45:7 You love 1 justice and hate evil. 2
For this reason God, your God 3 has anointed you 4
with the oil of joy, 5 elevating you above your companions. 6
11:2 The Lord’s spirit will rest on him 7 –
a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, 8
a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, 9
a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. 10
11:3 He will take delight in obeying the Lord. 11
He will not judge by mere appearances, 12
or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 13
11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, 14
and make right decisions 15 for the downtrodden of the earth. 16
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, 17
and order the wicked to be executed. 18
11:5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist,
integrity will be like a belt around his hips. 19
42:1 20 “Here is my servant whom I support,
my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.
I have placed my spirit on him;
he will make just decrees 21 for the nations. 22
42:2 He will not cry out or shout;
he will not publicize himself in the streets. 23
42:3 A crushed reed he will not break,
a dim wick he will not extinguish; 24
he will faithfully make just decrees. 25
42:4 He will not grow dim or be crushed 26
before establishing justice on the earth;
the coastlands 27 will wait in anticipation for his decrees.” 28
50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, 29
so that I know how to help the weary. 30
He wakes me up every morning;
he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. 31
59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to 32 them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” 33 says the Lord.
1 sn To love justice means to actively promote it.
2 sn To hate evil means to actively oppose it.
3 tn For other examples of the repetition of Elohim, “God,” see Pss 43:4; 48:8, 14; 50:7; 51:14; 67:7. Because the name Yahweh (“
4 sn Anointed you. When read in the light of the preceding context, the anointing is most naturally taken as referring to the king’s coronation. However, the following context (vv. 8-9) focuses on the wedding ceremony, so some prefer to see this anointing as part of the king’s preparations for the wedding celebration. Perhaps the reference to his anointing at his coronation facilitates the transition to the description of the wedding, for the king was also anointed on this occasion.
5 sn The phrase oil of joy alludes to the fact that the coronation of the king, which was ritually accomplished by anointing his head with olive oil, was a time of great celebration and renewed hope. (If one understands the anointing in conjunction with the wedding ceremony, the “joy” would be that associated with the marriage.) The phrase “oil of joy” also appears in Isa 61:3, where mourners are granted “oil of joy” in conjunction with their deliverance from oppression.
6 tn Heb “from your companions.” The “companions” are most naturally understood as others in the royal family or, more generally, as the king’s countrymen.
7 sn Like David (1 Sam 16:13), this king will be energized by the Lord’s spirit.
8 tn Heb “a spirit of wisdom and understanding.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of wisdom he will possess. His wisdom will enable him to make just legal decisions (v. 3). A very similar phrase occurs in Eph 1:17.
9 tn Heb “a spirit of counsel [or “strategy”] and strength.” The construction is a hendiadys; the point is that he will have the strength/ability to execute the plans/strategies he devises. This ability will enable him to suppress oppressors and implement just policies (v. 4).
10 tn Heb “a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.” “Knowledge” is used here in its covenantal sense and refers to a recognition of God’s authority and a willingness to submit to it. See Jer 22:16. “Fear” here refers to a healthy respect for God’s authority which produces obedience. Taken together the two terms emphasize the single quality of loyalty to the Lord. This loyalty guarantees that he will make just legal decisions and implement just policies (vv. 4-5).
11 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and his smelling is in the fear of the Lord.” In Amos 5:21 the Hiphil of רוּחַ (ruakh, “smell”) carries the nuance of “smell with delight, get pleasure from.” There the Lord declares that he does not “smell with delight” (i.e., get pleasure from) Israel’s religious assemblies, which probably stand by metonymy for the incense offered during these festivals. In Isa 11:3 there is no sacrificial context to suggest such a use, but it is possible that “the fear of the Lord” is likened to incense. This coming king will get the same kind of delight from obeying (fearing) the Lord, as a deity does in the incense offered by worshipers. Some regard such an explanation as strained in this context, and prefer to omit this line from the text as a virtual dittograph of the preceding statement.
12 tn Heb “by what appears to his eyes”; KJV “after the sight of his eyes”; NIV “by what he sees with his eyes.”
13 tn Heb “by what is heard by his ears”; NRSV “by what his ears hear.”
14 tn Heb “with justice” (so NAB) or “with righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
15 tn Heb “make decisions with rectitude”; cf. ASV, NRSV “and decide with equity.”
16 tn Or “land” (NAB, NCV, CEV). It is uncertain if the passage is picturing universal dominion or focusing on the king’s rule over his covenant people. The reference to God’s “holy mountain” in v. 9 and the description of renewed Israelite conquests in v. 14 suggest the latter, though v. 10 seems to refer to a universal kingdom (see 2:2-4).
17 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and he will strike the earth with the scepter of his mouth.” Some have suggested that in this context אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) as an object of judgment seems too broad in scope. The parallelism is tighter if one emends the word to ץ(י)עָרִ (’arits, “potentate, tyrant”). The phrase “scepter of his mouth” refers to the royal (note “scepter”) decrees that he proclaims with his mouth. Because these decrees will have authority and power (see v. 2) behind them, they can be described as “striking” the tyrants down. Nevertheless, the MT reading may not need emending. Isaiah refers to the entire “earth” as the object of God’s judgment in several places without specifying the wicked as the object of the judgment (Isa 24:17-21; 26:9, 21; 28:22; cf. 13:11).
18 tn Heb “and by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.” The “breath of his lips” refers to his speech, specifically in this context his official decrees that the wicked oppressors be eliminated from his realm. See the preceding note.
19 tn Heb “Justice will be the belt [or “undergarment”] on his waist, integrity the belt [or “undergarment”] on his hips.” The point of the metaphor is uncertain. If a belt worn outside the robe is in view, then the point might be that justice/integrity will be readily visible or that these qualities will give support to his rule. If an undergarment is in view, then the idea might be that these characteristics support his rule or that they are basic to everything else.
20 sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.
21 tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).
22 sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.
23 tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”
24 sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.
25 tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
26 tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.
27 tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”
28 tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).
29 tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”
30 tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.
31 tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”
32 tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”
33 tn Heb “from now and on into the future.”