37:30 1 “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: 2 This year you will eat what grows wild, 3 and next year 4 what grows on its own. But the year after that 5 you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 6
38:12 My dwelling place 7 is removed and taken away 8 from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; 9
from the loom he cuts me off. 10
You turn day into night and end my life. 11
44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants 12
and brings to pass the announcements 13 of his messengers,
who says about Jerusalem, 14 ‘She will be inhabited,’
and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
her ruins I will raise up,’
49:5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth 15 to be his servant –
he did this 16 to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored 17 in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strength 18 –
49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 19 of Israel? 20
I will make you a light to the nations, 21
so you can bring 22 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
49:23 Kings will be your children’s 23 guardians;
their princesses will nurse your children. 24
With their faces to the ground they will bow down to you
and they will lick the dirt on 25 your feet.
Then you will recognize that I am the Lord;
those who wait patiently for me are not put to shame.
53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, 26
he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, 27
because he willingly submitted 28 to death
and was numbered with the rebels,
when he lifted up the sin of many
and intervened 29 on behalf of the rebels.”
57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules 30 forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated, 31
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged. 32
59:21 “As for me, this is my promise to 33 them,” says the Lord. “My spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I have placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and descendants from this time forward,” 34 says the Lord.
63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, 35
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? 36
Who 37 is this one wearing royal attire, 38
who marches confidently 39 because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!” 40
65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth 41
will do so in the name of the faithful God; 42
whoever makes an oath in the earth
will do so in the name of the faithful God. 43
For past problems will be forgotten;
I will no longer think about them. 44
66:12 For this is what the Lord says:
“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,
the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. 45
You will nurse from her breast 46 and be carried at her side;
you will play on her knees.
1 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 22-29) ends and the Lord again addresses Hezekiah and the people directly (see v. 21).
2 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot, “sign”) is a future reminder of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
3 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
4 tn Heb “and in the second year” (so ASV).
5 tn Heb “in the third year” (so KJV, NAB).
6 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 30b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity.
7 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.
8 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.”
9 tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).
10 sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.
11 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
12 tn Heb “the word of his servant.” The following context indicates that the Lord’s prophets are in view.
13 tn Heb “counsel.” The Hebrew term עֵצָה (’etsah) probably refers here to the divine plan as announced by the prophets. See HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה.
14 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
15 tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).
16 tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.
17 tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”
18 tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.
19 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
20 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
21 tn See the note at 42:6.
22 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
23 tn Heb “your,” but Zion here stands by metonymy for her children (see v. 22b).
24 tn Heb “you.” See the preceding note.
25 tn Or “at your feet” (NAB, NIV); NLT “from your feet.”
26 tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).
27 sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.
28 tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”
29 tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.
30 tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.
31 tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.
32 tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”
33 tn Or “my covenant with” (so many English versions); NCV “my agreement with.”
sn The Lord promises the repentant (note “to them”) that they and their offspring will possess his spirit and function as his spokesmen. In this regard they follow in the footsteps of the Lord’s special servant. See 42:1; 49:2; 51:16.
34 tn Heb “from now and on into the future.”
35 sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.
36 tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”
37 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.
38 tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”
39 tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).
40 tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”
41 tn Or “in the land” (NIV, NCV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs again later in this verse, with the same options.
42 tn Heb “will pronounce a blessing by the God of truth.”
43 tn Heb “will take an oath by the God of truth.”
44 tn Heb “for the former distresses will be forgotten, and they will be hidden from my eyes.”
45 tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”
46 tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).
47 tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).
48 tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).
49 sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).
50 tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).
51 sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).
52 tn Or “islands” (NIV).