It’s amazing what a difference it makes when a comma is put in the right place!
Isaiah 59:19 KJV
[19] “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”
Isaiah 59:19 NLT
[19] “In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.”
Isaiah 59:19 NIV
[19] “From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the Lord drives along.”
It is unfortunate that many of us who grew up with the King James Version of the Bible, have entrenched in our minds the idea that it is the enemy who comes in like a flood. The translators put the comma in the wrong place!
The other two versions I have quoted seem to have understood that it is God’s Spirit, not the enemy, who comes in, Hebrew “nahar”, meaning “a stream or river”, like a river in flood.
Let’s look at the context of this chapter which begins with…
Isaiah 59:1-2 NLT
[1] “Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. [2] It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen any more.”
The sins of God’s people had cut off His flow of power and grace. The verses that follow are a resume of the people’s sin and its outcome.
Isaiah 59:9, 12, 14-16, 18 NLT
[9] “So, there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom…
[12] For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are…
[14] Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. [15] Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.”
So, God Himself would rise up in response to the terrible situation. Go’s is never neutralised by sin. He is never intimidated by human wickedness. He Himself would rise up and overwhelm the power of evil by His great goodness.
Isaiah 59:15b-16, 18 NLT
[15]”…The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. [16] He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him…
[18] He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.”
And then our Scripture…
Isaiah 59:19-21 NLT
[19] “In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord. [20] “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the Lord. [21] “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
No! No! No! God won’t come in like a raging flood to judge and destroy. It’s His goodness that leads people to repentance. He will come to relieve the oppressed, to lift up the fallen, and the forgive the sin of the repentant.
Can you understand, then, that the KJV has put the comma in the wrong place! It is not the enemy that comes in like a flood. It’s the mercy of God, like a river in flood, moved along by His Spirit, that will come in to rescue those who “have turned from their sins.”
God is not in competition with the enemy. The Hebrew, “tsar”, translated “enemy” in the KJV, in this context implies “distress” or “adversity”. The sin of the people brought on them distress and adversity. Their suffering was of their own doing, but God promised to intervene so that, from east to west, they would know that it was God who came to their aid.
Let’s be true to God’s Word. We need His intervention in our day as Isaiah saw in his day. The situation is no different now, in our country, from what it was then. We read Isaiah’s account of Israel’s sin like today’s newspaper.
Since God is unchanging, we can call on His name to come in, like a raging flood driven by His Spirit, to help us in our distress. His glory will be revealed, from east to west, by His intervention for those who turn from their sin.
Come on! Let’s move the comma. Let’s forget about the enemy. Let’s put our hope in God who will answer our distress call. He will move in power to overturn the works of evil rulers. He will restore the fortunes of His people in our land so that, from east to west, His name will be exalted.