Isaiah

Part One: Introduction to Isaiah

The Prophet

Isaiah (Hebrew Yesha'yahu) means "Jehovah is salvation" or "The LORD saves." The name is a summary of the whole book. The word "salvation" appears in Isaiah more than in all the other Old Testament prophets combined, and the name of Jesus (Yeshua, "Jehovah saves") comes from the same root.

Isaiah was the son of Amoz (1:1). Jewish tradition holds that Amoz was a brother of King Amaziah, which would make Isaiah a cousin to King Uzziah and explain his easy access to the royal court. He lived in Jerusalem, was married to a woman he calls "the prophetess" (8:3), and had at least two sons whose names were themselves prophecies: Shear-jashub, "a remnant shall return" (7:3), and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, "haste to the spoil, quick to the plunder" (8:1-4). He says plainly: "Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel" (8:18), a verse the New Testament applies to Christ (Hebrews 2:13).

Jewish tradition (the Talmud and the Ascension of Isaiah) records that Isaiah was martyred under wicked King Manasseh by being sawn in two inside a hollow log. Many believe Hebrews 11:37, "they were sawn asunder," alludes to him.

Date and Historical Setting

Isaiah prophesied "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (1:1). His call came "in the year that king Uzziah died" (6:1), around 740 BC, and his ministry ran at least until Sennacherib's death in 681 BC (37:38). That is a ministry of roughly 60 years.

• The Assyrian threat. Assyria was the superpower of the age. It destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria) in 722 BC and invaded Judah in 701 BC under Sennacherib.
• The Syro-Ephraimite crisis (c. 734 BC). Syria (Rezin) and Israel (Pekah) attacked Judah to force it into an anti-Assyrian alliance. Ahaz refused to trust God and hired Assyria instead. This is the setting of the virgin-birth prophecy in chapter 7.
• Hezekiah's reign. A godly king who trusted the LORD when Jerusalem was surrounded. God destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (37:36).
• The coming Babylonian exile. Isaiah foretold that Judah would be carried to Babylon (39:5-7) more than a century before it happened (586 BC), and foretold the return under Cyrus (44:28; 45:1) about 150 years ahead.

Isaiah's contemporaries were Hosea and Micah. Micah 4:1-3 is nearly identical to Isaiah 2:2-4.

Isaiah's Place in Scripture

Isaiah is the first of the Major Prophets and is often called "the Prince of the Prophets" and "the Evangelical Prophet," because no Old Testament book presents the gospel so clearly. Jerome said Isaiah should be called an evangelist rather than a prophet. Isaiah is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more than any other prophet, with dozens of direct quotations (roughly sixty or more by common count) and hundreds of allusions. Jesus began His public ministry in Nazareth by reading Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:16-21).

The Unity and Authorship of Isaiah

Since the 18th century, critical scholars have divided Isaiah into two or three authors: "First Isaiah" (1-39), "Second Isaiah" (40-55), and "Third Isaiah" (56-66). The main reason is the assumption that a prophet cannot name Cyrus 150 years before his birth. That is an anti-supernatural assumption, not an argument from evidence. The Bible-believing position is that Isaiah son of Amoz wrote the entire book, for these reasons:

• The New Testament attributes both halves to Isaiah. John 12:38-41 quotes Isaiah 53:1 and Isaiah 6:10 together and says of both, "These things said Esaias." Jesus and the apostles cite "Esaias the prophet" for passages from chapters 40-66 (Matthew 3:3; 8:17; 12:17-21; Luke 3:4; 4:17; Romans 10:16, 20).
• The Dead Sea Scrolls. The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a), found at Qumran in 1947 and dated to the second century BC, contains all 66 chapters as one continuous book, with no indication of a new work beginning at chapter 40. It also agrees overwhelmingly with the Masoretic Text copied a thousand years later, a powerful witness to God's preservation of His Word.
• Unifying vocabulary. The title "the Holy One of Israel" appears about 25 times in Isaiah, split across both halves, and only a handful of times in the rest of the Old Testament.
• Predictive prophecy is the point. In chapters 40-48 God repeatedly challenges the idols to foretell the future and declares that He alone does so: "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done" (46:10). Naming Cyrus in advance is God's proof of His deity (44:24-45:7). Removing the prediction removes the argument.
• Jewish and Christian tradition held to single authorship for over two thousand years.

The Structure: A "Miniature Bible"

Isaiah has 66 chapters; the Bible has 66 books. Isaiah divides into 39 chapters and 27 chapters; the Bible divides into 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books. The first 39 chapters focus heavily on law, sin and judgment, like the Old Testament. Chapter 40, the start of the second section, opens with the "voice of him that crieth in the wilderness" (40:3), the very ministry of John the Baptist that opens the New Testament gospels. The final chapters describe "new heavens and a new earth" (65:17; 66:22), just as Revelation 21-22 closes the Bible. This is not inspired chapter division (chapters were added much later), but the parallel is a striking pattern that many Bible teachers have noted.

Outline of Isaiah

Notice that the three sections of the Book of Comfort each have nine chapters and each ends with a warning to the wicked. The middle chapter of the middle section is Isaiah 53, and the middle verse of that chapter group's central stanza is 53:5: "he was wounded for our transgressions." The cross stands at the heart of the book.

Part Two: Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis

Section I: Judah's Sin and the Coming King (Chapters 1-12)

Chapter 1 — God's Lawsuit Against Judah

The book opens like a courtroom. God calls heaven and earth as witnesses (1:2) against a nation that knows less than an ox or a donkey (1:3). Judah is "laden with iniquity," sick from head to foot (1:4-6). Their sacrifices, feasts and prayers are an abomination because their hands are full of blood (1:11-15). Religion without righteousness is rejected. Yet God offers grace:

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Isaiah 1:18

The chapter sets the pattern of the whole book: sin, judgment, and a call to repent with a promise of cleansing. Verse 9, "Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant," is quoted in Romans 9:29.

Chapter 2 — The Mountain of the LORD and the Day of the LORD

Verses 2-4 picture "the last days," when the house of the LORD is established above all mountains, all nations flow to it, the law goes forth from Zion, and "they shall beat their swords into plowshares." This is a kingdom promise not yet fulfilled; it awaits Christ's reign. The rest of the chapter describes "the day of the LORD" against human pride: "the lofty looks of man shall be humbled... and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day" (2:11, 17). Men will hide in the rocks "for fear of the LORD" (2:19, 21), language echoed in Revelation 6:15-16.

