52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains 1
the feet of a messenger who announces peace,
a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 2
52:8 Listen, 3 your watchmen shout;
in unison they shout for joy,
for they see with their very own eyes 4
the Lord’s return to Zion.
52:9 In unison give a joyful shout,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the Lord consoles his people;
he protects 5 Jerusalem.
52:10 The Lord reveals 6 his royal power 7
in the sight of all the nations;
the entire 8 earth sees
our God deliver. 9
52:11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there!
Don’t touch anything unclean!
Get out of it!
Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items! 10
52:12 Yet do not depart quickly
or leave in a panic. 11
For the Lord goes before you;
the God of Israel is your rear guard.
1 tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”
2 tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.
3 tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.
4 tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”
5 tn Or “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
6 tn Heb “lays bare”; NLT “will demonstrate.”
7 tn Heb “his holy arm.” This is a metonymy for his power.
8 tn Heb “the remote regions,” which here stand for the extremities and everything in between.
9 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God.” “God” is a subjective genitive here.
10 tn Heb “the vessels of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).
11 tn Heb “or go in flight”; NAB “leave in headlong flight.”