King James Version
Isaiah 22
25 verses with commentary
The Valley of Vision
The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The burden of the valley of vision.</strong> What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?' The 'valley of vision' refers to Jerusalem—paradoxically called a valley though on mountains, perhaps referring to valleys within city or ironically contrasting its prophetic calling (vision) with its blindness. People going to housetops indicates crisis response—seeking vanta...
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XXII.
(1) **The burden of the valley of vision.**—The “valley of vision” is Jerusalem, lying as it did (Jeremiah 21:13) in a valley, as compared with the hills round about it (Psalm 125:2). If we think of the prophet’s dwelling as being in the lower city, in the valley of Tyropœon, the epithet becomes still more appropriate. That valley would be to him in very deed a “valley of vision,” where he s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. But these earthly pursuits, while lawful in their season, are "unprofitable" when made by man, what God never intended them to be, the chief good. Solomon had tried to create an artificial forced joy, at times when he ought rather to have been serious; the result, therefore, of his labor to be happy, out of God's order, was disappointment. "A time to plant" (Ec 3:2) refers to his planting (Ec 2...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 22
**Verse 1**
We should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name, than to raise or add unto a great estate.
Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.
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KJV Study Commentary
The city is full of tumult and revelry—ironically inappropriate given the crisis. This 'joyous city' characterized by celebration now experiences chaos. The slain aren't killed by sword (honorable military death) but by famine, disease, siege conditions. This distinguishes deaths of attrition from deaths in battle—the former being more shameful and prolonged suffering. The description captures sie...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **A joyous city . . .**—It would seem from Isaiah 32:13 as if this was the characteristic on which Jerusalem, like Athens afterwards (Thucyd. ii. 40), specially prided itself.
**Thy slain men are not slain with the sword . . .**—The words imply something like a reproach of cowardice. Those who had perished had not died fighting bravely in battle, but by the pestilence which then, as at all tim...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. (See on Ec 1:13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 2**
Divine Providence has so ordered it, that some are rich, and others poor, but all are guilty before God; and at the throne of God's grace the poor are as welcome as the rich.
All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. by: Heb. of the bow
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers</strong>—Jerusalem's leadership has collapsed in cowardice. The Hebrew קָצִין (<em>qatsin</em>, rulers/commanders) fled instead of defending the city. <strong>Bound by the archers</strong> (מִקֶּשֶׁת אֻסָּרוּ, <em>miqqeshet usaru</em>) likely means captured without archery (fled before fighting), emphasizing their disgraceful ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **They are bound by the archers.**—Better, *fettered without the bow. *The taunting charge of cowardice is carried farther. The rulers had ventured on a sortie, and had been captured without a struggle, not even drawing their bows in their defence.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. his time--**that is, in its proper season (Psa 1:3), opposed to worldlings putting earthly pursuits out of their proper time and place (see on Ec 3:9).
**set the world in their heart--**given them capacities to understand the world of nature as reflecting God's wisdom in its beautiful order and times (Ro 1:19, 20). "Everything" answers to "world," in the parallelism.
**so that--**that is...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 3**
Faith foresees the evil coming upon sinners, and looks to Jesus Christ as the sure refuge from the storm.
Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. weep: Heb. be bitter in weeping
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Look away from me; I will weep bitterly</strong>—Isaiah's anguish is so profound he refuses comfort. The Hebrew אָמַר (<em>amar</em>, "Therefore said I") introduces his personal lament. <strong>I will weep bitterly</strong> (אֶבְכֶּה בַמָּרִי, <em>evkeh vamari</em>) uses the verb בָּכָה (<em>bakah</em>, weep) intensified by <em>mar</em> (bitter)—sobbing with bitter grief, not mere sadness....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Therefore said I, Look away from me.**—The tone is that of one who wishes to be alone in his sorrow. It is too deep for visits of consolation. He “refuses to be comforted.” Isaiah bewails the destruction of “the daughter of his people” in much the same strain as that of Jeremiah over a later catastrophe (Lamentations 3:48).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. in them--**in God's works (Ec 3:11), as far as relates to man's duty. Man cannot fully comprehend them, but he ought joyfully to receive ("rejoice in") God's gifts, and "do good" with them to himself and to others. This is never out of season (Ga 6:9, 10). Not sensual joy and self-indulgence (Php 4:4; Jas 4:16, 17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 4**
Where the fear of God is, there will be humility. And much is to be enjoyed by it; spiritual riches, and eternal life at last.
