Yesaya 41:11-16

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

your adversaries ¹  will be reduced to nothing ²  and perish.

41:12 When you will look for your opponents, ³  you will not find them;

your enemies ⁴  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, ⁵ 

men of ⁶  Israel.

I am helping you,” says the Lord,

your protector, ⁷  the Holy One of Israel. ⁸ 

41:15 “Look, I am making you like ⁹  a sharp threshing sledge,

new and double-edged. ¹⁰ 

You will thresh the mountains and crush them;

you will make the hills like straw. ¹¹ 

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.

[41:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the men of your strife”; NASB “those who contend with you.”

[41:11]  ² tn Heb “like nothing”; NAB “come to nought.”

[41:12]  ³ tn Heb “the men of your struggle”; NASB “those who quarrel with you.”

[41:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “the men of your battle”; NAB “who do battle with you.”

[41:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.

[41:14]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.

[41:14]  ⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[41:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”

[41:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.

[41:15]  ¹¹ sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.