i!ii]i!l!iij|i!!|jyii!!!yfsj!i;:;'iin!!f]l!!!|!!!;^^ 8<5obej From the estate of Prot. E. E. Salisbury 1918 lOTES, CEITICAL, EXf LANATOEY, AND PRACTICAL. «N THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH ay ALBERT BARNES. «IE!0' IMa?ROVED EDITIOS, YOL IL NEW-YORK : LEAVITT k. ALLEN, 27 DEY STEEET. 1854- Entebed, accOTding lo Act of Congress, in the year 1847, By Albebt Barhes, In the OiBce of the Clerk of the District Court of tho Eastern District ot PemiBylvania. THE PROPHET ISAIAH. CHAPTER XXXVI. ANALYSIS. This chapter commences the historical portion of Isaiah, which continues to the close of tho jtxxixth chapter. The main subject is the destruction of Sennacherib and his army. It contains also an account of the sickness and recovery of HezeJtiah ; the song with which he celebrated Ihis recovery; and an account of his ostentation in showing his treasures to the ambassadors of the king of Babylon.. In 2 Chron. xxxii. 32, the following record occurs. " Now the rest ofthe acts of Heze kiah, and his goodness, behold they are written in the vision of Isaiah, the sonof Amoz ;" and it is to this i^ortion of Isaiah to which the author ofthe Book of Chronicles doubtless refers There was an obvious propriety in Isaiah'^naking a record of the invasion and destruction of Sennacherib. That event has occupied a considerable portion of his prophetic announcements j and as he lived to see them fulfilled, it was proper that he should record the event. The prophecy and ita fulfilment can thus be compared together; aud while there is the strongest internal testimony that the prophecy was uttered before the event, there is also the most striking and clear fulfilment of all the predictions on the subject. A parallel history of these transactions occurs in 2 Kings xvii. — xx.; and in 2 Chron. xxxii. The history in Chronicles, though it contains an account of the same transaction, is evidently by another hand, a^ it bears no furtherresembtance to this than that it contains an account ofthe same transactions. But between the account here and in S Kings, there is a most striking resemblance, so much so as to Bhow that they were mainly by the same hand. It has been made a matter of inquiry whether Isaiah was the original author, or whether he copied a history which he found in the book of Kings, or whether both he and the author ofthe book of Kings copied from some original document which is now lost, or whether the collectors ofthe prophetic writings after the return from the captivity at Babylon, Judging that such a history would appropriately explain the prophecies of Isaiah, copied the account from some historical record, and inserted it among his prophecies. This last is the opinion of Rosenmuller— an opinion which evidently lacks all historical evidence, and indeed ail probability. The most obvious and fair supposition undoubtedly is, that this history ^i'as inserted here by Isaiah, or that he made this record according to the statement in 2 Chron, xxxii. 32.— Geseniiis also accords substantially with Rosenmuller in supposing that this history is an elaboration of iha,t in the boc^of Kings, and that it was reduced to its present form by some one who collected and edited the Books of Isaiah after the Babylonish captivity. Vitringa supposes that both the accounts in Kings and in Isaiah have been derived from a common historical document, and have been adopted and somewhat abridged or modified by the author of the Book of Kings and by Isaiah. It IS impOft-sible now to determine the truth in regard to this subject; nor is it of much importance. Those who are desirous of seeing the subject discussed more at length may consult Vitringa, Rosen muller, and Gesenius. The view of Gesenius is chiefly vahiable because he has gone into a com parison ofthe account in Isaiah with that in Kings, The following remarks are all that occur to me as desirable to make, and express the conclusion which I have been able to form on the subject. (I.) The two accounts have a common origin, or are substantially the production of the same hand. This is apparent on the face of them. The same course of the narrative is pursued, the same ex pressions occur, and the same style of composition is found. It is possible, indeed, that the Holy Spirit flight have inspired two ditferent authors to adopt the same style and expressions in recording the same events, but this is not the mode elsewhere observed in the Scriptures. Every sacred writer is allowed to pursue his own method of narration, and to express himself in a style and manner of his own. (2.) There is no evidence that the two accounts were abridged from a more full narrative. Such a thingis possible; nor is there any impropriety in the supposition. But it lacks historical support. That there ware- histories among the Jews which are now lost ; that there were pubhc records which were the fountains whence the autnors ofthe histories which we now have drew their information, no one can doubt who reads the Old Testament, Thus we have accounts of the writings of Gad, and Iddo the seer, and Nathan, and the prophecy of Ahyah the Shiionite, and of the Book of Jehu the prophet (2 Chron. ix. 29, xx. 3i. 1 Kings xvi. 1), all of which are now lost except so far as they are in corporated in the historical and prophetical books of the Old Testament. It is possible, therefore. tnat these accounts may have been abridged from some such common record, but there is no histori- celI testimony to the fact. (3. J There is no evidence that these chapters in Isaiah were inserted by Ezra, or the other inspired men who collected the sacred writings, and published a recension, or an edition of them after the return from Babylon. That there was such a work performed by Ezra and his contemporaries is the testimony of aLJ the Jewish historians. See Dr. Alexander on the canon of ScnpturC; But there is no historical evidence that they thus introduced into the writings of Isaiah an entire historical narra tive from the previous histories, or that they composed this history to be inserted here. It is done no where else. And had it been done on thia occasion, we should have had reason to expect that they would have inserted historical records ofthe fulfiiment of all the other prophecies which had been fulfiUed. We should have looked, therefore, for historical statements of the downfalJ ot Damascus, ISAIAH. [.B.C. 710 and Syria • of the destruction of Samaria, of Moab, of Babylon, and of Tyre, as proofs ofthe fulfiiment of the predictions of Isaiah. There can be no reason why the account of the destruction of Sen nacherib should have been singled out and inserted in preference to others. And (his is especially true in regard to Babyloii. The prophecy of Isaiah (ch. xiii. xiv.) had been most striking, and clear ; tlie fulfilment had also been most remarkable ; Ezra and his contemporaries" must have felt a much deeper interest in that than in the destruction of Sennacherib ; and it is unaccountable, therefore, if they inserted this narrative respecting Sennacherib, that rhey did not give us a full account also of the overthrow of Babylon and of their deliverance, as shewing the fulfilment ofthe prophecies on that subject. (4 ) The author of the Books of Kings is unknown. There is reason to believe that these books, as well as the Books of Chronicfles, and some other of the historical books of the Old Testament were written by the prophets ; or at least compiled and arranged by some inspired man from histori cal sketches that were made by the propheta. To such sketches or narratives we find frequent refer ence in the books themselves. Thus Nathan the prophet, and Ahijah the Shilonite, and Iddo the seer, recorded the acts of Solomon (2 Chron. ix. 29) ; thus the same Iddo the seer and Shemaiah the prophet recorded the acts of Rehoboam (2 Chron. xii. 15) ; thus the acts of Jehoshaphat were written in the Book of Jehu (2 Chron. xx. 34) ; and thus Isaiah wrote the acts of king Uzziah {2 Chron. xxvi. 22), and also of Hezekiah (2 Chron. xxxii. 32). Many of these historical sketches or fragments have not come down to us ; but all that was essential to us has been doubtless incorporated into the sacred narrative and transmitted to our own times. It is not improbable that many of these histories were mere fragments or public documents ; narratives or sketches of a single reign, or some important fact in a reign, which were subsequently revised and inserted in the more extenHed history, so that, after all, it may be that we have all.'or nearly all of those fragments incorporated in the histories which we now possess. (5.) As Isaiah is thus known to have written some portions of the history of the kings, it is pro bable that his history would be incorporated into the record ofthe kings by whomsoever that record might be composed. Indeed, the composition of the entire books of Kings has been ascribed by many writers to Isaiah, though Grotius and some others ascribe it to Jeremiah. The general, and the probable opinion is, however, that the books of Kings were digested into their present form by Ezra, It is probable therefore. I think, that Isaiah wrote the chapters in Kings respecting the invasion of Sennacherib : that the compiler ofthe Books of Kings, whoever he mi^ht be, adopted the fragment as a part ox" his history, and that the portion which we have here in Isaiah is the same fragment re vised, abridged in eome places, and enlarged in others, to adapt it to his purpose in introducing it into his book of prophecy. But it is admitted that this is conjecture. Every consideration, however, muat lead us to suppose that this is the work of Isaiah. Cornp. the Intro. §5. The portion of history contained in these chapters differs from the record in the Kings in -several respects. There is no difference in regard to the historical facts, but the difference has respect to the fulness ofthe narratives, and to the change of a few words. The most material difference is that a few sentences, and members of sentences, are omitted in Isaiah which are found in Kings. These variationa will be noticed in the exposition, and it is not necessary more particularly to refer to them here. The xxxvith chapter contains the following parts^ or subjects, (i.) Sennacherib, having taken most of the strong holds of Judea, sent Rabshakeh with a great force to besiege Jerusalem, and to summon itto surrender, vs. i, 2. (ii.) Hezekiah sent an emuassy to meet with Rabshakeh, evidently to induce him to depart from the city, ver. 3. (iii.) This embassy Rabshakeh addressed in a proud, insolent and taunting speech, reproaching them with putting their trust in Egypt, and with their feebleness, and assuring them that Sennacherib had come up against the city at the command of JEHOVAH, vs. 4—10. (iv.) The Jewish embassy requested Rabshakeh to speakin the Aramean or Syrian language, that the common people on the wall might not hear, ver. 11. (v.) To this, he replied that he came that they "might hear; to endeavour to draw them off from trusting to Heze kiah, and to induce them to submit to Sennacherib, promising them abundance in the land to which he would take them, vs. 12—20. (vi.) To all this, the embassy of Hezekiah said nothing, but re turned as they had been instructed into the city, with deep expressions of sorrow and grief, vs. 31, 22. NOW ''it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, ihat Sennacherib king c S Kings 18. 13, &c. 2Chron. 32. l,&c. 1. In the fourteenth year of Heze kiah. Of his reign, B. C. 709. IT That Sennacherib. Sennacherib was son and successor of Shalmaneser, king of As syria, and began to reign A. M. 3290, or 714 before Christ, and reigned ac cording to Calmet but four years, ac cording to Prideaux eight years, and according to Gesenius eighteen years. The immediate occasion of this war against Judah was the fact that Heze kiah had shaken off the yoke of Assyria, by which his father Ahaz and the nation had suffered so much uider Tiglath of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. * Pileser, or Shahnaneser. 2 Kings xviii. 7. To reduce Judea again to subjection, as well as to carry his conquests into Egypt, appears to have been the design of this celebrated expedition. He rav aged the country, took the strong towns and fortresses, and prepared then to lay siege to Jerusalem itself Hezekiah, h ow- ever, as soon aa the army of Sennach erib had entered Judea, prepared to put Jerusalerri into a state of complete de fence. At the advice of his counsellors he stopped the waters that flowed in the neighbourhood of the city, and that might .e.c.710.] CHAPTER XXXVI. 2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to fiimish refreshment to a besieging army ; built up the broken walls ; inclosed one of the fountains within a wall, and pre pared shields and darts in abundance to repel the invader. 2 Chron. xxxii. 2-5. Seilnacherib, seeing that all hope of easily taking Jerusalem was taken away, apparently became inclined to hearken to terms of accommodation. Hezekiah Bent to him to propose peace, and to ask the conditions on which he would with draw his forces. He confessed his error in not paying the tribute stipulated by his father, and his willingness to pay now what should be demanded by Sen nacherib. Sennacherib demanded three hmidred talents of silver, and ' thirty talents of gold. .This was paid by Hezekiah, by exhausting the treasuiy, and by stripping even the temple of its gold. 2 Iflngs xviii. 13-16. It was evidently understood in this treaty that Seimacherib was to withdraw his forces, and return to his own land. But this treaty he ultimately disregarded. See Note ch. xxxiii. 8. He seems, however, to have granted Hezekiah some respite, and to have delayed his attack on Je rusalem until his return from Egypt. This war with Egypt he prosecuted at first with gi-eat success, and with a fair prospect of the conquest of that country. But having laid siege to Pelusium, and having spent much time before it with out success, he was compeUed at length to raise the siege, and to retreat. Tir- hakah king of Ethiopia having come to the aid of Sevechus, the reigning mon arch of Egypt, and advancing to the relief of Pelusium, Sennacherib was compelled to raise the siege, and re treated to Judea. Here, having taken Lachish, and disregarding his compact with Hezekiah, he sent an army to Je rusalem under Rabshakeh to lay siege to the city. This is the point in the histoiy of Sennacherib to which the passage before us refers. See Prideaux' Connection, vol. i. p. 138-141, Josephus Ant. B. X. oh. i. Gesenius in loco, and Robinson's Calmet. T All the defenced cities. All tha towns on the way to Jerusalem, unto king Hezekiah, with a great army : and he stood Egypt, and in the vicinity of Jerusalem. See Notes on ch. x. 28-32. 2. And ihe king of Assyria sent Sabshakeh. In 2 Kings xviii. 17, it is said that he sent Tartan, and Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh. In regard to Tartan, see Note ch. xx. 1. It is probable that Rabshakeh only is mentioned in Isaiah because the expedition may have been mainly under his direction, or more probably because he was the principal speaker on the occasion to which he refers. IT From Lachish. This was a city in the south of the tribe of Judah, and wassouth-west of Jerusalem. Josh. X. 23, XV. 39. It was situated in a plain, and was the seat of an ancient Canaanitish king. It was rebuilt and fortified by Rehoboam, 2 Chron. xi. 9. It was in some respects a border town, and was a defence against the incur sions of the Philistines. It was there fore situated between Jemsalem and Egypt, and- was in the direct way of Sennacherib in his going to Egypt, and on his return. It lay, according to Eusebius and Jerome, seven Roman miles from Eleutheropolis towards the south. No trace of the town, however, is now to be found. See Robinson's Biblical Researches, ii. pp. 388, 389. IT With a great army. Sennacherib remained himself for a time at Lachish, though he followed not long after. It is probable that he sent foi-ward a con siderable portion of his immense army, retaining only so many forces as he judged would be necessary to carry on the siege of Lachish. In 2 Chron. xxxii. 9, it is said that Sennacherib while he sent his servants to .Jerusalem, " laid siege to Lachish and all his power with him ;" but this must mean that he re tained with him a considerable part of his army, and doubtless all that con tributed to his magnificence and splen dour. The word " power" in 2 Chron. xxxii. 9, means also " dominion " (see the margin), and denotes all the insig nia of royalty ; and this might have -been retained while a considerable part of his forces had been sent forward to Jerasa- 6 ISAIAH. [B.C. TiO. by the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller's field. 3 Then came forth unto him Eliakira, Hilkiah's son, which tvas over the house, and Shebna the 'scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder. 4 And Rabshakeh said unto them. Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confi- 1 or, secretary. 4 a word of Hps. 5 or, but counsel and strength are for the war. lem. IT And he stood. He halted ; he encamped there ; he intended to make that the point of attack. IT By the con duit, &c. See Notes on ch. vii. 3. 3. Then came forth unto him. Isaiah has here omitted what is recorded in 2 Kings xviii. 18, that Rabshakeh and his companions " called to the king," and as the result of that probably Hezekiah sent out Eliakim. IT Eliakim, Hil- kiah^s son, -which -was over the house. Respecting Eliakim, and his character, see Notes on ch. xxii. 20-25. IT And Shebna the scribe. This may havc been some other man than the one mentioned in ch. xxii. 15. He is there said to have been " over the house," and it is stated that he should be degraded from that office and succeeded by Elia kim. It is possible however that Heze kiah retained him as scribe, or as secre tary. See the analysis of ch. xxii. 15-25. IT And Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder. The chronicler; the officer to whom was intrusted the keepmg of the records of state. The Hebrew word means the remembrancer ; .hira by whose means former events might be recalled and remembered, perhaps au officer such as would be called historiographer. 4. What confidence. What is the ground of your confidence, on what do you trust 1 The appellation " greatking" was the customary title of the kings of the Persians and Assyrians. 5. I say, sayest thou. In 2 Kings jcviji. 20, this is " thou sayest ;" and dence is this wherein thou trust- est? 5 I say, sayest thou (but ihey are hut vain 'words,) ^I have counsel and strength for war: now, on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? 6 Lo, thou trustest in the stafi of this broken reed, on Egypt ; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it : so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. thns many MSS. read it here, and Lowth and Noyes have adopted that reading. So the Syriac reads it. But the sense is not affected whichever read ing is adopted. It is designed to show to Hezekiah that his reliance, either on his own resources or on Egypt, was vain. IT But they are but vain words. Marg. as in the Hebrew, " a word of Ups ^' that is, mere words ; vain and empty boasting. IT On -whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me ? Heze kiah had revolted from the Assyrian power, and had refused to pay the tribute which had been imposed on the Jews in the time of Ahaz. 2 Kings xviii. 7. 6. Lo, thou trustest. It is possible that Sennacherib might have been ap prised of the attempt which had been made by the Jews to secure the co operation of Egypt (see Notes on ch. xxx. 1-7, xxxi. 1, seq.), though he might not have been aware that the negotiation was unsuccessliil. IT In the staff of this broken reed. The same comparison of Egypt with a broken reed, or a reed which broke while they were trusting to it, occurs in Ezek. xxix. 6, 7. Reeds were doubtless used often for staves as they are now. They are light, and hollow, with long joints. The idea here is, that as a slender reed would break when a man leaned on it, arul would pierce his hand, so it would be with Egypt. Their reliance would give way, and their trusting to Egypt would be attended with injury to tliemselves. Comp. ch. xxx. 5, 7, xxxi. 3. B.C. 710.] CHAPTER XXXIV. 7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God ; is it not he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath tak en away,® and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar ? 7. But if thou say to me. If you shall make this plea, that you believe Jehovah will protect you in your revolt. The word " thou" here refers to Heze kiah, or, to the ambassadors speaking in his name. In 2 Kings xviii. 22, it is, " but if ye say unto me ,•" that is, you ambassadors. The sense is substantially the same. IT Is it not he, &c. This is given as a reason why they should not put their confidence in Jehovah. The reason is, that he supposed that Hezekiah had removed all the altars of Jehovah from all parts of the land, and that they could not calculate on the protection of a God whose worship had been abolished. It is probable that Sennacherib and Rabshakeh had heard of the reformation which had been effected by Hezekiah ; of his destroying the groves and altars which had been consecrated in the reign of his father to idolatry, and perhaps of the fact that he had even destroyed the brazen serpent which Moses had made and which had become an object of idolatrous worship (2 Kings xviii. 4), and he may have supposed that all these altars and groves had been devoted to Jehovah, and were cormected with his worship. He did not seem to understand that all that Hezeliiah had done was only to estab lish the worship of Jehovah in the land. H High places. The worship of idols was usually performed in groves on high places ; or on the tops of hills and moun tains. It seems to have been supposed that worship in such places was more acceptable to the Deity. Perhaps it may have been because they thus seem ed nearer the residence of the gods ; or perhaps, because there is sublimity and solemnity in such places — a stillness and elevation above the world which seem favourable to devotion. See 1 Sam. ix. 12. 1 Chron. xiii. 29. 1 Kings iii. 4. 2 8. Now therefore, give 'pledg- es, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand ''horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. a 2 Kinffs 18. 4. 1 or, hostages. d Ps. 20. 7, 8. Hos. 14. 3. Kings xii. 2. Chapels, temples, ahd altars were erected on such places (1 Kings xiii. 22. 2 Kings xvii. 29), and ministers and priests attended there to officiate. 1 Kings xii. 32. 2 Kings xvii. 32. Even the kings of Judah, noti withstanding the expitss prohibition of Moses (Deut. xii.), were engaged in such acts of worship (2 Kings xii. 4, xiv. 4, XV. 4, 35. 2 Chron. xx. 33. xv. 17) ; and Solomon liimself sacrificed in chapels of this kind. 1 Kings iii. 2. These places Hezekiah had destroyed ; that is, he had cut down the consecrated groves, and had destroyed the chapels and temples which had been erected there. "The fact that Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah, had been distinguished for worshipping in such places had probably led the king of Assyria to suppose that this was the proper worship of the God of the Jews ; and now that Hezekiah had destroyed them all, he seems to have inferred that he was guilty of gross irreligion, and could no longer depend on the protection of Jehovah. IT And said to Judah and Jerusalem. He had commanded them to worship only in Jerusalem, at the temple. This was in strict accordance with the law of Moses ; but this seems to have been understood by Sennacherib as in fact almost or quite banishing the worship of Jehovah from the land . Probably this was said to al ien- ate the minds of the people from Heze kiah by showing them that he had tak en away their rights and privileges of worshipping God where they chose. 8. Now, therefore, give pledges. Marg. hostages. The Hebrew ver'is (3'nS) means properly to mix or min- gleTthento exchange commodities by barter or traffic, then to become surety for any one, to exchange with him, to stand in his place ; then to pledge, tQ e ISAIAH. IB. C. 719. 9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt^ for chariots and for horsemen ? g]er. 2. ; plpdge one's life, or to give security of any kind. Here it is used in a spirit of taunting or derision, and is equiva lent to what would be said among us, ' I will bet you, or I vrill lay a wager, that if we should give you only two thousand horses, you could not find men enough to ride them, or men that had knowledge of horsemanship enough to guide them.' There was much se verity in this taunt. The Jews hoped to defend themselves. Yet here was an immense army coming up to lay siege against them. What hope had they of defence? So weak and feeble were they, that Rabshakeh said they could not famish even two thousand horse men to resist all the host of the Assyri ans. There was also doubtless much truth iii this taunt. It was not per mitted by the law of Moses for the Jews to keep cavalry, nor for their kings to multiply horses. The reason of this may be seen in the Notes on ch. ii. 7. Though some of the kings, and es pecially Solomon had disregarded this law of Moses, yet Hezekiah had en deavoured to restore the observance of the law, and it is probable that he had no cavalry, and that the art of horse manship -was little known in Jerusalem. As the Assyrians prided theraselves on their cavalry, they consequently looked with contempt on a people who were destitute of this means of defence. 9. Mow then -wilt thou turn away the face. The most unimportant cap tain' in ^he army of Assyria command? ^nore horsemen' than this, and how can you expect to oppose even him, rauch more how can you be able to resist all the mighty army of the Assyrian ? T One captain of the least. The word 'f captain" here, finS , construct state from fiMB , denotes a prefect or gov ernor of a province less than a satrap, an officer who was under the satrap 10 And am 1 now come up without the Lokd against this land to destroy it? The Lore 'said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. i ch. 87. 28. Amos 3. 6. and subject fo him.. It is applied to an officer in the Assyrian empire (2 Kings xviii. 24) ; in the Chaldean empire (Jer. IL 23) ; the Persian (Esth. viii. 9, ix. 3) ; and to the prefects of Judea in the time of Solomon, 1 Kings x. 15. The word is of foreign origin. 10. And am I now come -ap witho-at the LoHD. Am I come up without his permission or command? Rabshakeh here speaks in the name of his master ; and he means to say that he had the express command of Jehovah to inffiet punishment on the Jews. It is possible that there had been conveyed to Sen nacherib a rumour of what Isaiah had said (see ch. x..5, 6,) that God would bring the Assyrians upon the Jewish people to punish them for their sins, and that Rab^akeh now pleads that as his authority, in order to ^ow them that resistance would be vain. Or it may be that he uses the name Jehovah here as synonymous with the name of Gon, and means to say that he had been diiiinely directed to come up in that expedition. All the ancient warriors usually consulted the gods and en deavoured by auguries to obtain the divine approbation of their plans of conquest, and Rabsheikeh may mean simply to say that his master came now under the divine sanction and direction. Or (which is more probable) he made use of this as a mere pretence for the purpose of influencing the people who heard hira, and to whom he said he was sent (ver. 12), in order td alienate their minds from Hezekiah, and to in duce them to surxender. He knew that it was one of the principles of the Jews, however httle they regarded it in prac tice, to yield to his authority. Wicked men will be glad to plead divine an, thority for their purposes and plana when they can have the slightest pre tence for it. BC.IIO.] CHAPTER XXXVI. 9 11 Then said Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabsha keh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language ; for we understand it ; and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall. 11. Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language. Heb. '^'''^'^^ ) Aramean. Aram, or Aramea, properly meaning a high region, or the highlands, was of wider extent than Syria proper, and comprehended not only Syria, but Mesopotamia. It usually denotes however Syria proper, of which the capital was Damascus. The lan guage of all this countiy was probably the same— the Syrian or Aramean, a language of the same family as the Hebrew, and having a strong resem blance to that and to the Chaldee. This was not properly the language of As syria, where probably a dialect com posed of the language of the Medes and Pei-siaiis was employed. But the Syriac language was spoken in different parts of Assyria. It was spoken in Mesopo tamia, and doubtless in some of the provinces of the Assyrian empire, and might be presumed to be understood by Rabshakeh, and those with him. The Jews had intercourse with the Syrians, and those who had been sent out by Hezekiah had learned to speak that. It is not probable that they understood the Medio-Persian tongue that was spoken by the Assyrians usually. The Syriac or Aramean was probably the most common language which was spoken in that region. Its knowledge prevailed in the time of the Saviour, and was that which he usually spoke. IT In the Jews' language. rT'TliTJ . The language of Judah. It is remarka ble that they did not call it the Hebrew language. But there might have been some national pride in regard to thia. The Hebrew language had been the common language of all the Jews, and had been spoken by those of the kuig- /Ol,. II. — 1* 12 But Rabshakeh said. Hath "my master sent me to thy mas ter and to thee, to speak these words '? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung and drink their own piss with you? m Ps. 31. 18. dom of Israel or Samaria, as well as by those ofthe kingdom of Judah. But after the revolt of the ten tribes it is possible that they might have claimed the lan guage as their own and regarded the Hebrew — the venerable language of their fathers — as belonging to them peculiarly, as they claimed every thing that was sa cred or venerable in the nation, and hence they spoke ofit as the language oi Judah. The name of Judah or Jews, which is derived from Judah, was after the re moval of the ten tribes given to the en tire nation ; a name which is retained to the present time. In Isa. xix. 18, it is called the language of Canaan. See Note on that place. IT In the ears of the people that are on the wall. This conference took place evidently near the city, and within hearing distance. Doubtless the people of the city, feeling a curiosity to hear the message of the Assyrian, crowded the walls. The Jewish ambassadors were apprehensive (hat what was said by Rabshakeh would alienate their minds from Hezekiah, and requested that the conference might be conducted in a language which they could not understand. 12. Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee. To Hezekiah, and to you alone. A part of my purpose is to address the people, to induce them to leave Hezekiah, and to offer no resist ance to the Assyrian. IT To the men that sit on the wall, &c. The mean ing of this is, that the inhabitants of the city, if they do not surrender, will be subjected to the severest evils of famine. If they did not surrender, it was the purpose of the Assyrian to lay siege to the city, and to reduce it. But it was often the work of years to reduce and take a city. Nebuchadnezzar spent 10 ISAIAH. iB.crio. 13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with "a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said. Hear thirteen years before Tyre, and the Greeks eraployed ten in reducing an cient Troy. The sense here is, there fore, that uidess the people could be induced to surrender to Sermacherib, they would be subjected to all the hor rors of a siege, when they would be reduced to the most deplorable state of necessity and want. The idea in the whole verse is clearly expressed in the parallel place in 2 Chron. xxxii. 11 : " Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying the Lord our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?" — In regard to the indeUcacy of this passage we may ob serve (1,) that the Masorites in the Hebrew text have so pointed the words used, that in reading it the offensiveness would be considerably avoided. It is common in the Hebrew Scriptures, when a word is used in the text that is in delicate, to place another word in the margin, and the vowel points that be long to the word in the margin are ap plied to the word in the text, and the word in the margin is thus commonly read. In accordance with this custom among the Jews, it is evident that more dehcacy might have been observed by our translators in this, and in some other places of the Scriptures. (2.) The customs, habits, and modes of expression of people in different nations and times, differ. What appears indelicate at one time or in one jcountry, may not only be tolerated, but common in another. Many things are esteemed indelicate among us which are not so in polite and refined France ; many expressions are so regarded now which were not in the tirae when the Bible was translated into English. Many things may be to us offensive which were not so to the Syrians, the Babylonians, and the Jews ; and many modes of expression which are common now, and consistent with all our notions of refinement, may ap pear improoer in sorae other period of the world. There are raany things in ye the words of the igreat king, the king of Assyria. n Ps. 17. 10—13. p Pb. 32. 6, 7. Dan. 4. 37. Shakspeare, and in most of the old English writers, which cannot now be read vrithout a blush. Yet need I say that those expressions vrill be heard with unconcern in the theatre by those whose delicacy is most offended by some expression in the Bible ? There are things infinitely more offensive to delicacy in Byron, and Moore, and even Bums, than there are in the Scriptures ; and yet are these not read without a murmur by those who make the loudest complaints of the sUghtest departure from delicacy in the Bible 1 (3.) There is another remark to be made in regard to this. Isaiah is not at all responsible for the indelicacy of the language here. He is simply an historian. He did not say it ; nor is he responsible for it. If there is indelicacy iu it, it is not in re cording it, but in saying it ; and the responsibility is on Rabshakeh. If Isaiah undertook to make a record of an important transaction, what right had he to abridge it, or contract it, or to make it different from what it was 1 (4.) And again. It was of importance to give the true character of the attack which was made on Jerusalem. The coming of Sennacherib was attended with pride, and insolence, and blas phemy ; and it was important to state the true character of the transaction, and to record just what was said and done. Hence, Isaiah as a iaithfiil his torian, recorded the coming of the Assyrians ; the expressions of their haughtiness, insolence, and pride ; their vain-boasting, and their reproaches of .Tehovah ; and for the same reason he has recorded the gross and indelicate language which they used to add to the trials of the Jews. Let him who used the language, and not him who recorded it, bear the blame. 13. Then Rabshakeh stood. Indi cating the posture of a man who intends to speak to them at a distance. IT And cried with a loud voice. So that those on the wall could hear. M The wordi of the king, &c. Note ver. 4. fi. C'.7I0.] CHAPTER XXXVI. 11 14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you ; for he shall not be able to deliver you. 15 Neither "let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying. The Lord will surely deliver us : this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of As syria, r Ps. 71. 10, 11. 14. Let not Hezekiah deceive you.. By inducing you to put your trust in Jehovah or in himself, or with promises that you will be delivered. IT Not he ahle to deliver you. In 2 Kings xviii. 29, it is added " out of his hand ," but the sense is substantially the same. 15. Make you trust in the Lokd. Rabshakeh knew that Hezekiah was professedly devoted to Jehovah, and that he would endeavour l!0 induce the people to trust in him. The Jews had now no other refuge but God, and as long as they put their confidence there, even Rabshakeh knew that it was ha zardous to attempt to take and destroy their city. It was his policy, therefore, first to endeavour to undermine their reliance on God, before he could have any hope of success. — The enemies of God's people cannot succeed in their de signs against them until they can un settle their confidence in Him. 16. Hearken not to Hezekiah. Do not listen to his entreaties to confide in tim, and in Jehovah ; do not unite with him in endeavouring to raake any resistance or opposition to us. IT Make an agreement with me hy a present. The LXX read this, Ei I3ai\cc6e IvXayri- Bnvai, ' If you wish to be blessed, or happy, come out to me.' The Hebrew is literally, ' Make with me a blessing,' ns^S . The idea of its being done "by a present" is not in the Hebrew text. 'The word ' blessing ' here proba bly means the same as peace. ' Make peace with me,' "perhaps because peace was regarded as a blessing ; and per haps the word is used with a reference to one of the significations of T^'^S , 16 Hearken not to Hezekiah ; for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make ^an agreement with me hy a present, and come out to me : and eat ye every one of his vine,' and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the watere of his own cistern ; 17 Until "I come and take you 5 loith irtA a btessijig, or, seek mt/ favour by a present. t Zech. 3. M. u Prov. 12. 10. which is to kneel dawn, and this word may refer to their kneeling down ; that is, to their offering allegiance to the king of Assyria. The former is, how ever, the more probable sense, that the word means peace, because this was an evident blessing, or would be the source of rich blessings to them. If is not, however, used in this sense elsewhere in the Bible. The Chaldee renders it, ' make peace C'J^tti) with me.' IT And come out to me. Surrender yourselves to me. It is evident, however, that he did not mean that he would then re move them from their city and country, but he demanded a surrender, intending to come and remove them at some other period, ver. 17. T And eat yi every one of his own vine. An emblera of safety, when every man raight be per raitted to partake of the fruit of his ovm labour. All that he now professed to desire was, that they should surrender the city, and give up their raeans of de fence, and then he would leave thera in security and quietness, until it should please his master to come and remove them to a land as fertile as their own. If And drink ye every one. Another emblem of security and happiness. This proraise was made to induce them to surrender. On the 8ne hand, he threat ened them with the dreadful evils of famine if they refused and allowed their city to be besieged (ver. 12) ; and on the other he promised them, for a time at least, a quiet and secure residence in their ovm city, and then a removal to a land not inferior to their own. 17. Until I come. These are tha words of the king of Assyria dehvered 13 ISAIAH. [B.C. 710. away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah per suade you, saying. The Lord will deliver us. *Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria ? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad ? where are by Rabshakeh. It was proposed that they should remain safely in Jerusalem until Sennacherib should himself come and remove them to his own land. He was now engaged in the siege of Lachish (ver. 2) , and it is probable that he purposed to take some other of the unsubdued towns in that part of Palestine. ^ And take you away. It was common for conquerors in ancient times to remove a vanquished people from their own coun try. They did this either by sending them forth in colonies to people some unsettled region, or by removing the body of them to the land of the con queror. This was done for various purposes. It was sometimes to make slaves of them ; sometimes for the pur poses of triumph ; but more commonly to secure them from revolt. In thia manner the ten tribes were removed from the kingdora of Samaria ; and thus also the Jews were carried to Ba bylon. Suetonius says (ch. xxi.) of Augustus that he removed the Suevi and the Sicambri into Gaul and sta tioned them on the Rhine. The same tiling was also practised in Egypt for the purpose of securing the people from revolt. Gen. xlvii. 21. IT A land like your own land. A fertile land, abound ing in the same productions as your ovm. IT And wine. Palestine was celebrated for the vine. The idea is, that in the land to which he would re move them, they should not want. 18. Hath any of the gods of the na tions, &e. This is said to show them the irapossibility, as he supposed, of being delivered from the arm of the king of Assyria. He had conquered all before the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out 'of my hand ? 20 Who are ihey among all the gods "of these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should de liver Jerusalem out of my hand ? 21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word : z Dan. 3 15. 5 2 Kings IS. 10. e ch. 37. 18, 19. 45. 16, 17. him, and not even the gods of the na tions had been able to rescue the lands where they were wordiipped from the hands of the victorious invader. He inferred, therefore, that Jehovah, the God of Palestine, conld not save their land. 19. Where are the gods of Harr.ath, &c. In regard to Siese places see Notes on ch. x. 9-11. If Where are the gods of Sepharvaim 1 Sepharvaim was probably in Mesopotamia. Ptolemy mentions a city there of the name of Sipphara, as the most southem city of Mesopotomia, which is probably the sarae. It is evident that it was iu the vicinity of Hamath and Arphad, and these are known to have been in Meso potamia. When Shalmaneser carried Israel away captive from Samaria, he sent colonies of people into Palestine in their stead, among whom were the Sepharvaim. 2 ICngs xvii. 24, 31. ^ And have they delivered Samaria. Note ch. X. 11. The author of the Books of Chronicles expresses this in a more summary manner, and says that Rabshakeh joined Jehovah with the gods of the nations in the same lan guage of reproach: "And he spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man." 2 Chron. xxxii. 19. ^1. But they held their peace. He zekiah had commanded them not to answer. They were simply to hear what Rabshakeh had to propose, and to report to him, that he might decide on what course to pursue. It was a case also in which it was every way proper B.C. 710.] CHAPTER XXXVII. 13 for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not." 22 "then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, that was over the i Prov. 26. 4. that they should be silent. There was so much insolence, self-confidence, blas phemy, the proposals were so degrading, and the claims were so arrogant, that it was not proper that they should enter into conference, or Usten a moment to the terms proposed. Their minds also were so horror-stricken with the lan guage of insolence and blasphemy, and their hearts so pained by the circura stances of the city, that they would not feel like replying to him. — There are circumstances when it is proper to main tain a profound silence in the presence of revilers and blasphemers, and when we should withdraw from them, and go and spread the case before the Lord. This was done here (ch. xxxvii. l),and household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asapli, the recorder, to Hezekiah with iheir clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh. the result showed that this was the course of wisdom. ¦ 22. With their clothes rent. This was a common mark of grief among the Jews. See 2 Sam. iii. 21. 1 Kings xxi. 27. Jer. xxxvi. 24. Ezra ix. 3. Job i. 20,ii. 12, and Notes on Matt. xxvi. 65. Acts xiv. 14. The causes of then griefs were the insolence and arrogance of Rabshakeh ; the proposal to surren der the city ; the threatening of the siege on the one hand and of the re moval on the other, and the blasphemy of the narae of their God, and the re proach of -the king. All these things filled their hearts with grief, and they hastened to make report to Hezekiah, CHAPTER XXXVII. ANALYSIS. This chapter contains a continuation ofthe historical narrative commenced in the previous chap. ter. Hezeiuah went with expressions of grief to the tempie, to spread the cause of his distress before the Lord, ver. l. He sent an embassage to Isaiah to asit his counsel in the time ofthe general dis tress, vs. 2—5. Isaiah replied that he should not be afraid ofthe Assyrian, for that he should soon be destroyed, vs. 6, 7. , The return of Rabshakeh to Sennacherib, ver. 8. Sennacherib heard that Tir- hakah king of Ethiopia was preparing to make war upon him, and sent another embassy, with sub stantially the same message as the former, to induce him to surrender, vs. 9—13. Hezekiah having read the letter which he sent, went again to the temple, and spread it before the Lord, ver 14. His prayer is recorded, vs. 15—20. Isaiah, in answer to his prayer, reproves the pride and arrogance of Sennacherib, and gives the assurance that Jerusalem shall be safe, and that the Assyrian shall be destrdyed, vs. 81—35, The chapter closes with an account of tho destruction of the army of the Assyrians, and the death of Sennacherib, vs. 36-38. himself with sackcloth, and went "into the house ofthe Lord. 1 2 Kings 19, 1. &.C. m Job 1. 20. n ver. 14. temple to spread out the case before Je hovah ,(ver. 14). This was in accord ance with the usual habit of Hezekiah ^ and it teaches us that when we are en vironed with difficulties or danger, and when the name of our God is blas phemed, we should go and spread out 1 And 'it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent "his clothes, and covered 1. When king Hezekiah heard it. Heard the account of the words of Rab shakeh, ch. xxxvi. 22. IT That he rent his clothes. Note ch. xxxvi. 22. ^ He covered himself with sackcloth. See Note ch. iii. 24. IT And went into the house of the Lord. Went up to the 14 ISAIAH. [5.C.710. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the eld ers of the priests, covered with 'sackcloth, unto Isaiah the pro phet, the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of 'trouble, and of re buke,* and of 'blasphemy; for the children are come to the birth, i Joel 1.13. CPs. SI). 15. 6 ch. 25. 8. Rev. 3. 19. 2 or, provocation. our feelings before God, and seek his aid. 2. And he sent Eliakim. Note ch. xxxvi. 3. IT And the elders of the priests. It was a case of deep im portance, and one that pertained in a special manner to the interests of reli gion ; and he, therefore, selected the most respectable embassage that he could to present the case to the prophet. IT Covered with sackcloth. Religion had been insulted.' The God whom the priests served had been blasphemed, and the very temple was threatened, and it was proper that the priests should go with the habiliments of mourning. H XJnto Isaiah. It was customary on occasions of danger to consult prophets, as those who had direct communication with God, and seek counsel from them. Thus Balak sent messengers to Balaam to consult him in a time of perplexity (Num. xxii. 5 seq.) ; thus Jehoshaphat and the king of Israel consulted Micaiah in time of danger from Syria (1 Kings xxii. 1-13) ; thus Ahaziah, when sick, sent to consult Elijah (2 Kings i. 1-9) ; and thus Josiah sent an embassage to ' Huldah the prophetess to inquire in re gard to the book which was found in the temple of the Lord, 2 Kings xxii. 14. 3. This is u, day of rebuke. This may refer either to the reproaches of Rabshakeh, or more probably to the fact that Hezekiah regarded the Lokd as rebuking his people for their sins. The word which is here used, 'T^?''''' j means more properly chastisement or punishment, Ps. cxlix. 7. Hos. v. 9. and there ^is not strength to bring forth. 4 It may be the Lokd thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach *the living God, and will reprove J;he words which the Lord thy God hath heard : wherefore lift up thif prayer for the 'remnant that is ^eft. / ch. 66. 9. k Rom. 9. 27. h ver. 23. 24. CJ. 51. 7, 8. ^fmind. T And of blasphemy. Marg. " or pro vocation." The word here used, nSSJ , means properly reproach or contumely ; and the sense is, that God and his cause had been vilified by Rabshakeh, and it was proper to appeal to him to vindi cate the honour of his own name, ver. 4. IT For the children are come, &c. The meaning of this figure is plain. There was the highest danger, and need of aid. It was as in childbirth in which the pains had been protracted, the strength exhausted, and where there was most imminent danger in regard to the mother and the chSd. So Heze kiah said there was the most imminent danger in the city of Jerusalem. They had made all possible preparations for defence. And now, in the most criti cal time, they felt their energies ex hausted, their strength insufficient for their defence, and they needed the in terposition of God. 4. It may he the Lokd thy God. The God whom thou dost serve, and in whose name and by whose authority thou dost exercise the prophetic office. IT Will hear the words. Will come forth and vindicate himself in regard to the language of reproach and blasphemy which has been used. See a similar use of the word " hear " in Ex. ii. 24, iii. 7. IT To reproach the living God. The revilings of Rabshakeh were really directed against the true God. The re proach of the " living God " consisted m comparmg him to idols, and saying that he was no more able to defend Je rusalem than the idol gods had been B.C. ^1Q.] CHAPTER XXXVII. 15 5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid' of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the serv ants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold I will *send a blast !ch. 43. 1,2. 61.12,13. 4 or, put a spirit into him, 1 Kings 22, 23. able to defend their lands. See Note ch. xxxvi. 18. The phrase " the living God " is often applied to Jehovah in contradistinction from idols which were mere blocks of wood or stone. IT For the remnant that is left. For those who survive ; or probably for those parts of the land, including Jerusalem, that have not fallen into the hands of the As syrian. Sennacherib had taken many towns, but there were many also that had not yet been subdued by him. 6. Wherewith the servants, Si.c. Heb. The youth, or the young men C'^??). The word properly denotes boys, youths, young men ; and is used here probably by way of disparagement, in contradis tinction from an embassy that would be truly respectable made up of aged men. IT Have blasphemed me. God regard ed these words as spoken a'gainst him self, and he would vindicate his own honour and name. 7. Behold, I will send a blast upon him." Marg. " put a spirit into him." The word rendered " blast," H1"l , is commonly rendered spirit. It may de note breath, air, soul, or spirit. There is no reason to think that the word is here used in the sense of blast of wind, as our translators seem to have sup posed. The sense is probably, ' I will infiise into him a spirit of fear, by which he shall be alarmed by the rumour which he shall hear, and return to his own land.' The word is often used in this sense. Qomp. 1 Sam. xvi. 14. See also Isa. xxxi. 8, 9. Gesenius under stands it here in the sense of will or dis position. ' I will change his will or upon him ; and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. 8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria war ring against Libnah :° for he had heard that he was departed jfrom 'Lachish.0 Num. 33. 20, 21. Josh. 21. 13. 2 Chron. 21. 10. 5 Josh. 10. 31—34. disposition, so that he will return to.his own land.' IT And he shall hear a rumour. The rumour or report here re ferred to, was doubtless that respecting Tirhakah lung of Ethiopia, ver. 9. It was this which would alarm him, and drive him in haste from the cities which he was now besieging, and be the means of expelling him from the land. IT And I will cause him, &.c. This is said in accordance with the usual statements in the Scriptures, that all events are under God's providential control. Comp. Note on ch. X. 5, 6. IT By the sword in his own land. See Note on ver. 38. 8. So Rabshakeh returned. Return ed from Jerusalem to the camp of his master. He had received no answer to his insulting message (ch. xxxvi. 21) ; he saw there was no prospect that the city would surrender ; and he therefore returned again to the camp. IT And found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah. He had departed from Lachish. Why he had done this is un known. It is possible -that he had taken it, though this is not recorded any where in history. Or it is possible that he had found it impracticable to subdue it as speedily as he had desired, and had withdrawn from it for the pur pose of subduing other places that would offer a more feebje resistance. Libnah was a city in the south of Judah (Josh. XV. 42), given to the priests, and declared a city of refuge. 1 Chron. vi. 64, 57. Eusebius and Jerome say it was in the district of Eleutheropohs. Calmet, It was about ten miles to the northwest of Lachish. This city waa taken by Joshua, and all its inhabitants 16 ISAIAH. [5.C.710. 9 And he heard say concern. mg Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee : and when he heard it, he sent messengers to Heze kiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying. Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, put to the sword. After taking this, Joshua next assaulted and took Lachish. Josh. X. 29-32. 9. And he heard say. The report or njmour referred to in ver. 7. In what way he heard this is not intimated. It is probable that the preparations which Tirhakah had made were well known to the surrounding regions, and that he was already on his march against Sen nacherib. IT Tirhakah. This king, who by Eusebius and by raost ancient writers, is called Tapaicos, Tarakos, was a celebrated conqueror, and had subdued Egypt to himself. He reigned over Egypt eighteen years. When Senna cherib marched into Egypt, Sevechus or Sethon was on the throne. Sennache rib having laid siege to Pelusiam, Tir hakah came to the aid of the city, and in consequence of his aid, Sennacherib was compelled to rais^ the siege and retumed to Palestine, and laid siege to Lachish. Tirhakah succeeded Seve chus in Egypt, and was the third and last of the Ethiopian kings that reigned over that country. He probably took advantage of the distracted state that succeeded the death of Sevechus, and secured the crown for himself This was, however, after the death of Senna cherib. The capital which he occupied was Thebes. See Prideaux's Connec tion, vol. i. pp. 141, 145, 149. Ed. 1815. As he was celebrated as a conqueror, and as he had driven Sennacherib from Pelusium and from Egypt, we may see the cause of the alarm of Sennacherib* when it was rumoured that he was about to follow him into Palestine, and to make war on him there. IT He is come forth. He has made preparations. Jerusalem shall .not be given into the hand of the king of As- syria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done" to all lands, by destroying them utterly ; and shalt thou be delivered ? 12 Have the gods of the na- and is on his way. T He sent messen- gers.i Sec. With letters or deBpalches, ver. 14. Hezekiah was probably igno rant of the approach of "Tirhakah, or at all events Sennacherib would suppose that he was ignorant of it ; and ks Sen nacherib knew that there would be no hope that Hezekiah would yield if he knew that Tirhakah was approaching to make war on him, he seems to have resolved to anticipate the intelhgence, and to see if it were possible to induce him to surrender. He, therefore, sent substantially the same message as be fore, and summoned him to capitulate. 10. Let not thy God deceive thee. The similar message which had been sent by Rabshakeh (ch. xxxvi. 14, 15) had been sent mainly to the people to induce them not to put confidence in Hezekiah, as if he would deceive them by leading them to rely on the aid of Jehovah. As that had failed, he, as a last resort, sent a similar message to Hezekiah himself, designed to alienate his mind from God, and assuring him that resistance would be vain. To convince him, he referred him (vs. II IS) to the conquests of the Assyrians, and assured him that it would be impos sible to resist a nation that had subdued so many others. He had it not in his power to add Egypt to the list of sub dued kingdoms, or it wonld have been done. 11. And shalt thou be delivered? How will it be possible for you to stand out against the conquerors of the world % 12. My fathers. My predecessora on the throne. IT Gozan. This was a region or country in the northern part of Mesopotamia, and on the river Cha« B.C. 710.] CHAPTER XXXVII. 17 tions delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan," » 2 Kings 17. 6. IS. 11. 10 Gen. u. i. 28. 10. - X Amos 1. 5. boras. There was a river of the name Gozan in Media, which ran through the province anti gave it its name. The river fell probably into the Chaboras. This region is known to have been under the dominion of Assyria, for Shahnaneser, when he had subdued the ten tribes, carried them away beyond the Euphrates to a country bordering on the river Gozan. 2 Kings xvii. 6. Ac cording to Gesenius, the river which is referred to is the Chaboras itself. He translates the passage in 2 Kings xvii. 6, thus, " And placed them in Chaleitis (Halah), and on the Chabor (Habor) a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes." According to this, the river was the Chaboras, the Chabor of Eze kiel, and the region was situated on the Chaboras. This river falls into the Euphrates from the East. Ptolemy calls the region lying between the Chaboras and Laocoras by the name of Gauzan- itis, which is doubtless the same as the Hebrew Gozan. Gozan is usually men tioned in connection with cities of Mesopotamia. 1 Chron. v. 26. 2 Kings xix. 42. If And Haran. This was a ' city of Mesopotamia, to which Abra ham went after he left Ur of 'the Chal dees. His father died here ; and from this place he was called to go into the land of proraise. Gen. xi. 31,32. Comp. Note Acts vii. 4. It is now called Harran and is situated in 36° 52' N. Iat. and 39° 5' E Long, in a flat and sandy plain, and is only peopled by a few wandering Arabs who select it as the place of residence on account ofthe delicious waters it contains. It belong ed by conquest to the Assyrian empire. ^ And Rezeph. According to Abulfeda there were many towns of this name. One, however, was more celebrated than the others, and is probably the one here referred to. It was situated about a day's joumey west of the Euphrates, and is mentioned by Ptolemy by the name of 'Pijo-aift", iJesapAa. Ii Andthe ghildren qf Eien. Eden was evidently and Haran," and Rezeph, and the children of Eden* which were in Telassar ? a country well known in the time of Isaiah, and was doubtless the tract within which man was placed when he was created. The garden or Paradise was in Eden, and was not properly itself called Eden. Gen. ii. 8. It is probable that Eden was a region or tract of country of considerable extent. Its situation has been a subject of anx ious inquiry. It is not proper here to go into an examination of this subject. It is evident from the passage before us that it was either in Mesopotaiiiia or in the neighbourhood of that country, since it is mentioned in connection with cities and towns of that region. It is men tioned by Amos (B. C. 787) as a coun try then well known, and as a part of Syria, not far from Damascus. I will break also the bar of Damascus, And cut ofl' the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, And him that holdeth the sceptre from the house o/Eden, And the people of Syria shall, go into captivity to Kir, Sailh the Lord. Amos i. 5. In Isa. h. 3, Eden is referred to as a country well known and as distinguish ed for its fertility. For JEHOVAH shall comfort Zion ; He will comfort all her waste places. And he will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the gardens of JEHOVAH. Thus also in Ezek. xxvii. 23, we find Eden mentioned in connection with Haran and Canneh. Canneh was pro bably the sarae as Calneh (Gen. x. 10), the Calno of Isaiah (Isa. x. 9), and was doubtless situated in Mesopotamia, since it is joined with cities that are known to have been there. Comp, also Ezek. xxxi. 9, 16, 18. Aw these passages demonstrate that there was such a country, and prove also that it waa either in Mesopotamia or in a country a'djacent to Mesopotamia. It is not, however, possible now to designate its e-xact boundaries. H In Telassar. This place is nowhere else mentioned iu the Scriptures. Nothing, therefore, is known of its situation. The connection de mands that it should be in Mesopotamia 18 ISAIAH. [B.C.710. 13 Where is the king of Ha math,* and the king of Arphad, and the king of the (>,ity of Sep harvaim, Hena, and Ivah ? 14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the mes sengers, and read it : and Heze kiah went up "unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. y oh. 19. Jer. 49. 23. a ver. 1. Joel 2. 17—20. jB.C.710.] CHAPTER XXXVII. 19 'Lord, and see ; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. 18 Of a truth. Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the •nations, and their countries, _ 19 And have ''cast their gods into the fire : for they were no 6 lands. 