For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity</strong>—three Hebrew terms paint escalating crisis. <em>Mehumah</em> (trouble/confusion), <em>mebushah</em> (treading down/trampling), <em>mebukah</em> (perplexity/bewilderment). The alliteration in Hebrew emphasizes the completeness of disaster.<br><br><strong>By the Lord GOD of hosts</strong> (לַאדֹנָי יְהוִה צְבָאוֹת, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **For it is a day of trouble.**—The earlier clauses paint the mental emotions of the coming day of judgment. In the latter we hear the actual crash of the battering-rams across the walls. The cry of the panic-stricken people shall rise to the surrounding mountains, possibly as to the hills from whence they expected help, either as true worshippers looking to Mount Zion (Psalm 121:1), or to the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. Literally, "And also as to every man who eats ... this is the gift of God" (Ec 3:22; 5:18). When received as God's gifts, and to God's glory, the good things of life are enjoyed in their due time and order (Ac 2:46; 1Co 10:31; 1Ti 4:3, 4).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 5**
The way of sin is vexatious and dangerous. But the way of duty is safe and easy.
And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. uncovered: Heb. made naked
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen</strong>—Elam (עֵילָם, <em>Eilam</em>) was an ancient kingdom east of Babylon (modern western Iran). Their soldiers carried quivers (אַשְׁפָּה, <em>ashpah</em>) full of arrows, with chariots and cavalry. Elamites served in various Mesopotamian armies, including Assyria's and later Babylon's.<br><br><strong>And Kir uncovered the shi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Elam . . .** **Kir . . .**—The two nations are named as the chief elements of the Assyrian army then invading Judæa. Elam, previously named as the destroyer of Babylon (Isaiah 21:2), was at this time, as the inscriptions of Sargon show, subject to Assyria (*Records of the Past, vii.* 29). As in later history (Herod. i. 73, iii. 21; Jeremiah 49:35), it was conspicuous chiefly for its archers....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14. (1Sa 3:12; 2Sa 23:5; Psa 89:34; Mt 24:35; Jas 1:17).
**for ever--**as opposed to man's perishing labors (Ec 2:15-18).
**any thing taken from it--**opposed to man's "crooked and wanting" works (Ec 1:15; 7:13). The event of man's labors depends wholly on God's immutable purpose. Man's part, therefore, is to do and enjoy every earthly thing in its proper season (Ec 3:12, 13), not setting asid...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 6**
Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which, if you love them, you would have them go. As soon as possible every child should be led to the knowledge of the Saviour.
And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. thy: Heb. the choice of thy valleys at: or, towards
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots</strong>—the Hebrew בְּחִירַיִךְ (<em>bechirayikh</em>, "your choice valleys") refers to Jerusalem's best, most fertile valleys around the city. Invading <strong>chariots</strong> (רֶכֶב, <em>rekhev</em>) fill these valleys, transforming productive agricultural land into military staging areas for siege.<br><br>...
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(7) **That thy choicest valleys . . .**—These were the valleys of Gibeon, Rephaim, Hinnom, and Jehoshaphat, which encircled Jerusalem on the west and south. They are painted as filled with the chariots and cavalry of the Assyrian army, ready to make their attack on the very gate of the city, the “great gate” named in Sennacherib’s inscription (*Records of the Past, *i. 39).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. Resumption of Ec 1:9. Whatever changes there be, the succession of events is ordered by God's "everlasting" laws (Ec 3:14), and returns in a fixed cycle.
