Isaiah 13:3

13:3 I have given orders to my chosen soldiers; ¹ 

I have summoned the warriors through whom I will vent my anger, ² 

my boasting, arrogant ones. ³ 

Isaiah 44:28

44:28 who commissions ⁴  Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd ⁵ 

to carry out all my wishes ⁶ 

and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’

and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” ⁷ 

Isaiah 44:1

The Lord Will Renew Israel

44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen!”

Isaiah 19:15

19:15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing,

head or tail, shoots and stalk. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 27:6

27:6 I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power ⁹  of my servant, ¹⁰  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. ¹¹ 

[13:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my consecrated ones,” i.e., those who have been set apart by God for the special task of carrying out his judgment.

[13:3]  ² tn Heb “my warriors with respect to my anger.”

[13:3]  ³ tn Heb “the boasting ones of my pride”; cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV “my proudly exulting ones.”

[44:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.

[44:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.

[44:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”

[44:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).

[19:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “And there will not be for Egypt a deed, which head and tail, shoot and stalk can do.” In 9:14-15 the phrase “head or tail” refers to leaders and prophets, respectively. This interpretation makes good sense in this context, where both leaders and advisers (probably including prophets and diviners) are mentioned (vv. 11-14). Here, as in 9:14, “shoots and stalk” picture a reed, which symbolizes the leadership of the nation in its entirety.

[27:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “have given…into the hand of.”

[27:6]  ¹⁰ sn See the study note on 25:9 for the significance of the application of this term to Nebuchadnezzar.

[27:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I have given…to him to serve him.” The verb “give” in this syntactical situation is functioning like the Hiphil stem, i.e., as a causative. See Dan 1:9 for parallel usage. For the usage of “serve” meaning “be subject to” compare 2 Sam 22:44 and BDB 713 s.v. עָבַד 3.