6 Lift up H5375 your eyes H5869 to the heavens, H8064 and look H5027 upon the earth H776 beneath: for the heavens H8064 shall vanish away H4414 like smoke, H6227 and the earth H776 shall wax old H1086 like a garment, H899 and they that dwell H3427 therein shall die H4191 in like H3644 manner: H3654 but my salvation H3444 shall be for ever, H5769 and my righteousness H6666 shall not be abolished. H2865
Heaven G3772 and G2532 earth G1093 shall pass away, G3928 but G1161 my G3450 words G3056 shall G3928 not G3364 pass away. G3928
And all the host H6635 of heaven H8064 shall be dissolved, H4743 and the heavens H8064 shall be rolled together H1556 as a scroll: H5612 and all their host H6635 shall fall down, H5034 as the leaf H5929 falleth off H5034 from the vine, H1612 and as a falling H5034 fig from the fig tree. H8384
But G1161 the day G2250 of the Lord G2962 will come G2240 as G5613 a thief G2812 in G1722 the night; G3571 in G1722 the which G3739 the heavens G3772 shall pass away G3928 with a great noise, G4500 and G1161 the elements G4747 shall melt G3089 with fervent heat, G2741 the earth G1093 also G2532 and G2532 the works G2041 that are therein G1722 G846 shall be burned up. G2618 Seeing then G3767 that all G3956 these things G5130 shall be dissolved, G3089 what manner G4217 of persons ought G1163 ye G5209 to be G5225 in G1722 all holy G40 conversation G391 and G2532 godliness, G2150 Looking for G4328 and G2532 hasting G4692 unto the coming G3952 of the day G2250 of God, G2316 wherein G1223 G3739 the heavens G3772 being on fire G4448 shall be dissolved, G3089 and G2532 the elements G4747 shall melt G5080 with fervent heat? G2741
Lift up H5375 your eyes H5869 on high, H4791 and behold H7200 who hath created H1254 these things, that bringeth out H3318 their host H6635 by number: H4557 he calleth H7121 them all by names H8034 by the greatness H7230 of his might, H202 for that he is strong H533 in power; H3581 not one H376 faileth. H5737
And G2532 I beheld G1492 when G3753 he had opened G455 the sixth G1623 seal, G4973 and, G2532 lo, G2400 there was G1096 a great G3173 earthquake; G4578 and G2532 the sun G2246 became G1096 black G3189 as G5613 sackcloth G4526 of hair, G5155 and G2532 the moon G4582 became G1096 as G5613 blood; G129 And G2532 the stars G792 of heaven G3772 fell G4098 unto G1519 the earth, G1093 even as G5613 a fig tree G4808 casteth G906 her G846 untimely figs, G3653 when she is shaken G4579 of G5259 a mighty G3173 wind. G417 And G2532 the heaven G3772 departed G673 as G5613 a scroll G975 when it is rolled together; G1507 and G2532 every G3956 mountain G3735 and G2532 island G3520 were moved G2795 out of G1537 their G846 places. G5117
My G1699 sheep G4263 hear G191 my G3450 voice, G5456 and I G2504 know G1097 them, G846 and G2532 they follow G190 me: G3427 And I G2504 give G1325 unto them G846 eternal G166 life; G2222 and G2532 they shall G622 never G3364 G1519 G165 perish, G622 neither G2532 G3756 shall G726 any G5100 man pluck G726 them G846 out of G1537 my G3450 hand. G5495 My G3450 Father, G3962 which G3739 gave G1325 them me, G3427 is G2076 greater than G3187 all; G3956 and G2532 no G3762 man is able G1410 to pluck G726 them out of G1537 my G3450 Father's G3962 hand. G5495
For the moth H6211 shall eat them up H398 like a garment, H899 and the worm H5580 shall eat H398 them like wool: H6785 but my righteousness H6666 shall be for ever, H5769 and my salvation H3444 from generation H1755 to generation. H1755
Of old H6440 hast thou laid the foundation H3245 of the earth: H776 and the heavens H8064 are the work H4639 of thy hands. H3027 They shall perish, H6 but thou shalt endure: H5975 yea, all of them shall wax old H1086 like a garment; H899 as a vesture H3830 shalt thou change H2498 them, and they shall be changed: H2498
