Isaiah 29:18

29:18 At that time ¹  the deaf will be able to hear words read from a scroll,

and the eyes of the blind will be able to see through deep darkness. ² 

Isaiah 42:7

42:7 to open blind eyes, ³ 

to release prisoners ⁴  from dungeons,

those who live in darkness from prisons.

Isaiah 49:9

49:9 You will say ⁵  to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

and to those who are in dark dungeons, ⁶  ‘Emerge.’ ⁷ 

They will graze beside the roads;

on all the slopes they will find pasture.

Isaiah 58:10

58:10 You must ⁸  actively help the hungry

and feed the oppressed. ⁹ 

Then your light will dispel the darkness, ¹⁰ 

and your darkness will be transformed into noonday. ¹¹ 

[29:18]  ¹ tn Or “In that day” (KJV).

[29:18]  ² tn Heb “and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.”

[42:7]  ³ sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.

[42:7]  ⁴ sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.

[49:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.

[49:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”

[49:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).

[58:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “if you.” See the note on “you must” in v. 9b.

[58:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “If you furnish for the hungry [with] your being, and the appetite of the oppressed you satisfy.”

[58:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “will rise in the darkness.”

[58:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and your darkness [will be] like noonday.”