Isaiah 56, A House of Prayer for All People

A future promised land is coming, an eternal one. Here that land is described. In this land the Messiah is Conqueror; the foreigner and vulnerable are protected.

Some see a distinct change in tone in chapters 56-66. Now Isaiah looks at the land from within, after the exile and return.

Isaiah 56:1-2, Maintain justice

This is what the LORD says:

“Maintain justice

    and do what is right,

for my salvation is close at hand

    and my righteousness will soon be revealed.

Blessed is the one who does this—

    the person who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,

    and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

The Israelites are encouraged to focus on justice and righteousness -- and to protect the foreigners bound to YHWH.

Isaiah 56:3, The vulnerable and despised

Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say,

    “The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.”

And let no eunuch complain,

    “I am only a dry tree.”

The foreigner and eunuch, both often invisible or despised, have a place in God's kingdom. Once again, even the Gentiles are invited to partake in the riches of God. In the covenant law (see Deuteronomy 23:1-3) eunuchs and certain foreigners were prohibited from entering the assembly of God. Here that prohibition is overturned.

Isaiah 56:4-7, Foreigners and eunuchs

For this is what the LORD says:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

    who choose what pleases me

    and hold fast to my covenant—

to them I will give within my temple and its walls

    a memorial and a name

    better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

    that will endure forever.

And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD

    to minister to him,

to love the name of the LORD,

    and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

    and who hold fast to my covenant—

these I will bring to my holy mountain

    and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

    will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called

    a house of prayer for all nations.”

The passage expands on the role of the vulnerable foreigners and eunuchs. The temple will be a house of prayer for all nations, a refuge for Gentiles!

In the culture of the ancient Near East, one was valued for size of their flocks and the number of children he/she produced. In this culture, a eunuch was especially ashamed and so this promise welcomes the eunuchs who follow YHWH and keep His sabbath.

Jesus quotes this passage when He cleans the moneychangers out the temple -- see Matthew 21:12-13.

Isaiah 56:8, Still others

The Sovereign LORD declares—

    he who gathers the exiles of Israel:

“I will gather still others to them

    besides those already gathered.”

Beyond the gathered exiles are other people, other nations. They too will be gathered to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 56:9-12, Drunken watchmen

Come, all you beasts of the field,

    come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!

Israel’s watchmen are blind,

    they all lack knowledge;

they are all mute dogs,

    they cannot bark;

they lie around and dream,

    they love to sleep.

They are dogs with mighty appetites;

    they never have enough.

They are shepherds who lack understanding;

    they all turn to their own way,

    they seek their own gain.

“Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!

    Let us drink our fill of beer!

And tomorrow will be like today,

    or even far better.”

The tone changes here -- the people who are supposed to be watchmen are not doing their jobs; they are drunk with beer and think that every day will be the same. Here the promised kingdom is, once again, being threatened by selfish and lazy leaders.

Isaiah 55, Trees Clap Their Hands

Israel will someday be a global nation, established in righteousness.

Isaiah 55: 1-2, Is anyone is thirsty

"Come, all you who are thirsty,

    come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

    come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

    without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

    and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

    and you will delight in the richest of fare.

There is an invitation to drink and eat, an invitation to joyful luxury. (Jesus also said, "Come, all you who are thirsty," John 7:37-39.)

Grogan writes that we may hear a call of a Near Eastern water vendor in this passage, but also the call of Wisdom personified (Proverbs 9:1-6.)

Isaiah 55:3-4, An everlasting covenant

Give ear and come to me;

    listen, that you may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

    my faithful love promised to David.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

    a ruler and commander of the peoples.

A covenant will be made, an eternal covenant, following on that of David. The covenant is based on "faithful love", a rare plural of the Hebrew hesed (says Motyer.)

Isaiah 55:5, Nations come running

Surely you will summon nations you know not,

    and nations you do not know will come running to you,

because of the LORD your God,

    the Holy One of Israel,

    for he has endowed you with splendor.”

The promise by God in verse 4 becomes instructions to the Servant in verse 5. The Gentile nations come to Israel, running, because of the splendor that God, YHWH, has given to Israel.

Grogan says that this chapter twice builds to a joyful climax. The first time is here in verse 5. The second time will be at the end of the chapter.

Isaiah 55:6-7, Seek and turn to God

Seek the LORD while he may be found;

    call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

    and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,

    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

An invitation is given in preparation for this day: seek YHWH while He is patiently waiting. 

Isaiah 55:8-9, I am not the same as you

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the LORD.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God is not human. He is not the same as us; his ways are different, higher, deeper. Both His power and morality (goodness, righteousness) are higher and different.

