Isaiah 30:19

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) Shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem.—The two words are, of course, practically synonymous; but the prophet dwells with a patriot’s affection on both the names which were dear to him. The words admit of being taken as a vocative, “Yea, O people that dwellest.”

Benson Commentary

Isaiah 30:19. For, &c. — “The consolatory part of this discourse begins here, which is connected with the preceding part by the last clause of the former verse, Blessed, &c. Here follows, therefore, a series of excellent blessings, to be conferred by God after these judgments. And the prophet hath so ordered his style in setting them forth, that when he seems to promise only temporal blessings to the church, he would be understood mystically under these figurative emblems.” — Vitringa. The people shall dwell in Zion, &c. — This is the first of these blessings, the restoration of their state upon their repentance and earnest prayers: as if he had said, Although the time is coming when the people shall be banished from Jerusalem and carried into captivity; yet after a set time they shall return and have a fixed and comfortable abode in Jerusalem, the seat of their religion, and metropolis of their republic. This was in part fulfilled upon their return from Babylon, “when the tears which they had shed in their banishment were wiped away, and God heard the prayers and vows of his people, after the time of his indignation was expired.” But it was more fully accomplished in the times of the gospel, when many of them were, and the whole body of them shall be, brought into Christ’s church, often called Zion and Jerusalem.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

30:19-26 God's people will soon arrive at the Zion above, and then they will weep no more for ever. Even now they would have more comfort, as well as holiness, if they were more constant in prayer. A famine of bread is not so great a judgment as a famine of the word of God. There are right-hand and left-hand errors; the tempter is busy courting us into by-paths. It is happy if, by the counsels of a faithful minister or friend, or the checks of conscience, and the strivings of God the Spirit, we are set right when doubting, and prevented from going wrong. They shall be cured of their idolatry. To all true penitents sin becomes very hateful. This is shown daily in the conversion of souls, by the power of Divine grace, to the fear and love of God. Abundant means of grace, with the influences of the Holy Spirit, would be extended to places destitute of them. The effect of this should be comfort and joy to the people of God. Light, that is, knowledge, shall increase. This is the light which the gospel brought into the world, and which proclaims healing to the broken-hearted.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For the people shall dwell in Zion - (see the note at Isaiah 1:8). The language here is evidently adapted to a return from the captivity. The whole design of the passage Isaiah 30:19-26 is to describe a future state of prosperity by images mainly drawn from the idea of temporal enjoyment. The sense is, that in some period subsequent to the calamities that would befall them for their improper reliance on the aid of Egypt Isaiah 30:16-17, there would be prosperity, peace, and joy in Jerusalem. The order of events, as seen by the prophet in vision, seems to be this. He sees the people threatened with an invasion by Sennacherib. He sees them forget their reliance on God and seek the aid of Egypt. He sees, as a consequence of this, a long series of calamities resulting in the downfall of the republic, the destruction of the city, and the captivity at Babylon. Yet he sees, in the distant prospect, prosperity, happiness, security, piety, the blessing of God, and rich and abundant future mercies resting on his people. That the blessings under the Messiah constitute a part of this "series" of mercies no one can doubt who attentively considers the language in Isaiah 30:25-26.

Thou shalt weep no more - (see the note at Isaiah 25:8).

He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry - When in your calamities you shall cry unto him for deliverance, he shall hear you, and restore you to your own land. This is in accordance with the statements in Isaiah 26:8-9 (see the notes at these verses), that in their captivity in Babylon they would seek God.

He will answer thee - (see Jeremiah 29:12-14).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

19. (Isa 65:9). The restoration from Babylon only typifies the full accomplishment of the prophecy (Isa 30:18-33).

weep no more—(Isa 25:8).

thy cry—(Isa 26:8, 9; Jer 29:12-14).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; for although the time is coming, when the people shall be banished from Jerusalem, and carried captives into Babylon; yet after a set time they shall return to Jerusalem, and have a fixed and comfortable abode there: which was in part accomplished upon their return from Babylon; but more fully in the times of the gospel, when many of them were, and the whole body of them shall be, brought into Christ’s church, which is oft called Zion and Jerusalem, both in the Old and New Testament.

He will answer thee; whereas now he seems to be deaf to thy prayers.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem,.... Or, "for the people of Zion (z) shall dwell in Jerusalem"; those that belonged to the fort of Zion should dwell in Jerusalem, or "abide" there, both they and the inhabitants of it, at least many of them should quietly continue there, waiting the Lord's time to appear for them, and not run here and there, and particularly to Egypt for help or shelter. Seeing there are many things in the following verses which have respect to Gospel times, and best suit with them, this may be understood of the safe and comfortable dwelling of the children of Zion, or regenerate persons, in a Gospel church state, which is often called Jerusalem, both in the Old and New Testament:

thou shalt weep no more; or, "in weeping thou shall not weep" (a); though they had been weeping because of the enemy's invasion of their land, and besieging their city, yet now all tears should be wiped away from their eyes, being delivered from him; this may very well be accommodated to Gospel times:

he will be very gracious unto thee, at the voice of thy cry; these are the words of the prophet, declaring that the Lord would be gracious to his people at the voice of their prayer and supplication to him in their distress, as he was to the voice of Hezekiah's cry and supplication to him:

when he shall hear it, he will answer thee; he always hears the prayers of his people, and he always answers them, sooner or later, in his own time, and in his own way; see Isaiah 65:24.

