Isaiah 41:8-16
New English Translation
The Lord Encourages His People
8 “You, my servant Israel,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend,[a]
9 you whom I am bringing back[b] from the earth’s extremities,
and have summoned from the remote regions—
I told you, ‘You are my servant.’
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!
Don’t be frightened, for I am your God![c]
I strengthen you—
yes, I help you—
yes, I uphold you with my victorious right hand![d]
11 Look, all who were angry at you will be ashamed and humiliated;
your adversaries[e] will be reduced to nothing[f] and perish.
12 When you will look for your opponents,[g] you will not find them;
your enemies[h] will be reduced to absolutely nothing.
13 For I am the Lord your God,
the one who takes hold of your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am helping you.’
14 Don’t be afraid, despised insignificant Jacob,[i]
men of[j] Israel.
I am helping you,” says the Lord,
your Protector,[k] the Holy One of Israel.[l]
15 “Look, I am making you like[m] a sharp threshing sledge,
new and double-edged.[n]
You will thresh the mountains and crush them;
you will make the hills like straw.[o]
16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;
the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 41:8 tn Or perhaps, “covenantal partner” (see 1 Kgs 5:15 HT [5:1 ET]; 2 Chr 20:7).
- Isaiah 41:9 tn Heb “whom I have taken hold of [i.e., to lead back].”
- Isaiah 41:10 tn According to BDB (1043 s.v. שָׁעָה), the verb תִּשְׁתָּע (tishtaʿ) in the second line of the poetic couplet is a Hitpael form from the root שָׁעָה (shaʿah, “gaze,” with metathesis of the stem prefix and the first root letter). Taking the Hitpael as iterative, one may then translate “do not anxiously look about.” However, the alleged Hitpael form of שָׁעָה (shaʿah) only occurs here and in verse 23. HALOT 1671 s.v. שׁתע proposes that the verb is instead a Qal form from the root שׁתע (“fear”). Its attestation in cognate Semitic languages, including Ugaritic (discovered after the publishing of BDB), suggests the existence of this root. The poetic structure of v. 10 also supports the proposal, for the form in question is in synonymous parallelism to יָרֵא (yareʾ, “fear”).
- Isaiah 41:10 tn The “right hand” is a symbol of the Lord’s power to deliver (Exod 15:6, 12) and protect (Ps 63:9 HT [63:8 ET]). Here צֶדֶק (tsedeq) has its well-attested nuance of “vindicated righteousness,” i.e., “victory, deliverance” (see 45:8; 51:5, and BDB 841-42 s.v.).
- Isaiah 41:11 tn Heb “the men of your strife”; NASB “those who contend with you.”
- Isaiah 41:11 tn Heb “like nothing”; NAB “come to nought.”
- Isaiah 41:12 tn Heb “the men of your struggle”; NASB “those who quarrel with you.”
- Isaiah 41:12 tn Heb “the men of your battle”; NAB “who do battle with you.”
- Isaiah 41:14 tn Heb “O worm Jacob” (NAB, NIV). The worm metaphor suggests that Jacob is insignificant and despised.
- Isaiah 41:14 tn On the basis of the parallelism (note “worm”) and an alleged Akkadian cognate, some read “louse” or “weevil.” Cf. NAB “O maggot Israel”; NRSV “you insect Israel.”
- Isaiah 41:14 tn Heb “your kinsman redeemer.” A גֹּאֵל (goʾel, “kinsman redeemer”) was a protector of the extended family’s interests.
- Isaiah 41:14 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
- Isaiah 41:15 tn Heb “into” (so NIV); ASV “have made thee to be.”
- Isaiah 41:15 tn Heb “owner of two-mouths,” i.e., double-edged.
- Isaiah 41:15 sn The mountains and hills symbolize hostile nations that are obstacles to Israel’s restoration.
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