Isaiah 46-48 - even to [your] graying years

Babylon’s Idols and the True God

Isa 46:3-4 LSB - [3] "Hear Me, O house of Jacob, 

And all the remnant of the house of Israel, 

You who have been burdening Me from birth 

And have been carried from the womb; 

[4] Even to [your] old age I will be the same, 

And even to [your] graying years 

I will bear [you]! I have done [it], and I will carry [you]; 

And I will bear [you], and I will rescue [you].

Isa 46:9-10 LSB - [9] "Remember the former things long past, 

For I am God, and there is no other; 

[I am] God, and there is no one like Me, 

[10] Declaring the end from the beginning, 

And from ancient times things which have not been done, 

Saying, 'My counsel will be established, 

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure',

Lament for Babylon

Israel Refined for God’s Glory

Isa 48:10-11 LSB - [10] "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; 

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 

[11] "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; 

For how can [My name] be profaned? 

And My glory I will not give to another.

Yahweh Redeems Jacob

Isa 48:12 LSB - [12] "Hear Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.

Rev 1:17-18 LSB - [17] And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not fear; I am THE FIRST AND THE LAST, [18] and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Rev 1:8 LSB - [8] "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." 

Isa 48:14 LSB - [14] "Assemble, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? Yahweh loves him; he will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon, And His arm [will be against] the Chaldeans.

Isa 48:14 NLT - [14] Have any of your idols ever told you this? Come, all of you, and listen: The LORD has chosen Cyrus as his ally. He will use him to put an end to the empire of Babylon and to destroy the Babylonian armies.

 

Isaiah 43-45 - Return to Me, for I have redeemed you

The Redemption of Israel

Isa 43:1 LSB -
[1] But now, thus says Yahweh, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!

Isa 43:3-4 LSB -
[3] "For I am Yahweh your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
[4] "Since you are precious in My sight,
[Since] you are honored and I love you,
I will give [other] men in your place and [other] peoples in exchange for your life.

Isa 43:6-7 LSB -
[6] "I will say to the north, 'Give [them] up!'
And to the south, 'Do not hold [them] back.'
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
[7] Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."

Israel Is Yahweh’s Witness

Isa 43:10 LSB -
[10] "You are My witnesses," declares Yahweh,
"And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no god formed,
And there will be none after Me.

Rivers in the Wasteland

Isa 43:25 LSB -
[25] "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins.

Isa 43:27-28 LSB -
[27] "Your first father sinned,
And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me.
[28] "So I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
And I will give Jacob to be devoted to destruction and Israel to revilement.

 

No God Besides Yahweh

Isa 44:3 LSB - [3] 'For I will pour out water on the thirsty [ground] And streams on the dry land; I will pour out My Spirit on your seed And My blessing on your offspring;

Isa 44:6 LSB - [6] "Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: 'I am the first, and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.

The Futility of Idolatry

Yahweh Forgives and Redeems

Isa 44:21-22 LSB - 

[21] "Remember these things, O Jacob, 

And Israel, for you are My servant; 

I have formed you, you are My servant; 

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. 

[22] "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud 

And your sins like a cloud. 

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."

Col 1:13-14 ESV - [13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Eph 1:7 LSB - [7] In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace

Gal 3:29 LSB - [29] And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.

 

Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed

Isa 44:28 LSB - [28] "[It is I] who says of Cyrus, '[He is] My shepherd! And all My good pleasure he will complete.' And saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be built,' And of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.'"

Yahweh the Maker

Isa 45:12 LSB - [12] "It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. 

I stretched out the heavens with My hands, 

And I commanded all their host.

 

Isaiah 40-42 -Do Not Fear, for I Am with You

The Glory of Yahweh Will Be Revealed

Isa 40:1-2 LSB - 

[1] "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. 

[2] "Speak to the heart of Jerusalem; 

And call out to her, that her warfare has been fulfilled, 

That her iniquity has been removed, 

That she has received from the hand of Yahweh 

Double for all her sins."

Handel’s Messiah – Comfort Ye

Isa 40:3-5 LSB - 

[3] A voice is calling, 

"Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness; 

Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. 

[4] "Let every valley be lifted up, 

And every mountain and hill be made low; 

And let the rough ground become a plain, 

And the rugged terrain a broad valley; 

[5] Then the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, 

And all flesh will see [it] together; 

For the mouth of Yahweh has spoken."

Isa 40:30-31 LSB - 

[30] Though youths grow weary and tired, 

And choice young men stumble badly, 

[31] Yet those who hope in Yahweh 

Will gain new power; 

They will mount up [with] wings like eagles; 

They will run and not get tired; 

They will walk and not become weary.

