Isaiah 14:1-3

14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; ¹  he will again choose Israel as his special people ²  and restore ³  them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family ⁴  of Jacob. 14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. ⁵  They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them. 14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, ⁶  and from the hard labor which you were made to perform,

Isaiah 35:10

35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ⁷ 

They will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ⁸ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ⁹  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 47:6

47:6 I was angry at my people;

I defiled my special possession

and handed them over to you.

You showed them no mercy; ¹¹ 

you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. ¹² 

Psalms 12:5

12:5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed, ¹³ 

because of the painful cries ¹⁴  of the needy,

I will spring into action,” ¹⁵  says the Lord.

“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” ¹⁶ 

Psalms 79:11

79:11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! ¹⁷ 

Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die! ¹⁸ 

Psalms 137:1-3

Psalm 137 ¹⁹ 

137:1 By the rivers of Babylon

we sit down and weep ²⁰ 

when we remember Zion.

137:2 On the poplars in her midst

we hang our harps,

137:3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs; ²¹ 

those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying: ²² 

“Sing for us a song about Zion!” ²³ 

Jeremiah 31:11-12

31:11 For the Lord will rescue the descendants of Jacob.

He will secure their release ²⁴  from those who had overpowered them. ²⁵ 

31:12 They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion.

They will be radiant with joy ²⁶  over the good things the Lord provides,

the grain, the fresh wine, the olive oil,

the young sheep and calves he has given to them.

They will be like a well-watered garden

and will not grow faint or weary any more.

Jeremiah 31:20

31:20 Indeed, the people of Israel are my dear children.

They are the children I take delight in. ²⁷ 

For even though I must often rebuke them,

I still remember them with fondness.

So I am deeply moved with pity for them ²⁸ 

and will surely have compassion on them.

I, the Lord, affirm it! ²⁹ 

Jeremiah 31:25

31:25 I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary

and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint. ³⁰ 

Jeremiah 45:3

45:3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! ³¹  For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering. ³²  I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”

Jeremiah 51:3-4

51:3 Do not give her archers time to string their bows

or to put on their coats of armor. ³³ 

Do not spare any of her young men.

Completely destroy ³⁴  her whole army.

51:4 Let them fall ³⁵  slain in the land of Babylonia, ³⁶ 

mortally wounded in the streets of her cities. ³⁷ 

Lamentations 1:22

ת (Tav)

1:22 Let all their wickedness come before you;

afflict ³⁸  them

just as you have afflicted ³⁹  me ⁴⁰ 

because of all my acts of rebellion. ⁴¹ 

For my groans are many,

and my heart is sick with sorrow. ⁴² 

Micah 7:8-10

Jerusalem Will Be Vindicated

7:8 My enemies, ⁴³  do not gloat ⁴⁴  over me!

Though I have fallen, I will get up.

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ⁴⁵ 

7:9 I must endure ⁴⁶  the Lord’s anger,

for I have sinned against him.

But then ⁴⁷  he will defend my cause, ⁴⁸ 

and accomplish justice on my behalf.

He will lead me out into the light;

I will experience firsthand ⁴⁹  his deliverance. ⁵⁰ 

7:10 When my enemies see this, they will be covered with shame.

They say ⁵¹  to me, “Where is the Lord your God?”

I will gloat over them. ⁵² 

Then they will be trampled down ⁵³ 

like mud in the streets.

Zechariah 1:15-16

1:15 But I am greatly displeased with the nations that take my grace for granted. ⁵⁴  I was a little displeased with them, but they have only made things worse for themselves.

The Oracle of Response

1:16 “‘Therefore,’ says the Lord, ‘I have become compassionate ⁵⁵  toward Jerusalem ⁵⁶  and will rebuild my temple ⁵⁷  in it,’ says the Lord who rules over all. ‘Once more a surveyor’s measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’

[14:1]  ¹ tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.

[14:1]  ² tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:1]  ³ tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[14:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[14:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”

[14:3]  ⁶ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[35:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”

[35:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[35:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”

[35:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

[47:6]  ¹¹ tn Or “compassion.”

[47:6]  ¹² tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”

[12:5]  ¹³ tn The term translated “oppressed” is an objective genitive; the oppressed are the recipients/victims of violence.

[12:5]  ¹⁴ tn Elsewhere in the psalms this noun is used of the painful groans of prisoners awaiting death (79:11; 102:20). The related verb is used of the painful groaning of those wounded in combat (Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15) and of the mournful sighing of those in grief (Ezek 9:4; 24:17).

[12:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will rise up.”

