Yesaya 11:4

11:4 He will treat the poor fairly, ¹ 

and make right decisions ²  for the downtrodden of the earth. ³ 

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, ⁴ 

and order the wicked to be executed. ⁵ 

Yesaya 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ⁶ 

Who ⁷  officially commissions him for service? ⁸ 

He hands nations over to him, ⁹ 

and enables him to subdue ¹⁰  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 51:4

51:4 Pay attention to me, my people!

Listen to me, my people!

For ¹²  I will issue a decree, ¹³ 

I will make my justice a light to the nations. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 51:22

51:22 This is what your sovereign master, ¹⁵  the Lord your God, says:

“Look, I have removed from your hand

the cup of intoxicating wine, ¹⁶ 

the goblet full of my anger. ¹⁷ 

You will no longer have to drink it.

Yesaya 65:16

65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth ¹⁸ 

will do so in the name of the faithful God; ¹⁹ 

whoever makes an oath in the earth

will do so in the name of the faithful God. ²⁰ 

For past problems will be forgotten;

I will no longer think about them. ²¹ 

[11:4]  ¹ tn Heb “with justice” (so NAB) or “with righteousness” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[11:4]  ² tn Heb “make decisions with rectitude”; cf. ASV, NRSV “and decide with equity.”

[11:4]  ³ tn Or “land” (NAB, NCV, CEV). It is uncertain if the passage is picturing universal dominion or focusing on the king’s rule over his covenant people. The reference to God’s “holy mountain” in v. 9 and the description of renewed Israelite conquests in v. 14 suggest the latter, though v. 10 seems to refer to a universal kingdom (see 2:2-4).

[11:4]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and he will strike the earth with the scepter of his mouth.” Some have suggested that in this context אֶרֶץ (’erets, “earth”) as an object of judgment seems too broad in scope. The parallelism is tighter if one emends the word to ץ(י)עָרִ (’arits, “potentate, tyrant”). The phrase “scepter of his mouth” refers to the royal (note “scepter”) decrees that he proclaims with his mouth. Because these decrees will have authority and power (see v. 2) behind them, they can be described as “striking” the tyrants down. Nevertheless, the MT reading may not need emending. Isaiah refers to the entire “earth” as the object of God’s judgment in several places without specifying the wicked as the object of the judgment (Isa 24:17-21; 26:9, 21; 28:22; cf. 13:11).

[11:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and by the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked.” The “breath of his lips” refers to his speech, specifically in this context his official decrees that the wicked oppressors be eliminated from his realm. See the preceding note.

[41:2]  ⁶ sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ⁷ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ¹⁰ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ¹¹ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.

[51:4]  ¹² tn Or “certainly.”

[51:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”

[51:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”

[51:22]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[51:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”

[51:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”

[65:16]  ¹⁸ tn Or “in the land” (NIV, NCV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs again later in this verse, with the same options.

[65:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “will pronounce a blessing by the God of truth.”

[65:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will take an oath by the God of truth.”

[65:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “for the former distresses will be forgotten, and they will be hidden from my eyes.”