Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Isaiah
Isaiah is the greatest of the writing prophets, so full of the coming Messiah that he is often called the gospel prophet. His book moves from searching judgment to tender comfort to the salvation of the LORD, foretelling the virgin's Son, the suffering Servant, and the reigning King. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
The Book of Isaiah, written by Isaiah son of Amoz over the reigns of four kings of Judah (roughly 740 to 680 BC), is the fullest prophetic vision of the coming Messiah in the Old Testament. It opens with judgment on a rebellious, religiously hollow nation, turns to comfort and hope, and rises to the great servant songs and the salvation of the LORD. Isaiah foretells the virgin birth (7:14), the child who is called Mighty God (9:6), and the suffering Servant who bears our sins (53).
This commentary covers Isaiah verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Isaiah's very name means 'the LORD is salvation,' and his book points again and again to Jesus, in whom that salvation came. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
This verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Isaiah is complete: all 66 chapters, from 'Come now, and let us reason together' to the new heavens and the new earth.
Author
Isaiah son of Amoz, prophet in Judah.
Setting
Judah under Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, ~740 to 680 BC.
Key Themes
Judgment, comfort, the Messiah, and the salvation of the LORD.
Famous Chapters
The virgin's Son (7), Mighty God (9), the suffering Servant (53).
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Isaiah Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Isaiah 1:1-31
Though Your Sins Are Like Scarlet
God's courtroom charge against a people whose religion masks injustice, and His astonishing invitation: come now, and let us reason together, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Read Chapter 1 →Isaiah 2:1-22
The LORD Alone Exalted
The mountain of the LORD exalted in the last days, the word going forth from Zion, swords beaten into plowshares, and the day when the pride of man is brought low and the LORD alone is exalted.
Read Chapter 2 →Isaiah 3:1-26
Grind the Faces of the Poor
The collapse of leadership when God removes the stay and staff, His judgment on those who grind the faces of the poor, and the humbling of the proud daughters of Zion.
Read Chapter 3 →Isaiah 4:1-6
The Branch of the LORD
The Branch of the LORD, beautiful and glorious, the cleansing of Zion by the spirit of judgment and burning, and the canopy of cloud and fire that shelters God's people.
Read Chapter 4 →Isaiah 5:1-30
The Song of the Vineyard
God looked for good grapes in His vineyard and found wild ones, the woe on those who call evil good and good evil, and the woe on those who are wise in their own eyes.
Read Chapter 5 →Isaiah 6:1-13
Holy, Holy, Holy
Isaiah's vision of the Lord high and lifted up while the seraphim cry Holy, holy, holy, the live coal that cleanses his lips, and his answer, Here am I; send me.
Read Chapter 6 →Isaiah 7:1-25
Behold, a Virgin Shall Conceive
The call to believe or fall, Ahaz refusing a sign, and the great prophecy of the virgin's Son, Immanuel, God with us, fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Read Chapter 7 →Isaiah 8:1-22
God Is With Us
The flood of Assyria over a people who refused God, yet God is with us, the LORD who becomes a sanctuary and a stone of stumbling, and the call to the law and to the testimony.
Read Chapter 8 →Isaiah 9:1-21
Unto Us a Child Is Born
The people in darkness who see a great light, and the child born whose name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Read Chapter 9 →Isaiah 10:1-34
The Rod of Mine Anger
The woe on those who decree unrighteous laws, Assyria as the rod of God's anger yet judged for its pride, and the promise that a remnant will return and lean upon the LORD, the mighty God.
Read Chapter 10 →Isaiah 11:1-16
A Rod Out of the Stem of Jesse
The rod out of the stem of Jesse on whom the Spirit of the LORD rests, the peaceable kingdom where the wolf dwells with the lamb, the earth full of the knowledge of the LORD, and the root of Jesse to whom the Gentiles seek.
Read Chapter 11 →Isaiah 12:1-6
God Is My Salvation
A song of salvation, for God is become my salvation, the joy of drawing water from the wells of salvation, and the call to praise the Holy One who dwells in the midst of His people.
