9:17 So the sovereign master was not pleased 1 with their young men,
he took no pity 2 on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless 3 and did wicked things, 4
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words. 5
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again. 6
18:7 At that time
tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies,
by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned,
a people that are feared far and wide,
a nation strong and victorious,
whose land rivers divide. 7
The tribute 8 will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion. 9
30:33 For 10 the burial place is already prepared; 11
it has been made deep and wide for the king. 12
The firewood is piled high on it. 13
The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,
will ignite it.
31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:
“The Lord will be like a growling lion,
like a young lion growling over its prey. 14
Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,
it is not afraid of their shouts
or intimidated by their yelling. 15
In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. 16
49:7 This is what the Lord,
the protector 17 of Israel, their Holy One, 18 says
to the one who is despised 19 and rejected 20 by nations, 21
a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and rise in respect, 22
princes will bow down,
because of the faithful Lord,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”
49:18 Look all around you! 23
All of them gather to you.
As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“you will certainly wear all of them like jewelry;
you will put them on as if you were a bride.
53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,
once restitution is made, 24
he will see descendants and enjoy long life, 25
and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.
57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols 26 help you!
The wind blows them all away, 27
a breeze carries them away. 28
But the one who looks to me for help 29 will inherit the land
and will have access to 30 my holy mountain.”
61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,
by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,
oil symbolizing joy, 31 instead of mourning,
a garment symbolizing praise, 32 instead of discouragement. 33
They will be called oaks of righteousness, 34
trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. 35
1 tn The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has לא יחמול (“he did not spare”) which is an obvious attempt to tighten the parallelism (note “he took no pity” in the next line). Instead of taking שָׂמַח (samakh) in one of its well attested senses (“rejoice over, be pleased with”), some propose, with support from Arabic, a rare homonymic root meaning “be merciful.”
2 tn The translation understands the prefixed verbs יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) and יְרַחֵם (yÿrakhem) as preterites without vav (ו) consecutive. (See v. 11 and the note on “he stirred up.”)
3 tn Or “defiled”; cf. ASV “profane”; NAB “profaned”; NIV “ungodly.”
4 tn מֵרַע (mera’) is a Hiphil participle from רָעַע (ra’a’, “be evil”). The intransitive Hiphil has an exhibitive force here, indicating that they exhibited outwardly the evidence of an inward condition by committing evil deeds.
5 tn Or “foolishness” (NASB), here in a moral-ethical sense.
6 tn Heb “in all this his anger is not turned, and still his hand is outstretched.”
sn See the note at 9:12.
7 tn On the interpretive difficulties of this verse, see the notes at v. 2, where the same terminology is used.
8 tn The words “the tribute” are repeated here in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Heb “to the place of the name of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], Mount Zion.”
10 tn Or “indeed.”
11 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final hey (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).
12 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final hey (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”
13 tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood one makes abundant.”
sn Apparently this alludes to some type of funeral rite.
14 tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.
15 tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”
16 tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.
17 tn Heb “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
18 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
19 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “to [one who] despises life.” It is preferable to read with the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa לבזוי, which should be vocalized as a passive participle, לִבְזוּי (livzuy, “to the one despised with respect to life” [נֶפֶשׁ is a genitive of specification]). The consonantal sequence וי was probably misread as ה in the MT tradition. The contextual argument favors the 1QIsaa reading. As J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:294) points out, the three terse phrases “convey a picture of lowliness, worthlessness, and helplessness.”
20 tn MT’s Piel participle (“to the one who rejects”) does not fit contextually. The form should be revocalized as a Pual, “to the one rejected.”
21 tn Parallelism (see “rulers,” “kings,” “princes”) suggests that the singular גּוֹי (goy) be emended to a plural or understood in a collective sense (see 55:5).
22 tn For this sense of קוּם (qum), see Gen 19:1; 23:7; 33:10; Lev 19:32; 1 Sam 20:41; 25:41; 1 Kgs 2:19; Job 29:8.
23 tn Heb “Lift up around your eyes and see.”
24 tn The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular,in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”
sn What constitutes the servant’s reparation offering? Some might think his suffering, but the preceding context views this as past, while the verb here is imperfect in form. The offering appears to be something the servant does after his suffering has been completed. Perhaps the background of the language can be found in the Levitical code, where a healed leper would offer a reparation offering as part of the ritual to achieve ceremonial cleanliness (see Lev 14). The servant was pictured earlier in the song as being severely ill. This illness (a metaphor for the effects of the people’s sin) separated him from God. However, here we discover the separation is not final; once reparation is made, so to speak, he will again experience the Lord’s favor.
25 sn The idiomatic and stereotypical language emphasizes the servant’s restoration to divine favor. Having numerous descendants and living a long life are standard signs of divine blessing. See Job 42:13-16.
26 tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.
27 tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”
28 tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”
29 tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”
30 tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.
31 tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”
32 tn Heb “garment of praise.”
33 tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”
34 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.”
35 tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”