Isaiah 49:5

49:5 So now the Lord says,

the one who formed me from birth ¹  to be his servant –

he did this ²  to restore Jacob to himself,

so that Israel might be gathered to him;

and I will be honored ³  in the Lord’s sight,

for my God is my source of strength ⁴  –

Isaiah 52:1

52:1 Wake up! Wake up!

Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!

Put on your beautiful clothes,

O Jerusalem, ⁵  holy city!

For uncircumcised and unclean pagans

will no longer invade you.

Isaiah 62:8

62:8 The Lord swears an oath by his right hand,

by his strong arm: ⁶ 

“I will never again give your grain

to your enemies as food,

and foreigners will not drink your wine,

which you worked hard to produce.

[49:5]  ¹ tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).

[49:5]  ² tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.

[49:5]  ³ tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”

[49:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.

[52:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[62:8]  ⁹ tn The Lord’s right hand and strong arm here symbolize his power and remind the audience that his might guarantees the fulfillment of the following promise.