53. Bring again their captivity. Literally, “turn the captivity,” here figuratively a return to the former state, as no carrying away took place in the case of Sodom. This text presents a problem in that Sodom and her daughters (the surrounding cities) had perished with all their inhabitants many ages ago, leaving no descendants (Gen. 19:25; Jude 7). How, then, could a restoration be accomplished? Possibly Sodom is here used symbolically of the surrounding peoples, such as the Ammonites and Moabites, the descendants of Lot, the survivor of Sodom. God’s plan of salvation embraces all nations. But the language is highly figurative, and the purpose of the comparison is “to provoke them [the Jews] to jealousy” (Rom. 11:11). In the restoration Judah is shown as occupying third place.