American Standard Version
Isaiah 51:2
2Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many.
Isaiah 51:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
- New International Version (NIV)look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him.”
Context of Isaiah 51:2
1Hearken to 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. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many. 3For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 4Attend unto me, O my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall go forth from me, and I will establish my justice for a light of the peoples.
Read all of Isaiah 51Isaiah 51:2 word by word
הַבִּ֙יטוּ֙ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֣ם אֲבִיכֶ֔ם וְאֶל־שָׂרָ֖ה תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶ֑ם כִּי־אֶחָ֣ד קְרָאתִ֔יו וַאֲבָרְכֵ֖הוּ וְאַרְבֵּֽהוּ׃ סRead the interlinear
Cross-references for Isaiah 51:2
- Genesis 15:1After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
- Genesis 18:11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, and well stricken in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
- Joshua 24:3And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
- Romans 4:1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, hath found according to the flesh?
- Genesis 12:1Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee:
- Genesis 13:14And Jehovah said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward:
- Genesis 15:4And, behold, the word of Jehovah came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
- Genesis 22:17that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
- Genesis 24:1And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things.
- Nehemiah 9:7Thou art Jehovah the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham,
- Ezekiel 33:24Son of man, they that inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.
- Galatians 3:9So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.
- Hebrews 11:8By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Commentaries on Isaiah 51:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2I called him alone - As I have made out of one a great nation; so, although ye are brought low and minished, yet I can restore you to happiness, and greatly multiply your number.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Look unto Abraham - What was figuratively expressed in the former verse is here expressed literally. They were directed to remember that God had taken Abraham and Sarah from a distant land, and that from so humble a beginning he had increased them to a great nation. The argument is, that he was able to bless and increase the exile Jews, though comparatively feeble and few. For I called him alone - Hebrew, For one I called him;‘ that is, he was alone…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Abraham … I blessed him and multiplied him: The exiled community had decreased in number. They needed to have faith that God could restore them again to a healthy and thriving population.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. alone--translate, "I called him when he was but one" (Eze 33:24). The argument is: the same God who had so blessed "one" individual, as to become a mighty nation (Ge 12:1; 22:7), can also increase and bless the small remnant of Israel, both that left in the Babylonish captivity, and that left in the present and latter days (Zec 14:2); "the residue" (Is 13:8, 9).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 51:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 51
- 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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries