King James Version
Isaiah 28
29 verses with commentary
Woe to Ephraim
Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! overcome: Heb. broken
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!</strong> Isaiah pronounces the first of six "woes" in chapters 28-33 (28:1; 29:1, 15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1), this one targeting the Northern Kingdom (Ephraim/Israel) shortly before Assyria's conquest in 722 BC. <strong>C...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXVIII.
(1) **Woe to the crown of pride . . .**—Better, *the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim. *The chapter is remarkable, as showing that the prophet’s work was not limited to Judah and Jerusalem, but extended to the northern kingdom. The warning was clearly uttered before the capture of Samaria by Salmaneser, or, more probably, by Sargon, and paints in vivid colours—reminding us in part o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 28
**Verse 1**
Sin makes men cowards. Whatever difficulties the righteous meet in the way of duty, they are not daunted.
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.</strong> God's judgment against prideful Ephraim comes through a powerful agent. <strong>The Lord hath a mighty and strong one</strong> (<em>chazaq ve'amits la-Adonai</em>, חָזָק וְאַמִּץ לַאדֹנָי, literally "...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **The Lord hath a mighty and strong one . . .**—The Hebrew may be either neuter, as in the LXX. and Targum, or masculine, as in the Authorised Version. In either case it refers to the King of Assyria as the instrument of Jehovah’s vengeance, the similitudes employed to describe his action reproducing those of Isaiah 8:7-8; Isaiah 25:4. Here the picture is that of the “destroying storm,” the *p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 2**
National sins disturb the public repose.
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: under: Heb. with feet
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:</strong> This verse repeats the indictment from verse 1 but states the consequence directly: <strong>shall be trodden under feet</strong> (<em>beraglaim teramesnah</em>, בְּרַגְלַיִם תֵּרָמֵסְנָה, literally "with feet it shall be trampled"). The image is devastating—what was exalted high (the crown on the hill) will...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 9
Ec 9:1-18.
**1. declare--**rather, explore; the result of my exploring is this, that "the righteous, &c., are in the hand of God. No man knoweth either the love or hatred (of God to them) by all that is before them," that is, by what is outwardly seen in His present dealings (Ec 8:14, 17). However, from the sense of the same words, in Ec 9:6, "love and hatred" seem to be the feel...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 3**
If needy persons get opportunities of oppressing, their extortion will be more severe than that of the more wealthy.
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. eateth: Heb. swalloweth
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.</strong> Continuing the flower imagery from verse 1, Isaiah adds a second metaphor: <strong>the hasty fruit before the summer</strong> (<em>bikkurah beterem qayits</em>, בִ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **And the** **glorious beauty . . .**—Better, *And the fading flower of his glorious beauty ***. . .** *shall be us the early fig before the fruit-gathering. *The “early fig,” as a special delicacy (Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1), becomes a type of the beauty and pride of Samaria, doomed to inevitable destruction. (Comp. Nahum 3:12.) Such a fig the passer-by seizes, and eagerly devours. So, the prophe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. All things ... alike--**not universally; but as to death. Ec 9:2-10 are made by Holden the objection of a skeptical sensualist. However, they may be explained as Solomon's language. He repeats the sentiment already implied in Ec 2:14; 3:20; 8:14.
**one event--**not eternally; but death is common to all.
**good--**morally.
**clean--**ceremonially.
**sacrificeth--**alike to Josiah who s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 4**
Wicked people strengthen one another in wicked ways.
In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,</strong> After pronouncing judgment on Ephraim's false crown (v.1-4), Isaiah pivots to Judah's true crown: <strong>the LORD of hosts</strong> (<em>Yahweh tseva'ot</em>, יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, LORD of armies/heavenly hosts). This title emphasizes God's sovereign power and milit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory.**—The words are obviously used in direct contrast with the “crown of pride “in Isaiah 28:1-3. The true glory of the people for “the remnant that should be left” of Israel, as well as Judah, should be found in the presence of Jehovah, whom they would then acknowledge. In the gathering of some of the Ten Tribes at Hezekiah’ s passove...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. Translate, "There is an evil above all (evils) that are done," &c., namely, that not only "there is one event to all," but "also the heart of the sons of men" makes this fact a reason for "madly" persisting in "evil while they live, and after that," &c., sin is "madness."
