11 O troubled one, storm-crushed, uncomforted! see, your stones will be framed in fair colours, and your bases will be sapphires.
Now as far as I am able, I have made ready what is needed for the house of my God; the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the silver things, and the brass for the brass things, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; beryls and jewels to be framed, and stones of different colours for ornament; all sorts of stones of great price, and polished building-stone, as much as is needed and more.
For I will make you healthy again and I will make you well from your wounds, says the Lord; because they have given you the name of an outlaw, saying, It is Zion cared for by no man.
See her seated by herself, the town which was full of people! She who was great among the nations has become like a widow! She who was a princess among the countries has come under the yoke of forced work! She is sorrowing bitterly in the night, and her face is wet with weeping; among all her lovers she has no comforter: all her friends have been false to her, they have become her haters.
For these things I am weeping; my eye is streaming with water; because the comforter who might give me new life is far from me: my children are made waste, because the hater is strong. Zion's hands are outstretched; she has no comforter; the Lord has given orders to the attackers of Jacob round about him: Jerusalem has become like an unclean thing among them.
And on the top of the arch which was over their heads was the form of a king's seat, like a sapphire stone; and on the form of the seat was the form of a man seated on it on high.
Then looking, I saw that on the arch which was over the head of the winged ones there was seen over them what seemed like a sapphire stone, having the form of a king's seat.
In the twenty-fifth year after we had been taken away prisoners, in the first month of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the town was taken, on the very same day, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he took me there. In the visions of God he took me into the land of Israel, and put me down on a very high mountain, on which there was, as it seemed, a building like a town opposite me. He took me there, and I saw a man, looking like brass, with a linen cord in his hand and a measuring rod: and he was stationed in the doorway. And the man said to me, Son of man, see with your eyes and give hearing with your ears, and take to heart everything I am going to let you see; for in order that I might let you see them, you have come here: and give an account of all you see to the children of Israel. And there was a wall on the outside of the house all round, and in the man's hand there was a measuring rod six cubits long by a cubit and a hand's measure: so he took the measure of the building from side to side, one rod; and from base to top, one rod. Then he came to the doorway looking to the east, and went up by its steps; and he took the measure of the doorstep, one rod wide. And the watchmen's rooms were one rod long and one rod wide; and the space between the rooms was five cubits; the doorstep of the doorway, by the covered way of the doorway inside, was one rod. And he took the measure of the covered way of the doorway inside, Eight cubits; and its uprights, two cubits; the covered way of the doorway was inside. And the rooms of the doorway on the east were three on this side and three on that; all three were of the same size; and the uprights on this side and on that were of the same size. And he took the measure of the opening of the doorway, ten cubits wide; and the way down the doorway was thirteen cubits; And the space in front of the rooms, a cubit on this side and a cubit on that side; and the rooms six cubits on this side and six cubits on that. And he took the measure of the doorway from the back of one room to the back of the other, twenty-five cubits across, from door to door. And he took the measure of the covered way, twenty cubits; and opening from the covered way of the doorway was the open square round about. And from before the opening of the doorway to before the inner covered way of the doorway was fifty cubits. And the rooms and their uprights had sloping windows inside the doorway all round, and in the same way the covered way had windows all round on the inside: and on every upright there were palm-trees. Then he took me into the outer square, and there were rooms and a stone floor made for the open square all round: there were thirty rooms on the stone floor. And the stone floor was by the side of the doorways, and was as wide as the doorways were long, even the lower floor. Then he took the measure of the square across, from before the lower doorway inside to before the inner doorway outside, one hundred cubits. And he took me in the direction of the north, And there was a doorway to the outer square, looking to the north; and he took the measure of it to see how wide and how long it was. And it had three rooms on this side of it and three on that; its uprights and its covered ways were the same size as those of the first doorway: it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. And its windows, and the windows of its covered ways, and its palm-trees, were the same as those of the doorway looking to the east; and there were seven steps up to it; and the covered way went inside. And there was a doorway to the inner square opposite the doorway on the north, like the doorway on the east; and he took the measure from doorway to doorway, a hundred cubits. And he took me to the south, and I saw a doorway looking to the south: and he took the measure of its rooms and its uprights and its covered ways by these measures. And there were windows in it and in the covered way all round, like the other windows: it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. And there were seven steps up to it, and its covered way went inside: and it had palm-trees, one on this side and one on that, on its uprights. And there was a doorway to the inner square looking to the south: he took the measure from doorway to doorway to the south, a hundred cubits. Then he took me to the inner square by the south doorway: and he took the measure of the south doorway by these measures; And the rooms in it and the uprights and the covered ways, by these measures: And there were windows in it and in the covered way all round: