Yesaya 30:24
Konteks30:24 The oxen and donkeys used in plowing 1
will eat seasoned feed winnowed with a shovel and pitchfork. 2
Yesaya 37:35
Konteks37:35 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 3
Yesaya 41:8
Konteks41:8 “You, my servant Israel,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend, 4
Yesaya 45:4
Konteks45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
Israel, my chosen one,
I call you by name
and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize 5 me.
Yesaya 53:11
Konteks53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,
he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. 6
“My servant 7 will acquit many, 8
for he carried their sins. 9
Yesaya 65:14
Konteks65:14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts! 10
But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts; 11
you will wail because your spirits will be crushed. 12
[30:24] 1 tn Heb “the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground.”
[30:24] 2 sn Crops will be so abundant that even the work animals will eat well.
[37:35] 3 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[41:8] 4 tn Or perhaps, “covenantal partner” (see 1 Kgs 5:15 HT [5:1 ET]; 2 Chr 20:7).
[45:4] 5 tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.”
[53:11] 6 tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (bÿda’to, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.
[53:11] 7 sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.
[53:11] 8 tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsadiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them.
[53:11] sn Some (e.g., H. M. Orlinsky, “The So-called ‘Suffering Servant’ in Isaiah 53,22,” VTSup 14 [1967]: 3-133) object to this legal interpretation of the language, arguing that it would be unjust for the righteous to suffer for the wicked and for the wicked to be declared innocent. However, such a surprising development is consistent with the ironic nature of this song. It does seem unfair for the innocent to die for the guilty. But what is God to do when all have sinned and wandered off like stray sheep (cf. v. 6)? Covenant law demands punishment, but punishment in this case would mean annihilation of what God has created. God’s justice, as demanded by the law, must be satisfied. To satisfy his justice, he does something seemingly unjust. He punishes his sinless servant, the only one who has not strayed off! In the progress of biblical revelation, we discover that the sinless servant is really God in the flesh, who offers himself because he is committed to the world he has created. If his justice can only be satisfied if he himself endures the punishment, then so be it. What appears to be an act of injustice is really love satisfying the demands of justice!
[53:11] 9 tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.
[65:14] 10 tn Heb “from the good of the heart.”
