Isaiah 42:7

Isa 42:7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, [and] them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Ver. 7. To open the blind eyes.] By the preaching of the gospel. {Act 26:18 2Co 4:4-6 Rev 3:18}

To bring out the prisoners from the prison.] To free poor souls from the tyranny of sin and terror of hell. This should make us say to Christ, as one did once to Augustus for a deliverance nothing so great, Effecisti, Ceesar, ut viverem et morerer ingratus, Let me do mine utmost, I must live and die in thy debt.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa_42:7

To open the blind eyes

Opening blind eyes

What a grievous affliction is blindness! It was no frivolous boon which Christ, in the days of His sojourn on earth, thought proper to confer, when, in the external sense, He opened blind eyes.

In the paragraph of which the text is a part, Jehovah is describing the Messiah in His spiritual character and work; and, great as the marvel of removing natural blindness was, and great as similar miracles were which Christ performed, their principal value consisted in their being symbols and pledges of those spiritual operations which He could accomplish on the souls of men.

I. THE CALAMITY OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS WHICH HAS OVERTAKEN OUR RACE. You would very greatly aggravate the evil of natural blindness by dilating on the numerous and diversified beauties of nature, for the poor blind man sees none of these things! But how much greater is the calamity by which the soul is excluded from the sight of the glory of God! There is very high criminality connected with the origin of this spiritual blindness. The Divine displeasure never arises without a cause, or beyond the cause. What, then, must have been the cause which led to such a fatal condition? The incontestable and melancholy fact is, that man has sinned! As there was high criminality connected with the origin of this blindness, so there is high criminality connected with the continuance of it. If men, struck with this blindness, were to humble themselves on account of it, it would be some alleviation of the matter; but, generally, I find men taking advantage of their darkness, and receding further and further from God; and, indeed, many of them seem never to be so completely happy as when they have most effectually succeeded in banishing all thought of God. This spiritual blindness is so complete that it leads a man to pervert the very instruments which God has appointed for its removal. Take an observation of the state of mankind around us, and see whether or not it sustains this description.

II. THE GREAT ORDINANCE OF JEHOVAH FOR THE REMOVAL OF THIS CALAMITY. See what light Christ has thrown on the character of God! Consider the light which He has thrown on the providence around us. The difficulties of the virtuous, and the shouting success of the villainous, almost seemed, to conscientious men, to indicate very bad management on the part of God; and they have had recourse to a great many theories to explain it. Christ has thrown light on the afflictions which happen to the people of God. And on that immortality which is before us. And on the spiritualities which are required within us.

III. THE GRANDEUR OF THAT OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT BY WHICH THE REMOVAL OF THIS SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS IS EFFECTED. (J. E. Beaumont, M. D.)

New sight causes great joy

I do not wonder that, when a man gets this light into his soul, he should be overjoyed. A young woman had lived to the age of eighteen without seeing at all. Dr. Boyle watched the performance of an operation upon her, and he has described, as only a philosopher could describe, what took place. For some time they were afraid she would lose her reason, so overcome was she by the innumerable beauties which so suddenly burst in upon her. (J. E. Beaumont, M. D.)

A social saviour

This is the kind of man needed in all ages. We have critics enough, we have judges in great abundance, we have speculators more than can be overtaken by statistical genius; we want another kind of man, and we seek for him no better description than that which is outlined by the prophet. We want moral helpers, social saviours, personal healers and comforters. Shall we apply these words to the Lord Jesus Christ? They will fit the occasion exactly. In Him they would seem to secure their amplest and completest realisation. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Christianity opens eyes

Christianity opens eyes never closes them. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Victor Emmanuel, emancipator

We gladly survey the effectual operations of Jesus the Saviour, the true Victor Emmanuel, who comes to set men free from the bondage of their sins.

I. CONSIDER WHO IT IS THAT SENDS JESUS CHRIST TO ACCOMPLISH THE LIBERATION OF THE SONS OF MEN, because much will depend upon the Liberators credentials, the authority by which He is warranted, and the power by which He is hacked. We sing for joy of heart as we see that the Infinite God Himself commissioned the Lord Jesus to be the Deliverer of men; and He did this--

1. In His capacity as Creator (Isa_42:5).

2. He also describes Himself as the life-giver (Isa_42:5).

3. The faithful God. I the Lord have called Thee in righteousness (Isa_42:6) that is to say, the God who sends Christ the Saviour is not one who plays with words, and having given a promise to-day, retracts it to-morrow.

4. The everblessed sender of the Lord Jesus is omnipotent. And will hold thine hand, and will keep Thee. By which is meant that God will give to the Mediator all His power. Christ is the power of God.

II. THE SENT ONE HIMSELF.

1. Jesus is a chosen one. Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth (Isa_42:1).

2. Jesus is anointed to this work. I have put My Spirit upon Him. The Holy Spirit is the greatest of all actors in the world of mind. He it is who can illuminate, persuade, and control the spirits of men.