7 given. That is, attend to their words, and in flict suitable punishment. This was the burden of the prayer of Hezekiah, that God would vindicate his own honour, and save his name from reproach. IT Which he hath sent. In the letters which he had sent to Hezekiah, as well aa the words which he had sent to the people by Rabshakeh, ch. xxxvi. 18-20. IT To reproach the living God. Note ver. 4. 18. Of a truth. It is as he has said, that all the nations have been subjected to the arms of the Assyrian. He now intends to add Jerusalem to the number of vanquished cities and kingdoms, and to boast that he has subdued the nation under the protection of Jehovah, as he had done the nations under the protec tion of idol gods. IT Have laid waste all the nations. Heb. as in the margin, all the lands. But this is evidently an elliptical form of expression meaning all the inhabitants or people of the lands. In 2 Kings xix. 17, it is thus expressed : *' The kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands." 19. And have cast their gods into the fire. This appears to have been the usual pohcy of the Assyrians and Baby lonians. It was contrary to the policy which the Romans afterwards pursued, for they admitted the gods of other na tions among their own, and even allow ed them to have a place in the Pantheon. Their design seems not to have been to alienate the feelings of the vanquished, but to make them feel that they were a part of the same people. They suppos ed that a vanquished people would be conciUated with the idea that their gods were admitted to participate in the honoiUB of those which were worship- gods, but ''the work of men's hands, wood and stone ; there fore they have destroyed them. 20 Now, therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know "that thou art the Lord, even thou only. fc Ps. 115, 4. &c. ch. 40. 19, 20. 41.7. 44. 9, &c. 0 Ps. 46. 10. ch. 42. 8. ped by the conquerors of the world. But the policy of the Eastern conquerors was different. They began usually by removing the people themselves whom they had subdued, to another land. Note ch. xxxvi. 17. They thus intend ed to alienate their minds as much as possible from their own country. They laid every thing waste by fire and sword, and thus destroyed their homes, and all the objects of their attachment. They destroyed their temples, their groves, and tlieir household gods. They well knew that the civil policy of the nation was founded in religion, and that to subdue them effectually it was necessary to abolish their religion. Which was the wisest policy, may indeed admit of question. Perhaps in each case the policy was well adapted to the particular end which was had in view. IT For they were no gods. They were not truly gods, and therefore they had no power of resistance, and it was easy to destroy them. 20. That all the kingdoms of the earth may know. Since he has been able to subdue all others ; and since Judea alone, the land under the pro tection of Jehovah, would be saved, all the nations would know that it could not be by the power of an idol. The desire of Hezekiah, therefore, was not primarily that of his own personal safety or the safety of his kingdom. It was that Jehovah might vindicate his great and holy name from reproach, and that the world might know that he was the only true God. A supreme regard to the glory of God influenced this pious monarch in his prayers, and we have here a beautiful model of the object which we should have in viev? when w« so ISAIAH. [B.C. 710 21 Tlien Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, say ing, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed 'to me against Sennach erib king of Assyria : 22 This is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him ; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised ^thee, and b Prov. 15. 29. Luke IS. 1. d Ps. 31. 18. 46. 1, 2. come before God. It is not primarily that we may be saved ; it is not, as the leading motive, that our friends, or that the world may be saved ; it is that the name of God may be honoured. This motive of prayer, is one that is with great frequency presented in the Bible. Comp. ch. xiii. 8, xliii. 10, 13, 25. Deut. xxxii. 39. Ps. kxxiii. 18, xlvi. 10. Neh. ix. 6. Dan. ix. 18, 19.— Perhaps there could have been furnished no more striking proof that Jehovah was the true God, than would be by the defeat of Sennacherib. No other nation had been able to resist the Assyrian arms. The great power of that empire was now concentrated in the single army of Sen nacherib. He was coming with great confidence of success. He was ap proaching the city devoted to Jehovah — the city where the temple was, and the city and people that were every where understood to be under his protection. The affairs of the world had arrived at a crisis ; and the time had come when the great Jehovah could strike a blow which would be felt on all nations, and carry the terror of his name, and the report of his power throughout the earth. Perhaps this was one of the main raotives of the destruction of that mighty ai-my. God intended that his power should be felt, and that monarchs and people that arrayed themselves against him, and blasphemed him, should have a striking demonstration ihat he was God, and that none of the devices of his enemies could succeed. ai.WTtereas thou hast prayed. Be cause thou hast come to me instead of re lying on thy own resources and strength. laughed thee to scorn ; the daugh ter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 23 Whom hast thou reproach ed and blasphemed ? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high ? even against the Holy One of Israel. 24 By 'thy servants hast thou 3th£handoflhj/. In 2 Kings xix. 20, it is, " That which thou hast prayed to me against Senna cherib, king of Assyria, I have heard." 22. The virgin, the daughter of Zion. Jerusalem. See Note ch. i. 8. Comp. Note ch. xxiii. 12. The parallelism in this and the follovring verses shows that the poetic form of speeoh is here intro duced. IT Hasi despised thee. ThsJt is, it is secure from thy contemplated attack. The idea is, that Jerusalem would exult over the ineffectual attempts of Sennacherib to take it, and over his complete overthrow. IT Hath laughed thee to scorn. Will make thee an ob ject of derision. H Hath shaken her head at thee. This is an indication of , contempt and scorn. Comp. Ps. xxii. 7, cix. 25. Jer. xviii. 16. Zeph. ii. 15. Matt. xxvii. 39. 23. Whom hast thou reproached. Not an idol. Not one who has no power to take vengeance, or to defend the city under his protection, but the living God. IT Exalted thy voice. That is, by thy messenger. Thou hast spo ken in a loud, confident tone ; in the language of reproach and threatening. IT Arid lifted up thine eyes on high. To lift up the eyes is an indication of haughtiness and pride. He had evinced arrogance in his manner, and he was yet to leam that it was against the living and true God. 24. By thy servants. Heb. By the hand of thy servants. That is, by Rabshakeh, ch. xxxvi., and by those whom he had now sent to Hezekiah With letters, vs. 9, 14. IT And hast said. Isaiah does not here quote the precise iflords. which Rabshakeh or Ibe iJ.C. 710.] CHAPTER XXXVII. 21 reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon ; and I will cut down the 'tall cedars thereof, and 5 tallTiess of the cedars thereof, and the choice Qfthejir-trees thereof. Other messengers had used, but quotes the substance of what had been uttered, and expresses the real feelings and in tentions of Sennacherib. IT By the multitude of -my ^chariots. The word chariots here denotes war-chariots. See Notes ch. ii. 7, Ixvi. 20. IT To the height of the mountains. Lebanon is here particularly referred to. Chariots were commonly used, as cavalry was, in plains. But it is probable that Lebanon was accessible by chariots dravra by horses. IT To the sides of Lebanon. On the situation of Lebanon see Notes chs. X. 34, xxix. 17. Sennacherib is represented as having carried desolation to Lebanon, and as having cut dovra its stately trees. See Note ch. xxxiii. 9. IT / will cut down the tall cedars there of. Marg. the tallness of the cedars thereof. The boast of Sennacherib was that he would strip it of its beauty and ornament ; that is, that he would lay the land waste. H And the choice fir-trees thereof. See Note ch. xiv. 8. The LXX render it " the beauty of the cy press, vwapiaaov." The word here de notes the cypress, a tree resembling the white cedar. It grew on Lebanon, and together with the cedar constituted its glory. Its wood, like that of the cedar, was employed for the floors and ceilings ofthe temple. 1 Kings v. 22, 24, vi. 15, 34. It was used for the decks and sheathing of ships, Ezek. xxvii. 5 ; for spears, Neh. ii. 4 ; and for musical in- struraents, 2 Sara. vi. 5. IT The height of his border. The extrerae retreats ; the farthest part of Lebanon. In 2 Kings xix. 23, it is, " I will enter the lodgings of his borders ;" perhaps referring to the fact that on the ascent to the top of the mountain there was a place for the re pose of travellers ; a species of inn or caravansera which bounded the usual the choice fir-trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest "of his Carmel. 25 I have digged, and drunk water ; and with the sole of my 6 or, and hie fruitful field. atterapts of persons to ascend the moun tain. Such a lodging place on the sides or tops of mountains which are frequent ly ascended is not uncommon. IT And the forest of his Carmel. On the mean ing of the word Carmel, aee Note ch. xxix. 17. Here it means, as in that passage, a rich, fertile, and beautiful country. It is known that Lebanon was covered on the top, and far down the sides, with perpetual snow. But there was a region lying on its sides, between the snow and the base of the mountain, that was distinguished for fertility, and that was highly cultivated. This region produced grapes in abun dance ; and this cultivated part of the mountain thick set with vines and trees might be called a beautifiil grove. This was doubtless the portion of Lebanon which is here intended. At a distance, this tract on the sides of Lebanon ap peared doubtless as a thicket of shrabs and trees. The phrase " garden-forest," will probably express the sense of the passage. " After leaving Baalbec, and approaching Lebanon, towering walnut- trees, either singly or in groups, and a rich carpet of verdure, the offspring of numerous streams, give to this charming district the air of an English park, ma jestically bordered with snow-tipped mountains. At Deir el Akmaar the ascent begins — winding among dwarf oaks, hawthorns, and a great variety of shrubs and flowers. A deep bed of snow had now to be crossed, and the horses sunk or slipped at every moment. To ride was impracticable, and to walk dangerous, for the melting snow pene trated our boots, and our feet were nearly frozen. An hour and a half brought us to the cedars." Hogg, 25. / have digged. That is, I have digged wells. This was regarded among 22 ISAIAH. IB.C.710. feet have I dried up all the rivers eastern nations as an important achieve ment. It was difficult to find water, even by digging, in sandy deserts ; and in a country abounding with rocks, it was an enterprise of great difficulty to sinlc a well. Hence the" possession of a well became a valuable property, and was sometimes the occasion of conten tion between neighboring tribes. Gen. xxvi. 20. Hence also to stop up the wells of water, by throwing in rocks or sand, became one of the most obvious ways of distressing an enemy, emd was often resorted to. Gen. xxvi. 15, 18. 2 Kmgs iii. 19, 25. To dig wells, or to furnish water in abundance to a people, became also an achievement which was deemed worthy to be recorded in the history of kings and princes. 2 Chron. xxvi. 10. Many ofthe raost stupendous and costly of the works of the Romans in the capital of their empire, and in the principal towns of their provinces, con sisted in building aqueducts to bring water from a distance into a city. An achievement like this I understand Sennacherib as boasting he had perj- formed; that he had furnished water for the cities and towns of his mighty empire ; that he had accomplished what was deemed so difficult, and what re quired so much expense, as ' digging wells for his people ; and that he had secured them from being stopped up by his enemies so that he and his people drank of the water in peace. Gesenius, however, understands this as a boast that he had extended the bounds of his empire beyond its original limits, and unto regions that were naturally desti tute of water, and where it was neces sary to dig wells to supply his armies. Rosenmuller understands it as saying : " I have passed over, and taken posses sion of foreign lands." Drusius regards it as a proverbial saying, meaning ' I have happily and successfully accom plished all that I have undertaken, as he who digs a well accomplishes that which he particularly desires.' Vitringa regards it as saying, ' that to dig wells, and to drink the water of them, is to of the 'besieged places. 7 or, fenced and closed. enjoy the fruit of our labours, to be successfiil and happy.' But it seems to me that the interpretation above sug gested, and which I have not found ia any of the commentators before me, is the correct exposition. IT And drunk water. In 2 Kings xix. 24, it is, " I have drunk strange waters ;" that is, the waters of foreign lands. I have conquered them, and have dug wells in them. But the sense is not materially changed. T And with the sole of my feet. Expressions like this, denoting the desolations of a conqueror, are found in the classic vmters. Perhaps the idea there is, that their armies were so nu merous that they drank up all the waters in their march — a strong hyper bole to denote the number of their armies, and the extent of their desola tions when even the waters failed be fore them. Thus ' Claudian {de bello Getico 526,) introduces Alaric as boast ing of his conquests in the same ex travagant manner, and in language remarkably similar to this : Cum cesserit omnis Obsequiis natura meis. Subsidere nostris Sub pedibus montes ; arescere vidimus amnes — Fregi Alpes, galeisque Padum victricibus hausi. So Juvenal (Sat. x. 176), speaking of the dominion of Xerxes, says : * * * credimus altos Defecisse amnes, epotaque flumlna Medo Prandente. The boast of drying up streams vrith the sole of the foot is intended to con vey the idea that he had not only sup plied water for his ovm empire by' digging wells, but that he had cut off the supplies of water from the others against whom he had made war. The idea perhaps is, that if such an army as his was, should pass through the streams of a country that they should invade, and should only take away the water that would adhere to the sole or the hollow of the foot on their march, it would dry up all the streams. Itis strong hyperbolical language, and is de signed to indicate the number of th« forces which were under his command. B.C.710.] CHAPTER XXXVII. 23 26 Hast thou not heard 'long ago how I have done it ; and of ancient times that I have formed it ? now have I ^brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to 8 or, how I have -made it long ago, and formed it of ancient times ? should I noio bring it to be laid waste, and defe-nced cities to be ruinous hiaps? g ch. 10. 5, 6. IT Of the besieged places. Marg. " fenced, or closed." The word render ed rivers, '^'yt^ , may denote canals, or artificial streams, such as were common in Egypt. In ch. xix. 6 it is rendered " brooks," and is applied to the artificial canals of Egypt. See Note on that place. The word here rendered " be sieged places," llSa mdtzor, may mean distress, straitness. Dent, xxviii. 53 ; siege, Ezek. iv. 2. 7 ; mound, bulwark, intrenchment, Deut. xx. 20 ; or it may be a proper name for Egypt, being one of the forms ofthe name O^'nsn Mitz- raim, or Egypt. The same phrase ogcurs in ch. xix. 6, where it means Egypt (see Note on that place), and such should be regarded as its meaning here. It alludes to the conquests which Sennacherib is represented as boasting that he had made in Egypt, that he had easily removed obstructions, and destroy ed their means of defence. Though he had been repulsed before Pelusium by Tirhakah king of Ethiopia (see Note ch. xxxvi. 1), yet it is not improbable that he had taken many towns there, and had subdued no small part of the country to himself. In his vain boast ing, he would strive to forget his re pulse, and would dwell on the ease of conquest, and the facility with which he had removed all obstructions from his way. The whole language of the verse, therefore, is that of a proud and haughty Oriental prince, desirous of proclaiming his conquests, and forgetting his morti fying defeats. 26. Hast thou not heard. This is evidently the language of God addressed to Sermacherib. It is designed to state to him that he was under his control ; that this was the reason (ver. 27) why lay waste defenoed cities into ruinous heaps. 27 Therefore their inhabitants were *of small power, they were dismayed and confounded : they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb ; as the grass 9 short of hand, the inhabitants of the nations had been unable to resist him ; that he was en tirely in his hands (ver. 28) ; and that he would control him as he pleased (ver. 29). IT Long ago how I have done it. You boast that all this is by your own cotmsel and power. Yet I have done it ; i. e. I have purposed, planned, ar ranged it long ago. Comp. ch. xxii. 11. IF That thou shouldest be to lay waste. I have raised you up for this purpose, and you have been entirely under my control. See Note ch. x. 5. 27. Therefore. Not because you have so great power ; but because I have rendered them incapable of resist ing you. IT Were of small power. Heb. ' short of hand ;' they were feeble, imbecile, unable to resist you. IT They were dismayed,, Heb. " they were bro ken and ashamed.' Their spirits sank ; they were ashamed of their feeble pow ers of resistance ; and they subraitted to the ignominy of a surrender. IT They were as the grass of the field. The same idea is expressed by Sennacherib himself in ch. x. 15, though under a different image. See Note on that verse. The idea here is, as the grass of the • field offers no resistance to the march of an army, so it was with the strongly fortified towns in the way of Sennach erib. IT As the grass on the house-tops. In eastern countries the roofe of houses are always flat. They are made of a mixture of sand, gravel, or earth ; and on the houses of the rich there is a firmly constructed flooring made of coals, chalk, gypsum, and ashes made hard by being beaten, or rolled. On these roofs spears of wheat, barley, or grass sometimes spring up, but they are soon withered by the heat of the sun. Ps. cxxix. 6-8, The idea here, there- 34 on the house-tops, and as com blasted befbre it be grown up. 28 But I know thy "abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 29 Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears ; therefore will I put my hook 'in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn 2 01. sitting. ich. 30. 23. Ezek. 3S. 4. fbre, is that of the greatest feebleness. - His enemies were not simply hke the grass in the field, biit they were like the thin, slender, and delicate blade that sprung up in the little earth on the roof of a house, where there was no room for the roots to strike down, and where it soon withered beneath the burning sun. IT As com blasted before it is grown up. Before it acquires any strength. The idea in all these phrases is substan tially the same — that they were incapa ble of offering even the feeblest resist ance. 28. But I know. The language of God. ' I am well acquainted with all that pertains to you. You neither go out to war, nor return, nor abide in your capital without my providential direc tion.' See Notes ch. x. 5, 6, 7. T Thy abode. Marg. Sitting. Among the Hebrews, sitting down, rising np, and going out, were phrases to describe the whole of a man's life and actions. Comp. Deut. vi. 7, xxviii. 6. Ps. cxxi. 8. 1 Kings iii. 7. God here says that he knew the place where he dwelt, and he was able to return him again to it, ver. 29. IT And thy rage against me. See ver. 4. 29 . Because thy rage and thy tumult. Or rather, thy pride, thy insolence, thy rain boasting. IT Therefore will I put my hook in thy nose. This is a most striking expression denoting the com plete control which God had over the haughty monarch, and his ability to direct hira as he pleased. The lan guage is taken from the custom of put ting a ring or hook in the nose of a wild animal for the purpose of governing and ISAIAH. iB.C.710. thee back by the way by which thou camest. 30 And this shall le a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the firuit thereof. guiding it. "The most violent animals may be thus completely governed, and this is often done vrith those animals that are fierce and untameable. The Arabs often pursue this course in regard to the camel, and thus have it under entire control. A similar image is used in respect to the king of Egypt, Ezek. xxix. 4. The idea is, that God would control and govern the wild and am bitious spirit of the Assyrian, and that vrith infinite ease he could conduct him again to his own land. IT And my bridle. Note ch. xxx. 28. IT And I will tu-m thee back. See ver. 37. 30. And this shall be a sign unto thee. It is evident that the discourse here is tumed from Seimacherib to Hezekiah. Such transitions, without distinctly indicating them, are common in Isaiah. God had in the previous verses, in the form of a direct personal address, foretold the defeat of Sennach erib, and the confusion of lus plans. He here turns and gives to Hezekiah the assurance that Jerusalem would be delivered. — On the meaning of the word «g-7i, see Note on ch. vii. 14. Com mentators haye been much perplexed in the exposition of the passage before us to know how that which was to occur one, two, or three years after the event, could be a sign of the fiilfilment ofthe prophecy. Many have supposed that the year in which this was spoken was a Sabbatic year, in which the lands were not cultivated, but were suffered to lie still (Lev. xxxv. 2-7) ; and that the year foUovring was the year of Jubilee, in which also the lands were to remain uncultivated. They suppose thatthe iB.C.710.] CHAPTER XXXVII. 25 idea is, that the Jews might be assured that they would not experience the evils of famine which they had anticipated from the Assyrians, because the divine promise gave them assurance of supply in the Sabbatic year, and in the year of Jubilee, and that although their fields had been laid waste by the Assyrian, yet their wants would be supplied, imtil on the thiid year they would be per mitted in quietness to cultivate their land, and that this would be to thera a sign, or a token of the divine inter position. But to this there are two obvious objections. (1.) There is not the slightest evidence that the year in which Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem was a Sabbatic year, or that the follow ing year was the Jubilee. No mention is made of this in the history, nor is it possible to prove it frpm any part of the sacred narrative. (2.) It is still difficult to see, even if it were so, how that which was to occur two or three years after the event, could be a sign to Hezekiah then of the truth of what Isaiah had predicted. RoseimiOUer suggests that the two years in which they are men tioned as sustained by the spontaneous production of the earth were the two years in which Judea had been already ravaged by Sennacherib, and that the third year was the one in which the prophet was now speaking, and that the prediction means that in that very year they would be permitted to sow and reap. — In the explanation of the passage it is to be observed that the word sign is used in a variety of significations. It raay be used as an indication of any thing unseen. Gen. i. 14 ; or as a mili tary ensign. Num. ii. 2 ; or as a sign of something future, an omen, Isa. viii. 18 ; or as a token, argument, proof, Gen. xvii. 2. Ex. xxxi. 13. Itmay be used as a sign or token of the trath of a prophecy; that is, when some rainor event furnishes a proof that the whole prophecy would be fulfilled. Ex. iii. 12. 1 Sam. ii. 34, x. 7, 9. Or it may be used as a wonder, a prodigy, a miracle. Dent. iv. 34. vi. 22. In the case before us, it seems to mean that, in the events predicted here, Hezekiah would have a token or argument that the land was VOL. II. — 2 completely freed from the invasion of Sennacherib. Though a considerable part of his army would be destroyed; though the monarch himself would be compelled to flee, yet Hezekiah would not from that fact alone have the as surance that he would not rally his forces, and return to invade the land. There would be every inducement aris ing from disappointment and the rage of defeat for him to do it. To compose the mind of Hezekiah in regard to this, this assurance was given, that the land would be quiet, and that the fact that it would remain quiet during the remain der of that year, and to the third year, would he a sign, or demonstration that the Assyrian army was entikelt with drawn, and that all danger of an inva sion was at an end. The sign, there fore, does not refer so much to the past, as to the security and future prosperity which would be consequent thereon. It would be an evidence to them that the nation would be safe, and would be favoured -with a high degree of pros perity. See vs. 31, 32. It is possible that this invasion took place when it was too late to sow~ for that year, and that the land was so ravaged that it could not that year be cultivated. The harvests and the vineyards had been destroyed ; and they would be dependent on that which the earth had spontane ously produced in those parts which had been untilled. As it was now too late to sow the land, they would be depen dent in the foUovring year on the same scanty supply. In the third year, how ever, they might cultivate their fields securely, and the former fertiUty would be restored. T Such as groweth of itself. The Hebrew word here, ^''Bt; , denotes grain produced from the kernels of the former year, without new sead, and vrithout cultivation. This, it is evident, would be a scanty supply ; but we are to remember that the land had been ravaged by the army of the Assy rian. 1 That which springeth of the same. The word here used, CHttJ, in the parallel passage in 2 Kings xix. 29, KiTIO , denotes that which grows of itself 'the third year after sowing, 26 ISAIAH. [B.C.710. 31 And *the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and °they that escape out of mount Zion : 4 the escaping of the house of J-udah titat re- 9naineth. This production of the third year would be of course more -scanty and lese val uable than in the preceding year, and there can be no doubt that the Jews would be subjected to a considerable extent to the evils of want. Still, as the land would be quiet ; as the people would be permitted to live in peace ; it would be a sign to them that the Assyrian was finally and entirely withdrawn, and that they might return in the third year to the cultivation of their land with the assurance that this much-dreaded in vasion was not again to be feared. IT And in the third year. Then you may resume your agricultural operations vrith the assurance that you shall be un disturbed. Your two years of quiet shall have been a full demonstration to you that the Assjrrian shall not return, and you may resume your employments vrith the assurance that all the evils of the invasion, and all apprehension of danger, are at an end. 31. And the remnant that is escaped. See the margin. Those that are left of the Jews. The ten tribes had been carried away ; and it is not improbable that the inhabitants of the kingdom of Judah had been reduced by want, and by the siege of Lachish, Libnah, &c. It is not to be supposed that Sennacherib could have invaded the land, and spread desolation for so long a time, without diminishing the number of the people. The promise in the passage is, that those who were left should flourish and increase. The land should be at rest ; and under the administration of their wise and pious king their number would be augmented, and their happiness pro moted. V Shall again take root downward. Like a tres that had been the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. 33 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the khig of As syria, He shall not come into thig city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with ''shields, nor cast a bank against it. 6 the escaping. 7 shie'd. prevented by any cause from growing or bearing fmit. A tree, to bear well, must be in a soil where it can strike its roots deep. The sense is,, that all ob- stractions to their growth and prosperity would be removed. 32. ShaU go forth a remnant. The word remnant means that which is left ; and does not of necessity imply that it should be a small portion. No doubt a part of the Jews were destroyed in the invasion of Sennacherib, but the assur ance is here given that a portion of them would remain in safety, and that they would constitute that from which the future prosperity ofthe state would arise. IT And they tliat escape. Marg. The escaping, i. e. the remnant. H The zeal. See Note on ch. ix. 7. 33. He shall not come into this city. Seimacherib encamped probably on the northeast side of the city, and his army was destroyed there. See Notes on ch. X. 28, seq. IT Nor shoot an arrow there. That is, nor shoot an arrow within the walls ofthe city. IT Nor come before it with shields. See Note ch. xxi. 5. The meaning here is, that the army should not be permitted to come before the city defended with shields" and prepared vrith. the means of attack and defence. IT Nor cast a hank against it. A mound ; a pile of earth throvsm up in the manner ofafortto defend the assailants, or to give them an advantage in attacking the walls. Sieges were conducted by throw ing up banks or fortifications, behind which the army of attack could be se cure to carry on their operations. Tow ers filled with armed men were also con- stracted, covered with hides and other impenetrable materials, which could be made to approach the walls, and from B.C, 710.J CHAPTER XXXVII. 27 34 By the way that he came, Dy the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. 35 For I "will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. n ch. 38. 6. Jer. 17. 25, 2S. which those who were vrithin could safely conduct the attack. 34. By the way that he came, Ver. 29. Comp. ver. 37. IT And shall not come into this city, Ver. 33. Comp. ch. xxix. 6-8. 35. For I will defend this city. Notwithstanding all that Hezekiah had done to put it in a posture of defence (2 Chron. xxxii. 1, seq.) stUl it was Jehovah alone who could preserve it. IT For mine own sake. God had been reproached and blasphemed by Sen nacherib. . As his name and power had been thus blasphemed, he says that he would vindicate himself, and for the honour of his own insulted majesty would save the city. T And for my servant David's sake. On account of the pro mise which he had made to him that there should not fail a man to sit on his throne, and that the city and nation should not be destroyed until the Messiah should appear. See Ps. cxxxii. 10-18. 36. Then the angel of the Lokd went forth. This verse contains the record of one of the most remarkable events which have occurred in history. Many attempts have been made to ex plain the occurrence which is here re corded, and to trace the agencies, or means which God employed. It may be observed that the use of the word "angel" here does not determine the manner in which it was done. So far as the wm-d is concerned, it might have been accomplished either by the power of an invisible messenger of God — a spiritual being commissioned for this purpose ; or it might have been by some second causes under the direction of an angel — as the pestilence, or a storra and tempest ; or it might have been by some agents sent by God whatever they were — the storm, the pestilence, or the 36 Then "the angel ofthe Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hun dred and four-score and five thousand : and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. p ch. 10. 12, &0. simoom to which the name angel might have been appUed. The word angel (^i^ijO from 'i\'*5 '" send) means pro perly one sent, a messenger, from a private person. Job i. 14 ; frora a king, 1 Sam. xvi. 19, xix. 11, 14, 20. Then it means a messenger of God, and is appUed (1,) to an angel, Ex. xxiii. 20, 2 Sam. xiv. 16, and often ; (2,) to a prophet, Hagg. i. 13. Mal. iii. 1 ; (3,) to a priest, Eccl. v. 5. Mal. ii. 7. "The word may be applied to any messenger sent from God, whoever or whatever that may be. Thus in Ps. civ. 4, the winds are said to be his angels, or messengers : Who maketh the winds (nSn^l) his angela The flaming fire his ministera. The general sense of the word is that of ambassador, messenger, one sent to bear a message, to execute a commis sion, or to perforra any work or service. It is known that the Jews were in the habit of tracing all events to the agency of invisible beings sent forth by God to accomplish his purposes in this world. There is nothing in this opinion that ia contrary to reason ; for there is no raore iraprobabiUty in the existence of a good angel than there is in the existence of a good man, or in the existence of an evil spirit than the»e is in the existence of a bad man. And there is no more im probability in the supposition that'God employs invisible and heavenly messen gers to accomplish his purposes than there is that he employs man. What ever, therefore, were the means used in the destruction of the ¦ Assyrian army, there is no improbability in the opimon that they were under the direction of a celestial agent sent forth to accoraplish 28 ISAIAH. [B.C. 710. the purpose. The chief suppositions which have been made of the means of that destruction are the following : (1.) It has been supposed that it was by the direct agency of an angel, without any second causes. But this suppositioii has not been generally adopted. It is con trary to the usual modes in which God directs the affairs of the world. His purposes are usually accomplished by some second causes, and in accordance with the usual course of events. Calvin supposes that it was aeoomplished by the direct agency of one or more angels sent forth for the purpose. (2.) Some have supposed that it was accomplished by Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, who is supposed to have pursued Sennacherib, and to have overthrown his army in a single night near Jemsalem. But it is sufficient to say in reply to this, that there is not the slightest historical evi dence to support it ; and had this been the mode, it would have been so record ed, and the fact would have been stated. (3.) It has been attributed by some, among whom is Prideaux^ (Connexions, . vol. i. p. 143,) and J. E. Faber, (Notes on Harmer's Observations, Part. i. p. 65,) to the hot pestilential wind which often prevails in the East, and which is often represented' as suddenly destroying tra vellers, and indeed whole caravans. This wind, called sam, simAm, samiel, or simoom, has been usually supposed to be poisonous, and almost instantly de- stmctive to life. It has been described by Mr. Brace, by Sir R. K. Porter, by Niebuhr, and by others. Prof. Robin son has examined at length the supposi tion that the Assyrian army was dc stroyed by this wind, and has stated the results of the investigations of recent travellers. The conclusion to which he comes is, that the forraer accounts of the effects of this wind have been greatly exaggerated, and that the de straction of the army of the Assyrians cannot be attributed to any such cause. See the article " Winds," in his Edi tion of Calmefs Dictionary. Burck- hardt says of this wind, whose effects have been regarded as so poisonous and destractive, " I ara pekfectly con vinced that all the stories which travel lers, or the inhabitants of the towns of Egypt and Syria, relate of the semoum of the desert are greatly exaggerated, and I never could hear of a s.'ngle WELL AUTHENTICATED INSTANCE of its having proved mortal io either man or beast." Similar testimony has been given by othermodem travellers ; though it is to be remarked that the testimony is rather of a negative character, and does not entirely destroy the possibility of the supposition tJiat this so often de scribed pestilential wind may in some instances prove fatal. It is not, how ever, referred to in the Scripture ac count of the destraction of Sennacherib ; and whatever may be true of it in the deserts of Arabia or Nubia, there is no evidence whatever that such poisonous effects are ever experienced in Pales tine. (4.) It has been attributed to a storm of hail, accompanied with thun der and hghtning. This is the opinion of Vitringa, and seems to accord with the descriptions which are given in the prophecy of the destraction of the army in chs. xxix. 6, xxx. 30. To this opin ion, as the most probable, I have been disposed to inchne ; for although these passages may be regarded as figurative, yet the more natural interpretation is to regard them as descriptive of the event. We know that such a tempest might be easily produced by God, and that viblent tornadoes are not unfrequent in the East. One of the plagues of Egypt consisted in such a tremendous storm of hail accompanied vrith thunder, when " the fire ran along the ground," so that " there was hail and fire mingled vrith the hail," and so that " the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast." Ex. ix. 22-25. This description, in its terror, its suddenness, and its ruinous effects, accords more nearly vrith the account of the destraction of Senna cherib than any other which has been made. See Notes on ch. xxx. 30, for a remarkable description of the effect of a storm of hail. (6.) It has been sup. posed by many that it was accomplished by the pestilence. This is the account which Josephus gives (Ant. B. x. ch. 1, § 5) ; and is the supposition which has B,C.710.] CHAPTER XXXVII. 29 37 So Sennacherib king of As.syria departed, and went and been adopted by Rosenmiiller, Doedcrlin, Michaelis, Hensler, and many others. But there are two objections to this sup position. One is, that it does not well accord with the description of the pro phet (chs. xxix. 6, xxx. 30) ; and the other, and more raaterial one is, that the plague does not accomplish its work so suddenly. This was done in a single night ; whereas, though the plague ap pears suddenly, and has been known to destroy whole armies, yet there is no re corded instance in which it has been so destractive in a few hours as in this case. It may be added, also, that the plague does not often leave an array in the raanner described here. One hun dred and eighty-five thousa.id were sud denly slain. The survivors, if there were any, as we have reason' to sup pose (ver. 37), fled, and returned to Nineveh. There is no mention made of any who lingered, and who reraained sick araong the slain. Nor is there any apprehension mentioned, as having ex isted among the Jews, of going into the camp, and stripping the dead, and bear ing the spoils of the army into the city. Had the army been destroyed by the plague, such is the fear of the contagion in countries where it prevails, that no thing would have induced them to en danger the city by the possibility of in troducing the dreaded disease. The account leads us to suppose that the inhabitants of Jemsalem immediately sallied forth and stripped the dead, and bore the spoils of the army into the city. See Notes ch. xxxiii. 4, 24. On the whole, therefore, the most probable sup position seems to be, tliat, if any secon dary causes were employed, it was the agency of a violent tempest — a tempest of raingled hail and fire, which suddenly descended upon the mighty army. Whatever was the agent, however, it was the hand of God that directed it. It was a most fearfiil exhibition of his power and justice ; and it fiimishes a most awfiil threatening to proud and haughty blasphemers and revilers, and a strong ground of assurance to the right- returned, and dwelt at Nine veh. ecus that God will defend them in timea of peril. It may be added, that Herodotus has given an account which was undoubt edly derived frora some ramour of the entire destraction of the Assyrian army. He says (B. ii. ch. 141) that when Sen nacherib was in Egypt and engaged in the siege of Pelusium, an Egyptian priest prayed to God, and God heard his prayer, and sent a judgment upon him. " For," says he, " a multitude of mice gnawed to pieces in one night both the bows and the rest of the ar mour of the Assyrians, and that it was on that account that the king, when he had no bows left, drew off his army frora Pelusium." This is probably a cormption of the history which we have here. At all events, the account in He rodotus does not conflict vrith the main statement of Isaiah, but is rather a con firmation of that statement, that the army of Sennacherib met with sudden discomfiture. IT And when they arose. At the time of rising in the moming ; when the surviving part of the army arose, or when the Jews arose, and looked toward the camp of the Assy rians. 37. So Sennacherib departed. Pro bably with some portion of his army and retinue with him, for it is by no means probable that the whole army had been destroyed. In 2 Chron. xxxii. 21, it is said that the angel " cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria." His array was thus entirely disabled, and the loss of so large a part of it, and the consternation produced by their sudden destraction, would of course lead hira to abandon the siege. TF Went and returned. Went from before Jerusalem and re tumed to his own land. IT And dwelt at Nineveh. How long he dwelt there is not certainly Imown. Berosus, the Chaldean, says it was " a Uttle while." See Jos. Ant. B. x. ch. i. § 5. Nine veh was on the Tigris, and "was the capital of Assyria. For an account ol 80 ISAIAH. [B.C. 710. 38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adramme- lech and Sharezer his sons smote its ' site, and its present situation, see " the American Biblical Repository " for Jan. 1837, pp. 139-159. 38. As he was worshipping. Per haps this time was selected because he might be then attended vrith fewer guards, or because they were able to surprise him without the possibility of his summoning his attendants to his rescue. T In the house. In the tem ple. IT Of Nisroch his god. The god whom, he particularly adored. Gese nius supposes that the word Nisroch denotes an eagle, or a great eagle. The eagle was regarded as a sacred bird in the Persian religioli, and was the symbol of Ormuzd. This god or idol had been probably introduced into Nine veh from Persia. Among the ancient Arabs the eagle occurs as an idol. Josephus calls the idol Araskes ; the author of the book of Tobit calls it Dagon. Vitringa supposes that it was the Assyrian Bel, and was worshipped under the figure of Mars, the god of vpar. More probably it was the figure of the eagle, though it might have been regarded as the god of war. IT That Adram-melech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword. What was the cause of this rebellion and parricide is unknown. These two sons subse quently became, in Armenia, the heads of two celebrated families there, the Arzeranii, and the Genunii. See Jose phus Ant. B. X., ch. i., § 5, Note. IT And they escaped. This would lead us to suppose that it was some private matter which led them to commit the parricide, and that they did not do it with the expectation of succeeding to the crown. H Into the land of Arme nia. Heb. as in the margin, Ararat. The Chaldee renders this, " the land of 111)5 Kardoo," — that is, Kardianum, "him with the sword ; and they escaped into the land of 'Arme nia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead. a ch. n. 9-12. 1 irarat. or, the mountains of the Kurds. The modem Koordistan includes a consi derable part of the ancient Assyria and Media, together vrith a large portion of Armenia. This expression is gene rally substituted for Ararat by the Sy riac, Chaldee, and Arabic translators, when they do not retain the original word Ararat. It is a region among the mountains of Ararat or Armenia. The Syriac renders it in the same way \toyfSi of Kurdoya — the Kurds, The LXX render it, " into Armenia." Je rome says that " Ararat was a champaign region in Armenia, through which the Araxes flowed, and was of considerable fertility." Ararat was a region or pro vince in Armenia, near the middle of the country between the Araxes and the lakes Van and Oroomiah. It is still called by the Armenians Ararat. On one of the mountains in this region the ark of Noah rested. Gen. viii. 4. The name Ararat belongs properly to the region of country, and not to any parti cular mountain. For an account of this region, see Sir R. K: Porter's Travels, vol. i. p. 178 seq. ; Smith and Dwight's Researches in Armenia, vol. ii. p. 73, seq., and Morier's Second Jotumey, p. 312. For a very interesting account of the situation of Ararat, including a description of an ascent to the summit ofthe mountain which bears that name, see the Biblical Repository for April, 1836, pp. 390-416. « The origin of the name Armenia is unknown. The Ar menians call themselves after their fabu lous progenitor Haig, and derive the name Armen from the son of Haig, Armenag. They are probably a tribe ofthe ancient Assyrians ; their language and history speak alike in favoiu: of it. Their traditions say also that Haig carae frora Babylon." AC. 710.] CHAPTER XXXVIII. 31 CHAPTER XXXVIII. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTEK.. This chapter contains the record of an important transaction which occurred in the time of Isaiah, and in wtiich he waa deeply interested— the dangeroua sickness, and the remarkable recovery of Hezekiah. It is introduced here, doubtless, because the account was drawn up by Isaiah (sea Analysis of ch. xxxvi.) ; and because it records his agency at an important crisis of the history. A record of the same transaction, evidently fi-om the same hand, occurs in 2 Kings xx. 1— 11. But tho account differs more than the records in the two previous chapters. It is abridged in Isaiah by omitting what is recorded in Kings in ver. 4, and in tbe close of ver. 6. it is transpot,'. i in the state ment which occurs in regard to the application of the " lump of figs ;" and it is enlarged by the intro duction of the record which Hezekiah made of his sickness and recovery, vs. 9—20. The content.* ofthe chapter are (1,) the statement of the dangerous sickness of Hezekiah, andthe message of God to him by the prophet, ver. 1 ; (2,) the prayer which Hezekiah offered for his re covery, ver. 3 ; (3.) the ai»surance which God gave to him by the prophet that his days should be tengthenedoutfifteenyears, and the sign given to confirm it by the retrocession ofthe shadow on the sun-dialof Ahaz, vs. 5 — 8; (4,) the record which Hezekiah made in gratitude to God for his re covery, vs. 9—20; and (5,) fhe statement of the manner in which his recovery waa eifected,vs. 21, 22. 1 In "those days vyas Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet, the -son of Amoz, came unto him, and said unto him, 1. In those days. That is, his sick ness commenced about the period in which the army, of Sennacherib was destroyed. It has been made a question whether the sickness of Hezekiah was before or after the invasion of Senna cherib. The most natural interpreta tion certainly is, that it occurred after that invasion, and probaily at no distant pe riod. The only objection to this view i? the statement .in ver. 6, that God would deliver him out of the hand of the king of Assyria, which has been understood by many as implying that he was then threatened with the invasion. But this may mean simply that he would be perpetually and finally deUvered from his hand ; that he would be secure in that independence from a foreign yoke which he had long sought (2 Kings xviii. 7) ; and that the Assyiian should not be able again to bring the Jews into siibjection. See Notes ch. xxxvii. 30, 31. Comp. Note on ver. 6. Jerome supposes thai it was brought upon him lest his heart should be elated with the signal triumjih, and in order that, in his circumstances, he might be kept hum ble. Josephus says that the sickness occurred soon after the destruction of the army of Sennacherib. Ant. B. x. ch. ii. § 1. Prideaux places his sick- tiess before the invasion oi the Assy- Thus saith the Lokd,^ Set thine house in order : for thou shalt die, and not live. c 2 Kings 20. 1, &c. 2 Chron. 32. 24. 2 Give charge concerning thy house. rians. Connex. vol. i. p. 137. If Was sick. What was the exact nature of this sickness is not certainly known. In ver. 21 it is said that it was ^' a boil," and probably it was a pestilen tial boilr The pestilence or plague is attended with an eruption or boil. " No one," says Jahn, " ever recovered from the pestilence unless the boil of the pestilence came out upon him, and even then he could not always be cured." Archaol. § 190. The pestilence was, and is still, rapid in its progress. It terminates the life of those who are af fected with it almost immediately, and at the farthest within three or four days. Hence we see one ground of the alarm of Hezekiah. Another cause of his anxiety was, that he had at this time no children, and consequently he had reason to apprehend that his kingdom would be thrown into contention by conflicting strifes for the crown. IT Unto death. Ready to die ; with a sickness which in the ordinary course would terminate his life. V Set thine house in order. Heb. ' Give coramand (IS) to thy house,' i. e. to thy family. If yon have any direc tions to give in regard to the succession to the crown, or in regard to doraestic and private arrangements, let it be done soon. Hezekiah was yet in middle life. 32 ISAIAH. [B.C. 710. He came to the throne when he was twenty-five years old (2 Kings xviii. 2), and he had now reigned about fourteen years. It is possible that he had as yet made no arrangements in regard to the succession, and as this was very impor tant to the peace of the nation, Isaiah was sent to him to apprize him of the necessity of leaving the af&irs of Ks kingdom so that there should not be anarchy when he should die. The di rection, also, may be understood in a more general sense as denoting that he was to make whatever arrangements might be necessary as preparatory to his death. We see here (1) the bold ness and fidelity of a man of God. Isaiah was not afraid to go in and freely tell even a monarch that he must die. The subsequent part of the narrative would lead us to suppose that until this announcement Hezekiah did not regard himself as in immediate danger. It is evident here, that the physician of He zekiah had not informed him of it — perhaps from the apprehension that his disease would be aggravated by the agi tation of his mind on the subject. The duty was, therefore, left, as it is often, to a minister of religion — a duty which even many ministers are slow to per form, emd which many physicians are reluctant to have performed. (2.) No danger is to be apprehended commonly from announcing to those who are sick their true coidition. Friends and rela tives are often reluctant to do it, for fear of agitating and alarming them. Phy sicians often prohibit thftm from know ing their true condition, under the ap prehension that their disease may be aggravated. Yet here was a case in which pre-eminently there might be danger from announcing the danger of death. The disease was deeply seated. It was making rapid progress. It was usually incurable. Nay, there was here a moral certainty that the monarch would die. And this was a case, there fore, which particularly demanded, it would seem, that the patient should be kept quiet, and free from alarms. But God regarded it as of great importance tbat he should know his true condition, and the prophet was ditected to go to bim and faithfully to state it. Physi cians and friends often err in this. There is no species of cruelty greater than to suffer a friend to lie on a dying bed under a delusion. There is no sm more aggravated than that of designedly deceiving a dying man, and flattering bim with the hope of recovery when there is a moral certainty that he will not, and cannot recover. .And there ia evidently no danger to be apprehended from communicating to the sick their true condition. It should be dorie ten derly, and with afiection ; but it should be done faithfiilly. I have had many opportunities of witnessing the effect of apprizing the sick of their eituation, and of the moral certainty that they must die. And I catmot now recall an instance in which the announcement has had any unhappy effect on the dis ease. Often, on the contrary, the effect is to calm the mind, and to lead the dying to look up to God, and peacefUly to repose on him. And the effect of THAT is always salutary. Nothing is more favourable for a recovery than a peaceful, calm, heavenly subinission to God ; and the repose and quiet which physicians so much desire their patients to possess, is often best obtained by. se curing confidence in God, and a calm resignation to his will. (3.) Every man vrith the prospect of death before him diould set his house in order. Death is an event which demands preparation — a preparation which should not be de ferred to the dying moment. In view of it, whether it comes sooner or later, our peace should be made with God and our worldly affairs so arranged that we can leave them without distraction, and vrithout regret. IF For thou shalt die and not live. Thy disease is incurable. It is a mortal, fatal disease. The He brew is, • for thou art dead ' (fia) ; that is, you are a dead man. A similar ex pression occvus in Gen. xx. 3, in the address which God made to Abimelech : " Behold thou art a dead man on ac count of the woman whidh thou hast taken." We have a sunilar phrase in our language, when a man is wotmded, and when he says ' I ara a dead man. B.C.710.] CHAPTER XXXVIII. 33 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, 3 And said, Remember 'now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I 6 Neh. 13, 14. Heb. 6. 10. This is all that we are required to un derstand here, that according to the usual course of the disease, he must die. It is evident that Isaiah was not acquainted himself with the secret in tention of God ; nor did he know that Hezekiah would humble himself, and plead vrith God ; nor that God would by a miracle lengthen out his Ufe. 2. Then Hezekiah tumed his face toward the wall. The wall of the room in whioh he waa lying. He was probably lying on a couch next the wall of his room. Eastern houses usually have such couches or ottomans running along on the sides of the room on which they recline, and on which they he when they are sick. Hezekiah proba bly turned his face to the wall in order th^t his emotion and his tears might not be seen by the bystanders, or in order that he might compose himself the better for devotion. His prayer he vrished, doubtless, to be as secret as pos sible. The Chaldee renders this, " turn ed his face to the wall of the house of the sanctuary ;" that is, of the temple, so that it might appear that he prayed toward the temple. Thus Daniel when in Babylon is said to have prayed with his windows opened towards Jerusalem. Dan. vi. 10. The Moharamedans pray every where with their faces tumed to ward Mecca. But there is no evidence in the Hebrew text that Hezekiah prayed in that raanner. The simple idea is, that he tumed over on his couch toward the wall of his room, doubtless, for the greater privacy, and to hide his deep emotion. 3. And said. Remember now, 0 Lord, / beseech thee. The object which He zekiah desired was evidently that his life might be spared, and that he might not be suddenly cut off. He, therefore, "makes mention of the former course of his life, not with ostentation, or as a VOL. II. — 2* have walked before thee in trutl^, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight : and Hezekiah wept ^sore. 4 toith great vjeeplng. ground of his acceptance or justification, but as a reason why his life should not be cut off. He had not lived as many of the kings of Israel had done. He had not been a patron of idolatry. He had promoted an extensive and thorough reformation among the people. He had exerted his influence as a kli.g in the service of Jehovah, and it was his pur pose still to do it ; and hfe, therefore, prayed that his life might be spared in order that he might carry forward and perfect his plans ibr the reformation of the people, and for the establishment of the worship of Jehovah. IT How 1 have walked. How I have lived. Life, in the Scriptures, is often represented as a joumey, and a life of piety is repre sented as walking with God. See Gen. V. 24, vi. 9. 1 Kings ix. 4, xi. 33. IT In truth. In the defence and main tenance of the tmth, or in sincerity. IT And with a perfect heart. With a heart sound, sincere, entire in thy ser vice. This had been his leading aim ; his main, grand purpose. He had not pursued his own ends, but his whole official 'royal influence had been on the side of reUgion. This refers to his public character rather than to his pri vate feelings. For though, as a man, he might be deeply conscious of imperfec tion ; yet as a king, his influence had been wholly on the side of reUgion, and he had not declined frora the ways of God. If And have done that which is good. This accords entirely with the account which is given of him in 2 Kings xviii. 3-5. IT And Hezekiah wept sore. Marg. as in the Heb. "with great weeping." Josephus (Ant. B. x. ch. ii. § 1) says, that the reason why Hezekiah was so much affected was that he was then childless, and saw that he waa about to leave the govemment without a successor. Others suppose that it was because his death would be construed 34 ISAIAH. [B.C. 710. 4 Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, 5 Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears : by his enemies as a judgment of God for his stripping the temple of its oma- raents. 2 Kings xviu. 16. It is possi ble that several things may have been combined in producing the depth of his grief In his song, or in the record which he made to express his praise to God for his recovery, the main reason of his grief which he suggested was, the fact that he was in danger of being cut ofl' in the midst of his days ; that the blessings of a long life were likely to be denied hira. See vs. 10, 11, 12. We have here an instance in which even a good raan raay be surprised, alarmed, distressed, at the sudden announcement that he must die. The fear of death is natural ; and even those who are truly pious are sometimes alarraed when it comes. 4. Then came the word of the Lokd. In the parallel place in 2 Kings xx. 4, it is said, "And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came unto hira." That is, the message of God came to Isaiah before htf had left Heze kiah ; or as soon as he had offered his prayer. This circumstance is omitted by Isaiah on the revision of his narra tive which we have before us. But there is no contradiction. In this place it is implied that the message came to him soon, or immediately. 5. The God of David thy father. Da vid is mentioned here, probably, because Hezekiah had a strong resemblance to him (2 Kings xviii. 3), and because a long and happy reign had been granted to David ; and also because the promise had been made to David that there should not fail a man to sit on his throne. See Note ch xxxvii. 35. As Hezekiah resembled David, God proraised that his reign should be lengthened out ; and as he perhaps was then vrithout a son and successor, God promised him a longer behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria : and I will de fend this city. life with the prospect that he might have an heir who should succeed hira on the throne. H Behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. This is perhaps the only instance in which any man has been told exactly how long he would live. Why God specified the time, can not now be known. It was, however, a filll answer to the prayer of Hezekiah, and the promise is a fiill demonstration that God is the hearer of prayer, and that he can answer it at once. — We learn here, that it is right for a friend of God to pray for Ufe. In times of sickness, and even when there are indications of a fatal dis ease, it is not improper to pray that the disease may be removed, and the life pro longed. If the desire be to do good ; to advance the kingdom of God ; to benefit others ; or to perfect some plan of bene volence which is begun, it is not impro per to pray that God would prolong the life. Who can teU but that he often thus spares useful lives when wom dovm with toil, and when the frame is appar ently sinking to the grave, in answer to prayers 1 He does not indeed work miracles as he did in the case of Hez e- kiah, but he may direct to remedies which had not before occurred ; or he may himself give a sudden and unlocked for tum to the disease, and restore the sufferer again to health. 6. And I will deliver thee and this city. The purport of this promise is, that he and the city should he finally and entirely delivered from all danger of in vasion from the Assyrians. It mighihe apprehended that Sermacherib would coUect a large army, and return ; or that his succeessor would prosecute the war which he had commenced. Butthe as surance here is given to Hezekiah that he had nothing more to fear from the As syrians. SeeNotesch. xxxvu. 35,xxxi. 4,5. In the parallel place in 2 Kings XX. 6 it is added, " I wiU defend this city fol B.C.710.] CHAPTER XXXVIII. 