Yesaya 41:8-9

The Lord Encourages His People

41:8 “You, my servant Israel,

Jacob whom I have chosen,

offspring of Abraham my friend, ¹ 

41:9 you whom I am bringing back ²  from the earth’s extremities,

and have summoned from the remote regions –

I told you, “You are my servant.”

I have chosen you and not rejected you.

Yesaya 42:1

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ³ “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 ⁴  for the nations. ⁵ 

Yesaya 65:8-10

65:8 This is what the Lord says:

“When ⁶  juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,

someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’ ⁷ 

So I will do for the sake of my servants –

I will not destroy everyone. ⁸ 

65:9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.

My chosen ones will take possession of the land; ⁹ 

my servants will live there.

65:10 Sharon ¹⁰  will become a pasture for sheep,

and the Valley of Achor ¹¹  a place where cattle graze; ¹² 

they will belong to my people, who seek me. ¹³ 

[41:8]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, “covenantal partner” (see 1 Kgs 5:15 HT [5:1 ET]; 2 Chr 20:7).

[41:9]  ² tn Heb “whom I have taken hold of [i.e., to lead back].”

[42:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ⁵ 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.

[65:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “just as.” In the Hebrew text the statement is one long sentence, “Just as…, so I will do….”

[65:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “for a blessing is in it.”

[65:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “by not destroying everyone.”

[65:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to the land which contains the aforementioned mountains.

[65:10]  ¹⁰ sn Sharon was a plain located to the west, along the Mediterranean coast north of Joppa and south of Carmel.

[65:10]  ¹¹ sn The Valley of Achor (“Achor” means “trouble” in Hebrew) was the site of Achan’s execution. It was located to the east, near Jericho.

[65:10]  ¹² tn Heb “a resting place for cattle”; NASB, NIV “for herds.”

[65:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “for my people who seek me.”