Yesaya 9:1-2
Konteks9:1 (8:23) 1 The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. 2
In earlier times he 3 humiliated
the land of Zebulun,
and the land of Naphtali; 4
but now he brings honor 5
to the way of the sea,
the region beyond the Jordan,
and Galilee of the nations. 6
9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness
see a bright light; 7
light shines
on those who live in a land of deep darkness. 8
Yesaya 42:7
Konteksto release prisoners 10 from dungeons,
those who live in darkness from prisons.
Yesaya 49:9-10
Konteks49:9 You will say 11 to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
and to those who are in dark dungeons, 12 ‘Emerge.’ 13
They will graze beside the roads;
on all the slopes they will find pasture.
49:10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;
the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them, 14
for one who has compassion on them will guide them;
he will lead them to springs of water.
[9:1] 1 sn In the Hebrew text (BHS) the chapter division comes one verse later than in the English Bible; 9:1 (8:23 HT). Thus 9:2-21 in the English Bible = 9:1-20 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
[9:1] 2 tn The Hebrew text reads, “Indeed there is no gloom for the one to whom there was anxiety for her.” The feminine singular pronominal suffix “her” must refer to the land (cf. vv. 22a, 23b). So one could translate, “Indeed there will be no gloom for the land which was anxious.” In this case the statement introduces the positive message to follow. Some assume an emendation of לֹא (lo’, “no”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and of לָהּ (lah, “to her”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”), yielding this literal reading: “indeed there is gloom for him, for the one to whom there was anxiety for him.” In this case the statement concludes the preceding description of judgment.
[9:1] 3 tn The Lord must be understood as the subject of the two verbs in this verse.
[9:1] 4 sn The statement probably alludes to the Assyrian conquest of Israel in ca. 734-733
[9:1] 5 tn Heb Just as in earlier times he humiliated…, [in] the latter times he has brought honor.” The main verbs in vv. 1b-4 are Hebrew perfects. The prophet takes his rhetorical stance in the future age of restoration and describes future events as if they have already occurred. To capture the dramatic effect of the original text, the translation uses the English present or present perfect.
[9:1] 6 sn These three geographical designations may refer to provinces established by the Assyrians in 734-733
[9:2] 7 sn The darkness symbolizes judgment and its effects (see 8:22); the light represents deliverance and its effects, brought about by the emergence of a conquering Davidic king (see vv. 3-6).
[9:2] 8 tn Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means “darkness.” The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut). See the note at Ps 23:4.
[42:7] 9 sn This does not refer to literal physical healing of the blind. As the next two lines suggest, this refers metonymically to freeing captives from their dark prisons where their eyes have grown unaccustomed to light.
[42:7] 10 sn This does not refer to hardened, dangerous criminals, who would have been executed for their crimes in ancient Near Eastern society. This verse refers to political prisoners or victims of social injustice.
[49:9] 11 tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.
[49:9] 12 tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”
[49:9] 13 tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).
[49:10] 14 tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”