1tnHeb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.
2sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).
3tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”
4tn Or “proclaim good news to.”
5tnHeb “to bind up [the wounds of].”
6tnHeb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.
7tnHeb “oil of joy” (KJV, ASV); NASB, NIV, NRSV “the oil of gladness.”
8tnHeb “garment of praise.”
9tnHeb “a faint spirit” (so NRSV); KJV, ASV “the spirit of heaviness”; NASB “a spirit of fainting.”
10tn Rather than referring to the character of the people, צֶדֶק (tsedeq) may carry the nuance “vindication” here, suggesting that God’s restored people are a testimony to his justice. See v. 2, which alludes to the fact that God will take vengeance against the enemies of his people. Cf. NAB “oaks of justice.”
11tnHeb “a planting of the Lord to reveal splendor.”
12tnHeb “and the formerly desolate places they will raise up.”
13sn The Lord speaks in vv. 7-8 (and possibly v. 9). It is not clear where the servant’s speech (see vv. 1-3a) ends and the Lord’s begins. Perhaps the direct address to the people signals the beginning of the Lord’s speech.
14tnHeb “will stand [in position] and shepherd.”
15tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”
17tc The form in the Hebrew text is probably a corruption of יִתְאַמְּרוּ (yit’amm˙ru), a Hitpael from אָמַר (’amar), meaning “boast about” (see HALOT 67 s.v. II אמר, HALOT 416 s.v. ימר, and BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר).
18tnHeb “their glory” (i.e., riches).
19tnHeb “instead of your shame, a double portion.”
20tnHeb “and [instead of] humiliation they will rejoice [over] their portion.” The term תָחָת (takhat, “instead of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
23tnHeb “all who see them will recognize them, that they [are] descendants [whom] the Lord has blessed.”
24sn The speaker in vv. 10-11 is not identified, but it is likely that the personified nation (or perhaps Zion) responds here to the Lord’s promise of restoration.
25tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
26tnHeb “my being is happy in my God”; NAB “in my God is the joy of my soul.”
27tnHeb “robe of vindication”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “robe of righteousness.”
28tnHeb “like a bridegroom [who] acts like a priest [by wearing] a turban, and like a bride [who] wears her jewelry.” The words “I look” are supplied for stylistic reasons and clarification.
29tn Or perhaps, “righteousness,” but the context seems to emphasize deliverance and restoration (see v. 10 and 62:1).