The Meaning of Isaiah 51:11 Explained

Isaiah 51:11

KJV: Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

YLT: And the ransomed of Jehovah turn back, And they have come to Zion with singing, And joy age-during is on their head, Gladness and joy they attain, Fled away have sorrow and sighing,

Darby: So the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

ASV: And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and'sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore the redeemed  of the LORD  shall return,  and come  with singing  unto Zion;  and everlasting  joy  [shall be] upon their head:  they shall obtain  gladness  and joy;  [and] sorrow  and mourning  shall flee away. 

What does Isaiah 51:11 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The consequence of the Lord"s arm again providing redemption for His people was that the exiles would return to Zion from Babylon with great joy (cf. Isaiah 35:10). The joy at this return was only a foretaste of the joy His people would experience as a result of His redemption through the Servant and their return to the Promised Land in the Millennium (cf. Isaiah 55:12).
Isaiah 51:12-16 record the Lord"s response to the cry just recorded.

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 51:11 mean?

so the ransomed of Yahweh shall return and come to Zion with singing and with joy everlasting on their heads Joy and gladness they shall obtain shall flee away Sorrow and sighing -
וּפְדוּיֵ֨י יְהוָ֜ה יְשׁוּב֗וּן וּבָ֤אוּ צִיּוֹן֙ בְּרִנָּ֔ה וְשִׂמְחַ֥ת עוֹלָ֖ם עַל־ רֹאשָׁ֑ם שָׂשׂ֤וֹן וְשִׂמְחָה֙ יַשִּׂיג֔וּן נָ֖סוּ יָג֥וֹן וַאֲנָחָֽה ס

וּפְדוּיֵ֨י  so  the  ransomed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural construct
Root: פָּדָה  
Sense: to ransom, redeem, rescue, deliver.
יְהוָ֜ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
יְשׁוּב֗וּן  shall  return 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
וּבָ֤אוּ  and  come 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
צִיּוֹן֙  to  Zion 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
בְּרִנָּ֔ה  with  singing 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: רִנָּה  
Sense: ringing cry.
וְשִׂמְחַ֥ת  and  with  joy 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שִׂמְחָה  
Sense: joy, mirth, gladness.
עוֹלָ֖ם  everlasting 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
רֹאשָׁ֑ם  their  heads 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
שָׂשׂ֤וֹן  Joy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂשֹׂון  
Sense: gladness, joy, exultation, rejoicing.
וְשִׂמְחָה֙  and  gladness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שִׂמְחָה  
Sense: joy, mirth, gladness.
יַשִּׂיג֔וּן  they  shall  obtain 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: מַשֶּׂגֶת 
Sense: to reach, overtake, take hold upon.
נָ֖סוּ  shall  flee  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נוּס  
Sense: to flee, escape.
יָג֥וֹן  Sorrow 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָגֹון  
Sense: grief, sorrow, anguish.
וַאֲנָחָֽה  and  sighing 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲנָחָה  
Sense: sighing, groaning (expression of grief or physical distress).
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation