Discovery BoxIsaiah 51:17--52:12
Context51:17 Wake up! Wake up!
Get up, O Jerusalem!
You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you,
which was full of his anger! 1
You drained dry
the goblet full of intoxicating wine. 2
51:18 There was no one to lead her
among all the children she bore;
there was no one to take her by the hand
among all the children she raised.
51:19 These double disasters confronted you.
But who feels sorry for you?
Destruction and devastation,
famine and sword.
But who consoles you? 3
51:20 Your children faint;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a snare.
They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,
by the battle cry of your God. 4
51:21 So listen to this, oppressed one,
who is drunk, but not from wine!
51:22 This is what your sovereign master, 5 the Lord your God, says:
“Look, I have removed from your hand
the cup of intoxicating wine, 6
the goblet full of my anger. 7
You will no longer have to drink it.
51:23 I will put it into the hand of your tormentors 8
who said to you, ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you.’
You made your back like the ground,
and like the street for those who walked over you.”
52:1 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!
Put on your beautiful clothes,
O Jerusalem, 9 holy city!
For uncircumcised and unclean pagans
will no longer invade you.
Get up, captive 11 Jerusalem!
Take off the iron chains around your neck,
O captive daughter Zion!
52:3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and you will not be redeemed for money.”
52:4 For this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt;
Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.
52:5 And now, what do we have here?” 12 says the Lord.
“Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing,
those who rule over them taunt,” 13 says the Lord,
“and my name is constantly slandered 14 all day long.
52:6 For this reason my people will know my name,
for this reason they will know 15 at that time 16 that I am the one who says,
‘Here I am.’”
52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains 17
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 18
52:8 Listen, 19 your watchmen shout;
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes 20
the Lord’s return to Zion.
52:9 In unison give a joyful shout,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the Lord consoles his people;
he protects 21 Jerusalem.
52:10 The Lord reveals 22 his royal power 23
in the sight of all the nations;
the entire 24 earth sees
our God deliver. 25
52:11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything unclean!
Get out of it!
Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items! 26
52:12 Yet do not depart quickly
or leave in a panic. 27
For the Lord goes before you;
the God of Israel is your rear guard.
[51:17] 1 tn Heb “[you] who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his anger.”
[51:17] 2 tn Heb “the goblet, the cup [that causes] staggering, you drank, you drained.”
[51:19] 3 tc The Hebrew text has אֲנַחֲמֵךְ (’anakhamekh), a first person form, but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads correctly יִנַחֲמֵךְ (yinakhamekh), a third person form.
[51:20] 4 tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”
[51:22] 5 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[51:22] 6 tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”
[51:22] 7 tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”
[51:23] 8 tn That is, to make them drink it.
[52:1] 9 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[52:2] 10 tn Heb “Shake yourself free from the dirt.”
[52:2] 11 tc The Hebrew text has שְּׂבִי (shÿvi), which some understand as a feminine singular imperative from יָשַׁב (yashav, “sit”). The LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, and the Targum support the MT reading (the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa does indirectly). Some interpret this to mean “take your throne”: The Lord exhorts Jerusalem to get up from the dirt and sit, probably with the idea of sitting in a place of honor (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:361). However, the form is likely a corruption of שְׁבִיָּה (shÿviyyah, “captive”), which appears in the parallel line.
[52:5] 12 tn Heb “and now what [following the marginal reading (Qere)] to me here?”
[52:5] 13 tn The verb appears to be a Hiphil form from the root יָלַל (yalal, “howl”), perhaps here in the sense of “mock.” Some emend the form to יְהוֹלָּלוֹ (yÿhollalo) and understand a Polel form of the root הָלַל meaning here “mock, taunt.”
[52:5] 14 tn The verb is apparently a Hitpolal form (with assimilated tav, ת) from the root נָאַץ (na’ats), but GKC 151-52 §55.b explains it as a mixed form, combining Pual and Hitpolel readings.
[52:6] 15 tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
[52:6] 16 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[52:7] 17 tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”
[52:7] 18 tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.
[52:8] 19 tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.
[52:8] 20 tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”
[52:9] 21 tn Or “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
[52:10] 22 tn Heb “lays bare”; NLT “will demonstrate.”
[52:10] 23 tn Heb “his holy arm.” This is a metonymy for his power.
[52:10] 24 tn Heb “the remote regions,” which here stand for the extremities and everything in between.
[52:10] 25 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God.” “God” is a subjective genitive here.
[52:11] 26 tn Heb “the vessels of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).
[52:12] 27 tn Heb “or go in flight”; NAB “leave in headlong flight.”
