The Hebrew word for "trust" (batach) appears alongside explicit servant language only here in Isaiah, uniquely linking the Servant's confident reliance on God with his willing submission to suffering.
Isaiah 50
Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience
1The LORD says, “Where is the bill of your mother’s divorce, with which I have put her away? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, and your mother was put away for your transgressions.
2Why, when I came, was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it can’t redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea. I make the rivers a wilderness. Their fish stink because there is no water, and die of thirst.
3I clothe the heavens with blackness. I make sackcloth their covering.”
4The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him who is weary. He awakens morning by morning, he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
5The Lord GOD has opened my ear. I was not rebellious. I have not turned back.
6I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting.
7For the Lord GOD will help me. Therefore I have not been confounded. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I won’t be disappointed.
8He who justifies me is near. Who will bring charges against me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.
9Behold, the Lord GOD will help me! Who is he who will condemn me? Behold, they will all grow old like a garment. The moths will eat them up.
10Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness and has no light, let him trust in the LORD’s name, and rely on his God.
11Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who adorn yourselves with torches around yourselves, walk in the flame of your fire, and among the torches that you have kindled. You will have this from my hand: you will lie down in sorrow.
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Theme
Isaiah 50 addresses Israel's exile as the consequence of their own sin rather than God's abandonment, emphasizing that God retains full power to redeem His people. The chapter transitions to the voice of the Suffering Servant, who describes his obedient submission to persecution and his unwavering trust in God's vindication. The chapter concludes with a call to trust in the Lord rather than relying on human efforts, warning that self-reliance leads to sorrow.
Context
This chapter continues the themes of comfort and restoration from chapters 40-49 while introducing the third Servant Song, preparing for the climactic fourth Servant Song in chapter 53.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-3 God's Defense Against Abandonment God refutes accusations of abandoning Israel, asserting that their exile resulted from their own sins while His power to redeem remains undiminished
- 4-6 The Servant's Calling and Suffering The Suffering Servant describes his divine commissioning to speak comfort and his willing submission to physical abuse and humiliation
- 7-9 The Servant's Confidence in Vindication The Servant expresses unwavering trust in God's help and ultimate vindication against all accusers
- 10-11 Call to Trust Versus Self-Reliance A contrast between those who fear the Lord and trust in darkness versus those who kindle their own light and face judgment
Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience
50:1–50:11 prophecy speech solemn
God addresses Israel's sin as the cause of their separation, while the Servant describes his obedient submission to suffering and his trust in God's vindication.
theme_rarity
The Hebrew word for "trust" (batach) appears alongside explicit servant language only here in Isaiah, uniquely linking the Servant's confident reliance on God with his willing submission to suffering.
Insights
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Isaiah 50:1 4 references
Lexicals 4
Deuteronomy 24:3 Lexical
If the latter husband hates her, and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his…
Deuteronomy 14:21 Lexical
You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your…
Micah 7:18 Lexical
Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t…
Leviticus 20:17 Lexical
“‘If a man takes his sister—his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter—and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nak…
Isaiah 50:2 5 references
Lexicals 5
Job 14:11 Lexical
As the waters fail from the sea, and the river wastes and dries up,
Nahum 1:4 Lexical
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel languish. The flower of Lebanon lang…
Isaiah 19:5 Lexical
The waters will fail from the sea, and the river will be wasted and become dry.
Psalms 106:9 Lexical
He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert.
Jeremiah 51:36 Lexical
Therefore the LORD says: “Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you. I will dry up her sea, and make h…
Isaiah 50:4 1 reference
Isaiah 50:5 1 reference
Isaiah 50:7 1 reference
Isaiah 50:8 5 references
Lexicals 5
Isaiah 43:9 Lexical
Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us…
Deuteronomy 25:1 Lexical
If there is a controversy between men, and they come to judgment and the judges judge them, then they shall justify the…
Exodus 24:14 Lexical
He said to the elders, “Wait here for us, until we come again to you. Behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever is inv…
Isaiah 45:21 Lexical
Declare and present it. Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has shown this from ancient time? Who has declared it o…
2 Samuel 15:4 Lexical
Absalom said moreover, “Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who has any suit or cause might come to me…
Isaiah 50:9 1 reference
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