35 7 And this shall Ve a sign 'unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken ; 8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which mine own sake, and for my servant Da vid's sake." In the parallel passage also in 2 Kings xx. 7, 8, there is inserted the statement which occurs in Isaiah at the end of the chapter, vs. 21, 22. It is evi dent that those two verees more appropri- . ately come in here. Lowth conjectures that the abridger of the history omitted those verses, and when he had transcrib ed the song of Hezekiah, he saw that they were necessary to complete the nan-ative, and placed them at the end of the chapter with proper marks to have them inserted in the right place, which marks were overlooked by transcribers. It is, however, immaterial where the statement is made ; and it is now im possible to tell in what manner the trans position occurred. 7. And this shall he a sign unto thee. That is, a sign, or proof that God would do what he had promised, and that Hezekiah would recover and be permitted to go again to the temple of the Lord, ver. 22. 2 Kings xx. 8. On the meaning of the word " sign " see Notes ch. vii. 11, 14. Comp. Note ch. xxxvii. 30. The promise was, that he ehoidd be permitted to go to the temple in three days. 2 Kings xx. 5. 8. Behold, I will bring again the shadow. The shadow, or shade which is made by the interception of the rays of the sun bj the gnomon on the dial. The phrase " bring again " (Heb. ^''SJ'? means to ca-ase to return (Hiph. from aw to return) ; that is, I vrill cause to retrograde, or bring back. LXX, ' I vrill tum back,' nrfcipa. Few subjects have perplexed comraentators raore than this account of the sun-dial of Ahaz. The only other place where, a sun-dial is raentioned in the Scriptures is in the parallel place in 2 Kingsxx. 9, 10, where the account is somewhat more fiill, and the nature of the miracle more fully is gone down in the sun-dial 'pf Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun retumed ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down. / ch. 7. 11. 14. 1 degrees by, or, loith the sun. represented : " This sign shalt thou have of the Lokd, that the Lord will do the thing which he hath spoken : — ShaU the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees 1 And Hezekiah answered. It is a Ught thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees ; nay, , but let the shadow return backward ten degrees." That is, it would be in the usual direction which the shadow takes, for it to go down, and there wonld be less that would be decisive in the mira cle. He therefore asked that it might be moved backwar(| from its comraon direction, and then there could be no doubt that it was ftom God. 2 Kings XX. 11 : " And Isaiah the prophet cried unto Jehovah, and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz." IT The shadow of the degrees. That is, the shadow made on the degrees ; or indicated by the degrees on the dial. But there has been much difficulty in regard to the meaning of the word degrees. The Hebrew word '^J?,'? from 1^5^ to ascend, to go up, means properly an ascent ; a going up from a lower to a higher region ; then a st^ by which one ascends, applied to the steps on a stair-case, &c. 1 Kings x. 19. Ezek. xl. 26, 31, 34. Hence it may be applied to the ascending or descending figures or marks on a dial designating the ascent or descent of the sun ; or the ascent or descent of the shadow going. up or down by steps or hours marked on its face. The word is applied to a dial nowhere else but here. Josephus understands this as referring to the steps in the house or palace of Ahaz. " Ho desired that he would make the shadow of the sun which he had already made to go down ten steps in his house, to return again to the same place and to make it as it was before ,-" bjr" which he 36 ISAIAH. [B.C. 710. evidently regarded Hezekiah as request ing that the shadow which had gone down on the steps of the palace should return to its place ten steps backward. It is possible that the tirae of day tnay have been indicated by the shadow of the sun on the steps of the palace, and that this may have constituted what was caUed the sun-dial of Ahaz ; but the more probable interpretation is that which regards the dial as a distinct and separate contrivance. The LXX render it by the word steps, yet understanding it as Josephus does, dvafSaBfiovs rov oXkov Toi TTdrpis trov — the Steps of the house of thy father. IT Which is gone down (m the sun-dial of Ahaz. Marg. " de grees by, or vrith the sun," Heb. liter ally, ' which has descended on the steps, or degrees of Ahaz by, or vrith the sun/ '^'5'^? j that is, by means of the sun, or caused by the progress of the sun. The shadow had .^one down on the dial by the regular course ofthe sun. — Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah ; and it is evident from this, that the dial had been introduced by bim, and had been used by him to measure time. There is no mention of any instrument -for Keeping time in the Bible before tins, nor is it possible, perhaps, to determine the origin or character of this invention, or to know where Ahaz obtained it. Perhaps all that can be known on the subject has been collected by Calmet, to whose article [Dial] in his Dictionary, and to the Fragments of Taylor appen ded to his Dictionary (Fragments ii. cii.) the reader may be referred for a raore full statement "on this subject" than is corisiSent with, the design of these Notes. 'The mention of the Dial does not occur before the time of Ahaz, who lived B. C. 726; nor is it certainly known that even after his time the Jews generally divided their time by hom-s. The vvord hour (KalpiKts) occurs first in Tobit ; and it has been supposed that the invention of dials came from beyond the Euphrates. Herod. Lib. ii. c. 109. But others suppose that it carae from the Phenicians, and that the first traces of it are discoverable in what Homer says rOdyss. XV. 402) of "an island called Byria lying above Ortygia, where the revolutions of the sun are observed." The Phenicians are supposed to liave inhabited thie island of Syria, and it is, therefore, presumed that they left there this monument of their .skill in astrono my. About three hundred years after Homer, Pherecydes set up a sun-dial in the same island to distinguish the hours. The Greeks confess that Anaximander, who lived B. C. 547, under the reign of Cyras, first divided time by hours, and introduced sun-dials among them. This was during the tune of the cap tivity at Babylon. Anaximander trav elled into Chaldea, and it is not im- probale that he brought the dial from Babylon. The Chaldeans were early distinguished for their attention to as tronomy, and it is probable that it was in Babylon that the sun-dial, and the division of the day into hours, was first used, and that the knowledge of that was conveyed in some way from Chal dea to Ahaz. — Interpreters have differed greatly in regard to the form of the sun dial used by Ahaz, and by the ancients generaUy. Cyril of Alexandria and Jerome believed it was a stair-case so disposed that the sun showed the hours on it by the shadow. This, as we have seen, was the opinion of Josephus ; and this opinion has been followed by many others. Others suppose it was an obe lisk or piUar in the middle of a smooth pavement on which the hours were en graved, or on which Unes were drawn which would indicate the hours. Gro tius, in accordance vrith the -opinion of Rabbi Elias Chomer, describes it thus : " It was a concave hemisphere, in the midst of which was a globe, the shadow of which feU upon several lines engraved on the concavity of the hemisphere; these lines they say were eight-and- twenty-in number." This description accords nearly vrith the kind of dial which the Greeks called scapha, a boat, or hemisphere, the invention of which the Greeks ascribed to a Chaldean named Berosus. Vitrav. Lib. ix. cap. 9. See the plate in Taylor's Cahnet, " Sun dial of Ahaz" (fig. 1 and 2). Berosus was a priest of Belus in Babylon, and lived indeed perhaps three hundred years after Ahaz ; but there is no ne B.C. 710.] CHAPTER XXXVIII. cessity of supposing that he waa the inventor of the dial. It ia sufficient to suppose that he was reputed to be the first who introduced it into Greece. He went from Babylon to Greece, where he taught astronomy first at Cos, and then at Athens, where one of his dials is stiU shown. Herodotus expressly says (lib. i. u. 109), " the pole, the gnomon, and the division of tne day into twelve parts, the Greeks received ftom the Baby lonians." This sun-dial was portable ; it did not require to be constracted for a particular spot to which it should be subsequently confined; and therefore one ready-made might have been brought from Babylon to Ahaz. That he had commerce with these countries appears by his alliance vrith Tiglath- pileser. 2 Kings xvi. 7, 8. And that Ahaz was a man who was desirous of avaiUng himself of foreign inventions and introducing them into his capital, appears evident from his desire to have an altar constracted in Jerusalem, sirai lar to the one which he had seen in Damascus. 2 Kings xvi. 10. The dial is now a we»-known instrument, the principle of which is, that the hours are marked on its face by a shadow cast 37 from the sun by a gnomon. In order to the understanding of this miracle, it is not necessary to be acquainted with the /orm of the ancient dial. It will be understood by a reference to any dial, and would have been substantially the same whatever was the form of the instrament. The essential idea is, that the shadow of the gnomon which thus indicated a certain degree or hour of the day, was made to go back ten degrees or places. It may conduce, however, to the illustration of this subject to have before the eye a representation of the usual form of the ancient dial, and I therefore annex three forms of dials which have been discovered. " The engraving represents, 1, a concave dial of white marble, found- at Civita, in the year 1762; 2, another concave dial, found at mount Tuscnlum, near Rome, in 1726 ; 3, a compound dial, preserved in the Elgin collection in the British Museum. It was found at Athens, supposed to have been used in marking the hours on one of the crossways of the city. The first two are considered to resemble, if indeed they be not identical vrith the famous dial of Ahaz." Dial. 1. Concave dii^l of white marble, found-at Civita, in 1763. s. Ditto, found at mount Tnscultini near Rome, in naa. 3. Compoand dial, preserved in the Elgin collection, British Museum. \ ISAIAH. [B.C. 710. 9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been In regard to this miracle, it Seems only necessary to observe that all that is indispensable to be believed is, that the shadow on the dial was raade sud denly to recede from any cause. It is evident that this may have been accom plished in several ways. It may have been by arresting the motion of the earth in its revolutions, and causing it to retiograde on its axis to the extent indicated by the return of the shadow, or it may have been by a miraculous bending, or inclining of the rays of the sun. As there is no evidence that the event was observed elsewhere ; and as it is not necessary to suppose that the earth was arrested in its motion, and that the whole frame of the universe was adjusted to this change in the movement of the earth, it is most proba ble that it was an inclination of the rays of the sun ; or a miraculous causing of the shadow itself to recede. This is the whole statement of the sacred writer, and this is all that is necessary to be supposed. What Hezekiah desired was a miracle ; a sign that he should recover. That was granted The retrocession ofthe shadow in this sudden manner was not a natural event. It could be caused only by God ; and this was all that was needed. A simple exertion of divine power on the rays of the sun which rested on the dial, deflecting those rays, would accomplish the whole result. It may be added that it is not recorded, nor is it necessary to an un derstanding of the subject to suppose, that the bending ofthe rays was permu- nent, or that so much time was lost. The miracle was instantaneous, and was satisfactory to Hezekiah, though the rays of the sun casting the shadow raay have again been soon retumed to their regular position, and the shadow restored to the place in which it would have been had it not been interrupted. No infidel, therefore, can object to this statement, unless he can prove that this could not be done by Hira who made the sun, and who is Himself the fountain of power. IT By which degrees it was gone down. sick, and was recovered of his sickness : By the samf steps, or degrees on which the shadow had descended. So the LXX express it ; " so the sun reascend- ed the ten steps by which the shadow had gone down." It was the shadow on the dial which had gone down. The sun was ascending, and the consequence was, of course, that the shadow on a vertical dial would descend. The " sun" here means, evidently, the sun as it appeared ; the rays, or the shining of the sun. A return of the shadow was effected such as would be produced by the recession of the sun itself. 9. The writing of Hezekiah. This is the title to the foUowing hymn — a record which Hezekiah made to cele brate the goodness of God in restoring hira to health. The writing itself is poetry, as is indicated by the paraUelism, and by the general structure. It is in many respects quite obscure ; an ob scurity perhaps arising from the brevity and conciseness which ate apparent in the whole piece. It is remarkable that this song or hymn is not found in the parallel passage in the Book of Kings. The reason why it was omitted there, and inserted here, is unknown. It is possible that it was drawn up for Heze kiah by Isaiah, and that it is inserted here as a part of his composition, though adopted by Hezekiah, and declared to be his, that is, as expressuig the grati tude of his heart on his recovery from his disease. It was c'oramon to compose an ode or hymn of praise on occasion of deliverance from calaraity, or any re markable interposition of God. See Notes ch. xu. 1, xxv. 1, xxvi. 1- Many of the Psalms of David were composed on such occasions, and were expressive of gratitude to God for deliverance from impending calamity. The hymn or song is composed of two parts. In the first part (vs. 10-14) Hezekiah describes his feeUngs and his fears when he was sufiering, and especiaUy the apprehen sion of his mmd at the prospect of death ; and the second part (vs. 15-20) expresses praise to God for his good ness. B.C. 710.] CHAPTER XXXVIII. S9 10 I said, "in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave : I am deprived of the residue of my years. h Job 7, 7. &c. Ps. 77. 3.. &C. 10. I said. Probably the words " I said " do not imply that he said or spoke this openly, or audibly ; but this was the language of his heart, or the substance of his reflections. IT In the cutting off of my days. There has been considerable diversity of interpretation in regard to this phrase. Vitringa ren ders it, as our translators have done. Rosenmuller renders it, " in the meridian of my days." The LXX, in ru vtpsL tUv fificpijii fiov, ' in the height of my days,' where they evidently read "'O'lH instead of "'5313 by the change of a single letter. Aquila, and the Greek interpreters generally, rendered it "in the silence of ray days." The word here used in Hebrew C'^'?']) denotes properly still ness, quiet, rest ; and Gesenius renders it " in the quiet of my dayst" Accord ing to him the idea is, ' now when I might have rest ; when I am delivered from my foes ; when I am an the midst of my life, of my reign, and of my plans of usefiilness, I must die.' The sense is, doubtless, that he was about to be cut off in middle-life, and when he had every prospect of usefiilness, and of happiness in his reign. H / shall go to the gates of the grave. Heb. ' gates of sheol.' On the meaning of the word sheol, and the Hebrew idea of the de scent to it through gates, see Notes on chs. V. 14, xiv. 9. "The idea is, that he must go down to the regions of the dead, and dwell with departed shades. See Note on ver. 11. IT The residue of my years. Those which I had hoped to enjoy ; of which I had a reasonable prospect in the ordinary course of events. It is evident that Hezekiah had looked forward to a long life, and to a prosper ous and peaceful reign. This was the means which God adopted to show him the impropriety of his desire, and to tum him more entirely to his service, and to a preparation for death. — Sickness often 11 I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in *the land of the living : I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. fc Ps. 87. 13. has this effect on the minds of good men. 11. I shall rwt see the Lokd. In the original the Hebrew which is rendered " Lord " is not Jehovah but S^ 3^ J ah, Jah. On the meaning of it, see Note ch. xii. 2. Comp. Note ch. vii. 14. The repetition of the name here denotes emphasis or intensity of feeling — the deep desire which he had to see Jeho vah Ul the land of the living, and thc intense sorrow of his heart at the idea of being cut off from that privilege. The idea here is, that Hezekiah felt that he would not be spared to enjoy the tokens of divine favour on earth ; to reap the fruits of the surprising and remarkable deliverance from the army of Sennach erib ; and to observe its happy results in the augmenting prosperity of the people, and in the complete success of his plans of reformation. IT / shall behold man no more. I shall see the living no more ; I shall die, and go among the dead. He regarded it as a privilege to live, and to enjoy the society of his friends and fellow worshippers in the temple — a privilege from which he felt that he was about to be cut off. IT With the inhabitants of the world. Or rather " amongst the inhabitants of the land of stillness ;" that is, ofthe land of shades, sheol. He would not there see man as he saw him on earth, living and active, but would be a shade in the land of shades ; hiraself still, in a world of still ness. ' I shall be associated with thera there, and of course be cut off from the privileges of the society of Uving men.' The Hebrew word rendered world, 'Ifl, is from '''V] to cease, to leave off, to desist ; to becorae languid, flaccid, pendulous. It then conveys the idea of leaving off, of resting, of being stUl. Job in. 17, xiv. 6. Judges v. 6. Isa. u. 22. Hence the idea oi frailty, Ps. xxxix. 5; and hence the word here denotes 40 ISAIAH. [B.C.710 lii Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shep, herd's tent : I have cut off like a weaver my life ; he will cut me off *with pining sickness: from s at, from tha thrum. prob&bly the place of rest, the region of the dead, and is synonymous with the land' of silence, such as the grave and the region of the dead are in contra distinction from the hurry and bustle of this world. Our translation seems to have been made as if the word was 'i^ life, life-time ; hence the world. Ps. xlix. 2, xvii. 14. The Vulgate renders it, " hahitatorem quietis." The LXX simply, " I shaU behold man no more." 12. Mine age. The word "n't which is here used, means properly the revolv ing period or circle of human life. The paraUelism seems to demand, however, that it should be used in the sense of dwelling or habitation, so as to corres pond with the " shepherd's tent." Ac cordingly, Lowth and Noyes render it habitation. So also do Gesenius and Rosenmuller. The Arabic word has this signification ; and the Hebrew verh 1W also means io dwell, to remain, as in the Chaldee. Here the word qieans a dweUing, or habitation ; that is, a tent, as the habitations of the Orientals were mostly tents. IT Is departed. SSS . The idea here is, that his dwelling was to be transferred from one place to another as when a tent or encampment was broken up ; that is, he was about to cease to dweU on the earth, and to dweU in the land of silence, or among the dead. IT From me as a shepherd's tent. As suddenly as the tent of a shepherd is taken down, folded up, and transferred to another place. There is doubtless the idea here that he would continue to exist, but in another place, as the shep herd would pitch his tent or dwell in another place. He was to be cut off from the earth, but he expected to dweU among the dead. The whole passage conveys the idea that he expected to dweU in another state — as the shepherd dwells in another place when he strikes day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. 13 I reckoned till moming, that, as a lion, so will he breafc all my bones : from day even to his tent, and it is removed; IT I have cut off Uke a weaver my life. This is another image designed to express sub stantially the same idea. The sense is, as a weaver takes his web from the loom by cutting the warp, or the threads which bind it to the beam, and thus loosens it and takes it away, so his life was to be cut off. When it is said " I cut off," ''R']Bp, the idea is, doubtless, I am cut off; or my life is icnt off. Hezekiah here speaks of himself as the agent, because he ' might have felt that his sins and unworthiness were the cause. Life is often spoken of as a web that is woven, because an advance is constantly made in fUling up the web, and because it is soon finished and i» then cut off. IT He will cut me off. God was about to cut me off. T With pining sickness. Marg. "From the thram." Lowth, " from the loom." The word fl*-! means properly, some thing hanging down or pendulous ; any thing pUant, or slender. Hence it de notes hair or locks. Cant. vii. 6. Here it seems to denote the threads or thrums which tied the weh to the weaver's beam. The image here denotes the cutting off of life as the weaver cuts his web out of the loom, or as he cuts off thrums. The word never raeans sick ness. IT From day even to night. That is, in the space of a single day, or be tween moming and night — as a weaver with a short web accomplishes it in a single day. The disease of Hezekiah was doubtless the pestilence ; and the idea is, that God would cut him off speedily, as it were in a single day. IT Wilt thou make an end of me. Heb. Wilt thou perfect or finish me ; that is, wilt thou take my life. 13. I reckoned. There has been con siderable variety in interpretmg this ex pression. The LXX render it. " I was B.C. 710. J CHAPTER XXXVIII. 41 night wilt thou make an end of me. 14 Like a crane, or a swallow, so did I chatter ; I did mourn 'as given np in the morning as to a lion. The Vtdgate renders it, " I hoped untU moming ;" and in hia commentary, Jerome says it raeans, that as Job iu his trouble and anguish (ch. vu. 4) sustain ed hiraself at night expecting the day, and in the daytime waiting for the night, expecting a change for the better, so Hezekiah waited during the night expecting reUef in the moming. He knew, says he, that the violence of a. burning fever would very soon subside, and he thus coraposed himself, and calmly waited. So Vitringa renders it, " I composed my mind until the morn ing:" Others suppose that the word here used, "'H'^llttS , means, 'I made myself like a lion,' that is, in roaring. But the raore probable and generally adopted interpretation is, ' I looked to God, hoping that the disease would soon subside, hut as a lion he crushed ray bones. The disease increased in vio lence, and became past endurance. Then I chattered like a swallow, and mourned like a dove, over the certainty that I must die.' — Our translators by inserting the word " that " have greatly marred the sense, as if he had reckoned or calculated through the night that God would break his bones, or increase the violence of the disease, whereas the reverse was trae. He hoped and ex pected that it would be otherwise, and vsdth that view he composed his raind. f As a lion so will he break all my hones. This should be in the past tense. ' He [God] did crush all my bones.' The connection requires this construc tion. The idea is, that as a lion crash es the bones of his prey, producing great pain and sudden death, so it was with God in producing great pain and the prospect of sudden death. IT From day even to night, &c. Note ver. 12. Be tween moming and night. That is, his pain so resembled the crushing of all the bones of an animal by the lion, that he could not hope to survive the day. a dove : mine eyes fail idth look. ing upward : O Lord, I am op pressed ; 'undertake for me. 2 ch. 59. tl. 6 or, ease me. 14. Like a crane. The word used here (01D) denotes usually a horse. The Rabbins render it here a crane. Gesenius translates it a swallow ; and in his Lexicon interprets the word which is translated a swallow (l''^?) to mean circling, making gyrations; and the whole phrase, " as the circUng swallow." The Syriac renders this, " as the chatter ing swallow." The Vulgate, " as the young of the swallow." The LXX simply " astheswaUow." That twobirdsare in tended here,orthatsoraefowl is denoted by the word "l13S is manifest from Jer. viii. 7, where it is mentioned as distinct from the l3>ID_the crane— IIISI &=ID1 . On the meaning of the words feochart may be consulted. Hieroz. Lib. i. T. ii. p. 602. It is probable that the swallow and the crane are intended. The swaUow is weU known, and is remarka ble for its twittering. "The crane is also a well known bird with long Umbs made to go in the water. Its noise may be expressive of grief. T So, did I chatter. Peep, or twitter. See Note on ch. viii. 19. The idea here, is doubtless that of pain that was expressed in sounds re sembhng that made by birds — a broken, unmeaning, unintelligible sighing; or quick breathing, and moaning. IT / did mourn as a dove. The dove from ita plaintive sound is an emblem of grief. It is so used inch. Ux. 11. The idea is that of the lonely or solitary dove that is la menting or mourning for its companion. " Just as the lonely dove laments its mate." IT i^Tje eyes fail. The word here used QfSn) means properly to hang down, to swing Uke the branches of the vriUow ; then to be languid, feeble, weak. Ap plied to the eye, it means that it lan guishes and becomes weak. H With looking upward. To God, for relief and corafort. He had looked so long, and so intensely toward heaven for aid, that his eyes became weak, and feeble. 42 ISAIAH. [.B.C.710 15 What shall I say ? he hath both. spoken unto me, and him self hath done it : I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. H O Lokd, I am oppressed. This was his language in his affliction. He was so oppressed and borne down that he cried to God for relief. IT Undertake for me, Marg. ease me. The word (3'5^) more properly means, to become surety for him. See it explained in the Note on ch. xxxvi. 8. Here it means, be surety for my life ; give assurance that I shaU be restored ; take me under thy protection. See Ps. cxix. 122 : " Be surety for thy servant for good." 15. What shall I say ? This lan guage seems to denote surprise and gratitude at unexpected deliverance. It is the language of a heart that is over flowing, and that wants words to ex press its deep emotions. In the previous verse he had described his pain, anguish, and despair. In this he records the eudden and surprising deliverance which God had granted ; which- was so great that no words could express his sense of it. Nothing could be more natural than this language ; nothing would more ^propriately express the feeUngs of a man who had been suddenly re stored toliealth from dangerous sick ness, and brought from the borders of the grave. IT He hath both spoken unto me. That is, he has promised. So the word is often used. Deut. xxvi. 17. Jer. iii. 19. He had made the promise by the instrumentahty of Isaiah, ver. 6, 6. The proraise related to his re covery, to the length of his days, and to his entire deliverance from the hands of the Assyrians. IT And himself hath done it. He himself has restored me Eiccording to his promise, when no one else could have done it. IT / shall go softly. Lowth renders this, in accord ance with the Vulgate, " Will I reflect.". But the Hebrew will not bear this coii- Btraction. The word here used ('"Tj^) occurs in but one other place in the Bible. Ps. xiii. 4 : "1 went with them 16 O Lokd, by these things men ""live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit : so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. m Matt. 4. 4. to the house of God ;" i. e. I went vidth them in a sacred procession to the house of God ; I went with a solemn, calm, slow pace. The idea here is, ' I will go hmnbly, submissively all my life ; I wiU walk in a serious manner, remem bering that I am travelling to the grave ; I vrill avoid pride, pomp, and display ; I will suffer the remembrance of my sick ness and of God's mercy to produce a calm, serious, thoughtful demeanor aU my life.' This is the proper effect of sickness on a pious mind, and it is ita usual effect. And probably one design of God was to keep Hezekiah from the ostentatious parade usuaUy attendant on his lofty station ; frora being elated wijh his deliverance from the Assyrian ; from improper celebrations of that deUverance by revelry and pomp ; and to keep him in remembrance, that though he was a monarch yet he was a mortal man, and that he held his life at the disposal of God. IT In the bitterness of my soul. I will remember the deep distress, the bitter sorrows of my sickness, and my surprising recovery ; and wiU allow the remerabrance of that to diffuse serious ness and gratitude over aU my life. 16. 0 Lord, by these things men live. The design of this and the foUowing verses is evidently to set forth the good ness of God, and to celebrate his praise for what he had done. The phrase " these things," refers evidently to the promises of God and their fulfilment ; and the idea is, that men are sustained in the land of the living only by such gracious interpositions as he had expe rienced. It was not because men had any power of preserving their ovm Uvea, but because God interposed in time of trouble, and restored to health when there was no human prospect that they could recover. IT And in all these thmgs. In these promises, and in the divine in terposition. T Is the life of m«f spirit. jB.C.710.] CHAPTER XXXVIII. 43 17 Behold, *for peace I had great bitterness ; but thou hast 'in love to my soul delivered it from the pit °of corruption : for thou hast cast al'l my sins behind Ihy back. 18 For the grave ' 'cannot praise thee; death cannot cele- 8 or, on my peace came. 9 loved my soul from the pit. I am alive in virtue only of these things. IT So wilt thou recover me. Or so hast thou recovered me ; that is, thou hast restored me to health. 17. Behold, for peace. That is, in stead of the health, happiness, and pros perity which I had enjoyed, and which I hope StiU to enjoy. IT / had great bitterness. Heb. " Bitterness to me, bitterness ;" an emphatic expression de noting intense sorrow. IT But thou hast in love to my soul, Marg. •¦ loved my soul frora the pit." The word which occurs here (BpJttiri) denotes properly to join, or fasten together ; then to be at tached to any one ; to be united ten derly ; to embrace. Here it means that God had loved himj and had thus deli vered his soul from death. T Delivered it from the pit of corruption. The word rendered cormption, ''!!^ , denotes consumption, destruction, perdition. It may be applied to the grave, or to the deep and dark abode of departed spirits ; and the phrase here is evidently sy nonymous with sheol, or hades; The grave, or the place for the dead is often represented as a pit — deep and dark— to which the living descend. Job xvii. 16, xxxiii. 18, 24, 28,30. Ps. xxvni. 1, xxx. 3, Iv. 23, Ixix. 15, Ixxxviii. 4. Comp. Note Isa. xiv. 15, 19. IT Far thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. Thou hast forgiven them ; hast ceased to punish me on account of them. This shows that Hezekiah, in accord ance with the sentiment every where felt and expressed in the Bible, regarded his suffering as the ii-uit of sin. 18. For the grave cannot praise thee. The Hebrew word here is sheol. It is put by metonymy here for those who are in the grave, tbat is, for the dead. brate thee : they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day : the father 'to the children shall make known thy truth. 20 The Lord was ready to 0 Ps. 10. i q Ps. 6. 6. T Ps. 78. 3, 4. The word praise here refers evidently to the public and solemn celebration of the goodness of God. It is clear, I think, that Hezekiah had a belief in a fiiture state, or that he expected to dwell with " the inhabitants of the land of silence " (ver. 11) when he died. But he did not regard that state as one adapted to the celebration of the public praises of God. It was a land of darkness ; an abode of silence and stillness ; a place where there was no temple, and no pub Uc praise such as he had been accus tomed to. A similar sentiment is ex pressed by David in Ps. vi. 5 : For in death there is no remembrance of thee : In the grave who shall give thee thanks ? In regard to the Jewish conceptions of the state of the dead see Notes on ch. xiv. 15, 19. IT Cannot hope for thy truth. They are shut out from all the means by which thy trath is brought to the mind, and the offers of salvation are presented. Their probation is at an end ; their privileges are closed ; their destiny is sealed up. The idea is, it is a privilege to live because this is a world where the offers of salvation are made, and where those who are conscious of guilt may hope in the mercy of God. 19. The living, the living. An em phatic or intensive form of expression, as in vs. 11, 17. Nothing would ex press his idea but a repetition of the word, as if the heart was ftiU of it. IT The father to the children. One generation of the living to another. The father shall have so deep a sense of the goodness of God that he shaU desire to make it known to his chUdren, and to perpetuate the memory of it in the earth. 20. The Lord was ready to save me. He was prompt, quick to save me. Ha 44 ISAIAH. [B.C. 710. save me : therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instru ments, all the days of our life in 1;he house of the Lord. 21 For Isaiah had said. Let them take a lump of figs, and lay did not hesitate or delay. V Therefore we will sing my songs. That is, my family and nation. The song of Heze kiah was designed evidently not as a mere record, but to be used in celebrat ing the praises of God, and probably in a pubUc maimer in the temple. The res toration of the monarch was a fit occa sion for public rejoicing ; and it is pro bable that this ode was coraposed to be used by the company of singers that were employed constantly in the temple . IT To the stringed instruments. -We wUl set it to music, and will use it pubUcly. See Notes on ch. v. 12. 21. For Isaiah had said. In the parallel place in Kings the statement in these two verses is introduced before the account of the miracle on the svm-dial, and before the account of his recovery. 2 Kings XX. 7, 8. The order in which it is introduced, however, is not mate rial. IT Let them take a lump of figs. The word here used — ''^?5'J — denotes a round cake oi dried figs pressed toge ther in a mass. 1 Sam. xxv. 18. Figs were thus pressed together for preserva tion, and for convenience of convey ance. H And lay it for aplaster. The word here used, ^"10, denotes properly to rab, bruise, crash by rabbing ; then to rub in, to anoint, to soften. Here it means they were to take dried figs and lay them soflened on the ulcer. IT On the hoil. Y'n^Tl . This word means it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. 22 Hezekiah also had said,, What is the sign that I shall also go up to the house "ofthe Lord'? a P>. ^4. 3. a burning sore or an inflamed ulcer. Ex. ix. 9, 11. Lev. xiu. 18-20. The verb in Arabic means to be hot, in flamed ; to ulcerate. The noun is used to denote a species of black leprosy, in Egypt caUed Elephantiasis, distinguish ed by the black scales with which the skin is covered, and by the sweUing of the legs. Here it probably denotes a pestilential boU ; an eraption, or inflamed ulceration produced by the plague, that threatened immediate death. Jerome says that the plaster of figs was medi cinal, and adapted to reduce the inflam mation and restore health. There is no improbabiUty in the supposition ; nor does any thing in the narrative prohibit us from supposing that natural means might have been used to restore him. The miracle consisted in the arrest ofthe shade on the sun-dial, and in the an nouncement of Isaiah that he would re cover. That^g"* when dried were used in the Materia Medica of the ancients is asserted by both Pliny and Celsus. See Pliny, Nat. Hist, xxiii. 7, Celsus, V. 2, quoted by Lowth. 22. Hezekiah also had said. What evidence or proof have I that I shall be restored, and permitted to go to the temple. The miracle_ on the aun-.dial was wrought in answer to thia request, and as a demonstration that he should yet be permitted to visit the temple of God. See Note on ver. 7. CHAPTER XXXIX. ANALYSIS. This^hort chapter completes the ))istorical part of Isaiah. The same record occurs with son* ¦light changes in 3 Kings xx. 12—21. Comp. the Introduction to ch. xxxvi. The chapter is composed of tlu fijllowing parts. (1.) Tha, statement that the kiius of Babylon sent an embassage to Hezekiah. BC. 710.] CHAPTER XXXIX. 43 to con^mtulate him on his recoverr, ver. 1. This embassage contemplated also an inquiry into tha truth ofthe report in regard to the miracle on the gun-dial. S Chron. xxxii. 31. (2.) Hezekiah showed them all his treasures in an ostentatious and improper manner, ver. 2. This was permitted in order that he might be tried, and might know all that was in his own heart, and not be lilted up with pride- and with the conviction of his own righteousness. 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. (3.) Isaiah is sent with a message to Hezekiah to inquire what he had done, and who those ambassadors were, vs. 4, 5. (4.1 He is directed to deliver the solemn message of God that Jerusalem should be taken, and that all its inhabitants and all its treasures should be carried to Babylon— the place whence tho^e amba.ssa- dors came, vs. 5—7. (5.) Hezekiah expresses submission to the just sentence and purpose of God, and gratitude that it should not occur in hiu days, ver. a 1 At "that time Merodach- baladan, the son of Baladan king of Babylon, sent letters and a c 2 Kings so. 12, &c. 1. At that time. That is, soon after his recovery ; or after he had amassed great wealth, and was surrounded with the evidences of prosperity: 2 Chron. xxxii. 27-31. IT Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan king of Babylon. In the parallel place in 2 Kings jcx. 12, this name is written Berodach-baladan, by a change of a single letter. Proba bly the name was written and pro nounced both ways. Merodach was an idol of the Babylonians, Jer. I. 2. " Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is confounded." This idol, according to Gesenius, was probably the planet Mars, br Mars ihe god of war. To this god, as well as to Saturn, the ancient Semitic nations offered human sacrifices. See Gesenius's Lex. and Comm. in loco. The word Baladan is also a compound word, and means Bel is his lord. The name of this idol, Merodach, was often incorporated into the proper names of kings, and of others. Thus we have the names Evil-Mero- dach, Messi-Mordachus, Sisimordachus, Mardocentes, &c. In regard to the statement of Isaiah in this verse, no small degree of difficulty has been felt by commentators, and it is not until quite recently that the difficulty has been removed, and it has been done in a manner to fiimish an additional and ^ost striking demonstration of the en tire and rainute accuracy of the sacred narrative. The difficuly arose fi'om several circumstances. (1.) This king of Babylon is nowhere else mentioned in sacred history. (2.) The kingdom of Assyria was yet flourishing, and Ba- ylon was one of its dependencies. ''or, only nine years before, Salmanas- present to Hezekiah : for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. sar the Assyrian monarch is said to have transported the inhabitants of Ba bylon to other parts (2 Kings xvii. 24), and Manasseb, not many years after, was Carried captive to Babylon by the king of Assyria. 2 Chron. xxxin. 11. These instances incontestably prove that at the time of Hezekiah, Babylon was dependent on the Assyrian kings. Who, then,iti3 asked, was this Merodach-bala dan king of Babylon 1 If he was gov ernor of that city, how could he send an embassy of congratulation to the Jewish sovereign, then at war with his liege lord? The canon of Ptolemy gives us no king of this name, nor does his chro nology appear reconcilable with sacred history. " In this darkness and doubt," says Dr. Wiseman, " we must have conti nued, and the apparent contradiction of this text to other passages would have remained inexplicable, had not the pro gress of modem Oriental study brought to Ught a document of the most vene rable antiquity. This is nothing less than a fragment of Berosus, preserved in the chronicle of Eusebius. This inter esting fi-agment informs us, that after Sennacherib's brother had governed Ba bylon, as Assyrian viceroy, Acises un justly possessed himself of the supreme command. After thirty days he was murdered by Merodach-baladan, who usurped the sovereignty for six months, when he was in turn killed, and was succeeded by Elibus. But after three years, Sennacherib collected an army, gave the usurper battle, conquered, and took him prisoner. Having once more reduced Babylon to his obedience, he left his son Assordan, the Esarhad- 46 ISAIAH. [B.C.710. 2 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his 'precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the don of Scripture, as govemor of the city." The only objection to this statement, or to the entire consistency of this fi'ag- ment with the Scripture narrative is, that Isaiah relates the murder of Senna cherib, and the succession of Esarhad don before Merodach-baladan's embassy to Jerusalem. But to this Gesenius has well replied, that this arrangement is followed by the prophet in order to con clude the history of the Assyrian Mo narch, which has no farther connection vrith the subject, so as not to return to it again. By this order, also, the prophecy of his murder is more closely connected with the history of its fulfilment. Isa. xxxvii. 7 ; comp, ver, 38. And this so lution, which supposes some interval to have elapsed between Sennacherib's re turn to Nineveh, and his death, is ren dered probable by the words of the text itself " He went and retumed, and dwelt in Nineveh ; and it came to pass," &c. Isa. xxxvii. 37, 38. Thus we have it certainly explained how there was a king, or rather a usur per in Babylon at the time when it was really a provincial city of the Assyrian empire. Nothing was more probable than that Merodach-baladan, having seized the throne, should endeavour to unite himself in league and amity with the enemies of his master, against whom he had revolted. Hezekiah, who, no less than himself, had thrown off the Assyrian yoke, and was in powerfiil al liance with the king of Egypt, would be his first resource. No embassy, on the other hand, could be more welcome to the Jewish monarch who had the com mon enemy in his neighbourhood, and who would be glad to see a division made in his fevour by a rebelhon in the very heart of that enemy's kingdom. Hence arose tbat excessive attention house of his 'armour, and all that was found in his treasures : there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. 6 vessels, or, instruments,, or, Jewels, which he paid to the envoys of the usurper, and which so offended Isaiah, or rather God, who, as a consequence, threatened the Babylonian captivity. See Dr. Wiseman's Lectures on Science and Revealed ReUgion, pp. 369-371. Ed. And. 1837. T Sent letters. The LXX add, " and ambassadors," xai Trfieir- 0eii. V And a present. It was custo mary among the Orientals, as it is now, to send a valuable present when one prince sent an embassage for any pur pose to another. It is stated in 2 Chron. xxxii. 31, that one object of their coming was to make inquiry " of the wonder that was done in the land ;" that is, of the miracle in regard to the retrocession of the shadow on the sun-dial of Ahaz. It is weU known that, from the earUest periods, the Babylonians and Chaldeans were distinguished for their attention to astronomy. Indeed, as a science, astro nomy was first cultivated on the plains of Chaldea ; and there the knowledge of that science was scarcely surpassed by any of the ancient nations. The report which they had heard of this mira cle would, therefore, be to them a mat ter of deep interest as an astronomical fact, and they came to make inquiry into the exact tmth of the report. 2. And Hezekiah was glad of them. Possibly he regarded himself as flattered by an embassage from so great a dis tance, and so celebrated a place as Ba bylon. It is certain that he erred in some way in regard to the manner in which he received them, and especially in the ostentatious display which he made of his treasures. 2 Chron. xxxu. 31. IT And showed them the house of his precious things. The LXX render this, " the house of Nechotha," vcx<->OS, retaining the Hebrew word. The mar gin renders it, " spicery." The Hebrew word, finsj , properly means, according to Gesenius, a contusion, a breaking to B.C.710.] CHAPTER XXXIX. 47 3 Then came Isaiah the pro phet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men ? and from whence came pieces ; hence aromatic powder, or spices reduced to powder, and then any kind of aromatics. Hence the word here raay mean ' the house of his spices,' as Aquila, Syrara., and the Vulgate trans late it ; or a treasury, a storehouse, as the Chaldee and the Syriac here render it. It was undoubtedly a treasure or storehouse ; but it may have taken its name from the fact, that it was mairUy employed as a place in which to keep spices, unguents, and the various kinds of aromatics which were used either in public worship, or for the purposes of luxury. IT The silver and the gold. Possibly Hezekiah may have obtained no small quantity of silver and gold from what was left in the camp of the Assyrians. It is certain that after he was delivered from danger he was sig nally prospered, and became one of the most wealthy and magnificent monarchs of the east. 2 Chron. xxxii. 27, 28 : "And Hezeldah had exceeding rauch riches and honour ; and he made himself treasuries for silver and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels ; storehouses also for the increase of com, and wine, and oU ; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for fiocks." A considerable part of this wealth arose from presents which were made to him, and from gifts which were made for the service of the temple. 2 Chron. xxxii. 23. V Andthe precious ointment. Used for anointing kings and priests. Or more probably the oint ment here referred to was that which w,is in more common use, to anoint the body after bathing, or when they were I.) iippear in pubUc. IT And all the •oase of his armour. Marg. vessels, Ol instruments, or jewels. The word "^3 denotes any article of fiimiture, itensil, or vessel ; any trapping, instru- 'iient, or tool ; and any implement of war, weapon, or arms. Probably it here they unto thee 1 And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far couniry unto me, even from Baby lon. refers to the latter, and denotes shields, swords, spears, such as were used in war, and such as Hezekiah had pre pared for defence. The phrase is equi valent to our word arsenal. Comp. 2 Chron. xxxii. 27. Solomon had an extensive arsenal of this description (1 Kings X. 16, 17), and it is probable that these were regarded as a part of the necessary defence of the kingdora. IT Nor in all his domirUon. Every thing that contributed to the de fence, the wealth, or the magnificence of his kingdom he showed to them. The purpose for which Hezekiah thus showed them all that he had, was evi dently display. In 2 Chron. xxxii. 25, it is stated that " Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up ;" and in ver. 31, it is said, that in regard to this transaction, " God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart." The result showed how much God hates pride, and how cer tainly he wUl punish aU forms of osten tation. 3. Then came Isaiah. Isaiah was accustomed to declare the wiU of God most freely to monarchs. See ch. vii. IT What said these men ? What pro position have they made 1 What is the design of their coming ? — It is implied in the question that there had been some improper communication from them. To this question Hezekiah retumed no answer. IT And from ' whence came they. It was doubtless known in Jeru salem that ambassadors had come, but it would not be likely to be known from what country they had come, IT From a far country. Probably this was said in order to palUate and excuse his con duct, by intimating to the prophet that it was proper to show respectfiil atten tion to foreigners, and that he had done nothing more than was demanded by the laws of hospitality and kindness. 48 ISAIAH. [B.C. 'I Id. 4 Then said he, What have they seen in thine house ? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen ; there is nothing among my ¦'trea sures that I have not shewed them. 6 Then said Isaiah to Heze- / ProT. 23. 5. 4. What have they seen. It is pro bable that the &ct that Hezekiah had showed them the treasures of his king- dpm was known in Jerusalem. Such a fact would be likely to attract attention, and to produce inquiry among the peo ple into the cause. IT All that is in mine house. Here was the confessions of a frank, an honest, and a pious man. There was no concealment; no dis guise. Hezekiah knew that he was dealing with a man of God — a man too to whom he had been under great obU gations. He knew that Isaiah had come commissioned by God, and that it would be in vain to attempt to conceal any thing. Nor does he seem to have wished to make any concealment. If he was conscious that what he had done had been improper he was willing to confess it ; and at any rate he was vriU- ing that the exact trath should be known. Had Hezekiah been Uke Ahaz, he might have spumed Isaiah from his presence as presenting improper inquiries. But Hezekiah was accustomed to regard with respect the messengers of God, and he was therefore vrilling to submit his whole conduct to the divine adjudication and reproof. Piety makes a man wiU ing that aU that he has done should be known. It saves him from double-deal ing and Bubterfiiges, and a disposition to make vain excuses ; and it inclines him to fear God, to respect his ambassadors, and to listen to the voice of etemal trath. 5. Hear the word of ihe Lokd of hosts. Hear what the Mighty God that rales in heaven says of this. This is an instance of great fideUty on the part of the prophet. He felt himself sent frora God in a solemn manner to rebuke sin in a monarch, and a pious monarch. It kiah. Hear the word ofthe Loed of hosts. 6 Behold, the days '^come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried "to Babylon : nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. ^Jer. 20. 5. A 3 Kings 25. 6, &c. is an instance that strikingly resembles the boldness and faithfulness of N athan when he went to David and said, " Thou art the man." 2 Sam. xii. 7. 6. Behold, the days come. The cap tivity of the Jews in Babylon commenced about one hundred and twenty years after this prediction. Comp. Jer. xx. 5. IT That all that is in thine hov.se. That is, all the treasures that are in the trea sure-house, ver. 2. ^ And iha.t which thy fathers have laid up in store. In 2 Kings xviii. 15, 16, we are told that Hezekiah, in order to meet the demands of the king of Assyria, had cut off even the omaments of the temple, and taken aU the treasures which were in " the king's house." It is possible, however, that there might have been other treasures which had been accumulated by the king» before him which he had not touched. IT Nothing shall he left. This was UteraUy fulfiUed. See 2 Chron. xxxvi. 18. It is reraarkable, says Vitringa, that this is the first intimation that the Jews would be carried to Babylon — the first designation of the place where they would be so long punished and oppreffied. Micah (iv. 10), a contemporary of Isaiah, declares the same thing, but probably this was not before the declaration here made by Isaiah. Moses had declared repeatecUy, that, if they were a rebelUous people, they should be removed from their own to a foreign land ; but he had not designated the country. Lev. xxvi. 33, 34. Deut. xxvni. 64-67, xxx. 3. Ahijah„in the time of Jerobam (1 Kings xiv. 15), had predicted that they should be carried " beyond the river," i. e. the Euphrates ; and Amos (v. 27) had said that God would carry them " into cap tivity beyond Damascus." But aU these predictions were now concentrated on J5.C.710.] CHAPTER XXXIX. 49 7 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away ; and "they shall be eunuchs in the palace ofthe king of Babylon. n ftilfillcd, Dan. I. 2—7. Babylon ; and it was for the first time distinctly announced by Isaiah that that was to be the land vohere they were to suffer so long and so painful a captivity. 7. And of thy sons. Thy .^losterity. See Note Matt, i. 1. t Which shall issue from thee. Of the royal family. The captivity at Babylon occurred more than a hundred years after this, and of course .those who were carried there were somewhat remote descendants of Hezekiah. T And they shall be eunuchs. The word here used, Q''0'''1D sSrlsim, denotes properly and strictly eunuchs, or such persons as were accus tomed to attend on the harems of Orien tal monarchs. Est. u. 3, 14, 15. These persons were also employed often in various offices of the court (Est. i. 10, 12, 15), and hence the word often means a minister of court, a court-officer, though not UteraUy an eunuch. Gen. xxxvii. 6, xxxix. 1. It is not easy, however, to tell when the word is to be understood UteraUy, and when not. The Targum understands it of those who should be nurtured, or become great in the king dom of Babylon. That the Jews were advanced to sorae offices of tnist and power in Babylon, is evident from the case of Daniel, i. 2-7. It is by no means improbable, also, that the king of Babylon would have a pride in hav ing among the attendants at his court, or even over the harem, the descendants ofthe once magnificent monarchs of the i Jews. I 8. Good is the word of the Lokd. The sense of this is, ' I acquiesce in this ; I perceive that it is right ; I see iu it evidence of benevolence and good ness.' The grounds of his acquiescence seem to have been, (] ,) the fact that he saw that it was just. He felt that he had Binned, and that he had made an im proper display of his treasures, and de- voi.. II. — 3 8 Then said Hezekiah to Isai ah, "Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken ; he said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days. 0 1 Sam. 3. 18. seiTed to be punished. (2.) He felt that the sentence was mUd and merciful. It was less than he deserved, and less than he had reason to expect. (3.) It waa mercifiil to him, and to his kingdom at that time. God was not coming forth to cut hira off, or to involve hira in any more calamity. (4.) His own reign and life were to be fiiU of mercy stiU. He had abundant cause of gratitude, there fore, that God was dealing with him in so much kindness. It cannot be shown that Hezekiah was regardless of his pos terity, or unconcerned at the calamity which would come upon them. AU that the passage fairly impUes is, that he saw that it was right ; and that it was proof of great mercy in God that the punishraent was deferred, and was not, as in the case of David (2 Sam. 13, 14, seq), to be inflicted in his own time. The nature of the crime of Hezekiah is more fiiUy stated in the parallel passage in the Book of Chronicles xxxu. 25, 26, 30, 31. IT For there shall be peace. My kingdora shall not be disturbed during my reign with a foreign invasion. IT And truth. The trath of God shaU be maintained ; his worship shall be kept up ; his name shall be honoured. H In my days. During my reign. He inferred this because Isaiah had said (ver. 7) that his posterity would be carried to Babylon. He was assured, therefore, that these calamities would not come in his own time. We may leam from this, (1.) That we should submit to God when he punishes us. If we have right feelings we shaU always see that we deserve all that we are called to suffer. (2.) In the midst of severest judgments we may find so-ine evidence of mercy. There are some considera tions on which the mind may fix that wiU console it with the evidence of the compassion of God, and that wUl not only make it submissive, but ^1 it with 60 GENERAL INTRODUCTION gratitude. (3.) We should accustom ourselves to- such views of the divine dealings, and should desire to find in thera. the evidence of goodnes* and mercy, and not the evidence of wrath and Severity. It is of infinite impor tance that we should cherish right views of God ; and should beUeve that he is holy, good, and raercifttl. To do this, we ahould feel that we deserve altHaaX we suf- ifer ; we should look at what we might have endured ; we should look at the mercies spared to us, as weU as at tiioas which are taken away ; and we rfiould hdd to tbe beUef, as an unwavering principle frora which we are never to depart, that God is good, sopREMELy AND WHOLLY GOOD. Then our mindis wiU have peace. Then with Hezekiah we may say, " Good is the word of Xr- HOVAH." TTlen with the sufiering Re^ deemer of the world we n:ay alwaya say, " Not my will, but THTifE be hone.'* Luke xxi'. 42. GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS XL.— LXVI. It is admitted, on all hands, that the second part of Isaiah, com prising the prophecies which commence at the fortieth chapter, and which continue to the end of the book, is to be regarded as the most sublime, and to us the most important part ofthe Old Testament. In the previous portions of his prophecies, there was much that was local and temporary. Indeed all, or nearly all, that occurs from ch. i. to ch. xxxix. had direct and immediate reference to the times in which the prophet lived, or was suggested by the events wbich occurred in those times. Not unfrequently, indeed, there were prophecies respecting the Messiah's coming (chs. ii. iv. vii. ix. xi. xxxv.), but the primary reference was to events that were then occurring, or which were soon to occur, and which were local in their character. And though the mind ofthe prophet is carried forward by the laws of prophetic sug gestion (see Introduction § 7, 111.(3), and he describes the times of the Messiah, yet the immediate and primary reference of those prophecies is to Judea, or to the kingdoms and countries in the vicinity of Judea, with which the Jews were in various ways connected. In this portion offthe prophecy, however, there is little that is local and temporary. It is occupied with a prophetic statement of events which were to occur long after the time of the prophet; and which would be of interest not only to the Jewish nation, but to the whole human faraily. It is a beautiful and glowing description of occurren ces in which men ofthe present and of all subsequent times, will have as deep an interest as they who have lived at any former period. In deed it IS not improbable that as the world advances in age. the in terest in this portion of Isaiah will increase; and that as the gospel is carried around the globe, the beauty and accuracy of these descriptions will be more clearly seen and highly appreciated ; and that nations will yet derive their highest consolations, and see the -clearest proof ofthe inspiration of the sacred volume, from the entire correspondence between this portion of Isaiah and the events which are yet to dadden the world. There is no portion of the Old Testament where tiiere ia TO CHAPTERS XL.— LXVI. 51 so graphic an4 clear a description ofthe times ofthe Messiah. None ofthe other prophets linger so long, and with such apparent delight, on the promised coming of the Prince of Peace ; on his character and w-ork ; on the nature of his instructions, and the manner of his recep tion ; on the trials of his hfe, and the painful circumstances of his death ; on the dignity of his nature, and on his lowly and humble character ; on the prevalence of his religion, and on its transforming and happy effects ; on the consolations which he would furnish, and on the fact that his religion would bear light and joy around the world. Lowth supposes that this prophecy was uttered in the latter part of the reign of Hezekiah. A more probable supposition is that of Hengstenberg, that it was uttered in tlie tiraes of Manasseb. I have endeavoured to show (Intro. 5 2) that Isaiah lived some time during the reign of Manasseb. According to this supposition, there was pro bably an interval of some twelve or fourteen years between the close ofthe predictions in the first part, and those which occupy this portion ofthe book. Manasseb was a cruel prince ; and his reign was cruel. See Intro. § 3. It was a time of the prevalence of idolatry and sin. In this state of things, it is probable that Isaiah, who vvas then of great age, withdrew almost entirely from the public functions of the pro phetic work, and sought personal consolation, and endeavoured to furnish comfort for the pious portion of the nation, in the contempla tion of the future. In this period, I suppose, this portion of the pro phecy was conceived and penned. Isaiah, in the close of the previous part of the prophecies (ch. xxxix. 