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Selected Verse: Isaiah 51:6 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 51:6	Strong Concordance	Lift up [05375] your eyes [05869] to the heavens [08064], and look [05027] upon the earth [0776] beneath: for the heavens [08064] shall vanish away [04414] like smoke [06227], and the earth [0776] shall wax old [01086] like a garment [0899], and they that dwell [03427] therein shall die [04191] in like [03644] manner [03654]: but my salvation [03444] shall be for ever [05769], and my righteousness [06666] shall not be abolished [02865].
	King James	Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

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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]
(Isa 40:6, Isa 40:8; Psa 102:26; Heb 1:11-12). vanish away--literally, "shall be torn asunder," as a garment [MAURER]; which accords with the context. in like manner--But GESENIUS, "Like a gnat"; like the smallest and vilest insect. JEROME translates, as English Version, and infers that "in like manner" as man, the heavens (that is, the sky) and earth are not to be annihilated, but changed for the better (Isa 65:17). righteousness--My faithfully fulfilled promise (see on Isa 51:5).

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

(Isa 40:6, Isa 40:8; Psa 102:26; Heb 1:11-12).

vanish away--literally, "shall be torn asunder," as a garment [MAURER]; which accords with the context.

in like manner--But GESENIUS, "Like a gnat"; like the smallest and vilest insect. JEROME translates, as English Version, and infers that "in like manner" as man, the heavens (that is, the sky) and earth are not to be annihilated, but changed for the better (Isa 65:17).

righteousness--My faithfully fulfilled promise (see on Isa 51:5).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Lift up your eyes to the heavens - The design of directing their attention to the heavens and the earth is, probably, to impress them more deeply with a conviction of the certainty of his salvation in this manner, namely, the heavens and the earth appear firm and fixed; there is in them no apparent tendency to dissolution and decay. Yet though apparently thus fixed and determined, they will all vanish away, but the promise of God will be unfailing. For the heavens shall vanish away - The word which is rendered here 'shall vanish away' (מלח mâlach), occurs nowhere else in the Bible. The primary idea, according to Gesenius, is that of smoothness and softness. Then it means to glide away, to disappear. The idea here is, that the heavens would disappear, as smoke is dissipated and disappears in the air. The idea of the vanishing, or the disappearing of the heavens and the earth, is one that often occurs in the Scriptures (see the notes at Isa 34:4; compare Psa 102:26; Heb 1:11-12; Pe2 3:10-12). The earth shall wax old ... - Shall decay, and be destroyed (see Psa 102:26). And they that dwell therein shall die in like manner - Lowth renders this, 'Like the vilest insect.' Noyes, 'Like flies.' The Vulgate, and the Septuagint, however, render it as it is in our version. Rosenmuller renders it, 'As flies.' Gesenius renders it, 'Like a gnat.' This variety of interpretation arises from the different explanation of the word כן kên, which usually means, 'as, so, thus, in like manner, etc.' The plural form, however, (כנים kiniym), occurs in Psa 105:31, and is rendered by the Septuagint, σκνῖφες skniphes, and by the Vulgate, sciniphes, a species of small gnats, very troublesome from their sting, which abounds in the marshy regions of Egypt; and according to this the idea is, that the most mighty inhabitants of the earth would die like gnats, or the smallest and vilest insects. This interpretation gives a more impressive sense than our version, but it is doubtful whether it can be justified. The word occurs nowhere else in this sense, and the authority of the ancient versions is against it. The idea as given in the common translation is not feeble, as Gesenius supposes, but is a deeply impressive one, that the heavens, the earth, and all the inhabitants should vanish away together, and alike disappear. But my salvation shall be for ever - It is a glorious truth that the redemption which God shall give his people shall survive the revolutions of kingdoms, and the consummation of all earthly things. It is not improbable that the Saviour had this passage in his eye when he said, 'heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away' Mat 24:35.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

Lift up your eyes to the heavens - The design of directing their attention to the heavens and the earth is, probably, to impress them more deeply with a conviction of the certainty of his salvation in this manner, namely, the heavens and the earth appear firm and fixed; there is in them no apparent tendency to dissolution and decay. Yet though apparently thus fixed and determined, they will all vanish away, but the promise of God will be unfailing.

For the heavens shall vanish away - The word which is rendered here 'shall vanish away' (מלח mâlach), occurs nowhere else in the Bible. The primary idea, according to Gesenius, is that of smoothness and softness. Then it means to glide away, to disappear. The idea here is, that the heavens would disappear, as smoke is dissipated and disappears in the air. The idea of the vanishing, or the disappearing of the heavens and the earth, is one that often occurs in the Scriptures (see the notes at Isa 34:4; compare Psa 102:26; Heb 1:11-12; Pe2 3:10-12).

