Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 52
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Isaiah 52
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Isaiah 52
"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." — Isaiah 52:1 (ASV)
Awake, awake ... —The repetition of the burden of Isaiah 51:9, 17, indicates, by a subtle touch of art, the continuity of thought. The call is addressed as before to Zion, as a castaway. It summons her to the highest glory. She is to put on the garments of beauty, which belong to her as the priestly queen of cities. (Compare Exodus 28:2.) The alien and the impure shall no longer ride victorious through her streets, as in Isaiah 51:23. (Compare Ezekiel 44:9, and the picture of the heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation 21:2.)
"Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit [on thy throne], O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bonds of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion." — Isaiah 52:2 (ASV)
Sit down ... —As Jerusalem has risen from the dust, the “sitting” here implies a throne, and so stands in contrast with that of Babylon in Isaiah 47:1.
"For thus saith Jehovah, Ye were sold for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money." — Isaiah 52:3 (ASV)
You have sold yourselves ... —Literally, you were sold. The people had complained that Jehovah had “sold them” into the hands of their enemies (Psalms 44:12). “Not so,” is the answer. “There was no real sale, only a temporary transfer, and therefore Jehovah can redeem you at His own pleasure. A comparison with Isaiah 43:3 shows how spiritual truths may present aspects that require the most opposite illustrations.
"For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there: and the Assyrian hath oppressed them without cause." — Isaiah 52:4 (ASV)
My people went down ... — Stress is laid on the unprovoked character of the oppression in the case both of Egypt and the Assyrian invaders Sargon and Sennacherib. It is possible that Assyria may be used in its wider sense as including Babylon. If so, the fact tends to the conclusion that the book was written at a time when the kings of Assyria included Babylon in their titles. Probably, however, the prophet refers to the deliverance from the army of Sennacherib as a pledge of the deliverance from Babylon.
"Now therefore, what do I here, saith Jehovah, seeing that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them do howl, saith Jehovah, and my name continually all the day is blasphemed." — Isaiah 52:5 (ASV)
What have I here ... ?— that is, What have I to do? As in Genesis 11:4, Jehovah is represented as deliberating in the manner of men. Again the people have been gratuitously, wantonly attacked; and their groans mingle with the taunting blasphemies of their conquerors. Has the time not come for Him to vindicate His outraged Majesty?
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