Isaiah 54:9

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 54:9 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “For this is [as] the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

For this is [as] the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
Isaiah 54:9 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 54

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
9For this is [as] the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For this is as the waters of Noah unto me, &c.] Some copies, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, read these two words, ym yk, as one, thus, ymyk, “as the days of Noah”; and this is followed by the Targum, Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions; both readings may be kept, and joined in one, and the sense be, “for this is as the waters that were in the days of Noah unto me”; so Kimchi and Menachem join them. The meaning is, that God’s dispensation towards his people, at the time the prophecy refers to, is like that of his to Noah and his family; and the love he bears to them is like that which he bore to him; and the covenant he has made with them is as that he made with him: for as I have sworn…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“I am about to do the same in this instance as in Noah's flood. As I swore then that it should not return (Gen 8:21; Gen 9:11), and I kept that promise, so I swear now to My people, and will perform My promise, that there shall be no return of the deluge of My wrath upon them. LOWTH, on insufficient authority, reads (the same will I do now as), "in the days of Noah."”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“For this is as the waters of Noah unto me - As it was in the time of the flood of waters, so shall it be now. ‘I then solemnly promised that the waters should not again drown the earth, and I have kept that promise. I now promise with equal solemnity that I will bestow perpetual favor on my true people, and will shed upon them eternal and unchanging blessings.’ ‘The waters of Noah,’ here mean evidently the flood that came upon the world in his time, and from which he and his family were saved. Lowth, on the authority of one manuscript and of the Vulgate, Syriac, Symmachus, and Theodotion, reads this, ‘In the days of Noah? But the authority is not sufficient to change the Hebrew text, and the…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“This - This covenant of grace and peace made with thee shall be as certain and perpetual as that which I made with Noah, that there should never be another flood to drown the world. Wrath - So as to forsake thee utterly. Isaiah 54:10”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“54:9 The Exile was similar in both drama and trauma to the flood in the time of Noah. In both instances, people sinned grievously against the Lord, but the Lord renewed his commitment to creation (after Noah’s flood) and to his people (after the Exile).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Isa 12:1, Isa 55:11; Gen 8:21, Gen 9:11-16; Psa 104:9; Jer 31:35, Jer 31:36, Jer 33:20-26; Eze 39:20; Heb 6:16-18 Isaiah 54:10”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“The ground of this "everlasting kindness" is given in Isa 54:9 : "For it is now as at the waters of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should not overflow the earth any more; so have I sworn not to be wroth with thee, and not to threaten thee." The commencement of this v. has been a fluctuating one from the earliest times. The Sept. reading is ממּי; that of the Targ., S., Jerome, Syriac, and Saad., כּימי; and even the Codd. read sometimes כּי־מי, sometimes כּימי (compare Mat 24:37, ὥσπερ αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ Νῶε οὕτως κ.τ.λ \- a passage which appears to derive its shape from the one before us, with the reading כימי, and which is expounded in Luk 17:26). If we read כימי, the word…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification