Yesaya 41:8--53:12
Konteks41:8 “You, my servant Israel,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend, 1
41:9 you whom I am bringing back 2 from the earth’s extremities,
and have summoned from the remote regions –
I told you, “You are my servant.”
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! 3
I strengthen you –
yes, I help you –
yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! 4
41:11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;
your adversaries 5 will be reduced to nothing 6 and perish.
41:12 When you will look for your opponents, 7 you will not find them;
your enemies 8 will be reduced to absolutely nothing.
41:13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, 9
men of 10 Israel.
I am helping you,” says the Lord,
your protector, 11 the Holy One of Israel. 12
41:15 “Look, I am making you like 13 a sharp threshing sledge,
new and double-edged. 14
You will thresh the mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like straw. 15
41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;
the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched from thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; 16
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
41:18 I will make streams flow down the slopes
and produce springs in the middle of the valleys.
I will turn the desert into a pool of water
and the arid land into springs.
41:19 I will make cedars, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees grow in the wilderness;
I will make evergreens, firs, and cypresses grow together in the desert.
41:20 I will do this so 17 people 18 will observe and recognize,
so they will pay attention and understand
that the Lord’s power 19 has accomplished this,
and that the Holy One of Israel has brought it into being.” 20
41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence,” 21 says Jacob’s king. 22
41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!
Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, 23
so we may examine them 24 and see how they were fulfilled. 25
Or decree for us some future events!
41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, 26
so we might know you are gods.
Yes, do something good or bad,
so we might be frightened and in awe. 27
41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent;
the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. 28
41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north 29 and he advances,
one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. 30
He steps on 31 rulers as if they were clay,
like a potter treading the clay.
41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who announced it 32 ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?
Indeed, none of them decreed it!
Indeed, none of them announced it!
Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
41:27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’ 33
I sent a herald to Jerusalem. 34
41:28 I look, but there is no one,
among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,
that I might ask questions and receive answers.
41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, 35
their accomplishments are nonexistent;
their metal images lack any real substance. 36
42:1 37 “Here is my servant whom I support,
my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.
I have placed my spirit on him;
he will make just decrees 38 for the nations. 39
42:2 He will not cry out or shout;
he will not publicize himself in the streets. 40
42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,
a dim wick he will not extinguish; 41
he will faithfully make just decrees. 42
42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed 43
before establishing justice on the earth;
the coastlands 44 will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” 45
42:5 This is what the true God, 46 the Lord, says –
the one who created the sky and stretched it out,
the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, 47
the one who gives breath to the people on it,
and life to those who live on it: 48
42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; 49
I take hold of your hand.
I protect you 50 and make you a covenant mediator for people, 51
and a light 52 to the nations, 53
to release prisoners 55 from dungeons,
those who live in darkness from prisons.
42:8 I am the Lord! That is my name!
I will not share my glory with anyone else,
or the praise due me with idols.
42:9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; 56
now I announce new events.
Before they begin to occur,
I reveal them to you.” 57
42:10 Sing to the Lord a brand new song!
Praise him 58 from the horizon of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, 59
you coastlands 60 and those who live there!
42:11 Let the desert and its cities shout out,
the towns where the nomads of Kedar live!
Let the residents of Sela shout joyfully;
let them shout loudly from the mountaintops.
42:12 Let them give the Lord the honor he deserves; 61
let them praise his deeds in the coastlands. 62
42:13 The Lord emerges like a hero,
like a warrior he inspires himself for battle; 63
he shouts, yes, he yells,
he shows his enemies his power. 64
42:14 “I have been inactive 65 for a long time;
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp. 66
42:15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; 67
I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn streams into islands, 68
and dry up pools of water. 69
42:16 I will lead the blind along an unfamiliar way; 70
I will guide them down paths they have never traveled. 71
I will turn the darkness in front of them into light,
and level out the rough ground. 72
This is what I will do for them.
I will not abandon them.
42:17 Those who trust in idols
will turn back and be utterly humiliated, 73
those who say to metal images, ‘You are our gods.’”
42:18 “Listen, you deaf ones!
Take notice, 74 you blind ones!
42:19 My servant is truly blind,
my messenger is truly deaf.
My covenant partner, 75 the servant of the Lord, is truly blind. 76
42:20 You see 77 many things, but don’t comprehend; 78
their ears are open, but do not hear.”
42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice
by magnifying his law and displaying it. 79
42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits 80
and held captive 81 in prisons.
They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;
they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!” 82
42:23 Who among you will pay attention to this?
Who will listen attentively in the future? 83
42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?
Who handed Israel over to the looters? 84
Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?
They refused to follow his commands;
they disobeyed his law. 85
42:25 So he poured out his fierce anger on them,
along with the devastation 86 of war.
Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; 87
it burned against them, but they did notice. 88
43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,
the one who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect 89 you.
I call you by name, you are mine.
43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;
when you pass 90 through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not harm 91 you.
43:3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, 92 your deliverer.
I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,
Ethiopia and Seba 93 in place of you.
43:4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, 94
and I love you,
I will hand over people in place of you,
nations in place of your life.
43:5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
From the east I will bring your descendants;
from the west I will gather you.
43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
43:7 everyone who belongs to me, 95
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed – yes, whom I made!
43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
those who are deaf, even though they have ears!
43:9 All nations gather together,
the peoples assemble.
Who among them announced this?
Who predicted earlier events for us? 96
Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;
let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’
43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may consider 97 and believe in me,
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me. 98
43:11 I, I am the Lord,
and there is no deliverer besides me.
43:12 I decreed and delivered and proclaimed,
and there was no other god among you.
You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.
43:13 From this day forward I am he;
no one can deliver from my power; 99
I will act, and who can prevent it?”
43:14 This is what the Lord says,
your protector, 100 the Holy One of Israel: 101
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives, 102
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. 103
43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, 104
the one who created Israel, your king.”
43:16 This is what the Lord says,
the one who made a road through the sea,
a pathway through the surging waters,
43:17 the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, 105
together with a mighty army.
They fell down, 106 never to rise again;
they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:
43:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events; 107
don’t recall these former events.
43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen! 108 Do you not recognize 109 it?
Yes, I will make a road in the desert
and paths 110 in the wilderness.
43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,
the jackals and ostriches,
because I put water in the desert
and streams in the wilderness,
to quench the thirst of my chosen people,
43:21 the people whom I formed for myself,
so they might praise me.” 111
43:22 “But you did not call for me, O Jacob;
you did not long 112 for me, O Israel.
43:23 You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings;
you did not honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not burden you with offerings;
I did not make you weary by demanding 113 incense.
43:24 You did not buy me aromatic reeds; 114
you did not present to me 115 the fat of your sacrifices.
Yet you burdened me with your sins;
you made me weary with your evil deeds. 116
43:25 I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake;
your sins I do not remember.
43:26 Remind me of what happened! Let’s debate!
You, prove to me that you are right! 117
43:27 The father of your nation 118 sinned;
your spokesmen 119 rebelled against me.
43:28 So I defiled your holy princes,
and handed Jacob over to destruction,
and subjected 120 Israel to humiliating abuse.”
44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!”
44:2 This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says –
the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:
“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun, 121 whom I have chosen!
44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground 122
and cause streams to flow 123 on the dry land.
I will pour my spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your children.
44:4 They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, 124
like poplars beside channels of water.
44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’
and another will use 125 the name ‘Jacob.’
One will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and use the name ‘Israel.’” 126
44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,
their protector, 127 the Lord who commands armies:
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! 128
Let him announce it and explain it to me –
since I established an ancient people – 129
let them announce future events! 130
44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! 131
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?
There is no other sheltering rock; 132 I know of none.
44:9 All who form idols are nothing;
the things in which they delight are worthless.
Their witnesses cannot see;
they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.
44:10 Who forms a god and casts an idol
that will prove worthless? 133
44:11 Look, all his associates 134 will be put to shame;
the craftsmen are mere humans. 135
Let them all assemble and take their stand!
They will panic and be put to shame.
44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool 136
and forges metal over the coals.
He forms it 137 with hammers;
he makes it with his strong arm.
He gets hungry and loses his energy; 138
he drinks no water and gets tired.
44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; 139
he marks out an outline of its form; 140
he scrapes 141 it with chisels,
and marks it with a compass.
He patterns it after the human form, 142
like a well-built human being,
and puts it in a shrine. 143
44:14 He cuts down cedars
and acquires a cypress 144 or an oak.
He gets 145 trees from the forest;
he plants a cedar 146 and the rain makes it grow.
44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; 147
he takes some of it and warms himself.
Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Then he makes a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it. 148
44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire –
over that half he cooks 149 meat;
he roasts a meal and fills himself.
Yes, he warms himself and says,
‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’
44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it, saying,
‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’
44:18 They do not comprehend or understand,
for their eyes are blind and cannot see;
their minds do not discern. 150
44:19 No one thinks to himself,
nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:
‘I burned half of it in the fire –
yes, I baked bread over the coals;
I roasted meat and ate it.
With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?
Should I bow down to dry wood?’ 151
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ 153
44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
O Israel, for you are my servant.
I formed you to be my servant;
O Israel, I will not forget you! 154
44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,
the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. 155
Come back to me, for I protect 156 you.”
44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; 157
shout out, you subterranean regions 158 of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees! 159
For the Lord protects 160 Jacob;
he reveals his splendor through Israel. 161
44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, 162 says,
the one who formed you in the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made everything,
who alone stretched out the sky,
who fashioned the earth all by myself, 163
44:25 who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers 164
and humiliates 165 the omen readers,
who overturns the counsel of the wise men 166
and makes their advice 167 seem foolish,
44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants 168
and brings to pass the announcements 169 of his messengers,
who says about Jerusalem, 170 ‘She will be inhabited,’
and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
her ruins I will raise up,’
44:27 who says to the deep sea, ‘Be dry!
I will dry up your sea currents,’
44:28 who commissions 171 Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd 172
to carry out all my wishes 173
and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’
and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” 174
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen 175 one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold 176
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings, 177
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
45:2 “I will go before you
and level mountains. 178
Bronze doors I will shatter
and iron bars 179 I will hack through.
