14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, 1
as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, 2
‘Since you fell asleep, 3
no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ 4
29:19 The downtrodden will again rejoice in the Lord;
the poor among humankind will take delight 5 in the Holy One of Israel. 6
49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! 7
Rejoice, O earth!
Let the mountains give a joyful shout!
For the Lord consoles his people
and shows compassion to the 8 oppressed.
62:5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons 9 will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
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!
1 tn Heb “concerning you.”
2 tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.
3 tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”
4 tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”
5 tn Or “will rejoice” (NIV, NCV, NLT).
6 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
7 tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
8 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
9 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).