**the dead--**(Pr 2:18; 9:18).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.</strong> God as crown of glory (v.5) provides specific benefits: <strong>a spirit of judgment</strong> (<em>le-ruach mishpat</em>, לְרוּחַ מִשְׁפָּט, for a spirit of justice/discernment) <strong>to him that sitteth in judgment</strong> (<em>la-yoshev al-hamishpat</em>, ל...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **And for a spirit of judgment . . .**—The words remind us of the list of spiritual gifts in Isaiah 11:2. The injustice of corrupt judges was the crying evil of both Samaria and Jerusalem, and their place was to be taken by those who should be just and faithful. And brave warriors, able to drive back the enemy to the gate of the city from which they had issued forth (2Samuel 11:23)—or, perhaps...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. For--**rather, "Nevertheless." English Version rightly reads as the Margin, Hebrew, "that is joined," instead of the text, "who is to be chosen?"
**hope--**not of mere temporal good (Job 14:7); but of yet repenting and being saved.
**dog--**metaphor for the vilest persons (1Sa 24:14).
**lion--**the noblest of animals (Pr 30:30).
**better--**as to hope of salvation; the noblest who die...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.</strong> After promising blessings for the faithful remnant (vv.5-6), Isaiah returns to condemning Judah's current leadership...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **But they also have erred through . . .**—Better, *yet these also reel ***. . .** Isaiah acts on the method of Nathan when he said, *“*Thou art the man.” He has painted the drunkards of Ephraim; now he turns and paints in yet darker colours the drunkards of Judah. Priests were seen reeling to their services, prophets reeling in the very act of their counterfeit inspiration. The threefold iter...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. know that they shall die--**and may thereby be led "so to number their days, that they may apply their hearts to wisdom" (Ec 7:1-4; Psa 90:12).
**dead know not anything--**that is, so far as their bodily senses and worldly affairs are concerned (Job 14:21; Is 63:16); also, they know no door of repentance open to them, such as is to all on earth.
**neither ... reward--**no advantage from t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.</strong> This verse provides graphic illustration of verse 7's drunkenness. <strong>All tables</strong> (<em>kol-shulchanot</em>, כָּל־שֻׁלְחָנֹת) likely refers to banquet tables where priests and leaders feast, but the imagery extends to all spheres of society. <strong>Full of vomit and filthiness</strong> (...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. love, and ... hatred, &c.--**(referring to Ec 9:1; see on Ec 9:1). Not that these cease in a future world absolutely (Eze 32:27; Re 22:11); but as the end of this verse shows, relatively to persons and things in this world. Man's love and hatred can no longer be exercised for good or evil in the same way as here; but the fruits of them remain. What he is at death he remains for ever. "Env...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. doctrine: Heb. the hearing?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.</strong> Verses 9-13 present disputed interpretation. Either: (1) drunk leaders mockingly ask who Isaiah thinks he's teaching—toddlers?, or (2) Isaiah/God asks rhetorically who can receive teaching—only those mature enough. Context favors (1): drunke...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Whom shall he teach knowledge?**—The two verses that follow reproduce the language of the drunkards as they talk scornfully of the prophet. “To whom does he come with what he calls his ‘knowledge’ and his ‘doctrine?’ (better, *message, *as in Isaiah 28:19). Does he think that they are boys just weaned, who are to be taught the first elements of the religion of the infant school?” Then in the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7. Addressed to the "righteous wise," spoken of in Ec 9:1. Being "in the hand of God," who now accepteth "thy works" in His service, as He has previously accepted thy person (Ge 4:4), thou mayest "eat ... with a cheerful (not sensually 'merry') heart" (Ec 3:13; 5:18; Ac 2:46).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: must be: or, hath been
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:</strong> Continuing their mocking, drunken leaders mimic Isaiah's teaching style in baby-talk. The Hebrew <em>tsav la-tsav tsav la-tsav qav la-qav qav la-qav</em> (צַו לָצָו צַו לָצָו קַו לָקָו קַו לָקָו) uses short, repetitive syllables like teaching a child—"command ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. white--**in token of joy (Is 61:3). Solomon was clad in white (Josephus, Antiquities, 8:7,3); hence his attire is compared to the "lilies" (Mt 6:29), typical of the spotless righteousness of Jesus Christ, which the redeemed shall wear (Re 3:18; 7:14).
