16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,
as well as the vines of Sibmah.
The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,
which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;
their shoots spread out and cross the sea.
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 1
Is my hand too weak 2 to deliver 3 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 4 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 5
51:3 Certainly the Lord will console Zion;
he will console all her ruins.
He will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the Garden of the Lord.
Happiness and joy will be restored to 6 her,
thanksgiving and the sound of music.
1 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.
2 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
3 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
4 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
5 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”
6 tn Heb “found in” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).