Discovery BoxIsaiah 26:10 
Context26:10 If the wicked are shown mercy,
they do not learn about justice. 1
Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; 2
they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.
Isaiah 27:11
Context27:11 When its branches get brittle, 3 they break;
women come and use them for kindling. 4
For these people lack understanding, 5
therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;
the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
Isaiah 30:18-19
Context30:18 For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy;
he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. 6
Indeed, the Lord is a just God;
all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. 7
30:19 For people will live in Zion;
in Jerusalem 8 you will weep no more. 9
When he hears your cry of despair, he will indeed show you mercy;
when he hears it, he will respond to you. 10
Isaiah 47:6
Context47:6 I was angry at my people;
I defiled my special possession
and handed them over to you.
You showed them no mercy; 11
you even placed a very heavy burden on old people. 12
Isaiah 55:7
Context55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle 13
and sinful people their plans. 14
They should return 15 to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, 16
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. 17
Isaiah 63:9
Context63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. 18
The messenger sent from his very presence 19 delivered them.
In his love and mercy he protected 20 them;
he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 21
1 tn As in verse 9b, the translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “they do not learn to live in a righteous manner.”
2 tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”
3 tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
4 tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.
5 tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”
6 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.
7 tn Heb “Blessed are all who wait for him.”
8 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
9 tn Heb “For people in Zion will live, in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.” The phrase “in Jerusalem” could be taken with what precedes. Some prefer to emend יֵשֵׁב (yeshev, “will live,” a Qal imperfect) to יֹשֵׁב (yoshev, a Qal active participle) and translate “For [you] people in Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more.”
10 tn Heb “he will indeed show you mercy at the sound of your crying out; when he hears, he will answer you.”
11 tn Or “compassion.”
12 tn Heb “on the old you made very heavy your yoke.”
13 tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.
14 tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.
15 tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”
16 tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.
17 sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.
18 tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).
19 tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”
sn This may refer to the “angel of God” mentioned in Exod 14:19, who in turn may be identical to the divine “presence” (literally, “face”) referred to in Exod 33:14-15 and Deut 4:37. Here in Isa 63 this messenger may be equated with God’s “holy Spirit” (see vv. 10-11) and “the Spirit of the Lord” (v. 14). See also Ps 139:7, where God’s “Spirit” seems to be equated with his “presence” (literally, “face”) in the synonymous parallelistic structure.
20 tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”
21 tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”
