45:8 O sky, rain down from above!
Let the clouds send down showers 1 of deliverance!
Let the earth absorb it 2 so salvation may grow, 3
and deliverance may sprout up 4 along with it.
I, the Lord, create it. 5
61:11 For just as the ground produces its crops
and a garden yields its produce,
so the sovereign Lord will cause deliverance 6 to grow,
and give his people reason to praise him in the sight of all the nations. 7
1 tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”
2 tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”
3 tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).
4 tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).
5 tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).
6 tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).
7 tn Heb “and praise before all the nations.”