41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched from thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; 1
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle 2
and sinful people their plans. 3
They should return 4 to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, 5
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. 6
65:11 But as for you who abandon the Lord
and forget about worshiping at 7 my holy mountain,
who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’ 8
and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’ 9 –
1 tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
2 tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.
3 tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.
4 tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”
5 tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.
6 sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.
7 tn The Hebrew text has simply, “forget.” The words “about worshiping at” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
8 tn The Hebrew has לַגַּד (laggad, “for Gad”), the name of a pagan deity. See HALOT 176 s.v. II גַּד 2.
9 tn The Hebrew has לַמְנִי (lamni, “for Meni”), the name of a pagan deity. See HALOT 602 s.v. מְגִי.