Isaiah 42:14

42:14 “I have been inactive ¹  for a long time;

I kept quiet and held back.

Like a woman in labor I groan;

I pant and gasp. ² 

Isaiah 64:12

64:12 In light of all this, ³  how can you still hold back, Lord?

How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

Isaiah 63:15

63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,

from your holy, majestic palace!

Where are your zeal ⁴  and power?

Do not hold back your tender compassion! ⁵ 

[42:14]  ¹ tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”

[42:14]  ² sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.

[64:12]  ³ tn Heb “because of these”; KJV, ASV “for these things.”

[63:15]  ⁵ tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.

[63:15]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.