49:24 Can spoils be taken from a warrior,
or captives be rescued from a conqueror? 1
49:25 Indeed,” says the Lord,
“captives will be taken from a warrior;
spoils will be rescued from a conqueror.
I will oppose your adversary
and I will rescue your children.
49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. 2
Then all humankind 3 will recognize that
I am the Lord, your deliverer,
your protector, 4 the powerful ruler of Jacob.” 5
1 tc The Hebrew text has צָדִיק (tsadiq, “a righteous [one]”), but this makes no sense in the parallelism. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads correctly עריץ (“violent [one], tyrant”; see v. 25).
2 sn Verse 26a depicts siege warfare and bloody defeat. The besieged enemy will be so starved they will their own flesh. The bloodstained bodies lying on the blood-soaked battle site will look as if they collapsed in drunkenness.
3 tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).
4 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
5 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.” See 1:24.