Do Not Fear, for I Am with You

Isa 41:8 LSB - [8] "But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Seed of Abraham My friend,

Gal 3:29 LSB - [29] And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise.

Gal 3:7 LSB - [7] so know that those who are of faith, those are sons of Abraham.

1Pe 2:9 LSB - [9] But you are A CHOSEN FAMILY, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God's] OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Isa 41:10 LSB - [10] 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will make you mighty, surely I will help you; Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

Yahweh’s Chosen Servant

Isa 42:1-4 LSB - 

[1] "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; 

My chosen one [in whom] My soul is well-pleased. 

I have put My Spirit upon Him; 

He will bring forth justice to the nations. 

[2] "He will not cry out or raise [His voice], 

Nor make His voice heard in the street. 

[3] "A crushed reed He will not break 

And a faintly burning wick 

He will not extinguish; 

He will bring forth justice in truth. 

[4] "He will not be faint or crushed 

Until He has established justice in the earth; 

And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."

Isa 42:6-7 LSB - [6] "I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness; 

I will also take hold of You by the hand and guard You, 

And I will give You as a covenant to the people, 

As a light to the nations, 

[7] To open blind eyes, 

To bring out prisoners from the dungeon 

And those who inhabit darkness from the prison.

Israel’s Blindness and Deafness

Isa 42:16 LSB - [16] "I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not forsake them."

Isaiah 37-39 - Because you have prayed to Me

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Help

Hezekiah’s Prayer in the Temple

Yahweh’s Answer Through Isaiah

Isa 37:21 LSB - [21] Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent [word] to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Because you have prayed to Me about Sennacherib king of Assyria,

Isa 37:31-32 LSB - [31] "And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. [32] "For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant and out of Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this."'

The Defeat and Death of Sennacherib

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

Isa 38:2-5 LSB - [2] Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh [3] and said, "Remember now, O Yahweh, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept greatly. [4] Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying, [5] "Go and say to Hezekiah, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.

Isa 38:8 LSB - [8] "Behold, I will cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps." So the sun's [shadow] went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.

Hezekiah Shows His Treasures to Babylon

Isa 39:8 LSB - [8] Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of Yahweh which you have spoken is good." For he said, "For there will be peace and truth in my days."

Isaiah 34-36 - None will lack its mate

Yahweh’s Wrath Against the Nations

Isa 34:16 LSB - 

[16] Seek from the book of Yahweh, and read: 

Not one of these will be missing; 

None will lack its mate. 

For His mouth has commanded, 

And His Spirit has gathered them.

Matthew Henry

V. Here is an assurance given of the full accomplishment of this prediction, even to the most minute circumstance of it (v. 16, 17): "Seek you out of the book of the Lord and read. When this destruction comes compare the event with the prediction, and you will find it to answer exactly." Note, The book of the prophets is the book of the Lord, and we ought to consult it and converse with it as of divine origin and authority. We must not only read it, but see out of it, search into it, turn first to one text and then to another and compare them together. Abundance of useful knowledge might thus be extracted, by a diligent search, out of the scriptures, which cannot be got by a superficial reading of them. When you have read the prediction out of the book of the Lord then observe,

1. That according to what you have read so you see; not one of these shall fail, either beast or fowl: and, it being foretold that they shall possess it from generation to generation, in order to that, that the species may be propagated, none shall want her mate; these marks of desolation shall be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the land.

2. That God's mouth having commanded this direful muster his Spirit shall gather them, as the creatures by instinct were gathered to Adam to be named and to Noah to be housed. What God's word has appointed his Spirit will effect and bring about, for no word of God shall fall to the ground. The word of God's promise shall in like manner be accomplished by the operations of the Spirit.

3. That there is an exact order and proportion observed in the accomplishment of this threatening: He has cast the lot for these birds and beasts, so that each one shall know his place as readily as if it were marked by line. See the like, Joel 2:7, 8, They shall not break their ranks, neither shall one thrust another. The soothsayers among the heathen foretold events by the flight of birds, as if the fate of men depended on them. But here we find that the flight of birds is under the direction of the God of Israel: he has cast the lot for them.

4. That the desolation shall be perpetual: They shall possess it for ever. God's Jerusalem may be laid in ruins; but Jerusalem of old recovered itself out of its ruins, till it gave place to the gospel Jerusalem, which may be brought low, but shall be rebuilt, and shall continue till it give place to the heavenly Jerusalem. But the enemies of the church shall be for ever desolate, shall be punished with an everlasting destruction.

 

The Joy of the Redeemed

Isa 35:5-6 LSB - 

[5] Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, 

And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 

[6] Then the lame will leap like a deer, 

And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. 