Isaiah 55:10-11, God's speech always flourishes

As the rain and the snow

    come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

    without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

    It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

What God says He will do, He accomplishes.  The Creator of the earth, or rains and snows, can accomplish whatever He wishes.

Verse 11, "my word... will not return... empty", merely means that whatever God commands, is done. When He said, "Let there be light!" in Genesis 1:3, there was light. When God says He will summon new nations to a glorious future Messiah, it will happen.

Isaiah 55:12-13, Clap their hands!

You will go out in joy

    and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

    will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

    will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,

    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the LORD’s renown,

    for an everlasting sign,

    that will endure forever.”

The joy of the future kingdom will be so great that the trees will clap their hands!

Some Random Thoughts

Verse 11, "my word... will not return... empty", merely means that whatever God commands, is done. Oh, how this verse is misinterpreted! People identify "My word" with Scripture and feel justified in throwing Scripture around (leaving tracts on trains, for example), with the claim "God's word will not return void." (See The Gospel Blimp for a 1967 parody on this idea.) There are many places in the Bible where "God's Word" is not the same as Scripture. This is one. (So are John 1:1-4, 14 and Hebrews 4:12-14.)

Isaiah 54, A City Grows to Cover the Earth

The last chapter gave us the fourth and last Servant Song, a prophesy about a future Servant Messiah. Each Servant Song ends with a application by Isaiah on the effect of the Servant (says Motyer) and so in chapters 54 and 55 the effect of the Servant is spelled out for us.

Isaiah 54:1-3, Spread out your tent!

“Sing, barren woman,

    you who never bore a child;

burst into song, shout for joy,

    you who were never in labor;

because more are the children of the desolate woman

    than of her who has a husband,”

says the LORD.

“Enlarge the place of your tent,

    stretch your tent curtains wide,

    do not hold back;

lengthen your cords,

    strengthen your stakes.

For you will spread out to the right and to the left;

    your descendants will dispossess nations

    and settle in their desolate cities.

Out of the Servant Messiah's sacrifice, the people of Israel will make their "tents" larger, taking over large regions and cities. Their descendants will spread out to all the nations. In the New Testament, Paul quotes this passage in Galatians 4:26-28.

Isaiah 54:4-5, No more reproach

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.

    Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.

You will forget the shame of your youth

    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

For your Maker is your husband—

    the LORD Almighty is his name—

the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;

    he is called the God of all the earth.

Israel will no longer be a widow, but a happy wife, married to YHWH, God Almighty.

Isaiah 54:6-8, Abandoned, now renewed

The LORD will call you back

    as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—

a wife who married young,

    only to be rejected,” says your God.

“For a brief moment I abandoned you,

    but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

In a surge of anger

    I hid my face from you for a moment,

but with everlasting kindness

    I will have compassion on you,”

    says the LORD your Redeemer.

Israel will be reunited with her "husband", who is portrayed here as rejecting her in a surge of anger. The Hebrew word racham is translated (in the next-to-last line) as "compassion." That word, says Motyer, is related to the womb and carries emotion. But "everlasting kindness", in the line above that, is our favorite hesed, a conscious loyal commitment.

The "brief moment" in verse 7 is the seventy years of the exile in Babylon. For those poor humans, that time was surely not "brief"!

Isaiah 54:9-10, Like the days of Noah

“To me this is like the days of Noah,

    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.

So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,

    never to rebuke you again.

Though the mountains be shaken

    and the hills be removed,

yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”

    says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Just as after the flood, when God promised that He would no longer punish all mankind this way, here too God will bring the people back together for one final resolution that will not be shaken.

Isaiah 54:11-12, A city of jewels

“Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,

    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,

    your foundations with lapis lazuli.

I will make your battlements of rubies,

    your gates of sparkling jewels,

    and all your walls of precious stones.

Jerusalem will be a beautiful city, a city of sparkling jewels. With this adornment, the marriage metaphor continues; Jerusalem is prepared as a bride for YHWH. (In the New Testament, see Revelation 21.)

In the second line, "stones of turquoise" is an attempt to translate bap·pūḵ ’ă·ḇā·na·yiḵ. "stones of colorful gems" or "stones in mascara" (Motyer.) Motyer suggests that stones in black pigment were used to make the stonework beautiful. The Hebrew word translated "lapis lazuli" is sappir, ofen translated "sapphires."

Isaiah 54:13-15, Established in righteousness

All your children will be taught by the LORD,

    and great will be their peace.

In righteousness you will be established:

Tyranny will be far from you;

    you will have nothing to fear.

Terror will be far removed;

    it will not come near you.

If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;

    whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

The new city will have God teaching the children. If the city is attacked, the attackers will be defeated.

Isaiah 54:16-17, No weapon forged

“See, it is I who created the blacksmith

    who fans the coals into flame

    and forges a weapon fit for its work.

And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;

no weapon forged against you will prevail,

    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.

This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,

    and this is their vindication from me,”

declares the LORD.

Although it is the blacksmith who forges weapons, it is God who makes the blacksmith! And so God can control all the weapons; no weapon created will defeat Israel if God is in charge of Israel!

The result of the sacrifice of the Servant will be a "heritage of servants" (plural.) For the rest of the book of Isaiah, say both Motyer and Grogan, the word "servant" will be plural. These many servants receive their "vindication", their righteousness (tsedaqah) from YHWH.

Some Random Thoughts

How physical this is! All of the future kingdom is earthly, not hiding somewhere up in the clouds.

Isaiah 53, The Suffering Messiah

The fourth Servant Song of Messiah began in the last chapter, describing the Servant as disfigured. Kidner, says Grogan, sees in this final song, five stanzas, each of three verses, beginning in Isaiah 52:12 and continuing to the end of this chapter.

Isaiah 53:1-3, No beauty or majesty in appearance

Who has believed our message

    and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

    and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

At the end of chapter 52, the Servant was disfigured and marred. As the Servant Song continues, we read that the physical appearance of this Servant is not particularly attractive. He is a man of suffering, rejected by humankind.

Isaiah 53:4-5, Yet he carries our pain

Surely he took up our pain

    and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

    stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

Despite His suffering, it is our pain that this Servant carries. He appears punished by God but He is being punished for our rebellion. As Grogan points out, the word "yet" (implied by the Hebrew) introduces a surprise, a counterpoint. Here the Messiah bears our sins yet we think he is bearing his.

In the New Testament, in Matthew 8:16-17, Jesus heals the sick and Matthew quotes verse 4, above.

Isaiah 53:6, Our iniquity on Him 

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

    each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.

This is the clearest statement that the Servant is a sacrificial lamb that carries away the sins of the people. (See Leviticus 16:15-16 for an example from the Exodus.)

Isaiah 53:7-9, Silent and cut off

He was oppressed and afflicted,

    yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

    so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

    Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

    for the transgression of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

    and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

This Servant is punished, yet silent. Finally he is killed and buried with the wicked -- and the rich? -- even though He was completely innocent. Motyer translates the line "with the rich in his death" as "with a rich man in his wondrous death." This is a strange line until it is fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus -- see Matthew 27:57-60.

Isaiah 53:10-11, Crushed, yet satisfied

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

    and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

    and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered,

    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

    and he will bear their iniquities.

The suffering and defeat of this Servant is the will of YHWH. After His punishment and death, this One is satisfied, for He "will justify many." This individual is both killed and "prolongs his days."

The word "yet", here in the first line, alludes to the fact that this person was righteous (verse 9) yet punished by YHWH.

Isaiah 53:12, Among the great

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

    and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

    and made intercession for the transgressors.

The Servant, numbered with the transgressors, makes intercession for them. For this reason He is given a "portion among the great" -- a rather understated phrase. In the New Testament, Paul may be remembering this passage when he writes (in Philippians 2:9-11) "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place...."

Some Random Thoughts

I had been a Christian for about a year when I came across this passage. How strangely, marvelously descriptive it is of the future Messiah!

Isaiah 52, The Good News Approaches

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 also appear (a century later) in Nahum 1:15 and, six centuries after that appear in the New Testament 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.

Isaiah 51, Awake!

Isaiah has prophesied about a coming Servant. Now he calls to Israel to awake and listen. Grogan argues that this chapter (and continuing into the next) gives "a sense of impending climax", as it prepares the final statements about the coming servant. Other passages that prepare a climax, says Grogan, are Genesis 44, building to the revelation of Joseph to his brothers, Exodus 19, building to the presentation of the Ten Commandments, and Job 37, as God approaches to confront Job and his companions.

Isaiah 51:1-2, Look to Abraham and Sarah

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness

    and who seek the LORD:

Look to the rock from which you were cut

    and to the quarry from which you were hewn;

look to Abraham, your father,

    and to Sarah, who gave you birth.

When I called him he was only one man,

    and I blessed him and made him many.

Those who trust in YHWH and seek Him are reminded to look back to their models, Abraham and Sarah. God blessed Abraham when he was just one man and from him brought thousands, indeed, millions of Israelites.

