Yesaya 12:3-6

12:3 Joyfully you will draw water

from the springs of deliverance. ¹ 

12:4 At that time ²  you will say:

“Praise the Lord!

Ask him for help! ³ 

Publicize his mighty acts among the nations!

Make it known that he is unique! ⁴ 

12:5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done magnificent things,

let this be known ⁵  throughout the earth!

12:6 Cry out and shout for joy, O citizens of Zion,

for the Holy One of Israel ⁶  acts mightily ⁷  among you!”

Yesaya 25:8

25:8 he will swallow up death permanently. ⁸ 

The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face,

and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

Indeed, the Lord has announced it! ⁹ 

Yesaya 35:10

35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ¹⁰ 

They will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ¹¹ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ¹²  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ¹³ 

Yesaya 40:1-2

The Lord Returns to Jerusalem

40:1 “Comfort, comfort my people,”

says your ¹⁴  God.

40:2 “Speak kindly to ¹⁵  Jerusalem, ¹⁶  and tell her

that her time of warfare is over, ¹⁷ 

that her punishment is completed. ¹⁸ 

For the Lord has made her pay double ¹⁹  for all her sins.”

Yesaya 54:6-14

54:6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back

like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, ²⁰ 

like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.

54:7 “For a short time I abandoned ²¹  you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

54:8 In a burst ²²  of anger I rejected you ²³  momentarily,

but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”

says your protector, ²⁴  the Lord.

54:9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time, ²⁵ 

when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood ²⁶  would never again cover the earth.

In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.

54:10 Even if the mountains are removed

and the hills displaced,

my devotion will not be removed from you,

nor will my covenant of friendship ²⁷  be displaced,”

says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.

54:11 “O afflicted one, driven away, ²⁸  and unconsoled!

Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony

and I lay your foundation with lapis-lazuli.

54:12 I will make your pinnacles out of gems, ²⁹ 

your gates out of beryl, ³⁰ 

and your outer wall ³¹  out of beautiful ³²  stones.

54:13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,

and your children will enjoy great prosperity. ³³ 

54:14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. ³⁴ 

You will not experience oppression; ³⁵ 

indeed, you will not be afraid.

You will not be terrified, ³⁶ 

for nothing frightening ³⁷  will come near you.

Yesaya 60:20

60:20 Your sun will no longer set;

your moon will not disappear; ³⁸ 

the Lord will be your permanent source of light;

your time ³⁹  of sorrow will be over.

Yesaya 61:1-3

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ⁴⁰  me. ⁴¹ 

He has commissioned ⁴²  me to encourage ⁴³  the poor,

to help ⁴⁴  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,

the day when our God will seek vengeance, ⁴⁵ 

to console all who mourn,

61:3 to strengthen those who mourn in Zion,

by giving them a turban, instead of ashes,

oil symbolizing joy, ⁴⁶  instead of mourning,

a garment symbolizing praise, ⁴⁷  instead of discouragement. ⁴⁸ 

They will be called oaks of righteousness, ⁴⁹ 

trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor. ⁵⁰ 

Yesaya 65:18

65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem ⁵¹  to be a source of joy, ⁵² 

and her people to be a source of happiness. ⁵³ 

Yeremia 30:12

The Lord Will Heal the Wounds of Judah

30:12 Moreover, ⁵⁴  the Lord says to the people of Zion, ⁵⁵ 

“Your injuries are incurable;

your wounds are severe. ⁵⁶ 

Yeremia 31:9

31:9 They will come back shedding tears of contrition.

I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. ⁵⁷ 

I will lead them besides streams of water,

along smooth paths where they will never stumble. ⁵⁸ 

I will do this because I am Israel’s father;

Ephraim ⁵⁹  is my firstborn son.’”

Mikha 4:9

4:9 Jerusalem, why are you ⁶⁰  now shouting so loudly? ⁶¹ 

Has your king disappeared? ⁶² 

Has your wise leader ⁶³  been destroyed?

Is this why ⁶⁴  pain grips ⁶⁵  you as if you were a woman in labor?

Lukas 6:21

6:21 “Blessed are you who hunger ⁶⁶  now, for you will be satisfied. ⁶⁷ 

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ⁶⁸ 

Wahyu 5:4

5:4 So ⁶⁹  I began weeping bitterly ⁷⁰  because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

Wahyu 7:17

7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ⁷¹ 

[12:3]  ¹ tn Or “salvation” (so many English versions, e.g., KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “victory.”

[12:3]  sn Water is here a metaphor for renewed life; the springs symbolize the restoration of God’s favor.

[12:4]  ² tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[12:4]  ³ tn Heb “call in his name,” i.e., “invoke his name.”

[12:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “bring to remembrance that his name is exalted.” The Lord’s “name” stands here for his character and reputation.

[12:5]  ⁵ tc The translation follows the marginal reading (Qere), which is a Hophal participle from יָדַע (yada’), understood here in a gerundive sense.

[12:6]  ⁶ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[12:6]  ⁷ tn Or “is great” (TEV). However, the context emphasizes his mighty acts of deliverance (cf. NCV), not some general or vague character quality.

[25:8]  ⁸ sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.

[25:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[35:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”

[35:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[35:10]  ¹² tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”

[35:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

[40:1]  ¹⁴ tn The pronominal suffix is second masculine plural. The identity of the addressee is uncertain: (1) God’s people may be addressed, or (2) the unidentified heralds commanded to comfort Jerusalem.

[40:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

[40:2]  ¹⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[40:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.

