God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 51:2
2Look to Abraham, your ancestor, and to Sarah, from whom you are descended. When I called Abraham, he was childless. I blessed him and gave him many descendants.
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
1Listen to me, you people who pursue what is right and seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham, your ancestor, and to Sarah, from whom you are descended. When I called Abraham, he was childless. I blessed him and gave him many descendants. 3So the Lord will comfort Zion. He will comfort all those who live among its ruins. He will make its desert like Eden. He will make its wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. 4Pay attention to me, my people. Open your ears to hear me, my nation. My teachings will go out from me. My justice will become a light for the people.
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
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 15:1Later the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision. He said, “Abram, don’t be afraid. I am your shield. Your reward will be very great.”
- Genesis 18:11Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
- Joshua 24:3But I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River. I led him through all of Canaan and gave him many descendants. I also gave him Isaac.
- Romans 4:1What can we say that we have discovered about our ancestor Abraham?
- Genesis 12:1The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your relatives, and your father’s home. Go to the land that I will show you.
- Genesis 13:14After Lot left, the Lord said to Abram, “Look north, south, east, and west of where you are.
- Genesis 15:4Suddenly, the Lord spoke his word to Abram again. He said, “This man will not be your heir. Your own son will be your heir.”
- Genesis 22:17I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies’ cities.
- Genesis 24:1By now Abraham was old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.
- Nehemiah 9:7You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and took him from Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
- Ezekiel 33:24“Son of man, those who live in the ruined cities in Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one person, and he was given the land. But we are many. Certainly the land has been given to us.’
- Galatians 3:9So people who believe are blessed together with Abraham, the man of faith.
- Hebrews 11:8Faith led Abraham to obey when God called him to go to a place that he would receive as an inheritance. Abraham left his own country without 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
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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