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This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says—
the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:
“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun,[a] whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the parched ground[b]
and cause streams to flow[c] on the dry land.
I will pour my Spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your children.
They will sprout up like a tree in the grass,[d]
like poplars beside channels of water.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 44:2 sn Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel; it occurs here and in Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26.
  2. Isaiah 44:3 tn Heb “the thirsty.” Parallelism suggests that dry ground is in view (see “dry land” in the next line.)
  3. Isaiah 44:3 tn Heb “and streams”; KJV “floods.” The verb “cause…to flow” is supplied in the second line for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  4. Isaiah 44:4 tn The Hebrew term בֵין (ven) is usually taken as a preposition, in which case one might translate, “among the grass.” But בֵין is probably the name of a tree (cf. C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 133). If one alters the preposition bet (בְּ) to kaf (כְּ), one can then read, “like a binu-tree.” (The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa supports this reading.) This forms a nice parallel to “like poplars” in the next line. חָצִיר (khatsir) is functioning as an adverbial accusative of location.

This is what the Lord says—
    he who made(A) you, who formed you in the womb,(B)
    and who will help(C) you:
Do not be afraid,(D) Jacob, my servant,(E)
    Jeshurun,[a](F) whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water(G) on the thirsty land,
    and streams on the dry ground;(H)
I will pour out my Spirit(I) on your offspring,
    and my blessing(J) on your descendants.(K)
They will spring up like grass(L) in a meadow,
    like poplar trees(M) by flowing streams.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 44:2 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.