Discovery BoxIsaiah 44:23 
Context44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; 1
shout out, you subterranean regions 2 of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout;
you too, O forest and all your trees! 3
For the Lord protects 4 Jacob;
he reveals his splendor through Israel. 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.”
Isaiah 50:2
Context50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?
Why does no one respond when I call? 10
Is my hand too weak 11 to deliver 12 you?
Do I lack the power to rescue you?
Look, with a mere shout 13 I can dry up the sea;
I can turn streams into a desert,
so the fish rot away and die
from lack of water. 14
1 tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”
2 tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.
3 tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”
4 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
5 tn That is, by delivering Israel. Cf. NCV “showed his glory when he saved Israel”; TEV “has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.”
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.”
10 sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.
11 tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).
12 tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).
13 tn Heb “with my rebuke.”
14 tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”