Read Chapter 12 →Isaiah 13:1-22
The Burden of Babylon
The first of the burdens against the nations: the LORD musters the host of battle, the day of the LORD comes with darkened sun and moon, and proud Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, is overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Read Chapter 13 →Isaiah 14:1-32
How Art Thou Fallen
Mercy on Jacob, a taunt over the fallen king of Babylon, the famous "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer" and the five-fold pride "I will be like the most High," and the LORD of hosts whose purpose none can disannul.
Read Chapter 14 →Isaiah 15:1-9
The Burden of Moab
A short, sorrowful lament: Moab laid waste in a night, her cities weeping in sackcloth, and the startling grief of God Himself, "My heart shall cry out for Moab."
Read Chapter 15 →Isaiah 16:1-14
A Throne Established in Mercy
The rest of the Moab oracle: send the lamb to the ruler in Zion, shelter for the outcasts, the great promise that in mercy shall the throne be established in the tabernacle of David, and the pride that will not bow.
Read Chapter 16 →Isaiah 17:1-14
Look to Thy Maker
The burden of Damascus and Ephraim: two allies fallen together, the glory of Jacob thinned to a gleaning remnant, the day a man looks to his Maker away from idols, and the raging nations rebuked overnight.
Read Chapter 17 →Isaiah 18:1-7
The Land Shadowing With Wings
The burden of Cush beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: the bustling nations set against the calm of God who says "I will take my rest," the proud harvest cut down at the perfect moment, and a gift brought at last to the name of the LORD in Zion.
Read Chapter 18 →Isaiah 19:1-25
Blessed Be Egypt My People
The burden of Egypt, from judgment to grace: the LORD riding on a swift cloud while the idols melt, the Nile dried and the wise made fools, an altar and a saviour sent, and Egypt and Assyria blessed alongside Israel as the people of God.
Read Chapter 19 →Isaiah 20:1-6
The Sign of the Naked Prophet
Isaiah walks naked and barefoot three years as a sign that Egypt and Ethiopia would be led away captive by Assyria, and the warning against every nation, and heart, that trusts the arm of flesh instead of God.
Read Chapter 20 →Isaiah 21:1-17
Babylon Is Fallen
Three night-time burdens under the figure of the watchman: the terrible vision of Babylon's fall and the cry "Babylon is fallen, is fallen," the haunting question out of Edom "Watchman, what of the night?", and the burden upon Arabia setting a one-year clock on the proud archers of Kedar.
Read Chapter 21 →Isaiah 22:1-25
The Key of the House of David
The burden of the valley of vision: Jerusalem feasting on her rooftops with the enemy at the gate, "let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die," the fall of proud Shebna the steward, and faithful Eliakim given the key of the house of David, "he shall open, and none shall shut", a striking type of Jesus Christ.
Read Chapter 22 →Isaiah 23:1-18
The Burden of Tyre
The last of the oracles against the nations: the proud merchant city of the sea laid waste, the ships of Tarshish told to howl, the LORD of hosts purposing it "to stain the pride of all glory," and the astonishing close where after seventy years Tyre's very merchandise becomes "holiness to the LORD."
Read Chapter 23 →Isaiah 24:1-23
The LORD Maketh the Earth Empty
The opening of Isaiah's Little Apocalypse: the LORD emptying the whole earth and leveling every rank, the everlasting covenant broken, all mirth silenced in the city of confusion, the windows from on high opened as in Noah's flood, and the LORD of hosts reigning at last in mount Zion.
Read Chapter 24 →Isaiah 25:1-12
He Will Swallow Up Death in Victory
A song of praise to the God who is a refuge for the poor, the great feast the LORD spreads for all people on His mountain, the veil of death torn away, "he will swallow up death in victory," God wiping away every tear, and the cry "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him."
Read Chapter 25 →Isaiah 26:1-21
Kept in Perfect Peace
The trust-song of the redeemed: a strong city walled with salvation, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee," the everlasting strength of the LORD JEHOVAH, seeking God in the night, the resurrection promise "Thy dead men shall live," and the call to hide "until the indignation be overpast."
Read Chapter 26 →Isaiah 27:1-13
The Vineyard the LORD Keeps
The close of the Little Apocalypse: the LORD slaying leviathan the dragon in the sea, the vineyard He keeps night and day, the gracious call "let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me," the measured purging of Jacob's sin, and the great trumpet gathering the outcasts home to worship in Jerusalem.
