The Living Bible (517 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
41:2
this one from the east.
Doubtless Cyrus the Great of Persia; see 44:28.
41:5
Cyrus’s,
implied from 45:1.
41:10
with my victorious right hand,
or “with the right hand of my righteousness.”
42:1
See my servant.
Not Cyrus, as in ch. 41, but Christ.
42:4
He won’t be satisfied,
literally, “He will not burn dimly or be bruised.”
42:5
to his Servant, the Messiah,
implied.
42:6
I have given you to my people as the personal confirmation of my covenant with them,
or “you will be my covenant with all the people.”
42:19
as my own people,
literally, “as my servant.”
42:22
these who were to demonstrate to all the world the glory of his law,
implied in previous verse.
42:25
wanting them to repent,
implied.
43:3
to Cyrus,
implied.
44:5
proudly,
implied.
44:8
that I would save you,
implied.
44:28
This was written many years before Cyrus began his meteoric rise to power.
45:13
I have raised up Cyrus,
literally, “I have raised up him.” The reference probably is also to Christ in the more distant future, as well as to Cyrus.
46:1-2
Bel and Nebo.
Names of Marduk and Nabu, the two principal gods in the Babylonian pantheon.
47:2
remove your veil.
In ancient Babylonia (and in many Eastern lands today) only harlots were permitted to go without veils.
49:3
a prince of power,
or “Israel.”
51:9
Egypt, the dragon,
literally, “Rahab, the dragon.”
52:1
from God,
implied.
52:13
my Servant.
The Servant of the Lord, as the term is used here, is the Messiah, our Lord Jesus. This was the interpretation of this passage by Christ himself, the writers of the New Testament, and orthodox Christianity ever since.
52:14-15
cleanse,
or “startle.” The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain.
53:2
In God’s eyes,
literally, “Before him.”
53:10
He shall live again,
literally, “He shall prolong his days.”
54:1
Jerusalem,
implied.
blessings,
literally, “children.”
54:15
for I am on your side,
literally, “because of you.”
55:3
everlasting covenant . . . I had for King David.
See 2 Samuel 7 for the terms of God’s covenant with David here remembered.
55:4
foreign nations,
implied.
55:13
of God’s power and love,
implied.
56:9
devour my people,
implied.
57:20
those who still reject me,
literally, “the wicked.”
60:9
the very best,
literally, “the ships of Tarshish.”
60:12
refusing to be your allies,
literally, “that will not serve you.”
62:6-7
intercessors,
literally, “watchmen.”
63:9
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and he personally saved them,
or “The Angel of his Presence saved them out of their affliction.”
63:17
for we who belong to you need you so,
literally, “for your servants’ sake.”
64:6
filthy rags,
literally, “filthy as a menstruating woman’s rags.”
65:1
People,
literally, “those.” Also,
Nations.
Some believe this verse as well as the next applies to Israelites rather than to the nations. But see Romans 10:20-21.
65:15
by another name,
i.e., “Christians”? See Acts 11:26.
65:16
the days will come,
implied.
65:25
poisonous snakes shall strike no more,
literally, “dust [not men!] shall be the serpent’s food.”
66:19
I will send those who escape.
It is not clear from the Hebrew whether “those who escape” means survivors of the armies of the nations, or survivors of the Jews in Israel. The context seems to favor the former. Put and Lud were in North Africa; Meshech, Rosh, and Tubal were in Asia Minor and Armenia.
66:20
transporting them gently,
implied.
1:12
I will surely carry out my threats of punishment.
There is a wordplay here between
shaqedh
(almond) in v. 11 and
shoqedh
(watching) in v. 12: “For I am watching over my word to perform it.”
1:13
spilling over Judah,
implied.
2:3
the first of my children,
literally, “the firstfruits of his harvest.”
2:15
I see great armies marching on Jerusalem with mighty shouts,
literally, “The lions have roared against him.”
2:32
How can you disown your God like that?
implied.
the most precious of their treasures,
implied.
2:35
he isn’t angry,
implied.
3:1
There is a law,
Deuteronomy 24:1-4.
3:2
your worshiping these other gods,
implied.
4:4
Cleanse your minds and hearts,
literally, “Circumcise yourselves . . . remove the foreskin of your hearts.”
4:6
from the north,
i.e., from Babylon. Nabopolasser and Nebuchadnezzar II soon attacked.
5:15
an ancient nation.
The kingdom of Babylonia, being revived in Jeremiah’s time (around 626
B.C.
) had a long and illustrious history. The old Babylonian Empire lasted from about 1900
B.C.
–1550
B.C.
(the days of the Hebrew patriarchs), and earlier kingdoms had ruled on Babylonian soil as early as 3000
B.C.
7:18
Queen of Heaven,
a name by which Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, was called. After the fall of Jerusalem, the refugees who fled to Egypt continued to worship her (ch. 44). A papyrus dating from the fifth century
B.C.
found at Hermopolis in Egypt mentions the “Queen of Heaven” among the gods honored by the Jewish community.
8:16
The noise of war resounds from the northern border,
literally, “The snorting of their war horses can be heard all the way from Dan in the north.”
12:3
I am poor,
implied.
12:5
these men of Anathoth . . . against the king, his court, and all his evil priests,
implied.
13:12
how prosperous we will be,
literally, “that every bottle will be filled with wine.”
13:13
That’s not what I mean,
implied.
13:18
Say to the king and queen mother,
i.e., to King Jehoiachin and his mother, Nehashta.
13:19
for Jerusalem cannot help,
literally, “for the cities are closed and none can open them.” Perhaps the meaning is that they are permanently abandoned.
13:20
Jerusalem,
implied.
16:8
As a sign to them of these sad days ahead,
implied.
16:21
And when they come in that spirit, I will show them,
literally, “Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know.”
17:21-22
unnecessary,
implied.
21:2
as in olden times.
King Zedekiah doubtless had in mind God’s deliverances of Jerusalem from Sennacherib, king of Assyria, in the days of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36–37). But Zedekiah’s hopes were dashed. He was Judah’s last ruler before the exile of 597
B.C.
22:11
Jehoahaz who succeeded his father.
Jehoahaz, or Shallum, reigned for three months in the year 609
B.C.
22:12
in a distant land,
i.e., Egypt.
22:13
King Jehoiakim,
implied, see v. 18. He was chosen by the Egyptians to replace Jehoahaz, whom they took back to Egypt with them. He ruled from 609–598
B.C.
22:24-25
Coniah,
is an abbreviation—perhaps a disparaging nickname for Jeconiah and Jehoiachin, his other names. His name means, “The Lord will establish my throne!”