Isaiah 51:3-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:3

The garden of the Lord. The Lord would comfort Zion, and make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness would. be found therein. The expression, "garden of the Lord," signified everything that was choice, inviting, eligible, that ministered to peace and satisfaction. It may be taken as suggestive of the Church of Christ, which ought to be, to the outside and unreclaimed world, what the cultivated garden is to the surrounding wilderness. The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:4

Hearken unto me ; rather, attend to me—a stronger term than "hearken"—attend, and hear of a greater blessing than the restoration of the land of Judah to cultivation and fruitfulness. God, enthroned anew in Zion, will from thence send forth his light and his truth to the nations, will make his Law known to them, and allow them to partake of his salvation. O my nation . Some manuscripts have "O ye nations." But the reading is undoubtedly a wrong one. A law shall proceed from me . The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:4

God's revelation a light. "I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people." The terms "law" and "judgment" are designed to include all forms of Divine revelation—the various ways in which the Divine will is made known to man. Revelation means light. It is a mistake to assume that there are things revealed which are not intended for our comprehension; they are revealed precisely with the purpose of unfolding so that we might understand them. There are hidden and secret things,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:5

My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth . "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and. a thousand years as one day" ( 2 Peter 3:8 ). Isaiah always speaks as if the Messianic kingdom was to supervene almost immediately on the return of the exiles to Palestine. It was not revealed to him that there would be an interval of from five hundred to six hundred years between the two events. By God's " righteousness " here we must understand his righteous plans for the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:3

For the Lord shall comfort Zion - On the word ‘Zion,’ see the notes at Isaiah 1:8. The meaning here is, that he would again restore it from its ruins. The argument is drawn from the statement in the previous verses. If God had raised up so great a nation from so humble all origin, he had power to restore the waste places of Judea to more than their former beauty and prosperity (see the notes at Isaiah 40:1).And he will make her wilderness - Judea is here represented as lying waste. It is to be... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:4

Hearken unto me, my people - Lowth reads this;Attend unto me, O ye people,And give ear unto me, O ye nations.The reason why he proposes this change is, that he supposes the address here is made to the Gentiles and not to the Jews, and in favor of the change he observes, that two manuscripts read it in this manner. Gesenius (Commentary) says that three codices read עמים ‛ammiym (“peoples”), instead of עמי ‛amiy (“my people”); and that thirteen MSS. read לאוּמים le'ûmiym (“nations”), instead of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:5

My righteousness is near - The word ‘righteousness’ is used in a great variety of significations. Here it means, probably, the faithful completion of his promises to his people (Lowth).My salvation is gone forth - The promise of salvation is gone forth, and already the execution of that purpose is commenced. He would soon deliver his people; he would at no distant period extend salvation to all nations.And mine arm shall judge the people - That is, shall dispense judgment to them. The ‘arm’... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 51:3

Isaiah 51:3. For, &c. The prophet, in these words, seems to be giving a reason why they should look unto, or consider, that famous example of Abraham and Sarah; namely, because they should find the like wonder wrought on their behalf. Or the meaning may be, therefore, for the sake of Abraham and of that covenant which God made with him, and by which he promised to bless him and his seed for ever; the Lord shall comfort Zion His church, frequently, as we have seen, called by that... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 51:4-5

Isaiah 51:4-5. Hearken unto me, my people Ye Jews, whom I chose to be my peculiar people, do not reject my counsel, which, I have told you, even the Gentiles will receive, nor forsake the mercies of which even they will partake. For a law shall proceed from me A new law, even the doctrine of the gospel. I will make my judgment to rest for a light Judgment is here the same thing with law in the former clause, the word of God, or the evangelical doctrine, of which he saith, that he will... 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

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