Discovery BoxIsaiah 41:1-2
Context41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! 1
Let the nations find renewed strength!
Let them approach and then speak;
let us come together for debate! 2
41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? 3
Who 4 officially commissions him for service? 5
He hands nations over to him, 6
and enables him to subdue 7 kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like windblown straw with his bow. 8
[41:1] 1 tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”
[41:1] 2 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.
[41:2] 3 sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).
[41:2] 4 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.
[41:2] 5 tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”
[41:2] 6 tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”
[41:2] 7 tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).
[41:2] 8 sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.