The earth shall wax old ... - Shall decay, and be destroyed (see Psa 102:26).

And they that dwell therein shall die in like manner - Lowth renders this, 'Like the vilest insect.' Noyes, 'Like flies.' The Vulgate, and the Septuagint, however, render it as it is in our version. Rosenmuller renders it, 'As flies.' Gesenius renders it, 'Like a gnat.' This variety of interpretation arises from the different explanation of the word כן kên, which usually means, 'as, so, thus, in like manner, etc.' The plural form, however, (כנים kiniym), occurs in Psa 105:31, and is rendered by the Septuagint, σκνῖφες skniphes, and by the Vulgate, sciniphes, a species of small gnats, very troublesome from their sting, which abounds in the marshy regions of Egypt; and according to this the idea is, that the most mighty inhabitants of the earth would die like gnats, or the smallest and vilest insects. This interpretation gives a more impressive sense than our version, but it is doubtful whether it can be justified. The word occurs nowhere else in this sense, and the authority of the ancient versions is against it. The idea as given in the common translation is not feeble, as Gesenius supposes, but is a deeply impressive one, that the heavens, the earth, and all the inhabitants should vanish away together, and alike disappear.

But my salvation shall be for ever - It is a glorious truth that the redemption which God shall give his people shall survive the revolutions of kingdoms, and the consummation of all earthly things. It is not improbable that the Saviour had this passage in his eye when he said, 'heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away' Mat 24:35.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The people of God are now summoned to turn their eyes upwards and downwards: the old world above their heads and under their feet is destined to destruction. "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens will pass away like smoke, and the earth fall to pieces like a garment, and its inhabitants die out like a nonentity; and my salvation will last for ever, and my righteousness does not go to ruin." The reason for the summons follows with kı̄. The heavens will be resolved into atoms, like smoke: nimlâchū from mâlach, related to mârach, root mal, from which comes mâlal (see at Job 14:2), to rub to pieces, to crumble to pieces, or mangle; Aquila, ἠλοήθησαν, from ἀλοᾶν, to thresh. As melâchı̄m signifies rags, the figure of a garment that has fallen to pieces, which was then quite ready to hand (Isa 50:9), presented itself from the natural association of ideas. כּמו־כן, however, cannot mean "in like manner" (lxx, Targ., Jerome); for if we keep to the figure of a garment falling to pieces, the figure is a very insipid one; and if we refer it to the fate of the earth generally, the thought which it offers is a very tame one. The older expositors were not even acquainted with what is now the favourite explanation, viz., "as gnats perish" (Hitzig, Ewald, Umbreit, Knobel, Stier, etc.); since the singular of kinnı̄m is no more kēn than the singular of בּיצים is בּיץ. The gnat (viz., a species of stinging gnat, probably the diminutive but yet very troublesome species which is called akol uskut, "eat and be silent," in Egyptian) is called kinnâh, as the talmudic usage shows, where the singular, which does not happen to be met with in the Old Testament, is found in the case of kinnı̄m as well as in that of bētsı̄m. (Note: Kinnâm, in Exo 8:13-14, whether it be a collective plural or a singular, also proves nothing in support of kēn, any more than middâh in Job 11:9 (which see) in favour of mad, in the sense of measure. It does not follow, that because a certain form lies at the foundation of a derivative, it must have been current in ordinary usage.) We must explain the word in the same manner as in Sa2 23:5; Num 13:33; Job 9:35. In all these passages kēn merely signifies "so" (ita, sic); but just as in the classical languages, these words often derive their meaning from the gesture with which they are accompanied (e.g., in Terence's Eunuch: Cape hoc flabellum et ventulum sic facito). This is probably Rckert's opinion, when he adopts the rendering: and its inhabitants "like so" (so wie so) do they die. But "like so" is here equivalent to "like nothing." That the heavens and the earth do not perish without rising again in a renewed form, is a thought which may naturally be supplied, and which is distinctly expressed in Isa 51:16; Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22. Righteousness (tsedâqâh) and salvation (yeshū‛âh) are the heavenly powers, which acquire dominion through the overthrow of the ancient world, and become the foundations of the new (Pe2 3:13). That the tsedâqâh will endure for ever, and the yeshū‛âh will not be broken (yēchath, as in Isa 7:8, confringetur, whereas in Isa 51:7 the meaning is consternemini), is a prospect that opens after the restoration of the new world, and which indirectly applies to men who survive the catastrophe, having become partakers of righteousness and salvation. For righteousness and salvation require beings in whom to exert their power.

