Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
This is what the LORD says: Where is the divorce paper for your mother that shows I sent her away? Or which of my creditors did I sell you to pay off my debts? Look, you sold yourselves because of your sins, and your mother was sent away because of your wrongdoing.
God is saying that Israel's separation from Him wasn't His fault, they brought it on themselves through their own sin and rebellion.
📚 Historical Context
In the time of the prophet Isaiah, around the 8th century BC, the people of Judah were deeply involved in idolatry and social injustices, which led God to warn them of impending judgment through exile. This verse uses the cultural imagery of a divorce certificate and debt slavery, common in ancient Near Eastern societies, to emphasize that Israel's separation from God was not arbitrary but a result of their own sins. It fits into the broader biblical narrative of God's covenant faithfulness amid His people's unfaithfulness, pointing toward the Babylonian captivity as a consequence.
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