Chapter 3 — Collapse of Leadership

God removes the stay and staff of Judah: its judges, soldiers and prophets (3:1-3). "Children" and the immature will rule (3:4, 12). "The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom" (3:9). The haughty daughters of Zion, with their tinkling ornaments and finery (3:16-24), are a picture of a vain, worldly culture that will be stripped bare. Lesson: when a nation rejects God, its leadership decays.

Chapter 4 — The Branch of the LORD

After judgment comes cleansing. "In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious" (4:2). "The Branch" is a Messianic title (Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12). The remnant is called holy, washed by "the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning" (4:4), and the glory-cloud of the Exodus returns over Zion (4:5-6).

Chapter 5 — The Song of the Vineyard and Six Woes

God planted a vineyard (Israel), did everything for it, and it produced wild grapes (5:1-7). Jesus built His parable of the wicked husbandmen on this song (Matthew 21:33-45). Six woes follow: against greed for land (5:8), drunkenness (5:11, 22), mocking God (5:18-19), moral inversion (5:20), self-wisdom (5:21), and bribery (5:23).

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

Chapter 6 — Isaiah's Vision and Commission

One of the greatest chapters in the Bible. In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah "saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" (6:1). Seraphim cry, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory" (6:3). Isaiah's response: "Woe is me! for I am undone" (6:5). A live coal from the altar touches his lips: "thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged" (6:7). Then God asks, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" and Isaiah answers, "Here am I; send me" (6:8).

Christian significance:

• Christ is the Lord on the throne. John 12:41 says Isaiah said these things "when he saw his glory, and spake of him," referring to Jesus. The Lord Isaiah saw was the pre-incarnate Son.
• The Trinity. The threefold "holy" and the plural "us" (6:8) point toward the triune God. Acts 28:25 attributes the words of 6:9-10 to the Holy Ghost.
• The order of salvation and service: vision of God, conviction of sin, cleansing by sacrifice (the altar), then commission.
• Judicial hardening. Isaiah's message would harden the hearers (6:9-10). This passage is quoted in all four Gospels and Acts (Matthew 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26-27) to explain Israel's rejection of Christ. A "holy seed" remnant remains (6:13).

Chapter 7 — The Sign of Immanuel

Syria and Israel threaten Jerusalem. Isaiah meets King Ahaz and tells him not to fear, adding, "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established" (7:9). Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign, feigning piety. God gives one anyway, addressed to the whole "house of David" (the "you" in 7:13-14 is plural):

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

Matthew 1:22-23 declares this fulfilled in the virgin birth of Jesus, "God with us." See Part Four for a detailed discussion of the word "virgin." The chapter ends with Assyria, the very power Ahaz trusted, becoming the razor that shaves Judah (7:17-20).

Chapter 8 — The Stone of Stumbling

Isaiah's son Maher-shalal-hash-baz is a sign that Damascus and Samaria will be plundered by Assyria before the child can speak (8:4), fulfilled within about three years. Assyria will flood Judah "even to the neck" (8:8), but "God is with us" (Immanuel, 8:8, 10). The LORD Himself will be "a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel" (8:14), applied to Christ in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:8. Verse 18 is applied to Christ in Hebrews 2:13. The chapter closes with the rule for testing every teaching:

To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Isaiah 8:20

Chapter 9 — Unto Us a Child Is Born

"Galilee of the nations," the despised northern region first crushed by Assyria, will see a great light (9:1-2). Matthew 4:13-16 says this was fulfilled when Jesus based His ministry in Capernaum. Then comes the great promise:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David...

Isaiah 9:6-7

A child is born (His humanity); a Son is given (His eternal deity). "The mighty God" (El Gibbor) is the same title Isaiah uses of Jehovah Himself in 10:21. No mere human king could bear these names. The rest of the chapter (9:8-10:4) is a fourfold judgment on proud Israel, each stanza ending, "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."

Chapter 10 — Assyria, the Rod of God's Anger

God uses Assyria as "the rod of mine anger" to punish Israel (10:5), but Assyria is proud and will itself be judged: "Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?" (10:15). A remnant will return "unto the mighty God" (10:21). Paul quotes 10:22-23 in Romans 9:27-28. The chapter ends with the Assyrian march on Jerusalem halted, the forest cut down (10:28-34), leading straight into the shoot from the stump in chapter 11.

Chapter 11 — The Branch from Jesse and His Kingdom

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him...

Isaiah 11:1-2

The house of David, cut down to a stump, sprouts again in Christ. The sevenfold Spirit rests on Him (11:2; compare Revelation 1:4; Luke 3:22). He judges with perfect righteousness (11:3-5). Then comes the picture of the kingdom: the wolf dwells with the lamb, the child plays by the serpent's den, "for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (11:6-9). Verse 10 says the Gentiles will seek the root of Jesse (quoted in Romans 15:12). Verses 11-16 promise a second worldwide regathering of Israel. Christ is both the "root" and the "offspring" of David (Revelation 22:16).

Chapter 12 — The Song of Salvation

A short hymn the redeemed will sing "in that day":

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 12:2-3

The water imagery links to Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:37-38), where water-drawing ceremonies were tied to this very text.

Section II: Oracles Against the Nations (Chapters 13-23)

These "burdens" teach that the God of Israel is the Judge of the whole earth. No empire is beyond His reach. Many of these were fulfilled precisely in history.

Chapters 13-14 — The Burden of Babylon and the Fall of Lucifer

Babylon, not yet a world power in Isaiah's day, is singled out for destruction. God names the Medes as the attackers (13:17), fulfilled when the Medo-Persians took Babylon in 539 BC. Babylon would become "as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah" and would eventually be left uninhabited (13:19-22); the city declined over the following centuries and lay in ruins. The "day of the LORD" language (13:9-13), with sun, moon and stars darkened, reaches beyond ancient Babylon to the end times (Matthew 24:29; Revelation 6:12-13).

Chapter 14 opens with Israel's restoration (14:1-2), then a taunt-song over the king of Babylon that rises to a figure behind him:

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Isaiah 14:12

His five "I will" statements (14:13-14) end in "I will be like the most High." Throughout church history, many expositors (with Ezekiel 28:12-19 as a parallel) have seen here the fall of Satan, the power behind the throne of Babylon, whose sin was pride (1 Timothy 3:6). Jesus said, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18). Note that the KJV name "Lucifer" ("light-bearer") is distinct from Christ, "the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16), the true light whom Satan counterfeits. The chapter closes with oracles against Assyria (14:24-27), fulfilled in 701 BC, and Philistia (14:28-32).

