Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go.
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Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
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Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD thy God, who teacheth thee for thy profit, who leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
Cross-references (24)
Passages linked to Isaiah 48:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you.
- Psalms 25:12 What man is he who fears Yahweh? He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.
- Job 22:21-22 “Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at peace. By it, good will come to you. Please receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18 and lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.” But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is today.
- Isaiah 30:20 Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers won’t be hidden any more, but your eyes will see your teachers;
- Psalms 73:24 You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
- Isaiah 54:13 All your children will be taught by Yahweh; and your children’s peace will be great.
- Job 36:22 Behold, God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?
- John 6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me.
- Psalms 25:8-9 Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way. He will guide the humble in justice. He will teach the humble his way.
- Micah 4:2 Many nations will go and say, “Come! Let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem;
- Psalms 71:17 God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.
- Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband; Yahweh of Armies is his name. The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called the God of the whole earth.
- Jeremiah 6:16 Yahweh says, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, ‘Where is the good way?’ and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
- Isaiah 43:16 Yahweh, who makes a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters,
- 1 Kings 8:36 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on your land, which you have given to your people for an inheritance.
- Jeremiah 31:33-34 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says Yahweh: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
- Isaiah 2:3 Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law shall go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem.
- Ephesians 4:21 if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:
- Isaiah 49:9-10 saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.
- Isaiah 44:6-24 This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God. Who is like me? Who will call, and will declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? Let them declare the things that are coming, and that will happen. Don’t fear, neither be afraid. Haven’t I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don’t know any other Rock.” Everyone who makes a carved image is vain. The things that they delight in will not profit. Their own witnesses don’t see, nor know, that they may be disappointed. Who has fashioned a god, or molds an image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows will be disappointed; and the workmen are mere men. Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. They will fear. They will be put to shame together. The blacksmith takes an ax, works in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint. The carpenter stretches out a line. He marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes. He marks it out with compasses, and shapes it like the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to reside in a house. He cuts down cedars for himself, and takes the cypress and the oak, and strengthens for himself one among the trees of the forest. He plants a cypress tree, and the rain nourishes it. Then it will be for a man to burn; and he takes some of it, and warms himself. Yes, he burns it, and bakes bread. Yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it a carved image, and falls down to it. He burns part of it in the fire. With part of it, he eats meat. He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. Yes, he warms himself, and says, “Aha! I am warm. I have seen the fire.” The rest of it he makes into a god, even his engraved image. He bows down to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, “Deliver me; for you are my god!” They don’t know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can’t see; and their hearts, that they can’t understand. No one thinks, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned part of it in the fire. Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals. I have roasted meat and eaten it. Shall I make the rest of it into an abomination? Shall I bow down to a tree trunk?” He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can’t deliver his soul, nor say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?” Remember these things, Jacob and Israel; for you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant. Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Sing, you heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Break out into singing, you mountains, O forest, all of your trees, for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel. Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb says: “I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself;
- Isaiah 49:7 Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up, princes, and they shall worship, because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
- Isaiah 48:20 Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing announce this, tell it even to the end of the earth: say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
- Isaiah 43:14 Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain What things shall do thee good.
What things shall do thee good.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 48:17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the…
Isa 48:17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go.
Ver. 17. I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit.] And do therefore so oft call upon thee to hear me, not for any benefit to myself, but to thee alone. And the truth is, in all the commandments of God, if they were open to us, if we did see the ground of them, we should see there were so much reason for them, and so much good to be got by them, that if God did not command them, yet it would be best for us to practise them.
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Which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.] Heb., Making thee to tread in the way thou shalt walk, carefully choosing thy steps for thee, and setting thy foot right: thus "he led Joseph like a sheep," {Psa 80:1} and "Israel through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble." {Isa 63:13} Thrice happy are the saints in such a guide. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way." {Psa 37:23}
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Which teacheth thee to profit; which from time to…
Which teacheth thee to profit; which from time to time have made known unto thee, not vain and frivolous things, but all necessary and useful doctrines; which, if believed and observed by thee, would have been infinitely profitable to thee, both for this life and that to come. So that it is not my fault, but thine own, if thou dost not profit.
Which leadeth; which acquainteth thee with thy duty and interest in all the parts and concerns of thy life; so that thou canst not pretend ignorance.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer,.... A character peculiar…
Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer,.... A character peculiar to Christ, who engaged in covenant to be the Redeemer of his people; was promised and prophesied of as such; and who came into this world for this purpose, and has obtained eternal redemption:
the Holy One of Israel; who came of Israel as man, and as such was holy, and without any spot or stain of sin and who, as God, is the most holy, in his nature and works; and, as Mediator, the Sanctifier of Israel, and is in the midst of them as such:
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I am the Lord thy God; and so fit to be the Redeemer and Sanctifier of them; and happy are those who can say with Thomas, "my Lord and my God"; and who further describes himself, and declares his work and office:
which teacheth thee to profit; or "teacheth thee profitable things" (p); as the whole of the Gospel ministry is, whether it respects doctrines relating to the knowledge of the Persons in the Godhead; the knowledge of God in Christ; the person and offices of Christ; and the person and operations of the Spirit: or to the knowledge of man; his lost and depraved state; having sinned in Adam, the guilt of his sin is imputed to him, and a corrupt nature propagated; the bias of the mind being to evil, and man impotent to all that is good: or to the way of salvation by the grace of God, as the fruit and effect of the love of God; the doctrines of his eternal love, and of redemption by Christ; of justification by his righteousness; pardon by his blood; atonement by his sacrifice; regeneration by his Spirit and grace; and of the perseverance of the saints in faith and holiness. These are profitable doctrines, which serve to display the riches of divine grace, make for the glory of the Redeemer, and the good of souls, their peace, joy, comfort, and salvation. These are the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus. Or whether these teachings respect ordinances which Christ has appointed, and in his word and by his Spirit teaches men to observe; and which are profitable to lead to him, are breasts of consolation from him, and the means of spiritual strength: or whether they regard the duties of religion, the performance of good works; which, though not profitable to God, and not meritorious of anything from him, yet are profitable to men; to others by way of example, and otherwise, and to the doers of them, who find pleasure, peace, and advantage, by them. Christ was a teacher of these things when on earth, and he still teaches them by his ministers, whom he commissions and qualifies, and by his Spirit accompanying their ministrations:
which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go; Christ leads his people out of the wrong way, in which they naturally are, into the right way; to himself, as the way to the Father, and as the way of salvation, and unto eternal life; he takes them by the hand, and teaches them to go in the path of faith, and to walk in him by it; he leads them in the ways of truth and righteousness, in the highway of holiness, in the path of duty; and, though in a rough way of afflictions, yet in a right way to heaven and happiness.
(p) "utilia", V. L. "quae prosunt sunt", Tigurine version; "ea quae prosunt", Piscator; so the Targum; "condueibilia", Vitringa.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Teacheth - Who from time to time have made…
Teacheth - Who from time to time have made known to thee, all necessary doctrines; which, if observed by thee, would have been infinitely profitable to thee, both for this life and that to come. So that it is not my fault, but thine own, if thou dost not profit. Leadeth - Who acquainteth thee with thy duty in all the concerns of thy life; so that thou canst not pretend ignorance.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 48:17-19. I am the Lord, which teacheth thee…
Isa 48:17-19. I am the Lord, which teacheth thee to profit — Who from time to time has made known to thee all necessary and useful doctrines, which, if observed by thee, would have been infinitely profitable to thee, both for this life and that to come; so that it is not my fault, but thine own, if thou dost not profit: which leadeth thee, &c. — Who acquainteth thee with thy duty in all the concerns of thy life, so that thou canst not pretend ignorance. O that thou hadst hearkened, &c. — This failure hath not been on my part, but on thine: I gave thee my counsels and commands, but thou hast neglected and disobeyed them, and that to thy own great disadvantage. Concerning such wishes as these, when ascribed to God, see note on Deu 5:29; Deu 32:29, and especially on Psa 81:13. Then had thy peace been as a river — Which runs pleasantly, strongly, plentifully, and constantly. Thou shouldst have enjoyed a series of mercies, one continually following another, as the waters of a river, which always last, and not like the waters of a land-flood, which are soon gone; and thy righteousness — The fruit of thy righteousness, thy peace and prosperity; as the waves of the sea — Numberless and abundant. Or the meaning may be, Thou wouldest have been as remarkable for virtue and holiness as for peace and happiness. Thy seed also had been as the sand — Namely, for multitude, according to my promise made to Abraham; whereas now, for thy sins, I have greatly diminished thy numbers by invasions, captivities, and other judgments. His name — The name of thy seed, or offspring, mentioned in the former clauses; should not have been cut off — As now it hath been in a great measure, namely, from the land of Israel, which is either desolate, or inhabited by strangers; nor destroyed from before me — Or, out of my sight, from the place of my special presence and residence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Thy Redeemer - (see the notes at Isa 41:14;…
Thy Redeemer - (see the notes at Isa 41:14; Isa 43:1).
Which teacheth thee to profit - Teaching you what things will most conduce to your welfare. The reference hero is chiefly to the afflictions which they suffered in Babylon.
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Which leadeth thee - I am thy conductor and guide. God taught them, as he does his people now, by his Providence, his revealed word, and his Spirit, the way in which they ought to go. It is one of his characteristics that he is the guide and director of his people.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain b) SECOND INSERTION
b) SECOND INSERTION
Lament that Israel would not hear at the right time
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Isa_48:17-19
17 Thus saith the Lord,
Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel;
I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit,
Which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!
Then had thy peace been as a river,
And thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
19 Thy seed also had been as the sand,
And the offspring of thy bowels 10like the gravel thereof;
His name 11should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
These words interrupt the connection just as does Isa_48:16, and make the impression of belonging to the time when the Prophet was prophesying. For chap. 43 is a recapitulation of the thoughts of chaps. 40–47. This recapitulation continues in Isa_48:20-21, as we shall show afterwards. But in these Isa_48:17-19 there is not a trace of recapitulation. [It is hard to resist the conviction, that were our Author less dominated by this notion of recapitulation, he would see more clearly. See in the Introduction, p. 17, the remarks quoted from J. A. Alex.—Tr.] They bear a retrospective character. After announcing the deliverance by Cyrus, the Prophet is constrained to make the mournful remark, that Israel might have come to the same goal of salvation by the normal and direct way. This thought was perhaps in place after the recapitulation, but not during it, as a break in the context.
Jehovah, the Redeemer, the Holy One, the God of Israel, is naturally, as such, the teacher and leader also of the nation, and has the right to demand that the nation let itself be taught and led by Him. מלמדך להועיל (see List); הוֹעִיל is frugi esse, and is used of being able, ability in regard to useful things generally (comp. Isa_30:5-6; Jer_2:8, etc.). Here it stands particularly for doing that which is morally profitable. לוא הקשׁבת ונו׳ (Isa_48:18) can only mean: if thou hadst regarded, then thy salvation had been, etc. Comp. Ewald, § 329, b; 358, a. Isa_63:19 reads exactly and literally: if thou hadst rent the heavens, and were come down. Of course in that passage it is not essentially important if one translate (inexactly) O that thou mightest rend the heavens and mightest come down. For the only difference is that the more exact construction expresses the impatient wish that the rending and coming down had already taken place. But in our passage one cannot say, that the Lord, if the words must relate to the future, wishes Israel might already have completed giving its attention. Every one would expect the wish to be that Israel would give attention now and in all the future. But to express that requires the imperfect or the imperative, and in the apodosis וִיהִי or וְהָיָה. To be grammatically exact, therefore, one can only construe the words as retrospective. Had Israel regarded the commandments of the Lord, then its salvation had been as the river (the Euphrates, comp. Isa_59:19; Isa_66:12, where כְּנָהָר is used), and its righteousness as waves of the sea. Corporeal and spiritual salvation would have extended over Israel in measureless abundance (comp. Isa_10:22, and on the relation of שׁלום to צדקת, Isa_32:16; Isa_46:13). All promises of salvation contain the benedictio vere theocratica of numerous posterity; for power and developed civilization presuppose a numerous people. A people few in numbers can neither be powerful nor enjoy in spiritual respects an all-sided development. Our passage is founded on Gen_22:17; Gen_32:13; comp. Gen_12:2; Gen_13:16; Gen_15:5, etc. צאצאים occurs only in Job (Job_5:25; Job_21:8; Job_27:14; Job_31:8), and in Isa., see List. מֵעוֹת is of uncertain meaning. It occurs only here. The ancient versions convey the notion of “gravel, lapilli.” Gesenius, on the other hand, translates: “propagines viscerum tuorum ut (propagines) viscerum ejus,” and by, propagines viscerum maris are to be understood the fish (sea-animals). [The invariable usage of the Bible is to refer to “the sand of the sea” as the figure for multitude; we think there is not an instance of the animal life of the sea being so used. As a combined figure of multitude and off-spring the sand is more appropriate than the fish. It is beside the standing comparison for the Abrahamic blessing, Tr.] Hitzig, Maurer, Knobel [Barnes, J. A. Alex.] follow the exposition of Gesenius [J. A. A. ascribes it to J. D. Michaelis, Tr.]. Both interpretations have a weak foundation. Yet the latter has in its favor, that מֵעוֹת, viscera = מעים, after the analogy of נהרות along with נהרים, etc., is more probable than the ingeniously deduced lapilli.
Therefore the Prophet here expresses the thought, that, had Israel followed the commandments of Jehovah, then the promises given the fathers would have been fulfilled without the mournful intervening stadium of the Exile. [It seems better, with most commentators, to regard Isa_48:16-19 as spoken from the stand-point of the foregoing and subsequent context, i.e., of the Exile. This is involved in interpreting “the river” to mean the Euphrates. “Nothing could well be more appropriate at the close of this division of the prophecies, than such an affecting statement of the truth, so frequently propounded in didactic form already, that Israel, although the chosen people of Jehovah, and as such secure from total ruin, was and was to be a sufferer, not from any want of faithfulness or care on God’s part, but as the necessary fruit of its own imperfections and corruptions.” J. A. Alex. on Isa_48:18. “His name shall not be cut off nor destroyed before me.” “We may suppose that the writer, after wishing that the people had escaped the strokes provoked by their iniquities, declares that even now they shall not be entirely destroyed. This is precisely the sense given to the clause in the LXX. (οὐδὲ νῦν ἁπολεῖται), and is recommended by two considerations: first, the absence of the Vav conversive, which in the other clause may indicate an indirect construction; and secondly, its perfect agreement with the whole drift of the passage, and the analogy of others like it, when the explanation of the sufferings of the people as the fruit of their own sin is combined with a promise of exemption from complete destruction,” ibid.on Isa_48:19. Delitzsch similarly—Tr.]
