Yesaya 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ¹ 

Who ²  officially commissions him for service? ³ 

He hands nations over to him, ⁴ 

and enables him to subdue ⁵  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ⁶ 

Yesaya 41:25

41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north ⁷  and he advances,

one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. ⁸ 

He steps on ⁹  rulers as if they were clay,

like a potter treading the clay.

Yesaya 44:28

44:28 who commissions ¹⁰  Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd ¹¹ 

to carry out all my wishes ¹² 

and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’

and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” ¹³ 

Yesaya 45:13

45:13 It is me – I stir him up and commission him; ¹⁴ 

I will make all his ways level.

He will rebuild my city;

he will send my exiled people home,

but not for a price or a bribe,”

says the Lord who commands armies.

Yesaya 46:11

46:11 who summons an eagle ¹⁵  from the east,

from a distant land, one who carries out my plan.

Yes, I have decreed, ¹⁶ 

yes, I will bring it to pass;

I have formulated a plan,

yes, I will carry it out.

Yesaya 49:7

49:7 This is what the Lord,

the protector ¹⁷  of Israel, their Holy One, ¹⁸  says

to the one who is despised ¹⁹  and rejected ²⁰  by nations, ²¹ 

a servant of rulers:

“Kings will see and rise in respect, ²² 

princes will bow down,

because of the faithful Lord,

the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”

Yesaya 49:23

49:23 Kings will be your children’s ²³  guardians;

their princesses will nurse your children. ²⁴ 

With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you

and they will lick the dirt on ²⁵  your feet.

Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;

those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

Yesaya 60:3

60:3 Nations come to your light,

kings to your bright light.

Yesaya 60:10

60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;

their kings will serve you.

Even though I struck you down in my anger,

I will restore my favor and have compassion on you. ²⁶ 

[41:2]  ¹ sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ² tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ³ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ⁵ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ⁶ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.

[41:25]  ⁷ sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.

[41:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”

[41:25]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).

[44:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.

[44:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.

[44:28]  ¹² tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”

[44:28]  ¹³ tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).

[45:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I stir him up in righteousness”; NASB “I have aroused him.” See the note at 41:2. Cyrus (cf. 44:28) is in view here.

[46:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or, more generally, “a bird of prey” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV; see 18:6).

[46:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “spoken”; KJV “I have spoken it.”

[49:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[49:7]  ¹⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[49:7]  ¹⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “to [one who] despises life.” It is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a לבזוי, which should be vocalized as a passive participle, לִבְזוּי (livzuy, “to the one despised with respect to life” [נֶפֶשׁ is a genitive of specification]). The consonantal sequence וי was probably misread as ה in the MT tradition. The contextual argument favors the 1QIsa^a reading. As J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:294) points out, the three terse phrases “convey a picture of lowliness, worthlessness, and helplessness.”

[49:7]  ²⁰ tn MT’s Piel participle (“to the one who rejects”) does not fit contextually. The form should be revocalized as a Pual, “to the one rejected.”

[49:7]  ²¹ tn Parallelism (see “rulers,” “kings,” “princes”) suggests that the singular גּוֹי (goy) be emended to a plural or understood in a collective sense (see 55:5).

[49:7]  ²² tn For this sense of קוּם (qum), see Gen 19:1; 23:7; 33:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Sam 20:41; 25:41; 1 Kgs 2:19; Job 29:8.

[49:23]  ²³ tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).

[49:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.

[49:23]  ²⁵ tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”

[60:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”