Our passage today is commonly called the third of the four servant songs in Isaiah 40-55. The other three, famously, are in Isaiah 42, 49, and 53.
I've said before that over a century ago, a scholar named Bernard Duhm split off these four songs from the rest of Isaiah 40-55, and treated them as though they are independent oracles, unrelated to anything else. And for over a hundred years, OT scholarship has by and large chased Duhm's bad idea, only starting to crawl out from this hole in the last few decades (see Mettinger, The End of the Servant Songs).
Basically, the idea that there are four independent servant songs doesn't really work. This word "servant," or some form of it (used as a verb), is found many times in these chapters. And there's no reason to pick out these four prophetic oracles/words, and treat them as distinct, or separate:
Isaiah 41:8, 9; 42:1; 42:19; 43:10; 44:1, 2, 21, 26; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3, 5, 6, 7; 50:10; 52:13; 53:11; 54:17; 56:6; 63:17; 65:8, 9, 13, 14, 15; 66:14;
I don't want to spend a lot of time on it. But I felt like I needed to say something about that, to start.
The other thing I need to touch on again briefly today, before we dive in, is how Isaiah 40-49 has used servant language so far.
So very quickly, what we've seen is that God originally called the nation of Israel to be his servant, especially in Isaiah 42. The servant, is the nation of Israel. And the nation wasn't up to the task. It was blind, and deaf, and rebellious. And so God gives his exilic prophet the title of Israel in Isaiah 49. The prophet is God's servant, and he is given a two-fold commission: (1) he is called to turn Israel to God, and (2) he is called to be a light to the nations. The servant prophet is called Israel, and he is sent to servant Israel.
Today, what I think is the most straightforward reading of the passage, that doesn't have any problems, and that builds seamlessly off of everything we've read so far, is the servant of Isaiah 50:4-11 is the exilic prophet.
Now, some of you have probably been taught, somewhere along the way, that these words are Jesus' words. That this is a speech Jesus gives, somewhat mysteriously, completely out of the blue. That it's a messianic prophecy of sorts, foretelling what Jesus will one day say to first century Jews. This approach is a struggle of sorts, because there's not really a good historical setting anywhere in Jesus' life, where he could've spoken these words in their entirety. Bits and pieces work great, and we can go on a scavenger hunt, comparing each specific line to verses in the NT. But again, as a whole, it's awkward. If that's you, I'd be happy to talk about that at more length with you. If there's a bunch of you, we could have like a special nerd event, where we wrestle with this thorny academic issue. But for this morning, I'm just going to assume that the servant who is speaking, is God's exilic prophet, speaking to God's people in Babylonian exile.
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Special nerd notes... my take on why Jesus isn't directly, exclusively, exhaustively, the servant of Isaiah 50:4-9:
(1) I'll admit that the passage is open, by itself, apart from its context, to being understood as Jesus' words (as long as the speaker shifts in verses 10-11, which I agree with). Verse 11 doesn't resemble anything Jesus said at any point in his ministry.
(2) The secret to making a messianic reading of these verses work, is to pull them out of their context. And if people want to do that, there's no way to really argue with it. Probably the best critique of this approach, which I'll admit I haven't read (because I'm already persuaded), is T.D. Mettinger, A Farewell to the Servant Songs. Lund: Gleerup, 1983.
(3) The words we are about to read, describe something that's already happened. The servant of Isaiah 50 is standing up in front of people, and he's telling them about how his life works. Every day, he says, God wakes up my ear, and gives me a new word to speak. Every day, then, I stand up, and give you that word. That word has been resulting in physical assault, and attempts at humiliation. But I know that God is with me. I know that He is my helper. I know that I will in the end be vindicated. And God concurs with this, and announces in verses 10-11 that "all of you" (Babylonians, probably, and not members of God's people) who are opposing his servant will have your weapons turned back on yourself, and lie down in torment.
The servant of Isaiah 50 is right in the midst of this. The situation isn't future-oriented; it's present-oriented, with only the vindication in the future. And the words he's speaking, he's speaking to an audience that knows him, and his words, quite well.
The prophet here sounds like a prophet-- like Jeremiah, in particular. But he sounds like a version of Jeremiah that struggles less with the cost of being God's servant. There is a cost of suffering that is attached to the calling to be a servant, and the prophet willingly accepts that.