[12:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will place in deliverance, he pants for it.” The final two words in Hebrew (יָפִיחַ לוֹ, yafiakh lo) comprise an asyndetic relative clause, “the one who pants for it.” “The one who pants” is the object of the verb “place” and the antecedent of the pronominal suffix (in the phrase “for it”) is “deliverance.” Another option is to translate, “I will place in deliverance the witness for him,” repointing יָפִיחַ (a Hiphil imperfect from פּוּחַ, puakh, “pant”) as יָפֵחַ (yafeakh), a noun meaning “witness.” In this case the Lord would be promising protection to those who have the courage to support the oppressed in the court of law. However, the first part of the verse focuses on the oppressed, not their advocates.

[79:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “may the painful cry of the prisoner come before you.”

[79:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “according to the greatness of your arm leave the sons of death.” God’s “arm” here symbolizes his strength to deliver. The verbal form הוֹתֵר (hoter) is a Hiphil imperative from יָתַר (yatar, “to remain; to be left over”). Here it must mean “to leave over; to preserve.” However, it is preferable to emend the form to הַתֵּר (hatter), a Hiphil imperative from נָתַר (natar, “be free”). The Hiphil form is used in Ps 105:20 of Pharaoh freeing Joseph from prison. The phrase “sons of death” (see also Ps 102:21) is idiomatic for those condemned to die.

[137:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 137. The Babylonian exiles lament their condition, vow to remain loyal to Jerusalem, and appeal to God for revenge on their enemies.

[137:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “there we sit down, also we weep.”

[137:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “ask us [for] the words of a song.”

[137:3]  ²² tn Heb “our [?] joy.” The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew phrase תוֹלָלֵינוּ (tolalenu, “our [?]”) are uncertain. A derivation from תָּלַל (talal, “to mock”) fits contextually, but this root occurs only in the Hiphil stem. For a discussion of various proposals, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 236.

[137:3]  ²³ tn Heb “from a song of Zion.” Most modern translations read, “one of the songs of Zion,” taking the preposition מִן (min, “from”) as partitive and “song” as collective. The present translation assumes the mem (ם) is enclitic, being misunderstood later as the prefixed preposition.

[31:11]  ²⁴ sn Two rather theologically significant metaphors are used in this verse. The Hebrew word translated “will set…free” is a word used in the legal sphere for paying a redemption price to secure the freedom of a person or thing (see, e.g., Exod 13:13, 15). It is used metaphorically and theologically to refer to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Deut 15:15; Mic 6:4) and its deliverance from Babylonian exile (Isa 35:10). The word translated “secure their release” is a word used in the sphere of family responsibility where a person paid the price to free an indentured relative (Lev 25:48, 49) or paid the price to restore a relative’s property seized to pay a debt (Lev 25:25, 33). This word, too, was used to refer metaphorically and theologically to Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage (Exod 6:6) or release from Babylonian exile (Isa 43:1-4; 44:22). These words are traditionally translated “ransom” and “redeem” and are a part of traditional Jewish and Christian vocabulary for physical and spiritual deliverance.

[31:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from the hand/power of the one too strong for him.”

[31:12]  ²⁶ tn Reading a Qal perfect from the root II נָהַר (nahar; so KBL 509 s.v. and HALOT 639 s.v.) rather than I נָהַר (so BDB 625 s.v.).

[31:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Is Ephraim a dear son to me or a child of delight?” For the substitution of Israel for Ephraim and the plural pronouns for the singular see the note on v. 18. According to BDB 210 s.v. הֲ 1.c the question is rhetorical having the force of an impassioned affirmation. See 1 Sam 2:27; Job 41:9 (41:1 HT) for parallel usage.

[31:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “my stomach churns for him.” The parallelism shows that this refers to pity or compassion.

[31:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[31:25]  ³⁰ tn The verbs here again emphasize that the actions are as good as done (i.e., they are prophetic perfects; cf. GKC 312-13 §106.n).

[45:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “Woe to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 and 10:19 for the rendering of this term.

[45:3]  ³² sn From the context it appears that Baruch was feeling sorry for himself (v. 5) as well as feeling anguish for the suffering that the nation would need to undergo according to the predictions of Jeremiah that he was writing down.

