Isaiah 44:26

Isa 44:26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:

Ver. 26. That confirmeth the word of his servant,] i.e., Of myself and other prophets, saying the same with me.

That saith to Jerusalem.] Who then shall gainsay it? Is not God’s word his will, and his will his work?

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.

Of Isaiah and the rest of his Prophets, which did assure the Church of God’s favor and deliverance.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

servant--in a collective sense, for the prophets in general, who foretold the return from Babylon; answering to "His messengers" (plural, in the parallel clause) [MAURER]. Antitypically, and ultimately, Messiah, who is the consummating embodiment of all the prophets and messengers of God (Mal 3:1; Mat 21:34, Mat 21:36-37; Joh 10:36); hence the singular, "His servant."

counsel--predictions; prophets' counsels concern the future (compare "counsellor," Isa 41:28).

Jerusalem--regarded prophetically, as lying in ruins.

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

(26) That confirmeth the word of his servant.—The parallelism of “servant” in the singular with “messengers” in the plural suggests the thought that the prophet is not speaking of himself, but of Israel, as the ideal “servant of the Lord,” the prophetic nation represented by the individual “messengers” or prophets. Comp. as to the word Isa_42:19; Mal_3:1, and that prophet’s own name (“my messenger”).

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

26. That confirmeth] is the antithesis to “that frustrateth” in Isa_44:25. (Cf. Jer_29:10; Jer_33:14).

the word of his servant … the counsel of his messengers] are parallel expressions for the word of prophecy. The sing. “servant” presents some difficulty. That it is equivalent to “prophet” is clear from the context; but that a particular prophet, such as Jeremiah or the writer himself, is meant is extremely improbable. It might conceivably be used of the prophets collectively, or of Israel as the bearer of the prophetic word, but the parallelism with “messengers” in the next clause is opposed to both these interpretations. The word should probably be pointed as a plural,—his servants; which is the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus of the LXX.

performeth] Lit. completeth.

that saith &c.] that saith of Jerusalem, Let her be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, Let them be built. At this point, as Delitzsch observes, the transition is made to special predictions bearing on the restoration of Israel.

decayed places] R.V. waste places, or ruins.

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.

That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers,.... Who, as he confirmed the word of Isaiah and other prophets, and fulfilled their predictions concerning the captivity of the Jews, and their deliverance from it; so he has confirmed and established the word preached by his servants, the Gospel, which is the counsel of God, delivered out by his messengers, the apostles, and first preachers of it; it being attended with the demonstration of the spirit, and of power, to the conversion of sinners, and to the destruction of idolatry and Pagan worship. By the Lord's "servant" some understand Moses, as Jarchi; others Isaiah, as Kimchi and most interpreters; and why not Paul, as Cocceius? though the singular seems rather to be put for the plural, as the next clause explains it; and so the Arabic version renders it, "his servants"; to which the Targum agrees, paraphrasing it,

"confirming the words of his servants the righteous:''

that saith to Jerusalem, thou shalt be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof; all which suppose that Jerusalem, which, in the prophet's time, was full of inhabitants, should be emptied of them, by the sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity; yet, nevertheless, there should be a return of the Jews from captivity, and this city should be peopled and inhabited again; and also, that the cities of Judah, which were now in good circumstances, should be laid waste, and all the adjacent country be in a ruinous condition, all which should be rebuilt and restored to a flourishing state again. The Lord had said it, and it should be done; as accordingly it was. This may be understood, in a spiritual sense, of the building up of the church of God, and the setting up and establishing the interest of Christ, by the preaching of the Gospel.

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

That confirmeth the word of his servant - Probably the word ‘servant’ here is to be taken in a collective sense, as referring to the prophets in general who had foretold the return of the Jews to their own land, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Or it may be, that the prophet refers more particularly to himself as having made a full prediction of this event. The parallel expression, ‘his messengers,’ however, is in the plural number, and thus it is rendered probable that the word here refers to the prophets collectively. The idea is, that it was a characteristic of God to establish the words of his servants the prophets, and that their predictions in regard to the return from the captivity in a special manner would be fulfilled.