Chapters 15-16 — The Burden of Moab

Moab, descended from Lot (Genesis 19:37), is mourned with genuine grief: "My heart shall cry out for Moab" (15:5). God's prophet weeps even over enemies. Moab's pride is its downfall (16:6). A specific time-prophecy: within three years Moab's glory would be brought low (16:14). In the middle stands a Messianic promise: "in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging" (16:5).

Chapter 17 — The Burden of Damascus

"Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap" (17:1). Assyria captured Damascus in 732 BC. Some teachers see a further, future fulfillment, since Damascus has been continuously inhabited. Israel (Ephraim), Damascus's ally, will be reduced to gleanings (17:4-6), and in that day man will look to his Maker rather than his idols (17:7-8).

Chapter 18 — Ethiopia (Cush)

A message to a tall, smooth-skinned people "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia." God waits calmly, then cuts them down; afterward they bring a present to the LORD in Mount Zion (18:7), a picture of Gentile nations worshipping God.

Chapter 19 — The Burden of Egypt

The LORD "rideth upon a swift cloud" into Egypt; its idols tremble (19:1). Egypt will suffer civil war (19:2), a "cruel lord" (19:4), the drying of the Nile economy (19:5-10), and foolish counsellors (19:11-15). Then a remarkable turn: an altar to the LORD in Egypt (19:19), a Saviour sent to them (19:20), and a highway from Egypt to Assyria with Israel in the middle: "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance" (19:25). Israel's bitterest enemies will worship the true God, a foretaste of the gospel to the nations.

Chapter 20 — Isaiah's Sign Act

Isaiah walked "naked and barefoot" (stripped to a loincloth like a captive) for three years as a sign that Assyria would lead away Egyptian and Ethiopian captives (20:2-4). The lesson: do not trust Egypt; trust the LORD.

Chapter 21 — Babylon, Edom and Arabia

"Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground" (21:9). Elam and Media are named as the attackers (21:2). Revelation 14:8 and 18:2 repeat this cry over end-time Babylon. Dumah (Edom) asks, "Watchman, what of the night?" (21:11), and Arabia's glory will end within a year (21:16).

Chapter 22 — The Valley of Vision; Shebna and Eliakim

Jerusalem itself is listed among the nations, because it partied when it should have repented: "let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die" (22:13; quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:32). Proud steward Shebna is removed and godly Eliakim installed. Eliakim receives "the key of the house of David... so he shall open, and none shall shut" (22:22), language Jesus applies to Himself in Revelation 3:7. Eliakim is a type of Christ, the "nail in a sure place" (22:23).

Chapter 23 — The Burden of Tyre

Tyre, the great Phoenician trading city, is humbled. It would be "forgotten seventy years" (23:15) and afterward its wealth would become "holiness to the LORD" (23:18). Tyre was besieged by Assyria and later Nebuchadnezzar, and finally destroyed by Alexander the Great (compare Ezekiel 26).

Section III: "The Little Apocalypse" (Chapters 24-27)

These four chapters move from Isaiah's day to the end of the age: worldwide tribulation, the resurrection, the defeat of Satan and the kingdom of God.

Chapter 24 — Judgment on the Whole Earth

"Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste" (24:1). The cause: men "have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant" (24:5). The earth reels "like a drunkard" (24:20). God punishes "the host of the high ones that are on high" (fallen angels) and the kings of the earth, shutting them up "in the prison" (24:21-22; compare Revelation 20:1-3). Then "the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion" (24:23).

Chapter 25 — The Great Feast and Victory Over Death

God prepares a feast "unto all people" on Mount Zion (25:6), the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces

Isaiah 25:8

Paul quotes this of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54), and John of the new creation (Revelation 7:17; 21:4). Israel will say, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us" (25:9).

Chapter 26 — The Song of the Strong City and the Resurrection

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength

Isaiah 26:3-4

Verse 19 is one of the clearest Old Testament statements of bodily resurrection: "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust." Verses 20-21 call God's people to hide "for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast," which many premillennial teachers see as a picture of God's people kept from the wrath of the tribulation.

Chapter 27 — Leviathan Slain, Israel Gathered

"In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent" (27:1), a picture of Satan, "that old serpent" (Revelation 12:9; 20:2). Israel, God's vineyard, will "fill the face of the world with fruit" (27:6), and a great trumpet will gather the outcasts to worship in Jerusalem (27:13; compare Matthew 24:31).

Section IV: The Six Woes (Chapters 28-33)

Chapter 28 — Woe to Ephraim's Drunkards; The Cornerstone

Samaria's leaders are drunk with wine and pride (28:1-8). They mock Isaiah's teaching as baby talk: "precept upon precept... line upon line... here a little, and there a little" (28:10). God will therefore speak through foreigners with "stammering lips and another tongue" (28:11), a verse Paul applies to the sign of tongues (1 Corinthians 14:21). Jerusalem's rulers made "a covenant with death" (28:15), but God lays a better foundation:

Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Isaiah 28:16

Applied to Christ in Romans 9:33, 10:11 and 1 Peter 2:6.

Chapter 29 — Woe to Ariel (Jerusalem)

Jerusalem will be besieged, then her enemies suddenly vanish like a dream (29:1-8), fulfilled in 701 BC. The people are spiritually blind; the vision is a sealed book (29:11-12). Their worship is hypocritical:

Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me

Isaiah 29:13

Jesus quoted this against the Pharisees (Matthew 15:7-9; Mark 7:6-7). God will "destroy the wisdom of their wise men" (29:14; 1 Corinthians 1:19). Yet in the day of restoration the deaf will hear and the blind see (29:18).

Chapter 30 — Woe to Those Trusting Egypt

Judah sends ambassadors to Egypt for help, "that take counsel, but not of me" (30:1). The people tell the prophets, "Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things" (30:10). God's answer:

In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Isaiah 30:15

Yet "the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you" (30:18), and His guidance will be clear: "This is the way, walk ye in it" (30:21). Tophet, the place of burning prepared for the Assyrian king, is a picture of hell (30:33).

