Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 48:20
Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
Go ye forth of Babylon – The prophet now directly addresses those who were in exile in Babylon, and commands them to depart from it. The design of this is, to furnish the assurance that they should be delivered, and to show them the duty of leaving the place of their long captivity when the opportunity of doing it should occur. It is also designed to show that when it should occur, it would be attended with great joy and rejoicing.
Flee ye from the Chaldeans with a voice of singing – With the utmost exultation and joy. They should rejoice that their captivity was ended; they should exult at the prospect of being restored again to their own land.
Utter it even to the end of the earth – It is an event so great and wonderful that all the nations should be made acquainted with it.
The Lord hath redeemed … – Yahweh has rescued from captivity his people (see the notes at Isa 43:1).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 48:20-21
Go ye forth of Babylon
Summoned to an exodus
There has never been an era in which Gods people have not been face to face with a great principle of evil, embodied in a city, confederation, or conspiracy of darkness.
Always the same spirit under differing forms. This great system is as strong to-day as when the massive walls of Babylon enclosed their millions, and proudly dominated the world. Some have identified it with the Church of Rome, or the spirit of ecclesiastical assumption, but it is better to consider it as that element which is ever working through human society, which is spoken of as the world. We are therefore warranted in applying to present surroundings every item in the description given of the olden foe of Israel, and of heeding the summons to go forth.
I. SENT TO BABYLON. Gods ideal for the chosen people is set forth under a beautiful similitude (Isa 48:18). This ideal is within the reach of everyone who will hearken to Gods commandments. But if we refuse, we may have to pass, as Israel did, into the furnace of suffering in the Babylon of the world.
II. LIFE IN BABYLON. The mighty city was called the Lady of kingdoms. We must think of her with massive walls, broad spaces, colossal bulls guarding the entrances to vast temples with flights of stairs and terraces; with pyramids, towers, and hanging-gardens; her wharves receiving the freights of the Indian Ocean; her marts thronged with the merchants of the world; her streets teeming with tributary populations. But right across her splendour ran the fatal bars of cruelty, luxury, wickedness, and devil-worship. Amid such scenes the Jews spent the weary years of their captivity. But through this awful discipline there was slowly emerging a nobler, loftier ideal, which was fostered by the ancient words that foretold their destiny. It was not possible that they should be long holden by their captors. Were they not the elect people of God, destined to bless the world? Yes, they might be in Babylon, like many another captive people, but they had a great hope at their heart. And in the light of that hope, under the searching fires of their anguish, they for ever abandoned their love for idolatry. Some are now in their Babylon. They look back to a sunny past, which might have continued had they not stepped out of the narrow path of obedience. Let such still hope in God: they shall still praise Him; let them repent of their sins and put them away; let them learn the deep lessons which Gods Spirit is endeavouring to teach; let them dare to praise God for the discipline of pain. Presently the clarion call of the exodus will ring out.
III. EXODUS FROM BABYLON. The old order was changing and giving place to the new. From the ruins of the mightiest city that, perhaps, the world has ever seen, the Jews are bidden to go forth. The summons for an exodus rings out to the Church of the living God. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 20. Tell this – “Make it heard”] Twenty-seven MSS. of Kennicott’s, (ten ancient,) many of De Rossi’s, and two ancient, of my own, with the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and Arabic, and one edition, prefix to the verb the conjunction vau, vehashmiu.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Go ye forth of Babylon: the imperative is here, as it is very frequently, put for the future, Ye shall go forth, &c.; for this is not so much a command as a promise; although this form of speech may be the rather used to intimate that it was their duty to go forth, as well as Gods promise to carry them forth.
With a voice of singing; with joy and songs of praise to the Lord. Declare ye; publish Gods wonderful works on your behalf to all nations.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. Go . . . forth . . . end of theearthPrimarily, a prophecy of their joyful deliverance fromBabylon, and a direction that they should leave it when God openedthe way. But the publication of it “to the ends of the earth”shows it has a more world-wide scope antitypically; Re18:4 shows that the mystical Babylon is ultimately meant.