7), had distinctly announced that the nation would be carried to Babylon. He saw that the crimes of the monarch and of the nation were such as would certainly hasten this result. He had retired frora the public functions of the prophetic office, and given himself up to the contemplation of happier and purer times. He, therefore, devoted himself to the task of furnishing conso lation for the pious portion of the nation, and especially of recording prophetic descriptions which would comfort the Jews when they should be held in long captivity in Babylon. We have seen (Notes on ch. xiii. and xiv.) that Isaiah had before this laid the foundation for these consolations by the assurance that Babylon and its mighty power would be entirely destroyed, and, of course, that the Jewish people could not be held always in bondage there. In this part of the pro phecy (chs. xl. — Ixvi.) his object is to give more full and specific conso lations. He therefore places himself, in vision (see Intro. § 7, I. (4). in the midst of the future .scenes which he describes, and states dis tinctly and fully the grounds of consolation. These topics of consola tion would arise from two sources — both of which he presents at great length and with great beauty. The first is, that the nation would be delivered from its long and painful captivity. This was the primary thing to be done, and this was needful in order to furnish to them consolation. He places himself in that future time. He sees his own nation borne to a distant land, according to his own predictions ; sees them sighing in their hard bondage ; and sees the city and the teraple where they once worshipped the God of their fathers laid in ruins, and all their pleasant things laid waste (ch. Ixiv. 11), and the people dis pirited and sad in their long and painful captivity. He predicts the 52 GENERAL INTRODUCTION close of that captivity, and speaks of it as present to his view. Ho consoles the people by the assurance that it was coming to an end ; names the monarch— Cyrus— by whom their oppressors were to be punished, and by whom they were to be restored to their own land ; and describes in the most beautiful and glowing imagery their certain return. The second source of consolation is that which relates to the coming of a far more important deliverer than Cyrus, and to afar more mportant redemption than that frora the captivity at Babylon. By the laws of prophetic suggestion, and in accordance with the usual manner of Isaiah, his raind is carried forward to much mor&momentous events. The descriptions of the prophet insensibly change from the iraraediate subject under contemplation to the far more important events connected with the coming and work of the Messiah. This was the common rule by which the mind of Isaiah acted ; and it is no wonder, therefore, that an event so strikingly resembling the deliverance of man from the bondage of sin by the Messiah as was the deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, should have been suggested by that, and that his thoughts should pass rapidly from one to the other, and the one be forgotten in the other. The eye ofthe prophet, therefore, glances rapidly from the object more immediately in view in the fu ture, to the object more remote ; and he regards the return from the Babylonish captivity as introductory to a far more important deliver ance. In the contemplation of that more distant event, therefore, he becomes wholly absorbed ; and from this he derives his main topics of consolation. He sees the author of redemption in various scenes — now as a sufferer, humble, poor, and persecuted ; and now the more distant glories of the Messiah's kingdom rise to view. He sees him raised up irom the dead ; his empire extend and spread among the Gentiles ; kings and princes from all lands coming to lay their oflferings at his feet ; the distant tribes of men come bending before him, and his religion of peace and joy diffusing its blessings around the world. In the contemplation of these future glories, he desires to furnish con solation for his afflicted countrymen in Babylon, and at the same time a demonstration ofthe truth of the oracles of God, and of the certain prevalence of the true religion, which should impart happiness and peace in all future times. The character ofthe period when this portion ofthe prophecy was delivered, and the circumstances under which it was uttered, as well as the object which the prophet had in view, may account for some remarkable features in it which cannot fail to strike the attentive reader. (1.) The name of the prophet does not occur. It may have been de signed that the consolation should be furnished rather by the nature ofthe truth, than by the name or authority of the man. When ad dressing monarchs, and when denouncing the vices and crimes ofthe age his name is mentioned (comp. chs. vii. and xxxviii.) ; the au thority under which he acted is stated ; and he utters his warnings in the name of Jehovah. Here he presents simple truth, in a case where it is to be presumed that his prophetic authority and character were already sufficiently established. (2.) There is less of fire and im petuosity ; less of severity and abruptness of manner, in this than in the former prophecies. Isaiah was now an old man, and his style, TO CHAPTERS XL.— LXVI. 53 and raanner of thinking and of utterance would benaturallj mellowed by age. His object, also, was not reproof so much as consolation ; it was not, as formerly, to denounce judgment, but to speak of corafort. It was not to rebuke kings and nobles for their crimes, and to rouse the nation to a sense ofits danger ; it was to mitigate tlie woes of those in bondage, and to furnish topics of support to those who were groaning in captivity far from the temple of their God, and from the sepulchres of their fathers. The language ofthe second part is more gentle and flowing ; raore tender and mild. There is exquisite beauty and finish, and occasionally there are bursts of the highest sublimity ; but there is not the compression of thought, and the struggling as it were for utterance, which there often is in the former part. There, the pro phetic impulse is like waters pent up between projecting rocks and hills, it struggles and bursts forth impetuously and irresistibly ; in this portion of the prophecy it is like the placid stream — the full-flowing, majestic river — calm, pure, deep, and sublime. There are, mdeed, characteristics ofthe same style, and of the same author, but it is in different circumstances, and with a different object in view. Homer in the Odyssey has been compared to the sun when setting with full orb but with diminished brightness ; in the Iliad to the sun in his me ridian. Isaiah in this part of his prophecies resembles the sun shining with steady and pure effulgence without a cloud ; in the former part he resembles the sun when it bursts through clouds in the darkened heavens — the light struggling through the openings in the sky, and amidst the thunders that roll and echo along the hills and vales. (3.) The portion which follows (chs. xl. — Ixvi.) is a single prophecy, apparently uttered at one time, and having one great design. The forraer part consists of a number of independent and separate pre dictions, some of them very brief! and having no immediate connection with each other. Here all is connected, and the same design is kept steadily and constantly in view. His beautiful descriptions roll on, to use one of his own images, " like a river," or fhe "waves ofthe sea." (4.) Almost every thing which occurs in ihe prophecy relates to that which was to be fulfilled long after the time of Isaiah. Occasionally there is a slight allusion to the prevalence of idolatry in his own tirae, but there is no express raention of the events which were then occur ring. He does not mention Bis own circumstances; he does not allude to the name ofthe monarch who lived when he wrote. He seems to have forgotten the present, and to live and act in the scenes of the distant fature. He, therefore, speaks as if he were among the exiled Jews in Babylon when their long captivity was about to come to an end ; he exhorts, rebukes, administers comforts, as if they were present and as if he were directly addressing them. He speaks ofthe life, sufferings, and death ofthe Messiah also, as events which he saw, and seeks personal consolation and support amidst the prevailing- crimes and calamities of his own times, in the contemplation of future scenes. It will be seen, frora what has been said, and frora the examina tion of the prophecy itself, that it possesses a decidedly evangelical character. Indeed this is so clear and apparent that many have maintained that the primary reference is to the Messiah, and that it had no relation to the return from the captivity at Babylon. Such was 54 ISAIAH. [E.C. 690. the opinion of the learned Vitringa. Even Grotius, of whom it has been said that while Cocceius found " Christ ever)^ where, he found him nowhere '' admits that the prophecy has an obvious reference to the Messiah. His words are, Cum autem omnia Dei benefacia umbram in se contineant eorum quae Christus praestitit, turn praecipue ista omnia quae deinceps ab Esaia prffinunciabuntur, verUis saepissime a Deo sic directis, ut simplicius limpidiusque in res Chnsii, quam in illas, quas pHmo significare Esaias voluit, convenirent. Indeed, it is impossible to read this portion ofthe prophecy without believing that "t had reference to the Messiah, and that it was designed to turnish consolation from the contemplation of his glorious reign. That there was a primary reference to the return from the captivity at Babylon, 1 shall endeavour to show as we advance in the interpretation of the prophecy. But, it will also be seen that though the prophet begins with that, he ends usually with a contemplation of the Redeemer; that these events seem to have lain so near each other in the beautifal field of prophetic vision, that the one naturally suggested the other ; and that the description passes from the former object to the latter, so that the contemplation of the person and work of the Messiah and of the triumphs of his gospel become the absorbing theme of his glow ing lapguage. See the latroductioUj § 7. CHAPTER XL. • ANALYSIS. I The suWect ofthe whola prophecy (chs. xl.— Ixvi.) is introduced in vs. 1, 2. The general design is to comfort the afflicted and oppressed people of God. They are contemplated as in Babylon, and as near the close ofthe exile. Jerusalem is regarded aa in ruins (comp. chs, xliv. 26—28, li. 3, lii. 9, Iviii 12) ; the land is waste and desolate (Ixiii. 18) ; the city and the temple are destroyed, Ixiv. 10, U. Their captivity is about to end and the people about to be restored to their own land, chs. xliv. 28, Iviii. 12, Ix. 10, Ixv. 9. In this situation, the prophet is directed to address words of consolation to the op- {iressed and long-captive Jews, and to assure them that their calamities are ahout to close. Jerusa- em— now in ruins— was to be assured that the end of her desolation was near, for that an ample punishment had been taken for all her sins. I[. The prophet next represents the deUverance under an image taken from the march of earthly kings, vs. 3 — 8. The voice of a herald is heard in the wilderness making proclamation, that eveiy obstacle should be removed that JEHOVAH might return to Zion conducting his people. As he had conducted them from the land of Egypt, so he waa about to conduct them from Babylon, and to ap pear again in Jerusalem and in the temple. Between Babylon and Jerusalem there was an immense tract of country which was a pathless desert Through thiiii land the people would naturally be con ducted; and the voice of the herald is heard demanding that a highway should be made— in the manner of a herald who preceded an army, and who reqiured valleys to be filled, and roads to be con structed, over which the monarch and his army might pass with ease and safety. It is to be observed that the main thing here is not that the people ahould return , and a way be made for t?iem, but that JEHOVAH was about to return to Jerusalem, and that the pathway should be made {oThim. He was to be their leader and guide, and this was the principal source of comfort in their return. In this, the Holy Spirit, who directed and inspired the prophet, purposeti/ suggests language that would be ap plicable toa far more important event, when the herald of the Messiah should announce ?ii8 cotaing. The main thing which the voice was to cry is represented in va. 6— 8. That was, that JEHOVAH was faithful to his promises, and Ihat his predictions would be certainly fulfilled. EveiV thing else would fade away— the grass would wither, the flower would fail, and the people would die— but tho word of JEHOVAH would be unfailing, and this would be manifest alike in the release of the people from Babylon, and in the coming of the Messiah. III. The messenger that brought these glad tidings to Jerusalem, is exhorted to announce the happy news to the remaining cities of Judah— to go to an eminence — to lift up the voice— and to proclaim that their God had come, ver. 9. IV. In va. 10, 11, the assurance is given that he would come *' with a strong hand "—almighty and able to save ; he would come as a tender and gentle shepherd, regarding especially the weak and feeble of his people— language alike applicable to God who should conduct the people ^om'ejcile to their o*vn land, and to the Messiah ;— though more strikingly, and completely fulfilled in the latter. B.C.690,] CHAPTER XL. 55 V. The menhon of the emnipolence vf JEHOVAH, who vma aliom to conduct his people to their ownlimd, teods tbe propteBt into a most sublime description of his powder, majesty, and glory tho object of which seems to be to indut« them to put entire confidence in him, vs. 1*— 17. God mea sures the waters m Che hotlow of his hand; he metes out the heavens with a span ; he measures tlie dust of the earth, and weighs the mountains, ver. la. None has counselled, or can coun'^cl him — bis understanding is superior to that-of^ill cceatures, vs. 43, 14, Tlie nations before him areas a drop of a bucket, and aa the small dust of the balance, and as nothing, vs. 15, 17. All the vast forests of Lebanon, and all the beasts that roam there, would not be sufficient to constitute a bumt-oflering that should be aproper expression of his jnajeaty and glory, ver. 16. VI. From this staltement ofthe majesty and gjlory of God^the prophet ^ows the absurdity of at tempting totoiman image «r likeness of God, iaod the certainty that aii who trusted in idols'shoitld be destroyed as tjie stubble is swept away by the whirlwind, vs. 18—25. VII. It follows also, if God is so great and glorious, that the people should put confidence in him, va. 26—31. They should bebeve that he waa atdeto aave them ; they should wait on him who alone could renew their strength, vs. 26—31. The entire scope and design of the chapter, therefore, is, to ¦nduc^ them to put their reliance in t3od, who was about to come to vindicate hia people, and v^e xvould assuredly accomplish all his predictions and promises. The aDgumentis-a most beautiful one ; and the language is unsitrpassed inaublinuty. rusalem, and cry unto her that her 'warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned ; for she IU iim uuA^uasK .is .uiisurijussea in«uijiiiiui>y. 1 Comfort 'ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye ^comfortably to Je- fl Heb. 6. 17, 18. 3 to the heart. 1. Comfort, ye, comfort ye my people. This is the exordium, or the general subject of this and the following chap ters. The commencement is abrupt, as often happens in Isaiah and the other pTophets. The scene where this vision is laid is in Babylon ; the time near fhe close of the captivity. The topic, or main subject ofthe consolation, is stated in the fpllowing verse — that that cap tivity was about to end, and that brighter and happier days were to succeed their calamities and their exile. The exhor tation to " comfort" the people is ttJ be tmderstood as a command of God to , fliose in Babylon whose office or duty it would be to -address them — .-ftiat is, to the ministers of religion, or to the pro phets. The Targum of Jonathan thus renders it : " Ye prophets, prophecy consolations concerning my people." The tXX render it, " Comfort ye, com fort ye my people, saith God. O priests, speak to the heart of Jerusalem, comfort her." The design of Isaiah is, doubtless, to ftimish that which shonld be to them ¦a source of consolation when amidst the •deep distress of their long captivity ; to iiinush an assurance tjiat the captivity was about to end, and that brighter and happier times were to ensue. The ex hortation ¦or command is repeated, to give intensity or emphasis to it, in the usual manner in Hebrew, where em{^a- sis is denoted by the repetition oi a word. The word rendered comfort ((from Sra ni.hhdm') means properly t« I or, appointed time. draw fhe breath forcibly, to sigh, paWj groan ; then to lament, or grieve, Jer. XV- B. Ps. xc. 13 ; then to comfort or console one's self. Gen. xxxviii. 12j then lo take vengeance ; comp. Note Isa. i. 24. AU the forms of the word, and all the significations, indicate deep emo tion, and the obtaining of relief either by repenting, or by taking vengeance, or by administering the proper topics of consolation. Here the topic of consola tion is, that their calamities were about to come to an end, in accordance with the unchanging promises of a faithful God, ver. 8 ; and is thus in accordance with what is said in Heb. vi. 17, 18. H My people. The people of God. He regarded those in Babylon as his people ; and he designed also to adduce such topics of consolation as would be adapted to comfort all his people in all ages. IT Saith your God. The God of those whom he addressed — the God of the prophets or ministers of religion whose office was to comfort the people. We may remark here, that it is an im portant part of the ministerial office to administer consolation to the people of God in affliction ; to exhibit to them his promises .; to urge the topics of religion which are adapted to sustain them ; and especially to uphold and cheer them with the assurance that their trials will soon come to an end, and will all terminate " in complete deliverance firom sorrow and calamity in heayen. 2. Speakye comfortably. Heb.25"59 56 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. hath received of the Lord's as in the margin, " to the heart." The heart is the seat of tbe affections. It is there that sorrow and joy are felt. We are oppressed there with grief, and we speak familiarly of being pained at the heart, and of being of a glad, or meiTy heart. To speak " to the heart," is to speak in such a way as to remove the troutdes of the heart ; to fiimish conso lation and joy. It means that they were not merely to urge such topics as should convince the understanding, but such also as should be adapted to minister consolation to the heart. So the word is used in Gen. xxxiv. 3 : " And his soul clave unto Dinah — and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly (Heb. to the heart) ofthe damsel." Gen. 1. 91 : " And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them." Heb. to their hearts. See also 2 Chron. xxxii. 6. IT To Je rusalem. The direction is not merely to speak to the people iu Babylon, but also to comfort Jerusalem itself lying in ruins. The general direction is, there fore, that the entire series of topics of consolation should be adduced — ^the people were to return firom their bon dage, and Jerusalem was to be rebuilt, and the worship of God to be restored. IT And cry unto her. In the manner of a crier ; or one making public and loud proclamation ; comp. vs. 3, 9. Je rusalem is here personified. She is addressed as in ruins, and as about to be rebuilt, and as capable of consolation fi-om this promise. IT That her war fare is accomplished. LXX, " That her humiUation, ra-irtiviotris, is accom plished." The Hebrew word, N2S, warfare, properly means an army, or host, comp. Note ch. i. 9, and is usually applied to an army going forth to war, or marshalled for battle. 2 Sam. viii. 16, X. 7. It is then used to denote an ap pointed time of service ; the discharge of a duty similar to an enlistment, and is applied to the services of the Levites in the tabernacle. Num. iv. 23 : " All that enter in to perform the service (Heb. to war the warfare), to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation." hand double 'for all 5 ch. Ixi. 7. her Comp. Num. viii. 24, 25. Hence it is applied to human life contemplated as a warfare, or enlistment, involving hard service and calamity ; an enlistment from which there is to be a discharge by death.Is there not a set-time (Heb. a warfare) to maa upon earth ? Are not his days as the days ofan hiieling? Job vii. t. But if a man diei— «hall he indeed live again ? All the days of my appointed time [Heb. my loarfare) will I wait, TiU my change come. Job xiv. 14. Comp. Dan. x. 1. The word then means hard service, such as soldiers en dure ; an appointed time which they are lo serve ; an enlistment involving hard ships, toil, privation, danger, calamity. In this sense it is applied here to Jem salem — to the trials, calamities, desola tions to which she was subjected for her sins, and which were to endure a defi nite and fixed time — Hke the enlistment of an army. That time was now coming to an end, and to be succeeded by a release, or discharge. Vitringa, who supposes that this refers primarily and solely to the times of the Messiah, regards this as meaning that the definite time of the legal economy, a time of toil, and of vexatious and troublesome ceremonies, was about to end by the coming of the Messiah. But the more correct interpretation is, probably, that which supposes that there was a primary reference to the long and painfiil cap tivity of the Jews in Babylon. ^ That her iniquity. The iniquity, or sm,hcre referred to, is that long series of acts of rebeUion, cormption, and idolatry, -with which the Jewish people had been chargeable, and which had rendered their captivity necessary. As a nation, that sin was now expiated, or removed by their protracted punishment in Baby lon. It was a sufficient expression ofthe Divine displeasure at their national of fences, and God was satisfied (nS'nl) with it, and could consistently restore them to their land, and to their former privileges. The whole language here has respect to national, and not to indi vidual ofFences. Ii Is pardoned. Vulg. B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XL. 57 " Dimiflsa est iniquitas illius." LXX, ^iXvrat dvTfj? fl ajjiapria — her sin is loosed, dissolved, remitted. The word pardon does not quite express the meaning of the word in the original — '^^'nJ . The word '^^'5 ratza, properly means to delight in any person or thing ; to take pleasure in ; then to receive graciously, or favourably ; to delight in sacrifices and offerings, Ps. li. 18. Job xxxiii. 26. Ezek. XX. 40 ; and in the Hiphil conj. to satisfy, or pay off, i. e. to cause to be satisfied, or pleased ; and then in Pass. to be satisfied, to be paid off, to be pleased or satisfied with an expiation, or with an atonement for sins, so as io de light in the person who makes it. Here it means not strictly to pardon, but it means that they had endured the na tional punishment which God saw to be necessary ; they had served out the long and painful enUstmeut which he had appointed, and now he was satisfied, and took delight in restoring them to their own land. It does not refer to the pardon of men in consequence of the atonement made by the Lord Jesus ; but it may be used as an illustration of that, when God is satisfied with that atonement ; and when he has pleasure or delight in setting the soul free from the bondage of sin, and admitting the sinner to his favour — as he had deUght here in restoring his people to their own land. IT For she hath received. Jem salem had now been desolate for almost seventy years, on the supposition that this relates to the period near the close of the exile, and that was regarded as an ample or fiiU expression of what she ought to suffer for her national offences. IT Of the Lord's hand. From the hand, or by the agency of Jehovah. Whoever were the instraments, her suf ferings were to be regarded as his ap pointment. IT Double for all her sins. The word rendered " double," B'^^BS , is the dual form fi-om '?3 a doubling, aud occurs in Job xU. 13 ^ ¦Who will rip up the covering of his armour ? Against the doubling of hia nostrils who will ad vance ? Good. And in xi. 6 : VOL. II. — 3* And that he would unfold to them tho secreta of wisdom. That they are double to that which is ; that is, there are double-folds to God's wisdom, or the wisdom of God is com plicated, inexplicable. Gesenius. The word in Job means " conduplications, folds, compUcations, mazes, intricacies." Good. Here the word has, doubtless, its usual and proper meaning, and de notes double, twice as much; and the expression may denote that God had inflicted on them double that which had been usually inflicted on rebeUiotw na tions, or on the nation before for 'ts sins. Or the word may be used to lenote abundance, and the prophet may design to teach that they had been amply, or abundantly punished for their crimes. " That is," says Grotius, " as much as God judged to be sufficient." " Double, here," says Calvin, " is to be received for large and abundant." Some have supposed (see Rosenmiiller, who ap proves of this interpretation) that the word " sins " here means the punish ment of sins, and that the word double refers to the mercies or favours which they were about to receive, or which God had purposed to confer on them. So Lowth understands it ; and renders the word '^'^fjj shall receive, in the iiiture : That she shall receive at the hand of JEHOVA H [Blessingj] double to the punishment of all her sins. But though it was tme that their favours on their return, in the hope of the Mes siah, and in their renovated pri-vileges, would be far more numerous than their suffirings had been, yet this does not so well suit the coimection, where the pro phet is giving a reason why they shonld be released fi-om their bondage, and re stored to the privileges of their own land. That reason manifestly is, that they had suffered what was regarded by Jehovah as an ample expression of his displeasure for their national offences. It does not refer to individual sinners ; nor to any power which they have to make atonement for their sins : nor does it refer to the atonement made by the Messiah. But it may be remarked, by the way, that in the sufferings of the 58 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. 3 The "voice of him that crietb in the wilderness. Prepare "ye the j way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. u Matt. 3. 3. Redeemer there has been ample satisfac tion for the sins of his people. The Chaldee interpreter understands this as RosenmiiUer does, that the word " dou ble " refers to the mercies which they had received : " Because she has re ceived a cup of consolation from the presence of the Lord, as if, 13X3 , she had been smitten twofold for all her sins." 3. The vtnce of him that crieih. Lowth and Noyes render this, " a voice crietb," and annex the phrase " in the wilderness" to the latter part of the sentence : A voice crieth , " In the wilderness prepare ye the way of JEHOVAH." The Hebrew, N^ip ^ip , wiU bear this construction, though the Vulgate and the LXX render it as in our common version. The sense is" not essentially different, though the parallelism seems to require the translation proposed by Lowth. The design is to state the source of consolation referred to in the previous verses. The time of the exile at Babylon was about to be completed. Jehovah was about to conduct his peo ple again to their own country through the pathless wilderness, as he had for merly conducted them firom Egypt to the land of promise. The prophet, therefore, represents hiraself as hearing the voice of a herald, or a foremnner in the pathless waste, giving direction that a way should be made for the return of the people. The whcJe scene is repre sented as the march, or return of Jeho vah at the head of his people to the land of Judea. The idea is ¦ taken from the practice of Eastern monarchs, who, whenever they entered on a jour ney or an expedition, especially through abarren and unfrequented or inhospitable counti-y, sent harbingers, or heralds, be fore them to prepare the way. To do this, it was necessary for them to pro vide supplies, and make bridges, or find fording places over the streams ; to level hills, and constract causeways over val leys, or fiU them up ; and to make a way » Mal. 3. 1. through the forest which might lie in their intended line of march. This waa necessary, because these contemplated expeditions often involved the necessity of marching through countries where there were no public highways that would afford facilities for the passage of an army. Thus Aman (Btist. Uv. cap. 30) says of Alexander, " He now proceeded to the river Indus, the army" i. e. ^ armaria, a part oi the army, or an army sufficient for the purpose " going before, which made a way for hun, for othenvise there would have been no mode of passing through that region." " When a great prince in the East," says Paxton, " sets out on a joumey, it is usual to send a party of men before him to clear the way. The state of those countries in every age, where roads are almost unknown, and from want of cultivation in many places over grown with brambles and other thorny plants, which renders traveUing, espe cially with a large retinue, incommo dious, requires this precaution. The emperor of Hin4pstan, in his progress through his dominions, as described in the narrative of Sir Thomas Roe's em bassy to the court of Delhi, was pre ceded by a very great company, sent be fore him to cutup the trees and bushes, to level and smooth the road, and pre pare their place of encampment. We shall be able, perhaps, to form a more clear and precise idea from the account which Diodorus gives of the marches of Semiramis, the celebrated queen of Babylon, into Media and Persia. In her march to Ecbatane," says the histo rian, " she came to the Zarcean moun tain, which extending many fiirlongs, and being full of craggy precipices and deep hoUows, could not be passed with out taking a great compass. Being therefore desirous of leaving an ever lasting memorial of hei-self, as weU as of shortening the way, she ordered the precipices to be digged down, and the hoUows to be filled up ; and at a great expense she made a shorter and mors BX\690.] CHAPTER XL. 59 expeditious road ; which to this day is tjalled from her the road of Semiramis. A.fterward she went into Persia, and aH the other cffuniries of Asia subjected to Jier dominion, and wherever she went, she ordered the mountains and preci pices to be levelled, raised causeys in the plain country, and at a great ex pense made the ways passable." The writer of the apocryphal Book of Barach, refers to the same subject by the. same images : " For God hath appointed that every high hill, and banks of long con tinuance, should be cast down, and val leys filled up, to make even the ground, that Israel may go safely in the glory of God." Chap. v. 7. It is evident that the primary reference of this pas sage was to the exiles in Babylon, and to their return from their long captivity, to the land of their fathers. Tfee ima gery, the circumstances, the design of the prophecy, all seem to demand such ¦an interpretation. At the same tirae it is as clear, I apprehend, that the prophet was inspired to nse language, of design, which should appropriately express a more important event,' the coming of the foremnner of the Messiah, and the work which he should perform as preparatory to his advent. There was such a -striking similarity in the two events, that they conld be greuped together in the same part of tlie prophetic vision or picture ; the mind would naturally, by the laws of prophetic suggestion (Intro. § 7, III. <3), glance from one to the other, and the same language would appropriately and accurately express both. Both could be described as the coming of Je hovah to bless and save his people ; both occurred after a long state of deso lation and bondage — the one a bondage in Babylon, the other in sin and national declension. The* pathless desert was literally to be passed through in the one instance ; in the other, the condition of the Jews was that which was not un aptly likened to a desert — a condition ira regard to real piety not unlike the state of a vast desert in comparison with fruitfiil fields. " It was," says Lowth, " in this desert country, desti tute at that time of all reUgious cultiva tion, in true piety and works unfmitfiil, that John was sent to prepare the way of the Lord by preaching repentance." That this passage Aos a reference to John as the forerunner of the Messiah, is evident fi-om Matt. iii. 3, where it is applied to him, and introduced by thie remark.: " For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying. The voice," &c. See also John i. 23. The events were so similar, in their main features, that the same language would describe both. John was nurtured in the desert, and passed his early life there, until he entered on his public work. Luke ii. 80. He began to preach in a mountainous country lying east of Jemsalem, and sparsely inhabited, and which was usually spoken of as a desert or wUdemess (Matt. iii. 1) ; and it was here that his voice was heard an nouncing the coming of the Messiah, and that he pointed him to his own fol lowers. John i. 28, 29. IT In the wil derness. Babylon was separated from Jadea by an immense tract of country which was one continued desert. A large part of Arabia, called Arabia De- serta, was situated in this region. To pass in a direct line, therefore, from Ba bylon to Jemsalem, it was necessary to go through this desolate country. It was here that the prophet speaks of hearing a voice commanding the hills to be levelled, and the valleys filled up, that there might be a convenient high way for the people to return, Comp. Notes on ch. xxxv. 8-10. IT Prepare ye the way. This was in the form of the usual proclamation of a monarch com manding the people to make a way for him to pass. Applied to the return of the exile Jews, it means that the com mand of God had gone forth that ail obstacles should be removed. AppUed to John, it means that the people were to prepare for the reception of the Mes siah ; that they were to remove all in their opinions and conduct which would tend to hinder his cordial reception, or which would prevent his success among them. IT Of the Lobd. Of Jehovah. Jehovah was the leader of his people, and was about to conduct them to their own land. The march, therefore, waa regarded aa that of Jehovah, as a mon- 30 ISAIAH. [.B.C. 690 4 Every valley shall be ex alted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low : and the arch or king, at the head of his people, conducting them to their own country ; and to prepare the way of Jehovah was, therefore, to prepare for his march at the head of his people. AppUed to the Messiah, it means that God was about to come to his people to redeem them. This language naturaUy and obviously impUes, that he whose way was thus to be prepared was Jehovah, the true God. So it was undoubtedly in regard to him who was to be the leader of the exile Jews to their ovm land, since none but Jehovah could thus conduct them. And if it be admitted that the language has also a reference to the Messiah, then it demonstrates that he was appropriately caUed Jehovah. That John the Baptist had such a view of him, is apparent from what is said of him. Thus, John i. 15, he says of him that, " he was be fore " him — which was not tme unless he had an existence previous to his birth ; he caUs him, ver. 18, " the only- begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father ;" and in ver. 34 he caUs him " the Son of God." Comp. John x. 30, 33, 36. In ch. iii. 31, he says of him, " he that cometh frora above is above ALL ; — he that cometh from heaven is ABOVE ALL." Though this is not one of the most direct and certain proof- texts of the divinity of the Messiah, yet it is one which may be applied to him when that divinity is demonstrated from other places. It is not one that can be used vrith absolute certainty in an argu ment on the subject to convince those who deny that divinity — since even on the supposition that it refers to the Mes siah, it may be said plausibly, and with some force, that it may mean that Jeho vah was about to manifest himself by means of the Messiah ; yet it is a pas sage which those who are convinced of the divinity of Christ from other sources, wUl apply without hesitation to him as descriptive of his rank, and confirmatory of his divinity. IT Make straight. Make a straight or direct road ; one that should conduct at once to their land. crooked 'shall be made straight, 'and the rough places ^plaih. X c. 45. 2. 6 or, a straight place. 7 or, plai-n place. The Chaldee renders this verse, " Pre pare a way before the people of Jeho vah ; make in the plain ways before the congregation of our God." II A high way. See Note on ch. xxxv. 8. 4. Every valley shall be exalted. That is, every vaUey, or low piece of ground, shall be fiUed up so as to make a level highway, as was done in order to facilitate the march of armies. This verse is evidently designed to explain what is intended in ver. 3, by preparing the way for Jehovah. Applied to the return of the Jews from Babylon, it means simply that the impassable val leys were to be fiUed up so as to make a level road for their joumey. If applied to the work of John, the forerunner of the Messiah, it means that the nation was to be caUed on to put itself in astate of preparation for his coming, and im the success of his labours among them. Vitringa, and others, have endeavoured to specify what particular moral qualities in the nation are meant by the " valley," by the " mountain and hiU," aud by the "crooked" and "rough places." But the illustrations are such as caimot be demonstrated to be referred to by the prophet. The general sense is plain. The language, as we have seen, ia taken from the march of a monarch at the head of his army. The general idea is, that all obstructions were to be re moved, so that the march would be with out embarrassment. As appUcable to the work of John also, the language means in general, that whatever there was in the opinions, habits, conduct ; in the pride, self-confidence, and irreligion of the nation that would prevent his cordial reception, was to be removed. ¦if Every mountain and hill. They shall be dug down so as to make the joumey easy. All obstractions were to be re moved. ^ And ihe crooked. The word here used, 3pS is usually rendered crook ed ; but perhaps not by any good au thority. The verb agS iBually denotes to be behind; to come from behind; B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XL. 61 5 And ttie glory of the Lohd shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together : for the mouth ofthe Lord hath spoken it. 6 The voice said. Cry. And or as Geserrius supposes, to be elevated like a mound, arched like a hill or tumulus, and is hence applied to the heel from the figure. See Hos. xii. 4. Gen. xxv. 26. According to this, the word would denote properly a hill, mound, or acclivity, which would put back those who attempted to ascend. H Shall be made straight. Marg. " A straight place." The Hebrew word "liUi^a denotes properly evenness, a level region, a plain. The hilly places would be reduced to a level. If And ihe rough places. Those wliich are hard, bound up, stony, difficult to pass. Such as abounded with rocks and preci pices, and which presented obstractions to a joumey. Such places abounded in the region lying between Palestine and Babyjon. IT Plain. Marg. " A plain place." A smooth, leVel plain. 5. And the glory of theTiOBV, The phrase here means evidently the majesty, power, or honour of Jehovah. He would display his power, and show himself to be a covenant-keeping God, by deliver ing his people from their bondage, and reconducting them to their own land. This glory and faithfulness would be shown in his delivering them from their captivity in Babylon ; and it would be StiU more iUustriously shown in his send ing the Messiah to accomplish the de liverance of his people in later days. IT And all flesh. All men. The word tlesh is often used to denote human na ture, or mankind in general. Gen. vi. 12. Ps. Ixv. 3, cxlv. 21. The idea is, that the deliverance of his people would be such a display of the Divine inter position, so that all nations would dis cern the evidences of his power and glory. But there is a fiiUness and a richness in the language which shows that it is not to be confined to that event. It is more strikingly applicable to the advent of the Messiah — and to the fact that through him the glory of Jeh6vah he said, What shall 1 cry ? All 'flesh is grass, and all the goodli- ness thereof w as the flower of the field. z Vt. 10. 15. Ja. 1. 10, U. would be manifest to all nations. Rosen miiller supposes that this should be trans lated. And all flesh shall see together That the mouth of JEHOVAH hath spoken it. The Hebrew will bear this constmction, but there is no necessity for departing from the translation in the common ver sion. The LXX add here the Words " salvation of God," so as to read it, " and all flesh shaU see the salvation of God," and this reading has bee;- adopted in Luke in. 6 ; — or it may be more probable that Luke (iii. 4, 5, 6,) has quoted frora different parts oilsaiah, and that he intended to quote that part, not from the version of the LXX, but from Isa. lii. 10. Lowth on the au thority of the LXX proposes to restore these words to the Hebrew text. But the authority is insufficient. The Vul gate, the Chaldee, the Syriac, and the Hebrew MSS. concur in the reading of the present Hebrew text, and the au thority of the Septuagint is altogether insufficient to justify a change. IT For the mouth of the Lokd. The strongest possible confirmation that it would be fiilfiUed. See Note ch. xxxiv. 16. The idea is, that God had ceirtainly promised their deliverance from bondage ; and that his interposition, in a manner which should attract the attention of all nations, was certainly purposed by him. Few events have ever more impressively manifested the glory of God than the redemption of his people from Babylon ; none has occurred, or wiU ever occur, that will more impressively demonstrate his glory, wisdom, and feithfiilness, than the redemption of the world by the Messiah. 6. The voice said. Or rather 'a voice.' Isaiah represents himself here again as hearing a voice. Th^ word "the" introduced in our translation mars the sense , inasmuch as it leads to the supposition that it was the voice cf 62 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. the same person or crier referred to in ver. 3. But it is different. That was the voice of a cficr or herald, proclaim ing that a way was to be open in the desert. This is introduced for a differ ent purpose. It is to proclaim distinctly that while every thing else was fading and transitory, the promise of God was firm and secure. Isaiah, therefore, represents himself as hearing a voice requiring the prophets (so the Chaldee) to make a proclamation. An inquiry was at once made, what should be the nature of the proclamation. The answer was, that all flesh was grass, &.c. He had (ver. 3-5) introduced a herald an nouncing that the way was to be pre pared for their return. He now intro duces another voice with a distinct message to the people, that God was faithful, and that his promises would not fail. A voice, a command is heard, re quiring those whose duty it was, tb make proclamation. The voice of God ; the Spirit speaking to the prophets, commanded them to cry. TT And he said. Lowth and Noyes read this, "And I said." The LXX and the Vtdgate read it also in this manner in the first person. Two manuscripts ex amined by Kennicott also read it in the first person. Houbigant, Hensler, and Doedcrlin adopt this reading. But the authority is not sufficient to justify a change in the Hebrew text. The Syriac and Chaldee read it as it is in the pre sent Hebrew text, in the third person. The sense is, that the person, or prophet to whom the command came to make proclamation, made answer, ' What shaU be the nature of my proclamation ?' It is equivalent to saying, ' It was an swered ;' or if Isaiah is the person to whom the voice is represented as com ing, it means that he answered ; and is, therefore, equivalent to the reading in the LXX and Vulgate, and adopted by Lowth. This is the probable suppo sition, that Isaiah represents himself as hearing the voice, and as expressing a willingness to raake proclamation, but as waiting to know what he was to proclaim. IT All flesh. This is the answer ; or this is what he was to pro claim. The general design or scope of the answer was, that he was to pro claim that the promise of ."ehovah was secure and firm (Ver. 8), and that therev fore God would certainly corae to de liver them. To make this more im pressive by way of contrast, he states that aU men are weak and feeble like the grass that is soon withered. — The expression does "not refer particularly to the Jews in Babylon, or to any single nation or class of people, but to all men, in aU places, and at aU times. AU princes, nobles, and monarchs; aU ar mies and magistrates are like grass, and -will soon pass away. On the onfe hand, ihey would be unable to accom plish what was needful to be done in the deUverance of the people ; and on the other, their oppressors had no power to continue their bondage, since ihey were Uke grass, and must soon pass away. But Jehovah was ever-endur ing, and was able to fulfil all his pur poses. TT Is grass. It is as feeble, weak, and as easily consumed as the grass of the field. A simUar sentiment is found in Fs. ciii. 15, 16 : As for man, his days are as grass ; As a flower of the fleld so he flourisheth ; For the wind passeth over it, and itis gone. And the place thereof sball know it no more. See also James i. 10, 11. The passage in Isaiah is evidently quoted by Peter, 1 Epis. i. 24, 25 : " All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. "The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever; and this is the word which hy ihe gos pel is preached unto you " — a passage which proves that Isaiah had reference to the times of the Messiah iri the place before us. T And all the goodliness thereof. The word rendered " goodli ness," ion , denotes properly, kindness, love, good will, mercy, favour. Here it is evidently used in the sense of elegance, comeliness, beauty. The LXX render it Jdfa, and so does Peter, ch. i. 24. Applied to grass, or to herbs, it denotea the flower, the beauty, the comeliness. Applied to man, it means that which makes him comely and vigorous- health, energy, beauty, talent, wisdom. His vigour is soon gone ; his beauty B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XL. 63 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it : surely the people is grass. fades ; his wisdom ceases ; and he falls, like the flower, to the dust. The idea is, that the plans of raan must be tem porary ; that all that appears great in him must be like the flower of the field ; but that Jehovah endures, and his plans reach from age to age, and wiU cer tainly be accompUshed. This importetnt truth was to be proclaimed, that the people might be induced not to trust in man, but put their confidence in the arm of God. 7. The grass withereth. Soonwithers. Its beauty is soon gone. T The flower fadeth. Soon fades ; or fades when the wind of Jehovah passes over it. So it is "also vrith man. He loses his vigour, and dies at once when Jehovah takes away his strength and beauty. IT Because the Spirit of the Lord blow eth upon it. This should be rendered, undoubtedly, ' when the wind oi Jeho vah bloweth upon it.' The word spirit here does not suit the connection, and does not express the idea of the prophet. The word ^^^ rOdhh, means, properly, breath — a breathing, or blowing ; and is often used indeed to denote spirit, soul, Ufe. But it often means a breath of wind ; a breeze ; air in motion ; Job xli. 8. Jer. ii. 24, xiv. 6. It is applied to the cool breeze which springs up in the evening. Gen. iii. 8. Comp. Cant. ii. 17, iv. 6. It sometimes means a strong and violent wind, Gen. vni. 1. Isa. vii. 2, xli. 16 ; and also a tempest, or hurricane. Job. i. 19, xxx. 15. Isa. xxvii. 8. — The 'wind of Jehovah' means that which Jehovah seiids, or causes ; and the expression here refers, doubtless, to the hot or poisonous east winds which blowin Oriental countries, and which wither and dry np every thing before them. Comp. Jonah iv. 8. IT Surely the people is grass. Lowth reads this, " this people ;" referring to the Jewish nation. So the Syriac. Perhaps it refers to the people of Baby lon (so Rosenmuller), and means that mighty people would fade away like 8 The "grass withereth, the flower fadeth : but the word 'of our God shall stand for ever. a 1 Pet. 1. 24, 25. b Mark la. 3i. grass. But the more probable interpre tation is that which regards it as refer ring to ALL people, and of course inclu^ ding the Jews and the Babylonians. The sense, according to this view is, ' all nations shall fade away. All human power shall cease. But the promise of Jehovah shall survive. It shaU be un changing amidst all revolutions ; it shall survive all the fluotuations whch thall take place among raen. It may, therefore, be trasted with unwavering reUance.' — To produce that reliance was the object of the proclamation. On this passage descriptive of the state of man the reader will at once be re minded of tbe beautiful language of Shakspear? : This is the state of man ! To-day he puts forth The tender leaves of hope : tomorrow blossoms, And hpars his blushing honours thick upon him ; The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely His greatness is a ripening, nips his root, And then he falls, — —never to hope again. Hen. VIII. Act. ii. Sc. 2. In the following passage from Tasso the same image is adopted : The gentle budding rose (quoth he) behold. That first scant peeping forth with virgin beams, Half ope, half shut, her beauties doth up-fold In their dear leaves, and less seen fairer seems. And after spreads them forth more broad and bold. Then languishes and dies in last extremes. So in the paising of a day doth pass The bud and blossom ofthe life of riian. Nor e'er doth flourish more, but, like the grass Cut down, becometh withered, pale, and wan. Fairfax, Edit. Windsoi, 1817. 8. The grass withereth, &c. This is repeated from the former verse for the sake of emphasis, or strong confirma tion. IT But ihe word of our God. The phrase " word of our God," refers either to his promise to be the protector and deliverer of his people in their cap- ' tivity ; or, in general, raeans that all his promises shall be firm and unchanging. ^ Shall stand for ever. Amidst all re volutions araong men, his promise shall be firm. It shall not only live amidst the changes of dynasties, and the revo lutions of empires, but it shall continui 64 ISAIAH. [B.C. G90 9 O 'Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain ; O Jerusalem, 'that bringest good tidings, lift up thy for ever and ever. This is designed for support to an afflicted and oppressed people ; and it must have been to them, in their bondage, the source of high consolation. But it is equally so now. Amidst all the changes on earth; the revolutions of empires ; the vanishing of kingdoms, God is the same, and his promises are unfaiUng. We see the grass wither at the return of auturan, or in the drought ; we see the flower of the field lose its beauty, and decay ; we see man rejoicing in his vigour and his health, cut down in 'an instant ; we see cities faU, and kingdoms lose their power and vanish frora among nations, but God changes not. He presides in all these revolutions, and sits calm and unmoved amidst aU these changes. Not one of his promises shaU fail ; and at the end of all the changes which human things shall undergo, Jehovah, the God of his people, wiU be the sarae. 9. 0 Zion, thai bringest good tidings. This is evidently the continu,ance of what the " voice " said, or of the an nunciation which was to give joy to an afflicted and oppressed people. There has been, however, much diversity of opinion in regard to the meaning of the passage. The margin renders it, " Thou that tellest good tidings to Zion," making Zion the receiver, and not the publisher of the message that was to convey joy. The Vulgate in a similar way renders it, " Ascend a high moira- tain, thou who bringest good tiduigs to Zion," qui evangelizas Zion. So the Chaldee, understanding this as an ad dress to the prophef, as in ver. 1, " As cend a high raoimtain, ye prophets, who bring glad tidings to Zion." So Lowth, Noyes, Gesenius, Grotius, and others. The word Trm'ya , fi-om liUa basar, means cheering with good tidings ; an nouncing good news ; bearing joyfiil in teUigence. It is a participle in the fe minine gender ; and is appropriately applicable to some one that bears good voice with strength ; lift it up, be not afraid ; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God ! 8 or, thou that tellest good tidings to Zion. S or, thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem. tidings to Zion, and not to Zion as ap pointed to bear glad tidings. Lowth supposes that it is applicable to some female whose office it was to announce glad tidings, and says that it was the common practice for females to engage in the office of proclaiming good news. On an occEision of a public victory, or rejoicing, it was custoraary says he, for females to assemble togethei .and to cele brate it with songs, and dances, and re joicings ; and he appeals to the instance of Miriam and the chorus Di women (Ex. XV. 20, 21), and to the instance where, after the victory of David over Goliath, " all the women came out of the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet Saul." 1 Sam. xviii. 7. But there are objections to this interpreta tion. (1.) If this was the sense, the word would have been in the plural number, since there is no instance in which a female is employed alone in this service ; and (2,) it was not, ac cording ro this, the office of the female to announce good tidings, or to commu nicate a joyful message, but to celebrati some occasion of triumph, or victory. Grotius supposes that the word is " femi nine in its sound, but common in its signification ;" and thus denotes ani whose office it was to communicate glad tidings. Gesenius (Comm. in loc.) says, that the feminine form here is used in a collective sense for C'^''??'' in thc plural ; and supposes that it thus refen to the prophets, or others who were tn announce the glad tidings to Zion. Vi tringa coincides with our translation and supposes that the sense is, that Zion viras to make proclamation to the other cities of Judah of the deUverance ; that the news was first to be communicated to Jemsalem, and that Jemsalem was intrasted with the ofiice of announcing this to the other cities of the land ; and that the meaning is, that the gospel was to be preached first at Jerusalem, and then frora Jemsalem as a centre to th» B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XL. 65 10 Behold, the Lord God will 'come with strong liand, and his arm shall rule for him ; behold, other cities of the land, agreeably to Luke xxiv. 49.' In this view, also, Hengstenberg coincides. Christol. vol. i. 424. But that the former interpreta- .ion, which regards Zion as the receiver, and not the promulgator, of the intelli gence, is the tme one, is apparent, I think, from the following considerations: (1.) It is that which is the obvious and most correct constmction of the He brew. (2.) It is that which is found in the ancient versions. (3.) It accords with the design of the passage. The main scope of the passage is not to call upon Jerusalem to "make known the glad tidings, but it is to convey the good news to Jemsalem ; to announce to her, lying desolate and w£iste, that her hard service was at an end, and that she was to be blessed with the return of happier and better times. See ver. 2. It would be a departure from this, to suppose that the subject was diverted in order to give Jerusalem a coramand to make the pro clamation to the other cities of the land-^to say nothing of the impropriety of calling on a city to go up into a high mountain, and to lift up its voice. On the meaning of the word Zion, see Note ch. i. 8. If Get thee up into a high mountain. You who make this procla mation to Zion. It was not uncommon in ancient times, when a multitude were to be addressed, or a proclamation td be made, for the crier to go into a moun tain, where he could be seen and heard. Thus Jotham, addressing the men of Shechem, is said to have gone and " stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice." Judges ix. 7. Comp. Matt. v. 1. The sense is, that the messengers of the joyful news to Zion were to make themselves distinctly heard by all the inhabitants of the city, and of the land. 1 Lift up ihy voice. As with a glad and important message. Do not deliver the message as if you were afraid that it should be heard. It is one of joy ; and it should be delivered in a clear, decided, animated manner. his reward Hs vyith him, and "his vyork before bim. 1 or, against the strong, b Rev. 22. 12. Sor, recompensefor his loorks. as if it were important that it should be heard. IT Wiih strength. Aloud ; with effort ; -with power. Comp. ch. xxxv. 3, 4. IT Lift it up. Lift up the voice. The command is repeated to denote emphasis. The mind is full of the subject ; and the prophet repeats the coramand, as a man often does when his mind is full of an idea. The com mand to deliver the message of God with animation, earnestness and zet.1 is one that is not unusual in Isaiah. It should be delivered as if it were trae, and as if it were believed to be trae. This wiU not justify, however, boister ous preaching, or a loud and unnatural tone of voice — alike offensive to good taste, injurious to the health, and de stractive of the Ufe of the preacher. — It isrto be remarked, also, that this com mand to Uft up the voice, appertains to the glad tidings of the gospel, and not to the terrors of wrath ; to the proclama tion of mercy, and not to the denuncia tion of wo. The glad tidings of salva tion should be delivered in an animated and ardent maimer ; the future punish ment of the wicked in a tone serious, solemn, subdued. T Say unto the cities of Judah. Not to Jerusalem only, but to all the cities of the land. They were alike to be blessed on the return from the captivity — aUke in the preaching of the gospel. T Behold your God ! Lo ! your God returns to the city, the temple, and the land ! Lo ! he comes (Note ver. 3), conducting his people as a king to their land ! Lo ! he will come — under the Messiah in fiiture tunes — to redeem and save ! What a glad announcement was this to the deso late and forsaken cities of Judah ! What a glad announcement to the wide world, ' Lo ! God has come to redeem and save ; and the desolate world shaU be visited with his salvation, and smile in his raercy through the Messiah !' 10. Behold, ihe Lord God will come. Note ver 3. Applied to the condition of the Jews in exUe, this means that 6B ISAIAH. [B.C. 690 God would come to deliver thera. Ap pUed to the limes of the Messiah, it means that God would manifest him self in a powerful manner as mighty to save. IT With strong hand, pj^^? • Margin, "Against the strong." So Vitringa and others understand it ; and regard it as referring to the mighty enemies of the people oi God, or as Vitringa particularly supposes, to the great foe of God and his people — the prince of darkness — the devil. Lowth also translates it in this manner," against the strong one." The LXX render it, jiETd ia^vos, with strength. This is the more probable meaning — ^that the Lord would come with the manifestation of strength and power, able to subdue and vanquidi all the enemies of his people, and to effect their complete and fuial salvation. IT And his arm. "The arm is a symbol of strength, because it is by that that we accomplish our purposes ; by that a conqueror slays his enemies in Dattle, &c. Thus Ps. x. 15 : ?' Bre jk thou the arm of the wicked ;" i. e. diminish or destroy his power. Ezek. xxx. 21 : "I have broken the arm of Pharaon king of Egypt." Comp. Jei:. xlviii, 25. Thus it is said of God, Ps. Ixxxix. 13 : " Thou hast a mighty arm," and Ps. xc-riii. 1 : ." His holy arm hath gotten him the victory." Corap. Ex. vi. '6. The metaphor is taken from the act of stretching out the arm to fight in battle, where the arm is the effective instrument in subduing an enemy. IT Shall rule for him. Lowth renders the phrase, i? IS, " for him," " over him:" " And his wm shail prevail over him ;" that is, over the strong and mighty foe. The LXX render it, ^cra avpias — with dominion. But the meaning seems to be, 'God is mighty by himself; his power resides in his own arm ; he is not dependent on others^ he will accom plish the deliverance in such a manner that it shall be seen that he did it alone ; and he 'shall rale for himself, without any aid, and so that it shaU be manifest that he is the sovereign.' In the deU verance of his people from their captivity, be so directed it, that it was manifest that he waa their deliverer and sove- reign ; and in the redemption of man, the same thing is apparent, that the arm of God effects the deUverance, and that it is his contradistinguished from idols, and as quaUfied to guide, govern, and deliver his people. The passage should not be used, therefore, as a proof-text in regard to the existence and wisdom ofthe Holy Spirit, but is fitted to demonstrate only that God is untaught ; and that he is independent and infinite in his vrisdom. IT Or being his counsellor, Marg. as in the Hebrew, " Man of his counsel,," He is not dependent for counsel on men or angels. He is supreme, independent and infinite. None is qualified to in- stract him ; and all, therefore, should confide in his wisdom and knowledge. 