Discovery BoxIsaiah 51:11-12 
Context51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;
they will enter Zion with a happy shout.
Unending joy will crown them, 1
happiness and joy will overwhelm 2 them;
grief and suffering will disappear. 3
51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. 4
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? 5
1 tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.
2 tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”
3 tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”
4 tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.
5 tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.
