Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 4:3
And it shall come to pass, [that he that is] left in Zion, and [he that] remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, [even] every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
3. The character of the escaped remnant. They shall be called holy ch. Isa 60:14, Isa 61:6, Isa 62:12. “Holiness” here includes the ideas of consecration to God, and inviolability (Jer 2:3) as well as of moral purity ( Isa 4:4).
written among the living ] rather, written for life, i.e. not any chance survivor, but those who are predestined to life (cf. Act 13:48). The figure is derived from the burgess rolls in which the name of every qualified citizen was to be found (cf. Neh 7:64); hence comes the idea of the “book of life” containing the names of all the true people of God; Exo 32:32 f.; Psa 69:28; Dan 12:1; Luk 10:20; Php 4:3; Rev 3:5; Rev 13:8; Rev 20:12; Rev 20:15; Rev 22:19 (and cf. “bundle of life,” 1Sa 25:29). The transition from the secular to the religious sense may be seen in Eze 13:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that is left in Zion – This properly refers to the remnant that should remain after the mass of the people should be cut off by wars, or be borne into captivity. If it refer to the few that would come back from Babylon, it means that they would be reformed, and would be a generation different from their fathers – which was undoubtedly true. If it refer, as the connection seems to indicate, to the times of the Messiah, then it speaks of those who are left, while the great mass of the nation would be unbelievers, and would be destroyed. The mass of the nation would be cut off, and the remnant that was left would be holy; that is, all true friends of the Messiah would be holy.
Shall be called holy – That is, shall be holy. The expression to be called, is often used in the Scriptures as synonymous with to be.
Every one that is written among the living – The Jews were accustomed to register the names of all the people. Those names were written in a catalogue, or register, of each tribe or family. To be written in that book, or register, meant to be alive, for when a death occurred, the name was stricken out; Exo 32:32; Dan 12:1; Eze 13:9. The expression came also to denote all who were truly the friends of God; they whose names are written in his book – the book of life. In this sense it is used in the New Testament; Phi 4:3; Rev 3:5; Rev 17:5. In this sense it is understood in this place by the Chaldee Par.: Every one shall be called holy who is written to eternal life; he shall see the consolation of Jerusalem. If the reference here is to the Messiah, then the passage denotes that under the reign of the Messiah, all who should be found enrolled as his followers, would be holy. An effectual separation would subsist between them and the mass of the people. They would be enrolled as his friends, and they would be a separate, holy community; compare 1Pe 2:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 4:3
He that is left in Zion
The holy remnant
Holy means what is separated from the world and superior to it; the congregation of the saints, or holy ones, who now inhabit Jerusalem, are what remain after a smelting; their holiness is the consequence of a washing.
(F. Delitzsch.)
God has never yet left the world without a nucleus of heaven
He has drowned the world, but left a seed to build an altar; He has burned the Gomorrahs of the world, but He has allowed the faithful to escape, and to become the beginning of a new progeny. There is always a remnant, the one left, the true heart, the faithful among the faithless found. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Holiness becomes the Christian
We are told that the little creature called the ermine is so sensitive to its own cleanliness that it becomes paralysed and powerless at the slightest touch of defilement upon its snow-white fur. A like sensibility should belong to the Christian, who should abstain from the very appearance of evil. (Sunday School Chronicle.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. Written among the living] That is, whose name stands in the enrolment or register of the people; or every man living, who is a citizen of Jerusalem. See Eze 13:9, where, “they shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel,” is the same with what immediately goes before, “they shall not be in the assembly of my people.” Compare Ps 69:28; Ps 87:6; Ex 32:32. To number and register the people was agreeable to the law of Moses, and probably was always practised; being, in sound policy, useful, and even necessary. David’s design of numbering the people was of another kind; it was to enrol them for his army. Michaelis Mosaisches Recht, Part iii., p. 227. See also his Dissert. de Censibus Hebraeorum.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Shall be called holy, i.e. shall be really holy, as is said, Isa 60:21. To be called is oft put for to be, as Gen 21:12; Isa 1:26; 44:5.
Every one that is written among the living: so this is a restriction of the foregoing indefinite proposition. Not all that are left, but a great number of them, shall be holy, even all that are written, &c., i.e. all the elect, who are frequently described by this character, that they are written in Gods or the Lambs book, or in the book of life, or of the living, Psa 69:28; Dan 12:1; Phi 4:3; Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8, &c. But this last clause of the verse is by some learned interpreters rendered thus, all that are in Jerusalem (i.e. a very great number of them, as such general expressions are frequently used, or the generality of them) shall be written unto life, i.e. shall be such as are elected unto salvation through sanctification; which may deserve consideration. So he notes the singular privilege of this people at this time above the former ages, in which many were called, but few were chosen.