14. With whom took he counsel. The sentiment of the former verse is repeated here, in order, probably, to make it more emphatic. IT In the path of judgment. The way of judging correctly and wisely ; or the way of ad ministering justice. It denotes here his boundless wisdom as it is seen in the various arrangements of his creation and providence, by which all things keep their places, and accomplish his vast designs. 15. Behold, ihe nations. AU the nations of the earth. This is designed to show the greatness of God, in com parison with that which strikes man as great — a mighty "nation ; and the main object seems to be, to show that God could accomplish his purposes -without their aid, and that they coiild not resist him in the execution of his plans. If they were as nothing in comparison with him, how easily could he execute his purposes ! If they were as nothing, how little could they resist the execution of his plans ! IT Are as a drop of a bucket. In comparison with him ; or are so esteemed by him. — The drop that falls from the bucket in drawing water is a trifle. It has no power, and coni- 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance : behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 9 ynade him understand, I understandings, pared -with the waters of the ocean it is as nothing. So smaU is the power ofthe nations in comparison with God. IT And are counted. Are thought of, regarded, esteemed by him, or in comparison with him. V As the small dust of the balance. The smaU, fine dust which collects on the best finished and most accurate balance or scales, and which has no effect in making the scales un even, or making either side preponder ate. Nothing can be a more striking representation of the fact that the na tions are regarded as nothing in compa rison with God. IT Behold, he taketh up the isles. Or he is able to do it ; he could remove the isles as the fine dust is driven before the whirlwind. A more literal translation of this passage would be, ' Lo, the isles are as the dust which is taken up,' or which one takes up; i. e. which is taken up, and carried away by the wind. There is something un usual in the expression that . m c. 41. 6, 7. 41. li), &«. IT Less than nothing. A strong hyper- Dolic expression denoting the utter in significance of the nations as compared with God. Such expressions are com mon in the Scriptures. IT And vanity. Emptiness, IflH thohu, the word which in Gen. i. 2 is rendered " without form." 18. To whom then will ye liken God ? Since he is so great, what can resemble him? What form can be made like him 1 The main idea here intended to be conveyed by the prophet evidently is, that God is great and glorious, and worthy of the confidence of his people. This idea he iUustrates by a reference to the attempts which had been made to make a representation of him, and by showing how vain those efforts were. He therefore states the mode in which the images of idols were usuaUy formed, and shows how absurd it was to suppose that they could be any real representa tion ol the true God. It is possible that this was composed in the time of Manas seb, when idolatry prevailed to a great extent in Judah, and that the prophet intended in this manner incidentally to show the folly and absurdity of it. 19. The workman. The Hebrew word denotes an artificer of any kind, and is applied to one who engraved on wood or stone, Ex. xxviii. 2 ; to a workman in iron, brass, stone, wood, Ex. xxxv. 35, Deut. xxvii. 15 ; or an artisan, or artificer in general. It here refers manifestly to a man who worked in the metals of which idols were com monly made. Those idols were some times made of wood, sometimes of clay, but more frequently, as they are at present in India, of metal. It became, undoubtedly, a regular trade or business thus to make idol gods. IT Melteih. Casts or founds. If A graven image. 72 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690, 20 He that *is so impoverished, that he hath no oblation, chooseth a tree that will not rot ; he seek- S is poor of oblation. '?? . This word commonly denotes an image carved or graven from wood, Ex. XX. 4. Judg. xvii. 3. Isa, xliv. 15, 17 ; but it is also frequently applied to a molten image, or one that is cast from metals, Jer. x. 14, li. 17. It is used in this sense here ; as there is an incon gruity in the idea of casting, or melting a graven image. T And the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold. Idols were frequently overlaid with gold or silver. "Those which were in the tem ples of the gods were probably com monly made in this way, and probably those also which were made for private use, as far as it could be afforded. The word here rendered " goldsmith," how ever, does not of necessity mean a worker in gold, but a smith in general, or a worker in any kind of metals. T And casteth silver chains. For the idol. These were not to fasten it, but for the purpose of ornament. The ge neral principle seems to have been to decorate their idols with that which was regarded as the highest ornament among the people ; and as chains were used in abundance as a part of their personal ornaments among the Orientals (see Notes on ch. in. 23), so they made use of the same kind of ornaments for their idols. The idols of the Hindoos now are lavishly decorated in this manner. 20. He ihat is so impoverished. So poor. So it is generaUy supposed that the word here used is to be understood, though interpreters have not been en tirely agreed in regard to its significa tion. The LXX render the phrase, " The carpenter chooseth a sound piece of wood." The Chaldee, " He cuts down an ash, a tree which wiU not rot." The Vulgate, " Perhaps he chooses a tree which is incorraptible." Jarchi renders it, " He who is accustomed to examine, and to judge between the wood which is durable, and other wood." But the signification ofthe word (from -1?0 sakhdn, to dweU, to b» famiUar with eth unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, thai shall not be moved. any one,) given to it by our translators, is probably the correct one, that bf being too poor to make a costly oblation. This notion of poverty, Gesenius sup poses, is derived from the notion of being seated; and thence of sinking down from languor or debiUty ; and hence from poverty or want. IT That he hath no oblation. No offering ; no sacrifice ; no rich gift. He is too poor to make such an offering to his god as would be impUed in an idol of brass or other metal, richly overlaid with plates of gold, and decorated -with silver chains. In ver. 19, the design seems to have been to describe the more rich and costly idols that were made ; in this, to describe those that were made by the poor who were unable to offer such as were made of brass and gold. The word " obla tion," therefore, i. e. offering, in this place, does not denote an offering made to the true God, but an offering made to an idol, such as an image was regarded to be. He could not afford a rich offer ing, and was constrained to make one of wood. IT Chooseth a tree that will not rot. Wood that wUl be durable and permament. Perhaps the idea is, that as he could not afford one of metal, he would choose that which wovdd be the most valuable which he could make — a piece of wood that Was durable, and that would thus show -his regard for the god that he worshipped. Or possi bly the sense may be, that he designed it should not be moved ; that he ex pressed il fixed and settled determma- tion to adhere to the worship of the idol ; and that as he had no idea of changing his religion, the permanency and durabiUty of the wood would be re garded as a somewhat more accepta ble expression of his worship. IT A cun ning workman. Heb. ' A wise arti ficer ;' a man skiUed in the art of carv ing, and of making images. H A graven image. An image engraved or cat from wood, in contradistinction from one that is molten or made from metals B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XL. 73 21 Have ""ye not known ? have ye not heard ? hath it not been told you ''from the beginning ? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth ? 22 II ^is he that sitteth upon p Ps. 19. 1. Acts 14. 17. Rom, 1. 19, 20. r Rom. 3. 1, a. TT That shall not be moved. That shaU stand long as the e:q)ression of his devo tion to the service of the idoL The wood that was commonly employed for this purpose as being most durable, as we learn from ch. xliv. 14, was the cedar, the cypress, or the oak. See the Note in that place. The phrase, " shaU not be moved," does not refer so much to its being fixed in one place, as to its durabflity and permanency. 21. Have ye noi known? This is evidently an address to the worshippers of idols, and either designed to be ad dressed to the Jews theraselves in the times of Manasseb, when idolatry abounded, or to all idolaters. The pro phet had in the previous verses shown the manner in which the idols were made, and the folly of regarding them as objects of worship. He now turns and addi-esses the worshippers of these idols, as being without excuse. They might have known that these were not the trae God. They had had abundant opportunity of learning his existence, and of becoming acquainted with his majesty and glory. "Tradition had in formed them of this,' and the creation of the earth demonstrated his greatness and power. The prophet, therefore, asks thera whether they had not known this 1 'Whether their conduct was the result of ignorance 1 And the question implies emphatically th&t they - had knovra, or had abundant opportunity to know of the existence and majesty of God. Tbis was emphatically trae-of the Jews, and yet they were constantly faUing into idolatrous worsliip. T From the beginning. Heb. ' From the head," i. e. frora the very commencement of the world. Has it not been communicated by tradition, frora age to age, that there is one God, and that he is the Creator the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grass hoppers ; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in ; 5 or, mm that sitteth. t Job 9. «. and upholder of all things 1 This was particularly the case with the Jews, who had had this knowledge fi-om the very commencement of their history, & td they were, therefore, entirely without excuse in their tendencies to idolatry. IF From the foundations of the earth. Have you not learned the existence and greatness of God from the fact that the world has been raade, and that it de monstrates the existence and perfection of God^ The sacred writers often speak of the earth as resting on a foun dation, as upheld, &c. : For tie hath founded it upon tbi seas, And established it upon the floods. Ps. xxiv. 2. See also Prov. viii. 29. Perhaps here, however, the word " foun dation " refers rather to the time than to the manner in which the eaith is made, and corresponds to the phrase " from the beginning ;" and the sense may be, ' Has it not been understood ever since the earth was founded 1 Has not the tradition of the existence and perfections of God been unbroken and constant 1' The argument is, ^at the existence and greatness of God were fully known by tradition and by his works; and that it was absurd to at tempt to foi-m an iraagf of that God who had laid the foundations of the world. 22. It is ^ that sitteth. Marg. " Him that sitteth," i. e. have you not known Him 1 The Hebrew literally raeans ' the sitter, or he sitting on the circle of the earth ;' and it may be coraiected either with ver. 21, ' Have ye not known him sitting on the circle of the earth V or with ver. 18, ' What likeness v/ill 5'e compare to him that sitteth on the circle of the earth 1' In either case the phrase is designed to show the majesty and glory of God. T-he word sitteth refers 74 ISAIAH, [B.C. 690. 23 That bringeth the princes « Job 12. SI. Ps 107. 40. to God as a sovereign or monarch, making the circle of the earth his throne. IT The circle of the earth. Or, rather, above ( ?? dl) ihe circle of the earth. The word rendered circle (Sin) denotes a circle, sphere, or arch ; and is applied to the arch or vault of the heavens, in Prov. viii. 27, Job xxii. 14. The phrase 'circle, or circuit of the earth,' here seems to be used in the same sense as the phrase orbis terra- rum by the Latins ; not as denoting a sphere, or not as implying that the earth was a globe, but that it was an extended plain surrounded by oceans and mighty waters. The globular form of the earth was then unknown ; and the idea is, that God sat above this extended circuit, or circle ; and that the vast earth was be neath his feet. T And ihe inhabitants thereof, core like grasshoppers. Or, rather, like locusts, for so the Hebrew word properly means. This is design ed to show that the inhabitants of the earth, numerous and mighty as they are, are as nothing compared with God. The idea is that God is so exalted, that, as he looks do-vm. from that elevated station, aU the inhabitants of the world appear to hira as locusts — a busy, agi tated, moving, impatient multitude, spread over the vast circle of the earth beneath him — as locusts spread in al raost interminable bands over the plains in the East. 'What a striking iUustra tion of the insignificance of man as he is -viewed frora the heavens ! 'What an irapressive description of the nothing ness of his mighty plans, and of the vanity of his mightiest works ! IT That stretcheth out the heavens. Referring i to the firmament above, as that whicli seems to be stretched out, or expanded over our heads. The heavens above are often thus compared to an expanse — either solid (Gen. i. 7), or to a cur tain, or tent (comp. Note ch. xxxiv. 4). 1 ^ As a curtain. The word here used (P^) denotes properly fineness, thinness ; and then a fine or thin cloth, or curtain. to "nothing: he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. ^ Hei-e it means a thin canopy that is stretched over us. The same expression occurs in Ps. civ. 2. Corap. Isa. xliv. 24. Job ix. 8. Probably the reference here is to the veil, curtain, or awning which the Orientals are accustomed to draw over the court in their houses. Their houses are constracted with an open court in the centre, -«ath the rooms ranged round it. In that court or open square there are usuaUy fountains, if the situation is so that they can be con structed ; and they are cool and refresh ing places for the family to sit in the heat of the summer. In hot or rainy weather, a curtain or awning is drawn over this area. According to the image of the prophet here, the heavens are spread out over our heads as such an awning. IT And spreadeth ihem oui as a tent. As a tent that is made for a habitation. Perhaps the idea is, that the heavens are extended like a tent in order to fumish a dwelUng-place for God. Thus the Chaldee renders it. If so, it proves that the universe so vast was fitted np to be the dwelUng- place of the High and Holy One, and is a most impressive representation of his immensity. 23. That bringeth the princes to nothing. That is, all princes and kings. No matter how great their power, their wealth, and their dignity, they are, by his hand, reduced to nothing before him. The design of this passage is to contrast the majesty of God with that of princes and nobles, and to show how far he ex cels them all. The general truth ia therefore stated, that all monarchs are by him removed from their thrones, and consigned to nothing. The same idea is expressed in Job xii. 21 : He poure th oontempt upon princes, And -wealienoth tlie strength ofthe mighty. And in Ps. cvii. 40 : He poiu-eth contempt upon princes And causeth them to wander in the wilderneaj where there is no way. The particular idea here, as appears from the next verse, is, that the princes B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XL. 7.5 24 Yea, they shall not be planted ; yea, they shall not be sown f" yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth ; and he shall also blow, upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirl. wind shall take them away as stubble. and ralers who are opposed to God con stitute no real resistance to the execu tion of his purposes. He can strip off their honours and glory, and obUterate even their names. IT He maketh the judges of the earth. Kings and princes often executed judgment personoHy, and hence the words judges and kings seem to be synonymous, as they are used here, and in Ps. ii. 10 : Be wise now, therefore, O ye kings : Ee instructed ye judges ofthe earth. 24. Yea, they shall not be planted. The kings and ralers — especially they who oppose God in the execution of his purposes. The idea in this verse is, that their name and family should be come extinct in the same way as a tree does from which no shoot starts up. Although they were great and mighty, like the tree that sends out far-spreading branches, and strikes its root deep, yet God would so utterly destroy them that they should have no posterity, and their family become extinct. Princes and kings are often compared to lofty and majestic trees of the forest. Comp. Ps. xxxvii. 35. Dan. iv. 7 seq. Vi tringa supposes that wicked ralers are particularly intended here, and that the idea is, that the -wicked princes that per secuted his people should be entirely ex tinct on the earth. He refers particu larly to Pharaoh, Antiochus Epiphanes, Nero, Domitian, Decius, GaUus, Gale- rius, Maxenus, Maximus, and some others, as instances of this kind, whose famiUes soon became extinct. It may be remarked, in general, that the fami lies of monarchs and princes become extinct usually much sooner than others. The fact may be owing in part to the usual luxury and vice in the families of the great, and in part to the direct arrange ments of God, by which he desigiis that power shall not be for ever perpetuated in one family, or line. The general idea in the passage is, that earthly orinces and ralers are as nothing when compared -with God, and that he can easUy destroy their famUies and their name. But there is no improbability in the supposition of Vitringa, that the prophet refers particularly to the ene mies of God and his cause, and that he intends specificaUy to affirm that none of these enemies could prevent or em barrass the execution of his purposes — since with infinite ease he could entirely destroy their name. IT They shall not he sown. The same idea under another figure. The former referred to princes under the image of a tree ; this refers to them under the image of grain that is sown. The idea is, that their family and name should be annihUated, and should not spring up in a fiiture genera tion. The same image occurs in Nahum, in respect to the king of Assyria, ch. i. 14 : " The LoKn hath given command ment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown ;" that is, that thy name and family should become entirely extinct. IT Yea, iheir stock. Their stem — referring to the stump or stock of a tree. When a tree is cut down, the roots often still live, and send up shoots, or suckers, that grow into trees. Posterity is often, in the Scriptures, compared to such suckers or shoots fi-om old and decayed trees. See Notes on ch. xi. 1. The meaning here is, that as when a tree falls and dies without send ing up any shoots, so princes should die. They should have no descendants ; no one of their family should sit on their thrones. IT Shall blow upon them. As God sends a tempest npon the forest, and uproots the loftiest trees, so he wiU sweep away the families of princes. Or, rather, perhaps, the idea here is, that God sends a strong and burning east wind, and withers up every thing before it. See this wind described in the Notes on ch. xxxvU. 26. IT And they shall. wither. "Trees and shrabs and plants are dried up before that poisonous and fiery wind — the Simoom — and so it 76 25 To whom" then y Deut. 4. 23, &c. ISAIAH. will ye [B.C. 690, would be vrith the princes before the blast of Jehovah. IT And tlie whirl wind shall take ihem away as stubble., This, iti its literal signification, means that the whirlwind bears away the trees of the forest, and with the same ease ' God would sweep away the famUies of the kings and princes that opposed him and oppressed his people. It may illus trate this to observe, that the effects of whirlwinds in the East' are often much more -violent than they are -with us, and that they often bear away to a great distance the branches of trees, and even the trees theraselves. The following description of a whirlwind observed by Mr. Brace, may serve to illustrate this passage, as well as the passage in Ps. IxxxiU. 13 : O my God, make them like a wheel ; As the stubble before the wind, referring to the rotary action of the whirlwind which often iinpels straw like a wheel set in rapid motion. " Mr. Bruce, in his joumey through the desert of Senaar had the singular felicity to contemplate this wonderful phenomenon in all its terrific majesty, without injury, although with considerable danger and alarm. In that vast expanse of desert fi-om west and to northwest of hira, he saw a number of prodigious pillars of sand at different distances, moving, at times, with great celerity, at others, stalking on with majestic slowness ; at intervals he thought they were coming, in a very few minutes, to overwhelm him and his companion. Again, they would retreat so as to be almost out of sight, their tops reaching to the very clouds. There, the tops often separated from the bodies; and these, once dis joined, dispersed in the air, and appeared no more. Soraetiraes they were broken near the middle, as if strack with a large cannon-shot. About noon, they began to advance vrith considerable swiftness upon thera, the -wind being very strong at north. Eleven of these awful visitors ranged alongside of them, about the distance of three railes. The liken me, or shall I be equal ? saith the Holy One. greatest diaraeter of the largest appeared to him, at that distance, as if it would measure ten feet. They retired from thera -with a wind at southeast, leaving an impression upon the mind of onr in trepid traveller, to which he could give no name, though he candidly admits that one ingredient in it was fear, with a considerable deal of wonder and astonishment. He declares it was in vain to think of flying ; the -swiftest horse, or fastest sailing ship, could be of no use to carry them out of this dan ger ; and the fiill persuasion of this ri veted him to the spot where he stood. Next day, they were gratified with a similar display of moving pUlars, in -form and disposition like those already described, only they seemed to be more in number and less in size. They came, several times; in a direction close upon them ; that is, according to Mr. Brace's computation, within less than two mUes. They became, immediately after sunrise, like a thick wood, and almost darkened the sun ; his rays shining through them, for near an hour, gave them an appear ance of piUars of fire. At another time, they were terrified by an army (as it seemed) of these sand piUars, whose march was constantly south ; a number of which seemed once to be coming directly upon them ; and though they were little nearer than two raUes, a considerable quantity of sand fell around them. On the twenty-first of Novem ber, about eight in the moming, he had a view of the desert to the westward, as before, and the sands had already begun to rise in immense twisted piUars, which darkened the heavens, and moved over the desert with more magnificence than ever. The sim, shining through the piUars, which were thicker, and con tained more sand, apparently, than on any of the preceding days, seemed to give those nearest them an appearance as if spotted with stai-s of gold." Paxton. 25. To whom then will ye liken me. See ver. 18. The prophet having thus set forth the majesty and glory of God .B.C.690.] CHAPTER XL. 77 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their hosts by number : he calleth asks now with great emphasis, what could be an adequate and proper repre sentation of such a God. And if Gjd was such a Being, how great was the folly of idolatry, and how vain all their confidence in the gods which their own hands had made. 26. Lift up your eyes on high. Di rect yoiir eyes toward heaven, and in the contemplation of the wonders of the starry world, and of God's power there, leam the evidence of his ability to de stroy his foes and to save his friends. Lowth connects this verse with the for mer, and renders it : " Saith the Holy One, Lift HP your eyes on higli." The words " on high " here are evi dently synonymous with heaven, and refer to the starry worlds. The design of the passage is to convince thera of the folly of idolatry, and of the power and majesty of the trae God. It is proof of man's elevated nature that he can thus look upward, and trace the e-ridences of the power and wisdom of God in the heavens ; that he can raise his eyes and thoughts above the earth, and fix ^is attention on the works of God in distant worlds ; and in the num ber, the order, the greatness, and the harmony of the heavenly bodies, trace the proofe of the infinite greatness and vrisdom of God. This thought was most beautifully expressed by one of the ancient poets : Pronaque cum spectent animalia caetera terram ! Os homini sublime dedit ;. cosluraque tueri, Jussit et erectos ad sidera tollere viUtus. Ovid, Met. Lib. l, 84—86. In the Scriptures, God not unfrequently appeals to the starry heavens in proof of his existence and perfections, and as the most sublime exhibition of his great ness and power. See Ps. xix. 1-6. And it maybe remarked, that this argu ment is one that increases in strength, in the view of men, from age to age, just in proportion to the advances which "them all by names, by the great ness of his might, for that he is strong in power ; not one faileth. a Ps. 117. 4. are made in the science of astronomy. It is now fer more striking than it was in the times of Isaiah ; and indeed the discoveries in astronomical science in modem times have given a beauty and power to this argument which could have been but imperfectly undei-stood in the times of the prophets. The argu ment is one that accumulates with every new discovery in astronomy ; but is one — such is the vastness and beauty of the system of the universe — w.iich can be contemplated in its fiiU power only amidst the more sublime contemplations of etei-nity. Those who are disposed to contemplate this argument more fuUy, may find it presented with great elo quence and beauty in Dr. Chalmers' Astronomical Discourses, and in Dick's Christian Philosopher. IT Who hath created these things. These heavens. This is the first evidence of the power of God in the contemplation of the heavens, that God is their Creator. The other demonstrations referred to are the fact, that he brings out their armies as if they were a marshalled host, and understands and calls aU their names. IT That bringeth out their hosts. Their armies, for so the word hosts means. See Note on ch. i. 9. The word here alludes to the fact that the heavenly bodies seem to be mar- shaUed, or regularly arrayed as an army ; that they keep their place, pre serve their order, and are apparently led on from the east to the west, like a vast army under a mighty leader : Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season i Or canst thou guide Arctunis with his sons ? Job xxxviii. 32. IT By number. As if he had numbered, or named them; as a miUtary com mander would caU forth his .armies in their proper order, and have them so numbered and enrolled in the various divisions, that he can command them vrith ease. IT He calleth ihem all ly names. This idea is also taken from a 78 ISAIAH. [.B.C. 690. 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My 'way C Ps. 77. 7, &0. military leader, who would know the names of the individuals that composed his army. In sraaller divisions of an army, this could of course be done ; but the idea is, that God is intimately ac quainted with all the hosts of stars ; that though their nurabers appear to us so great, yet he is acquainted with each one individually, and has that know ledge of it which we have of a person or object which we recognize by a name. It is said of Cyrus, that he was acquaint ed by name with every individual that composed his vast army. The practice of giving names to the stars of heaven was early, and is kno-wn to have been originated by the Chaldeans. Intima tions of this custom we have not unfre quently in the Scriptures, as far back as the time of Job : which maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and Pleiades, And the chambers of the South. Job ix. 9. . Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades t Or loose the bands of Orion 3 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season ? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons ? Job xxxviii. 31, 32. This power of giving names to all the stars, is beautifiilly ascribed to God in Ps. cxlvii. 4 : He telleth the number ofthe stars. He calieth them all by their names. This view of the greatness of God is more striking now than it was in the ' times of David or Isaiah. Little then, comparatively, was known of the num ber of the stars. But since the inven tion of the telescope the -riew of the heavenly world has been enlarged al most to immensity ; and though the ex pression " he calleth thera all by their names," had great subUmity as used in the time of Isaiah, yet it raises in us far higher conceptions of the power and greatness of God when applied to what we know now of the heavens. Yet doubtless our view of the heavens is much farther beneath the sublime reality than were the prevalent views in the time of the prophet beneath those which we now have . As an iUustration of this is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?we may remark, that the milky way which stretches across the heavens, is now ascertained to receive its white ap pearance from the mingling together of the light of an innumerable number of stars, too remote to be seen by the naked eye. Dr. HerscheU examined a portion of the mUky way about fifteen degrees long, and two broad, and found that it contained no fewer than fifty thousand stars, large enough to be distinctly counted, arid he suspected that that por tion contained twice as raany more which for the want of sufficient light in his telescope, he saw only now and then. It is to be remembered, also, that the galaxy, or milky way, which we see with the naked eye, is only one of a- large number oi nebulae of simUar con- Btraction which are arranged apparently in strata, and which extend to great length in the heavens. According to _this, and on every correct supposition in regard to the heavens, the number of the stars surpasses all our powers of compu tation. Yet God is said to lead them all forth as marshalled armies— rhov beautifiil a description when appUed to the nebula — and to caU all their names! IT By the greatness of his might. It is his single and unassisted arm that con ducts thera ; his own hand alone that sustains them. H Not one faileth. Not one is wanting ; not one of the immense host is out of its place, or imnoticed. AU are arranged kt infinite wisdom ; all observe the proper order, and the proper times. How strikingly trae is this, on the sUghtest inspection of the heavens ! How impressive and grand is it in the higher developments of the discoveries of astronomy ! 27. WJiy sayest thou. This verse is designed to reprove the people for their want of confidence in God. The idea is, ' If God is so great ; if he ar ranges the hosts of heaven with such unerring skiU, causing aU the stars to observe their proper place and their exact times, the interests of his people are safe in his hands.' Piety may always B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XL. 79 28 Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlast ing God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth find security in the assurance that He who preserves the unbroken order of the heavens will not fail to keep and save his people. — The language in this verse js to be understood as addressed to the Jews sighing for deliverance . in their long and painfiil captivity in Babylon. Their city and temple had laid waste for many years ; their captivity had been long and wearisome, and doubtless many would be ready to say, that it would never end. To fiirnish an argument to meet this state of despondency, the pro phet sets before them this sublime de scription of the faithitilness and the power of God. t 0 Jacob, A name often given to the Jews as thp descend ants of Jacob. IT 0 Israel. Denoting the same. The name Israel was given to Jacob because he had power to pre vail as a prince with God (Gen. xxxii. 28) ; and it becarae the common name by which his descendants were known. IT My way is hid from the Loed. That as, is not seen, or noticed. The word way here denotes evidently the state or condition ; the manner of life, or the •calamities which they experienced. The term is often thus eraployed to denote the lot, condition, or manner in which one lives or acts. Jer. xu. 1. Isa. x. 24. Ps. xxxvii. 5. The phrase, "is hid," means that God is ignorant of it, or that he does not attend to it ; and the complaint here is, that God had not re garded them in their calamities, and would not interpose to save them. V And my judgment. My cause. The word here refers to their condition among the people where they were captive, and by whom they were oppressed. "They are represented as being deprived of their liberty; and they here complain that God disregarded their cause, and that he did not come forth to deliver thera from their oppressions and their trials. 28. Hast thou not known. This is the language of the prophet reproving not, "neither is weavy ? there ''is no searching of his understand ing. them for complaining of being forsaken, and assuring them that God was faith- fiil to his promises. This argument of the prophet, which continues to the close of the chapter, comprises the main scope of the chapter, which is to irisluce them to put confidence in God, and to ielieve that he was able and wilUng to deliver them. The phrase, " Hast thou not known," • refers to the fact that the Jewish people had had an abundant op portunity of learning, in their history, and from their fathers, the trae charac ter of God, and his entire abiUty to save them. No people had had so much light on this subject, and now that tht y were in trial, they ought to recall their former knowledge of his character, and remember his dealings of faithfiilness with them and their fathers. It is well for the people of God in times of cala mity and trial to recall to their recollec tion his former dealings with his church. That history will furnish abundant sources of consolation, and abundant assurances that their interests are safe in his hands. IT Hast thou not heard. From the traditions of the fathers ; the instraction which you have received from ancient times. A large part of the knowledge ofthe Jews was traditionary ; and these attributes of God, as a faith ful God, had, no doubt, constituted an iraportant part of the knowledge which had thus been (Sammunicated to them. IT The everlasting God. The God who has existed from eternity, unlike the idols of the heathen. . If he was from eternity, he would be unchangeable, and his purposes could not faU. IT The Creator of ihe ends of the earth. The phrase, " the ends of the earth," means the same as the earth itself. The earth is sometimes spoken of as a vast plain having limits or boundaries. See ver. 22. It is probable that this was the prevailing idea among the ancients. Comp. Deut. xxxiii. 17. 1 Sam. ii. 10. Ps. xix. 6, xxu. 27, xlviU. 10, Ixy. 5, 80 ISAIAH. [5.^.690. 29 He 'giveth power to the faint J and to them that have no might he mereaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. Ixvii. 7, xcviu. 3. Isa. xliii. 6, xfv. 22, hi. 10. The argtiment here is, tbat he who has formed the earth could not be exhausted or weary iri so sraall a work as that of protecting his people . IT Faint eth not. Is not fatigued or exhausted. That God who has formed and sustained aU things, is not exhausted in his powers, but is able still to defend and guard his people. H There is no searching of his understanding. The God who made all things must be infinitely wise. There is proof of boundless skill in the works of his hands, and it is impossible for finite mind fully and adequately to search out all the proofs of his -wisdom and skill. Man can see only a part — a small part, while the vast ocean, the boundless deep of his wisdom lies still unexplored. This thought is beautifidly expressed by Zophar in Job xi. 7-9 : Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou Iind out the Almighty imto perfec tion? It is as high as heaven ; -What canst thou do 7 Deeper than hell ; What canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth. And broader than the sea. The argument here is, that that God who'has made aU things, must be inti mately acquainted with the wants of his people. "They had, therefore,no reason to complain that their way was hidden frora the Lord, and their cause passed over by Jiim. — Perhaps, also, it is im plied, that as his understanding was vast, they ought not to expect to be able to comprehend the reason of aU his doings; but should expect that there would be much that was mysterious and un searchable. The reasons of his doings are often hid from his people ; and.4heir consolation is to be found in the assu rance that he is infinitely wise, and that he who rales over the universe must know what is best, and cannot eer. 31 But they -''that wait upon the Lobd shall 'renew *their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run 'and not be weary, and they shall walk *and not faint. / Ps. 84. 7. 92. 1, 13. i Heb, 12. I. 1 change. h Ps. 103. 5. k Mi. 4. 5t 29. He giveth power io the faint. To bis weak and feeble people. "This is one of his attributes ; and his people, therefore, should put their trust in him, and look lo him for aid.. Comp. 2 Cot. xU. 9. The design of this verse is to give consblation to the afflicted and down-trodden people in Babylon, by re calling to their minds the trath that it was one of the characteristics of God that he ministered strength to those who were conscious of their own feebleness, and who looked to him for support. It is a trath, however, as applicable to us as to them — a trath inestimably precious to those who feel that they are weak and feeble, and who look to God for aid- 30. Even the youths shall faint. The raost vigorous young men ; those in whom we expect manly strength, and who are best fitted to endure hardy toil. Tbey become weary by labour, fheir powers are soon exhausted. The design here is, to contrast the most vigorous of the human race -with God, and to show that while all (Aeir powers feU, the power of God is unexhausted and inex haustible. IT And the young men. The word here used denotes properly those who are chosen, or selected (Dt'l^nS Greek hXenroi), and may be appUed to those who were selected or chosen for any hazardous enterprise, or dangerous achievement in war ; those who would be selected for vigour or ac tivity. The meaning is, that the most chosen or select of the human femily — the most vigorous and manly, must bo worn down by fetigue, or paralyzed by ackness or death ; but that the powers of God never grow weary, and that those who trust in him should never be come feint. 31. But they that wait upon tlie Lord. The word rendered " wait upon " B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XL. 81 here, from '^Ji^i denotes properly to wait in the sense of expecting. The phrase, ' to wait on Jehovah ' raeans to wait for his help; that is, to trast in him, to put our hope or confidence in him. It is applicable to those who are in circumstances of danger or want, and who look to hira for his raerciful inter position. Here it properly refers to those who were suffering a long and grievous captivity in Babylon, and who had no prospect of deliverance but in him. The phrase is applicable also to all who feel that they are weak, feeble, guilty, and helpless, and who in view of this put their trast in Jehovah. The promise or assurance here is general in its nature, and is as applicable to his people now as it was in the times of the captivity in Babylon. Religion is often expressed in the Scriptures by " waiting on Jehovah," i. e. by looking to hira for help, expecting deliverance through his aid, putting trust in him. See Ps. xxv. 3, 5, 21, xxvu. 14, xxxvu. 7, 9, 34, Ixix. 3, comp. Note Isa.vUi. 17, xxx. 18. It does not imply inactivity, or want of personal exertion ; it implies merely that our hope of aid and salvation is in him — a feeling that is as consistent with the most strenuous endeavoui-s to secure the object, as it is -with a state of inactivity and indolence. Indeed, no man can wait on God in a proper man ner who does not use the means which he has appointed for conveying to us his blessiug. To wait on him without using any means to obtain his aid is to tempt him ; to expect miraculous interposition is unauthorized, and must meet with dis appointment. And they only wait on him in a proper manner who expect his blessing in the common modes in which he imparts it to men — in the use of those means and efforts which he has appouited, and which he is accustomed to bless. The farmerwho should Mjaii for God to plough and sow his fields, would not only be disappointed, but would be guUty of provoking Hira. And so the man who waits for God to do what he ought to do ; to save him without using any of the means of grace, wUl not only be disappointe-l, but wiU pro- voi.. II. — 4* voke his displeasure. IT Shall renew their strength. Marg. change. The Hebrew word commonly means to change, to alter; and then to revive, to renew, to cause to flourish again ; as e. g. a tree that has decayed and fallen do\vn. See Note ch. ix. 10, comp. Job xiv. 7. Here it is evidently used in the sense of renewing, or causing to revive ; to increase, and to restore that which is decayed. It means that the people ot God who trast in him shall become strong in feith; able to contend with their spiritual foes, to gain the victory over their sins, and to discharge 'iright the duties, and to meet aright the tr.als of life. God gives them strength, if they seek him in the way of his ap pointment — a promise which has been verified in the experience of his people in every age. If They shall -mount up with wings as eagles. Lowth trans lates this : "They shall put forth fresh feathers like the moulting eagle ;" and in his note on the passage remarks, that " it has been a common and popu lar opinion that the eagle lives aiid re tains his -vigour to a great age ; and that beyond the common lot of other birds, he moults in his old age, and renews his feathers, and with them his youth." He supposes that the passage in Ps. ciii. 5, " So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's;" refers to this fact. That this was a common and popular opinion araong the ancients, is clearly proved by Bochart, Hieroz. P. 2, Lib. ii. c. i. pp. 165-169. The opinion was, that at stated times the eagle plunged itself in the sea and cast off its old feathers, and that new feathers started forth, and that thus it lived often to the hundredth year, and then threw itself in the sea and died. In accordance with this opinion, the LXX render this passage, " They shaU put forth fresh feathers TTTzpofvfitTovoiv like eagles;" and the 'Vulgate "assument pennas sicut aquilee." The Chaldee renders it, " They who trast in the Lord shaU be gathered from the captivity, and shaU increase their strength, and renew their youth as a germ which grows up ; upon wings of eagles shaU they ran and 82 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. not be fatigued." — But whatever may be the truth in regard to the eagle, there is no reason to beUeve that Isaiah here had any reference to the fact that it moults in its old age. The translation of Lowth was derived ftom the Septua gint, and not fiom the Hebrew text. The meaning of the Hebrew is simply, * they shall ascend on wings as eagles,' or ' they shaU lift up the wings as eagles ;' and the image is derived from the fact that the eagle rises on the most vigorous wing of any bird, and ascends apparently farthe^towards the sun. The figure, therefore, denotes strength and vigour of purpose ; strong and manly pi ety ; an elevation above the world ; com munion with God, and a nearness to his throne — as the eagle ascends to wards the sun. IT They shall run and not he weary. This passage, also, is but another mode of expressing the same idea — that they who trust in God would be vigorous, elevated, unwearied ; that he would sustain and uphold them ; and that in his service they would never faint. — This was at first designed to .be applied to the Jews in captivity in Baby lon to induce them to put their trust in God. But it is as trae now as it was at that time. It has been found in the ex perience of thousands and tens of thou sands, that by waiting on the Lord the heart has been invigorated ; the faith has been confirmed ; and the affections have been raised above the world. Strength has been given to bear trial without raurrauring, to engage in ardu ous duty vyithout faktting ; to pursue the perilous and toilsome journey of life without exhaustion, and to rise above the world in hope and peace on the bed of death. CHAPTER XLI. ANALYSIS. The design of this chapter is the same as that of the preceding, and it is to be regarded as tlit) oontinuation of the argument commenced there. Its object is to lead those who were addressed, to put confidence in God. In the introduction to ch. xl. it waa remarked, that thia is to be considered aa addressed to the exile Jews in Babylon, near the close of fheir captivity. Their country, city, and temple had been laid waste. The prophet represents himself as bringing consolation to them in this situation ; particularly by the assurance that their long captivity was about to end ; that tbey were about to be restored to their own land, and that their trials were to be succeeded by brighter and happier times. In the previous chapter there were general reasons given why they shoulaput their conndence in God— arismg from the firmness of his promises, the fact that he had created afl things, that he had all power, &c. In this chapter there is a more definite view given, and a clearer light thrown on the mode in which deliverance would be brought to them. The prophet specifies that God would raise up a deliverer, and that that deliverer would be able to aubdue all their enemies The chapter may be conveniently divided into the following parts :— I. God calls the distant nations to a public investigation of his ability to aid his people ; to an crg-wmewfwhether he wasable to dehver them; and to the statement of the reasons why they should confide m him, ver. l. II. He specifies that he vfU\ raiseup a. man from the east— wh« should be able to overcome the enemies or the Jews, and to eiiect their dehverance, vs. 2—4. in. The consternation of the nations at the approach of Cyrus, and their excited and agitated fleeing to their idols is described, vs. 5—7. ^ IV. God^ives to his people the assurance of hia protection, and friendship, vs. 8—14, This ia Bhown. (U because they were the children of Abraham, his friend, and he was bound in covenant faithfulness to protect them, vs. 8, 9. (2) By direct assurance that he would aid and protect tnem- that though they were feeble, yet he was strong enough to deliver them vs 10—14 V. He says that he wfll enable them to overcome and scatter their foes, as the chaff is driven away on the mountains by the whirlwind, vs. 15, 16. VI. He gives to his people the special promise of assistance and comfort. He will meet them in their desolate condition, and will givethem consolation as if fountains were opened in deserts and ' trees producing gratelul shade and fruit were planted in the wilderness, vs 17—20 ' VII. He appeals directly to the enemies ofthe Jews, to the worshippers of idols He challencer them to give any evidence of the power or the divinity of their idols ; and appeals to the feet that he had foretold future events ; that he had raised up a deliverer for his people in proof of his divinity and his power to save„va. 21—^9. "^ " The argument ofthe whole is, thatthe idol gods were unable to defend the nations which trusted ID them ; that God would raise up a mighty prince who should be able to deliver tlie Jews ftom theii tons and painlul calamity, and that they, therefore, should put their trust in JEHOVAH B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLI. 83 1 -Keep silence 'before me, O islands; and let the -people renew Iheir strength: let them come near ; then let them speak ; let us come near together to judgment, 2 Who raised up 'the right- { Zech. 2. 13. 2 righteousness. 1. Keep silence before me. Comp. Zech. ii. 13. The idea is, that the heathen nations were to be silent while God should speak, or with a view of en tering into an argument with him re specting the comparative power of him self and of idols to defend their respective worshippers. The argument is stated in the foUowing verses, and preparatory to the statenient of that argument, the people are exhorted to be silent. This is probably to evince a proper awe and reverence for Jehovah, before whora th? argument was to be conducted, and a proper sense of the magnitude and sa credness of the inquiry. Comp. ver. 21. And it may be remarked here, that the sarae reasons will apply to all ap proaches which are made to God. When we are about to come before him in prayer or praise ; to confess our sins and to plead for pardon ; when we en gage in argument respecting his being, plans, or perfections ; or when we draw near to him in the closet, the family, or the sanctuary, the mind should be filled with awe and reverence. It is weU, it is proper, to pause and think of what our emotions should be, and of what we should say before God. Comp. Gen. xxvni. 16, 17. T 0 islands. (tS-i^N.) This word properly raeans islands, and is so translated here by the Vulgate, the LXX, the Chaldee, the Syriac, and the Arabic. But the word also is used to denote maritirae countries ; countries that were situated on sea-coasts, or the regions beyond sea. See Note ch. XX. 6. The word is applied, therefore, to the islands of the Mediterranean ; to the raaritime coasts ; and then, also, it comes to be used in the sense of any lands or coasts far remote, or beyond sea. See Jer. xxv. 22. Isa. xxiv. 15. Note xl. 15, xlu. 4, 10, 12, xlix. 1, xU. eous man from the east, call ed "him to his loot, gave "the nations before him, and made him rule over kings ? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. IB C. 46. 11. » Ezr. 1. 2. 5. Ps. Ixx. 10. Dan. xi. 18. Here it is evidently used in the tense of distant nations or lands ; the people who were remote frora Palestine, and who were the worshippers of idols. The argu ment is represented as being with them, and they are invited to prepare their minds by suitable reverence for God for the argument which was to be pre sented. IT And let the people renew their strength. On the word " renew," see Note ch. xl. 31. Here it raeans, ' Let them make themselves strong ; let thera prepare the argument ; let them be ready to urge as strong reasons as pos sible ; let them fit theraselves to enter into the controversy about the power and glory of Jehovah.' See ver. 21. ^ Lei us come near together to judgment. The word" judgment " here means evi dently controversy, argumentation; de bate. ' Thus it is used in Job ix. 32. The language is that which is used of two parties who come together to try a cause, or to engage in debate ; and the sense is, that God proposes to enter into an argumentation with the entire heathen world in regard to his ability to save his people ; that is, he proposes to show the reasons why they should trust in him, rather than dread those under whose power they then were, and by whom they had been oppressed. Lowth ren- dera it, correctly expressing the sense, " Let us enter into solemn debate toge ther." 2. Who raised up. This word, '^^'V^ , is usually applied to the act of arousing one from sleep, Zech. iv. 1. Cant. ii. 7, iii. 5, viii. 4 ; then to awake, arouse, or stir up to any enteiprise. Here it means, that God had caused the man here re ferred to to arouse for the overthrow of their enemies ; it was by his agency that he had been led to form the plans 84 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. which should result in their deUverance. This is the first argument which God urges to induce his people to put confi dence in him, and to hope for deliver ance ; and the fact that He had raised up and qualified such a man for the work he urges as a proof that he would certainly protect and guard his people. IT The righteous man from ihe east, Heb. righteousness, (pl^. tzedheq,) The LXX render it literally StKaioHntiv, righteousness. The Vulgate renders it, " the just ;" the Syriac as the LXX. The word here evidently means, as in our translation, the just or righteous man. It is common in the Hebrew, as in other languages, to put the abstract for the concrete. In regard to the per son here referred to, there have 'been three principal opinions, which it raay be proper briefly to notice. (1.) The first is, that which refers it to Abraham. This is the interpretation of the Chaldee Paraphrast, who renders it, " Who has pubUcly led firom the east Abrahara, the chosen of the just ;" and this interpreta tion has been adopted by Jarchi, Kimchi, Abarbanel, and by the Jewish writers generaUy. They say that it raeans that God had caUed Abrahara from the east ; that he conducted him to the land of Canaan, and enabled him to vanquish the people who resided there, and parti cularly that he vanquished the kings of Sodora and Gomorrah, and delivered Lot frora their hands, Gen. xiv. ; and that this is designed by God to show thera that he who had thus raised up Abrahara would raise up them also in the east. There are, however, objections to this interpretation which seera to be insuperable, a few of which may be re ferred to. (a) The coimtry fi'ora which Abraham came, the land of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, is not commonly in the Scriptures called "the east," but the north. See Jer. i. 13, 14, 15, iv. 6, vi. 1, xxiii. 8, xxxi. 8, xxv. 9, 26, xlvi. 10. 1. 3. Dan. xi. 6, 8, 11. This countiy was situated to the northeast of Pales tine, and it is believed is nowhere in the Scriptures called the country of the east, lb) The description which is here given of what was accomplished by him who was raised up fi'ora the east, is not one that appUes to Abraham. It supposes more important achievements than any that signalized the father of the faithlul. There were no acts in the life of Abraham that can be regarded as subduing the " nations " before him ; as ruling over *' kings ;" or as scattering them Uke the dust, or the stubble. In deed he appears to have been engagea but in one mUitary adventure — the res cue of Lot — and that was of so slight and unimportant a character as not to form the pecuUarity of his public life. Had Abraham been referred to here,itwoald have been for sorae other trait than that of a conqueror or miUtary chieftain. (c) We shaU see that the description and the connection require ne to imderstand it of another — of Cyrut. ^2.) A se cond Opinion is, that it refers directly and entirely to the Messiah. Many oif the fathers, as Jerome, Cyril, Eusebius, Theodoret, Procopius, held this opinion. But the objections to this are insupera ble, (a) It is not true that the Messiah was raised up from the east. He was born in the land of Judea, and always lived in that land, (i) The description here is by no raeans one that appUes to him. It is the description of a warrior and a conqueror ; of one who subdued nations, and scattered them before him. (c) The connection and design of the passage does not admit of the interpretation. That design is, to lead the Jews in exUe to put confidence in God, and to hope for a speedy rescue. In order to this, the prophet directs them to the fact that a king appeared in the east, and that he scattered the nations; and from these facts they were to infer that they would theraselves be delivered, and that God would be their protector. But how would this design be accoraplished by a reference to so remote an event as the coming of the Messiah t (3.) The third opinion, therefore, remains, that this refers to Cyrus, the Persian monarch, by whom Babylon was taken, and by whom the Jews were restored to their own Imi.l. In support of this interpre tation, a few considerations raay be ad verted to. (o) It agrees with the fact in regard to the country from which B.C. 69.0.] CHAPTER XLI. 85 Cyrus came for purposes of conquest. He came fi-om the land which is every where in the Scriptures caUed the East. (h) It agrees with the specifications which Isaiah elsewhere makes, where Cyrus is raentioned by name, and where there can be no danger of error in re gard to the interpretation. See ch. xliv. 28, xlv. 1, 2, 3, 4, 13. Thus in ch. xlvi. 11, it is said of Cyrus, " calluig a ravenous bird /rom the east, the man that executeth my commandments from a far country." (c) The entire descrip tion here is one that applies in a reraark able raanner to Cyrus, as wUl be shown more fiilly in the Notes on the particular expressions which occur, (d) This sup position accords with the design of the, prophet. It was to be an assurance to them not only that God would raise up such a man, but that they should be •de livered ; and as this was intended to com fort them in Babylon, it was intended that when they were apprised ofthe con quests of Cyrus, they were to be assured of the fact that God was their protector ; and those conquests, therefore, were to be regarded by them as a proof that God would deliver them. This opinion is held by Vitringa, Rosenmiiller, and pro bably by a large majority of the most in telligent commentators. The only ob jection of weight to it is that suggested by Lowth, that the character of " a righteous man" does not apply to Cyrus. But to this it raay be replied, that the word raay be used not to denote one that is pious, or a true worshipper of God, but one who was disposed to do justly, or who was not a tyrant ; and especiaUy it raay be applied to him on account of his delivering the Jews fi-ora their hard and oppressive bondage in Babylon, and restoring them to their own land. That was an aet of eminent pubUc jus tice ; and the favours which he showed them in cnabUng them to rebuUd their city and teraple, were such as to render it not improper that this appeUation should be given to" him. It may be added also that Cyrus was a prince eminently distinguished for justice and equity, and for a mUd and kind admin istration over his own subjects. Xen ophon, who has described his character at length, has proposed him as an ex ample of a just monarch, and his gov ernment as an example of an equitable administration. All the ancient writers celebrate his humanity and benevolence. Comp. Diod. lib. xiii. p. 342, and the Cyropaedia of Xenophon every where. As there will be frequent occasion to refer to Cyrus in the Notes on the chap ters which follow, it may be proper here. to give a very brief outline of his public actions, that his agency in the deliv erance of the Jews may be more fiilly appreciated. Cyrus was the son of Cam- byses, the Persian, and of Mandane, the daughter of Astyages, king of the Medes. Astyages is in Scripture caU ed Ahasuerus. Cambyses was, accord ing to Xenophon (Cyrop. B. 1), king of Persia, or, according to Herodotus, he was a nobleman. Herod. B. 1, c. 107. If he was the king of Persia, of course Cyrus was the heir of the throne. Cyrus was born in his father's court, A. M. 3405, or B. C. 595, and was ed ucated with great care. At the age of twelve years, his grandfather, Astyages, sent for him and his raother Mandane to court, and he was treated, of course, with great attention. Astyages, or Aha suerus, had a, son by the name of Cy- axares, who was bom about a year be fore Cyrus, and who was heir to the throne of Media. Some time after this, the son of the king of Assyria having invaded Media, Astyages, with his son Cyaxares, and his grandson Cyrus, marched against him. Cyrus defeated the AsS3rrians, bnt was soon after recall ed by his father Cambyses to Persia, that he raight be near him. At the age of sixteen, indeed, and when at the court of his grandfather, Cyrus signal ized himself for his valour in a war with the kuig of Babylon. EvU-Merodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had invaded the territories of Media, but was repelled with great loss, and Cyrus pursued him with great slaughter to his own borders. This invasion of Evil-Merodach laid the foundation of the hostiUty between Babylon and Media, which was not ter minated until Babylon was taken and destroyed by the united armies of Me- 66 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. dia and Persia. When Astyages died, after a reign of thirty-five years, he was succeeded by his son Cyaxares, the nncle of Cyrus. He was still involved in a war with the Babylonians. Cyrus was made general of the Persian troops, and al the head of an army of 30,000 men was sent to assist Cyaxares, whom the Babylonians were preparing to at tack. 