Footnotes

1. Isaiah 52:2 tn Heb “Shake yourself free from the dirt.”
2. Isaiah 52:2 tc The Hebrew text has שְּׂבִי (sh^evi), which some understand as a feminine singular imperative from יָשַׁב (yashav, “sit”). The LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, and the Targum support the MT reading (the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does indirectly). Some interpret this to mean “take your throne”: The Lord exhorts Jerusalem to get up from the dirt and sit, probably with the idea of sitting in a place of honor (J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 2:361)(cf. NLT, NIV, TNIV, HCSB). However, the form likely needs to be emended to שְׁבִיָּה (sh^eviyyah, “captive”), which appears in the parallel line (cf. NASB, RSV, NRSV).
3. Isaiah 52:5 tn Heb “and now what [following the marginal reading (Qere)] to me here?”
4. Isaiah 52:5 tn The verb appears to be a Hiphil form from the root יָלַל (yalal, “howl”), perhaps here in the sense of “mock.” Some emend the form to יְהוֹלָלוֹ (y^eholalo) and understand a Polel form of the root הָלַל meaning here “mock, taunt.”
5. Isaiah 52:5 tn The verb is apparently a Hitpolal form (with assimilated tav, ת) from the root נָאַץ (naʾats), but GKC 151-52 §55.b explains it as a mixed form, combining Pual and Hitpolel readings.
6. Isaiah 52:6 tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
7. Isaiah 52:6 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
8. Isaiah 52:7 tn Heb “How delightful on the mountains.”
9. Isaiah 52:7 tn Or “has become king.” When a new king was enthroned, his followers would give this shout. For other examples of this enthronement formula (Qal perfect third person masculine singular מָלַךְ [malakh], followed by the name of the king), see 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kgs 1:11, 13, 18; 2 Kgs 9:13. The Lord is an eternal king, but here he is pictured as a victorious warrior who establishes his rule from Zion.
10. Isaiah 52:8 tn קוֹל (qol, “voice”) is used at the beginning of the verse as an interjection.
11. Isaiah 52:8 tn Heb “eye in eye”; KJV, ASV “eye to eye”; NAB “directly, before their eyes.”
12. Isaiah 52:9 tn Or “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
13. Isaiah 52:10 tn Heb “lays bare”; NLT “will demonstrate.”
14. Isaiah 52:10 tn Heb “his holy arm.” This is a metonymy for his power.
15. Isaiah 52:10 tn Heb “the remote regions,” which here stand for the extremities and everything in between.
16. Isaiah 52:10 tn Heb “the deliverance of our God.” “God” is a subjective genitive here.
17. Isaiah 52:11 tn Heb “the vessels of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).
18. Isaiah 52:12 tn Heb “or go in flight”; NAB “leave in headlong flight.”
19. Isaiah 52:13 tn Heb “act wisely,” which by metonymy means “succeed.”
20. Isaiah 52:13 tn This piling up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of the servant’s coming exaltation.
21. Isaiah 52:14 tn Some witnesses read “him,” which is more consistent with the context, where the servant is spoken about, not addressed. However, it is possible that the Lord briefly addresses the servant here. The present translation assumes the latter view and places the phrase in parentheses.
22. Isaiah 52:14 tn Heb “such was the disfigurement.” The noun מִשְׁחַת (mishkhat) occurs only here. It may be derived from the verbal root שָׁחַת (shakhat, “be ruined”; see BDB 1007-8 s.v. שָׁחַת). The construct form appears here before a prepositional phrase (cf. GKC 421 §130.a).
23. Isaiah 52:14 tn Heb “from a man his appearance.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.” See BDB 583 s.v.
24. Isaiah 52:14 tn Heb “and his form from the sons of men.” The preposition מִן (min) here carries the sense “away from,” i.e., “so as not to be.”
25. Isaiah 52:15 tn This statement completes the sentence begun in v. 14a. The introductory כֵּן (ken) answers to the introductory כַּאֲשֶׁר (kaʾasher) of v. 14a. Verses 14b-15a are parenthetical, explaining why many were horrified.
26. Isaiah 52:15 tn Traditionally the verb יַזֶּה (yazzeh, a Hiphil stem) has been understood as a causative of נָזָה (nazah, “spurt, spatter”) and translated “sprinkle.” In this case the passage pictures the servant as a priest who “sprinkles” (or spiritually cleanses) the nations. Though the verb נָזָה does occur in the Hiphil with the meaning “sprinkle,” the usual interpretation is problematic. In all other instances where the object or person sprinkled is indicated, the verb is combined with a preposition. This is not the case in Isaiah 52:15, unless one takes the following עָלָיו (ʿalayv, “on him”) with the preceding line. But then one would have to emend the verb to a plural, make the nations the subject of the verb “sprinkle,” and take the servant as the object. Consequently some interpreters doubt the cultic idea of “sprinkling” is present here. Some emend the text; others propose a homonymic root meaning “spring, leap,” which in the Hiphil could mean “cause to leap, startle” and would fit the parallelism of the verse nicely.
27. Isaiah 52:15 tn Heb “Because of him kings will shut their mouths,” i.e., be speechless.