Isaiah 51:11
in Isaiah 51So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
KJV
Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
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This verse in Isaiah 51
Commentary
7 notes on this verse931. Second, he announces to his people that the Lord has heard his petition: and now, as it was when they came forth from Egypt, they that are redeemed, from captivity in Babylon: for the Lord will lead them back (Bar 4:23).
This site's exposition
the redeemed of the Lord shall return
Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: the same line that closes chapter 35 in nearly identical words, joining the exodus imagery just given to the promise of the exiles' own return. Sorrow and mourning shall flee away is stated as fact rather than hope, the certainty carried by the same voice that just claimed the exodus and the creation as its own handiwork. Gill reads the verse as the hinge between the historical argument of the verses before it and the personal comfort that follows.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return,.... Or "and", or "so" (q). In like manner, and as sure as the Israelites had a way made for them through the sea to pass over, so sure shall all those that are redeemed by the blood of Christ from sin, Satan, the law, death, and hell, be gathered out of the nations of the world, and from the antichristian states, and shall be converted and turn to the Lord.
Therefore - This verse contains an answer to the prophet's prayer. I did these great things, and I will do the like again. Joy - Like a crown of glory.
10 , where we find this promise, that the redeemed of the Lord, when they are released out of their captivity in Babylon, shall come with singing unto Zion. Sinners, when they are brought out of the slavery of sin into the glorious liberty of God's children, may come singing, as a bird got loose out of the cage.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Therefore the redeemed of the Lord - This is probably the language of Yahweh assuring them, in answer to their prayer, that his ransomed people should again return to Zion. And everlasting joy shall be upon their head - This entire verse occurs also in Isa 35:10. See it explained in the note on that verse. The custom of singing alluded to here on a journey is now very common in the East.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
There shall be a second exodus (Isa 11:11-16; 27:12, 13). singing--image from the custom of singing on a journey when a caravan is passing along the extended plains in the East. everlasting joy-- (Jude 24). sorrow . . . flee away-- (Re 21:4).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And the redeemed of the Lord shall return This is an expression of prayer, and it is connected to “Awaken, awaken.”
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
who are you the daughter of the righteous like you and full of merits, why should you fear man, whose end is to die?
Was it not for thy sake, O congregation of Israel, that I dried up the sea, the water of the great deep, I made the depth of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפְדוּיֵ֨י | ufeduyei | and [the] [people] ransomed of | H6299 → | 59 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יְשׁוּב֗וּן | yeshuvun | they will return ! | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וּבָ֤אוּ | uvau | and they will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| צִיּוֹן֙ | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| בְּרִנָּ֔ה | berinah | with a shout of joy | H7440 → | 33 times |
| וְשִׂמְחַ֥ת | vesimchat | and gladness of | H8057 → | 94 times |
| עוֹלָ֖ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [will be] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹאשָׁ֑ם | rosham | head their | H7218 → | 599 times |
| שָׂשׂ֤וֹן | sason | joy | H8342 → | 22 times |
| וְשִׂמְחָה֙ | vesimchah | and gladness | H8057 → | 94 times |
| יַשִּׂיג֔וּן | yasigun | they will overtake [them] ! | H5381 → | 50 times |
| נָ֖סוּ | nasu | they will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| יָג֥וֹן | yagon | sorrow | H3015 → | |
| וַאֲנָחָֽה׃ ס | vaanachah | and sighing | H585 → | 11 times |
וּפְדוּיֵ֨יand [the] [people] ransomed of
ufeduyeiH6299 →59 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יְשׁוּב֗וּןthey will return !
yeshuvunH7725 →1056 times
וּבָ֤אוּand they will come
uvauH935 →2568 times
צִיּוֹן֙Zion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
בְּרִנָּ֔הwith a shout of joy
berinahH7440 →33 times
וְשִׂמְחַ֥תand gladness of
vesimchatH8057 →94 times
עוֹלָ֖םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
עַל־[will be] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹאשָׁ֑םhead their
roshamH7218 →599 times
שָׂשׂ֤וֹןjoy
sasonH8342 →22 times
וְשִׂמְחָה֙and gladness
vesimchahH8057 →94 times
יַשִּׂיג֔וּןthey will overtake [them] !
yasigunH5381 →50 times
נָ֖סוּthey will flee
nasuH5127 →159 times
יָג֥וֹןsorrow
yagonH3015 →
וַאֲנָחָֽה׃ סand sighing
vaanachahH585 →11 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 21:4‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 15:26
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 35:10
So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.
- Isaiah 60:20
Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease.
- Isaiah 25:8
Through
Isaiah 25:8He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:4
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 21:4
Through
Revelation 7:17For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
it leads to
- John 7:37–38
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Psalms 36:8–9
They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from Your river of delights.
- John 7:37–38
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.