Isaiah 49:9-13
New English Translation
9 You will say[a] to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
and to those who are in dark dungeons,[b] ‘Emerge.’[c]
They will graze beside the roads;
on all the slopes they will find pasture.
10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;
the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them,[d]
for one who has compassion on them will guide them;
he will lead them to springs of water.
11 I will make all my mountains into a road;
I will construct my roadways.”
12 Look, they come from far away!
Look, some come from the north and west,
and others from the land of Sinim.[e]
13 Shout for joy, O sky![f]
Rejoice, O earth!
Let the mountains give a joyful shout!
For the Lord consoles his people
and shows compassion to the[g] oppressed.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “to say.” In the Hebrew text the infinitive construct is subordinated to what precedes.
- Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “in darkness” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “the prisoners of darkness.”
- Isaiah 49:9 tn Heb “show yourselves” (so ASV, NAB, NASB).
- 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.”
- 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.
- Isaiah 49:13 tn Or “O heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
- Isaiah 49:13 tn Heb “his” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
Isaiah 49:9-13
New International Version
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.(C)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(D)
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(E)
He who has compassion(F) on them will guide(G) them
and lead them beside springs(H) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways(I) will be raised up.(J)
12 See, they will come from afar(K)—
some from the north, some from the west,(L)
some from the region of Aswan.[a]”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
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