King James Version
Isaiah 26
21 verses with commentary
A Song of Praise
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.</strong> This verse opens Isaiah's great Song of Salvation, looking forward to the eschatological day when God's redeemed people celebrate His deliverance. The phrase <strong>"In that day"</strong> (בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא/<em>bayyom hahu</em>) is Isaiah's signature e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXVI.
(1) **In that day shall this song be sung . . .**—The prophet appears once more, as in Isaiah 5:1; Isaiah 12:4, in the character of a psalmist, and what he writes is destined for nothing less than the worship of the new city of the heavenly kingdom.
**Salvation will God appoint for walls.**—Better, *salvation He appoints. *The walls of the heavenly city are not of stone or brick, but are the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. Consider as to God's work, that it is impossible to alter His dispensations; for who can, &c.
**straight ... crooked--**Man cannot amend what God wills to be "wanting" and "adverse" (Ec 1:15; Job 12:14).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 26
**Verse 1**
Honour is out of season to those unworthy and unfit for it.
Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. truth: Heb. truths
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in."</strong> This verse presents the entrance requirements for God's strong city. <strong>"Open ye the gates"</strong> (פִּתְחוּ שְׁעָרִים/<em>pitchu she'arim</em>) echoes Psalm 24:7—"Lift up your heads, O ye gates"—when the King of Glory enters. Gates in ancient cities controlled who entered; they were places...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Open ye the gates . . .**—The cry comes as from the heralds of the king of the heavenly city, proclaiming that the gates are open to those who are worthy to enter into it, *i.e., *to the righteous people who alone may dwell in the city of God (Psalm 15:1-2; Psalm 24:3-4; Psalm 118:19-20; Revelation 21:27.)
**The truth.**—Literally, *truths; *all the many forms of truthfulness in heart and li...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. consider--**resumed from Ec 7:13. "Consider," that is, regard it as "the work of God"; for "God has made (Hebrew, for 'set') this (adversity) also as well as the other (prosperity)." "Adversity" is one of the things which "God has made crooked," and which man cannot "make straight." He ought therefore to be "patient" (Ec 7:8).
**after him--**equivalent to "that man may not find anything (t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 2**
He that is cursed without cause, the curse shall do him no more harm than the bird that flies over his head.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. perfect: Heb. peace, peace mind: or, thought, or, imagination
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.</strong> This beloved promise offers one of Scripture's most profound assurances about the nature and source of true peace. The Hebrew structure reveals depths often lost in translation, making this a cornerstone text for understanding divine peace amid life's storms.<br><br>"Thou wilt keep" (תִ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace.**—The italics show that the English version is made up with several interpolated words. More literally, and more impressively, we read, *Thou establishest a purpose firm; peace, peace, for in Thee is his trust. *Completeness is expressed, as elsewhere, in the form of iteration. No adjectives can add to the fulness of the meaning of the noun.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. An objection entertained by Solomon
**in the days of his vanity--**his apostasy (Ec 8:14; Job 21:7).
**just ... perisheth--**(1Ki 21:13). Temporal not eternal death (Joh 10:28). But see on Ec 7:16; "just" is probably a self-justiciary.
**wicked ... prolongeth--**See the antidote to the abuse of this statement in Ec 8:12.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 3**
Every creature must be dealt with according to its nature, but careless and profligate sinners never will be ruled by reason and persuasion. Man indeed is born like the wild ass's colt; but some, by the grace of God, are changed.
Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: everlasting: Heb. the rock of ages
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength."</strong> This is one of Scripture's most powerful exhortations to perpetual trust. <strong>"Trust ye in the LORD for ever"</strong> (בִּטְחוּ בַיהוָה עֲדֵי־עַד/<em>bitchu vaYHWH adei-ad</em>)—the imperative <em>bitchu</em> (trust!) calls for confident reliance, secure confidence, complete dependence. The time...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **For in the Lord Jehovah.**—The Hebrew presents, as in Isaiah 12:2, the exceptional combination of the two names Jah (Psalm 68:4) and Jehovah. In the Hebrew for “everlasting strength,” we have, literally, the *Rock of Ages *of the well-known hymn. We have the same name of Rock applied to express the unchangeableness of God, as in Deuteronomy 32:4.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. Holden makes Ec 7:16 the scoffing inference of the objector, and Ec 7:17 the answer of Solomon, now repentant. So (1Co 15:32) the skeptic's objection; (1Co 15:33) the answer. However, "Be not righteous over much," may be taken as Solomon's words, forbidding a self-made righteousness of outward performances, which would wrest salvation from God, instead of receiving it as the gift of His grace....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-5**
We are to fit our remarks to the man, and address them to his conscience, so as may best end the debate.
