Isaiah 49:17

Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) Thy children shall make haste.—A various reading adopted by the LXX., Targum, and Vulg., gives thy builders. They rush to their work of restoration; the destroyers and ravagers go forth.

Benson Commentary

Isaiah 49:17. Thy children — Or, as some, with equal propriety, render בנין, thy builders; which rendering is favoured by the next clause, where the destroyers are opposed to them, but the following verse favours the former interpretation: the sense, however, is the same, for the church’s children are her builders; shall make haste — To repair thy ruins and desolations, and build thee up. Thy destroyers, &c., shall go forth of thee — Shall be separated and driven from thee, and so shall neither hinder nor annoy thee. But this rendering, shall go forth of thee, says Bishop Lowth, “is very flat, after their zeal had been expressed by their being her builders: and as the opposition is kept up in one part of the sentence, one has reason to expect it in the other.” He, therefore, renders ממן יצאו, shall proceed, spring, or issue, from thee; namely, as thy children, and reads the whole verse thus: They that destroy thee shall soon become thy builders; and they that laid thee waste shall become thine offspring: the accession of the Gentiles to the church of God being properly considered as an addition made to the number of the family and children of Zion.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

49:13-17 Let there be universal joy, for God will have mercy upon the afflicted, because of his compassion; upon his afflicted, because of his covenant. We have no more reason to question his promise and grace, than we have to question his providence and justice. Be assured that God has a tender affection for his church and people; he would not have them to be discouraged. Some mothers do neglect their children; but God's compassions to his people, infinitely exceed those of the tenderest parents toward their children. His setting them as a mark on his hand, or a seal upon his arm, denotes his being ever mindful of them. As far as we have scriptural evidence that we belong to his ransomed flock, we may be sure that he will never forsake us. Let us then give diligence to make our calling and election sure, and rejoice in the hope and glory of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thy children - The children of Zion - the true people of God. But there is here considerable variety in the interpretation. The Hebrew of the present text is בניך bânâyı̂k ("thy sons"). But Jerome reads it, Structores tui - 'Thy builders;' as if it were בונין. The Septuagint renders it, 'Thou shalt be speedily built (ταχὺ οἰκοδομηθήσῃ tachu oikodomēthēsē) by those by whom thou hast been destroyed.' The Chaldee renders it, 'Those that rebuild thy waste places shall hasten.' The Syriac reads it, 'Thy sons;' and the Arabic, 'Thou shalt be rebuilt by those by whom thou hast been destroyed.' But there is no good authority for changing the present Hebrew text. nor is it necessary. The sense probably is, the descendants of those who dwelt in Zion, who are now in exile, shall hasten to rebuild the wastes of the desolate capital, and restore its ruins. And may it not mean, that in the great work under the Messiah, of restoring the nation to the worship of God, and of spreading the true religion, God would make use of those who dwelt in Zion; that is, of the Jews, as his ambassadors?

They that made thee waste - Language drawn from the destruction of Jerusalen. The sense is, that they would seek no longer to retain possession, but would permit its former inhabitants to return, and engage in repairing its ruins.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

17. Thy children—Israel (Isa 49:20, 21; Isa 43:6). Jerome reads, for "Thy children," "Thy builders"; they that destroyed thee shall hasten to build thee.

haste—to rebuild thy desolate capital.

shall go forth—Thy destroyers shall leave Judea to Israel in undisturbed possession.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Thy children; or, as others render it, thy builders; which is favoured by the next clause, where the destroyers are opposed to them. Howsoever, the sense is the same; for her children were her builders, as we read in Ezra and Nehemiah.

Shall go forth of thee; shall be separated and driven from among thee, and so shall neither hinder nor annoy thee.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Thy children shall make haste,.... Regenerate persons, young converts, such as are born again of incorruptible seed by the word; these shall flock to the church,

as doves to the windows; join themselves to her, and submit to Gospel ordinances, and

make haste, and delay not, to keep the Lord's commandments; which is no small pleasure, joy, and comfort to the church of God. Some render it, "thy builders" (m) "shall make haste"; Gospel ministers, who are wise masterbuilders under Christ; these shall come with all readiness and cheerfulness, and build in the temple, the church of God, and rebuild her walls, and repair her breaches:

thy destroyers and they that made thee waste, shall go forth of thee; tyrants and persecutors of the church shall cease, and be no more; and false teachers, that corrupt the minds of men, subvert their faith, and destroy their souls, as antichrist and his ministers, shall be drove out of the church, and destroyed by Christ, the Head of it; see Revelation 11:18.

(m) "structores vel aedificatores tui", Munster, Montanus, Calvin, Tigurine version.

Geneva Study Bible

Thy children shall make {y} haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee.

(y) I have continual care to build you up again and to destroy your enemies.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

17, 18. Already in vision the prophet sees the return of the exiles and calls on Zion to welcome her sons.

Instead of Thy children the chief ancient Versions, and the important Babylonian Codex have “Thy builders” (בֹּנַיִךְ for בָּנַיךְ), a sense which is recommended both by the antithesis to “thy destroyers” &c., and the connexion with the previous verse. Yet it is doubtful if the reading on the whole is preferable to that of the received text. The latter at least is true to the fundamental image of the passage, which appears again in Isaiah 49:20 f.

For shall make haste read in the present tense (as R.V.) make haste.

thy destroyers &c.] The expressions almost suggest that Jerusalem was still occupied by Chaldæan troops.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 17. - Thy children shall make haste; i.e. "thy exiled children shall hasten, when the appointed time comes, to return to Zion, and rebuild its temple and towers and walls." At the same time, thy destroyers and they that have made thee waste, who are regarded as still carrying on their devastations, shall leave thee and go forth of thee. Isaiah 49:17

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

It is this fact of a renewed glorification which presents itself afresh to the prophet's mind. "Thy children make haste, thy destroyers and masters draw out from thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all these assemble themselves together, and come to thee. As truly as I live, saith Jehovah, thou wilt put them all on like jewellery, and gird them round thee like a bride." The pointing adopted by the lxx, Targ., Jer. and Saad., is בּניך. The antithesis favours this reading; but בּניך suits Isaiah 49:18, Isaiah 49:19 better; and the thought that Zion's children come and restore her fallen walls, follows of itself from the very antithesis: her children come; and those who destroyed their maternal home, and made it a desolate ruin, have to depart from both city and land. Zion is to lift up her eyes, that have been cast down till now, yea, to lift them up round about; for on all sides those whom she thought she had lost are coming in dense crowds לך (cf., לא equals לו with אליו, Isaiah 49:5), to her, i.e., henceforth to belong to her again. Jehovah pledges His life (chai 'ănı̄, ζῶν ἐγώ, Ewald, 329, a) that a time of glory is coming for Zion and her children. כּי in the affirmative sense, springing out of the confirmative after an affirming oath, equivalent to אם־לא elsewhere (e.g., Isaiah 5:9). The population which Zion recovers once more, will be to her like the ornaments which a woman puts on, like the ornamental girdle (Isaiah 3:20) which a bride fastens round her wedding dress.