Yesaya 47:3

47:3 Let your private parts be exposed!

Your genitals will be on display! ¹ 

I will get revenge;

I will not have pity on anyone,” ² 

Yesaya 1:24

1:24 Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, ³ 

the powerful ruler of Israel, ⁴  says this:

“Ah, I will seek vengeance ⁵  against my adversaries,

I will take revenge against my enemies. ⁶ 

Yesaya 34:8

34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, ⁷ 

a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. ⁸ 

Yesaya 63:4

63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,

and then payback time arrived. ⁹ 

Yesaya 59:17

59:17 He wears his desire for justice ¹⁰  like body armor, ¹¹ 

and his desire to deliver is like a helmet on his head. ¹² 

He puts on the garments of vengeance ¹³ 

and wears zeal like a robe.

Yesaya 63:5

63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;

I was shocked because there was no one offering support. ¹⁴ 

So my right arm accomplished deliverance;

my raging anger drove me on. ¹⁵ 

[47:3]  ¹ tn Heb “Your shame will be seen.” In this context “shame” is a euphemism referring to the genitals.

[47:3]  ² tn Heb “I will not meet a man.” The verb פָּגַע (pagah) apparently carries the nuance “meet with kindness” here (cf. 64:5, and see BDB 803 s.v. Qal.2).

[1:24]  ³ tn Heb “the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].” On the title “the Lord who commands armies,” see the note at v. 9.

[1:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Israel.”

[1:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “console myself” (i.e., by getting revenge); NRSV “pour out my wrath on.”

[1:24]  ⁶ sn The Lord here identifies with the oppressed and comes as their defender and vindicator.

[34:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”

[34:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”

[63:4]  ⁹ 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.

[59:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “goodness.”

[59:17]  ¹¹ tn Or “a breastplate” (traditional; so many English versions); TEV “a coat of armour.”

[59:17]  ¹² tn Heb “and [as] a helmet deliverance on his head.”

[59:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he puts on the clothes of vengeance [as] a garment.”

[63:5]  ¹⁴ sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.

[63:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”