Yesaya 41:1

The Lord Challenges the Nations

41:1 “Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! ¹ 

Let the nations find renewed strength!

Let them approach and then speak;

let us come together for debate! ² 

Yesaya 43:6

43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’

and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’

Bring my sons from distant lands,

and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

Yesaya 44:28

44:28 who commissions ³  Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd ⁴ 

to carry out all my wishes ⁵ 

and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’

and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’” ⁶ 

Yesaya 51:1

There is Hope for the Future

51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, ⁷ 

who seek the Lord!

Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,

at the quarry ⁸  from which you were dug! ⁹ 

Yesaya 51:7

51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,

you people who are aware of my law! ¹⁰ 

Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;

don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!

Yesaya 61:9

61:9 Their descendants will be known among the nations,

their offspring among the peoples.

All who see them will recognize that

the Lord has blessed them.” ¹¹ 

[41:1]  ¹ tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV, CEV); TEV “distant lands”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”

[41:1]  ² tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) could be translated “judgment,” but here it seems to refer to the dispute or debate between the Lord and the nations.

[44:28]  ³ tn Heb “says to.” It is possible that the sentence is not completed, as the description of Cyrus and his God-given role is developed in the rest of the verse. 45:1 picks up where 44:28a leaves off with the Lord’s actual words to Cyrus finally being quoted in 45:2.

[44:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “my shepherd.” The shepherd motif is sometimes applied, as here, to a royal figure who is responsible for the well-being of the people whom he rules.

[44:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “that he might bring to completion all my desire.”

[44:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [concerning the] temple, you will be founded.” The preposition -לְ (lÿ) is understood by ellipsis at the beginning of the second line. The verb תִּוָּסֵד (tivvased, “you will be founded”) is second masculine singular and is probably addressed to the personified temple (הֵיכָל [hekhal, “temple”] is masculine).

[51:1]  ⁷ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”

[51:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”

[51:1]  ⁹ sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.

[51:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”

[61:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “all who see them will recognize them, that they [are] descendants [whom] the Lord has blessed.”