'The Babylonian monarch at this time was Neriglisear, who had murder ed Evil-Merodach, and who had usurp ed the crown of Babylon. Cyaxares and Cyrus carried on the war against Babylon during the reigns of Neriglissar and his son Laborosoarchod, and of Nabonsdius. The Babylonians were defeated, and Cyrus carried his arms into the countries to the west beyond the river Halys — a river running north into the Euxine Sea — and subdued Cap padocia, and conquered Croesus, the rich king of Lydia, and subdued almost all Asia Minor. Having conquered this country, he retumed again, re-crossed the Euphrates, tumed his arms against the Assyrians, and then laid siege to Babylon, and took it (see Notes on ch. xiii. xiv.), and subdued that mighty kingdom. During the life of Cyaxares his uncle, he acted in conjunction with him. On the death of this king of Me dia, Cyrus married his daughter, and thus united the crowns of Media and Persia. After this marriage, he subdued all the nations between Syria and the Red Sea, and died at the age of seventy, after a reign of thirty years. Cyaxares, the uncle of Cyrus, is in the Scripture called Darius the Mede (Dan. v. 31), and it is said there, that it was by him that Babylon was taken. But Babylon was taken bythe valour of Cyrus, though acting in connexion with, and under Cyaxares ; and it is said to have been taken by Cyaxares, or Darius, though it was done by the personal valour of Cyras. Josephus says, that Darius with his ally, Cyrus, destroyed the kingdom of Baby lon. Ant. B. xii. u. 13. Jerome assigns three reasons, why Babylon is said in the Scriptures to have been taken by Darius or Cyaxares ; first, because he was the elder of the two ; secondly, be cause the Medes were at that time more famous than the Persians: and thirdly, because the uncle ought lo be preferred to the nephew. The Greek writers say that Babylon was taken by Cyrus, with out mentioning Cyaxares or Darius, doubtless because il was done solely by his valour. For a. fiiU account of the reign of Cyrus, see Xenophon's Cyrop., Herodotus, and the ancient part of the Universal History, vol. iv. Ed. Lond. 1779, Svo. IT Called him to his foot. Lowth renders this, " Hath caUed him to attend his steps." Noyes renders it, " Him whom victory meeteth in his march." Grotius, " Called hun that he should follow him," and he refers to Gen. xii. 1, Josh, xxiv.3, Heb. xi. 8. Rosen muller renders it, " Who hath caUed frora the east that raan to whom righteousness occurs at his feet," i. e. attends him. But the idea seeras to be, that God ht d influenced him to follow him as one fel lows a guide at his feet, or close to him. IT Gave the nations before him. That is, subdued nations before him. This is justly descriptive of the victorious career of Cyrus. Among the nations whom he subdued, were the Armenians, the Cap padocians, the Lydians, the Phrygians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, compris ing a veiy large portion of the world, known at that time. Cyrus subdued, ac cording to Xenophon, all the nations lying between the Euxine and Caspian seas on the north, to the Red Sea on the south, and even Eg3fpt, so that his own proc lamation was trae : " Jehovah, God of heaven, hath given me all the king doms of the earth." Ezra i. 9. IT And made him rule over kings. As the kings of Babylon, bf Lydia, of Cappadocia, who were bronght into subjection un der him, and acknowledged their de pendence on hira. T He hath given them as ihe dust to his sword. He has scattered, or destroyed them by his sword, as the dust is driven before the wuid. A simUar remark is made by David : Then did I beat them amall aa the duat before the wind, I did caat them out as the dirt in the atreeta. Ps. xcTiii. 43. IT And as driven stubble. The allusion here is to the process of fanning grain. The grain was thrown by a shovel or fen in the air, and the stubble or chaiFwaa B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLI. 87 3 He pursued them, and ; passed 'safely : even by the way i that he had not gone with his | feet. 4 Who hath wrought and 4 in peace. driven away. So it is said ofthe nations before Cyras, implying that they were ut terly scattered. IT To his bow. The bow was one of the common weapons of war, and the inhabitants of the east were iistinguished for its use. The idea in this verse is very beautifiil, and is one that is often employed in the sacred Scriptures, and by Isaiah hiraself. See Job xxi. 18. Ps. i. 4, xxxv. 5. Note, xvU. 13, xxix. 5. Comp. Hos. xiu. 3. 3. He pursued ihem. When they were driven away. He followed on, and devoted them to discomfiture and ruin. V Andpassedsafely. Marg., as in the Hebrew, " in peace." That is, he foUow ed them uninjured ; they had no power to rally ; he was not led into ambush, and he was safe as far as he chose to pursue them. IT Even hy the way that he had not gone with his feet. By a way that he had not been accustomed to march ; in an unusual joumey ; in a land of stran- i gers. Cyrus had passed his early years ; on the east ofthe Euphrates. In his con quests he crossed that river, and extended his march beyond even the river Halys to the western extremity of Asia, and even to Egypt and the Red Sea. The idea here is, that he had not travelled in these regions untU he did it for purposes of con quest — an idea which is strictly in ac cordance with the trath of history. 4. Who hath wrought and done it ? By whom has all this been accomplished 1 Has it been by the arm of Cyras? Has it been by human skiU and power t The design of this question is obvious. It is to direct attention to the fact that aU this has been done by God, and that he who had raised up such a man, and had ac complished all thia by means of him, had power to deliver his people. TT Calling the generations from the beginning. The idea here seems to be, that all the nations that dwell on the earth in every place owed their origin to God. Comp. done it, calling the generations from the beginning ? I the Lord, the first, ''and with the last ; I am he. 5 The isles saw it, and feared : p Rev. 1. 17. 22. IB. Acts xvii. 26. The word " calling " here seeras to be used in the sense of com raanding, directing, or ordering them ; and the trath taught is, that all the na tions were under his control, and had been from the beginning. It was not only trae of Cyras, and of those who were subdued before him, but it was trae of all nations and generations. The object seems to be to lift up the thoughts from the conquests of Cyras to God's univer sal dominion over all kingdoms fiom the begitming of the world. IT / the Lobd, thefirst. Before any creature was raade ; existing before any other being. The description that God here gives of him self as " the first and the last," is one that is often applied to him in the Scrip tures, and is one that properly expresses eternity. See ch. xliv. 6, xlvui. 12. It is remarkable also that this expression which so obviously implies proper eter nity is appUed to the Lord Jesus in Rev. i. 17, and xxii. 13. IT And with the last. The usual form in which this is expressed is simply " the last," ch. xliv. 6, xlviii. 12. The idea here seems to be, ' and with the last, I am the same ;' i. e. I am unchanging and eternal. None will subsist after me ; since with the last of all created objects I shall be the same that I was in the beguining. Nothing would survive God ; or in other words, he would exist for ever a'hd ever. The argument here is, that to this unchanging and etemal God who had thus raised up and directed Cyras, and who had con trol over all nations, they raight cora- mit themselves with unwavering confi dence, and be assured that he was able to protect and deliver them. 5. The isles saw it. The distant nations. Note ver. 1. They saw what was done in the conquests of the man whora God ip. this remarkable manner had raised up ; and they had had de monstration, therefore, of the mighty ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. 6 They helped every one his neighbour ; and every one said to his brother. Be 'of good courage. 7 So ''the carpenter encour- 8 strong. r c. 40. 19. power of Jehovah above the power of idols. IT And feared. Were alarmed, and trembled. All were apprehensive that ihey would be subdued, and driven away as with the tempest. If The ends of the earth. Distant nations occupy ing the extremities of the globe. »See Note, ch. xl. 28. IT Drew near, and came. Came together for the purpose of mutual alliance, and self-defence. The prophet evidently refers to what he says in the following verses, that they formed treaties ; endeavoured to prepare for self-defence ; looked to their idol gods, and encouraged each other in their atterapts to offer a successfiil resistance to the victorious arms of Cyrus. 6. They helped every one his neigh bour. The idolatrous nations. 'The idea is, that they formed confederations to strengthen each other, and to dppose him whom God had raised up to subdue them. The prophet describes a state of general consternation existing among them, when they supposed that all was in danger, and that their security con sisted only in confederation ; in increas ed attention to their religion ; in repair ing their idols and making new ones, and in conciliating the favour and secur ing the aid of their gods. It was natu ral for them t» suppose th'at the calami ties which were coming upon them by the invasion of Cyras were the judg ments of their gods, for some neglect, or some, prevailing crimes, and that their favour could be secured otUy by a more diligent attention to their service, and by forming new images and estabUshing them in the proper places of worship. The prophet, therefore, describes in a graphic maimer, the consternation, the alarm, and the haste, every where appa rent among them in attempting to con cihate the favour of their idols, and to en- aged the 'goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer 'him that smote the anvil, 'saying, It is ready for the sodering : and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. 9 or, the founder. 1 or, thA smiting. 2 or, saying ofthe soder, It ia good. ?ourage each other. — Nothing is more common, than for men, when they are in danger, to give great attention to re ligion, though they may greatly neglect or despise it when they are in safety. Men fly to temples and churches and altars in the times of plague and the pes tilence ; and as regularly flee from them when the calamity is overpast. IT Be of good courage. Marg., as in the Heb. " Be strong." The sense is. Do not be alarmed at the invasion of Cyrus. Make new images, set thera up in the temples, show unusual zeal in religion, and the favour of the gods may be secur ed, and the dangers be averted. This is to be understood as the language of the idolatrous nations, among whora Cy ras, under the direction of Jehovah, was carrying his conquests and spreading de solation. 7. So the carpenter. Note ch. xl, 19. IT Encouraged the goldsmith. Margin, ihe founder. See Note chap. xl. 19. The word properly means one who raelts, or smelts metals of any kind ; and may be appUed either to one who works in gold, silver, or brass. The image here is that of haste, anxiety, soUcitude. One workman in the manufacture of idols encouraged an other, in order that the idols raight be finished as soon as possible, and that thus the fiivour of the gods might be pro pitiated, and the impending danger averted. IT He that smootheth with the hammer. That is, he encourages or strengthens him that smites on the anvil. The idol was commonly cast or found ed, and of course was in a rough state. This required to be smooJAed, or pohsh ed, and this was in part done doubtless by a smaU hammer. IT Him that smote the anvil. The workman whose ofiice it was to work on the anvU — forming B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLI. 89 8 But thou, Israel, art my ser vant, Jacob whom I have chosen,' the seed of Abraham my 'friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken t i Ch. 20. 7. Ja. 2. 23. parts of the idol, or perhaps chains. TT It is ready for the sodering. The parts are ready to be welded, or sodered to gether. All this is descriptive of haste Bjid anxiety to have the work done ; and the object of the prophet is evidently to ridicule their vain soUcitude to defend theraselves against the plans and pur poses of God by efforts of this kind. T And he fastened it with nails. He fixed it to its place in the temple, or in the dwelling ; and thus showed a pur pose that the worship of the idol should be permanent, and fixed. Hooks, or nails, were necessary to keep it in its place, and secure it from falUng down. When the idol was thus fixed, they sup posed that their kingdoms were safe. They judged that the gods would inter pose to protect and defend them from their foes. — This is a beautifiil descrip tion of the anxiety, and pains, and con sternation of sinners when calamity is coming upon them, and of the nature of their reliances. What could these dumb idols — ^these masses of brass, or silver, or stone do to protect them t And in Uke manner what can aU the refiiges of sinners do when God comes to judge them, and when the calamities connect ed vrith death and the judgment shaU overtake them ? They are just as fiiU of consternation as were the heathen who are here described ; and aU their refiiges wiU be just as Uttle to be reUed on as were the senseless images which the heathen had raade for their defence. 8. But thou, Israel, art my servant. This is an address directly to the Jews, and is designed to show them, in view ofthe troths which had just been urged, that God was their protector and friend. Those who relied on idols were trusting to that which conld not aid them. But those who trusted in him were safe. For their protection he had raised up Cyras, for this purpose he had subdued the na tions before him. God now expresses from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee. Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. to them the assurance that though the nations should be destroyed, yet that he had chosen them, and would remember them, and his promise made to Abra ham, their iUustrious ancestor. — The word " servant " here is used in a mild £ind gentle sense not to denote bondage or slavery, but to denote that they had been engaged in his service, and that he regarded thera as subject to his laws, and as under his protection. IT Jacob whom I have chosen. The descendants of Ja cob whom I have selected lobe my peo ple. Abraham my friend. Heb. "Lov ing rae," my lover. Abraham was re garded as the friend of God. See 2 Chron. xx. 7. James n. 23 : " And he was caUed the Friend of God." This raost honourable appeUation he deserved by a life of devoted piety, and by habitu aUy submitting himself to the wUl of God. — The idea in this verse is, that as they were the descendants of his friend, God deemed himself bound to protect and deUver them according to his gra cious promises ; and this is one of the many instances where the divine favour is manifested to descendants in conse quence of the piety and prayers of their ancestors. 9. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth. From Chaldea — regarded by the Jews as the remote part of the earth. Thus, in ch. xiii. 5, it is said of the Medes tliat they came " frora a far counfry, fr6m the end of heaven." See Note on that place. Abraham was caUed frora Ur of the Chaldees — a city stiU remaining on the east of the river Euphrates. It is pro bably the same place as the Persian for tress Ur, between Nesibis and the Ti gris. It was visited by Mr. Wolfe, Mr. Buckingham, and by others. IT And called thee from the chief men thereof. Or rather from the extremities of the earth. The word '""SSf means proper ly a side ; and when appUed to the 90 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. 10 Feai "thou not ; for I am with *thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy God : I will strengthen" thee ; yea, I will help thee : yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. W ver. 13, 14. c. 43. 5. z De. 31. 6, 8. ^ c. 40. 29. earth, means the sides, ends, or extrem ities ofit. In Ex. xxiv. 11, it is ren dered " nobles," fi-om an Arabic word signifying to be deep-rooted, and hence those who are sprang from an ancient stock. Gesenius. In this place it is evidently used in the same sense as the word ('^¥) meaning side, in the sense of extremity, or end. The parallelism requires us to give this interpretation to the word. So Jerome renders it, a lon- ^ ginquis ejus (sc. Urrte). The LXX render it Ik roiv oKu-irtoiv, " from the spec ulations of the earth" [Thompson) ; or rather perhaps meaning from the ex tremity of vision; from the countries lying in the distant horizon ; or from the elevated places which offered an ex tensive range of vision. The Chaldee renders it, " from the kingdoms I have selected thee." Symmachus renders it, dird Twv dyKtavbiv aurjjs — from its angles, its comers, its extremities. Some have supposed that this refers to the deliver ance from Egypt, but the more probable interpretation is that which refers it to the call of Abraham from Chaldea ; and the idea is, that as God had called him from that distant land, and had made him- his friend, he would preserve and guard his posterity. Perhaps it may be implied that he would be favourable to thera in that same country from whence he had called their illustrious progenitor, and would in like manner conduct thera to the land of promise, i.e. to their own land. 10. Fear thou rwt. This verse is plain in its meaning, and is full of conso lation. It is to be regarded as address ed prinjarily to the exile Jews during their long and painful captivity in Bab ylon ; and the idea is, that they who had been selected by God to be his peculiar people had nothing to fear. But the 11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed' and confounded : they shall be as nothing ; and they 'that strive with thee shall perish. 12 Thou shalt seek them, and z c. 45. 24. Zee. IS. 3. 4 the -men of thy strife promise is one that may be regarded as addressed to all his people in sirailar cir curastances, and it is as trae now as it was then, that those whom God has chosen have nothing to fear. IT For I am with thee. This is a reason why they should not be afraid. God was their protector, and of whom should they be afraid 1 " If God be for us, who can be against us 1" What higher consolation can man desire than the assurance that he is with him to protect him ? ^ Be not dismay ed. The word here rendered dismayed ( Snttin ) is derived from ( ifsti ) to see, to look ; and then to look about as one does in a state of alarm, or danger. The sense here is, that they should be calm, and under no apprehension from their foes. IT For I am thy God. I ara able to preserve and strengthen thee. The God of heaven was their God ; and as he had aU power, and tha^ power was pledged for their protection, they had nothing to fear. IT / will uphold thee. I wUl enable you to bear aU your trials. T With the right hand of my right eousness. With my faithful right hand. The phrase is a Hebrew mode of expres sion, meaning that God's hand was faith- fiil ; that it might be reUed on, and would secure them. 11. All they that were incensed against thee, 'They who were enraged against thee, i. c. the Chaldeans who made war upon you, and reduced you to bondage. IT Shall be ashamed ani confounded. To be ashamed and con founded is often used as synonymous with being overcome and destroyed. IT They ihat strive with thee. Marg., as in the Hebrew, " the nien of thy strife." The expression refers to their enemies, the Babylonians. 12. Thou shalt seek them. This de notes that it would be impossible to find £.0.690.] CHAPTER XLI. 91 shalt not find them, even 'them that contended with thee : 'they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. 13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy 'right hand, saying 5 the men cfthy contention, 6 the men of thy loar. c De. 33. 2S, 29. them, for they should, cease to exist. The whole verse, with the verse follow ing, is emphatic, repeating in varied lei-ras what was said before, and mean ing that their foes should be entirely de stroyed. 13. Fear not. Note, ver. 10. IT Tlwu worm. This word is properly applied as it is with us, to denote a worm, such as is generated in putrid substances, Ex. xvi. 20, Isa. xiv. 11, Ixvi. 24; or such as destroy plants, Jonah iv. 7, Deut. xxi-Iii. 39. It is used also to describe a person that is poor, afflicted, and an ob ject of insignificance : Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not ; -V-ea, the atars are not pure in his sight. How much leas man, that is a worm ; And the aoo of man which is a worm ? Job xxv. 5, 6. But I am a worm, and no man ; A reproach of men. and deapiaed of the people. Fa. xxii. 6. In the passage before us, it is applied to the Jews in Babylon as poor and afflict ed, and as objects of contempt in view of their enemies. It implies that in themselves they were unable to defend or deliver themselves, and in this state of helplessness, God offers to aid them, and assures them that they have noth ing to fear. IT And ye men of Israel. Margin, ."few men." bxitoi ina methe Israel, There has been a great variety in the explanation of this phrase. AquUa renders it rsdi/cans, and Theo dotion, vsKfol, dead. So the Vulgate, qui moriui estis ex Israel, The LXX render it, " Fear not, Jacob, iXiyoaris 'lopalili, 0 diminutive Israel." The Chaldee, "Fear not, O tribe of the house of Jacob, ye seed of Israel. " Lowth renders it, " ye mortals of Israel." The Hebrew denotes properly, as in our translation, "men of Israel ;" but there is evidently included the idea of fewness unto thee. Fear not ; I will help thee. 14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye 'men of Israel j I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. ¦ 1 or, feto Then. or feebleness. The parallelism requires us so to understand it ; and the word men, or mortal men, raay weU express the idea of feebleness. IT And thy Re deemer. On the meaning of this word, see Notes on ch. xxxv. 9, aud ch. xliii. 1, 3. It is applied here to the rescue from the captivity of Babylon, and ia used in the general sense of deliverer. God would deliver, or rescue them as he had done in times past. He had done it so often, that this might be regarded as his appropriate appellation, that he was THE Redeemer of his people. IT The Holy One of Israel. The Holy Being whom the Israelites adored, and who was their protector, and their friend. See Note, ch. ii. 4. This appeUation is often given to God. See ch. v. 19, 24, X. 20, xii. 6, XVU. 7, xxix. 19, .xxx. 11, 12. We may remark in view of these verses, ( 1. ) That the people of God are in themselves feeble and defenceless. They have no strength on which they can rely. They are often so encompass ed with difficulties which they feel they have no strength to overcome, thatthey are disposed to apply to themselves the appeUation of " worm," and by others they are looked on as objects of con tempt, and are despised. (2. ) They have nothing to fear. Though they are feeble, their God and Redeemeris strong. He is their Redeemer, and their friend, and they may put their trast in him. Their enemies cannot ultimately tri umph over them, but they wUl be scat tered and become as nothing. (3.) In times of trial, want; and persecution, the friends of God should put their trust alone in him. It is often the plan of God so to afflict and humble his people, that they shaU feel their utter helpless ness and dependence, and be led to him as the only source of strength. 92 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. 15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having "teeth : thou shalt thresh 15. Behold, I will make thee, &c. The object of the illustration in this verse and the following is, to show that God would' clothe them with power, and that all difficulties in their way would vanish. To express this idea, the pro phet uses an iraage deriyed from the mode of threshing in the East, where the heavy wain or sledge was made to pass over a large pile of sheaves, and to bruise out the grain, and separate the chaff so that the wind would drive it away. The phrase, " I will make thee," means, ' I -will constitute, or appoint thee,' i. e., thou shalt be such a thresh ing instrament. It is not that God would make such a sledge or wain for them, but that they should he such them selves ; they should beat down and re move the obstacles in the way as the threshing wain crashed the pile of grain. 11 A new sharp threshing instrument. A threshing wain, or a corn-drag. For a description of this, comp. the Notes on ch. xxviii. 27, 28. TT Having teeth. Or with double edges. The Hebrew word is appUed to a sword, and means a two-edged sword. Ps. cxUx. 6. The instrument here referred to was serrated, or so made as to cut up the straw and separate the grain from the chaff. The foUowing descriptions from Lowth arid Niebuhr, raay serve stUl fiirther to Ulus- trate the nature of the instrument here referred to. " The drag consisted of a sort of frame of strong planks made rough at the bottom with hard stones or iron ; it was drawn by horses or oxen over the com-sheaves spread on the floor, the driver sitting upon it. The wain was much like the drag, but had wheels of iron teeth, or edges like a saw. The axle was arraed with iron teeth or serrated wheels throughout: it moved upon three rollers, armed -with iron teeth or wheels, to cut the straw. In Syria, they make use of the drag, constracted in the very sarae manner as above de scribed. This not only forced out the the "mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. e Mi. 4. 13. grain, but cut the straw in pieces, for fodder for the cattle, for in the eastern countries they have no hay. The last method is well kno-wn frora the law of Moses, which forbids the ox to be muz zled, when he treadeth out the com. Deut. xxv. 4." Lowth. " In threshing their corn, the Arabians lay the sheaves down in a certain order, and then lead over thera two oxen, dragging a large stone. This mode of separating the ears from the straw is not unlike that of Egypt. — They use oxen, as the ancients did, to beat out their com, by trampUng upon the sheaves, and dragging afi^r thera a clumsy machine. This machine is not, as in Arabia, a stone cylinder, nor a plank with sharp stones, ais in Sy ria, but a sort of sledge, consisting of three rollers, fitted with irons, which tum upon axles. A farmer chooses out a level spot in his fields, and has his corn carried thither in sheaves, upon asses or dromedaries. Two oxen are then yoked in a sledge, a driver gets upon it, and drives them backwards and forwards upon the sheaves, and fresh oxen suc ceed in the yoke from time to tirae. By this operation, the chafT is very much cut down ; the whole is then -winnowed, and the pure grain thus separated. This raode of threshing out the com is tedious and inconvenient; it destroys the chaff, and injures the quaUty of the grain." Niebuhr. In another place Niebuhr tells us that two parcels of lay ers of com are threshed out in a day ; and they move each of thera as many as eight tiraes, -with a wooden fork of five prongs; which they call meddre. Afterwards, they throw the straw into the middle of the ring, where it forms a hepp, which grows bigger and bigger; when the fii-st layer is threshed, they re place the straw in the ring, and thresh It as before. Thus, the straw becomes every time smaller, tiU at last it resem bles chopped straw. After this, with the fork just described they cast the whola B.C.690.] CHAPTER XLI. 93 16 Thou shalt fan •'^them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them : and thou shalt rejoice in ''the Lord, and shalt glory ''in the Holy One of Israel. / Matt. 3. 12. g Kom. 5. n. h ch. 45. 25. some yards from thence, and against the wind, which driving back the straw, the com and the ears not threshed out faU apart frora it, and raake another heap. A raan coUects the clods of dirt, and other impurities, to which any com ad heres, and throws them into a sieve. They aftei-wards place in a ring the heaps in which a good many entire ears are StiU found, and drive over them, for four or five hours together, a dozen couples of oxen, joined two and two, tUl, by ab solute trampling, they have separated the' grains, which they throw into the air with a shovel to cleanse them. IT Thou shalt thresh the mountains. The words " mountains " and - " hills " in this verse seem designed to denote the kingdoms greater and smaller that should be op posed to the Jews, and that should be come subject to them. Rosenmuller. Grotius supposes that the prophet refers particularly to the Medes and Babylo nians. But perhaps the words are used to denote simply difficulties or obstacles in their way, and the expression may mean that they would be able to over come aU those obstacles, and to subdue all that opposed thera — as if in a march they should crush aU the mountains, and dissipate all the hills by an exertion of power. 16. Thou shalt fan them. Keeping up the figure commenced in the previ ous verse. To fan here means to win now, an operation which was performed by throwing the threshed grain up with a shovel into the air, so that the wind drove the chaff away. So aU their en emies, and aU the obstacles which were m their way should be scattered. IT And the whirlwind shall scatter ihem. The ancients beUeved that men might be swept away by a storm or whirlwind. See Job xxvii. 17 Whe'n the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, / the God of Israel will not forsake them. The eaat wind carrieth him away and he depart- ethj And OS a atonn hurleth him out of hia place. Comp. Homer, Odys. xx. 63 seq , thus rendered by Pope : Snatch me, ye whirlwinds I far from human race, Tost throu^ the void illimitable space ; Or if dismounted from the rapid cloud, Me with hia whelming wave let ocean ahroud 1 See Notes on Job xxx. ,22. IT And tliou shalt rejoice in ihe Lokd. In view of the aid which he has vouchsafed, and the deliverance which he has wrought for you. IT Shalt glory. Shalt boast, or shalt exult. You wiU regard God as the author of your deliverance, and joy in the proofs of his interposition, and of his gracious protection and care. 17. When the poor and needy seek water. Water is often used in the Scriptures as an emblem of the provi sions of divine mercy. Bursting foun tains in a desert, and flowing streams unexpectedly met with in a dry and thirsty land, are often also eraployed to denote the comfort and refreshment which the gospel fiimishes to sinfiil and sufiering man in his journey through this worid. The "poor and needy" here doubtless refer primarily to the af flicted captives in Babylon. But the expression ofthe prophet is general, and the description is as appUcable to his people at aU times in similar circum stances as it was to them. The image here is derived from their anticipated re- ' tum frora Babylon to Judea. The jour ney lay through a vast pathless desert. See Notes on ch. xl. 3. In that joumey when they were weary,faint and thirsty, God wonld meet and refresh them as if he should open fountains iu their way, and plant trees with far-reaching boughs and thick foliage along the road to pro duce a gratefiil shade, and raake the whole joumey through a pleasant glove. 94 ISAIAH. [B.C.690 18 I will open rivers ''in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys : I will make the wilderness "a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. d Pa. 105. 41. e Pa. 107. 35. g c 55. 13. As he had met their fathers in their jour ney frora Egypt to the land of Canaan, and had bronght water from the flinty rock in the desert (Ex. xv. 22, seq.), so in their joumey through the sands of Arabia Deserta he wonld again meet them, and provide for all their wants. 18. I will open rivers. That is, I -will cause rivers to flow. See Note ch. xxxv. 7. The allusion is here doubUess to the miraculous supply of water in the desert when the Israelites had come out of Egypt. God then supplied their wants ; and in a similar manner he would always meet his people, and would supply their wants as if rivers of pure water were made to flow from dry and barren hills. IT In high places. The word here used denotes properly barrenness, or nakedness. Job xxxiii. 21 ; aud then a hill that is bare, or destitute of trees. It is applied usuaUy to hills in a desert Jer. in. 2, 21, iv. 71, vii. 29, xiv. 6. Such hUls, without trees, and in a dry and lonely desert, were of course usuaUy without water. The idea is, that God would refi-esh them as if rivers were made to flow fi-om such hills ; and it may not improperly be regarded, as a promise that God would meet and bless his people in situations, and from sources where they least expected re freshment aud comfort. IF And foun tains in ihe midst of the valleys. See Note ch. xxxv. 6, xxx. 25. IT / will make the wilderness. Note ch. xxxv. 7. 19. I will plant in the wilderness. The image in this verse is one that is frequent in Isaiah. It is designed to show that God would fumish for his peo ple abundant consolations, and that he would fui-nish unanticipated sources of comfort, and would remove from them their anticipated trials and calamities. The image refers to the retum of the ex iles to their own land. That journey Jay 19 I ^will plant in the wilder. ness the cedar, the shittah-tree, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree , I will set in the desert the fii- tree, and the pine, and the box- tree together ; through Arabia Deserta — a vast desert — where they would naturaUy expect to meet with nothing but barren hills, naked rocks, parched plains, and burn ing sands. God says that he wonld bless them in the same raanner as tJ in that desolate wUdemess he should plant the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the fir-tree, aud should make the whole dis tance a grove, where fountains would bubble along their way, and streams burst forth from the hiUs. Comp. Notes ch. xxxii. 15. IT The cedar. The large and beautifiil cedar, with lofty height, and extended branches, such as grew on Lebanon. Comp. Note ch. ix. 10, xxxvn. 24. H The shittah-tree. This is the Hebrew name without change, rilSlB shitta. The Vulgate is spinam. The LXX render it iriifoi', the box, Lowth renders it the acacia. Probably the acacia, or the spina -^gyp- tiaca — the Egyptian thorn of the an cients — is intended by it. It is a large tree, growing abundantly in Egypt and Arabia, and is the tree from which the Gum Arabic is obtained. It is covered with large black thorns, and the wood is hard, and when old resembles ebony. IT And the myrtle. The rayrtle is a tree which rises with a shrubby upright stera, eight or ten feet high. Its branch es form a dense, fiill head, closely gar nished with oval lanceolate leaves. It has nuraerous sraall pale flowers from the axiUas, singly on each footstalk. Encyc. There are several species of the myrtle, and they are especiaUy distin guished for their forming a dense and close top and thus constituting a valua ble tree for shade. It is a tree that grows with great rapidity. IT And the oil-tree. Heb. tree of oil; i. e. pro ducing oil. Doubtless the olive is in tended here, from whose fhiit oil was ob tained in abundance. This was a com- B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLI. 95 20 That they may see and know, and consider, and under stand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the mon tree in Palestine, and was one of the most valued that grew. ^ The fir- tree. Thewordhereused,lB1l?4£rosA, is commonly rendered, in our version, fir-tree ; Isa. li. 13, Iv. 13, Zech. xi. 2, Hos. xiv. 8, 9, 2 Sara. vi. 5, 1 Kings V. 8, 10, vi. 15, 34, Nab. ii. 3, and in other places. Our translators under stood it evidently as referring to the cedar. It is often joined, however, with the ce dar ( see Note Isa. xiv. 8. Comp. xxxvu. 54. Zech. xi. 1,2), and evidently de notes another tree, probably of the same class. It is probable that the word usu aUy denotes the cypress. There are va rious kinds of cypress. Some are ever green, and some are deciduous, as the Araerican white cedar. The wood of these trees is remarkable for its du rability. Among the ancients, coffins were raade of it, and the tree itself was an emblera of mourning. It is here mentioned because its extended branch es and dense foliage would produce a grateful shade, t And the pine. The LXX render this XcvKriv the white poplar. The 'Vulgate renders it the elm. Ge senius supposes that a sjiecies of hard oak, holm or ilex, is intended. It is not easy, however, to determine what spe cies of tree is meant. IT The box-tree. Gesenius supposes that by this word is denoted sorae tall tree — a species of ce dar growing on raount Lebanon that was distinguished by the smaUness of its cones, and the upward direction of its branches. With us the word box de notes a shrab used for bordering flower beds. But the word here denotes a tree — such as was sufficient to constitute a shade. 20. That they. The Jews, the peo ple who shall be rescued from their long captivity, and restored again to their own land. So rich and unexpected would be the blessings — as if in a path less desert the most beautiful and re freshing trees and fountains should Bud- Holy One of Israel hath created it. 21 Produce^ your cause, saith the Lord : bring forth your 3 ca-uee to conie near. denly spring up — that they would have the fiiUest demonstration that they came from God. H Hath treated it. That is, aU this is to be traced to him. In the apocryphal book of Barach there is an expression respecting the return from Babylon remarkably simUar to that which is used here by Isaiah : " Even the woods and every sweet-smeUing tree shaU overshadow Israel by the com mandment of God." ch. V. 8. 21. Produce your cause. This ad dress is raade to the sarae persons who are referred to in ver. 1 — the worship pers of idols ; and the prophet here re turns to the subject with reference to a further argument on the comparative power of Jehovah aud idols. In the former part of the chapter God had urged his claims to confidence fi-om the fact that he had raised up Cy ras ; that the idols were weak and fee ble corapared with hira ; and frora the fact that it was his fixed purpose to de fend his people, and to meet and refresh them when faint and weary. In the verses which foUow the 21st, he urges his clairas to confidence frora the fact that he alone was able to predict future events, and calls on the woishippers of idols to show their claims in the same mamier. This is the " cause " which is now to be tried. T Bring forth your strong reasons. Adduce the arguments which you deem to be of the greatest strength and power. Corap. Notes on ver. 1. The object is, to caU on them to bring forward the most convincing demonstration on which they relied, of their power and their ability to save. The argument to which God appeals is, that he had foretold future events. He calls ou them to show that they had given, or could give, equal demonstra tion of their divinity. Iiowth regards this as a caU on the idol gods to come forth in person and show their strength. But the interpretation which supposes 96 ISAIAH. [.B.C. 090. strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. 22 Let them "bring them forth, and show us what shall happen : let them show the former things what they be, that we may con sider^ them, and know the latter o John 13. 19. 5 set our heart upon. that it refers to their reasons, or argu ments, accords better with the parallel ism, and with the connexion. 22. Lei them bring them forth. Let the idols, or the worshippers of idols, bring forth the evidences of their divine nature and power. Or raore probably it raeans, ' let them draw near, or ap proach.' IF And show us what shall happen. None but the true God can discern the fiiture, and predict what is to occur. To be able to do this, is there fore a proof of divinity to which God often appeals as a demonstration of his own divine character. See ch. xUv. 7, 8, xlv. 3-7, xlvi. 9, 10. This idea,thatnone but the true God can know all things, and can -with certainty foreteU future events, is one that was admitted even by the h,eathen. See Xenophon, Cyro. Lib. i. ; " The imraortal gods know all things, both the past, the present, and those things which shaU proceed from each thing." It was on this belief also that the worshippers of idols endeavour ed to sustain the credit of their idol gods ; and accordingly nearly aU the re putation which the oracle at Delphi, and other shrines, obtained, arose from the reraarkable sagacity which was evinced in predicting fiiture events, or the skil- fiil ambiguity in which they so couched their responses as to be able to preserve their influence whatever might be the result. IT Let ihem show the former things what they be. The idea in this passage seems to be, ' Let them foretell the entire series oi events ; let thera pre dict, in their order, the things which shall first occur as well as those which shall finaUy happen. Let them not se lect merely an isolated and unconnected evenfin futurity, but let them declare those which shaU have a mutual relation and dependency, and whose causes are end of them; or declare us things for to come. 23 Show the things that are to come hereafler, that we may know that ye are gods : yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. now hid.' The argument in the pas sage is, that it required a far raore pro found knowledge to predict the series oi events as they shonld actually oceur ; to foretell their order oi occurrence, than it did to foreteU one single isolated oc currence. The latter, the false prophets of the heathen often undertook to do ; aud undoubtedly they often evinced great sagacity in it. But they never undertopk to detail minutely a series of occurrences, and to state the order in which they would happen. In the Scriptures, it is the common way to foreteU the order of events, or a series of transactions per taining often to many individuals or na tions, and stretching far into fiiturity. And it is perfectly manifest that none could do this but God. Comp. ch. xlvi. lOr IT Or declare us things for to come. Declare any event that is to occur : any thing in the fiiture. If they cannot pre dict the order of thiags, or a series of events, let them clearly foreteU any sin gle event in fiiturity. 23. TAai we may know that ye are gods. The prediction of fiiture eventa is the highest evidence of omniscience, and of course of divinity. In this pas sage it is admitted that if they could do it, it would prove thai they were worthy of adoration ; and it is demanded, that if they were gods Ihey should be able to make such a prediction as would de monstrate that they were invested -with a divine nature. IF Yea,do good, or do evil. Do something ; show that you have some power ; either defend yotn friends, or prostrate your foes ; accom plish something — any thing, good or bad, that shall prove that you have power. This is said in opposition to the character which is usuaUy given to idols in the Scripfures — that they were dumb, deaf, dead, inactive, powerless. B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLI. 97 24 Behold, ye are *of nothing, and your work 'of nought : an abomination is he ihat chooseth you. 25 I 'have raised up one from € or, worse tkannothing, 7 or, worse than of a viper. q Ter, 2. See Psalm cxv. The coramand here to " do evil," means to punish their ene mies, or to inflict vengeance on their foes ; and the idea is, thai they had no power to do any thing ; either to do good to their worshippers, or harm to their enemies; and that thus they showed that they were no gods. The same idea is expressed in Jer. x. 3-5 : " They pdols] are upright as the palm-tree, but speak not ; they must needs be bome, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good." T That we may he dismayed. Note, ver. 10. The word "we" here refers to those who were the fiiends aud worshippers of Jehovah. ' That J, Jehovah, and my friends and worshippers, may be alarmed, and afraid of what idols may be able to do.' God and his people were regarded as the foes of idols, and God here calls on them to prove that there is any reason why he and his peo ple should be afraid of their power. IT And behold it together. That we may all see it ; that I and my people may have fiiU demonstration of your power. 24. Behold,ye are of nothing, Marg. 'worse than nothing.' This refers to idols ; and the idea is, that they were utterly vain and powerless ; they were as unable to render aid to their worship pers as absolute nothingness would be, and aU their confidence in them was vain and foolish. IF And your work. AU that you do, or all that it is pretend ed that you do. IT Of nought. Mar gin, ' or, worse than a viper,' The word used here in the common Hebrew text, SBS<, occurs in no other place. (Jesenius supposes that this is a corrupt reading for 0S8« nothing, and so our translators have regarded it, and in this VOL. II. — 5 the north, and he shall come : from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name ; and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. opinion most expositors agree. Hahn has adopted this reading in his Hebrew Bible. The Jewish Rabbins suppose generally that the word SBS is the same word as '^??f. a viper, accordmg to the reading jn the margin. But this in'er- pretation is contrary to the connexion as weU as the ancient versions. The Vulgate and Chaldee render it, ' of nought.' The Syriac renders it, ' your works are of the sword.' This is pro bably one of the few instances iu which there has beeri a corruption of the He brew text. Comp. Isa. xl. 17, xli. 12, 19. II An abomination is he that choos eth you. They who select idols as the object of worship, and offer to them hom age, are regarded as abominable by God. 25. / have raised up one.. In the pre-vious verses God had sho-wn that the idols had no power of predicting fiiture events. He- stakes, so lo speak, the question of his divinity on that point, and the whole controversy between him and them is to be decided by the inquirj whether they had the power of foretell ing what would eome to pass. He here urges his claims to divinity on this ground, that he had power to foretell fu ture events. In Ulustration of this, he appeals lo the fact that he had raised up, i. e. in purpose, or would afterwards raise up Cyrus, in accordance with his predictions, and in such a way that it would be distinctly seen that he had thia power of foretelling fiiture events. To see the force of this argument, it must be remembered that the Jews are con templated as in Babylon, and near the close of their captivity ; that God by the prophets, and especially by Isaiah, dis tinctly foretold the fact that he would raise up Cyras to be their deUverer ; that these predictions were uttered at least a hundred and fifty years before 98 ISAIAH. [B.C.690. 26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know ? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous ? yea, fhere is none that showeth j yea, iAereis'none that declareth; yea. the time of tbeir fiilfilment ; and that they would then have abundant evidence that they were aceomphshed. To these recorded predictions and to their fiilfU- ment, God here appeals, aud designs thai in that future time when they should be in exile, his people should have evi dence that He was worthy of their en tire confidence, and that even the hea then should see that Jehovah was the trae God, and that the idols were no- thiugf. The personage referred to here is undoubtedly Cyrus. See Notes on ver. 2, comp. ch. xlv. 1. TF From the north. In ver. 2, he is said to have been raised up ' from the east.' Both were trae. Cyi-us was bom in Persia, in the country called in the Scriptures ' the east,' bnt he early went to Media, and came frora Media tmder the direc tion of his uncle, Cyaxares, when he at tacked and subdued Babylon. Media was situated on the north and northeast of Babylon. IT From the rising of the sun. The east-^the land of the birth of Cyrus. IF Shall he call upon my name. This expression means, proba bly, that he should acknowledge Jeho vah to be the trae God, and recognize hira as the source of all his success. This he did in his proclamation respecting the restoration of the Jews lo their owu land : " Thus saith Cyras, king of Per sia, Jehovah, God of heaven, hath given rae all the kingdoms of the earth." Ezra i. 2. There is no decided evidence that Cyrus regarded hiniself as a worshipper of Jehovah, or that he was a pious man, but he was brought to make a public re cognition of Him as the true God, and to feel that he owed the success of his arras lo him. IF And he shall come upon princes. Upon the kings of the nations against whom he shaU make war. See vs. 2, 3. The word here rendered " princes," from IJO or IJft, denotes pro- there is none that heareth youj words. 27 The first shall aay ts 2ion, Behold, behold them : and I will give to Jerusalem one "that bringeth good "tidings. u eh. 40. 9^ V Luke 2. 10, 11. perly a deputy, a prefect, a govemor, or one tmder another, and is usually ap pUed to the governors of provinces, or the Babylonian princes, or magistrates. Jer. U. 23,28, 57. Ezek. xxui. 6, 12,- 33. Dan. iu. 2, 27, vi. 8. It is some times sppMedjhowever, to the chiefe and rulers in Jerusalem in the limes of Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra ix. 2. Neh. u. 16, iv. 8, 13, V. 7. Here it is used as a general term ; ttnd the sense is, that he would tread down and subdue the kings and princes of the nations thai he inva ded. IF As upon mortar. See Note ch. X. 6. 26, Who hath declared from ihe be ginning. The laeaning of this passage is, ' there isno one among the soothsay ers, and the worshippers of idols, who has predicted the birth, the character, and the conquests of Cyras. There is among the heathen no recorded predic tion on the subject, as there is among the Jews, that when he shall have come it may be said that a prediction is ac- compli^ed.' IF And beforetime. For merly ; before the event occurre^. IF Thai we may say. That it raay be said ; that there may be evidence, or reason for the affirmation. IF He is righteous. The words " he is" are not in the Hebrew. The original is simply " righteous," p''''!? tzdddiq, just, i. e., ' il is just, or true ; the prediction is fiil- fUled.' It does not refer to the charac ter of God, but to the certainly of the fiilfilment of the prediction. IF There is none ihat showeth There is no one araong the worshippers of false gods, the soothsayers and necromancera, that has predicted these events. IF None that heareth your words. There is no one that has heard such a prediction among you. 27. The first shall Ba.-y io Zion. This translation is unhappy. It does not B.C.690.] CHAPTER XLI. 99 28 For 1 beheld, and there was no man ; even among them, and there, was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could an swer^ a word. convey any clear raeaning, nor is il pos sible from the translation lo conjecture what the word " first " refers to. The correct rendering undoubtedly is, ' /first said to Zion ;' and the sense is, ' I, Je hovah, first gave to Zion the announce ment of these things. I predicted the restoration of the Jews to their own land, and the raising up of the man who should deliver thera ; and I only have uttered the prophecies respecting the tirae and circumstances in which these events would occur' The LXX render it, " I -will first give notice to Zion, and I wUl comfort Jerasalem in the way." The Chaldee renders it, " The words of consolation which the prophets have ut tered respecting Zion in the beginning, lo, they are about to corae to pass." The sense of the passage is, that uo oue of the idol gods, or their prophets, had predicted these events. The first mti- mation of them had been by Jehovah, an4 this had been made to Zion, and designed for its consolation. IF Behold, behold ihem. Lo, these events are about lo come lo pass. Zion, or Jera salem, was to behold thera, for they were intended lo effect its deliverance, and secure its welfare. The words " Zion " and " Jerasalem " here seem intended lo denote the Jewish people iu general, or lo refer lo Jerusalem as the capital of the Je-wish nation. The inti- raation had been given in the capital of the nation, and thence lo the entire peo ple. IF And I will give. Or rather, I give, or I have given. The passage means, that the bearer of the good ti dings of the raising up of a deliverer should be sent to the Jewish people. To them the joyful news was announced long before the event ; the news of the raising up of such a man — an event of BO much interest to them — ^was made lo thera long before the heathen had any iatiraation of il ; and it would occur as the fiilfilmenl of an ancient prophecy re- 29 Behold, they are all vanity ; their works are nothing : their molten images are wind and con fusion. corded among the Jews. The prophet refers here, doubtless, in the main, to his own prophecies uttered so long before the event would occur, and which would be distinctly known when they would be in exile in Babylon. 28. For I beheld. I looked upon the heathen world, among all the pretended prophets, and the priests of Pagan idol atry. IF And ihere was no man. No man araong them who could predict these future events. IF No counsellor. No one qualified to give counsel, or that could anticipate by his sagacity what would lake place. IF That, when I asked of them. In the manner referred to in this chapter. There is no one of whora it could be inquired what would take place in fiiture times. IF Could answer a word. They were unable to discern what would come to pass, or lo predict the events which are referred to here. 29. Behold, ihey are all vanity. They are unable to predict future events ; they are unable lo defend their friends, or to injure their enemies. This is the conclusion of the trial or debate (Notes ver. 1), and that conclusion is, that they were utterlj' destitute of strength, aud that they were entirely unworthy of con fidence and regard. IF Their molten images. See Note ch. xl. 19. IF Are wind. Have no solidity, or power. The doctrine of the whole chapter is, that confidence should be reposed in God, and in liim alone. He is the fi-iend of his people, and he is able to pro tect them. He wiU deliver thera from the hand of all their eneraies; and he -wUl be always their God, pro tector, and guide. The idols of the heathen have no power ; and it is folly, as well as sin, lo trast in them, or lo suppose that they can aid their friends. It may be added, also, that it is equally vain to trast in any being for salvation but God. He only is able to protect 100 ISAIAH. [B.C.690. and defend us ; and it is a source of un speakable consolation now, as it was in times past, that he is the friend of his people ; and thai, in tiines of deepest darkness and distress, he can raise up deliverers, as he did Cyras, and will in his own way and time rescue his^peo- ple from all their calamities. CHAPTER XLII. ANALYSIS. This chapter is a continuation of the same general subject which was presented in the two pre vious chapters. It is to be regarded (see the analysis of ch. xl.) as addressed to the exile Jews in Babylon^ and near the close of their captivity, and the general object is to induce them to repose con fidence m God, and to assure them of deliverance. Theprimary purpose of these chapters, therefore, is, to direct the attention to him who was to be raised up from the east, to rescue them from their bondage, that is, Cyrus. But in doing this,, the mind of the prophet, by the laws of iirophetic suggestion (see Introd. to Isaiah § 7, III. 3.), is also led to afar greater deliverer, and so entirely, and intently at times, as to lose sight altogether of Cyrus ; and the restoration of the Jews to their own land is forgotten in the sublimer contemplation of the redemption of the world. In the previous chapters, the attention of the prophet had heen particularly directed to Cyrus, with an occasional reference to the Messiah. In the commencement of this chapter, he seems to hiave lost sight of Cyius altogether, and to have fixed the attention wholly on the future Messiah, tiee Noies on ver. 1. The chapter is, as I apprehend, occupied mainly, or entirely, with a description of the character and work of the Messiah. The evidence of this will be adduced in the Notes on the chapter itself. The design for which the Messiah is introduced is to convince the Jews that God was their protector, and that it was tiis purpose that the long promised Prince and Saviour should yet arise from their restored and recovered nation. Of course, if this was to occur, their national existence would be preserved. There is. therefore, in the chapter a reference to their return to their own land, though the main scope relates to the Messiah. The chapter may be regarded as divided into two portions. In the Jirst, from ver. 1 to ver. 9, the prophet describes the Messiiih. JEHOVAH is introduced as speaking, and in vs. i— 4 he describes his character. He is the servant of JEHOVAH, endowed with the fulness of the Divine Spirit; meek, and lowly, and gentle, and kind; unobtrusive and noiseless in his movements, and yet securing the conquest of truth, JEHOVAH then, vs. 5, 6, 7, addresses the Messiah himself directly, and states the object for whrch he had appointed him, to be a light to the Gentiles, to open the eyes ofthe Wind, and to be the pledge of the covenant between him and his people. In vs. 8^ 9, JEHO VAH turns to the people for whom the prophecy was given, and awakens their attention to the subject, reminds them ofthe predictions which had been made, and says that the fulfilment of this prophecy, like all former predictions, would demonstrate his superiority over idols, and show thathe was the true God. The second part ofthe chapter, vs. lo— 25, consists mainly of a call on the world, and especially on the exile Jews, to rejoice in view of the truth here announced. This general call contains the following portions or parts. (1.) In the exordium, vs. 10, 12, JEHOVAH calls on the inhabitants of all the earth to praise and glorify his name, and makes his appeal to those who are upon the sea, to the inhabitants of the isles,. to the wilderness and solitary places, to the villages and the inhabitants of the rock, as all having occasion to rejoice on account of this glorious event. (2.) In vs. 13—17, JEHOVAH speaks particularly ofthe deliverance of his people, and ofthe cer tainty ofits being accomplished. He had long delayed to interpose ; but now he would come forth in his strength, and annihilate his foes and redeem his people, and make darkness light before them, while all the worshippers of idols should be left without defence or aid. (3.) The people of Israel are next addressed directly, and their character and duty presented, vs. 18—25. They are addressed as a people blind and deaf, and are admonished to rouse themselves, and to strive to attain to true knowledge. Notwithstanding all that God had done for them, and all his gracious interposition, they had hardened their hearts, and shut their eyes, and had steeled them selves against every good inftpreseion. For this God had punished them. He had given them as a spoil to their enemies, and overwhelmed them in grievous and long continued calamities. They were now called on to attend to his instructions ttad promises, and henceforward be an obedient people. 1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect," in whom my soul delighteth :^ I have put my 1. Behold. This word is designed to call attention to the person that is immediately referred to. It is an inti mation that the subject is of importance, Spirit upon him : he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. a Ephes. 1. 4. and should coramand their regard. IT My servant. This phrase denotea properly any one who acknowledges or worships God ; any one who is regaided B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLII. 101 as serving or obeying him. It is a terra which may be applied to any one who is esteemed to be a pious man, or who is obedient to the commands of God, and is often applied lo the people of God ; Gen. 1. 17, 1 Chron. vi. 49, 2 Chron. xxiv. 9, Dan. vi. 20, ix. 2, Titus i. 1, James i.l,lPel. ii.'16,Rev. vii.3, XV. 3. The word servant raay be ap plied either lo Isaiah, Cyrus, or the Mes siah ; and the question lo whom il re fers here is to be decided, not by the mere use of the term, but by the con nection, and by the characteristics which are ascribed tojiiim who is here desig nated as the "servant" of Jehovah. There have been no less than five dif ferent views in regard to the personage here referred to ; and as in the interpreta tion of the whole prophecy in this chap ter every thing depends on this question, it is of importance briefly lo examine the opinions which have been entertain ed. I. One has been that it refers to the Jewish people. The translators of the Septuagint evidently so regarded it. They render it, ' laxCiP b naTs jinv k,t. \, " Jacob is my servant, I will uphold hira ; Israel is my chosen one, my soul hath embraced him." Jarchi also so inter prets the passage, but so modifies it as to understand by it " the righteous in Israel ;" and among the modems, Ro- senmftUer, Paulus, and sorae others adopt this interpretation. The princi pal reason alleged for this interpretation is, that the phrase " servant of Jehovah," is elsewhere used in a collective sense, and applied to the Jewish people. Ro- semnuller appeals particularly to ch. xli. 8,9; lo ver. 19 of this chapter, and to ch. xliv. 21, xlv. 4, xlviii. 