3. The Redeemer is spoken of as being gentle and lowly of heart, which should commend Him much to every lowly and contrite spirit (Isa_42:3).

4. The Christ who has come to save the sons of men is persevering to the last degree (Isa_42:4).

III. THE WORK ITSELF. The Messiahs work of grace is divided into three parts.

1. To open the blind eyes. Mans understanding is perverted from the knowledge of God, from a true sense of sin, from a realisation of Divine justice, from a right estimate of salvation. The understanding, which is the eye of the soul, is darkened. But when the anointed Saviour comes, He removes the scales of our mental ophthalmia, and in the light of God we see light.

2. To bring out the prisoners from the prison. Habits of sin, like iron nets, surround the sinner, and he cannot escape their meshes. Faith in the Lord Jesus is the end of bondage and the dawn of freedom.

3. Bringing them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. This we will refer to those who are truly emancipated, and yet by reason of despondency sit down in the dark dungeon.

IV. WHAT IS THE DESIGN OF GOD IN ALL THIS? I am the Lord: that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another (Isa_42:8). (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Stages of liberty

Men are in various stages of liberty. We are not all equally the free men of God. There are men even now who are under the disadvantage of prejudice. Even to-day superstition lives--chilling, fear-exciting, soul-depressing superstition. There are those who still live in the letter of the Word. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42:7 The servant will open the eyes of the spiritually blind (see 6:10; 29:18) and free the spiritual captives from the prison of sin, in addition to those who were captive in the Babylonian exile (see 61:1 with Luke 4:18).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

blind--spiritually (Isa 42:16, Isa 42:18-19; Isa 35:5; Joh 9:39).

prison-- (Isa 61:1-2).

darkness--opposed to "light" (Isa 42:6; Eph 5:8; Pe1 2:9).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. To open the blind eyes] In this verse the prophet seems to set forth the spiritual redemption, under images borrowed from the temporal deliverance.

Out of the prison house - "And from the dungeon."] The Septuagint, Syriac, and four MSS., one ancient, add the conjunction ו vau, ומבית umibbeith, and from the house.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) To open the blind eyes.—The prophet must have felt the contrast between this and his own mission (Isa_6:10). The words all point to spiritual blessings. (Comp. St. Paul’s call in Act_26:18.) The “prison” is that of the selfishness and sin which hinder men from being truly free. In the “prisoners of hope” of Zec_9:11, and the “spirits in prison” of 1Pe_3:18, we have different aspects of the same thought.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. to open [the] blind eyes] The subject of this and the following verb might be either Jehovah or His Servant, and the point is not quite settled by ch. Isa_49:8. The latter, however, seems more probable from Isa_49:6. The reference is no doubt to the Servant’s work on Israel. The “blindness” spoken of is spiritual (see Isa_42:18-20); imprisonment is a metaphor for the Captivity (Isa_42:22); although a spiritual application may be included here also.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To open the blind eyes,.... Of the idolatrous Gentiles, who were spiritually blind, and knew not the wretchedness of their case; the exceeding sinfulness of sin; their need of a Saviour, and who he was; as they did, when their eyes were opened by means of the Gospel sent among them, through the energy of the divine Spirit; for this is a work of almighty power and efficacious grace:

to bring out the prisoners from the prison; who were concluded in sin, shut up in unbelief, and under the law, the captives of Satan, and held fast prisoners by him and their own lusts, under the dominion of which they were:

and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house: of sin, Satan, and the law; being under which, they were in a state of darkness and ignorance as to things divine and spiritual. The allusion is to prisons, which are commonly dark places. Vitringa, by the "prisoners", understands the Jews shut up under the law; and by those in "darkness" the Gentiles, destitute of all divine knowledge.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

To open the blind eyes - This is equivalent to saying that he would impart instruction to those who were ignorant. It relates to the Jews as well as to the Gentiles. He would acquaint them with God, and with the way of salvation. The condition of the world is often represented as one of darkness and blindness. Men see not their true character; they see not their real condition; they are ignorant of God, and of the truths pertaining to their future existence; and they need, therefore, some one who shall enlighten, and sanctify, and save them.

To bring out the prisoners from the prison - (Compare Isa 61:1-2). This evidently refers to a spiritual deliverance, though the language is derived from deliverance from a prison. It denotes that he would rescue those who were confined in mental darkness by sin; and that their deliverance from the thraldom and darkness of sin would be as wonderful as if a prisoner should be delivered suddenly from a dark cell, and be permitted to go forth and breathe the pure air of freedom. Such is the freedom which the gospel imparts; nor can there be a more striking description of its happy effects on the minds and hearts of darkened and wretched people (compare 1Pe 2:9).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

House. The Jews out of captivity, prefigured the redemption of mankind. These miracles proved that Jesus was the Messias, Luke vii. 22.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The blind eyes; the eyes of their minds blinded with long ignorance, and deep prejudice, and inveterate error, and by the power and policy of the god of this world, 2Co 4:4, which nothing but the almighty power of God could cure.

