Zakharia 9:11

9:11 Moreover, as for you, because of our covenant relationship secured with blood, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.

Yesaya 44:22

44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,

the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. ¹ 

Come back to me, for I protect ²  you.”

Yesaya 51:11

51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;

they will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ³ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ⁴  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ⁵ 

Yesaya 52:1-3

52:1 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!

Put on your beautiful clothes,

O Jerusalem, ⁶  holy city!

For uncircumcised and unclean pagans

will no longer invade you.

52:2 Shake off the dirt! ⁷ 

Get up, captive ⁸  Jerusalem!

Take off the iron chains around your neck,

O captive daughter Zion!

52:3 For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing,

and you will not be redeemed for money.”

Yeremia 31:10-11

31:10 Hear what the Lord has to say, O nations.

Proclaim it in the faraway lands along the sea.

Say, “The one who scattered Israel will regather them.

He will watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his flock.”

31:11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.

He will secure their release ⁹  from those who had overpowered them. ¹⁰ 

Yeremia 31:1

31:1 At that time I will be the God of all the clans of Israel ¹¹ 

and they will be my people.

I, the Lord, affirm it!” ¹² 

Titus 2:4-6

2:4 In this way ¹³  they will train ¹⁴  the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, 2:5 to be self-controlled, ¹⁵  pure, fulfilling their duties at home, ¹⁶  kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the message ¹⁷  of God may not be discredited. ¹⁸  2:6 Encourage younger men likewise to be self-controlled, ¹⁹ 

[44:22]  ¹ tn Heb “I blot out like a cloud your rebellious deeds, and like a cloud your sins.” “Rebellious deeds” and “sins” stand by metonymy for the guilt they produce. Both עָב (’av) and עָנָן (’anan) refer to the clouds in the sky. It is tempting for stylistic purposes to translate the second with “fog” or “mist” (cf. NAB, NRSV “cloud…mist”; NIV “cloud…morning mist”; NLT “morning mists…clouds”), but this distinction between the synonyms is unwarranted here. The point of the simile seems to be this: The Lord forgives their sins, causing them to vanish just as clouds disappear from the sky (see Job 7:9; 30:15).

[44:22]  ² tn Heb “redeem.” See the note at 41:14.

[51:11]  ³ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[51:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”

[51:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”

[52:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[52:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “Shake yourself free from the dirt.”

[52:2]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text has שְּׂבִי (shÿvi), which some understand as a feminine singular imperative from יָשַׁב (yashav, “sit”). The LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, and the Targum support the MT reading (the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does indirectly). Some interpret this to mean “take your throne”: The Lord exhorts Jerusalem to get up from the dirt and sit, probably with the idea of sitting in a place of honor (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:361). However, the form is likely a corruption of שְׁבִיָּה (shÿviyyah, “captive”), which appears in the parallel line.

[31:11]  ⁹ sn Two rather theologically significant metaphors are used in this verse. The Hebrew word translated “will set…free” is a word used in the legal sphere for paying a redemption price to secure the freedom of a person or thing (see, e.g., Exod 13:13, 15). It is used metaphorically and theologically to refer to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deut 15:15; Mic 6:4) and its deliverance from Babylonian exile (Isa 35:10). The word translated “secure their release” is a word used in the sphere of family responsibility where a person paid the price to free an indentured relative (Lev 25:48, 49) or paid the price to restore a relative’s property seized to pay a debt (Lev 25:25, 33). This word, too, was used to refer metaphorically and theologically to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Exod 6:6) or release from Babylonian exile (Isa 43:1-4; 44:22). These words are traditionally translated “ransom” and “redeem” and are a part of traditional Jewish and Christian vocabulary for physical and spiritual deliverance.

[31:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the hand/power of the one too strong for him.”

[31:1]  ¹¹ sn This verse repeats v. 22 but with specific reference to all the clans of Israel, i.e., to all Israel and Judah. It functions here as a transition to the next section which will deal with the restoration of Israel (31:3-20) and Judah (31:21-25) and their reunification in the land (31:27-29) under a new covenant relation with God (31:31-37). See also the study note on 30:3 for further reference to this reunification in Jeremiah and the other prophets.

[31:1]  ¹² tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[2:4]  ¹³ tn Grk “that they may train” (continuing the sentence of 2:3).

[2:4]  ¹⁴ tn This verb, σωφρονίζω (swfronizw), denotes teaching in the sense of bringing people to their senses, showing what sound thinking is.

[2:5]  ¹⁵ tn Or “sensible.”

[2:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “domestic,” “keeping house.”

[2:5]  ¹⁷ tn Or “word.”

[2:5]  ¹⁸ tn Or “slandered.”

[2:6]  ¹⁹ tn Or “sensible.”