Yesaya 55:6-7

55:6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available; ¹ 

call to him while he is nearby!

55:7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle ² 

and sinful people their plans. ³ 

They should return ⁴  to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them, ⁵ 

and to their God, for he will freely forgive them. ⁶ 

Yesaya 63:7

A Prayer for Divine Intervention

63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,

of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.

I will tell about all ⁷  the Lord did for us,

the many good things he did for the family of Israel, ⁸ 

because of ⁹  his compassion and great faithfulness.

Yesaya 63:9

63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. ¹⁰ 

The messenger sent from his very presence ¹¹  delivered them.

In his love and mercy he protected ¹²  them;

he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. ¹³ 

[55:6]  ¹ tn Heb “while he allows himself to be found.” The Niphal form has a tolerative force here.

[55:7]  ² tn Heb “Let the wicked one abandon his way.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ³ tn Heb “and the man of evil his thoughts.” The singular is collective.

[55:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “let him return.” The singular is collective, meaning “let them.”

[55:7]  ⁵ tn The imperfect with vav (ו) conjunctive after the jussive indicates purpose/result.

[55:7]  ⁶ sn The appeal and promise of vv. 6-7 echoes the language of Deut 4:25-31; 30:1-10; and 1 Kgs 8:46-53, all of which anticipate the exile and speak of the prerequisites for restoration.

[63:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “according to all which.”

[63:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”

[63:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “according to.”

[63:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).

[63:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”

[63:9]  sn This may refer to the “angel of God” mentioned in Exod 14:19, who in turn may be identical to the divine “presence” (literally, “face”) referred to in Exod 33:14-15 and Deut 4:37. Here in Isa 63 this messenger may be equated with God’s “holy Spirit” (see vv. 10-11) and “the Spirit of the Lord” (v. 14). See also Ps 139:7, where God’s “Spirit” seems to be equated with his “presence” (literally, “face”) in the synonymous parallelistic structure.

[63:9]  ¹² tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”

[63:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”