41:26 Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know?
Who announced it 1 ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’?
Indeed, none of them decreed it!
Indeed, none of them announced it!
Indeed, no one heard you say anything!
47:8 So now, listen to this,
O one who lives so lavishly, 2
who lives securely,
who says to herself, 3
‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! 4
I will never have to live as a widow;
I will never lose my children.’ 5
49:5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth 6 to be his servant –
he did this 7 to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored 8 in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strength 9 –
52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human 10 –
so now 11 he will startle 12 many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, 13
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth 14
will do so in the name of the faithful God; 15
whoever makes an oath in the earth
will do so in the name of the faithful God. 16
For past problems will be forgotten;
I will no longer think about them. 17
1 tn The words “who announced it” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The interrogative particle and verb are understood by ellipsis (see the preceding line).
2 tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”
3 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
4 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.
5 tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”
6 tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).
7 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.
8 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.”
9 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.
10 tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”
11 tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.
12 tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.
13 tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.
14 tn Or “in the land” (NIV, NCV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs again later in this verse, with the same options.
15 tn Heb “will pronounce a blessing by the God of truth.”
16 tn Heb “will take an oath by the God of truth.”
17 tn Heb “for the former distresses will be forgotten, and they will be hidden from my eyes.”