The Meaning of Isaiah 51:1 Explained

Isaiah 51:1

KJV: Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

YLT: Hearken unto Me, ye pursuing righteousness, Seeking Jehovah, Look attentively unto the rock -- ye have been hewn, And unto the hole of the pit -- ye have been digged.

Darby: Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek Jehovah: look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged.

ASV: Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek Jehovah: look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hold of the pit whence ye were digged.

Discover Isaiah 51:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 51:1?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 51:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 51:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 51:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Hearken  to me, ye that follow after  righteousness,  ye that seek  the LORD:  look  unto the rock  [whence] ye are hewn,  and to the hole  of the pit  [whence] ye are digged. 

What does Isaiah 51:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord appealed to the righteous in Israel to listen to Him (cf. Isaiah 50:10). Watts believed the speaker, through Isaiah 51:4, was Darius. [1] These were the Israelites who sincerely wanted to trust and obey God, but found it difficult to do so because impending captivity seemed to contradict God"s promises. The Lord directed them to consider their history, their origin.
"Abraham was the rock from which his descendants were hewn-having a rocklike quality imparted to him by God"s faithfulness and grace." [2]

Context Summary

Isaiah 51:1-11 - "awake, O Arm Of Jehovah!"
This chapter is extremely dramatic. We are conscious that we are nearing a revelation of unparalleled sublimity. As we hear the thrice Hearken in Isaiah 1:1-8, and the thrice Awake, Isaiah 51:9, which follows, we realize that we are traversing the entrance portico of a noble temple. When God says, Hearken, it is for us to ask Him to fulfill-Awake!
Recall the loneliness of Abraham. "He was but one!" Terah died, Lot dropped away, Hagar was thrust out, Isaac was laid on the altar, but the fire that burned in his heart only grew brighter. Do not despair if you are alone in your stand for God. One acorn, when the life of Nature touches it, may become parent to a forest. These exiled Jews hardly dared to hope that they could escape from their foes. The air was heavy with their revilings, but compare Isaiah 51:8 with Isaiah 50:9. With such assurances we may face a world in arms. The forces of evil are strong, but God is stronger. The clouds threaten, but the sun is shining. Don't forget the Lord thy Maker, thy Redeemer, thy Father! He cannot fail or forsake! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 51

1  An exhortation after the pattern of Abraham, to trust in Christ
3  By reason of his comfortable promises,
4  Of his righteous salvation
7  And man's mortality
9  Christ by his sanctified arm defends his from the fear of man
17  He bewails the afflictions of Jerusalem
21  And promises deliverance

What do the individual words in Isaiah 51:1 mean?

Listen to Me you who follow after righteousness You who seek Yahweh Look to the rock [from which] you were hewn and to the hole of the pit [from which] you were dug
שִׁמְע֥וּ אֵלַ֛י רֹ֥דְפֵי צֶ֖דֶק מְבַקְשֵׁ֣י יְהוָ֑ה הַבִּ֙יטוּ֙ אֶל־ צ֣וּר חֻצַּבְתֶּ֔ם וְאֶל־ מַקֶּ֥בֶת בּ֖וֹר נֻקַּרְתֶּֽם

שִׁמְע֥וּ  Listen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
אֵלַ֛י  to  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
רֹ֥דְפֵי  you  who  follow  after 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: רָדַף  
Sense: to be behind, follow after, pursue, persecute, run after.
צֶ֖דֶק  righteousness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: צֶדֶק  
Sense: justice, rightness, righteousness.
מְבַקְשֵׁ֣י  You  who  seek 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: בָּקַשׁ  
Sense: to seek, require, desire, exact, request.
יְהוָ֑ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הַבִּ֙יטוּ֙  Look 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: נָבַט  
Sense: to look, regard.
צ֣וּר  the  rock 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: צוּר 
Sense: rock, cliff.
חֻצַּבְתֶּ֔ם  [from  which]  you  were  hewn 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: חָצֵב 
Sense: to dig, cleave, divide, hew, make, cut out, dig out, cut down, quarry, hewer, mason.
וְאֶל־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
מַקֶּ֥בֶת  the  hole 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מַקֶּבֶת 
Sense: hole, excavation, perforation.
בּ֖וֹר  of  the  pit 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּור 
Sense: pit, well, cistern.
נֻקַּרְתֶּֽם  [from  which]  you  were  dug 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: נָקַר  
Sense: to bore, pick, dig, pick out.

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 51:1?

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