Isaiah 52:11

11 1Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, 2you who bear the vessels of the LORD.

Isaiah 52:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 52:11

Depart ye, depart ye
Not from Jerusalem, as some, for that is now said to be redeemed, and its waste places made joyful; but Babylon, even mystical Babylon. The Targum is, "be ye separated, be ye separated": and so the apostle, ( 2 Corinthians 6:17 ) . It denotes a separation from the idolatrous church of Rome; and the exhortation is repeated, to hasten the thing, to urge the necessity of it, and point at the danger of delaying it; and it may be it may respect a two fold separation, one that has been already at the time of the Reformation, and another that will be just before the destruction of Babylon, ( Revelation 18:4 ) : go ye out from thence:
not only protest against the false doctrines, idolatries, and superstitions of that apostate church, but entirely relinquish her communion: touch no unclean thing;
have no fellowship with her in any of her unclean and idolatrous actions, and bring none of her abominations along with you. It was the fault of the first reformers from Popery, that they brought so many of the impurities of the church of Rome along with them, which are retained to this day; in this last separation, care is to be taken, and will be taken, that those that come out keep clear of all her defilements; see ( Revelation 14:4 Revelation 14:5 ) : go ye out of the midst of her;
which signifies much the same as before, and is repeated again and again, to show the importance of it: be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord;
not the vessels of the Lord's sanctuary, as the Targum, restored by Cyrus to the Jews, at their return from the Babylonish captivity, ( Ezra 1:7 Ezra 1:8 ) , and so Jarchi interprets it of the priests and Levites that bore the vessels of the Lord in the wilderness; but Kimchi of the mercies and kindnesses of the Lord; Aben Ezra of the law: but it may much better be understood of the ministers of the Gospel, and of the treasure of the Gospel which they have in their earthen vessels; or the name of the Lord, which they are chosen vessels to bear and carry in the world; who ought to be pure from false doctrine, superstitious worship, and an evil conversation: though it may be applied to every Christian, since all true believers are priests under the Gospel dispensation; and as they bear the whole armour of God, and it is their duty to attend all the ordinances of the Gospel, they ought to have their conversation as becomes it. In Zohar {p}, these vessels are interpreted of the righteous, brought as a gift to the King Messiah.


FOOTNOTES:

F16 In Exod. fol. 87. 4.

Isaiah 52:11 In-Context

9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the LORD.
12 For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Isaiah 48:20; Jeremiah 50:8; Jeremiah 51:6, 45; Zechariah 2:6, 7; Cited 2 Corinthians 6:17; [Revelation 18:4]
  • 2. See Ezra 1:7-11
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.