it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. The covered way was on the side nearest the outer square; and there were palm-trees on the uprights: and there were eight steps going up to it. And he took me into the inner square facing the east: and he took the measure of the doorway by these measures; And of the rooms in it and its uprights and its covered ways, by these measures: and there were windows in it and in the covered way round about: it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. And the covered way was on the side nearest the outer square; there were palm-trees on the uprights, on this side and on that: and there were eight steps going up to it. And he took me to the north doorway: and he took the measure of it by these measures; Its rooms, its uprights, and its covered way had the same measures, and its covered way had windows all round: it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. Its uprights were on the side nearest to the outer square; there were palm-trees on the uprights, on this side and on that: and there were eight steps going up to it. And there was a room with a door in the covered way of the doorway, where the burned offering was washed. And in the covered way of the doorway there were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which the burned offering and the sin-offering and the offering for error were put to death: On the outer side, to the north, as one goes up to the opening of the doorway, were two tables. There were four tables on one side and four tables on the other, by the side of the doorway; eight tables, on which they put to death the beasts for the offerings. And there were four tables for the burned offering, made of cut stone, one and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide and a cubit high, where the instruments were placed which were used for putting to death the burned offering and the beasts for the offerings.
And there came up a great storm in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was sleeping.
Truly I say to you, You will be weeping and sorrowing, but the world will be glad: you will be sad, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. When a woman is about to give birth she has sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she has given birth to the child, the pain is put out of her mind by the joy that a man has come into the world. So you have sorrow now: but I will see you again, and your hearts will be glad, and no one will take away your joy.
Making strong the souls of the disciples, saying to them that they were to keep the faith, and that we have to go through troubles of all sorts to come into the kingdom of God.
And, still fighting the storm with all our strength, the day after they made a start at getting the goods out of the ship; And on the third day, they let all the sailing apparatus go over the side. And as we had not seen the sun or stars for a long time, and a great storm was on us, all hope of salvation was gone.
To whom you come, as to a living stone, not honoured by men, but of great and special value to God; You, as living stones, are being made into a house of the spirit, a holy order of priests, making those offerings of the spirit which are pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. Because it is said in the Writings, See, I am placing a keystone in Zion, of great and special value; and the man who has faith in him will not be put to shame.
And I will give orders to my two witnesses, and they will be prophets for a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed with haircloth. These are the two olive-trees and the two lights, which are before the Lord of the earth. And if any man would do them damage, fire comes out of their mouth and puts an end to those who are working against them: and if any man has a desire to do them damage, in this way will he be put to death. These have the power to keep the heaven shut, so that there may be no rain in the days when they are prophets: and they have power over the waters to make them into blood, and to send every sort of disease on the earth as their pleasure is. And when they have come to the end of their witness, the beast which comes up out of the great deep will make war on them and overcome them and put them to death. And their dead bodies will be in the open street of the great town, which in the spirit is named Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was put to death on the cross. And the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will be looking on their dead bodies three days and a half, and will not let their dead bodies be put in the earth. And those who are on the earth will have pleasure and delight over them; and they will send offerings one to another because these two prophets gave great trouble to all on the earth.
And when the dragon saw that he was forced down to the earth, he made cruel attacks on the woman who gave birth to the male child. And there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, so that she might go in flight into the waste land, to her place, where she is given food for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the snake. And the snake sent out of his mouth after the woman a river of water, so that she might be taken away by the stream. And the earth gave help to the woman, and with open mouth took up the river which the dragon sent out of his mouth. And the dragon was angry with the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her seed, who keep the orders of God, and the witness of Jesus:
And the building of its wall was of jasper, and the town was clear gold, clear as glass. The bases of the wall of the town had ornaments of all sorts of beautiful stones. The first base was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve doors were twelve pearls; every door was made of one pearl; and the street of the town was clear gold, as clear as glass.
<A Song of the going up.> Great have been my troubles from the time when I was young (let Israel now say); Great have been my troubles from the time when I was young, but my troubles have not overcome me. The ploughmen were ploughing on my back; long were the wounds they made.
And God said, Truly, I have seen the grief of my people in Egypt, and their cry because of their cruel masters has come to my ears; for I have knowledge of their sorrows;
And they saw the God of Israel; and under his feet there was, as it seemed, a jewelled floor, clear as the heavens.
