Isaiah 41:10

41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! ¹ 

I strengthen you –

yes, I help you –

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! ² 

Isaiah 41:14

41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, ³ 

men of ⁴  Israel.

I am helping you,” says the Lord,

your protector, ⁵  the Holy One of Israel. ⁶ 

Isaiah 45:16-17

45:16 They will all be ashamed and embarrassed;

those who fashion idols will all be humiliated. ⁷ 

45:17 Israel will be delivered once and for all by the Lord; ⁸ 

you will never again be ashamed or humiliated. ⁹ 

Isaiah 61:7

61:7 Instead of shame, you will get a double portion; ¹⁰ 

instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive. ¹¹ 

Yes, ¹²  they will possess a double portion in their land

and experience lasting joy.

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 ¹³  me. ¹⁴ 

He has commissioned ¹⁵  me to encourage ¹⁶  the poor,

to help ¹⁷  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

Isaiah 2:6

The Lord’s Day of Judgment

2:6 Indeed, O Lord, ¹⁸  you have abandoned your people,

the descendants of Jacob.

For diviners from the east are everywhere; ¹⁹ 

they consult omen readers like the Philistines do. ²⁰ 

Plenty of foreigners are around. ²¹ 

[41:10]  ¹ tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).

[41:10]  ² tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).

[41:14]  ³ tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.

[41:14]  ⁴ tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”

[41:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.

[41:14]  ⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[45:16]  ⁷ tn “together they will walk in humiliation, the makers of images.”

[45:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “Israel will be delivered by the Lord [with] a permanent deliverance.”

[45:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “you will not be ashamed and you will not be humiliated for ages of future time.”

[61:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “instead of your shame, a double portion.”

[61:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and [instead of] humiliation they will rejoice [over] their portion.” The term תָחָת (takhat, “instead of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[61:7]  ¹² tn Heb “therefore” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “and so.”

[61:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[2:6]  ¹⁸ tn The words “O Lord” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Isaiah addresses the Lord in prayer.

[2:6]  ¹⁹ tc Heb “they are full from the east.” Various scholars retain the BHS reading and suggest that the prophet makes a general statement concerning Israel’s reliance on foreign customs (J. Watts, Isaiah [WBC], 1:32; J. de Waard, Isaiah, 12-13). Nevertheless, it appears that a word is missing. Based on the parallelism (note “omen readers” in 5:6c), many suggest that קֹסְמִים (qosÿmim, “diviners”) or מִקְסָם (miqsam, “divination”) has been accidentally omitted. Homoioteleuton could account for the omission of an original קֹסְמִים (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם [miqqedem, “from the east”] both end in mem); an original מִקְסָם could have fallen out by homoioarcton (note how this word and the following מִקֶּדֶם both begin with mem).

[2:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and omen readers like the Philistines.” Through this line and the preceding, the prophet contends that Israel has heavily borrowed the pagan practices of the east and west (in violation of Lev 19:26; Deut 18:9-14).

[2:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “and with the children of foreigners they [?].” The precise meaning of the final word is uncertain. Some take this verb (I שָׂפַק, safaq) to mean “slap,” supply the object “hands,” and translate, “they slap [hands] with foreigners”; HALOT 1349 s.v. I שׂפק. This could be a reference to foreign alliances. This translation has two disadvantages: It requires the conjectural insertion of “hands” and the use of this verb with its object prefixed with a בְּ (bet) preposition with this meaning does not occur elsewhere. The other uses of this verb refer to clapping at someone, an indication of hostility. The translation above assumes the verb is derived from II שׂפק (“to suffice,” attested in the Qal in 1 Kgs 20:10; HALOT 1349 s.v. II שׂפק). In this case the point is that a sufficient number of foreigners (in this case, too many!) live in the land. The disadvantage of this option is that the preposition prefixed to “the children of foreigners” does not occur with this verb elsewhere. The chosen translation is preferred since it continues the idea of abundant foreign influence and does not require a conjectural insertion or emendation.