53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, 1
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. 2
57:11 Whom are you worried about?
Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully
and not remember me
or think about me? 3
Because I have been silent for so long, 4
you are not afraid of me. 5
62:1 “For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;
for the sake of Jerusalem 6 I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines brightly 7
and her deliverance burns like a torch.”
1 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.”
2 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).
3 tn Heb “you do not place [it] on your heart.”
4 tn Heb “Is it not [because] I have been silent, and from long ago?”
5 sn God’s patience with sinful Israel has caused them to think that they can sin with impunity and suffer no consequences.
6 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
7 tn Heb “goes forth like brightness.”