**requireth that ... past--**After many changes, God's law requires the return of the same cycle of events, as in the past, literally, "that which is driven on." The Septuagint and Syriac translate: "God requireth (that is, avengeth) the pe...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 7**
This shows how important it is for every man to keep out of debt. As to the things of this life, there is a difference between the rich and the poor; but let the poor remember, it is the Lord that made the difference.
And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he discovered the covering of Judah</strong> (וַיְגַל אֵת מָסַךְ יְהוּדָה, <em>vayegal et masakh Yehudah</em>)—"discovered" (גָּלָה, <em>galah</em>) means uncovered, revealed, exposed. The "covering" (מָסַךְ, <em>masakh</em>) could refer to protective defense or the veil of false security. God removes Judah's defenses, exposing their vulnerability.<br><br><strong>And thou didst look in...
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(8) **And he discovered the covering of Judah**—*i.e., *Jehovah removed the veil which till then had hidden the approaching danger from the eyes of the inhabitants, and laid bare their weakness to those of the invaders. The verbs which in the English version are in the past tense are really in a kind of prophetic present, painting the future as if actually passing before the prophet’s gaze.**
The ...
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16. Here a difficulty is suggested. If God "requires" events to move in their perpetual cycle, why are the wicked allowed to deal unrighteously in the place where injustice ought least of all to be; namely, "the place of judgment" (Jr 12:1)?
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14** The weakness of Judah now appeared more than ever. Now also they discovered their carnal confidence and their carnal security. They looked to the fortifications. They made sure of water for the city. But they were regardless of God in all these preparations. They did not care for his glory in what they did. They did not depend upon him for a blessing on their endeavours. For every ...
Read full commentary →Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many</strong>—Jerusalem's walls had <strong>breaches</strong> (בְּדֶקֶת, <em>bedeqet</em>, breaks/gaps) requiring repair. <strong>The city of David</strong> refers to the original fortress Jerusalem, the oldest fortified section. The phrase "they are many" shows extensive damage or vulnerability.<br><br><strong>And ye gathe...
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(9) **Ye have seen also the breaches . . .**—The prophet paints the hasty preparations for defence. So in 2Chronicles 32:5 : “Hezekiah built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers,” and added an outer line of defence. The “city of David” is, of course, the fortress of Zion.
**The waters of the lower pool.**—This was the Lower Gihon, now the *Birket-es-Sultan. *The operatio...
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17. Solution of it. There is a coming judgment in which God will vindicate His righteous ways. The sinner's "time" of his unrighteous "work" is short. God also has His "time" and "work" of judgment; and, meanwhile, is overruling, for good at last, what seems now dark. Man cannot now "find out" the plan of God's ways (Ec 3:11; Psa 97:2). If judgment instantly followed every sin, there would be no s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14** The weakness of Judah now appeared more than ever. Now also they discovered their carnal confidence and their carnal security. They looked to the fortifications. They made sure of water for the city. But they were regardless of God in all these preparations. They did not care for his glory in what they did. They did not depend upon him for a blessing on their endeavours. For every ...
Read full commentary →And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem</strong> (וְאֶת־בָּתֵּי יְרוּשָׁלִַם סְפַרְתֶּם, <em>ve'et-batei Yerushalaim sefarten</em>)—conducting a census of buildings for strategic purposes. <strong>Numbered</strong> (סָפַר, <em>safar</em>) means to count, take inventory.<br><br><strong>And the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall</strong> (וַתִּתְּצוּ הַבָּתִּים לְבַצֵּר הַחו...
