶν Κηδάρ, 17 καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν τῶν τοξευμάτων τῶν ἰσχυρῶν υἱῶν Κηδὰρ ἔσται ὀλίγον, διότι Κύριος ἐλάλησεν, ὁ θεὸς Ἰσραήλ.
  • 22.1 Τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς φάραγγος Σειών.
16
μισθωτοῦ] hired worker
καὶ] lacking in B (Rahlfs, Ziegler)
17
λοιπὸν] B (Rahlfs, Ziegler) has κατάλοιπον
τοξευμάτων] recalls 21:15
διότι] B (Rahlfs, Ziegler) has ὅτι
ἐλάλησεν ὁ θεὸς Ἰσραήλ] with Rahlfs, Ziegler; B has ὁ θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ ἐλάλησεν
1
ῥῆμα] with B (Rahlfs); Ziegler has ὅραμα
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Ken M. Penner
Posts: 881
Joined: May 12th, 2011, 7:50 am
Location: Antigonish, NS, Canada
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Isaiah Chapter 21 translation

Post by Ken M. Penner »

  • 21.1 The vision of the desert.
116. The vision of the desert (21:1–2)
As a squall through might pass through a desert upon a desert, coming from land, fearsome 2 and harsh is the vision; it was reported to me; let the rejecter reject; the lawless acts lawlessly; the Ailamites are upon me, and the ambassadors of the Persians are coming upon me.
117. Groans of remorse and dread (21:2-5)
Now I will groan and comfort myself. 3 Because of this, my loins have been filled with faintness, and pangs have taken me like the woman giving birth; I did wrong like not hearing; I was hasty by not seeing. 4 My heart goes astray, lawlessness and sin immerse me, and my life stands in fear. 5 Prepare the table; drink; eat! Rise up, leaders, and prepare shields!
118. Babylon has fallen (21:6-11)
6 Because Lord said this to me: Go, post for yourself a watchman, and report whomever you happen to see. 7 And two horses saw riders: a rider of a donkey and a rider of a camel. Listen with much hearing, 8 and call Ourias to the lookout of Lord. And he said, I stood throughout the day and over the camp I myself stood the whole night. 9 And look, he himself is coming, a rider of a pair of horses! And answering, he said, Babylon has fallen! And all its statues were saying, and its handiworks were crushed into the earth! 10 Hear, you who are left behind and you who are distressed; hear what I heard from Lord Sabaoth; the god of Israel reported them to us.
  • 11 The vision of Idoumaia:
119. The vision of Idoumaia (21:11-12)
He calls to me from Seir, Guard defences! 12 I guard in the morning and in the night. If you would seek, seek, and you were dwelling beside me.
120. The multitude of victims of war (21:13-15)
13 You will sleep in the thicket at evening, in the way of Daidan 14 bring water for a meeting with one who is thirsty, you who inhabit the country of Thaiman; meet with loaves of bread those who flee 15 because of the multitude of those fleeing, and because of the multitude of those wandering, and because of the multitude of the sword, and because of the multitude of the pulled arrows and because of the multitude of those who have fallen in the war.

121. Kedar will fail in a year (21:16-22:1)
16 Because thus Lord said to me: Yet a year, like a year of a hired worker, the glory of the sons of Kedar will fail, 17 and the rest of the arrows of the mighty sons of Kedar will be few, because Lord has spoken, the god of Israel.
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
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