38:12 My dwelling place 2 is removed and taken away 3 from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; 4
from the loom he cuts me off. 5
You turn day into night and end my life. 6
45:11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, 7 the one who formed him,
concerning things to come: 8
“How dare you question me 9 about my children!
How dare you tell me what to do with 10 the work of my own hands!
58:2 They seek me day after day;
they want to know my requirements, 11
like a nation that does what is right
and does not reject the law of their God.
They ask me for just decrees;
they want to be near God.
61:10 I 12 will greatly rejoice 13 in the Lord;
I will be overjoyed because of my God. 14
For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;
he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. 15
I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;
I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry. 16
65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword, 17
all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, 18
because I called to you, and you did not respond,
I spoke and you did not listen.
You did evil before me; 19
you chose to do what displeases me.”
66:4 So I will choose severe punishment 20 for them;
I will bring on them what they dread,
because I called, and no one responded,
I spoke and they did not listen.
They did evil before me; 21
they chose to do what displeases me.”
1 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
2 tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.
3 tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”
4 tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).
5 sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.
6 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
7 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
8 tc The Hebrew text reads “the one who formed him, the coming things.” Among various suggestions, some have proposed an emendation of יֹצְרוֹ (yotsÿro, “the one who formed him”) to יֹצֵר (yotser, “the one who forms”; the suffixed form in the Hebrew text may be influenced by vv. 9-10, where the same form appears twice) and takes “coming things” as the object of the participle (either objective genitive or accusative): “the one who brings the future into being.”
9 tn Heb “Ask me” The rhetorical command sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
10 tn Heb “Do you command me about…?” The rhetorical question sarcastically expresses the Lord’s disgust with those who question his ways.
11 tn Heb “ways” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV); NLT “my laws.”
12 sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.
13 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
14 tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”
15 tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”
16 tn Heb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.
17 tn Heb “I assign you to the sword.” Some emend the Qal verb form מָנִיתִי (maniti, “I assign”) to the Piel מִנִּיתִי (minniti, “ I ordain”). The verb sounds like the name of the god Meni (מְנִי, mÿni, “Destiny, Fate”). The sound play draws attention to the irony of the statement. The sinners among God’s people worship the god Meni, apparently in an effort to ensure a bright destiny for themselves. But the Lord is the one who really determines their destiny and he has decreed their demise.
18 tn Or “at the slaughter”; NIV “for the slaughter”; NLT “before the executioner.”
19 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”
20 tn The precise meaning of the noun is uncertain. It occurs only here and in 3:4 (but see the note there). It appears to be derived from the verbal root עָלַל (’alal), which can carry the nuance “deal severely.”
21 tn Heb “that which is evil in my eyes.”