Isaiah 51:18-20

51:18 There was no one to lead her

among all the children she bore;

there was no one to take her by the hand

among all the children she raised.

51:19 These double disasters confronted you.

But who feels sorry for you?

Destruction and devastation,

famine and sword.

But who consoles you? ¹ 

51:20 Your children faint;

they lie at the head of every street

like an antelope in a snare.

They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,

by the battle cry of your God. ² 

Isaiah 62:5

62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons ³  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

Ezra 1:5

The Exiles Prepare to Return to Jerusalem

1:5 Then the leaders ⁴  of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and the Levites – all those whose mind God had stirred – got ready ⁵  to go up in order to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Nehemiah 2:4-9

2:4 The king responded, ⁷  “What is it you are seeking?” Then I quickly prayed to the God of heaven 2:5 and said to the king, “If the king is so inclined ⁸  and if your servant has found favor in your sight, dispatch me to Judah, to the city with the graves of my ancestors, so that I can rebuild it.” 2:6 Then the king, with his consort ⁹  sitting beside him, replied, “How long would your trip take, and when would you return?” Since the king was amenable to dispatching me, ¹⁰  I gave him a time. 2:7 I said to the king, “If the king is so inclined, let him give me letters for the governors of Trans-Euphrates ¹¹  that will enable me to travel safely until I reach Judah, 2:8 and a letter for Asaph the keeper of the king’s nature preserve, ¹²  so that he will give me timber for beams for the gates of the fortress adjacent to the temple and for the city wall ¹³  and for the house to which I go.” So the king granted me these requests, ¹⁴  for the good hand of my God was on me. 2:9 Then I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, and I presented to them the letters from the king. The king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

Nehemiah 2:17

2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.”

Ezekiel 28:24

28:24 “‘No longer will Israel suffer from the sharp briers ¹⁵  or painful thorns of all who surround and scorn them. ¹⁶  Then they will know that I am the sovereign Lord.

¹ tc The Hebrew text has אֲנַחֲמֵךְ (’anakhamekh), a first person form, but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly יִנַחֲמֵךְ (yinakhamekh), a third person form.

² tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”

³ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).

⁴ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

⁵ tn Heb “arose.”

⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷ tn Heb “said to me.”

⁸ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good.” So also in v. 7.

⁹ tn Or “queen,” so most English versions (cf. HALOT 1415 s.v. שֵׁגַל); TEV “empress.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “It was good before the king and he sent me.”

¹¹ tn Heb “across the river,” here and often elsewhere in the Book of Nehemiah.

¹² tn Or “forest.” So HALOT 963 s.v. פַּרְדֵּס 2.

¹³ tc One medieval Hebrew MS, the Syriac Peshitta, Vulgate, and the Arabic read here the plural וּלְחוֹמוֹת (ulÿkhomot, “walls”) against the singular וּלְחוֹמַת (ulÿkhomat) in the MT. The plural holem vav (וֹ) might have dropped out due to dittography or the plural form might have been written defectively.

¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text does not include the expression “these requests,” but it is implied.

¹⁵ sn Similar language is used in reference to Israel’s adversaries in Num 33:55; Josh 23:13.

¹⁶ tn Heb “and there will not be for the house of Israel a brier that pricks and a thorn that inflicts pain from all the ones who surround them, the ones who scorn them.”