Yesaya 41:2-6
Konteks41:2 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
41:3 He pursues them and passes by unharmed; 7
he advances with great speed. 8
41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? 9
Who 10 summons the successive generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,
and at the very end – I am the one. 11
41:5 The coastlands 12 see and are afraid;
the whole earth 13 trembles;
they approach and come.
41:6 They help one another; 14
one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’
Yesaya 41:21-29
Konteks41:21 “Present your argument,” says the Lord.
“Produce your evidence,” 15 says Jacob’s king. 16
41:22 “Let them produce evidence! Let them tell us what will happen!
Tell us about your earlier predictive oracles, 17
so we may examine them 18 and see how they were fulfilled. 19
Or decree for us some future events!
41:23 Predict how future events will turn out, 20
so we might know you are gods.
Yes, do something good or bad,
so we might be frightened and in awe. 21
41:24 Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent;
the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting. 22
41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north 23 and he advances,
one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. 24
He steps on 25 rulers as if they were clay,
like a potter treading the clay.
41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who announced it 26 ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?
Indeed, none of them decreed it!
Indeed, none of them announced it!
Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
41:27 I first decreed to Zion, ‘Look, here’s what will happen!’ 27
I sent a herald to Jerusalem. 28
41:28 I look, but there is no one,
among them there is no one who serves as an adviser,
that I might ask questions and receive answers.
41:29 Look, all of them are nothing, 29
their accomplishments are nonexistent;
their metal images lack any real substance. 30
Yesaya 48:14-16
Konteks48:14 All of you, gather together and listen!
Who among them 31 announced these things?
The Lord’s ally 32 will carry out his desire against Babylon;
he will exert his power against the Babylonians. 33
48:15 I, I have spoken –
yes, I have summoned him;
I lead him and he will succeed. 34
48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens, 35 I am there.”
So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. 36
[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 1QIsaa 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.
[41:3] 7 tn Heb “[in] peace”; KJV, ASV “safely”; NASB “in safety”; NIV “unscathed.”
[41:3] 8 tn Heb “a way with his feet he does not come [or “enter”].” One could translate, “by a way he was not [previously] entering with his feet.” This would mean that he is advancing into new territory and expanding his conquests. The present translation assumes this is a hyperbolic description to his speedy advance. He moves so quickly he does not enter the way with his feet, i.e., his feet don’t even touch the ground. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 94.
[41:4] 9 tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”
[41:4] 10 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[41:4] 11 tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”
[41:5] 12 tn Or “islands” (NIV, CEV); NCV “faraway places”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”
[41:5] 13 tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.
[41:6] 14 tn Heb “each his neighbor helps”; NCV “The workers help each other.”
[41:21] 15 tn Heb “strong [words],” see HALOT 870 s.v. *עֲצֻמוֹת.
[41:21] 16 sn Apparently this challenge is addressed to the pagan idol gods, see vv. 23-24.
[41:22] 17 tn Heb “As for the former things, tell us what they are!”
[41:22] 18 tn Heb “so we might set [them to] our heart.”
[41:22] 19 tn Heb “and might know their outcome.”
[41:23] 20 tn Heb “Declare the coming things, with respect to the end.”
[41:23] 21 tc The translation assumes the Qere (וְנִרְאֶה [vÿnir’eh], from יָרֵא [yare’], “be afraid”).
[41:23] tn Heb “so we might be frightened and afraid together.” On the meaning of the verb שָׁתָע (shata’), see the note at v. 10.
[41:24] 22 tn Heb “an object of disgust [is he who] chooses you.”
[41:25] 23 sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.
[41:25] 24 tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”
[41:25] 25 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”).
[41:26] 26 tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
[41:27] 27 tn The Hebrew text reads simply, “First to Zion, ‘Look here they are!’” The words “I decreed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[41:27] 28 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[41:29] 29 tc The Hebrew text has אָוֶן (’aven, “deception,” i.e., “false”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has אין (“nothing”), which forms a better parallel with אֶפֶס (’efes, “nothing”) in the next line. See also 40:17 and 41:12.
[41:29] 30 tn Heb “their statues are wind and nothing”; NASB “wind and emptiness”; NIV “wind and confusion.”
[48:14] 31 sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).
[48:14] 32 tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.”
[48:14] sn The
[48:14] 33 tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”
[48:15] 34 tn Heb “and his way will be prosperous.”
[48:16] 35 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
[48:16] 36 sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.
