The Meaning of Isaiah 49:8 Explained

Isaiah 49:8

KJV: Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

YLT: Thus said Jehovah: 'In a time of good pleasure I answered thee, And in a day of salvation I helped thee, And I keep thee, and give thee, For a covenant of the people, To establish the earth, To cause to inherit desolate inheritances.

Darby: Thus saith Jehovah: In a time of acceptance have I answered thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the land, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

ASV: Thus saith Jehovah, In an acceptable time have I answered thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thus saith  the LORD,  In an acceptable  time  have I heard  thee, and in a day  of salvation  have I helped  thee: and I will preserve  thee, and give  thee for a covenant  of the people,  to establish  the earth,  to cause to inherit  the desolate  heritages; 

What does Isaiah 49:8 Mean?

Study Notes

Verse Heading: Israel to preserved and restored
The Lord Jesus and the believing remnant of Israel are here joined. What is said is true of both.

Verse Meaning

In response to the Servant"s feelings of frustration ( Isaiah 49:4), the Lord promised that at the appointed hour of salvation, He would support and enable His Servant (cf. Psalm 22:19-21). Watts interpreted this servant too as Darius. [1] He would make the Servant a covenant of the people, namely, He would make a new covenant with His people that the Servant would embody (cf. Isaiah 42:6; Jeremiah 31:31; Jeremiah 32:40; Ezekiel 37:26; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8-12). The Servant would fulfill God"s covenants with Israel.
"To speak of the Servant as the covenant means that while, as we know, it is through his work that covenant blessings become available, it is only in him, in the union of personal relationship, that these blessings can be enjoyed. Prophets preached the covenant and pointed away from themselves to the Lord; the Servant will actualize the blessings and point to himself." [2]
The Servant would restore the land, make the Israelites inherit desolate areas, and ( Isaiah 49:9) free captives. The terms used in this verse recall the relief that came to the Israelites in their Jubilee Year (cf. Leviticus 25:8-22). The salvation in view will appear in the Millennium, which the Jubilee Year anticipated. Then too the Servant will represent Israel.
The Apostle Paul quoted this verse in 2 Corinthians 6:2. To him the present day was the day of salvation that Isaiah predicted. I take it that Paul meant that the day of salvation had begun because Christ had died on the cross, not that everything that will mark that day had arrived. Clearly God has not yet restored the land to Israel. The day of salvation will come to its glorious climax in the future Millennium.

Context Summary

Isaiah 49:1-13 - "a Light To The Gentiles"
The first division of this second part of Isaiah closes at Isaiah 48:22, with the phrase there is no peace to the wicked. The second division of part 2 closes with a similar phrase, Isaiah 57:21. The first division here ends with the proclamation for Israel to leave Babylon. They need never have gone there. If only they have been obedient in every particular theirs would have been the happy lot of Isaiah 48:18, as contrasted with Isaiah 48:22. But even under such circumstances, in captivity and as slaves of the Chaldeans the redeeming grace of God would triumph, Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:5.
The second great division of Part 2 opens with Isaiah 49:1. In their first and immediate reference, these verses evidently apply to our Lord. See Acts 13:47, etc. In the mission of Jesus, the ideal of the Hebrew race was realized. As the white flower on the stalk He revealed the essential beauty and glory of the root, Isaiah 49:6. See Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:1-2; Matthew 2:14-15, etc.
There is a secondary sense, also, in which the Christian worker may appropriate many things in this glowing paragraph. Our mouth must be surrendered to God, that He may use it for His own high purposes. But do not dread the shadow of His hand. It is the quiver case in which He keeps His chosen arrows against the battle! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 49

1  Christ being sent to the Jews, complains of them
5  He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises
13  God's love is perpetual to his church
18  The ample restoration of the church
24  The powerful deliverance out of captivity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 49:8 mean?

Thus says Yahweh in time an acceptable I have heard You and in the day of salvation I have helped You and I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people to restore the earth to cause them to inherit the heritages desolate
כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה בְּעֵ֤ת רָצוֹן֙ עֲנִיתִ֔יךָ וּבְי֥וֹם יְשׁוּעָ֖ה עֲזַרְתִּ֑יךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ֗ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ֙ לִבְרִ֣ית עָ֔ם לְהָקִ֣ים אֶ֔רֶץ לְהַנְחִ֖יל נְחָל֥וֹת שֹׁמֵמֽוֹת

כֹּ֣ה ׀  Thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֣ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֗ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בְּעֵ֤ת  in  time 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, common singular construct
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
רָצוֹן֙  an  acceptable 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רָצֹון  
Sense: pleasure, delight, favour, goodwill, acceptance, will.
עֲנִיתִ֔יךָ  I  have  heard  You 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: לְעַנּׄות 
Sense: to answer, respond, testify, speak, shout.
וּבְי֥וֹם  and  in  the  day 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
יְשׁוּעָ֖ה  of  salvation 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְשׁוּעָה  
Sense: salvation, deliverance.
עֲזַרְתִּ֑יךָ  I  have  helped  You 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: עָזַר  
Sense: to help, succour, support.
וְאֶצָּרְךָ֗  and  I  will  preserve  You 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: נְצוּרִים 
Sense: to guard, watch, watch over, keep.
וְאֶתֶּנְךָ֙  and  give  You 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular, second person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לִבְרִ֣ית  as  a  covenant  to 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בְּרִית  
Sense: covenant, alliance, pledge.
עָ֔ם  the  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
לְהָקִ֣ים  to  restore 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
אֶ֔רֶץ  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לְהַנְחִ֖יל  to  cause  them  to  inherit 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: נָחַל  
Sense: to get as a possession, acquire, inherit, possess.
נְחָל֥וֹת  the  heritages 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: נַחֲלָה  
Sense: possession, property, inheritance, heritage.
שֹׁמֵמֽוֹת  desolate 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine plural
Root: שָׁמֵם  
Sense: to be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy.