King James Version
Isaiah 30
33 verses with commentary
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD</strong> (הוֹי בָּנִים סוֹרְרִים/<em>hoy banim sorerim</em>)—The fifth of six woe oracles in Isaiah (28:1, 29:1, 15; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1). <em>Hoy</em> is a funeral cry, lamenting those spiritually dead. <strong>Rebellious children</strong> (<em>banim sorerim</em>) echoes Israel's covenant relationship—sons who refuse their Father's authority. <e...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXX.
(1) **Woe to the rebellious children . . .**—The interjection perhaps expresses sorrow rather than indignation, *Alas, for **. . .***! as in Isaiah 1:4. The prophet hears that the intrigues of the palace have at last issued in favour of an alliance with Egypt, and that an embassy has been already sent.
**That cover with a covering.**—Better, *that weave a web. *The word was fitly chosen then,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 12
Ec 12:1-14.
1. As Ec 11:9, 10 showed what youths are to shun, so this verse shows what they are to follow.
**Creator--**"Remember" that thou art not thine own, but God's property; for He has created thee (Psa 100:3). Therefore serve Him with thy "all" (Mr 12:30), and with thy best days, not with the dregs of them (Pr 8:17; 22:6; Jr 3:4; La 3:27). The Hebrew is "Creators," plural, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
**Verses 1-6**
Agur speaks of himself as wanting a righteousness, and having done very foolishly. And it becomes us all to have low thoughts of ourselves. He speaks of himself as wanting revelation to guide him in the ways of truth and wisdom. The more enlightened people are, the more they lament their ignorance; the more they pray for clearer, still clearer discoveries of God, an...
Read full commentary →That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That walk to go down into Egypt</strong> (הַהֹלְכִים לָרֶדֶת מִצְרַיִם/<em>haholkim laredet mitsrayim</em>)—"Go down" (<em>yarad</em>) is geographically accurate (Egypt is lower elevation) but theologically significant—descent always implies spiritual decline in Scripture (Abraham went down to Egypt during famine, Genesis 12:10; Israel went down to Egypt and became enslaved). Going to Egyp...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh.**—Literally, *the fortress of Pharaoh, *used as the symbol of his kingdom: This, then, was the course into which even Hezekiah had been led or driven, and it had been done without consulting Isaiah as the recognised prophet of Jehovah. For the “shadow of Egypt” see Note on Isaiah 18:1.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. Illustrating "the evil days" (Jr 13:16). "Light," "sun," &c., express prosperity; "darkness," pain and calamity (Is 13:10; 30:26).
**clouds ... after ... rain--**After rain sunshine (comfort) might be looked for, but only a brief glimpse of it is given, and the gloomy clouds (pains) return.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
**Verses 1-6**
Agur speaks of himself as wanting a righteousness, and having done very foolishly. And it becomes us all to have low thoughts of ourselves. He speaks of himself as wanting revelation to guide him in the ways of truth and wisdom. The more enlightened people are, the more they lament their ignorance; the more they pray for clearer, still clearer discoveries of God, an...
Read full commentary →Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame</strong> (וְהָיָה לָכֶם מָעוֹז פַּרְעֹה לְבֹשֶׁת/<em>vehayah lakhem ma'oz par'oh leboshet</em>)—Ironic reversal: what they sought for strength (<em>ma'oz</em>, stronghold/refuge) becomes their shame (<em>boshet</em>, disgrace/humiliation). The very thing trusted for security produces embarrassment. <em>Boshet</em> also carried connotati...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. keepers of the house--**namely, the hands and arms which protected the body, as guards do a palace (Ge 49:24; Job 4:19; 2Co 5:1), are now palsied.
**strong men ... bow--**(Jud 16:25, 30). Like supporting pillars, the feet and knees (So 5:15); the strongest members (Psa 147:10).