The counsel of his messengers - The prophets whom he had sent to announce future events, and to give counsel and consolation to the nation.

That saith to Jerusalem - Jerusalem is here supposed to be lying in ruins, and the people to be in captivity in Babylon. In this situation, God is represented as addressing desolate Jerusalem, and saying, that it should be again inhabited, and that the cities of Judah should be rebuilt.

The decayed places - Margin, ‘Wastes.’ No land, probably, was ever more completely desolated than the land of Judea when its inhabitants were carried to Babylon.

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

Servant. The prophets and Jesus Christ, whose works never fail, Matthew xxiv. 35. (Calmet) --- In all this prediction of the Church, Isaias alludes to Jerusalem destroyed, and afterwards rebuilt. (Worthington)

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).

Of his servant; of his servants, the prophets, as appears from the next clause, which answers to this, where he useth the plural number,

his messengers; Isaiah and other prophets, whom God sent upon this errand, to foretell the destruction of Babylon, and the redemption of his people.

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

That confirmeth the word of his servant; that is, of Isaiah himself, whom God calls "my Servant" in Isa_20:3. Thev"messengers" are the prophets generally. Before the return from the Captivity took place, it had been prophesied, not only by Isaiah, but by Jeremiah, (Jer_29:10-14) by Ezekiel, (Eze_39:25-28) by, (Joe_3:1) by Amos, (Amo_9:11-15) by Obadiah, (Oba_1:20) by, (Mic_4:10) and by Zephaniah. (Zep_3:14-20)

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

“Confirming the word of His servant, and the counsel of His messengers He will fulfill; the (One) saying to (or as to) Jerusalem,’ She shall be inhabited,’ and to (or as to) the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and her ruins I will raise’.” With the frustration of the heathen prophecies is here contrasted the fulfillment of Jehovah’s, who is Himself represented as securing their accomplishment. The word translated ‘confirming’ has here the same sense as in Jer 29:10; Jer 33:14, viz. that of bringing a promise or prophecy to pass. ‘His servant’ may refer primarily and directly to the writer himself, but considered as one of a class, who are then distinctly mentioned in the other member as ‘His messengers’. The specific application of the title of God’s servant to the prophets is apparent from 2Ki 24:2; Jer 29:19; Jer 35:15; Jer 44:4. Most writers make ‘counsel’ a description of prophecy, considered as involving or suggesting counsel and advice with respect to the future. (Compare the similar application of the verb in Isa 41:28) The last clause, beginning with the words ‘the One saying’ might be considered as a more specific designation or description of His servant; viz. the (servant) saying etc. But this interpretation is precluded by the double repetition of the words in the two succeeding verses and in evident application to Jehovah Himself. ‘To raise up the ruins’ of a city is of course to rebuild it.

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

who confirmed the words of his servant and brings to pass the predictions of his messengers

Yahweh is saying the same thing twice to emphasize that it is only he, Yahweh, who causes the prophesies to be fulfilled. (See: Parallelism)

the words of his servant ... the predictions of his messengers

The abstract nouns "words" and "predictions" can be translated as verbs. AT: "what his servant declares ... what his messengers announce" (See: Abstract Nouns)

She will be inhabited

This can be stated in active form. AT: "People will live there again" (See: Active or Passive)

They will be built again

This can be stated in active form. AT: "People will rebuild them" (See: Active or Passive)

I will raise up their ruins

The phrase "ruins" refers to places that have been destroyed. Yahweh speaks of rebuilding them as if he were raising them up. AT: "I will rebuild what others have destroyed" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

Yahweh

servant

Jerusalem

Judah

ruin

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

He fulfills the word of His servant Moses.

and the counsel of His messengers One angel said to Jacob (Gen. 32:27), “Israel shall be your name,” and I fulfilled his words. Here too, I will fulfill the counsel of My prophets who say concerning Jerusalem, “It shall be settled.”

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.

His servant. The prophet himself. The word of his servant, that Jerusalem shall be inhabited.

תושב Thou shalt be inhabited. Root ישב to dwell. Comp. תורד thou shalt be brought down (14:15) from ירד to go down.

Her decayed places. The decayed places of every city, or of Jerusalem.

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.