5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire 1 devours straw,
and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,
so their root will rot,
and their flower will blow away like dust. 2
For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,
they have spurned the commands 3 of the Holy One of Israel. 4
9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased 5 with their young men,
he took no pity 6 on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless 7 and did wicked things, 8
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. 9
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 10
18:2 that sends messengers by sea,
who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.
Go, you swift messengers,
to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, 11
to a people that are feared far and wide, 12
to a nation strong and victorious, 13
whose land rivers divide. 14
18:7 At that time
tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies,
by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,
a people that are feared far and wide,
a nation strong and victorious,
whose land rivers divide. 15
The tribute 16 will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. 17
27:11 When its branches get brittle, 18 they break;
women come and use them for kindling. 19
For these people lack understanding, 20
therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;
the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! 21
Let them consult with one another!
Who predicted this in the past?
Who announced it beforehand?
Was it not I, the Lord?
I have no peer, there is no God but me,
a God who vindicates and delivers; 22
there is none but me.
49:7 This is what the Lord,
the protector 23 of Israel, their Holy One, 24 says
to the one who is despised 25 and rejected 26 by nations, 27
a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and rise in respect, 28
princes will bow down,
because of the faithful Lord,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”
49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine. 29
Then all humankind 30 will recognize that
I am the Lord, your deliverer,
your protector, 31 the powerful ruler of Jacob.” 32
53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made, 33
he will see descendants and enjoy long life, 34
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, 35
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, 36
because he willingly submitted 37 to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened 38 on behalf of the rebels.”
1 tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.
2 sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.
3 tn Heb “the word.”
4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
5 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has לא יחמול (“he did not spare”) which is an obvious attempt to tighten the parallelism (note “he took no pity” in the next line). Instead of taking שָׂמַח (samakh) in one of its well attested senses (“rejoice over, be pleased with”), some propose, with support from Arabic, a rare homonymic root meaning “be merciful.”
6 tn The translation understands the prefixed verbs יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) and יְרַחֵם (yÿrakhem) as preterites without vav (ו) consecutive. (See v. 11 and the note on “he stirred up.”)
7 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”
8 tn מֵרַע (mera’) is a Hiphil participle from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil”). The intransitive Hiphil has an exhibitive force here, indicating that they exhibited outwardly the evidence of an inward condition by committing evil deeds.
9 tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.
10 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
9 tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
10 tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”
11 tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.
12 tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”
13 tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.
14 tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”
17 tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
18 tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.
19 tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”
21 tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
22 tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
25 tn Heb “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
26 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
27 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “to [one who] despises life.” It is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa לבזוי, which should be vocalized as a passive participle, לִבְזוּי (livzuy, “to the one despised with respect to life” [נֶפֶשׁ is a genitive of specification]). The consonantal sequence וי was probably misread as ה in the MT tradition. The contextual argument favors the 1QIsaa reading. As J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:294) points out, the three terse phrases “convey a picture of lowliness, worthlessness, and helplessness.”
28 tn MT’s Piel participle (“to the one who rejects”) does not fit contextually. The form should be revocalized as a Pual, “to the one rejected.”
29 tn Parallelism (see “rulers,” “kings,” “princes”) suggests that the singular גּוֹי (goy) be emended to a plural or understood in a collective sense (see 55:5).
30 tn For this sense of קוּם (qum), see Gen 19:1; 23:7; 33:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Sam 20:41; 25:41; 1 Kgs 2:19; Job 29:8.
29 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.
30 tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).
31 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
32 tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.” See 1:24.
33 tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular,in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”
34 sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.
37 tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).
38 sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.
39 tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”
40 tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.