Footnotes:
[10]like that of its (the sea’s) bowels.
[11]shall not be
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain teacheth . . . to profit--by affliction, such as…
teacheth . . . to profit--by affliction, such as the Babylonish captivity, and the present long-continued dispersion of Israel (Heb 12:10).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 17-19. The exhortation continues.
17-19. The exhortation continues.
The Lord, thy Redeemer — As compared with any other, he is the right and rightful leader of Israel. He is comprehensively the Redeemer of accepted Israel, especially accompanying his deliverances first to last, from Egypt, from foes in Canaan, from Babylon, and from the powers of evil in all time. He is Redeemer and Deliverer of all God’s Israel. Did this Israel but know and act upon the knowledge that God truly is his Redeemer, present at all times for his deliverances, what peace would be his, or, as the original (shalom) means, what prosperity, soundness, wholeness, health!
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As a river — Full flowing, and, like the Nile, overflowing, bringing glory of verdure in a parched land.
Righteousness — The “righteousness” of Israel means its utter freedom from idolatry; its purity and holiness, and many fruits of religion as their result; and these becoming more and more in abundance and power, like the waves of the sea! What an image is this! Isaiah could know the easy use of such a figure. The Mediterranean was, as it were, in his presence. Did “the Great Unknown” of the neologists see much of the waves of the sea in Mesopotamia? The figure is that of measureless abundance of righteousness.
Thy seed — Posterity. Blessings physical are of great account with the Semitic peoples. The thought here is, of a holy and enduring nation, headed by Messiah, moving forward to victory till triumph is reached in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 17. The introduction is in the prophet’s usual manner;…
17. The introduction is in the prophet’s usual manner; cf. ch. Isa_41:14, Isa_43:14, Isa_49:7.
which teacheth thee to profit] i.e. profitably or “for thy profit”; cf. Isa_44:10 (“to no profit”), Isa_47:12.
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17–19. If Israel had but known Jehovah as its faithful Guide, and obeyed His commandments, how different would its present condition have been! The short passage has a striking resemblance to Psa_81:13-16, and is of singular beauty and depth of feeling. But the disappointment expressed, that Israel has not attained to righteousness by the keeping of the Divine law, is not altogether natural in this connexion, or in the circumstances in which the prophecy was written. It breathes rather the spirit of a time of depression, when Israel seemed in danger of being “cut off,” and when the faith of the Church was not sustained by the immediate prospect of deliverance. Moreover, the song of triumph in Isa_48:20 f. is the proper sequel (as in every similar instance) of the announcement of deliverance in 12–16 a.; and it will be felt that the obvious and natural connexion is disturbed by a sigh of regret for what might have been. It is with reluctance that one is driven to assign a thought so finely expressed to an interpolator, but a fair interpretation of the spirit of the passage points strongly to that conclusion (so again Duhm and Cheyne).
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (17) The Lord thy God which teacheth thee to…
(17) The Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit.—The words applied to the natural human, perhaps we may add, to the specially national, desire, to make a good investment. The question what was profitable? was one to which men returned very different answers. It was the work of the true Redeemer to lead men to the one true imperishable gain (comp. Mat_16:26), to lead them in the one right way (Joh_14:4-6).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The Lord... which teacheth thee to profit. God"s teachings…
The Lord... which teacheth thee to profit. God"s teachings are all directed to the "profit" of those to whom they are addressed; and, if received in a proper spirit, actually "profit" them more than anything else can do. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable". (2Ti_3:16) Very profitable also are the teachings of God"s providence, which chasten men, warn men, and tend to keep men in the right path.
Vers. 17-19. Human freedom and Divine regret.
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In these fervent and eloquent words of the prophet we learn
I THAT GOD DESIGNS GOOD AND EVEN GREAT THINGS FOR THE OBEDIENT. If Israel had only been obedient to the Divine commandment, it would have rejoiced in:
1. Abounding prosperity. Its peace (prosperity) would have been "as a river," flowing on continuously, without break, night and day, generation after generation. Victory in war and fruitfulness in the field would have been their happy heritage. (see Psa_81:13-16) This is the offer which Christ makes to his obedient disciples. (Mar_10:29, 30) Not that prosperity always comes to the Christian disciple in the shape of "increase of corn and wine;" but it does come in one form if not in another often in the shape of indwelling peace and overflowing joy when the home is of the humblest and the lot of the hardest kind.
2. Advancing rectitude. Its righteousness would have been "as the waves of the sea," coming on and coming in with steady, irresistible flow. Righteousness is an incomparably greater blessing than prosperity: To be a "righteous nation" is to be vastly more than a triumphant or wealthy nation. Christ promises to those who are the true subjects of his kingdom that their blest heritage shall be righteousness as well as peace and joy in the Holy Ghost;" spiritual rectitude; the heart in its true and loyal attitude towards God, towards man, towards truth and life.
