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Selected Verse: Isaiah 51:12 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 51:12	Strong Concordance	I, even I, am he that comforteth [05162] you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid [03372] of a man [0582] that shall die [04191], and of the son [01121] of man [0120] which shall be made [05414] as grass [02682];
	King James	I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
comforteth-- (Isa 51:3; Isa 40:1). thou--Zion. son of man--frail and dying as his parent Adam. be made as grass--wither as grass (Isa 40:6-7).

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

comforteth-- (Isa 51:3; Isa 40:1).

thou--Zion.

son of man--frail and dying as his parent Adam.

be made as grass--wither as grass (Isa 40:6-7).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
I even I am he that comforteth you - The word 'I' is repeated here to give emphasis to the passage, and to impress deeply upon them the fact that their consolation came alone from God. The argument is, that since God was their protector and friend, they had no occasion to fear anything that man could do. Of a man that shall die - God your comforter will endure forever. But all men - even the most mighty - must soon die. And if God is our protector, what occasion can we have to fear what a mere mortal can do to us? And of the son of man - This phrase is common in the Hebrew Scriptures, and means the same as man. Shall be made as grass - They shall perish as grass does that is cut down at mid-day (see the notes at Isa 40:6-7).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
In the second half the promise commences again, but with more distinct reference to the oppression of the exiles and the sufferings of Jerusalem. Jehovah Himself begins to speak now, setting His seal upon what is longed and hoped for. "I am your comforter: who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a mortal who will die, and of a son of man who is made a blade of grass; that thou shouldst forget Jehovah thy Creator, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth; that thou shouldst be afraid continually all the day of the fury of the tormentor, as he aims to destroy? and where is the fury of the tormentor left? He that is bowed down is quickly set loose, and does not die to the grave, and his bread does not fail him; as truly as I Jehovah am thy God, who frighteneth up the sea, so that its waves roar: Jehovah of hosts is His name." הוּא after אנכי אנכי is an emphatic repetition, and therefore a strengthening of the subject (αὐτὸς ἐγώ), as above, in Isa 51:10, in אתּ־היא. From this major, that Jehovah is the comforter of His church, and by means of a minor, that whoever has Him for a comforter has no need to fear, the conclusion is drawn that the church has no cause to fear. Consequently we cannot adopt Knobel's explanation, "How small thou art, that thou art afraid." The meaning is rather, "Is it really the case with thee (i.e., art thou then so small, so forsaken), that thou hast any need to fear" (fut. consec., according to Ges. 129, 1; cf., ki, Exo 3:11; Jdg 9:28)? The attributive sentence tâmūth (who will die) brings out the meaning involved in the epithet applied to man, viz., 'ĕnōsh (compare in the Persian myth Gayomard, from the old Persian gaya meretan, mortal life); חציר = כּחציר (Psa 37:2; Psa 90:5; Psa 103:15; compare above, Isa 40:6-8) is an equation instead of a comparison. In Isa 51:12 the address is thrown into a feminine form, in Isa 51:13 into a masculine one; Zion being the object in the former, and (what is the same thing) Israel in the latter: that thou forgettest thy Creator, who is also the almighty Maker of the universe, and soarest about in constant endless alarm at the wrath of the tormentor, whilst he is aiming to destroy (pichad, contremiscere, as in Pro 28:14; ka'ăsher as in Psa 66:7; Num 27:14, lit., according as; kōnēn, viz., his arrows, or even his bow, as in Psa 11:2; Psa 7:13, cf., Isa 21:13). We must not translate this quasi disposuisset, which is opposed to the actual fact, although syntactically possible (Job 10:19; Zac 10:6). The question with which the fear is met, "And where is the fury of the tormentor?" looks into the future: "There is not a trace of him to be seen, he is utterly swept away." If hammētsı̄q signifies the Chaldean, Isa 51:14, in which the warning passes into a promise, just as in the first half the promise passed into a warning, is not to be understood as referring to oppression by their own countrymen, who were more heathenish than Israelitish in their disposition, as Knobel supposes; but tsō‛eh (from tsâ‛âh, to stoop or bend) is an individualizing description of the exiles, who were in captivity in Babylon, and some of them actually in prison (see Isa 42:7, Isa 42:22). Those who were lying there in fetters, and were therefore obliged to bend, hastened to be loosed, i.e., would speedily be set at liberty (the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus may be referred to here); they would not die and fall into the pit (constr. praegnans), nor would their bread fail; that is to say, if we regard the two clauses as the dissection of one thought (which is not necessary, however, though Hitzig supports it), "he will not die of starvation." The pledge of this is to be found in the all-sufficiency of Jehovah, who throws the sea into a state of trembling (even by a threatening word, geârâh; רגע is the construct of the participle, with the tone upon the last syllable, as in Lev 11:7; Psa 94:9 : see Br's Psalter, p. 132, from râga‛, tremefacere), so that its waves roar (cf., Jer 31:35, and the original passage in Job 26:12).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

