Discovery BoxIsaiah 19:25 
Context19:25 The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, 1 “Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, 2 Israel!”
Isaiah 30:18
Context30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. 3
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 4
Isaiah 51:2
Context51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,
and Sarah, who gave you birth. 5
When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, 6
but I blessed him 7 and gave him numerous descendants. 8
Isaiah 56:2
Context56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, 9
the people who commit themselves to obedience, 10
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. 11
1 tn Heb “which the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] will bless [it], saying.” The third masculine singular suffix on the form בֵּרֲכוֹ (berakho) should probably be emended to a third feminine singular suffix בֵּרֲכָהּ (berakhah), for its antecedent would appear to be the feminine noun אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) at the end of v. 24.
2 tn Or “my inheritance” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
3 tn Heb “Therefore the Lord waits to show you mercy, and therefore he is exalted to have compassion on you.” The logical connection between this verse and what precedes is problematic. The point seems to be that Judah’s impending doom does not bring God joy. Rather the prospect of their suffering stirs within him a willingness to show mercy and compassion, if they are willing to seek him on his terms.
4 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
5 sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.
6 tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”
7 tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.
8 tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”
9 tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”
10 tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”
11 tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
