V. (1) NOW WILL I SING TO MY WELLBELOVED. — Literally, _Now let me sing._ The chapter bears every mark of being a distinct composition, perhaps the most elaborately finished in the whole of Isaiah. The parable with which it opens has for us the interest of having obviously supplied a starting-point... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE FENCED IT. — In the “fence” we may recognise the law and institutions of Israel which kept it as a separate people (Eph. Ii. 14); in the “stones” that were gathered out, the removal of the old idolatries that would have hindered the development of the nation’s life; in the “tower” of the vine... [ Continue Reading ]
AND NOW, O INHABITANTS OF JERUSALEM. — “The song of the vineyard” comes to an end and becomes the text of a discourse in which Jehovah, as the “Beloved” of the song, speaks through the prophet. Those to whom the parable applies are invited, as David was by Nathan, to pass an unconscious judgment on... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE MORE... — The prophet cuts off from the people the excuse that they had been unfairly treated, that their Lord was as a hard master, reaping where he had not sown (Matthew 25:24). They had had all the external advantages that were necessary for their growth in holiness, yet... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL TAKE AWAY THE HEDGE... — This involved the throwing open of the vineyard to be as grazing land which all the wild bulls of Bashan — _i.e.,_ all the enemies of Zion — might trample on (Ezekiel 34:18). The interpretation of the parable implies that there was to be the obliteration, at least for... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE SHALL COME UP BRIERS AND THORNS. — The picture of desolation is still part of a parable. The “briers and thorns” (both the words are peculiar to Isaiah) are the base and unworthy who take the place of the true leaders of the people (Judges 9:7). The absence of the pruning and the digging answe... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD OF HOSTS. — The words remind us of Nathan’s “Thou art the man,” to David (2 Samuel 12:7), and of our Lord’s words in Matthew 21:42. BEHOLD OPPRESSION. — The Hebrew word carries with it the idea of _bloodshed,_ and points to the crimes mentioned in Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 4:4... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT JOIN HOUSE TO HOUSE. — The series of “Woes” which follows has no precedent in the teaching of earlier prophets. The form of Luke 6:24 seems based upon it. The general indictment of Isaiah 1 is followed by special counts. That which leads off the list was the destruction of the old... [ Continue Reading ]
IN MINE EARS SAID THE LORD. — The italics show that there is no verb in the Hebrew, the text, if it be correct, giving the emphasis of abruptness; but it is rightly supplied in the Authorised Version. The sentence that follows is one of a righteous retribution: There shall be no profit or permanence... [ Continue Reading ]
TEN ACRES. — The disproportion was as great as that which we have seen in recent times in vine countries suffering from the _Phylloxera_ or the _oidium,_ or in the potato failures of Ireland. The _bath_ was equal to seventy-two Roman sextarii (Jos. _Ant. viii._ 2-9), about seven and a half gallons,... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT RISE UP EARLY. — The same class as in Isaiah 5:8 meets us under another aspect. In Judah, as elsewhere, the oppressors were conspicuous for their luxury (Amos 6:5). They shocked public feeling by morning banquets (Ecclesiastes 10:16; Acts 2:14). Not wine only, but the “strong drin... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HARP, AND THE VIOL. — Here again the fashions of Judah followed those of Samaria, so closely indeed that Isaiah addresses the rulers of his own city as “the drunkards of Ephraim” (Isaiah 28:1; Amos 6:5). The list of instruments is fairly represented by the English words, but _lute_ (or _hand-har... [ Continue Reading ]
