Isaiah 33:23

Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail: then is the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame take the prey. THY TACKLINGS ARE LOOSED. Continuing the allegory in , he compares the enemies' host to a war-galley, which is deprived of the tacklings or cords by which the mast is sustained and the sail is spread; and which therefore is sure to be wrecked on "the broad river" (), and become the prey of Israel. THEY - the tacklings. COULD NOT WELL STRENGTHEN THEIR MAST - or, 'they hold not firm the base of the mast.' The Hebrew for "well" (Keen) or 'rightly' is thus taken as a noun, 'the basis' or receptacle of the mast below. THEN - when the Assyrian host shall...

23._Thy cords were loosed. _He directs his discourse to the Assyrians, in whose person he likewise addresses all the enemies of the Church. After having promised to the Church such stability as shall never be disturbed, he rebukes the foolish confidence with which ungodly men are puffed up; as if they had been so deeply rooted as to reach the center of the earth. Although, during the intoxicating influence of prosperity, they imagine that their wealth is exceedingly secure, he foretells that ruin will quickly overtake them, because they are not supported by the hand of God. He follows out the comparison which he had employed at the commencement. Having said that the Church resembles a place that is fortified and surrounded by very broad rivers which do not admit the approach of enemies, he now compares the condition of wicked men to ships; by which he means that they have no solid founda...

15-24 The true believer watches against all occasions of sin. The Divine power will keep him safe, and his faith in that power will keep him easy. He shall want nothing needful for him. Every blessing of salvation is freely bestowed on all that ask with humble, believing prayer; and the believer is safe in time and for ever. Those that walk uprightly shall not only have bread given, and their water sure, but they shall, by faith, see the King of kings in his beauty, the beauty of holiness. The remembrance of the terror they were in, shall add to the pleasure of their deliverance. It is desirable to be quiet in our own houses, but much more so to be quiet in God's house; and in every age Christ will have a seed to serve him. Jerusalem had no large river running by it, but the presence and power of God make up all wants. We have all in God, all we need, or can desire. By faith we take Chr...

Verse Isaiah 33:23. _THY TACKLINGS ARE LOOSED_] Here the Assyrians are represented under the figure of a ship wrecked by a violent storm; and the people on the beach, young, old, feeble, and diseased, gathering the spoil without any to hinder them. _Kimchi_, who understands the whole of this chapter of Hezekiah and the king of Assyria, says, "There are others of our rabbins who apply it all to the days of the Messiah." _THEIR MAST_ - "Thy mast"] For תרנם _tornam_, "their mast," the _Syriac_ reads תרניך _torneycha_, "thy mast;" the _Septuagint_ and _Vulgate_, תרנך tornecha, ὁ ἱστος σου εκλινεν, "thy mast is fallen aside." - _Septuagint_. They seem to have read נטה _natah_ or פנה _panah_, תרנך tornecha, or rather, לא כן _lo con_, "is not firm," the negative having been omitted in the present text by mistake

THY TACKLINGS - This is evidently an address to Sennacherib. The mention of the war-galley and the ship seems to have suggested the application of the figure to the enemies of the Jews, and particularly to Sennacherib. The prophet, therefore, compares the Assyrian to a ship that was rendered unserviceable; whose sails were unfastened, and whose mast could not be made firm, and which was therefore at the mercy of winds and waves. The Hebrew which is rendered here ‘thy tacklings are loosed,’ means ‘thy cords are let go;’ that is, the cords or ropes that fastened the sails, the masts, and the rudder, were loosened. In such a condition the ship would, of course, go to ruin. THEY COULD NOT WELL STRENGTHEN THEIR MAST - They could not fix it firm or secure. It is evident that if the mast cannot be made firm, it is impossible to navigate a ship. It is to be observed here, however, that the word...

SECTION X. A PROPHECY OF JUDGMENT ON ASSYRIA (Isaiah 33:1.). EXPOSITION ISAIAH 33:1 THE JUDGMENT ON ASSYRIA AND DELIVERANCE OF JERUSALEM, STATED GENERALLY. Events had progressed since the preceding prophecies were delivered. The negotiations carried on with Sennacherib had been futile (Isaiah 33:7), the heavy fine imposed and paid ...

THY TACKLINGS ARE LOOSED,.... Or "are left" h; forsaken by the mariners, as being of no use and service: THEY COULD NOT WELL STRENGTHEN THEIR MAST; with ropes to make it stand upright: THEY COULD NOT SPREAD THE SAIL; upon the mast, without which they could not proceed. This is spoken to and of the enemies of the church; most interpreters understand it of the Assyrians, who are compared to a ship in great distress at sea, when its tacklings are shattered, the mast is split, and the sails cannot be spread. The metaphor is taken and carried on from Isaiah 33:21, where mention is made of a galley with oars, and a gallant ship. Tyrannical governments are thought by some to be compared to ships; a king to the mast; princes to ropes, cords, and tackling; and their army in battle array to sails spread; but here all is in confusion, distress, and unavoidable ru

CHAPTER 33 Sixth Woe Against the Assyrian and What Is to Follow 1. _The judgment announced (Isaiah 33:1)_ 2. _The prayer of the faithful remnant (Isaiah 33:2)_ 3. _The judgment executed (Isaiah 33:7)_ 4. _The judge in the midst of Zion (Isaiah 33:14)_ 5. _The King beheld in His beauty (Isaiah 33:17)_ 6. _Healing and forgiveness the result of the coming of the King (Isaiah 33:24) _ This is the last mention which is made of the

ISAIAH 33. DENUNCIATION OF THE TREACHEROUS FOE. ZION'S EXTREMITY, YAHWEH'S OPPORTUNITY. If Isaiah's, the date is apparently 701, and the situation presupposed is Sennacherib's demand for unconditional surrender of Jerusalem after he had received an enormous tribute from Hezekiah. This breach of faith would cause the weeping of the ambassadors (Isaiah 33:7). But the chapter is now usually regarded as post-exilic. The parallels in language are with late Psalms, and the list of non-Isaianic words and senses of words is considerable. Nor is it clear that the historical allusions suit the actual circumstances of Isaiah's time. But it would be very precarious in our almost complete ignorance of great stretches of the later history to argue that it must be Maccabean, even if we have reconciled ourselves to the belief that there are Maccabean elements in the Canon of the prophets (p. 425). We mu...

THE LAME TAKE THE PREY. Referring to the spoil taken from the dead of the Assyrian host. See 2 Kings 19:35....