Ezra 9:15

9:15 O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day. Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt. However, because of this guilt ¹  no one can really stand before you.”

Yesaya 42:6

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ² 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ³  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ⁴ 

and a light ⁵  to the nations, ⁶ 

[9:15]  ¹ tn Heb “this”; the referent (the guilt mentioned previously) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[42:6]  ² tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ⁶ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.