Isaiah 4

Isaiah 4 follows the harsh judgment of chapters 2-3 with hope. After the cleansing fire, a humbled remnant in Jerusalem will be called holy, and the Lord’s own glory will cover them like a shelter. The chapter turns from ruin to restoration.

Isaiah 4:1

This verse closes the picture of chapter 3. War has so thinned the men that seven women cling to one man. They ask only for his name, because being unmarried was a deep shame. The scene shows how desperate the land has become.

BSA: disgrace (“shame, reproach, a state of being without a husband”): In that culture, being without husband and children brought public shame, so these women beg for any name to cover them. seven (“females, wives”): The gloss reminds us these are women seeking marriage, and the number shows how few men are left.

See also: Isaiah 3:25-26.

Isaiah 4:2

Now the scene brightens. “That day” becomes a day of blessing. The Branch of the LORD, a title later Scriptures use for the coming Messiah, will be beautiful and glorious. The land will bear fruit, and the survivors will take pride in it.

BSA: Branch (“young growth, sprout”): It pictures new life springing up from what looked cut down, a fresh start from God. survivors (“escaped ones, remnant”): Those who live through judgment become the seed of a renewed people.

Hebrew: צֶמַח (tsemach, H6780) — “sprout, growth.” The word describes something growing up out of the ground. Jeremiah and Zechariah use it of the coming King, so Christians have long heard Christ in it.

See also: Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8.

Isaiah 4:3

Those who remain in Jerusalem after the judgment will be called holy, meaning set apart for God. They are the ones written among the living, as if their names were listed in a register of life. Holiness here is God’s gift to a remnant he preserves.

BSA: holy (“set apart, sacred”): Holiness means belonging to God and being set apart for him, not only being morally clean. recorded (“written, enrolled”): God keeps a record of his people, and being enrolled means being counted as his own.

See also: Exodus 32:32; Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20.

Isaiah 4:4

Holiness comes through cleansing. The Lord washes away the moral filth and the guilt of bloodshed from Jerusalem. He does this by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. His judgment is a refining that burns away sin so that the city can be clean.

BSA: filth (“excrement, moral pollution”): The word is blunt and shows how foul sin looks to God. fire (“burning, purification”): The fire here is not only destruction but the burning that purifies, like fire refining metal.

See also: Isaiah 1:25; Malachi 3:2-3.

Isaiah 4:5

God’s presence returns as it did in the wilderness, when a cloud by day and fire by night led Israel. Now it rests over all of Zion and over her gatherings. Every home and every worshiping company is covered by his glory.

BSA: create (“bring into being, form”): This is the verb used for God’s own creating. The new protection is his work alone, not something people build. glory (“God’s majestic presence, His splendor”): The glory is God himself dwelling with his people, and it is what covers them.

Hebrew: בָּרָא (bara, H1254) — “to create.” This verb is used in Scripture only with God as the one acting. Isaiah says God will make something new for his cleansed people.

See also: Exodus 13:21-22; Exodus 40:34.

Isaiah 4:6

The covering becomes a shelter like a tent or booth. It shades from scorching heat and hides from storm and rain. The cleansed people are not only forgiven but protected, and God himself is their safe place in every kind of trouble.

BSA: shelter (“tabernacle, pavilion, or booth”): The word recalls the tent of shelter, so God’s presence is pictured as a home that covers his people. refuge (“safe place, shelter”): It adds the idea of a place to run to when danger comes.

See also: Psalm 91:1-2; Isaiah 25:4.