**ointment--**(Psa 23:5), opposed to a gloomy exterior (2Sa 14:2; Psa 45:7; Mt 6:17); typical, also (Ec 7:1; So 1:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. stammering: Heb. stammerings of lip will: or, he hath spoken
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.</strong> God responds to the mockers' baby-talk (v.10) with ironic judgment: you refuse My clear teaching? Fine—you'll hear <strong>stammering lips and another tongue</strong> (<em>be-la'agei safah uv-lashon acheret</em>, בְּלַעֲגֵי שָׂפָה וּבְלָשׁוֹן אַחֶרֶת, literally "with mocking lips and with another tongue"). T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **With stammering lips and another tongue . . .**—The “stammering lips” are those of the Assyrian conquerors, whose speech would seem to the men of Judah as a barbarous *patois. *They, with their short sharp commands, would be the next utterers of Jehovah’s will to the people who would not listen to the prophet’s teaching. The description of the “stammering tongue” re-appears in Isaiah 33:19....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. wife ... lovest--**godly and true love, opposed to the "snares" of the "thousand" concubines (Ec 7:26, 28), "among" whom Solomon could not find the true love which joins one man to one woman (Pr 5:15, 18, 19; 18:22; 19:14).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.</strong> Before sending foreign-tongued judgment (v.11), God offered gracious invitation. <strong>To whom he said</strong> refers to the people addressed in verse 11. God previously declared: <strong>This is the rest</strong> (<em>zot ham-menucha</em>, זֹאת הַמְּ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **To whom he said, This is the rest . . .**—The prophet vindicates himself against the charge of being a repeater of wearisome messages of rebuke. Rather had he pointed the way to a time of repentance, and therefore of rest and refreshment. But to this also they closed their ears. They had but one formula of derision, whatever might be the subject of the prophet’s teaching; and the prophet, w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. Whatsoever--**namely, in the service of God. This and last verse plainly are the language of Solomon, not of a skeptic, as Holden would explain it.
**hand, &c.--**(Le 12:8, Margin; 1Sa 10:7, Margin).
**thy might--**diligence (De 6:5; Jr 48:10, Margin).
**no work ... in the grave--**(Joh 9:4; Re 14:13). "The soul's play-day is Satan's work-day; the idler the man the busier the tempt...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.</strong> God ironically uses the mockers' own baby-talk (v.10) against them. Since they ridiculed His patient, incremental teaching, that same word becomes their jud...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **That they might go, and fall backward . . .**—The words are an echo of those in Isaiah 8:14-15. The preaching which might have led to “rest and refreshing” would become to those who scorned it a “stumbling stone” on which they would fall, a “net” in which they, who boasted of their freedom, would be entangled.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11. This verse qualifies the sentiment, Ec 9:7-9. Earthly "enjoyments," however lawful in their place (Ec 3:1), are to give way when any work to be done for God requires it. Reverting to the sentiment (Ec 8:17), we ought, therefore, not only to work God's work "with might" (Ec 9:10), but also with the feeling that the event is wholly "in God's hand" (Ec 9:1).
