Yesaya 41:14

41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, ¹ 

men of ²  Israel.

I am helping you,” says the Lord,

your protector, ³  the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

Yesaya 43:3

43:3 For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ⁵  your deliverer.

I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,

Ethiopia and Seba ⁶  in place of you.

Yesaya 43:14

The Lord Will Do Something New

43:14 This is what the Lord says,

your protector, ⁷  the Holy One of Israel: ⁸ 

“For your sake I send to Babylon

and make them all fugitives, ⁹ 

turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. ¹⁰ 

[41:14]  ¹ tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.

[41:14]  ² tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”

[41:14]  ³ tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.

[41:14]  ⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:3]  ⁵ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:3]  ⁶ sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.

[43:14]  ⁷ tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[43:14]  ⁸ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”

[43:14]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.