Isaiah 45:1

45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen ¹  one,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold ² 

in order to subdue nations before him,

and disarm kings, ³ 

to open doors before him,

so gates remain unclosed:

Isaiah 40:10

40:10 Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; ⁴ 

his military power establishes his rule. ⁵ 

Look, his reward is with him;

his prize goes before him. ⁶ 

Isaiah 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ⁷ 

Who ⁸  officially commissions him for service? ⁹ 

He hands nations over to him, ¹⁰ 

and enables him to subdue ¹¹  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ¹² 

Isaiah 53:2

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, ¹³ 

like a root out of parched soil; ¹⁴ 

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, ¹⁵ 

no special appearance that we should want to follow him. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 62:11

62:11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth: ¹⁷ 

“Say to Daughter Zion,

‘Look, your deliverer comes!

Look, his reward is with him

and his reward goes before him!’” ¹⁸ 

[45:1]  ¹ tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”

[45:1]  ² sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.

[45:1]  ³ tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”

[40:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “comes as a strong one”; ASV “will come as a mighty one.” The preposition בְּ (bet) here carries the nuance “in the capacity of.” It indicates that the Lord possesses the quality expressed by the noun. See GKC 379 §119.i and HALOT 104 s.v. בְּ.

[40:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “his arm rules for him” (so NIV, NRSV). The Lord’s “arm” symbolizes his military power (see Isa 51:9-10; 63:5).

[40:10]  ⁶ tn As the Lord returns to Jerusalem as a victorious warrior, he brings with him the spoils of victory, called here his “reward” and “prize.” These terms might also be translated “wages” and “recompense.” Verse 11 indicates that his rescued people, likened to a flock of sheep, are his reward.

[41:2]  ⁷ sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ⁸ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ¹¹ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ¹² sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.

[53:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “before him.” Some suggest an emendation to “before us.” If the third singular suffix of the Hebrew text is retained, it probably refers to the Lord (see v. 1b). For a defense of this reading, see R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 173-74.

[53:2]  ¹¹ sn The metaphor in this verse suggests insignificance.

[53:2]  ¹² tn Heb “that we might see him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[53:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “that we should desire him.” The vav conjunctive prefixed to the imperfect introduces a result clause here. See GKC 504-5 §166.a.

[62:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so NASB, NRSV).

[62:11]  ¹⁴ sn As v. 12 indicates, the returning exiles are the Lord’s reward/prize. See also 40:10 and the note there.