EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 61:10-11
A bride and bridegroom dress carefully for their wedding. They wear special clothes to show their character and serious intention.
• Another translation of verse 10 is, ‘I am now bursting with joy as I praise the *Lord. Because I am now as a bride who is wearing beautiful clothes. Or, I am as a bridegroom who dresses like a priest. And my clothes are called “Goodness” and “Security”.’ Isaiah uses these word pictures to suggest that God specially prepares his Servant for a most important task.
• But Isaiah’s words also describe *Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The city’s situation was hopeless. Enemies had ruined it. The city seemed like a widow who wore dark clothes to show her sad feelings. But God would make the city like a beautiful bride again. He would provide it with goodness and security. This would bring about great joy. People everywhere would consider this a good reason to praise God.
Messiah ~ Old Testament title for Christ.
Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible. It contains 39 books, all from the time before Jesus was born.
covenant ~ special agreement that God made with Israel (see Exodus chapter 24).
Lord ~ God’s name in the Bible. In the original language, God’s names mean ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.
seize ~ to take a person as a prisoner or a slave.
Jerusalem ~ at the time of David and Solomon, the capital of the country called Israel. During the time of Isaiah, Jerusalem was the capital of the country called Judah.
vine ~ plant whose fruit makes wine.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the 12 tribes of Israel.
tribe ~ group of the later family of one father.
Gentile ~ a person who is not a Jew.
exile ~ someone that an enemy takes away to a foreign country. Or, the place where such a person has to live.
Babylonian ~ a person from the country called Babylon; or anything that has a relationship with the country called Babylon.
justice ~ fair judgements.
Isaiah: New *Heavens and a New Earth
God’s *Messiah Beats God’s Enemies
Isaiah Chapter s 56 to 66
Gordon Churchyard
The words in square brackets, […], are not in the *Hebrew Bible. They make the book easier to understand in English. Isaiah wrote his book in the *Hebrew language. The words in round brackets (…) are explanations.Chapter 61
v1 ‘The Spirit of the *Lord, [who is] *LORD, [is] upon me. [This is] because the *LORD has *anointed me to declare good news to poor people. He has sent me to bind up the hearts [that circumstances have] broken. [He has sent me] to tell the people in prison that they are free. And [he has sent me] to tell the prisoners that they can come out of the darkness.
v2 [He has sent me] to declare [that now is] the year of the *LORD’s kindness. Also, [to declare] that the day when God will punish people [is near]. [He has sent me] to comfort everybody who is very sad. [They are so sad] that it makes them weep.
v3 [He has sent me] to do [these things]. [I will do them] for all those people in *Zion whose spirits are aching.
[They will have] flowers on them instead of ashes.
[They will have on them] oil that will make them glad. Then, they will not weep.
[They will have] a cover of *praise instead of their spirit of despair.
People will call them large trees of very great goodness. They will be [as trees] that the *LORD has planted. They will display his beauty.’
v4 They will rebuild what [enemies] ruined long ago. And they will make places new again [that enemies] destroyed in the distant past. They will repair cities that [somebody] ruined. [Someone] destroyed [the cities] when their grandparents were alive!
v5 Foreigners will stand and they will be *shepherds to your animals. People from abroad will work in your fields and in your *vineyards.
v6 And [people] will call you ‘priests of the *LORD’. Your name will be ‘servants of our God’. You will have the wealth of nations. And you will tell everybody about how rich they [have made you].
v7 Instead of your shame, [you will have] double [the amount]. And [instead of] disappointment they will sing aloud about what [God has] given [to them]. Therefore, they will possess a double [amount] in their land. And they will always have joy.
v8 [This is] because I, the *LORD, love *justice. I hate people that steal from the gifts on my *altar. And I will give them a reward because I am loyal [to them]. I will make a *covenant with them that will never end.
v9 And the nations will know their seed (*descendants). People [from all the nations] will know their children. Everybody that sees them will agree this. They are the seed (*descendants) that the *LORD has *blessed.
v10 ‘I have great delight in the *LORD. My spirit is very happy in my God, because he has put the clothes of salvation (rescue and safety) onto me. He has dressed me in the clothing of very great goodness. [I am] like a bridegroom, with a very beautiful special hat like a priest’s. And [I am] like a bride whose *jewellery makes her beautiful.
v11 So the *Lord, [who is] *LORD, will make very great goodness spring up in front of every nation. And he will make *praise spring up in front of every nation. It will be like the soil that makes the young plant come up. And [it will be like] a garden that causes seeds to grow.
