The Meaning of Isaiah 51:14 Explained

Isaiah 51:14

KJV: The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.

YLT: Hastened hath a wanderer to be loosed, And he doth not die at the pit, And his bread is not lacking.

Darby: He that is bowed down shall speedily be loosed, and he shall not die in the pit, nor shall his bread fail.

ASV: The captive exile shall speedily be loosed; and he shall not die and go down into the pit, neither shall his bread fail.

Discover Isaiah 51:14

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 51:14?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 51:14 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 51:14 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 51:14?

What is the context of Isaiah 51:14?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.

What does Isaiah 51:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God promised to free the exiles soon and to supply their needs. Westerners tend to read verses like this one through individualistic glasses. We ask if there were not individuals who died in exile. There probably were. The prophet"s perspective was much more collective; he viewed the Israelites as a unit. By saying they would not die in exile he meant that the nation would not cease to exist while in captivity. While this was true of the Babylonian exiles, the promises of salvation in this section of the book anticipate a larger spiritual redemption as well, as I have noted. In fact, life in Babylonian exile was far from harsh for most of the Israelites (cf. Jeremiah 29:4-7), so much so that most of them chose not to return to the Promised Land when they could.

Context Summary

Isaiah 51:12-23 - "the Captive Exile Shall Be Loosed"

During the Sepoy mutiny in India, when a number of English men and women were shut up in a quarter of Cawnpore, expecting a terrible death by assault or slow starvation, a torn page of the Bible, containing this passage, was found on the street pavement and was of unspeakable comfort. Oh, the blessedness of appropriating Isaiah 51:16! See Isaiah 49:7.

We are too apt to forget that God pleads the cause of His people, even when they have sinned and have reduced themselves to sore straits, Isaiah 51:17 and Isaiah 51:22. We think more of the earth than of the over-arching skies; of the fading grass than of the tree of Life; of man than of God. The near obscures the distant, and the flaring earth lights, the shine of the stars! Root yourself in God! Think of Him who sits at the right hand of the throne, the seat of resistless, ceaseless energy! Believe that God has placed Himself between you and all enemies and circumstances which threaten. To fear all day is impossible in face of these paragraphs. [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 51:14 mean?

hastens the captive exile that he may be loosed that not he should die in the pit and not that should fail his bread

מִהַ֥ר צֹעֶ֖ה לְהִפָּתֵ֑חַ וְלֹא־ יָמ֣וּת לַשַּׁ֔חַת וְלֹ֥א יֶחְסַ֖ר לַחְמֽוֹ

מִהַ֥ר	hastens
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular Root: מָהַר Sense: (Qal) to hasten.
צֹעֶ֖ה	the captive exile
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular Root: צָעָה Sense: to stoop, bend, incline.
לְהִפָּתֵ֑חַ	that he may be loosed
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct Root: פָּתַח Sense: to open.
וְלֹא־	that not
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle Root: הֲלֹא Sense: not, no.
יָמ֣וּת	he should die
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: מוּת Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
לַשַּׁ֔חַת	in the pit
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular Root: שַׁחַת Sense: pit, destruction, grave.
וְלֹ֥א	and not
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle Root: הֲלֹא Sense: not, no.
יֶחְסַ֖ר	that should fail
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: חָסֵר Sense: to lack, be without, decrease, be lacking, have a need.
לַחְמֽוֹ	his bread
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular Root: לֶחֶם Sense: bread, food, grain.

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 51:14?

Loading Information...

Similar Scriptures for Isaiah 51:14

		Zechariah 9:11 [4]
		Isaiah 48:20 [3]
		Isaiah 52:2 [3]
		Jeremiah 38:6-13 [2]
		Acts 12:7-8 [2]
		Ezra 1:5 [2]
		Isaiah 49:10 [2]
		Jeremiah 37:16 [1]
		Lamentations 3:53-54 [1]
read less