45:3 I will give you hidden treasures, 180
riches stashed away in secret places,
so you may recognize that I am the Lord,
the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.
45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I call you by name
and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize 181 me.
45:5 I am the Lord, I have no peer, 182
there is no God but me.
I arm you for battle, 183 even though you do not recognize 184 me.
45:6 I do this 185 so people 186 will recognize from east to west
that there is no God but me;
I am the Lord, I have no peer.
45:7 I am 187 the one who forms light
and creates darkness; 188
the one who brings about peace
and creates calamity. 189
I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.
45:8 O sky, rain down from above!
Let the clouds send down showers 190 of deliverance!
Let the earth absorb it 191 so salvation may grow, 192
and deliverance may sprout up 193 along with it.
I, the Lord, create it. 194
45:9 One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, 195
one who is like a mere 196 shard among the other shards on the ground!
The clay should not say to the potter, 197
“What in the world 198 are you doing?
Your work lacks skill!” 199
45:10 Danger awaits one who says 200 to his father,
“What in the world 201 are you fathering?”
and to his mother,
“What in the world are you bringing forth?” 202
45:11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, 203 the one who formed him,
concerning things to come: 204
“How dare you question me 205 about my children!
How dare you tell me what to do with 206 the work of my own hands!
45:12 I made the earth,
I created the people who live 207 on it.
It was me – my hands 208 stretched out the sky, 209
I give orders to all the heavenly lights. 210
45:13 It is me – I stir him up and commission him; 211
I will make all his ways level.
He will rebuild my city;
he will send my exiled people home,
but not for a price or a bribe,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
45:14 This is what the Lord says:
“The profit 212 of Egypt and the revenue 213 of Ethiopia,
along with the Sabeans, those tall men,
will be brought to you 214 and become yours.
They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. 215
They will bow down to you
and pray to you: 216
‘Truly God is with 217 you; he has no peer; 218
there is no other God!’”
45:15 Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden,
O God of Israel, deliverer!
45:16 They will all be ashamed and embarrassed;
those who fashion idols will all be humiliated. 219
45:17 Israel will be delivered once and for all by the Lord; 220
you will never again be ashamed or humiliated. 221
45:18 For this is what the Lord says,
the one who created the sky –
he is the true God, 222
the one who formed the earth and made it;
he established it,
he did not create it without order, 223
he formed it to be inhabited –
“I am the Lord, I have no peer.
45:19 I have not spoken in secret,
in some hidden place. 224
I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,
‘Seek me in vain!’ 225
I am the Lord,
the one who speaks honestly,
who makes reliable announcements. 226
45:20 Gather together and come!
Approach together, you refugees from the nations!
Those who carry wooden idols know nothing,
those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.
45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! 227
Let them consult with one another!
Who predicted this in the past?
Who announced it beforehand?
Was it not I, the Lord?
I have no peer, there is no God but me,
a God who vindicates and delivers; 228
there is none but me.
45:22 Turn to me so you can be delivered, 229
all you who live in the earth’s remote regions!
For I am God, and I have no peer.
45:23 I solemnly make this oath 230 –
what I say is true and reliable: 231
‘Surely every knee will bow to me,
every tongue will solemnly affirm; 232
45:24 they will say about me,
“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” 233
All who are angry at him will cower before him. 234
45:25 All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord
and will boast in him. 235
Nebo 237 bends low.
Their images weigh down animals and beasts. 238
Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals. 239
46:2 Together they bend low and kneel down;
they are unable to rescue the images; 240
they themselves 241 head off into captivity. 242
46:3 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, 243
all you who are left from the family of Israel, 244
you who have been carried from birth, 245
you who have been supported from the time you left the womb. 246
46:4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you, 247
even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you. 248
46:5 To whom can you compare and liken me?
Tell me whom you think I resemble, so we can be compared!
46:6 Those who empty out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on the scale 249
hire a metalsmith, who makes it into a god.
They then bow down and worship it.
46:7 They put it on their shoulder and carry it;
they put it in its place and it just stands there;
it does not 250 move from its place.
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply;
it does not deliver him from his distress.
46:8 Remember this, so you can be brave! 251
Think about it, you rebels! 252
46:9 Remember what I accomplished in antiquity! 253
Truly I am God, I have no peer; 254
I am God, and there is none like me,
46:10 who announces the end from the beginning
and reveals beforehand 255 what has not yet occurred,
who says, ‘My plan will be realized,
I will accomplish what I desire,’
46:11 who summons an eagle 256 from the east,
from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.
Yes, I have decreed, 257
yes, I will bring it to pass;
I have formulated a plan,
yes, I will carry it out.
46:12 Listen to me, you stubborn people, 258
you who distance yourself from doing what is right. 259
46:13 I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away;
I am bringing my salvation near, 260 it does not wait.
I will save Zion; 261
I will adorn Israel with my splendor.” 262
47:1 “Fall down! Sit in the dirt,
O virgin 263 daughter Babylon!
Sit on the ground, not on a throne,
O daughter of the Babylonians!
Indeed, 264 you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.
47:2 Pick up millstones and grind flour!
Remove your veil,
strip off your skirt,
expose your legs,
cross the streams!
47:3 Let your private parts be exposed!
Your genitals will be on display! 265
I will get revenge;
I will not have pity on anyone,” 266
47:4 says our protector –
the Lord who commands armies is his name,
the Holy One of Israel. 267
47:5 “Sit silently! Go to a hiding place, 268
O daughter of the Babylonians!
Indeed, 269 you will no longer be called ‘Queen of kingdoms.’
47:6 I was angry at my people;
I defiled my special possession
and handed them over to you.
You showed them no mercy; 270
you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. 271
47:7 You said,
‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ 272
You did not think about these things; 273
you did not consider how it would turn out. 274
47:8 So now, listen to this,
O one who lives so lavishly, 275
who lives securely,
who says to herself, 276
‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! 277
I will never have to live as a widow;
I will never lose my children.’ 278
47:9 Both of these will come upon you
suddenly, in one day!
You will lose your children and be widowed. 279
You will be overwhelmed by these tragedies, 280
despite 281 your many incantations
and your numerous amulets. 282
47:10 You were complacent in your evil deeds; 283
you thought, 284 ‘No one sees me.’
Your self-professed 285 wisdom and knowledge lead you astray,
when you say, ‘I am unique! No one can compare to me!’ 286
47:11 Disaster will overtake you;
you will not know how to charm it away. 287
Destruction will fall on you;
you will not be able to appease it.
Calamity will strike you suddenly,
before you recognize it. 288
47:12 Persist 289 in trusting 290 your amulets
and your many incantations,
which you have faithfully recited 291 since your youth!
Maybe you will be successful 292 –
maybe you will scare away disaster. 293
47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. 294
Let them take their stand –
the ones who see omens in the sky,
who gaze at the stars,
who make monthly predictions –
let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! 295
47:14 Look, they are like straw,
which the fire burns up;
they cannot rescue themselves
from the heat 296 of the flames.
There are no coals to warm them,
no firelight to enjoy. 297
47:15 They will disappoint you, 298
those you have so faithfully dealt with since your youth. 299
Each strays off in his own direction, 300
leaving no one to rescue you.”
48:1 Listen to this, O family of Jacob, 301
you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’
and are descended from Judah, 302
who take oaths in the name of the Lord,
and invoke 303 the God of Israel –
but not in an honest and just manner. 304
48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city; 305
they trust in 306 the God of Israel,
whose name is the Lord who commands armies.
48:3 “I announced events beforehand, 307
I issued the decrees and made the predictions; 308
suddenly I acted and they came to pass.
48:4 I did this 309 because I know how stubborn you are.
Your neck muscles are like iron
and your forehead like bronze. 310
48:5 I announced them to you beforehand;
before they happened, I predicted them for you,
so you could never say,
‘My image did these things,
my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’
48:6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence! 311
Will you not admit that what I say is true? 312
From this point on I am announcing to you new events
that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about. 313
48:7 Now they come into being, 314 not in the past;
before today you did not hear about them,
so you could not say,
‘Yes, 315 I know about them.’
48:8 You did not hear,
you do not know,
you were not told beforehand. 316
For I know that you are very deceitful; 317
you were labeled 318 a rebel from birth.
48:9 For the sake of my reputation 319 I hold back my anger;
for the sake of my prestige 320 I restrain myself from destroying you. 321
48:10 Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have purified you 322 in the furnace of misery.
48:11 For my sake alone 323 I will act,
for how can I allow my name to be defiled? 324
I will not share my glory with anyone else! 325
48:12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
Israel, whom I summoned!
I am the one;
I am present at the very beginning
and at the very end. 326
48:13 Yes, my hand founded the earth;
my right hand spread out the sky.
I summon them;
they stand together.
48:14 All of you, gather together and listen!
Who among them 327 announced these things?
The Lord’s ally 328 will carry out his desire against Babylon;
he will exert his power against the Babylonians. 329
48:15 I, I have spoken –
yes, I have summoned him;
I lead him and he will succeed. 330
48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens, 331 I am there.”
So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. 332
48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, 333 says,
the Holy One of Israel: 334
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you how to succeed,
who leads you in the way you should go.
48:18 If only you had obeyed my 335 commandments,
prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, 336
deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea. 337
48:19 Your descendants would have been as numerous as sand, 338
and your children 339 like its granules.
Their name would not have been cut off
and eliminated from my presence. 340
48:20 Leave Babylon!
Flee from the Babylonians!
Announce it with a shout of joy!
Make this known!
Proclaim it throughout the earth! 341
Say, ‘The Lord protects 342 his servant Jacob.
48:21 They do not thirst as he leads them through dry regions;
he makes water flow out of a rock for them;
he splits open a rock and water flows out.’ 343
48:22 There will be no prosperity for the wicked,” says the Lord.
49:1 Listen to me, you coastlands! 344
Pay attention, you people who live far away!