Chapter 62
v1 I will not be silent, for the benefit of *Zion. For the benefit of Jerusalem, I will not remain quiet. [I will be like this] until [Jerusalem's] great goodness shines out like the dawn. [I will be like this until Jerusalem’s] salvation (rescue and safety) burns like the brightest torch.
v2 Then, the nations will see your great goodness and every king [will see] your *glory. And they will call you by a new name. The mouth of the *LORD will give it to you.
v3 And you will be a splendid crown in the *LORD’s hand. [You will be] a very beautiful royal hat in the hand of your God.
v4 They will not call you ‘Alone’ again. The name of your country will not be ‘Desert’. But they will call you ‘Hephzibah’ and they will call your land ‘Beulah’. [This will happen] because the *Lord will have delight in you. And because your land will be [like someone who is] married.
v5 Even as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you. As a bridegroom is happy with his bride, so your God will be happy with you.
v6 I have put guards on your walls, Jerusalem. They will not be silent, through all the day and through all the night. Those [people] that remember the *LORD, do not rest.
v7 And do not let [the *LORD] rest, until he establishes Jerusalem. And until he makes [Jerusalem the place] that all the world praises.’
v8 The *LORD has promised [these things] by his right hand and by his strong arm.
‘I will never again give your grain to your enemies for food.
And never again will foreigners drink the new wine that you have worked hard to make.
v9 But the people who harvest it will eat it. And they will praise the *LORD. And those [people] who gather the *grapes will drink it. They will do it in the *courts that are round my *temple.’
v10 Pass through, pass through the gates. Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway (important road). Remove the stones. Lift up a *banner for the people [from the nations].
v11 Look! The *LORD has declared this to the furthest parts of the earth. ‘Say to the Daughter of *Zion, “Look! Your salvation (rescue) is coming! Look! His reward is with him! He is bringing with him what he will repay.” ’
v12 Their name will be the *Holy People. [They are the people] whom the *LORD has *redeemed. And people will call you [by these names]. ‘[The People whom Somebody) Searched For’ [and] ‘The City that Nobody Avoids’.
Notes on the 2nd Song of the *Messiah
Notes on chapter 61
Verse 1a Notice the different meanings of the words that we translate *Lord and *LORD here. ‘*Lord’ means ‘master, someone with authority’. God has authority over everything in heaven and on earth. ‘*LORD’ is his *covenant name. This is a name that only his people should use. They are the people that have agreed to accept God’s *covenant. Because God cares about them, they agree (make a *covenant) to love him. And they agree to obey him. ‘Anoint’ means ‘pour on’. The *Jews poured oil on their priests and kings at the start of their careers. Here, God is ‘pouring oil’ onto his special servant at the start of his career. The oil that the *Jews used came from a fruit such as the *olive. The ‘oil’ that God used means his Holy Spirit. Luke 3:21-22 and 4:16-21 tell us about how Isaiah 61:1 came true in the life of Jesus Christ. Our word ‘Christ’ comes from a *Greek word. It means that someone has ‘*anointed’ him. The *Hebrew word for that is ‘*messiah’. When God *anointed Jesus, Jesus became *Messiah with a capital M. Verse 1b-3a God’s *Messiah will declare good news to poor people. They are people who cannot get any advantages in their lives. This is because other people or circumstances will not allow it. An old English word for ‘good news’ is ‘godspel’. That word has now become ‘gospel’. Here is Isaiah’s ‘Gospel’ (good news)!
