4:6 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will gather the lame,
and assemble the outcasts whom I injured. 1
4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 2
and those far off 3 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 4
1 sn The exiles of the nation are compared to lame and injured sheep.
2 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
3 tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).
4 tn Heb “from now until forever.”