Isaiah 1:19
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Study Note
Study Note
The conditional promise — 'if ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land' — is the positive pole of the covenant's bilateral structure, paired immediately with the curse of the sword for rebellion (1:20). The alliterative Hebrew 'im tobu u-shema'tem' (if you will and hear/obey) joins inward disposition with outward compliance, anticipating later prophetic calls for heart transformation alongside behavioral change. The agricultural language ('eat the good of the land') connects obedience to the Deuteronomic land theology where covenant faithfulness and material blessing are directly correlated. The verse stands at the opening of Isaiah's court case against Judah (1:2-20), establishing from the outset that judgment is not inevitable — repentance remains a live option.
Other Translations
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
If ye are willing, and have hearkened, The good of the land ye consume,
If you will give ear to my word and do it, the good things of the land will be yours;
Cross References
See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to …
Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their …
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and …
Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant …
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and …
Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will …
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of …
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed …