52:9 In unison give a joyful shout,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the Lord consoles his people;
he protects 1 Jerusalem.
66:13 As a mother consoles a child, 2
so I will console you,
and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”
49:13 Shout for joy, O sky! 3
Rejoice, O earth!
Let the mountains give a joyful shout!
For the Lord consoles his people
and shows compassion to the 4 oppressed.
51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. 5
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? 6
51:19 These double disasters confronted you.
But who feels sorry for you?
Destruction and devastation,
famine and sword.
But who consoles you? 7
1 tn Or “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
2 tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”
3 tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
4 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
5 tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.
6 tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.
7 tc The Hebrew text has אֲנַחֲמֵךְ (’anakhamekh), a first person form, but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads correctly יִנַחֲמֵךְ (yinakhamekh), a third person form.