For waters will break forth in the wilderness 

And streams in the Arabah.

Mat 11:4-5 LSB - [4] And Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: [5] [the] BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and [the] lame walk, [the] lepers are cleansed and [the] deaf hear, [the] dead are raised up, and [the] POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

Isa 35:8-10 LSB - 

[8] And a roadway will be there, a highway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not pass by on it, But it [will] be for him who walks [in that] way, And ignorant fools will not wander [on it]. 

[9] No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk [there], 

[10] And the ransomed of Yahweh will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting gladness upon their heads. They will attain delight and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away. 

Sennacherib Invades Judah

Isa 36:1 LSB - [1] Now it happened in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, [that] Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.

Isaiah 31-33 - Every Morning

Woe to Those Who Go down to Egypt

Isa 31:1 LSB - [1] Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help 

[And] rely on horses, 

And trust in chariots because they are many 

And in horsemen because they are very mighty, 

But they do not have regard for the Holy One of Israel, nor seek Yahweh!

A King Will Reign Righteously

Isa 32:15 LSB - [15] Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, 

And the wilderness becomes a fruitful orchard, 

And the fruitful orchard is counted as a forest.

The King in His Beauty

Isa 33:2 LSB - 

[2] O Yahweh, be gracious to us; we have hoped in You. 

Be their strength every morning, 

Our salvation also in the time of distress.

Isa 33:2 ESV - 

[2] O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. 

Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.

Psa 143:8 LSB - 

[8] Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; 

For I trust in You; 

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk; 

For to You I lift up my soul.

Lam 3:22-23 LSB - [22] HETH
The lovingkindnesses of Yahweh indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
[23] [They] are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Isa 33:14 LSB -
[14] Sinners in Zion are in dread;
Trembling has seized the godless.
"Who among us can sojourn with the consuming fire?
Who among us can sojourn with continual burning?"

Isa 33:22 LSB -
[22] For Yahweh is our judge,
Yahweh is our lawgiver,
Yahweh is our king;
He will save us--

Isa 33:24 LSB - [24] And no one who dwells [there] will say, "I am sick";
The people who inhabit there will be forgiven [their] iniquity.

Isaiah 28-30 - Your Eyes Will See Your Teacher

Woe to Ephraim

Isa 28:9 LSB - 

[9] "Whom would He instruct in knowledge, 

And whom would He provide understanding about the report? 

Those [just] weaned from milk? 

Those [just] taken from the breast?

A Cornerstone in Zion

Isa 28:16 LSB - 

[16] Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, 

"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, 

A costly cornerstone [for] the foundation, firmly placed. 

He who believes [in it] will not be disturbed.

Psa 118:22 LSB - [22] The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner [stone].

Luk 20:17-18 LSB - 

[17] But when Jesus looked at them, He said, "What then is this that is written: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNER [stone]'? 

[18] "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

Act 4:11-12 LSB - 

[11] "He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, [but] WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER [stone]. 

[12] "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

1Pe 2:6-8 LSB - 

[6] For [this] is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER [stone], AND HE WHO BELIEVES UPON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME." 

[7] This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNER [stone]," 

[8] and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE." They stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this [stumbling] they were also appointed.

Isa 28:21 LSB - [21] For Yahweh will rise up as [at] Mount Perazim; He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, To work His work, His unusual work, And to labor in His labor, His exceptional labor.

Woe to Ariel

Isa 29:13-14 LSB - 

[13] Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their mouth 

And honor Me with their lips, 

But they remove their hearts far from Me, 

And their fear of Me is [in the] command of men learned [by rote], 

[14] Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; 

And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, 

And the discernment of their discerning men will be hidden."

Isa 29:16 LSB - [16] You turn [things] around! 

Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, 

That what is made would say to its maker, 

"He did not make me"; 

Or what is formed say to him who formed it, 

"He has no understanding"?

The Afflicted Will Rejoice

Isa 29:23-24 LSB - [23] But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, They will sanctify My name; Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob And will stand trembling [before] the God of Israel. 

[24] "Those who err in spirit will know discernment, And those who criticize will gain learning.

Alliance with Egypt Condemned

Isa 30:15 LSB - [15] For thus Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your might." But you were not willing,

Yahweh Is Gracious and Just

Isa 30:18 LSB - [18] Therefore Yahweh waits [with longing] to be gracious to you, And therefore He is on high to have compassion on you. For Yahweh is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who wait for Him.

Isa 30:20-21 LSB - [20] The Lord has given you bread of distress and water of oppression; 

[He], your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. 

[21] And your ears will hear a word behind you, 

"This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.