Yesaya 51:11-12

51:11 Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return;

they will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ¹ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ²  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ³ 

51:12 “I, I am the one who consoles you. ⁴ 

Why are you afraid of mortal men,

of mere human beings who are as short-lived as grass? ⁵ 

[51:11]  ¹ tn Heb “[will be] on their head[s].” “Joy” may be likened here to a crown (cf. 2 Sam 1:10). The statement may also be an ironic twist on the idiom “earth/dust on the head” (cf. 2 Sam 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12), referring to a mourning practice.

[51:11]  ² tn Heb “overtake” (so NIV); NASB “they will obtain.”

[51:11]  ³ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee.”

[51:12]  ⁴ tc The plural suffix should probably be emended to the second masculine singular (which is used in v. 13). The final mem (ם) is probably dittographic; note the mem at the beginning of the next word.

[51:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who [as] grass is given up?” The feminine singular forms should probably be emended to the masculine singular (see v. 13). They have probably been influenced by the construction אַתְּ־הִיא (’at-hi’) in vv. 9-10.