Discovery BoxIsaiah 1:26 
Context1:26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,
wise advisers as in earlier days. 1
Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,
Faithful Town.’”
Isaiah 61:4
Context61:4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins
and restore the places that were desolate; 2
they will reestablish the ruined cities,
the places that have been desolate since ancient times.
Isaiah 58:12
Context58:12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt; 3
you will reestablish the ancient foundations.
You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls,
the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’ 4
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 5 of Israel? 6
I will make you a light to the nations, 7
so you can bring 8 my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
1 tn Heb “I will restore your judges as in the beginning; and your counselors as in the beginning.” In this context, where social injustice and legal corruption are denounced (see v. 23), the “judges” are probably government officials responsible for making legal decisions, while the “advisers” are probably officials who helped the king establish policies. Both offices are also mentioned in 3:2.
2 tn Heb “and the formerly desolate places they will raise up.”
3 tn Heb “and they will build from you ancient ruins.”
4 tc The Hebrew text has “the one who restores paths for dwelling.” The idea of “paths to dwell in” is not a common notion. Some have proposed emending נְתִיבוֹת (nÿtivot, “paths”) to נְתִיצוֹת (nÿtitsot, “ruins”), a passive participle from נָתַץ (natats, “tear down”; see HALOT 732 s.v. *נְתִיצָה), because tighter parallelism with the preceding line is achieved. However, none of the textual sources support this emendation. The line may mean that paths must be repaired in order to dwell in the land.
5 tn Heb “the protected [or “preserved”] ones.”
6 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.
8 tn Heb “be” (so KJV, ASV); CEV “you must take.”
