Isaiah 51:14

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 51:9-16

In these verses we have, I. A prayer that God would, in his providence, appear and act for the deliverance of his people and the mortification of his and their enemies. Awake, awake! put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Isa. 51:9. The arm of the Lord is Christ, or it is put for God himself, as Ps. 44:23. Awake! why sleepest thou? He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps; but, when we pray that he would awake, we mean that he would make it to appear that he watches over his people and is... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 51:14

The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed ,.... The time hastens on, or God will hasten the time, for the release either of the captive Jews in literal Babylon, or of his people in mystical Babylon; or they that are in exile and captivity, as soon as ever opportunity offers for their release, will take it, and make no delay: though some understand the words by way of complaint, as if the persons spoken of were impatient, and could not wait the proper time of their deliverance: and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 51:14

The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed "He marcheth on with speed, who cometh to set free the captive" - Cyrus, if understood of the temporal redemption from the captivity of Babylon; in the spiritual sense, the Messiah, who comes to open the prison to them that are bound. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:12-16

AN ADDRESS OF GOD TO HIS CAPTIVE PEOPLE . There is no very clear connection between this passage and the preceding, to which it is certainly not an answer. God comforts the captives under the oppression which they are suffering read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:12-16

A just confidence in God is a security against cowardly fears. Men "fear continually every day" because of the emnity, or fury, or malignity, or cunning, of those who oppress them, or of those who would fain oppress them. They tremble before the wrath of men; they give little thought to the wrath of God. Half the sins that are committed spring from cowardice—a short-sighted cowardice, which consists in fearing those who can, at most, "kill the body," and not fearing him who after death can... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:12-16

Expostulation against unbelief. If the Eternal be the Pastor and the Comforter of Israel, what has Israel to fear? I. THE NATURAL TIMIDITY OF THE HEART . We are cravens, all of us. We stand in dread of our own image; we quail before "frail man that dieth, and the son of the earth-born who is given up as grass." A frown makes us tremble; a menace unmans us. We are the slaves of custom and opinion. Anxiety is ever conjuring up dangers which exist not, and forecasting calamities... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 51:14

The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed ; rather, he that is bent down hasteneth to be released; i.e. such of the exiles as were cramped and bent by fetters, or by the stocks, would speedily, on the fall of Babylon, obtain their release. They would not "die unto the pit," i.e. so as to belong to the pit and to be east into it, but would live and have a sufficiency of sustenance. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 51:14

The captive exile - Lowth renders this, evidently very improperly, ‘He marcheth on with speed who cometh to set the captive free;’ and supposes that it refers to Cyrus, if understood of the temporal redemption from the captivity at Babylon; in the spiritual sense, to the Messiah. But the meaning evidently is, that the exile who had been so long as it were enchained in Babylon, was about to be set free, and that the time was very near when the captivity was to end. The prisoner should not die... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 51:14-16

Isaiah 51:14-16 . The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed From his captivity, and may return to his own country from which he is banished. And that he should not die in the pit Die a prisoner, through the inconveniences and hardships of his confinement; nor that his bread should fail The bread or provision allowed to keep him alive in prison. The general sense of the verse is, God is not slack, as you think, but makes haste to fulfil his promise, and rescue his captive and... 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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