**grinders--**the molar teeth.
**cease--**are idle.
**those that look out of the windows--**the eyes; the po...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
**Verses 1-6**
Agur speaks of himself as wanting a righteousness, and having done very foolishly. And it becomes us all to have low thoughts of ourselves. He speaks of himself as wanting revelation to guide him in the ways of truth and wisdom. The more enlightened people are, the more they lament their ignorance; the more they pray for clearer, still clearer discoveries of God, an...
Read full commentary →For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes</strong> (כִּי־הָיוּ בְצֹעַן שָׂרָיו וּמַלְאָכָיו חָנֵס יַגִּיעוּ/<em>ki-hayu vetso'an sarav umal'akhav chanes yagi'u</em>)—Specific geographic details authenticate the prophecy. Zoan (Greek: Tanis) was a major city in Egypt's Nile Delta, the ancient Hyksos capital and later a residence of pharaohs. Hanes (possibly Heracleopol...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **His princes were at Zoan . . .**—Better, *are, in* the vivid use of the historic present of prophecy. Zoan, the Tanis of the Greeks, was one of the oldest of Egyptian cities. Hanes, identified with the Greek *Heracleopolis, *as lying in the delta of the Nile, would be among the first Egyptian cities which the embassy would reach.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. doors--**the lips, which are closely shut together as doors, by old men in eating, for, if they did not do so, the food would drop out (Job 41:14; Psa 141:3; Mi 7:5).
**in the streets--**that is, toward the street, "the outer doors" [Maurer and Weiss].
**sound of ... grinding--**The teeth being almost gone, and the lips "shut" in eating, the sound of mastication is scarcely heard.
**the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
**Verses 1-6**
Agur speaks of himself as wanting a righteousness, and having done very foolishly. And it becomes us all to have low thoughts of ourselves. He speaks of himself as wanting revelation to guide him in the ways of truth and wisdom. The more enlightened people are, the more they lament their ignorance; the more they pray for clearer, still clearer discoveries of God, an...
Read full commentary →They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them</strong> (הֹבִישׁ עַל־עַם לֹא־יוֹעִילוּ לָמוֹ/<em>hovish al-am lo-yo'ilu lamo</em>)—The ambassadors' shame when they discovered Egypt's worthlessness. <em>Hovish</em> (from <em>bosh</em>) means to be ashamed, disappointed, confounded. <em>Lo-yo'ilu</em> means "cannot profit/benefit." Egypt was a people who couldn't help—militaril...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **They were all ashamed . . .**—Better, *are: *historic present, as before. The prophet paints the dreary disappointment of the embassy. They found Egypt at once weak and false, without the will or power to help them. So Rabshakeh compares that power to a “broken reed,” which does but pierce the hand of him who leans on it. So Sargon (Smith, *Assyrian Canon, *p. 133, quoted by Cheyne), describ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. that which is high--**The old are afraid of ascending a hill.
**fears ... in the way--**Even on the level highway they are full of fears of falling, &c.
**almond ... flourish--**In the East the hair is mostly dark. The white head of the old among the dark-haired is like an almond tree, with its white blossoms, among the dark trees around [Holden]. The almond tree flowers on a leafless...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
**Verses 1-6**
Agur speaks of himself as wanting a righteousness, and having done very foolishly. And it becomes us all to have low thoughts of ourselves. He speaks of himself as wanting revelation to guide him in the ways of truth and wisdom. The more enlightened people are, the more they lament their ignorance; the more they pray for clearer, still clearer discoveries of God, an...
