42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits 1
and held captive 2 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!” 3
53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, 4
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, 5
because he willingly submitted 6 to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened 7 on behalf of the rebels.”
124:6 The Lord deserves praise, 8
for 9 he did not hand us over as prey to their teeth.
124:7 We escaped with our lives, 10 like a bird from a hunter’s snare.
The snare broke, and we escaped.
A song of ascents. 12
126:1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion, 13
we thought we were dreaming. 14
126:2 At that time we laughed loudly
and shouted for joy. 15
At that time the nations said, 16
“The Lord has accomplished great things for these people.”
126:3 The Lord did indeed accomplish great things for us.
We were happy.
1 tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).
2 tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”
3 tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”
4 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).
5 sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.
6 tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”
7 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.
8 tn Heb “blessed [be] the
9 tn Heb “[the one] who.”
10 tn Heb “our life escaped.”
11 sn Psalm 126. Recalling the joy of past deliverance, God’s covenant community asks for a fresh display of God’s power and confidently anticipate their sorrow being transformed into joy.
12 sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.
13 tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew noun שִׁיבַת (shivat) occurs only here in the OT. For this reason many prefer to emend the form to the more common שְׁבִית (shevit) or שְׁבוּת (shÿvut), both of which are used as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv; see Ps 14:7). However an Aramaic cognate of שְׁבִית appears in an eighth century
14 tn Heb “we were like dreamers.” This could mean the speakers were so overcome with ecstatic joy (see v. 3b) that they were like those who fantasize about pleasurable experiences in their sleep (see Isa 29:7-8). Since dreams are more commonly associated in the OT with prophetic visions, the community may be comparing their experience of God’s renewed favor to a prophet’s receiving divine visions. Just as a prophetic dream sweeps the individual into a different dimension and sometimes brings one face-to-face with God himself (see Gen 28:11-15; 1 Kgs 3:5-15), so the community was aware of God’s presence in a special way in the day of Zion’s restoration. Though the MT as it stands makes good sense, some choose to understand a homonymic root here meaning “to be healthy; to be strong” (see BDB 321 s.v. I חָלַם) and translate, “we were like those restored to health.” This reading appears to have the support of several ancient translations as well as 11QPsa. See L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170-71) for a discussion of the viewpoints.
15 tn Heb “then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with a shout.”
16 tn Heb “they said among the nations.”
17 tn Grk “Or how can.”
18 sn The strong man here pictures Satan.
19 sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.
20 tn The referent of the expression “a strong man” is Satan.
21 tn The word αὐλή (aulh) describes any building large and elaborate enough to have an interior courtyard, thus “dwelling, palace, mansion” (L&N 7.6).
22 tn Grk “his goods are in peace.”
23 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
24 tn The referent of the expression “a stronger man” is Jesus.
25 tn Grk “stronger man than he attacks.”
26 tn Grk “his”; the referent (the first man mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Grk “on which he relied.”
28 tn Or “and distributes.”
29 sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.