Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the soul that is despised, to the nation that is abhorred, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore for the Lord’s sake, because he is faithful, and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
Ibn Ezra
Thus saith the Lord, etc. The prophet continues to speak of himself: Thus says the Lord unto me, who am despised of the wicked men. לבזה To him who is despised. בזה is an adjective. מתעב It is either a causative verb, meaning: causing to abhor, that is, saying things, for which the nations abhor him; or a transitive verb: abhorring, that is, abhorring all idolaters. To a servant of rulers, that is of the nobles of Israel, as they consider themselves, or of the Babylonians. The latter rendering is preferable. Kings shall see and arise. I have already alluded to the inference that may be drawn from those words (40:1). Most of the commentators explain this sentence thus: Kings, like Cyrus, will rise and worship, when they hear the words of the prophet. Because of the Lord. For He remains faithful to His word.— The suffix ך in ויבחרך and He chose thee, shows that this explanation is right.
Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.