Listen to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation: There is a chiasmus in these synonymous parallel lines, which are literally “Listen > to me > my people > < and my nation < to me < give ear.” Listen to me, my people repeats the call to the exiles to listen to the LORD, given in verse 1. He calls them my people to express the close relationship he has with them (see the comments on 1.3). Since the message here is about his readiness to rescue them, calling them my people (and my nation in the next line) shows his concern for them. To give ear is a poetic way of calling people to listen closely. The Hebrew verb here occurs often in parallel to a verb for “listen/hear” (see, for example, 1.2, 10). Translators could follow Good News Translation and repeat the verb “listen,” or combine both lines but mark the necessary poetic emphasis by adding an adverb or an ideophone; for example, a model that uses an adverb is “My people, listen carefully to what I say.”

For a law will go forth from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples: The connector for introduces the reason why the people are to listen (see the introductory comments on this section [51.1-8]). A law will go forth from me means Yahweh himself will ensure that his teachings extend to all people. This line echoes the wording in 2.3, although here it is not Jerusalem but the LORD himself who is the source of the law. And my justice for a light to the peoples is parallel to the previous line, emphasizing it. Yahweh’s justice will be like a lamp guiding the nations. The two terms law and justice are central to much of Old Testament thought; they reflect the nature of God as well as the people’s mission as God defines it. For law (torah in Hebrew), see the comments on 2.3; for justice see 1.17. Law may be rendered “teachings/instruction,” and justice as “just rule/order.” For some languages it will be difficult to have God’s law and justice as the subjects of the verb go forth, since they are inanimate objects. Normally such an action is used with living things. The basic sense is that God will “make known” his teachings and the need for justice. Revised English Bible provides an alternative for the verb go forth by rendering these two lines as “for instruction will shine forth from me and my judgment will be a light to peoples.” Bible en français courant says “It is I who proclaim the law; the justice that I put into words will be the light of the peoples.” For a light to the peoples, see the comments on 42.6.

Many versions believe the verb go forth is implied in the last line of this verse. However, in Masoretic Text the last line is literally “and my justice for a light to the peoples I will do instantly.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible follows Masoretic Text by saying “and my judgment, the light of peoples, I will activate it!” If translators wish to pursue this reading, other possible verbs are “put into motion” and “initiate.”

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• “Listen to me, you my people,
attend to me, you my nation;
because instruction will proceed from me,
my just rule will be a light/lamp to [guide] the nations.

• “My people, listen to me,
my nation, pay attention to what I say;
indeed, I will send forth my teachings,
my justice will be [or, I will activate my justice as] a light to the peoples.

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 .