Isaiah 51:14-23
New American Standard Bible 1995
14 The [a]exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his bread be lacking. 15 For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea and its waves roar (the Lord of hosts is His name). 16 I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to [b]establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
17 Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger; The [c]chalice of reeling you have [d]drained to the dregs. 18 There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne, Nor is there one to take her by the hand among all the sons she has reared. 19 These two things have befallen you; Who will mourn for you? The devastation and destruction, famine and sword; How shall I comfort you? 20 Your sons have fainted, They lie helpless at the head of every street, Like an antelope in a net, Full of the wrath of the Lord, The rebuke of your God.
21 Therefore, please hear this, you afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine: 22 Thus says your Lord, the Lord, even your God Who contends for His people, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling, The chalice of My anger; You will never drink it again. 23 “I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, Who have said to [f]you, ‘Lie down that we may walk over you.’ You have even made your back like the ground And like the street for those who walk over it.”
Isaiah 51:22
22 (a) Thus says your Lord, the Lord, even your God
(b) Who contends for His people,
( c ) “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling,
(d) The chalice of My anger;
( e ) You will never drink it again.
Isaiah 51:22 ( e ) seems to be bit oversimplified & pithy because in the bible, the relationship between God and Israel has it’s ups and downs. To elaborate, the bible does portray an Israel that embraces God for a period of time, and then strays away from God for another period of time.
In response, God returns with blessings during periods of embracement, but then warns and disciplines Israel when Israel strays away from God.
When I read exegesis commentaries on the biblehub website ( https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/51-22.htm ), the following 2 caught my attention:
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling - (See the notes at Isaiah 51:17). This verse contains a promise that they would be delivered from the effect of the wrath of God, under which they had been suffering so long.
Thou shalt no more drink it again – Thou shalt no more be subject to similar trials and calamities (see Isaiah 54:7-9). Probably the idea here is, not that Jerusalem would never be again destroyed, which would not be true, for it was afterward subjected to severer trials under the Romans; but that the people who should then return - the pious exiles - should be preserved forever after from similar sufferings. The object of the prophet is to console them, and this he does by the assurance that they should be subjected to such trials no more.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
- pleadeth … cause—(Ps 35:1; Jer 50:34; Mic 7:9). no more drink it—(Isa 54:7-9). This cannot apply to Israel after the return from Babylon, but only to them after their final restoration.
However, the aforementioned commentaries are based on deductive reasoning or inference of the overall historical relationship between God and Israel. The authors of said commentaries are making a deductive conclusion that Isaiah 51:22 ( e ) is either
- ( Barnes' Notes on the Bible) refers to an End of specific suffering of the Israelites caused by the Assyrians and subsequently the Babylonians that chronologically occurred close to the time period when Isaiah was a prophet in Israel
- ( Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary ) refers to the End of all suffering of Israelites after the biblical end times ( like in the book of Revelations ). After the biblical end times, God and Israel’s relationship will be completely restored, and will Never have it’s ups and downs.
In any case, I’m Uncomfortable with the deductive reasoning or inference by the commentaries. I wish Isaiah 51:22 was a bit more intricately nuanced.
Could someone please provide some contextual exegesis of Isaiah 51:22 , and give some insight as to why it’s oversimplified and pithy?
