40:26 Look up at the sky! 2
Who created all these heavenly lights? 3
He is the one who leads out their ranks; 4
he calls them all by name.
Because of his absolute power and awesome strength,
not one of them is missing.
41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who announced it 5 ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?
Indeed, none of them decreed it!
Indeed, none of them announced it!
Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits 6
and held captive 7 in prisons.
They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;
they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!” 8
57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules 9 forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated, 10
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged. 11
1 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
2 tn Heb “Lift on high your eyes and see.”
3 tn The words “heavenly lights” are supplied in the translation for clarification. See the following lines.
4 tn Heb “the one who brings out by number their host.” The stars are here likened to a huge army that the Lord leads out. Perhaps the next line pictures God calling roll. If so, the final line may be indicating that none of them dares “go AWOL.” (“AWOL” is a military acronym for “absent without leave.”)
3 tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
4 tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).
5 tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”
6 tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”
5 tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.
6 tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.
7 tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”