Therefore thus says the LORD: The connector Therefore links this subsection to the previous verses. For the fixed formula thus says the LORD, which is characteristic of prophetic speech, see the comments on 7.7.

Who redeemed Abraham: This expression is unusual for two reasons. First, no other Old Testament passage speaks of Yahweh redeeming Abraham. The Hebrew verb rendered redeemed occurs in 1.27, where it has the sense of “rescue/save,” but how it applies to Abraham is not clear. It could refer to Yahweh bringing Abraham from Ur and Haran into the Promised Land (Gen 11.31; 12.1). The second unusual feature is that Abraham is mentioned at all. His name reappears in 41.8; 51.2; and 63.16, but despite his importance, Abraham is rarely mentioned in any prophetic writing.

Concerning the house of Jacob: This phrase qualifies the verb says, not the verb redeemed. The phrase the house of Jacob first appeared in 2.5-6; it is an alternative expression for “the people of Israel.” The Hebrew preposition rendered concerning is translated “to” by New International Version and Bible en français courant (1997), which is valid. For the first half of this verse New International Version has “Therefore this is what the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says to the house of Jacob.” Many scholars over the past century have changed Masoretic Text slightly to read “God” instead of concerning. With this change the whole phrase is “God of the house of Jacob” (so New Jerusalem Bible), which is a description of Yahweh. Good News Translation follows this reading by saying “the God of Israel.” However, there is no evidence that this is the correct text, so translators should follow Masoretic Text, which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project strongly recommends.

Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale: These two parallel lines are synonymous. The people of Israel will no longer be ashamed because Yahweh will reverse their situation (verses 17-21). Each line begins literally with “not now,” which means no more or “no longer” (New Revised Standard Version) in this context. The Hebrew verb rendered grow pale occurs only here in the Old Testament. Since the last line is parallel with the previous one, the pale face here is caused by shame. For some cultures a red face, not a pale one, shows shame (see 1.29). For others any change in face color does not reflect shame, so a different idiom is necessary; for example, in English a good model for the last line is “they will not lose face again.” Good News Translation keeps the idiom of pale faces, but explains what it means by adding “with shame.”

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Therefore, Yahweh who freed Abraham says this about the house of Jacob:
“Jacob will be ashamed no more,
his face will not change color again.

• Therefore Yahweh who rescued Abraham says this about the people of Israel:
“Israel’s people will not be put to shame any longer,
they will not lose face ever again.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .