Isaiah 52 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Isaiah 52

The Lord’s Coming Salvation

52:1   Awake, awake,
    put on your strength, O Zion;
  put on your beautiful garments,
    O Jerusalem, the holy city;
  for there shall no more come into you
    the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2   Shake yourself from the dust and arise;
    be seated, O Jerusalem;
  loose the bonds from your neck,
    O captive daughter of Zion.

3 For thus says the LORD: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord GOD: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.¹ 5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the LORD, “and continually all the day my name is despised. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.”

7   How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of him who brings good news,
  who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
    who publishes salvation,
    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
8   The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;
    together they sing for joy;
  for eye to eye they see
    the return of the LORD to Zion.
9   Break forth together into singing,
    you waste places of Jerusalem,
  for the LORD has comforted his people;
    he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10   The LORD has bared his holy arm
    before the eyes of all the nations,
  and all the ends of the earth shall see
    the salvation of our God.
11   Depart, depart, go out from there;
    touch no unclean thing;
  go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,
    you who bear the vessels of the LORD.
12   For you shall not go out in haste,
    and you shall not go in flight,
  for the LORD will go before you,
    and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions

13   Behold, my servant shall act wisely;²
    he shall be high and lifted up,
    and shall be exalted.
14   As many were astonished at you—
    his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15   so shall he sprinkle³ many nations.
    Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
  for that which has not been told them they see,
    and that which they have not heard they understand.

Footnotes

[1] 52:4 Or the Assyrian has oppressed them of late
[2] 52:13 Or shall prosper
[3] 52:15 Or startle

Commentary

v1-2: The promises of future restoration contrast with their past suffering. Zion and Jerusalem are described as those delivered from bondage, the shackles of captivity having been thrown off. The influence, even domination, of the ungodly will be ended.

God has given 'beautiful garments,' of righteousness and holiness. These are the wonderful inheritance of the people of God.

v3: They sold themselves into bondage with their idolatry, Ezek 16.31-34, but God's promise is more wonderful, granting redemption without price, as in ch 55. The OT law had demanded a redemption price; but here God is paying the price for them.

v4: Past suffering at the hands of Egypt and Assyria; captivity and oppression, so frequent in Israel's history.

v5: These nations, by mistreating Israel, blasphemed the Name of God.

v6: God's work, to proclaim His glory, and to bless His people. He declared to them beforehand the freedom they would enjoy.

v7-10: The message of God's salvation prophesied and proclaimed; revealing God's power and grace.

v7: The messenger's feet, separate from sin, Gen 39.13. He is a servant (Eph 6.15) and a witness (Rom 10.15). The message is to Zion and ultimately to all the world, and itis Good News.

v8: The message of security and restoration.

v9: Waste places become joyful places, 44.3, like water falling onto dry ground. This time of spiritual restoration and abundance is necessarily preceded by a time of barrenness.

v10: This is God at work; we are meant to declare, "this is the finger of God" (see Ex 8.19). These blessings upon Israel will be declared throughout the whole world. No longer will the knowledge of God be restricted to a small country in the Middle East, but every nation and tribe will hear.

v11-12: Depart, and be separate from sin; this is important for those who are redeemed. God's presence is to protect, and to be present, but we still have the responsibility to distance ourselves from wrong.

These verses also predict the return from Babylon, carrying the vessels of the temple. The journey will be under the protection of God; Ezra 1.7-11; 8.21-23, 31.

v13-15: The character of the Saviour, Luke 24.27, 44; John 5.39. The salvation of God is delivered through His Son, His Servant. The paradox here is that He is presented as one suffering.

v13: He shall deal wisely, treating individuals as real people, identifying their real needs and burdens; this is constantly true as we read the gospels.

He is exalted, Acts 2.36; Phil 2.9-11, and set apart, Heb 7.26.

v14: The human reaction to Christ; hatred, cruelty, pursued even to death.

v15: Yet here is victory and cleansing (or sprinkling); kings are humbled and silenced, for Christ's authority will be seen as greater. He reveals things otherwise unknown.