Yesaya 59:16-19
Konteks59:16 He sees there is no advocate; 1
he is shocked 2 that no one intervenes.
So he takes matters into his own hands; 3
his desire for justice drives him on. 4
59:17 He wears his desire for justice 5 like body armor, 6
and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. 7
He puts on the garments of vengeance 8
and wears zeal like a robe.
59:18 He repays them for what they have done,
dispensing angry judgment to his adversaries
and punishing his enemies. 9
He repays the coastlands. 10
59:19 In the west, people respect 11 the Lord’s reputation; 12
in the east they recognize his splendor. 13
For he comes like a rushing 14 stream
driven on by wind sent from the Lord. 15
Yesaya 63:1-4
Konteks63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, 16
dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? 17
Who 18 is this one wearing royal attire, 19
who marches confidently 20 because of his great strength?
“It is I, the one who announces vindication,
and who is able to deliver!” 21
63:2 Why are your clothes red?
Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat? 22
63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;
no one from the nations joined me.
I stomped on them 23 in my anger;
I trampled them down in my rage.
Their juice splashed on my garments,
and stained 24 all my clothes.
63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived. 25
[59:16] 1 tn Heb “man” (so KJV, ASV); TEV “no one to help.”
[59:16] 2 tn Or “appalled” (NAB, NIV, NRSV), or “disgusted.”
[59:16] 3 tn Heb “and his arm delivers for him.”
[59:16] 4 tn Heb “and his justice [or “righteousness”] supports him.”
[59:17] 5 tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”
[59:17] 6 tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”
[59:17] 7 tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”
[59:17] 8 tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”
[59:18] 9 tn Heb “in accordance with deeds, so he repays, anger to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies.”
[59:18] 10 tn Or “islands” (KJV, NIV).
[59:19] 11 tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew
[59:19] 12 tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”
[59:19] 13 tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”
[59:19] 14 tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”
[59:19] 15 tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).
[63:1] 16 sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.
[63:1] 17 tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”
[63:1] 18 tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.
[63:1] 19 tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”
[63:1] 20 tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).
[63:1] 21 tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”
[63:2] 22 tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”
[63:3] 23 sn Nations, headed by Edom, are the object of the Lord’s anger (see v. 6). He compares military slaughter to stomping on grapes in a vat.
[63:3] 24 tn Heb “and I stained.” For discussion of the difficult verb form, see HALOT 170 s.v. II גאל. Perhaps the form is mixed, combining the first person forms of the imperfect (note the alef prefix) and perfect (note the תי- ending).
[63:4] 25 tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.
