25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. 1
The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,
and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.
Indeed, the Lord has announced it! 2
28:19 Whenever it sweeps by, it will overtake you;
indeed, 3 every morning it will sweep by,
it will come through during the day and the night.” 4
When this announcement is understood,
it will cause nothing but terror.
30:32 Every blow from his punishing cudgel, 5
with which the Lord will beat them, 6
will be accompanied by music from the 7 tambourine and harp,
and he will attack them with his weapons. 8
50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, 9
so that I know how to help the weary. 10
He wakes me up every morning;
he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. 11
51:20 Your children faint;
they lie at the head of every street
like an antelope in a snare.
They are left in a stupor by the Lord’s anger,
by the battle cry of your God. 12
58:6 No, this is the kind of fast I want. 13
I want you 14 to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed, 15
and to break every burdensome yoke.
1 sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.
2 tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
3 tn Or “for” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
4 tn The words “it will come through” are supplied in the translation. The verb “will sweep by” does double duty in the parallel structure.
5 tc The Hebrew text has “every blow from a founded [i.e., “appointed”?] cudgel.” The translation above, with support from a few medieval Hebrew
6 tn Heb “which the Lord lays on him.”
7 tn Heb “will be with” (KJV similar).
8 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and with battles of brandishing [weapons?] he will fight against him.” Some prefer to emend וּבְמִלְחֲמוֹת (uvÿmilkhamot, “and with battles of”) to וּבִמְחֹלוֹת (uvimkholot, “and with dancing”). Note the immediately preceding references to musical instruments.
9 tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”
sn Verses 4-11 contain the third of the so-called servant songs, which depict the career of the Lord’s special servant, envisioned as an ideal Israel (49:3) who rescues the exiles and fulfills God’s purposes for the world. Here the servant alludes to opposition (something hinted at in 49:4), but also expresses his determination to persevere with the Lord’s help.
10 tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.
11 tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”
12 tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”
13 tn Heb “Is this not a fast I choose?” “No” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
14 tn The words “I want you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
15 tn Heb “crushed.”