Isaiah 10:8

10:8 Indeed, ¹  he says:

“Are not my officials all kings?

Isaiah 52:15

52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human ²  –

so now ³  he will startle ⁴  many nations.

Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, ⁵ 

for they will witness something unannounced to them,

and they will understand something they had not heard about.

Isaiah 60:16

60:16 You will drink the milk of nations;

you will nurse at the breasts of kings. ⁶ 

Then you will recognize that I, the Lord, am your deliverer,

your protector, ⁷  the powerful ruler of Jacob. ⁸ 

Isaiah 62:2

62:2 Nations will see your vindication,

and all kings your splendor.

You will be called by a new name

that the Lord himself will give you. ⁹ 

Isaiah 45:1

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ¹⁰  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ¹¹ 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ¹² 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

Isaiah 49:7

49:7 This is what the Lord,

the protector ¹³  of Israel, their Holy One, ¹⁴  says

to the one who is despised ¹⁵  and rejected ¹⁶  by nations, ¹⁷ 

a servant of rulers:

“Kings will see and rise in respect, ¹⁸ 

princes will bow down,

because of the faithful Lord,

the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”

Isaiah 49:23

49:23 Kings will be your children’s ¹⁹  guardians;

their princesses will nurse your children. ²⁰ 

With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you

and they will lick the dirt on ²¹  your feet.

Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;

those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.

[10:8]  ¹ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[52:15]  ² tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”

[52:15]  ³ tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.

[52:15]  ⁴ tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.

[52:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.

[60:16]  ³ sn The nations and kings are depicted as a mother nursing her children. Restored Zion will be nourished by them as she receives their wealth as tribute.

[60:16]  ⁴ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[60:16]  ⁵ sn See 1:24 and 49:26.

[62:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “which the mouth of the Lord will designate.”

[45:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ⁶ sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[49:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[49:7]  ⁷ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[49:7]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “to [one who] despises life.” It is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a לבזוי, which should be vocalized as a passive participle, לִבְזוּי (livzuy, “to the one despised with respect to life” [נֶפֶשׁ is a genitive of specification]). The consonantal sequence וי was probably misread as ה in the MT tradition. The contextual argument favors the 1QIsa^a reading. As J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:294) points out, the three terse phrases “convey a picture of lowliness, worthlessness, and helplessness.”

[49:7]  ⁹ tn MT’s Piel participle (“to the one who rejects”) does not fit contextually. The form should be revocalized as a Pual, “to the one rejected.”

[49:7]  ¹⁰ tn Parallelism (see “rulers,” “kings,” “princes”) suggests that the singular גּוֹי (goy) be emended to a plural or understood in a collective sense (see 55:5).

[49:7]  ¹¹ tn For this sense of קוּם (qum), see Gen 19:1; 23:7; 33:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Sam 20:41; 25:41; 1 Kgs 2:19; Job 29:8.

[49:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).

[49:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.

[49:23]  ⁹ tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”