Isaiah 40:2

Context

40:2 “Speak kindly to¹ Jerusalem,² and tell her

that her time of warfare is over,³

that her punishment is completed.⁴

For the Lord has made her pay double⁵ for all her sins.”

Isaiah 50:2

Context

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call?⁶

Is my hand too weak⁷ to deliver⁸ you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout⁹ I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water.¹⁰

Isaiah 66:4

Context

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment¹¹ for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me;¹²

they chose to do what displeases me.”

[40:2] ¹tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

[40:2] ²map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[40:2] ³tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.

[40:2] ⁴tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

[40:2] ⁵tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).

[50:2] ⁶sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2] ⁷tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2] ⁸tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2] ⁹tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2] ¹⁰tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”

[66:4] ¹¹tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”

[66:4] ¹²tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”