Yesaya 40:28--41:4

40:28 Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is an eternal God,

the creator of the whole earth. ¹ 

He does not get tired or weary;

there is no limit to his wisdom. ² 

40:29 He gives strength to those who are tired;

to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.

40:30 Even youths get tired and weary;

even strong young men clumsily stumble. ³ 

40:31 But those who wait for the Lord’s help ⁴  find renewed strength;

they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, ⁵ 

they run without growing weary,

they walk without getting tired.

The Lord Challenges the Nations

41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ⁶ 

Let the nations find renewed strength!

Let them approach and then speak;

let us come together for debate! ⁷ 

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ⁸ 

Who ⁹  officially commissions him for service? ¹⁰ 

He hands nations over to him, ¹¹ 

and enables him to subdue ¹²  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ¹³ 

41:3 He pursues them and passes by unharmed; ¹⁴ 

he advances with great speed. ¹⁵ 

41:4 Who acts and carries out decrees? ¹⁶ 

Who ¹⁷  summons the successive generations from the beginning?

I, the Lord, am present at the very beginning,

and at the very end – I am the one. ¹⁸ 

[40:28]  ¹ tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.

[40:28]  ² sn Exiled Israel’s complaint (v. 27) implies that God might be limited in some way. Perhaps he, like so many of the pagan gods, has died. Or perhaps his jurisdiction is limited to Judah and does not include Babylon. Maybe he is unable to devise an adequate plan to rescue his people, or is unable to execute it. But v. 28 affirms that he is not limited temporally or spatially nor is his power and wisdom restricted in any way. He can and will deliver his people, if they respond in hopeful faith (v. 31a).

[40:30]  ³ tn Heb “stumbling they stumble.” The verbal idea is emphasized by the infinitive absolute.

[40:31]  ⁴ tn The words “for the Lord’s help” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[40:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “they rise up [on] wings like eagles” (TEV similar).

[41:1]  ⁶ tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”

[41:1]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.

[41:2]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.

[41:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[in] peace”; KJV, ASV “safely”; NASB “in safety”; NIV “unscathed.”

[41:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a way with his feet he does not come [or “enter”].” One could translate, “by a way he was not [previously] entering with his feet.” This would mean that he is advancing into new territory and expanding his conquests. The present translation assumes this is a hyperbolic description to his speedy advance. He moves so quickly he does not enter the way with his feet, i.e., his feet don’t even touch the ground. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 94.

[41:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Who acts and accomplishes?”; NASB “Who has performed and accomplished it.”

[41:4]  ¹⁷ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[41:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “I, the Lord, [am with] the first, and with the last ones I [am] he.”