[51:3]  ³³ tc The text and consequent meaning of these first two lines are uncertain. Literally the Masoretic reads “against let him string let him string the one who strings his bow and against let him raise himself up in his coat of armor.” This makes absolutely no sense and the ancient versions and Hebrew mss did not agree in reading this same text. Many Hebrew mss and all the versions as well as the Masoretes themselves (the text is left unpointed with a marginal note not to read it) delete the second “let him string.” The LXX (or Greek version) left out the words “against” at the beginning of the first two lines. It reads “Let the archer bend his bow and let the one who has armor put it on.” The Lucianic recension of the LXX and some Targum mss supplied the missing object “it” and thus read “Let the archer ready his bow against it and let him array himself against it in his coat of mail.” This makes good sense but does not answer the question of why the Hebrew text left off the suffix on the preposition twice in a row. Many Hebrew mss and the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate (the Latin version) change the pointing of “against” (אֶל [’el]) to “not” (אַל [’al]) and thus read “Let the archer not string the bow and let him not array himself in his armor.” However, many commentators feel that this does not fit the context because it would apparently be addressed to the Babylonians, not the enemy, which would create a sudden shift in addressee with the second half of the verse. However, if it is understood in the sense taken here it refers to the enemy not allowing the Babylonian archers to get ready for the battle, i.e., a surprise attack. This sense is suggested as an alternative in J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 346, n. u-u, and J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 747, n. 5, and is the interpretation adopted in TEV and probably also in NIrV.

[51:3]  ³⁴ sn For the concept underlying this word see the study note on “utterly destroy” in Jer 25:9 and compare the usage in 50:21, 26.

[51:4]  ³⁵ tn The majority of English versions and the commentaries understand the vav (ו) consecutive + perfect as a future here “They will fall.” However, it makes better sense in the light of the commands in the previous verse to understand this as an indirect third person command (= a jussive; see GKC 333 §112.q, r) as REB and NJPS do.

[51:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.

[51:4]  ³⁷ tn The words “cities” is not in the text. The text merely says “in her streets” but the antecedent is “land” and must then refer to the streets of the cities in the land.

[1:22]  ³⁸ tn For the nuance “afflict” see the note at 1:12.

[1:22]  ³⁹ tn For the nuance “afflict” see the note at 1:12.

[1:22]  ⁴⁰ tn The parallel statements “afflict them” and “just as you have afflicted me” in the translation mirror the Hebrew wordplay between עוֹלֵל לָמוֹ (’olel lamo, “May you deal with them”) and עוֹלַלְתָּ לִי (’olalta li, “you dealt with me”).

[1:22]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “all my rebellions,” that is, “all my rebellious acts.”

[1:22]  ⁴² tn Heb “is sorrowful” or “is faint.” The adjective דַוָּי (davvay, “faint”) is used in reference to emotional sorrow (e.g., Isa 1:5; Lam 1:22; Jer 8:18). The cognate Aramaic term means “sorrow,” and the cognate Syriac term refers to “misery” (HALOT 216 s.v. *דְּוַי). The related Hebrew adjective דְּוַה (dÿvah) means “(physically) sick” and “(emotionally) sad,” while the related Hebrew verb דָּוָה (davah) means “to be sad” due to menstruation. The more literal English versions fail to bring out explicitly the nuance of emotional sorrow and create possible confusion whether the problem is simply loss of courage: “my heart is faint” (KJV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, ASV, NASB, NIV). The more paraphrastic English versions explicate the emotional sorrow that this idiom connotes: “my heart is sick” (NJPS), “I am sick at heart” (TEV), and “I’ve lost all hope!” (CEV).

[7:8]  ⁴³ tn The singular form is understood as collective.

[7:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “rejoice” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “don’t laugh at me.”

[7:8]  ⁴⁵ sn Darkness represents judgment; light (also in v. 9) symbolizes deliverance. The Lord is the source of the latter.

[7:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “lift, bear.”

[7:9]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “until.”

[7:9]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “plead my case” (NASB and NIV both similar); NRSV “until he takes my side.”

[7:9]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “see.”

[7:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “justice, vindication.”

[7:10]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “who say.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ⁵² tn Heb “My eyes will look on them.”

[7:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “a trampled-down place.”

[1:15]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “the nations that are at ease” (so ASV, NRSV). The Hebrew word in question is שַׁאֲנָן (sha’anan) which has the idea of a careless, even arrogant attitude (see BDB 983 s.v. שַׁאֲנָן); cf. NAB “the complacent nations.” Here it suggests that the nations take for granted that God will never punish them just because he hasn't already done so. Thus they presume on the grace and patience of the Lord. The translation attempts to bring out this nuance rather than the more neutral renderings of TEV “nations that enjoy quiet and peace” or NLT “enjoy peace and security.”

[1:16]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “I have turned.” This suggests that the Lord has responded to the “turning” (i.e., repentance) of the people (v. 6) and now, with great love and forgiveness, allows construction of the temple to proceed.

[1:16]  ⁵⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “house.”