42:22 But these people are looted and plundered;
all of them are trapped in pits 1
and held captive 2 in prisons.
They were carried away as loot with no one to rescue them;
they were carried away as plunder, and no one says, “Bring that back!” 3
47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. 4
Let them take their stand –
the ones who see omens in the sky,
who gaze at the stars,
who make monthly predictions –
let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! 5
50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 6
Is my hand too weak 7 to deliver 8 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 9 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 10
1 tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (bÿhorim, “in holes”).
2 tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”
3 tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”
4 tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”
5 tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”
6 sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
7 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
8 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
9 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
10 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”