Yesaya 41:14

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 

Yesaya 43:14

The Lord Will Do Something New

43:14 This is what the Lord says,

your protector, ⁵  the Holy One of Israel: ⁶ 

“For your sake I send to Babylon

and make them all fugitives, ⁷ 

turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. ⁸ 

Yesaya 44:6

The Absurdity of Idolatry

44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,

their protector, ⁹  the Lord who commands armies:

“I am the first and I am the last,

there is no God but me.

Yesaya 44:23-24

44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the Lord intervenes; ¹⁰ 

shout out, you subterranean regions ¹¹  of the earth.

O mountains, give a joyful shout;

you too, O forest and all your trees! ¹² 

For the Lord protects ¹³  Jacob;

he reveals his splendor through Israel. ¹⁴ 

The Lord Empowers Cyrus

44:24 This is what the Lord, your protector, ¹⁵  says,

the one who formed you in the womb:

“I am the Lord, who made everything,

who alone stretched out the sky,

who fashioned the earth all by myself, ¹⁶ 

Yesaya 47:4

47:4 says our protector –

the Lord who commands armies is his name,

the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 54:5

54:5 For your husband is the one who made you –

the Lord who commands armies is his name.

He is your protector, ¹⁸  the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁹ 

He is called “God of the entire earth.”

[41:14]  ¹ tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.

[41:14]  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.”

[41:14]  ³ tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.

[41:14]  ⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:14]  ⁵ tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[43:14]  ⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”

[43:14]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.

[44:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “acts”; NASB, NRSV “has done it”; NLT “has done this wondrous thing.”

[44:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lower regions.” This refers to Sheol and forms a merism with “sky” in the previous line. See Pss 63:9; 71:20.

[44:23]  ¹² tn Heb “O forest and all the trees in it”; NASB, NRSV “and every tree in it.”

[44:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:23]  ¹⁴ 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.”

[44:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:24]  ¹⁶ tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has “Who [was] with me?” The marginal reading (Qere) is “from with me,” i.e., “by myself.” See BDB 87 s.v. II אֵת 4.c.

[47:4]  ¹⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads, “Our redeemer – the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] is his name, the Holy One of Israel.” The ancient Greek version adds “says” before “our redeemer.” אָמַר (’amar) may have accidentally dropped from the text by virtual haplography. Note that the preceding word אָדָם (’adam) is graphically similar.

[47:4]  sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[54:5]  ¹⁸ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[54:5]  ¹⁹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.