Isaiah 51:1-2 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:2

Ancient memories. "Look unto Abraham your father." It is wise to surround the young with the statues of great and brave and wise men, and to have hanging in the halls of a nation the portraits of their true leaders. So in the Hebrews we are in a chamber of inspired images of the heroes and heroines of faith. I. THE EYE IS ALWAYS ON SOME OBJECT . We are looking always to objects that elevate or that debase us. Israel at this time was looking to military leaders, longing... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:1

Hearken unto me - That is, to the God of their fathers, who now addresses them. They are regarded as in exile and bondage, and as desponding in regard to their prospects. In this situation, God, or perhaps more properly the Messiah (compare the notes at Isaiah 1:0), is introduced as addressing them with the assurances of deliverance.Ye that follow after righteousness - This is addressed evidently to those who sought to be righteous, and who truly feared the Lord. There was a portion of the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:2

Look unto Abraham - What was figuratively expressed in the former verse is here expressed literally. They were directed to remember that God had taken Abraham and Sarah from a distant land, and that from so humble a beginning he had increased them to a great nation. The argument is, that he was able to bless and increase the exile Jews, though comparatively feeble and few.For I called him alone - Hebrew, ‘For one I called him;’ that is, he was alone; there was but one, and he increased to a... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 51:1-2

Isaiah 51:1-2. Hearken unto me, &c. Here again he addresses his discourse to the believing and godly Jews, whom he describes as following after righteousness That is, earnestly desiring and diligently pursuing the justification of their persons, the sanctification of their nature, and practical obedience to God’s law; for which blessings they sought the Lord That is, sought an acquaintance and reconciliation with him, the manifestation of his favour, and the communication of his... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:1-23

God of the impossible (51:1-23)To the captive Jews it must have seemed almost impossible to escape from the powerful grip of the tyrant Babylon, make the long journey over harsh territory and then rebuild their ruined country. God encourages them with reminders of the apparently impossible things he has done for them in the past. The very origin of Israel was something of a miracle. God built a nation out of one couple, even though the man and his wife were past the age when they might normally... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 51:1

Hearken. Note the call to hear. See Structure, above. are = were. hole of the pit = the hollow of the quarry. read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 51:2

Look = Look well: as in Isaiah 51:1 . Figure of speech Hermeneia , by which Isaiah 51:2 interprets Isaiah 51:1 . Abraham . . . Sarah. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 12:0 , &c.; Genesis 24:36 ). alone. Compare Ezekiel 33:24 .Malachi 2:15 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Isaiah 51:1

Douglas divided this chapter and Isaiah 52 into seven divisions, as follows: the 1call (Isaiah 51:1-3), 2call (Isaiah 51:4-6), 3call (Isaiah 51:7-8), 4th call (Isaiah 51:9-16), 5th call (Isaiah 51:17-23), 6th call (Isaiah 52:1-6), and 7th call (Isaiah 52:7-10).[1] This is an interesting arrangement, in spite of the fact that it is not always clear as to just who is doing the calling. Kelley's arrangement of this chapter classified the first three of these "calls" as "The consolation of... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Isaiah 51:1-2

Isaiah 51:1-2. Hearken to me, &c.— The Messiah, about to comfort the true church remaining in the land of Judea, which consisted of a small number, called by him a little flock, and whom he had just before marked out as a small company fearing the Lord,—begins with a gracious address, calling them a company following after righteousness, seeking Jehovah, and demanding attention from them. He orders them to look to Abraham and Sarah, from whom they derived their original, who alone being... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:1

1. me—the God of your fathers. ye . . . follow after righteousness—the godly portion of the nation; :- shows this (Proverbs 15:9; 1 Timothy 6:11). "Ye follow righteousness," seek it therefore from Me, who "bring it near," and that a righteousness "not about to be abolished" (Isaiah 51:6; Isaiah 51:7); look to Abraham, your father (Isaiah 51:7- :), as a sample of how righteousness before Me is to be obtained; I, the same God who blessed him, will bless you at last (Isaiah 51:3); therefore trust... read more