Read Chapter 27 →Isaiah 28:1-29
A Tried Stone, a Sure Foundation
The first of the woes: the drunken crown of pride of Ephraim as a fading flower, reeling priests who mock God's word as "precept upon precept, line upon line," the scoffers' covenant with death swept away, the great cornerstone prophecy "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone," and the parable of the wise plowman.
Read Chapter 28 →Isaiah 29:1-24
This People Draw Near With Their Mouth
The woe to Ariel (Jerusalem): the siege and sudden rescue when the nations vanish "as a dream," the spirit of deep sleep and the sealed book, the lip-service Jesus quoted, "this people draw near me with their mouth... but have removed their heart far from me," the potter and the clay, and the day the deaf hear and the blind see.
Read Chapter 29 →Isaiah 30:1-33
In Returning and Rest Shall Ye Be Saved
The woe on those who run to Egypt for help ("their strength is to sit still"), the people who want smooth things and deceits, the great offer "In returning and rest shall ye be saved... and ye would not," the God who waits to be gracious, the guiding voice "This is the way, walk ye in it," and the fiery judgment on Assyria.
Read Chapter 30 →Isaiah 31:1-9
Men, and Not God; Flesh, and Not Spirit
The woe on those who go down to Egypt and trust in horses and chariots: "the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit," the LORD defending Jerusalem like a lion and like birds flying, the call to turn back and cast away idols, and the Assyrian falling by no human sword.
Read Chapter 31 →Isaiah 32:1-20
A King Shall Reign in Righteousness
The King who reigns in righteousness and the man who is "a hiding place from the wind... as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land," the warning to the careless at ease, and the great promise "Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high," with righteousness, peace, quietness, and assurance for ever.
Read Chapter 32 →Isaiah 33:1-24
The King in His Beauty
The close of the woes: the woe on the treacherous spoiler, the prayer "be gracious unto us," the God who rises and is exalted, the searching question "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?", the vision of "the king in his beauty," and the confession "the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us."
Read Chapter 33 →Isaiah 34:1-17
The Day of the LORD's Vengeance
The indignation of the LORD upon all nations, the heavens rolled together as a scroll, the sword of the LORD upon Edom, "the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion," Edom made a perpetual desolation, and the challenge to the book of the LORD: "no one of these shall fail."
Read Chapter 34 →Isaiah 35:1-10
The Ransomed of the LORD Shall Return
The wilderness rejoicing and blossoming as the rose, "your God will come... he will come and save you," the blind seeing and the lame leaping, the way of holiness, and the ransomed of the LORD returning to Zion "with songs and everlasting joy," while sorrow and sighing flee away.
Read Chapter 35 →Isaiah 36:1-22
Rabshakeh at the Wall
Sennacherib's invasion of Judah and the Assyrian commander Rabshakeh at the wall of Jerusalem: his taunts against trust in Egypt and in the LORD, his claim that God sent him, his blasphemous boast that no god can deliver, and the people's silence, "they held their peace, and answered him not a word."
Read Chapter 36 →Isaiah 37:1-38
Hezekiah Spread It Before the LORD
Hezekiah going into the house of the LORD, spreading Sennacherib's letter before the LORD in prayer ("thou art the God, even thou alone"), Isaiah's oracle against Assyria, God's promise "I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake," and the angel of the LORD smiting 185,000 Assyrians in a single night.
Read Chapter 37 →Isaiah 38:1-22
I Have Heard Thy Prayer, I Have Seen Thy Tears
Hezekiah sick unto death, his prayer and tears, God adding fifteen years to his life, the sign of the shadow turned back on the sundial of Ahaz, and Hezekiah's psalm of thanksgiving, "thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back."
Read Chapter 38 →Isaiah 39:1-8
Carried to Babylon
The hinge of the book: the envoys from Babylon, Hezekiah proudly showing them all his treasures, Isaiah's prophecy that everything and his sons will be "carried to Babylon," and the pivot from the Assyrian past toward the Babylonian exile and the message of comfort that begins in chapter 40.