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(10) **Ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem.**—The preparations for defence are continued. The houses were numbered that some might be pulled down and others left, as strategical plans might determine. (Comp. 2Chronicles 32:5.) So in what was probably a contemporary psalm we have, “Walk about Zion **. . .** tell the towers thereof **. . .** mark ye well her bulwarks” (Psalm 48:12). So in the l...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. estate--**The estate of fallen man is so ordered (these wrongs are permitted), that God might "manifest," that is, thereby prove them, and that they might themselves see their mortal frailty, like that of the beasts.
**sons of men--**rather, "sons of Adam," a phrase used for "fallen men." The toleration of injustice until the judgment is designed to "manifest" men's characters in their fal...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14** The weakness of Judah now appeared more than ever. Now also they discovered their carnal confidence and their carnal security. They looked to the fortifications. They made sure of water for the city. But they were regardless of God in all these preparations. They did not care for his glory in what they did. They did not depend upon him for a blessing on their endeavours. For every ...
Read full commentary →Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool</strong>—continuing water system improvements. The <strong>ditch</strong> (מִקְוָה, <em>miqveh</em>, reservoir/collection pool) channeled water from the <strong>old pool</strong> (הַבְּרֵכָה הַיְשָׁנָה, <em>haberekhah hayeshanah</em>) between two walls, protecting it during siege. Sophisticated hydraulic engineering.<...
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(11) **Ye made also a ditch between the two walls.**—Better, *a pond *or *pool, *to form a reservoir for the supply of the city. This was probably identical with the “pool of Hezekiah,” known also as the *Birket-el-Batrak *(“pool of the patriarchs”), between two walls, that to the north of Zaon, and that which runs to the north-east round the Acra. During the rainy season this is supplied by the s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19. Literally, "For the sons of men (Adam) are a mere chance, as also the beast is a mere chance." These words can only be the sentiments of the skeptical oppressors. God's delay in judgment gives scope for the "manifestation" of their infidelity (Ec 8:11; Psa 55:19; 2Pe 3:3,4). They are "brute beasts," morally (Ec 3:18; Jude 10); and they end by maintaining that man, physically, has no pre-eminen...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14** The weakness of Judah now appeared more than ever. Now also they discovered their carnal confidence and their carnal security. They looked to the fortifications. They made sure of water for the city. But they were regardless of God in all these preparations. They did not care for his glory in what they did. They did not depend upon him for a blessing on their endeavours. For every ...
Read full commentary →And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
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KJV Study Commentary
'And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth.' God's appropriate response to crisis: weeping, mourning, baldness (shaving head in grief), sackcloth (mourning garment). These actions represent genuine repentance and grief over sin. God calls for this response—it's the appropriate, expected reaction to coming judgment. Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **To weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness . . .**—National danger, Isaiah adds, should call to a national repentance in its outward manifestations, like the fast described in Joel 2 “Baldness,’ produced by the tearing of the hair in extreme grief, took its place naturally, with weeping and sackcloth, in those manifestations.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14** The weakness of Judah now appeared more than ever. Now also they discovered their carnal confidence and their carnal security. They looked to the fortifications. They made sure of water for the city. But they were regardless of God in all these preparations. They did not care for his glory in what they did. They did not depend upon him for a blessing on their endeavours. For every ...
Read full commentary →And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.' This verse captures hedonistic response to crisis: since judgment comes, pursue pleasure. The phrase 'let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die' is quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:32 regarding resurrection denial—if no afterlife, pursue present pleas...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **And behold joy and gladness . . .**—As things were, however, the danger, imminent as it was, led, as in the plague at Athens in the time of Pericles, and that of Florence in the time of Boccaccio, not to repentance, but to recklessness and sensuality. The cry of the baser form of epicureanism in all ages (1Corinthians 15:32) was uttered, or acted on, and the prophet echoes the spoken words,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. Who knoweth--**Not doubt of the destination of man's spirit (Ec 12:7); but "how few, by reason of the outward mortality to which man is as liable as the beast and which is the ground of the skeptic's argument, comprehend the wide difference between man and the beast" (Is 53:1). The Hebrew expresses the difference strongly, "The spirit of man that ascends, it belongeth to on high; but the spi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14** The weakness of Judah now appeared more than ever. Now also they discovered their carnal confidence and their carnal security. They looked to the fortifications. They made sure of water for the city. But they were regardless of God in all these preparations. They did not care for his glory in what they did. They did not depend upon him for a blessing on their endeavours. For every ...
