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 52:7 and Nahum 1:15

Hebrew Bible

Summary

Nahum echoes Isaiah by describing the feet of a messenger who brings good news, a phrase from Isaiah's vision of a second exodus. Nahum uses this language to end a war oracle against Assyria with a message of hope and deliverance.

Passages

Isaiah 52:7

Hebrew Bible

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.

740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Nahum 1:15

Hebrew Bible

13 And now, I will break Assyria’s yoke bar from your neck; I will tear apart the shackles that are on you.” 14 The Lord has issued a decree against you: “Your dynasty will come to an end. I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate your grave, because you are accursed!” 15 (2:1) Look! A herald is running on the mountains! A messenger is proclaiming deliverance: “Celebrate your sacred festivals, O Judah! Fulfill your sacred vows to praise God! For never again will the wicked Assyrians invade you; they have been completely destroyed.”

600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Nahum

References

"... Dependence on Isaiah by other prophets ... Zephaniah, Nahum, and Jeremiah contain passages quite similar to utterances in Isaiah 40–66. If this dependence could be established beyond question, it would mean that Isaiah 40–66 itself was also preexilic. Zephaniah 2:15 resembles Isaiah 47:8. The announcement of “feet bringing good news” is found in both Nahum 1:15 and Isaiah 52:7. Jeremiah’s reference to the stirring sea and roaring waters (31:35) is close to a similar statement in Isaiah (51:15), and Jeremiah refers to Israel as “my servant” (30:10), possibly reflecting the famous servant songs of Isaiah (41:8–9; 42:1, 19; 44:1–2, 21; 45:4; 48:20; 52:13; 53:11) ..."

Tremper Longman III and Raymond B. Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 307.

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 52:7 and Nahum 1:15

Summary

Passages

Isaiah 52:7

Nahum 1:15

References

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