Discovery BoxIsaiah 41:13-17 
Context41:13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
41:14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob, 1
men of 2 Israel.
I am helping you,” says the Lord,
your protector, 3 the Holy One of Israel. 4
41:15 “Look, I am making you like 5 a sharp threshing sledge,
new and double-edged. 6
You will thresh the mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like straw. 7
41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;
the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
41:17 The oppressed and the poor look for water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched from thirst.
I, the Lord, will respond to their prayers; 8
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them.
1 tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.
2 tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”
3 tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.
4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
5 tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”
6 tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.
7 sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.
8 tn Heb “will answer them” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
