13:18 Their arrows will cut young men to ribbons; 1
they have no compassion on a person’s offspring, 2
they will not 3 look with pity on children.
49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! 4
Rejoice, O earth!
Let the mountains give a joyful shout!
For the Lord consoles his people
and shows compassion to the 5 oppressed.
54:8 In a burst 6 of anger I rejected you 7 momentarily,
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your protector, 8 the Lord.
63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal 9 and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion! 10
1 tn Heb “and bows cut to bits young men.” “Bows” stands by metonymy for arrows.
2 tn Heb “the fruit of the womb.”
3 tn Heb “their eye does not.” Here “eye” is a metonymy for the whole person.
4 tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
5 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
6 tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”
7 tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”
8 tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
9 tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.
10 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.