redeemed . . . Jacob(Isa 43:1; Isa 44:22;Isa 44:23).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Go ye forth of Babylon,…. Which the Jews had leave to do by the proclamation of Cyrus; and so the people of God will be called to come forth out of mystical Babylon before its destruction, to which these words are applied, Re 18:4 perhaps this, in the figurative sense, may be a call to the Christians in Jerusalem, now become another Babylon for wickedness, to come out of it a little before its ruin; and may be applied to the call of persons, by the Gospel, from a state of confusion, sin, and darkness, in which they are:
flee ye from the Chaldeans with the voice of singing; not by stealth, or through fear, but openly and publicly, and with all the tokens and demonstrations of joy and gladness. So the Christians separated, from the unbelieving Jews; as will the followers of the Lamb from the antichristian states, Re 19:1 and so all that are called by grace should flee from the company of wicked men:
declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; this shows that something more than deliverance from the Babylonish captivity is here intended; for what had all the ends of the earth to do with that? even redemption and salvation by Christ, typified by it; which the apostles and ministers of the word are here exhorted to declare, publish, and proclaim, to the ends of the earth; Christ having a people there to be called and saved by him; and accordingly such a declaration has been made, Ro 10:18:
say ye, the Lord hath deemed his servant Jacob; as the people of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, so the people of God, his spiritual Jacob and Israel, his sons and servants, from sin, Satan, and the world, the law, its curses, and condemnation, by the precious blood of Christ, which is the sum and substance of the Gospel declaration.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
So far the address is hortatory. In the face of the approaching redemption, it demands fidelity and faith. But in the certainty that such a faithful and believing people will not be wanting within the outer Israel, the prophecy of redemption clothes itself in the form of a summons. “Go out of Babel, flee from Chaldaea with voice of shouting: declare ye, preach ye this, carry it out to the end of the earth! Say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob His servant. And they thirsted not: He led them through dry places; He caused water to trickle out of rocks for them; He split rocks, and waters gushed out. There is no peace, saith Jehovah, for the wicked.” They are to go out of Babylon, and with speed and joy to leave the land of slavery and idolatry far behind. Barach does not mean literally to flee in this instance, but to depart with all the rapidity of flight (compare Exo 14:5). And what Jehovah has done to them, is to be published by them over the whole earth; the redemption experienced by Israel is to become a gospel to all mankind. The tidings which are to be sent forth ( ) as in Isa 42:1), extend from to the second , which is repeated palindromically. Jehovah has redeemed the nation that He chose to be the bearer of His salvation, amidst displays of love, in which the miracles of the Egyptian redemption have been renewed. This is what Israel has to experience, and to preach, so far as it has remained true to its God. But there is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the r e sham : this is the name given to loose men (for the primary meaning of the verbal root is laxity and looseness), i.e., to those whose inward moral nature is loosened, without firm hold, and therefore in a state of chaotic confusion, because they are without God. The reference is to the godless in Israel. The words express the same thought negatively which is expressed positively in Gal 6:16, “Peace upon the Israel of God.” “ Shalom is the significant and comprehensive name given to the coming salvation. From this the godless exclude themselves; they have no part in the future inheritance; the sabbatical rest reserved for the people of God does not belong to them. With this divine utterance, which pierces the conscience like the point of an arrow, this ninth prophecy is brought to a close; and not that only, but also the trilogy concerning “Babel” in chapters 46-49, and the whole of the first third of these 3 x 9 addresses to the exiles. From this time forth the name Koresh (Cyrus), and also the name Babel, never occur again; the relation of the people of Jehovah to heathenism, and the redemption from Babylon, so far as it was foretold and accomplished by Jehovah, not only proving His sole deity, but leading to the overthrow of the idols and the destruction of their worshippers. This theme is now exhausted, and comes into the foreground no more. The expression , in its connection with , points at once to the diversity in character of the second section, which commences here.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 20-22: PEACE, FOR THOSE SEPARATED UNTO THEIR GOD
1. Without separation from evil no one may truly know the blessedness of God’s peace, (vs. 20a; Jer 50:8; Jer 51:6; Jer 51:45; 2Co 6:17-18); this is Isaiah’s final mention of Babylon.
2. Because of her redemption, Israel is to sing the mighty, saving power of God to the ends of the earth! (Psalms 126; Isa 42:10; Isa 49:13; Isa 52:9; Isa 63:9).
3. Verse 21 may look both backward and forward.
a. By his faithfullness, God’s grace adequately supplied the needs of His people in their redemption from the land of Egypt, (Exo 17:6; Num 20:11; Psa 78:15; Psa 105:41).
b. So will He meet the needs of those who, with faith in Him, flee from Babylon, (Jer 50:13; Jer 50:20; Jer 50:33-34; Jer 50:39; Rev 18:2).
4. If Israel will REPENT, the peace of God may still be her joyful experience, (Zec 12:10-14; Zec 13:1; Zec 13:9; Zec 14:3; Zec 14:20-21).
5. But, there is NO PLACE for the wicked (the morally loose, Job 15:20-25; Job 15:31-34) – an expression that marks off the three divisions in this final book of Isaiah’s prophecy, (Isa 57:21).
6. It is still proper to “PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM!” (Psa 122:6).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
20. Go out of Babylon. This is the second clause of this remonstrance, in which the Lord solemnly declares that he will be the Redeemer of his people, though they have been unworthy and ungrateful. After having declared that he performed the office of a good teacher, but that the people refused to hearken to him, so that by their own fault they drew down on themselves the punishment of captivity, he now declares his unwearied forbearance, by adding that he will still assist them, in order to bring them out of slavery. He therefore commands them to go out of the land of Babylon, in which they were captives. Hence we see that God, in his unspeakable goodness, though he has just cause to remonstrate with us, yet relieves our afflictions, and assists those who had been unworthy, and even who had insolently rejected his grace.
With the voice ofrejoicing. This relates to the confirmation of the deliverance, for he intended to give assurance to a promise which was altogether incredible. In order, therefore, to remove all doubt, he employed lofty language in extolling this blessing.
Tell it. He describes the strength of that confidence by which he wished to encourage the Jews; for we are wont to utter loudly and boldly those things of which we are certain, and, if we have any doubt, we scarcely venture to speak, and are dumb. Isaiah speaks of a future event as if it had actually arrived, that the people might cherish in their hearts greater and stronger confidence He makes use of the imperative mood, which is much more forcible, and produces a more powerful impression on our minds, than if he had expressed his meaning in plain terms.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE RIGHT USE OF THE HISTORY OF GODS DEALINGS WITH HIS PEOPLE
Isa. 48:20-21. Go forth from Babylon! Flee ye from the Chaldeans! With the voice of joy tell this, &c.
