Discovery BoxIsaiah 51:7-8 
Context51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,
you people who are aware of my law! 1
Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;
don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!
51:8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;
a clothes moth will devour them like wool.
But the vindication I provide 2 will be permanent;
the deliverance I give will last.”
Isaiah 51:12-13
Context51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. 3
Why are you afraid of mortal men,
of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? 4
51:13 Why do you forget 5 the Lord, who made you,
who stretched out the sky 6
and founded the earth?
Why do you constantly tremble all day long 7
at the anger of the oppressor,
when he makes plans to destroy?
Where is the anger of the oppressor? 8
1 tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”
2 tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”
3 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.
4 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.
5 tn Heb “and that you forget.”
6 tn Or “the heavens” (also in v. 16). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
7 tn Heb “and that you tremble constantly all the day.”
8 tn The question anticipates the answer, “Ready to disappear!” See v. 14.
