The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary

14The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise;Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,And You have wiped out all remembrance of them.15You have increased the nation, O LORD,You have increased the nation, You are glorified;You have extended all the borders of the land.16O LORD, they sought You in distress;They could only whisper a prayer,Your chastening was upon them.17As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,She writhes and cries out in her labor pains,Thus were we before You, O LORD.18We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,Nor were inhabitants of the world born.19Your dead will live;Their corpses will rise.You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,For your dew is as the dew of the dawn,And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.26:11 “Your hand is lifted up” This is an idiom for YHWH’s actions, both past and present. They areclear, but the enemies of His people do not see and understand Him (cf. v. 10; 5:12,25: 8:11; 9:12;10:4,10; 11:15; 13:2; 14:26-27; 23:11; 25:10; 28:2, etc.).} “fire will devour Your enemies” This could be an IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense (i.e., “let firedevour Your enemies”).26:12 This is a strong affirmation of the sovereignty of YHWH. He acts on Israel’s behalf (cf. Ezek.36:22-38) for His greater redemptive purposes!26:13 “other masters” It is possible that this refers to the false gods of 2:8; 27:9, but it could be anallusion to the national enemies (Syria, Assyria, Babylon) who Israel faced.} “other masters than You have ruled us” This VERB (BDB 127, KB 142, Qal PERFECT) can mean1. possess as a wife or concubine, Gen. 20:3; Exod. 21:3,22; Deut. 22:22; 24:12. rule over, 26:13; I Chr. 4:22This verse may refer to idolatry, particularly fertility worship. YHWH is their only true “master,”“husband” (cf. Hos. 2:14-20).}NASBNKJVNRSV“we confess Your name”“we make mention of Your name”“we acknowledge your name”260