Isaiah had prophesied that his fellow-countrymen would be led captive into Babylon; but he was able to look forward to the termination of their captivity, and could speak thus confidently because he knew1, that God, who was about to consign them for a time, and for corrective purposes, into bondage, also purposed to deliver them therefrom; and 2, that every purpose which God has formed is certain to be accomplished. Assured of these facts, there rises before his prophetic vision two others:
1. He sees the gates of the prison-city thrown open; yea, the prison-city itself falling; and, standing in spirit before them, he bids them flee from the peril involved in its destruction, into the freedom which the mighty change had once more rendered possible for them. Go forth from Babylon! Flee ye from the Chaldeans!
2. He sees the flight accomplished, the pilgrimage from the land of captivity completed safely, and his fellow-countrymen settled down peaceably in the good land promised to their fathers, and he exhorts them to proclaim to the whole world what God has done for them, With the voice of joy, &c.
His exhortations are in themselves prophecies of what would happen to them, and the terms of those predictions as to what God would do for His people in the future were suggested by the history of what God had done for them in the past. Those prophecies must not be too literally interpreted; there is no record that God wrought any such miracles for His people during their march from Babylon homewards. What Isaiah wished to impress upon them was, that God would do everything necessary to perfect His deliverance of them, and to sustain them throughout it; and he did this in terms which reminded them how in all the trials through which their fathers had passed they had found God able to deliver them. How terrible was the difficulty to which he refers, and how marvellous the deliverance therefrom (Exo. 17:1-6; Num. 20:1-11).
Isaiah was enabled thus to instruct and cheer them, because he knew how to make a right use of the history of Gods dealings with His people. He remembered that that history is more than a history; that it is also a revelation and a prophecya revelation of what God will always be found to be; a prophecy of what He will always do for His people.
I. The use that Isaiah made of that history, we also ought to make. Two ways of reading the Biblewith a literary interest, with a personal interest. Geologywhat it means to an earnest student; what it means to the intelligent owner of a vast estate. With like personal interests we should read the Bible, remembering that God is un changeable, and that the laws on which He has made human welfare and happiness to depend are the same in every age. Reading the Bible thus,
1. we shall love it more and more, for the fullness of its treasures will become more and more clear to us (H. E. I. 613).
2. Fears suggested to us by the difficulties of the Christian pilgrimage, and that otherwise might greatly trouble us, will be driven away; for the history will convey to us the prophetic assurance that in every stage of our pilgrim age, and in every emergency that may arise therein, the grace of God will prove sufficient for us.
II. We are reminded also of our duty in regard to our own experience of Gods dealings with His people. Isaiah here teaches that it would be the duty of redeemed Jacob to make known to the whole world what God had done for them. This is the duty of Gods redeemed ones in every age; collectively, and hence the necessity of mission work of various kinds; individually. Let us not forget this (Psa. 66:16).
1. Gratitude should move us to do this.
2. Compassion for our fellow-men should teach us to do this.
Heaven will be eternally the realm of song, because there the redeemed of the Lord will never grow weary of making known what He has done for them. Go forth from Babylon! Flee ye from the Chaldeans! With the voice of joy tell this, &c.
WATER FROM THE ROCK
Isa. 48:21, and Exo. 17:6.
Narrate the instructive fact recorded in Exodus 17
This wonderful fact suggests
I. That human life has its great emergencies. Abraham, Jacob, David, Paul, &c. So with us. Christianity does not exempt us from the sorest trials. Sooner or later, every Christian has his Rephidim in his way to Canaan. Secular misfortunes, family trials, personal spiritual conflicts, &c. Such emergencies are needful for the testing of our principles, and the maintenance and increase of our spiritual vigour.
We need as much the cross we bear,
As air we breathe, or light we see:
It draws us to Thy side in prayer,
It binds us to our strength in Thee.
II. That deliverance often comes from most unlikely and unexpected sources. Water from a flinty rock. Redemption from the carpenters son at Nazareth. The promulgation of the gospel by fishermen and tentmakers, and in modern times by Carey, the shoemaker; Williams and Thomas, the blacksmiths; and Moffat, the gardener, &c. [1489]
[1489] God can bring good to His people from the most unlikely sources. Nothing seemed more unlikely to yield water than the barren rock of Horeb. So God often brings refreshing streams of comfort to His people out of hard circumstances. Paul and Silas could sing in the dungeon, and their imprisonment was made the means of adding to their converts in Philippi. The lot of John in Patmos seemed hard and dreary indeed, but at the bidding of Christ, streams of living water gushed forth there, which refreshed the soul of the Apostle at the time, and have followed the Church until the present. Out of the sufferings of the martyrs came joy to themselves and blessings to their descendants. Above all, out of the hard circumstances of the crucified Lord of glory, God has brought forth waters of everlasting life.
Learn: To confide in God in the greatest emergency. He can help you, whatever it ishowever dire. He has promised to support and deliver. Let your trust be determined, heroic, constant.Alfred Tucker.
I. THE SOURCE OF THE WATERS.
1. Its durability and unchangeableness. It was a rock, and one of peculiar solidity and strength. Time has not been able either to destroy or materially alter it. So the Rock of Ages (Heb. 13:8).
2. It was chosen by God Himself. So Jesus is a Saviour of His appointment.
3. It was opened according to Divine appointment by the hand of man. It was a smitten rock. So Jesus gave His back to the smiters. And man gave the blow.
II. THE STREAM THAT FLOWED FROM THE ROCK.
1. It saved Israel from perishing. This was its chief use. And it saved them when nothing else could save them. So with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. It did more than save. Enabling them to wash away the defilement of the desert, it cleansed the Israelites. Sin pollutes while it destroys. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin, because by it He obtained for His church the gift of the Holy Ghost.