Read full commentary →The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The burden of the beasts of the south</strong> (מַשָּׂא בַּהֲמוֹת נֶגֶב/<em>massa bahamot negev</em>)—<em>Massa</em> means oracle/burden/pronouncement. <em>Behamot</em> (beasts) refers to pack animals (donkeys, camels) laden with tribute for Egypt. <em>Negev</em> is the southern desert region between Judah and Egypt—barren, dangerous wilderness.<br><br><strong>Into the land of trouble and ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **The burden of the beasts of the south.**—It has been conjectured that this, which reads like the heading of a new section, was first placed in the margin by a transcriber, as suggested by the mention of the lions, the vipers, the camels, and the asses, and then found its way into the text (Cheyne). There seems no reason, however, why the prophet should not have prefixed it as with the sarcas...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. A double image to represent death, as in Ec 12:1-5, old age: (1) A lamp of frail material, but gilded over, often in the East hung from roofs by a cord of silk and silver interwoven; as the lamp is dashed down and broken, when the cord breaks, so man at death; the golden bowl of the lamp answers to the skull, which, from the vital preciousness of its contents, may be called "golden"; "the silve...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 30
**Verses 1-6**
Agur speaks of himself as wanting a righteousness, and having done very foolishly. And it becomes us all to have low thoughts of ourselves. He speaks of himself as wanting revelation to guide him in the ways of truth and wisdom. The more enlightened people are, the more they lament their ignorance; the more they pray for clearer, still clearer discoveries of God, an...
Read full commentary →For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still. concerning: or, to her
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose</strong> (וּמִצְרַיִם הֶבֶל וָרִיק יַעְזֹרוּ/<em>umitsrayim hevel variq ya'zoru</em>)—Double emphasis on worthlessness: <em>hevel</em> (vanity, vapor, nothingness—same word in Ecclesiastes "vanity of vanities") and <em>riq</em> (emptiness, void). Their help is vapor—insubstantial, disappearing, worthless. The verb <em>ya'zoru</em> (th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Concerning this.**—Better, *it, *or *her—i.e., *Egypt.
**Their strength is to sit still.**—The Authorised version fairly gives the meaning: “Their boasted strength will be found absolute inaction.” but the words, as Isaiah wrote or spoke them, had a more epigrammatic point—“Rahab, they are sitting still.” He uses the poetical name for Egypt which we find in Isaiah 51:9; Job 26:12; Psalm 87:4...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. dust--**the dust-formed body.
**spirit--**surviving the body; implying its immortality (Ec 3:11).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-9**
Agur wisely prayed for a middle state, that he might be kept at a distance from temptations; he asked daily bread suited to his station, his family, and his real good. There is a remarkable similarity between this prayer and several clauses of the Lord's prayer. If we are removed from vanity and lies; if we are interested in the pardoning love of Christ, and have him for our por...
Read full commentary →Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: the: Heb. the latter day
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book</strong> (עַתָּה בּוֹא כָתְבָהּ עַל־לוּחַ אִתָּם וְעַל־סֵפֶר חֻקָּהּ/<em>attah bo khotvah al-luach itam ve'al-sefer chuqah</em>)—Divine command to Isaiah: write this prophecy publicly and permanently. <em>Luach</em> means tablet (like stone tablets of the Law)—public display for immediate witness. <em>Sefer</em> means book/scro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Now go, write it before them in a table.**—We have before seen this in one of Isaiah’s methods for giving special emphasis to his teaching (Isaiah 8:1). The word, we may believe, passed into the act in the presence of his astonished hearers. In some way or other he feels sure that what he is about to utter goes beyond the immediate occasion, and has a lesson for all time which the world woul...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8-12. A summary of the first part.
**Vanity, &c.--**Resumption of the sentiment with which the book began (Ec 1:2; 1Jo 2:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-9**
Agur wisely prayed for a middle state, that he might be kept at a distance from temptations; he asked daily bread suited to his station, his family, and his real good. There is a remarkable similarity between this prayer and several clauses of the Lord's prayer. If we are removed from vanity and lies; if we are interested in the pardoning love of Christ, and have him for our por...
Read full commentary →That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That this is a rebellious people, lying children</strong> (כִּי עַם מְרִי הוּא בָּנִים כֹּחֲשִׁים/<em>ki am meri hu banim kochasim</em>)—God's verdict on Judah. <em>Meri</em> means rebellion, contumacy (from <em>marah</em>, to rebel). <em>Kochasim</em> means lying, deceitful, false. They're not just mistaken but dishonest—professing loyalty to God while trusting Egypt, claiming faith while...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **That this is a rebellious people.**—The words that follow were those which were thus written on the tablet. The people did not know the law of the Lord, the eternal law of right, themselves. They wished the seers, like Isaiah, to be as blind as themselves, and would fain have made the prophets tune their voice according to the time.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8-12. A summary of the first part.
