The Meaning of Isaiah 51:16 Explained

Isaiah 51:16

KJV: And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

YLT: And I put My words in thy mouth, And with the shadow of My hand have covered thee, To plant the heavens, and to found earth, And to say to Zion, 'My people art thou.'

Darby: And I have put my words in thy mouth, and covered thee with the shadow of my hand, to plant the heavens, and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

ASV: And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I have put  my words  in thy mouth,  and I have covered  thee in the shadow  of mine hand,  that I may plant  the heavens,  and lay the foundations  of the earth,  and say  unto Zion,  Thou [art] my people. 

What does Isaiah 51:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Though God spoke this verse to Israel, it is clear that only the ideal Israel, the Servant, could be the ultimate fulfillment of what He said. Watts again identified this servant as Darius. [1] He had put His words in the mouth of the Israelites but would also do so uniquely for His Servant (cf. Isaiah 49:2). He had provided compassionate care for the nation but would do so in a special way for His Servant (cf. Isaiah 49:2). He would use the Israelites to create new heavens and a new earth, in the spiritual sense of their being His instruments of transformation in the Millennium. However, He would use His Servant Messiah to create new heavens and a new earth literally at the end of the Millennium (cf. Isaiah 51:6 : Revelation 21:1 to Revelation 22:5). And He would use the Servant Messiah to reaffirm His commitment to Israel in the future. How God would use the Servant to do all this becomes clearer in Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12, the final Servant Song. This was a fitting culminating assurance to the Israelites.

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 51:16 mean?

And I have put My words in your mouth and with the shadow of My hand I have covered you that I may plant the heavens and Lay the foundations of the earth and say to Zion My people You [are] -
וָאָשִׂ֤ים דְּבָרַי֙ בְּפִ֔יךָ וּבְצֵ֥ל יָדִ֖י כִּסִּיתִ֑יךָ לִנְטֹ֤עַ שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ וְלִיסֹ֣ד אָ֔רֶץ וְלֵאמֹ֥ר לְצִיּ֖וֹן עַמִּי־ אָֽתָּה ס

וָאָשִׂ֤ים  And  I  have  put 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
דְּבָרַי֙  My  words 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
בְּפִ֔יךָ  in  your  mouth 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
וּבְצֵ֥ל  and  with  the  shadow 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: צֵל  
Sense: shadow, shade.
יָדִ֖י  of  My  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
כִּסִּיתִ֑יךָ  I  have  covered  you 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: כָּסָה  
Sense: to cover, conceal, hide.
לִנְטֹ֤עַ  that  I  may  plant 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: נָטַע  
Sense: to plant, fasten, fix, establish.
שָׁמַ֙יִם֙  the  heavens 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
וְלִיסֹ֣ד  and  Lay  the  foundations 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יָסַד 
Sense: to found, fix, establish, lay foundation.
אָ֔רֶץ  of  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וְלֵאמֹ֥ר  and  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לְצִיּ֖וֹן  to  Zion 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
עַמִּי־  My  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
אָֽתָּה  You  [are] 
Parse: Pronoun, second person masculine singular
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation