Yesaya 1:17

1:17 Learn to do what is right!

Promote justice!

Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! ¹ 

Take up the cause of the orphan!

Defend the rights of the widow! ² 

Yesaya 28:17

28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,

fairness the plumb line;

hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, ³ 

the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

Yesaya 42:1

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ⁴ “Here is my servant whom I support,

my chosen one in whom I take pleasure.

I have placed my spirit on him;

he will make just decrees ⁵  for the nations. ⁶ 

Yesaya 51:4

51:4 Pay attention to me, my people!

Listen to me, my people!

For ⁷  I will issue a decree, ⁸ 

I will make my justice a light to the nations. ⁹ 

Yesaya 56:1

The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter

56:1 This is what the Lord says,

“Promote ¹⁰  justice! Do what is right!

For I am ready to deliver you;

I am ready to vindicate you openly. ¹¹ 

[1:17]  ¹ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The translation assumes an emendation of חָמוֹץ (khamots, “oppressor [?]”) to חָמוּץ (khamuts, “oppressed”), a passive participle from II חָמַץ (khamats, “oppress”; HALOT 329 s.v. II חמץ) and takes the verb II אָשַׁר (’ashar) in the sense of “make happy” (the delocutive Piel, meaning “call/pronounce happy,” is metonymic here, referring to actually effecting happiness). The parallelism favors this interpretation, for the next two lines speak of positive actions on behalf of the destitute. The other option is to retain the MT pointing and translate, “set right the oppressor,” but the nuance “set right” is not clearly attested elsewhere for the verb I אשׁר. This verb does appear as a participle in Isa 3:12 and 9:16 with the meaning “to lead or guide.” If it can mean to “lead” or “rebuke/redirect” in this verse, the prophet could be contrasting this appeal for societal reformation (v. 17c) with a command to reorder their personal lives (v. 17a-b). J. A. Motyer (The Prophecy of Isaiah, 47) suggests that these three statements (v. 17a-c) provide “the contrast between the two ends of imperfect society, the oppressor and the needy, the one inflicting and the other suffering the hurt. Isaiah looks for a transformed society wherever it needs transforming.”

[1:17]  ² tn This word refers to a woman who has lost her husband, by death or divorce. The orphan and widow are often mentioned in the OT as epitomizing the helpless and impoverished who have been left without the necessities of life due to the loss of a family provider.

[28:17]  ³ tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.

[42:1]  ⁴ sn Verses 1-7 contain the first of Isaiah’s “servant songs,” which describe the ministry of a special, ideal servant who accomplishes God’s purposes for Israel and the nations. This song depicts the servant as a just king who brings justice to the earth and relief for the oppressed. The other songs appear in 49:1-13; 50:4-11; and 52:13-53:12.

[42:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ⁶ sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.

[51:4]  ⁷ tn Or “certainly.”

[51:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “instruction [or “a law”] will go out from me.”

[51:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and my justice for a light to the nations I will cause to rest.”

[56:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “guard”; KJV “Keep”; NAB “Observe”; NASB “Preserve”; NIV, NRSV “Maintain.”

[56:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for near is my deliverance to enter, and my vindication [or “righteousness”] to be revealed.”