40:3 A voice cries out,
“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;
construct in the desert a road for our God.
40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks, 1 “What should I cry out?”
The first voice responds: 2 “All people are like grass, 3
and all their promises 4 are like the flowers in the field.
40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! 5
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; 6
shout out, you subterranean regions 7 of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees! 8
For the Lord protects 9 Jacob;
he reveals his splendor through Israel. 10
52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains 11
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 12
52:8 Listen, 13 your watchmen shout;
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes 14
the Lord’s return to Zion.
58:1 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!
Yell as loud as a trumpet!
Confront my people with their rebellious deeds; 15
confront Jacob’s family with their sin! 16
8:1 Sound the alarm! 17
An eagle 18 looms over the temple of the Lord!
For they have broken their covenant with me, 19
and have rebelled against my law.
1 tn Heb “and he says.” Apparently a second “voice” responds to the command of the first “voice.”
2 tn The words “the first voice responds” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The first voice tells the second one what to declare.
3 tn Heb “all flesh is grass.” The point of the metaphor is explained in v. 7.
4 tn Heb “and all his loyalty.” The antecedent of the third masculine suffix is בָּשָׂר (basar, “flesh”), which refers collectively to mankind. The LXX, apparently understanding the antecedent as “grass,” reads “glory,” but חֶסֶד (khesed) rarely, if ever, has this nuance. The normal meaning of חֶסֶד (“faithfulness, loyalty, devotion”) fits very well in the argument. Human beings and their faithfulness (verbal expressions of faithfulness are specifically in view; cf. NRSV “constancy”) are short-lived and unreliable, in stark contrast to the decrees and promises of the eternal God.
5 tn The second feminine singular imperatives are addressed to personified Zion/Jerusalem, who is here told to ascend a high hill and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s return to the other towns of Judah. Isa 41:27 and 52:7 speak of a herald sent to Zion, but the masculine singular form מְבַשֵּׂר (mÿvaser) is used in these verses, in contrast to the feminine singular form מְבַשֶּׂרֶת (mÿvaseret) employed in 40:9, where Zion is addressed as a herald.
6 tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”
7 tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.
8 tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”
9 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
10 tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”
11 tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”
12 tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.
13 tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.
14 tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”
15 tn Heb “declare to my people their rebellion.”
16 tn Heb “and to the house of Jacob their sin.” The verb “declare” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
17 tn Heb “A horn unto your gums!”; NAB “A trumpet to your lips!”
18 tn Or perhaps “A vulture.” Some identify the species indicated by the Hebrew term נֶשֶׁר (nesher) as the griffon vulture (cf. NEB, NRSV).
19 tn Heb “my covenant” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “the covenant I made with them.”