Verse 7 has a chiastic structure based on the Hebrew noun for steadfast love and the verb for granted. This chiasmus shows what the speaker wishes to emphasize as he looks back over the past relationship between God and his people.

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD: The pronoun I refers to the prophet who speaks as a representative of the people as a whole. The first person pronouns at the beginning of their communal lament express the personal nature of their recalling God’s saving actions. The community looks back to the past and recalls all that God has done for them. The Hebrew verb rendered recount is literally “cause to remember.” It may be translated “recall,” “recite,” or “tell about.” The Hebrew term for steadfast love is chesed (see the comments on 16.5). It is the first and the last word of this verse in Hebrew. It refers to God’s loving faithfulness toward his people. Good News Translation and Revised English Bible render it “unfailing love,” New International Version has “kindnesses,” and New Revised Standard Version says “gracious deeds.”

The praises of the LORD refers to the deeds of the LORD that deserve praise (compare 42.8). New Revised Standard Version says “the praiseworthy acts of the LORD,” New International Version has “the deeds for which he is to be praised,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch uses simply “his fame.” Good News Translation combines this line with the next one, saying “I praise him for all he has done for us.”

According to all that the LORD has granted us: For New Revised Standard Version this line provides the reason why the people recall Yahweh’s faithfulness and praiseworthy acts, since it renders the Hebrew expression for according to as “because of” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible with “in return for”). However, this expression is better rendered “demonstrated by” or “shown by,” since it introduces how Yahweh has shown he is faithful and praiseworthy. All that the LORD has granted us refers to all the good things God has provided his people.

And the great goodness to the house of Israel brings out the sense of the verb granted, speaking of the beneficial things that God has done for his people. There is no indication about what great goodness is in view. The reference is quite general, but it will be made specific in verses 11-14. The house of Israel is a figurative expression for the Israelites (see the comments on 5.7), so there is a switch from first person to third person for them. Such a grammatical person switch is common in Hebrew poetry. Good News Translation combines this line with the beginning of the next one, saying “He has richly blessed the people of Israel.”

Which he granted them according to his mercy: The pronoun them refers to God’s people. It may be rendered “us” for consistency with the first half of the verse. The basis for God’s goodness is his mercy. The Hebrew word for mercy is another key term describing God’s character in the Old Testament (see the comments on 54.7, where it is rendered “compassion”). It refers to his tender compassion for his people.

According to the abundance of his steadfast love: The wealth of God’s faithful love is also the basis for his goodness. All the good things God has done for his people are due to his love and compassion, not their own merits. Although the Hebrew term for steadfast love is the same as at the beginning of the verse, not all versions render it the same way both times; for example, Good News Translation has “unfailing love” and “constant love,” while Revised English Bible uses “unfailing love” and “faithful love.”

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• I will recite/tell of Yahweh’s unfailing love,
his praiseworthy deeds,
seen in all that Yahweh has provided for us—
the great goodness he has shown to the people of Israel,
provided out of his compassion,
and the wealth of his unfailing love.

• I will recall the LORD’s steadfast love,
his deeds that are to be praised.
They are demonstrated in all that he has given us—
the great goodness he has shown to Israel,
given because of his compassion,
and the abundance of his steadfast love.

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 .