How does all of this fit in with Jesus? I don't think these words are a direct, exclusive, exhaustive prediction of Jesus' future words, spoken to 1st century Jews. I don't think they are Paul's words, either, even though I can very easily picture them on Paul's lips in a passage like Acts 28:25-27. I think many of God' servants, reading Isaiah 50, have found a model and inspiration for their own ministry, and their own service to God. And I think this includes Jesus. But many of God's servants over the years could speak these words.
For me, the past tense nature of this passage, is what makes me most confident that these are the words of God's prophet in exile.
(4) John Calvin, when he read this passage, is familiar with the idea that some people think Jesus is the servant here. But he thinks it's the prophet.
https://reformedontheweb.com/calvin/20-commentary-on-isaiah-volume-4.pdf
For some people, knowing Calvin held that Isaiah 50 isn't about Jesus will help them accept this.
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Now, before we dive in, let me say one last thing. When we read our Bibles silently, we don't always find ourselves making decisions about how a passage sounds. We don't think about the tone. And this passage, especially starting off, can be read as though it was penned in a quiet place, as the prophet reflects on his ministry. Eventually, we will see that this is totally wrong. This is a prophetic word given in a defiant tone, by a prophet who will not end up on the losing side. He's been suffering; he's been abused. But God will vindicate him in the end.
Let's start by reading Isaiah 50:4:
(4) The Lord (Adonai) Yahweh has given me the tongue of the disciples/learned ones, [cf. Isaiah 8:16-- lots of ink spilled on this]
that I would know how to help the tired/weary (Isaiah 40:28, 30, 31; 44:12) with a word.
He wakes up every morning [woodenly, "in the morning in the morning" Lamentations 3:23]
In the morning He wakes up for me an ear, [cf. Ezekiel 12:8; 24:15; 33:22; Isa. 22:14; 2 Samuel 7:27]
so that I would listen as/like the disciples/learned ones. ("l" +infinitive; Isaiah 54:13; *Shalom Paul)
The prophet begins by talking to someone-- some audience-- about his tongue. God has given him a tongue that's able to help, and comfort, the weary. If we stop to think about it, that's a tough thing to do. It's really hard to know what to say to people when they are suffering, and in pain. The safest thing to do is be like Job's friends were at first-- just to sit in silence with people, and be good company, so that the suffering people know they aren't alone. The other really safe thing to do, is to simply say, "I'm sorry." I'm sorry you lost a loved one, or got this terrible piece of bad news, or had something really traumatic happen. It's safe to say those two words, and cry with them, and keep them company.
To say anything more than this, is an incredibly dangerous thing. Right? Anything past this, quickly becomes a mine field.
God's people, exiled in Babylon, need comfort. They need to know that God hasn't abandoned them, that He loves them, that He sees them (Isaiah 40:27). They need to know that their guilt has been paid for twice over (Isaiah 40:1-2). They need to know that God's rescue plan is in the works, and that they will soon be safely home, to a restored Zion (Isaiah 49).
God has given the prophet ears to hear, and a tongue to speak, to give his people the comfort they need.
Now, we've seen that this word of comfort hasn't been accepted by the people. The prophet has given the right word, at the right time. But the people are in so much pain and despair, that they refuse to hear it. The prophet has done everything right, because he hears God, and he knows what to say, and how to say it-- but the people haven't been willing to listen, at least up to this point.
So, before we move ahead, just see in this verse, that there is a category of people who can be identified as being God's disciples, or learned ones. These are the ones who have two qualities:
(1) They've been given the gift from God, of having the type of tongue that can comfort the suffering. This tongue is given by God.
(2) They are able to hear God's voice. Every day, God wakes up the prophet's ears, so that he is able to hear God speak to him.
God has put the prophet in this category of disciples. He wasn't always there. But now he is.
Verse 5 answers the question, of what comes next. What happens once you have these ears and tongue? What do you do with it? "Discipleship is a choice." (Stephen Breck Reid, “Exegetical Perspective on Isaiah 50:4–9a,” in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary: Year A, ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, vol. 2 (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 161.*Stephen Breck Reid.). And what choice did the prophet make?
(5) The Lord Yahweh has opened for me an ear, [Isaiah 48:8; 1QIsa of Isaiah 42:20; *Shalom Paul]
while I was not rebellious. [contrast Isaiah 63:10; Lamentations 3:42]
Backwards, I didn't turn. [Isaiah 42:17]
To use an understatement, not every prophet enjoyed being a prophet. Jeremiah felt like God had tricked him (Jeremiah 20:7), and he found himself trying to bottle up God's word inside of him, and not speak it (Jeremiah 20:9). Jonah ran. Amos said (Amos 3:8), speaking of God, "A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can do anything but prophesy?" Perhaps there were times when God reached out to people, to commission them to be prophets, and those people managed to say no (*John Goldingay, The Message of Isaiah 40-55). Maybe someone was made of tougher stuff than Jeremiah, or Amos. Maybe someone managed to outrun God. But when God calls you as a prophet, it's not unusual to have doubts, and second thoughts, and to regret God didn't pick someone else.