3. Abiding influence. (Ver. 19.)
II THAT WE ARE LEFT FEARFULLY FREE TO THWART HIS GRACIOUS PURPOSE. Jehovah laments that Israel had forfeited its heritage, had used its freedom to disobey, had cut itself off from his generous design (ver. 18). What God would gladly have bestowed, the foolish nation had resolved to refuse. Such power of choice has the Creator given to his creature, man. And what fearful use has man made of this his freedom! It is not Israel alone that has elected to forego splendid opportunities. What might not Rome have been, and Egypt, and those European lands to which the knowledge of the gospel has been carried! It is not too late to askWhat may not England be? The record of her history is not yet complete; her sands are not yet run; her gate of opportunity is not yet closed. She may yet rise to the height of her privilege, as she may yet sink grievously and fatally beneath it. With the same solemn and awful; freedom every individual soul is invested by its Creator. Every one of us is at liberty to thwart his gracious purpose if we choose; at liberty also to realize it, in all its glorious fulness, if we will.
III THAT OUR DISOBEDIENCE AND DISINHERITANCE ARE A SOURCE OF DIVINE REGRET. Do we not hear an undertone of deep sorrow in this lament? Our heavenly Father, our Divine Friend, regards the sad abuse of our freedom with a sorrow which is all his own. The human parent who has been deeply disappointed in the character and career of his beloved child is likely to have the truest insight into the grief of God when he witnesses our rejection of his truth and grace. But as "God only knows the love of God," so he only knows the depth and fulness of his grief.
IV THAT WE MAY RECOVER ALL IF WE LISTEN WHEN GOD SPEAKS AGAIN. The Holy One is our Redeemer: he "teaches us to profit;" he "leads us in the way," etc. (ver. 17). He comes in holy discipline, in fatherly correction, to call us from our folly, to save us from our sin. If we will only know the profitableness of his redeeming truth, we may be restored and reinstated; we may yet wear the robe and the ring of sonship, and sit down at the Father"s board. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer
Isa_48:17-18
Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer
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The I ams of God and of man
How beautiful and impressive are the I ams of God; so different from the proud and empty boastings clearly discernible in the I ams of man.
We are never nearer to misleading others and deceiving ourselves, than when we utter sentences beginning with I am. For, after all, what are we in ourselves that is worth mentioning? When we yield to the constraint of the Bible and conscience, and come to know something of our own hearts, we shall not dare to speak aloud to those about us; but, like Job, our words will be for God, and into His ears we shall whisper, I am vile. Or, if beneath the influence of the blessed Spirit we come to realise that our nature is changed, then shall we temper our assertion with humility, and, like Paul, say, By the grace of God, I am what I am. Only on Gods lips has the declaration, I am, its full meaning. This is Gods great name. (W. J. Mayers.)
God is what He is for His people
This grand self-assertion of God will increase in its beauty and power for us when we remember that God is not some powerful monarch, isolating Himself from those around Him, withholding succour from the distressed, guidance from the perplexed, relief from the poor, and living only to gratify Himself. What God is He is for His people--as the sun is light for the earth, or the earth nourishment for the crops, or the crops food for the people. How comforting and helpful is the recollection of what God is! In Gods I am the sick man finds his medicine, the poor man his riches, the lonely man his company, the sinner his salvation, the wanderer his hope, the wounded heart its balm, the hungry soul its manna, the fearful one his cordial, the dying one his life, and every glorified one his all. We must go out of ourselves to get real blessing for ourselves; and to whom should we go but to Him, described as the Lord, the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel? The heart must have a person to love, to lean on, to live for. No doctrine, no idea, no creed can take the place of the person. The language just quoted describes a character peculiar to the Person of Jesus Christ. He is the true Lord, the Redeemer, the Holy One, supreme in all creation, paramount in redemption, having the pre-eminence in holiness. As Lord He rules, as Redeemer He saves, as Holy One He inspires and guides. He claims to be our Lord and God, and in this high station deigns to address us. Nor would we be slow to recognise His claims, but would have our faith to be the echo of His love, while, with Thomas, each one of us says: My Lord and my God. It is indeed Divine love which speaks to us in the text, and makes known to us the good will and pleasure of the great I Am. (W. J.Mayers.)
God, our Teacher and Leader
Learn of Me and Follow Me are two most impressive commands of Jesus Christ.
