Isaiah 51:20-22

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 51:20 tn Heb “those who are full of the anger of the Lord, the shout [or “rebuke”] of your God.”
2. Isaiah 51:22 tn Or “Lord,” from אֲדוֹן (ʾadon).
3. Isaiah 51:22 tn Many translations say “pleads the cause of his people” (KJV, NRSV, ESV) or similarly (NASB, NIV). The verb רִיב (riv, “to contend, dispute, conduct a law suit”) normally conveys that notion with the cognate direct object רִיב (riv, “cause, dispute, legal case”), but that is lacking here. Instead “his people” are the direct object, an unusual construction. The verb רִיב typically uses a preposition to indicate whether the action is done for or against someone. The syntax here may reflect Isa 3:13 where God is said to judge his people. There רִיב occurs without a direct object, but “his people” are supplied by parallelism in the second half of the line. The immediate context here is about the reversal of judgment, so referring to God as the one who judges his people but now takes his cup of judgement away would fit well.
4. Isaiah 51:22 tn Heb “the cup of [= that causes] staggering” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV); NASB “the cup of reeling.”
5. Isaiah 51:22 tn Heb “the goblet of the cup of my anger.”