For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for naught; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
3. Ye have sold yourselves ] R.V. Ye were sold; See on ch. Isa 50:1; cf. Psa 44:12.
redeemed without money ] Cf. ch. Isa 45:13. Jehovah gained nothing by delivering Israel into the hand of its enemies, and He asks nothing as the price of its redemption.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
3 6. There is here a sudden change both in form and subject. The rhythmic structure of the preceding verses gives place to prose, and the figure of Jerusalem arising from the dust is altogether abandoned. Jehovah is represented as deliberating with Himself on the religious situation, so injurious to His honour, brought about by the unprecedented calamities of His people ( Isa 52:4-5), and as resolving to end it by their deliverance (6). It is doubtful if the passage was the original sequel to Isa 52:1-2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ye have sold yourselves for nought – You became captives and prisoners without any price being paid for you. You cost nothing to those who made you prisoners. The idea is, that as they who had made them prisoners had done so without paying any price for them, it was equitable that they should be released in the same manner. When their captors had paid nothing for them, God would suffer nothing to be paid for them in turn; and they should be released, as they had been sold, without a price paid for them. Perhaps God intends here to reproach them for selling themselves in this manner without any compensation of any kind, and to show them the folly of it; but, at the same time, he intends to assure them that no price would be paid for their ransom.
Ye shall be redeemed – You shall be delivered from your long and painful captivity without any price being paid to the Babylonians. This was to be a remarkable proof of the power of God. Men do not usually give up captives and slaves, in whatever way they may have taken them, without demanding a price or ransom. But here God says that he designs to effect their deliverance without any such price being demanded or paid, and that as they had gone into captivity unpurchased, so they should return unpurchased. Accordingly he so overruled events as completely to effect this. The Babylonians, perhaps, in no way could have been induced to surrender them. God, therefore, designed to raise up Cyrus, a mild, just, and equitable prince; and to dispose him to suffer the exiles to depart, and to aid them in their return to their own land. In this way, they were rescued without money and without price, by the interposition of another.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 52:3
For thus saith the Lord, Ye have mold yourselves for nought
Sold for nought; redeemed without price
Ye have sold yourselves for nought.
You got nothing by it, nor did
I. God considers that when they by sin had sold themselves, He Himself, who had the prior, nay, the sole title to them, did not increase His wealth by the price (Psa 44:12). They did not so much as pay their debts to Him with it. The Babylonians gave Him no thanks for them, but rather reproached and blasphemed His name upon that account; and therefore they, having so long had you for nothing, shall at last restore you for nothing; you shall be redeemed without price, as was promised (chap. 45:13). (M. Henry.)
Selling oneself for nought
It appears to have been no unusual thing amongst the ancient Jews for a man who was sunk in debt and difficulties, and reduced to the extreme of poverty, to sell himself, or to be sold by his creditors, as a bondsman for a certain term of years. There seems to be an allusion to this circumstance in the text before us. In its strict and primary sense it relates peculiarly to the nation of the Jews, who by a long course of wicked and rebellious conduct had sold themselves, as it were, into the hands of their enemies; that is to say, their wickedness had been the immediate cause of their being delivered up by God into the hands of the Babylonians, who had reduced them into abject slavery. And they are said to have sold themselves for nought, inasmuch as there was nothing in the fruits and consequences of their sin to compensate for the miserable state into which it had reduced them. (A. Roberts, M. A.)
Redeemed without money
Did the Lord perform His word? Yes; for, after they had remained in their bondage during the time God had appointed it to last, He stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, a heathen king, to set them free. And on what terms? Captive exiles commonly pay dear for their deliverance. But what sum did Cyrus ask when he gave the Jews their liberty? Nothing whatsoever. He literally sent them home without the smallest recompense; without requiring or expecting anything at their hands. They were redeemed without money. (A. Roberts, M. A.)
Accusation and promise
A redemption, far more precious than the temporal redemption of Israel from their Babylonish bondage, is to be considered as here hinted at.
I. THE AWFUL ACCUSATION. It is twofold.
1. That we have sold ourselves. The figure here employed is used in other passages,of Scripture, to express the conduct of the sinner in abandoning himself to Satan s service. Thus of Ahab it is said, he did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord; and of the people whom he governed, they sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger. St. Paul adopts a similar expression, in reference to himself, The law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. In all these places the idea under which the conduct of sinners is described is that of a man selling himself for a slave. And under this guilt we are every one of us included.
2. That we have sold ourselves for nought.
(1) Look at the inducements of our sins–at the motives which led us to commit them. O how lightly and how cheaply have we yielded ourselves up to Satans service! He has not needed, as in our Lords case, to promise all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; he has not needed to tempt us with large offers or golden baits.
(2) Look again to the consequences of our sins. There have been many times, no doubt, when we have committed sin in expectation of some great advantage to be gained by it. But what has been the price? Bitter disappointment, pain, grief, anguish, and in the end, everlasting death. Such have been the only fruits which men have ever gathered from their sins.
II. THE MOST GRACIOUS PROMISE OR PROPOSAL. Ye shall be redeemed, etc. As freely as you have given yourselves up to ruin, so freely am I ready to deliver you from that ruin. Considered in this light, in what a striking manner does my text present to us the riches of Gods grace towards a ruined world! But to comprehend this matter more distinctly, look at the Cross of Jesus! (A. Roberts, M. A.)
Self-selling
The whole world is an emporium; buying and selling are going on everywhere. The text refers to the sale of self.
I. It is the most COMMON SALE in the emporium of the world. What do I mean by self? Not the body, not the mere bundle of intellectual faculties, but the conscience, the moral ego, the inner man, that which works the faculties and which will live when the body is dust. Now, men are selling this manhood for a variety of things.