Here are 7 things that the *Messiah will do.
He will bind up hearts that the circumstances of life have broken. ‘Hearts’ here could mean anything in our lives that makes us unhappy. It could be illness of body or mind, or a bad conscience. ‘Bind up’ means ‘put a bandage on’. God’s *Messiah will give people personal attention! Because of the *Messiah’s work, people will become new again, 2 Corinthians 5:17.
- He will declare to people in prison that they are free. He will tell prisoners that they can come out of the darkness. People that come out of the darkness can see again, Isaiah 9:2 and Isaiah 42:7. ‘Prisoners’ means people that an enemy has caught. It also means slaves. ‘You must make the 50th year special. You must declare “freedom” through all the land and to everybody that lives in it. It must be a special 50th year for you. You must give back to every man his possessions. And you must send every man back to his family’, Leviticus 25:10.
- He will tell people about the time. Now is the time for God to be kind to some people, but to punish other people. Notice this. The *LORD is kind for a long time (a year), but he will punish for a short time (a day). The rest of this section concentrates on the year, not on the day! Look at number 1 in the section ‘Something to do’.
- He will comfort the sad people who are weeping. There is a link here with Isaiah 57:18. Here are verses 17 and 18.
v17 ‘He wanted more than he really needed. That was a *sin. It made me angry and I punished him. I was angry and I hid from him. But he continued to do what he wanted to do.
v18 I have seen what he is doing. But I will cure him. Then I will guide him and I will give him back his comfort.’
‘*Sin’ is when we do not obey God’s laws. The link between the verses shows why these people are sad. It is mainly their *sin that makes them sad. Their *sin makes them weep. The next promise also agrees with this. But the people could also be weeping because of unhappy things in their lives (Genesis 50:10-11).
He will put flowers on them instead of ashes. People put ashes on their heads to show when they were very sad. At such times they also wore clothes that they made from rough cloth. It was the same kind of cloth from which they made sacks. They did those things when something bad happened. Or they did them when they had done something very wrong. But the good news is this. *Messiah would take away the ashes from their heads. He would put a circle of beautiful flowers there instead!
- He will put on them oil that will make them glad. Then they will not weep. Oil was a sign of happiness, as in Psalms 23:5, ‘You *anointed my head with oil.’ God has *anointed not only the *Messiah. He has also *anointed those people that follow him! As the ashes go from their heads, so the sad faces go as well. Then there is beauty and happiness.
- He will cover them with *praise instead of their spirit of despair. ‘*Praise’ here means the words that we use to praise someone. ‘Cover’ means to put on the kind of long clothes that go all over people. Every part of them praises God!
Verse 3b The verse ends with some of the results of the *Messiah’s work. They will have a new name. The new name is ‘large trees that are very good’. Previously in Isaiah, large trees have been where people *worshipped false gods, 1:29 and 57:5. Now, as a result of the *Messiah’s work, God’s people are called ‘trees of very great goodness’. Only God is really very, very good, but he gives that quality to his people too. As God has *anointed his people like the *Messiah, so they become very good like their God. That is how they can display his beauty.
In verses 3-9, Isaiah used the words ‘they’, ‘them’, ‘you’ and ‘your’. They all refer to ‘those people in *Zion’, verse 3. Notice how Isaiah changes from ‘their’ to ‘your’ at the start of verse 5. Then he changes back again in the middle of verse 7. This is part of Isaiah’s style, and translations should not change it. It tells us that Isaiah wrote with a real sense of excitement. So he changed from second person (you, your) to third person (they, their, them) and back again!
Verse 4 God’s people will be new, with a new name, verses 1-3. Also, we now discover that their land will become new again. They will rebuild what people destroyed many years before. Isaiah does not say who the enemies were. They probably included Syria, Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. It is not important. The important thing is the new earth, Isaiah 66:22. This tells us about the future. In the past, Judah’s people returned to a country that Babylon’s army had destroyed. That was a sign; in other words, that event tells us about the future. It was a sign of how God’s people will come to the New Jerusalem. But God’s people will come to a New Jerusalem that God has already built!
