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Isaiah 57:12-14
New English Translation
Isaiah 57:12-14
New English Translation
12 I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds,[a]
but they will not help you.
13 When you cry out for help, let your idols[b] help you!
The wind blows them all away,[c]
a breeze carries them away.[d]
But the one who looks to me for help[e] will inherit the land
and will have access to[f] my holy mountain.”
14 He says,[g]
“Build it! Build it! Clear a way!
Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:12 tn Heb “I, I will declare your righteousness and your deeds.”
- Isaiah 57:13 tn The Hebrew text has קִבּוּצַיִךְ (qibbutsayikh, “your gatherings”), an otherwise unattested noun from the verbal root קָבַץ (qavats, “gather”). Perhaps this alludes to their religious assemblies and by metonymy to their rituals. Since idolatry is a prominent theme in the context, some understand this as a reference to a collection of idols. The second half of the verse also favors this view.
- Isaiah 57:13 tn Heb “all of them a wind lifts up.”
- Isaiah 57:13 tn Heb “a breath takes [them] away.”
- Isaiah 57:13 tn Or “seeks refuge in me.” “Seeking refuge” is a metonymy for “being loyal to.”
- Isaiah 57:13 tn Heb “possess, own.” The point seems to be that he will have free access to God’s presence, as if God’s temple mount were his personal possession.
- Isaiah 57:14 tn Since God is speaking throughout this context, perhaps we should emend the text to “and I say.” However, divine speech is introduced in v. 15.
New English Translation (NET)
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