Isaiah 59:1
in Isaiah 59Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
KJV
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 59
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened - On the meaning of this phrase, see the notes at Isa 50:2. Neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear - On the meaning of this phrase, see the notes at Isa 6:10.
This site's exposition
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save
on Isaiah 59:1-2
The chapter opens by answering a doubt about the power of God: “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save”. The fault lies in the relationship: “your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God”. The charge is laid on the people's sin.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 59, Verses 1, 2) Behold, the hand of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. (Chapter 70) Is the Lord's hand shortened, that He cannot save, or His ear heavy, that He cannot hear? But your sins have separated you from your God, and because of your sins, He has turned His face away from you, so that He will not show mercy.
The Medieval Church1 voice
1036. Behold the hand of the Lord is not shortened. Here he sets out the preparation for receiving salvation on the part of the Savior himself. And first, he sets out the necessity of salvation; second, the preparation: and the Lord saw (Isa 59:15). Concerning …
The Reformation1 voice
Behold, the hand of Jehovah is not shortened. This discourse closely resembles the preceding one; for, after having torn off the mask from hypocrites, who vainly boasted of themselves, and after having shown that the punishment inflicted on them was just, he now replies to other objections. Hypocrites are wont to accuse God either of weakness or of excessive severity.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is here charged upon them that they had themselves procured the judgments of God upon them, and they are told both what the judgments were which they had brought upon their own heads (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,.... It is not for want of power in the Lord, that he has not as yet destroyed the enemies of his people, antichrist, and the antichristian states, and saved them out of their hands, and made them to triumph over them; or brought on the glorious state of the church, and fulfilled the promises of good things, suggested in the latter part of the preceding chapter.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2411: “Why Some Seekers Are Not Saved” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THERE are some people who are not saved though we would have expected that they would have been converted long ago. Our text explains the reason, so, without any preface, let us come to it at once. I. First, let us consider THE FACT CONFESSED! The people of whom I am especially thinking, just now, have been hearers of the Gospel, and diligent hearers, too. Their seat is seldom vacant and they are not among those who go to sleep during the sermon. They do not enjoy the Sunday after the fashion of the countryman, who said that he liked that day best because he could go to church, put up his feet, fall asleep and think of nothing at all. The people to whom I am referring really listen to what the preacher has to say. They are attentive and they seek to retain in their memories the Truths of God he preaches. They even talk when they are at home of the striking passages, if such there are, in what they have heard. You would suppose that such persons would get a blessing from the Gospel, yet they do not. They have now been listening for years to an earnest minister—they would not like to hear one who was not earnest. They have grown to be somewhat discriminating in their taste—they know what is the Gospel and they would not care to be present at a service in which the Gospel was not clearly set forth. Yet, for all this, they are not saved! They stand out in the shower, yet they are not wet! They are like Gideon's fleece, perfectly dry when all the ground was saturated with the dew.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2411: “Why Some Seekers Are Not Saved” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
THERE are some people who are not saved though we would have expected that they would have been converted long ago. Our text explains the reason, so, without any preface, let us come to it at once. I. First, let us consider THE FACT CONFESSED! The people of whom I am especially thinking, just now, have been hearers of the Gospel, and diligent hearers, too. Their seat is seldom vacant and they are not among those who go to sleep during the sermon.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Behold, the hand of the Lord is not too short Your failure to be delivered is not due to the shortness of My hand.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Behold, it is not on account of any deficiency in the power of the Lord that ye are not saved; nor because it is too difficult for Him to hear, that your prayer is not received:
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. 5 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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֛ן | hen | here! | H2005 → | 316 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| קָצְרָ֥ה | katzerah | it is [too] short | H7114 → | 49 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מֵֽהוֹשִׁ֑יעַ | mehoshia' | for saving | H3467 → | 206 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כָבְדָ֥ה | khavedah | it is [too] heavy | H3513 → | 113 times |
| אָזְנ֖וֹ | ʾazeno | ear his | H241 → | 187 times |
| מִשְּׁמֽוֹעַ׃ | mishemoa' | for hearing | H8085 → | 1159 times |
הֵ֛ןhere!
henH2005 →316 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
קָצְרָ֥הit is [too] short
katzerahH7114 →49 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מֵֽהוֹשִׁ֑יעַfor saving
mehoshia'H3467 →206 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
כָבְדָ֥הit is [too] heavy
khavedahH3513 →113 times
אָזְנ֖וֹear his
ʾazenoH241 →187 times
מִשְּׁמֽוֹעַ׃for hearing
mishemoa'H8085 →1159 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
Jeremiah 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
it leads to
- Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Job 42:2
“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
- Luke 1:37
Through
Isaiah 65:24Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
it leads to
- Daniel 10:12
“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response…
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Daniel 10:12
Through
Hebrews 7:25Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
it leads to
- Romans 8:34
Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.
- Romans 8:34
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2411: “Why Some Seekers Are Not Saved” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.