The Meaning of Isaiah 49:2 Explained

Isaiah 49:2

KJV: And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

YLT: And he maketh my mouth as a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He hath hid me, And He maketh me for a clear arrow, In His quiver He hath hid me.

Darby: And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hath concealed me under the shadow of his hand, and he hath made me a polished shaft: in his quiver hath he hidden me.

ASV: and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me: and he hath made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he kept me close:

Discover Isaiah 49:2

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 49:2?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 49:2 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 49:2 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 49:2?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he hath made  my mouth  like a sharp  sword;  in the shadow  of his hand  hath he hid  me, and made  me a polished  shaft;  in his quiver  hath he hid  me; 

What does Isaiah 49:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Cyrus" calling was to liberate Israel with the sword, but this speaker"s calling was to announce words from God, piercing, incisive words that would cut like a sword (cf. Isaiah 1:20; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:16; Revelation 19:15).
"His is an office of the mouth, his task a declaration of the Truth; for he is a prophet par excellence, and his word is the Gospel ..." [1]
The Servant would be available for His Master"s use whenever needed. He would not be prominent at all times but would be protected and hidden until summoned into use. Both the sword and the arrow were offensive weapons, the former used at short range and the latter at longer range. Likewise this Servant"s words would be instruments that would defeat enemies. Jesus Christ was the embodiment of this word from God (cf. John 1:1-4; John 1:14-15).

Context Summary

Isaiah 49:1-13 - "a Light To The Gentiles"
The first division of this second part of Isaiah closes at Isaiah 48:22, with the phrase there is no peace to the wicked. The second division of part 2 closes with a similar phrase, Isaiah 57:21. The first division here ends with the proclamation for Israel to leave Babylon. They need never have gone there. If only they have been obedient in every particular theirs would have been the happy lot of Isaiah 48:18, as contrasted with Isaiah 48:22. But even under such circumstances, in captivity and as slaves of the Chaldeans the redeeming grace of God would triumph, Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:5.
The second great division of Part 2 opens with Isaiah 49:1. In their first and immediate reference, these verses evidently apply to our Lord. See Acts 13:47, etc. In the mission of Jesus, the ideal of the Hebrew race was realized. As the white flower on the stalk He revealed the essential beauty and glory of the root, Isaiah 49:6. See Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:1-2; Matthew 2:14-15, etc.
There is a secondary sense, also, in which the Christian worker may appropriate many things in this glowing paragraph. Our mouth must be surrendered to God, that He may use it for His own high purposes. But do not dread the shadow of His hand. It is the quiver case in which He keeps His chosen arrows against the battle! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 49

1  Christ being sent to the Jews, complains of them
5  He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises
13  God's love is perpetual to his church
18  The ample restoration of the church
24  The powerful deliverance out of captivity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 49:2 mean?

And He has made My mouth like a sword sharp in the shadow of His hand He has hidden He and made Me a shaft polished in His quiver He has hidden Me
וַיָּ֤שֶׂם פִּי֙ כְּחֶ֣רֶב חַדָּ֔ה בְּצֵ֥ל יָד֖וֹ הֶחְבִּיאָ֑נִי וַיְשִׂימֵ֙נִי֙ לְחֵ֣ץ בָּר֔וּר בְּאַשְׁפָּת֖וֹ הִסְתִּירָֽנִי

וַיָּ֤שֶׂם  And  He  has  made 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
פִּי֙  My  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
כְּחֶ֣רֶב  like  a  sword 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
חַדָּ֔ה  sharp 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: חַד  
Sense: sharp.
בְּצֵ֥ל  in  the  shadow 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: צֵל  
Sense: shadow, shade.
יָד֖וֹ  of  His  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
הֶחְבִּיאָ֑נִי  He  has  hidden  He 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: חָבָא  
Sense: to withdraw, hide.
וַיְשִׂימֵ֙נִי֙  and  made  Me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
לְחֵ֣ץ  a  shaft 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֵץ  
Sense: arrow.
בָּר֔וּר  polished 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: בָּרוּר 
Sense: to purify, select, polish, choose, purge, cleanse or make bright, test or prove.
בְּאַשְׁפָּת֖וֹ  in  His  quiver 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אַשְׁפָּה  
Sense: quiver (for arrows).
הִסְתִּירָֽנִי  He  has  hidden  Me 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: סָתַר  
Sense: to hide, conceal.

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 49:2?

Loading Information...

Similar Scriptures for Isaiah 49:2

Hebrews 4:12 [6]
Revelation 1:16 [6]
Isaiah 51:16 [6]
Revelation 2:12 [5]
Hosea 6:5 [4]
Isaiah 11:4 [4]
Isaiah 50:4 [4]
Psalms 91:1 [3]
Isaiah 42:1 [3]
Revelation 19:15 [3]
Luke 23:46 [3]
read more (4)
Psalms 45:2-5 [3]
Jeremiah 1:18 [3]
Isaiah 61:1-3 [3]
Jeremiah 15:19-20 [2]
read less