**Vanity, &c.--**Resumption of the sentiment with which the book began (Ec 1:2; 1Jo 2:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-9**
Agur wisely prayed for a middle state, that he might be kept at a distance from temptations; he asked daily bread suited to his station, his family, and his real good. There is a remarkable similarity between this prayer and several clauses of the Lord's prayer. If we are removed from vanity and lies; if we are interested in the pardoning love of Christ, and have him for our por...
Read full commentary →Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things</strong> (אֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ לָרֹאִים לֹא תִרְאוּ וְלַחֹזִים לֹא תֶחֱזוּ־לָנוּ נְכֹחוֹת/<em>asher amru laro'im lo tir'u velachozim lo techezu-lanu nechochot</em>)—The people silence God's messengers. <em>Ro'im</em> (seers) and <em>chozim</em> (prophets) both refer to those who receive visions. <em>Nechochot...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8-12. A summary of the first part.
**Vanity, &c.--**Resumption of the sentiment with which the book began (Ec 1:2; 1Jo 2:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verse 10**
Slander not a servant to his master, accuse him not in small matters, to make mischief.
Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path</strong> (סוּרוּ מִנֵּי־דֶרֶךְ הַטּוּ מִנֵּי־אֹרַח/<em>suru minnei-derekh hattu minnei-orach</em>)—Double command to prophets: depart (<em>sur</em>) from the way (<em>derekh</em>), turn aside (<em>natah</em>) from the path (<em>orach</em>). They want God's messengers to get out of their way, stop blocking their chosen course. The imagery i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.**—It would seem as if the iterated utterance of this Divine name by Isaiah caused a bitterness of irritation which was not roused by the more familiar “Lord,” or even by “Jehovah.” It made men feel that they stood face to face with an infinite holiness, and this they could not bear.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8-12. A summary of the first part.
**Vanity, &c.--**Resumption of the sentiment with which the book began (Ec 1:2; 1Jo 2:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14**
In every age there are monsters of ingratitude who ill-treat their parents. Many persuade themselves they are holy persons, whose hearts are full of sin, and who practise secret wickedness. There are others whose lofty pride is manifest. There have also been cruel monsters in every age.
Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: oppression: or, fraud
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness</strong> (מָאַס בַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה/<em>ma'as baddavar hazzeh</em>)—The Hebrew verb <em>ma'as</em> means to reject with contempt, actively spurning God's prophetic word. Israel's sin was twofold: despising divine revelation while simultaneously trusting (בָּטַח/<em>batach</em>) in <strong>oppression</strong> (עֹשֶׁק/<em>os...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Because ye despise this word**—i.e., the message which Isaiah had delivered against the alliance with Egypt. We note how the prophet enforces it, as coming from that very Holy One of Israel of whom they were tired of hearing.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8-12. A summary of the first part.
**Vanity, &c.--**Resumption of the sentiment with which the book began (Ec 1:2; 1Jo 2:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14**
In every age there are monsters of ingratitude who ill-treat their parents. Many persuade themselves they are holy persons, whose hearts are full of sin, and who practise secret wickedness. There are others whose lofty pride is manifest. There have also been cruel monsters in every age.
Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>This iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall</strong>—The Hebrew <em>perets</em> (פֶּרֶץ/breach) describes structural failure, a bulging crack in a defensive wall. The participle <strong>swelling out</strong> (בָּצֵעַ/<em>batze'a</em>) depicts a wall bowing outward under pressure, moments from catastrophic collapse. Isaiah's architectural metaphor is...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **As a breach ready to fall.**—The ill-built, half-decayed houses of Jerusalem may have furnished the outward imagery of the parable. First comes the threatening bulge, then the crack, and then the crash. That was to *be *the outcome of the plans they were building up on the unsound foundation of corrupt intrigue. In Ezekiel 13:10 we have the additional feature of the “untempered mortar” with...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. The grand inference of the whole book.
