New King James Version
Isaiah 52:5
5Now 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.
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.
- New International Version (NIV)“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.
- 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 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 thus says the Lord: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money.” 4For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 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. 6Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.’ ” 7How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says 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 22:16‘What have you here, and whom have you here, That you have hewn a sepulcher here, As he who hews himself a sepulcher on high, Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?
- Judges 18:3While they were at the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What do you have here?”
- Isaiah 52:3For thus says the Lord: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money.”
- Psalms 44:12You sell Your people for next to nothing, And are not enriched by selling them.
- Isaiah 47:6I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.
- Isaiah 51:20Your sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the Lord, The rebuke of your God.
- Exodus 1:13So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.
- Exodus 2:23Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
- Exodus 3:7And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.
- Psalms 137:1By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.
- Jeremiah 50:17“Israel is like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”
- Lamentations 1:21“They have heard that I sigh, But no one comforts me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; They are glad that You have done it. Bring on the day You have announced, That they may become like me.
- Lamentations 2:3He has cut off in fierce anger Every horn of Israel; He has drawn back His right hand From before the enemy. He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire Devouring all around.
- Lamentations 5:13Young men ground at the millstones; Boys staggered under loads of wood.
- Zephaniah 1:10“And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord, “The sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, A wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crashing from the hills.
- Isaiah 37:6And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries