40:9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion!
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! 1
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
60:9 Indeed, the coastlands 2 look eagerly for me,
the large ships 3 are in the lead,
bringing your sons from far away,
along with their silver and gold,
to honor the Lord your God, 4
the Holy One of Israel, 5 for he has bestowed honor on you.
61:10 I 6 will greatly rejoice 7 in the Lord;
I will be overjoyed because of my God. 8
For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;
he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. 9
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. 10
1 tn The second feminine singular imperatives are addressed to personified Zion/Jerusalem, who is here told to ascend a high hill and proclaim the good news of the Lord’s return to the other towns of Judah. Isa 41:27 and 52:7 speak of a herald sent to Zion, but the masculine singular form מְבַשֵּׂר (mÿvaser) is used in these verses, in contrast to the feminine singular form מְבַשֶּׂרֶת (mÿvaseret) employed in 40:9, where Zion is addressed as a herald.
2 tn Or “islands” (NIV); CEV “distant islands”; TEV “distant lands.”
3 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” See the note at 2:16.
4 tn Heb “to the name of the Lord your God.”
5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
6 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.
7 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
8 tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”
9 tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”
10 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.