Isaiah 50:4

The Servant Perseveres

50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ¹ 

so that I know how to help the weary. ² 

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ³ 

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ⁴  me. ⁵ 

He has commissioned ⁶  me to encourage ⁷  the poor,

to help ⁸  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ⁹ 

to console all who mourn,

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ¹⁰  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ¹¹  instead of discouragement. ¹² 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ¹³ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 45:5

45:5 Your arrows are sharp

and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.

Nations fall at your feet. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 1:18

1:18 I, the Lord, ¹⁶  hereby promise to make you ¹⁷  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in ¹⁸  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land.

Jeremiah 15:19-20

15:19 Because of this, the Lord said, ¹⁹ 

“You must repent of such words and thoughts!

If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me. ²⁰ 

If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,

I will again allow you to be my spokesman. ²¹ 

They must become as you have been.

You must not become like them. ²² 

15:20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,

a fortified wall of bronze.

They will attack you,

but they will not be able to overcome you.

For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,” ²³ 

says the Lord.

[50:4]  ¹ tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”

[50:4]  ² tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.

[50:4]  ³ tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”

[61:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ⁵ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ⁶ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ⁷ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[61:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

[61:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ¹² tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ¹³ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[45:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your arrows are sharp – peoples beneath you fall – in the heart of the enemies of the king.” The choppy style reflects the poet’s excitement.

[1:18]  ¹⁶ tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

[1:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

[1:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.

[15:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “So the Lord said thus.”

[15:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “If you return [ = repent], I will restore [more literally, ‘cause you to return’] that you may stand before me.” For the idiom of “standing before” in the sense of serving see BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד Qal.1.e and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 10:8; 12:8; 17:1; Deut 10:8.

[15:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “you shall be as my mouth.”

[15:19]  ²² tn Heb “They must turn/return to you and you must not turn/return to them.”

[15:20]  ²³ sn See 1:18. The Lord renews his promise of protection and reiterates his call to Jeremiah.