45:18 For this is what the Lord says,
the one who created the sky –
he is the true God, 1
the one who formed the earth and made it;
he established it,
he did not create it without order, 2
he formed it to be inhabited –
“I am the Lord, I have no peer.
57:15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules 3 forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated, 4
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged. 5
1 tn Heb “he [is] the God.” The article here indicates uniqueness.
2 tn Or “unformed.” Gen 1:2 describes the world as “unformed” (תֹהוּ, tohu) prior to God’s creative work, but God then formed the world and made it fit for habitation.
3 tn Heb “the one who dwells forever.” שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) is sometimes translated “the one who lives forever,” and understood as a reference to God’s eternal existence. However, the immediately preceding and following descriptions (“high and exalted” and “holy”) emphasize his sovereign rule. In the next line, he declares, “I dwell in an exalted and holy [place],” which refers to the place from which he rules. Therefore it is more likely that שֹׁכֵן עַד (shokhen ’ad) means “I dwell [in my lofty palace] forever” and refers to God’s eternal kingship.
4 tn Heb “and also with the crushed and lowly of spirit.” This may refer to the repentant who have humbled themselves (see 66:2) or more generally to the exiles who have experienced discouragement and humiliation.
5 tn Heb “to restore the lowly of spirit and to restore the heart of the crushed.”