Isaiah 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ¹ 

like a root out of parched soil; ² 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ³ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ⁴ 

Zechariah 6:12

6:12 Then say to him, ‘The Lord who rules over all says, “Look – here is the man whose name is Branch, ⁵  who will sprout up from his place and build the temple of the Lord.

Revelation 5:5

5:5 Then ⁶  one of the elders said ⁷  to me, “Stop weeping! ⁸  Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; ⁹  thus he can open ¹⁰  the scroll and its seven seals.”

Revelation 22:16

22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star!” ¹¹ 

¹ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

² sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

³ tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

⁴ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

⁵ tn The epithet “Branch” (צֶמַח, tsemakh) derives from the verb used here (יִצְמָח, yitsmakh, “will sprout up”) to describe the rise of the Messiah, already referred to in this manner in Zech 3:8 (cf. Isa 11:1; 53:2; Jer 33:15). In the immediate context this refers to Zerubbabel, but the ultimate referent is Jesus (cf. John 19:5).

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

⁷ tn Grk “says” (a historical present).

⁸ tn The present imperative with μή (mh) is used here to command cessation of an action in progress (ExSyn 724 lists this verse as an example).

⁹ tn Or “has been victorious”; traditionally, “has overcome.”

¹⁰ tn The infinitive has been translated as an infinitive of result here.

¹¹ tn On this expression BDAG 892 s.v. πρωϊνός states, “early, belonging to the morning ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ πρ. the morning star, Venus Rv 2:28; 22:16.”