This prophet, accepted his calling without reservation. He wasn't rebellious. He didn't turn backwards.
Verse 6-7a:
(6) My back I have given to the ones striking/beating, [Lamentations 3:30; Nehemiah 13:25]
while my jaw/cheeks to the ones ripping out my beard. [Ezra 9:3]
My face I didn't hide from scorn and spit, [Job 30:10; Deuteronomy 25:9; Num 12:14; Jer. 51:51; Ps. 69:8]
(7) while the Lord Yahweh helps me (on "helps," Isaiah 41:6, 10, 13, 14; 44:2; 49:8).
So in verse 5, the prophet went to the people. And where did that lead him? His service led to him being abused, in ways designed to humiliate. He was attacked from behind. He was attacked from up front. Having your beard ripped out, is something designed to humiliate. In OT thought, men have beards. Boys are clean-shaven. So to lose your beard, is to lose the mark of manliness. And he hid from none of it.
Sometimes you'll see videos of unpopular politicians, or business people, who find themselves in an extremely hostile environment. They are surrounded by people who didn't vote for them, and who were actually harmed by them. And in that moment, briefly, they are exposed, and vulnerable. People mock them, and yell at them, and spit on them, and throw stuff at them. If you dislike those people, you maybe find those videos therapeutic. Someone got told off, and treated, the way they deserved. But when that happens, how do those people respond? 99 out of 100 people in that situation, will respond by ducking, and getting out of there as quickly as possible.
The prophet is that 1 out of 100. He understands that suffering is built into his calling. Part of what it means to be God's servant, is to be abused.
Now, the question we need to ask, is this: Who is abusing the prophet?
There are two possibilities. The first, is that the prophet is being attacked by God's people in exile-- by the very people God sent him to. The second possibility is that the prophet is being attacked by outsiders-- by Babylonians (the position of Goldingay, and I think Whybray, among others).
Probably (what follows is mostly from John Goldingay here, The Message of Isaiah 40-55, 407), it's Babylonians who are attacking the prophet. God's people are more likely to be ignoring the prophet, than to be attacking him. They don't seem angry with the prophet. They just don't believe anything he says. And if we think about what we know about the community, it doesn't make much sense that they are attacking. They are tired (Isaiah 50:4). They've given up hope in God (Isaiah 40:27). And that's not the kind of person who violently assaults someone. That's the kind of person who is more about putting one foot in front of the other, and getting through the day.
On the other hand, there would be good reason for Babylonians to want to humiliate the prophet (still Goldingay). The prophet is preaching a message that sounds like treason. Think about how his words would sound to a Babylonian: "Cyrus is the savior who will free you from your slavery to Babylon. The Babylonian gods are weak, and powerless, and will inevitably be defeated. And one day, when Babylon is conquered, you will get to go home."
That's the kind of person who will make Babylonians angry, and lash out. That's the kind of person Babylonians will want to humiliate, and discredit through that humiliation.
Let's flip ahead to Isaiah 51:23 (NRSV updated no reason):
21 Therefore hear this, you who are wounded,[d]
who are drunk but not with wine:
22 Thus says your Sovereign, the LORD,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
See, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;
you shall drink no more
from the cup of my wrath.
23 And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,
who have said to you,
“Bow down, that we may walk on you,”
and you have made your back like the ground
and like the street for them to walk on.
Who is tormenting God's people? Who is humiliating them? The Babylonians (still John Goldingay; and notice how the context of the "servant song" helps clarify it). So it makes perfect sense that the same Babylonians who are humiliating God's people, are also trying to humiliate God's prophet. He is suffering the same thing they are, but at a higher, more painful level.
At this point, let's reread verse 6-7a:
(6) My back I have given to the ones striking/beating, [Lamentations 3:30; Nehemiah 13:25]
while my jaw/cheeks to the ones ripping out my beard. [Ezra 9:3]
My face I didn't hide from scorn and spit, [Job 30:10; Deuteronomy 25:9; Num 12:14; Jer. 51:51; Ps. 69:8]
(7) while the Lord Yahweh helps me (on "helps," Isaiah 41:6, 10, 13, 14; 44:2; 49:8).