Chapter 31 — Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt

"The Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit" (31:3). God will defend Jerusalem "as birds flying" (31:5). Assyria will fall "with the sword, not of a mighty man" (31:8), fulfilled when the angel of the LORD struck the camp.

Chapter 32 — The Righteous King

"Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness" (32:1). He will be "as an hiding place from the wind... as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land" (32:2), a picture of Christ. The complacent women of Jerusalem are warned (32:9-14) "until the spirit be poured upon us from on high" (32:15), leading to peace and quietness for ever (32:17).

Chapter 33 — Woe to the Destroyer

Woe to the treacherous spoiler, Assyria (33:1). Sinners in Zion ask, "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?" (33:14). The answer is the one who walks righteously (33:15-16). "Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty" (33:17).

For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

Isaiah 33:22

Many have noted that this verse corresponds to the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government.

Section V: Wrath and Restoration (Chapters 34-35)

Chapter 34 — Judgment on the Nations and Edom

"The indignation of the LORD is upon all nations" (34:2). "The heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll" (34:4; Revelation 6:14). Edom (Bozrah, 34:6), the ancient enemy of Israel, represents the whole God-hating world. Edom later vanished from history. A striking command: "Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail" (34:16), Scripture's own claim to the accuracy of prophecy.

Chapter 35 — The Desert Shall Blossom

"The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose" (35:1). "Behold, your God will come with vengeance... he will come and save you" (35:4).

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing

Isaiah 35:5-6

When John the Baptist asked whether Jesus was the Christ, Jesus answered by pointing to exactly these miracles (Matthew 11:4-5). The chapter's full fulfillment is the kingdom: "an highway... The way of holiness" (35:8), and "the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads" (35:10).

Section VI: The Historical Bridge (Chapters 36-39)

These chapters, nearly identical to 2 Kings 18-20, are narrative history. They close the Assyrian era (36-37) and open the Babylonian era (38-39), linking the two halves of the book.

Chapter 36 — Sennacherib's Threat

In Hezekiah's fourteenth year (701 BC), Sennacherib had taken the fortified cities of Judah (36:1). His officer Rabshakeh stands at the wall and mocks Judah's faith: Egypt is a broken reed, and no god has delivered any nation from Assyria (36:6, 18-20). This is the world's challenge to faith in every age. Sennacherib's own records (the Taylor Prism) boast that he shut Hezekiah up in Jerusalem "like a bird in a cage," but notably do not claim to have taken the city.

Chapter 37 — Hezekiah's Prayer and God's Deliverance

Hezekiah tears his clothes, goes into the house of the LORD and sends to Isaiah (37:1-2). When a threatening letter comes, he spreads it "before the LORD" (37:14) and prays: "save thou us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only" (37:20). God answers through Isaiah that the king of Assyria "shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there" (37:33).

Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand

Isaiah 37:36

Sennacherib went home and was later murdered by his sons in the house of his god (37:37-38), exactly as prophesied (37:7). Lesson: prayer and faith in the face of impossible odds.

Chapter 38 — Hezekiah's Sickness and Healing

Hezekiah is told he will die. He weeps and prays, and God adds fifteen years to his life (38:5). As a sign, the shadow on the sundial of Ahaz goes back ten degrees (38:8). Hezekiah's psalm of thanksgiving includes, "thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back" (38:17). Note that during these added years Manasseh, Judah's most wicked king, was born; answered prayer still requires faithful living.

Chapter 39 — The Babylonian Envoys

Merodach-baladan of Babylon sends envoys, and Hezekiah proudly shows them all his treasures (39:2). Isaiah prophesies: "all that is in thine house... shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left" and his descendants would be eunuchs in Babylon's palace (39:6-7). This was fulfilled over a century later (2 Kings 24-25; Daniel 1:3). At the time, Babylon was a minor power struggling against Assyria. The prophecy sets the stage for chapters 40-66, which speak comfort to the exiles in Babylon.

Section VII: The Book of Comfort — The Deliverance (Chapters 40-48)

Isaiah now looks ahead to Judah in Babylonian captivity and speaks comfort. God will deliver them through Cyrus of Persia, and He proves Himself the only true God by foretelling it. Beyond the return from Babylon, the deliverance points to the greater redemption from sin through Christ.

Chapter 40 — Comfort Ye My People

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned

Isaiah 40:1-2

"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD" (40:3). All four Gospels identify this voice as John the Baptist (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4-6; John 1:23). Since the voice prepares the way of "the LORD... our God," and John prepared the way for Jesus, Jesus is the LORD God.

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever" (40:8; quoted in 1 Peter 1:24-25). God comes as a Shepherd who feeds His flock and carries the lambs (40:11; John 10:11). The rest of the chapter exalts God's incomparable greatness: He measures the waters in His hand (40:12), nations are a drop in a bucket (40:15), "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth" (40:22), and He names every star (40:26). The chapter ends with one of the most loved promises in Scripture:

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Chapter 41 — God's Courtroom Challenge to the Idols

God raises up "the righteous man from the east" (41:2), Cyrus. He comforts Israel His servant, the seed of "Abraham my friend" (41:8; James 2:23):

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Isaiah 41:10

Then God challenges the idols: "Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods" (41:23). They cannot. "Behold, ye are of nothing" (41:24).

Chapter 42 — The First Servant Song

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 42:1

Matthew 12:17-21 quotes 42:1-4 directly of Jesus. The Father's words at Christ's baptism, "in whom I am well pleased," echo this verse (Matthew 3:17). The Servant is gentle: "A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench" (42:3). He is "a light of the Gentiles" (42:6) who opens blind eyes and frees prisoners (42:7). God declares, "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another" (42:8). Yet Jesus shares that glory (John 17:5), which only makes sense if He is the LORD. By contrast, national Israel is a blind and deaf servant (42:18-25).

Chapter 43 — Israel's Redeemer

"Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee" (43:1-2). Israel is God's witness: "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD... before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour" (43:10-11). Since Jesus is called "Saviour" throughout the New Testament (Luke 2:11; Titus 2:13), He must be the LORD. God will do "a new thing" (43:19), and He blots out sins freely: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins" (43:25).

