45:14 This is what the Lord says:
“The profit 1 of Egypt and the revenue 2 of Ethiopia,
along with the Sabeans, those tall men,
will be brought to you 3 and become yours.
They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. 4
They will bow down to you
and pray to you: 5
‘Truly God is with 6 you; he has no peer; 7
there is no other God!’”
45:18 For this is what the Lord says,
the one who created the sky –
he is the true God, 8
the one who formed the earth and made it;
he established it,
he did not create it without order, 9
he formed it to be inhabited –
“I am the Lord, I have no peer.
45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! 10
Let them consult with one another!
Who predicted this in the past?
Who announced it beforehand?
Was it not I, the Lord?
I have no peer, there is no God but me,
a God who vindicates and delivers; 11
there is none but me.
66:4 So I will choose severe punishment 12 for them;
I will bring on them what they dread,
because I called, and no one responded,
I spoke and they did not listen.
They did evil before me; 13
they chose to do what displeases me.”
1 tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”
2 tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”
3 tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”
4 sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.
5 sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.
6 tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”
7 tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.
8 tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.
9 tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.
15 tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
16 tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
22 tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”
23 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”