Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.
Here, I. An auditory is summoned together and attention demanded. The sermon in the foregoing chapter was directed to the house of Jacob and the people of Israel, Isa 49:1, Isa 49:12. But this is directed to the isles (that is, the Gentiles, for they are called the isles of the Gentiles, Gen 10:5) and to the people from far, that were strangers to the...
Commenting on Isaiah 49:1-6
Listen, O isles, unto me,.... These are not the words of Cyrus, as Lyra mentions; nor of the Prophet Isaiah, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and other Jewish writers think; but of Christ, calling upon the inhabitants of the isles to hearken to him; by whom are meant the inhabitants of islands properly so called, as ours of Great Britain, and may be chiefly designed, being...
Listen, to me O isles; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the body of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (a) This is spoken in the person of Christ, to assure the faithful that these promises should come to pass: for they were all made in him and in him would be performed.