Saying to the prisoners, ‘Come forth’: Whether this is an assignment given the servant or what the LORD himself will say depends on the interpretation of the first Hebrew word in the verse, which is leʾmor. This is the Hebrew infinitive of the verb ʾamar (“say”) with the preposition le. In most other contexts it serves as the equivalent of opening quote marks. If that is true here, it introduces the content of Yahweh’s speech. This is how Revised Standard Version treats it by rendering it saying (also New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). However, in the present context in which tasks are assigned to the servant using the structure le + noun/infinitive, it is better to see leʾmor as conforming to the same pattern, and read it as a fourth task of the Servant. This is how New International Version and New Jerusalem Bible have understood it by rendering it “to say.” With this understanding, calling for prisoners to come forth is one of the servant’s tasks and not one carried out by the LORD. However, a number of versions begin this verse with “I [Yahweh] said to the prisoners…” (Revised English Bible; similarly Good News Translation, Bible en français courant). On literary grounds it is best to follow New International Version and New Jerusalem Bible here, even though it seems to be a minority view.
Prisoners is literally “those who are bound.” It is a figure for those in exile who have not been free to return home. The servant’s commission is to call them to Come forth, which means they are to leave Babylonia and return home. The Hebrew imperative rendered Come forth is the same one translated “Go forth” in 48.20. Good News Translation and Revised English Bible render it “Go free,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “You are free!”
To those who are in darkness, ‘Appear’ is parallel to the previous line. The verb saying is implied here. This time the exiles are described figuratively as those who are in darkness, as in 42.7. The servant is to command them to emerge into the light, coming into the open where they can be seen. The unusual form of the Hebrew verb rendered Appear can have a reflexive meaning, so it may be rendered “Make yourselves visible.” New Revised Standard Version says “Show yourselves.” In the context it orders those in the darkness of exile to leave where they are imprisoned. New International Version uses “Be free!” Bible en français courant retains the figures of speech in the first two lines and combines them, saying “I say to the prisoners, to those who live in darkness: ‘Come out, appear in daylight.’”
They shall feed along the ways: The LORD changes to pastoral images in the last half of this verse. He promises food for the exiles as they journey home from Babylonia (compare 40.11). The root of the Hebrew verb rendered feed is the same as the noun translated pasture in the following line. The ways are the roads by which the people will travel.
On all bare heights shall be their pasture is parallel to the previous line. Bare heights can refer to hills devoid of trees and other vegetation, in some cases even to sand dunes (see the comments on 41.18). The stress here is on the hills being barren and empty, rather than on their height. What God will do for the returning exiles is to provide pasture for them even where no grass grows. This figurative language means that they will have food to eat even where there is none presently available. It is an idealized picture of God’s bountiful provision during the journey, just as during the Exodus.
Some translators may prefer to make the pastoral imagery in the last two lines clearer by changing what is essentially a metaphor into a simile; for example, Bible en français courant has “They will then be like a flock [of sheep] that feeds along the roads and finds its food on all the hills.” Good News Translation is similar, but it loses much of the impact by combining the two lines: “They will be like sheep that graze on the hills.”
Translation examples for this verse are:
• … and to say to the captives, ‘Come out!’
to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’
They will have food to eat along the way,
there will be pasture even on all the bare hills.
• … and to say to those in captivity, ‘Come on out!’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Come into the light!’
They will find food along the way,
and on all the bare hills they will find pasture.
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 .