And G2532 I saw G1492 a great G3173 white G3022 throne, G2362 and G2532 him that sat G2521 on G1909 it, G846 from G575 whose G3739 face G4383 the earth G1093 and G2532 the heaven G3772 fled away; G5343 and G2532 there was found G2147 no G3756 place G5117 for them. G846
And G2532 for this G5124 cause G1223 he is G2076 the mediator G3316 of the new G2537 testament, G1242 that G3704 by means G1096 of death, G2288 for G1519 the redemption G629 of the transgressions G3847 that were under G1909 the first G4413 testament, G1242 they which are called G2564 might receive G2983 the promise G1860 of eternal G166 inheritance. G2817
And, G2532 Thou, G4771 Lord, G2962 in G2596 the beginning G746 hast laid the foundation G2311 of the earth; G1093 and G2532 the heavens G3772 are G1526 the works G2041 of thine G4675 hands: G5495 They G846 shall perish; G622 but G1161 thou G4771 remainest; G1265 and G2532 they all G3956 shall wax old G3822 as G5613 doth a garment; G2440 And G2532 as G5616 a vesture G4018 shalt thou fold G1667 them G846 up, G1667 and G2532 they shall be changed: G236 but G1161 thou G4771 art G1488 the same, G846 and G2532 thy G4675 years G2094 shall G1587 not G3756 fail. G1587
Verily, G281 verily, G281 I say G3004 unto you, G5213 G3754 He that heareth G191 my G3450 word, G3056 and G2532 believeth G4100 on him that sent G3992 me, G3165 hath G2192 everlasting G166 life, G2222 and G2532 shall G2064 not G3756 come G2064 into G1519 condemnation; G2920 but G235 is passed G3327 from G1537 death G2288 unto G1519 life. G2222
That G3363 whosoever G3956 believeth G4100 in G1519 him G846 should G622 not G3363 perish, G622 but G235 have G2192 eternal G166 life. G2222 For G1063 God G2316 so G3779 loved G25 the world, G2889 that G5620 he gave G1325 his G846 only begotten G3439 Son, G5207 that G2443 whosoever G3956 believeth G4100 in G1519 him G846 should G622 not G3361 perish, G622 but G235 have G2192 everlasting G166 life. G2222
Seventy H7657 weeks H7620 are determined H2852 upon thy people H5971 and upon thy holy H6944 city, H5892 to finish H3607 the transgression, H6588 and to make an end H8552 H2856 of sins, H2403 and to make reconciliation H3722 for iniquity, H5771 and to bring in H935 everlasting H5769 righteousness, H6664 and to seal up H2856 the vision H2377 and prophecy, H5030 and to anoint H4886 the most H6944 Holy. H6944
Behold, the Lord H136 GOD H3069 will help H5826 me; who is he that shall condemn H7561 me? lo, they all shall wax old H1086 as a garment; H899 the moth H6211 shall eat them up. H398
When I consider H7200 thy heavens, H8064 the work H4639 of thy fingers, H676 the moon H3394 and the stars, H3556 which thou hast ordained; H3559 What is man, H582 that thou art mindful H2142 of him? and the son H1121 of man, H120 that thou visitest H6485 him?
And lest thou lift up H5375 thine eyes H5869 unto heaven, H8064 and when thou seest H7200 the sun, H8121 and the moon, H3394 and the stars, H3556 even all the host H6635 of heaven, H8064 shouldest be driven H5080 to worship H7812 them, and serve H5647 them, which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 hath divided H2505 unto all nations H5971 under the whole heaven. H8064
Now G1161 our G2257 Lord G2962 Jesus G2424 Christ G5547 himself, G846 and G2532 God, G2316 even G2532 our G2257 Father, G3962 which G3588 hath loved G25 us, G2248 and G2532 hath given G1325 us everlasting G166 consolation G3874 and G2532 good G18 hope G1680 through G1722 grace, G5485
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 51
Commentary on Isaiah 51 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 51
Isa 51:1-23. Encouragement to the Faithful Remnant of Israel to Trust in God for Deliverance, Both from Their Long Babylonian Exile, and from Their Present Dispersion.
1. me—the God of your fathers.
ye … follow after righteousness—the godly portion of the nation; Isa 51:7 shows this (Pr 15:9; 1Ti 6:11). "Ye follow righteousness," seek it therefore from Me, who "bring it near," and that a righteousness "not about to be abolished" (Isa 51:6, 7); look to Abraham, your father (Isa 51:2), as a sample of how righteousness before Me is to be obtained; I, the same God who blessed him, will bless you at last (Isa 51:3); therefore trust in Me, and fear not man's opposition (Isa 51:7, 8, 12, 13). The mistake of the Jews, heretofore, has been, not in that they "followed after righteousness," but in that they followed it "by the works of the law," instead of "by faith," as Abraham did (Ro 9:31, 32; 10:3, 4; 4:2-5).
hole of … pit—The idea is not, as it is often quoted, the inculcation of humility, by reminding men of the fallen state from which they have been taken, but that as Abraham, the quarry, as it were (compare Isa 48:1), whence their nation was hewn, had been called out of a strange land to the inheritance of Canaan, and blessed by God, the same God is able to deliver and restore them also (compare Mt 3:9).
2. alone—translate, "I called him when he was but one" (Eze 33:24). The argument is: the same God who had so blessed "one" individual, as to become a mighty nation (Ge 12:1; 22:7), can also increase and bless the small remnant of Israel, both that left in the Babylonish captivity, and that left in the present and latter days (Zec 14:2); "the residue" (Isa 13:8, 9).
3. For—See for the argument, see on Isa 51:2.
the garden of the Lord—restoration of the primeval paradise (Ge 2:8; Eze 28:13; Re 2:7).
melody—Hebrew, "psalm." God's praises shall again be heard.
4. my people—the Jews. This reading is better than that of Gesenius: "O peoples … nations," namely, the Gentiles. The Jews are called on to hear and rejoice in the extension of the true religion to the nations; for, at the first preaching of the Gospel, as in the final age to come, it was from Jerusalem that the gospel law was, and is, to go forth (Isa 2:3).
law … judgment—the gospel dispensation and institutions (Isa 42:1, "judgment").
make … to rest—establish firmly; found.
light, &c.—(Isa 42:6).
5. righteousness … near—that is, faithful fulfilment of the promised deliverance, answering to "salvation" in the parallel clause (Isa 46:13; 56:1; Ro 10:8, 9). Ye follow after "righteousness"; seek it therefore, from Me, and you will not have far to go for it (Isa 51:1).
arms—put for Himself; I by My might.
judge—(Isa 2:3, 4; Ps 98:9).
isles, &c.—(Isa 60:9).
arm—(Ro 1:16), "the power of God unto (the Gentiles as well as the Jews) salvation."
6. (Isa 40:6, 8; Ps 102:26; Heb 1:11, 12).
vanish away—literally, "shall be torn asunder," as a garment [Maurer]; which accords with the context.
in like manner—But Gesenius, "Like a gnat"; like the smallest and vilest insect. Jerome translates, as English Version, and infers that "in like manner" as man, the heavens (that is, the sky) and earth are not to be annihilated, but changed for the better (Isa 65:17).
righteousness—My faithfully fulfilled promise (see on Isa 51:5).
7. know righteousness—(See on Isa 51:1).
8. (See on Isa 50:9; Job 4:18-20). Not that the moth eats men up, but they shall be destroyed by as insignificant instrumentality as the moth that eats a garment.
9. Impassioned prayer of the exiled Jews.
ancient days—(Ps 44:1).
Rahab—poetical name for Egypt (see on Isa 30:7).
dragon—Hebrew, tannin. The crocodile, an emblem of Egypt, as represented on coins struck after the conquest of Egypt by Augustus; or rather here, "its king," Pharaoh (see on Isa 27:1; Ps 74:13, 14; Eze 32:2, Margin; Eze 29:3).
10. it—the arm.
Art not Thou the same Almighty power that … ? dried the sea—the Red Sea (Isa 43:16; Ex 14:21).
11. (Isa 35:10).
Therefore—assurance of faith; or else the answer of Jehovah corresponding to their prayer. As surely as God redeemed Israel out of Egypt, He shall redeem them from Babylon, both the literal in the age following, and mystical in the last ages (Re 18:20, 21). There shall be a second exodus (Isa 11:11-16; 27:12, 13).
singing—image from the custom of singing on a journey when a caravan is passing along the extended plains in the East.
everlasting joy—(Jude 24).
sorrow … flee away—(Re 21:4).
