15:4 The people of 1 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,
their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.
For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;
their courage wavers. 2
46:13 I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away;
I am bringing my salvation near, 3 it does not wait.
I will save Zion; 4
I will adorn Israel with my splendor.” 5
49:1 Listen to me, you coastlands! 6
Pay attention, you people who live far away!
The Lord summoned me from birth; 7
he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. 8
49:19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;
it is desolate and devastated. 9
But now you will be too small to hold your residents,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
57:19 I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate. 10
Complete prosperity 11 is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,”
says the Lord, “and I will heal them.
59:9 For this reason deliverance 12 is far from us 13
and salvation does not reach us.
We wait for light, 14 but see only darkness; 15
we wait for 16 a bright light, 17 but live 18 in deep darkness. 19
1 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
2 tc The Hebrew text has, “For this reason the soldiers of Moab shout, his inner being quivers for him.” To achieve tighter parallelism, some emend the first line, changing חֲלֻצֵי (khalutse, “soldiers”) to חַלְצֵי (khaltse, “loins”) and יָרִיעוּ (yari’u, “they shout,” from רוּעַ, rua’) to יָרְעוּ (yor’u, “they quiver”), a verb from יָרַע (yara’), which also appears in the next line. One can then translate v. 4b as “For this reason the insides of the Moabites quiver, their whole body shakes” (cf. NAB, NRSV).
3 tn Heb “my salvation.” The verb “I am bringing near” is understood by ellipsis (note the previous line).
4 tn Heb “I will place in Zion salvation”; NASB “I will grant salvation in Zion.”
5 tn Heb “to Israel my splendor”; KJV, ASV “for Israel my glory.”
6 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.
7 tn Heb “called me from the womb.”
8 tn Heb “from the inner parts of my mother he mentioned my name.”
9 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.
10 tc The Hebrew text has literally, “one who creates fruit of lips.” Perhaps the pronoun אֲנִי (’ani) should be inserted after the participle; it may have been accidentally omitted by haplography: נוּב שְׂפָתָיִם[אֲנִי] בּוֹרֵא (bore’ [’ani] nuv sÿfatayim). “Fruit of the lips” is often understood as a metonymy for praise; perhaps it refers more generally to joyful shouts (see v. 18).
11 tn Heb “Peace, peace.” The repetition of the noun emphasizes degree.
12 tn מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat), which refers to “justice” in the earlier verses, here refers to “justice from God,” or “vindication.” Because the people are unjust, God refuses to vindicate them before their enemies. See v. 11.
13 sn The prophet speaks on behalf of the sinful nation and confesses its sins.
14 sn Light here symbolizes prosperity and blessing.
15 tn Heb “but, look, darkness”; NIV “but all is darkness.”
16 tn The words “we wait for” are supplied in the translation; the verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
17 tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.
18 tn Or “walk about”; NCV “all we have is darkness.”
19 tn The plural noun form may indicate degree here.