And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel is the first of three subject phrases in this verse. The others are all that fight against her and her stronghold, and [all that] distress her. The verb phrase that goes with these subjects to make a complete sentence is in the last line: shall be like a dream. Unlike in verse 5, the multitude of all the nations probably refers to a large group of nations attacking Jerusalem, and not to a single army consisting of a great number of soldiers. So the vision widens here. These nations attack Jerusalem and her stronghold, which is presumably a reference to the fortress of Jerusalem. For stronghold see 23.4, where a different Hebrew word is used. Revised English Bible emends the Hebrew phrase rendered all that fight against her and her stronghold to read “all who fight against her with their siege-works” (similarly Good News Translation, Bible en français courant). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project allows either reading. Distress her means the enemies oppress Jerusalem by besieging it. Revised English Bible says “all her hem her in.”
The enemies shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. This means they will disappear as quickly as a dream. Translators may wish to make the point of comparison clear here by rendering the verb be as “pass away,” “fade” (Revised English Bible) or “vanish” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant), or by translating dream as “fleeting dream.” A vision of the night does not refer to what a person might imagine the night to look like, but rather to “a vision during the night.” It is synonymous with dream. Since this is not a prophet’s vision (see 1.1), translators may say “something seen during the night.”
This verse is one sentence in Hebrew. It begins with shall be like a dream, a vision of the night, so it is long and complicated. Translators could simplify it by breaking it into two sentences as follows: “There is a multitude of nations that fight … But they will be like a dream….” Other possible models are:
• And all the many nations that attack Ariel, all who attack her and her stronghold and who cause her distress, will pass away like a dream, like a vision during the night.
• And the hordes from all the nations that attack Ariel,
all who attack her with siege works,
and who cause her distress,
they will vanish like a fleeting dream,
like something seen during the night.
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 .