12:2 Look, God is my deliverer! 7
I will trust in him 8 and not fear.
For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; 9
he has become my deliverer.” 10
45:15 Yes, you are a God who keeps hidden,
O God of Israel, deliverer!
45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! 11
Let them consult with one another!
Who predicted this in the past?
Who announced it beforehand?
Was it not I, the Lord?
I have no peer, there is no God but me,
a God who vindicates and delivers; 12
there is none but me.
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen 13 one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold 14
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings, 15
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
1:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem 16 that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah. 17
2:3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so 18 he can teach us his requirements, 19
and 20 we can follow his standards.” 21
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; 22
the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. 23
4:1 Seven women will grab hold of
one man at that time. 24
They will say, “We will provide 25 our own food,
we will provide 26 our own clothes;
but let us belong to you 27 –
take away our shame!” 28
1 tn Or “showing that genuine faith is productive.” At issue between these two translations is the force of ἀγαθήν (agaqhn): Is it attributive (as the text has it) or predicate (as in this note)? A number of considerations point in the direction of a predicate ἀγαθήν (e.g., separation from the noun πίστιν (pistin) by the verb, the possibility that the construction is an object-complement, etc.), though is not usually seen as an option in either translations or commentaries. Cf. ExSyn 188-89, 312-13, for a discussion. Contextually, it makes an intriguing statement, for it suggests a synthetic or synonymous parallel: “‘Slaves should be wholly subject to their masters…demonstrating that all [genuine] faith is productive, with the result [ecbatic ἵνα] that they will completely adorn the doctrine of God.’ The point of the text, then, if this understanding is correct, is an exhortation to slaves to demonstrate that their faith is sincere and results in holy behavior. If taken this way, the text seems to support the idea that saving faith does not fail, but even results in good works” (ExSyn 312-13). The translation of ἀγαθήν as an attributive adjective, however, also makes good sense.
2 tn Or “adorn,” “show the beauty of.”
3 tn Grk “the blessed hope and glorious appearing.”
4 tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, qeos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, swthr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on Sharp’s rule see ExSyn 270-78, esp. 276. See also 2 Pet 1:1 and Jude 4.
5 tn Verses 4-7 are set as poetry in NA26/NA27. These verses probably constitute the referent of the expression “this saying” in v. 8.
6 tn Or “on us richly.”
7 tn Or “salvation” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).
8 tn The words “in him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
9 tc The Hebrew text has, “for my strength and protection [is] the Lord, the Lord (Heb “Yah, Yahweh).” The word יְהוָה (yehvah) is probably dittographic or explanatory here (note that the short form of the name [יָהּ, yah] precedes, and that the graphically similar וַיְהִי [vayÿhi] follows). Exod 15:2, the passage from which the words of v. 2b are taken, has only יָהּ. The word זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song,” in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing); note that in v. 5 the verb זָמַר (zamar, “sing”) appears. Many recent commentators, however, have argued that the noun is here instead a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v. III *זמר.
10 tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “my savior.”
11 tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.
12 tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”
13 tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”
14 sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
15 tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
16 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
17 tn Heb “The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”
18 tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).
19 tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.
20 tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.
21 tn Heb “walk in his ways.”
22 tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”
23 tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
24 tn Or “in that day” (ASV).
25 tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”
26 tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”
27 tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.
28 sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.