In the second half the promise commences again, but with more distinct reference to the oppression of the exiles and the sufferings of Jerusalem. Jehovah Himself begins to speak now, setting His seal upon what is longed and hoped for. "I am your comforter: who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a mortal who will die, and of a son of man who is made a blade of grass; that thou shouldst forget Jehovah thy Creator, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth; that thou shouldst be afraid continually all the day of the fury of the tormentor, as he aims to destroy? and where is the fury of the tormentor left? He that is bowed down is quickly set loose, and does not die to the grave, and his bread does not fail him; as truly as I Jehovah am thy God, who frighteneth up the sea, so that its waves roar: Jehovah of hosts is His name." הוּא after אנכי אנכי is an emphatic repetition, and therefore a strengthening of the subject (αὐτὸς ἐγώ), as above, in Isa 51:10, in אתּ־היא. From this major, that Jehovah is the comforter of His church, and by means of a minor, that whoever has Him for a comforter has no need to fear, the conclusion is drawn that the church has no cause to fear. Consequently we cannot adopt Knobel's explanation, "How small thou art, that thou art afraid." The meaning is rather, "Is it really the case with thee (i.e., art thou then so small, so forsaken), that thou hast any need to fear" (fut. consec., according to Ges. 129, 1; cf., ki, Exo 3:11; Jdg 9:28)? The attributive sentence tâmūth (who will die) brings out the meaning involved in the epithet applied to man, viz., 'ĕnōsh (compare in the Persian myth Gayomard, from the old Persian gaya meretan, mortal life); חציר = כּחציר (Psa 37:2; Psa 90:5; Psa 103:15; compare above, Isa 40:6-8) is an equation instead of a comparison. In Isa 51:12 the address is thrown into a feminine form, in Isa 51:13 into a masculine one; Zion being the object in the former, and (what is the same thing) Israel in the latter: that thou forgettest thy Creator, who is also the almighty Maker of the universe, and soarest about in constant endless alarm at the wrath of the tormentor, whilst he is aiming to destroy (pichad, contremiscere, as in Pro 28:14; ka'ăsher as in Psa 66:7; Num 27:14, lit., according as; kōnēn, viz., his arrows, or even his bow, as in Psa 11:2; Psa 7:13, cf., Isa 21:13). We must not translate this quasi disposuisset, which is opposed to the actual fact, although syntactically possible (Job 10:19; Zac 10:6). The question with which the fear is met, "And where is the fury of the tormentor?" looks into the future: "There is not a trace of him to be seen, he is utterly swept away." If hammētsı̄q signifies the Chaldean, Isa 51:14, in which the warning passes into a promise, just as in the first half the promise passed into a warning, is not to be understood as referring to oppression by their own countrymen, who were more heathenish than Israelitish in their disposition, as Knobel supposes; but tsō‛eh (from tsâ‛âh, to stoop or bend) is an individualizing description of the exiles, who were in captivity in Babylon, and some of them actually in prison (see Isa 42:7, Isa 42:22). Those who were lying there in fetters, and were therefore obliged to bend, hastened to be loosed, i.e., would speedily be set at liberty (the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus may be referred to here); they would not die and fall into the pit (constr. praegnans), nor would their bread fail; that is to say, if we regard the two clauses as the dissection of one thought (which is not necessary, however, though Hitzig supports it), "he will not die of starvation." The pledge of this is to be found in the all-sufficiency of Jehovah, who throws the sea into a state of trembling (even by a threatening word, geârâh; רגע is the construct of the participle, with the tone upon the last syllable, as in Lev 11:7; Psa 94:9 : see Br's Psalter, p. 132, from râga‛, tremefacere), so that its waves roar (cf., Jer 31:35, and the original passage in Job 26:12).

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⁶ The voice [06963] said [0559], Cry [07121]. And he said [0559], What shall I cry [07121]? All flesh [01320] is grass [02682], and all the goodliness [02617] thereof is as the flower [06731] of the field [07704]:
⁷ The grass [02682] withereth [03001], the flower [06731] fadeth [05034]: because the spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] bloweth [05380] upon it: surely [0403] the people [05971] is grass [02682].

¹ Comfort [05162] ye, comfort [05162] ye my people [05971], saith [0559] your God [0430].

³ For the LORD [03068] shall comfort [05162] Zion [06726]: he will comfort [05162] all her waste places [02723]; and he will make [07760] her wilderness [04057] like Eden [05731], and her desert [06160] like the garden [01588] of the LORD [03068]; joy [08342] and gladness [08057] shall be found [04672] therein, thanksgiving [08426], and the voice [06963] of melody [02172].

¹² He divideth [07280] the sea [03220] with his power [03581], and by his understanding [08394] [08394] he smiteth [04272] through the proud [07293].