Read Chapter 39 →Isaiah 40:1-31
Comfort Ye My People
The opening of the Book of Comfort: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people," the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the LORD (John the Baptist), "Behold your God!", the LORD who feeds His flock like a shepherd, the incomparable Creator, and "they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength."
Read Chapter 40 →Isaiah 41:1-29
Fear Thou Not; For I Am With Thee
God's courtroom challenge to the nations and their idols, "I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he," the great comfort "Fear thou not; for I am with thee... I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness," "Fear not, thou worm Jacob... thy redeemer," rivers in the wilderness, and the idols exposed as "wind and confusion."
Read Chapter 41 →Isaiah 42:1-25
Behold My Servant
The first Servant Song (quoted of Jesus in Matthew 12): "Behold my servant, whom I uphold... I have put my spirit upon him," "a bruised reed shall he not break," the Servant given as a covenant and a light of the Gentiles to open blind eyes, the new song of praise, and the blindness of Israel the servant-nation.
Read Chapter 42 →Isaiah 43:1-28
Thou Art Mine
"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," the mightiest declaration of the one God, "beside me there is no saviour," the new thing God does in the wilderness, and "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake."
Read Chapter 43 →Isaiah 44:1-28
I Am the First and the Last
"I will pour my spirit upon thy seed," the great declaration "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God," the satire of the idol-maker who burns half a log and worships the rest, "I have blotted out... thy transgressions; return unto me," and God naming Cyrus His shepherd a century and a half in advance.
Read Chapter 44 →Isaiah 45:1-25
There Is None Else
God calling Cyrus His anointed, the repeated "I am the LORD, and there is none else," "a God that hidest thyself... the Saviour," everlasting salvation, the great gospel call "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth," and the oath "unto me every knee shall bow" which Paul applies to Jesus.
Read Chapter 45 →Isaiah 46:1-13
I Will Carry You
Bel and Nebo, the idols of Babylon carried off as burdens, against the God who carries His people: "I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you," the idol that cannot answer or save, and "I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning."
Read Chapter 46 →Isaiah 47:1-15
Come Down, Sit in the Dust
The taunt over fallen Babylon: "Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon," her blasphemous boast "I am, and none else beside me," the sudden loss that comes in one day, and the uselessness of her sorceries, enchantments, and astrologers, "none shall save thee."
Read Chapter 47 →Isaiah 48:1-22
For My Name's Sake
God's rebuke of stubborn Israel and His mercy "for my name's sake," "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction," "I am the first, I also am the last," the mysterious "the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me," the longing "O that thou hadst hearkened... then had thy peace been as a river," and the call "Go ye forth of Babylon."
Read Chapter 48 →Isaiah 49:1-26
A Light to the Gentiles
The second Servant Song: the Servant called from the womb, His mouth "like a sharp sword," given "for a light to the Gentiles" and "my salvation unto the end of the earth," Zion's cry "The LORD hath forsaken me" answered with "I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands," and the promise "all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer."
Read Chapter 49 →Isaiah 50:1-11
I Gave My Back to the Smiters
The third Servant Song: God's arm is not shortened ("Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem?"), the obedient Servant with "the tongue of the learned" who gives "my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair," sets His face "like a flint," and the closing choice to trust the LORD in the dark rather than "walk in the light of your fire."
Read Chapter 50 →Isaiah 51:1-23
I, Even I, Am He That Comforteth You
A threefold call to hearken and awake: "look unto the rock whence ye are hewn," "my salvation shall be for ever," the cry "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD," the tender "I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die," and the cup of trembling taken out of Jerusalem's hand.
Read Chapter 51 →Isaiah 52:1-15
How Beautiful Are the Feet That Publish Peace
Zion roused to awake and put on beautiful garments, redemption "without money," the beautiful feet "of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace," "the LORD hath made bare his holy arm," the call to "go ye out... touch no unclean thing," and the opening of the great Servant Song, "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently... his visage was so marred more than any man."
