Isaiah 51:15

15 Forsooth I am thy Lord God, that trouble the sea, and the waves thereof wax great; the Lord of hosts is my name. (For I am the Lord thy God, who troubleth the sea, and its waves grow great; the Lord of hosts is my name.)

Isaiah 51:15 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 51:15

But I am the Lord thy God that divided the sea, whose waves
roared
Referring to the dividing of the Red sea by a violent wind, at which time the waves of it doubtless roared till they were made to stand quietly, as a wall on the right and left, for the Israelites to pass through, as in ( Isaiah 51:10 ) . Or this is to be understood of the power of God at any time in stilling and quieting the sea when it rages; which signification the word F19 here used has, as Aben Ezra observes; which power is expressed by a rebuke or reproof of it. And so the Targum,

``I am the Lord thy God, that rebuketh the sea:''
and in like manner the Syriac version; see ( Psalms 106:9 ) ( Isaiah 50:2 ) with which compare ( Matthew 8:26 ) . Now he that can do, and oftentimes has done this, can rebuke, restrain, and still the fury of the oppressors, the rage of the persecutors, Rome Pagan or Papal, and deliver out of their hands, ( Psalms 65:7 ) : the Lord of hosts is his name:
the Lord of armies in heaven and earth, and therefore is able to do these things in a natural, civil, and religious sense.
FOOTNOTES:

F19 (egr) "qui tranquillat" Gakater; "faciens quiescere", so some in Vitringa; and the word has the signification of rest and quietness in ver 4.

Isaiah 51:15 In-Context

13 And thou hast forgotten the Lord, thy Creator, that stretched abroad (the) heavens, and founded the earth; and thou dreadedest continually all day of the face of his strong vengeance, that did tribulation to thee, and made ready for to lose. Where is now the strong vengeance of the troubler? (But thou hast forgotten the Lord, thy Creator, who stretched abroad the heavens, and founded the earth; and, instead, all day long, thou hast continually feared the strong vengeance of the one who gave thee trials and tribulation, and who is ready to destroy thee. But now, where is the strong vengeance of the troubler?)
14 Soon he shall come, going for to open; and he shall not slay till to death, neither his bread shall fail. (Yea, he who now is captive of this fear, shall soon be set free; and he shall live a long life, and his food shall not fail.)
15 Forsooth I am thy Lord God, that trouble the sea, and the waves thereof wax great; the Lord of hosts is my name. (For I am the Lord thy God, who troubleth the sea, and its waves grow great; the Lord of hosts is my name.)
16 I have put my words in thy mouth, and I defended thee in the shadow of mine hand; that thou plant (the) heavens, and found the earth, and say to Zion, Thou art my people. (I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have hid thee under the shadow of my hand; so that I might firmly plant the heavens, and found, or form, the earth, and say to Zion, Thou art my people.)
17 Be thou raised (up), be thou raised (up), rise thou, Jerusalem, that hast drunk of the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath (that hast drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his anger); thou hast drunk unto the bottom of the cup of sleep, thou hast drunk of (it) unto the dregs.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.