Yesaya 4:2

The Branch of the Lord

4:2 At that time ¹ 

the crops given by the Lord will bring admiration and honor; ² 

the produce of the land will be a source of pride and delight

to those who remain in Israel. ³ 

Yesaya 27:6

27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; ⁴ 

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce ⁵  will fill the surface of the world. ⁶ 

Yesaya 55:12-13

55:12 Indeed you will go out with joy;

you will be led along in peace;

the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,

and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.

55:13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,

firs will grow in place of nettles;

they will be a monument to the Lord, ⁷ 

a permanent reminder that will remain. ⁸ 

Yesaya 61:10-11

61:10 I ⁹  will greatly rejoice ¹⁰  in the Lord;

I will be overjoyed because of my God. ¹¹ 

For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;

he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. ¹² 

I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;

I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry. ¹³ 

61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops

and a garden yields its produce,

so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance ¹⁴  to grow,

and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. ¹⁵ 

Yesaya 66:10-14

66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

66:11 For ¹⁶  you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished; ¹⁷ 

you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts. ¹⁸ 

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ¹⁹ 

You will nurse from her breast ²⁰  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

66:13 As a mother consoles a child, ²¹ 

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ²² 

and you will be revived. ²³ 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ²⁴ 

Hosea 14:5-6

14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like a lily,

he will send down his roots like a cedar of ²⁵  Lebanon.

14:6 His young shoots will grow;

his splendor will be like an olive tree,

his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

[4:2]  ¹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[4:2]  ² tn Heb “and the vegetation of the Lord will become beauty and honor.” Many English versions understand the phrase צֶמַח יְהוָה (tsemakh yÿhvah) as a messianic reference and render it, “the Branch of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT, and others). Though צֶמַח (tsemakh) is used by later prophets of a royal descendant (Jer 23;5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12), those passages contain clear contextual indicators that a human ruler is in view and that the word is being used in a metaphorical way of offspring. However, in Isa 4:2 there are no such contextual indicators. To the contrary, in the parallel structure of the verse צֶמַח יְהוָה corresponds to “produce of the land,” a phrase that refers elsewhere exclusively to literal agricultural produce (see Num 13:20, 26; Deut 1:25). In the majority of its uses צֶמַח refers to literal crops or vegetation (in Ps 65:10 the Lord is the source of this vegetation). A reference to the Lord restoring crops would make excellent sense in Isa 4 and the prophets frequently included this theme in their visions of the future age (see Isa 30:23-24; 32:20; Jer 31:12; Ezek 34:26-29; and Amos 9:13-14).

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “and the fruit of the land will become pride and beauty for the remnant of Israel.”

[27:6]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).

[27:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[27:6]  ⁶ sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.

[55:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the Lord for a name.” For שֵׁם (shem) used in the sense of “monument,” see also 56:5, where it stands parallel to יָד (yad).

[55:13]  ⁸ tn Or, more literally, “a permanent sign that will not be cut off.”

[61:10]  ⁹ sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.

[61:10]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[61:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”

[61:10]  ¹² tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”

[61:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[61:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).

[61:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”

[66:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “in order that”; ASV, NRSV “that.”

[66:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you will suck and be satisfied, from her comforting breast.”

[66:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “you will slurp and refresh yourselves from her heavy breast.”

[66:11]  sn Zion’s residents will benefit from and enjoy her great material prosperity. See v. 12.

[66:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

[66:12]  ²⁰ tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).

[66:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”

[66:14]  ²² tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

[66:14]  ²³ tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

[66:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”

[14:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “like Lebanon” (so KJV; also in the following verse). The phrase “a cedar of” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in translation for clarity. Cf. TEV “the trees of Lebanon”; NRSV “the forests of Lebanon.”