Footnotes

1. Isaiah 49:8 tn The translation assumes the verb is derived from the root נָצָר (natsar, “protect”). Some prefer to derive it from the root יָצָר (yatsar, “form”).
2. Isaiah 49:8 tn Heb “a covenant of people.” A person cannot literally be a covenant; בְּרִית (b^erit) is probably metonymic here, indicating a covenant mediator. Here עָם (ʿam, “people”) appears to refer to Israel. See the note at 42:6.
3. Isaiah 49:8 tn The Hiphil of קוּם (qum, “arise”) is probably used here in the sense of “rebuild.”
4. Isaiah 49:8 tn The “land” probably stands by metonymy for the ruins within it.
5. Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.
6. Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”
7. Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).
8. Isaiah 49:10 tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”
9. Isaiah 49:12 tc The MT reads “Sinim” here; the Dead Sea Scrolls read “Syene,” a location in Egypt associated with modern Aswan. A number of recent translations adopt this reading: “Syene” (NAB, NRSV); “Aswan” (NIV); “Egypt” (NLT).sn The precise location of the land of Sinim is uncertain, but since the north and west are mentioned in the previous line, it was a probably located in the distant east or south.
10. Isaiah 49:13 tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
11. Isaiah 49:13 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).