Isaiah 47-51

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 47:1 tn בְּתוּלַה (b^etulah) often refers to a virgin, but the phrase “virgin daughter” is apparently stylized (see also 23:12; 37:22). In the extended metaphor of this chapter, where Babylon is personified as a queen (vv. 5, 7), she is depicted as being both a wife and mother (vv. 8-9).
2. Isaiah 47:1 tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).
3. Isaiah 47:3 tn Heb In this context “shame” is a euphemism referring to their naked bodies.
4. Isaiah 47:3 tn Heb “I will not meet a man.” The verb פָּגַע (paga‘) apparently carries the nuance “meet with kindness” here (cf. 64:5, and see BDB 803 s.v. Qal.2).
5. Isaiah 47:4 tc The Hebrew text reads, “Our redeemer—the Lord of armies [traditionally, “the Lord of hosts”] is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” The ancient Greek version adds “says” before “our redeemer.” אָמַר (ʾamar) may have accidentally dropped from the text by virtual haplography. Note that the preceding word אָדָם (ʾadam) is graphically similar.sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
6. Isaiah 47:5 tn Heb “darkness,” which may indicate a place of hiding where a fugitive would seek shelter and protection.
7. Isaiah 47:5 tn Or “For” (NASB, NRSV).
8. Isaiah 47:6 tn Or “compassion.”
9. Isaiah 47:6 tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”
10. Isaiah 47:7 tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”
11. Isaiah 47:7 tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”
12. Isaiah 47:7 tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”
13. Isaiah 47:8 tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”
14. Isaiah 47:8 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
15. Isaiah 47:8 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.
16. Isaiah 47:8 tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”
17. Isaiah 47:9 tn Heb “loss of children and widowhood.” In the Hebrew text the phrase is in apposition to “both of these” in line 1.
18. Isaiah 47:9 tn Heb “according to their fullness, they will come upon you.”
19. Isaiah 47:9 tn For other examples of the preposition bet (בְּ) having the sense of “although, despite,” see BDB 90 s.v. III.7.
20. Isaiah 47:9 sn Reference is made to incantations and amulets, both of which were important in Mesopotamian religion. They were used to ward off danger and demons.
21. Isaiah 47:10 tn Heb “you trusted in your evil”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “wickedness.”
22. Isaiah 47:10 tn Or “said”; NAB “said to yourself”’ NASB “said in your heart.”
23. Isaiah 47:10 tn The words “self-professed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
24. Isaiah 47:10 tn See the note at v. 8.
25. Isaiah 47:11 tc The Hebrew text has שַׁחְרָהּ (shakhrah), which is either a suffixed noun (“its dawning,” i.e., origin) or infinitive (“to look early for it”). Some have suggested an emendation to שַׁחֲדָהּ (shakhadah), a suffixed infinitive from שָׁחַד (shakhad, “[how] to buy it off”; see BDB 1005 s.v. שָׁחַד). This forms a nice parallel with the following couplet. The above translation is based on a different etymology of the verb in question. HALOT 1466 s.v. III שׁחר references a verbal root with these letters (שׁחד) that refers to magical activity.
26. Isaiah 47:11 tn Heb “you will not know”; NIV “you cannot foresee.”
27. Isaiah 47:12 tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”
28. Isaiah 47:12 tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.
29. Isaiah 47:12 tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”
30. Isaiah 47:12 tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”
31. Isaiah 47:12 tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.
32. Isaiah 47:13 tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”
33. Isaiah 47:13 tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you—the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months—from those things which are coming upon you.”
34. Isaiah 47:14 tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.
35. Isaiah 47:14 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “there is no coal [for?] their food, light to sit before it.” Some emend לַחְמָם (lakhmam, “their food”) to לְחֻמָּם (l^ekhummam, “to warm them”; see HALOT 328 s.v. חמם). This statement may allude to Isa 44:16, where idolaters are depicted warming themselves over a fire made from wood, part of which was used to form idols. The fire of divine judgment will be no such campfire; its flames will devour and destroy.
