translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: ISA

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).


text: Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”


text: Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).


text: For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed ( רָצַץ , ratsats ) reed” and “dim ( כָּהָה , kahah ) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.


text: Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”


text: Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).


text: Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.


text: Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”


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


text: Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2 .


text: The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר ( natsar , “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר ( yatsar , “form”).


text: 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.


text: Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.


text: Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”


text: Heb “before they sprout up, I cause you to hear.” The pronoun “you” is plural, referring to the people of Israel. In this verse “the former things” are the Lord’s earlier predictive oracles which have come to pass, while “the new things” are predicted events that have not yet begun to take place. “The former things” are earlier events in Israel’s history which God announced beforehand, such as the Exodus (see 43:16-18 ). “The new things” are the predictions about the servant ( 42:1-7 ). and may also include Cyrus’ conquests ( 41:25-27 ).


text: Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.


text: Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”


text: Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”


text: Heb “Let them ascribe to the Lord glory.”


text: Heb “and his praise in the coastlands [or “islands”] let them declare.”


text: Heb “like a man of war he stirs up zeal” (NIV similar).


text: Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.”


text: Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”


text: Heb “I will dry up the mountains and hills.” The “mountains and hills” stand by synecdoche for the trees that grow on them. Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonymic root and translate, “I will lay waste.”


label: NET textual note

text: The Hebrew text reads, “I will turn streams into coastlands [or “islands”].” Scholars who believe that this reading makes little sense have proposed an emendation of אִיִּים (’ iyyim , “islands”) to צִיּוֹת ( tsiyyot , “dry places”; cf. NCV, NLT, TEV). However, since all the versions support the MT reading, there is insufficient grounds for an emendation here. Although the imagery of changing rivers into islands is somewhat strange, J. N. Oswalt describes this imagery against the backdrop of rivers of the Near East. The receding of these rivers at times occasioned the appearance of previously submerged islands ( Isaiah [NICOT], 2:126).


text: Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”


text: Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”


text: Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”


text: Heb “be ashamed with shame”; ASV, NASB “be utterly put to shame.”


text: Heb “look to see”; NAB, NCV “look and see”; NRSV “look up and see.”


text: The precise meaning of מְשֻׁלָּם ( mÿshullam ) in this context is uncertain. In later biblical Hebrew the form (which appears to be a Pual participle from the root שָׁלַם , shalam ) occurs as a proper name, Meshullam. The Pual of שָׁלַם (“be complete”) is attested with the meaning “repaid, requited,” but that makes little sense here. BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלַם relates the form to the denominative verb שָׁלַם (“be at peace”) and paraphrases “one in a covenant of peace” (J. N. Oswalt suggests “the covenanted one”; Isaiah [NICOT], 2:128, n. 59) Some emend the form to מֹשְׁלָם ( moshÿlam , “their ruler”) or to מְשֻׁלָּחִי ( mÿshullakhi , “my sent [or “commissioned”] one”), which fits nicely in the parallelism (note “my messenger” in the previous line). The translation above assumes an emendation to כְּמוֹ שֹׁלְמִי ( kÿmo sholÿmi , “like my ally”). Isaiah uses כְּמוֹ in 30:22 and perhaps 51:5 ; for שֹׁלְמי (“my ally”) see Ps 7:5 HT ( 7:4 ET).


text: Heb “Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like my messenger I send? Who is blind like my commissioned one, blind like the servant of the Lord?” The point of the rhetorical questions is that no one is as blind/deaf as this servant. In this context the Lord’s “servant” is exiled Israel (cf. 41:8-9 ), which is spiritually blind and deaf and has failed to fulfill God’s purpose for it. This servant stands in contrast to the ideal “Israel” of the servant songs.


text: The consonantal text ( Kethib ) has a perfect, 2nd person masculine singular; the marginal reading ( Qere ) has an infinitive absolute, which functions here as a finite verb.


text: Heb “but you do not guard [i.e., retain in your memory]”; NIV “but have paid no attention.”


text: Heb “The Lord was pleased for the sake of his righteousness [or “justice”], he was magnifying [the] law and was making [it] glorious.” The Lord contrasts his good intentions for the people with their present crisis (v. 22 ). To demonstrate his just character and attract the nations, the Lord wanted to showcase his law among and through Israel ( Deut 4:5-8 ). But Israel disobeyed (v. 24 ) and failed to carry out their commission.


text: The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים ( bakhurim , “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים ( bÿhorim , “in holes”).


text: Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”


text: Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”


text: The interrogative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).


text: Heb “Who gave to the robber Jacob, and Israel to the looters?” In the first line the consonantal text ( Kethib ) has מְשׁוֹסֶה ( mÿshoseh ), a Polel participle from שָׁסָה ( shasah , “plunder”). The marginal reading ( Qere ) is מְשִׁיסָּה ( mÿshissah ), a noun meaning “plunder.” In this case one could translate “Who handed Jacob over as plunder?”


text: Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.”


text: Heb “strength” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “fury”; NASB “fierceness”; NIV “violence.”


text: Heb “and it blazed against him all around, but he did not know.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb “blazed” is the divine חֵמָה ( khemah , “anger”) mentioned in the previous line.


text: Heb “and it burned against him, but he did not set [it] upon [the] heart.”