1. For pleasure. The voluptuary and the debauchee have sold it, and it is gone far into the mud of sensuality.
2. For wealth. The worldling has sold it, and it is gone into the miserly grub.
3. For fame. The aspirant for worldly honours and distinctions has sold it, and it is lost in the rolling current of fashion.
II. It is the most FOOLISH SALE in the emporium of the world. Sold yourselves for nought. The man who has sold it far pleasure, what has he got? Nought. What is sensual pleasure but the pleasure of animals at best? and this wears out as animal life decays. Desire faileth. The man who has sold it for wealth, what has he got? That which will soon take wings and fly away. What shall it profit a man? etc. The man who has sold it for fame, what has he got? That which, if aromatic to-day, may be a stench to-morrow, and never at any time self-satisfying. Charles Lamb had fame, and what did he say? I walk up and down, thinking I am happy, but knowing I am not.
III. It is the most UNRIGHTEOUS SALE in the emporium of the world. No man has a right to sell his soul. All souls are Mine, saith God. Reason says you have no right to sell your soul; you are not self-produced nor self-sustained. Conscience says you have no right to sell your soul; as you barter it away, it groans damnation at you. God made the soul to investigate His works, adore His character and serve His will. (Homilist.)
Man unregenerate and regenerate
I. WHAT IS THE CONDITION OF MANKIND WHEN UNREGENERATE? In a state of sin, the text hath represented us as selling ourselves for nought; where each word is emphatical, and carries a peculiar sting in it.
1. We take upon us to drive a bargain where we have no propriety in what we expose to sale. What the prophet here charges us with exposing to sale is ourselves; and this, in other words, implies our souls, with all the interest which they have elsewhere depending upon our behaviour. Now in these our propriety is strictly and truly derivative and borrowed; it was God who made us, and not we ourselves; and every faculty and every power wherewith He hath entrusted us are employed injuriously whenever they run counter to His will and pleasure.
2. Let us consider what we are doing when we are selling ourselves. Our souls which were made to be immortal are the things we are bartering in this foolish bargain. And when once we have parted with them, what would we not give in exchange for them, to have them again, and save them?
3. The folly is yet farther aggravated by the consideration whhereupon we are induced to this wretched bargain. For the text hath charged us with selling ourselves for nought.
II. WHAT WHEN REGENERATE? What Christ hath done for us in the affair of our redemption, by cancelling the handwriting which lay against us, was on His part free grace and bounty. Our redemption being conditional, proceed we to consider the terms whereunto it is limited.
1. Repentance from dead works.
2. Faith.
3. A sincere obedience will naturally follow. (N. Marshall, D.D.)
The sinners ruin and recovery
I. THE SOLEMN STATEMENT.
II. A JOYFUL PROMISE. And ye shall be redeemed without money.
1. This redemption could not be effected by human means.
2. Nor is this redemption provided by the law which the sinner has transgressed.
3. It must be effected in a way that will secure the honour of the Divine law, as well as the salvation of the sinner. There is redemption by price, and redemption by power, and each is suited to our state.
4. The redemption of man was effected by Christ at a great price. Ye shall be redeemed without money. As the misery to which the sinner was exposed was infinite, so his deliverance required infinite means.
5. The effect of these sufferings is our redemption from captivity, and deliverance from the curse of the law. By faith, therefore, in the sacrifice of the Saviour deliverance is to be obtained. (Helps for the Pulpit.)
Ye shall be redeemed without money
The cheapness of moral redemption
Redemptions, social, commercial, and political, are generally very costly things. Millions of lives have been sacrificed, and untold treasures of gold expended in order to redeem from temporal bondage. But true moral redemption–the redemption of the soul from error to truth, from selfishness to benevolence, from the devil to God–is cheap. Without money.
I. THE MEANS OF MORAL REDEMPTION COST NOTHING.
1. You have Christ for nothing, He has given Himself.
2. You have the Bible for nothing.
3. You have the Spirit for nothing. No man can excuse himself for his moral bondage on the ground that he is too poor to obtain the means of redemption.
II. THE LABOUR INVOLVES NO SACRIFICE. Every moral bondsman must labour if he would be free, there is no moral emancipation irrespective of individual effort. Each captive must strike some hearty strokes ere his chains can be broken. But in this work there is no effort involving secular sacrifice. It need not prevent a man pursuing his ordinary avocations. He can be working out his freedom as well, if not better, when cultivating his farm, plying his handicraft, pursuing his merchandise, as alone in his chamber on his knees.
III. THE STRUGGLES CONDUCE TO TEMPORAL PROSPERITY (Mt 1Ti 4:8). (Homilist.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Ye have sold yourselves, by your sins, into the hands of the Chaldeans,
for nought; without any price or valuable consideration paid by them, either to you or to me, your Lord and Owner.
Ye shall be redeemed without money; without paying any ransom.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. As you became your foes’servants, without their paying any price for you (Jer15:13), so they shall release you without demanding any price orreward (Isa 45:13), (whereCyrus is represented as doing so: a type of their final restorationgratuitously in like manner). So the spiritual Israel, “soldunder sin,” gratuitously (Ro7:14), shall be redeemed also gratuitously (Isa55:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For thus saith the Lord, ye have sold yourselves for nought,…. As Ahab did to work wickedness; as men do freely, and get nothing by it; for there is nothing got in the service of sin, Satan, and antichrist, or by being slaves and vassals to them; not profit, but loss; not pleasure, but pain; not honour, but shame; not liberty, but bondage; not riches and wealth, but poverty and want, which Popery always brings into those countries and people where it obtains.
