58:8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise; 1
your restoration will quickly arrive; 2
your godly behavior 3 will go before you,
and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard. 4
1 tn Heb “will burst out like the dawn.”
2 tn Heb “prosper”; KJV “spring forth speedily.”
3 tn Or “righteousness.” Their godly behavior will be on display for all to see.
4 sn The nation will experience God’s protective presence.
5 tn The construction uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect tense of שָׁמַע (shama’). The meaning of the verb is idiomatic here because it is followed by “to the voice of Yahweh your God.” When this is present, the verb is translated “obey.” The construction is in a causal clause. It reads, “If you will diligently obey.” Gesenius points out that the infinitive absolute in a conditional clause also emphasizes the importance of the condition on which the consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).
6 tn The word order is reversed in the text: “and the right in his eyes you do,” or, “[if] you do what is right in his eyes.” The conditional idea in the first clause is continued in this clause.
7 tn Heb “give ear.” This verb and the next are both perfect tenses with the vav (ו) consecutive; they continue the sequence of the original conditional clause.
8 tn The substantive כָּל־ (kol, “all of”) in a negative clause can be translated “none of.”
9 sn The reference is no doubt to the plagues that Yahweh has just put on them. These will not come on God’s true people. But the interesting thing about a conditional clause like this is that the opposite is also true – “if you do not obey, then I will bring these diseases.”
10 tn The form is רֹפְאֶךָ (rofÿ’ekha), a participle with a pronominal suffix. The word is the predicate after the pronoun “I”: “I [am] your healer.” The suffix is an objective genitive – the
11 tn Heb “come upon you and overtake you” (so NASB, NRSV); NIV “come upon you and accompany you.”
12 tn The words “I also call on you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20 are one long sentence, which the translation divides into two.
13 tn Heb “he is your life and the length of your days to live.”
14 tn Heb “Behold I am healing.” For the usage of the particle “behold” indicating certainty see the translator’s note on 1:6. These are the great and hidden things that the
15 sn Compare Jer 30:17. Jerusalem is again being personified and her political and spiritual well-being are again in view.
16 tn The meaning and text of this word is questioned by KBL 749 s.v. עֲתֶרֶת. However, KBL also emends both occurrences of the verb from which BDB 801 s.v. עֲתֶרֶת derives this noun. BDB is more likely correct in seeing this and the usage of the verb in Prov 27:6; Ezek 35:13 as Aramaic loan words from a root meaning to be rich (equivalent to the Hebrew עָשַׁר, ’ashar).
17 tn Heb “I will reverse [or restore] the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on Jer 29:14 and see the usage in 30:3, 18; 31:23; 32:44.
18 tn This phrase simply means “as formerly” (BDB 911 s.v. רִאשׁוֹן 3.a). The reference to the “as formerly” must be established from the context. See the usage in Judg 20:32; 1 Kgs 13:6; Isa 1:26.
19 sn Compare Jer 31:34; Ezek 36:25, 33.
20 tn Grk “anointing.”
21 tn Grk “God, and he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
22 tn For the translation of ἀπέρχομαι (apercomai; here ἀπῆλθαν [aphlqan]) L&N 13.93 has “to go out of existence – ‘to cease to exist, to pass away, to cease.’”
23 tn Grk “its”; the referent (the city, the new Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn The Greek word πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to a major (broad) street (L&N 1.103).
25 tn Grk “From here and from there.”
26 tn Or “twelve crops” (one for each month of the year).
27 tn The words “of the year” are implied.