The coasts and islands see and are afraid,
the whole earth trembles.(A)
They approach and arrive.
Each one helps the other,
and says to another, “Take courage!”
The craftsman encourages the metalworker;(B)
the one who flattens with the hammer
encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good.”
He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.(C)

But you, Israel, my servant,(D)
Jacob, whom I have chosen,(E)
descendant of Abraham, my friend(F)
I brought[a] you from the ends of the earth
and called you from its farthest corners.
I said to you: You are my servant;
I have chosen you; I haven’t rejected you.(G)
10 Do not fear, for I am with you;(H)
do not be afraid, for I am your God.(I)
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.(J)

Read full chapter

Notas al pie

  1. 41:9 Or seized

The coastlands[a] see and are afraid;
the whole earth[b] trembles;
they approach and come.
They help one another;[c]
one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’
The craftsman encourages the metalsmith,
the one who wields the hammer encourages[d] the one who pounds on the anvil.
He approves the quality of the welding,[e]
and nails it down so it won’t fall over.

The Lord Encourages His People

“You, my servant Israel,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
offspring of Abraham my friend,[f]
you whom I am bringing back[g] 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![h]
I strengthen you—
yes, I help you—
yes, I uphold you with my victorious right hand![i]

Read full chapter

Notas al pie

  1. Isaiah 41:5 tn Or “islands” (NIV, CEV); NCV “faraway places”; NLT “lands beyond the sea.”
  2. Isaiah 41:5 tn Heb “the ends of the earth,” but this is a merism, where the earth’s extremities stand for its entirety, i.e., the extremities and everything in between them.
  3. Isaiah 41:6 tn Heb “each his neighbor helps”; NCV “The workers help each other.”
  4. Isaiah 41:7 tn The verb “encourages” is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
  5. Isaiah 41:7 tn Heb “saying of the welding, ‘It is good.’”
  6. Isaiah 41:8 tn Or perhaps, “covenantal partner” (see 1 Kgs 5:15 HT [5:1 ET]; 2 Chr 20:7).
  7. Isaiah 41:9 tn Heb “whom I have taken hold of [i.e., to lead back].”
  8. 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”).
  9. 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.).