Amplified Bible
Isaiah 50:1
1The Lord declares this; “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]? Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]? In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing], And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
Isaiah 50:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Because of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Thus says the Lord: "Where is your mother's certificate of divorce, with which I sent her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord: “Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce, Whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away.
Context of Isaiah 50:1
The Lord declares this; “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]? Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]? In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing], And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. 2Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]? Or have I no power to rescue? Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a desert; Their fish stink because there is no water And die of thirst. 3I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds] And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.”
Read all of Isaiah 50Isaiah 50:1 word by word
כֹּ֣ה׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה אֵ֣י זֶ֠ה סֵ֣פֶר כְּרִית֤וּת אִמְּכֶם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר שִׁלַּחְתִּ֔יהָ א֚וֹ מִ֣י מִנּוֹשַׁ֔י אֲשֶׁר־מָכַ֥רְתִּי אֶתְכֶ֖ם ל֑וֹ הֵ֤ן בַּעֲוֹנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ נִמְכַּרְתֶּ֔ם וּבְפִשְׁעֵיכֶ֖ם שֻׁלְּחָ֥ה אִמְּכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- the billסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: documentH5612
- of your mother’sאֵם'êm · motherH517
- divorcementכְּרִיתוּתkerîythûth · divorceH3748
- whom I have put awayשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: divorceH7971
- or which of my creditorsנָשָׁהnâshâh · to lendH5383
- to whom I have soldמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
- you? Behold, for your iniquitiesעָוֺן‛âvôn ‛âvôn · iniquity: crimeH5771
- yourselves, and for your transgressionsפֶּ֫שַׁעpesha‛ · transgressionH6588
Cross-references for Isaiah 50:1
- Deuteronomy 24:1“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she loses his favor because he has found something indecent or unacceptable about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house,
- Jeremiah 3:1That is to say, “If a man divorces his wife And she goes [away] from him And becomes another man’s [wife], Will he return to her again? [Of course not!] Will not that land [where such a thing happened] be completely desecrated? But you [rebelled against Me and you] are a prostitute with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me.” says the Lord.
- Hosea 2:2Contend with your mother (nation); contend, For she is not my wife and I am not her husband; And have her remove her [marks of] prostitution from her face And her adultery from between her breasts
- Mark 10:4They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”
- Exodus 21:7“If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go free [after six years] as male servants do.
- Leviticus 25:39‘And if your fellow countryman becomes so poor [in his dealings] with you that he sells himself to you [as payment for a debt], you shall not let him do the work of a slave [who is ineligible for redemption],
- Deuteronomy 32:30How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the Lord had given them up?
- 2 Kings 4:1Now one of the wives of a man of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha [for help], saying “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant [reverently] feared the Lord; but the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves [in payment for a loan].”
- Nehemiah 5:5Now our flesh (skin) is the same as that of our brothers (relatives), and our children are like their children, yet here we are forcing (selling) our sons and our daughters to be slaves; and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are powerless [to redeem them] because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
- Esther 7:4for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed and wiped out of existence. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for our hardship would not be sufficient to burden the king [by even mentioning it].”
- Psalms 44:12You sell Your people cheaply, And have not increased Your wealth by their sale.
- Matthew 18:25But because he could not repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made.
- Isaiah 52:3For the Lord says this, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed, but not with money.”
- Isaiah 59:1Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save, Nor His ear so impaired That it cannot hear.
- 1 Kings 21:25There certainly was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife incited him.
- 2 Kings 17:17They made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire [as human sacrifices], and used divination [to foretell the future] and enchantments; and they sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking Him to anger.
Commentaries on Isaiah 50:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Thus saith the Lord - This chapter has been understood of the prophet himself; but it certainly speaks more clearly about Jesus of Nazareth than of Isaiah, the son of Amos. Where is the bill "Where is this bill" - Husbands, through moroseness or levity of temper, often sent bills of divorcement to their wives on slight occasions, as they were permitted to do by the law of Moses, Deuteronomy 24:1. And fathers, being oppressed with debt, often sold their…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Thus saith the Lord - To the Jews in Babylon, who were suffering under his hand, and who might be disposed to complain that God had dealt with them with as much caprice and cruelty as a man did with his wife, when he gave her a writing of divorce, and put her away without any just cause. Where is the bill of your mother‘s divorcement? - God here speaks of himself as the husband of his people, as having married the church to himself, denoting the tender…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The rejection of the Jews. (Is. 50:1-3) The sufferings and exaltation of the Messiah. (Is. 50:4-9) Consolation to the believer, and warning to the unbeliever. (Is. 50:10,11) Verses 1-3 Those who have professed to be people of God, and seem to be dealt severely with, are apt to complain, as if God had been hard with them. Here is an answer for such murmurings; God never deprived any of their advantages, except for their sins. The Jews were sent into…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1God was not responsible for the people's problems; their sin caused their exile (see also Isaiah 59:1–15). Jerusalem, the main city of Judah (Psalm 87:5–6), was destroyed, and the people of Judah went into exile in 586 BC.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-111. Where ... mothers divorcement--Zion is "the mother"; the Jews are the children; and God the Husband and Father (Is 54:5; 62:5; Jr 3:14). Gesenius thinks that God means by the question to deny that He had given "a bill of divorcement" to her, as was often done on slight pretexts by a husband (De 24:1), or that He had "sold" His and her "children," as a poor parent sometimes did (Ex 21:7; 2Ki 4:1; Ne 5:5) under pressure of his "creditors"; that it was…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 50:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 50
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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