So the prophet talks about how he's been mistreated, probably by the Babylonians. He then says, at the same time (waw+x+qatal adds another topic/subject to the existing situation), God is helping him.
How? How does God help him?
God isn't protecting him from physical assault. God isn't protecting him from attempts to publicly humiliate him. But God is doing something, to help.
The prophet continues, second line of verse 7:
For this reason I'm not disgraced/humiliated (2 Samuel 10:5);
For this reason I have set my face like flint, [Ezekiel 3:8-9; Jeremiah 5:3]
and I know that I won't be ashamed. [builds off Isaiah 49:23; cf. Isaiah 45:17]
What is it that determines whether or not you're disgraced, and humiliated? Is it the mocking, and beating, and spitting? Is it having your words be completely ignored?
Apparently not.
What determines whether or not you're disgraced and humiliated, is your own perspective and attitude. If you don't care what's being done to you, then you can't be humiliated.
The prophet doesn't focus on what's happening to him. He doesn't let that determine his perspective. The prophet starts and ends with a focus on God. God is with him. God is helping. God is giving him this tongue, these ears. And that focus is enough, for him, to keep him from being humiliated.
That focus strengthens him to do something else, as well-- to set his face like flint. The thing that makes people flinch, is when they know they are vulnerable. Someone takes a swing at you, you know it will hurt your face. If someone does their very best to belittle you, and tear you down, you'll find your face wants to turn-- you'll want to break down, and cry.
But if you know that God is with you, and that there is some sense in which you can't really be touched, you can turn your face into flint. This isn't something God gives the prophet. This is something the prophet does. If you have that confidence in God, and God's help, you can become someone who doesn't flinch, or turn away.
And then the prophet adds, last line of verse 7, a word about how all of this will end. This won't end with his being ashamed, and embarrassed, about what he's said and done. God's help, means that he will be proven right (vindicated) in the end.
In verses 8-9, the prophet directly challenges the ones abusing him, and he uses language from the Israelite legal system to do so. He wants someone to step up and prove to him in a court of law that he's in the wrong:
(8) Near, the One giving justice/vindication [is]; [Lam. 3:58; Deut. 25:1; 1 Kings 8:32; Isa. 43:9, 26]
who will dispute/enter into lawsuit with me? [Job 13:18-19]
Let us stand together!
Who is my legal adversary? [woodenly, "master of my judgment" ; Exodus 24:14 has a similar expression; Lamentations 3:59]
May he approach me! [Isaiah 41:1, 22; 45:20, 21]
(9) LOOK! The Lord Yahweh helps me; [v. 7]
who is he [who] will declare me guilty?
LOOK! All of them like a garment will wear out. [Isaiah 51:6; Ps. 102:27]
The moth will eat them. [Isaiah 51:8; Job 13:28]
The prophet says that God is near. That's what gives him confidence. That's how God helps. Since God is near, the prophet will win in the end.
And those who are opposing him? What is their fate? They will wear out like a garment. And this, I think, is further evidence that the ones opposing the prophet here, are Babylonians. The prophet isn't foretelling that God's people will be slowly eaten away by moths. This fate, is the fate of the Babylonians.
With this, we find ourselves in the little finale to this oracle-- verses 10-11. These are hard verses that were a real struggle for me. I think the easiest way to understand them, is to say that these are God's words, given in response to the prophet's words of verses 4-9. That's debated, and I'm not completely sure. But on balance, I think this is the simplest reading. Let's start with just verse 10:
(10) Who among you [lives/walks] in fear/reverence of Yahweh-- [Isaiah 42:23; Isaiah 48:14; the key to all of it]
[who is] the one heeding the voice of his servant,
who/that walks in darkness, [Lamentations 3:2; Isaiah 9:1; Ps. 82:5]
and there is no light for him? [Isaiah 59:9]
May he trust in the name of Yahweh, [Isaiah 48:1; 56:6; 59:19; 60:9; Psalm 33:21]
that he may he lean on his God/Elohim.
In verse 10, we find something surprising. Up to this point in Isaiah 40-55, we've gotten used to the idea that the people are stubborn, and blind, and deaf, and refuse to listen. Suddenly, somehow, we find out that's changed. There's a little group of people who have listened to the prophet. They've turned; they've changed. That doesn't seem possible, but just maybe, this happened through the prophet's willingness to suffer. Something about seeing the prophet's strength while persecuted, while under attack, convicted them, and made them realize they had everything all wrong (Isaiah 53). So in this verse, the prophet speaks to this little group to encourage them, and "comfort" them.