**race ... not to the swift--**(2Sa ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →The Cornerstone in Zion
Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.</strong> Having addressed Northern Israel (Ephraim, vv.1-4) and rebellious leaders generally (vv.7-13), Isaiah now specifically targets Jerusalem's rulers. <strong>Scornful men</strong> (<em>anshei latson</em>, אַנְשֵׁי לָצוֹן, men of scoffing/mocking) identifies them as the mockers of verses...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Ye scornful men, that rule this people . . .**—The last words emphasise the fact that the men who derided the prophet in their worldly wisdom were found among Hezekiah’s chief princes and counsellors, the partizans now of an Assyrian, now of an Egyptian alliance—anything rather than the policy of righteousness and repentance.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. his time--**namely, of death (Ec 7:15; Is 13:22). Hence the danger of delay in doing the work of God, as one knows not when his opportunity will end (Ec 9:10).
**evil net--**fatal to them. The unexpected suddenness of the capture is the point of comparison. So the second coming of Jesus Christ, "as a snare" (Lu 21:35).
**evil time--**as an "evil net," fatal to them.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through , it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:</strong> Isaiah exposes the scornful leaders' delusional security. <strong>We have made a covenant with death</strong> (<em>karatnu berit et-mavet...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **We have made a covenant with death . . .**—The phrase was a proverbial one. (Comp. Job 5:23; Hosea 2:18.) Cheyne quotes Lucan, ix. 394, *Pax illis cum morte data est *(They have made peace with death”). “Hell” is the Hebrew Sheol (Hades), the region of the dead. The two are joined together, as in Hosea 13:14; Revelation 20:13-14.
**When the overflowing scourge . . .**—The words probably imp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. Rather, "I have seen wisdom of this kind also," that is, exhibited in the way which is described in what follows [Maurer].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 5-15** The prophet next turns to Judah, whom he calls the residue of his people. Happy are those alone, who glory in the Lord of hosts himself. Hence his people get wisdom and strength for every service and every conflict. But it is only in Christ Jesus that the holy God communicates with sinful man. And whether those that teach are drunk with wine, or intoxicated with false doctrines and...
Read full commentary →Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.</strong> Against false refuges (v.15), God provides true foundation. <strong>I lay in Zion</strong> (<em>yissad be-Tsiyon</em>, יִסַּד בְּצִיּוֹן, I have founded in Zion) emphasizes God's sovereign act. The fou...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation . . .**—We have first to deal with the imagery, then with the interpretation. The former connects itself with the importance which attached, in ancient as in modern architecture, to the foundation stone of a building (1Kings 5:17). So in Zion the foundation stone was laid, as witnessed in the Arabic name of the Mosque of Omar (*Kubhet-es-Sakhra*)*,*(*i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14-15. (2Sa 20:16-22).
**bulwarks--**military works of besiegers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-22** Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearin...
Read full commentary →Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.</strong> Having laid the true foundation (v.16), God now describes His construction standards. <strong>Judgment...to the line, and righteousness to the plummet</strong> (<em>mishpat le-qav u-tsedaqah le-mishqalet</em>, מִש...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Judgment also will I lay to the line . . .**—Rather, *I make judgment for a line, and righteousness for a plummet. *The architectural imagery is continued. The “elect corner stone” shall come up to the standard of perfection, laid four-square (Revelation 21:16); and, therefore, should be the true place of refuge; while? the boast of the scorners, which the prophet repeats in the words that ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14-15. (2Sa 20:16-22).
**bulwarks--**military works of besiegers.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-22** Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearin...
Read full commentary →And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. trodden: Heb. a treading down to it
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.</strong> God explicitly cancels the false covenant of verse 15. <strong>Your covenant with death shall be disannulled</strong> (<em>ve-kupar beritkem et-mavet</em>, וְכֻפַּר בְּרִיתְכֶם אֶת־מָוֶת, and your cov...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. Resuming the sentiment (Ec 7:19; Pr 21:22; 24:5).
