Yesaya 37:26

37:26 ¹ Certainly you must have heard! ² 

Long ago I worked it out,

in ancient times I planned ³  it,

and now I am bringing it to pass.

The plan is this:

Fortified cities will crash

into heaps of ruins. ⁴ 

Yesaya 53:10

53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,

once restitution is made, ⁵ 

he will see descendants and enjoy long life, ⁶ 

and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

Yesaya 65:8

65:8 This is what the Lord says:

“When ⁷  juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,

someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’ ⁸ 

So I will do for the sake of my servants –

I will not destroy everyone. ⁹ 

[37:26]  ¹ tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.

[37:26]  ² tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.

[37:26]  ³ tn Heb “formed” (so KJV, ASV).

[37:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.

[53:10]  ⁵ tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular,in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”

[53:10]  sn What constitutes the servant’s reparation offering? Some might think his suffering, but the preceding context views this as past, while the verb here is imperfect in form. The offering appears to be something the servant does after his suffering has been completed. Perhaps the background of the language can be found in the Levitical code, where a healed leper would offer a reparation offering as part of the ritual to achieve ceremonial cleanliness (see Lev 14). The servant was pictured earlier in the song as being severely ill. This illness (a metaphor for the effects of the people’s sin) separated him from God. However, here we discover the separation is not final; once reparation is made, so to speak, he will again experience the Lord’s favor.

[53:10]  ⁶ sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.

[65:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “just as.” In the Hebrew text the statement is one long sentence, “Just as…, so I will do….”

[65:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “for a blessing is in it.”

[65:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “by not destroying everyone.”