Yesaya 41:10-13

41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! ¹ 

I strengthen you –

yes, I help you –

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! ² 

41:11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;

your adversaries ³  will be reduced to nothing ⁴  and perish.

41:12 When you will look for your opponents, ⁵  you will not find them;

your enemies ⁶  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.’

Yesaya 54:14-17

54:14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. ⁷ 

You will not experience oppression; ⁸ 

indeed, you will not be afraid.

You will not be terrified, ⁹ 

for nothing frightening ¹⁰  will come near you.

54:15 If anyone dares to ¹¹  challenge you, it will not be my doing!

Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated. ¹² 

54:16 Look, I create the craftsman,

who fans the coals into a fire

and forges a weapon. ¹³ 

I create the destroyer so he might devastate.

54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;

you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. ¹⁴ 

This is what the Lord will do for his servants –

I will vindicate them,” ¹⁵ 

says the Lord.

Yesaya 55:10

55:10 ¹⁶ The rain and snow fall from the sky

and do not return,

but instead water the earth

and make it produce and yield crops,

and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

[41:10]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “the men of your strife”; NASB “those who contend with you.”

[41:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “like nothing”; NAB “come to nought.”

[41:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “the men of your struggle”; NASB “those who quarrel with you.”

[41:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “the men of your battle”; NAB “who do battle with you.”

[54:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “in righteousness [or “vindication”] you will be established.” The precise meaning of צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) here is uncertain. It could mean “righteousness, justice,” indicating that the city will be a center for justice. But the context focuses on deliverance, suggesting that the term means “deliverance, vindication” here.

[54:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “Be far from oppression!” The imperative is used here in a rhetorical manner to express certainty and assurance. See GKC 324 §110.c.

[54:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “from terror.” The rhetorical command, “be far” is understood by ellipsis here. Note the preceding context.

[54:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it,” i.e., the “terror” just mentioned.

[54:15]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb here for emphasis.

[54:15]  ¹² tn Heb “will fall over you.” The expression נָפַל עַל (nafal ’al) can mean “attack,” but here it means “fall over to,” i.e., “surrender to.”

[54:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “who brings out an implement for his work.”

[54:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”

[54:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”

[55:10]  ¹⁶ tn This verse begins in the Hebrew text with כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר (ki ka’asher, “for, just as”), which is completed by כֵּן (ken, “so, in the same way”) at the beginning of v. 11. For stylistic reasons, this lengthy sentence is divided up into separate sentences in the translation.