Isaiah 41:25

41:25 I have stirred up one out of the north ¹  and he advances,

one from the eastern horizon who prays in my name. ² 

He steps on ³  rulers as if they were clay,

like a potter treading the clay.

Isaiah 57:15

57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,

the one who rules ⁴  forever, whose name is holy:

“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,

but also with the discouraged and humiliated, ⁵ 

in order to cheer up the humiliated

and to encourage the discouraged. ⁶ 

Isaiah 65:20

65:20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days ⁷ 

or an old man die before his time. ⁸ 

Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred, ⁹ 

anyone who fails to reach ¹⁰  the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.

[41:25]  ¹ sn That is, Cyrus the Persian. See the note at v. 2.

[41:25]  ² tn Heb “[one] from the rising of the sun [who] calls in my name.”

[41:25]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has וְיָבֹא (vÿyavo’, “and he comes”), but this is likely a corruption of an original וַיָּבָס (vayyavas), from בּוּס (bus, “step on”).

[57:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.

[57:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.

[57:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”

[65:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “and there will not be from there again a nursing infant of days,” i.e., one that lives just a few days.

[65:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “or an old [man] who does not fill out his days.”

[65:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “for the child as a son of one hundred years will die.” The point seems to be that those who die at the age of a hundred will be considered children, for the average life span will be much longer than that. The category “child” will be redefined in light of the expanded life spans that will characterize this new era.

[65:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the one who misses.” חָטָא (khata’) is used here in its basic sense of “miss the mark.” See HALOT 305 s.v. חטא. Another option is to translate, “and the sinner who reaches the age of a hundred will be cursed.”