Isaiah 26:8

26:8 Yes, as your judgments unfold,

O Lord, we wait for you.

We desire your fame and reputation to grow.

Isaiah 33:2

33:2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you.

Give us strength each morning!

Deliver us when distress comes.


tn The Hebrew text has, “yes, the way of your judgments.” The translation assumes that “way” is related to the verb “we wait” as an adverbial accusative (“in the way of your judgments we wait”). מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ (mishpatekha, “your judgments”) could refer to the Lord’s commandments, in which case one might translate, “as we obey your commands.” However, in verse 9 the same form refers to divine acts of judgment on evildoers.

tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [is] the desire of [our?] being.”

tn Heb “Be their arm each morning.” “Arm” is a symbol for strength. The mem suffixed to the noun has been traditionally understood as a third person suffix, but this is contrary to the context, where the people speak of themselves in the first person. The mem (מ) is probably enclitic with ellipsis of the pronoun, which can be supplied from the context. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:589, n. 1.

tn Heb “[Be] also our deliverance in the time of distress.”