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

The people of God are now summoned to turn their eyes upwards and downwards: the old world above their heads and under their feet is destined to destruction. "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens will pass away like smoke, and the earth fall to pieces like a garment, and its inhabitants die out like a nonentity; and my salvation will last for ever, and my righteousness does not go to ruin." The reason for the summons follows with kı̄. The heavens will be resolved into atoms, like smoke: nimlâchū from mâlach, related to mârach, root mal, from which comes mâlal (see at Job 14:2), to rub to pieces, to crumble to pieces, or mangle; Aquila, ἠλοήθησαν, from ἀλοᾶν, to thresh. As melâchı̄m signifies rags, the figure of a garment that has fallen to pieces, which was then quite ready to hand (Isa 50:9), presented itself from the natural association of ideas. כּמו־כן, however, cannot mean "in like manner" (lxx, Targ., Jerome); for if we keep to the figure of a garment falling to pieces, the figure is a very insipid one; and if we refer it to the fate of the earth generally, the thought which it offers is a very tame one. The older expositors were not even acquainted with what is now the favourite explanation, viz., "as gnats perish" (Hitzig, Ewald, Umbreit, Knobel, Stier, etc.); since the singular of kinnı̄m is no more kēn than the singular of בּיצים is בּיץ. The gnat (viz., a species of stinging gnat, probably the diminutive but yet very troublesome species which is called akol uskut, "eat and be silent," in Egyptian) is called kinnâh, as the talmudic usage shows, where the singular, which does not happen to be met with in the Old Testament, is found in the case of kinnı̄m as well as in that of bētsı̄m.

(Note: Kinnâm, in Exo 8:13-14, whether it be a collective plural or a singular, also proves nothing in support of kēn, any more than middâh in Job 11:9 (which see) in favour of mad, in the sense of measure. It does not follow, that because a certain form lies at the foundation of a derivative, it must have been current in ordinary usage.)

We must explain the word in the same manner as in Sa2 23:5; Num 13:33; Job 9:35. In all these passages kēn merely signifies "so" (ita, sic); but just as in the classical languages, these words often derive their meaning from the gesture with which they are accompanied (e.g., in Terence's Eunuch: Cape hoc flabellum et ventulum sic facito). This is probably Rckert's opinion, when he adopts the rendering: and its inhabitants "like so" (so wie so) do they die. But "like so" is here equivalent to "like nothing." That the heavens and the earth do not perish without rising again in a renewed form, is a thought which may naturally be supplied, and which is distinctly expressed in Isa 51:16; Isa 65:17; Isa 66:22. Righteousness (tsedâqâh) and salvation (yeshū‛âh) are the heavenly powers, which acquire dominion through the overthrow of the ancient world, and become the foundations of the new (Pe2 3:13). That the tsedâqâh will endure for ever, and the yeshū‛âh will not be broken (yēchath, as in Isa 7:8, confringetur, whereas in Isa 51:7 the meaning is consternemini), is a prospect that opens after the restoration of the new world, and which indirectly applies to men who survive the catastrophe, having become partakers of righteousness and salvation. For righteousness and salvation require beings in whom to exert their power.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
The heavens - The heavens and earth shall pass away, in regard of their present state, and properties, and use, as smoak is said to vanish, tho' the substance of it be not destroyed.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
My salvation shall be for ever - Aben Ezra says, From this verse divines have learnt the immortality of the soul. Men shall perish as the earth does, because they are formed from it; but they who are filled with the salvation of God shall remain for ever. See Kimchi.

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⁵ My righteousness [06664] is near [07138]; my salvation [03468] is gone forth [03318], and mine arms [02220] shall judge [08199] the people [05971]; the isles [0339] shall wait [06960] upon me, and on mine arm [02220] shall they trust [03176].

¹⁷ For, behold, I create [01254] new [02319] heavens [08064] and a new [02319] earth [0776]: and the former [07223] shall not be remembered [02142], nor come [05927] into mind [03820].

¹¹ They [846] shall perish [622]; but [1161] thou [4771] remainest [1265]; and [2532] they all [3956] shall wax old [3822] as [5613] doth a garment [2440];
¹² And [2532] as [5616] a vesture [4018] shalt thou fold [1667] them [846] up [1667], and [2532] they shall be changed [236]: but [1161] thou [4771] art [1488] the same [846], and [2532] thy [4675] years [2094] shall [1587] not [3756] fail [1587].

