In the previous chapter, Isaiah called on Israel to awake and return to the covenant, in preparation for the coming Servant. The call continues....
Isaiah 52:1-2, Awake and get dressed!
Awake, awake, Zion,
clothe yourself with strength!
Put on your garments of splendor,
Jerusalem, the holy city.
The uncircumcised and defiled
will not enter you again.
Shake off your dust;
rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
Daughter Zion, now a captive.
Jerusalem is called to wake up, to clothe herself with strength and splendor. She is to become the beautiful queen she was intended to be.
Isaiah 52:3-6, Know my name
For this is what the LORD says:
“You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed.”
For this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
lately, Assyria has oppressed them.
“And now what do I have here?” declares the LORD.
“For my people have been taken away for nothing,
and those who rule them mock,”
declares the LORD.
“And all day long
my name is constantly blasphemed.
Therefore my people will know my name;
therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
Yes, it is I.”
Israel was cheaply sold into slavery. Egypt and Assyria have enslaved her. Yet now, after the oppression by Babylon, she will be redeemed. And the people of Israel will know YHWH's name, instead of blaspheming His name with their idolatry and injustice.
Isaiah 52:7, Good tidings and salvation
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
The proclamation of God's reign and restoration is good news, proclaimed to Zion. The hurried accumulation of "who... who... who..." builds to a climax with the final "Your God reigns!" This verse has been an inspiration for various hymns. The first two lines of this verse are quoted in the New Testament by the Jew Saul/Paul in Romans 10:14-15.
Isaiah 52:8-10, The watchmen shout
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the LORD returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.
Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
The message of good news comes to the ruins of Jerusalem. The watchmen, who see the news approaching, are portrayed as shouting for joy. God will "bare his holy arm", that is, prepare for action, as He brings this salvation, a salvation seen by all the earth.
Isaiah 52:11-12, Depart with purity
Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
you who carry the articles of the LORD’s house.
But you will not leave in haste
or go in flight;
for the LORD will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
The people of Israel are to leave some place (YHWH's house?) with purity.
Isaiah 52:13-15, A disfigured servant
See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
Just as there were many who were appalled at him --
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
This passage begins with a strong "Behold!" (Hebrew hinneh), stronger than the NIV's weak "See." Thus begins the fourth of four "Servant Songs", songs about the coming Messiah. This song continues through the next chapter. (The other Servant Songs are Isaiah 42:1-4, Isaiah 49:1–6 and Isaiah 50:4–11.)
The word "sprinkle" (many nations) at the beginning of verse 15 has priestly overtones, says Grogan. See, for example, Exodus 29:20-21.
In the New Testament, Paul quotes the last two lines in Romans 15:20-21.
This servant will be exalted, yet disfigured. His body will be marred. Kings will be shocked because of him. A final description of this Servant continues in the next chapter.
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