Isaiah 51:2

Isaiah 51:2 in other versions

• 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.”
• 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

1Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him. 3For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 4Hearken 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.

Isaiah 51:2 word by word

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

• 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 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; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
• Joshua 24:3And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
• Romans 4:1What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
• Genesis 12:1Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
• Genesis 13:14And the Lord 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 the Lord came unto him, saying, This 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 heaven, 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 the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
• Nehemiah 9:7Thou art the Lord 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 wastes of 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 which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
• Hebrews 11:8By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; 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

• Abraham
• Blessing
• Call

In the dictionaries

• Abraham
• Sarah
• Approach
• Loose
• Plead
• Rest
• Sword
• Adam in the Old Testament
• Isaiah
• Mark, the Gospel According to

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