I. THERE IS AN IMPORTANT RELATION BETWEEN THESE TWO OFFICES OF OUR DIVINE MASTER. Not every teacher is a leader, not every leader a true teacher. Theory and practice are often divorced. Words and works are not always wedded. But in our Lord there is perfection in both teaching and leading. Does Jesus teach us to pray and not to faint? He also leads in this, for He prayed. Does Jesus teach us to glorify God by our good works? He went about doing good. Does our Master teach us to love our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use us? How grandly axe we led by His dying prayer, Father, forgive them. Are we to seek first the kingdom of God, according to His teaching? So, indeed, did He, for it was His meat and drink to do His Fathers will. Would He have us patient under suffering, calm amid reproach, submissive under affliction, and alway resigned? So, indeed, was He. Let the Garden of Gethsemane bear witness.
Let Pilates hall testify. Let Calvary give answer. He truly teaches us to profit, and leads us by the way we should go. These are the two great forces which aid us in the formation of the Christian character and the development of the Christian life. The teaching of our Master is sometimes out of the book of affliction and sorrow. He teaches us our folly, and weakness, and sin; and then leads us into His wisdom, and strength, and holiness. He teaches us in the valley of the shadow that He may lead us to the golden height of Divine light and love. He teaches us by the furnace that He may lead us to the palace. He teaches us by the noon-day heat, and then leads us to the sheltering rock. In multitudes of ways does our Lord teach His people, but ever to the end that He may lead them in the way in which they should go. But for His instructions we should be poor followers. If He beckoned to us in silence we should hardly dare to take a step. But He is not silent, for as He goes before us we can hear His voice. The thought of His instruction encourages us, while His leadership emboldens us.
II. Let us now spend a little while in THE CONTEMPLATION OF THOSE SWEET WORDS, WHICH LEADETH THEE. Here, indeed, is found soul-comfort and strength, such as we all need amid our feebleness and the bewilderment around. It will be well for us to read these words in the light of Scripture thoughts and incidents. How they remind us of God leading His people from the thraldom of Egypt. Only let faiths eye be clear, and the leading pillar will ever be discerned. In the Song of Moses we have a beautiful figure to help us in understanding our Lord s leading. There the mention of the eagles care for her young in fluttering over them as they try to fly, and spreading her wings beneath them to give them confidence, and bearing them on her wings when they are weary, is followed by the declaration,--So the Lord alone did lead them. As we pass on we come to the beautiful poem of the shepherd-king, and we hear his sweet voice singing, He leadeth me beside the still waters. And then we find Davids son putting into the lips of wisdom the words, I lead in the way of righteousness. Let us take another example; now from the prophet Isaiah. There we find this precious promise of our Gods: I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known. Is not this what He has done and still does for us? How strengthening, again, is the promise recorded by this same prophet: I will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him; and how soothing the words written for us by Jeremiah: With favours will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble.
III. WHAT SPIRIT SHALL WE MANIFEST IN VIEW OF THIS PRECIOUS TRUTH? Let us take our place by the Psalmist, and with him in a spirit of humility, resignation, trustfulness, and hope, put up these petitions: Psa_5:8; Psa_25:5; Psa_27:11; Psa_31:3; Psa_61:2; Psa_139:24; Psa_143:10. Thus shall we on earth have a true foretaste of the unspeakable rest and blessedness of that sinless place where the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall lead them, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (W. J. Mayers.)
Profitable teaching and right leading
I. GOD AS A REDEEMER. The redemption spoken of by Isaiah was temporal in the first place. But he ascends a much higher sphere than that circumscribed by any earthly demand.
1. The captivity of evil; the Babylon of sin. The whole human race is involved in misery as in guilt. The bondage of iniquity is the worst sort of captivity that beings capable of a better life can possibly suffer.
2. The mercy of the Redeemer at work in the city of bondage.
(1) The greater because of our helplessness and need.
(2) The greater because of our sinfulness and unbelief.
(3) Crowned by the maintenance of Gods righteousness with the recovery and perfection of our own. The Gospel is not simply a principle of forgiveness, it is that and something more: it is the power to become holy--the happiness and endlessness of a righteous and godly life.
II. GOD AS A TEACHER. The Gospel is too generally only regarded and valued as a something which adds to our enjoyment. Few Christians even understand the beneficence of discipline.
1. Look at the Gospel as a teacher. The new birth opens the eyes to a new world; it is followed by a new language. Here is the high school of heaven in which the Spirit of God is the principal Teacher.
2. Learning is never easy. There is no royal road to this learning, any more than to mere secular knowledge.
(1) The lessons are harder because we have to unlearn. Satan has had us in his school, where we were as apt to learn as he to teach.
(2) The lessons are harder because we are not diligent. The elements always seem most difficult, because they are so near. If a man always sticks at the elements he is ever in difficulties, yet never makes progress.
(3) The learning is harder because as yet we are not much better than invalids.
3. Yet all the teaching is profitable.
(1) As a correction. Our weakness makes us more humble, and less prone to self-reliance.
(2) As a spiritual development. All these things are made to work together for our highest good.
III. GOD AS A LEADER.
1. The way God would have us go is not always according to our inclination.
(1) The pleasantest way is not necessarily the best.