Read full commentary →And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.' Divine pronouncement of irrevocable judgment: this sin won't be atoned for until death. The defiant hedonism of verse 13 ('eat, drink, tomorrow we die') seals their fate. This represents crossing a point of no return—persistent hardness leading to jud...
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(14) **It was revealed in mine ears . . .**—The special form indicates that the warning was “borne in,” ringing, as it were, on the inward ears of the prophet, as an oracle of God. That sensual recklessness could have but one end in all countries and ages, and that end was death. No formal religion, no chastisement, even, would avail to purge an iniquity like that in the absence of a true repentan...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
22. (Compare Ec 3:12; 5:18). Inculcating a thankful enjoyment of God's gifts, and a cheerful discharge of man's duties, founded on fear of God; not as the sensualist (Ec 11:9); not as the anxious money-seeker (Ec 2:23; 5:10-17).
**his portion--**in the present life. If it were made his main portion, it would be "vanity" (Ec 2:1; Lu 16:25).
**for who, &c.--**Our ignorance as to the future, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-14** The weakness of Judah now appeared more than ever. Now also they discovered their carnal confidence and their carnal security. They looked to the fortifications. They made sure of water for the city. But they were regardless of God in all these preparations. They did not care for his glory in what they did. They did not depend upon him for a blessing on their endeavours. For every ...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house</strong>—God directly confronts Shebna (שֶׁבְנָא), whose name may be shortened from Shebaniah, meaning 'Yah has grown.' He held the office of <em>al-habayit</em> (עַל־הַבָּיִת, 'over the house'), the royal steward or palace administrator—second only to the king in authority (cf. 1 ...
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(15) **Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna.**—The section that follows opens a chapter in the internal politics of the reign of Hezekiah. The word for “treasurer” (literally, *companion*) implies a position like that of a vizier, identical, probably, with that of the “king’s friend” of Genesis 26:26; 2Samuel 15:37; 1Kings 4:5. In addition to this office Shebna had the position of be...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? as: or, O he
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here</strong>—God's interrogation uses biting irony. The triple <em>poh</em> (פֹה, 'here') emphasizes Shebna's presumption: 'What right do you have <em>here</em>?' He was carving out a tomb (קֶבֶר, <em>qever</em>) among Jerusalem's elite burial sites, <strong>on high</strong> (מָרוֹם, <em>marom</em>), i...
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(16) **What hast thou here? . . .**—The prophet’s indignation is roused by Shebna’s last act of arrogance. He had no “sepulchre of his fathers” to deck with fresh stateliness, and, like the kings and great ones of the earth (the kings of Sidon, the Pharaohs of Egypt, the kings of Assyria), had built one for himself, hollowed out of the wells (probably on one of the hills of Jerusalem), to be his o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 4
Ec 4:1-16.