Verse 5 A *shepherd is a sheep farmer. A vineyard is a field where *vines grow. *Grapes grow on *vines. People make wine from *grapes. In Micah 5:4, the *prophet says that the *Messiah will ‘stand and be *shepherd’. The word ‘stand’ means that they will be responsible for the animals. These foreigners are not slaves. They are people who choose gladly to help God’s people. This is their delight, and not just a duty.
Verse 6 ‘Priests of the *LORD’ reminds us of:
Exodus 19:6. ‘You will be to me a *kingdom of priests and a *holy nation.’ This was an ideal state that had never happened. A *kingdom is a country that a king rules. Here, the king would be God.
1 Peter 2:5. ‘You are a *holy group of priests.’ This is a description of Christ’s church, that is, all genuine Christians. Every Christian is one of God’s priests. What Judah and Israel failed to be, God expects his church to be.
‘Servants of God’ reminds us about the *Levites’ work. We can read about that in Numbers 8:5-22.
Verse 7 This verse starts with 3 *Hebrew words which mean:
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
| (instead of) | (your shame) | (double) |
It continues with 3 more *Hebrew words which mean:
| 4 | 5 | 6 |
| (and disappointment) | (they will be happy) | (what they have) |
Words 1, 2 and 3 fit well into the end of verse 6. A good translation of ‘double’ will then be ‘plenty’. Also, the ‘your’ fits well with ‘you’ in verse 6.
The *prophets often change from ‘your’ to ‘their’ when they mean the same people. This is another example. In words 4, 5 and 6, ‘and’ will include the ‘instead of’ from word 1. ‘What they have’ means ‘what the *LORD has given to them’. Again, ‘double’ at the end of the verse also means ‘plenty’.
Verse 8 ‘*Justice’ is what a court of law considers to be right and proper. An *altar is a special table. Priests burnt animals on it to obey God. The first word ‘because’ is very important. It tells us this. Everything in verses 5-7 happens because God loves *justice. But he hates it when people steal. Here, people are stealing things from what the priests burnt on God’s *altar. It hurt God! God wants everything from his people, not just a part of it. He himself is so loyal to his people, that he keeps nothing for himself. The *covenant gives them everything from God that they need.
Verse 9 ‘Seed’ is an important word here. It means more than ‘*descendants’. *Descendants are children, children’s children and so on. ‘Seed’ links with many other verses in the Bible. Therefore it is important that we translate the *Hebrew word as ‘seed’ and not as ‘*descendants’. This is because here it is a technical word, not just a description. In Something to do number 4 are some of the important verses where the Bible uses ‘seed’ instead of *descendants.
Notice that Isaiah used two different words for God’s people: seed and children. This is because he wrote *Hebrew poetry. One type of poetry was ‘words which meant the same’. So, children here means the same as ‘seed’ in the line before, and ‘seed’ in the line after.
And the nations will know their seed.
All the peoples will know their children.
The plural word ‘peoples’ usually means foreign people in the *Old Testament. So our translation says ‘people [from all the nations]’.
The work of the *Messiah and the work of the church
Isaiah 61:1-3 tells us about the work of Jesus, the *Messiah. Jesus himself repeated some of these words when he started his work, Luke 4:16-21; Isaiah 61:4-9 tells us about the people that the *Messiah came to. Isaiah described it as if God’s people were coming home to Judah from Babylon. Foreign people like Cyrus helped them. But many Bible students think that it describes the work of the church. It will end when Jesus rules the new *Heavens and the new Earth. That is, when God gives the New Jerusalem for his people to live in, Revelation 21:2.
