Ésaïe 45:19

19 Je n'ai pas parlé en secret, ni dans quelque lieu ténébreux de la terre; je n'ai pas dit à la postérité de Jacob: Cherchez-moi en vain. Je suis l'Éternel qui prononce ce qui est juste, et qui déclare ce qui est droit.

Ésaïe 45:19 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 45:19

I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth,
&c.] In a private whisper, in a muttering manner, and out of the belly, as the Heathen priests did; and from out of cells, dens, and caverns of the earth, from whence the oracles of Heathen deities were delivered; but in a free, open, clear, and public manner, before multitudes, in the face of all men, or where there was a great concourse of people: so Christ delivered the law on Mount Sinai, in an audible manner, attended with a multitude of angels, and before all the people; and when here on earth he said nothing in secret, but openly to the world, in the synagogues and temple of the Jews, where they resorted in great numbers, ( John 18:20 ) and ordered his disciples also to publish on the housetops what they heard with their ears, ( Matthew 10:27 ) : I said not unto the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain;
that is, he never suffered the seed of Jacob, Israelites indeed, praying Jacobs and prevailing Israels, the true worshippers of him, to seek him in vain; to pray unto and worship him to no purpose, or without fruit to themselves; for all such who seek him early and earnestly, heartily and diligently, and where he may be found, always find him; he receives them, and not rejects them; and they receive that from him which is worth seeking after, and amply rewards all their trouble. The Targum is,

``nor have I said to the seed of the house of Jacob in vain, seek my fear:''
I the Lord speak righteousness;
the word of righteousness, the doctrine of justification by his own righteousness; that which he wrought out by his obedience, sufferings, and death, he declared and brought near in the ministry of the word; see ( Isaiah 46:13 ) . The Targum renders it, "truth"; grace and truth came by Christ, ( John 1:17 ) : I declare things that are right;
according to right reason, agreeably to the word of God, both law and Gospel, fit for men to receive, and what made for his own and his Father's glory; see ( Proverbs 8:6 Proverbs 8:18 ) .

Ésaïe 45:19 In-Context

17 Israël est sauvé par l'Éternel, d'un salut éternel; vous ne serez ni honteux, ni confus, aux siècles des siècles.
18 Car ainsi dit l'Éternel, qui a formé les cieux, lui, le Dieu qui a formé la terre et qui l'a faite, lui qui l'a fondée; qui ne la créa pas pour être déserte, mais qui la forma pour être habitée: Je suis l'Éternel, et il n'y en a point d'autre!
19 Je n'ai pas parlé en secret, ni dans quelque lieu ténébreux de la terre; je n'ai pas dit à la postérité de Jacob: Cherchez-moi en vain. Je suis l'Éternel qui prononce ce qui est juste, et qui déclare ce qui est droit.
20 Assemblez-vous et venez, approchez-vous ensemble, réchappés des nations! Ils n'ont point de connaissance, ceux qui portent leur idole de bois, et qui adressent leur prière à un dieu qui ne sauve point.
21 Annoncez-le, faites-les venir, et qu'ils consultent ensemble! Qui a fait entendre ces choses dès l'origine, et les a déclarées dès longtemps? N'est-ce pas moi, l'Éternel? Et il n'y a point d'autre Dieu que moi. Il n'y a point de Dieu juste et sauveur, que moi.
The Ostervald translation is in the public domain.