Isaiah 42:6

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ¹ 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ²  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ³ 

and a light ⁴  to the nations, ⁵ 

Isaiah 57:11

57:11 Whom are you worried about?

Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully

and not remember me

or think about me? ⁶ 

Because I have been silent for so long, ⁷ 

you are not afraid of me. ⁸ 

Isaiah 62:1

The Lord Takes Delight in Zion

62:1 “For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;

for the sake of Jerusalem ⁹  I will not be quiet,

until her vindication shines brightly ¹⁰ 

and her deliverance burns like a torch.”

[42:6]  ¹ tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ² tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).

[42:6]  ³ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.

[42:6]  ⁴ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ⁵ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.

[57:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”

[57:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”

[57:11]  ⁸ sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.

[62:1]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[62:1]  ¹² tn Heb “goes forth like brightness.”