Yesaya 43:1

The Lord Will Rescue His People

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 ¹  you.

I call you by name, you are mine.

Yesaya 43:7

43:7 everyone who belongs to me, ² 

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed – yes, whom I made!

Yesaya 44:20-21

44:20 He feeds on ashes; ³ 

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?’ ⁴ 

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! ⁵ 

Yesaya 44:24

The Lord Empowers Cyrus

44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, ⁶  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, ⁷ 

Kejadian 6:6-7

6:6 The Lord regretted ⁸  that he had made humankind on the earth, and he was highly offended. ⁹  6:7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – everything from humankind to animals, ¹⁰  including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”

Ulangan 32:18-25

32:18 You have forgotten ¹¹  the Rock who fathered you,

and put out of mind the God who gave you birth.

A Word of Judgment

32:19 But the Lord took note and despised them

because his sons and daughters enraged him.

32:20 He said, “I will reject them, ¹² 

I will see what will happen to them;

for they are a perverse generation,

children ¹³  who show no loyalty.

32:21 They have made me jealous ¹⁴  with false gods, ¹⁵ 

enraging me with their worthless gods; ¹⁶ 

so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, ¹⁷ 

with a nation slow to learn ¹⁸  I will enrage them.

32:22 For a fire has been kindled by my anger,

and it burns to lowest Sheol; ¹⁹ 

it consumes the earth and its produce,

and ignites the foundations of the mountains.

32:23 I will increase their ²⁰  disasters,

I will use up my arrows on them.

32:24 They will be starved by famine,

eaten by plague, and bitterly stung; ²¹ 

I will send the teeth of wild animals against them,

along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust.

32:25 The sword will make people childless outside,

and terror will do so inside;

they will destroy ²²  both the young man and the virgin,

the infant and the gray-haired man.

Ulangan 32:2

32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,

my sayings will drip like the dew, ²³ 

as rain drops upon the grass,

and showers upon new growth.

Ulangan 1:16-17

1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ²⁴  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ²⁵  and judge fairly, ²⁶  whether between one citizen and another ²⁷  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ²⁸  1:17 They ²⁹  must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly ³⁰  and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.

Mazmur 106:40

106:40 So the Lord was angry with his people ³¹ 

and despised the people who belong to him. ³² 

Yehezkiel 9:10

9:10 But as for me, my eye will not pity them nor will I spare ³³  them; I hereby repay them for what they have done.” ³⁴ 

Yehezkiel 9:1

The Execution of Idolaters

9:1 Then he shouted in my ears, “Approach, ³⁵  you who are to visit destruction on the city, each with his destructive weapon in his hand!”

Yehezkiel 2:1-2

Ezekiel’s Commission

2:1 He said to me, “Son of man, ³⁶  stand on your feet and I will speak with you.” 2:2 As he spoke to me, ³⁷  a wind ³⁸  came into me and stood me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me.

Yehezkiel 1:8-9

1:8 They had human hands ³⁹  under their wings on their four sides. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 1:9 their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead. ⁴⁰ 

Yakobus 2:13

2:13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over ⁴¹  judgment.

[43:1]  ¹ tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”

[43:7]  ² tn Heb “everyone who is called by my name” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[44:20]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”

[44:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”

[44:21]  ⁵ 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).

[44:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:24]  ⁷ 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.

