Isaiah 61:4 - Exposition

They shall build the old wastes. (On the "waste" condition, not of Jerusalem only, but of the cities of Judith generally, see Isaiah 44:26 ; Isaiah 49:8 , Isaiah 49:19 ; Isaiah 64:10 , Isaiah 64:11 , etc.) The first step in the recovery of Israel from the misery of the Captivity would be a return to Palestine, and a general restoration of the ruined towns. It was a ruin of "many generations," having commenced, probably, with the invasion of Pharaoh-Necho in b.c. 608, and being continued till the edict of Cyrus.