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
43:3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, 5 your deliverer.
I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,
Ethiopia and Seba 6 in place of you.
43:14 This is what the Lord says,
your protector, 7 the Holy One of Israel: 8
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives, 9
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. 10
1 tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.
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.”
3 tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גָּאַל (ga’al, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.
4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
6 sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.
7 tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
8 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
9 tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”
10 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.