Chapter 44 — The First and the Last; the Folly of Idols; Cyrus Named

God promises to pour out His Spirit (44:3). "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God" (44:6). In Revelation 1:17 and 22:13 Jesus takes this very title. Verses 9-20 are a devastating satire on idolatry: a man cuts down a tree, burns half to cook his meal and warm himself, and with the rest makes a god and prays to it, "Deliver me; for thou art my god" (44:17). "A deceived heart hath turned him aside" (44:20). Then, some 150 years before his birth, God names the deliverer:

That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Isaiah 44:28

Cyrus issued exactly that decree in 538 BC (Ezra 1:1-4). Josephus records that Cyrus was shown this prophecy and was moved to fulfil it (Antiquities 11.1.1-2).

Chapter 45 — Cyrus, God's Anointed; Every Knee Shall Bow

God calls Cyrus "his anointed" and promises to open "the two leaved gates" before him (45:1). Historically, Babylon fell when the Persians diverted the Euphrates and entered through gates left open during a feast (compare Daniel 5). God did this "though thou hast not known me" (45:4-5), proving His sovereignty over pagan rulers. "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil" (45:7); "evil" here means calamity or disaster, the opposite of "peace," not moral wickedness. The gospel invitation rings out:

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:22

Charles Spurgeon was converted at age fifteen hearing a lay preacher on this verse. Verse 23, "unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear," is applied to Jesus in Philippians 2:10-11 and Romans 14:11, another proof of His deity.

Chapter 46 — Idols Carried vs. the God Who Carries

Babylon's gods Bel and Nebo must be carried on animals into captivity (46:1-2). The true God carries His people: "even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you" (46:4).

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning... My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure

Isaiah 46:9-10

Chapter 47 — The Fall of Babylon

"Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon" (47:1). Proud Babylon said, "I am, and none else beside me" (47:8, 10), claiming the language that belongs only to God. Her sorceries and astrologers cannot save her (47:12-13). Revelation 18:7-8 echoes this chapter in the judgment of end-time Babylon.

Chapter 48 — Refined in the Furnace

Israel is stubborn: "thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass" (48:4). God foretold events so they could not credit their idols (48:5). "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" (48:10). Verse 16 is a clear Trinitarian text: the speaker, who was present from the beginning, says, "now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me." The Father and the Spirit send the Son. "Go ye forth of Babylon" (48:20). The section closes: "There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked" (48:22).

Section VIII: The Book of Comfort — The Deliverer (Chapters 49-57)

The focus shifts from Cyrus, who delivers from Babylon, to the Servant, who delivers from sin.

Chapter 49 — The Second Servant Song

The Servant speaks: "The LORD hath called me from the womb" (49:1), and made His mouth "like a sharp sword" (49:2; Revelation 1:16). He is called "Israel" (49:3) as the true and perfect Israel, yet His mission is to restore national Israel (49:5), so He cannot simply be the nation. He is also sent beyond Israel:

I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Isaiah 49:6

Paul and Barnabas quote this as their commission to preach to Gentiles (Acts 13:47); Simeon echoes it over the infant Jesus (Luke 2:32). He is "despised" and "abhorred" by the nation (49:7), yet kings will bow. God has not forgotten Zion: "Can a woman forget her sucking child...? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" (49:15-16).

Chapter 50 — The Third Servant Song: The Obedient Sufferer

Israel was sold for its own sins (50:1). The Servant has "the tongue of the learned" and is wakened morning by morning to hear the Father (50:4; John 8:28). He is fully obedient (50:5), and His suffering is described in detail:

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Isaiah 50:6

Fulfilled in the scourging, beating and spitting at Christ's trial (Matthew 26:67; 27:26, 30). "Therefore have I set my face like a flint" (50:7) matches Luke 9:51, where Jesus "stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem."

Chapter 51 — Awake, Awake

God calls the faithful remnant to look to "Abraham your father" (51:2). His salvation is eternal though the heavens vanish like smoke (51:6). "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD" (51:9). "The redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion" (51:11). Jerusalem has drunk the cup of God's fury, but He will take it away (51:17-23); Christ drank that cup for His people (Matthew 26:39).

Chapter 52 — Good Tidings

"Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion" (52:1).

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Isaiah 52:7

Paul applies this to gospel preachers (Romans 10:15). "Depart ye... touch no unclean thing" (52:11) is quoted in 2 Corinthians 6:17 on separation. Verse 13 begins the fourth Servant Song: "my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high." Yet "his visage was so marred more than any man" (52:14), describing the brutal beating of Christ. "So shall he sprinkle many nations" (52:15), the priestly cleansing of the blood (Hebrews 12:24; 1 Peter 1:2).

Chapter 53 — The Suffering Servant

The summit of Old Testament prophecy. See Part Four for a verse-by-verse study. In summary: the Servant is rejected (53:1-3), suffers as a substitute for others' sins (53:4-6), goes silently to death (53:7-9), and is raised and rewarded (53:10-12). It describes the crucifixion with such precision that it reads like an eyewitness account, yet it was written some 700 years earlier, and the Great Isaiah Scroll proves the text existed before Jesus was born.

Chapter 54 — The Barren Woman Sings

Because of the Servant's work, the desolate wife (Zion) is told to sing (54:1; quoted in Galatians 4:27). "For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel" (54:5). "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee" (54:7). God swears a covenant of peace like His oath to Noah (54:9-10). "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper" (54:17).

Chapter 55 — The Free Invitation

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Isaiah 55:1

Salvation by grace, freely offered (compare John 7:37; Revelation 22:17). God promises "the sure mercies of David" (55:3), which Paul links to the resurrection of Christ (Acts 13:34). "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near" (55:6). "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD" (55:8). God's Word never fails:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please

Isaiah 55:11

Chapter 56 — Salvation for Outsiders

Foreigners and eunuchs, once excluded from the assembly (Deuteronomy 23:1-3), are welcomed if they keep God's covenant (56:3-7). "Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people" (56:7), quoted by Jesus when He cleansed the temple (Mark 11:17). The Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah 53 in Acts 8 is a living fulfillment. Israel's watchmen, by contrast, are "blind... dumb dogs, they cannot bark" (56:10).

Chapter 57 — Idolatry Exposed; Peace to the Contrite

"The righteous perisheth... the righteous is taken away from the evil to come" (57:1). Israel's idolatry is likened to adultery (57:3-13). God dwells in two places:

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit

Isaiah 57:15

"Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near" (57:19; Ephesians 2:17). "But the wicked are like the troubled sea... There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (57:20-21).

