Isaiah 61:8 - meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 61:8
For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
to have affection for (sexually or otherwise) · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
judgment
מִשְׁפָּ֔טmish.Pat
H4941
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
hate
שֹׂנֵ֥אso.Ne'
H8130
to hate (personally) · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
robbery
גָזֵ֖לga.Zel
H1498
robbery · noun, common masculine singular absolute
offering
עֹלָהʻôlâh
H5930
a step or (collectively
direct
וְנָתַתִּ֤יve.na.ta.Ti
H5414
to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
work
פְעֻלָּתָם֙fe.'u.la.Tam
H6468
(abstractly) work · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
truth
בֶּאֱמֶ֔תbe.'e.Met
H571
stability · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
make
אֶכְר֥וֹת'ekh.Rot
H3772
to cut (off · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
everlasting
עוֹלָ֖םo.Lam
H5769
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
covenant
וּבְרִ֥יתu.ve.Rit
H1285
a compact (because made by passing between pieces of fl… · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
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
Psalms 11:7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.
Jeremiah 9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, a…
Zechariah 8:16-17 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
Genesis 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God u…
Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies…
Jeremiah 32:40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hea…
Psalms 25:8-12 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
Psalms 37:28 For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 61:4-9
Promises are here made to the Jews now returned out of captivity, and settled again in their own land, which are to be extended to the gospel church, and all believers, who through grace are delivered out of spiritual thraldom; for they are capable of being spiritually applied.
I. It is promised that their houses shall be rebuilt (Isa 61:4), that their cities shall be raised out of the ruins in which they had long lain, and be fitted up for their use again: They shall build the old wastes; the old wastes shall be built, the waste cities shall be repaired, the former desolations, even the desolations of many generations, which it was feared would never be repaired, shall be raised up. The set…
judgment--justice, which requires that I should restore My people, and give them double in compensation for their sufferings.
robbery for burnt offering--rather, from a different Hebrew root, the spoil of iniquity [HORSLEY]. So in Job 5:6. Hating, as I do, the rapine, combined with iniquity, perpetrated on My people by their enemies, I will vindicate Israel.
direct . . . work in truth--rather, "I will give them the reward of their work" (compare Isa 40:10, Margin; Isa 49:4, Margin; Isa 62:11, Margin).
Adam Clarke on Isaiah 61:8
I hate robbery for burnt-offering "Who hate rapine and iniquity" - The Syriac, and Chaldee prefix the conjunction ו vau, instead of the preposition ב beth, to עולה olah, which they render iniquity or oppression; and so the Septuagint, αδικιας. The difference lies in the punctuation; בעולה beolah, in a burnt-offering בעולה beavelah, in iniquity. The letters are the same in both words. Five of De Rossi's MSS. confirm this reading.
John Gill on Isaiah 61:8
For I the Lord love judgment,.... To do that which is right and just himself, and to see it done by others, and therefore he will right the wrongs of his people; and whereas the Jews, though they have justly suffered his vengeance for their sins, yet being reproached and abused beyond measure by the Gentiles, among whom they are dispersed; the Lord will look in mercy upon them, and will deliver and save them, and bestow favours plentifully on them, as in the preceding verse: or the Lord loves strict justice and real righteousness, and will not be put off with an imperfect righteousness in the room of a perfect one, and much less an insincere and hypocritical one, such as that of the unbeliev…
The Church Fathers
But it is one thing to show mercy for sins, another to sin for the sake of showing mercy, which cannot really be called mercy since it does not issue in sweet fruit, since it is embittered through the influence of a diseased root. For here the Lord rebukes such sacrifices through the prophet, saying, "I, the Lord, love justice and hate robbery with whole burnt offerings." … Such people also often withdraw from the poor what they give to God. But the Lord shows how strongly he disowns and censures such conduct.
"If you offer rightly, but do not reason rightly, have you not sinned?" For those offerings of fasts, which we extort without thought by violently wrenching our stomachs and fancy that we rightly offer to the Lord, he who "loves mercy and judgment" denounces, saying: "I the Lord love judgment, but I hate robbery in a burnt offering." Similarly, those also who take the main part of their offerings, that is, their offices and actions, to benefit the flesh for their own use, but leave the remains as a tiny portion for the Lord, are also condemned as fraudulent workers by the Divine Word, saying: "Cursed is the one who does the work of the Lord fraudulently."
(Vers. 8, 9.) And I will give their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed will be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them, that they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed. LXX: And I will give their labor to the righteous, and I will establish an eternal covenant with them. And their seed will be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples. Everyone who sees them will recognize them, that they are the blessed offspring of God. O God, who loves justice and judgment, and detests violent holocausts (for whatever is stolen is considered as the wages of a prostitute, and the price of a dog), you will give labor to those who possess the land secondly and whom you will crown with double joy, to the righteous, or as it is better understood in Hebrew, in truth: so that it may not be like the shadow of truth in the Law, but that it may be the truth itself. And you will make an everlasting covenant, not like the one Moses gave, which has passed away, but the covenant of the Gospel, about which Christ speaks: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). And then the Apostolic seed will be known among the nations, and all future generations will receive the seed of the doctrine of God, not saying at all in which the people of circumcision previously erred, saying: For what else, except for the seed, does God seek? Anyone who sees them will recognize from the first appearance that they are the seed to whom the Lord has blessed. For who, from the order of life, gentleness, self-control, hospitality, and all virtues, does not understand the people of God? And who does not detest the bloody hands of the Israelis, against whom the Prophet curses, saying: Fill their faces with shame, O Lord (Ps. LXXXII, 17).
Dictionary and topics
Covenant, The · Is everlasting — Is everlasting
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Robbery · Forbid — Forbid
Theft And Thieves · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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).
For I Jehovah love judgment. He not only confirms what he promised in the name of the Lord, but likewise exhorts the Jews to repent, and shews whence they ought to expect salvation, and what and how great is the Judge with whom we have to do; for lie reasons from the nature of God in what manner they ought to regulate their life, that they may not by their wickedness reject the grace that is offered to them.
Under the word judgment he includes all that is just and equitable; for he contrasts this word with the useless inventions of the Jews, by which they thought that they satisfied God, and at the same time concealed their malice. The Lord cares not, as we have often seen, for such masks a…
The shame of banishment will then be changed into an excess of joy, and honourable distinction. "Instead of shame ye will have double, and (instead) of insult they rejoice at their portion: thus in their land they will possess double; everlasting joy will they have. For I Jehovah love right, hate robbery in wickedness; and give them their reward in faithfulness, and conclude an everlasting covenant with them. And their family will be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the nations: all who see them will recognise them, for they are a family that Jehovah hath blessed." The enigmatical first half of Isa 61:7 is explained in Isa 61:2, where mishneh is shown to consist o…
Those who belong to the community of God’s people are to imitate the character of God, who loves justice (see Mic 6:8) and hates wrongdoing (Isa 33:15).
Rashi on Isaiah 61:8
For I am the Lord, Who loves justice, hates robbery in a burnt offering Therefore, I do not accept burnt offerings from the heathens (the nations [Parshandatha, K’li Paz]), for they are all results of robbery.
and I will give their wage The wage of Israel, which shall be in truth. Alternatively, I will give the reward for the deeds they performed, for they suffered the derisions of the heathens (the nations [Mss. and K’li Paz]) for My honor in truth.