**poor man's wisdom is despised--**not the poor man mentioned in Ec 9:15; for his wisdom could not have saved the city, had "his words not been heard"; but poor men in general. So Paul (Ac 27:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-22** Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearin...
Read full commentary →From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. to: or, when he shall make you to understand doctrine
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.</strong> The judgment announced (v.18) will be relentless and consuming. <strong>From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you</strong> (<em>middei ovro yiqqach etkhem</em>, מִדֵּי עָבְרוֹ יִקַּח אֶתְכֶם, as oft...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you.**—The words that follow remind us of Deuteronomy 28:66-67. Day by day would come the dread rumours of the Assyrian march. Then the “report” would no longer be unintelligible. Instead of the “line upon line, precept upon precept,” there would be “mourning upon mourning,” “day and night,” each with its sad burden of alarming tidings. To und...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. The words of wise, &c.--**Though generally the poor wise man is not heard (Ec 9:16), yet "the words of wise men, when heard in quiet (when calmly given heed to, as in Ec 9:15), are more serviceable than," &c.
**ruleth--**as the "great king" (Ec 9:14). Solomon reverts to "the rulers to their own hurt" (Ec 8:9).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-22** Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearin...
Read full commentary →For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.</strong> This proverbial saying illustrates the total inadequacy of false refuges (v.15). The imagery is vivid: trying to sleep on a bed too short to lie down fully, with a blanket too narrow to cover your body. You're uncomfortable, exposed, frustrated—the very ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **For the bed is shorter . . .**—The image represents vividly a policy that ended in failure. Hezekiah’s counsellors had “made their bed,” and would have to lie on it, in their Egyptian alliance, but it would not meet their wants. Bed and blankets would be all too scanty, and leave them in a restless disquietude.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. one sinner, &c.--**(Jos 7:1, 11, 12). Though wisdom excels folly (Ec 9:16; 7:19), yet a "little folly (equivalent to sin) can destroy much good," both in himself (Ec 10:1; Jas 2:10) and in others. "Wisdom" must, from the antithesis to "sinner," mean religion. Thus typically, the "little city" may be applied to the Church (Lu 12:32; He 12:22); the great king to Satan (Joh 12:31); the desp...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-22** Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearin...
Read full commentary →For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.</strong> God's judgment will be as decisive as past victories, but directed differently. <strong>Mount Perazim</strong> (<em>har Peratsim</em>, הַר פְּרָצִים) refers to David's victory over Philistines (2 Samuel...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **The Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim . . .**—The point of the reference to David’s victories at Baal Perazim (2Samuel 5:20; 1Chronicles 14:11), and at Gibeon (1Chronicles 14:16) is that then Jehuah had interposed on behalf of His people against their enemies. The “new and strange” work—the very paradox of prophecy—was that He would now rise up to overthrow His own people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-22** Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearin...
Read full commentary →Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.</strong> Isaiah issues urgent warning to the scoffers of verses 14-15. <strong>Be ye not mockers</strong> (<em>ve'attah al-titlotasu</em>, וְעַתָּה אַל־תִּתְלוֹצָצוּ, and now do not be scoffers) pleads for repentance. <em>Letsin</...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Now therefore be ye not mockers . . .**—The rulers are warned that the scorn in which they indulge so freely will only make the fetters which already gall them tighter and heavier. In the words that follow the prophet reproduces his own language in Isaiah 10:23 (where see Notes), probably because they had been singled out as a special subject for derision.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 10
Ec 10:1-20.
1. Following up Ec 9:18.
**him that is in reputation--**for example, David (2Sa 12:14); Solomon (1Ki 11:1-43); Jehoshaphat (2Ch 18:1-34; 19:2); Josiah (2Ch 35:22). The more delicate the perfume, the more easily spoiled is the ointment. Common oil is not so liable to injury. So the higher a man's religious character is, the more hurt is caused by a sinful folly in him. ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-22** Here is a promise of Christ, as the only foundation of hope for escaping the wrath to come. This foundation was laid in Zion, in the eternal counsels of God. This foundation is a stone, firm and able to support his church. It is a tried stone, a chosen stone, approved of God, and never failed any who made trial of it. A corner stone, binding together the whole building, and bearin...