Section IX: The Book of Comfort — The Glory (Chapters 58-66)

Chapter 58 — True and False Fasting

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet" (58:1). The people fast and complain that God ignores them, while oppressing their workers and quarrelling (58:3-4). True fasting is "to loose the bands of wickedness... to let the oppressed go free" and to feed the hungry (58:6-7). Then "thy light break forth as the morning" (58:8). Faithful Sabbath-keeping is called a delight (58:13-14). Lesson: God wants heart obedience and mercy, not empty ritual.

Chapter 59 — Sin Separates; the Redeemer Comes

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you

Isaiah 59:1-2

Paul uses verses 7-8 in his indictment of all mankind (Romans 3:15-17). "Truth is fallen in the street" (59:14). God saw "that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation" (59:16). He puts on "righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head" (59:17; compare Ephesians 6:14-17). "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion" (59:20), quoted in Romans 11:26 of Israel's future salvation.

Chapter 60 — Zion's Glory

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee" (60:1). The Gentiles come to Zion's light (60:3), bringing gold and incense (60:6), echoed by the wise men (Matthew 2:11). Zion is called "The city of the LORD" (60:14). "The sun shall be no more thy light by day... but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light" (60:19), echoed in Revelation 21:23 and 22:5.

Chapter 61 — The Anointed One

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God

Isaiah 61:1-2

In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read this passage and said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21). Crucially, He stopped mid-sentence after "the acceptable year of the LORD" and closed the book. "The day of vengeance of our God" belongs to His second coming (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8). One comma in Isaiah spans the whole church age: a clear demonstration of the two advents of Christ. Note the Trinity again: the Spirit, the Lord GOD, and the anointed Servant. "He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness" (61:10), a picture of imputed righteousness.

Chapter 62 — Zion's New Name

"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace" (62:1). Zion, once called Forsaken and Desolate, will be called "Hephzibah" (My delight is in her) and her land "Beulah" (Married) (62:4). Watchmen are set on the walls and told to give God no rest until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (62:6-7). "Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him" (62:11; Revelation 22:12).

Chapter 63 — The Warrior from Edom

Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?... I have trodden the winepress alone... and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments

Isaiah 63:1-3

This is Christ at His second coming in judgment. Revelation 19:13-15 describes Him "clothed with a vesture dipped in blood" who "treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." The chapter then turns to a prayer recalling God's mercy at the Exodus: "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them" (63:9). Israel "rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit" (63:10); the Holy Spirit is a person who can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30).

Chapter 64 — The Prayer of the Remnant

"Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down" (64:1). "Since the beginning of the world men have not heard... neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him" (64:4; 1 Corinthians 2:9). Then the great confession of human sinfulness:

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags

Isaiah 64:6

Not just our sins, but our best works are unclean before God. Salvation cannot be earned. "But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter" (64:8).

Chapter 65 — God's Answer: Judgment and New Creation

"I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not" (65:1). Paul applies this to the Gentiles' salvation and verse 2 to Israel's stubbornness (Romans 10:20-21). God will judge the rebels but preserve a remnant, "my servants" (65:8-15). Then:

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

Isaiah 65:17

Verses 18-25 describe a world of long life ("the child shall die an hundred years old," 65:20), building and planting, and peace in nature ("The wolf and the lamb shall feed together," 65:25). Because death and sin still occur (65:20), premillennial interpreters see this as describing the millennial reign of Christ on earth, flowing into the eternal state of Revelation 21-22.

Chapter 66 — The Final Word

"The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me?" (66:1; quoted by Stephen in Acts 7:49-50). God looks to the one "that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (66:2). Zion gives birth in a day (66:7-8), often linked to Israel's sudden national restoration. God will gather all nations to see His glory and send messengers to declare it among the Gentiles (66:18-19). "As the new heavens and the new earth... shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain" (66:22). The book closes with a sobering final verse:

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched

Isaiah 66:24

Jesus quoted this three times to describe hell (Mark 9:44, 46, 48). Isaiah ends, as the Bible ends, with eternal glory for the redeemed and eternal judgment for the rebel.

Part Three: Messianic Prophecies and Their Fulfillment in Christ

Isaiah contains more prophecies of Christ than any other Old Testament book apart from the Psalms. They cover His birth, nature, ministry, rejection, suffering, death, burial, resurrection, exaltation and return. The table below lists the major ones with their New Testament fulfillment.

The First Coming

The Passion and Resurrection

The Second Coming and Kingdom

The Two Advents in a Single Book

Old Testament prophets often saw the two comings of Christ like two mountain peaks viewed from a distance, without the valley between them. Isaiah shows the "suffering Messiah" (chapters 50, 53) and the "reigning Messiah" (chapters 9, 11, 63) side by side. Many Jews of Jesus' day expected only the conquering King. Jesus' reading of Isaiah 61 in Luke 4, stopping before "the day of vengeance," shows that the two are separated by the present age of grace. The Servant must first suffer, then reign (Luke 24:26; 1 Peter 1:11).

Part Four: Key Passages in Depth

Isaiah 7:14 — "A Virgin Shall Conceive"

The Hebrew word is almah. Critics argue it simply means "young woman" and that Isaiah would have used bethulah for "virgin." The Christian answer:

• Usage. Almah is used seven times in the Old Testament (Genesis 24:43; Exodus 2:8; Psalm 68:25; Proverbs 30:19; Song of Solomon 1:3; 6:8; Isaiah 7:14). In none of them does it clearly refer to a married or sexually experienced woman. Rebekah is called both almah (Genesis 24:43) and bethulah (24:16).
• The Septuagint. Jewish scholars translating Isaiah into Greek some two centuries before Christ rendered almah as parthenos, the specific Greek word for "virgin." The Jews themselves understood the verse this way before there was any Christian debate.
• It is a sign. God promised a sign "deep" as the depths or "high" as the heights (7:11). A young woman conceiving in the ordinary way is no sign at all.
• "The Lord himself." The sign comes from God Himself to the whole "house of David" (plural "you"), guaranteeing that David's line would not be destroyed by Syria and Israel, and pointing to its ultimate Heir.
• Immanuel is divine. The child is called "God with us" (7:14), the land is called "thy land, O Immanuel" (8:8), and the same child is "The mighty God" (9:6). This is no ordinary baby in Ahaz's day.
• Matthew's inspired verdict. "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet" (Matthew 1:22-23).

Some conservative teachers see a near sign as well (a child of Isaiah's time marking the timing of 7:15-16), with the ultimate fulfillment in Christ. Either way, the virgin birth is the true and full meaning, and it is essential doctrine: Christ had to be fully man yet without inherited sin.

