41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? 1
Who 2 summons the successive generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,
and at the very end – I am the one. 3
41:10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! 4
I strengthen you –
yes, I help you –
yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand! 5
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.’
44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,
their protector, 6 the Lord who commands armies:
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
46:13 I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away;
I am bringing my salvation near, 7 it does not wait.
I will save Zion; 8
I will adorn Israel with my splendor.” 9
51:5 I am ready to vindicate, 10
I am ready to deliver, 11
I will establish justice among the nations. 12
The coastlands 13 wait patiently for me;
they wait in anticipation for the revelation of my power. 14
65:1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; 15
I appeared to those who did not look for me. 16
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that did not invoke 17 my name.
65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore
over what I am about to create!
For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem 18 to be a source of joy, 19
and her people to be a source of happiness. 20
1 tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”
2 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
3 tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”
4 tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishta’) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (sha’ah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (sha’ah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”) which is attested in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yare’, “fear”).
5 tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).
6 tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
7 tn Heb “my salvation.” The verb “I am bringing near” is understood by ellipsis (note the previous line).
8 tn Heb “I will place in Zion salvation”; NASB “I will grant salvation in Zion.”
9 tn Heb “to Israel my splendor”; KJV, ASV “for Israel my glory.”
10 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”] is near.”
11 tn Heb “my deliverance goes forth.”
12 tn Heb “and my arms will judge [on behalf of] nations.”
13 tn Or “islands” (NIV); TEV “Distant lands.”
14 tn Heb “for my arm” (so NIV, NRSV).
15 tn Heb “I allowed myself to be sought by those who did not ask.”
16 tn Heb “I allowed myself to be found by those who did not seek.”
17 tn Heb “call out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “call on.”
18 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
19 tn Heb “Jerusalem, joy.” The next verse suggests the meaning: The Lord will create Jerusalem to be a source of joy to himself.
20 tn Heb “her people, happiness.” See the preceding note.