Yesaya 26:9

26:9 I ¹  look for ²  you during the night,

my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,

for when your judgments come upon the earth,

those who live in the world learn about justice. ³ 

Yesaya 42:1

The Lord Commissions His Special Servant

42:1 ⁴ “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 ⁵  for the nations. ⁶ 

Yesaya 33:15

33:15 The one who lives ⁷  uprightly ⁸ 

and speaks honestly;

the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures

and rejects a bribe; ⁹ 

the one who does not plot violent crimes ¹⁰ 

and does not seek to harm others ¹¹  –

Yesaya 41:2

41:2 Who stirs up this one from the east? ¹² 

Who ¹³  officially commissions him for service? ¹⁴ 

He hands nations over to him, ¹⁵ 

and enables him to subdue ¹⁶  kings.

He makes them like dust with his sword,

like windblown straw with his bow. ¹⁷ 

[26:9]  ¹ tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).

[26:9]  ² tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).

[26:9]  ³ tn The translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “those who live in the world learn to live in a righteous manner” (cf. NCV).

[42:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[42:1]  ⁶ 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.

[33:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).

[33:15]  ⁸ tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”

[33:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”

[33:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”

[33:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”

[41:2]  ¹² sn The expression this one from the east refers to the Persian conqueror Cyrus, as later texts indicate (see 44:28-45:6; 46:11; 48:14-16).

[41:2]  ¹³ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis.

[41:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[in] righteousness called him to his foot.”

[41:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he [the Lord] places before him [Cyrus] nations.”

[41:2]  ¹⁶ tn The verb יַרְדְּ (yardÿ) is an otherwise unattested Hiphil form from רָדָה (radah, “rule”). But the Hiphil makes no sense with “kings” as object; one must understand an ellipsis and supply “him” (Cyrus) as the object. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has יוֹרִד (yorid), which appears to be a Hiphil form from יָרַד (yarad, “go down”). Others suggest reading יָרֹד (yarod), a Qal form from רָדַד (radad, “beat down”).

[41:2]  ¹⁷ sn The point is that they are powerless before Cyrus’ military power and scatter before him.