And ye shall be redeemed without money; in like manner as our spiritual and eternal redemption from sin, Satan, and the law, the world, death, and hell, is obtained; not without the price of the precious blood of the Lamb, but without such corruptible things as silver and gold, 1Pe 1:18 and without any price paid to those by whom we are held captive, but to God, against whom we have sinned, whose law we have broken, and whose justice must be satisfied; and the blood of Christ is a sufficient price to answer all: hence redemption, though it cost Christ much, is entirely free to us; so will the redemption of the church, from the bondage and slavery of antichrist, be brought about by the power of God undeserved by them; not through their merits, and without any ransom price paid to those who held them captives.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The reason for the address is now given in a well-sustained promise. “For thus saith Jehovah, Ye have been sold for nothing, and ye shall not be redeemed with silver. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, My people went down to Egypt in the beginning to dwell there as guests; and Asshur has oppressed it for nothing. And now, what have I to do here? saith Jehovah: for my people are taken away for nothing; their oppressors shriek, saith Jehovah, and my name is continually blasphemed all the day. Therefore my people shall learn my name; therefore, in that day, that I am He who saith, There am I.” Ye have been sold (this is the meaning of Isa 52:3); but this selling is merely a giving over to a foreign power, without the slightest advantage accusing to Him who had no other object in view than to cause them to atone for their sins (Isa 50:1), and without any other people taking their place, and serving Him in their stead as an equivalent for the loss He sustained. And there would be no need of silver to purchase the favour of Him who had given them up, since a manifestation of divine power would be all that would be required (Isa 45:13). For whether Jehovah show Himself to Israel as the Righteous One or as the Gracious One, as a Judge or as a Redeemer, He always acts as the Absolute One, exalted above all earthly affairs, having no need to receive anything, but able to give everything. He receives no recompense, and gives none. Whether punishing or redeeming, He always guards His people’s honour, proving Himself in the one case to be all-sufficient, and in the other almighty, but acting in both cases freely from Himself.
In the train of thought in Isa 52:4-6 the reason is given for the general statement in Isa 52:3. Israel went down to Egypt, the country of the Nile valley, with the innocent intention of sojourning, i.e., living as a guest ( gur ) there in a foreign land; and yet (as we may supply from the next clause, according to the law of a self-completing parallelism) there it fell into the bondage of the Pharaohs, who, whilst they did not fear Jehovah, but rather despised Him, were merely the blind instruments of His will. Asshur then oppressed it b e phes , i.e., not “at last” ( ultimo tempore , as Hvernick renders it), but (as is the synonym of in Isa 40:17; Isa 41:2) “for nothing,” i.e., without having acquired any right to it, but rather serving in its unrighteousness simply as the blind instrument of the righteousness of Jehovah, who through the instrumentality of Asshur put an end first of all to the kingdom of Israel, and then to the kingdom of Judah. The two references to the Egyptian and Assyrian oppressions are expressed in as brief terms as possible. But with the words “now therefore” the prophecy passes on in a much more copious strain to the present oppression in Babylon. Jehovah inquires, Quid mihi hic (What have I to do here)? Hitzig supposes poh (here) to refer to heaven, in the sense of, “What pressing occupation have I here, that all this can take place without my interfering?” But such a question as this would be far more appropriate to the Zeus of the Greek comedy than to the Jehovah of prophecy. Knobel, who takes poh as referring to the captivity, in accordance with the context, gives a ridiculous turn to the question, viz., “What do I get here in Babylonia, from the fact that my people are carried off for nothing? Only loss.” He observes himself that there is a certain wit in the question. But it would be silly rather than witty, if, after Jehovah had just stated that He had given up His people for nothing, the prophet represented Him as preparing to redeem it by asking, “What have I gained by it?” The question can have no other meaning, according to Isa 22:16, than “What have I to do here?” Jehovah is thought of as present with His people (cf., Gen 46:4), and means to inquire whether He shall continue this penal condition of exile any longer (Targum, Rashi, Rosenmller, Ewald, Stier, etc.). The question implies an intention to redeem Israel, and the reason for this intention is introduced with k . Israel is taken away ( ablatus ), viz., from its own native home, c hinnam , i.e., without the Chaldeans having any human claim upon them whatever. The words ( ) are not to be rendered, “its singers lament,” as Reutschi and Rosenmller maintain, since the singers of Israel are called m e shor e rm ; nor “its (Israel’s) princes lament,” as Vitringa and Hitzig supposed, since the people of the captivity, although they had still their national sarm , had no other m osh e lm than the Chaldean oppressors (Isa 49:7; Isa 14:5). It is the intolerable tyranny of the oppressors of His people, that Jehovah assigns in this sentence as the reason for His interposition, which cannot any longer be deferred. It is true that we do meet with hell (of which we have the future here without any syncope of the first syllable) in other passages in the sense of ululare , as a cry of pain; but just as , , signify a yelling utterance of either joy or pain, so heeliil may also be applied to the harsh shrieking of the capricious tyrants, like Lucan’s laetis ululare triumphis , and the Syriac ailel , which is used to denote a war-cry and other noises as well. In connection with this proud and haughty bluster, there is also the practice of making Jehovah’s name the butt of their incessant blasphemy: is a part. hithpoel with an assimilated and a pausal a for e , although it might also be a passive hithpoal (for the o in the middle syllable, compare , Mal 1:7; , Est 8:14). In Isa 52:6 there follows the closing sentence of the whole train of thought: therefore His people are to get to learn His name, i.e., the self-manifestation of its God, who is so despised by the heathen; therefore lakhen repeated with emphasis, like in Isa 59:18, and possibly min in Psa 45:9) in that day, the day of redemption, (supply “it shall get to learn”) that “I am he who saith, Here am I,” i.e., that He who has promised redemption is now present as the True and Omnipotent One to carry it into effect.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 3-6: A SALE WITHOUT PROFIT
1. In “selling” Israel into the hands of their enemies, the Lord has gained nothing, (vs. 3; Deu 32:30; Psa 44:12; Jdg 2:14; Jer 15:13); and He will redeem them without money (Isa 45:13) – their liberation being the fruit of His gracious compassion.
a. The same is true of those whom He redeems from the guilt and condemnation of sin.
b. It is ALL “according to the riches of His grace:” (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; 1Pe 1:18-19).