The Lord summoned me from birth; 345
he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. 346
49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
he hid me in the hollow of his hand;
he made me like a sharpened 347 arrow,
he hid me in his quiver. 348
49:3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.” 349
49:4 But I thought, 350 “I have worked in vain;
I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.” 351
But the Lord will vindicate me;
my God will reward me. 352
49:5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth 353 to be his servant –
he did this 354 to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored 355 in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strength 356 –
49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 357 of Israel? 358
I will make you a light to the nations, 359
so you can bring 360 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
49:7 This is what the Lord,
the protector 361 of Israel, their Holy One, 362 says
to the one who is despised 363 and rejected 364 by nations, 365
a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and rise in respect, 366
princes will bow down,
because of the faithful Lord,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”
49:8 This is what the Lord says:
“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;
in the day of deliverance I will help you;
I will protect you 367 and make you a covenant mediator for people, 368
and to reassign the desolate property.
49:9 You will say 371 to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
and to those who are in dark dungeons, 372 ‘Emerge.’ 373
They will graze beside the roads;
on all the slopes they will find pasture.
49:10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;
the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them, 374
for one who has compassion on them will guide them;
he will lead them to springs of water.
49:11 I will make all my mountains into a road;
I will construct my roadways.”
49:12 Look, they come from far away!
Look, some come from the north and west,
and others from the land of Sinim! 375
49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! 376
Rejoice, O earth!
Let the mountains give a joyful shout!
For the Lord consoles his people
and shows compassion to the 377 oppressed.
49:14 “Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me,
the sovereign master 378 has forgotten me.’
49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? 379
Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? 380
Even if mothers 381 were to forget,
I could never forget you! 382
49:16 Look, I have inscribed your name 383 on my palms;
your walls are constantly before me.
49:17 Your children hurry back,
while those who destroyed and devastated you depart.
49:18 Look all around you! 384
All of them gather to you.
As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry;
you will put them on as if you were a bride.
49:19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;
it is desolate and devastated. 385
But now you will be too small to hold your residents,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
49:20 Yet the children born during your time of bereavement
will say within your hearing,
‘This place is too cramped for us, 386
make room for us so we can live here.’ 387
49:21 Then you will think to yourself, 388
‘Who bore these children for me?
I was bereaved and barren,
dismissed and divorced. 389
Who raised these children?
Look, I was left all alone;
where did these children come from?’”
49:22 This is what the sovereign Lord says:
“Look I will raise my hand to the nations;
I will raise my signal flag to the peoples.
They will bring your sons in their arms
and carry your daughters on their shoulders.
49:23 Kings will be your children’s 390 guardians;
their princesses will nurse your children. 391
With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you
and they will lick the dirt on 392 your feet.
Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;
those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
49:24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior,
or captives be rescued from a conqueror? 393
49:25 Indeed,” says the Lord,
“captives will be taken from a warrior;
spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.
I will oppose your adversary
and I will rescue your children.
49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. 394
Then all humankind 395 will recognize that
I am the Lord, your deliverer,
your protector, 396 the powerful ruler of Jacob.” 397
50:1 This is what the Lord says:
“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate
by which I divorced her?
Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? 398
Look, you were sold because of your sins; 399
because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. 400
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 401
Is my hand too weak 402 to deliver 403 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 404 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 405
50:3 I can clothe the sky in darkness;
I can cover it with sackcloth.”
50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, 406
so that I know how to help the weary. 407
He wakes me up every morning;
he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. 408
50:5 The sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly; 409
I have not rebelled,
I have not turned back.
50:6 I offered my back to those who attacked, 410
my jaws to those who tore out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from insults and spitting.
50:7 But the sovereign Lord helps me,
so I am not humiliated.
For that reason I am steadfastly resolved; 411
I know I will not be put to shame.
50:8 The one who vindicates me is close by.
Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other! 412
Who is my accuser? 413 Let him challenge me! 414
50:9 Look, the sovereign Lord helps me.
Who dares to condemn me?
Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;
a moth will eat away at them.
50:10 Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys 415 his servant?
Whoever walks in deep darkness, 416
without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire
and who equip yourselves with 417 flaming arrows, 418
walk 419 in the light 420 of the fire you started
and among the flaming arrows you ignited! 421
This is what you will receive from me: 422
you will lie down in a place of pain. 423
51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, 424
who seek the Lord!
Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,
at the quarry 425 from which you were dug! 426
51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth. 427
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, 428
but I blessed him 429 and gave him numerous descendants. 430
51:3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;
he will console all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the Garden of the Lord.
Happiness and joy will be restored to 431 her,
thanksgiving and the sound of music.
51:4 Pay attention to me, my people!
Listen to me, my people!
For 432 I will issue a decree, 433
I will make my justice a light to the nations. 434
51:5 I am ready to vindicate, 435
I am ready to deliver, 436
I will establish justice among the nations. 437
The coastlands 438 wait patiently for me;
they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. 439
51:6 Look up at the sky!
Look at the earth below!
For the sky will dissipate 440 like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like clothes;
its residents will die like gnats.
But the deliverance I give 441 is permanent;
the vindication I provide 442 will not disappear. 443
51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law! 444
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!
51:8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;
a clothes moth will devour them like wool.
But the vindication I provide 445 will be permanent;
the deliverance I give will last.”
51:9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! 446
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!
Did you not smash 447 the Proud One? 448
Did you not 449 wound the sea monster? 450
51:10 Did you not dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
Did you not make 451 a path through the depths of the sea,
so those delivered from bondage 452 could cross over?
51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;
they will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them, 453
happiness and joy will overwhelm 454 them;
grief and suffering will disappear. 455
51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. 456
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? 457
51:13 Why do you forget 458 the Lord, who made you,
who stretched out the sky 459
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long 460
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor? 461
51:14 The one who suffers 462 will soon be released;
he will not die in prison, 463
he will not go hungry. 464
51:15 I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.
The Lord who commands armies is his name!
51:16 I commission you 465 as my spokesman; 466
I cover you with the palm of my hand, 467
to establish 468 the sky and to found the earth,
to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” 469
51:17 Wake up! Wake up!
Get up, O Jerusalem!
You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you,
which was full of his anger! 470
You drained dry
the goblet full of intoxicating wine. 471
51:18 There was no one to lead her
among all the children she bore;
there was no one to take her by the hand
among all the children she raised.
51:19 These double disasters confronted you.
But who feels sorry for you?
Destruction and devastation,
famine and sword.
But who consoles you? 472
51:20 Your children faint;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a snare.
They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,
by the battle cry of your God. 473
51:21 So listen to this, oppressed one,
who is drunk, but not from wine!
51:22 This is what your sovereign master, 474 the Lord your God, says:
“Look, I have removed from your hand
the cup of intoxicating wine, 475
the goblet full of my anger. 476
You will no longer have to drink it.
51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors 477
who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who walked over you.”
52:1 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!
Put on your beautiful clothes,
O Jerusalem, 478 holy city!
For uncircumcised and unclean pagans
will no longer invade you.
Get up, captive 480 Jerusalem!
Take off the iron chains around your neck,
O captive daughter Zion!
52:3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will not be redeemed for money.”
52:4 For this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;
Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.
52:5 And now, what do we have here?” 481 says the Lord.
“Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,
those who rule over them taunt,” 482 says the Lord,
“and my name is constantly slandered 483 all day long.
52:6 For this reason my people will know my name,
for this reason they will know 484 at that time 485 that I am the one who says,
‘Here I am.’”
52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains 486
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 487
52:8 Listen, 488 your watchmen shout;
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes 489
the Lord’s return to Zion.
52:9 In unison give a joyful shout,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the Lord consoles his people;
he protects 490 Jerusalem.
52:10 The Lord reveals 491 his royal power 492
in the sight of all the nations;
the entire 493 earth sees
our God deliver. 494
52:11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything unclean!
Get out of it!
Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items! 495
52:12 Yet do not depart quickly
or leave in a panic. 496
For the Lord goes before you;
the God of Israel is your rear guard.
52:13 “Look, my servant will succeed! 497
He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted 498 –
52:14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you) 499
he was so disfigured 500 he no longer looked like a man; 501
52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human 502 –
so now 503 he will startle 504 many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, 505
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
53:1 Who would have believed 506 what we 507 just heard? 508
When 509 was the Lord’s power 510 revealed through him?
53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, 511
like a root out of parched soil; 512
he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, 513
no special appearance that we should want to follow him. 514
53:3 He was despised and rejected by people, 515
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him; 516
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. 517
53:4 But he lifted up our illnesses,
he carried our pain; 518
even though we thought he was being punished,
attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. 519
53:5 He was wounded because of 520 our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well; 521
because of his wounds we have been healed. 522
53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;
each of us had strayed off on his own path,
but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. 523
53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, 524
but he did not even open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,
like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not even open his mouth. 525
53:8 He was led away after an unjust trial 526 –
but who even cared? 527
Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; 528
because of the rebellion of his own 529 people he was wounded.
53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals, 530
but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, 531
because 532 he had committed no violent deeds,
nor had he spoken deceitfully.
53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made, 533
he will see descendants and enjoy long life, 534
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. 535
“My servant 536 will acquit many, 537
for he carried their sins. 538
53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, 539
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, 540
because he willingly submitted 541 to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened 542 on behalf of the rebels.”
[41:8] 1 tn Or perhaps, “covenantal partner” (see 1 Kgs 5:15 HT [5:1 ET]; 2 Chr 20:7).
[41:9] 2 tn Heb “whom I have taken hold of [i.e., to lead back].”
[41:10] 3 tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).
[41:10] 4 tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).
[41:11] 5 tn Heb “the men of your strife”; NASB “those who contend with you.”
[41:11] 6 tn Heb “like nothing”; NAB “come to nought.”
[41:12] 7 tn Heb “the men of your struggle”; NASB “those who quarrel with you.”
[41:12] 8 tn Heb “the men of your battle”; NAB “who do battle with you.”
[41:14] 9 tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.
[41:14] 10 tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”
[41:14] 11 tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.
[41:14] 12 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[41:15] 13 tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”
[41:15] 14 tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.
[41:15] 15 sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.
[41:17] 16 tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[41:20] 17 tn The words “I will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text has here simply, “in order that.”
[41:20] 18 tn Heb “they”; NAB, NRSV “that all may see”; CEV, NLT “Everyone will see.”
[41:20] 19 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[41:20] 20 tn Or “created it” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “has made it happen.”
[41:21] 21 tn Heb “strong [words],” see HALOT 870 s.v. *עֲצֻמוֹת.
