_A.M. 3274. B.C. 730._
We have here,
(1,) _ The immediate consequence of the fall of Babylon, and the great
revolution spoken of in the preceding chapter, namely, the deliverance
of Judah from captivity, Isaiah 14:1; Isaiah 14:2. The triumphant song
of the Jews on that subject, Isaiah 14:3. God's... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob_ Will pity and deliver his
people; and therefore will destroy Babylon. which hinders their
deliverance, and will raise up and exalt Cyrus, who shall promote it;
and he will not prolong the time, but do these things speedily, as the
prophet had just affirmed. Fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the people shall take them_, &c. They shall provide them with all
necessary accommodations for their journey: see Ezra 4:1. _And Israel
shall possess them for servants_ Those of the Chaldeans who left their
own country for the sake of religion, and went along with the Jews
into Judea, would pro... [ Continue Reading ]
_And in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow_
From thy grief, fear, and the hard bondage of former times; _wherein
thou wast made to serve_ According to the pleasure of thy cruel lords
and masters; _thou shalt take up this proverb_ Into thy mouth, as it
is expressed; Psalms 50:... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that ruled the nations in anger_ With rigour, and not with
clemency; _is persecuted and none hindereth_ Neither the Babylonians
themselves nor their confederates. _The whole earth is at rest_ The
subjects of that vast empire who groaned under his cruel bondage.
_Yea, the cedars of Lebanon_ Which... [ Continue Reading ]
_How art thou fallen from heaven_ From the height of thy glory; _O
Lucifer_ Lucifer is properly a bright star, that ushers in the
morning; but is here metaphorically taken for the mighty king of
Babylon, who outshone all the kings of the earth by his great
splendour. _Son of the morning_ The title o... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell_ To the grave, and the state
of the dead; _to the sides of the pit_ And lodged there in the lowest
state of misery and degradation. _They that see thee_ In this humbled
and wretched state, _shall narrowly look upon thee_ As not knowing
thee at first sight, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_All the kings of the nations_ That is, other kings generally; _lie in
glory_, &c. Are buried in their own sepulchres, having stately
monuments erected to their memory. The persons who are represented as
uttering these words are supposed to have before their eyes the
carcass of the king of Babylon,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Prepare slaughter for his children_ O ye Medes and Persians, cut off
all the branches of the royal family. This, it is probable, was
actually done, for Belshazzar being slain, and the monarchy translated
to the people last mentioned, it is not likely that any related to the
family of the former mon... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord of hosts hath sworn_, &c. Here begins another prophecy
against the Assyrians, which was to be fulfilled much sooner than the
foregoing, even in the life-time of the prophet. But, “though of a
peculiar and different, it is not of a totally foreign argument: it
contains the epilogue and conc... [ Continue Reading ]
_In the year Ahaz died was this burden_ This is the second sermon of
this second part of Isaiah's prophecies, (see the general argument,
and the contents of chap. 13.,) in which the prophet denounces
judgment against the Philistines, exulting in the prosperous state of
their affairs, under the reign... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the firstborn of the poor_ Those who are most remarkably poor;
_shall feed_ Shall have plenty of provisions, in spite of all thy
attempts against them. The same Hezekiah, who shall be such a scourge
to thee, Palestina, shall be a mild and gracious governor to his own
subjects; he shall take car... [ Continue Reading ]
_Howl, O gate_ O people, who used to pass through the gates; _cry, O
city_ O inhabitants of the city; or _city_ may be put collectively for
all their cities. _Thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved_ Hebrew,
נמוג, _art melted_, which may be understood, either of the
faintness of their spirits and coura... [ Continue Reading ]
_What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation_ At the same
time that “the prophet sees, as it were, a thick cloud, coming from
the north, darkening the heavens, an emblem of the calamity coming
from that quarter on the Philistines, he sees the messengers of that
nation, as in a common dan... [ Continue Reading ]