41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! 1
I strengthen you –
yes, I help you –
yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! 2
41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? 3
Who 4 officially commissions him for service? 5
He hands nations over to him, 6
and enables him to subdue 7 kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like windblown straw with his bow. 8
59:16 He sees there is no advocate; 9
he is shocked 10 that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands; 11
his desire for justice drives him on. 12
25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. 13
The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,
and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.
Indeed, the Lord has announced it! 14
63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support. 15
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on. 16
45:25 All the descendants of Israel will be vindicated by the Lord
and will boast in him. 17
18:2 that sends messengers by sea,
who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, 18
to a people that are feared far and wide, 19
to a nation strong and victorious, 20
whose land rivers divide. 21
18:7 At that time
tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies,
by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,
a people that are feared far and wide,
a nation strong and victorious,
whose land rivers divide. 22
The tribute 23 will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. 24
41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north 25 and he advances,
one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. 26
He steps on 27 rulers as if they were clay,
like a potter treading the clay.
26:1 At that time 28 this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city!
The Lord’s 29 deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. 30
40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; 31
his military power establishes his rule. 32
Look, his reward is with him;
his prize goes before him. 33
45:24 they will say about me,
“Yes, the Lord is a powerful deliverer.”’” 34
All who are angry at him will cower before him. 35
26:18 We were pregnant, we strained,
we gave birth, as it were, to wind. 36
We cannot produce deliverance on the earth;
people to populate the world are not born. 37
30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. 38
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 39
60:11 Your gates will remain open at all times;
they will not be shut during the day or at night,
so that the wealth of nations may be delivered,
with their kings leading the way. 40
29:8 It will be like a hungry man dreaming that he is eating,
only to awaken and find that his stomach is empty. 41
It will be like a thirsty man dreaming that he is drinking,
only to awaken and find that he is still weak and his thirst unquenched. 42
So it will be for the horde from all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.
53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, 43
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, 44
because he willingly submitted 45 to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened 46 on behalf of the rebels.”
1 tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).
2 tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).
3 sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).
4 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.
5 tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”
6 tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”
7 tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).
8 sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.
5 tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”
6 tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”
7 tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”
8 tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”
7 sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.
8 tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
9 sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.
10 tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”
11 tn Heb “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel will be vindicated and boast.”
13 tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
14 tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”
15 tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
16 tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”
15 tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.
16 tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”
17 sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.
18 tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”
19 tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).
19 tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).
20 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”
21 tn Heb “comes as a strong one”; ASV “will come as a mighty one.” The preposition בְּ (bet) here carries the nuance “in the capacity of.” It indicates that the Lord possesses the quality expressed by the noun. See GKC 379 §119.i and HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ.
22 tn Heb “his arm rules for him” (so NIV, NRSV). The Lord’s “arm” symbolizes his military power (see Isa 51:9-10; 63:5).
23 tn As the Lord returns to Jerusalem as a victorious warrior, he brings with him the spoils of victory, called here his “reward” and “prize.” These terms might also be translated “wages” and “recompense.” Verse 11 indicates that his rescued people, likened to a flock of sheep, are his reward.
23 tn Heb “‘Yes, in the Lord,’ one says about me, ‘is deliverance and strength.’”
24 tn Heb “will come to him and be ashamed.”
25 tn On the use of כְּמוֹ (kÿmo, “like, as”) here, see BDB 455 s.v. Israel’s distress and suffering, likened here to the pains of childbirth, seemed to be for no purpose. A woman in labor endures pain with the hope that a child will be born; in Israel’s case no such positive outcome was apparent. The nation was like a woman who strains to bring forth a child, but can’t push the baby through to daylight. All her effort produces nothing.
26 tn Heb “and the inhabitants of the world do not fall.” The term נָפַל (nafal) apparently means here, “be born,” though the Qal form of the verb is not used with this nuance anywhere else in the OT. (The Hiphil appears to be used in the sense of “give birth” in v. 19, however.) The implication of verse 18b seems to be that Israel hoped its suffering would somehow end in deliverance and an increase in population. The phrase “inhabitants of the world” seems to refer to the human race in general, but the next verse, which focuses on Israel’s dead, suggests the referent may be more limited.
27 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
28 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
29 tn Or “led in procession.” The participle is passive.
31 tn Or “that he [or “his appetite”] is unsatisfied.”
32 tn Or “that he is faint and that he [or “his appetite”] longs [for water].”
33 tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).
34 sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.
35 tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”
36 tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.