Isaiah 50:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 50:10
Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
voice
בְּק֣וֹלbe.Kol
H6963
a voice or sound · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
servant
עַבְדּ֑וֹav.Do
H5650
a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
walketh
הָלַ֣ךְha.Lakh
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
darkness
חֲשֵׁכִ֗יםcha.she.Khim
H2825
darkness · noun, common masculine plural absolute
light
נֹ֙גַהּ֙no.gah
H5051
brilliancy (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
trust
יִבְטַח֙yiv.Tach
H982
figuratively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
name
בְּשֵׁ֣םbe.Shem
H8034
an appellation · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֔הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
stay
וְיִשָּׁעֵ֖ןve.yi.sha.'En
H8172
to support one's self · conjunction + verb, niphal, 3rd person masculine singular
God
בֵּאלֹהָֽיוbe.lo.Hav
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Isaiah 26:3-4 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Micah 7:7-9 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
Psalms 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort…
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the l…
Psalms 27:13-14 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Lamentations 3:25-26 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
Psalms 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 50:10–end
The prophet, having the tongue of the learned given him, that he might give to every one his portion, here makes use of it, rightly dividing the word of truth. It is the summary of the gospel. He that believes shall be saved (he that trusts in the name of the Lord shall be comforted, though for a while he walk in darkness and have no light), but he that believes not shall be damned; though for a while he walk in the light of his own fire, yet he shall lie down in sorrow.
I. Comfort is here spoken to disconsolate saints, and they are encouraged to trust in God's grace, Isa 50:10. Here observe, 1. What is always the character of a child of God. He is one that fears the Lord with a filial fear,…
Messiah exhorts the godly after His example (Isa 49:4-5; Isa 42:4) when in circumstances of trial ("darkness," Isa 47:5), to trust in the arm of Jehovah alone.
Who is, &c.--that is, Whosoever (Jdg 7:3).
obeyeth . . . servant--namely, Messiah. The godly "honor the Son, even as they honor the Father" (Joh 5:23).
darkness-- (Mic 7:8-9). God never had a son who was not sometimes in the dark. For even Christ, His only Son, cried out, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
light--rather, "splendor"; bright sunshine; for the servant of God is never wholly without "light" [VITRINGA]. A godly man's way may be dark, but his end shall be peace and light. A wicked man's way may be bright,…
Who is among you that feareth the Lord?.... Not with a slavish fear of the awful majesty of God, or of his tremendous judgments, or of wrath to come, but with a filial fear, a fear of the Lord, and his goodness, which is an internal principle in the heart, a reverential affection for God, a godly fear of him; is attended with faith in him, and joy of him; which makes holy, and keeps humble, and takes in the whole worship of God: of men of this character there are but few, and especially there were but few among the Jews at this time which the prophecy refers to; the greatest part were rejecters of Christ, before spoken of, and to; and from whom the Lord turns himself, and addresses these few…
The Church Fathers
It is as a man that he calls himself "Servant," for "although he exists in the form of God, he has assumed the form of a servant." Likewise in the divine Gospel [Christ] says that he has received instruction as to what he should say and proclaim. "They walk in darkness, and there is no light for them." Although the light has risen, as for them, they have clung to the darkness. "Trust in the name of the Lord, and rely on God." [Isaiah] says, if you really put absolute and true hope in God, that will [serve to] sustain you and make you sure.
By the mouth of Isaiah also [God] has asked concerning him, "Who is there among you that hears God? Let him hear the voice of his Son." When, therefore, he here presents him with the words, "This is my beloved Son," this clause is of course understood, "who I have promised." For if he once promised and afterwards says, "This is he," it is suitable conduct for one who accomplishes his purpose that he should utter his voice in proof of the promise that he had formerly made; but unsuitable in one who is amenable to the retort, "Can you, indeed, have a right to say, 'This is my son,' concerning whom you have given us no previous information, any more than you have favored us with a revelation about your own prior existence?"
(Verse 10, 11.) Who among you fears the Lord, and listens to the voice of his servant? Who walks in darkness, and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely on his God. LXX: Who among you fears the Lord, and listens to the voice of his servant? Who walks in darkness, and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and rely on his God. You have struck me, you have spat on my face: yet I call my persecutors to repentance. For I do not desire the death of a sinner, but only that he should turn back and live (Ezek. 33). And I say: who among you fears the Lord, and listens to the voice of his servant or his child, that is, his Son? of whom one is assumed flesh, the other is of nature. And indeed, let us not think it is enough to fear the Lord, according to what is said in Proverbs: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). For perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment. But whoever fears is not perfect in charity. But this fear is placed for timidity and caution; about which we read elsewhere: Blessed is the one who fears everything (Prov. 20), because of caution, that is, because of timidity: those who are commonly called timid in the religion of God. For the Lord protects their path; and guards the way of the timid. Regarding this fear it is written: The fear of the Lord conquers all things. And elsewhere: There is no lack for those who fear Him (Sirach 25:14; Psalm 34:10). Finally, after many steps of virtue, one arrives at this kind of fear of the Lord. For the divine word speaks in the person of a master and father, instructing the disciple and son: If you call upon wisdom and give your voice to understanding, and if you seek it like money and search for it like treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and you will find the knowledge of God (Prov. 2:3). This is the fear that preserves the souls of the holy ones intact, chaste, and pure, of which it is said, The fear of the Lord remains forever (Ps. 19:9). To whom the divine scriptures exhort us: Fear the Lord, and give him glory (Apoc. XIV, 7). Therefore, whoever fears the Lord in this way, let him listen to the voice of his servant or his child, who walked in darkness and had no light; who had no appearance or glory, but in the likeness of sinful flesh took on the form of a servant, that he might overcome sin in the flesh.…
Dictionary and topics
Ship — No one writer in the whole range of Greek and Roman literature has supplied us with so much information concerning the merchant-ships of the ancients as St. Luke in the narrative of St. Paul’s voyage…
Salvation · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Who is among you that feareth the Lord? After having spoken of God's invincible aid, by which all prophets are protected, he directs his discourse to believers, that they may suffer themselves to be guided by the Word of God, and may become obedient. Hence we may infer how far a holy boasting raised him above his slanderers; for, in consequence of wicked men, through their vast numbers, possessing at that time great influence among the Jews, there was a risk of overwhelming the faith of the small minority. [20] When he asks, "Where are they that fear God?" he points out that their number is small. Yet he addresses them separately, that they may detach themselves from the mixed crowd, and not…
Thus far we have the words of the servant. The prophecy opened with words of Jehovah (Isa 50:1-3), and with such words it closes, as we may see from the expression, "this shall ye have at my hand," in Isa 50:11. The first word of Jehovah is addressed to those who fear Him, and hearken to the voice of His servant. Isa 50:10"Who among you is fearing Jehovah, hearkening to the voice of His servant? He that walketh in darkness, and without a ray of light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and stay himself upon his God." The question is asked for the purpose of showing to any one who could reply, "I am one, or wish to be such an one," what his duty and his privileges are. In the midst of the…
This is a call for response to the servant’s ministry.
50:10 The test of whether or not an individual fears the Lord is how he or she responds to God’s righteous servant. The same idea is present in Jesus’ claim that no one can come to the Father except through him (John 14:6). • Those who trust in the Lord have great hope for the future (see Isa 12:2).
Rashi on Isaiah 50:10
to the voice of His servant To the voice of the prophets.
who went in darkness Even if trouble comes upon him, let him trust in the name of the Lord, for He shall save him.
