17 Your children make haste; your destroyers and those who made you waste shall go forth from you.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Thy builders hasten. He affirms what had been briefly stated in the former verse; for it might have been thought that there was no ground for what he had now asserted about the unceasing care which God takes of his Church and of her walls, which he permits to be razed to their foundations, and therefore he adds the explanation, that it will indeed be thrown down, but will afterwards be built anew. Builders. From this word we may learn what is the true method of restoring the Church, namely, if the Lord send "builders, to rear it, and next if he drive far away the destroyers who demolish it. Though God could, by himself, and without the aid of men, rebuild the Church, yet he deigns to employ their hands; and although he alone, by the secret influence of his Spirit, completes this whole building, yet he blesses their labor, that it may not be useless. From him, therefore, we ought to ask and look for builders; for it belongs to him to render them "sufficient," as Paul also informs us, (2-Corinthians 3:5,) and to assign to each his department. We ought also to pray not only that he may "send forth laborers into his harvest," (Matthew 9:38,) but that he may recruit their strength and efficaciously direct them, so that they may not labor in vain; for, when the doctrine of the Gospel is preached with any advantage, it arises from his extraordinary goodness. But even this would not be enough, if he did not "drive destroyers far away;" for Satan, by innumerable arts, invades and assails the Church, and is in no want of servants and attendants, who direct their whole energy to destroy, or spoil, or hinder the Lord's building. We ought, therefore, constantly to entreat that he would ward off their attacks; and if the result be not entirely according to our expectations, let us blame our own sins and ingratitude; for the Lord was ready to bestow those blessings abundantly upon us.
Thy children - The children of Zion - the true people of God. But there is here considerable variety in the interpretation. The Hebrew of the present text is בניך bânâyı̂k ("thy sons"). But Jerome reads it, Structores tui - 'Thy builders;' as if it were בונין. The Septuagint renders it, 'Thou shalt be speedily built (ταχὺ οἰκοδομηθήσῃ tachu oikodomēthēsē) by those by whom thou hast been destroyed.' The Chaldee renders it, 'Those that rebuild thy waste places shall hasten.' The Syriac reads it, 'Thy sons;' and the Arabic, 'Thou shalt be rebuilt by those by whom thou hast been destroyed.' But there is no good authority for changing the present Hebrew text. nor is it necessary. The sense probably is, the descendants of those who dwelt in Zion, who are now in exile, shall hasten to rebuild the wastes of the desolate capital, and restore its ruins. And may it not mean, that in the great work under the Messiah, of restoring the nation to the worship of God, and of spreading the true religion, God would make use of those who dwelt in Zion; that is, of the Jews, as his ambassadors?
They that made thee waste - Language drawn from the destruction of Jerusalen. The sense is, that they would seek no longer to retain possession, but would permit its former inhabitants to return, and engage in repairing its ruins.
Thy children shall make haste "They that destroyed thee shall soon become thy builders" - Auctor Vulgatae pro בניך banayich, videtur legisse בוניך bonayich, unde vertit, structores tui; cui et Septuaginta fere consentiunt, qui verterunt ῳκοδομηθης, aedificata es, prout in Plantiniana editione habetur; in Vaticana sive Romana legitur, οικοδομηθησῃ, aedificaberis. Hisce etiam Targum Jonathanis aliquatenus consentit, ubi, et aedificabunt. Confer infra Esai. Isaiah 54:13, ad quem locum rabbini quoque notarunt en tractatu Talmudico Berachot, c. ix., quod non legendum sit בניך banayich, id est. filii tui; sed בניך bonayich, aedificatores tui. Confer not. ad librum Prec. Jude. part ii., p. 226, ut et D Wagenseil Sot. p. 253, n. 9. "The author of the Vulgate appears to have read בוניך bonayich for בניך banayich, as he translates it by structures tui, 'thy builders.' The Septuagint is almost the same with the Vulgate, having ῳκοδομηθης, art built, as in the Plantin edition: but the Vatican or Roman copy reads οικοδομηθησῃ, those shalt be built. To these readings the Targum of Jonathan has some sort of correspondence, translating et aedificabunt, 'and they shall build.' See Isaiah 54:13; on which place the rabbins also remark, in the Talmudic tract Berachoth, c. 9, that we should not read בניך banayich, thy sons, but בניך bonayich, thy builders. See the note in Prae. Jude. part ii., p. 226, and also D. Wagenseil, Sot. p. 253, n. 9. "See also Breithaupt. not. ad Jarchi in loc.; and the note on this place in De Sac. Poes. Hebr. Praelect. 31. Instead of בוניך or בניך bonayich, thy builders, several MSS. read בניך baneycha, thy sons. So also the Syriac: see the above note.