In Jerusalem; of the people living in or belonging to Jerusalem.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. left in Zionequivalent tothe “escaped of Israel” (Isa4:2).
shall be calledshallbe (Isa 9:6).
holy (Isa 52:1;Isa 60:21; Rev 21:27).
writtenin the book oflife, antitypically (Phi 4:3;Rev 3:5; Rev 17:8).Primarily, in the register kept of Israel’s familiesand tribes.
livingnot “blottedout” from the registry, as dead; but written there asamong the “escaped of Israel” (Dan 12:1;Eze 13:9). To the elect ofIsrael, rather than the saved in general, the specialreference is here (Joe 3:17).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it shall come to pass, [that he that is] left in Zion, and [he that] remaineth in Jerusalem,…. These are the persons to whom Christ appears beautiful and glorious, excellent and comely, who will be left, and remain in Zion and Jerusalem; by which is meant the Gospel church, or church as in the latter day; in which these shall continue, abide by the truths and doctrines of the Gospel, and the ordinances thereof, and persevere unto the end; even when Christ shall take his fan in his hand, and purge his floor of the chaff; when the filth of the daughter of Zion shall be washed away by the spirit of judgment and burning, as in the following verse Isa 4:4; when it shall be a shocking and shaking time in the churches, and the hour of temptation shall come, that shall try those that dwell upon earth; these shall be pillars in the temple of God, that shall never go out. The doctrine of the saints’ final perseverance is held forth in these words, as their sanctification and election are in the following clauses, which secure it to them: they
shall be called holy: in the original text it is added, “unto him”; either the person left, it shall be said to him, that he is holy or rather the branch; and Kimchi interprets it, “because of him”; for these are accounted holy, through the imputation of the holiness of Christ unto them; and they are really and inherently holy, through the grace of Christ implanted in them; they are called to be holy, to be saints, and they are called with a holy calling, and unto holiness; and, in effectual calling, principles of grace and holiness are wrought in them, and which appear in their lives and conversations. The principal meaning seems to be, that those who shall hold fast their profession, and hold out, and persevere through the trying dispensation in the latter day, they shall be remarkably holy; they shall shine in the beauties of holiness; holiness shall be upon their horses’ bells, and they themselves shall be holiness unto the Lord, Zec 14:20
[even] everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem; or, “everyone that is written unto life” m, that is, unto eternal life, as the Targum paraphrases the words; and it is the same with being ordained unto eternal life, Ac 13:48 or predestination unto life, which is a writing of the names of God’s elect in the book of life: this writing is God’s writing, it is his act and deed, the act of God the Father, and an eternal one, flowing from his sovereign will and pleasure, and is sure, certain, and unfrustrable; what is written is written, and can never be altered; and election being signified by writing names in a book, shows it to be particular and personal, not of nations, churches, and bodies of men, but of particular persons; and that it is irrespective of faith, holiness, and good works, and entirely unconditional; it is of naked persons, and not as so and so qualified; and that it is distinguishing of some, and not others, whom God has an exact knowledge of, and calls by name: and this writing is “unto life”, or “lives”, as in the original text; not to a temporal life, but to a spiritual and eternal one; in consequence of which, such become living, holy, and persevering Christians in Jerusalem, in the church of God, and shall be admitted into the New Jerusalem, and none else, Re 21:27 and so Jarchi interprets it, everyone that is written to the life of the world to come, or to eternal life, shall be in Jerusalem; and the Targum adds,
“and he shall see the consolation of Jerusalem;”
from hence it appears that election is the source and spring of holiness, and the security of the saints final perseverance, Ro 8:30 and is not a licentious doctrine, but a doctrine according to godliness; holiness is a fruit and evidence of it; whoever are written or ordained to life become holy; and these being brought to Zion, remain there, and persevere unto the end.
