5:19 They say, “Let him hurry, let him act quickly, 1
so we can see;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel 2 take shape 3 and come to pass,
then we will know it!”
10:6 I sent him 4 against a godless 5 nation,
I ordered him to attack the people with whom I was angry, 6
to take plunder and to carry away loot,
to trample them down 7 like dirt in the streets.
25:9 At that time they will say, 8
“Look, here 9 is our God!
We waited for him and he delivered us.
Here 10 is the Lord! We waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”
44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! 15
Let him announce it and explain it to me –
since I established an ancient people – 16
let them announce future events! 17
45:1 This is what the Lord says to his chosen 18 one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I hold 19
in order to subdue nations before him,
and disarm kings, 20
to open doors before him,
so gates remain unclosed:
53:3 He was despised and rejected by people, 21
one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;
people hid their faces from him; 22
he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. 23
1 tn Heb “let his work hurry, let it hasten.” The pronoun “his” refers to God, as the parallel line makes clear. The reference to his “work” alludes back to v. 12, which refers to his ‘work” of judgment. With these words the people challenged the prophet’s warning of approaching judgment. They were in essence saying that they saw no evidence that God was about to work in such a way.
2 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
3 tn Heb “draw near” (so NASB); NRSV “hasten to fulfillment.”
4 sn Throughout this section singular forms are used to refer to Assyria; perhaps the king of Assyria is in view (see v. 12).
5 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “impious”; NCV “separated from God.”
6 tn Heb “and against the people of my anger I ordered him.”
7 tn Heb “to make it [i.e., the people] a trampled place.”
8 tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”
9 tn Heb “this [one].”
10 tn Heb “this [one].”
11 sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681
12 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
13 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.
14 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
15 tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”
16 tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmi’im me’olam ’otiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.
17 tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”
18 tn Heb “anointed” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “his appointed king.”
19 sn The “right hand” is a symbol of activity and strength; the Lord directs Cyrus’ activities and assures his success.
20 tn Heb “and the belts of kings I will loosen”; NRSV “strip kings of their robes”; NIV “strip kings of their armor.”
21 tn Heb “lacking of men.” If the genitive is taken as specifying (“lacking with respect to men”), then the idea is that he lacked company because he was rejected by people. Another option is to take the genitive as indicating genus or larger class (i.e., “one lacking among men”). In this case one could translate, “he was a transient” (cf. the use of חָדֵל [khadel] in Ps 39:5 HT [39:4 ET]).
22 tn Heb “like a hiding of the face from him,” i.e., “like one before whom the face is hidden” (see BDB 712 s.v. מַסְתֵּר).
23 sn The servant is likened to a seriously ill person who is shunned by others because of his horrible disease.