Isaiah 57:16-18

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 57:16 tn Or perhaps, “argue,” or “accuse” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV).
2. Isaiah 57:16 tn Heb “for a spirit from before me would be faint.”
3. Isaiah 57:17 tn Heb “and I struck him, hiding, and I was angry.” פָּנִים (panim, “face”) is the implied object of “hiding.”
4. Isaiah 57:17 tn Heb “and he walked [as an] apostate in the way of his heart.”
5. Isaiah 57:18 tn Heb “his ways” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); TEV “how they acted.”
6. Isaiah 57:18 tc The MT has וְאַנְחֵהוּ (v^eʾankhehu) from נָחָה (nakhah) “I will lead them,” but the consonantal text may also be read as וַאֲנִחֵהוּ (vaʾanikhehu) from נוּחַ (nuakh) “I will give them rest.” The MT is supported by Aquila and the Vulgate, though 1QIsa^a omits the verb and the LXX and Targum offer mixed evidence.
7. Isaiah 57:18 tn The verb וַאֲשַׁלֵּם (vaʾashallem), the Piel form of the verb שָׁלֵם (shalem), means “to make whole, make restitution, compensate, reward” (HALOT 1534, s.v.). The noun נִחֻמִים (nikhumim) uses the plural form for the abstract concept, “comfort.” The Lord will bestow comfort as restitution to Israel.
8. Isaiah 57:18 tn Heb “to him and to his mourners.” Since Israel is represented by the singular pronoun “to him” (rendered as plural “them” for style throughout vv. 17-19), those who mourn for, or with, him are likely religious converts or others who sympathize with Israel (see J. D. W. Watts, Isaiah [WBC], 25:835).