Yesaya 52:7-9

52:7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains ¹ 

the feet of a messenger who announces peace,

a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance,

who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” ² 

52:8 Listen, ³  your watchmen shout;

in unison they shout for joy,

for they see with their very own eyes ⁴ 

the Lord’s return to Zion.

52:9 In unison give a joyful shout,

O ruins of Jerusalem!

For the Lord consoles his people;

he protects ⁵  Jerusalem.

Yesaya 54:1

Zion Will Be Secure

54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!

Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!

For the children of the desolate one are more numerous

than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

[52:7]  ¹ tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”

[52:7]  ² tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.

[52:8]  ³ tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.

[52:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”

[52:9]  ⁵ tn Or “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.