4:1 Seven women will grab hold of
one man at that time. 1
They will say, “We will provide 2 our own food,
we will provide 3 our own clothes;
but let us belong to you 4 –
take away our shame!” 5
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. 6
25:6 The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. 7
At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine –
tender meat and choicest wine. 8
33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals!
You 9 will see Jerusalem, 10
a peaceful settlement,
a tent that stays put; 11
its stakes will never be pulled up;
none of its ropes will snap in two.
41:13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; 12
I take hold of your hand.
I protect you 13 and make you a covenant mediator for people, 14
and a light 15 to the nations, 16
43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
44:20 He feeds on ashes; 17
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’ 18
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen 19 one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold 20
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings, 21
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
49:19 Yes, your land lies in ruins;
it is desolate and devastated. 22
But now you will be too small to hold your residents,
and those who devoured you will be far away.
66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”
asks the Lord.
“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”
asks your God. 23
1 tn Or “in that day” (ASV).
sn The seven to one ratio emphasizes the great disparity that will exist in the population due to the death of so many men in battle.
2 tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”
3 tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”
4 tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.
5 sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.
6 tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.
7 sn That is, Mount Zion (see 24:23); cf. TEV; NLT “In Jerusalem.”
8 tn Heb “And the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will make for all the nations on this mountain a banquet of meats, a banquet of wine dregs, meats filled with marrow, dregs that are filtered.”
9 tn Heb “your eyes” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
10 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
11 tn Or “that does not travel”; NASB “which shall not be folded.”
12 tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.
13 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).
14 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.
15 sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.
16 tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.
17 tn Or perhaps, “he eats on an ash heap.”
18 tn Heb “Is it not a lie in my right hand?”
19 tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”
20 sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
21 tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
22 tn Heb “Indeed your ruins and your desolate places, and the land of your destruction.” This statement is abruptly terminated in the Hebrew text and left incomplete.
23 sn The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “Of course not!”