Isaiah 61:4
in Isaiah 61They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
KJV
And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
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This verse in Isaiah 61
Commentary
4 notes on this verseFor the Savior cultivates us through the holy people of faith. And these are called God's coworkers.… And the gladness will be everlasting; for we do not expect the reward to be in things of this age but in exceeding hope and life without limit for those who are noble concerning thought and speech.
This site's exposition
they shall build the old wastes
on Isaiah 61:4-6
They shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations pictures a returned people doing physical rebuilding work, repairing waste cities that had stood ruined for generations. Verses 5 and 6 draw a sharp line, strangers shall stand and feed your flocks while ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord, a role reversal in which the nation once serving in exile now holds a priestly title while foreign labor does the herding. Barnes reads eat the riches of the Gentiles as the same reversal already promised at chapter 60, and Wesley notes the priestly title given here to the whole nation echoes Exodus 19's kingdom of priests rather than naming a new office.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
on Isaiah 61:3-5
(Verse 3-5) And they shall be called in her strong justices, the plantation of the Lord, to glorify. And they shall build the ancient places that were waste, and shall raise up the desolate cities, that were destroyed for generations and generations. And strangers shall stand and shall feed your flocks: and the sons of strangers shall be your husbandmen and your vinedressers. LXX: And they shall be called the generations of justice: the planting of the Lord to glory.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
“And they that spring from thee” - A word is lost here likewise. After ובנו ubanu, “they shall build,” add ממך mimmecha, they that spring from thee. Four MSS. have it so, (two of them ancient), and one of mine has it in the margin, and it is confirmed by Isa 58:12, where the sentence is the very same, this word being here added.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָנוּ֙ | uvanu | and they will rebuild | H1129 → | 376 times |
| חָרְב֣וֹת | charevot | [the] ruins of | H2723 → | 42 times |
| עוֹלָ֔ם | olam | antiquity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| שֹׁמְמ֥וֹת | shomemot | [the] desolate [places] | H8074 → | 86 times |
| רִֽאשֹׁנִ֖ים | rishonim | former | H7223 → | 182 times |
| יְקוֹמֵ֑מוּ | yekomemu | they will raise up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וְחִדְּשׁוּ֙ | vechideshu | and they will renew | H2318 → | |
| עָ֣רֵי | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| חֹ֔רֶב | chorev | devastation | H2721 → | 16 times |
| שֹׁמְמ֖וֹת | shomemot | [the] desolate [places] of | H8074 → | 86 times |
| דּ֥וֹר | dor | a generation | H1755 → | 167 times |
| וָדֽוֹר׃ | vador | and a generation | H1755 → | 167 times |
וּבָנוּ֙and they will rebuild
uvanuH1129 →376 times
חָרְב֣וֹת[the] ruins of
charevotH2723 →42 times
עוֹלָ֔םantiquity
olamH5769 →438 times
שֹׁמְמ֥וֹת[the] desolate [places]
shomemotH8074 →86 times
רִֽאשֹׁנִ֖יםformer
rishonimH7223 →182 times
יְקוֹמֵ֑מוּthey will raise up
yekomemuH6965 →628 times
וְחִדְּשׁוּ֙and they will renew
vechideshuH2318 →
עָ֣רֵי[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
חֹ֔רֶבdevastation
chorevH2721 →16 times
שֹׁמְמ֖וֹת[the] desolate [places] of
shomemotH8074 →86 times
דּ֥וֹרa generation
dorH1755 →167 times
וָדֽוֹר׃and a generation
vadorH1755 →167 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Isaiah 58:12Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will restore the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.
it leads to
- Amos 9:14
I will restore My people Israel from captivity; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
- Ezekiel 36:33
This is what the Lord GOD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be resettled and the ruins to be rebuilt.
- Amos 9:11
“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
- Nehemiah 2:17
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned down. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we…
- Ezekiel 36:8–11
But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and bear fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home.
- Amos 9:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5:5.61:4-7; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.