m “quicunque fuerit scriptus ad vitam”, Piscator; “omnis scriptus ad vitam”, Cocceius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“And it will come to pass, whoever is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem, holy will he be called, all who are written down for life in Jerusalem.” The leading emphasis of the whole v. rests upon kadosh (holy). Whereas formerly in Jerusalem persons had been distinguished according to their rank and condition, without any regard to their moral worth (Isa 3:1-3, Isa 3:10-11; cf., Isa 32:5); so the name kadosh (holy) would now be the one chief name of honour, and would be given to every individual, inasmuch as the national calling of Israel would now be realized in the persons of all (Exo 19:6, etc.). Consequently the expression “he shall be called” is not exactly equivalent to “he shall be,” but rather presupposes the latter, as in Isa 1:26; Isa 61:6; Isa 62:4. The term kadosh denotes that which is withdrawn from the world, or separated from it. The church of the saints or holy ones, which now inhabits Jerusalem, is what has been left from the smelting; and their holiness is the result of washing. is interchanged with . The latter, as Papenheim has shown in his Hebrew synonyms, involves the idea of intention, viz., “that which has been left behind;” the former merely expresses the fact, viz., that which remains. The character of this “remnant of grace,” and the number of members of which it would consist, are shown in the apposition contained in Isa 4:3. This apposition means something more than those who are entered as living in Jerusalem, i.e., the population of Jerusalem as entered in the city register (Hofmann); for the verb with Lamed does not mean merely to enter as a certain thing, but (like the same verb with the accusative in Jer 22:30) to enter as intended for a certain purpose. The expression may either be taken as a noun, viz., “to life” (Dan 12:2), or as an adjective, “to the living” (a meaning which is quite as tenable; cf., Psa 69:29; 1Sa 25:29). In either case the notion of predestination is implied, and the assumption of the existence of a divine “book of life” (Exo 32:32-33; Dan 12:1; cf., Psa 139:16); so that the idea is the same as that of Act 13:48: “As many as were ordained to eternal life.” The reference here is to persons who were entered in the book of God, on account of the good kernel of faith within them, as those who should become partakers of the life in the new Jerusalem, and should therefore be spared in the midst of the judgment of sifting in accordance with this divine purpose of grace. For it was only through the judgment setting this kernel of faith at liberty, that such a holy community as is described in the protasis which comes afterwards, as in Psa 63:6-7, could possibly arise.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verse 3-4:
1. Once called “Sodom,” because of her wretched sinfullness, and falling under the wrath of God’s displeasure, Jerusalem is here viewed once more as “the Holy City” – “beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole earth”, (Psa 48:2; Isa 52:1; Isa 62:12).
“Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, City of our God;
He, whose word cannot be broken,
Formed thee for His own abode:
On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded,
Thou mayst smile at all thy foes.”
–John Newton
2. Zion is holy because her citizens have passed through the fountain that was opened “for sin and uncleanness”, (Isa 1:16-18; Zec 12:1-2; Jer 2:12-13; Jer 17:12-13; Psa 51:2; Psa 51:7; Joh 1:29).
3. Her blood-guiltiness has been purged by the fire of divine judgment – designed for her purification, (Isa 48:10-11; Zec 13:8-9; Mal 3:2-6; Mat 3:11-16; comp. 1Pe 1:6-9).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
3. And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion. He follows out the same statement, that when the pollution of the people shall have been washed away, what remains will be pure and holy. The explanation given by some, that they who shall be found written in the book of life will be called holy, appears to me to be too limited. These two clauses ought rather to be read separately, that all who shall be left in Zion will be holy, and that they who shall be left in Jerusalem will be written in the book of life. And this repetition is very frequent and customary among the Hebrews, when the prophets set forth under various titles the same gift of God. Thus, when it is said,
There shall be salvation in Jerusalem, and forgiveness of sins in Zion, (Joe 2:32,)
both must be viewed as referring to the same subject; but the grace of God is more fully extolled when the cause of salvation is declared to consist in a free pardon. (73)
In this passage the argument is of the same kind; for he says that, when the filth shall have been washed away, the Church will be clean, and that all who shall have a place in her will truly be the elect of God. Now, it is certain that this does not apply universally to the external Church, into which many have been admitted under the designation of believers who have nothing that corresponds to their profession, and who even exceed the small number of good people, as the chaff exceeds the wheat in the barn. And although the captivity in Babylon had been employed by God, as a sieve, to remove a large portion of chaff, yet we know that the Church was still very far from being as pure as she ought to have been. But as at that time there was displayed, in some measure, a resemblance of that purity which will be truly and perfectly manifested after that
the lambs shall have been separated from the kids, (Mat 25:32,)
when Isaiah speaks of those beginnings, he includes, as his custom is, a period extending to the end, when God will bring to perfection that which he then began.
It is the same thing which we see every day going forward; for although chastisements and punishments do not entirely remove all spots from the Church, yet when spots have been washed out, she recovers a part of her purity. Thus she suffers no loss by the strokes inflicted on her; because, while she is diminished, she is at the same time comforted by casting out many hypocrites; just as it is only by casting out the offensive or corrupt matter that a diseased body can be restored to health.
