3:9 The look on their faces 1 testifies to their guilt; 2
like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. 3
Too bad for them! 4
For they bring disaster on themselves.
13:8 They panic –
cramps and pain seize hold of them
like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.
They look at one another in astonishment;
their faces are flushed red. 7
29:22 So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: 8
“Jacob will no longer be ashamed;
their faces will no longer show their embarrassment. 9
53:3 He was despised and rejected by people, 10
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him; 11
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. 12
1 sn This refers to their proud, arrogant demeanor.
2 tn Heb “answers against them”; NRSV “bears witness against them.”
3 tn Heb “their sin, like Sodom, they declare, they do not conceal [it].”
4 tn Heb “woe to their soul.”
5 tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.
6 sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.
7 tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.
8 tn Heb “So this is what the Lord says to the house of Jacob, the one who ransomed Abraham.” The relative pronoun must refer back to “the Lord,” not to the immediately preceding “Jacob.” It is uncertain to what event in Abraham’s experience this refers. Perhaps the name “Abraham” stands here by metonymy for his descendants through Jacob. If so, the Exodus is in view.
9 tn Heb “and his face will no longer be pale.”
10 tn Heb “lacking of men.” If the genitive is taken as specifying (“lacking with respect to men”), then the idea is that he lacked company because he was rejected by people. Another option is to take the genitive as indicating genus or larger class (i.e., “one lacking among men”). In this case one could translate, “he was a transient” (cf. the use of חָדֵל [khadel] in Ps 39:5 HT [39:4 ET]).
11 tn Heb “like a hiding of the face from him,” i.e., “like one before whom the face is hidden” (see BDB 712 s.v. מַסְתֵּר).
12 sn The servant is likened to a seriously ill person who is shunned by others because of his horrible disease.