43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
45:11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, 1 the one who formed him,
concerning things to come: 2
“How dare you question me 3 about my children!
How dare you tell me what to do with 4 the work of my own hands!
54:10 Even if the mountains are removed
and the hills displaced,
my devotion will not be removed from you,
nor will my covenant of friendship 5 be displaced,”
says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.
60:7 All the sheep of Kedar will be gathered to you;
the rams of Nebaioth will be available to you as sacrifices. 6
They will go up on my altar acceptably, 7
and I will bestow honor on my majestic temple.
63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was shocked because there was no one offering support. 8
So my right arm accomplished deliverance;
my raging anger drove me on. 9
66:2 My hand made them; 10
that is how they came to be,” 11 says the Lord.
I show special favor 12 to the humble and contrite,
who respect what I have to say. 13
1 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
2 tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”
3 tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
4 tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
1 tn Heb “peace” (so many English versions); NLT “of blessing.”
1 tn Heb “will serve you,” i.e., be available as sacrifices (see the next line). Another option is to understood these “rams” as symbolic of leaders who will be subject to the people of Zion. See v. 10.
2 tc Heb “they will go up on acceptance [on] my altar.” Some have suggested that the preposition עַל (’al) is dittographic (note the preceding יַעֲלוּ [ya’alu]). Consequently, the form should be emended to לְרָצוֹן (lÿratson, “acceptably”; see BDB 953 s.v. רָצוֹן). However, the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has both לרצון followed by the preposition על, which would argue against deleted the preposition. As the above translation seeks to demonstrate, the preposition עַל (’al) indicates a norm (“in accordance with acceptance” or “acceptably”; IBHS 218 §11.2.13e, n. 111) and the “altar” functions as an objective accusative with a verb of motion (cf. Gen 49:4; Lev 2:2; Num 13:17; J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:534, n. 14).
1 sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.
2 tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”
1 tn Heb “all these.” The phrase refers to the heavens and earth, mentioned in the previous verse.
2 tn Heb “and all these were.” Some prefer to emend וַיִּהְיוּ (vayyihyu, “and they were”) to וְלִי הָיוּ (vÿli hayu, “and to me they were”), i.e., “and they belong to me.”
3 tn Heb “and to this one I look” (KJV and NASB both similar).
4 tn Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”