Yesaya 1:24

1:24 Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, ¹ 

the powerful ruler of Israel, ²  says this:

“Ah, I will seek vengeance ³  against my adversaries,

I will take revenge against my enemies. ⁴ 

Yesaya 15:5

15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, ⁵ 

and for the fugitives ⁶  stretched out ⁷  as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.

For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;

they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. ⁸ 

Yesaya 42:14

42:14 “I have been inactive ⁹  for a long time;

I kept quiet and held back.

Like a woman in labor I groan;

I pant and gasp. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 43:24

43:24 You did not buy me aromatic reeds; ¹¹ 

you did not present to me ¹²  the fat of your sacrifices.

Yet you burdened me with your sins;

you made me weary with your evil deeds. ¹³ 

Yesaya 53:11

53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,

he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. ¹⁴ 

“My servant ¹⁵  will acquit many, ¹⁶ 

for he carried their sins. ¹⁷ 

Yesaya 56:4

56:4 For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me

and are faithful to ¹⁸  my covenant,

Yesaya 65:19

65:19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,

and my people will bring me happiness. ¹⁹ 

The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow

will never be heard in her again.

[1:24]  ¹ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. 9.

[1:24]  ² tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”

[1:24]  ³ tn Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”

[1:24]  ⁴ sn The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.

[15:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.

[15:5]  ⁶ tn The vocalization of the Hebrew text suggests “the bars of her gates,” but the form should be repointed to yield, “her fugitives.” See HALOT 156-57 s.v. בָּרִחַ, and BDB 138 s.v. בָּרִיהַ.

[15:5]  ⁷ tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up it; for [on] the road to Horonaim an outcry over shattering they raise up.”

[42:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”

[42:14]  ¹⁰ sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.

[43:24]  ¹¹ tn That is, “calamus” (so NIV); NCV, TEV, NLT “incense”; CEV “spices.”

[43:24]  ¹² tn Heb “you did not saturate me”; NASB “Neither have you filled Me.”

[43:24]  ¹³ sn In vv. 22-24 the Lord appears to be condemning his people for failure to bring the proper sacrifices. However, this is problematic. If this refers to the nation’s behavior while in exile, such cultic service was impossible and could hardly be expected by the Lord. If this refers to the nation’s conduct before the exile, it contradicts other passages that depict Israel as bringing excessive sacrifices (see, e.g., Isa 1:11-14; Jer 6:20; Amos 4:4-5, 5:21-23). Rather than being a condemnation of Israel’s failure to bring sacrifices, these verses are better taken as a highly rhetorical comment on the worthlessness of Israel’s religious ritual. They may have brought sacrifices, but not to the Lord, for he did not accept them or even want them. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 127, and R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 91.

[53:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (bÿda’to, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.

[53:11]  ¹⁵ sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.

[53:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsadiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them.

[53:11]  sn Some (e.g., H. M. Orlinsky, “The So-called ‘Suffering Servant’ in Isaiah 53,22,” VTSup 14 [1967]: 3-133) object to this legal interpretation of the language, arguing that it would be unjust for the righteous to suffer for the wicked and for the wicked to be declared innocent. However, such a surprising development is consistent with the ironic nature of this song. It does seem unfair for the innocent to die for the guilty. But what is God to do when all have sinned and wandered off like stray sheep (cf. v. 6)? Covenant law demands punishment, but punishment in this case would mean annihilation of what God has created. God’s justice, as demanded by the law, must be satisfied. To satisfy his justice, he does something seemingly unjust. He punishes his sinless servant, the only one who has not strayed off! In the progress of biblical revelation, we discover that the sinless servant is really God in the flesh, who offers himself because he is committed to the world he has created. If his justice can only be satisfied if he himself endures the punishment, then so be it. What appears to be an act of injustice is really love satisfying the demands of justice!

[53:11]  ¹⁷ tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.

[56:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[65:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be happy in my people.”