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אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִֹ֗ה נָ֤תַן לִי֙ לְשׁ֣וֹן לִמּוּדִ֔ים לָדַ֛עַת לָע֥וּת אֶת־יָעֵ֖ף דָּבָ֑ר יָעִ֣יר׀ בַּבֹּ֣קֶר בַּבֹּ֗קֶר יָעִ֥יר לִי֙ אֹ֔זֶן לִשְׁמֹ֖עַ כַּלִּמּוּדִֽים׃

אֲדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ פָּתַֽח־לִ֣י אֹ֔זֶן וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֣א מָרִ֑יתִי אָח֖וֹר לֹ֥א נְסוּגֹֽתִי׃

גֵּוִי֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְמַכִּ֔ים וּלְחָיַ֖י לְמֹֽרְטִ֑ים פָּנַי֙ לֹ֣א הִסְתַּ֔רְתִּי מִכְּלִמּ֖וֹת וָרֹֽק׃

וַאדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ יַֽעֲזָר־לִ֔י עַל־כֵּ֖ן לֹ֣א נִכְלָ֑מְתִּי עַל־כֵּ֞ן שַׂ֤מְתִּי פָנַי֙ כַּֽחַלָּמִ֔ישׁ וָאֵדַ֖ע כִּי־לֹ֥א אֵבֽוֹשׁ׃

קָרוֹב֙ מַצְדִּיקִ֔י מִֽי־יָרִ֥יב אִתִּ֖י נַ֣עַמְדָה יָּ֑חַד מִֽי־בַ֥עַל מִשְׁפָּטִ֖י יִגַּ֥שׁ אֵלָֽי׃

הֵ֣ן אֲדֹנָ֤י יְהוִה֙ יַֽעֲזָר־לִ֔י מִי־ה֖וּא יַרְשִׁיעֵ֑נִי הֵ֤ן כֻּלָּם֙ כַּבֶּ֣גֶד יִבְל֔וּ עָ֖שׁ יֹאכְלֵֽם׃

10 מִ֤י בָכֶם֙ יְרֵ֣א יְהוָ֔ה שֹׁמֵ֖עַ בְּק֣וֹל עַבְדּ֑וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר׀ הָלַ֣ךְ חֲשֵׁכִ֗ים וְאֵ֥ין נֹ֙גַהּ֙ ל֔וֹ יִבְטַח֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֔ה וְיִשָּׁעֵ֖ן בֵּאלֹהָֽיו׃

11 הֵ֧ן כֻּלְּכֶ֛ם קֹ֥דְחֵי אֵ֖שׁ מְאַזְּרֵ֣י זִיק֑וֹת לְכ֣וּ׀ בְּא֣וּר אֶשְׁכֶ֗ם וּבְזִיקוֹת֙ בִּֽעַרְתֶּ֔ם מִיָּדִי֙ הָיְתָה־זֹּ֣את לָכֶ֔ם לְמַעֲצֵבָ֖ה תִּשְׁכָּבֽוּן׃ פ

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The Servant’s Humiliation and Vindication

The Lord God has given me
    the tongue of a teacher,[a]
that I may know how to sustain
    the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
    wakens my ear
    to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
    and I was not rebellious,
    I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
    and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
    from insult and spitting.

The Lord God helps me;
    therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
    and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
    he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
    Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
    Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
    who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
    the moth will eat them up.

10 Who among you fears the Lord
    and obeys the voice of his servant,
who walks in darkness
    and has no light,
yet trusts in the name of the Lord
    and relies upon his God?
11 But all of you are kindlers of fire,
    lighters of firebrands.[b]
Walk in the flame of your fire,
    and among the brands that you have kindled!
This is what you shall have from my hand:
    you shall lie down in torment.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 50:4 Cn: Heb of those who are taught
  2. Isaiah 50:11 Syr: Heb you gird yourselves with firebrands

