Yesaya 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ¹  of Egypt and the revenue ²  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ³  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ⁴ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ⁵ 

‘Truly God is with ⁶  you; he has no peer; ⁷ 

there is no other God!’”

Yesaya 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ⁸ 

Is my hand too weak ⁹  to deliver ¹⁰  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹¹  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ¹² 

[45:14]  ¹ tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ² tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ³ tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ⁴ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ⁵ sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.

[50:2]  ⁸ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ¹² tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”