Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
That is, garments of beauty and holiness (see
Ex. 28:2). Zion had long been in a state of ignominy and obscurity. Now she was to awake and to resume her position of honor and glory (see pp. 28-32).
Isaiah 52:2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
See on
ch. 3:26; cf.
ch. 47:1. Zion was to exchange the dust heap for the throne, a life of exile for one of royal splendor.
Isaiah 52:3 For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
The Jews had
“sold” themselves into the service of evil, and as a result had suffered at the hands of their heathen neighbors, the Assyrians, in Isaiah’s day, and were yet to be captives of Babylon. The bargain was shortsighted indeed, for thereby they exchanged virtue, honor, liberty, and peace for transgression, dishonor, bondage, and bloodshed. See
Rom. 6:16.
In the redemption of Israel from oppression at the hands of the nations round about, Isaiah sees a promise of eventual deliverance from the dominion of sin. As Cyrus was to deliver God’s people from Babylon (
chs. 44:28 to 45:13), so Christ would deliver them from the bondage of sin (
Rom. 3:24; 1 Peter 1:18, 19). God was not obliged to pay a ransom for His people, either to the prince of evil or to the nations that held them in captivity.
Isaiah 52:4 For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
The Hebrews had settled in Egypt at the invitation of Pharaoh. The hardships the Egyptians inflicted upon them were unprovoked.
This probably refers to such Assyrian kings as Tiglath-pileser III and Sennacherib. The Assyrians had no valid reason for treating the Hebrews as they did.
Cruelty and greed prompted their course. At times, however, Bible writers use the terms
“Assyria” and
“Assyrian” in a broad sense to include the Babylonians (see on
Ezra 6:22).
Isaiah 52:5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
Able to oppress the Hebrew people, the heathen thought their own gods must be stronger than Jehovah. This led them to despise and reproach Him as the true God.
Isaiah 52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
To know the name of God is to understand His will and to trust in Him (
Ps. 9:10; 91:14).
Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
There is no more joyous message than that of deliverance and peace. To the Jews under an alien yoke nothing could bring greater rejoicing than assurance that the hour of deliverance was at hand. Paul applies these words of Isaiah to the proclamation of the gospel message (
Rom. 10:15). The deliverance here foretold was, first, that of literal Israel from the nations that oppressed them (see on
Isa. 40:1; 44:28 to 45:13), and then the greater deliverance from sin and all evil through the suffering Servant (see on
chs. 41:8; 42:1) of
ch. 53, that is, the Messiah. It should be noted that
ch. 52:7-15 constitutes an introduction to
ch. 53.
God is still in control of the affairs of earth (see on
Dan. 4:17) in spite of appearances to the contrary. His power to deliver His people, and later the triumph of the gospel prove that He, and not Satan, reigns (see
Rev. 11:15).
Isaiah 52:8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
The spiritual watchmen on the walls of Zion rejoice together at the approach of the messenger bearing tidings of deliverance.
That is,
“face to face,” as the same Hebrew expression is rendered in
Num. 14:14. Compare
Num. 12:8,
“mouth to mouth” (see also
1 Cor. 13:12). From their watchtowers the sentinels see the Lord near at hand as He returns to reign (
Isa. 52:7).
Or, “return to Zion.” The LXX and Dead Sea scroll 1QIs add, “with mercy.”
Isaiah 52:9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
Isaiah 52:10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
The power of God has been made manifest, bringing His people victory over their enemies (see
Ps. 98:1, 2; cf.
Eze. 4:7).
Isaiah 52:11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.
That is, from Babylon (see on
ch. 48:20). Isaiah again looks forward to the time of restoration from Babylon. Compare the summons to
“come out” of mystical Babylon. (
Rev. 18:1-4).
It was because of iniquity that Israel had been harassed by the Assyrians, and would later go into captivity. The returning exiles were to be a pure people. Without reformation of heart and life the physical restoration of Israel to their homeland would be of little permanent value. Those who come out of mystical Babylon must also be clean (
Rev. 18:4; 21:27; cf.