3. It refreshed them. Their strength was so renewed that they rose up, and after fighting a whole day with the Amalekites, they overcame them, and passed on with fresh vigour to Canaan. In like manner the waters of life refresh the people of God.C. Bradley.
This fact reminds us that Jehovah is the God of providence, working even miracles for the accomplishment of His purposes; while the great Apostle of the Gentiles directs us to Jehovah as the God of grace, when, pointing to it, he exclaims, that rock was Christ. View the occurrence
I. As a seasonable, providential interposition.
1. A period of great distress; myriads of men and women and much cattle without water.
2. An instance of the omnipotence of Goda flinty rock yields water at His command.
3. Encouragement to hope in God, though we see no prospect or way of supply.
II. As an illustration of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The rock is an emblem of Christ, in solidity, strength, shelter, and duration.
2. The smiting of the rock prefigures Christs sufferings. He was stricken, smitten of God, that He might bear our sins and carry our sorrows. The body of Christ was indeed smitten, His soul was made an offering for sin.
3. The waters that flowed from the smitten rock represent the benefits we derive from Christs atoning sacrifice. How suitable was this supply, how abundant, how lasting! Let there be grateful remembrance of the smitten rock, vigorous prosecution of our journey; we drink to be refreshed and press on. Invite, and bring, our children and friends. Come sinner, thou!
See from the Rock a fountain rise!
For you in healing streams it rolls;
Money ye need not bring, nor price,
Ye labouring, burdened, sin-sick souls.
Nothing ye in exchange shall give,
Leave all you have and are behind;
Frankly the gift of God receive,
Pardon and peace in Jesus find.
John Hirst: The New Evangelist, p. 185.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(20) Go ye forth of Babylon . . .The sorrow and sighing are past, and the prophet speaks to the remnant that shall return. They are to act without fear on the promises of God, on the decree of Cyrus, and to start at once on their homeward journey, and as they go, to proclaim what great things God hath done for them.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20-22. Go ye forth of Babylon The message closes here. The exiled but redeemed ones get orders for a march to Zion. The word flee is not a note of alarm; the speed and joy of coming deliverance is the idea; or possibly Jer 51:45, tallying with the idea in Rev 18:4, may explain this part of the message. But the call is for the voice of song loud enough for the end of the earth to hear. The redemption of Jacob is the subject of the singing.
Thirsted not the deserts The exodus memorial is called to mind afresh by this later deliverance; or, that is made the type of this, in that, wonderful as was the provision and supply of that departure across deserts, this shall be greatly more wonderful in these regards. All is spiritual; waters of salvation flowed forth from the smitten rock, and that rock was Christ, accompanying them with ever-living abundance of grace and prosperity. The section closes with a contrast.
No peace unto the wicked No shalom no sound health, no prosperity, to the loose, irregular, undevout sons of Israel, holding adherence half with Jehovah and half with idol or world worship. No peace no joyful, solid hope is pronounced to such in this final remonstrance.
Thus the thrilling section ends. God is all, man in himself is nothing, idols are utter nothingness. With these truths divinely established this first series of the three concludes. It began with comfort ye, emphasized. No peace unto the wicked is its last word. Throughout, the struggle with idolatry and its effects has been a travail. This subject has been turned over and over, and viewed from every point with remonstrance and expostulation. It is now exhausted; it comes no more to the foreground. The prophet is also done with Babylon. Nor do we hear any more of Cyrus. From this on, the messages are of hope, not to redeemed sons of Jacob merely, but to all the world.
The Times of Messiah. CHAPTERS 49-60.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Call To Flee From Babylon ( Isa 48:20-22 ).
As we come to the end of the section from chapter 40 to 48 we find God’s final charge. It is to ‘flee from Babylon.’ Babylon with all that it stood for was the opposite of the Servant. It represented all that was at enmity with God. That was why it had to be destroyed for ever, and why all men had to flee from it as from danger and peril (compare Rev 18:4). After this Babylon will not again be mentioned. Her influence is over.
But the question must arise as to whom the call comes to flee. Who are the ones who are to flee from it and to testify to what Yahweh has done? Most see it as referring to the exiles from Judah. But if it is spoken of them (referred to as ‘His servant Jacob’) then this is the only example in the whole book of Isaiah where speakers speak of themselves indirectly in the third person, i.e. ‘saying Yahweh has redeemed (not ‘us’ but) His servant Jacob’. This would give weight to the suggestion that these words are not spoken by Jacob/Israel themselves but by third parties (compare Isa 47:13), who are fleeing from Babylon and testifying in amazement to the deliverance of His servant Jacob as they are filled with wonder at the coming destruction of Babylon and realise why it has happened (see Isa 45:6 where the activities of Cyrus were to cause just such an effect, and Isa 44:23 where the whole world is to sing at the redemption of God’s Servant Jacob).
And this is especially so in view of the fact that return from exile is never spoken of in terms of fleeing (the word used generally signifies fleeing from danger). Always when return from exile is mentioned we are given the idea of Yahweh’s activity (Isa 11:11-12; Isa 56:8) and/or of a triumphant homecoming (Isa 14:1-2; Isa 49:12; Isa 49:22-23; Isa 60:9), often with the nations giving their assistance. Note also the contradictory ‘you will not go out in haste, nor will you go by flight’ (Isa 52:12), if that is taken to mean the return from exile. So if this was directly referring to return from exile it would be doing so in a unique and even contradictory way. This therefore tends to emphasise that the idea is rather of Babylon being deserted by its ‘friends’ as they become aware of the disaster that is looming, who sing of Jacob’s deliverance because they have recognised in what is happening the hand of Yahweh.