[6:6]  ⁸ tn Or “was grieved”; “was sorry.” In the Niphal stem the verb נָחָם (nakham) can carry one of four semantic meanings, depending on the context: (1) “to experience emotional pain or weakness,” “to feel regret,” often concerning a past action (see Exod 13:17; Judg 21:6, 15; 1 Sam 15:11, 35; Job 42:6; Jer 31:19). In several of these texts כִּי (ki, “because”) introduces the cause of the emotional sorrow. (2) Another meaning is “to be comforted” or “to comfort oneself” (sometimes by taking vengeance). See Gen 24:67; 38:12; 2 Sam 13:39; Ps 77:3; Isa 1:24; Jer 31:15; Ezek 14:22; 31:16; 32:31. (This second category represents a polarization of category one.) (3) The meaning “to relent from” or “to repudiate” a course of action which is already underway is also possible (see Judg 2:18; 2 Sam 24:16 = 1 Chr 21:15; Pss 90:13; 106:45; Jer 8:6; 20:16; 42:10). (4) Finally, “to retract” (a statement) or “to relent or change one’s mind concerning,” “to deviate from” (a stated course of action) is possible (see Exod 32:12, 14; 1 Sam 15:29; Ps 110:4; Isa 57:6; Jer 4:28; 15:6; 18:8, 10; 26:3, 13, 19; Ezek 24:14; Joel 2:13-14; Am 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:9-10; 4:2; Zech 8:14). See R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 388. The first category applies here because the context speaks of God’s grief and emotional pain (see the following statement in v. 6) as a result of a past action (his making humankind). For a thorough study of the word נָחָם, see H. Van Dyke Parunak, “A Semantic Survey of NHM,” Bib 56 (1975): 512-32.

[6:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he was grieved to his heart.” The verb עָצָב (’atsav) can carry one of three semantic senses, depending on the context: (1) “to be injured” (Ps 56:5; Eccl 10:9; 1 Chr 4:10); (2) “to experience emotional pain”; “to be depressed emotionally”; “to be worried” (2 Sam 19:2; Isa 54:6; Neh 8:10-11); (3) “to be embarrassed”; “to be offended” (to the point of anger at another or oneself); “to be insulted” (Gen 34:7; 45:5; 1 Sam 20:3, 34; 1 Kgs 1:6; Isa 63:10; Ps 78:40). This third category develops from the second by metonymy. In certain contexts emotional pain leads to embarrassment and/or anger. In this last use the subject sometimes directs his anger against the source of grief (see especially Gen 34:7). The third category fits best in Gen 6:6 because humankind’s sin does not merely wound God emotionally. On the contrary, it prompts him to strike out in judgment against the source of his distress (see v. 7). The verb וַיִּתְעַצֵּב (vayyit’atsev), a Hitpael from עָצָב, alludes to the judgment oracles in Gen 3:16-19. Because Adam and Eve sinned, their life would be filled with pain; but sin in the human race also brought pain to God. The wording of v. 6 is ironic when compared to Gen 5:29. Lamech anticipated relief (נָחָם, nakham) from their work (מַעֲשֶׂה, ma’aseh) and their painful toil (עִצְּבֹן, ’itsÿvon), but now we read that God was sorry (נָחָם, nakham) that he had made (עָשָׂה, ’asah) humankind for it brought him great pain (עָצָב, ’atsav).

[6:7]  ¹⁰ tn The text simply has “from man to beast, to creatures, and to birds of the air.” The use of the prepositions עַד…מִן (min...’ad) stresses the extent of the judgment in creation.

[32:18]  ¹¹ tc The Hebrew text is corrupt here; the translation follows the suggestion offered in HALOT 1477 s.v. שׁיה. Cf. NASB, NLT “You neglected”; NIV “You deserted”; NRSV “You were unmindful of.”

[32:20]  ¹² tn Heb “I will hide my face from them.”

[32:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “sons” (so NAB, NASB); TEV “unfaithful people.”

[32:21]  ¹⁴ sn They have made me jealous. The “jealousy” of God is not a spirit of pettiness prompted by his insecurity, but righteous indignation caused by the disloyalty of his people to his covenant grace (see note on the word “God” in Deut 4:24). The jealousy of Israel, however (see next line), will be envy because of God’s lavish attention to another nation. This is an ironic wordplay. See H. Peels, NIDOTTE 3:938-39.

[32:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “what is not a god,” or a “nondeity.”

[32:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “their empty (things).” The Hebrew term used here to refer pejoratively to the false gods is הֶבֶל (hevel, “futile” or “futility”), used frequently in Ecclesiastes (e.g., Eccl 1:1, “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”).

