¹ sn The lamp is probably an ancient oil burning lamp or perhaps a candlestick. Jesus is comparing revelation to light, particularly the revelation of his ministry.

² tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

¹ tn Heb “They heal [= bandage] the wound of my people lightly”; TEV “They act as if my people’s wounds were only scratches.”

¹ sn These words are repeated from 5:9 to give a kind of refrain justifying again the necessity of punishment in the light of such sins.

⁴ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

² 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.

¹ sn In light of what is said in verse 14b, the “dead” here may be the “masters” mentioned in verse 13.

⁴ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

² sn In this verse the prophet denounces the perversion of moral standards. Darkness and bitterness are metaphors for evil; light and sweetness symbolize uprightness.

¹ tn The subjects and suffixes are singular (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). Most other English versions render this as plural for stylistic reasons, in light of the preceding context.

² tn The term “cleanse” does not appear in this line but is supplied in the translation in the light of the parallelism.

² tn The verb “existed” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation in the light of the context.

³ tn In the light of the parallelism, the noun “righteous” (צַדִּיקִים, tsaddiqim) functions as a genitive of possession rather than an attributive genitive.

¹ tn Heb “the doorway of your words gives light.” God’s “words” refer here to the instructions in his law (see vv. 9, 57).

¹ tn Heb “light,” but parallel to the moon it is the sun. This section speaks of false worship of the sun and the moon.

³ sn Lamp and light are symbols of God’s blessings of life and all the prosperous and good things it includes.

³ tn T. Penar translates this “turn away from me” (“Job 19, 19 in the Light of Ben Sira 6, 11, ” Bib 48 [1967]: 293-95).

³ tn The LXX translates “dust” [soil] with “rock,” probably in light of the earlier illustration of the tree growing in the rocks.

² tn The Hebrew word literally means “it shines”; the feminine verb implies a subject like “the light” (but see GKC 459 §144.c).

¹ tn Heb “light and gladness and joy and honor” (so NASB). The present translation understands the four terms to be a double hendiadys.