46:4 Even when you are old, I will take care of you, 1
even when you have gray hair, I will carry you.
I made you and I will support you;
I will carry you and rescue you. 2
53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, 3
but he did not even open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,
like a sheep silent before her shearers,
he did not even open his mouth. 4
1 tn Heb “until old age, I am he” (NRSV similar); NLT “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.”
2 sn Unlike the weary idol gods, whose images must be carried by animals, the Lord carries his weary people.
3 tn The translation assumes the Niphal is passive; another option is take the clause (note the subject + verb pattern) as concessive and the Niphal as reflexive, “though he humbled himself.”
4 sn This verse emphasizes the servant’s silent submission. The comparison to a sheep does not necessarily suggest a sacrificial metaphor. Sheep were slaughtered for food as well as for sacrificial rituals, and טֶבַח (tevakh) need not refer to sacrificial slaughter (see Gen 43:16; Prov 7:22; 9:2; Jer 50:27; note also the use of the related verb in Exod 21:37; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 25:11).