American Standard Version
Isaiah 51:4
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.
Isaiah 51:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
- New International Version (NIV)“Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples.
Context of Isaiah 51:4
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. 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. Attend 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. 5My righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the peoples; the isles shall wait for me, and on mine arm shall they trust. 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
Read all of Isaiah 51Isaiah 51:4 word by word
הַקְשִׁ֤יבוּ אֵלַי֙ עַמִּ֔י וּלְאוּמִּ֖י אֵלַ֣י הַאֲזִ֑ינוּ כִּ֤י תוֹרָה֙ מֵאִתִּ֣י תֵצֵ֔א וּמִשְׁפָּטִ֔י לְא֥וֹר עַמִּ֖ים אַרְגִּֽיעַ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Isaiah 51:4
- Isaiah 26:2Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth faith may enter in.
- Exodus 19:6and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
- Exodus 33:13Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, show me now thy ways, that I may know thee, to the end that I may find favor in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
- Psalms 33:12Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, The people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
- Psalms 106:5That I may see the prosperity of thy chosen, That I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, That I may glory with thine inheritance.
- Psalms 147:20He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye Jehovah.
- 1 Peter 2:9But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
- Isaiah 2:3And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
- Micah 4:2And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem;
- Romans 8:2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death.
- 1 Corinthians 9:21to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law.
- Isaiah 42:1Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
- Isaiah 49:6yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
- Proverbs 6:23For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
- Matthew 12:18Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; My beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, And he shall declare judgment to the Gentiles.
- Luke 2:32A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy people Israel.
Commentaries on Isaiah 51:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4By people - O my nation "O ye peoples - O ye nations" - For עמי ammi, my people, the Bodleian MS. and another read עמים ammim, ye peoples; and for לאומי leumi, my nation, the Bodleian MS. and eight others, (two of them ancient), and four of De Rossi's, read לאמים leummim, ye nations; and so the Syriac in both words. The difference is very material; for in this case the address is made not to the Jews, but to the Gentiles, as in all reason it ought to be…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Hearken unto me, my people - Lowth reads this; Attend unto me, O ye people, And give ear unto me, O ye nations. The reason why he proposes this change is, that he supposes the address here is made to the Gentiles and not to the Jews, and in favor of the change he observes, that two manuscripts read it in this manner. Gesenius (Commentary) says that three codices read עמים ‛ammiym (“peoples”), instead of עמי ‛amiy (“my people”); and that thirteen MSS. read…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-8Verses 4-8 The gospel of Christ shall be preached and published. How shall we escape if we neglect it? There is no salvation without righteousness. The soul shall, as to this world, vanish like smoke, and the body be thrown by like a worn-out garment. But those whose happiness is in Christ's righteousness and salvation, will have the comfort of it when time and days shall be no more. Clouds darken the sun, but do not stop its course. The believer will…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4a law … My justice: The servant's work will succeed because justice will guide God's kingdom on earth (see Isaiah 42:1–4). a light to the nations: The nations will accept the Lord and his revelation (see also Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 60:1–3; 66:19–23; Matthew 4:15–16; Luke 2:32; John 1:4–9; 12:35–50; Acts 13:47).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. my people--the Jews. This reading is better than that of Gesenius: "O peoples ... nations," namely, the Gentiles. The Jews are called on to hear and rejoice in the extension of the true religion to the nations; for, at the first preaching of the Gospel, as in the final age to come, it was from Jerusalem that the gospel law was, and is, to go forth (Is 2:3). law ... judgment--the gospel dispensation and institutions (Is 42:1, "judgment"). make ... to…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 51:4
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