Isaiah Chapter 52
From The Open Bible Project
52:1 Awake, awake, put on your strength, Zion; put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean.
- (a) No wicked tyrant, who will subvert God’s true religion and oppress the conscience.
52:2 Shake yourself from the dust; arise, sit [on your throne], Jerusalem: loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion.
- (b) Put off the garments of sorrow and heaviness and put on the apparel of joy and gladness.
52:3 For thus says Yahweh, "You were sold for nothing; and you shall be redeemed without money."
- (c) The Babylonians paid nothing to me for you: therefore I will take you again without ransom.
52:4 For thus says the Lord Yahweh, "My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there: and the Assyrian has oppressed them without cause.
- (d) When Jacob went there in times of famine.
- (e) The Egyptians might pretend some reason to oppress my people because they went there and remained among them, but the Assyrians have no title to excuse their tyranny by, and therefore I will punish them more than I did the Egyptians.
52:5 "Now therefore, what do I here," says Yahweh, "seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? those who rule over them mock," says Yahweh, "and my name continually all the day is blasphemed.
- (f) That is, by the wicked, who think that I have no power to deliver them.
52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore [they shall know] in that day that I am he who does speak; behold, it is I."
52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
- (g) Signifying that the joy and good tidings of their deliverance would make their affliction in the mean time more easy: but this is chiefly meant of the spiritual joy, as in (Nahum 1:15; Romans 10:15).
52:8 The voice of your watchmen! they lift up the voice, together do they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when Yahweh returns to Zion.
- (h) The prophets who are your watchmen will publish your deliverance: this was begun under Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah, but was accomplished under Christ.
52:9 Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for Yahweh has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.
52:10 Yahweh has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
- (i) As ready to smite his enemies and to deliver his people.
52:11 Depart, depart, go out from there, touch no unclean thing! Go out of the midst of her! Cleanse yourselves, you who bear the vessels of Yahweh.
- (k) He warns the faithful not to pollute themselves with the superstitions of the Babylonians, as (Isaiah 48:20; 2 Corinthians 6:17).
- (l) For the time is at hand that the priests and Levites chiefly (and so by them all the people, who will be as the Levites in this office) will carry home vessels of the temple which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away.
52:12 For you shall not go out in haste, neither shall you go by flight: for Yahweh will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
- (m) As your fathers did out of Egypt.
52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.
- (n) Meaning Christ, by whom our spiritual deliverance would be wrought of which this was a sign.
52:14 Like as many were astonished at you (his appearance was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men),
- (o) In the corrupt judgment of man, Christ in his person was not valued.
52:15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they understand.
- (p) He will spread his word through many nations.
- (q) In sign of reverence, and as being astonished at his excellency.
- (r) By the preaching of the gospel.