And on it you are to put four lines of jewels; the first line is to be a cornelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald; The second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx; The third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; The fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they are to be fixed in twisted frames of gold.
And on it they put four lines of stones: in the first line was a carnelian, a chrysolite, and an emerald; In the second, a ruby, a sapphire, and an onyx; In the third, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; In the fourth, a topaz, a beryl, and a jasper; they were fixed in twisted frames of gold. There were twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel; on every one the name of one of the tribes of Israel was cut, like the cutting of a stamp.
In that day my wrath will be moved against them, and I will be turned away from them, veiling my face from them, and destruction will overtake them, and unnumbered evils and troubles will come on them; so that in that day they will say, Have not these evils come on us because our God is not with us?
Great are the troubles of the upright: but the Lord takes him safely out of them all.
Now after a long time the king of Egypt came to his end: and the children of Israel were crying in their grief under the weight of their work, and their cry for help came to the ears of God.
What answer, then, will my people give to the representatives of the nation? That the Lord is the builder of Zion, and she will be a safe place for the poor of his people.
For this cause says the Lord God, See, I am placing in Zion as a base, a stone, a tested stone, an angle-stone which is certain and of great value: and he who has faith will not give way.
Awake! awake! up! O Jerusalem, you who have taken from the Lord's hand the cup of his wrath; tasting in full measure the wine which overcomes. She has no one among all her children to be her guide; not one of the sons she has taken care of takes her by the hand. These two things have come on you; who will be weeping for you? wasting and destruction; death from need of food, and from the sword; how may you be comforted?
So now give ear to this, you who are troubled and overcome, but not with wine:
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 54
Commentary on Isaiah 54 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 54
Isa 54:1-17. The Fruit of Messiah's Sufferings, and of Israel's Final Penitence at Her Past Unbelief (Isa 53:6): Her Joyful Restoration and Enlargement by Jehovah, Whose Wrath Was Momentary, but His Kindness Everlasting.
Israel converted is compared to a wife (Isa 54:5; Isa 62:5) put away for unfaithfulness, but now forgiven and taken home again. The converted Gentiles are represented as a new progeny of the long-forsaken but now restored wife. The pre-eminence of the Hebrew Church as the mother Church of Christendom is the leading idea; the conversion of the Gentiles is mentioned only as part of her felicity [Horsley].
1. Sing—for joy (Zep 3:14).
barren—the Jewish Church once forsaken by God, and therefore during that time destitute of spiritual children (Isa 54:6).
didst not bear—during the Babylonian exile primarily. Secondarily, and chiefly, during Israel's present dispersion.
the children—the Gentiles adopted by special grace into the original Church (Isa 54:3; Isa 49:20, 21).
than … married wife—than were her spiritual children, when Israel was still a married wife (under the law, before the Babylonian exile), before God put her away [Maurer]. So Paul contrasts the universal Church of the New Testament with the Church of the Old Testament legal dispensation, quoting this very passage (Ga 4:27). But the full accomplishment of it is yet future.
2. (Isa 49:19, 20; Jer 31:31-36, 38, 39). Thy children shall be so many that thy borders must be extended to contain them.
curtains—the cloth forming the covering of the tent.
spare not—give abundantly the means for the enlargement of the Church (2Co 9:5-7).
cords … stakes—The more the tent is enlarged by lengthening the cords by which the cloth covering is fastened to the ground, the more the stakes supporting the tent need to be strengthened; the Church is not merely to seek new converts, but to strengthen those she has in the faith. The image is appropriate, as the tabernacle was the symbol of the old Israelitish Church (see on Isa 33:20).
3. break forth—rather, "burst forth" with increase; thy offspring shall grow, answering to "thy seed" in the parallel clause.
thy seed—Israel and her children, as distinguished from "the Gentiles."
desolate cities—of Israel (Isa 44:26).
4. (Isa 41:10, 14).
shame of thy youth—Israel's unfaithfulness as wife of Jehovah, almost from her earliest history.
reproach of widowhood—Israel's punishment in her consequent dismissal from God and barrenness of spiritual children in Babylon and her present dispersion (Isa 54:1; Isa 49:21; Jer 3:24, 25; 31:19; Ho 2:2-5).
