Discovery BoxIsaiah 42:18--43:21
Context42:18 “Listen, you deaf ones!
Take notice, 1 you blind ones!
42:19 My servant is truly blind,
my messenger is truly deaf.
My covenant partner, 2 the servant of the Lord, is truly blind. 3
42:20 You see 4 many things, but don’t comprehend; 5
their ears are open, but do not hear.”
42:21 The Lord wanted to exhibit his justice
by magnifying his law and displaying it. 6
42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits 7
and held captive 8 in prisons.
They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;
they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!” 9
42:23 Who among you will pay attention to this?
Who will listen attentively in the future? 10
42:24 Who handed Jacob over to the robber?
Who handed Israel over to the looters? 11
Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?
They refused to follow his commands;
they disobeyed his law. 12
42:25 So he poured out his fierce anger on them,
along with the devastation 13 of war.
Its flames encircled them, but they did not realize it; 14
it burned against them, but they did notice. 15
43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says,
the one who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect 16 you.
I call you by name, you are mine.
43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;
when you pass 17 through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not harm 18 you.
43:3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, 19 your deliverer.
I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,
Ethiopia and Seba 20 in place of you.
43:4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, 21
and I love you,
I will hand over people in place of you,
nations in place of your life.
43:5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
From the east I will bring your descendants;
from the west I will gather you.
43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
43:7 everyone who belongs to me, 22
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed – yes, whom I made!
43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
those who are deaf, even though they have ears!
43:9 All nations gather together,
the peoples assemble.
Who among them announced this?
Who predicted earlier events for us? 23
Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;
let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’
43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may consider 24 and believe in me,
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me. 25
43:11 I, I am the Lord,
and there is no deliverer besides me.
43:12 I decreed and delivered and proclaimed,
and there was no other god among you.
You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.
43:13 From this day forward I am he;
no one can deliver from my power; 26
I will act, and who can prevent it?”
43:14 This is what the Lord says,
your protector, 27 the Holy One of Israel: 28
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives, 29
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. 30
43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, 31
the one who created Israel, your king.”
43:16 This is what the Lord says,
the one who made a road through the sea,
a pathway through the surging waters,
43:17 the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, 32
together with a mighty army.
They fell down, 33 never to rise again;
they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:
43:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events; 34
don’t recall these former events.
43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen! 35 Do you not recognize 36 it?
Yes, I will make a road in the desert
and paths 37 in the wilderness.
43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,
the jackals and ostriches,
because I put water in the desert
and streams in the wilderness,
to quench the thirst of my chosen people,
43:21 the people whom I formed for myself,
so they might praise me.” 38
[42:18] 1 tn Heb “look to see”; NAB, NCV “look and see”; NRSV “look up and see.”
[42:19] 2 tc The precise meaning of מְשֻׁלָּם (mÿshullam) in this context is uncertain. In later biblical Hebrew the form (which appears to be a Pual participle from the root שָׁלַם, shalam) occurs as a proper name, Meshullam. The Pual of שָׁלַם (“be complete”) is attested with the meaning “repaid, requited,” but that makes little sense here. BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלַם relates the form to the denominative verb שָׁלַם (“be at peace”) and paraphrases “one in a covenant of peace” (J. N. Oswalt suggests “the covenanted one”; Isaiah [NICOT], 2:128, n. 59) Some emend the form to מֹשְׁלָם (moshÿlam, “their ruler”) or to מְשֻׁלָּחִי (mÿshullakhi, “my sent [or “commissioned”] one”), which fits nicely in the parallelism (note “my messenger” in the previous line). The translation above assumes an emendation to כְּמוֹ שֹׁלְמִי (kÿmo sholÿmi, “like my ally”). Isaiah uses כְּמוֹ in 30:22 and perhaps 51:5; for שֹׁלְמי (“my ally”) see Ps 7:5 HT (7:4 ET).
[42:19] 3 tn Heb “Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like my messenger I send? Who is blind like my commissioned one, blind like the servant of the Lord?” The point of the rhetorical questions is that no one is as blind/deaf as this servant. In this context the Lord’s “servant” is exiled Israel (cf. 41:8-9), which is spiritually blind and deaf and has failed to fulfill God’s purpose for it. This servant stands in contrast to the ideal “Israel” of the servant songs.
[42:20] 4 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has a perfect, 2nd person masculine singular; the marginal reading (Qere) has an infinitive absolute, which functions here as a finite verb.
[42:20] 5 tn Heb “but you do not guard [i.e., retain in your memory]”; NIV “but have paid no attention.”
[42:21] 6 tn Heb “The Lord was pleased for the sake of his righteousness [or “justice”], he was magnifying [the] law and was making [it] glorious.” The Lord contrasts his good intentions for the people with their present crisis (v. 22). To demonstrate his just character and attract the nations, the Lord wanted to showcase his law among and through Israel (Deut 4:5-8). But Israel disobeyed (v. 24) and failed to carry out their commission.
[42:22] 7 tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).
[42:22] 8 tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”
[42:22] 9 tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”
[42:23] 10 tn The interrogative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[42:24] 11 tn Heb “Who gave to the robber Jacob, and Israel to the looters?” In the first line the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְשׁוֹסֶה (mÿshoseh), a Polel participle from שָׁסָה (shasah, “plunder”). The marginal reading (Qere) is מְשִׁיסָּה (mÿshissah), a noun meaning “plunder.” In this case one could translate “Who handed Jacob over as plunder?”
[42:24] 12 tn Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.”
[42:25] 13 tn Heb “strength” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “fury”; NASB “fierceness”; NIV “violence.”
[42:25] 14 tn Heb “and it blazed against him all around, but he did not know.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb “blazed” is the divine חֵמָה (khemah, “anger”) mentioned in the previous line.
[42:25] 15 tn Heb “and it burned against him, but he did not set [it] upon [the] heart.”
[43:1] 16 tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”
[43:2] 17 tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[43:2] 18 tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”
[43:3] 19 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[43:3] 20 sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.
[43:4] 21 tn Heb “Since you are precious in my eyes and you are honored.”
[43:7] 22 tn Heb “everyone who is called by my name” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[43:9] 23 tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”
[43:10] 24 tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[43:10] 25 tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”
[43:13] 26 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “No one can oppose what I do.”
[43:14] 27 tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
[43:14] 28 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[43:14] 29 tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”
[43:14] 30 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.
[43:15] 31 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
[43:17] 32 tn Heb “led out chariots and horses.” The words “to destruction” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The verse refers to the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red Sea.
[43:17] 33 tn Heb “lay down”; NAB “lie prostrate together”; CEV “lie dead”; NRSV “they lie down.”
[43:18] 34 tn Heb “the former things” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “forget all that.”
[43:19] 35 tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”
[43:19] 36 tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”
[43:19] 37 tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has נתיבות (“paths”).