**1. returned--**namely, to the thought set forth (Ec 3:16; Job 35:9).
**power--**Maurer, not so well, "violence."
**no comforter--**twice said to express continued suffering without any to give comfort (Is 53:7).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. will carry: or, the Lord who covered thee with an excellent covering, and clothed thee gorgeously, v.18.shall surely, etc a mighty: Heb. the captivity of a man
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity</strong>—The Hebrew <em>ṭūl yəṭalṭēlkā</em> (טוּל יְטַלְטֶלְךָ) uses an intensive form meaning 'hurl you away violently,' suggesting forceful expulsion. The phrase <em>ṭalṭēlâ gāver</em> (טַלְטֵלָה גָּבֶר, 'a mighty captivity' or 'with a man's throw') indicates the strength of a warrior hurling someone away. This contrasts sharp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **The Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity.**—Better, *will hurl thee with the hurling of a mighty man*—*i.e., *strongly and effectually. The words have, however, been rendered (Cheyne), “will hurl, will hurl thee, O mighty man.” The marginal rendering rests on no sufficient grounds.**
Will surely cover thee.**—Better, *Will surely grasp thee, *so that thou shalt not escape.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. A profane sentiment if severed from its connection; but just in its bearing on Solomon's scope. If religion were not taken into account (Ec 3:17, 19), to die as soon as possible would be desirable, so as not to suffer or witness "oppressions"; and still more so, not to be born at all (Ec 7:1). Job (Job 3:12; 21:7), David (Psa 73:3, &c.), Jeremiah (Jr 12:1), Habakkuk (Ha 1:13), all passed th...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house. large: Heb. large of spaces
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country</strong>—The imagery intensifies: <em>ṣānōp̄ yiṣnop̄kā ṣənēp̄â</em> (צָנוֹף יִצְנָפְךָ צְנֵפָה) uses wordplay meaning 'wrap up, whirl around, toss violently'—like winding up a ball and hurling it far away. The <em>large country</em> (אֶרֶץ רַחֲבַת יָדָיִם, <em>ʾereṣ raḥăḇaṯ yāḏayim</em>, literally 'land broad of h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Like a ball into a large country.**—The picture is that of a ball flung violently on a smooth, even plain where it bounds on and on with nothing to stay its progress. The “large country” is, probably, the plain of Mesopotamia, where Shebna is to end his days in exile.
**There the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house.**—Better, *Thither shall go the chariots of thy gl...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. not seen--**nor experienced.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down</strong>—The terminology is precise: <em>maṣṣāḇ</em> (מַצָּב, 'station') refers to Shebna's official post as royal steward, while <em>maʿămāḏ</em> (מַעֲמָד, 'state/standing') indicates his prestigious position in society. God will forcibly remove him (הֲדַפְתִּיךָ, <em>hăḏap̄tîḵā</em>, 'thrust you out') and ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **I will drive thee . . . shall he pull thee down.**—The change of person has led some interpreters to refer the latter clause to Hezekiah. Such changes, however, are common enough in Hebrew prophetic speech (*e.g., *Isaiah 10:12; Isaiah 42:13-14), and Jehovah is the subject of both clauses.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. right--**rather, "prosperous" (see on Ec 2:21). Prosperity, which men so much covet, is the very source of provoking oppression (Ec 4:1) and "envy," so far is it from constituting the chief good.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah</strong>—The shift from judgment to hope is dramatic. Eliakim (אֶלְיָקִים, <em>ʾelyāqîm</em>) means 'God raises up' or 'God establishes'—a name signifying divine appointment, contrasting with Shebna's self-promotion. The designation <strong>my servant</strong> (עַבְדִּי, <em>ʿaḇdî</em>) is God's h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Eliakim the son of Hilkiah.**—Nothing is known of Eliakim’s previous history, but the epithet, “my servant,” bears witness to his faith and goodness; and we may well believe him to have been in heart, if not openly, one of Isaiah’s disciples. He was apparently, at the time, in some subordinate office.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. Still the
fool (the wicked oppressor) is not to be envied even in this life, who "folds his hands together" in idleness (Pr 6:10; 24:33), living on the means he wrongfully wrests from others; for such a one
**eateth his own flesh--**that is, is a self-tormentor, never satisfied, his spirit preying on itself (Is 9:20; 49:26).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle</strong>—The investiture ceremony uses symbolic garments: the <em>kuttōneṯ</em> (כֻּתָּנֶת, 'robe') representing official authority, and <em>ʾaḇnēṭ</em> (אַבְנֵט, 'girdle/sash'), symbolizing strength and readiness for service (cf. Exodus 28:4,39 for priestly garments). These weren't merely Shebna's personal clothes but...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **I will clothe him with thy robe . . .**—The words point to an actual transfer of the robe and girdle which were Shebna’s insignia of office. There was to be, in this case, a literal investiture.