For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust."</strong> This verse explains why God is trustworthy (note the causal "for")—He brings down every competing power. The repetitive structure hammers home God's sovereign reversal of human pride. <strong>"He bringeth down them that dwell on h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **The lofty city, he layeth it low . . .**—The “city” is probably the great imperial “city of confusion” that had exalted itself against God and his people. To that city, Moab, in all its pride, was but as a tributary.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. over much wicked--**so worded, to answer to "righteous over much." For if not taken thus, it would seem to imply that we may be wicked a little. "Wicked" refers to "wicked man" (Ec 7:15); "die before thy time," to "prolongeth his life," antithetically. There may be a wicked man spared to "live long," owing to his avoiding gross excesses (Ec 7:15). Solomon says, therefore, Be not so foolish (...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with...
Read full commentary →The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy."</strong> This verse completes the reversal—those once oppressed by the lofty city now walk upon its ruins. <strong>"The foot shall tread it down"</strong> (תִּרְמְסֶנָּה רָגֶל/<em>tirmesennah ragel</em>)—<em>tirmesennah</em> means to trample, tread down, stamp upon, walk over. This was the ultimate humil...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Even the feet of the poor . . .**—The downfall of the haughty city is emphasised by the fact that the instruments of its destruction are to be the very people it had oppressed. The “saints of God” are in this sense to judge the world.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. this ... this--**the two opposite excesses (Ec 7:16, 17), fanatical, self-wise righteousness, and presumptuous, foolhardy wickedness.
**he that feareth God shall come forth of them all--**shall escape all such extremes (Pr 3:7).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with...
Read full commentary →The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just."</strong> This verse shifts from God's judgment of the proud to His care for the righteous. <strong>"The way of the just is uprightness"</strong> (אֹרַח לַצַּדִּיק מֵישָׁרִים/<em>orach latzaddiq meisharim</em>)—<em>orach</em> means way, path, road, journey through life. <em>Tzaddiq</em> (the just, the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **The way of the just is uprightness.**—The English version seems somewhat tautologous. Better, *is straight, *or is *even*—i.e., leads on without interruption to its appointed end. So, in the second clause, instead of “thou shalt weigh the path,” which conveys a not very intelligible thought, we render, *makest smooth the path. *Probably, too, the word translated, “most upright,” as if it wer...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
19. Hebrew, "The wisdom," that is, the true wisdom, religion (2Ti 3:15).
**than ten mighty--**that is, able and valiant generals (Ec 7:12; 9:13-18; Pr 21:22; 24:5). These "watchmen wake in vain, except the Lord keep the city" (Psa 127:1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with...
Read full commentary →Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee."</strong> This verse expresses faithful patience and deep longing for God. <strong>"In the way of thy judgments...have we waited for thee"</strong> (אַף אֹרַח מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ יְהוָה קִוִּינוּךָ/<em>af orach mishpatekha YHWH qiwwinukha</em>)—<em>af</em> (y...
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(8) **To thy name, and to the remembrance of thee . . .**—The “name” of God is, as always, that which reveals His character and will. Those who have waited for Him in the path of His judgments long for a fuller manifestation of that character. Comp. the prayer, “Father, glorify thy Name,” in John 12:28. In the next verse the prophet identifies himself in spirit with the longing expectation of the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
20. Referring to Ec 7:16. Be not "self-righteous," seek not to make thyself "just" before God by a superabundance of self-imposed performances; "for true 'wisdom,' or 'righteousness,' shows that there is not a just man," &c.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with...
Read full commentary →With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."</strong> This verse intensifies the longing expressed in verse 8, now in first-person singular. <strong>"With my soul have I desired thee in the night"</strong> (נַפְשִׁי אִוִּיתִיךָ בַּלַּיְלָ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **With my soul have I desired thee in the night . . .**—Soul and spirit are joined together to express the fulness of personality. The “night” is the time of sorrow and expectation, in which the saints of God shall “watch for the morning” of the great day of judgment and deliverance. They welcomed the judgments” as the discipline, by which those who had failed to learn before would at last, it...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
21. As therefore thou being far from perfectly "just" thyself, hast much to be forgiven by God, do not take too strict account, as the self-righteous do (Ec 7:16; Lu 18:9, 11), and thereby shorten their lives (Ec 7:15, 16), of words spoken against thee by others, for example, thy servant: Thou art their "fellow servant" before God (Mt 18:32-35).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with...
