Philippians 4:4 Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let your joy overflow! 5 And let gentleness be seen in every relationship, for our Lord is ever near.
Daughters of Zion:
Zion Rejoicing
Isaiah 52 Wake up! Open your eyes!
Beautiful Zion, put on your majestic strength! Jerusalem, the sacred city, put on your glory garments! Never again will the unclean[a] enter your gates! 2 Arise and shake[b] off your dust![c] Sit enthroned, Jerusalem! Break off your shackles of bondage from your neck, you captive daughter of Zion! 3 For this is what Yahweh has to say: “You were sold for nothing; now you will be redeemed without any payment.” 4 For Yahweh says: “Long ago, my people went down to Egypt and lived as foreigners there, and for no good reason Assyria oppressed them. 5 And now, what have I here?” says Yahweh. “Indeed, my people have been taken into bondage without cause while mocking rulers howl; and every day my name is continually despised!”[d] says Yahweh. 6 “Therefore, my people will know the power of my name, and they will know in that day that I am the one who promised them, saying, ‘Behold, I am here!’“[e] 7 What a beautiful sight to behold— the precious feet of the messenger coming over the mountains to announce good news! He comes to refresh us with wonderful news,[f] announcing salvation[g] to Zion and saying, “Your Mighty God reigns!” 8 Listen! The watchmen are shouting in triumph! Lifting their voices together, they are singing for joy! For right before their eyes, they can see[h] Yahweh returning to Zion! 9 Burst into joyous songs, you rubble of Jerusalem! For Yahweh has graciously comforted his people; he has become the Kinsman-Redeemer of Jerusalem! 10 Yahweh has unveiled his holy arm[i] before the eyes of all the nations. To the ends of the earth, everyone everywhere will see the salvation of our God! 11 Go! Go, and leave Babylon behind! Touch nothing unclean as you depart. Keep your life pure as you leave, you who carry the vessels[j] of Yahweh! 12 You will neither have to leave in haste, nor will you make a frantic escape, for your God, Yahweh, will go before you. He will lead you each step and be your rear guard.
The Despised Servant
13 “Look! My servant[k] will prosper and succeed![l] He will be highly honored, raised up, and greatly exalted![m] 14 Just as many were appalled at the sight of him (for so marred was his appearance, like an object of horror; he no longer looked like a man), 15 so now he will startle[n] many nations. Kings[o] will be shocked speechless before him. For they will now see a sight unheard of, and things never considered before now fill their thoughts.”[p]
Footnotes
Isaiah 52:1 Or “uncircumcised.” For the believer today, unclean and detestable thoughts should not enter our souls nor be in our minds (gates).
Isaiah 52:2 The Hebrew word (na’ar) means “shaking out (of a lion’s mane)” or “shaking up and down” and is a homophone for “to growl (like a lion’s roar)” (Jer. 51:38).
Isaiah 52:2 This dust can also include our “dust nature” received from Adam (1 Cor. 15:47-49). We need to crucify it and be clothed with Christ. Part of Satan’s curse is that he was to eat dust (Gen. 3:14). Whatever we withhold from God becomes food for the serpent. We shake off (overcome) the “dust” of our old life and rise up in our new life, enthroned with Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:16; Rom. 8:30; Rev. 3:21).
Isaiah 52:5 See Rom. 2:4.
Isaiah 52:6 Or “Behold, it’s me!”
Isaiah 52:7 It is a messenger (singular) here, but it becomes a company of messengers in Rom. 10:15. We are told to proclaim the wonderful news—not the bad news that brings despair and fear but the good news of our God, who reigns in the midst of his people.
Isaiah 52:7 This Hebrew word is remarkably similar to Yeshua, the name of Jesus.
Isaiah 52:8 Or “They see face-to-face.”
Isaiah 52:10 This is a metaphor for displaying his righteous power. There is a sense in which Jesus Christ can be seen as God’s holy arm, which God has unveiled to the nations. The miracles of Jesus, his sacrificial death on the cross, and his mighty resurrection were God flexing his muscles, his holy arm. See John 12:37-38; Rom. 10:16.
Isaiah 52:11 Or “armor-bearers.” These vessels can also be translated “armor” or “(temple) vessels.”
Isaiah 52:13 This section of Isaiah is perhaps the greatest description of the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, apart from the four Gospels. Up to this point in Isaiah’s writings, the “Servant” has been described as the true Prophet, Teacher, and victorious Redeemer, with no hint whatsoever that his activity would be interrupted by death. But in this section we find him as the unparalleled Suffering Servant and Sin-Bearer who died for us. The prophecy found here is the most remarkable in all of the Old Testament of the sufferings of Jesus Christ and the glory that followed (1 Peter 1:11). Isa. 52:13 through Isa. 53 is quoted in all four Gospels, Acts, Romans, and 1 Peter. It is the epicenter of the gospel.
Isaiah 52:13 Or “act wisely,” or “prosper” a likely metonymy for “succeed.”
Isaiah 52:13 This is an obvious reference to God’s Servant-Savior, Jesus, who was raised from the dead and highly exalted at the right hand of God. See Phil. 2:5-11.
Isaiah 52:15 Or “sprinkle many nations” or “Many nations will marvel at him” (LXX). The words startle and sprinkle share a homonymic root. The idea is that Jesus would sprinkle to cleanse many with his redeeming blood and also that he would startle the nations with his resurrection power and endless life.
Isaiah 52:15 These kings could refer to both human and demonic.
Isaiah 52:15 See Rom. 15:21. Vv. 13–15 present Christ as an exalted King, a High Priest who cleanses, and a Prophet who reveals the secrets of God to men.