20 ; and ar gues that it is to be presumed that the prophet nsed the phrase in a uniform manner, and must therefore be supposed here also lo refer to the Jewish people. But the objections are insuperable. (1.) In ver. 6, the servant of Jehovah here referred to, is plainly distinguished from the people, where God says, " I will give thee for a covenant of [with] the peo ple." (2.) The description which the prophet gives here of the character of "the servant" of Jehovah, as meek, mild, gentle, quiet, and humble, (vs. 2, 3,) is remarkably urdike the character which the prophet elsewhere gives oi the people, and is as remarkably like the character which is every where given ofthe Messiah. (3.) It was not true of the Jewish people that they were ap pointed, as is here said of " the servant" of God, ver. 7, to " open the blind eyes, and lo bring the prisoners out of prison." This is evidently applicable only lo a teacher, a deliverer, or a guide ; and in no sense can it be applied to the col lected Jevrish people. II. A second opinion has been, that by the " servant of Jehovah " Cyrus was intended. Ma ny of the Jewish interpreters have adopt ed this view, and not a few of the Ger man critics. The principal argument for this opinion is, thai what precedes and what follows, relates particularly to Cyrus ; and an appeal ^is raade particu larly to ch. xlv. 1, where he is called the Anointed, and lo ch. xliv. 28, where he is called the Shepherd. But lo this view also, the objections are obvious. (l.)The name " servant of Jehovah," is, it is be lieved, nowhere given to Cyrus. (2.) The description here by no means agrees with Cyrus. That he was distinguished for justice and eqtiity, is admitted (see Note in ch. xli. 2), but the expressions here used, that God would ' put his Spi rit upon hira, thai he, should not cry, nor Uft up his voice, so that il should be heard in the streets,' is one that is by no means applicable to a man whose life was spent mainly in the tumults of war, and in the porap and carnage of battle and conquest. How can this descrip tion be applied to a raan who trod down nations, and subdued kings, and who shed rivers of blood? III. Others sup pose thai the prophet refers to hiraself. Among the Jews, Aben Ezra, and among others Grotius and Doedcrlin held this opinion. The only reason for this is, that in ch. xx. 3, the name " ser vant" of Jehovah is given to Isaiah. But the objections to this are plain, and insuperable. (1.) Nothing can be urged, as we have seen, firom the mere use of the word " servant." (2.) It is incon ceivable that a humble prophet like Isai ah should have applied to himself a de scription expressive of so much impor» 102 ISAIAH. [.B.C.690. tance as is here attributed to the servant of God. How conld the establishment of a new covenant with the people of God, and the conversion of the heathen nations, vs. 6, 7, be ascribed to Isaiah 1 And in what sense is it true that he was appointed to open the eyes of the bhnd, and to lead the prisoners from the prison ? IV. A fourth opinion, which it may be proper just lo notice, is that which is advocated by Gesenius, that the phrase here refeia to the prophets la- ken collectively. But this opinion is one that scarce deserves a serious refii- tation. For, (1.) The name " sekvant of Jehovah," is never given to any collec tion oi the prophets. (2.) Any such col lection oi the prophets is a mere crea ture of the fancy. When did they ex ist? Who coraposed the collection? And how could the name " servant " designate them ? (3.) Of what coHec- tion oi men could it be imagined that the description here given could be ap plied, that such a collection should not strive, nor cry ; that it should be a cov enant of the people, and that it should be the means of the conversion of the Gentile world ? V. .The fifth opinion, therefore, is, that it refers to the Messi ah ; and the direct arguments in favour of this, independent of the fact that it is applicable to no other one, are so strong as lo put it beyond debate. A few of thera raay be referred lo. (1.) This is the interpretation of the Chaldee Para phrase, which has retained the exposi tion of the ancient and early Jews. " Behold my servant, the Messiah — Xnittja "i^aS'; I will cause him to come near ; my chosen." (2.) There are such applications of the passage in the New Testament lo the Lord Jesus, as lo leave no room to doubt that, in view of the sacred writers, the passage had this re ference. Thus in Luke ii. 32, he is spo ken of as " a light to lighten the Gen tiles." . Comp. ver. 6, of the chapter be fore us. In Acts xxvi. 18, Paul speaks of him as given to the Gentiles, " to open their eyes, and to turn them fi'ora darkness to hght." Comp. Isa. xiii. 7.- In Malt. iii. 17, God says of the Re deemer, " This is my beloved Son, iu whom I am well pleased," reraarkably similar to the passage before us, ver. 1, where he says, " raine elect, in whom my soul delighteth." And the whole inquiry is put to rest by the feet that Matthew, in ch. xii. 17-21, ex pressly and directly applies the passage lo the Lord Jesus, and says thai it was fiiliilled in hira. (3.) It may be added, that the entire description is one that is exactly and entirely applicable to the Lord Jesus. It is as applicable as if it had been made after he had appeared among men, and as if it were the language of biography, and not of prophecy. It is an exceedingly beautifiil and tender de scription of the Son of God ; nor can there be any objection to its application to him, except what arises from a gen eral purpose not to apply any part ofthe Old Testament lo him if it can be avoid ed. I shall regard the passage, there fore, as applicable to him, and him alone ; and suppose that the design of the Spirit here in introducing this reference to the Messiah is, to comfort the hearts of the exile Jews with the assurance thai they must be restored lo their own land, he- cause it was firom them that the Mes siah was to proceed, and from them that the true religion was to be spread around the world. IT Whom I uphold. Whom I sustain, or protect ; i. e. who is the ob ject of my affection and care. In Matt. iii. 17, the expression is, " in whom I am well pleased." Ahd so in Matt. xii. 18, it is rendered, " ray servant, whom I have chosen." H Mine elect. My chosen one ; or the one whom I have selected to accomplish ray great pur poses. It implies that God had desig nated or appointed hira for the purpose. In Matt. xii. 18, it is rendered "my be loved." It implies that he was the ob ject of the divine favour, and that God had chosen or appointed hira to perfoim the work of a Messiah. IF In whom my soul delighteth. This language is ap plied to the Lord Jesus in Malt. iii. 17, and xii. 18. God regarded him as qual ified for his work ; he approved of what he did ; he was well pleased with all his words, and thoughts, and plans. The word " soul " here is equiviilent lo I my self—in whom / delight. IT I have pui B C. 690.] CHAPTER XLII. 103 2 He shall not ciy, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bmised reed shall he not my Spirit upon him. Corap. John iii. 34 : " For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him." The Lord Jesus was divine, yet as mediator he is every where represented as " the anointed" of God, or as endowed with the influences of the Holy Spirit. Comp. Note ch. xi. 2. See ako Isa. Ixi. 1, where the Mes siah says of himselt " The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me." Comp. Luke iv. 18. Before he entered upon his public min istry the Spirit of Gad descended on hira at his baptism (Matt. iii. 17), and in all his work he showed that he was endow ed abundantly with that Spirit. IT He shall bring forth judgment. The word ¦"judgment," BBlZJa, is used in a great variety of significations. It properly means judgment, i. e., the aet of judg ing. Lev. xix. 15 ; the place of judg ment, Eccl. iii. 16 ; a cause, or suit be fore a judge. Num. xxviii. 5 ; a sentence of a judge, 1 Kings iii. 28 ; and thence guilt or crime, for which one is judged. Jer. li. 9. It also means right, recti tude, justice ; a law, or statute ; a claim, privilege, or due ; also manner, custom, or fashion ; or an oifdinance, or institu tion. Here it is used, probably, in the sense of the order or institution that would be introduced under the Messiah ; and il means that he would set up or es tablish the true religion araong the Gen tiles. IT To the Gentiles. This is one of the many declarations which occur in Isaiah, that the Messiah would extend the true religion to Pagan nations, and that they should be brought to partici pate in its privileges. 2. He shall not cry. He will not make a clamour, or noise ; he will not be boisterous, in the manner of a man of strife and contention. IT Nor lift up. That is, his voice. IT Nor cause his voice to be heardin the street. Heshallnot nse loud and angry words, as they do vAo are engaged in conflict, but all his leach ing shall ie gentle, humble, and mild. break, and the ''smoking flax shall he not ^quench : he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 7 'DT, dimly burning s quench it. How well this agrees with the character of the Lord Jesus it is not necessaiy to pause to show. He was uniformly unos tentatious, modest, and retirin g. He did not even desire thait his deeds should be blazoned abroad, but sought to be with drawn fi-ora the world, and to pursue his humble path in perfect peace. 3. A bruised reed. The word reed means the cane, or calamus, which grows up in marshy or wet places. Isa. xxxvi. 6. See Note ch. xliii. 24. The word, there fore, literally denotes that which is fra gile, weak, easily waved by the wind, or broken down ; and stands in contrast with a lofty and firm tree. Comp. Matt. xi. 7 : " What went ye out in the wil derness to see 1 A reed shaken with the wind ?" The word here, therefore, may be applied to men that are conscious of feeUeness and sin ; that are moved and broken by calamity ; that feel that they have uo strength to bear up against the ills of life. The word bruised ^IX'^ rS,tzutz means that which is broken or crushed, but not entirely broken ofE As used here, it may denote those who are in themselves naturally feeble, and who have been crushed or broken down by a sense of sin, by calaraity, or by afflic tion. We speak familiarly of crushing or breaking down by trials ^ and the phrase here is intensive and emphatic — denoting those who are at best like a reed — feeble and fragile ; and who in addition to that, have been broken and oppressed by a sense of their sins, or by calamity. T Shall he not break. Shall he not break off. He will not carry on the work of destruction, and entirely crUsh or break it. And the idea is, that he will not make those already broken down with a sense of sin and with ca laraity, more viTetched. He will not deepen their afflictions, or augment their trials, or multiply their sorrows. The sense is, that he will have an afiectionate regard for the broken hearted, the hum ble, the penitent, and the afihcted. Lu- 104 ISAIAH. 4 He shall not fail nor he 'dis- eouraged, till he have set judg- 9 Jirdken. , ther has well expressed this : " He does not cast away, nor crush, nor condemn the wounded in conscience, those who are terrified in view of their sins ; the weak in faith and practice ; but watches over and cherishes them, raakes them whole, and affectionately embraces them." The expression is parallel to that which occurs in ch. Ixi. 1, where it is said of the Messiah, " He hath sent rae to bind up the broken hearted ; " and to the declaration in ch. 1. 4, where it is said, " that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary." IT The smoking fiax. The word here used denotes JJfflo:, and then a wick that is raade ofit. The word rendered smok ing — fill? — means that which isweak, small, thin, feeble ; then thai which is just ready to go out, or to be extinguish ed ; and the phrase refers literally to the expiring wick of a lamp, when the oil is alraost consuraed, and when it shines with a feeble and dying Ijistre. Il may denote here the condition of one who is feeble, and disheartened, and whose love to God seeras almost ready lo expire. And the proraise that he will not extinguish or quench thai, means thai he would cher ish, feed, and cultivate it ; he would sup ply it with grace, as with oil to cherish the dying flame, and cause it to be en kindled, and to rise with a high and steady brilliancy. The whole passage is descriptive ofthe Redeemer, who nour ishes the most feeble piety in the hearts of his people, and who will not Buffer true religion in the soul ever to become wholly extinct. It raay seem as if the slightest breath of misfortune or opposition would extinguish it for ever ; it raay be like the dying flame that hangs on the point of the wick, but if there be trne religion it will not be extinguished, but will be en kindled to a pure and glowing flame, and il will yel rise high, and humliright- ly. IF He shall bring forth judgment. Seever. 1. The word "judgment "here evidently denotes the true religion ; the laws, instilutions, and appointments of [B.C.690 the isles tnent in the earth : and shall wait for his ''law. d Gen. 49. 10. God. H Unto truth. Matthew (cb. xii. 29) rendera this, "unto victory." The meaning in Isaiah is, that he shall establish his religion according to truth ; he shall faithfiilly announce the true pre cepts of religion, and secure their ascen dency among men. It shall overcome all falsehood, and all idolatry, and shall obtain a final triumph in all nations. Thus explained, it is clear thai Matthew has retained the general idea ofthe pas sage, though he has not quoted il literally. 4. He shall not fail. He shall not be weak, feeble, or disheartened. How ever much there raay be that shall tend to discourage, yel his purpose is fixed, and he will pursue it with steadiness and ardour until the great work shall be fiilly accomplished. There may be an allu sion in the Hebrew word here, '^'^^'^ yikhhe, lo that which is applied to the flax fli^? kheha ; and the idea may he that be shall not become in his purposes like the smoking, flickering, dying flarae of a larap. There ^all never be any indication, even amidst all embarrasa- raents, that it is his intention to abandon his plan of extending the true religion through all the world. Such also should be the fixed and determined purposes of his people. Their zeal should never fail ; their ardour should never grow lan guid. IT Nor be discouraged. Mar gin, broken. The Hebrew word T'l'^J yarutz, raay be derived either from '}'?'3 rdtzdiz, to break, to break in pieces ; or frora T^l ratz, to run, to move hastily, to rush upon any one. Our translators have adopted the forraer. Gesenius also supposes that this is the true interpreta tion of the word, and that it means, that he woidd not be broken, i. e. checked in his zeal, or discouraged by any opposi tion. The latter interpretation is pre. ferred by Vitringa, RosenmtlUer, Heng stenberg, and others. The Chaldee ren ders it, " and shall not labour," i.e. shall not be fatigued, or discouraged. The B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLII. IOS 5 Thus saith God the Lord, j which cometh out of it ; he that he that created the heavens, and giveth breath unto the people up- stretched them out ; he that on it, and spirit to them that spread forth the earth, and that ' walk therein : LXX render it " he shall shine out, and not be broken." The coimexion seeras to require the sense which our translators have given to il, and according lo this, the meaning is, ' he shall not become broken in spirit, or discouraged ; he shall persevere amidst all opposition and em barrassment, until he shall accomplish his purposes.' We have a similar phra seology when we speak of a man's being heart-broken. H Till he have set judg ment. Till he has secured the preva lence ofthe true religion in all the world. IT And thc isles. Distant nations (see Note ch. xli. 1) ; the heathen nations. The expression is equivalent to saying that the Gentiles would be desirous of receiving the religion of the Messiah, and would wait for it. See Notes on ch. ii. 3. IT Shall wait. They shall be dis satisfied with their own rehgions, and see that their idol gods are unable to aid them ; and they shall be in a posture of waiting for some new religion that shall meet their wants. Il caniiot mean that they shall wait for it, in the sense of their already having a knowledge of it, but that their being sensible that their own religions cannot save them may be rep resented as a condition of waiting for sorae belter systera. It has been true, as in the Sandwich Islands, thai the heathen have been so dissatisfied with their own religion as to cast away their ' idols, and lo be without any religion, and thus to be in a wailing posture for some new and better system. And it may be true yel that the heathen shall becorae extensively dissatisfied with their idolatry ; that they shall be convinced thai some better systera is necessary, and that they raay thus be prepared lo welcome the gospel when it shaU be pro posed to them. It may be that in this raanner God intends to remove the now apparently insuperable obstacles lo the spread ofthe gospel in the heathen world. The LXX render this, " And in his name shall the Gentiles trust," which form has VOL. II. — 5* been retained by Matthew, ch. xii. 21 . IT His law. His comraands, the insti tutions of his religion. The word " law " is often used in the Scriptures to denote the whole of religion. 5. Th-us saith God thp Lokd. This verse commences a new brm of dis course. It is still Jehovah who speaks ; but in the previous verses he had spoken of the Messiah in the third person ; here he is introduced as speaking io him di rectly. He introduces the discourse by showing thai he is the Creator and Lord of all things. The object of his dwell ing on this seems to have been, to show that he had power to sustain the Messiah in the work lo which he had called him ; and to secure for him respect as having been commissioned by him who had formed the heavens and the earth, and who ruled over all. He shows that he had power lo accomplish all that he had promised : and he seeks thus to elevate and confirm the hopes of the people with the assurance of their deliverance and salvation. T And stretched them out. The heavens are often represented as stretched out as a veil (Gen. i 6, Heb.), or as an expanse that can be roll ed up (Note, Isa. xxxiv. 4), or as a tent for the appropriate dwelling place of God. Note, ch. xl. 22. His great power and glory are indicated by the fact thai he has stretched out what lo us appears a vast expanse over our heads. On the grammatical construction of the word which occurs here in the Heb. see Ros enmtlUer in Zoc. ^ He that spread for^h ihe earth. He stretched il out as a plain — retaining the idea which was so com mon among the ancients thai the earth was a vast plain, reaching from one end ofthe heavens to the other. The words, however, which are here used are not in consistent with the idea that the earth is a sphere, since it may still be represented as stretched out, or expanded to a vast extent. The main idea in the passage is not to teach the form in which the 106 ISAIAH. [B.C.690. 6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of earth is made, but to show that it has been made by God. IT And thai which cometh out of it. The productions of the earth — the trees, shrubs, grain, &c. As the verb lo stretch out cannot be ap plied to these, some verb must be under stood ; as he produced, or caused to grow. IT He that giveth breath and spirit to them. This refers, doubtless, to beasts as well as to men ; and the idea is, thai God is the source of life to all the creatures thai live and move on the earth. The argument in the passage is, that as God is the creator and upholder of all ; as he has given life lo all, and has the universe entirely under his control, he has a right to appoint whom he will to be the medium of his favours to men, and lo deraand thai suitable respect shall be shovm to the Messiah whom he has de signated for this work. 6. I the Ijokd have called thee in righteousness. The phrase " in right eousness" has been very differently un derstood by diflferent expositors. See Note ch. :rii. 10. The most probable meaning raay be, ' I have done il as a righteous and just God, or in the ac- comphshmenl of my righteous purposes. I ara the just moral govemor of the uni verse, and to acconiplish ray purposes of justice and fidelity, I have designated thee lo this work.' Lowth has well ren dered it " for a righteous purpose." In this work all was righteousness. God was righteous, who appointed him ; it was because he was righteous, and could not save vrithout a mediator and an atonement, that he sent him into the world ; he selected one who was emi nently righteous lo accomplish his pur pose ; and he came that he raight estab lish righteousness on the earth, and con firm the just government of God. See ver. 21. IT And will hold thine hand, I will take thee by the hand, as one does who guides and leads another. The phrase denotes the same as lo guard, or keep — as we protect a child by tak- the people, for a light 'of the Gentiles ; 7 To open the blind eyes, to i Luke 2. 33, Acts 13. 47. ing him bythe hand. IT And give thee for a covenant. This is evidently an abbreviated form of expression, and the raeaning is, ' I will give or appoint thee as the medium, or means by which a covenant shall be made with the people ; or a mediator ofthe new covenant which God is about to establish with men.' See ch. xlix. 8. A similar expression occurs in Micah v. 5, where it is said of the Mes siah, " and this man shall be the peace j" that is, he shall be the source of peace, or peace shall be established and main tained by him. So kt Eph. ii. 14, it is said of him, " and he is our peace." IT Of the people. It has been doubted whether this means the Jewish people, or the Gentiles. Grotius, Hengstenberg, Vitringa, and others imderstand it ofthe Jews ; Rosenmuller and others, of the Gentiles. It is not easy to determine which is the correct inleipretalion. But the meaning as I apprehend is, not that he would confirm the ancient covenant with the descendants of Abraham, aa Hengstenberg and Vitringa suppose, but that his covenant would be established with AIL, with both Jews and Gen tiles. According to this it will refer to the Jews, not as Jews, or as already in terested in the covenant, but as consti tuting one portion of the world ; and the whole expression will mean, that his re ligion will be extended to Jews and Gen tiles ; i. e. to the whole world. IT For a light of the Gentiles. See Luke ii. 32. Light is the emblem of knowledge, instruction, and of the true rehgion. The Messiah is often called " light," and the " light of the world. " See Matt. iv. 16. Comp. Note Isa. ix. 2. John i. 4, 7, 9, iii. 19, viii. 12, ix. 5, xii. 35, 46. Rev. xxi. 23. Thisis . * I made Egypt, &c. thy uAAny^a — a com mutation for thee ; a change for thee ; I put it in thy place, and it was destroyed instead of thee.' So the Chaldee," I ^ave the Egyptians as a commutation for thee,"' n?"'^'!!) . So the Ss'riac, " I gave Egypt in thy place" \s>^u. The true interpretation, therefore, is, that Egypt was regarded as having beeB giv« 120 ISAIAH. [.B.C.690. 4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honour able, and I have loved thee : en up to desolation and destruction in stead of the IsraeUtes. One of thera must perish ; and God chose thai Egypt, though so rauch more mighty and pow- ei'ful, should be reduced lo desolation in order to deliver his people. They took, their place, and were destroyed instead oi the Hebrews, in order that tUfey might be delivered frora the bondage under which they groaned. — This may be used as a striking illustration oi the atone ment raade for sin, when the Lord Je sus, the expiatory offering, was made lo suffer in the stead — aXXoy/id — of his peo ple, and in order that sinners raight Uve. And if God's giving up the Egyptians to destruction — themselves so guilty and deserving of death — in order to save his people, was a proof of his love for them, how much greater is the demonstration of his love when he gives his own holy Son to the bitter pains of death on a cross in order that his church may be redeemed ! — There has been much va riety, as has already been intimated, in the interpretation of this, and in regard to the time and events referred to. It has, by many, been supposed lo refer to the invasion by Sennacherib, who, when he was about lo faU upon Jerusalem, tumed his arms against the Egyptians and their aUies, by which means Jeru salem was saved by devoting those na tions lo desolation. Vitringa explains it of Shalmaneser's design upon the king dom of Judah, after he had destroyed that of Samaria, from which he was di verted by carrying the war agauist the Egyptians, Cusheans, and Sabeans. But of this, Lowth says, there is no clear proof in history. Seeker supposes that it refers to the fact that Cyrus overcame those nations, and that they were given hun for releasing the Jews. Lowth says, " perhaps it may mean, generally, thai God had often saved his people at the expense of other nations, whom he had as it were in their stead, given up to destraction." The exact historical facts in the case cannot be clearly made therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy "life. 2 or, person, out ; nor is this to be wondered at, that many things of this nature should re main obscure for want- of the Ught of history, which in regard lo those times is 'extremely deficient. In regard to Egypt, however, I think the case is clear. Nothing is more manifest than that the prophet refers to that great and wonder ful fact — ^the common-place illustration of the sacred writers — thatthe Egyptians were destroyed in order to effect the de liverance of the Jews, and were thus given as a ransom for them. IT Ethio pia. Heb. Cush. In regard to this country, see Note on ch. xviii. 1. Itis not improbable that the prophet here re fers to the facts referred to in that chap ter, and the destruction which it is there said would come npon that land. IT And Seba. This was the name of a people descended frora Cush, Gen. x. 7 ; and hence the name of the country which they occupied. According to Josephus, Ant. II. 10, 2, il seems to have been MeroS, a province of Ethiopia, distin guished for its wealth and commerce, surrounded by the two arms or branch es ofthe NUe. There still reraaui the ruins of a raetropolis of the same name, nof far from the tovm of Shandy. Kep: pel's Travels in Nubia and Arabia, 1829. ,¦ MeroS is a great island or peninsMa in the north of Ethiopia, and is formed by the Nile, and the Astaboras, which unites with the Nile. It was probably anciently called Seba, and was conquer ed by Cambyses, the successor of Cyras, and by him caUed MeroS, after his sis ter. That it was near to Ethiopia is apparent from the fact that it is men tioned in connection with il. Comp. Ps. Ixx. 10. Isa. xlv. 14. Herod, in. 20. They would naturaUy ally themselves to the Ethiopians, and share the. same fate. 4. Since thou wast precious in my sight. This verse contains another rea son why God would defend and deliver them. 'That reason was, that he had loved them as his people ; and he was willing, B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLIII. 121 5 Fear not ; for I am- with thee : I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west ; 6 I will say to the north, Give up ; and to the south, Keep nt>t back : bring 'my sons from far, therefore, that other people should be overcome in order that they might be saved. H Thou hast been honourable. This does not refer so much to their per sonal character, as to the fact that they had been honoured by liim with being the depository of the precious truths of his religion. It means that he had made them honourable by the fiivours bestowed on them, not that they were honourable in reference to their own personal char acter and worth. IT Therefore will I give men for thee. As in the case of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba, ver. 3. He would cause other nations to be destroy ed, if it were necessary, in order to ef fect their dehverance, and to restore them lo their own land. We leam here, (1.) That nations and armies are in the hand of God, and at his disposal. (2.) That his people are dear lo his heart, and that il is his purpose lo defend them. (3.) That the revolutions among nations, the rise of one empire, and the fall of another, are often in order to promote the welfare of his church, lo defend il in danger, and deliver it in time of calam ity. (4.) That his people should put the utmost confidence in God as being able to defend them, and as having form ed a purpose lo preserve and save them. Expressions similar to those used in this verse occur frequently araong the Arabi ans. See Rosenmiiller in Zoco. IT Jor thy life. Margin, person. The Hebrew is, for ihy soul ; that is, on account of thee ; or in thy place. See Notes on ver. 3. 5. Fear not. Note ch. xli. 10, 14. Comp. ch. xliii. 1. ^ I will bring ihy seed. _ Thy children ; thy descendants. The sense is, I will re-collect my scat tered people from all parts ofthe world. The passage appears lo have been tak en from Deut. xxx. 3, where God prora- VOL. II. — 6 and my daughters from the ends of the earth : 7 Even every one that is called "by my name : for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him ; yea, I have made "him. k ch.is. 7. m Jaines 2. 7. o Eph. 2. 10. ises to gather his people together again if they should be scattered araong the nations, and should then repent. Vitrin ga understands this of the spiritual de scendants of the Jews, oi of those who should believe on the Messiah among the Gentiles, and who should become the people of God. But the more natural interpretation is, to refer it lo the Jews who were scattered abroad during the exile al Babylon, and as a promise to re-collect them again in their own land. IT From the east, &c. From all parts of the earth ; frora all lands where they were scattered. That they were driven to other places than Babylon on the in vasion of their land by the Chaldeans, is abundantly manifest in the historical re cords. Ezek. V. 19, xvii. 21. Jer. ix. 1(3. Zech. ii. 6. Amos ix. 9. 6. / will say io the north. Give up. Give up my people, or restore them lo their own land. IT Bring my sons, &c. Bring all my people frora the distant lands where they have been driven in their dispersion. This is a beautiful pas sage. As if all lands were under the control of God, and he could at once command and they would obey, he calls on them lo yield up his people to their own country. He issues a command ment which is heard in all quarters of the globe, and the scattered people of God come flocking again lo their own land. 7. Every one thai is called by my name. To be called by the name of any one is synonymous with being re garded as his son, since a son bears the name of his father.' See ch. xliv. 5, xlviii. 1. The expression, therefore, means here, all who. were regarded as the children of God ; and the promise is, thai aU such should be re-gathered to their own land. If For I have ei eat. 122 ISAIAH. IB.C. 690. 8 Bring forth the blind ''peo ple that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gath ered together, and let the people be assembled : who among them can declare this, and show us forraer things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they p Ezek. 12. 2. ed him. Note on ver. 1. IT For my glory. In order to show forth, and il lustrate my glory. They diatt be, there fore, defended and protected ; and my glory shall be shown in their recovery and salvation. 8. Bring forth ihe blind people. Many have understood this of the Jews. So Vitringa, RosenmiiUer, Gfrotins, and others understand il. But Lowth, more correctly regards it as referring to the Gentiles. It is designed as an argu ment to show the superiority of God over aU idols, and to demonstrate that he was able to deliver his people from captivity and exile. He appeals, there fore (ver. 9), to his ovni people in proof of his di'vinity and power. None of the heathen (ver. 8) had been able to pre dict future events, none of the heathen gods, therefore, could save ; but Jeho vah, who had so often foretold events that were fulfiUed, was able lo deliver, and of that fact his own people had had abundant evidence. T That have eyes. They had natural faculties to see and know God (comp. Rora. i. 20), but they had not improved thera, anil they had, therefore, run into the sin and folly of idolatry. The phrase " bring forth," implies a solemn appeal made by God to them lo enter into an argument on the subject. Comp. Note ch. xli. 1. 9. Let all ihe nations be gathered together. Let them be assembled to give evidence, or lo adduce proofe that their idols are worthy of confidence, ch. xli. 1. T Who among them can declare this ? Who among them hath predict ed this state of things 1 Who has fore told the events which are now occur- may lie justified : or let thern hear, and say, Ii is truth. 10 Ye "are my witnesse^^ saith the Lobd, and my servant' whom I have chosen : that ye may know and believe me, and uniierstand that I am he : before me 'there was ^no God formed, neither shall there be ailer me. u e. 44. 8. V Ptiit 2. T. a: Cot. 1. 17. A 5 or, nothing forTned of God. ring 1 It is irapUed here, that JiTHOvAH had done this, but none of the he..then gods had done it. Note ch. xli. 91. IT And show us firmer things. Note ch. xli. 22. The order oi events, the manner in which one event shall suc^ eeed another. Not raerely, who can declare one single event, but' who can declare the succession, . the order in which many events shall follow each other — a far more difScult thing than to deelare one single future event. Nei ther had been doiie by the heathen ; both had been done by God. IT That they may he justified. That il raay be demonstrated that they are what they pretend to be, and that they are worthy of the confidence of men. The word "justified" here, is used in the sense of being right, or true ; — let them in this manner show thai their claims are just, and weU founded. If Or let them hear and say. It is truth. See Note on ch. xli. 26. 10. Ye are my witnesses. They were his witnesses, because (1) he had given to them predictions of future events which had been UteraUy fiilfiUed ; (2) by his power of deUvering them so often manifested, he had shovm that he was a God able to save. Neither of these had been done by the idol gods. Comp. ch. xliv. 8. IT And believe me. Or rather ' confide in me.' If Before me there was no God formed. I ara the only true, the etemal God. In this expression, Jehovah says that he waa the first being. He derived his exist ence from no one. Perhaps the Hebrew wiU bear a Uttle more emphasis than is conveyed by our translation. 'Before B C. 690.] CHAPTER XLIII. 123 11 I, even Ij am the Lokd ; and beside me there is no "Sa viour. 12 I have declared and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you : therefore ye are my wit- a Ho9. 13. 4. Acts 4. 12. me, God was not formed,' implying that he was God, and that he existed ante rior to aU other beings. It was an opinion araong the Greeks, that the sarae gods had not always reigned, but that the more ancient divinities had been expelled by the raore modem. It is possible that some such opinion may have prevailed in the oriental idol atry, and that God here means to say, in opposition to that, that he had not succeeded any other God in his king dom. His dominion was original, un- derived, and indepondent. If Neither shall there be after me. He would never cease to Uve ; he would never vacate his throne for another. This - expression is equivalent lo that which occurs in the book of Revelation, " I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (Rev. i. 11) ; and it is remarka ble that this language, which obviously implies etemity, and which in Isaiah is used e;xpressly to prove the divinity of Jehovah, is, in the passage referred to in the Book of Revelation, appUed no less unequivocally to the Lord Jesus Christ. 11. /, even I, ara the Lord. The repetition of the pronoun " I " makes it emphatic. The design is, to afiirm that there was no other being lo whom the name " Jehovah " appertained. There was no other one who had the attributes which the name involved ; there was, therefore, no other God. On the mean ing of the word Jehovah, see Note on ch. i. 9. If And beside me there is no Saviour. There is no one who can deUver from oppression,' and captivity, ' and exile, such as the Jews suffered in Babylon; there is no one but he who can save from sin, and from heU. All salvation, therefore, must come frora j nesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. 13 Yea, before the day was, I am he ; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand : I will work, and who 'shall 'let it? e ch. 46. 10. 7 turn it back. God ; and if we obtain deliverance from teraporal ills, or fi-om etemal death, we must seek it from hira. 19. I have declared, I have an nounced or predicted fiiture events ; I have wamed of danger ; I have raarked out the path of safety. He had thus shown thai he was the true God. See Note ch. xU. 29, 23. If And have saved, I have delivered the nation in forraer limes of danger, and have thus shown that I would protect thera. IT And have showed, Heb. " caused to hear." I have made known fiiture events, and have thus showed that I was God. If When there was no strange god among you. Before the time when there was any idol iu the nation, and wheu, therefore, il could not be pre tended that deliverance was to be traced to any one but lo Jehovah. The word " god " here is not in the original, but is properly supplied. The word il is evidently used instead jof ll ^x as in Ps. xliv. 90, Ixxxi. 9. It denotes a god that is worshipped by foreigners. "The sense is, that their former deliverance could in no sense be traced to any such foreign god. IT Therefore, ye are my witnesses. You who have so often been defended ; you who have the pre dictions respecting future events, can be appealed to as evidence that I am the only trae God, abl« to deliver. The doctrine taught in this passage is, thai God may appeal to his dealings with his people as a demonstration that he is the tme God, and that he is faithful and able to deliver — an appeal which may be made lo his church at large in view of its trials, persecutions, and deliver ances ; and to every one who is his true friend and worshipper. 13. Yea, before ihe day was. Be- 124 ISAIAH. [B.C.690. 14 Thus saiththe Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Is rael ; .For your sake I have sent to Babylon and have brought fere the first day, or before the begin ning of lime ; from etemity. The LXX render it correctly an' dpxris, and the Vulgate ab initio, from ihe beginning. ^ I am he. 1 am the same, ver. 10. IT / will work. I will accoraplish ray designs. IF And who shall lei it? Marg. as in the Heb. 'turn it back.' The meaning is, ' Who can hinder it ?' And the doctrine taught here is, (1.) That God is from everlasting — for if he was before time, he must have been etemal. (9.) That he is unchangeably the same — a doctrine which is, as it is here designed to be used, the only sure foundation for the security of his people — for who can trast a being who is fickle, changing, vaciUating ? (3.) That he can deliver his people always, no matter what are their circumstances. (4.) That he will accomplish aU his plans ; no matter whether to save his^ people, or lo destroy his foes, (5.) That no one — man or de-vil — can hinder him. How can the feeble arm of a creature resist God? (6.) That opposition to him is as finiitless as il is wicked. If men ¦wish for happiness they must fall in with his plans, and aid in the fur therance of his designs. 14. Thus saith the Lord, your Re deemer. This verse commences anolter argument for the safety of his people. It is the assurance to the Jews in Babylon that he had sent lo them a deliverer, and would bring down the pride of the Chaldeans, and demolish their city. T Your Redeemer. Note ver. 1. U / have sent to Babylon, That is, the Per sians and Medes, under Ihe comraand of Cyras. Comp. Note ch. xiii. 3. This implies that God had command over aU their armies and had the power of send ing thera where he pleased. Comp. Notes ch. X. 5, 6. This is to be under- ttood as seen by the prophet in vision. He sees the arraies of Cyras encorapass Babylon and the haughty city faU, and then says that God had sent or directed down all their 'nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 8 bars, them there. If And have brought down all their nobles. Marg. " bars." Bnt the word in this place probably means neither, but rather fugitives, Comp. Notes on ch. xxvii. 1. The word usod, nn"13 b&ridhh, means sometimes bar, cross-bar, that which parsed from one side ofthe tabernacle to the other through rings, in order to carry il ; then a bar, or bolt of any kind. Judg. xvi. 3. Neh. iii. 3. But the word may also denote one who fhes ; a fugitive ; and is prop erly used iu that sense here. The verb PIT 3 from which the word is derived, means often to break away, to flee. Gen. xvi. 8; xxxv. 1, 7. Jonah i. 3. Job xxvii. 29. 1 Sam. xix. 12. Here it raeans those who endeavoured to escape from the impending calamity and des truction : or if may refer to those who had taken refuge in Babylon from other lands, as Babylon was doubtless com posed in part of those who had sought a refiige there from other nations — a confiux of strangers. But the former is the more probable interpretation ; and the idea seems lo be, thai Jehovah had brought them down to their ships, or had led them lo lake refiige in their ships from the impending judgments. Jerome, however, understands it of re moving the strong bars with which the prisoners of the exile Jews were protect ed, so that they would be permitted to go forth in peace and safely. Lowth renders it, " I wiU bring down aU her strong bars." The LXX render it, " all thai fly," (ptiyovTss Trivra;. So the Sy riac. If And the Chaldeans, The in habitants of Babylon. If Whose cry is in ihe ships, Lowth renders this, " ex- ultmg in their ships." Noyes, " ships of their deUght." The Vulgate, " glo- rymg iu their ships." The LXX, " The Chaldeans shall be bound (SsdamuraL) in ships." The Syriac, " Who glory in their ships ¦! " The sense is, probably, that the Chaldeans, when their oily was jB.C.690.] CHAPTER XLIII. 125 15 I am the Lokd, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. 16 Thus saith the Lord, which *maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters : n Ex. 14. 16, 22. Ps. lxxvii. 19. taken, would seek to take refuge in their ships iu which they would raise a . shout. Rosenmiiller, Or it may be, as Lowth supposes, that it was one of the characteristics of the Chaldeans that they boasted of their ships, and of their com merce. Babylon was, as he remaiks, favourably situated to be a commercial and naval power. It was on the large river Euphrates, and hence had access to the Persian Gubf and the ocean ; and there can be no doubt thai il was engag ed, in the heightof its power, in com mercial enterprises. On the north of the city, the Euphrates was united to the Tigris by the canal caUed Nahar Mal- ca, or the Royal River, and thus a large part of the produce of the northern coun tries, as far as the Euxine and Caspian seas, naturally descended to Babylon. Herod, i. 194. Semiramis, the founder j of Babylon, is said to have had a fleet of three thousand galleys. After the tak ing of the city by Cyrus, we hear in deed little of the commerce of Babylon. The Euphrates was diverted from its course, and spread over the adjacent comitry ; and the Persian monarchs, in order lo prevent the danger of invasion frora that quarter, purposely obslraoted the navigation, by raaking dams across both the Tigris and the Euphrates. Strabo L. xvi. It is not to be deemed reraarkable, therefore, that in the times of its prosperity, the city of Babylon should be noted for its commerce ; or as a city exulting in its shipping, or raising the sailor's cry — a cry such as is heard in any port now where shipping abounds. The word rendered cry fll^ denotes properiy a shout of rejoicing, or joy ; Ps. xxxi. 6, xlu. 5, 1 Kings xxii. 36 ; and then also a raoumfiil cry, an outcry, wailing ; Ps. xvii. 1, Ixi. 2. Here it may mean, the joyfiil cry of commerce ; the shout of the mariner as he leaves the 17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army, and the power ; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise : they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. port, or as he returns to his home — fhe shout, the clamour, which is heard at the wharves of a commercial city. Such a cry is aUuded to by Virgil in the naval games which jEneas celebrated : ferit athera clamor Nauticua. ^nead, v. 140, 1. The sense here is, that God had sent to bring down that exulting city, and to destroy all the indications , ''itacommer- cial importance and prosperity. 15. I am ihe Lokd. I am .Tehovah — proved to be such, as the connexion de mands that we should interpret this, by sending to Babylon and bringing down your oppressors. This interposition in destroying Babylon would be a demon stration that he was Jehovah, the only trae God, and their God. If The Cre ator of Israel. Note ver. 1. IT Your King. Ruling over you, and showing the right to do it by deUvering you frora your foes. 16. Thus saith ihe IjO^-d. This verse contains a reference to the deliverance from Egyptian servitude — ^the great storehouse of argument and illustration with the sacred writers ; the standing demonstration of God's mercifiil inter position in behalf of their nation, and proof that he was their God. IT Which maketh. Whose characteristic it is to open a path of safety for his people even when deep and rapid floods are before them. The standing proof of this, which undoubtedly the prftphet had in his eye, was the deliverance frora Egypt. Still, I think, he did not mean lo refer to that alone, but to that as an iUustration of what God was, and had ever been lo his people. If A way in ihe sea. Refer ring to the path made through the- wa ters of the Red Sea when the children of Israel were permitted lo go on dry ground. 17. Which bringeth forth the chariot 126 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. 18 Remember ye not the for mer things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing : now it shall spring forth ; and horse. The reference here is, un doubtedly, to the occurrences which are 'ecorded in Ex. xiv. 4, seq., when Pha raoh and his host are said to have fol lowed the Israelites, but were aU sub merged in the sea. God is said to have brought thera forth in accordance with the general stateraent so often made, that he controls and directs princes and nations. See Notes ch. x. 5, 6. If They shall lie down together. They shall sink together to death, as Pharaoh and his army simk together in a watery grave.Thou didat blow with thy wind, the eea covered them: They sank as lead in the mighty watera. Ex. XV. 10, The deptha have covered them ; They sank into the bottom as a stono. ¦ Cx. XV. 5. IT They are extinct. They are destroy ed, as the wick of a lamp is quenched suddenly when immersed in wa.ter. This is a strilting figure to denote the sud denness •with which it was done, and the completeness of their destraction. As a flame is entirely put out when plunged beneath the water, so the whole host of the Egyptians were suddenly and completely destroyed in the Red Sea. The sentiment in this verse is, that' God has power over the nations lo control thera ; that it is one of his char acteristics to lead on the eneraies of his people to destraction ; and that they are suddenly destroyed, and their hopes and joys and triuraphs put out for ever. If it was so in regard lo the Egyptians, it will be also in regard to aU his foes. And if this took place in regard to a nation, it shall also in regard lo indivi dual siimers who oppose themselves to God.How oft is the candle of the wiftked put out ? And how oft cometh their destruction upon them? God dialributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, And aa chaii'that the storm carrieth away. Job xxi. 17. IS. shall ye not know it ? I will even make a way in the wilder ness, and rivers in the desert. * 20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the 18. Remember ye not, &c. So great and wonderfiil shaU be God's fiiture in terpositions in your behalf, that what he has done, greal as thai was, shall be comparatively forgotten. If The former things. The deliverance from Egypt, and the overthrow of his enemies there. If The things of old. The things that were forraerly done. 19. I will do a new thing. Some thing that has not hitherto occurred, sorae unheard of and wonderful event, that shall far surpass aU that he had forms erly done. See Note ch. xiii. 9.' t Now it shall spring forth. Note ch. xUi. 9. It shall spring up as the grass does from the earth ; or it shaU hud forth Uke the opening leaves and flowers — a beautifiil figure, denoting the manner in which the events of divine Providence come to pass. If / will even make a way in the wilderness. In this part of the verse, the prophet describes the anxious care which God would show in protecting his people, and providing for them in conducting them to their native land. See the expressions iiiUy explained in the Notes on ch. xU. 17, 18, 19. 20. The beast of the field shall ho nour me. The sense of this passage is plain, and the image is highly poeti cal and beautifiil. God would pour such copious floods of waters through the waste sandy deserts lo supply his people that even the wild beasts would be sensible of his abundant goodness, and would break forth into thanksgiving aud praise for the unusual supply. If The dragons. See Notu ch. xiii. 22. The LXX render the word here used, Q^SP) idnnlm, by miprim, sirens — among the ancients a marine monster that was fabled lo use sweet and alluring tones of music. It is pro bable, however, thai the LXX under stood here some species of wUd fowl which responded to one another. The Syriac translator here interprets it as e,(;,690.] CHAPTER XLIII. 127 •owls : because I give waters in the wilderness, and rive«s in the desert, to give drink to my peo ple, my chosen. 21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall "show forth my praise. 22 But thou hast not ¦called upon me, O Jacob ; but thou 4 daughters of the oiel, m, ostricJies. n Eph. 1. 6. 12. •denoting some wild animal ofthe canine species — ^a wood-dog. H And the owls. Margin, ns in the Hebrew, " daughters ¦of lh& owl, or ostrich." See Note ch. xiu. 21. 21. This people have I formed for myself. To preserve the remerabrance of my name ; to transmit the knowledge •of the trae God to lature times, and to ¦celebrate my praise. Notes ver. 1. ir They shall show forth my praise. They shall celebrate my goodness ; or, tiy their restoration to their own land, they shaU .show manifestly that they are my people 23. But thou hast not called upon me. The design of this and the follow ing verses, is to show them thai they were indebted to the divine raercy alone for itheir deliverance from bondage. It was not because they had been either merit orious or faithful ; it was not because they had deseiTed these favours at his hand ; for they had heen a people that had been distinguished for neglecting their God. On that account, these ca lamities had corae upon them, and their deUverance, therefore, was lo be. an act of mere unmerited favour. T Thou hast been weary. As a people, you Jiave been weary of my service. They had accounted his laws grievous and op pressive ; and they had groaned under what they regarded as burdensome rites and ceremonies. 'See Amos viii. 5,6. Mal. i. 13. God here refers, doubtless, to the times before the captivity, and is stating what was the general character istic of the peopie. 23. Thou hast noi brought me. As a people you have withhSd from me hast been weary 'of me, O Is. raej. 28 Thou hast not brought mo the ^small cattle cf thy burnt- offerings ; neither hast thou hon. oured me with thy sacrifices : ] have not caused thee to "serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. p Mal. 1. 13. 6 lambs, or, kids. ¦a Mett. lA.M. the sacrifices which were commanded. They had not maintained and dbserved his worship as he had required. IT The small cattle. Margin, lambs, or kids. The Hebrew word fli2?. denotes proper ly one of a flock — a sheep or a goat. It should have been so rendered here. These animals were used for bumt- oiFerings, and .the Jews were required to ofier them daily to God. If Of thy burnt-offerings. Comp. Ex. xxix. 38. Num. xxviii. 3. The burnt-offering was wholly consumed on the altar. If Wiih thy sacrifices. Bloody offer ings. There is Uttle difference between this word and that rendered " burnt- ofierings." If there is any, it is that the word rendered "sacrifice,"- H31, is of wider signification, and expresses sacrifice in general ; the word rendered "burnt-offering," M^S , •"denotes that which is consumed, or which ascends as au offering. The holocaust refers to its being burned; tbe sacrifice to the offering -however made. ^ I have not ca-ttsed thee tp serve wiih an offering. ' I have not made a slave oi thee ; I have not exacted such a service as would be oppressive and intolerable — such as is imposed' on a slave .' The word here used, I^S , is often used in such a sense, and with such a reference. Lev. xxv. 39 : ¦" Thou shall not compel him to serve the service of a bondman." Ex. i. 14. Jer. xxu. 13, xxv. 14, xxx. 8. The sense" is, that the laws of God on the subject, were uot grievous and oppres sive. T With an offering. The word here used, '^'^S^ minhha, denotes pro- 128 ISAIAH. [B.C.690. 24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou '¦filled me with the fat 2 Tmtdeme drunk, or, tdtundantly moistened. b MaJ. 1. 17. perly a bloodless oblation, and is thus distinguished frora those mentioned be fore. It consisted of flour mingled with salt, oU, and incense ; or of the fruits of the earth, &c. See Notes ch.' i. 11. Comp. Lev. ii. 2. Num. xxviii. 5. VNor wearied thee. By exacting incense. I have not so exacted il as to make it burdensome, and wearisome to you. If With incense. See Note ch. i. 13. The word flji^^ , Gr. Xi'iSoi/oj, denotes properly frankincense, a substance so caUed from its white colour, from 15' to be white. Il is found in Arabia (Isa. Ix. 6. Jer. vi. 20), and in Palestine (Cant. iv. 6, 14) ; and was obtained by making incisions in the bark of trees. It was rauch used in worship among he Jews as well as by other nations. It was burned in order to produce an agreeable fragrance. Ex. xxx. 8, xxxvii. 29. Lev. xvi. 13. 24. Thou hast bought me. You have uot purchased this — implying that it was not produced in Palestine, but was an article of commerce. It was to be obtained only from abroad. This is expressly affirmed in Jer. vi. 20 : " To what purpose cometh there to me in cense from Sheba, a-nd the sweet cane from a far country ?" That it was an article of commerce is also apparent frora Ezek. xxvii. 19 : " Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs (i. e. Tyre) : bright iron, cassia, and calaraus ("^.JlJ), were in thy mar ket." If Sweet cane. The word here used ('^.515), denotes properly eane, reed, calamus (Gr. K&vva and Kawn, Latin canna, whence the English cone, Fr. canne. It. canna). It usuaUy refers to a reed growing in wet or marshy ground. It denotes also sweet cane, calamus aromaticus. It is sometimes joined with the word SiU3 hosem, aromatic, odour, fragrance, spice, as in Ex. xxx. 23. See also Jer. vi. SO. Accprding to of thy sacrifices : but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins', thou hast wearied 'ine with thine iniquities. Pliny (12, 22) it grew in Arabia, Syria, and India ; according lo Theophrastus inthe vales of Lebanon. His. Plant. 9,7. It was used among the Hebrews in compounding the sacred perfiimes. Ex. xxx. 23. It is a knotty root, of a red dish colour, and contains a soft white pith — in resemblance probably Bot un like the calamus so well known in this couniry. Strabo and Diodoras Siculus say that it grew in Saba. Hasselquist says thai il is common in the deserts of the two Arabias. It is gathered near Jambo, a port town of Arabia Petraea, frora whence it is brought into Egypt. The Venetians purchase it, and use it in the composition of their theriaca. It is much esteemed among the Arabs on account of its fragrance. See Calmet (art. cane), and Gesenius Lex. and comm. in loco. It waa not probably used in the worship of God any where except among the Hebrews. The hea thens made use of incense, but I do not know that they used the calamus. If Neither hapt thou filled me. Margm, ' Made me drunk, or abundantly mois tened.' The word here used (fIJ'J rdvd), raeans properly to drink lo the ftdl, to be satisfied, sated with drink. See it explained in the Notes on ch. xxxiv. 6. It is applied to water which is drank, or to fat which is sucked in or drank rather than eaten (Ps. xxxvi. 9) ; or to a sword as drinking up blood. Here it means to satiate, or to satisfy. They had not ofiered the fat of sacri fices so as to satiate God. Probably this passage does not mean thai the Jews had wholly neglected the pubhc worship of God, they had not worship ped him with a proper spirit, and had thus served him with their sins, and wearied him with their transgressions. It is trae, also, that while they were abundant in external rites and ceremo nies, they frequently made oblations to idols, rather than to the trae God. Per- B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLIII. 129 25 I, even I, am he that blot- teth "out thy transgressions for mine own ''sake, and will not re member "thy sins. 0 Jer. so. iio. d Ezek. 36. 23. 33. e ler. 31. 34. haps, therefore, au emphasis is to be placed on the word " me " in this pas sage, meaning, that however diligent aud regular, they had been in the perform ance of the external riles and duties of religion, yet that God had been ne glected. If "Thou hasi made me io serve with thy sins. You have made it op pressive, burdensome, wearisome for me, like the hard and onerous service of a slave. See Note on ver. 23. Comp. Note eh. i. 14. 25. I, even I, am he. This verse contains a gracious assurance that their sins would be blotted out, and the rea son why it would be done. The pro noun "I" is repeated to make it em phatic, as iu ver. 11. Perhaps also God designs to show thera the evil of the sins which are mentioned in the previ ous verses, by the assurance that they were committed against him who alone could forgive, and who had promised them pardon. The passage also reminds them, that it was God alone who could pardon the sins of which as a nation they had heen guilty. If That blotteth out thy transgressions. This metaphor is taken from the custom of keeping ac counts, where, when a debt is paid, the charge is blotted or cancelled. "Thus God says he blotted out the sins of the Jews. He cancelled thera. He forgave thera. Of course, when forgiven, pun ishment could not be exacted, and he would treat them as pardoned ; i. e. as his friends. Tf For mine own sake. Not because you deserve it, or have any claim, or that it would not be right to punish you. Not even primarily to pro mote your happiness and salvation, but for my sake. (1.) To show the benev olence of my character. (2.) To pro mote my glory by your forgiveness and salvation. See Ezek. xxxvi. 22. If And will not remember thy sins. They shall be forgiven. Hezekiah (ch. xxxviu. 17) expresses the same I VOL. II 6* ' 26 Put me in remembrance : let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be ¦''justi fied. / Horn. 8. 33. idea by saying " thou hast cast aU my sins behind thy back." We may leam from this verse, (1.) That it is God only who can pardon sin. How vain then is it for raan to attempt it ! How wicked for man to claim the pre rogative ! And yet it is an essential part of the papal system that the Pope and his priests have the power of remit ting the penalty of transgression. (2.) That this is done by God solely for his own sake. It is not (a) because we have any claim to it — for then it would not be pardon, but justice. It is not (i'l because we have auy power to compel God to forgive — for who can contend with him, and how could mere power pro cure pardon ? It is not (c) because we have any merit — for then also it would be justice — and we have no raerit. Nor is it {d) primarily in order that we may be happy — for our happiness is a matter not worthy lo be naraed compared with the honour of God. But it is solely for his own sake — to promote his glory — ^to show his perfections — to evince the greatness of hia mercy and compassion — and lo show his boundless and eter- nal.love. (3.) They who are pardoned should live to his glory, and not to them selves. For that they were forgiven, and it should be the grand purpose of their lives so to Uve as to show forth the goodness, compassion, aud love of that rnerciful Being who has blotted out their sins. (4.) If men are ever pardoned, they must come to God — aud to God alone. They must corae not lo justify them selves, but to confess their crimes. And they must come with a wiUingness that God should pardon them on just such terms as he pleases ; at just such a time as he pleases ; and solely wiih a view to ihe promotion of his own. glory. Unless they have this feeling, they never can be forgiven, nor should they be forgiven. 26. Put me in remembrance. That is, urge all tlje arguments in your own 130 ISAIAH. [B.C.690. 27 Thy first father hath sin- 3 interpreters. defence which you can urge. State ev ery thing in self-vindication which can be stated. The language here is taken frora the practice of courts when a cause is on trial ; and God urges them on their side, to urge all in self- vindication which they can urge. On his part, he alleged thai the princes and ralers of the nation had sinned (ver. 27) ;that the whole na tion had transgressed (v. 23, 24), and that for this they were justly pun ished (ver. 28). He here urges them to advance all in self-defence which they could — if they could pretend that He had forgotten any thing ; that they had merits which he had not considered ; or that he had charged thera with crime with undue severity. If Let us plead together, Heb. " Let us be judged to gether." See Note ch. xU. 1. If De clare thou, that thou mayest be justi fied. That you may show that you are just, or righteous ; that you may demon strate that you are unjustly accused of crime, and punished with undue se verity. 