33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
You 1 will see Jerusalem, 2
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put; 3
its stakes will never be pulled up;
none of its ropes will snap in two.
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen 4 one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold 5
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings, 6
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
51:9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! 7
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!
Did you not smash 8 the Proud One? 9
Did you not 10 wound the sea monster? 11
1 tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
3 tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”
4 tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”
5 sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
6 tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
7 tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.
8 tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”
9 tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).
10 tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”
11 tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.