Isaiah 63:17

63:17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray ¹  from your ways, ² 

and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? ³ 

Return for the sake of your servants,

the tribes of your inheritance!

Isaiah 49:6

49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,

to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the remnant ⁴  of Israel? ⁵ 

I will make you a light to the nations, ⁶ 

so you can bring ⁷  my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

[63:17]  ¹ tn Some suggest a tolerative use of the Hiphil here, “[why do] you allow us to stray?” (cf. NLT). Though the Hiphil of תָעָה (ta’ah) appears to be tolerative in Jer 50:6, elsewhere it is preferable or necessary to take it as causative. See Isa 3:12; 9:15; and 30:28, as well as Gen 20:13; 2 Kgs 21:9; Job 12:24-25; Prov 12:26; Jer 23:13, 32; Hos 4:12; Amos 2:4; Mic 3:5.

[63:17]  ² tn This probably refers to God’s commands.

[63:17]  ³ tn Heb “[Why do] you harden our heart[s] so as not to fear you.” The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[49:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”

[49:6]  ⁵ sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.

[49:6]  ⁶ tn See the note at 42:6.

[49:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”