Isaiah 51:16
in Isaiah 51I have put My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
KJV
And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
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This verse in Isaiah 51
Commentary
11 notes on this verseAnd He says that He has placed His words in his mouth. For whatever the Son speaks, the words are of the Father, and He will protect him in the shadow of His hand. And for this reason he will be protected so that he may plant new heavens and pour out a new earth, and say to Zion, that is, to the Church: You are my people.
This site's exposition
For I am the LORD your God who stirs up the sea
on Isaiah 51:15-16
The LORD names Himself by the sea, the God “who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar”, the exodus claimed as His credential. Verse 16 applies the language of creation: “to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
This site's exposition
covered you with the shadow of My hand
Clarke judges the Hebrew to plant the heavens obscure and likely a slip for the word to stretch out, used in verse 13. Gill names three mouths the words may be put in: the church, the prophet and Christ. Jerome hears the Son, who speaks the Father's words.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
It is by means of actions that I will teach you the truth of my words. "And I will shelter you under the shadow of my hand, with which I fixed the sky and founded the earth: and the Lord shall say to Zion, you …
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the authority granted to the prophet: I have put my words in your mouth, O Isaiah; that you might plant the heavens, that is, that you might foretell that the great of the people are to be planted, and found the earth, the lowly; …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And I have put my words in thy mouth,.... His promises and his truths, either in the mouth of his church, and people for them, both to preserve and transmit to future generations, and to publish and declare to the comfort of each other, Isa 59:21 or to the Prophet Isaiah, to make known to the people of Israel; or to Christ himself, the great Prophet in Israel, by whom grace and truth are come, and by whom God has spoken all his mind and will, and in whom all the promises are yea and amen.
For God's word is frequently said to be put into the mouths, not only of the prophets, but of the people also. Covered - Have protected thee by my almighty power, that I may bring thee to that perfect and blessed estate which is reserved for the days of the Messiah, which in scripture phrase is called a making of new heavens, and a new earth, chap. lxv, 17.
) by what God says to his prophet, not to this only, but to all his prophets, nor to this, or them, principally, but to Christ, the great prophet. It is a great satisfaction to those to whom the message is sent to hear the God of truth and power say to his messenger, as he does here, I have put my words in thy mouth, that by them I may plant the heavens.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
That I may plant the heavens “To stretch out the heavens” - In the present text it is לנתע lintoa, “to plant the heavens:” the phrase is certainly very obscure, and in all probability is a mistake for לנטות lintoth. This latter is the word used in Isa 51:13 just before, in the very same sentence; and this phrase occurs very frequently in Isaiah, Isa 40:22, Isa 42:5, Isa 44:24, Isa 45:12; the former in no other place.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Addressed to Israel, embodied in "the servant of Jehovah" (Isa 42:1), Messiah, its ideal and representative Head, through whom the elect remnant is to be restored. put my words in thy mouth--true of Israel, the depository of true religion, but fully realized only in Israel's Head and antitype, Messiah (Isa 49:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And I have put my words in thy mouth - That is, he had committed his truth to the Jewish people; to Zion. He had entrusted them with his statutes and his laws; he had given them the promise of the Messiah, and through him the assurance that the true religion would be spread to other nations. He would, therefore, preserve them, and restore them again to their own land. And have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand - That is, I have protected thee (see the notes at Isa 49:2). That I may plant the heavens - Lowth renders this, ‘To stretch out the heavens.’ Noyes, ‘To establish the heavens.’ Jerome, Ut plantes coelos - ‘That thou mayest plant the heavens.’ The Septuagint, Ἐν ῇ ἔστησα τὸν οὐρανὸν En ē estēsa ton ouranon ‘By which I have established heaven.’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘In the shadow of my power have I protected thee, that I might raise up the people of whom it was said, that they should be multiplied as the stars of heaven.’ But the language here is evidently entirely figurative. It refers to the restoration of the Jews to their own land; to the re-establishment of religion there; to the introduction of the new economy under the Messiah, and to all the great changes which would be consequent on that. This is compared with the work of forming the heavens, and laying the foundation of the earth. It would require almighty power; and it would produce so great changes, that it might be compared to the work of creating the universe out of nothing. Probably also the idea is included here that stability would be given to the true religion by what God was about to do permanency that might be compared with the firmness and duration of the heavens and the earth. And say unto Zion ... - That is, God would restore them to their own land, and acknowledge them as his own.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאָשִׂ֤ים | vaasim | and I have put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| דְּבָרַי֙ | devarai | words my | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| בְּפִ֔יךָ | befikha | in mouth your | H6310 → | 498 times |
| וּבְצֵ֥ל | uvetzel | and with [the] shadow of | H6738 → | 49 times |
| יָדִ֖י | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| כִּסִּיתִ֑יךָ | kisitikha | I have covered you | H3680 → | 152 times |
| לִנְטֹ֤עַ | lintoa' | to plant | H5193 → | 58 times |
| שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ | shamayim | [the] heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְלִיסֹ֣ד | velisod | and to found | H3245 → | 43 times |
| אָ֔רֶץ | ʾaretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְלֵאמֹ֥ר | velemor | and to say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְצִיּ֖וֹן | letziyon | to Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| עַמִּי־ | ʾami- | [are] people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אָֽתָּה׃ ס | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
וָאָשִׂ֤יםand I have put
vaasimH7760 →584 times
דְּבָרַי֙words my
devaraiH1697 →1440 times
בְּפִ֔יךָin mouth your
befikhaH6310 →498 times
וּבְצֵ֥לand with [the] shadow of
uvetzelH6738 →49 times
יָדִ֖יhand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
כִּסִּיתִ֑יךָI have covered you
kisitikhaH3680 →152 times
לִנְטֹ֤עַto plant
lintoa'H5193 →58 times
שָׁמַ֙יִם֙[the] heavens
shamayimH8064 →421 times
וְלִיסֹ֣דand to found
velisodH3245 →43 times
אָ֔רֶץ[the] earth
ʾaretzH776 →2504 times
וְלֵאמֹ֥רand to say
velemorH559 →5305 times
לְצִיּ֖וֹןto Zion
letziyonH6726 →154 times
עַמִּי־[are] people my
ʾami-H5971 →1873 times
אָֽתָּה׃ סyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 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
Isaiah 59:21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your…
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:16
“This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 31:31–34
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
- Ezekiel 36:25–27
I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Jeremiah 32:38–41
They will be My people, and I will be their God.
- Hebrews 8:6–13
Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises.
- Hebrews 10:16
Through
Jeremiah 31:33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 3:3
It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on…
- Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And…
- Ezekiel 11:19–20
And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,
- 2 Corinthians 3:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this verse
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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 Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 16:51.16 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.