Notes on the 3rd Song of the *Messiah
Verse 10 When people marry, they wear special clothes. Because of those special clothes, everybody can see what they are doing. We can read that in Isaiah 59:17.
v17 He [God] put on *righteousness (very great goodness) to cover his body and [he put on] salvation (rescue and safety) to cover his head. He put on [special] clothes [to help him] to fight against his enemies. And he was so eager [to fight them] that it was like a coat all round him!
It tells us about the clothes that God would wear to save his people. Those clothes were *righteousness (very great goodness) and salvation (rescue and safety). In Isaiah 61:10, the *Messiah wears the same clothes! Notice that salvation (rescue and safety) links him with God’s people. And *righteousness (very great goodness) links him with God. He is the perfect answer to Job’s prayer, in Job 9:33! But the beautiful clothes also remind us of the wedding between Christ and his church (his people). This will happen when he returns to the earth. The bridegroom wears a very beautiful special hat. Read the note about verse 3 again. There, the special hat is a circle of beautiful flowers. ‘*Jewellery’ means small objects that people wear to make themselves look beautiful. Those objects often contain a very valuable stone, such as a diamond.
Verse 11 The *Messiah is also happy because his people will be very good. Also, they will be full of *praise to God. ‘Soil’ and ‘garden’ are places where seeds grow well. ‘Seed’ here means the seed of a plant. It does not mean the same as ‘seed’ in verse 9.
Notes on Chapter 62
Verse 1 The word ‘silent’ also means ‘without action’ in the *Hebrew language, as in Judges 18:9 and Psalms 107:29. In many other places, it means ‘no words’, as in Psalms 28:1; Psalms 39:3 and Isaiah 42:14. ‘Remain quiet’ means ‘be without action’. The verse means that *Messiah will continue to pray (not be silent). He will also do things (not remain quiet). He will do this until there is *righteousness (great goodness) and salvation (rescue and safety) in *Zion.
‘Salvation’ means that God will save *Zion from its enemies. *Zion is another name for Jerusalem. In history, it means that God saved Jerusalem from the enemy Babylon. This happened when King Cyrus defeated Babylon in 538 *B.C. Then, Cyrus was acting as God’s special servant, Isaiah 45:1. Cyrus sent the *Jews back to Jerusalem and Judah. But for Christians, Jerusalem means the New Jerusalem. The *Messiah will save the people that trust him from the last enemy, death. They will live in the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:1-2. We could translate ‘salvation’ by the simpler word ‘rescue’ or ‘safety’.
- ‘*Righteousness’ means goodness. In other words, the city will be full of people that do right and good things. It will be full of goodness. The New Jerusalem will be full of people that reflect God’s great goodness (called *righteousness).
Verse 2 ‘*Glory’ is the splendid beauty of the character of someone who is great and good. It is a quality that seems to shine from inside a person. God’s *glory shines from inside God. His people will be similar. The new name means a new character.
Verse 3 This is an excellent example of *Hebrew poetry, where the two lines mean the same. There is a similar, very beautiful hat on a person’s head in Isaiah 61:10. Notice this. A crown means that the wearer is a king. God’s people are a crown: they mean that their God is king!
Verse 4 In English, the word ‘desert’ has several meanings. One is a dry, sandy place. Another is ‘to leave somebody alone’. So, here it has the second meaning. But the first meaning would also fit! ‘Hephzibah’ means ‘My delight is in her’. ‘Beulah’ means ‘married’.
Verse 5 Here are the two parts of a marriage: the wedding and married life together.
Alone becomes Hephzibah. Hephzibah means ‘my delight is in her’.
- Desert becomes Beulah. Beulah means ‘married’.
Verses 6-7 The *Messiah has put guards on the walls of Jerusalem. When the *Jews returned from Babylon, there were no walls. But Isaiah imagines that there are! They are people that will pray for salvation (rescue and safety) and *righteousness (very great goodness) to come to *Zion. Before Jesus came to earth the first time, there were probably many such people. Refer to number 5 in the section ‘Something to do’. The best guards of God’s city pray about it. These verses describe their prayers.
