Isaiah 48:20
in Isaiah 48Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth: say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
KJV
Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
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This verse in Isaiah 48
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Go . . . forth . . . end of the earth--Primarily, a prophecy of their joyful deliverance from Babylon, and a direction that they should leave it when God opened the way. But the publication of it "to the ends of the earth" shows it has a more world-wide scope antitypically; Re 18:4 shows that the mystical Babylon is ultimately meant. redeemed . . .
This site's exposition
Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
on Isaiah 48:20-22
Verse 20 turns lament into a marching order, “Leave Babylon”. Verse 21 recalls the wilderness, “He split the rock, and water gushed out”, tying the new exodus to the first. Verse 22 closes, “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked,” a sentence the book repeats at 57:21.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"Come forth out of Babylon." If we take the command of the prophet in a spiritual sense, it means that we should fly from the city of this world, from the fellowship of wicked angels and wicked [people], with the feet of that faith that works through love, and we should press onward unceasingly toward the living God.
Now my beloved, our will ought to keep pace with the grace of God and not fall short; lest while our will remains idle, the grace given us should begin to depart, and the enemy finding us empty and naked, … as was the case with him spoken of in the Gospel, from whom the devil went out. … For the departure from virtue gives place for the entrance of the unclean spirit.
(Verse 20, 21, 22.) Go out of Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans; proclaim it with a shout of joy, make it heard, proclaim it to the ends of the earth, and say: The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob. They did not thirst when he led them through the desert; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out. There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. Those above in that place, where it is written: I have spoken and called it; I have brought him and his way is straight; they understand it concerning Cyrus and Darius; even this refers to those times when the people went out of Babylon and fled from the Chaldeans, and they were redeemed by their Lord God. This also, which is said: They did not thirst in the desert when he led them out, he brought water from the rock for them; and he split the rock, and water flowed. Although they cannot teach that it was fulfilled according to history; for they did not come through the desert under Zerubbabel and Ezra, and the split rock provided them water, as is narrated to have happened to those coming out of Egypt: however, they testify hyperbolically that it was fulfilled in likeness to the previous happiness, when they came through the desert of nations into Judaea, and were liberated from captivity. And so, they say, it is not about Christ, but about Cyrus that it is prophesied: There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. And it is understood to mean that perfect happiness will not exist except under Christ, which is reserved for the last time. Moreover, those who interpret this more truly and rightly refer it to the coming of the Savior, of whom it is said: He has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for prisoners. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
893. Third, where it says, come forth, he foretells their liberation. And concerning this, he does three things. First, he proclaims to them their going forth from captivity, so certain of their liberation as if it were present: come forth: go out from her (Rev …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Let them all know then, [1.] That those whom God owns for his are such as he has dearly bought and paid for: The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob; he has done it formerly, when he brought them out of Egypt, and now he is about to do it again. Jacob was God's servant, and therefore he redeemed him; for what had other masters to do with God's servants?
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Nothing but a prerogative of mercy would have saved them. Here is assurance given of the great work which God designed to work for them, even their salvation out of their captivity, when he had accomplished his work in them. (1.) Here is a commission granted them to leave Babylon.
Go ye forth of Babylon,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Tell this “Make it heard” - Twenty-seven MSS. of Kennicott’s, (ten ancient), many of De Rossi’s, and two ancient, of my own, with the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and Arabic, and one edition, prefix to the verb the conjunction ו vau, והשמיעו vehashmiu.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Go ye forth of Babylon - The prophet now directly addresses those who were in exile in Babylon, and commands them to depart from it. The design of this is, to furnish the assurance that they should be delivered, and to show them the duty of leaving the place of their long captivity when the opportunity of doing it should occur. It is also designed to show that when it should occur, it would be attended with great joy and rejoicing. Flee ye from the Chaldeans with a voice of singing - With the utmost exultation and joy. They should rejoice that their captivity was ended; they should exult at the prospect of being restored again to their own land. Utter it even to the end of the earth - It is an event so great and wonderful that all the nations should be made acquainted with it. The Lord hath redeemed ... - Yahweh has rescued from captivity his people (see the notes at Isa 43:1).
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צְא֣וּ | tzeu | go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִבָּבֶל֮ | mibavel | from Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| בִּרְח֣וּ | birchu | flee | H1272 → | |
| מִכַּשְׂדִּים֒ | mikasdim | from [the] Chaldeans | H3778 → | 80 times |
| בְּק֣וֹל | bekol | with a sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| רִנָּ֗ה | rinah | a shout of joy | H7440 → | 33 times |
| הַגִּ֤ידוּ | hagidu | declare | H5046 → | 370 times |
| הַשְׁמִ֙יעוּ֙ | hashmiu | proclaim | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| זֹ֔את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| הוֹצִיא֖וּהָ | hotziuha | send out it | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| קְצֵ֣ה | ketzeh | [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אִמְר֕וּ | ʾimru | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| גָּאַ֥ל | gaal | he has redeemed | H1350 → | 104 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַבְדּ֥וֹ | avdo | servant his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יַעֲקֹֽב׃ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
צְא֣וּgo out
tzeuH3318 →1067 times
מִבָּבֶל֮from Babylon
mibavelH894 →262 times
בִּרְח֣וּflee
birchuH1272 →
מִכַּשְׂדִּים֒from [the] Chaldeans
mikasdimH3778 →80 times
בְּק֣וֹלwith a sound of
bekolH6963 →506 times
רִנָּ֗הa shout of joy
rinahH7440 →33 times
הַגִּ֤ידוּdeclare
hagiduH5046 →370 times
הַשְׁמִ֙יעוּ֙proclaim
hashmiuH8085 →1159 times
זֹ֔אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
הוֹצִיא֖וּהָsend out it
hotziuhaH3318 →1067 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
קְצֵ֣ה[the] end of
ketzehH7097 →97 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אִמְר֕וּsay
ʾimruH559 →5305 times
גָּאַ֥לhe has redeemed
gaalH1350 →104 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַבְדּ֥וֹservant his
avdoH5650 →799 times
יַעֲקֹֽב׃Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 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 18:4Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:6
Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:45
Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 50:8
Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 52:11
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; come out from it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 51:6
Through
Jeremiah 51:45Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the LORD.
it leads to
- Revelation 18:4
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 18:4
Through
Isaiah 52:9Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.
it leads to
- Isaiah 51:3
For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness…
- Psalms 98:4
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth—let your cry ring out, and sing praises!
- Isaiah 51:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJacobThe heel-grasping supplanter reshaped at Peniel into 'Israel, he who strives with God' — father of the twelve tribes.
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, FESTAL LETTERS 3:3; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 18.18; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.