[40:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

[40:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).

[54:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”

[54:7]  ²¹ tn Or “forsook” (NASB).

[54:8]  ²² tn According to BDB 1009 s.v. שֶׁטֶף the noun שֶׁצֶף here is an alternate form of שֶׁטֶף (shetef, “flood”). Some relate the word to an alleged Akkadian cognate meaning “strength.”

[54:8]  ²³ tn Heb “I hid my face from you.”

[54:8]  ²⁴ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[54:9]  ²⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “For [or “indeed”] the waters of Noah [is] this to me.” כִּי־מֵי (ki-me, “for the waters of”) should be emended to כְּמֵי (kÿmey, “like the days of”), which is supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and all the ancient versions except LXX.

[54:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the waters of Noah” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[54:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “peace” (so many English versions); NLT “of blessing.”

[54:11]  ²⁸ tn Or, more literally, “windblown, storm tossed.”

[54:12]  ²⁹ tn Perhaps, “rubies” (so ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[54:12]  ³⁰ tn On the meaning of אֶקְדָּח (’eqdakh), which occurs only here, see HALOT 82 s.v.

[54:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “border” (so ASV); NASB “your entire wall.”

[54:12]  ³² tn Heb “delightful”; KJV “pleasant.”

[54:13]  ³³ tn Heb “and great [will be] the peace of your sons.”

[54:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “in righteousness [or “vindication”] you will be established.” The precise meaning of צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) here is uncertain. It could mean “righteousness, justice,” indicating that the city will be a center for justice. But the context focuses on deliverance, suggesting that the term means “deliverance, vindication” here.

[54:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Be far from oppression!” The imperative is used here in a rhetorical manner to express certainty and assurance. See GKC 324 §110.c.

[54:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “from terror.” The rhetorical command, “be far” is understood by ellipsis here. Note the preceding context.

[54:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “it,” i.e., the “terror” just mentioned.

[60:20]  ³⁸ sn In this verse “sun” and “moon” refer to the Lord’s light, which will replace the sun and moon (see v. 19). Light here symbolizes the restoration of divine blessing and prosperity in conjunction with the Lord’s presence. See 30:26.

[60:20]  ³⁹ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[61:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ⁴¹ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ⁴² tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ⁴³ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[61:2]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.

[61:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”

[61:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “garment of praise.”

[61:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”

[61:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”

[61:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”

[65:18]  ⁵¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[65:18]  ⁵² tn Heb “Jerusalem, joy.” The next verse suggests the meaning: The Lord will create Jerusalem to be a source of joy to himself.

[65:18]  ⁵³ tn Heb “her people, happiness.” See the preceding note.

[30:12]  ⁵⁴ tn The particle כִּי (ki) here is parallel to the one in v. 5 that introduces the first oracle. See the discussion in the translator’s note there.

[30:12]  ⁵⁵ tn The pronouns in vv. 10-17 are second feminine singular referring to a personified entity. That entity is identified in v. 17 as Zion, which here stands for the people of Zion.

[30:12]  ⁵⁶ sn The wounds to the body politic are those of the incursions from the enemy from the north referred to in Jer 4:6; 6:1 over which Jeremiah and even God himself have lamented (Jer 8:21; 10:19; 14:17). The enemy from the north has been identified as Babylon and has been identified as the agent of God’s punishment of his disobedient people (Jer 1:15; 4:6; 25:9).

[31:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “They will come with weeping; I will bring them with supplication.” The ideas of contrition and repentance are implicit from the context (cf. vv. 18-19) and are supplied for clarity.

[31:9]  ⁵⁸ sn Jer 31:8-9 are reminiscent of the “New Exodus” motif of Isa 40-66 which has already been referred to in Jer 16:14-15; 23:7-8. See especially Isa 35:3-10; 40:3-5, 11; 41:17-20; 42:14-17; 43:16-21; 49:9-13. As there, the New Exodus will so outstrip the old that the old will pale in comparison and be almost forgotten (see Jer 23:7-8).

[31:9]  ⁵⁹ sn Ephraim was the second son of Joseph who was elevated to a place of prominence in the family of Jacob by the patriarch’s special blessing. It was the strongest tribe in northern Israel and Samaria lay in its territory. It is often used as a poetic parallel for Israel as here. The poetry is not speaking of two separate entities here; it is a way of repeating an idea for emphasis. Moreover, there is no intent to show special preference for northern Israel over Judah. All Israel is metaphorically God’s son and the object of his special care and concern (Exod 4:22; Deut 32:6).

[4:9]  ⁶⁰ tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.

[4:9]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”

[4:9]  ⁶² tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”

[4:9]  ⁶³ tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.

[4:9]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[4:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”

[6:21]  ⁶⁶ sn You who hunger are people like the poor Jesus has already mentioned. The term has OT roots both in conjunction with the poor (Isa 32:6-7; 58:6-7, 9-10; Ezek 18:7, 16) or by itself (Ps 37:16-19; 107:9).

[6:21]  ⁶⁷ sn The promise you will be satisfied is the first of several “reversals” noted in these promises. The beatitudes and the reversals that accompany them serve in the sermon as an invitation to enter into God’s care, because one can know God cares for those who turn to him.

[6:21]  ⁶⁸ sn You will laugh alludes to the joy that comes to God’s people in the salvation to come.

[5:4]  ⁶⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of no one being found worthy to open the scroll.

[5:4]  ⁷⁰ tn Grk “much.”

[7:17]  ⁷¹ sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.