(2) The fact that we are called to walk in an unpleasant path, so far from proving God s desertion may indicate just the reverse. He may be nearer to us in the cloud than in the sunshine. The wilderness with Him in it is the way to Canaan: no other way, however pleasant, can be safe.
2. The knowledge that it is His way should be enough.
(1) As a reason. For there can be nothing irrational in following Him who is the source and crown of wisdom.
(2) As an incentive. For the voice of His approval should sound both distinctly and pleasantly to our ears. (J. Parrish, B. A.)
Life an education
1. Our life is an education; not a mere probation, or trial of what we are to be and to do, but a training of our lives and characters into as great likeness as is possible to the perfect life and character of God, revealed to us in Christ. It is a great truth, helping us to see many things in their true light; above all, helping us to understand the meaning of our life, and its relation to the will of God. The human father is too often but a deceiving type through which to try to understand the Divine Father. Still, even those who have had least to thank their earthly parents for should be able to rise to the idea, however imperfect, of a wise, righteous, unselfish fatherhood, and to picture to themselves a man who should show these qualities in his relation to his children. And thinking of such an one, could you think of him as content that they should simply go their own way, seek their own pleasure, indulge their own whims, let loose their own tempers and desires, and own no authority, and recognise no purpose in life, and believe in no will higher, more experienced, more just than their own? All that is truest and most useful in the discipline and training which an earthly father, who knows his relation to his family and is faithful to it, bestows on his children, is based on something that is eternal in the heavens, that exists as the true rule of fatherhood in the mind of God the Father. Is it not involved in the very idea that God is our Father that there should be in His mind a design for each of us? And is it not inseparable from such a design that there should be much in it that is not naturally easy and pleasant? The pain has been inevitable because the true end of life has been kept in view, above all temporary and petty objects that lie in the way to that end. The end could not be reached by one ignorant, untrained, undisciplined, unaccustomed to obey or to learn. In the training for the higher life it is not all plain and smooth. Least of all is it so at the beginning. This is the meaning of the strait gate and the narrow way that lead to life. They are strait and narrow, because they lead to life, because they lead us on to a definite purpose of God for us that is not laid down at random, not shaped by chance, but is the result of love and foresight, and must, like all things that are high and good, be worked out not carelessly and easily, but with patience and thought and toil.
2. If we believe in this Divine purpose of our life, if we believe that the object of it is to train us into more perfect union with our Father, to educate us to fill our place as His children in His family, surely it will be our wisdom to try to learn what it is and to fulfil it. How are we to do this? Not through self-will; of that we may be sure.
3. There are two great errors into which those who are failing of Gods plan may have fallen, or be falling. There is the error of being self-confident, impatient of all authority, advice, control, even of such control (a parents, for instance) as is one of Gods own ordinances, one of the abiding bonds of human life, which cannot be broken without the family or the society in which it is broken suffering loss, and at last dissolution. And there is the error of yielding absolutely to some authority (other than a natural authority) to which you submit your own reason and conscience, and for which you resign your own responsibility. We should beware of either of these errors. And lest we fall into them, we should use our reason and our conscience diligently in striving to find out the will of God for us; and if ever it seems hard to find, then there is the refuge of work and of prayer to resort to, until the dawn of light and peace.
4. It is a great thing to trust God; to have faith in Him and in His goodwill and loving purpose for us, really to believe that we are children in His family, and scholars in His school Such faith is the root of strength, hope, patience and courage in human life. (R. H. Story, D. D.)
The souls Guide
(for the New Year):--
1. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GUIDE. He is Jehovah--the Lord our strength; the Cause of all existence, and the Fountain and Source of life. Thus He is mighty to save, and able to conduct His servants through every danger, and deliver them from every foe. He is thy Redeemer, loving thee with an everlasting love. A companion to rescue thee from danger, to take a loving interest in all thy cares and sorrows: One who has chosen thee in the furnace of affliction, that He may make thee all glorious within, and imprint on thee His own likeness. He is the Holy One of Israel, faithful and true, rich, tender, and unfailing in His promises.
II. THE METHODS OF GUIDANCE. Teacheth thee to profit leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. The methods are various and sometimes peculiar, but always full of wisdom. Nothing is ever wanting on the part of the Teacher: if it is necessary for the pupils progress, he will have to submit to the discipline of restraint, and to bear the yoke of adversity.
1. God leads us sometimes by unknown paths, by ways we cannot understand. Joseph, Jacob, Daniel, Elijah. The ways of providence need careful watching to see their fitness and beauty.
2. By gentleness. David could say, Thy gentleness hath made me great,--the Divine condescension had stooped to his frailties and errors. I willguide thee with Mine eye. Not with bit and bridle, nor with the hook in thy nose, as Sennacherib.
3. This guidance is continual. The Guide never relaxes His vigilant care. He will never leave thee,--even unto death He is by thy side. Thus guided we are always safe, right, and happy.
III. THE RESULTS OF ACCEPTING THIS GUIDANCE (verse 18). If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. Gods promises are always to character.