[41:21] 22 sn Apparently this challenge is addressed to the pagan idol gods, see vv. 23-24.
[41:22] 23 tn Heb “As for the former things, tell us what they are!”
[41:22] 24 tn Heb “so we might set [them to] our heart.”
[41:22] 25 tn Heb “and might know their outcome.”
[41:23] 26 tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”
[41:23] 27 tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).
[41:23] tn Heb “so we might be frightened and afraid together.” On the meaning of the verb שָׁתָע (shata’), see the note at v. 10.
[41:24] 28 tn Heb “an object of disgust [is he who] chooses you.”
[41:25] 29 sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.
[41:25] 30 tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”
[41:25] 31 tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).
[41:26] 32 tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
[41:27] 33 tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “First to Zion, ‘Look here they are!’” The words “I decreed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[41:27] 34 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[41:29] 35 tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (’aven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (’efes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.
[41:29] 36 tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”
[42:1] 37 sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.
[42:1] 38 tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).
[42:1] 39 sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.
[42:2] 40 tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”
[42:3] 41 sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.
[42:3] 42 tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
[42:4] 43 tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.
[42:4] 44 tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”
[42:4] 45 tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).
[42:5] 46 tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.
[42:5] 47 tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”
[42:5] 48 tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).
[42:6] 49 tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.
[42:6] 50 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).
[42:6] 51 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.
[42:6] 52 sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.
[42:6] 53 tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.
[42:7] 54 sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.
[42:7] 55 sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.
[42:9] 56 tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”
[42:9] 57 tn Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant (42:1-7). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests (41:25-27).
[42:10] 58 tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.
[42:10] 59 tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”
[42:10] 60 tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”
[42:12] 61 tn Heb “Let them ascribe to the Lord glory.”
[42:12] 62 tn Heb “and his praise in the coastlands [or “islands”] let them declare.”
[42:13] 63 tn Heb “like a man of war he stirs up zeal” (NIV similar).
[42:13] 64 tn Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.”
[42:14] 65 tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”
[42:14] 66 sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
[42:15] 67 tn Heb “I will dry up the mountains and hills.” The “mountains and hills” stand by synecdoche for the trees that grow on them. Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonymic root and translate, “I will lay waste.”
[42:15] 68 tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will turn streams into coastlands [or “islands”].” Scholars who believe that this reading makes little sense have proposed an emendation of אִיִּים (’iyyim, “islands”) to צִיּוֹת (tsiyyot, “dry places”; cf. NCV, NLT, TEV). However, since all the versions support the MT reading, there is insufficient grounds for an emendation here. Although the imagery of changing rivers into islands is somewhat strange, J. N. Oswalt describes this imagery against the backdrop of rivers of the Near East. The receding of these rivers at times occasioned the appearance of previously submerged islands (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:126).
[42:15] 69 sn The imagery of this verse, which depicts the Lord bringing a curse of infertility to the earth, metaphorically describes how the Lord will destroy his enemies.
[42:16] 70 tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”
[42:16] 71 tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”
[42:16] 72 tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”
[42:17] 73 tn Heb “be ashamed with shame”; ASV, NASB “be utterly put to shame.”
[42:18] 74 tn Heb “look to see”; NAB, NCV “look and see”; NRSV “look up and see.”
[42:19] 75 tc The precise meaning of מְשֻׁלָּם (mÿshullam) in this context is uncertain. In later biblical Hebrew the form (which appears to be a Pual participle from the root שָׁלַם, shalam) occurs as a proper name, Meshullam. The Pual of שָׁלַם (“be complete”) is attested with the meaning “repaid, requited,” but that makes little sense here. BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלַם relates the form to the denominative verb שָׁלַם (“be at peace”) and paraphrases “one in a covenant of peace” (J. N. Oswalt suggests “the covenanted one”; Isaiah [NICOT], 2:128, n. 59) Some emend the form to מֹשְׁלָם (moshÿlam, “their ruler”) or to מְשֻׁלָּחִי (mÿshullakhi, “my sent [or “commissioned”] one”), which fits nicely in the parallelism (note “my messenger” in the previous line). The translation above assumes an emendation to כְּמוֹ שֹׁלְמִי (kÿmo sholÿmi, “like my ally”). Isaiah uses כְּמוֹ in 30:22 and perhaps 51:5; for שֹׁלְמי (“my ally”) see Ps 7:5 HT (7:4 ET).
[42:19] 76 tn Heb “Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like my messenger I send? Who is blind like my commissioned one, blind like the servant of the Lord?” The point of the rhetorical questions is that no one is as blind/deaf as this servant. In this context the Lord’s “servant” is exiled Israel (cf. 41:8-9), which is spiritually blind and deaf and has failed to fulfill God’s purpose for it. This servant stands in contrast to the ideal “Israel” of the servant songs.
[42:20] 77 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has a perfect, 2nd person masculine singular; the marginal reading (Qere) has an infinitive absolute, which functions here as a finite verb.
[42:20] 78 tn Heb “but you do not guard [i.e., retain in your memory]”; NIV “but have paid no attention.”
[42:21] 79 tn Heb “The Lord was pleased for the sake of his righteousness [or “justice”], he was magnifying [the] law and was making [it] glorious.” The Lord contrasts his good intentions for the people with their present crisis (v. 22). To demonstrate his just character and attract the nations, the Lord wanted to showcase his law among and through Israel (Deut 4:5-8). But Israel disobeyed (v. 24) and failed to carry out their commission.
[42:22] 80 tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).
[42:22] 81 tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”
[42:22] 82 tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”
[42:23] 83 tn The interrogative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[42:24] 84 tn Heb “Who gave to the robber Jacob, and Israel to the looters?” In the first line the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְשׁוֹסֶה (mÿshoseh), a Polel participle from שָׁסָה (shasah, “plunder”). The marginal reading (Qere) is מְשִׁיסָּה (mÿshissah), a noun meaning “plunder.” In this case one could translate “Who handed Jacob over as plunder?”
[42:24] 85 tn Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.”
[42:25] 86 tn Heb “strength” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “fury”; NASB “fierceness”; NIV “violence.”
[42:25] 87 tn Heb “and it blazed against him all around, but he did not know.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb “blazed” is the divine חֵמָה (khemah, “anger”) mentioned in the previous line.
[42:25] 88 tn Heb “and it burned against him, but he did not set [it] upon [the] heart.”
[43:1] 89 tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”
[43:2] 90 tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[43:2] 91 tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”
[43:3] 92 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[43:3] 93 sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.
[43:4] 94 tn Heb “Since you are precious in my eyes and you are honored.”
[43:7] 95 tn Heb “everyone who is called by my name” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[43:9] 96 tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”
[43:10] 97 tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[43:10] 98 tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”
[43:13] 99 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “No one can oppose what I do.”
[43:14] 100 tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
[43:14] 101 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[43:14] 102 tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”
[43:14] 103 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.
[43:15] 104 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[43:17] 105 tn Heb “led out chariots and horses.” The words “to destruction” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The verse refers to the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red Sea.
[43:17] 106 tn Heb “lay down”; NAB “lie prostrate together”; CEV “lie dead”; NRSV “they lie down.”
[43:18] 107 tn Heb “the former things” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “forget all that.”
[43:19] 108 tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”
[43:19] 109 tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”
[43:19] 110 tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has נתיבות (“paths”).
[43:21] 111 tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”
[43:22] 112 tn Or “strive”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “been weary of me.”
[43:23] 113 tn Heb “with.” The words “by demanding” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[43:24] 114 tn That is, “calamus” (so NIV); NCV, TEV, NLT “incense”; CEV “spices.”
[43:24] 115 tn Heb “you did not saturate me”; NASB “Neither have you filled Me.”
[43:24] 116 sn In vv. 22-24 the Lord appears to be condemning his people for failure to bring the proper sacrifices. However, this is problematic. If this refers to the nation’s behavior while in exile, such cultic service was impossible and could hardly be expected by the Lord. If this refers to the nation’s conduct before the exile, it contradicts other passages that depict Israel as bringing excessive sacrifices (see, e.g., Isa 1:11-14; Jer 6:20; Amos 4:4-5, 5:21-23). Rather than being a condemnation of Israel’s failure to bring sacrifices, these verses are better taken as a highly rhetorical comment on the worthlessness of Israel’s religious ritual. They may have brought sacrifices, but not to the Lord, for he did not accept them or even want them. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 127, and R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 91.
[43:26] 117 tn Heb “you, tell in order that you may be right”; NAB “prove your innocence.”
[43:27] 118 tn Heb “your first father.” This could refer to Abraham (see 51:2), but elsewhere in Isaiah he does not appear in a negative light (see 29:22; 41:8; 63:16). A more likely candidate is Jacob/Israel, also referred to as the nation’s “father” elsewhere (see 58:14; 63:16).
[43:27] 119 tn On the meaning of the term לִיץ (lits), see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ. This may refer to the nation’s prophets, priests, and/or kings.
[43:28] 120 tn The word “subjected” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[44:2] 121 sn Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel; it occurs here and in Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26.
[44:3] 122 tn Heb “the thirsty.” Parallelism suggests that dry ground is in view (see “dry land” in the next line.)
[44:3] 123 tn Heb “and streams”; KJV “floods.” The verb “cause…to flow” is supplied in the second line for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
[44:4] 124 tn The Hebrew term בֵין (ven) is usually taken as a preposition, in which case one might translate, “among the grass.” But בֵין is probably the name of a tree (cf. C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 133). If one alters the preposition bet (בְּ) to kaf (כְּ), one can then read, “like a binu-tree.” (The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa supports this reading.) This forms a nice parallel to “like poplars” in the next line. חָצִיר (khatsir) is functioning as an adverbial accusative of location.
[44:5] 125 tn The Hebrew text has a Qal verb form, “and another will call by the name of Jacob.” With support from Symmachus (an ancient Greek textual witness), some read the Niphal, “and another will be called by the name of Jacob.”
[44:5] 126 tn Heb “and by the name of Israel he will title.” Some, with support from several ancient versions, prefer to change the Piel (active) verb form to a Pual (passive), “and he will be titled by the name of Israel.”
[44:6] 127 tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
[44:7] 128 tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”
[44:7] 129 tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmi’im me’olam ’otiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.