1 John 3:3).
The leaders of Israel were to be entrusted with the transfer of the sacred vessels of the Temple from Babylon to Jerusalem (
Ezra 1:7, 8; 5:14, 15; 6:5). The priests and the Levites normally had charge of all things pertaining to the Temple (
Num. 3:8, 38). They in particular were to keep themselves free from all manner of pollution (
Lev. 20:26; 21:1; 22:2, 32). Leaders in the church today have a most solemn responsibility before God to set an example in godly living.
Isaiah 52:12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward.
The Lord prepared Cyrus’ heart to issue the decree of restoration (
chs. 44:28; 45:1-4, 13; PK 557). To
v. 12 Dead Sea scroll 1QIs adds,
“God of all the earth He shall be called.”
That is,
“rear guard” (see on
ch. 58:8).
Isaiah 52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
These are the introductory words of a new section that continues through
ch. 53:12. The chapter division should come between
vs. 12 and 13 rather than after
v. 15, for
ch. 53:1 continues the line of thought without interruption. In this new section Messiah appears as the suffering Servant (see on
chs. 41:8; 42:1). Nowhere in Scripture is there a more vivid presentation of the vicarious nature and atoning character of Christ’s death. It was God’s will that the work of restoration that began with the return from the Captivity should proceed apace and reach a certain climax in the coming of Messiah, who, through His sacrifice on Calvary, would provide deliverance from captivity to sin. Deliverance from Babylon made possible by Cyrus, who defeated Babylon (see on
chs. 44:28; 45:1), prefigured the greater deliverance from the dominion of sin made possible by Christ’s victory over the powers of darkness and death (see
Col. 2:14, 15; Rev. 1:18).
As time went by, the Jews placed increasing emphasis on those prophecies that pointed to the triumph of Israel over the heathen (see pp. 32, 33), until the idea of material and literal salvation for Israel as a nation practically eclipsed the concept here set forth by Isaiah of the Messiah as One who must first deliver them individually from the power and penalty of sin (see DA 30; see on
Luke 4:19). What Israel needed was not so much a great military savior to bring them victory over enemies without, as a Messiah to give them victory over sin.
Or,
“prosper,” as the same Hebrew word is rendered in
Jer. 23:5.
Messiah, the suffering Servant, would be successful in His mission (see
Phil. 2:10, 11).
Messiah would humble Himself, but God would highly exalt Him (
Phil. 2:6-10; see on
Luke 14:11). The great men of earth would marvel that a man so insignificant by human standards could have so tremendous an influence on men’s thinking, on their lives, and on the course of history (see
Isa. 52:14, 15). Today many millions consider it an honor to be known as Christians.
The Assyrian Empire in Isaiah’s Time
Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
Men stand in amazement that one so highly honored as the Son of God should have voluntarily humbled himself as Christ did in His mission to earth. Jesus veiled His divinity in humanity (see on
Luke 2:48) in order that men might be attracted to Him, not because of outward glory, but because of the beauty of His character. The Jews were perplexed that one who assumed no high honors, but lived the humble life that Jesus lived, could be the Messiah of prophecy. They saw in Him
“no beauty,” no outward glory that led them to
“desire him” (see on
Isa. 53:2).
The Targums and the Syriac read “at him.”
Upon returning from His conflict with Satan in the wilderness of temptation, and during the greater conflict with the powers of darkness in Gethsemane (DA 137, 689), Jesus was so altered in appearance that even His friends scarcely knew Him.
Isaiah 52:15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the 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 consider.
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. The LXX reads,
“many nations will marvel.” A slight alteration in the Hebrew text yields the reading,
“cause many nations to gaze,” which resembles the LXX. The world would be amazed that the humble suffering Servant, Messiah, should be
“exalted and extolled, and be very high” (
v. 13).
The great men of earth would stand speechless before Him, in awe and reverence (see
Job 29:9; 40:4).