19:8 The Lord’s precepts are fair 1
and make one joyful. 2
The Lord’s commands 3 are pure 4
and give insight for life. 5
119:98 Your commandments 6 make me wiser than my enemies,
for I am always aware of them.
119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your rules.
119:100 I am more discerning than those older than I,
for I observe your precepts.
נ (Nun)
119:105 Your word 7 is a lamp to walk by,
and a light to illumine my path. 8
1:19 If you have a willing attitude and obey, 12
then you will again eat the good crops of the land.
1 tn Or “just.” Perhaps the idea is that they impart a knowledge of what is just and right.
2 tn Heb “[they] make happy [the] heart.” Perhaps the point is that they bring a sense of joyful satisfaction to the one who knows and keeps them, for those who obey God’s law are richly rewarded. See v. 11b.
3 tn Heb “command.” The singular here refers to the law as a whole.
4 tn Because they reflect God’s character, his commands provide a code of moral and ethical purity.
5 tn Heb [they] enlighten [the] eyes.
6 tn The plural form needs to be revocalized as a singular in order to agree with the preceding singular verb and the singular pronoun in the next line. The
7 tn Many medieval Hebrew
8 tn Heb “[is] a lamp for my foot and a light for my path.”
9 tn Heb “to [the] instruction and to [the] testimony.” The words “then you must recall” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20a are one long sentence, reading literally, “When they say to you…, to the instruction and to the testimony.” On the identity of the “instruction” and “testimony” see the notes at v. 16.
10 tn Heb “If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because it has no light of dawn.” The literal translation suggests that “this word” refers to the instruction/testimony. However, it is likely that אִם־לֹא (’im-lo’) is asseverative here, as in 5:9. In this case “this word” refers to the quotation recorded in v. 19. For a discussion of the problem see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 230, n. 9. The singular pronoun in the second half of the verse is collective, referring back to the nation (see v. 19b).
11 tn The form in the text is a cohortative with prefixed vav (ו), suggesting that the Lord is announcing what he will do. Some prefer to change the verb to an imperative, “and summon as witnesses,” a reading that finds support from the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa. Another option is to point the prefixed conjunction as a vav consecutive and translate, “So I summoned as witnesses.” In this case Isaiah is recalling his response to the Lord’s commission. In any case, the reference to witnesses suggests that the name and the child who bears it will function as signs.
12 tn Heb “listen”; KJV “obedient”; NASB “If you consent and obey.”