Isaiah 42 · Verse 11

Isaiah 42:11

Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

Isaiah 42:11, King James Version

Isaiah 42:11 in other translations

BSB	Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud. Let the people of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.
WEB	Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains!
ASV	Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
YLT	The wilderness and its cities do lift up the voice, The villages Kedar doth inhabit, Sing do the inhabitants of Sela, From the top of mountains they cry.
DARBY	Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains:
BBE	Let the waste land and its flocks be glad, the tent-circles of Kedar; let the people of the rock give a glad cry, from the top of the mountains let them make a sound of joy.
Webster	Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

What does Isaiah 42:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

11. cities--in a region not wholly waste, but mainly so, with an oasis here and there. Kedar--in Arabia-Deserta (Is 21:16; Ge 25:13). The Kedarenians led a nomadic, wandering life. So Kedar is here put in general for that class of men. rock--Sela, that is, Petra, the metropolis of Idumea and the Nabathoean Ishmaelites. Or it may refer in general to those in Arabia-Petræa, who had their dwellings cut out of the rock. the mountains--namely, of Paran, south of Sinai, in Arabia-Petræa [Vitringa].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 11 Let the wilderness - The most uncultivated countries, and the most rude and uncivilized people, shall confess and celebrate with thanksgiving the blessing of the knowledge of God graciously imparted to them. By the desert is meant Arabia Deserta; by the rocky country, Arabia Petraea; by the mountains, probably those celebrated ones, Paran, Horeb, Sinai, in the same country; to which also belonged Kedar, a clan of Arabians, dwelling for the most part in tents; but there were others of them who inhabited or frequented cities and villages, as may be collected from this place of the prophet. Pietro della Valle, speaking of the people of Arabia Deserta, says: "There is a sort of Arabs of that country called Maedi, who with their herds, of buffaloes for the most part, sometimes live in the deserts, and sometimes in cities; from whence they have their name, which signifies wandering, going from place to place. They have no professed houses; nor are they properly Bedaui, or Beduui, that is, Deserticoli, who are the most noble among them, and never abide within walls, but always go wandering through the open country with their black tents; nor are they properly called Hhadesi, as they call those who dwell in cities, and lands with fixed houses. These by the latter are esteemed ignoble and base; but both are considered as of low condition." Viaggi, Parte 3 lett. ii. The villages that Kedar doth inhabit - The Arabs, according to the Targum. The inhabitants of the rock - They who dwell on fortified places. The Vulgate has habitatores Petraeae, "the inhabitants of Arabia Petraea." Those who make the rock Jesus Christ, the inhabitants of the rock, true believers in him; the singing, rejoicing for the salvation they have received; abuse and disgrace the passage and the pulpit. I have heard a clergyman, a magistrate, a justice of the quorum, spend an hour in showing from these words, 1. That they meant Jesus Christ, and none other. 2. That he might be fully compared to a rock, as the foundation on which his Church was built, and on which all true believers rested for their salvation. 3. A rock, because of his strength and might in destroying his enemies, and supporting his friends. 4. A refreshing rock, like that in the wilderness; and that rock was Christ. 5. A perspective rock, from which true believers could discover their heavenly inheritance: "When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I, "etc. Now all this is true in itself; but false in respect to the words on which it was professedly built, for they have no such meaning.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 42:5-12

The work of redemption brings back man to the obedience he owes to God as his Maker. Christ is the light of the world. And by his grace he opens the understandings Satan has blinded, and sets at liberty from the bondage of sin. The Lord has supported his church. And now he makes new promises, which shall as certainly be fulfilled as the old ones were. When the Gentiles are brought into the church, he is glorified in…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 42:5-12 →

Isaiah 42:11 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יִשְׂא֤וּyis.'Ulet them lift upH5375

מִדְבָּר֙mid.Bar[the] wildernessH4057

וְעָרָ֔יוve.'a.Ravand cities itsH5892

חֲצֵרִ֖יםcha.tze.Rim[the] villagesH2691

תֵּשֵׁ֣בte.Shev[where] it dwellsH3427

קֵדָ֑רke.DarKedarH6938

יָרֹ֙נּוּ֙ya.Ro.nulet them shout for joyH7442

יֹ֣שְׁבֵיYo.she.vei[the] inhabitants ofH3427

סֶ֔לַעSe.la'SelaH5554

מֵרֹ֥אשׁme.Roshfrom [the] top ofH7218

הָרִ֖יםha.Rim[the] mountainsH2022

יִצְוָֽחוּ\׃yitz.Va.chulet them cry aloudH6681

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 42:11

Isaiah 32:16
Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
Isaiah 60:7
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.
Psalms 72:8-10
He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Isaiah 41:18-19
I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:
Psalms 120:5
Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
Isaiah 21:16
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
Isaiah 35:6
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.
Genesis 25:23
And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Isaiah 52:7
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Isaiah 16:1
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
Nahum 1:15
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Isaiah 35:1
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Let the wilderness.
32:16; 35:1,6; 40:3; 41:18,19; 43:19; Ps 72:8-10
Kedar.
60:7; Ge 25:23; Ps 120:5
let the inhabitants.
Jer 21:13; 48:28; 49:16; Ob 1:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Isaiah 42:10
Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
Isaiah 42:11
Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.
Isaiah 42:12
Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.

Read all of Isaiah 42

Isaiah 42:11 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Alcen la voz el desierto y sus ciudades, las aldeas donde habita Cedar: canten los moradores de la Piedra, y desde la cumbre de los montes den voces de júbilo.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Que le désert et ses villes élèvent la voix, les villages qu’habite Kédar! Que les habitants du rocher exultent! Que du haut des montagnes on jette des cris!
German Elberfelder 1871	Es mögen ihre Stimme erheben die Steppe und ihre Städte, die Dörfer, welche Kedar bewohnt; jubeln mögen die Bewohner von Sela, jauchzen vom Gipfel der Berge her!
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Sublevetur desertum et civitates ejus. In domibus habitabit Cedar: laudate, habitatores petræ; de vertice montium clamabunt.