[44:7] 130 tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”
[44:8] 131 tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa.
[44:8] 132 tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”
[44:10] 133 tn The rhetorical question is sarcastic. The sense is, “Who is foolish enough…?”
[44:11] 134 tn The pronoun “his” probably refers to the one who forms/casts an idol (v. 10), in which case it refers to the craftsman’s associates in the idol-manufacturing guild.
[44:11] 135 sn The point seems to be this: If the idols are the mere products of human hands, then those who trust in them will be disappointed, for man-made gods are incapable of helping their “creators.”
[44:12] 136 tn The noun מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad), which refers to some type of tool used for cutting, occurs only here and in Jer 10:3. See HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד.
[44:12] 137 tn Some English versions take the pronoun “it” to refer to an idol being fashioned by the blacksmith (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV). NLT understands the referent to be “a sharp tool,” which is then used by the carpenter in the following verse to carve an idol from wood.
[44:12] 138 tn Heb “and there is no strength”; NASB “his strength fails.”
[44:13] 139 tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”
[44:13] 140 tn Heb “he makes an outline with the [?].” The noun שֶׂרֶד (shered) occurs only here; it apparently refers to some type of tool or marker. Cf. KJV “with a line”; ASV “with a pencil”; NAB, NRSV “with a stylus”; NASB “with red chalk”; NIV “with a marker.”
[44:13] 141 tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”
[44:13] 142 tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”
[44:13] 143 tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”
[44:14] 144 tn It is not certain what type of tree this otherwise unattested noun refers to. Cf. ASV “a holm-tree” (NRSV similar).
[44:14] 145 tn Heb “strengthens for himself,” i.e., “secures for himself” (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמֵץ Pi.2).
[44:14] 146 tn Some prefer to emend אֹרֶן (’oren) to אֶרֶז (’erez, “cedar”), but the otherwise unattested noun appears to have an Akkadian cognate, meaning “cedar.” See H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 44-45. HALOT 90 s.v. I אֹרֶן offers the meaning “laurel.”
[44:15] 147 tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”
[44:15] 148 tn Or perhaps, “them.”
[44:16] 149 tn Heb “eats” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “roasts.”
[44:18] 150 tn Heb “for their eyes are smeared over so they cannot see, so their heart cannot be wise.”
[44:19] 151 tn There is no formal interrogative sign here, but the context seems to indicate these are rhetorical questions. See GKC 473 §150.a.
[44:20] 152 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
[44:20] 153 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
[44:21] 154 tc The verb in the Hebrew text is a Niphal imperfect with a pronominal suffix. Although the Niphal ordinarily has the passive sense, it can have a reflexive nuance as well (see above translation). Some have suggested an emendation to a Qal form: “Do not forget me” (all the ancient versions, NEB, REB; see GKC 369 §117.x). “Do not forget me” would make a good parallel with “remember these things” in the first line. Since the MT is the harder reading and fits with Israel’s complaint that God had forgotten her (Isa 40:27), the MT reading should be retained (NASB, NKJV, NRSV, ESV). The passive has been rendered as an active in the translation in keeping with contemporary English style (so also NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).
[44:22] 155 tn Heb “I blot out like a cloud your rebellious deeds, and like a cloud your sins.” “Rebellious deeds” and “sins” stand by metonymy for the guilt they produce. Both עָב (’av) and עָנָן (’anan) refer to the clouds in the sky. It is tempting for stylistic purposes to translate the second with “fog” or “mist” (cf. NAB, NRSV “cloud…mist”; NIV “cloud…morning mist”; NLT “morning mists…clouds”), but this distinction between the synonyms is unwarranted here. The point of the simile seems to be this: The Lord forgives their sins, causing them to vanish just as clouds disappear from the sky (see Job 7:9; 30:15).
[44:22] 156 tn Heb “redeem.” See the note at 41:14.
[44:23] 157 tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”
[44:23] 158 tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.
[44:23] 159 tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”
[44:23] 160 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
[44:23] 161 tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”
[44:24] 162 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
[44:24] 163 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “Who [was] with me?” The marginal reading (Qere) is “from with me,” i.e., “by myself.” See BDB 87 s.v. II אֵת 4.c.
[44:25] 164 tc The Hebrew text has בַּדִּים (baddim), perhaps meaning “empty talkers” (BDB 95 s.v. III בַּד). In the four other occurrences of this word (Job 11:3; Isa 16:6; Jer 48:30; 50:36) the context does not make the meaning of the term very clear. Its primary point appears to be that the words spoken are meaningless or false. In light of its parallelism with “omen readers,” some have proposed an emendation to בָּרִים (barim, “seers”). The Mesopotamian baru-priests were divination specialists who played an important role in court life. See R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 93-98. Rather than supporting an emendation, J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:189, n. 79) suggests that Isaiah used בַּדִּים purposively as a derisive wordplay on the Akkadian word baru (in light of the close similarity of the d and r consonants).
[44:25] 165 tn Or “makes fools of” (NIV, NRSV); NAB and NASB both similar.
[44:25] 166 tn Heb “who turns back the wise” (so NRSV); NIV “overthrows the learning of the wise”; TEV “The words of the wise I refute.”
[44:25] 167 tn Heb “their knowledge” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[44:26] 168 tn Heb “the word of his servant.” The following context indicates that the Lord’s prophets are in view.
[44:26] 169 tn Heb “counsel.” The Hebrew term עֵצָה (’etsah) probably refers here to the divine plan as announced by the prophets. See HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה.
[44:26] 170 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[44:28] 171 tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.
[44:28] 172 tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.
[44:28] 173 tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”
[44:28] 174 tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).
[45:1] 175 tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”
[45:1] 176 sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
[45:1] 177 tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
[45:2] 178 tc The form הֲדוּרִים (hadurim) makes little, if any, sense here. It is probably a corruption of an original הָרָרִים (hararim, “mountains”), the reduplicated form of הָר (har, “mountain”).
[45:2] 179 tn That is, on the gates. Cf. CEV “break the iron bars on bronze gates.”
[45:3] 180 tn Heb “treasures of darkness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “treasures from dark, secret places.”
[45:4] 181 tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.”
[45:5] 182 tn Heb “and there is none besides.” On the use of עוֹד (’od) here, see BDB 729 s.v. 1.c.
[45:5] 183 tn Heb “gird you” (so NASB) or “strengthen you” (so NIV).
[45:5] 184 tn Or “know” (NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT); NIV “have not acknowledged.”
[45:6] 185 tn The words “I do this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[45:6] 186 tn Heb “they” (so KJV, ASV); TEV, CEV “everyone”; NLT “all the world.”
[45:7] 187 tn The words “I am” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the participle at the beginning of v. 7 stands in apposition to “the Lord” in v. 6.
[45:7] 188 tn On the surface v. 7a appears to describe God’s sovereign control over the cycle of day and night, but the following statement suggests that “light” and “darkness” symbolize “deliverance” and “judgment.”
[45:7] 189 sn This verses affirms that God is ultimately sovereign over his world, including mankind and nations. In accordance with his sovereign will, he can cause wars to cease and peace to predominate (as he was about to do for his exiled people through Cyrus), or he can bring disaster and judgment on nations (as he was about to do to Babylon through Cyrus).
[45:8] 190 tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”
[45:8] 191 tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”
[45:8] 192 tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).
[45:8] 193 tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).
[45:8] 194 tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).
[45:9] 195 tn Heb “Woe [to] the one who argues with the one who formed him.”
[45:9] 196 tn The words “one who is like a mere” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and clarification.
[45:9] 197 tn Heb “Should the clay say to the one who forms it?” The rhetorical question anticipates a reply, “Of course not!”
[45:9] 198 tn The words “in the world” are supplied in the translation to approximate in English idiom the force of the sarcastic question.
[45:9] 199 tn Heb “your work, there are no hands for it,” i.e., “your work looks like something made by a person who has no hands.”
[45:10] 200 tn Heb “Woe [to] one who says” (NASB and NIV both similar); NCV “How terrible it will be.”
[45:10] 201 tn See the note at v. 9. This phrase occurs a second time later in this verse.
[45:10] 202 sn Verses 9-10 may allude to the exiles’ criticism that the Lord does not appear to know what he is doing.
[45:11] 203 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[45:11] 204 tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”
[45:11] 205 tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
[45:11] 206 tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
[45:12] 207 tn The words “who live” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[45:12] 208 tn Heb “I, even my hands”; NASB “I stretched out…with My hands”; NRSV “it was my hands that stretched out.” The same construction occurs at the beginning of v. 13.
[45:12] 209 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[45:12] 210 tn Heb “and to all their host I commanded.” See the notes at 40:26.
[45:13] 211 tn Heb “I stir him up in righteousness”; NASB “I have aroused him.” See the note at 41:2. Cyrus (cf. 44:28) is in view here.
[45:14] 212 tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”
[45:14] 213 tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”
[45:14] 214 tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”
[45:14] 215 sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.
[45:14] 216 sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.
[45:14] 217 tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”
[45:14] 218 tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.
[45:16] 219 tn “together they will walk in humiliation, the makers of images.”
[45:17] 220 tn Heb “Israel will be delivered by the Lord [with] a permanent deliverance.”
[45:17] 221 tn Heb “you will not be ashamed and you will not be humiliated for ages of future time.”
[45:18] 222 tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.
[45:18] 223 tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.
[45:19] 224 tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”
[45:19] 225 tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”
[45:19] 226 tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”
[45:21] 227 tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
[45:21] 228 tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
[45:22] 229 tn The Niphal imperative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose after the preceding imperative. The Niphal probably has a tolerative sense, “allow yourselves to be delivered, accept help.”
[45:23] 230 tn Heb “I swear by myself”; KJV, NASB “have sworn.”
[45:23] 231 tn Heb “a word goes out from my mouth [in] truth and will not return.”
[45:23] 232 tn Heb “swear” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “confess allegiance.”
[45:24] 233 tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”
[45:24] 234 tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”
[45:25] 235 tn Heb “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be vindicated and boast.”
[46:1] 236 sn Bel was the name of a Babylonian god. The name was originally associated with Enlil, but later was applied to Marduk. See HALOT 132 s.v. בֵּל.
