Isaiah 49:8

49:8 This is what the Lord says:

“At the time I decide to show my favor, I will respond to you;

in the day of deliverance I will help you;

I will protect you ¹  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ² 

to rebuild ³  the land ⁴ 

and to reassign the desolate property.

Colossians 2:7

2:7 rooted ⁵  and built up in him and firm ⁶  in your ⁷  faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Hebrews 1:3

1:3 The Son is ⁸  the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, ⁹  and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).

² tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (’am, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.

³ tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”

⁴ tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.

⁵ tn Or “having been rooted.”

⁶ sn The three participles rooted, built up, and firm belong together and reflect three different metaphors. The first participle “rooted” (perfect tense) indicates a settled condition on the part of the Colossian believers and refers to horticulture. The second participle “built up” (present passive) comes from the world of architecture. The third participle “firm [established]” (present passive) comes from the law courts. With these three metaphors (as well as the following comment on thankfulness) Paul explains what he means when he commands them to continue to live their lives in Christ. The use of the passive probably reflects God’s activity among them. It was he who had rooted them, had been building them up, and had established them in the faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-15 for the use of mixed metaphors).

⁷ tn The Greek text has the article τῇ (th), not the possessive pronoun ὑμῶν (Jumwn), but the article often functions as a possessive pronoun and was translated as such here (ExSyn 215).

⁸ tn Grk “who being…and sustaining.” Heb 1:1-4 form one skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments to correspond to contemporary English usage, which does not allow for sentences of this length and complexity.

⁹ tn Grk “by the word of his power.”

¹⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1, quoted often in Hebrews.