Isaiah 42:11

11 Let the desert and its cities raise their voices, the villages where Kedar lives; let those living in Sela shout for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops!

Isaiah 42:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 42:11

Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice,
&c.] The eastern part of the world, Arabia Deserta, and the inhabitants of the cities which were in it: the villages that Kedar doth inhabit;
or the "courts" ^F20, or tents, the Kedarenes inhabited, who were Arabians, and dwelt in tents, which they pitched here and there, for the convenience of their flocks; and so the Targum,

``the Arabians that inhabit the wilderness shall praise:''

let the inhabitants of the rock sing:
or of Petra, which Jerom says was a city of Palestine. It was the metropolis of Arabia Petraea, which whole country may be here meant, and the inhabitants of it, who had reason to sing for joy, when the Gospel was preached unto them; as it was by the Apostle Paul in Arabia, ( Galatians 1:17 ) : let them shout from the top of the mountains;
the wild, savage, and barbarous people that dwell there, but now become civilized, as well as evangelized, by the Gospel; or the messengers and ministers of the word, whose feet on those mountains were beautiful, bringing the good tidings of peace and salvation by Christ. The Targum interprets this of the resurrection of the dead,

``the dead, when they shall go out of the house of their world, from the tops of the mountains shall lift up their voice ^F21.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 (Myrux) "atria", Montanus; "tentoria", Grotius.
F21 Ben Melech interprets the rocks and mountains of towers built on rocks and mountains, where men dwelt.

Isaiah 42:11 In-Context

9 See how the former predictions come true; and now new things do I declare - before they sprout I tell you about them."

10 Sing to ADONAI a new song! Let his praise be sung from the ends of the earth by those sailing the sea and by everything in it, by the coastlands and those living there.

11 Let the desert and its cities raise their voices, the villages where Kedar lives; let those living in Sela shout for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops!

12 Let them give glory to ADONAI and proclaim his praise in the coastlands.

13 ADONAI will go out like a soldier, like a soldier roused to the fury of battle; he will shout, yes, he raises the battle cry; as he triumphs over his foes.