[46:1] 237 sn Nebo is a variation of the name of the Babylonian god Nabu.
[46:1] 238 tn Heb “their images belong to animals and beasts”; NIV “their idols are borne by beasts of burden”; NLT “are being hauled away.”
[46:1] 239 tn Heb “your loads are carried [as] a burden by a weary [animal].”
[46:2] 240 tn Heb “[the] burden,” i.e., their images, the heavy burden carried by the animals.
[46:2] 241 tn נַפְשָׁם (nafsham, “their souls/lives”) is equivalent here to a third masculine plural suffix, but the third feminine singular verb הָלָכָה (halakhah, “they go”) agrees with the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, life”).
[46:2] 242 sn The downfall of Babylon is depicted here. The idols are carried off by the victorious enemy; the gods are likened to defeated captives who cower before the enemy and are taken into exile.
[46:3] 243 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV “descendants of Jacob.”
[46:3] 244 tn Heb “and all the remnant of the house of Israel.”
[46:3] 245 tn Heb “from the womb” (so NRSV); KJV “from the belly”; NAB “from your infancy.”
[46:3] 246 tn Heb “who have been lifted up from the womb.”
[46:4] 247 tn Heb “until old age, I am he” (NRSV similar); NLT “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.”
[46:4] 248 sn Unlike the weary idol gods, whose images must be carried by animals, the Lord carries his weary people.
[46:6] 249 tn Heb “the reed,” probably referring to the beam of a scales. See BDB 889 s.v. קָנֶה 4.c.
[46:7] 250 tn Or perhaps, “cannot,” here and in the following two lines. The imperfect forms can indicate capability.
[46:8] 251 tn The meaning of the verb אָשַׁשׁ (’ashash, which appears here in the Hitpolel stem) is uncertain. BDB 84 s.v. אשׁשׁ relates it to a root meaning “found, establish” in Arabic; HALOT 100 s.v. II אשׁשׁ gives the meaning “pluck up courage.” The imperative with vav (ו) may indicate purpose following the preceding imperative.
[46:8] 252 tn Heb “return [it], rebels, to heart”; NRSV “recall it to mind, you transgressors.”
[46:9] 253 tn Heb “remember the former things, from antiquity”; KJV, ASV “the former things of old.”
[46:9] 254 tn Heb “and there is no other” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[46:10] 255 tn Or “from long ago”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “from ancient times.”
[46:11] 256 tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).
[46:11] 257 tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”
[46:12] 258 tn Heb “strong of heart [or, mind]”; KJV “stouthearted”; NAB “fainthearted”; NIV “stubborn-hearted.”
[46:12] 259 tn Heb “who are far from righteousness [or perhaps, “deliverance”].”
[46:13] 260 tn Heb “my salvation.” The verb “I am bringing near” is understood by ellipsis (note the previous line).
[46:13] 261 tn Heb “I will place in Zion salvation”; NASB “I will grant salvation in Zion.”
[46:13] 262 tn Heb “to Israel my splendor”; KJV, ASV “for Israel my glory.”
[47:1] 263 tn בְּתוּלַה (bÿtulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).
[47:1] 264 tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).
[47:3] 265 tn Heb “Your shame will be seen.” In this context “shame” is a euphemism referring to the genitals.
[47:3] 266 tn Heb “I will not meet a man.” The verb פָּגַע (pagah) apparently carries the nuance “meet with kindness” here (cf. 64:5, and see BDB 803 s.v. Qal.2).
[47:4] 267 tc The Hebrew text reads, “Our redeemer – the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” The ancient Greek version adds “says” before “our redeemer.” אָמַר (’amar) may have accidentally dropped from the text by virtual haplography. Note that the preceding word אָדָם (’adam) is graphically similar.
[47:4] sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[47:5] 268 tn Heb “darkness,” which may indicate a place of hiding where a fugitive would seek shelter and protection.
[47:5] 269 tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).
[47:6] 270 tn Or “compassion.”
[47:6] 271 tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”
[47:7] 272 tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”
[47:7] 273 tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”
[47:7] 274 tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”
[47:8] 275 tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”
[47:8] 276 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
[47:8] 277 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.
[47:8] 278 tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”
[47:9] 279 tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.
[47:9] 280 tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”
[47:9] 281 tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.
[47:9] 282 sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.
[47:10] 283 tn Heb “you trusted in your evil”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “wickedness.”
[47:10] 284 tn Or “said”; NAB “said to yourself”’ NASB “said in your heart.”
[47:10] 285 tn The words “self-professed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[47:10] 286 tn See the note at v. 8.
[47:11] 287 tc The Hebrew text has שַׁחְרָהּ (shakhrah), which is either a suffixed noun (“its dawning,” i.e., origin) or infinitive (“to look early for it”). Some have suggested an emendation to שַׁחֲדָהּ (shakhadah), a suffixed infinitive from שָׁחַד (shakhad, “[how] to buy it off”; see BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחַד). This forms a nice parallel with the following couplet. The above translation is based on a different etymology of the verb in question. HALOT 1466 s.v. III שׁחר references a verbal root with these letters (שׁחד) that refers to magical activity.
[47:11] 288 tn Heb “you will not know”; NIV “you cannot foresee.”
[47:12] 289 tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”
[47:12] 290 tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.
[47:12] 291 tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”
[47:12] 292 tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”
[47:12] 293 tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.
[47:13] 294 tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”
[47:13] 295 tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”
[47:14] 296 tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.
[47:14] 297 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “there is no coal [for?] their food, light to sit before it.” Some emend לַחְמָם (lakhmam, “their food”) to לְחֻמָּם (lÿkhummam, “to warm them”; see HALOT 328 s.v. חמם). This statement may allude to Isa 44:16, where idolaters are depicted warming themselves over a fire made from wood, part of which was used to form idols. The fire of divine judgment will be no such campfire; its flames will devour and destroy.
[47:15] 298 tn Heb “So they will be to you”; NIV “That is all they can do for you.”
[47:15] 299 tn Heb “that for which you toiled, your traders from your youth.” The omen readers and star gazers are likened to merchants with whom Babylon has had an ongoing economic relationship.
[47:15] 300 tn Heb “each to his own side, they err.”
[48:1] 301 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”
[48:1] 302 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a corruption of מִמְּעֵי (mimmÿ’e, “from the inner parts of”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV) as suggested in the above translation. Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading because the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.
[48:1] 303 tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”
[48:1] 304 tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”
[48:2] 305 tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qara’) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.
[48:2] 306 tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”
[48:3] 307 tn Heb “the former things beforehand I declared.”
[48:3] 308 tn Heb “and from my mouth they came forth and I caused them to be heard.”
[48:4] 309 tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.
[48:4] 310 sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.
[48:6] 311 tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”
[48:6] 312 tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”
[48:6] 313 tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”
[48:7] 314 tn Heb “are created” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “They are brand new.”
[48:7] 315 tn Heb “look”; KJV, NASB “Behold.”
[48:8] 316 tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”
[48:8] 317 tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
[48:8] 318 tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[48:9] 319 tn Heb “for the sake of my name” (so NAB, NASB); NLT “for my own sake.”
[48:9] 320 tn Heb “and my praise.” לְמַעַן (lÿma’an, “for the sake of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[48:9] 321 tn Heb “I restrain [myself] concerning you not to cut you off.”
[48:10] 322 tc The Hebrew text has בְּחַרְתִּיךָ (bÿkhartikha, “I have chosen you”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads correctly בחנתיכה (“I have tested you”). The metallurgical background of the imagery suggests that purification through testing is the idea.
[48:11] 323 tn The Hebrew text repeats לְמַעֲנִי (lÿma’ani, “for my sake”) for emphasis.
[48:11] 324 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “for how can it be defiled?” The subject of the verb is probably “name” (v. 9).
[48:12] 326 tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”
[48:14] 327 sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).
[48:14] 328 tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.”
[48:14] sn The
[48:14] 329 tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”
[48:15] 330 tn Heb “and his way will be prosperous.”
[48:16] 331 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
[48:16] 332 sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.
[48:17] 333 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
[48:17] 334 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[48:18] 335 tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”
[48:18] 336 tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.
[48:18] 337 tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.
[48:19] 338 tn Heb “like sand”; NCV “as many as the grains of sand.”
[48:19] 339 tn Heb “and the issue from your inner parts.”
[48:19] 340 tn Heb “and his name would not be cut off and would not be destroyed from before me.”
[48:20] 341 tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
[48:20] 342 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
[48:21] 343 sn The translation above (present tense) assumes that this verse describes God’s provision for returning Babylonian exiles (see v. 20; 35:6; 49:10) in terms reminiscent of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exod 17:6).
[49:1] 344 tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “in far-off lands.”
[49:1] sn The Lord’s special servant, introduced in chap. 42, speaks here of his commission.
[49:1] 345 tn Heb “called me from the womb.”
[49:1] 346 tn Heb “from the inner parts of my mother he mentioned my name.”
[49:2] 347 tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”
[49:2] 348 sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.
[49:3] 349 sn This verse identifies the servant as Israel. This seems to refer to the exiled nation (cf. 41:8-9; 44:1-2, 21; 45:4; 48:20), but in vv. 5-6 this servant says he has been commissioned to reconcile Israel to God, so he must be distinct from the exiled nation. This servant is an ideal “Israel” who, like Moses of old, mediates a covenant for the nation (see v. 8), leads them out of bondage (v. 9a), and carries out God’s original plan for Israel by positively impacting the pagan nations (see v. 6b). By living according to God’s law, Israel was to be a model of God’s standards of justice to the surrounding nations (Deut 4:6-8). The sinful nation failed, but the servant, the ideal “Israel,” will succeed by establishing justice throughout the earth.
[49:4] 350 tn Or “said” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “I replied.”
[49:4] 351 tn Heb “for nothing and emptiness.” Synonyms are combined to emphasize the common idea.
[49:4] 352 tn Heb “But my justice is with the Lord, and my reward [or “wage”] with my God.”
[49:5] 353 tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).
[49:5] 354 tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.
[49:5] 355 tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”
[49:5] 356 tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.
[49:6] 357 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
[49:6] 358 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
[49:6] 359 tn See the note at 42:6.
