Isaiah 30:28

And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. HIS BREATH, AS AN OVERFLOWING STREAM - (; .) SHALL REACH TO THE MIDST OF THE NECK - the most extreme danger. Yet as the head or capital of Judah was to he spared (), so the head or sovereign of Assyria, Sennacherib, should escape. SIEVE OF VANITY - the winnowing fan of destruction (Lowth). (.) A BRIDLE IN THE JAWS OF THE PEOPLE - as prisoners are represented in the Assyrian...

28._And his Spirit. _(308) He proceeds with that threatening which he had begun to utter, namely, that the Church will indeed be chastised, but yet that the Assyrians shall utterly perish; for he says that they will be plunged into the deep by the “Spirit” of God, or rather, that the “Spirit” himself is like a deep torrent which shall swallow them up. Others translate רוה, (309) _(rūăch_,) by “blowing,” and think that the allusion is to a storm or violent wind. _And with a useless sieve. _The next metaphor employed is that of a “sieve,” which is very frequent in Scripture (Matthew 3:12.) He says that he will shake the Assyrians with a sieve, in order to thrash and scatter them; and therefore he calls it “the sieve of vanity,” that is, a useless sieve,...

27-33 God curbs and restrains from doing mischief. With a word he guides his people into the right way, but with a bridle he turns his enemies upon their own ruin. Here, in threatening the ruin of Sennacherib's army, the prophet points at the final and everlasting destruction of all impenitent sinners. Tophet was a valley near Jerusalem, where fires were continually burning to destroy things that were hurtful and offensive, and there the idolatrous Jews caused their children to pass through the fire to Moloch. This denotes the certainty of the destruction, as an awful emblem of the place of torment in the other world. No oppressor shall escape the Divine wrath. Let sinners then flee to Christ, seeking to be reconciled to Him, that they may be safe and happy, when destruction from the Almighty shall sweep away all the workers of iniquity....

Verse Isaiah 30:28. _TO SIFT THE NATIONS WITH A SIEVE OF VANITY_ - "To toss the nations with the van of perdition"] The word להנפה _lahanaphah_ is in its form very irregular. _Kimchi_ says it is for להניף _lehaniph_. _Houbigant_ supposes it to be a mistake, and shows the cause of it; the joining it to the ה _he_, which should begin the following word. The true reading is להניף הגוים _lehaniph haggoyim_, "to sift the nations." The _Vulgate_ seems to be the only one of the ancient interpreters who has explained rightly the sense; but he has dropped the image: ad perdendas gentes in nihilum, "to reduce the nations to nothing." _Kimchi's_ explanation is to the following effect: " נפה _naphah_ is a van with which they winnow corn; and its use is to cleanse the corn from the chaff and straw: but the van with which God will winnow

AND HIS BREATH - The word רוח _rûach_ properly means “wind,” air in motion; then a breathing, an exhalation, a breath; then the soul, spirit, etc. The idea here seems to be that of excited, and rapid, and agitated breathing, as when one is in anger (compare Judges 8:3; Zechariah 6:8). AS AN OVERFLOWING STREAM - This figure is common to express desolating judgments (see the notes at Isaiah 8:8; Isaiah 10:22; Isaiah 28:17; compare...

EXPOSITION ISAIAH 30:1 THE ALLIANCE WITH EGYPT OPENLY REBUKED. In the preceding chapter (Isaiah 30:15) the design of the Jewish rulers to seek the alliance of Egypt was covertly glanced at and condemned; now it is openly declared and rebuked. The rulers are warned that no good can possibly come of it, even in a worldly sense. The Egyptians will give no aid, or at any rate no effectual aid. The sums expended in purchasing their friendship will be utterly thrown away. ISAIAH 30:1 WOE TO THE REBELLIOUS CHILDREN (comp....

AND HIS BREATH AS AN OVERFLOWING STREAM,.... Which comes with great swiftness and force, bearing all before it, breathing out nothing but the fire of divine wrath, before which there is no standing; nor could the Assyrian army stand before it, but suddenly, in a moment, was carried away with the force of it: thus our Lord will consume the man of sin with the spirit or breath of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming, 2 Thessalonians 2:8: and this stream SHALL REACH TO THE MIDST OF THE NECK; which shows the extreme danger the army would be in, as a man that is up to the neck in water, and can find no way of escaping; and very aptly represents their state and condition, the whole body of the army being encompassed and destroyed by this overflowing stream of divine wrath, only their head, their king Sennacherib was saved; and he in a little

CHAPTER 30 The Fourth Woe Against Alliance With Egypt 1. _The alliance and its failure (Isaiah 30:1)_ 2. _The written table against the rebellious people (Isaiah 30:8)_ 3. _Jehovah's word of encouragement (Isaiah 30:15)_ 4. _The nation blest and restored (Isaiah 30:18)_ 5. _Idolatry ceases and the land restored (Isaiah 30:22)_ 6. _The accomplishment by the coming of the Lord (Isaiah 30:27)_ While this chapter had a si

If this is the work of Isaiah, it describes the overthrow of Assyria. The description is very vigorous, and some feel that the loud colours are dashed on too violently to make Isaiah's authorship probable. And the zest with which the disaster is painted is thought to be unworthy of him. But these reasons are far from cogent. Yahweh comes like the dense thunder-cloud from the far horizon, from which the devastating lightning will leap, while torrential rain floods the land. The nations will be passed through the sieve till they are destroyed, and will be guided in the way of ruin. While the Assyrians are being overthrown the Jews are exultant, as when they sing their song by night at the Feast of Tabernacles (or perhaps Passover), or as when they go in procession to the Temple. For Yahweh's voice shall peal out in thunder, while the lightnings flash, the clouds burst, and the hail descend...

BREATH. blast. Hebrew. _ruach_. See note on Isaiah 25:4. PEOPLE. peoples....