Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 50:1
L.(1) Where is the bill . . .?—The thought seems suggested by Isaiah 49:14, but expands in a different direction. Both questions imply a negative answer. Jehovah had not formally repudiated the wife (Judah) whom he had chosen (Deuteronomy 24:1) as he had done her sister Israel (Jeremiah 3:8;·Hosea 2:2). He had no creditors among the nations who could claim her children. On the law of debt which supplies the image, comp. Exodus 21:7; 2 Kings 4:1; Nehemiah 5:5. The divorce, the sale, were her... read more
John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 50:1-11
1. The children of Zion (Isaiah 49:20-21) are addressed. Their servitude is not irrevocable; Jehovah has not formally repudiated Zion (Deuteronomy 24:1); nor, though they had to learn by discipline, can any creditors claim His people as slaves (2 Kings 4:1): cp. Jeremiah 24:4-6; Ezekiel 37.2, 3. The imagery is from the exodus from Egypt. 2. Wherefore.. answer] These clauses emphasise the hopelessness of Israel’s case from a human point of view. Only the divine power could effect the deliverance... read more