Yesaya 30:23

30:23 He will water the seed you plant in the ground,

and the ground will produce crops in abundance. ¹ 

At that time ²  your cattle will graze in wide pastures.

Yesaya 35:10

35:10 those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. ³ 

They will enter Zion with a happy shout.

Unending joy will crown them, ⁴ 

happiness and joy will overwhelm ⁵  them;

grief and suffering will disappear. ⁶ 

Yesaya 53:12

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, ⁷ 

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, ⁸ 

because he willingly submitted ⁹  to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened ¹⁰  on behalf of the rebels.”

Yesaya 57:13

57:13 When you cry out for help, let your idols ¹¹  help you!

The wind blows them all away, ¹² 

a breeze carries them away. ¹³ 

But the one who looks to me for help ¹⁴  will inherit the land

and will have access to ¹⁵  my holy mountain.”

[30:23]  ¹ tn Heb “and he will give rain for your seed which you plant in the ground, and food [will be] the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and abundant.”

[30:23]  ² tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[35:10]  ³ tn Heb “and the redeemed will walk, the ransomed of the Lord will return.”

[35:10]  ⁴ 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.

[35:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “will overtake” (NIV); NLT “they will be overcome with.”

[35:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “grief and groaning will flee”; KJV “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

[53:12]  ⁷ tn Scholars have debated the precise meaning of the term רַבִּים (rabbim) that occurs five times in this passage (Isa 52:14, 15; 53:11, 12 [2x]). Its two broad categories of translation are “much”/“many” and “great” (HALOT 1171-72 s.v. I רַב). Unlike other Hebrew terms for might or strength, this term is linked with numbers or abundance. In all sixteen uses outside of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (articular and plural) it signifies an inclusive meaning: “the majority” or “the multitude” (J. Jeremias, TDNT 6:536-37). This term occurs in parallelism with עֲצוּמִים (’atsumim), which normally signifies “numerous” or “large” or “powerful” (through large numbers). Like רַבִּים (rabbim), it refers to greatness in numbers (cf. Deut 4:38; 7:1; 9:1; 11:34). It emphasizes the multitudes with whom the Servant will share the spoil of his victory. As J. Olley wrote: “Yahweh has won the victory and vindicates his Servant, giving to him many subservient people, together with their spoils. These numerous peoples in turn receive blessing, sharing in the “peace” resulting from Yahweh’s victory and the Servant’s suffering” (John W. Olley, “‘The Many’: How Is Isa 53,12a to Be Understood,” Bib 68 [1987]: 330-56).

[53:12]  ⁸ sn The servant is compared here to a warrior who will be richly rewarded for his effort and success in battle.

[53:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “because he laid bare his life”; traditionally, ASV “because he (+ hath KJV) poured out his soul (life NIV) unto death.”

[53:12]  ¹⁰ tn The Hiphil of פָּגַע (paga’) can mean “cause to attack” (v. 6), “urge, plead verbally” (Jer 15:11; 36:25), or “intervene militarily” (Isa 59:16). Perhaps the third nuance fits best here, for military imagery is employed in the first two lines of the verse.

[57:13]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.

[57:13]  ¹² tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”

[57:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”

[57:13]  ¹⁴ tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”

[57:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.