Hence we obtain a most useful consolation; for we are wont always to desire a multitude, and to estimate by it the prosperity of the Church. On the contrary, we should rather desire to be few in number, and that in all of us the glory of God may shine brightly. But because our own glory leads us in another direction, the consequence is, that we regard more a great number of men than the excellence of a few.
We ought also to learn what is the true glory of a Church; for she is truly prosperous when the saints have a place in her; though they be few and despised in the world, yet they render her condition prosperous and desirable. But as it will never happen in the world that the saints alone will hold a place in the Church, we ought patiently to endure a mixture, and, in the meantime, we ought to reckon it a most valuable blessing when she makes a near approach to the cleanness which ought to be found in her.
And they shall all be written among the living [or, to life] in Jerusalem. We have already said that by those who are written in the book of life are meant the elect of God; as if he had said that the profane multitude, which have only a name on the earth, will be cut off. The Prophet alludes to a mode of expression which often occurs in the Scriptures, as when Moses desires that he should be blotted out of the book of life, (Exo 32:32,) rather than that the whole nation should be destroyed. Christ also says to the Apostles,
Rejoice because your names are written in heaven, (Luk 10:20😉
and Ezekiel says, They shall not be written in the catalogue of my people. (74) Now, although God has no other book than his eternal counsel, in which he has predestinated us to salvation by adopting us for his children, yet this comparison is exceedingly suitable to our weakness, because in no other way could our mind conceive that God’s flock is known to him, so that none of the elect can ever be deprived of eternal life. Since, therefore, God has the names of his people in some manner written down, the decree of adoption, by which their eternal blessedness is secured, is called the book of life. The reprobate, though for a time they appear to be on a level with the sons of God, are excluded from this catalogue, as we see that they are cut off when he collects and separates his own people. This matter will not be fully completed before the last day; but as the children of God, by continually persevering, when the reprobate fall off, have their election made sure, it is no small consolation amidst their afflictions, when the temptations by which they are assailed do not cause them to fall from their steadfastness.
(73) There is a mistake here. In the verse quoted the prophet Joel does not speak of the forgiveness of sins; but our Author probably had his eye on the concluding clause, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call, as resembling a part of this verse, and he that shall be left in Jerusalem, and on this ground adduced it as a parallel passage, but was not successful in pointing out where the parallelism lies. — Ed.
(74) He appears to refer to Eze 13:9, where his version is, And they shall not be written in the writing, that is, in the catalogue, of my people. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) He that is left in Zion . . .The prophet turns from the Jerusalem that then was, with the hypocrisies and crimes of the men and the harlot fashions of its women, to the vision of a new Jerusalem, which shall realise the ideal of Psalms 15, 24. There every one should be called holy (comp. 1Co. 1:2; 2Co. 1:1), and the name should be no unreal mockery (Isa. 32:5), but should express the self-consecration and purity of its inhabitants.
Every one that is written among the living.Literally, for life. The idea is that of the book or register of life in which are written the names of those who are worthy of living in the heavenly city. It meets us as early as Exo. 32:32, and appears in Psa. 56:8; Psa. 69:28; Eze. 13:9.; Mal. 3:16; Dan. 12:1; Acts xiii 48; Php. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; Rev. 13:8; Rev. 21:27. An examination of the passages, especially the first, will show that while it involves the idea of an election, it excludes that of an irreversible predestination, and that the election has to be made sure by a life in harmony with it. (2Pe. 1:10.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3, 4. He that is left in Zion The true descendants of the few who, amid the immoralities of Jerusalem life, and despite surrounding temptations to the contrary, preserve themselves pure and loyal to Jehovah.
Shall be called holy Shall be holy. The idiom “shall be called” means this.
Written among the living Those who are alive in Jerusalem; typically, who continue unto eternal life.
Filth of the daughters of Zion Their vain-gloriousness; their silly and demoralizing pride and defilements. The judgments upon Judah and Jerusalem are to remove wash away
these, and the guiltiness of the people likewise.