12. comforteth—(Isa 51:3; Isa 40:1).
thou—Zion.
son of man—frail and dying as his parent Adam.
be made as grass—wither as grass (Isa 40:6, 7).
13. (Isa 40:12, 26, 28), the same argument of comfort drawn from the omnipotence of the Creator.
as if … ready, &c.—literally, "when he directs," namely, his arrow, to destroy (Ps 21:12; 7:13; 11:2) [Maurer].
14. captive exile—literally, one bowed down as a captive (Isa 10:4) [Maurer]. The scene is primarily Babylon, and the time near the close of the captivity. Secondarily, and antitypically, the mystical Babylon, the last enemy of Israel and the Church, in which they have long suffered, but from which they are to be gloriously delivered.
pit—such as were many of the ancient dungeons (compare Jer 38:6, 11, 13; Ge 37:20).
nor … bread … fail—(Isa 33:16; Jer 37:21).
15. divided … sea—the Red Sea. The same Hebrew word as "make to rest" (Isa 51:4). Rather, "that terrify the sea," that is, restrain it by My rebuke, "when its waves roar" [Gesenius]. The Hebrew favors Maurer, "that terrify the sea so that the waves roar." The sense favors Gesenius (Jer 5:22; 31:35), or English Version (Isa 51:9, 10, which favors the special reference to the exodus from Egypt).
16. Addressed to Israel, embodied in "the servant of Jehovah" (Isa 42:1), Messiah, its ideal and representative Head, through whom the elect remnant is to be restored.
put my words in thy mouth—true of Israel, the depository of true religion, but fully realized only in Israel's Head and antitype, Messiah (Isa 49:2; 50:4, 5; 59:21; De 18:18; Joh 3:34).
covered … in … shadow of … hand—protected thee (see on Isa 49:2).
plant—rather, "fix" as a tabernacle; so it ought to be rendered (Da 11:45). The "new creation," now going on in the spiritual world by the Gospel (Eph 2:10), and hereafter to be extended to the visible world, is meant (Isa 65:17; 66:22; compare Isa 13:13; 2Pe 3:10-13).
Zion—Its restoration is a leading part in the new creation to come (Isa 65:17, 19).
17. Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, &c.—(Isa 52:1).
drunk—Jehovah's wrath is compared to an intoxicating draught because it confounds the sufferer under it, and makes him fall (Job 21:20; Ps 60:3; 75:8; Jer 25:15, 16; 49:12; Zec 12:2; Re 14:10); ("poured out without mixture"; rather, "the pure wine juice mixed with intoxicating drugs").
of trembling—which produced trembling or intoxication.
wrung … out—drained the last drop out; the dregs were the sediments from various substances, as honey, dates, and drugs, put into the wine to increase the strength and sweetness.
18. Following up the image in Isa 51:17, intoxicated and confused by the cup of God's anger, she has none to guide her in her helpless state; she has not yet awakened out of the sleep caused by that draught. This cannot apply to the Babylonish captivity; for in it they had Ezekiel and Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, as "guides," and soon awoke out of that sleep; but it applies to the Jews now, and will be still more applicable in their coming oppression by Antichrist.
19. two—classes of evils, for he enumerates four, namely, desolation and destruction to the land and state; famine and the sword to the people.
who shall be sorry for thee—so as to give thee effectual relief: as the parallel clause, "By whom shall I comfort thee?" shows (La 2:11-13).
20. head of all … streets—(La 2:19; 4:1).
wild bull—rather, "oryx" [Jerome], or gazelle [Gesenius], or wild goat [Bochart]; commonly in the East taken in a net, of a wide sweep, into which the beasts were hunted together. The streets of cities in the East often have gates, which are closed at night; a person wishing to escape would be stopped by them and caught, as a wild animal in a net.
21. drunken … not with wine—(Isa 29:9; compare Isa 51:17, 20, here; La 3:15).
22. pleadeth … cause—(Ps 35:1; Jer 50:34; Mic 7:9).
no more drink it—(Isa 54:7-9). This cannot apply to Israel after the return from Babylon, but only to them after their final restoration.
23. (Isa 49:26; Jer 25:15-29; Zec 12:2).
Bow down that … go over—Conquerors often literally trod on the necks of conquered kings, as Sapor of Persia did to the Roman emperor Valerian (Jos 10:24; Ps 18:40; 66:11, 12).