(z) "polpulus Sion", V. L. Gataker. (a) "plorando non plorabis", Pagninus, Montanus.

Geneva Study Bible

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19. The answer to prayer.

For the people shall dwell …] Rather For, O people in Zion that dwellest in Jerusalem.

thou shalt weep no more … gracious] weep thou shalt not, he will surely be gracious.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 19. - For the people shall dwell in Zion; rather, a people shall continue. Jerusalem shall not now be made desolate, or deprived of its inhabitants. Whatever the number of captives taken, "a people shall remain." Thou shalt weep no more. The reasons for weeping shall be removed. He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry. For God to be gracious to them, they must first "cry" to him - make an earnest, hearty appeal to him for mercy. Their "cry" will be answered as soon as heard, is as soon as uttered. Isaiah 30:19

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

None but such are heirs of the grace that follows the judgment - a people, newly pardoned in response to its cry for help, conducted by faithful teachers in the right way, and renouncing idolatry with disgust. "For a people continues dwelling in Zion, in Jerusalem; thou shalt not weep for ever: He will prove Himself gracious to thee at the sound of thy cry for help; as soon as He hears, He answers thee. And the Lord giveth you bread in penury, and water for your need; and thy teachers will not hide themselves any more, and thine eyes come to see thy teachers. And thine ears will hear words behind thee, saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it!' whether ye turn to the right hand or to the left. And ye defile the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the clothing of thy molten images of gold; thou wilt scatter them like filthy thing: 'Get out!' thou sayest to it." We do not render Isaiah 30:19, "For O people that dwelleth in Zion, in Jerusalem!" For although the personal pronoun may be omitted after Vav in an apostrophizing connection (Proverbs 8:5; Joel 2:23), we should certainly expect to find אתּה here. The accent very properly marks these words as forming an independent clause. The apparent tautology in the expression, "in Zion, in Jerusalem," is emphatic and explanatory. The fate of Zion-Jerusalem will not be the same as that of the imperial city (Isaiah 13:20; Isaiah 25:2); for it is the city of Jehovah, which, according to His promise, cannot become an eternally deserted ruin. After this promising declaration, the prophet turns and addresses the people of the future in the people of his own time; bâkhō strengthens the verbal notion with the mark of duration; chânōn with the mark of certainty and fulness. יחנך, with an advanced ŏ, as in Genesis 43:29, for יחן. כּ is the shortest expression used to denote simultaneous occurrence; answering and hearing would coincide (shom‛âh, nomen actionis, as in Isaiah 47:9; Isaiah 55:2; Ges. 45, 1b; ‛ânâkh, the pausal form here, as in Jeremiah 23:37). From this lowest stage of response to the penitential cry for help, the promise rises higher and higher. The next stage is that in which Jerusalem is brought into all the distress consequent upon a siege, as threatened by the prophet in Isaiah 29:3-4; the besieged would not be allowed by God to die of starvation, but He would send them the necessary support. The same expression, but very little altered, viz., "to give to eat lechem lachatz ūmayim lachatz," signifies to put any one upon the low rations of a siege or of imprisonment, in 1 Kings 22:27 and 2 Chronicles 18:26; but here it is a promise, with the threat kept in the background. צר and לחץ are connected with the absolute nouns לחם and מים, not as adverbial, but as appositional definitions (like תּרעלה יין, "wine which is giddiness," in Psalm 60:5; and בּרכּים מים, "water which is knees," i.e., which has the measure of the knees, where birkayim is also in apposition, and not the accusative of measurement): literally, bread which is necessity, and water which is affliction; that is to say, nourishment of which there is extreme need, the very opposite of bread and water in abundance. Umbreit and Drechsler understand this spiritually. But the promise rises as it goes on. There is already an advance, in the fact that the faithful and well-meaning teachers (mōrı̄m) no longer keep themselves hidden because of the hard-heartedness and hatred of the people, as they have done ever since the time of Ahaz (נכנף, a denom.: to withdraw into כּנף, πτέρυξ, the utmost end, the most secret corner; though kânaph in itself signifies to cover or conceal). Israel, when penitent, would once more be able to rejoice in the sight of those whom it longed to have back again. מוריך is a plural, according to the context (on the singular of the previous predicate, see Ges. 147). As the shepherds of the flock, they would follow the people with friendly words of admonition, whilst the people would have their ears open to receive their instruction. תּאמינוּ is here equivalent to תּימינוּ, תּימינוּ. The abominations of idolatry (which continued even in the first years of Hezekiah's reign: Isaiah 31:7; Micah 1:5; Micah 5:11-13; Micah 6:16) would now be regarded as abominations, and put away. Even gold and silver, with which the images that were either carved or cast in inferior metal were overlaid, would be made unclean (see 2 Kings 28:8ff.); that is to say, no use would be made of them. Dâvâh is a shorter expression for kelı̄ dâvâh, the cloth worn by a woman at the monthly period. On zârâh, to dispense - to which dâvâh would be inappropriate if understood of the woman herself, as it is by Luzzatto - compare 2 Kings 23:6. With זהבך, the plural used in the general address passes over into the individualizing singular; לו is to be taken as a neuter pointing back to the plunder of idols.