Isaiah 21:5

21:5 Arrange the table,

lay out ¹  the carpet,

eat and drink! ² 

Get up, you officers,

smear oil on the shields! ³ 

Isaiah 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ⁴  me. ⁵ 

He has commissioned ⁶  me to encourage ⁷  the poor,

to help ⁸  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

[21:5]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of the verb in this line is debated. Some prefer to derive the form from the homonymic צָפֹה (tsafoh, “keep watch”) and translate “post a guard” (cf. KJV “watch in the watchtower”; ASV “set the watch”).

[21:5]  ² tn The verbal forms in the first three lines are infinitives absolute, which are functioning here as finite verbs. It is uncertain if the forms should have an imperatival or indicative/descriptive force here.

[21:5]  ³ sn Smearing the shields with oil would make them more flexible and effective in battle. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:394.

[61:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ⁵ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ⁶ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ⁷ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”