Discovery BoxIsaiah 42:6 
Context42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; 1
I take hold of your hand.
I protect you 2 and make you a covenant mediator for people, 3
and a light 4 to the nations, 5
Isaiah 49:6
Context49:6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant 6 of Israel? 7
I will make you a light to the nations, 8
so you can bring 9 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
1 tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.
2 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).
3 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.
4 sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.
5 tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.
6 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
7 sn The question is purely rhetorical; it does not imply that the servant was dissatisfied with his commission or that he minimized the restoration of Israel.
9 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