Read Chapter 52 →Isaiah 53:1-12
He Was Wounded for Our Transgressions
The greatest Old Testament prophecy of the cross: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows," "he was wounded for our transgressions... with his stripes we are healed," "the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all," "brought as a lamb to the slaughter," buried "with the rich in his death," and risen to "see his seed," "justify many," and "make intercession for the transgressors."
Read Chapter 53 →Isaiah 54:1-17
No Weapon Formed Against Thee Shall Prosper
The song after the cross: the barren woman told to sing and enlarge her tent, "thy Maker is thine husband," "with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee," "the mountains shall depart... but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed," and "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper... their righteousness is of me."
Read Chapter 54 →Isaiah 55:1-13
Ho, Every One That Thirsteth
The great gospel invitation: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters... buy wine and milk without money and without price," "the sure mercies of David," "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found," "he will abundantly pardon," "my thoughts are not your thoughts," "my word... shall not return unto me void," and "ye shall go out with joy."
Read Chapter 55 →Isaiah 56:1-12
An House of Prayer for All People
God's doors flung wide: the call to keep justice as salvation nears, the welcome of the foreigner and the eunuch ("a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters"), "mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people," "yet will I gather others to him," and the rebuke of Israel's "blind" watchmen and "greedy dogs."
Read Chapter 56 →Isaiah 57:1-21
With Him That Is of a Contrite and Humble Spirit
The righteous "taken away from the evil to come," a scorching rebuke of idolatry as spiritual adultery, and the summit promise: "the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity... I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit," "Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near," but "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."
Read Chapter 57 →Isaiah 58:1-14
Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?
Empty religion versus the fast God chooses, "to loose the bands of wickedness... to deal thy bread to the hungry," the blessings that follow ("then shall thy light break forth as the morning," "like a watered garden"), the title "The repairer of the breach," and the sabbath as "a delight," "then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD."
Read Chapter 58 →Isaiah 59:1-21
The Redeemer Shall Come to Zion
Why God seems distant: "your iniquities have separated between you and your God," the honest confession "we grope for the wall like the blind," the God who "wondered that there was no intercessor" so "his arm brought salvation," the armor of "righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation," and the promise "the Redeemer shall come to Zion."
Read Chapter 59 →Isaiah 60:1-22
Arise, Shine; For Thy Light Is Come
The sunrise of glory: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee," the Gentiles and kings coming to the light, gold and incense from Sheba, gates "open continually," and "the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory."
Read Chapter 60 →Isaiah 61:1-11
The Spirit of the Lord GOD Is Upon Me
The passage Jesus read in Nazareth: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek," "to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning," "ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD," "double" for shame, and "the garments of salvation... the robe of righteousness."
Read Chapter 61 →Isaiah 62:1-12
Thou Shalt Be Called by a New Name
God's love song of restoration: the new name "Hephzibah" and "Beulah," "for the LORD delighteth in thee," the tender "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee," the watchmen who "keep not silence," and "Behold, thy salvation cometh... The redeemed of the LORD... Sought out, A city not forsaken."
Read Chapter 62 →Isaiah 63:1-19
I That Speak in Righteousness, Mighty to Save
The divine Warrior from Edom in bloodstained garments, "mighty to save," who "trodden the winepress alone," the remembrance of God's lovingkindnesses ("in all their affliction he was afflicted"), the grieving of "his holy Spirit," and the prayer "thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting."
Read Chapter 63 →Isaiah 64:1-12
Oh That Thou Wouldest Rend the Heavens
The cry for God to come down: "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down," the things God has prepared "for him that waiteth for him," the confession "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," and the plea "thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter."
Read Chapter 64 →Isaiah 65:1-25
Behold, I Create New Heavens and a New Earth
God's answer to the prayer: "I am found of them that sought me not," the sparing of His servants for "a blessing is in the cluster," "my servants shall sing for joy," a new name, "before they call, I will answer," and "behold, I create new heavens and a new earth... the wolf and the lamb shall feed together."
Read Chapter 65 →Isaiah 66:1-24
Heaven Is My Throne, the Earth My Footstool
The book's finale: "The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool," "to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit," a nation "born at once," "I will extend peace to her like a river," "as one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you," the mission to declare God's glory among the Gentiles, and the new heavens and new earth.
Read Chapter 66 →