³⁵ Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], which giveth [05414] the sun [08121] for a light [0216] by day [03119], and the ordinances [02708] of the moon [03394] and of the stars [03556] for a light [0216] by night [03915], which divideth [07280] the sea [03220] when the waves [01530] thereof roar [01993]; The LORD [03068] of hosts [06635] is his name [08034]:

⁹ He that planted [05193] the ear [0241], shall he not hear [08085]? he that formed [03335] the eye [05869], shall he not see [05027]?

⁷ And the swine [02386], though he divide [06536] the hoof [06541], and be clovenfooted [08156] [08157], yet he cheweth [01641] not the cud [01625]; he is unclean [02931] to you.

²² But this is a people [05971] robbed [0962] and spoiled [08154]; they are all of them snared [06351] in holes [02352] [0970], and they are hid [02244] in prison [03608] houses [01004]: they are for a prey [0957], and none delivereth [05337]; for a spoil [04933], and none saith [0559], Restore [07725].

⁷ To open [06491] the blind [05787] eyes [05869], to bring out [03318] the prisoners [0616] from the prison [04525], and them that sit [03427] in darkness [02822] out of the prison [03608] house [01004].

¹⁴ The captive exile [06808] hasteneth [04116] that he may be loosed [06605], and that he should not die [04191] in the pit [07845], nor that his bread [03899] should fail [02637].

⁶ And I will strengthen [01396] the house [01004] of Judah [03063], and I will save [03467] the house [01004] of Joseph [03130], and I will bring them again to place [03427] them; for I have mercy [07355] upon them: and they shall be as though [0834] I had not cast them off [02186]: for I am the LORD [03068] their God [0430], and will hear [06030] them.

¹⁹ I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried [02986] from the womb [0990] to the grave [06913].

¹³ The burden [04853] upon Arabia [06152]. In the forest [03293] in Arabia [06152] shall ye lodge [03885], O ye travelling companies [0736] of Dedanim [01720].

¹³ He hath also prepared [03559] for him the instruments [03627] of death [04194]; he ordaineth [06466] his arrows [02671] against the persecutors [01814].

² For, lo, the wicked [07563] bend [01869] their bow [07198], they make ready [03559] their arrow [02671] upon the string [03499], that they may privily [0652] [01119] shoot [03384] at the upright [03477] in heart [03820].

¹⁴ For ye rebelled [04784] against my commandment [06310] in the desert [04057] of Zin [06790], in the strife [04808] of the congregation [05712], to sanctify [06942] me at the water [04325] before their eyes [05869]: that is the water [04325] of Meribah [04809] in Kadesh [06946] in the wilderness [04057] of Zin [06790].

⁷ He ruleth [04910] by his power [01369] for ever [05769]; his eyes [05869] behold [06822] the nations [01471]: let not the rebellious [05637] exalt [07311] [07311] themselves. Selah [05542].

¹⁴ Happy [0835] is the man [0120] that feareth [06342] alway [08548]: but he that hardeneth [07185] his heart [03820] shall fall [05307] into mischief [07451].

¹³ And forgettest [07911] the LORD [03068] thy maker [06213], that hath stretched forth [05186] the heavens [08064], and laid the foundations [03245] of the earth [0776]; and hast feared [06342] continually [08548] every day [03117] because [06440] of the fury [02534] of the oppressor [06693], as if [0834] he were ready [03559] to destroy [07843]? and where is the fury [02534] of the oppressor [06693]?

¹² I, even I, am he that comforteth [05162] you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid [03372] of a man [0582] that shall die [04191], and of the son [01121] of man [0120] which shall be made [05414] as grass [02682];

¹⁵ As for man [0582], his days [03117] are as grass [02682]: as a flower [06731] of the field [07704], so he flourisheth [06692].

⁵ Thou carriest them away as with a flood [02229]; they are as a sleep [08142]: in the morning [01242] they are like grass [02682] which groweth up [02498].

² For they shall soon [04120] be cut down [05243] like the grass [02682], and wither [05034] as the green [03418] herb [01877].

²⁸ And Gaal [01603] the son [01121] of Ebed [05651] said [0559], Who is Abimelech [040], and who is Shechem [07927], that we should serve [05647] him? is not he the son [01121] of Jerubbaal [03378]? and Zebul [02083] his officer [06496]? serve [05647] the men [0582] of Hamor [02544] the father [01] of Shechem [07927]: for why should we serve [05647] him?

¹¹ And Moses [04872] said [0559] unto God [0430], Who am I, that I should go [03212] unto Pharaoh [06547], and that I should bring forth [03318] the children [01121] of Israel [03478] out of Egypt [04714]?

¹⁰ Art thou not it which hath dried [02717] the sea [03220], the waters [04325] of the great [07227] deep [08415]; that hath made [07760] the depths [04615] of the sea [03220] a way [01870] for the ransomed [01350] to pass over [05674]?