Isaiah 48:2

48:2 Indeed, they live in the holy city; ¹ 

they trust in ²  the God of Israel,

whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 51:15

51:15 I am the Lord your God,

who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.

The Lord who commands armies is his name!

Jeremiah 10:16

10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance ³  of Jacob’s descendants, ⁴  is not like them.

He is the one who created everything.

And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. ⁵ 

He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 51:19

51:19 The Lord, who is the portion of the descendants of Jacob, is not like them.

For he is the one who created everything,

including the people of Israel whom he claims as his own. ⁷ 

He is known as the Lord who rules over all. ⁸ 

Luke 1:32

1:32 He ⁹  will be great, ¹⁰  and will be called the Son of the Most High, ¹¹  and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father ¹²  David.

¹ tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qara’) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.

² tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”

³ tn The words “The Lord who is” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity. For the significance of the words that follow them see the study note that follows.

⁴ tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”

⁶ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.”

⁷ tn Heb “For he is the former of all [things] and the tribe of his inheritance.” This is the major exception to the verbatim repetition of 10:12-16 in 51:15-19. The word “Israel” appears before “the tribe of his inheritance” in 10:16. It is also found in a number of Hebrew mss, in the Lucianic recension of the LXX (the Greek version), the Aramaic Targums, and the Latin Vulgate. Most English versions and many commentaries assume it here. However, it is easier to explain why the word is added in a few of the versions and some Hebrew than to explain why it was left out. It is probable that the word is not original here because the addressees are different and the function of this hymnic piece is slightly different (see the study note on the next line for details). Here it makes good sense to understand that the Lord is being called the creator of the special tribe of people he claims as his own property (see the study note on the first line of 10:16).

⁸ sn With the major exception discussed in the translator’s note on the preceding line vv. 15-19 are a verbatim repetition of 10:12-16 with a few minor variations in spelling. There the passage was at the end of a section in which the Lord was addressing the Judeans and trying to convince them that the worship of idols was vain – the idols were impotent but he is all powerful. Here the passage follows a solemn oath by the Lord who rules over all and is apparently directed to the Babylonians, emphasizing the power of the Lord to carry out his oath.

⁹ tn Grk “this one.”

¹⁰ sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.

¹¹ sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.

¹² tn Or “ancestor.”