1._For, behold. _We stated, a little before, that this is the same subject which the Prophet began to treat towards the close of the former chapter; for he warns the Jews that their wealth, however great it may be, will be of no avail to prevent the wrath of God, which, when it has once been kindled... [ Continue Reading ]
2._The strong man, and the man of war _He mentions other ends which contribute to the safety and good order either of nations or of cities. Of these he threatens that the Jews will be wholly deprived, so that they will neither have wisdom or bravery at battle, nor military forces abroad. He is not c... [ Continue Reading ]
4._And I will appoint children to be their princes _(56) That the vengeance of God may be more manifest, he now describes how sad and wretched will be the change, when competent and faithful rulers shall be taken from among them and God shall put cowardly and worthless persons in their room. By _chi... [ Continue Reading ]
5._The people will oppress every man his neighbor _He describes the utmost confusion, which was about to overtake the Jews, when order was destroyed or relaxed; and this will happen to all nations, as soon as government is removed or falls to the ground. We know how great is the wantonness of the hu... [ Continue Reading ]
6._When every man shall take hold of his brother _As this verse is closely connected with the former, and proceeds without interruption as far as the phrase _he shall swear, _the particle כי (_ki_) is evidently taken for an adverb of time. For Isaiah, intending to express the extreme wretchedness of... [ Continue Reading ]
7._In that day shall he swear. _The word _swear _expresses an absolute and vehement refusal; for frequently he who at first excuses himself, or declares that he will not do it, at length yields to entreaty; but he who, in refusing, employs an oath, shuts out all hope, because he gives them to unders... [ Continue Reading ]
8._For Jerusalem is ruined. _Lest it should be thought that God is excessively cruel, when he punishes his people with such severity, the Prophet here explains briefly the reason of the calamity; as if he had said that the destruction of that ungodly people is righteous, because in so many ways they... [ Continue Reading ]
9._The proof of their countenance will answer in them, _or, _will answer against them _(59) As the Prophet had to do with impudent and brazen-faced hypocrites, who impudently boasted that they were good men; so he says that their countenance testifies what kind of persons they are, and that it will... [ Continue Reading ]
10._Say, it shall be well with the righteous _Before quoting the opinions of others, I shall point out the true meaning As punishments so severe commonly present to pious minds an exceedingly sharp temptation, and especially since hardly any public calamities occur which do not involve good men alon... [ Continue Reading ]
11._Woe unto the wicked! _It shall be ill with him. He brings forward this clause as a contrast to the former one; from which it may be easily inferred what was the design of the Prophet, namely, to comfort the godly, and to terrify the wicked by the judgment of God. For when an uncommonly severe ca... [ Continue Reading ]
12._The oppressors of any people are children _(60) Here also is reproved the madness and sottishness of the people, because they shut their eyes at noon-day. There is nothing which men are more reluctant to allow than to have a yoke laid on them; nor do they willingly submit to be governed by noble... [ Continue Reading ]
13._Jehovah standeth up to plead _So long as wickedness rages without control, and the Lord sends no relief from on high, we think that he is idle and has forgotten his duty. More especially, when the nobles themselves are spared, he appears to grant them liberty to commit sin, as if they were most... [ Continue Reading ]
14._The Lord will enter into judgement with the ancients of his people. _Formerly he had erected for God a throne from which he might plead. Now he says that _he will enter into judgment_. How? _with the ancients_. There might have been a slight allusion to lawful assemblies, in which older men sit... [ Continue Reading ]
15._What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces? _He mentions also other particulars, from which it is evident that they ruled in a haughty, cruel and oppressive manner. It was not necessary that the Prophet should describe minutely everything deserving reproof in the princes; for from these few c... [ Continue Reading ]
16._Because the daughters of Zion are haughty. _Next follows another threatening against the ambition, luxury, and pride of women. On these points the Prophet has not followed an exact order, but reproves sometimes one vice and sometimes another, as the subject appears to require, and afterwards sum... [ Continue Reading ]
17._Therefore will the Lord make bald _(67) _the crown of the head _Here the particle ו, (vau,) which signifies _and_, is put for _therefore_; for he threatens that, since neither gentle advices nor any words can reform them, the Lord will deal with them in a very different manner, and will not only... [ Continue Reading ]
24._Instead of a sweet smell there shall be stink. _It is evident that the country here described abounds in aromatic herbs; and there is no reason to doubt that in pleasant smells, as well as in other matters, they were luxurious. We see that those nations which are farthest removed from the east a... [ Continue Reading ]
25._Thy men shall fall by the sword. _He directs his discourse to Jerusalem and to the whole kingdom of Judah; for, after having demonstrated that the whole body is infected with a plague, and that no part of it is free from disease, and after leaving not even spared the women, he returns to the gen... [ Continue Reading ]
26._Her gates shall mourn and lament. _Hence arises the _mourning of the gates_, which, he threatens, will take place when they have met with their calamities; for he means, that where there were great crowds and multitudes, nothing but a dismal solitude will be found. We know that at that time publ... [ Continue Reading ]