The prisoners; sinners, unto are taken captive by the devil at his will, as we read, 2Ti 2:26, and as daily experience showeth, and who are enslaved and chained by their own lusts, and made free-men only by Christ, Joh 8:32,36. Compare this portion of Scripture with Isa 61:1, and both with Luk 4:17-21, where it is said to be fulfilled in and by Christ.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. To open the blind eyes — That is, to quicken the intellect to discern moral distinctions — the conscience to feel, and the will to bestir itself, in view of them.

To bring out the prisoners — Deliverance from the prison house of sin was another function. Messianic work is providential work, so-called; ordering, through its moral changes, physical changes. The Gospel and effects are an exemplification of these things everywhere.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To open the blind eyes. The Messiah was to cure both physical and. spiritual blindness. (see Isa_29:18 Isa_32:3 Isa_35:5, etc.) Here it is spiritual blindness that is specially intended, as appears both by the symbolic language of the two conjoined clauses, and by the comment of vers. 16-19. To bring out the prisoners from the prison; rather, to bring out prisoners. To deliver from the bondage of sin such as are its slaves, and shut up in its prison-houses. The promise is general, but, like all spiritual promises, conditioned by the willingness of those who are its objects to avail themselves of it. Them that sit in darkness. (comp. Isa_9:2)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

“To open blind eyes, to bring out from prison the bondman, from the house of confinement the dwellers in darkness.” This was the end to be accomplished by the Servant of Jehovah in the character or office just ascribed to Him. The spiritual evils to be remedied are represented under the figures of imprisonment and darkness, the removal of the latter having obvious allusion to the light of the nations in v. 6. That explanation of these words, which refers them to the restoration of the Jews from exile, is encumbered with various and complex difficulties. What is said of bondage must be either strictly understood or metaphorically. If the former be preferred, how is it that the Prophet did not use expressions more exactly descriptive of the state of Israel in Babylon? A whole nation carried captive by its enemies could hardly be described as prisoners in dark dungeons. If it be said that this is a figurative representation of confinement in the dark, the principle of strict interpretation is abandoned, and the imprisonment itself may be a metaphor for other evils. There is then left no specific reason for applying this description to the exile any more than to a hundred other seasons of calamity. Another and more positive objection to this limitation is, that it connects this verse with only part of the previous description, and that the part to which it bears the least resemblance. Even granting what has been disproved, that the covenant of the people has respect to Israel alone, how is it that the other attribute, a light to the Gentiles, must be excluded in interpreting what follows? It was surely not in this capacity that the Servant of Jehovah was to set the Jewish exiles free. The opening of the eyes and the deliverance of those that sit in darkness are correlative expressions to the light of the Gentiles, which on this account, and as the nearest antecedent, must decide the sense of this verse, if that sense depend on either of these attributes exclusively. I will make thee a light to the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes etc. can scarcely mean, I will make thee an instructor of the heathen to restore the Jews from captivity in Babylon. Whether the verse before us therefore be strictly or figuratively understood, it cannot be applied to the captivity without doing violence at once to the text and context. The very same reasoning applies to the analogous expressions used in Isa 49:9, and thus corroborates our previous conclusion, that the context in neither of these places favors, much less requires, the restriction of these words to the Jews. The only natural interpretation of the verse before us is that which makes it figurative like the one preceding it; and the only natural interpretation of its figures is the one which understands them as descriptive of spiritual blindness and spiritual bondage, both which are metaphors of constant application to the natural condition of mankind in the Old as well as the New Testament. The removal of these evils is the work of Christ, as the revealer of the Father, who has brought life and immortality to light; but in subordination to Him, and as His representative, His church may also be correctly represented as a covenant of the people and a light of the nations; since the law, though a divine revelation, was to go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues describing what his servant will do.

to open the eyes of the blind

Causing blind people to see is spoken of as if it were opening their eyes. Also, Yahweh speaks of his servant delivering those who have been wrongly imprisoned as if his servant were restoring sight to blind people. AT: "to enable the blind to see" (See: Metaphor)

to release the prisoners from the dungeon, and from the house of confinement those who sit in darkness

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The verb may be supplied in the second phrase. AT: "to release the prisoners from the dungeon, and to release those who sit in darkness from the house in which they are confined" (See: Parallelism and Ellipsis)

translationWords

prison

darkness

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

To open blind eyes who do not see My might, to take heart to return to Me.

to bring prisoners out of a dungeon And because their eyes will be opened, the prisoners will come out of the dungeon. Another explanation: To inform them of the exile destined to befall them, out of which they will eventually come.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

To bring out the prisoners, etc. To tell Israel that they shall be delivered out of the Babylonian exile. Comp. 49:9

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.