2. In time of famine, the family of Jacob went to sojourn in the land of Egypt where an Assyrian (Pharaoh – descendant of Nimrod) oppressed them without a cause, (vs. 4; Gen 46:6-7).
3. Not only has God received no compensation from those who cruelly oppress His people; but, His name, which is worthy of the highest honor and praise, is constantly blasphemed, (vs. 5; Rom 2:22-24; Eze 20:9; Eze 20:14; Eze 36:20-23).
4. In the day when Israel’s Redeemer presents Himself in her behalf, she will truly KNOW His nature, character, and power, as represented by His Name, (vs. 6; Isa 49:23 b; 41:20; 43:10; 60:15-16).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
3. For thus saith Jehovah. This verse has been badly expounded by many commentators, who have here chosen to enter into philosophical subtleties; for they have dreamed of many things at variance with the Prophet’s meaning. It agrees with what he had formerly stated,
“
To which of my creditors have I sold you?” (Isa 1:1.)
For here, in the same manner, he says, “Ye have been sold for nought;” as if he had said that he has received no price, and is under no obligations to a creditor who can claim them as having been purchased by him. This tends greatly to confirm the promise; because the Jews might entertain doubts of the liberty which was promised to them, in consequence of their having been long held in possession by the Babylonians, who were the most powerful of all nations. The Lord meets this doubt. “I did not sell or make a conveyance of you to them; for nought were ye sold; and therefore I can justly claim you as nay property and sell you. Do not then consider how great are your difficulties, when I promise you liberty, and do not reason on this matter by human arguments; for the Babylonians have no right to detain you, and cannot prevent your being set at liberty.
Therefore shall ye be redeemed without money. Lastly, as he had formerly said, that he is not like a spendthrift, who is compelled to sell his children, or offer them in payment, so in this passage he declares that “for nought he sold” and gave them up to their enemies, for no other reason than because they had provoked him by their sins; and therefore that there will be no greater difficulty in delivering them than in giving them up to their enemies.
Some explain it more ingeniously thus, that Christ has redeemed us by free grace. This doctrine must indeed be maintained, but does not agree with the Prophet’s meaning, who intended to correct the distrust of the Jews, that they might have no doubt as to their being set at liberty. Let it suffice to know, that when God shall be pleased to deliver his people, it will not be necessary to make a pecuniary bargain with the Babylonians, whom, in spite of their opposition, he will have no difficulty in driving out of their unjust possession.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
SELLING AND REDEEMING THE SOUL
Isa. 52:3. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought, &c.
The Jews had gone headlong into sin, and as a punishment they had been carried captive to Babylon. They found that iniquity did not pay. Cyrus seized Babylon, and felt such pity for the captives, that without any compensation he let them go home. All of this is typical of a higher truth.
I. Ye have sold yourselves for nought. There are persons who do not seem to belong either to themselves or to God; the title-deeds have been passed over to the world, the flesh, and the devil; but the purchaser has never paid up. They have made over their entire nature, but the holders of the deeds, when called on for the money, declare themselves bankrupt. The world does not keep its promises; it does not pay ninety per cent., nor twenty, nor one; it gives no solace when friends die; no peace when conscience rings its alarm. Ye have sold yourselves for nought; your conscience went; your hope went; your Bible went; your heaven went, all for nothing.
II. Ye shall be redeemed without money. You were cheated out of your soul; the world has no right to take the title-deed from you. It can be proved. You need not say you are afraid of lawsuits, they are so expensive; for ye shall be redeemed without money.
Money is good for a great deal, but it cannot do anything in this matter of the soul. Blood is here the only lawful tender. Neither is our blood rich enough; it needs a sinless stream. We have in this day some who do not want a religion of blood; but the Bible says, In the blood is the life; and an apostle (1Pe. 1:18-19). You put your lancet into the arm of our holy religion and withdraw the blood, and you leave it a mere corpse! No blood, no atonement, as prefigured in the Levitical sacrifices; without shedding of blood there is no remission. Some one says, the thought of blood sickens me. God intended it to sicken you with your sin; your sin caused Christs blood-shedding.
The highest price ever paid for anything was paid for your soul. The estranged property is bought back. Take it; ye have sold yourselves for nought, and ye shall be redeemed without money. Here is the price of your liberationnot money, but blood.T. De Witt Talmage, D.D.: Christian Age, vol. ix. pp. 6769.
Briefly review the circumstances under which these words were spoken. Israel had sold themselves as slaves, and for nothing. They were to be restored without money (Isa. 45:13). All this equally applicable to us today. Israels captivity was temporal, ours is spiritual, and our redemption by Christ is without money. These words suggest
I. SELLING THE SOUL. Ye have sold yourselves for nought.
1. What you have sold. Not your wares, your possessions, &c., but yourselves. Not the body, not the mere bundle of intellectual faculties, but the conscience, the moral ego, the inner man, that which works the faculties and which will live when the body is dust. It is your soul you have soldthe most precious thing God has given youthe gem of creationthe grand mark of manthe great possession. Put all the splendours of the visible creation into the scale, one soul outweighs them all (P. D. 3204). How many never think of the value of their soul, but sell it for the merest trifle.
2. To whom you have sold yourselves. To Satan. The worst being in Gods universethe enemy of God and manthe enslaver and destroyer of souls (2Ti. 2:26; Eph. 2:1-2; Rom. 6:17-19). To do his deadly work, and to be led captive at his will.
3. For what you have sold yourselves.
(1.) For worldly pleasure. But that is noughtunsatisfying, vanishing, leaves an aching void the world can never fill (Isa. 55:2; H. E. I. 46094612).
