38:16 O sovereign master, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me. 1
Restore my health 2 and preserve my life.’
61:4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins
and restore the places that were desolate; 3
they will reestablish the ruined cities,
the places that have been desolate since ancient times.
1 tn The translation offered here is purely speculative. The text as it stands is meaningless and probably corrupt. It reads literally, “O lord, on account of them [the suffix is masculine plural], they live, and to all in them [the suffix is feminine plural], life of my spirit.”
2 tn The prefixed verbal form could be taken as indicative, “you restore my health,” but the following imperatival form suggests it be understood as an imperfect of request.
3 tn Heb “and the formerly desolate places they will raise up.”