Yesaya 50:1

50:1 This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s divorce certificate

by which I divorced her?

Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? ¹ 

Look, you were sold because of your sins; ² 

because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. ³ 

Yesaya 54:6-7

54:6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back

like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression, ⁴ 

like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.

54:7 “For a short time I abandoned ⁵  you,

but with great compassion I will gather you.

Yesaya 49:14-15

The Lord Remembers Zion

49:14 “Zion said, ‘The Lord has abandoned me,

the sovereign master ⁶  has forgotten me.’

49:15 Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? ⁷ 

Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? ⁸ 

Even if mothers ⁹  were to forget,

I could never forget you! ¹⁰ 

[50:1]  ¹ sn The Lord challenges the exiles (Zion’s children) to bring incriminating evidence against him. The rhetorical questions imply that Israel accused the Lord of divorcing his wife (Zion) and selling his children (the Israelites) into slavery to pay off a debt.

[50:1]  ² sn The Lord admits that he did sell the Israelites, but it was because of their sins, not because of some debt he owed. If he had sold them to a creditor, they ought to be able to point him out, but the preceding rhetorical question implies they would not be able to do so.

[50:1]  ³ sn The Lord admits he did divorce Zion, but that too was the result of the nation’s sins. The force of the earlier rhetorical question comes into clearer focus now. The question does not imply that a certificate does not exist and that no divorce occurred. Rather, the question asks for the certificate to be produced so the accuser can see the reason for the divorce in black and white. The Lord did not put Zion away arbitrarily.

[54:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “like a woman abandoned and grieved in spirit.”

[54:7]  ⁵ tn Or “forsook” (NASB).

[49:14]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[49:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “her suckling”; NASB “her nursing child.”

[49:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “so as not to have compassion on the son of her womb?”

[49:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “these” (so ASV, NASB).

[49:15]  ¹⁰ sn The argument of v. 15 seems to develop as follows: The Lord has an innate attachment to Zion, just like a mother does for her infant child. But even if mothers were to suddenly abandon their children, the Lord would never forsake Zion. In other words, the Lord’s attachment to Zion is like a mother’s attachment to her infant child, but even stronger.