Isaiah 31:6 Meaning: Return to Him

Three Hebrew words carry the weight here. The verb behind “return” is shuv, the Old Testament word for repentance, a purposeful turning around, not just feeling sorry. It demands action. Then the phrase “deeply revolted” combines two words: he'emiku, “they made deep,” and sarah, “rebellion” or “apostasy.” Together they picture someone digging themselves into a pit, going deeper and deeper away from God. The call does not wait for them to climb out partway. It finds them at the bottom. As Calvin noted, the depth of their fall does not shut the door, it makes the call urgent and gracious. God addresses people who have turned their backs completely and says, “Come back.” That is the kind of welcome this verse holds out.

Across traditions, readers have seen this verse as a call of grace despite human sin. Reformed commentators like Calvin emphasized that the aggravation of sin does not exclude repentance; it makes the call more powerful. Matthew Henry, also in the Reformed tradition, called it a “gracious call to repentance,” reminding the people of their identity as children of Israel. Methodist scholar Adam Clarke focused on the textual variation, noting the call is personal and direct. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown pointed to God’s power and love in the surrounding verses as the motivation to return. All agree: the depth of sin is not the measure of God’s willingness to receive.

Some read “deeply revolted” and think God has given up on them, or that this call is only for ancient Israel. In fact, the call is precisely for those who have gone deepest. The original language addresses them directly: “Turn back to him from whom you have deeply turned away.” The depth of rebellion does not disqualify them, it is the very reason for the call. God’s invitation to return is wider than any sin, as Isaiah 55:7 later confirms: “Let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him, for he will freely pardon.”

This verse asks something specific of anyone who senses they have drifted far from God. You may feel the distance is too great, that your heart has grown cold or your choices have led you into deep water. The call does not ask you to minimize that distance. It asks you to turn around. This week, name one area where you have “gone deep”, a grudge held too long, a habit repeated too often, a trust placed in something other than God. Then picture God calling you back from that very place. His protection, promised in the verses just before, is the ground on which you can risk returning.