1._And it came to pass. _The Prophet declares that the only hope of safety that was left to the pious king was to bring his complaints before God as a righteous judge; as it is said in the Psalm, that “in the same manner as servants or handmaids, when they are injured, look to the protection of the... [ Continue Reading ]
2._And he sent Eliakim. _This message was not intended merely to invite Isaiah to join with him in lamentation, but to request some consolation from his doctrine. And indeed to no purpose shall prayers be poured into the air, if they do not rest on the word of God. Thus we see that unbelievers are e... [ Continue Reading ]
4._If perhaps Jehovah thy God will hear. _Hezekiah appears to doubt whether, or not the Lord is willing to hear him; for the particle אולי _(ulai) _is translated _perhaps, _and this is the meaning which it frequently bears in Scripture. But it ought to be observed that believers, even though they kn... [ Continue Reading ]
5._And the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. _As the Prophet formerly related that the pious king had no other refuge than to consult the mouth of the Lord, so he now shews that he did not consult in vain; for he received the consolation which he desired. Instructed by this example, if we se... [ Continue Reading ]
6._Thus saith Jehovah. _Isaiah begins by saying that he gives the reply in the name of God, and expressly declares that the oracle comes from God, both because prophets ought always to beware of bringing forward anything of their own, and because in so difficult a matter the authority of God was nee... [ Continue Reading ]
7._Behold, I will bring a wind upon him. _Others translate it, “I will put my Spirit in him,” as if the Prophet were speaking of a secret influence of the heart; but that is a forced interpretation. It is a highly appropriate metaphor that there is in the hand of God a wind or whirlwind to drive Sen... [ Continue Reading ]
8._And Rabshakeh having returned. _He now declares how Rabshakeh, without doing anything, returned to his king, not to the same place where he had left him; for he understood that he had raised the siege of Lachish, and had departed into Egypt for the purpose of attacking Libnah. Some think that thi... [ Continue Reading ]
9._And hearing concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia. _From what follows we may conjecture the reason why the king of Assyria suddenly departed from Judea; for the kings of Egypt and Ethiopia had formed a league with each other against Sennacherib, because they saw that his power was becoming excessi... [ Continue Reading ]
10._Let not thy God deceive thee. _How shocking is this blasphemy, to speak of God the Author of truth, and to accuse him of falsehood and deceit, as if he actually imposed on his people! What is left to God when his truth is taken away, for nothing is more absolutely his own? God extorted this word... [ Continue Reading ]
11._Behold, thou hast heard. _Here we ought to observe a twofold comparison; for he compares Hezekiah to other kings of Judah who preceded him, because he was inferior to them, and yet they were vanquished by the kings of Assyria; and Sennacherib, on the other hand, having obtained greater power tha... [ Continue Reading ]
12._Gozan. _This place is mentioned in 2 Kings 17:6. We may infer that it was a town in Media, though some think that it was situated elsewhere; but it is enough that, with regard to Jerusalem, it lay in an easterly direction. _Haran _is often mentioned in Scripture. Pliny places this town in Arabia... [ Continue Reading ]
14._Hezekiah took the letters. _The Prophet now shews what kind of refuge Hezekiah had amidst so great calamities. He immediately went into the Temple, to lament before the Lord the calamity which: he could not remove, and to “cast upon him” (Psalms 55:22) his grief and his anxieties. (51) Nor was t... [ Continue Reading ]
15._Then Hezekiah prayed to God, saying, O Jehovah of hosts. _Because Sennacherib was the agent employed by Satan to shake the faith of Hezekiah, he defends himself by this rampart, that God possesses infinite power; for, by bestowing on God those lofty praises, he undoubtedly encourages himself to... [ Continue Reading ]
16._Thou alone art God over all the kingdoms of the earth. _Not only does he assert God’s almighty power, but likewise maintains the authority which he exercises over the whole world. And these statements are made by the pious king for the purpose of strengthening himself in the faith which he enter... [ Continue Reading ]
17._incline thine ear, O Jehovah. _From these words we conclude how great was the perplexity of Hezekiah; for the earnestness that pervades the prayer breathes an amazing power of anguish, so that it is. easily seen that he had a struggle attended by uncommon difficulty to escape from the temptation... [ Continue Reading ]
18.and 19._Truly, O Jehovah. _Here Hezekiah begins to distinguish between the false gods and the true God, which we also ought to do very carefully. Wicked men, who have no light, indulge in some confused imaginations about God, which quickly pass away, so that they think that there is no God, or ca... [ Continue Reading ]
_For they are not gods, but the work of the hands of man, wood and stone. _By two arguments Hezekiah shews that “they were not gods;” first, because they consisted of matter, (55) and secondly, because they were formed by the hands of men. Nothing can be more absurd than for a man to assume the righ... [ Continue Reading ]
20._And now, O Jehovah our God. _At the conclusion of his prayer, the pious king now rises above that fear with which he had struggled; for the aids by which he had hitherto fortified himself undoubtedly encouraged him boldly to add this short clause. Although God does not always deliver his people... [ Continue Reading ]
