Isaiah 42:21

The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake,.... This may be either understood of what the Lord had done for these people in time past, and which is mentioned as an aggravation of their

The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

Is well-pleased, to wit, with you; or, as this word is most commonly used, hath a good-will to you or to this people; which may be understood out of the following verse, as is very usual in sacred Scripture. The meaning seems to be this; Although thou art a wicked people, that rebellest against the clearest light, and therefore God might justly destroy thee suddenly; yet he is very unwilling to do it, and will patiently wait for thy repentance, that he may be gracious unto thee. For his righteousness’ sake; not for thy sake, for thou deservest no such thing from him, but for the glory of his own faithfulness, in fulfilling that promise and covenant which he made with thy pious progenitors for themselves and for their seed. He will magnify the law, and make it honourable; he will maintain the honour of his law, and therefore is not forward to destroy you, who profess God’ s law, and the true religion, lest his law should upon that occasion be exposed to contempt.

Isaiah 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make [it] honourable.Ver. 21. The Lord is well pleased; he will magnify his law, &c.] Or, To magnify his law and make it honourable - sc., by recompensing so highly those that observed it; this he did for his "righteousness’ sake" - i.e., of his free grace and fidelity; but these are none such, they are practical Antinomians, and to me to the diametrically opposite.

(21) The Lord is well pleased . . .—The tenses require a change: The Lord was well pleased . . . He made His law great and glorious. This had been His purpose, and he had not failed in it. He had done all that it was possible to do. (Comp. Isaiah 5:4; Romans 9:4.)

Verse 21. He will magnify the law - "He hath exalted his own praise"] For תורה torah, the law, the Septuagint read תודה todah, praise.

21. The verse reads: It was Jehovah’s pleasure, for His righteousness’ sake, to magnify instruction (or, Revelation) and glorify it. (see R.V.) Righteousness is to be understood exactly as in Isaiah 42:6; and the verbs “magnify” and “glorify” are subordinate to “was pleased,” expressing that which Jehovah was pleased to do. (see Davidson, Synt. § 83, R. 1.) The only question is whether the reference is to the past revelation in law and prophecy, by which Israel has failed to profit; or to the future glorification of religion by its diffusion among the nations (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 42:4; Isaiah 42:6). The last is probably nearest the truth. The verse is not an explanation of the “many things” that Israel has seen and failed to see, but introduces a new thought. It expresses the great purpose which Jehovah had cherished with regard to Israel—to make it the instrument of extending the knowledge of His will to the world. This is the true “glorification” of the Tôrâh of Israel (Isaiah 42:4). 22 ff. shew how this design has hitherto been frustrated by the necessity of imposing chastisement on Israel, till it should learn its true mission. But this …] Rather, But it. snared in holes] This is no doubt the sense, although a change of pointing seems necessary in the verb, making it a passive (read hûphaḥ ? for hâphëaḥ ?). The metaphor is for the captivity, but it is only a metaphor; the prophet does not imagine that a large proportion of the exiles were actually incarcerated in dungeons.

The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake - There is great variety in the translation and interpretation of this verse.

21. This verse shows what those great things are. For his righteousness’ sake — That is, for the sake of his righteous cause, he will still be propitious to this swerving people.