Spirit of burning An intensified expression of the idea of the previous clause. The people, by a long but thorough process of spiritual cleansing, shall cease to love idolatry and crime, and shall learn truly to serve Jehovah.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 4:3-4. And it shall come to pass The doctrine of this period is twofold; first, that God by the spirit of judgment will purify and cleanse his church; and, secondly, that those who remain written among the living, i.e. the people of the Messiah, shall become truly holy. See Php 4:3.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
How truly blessed and gracious is it, to see the provision the Lord hath made for the recovery of sinners. Here the Holy Ghost speaks not only of the blessings of redemption to the church at large, but to every individual redeemed soul in particular. He that is left, and everyone that is written. Yes, Jesus saith, All that the Father hath given me, shall come to me, Joh 6:37 . And it was for this express purpose Jesus said, that the Father gave him power over all flesh; that he should give eternal life to as many as the Father had given him, Joh 17:2 . Reader, are you questioning whether you are among the written in the Lamb’s book of life? Rev 13:8 . Answer the inquiry by the tokens here given. A new and spiritual life is given to them in Jerusalem, the holy city, the church of the Lord Jesus. They are called with an holy calling, not according to their works, but according to his own purpose, and grace given in Christ Jesus, before the world began, 2Ti 1:9 . And as many as were . ordained to eternal life, believed, Act 13:48 . Now then see by these infallible testimonies, whether your calling and election is sure, For as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God: And hence, in being saved and called with an holy calling, not according to our works, but his grace; and in believing, having life in his name: surely these become unquestionable evidences, that God hath chosen believers in him before the foundation of the world, and that they should he holy and without blame before him in love, 2Pe 1:10 ; Rom 8:14 ; Eph 1:4 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 4:3 And it shall come to pass, [that he that is] left in Zion, and [he that] remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, [even] every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
Ver. 3. He that is left in Zion. ] See Isa 4:2 .
Shall be called holy.
Even every one that is written among the living.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
holy. See note on Exo 3:5.
among the living = written down or destined for life. Compare Psa 69:28; Psa 87:5, Psa 87:6. Mal 3:16.
the lord* = Jehovah.
purged = cast out. Hebrew duah. Compare Isa 1:16.
blood. Put by Figure of speech, Metonymy (of Effect), for blood-guiltiness.
spirit = blast, as in Isa 11:4. Compare 2Th 2:8. Hebrew. ruach.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
shall be: Isa 1:27, Isa 52:1, Isa 60:21, Eze 36:24-28, Eze 43:12, Zec 14:20, Zec 14:21, Eph 1:4, Col 3:12, Heb 12:14, 1Pe 2:9
written: Exo 32:32, Exo 32:33, Eze 13:9, Luk 10:20, Phi 4:3, Rev 3:5, Rev 13:8, Rev 17:8, Rev 20:15, Rev 21:27
among the living: or, to life, Act 13:48
Reciprocal: Num 3:40 – General Psa 69:28 – be written Psa 87:6 – when Isa 6:13 – But yet Isa 10:20 – the remnant Isa 10:24 – O my people Dan 12:1 – written Joe 3:17 – Jerusalem Oba 1:17 – there shall be holiness Rev 20:6 – Blessed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 4:3. And he that is left in Zion Those that escape the common destruction brought on their countrymen; see Isa 4:2; shall be called holy Shall be really such. The Jews that survived the Babylonish captivity, and returned into their own land, were greatly reformed, especially in one point, they relapsed no more into idolatry: and in other respects also a spirit of religion was revived among them. But the prophecy was much more eminently fulfilled in the first converts from Judaism to Christianity, to whose purity and holiness the apostles often bear witness, and of which they glory in their writings. Even every one that is written among the living, &c. Whose names are recorded in the book of life, or the book of the divine knowledge and remembrance, as persons who, by repentance toward God and faith in the Messiah, expected, or already revealed, have passed from death unto life. The phrase is used in allusion to the registers which were kept of the Jewish tribes and families: see notes on Exo 32:32; Psa 69:28.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:3 And it shall come to pass, [that he that is] left in Zion, and [he that] remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, [even] every one that is {e} written among the living in Jerusalem:
(e) He alludes to the book of life, of which read Exo 32:32 meaning God’s secret counsel, in which his elect are predestinated to life everlasting.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The divine judgments that God will bring on the Israelites in the future (in the Tribulation) will have a purifying effect on many of them, specifically the elect (cf. Isa 1:25; Eze 36:25-26; Eze 39:23-26; Dan 9:4-19; Mal 3:2-5; Mat 3:11; Act 13:48). Those left alive to the end will be holy in conduct, as well as set apart by God for His purposes. Similarly, God purified the Israelites through their oppression in Egypt and then liberated them so they could be a holy nation (Exo 19:6)-in calling and in conduct. In both cases God Himself did it. This purification was only true to a very limited extent of those Israelites who returned from the Exile, as the post-exilic books of the Old Testament reveal.
The "daughters of Zion" throughout this oracle represent all the Israelites, not just the females in the nation (cf. Isa 3:16-17). The "spirit" in view (Isa 4:4) is probably the abstract concept of "process" (cf. Isa 19:14; Isa 28:6; Isa 29:10; Isa 37:7). A less probable view is that the spirit is the Holy Spirit.