Verse 8 ‘Right hand’ and ‘strong arm’ are descriptions that both tell us two things about God.
| | Right Hand | Strong Arm |
|---|---|---|
| First meaning (Before Jesus came to earth) | God himself | The power of God |
| Second meaning (After Jesus came to the earth) | The Holy Spirit | Jesus Christ, the *Messiah |
Verse 9 ‘Harvest it’ links with ‘grain’ in verse 8; ‘gather the *grapes’ links with ‘new wine’. Often, an enemy would take the crops in the fields. There would be nothing for the people that worked hard to plant them. God’s promise is that this would never happen again. ‘*Grapes’ are the fruits that make wine. ‘*Courts’ were the open spaces, or yards, round the *temple. The ‘*temple’ was the house of God in Jerusalem.
Verse 10 The people are returning to *Zion, that is, Jerusalem or the new Jerusalem. But who are the people? The *Hebrew word for ‘people’ appears twice in this verse. The first time, it means ‘the people of God, the *Jews’. The second time it means ‘the peoples of God, from the rest of the world’. (‘Peoples’ means people from many nations.) This probably means that Isaiah is writing about the New Jerusalem. The way is easy. The road is clear of stones. The command is to build it into a highway (main road). The road called a ‘highway’ was higher than the land round it. The gates of the city are open. Everybody can come in! A *banner is a piece of material. People wrote words or drew pictures on it. They held it up between two poles. Then, everybody could see it and read it.
Verse 11 ‘Daughter of *Zion’ is a special *Jewish way to say ‘the people that live in *Zion’. The word ‘look’ appears 3 times in this verse. They tell people to make a careful note of what the *prophet wrote.
Look at what the *LORD has declared in verse 10.
Look at the salvation (safety) that the *LORD will bring to the whole world.
Look at the reward, another name for the people that the *Messiah brings with him.
Verse 12 Here is a structure with the pattern a-b-b-a. Students call it a *chiasmus.
| a | *Holy People | Always true |
| b | People whom the *LORD has *Redeemed | What the *LORD has done. He is their nearest relative. Read the note on Isaiah 43:1 |
| b | The People Whom Somebody Searched For | What the *LORD has done |
| a | The City that Nobody Avoids | Always true |
We may ask: ‘Who is the “Somebody” who searched for Jerusalem?’ First, it was the *Lord. He searched for Jerusalem because he wanted to show kindness to its people. But then everybody desired Jerusalem, because God shows his kindness there!
Something to do
1. Study Luke 4:16-21. Notice that Jesus did not use all of Isaiah’s words. Why did he stop where he did? The answer is in John 3:17.
2. Read about people to whom God gave (or will give) a new name. Genesis 17:5; Genesis 32:28; Isaiah 62:4; Matthew 16:17-18; Acts 13:9; Revelation 2:17 and Revelation 3:12.
3. Read Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:10 and Revelation 20:6. Of which verse in Isaiah chapter 61 do they remind you?
4. Read the verses in the *table below. Notice when ‘seed’ means ‘Christ’. And notice when it means ‘God’s people’ (*Jews or Christians). Note that Isaiah sometimes used the word ‘*remnant’ for ‘seed’. (For example, Isaiah 1:9, when he means ‘God’s people’.)
| Bible Verse | What the word ‘seed’ means in this verse. |
| ‘Her seed’ means Jesus Christ. | |
| Acts 3:25 explains what ‘your seed’ means here. | |
| Genesis 12:7; Genesis 13:15; Genesis 15:5, 17:8, 24:7 | Galatians 3:16 explains what ‘your seed’ means in these verses. |
| Romans 9:6-8 explains what ‘seed’ means here. | |
| Isaiah 1:9; Isaiah 10:22-23 | In Romans 9:29, Paul changes ‘*remnant’ to ‘seed’. That is because he repeated the words from the *Greek *Old Testament. |
5. Read about the people who prayed in Jerusalem before Jesus’ birth. They are in Luke 2:25 and Luke 2:36-38.
6. Study Isaiah 62:6-7. Make a list of how the guards prayed.
Chapter s 63-64
The 4th Song of the *Messiah and Isaiah’s prayer
heavens ~ another word for ‘skies’. It can also mean the place where God lives and the skies above us.