(2.) For worldly wealth. But that is noughtwill soon take wings and fly away. Wealth is not happinesscannot procure the elixir of immortalityoften degrades. Wealth is useless when, like Esau, we are at the point to die (Luk. 12:15; Mar. 8:36; H. E. I. 43584365, 43824386, 43894411).
(3.) For worldly fame. But that is nought. At best it is unsatisfying. Charles Lamb had fame, and what did he say? I walk up and down thinking I am happy, but knowing I am not. The great Dr. Johnson had fame, and what did he say? I am afraid that some day I shall get crazy. Such testimonies multiply daily. Verily, all is vanity, &c. (Ecc. 2:11).
4. Who sold you? Yourselves.
(1.) It is a voluntary bargain. You cannot blame Adam, for, had you been in his place, you would have acted like him, &c. You love sin and sinful pleasures.
(2.) It is an unjust bargain. Reason and conscience say you have no right to sell your soul, for it belongs to God. All souls are mine (Heb. 12:9; 1Co. 6:19).
(3.) You must confess that you have made a bad bargain, and that the outcome of it is deception, disappointment, embarrassment, &c. (Hos. 8:7).
II. REDEEMING THE SOUL.
1. The redemption of the soul could not be effected by any human means. The state of fallen man was so desperate that there was no hope for him in himselfno redeeming principle in his apostate nature; no possible way by which he could pay the price of his ransom. Nothing that the whole universe could offer, would be accepted as the price of it (Mic. 6:6-7; Luk. 7:42). Obedience to the moral law could not secure it, for it has been broken, and whatever man did in the way of righteousness, he would render no more than is absolutely due to God; besides, he is unable to obey it perfectly (Act. 13:39; Rom. 5:6; Rom. 8:8; Rom. 3:20; Rom. 3:28; Gal. 2:16, &c.)
2. The redemption of the soul was effected by the Son of God. In mans desperate circumstances Divine mercy interposed, for nothing less than the sacrifice of the Son of God could remedy the infinite evil which sin had entailed upon humanity. Christ, the Ransomer, was Divinemet and satisfied the infinite demands of inviolable justiceassumed our nature in a state of lowliness and humiliation, but free from every stain of sin, that He might obey the law which man had broken, and suffer and die the just for the unjust, that He might, legally, bring us to God (Isa. 53:5; Isa. 53:10; Rom. 8:3; 2Co. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 1Pe. 3:18; 1Pe. 1:18-19). Our redemption by Christ secures the honour of the Divine character and law, &c. That would be no redemption which should cost the sacrifice of a single principle in the government of God, or make any compromise with the offenders. The justification of the penitent believer is perfectly consistent with the essential righteousness of God (Rom. 3:24-26).
3. Personal redemption is realised by penitent faith in the Saviours atoning sacrifice (Mar. 1:15; Joh. 3:14-18; Joh. 6:40; Joh. 6:47; Joh. 11:25-26; Act. 20:20-21). Thus, repentance and faith are the conditions of personal redemption; while it is faitha faith that presupposes repentancewhich is emphatically the means of connecting the sinner with Christ, so that he is admitted to the Divine favour, and receives the Holy Spirit to inspire filial confidence, and to renew his soul. What repentance implies. The nature of the faith which is emphatically the condition and means of personal redemption:reliance, appropriation, trust, coming to Jesus, receiving of Christ, &c. (H. E. I. 19571968.) The warrant of faithChrists promises (Mat. 11:28; Joh. 6:35; Joh. 6:37); the declared will and purpose of the Father, which assures the sinner that he cannot come to Christ in self-renunciation and be rejected (Joh. 6:38-40; Rom. 8:32). Personal redemption is therefore perfectly gratuitouswithout money, without personal merit; and consequently is a manifestation of the abounding graciousness of God. St. Paul lays great stress on this (Rom. 3:24; Rom. 4:16; Rom. 3:28). How excellent is this method of personal redemption, for it is adapted to all mankind (Rom. 3:29-30); it shuts out pride from man (Rom. 5:2-7); and it establishes the law (Rom. 5:21).
CONCLUSION: Gratefully avail yourselves of Gods method of redemption offered to you in the Gospel, and constantly proclaimed to you by the ambassadors of Christ. It is suited to you. Let the redemption of your soul be your chief businessyour first work. You may realise it now. The value of the present opportunity is unspeakably great. It may be now or never (Psa. 49:8).Alfred Tucker.
I. THE LORDS CHARGE AGAINST HIS PEOPLE. Ye have sold yourselves for nought.
It teaches us,
1. That we are a sort of trading creatures; indigent and restless, wanting something we have not, and looking about to find it, that we may be happy. Buying and selling to get gain, that we may be happy. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought, &c. (Psa. 4:6; Jas. 4:13.)
2. That which we part with for this supposed happiness is inestimably precious. Ourselves (Isa. 1:1; Mar. 8:36-37).
4. That the state into which we sell ourselves is deplorable. Like slaves. Joseph sold into Egypt (Psa. 105:17-18). The Jews sold themselves into Babylon. Tied with the chain of our sins (Psa. 9:17; Isa. 52:5; Rev. 3:17).
4. That the enemy to whom we sell ourselves is the devil (2Ti. 2:26; Luk. 9:21). Seen in Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1, &c), Judas, Ananias. Jesus Christ was tempted to this (Mat. 4:8-9).
5. That we are volunteers in the sale of ourselves. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought, &c. Ahab sold himself to work wickedness (Hos. 13:9). The prodigal. Eve (Gen. 3:6).
6. That in thus selling ourselves we rob and offend God. Because we are His creatures (Psa. 100:1, &c.) We waste His goods (Luk. 16:1).
7. That what we get in thus selling ourselves is nothing. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought, &c. (Isa. 55:1, &c.; Ecc. 2:11; Hos. 8:7).
