Isaiah 52:2

2 Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive.

Isaiah 52:2 in Other Translations

KJV
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
ESV
2 Shake yourself from the dust and arise; be seated, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
NLT
2 Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem. Sit in a place of honor. Remove the chains of slavery from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
MSG
2 Brush off the dust and get to your feet, captive Jerusalem! Throw off your chains, captive daughter of Zion!
CSB
2 Stand up, shake the dust off yourself! Take your seat, Jerusalem. Remove the bonds from your neck, captive Daughter 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 Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.
2 Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive.
3 For this is what the LORD says: “You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”
4 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them.
5 “And now what do I have here?” declares the LORD. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock, ” declares the LORD. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.

Cross References 4

  • 1. S Isaiah 29:4
  • 2. Isaiah 60:1
  • 3. S Psalms 81:6; S Isaiah 10:27
  • 4. Psalms 9:14
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