Indeed it is probably intended to be symbolic. All men everywhere must flee from what Babylon is, and from its pernicious influence. And so we may see this as an appeal to all men to flee from Babylon and all that it means. It does of course include any exiles from Israel but they are only indirectly in mind. Rather it is they who are being redeemed by what is happening.
This may then also be seen as the reversal of what was declared in Isa 39:6-7. There a part of the Servant would be dragged off to Babylon. Now the Servant must be made complete (‘His Servant Jacob’). For we have already seen the profound effect that Hezekiah’s failure had had on Isaiah. It is reflected in chapters 13-14. And he knew the consequences of it. Thus he would know that he could have no peace until those exiles returned. They were a necessary part of the completeness of the Servant. Here then in the light of Yahweh having promised to deal with Babylon (Isa 48:14) he is possibly including in his words a call to any exiles to return. But that is secondary to the main significance. The flight from all that Babylon is, with its licentious, good-time living and its deep died idolatry was required of all people, because of what Babylon was, and what was about to happen to it. All must flee from Babylon.
Isa 48:20
‘Go forth from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans,
With a voice of singing make your declaration,
Tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth.
Say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
The impression given here is not of an orderly return from exile under the command of an overlord, but of the people in mind fleeing for their lives. They are to go forth, they are to flee, for as Yahweh deals with Babylon in apocalyptic judgment all who would be saved must flee. And as they flee they are to sing, to let the whole world know, that Yahweh has redeemed His servant Jacob by restoring them to be His Servant. He has saved them from all that Babylon represents, and the world is filled with wonder. Compare Isa 44:23 where all are to sing because Yahweh has redeemed Jacob. See also Isa 55:12.
So this is not just depicting the return of the exiles from Babylon to make up the new Israel (and note here that those who flee are to flee from the city Babylon, not from the surrounding countryside. It is Babylon in its pride that must be avoided). Isaiah’s prophecies elsewhere clearly suggest that he expected exiles to come from all over the known world, but their return is never depicted in these terms. And he knew full well that many men of Israel and Judah were still in their own land, and that many were scattered among the nations. So as far as Isaiah was concerned any actual returnees from Babylon (and we know that men of the northern kingdom had been exiled there – Isa 11:11) would only play a small part in the whole. Any who would come would simply be seen as part of a whole and as redressing the failure of Hezekiah so that the Servant may be made complete.
But we may add further the thought that this verse is depicting what all men everywhere must do. They must ‘flee from Babylon’, what it signifies and the hold that Babylonian licentiousness and belief in the occult has on them. Wherever they are they must flee from their sources of wealth that hold them back, they must flee from their comfortable living, they must flee from their compromises. For that apocalyptic moment when final judgment comes on Babylon is approaching and all who are His people must flee from the very idea of it (compare Rev 18:4).
The picture presented is thus precisely that of one looking far ahead and seeing an apocalyptic event taking place without actually having first hand knowledge of it. It is true that what mattered to him was the completing of the Servant for his worldwide task, and that would involve remedying the disaster of Isa 39:6-7, but that was secondary. Primary was for all men to escape from mythical Babylon, the great enemy of God.
We can again compare here what God had said to Abraham. He too had been called on to leave the land of the Chaldees in order to go to where he could fulfil the purposes of God. Thus was it now necessary for his seed to do so also, along with all men. For until they had done so they could not fulfil their ministry as the Servant.
For ‘My Servant Jacob’ compare Isa 44:1-2; Isa 45:4. For the redemption of Jacob see Isa 44:23 with 21, where the redemption is through the blotting out of their sins. This would suggest that the ‘redemption of His Servant Jacob’ is more in terms of God’s work in them which has freed them from the grip of what Babylon stands for, than having anything to do with exile.
Note the voice of singing and compare Isa 12:5; Isa 14:7; Isa 24:14; Isa 26:19; Isa 42:10; Isa 44:23; Isa 49:9-13; Isa 51:11; Isa 52:9; Isa 55:12.
Isa 48:21
‘And they did not thirst when he led them through the deserts,
He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them,
He split the rock also and the waters gushed out.’
The fact that Yahweh has redeemed His servant Jacob reminds Isaiah of their previous great deliverance when God had brought His people through the wilderness and had done all that was necessary to prevent them from thirsting.
Exiles from all over the world would come as fugitives, (‘fleeing from what Babylon stood for’), as Israel had come as fugitives out of Egypt, and so Yahweh would deliver them as He had His fugitives from Egypt (Isa 49:9-13). For them He had caused waters to flow from the rock, He had even ‘cleaved’ the rock for them to bring those waters out (Exo 17:6; Num 20:11). Thus would He preserve all His own from thirst on their way through any deserts they may cross, even deserts in their own land. But comparison with the next verse, and with Isa 48:18, suggests that this is to be interpreted spiritually as in Isa 44:1-5. It is probably therefore saying that just as those who went through the wilderness were provided with water from a rock, so will the Rock Himself provide spiritual water to all who have found themselves in a spiritual desert and turn to Him so that they might have peace (Isa 48:18). In contrast with the wicked He would give them peace in their hearts (compare Isa 48:18 and Isa 48:22).
Isa 48:22
“There is no peace, says Yahweh, to the wicked.”