This prophet is called to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6), but he knows what it's like to walk in the darkness, and have no light. And those who are listening to him, are in the same position. How do you live in a world that doesn't make sense-- a world that's hostile, and fights you. A world, at the same time, that is destined to become better, because God has promised that his help is coming.
You live in that world by trusting God, and leaning on him (rather than, say, leaning on Egypt; Isaiah 30:12).
Now, in all of this, I kind of skipped over something important. Let me reread the first two lines of verse 10:
(10) Who among you [lives/walks] in fear/reverence of Yahweh-- [Isaiah 42:23; Isaiah 48:14; the key to all of it]
[who is] the one heeding the voice of his servant,
When we read these two parallel lines together, as working together to make one point, it's striking what they teach. What it means for these Babylonian exiles to fear God, is to heed the voice of his servant. We might find ourselves wanting to explain "fearing God" differently, or adding to that-- which is fine. But part of what it means to go through life, fearing God, revering him, is to heed the servants who God sent. You heed the prophets, and teachers, and apostles, and evangelists (Ephesians 4:10-13). You don't heed blindly, without thinking, without discerning. Not every prophet, and teacher, and apostle, and evangelist, hears God quite so well as this prophet. But as a rule, you heed.
What God says to his exiled people, is that you fear Him, by heeding the words of his servant, the prophet.
This brings us to verse 11. Here, God issues his own challenge to those who are persecuting his servant:
(11) LOOK! All of you-- the ones kindling fire,
the ones girding yourselves with flaming arrows:
Walk in ("b") the flames of your fire,
and in/among ("b") the flaming arrows you have lit!
From my hand this shall be for you:
in a state of torment/pain you will lie down.
The group of people who is actively opposing God's prophet, are viewed as arming themselves with fire. They've started a fire; they are using that fire to create flaming arrows.
And what God does, in response, is declare that God is going to turn their weapons against them. They will walk in the flames they set. They will end up lying down in a state of torment.
And who is this group of people? God doesn't say. He doesn't need to, right? Everyone knows who is attacking his servant. But I doubt that this group of people is made up of Israelites. I don't think that God is threatening the majority of his own people with torment. Everything up to this point, and everything after this as well, shows that God is still committed to comforting his people-- to rescuing them, and bringing them home. So I think the most logical answer here, is that the group of people resisting the prophet is made up of Babylonians. They are tormenting God's people in Isaiah 51:23, and I think they are tormenting the prophet as well. Everything the prophet says is treason, by any definition, so it makes sense that the Babylonians are persecuting him. And what God says, is that all the Babylonians who do this will end up with an terrible fate. Again, God will turn their weapons against them, and they will lie down in a state of torment. You really don't want to tangle with God's servants.
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So that's our passage for today. What I'd like to do for an application today, is reflect on what the prophet says about hearing God's voice. I know that this is something that some of you do without any problem. You go through life on a regular basis, hearing from God. And I don't mean that you hear when you open your Bibles and do devotions. I mean, God talks to you about all sorts of things, even when your Bible is closed. Prayer, for you, is very much a two-way communication.
But for others of us, that's not really how our relationship with God works. We pray to God, and tell him all sorts of things. But we only really hear God when we open our Bibles. We'd like to hear God-- we think that'd be great-- but what we expect, is that we live by faith. And what we take "living by faith" to mean, is that we live without ever hearing God, or seeing God. "Living in faith" means living in a world where we don't get to see spiritual realities (Numbers 22:31; 2 Kings 6:17-20), and where we don't hear God. We are perhaps open to the idea that a few Christians have the privilege of hearing God's voice. There are maybe Samuels out there who God calls in the middle of the night, and they answer by saying "Speak Lord, your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10). There are maybe prophets out there today, and other servants, who have God wake up their ears every morning, and who have God give them a fresh word for that day-- either for themselves, or for those they serve. It's possible. It can't be conclusively ruled out. But many of us don't expect that it's possible for us. It's certainly not been our experience, up to now. Is that fair?
With this in mind, let's reread verses 4-5:
(4) The Lord (Adonai) Yahweh has given me the tongue of the learned ones,
that I would know how to help the tired/weary (Isaiah 40:28, 30, 31; 44:12) with a word.