Read full commentary →Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD."</strong> This verse provides sobering contrast to verse 9—while some learn righteousness through God's judgments, the wicked remain unteachable even when shown favor. <strong>"Let favour be shewed to the wicked"</strong> (...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Let favour be shewed to the wicked . . .**—The thought of Isaiah 26:9 is presented under another aspect. The judgments of God manifested against evil are the only discipline by which the doers of evil can be taught; without the, under a system of mere tolerance and favour, they remain as they are. In the very “land of uprightness” (Psalm 143:10) they will still work unrighteousness. “The mi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
22. (1Ki 2:44).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with...
Read full commentary →LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them. at: or, toward thy people
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>"LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them."</strong> This verse continues the theme of willful blindness receiving ultimate judgment. <strong>"LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see"</strong> (יְהוָה רָמָה יָדְךָ בַּל־יֶחֱזָיוּן/<em>YHWH ramah yadkha ba...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **They will not see . . .**—Better, *they did not see, *or, *they see not, *so as to bring out the contrast with the clause that follows. When the “arm of Jehovah,” the symbol of His power, was simply lifted up for the protection of His people, the evildoers closed their eyes and would not see it. A time will come when judgments shall fall on them, and so they shall be made to see.
**Shall be...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. All this--**resuming the "all" in Ec 7:15; Ec 7:15-22 is therefore the fruit of his dearly bought experience in the days of his "vanity."
**I will be wise--**I tried to "be wise," independently of God. But true wisdom was then "far from him," in spite of his human wisdom, which he retained by God's gift. So "over wise" (Ec 7:16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-11** The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy. It is our duty, and will be our comfort, to wait for God, to keep up holy desires toward him in the darkest and most discouraging times. Our troubles must never turn us from God; and in the darkest, longest night of affliction, with...
Read full commentary →LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. in us: or, for us
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us</strong> (יְהוָה תִּשְׁפֹּת־שָׁלוֹם לָנוּ / <em>YHWH tishpot-shalom lanu</em>)—The verb שָׁפַת (<em>shaphat</em>) means "to establish, ordain, or appoint." Isaiah affirms that <em>shalom</em> (peace, wholeness, comprehensive well-being) is God's sovereign gift, not human achievement. This peace encompasses reconciliation with God, inner tranquility, and ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Thou also hast wrought all our work in us . . .**—Better, *for us. *The “work” is the great work of salvation and deliverance.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. That ... far off ... deep--**True wisdom is so when sought independently of "fear of God" (Ec 7:18; De 30:12, 13; Job 11:7, 8; 28:12-20, 28; Psa 64:6; Ro 10:6, 7).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came...
Read full commentary →O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us</strong> (יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּעָלוּנוּ אֲדֹנִים זוּלָתֶךָ / <em>YHWH Eloheinu be'alunu adonim zulateka</em>)—The verb בָּעַל (<em>ba'al</em>, "to rule, possess, marry") carries double significance. It denotes political oppression but also spiritual adultery, since Baal worship constantly seduced Israel. The confession ackno...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Other lords beside thee have had do minion over us . . .**—The “other lords” are the conquerors and oppressors by whom Israel had been enslaved; possibly also, the false gods with whom those conquerors identified themselves.
**By thee only will we make mention of thy name.**—Better, *Through Thee alone we celebrate Thy Name. *The power to praise God with hymns of thanksgiving (Psalm 45:17) ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
25. Literally, "I turned myself and mine heart to." A phrase peculiar to Ecclesiastes, and appropriate to the penitent turning back to commune with his heart on his past life.
**wickedness of folly--**He is now a step further on the path of penitence than in Ec 1:17; 2:12, where "folly" is put without "wickedness" prefixed.
**reason--**rather, "the right estimation" of things. Holden translate...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came...
Read full commentary →They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise</strong> (מֵתִים בַּל־יִחְיוּ רְפָאִים בַּל־יָקֻמוּ / <em>metim bal-yichyu refa'im bal-yaqumu</em>)—This verse contrasts sharply with verse 19's resurrection promise. The <em>refa'im</em> (shades, dead spirits) refers to Israel's defeated oppressors—the "other lords" of verse 13. Their death is final and permanent; ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **They are dead . . .**—We get a more vivid rendering by omitting the words in italics, *Dead, they live not; shadows *(*Rephaim, *as in Psalm 88:10), *they rise not. *Those of whom the prophet speaks are the rulers of the great world-empires, who, as in Isaiah 14:9; Ezekiel 32:21, have passed into the gloomy world of Hades, out of which there was, for them at least, no escape. Their very nam...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26. "I find" that, of all my sinful follies, none has been so ruinous a snare in seducing me from God as idolatrous women (1Ki 11:3, 4; Pr 5:3, 4; 22:14). As "God's favor is better than life," she who seduces from God is "more bitter than death."