27. Thy first father hath sinned. This is the argument on the side of God to show that they were neither unjustly punished, nor punished vrith undue se verity. The argument is, that their ra lers and teachers had been guilty of crime, and that, therefore, il was right , to bring aU this vengeance upon the na tion. Various interpretations have been given of the phrase " thy first father." A slight notice of them will lead lo the correct exposition. (1.) Many have supposed that Adam is here referred to. Thus Piscalor, Calovius, and most of the fathers understand il, and among the Jews, Kimchi. But the objections to this are plain. (a) Adam was not peculiarly the first father or ancestor of the Jews, but ofthe whole human race. (h) The Jews never boasted, or gloried in him as the founder of their nation, but they always referred lo Abraham under this appellation. John viii. 33,39. Matt. iii. 9. (c) It would have been ir relevant to the design of the prophet to ned, and thy "teachers havo transgressed agairist me. have referred to the flin of Adam in thia case. God was vindicating his own cause and conduct in destroying their capital and temple, and in sending them as captives to a distant land. How would it prove that he was right in this, to say that Adara was a transgressor ? How would il demonstrate his justice in these peculiar inflictions oi his anger to refer to the apostacy of the ancestor of the whole human race 1 (2.) Others re fer it to Abraham. This was the sen timent of Jerome, and of some others ; and by those who maintain this opinion, it is supposed to*efer to his doubtmg the trath of the promise (Gen. xv. 8) ; or to the denial of his vrife, and his sin in inducing her to say that she was his sis ter (Gen. xii. 11, xx. 2) ; or to the fact that when young he was an idolater. But the obvious objection to this is, that Abraham is eveiy where in the Scrip- lures proposed as an example of one em inently devoted lo God ; nor could il be said thai these calamities had corae up on them in consequence of his unfaith fulness, and his sins. (3.) Others refei il to the rulers and princes individuaUy. Thus Grotius refers it to Manasseh; Aben' Ezra to Jeroboam, &c. (4.) Oth ers, as Vitringa, refer it to the High Priest, and particularly to Uriah, who lived in the time of Ahaz, and particu larly to the fact, that in obedience to the command of Ahaz he constructed an altar in Jerusalem like the one which he had seen and admired in Damascus. 2 Kings xvi. 10-16. The objection to this in terpretation is, that no reason can be given for selecting this particular act frora a number of similar abominations on the part of the Priests and Rulers, as the cause of the national calamities. It was ouly one instance out of many of ; the crimes which brought the national judgments upon them. (5.) Others, as Gesenius, suppose that the word is to be taken collectively, not as referring to any particular individual, but lo the High Priests in general. It is not un- ; common to give the name " father" thus B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLIII. 131 28 Therefore I have profaned the ^princes of the sanctuary^ '4 oTtholy pr'moee. to a principal man among a people, and especially to one eminent in religious Buthority. The word "first" here does not refer to time, but lo rank ; not the ancestor of the people, but the one having appropriately the title of father, who had the priority also in rank. The LXX render it, o[ Trarepss ijicSv irptSroi. It refers therefore, probahly, to fee cha racter ofthe presiding officers in religion, and means that the priests suprerae in rank, and whose exaraple was so im portant, had sinned ; that there was ir- reUgion at the very foundation of influ ence and authority ; and that, therefore, it was necessary to bring these heavy judgraents ou the nation. No one ac- •quainted with the history of the Jewish people in the times imraediately preced ing the captivity, can doubt that this was the character of the High Priest hood. If And ihy teachers. Maig. in terpreters. The word here used '^"'^?'? is derived from "S^IP. This word means to stammer, lo speak unintelligibly ; and then to speak in a foreign and barbarous language, and then lo inteiprel, fi'om the idea of speaking a foreign tongue. Hence il may be used in the sense of an internuncius, or a messenger. 2 Chr. xxxii. 31. Comp. Notes on Job xxxiii. 23. That il refers here to the priests, there can be no doubt, and is properly appUed to them because they sustaiaed the office of interpreting his wUl to the people, and generally of acting as inier- nuncii or messengers between God and them. The LXX render it, " rulers," Sp^ovrsi. 28. Therefore I have profaned. The princes of the sanctuary, i. e. the priests, were by their office regarded as sacred, or set apart lo the service of God. To depose Aem from that ofiice, to subject thera lo punishment, and lo send tjiem into captivity, was, therefore, regarded as profaning them. They were strip ped of their office, and robes, and hon ours, and reduced to the same condition, and compeUed to meet with the same and have given Jacob to the curse, Mid Israd to reproaches- treatment, as the common people. The sense is, that he had made them common (for so the word 'SIJ is used in Lev. xix. 8, xxi. 9. Mal. n. 2. Ex. xxxi. 14, xix, 22. Mal. i. 12) ; he did not regard then- oflice ; he used them all alike. Tf The princes of the sanctuary. Marg. " holy princes." It raeans, either those who presided over and directed the services of the sanctuary, caUed in 1 Chron. xxiv. 5," governors ofthe sanctuary ;" or those who were holy in officq. The LXX render it, ol ^pj^^ovrcs ra 'iyia fjiov, who preside over my holy things, or my sanc tuary. The Vulgate "principes sanc tos," holy princes. The Syriac, " thy princes have profaned the sanctuary. The sense is, that God had disregarded the official character of those who were set apart to the sacred office, and had punished them in common with the peo ple at large for their sins. If And have given Jacob io the curse. The LXX render it, ¦" I have given Jacob to be de- » stroyed," djraiXEo-ai. The Hebrew word here 0*111 hherem, is thai which is com monly used to denote a solemn anathe ma, excommunication, or devotion to destraction. See Note on ch. xxxiv. 5. If To reproaches. The reproach, con tempt, and scorn which they raet with in their captivity, and in a land of stran gers; Comp. Ps. cxxxvii. 3, 4. Thus far God stales the reasons why he had punished the nation. It had been on account ofthe national irreligion and sins, and the destraction had come upon all, but pre-erainently on the priests and the rulers. In the arbitrary division which is made iu the Bible into chap ters, a very improper separation has been made by raaking the chapter close here. The sense of the whole passage is •ma terially injured by this division, and the scope of the whole argument is forgot ten. The design of the entire argiunent is, to show thai God would not leave his people 5 that though he .punished them, he would not utterly destroy thera ; and that he would appear again for their 132 ISAIAH. [.B.C.690. rescue, and restore them to their own land. This argument is prosecuted in the foUowing chapter ; and in the com mencement of that chapter the thought is pursued, that though God had thus punished them,yet he wonld appear and save them. The beginning of that chap ter is properly the continuation and completion- of the argument urged here, and this chapter should have closed at what is now the fifth verse of chapter xliv. CHAPTER XLIV. ANALYSIS. It has already been observed (Note ch. xliii. 28), that the commencement of thia chapter is . properJy a continuation and completion of the argument commenced there ; and that the division ahould have been made at what is now the close of the fiilh verse of this chapter. This chapter may be divided into the following parts. I. The assurance that though they had sinned (ch. xliii. 23—28), God would have mercy on them, and would restore them fo his lavour, and to their land, vs. 1—5. They had nothing to fear (vs. 1,2): God would bless their offspring, and they should grow and flourish like willows by the waters (vs. 3—5), and there should be among them a general turning to the LORD, and devotion to his ser- vice, ver. 5. n. An argument to show that JEHOVAH was the true God ; and a severe and most sarcastic reproof of idolatry— designed to reprove idolaters, and to lead the people to put their confidence in JEHOVAH, vs. 6—20. This argument consists of the following parts, (a) A solemn assertion of JEHOVAH himself that there was no other God, ver. 6. (&) An appeal to the fact that he only had foretold future events, and that he only could do it, vs. 7. 8. (c) A sarcastic statement ofthe manner in which idols were made, and of course, Ihe folly of worshipping them, vs. 9—20. III. The assurance tbat JEHOVAH would deliver his people from alt their calamities andoppres- sions (vs. 21—28). This part contains (l.) The assurance that he would do it. and that their sins were blotted out (vs. 21, 22). (2.) A calling upon the heavens and the earth to rejoice over so great and ¦ glorious an event (ver. 23). (3.) An appeal to what JEHOVAH had done, and cou/d do, as an evi dence that he could deliver his people, to wit : he had formed the heavens— he had made the earth ^without aid— he made diviners mad— he ftustrated the plans .of the wise, and he had confirmed the promises which he had made by his servants (vs. 21, 25, 26) ; he saidlo Jerusalem that it should be inhabited, and the cities of Judah that they should be rebuilt ; he had dried up the rivers; and he had raised up Cyrus forthe express jsurpose of deUvering his people (vs. 26,27, 28) ; and by ail this, it should be known that he would visit, and vindicate, and restore them. 1 Yet now hear, O Jacob, my servant ; and Israel, vyhom I have chosen : 2 Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from 1. Yet now hear. This should be read in immediate connexion with the previous chapter. ' Notwithstanding you have sinned, yet now hear the gracious promise which is made iu regard lo your deliverance.' 2. Thus saith the Lokd thai made thee. See Note ch. xliii. 1. IT And formed thee from the womb. This is ecfuivalent to the declaration that he was their Maker, or Creator. It means, that from the very beginning of their history as a people, he had formed and moulded all their institutions, and direct- the vyomb, which v^ill help Hhee ; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jeshurun,' whom I have "chosen. Heb. 4. ,16. m Rom. S. 5 ed all things in regard to them — as much as he is the former ofthe body from the commencement of its existence. It may be observed that the words, "from the womb," are joined by some interpreters with the phrase, " thai formed thee," meaning that he had been the origina tor of all their customs, privileges, and laws, from the beginning of their histo ry ; aud by others with the phrase, " wiU help thee," meaning that from the com raencement of their existence as a na tion he had been their helper. Accord ing to the Masoretic marks of distinc B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLIV. 135? 3 For "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods up- n John 7. 38. tion, the forraer is the true sense. So the LXX, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Lowth, &c. But Jeromej Luther, and some others prefer the latter mode. IT Fear not. Note ch. xli. 10. Though you have sinned as a people (ch. xlui. 23, 24, 27) ; and though aU these heavy judgments have come upon you (ch. xUii. 28), yet you have no reason lo fear that God will finally abandon and des troy you. 11 And thou Jeshurun I'll'^'^T. This word occurs but four times in the Bible, as a poetical narae for the people of Israel, apparently expressing aflfection and tenderness, Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 26,and in this place. It is, says Gesenius (Comra. in loc), " a flattering appeUa tion (Schmeichelwort) for Israel," and is probably a diminutive frora 'n!Illij=1lBJ ydshv,r=ydshor, the passive forra in an intransitive verh with an active signifi- ¦ cation. The ending I'l on, he adds, is terminatio charitiva — a termination in dicating affection, or kindness. In his Lexicon he observes, however (as trans lated by Robinson), that " it seems not improbable thai it was a diminutive form of the name ''iS'^'^ (Israel), which was current in common Ufe for the fiiUer forra Tl^!*'^^'? (Israelun,) a ti tle of aflfection for Israel, but Uke other common words of this sort, contracted and more freely inflected, so as at the same tune to iraply an allusion to the signification of right or uprightness contained in the root ^^'^. Jerorae ren ders it, " reclissirae," most upright. The LX5f render it, fiyaTr}ftcms 'lapaiiX, beloved Israel, The Syriac renders it, " Israel." So also the Chaldee. It is doubtless a title of aflfection, and proba bly includes the notion of uprightness, or integrity. 3. For I will pour water. Floods, rivers, streams, and waters, are often used iu the Scriptures, and especiaUy in Isaiah, to denote plenteous divine bless- on the dry ground ; I will poui my Spirit upon thy seed, "and my blessing upon thine offspring ; ings, particularly the abundant influen ces of the Holy Spirit. See Note ch. xxxv. 6, 7. 'That it here refers to ,the Holy Spirit and his influences, is proved by the parallel expressions in the subse quent part of the verse. IT Upon him that is thirsty. Or rather, " ou the thirs ty land." The word KHS refers here rather to land, and the ^g-urc is ta^en from a burning sandy desert, where wa ters would be raade to burst ont in copi ous strearas. See ch. xxxv. 6, 7. The sense is, that God would bestow blessings upon them as signal aud marveUous as if floods of waters were made to de scend on the dry, parched, and desolated earth. V Andfioods. The word 01^113 from ?15 to flow, to run as Uquids, means properly flowings, and is used for streams and rivers. Ex. xv. 8. Jer. xviii. Ps. Ixxviii. 16. Prov. v. 15. It means hete that the spiritual influences which would descend on the afflicted, desolate, comfortless, aud exiled people, would be like torrents of rain poured on the thirsty earth. This beautifiil figure is common inthe Scriptures. He shall come down like rain upon the grass, And as showers that water the earth. Ps. Ixxii. 6. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, My speech shail distil as the dew. As the small rain upon the tender herb. And as the showers upon the grass. Deut xxxii. 2. IT I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed. See ch. Ux. 21. This is in accordance with the promises every where made in the Bible to the people of God. See Ex. XX. 6. Deut. vii. 9. Gen. xii. 7, xiii. 15, XV. 18, xvii. 7, 8. Ps. Ixxxix. 4. Isa. xUu. 5. It may be regarded (1) as a promise of the richest blessings. to thera as parents — since there is to a parent's heart no prospect so consoling as thai which relates to his ofispring ; and (2) an assurance of the perpetuity of their religion ; of their return fi'om captivi ty, and their restoration to their own land. 134 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. 4 And they shall spring up ''as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses. 5 One 'shall say, I am the Lord's ; and another shall call p Acts 2. 41. q Jer. so. s. 2 Cor. 8. 5. 4. And they shall spring np. The idea is, that as plants and trees planted by water-courses, and in well-watered fields, grow aud flourish, so should their children grow iu virtue, hope, pie.ty, and zeal. % As among ihe grass. They shall spring up and flourish as the grass does when abundantly watered from heaven. On the meaning of the unusual forra of the word T'??; hi the Hebrew {in among), see Vitringa, and Rosenmiil ler. The 3 here is undoubtedly an er ror of the transcriber for 3 as — an error which from the siraUarity of the letters might be readily made. The LXX read it ws — as. The Chaldee reads il IB as. T As willows by the water-courses. WiUows are usuaUy planted in such pla ces, and grow rapidly £md luxuriantly. Il denotes here, abundant increase, vig our and beauty ; and means that their posterity would be greatly blessed of God. A sirailar figure to denote the prosperity and happiness of the right eous occurs in Ps. i. 3 :, And he shail be lilce a tree planted by the rivers of water, Thai bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; His leaf also shall not winter. These two verses teach us, (1.) That God will pour his blessing on the chil dren of his people — a promise which iu all ages, when parents are faithful, is abundantly fulfiUed. (2.) That one of the richest blessings which can be im parted to a people is, that God's Spirit should descend on their children. (3.) That the Spirit of God alone is the Source of true happiness and prosperity to our children. All else^property, learn ing, accomplishment, beauty, vigour, will be vain. Il is by his blessing only — by the influence of piety — that they will npring forth as among the grass, and like 'willows by the streams of water. (4.) Parents should pray earnestly for a himself by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and sur- name himsep" by the name of Is rael. revival of reUgion. No better descrip tion can be given of a revival than that given here — the Spirit of God descend ing Uke streams and floods on the young ; and their springing forth in the graces of piety as araong the grass, and growing in love to God and love to men like willows by the water-courses. Who would not pray for such a work of grace ? What faraily, what congregation, what people can be happy without it ? 5. One shall say. It shall be com mon to say this, or a profession of reU gion shall be common. The various expressions in this verse mean substan tially the same thing — that there should prevail among the people a disposition to make a profession of attachment to Jehovah in every proper public manner. It is in immediate connexion with what is said in ihe previous verses, that he would pour his Spirit upon them, and especially on their children. The efiect would be, that many wonld make a public profession of religion. This refers, doubtless, in the main, to the period af ter their retum from the captivity, and to the general prevalence of religion then. But it is also true of the people of God at aU- tiraes — especially under the Messiah. God pours his Spirit like gentle dews, or rains, on the famiUes of his people ; and the effect is, that many publicly profess attachment lo him. T / am the Lord's. I belong to Jehovah; I devote myself to him. Thie expresses the true nature of a profession of reU gion — a feeluig that we ar% not our own, but that we belong to God. It is, that we uot only feel that we are boimd to worship him, but that we actually beling to him ; that our bodies and spi rits, and all that we have and are, are to be sacredly employed in his service. See 1 Cor. vi. 20. 2 Cor. vu. 5, v. 14, 15. Nothing, in few words, can more appropriately describe the true natar« J5.C.690.] CHAPTER XLIV. 135 of a profession of reUgion than the ex pression here used— ''?'$ <^'i^''\ 'for Jehovah am I — I am wholly, and en tirely, and for ever for Jehovah, to obey him ; to do his will ; to suffer patiently aU that he appoints : lo live where he directs ; to die when, where, and how he pleases ; to moulder in the grave ac cording to his will ; lo be raised up by his power ; and to serve him for ever in a better world.' IT And another shall call himself iy ihe name of Jacob. The Chaldee renders this, " He shaU pray in the name of Jacob." The idea seeras to be, that he should call himself a friend oi Jacob — an Israelite. He should re gard himself as belonging to the sarae family and the same religion, as Jacob ; as worshipping the same God ; and as maintaining the same belief. To caU one's self by the same name as another is indicative of friendship and affection ; and is expressive of a purpose to be united to Mm, and to identify our inter est with his. The idea is that which one would express by sayiug thai he cast in his interest with the people of God, or he became identified with them ; as we now say, a man calls hiraself by the narae of Christ, i. e. a Christian. Jerome renders this, " he shall call by the name of Jacob ; i. e. sinners to re pentance." Comp. Note ch. xliii. 7, th, xlviu. 1. Ps. xxiv. 6. IT And another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lokd. The LXX render this, " and another shall write with his hand, x^'pi> I am of God." Lowth, " on his hand," Aq. Sym. %£ipa. Lowth supposes thai the allusion here is to the marks which were made indelible by puncture with ink on the hand or on other parts ofthe body. He -supposes that the mark thus indeUbly impressed was the name ofthe person, or the name of the master if he was a slave, or sorae indication by which it might be known to whom he belonged. In this way, the soldier marked himself with the name of his commander ; the idolater, with the name of his god ; and in this way Pro copius says that the early Christians marked themselves. On this passage he says, "Because many marked their wrists or their arms with the sign of the cross, or with the name of Christ." See Rev. XX. 4. Spencer de Leg. Hebr. L. ii. c. 20. BiitvaU this is too refined, and is evidently a departure from the trae sense of the passage. The mark, or writing, was not on the hand, but with it — UteraUy, " and this shall write his hand to Jehovah ;" and the figure is evi dently taken from the ra9de of raaking a contract or bargain, where the name is subscribed lo the instrument. It was a solemn compact or covenant, by which they enrolled theraselves among the worshippers of God, and pledged thera selves to his service. The msJiTier of a contract among the Hebrews is describ ed in Jer. xxxii. 10, 12,44. A public, so lemn, and recorded covenant, to which the names of princes, .Levites, and priests were subscribed, and which was sealed, by which they bound thera selves to the service of God, is men tioned in Neh. ix. 38. Here it denotes the solemn raanner in which they would profess to be worshippers of the true God ; and it is expressive of the true nature of a profession of reUgion. The name is given in lo God. Il is enrolled by the voluntary desire of hira who makes the profession among his friends. It is done, after the manner of solemn compacts among men, in the presence of witnesses. Heb. xii. 1. Among Christians, it is sealed in a solemn man ner by baptism, and the Lord's supper. It has, therefore, aU the binding force and obUgation of a solemn compact ; and every professor of religion should regard his covenant with God as the most sacred of all compacts, and as having a more solemn obligation than auy other. And yet, how many pro fessors are there who would shrink . back with horror from the idea of break ing a compact with man, who have no alarm at the idea of having proved un- faithfiil lo their solemn pledge that they would belong wholly to God, aud wonld live to hira alone ! Let every professor of religion remember that his prefession has all the force of a solemn compact ; that he has voluntarily subscribed his name, and enrolled himself among the friends of God ; and that there is na 136 ISAIAH. [B.C. 690. P Thus saith the Loed the King of Israel, and his Redeemer "the Lord of hosts ; I "am the first, and I am the last ; and be sides "me there is no God. s C. 43. 11. w Deut. 4. 85. « Rev. I. 8, 17. X c. 46. 9, 10. agreement of a more binding nature than thai which unites hira in pubUc profession lo the cause and the kingdom of the Saviour. IT And surname him self by the name of Israel. Shall call himself an Israelite, and shall be a wor shipper of the same God. The word rendered " shaU surname " ("^J? kana, not used in Kal, in Piel f1|3 kinna), means lo address in a fiiendly and soothing manner ; to speak kindly to any one. Gesenius renders it, " and kindly, soothingly names the name of Israel." But the idea is probably that expressed in our translation. The word sometimes denotes a giving of flattering titles to any one, by way of compli ment. Job xxxii. 21, 22 : Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person ; Neither let me give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to giveflatterin.g titles ; In so doing my Maker would soon,take me away. In Isa. xlv. 4, it is rendered, " I have sumamed thee [Cyrus] though thou hast not known me." The word does not occur elsewhere. It conveys the idea of an honourable title ; and means here, I think, that he wonld caU himself hy the hoTWurable appellation oi Israel — or an Israelite — a worshipper of the God of Jacob. It implies that a profession of the trae religion is honourable, and that it is and should be esteemed so by him who makes it. It is observable, also, that this verse contains an in stance of the paraUelisra in the Hebrew writings where the alternate raerabers correspond to each other. Here the first and third members, and the second and the fourth correspond to each other. See the Introduction, § 8. 6. TAus saith the Lord. This com mences, as I suppose (see the Analysis), the argument to prove that Jehovah is the only true God, and that the idols were vanity. The object is, to show to 7 And *who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people ? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them. the Jews, that he who had made to them such promises of protection and deUver ance was able to perform what he had pledged himself lo do. IT The King of Israel. See Notes ch. xli. 21. ^i And his Redeemer, See Notes on ch. xliu. 1. IT The Lokd of hosts. See Notes on ch. i. 9. IT J am the first. See Notes ch. xU. 4. TT And I am ihe last. In ch. xli. 4, this is expressed " with the last ;" in Rev. i. 8, " I am Alpha and Omega." The sense is, that God ex isted before aU things, and will exist for ever. IT And besides me there is no God. This is repeatedly declared. Deut. iv. 35, 39. See Note on ch. xliii. 10-12. This great truth it was God's purpose to keep steadily befo;-e the minds of the Jews ; and to keep it in the world, and ultimately to diffuse it abroad among the nations, was one of the leading rea sons why he selected them as a pecuhar people, and separated them from the rest of mankind. 7. And who as I. This verse con tains an argument to prove that he is God. In proof of this, he appeals to the fact thai he alone can predict fiiture events, and certainly declare the order, and the time in which they will come to pass. See Notes ch. xli. 21, 22, 23, xliv. 9, 10. IT Shall call. Thai is, call forth the event, or command that to happen which he wills — one of the high est possible exhibitions of power. See a sirailar use of the word " call," in ch. xlvi. 2, xlviu. 15. IF And shall declare ii. Declare, or announce with certainty the fiiture event. If And set ii in order. Arrange it ; secure the proper succes sion and place. See Notes ch. xli. 22. The word here used, Tj^S , denotes pro perly to place in a row ; set in order ; arrange. It is of the same signification as the Greek rauaw or rarrw, and is ap plied to placing the wood upon the altai B.C.690.] CHAPTER XLIV. 137 8 Fear °ye not, neither be afraid : have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it ? ye are even my 'witnesses. Is there a 'God besides me ? yea, there is no God ; I know not any. in a proper manner. Gen. xxii. 9 ; or to placing the shew-bread in proper order on the table. Lev. xxiv. 8 ; and espe cially to setting an army in order, or putting it in battle array, Judg. xx. 20, 22. 1 Sam. xvn. 2. Gen. xiv. 8. Here it means, that God would arrange the events in a proper order — as an army is marshaU^ and arrayed for battle. There should be no improper sequences of events ; no chance ; no hap-hazard ; no confusion. The events which take place under his govemihent, occur in proper order and time, and so as best to subserve his plans. IT For me. In or der to execute ray plans, and to pro mote my glory. "The events on earth are roK God. They are such as he chooses lo ordain, and are arranged in the maimer which he chooses. T Since I appointed ihe ancient people. ' Frora my constituting the people of old ;' that is, God had given thera intunations of fiiture events frora the very period when he, in times long past, had selected and appointed thera as his people. They were, therefore, qualified to be his wit nesses, ver. 8. IT And ihe things that are coming, let ihem show. See Notes ch. xli. 22, 23. 8. Fear ye -not, neither be afraid. See Notes ch. xli. 10. The word here rendered " be afraid," occurs nowhere else in the Bible. There can be no doubt, however, in regard lo its mean ing. The LXX render it /iriSe KXamoec, • neither be deceived.' All the other an cient versions express the sense to fear, to be afraid. -Gesenius, Lex. on the word PiTi . IT Have not I told thee from thai time. Have I not fiilly de clared frora the very commencement bf your history as a people, in the main what shaU occwl V Ye are even my 9 They ^'that make a graven image are all of them vanity : and their 'delectable things shall not profit: and they are their own witnesses ; they see not, nor know, that they may be asham ed. e ch. 41. 24, S9. 9 desirable. witnesses. See Notes ch. xliii. 12. If 7s ihere a God besides me ? This is a strong mode of afiirming that there is no God besides Jehovah. See Note on ver. 6. IT Yea, there is no God. Marg. " Rock, IIS izur. The word rock is often applied lo God. See Note ch. xxx. 29. Corap. Deut. xxxu. 4, 30, 31. Ps. xix. 14, xxxi. 2, 3, xiii. 9, et saepe al. The idea is taken frora the fact that a lofty rock or fastness was inaccessible by an eneray, and that those who fled there were safe. 9. They that make a graven image. A graven iraage is one that is cut, or sculptured out of wood or stone, in con tradistinction from one thai is molten, which is made by being cast. Here it is used to denote an image, or an idol god in general. God had asserted in the previous verses his own divinity, and he now proceeds to show, at length, the vanity of idols, and of idol worship. This same topic was introduced in ch. xl. 18 — 20 (see Notes on that passage), but it is here pursued at greater length, and in a tone and raanner far more sar castic and severe. Perhaps the pro phet had two iraraediate objects in view ; first, to reprove the idolatrous spirit in his own tirae, which prevailed especiaUy in the early part ofthe reigff of Manas seh ; and secondly, to show to the exile Jews in Babylon that the gods of the Babylonians could not protect their city, and that Jehovah could rescue his own people. He begins, therefore, by saying, that the makers oi the idols were all of th^m vanity. Of course, the idols them selves could have no more power than their makers, and must be vanity also. IT Are all of ihem vanity. See Note ch. xli. 29. IT And their delectable things. Marg. " desirable." The sense 138 ISAIAH. [-B.C. 690. 10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable 'for nothing ? 11 Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed ;"" and the workmen, they are of men : let them all be ft Hab. 2. IS. I Cor. 8. 4. m Pa. 97. 7. is, their valued works, their idol gods, on which they have lavished so much ex pense, and whic'a they prize so highly. IT Shall not profit. Shall not be able to aid or protect them ; shall be ofTio ad vantage to them. SeeHabak. ii. 18. IT And they are iheir own witnesses. They can foreteU nothing ; they can fiir nish uo aid ; they cannot defend in times of danger. This may refer either lo the worshippers, or to the idols themselves — and was alike true of both. IT They see not. They have no power of dis cerning any thing. How can they then foresee fiiture events'! IT That they may be ashamed. The same sentiment is repeated in ver.ll, and in ch. xlv. 16. The sense is, that shame and confiision must await aU who put their trust in an idol god. 10. Who hath formed a god. The LXX read this verse in connection with the close of the previous verse, " But they shaU be ashamed who make a god, and aU who sculpture unprofit able things." This interpretation also, Lowth, by a change in the Hebrew text on the authority of a MS. in the Bod leian Ubrary, has adopted. This change is raade by reading '^'S ki, instead of "''? mi in the beginning of the verse. But the authority of the change, being that of a single JIS. and the Septuagint, is not sufficient. Nor is it necessary. The question is designed to be ironical, and sarcastic: ' Who is there,' says the pro phet, ' that has done this 1 Who are they that are engaged in this stupid work 1 Do they give raarks of a sound mind ? What is, and must be the cha racter of a man that has formed a god, and that has raade an unprofitable gra ven image V 11. Behold, all his fellows, AUthat are joined in making, and in worship- gathered together, let them stand up ; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. 12 The smith" with the 'tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and n ch. 40. 19, &c. I or, an axe. ping it, are regarded as the fellows, or the companions T''J?'!3 of the idol god. See Hos. iv. 17: '-'Ephraim is joined to idols." They and the idols consti tute one company or fellowship, inti mately alUed to each other. T Shalt be ashamed. Shall be confounded when they find that their idols cairaot aid them. IT And the workmen. The al lusion to the workmen is to show thai what they made could not be worthy of the confidence of men as an object of worship. IT They are of men. 'They are mortal men ; they must themselves soon die. Il is ridictdous, therefore, for thera lo attempt lo raake a god that can defend or save, or thai should be ador ed. IT Let them all be gathered to gether. For purposes of trial, or to urge their claims lo the power of making an object that should be adored. See Note ch. xli. 1. H Let them siandup. As in a court of justice, to defend their cause. See Note ch. xU. 21. IT They shall fear. They shaU be alarmed when danger comes. They shaU find that their idol gods cannot defend them. 12. The smiih wiih the iongs. The prophet proceeds here lo show the folly and absurdity of idolatry ; and in order to this he goes into an extended state ment (vs. 12-19) ofthe manner in which idols were usuaUy made. Lowth re marks, " The sacred writers are gene raUy large and eloquent on the subject of idolatry ; they treat it with great se verity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest light. But this passage of Isaiah far exceeds any thing that was ever written on the subject, in force of argument, energy of expression, and el egance of composition. One or two of the Apocryphal writers have attempted to imitate the' prophet, but with very ill success. Wisdom xiii. 11-19, xv. 7 B.C.690.] CHAPTER XLIV. 139 worketh it with the strength of his arms : yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth : he drinketh no water, and is faint. &c. Baruch ch. vi." Horace, however, has given a description of the making of idols, which for severity of satire, and pungency of sarcasm, has a strong re semblance to this description in Isaiah : Glim truncus eram ficblnus, inutile lignum ; Cum faber, incertiis scamnum iaceretne Priapum, Maluit esse Deum. Sat. Lib. i. viii. 1—3. Lowth renders the phrase ' the smith with the tongs,' " the smith cutteth off a portion of iron." Noyes, " the sraith preparelh an axe." 'The LXX, " the carpenter sharpeneth w^ui/eiron," oiSripou, i. e. an axe. So also the Syriac. Ge senius renders il, " the smith makes an axe." Many other renderings of the passage have been proposed. The idea in this verse is, I think, that the prophet describes the commencement of the pro cess of making a graven image. For thai purpose, he goes back even to the making of the instraments by which it is manufactured, and in this verse he de scribes the process of making an axe, vrith a view to ,the cutting down of the tree, and formmg a, god. That he does not here refer lo the raakuig of the idol it self is apparent from the feet thai the pro cess here described is that of working in iron ; but idols were not made of iron, and that here described especially (ver. 11 seq.) is one made of wood. The phrase here used, therefore, refers to the pro cess of axe-making with a view lo cut ting down a tree lo make a god ; and the prophet describf s the ardour and ac tivity with which it is done, to show how much haste they were in to com plete it. The literal translation of this phrase is, • The workman tti^n (st. const, for 115 'in) of iron [maketh] an axe.' IT Both , worketh in the coals. And he works the piece of iron of which he is makmg an axe in the coals. He blows the coals in order to produce an uitense heat. See ch. liv. 16 : " Be hold I have created the smith that blow eth the coals in the fire." liAndfashlon- 13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule, he marketh it out with a line, he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out eth it with ham.mers . Forms the mass of iron into an axe. Axes were not cast, but wrought. T And worketh it with the strength of his arms. Or, he works it with his . strong arms — refening to the fact that the arm of the' sraith by constant usage becomes exceedingly strong. A description reraarkably sim ilar to this occurs in VirgU when he is describing the Cyclops : lib inter sese magna vi brachia tollunt In numerum j versuntque tenaci forcipe ferrimi. Georg. iv. 174, 175. Heaved with vast strength their arms in order rise, And blow to blow in measured chime replies ; While with firm tongs they turn the sparkling ora, And ^Etna's caves with ponderous anvils roar. tsotheby. IT Yea, he is hungry. He exhausts himself by his hard labour. The idea is, that he is so anxious to have it done ; so engaged ; so diUgenl, that he does not even stop to lake necessary refresh ment. IT And his strength faileth. He works tiU he is completely exhaust ed. IT He drinketh no water. He does not intermit his work even long enough lo take a draught of water, so hurried is he. While the iron is hot, he works with intense ardour, lest it should grow cool, and his work be re tarded — a very graphic description of what all have seen in a blacksmith's shop. The Rev. J. WilUams states that when the South Sea Islanders made an idol, they strictly abstained from food ; and although they might be, and were sometimes, three days about the work, no water, and he believes no food pass ed their lips aU the time. This fact would convey a satisfactory elucidation ofan allusion not otherwise easily ex plained. Pictorial Bible, 13. The carpenter. The axe is made (ver. 12), and the carpenter now pro ceeds to the construction of the god. IT Stretcheth out his rule. For the pur pose of laying out his work, or measur ing il. "The word here rendered "rule" however, 1|5 means properly a line ; and 140 ISAIAH. [.i5.C.690. with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, accord ing to the beauty of a man ; that it may remain in the house. 14 He heweth him down ce- should be so rendered here. The car penter stretches out a line, but not a rule. H He marketh it out with a line. He marks out the shape ; the length, and breadth, and thickness of the body, in the rough and unhewn piece of wood. He has an idea in his mind of the pro per shape of a god, aud he goes lo work to make one of that form. The expres sion " to mark out with a line," is, how ever, not congruous. The word which is here used, and which is rendered " line " 'T?.ii3, occurs nowhere else in the Bible. _ Lowth aud Kimchi render it, " red-ochre." According to this the re ference is to the chalk, red clay, or cray on, which a carpenter uses on a line to raark out his work. But according to Gesenius, the word means an awl, or a stylus, or engraver, with which the ar tist sketches the outlines of the figure to be sculptured. A carpenter always uses such an instrament in laying out and marking his work. H He fitteth ii with planes. Or rather with chisels, or carv ing-tools, vrith which wooden images were carved. Planes are rather adapt ed to a smooth surface ; carving is per formed with chisels. 'The word is de rived from i'SjS, lo cut off. The Chal dee renders it, 'SSlS?, a knife. The LXX render this, " framed il by rule, and glued the parts together." H Mark eth it out with ihe compass. From ^in hhUg, lo make a circle, to revolve, as compasses do. By a compass he accu rately designates the parts, and marks out the symmetry of the form. IT Ac cording to the beauty of a man. Per haps there raay be a Uttle sarcasm here in the thought that a god should be raade in the shape of a raan. It was trae, however, that the statues of the gods araong the ancients were made after the most perfect conceptions of the hu- dars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth' for himself among the trees of the forest : he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. 1 or, taketh courage. man form. The statuary of the Greeks was of this description, and the images of Apollo, of Venus, and of Jupiter, have been celebrated every where as the most perfect representations of the human form. IT That it may remain in the house. To dweU in a temple. Such statues were usually made to decorate a teraple ; or rather perhaps teraples were reared to be dwelUng places of the gods. Il may be implied here, that the idol was of no use but to remain in a house. Il could not hear, or save. It was like a useless piece of furniture, and had none of the attributes of God. 14. He heweth him down cedars. In the previous verses, the prophet had described the formation of an axe with which the work was lo be done (ver. 12), and the laying out, and carving of the idol (ver. 13). In this verse he pro ceeds lo describe the material of which the idol was made, and the different pur poses (v. 15—17) to which thai raaterial was appUed. 'The object is to show the amazing stupidity of those who should worship a god made of the same mate rial from which they made a fire to warm themselves, or to cook their food. For a description of cedars, see • Notes ch. ix. 10. IT And taketh. Takes to himself ; that is, makes use of. If The cypress. flpR tirza. This word oc curs nowhere else in the Bible. It is probably derived from a root (''^P tardz), signifying to be hard, or firm. Hence it probably raeans sorae species of wood that derived its name from its hardness, or firmness. Jerome translates it ilex — a species of OEik, the holm-oak. It was an evergreen. This species of evergreen Gesenius says was abundant in Palestine. T And the oak. The oak was commonly used for this pur pose on account ofits hardness and du rability. IT Which he strengtheneth B.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLIV. 141 15 Then shall it be for a man to burn : for he will take thereof and warm himself; yea, he kin- dleth it, and baketh bread ; yea, he maketh a god, and worship- for himself. Marg. " taketh courage." The word y^^ means properly to strengthen, to raake strong, lo repair, to replace, to harden. Rosenmtiller and Gesenius suppbse that it means here io choose, i. e. to set fast, or appoint ; and they appeal to Ps. bcxx. 15, 17, " thou tnadest strong for thyself." Kimchi supposes thai il raeans, that he gave himself with the utmost dUigence and care to select the best kinds of wood for the purpose. Vitringa, that he was in- lent on his work, and did not leave the place, but refreshed himself with food in the woods without returning horae in order that he might accoraplish his de sign. Others interpret it to mean that he girded hiraself with strength, and made use of his most intense efforts in feUing the trees of the forest. Lowth renders it, " and layeth in good store of the trees of the forest." It raay mean that he gave hiraself with greal diUgence to the work ; or may it not mean that he planted such trees, and took great pains in watering and cultivating them for this purpose. T He planteth an ash, )'l^. The Septuagint renders it pine — irirar. Jerome also renders it pinum. Gesenius supposes the name was giveli from the fact that the tree had" a taU and slender top, which when it vibrated gave forth a tremulous, creaking sound (from ')5'3 randn). This derivation is, however, soraewhat fancifid. Most in terpreters regard it as the ash — a weU known tree. In idolatrous countries, where it is comraon to have idols in almost every feraUy, the business oi idol- making is a very important raanufac- ture. Of course, large quantities of wood would be needed ; and it would be an object to procure that which was raost pure, — or as we say, « clear stuff;" and which would work easily, and to advan tage. It becarae iraportant, therefore. path it : he maketi it a graven image, and faileth down thereto. 16 He burneth part thereof in the fire : with part thereof he eateth flesh ; he roasteth i-oast, to cultivate that wood, as we do for ship-buUding, or for cabinet work, and doubtless groves were planted for this purpose. IT And ihe rain doth nourish it. These circurastances are raentioned lo show the foUy of worshipping a god that was formed in this manner. Per haps also the prophet means to intimate that though the man planted the tree, yet that he could not make il grow. He was dependent on the rains of heaveii ; aud even in making an idol god he was indebted to the providential care of the trae God. — Men even in their schemes of wickedness are dependent on God. Even in forming and executing plans to oppose and resist hira, they can do no thing without his aid. He preserves them, feeds them, clothes thera ; and the instraments which they use against him are those which he has nurtured. On the rain of heaven ; on the sunbeara and the dew ; on the teeming earth, and on the elements' which he has made, and which he controls, they are dependent ; and they can do nothing in their wick ed plans without abusing the bounties of his Providence, and the expressions of his tender mercy. 15. Then shall it be for a man io bum. It wiU afford materials for a fire. The design of this verse and the follow ing is, to ridicule the idea of a man's using parts of the same tree lo make a fire, to cook his victuals, to warm him self, and to shape a god. Nothing could be more stupid than the conduct here referred to, and yet it is common aU over the heathen world. It shows the utter debasement of the race, that they thus of the same tree make a fire, cook their food, and construct their gods. 16. Wiih pari thereof he eateth flesh. That is, he prepares flesh to eat, oi prepares his food", V He roasteth roast. He roasts meat. 142 ISAIAH. [B.C.690. and is satisfied ; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire : 17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image : he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god. 18 They «have not known nor understood : for ''he hath =shut their eyes, that they cannot see ; g ch. 45. 20. h cb. 6. 9, 10. 5 daubed. 18. They have -not known nor under stood. They are stupid, ignorant, and bUnd. Nothmg could more strikingly show their ignorance and stupidity than this idol worship. IT He hath shut iheir eyes. God had closed their eyes. Marg. " daubed." The word here used, fii? frora fl'i^, denotes properly to spread over ; to besraear ; to plaster ; as e. g. a wall with mortar. Lev. xiv. 42. 1 Chron. xxix. 4. Ezek. xui. 10,22,28. Here il raeans lo cover over the eyes so as to prevent vision ; aud hence meta- phoricaUy to raake them stupid, igno rant, dull. It is attributed to God in accordance with the common statement of the Scriptures, that he does what he. permits to be done. See Notes ch. vi. 9, 10. It does not mean that God had done it by any physical, or direct agen cy, but thai it had occurred under the administration of his Providence. It is also true that the Hebrew writers sorae tiraes eraploy an active verb when the signification is passive, and when the main idea is, that any thing was in faci done. Here the main point is uot the agent by which this was done, but ihe fact that their eyes were blinded — and perhaps all the force of the verb f^^ used here would be expressed if it was rendered in an impersonal, or in a pas- ,Bive form, ' it is covered as lo their eyes,' i. e. their eyes are shut, without suggesting that it was done by God. So the LXX render it, dTrrjuavpuSriaav, they are blind, or involved in darkness. and their hearts, that they cannot understand. 19 And none 'considereth *in his heart, neither is there know ledge nor understanding to say, I have burnt part of it in the fire ; yea, also I have baked bread up on the coals thei-eof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it ; and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to 'the stock of a tree 1 6 eetteth to. ft Hos. 7. s. 7 t?mt which comes qf. So the Chaldee, TjtiHDa also in the plural — their eyes are obscured or blind. It cannot be proved frora this text that God is by direct agency the author by whom il was done. — It was not uncom mon to shut up, or seal up the eyes for various purposes in the East, and un questionably the prophet aUndes to some such custom. " It is one of the solem nities al a Jevrish wedding at Aleppo, according to Dr. RusseU, who mentions , it as the most remarkable thing in their ceremonies al that time. It is done by fastening the eyelids togethfer with a gum, aud the bridegroom is the person he says, if he remembered right, thai ojiens the bride's eyes at the appointed time. It is also used as a punishment in those countries. So Sir Thomas Roe's chaplain, in his account of his voyages lo East India, tells us of a son of the Great Mogul, whom he had seen, and with whora Sir Thomas had con versed, that had before that time been cast into prison by his father, where his eyes were sealed up, by soraething put before them which raight not be taken off for three yeai-s; after which lime the seal was taken away that he might with freedom enjoy the light, tliough not his liberty." Harmer's Observ. vol. 3, p. 507, 508. Ed. Lond. 8vo. 1808. 19. And none considereth in his heart. Marg. " setieth io." He does not place the subject near his heart, or mind ; he does not think of il. A simi lar phrase occurs in ch. xlvi. 8 : " Brmg it again to mind." It is a phrase drawn iJ.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLIV. 143 20 He feedeth on ashes : a de ceived heart 'hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say. Is there not a lie in my right hand ? 21 Remember these, O Jacob r Hos. 4. 12. Rom. I. Sl. s Thes. 2. 11. frora the act of placing an object near us in order to examine it closely ; aad we express the same idea by the phrase ' looking at a thing,' or ' looking at it closely.' The sense is, they had not attentively and carefully thought on the folly of what they were doing — a senti ment which is as trae of all sinners as it was of stupid idolaters. H An abomi nation. A name that is' often given to an idol. 2 Kings xi. 5, 7, xxiu. 13. The meaning is, that au idol was abominable and detestable in the sight of a holy God. It was that which he could not endure. IT Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree ? Marg. " that which comes of." The word '13 means pro perly produce, increase, and here evi dently a stock or trunk of wood. So it is in the Chaldee. 20. He feedeth on ashes. There have been various interpretations of this. Jerome renders it, " a part of it is ashes ;" the Chaldee, "lo! half of the god is reduced to ashes ;" the Septua gint, " know thou that their heart is ashes." The word here rendered " feed eth" "iSI, means properly lo feed, graze, pasture ; and then, figuratively, to deUght, or take pleasure iu any per son or thing. Prov. xiu. 20, xxviii. 7, xxix. 3, XV. 14. In Hosea xu. 1, " Ephraim feedeth on wind," it raeans to strive after something vain or unpro fitable ; to seek that which wffl prove to be vain and unsatifactory. So here it means, that in their idol service they would not obtain that which they sought. It would be .like a man who sought for food, and found it to be dust, or ashes ; and the service of an idol compared with what man needed, or compared with the trae reUgion, would be lUce ashes compared with nutritious and whole some diet. This graphic description and Israel ; for thou art rny ser vant : I have formed thee ; thou art my servant : O Israel, thoU shalt not be 'forgotten of me. 22 I have blotted out, 'as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, t ch. 49. 14, 15. V Ps. 103. 12. ch. I. 18. of the effect of idolatry is just as true of the ways of sin, and of the pursuits ol the world now. It is true of the gay and the fashionable ; of those who seek happiness in riches and honours ; of aU those who make this world their por tion, that they are feeding on ashes — they seek that wi.'ch is vain, unsub stantial, unsatisfactory, and which will yet fiU the soul itself with disgust and loathing. IT A deceived heart hath turned him aside. This is the true source of the difficulty ; this is the foun tain of aU idolati-y and sin. The heart is first wrong, and then the imderstand- ing, and the whole conduct is turned aside from the path of trath and duty. Comp. Rom. i. 28. IT A lie in my right hand. The right hand is the instra ment of action. A lie is a name often given to an idol as being false and delu sive. The sense is, that that which they had been making, and on which they were depending, was deceitful and vain. The work of their right hand — the fruit of their skUl aud toil, was de ceptive, and could not save them. The doctrine is, that that which sinners rely on to save their souls ; that which has cost their highest efforts as a scheme lo save them, is false and delusive. AU schemes of religion of human origin are of this description ; and all wiU be alike deceptive and rainous to the soul. 21. Remember these. Remember these things which are now said about the folly of idolatry, and the vanity of worshippmg idols. The object of the argument is, to tum their attention to God, and to lead them to put their trus in him. IT Thou art my servant. Set Notes ch. xiii. 19, xliii. 1. 22. I have blotted out. The word here used, inH, means properly to wipe 144 ISAIAH. [-B.C. 690. and, as a cloud, thy sins : return unto me ; for I have redeemed "thee. w I Cor. 6. 20. 1 Pet 1. 18. Kev. 5. 9. away, and is often appUed to sins, as if the account was wiped off, or as we ex press it, blotted out. Ps. li. 3, 11. See Note Isa. xlui. 25. The phrase, "lo blot out sins like a cloud," however, is unusual, and the idea not very obvious. The trae idea would be expressed by renderiiig it, ' I have made them to van ish as a thick cloud ; * and the sense is, as the -svind drives away a thick cloud, however dark and frowning it may be, so that the sky is clear and serene, so God had caused their sins to disappear, and had removed the storm of his anger. Nothing can more strikingly represent sin in its nature and consequences, than a dense, dark, frovming cloud that comes over the heavens, and shuts out the sun, and fills the air with gloom ; and noth ing can more beautifiilly represent the nature and effect of pardon than the idea of removing such a cloud, and leaving the sky pure, the air calm and serene, and the sun pouring down his beams of warmth and light on the earth. So the soul of the sinner is enveloped and over shadowed with a dense cloud ; but par don dissipates that cloud, and it is calm and joyfiil and serene. IT And as a cloud. The Chaldee renders this, " as a ffying cloud." The difference be tween the two words here rendered " thick cloud," and " cloud," 3S , and 15? , is, that the former is expressive of a cloud as dense, thick, compact ; and the latter as covering or veiling the heavens. Lowth renders the latter word " vapour ; " Noyes, " mist." Both words however usually denote a cloud. A pas sage similar to this is found in Demos thenes, as quoted by Lowth : " This de cree made the danger then hanging over the city pass away like a cloud." IT Re turn unto me. Since your sins are par doned, and such raercy has been shown, return now, and serve rae. The argu ment here is derived frora the mercy of God in forgiving them, and the doctrine 23 Sing, O ye heavens ; 'for the Lord hath done it : shout, ye lower parts of the earth, break X Ps. 95. II, 12. Rev. 18. 20. is, that the fact that God has forgiven us imposes the strongest obUgations to devote ourselves to his service. Thc fact that we are redeemed and pardon ed is the highest argument why we should consecrate all our powers to him who has purchased and forgiven us. 23. Sing, 0 ye heavens. See ch. xlu. 10. Il is comraon in the sacred wri tings to call on the heavens, the earth, and all created things, to join in the praise of God on any great and glorious event. See Ps. xcvi. 1, 11, 12. Ps. cxlviii. The occasion of the joy here was the fiict that God had redeemed his people — a fact, iu the joy of which the heavens aud earth were caUed to participate. An apostrophe such as the prophet here uses is common in aU writings, where in animate objects are addressed as having Ufe, and as capable of sharing in the emo tions of the speaker. Vitringa has en deavoured to show that the various ob jects here enumerated are emblematic, aud that by the heavens are meant the angels which are in hfeaven ; by the low er parts of the earth, the more humble and obscure repubUcs ofthe heathen ; by the mourtains, the greater and more mighty kingdoms ; by the forest, and the trees, large and spacious cities, with their nobles. So Grotius also interprets the passage. But the passage is a highly- wrought expression of elevated feeUng ; the language of poetry, where the pro phet calls on all objects to exult; — an apostrophe lo the highest heavens and the lowest part of the earth — the mount ains and the forests — the most sublime objects in nature — to exult in the fact thai the Jewish people were deliverea frora their long and painfiil captivity, and restored again to their own land. IT The Lokd hath done it. Has deUv ered his people from their captivity in Babylon. There is, however, no impro priety in supposing that the eye of the prophet also rested on the glorious deliv- fl.C. 690.] CHAPTER XLIV. 145 forth into singing, ye mountains, 'O forest, and every tree therein : for the Lord hath redeemed Ja cob, and glorified ''himself in Is rael. 24 Thus 'saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and he that formed i Ezek. 36, 1. 8. d ch. 55. 13. e ver. 6. erance of his people by the Messiah ; and thai he regarded one event as era- blemalic of, and introductory to the other. The language here used wiH cer tainly appropriately express the feelings which should be raanifested in view of the plan of rederaplion under the MeSr siah. IT Shout, ye lower paris af ihe earth. The foundations of the earth ; the parts reraote from the high heavens. Let the highest and the lowest objects shout ; the highest heavens^ and the depths of the earth. The LXX render it ra fe/itXia Tijf yijt — the foundations of the earth. So the Chaldee. IT Ye mountains. So in Psalm cxlviii. 9, 13: " Mountains and aU hiUs ; fhiitfiii trees and aU cedars — Let them praise the narae of the Lokd." IT O forest, and every tree therein. Referring either to Lebanon, as being the raost magnifiiient forest known to the prophet ; or to any forest as a great and sublime object. 24. Thy Redeemer. Note ch. xliu. 1. "^ And he ihat formed thee from the womb. See Note on ver. 2. IT That stretcheth forth the heavens. Note ch. xl. 22. IT That spreadeth abroad the earth. Representing the earth, as is often done in the Scriptures, as a plain. God here appeals to the fact that he alone had made the heavens and the earth, as the demonstration that he is able to accompUsh what is here said of the deliverance of his people. The same God that made the heavens is the Redeemer and Protector of the church, and THEREFORE the church is safe. 25. That frustrateth. Heh. breaks ing; i. e. destroying, rendering vain. The idea is, that thaf which necroman cers and diviners relied on as certain demonstration thaf what ttey predicted VOL. II. — 7 thee from .^the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that '^stretcheth forth the heavens alone : that spreadeth abroad the eanh by myself; 25 That *frustrateth the tokens ofthe liars, and maketh diviners / Gal. 1. 15. ft Ps. 104. 2. i 2 Chron. 18. II, 34. Jer. 50. 36. 1 Cor. 3. 19. would be fiilfiUed, God makes vain and inefficacious. The event which they predicted did not follow, and all their alleged proofe that they were endowed with divine or miraculous power he ren dered vain. IT The tokens, Heb. signs, ninx. This word is usuaUy applied lo miracles, or to signs of the divine interposition and presence. Here it means the things on which diviners and soothsayers relied ; the tricks of cunning and sleight-of-hand which they adduced as miracles, or as demonstra tions that they were under a divine in fluence. See the word more fiilly ex plained in the Notes on ch. vii. 2. If The liars. Deceivers, boasters — meaning conjurers, or false prophets. Comp. Jer. 1. 36. See also Isa. xvi. 6, Note. IT And maketh diviners mad. That is, raakes them foolish, or deprives thera of wisdom. They pretend to fore tell fiiture events, but the event does not corre^ond with the prediction. God orders it otherwise, and thus they are shown to be foolish, or unwise. T That turneth wise men backward. Lowth renders this, " who reverseth the de vices of the sages." The sense is, he puts them to shame. Tlie idea seeras to be derived frora the fact that when one is ashamed, or disappointed, or fails of performing- what he promised, he turns away his face, See 1 Kings ii. 16, margin, "^he f'wise raen," here denote the sages ; the diviners ; the soothsayers ; — and the sense is, that they -were not able to predict fiiture events, and that when their prediction failed, they woul