Isaiah 10:6

10:6 I sent him ¹  against a godless ²  nation,

I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, ³ 

to take plunder and to carry away loot,

to trample them down ⁴  like dirt in the streets.

Isaiah 50:4

The Servant Perseveres

50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ⁵ 

so that I know how to help the weary. ⁶ 

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ⁷ 

Isaiah 53:8

53:8 He was led away after an unjust trial ⁸  –

but who even cared? ⁹ 

Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; ¹⁰ 

because of the rebellion of his own ¹¹  people he was wounded.

Isaiah 56:6

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ¹²  the Lord and serve him,

who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –

all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

and who are faithful to ¹³  my covenant –

[10:6]  ¹ sn Throughout this section singular forms are used to refer to Assyria; perhaps the king of Assyria is in view (see v. 12).

[10:6]  ² tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “impious”; NCV “separated from God.”

[10:6]  ³ tn Heb “and against the people of my anger I ordered him.”

[10:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “to make it [i.e., the people] a trampled place.”

[50:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”

[50:4]  ⁶ 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 1QIsa^a and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.

[50:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”

[53:8]  ⁹ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The present translation assumes that מִן (min) here has an instrumental sense (“by, through”) and understands עֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט (’otser umimmishpat, “coercion and legal decision”) as a hendiadys meaning “coercive legal decision,” thus “an unjust trial.” Other interpretive options include: (1) “without [for this sense of מִן, see BDB 578 s.v. 1.b] hindrance and proper judicial process,” i.e., “unfairly and with no one to defend him,” (2) “from [in the sense of “after,” see BDB 581 s.v. 4.b] arrest and judgment.”

[53:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and his generation, who considers?” (NASB similar). Some understand “his generation” as a reference to descendants. In this case the question would suggest that he will have none. However, אֶת (’et) may be taken here as specifying a new subject (see BDB 85 s.v. I אֵת 3). If “his generation” refers to the servant’s contemporary generation, one may then translate, “As for his contemporary generation, who took note?” The point would be that few were concerned about the harsh treatment he received.

[53:8]  ¹¹ sn The “land of the living” is an idiom for the sphere where people live, in contrast to the underworld realm of the dead. See, for example, Ezek 32:23-27.

[53:8]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text reads “my people,” a reading followed by most English versions, but this is problematic in a context where the first person plural predominates, and where God does not appear to speak again until v. 11b. Therefore, it is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a עמו (“his people”). In this case, the group speaking in these verses is identified as the servant’s people (compare פְּשָׁעֵנוּ [pÿsha’enu, “our rebellious deeds”] in v. 5 with פֶּשַׁע עַמִּי [pesha’ ’ammi, “the rebellion of his people”] in v. 8).

[56:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”