Isaiah 42:1

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ¹ “Here is my servant whom I support,

my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.

I have placed my spirit on him;

he will make just decrees ²  for the nations. ³ 

Isaiah 12:1-6

12:1 At that time ⁴  you will say:

“I praise you, O Lord,

for even though you were angry with me,

your anger subsided, and you consoled me.

12:2 Look, God is my deliverer! ⁵ 

I will trust in him ⁶  and not fear.

For the Lord gives me strength and protects me; ⁷ 

he has become my deliverer.” ⁸ 

12:3 Joyfully you will draw water

from the springs of deliverance. ⁹ 

12:4 At that time ¹⁰  you will say:

“Praise the Lord!

Ask him for help! ¹¹ 

Publicize his mighty acts among the nations!

Make it known that he is unique! ¹² 

12:5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done magnificent things,

let this be known ¹³  throughout the earth!

12:6 Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion,

for the Holy One of Israel ¹⁴  acts mightily ¹⁵  among you!”

Isaiah 18:1-7

The Lord Will Judge a Distant Land in the South

18:1 The land of buzzing wings is as good as dead, ¹⁶ 

the one beyond the rivers of Cush,

18:2 that sends messengers by sea,

who glide over the water’s surface in boats made of papyrus.

Go, you swift messengers,

to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, ¹⁷ 

to a people that are feared far and wide, ¹⁸ 

to a nation strong and victorious, ¹⁹ 

whose land rivers divide. ²⁰ 

18:3 All you who live in the world,

who reside on the earth,

you will see a signal flag raised on the mountains;

you will hear a trumpet being blown.

18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:

“I will wait ²¹  and watch from my place,

like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, ²² 

like a cloud of mist ²³  in the heat ²⁴  of harvest.” ²⁵ 

18:5 For before the harvest, when the bud has sprouted,

and the ripening fruit appears, ²⁶ 

he will cut off the unproductive shoots ²⁷  with pruning knives;

he will prune the tendrils. ²⁸ 

18:6 They will all be left ²⁹  for the birds of the hills

and the wild animals; ³⁰ 

the birds will eat them during the summer,

and all the wild animals will eat them during the winter.

18:7 At that time

tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies,

by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,

a people that are feared far and wide,

a nation strong and victorious,

whose land rivers divide. ³¹ 

The tribute ³²  will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. ³³ 

[42:1]  ¹ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

[42:1]  ² tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ³ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

[12:1]  ⁴ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:2]  ⁷ tn Or “salvation” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[12:2]  ⁸ tn The words “in him” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[12:2]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text has, “for my strength and protection [is] the Lord, the Lord (Heb “Yah, Yahweh).” The word יְהוָה (yehvah) is probably dittographic or explanatory here (note that the short form of the name [יָהּ, yah] precedes, and that the graphically similar וַיְהִי [vayÿhi] follows). Exod 15:2, the passage from which the words of v. 2b are taken, has only יָהּ. The word זִמְרָת (zimrat) is traditionally understood as meaning “song,” in which case one might translate, “for the Lord gives me strength and joy” (i.e., a reason to sing); note that in v. 5 the verb זָמַר (zamar, “sing”) appears. Many recent commentators, however, have argued that the noun is here instead a homonym, meaning “protection” or “strength.” See HALOT 274 s.v. III *זמר.

[12:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “my savior.”

[12:3]  ¹⁰ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “victory.”

[12:4]  ¹³ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “call in his name,” i.e., “invoke his name.”

[12:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “bring to remembrance that his name is exalted.” The Lord’s “name” stands here for his character and reputation.

[12:5]  ¹⁶ tc The translation follows the marginal reading (Qere), which is a Hophal participle from יָדַע (yada’), understood here in a gerundive sense.

[12:6]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[12:6]  ²⁰ tn Or “is great” (TEV). However, the context emphasizes his mighty acts of deliverance (cf. NCV), not some general or vague character quality.

[18:1]  ²² tn Heb “Woe [to] the land of buzzing wings.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[18:2]  ²⁵ tn The precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. מְמֻשָּׁךְ (mÿmushakh) appears to be a Pual participle from the verb מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw, extend”). Lexicographers theorize that it here refers to people who “stretch out,” as it were, or are tall. See BDB 604 s.v. מָשַׁךְ, and HALOT 645-46 s.v. משׁךְ. מוֹרָט (morat) is taken as a Pual participle from מָרַט (marat), which can mean “to pull out [hair],” in the Qal, “become bald” in the Niphal, and “be wiped clean” in the Pual. Lexicographers theorize that the word here refers to people with bare, or smooth, skin. See BDB 598-99 s.v. מָרַט, and HALOT 634-35 s.v. מרט. These proposed meanings, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from it and onwards.” HALOT 245 s.v. הָלְאָה suggests the translation “far and wide.”

[18:2]  ²⁷ tn Once more the precise meaning of the qualifying terms is uncertain. The expression קַו־קָו (qav-qav) is sometimes related to a proposed Arabic cognate and taken to mean “strength” (see BDB 876 II קַו). Others, on the basis of Isa 28:10, 13, understand the form as gibberish (literally, “kav, kav”) and take it to be a reference to this nation’s strange, unknown language. The form מְבוּסָה (mÿvusah) appears to be derived from בּוּס (bus, “to trample”), so lexicographers suggest the meaning “trampling” or “subjugation,” i.e., a nation that subdues others. See BDB 101 s.v. בּוּס and HALOT 541 s.v. מְבוּסָה. These proposals, which are based on etymological speculation, must be regarded as tentative.

[18:2]  ²⁸ tn The precise meaning of the verb בָּזָא (baza’), which occurs only in this oracle (see also v. 7) in the OT, is uncertain. BDB 102 s.v. suggests “divide” on the basis of alleged Aramaic and Arabic cognates; HALOT 117 s.v., citing an alleged Arabic cognate, suggests “wash away.”

[18:4]  ²⁸ tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”

[18:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.

[18:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”

[18:4]  ³¹ tc Some medieval Hebrew mss, with support from the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, read “the day.”

[18:4]  ³² sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.

[18:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “and the unripe, ripening fruit is maturing.”

[18:5]  ³² tn On the meaning of זַלְזַל (zalzal, “shoot [of the vine] without fruit buds”) see HALOT 272 s.v. *זַלְזַל.

[18:5]  ³³ tn Heb “the tendrils he will remove, he will cut off.”

[18:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “they will be left together” (so NASB).

[18:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “the beasts of the earth” (so KJV, NASB).

[18:7]  ³⁷ tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.

[18:7]  ³⁸ tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.

[18:7]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”