36. Isaiah 47:15 tn Heb “So they will be to you”; NIV “That is all they can do for you.”
37. Isaiah 47:15 tn Heb “that for which you toiled, your traders from your youth.” The omen readers and star gazers are likened to merchants with whom Babylon has had an ongoing economic relationship.
38. Isaiah 47:15 tn Heb “each to his own side, they err.”
39. Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”
40. Isaiah 48:1 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a variation from an original מִמְּעֵי (mimm^eʿe, “from the inner parts of”). The translation above as well as several other translations treat the text this way or understand that this is what the Hebrew phrase figuratively means (cf. HCSB, NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV). Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading and render it literally as “waters.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.
41. Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”
42. Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”
43. Isaiah 48:2 tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qaraʾ) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.
44. Isaiah 48:2 tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”
45. Isaiah 48:3 tn Heb “the former things beforehand I declared.”
46. Isaiah 48:3 tn Heb “and from my mouth they came forth, and I caused them to be heard.”
47. Isaiah 48:4 tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.
48. Isaiah 48:4 sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.
49. Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”
50. Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”
51. Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”
52. Isaiah 48:7 tn Heb “are created” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “They are brand new.”
53. Isaiah 48:7 tn Heb “look”; KJV, NASB “Behold.”
54. Isaiah 48:8 tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”
55. Isaiah 48:8 tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
56. Isaiah 48:8 tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
57. Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “for the sake of my name” (so NAB, NASB); NLT “for my own sake.”
58. Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “and my praise.” לְמַעַן (l^emaʿan, “for the sake of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
59. Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “I restrain [myself] concerning you not to cut you off.”
60. Isaiah 48:10 tc The Hebrew text has בְּחַרְתִּיךָ (b^ekhartikha, “I have chosen you”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly בחנתיכה (“I have tested you”). The metallurgical background of the imagery suggests that purification through testing is the idea.
61. Isaiah 48:11 tn The Hebrew text repeats לְמַעֲנִי (l^emaʿani, “for my sake”) for emphasis.
62. Isaiah 48:11 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “for how can it be defiled?” The subject of the verb is probably “name” (v. 9).
63. Isaiah 48:11 sn See 42:8.
64. Isaiah 48:12 tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”
65. Isaiah 48:14 sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).
66. Isaiah 48:14 tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.” sn The Lord’s ally is a reference to Cyrus.
67. Isaiah 48:14 tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”
68. Isaiah 48:15 tn Heb “and his way will be prosperous.”
69. Isaiah 48:16 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
70. Isaiah 48:16 sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.
71. Isaiah 48:17 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
72. Isaiah 48:17 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
73. Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”
74. Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.
75. Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (ts^edaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.
76. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “like sand”; NCV “as many as the grains of sand.”
77. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “and the issue from your inner parts.”
78. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “and his name would not be cut off and would not be destroyed from before me.”
79. Isaiah 48:20 tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
80. Isaiah 48:20 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
81. Isaiah 48:21 sn The translation above (present tense) assumes that this verse describes God’s provision for returning Babylonian exiles (see v. 20; 35:6; 49:10) in terms reminiscent of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exod 17:6).
82. Isaiah 49:1 tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “in far-off lands.”sn The Lord’s special servant, introduced in chap. 42, speaks here of his commission.
83. Isaiah 49:1 tn Heb “called me from the womb.”
84. Isaiah 49:1 tn Heb “from the inner parts of my mother he mentioned my name.”
85. Isaiah 49:2 tn Or perhaps, “polished” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); NASB “a select arrow.”
86. Isaiah 49:2 sn The figurative language emphasizes the servant’s importance as the Lord’s effective instrument. The servant’s mouth, which stands metonymically for his words, is compared to a sharp sword because he will be an effective spokesman on God’s behalf (see 50:4). The Lord holds his hand on the servant, ready to draw and use him at the appropriate time. The servant is like a sharpened arrow reserved in a quiver for just the right moment.