messiah ~ a leader such as a king. With a capital M (that is, ‘Messiah’), it means Jesus for Christians.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language, it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’), it is a name for God.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
LORD ~ LORD is a special name of God. In the Hebrew language, it is YHWH. It may mean ‘always alive’. So LORD is a sign that the Hebrew word is YHWH.
lord ~ master. When it has a capital L (that is, ‘Lord’), it is a name for God.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
anoint ~ to pour oil on someone. This is an ancient ceremony to appoint someone to do an important task (for example, to be a king or a priest). That person is then called ‘the anointed’, ‘the messiah’ (in Hebrew) or ‘the Christ’ (in Greek).
messiah ~ a leader such as a king. With a capital M (that is, ‘Messiah’), it means Jesus for Christians.
Hebrew ~ the language that Isaiah spoke.
Greek ~ the language that people spoke in Greece.
Zion ~ a name for Jerusalem.
praise ~ worship of God; the words that we use when we praise God.
worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
shepherd ~ a person who looks after sheep.
vineyard ~ a field where people grow grapes.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
justice ~ what a court of law rightly decides to be fair.
altar ~ a special metal table where people burnt animals and corn to please God.
covenant ~ the agreement between God and his people. In this agreement God agrees to help and to protect his people. His people agree to love and to serve God. Or, an agreement between nations.
descendants ~ future members of a family.
bless ~ to declare good things for someone; to show that person special kindness.
jewellery ~ pretty objects, for example precious stones and gold, that people wear.
glory ~ something that shines and is wonderful. Especially, it is God’s splendid beauty.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
courts ~ the open spaces or yards round the temple.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
banner ~ a special flag.
holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
redeem ~ a member of your family buys you from an enemy.
Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
olive ~ a fruit that gives oil.
Greek ~ the language that people spoke in Greece.
messiah ~ a leader such as a king. With a capital M (that is, ‘Messiah’), it means Jesus for Christians.
sin ~ not to obey God. Or, what you do when you do not obey God.
sin ~ not to obey God. Or, what you do when you do not obey God.
praise ~ worship of God; the words that we use when we praise God.
worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
worship ~ to tell God (or a false god) that he is wonderful; and also, to tell him that you love him.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
grape ~ a fruit that grows on a vine.
vine ~ grapes grow on vines. People make wine from grapes.
prophet ~ someone who says what God is saying.
kingdom ~ a country that a king rules.
holy ~ very, very good. Only God is really holy. He is so holy that he is separate from everybody else.
Levites ~ the special servants of God who helped the priests in the temple. They belonged to the family of Levi, who was one of Jacob’s sons.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
justice ~ what a court of law rightly decides to be fair.
descendants ~ future members of a family.'Old Testament ~ the earlier part of the Bible.
righteousness ~ great goodness.
jewellery ~ pretty objects, for example precious stones and gold, that people wear.
righteousness ~ great goodness.
glory ~ something that shines and is wonderful. Especially, it is God’s splendid beauty.
courts ~ the open spaces or yards round the temple.
temple ~ God’s house in Jerusalem. False gods also had temples.
Jewish ~ a description of something that has a relationship to the Jews.
Jews ~ the people that lived in Judah (which sounds like ‘Jew-dah’) and Israel.
chiasmus ~ a technique that a poet may use. The poet repeats his ideas in the opposite order. For example, we may call ideas by the letters a, b and c. If the poet uses a chiasmus, he may use the form a,b,c,b’,a’. That is, a and a’ are similar; and b and b’ are similar.
redeem ~ a member of your family buys you from an enemy.
table ~ a way to set out information in a series of boxes.
remnant ~ a small part of something that is larger. In Isaiah, it often means the few people that still obeyed God.