5:7 Indeed 1 Israel 2 is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,
the people 3 of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.
He waited for justice, but look what he got – disobedience! 4
He waited for fairness, but look what he got – cries for help! 5
51:6 Look up at the sky!
Look at the earth below!
For the sky will dissipate 6 like smoke,
and the earth will wear out like clothes;
its residents will die like gnats.
But the deliverance I give 7 is permanent;
the vindication I provide 8 will not disappear. 9
61:10 I 10 will greatly rejoice 11 in the Lord;
I will be overjoyed because of my God. 12
For he clothes me in garments of deliverance;
he puts on me a robe symbolizing vindication. 13
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. 14
1 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
2 tn Heb “the house of Israel” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
3 tn Heb “men,” but in a generic sense.
4 tn Heb “but, look, disobedience.” The precise meaning of מִשְׂפָּח (mishpakh), which occurs only here in the OT, is uncertain. Some have suggested a meaning “bloodshed.” The term is obviously chosen for its wordplay value; it sounds very much like מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “justice”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
5 tn Heb “but, look, a cry for help.” The verb (“he waited”) does double duty in the parallelism. צְעָקָה (tsa’qah) refers to the cries for help made by the oppressed. It sounds very much like צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “fairness”). The sound play draws attention to the point being made; the people have not met the Lord’s expectations.
6 tn Heb “will be torn in pieces.” The perfect indicates the certitude of the event, from the Lord’s rhetorical perspective.
7 tn Heb “my deliverance.” The same Hebrew word can also be translated “salvation” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); cf. CEV “victory.”
8 tn Heb “my righteousness [or “vindication”].”
9 tn Heb “will not be shattered [or “dismayed”].”
10 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.
11 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
12 tn Heb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”
13 tn Heb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”
14 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.