But for the wicked there is no peace, under any circumstances. Not for them the peace which is like a river (Isa 48:18). Compare Isa 57:21. This comment sums up the whole section from 40-48. With all the glorious truths and promises that had been revealed and given, the hearts of the majority of Israel were still not at peace. This was what chapter 48 has emphasised. The people are not at peace (Isa 48:18). And now Yahweh sums up why. Even with the worldwide exiles returning there is no peace to the wicked. Total reformation will be needed if they are to find peace. But who is there who can bring it about? The answer lies in the chapters that follow as he describes the One Who will come to bring peace, the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Isa 48:20-21. Go ye forth of Babylon Hitherto the Son of God had proceeded with reproof, but the most gentle of its kind. In the mean time, the Chaldeans, in this part of the prophetic vision, are supposed to have been conquered by Cyrus; Babylon is supposed to be taken, and the time to be at hand wherein the captivity of the Jews should cease, and the edict for their deliverance be promulged; when he turns himself, by an apostrophe, to the faithful among the people, exhorting, or rather commanding them, that they should depart with all speed from Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans, and declare throughout all the world, that God had redeemed his servant Jacob, Isa 48:20 and not only so, but had performed the most singular acts of providence and care for them in their return to their country, so as to enable them to finish their journey without inconvenience, Isa 48:21. The ideas in this verse are taken from God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, and are to be understood metaphorically, that, as God wrought wonders to procure the salvation of his people from Egyptian bondage, and by his mighty providence protected and preserved them, so would he, in like manner, take care of the captives delivered from Babylon, preserve them from dangers, and supply them with all things necessary for them. This he did by the remarkable favour wherewith he inspired Cyrus toward them. See Ezr 1:1-4 and Vitringa; who is of opinion, that the prophesy has still a further and mystical view to the deliverance of the church from spiritual Babylon by Jesus Christ, that living rock whence spiritual waters flow for the salvation of his people. See 1Co 10:4.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
5. SUMMONS TO ISRAEL TO FLEE OUT OF BABYLON
Isa 48:20-21
20Go ye forth of Babylon.
Flee ye from the Chaldeans, with voice of singing
Declare ye, tell this,
Utter it even to the end of the earth;
Say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
21And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts:
He caused waters to flow out of the rock for them:
He clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Both these verses bear entirely the character of the representation in Isa 48:1-15; that is to say, the chief particulars of chaps. 4047 are recapitulated. They especially correspond to chaps. 46, 47, which are principally occupied with Babylon. That Babylon must be destroyed, and that redeemed Israel must go free from the destroyed prison, has been variously declared in preceding chapters. It is to be especially noted that wherever the deliverance of Israel and Jehovah as their Redeemer are spoken of, it is always primarily the deliverance from Babylon that is meant (Isa 41:14; Isa 43:1; Isa 43:14; Isa 44:6; Isa 44:22; Isa 44:24 sqq.; Isa 45:13; Isa 45:17; Isa 47:4). We read in Isa 42:22 that Israel is held captive as in a prison. Babylons fall is specially announced Isa 43:14; Isa 46:1-2; Isa 47:1 sqq. It is said in Isa 42:10-12; Isa 44:23; Isa 45:6; Isa 45:22-24 that the praise of Jehovahs acts of deliverance must be sounded to the end of the earth, and be to all nations a guaranty of their own salvation. That on the way the Israelites shall have water in great abundance is promised Isa 41:17-19; Isa 43:19 sq.; Isa 44:3 sq. That the return from Babylon shall not be inferior to the return out of Egypt in miraculous displays of the saving hand of God is stated Isa 42:16; Isa 43:16; Isa 44:27. Thus verses 20, 21 also bear the character of recapitulation. And hence I believe that Isa 48:16 and the verses 1719 were originally supplements, but through misunderstanding were inserted out of place. As regards particulars, it must be noticed that what is to be proclaimed to the end of the earth begins with The Lord hath redeemed and ends with waters gushed out. The redemption of Israel and its joyful return home must be proclaimed to all nations as a pledge of their own salvation (comp. especially Isa 45:22 sqq.) And particularly this point must be emphasized, to them, that the Lord had now a second time given such a miraculous deliverance to the people Israel. For in that lies even a confirmation of His methodical willing and ability to do. And the waters gushed out occurs again Psa 78:20; Psa 105:41. Moreover see List. [Unless we are prepared to assume an irrational confusion of language, setting all interpretation at defiance, our only alternative is to conclude, on the one hand, that Isaiah meant to foretell a miraculous supply of water during the journey from Babylon to Jerusalem, or that the whole description is a figurative one, meaning simply that the wonders of the Exodus should be renewed. Against the former is the silence of history; against the latter nothing but the foregone conclusion that this and other like passages must relate exclusively to Babylon and the return from exile.J. A. Alexander.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Isa 48:20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
Ver. 20. Go ye forth of Babylon. ] The word among the Jews that despaired of ever returning from Babylon: but the prophet, by an unexpected alarm, commandeth them to return, showing how and why they should do so, and carrieth himself no otherwise than as if he had been a captain in the midst of those captives, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 48:20-22
20Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this,
Send it out to the end of the earth;
Say, The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob.
21They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts.
He made the water flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock and the water gushed forth.
22There is no peace for the wicked, says the LORD.
Isa 48:20 This is a series of commands to the returning Jewish exiles.