II. GODS GRACIOUS DECLARATION CONCERNING THEM.
Ye shall be redeemed without money. which teaches us,
1. That God recovers His people to their forfeited privileges and enjoyments. Redeemed (1Sa. 30:18; 1Sa. 30:20). Such as
(1.) acceptance with God. As to their persons and services (Eph. 1:6; Gen. 4:4; Eze. 20:40-41).
(2.) Conformity to the glorious image of God (2Co. 3:18; Eph. 4:24; 1Jn. 3:2).
(3.) Fellowship with God. Adam had this (Gen. 2:15, &c.) Believers have this (Eph. 2:18; 1Jn. 1:1-2).
(4.) A system of providential blessings (Rom. 8:28; 1Co. 3:1, &c.)
2. That this recovery is by redemption. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought, &c. By price (Act. 20:28). By power (Deu. 7:8; Psa. 106:1; Psa. 106:7; Hos. 13:14).
3. That this redemption is without money or merit on our part. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought, &c. (Isa. 55:1-2; Eze. 20:42; Eze. 20:44; Luk. 7:42).
CONCLUSION.
1. To the young, with whom Satan is beginning to tamper and bargain.
2. To the Antinomian, casting the blame of his captivity upon God. Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1, &c.)
3. To the captivefeeling his yoke, weakness and unworthiness (Jer. 31:18; Jer. 31:20; Rom. 7:1, &c.)
4. To the ransomed returning Christian (Psa. 126:1, &c.; Isa. 35:10).New Pulpit Assistant, pp. 226230.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(3) Ye have sold yourselves . . .Literally, ye were sold. The people had complained that Jehovah had sold them into the hands of their enemies (Psa. 44:12). Not so, is the answer. There was no real sale, only a temporary transfer, and therefore Jehovah can redeem you at His own pleasure. A comparison with Isa. 43:3, shows how spiritual truths may present aspects that require the most opposite illustrations.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3-6. Shall be redeemed without money As the Babylonians paid no price for Israel, so they shall receive none for her return. God punishes injustice all round. His people, long time ago, went down to Egypt ostensibly to stay only till provision for their families should be obtainable in their own country. And because Egypt unjustly enslaved them, God overthrew the Egyptian king and his hosts. Equally, without cause, the Assyrian also became the oppressor of Israel.
Now what have I here That is, in the matter of remuneration to the Assyrio-Babylonian. On his part he carried Israel away unjustly, and cruelly treated her. Yet now these oppressors howl and rail at Jehovah for reclaiming his own with no offer of pay. Israel, indeed, was at fault, but not against the Babylonians. She sold herself to captivity, but this injury was toward God, for he had the exclusive right to ownership in her. The honour of Jehovah himself demanded her restoration without price, for she was sold for nothing; he had in return for her just nothing, except infamy upon his holy name. Because the desolation of Jerusalem for so long a time has been an injury to him, to his honour, he will now (Isa 52:6) reveal his name.
My people shall know my name Whether he is thought of as El, or Elohim, or Jehovah, in each, or in all together, his name signifies the absolute, eternal, peaceful One, sole Creator and Ruler of all things.
In that day The day when his Jerusalem-Zion and her people shall be completely restored, historically and spiritually, these wicked oppressors and all the oppressed shall know, and my people emphatically shall know, that I am he that doth speak. That is, that He who promised redemption is now present as the true and omnipotent One to carry it into effect.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 52:3-6. For thus saith the Lord In the third verse, which sets forth the true redemption of the church of Christ, we have the foundation of the preceding exhortation; of which this redemption was the true and proper cause. When the time of redemption was at hand, it became the church to assume the dress proper for that season, and to assert its liberty. The meaning of the expression, Ye have sold yourselves for nought, is, “Ye have been delivered into the power of those who have heretofore held you in slavery, without any price paid to me;” and, Ye shall be redeemed without money, means, “Ye shall be redeemed without any price paid by you. This whole redemption shall be my work, and the effect of my mere grace and favour.” The prophet proceeds to a fuller explication of the command, and of the necessity of the redemption, from the condition of the people with respect to the preceding time, Isa 52:4 and the present time, Isa 52:5. The fourth verse is elliptical, and should be thus supplied; “At the beginning my people went down into Egypt, not to possess that country, but to sojourn in it; and there they were unjustly oppressed, and delivered from thence by me with a stretched-out arm.” Again, “The Assyrian oppressed them for nothing, that is, without any just cause; only incited thereto by the desire of rule: nor was I then wanting to my people, but procured them deliverance. Therefore, when now I see them again oppressed, and that by their own rulers, and brought into spiritual servitude with the blasphemy of my name, Isa 52:5 shall I desert them? They shall know my name, Isa 52:6. They shall have the clearest revelation of my power, they shall know that I am God their Redeemer.” See Joh 8:24.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Reader! pause, and admire the beauty, as well as the grace, displayed in this scripture. The Lord had a right in his people, by creation, when they sold themselves to sin. When the devil broke into this our world, he came as a thief and a robber. The Lord did not lose his right by the devil’s plundering, nor our apostasy; and, therefore, we were still his by right. Moreover, the sale we made of ourselves, was neither for his profit, nor our advantage. And, therefore, as the whole was an act of fraud, our redemption should be without money, and without price. But oh! how infinitely precious and invaluable was the purchase! See what the Apostle saith of it, 1Pe 1:18-19 . And what a vassalage is sin! How do poor burdened sinners groan, when they come to feel the chains of sin, of Satan, of an awakened conscience, the terror of God’s broken law and justice, and the dread of temporal and eternal death!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 52:3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
Ver. 3. For thus saith the Lord. ] Thus he pleadeth the cause of his people. Isa 51:22
Ye have sold yourselves for nought.