Read full commentary →Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.</strong> Isaiah shifts from warning (vv.1-22) to wisdom parable (vv.23-29) illustrating God's purposeful methods. The fourfold summons to attention—<strong>give ye ear</strong> (<em>ha'azinu</em>, הַאֲזִינוּ, listen carefully), <strong>hear my voice</strong> (<em>shim'u qoli</em>, שִׁמְעוּ קוֹלִי, hear my voice), <strong>hearken<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Give ye ear . . .**—The words remind us of the style of the “wisdom” books of the Old Testament (Proverbs 2:1; Proverbs 4:1; Proverbs 5:1; Psalm 34:11) in which Isaiah had been trained. Isaiah is about to set before those who have ears to hear a parable which he does not interpret, and which will, therefore, task all their energies. The idea that lies at the root of the parable is like that...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. (Ec 2:14).
**right--**The right hand is more expert than the left. The godly wise is more on his guard than the foolish sinner, though at times he slip. Better a diamond with a flaw, than a pebble without one.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29** The husbandman applies to his calling with pains and prudence, in all the works of it according to their nature. Thus the Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, he threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God's threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, t...
Read full commentary →Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?</strong> Isaiah begins the agricultural parable with rhetorical questions expecting "No" answers. <strong>Doth the plowman plow all day to sow?</strong> (<em>hakol hayyom yacharosh hacharesh lizro'a</em>, הֲכֹל הַיּוֹם יַחֲרֹשׁ הַחֹרֵשׁ לִזְרוֹעַ, does the plowman plow all the day for sowing?) Obviously n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Doth the plowman plow all day . . .?**—Better, *every day. *Ploughing represents naturally, as in Jeremiah 4:3, the preparatory discipline by which the spiritual soil is rendered fit for the sower’s work. It is a means, and not an end, and is, therefore, in its very nature but for a season. To a nation passing through this stage, Assyrian invaders scoring their long furrows visibly on the s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. by the way--**in his ordinary course; in his simplest acts (Pr 6:12-14). That he "saith," virtually, "that he" himself, &c. [Septuagint]. But Vulgate, "He thinks that every one (else whom he meets) is a fool."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29** The husbandman applies to his calling with pains and prudence, in all the works of it according to their nature. Thus the Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, he threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God's threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, t...
Read full commentary →When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? the principal: or, the wheat in the principal place, and barley in the appointed place rie: or, spelt place: Heb. border?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?</strong> After plowing (v.24), the farmer plants—but not randomly. <strong>When he hath made plain the face thereof</strong> (<em>halo im-shivvah faneyha</em>, הֲלוֹא אִם־שִׁוָּה פָנֶיהָ, when he has leve...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **Doth he not cast** **abroad the fitches. . . .?**—Modern English would give *vetches. *Each verb is carefully chosen to describe the special process that belonged to each kind of seed. We have, as it were, an excerpt from the “Georgics*” *of Palestine. Identification in such cases is not always easy; but I follow Mr. Carruthers (*Bible Educator, *i. 38) in reading “fennel seed” for the “fit...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. spirit--**anger.
**yielding pacifieth--**(Pr 15:1). This explains "leave not thy place"; do not in a resisting spirit withdraw from thy post of duty (Ec 8:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29** The husbandman applies to his calling with pains and prudence, in all the works of it according to their nature. Thus the Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, he threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God's threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, t...