MY PEOPLE ARE GONE INTO CAPTIVITY. — The great captivity of Judah lay as yet far off, but the prophet may be speaking of it as already present in his vision of the future. Probably, however, the disastrous wars of Ahaz had involved many captures of the kind referred to (2 Chronicles 28:5; 2 Chronicl... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE HELL HATH ENLARGED HERSELF. — The Hebrew _Sheol,_ or _Hades,_ like “hell” itself in its original meaning, expressed not a place of torment, but the vast shadow – world of death, thought of as being below the earth (Psalms 16:10; Psalms 49:14). Here, as elsewhere (Jonah 2:2; Proverbs 1:12;... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MEAN MAN SHALL BE BROUGHT. — The recurrence of the burden of Isaiah 2:9; Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 2:17, connects Isaiah 5 with the earlier portion of the introduction.... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL BE SANCTIFIED. — Men had not recognised the holiness of Jehovah, and therefore He must manifest that holiness (in that sense “be sanctified”) in acts of righteous severity. The “Holy One of Israel” was, we must remember, the name, of all Divine names, in which Israel most delighted, the ever-r... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SHALL THE LAMBS FEED AFTER THEIR MANNER. — Better, _feed even as on their pasture._ The meaning is clear enough. The lands that have been gained by oppression shall, in the day of retribution, become common pasture ground instead of being reserved for the parks and gardens of the rich; and stra... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT DRAW INIQUITY WITH CORDS OF VANITY. — The phrase is boldly figurative. Evil-doers are thought of as harnessing themselves as to the chariot of sin. The “cords of vanity” — i.e., of _emptiness_ or ungodliness — are the habits by which they are thus bound. The “cart ropes,” thicker and stronger t... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT SAY, LET HIM MAKE SPEED. — We have here, as in Isaiah 28:10, and Jeremiah 17:15, the very words of the wealthy scoffers of Judah. Such taunts are not peculiar to any age or country. We find them in the speech of Zedekiah (1 Kings 22:24), in that of the mockers of 2 Peter 3:4. In the name of Isa... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT CALL EVIL GOOD. — The moral state described was the natural outcome of the sins condemned in the preceding verses. So Thucydides (iii. 82-84) describes the effects of the spirit of party in the Peloponnesian war. Rashness was called courage, and prudence timidity, and treachery cl... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT ARE WISE IN THEIR OWN EYES. — Here again the prophet would seem to have definite individual counsellors in his mind. For such men the ideal of statesmanship was a series of shifts and expedients, based upon no principle of righteousness. (Comp. Isaiah 29:15; Isaiah 30:1.)... [ Continue Reading ]
WOE UNTO THEM THAT ARE MIGHTY TO DRINK.... STRONG DRINK. — The words in part reproduce the “woe” of Isaiah 5:11, but with the distinctive feature that there the revellers were simply of the careless self-indulgent type, while here they are identified with the unjust and corrupt rulers. They were _he... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE AS THE FIRE DEVOURETH. — Literally, _the tongue of fire._ The scene brought before us is — (1) that of a charred and burnt-up field, horrible and hideous to look upon (comp. Hebrews 6:8); (2) that of a tree decayed and loathsome. The double imagery represents the end of the riotous mirth o... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HILLS DID TREMBLE. — We again trace the influence of the earthquake which was still fresh in the memories of men. (See Note on Isaiah 2:10.) THEIR CARCASES WERE TORN. — Better, _were as sweepings,_ or, _as refuse._ The words may point either to pestilence, or war, or famine. The stress laid on... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE WILL LIFT UP AN ENSIGN. — The banner on the summit of a hill indicated the meeting-place of a great army. In this case the armies are thought of as doing the work of Jehovah Sabaoth, and therefore as being summoned by Him. The same image meets us in Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 13:2; Is... [ Continue Reading ]
(27-29) NONE SHALL BE WEARY... — The three verses paint the progress of the invading army. Unresting, unhasting, in perfect order, they march onward. They do not loosen their girdle for repose. The latchet or _thong_ which fastens their sandals is not “broken” or untied. The light-armed troops are t... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY SHALL ROAR AGAINST THEM. — Literally, _there is a roaring over him._ The verb is the same as in the previous verse, and points therefore to the shout and tramp of the armies. It suggests the thought of the roaring of the sea, and this in its turn that of the darkness and thick clouds of a tempe... [ Continue Reading ]