Isaiah

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Chapter 52

1 Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city.⁠ For uncircumcised and unclean pagans will no longer invade you. 2 Shake off the dirt! Get up, captive Jerusalem.⁠ Take off the iron chains around your neck, O captive daughter Zion.⁠ 3 For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and you will not be redeemed for money.” 4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt; Assyria oppressed them for no good reason. 5 And now, what do we have here?” says the Lord. “Indeed my people have been carried away for nothing, those who rule over them taunt,” says the Lord, “and my name is constantly slandered all day long. 6 For this reason my people will know my name; for this reason they will know at that time that I am the one who says, ‘Here I am.’” 7 How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains the feet of a messenger who announces peace,⁠ a messenger who brings good news,⁠ who announces deliverance, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”⁠ 8 Listen, your watchmen shout; in unison they shout for joy, for they see with their very own eyes the Lord’s return to Zion. 9 In unison give a joyful shout, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the Lord consoles his people; he protects Jerusalem. 10 The Lord reveals his royal power in the sight of all the nations; the entire earth sees our God deliver. 11 Leave! Leave! Get out of there! Don’t touch anything unclean! Get out of it! Stay pure, you who carry the Lord’s holy items.⁠ 12 Yet do not depart quickly or leave in a panic.⁠ For the Lord goes before you; the God of Israel is your rear guard. 13 Look, my servant will act wisely!²⁰ He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted—⁠ 14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you) he was so disfigured he no longer looked like a man; his form was so marred he no longer looked human— 15 so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, for they will witness something unannounced to them, and they will understand something they had not heard about.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 52:1 and Psalms of Solomon 11:7

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry

Summary

The Psalms of Solomon draw on Isaiah 52 and its imagery of Jerusalem awakening and dressing in glory, to frame the return of exiles as divine mercy. The command for Jerusalem to clothe itself and the mention of good news echo Isaiah’s call.

Passages

Isaiah 52:1

Hebrew Bible

1 Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your beautiful clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city. For uncircumcised and unclean pagans will no longer invade you. 2 Shake off the dirt! Get up, captive Jerusalem. Take off the iron chains around your neck, O captive daughter Zion. 3 For this is what the Lord says: “You were sold for nothing, and you will not be redeemed for money.” 4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “In the beginning my people went to live temporarily in Egypt; Assyria oppressed them for no good reason.

740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Psalms of Solomon 11:7

Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry

5 The woods gave them shelter as they passed by; God caused every sweet-smelling tree to grow for them, 6 so that Israel might pass by when their God visits them in glory. 7 Put on, Jerusalem, your glorious clothing; Prepare your holy robe; For God has promised good things for Israel, forever and ever. 8 Let the Lord do what He has spoken concerning Israel and Jerusalem; Let the Lord raise up Israel by His glorious name. 9 The mercy of the Lord be upon Israel forever and ever.

65–30 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Psalms of Solomon

References

"... Whereas Isaiah 40:5 emphasizes the glory of God himself as he arrives in person, Psalm of Solomon 11:6 interprets God’s glory as manifest in the return of exiles. The reestablishment of the righteous Diaspora is the fulfillment of salvation from Isaiah 40:5 (Psalms of Solomon 5:7). The Psalm also extracts various other strands of second exodus material from Isaiah, most notably Isaiah 52. In verses 1b-2 of the Psalm, someone commands that people “announce ... the voice of the one bringing good news”, and this good news is modified by a dependent ὅτι clause: “for / that God has been merciful to Israel”.” Though the parallel is not exact, this is probably a reference to the heralding messenger of Isaiah 52:7. In the LXX, Isaiah 52’s herald announces the good news of the saving reign of God “because the Lord has been merciful to her and has rescued Jerusalem” (Isaiah 52:9). Another probable allusion to Isaiah 52 appears at the end of the Psalm. In verse 7, there is a command for Jerusalem to “put on” her “glorious garments”. The correspondence with Isaiah 52:1 here is unmistakable. Later in verse 7, the reason that Jerusalem is to clothe itself is because “God has spoken good things about Israel forever”. The verb ἐλάλησεν and adverbial clause εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα probably derives from Isaiah 40:5 and 8 respectively, yet the mention of “good things” may be another conscious inclusion of Isaiah 52:7 and the proclamation of “good things” from that context. By alluding to Isaiah 52:7-9, Psalm of Solomon 11:1 and 11:7 intimates that God will bring about “good news” and “good things” through the exilic return (Psalms of Solomon 11:5-6) ..."

Chad Reeser, The Use of Isaiah in Psalm of Solomon 11 and Mark 1:1-15 (University of Aberdeen, 2020), 1–11.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Isaiah66 chapters

Compare Isaiah 52:1 and Psalms of Solomon 11:7

Summary

Passages

Isaiah 52:1

Psalms of Solomon 11:7

References

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