1. Go forth from Babylon – Qal IMPERATIVE (BDB 422, KB 425)
2. Flee from the Chaldeans – Qal IMPERATIVE (BDB 137, KB 156)
3. Declare with the sound of joyful shouting – Hiphil IMPERATIVE (BDB 616, KB 665)
4. Proclaim this – Hiphil IMPERATIVE (BDB 1033, KB 1570)
5. Send it out to the end of the earth – Hiphil IMPERATIVE (BDB 422, KB 425)
6. Say. . . – Qal IMPERATIVE (BDB 55, KB 65)
YHWH announces to His people to leave exile and go home. To the world He announces His purpose (cf. Isa 62:11; Jer 31:10; Jer 50:2) and that He has accomplished it! He wants the world to know so they will come to know Him (cf. Isa 2:2-4; Isa 42:6; Isa 45:22-23; Isa 51:4-5; Isa 60:1; Isa 60:3; Act 13:46-49)!
Isa 48:21 The return from Assyrian and Babylonian exile was seen as a new exodus and wilderness wandering. YHWH will provide their every need. He will be with them as He was with the Israelites during the exodus.
Isa 48:22 This is a summary statement related to unbelievers, idolaters (cf. Isa 57:21; Isa 59:8). Any path without YHWH is a path of destruction and ruin. This decision-making process is known in the OT as the two ways (cf. Deu 30:15; Psa 1:1; Pro 4:10-19; Jer 21:8; Mat 7:13-14).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
His servant. See note on Isa 37:35.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 48:20-22
Isa 48:20-22
“Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the ends of the earth: say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked.”
These final words of the chapter again reveal the dual nature of the people addressed: singing and joy for the obedient, returning home to Jerusalem, and the forfeiture of peace forever on the part of the wicked who will remain in Babylon rather than obey the Lord’s commandment to “flee from the Chaldeans.”
Many commentators stress the fact that there is no record of God’s performing miracles such as those stressed in Isa 48:21 for the Jews on their way to Jerusalem; this, of course, does not mean that nothing of that nature happened; but we believe that it would not have required such literal fulfillment as that which most certainly occurred in the wilderness of Israel’s wanderings on the way from Egypt to the land of Canaan in order to satisfy what was prophesied here. The fact that the greatest king of that age would send them with full authority back to their homeland, even paying a very substantial part of the expenses – that was just as wonderful, and just as much the work of God as was the miracle when Moses struck the rock and the water gushed out!
Archer’s summary of this paragraph is:
“This prophecy was written 150 years beforehand to Jews who would be captives in the year 539 B.C. not to tarry on the pagan soil of Babylon, but to take advantage of Cyrus’ permissive edict to return to Jerusalem. They were to bear triumphant testimony before the Gentiles as they celebrated deliverance and recalled Jehovah’s mercies to their fathers.”
Those who would not flee the defilements of Babylon would never know the peace of God .
This concludes the first of the three sections of Division VI of this great prophecy; and this final little paragraph is absolutely, “The climax of Isaiah 40-48.”
Those who obey the Lord and return to Jerusalem will be blessed; but those who reject God’s command to leave Babylon will forfeit the peace of God forever.
Christians must not forget that they also are commanded to come out of the current Babylon. “Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Rev 18:4).
(The end of Section A of Division VI)
Isa 48:20-22 THE WAYFARER: The way of Jehovah is in His commandments. The wayfarer is not forced to take that way; he is exhorted to choose Jehovahs way by a deliberate exercise of his will which is expressed by both a negative and positive action. First he is to flee Babylon and second, he is to declare Jehovahs redemption. These verses are prophetic commands anticipating Judahs captivity by Babylon and release by Cyrus. There were strong temptations for many of the Jews to remain in Mesopotamia after the Persian edict restoring them to their homeland. Many of them did, in fact, remain (cf. Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther). Although most of the Jews retained much of their cultural identity, many of them, influenced by the paganism around them, lost their firm faith in the Scriptures and they produced succeeding generations whose faith was in their past, not in their supernatural messianic future.
The Lords command, Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans . . . anticipated more than physical escape from captivity. It is also a command to holiness; it is an exhortation to Israel to separate herself from the wickedness of Babylon and from dependence upon Babylon for sustenance. The true meaning of this finds its fulfillment in the exhortation to the true Israel (the church) to flee the paganism of Rome (Babylon) (cf. Rev 18:4-5), and not partake of her sins. Singing of the Lords redemption is a favorite figure of Isaiah (cf. Isa 14:7; Isa 24:14; Isa 26:19; Isa 27:2; Isa 35:6; Isa 35:10; Isa 38:20; Isa 42:11; Isa 44:23; Isa 49:13; Isa 51:11; Isa 52:8-9; Isa 54:1; Isa 55:12; Isa 65:14). It is a song of praise and testimony the wayfarer is to sing. It is a song about what Jehovah has done-not how the wayfarer feels! Modern gospel music focuses too much on subjective experiences and feelings. All the exhortations of God are to sing about what God has done objectively and who God is revelationally! It is interesting that the Psalms, written to be sung, are focused on what God has done and who He is. See Psa 81:13-16 which especially sounds like this passage in Isaiah.
Israel does not need to be afraid to break all ties with Babylon and separate itself unto its messianic destiny. Babylons material riches and carnality cannot be the source of Israels security and sustenance. God will keep His promises to sustain them. He kept His covenant with Israel when she separated herself from Egypt. Even when some of the wilderness wayfarers wanted to return to Egypt for security, Jehovah provided them water in the desert. He clave the rock and water gushed out (Exo 17:1-7; Deu 8:15). The fundamental essence of Christs church, according to the New Testament, is its separation from worldliness. Much of the modern-day church, however, has not come out of Babylon but still clings to worldly-attitudes (bigness for bigness sake, spectacularism, subjectivism, manipulation, exploitation) and worldly behavior (wastefulness, sensualness, legalism, show-offishness, shallowness). The church must learn to depend totally on God, not on human programs.
