Isaiah 61:10

61:10 I ¹  will greatly rejoice ²  in the Lord;

I will be overjoyed because of my God. ³ 

For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;

he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. ⁴ 

I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;

I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry. ⁵ 

Isaiah 62:5

62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,

so your sons ⁶  will marry you.

As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,

so your God will rejoice over you.

Isaiah 64:5

64:5 You assist ⁷  those who delight in doing what is right, ⁸ 

who observe your commandments. ⁹ 

Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.

How then can we be saved? ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 65:18

65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem ¹¹  to be a source of joy, ¹² 

and her people to be a source of happiness. ¹³ 

Isaiah 66:10

66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

Isaiah 66:14

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ¹⁴ 

and you will be revived. ¹⁵ 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ¹⁶ 

[61:10]  ¹ sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.

[61:10]  ² tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[61:10]  ³ tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”

[61:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”

[61:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.

[62:5]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text has “your sons,” but this produces an odd metaphor and is somewhat incongruous with the parallelism. In the context (v. 4b, see also 54:5-7) the Lord is the one who “marries” Zion. Therefore several prefer to emend “your sons” to בֹּנָיִךְ (bonayikh, “your builder”; e.g., NRSV). In Ps 147:2 the Lord is called the “builder of Jerusalem.” However, this emendation is not the best option for at least four reasons. First, although the Lord is never called the “builder” of Jerusalem in Isaiah, the idea of Zion’s children possessing the land does occur (Isa 49:20; 54:3; cf. also 14:1; 60:21). Secondly, all the ancient versions support the MT reading. Thirdly, although the verb בָּעַל (ba’al) can mean “to marry,” its basic idea is “to possess.” Consequently, the verb stresses a relationship more than a state. All the ancient versions render this verb “to dwell in” or “to dwell with.” The point is not just that the land will be reinhabited, but that it will be in a relationship of “belonging” to the Israelites. Hence a relational verb like בָּעַל is used (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:581). Finally, “sons” is a well-known metaphor for “inhabitants” (J. de Waard, Isaiah, 208).

[64:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “meet [with kindness].”

[64:5]  ¹² tn Heb “the one who rejoices and does righteousness.”

[64:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “in your ways they remember you.”

[64:5]  ¹⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “look, you were angry and we sinned against them continually [or perhaps, “in ancient times”] and we were delivered.” The statement makes little sense as it stands. The first vav [ו] consecutive (“and we sinned”) must introduce an explanatory clause here (see Num 1:48 and Isa 39:1 for other examples of this relatively rare use of the vav [ו] consecutive). The final verb (if rendered positively) makes no sense in this context – God’s anger at their sin resulted in judgment, not deliverance. One of the alternatives involves an emendation to וַנִּרְשָׁע (vannirsha’, “and we were evil”; LXX, NRSV, TEV). The Vulgate and the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a support the MT reading. One can either accept an emendation or cast the statement as a question (as above).

[65:18]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[65:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Jerusalem, joy.” The next verse suggests the meaning: The Lord will create Jerusalem to be a source of joy to himself.

[65:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “her people, happiness.” See the preceding note.

[66:14]  ²¹ tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

[66:14]  ²² tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

[66:14]  ²³ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”