Yesaya 42:5-6

42:5 This is what the true God, ¹  the Lord, says –

the one who created the sky and stretched it out,

the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, ² 

the one who gives breath to the people on it,

and life to those who live on it: ³ 

42:6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; ⁴ 

I take hold of your hand.

I protect you ⁵  and make you a covenant mediator for people, ⁶ 

and a light ⁷  to the nations, ⁸ 

[42:5]  ¹ tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.

[42:5]  ² tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”

[42:5]  ³ tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).

[42:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.

[42:6]  ⁵ tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).

[42:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (bÿrit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. The precise identity of עָם (’am, “people”) is uncertain. In v. 5 עָם refers to mankind, and the following reference to “nations” also favors this. But in 49:8, where the phrase בְּרִית עָם occurs again, Israel seems to be in view.

[42:6]  ⁷ sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.

[42:6]  ⁸ tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.