53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made, 1
he will see descendants and enjoy long life, 2
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
23:5 “I, the Lord, promise 13 that a new time will certainly come 14
when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, 15 a descendant of David.
He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding 16
and will do what is just and right in the land. 17
1 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.”
2 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.
3 tn Or “Only be.”
4 tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”
5 tn Heb “commanded you.”
6 tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.
7 tn Heb “in all which you go.”
8 tn Heb “mouth.”
9 tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).
10 tn Heb “be careful to do.”
11 tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”
12 tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.
13 tn Heb “Oracle of the
14 tn Heb “Behold the days are coming.”
15 tn Heb “a righteous sprig to David” or “a righteous shoot” (NAB).
16 tn Heb “he will reign as king and act wisely.” This is another example of the use of two verbs joined by “and” where one becomes the adverbial modifier of the other (hendiadys). For the nuance of the verb “act wisely” rather than “prosper” see Amos 5:13; Ps 2:10 (cf. BDB 968 s.v. שָׂכַל Hiph.5).
17 sn This has been the constant emphasis in this section. See 22:3 for the demand, 22:15 for its fulfillment, and 22:13 for its abuse. The ideal king would follow in the footsteps of his illustrious ancestor David (2 Sam 8:15) who set this forth as an ideal for his dynasty (2 Sam 23:3) and prayed for it to be true of his son Solomon (Ps 72:1-2).