Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 49:9

"saying to them that are bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and on all bare heights shall be their pasture." — Isaiah 49:9 (ASV)

That you may say to the prisoners, Go forth - This language also occurs in Isaiah 42:7. For an explanation of it, see the notes on that passage.

To them who are in darkness - Synonymous with being prisoners, as prisoners are usually confined in dark cells.

Show yourselves - Hebrew, ‘Reveal,’ or manifest yourselves; that is, as those who come out of a dark cell come into light, so you, who have been confined in the darkness of sin, come forth into the light of the Sun of righteousness, and be manifest as the redeemed.

They shall feed in the ways - In the remainder of this verse, and in the following verses, the Messiah is represented under the image of a shepherd, who leads out his flock to green fields, and who takes care that they are guarded from the heat of the sun, and will not hunger nor thirst.

The phrase they shall feed in the ways probably means that on the path they were traveling they would find abundant food. They would not be compelled to turn aside for pasturage or to go and seek for it in distant places. It is equivalent to the language that so often occurs: that God would provide for the needs of his people, even when passing through a desert, and that he would open before them unexpected sources of supply.

And their pastures will be in all high places - This means that on the hills and mountains that are naturally barren and unproductive, they would find an abundance of food.

To see the force of this, we must remember that in many parts of the East the hills and mountains are utterly destitute of vegetation. This is the case with the mountainous regions of Horeb and Sinai, even with the mountains around Jerusalem, and with the hills and mountains in Arabia Deserta.

The idea here is that on the commonly traveled ways or paths, where all verdure would be consumed or trodden down by caravans, and on the hills that were usually barren and desolate, they would find abundance. God would supply them as if he would make the green grass spring up in the hard-trodden path, and on the barren and rocky hills vegetation would start up suddenly in abundance, and all their needs would be supplied.

This is an image we have frequently encountered in Isaiah. Perhaps the meaning is that the Redeemer would open unexpected sources of comfort and joy for his people. In places and times where they would scarcely expect a supply for their spiritual needs, he would suddenly meet and satisfy them. This would be as if green grass for flocks and herds would suddenly spring up in the down-trodden path, or as if luxuriant vegetation would burst forth on the sides and tops of barren, rocky, and desolate hills.

Harmer, however, supposes that this whole description refers rather to the custom that prevailed in the East of making feasts or entertainments beside fountains or rivers. ‘To fountains or rivers,’ Dr. Chandler tells us in his Travels, ‘the Turks and the Greeks frequently repair for refreshment; especially the latter, in their festivals, when whole families are seen sitting on the grass, and enjoying their early or evening repast, beneath the trees, by the side of a rill’ (Travels in Asia Minor, p. 21). Compare 1 Kings 1:9. Thus, Harmer supposes that the prophet's purpose is to contrast the state of the Jews when they were imprisoned in Babylon—secluded from fresh air, and even light itself, or in unwholesome dungeons—with their state when walking at liberty, enjoying the verdure and the enlivening air of the country, and passing from the tears, groans, and apprehensions of such a dismal confinement to the music, songs, and exquisite meals of Eastern pleasure parties (see Harmer’s Observations, vol. ii, pp. 18-25, Ed. Lond. 1808).

The interpretation suggested above, however, seems to me the most natural and beautiful.