In earlier times he 3 humiliated
the land of Zebulun,
and the land of Naphtali; 4
but now he brings honor 5
to the way of the sea,
the region beyond the Jordan,
and Galilee of the nations. 6
47:8 So now, listen to this,
O one who lives so lavishly, 7
who lives securely,
who says to herself, 8
‘I am unique! No one can compare to me! 9
I will never have to live as a widow;
I will never lose my children.’ 10
49:5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth 11 to be his servant –
he did this 12 to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored 13 in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strength 14 –
52:15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human 15 –
so now 16 he will startle 17 many nations.
Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, 18
for they will witness something unannounced to them,
and they will understand something they had not heard about.
1 sn In the Hebrew text (BHS) the chapter division comes one verse later than in the English Bible; 9:1 (8:23 HT). Thus 9:2-21 in the English Bible = 9:1-20 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
2 tn The Hebrew text reads, “Indeed there is no gloom for the one to whom there was anxiety for her.” The feminine singular pronominal suffix “her” must refer to the land (cf. vv. 22a, 23b). So one could translate, “Indeed there will be no gloom for the land which was anxious.” In this case the statement introduces the positive message to follow. Some assume an emendation of לֹא (lo’, “no”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and of לָהּ (lah, “to her”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”), yielding this literal reading: “indeed there is gloom for him, for the one to whom there was anxiety for him.” In this case the statement concludes the preceding description of judgment.
3 tn The Lord must be understood as the subject of the two verbs in this verse.
4 sn The statement probably alludes to the Assyrian conquest of Israel in ca. 734-733
5 tn Heb Just as in earlier times he humiliated…, [in] the latter times he has brought honor.” The main verbs in vv. 1b-4 are Hebrew perfects. The prophet takes his rhetorical stance in the future age of restoration and describes future events as if they have already occurred. To capture the dramatic effect of the original text, the translation uses the English present or present perfect.
6 sn These three geographical designations may refer to provinces established by the Assyrians in 734-733
7 tn Or perhaps, “voluptuous one” (NAB); NAB “you sensual one”; NLT “You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom.”
8 tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”
9 tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.” See Zeph 2:15.
10 tn Heb “I will not live [as] a widow, and I will not know loss of children.”
11 tn Heb “from the womb” (so KJV, NASB).
12 tn The words “he did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct of purpose is subordinated to the previous statement.
13 tn The vav (ו) + imperfect is translated here as a result clause; one might interpret it as indicating purpose, “and so I might be honored.”
14 tn Heb “and my God is [perhaps, “having been”] my strength.” The disjunctive structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) is interpreted here as indicating a causal circumstantial clause.
15 tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”
16 tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.
17 tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (’alayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.
18 tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.