40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! 1
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has chosen 2 me. 3
He has commissioned 4 me to encourage 5 the poor,
to help 6 the brokenhearted,
to decree the release of captives,
and the freeing of prisoners,
61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,
the day when our God will seek vengeance, 7
to console all who mourn,
61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,
oil symbolizing joy, 8 instead of mourning,
a garment symbolizing praise, 9 instead of discouragement. 10
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 11
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 12
1:15 (2:1) 13 Look! A herald is running 14 on the mountains!
A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: 15
“Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah!
Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! 16
For never again 17 will the wicked 18 Assyrians 19 invade 20 you,
they 21 have been completely destroyed.” 22
10:14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them 26 ? 10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely 27 is the arrival 28 of those who proclaim the good news.” 29
1 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.
2 tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.
3 sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).
4 tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”
5 tn Or “proclaim good news to.”
6 tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”
7 tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.
8 tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”
9 tn Heb “garment of praise.”
10 tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”
11 tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”
12 tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”
13 sn Beginning with 1:15, the verse numbers through 2:13 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:15 ET = 2:1 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:2 HT, etc., through 2:13 ET = 2:14 HT. Beginning with 3:1, the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
14 tn Heb “the feet of a herald.”
15 tn Heb “a messenger of peace.” The Hebrew noun translated “peace” is sometimes used in reference to deliverance or freedom from enemy attack or destruction (e.g., Jer 4:10; 6:14; 8:11; 12:5; 28:9; 29:7).
16 sn The sacred vows to praise God were often made by Israelites as a pledge to proclaim the mercy of the
17 tc The LXX reflects the plural יוֹסִיפוּ (yosifu, “they shall [never]”). The MT reads the singular יוֹסִיף (yosif, “he shall [never]”) which is also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (4QpNah). The subject of the verb is the singular noun בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al, “the wicked one”) which is also misunderstood by the LXX (see below).
18 tc The MT reads בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al, “the wicked one”; so ASV, NASB). The LXX reading εἰς παλαίωσιν (ei" palaiwsin, “to old age”) mistakenly derived בְּלִיַּעַל from בָּלָה (balah, “to become worn”). There are several places in the book of Nahum where the LXX produced poor translations.
19 tn The term “Assyrians” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from context for clarity. If left unspecified, the prophetic statement could be understood to mean that the wicked [i.e., wicked conquerors in general] would never again invade Judah. Cf. NLT “your enemies from Nineveh.”
20 tn Or “pass through you” (NASB); or “march against you”; NCV “attack you.”
21 tn Heb “he.” This is in agreement with the singular “wicked one” in the previous line.
22 tn Heb “he is completely cut off.”
23 tn Grk “behold.”
24 tn Grk “I evangelize to you great joy.”
25 sn A quotation from Joel 2:32.
26 tn Grk “preaching”; the words “to them” are supplied for clarification.
27 tn The word in this context seems to mean “coming at the right or opportune time” (see BDAG 1103 s.v. ὡραῖος 1); it may also mean “beautiful, attractive, welcome.”
28 tn Grk “the feet.” The metaphorical nuance of “beautiful feet” is that such represent timely news.
29 sn A quotation from Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15.