Yesaya 42:6

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ¹ 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ²  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ³ 

and a light ⁴  to the nations, ⁵ 

Yesaya 49:5

49:5 So now the Lord says,

the one who formed me from birth ⁶  to be his servant –

he did this ⁷  to restore Jacob to himself,

so that Israel might be gathered to him;

and I will be honored ⁸  in the Lord’s sight,

for my God is my source of strength ⁹  –

[42:6]  ¹ tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ² tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).

[42:6]  ³ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.

[42:6]  ⁴ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ⁵ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.

[49:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).

[49:5]  ⁷ tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.

[49:5]  ⁸ tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”

[49:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.