**whoso pleaseth God--**as Joseph (Ge 39:2, 3, 9). It is God's grace alone that keeps any from falling.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came...
Read full commentary →Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified</strong> (יָסַפְתָּ לַגּוֹי יְהוָה יָסַפְתָּ לַגּוֹי נִכְבָּדְתָּ / <em>yasafta lagoy YHWH yasafta lagoy nikbadta</em>)—The verb יָסַף (<em>yasaf</em>, "to add, increase") appears twice for emphasis. After judgment purges the wicked (v. 14), God enlarges His people. The passive נִכְבָּד (<em>nikhbad<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Thou hast increased the nation . . .**—The nation is, if we follow this rendering, Israel, whose prosperity the prophet contrasts with the downfall of its oppressors (comp. Isaiah 9:3). The LXX., however, gives, “Add thou evils to all the glorious ones,” as if referring to the “chastening” of exile in the next verse, and the use of the word “nation” (*i.e., *heathen) instead of “people,” is...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. this--**namely, what follows in Ec 7:28.
**counting one by one--**by comparing one thing with another [Holden and Maurer].
**account--**a right estimate. But Ec 7:28 more favors Gesenius. "Considering women one by one."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came...
Read full commentary →LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. prayer: Heb. secret speech
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>LORD, in trouble have they visited thee</strong> (יְהוָה בַּצַּר פְּקָדוּךָ / <em>YHWH batzar peqadukha</em>)—The verb פָּקַד (<em>paqad</em>, "to visit, attend to") here means to seek God. The noun צַר (<em>tzar</em>, "trouble, distress, adversity") describes affliction that drives people to God. Human nature often ignores God during prosperity but cries out during crisis—a pattern throug...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Lord, in trouble have they visited thee.**—Better, *have they missed Thee *(as in 1Samuel 20:6; 1Samuel 25:15), or *sought after Thee, *or, *remembered Thee.*
**They poured out a prayer . . .**—The word for “prayer” is a peculiar one, commonly used, as in Isaiah 3:3; Isaiah 8:19, for the whispered incantations of the heathen. Here it appears to mean the low-toned prayers, pitched as in a mi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28. Rather, referring to his past experience, "Which my soul sought further, but I found not."
**one man--**that is, worthy of the name, "man," "upright"; not more than one in a thousand of my courtiers (Job 33:23; Psa 12:1). Jesus Christ alone of men fully realizes the perfect ideal of "man." "Chiefest among ten thousand" (So 5:10). No perfect "woman" has ever existed, not even the Virgin Mary....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came...
Read full commentary →Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs</strong> (כְּמוֹ הָרָה תַּקְרִיב לָלֶדֶת תָּחִיל תִּזְעַק בַּחֲבָלֶיהָ / <em>kemo harah taqriv laledet tachil tiz'aq bachavaleiha</em>)—The childbirth metaphor appears frequently in prophetic literature for suffering that precedes new life (Jeremiah 4:31, Micah 4:9-10, John 16:21...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Like as a woman with child.**—This, as in Matthew 24:8, John 16:21, comes as the most natural image of longing, painful expectation, followed by great joy.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
29. The "only" way of accounting for the scarcity of even comparatively upright men and women is that, whereas God made man upright, they (men) have, &c. The only account to be "found" of the origin of evil, the great mystery of theology, is that given in Holy Writ (Ge 2:1-3:24). Among man's "inventions" was the one especially referred to in Ec 7:26, the bitter fruits of which Solomon experien...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came...
Read full commentary →We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind.</strong> This poignant metaphor employs childbirth imagery to express Israel's spiritual futility and disappointment. The Hebrew <em>harah</em> (הָרָה, "with child") and <em>chul</em> (חוּל, "writhe in pain") describe the intense labor and expectation of bringing forth new life. Yet the devastating conclu...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **We have as it were brought forth wind.**—Left to themselves, the longing expectations of Israel had been frustrated. It was, “as it were” (the words imply the prophet’s consciousness of the boldness of the figure), like a false pregnancy, a disease with no birth as its outcome.
**Neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.**—Better, *Neither were the inhabitants of the world brought t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came...
Read full commentary →Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise</strong> (יִחְיוּ מֵתֶיךָ נְבֵלָתִי יְקוּמוּן / <em>yichyu metekha nevelati yequmun</em>)—This is the Old Testament's clearest resurrection promise before Daniel 12:2. The verbs חָיָה (<em>chayah</em>, "to live") and קוּם (<em>qum</em>, "to arise, stand up") declare bodily resurrection, not mere spiritual immortality. נְב...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Thy dead men shall live.**—Better, *Thy dead shall live; my corpses shall rise. *The words, though they imply a belief more or less distinct in a resurrection, are primarily like the vision of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14, and like St. Paul’s “life from the dead” in Romans 11:15 (comp. also Hosea 6:2), used of national and spiritual resurrection.
**For thy dew is as the dew of herbs.**—The ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 8
Ec 8:1-17.
1. Praise of true wisdom continued (Ec 7:11, &c.). "Who" is to be accounted "equal to the wise man? ... Who (like him) knoweth the interpretation" of God's providences (for example, Ec 7:8, 13, 14), and God's word (for example, see on Ec 7:29; Pr 1:6)?
**face to shine--**(Ec 7:14; Ac 6:15). A sunny countenance, the reflection of a tranquil conscience and serene mind....
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-19** Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came...
Read full commentary →Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee</strong> (לֵךְ עַמִּי בֹּא בַחֲדָרֶיךָ וּסְגֹר דְּלָתְךָ בַּעֲדֶךָ / <em>lekh ammi bo vachadarekha usegor delatekha ba'adekha</em>)—The tender address עַמִּי (<em>ammi</em>, "my people") recalls Hosea 2:23's covenant restoration. חֶדֶר (<em>cheder</em>, "inner chamber, room") suggests intimate refuge, private sanc...
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(20) **Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers.**—The vision of the judgments and the glory of the future leads the prophet to his work as a preacher of repentance in the present. His people also need the preparation of silent and solitary prayer (Matthew 6:6; Psalm 27:5; Psalm 31:21). As men seek the innermost recesses of their homes while the thunderstorm sweeps over the city, so should th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. the king's--**Jehovah, peculiarly the king of Israel in the theocracy; Ec 8:3, 4, prove it is not the earthly king who is meant.
**the oath of God--**the covenant which God made with Abraham and renewed with David; Solomon remembered Psa 89:35, "I have sworn," &c. (Psa 89:36), and the penalties if David's children should forsake it (Psa 89:30-32); inflicted on Solomon himself; yet God n...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 20** ,21 When dangers threaten, it is good to retire and lie hid; when we commend ourselves to God to hide us, he will hide us either under heaven or in heaven. Thus we shall be safe and happy in the midst of tribulations. It is but for a short time, as it were for a little moment; when over, it will seem as nothing. God's place is the mercy-seat; there he delights to be: when he punishes,...
Read full commentary →For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. blood: Heb. bloods
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Divine Theophany for Judgment:</strong> The phrase "the LORD cometh out of his place" (Hebrew <em>הִנֵּה יְהוָה יֹצֵא מִמְּקוֹמוֹ</em>, hinneh Yahweh yotse mimqomo) depicts God leaving His heavenly dwelling to execute judgment on earth. Similar language appears in Micah 1:3, emphasizing the fearsome nature of divine intervention. <strong>Purpose of Coming:</strong> The infinitive <em>לִפְק...
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(21) **The earth also shall disclose her blood.**—Literally, *her bloods *(plural of intensity). The prophet has in his thoughts the reckless destruction of life which characterised the great world-powers of Assyria and Babylon. As in the case of Abel’s blood that cried from the ground (Genesis 4:16), so here the earth first brings to light the blood of those that have been slain, and then the for...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. hasty--**rather, "Be not terror-struck so as to go out of His sight." Slavishly "terror-struck" is characteristic of the sinner's feeling toward God; he vainly tries to flee out of His sight (Psa 139:7); opposed to the "shining face" of filial confidence (Ec 8:1; Joh 8:33-36; Ro 8:2; 1Jo 4:18).
**stand not--**persist not.
**for he doeth--**God inflicts what punishment He pleases on persis...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-22**
Contention heats the spirit, and puts families and societies into a flame. And that fire is commonly kindled and kept burning by whisperers and backbiters.