44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants 1
and brings to pass the announcements 2 of his messengers,
who says about Jerusalem, 3 ‘She will be inhabited,’
and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
her ruins I will raise up,’
61:10 I 4 will greatly rejoice 5 in the Lord;
I will be overjoyed because of my God. 6
For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;
he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. 7
I look like a bridegroom when he wears a turban as a priest would;
I look like a bride when she puts on her jewelry. 8
66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen this?
Can a country 9 be brought forth in one day?
Can a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!
1 tn Heb “the word of his servant.” The following context indicates that the Lord’s prophets are in view.
2 tn Heb “counsel.” The Hebrew term עֵצָה (’etsah) probably refers here to the divine plan as announced by the prophets. See HALOT 867 s.v. I עֵצָה.
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
4 sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.
5 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
6 tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”
7 tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”
8 tn Heb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.
9 tn Heb “land,” but here אֶרֶץ (’erets) stands metonymically for an organized nation (see the following line).