And ye shall be redeemed without money.
a Babylonii non egerunt mihi gratias. – Piscat.
b Mat. Paris. Hist., A.D. 1072.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isaiah
A PARADOX OF SELLING AND BUYING
Isa 52:3
THE first reference of these words is of course to the Captivity. They come in the midst of a grand prophecy of freedom, all full of leaping gladness and buoyant hope. The Seer speaks to the captives; they had ‘sold themselves for nought.’ What had they gained by their departure from God?-bondage. What had they won in exchange for their freedom?- only the hard service of Babylon. As Deuteronomy puts it: ‘Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness. . . by reason of the abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies. . . in want of all things.’ A wise exchange! a good market they had brought their goods to! In striking ironical parallel the prophet goes on to say that so should they be redeemed. They had got nothing by bondage, they should give nothing for liberty. This text has its highest application in regard to our captivity and our redemption.
I. The reality of the captivity.
II. The voluntariness of the captivity.
The strong tendency of human nature is always to throw the blame on some one else; God or the devil, the flesh or the world, it does not matter which. But it remains true that every man sinning is ‘drawn away of his own lust and enticed.’
After all, conscience witnesses to the truth, and by that mysterious sense of guilt and gnawing of remorse which is quite different from the sense of mistake, tears to tatters the sophistries. Nothing is more truly my own than my sin.
III. The profitlessness of the captivity.
IV. The unbought freedom.
1 A price has been paid.
‘Ye were redeemed not with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.’ The New Testament idea of redemption, no doubt, has its roots in the Old Testament provisions for the Goel or kinsman redeemer, who was to procure the freedom of a kinsman. But whatever figurative elements may enter into it, its core is the ethical truth that Christ’s death is the means by which the bonds of sin are broken. There is much in the many-sided applications and powers of that Death which we do not know, but this is clear, that by it the power of sin is destroyed and the guilt of sin taken away.
2 That price has been paid for all.
We have therefore nothing to pay. A slave cannot redeem himself, for all that he has is his master’s already. So, no efforts of ours can set ourselves free from the ‘cords of our sins.’ Men try to bring something of their own. ‘I do my best and God will have mercy.’ We will bring our own penitence, efforts, good works, or rely on Church ordinances, or anything rather than sue in forma pauperis . How hard it is to get men to see that ‘It is finished,’ and to come and rest only on the mere mercy of God.
How do we ally ourselves with that completed work? By simple faith, of which an essential is the recognition that we have nothing and can do nothing.
Suppose an Israelite in Babylon who did not choose to avail himself of the offered freedom; he must die in bondage. So must we if we refuse to have eternal life as the gift of God. The prophet’s paradoxical invitation, ‘He that hath no money, come ye, buy. . . without money,’ is easily solved. The price is to give up ourselves and forsake all self-willed striving after self-purchased freedom which is but subtler bondage. ‘If the Son make you free, ye shall be free indeed.’ If not, then are ye slaves indeed, having ‘sold yourselves for nought,’ and declined to be ‘redeemed without money.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 52:3-6
3For thus says the LORD, You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money. 4For thus says the Lord GOD, My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5Now therefore, what do I have here, declares the LORD, seeing that My people have been taken away without cause? Again the LORD declares, Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long. 6Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’
Isa 52:3 redeemed without money This verse must be seen in light of Isa 45:13. Cyrus will let the Jews return freely. Cyrus reversed the relocation policy of both the Assyrians and Babylonians. He allowed all conquered peoples to return home and rebuild their national temples. This was his way of restoring order to his empire and also he was superstitious and wanted all the returning people groups to pray to their gods for him and his successors.
Isa 52:4-5 Isa 52:5 is referring to Babylonian exile though Babylon is not mentioned by name. These verses are looking at past oppression (i.e., Egypt and Assyria). Theologically Israel and Judah were exiled because of their sin against YHWH (cf. Isa 43:22-24; Isa 50:1).
Isa 52:4 Egypt. . .Assyrian These were two of the Jews’ previous enemies before that of Babylon (cf. Isa 10:5 ff).
Isa 52:5 There are several ways to view the Hebrew text.
1. the rulers (those who rule, BDB 605, KB 647, Qal PARTICIPLE)
a. leaders of Jerusalem who wail (BDB 410, KB 413, Hiphil IMPERFECT) over the fall of Jerusalem
b. leaders of Babylon mock as Jerusalem falls
My name is continually blasphemed This VERB (BDB 610, KB 658) is a rare Hithpolel form. God’s name was linked to Israel’s condition. God will act, not because of Israel’s goodness but because of His name (cf. Isa 48:11; Eze 20:9; Eze 20:14; Eze 20:22; Eze 20:44; Eze 36:19-20; Eze 36:22-23; Dan 9:17-19; Rom 2:24).
Isa 52:6 By YHWH’s deliverance His people will know that He has reestablished the covenant. His name will have meaning again!
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE NAME of YHWH
in that day See Special Topic from my commentary on the Eighth Century Prophets below.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THAT DAY
NASB, NJB,
REBHere I am
NKJVBehold, it is I
NRSVHere am I
JPSOAAm now at hand
LXXI am here
PESHITTAIt is I
This phrase is usually a faith response from a human being who has been addressed by God (i.e., Gen 22:1; Gen 22:11; Exo 3:4; Isa 6:8). It would denote availability to do God’s will.
It is only in Isaiah that it is used of God and denotes His presence, power, and ability to do what He promised (cf. Isa 58:9; Isa 65:1).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
redeemed. Hebrew. ga’al. See note on Exo 6:6.
without money = not with silver. Compare 1Pe 1:18.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 52:3-6
Isa 52:3-6
“For thus saith Jehovah, Ye were sold for naught; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrians have oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what do I here?, saith Jehovah, seeing that my people is taken away for naught? They that rule over them do howl, saith Jehovah, and my name continually all the day is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak.”