[49:6] 360 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
[49:7] 361 tn Heb “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
[49:7] 362 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[49:7] 363 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “to [one who] despises life.” It is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa לבזוי, which should be vocalized as a passive participle, לִבְזוּי (livzuy, “to the one despised with respect to life” [נֶפֶשׁ is a genitive of specification]). The consonantal sequence וי was probably misread as ה in the MT tradition. The contextual argument favors the 1QIsaa reading. As J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:294) points out, the three terse phrases “convey a picture of lowliness, worthlessness, and helplessness.”
[49:7] 364 tn MT’s Piel participle (“to the one who rejects”) does not fit contextually. The form should be revocalized as a Pual, “to the one rejected.”
[49:7] 365 tn Parallelism (see “rulers,” “kings,” “princes”) suggests that the singular גּוֹי (goy) be emended to a plural or understood in a collective sense (see 55:5).
[49:7] 366 tn For this sense of קוּם (qum), see Gen 19:1; 23:7; 33:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Sam 20:41; 25:41; 1 Kgs 2:19; Job 29:8.
[49:8] 367 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).
[49:8] 368 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (’am, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.
[49:8] 369 tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”
[49:8] 370 tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.
[49:9] 371 tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.
[49:9] 372 tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”
[49:9] 373 tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).
[49:10] 374 tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”
[49:12] 375 tc The MT reads “Sinim” here; the Dead Sea Scrolls read “Syene,” a location in Egypt associated with modern Aswan. A number of recent translations adopt this reading: “Syene” (NAB, NRSV); “Aswan” (NIV); “Egypt” (NLT).
[49:12] sn The precise location of the land of Sinim is uncertain, but since the north and west are mentioned in the previous line, it was a probably located in the distant east or south.
[49:13] 376 tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[49:13] 377 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[49:14] 378 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[49:15] 379 tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”
[49:15] 380 tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”
[49:15] 381 tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).
[49:15] 382 sn The argument of v. 15 seems to develop as follows: The Lord has an innate attachment to Zion, just like a mother does for her infant child. But even if mothers were to suddenly abandon their children, the Lord would never forsake Zion. In other words, the Lord’s attachment to Zion is like a mother’s attachment to her infant child, but even stronger.
[49:16] 383 tn Heb “you.” Here the pronoun is put by metonymy for the person’s name.
[49:18] 384 tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see.”
[49:19] 385 tn Heb “Indeed your ruins and your desolate places, and the land of your destruction.” This statement is abruptly terminated in the Hebrew text and left incomplete.
[49:20] 386 tn Heb “me.” The singular is collective.
[49:20] 387 tn Heb “draw near to me so I can dwell.”
[49:21] 388 tn Heb “and you will say in your heart.”
[49:21] 389 tn Or “exiled and thrust away”; NIV “exiled and rejected.”
[49:23] 390 tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).
[49:23] 391 tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.
[49:23] 392 tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”
[49:24] 393 tc The Hebrew text has צָדִיק (tsadiq, “a righteous [one]”), but this makes no sense in the parallelism. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads correctly עריץ (“violent [one], tyrant”; see v. 25).
[49:26] 394 sn Verse 26a depicts siege warfare and bloody defeat. The besieged enemy will be so starved they will their own flesh. The bloodstained bodies lying on the blood-soaked battle site will look as if they collapsed in drunkenness.
[49:26] 395 tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).
[49:26] 396 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
[49:26] 397 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.” See 1:24.
[50:1] 398 sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.
[50:1] 399 sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.
[50:1] 400 sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.
[50:2] 401 sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
[50:2] 402 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
[50:2] 403 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
[50:2] 404 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
[50:2] 405 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”
[50:4] 406 tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”
[50:4] sn Verses 4-11 contain the third of the so-called servant songs, which depict the career of the Lord’s special servant, envisioned as an ideal Israel (49:3) who rescues the exiles and fulfills God’s purposes for the world. Here the servant alludes to opposition (something hinted at in 49:4), but also expresses his determination to persevere with the Lord’s help.
[50:4] 407 tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.
[50:4] 408 tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”
[50:5] 409 tn Or perhaps, “makes me obedient.” The text reads literally, “has opened for me an ear.”
[50:6] 410 tn Or perhaps, “who beat [me].”
[50:7] 411 tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”
[50:8] 412 tn Heb “Let us stand together!”
[50:8] 413 tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”
[50:8] 414 tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”
[50:10] 415 tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[50:10] 416 tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.
[50:11] 417 tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (mÿ’azzÿre, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (mÿ’iri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).
[50:11] 418 tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.
[50:11] 419 tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.
[50:11] 420 tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).
[50:11] 421 sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.
[50:11] 422 tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[50:11] 423 sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.
[51:1] 424 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”
[51:1] 425 tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”
[51:1] 426 sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.
[51:2] 427 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
[51:2] 428 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
[51:2] 429 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
[51:2] 430 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”
[51:3] 431 tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[51:4] 433 tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”
[51:4] 434 tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”
[51:5] 435 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”
[51:5] 436 tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”
[51:5] 437 tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”
[51:5] 438 tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”
[51:5] 439 tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).
[51:6] 440 tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.
[51:6] 441 tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”
[51:6] 442 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”
[51:6] 443 tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”
[51:7] 444 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
[51:8] 445 tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”
[51:9] 446 tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.
[51:9] 447 tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”
[51:9] 448 tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).
[51:9] 449 tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”
[51:9] 450 tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.
[51:10] 451 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Are you not the one who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made…?”
[51:10] 452 tn Heb “the redeemed” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “the ransomed.”
[51:11] 453 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
[51:11] 454 tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”
[51:11] 455 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”
[51:12] 456 tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.
[51:12] 457 tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.
[51:13] 458 tn Heb “and that you forget.”
[51:13] 459 tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
[51:13] 460 tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”
[51:13] 461 tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.
[51:14] 462 tn Heb “who is stooped over” (under a burden).
[51:14] 463 tn Heb “the pit” (so KJV); ASV, NAB “die and go down into the pit”; NASB, NIV “dungeon”; NCV “prison.”
[51:14] 464 tn Heb “he will not lack his bread.”
[51:16] 465 tn The addressee (second masculine singular, as in vv. 13, 15) in this verse is unclear. The exiles are addressed in the immediately preceding verses (note the critical tone of vv. 12-13 and the reference to the exiles in v. 14). However, it seems unlikely that they are addressed in v. 16, for the addressee appears to be commissioned to tell Zion, who here represents the restored exiles, “you are my people.” The addressee is distinct from the exiles. The language of v. 16a is reminiscent of 49:2 and 50:4, where the Lord’s special servant says he is God’s spokesman and effective instrument. Perhaps the Lord, having spoken to the exiles in vv. 1-15, now responds to this servant, who spoke just prior to this in 50:4-11.
[51:16] 466 tn Heb “I place my words in your mouth.”
[51:16] 467 tn Heb “with the shadow of my hand.”
[51:16] 468 tc The Hebrew text has לִנְטֹעַ (lintoa’, “to plant”). Several scholars prefer to emend this form to לִנְטֹת (lintot) from נָטָה (natah, “to stretch out”); see v. 13, as well as 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV. However, since the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, LXX (and Aquila and Symmachus), and Vulgate support the MT reading, there is no need to emend the form. The interpretation is clear enough: Yahweh fixed the sky in its place.
[51:16] 469 tn The infinitives in v. 16b are most naturally understood as indicating the purpose of the divine actions described in v. 16a. The relationship of the third infinitive to the commission is clear enough – the Lord has made the addressee (his special servant?) his spokesman so that the latter might speak encouraging words to those in Zion. But how do the first two infinitives relate? The text seems to indicate that the Lord has commissioned the addressee so that the latter might create the universe! Perhaps creation imagery is employed metaphorically here to refer to the transformation that Jerusalem will experience (see 65:17-18).
[51:17] 470 tn Heb “[you] who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his anger.”
[51:17] 471 tn Heb “the goblet, the cup [that causes] staggering, you drank, you drained.”
[51:19] 472 tc The Hebrew text has אֲנַחֲמֵךְ (’anakhamekh), a first person form, but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads correctly יִנַחֲמֵךְ (yinakhamekh), a third person form.
[51:20] 473 tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”
[51:22] 474 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[51:22] 475 tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”
[51:22] 476 tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”
[51:23] 477 tn That is, to make them drink it.
[52:1] 478 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[52:2] 479 tn Heb “Shake yourself free from the dirt.”
[52:2] 480 tc The Hebrew text has שְּׂבִי (shÿvi), which some understand as a feminine singular imperative from יָשַׁב (yashav, “sit”). The LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, and the Targum support the MT reading (the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does indirectly). Some interpret this to mean “take your throne”: The Lord exhorts Jerusalem to get up from the dirt and sit, probably with the idea of sitting in a place of honor (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:361). However, the form is likely a corruption of שְׁבִיָּה (shÿviyyah, “captive”), which appears in the parallel line.
[52:5] 481 tn Heb “and now what [following the marginal reading (Qere)] to me here?”
[52:5] 482 tn The verb appears to be a Hiphil form from the root יָלַל (yalal, “howl”), perhaps here in the sense of “mock.” Some emend the form to יְהוֹלָּלוֹ (yÿhollalo) and understand a Polel form of the root הָלַל meaning here “mock, taunt.”
[52:5] 483 tn The verb is apparently a Hitpolal form (with assimilated tav, ת) from the root נָאַץ (na’ats), but GKC 151-52 §55.b explains it as a mixed form, combining Pual and Hitpolel readings.
[52:6] 484 tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[52:6] 485 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[52:7] 486 tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”
[52:7] 487 tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.
[52:8] 488 tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.
[52:8] 489 tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”
[52:9] 490 tn Or “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
[52:10] 491 tn Heb “lays bare”; NLT “will demonstrate.”
[52:10] 492 tn Heb “his holy arm.” This is a metonymy for his power.
[52:10] 493 tn Heb “the remote regions,” which here stand for the extremities and everything in between.
[52:10] 494 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God.” “God” is a subjective genitive here.
[52:11] 495 tn Heb “the vessels of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).
[52:12] 496 tn Heb “or go in flight”; NAB “leave in headlong flight.”
