Isaiah 2:5
in Isaiah 2Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah.
KJV
O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
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This verse in Isaiah 2
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
O house of Jacob - This is a direct address, or exhortation, of the prophet to the Jews. It is made in view of the fact that God had gracious purposes toward them. He intended to distinguish them by making them the source of blessings to all nations. As this was to be their high destiny, he exhorts them to devote themselves to him, and to live to his honor. The word “house” here means the “family, or nation.” The phrase is applied to the Jews because their tribes were descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.
This site's exposition
Come, O house of Jacob
on Isaiah 2:5-6
Verse 5 calls Israel with the summons the nations gave in verse 3. Verse 6 gives the reason the call is needed, a people "filled with influences from the east." Striking hands "with the children of foreigners" names foreign alliance and intermarriage as one more form of the same unfaithfulness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Dearly beloved, whether the Jews receive these divine testimonies with joy or with indignation, nevertheless, when we can, let us proclaim them with great love for the Jews. Let us not proudly glory against the broken branches; let us rather reflect by whose grace it is, and by much mercy, and on what root, we have been grafted into.
But as there the prophet says, 'And now, O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord; for He has sent away His people, the house of Jacob, because their land was full, as at the first, of soothsayers and divinations;' even so it is necessary for us here to observe that there are two seeds of Judah, and two races, as there are two houses of Jacob: the one begotten by blood and flesh, the other by faith and the Spirit.
(Vers. 5, 6.) Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord: for you have cast off your people, the house of Jacob. After the calling of the Gentiles, and the manifestation of the mountain of the Lord upon the top of the mountains, to His people, that is, the people of Judah, who is called the house of Jacob, the Prophet turns and exhorts them, so that those who are in the darkness of error may receive the light of truth and walk in the light of the Lord.
What did the prophet Isaiah mean when he announced that a mountain would be prepared on the summits of the mountains, to which all peoples were going to come? The law and the Word of God was going to proceed from Zion and Jerusalem to all nations, not from Mount Sinai to one nation. This we see most evidently fulfilled in Christ and the Christians. A little later the prophet says, "O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord." Here, you [the Jews] will surely say your usual piece: "We are the house of Jacob," but listen a moment to what follows, and when you have said what you want to say, hear what you do not want to hear. The prophet continues, "For he has cast off his people, the house of Israel." Here say, "We are the house of Israel"; here acknowledge yourselves and forgive us for reminding you of these facts.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Here he places the calling of the Jews after the conversion of the gentiles has occurred: speaking either in the person of the prophet or in the person of the gentiles, that they may be in the tail who were in the head: "blindness in …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Let is never be said that the sinners of the Gentiles were better friends to the holy mountain than the house of Jacob." Thus the zeal of some should provoke many. Spiritual Israel, all that are brought to the God of Jacob. Shall there be such great knowledge in gospel times (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
O house of Jacob,....
Of the shame of the Jews, Jerusalem, as it then was, and as it would be after its rejection of the gospel and being rejected of God. Their sin was their shame,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2713: “Walking in the Light of the Lord” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
We may regard this invitation, first of all, as addressed to the Jews. According to the preceding verses, the Gentiles are to be brought in—"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2713: “Walking in the Light of the Lord” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
We may regard this invitation, first of all, as addressed to the Jews. According to the preceding verses, the Gentiles are to be brought in—"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Then, after that, finding the Jews still alienated from God, the Gentiles will turn to them and say, "O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord." Now, in a measure, this prophecy has already been fulfilled and the evidence of its fulfillment is before your very eyes at this moment! Multitudes of us Gentiles, whom the Jews only regarded as dogs and outcasts, have been converted to the faith of Christ and adopted into the family of God. So now, my Brothers and Sisters, we ought to have very great tenderness of heart towards the older branch of the family—the seed of Abraham, the house of Jacob, the children of Israel, who, for the most part, still reject our Lord Jesus Christ and remain outside the pale of His Church. A Christian is the last person who ought to ever speak disrespectfully or unkindly of the Jews. We remember that our Lord belonged to that race and that His first Apostles were also of that nation.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֵּ֖ית | beit | O house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֑ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| לְכ֥וּ | lekhu | come | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְנֵלְכָ֖ה | venelekhah | so let us walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּא֥וֹר | beor | in [the] light of | H216 → | 121 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
בֵּ֖יתO house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יַעֲקֹ֑בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
לְכ֥וּcome
lekhuH1980 →1546 times
וְנֵלְכָ֖הso let us walk
venelekhahH1980 →1546 times
בְּא֥וֹרin [the] light of
beorH216 →121 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
1 John 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 13:12
The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by…
- Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
- Ephesians 5:8
Through
Ephesians 5:8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
it leads to
- John 8:12
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- John 8:12
Through
Luke 1:79to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
- Isaiah 9:2
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, IN ANSWER TO THE JEWS 10; Augustine of Hippo, IN ANSWER TO THE JEWS 8; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2713: “Walking in the Light of the Lord” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter CXXXV; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.