The prophecies in these verses correspond exactly with what Isaiah had already written in Isa 45:13, and that the Lord would redeem them out of concern for his name in Isa 42:8, so where is there any evidence of another author? As noted in dozens of places, this corresponds exactly with that pattern of “here a little, there a little, line upon line,” etc. which our prophet laid down in Isa 28:10; Isa 28:13.
Was Israel indeed redeemed without money? Yes indeed; as a matter of fact, Cyrus himself, their liberator paid many of the expenses himself. As Barnes noted:
“There is no way that Babylon could have been induced to surrender Israel; therefore God designed to raise up Cyrus, a mild, just and equitable prince; and to induce him to let the exiles depart, and to aid them in their return to their own land. Thus they were rescued without money and without price.”
“The fulfillment of this prophecy also continued the authority of God’s holy word.”
“Into Egypt to sojourn there …” (Isa 52:4). “Israel went down into Egypt by invitation, but the sacred right of hospitality was basely violated.”
“Ye were sold for naught.” (Isa 52:3). This is a reference to the sinful and illegal manner in which both Assyria and Babylon had inflicted their ravages upon the chosen people; and all of these things together, coupled with the arrogant contempt of the pagans for God’s people, were challenges for, “God to live up to his covenant name, Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and to demonstrate by Babylons overthrow his continuing sovereignty.”
“And now therefore, what do I here …?” (Isa 52:5). These words do not refer to any alleged visit of God to Babylon, because his absence from fellowship with the captives was the very essence of their sorrow and discouragement. The words are a reference to what seemed like the idleness and unconcern of God in heaven for the terrible situation in which the captives languished. This is the basis of God’s decision here to rescue them. “God must return to Jerusalem (the chosen people), because otherwise his gracious purpose would be frustrated; but in the present state of his people, God cannot continue in the achievement of his purpose; therefore Jerusalem (the righteous remnant) must rise from their humiliation.”
“They that rule over them do howl …” (Isa 52:5). Some think the “howl” here means the cries of the oppressed captives; but our text clearly states that it is the rulers who “howl.” The word suggests the howls of some animal exulting over its prey. “Their rulers, the Babylonians, do howl, speaking harshly to them, ridiculing their God, for his weakness, blaspheming his name.”
“My people shall know my name … in that day …” (Isa 52:6). Here again we find that expression used so frequently by Isaiah, almost always indicating the times of the New Covenant, including also an eschatalogical glimpse of the final judgment. “An Israel that knows God’s name and responds to him when he says,’ Behold me,’ is an Israel in covenant with God and assured of deliverance.” This, of course, is the fundamental reason why the marvelous blessings throughout this latter portion of Isaiah are promised especially to the “righteous remnant,” and to no other.
Isa 52:3-6 DELIVERANCE FROM PERSECUTION: Jehovah will act to deliver Zion from captivity in a display of divine sovereignty. He will give her up to captivity according to His sovereign plan and rescue her through the same sovereignty. No one will pay Jehovah to exile her-no one will force Him to-and no one will pay Him to rescue her. She will remain in captivity for exactly the time Jehovah assigns (70 years) and she will be delivered.
In verses four and five Jehovah pronounces the guilt of Zions oppressors-past, present and future. Gods sovereign decision to chasten Zion does not relieve her oppressors of guilt. The people of God went down to Egypt of their own choice with Jacob during the famine. And the Egyptians, by their own choice, enslaved and persecuted Gods people. Israels persecutors during Isaiahs lifetime, the Assyrians, were acting by free moral choice-not because they were forced to. Now therefore, what do I here . . . may be paraphrased, Now, what do I have here . . . in the imminent exile into Babylon? It is the same situation! God will use the exile to chasten the sinful nation of Judah, but at the same time the Babylonians will be held responsible and found guilty. Their captivity of Judah was clearly an unjustified act of aggression. The sovereign God of all mankind declares any nation or people guilty who perpetrate the same acts of unprovoked aggression against other peoples (cf. our comments, Minor Prophets, on Obadiah and Amos ch. 1-3). Babylon, like all the other oppressors of Israel, attacked without due cause. Although the sovereign Jehovah may use the wicked assaults of the heathen empires as tools of chastening (cf. Isa 10:5 ff; Jer 27:1-22, etc.), that does not mean the heathen empires are guiltless for making their own moral choices to Touch the apple of His eye (cf, Zec 2:8) without justifiable provocation. These Babylonians howl out harsh orders to their captives (cf. Daniel 1-6) and blaspheme the name of Jehovah continually. What they are doing with Gods people is certainly not in agreement with the will of God.
When Jehovah decides, in His own sovereign time-schedule, to deliver Zion from Babylonian captivity (cf. Jer 27:22; Jer 25:11), then Zion will know His name. His name is Jehovah (YHWH, He who causes to be . . .). Jehovah is the name for Covenant-God, and here the faithfulness and sovereignty of God to keep His covenant promises is emphasized.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
redeemed
Heb. “goel,” Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield “Isa 59:20”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Isa 45:13, Isa 50:1, Psa 44:12, Jer 15:13, 1Pe 1:18, Rom 7:14-25
Reciprocal: Lev 25:54 – then Deu 32:30 – sold them 1Ki 21:20 – thou hast sold 1Ki 21:25 – sell himself Isa 52:5 – people Isa 55:1 – without money Eze 16:31 – in that thou scornest Eze 34:27 – when I Luk 4:18 – to preach deliverance
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
52:3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for {c} nothing; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
(c) The Babylonians paid nothing to me for you: therefore I will take you again without ransom.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Yahweh announced that since no one forced God to sell Israel into slavery (cf. Isa 45:13; Isa 50:1), neither would anyone force Him to redeem her. He would free her of His own free will, just as He had sent her into captivity of His own free will (cf. 2Co 5:19). There was, therefore, no impediment to His redeeming her.