87. Isaiah 49:3 sn This verse identifies the servant as Israel. This seems to refer to the exiled nation (cf. 41:8-9; 44:1-2, 21; 45:4; 48:20), but in vv. 5-6 this servant says he has been commissioned to reconcile Israel to God, so he must be distinct from the exiled nation. This servant is an ideal “Israel” who, like Moses of old, mediates a covenant for the nation (see v. 8), leads them out of bondage (v. 9a), and carries out God’s original plan for Israel by positively impacting the pagan nations (see v. 6b). By living according to God’s law, Israel was to be a model of God’s standards of justice to the surrounding nations (Deut 4:6-8). The sinful nation failed, but the servant, the ideal “Israel,” will succeed by establishing justice throughout the earth.
88. Isaiah 49:4 tn Or “said” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “I replied.”
89. Isaiah 49:4 tn Heb “for nothing and emptiness.” Synonyms are combined to emphasize the common idea.
90. Isaiah 49:4 tn Heb “But my justice is with the Lord, and my reward [or “wage”] with my God.”
91. Isaiah 49:5 tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).
92. Isaiah 49:5 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.
93. Isaiah 49:5 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.”
94. Isaiah 49:5 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.
95. Isaiah 49:6 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
96. Isaiah 49:6 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.
97. Isaiah 49:6 tn See the note at 42:6.
98. Isaiah 49:6 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
99. Isaiah 49:7 tn Heb “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
100. Isaiah 49:7 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
101. Isaiah 49:7 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “to [one who] despises life.” It is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a לבזוי, which should be vocalized as a passive participle, לִבְזוּי (livzuy, “to the one despised with respect to life” [נֶפֶשׁ is a genitive of specification]). The consonantal sequence וי was probably misread as ה in the MT tradition. The contextual argument favors the 1QIsa^a reading. As J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:294) points out, the three terse phrases “convey a picture of lowliness, worthlessness, and helplessness.”
102. Isaiah 49:7 tn MT’s Piel participle (“to the one who rejects”) does not fit contextually. The form should be revocalized as a Pual, “to the one rejected.”
103. Isaiah 49:7 tn Parallelism (see “rulers,” “kings,” “princes”) suggests that the singular גּוֹי (goy) be emended to a plural or understood in a collective sense (see 55:5).
104. Isaiah 49:7 tn For this sense of קוּם (qum), see Gen 19:1; 23:7; 33:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Sam 20:41; 25:41; 1 Kgs 2:19; Job 29:8.
105. Isaiah 49:8 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).
106. Isaiah 49:8 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (b^erit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (ʿam, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.
107. Isaiah 49:8 tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”
108. Isaiah 49:8 tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.
109. Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.
110. Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”
111. Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).
112. Isaiah 49:10 tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”
113. Isaiah 49:12 tc The MT reads “Sinim” here; the Dead Sea Scrolls read “Syene,” a location in Egypt associated with modern Aswan. A number of recent translations adopt this reading: “Syene” (NAB, NRSV); “Aswan” (NIV); “Egypt” (NLT).sn The precise location of the land of Sinim is uncertain, but since the north and west are mentioned in the previous line, it was a probably located in the distant east or south.
114. Isaiah 49:13 tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
115. Isaiah 49:13 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
116. Isaiah 49:14 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
117. Isaiah 49:15 tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”
118. Isaiah 49:15 tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”
119. Isaiah 49:15 tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).
120. Isaiah 49:15 sn The argument of v. 15 seems to develop as follows: The Lord has an innate attachment to Zion, just like a mother does for her infant child. But even if mothers were to suddenly abandon their children, the Lord would never forsake Zion. In other words, the Lord’s attachment to Zion is like a mother’s attachment to her infant child, but even stronger.
121. Isaiah 49:16 tn Heb “you.” Here the pronoun is put by metonymy for the person’s name.
122. Isaiah 49:18 tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see.”
123. Isaiah 49:19 tn Heb “Indeed your ruins and your desolate places, and the land of your destruction.” This statement is abruptly terminated in the Hebrew text and left incomplete.
124. Isaiah 49:20 tn Heb “me.” The singular is collective.
125. Isaiah 49:20 tn Heb “draw near to me so I can dwell.”
126. Isaiah 49:21 tn Heb “and you will say in your heart.”
127. Isaiah 49:21 tn Or “exiled and thrust away”; NIV “exiled and rejected.”
128. Isaiah 49:23 tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).
129. Isaiah 49:23 tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.
130. Isaiah 49:23 tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”
131. Isaiah 49:24 tc The Hebrew text has צָדִיק (tsadiq, “a righteous [one]”), but this makes no sense in the parallelism. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly עריץ (“violent [one], tyrant”; see v. 25).
132. Isaiah 49:26 sn Verse 26a depicts siege warfare and bloody defeat. The besieged enemy will be so starved they will eat their own flesh. The bloodstained bodies lying on the blood-soaked battle site will look as if they collapsed in drunkenness.
133. Isaiah 49:26 tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB).
134. Isaiah 49:26 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
135. Isaiah 49:26 tn Or “the Mighty One of Jacob.” See 1:24.
136. Isaiah 50:1 sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.
137. Isaiah 50:1 sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.
138. Isaiah 50:1 sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.
139. Isaiah 50:2 sn The present-tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
140. Isaiah 50:2 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
141. Isaiah 50:2 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
142. Isaiah 50:2 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
143. Isaiah 50:2 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”
144. Isaiah 50:4 tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”sn Verses 4-11 contain the third of the so-called servant songs, which depict the career of the Lord’s special servant, envisioned as an ideal Israel (49:3) who rescues the exiles and fulfills God’s purposes for the world. Here the servant alludes to opposition (something hinted at in 49:4), but also expresses his determination to persevere with the Lord’s help.
145. Isaiah 50:4 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 (ʿut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (ʿanot) from עָנָה (ʿanah, “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.
146. Isaiah 50:4 tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”
147. Isaiah 50:5 tn Or perhaps, “makes me obedient.” The text reads literally, “has opened for me an ear.”
148. Isaiah 50:6 tn Or perhaps, “who beat [me].”
149. Isaiah 50:7 tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”
150. Isaiah 50:8 tn Heb “Let us stand together!”
151. Isaiah 50:8 tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”
152. Isaiah 50:8 tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”
153. Isaiah 50:10 tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
154. Isaiah 50:10 tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.
155. Isaiah 50:11 tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (m^eʾazz^ere, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (m^eʾiri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).
156. Isaiah 50:11 tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.
157. Isaiah 50:11 tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.
158. Isaiah 50:11 tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).
159. Isaiah 50:11 sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.
160. Isaiah 50:11 tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
161. Isaiah 50:11 sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.
162. Isaiah 51:1 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”
163. Isaiah 51:1 tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”
164. Isaiah 51:1 sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.
165. Isaiah 51:2 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
166. Isaiah 51:2 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
167. Isaiah 51:2 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
168. Isaiah 51:2 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”
169. Isaiah 51:3 sn The rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) is known for its dry, desert-like conditions in the area of the Dead Sea and southward (although it also includes the Jordan Valley to the north). The wilderness (מִדְבָּר, midbar) is an area that receives less than twelve inches of rain per year and so can only support meager vegetation at best. The imagery here focuses on the transformation from arid and lifeless to watered and luxuriant.
170. Isaiah 51:3 tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
171. Isaiah 51:4 tn Or “certainly.”
172. Isaiah 51:4 tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”
173. Isaiah 51:4 tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”
174. Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”
175. Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”
176. Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”
177. Isaiah 51:5 tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”
178. Isaiah 51:5 tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).
179. Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.
180. Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”
181. Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”
182. Isaiah 51:6 tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”
183. Isaiah 51:7 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
184. Isaiah 51:8 tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”
185. Isaiah 51:9 tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.
186. Isaiah 51:9 tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text hasהַמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”
187. Isaiah 51:9 tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).
188. Isaiah 51:9 tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”
189. Isaiah 51:9 tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.
190. Isaiah 51:10 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Are you not the one who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made…?”
191. Isaiah 51:10 tn Heb “the redeemed” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “the ransomed.”
192. Isaiah 51:11 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
193. Isaiah 51:11 tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”
194. Isaiah 51:11 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”
195. Isaiah 51:12 tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.
196. Isaiah 51:12 tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (ʾat-hiʾ) in vv. 9-10.
197. Isaiah 51:13 tn Heb “and that you forget.”
198. Isaiah 51:13 tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
199. Isaiah 51:13 tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”
200. Isaiah 51:13 tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.
201. Isaiah 51:14 tn Heb “who is stooped over” (under a burden).
202. Isaiah 51:14 tn Heb “the pit” (so KJV); ASV, NAB “die and go down into the pit”; NASB, NIV “dungeon”; NCV “prison.”
203. Isaiah 51:14 tn Heb “he will not lack his bread.”
204. Isaiah 51:16 tn The addressee (second masculine singular, as in vv. 13, 15) in this verse is unclear. The exiles are addressed in the immediately preceding verses (note the critical tone of vv. 12-13 and the reference to the exiles in v. 14). However, it seems unlikely that they are addressed in v. 16, for the addressee appears to be commissioned to tell Zion, who here represents the restored exiles, “you are my people.” The addressee is distinct from the exiles. The language of v. 16a is reminiscent of 49:2 and 50:4, where the Lord’s special servant says he is God’s spokesman and effective instrument. Perhaps the Lord, having spoken to the exiles in vv. 1-15, now responds to this servant, who spoke just prior to this in 50:4-11.
205. Isaiah 51:16 tn Heb “I place my words in your mouth.”
206. Isaiah 51:16 tn Heb “with the shadow of my hand.”
207. Isaiah 51:16 tc The Hebrew text has לִנְטֹעַ (lintoaʿ, “to plant”). Several scholars prefer to emend this form to לִנְטֹת (lintot) from נָטָה (natah, “to stretch out”); see v. 13, as well as 40:22; 42:5; 44:24; 45:12; cf. NAB, NCV, NRSV. However, since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a, LXX (and Aquila and Symmachus), and Vulgate support the MT reading, there is no need to emend the form. The interpretation is clear enough: Yahweh fixed the sky in its place.
208. Isaiah 51:16 tn The infinitives in v. 16b are most naturally understood as indicating the purpose of the divine actions described in v. 16a. The relationship of the third infinitive to the commission is clear enough—the Lord has made the addressee (his special servant?) his spokesman so that the latter might speak encouraging words to those in Zion. But how do the first two infinitives relate? The text seems to indicate that the Lord has commissioned the addressee so that the latter might create the universe! Perhaps creation imagery is employed metaphorically here to refer to the transformation that Jerusalem will experience (see 65:17-18).
209. Isaiah 51:17 tn Heb “[you] who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his anger.”
210. Isaiah 51:17 tn Heb “the goblet, the cup [that causes] staggering, you drank, you drained.”
211. Isaiah 51:19 tc The Hebrew text has אֲנַחֲמֵךְ (ʾanakhamekh), a first person form, but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly יְנַחֲמֵךְ (y^enakhamekh), a third person form.
212. Isaiah 51:20 tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”
213. Isaiah 51:22 tn Or “Lord,” from אֲדוֹן (ʾadon).
214. Isaiah 51:22 tn Many translations say “pleads the cause of his people” (KJV, NRSV, ESV) or similarly (NASB, NIV). The verb רִיב (riv, “to contend, dispute, conduct a law suit”) normally conveys that notion with the cognate direct object רִיב (riv, “cause, dispute, legal case”), but that is lacking here. Instead “his people” are the direct object, an unusual construction. The verb רִיב typically uses a preposition to indicate whether the action is done for or against someone. The syntax here may reflect Isa 3:13 where God is said to judge his people. There רִיב occurs without a direct object, but “his people” are supplied by parallelism in the second half of the line. The immediate context here is about the reversal of judgment, so referring to God as the one who judges his people but now takes his cup of judgement away would fit well.
215. Isaiah 51:22 tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”
216. Isaiah 51:22 tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”
217. Isaiah 51:23 tn That is, to make them drink it.