11:12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;
he will gather Israel’s dispersed people 1
and assemble Judah’s scattered people
from the four corners of the earth.
43:9 All nations gather together,
the peoples assemble.
Who among them announced this?
Who predicted earlier events for us? 2
Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;
let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’
44:11 Look, all his associates 3 will be put to shame;
the craftsmen are mere humans. 4
Let them all assemble and take their stand!
They will panic and be put to shame.
1 tn Or “the banished of Israel,” i.e., the exiles.
2 tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”
3 tn The pronoun “his” probably refers to the one who forms/casts an idol (v. 10), in which case it refers to the craftsman’s associates in the idol-manufacturing guild.
4 sn The point seems to be this: If the idols are the mere products of human hands, then those who trust in them will be disappointed, for man-made gods are incapable of helping their “creators.”