Isaiah 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

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!’”

Isaiah 60:14

60:14 The children of your oppressors will come bowing to you;

all who treated you with disrespect will bow down at your feet.

They will call you, ‘The City of the Lord,

Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’ ⁸ 

Genesis 43:26

43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, ⁹  and they bowed down to the ground before him.

Psalms 72:9

72:9 Before him the coastlands ¹⁰  will bow down,

and his enemies will lick the dust. ¹¹ 

Revelation 3:9

3:9 Listen! ¹²  I am going to make those people from the synagogue ¹³  of Satan – who say they are Jews yet ¹⁴  are not, but are lying – Look, I will make ¹⁵  them come and bow down ¹⁶  at your feet and acknowledge ¹⁷  that I have loved you.

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 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

⁹ tn Heb “into the house.”

¹⁰ tn Or “islands.” The term here refers metonymically to those people who dwell in these regions.

¹¹ sn As they bow down before him, it will appear that his enemies are licking the dust.

¹² tn Grk “behold” (L&N 91.13).

¹³ sn See the note on synagogue in 2:9.

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast between what these people claimed and what they were.

¹⁵ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew), but in this context it has virtually the same meaning as δίδωμι (didwmi) used at the beginning of the verse. Stylistic variation like this is typical of Johannine literature.

¹⁶ tn The verb here is προσκυνήσουσιν (proskunhsousin), normally used to refer to worship.

¹⁷ tn Or “and know,” “and recognize.”