Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong is a warning to Israel and its irresponsible leaders. Behold calls attention to the following message. The Lord is not the divine name Yahweh, but renders the title meaning “my master” (see 1.2). The Lord has one who … may mean the Lord has someone “at his bidding” (Revised English Bible). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh sees the agent here as impersonal, so it says “my Lord has something….” The Hebrew text is so brief that both views can find support. Since the text does not identify the agent, it is difficult to be certain, but in the historical context the agent is almost certainly the Assyrians, and translators may mention this possibility in a footnote. The two adjectives mighty and strong are essentially synonymous.

Like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest: This simile compares the Lord’s agent to a destructive hailstorm. A storm of hail is a thunderstorm with hailstones. A destroying tempest is a powerful windstorm that causes considerable damage.

Like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters: This simile is parallel to the previous one, also using storm imagery. The Lord’s agent is also like a rainstorm that causes rivers to become wild and overflow their banks, bringing devastation. Compare 8.7, where similar imagery is use to describe Assyria.

He will cast down to the earth with violence: This is the main clause, introduced by the two similes. The whole verse says the Lord’s agent will overwhelm Israel like a violent rainstorm. Translators may place this clause before the similes for naturalness (see the first example below). It is literally “he will cause to rest to the earth with a hand.” The pronoun “he” refers to the Lord’s agent. The Hebrew verb for “rest” in its form here can have the sense of putting something down, while the word for “hand” can denote the use of force, as in Deut 34.12, where Revised Standard Version renders it “power.” If translators need an object for the verb here, they may add “the land” to refer to the northern kingdom of Israel (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible), “the city” to refer to the city of Samaria (so Bible en français courant), or the pronoun “them” to refer to the drunken leaders of Israel (so New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible). For this line Revised English Bible has “he will beat down on the land with violence.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch retains the metaphor of the “hand,” saying “With a movement of the hand he tears everything to the ground” (similarly Bible en français courant).

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Look, the Lord has an agent [or, a servant/helper] who is powerful and strong;
he will forcefully hurl them to the ground,
just like a hailstorm, a massive windstorm,
just like a storm bringing a mighty flood.

• Beware, for the Lord has someone powerful and strong;
he will come like a hailstorm, a massive windstorm,
he will come like a rainstorm bringing a huge flood
and powerfully throw the land [or, city] to the ground.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .