Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 62:8

"Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy grain to be food for thine enemies; and foreigners shall not drink thy new wine, for which thou hast labored:" — Isaiah 62:8 (ASV)

For he said — Yahweh had said. That is, he said this when he chose them as his unique people and entered into solemn covenant with them.

Surely they are my people — The reference here is to the fact that he entered into covenant with them to be their God.

Children that will not lie — That will not prove false to me — indicating the reasonable expectation which Yahweh might have, when he chose them, that they would be faithful to him.

So he was their Saviour — Lowth renders this, ‘And he became their Saviour in all their distress;’ connecting this with the first member of the following verse, and translating that, ‘it was not an envoy, nor an angel of his presence that saved them.’ So the Septuagint renders it, ‘And he was to them for salvation (εἰς σωτηρίαν eis sōtērian) from all their affliction.’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘And his word was redemption (פריק pâriyq) to them.’ But the true idea probably is, that he chose them, and in virtue of his thus choosing them he became their deliverer.

The Lord has sworn by his right hand—An oath was taken in various forms among the ancients. It was usually done by lifting up the hand toward heaven and appealing to God. As God could swear by no greater (Hebrews 6:13), he is represented as swearing by himself (see the notes at Isaiah 45:23). Here he is represented as swearing by his right hand and by his arm—the strong instrument by which he would accomplish his purposes to defend and save his people. The sense is that he solemnly pledged the strength of his arm to deliver them and restore them to their own land.

Surely I will no more give—Margin, as in Hebrew, ‘If I give.’ That is, I will not give.

Your corn to be meat—The word ‘corn’ in the Scriptures means all kinds of grain—especially wheat, barley, etc. The word ‘meat’ was formerly used to denote all kinds of food and was not restricted as it is now usually to animal food. The meaning is that they should not be subjected to the evils of foreign invasion and conquest.

And the sons of the stranger—Foreigners (Isaiah 60:10).

Shall not drink your wine—The productions of your toil shall be safe, and you shall enjoy them yourselves. All this denotes a state of safety and prosperity, such as there would be if they were allowed to cultivate the soil without interruption and were permitted to enjoy the fruit of their labors.