XXXII. (1) BEHOLD, A KING SHALL REIGN... — More accurately, _the king._ Isaiah 32:1 form a separate section, standing in the same relation to the foregoing chapter that the picture of the ideal king in Isaiah 11 does to the anti-Assyrian prophecy of Isaiah 10 “The king” is accordingly the true Anoi... [ Continue Reading ]
A MAN SHALL BE... — The word is that used in Isaiah 31:8 for “mighty man,” in Isaiah 2:9 for “great man,” and probably retains that meaning here. The nobles of Judah, who had been tyrannous and oppressive (Isaiah 1:23), should become a true aristocracy, beneficent and protecting. Of both the “king”... [ Continue Reading ]
THE EYES OF THEM THAT SEE... — Another reversal, like that of Isaiah 29:18, of the sentence of judicial blindness with which Isaiah’s work as a prophet had begun (Isaiah 6:10).... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HEART ALSO OF THE RASH... — “Heart,” as in Proverbs 4:23 and elsewhere, for the intellect rather than the emotions. The “rash” are those that are “hurried,” precipitate, reckless; the “stammerers,” those who have no power to speak clearly of the things of God, who hesitate and are undecided.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VILE PERSON SHALL BE NO MORE CALLED LIBERAL. — Better, _noble,_ the καλοκάγαθος of the Greeks, the _ingenuus_ of the Latin. So for “bountiful,” read _gentle._ Here, again, we have a picture, the exact contrast of that which met us at the beginning of Isaiah’s work, when men “called good evil, an... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VILE PERSON WILL SPEAK VILLANY. — Another echo, like that of Isaiah 28:23, of the teaching of the Book of Proverbs. In that better day men would learn to see men as they are, and not as they pretend to be. “By their fruits ye shall know them” was to be one of the blessings of the reign of the tr... [ Continue Reading ]
TO DESTROY THE POOR WITH LYING WORDS... — The words, though perfectly generic in their form, are probably not without an implied reference to those who had thus acted towards Isaiah himself, making even him an “offender for a word” (Isaiah 29:21).... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LIBERAL DEVISETH LIBERAL THINGS... — Better, as before, _noble. _... [ Continue Reading ]
RISE UP, YE WOMEN THAT ARE AT EASE... — The beginning of a new section, probably a distinct sermon, or, as it were, pamphlet, against the evils of which the prophet had spoken in Isaiah 2:16, and which continued, it would seem, unabated, in spite of Hezekiah’s reformation. It probably finds a place... [ Continue Reading ]
MANY DAYS AND YEARS... — Literally, _days to the year,_ a phrase after the pattern of “add ye year to year” in Isaiah 29:1, but implying, not the long continuance of the trouble, but its quick arrival, as in “a year and a day.” THE VINTAGE SHALL FAIL... — The words are commonly taken as predicting... [ Continue Reading ]
TREMBLE, YE WOMEN THAT ARE AT EASE... — The words find at once a parallel and a contrast in those spoken to the daughters of Jerusalem in Luke (Luke 23:28). The call to repentance includes their stripping themselves of their costly finery, and putting on the “sackcloth” (the word is implied, though... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL LAMENT FOR THE TEATS... — Better, _shall smite upon the breasts._ The Hebrew nouns for “teats” and “fields,” _Shâdaim_ and _Sadè,_ have an assonance which may be represented by the Latin _ubera_ and _ubertas._ In the renewed, unabated luxury of the women of Jerusalem Isaiah sees the precu... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PALACES SHALL BE FORSAKEN. — With a bold pencil and rapid strokes the picture of desolation is sketched in outline. The forts are those of Ophel (so in Heb.), the fortified south-eastern slope of the Temple mountain; the towers, probably such as “the tower of the flock,” mentioned in conjunction... [ Continue Reading ]
UNTIL THE SPIRIT BE POURED UPON US FROM ON HIGH... — There was, then, a fixed limit of the desolation then described. Isaiah dwelt, as Joel (Joel 2:28) had dwelt before him, on the outpouring of the Spirit which should sweep away the frivolities of a profligate luxury and lead to a nobler life. The... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN JUDGMENT SHALL DWELL... — Outward blessings, themselves symbols of something beyond themselves, are followed by spiritual. Over the whole country, from the one extreme of cultivation to the other, the judgment and righteousness which had been so lacking should now find a home, and bring their b... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN IT SHALL HAIL, COMING DOWN ON THE FOREST. — Better, _But it shall hail._ A time of sharp judgment, “hailstones and coals of fire,” is to precede that of blessedness and peace. Of such a judgment “hail” was the natural symbol. (Comp. Isaiah 30:30; Ezekiel 13:13.) The “forest” stands in the symbo... [ Continue Reading ]
BLESSED ARE YE THAT SOW BESIDE ALL WATERS. — The picture of a golden age of agriculture receives its final touch. The whole land should be irrigated by calmly flowing streams, and men should cast their seed broadcast, and the oxen and the asses should draw the plough over a rich and fertile land. Th... [ Continue Reading ]