42:14 “I have been inactive 1 for a long time;
I kept quiet and held back.
Like a woman in labor I groan;
I pant and gasp. 2
42:17 Those who trust in idols
will turn back and be utterly humiliated, 3
those who say to metal images, ‘You are our gods.’”
48:9 For the sake of my reputation 4 I hold back my anger;
for the sake of my prestige 5 I restrain myself from destroying you. 6
50:6 I offered my back to those who attacked, 7
my jaws to those who tore out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from insults and spitting.
59:14 Justice is driven back;
godliness 8 stands far off.
Indeed, 9 honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal 10 and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion! 11
64:12 In light of all this, 12 how can you still hold back, Lord?
How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?
66:6 The sound of battle comes from the city;
the sound comes from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.
1 tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”
2 sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
3 tn Heb “be ashamed with shame”; ASV, NASB “be utterly put to shame.”
4 tn Heb “for the sake of my name” (so NAB, NASB); NLT “for my own sake.”
5 tn Heb “and my praise.” לְמַעַן (lÿma’an, “for the sake of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
6 tn Heb “I restrain [myself] concerning you not to cut you off.”
7 tn Or perhaps, “who beat [me].”
8 tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”
9 tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).
10 tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.
11 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.
12 tn Heb “because of these”; KJV, ASV “for these things.”