translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: ISA

label: NET study note

text: 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 .


text: Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9 , the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.


text: The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.


text: Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6 b and in 51:4-6 .


text: 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.


text: 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.


text: The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.


text: The imagery of this verse, which depicts the Lord bringing a curse of infertility to the earth, metaphorically describes how the Lord will destroy his enemies.