Read full commentary →For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. For: or, And he bindeth it in such sort as his God doth teach him
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.</strong> This verse provides the theological key to the farming parable. The farmer's wisdom comes from God: <strong>his God doth instruct him to discretion</strong> (<em>viyassirehu lamishpat Elohav yorennu</em>, וִיסְּרֵהוּ לַמִּשְׁפָּט אֱלֹהָיו יוֹרֶנּוּ, and He instructs him in right judgment, his God teaches him). <em>Ya...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **For his God doth instruct him to discretion . . .**—Better, as in the margin, with a slight variation, *He treateth each as is fitting, his God instructing him. *The prophet looks on the skill of the tiller of the soil, which seemed the outcome of a long experience, as nothing less than a gift of God. The legends of the Gentiles embraced that thought in the myths of Osiris and Oannes, of Di...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. as--**rather, "by reason of an error" [Maurer and Holden].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29** The husbandman applies to his calling with pains and prudence, in all the works of it according to their nature. Thus the Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, he threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God's threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, t...
Read full commentary →For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.</strong> The parable continues to threshing—separating grain from chaff. Different crops require different threshing methods. <strong>Fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument</strong> (<em>ki ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **For the fitches are not threshed . . .**—Better, *fennel seed, *as before. The eye of the prophet passes from the beginning to the end of the husbandman’s work. He finds there also the varying methods of a like discrimination. A man would be thought mad who threshed his fennel seed and cummin with the same instrument that he uses for his barley and his wheat. It is enough to beat or tap the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. rich--**not in mere wealth, but in wisdom, as the antithesis to "folly" (for "foolish men") shows. So Hebrew, rich, equivalent to "liberal," in a good sense (Is 32:5). Mordecai and Haman (Es 3:1, 2; 6:6-11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29** The husbandman applies to his calling with pains and prudence, in all the works of it according to their nature. Thus the Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, he threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God's threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, t...
Read full commentary →Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.</strong> <strong>Bread corn is bruised</strong> (<em>lechem yuddaq</em>, לֶחֶם יוּדָק, bread grain is crushed)—wheat/barley for bread undergoes crushing but with limits. <strong>Because he will not ever be threshing it</strong> (<em>ki lo le-netsach ado...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Bread corn is bruised.**—Better, as a question, *Is bread corn crushed to pieces? *As the poor and meek of the earth were as the fennel and the cummin, so Israel, in its national greatness, was as the “bread corn” of the wheat and barley. For this a severer chastisement, a more thorough threshing, was needed; but the end of threshing is the preservation, not the destruction, of the true gra...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. servants upon horses--**the worthless exalted to dignity (Jr 17:25); and vice versa (2Sa 15:30).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29** The husbandman applies to his calling with pains and prudence, in all the works of it according to their nature. Thus the Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, he threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God's threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, t...
Read full commentary →This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.</strong> Isaiah concludes the farming parable by attributing all agricultural wisdom to God. <strong>This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts</strong> (<em>gam-zot me'et Yahweh tseva'ot yats'ah</em>, גַּם־זֹאת מֵאֵת יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת יָצָאָה, this also from the LORD of hosts goes fort...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts.**—The force of the climax lies in the use of the highest of the Divine names instead of “God” (Elohim), as in Isaiah 28:26. The wisdom of the husband man was His gift in the highest aspect of the being that had been revealed to men, and that gift was in itself a parable of the method of His own government.
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Re...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. The fatal results to kings of such an unwise policy; the wrong done to others recoils on themselves (Ec 8:9); they fall into the pit which they dug for others (Es 7:10; Psa 7:15; Pr 26:27). Breaking through the wise fences of their throne, they suffer unexpectedly themselves; as when one is stung by a serpent lurking in the stones of his neighbor's garden wall (Psa 80:12), which he maliciously ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-29** The husbandman applies to his calling with pains and prudence, in all the works of it according to their nature. Thus the Lord, who has given men this wisdom, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in his working. As the occasion requires, he threatens, corrects, spares, shows mercy, or executes vengeance. Afflictions are God's threshing instruments, to loosen us from the world, t...
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