44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,
their protector, 1 the Lord who commands armies:
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; 2
shout out, you subterranean regions 3 of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees! 4
For the Lord protects 5 Jacob;
he reveals his splendor through Israel. 6
44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, 7 says,
the one who formed you in the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made everything,
who alone stretched out the sky,
who fashioned the earth all by myself, 8
1 tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
2 tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”
3 tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.
4 tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”
5 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
6 tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”
7 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
8 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “Who [was] with me?” The marginal reading (Qere) is “from with me,” i.e., “by myself.” See BDB 87 s.v. II אֵת 4.c.