[32:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “what is not a people,” or a “nonpeople.” The “nonpeople” (לֹא־עָם, lo’-’am) referred to here are Gentiles who someday would become God’s people in the fullest sense (cf. Hos 1:9; 2:23).

[32:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “a foolish nation” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV); NIV “a nation that has no understanding”; NLT “I will provoke their fury by blessing the foolish Gentiles.”

[32:22]  ¹⁹ tn Or “to the lowest depths of the earth”; cf. NAB “to the depths of the nether world”; NIV “to the realm of death below”; NLT “to the depths of the grave.”

[32:22]  sn Sheol refers here not to hell and hell-fire – a much later concept – but to the innermost parts of the earth, as low down as one could get. The parallel with “the foundations of the mountains” makes this clear (cf. Pss 9:17; 16:10; 139:8; Isa 14:9, 15; Amos 9:2).

[32:23]  ²⁰ tn Heb “upon them.”

[32:24]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew term קֶטֶב (qetev) is probably metaphorical here for the sting of a disease (HALOT 1091-92 s.v.).

[32:25]  ²² tn A verb is omitted here in the Hebrew text; for purposes of English style one suitable to the context is supplied.

[32:2]  ²³ tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.

[1:16]  ²⁴ tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[1:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.

[1:16]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).

[1:16]  ²⁷ tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”

[1:16]  ²⁸ tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”

[1:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).

[1:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.

[106:40]  ³¹ tn Heb “the anger of the Lord burned against his people.”

[106:40]  ³² tn Heb “his inheritance.”

[9:10]  ³³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[9:10]  ³⁴ tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 8:32; Ezek 11:21; 16:43; 22:31.

[9:1]  ³⁵ tc Heb “they approached.” Reading the imperative assumes the same consonantal text but different vowels.

[2:1]  ³⁶ sn The phrase son of man occurs ninety-three times in the book of Ezekiel. It simply means “human one,” and distinguishes the prophet from the nonhuman beings that are present in the world of his vision.

[2:2]  ³⁷ tc The phrase “as he spoke to me” is absent from the LXX.

[2:2]  ³⁸ tn Or “spirit.” NIV has “the Spirit,” but the absence of the article in the Hebrew text makes this unlikely. Elsewhere in Ezekiel the Lord’s Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of the Lord” (11:5; 37:1), “the Spirit of God” (11:24), or “my (that is, the Lord’s) Spirit” (36:27; 37:14; 39:29). Some identify the “spirit” of 2:2 as the spirit that energized the living beings, however, that “spirit” is called “the spirit” (1:12, 20) or “the spirit of the living beings” (1:20-21; 10:17). Still others see the term as referring to an impersonal “spirit” of strength or courage, that is, the term may also be understood as a disposition or attitude. The Hebrew word often refers to a wind in Ezekiel (1:4; 5:10, 12; 12:4; 13:11, 13; 17:10, 21; 19:12; 27:26; 37:9). In 37:5-10 a “breath” originates in the “four winds” and is associated with the Lord’s life-giving breath (see v. 14). This breath enters into the dry bones and gives them life. In a similar fashion the breath of 2:2 (see also 3:24) energizes paralyzed Ezekiel. Breath and wind are related. On the one hand it is a more normal picture to think of breath rather than wind entering someone, but since wind represents an external force it seems more likely for wind rather than breath to stand someone up (unless we should understand it as a disposition). It may be that one should envision the breath of the speaker moving like a wind to revive Ezekiel, helping him to regain his breath and invigorating him to stand. A wind also transports the prophet from one place to another (3:12, 14; 8:3; 11:1, 24; 43:5).

[1:8]  ³⁹ tc The MT reads “his hand” while many Hebrew mss as well as the Qere read “hands of.” Two similar Hebrew letters, vav and yod, have been confused.

[1:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “They each went in the direction of one of his faces.”

[2:13]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “boasts against, exults over,” in victory.