²⁶ They shall perish [06], but thou shalt endure [05975]: yea, all of them shall wax old [01086] like a garment [0899]; as a vesture [03830] shalt thou change [02498] them, and they shall be changed [02498]:

⁸ The grass [02682] withereth [03001], the flower [06731] fadeth [05034]: but the word [01697] of our God [0430] shall stand [06965] for ever [05769].

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]:

³⁵ Heaven [3772] and [2532] earth [1093] shall pass away [3928], but [1161] my [3450] words [3056] shall [3928] not [3364] pass away [3928].

³¹ He spake [0559], and there came [0935] divers sorts of flies [06157], and lice [03654] in all their coasts [01366].

¹⁰ But [1161] the day [2250] of the Lord [2962] will come [2240] as [5613] a thief [2812] in [1722] the night [3571]; in [1722] the which [3739] the heavens [3772] shall pass away [3928] with a great noise [4500], and [1161] the elements [4747] shall melt [3089] with fervent heat [2741], the earth [1093] also [2532] and [2532] the works [2041] that are therein [1722] [846] shall be burned up [2618].
¹¹ Seeing then [3767] that all [3956] these things [5130] shall be dissolved [3089], what manner [4217] of persons ought [1163] ye [5209] to be [5225] in [1722] all holy [40] conversation [391] and [2532] godliness [2150],
¹² Looking for [4328] and [2532] hasting [4692] unto the coming [3952] of the day [2250] of God [2316], wherein [1223] [3739] the heavens [3772] being on fire [4448] shall be dissolved [3089], and [2532] the elements [4747] shall melt [5080] with fervent heat [2741]?

⁴ And all the host [06635] of heaven [08064] shall be dissolved [04743], and the heavens [08064] shall be rolled together [01556] as a scroll [05612]: and all their host [06635] shall fall down [05034], as the leaf [05929] falleth off [05034] from the vine [01612], and as a falling [05034] fig from the fig tree [08384].

⁷ Hearken [08085] unto me, ye that know [03045] righteousness [06664], the people [05971] in whose heart [03820] is my law [08451]; fear [03372] ye not the reproach [02781] of men [0582], neither be ye afraid [02865] of their revilings [01421].

⁸ For the head [07218] of Syria [0758] is Damascus [01834], and the head [07218] of Damascus [01834] is Rezin [07526]; and within threescore [08346] and five [02568] years [08141] shall Ephraim [0669] be broken [02865], that it be not a people [05971].

¹³ Nevertheless [1161] we [4328], according to [2596] his [846] promise [1862], look for [4328] new [2537] heavens [3772] and [2532] a new [2537] earth [1093], wherein [1722] [3739] dwelleth [2730] righteousness [1343].

²² For as the new [02319] heavens [08064] and the new [02319] earth [0776], which I will make [06213], shall remain [05975] before [06440] me, saith [05002] the LORD [03068], so shall your seed [02233] and your name [08034] remain [05975].

¹⁷ For, behold, I create [01254] new [02319] heavens [08064] and a new [02319] earth [0776]: and the former [07223] shall not be remembered [02142], nor come [05927] into mind [03820].

¹⁶ And I have put [07760] my words [01697] in thy mouth [06310], and I have covered [03680] thee in the shadow [06738] of mine hand [03027], that I may plant [05193] the heavens [08064], and lay the foundations [03245] of the earth [0776], and say [0559] unto Zion [06726], Thou art my people [05971].

³⁵ Then would I speak [01696], and not fear [03372] him; but it is not so with me.

³³ And there we saw [07200] the giants [05303], the sons [01121] of Anak [06061], which come of the giants [05303]: and we were in our own sight [05869] as grasshoppers [02284], and so we were in their sight [05869].

⁵ Although my house [01004] be not so with God [0410]; yet he hath made [07760] with me an everlasting [05769] covenant [01285], ordered [06186] in all things, and sure [08104]: for this is all my salvation [03468], and all my desire [02656], although he make it not to grow [06779].

⁹ The measure [04055] thereof is longer [0752] than the earth [0776], and broader [07342] than the sea [03220].

¹³ And the LORD [03068] did [06213] according to the word [01697] of Moses [04872]; and the frogs [06854] died [04191] out of the houses [01004], out of the villages [02691], and out of the fields [07704].
¹⁴ And they gathered them together [06651] upon heaps [02563]: and the land [0776] stank [0887].

⁹ Behold, the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] will help [05826] me; who is he that shall condemn [07561] me? lo, they all shall wax old [01086] as a garment [0899]; the moth [06211] shall eat them up [0398].

² He cometh forth [03318] like a flower [06731], and is cut down [05243]: he fleeth [01272] also as a shadow [06738], and continueth [05975] not.