Isaiah51
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek Jehovah: look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged.
2Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many.
3For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4Attend unto me, O my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall go forth from me, and I will establish my justice for a light of the peoples.
5My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the peoples; the isles shall wait for me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
7Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye dismayed at their revilings.
8For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation unto all generations.
9Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Is it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the monster?
10Is it not thou that driedst up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that madest the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?
11And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man that shall be made as grass;
13and hast forgotten Jehovah thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he maketh ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
14The captive exile shall speedily be loosed; and he shall not die and go down into the pit, neither shall his bread fail.
15For I am Jehovah thy God, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar: Jehovah of hosts is his name.
16And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
17Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, that hast drunk at the hand of Jehovah the cup of his wrath; thou hast drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it.
18There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand among all the sons that she hath brought up.
19These two things are befallen thee, who shall bemoan thee? desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword; how shall I comfort thee?
20Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of Jehovah, the rebuke of thy God.
21Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:
22Thus saith thy Lord Jehovah, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath; thou shalt no more drink it again:
23and I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee, that have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over; and thou hast laid thy back as the ground, and as the street, to them that go over.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 51.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Exhortations to trust the Messiah. (1-3). The power of God, and the weakness of man. (4-8). Christ defends his people. (9-16). Their afflictions and deliverances. (17-23).
vv1-3
It is good for those privileged by the new birth, to consider that they were shapen in sin. This should cause low thoughts of ourselves, and high thoughts of Divine grace. It is the greatest comfort to be made serviceable to the glory of God. The more holiness men have, and the more good they do, the more gladness they have. Let us seriously reflect upon our guilt. To do so will tend to keep the heart humble, and the conscience awake and tender. They make Christ more precious to the soul, and give strength to our attempts and prayers for others.
vv4-8
The gospel of Christ shall be preached and published. How shall we escape if we neglect it? There is no salvation without righteousness. The soul shall, as to this world, vanish like smoke, and the body be thrown by like a worn-out garment. But those whose happiness is in Christ's righteousness and salvation, will have the comfort of it when time and days shall be no more. Clouds darken the sun, but do not stop its course. The believer will enjoy his portion, while revilers of Christ are in darkness
vv9-16
The people whom Christ has redeemed with his blood, as well as by his power, will obtain joyful deliverance from every enemy. He that designs such joy for us at last, will he not work such deliverance in the mean time, as our cases require? In this world of changes, it is a short step from joy to sorrow, but in that world, sorrow shall never come in view. They prayed for the display of God's power; he answers them with consolations of his grace. Did we dread to sin against God, we should not fear the frowns of men. Happy is the man that fears God always. And Christ's church shall enjoy security by the power and providence of the Almighty.
Key Words
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
רָדַף: to run after (usually with hostile intent; figuratively (of time) gone by)
צֶדֶק: the right (natural, moral or legal); also (abstractly) equity or (figuratively) prosperity
בָּקַשׁ: to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer); by implication, to strive after
נָבַט: to scan, i.e. look intently at; by implication, to regard with pleasure, favor or care
צוּר: properly, a cliff (or sharp rock, as compressed); generally, a rock or boulder; figuratively, a refuge; also an edge (as precipitous)
חָצַב: to cut or carve (wood, stone or other material); by implication, to hew, split, square, quarry, engrave
נָקַר: to bore (penetrate, quarry)
אַבְרָהָם: Abraham, the later name of Abram
אָב: father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application
Cross References
Isaiah 51Explicitly parallel to God calling, blessing, and increasing Abraham when he was but one solitary man.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The historical deliverance of drying up the Red Sea for the ransomed to pass over.
Supported by JFB
Verbatim parallel describing the redeemed returning to Zion with singing, joy, and sorrow fleeing away.
Supported by JFB
The cup of the Lord's fury and trembling which Jerusalem is forced to drink.
Supported by Matthew Henry
New Testament commentary on Abraham's faith and the miraculous progeny from those as good as dead.
Supported by JFB
Identifies the 'dragon' (tannin) as Pharaoh of Egypt, matching the historical cutting of Rahab/Egypt.
Supported by JFB
Identical language declaring God's name as He who divides the roaring sea: The Lord of hosts.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Exposes Israel's mistake in pursuing righteousness by works of the law rather than by faith.
Supported by JFB
Alludes to raising up children to Abraham from stones, paralleling the 'rock' whence they were hewn.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Illustrates the garden of the Lord (Eden) as a symbol of restoration and primeval paradise.
Supported by JFB
Prophetic link where God's law and judgment are established as a light to the peoples/Gentiles.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel description of the heavens and earth waxing old like a garment and vanishing away.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the contrast between the eternal God and mortal man who is made as grass.
Supported by JFB
Verbal echo of enemies being consumed by the moth like a garment while God's righteousness stands.
Supported by JFB