**He shall be a father . . .**—The words were, perhaps, an official title given to the king’s vizier or chamberlain. (Comp. 2Kings 5:13.) Here, however, the words indicate that the idea of the title...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. Hebrew; "One open hand (palm) full of quietness, than both closed hands full of travail." "Quietness" (mental tranquillity flowing from honest labor), opposed to "eating one's own flesh" (Ec 4:5), also opposed to anxious labor to gain (Ec 4:8; Pr 15:16, 17; 16:8).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.' God removes unfaithful steward Shebna (verses 15-19) and appoints faithful Eliakim. The imagery—robe, girdle (sash/belt), committing government—represents transferring authority. The title 'fa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder . . .**—The key of the king’s treasure-chambers and of the gates of the palace was the natural symbol of the chamberlain’s or vizier’s office, and, as in Isaiah 9:6, it was solemnly laid upon the shoulder of the new official, perhaps as representing the burden of the responsibilities of the duties of his office. In the “keys of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7. A vanity described in Ec 4:8.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.' The 'key of the house of David' represents absolute authority over access to the king—major domo position controlling royal access. 'Upon his shoulder' indicates burden and responsibility of office. The absolute authority ('open...none shall shut; shut......
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place . . .**—The word for “nail” is used both for the peg that fastens a tent to the ground, as in the “stakes” of Isaiah 33:20; Isaiah 54:2; Judges 4:21, or, as in Ezekiel 15:3, for a nail driven into the wall. Here the context shows that the latter meaning is preferable. It was, as the sequel shows, a symbol of the support upon which others can depen...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. not a second--**no partner.
**child--**"son or brother," put for any heir (De 25:5-10).
**eye--**(Ec 1:8). The miser would not be able to give an account of his infatuation.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. vessels of flagons: or, instruments of viols
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house</strong> (וְתָלוּ עָלָיו כֹּל כְּבוֹד בֵּית־אָבִיו)—The imagery shifts from the secure peg (v. 23) to an overburdened one. Eliakim, installed as a <em>yated</em> (peg/nail) in a sure place, would bear the weight of his entire family's expectations and dependencies. The Hebrew <em>kavod</em> (glory/weight) contains wordplay: glory...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house . . .**—The metaphor of the nail is resumed. Not without a touch of irony, as the sequel shows, the prophet paints the extent to which those who belong to Eliakim will hang upon his support. There will be the “glory” or the “weight” (the Hebrew word has both meanings) of his next-of-kin. Besides these there will be the remoter...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. Two--**opposed to "one" (Ec 4:8). Ties of union, marriage, friendship, religious communion, are better than the selfish solitariness of the miser (Ge 2:18).
**reward--**Advantage accrues from their efforts being conjoined. The Talmud says, "A man without a companion is like a left hand without the right.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed</strong>—Despite Eliakim's faithful service and divine installation (v. 23), even he would eventually fail under the weight. The Hebrew <em>yated</em> (peg/nail), promised as secure (<em>ne'eman</em>, v. 23), will be <strong>removed and cut down and fall</strong> (תִּמּוֹשׁ וְנִגְדְּעָה וְנָפ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Shall the nail that is fastened in a sure place be removed . . .**—There is, the prophet says, a judgment for the misuse of power portrayed in the previous verse. The “nail” that seems so firmly fixed should be removed, *i.e., *Eliakim should cease to hold his high office, and with his fall should come that of all his kindred and dependents. Here, as in the case of Shebna, we have no record...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. if they fall--**if the one or other fall, as may happen to both, namely, into any distress of body, mind, or soul.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-25** This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called t...
Read full commentary →