New International Version
Isaiah 52:5
5“And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.
Isaiah 52:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now therefore what have I here," declares the Lord, "seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail," declares the Lord, "and continually all the day my name is despised.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord, “That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail,” says the Lord, “And My name is blasphemed continually every day.
- New Living Translation (NLT)What is this?” asks the Lord. “Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is blasphemed all day long.
Context of Isaiah 52:5
3For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.” 4For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. 6Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.” 7How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Read all of Isaiah 52Isaiah 52:5 word by word
וְעַתָּ֤ה מַה־לִּי פֹה֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה כִּֽי־לֻקַּ֥ח עַמִּ֖י חִנָּ֑ם מֹשְׁלָ֤יו יְהֵילִ֙ילוּ֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה וְתָמִ֥יד כָּל־הַיּ֖וֹם שְׁמִ֥י מִנֹּאָֽץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now therefore, what have I here, saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- that my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- is taken awayלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- for noughtחִנָּםchinnâm · for nothingH2600
- they that ruleמָשַׁלmâshal · to ruleH4910
- over them make them to howlיָלַלyâlal · to wailH3213
- and my nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- continuallyתָּמִידtâmîyd · continuallyH8548
- every dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- blasphemedנָאַץnâ'ats · to spurnH5006
Cross-references for Isaiah 52:5
- Isaiah 22:16What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
- Judges 18:3When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”
- Isaiah 52:3For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”
- Psalms 44:12You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale.
- Isaiah 47:6I was angry with my people and desecrated my inheritance; I gave them into your hand, and you showed them no mercy. Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke.
- Isaiah 51:20Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the rebuke of your God.
- Exodus 1:13and worked them ruthlessly.
- Exodus 2:23During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
- Exodus 3:7The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
- Psalms 137:1By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.
- Jeremiah 50:17“Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria; the last to crush their bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
- Lamentations 1:21“People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my distress; they rejoice at what you have done. May you bring the day you have announced so they may become like me.
- Lamentations 2:3In fierce anger he has cut off every horn of Israel. He has withdrawn his right hand at the approach of the enemy. He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything around it.
- Lamentations 5:13Young men toil at the millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood.
- Zephaniah 1:10“On that day,” declares the Lord, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the New Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills.
- Isaiah 37:6Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
Commentaries on Isaiah 52:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5They that rule over them "They that are lords over them" - For משלו moshelo, singular, in the text, more than a hundred and twenty MSS. (De Rossi says, codices innumeri, "numberless copies") have משליו moshelaiv plural, according to the Masoretical correction in the margin; which shows that the Masoretes often superstitiously retained apparent mistakes in the text, even when they had sufficient evidence to authorize the introduction of the true reading…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Now, therefore, what have I here? - In Babylon, referring to the captivity of the Jews there. The idea is, that a state of things existed there which demanded his interposition as really as it did when his people had been oppressed by the Egyptians, or by the Assyrian. His people had been taken away for nought; they were subject to cruel oppressions; and his own name was continually blasphemed. In this state of things, it is inferred, that he would…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The oppressors would shout with joy because they thought they had defeated both Israel and its God. My name is blasphemed continually all day long: The state of God's people influences God's reputation in the eyes of the world (see Isaiah 37:6, 23; 48:11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. what have I here--that is, what am I called on to do? The fact "that My people is taken away (into captivity; Is 49:24, 25) for naught" (by gratuitous oppression, Is 52:4; also Is 52:3, and see on Is 52:3) demands My interposition. they that rule--or "tyrannize," namely, Babylon, literal and mystical. make ... to howl--or, raise a cry of exultation over them [Maurer]. blasphemed--namely, in Babylon: God's reason for delivering His people, not their…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 52:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 52
- 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
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