Isaiah 9:6-7 — The Names of the Messiah

• Wonderful (pele). The same root the Angel of the LORD uses of His own name, "seeing it is secret [wonderful]" (Judges 13:18). Supernatural, beyond comprehension.
• Counsellor. He needs no counsel (40:13-14); He is wisdom itself (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30; Colossians 2:3).
• The mighty God (El Gibbor). Used of Jehovah in 10:21. A direct statement of Christ's deity.
• The everlasting Father. Not a confusion of the Father and Son in the Trinity, but "Father of eternity": the Author and Possessor of eternity, and the One who cares for His people as a father (compare John 14:9; Hebrews 2:13).
• The Prince of Peace. He makes peace with God through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20; Romans 5:1) and will bring peace on earth (Isaiah 2:4).

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 — The Suffering Servant, Verse by Verse

The passage has five stanzas of three verses each. The central stanza (53:4-6) is the heart: substitution.

Stanza 1 (52:13-15): Exaltation After Humiliation

The song begins with the end: the Servant will be "exalted and extolled, and be very high" (52:13; compare Philippians 2:9). His face was marred more than any man's (52:14). He will "sprinkle many nations" (52:15), a priestly act of cleansing with blood. Kings will be silenced before Him.

Stanza 2 (53:1-3): Rejected by His Own

"Who hath believed our report?" (53:1). He grew up as "a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground" (53:2), born into a spiritually barren nation, from humble Nazareth, with no royal splendour. "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (53:3). The tense is prophetic perfect: the future described as already done because God has decreed it.

Stanza 3 (53:4-6): Substitution — the Heart of the Gospel

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:4-6

Count the pronouns: "he... our... we... him... our... our... we... him... us." Every line contrasts Him and us. This is penal substitutionary atonement: the innocent Servant bearing the penalty of the guilty. Observers thought God was punishing Him for His own sin; in truth it was for ours. Verse 6 begins with "all" gone astray and ends with "all" laid on Him. Peter quotes these verses (1 Peter 2:24-25).

Stanza 4 (53:7-9): Silent Submission and Burial

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter" (53:7). Jesus stood silent before Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod (Matthew 26:63; 27:14; Luke 23:9). It was this verse the Ethiopian eunuch was reading when Philip "began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus" (Acts 8:32-35). "He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken" (53:8): a violent death for others' sins. "He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death" (53:9): crucified between thieves, intended for a criminal's grave, but buried in the tomb of rich Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60). And this "because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth": His sinlessness.

Stanza 5 (53:10-12): Resurrection and Reward

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him" (53:10). The cross was not an accident but the Father's plan (Acts 2:23; 4:28). God made "his soul an offering for sin" (the guilt offering, Leviticus 5). Then, after death, "he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days" (53:10). A dead man who sees his descendants and lives on: this is resurrection. "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities" (53:11): justification by faith. Finally, "he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (53:12), fulfilled when He prayed on the cross, "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34).

Who Is the Servant?

Modern Jewish interpretation usually says the Servant is the nation of Israel. But the text rules this out:

• The Servant suffers for "my people" (53:8), meaning Israel. He cannot be Israel suffering for Israel.
• The Servant is sinless (53:9). Isaiah repeatedly describes Israel as deeply sinful (1:4; 42:24-25; 64:6).
• The Servant suffers silently and willingly (53:7). Israel is not described this way.
• The Servant restores Israel (49:5-6), so He is distinct from the nation.
• Ancient Jewish sources, including the Targum Jonathan on Isaiah, identified the Servant of 52:13 as the Messiah.

The only person in history who fits every detail is Jesus of Nazareth.

Isaiah 6 — The Holiness of God

Isaiah's vision is the lens for the entire book. "Holy, holy, holy" is the only attribute of God repeated three times in Scripture (also Revelation 4:8). Holiness means God is utterly separate, morally pure, and set apart from all creation and sin. A true sight of God's holiness produces three things: a true sight of self ("Woe is me"), a need for atonement (the coal from the altar of sacrifice), and a readiness to serve ("Here am I; send me"). Isaiah's characteristic title for God, "the Holy One of Israel," flows from this chapter.

Part Five: Fulfilled Historical Prophecies

Isaiah's near-term prophecies were fulfilled in history, giving confidence that his far-reaching ones about Christ and the end times are equally reliable (compare Deuteronomy 18:21-22).

Part Six: Prophecies Yet to Be Fulfilled

Bible-believing Christians hold that many of Isaiah's prophecies await the return of Christ. Taken literally, as the fulfilled prophecies were, they describe:

• The Day of the LORD and the Tribulation (2:10-21; 13:6-13; 24:1-23; 34:1-4). A time of worldwide judgment on sin and pride, with cosmic signs.
• The return of Christ in glory and judgment (40:10; 59:20; 63:1-6; 66:15-16). He comes from Edom with garments stained, treading the winepress of wrath (Revelation 19).
• The resurrection of the dead (25:8; 26:19).
• The binding of Satan (24:21-22; 27:1; compare Revelation 20:1-3).
• The national repentance and regathering of Israel (11:11-12; 27:12-13; 43:5-7; 59:20-21; 66:8). "So all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26 quoting 59:20).
• The millennial kingdom (2:2-4; 11:1-16; 32:1; 35:1-10; 65:18-25). Christ reigning from Jerusalem, worldwide peace, nations learning God's ways, long life, and creation renewed.
• The salvation and worship of the nations (2:3; 19:23-25; 60:3; 66:23).
• The new heavens and new earth (65:17; 66:22; compare 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).
• Eternal punishment of the wicked (66:24; Mark 9:43-48).

Note on interpretation: premillennial Christians (common among Baptists) read the kingdom passages as a literal future reign of Christ on earth. Amillennial and postmillennial Christians generally apply many of them spiritually to the church age and the eternal state. All agree that Christ will return, raise the dead, judge the world and make all things new.

Part Seven: The Major Teachings of Isaiah

1. The Holiness of God

"The Holy One of Israel" is Isaiah's signature title for God (1:4; 5:19, 24; 12:6; 30:11-15; 41:14; 43:3; 47:4; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14). God's holiness is the root of His judgment on sin and the reason sinners need a Saviour. "God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness" (5:16).

2. The Sovereignty of God

God controls history: He calls Assyria His rod (10:5), names Cyrus before his birth (44:28), raises and humbles empires (40:15-17, 23), and declares the end from the beginning (46:10). Nothing takes Him by surprise. "The LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?" (14:27).

3. There Is Only One God

Isaiah is the Old Testament's strongest witness to monotheism: "I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me" (45:5; also 43:10-11; 44:6, 8; 45:21-22; 46:9). Yet within this one God, Isaiah reveals plurality:

• "Who will go for us?" (6:8)
• "The Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me" (48:16)
• "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me" (61:1)
• "They rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit" (63:10)

The New Testament reveals the full doctrine of the Trinity, and Isaiah lays its foundation.

4. The Deity of Christ

Isaiah's titles for the LORD are given to Jesus in the New Testament:

5. The Utter Folly of Idolatry

Isaiah mocks idols that must be carried, nailed down, and cannot speak, hear, save or predict (40:18-20; 41:7, 21-24; 44:9-20; 46:1-7). Idolatry is not only bowing to statues; it is trusting anything other than God: Egypt's horses (31:1), wealth, military alliances, human wisdom (29:14) or self.

6. Sin and Human Depravity

Isaiah gives a sobering diagnosis: the whole nation is sick from head to foot (1:5-6); "All we like sheep have gone astray" (53:6); "your iniquities have separated between you and your God" (59:2); "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (64:6). Sin is rebellion (1:2), pride (2:11-17; 14:13-14), injustice (1:23; 5:7), hypocrisy (29:13; 58:2-5), and moral confusion (5:20). Man cannot save himself.

7. Salvation by Grace Through Faith

Salvation is God's work: "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake" (43:25). It is free: "without money and without price" (55:1). It is by looking in faith: "Look unto me, and be ye saved" (45:22). It is through the substitute: "the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (53:6). It clothes the sinner in God's righteousness: "he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness" (61:10). Faith is central: "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established" (7:9); "he that believeth shall not make haste" (28:16).

8. Judgment and Mercy Together

Isaiah alternates between woe and comfort. God's judgment is real, total and just (1:24-28; 66:24), but its goal toward His people is purification, not destruction (1:25-27; 48:10). "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee" (54:7).

9. The Remnant

Even when the nation is judged, God preserves a faithful remnant (1:9; 6:13; 10:20-22; 37:31-32). Isaiah's son's name, Shear-jashub, means "a remnant shall return." Paul applies this to the believing Jews of his day: "a remnant according to the election of grace" (Romans 11:5; 9:27).

10. God's Salvation for the Nations

Isaiah's vision is global. The Servant is a light to the Gentiles (42:6; 49:6). All the ends of the earth are invited (45:22). Foreigners and eunuchs are welcomed (56:3-8). Egypt and Assyria will worship (19:23-25). God's messengers will declare His glory among the Gentiles (66:19). This is the missionary heart of God, fulfilled in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).

11. The Word of God

"The word of our God shall stand for ever" (40:8). It will not return void (55:11). It is the test of all teaching (8:20). God esteems the one who "trembleth at my word" (66:2). The perfect fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies is itself proof of divine inspiration.

12. Trust Instead of Fear

Repeatedly God tells His people, "Fear not" (7:4; 35:4; 41:10, 13-14; 43:1, 5; 44:2, 8; 54:4). The kings of Isaiah's day show both responses: Ahaz trusted man and brought disaster (ch. 7); Hezekiah trusted God and saw deliverance (ch. 37). "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee" (26:3).

13. True vs. False Religion

God hates ritual without righteousness: sacrifices (1:11-15), lip-worship (29:13), and showy fasting (58:3-5). He wants justice, mercy, humility and a contrite heart (1:16-17; 57:15; 58:6-7; 66:2).

14. The Future Hope

Isaiah ends with hope: a coming King, a renewed creation, death swallowed up, tears wiped away, and God's people dwelling with Him forever (25:8; 35:10; 65:17-19).

Part Eight: Names and Titles in Isaiah

Titles of God

Titles of the Messiah

Part Nine: Connections — How Isaiah Links to the Rest of the Bible

Isaiah in the New Testament

Isaiah is quoted by Jesus, John the Baptist, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter and in Revelation. A selection of direct quotations:

Isaiah in the Old Testament

Part Ten: Practical Lessons for the Christian

• See God as He is. Worship, holiness and service begin with a true view of God's majesty (ch. 6). A low view of God produces a careless life.
• Deal honestly with sin. "Woe is me" must come before "Here am I." Confession precedes cleansing (1:18; 6:5-7).
• Trust God, not man. Ahaz trusted Assyria and Judah trusted Egypt, and both failed. Hezekiah prayed and God delivered (chs. 7, 30-31, 37). In crisis, spread the problem "before the LORD" (37:14).
• Wait on the LORD. Strength is renewed by waiting on Him, not by striving (40:31; 30:15).
• Reject empty religion. God is not impressed by ritual, attendance or appearances; He looks for a humble, contrite heart and a life of justice and mercy (1:11-17; 29:13; 58; 66:2).
• Do not call evil good. Isaiah's warning in 5:20 speaks directly to a culture that redefines morality.
• Rest in the finished work of Christ. Our righteousness is filthy rags (64:6); His substitution is complete (53:5-6). Salvation is free (55:1).
• Value the Word of God. It stands forever and never returns void (40:8; 55:11). Test all teaching by it (8:20).
• Be a witness. Israel was called to be God's witness (43:10); the church is sent with beautiful feet to bring good tidings (52:7) to the ends of the earth (49:6).
• Live with hope. History is moving toward the reign of Christ and the new creation. Present suffering is "a small moment" (54:7).
• Remember the warning. The book ends with the undying worm and unquenched fire (66:24). The invitation stands open now: "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found" (55:6).

Part Eleven: Key Verses to Memorize

Conclusion

Isaiah is the gospel in the Old Testament. It begins with a rebellious nation under God's judgment and ends with new heavens and a new earth. At its centre stands the Servant of the LORD, born of a virgin, anointed by the Spirit, rejected by His people, wounded for their transgressions, buried with the rich, raised to see His seed, and coming again as King to reign in righteousness. Isaiah's name says it all: "The LORD is salvation." Seven centuries before Bethlehem, the prophet saw the glory of Christ and spoke of Him (John 12:41). The fulfilled prophecies prove the Book divine; the unfulfilled ones guarantee the future. The response Isaiah calls for is the same today:

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:22