1sn 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. 2tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV). 3sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth. 4tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.” 5sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction. 6tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV). 7tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here. 8tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.” 9tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT). 10tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness. 11tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.” 12tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar). 13tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2. 14tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”). 15tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (b˙rit) 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. 16sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6. 17tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context. 18sn 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. 19sn 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. 20tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.” 21tn 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). 22tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line. 23tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.” 24tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.” 25tn Heb “Let them ascribe to the Lord glory.” 26tn Heb “and his praise in the coastlands [or “islands”] let them declare.” 27tn Heb “like a man of war he stirs up zeal” (NIV similar). 28tn Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.” 29tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.” 30sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack. 31tn 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.” 32tc 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). 33sn 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. 34tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.” 35tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.” 36tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.” 37tn Heb “be ashamed with shame”; ASV, NASB “be utterly put to shame.” 38tn Heb “look to see”; NAB, NCV “look and see”; NRSV “look up and see.” 39tc The precise meaning of מְשֻׁלָּם (m˙shullam) 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 (mosh˙lam, “their ruler”) or to מְשֻׁלָּחִי (m˙shullakhi, “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 (k˙mo shol˙mi, “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). 40tn 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. 41tn 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. 42tn Heb “but you do not guard [i.e., retain in your memory]”; NIV “but have paid no attention.” 43tn 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. 44tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (b˙horim, “in holes”). 45tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.” 46tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.” 47tn The interrogative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line). 48tn Heb “Who gave to the robber Jacob, and Israel to the looters?” In the first line the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְשׁוֹסֶה (m˙shoseh), a Polel participle from שָׁסָה (shasah, “plunder”). The marginal reading (Qere) is מְשִׁיסָּה (m˙shissah), a noun meaning “plunder.” In this case one could translate “Who handed Jacob over as plunder?” 49tn Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.” 50tn Heb “strength” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “fury”; NASB “fierceness”; NIV “violence.” 51tn 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. 52tn Heb “and it burned against him, but he did not set [it] upon [the] heart.”
1sn 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.
2tn Heb “he will bring out justice” (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV).
3sn Like the ideal king portrayed in Isa 11:1-9, the servant is energized by the divine spirit and establishes justice on the earth.
4tn Heb “he will not cause his voice to be heard in the street.”
5sn The “crushed reed” and “dim wick” symbolize the weak and oppressed who are on the verge of extinction.
6tn Heb “faithfully he will bring out justice” (cf. NASB, NRSV).
7tn For rhetorical effect the terms used to describe the “crushed (רָצַץ, ratsats) reed” and “dim (כָּהָה, kahah) wick” in v. 3 are repeated here.
8tn Or “islands” (NIV); NLT “distant lands beyond the sea.”
9tn Or “his law” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV) or “his instruction” (NLT).
10tn Heb “the God.” The definite article here indicates distinctiveness or uniqueness.
11tn Heb “and its offspring” (so NASB); NIV “all that comes out of it.”
12tn Heb “and spirit [i.e., “breath”] to the ones walking in it” (NAB, NASB, and NRSV all similar).
13tn Heb “call you in righteousness.” The pronoun “you” is masculine singular, referring to the servant. See the note at 41:2.
14tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצַר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצַר (yatsar, “form”).
15tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (b˙rit) 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.
16sn Light here symbolizes deliverance from bondage and oppression; note the parallelism in 49:6b and in 51:4-6.
17tn Or “the Gentiles” (so KJV, ASV, NIV); the same Hebrew word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context.
18sn 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.
19sn 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.
20tn Heb “the former things, look, they have come.”
21tn 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).
22tn Heb “his praise.” The phrase stands parallel to “new song” in the previous line.
23tn Heb “and its fullness”; NASB, NIV “and all that is in it.”
24tn Or “islands” (NASB, NIV); NLT “distant coastlands.”
25tn Heb “Let them ascribe to the Lord glory.”
26tn Heb “and his praise in the coastlands [or “islands”] let them declare.”
27tn Heb “like a man of war he stirs up zeal” (NIV similar).
28tn Or perhaps, “he triumphs over his enemies” (cf. NIV); NLT “will crush all his enemies.”
29tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”
30sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.
31tn 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.”
32tc 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).
33sn 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.
34tn Heb “a way they do not know” (so NASB); NRSV “a road they do not know.”
35tn Heb “in paths they do not know I will make them walk.”
36tn Heb “and the rough ground into a level place.”
37tn Heb “be ashamed with shame”; ASV, NASB “be utterly put to shame.”
38tn Heb “look to see”; NAB, NCV “look and see”; NRSV “look up and see.”
39tc The precise meaning of מְשֻׁלָּם (m˙shullam) 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 (mosh˙lam, “their ruler”) or to מְשֻׁלָּחִי (m˙shullakhi, “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 (k˙mo shol˙mi, “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).
40tn 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.
41tn 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.
42tn Heb “but you do not guard [i.e., retain in your memory]”; NIV “but have paid no attention.”
43tn 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.
44tc The Hebrew text has בַּחוּרִים (bakhurim, “young men”), but the text should be emended to בְּהוֹרִים (b˙horim, “in holes”).
45tn Heb “and made to be hidden”; NAB, NASB, NIV, TEV “hidden away in prisons.”
46tn Heb “they became loot and there was no one rescuing, plunder and there was no one saying, ‘Bring back’.”
47tn The interrogative particle is understood in the second line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
48tn Heb “Who gave to the robber Jacob, and Israel to the looters?” In the first line the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְשׁוֹסֶה (m˙shoseh), a Polel participle from שָׁסָה (shasah, “plunder”). The marginal reading (Qere) is מְשִׁיסָּה (m˙shissah), a noun meaning “plunder.” In this case one could translate “Who handed Jacob over as plunder?”
49tn Heb “they were not willing in his ways to walk, and they did not listen to his law.”
50tn Heb “strength” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “fury”; NASB “fierceness”; NIV “violence.”
51tn 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.
52tn Heb “and it burned against him, but he did not set [it] upon [the] heart.”