Isaiah 51:2

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.
• 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.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Yes, think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation.”

Context of Isaiah 51:2

1"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 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. 3For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. 4"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.

Isaiah 51:2 word by word

הַבִּ֙יטוּ֙ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֣ם אֲבִיכֶ֔ם וְאֶל־שָׂרָ֖ה תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶ֑ם כִּי־אֶחָ֣ד קְרָאתִ֔יו וַאֲבָרְכֵ֖הוּ וְאַרְבֵּֽהוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Lookנָבַטnâbaţ · to lookH5027
• unto Abrahamאַבְרָהָם'abrâhâm · AbrahamH85
• your fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• and unto Sarahשָׂרָהώârâh · SarahH8283
• bareחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: give birthH2342
• you: for I calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• him aloneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• and blessedבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
• him, and increasedרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235

Cross-references for Isaiah 51:2

• Genesis 15:1After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."
• Genesis 18:11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
• Joshua 24:3Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac.
• Romans 4:1What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?
• Genesis 12:1Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
• Genesis 13:14The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward,
• Genesis 15:4And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir."
• Genesis 22:17I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
• Genesis 24:1Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
• Nehemiah 9:7You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
• Ezekiel 33:24"Son of man, the inhabitants of these waste places in the land of Israel keep saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he got possession of the land; but we are many; the land is surely given us to possess.'
• Galatians 3:9So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
• Hebrews 11:8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

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

• Abraham
• Blessing
• Call

In the dictionaries

• Abraham
• Sarah
• Sarah; Sarai
• Abraham, Abram
• Approach
• Loose
• Plead
• Rest
• Sword
• Adam in the Old Testament

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