Isaiah 51:14

The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.

The verse pictures a captive exile hurrying to be set free, so that he will not die in the pit and his bread will not fail. The captive is oppressed, held down in the pit, urgently awaiting release while fearing death and hunger and the loss of basic provision. The hastening itself shows that the promised release is urgent, soon, and imminent, not distant or delayed. The promise is twofold, both preservation from death in the pit and provision of bread for daily need, assuring the oppressed that captivity and deprivation will not last.

In its setting the verse brings assurance and hope to the afflicted that the Lord bears His people's burdens. By the same power that divided the sea He will deliver and sustain them, keeping them from perishing and supplying their want. That assurance is meant to sustain tedious suffering without murmuring, trusting that the affliction is for the glory of God and that Jesus watches over the sufferer.

The wider passage of Isaiah 51:7-16 is a charge to the remnant people of God to the very close of earth's history. In a time of general departure from truth and righteousness it calls them to press on to the final conflict without compromise and to hold the banner of truth firmly. It calls them to proclaim the law of God connected with the faith of Jesus, to be aggressive with the gospel, and to build the old waste places and raise up the foundation of many generations.

The verse applies to God's people in the final crisis, the time of trouble, when as captive exiles opposed by earthly powers they will fear death by violence or starvation. Like the captive exile they may fear perishing in the pit by violence or lacking bread through famine and oppression. But God who divided the Red Sea will show His power to protect, deliver, and turn their captivity.

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