[52:13] 497 tn Heb “act wisely,” which by metonymy means “succeed.”
[52:13] 498 tn This piling up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of the servant’s coming exaltation.
[52:14] 499 tn Some witnesses read “him,” which is more consistent with the context, where the servant is spoken about, not addressed. However, it is possible that the Lord briefly addresses the servant here. The present translation assumes the latter view and places the phrase in parentheses.
[52:14] 500 tn Heb “such was the disfigurement.” The noun מִשְׁחַת (mishkhat) occurs only here. It may be derived from the verbal root שָׁחַת (shakhat, “be ruined”; see BDB 1007-8 s.v. שָׁחַת). The construct form appears here before a prepositional phrase (cf. GKC 421 §130.a).
[52:14] 501 tn Heb “from a man his appearance.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.” See BDB 583 s.v.
[52:15] 502 tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”
[52:15] 503 tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.
[52:15] 504 tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.
[52:15] 505 tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.
[53:1] 506 tn The perfect has a hypothetical force in this rhetorical question. For another example, see Gen 21:7.
[53:1] 507 sn The speaker shifts here from God to an unidentified group (note the first person plural pronouns throughout vv. 1-6). The content of the speech suggests that the prophet speaks here as representative of the sinful nation Israel. The group acknowledges its sin and recognizes that the servant suffered on their behalf.
[53:1] 508 tn The first half of v. 1 is traditionally translated, “Who has believed our report?” or “Who has believed our message?” as if the group speaking is lamenting that no one will believe what they have to say. But that doesn’t seem to be the point in this context. Here the group speaking does not cast itself in the role of a preacher or evangelist. No, they are repentant sinners, who finally see the light. The phrase “our report” can mean (1) the report which we deliver, or (2) the report which was delivered to us. The latter fits better here, where the report is most naturally taken as the announcement that has just been made in 52:13-15.
[53:1] 509 tn Heb “to whom” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[53:1] 510 tn Heb “the arm of the Lord.” The “arm of the Lord” is a metaphor of military power; it pictures the Lord as a warrior who bares his arm, takes up his weapon, and crushes his enemies (cf. 51:9-10; 63:5-6). But Israel had not seen the Lord’s military power at work in the servant.
[53:2] 511 tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.
[53:2] 512 sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.
[53:2] 513 tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.
[53:2] 514 tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.
[53:3] 515 tn Heb “lacking of men.” If the genitive is taken as specifying (“lacking with respect to men”), then the idea is that he lacked company because he was rejected by people. Another option is to take the genitive as indicating genus or larger class (i.e., “one lacking among men”). In this case one could translate, “he was a transient” (cf. the use of חָדֵל [khadel] in Ps 39:5 HT [39:4 ET]).
[53:3] 516 tn Heb “like a hiding of the face from him,” i.e., “like one before whom the face is hidden” (see BDB 712 s.v. מַסְתֵּר).
[53:3] 517 sn The servant is likened to a seriously ill person who is shunned by others because of his horrible disease.
[53:4] 518 sn Illness and pain stand by metonymy (or perhaps as metaphors) for sin and its effects, as vv. 11-12 make clear.
[53:4] 519 tn The words “for something he had done” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The group now realizes he suffered because of his identification with them, not simply because he was a special target of divine anger.
[53:5] 520 tn The preposition מִן (min) has a causal sense (translated “because of”) here and in the following clause.
[53:5] 521 tn Heb “the punishment of our peace [was] on him.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is here a genitive of result, i.e., “punishment that resulted in our peace.”
[53:5] 522 sn Continuing to utilize the imagery of physical illness, the group acknowledges that the servant’s willingness to carry their illnesses (v. 4) resulted in their being healed. Healing is a metaphor for forgiveness here.
[53:6] 523 tn Elsewhere the Hiphil of פָגַע (paga’) means “to intercede verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25) or “to intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16), but neither nuance fits here. Apparently here the Hiphil is the causative of the normal Qal meaning, “encounter, meet, touch.” The Qal sometimes refers to a hostile encounter or attack; when used in this way the object is normally introduced by the preposition -בְּ (bet, see Josh 2:16; Judg 8:21; 15:12, etc.). Here the causative Hiphil has a double object – the Lord makes “sin” attack “him” (note that the object attacked is introduced by the preposition -בְּ. In their sin the group was like sheep who had wandered from God’s path. They were vulnerable to attack; the guilt of their sin was ready to attack and destroy them. But then the servant stepped in and took the full force of the attack.
[53:7] 524 tn The translation assumes the Niphal is passive; another option is take the clause (note the subject + verb pattern) as concessive and the Niphal as reflexive, “though he humbled himself.”
[53:7] 525 sn This verse emphasizes the servant’s silent submission. The comparison to a sheep does not necessarily suggest a sacrificial metaphor. Sheep were slaughtered for food as well as for sacrificial rituals, and טֶבַח (tevakh) need not refer to sacrificial slaughter (see Gen 43:16; Prov 7:22; 9:2; Jer 50:27; note also the use of the related verb in Exod 21:37; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 25:11).
[53:8] 526 tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The present translation assumes that מִן (min) here has an instrumental sense (“by, through”) and understands עֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט (’otser umimmishpat, “coercion and legal decision”) as a hendiadys meaning “coercive legal decision,” thus “an unjust trial.” Other interpretive options include: (1) “without [for this sense of מִן, see BDB 578 s.v. 1.b] hindrance and proper judicial process,” i.e., “unfairly and with no one to defend him,” (2) “from [in the sense of “after,” see BDB 581 s.v. 4.b] arrest and judgment.”
[53:8] 527 tn Heb “and his generation, who considers?” (NASB similar). Some understand “his generation” as a reference to descendants. In this case the question would suggest that he will have none. However, אֶת (’et) may be taken here as specifying a new subject (see BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 3). If “his generation” refers to the servant’s contemporary generation, one may then translate, “As for his contemporary generation, who took note?” The point would be that few were concerned about the harsh treatment he received.
[53:8] 528 sn The “land of the living” is an idiom for the sphere where people live, in contrast to the underworld realm of the dead. See, for example, Ezek 32:23-27.
[53:8] 529 tn The Hebrew text reads “my people,” a reading followed by most English versions, but this is problematic in a context where the first person plural predominates, and where God does not appear to speak again until v. 11b. Therefore, it is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa עמו (“his people”). In this case, the group speaking in these verses is identified as the servant’s people (compare פְּשָׁעֵנוּ [pÿsha’enu, “our rebellious deeds”] in v. 5 with פֶּשַׁע עַמִּי [pesha’ ’ammi, “the rebellion of his people”] in v. 8).
[53:9] 530 tn Heb “one assigned his grave with criminals.” The subject of the singular is impersonal; English typically uses “they” in such constructions.
[53:9] 531 tn This line reads literally, “and with the rich in his death.” בְּמֹתָיו (bÿmotayv) combines a preposition, a plural form of the noun מוֹת (mot), and a third masculine singular suffix. The plural of the noun is problematic and the יו may be the result of virtual dittography. The form should probably be emended to בָּמָתוֹ (bamato, singular noun). The relationship between this line and the preceding one is uncertain. The parallelism appears to be synonymous (note “his grave” and “in his death”), but “criminals” and “the rich” hardly make a compatible pair in this context, for they would not be buried in the same kind of tomb. Some emend עָשִׁיר (’ashir, “rich”) to עָשֵׂי רָע (’ase ra’, “doers of evil”) but the absence of the ayin (ע) is not readily explained in this graphic environment. Others suggest an emendation to שְׂעִירִים (sÿ’irim, “he-goats, demons”), but the meaning in this case is not entirely transparent and the proposal assumes that the form suffered from both transposition and the inexplicable loss of a final mem. Still others relate עָשִׁיר (’ashir) to an alleged Arabic cognate meaning “mob.” See HALOT 896 s.v. עָשִׁיר. Perhaps the parallelism is antithetical, rather than synonymous. In this case, the point is made that the servant’s burial in a rich man’s tomb, in contrast to a criminal’s burial, was appropriate, for he had done nothing wrong.
[53:9] 532 tn If the second line is antithetical, then עַל (’al) is probably causal here, explaining why the servant was buried in a rich man’s tomb, rather than that of criminal. If the first two lines are synonymous, then עַל is probably concessive: “even though….”
[53:10] 533 tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular,in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”
[53:10] sn What constitutes the servant’s reparation offering? Some might think his suffering, but the preceding context views this as past, while the verb here is imperfect in form. The offering appears to be something the servant does after his suffering has been completed. Perhaps the background of the language can be found in the Levitical code, where a healed leper would offer a reparation offering as part of the ritual to achieve ceremonial cleanliness (see Lev 14). The servant was pictured earlier in the song as being severely ill. This illness (a metaphor for the effects of the people’s sin) separated him from God. However, here we discover the separation is not final; once reparation is made, so to speak, he will again experience the Lord’s favor.
[53:10] 534 sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.
[53:11] 535 tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (bÿda’to, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.
[53:11] 536 sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.
[53:11] 537 tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsadiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them.
[53:11] sn Some (e.g., H. M. Orlinsky, “The So-called ‘Suffering Servant’ in Isaiah 53,22,” VTSup 14 [1967]: 3-133) object to this legal interpretation of the language, arguing that it would be unjust for the righteous to suffer for the wicked and for the wicked to be declared innocent. However, such a surprising development is consistent with the ironic nature of this song. It does seem unfair for the innocent to die for the guilty. But what is God to do when all have sinned and wandered off like stray sheep (cf. v. 6)? Covenant law demands punishment, but punishment in this case would mean annihilation of what God has created. God’s justice, as demanded by the law, must be satisfied. To satisfy his justice, he does something seemingly unjust. He punishes his sinless servant, the only one who has not strayed off! In the progress of biblical revelation, we discover that the sinless servant is really God in the flesh, who offers himself because he is committed to the world he has created. If his justice can only be satisfied if he himself endures the punishment, then so be it. What appears to be an act of injustice is really love satisfying the demands of justice!
[53:11] 538 tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.
[53:12] 539 tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).
[53:12] 540 sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.
[53:12] 541 tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”
[53:12] 542 tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.
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