Isaiah 51:3, Deserts restored to Eden

The LORD will surely comfort Zion

    and will look with compassion on all her ruins;

he will make her deserts like Eden,

    her wastelands like the garden of the LORD.

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

    thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

In the coming renewal, the deserts will bloom, the people will return to Eden, with joy and song.

Isaiah 51:4-6, Speedily righteousness approaches

“Listen to me, my people;

    hear me, my nation:

Instruction will go out from me;

    my justice will become a light to the nations.

My righteousness draws near speedily,

    my salvation is on the way,

    and my arm will bring justice to the nations.

The islands will look to me

    and wait in hope for my arm.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

    look at the earth beneath;

the heavens will vanish like smoke,

    the earth will wear out like a garment

    and its inhabitants die like flies.

But my salvation will last forever,

    my righteousness will never fail.

Justice and righteousness approach with speed; salvation is on its way. The earth and heavens will be changed while God's salvation and righteousness endure. This statement echoes Psalm 102:25-27 and a version of it appears  in the New Testament, in Hebrews 1:10-12. As in previous passages, the invitation is to all nations, including the distant islands and coastlands.

Isaiah 51:7-8, Moths and righteousness

“Hear me, you who know what is right,

    you people who have taken my instruction to heart:

Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals

    or be terrified by their insults.

For the moth will eat them up like a garment;

    the worm will devour them like wool.

But my righteousness will last forever,

    my salvation through all generations.”

The people of Israel are reminded to focus on eternal things, on God's righteousness, as opposed to the reproach of mere mortals who decay, like all material things.

Isaiah 51:9-10, Awake!

Awake, awake, arm of the LORD,

    clothe yourself with strength!

Awake, as in days gone by,

    as in generations of old.

Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces,

    who pierced that monster through?

Was it not you who dried up the sea,

    the waters of the great deep,

who made a road in the depths of the sea

    so that the redeemed might cross over?

In response to the previous passage, God is called upon to "awake!" and stand up and take charge. Note the doubled, indeed tripled, emphasis of "Awake, awake... awake!"

Rahab is another name for Egypt (see Psalm 87:4 and Isaiah 30:7.) Note the echoes of the Exodus in the description of a road throught the sea. Rahab was also a Babylonian sea-monster (says Motyer.) Regardless, YHWH is far more powerful than the mighty Rahab.

Isaiah 51:11-13, Refugees return

Those the LORD has rescued will return.

    They will enter Zion with singing;

    everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

    and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

“I, even I, am he who comforts you.

    Who are you that you fear mere mortals,

    human beings who are but grass,

that you forget the LORD your Maker,

    who stretches out the heavens

    and who lays the foundations of the earth,

that you live in constant terror every day

    because of the wrath of the oppressor,

    who is bent on destruction?

For where is the wrath of the oppressor?

Motyer notes that the Hebrew of verses 12 and 13 alternates between masculine singular "you" (comforted) at the beginning of verse 12, feminine singular "you" (who fear) in the middle of verse 12 and back to masculine "you" (who forgets YHWH) at the beginning of verse 13. Motyer argues that different people are being addressed.

As in previous prophecies, all of this is linked to God's power in creation. It is He who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth.

Isaiah 51:14-15, Refugees return

The cowering prisoners will soon be set free;

they will not die in their dungeon,

    nor will they lack bread.

For I am the LORD your God,

    who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

    the LORD Almighty is his name.

Here the "cowering prisoners" are addressed -- they too will be rescued and set free to return to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 51:16, Refugees return

I have put my words in your mouth

    and covered you with the shadow of my hand—

I who set the heavens in place,

    who laid the foundations of the earth,

    and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

Here God is likely addressing the coming Servant (says Motyer, see 49:2 and 50:4 for similar language.)

Isaiah 51:17-20, Cup of Wrath

Awake, awake!

    Rise up, Jerusalem,

you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD

    the cup of his wrath,

you who have drained to its dregs

    the goblet that makes people stagger.

Among all the children she bore

    there was none to guide her;

among all the children she reared

    there was none to take her by the hand.

These double calamities have come upon you—

    who can comfort you?—

ruin and destruction, famine and sword—

    who can console you?

Your children have fainted;

    they lie at every street corner,

    like antelope caught in a net.

They are filled with the wrath of the LORD,

    with the rebuke of your God.

Now it is Jerusalem that is called to "Awake! Awake!" She has been judged; she has received God's wrath and "drained" that goblet. Jerusalem's children have been devastated. Their poverty and calamities are described in detail. All of this is because of Jerusalem's disobedience and God's rebuke.