For there is no peace to the wicked. The Hebrew word reshaiym is from the root word rasha and refers mainly to the activity of wickedness which is disquietude, confusion, tossing, restlessness, disturbing. Keil and Delitzsch say the primary meaning of the root word is, laxity and looseness. It is to describe those whose inward moral nature is without firmness and therefore in a state of moral confusion and tossing to and fro; moral upheavel (cf. Isa 57:20-21). Cunning and deceitful men, Paul warns the Ephesian church, would like to bring wickedness into the body of Christ and cause it to be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine (cf. Eph 4:11-16). Many people do not understand that doctrinal vacillation leads to moral confusion. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church (1Co 15:33-34) that evil homilia (teaching, sermonizing) corrupts good morals. And this is the precise point of this passage in Isaiah. Israel must walk in the commandments of Jehovah if she is to have peace. True peace is a result of preaching and doing true doctrine.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
redeemed
Heb. “goel,” Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield “Isa 59:20”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
ye forth: Isa 52:11, Jer 50:8, Jer 51:6, Jer 51:45, Zec 2:6, Zec 2:7, Rev 18:4
with a voice: Isa 12:1, Isa 26:1, Isa 45:22, Isa 45:23, Isa 49:13, Isa 52:9, Exo 15:1-21, Exo 19:4-6, Psa 126:1, Jer 31:12, Jer 31:13, Jer 51:48, Rev 18:20, Rev 19:1-6
utter it even: Isa 48:6, 2Sa 7:23, Jer 31:10, Jer 50:2
Reciprocal: Isa 11:16 – like as it was Isa 44:22 – return Isa 48:17 – the Lord Isa 51:11 – the redeemed Isa 51:14 – captive Isa 52:8 – with Isa 55:12 – ye shall Isa 62:10 – go through Jer 31:11 – redeemed Jer 31:21 – turn Jer 50:28 – voice Jer 51:50 – escaped Mic 4:10 – there shalt Nah 2:8 – Stand
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 48:20-21. Go ye forth of Babylon The imperative is here, as it is very frequently, put for the future, ye shall go forth, &c. For the words do not so much contain a command as a promise. This form of speaking, however, may be the rather used to intimate, that it was their duty to go forth, as well as Gods promise to carry them forth. Flee ye from the Chaldeans Not silently and sorrowfully, but with a voice of singing With joy, and songs of praise to the Lord. Declare ye, &c., even to the end of the earth Publish Gods wonderful works on your behalf to all nations. A figure this of the publishing of the gospel to all the world. And they thirsted not, &c. This is part of the matter which the Jews are here commanded to declare to all people, as they had opportunity, namely, that God took the same care of them in their return from Babylon to Canaan, which was through many dry and desolate places, as he did of their forefathers, in their march from Egypt to Canaan. They thirsted not, &c. That is, They shall not thirst. He speaks of things to come, as if they were already present or past, as the prophets commonly did. He caused the waters to flow out of the rock, &c. If this prophecy, says Kimchi, relate to the return from the Babylonish captivity, as it seems to do, it is to be wondered how it comes to pass, that in the book of Ezra, in which he gives an account of their return, no mention is made, that such miracles were wrought for them; as, for instance, that God clave the rock for them in the desert. On this strange observation of the learned rabbi, Bishop Lowth remarks as follows: It is really much to be wondered, that one of the most learned and judicious Jewish expositors of the Old Testament, having advanced so far in a large comment on Isaiah, should appear to be totally ignorant of the prophets manner of writing; of the parabolic style which prevails in the writings of all the prophets, and more particularly in the prophecy of Isaiah, which abounds throughout in parabolic images, from the beginning to the end: from Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, to the worm and the fire in the last verse. And how came he to keep his wonderment to himself so long? Why did he not expect, that the historian should have related how, as they passed through the desert, cedars, pines, and olive-trees shot up at once on the side of the way to shade them; and that, instead of briers and brambles, the acacia and the myrtle sprang up under their feet, according to Gods promises, Isa 41:19; Isa 55:13? These, and a multitude of the like parabolical or poetical images, were never intended to be understood literally. All that the prophet designed in this place, and which he has executed in the most elegant manner, was an amplification and illustration of the gracious care and protection of God, vouchsafed to his people in their return from Babylon, by an allusion to the miraculous exodus from Egypt.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 48:20-22. The Joyous Song of the Returning Exiles.The exiles on their return exhort one another to publish the salvation which Yahweh has brought, how, repeating the wonders of the Exodus, He miraculously provides them with water as they pass through the desert to Jerusalem.
Isa 48:20. from: out of the midst of, not fearing the Chaldeans, but escaping so as not to be involved in their ruin.
Isa 48:22. An insertion from Isa 57:21.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
48:20 {y} Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
(y) After he had forewarned them of their captivity and of the reason for it, he shows them the great joy that will come of their deliverance.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
In view of the new promises concerning Cyrus and return from exile, Isaiah called on the Israelites in captivity to depart from Babylon when they could (cf. Rev 18:4-5), and to publicize the promise of the second Exodus. It was as good as accomplished. In view of this prophecy, it was wrong for the Israelites to remain in Babylonia after Cyrus permitted them to return to the Promised Land. Yet many did remain.
This verse is, "A summons beforehand to Jews who would be captives in 539 B.C. not to tarry in the pagan soil of Babylon, but to take advantage of Cyrus’ permissive edict and return to Judah." [Note: Archer, p. 643.]
This "missionary challenge" to take good news to the nations fittingly climaxes the message of chapters 40-48.