Isaiah 52:2

2 Shake yourself free, Jerusalem! Rise from the dust and sit on your throne! Undo the chains that bind you, captive people of Zion!

Isaiah 52:2 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 52:2

Shake thyself from the dust
Or "the dust from thee" F7, in which she had sat, or rolled herself as a mourner; or where she had been trampled upon by her persecutors and oppressors; but now being delivered from them, as well as from all carnal professors and false teachers, she is called upon to shake herself from the dust of debasement and distress, of false doctrine, superstition, and will worship, in every form and shape, a great deal of which adheres to those churches called reformed. Arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem;
or "sit up", as it may be rendered; arise from thy low estate, from the ground and dust where thou art cast;

``and sit upon the throne of thy glory,''
so the Targum: it denotes the exaltation of the church from a low to a high estate, signified by the ascension of the witnesses to heaven, ( Revelation 11:12 ) . Some render it, "arise, O captivity"; or "captive" F8; so the word is used in ( Isaiah 49:24 Isaiah 49:25 ) and agrees with what follows: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion;
or loose thou "the bands off thy neck from thee"; which seems to denote the people of God in mystical Babylon, a little before its destruction, who will be called out of it, as they afterwards are in this chapter; and to throw off the Romish yoke, and release themselves from that captivity and bondage they have been brought into by the man of sin, who now himself shall be led captive, ( Revelation 13:10 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F7 (rpem yrenth) "exute pulverem a te", Sanctius, Gataker.
F8 (ybv ymwq) "surge captivas", Forerius; so Ben Melech interprets it.

Isaiah 52:2 In-Context

1 Jerusalem, be strong and great again! Holy city of God, clothe yourself with splendor! The heathen will never enter your gates again.
2 Shake yourself free, Jerusalem! Rise from the dust and sit on your throne! Undo the chains that bind you, captive people of Zion!
3 The Sovereign Lord says to his people, "When you became slaves, no money was paid for you; in the same way nothing will be paid to set you free.
4 When you went to live in Egypt as foreigners, you did so of your own free will; Assyria, however, took you away by force and paid nothing for you.
5 And now in Babylonia the same thing has happened: you are captives, and nothing was paid for you. Those who rule over you boast and brag and constantly show contempt for me.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.