1. Peace--that quiet, restful condition of soul which is the heritage of those from whom all painful emotions and all disturbing influences are removed.
2. Righteousness--as the foundation on which character is built, and the element of which it consists. Righteousness . . . as the waves of the sea--so wide in its influence as to cover all the interests of life; so deep as to go down to the deepest places of the heart, and permeate the whole life with its power and beauty. And the peace and righteousness united make life fruitful--so that it abounds in goodness, and the soul at all times and in all places is enabled to fulfil lifes highest duty. (J. Edwards.)
It might have been
These words would be sad from the lips of man, but coming from God they are inexpressibly touching and solemn. They are the cry of a wounded heart. They tell not of the wrath of justice, but of the sorrows of love This may be regarded as implying--
I. GRIEF FOR LOST HOPES. Once there was hope and fair promise. Gods beautiful ideal might be realised. But that is all gone. God only knows what has been lost. He is, so to speak, alone with His sorrow.
II. JUDGMENT FOR NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITIES. God is speaking here in the character of the Redeemer--the Holy One of Israel. He recalls what He had done, and what might and ought to have been the happy results. But the precious opportunities had been abused.
1. Gracious instruction. I am the Lord which teacheth thee to profit.
2. Infallible guidance. Which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
3. Holy blessedness. Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. But the time is past. The glorious vision has faded away for ever. Neglected opportunities bring sure and terrible retribution.
III. EXONERATION FOR NEEDLESS RUIN. Reason, conscience, and the Holy Scriptures combine in testifying that mans ruin is not of chance or fate, far less of God, but exclusively of himself. (W. Forsyth, M. A.)
I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit.--
The benefit of afflictions
I. AFFLICTIONS MAY BE MADE PROFITABLE TO THE CHILDREN OF GOD.
1. They may be greatly instrumental in turning off their attention from the world.
2. They may turn off their affections as well as their attention from the captivating objects of the world.
3. They may be of much greater benefit to them by raising their affections to God, the source of all good.
II. GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE AFFLICTIONS PROFITABLE TO HIS CHILDREN.
1. He is able to bring Himself into the view of His afflicted children.
2. He can place their affections as well as attention upon Himself.
III. THIS IS A MATTER OF CONSOLATION TO THEM. Improvement--
1. Since God makes use of afflictions to keep His children near to Him, it appears that they are extremely prone to forsake Him.
2. It appears from the manner in which God instructs and benefits His afflicted children, that they may derive the greatest advantage from their severest sufferings.
3. If God chastises His children for good, then those who are suffered to live in uninterrupted prosperity have reason to fear that they do not belong to the household of faith.
4. If God can make afflictions profitable to His children, then we may justly conclude that He can make them profitable to others.
5. It appears that every person may know whether he belongs to His family or not. Afflictions are peculiar trials of the heart, and give men the best opportunity to determine what is in reality the supreme object of their affections.
6. The afflicted ought to be of a teachable spirit under Divine convictions. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
True profit
It is not only the commercial world which has to make its calculations of profit and loss. All life is made up of profit and loss. If there is not profit, there is loss; if there is not loss, there is profit.
1. I understand the text to mean, not that God teaches us in a profitable way, but that He instructs us how to get the profit in all things; that He gives that faculty, the power to take the good and refuse the evil.
2. Consider how God does teach to profit.
(1) The first thing which God will probably teach, and which we must receive, is a general confidence that there is profit, however imperceptible it may be at the time to us, in the thing which He is sending to us.
(2) This faith given, the next thing that God puts into our hearts is to seek that good; eternal profit, profit both to ourselves and to Him, in that He is glorified in His own work. We are to look for that profit, not on the surface, but in certain deeper, hidden meanings and intentions which lie underneath. Into those deeper meanings God will lead and admit you. But not without three things: a reverent acceptance of His teaching, hard work, and a good life. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
redeemer
Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 your Redeemer ... your God
your Redeemer ... your God
Here "your" refers to the people of Israel. (See: Forms of You)
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Redeemer
See how you translated this word in Isaiah 41:14.
Holy One of Israel
See how you translated this phrase in Isaiah 1:4.
who leads you by the way that you should go
Yahweh teaching the people how they should live is spoken of as if he were leading them to walk on the correct paths. (See: Metaphor)
If only you had obeyed my commandments
Yahweh describes something that could have happened but did not. (See: Hypothetical Situations)
Then your peace and prosperity would have flowed like a river, and your salvation like the waves of the sea
These two phrases share similar meanings. In both, Yahweh speaks of Israel's experiencing abundant blessings as if those blessings flowed like water. (See: Metaphor and Parallelism)
your salvation like the waves of the sea
The verb may be supplied from the previous phrase. AT: "your salvation would have flowed like the waves of the sea" (See: Ellipsis)
translationWords
Yahweh
redeem
Holy One
Israel
obey
command
peace
save
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.