6:13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, 1 like one of the large sacred trees 2 or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. 3 That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.” 4
44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; 5
shout out, you subterranean regions 6 of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees! 7
For the Lord protects 8 Jacob;
he reveals his splendor through Israel. 9
61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,
oil symbolizing joy, 10 instead of mourning,
a garment symbolizing praise, 11 instead of discouragement. 12
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 13
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 14
65:22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, 15
or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit, 16
for my people will live as long as trees, 17
and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced. 18
1 tn Or “be burned” (NRSV); NIV “laid waste.”
2 tn Heb “like a massive tree or like a big tree” (perhaps, “like a terebinth or like an oak”).
3 tn The Hebrew text has “which in the felling, a sacred pillar in them.” Some take מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) as “stump,” and translate, “which, when chopped down, have a stump remaining in them.” But elsewhere מַצֶּבֶת refers to a memorial pillar (2 Sam 18:18) and the word resembles מַצֶּבָה (matsevah, “sacred pillar”). בָּם (bam, “in them”) may be a corruption of בָּמָה (bamah, “high place”; the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has במה). אֳשֶׁר (’asher, “which”) becomes a problem in this case, but one might emend the form to וּכְּאֲשֵׁרָה (ukÿ’asherah, “or like an Asherah pole”) and translate, “like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole.” Though the text is difficult, the references to sacred trees and a sacred pillar suggest that the destruction of a high place is in view, an apt metaphor for the judgment of idolatrous Judah.
4 tn Heb “a holy offspring [is] its sacred pillar.” If מַצֶּבֶת (matsevet) is taken as “stump,” one can see in this statement a brief glimpse of hope. The tree (the nation) is chopped down, but the stump (a righteous remnant) remains from which God can restore the nation. However, if מַצֶּבֶת is taken as “sacred pillar” (מַצֶּבָה, matsevah; see the previous note), it is much more difficult to take the final statement in a positive sense. In this case “holy offspring” alludes to God’s ideal for his covenant people, the offspring of the patriarchs. Ironically that “holy” nation is more like a “sacred pillar” and it will be thrown down like a sacred pillar from a high place and its land destroyed like the sacred trees located at such shrines. Understood in this way, the ironic statement is entirely negative in tone, just like the rest of the preceding announcement of judgment. It also reminds the people of their failure; they did not oppose pagan religion, instead they embraced it. Now they will be destroyed in the same way they should have destroyed paganism.
5 tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”
6 tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.
7 tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”
8 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
9 tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”
10 tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”
11 tn Heb “garment of praise.”
12 tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”
13 tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”
14 tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”
15 tn Heb “they will not build, and another live [in it].”
16 tn Heb “they will not plant, and another eat.”
17 tn Heb “for like the days of the tree [will be] the days of my people.”
18 tn Heb “the work of their hands” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “their hard-won gains.”