Shall go forth of thee "Shall become thine offspring" - ממך יצאו mimmech yetseu, shall proceed, spring, issue, from thee, as thy children. The phrase is frequently used in this sense: see Isaiah 11:1; Micah 5:2; Nahum 1:11. The accession of the Gentiles to the Church of God is considered as an addition made to the number of the family and children of Sion: see Isaiah 49:21, Isaiah 49:22, and Isaiah 60:4. The common rendering, "shall go forth of thee, or depart from thee," is very flat, after their zeal had been expressed by "shall become thy builders:" and as the opposition is kept up in one part of the sentence, one has reason to expect it in the other, which should be parallel to it.
Thy children shall make (y) haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee.
(y) I have continual care to build you up again and to destroy your enemies.
Thy children shall make haste,.... Regenerate persons, young converts, such as are born again of incorruptible seed by the word; these shall flock to the church,
as doves to the windows; join themselves to her, and submit to Gospel ordinances, and
make haste, and delay not, to keep the Lord's commandments; which is no small pleasure, joy, and comfort to the church of God. Some render it, "thy builders" (m) "shall make haste"; Gospel ministers, who are wise masterbuilders under Christ; these shall come with all readiness and cheerfulness, and build in the temple, the church of God, and rebuild her walls, and repair her breaches:
thy destroyers and they that made thee waste, shall go forth of thee; tyrants and persecutors of the church shall cease, and be no more; and false teachers, that corrupt the minds of men, subvert their faith, and destroy their souls, as antichrist and his ministers, shall be drove out of the church, and destroyed by Christ, the Head of it; see Revelation 11:18.
(m) "structores vel aedificatores tui", Munster, Montanus, Calvin, Tigurine version.
Thy children--Israel (Isaiah 49:20-21; Isaiah 43:6). JEROME reads, for "Thy children," "Thy builders"; they that destroyed thee shall hasten to build thee.
haste--to rebuild thy desolate capital.
shall go forth--Thy destroyers shall leave Judea to Israel in undisturbed possession.
It is this fact of a renewed glorification which presents itself afresh to the prophet's mind. "Thy children make haste, thy destroyers and masters draw out from thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all these assemble themselves together, and come to thee. As truly as I live, saith Jehovah, thou wilt put them all on like jewellery, and gird them round thee like a bride." The pointing adopted by the lxx, Targ., Jeremiah. and Saad., is בּניך. The antithesis favours this reading; but בּניך suits Isaiah 49:18, Isaiah 49:19 better; and the thought that Zion's children come and restore her fallen walls, follows of itself from the very antithesis: her children come; and those who destroyed their maternal home, and made it a desolate ruin, have to depart from both city and land. Zion is to lift up her eyes, that have been cast down till now, yea, to lift them up round about; for on all sides those whom she thought she had lost are coming in dense crowds לך (cf., לא = לו with אליו, Isaiah 49:5), to her, i.e., henceforth to belong to her again. Jehovah pledges His life (chai 'ănı̄, ζῶν ἐγώ, Ewald, 329, a) that a time of glory is coming for Zion and her children. כּי in the affirmative sense, springing out of the confirmative after an affirming oath, equivalent to אם־לא elsewhere (e.g., Isaiah 5:9). The population which Zion recovers once more, will be to her like the ornaments which a woman puts on, like the ornamental girdle (Isaiah 3:20) which a bride fastens round her wedding dress.
*More commentary available at chapter level.