Amsal 15:23

15:23 A person has joy ¹  in giving an appropriate answer, ² 

and a word at the right time ³  – how good it is!

Yesaya 50:4

The Servant Perseveres

50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ⁴ 

so that I know how to help the weary. ⁵ 

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ⁶ 

Yesaya 50:2

50:2 Why does no one challenge me when I come?

Why does no one respond when I call? ⁷ 

Is my hand too weak ⁸  to deliver ⁹  you?

Do I lack the power to rescue you?

Look, with a mere shout ¹⁰  I can dry up the sea;

I can turn streams into a desert,

so the fish rot away and die

from lack of water. ¹¹ 

Titus 1:2

1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the ages began. ¹² 

[15:23]  ¹ tn Heb “joy to the man” or “the man has joy.”

[15:23]  ² tn Heb “in the answer of his mouth” (so ASV); NASB “in an apt answer.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause for what he says. But because the parallelism is loosely synonymous, the answer given here must be equal to the good word spoken in season. So it is an answer that is proper or fitting.

[15:23]  ³ tn Heb “in its season.” To say the right thing at the right time is useful; to say the right thing at the wrong time is counterproductive.

[50:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”

[50:4]  sn Verses 4-11 contain the third of the so-called servant songs, which depict the career of the Lord’s special servant, envisioned as an ideal Israel (49:3) who rescues the exiles and fulfills God’s purposes for the world. Here the servant alludes to opposition (something hinted at in 49:4), but also expresses his determination to persevere with the Lord’s help.

[50:4]  ⁵ tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.

[50:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”

[50:2]  ⁷ sn The present tense translation of the verbs assumes that the Lord is questioning why Israel does not attempt to counter his arguments. Another possibility is to take the verbs as referring to past events: “Why did no one meet me when I came? Why did no one answer when I called?” In this case the Lord might be asking why Israel rejected his calls to repent and his offer to deliver them.

[50:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “short” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ⁹ tn Or “ransom” (NAB, NASB, NIV).

[50:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “with my rebuke.”

[50:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the fish stink from lack of water and die from thirst.”

[1:2]  ¹² tn Grk “before eternal ages.”