The Servant Perseveres

The Sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman,[a]
so that I know how to help the weary.[b]
He wakes me up every morning;
he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do.[c]
The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me clearly;[d]
I have not rebelled,
I have not turned back.
I offered my back to those who attacked,[e]
my jaws to those who tore out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from insults and spitting.
But the Sovereign Lord helps me,
so I am not humiliated.
For that reason I am steadfastly resolved;[f]
I know I will not be put to shame.
The one who vindicates me is close by.
Who dares to argue with me? Let us confront each other![g]
Who is my accuser?[h] Let him challenge me![i]
Look, the Sovereign Lord helps me.
Who dares to condemn me?
Look, all of them will wear out like clothes;
a moth will eat away at them.
10 Who among you fears the Lord?
Who obeys[j] his servant?
Whoever walks in deep darkness,[k]
without light,
should trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
11 Look, all of you who start a fire
and who equip yourselves with[l] flaming arrows,[m]
walk[n] in the light[o] of the fire you started
and among the flaming arrows you ignited![p]
This is what you will receive from me:[q]
you will lie down in a place of pain.[r]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 50:4 tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”sn Verses 4-11 contain the third of the so-called servant songs, which depict the career of the Lord’s special servant, envisioned as an ideal Israel (49:3) who rescues the exiles and fulfills God’s purposes for the world. Here the servant alludes to opposition (something hinted at in 49:4), but also expresses his determination to persevere with the Lord’s help.
  2. Isaiah 50:4 tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (ʿut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (ʿanot) from עָנָה (ʿanah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.
  3. Isaiah 50:4 tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”
  4. Isaiah 50:5 tn Or perhaps, “makes me obedient.” The text reads literally, “has opened for me an ear.”
  5. Isaiah 50:6 tn Or perhaps, “who beat [me].”
  6. Isaiah 50:7 tn Heb “Therefore I set my face like flint.”
  7. Isaiah 50:8 tn Heb “Let us stand together!”
  8. Isaiah 50:8 tn Heb “Who is the master of my judgment?”
  9. Isaiah 50:8 tn Heb “let him approach me”; NAB, NIV “Let him confront me.”
  10. Isaiah 50:10 tn Heb “[who] listens to the voice of his servant?” The interrogative is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
  11. Isaiah 50:10 tn The plural indicates degree. Darkness may refer to exile and/or moral evil.
  12. Isaiah 50:11 tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (meʾazzere, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (meʾiri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).
  13. Isaiah 50:11 tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.
  14. Isaiah 50:11 tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.
  15. Isaiah 50:11 tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).
  16. Isaiah 50:11 sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.
  17. Isaiah 50:11 tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  18. Isaiah 50:11 sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.

The Obedience of the Lord's Servant

The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say,
    so that I can strengthen the weary.
Every morning he makes me eager
    to hear what he is going to teach me.
The Lord has given me understanding,
    and I have not rebelled
    or turned away from him.
(A)I bared my back to those who beat me.
    I did not stop them when they insulted me,
    when they pulled out the hairs of my beard
    and spit in my face.

But their insults cannot hurt me
    because the Sovereign Lord gives me help.
I brace myself to endure them.
    I know that I will not be disgraced,
    (B)for God is near,
    and he will prove me innocent.
Does anyone dare bring charges against me?
    Let us go to court together!
    Let him bring his accusation!
The Sovereign Lord himself defends me—
    who, then, can prove me guilty?
All my accusers will disappear;
    they will vanish like moth-eaten cloth.

10 All of you that honor the Lord
    and obey the words of his servant,
the path you walk may be dark indeed,
    but trust in the Lord, rely on your God.
11 All of you that plot to destroy others
    will be destroyed by your own plots.
The Lord himself will make this happen;
    you will suffer a miserable fate.

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Adonai Elohim has given me
the ability to speak as a man well taught,
so that I, with my words,
know how to sustain the weary.
Each morning he awakens my ear
to hear like those who are taught.
Adonai Elohim has opened my ear,
and I neither rebelled nor turned away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who plucked out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
For Adonai Elohim will help.
This is why no insult can wound me.
This is why I have set my face like flint,
knowing I will not be put to shame.
My vindicator is close by;
let whoever dares to accuse me
appear with me in court!
Let whoever has a case against me step forward!
Look, if Adonai Elohim helps me,
who will dare to condemn me?
Here, they are all falling apart
like old, moth-eaten clothes.

10 Who among you fears Adonai?
Who obeys what his servant says?
Even when he walks in the dark,
without any light,
he will trust in Adonai’s reputation
and rely on his God.
11 But all of you who are lighting fires
and arming yourselves with firebrands:
go, walk in the flame of your own fire,
among the firebrands you lit!
From my hands this [fate] awaits you:
you will lie down in torment.

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