5. (Isa 62:5; Jer 3:14). That God was Israel's "Maker," both as individuals and as the theocratic kingdom, is the pledge of assurance that He will be her Redeemer (Isa 43:1-3). Hebrew, "makers … husbands"; plural for singular, to denote excellency.
of Israel … whole earth—Not until He manifests Himself as God of Israel shall He appear as God of the whole earth (Ps 102:13, 15, 16; Zec 14:5, 9).
6. called—that is, recalled: the prophetic past for the future.
forsaken—that had been forsaken.
when thou—or, "when she was rejected"; one who had been a wife of youth (Eze 16:8, 22, 60; Jer 2:2) at the time when (thou, or) she was rejected for infidelity [Maurer]. "A wife of youth but afterwards rejected" [Lowth].
7. small moment—as compared with Israel's coming long prosperity (Isa 26:20; 60:10). So the spiritual Israel (Ps 30:5; 2Co 4:17).
gather thee—to Myself from thy dispersions.
8. In a little wrath—rather, "In the overflowing of wrath"; as Pr 27:4, Margin, [Gesenius]. The wrath, though but "for a moment," was overflowing while it lasted.
hid … face—(Isa 8:17; Ps 30:7).
everlasting—in contrast to "for a moment."
9. I am about to do the same in this instance as in Noah's flood. As I swore then that it should not return (Ge 8:21; 9:11), and I kept that promise, so I swear now to My people, and will perform My promise, that there shall be no return of the deluge of My wrath upon them. Lowth, on insufficient authority, reads (the same will I do now as), "in the days of Noah."
10. (Isa 51:6; Ps 89:33, 34; Ro 11:29).
covenant of my peace—(2Sa 23:5). The covenant whereby I have made thee at peace with Me.
11. not comforted—by anyone; none gave her help or comfort.
lay … with fair colours—rather, "lay … in cement of vermilion" [Lowth]. The Hebrew for "fair colors" means stibium, the paint with which Eastern women painted their eyelids and eyelashes (2Ki 9:30). The very cement shall be of the most beautiful color (Re 21:18-21).
12. windows—rather, "battlements"; literally, "suns"; applied to battlements from their radiated appearance.
agates—rather, "rubies."
carbuncles—literally, "sparkling gems"; the carbuncle when held to the sun becomes like a burning coal.
all thy borders—rather, "thy whole circuit," consisting of precious stones. The glory of the Church on earth, when the Hebrew Church, according to the original design, shall be the metropolis of Christendom.
13. Quoted by the Saviour (Joh 6:45), to prove that in order to come to Him, men must be "drawn" by the Father. So Jer 31:34; Mic 4:2; 1Co 2:10; Heb 8:10; 10:16; 1Jo 2:20.
great … peace—generally (Ps 119:165). Specially referring to the peaceful prosperity which shall prevail under Messiah in the latter days (Isa 2:4, 9:6).
14. righteousness—the characteristic of the reign of Messiah (Isa 11:4, 5; Ps 72:2, 4; Re 19:11).
far from oppression, &c.—far from suffering oppression; "for thou shall have nothing to fear."
15. gather together, &c.—that is, If it should happen that enemies "gather together" against thee (Ps 2:2), they will not have been sent by Me (compare Ho 8:4) as instruments of My wrath (nay, it will be with My disapproval); for "whosoever shall gather together," &c. (Ps 59:3).
fall for thy sake—rather, "shall come over to thy side" [Lowth]. Literally, "fall to thee" (Jer 21:9; 39:9). To be fully fulfilled to Jerusalem hereafter (Zec 14:16).
16. The workman that forms "weapons against thee" (Isa 54:17) is wholly in My power, therefore thou needest not fear, having Me on thy side.
for his work—rather, "by his labor [Horsley]. "According to the exigencies of his work" [Maurer].
waster to destroy—(Isa 10:5-7; 37:26, 27; 45:1-6). Desolating conquerors who use the "instruments" framed by "the smith." The repetition of the "I" implies, however, something in the latter half of the verse contrasted with the former understand it, therefore, thus: "I have in My power both him who frames arms and him who destroys them (arms)" [Rosenmuller].
17. tongue … condemn—image from a court of justice. Those who desire to "condemn" thee thou shalt "condemn" (Ex 11:7; Jos 10:21; Ps 64:8; Ro 8:1, 33).
righteousness … of me—(Isa 45:24; 46:13). Rather, "(this is) their justification from Me." Their enemies would "condemn" them, but I justify and vindicate them, and so they condemn their enemies.