21._Then Isaiah sent to Hezekiah. _This shews the result of the prayer; for, as soon as matters have come to an extremity, God suddenly holds out his hand to assist the pious king by the Prophet Isaiah. (2 Kings 19:20.) Not that he immediately stretches out his arm to drive away the enemies, but he... [ Continue Reading ]
22._The virgin daughter of Zion. _There is greater emphasis in this address to the whole Church than if he had said the same tiring to Hezekiah as a private individual; for this circumstance heightens the baseness of treating with scorn the defencelessness of a wretched people, as if the aid of heav... [ Continue Reading ]
23._Whom hast thou reproached? _In the former verse he describes the fact, such as it might be seen and beheld by all; but now he raises their minds higher, by shewing that this tyrant insults not only Jerusalem but God himself. Let this passage be brought to our remembrance, whenever we see ourselv... [ Continue Reading ]
24._By the hand of thy servants. _This also heightens the baseness and cruelty of the insult, for it is harder to bear reproaches from a servant than from his master, the insult being rendered more grievous by the meanness of the person. Renee also proud and insolent men, in order to render their th... [ Continue Reading ]
25._I shall dig and drink water. _The tyrant still goes on to boast of his strength, and threatens that e will bring so powerful an army that by means of their numbers he will dry up all the fountains and rivers. Yet, when he says, “With the sole of my feet I shall dry up all the lakes of the siege,... [ Continue Reading ]
26._Hast thou not heard? _The greater part of commentators explain this verse as if the Lord declared that nothing was now done, or had formerly been done by this tyrant, which he had not foretold by the mouth of the Prophet, and thus affirmed that he was the author of those things. But I explain it... [ Continue Reading ]
27._For their inhabitants were maimed. _(63) Here the Prophet expresses more fully what he had formerly glanced at briefly, that we ought not to judge of the condition of the Church from the stability of this world; for although fortified cities are taken, and the strongest men lose courage and fall... [ Continue Reading ]
28._I know thy sitting down and thy rising up. _He returns to the insufferable pride of that tyrant, who claimed everything for himself, as if he had not been subject to any one, and dared to despise God as compared to himself, and to load him with reproaches. He rebukes that man’s pride and insolen... [ Continue Reading ]
29._Because thou wast angry against me. _The more furiously wicked men rise up against God, and the more outrageous the violence by which they are actuated, so much the more is he wont eventually to set himself in opposition to them. For a time, indeed, he permits them to domineer and to have everyt... [ Continue Reading ]
30._And this shall be a sign to thee. _He now directs his discourse to Hezekiah and the whole nation; for he did not address Sennacherib as if he expected him to listen, but in order that, by contemptuously mocking at the absent tyrant, he might more powerfully stimulate the minds of believers to st... [ Continue Reading ]
31._And that which shall be preserved of the house of Judah. _He follows out the former statement; for he declares that the Lord will deliver Jerusalem so as not to east away his care of her afterwards, but will be her savior to the end. And indeed all the blessings that the Lord bestows upon us are... [ Continue Reading ]
32._For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant. _Formerly by the metaphor of a root and of fruits he foretold the deliverance of the Church; he now declares the same thing without a figure. He alludes to the siege by which a small number of people, who had been left in the city, were shut up as i... [ Continue Reading ]
33._Therefore thus saith Jehovah. _He now returns to the deliverance of which he had formerly spoken; for God proraised, first, that he would drive out Sennacherib; secondly, that he would grant food and nourishment for the sustenance of the people, though the country had been wasted and pillaged; a... [ Continue Reading ]
34._By the way that he came shall he return. _We have formerly explained what it is to return by the same way, that is, to depar without having accomplished anything, as we commonly say, (_Il s’en est retourne comme il est venu,) _“he returned as he came,” when nothing has been accomplished, and the... [ Continue Reading ]
35._And I will be a protector. _This is the reason of the preceding statement, why Sennacherib should not enter into the city; because the Lord will protect it. The Prophet therefore bids Hezekiah and the whole nation turn their eyes towards God, because the sight of that tyrant was so alarming that... [ Continue Reading ]
36._And the angel of Jehovah went out. _The Prophet now relates what happened to the Assyrian, that we may not think that the Lord spoke in vain. He shews, therefore, that his prediction was proved by the event, that it might clearly appear that God had sent him, and that he had not uttered anything... [ Continue Reading ]
37._Then Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went away and returned. _He now shows how disgraceful was the retreat of this haughty tyrant, who in the wishes of his heart had already devoured the whole of Judea, and formerly dared to pretend to be more powerful than God himself. By employing a variety of w... [ Continue Reading ]
38._While he was worshipping. _Here the Jews allow themselves that liberty of conjecture in which they are always accustomed to indulge. They contrive a stow, that Sennacherib consulted an oracle, and asked why he could not conquer the Jews; that the answer was, that Abraham wished to sacrifice his... [ Continue Reading ]