Yesaya 54:14-17

54:14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you. ¹ 

You will not experience oppression; ² 

indeed, you will not be afraid.

You will not be terrified, ³ 

for nothing frightening ⁴  will come near you.

54:15 If anyone dares to ⁵  challenge you, it will not be my doing!

Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated. ⁶ 

54:16 Look, I create the craftsman,

who fans the coals into a fire

and forges a weapon. ⁷ 

I create the destroyer so he might devastate.

54:17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;

you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you. ⁸ 

This is what the Lord will do for his servants –

I will vindicate them,” ⁹ 

says the Lord.

[54:14]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “from terror.” The rhetorical command, “be far” is understood by ellipsis here. Note the preceding context.

[54:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “it,” i.e., the “terror” just mentioned.

[54:15]  ⁵ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb here for emphasis.

[54:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “will fall over you.” The expression נָפַל עַל (nafal ’al) can mean “attack,” but here it means “fall over to,” i.e., “surrender to.”

[54:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “who brings out an implement for his work.”

[54:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “and every tongue that rises up for judgment with you will prove to be guilty.”

[54:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me.”