He wakes up every morning;
In the morning He wakes up for me an ear, [cf. Ezekiel 12:8; 24:15; 33:22]
so that I would listen as/like the learned ones.
(5) The Lord Yahweh has opened for me an ear,
while I was not rebellious.
Let me repeat what I said earlier:
What we see in this verse is that there is a category of people who can be identified as being God's disciples, or learned ones. These are the ones who have two qualities:
(1) They've been given the gift from God, of having the type of tongue that can comfort the suffering. This tongue is given by God.
(2) They are able to hear God's voice. Every day, God wakes up the prophet's ears, so that he is able to hear God speak to him.
God has put the prophet in this category of disciples. He wasn't always there. But now he is.
The prophet doesn't view himself as being a one in a million kind of servant. He doesn't view himself as being an odd duck, or unique at all. He views himself as being in the category of the learned. He's part of the group, who hear God. In that respect, he's like all sorts of people in God's history-- like Adam, Eve, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Balaam, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, all the prophets. When we read the OT, paying attention to the times when God speaks, and people listen, it starts to feel after a while like everyone hears God. Everyone's in this group of the learned.
Would you want this? If it was possible, would you want to join this group? Or are you content with what you have?
That's the question I'd like you to leave today, wrestling with. If there's a group of the learned, who hear God every day, and who God gives a tongue that can comfort people-- do you want in?
If you do, you'll want to come back next week. We will rabbit trail for just a week, and I'll try to give you some practical advice, for how to hear God's voice, and I'll point you in the right direction if you want to chase that.
Translation:
(4) The Lord (Adonai) Yahweh has given me the tongue of the learned ones, [cf. Isaiah 8:16-- lots of ink spilled on this]
that I would know how to help the tired/weary (Isaiah 40:28, 30, 31; 44:12) with a word.
He wakes up every morning [woodenly, "in the morning in the morning" Lamentations 3:23]
In the morning He wakes up for me an ear, [cf. Ezekiel 12:8; 24:15; 33:22]
so that I would listen as/like the learned ones. ("l" +infinitive; Isaiah 54:13; *Shalom Paul)
(5) The Lord Yahweh has opened for me an ear, [Isaiah 48:8; 1QIsa of Isaiah 42:20; *Shalom Paul]
while I was not rebellious. [Lamentations 3:42]
Backwards, I didn't turn. [Isaiah 42:17]
(6) My back I have given to the ones striking/beating, [Lamentations 3:30; Nehemiah 13:25]
while my jaw/cheeks to the ones ripping out my beard. [Ezra 9:3]
My face I didn't hide from scorn and spit, [Job 30:10; Deuteronomy 25:9; Num 12:14; Jer. 51:51; Ps. 69:8]
(7) while the Lord Yahweh helps me.
For this reason I'm not disgraced/humiliated (2 Samuel 10:5);
For this reason I have set my face like flint, [Ezekiel 3:8-9; Jeremiah 5:3]
and I know that I am not ashamed. [builds off Isaiah 49:23; cf. Isaiah 45:17]
(8) Near, the One giving justice/vindication [is]; [Lam. 3:58; Deut. 25:1; 1 Kings 8:32; Isa. 43:9, 26]
who will dispute/enter into lawsuit with me? [Job 13:18-19]
Let us stand together!
Who is my legal adversary? [woodenly, "master of my judgment" ; Exodus 24:14 has a similar expression; Lamentations 3:59]
May he approach me! [Isaiah 41:1, 22; 45:20, 21]
(9) LOOK! The Lord Yahweh helps me; [v. 7]
who is he [who] will declare me guilty?
LOOK! All of them like a garment will wear out. [Isaiah 51:6; Ps. 102:27]
The moth will eat them. [Isaiah 51:8; Job 13:28]
(10) Who among you [is] in fear/reverence of Yahweh-- [Isaiah 42:23; Isaiah 48:14; the key to all of it]
[who is] the one heeding the voice of his servant,
who/that walks in darkness, [Lamentations 3:2; Isaiah 9:1; Ps. 82:5]
and there is no light for him? [Isaiah 59:9]
May he trust in the name of Yahweh, [Isaiah 48:1; 56:6; 59:19; 60:9; Psalm 33:21]
that he may he lean on his God/Elohim.
(11) LOOK! All of you-- the ones kindling fire,
the ones girding yourselves with flaming arrows:
Walk in ("b") the flames of your fire,
and in/among ("b") the flaming arrows you have lit!
From my hand this shall be for you:
in a state of torment/pain you will lie down. (Jeremiah 5:14)
