Isaiah 51:8

8 Moths will eat them like clothing. Worms will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, and my salvation will last throughout every generation.

Isaiah 51:8 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 51:8

For the moth shall eat them up like a garment
Either these reproaches, or the persons that reproach; as a garment is eaten by the moth, secretly, slowly, surely, and at last completely, so that it becomes utterly good for nothing; so secret, gradual, sure and certain, complete and perfect, will be the ruin and destruction of the enemies of Christ and his people: and the worm shall eat them like wool;
or as a woollen garment, which is most liable to be motheaten; for the moth and worm are much the same, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; who say, that in the Arabic tongue the moth is called by a name much of the same sound with this word in the text; and the sense is, that as a woollen garment is eaten and consumed by vermin, so wicked men will be destroyed by the vengeance of the Lord upon them; for the moth and worm design both the judgments of God upon them in this world, and his wrath in the other, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched: but my righteousness shall be for ever;
to justify his people and secure them from wrath and ruin: and my salvation from generation to generation;
it will abide through the endless ages of eternity, and be the portion of the saints for ever, of which they are now heirs; is nearer than when they first believed, and is ready to be revealed, and will be everlastingly enjoyed by them, firm against all the accusations and charges of men and devils: or, "shall not fail" ^F15, as the Septuagint; its virtue to justify will always continue; it will answer for the saints in a time to come, even at the last judgment. The Targum is, it

``shall not tarry;''

being near to be wrought out and revealed, ( Isaiah 51:5 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 (ou mh ekleiph) , Sept. "non deficiet", V. L.

Isaiah 51:8 In-Context

6 Look at the sky. Look at the earth below. The sky will vanish like smoke. The earth will wear out like clothing, and those who live there will die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, and my righteousness will never fail.

7 Listen to me, you people who know righteousness, you people who have my teachings in your hearts. Don't be afraid of being insulted by people. Don't be discouraged by their ridicule.

8 Moths will eat them like clothing. Worms will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, and my salvation will last throughout every generation.

9 Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O LORD! Wake up as you did in days long past, as in generations long ago. Didn't you cut Rahab into pieces and stab the serpent?

10 Didn't you dry up the sea, the water of the great ocean? You made a road in the depths of the sea so that the people reclaimed [by the LORD] might pass through it.