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52. The Cup of the Lord's Wrath

¹ Awake, awake, Zion,
   clothe yourself with strength!
Put on your garments of splendor,
   Jerusalem, the holy city.
The uncircumcised and defiled
   will not enter you again.
² Shake off your dust;
   rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
   Daughter Zion, now a captive.

³ For this is what the LORD says:

“You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed.”

⁴ For this is what the Sovereign LORD says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
lately, Assyria has oppressed them.

⁵ “And now what do I have here?” declares the LORD.

   “For my people have been taken away for nothing,
   and those who rule them mock, Dead Sea Scrolls and Vulgate; Masoretic Text wail” declares the LORD.
“And all day long
   my name is constantly blasphemed.
⁶ Therefore my people will know my name;
   therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it.
   Yes, it is I.”

    ⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
   are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
   who bring good tidings,
   who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
   “Your God reigns!”
⁸ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
   together they shout for joy.
When the LORD returns to Zion,
   they will see it with their own eyes.
⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
   you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people,
   he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The LORD will lay bare his holy arm
   in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
   the salvation of our God.

    ¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there!
   Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
   you who carry the articles of the LORD’s house.
¹² But you will not leave in haste
   or go in flight;
for the LORD will go before you,
   the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

    ¹³ See, my servant will act wisely Or will prosper;
   he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him Hebrew you—
   his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
   and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations, Or so will many nations be amazed at him (see also Septuagint)
   and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
   and what they have not heard, they will understand.

15. So shall he sprinkle many nations. Some explain it, “Shall cause to drop,” which they take to be a metaphorical expression for “to speak.” But since נזה signifies “to sprinkle,” and is commonly found to have this sense in Scripture, I choose rather to adopt this interpretation. He means that the Lord will pour out his Word over “many nations.” He next mentions the effect of doctrine, that kings shall shut their mouth, that is, in token of astonishment, but a different kind of astonishment from that which he formerly described. Men “shut their mouths,” and are struck with bewilderment, when the vast magnitude of the subject is such that it cannot be expressed, and that it exceeds all power of language.

What they have not heard. He means that this astonishment will not arise merely from Christ’s outward appearance, but, on the contrary, from the preaching of the Gospel; for, though he had risen from the dead, yet all would have thought that he was still a dead man, if the glory of his resurrection had not been proclaimed. By the preaching of the Gospel, therefore, were revealed those things which formerly had neither been seen nor heard; for this doctrine was conveyed to kings and nations that were very far off, and even to the very ends of the world.

Paul quotes this passage, and shows that it was fulfilled in his ministry, and glories on this ground, that he proclaimed the doctrine of the Gospel to those who had never heard of it at all. (Romans 15:21) This belongs to the office of an Apostle, and not to the office of every minister. He means that the kingdom of Christ is more extensive than merely to embrace Judea, and that it is not now confined within such narrow limits; for it was proper that it should be spread through all nations, and extended even to the ends of the world. The Jews had heard something of Christ from the Law and the Prophets, but to the Gentiles he was altogether unknown; and hence it follows that these words relate strictly to the Gentiles.

They shall understand. By this word he shows that faith consists in certainty and clear understanding. Wherever, therefore, knowledge of this kind is wanting, faith is unquestionably wanting. Hence it is evident how idle is the notion of the Papists about implicit faith, which is nothing else than gross ignorance, or rather a mere creature of imagination.