In verse 19, there is a poetic ripple of Hebrew words, haš·šōḏ wə·haš·še·ḇer wə·hā·rā·‘āḇ wə·ha·ḥe·reḇ, "desolation and destruction and famine and sword."

Isaiah 51:21-23, The cup removed

Therefore hear this, you afflicted one,

    made drunk, but not with wine.

This is what your Sovereign LORD says,

    your God, who defends his people:

“See, I have taken out of your hand

    the cup that made you stagger;

from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,

    you will never drink again.

I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,

    who said to you,

    ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’

And you made your back like the ground,

    like a street to be walked on.”

The cup of wrath, described in verses 17-20, has now been removed. Jerusalem will triumph over her tormentors.

Some Random Thoughts

Here, as in various places in Scripture, people are called to "Awake!", to open their eyes. (See Isaiah 52:1, 60:1 and in the New Testament, Ephesians 5:14 and Romans 13:11.) Someone who is awake, with eyes wide open to see and understand, is "woke." Sadly, in our political rhetoric (in 2024 USA), "woke" is sometimes used as a snide or insulting put-down. There is no shame in being "woke", in being alert and aware of societal injustices.

Isaiah 50, A Path Lit by the Servant

The previous chapter foretold a return of Israel to the promised land. The unfaithful Israelites will be offered a servant to guide them.

Isaiah 50:1-3, Desertion

This is what the LORD says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce

    with which I sent her away?

Or to which of my creditors

    did I sell you?

Because of your sins you were sold;

    because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.

When I came, why was there no one?

    When I called, why was there no one to answer?

Was my arm too short to deliver you?

    Do I lack the strength to rescue you?

By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea,

    I turn rivers into a desert;

their fish rot for lack of water

    and die of thirst.

I clothe the heavens with darkness

    and make sackcloth its covering.”

The metaphor of an unfaithful wife, fleshed out fully in Hosea, is used to describe Israel's turning away from God. This divorce is solely the actions of Israel; God, the faithful husband, is open for reconciliation. But unlike a mortal husband, God claims full power to restore and rescue. Similar statements about being Israel's husbad are made in Jeremiah 31:31-32.

We see echoes of Exodus here, with dried up seas, rotting fish, skies of darkness.

Isaiah 50:4-6, Awakened every morning

The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue,

    to know the word that sustains the weary.

He wakens me morning by morning,

    wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.

The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears;

    I have not been rebellious,

    I have not turned away.

I offered my back to those who beat me,

    my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;

I did not hide my face

    from mocking and spitting.

Now the servant speaks. God's is described in the third person here, unlike the first three verses.
God servant is awakened every morning by God's voice and is faithful, even suffering for God's message. Is this servant Israel or Isaiah or a future Messiah? Context would indicate that Israel is the nation that needs to be saved and is incapable of responding as the servant does in this passage. Throughout these chapters, the servant seems to be a future annointed one, Messiah, and not Isaiah. The Christian sees Messiah Jesus here, including the suffering he faced before Pilate (see Matthew 26:67-68, 27:27-31.)

This begins the third four "Servant Songs", running to the end of the chapter. The other Servant Songs are in Isaiah 42:1-4,  Isaiah 49:1–6 and Isaiah 52:13–53:12.

Isaiah 50:7-9, Face like flint

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,

    I will not be disgraced.

Therefore have I set my face like flint,

    and I know I will not be put to shame.

He who vindicates me is near.

    Who then will bring charges against me?

    Let us face each other!

Who is my accuser?

    Let him confront me!

It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me.

    Who will condemn me?

They will all wear out like a garment;

    the moths will eat them up.

The servant will endure hardship but not be put to shame. He relies on YHWH to defend him. All his enemies will be put to shame, they "wear out like a garment."

Isaiah 50:10-11, Light of fires

Who among you fears the LORD

    and obeys the word of his servant?

Let the one who walks in the dark,

    who has no light,

trust in the name of the LORD

    and rely on their God.

But now, all you who light fires

    and provide yourselves with flaming torches,

go, walk in the light of your fires

    and of the torches you have set ablaze.

This is what you shall receive from my hand:

    You will lie down in torment.

The choice is to obey the servant and follow his light, or set their own fires and walk away into torment. These chapters will continue to remind Israel to return to God and to look forward to a coming servant, even a suffering servant.

Some Random Thoughts

Having worked through the book of Job, I am aware that many of God's plans are longterm -- they do not, in the short term, necessarily relieve suffering. Here Isaiah is looking down a long road, running for centuries, towards a dramatic Day in which a savior arises and restores the world. The time to the Messiah will be some centuries; the time to that final Day must be at least millennia.