**Fear God--**The antidote to following creature idols, and "vanities," whether self-righteousness (Ec 7:16, 18), or wicked oppression and other evils (Ec 8:12, 13), or mad mirth (Ec 2:2; 7:2-5), or self-mortifying avarice (Ec 8:13, 17), or youth spent without God (Ec 11:9; 12:1).
**this is the whole duty of man--**literally, "this is the whole man," ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14**
In every age there are monsters of ingratitude who ill-treat their parents. Many persuade themselves they are holy persons, whose hearts are full of sin, and who practise secret wickedness. There are others whose lofty pride is manifest. There have also been cruel monsters in every age.
And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. the potters': Heb. the bottle of potters
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel</strong> (שֶׁבֶר נֵבֶל יוֹצְרִים/<em>shever nevel yotzerim</em>)—Pottery breaking imagery appears throughout Scripture (Psalm 2:9, Jeremiah 19:11, Revelation 2:27). The <em>nevel</em> was a large earthenware jar; when shattered, it became utterly useless. The phrase <strong>broken in pieces</strong> (כָּתַת/<em>katat</em>) means pulv...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **As the breaking of the potters’ vessel . . .** Psalm 2:9 had given currency to the figure. In Jeremiah 18:4; Jeremiah 19:10, it passes into a parable of action. The schemes of the intriguers were to be not crushed only but pulverised.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. For God shall bring every work into judgment--**The future judgment is the test of what is "vanity," what solid, as regards the chief good, the grand subject of the book.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14**
In every age there are monsters of ingratitude who ill-treat their parents. Many persuade themselves they are holy persons, whose hearts are full of sin, and who practise secret wickedness. There are others whose lofty pride is manifest. There have also been cruel monsters in every age.
For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>In returning and rest shall ye be saved</strong> (בְּשׁוּבָה וָנַחַת/<em>b'shuvah vanachat</em>)—<em>Shuvah</em> (returning) is the Hebrew word for repentance, literally turning around, reversing direction from sin back to God. <em>Nachat</em> (rest) means settled quietness, ceasing from anxious striving. Salvation comes through repentant return to God followed by restful trust—the exact o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **In returning and rest . . .**—The words describe a process of conversion, but the nature of that conversion is determined by the context. In this case it was the turning from the trust in man, with all its restless excitement, to a trust in God, full of calmness and of peace.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
THE SONG OF SOLOMON.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-17**
Cruelty and covetousness are two daughters of the horseleech, that still cry, "Give, give," and they are continually uneasy to themselves. Four things never are satisfied, to which these devourers are compared. Those are never rich that are always coveting. And many who have come to a bad end, have owned that their wicked courses began by despising their parents' authority.
But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses</strong>—The Hebrew structure emphasizes willful defiance: "No!" (לֹא/<em>lo</em>). Instead of returning to God, they choose literal fleeing (נוּס/<em>nus</em>) on cavalry—the ancient equivalent of trusting military technology over divine protection. <strong>Therefore shall ye flee</strong>—Divine irony: they wanted to flee on horses for offens...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **We will flee upon horses.**—These were expected as the Egyptian contingent of the forces of Judah. With them and the prestige attaching to their fame, the generals and statesmen reckoned on being able to resist Assyria. Isaiah, with his keen insight into the present temper of Egypt, tells them that the only use of the horses will be for a more rapid retreat, not for the charge of battle.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-17**
Cruelty and covetousness are two daughters of the horseleech, that still cry, "Give, give," and they are continually uneasy to themselves. Four things never are satisfied, to which these devourers are compared. Those are never rich that are always coveting. And many who have come to a bad end, have owned that their wicked courses began by despising their parents' authority.
One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. a beacon: or, a tree bereft of branches, or, boughs: or, a mast
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one</strong>—This reverses Deuteronomy 32:30's covenant blessing where "one could chase a thousand." Instead of supernatural multiplication of Israel's strength, there is supernatural multiplication of their terror. The Hebrew word <strong>rebuke</strong> (גְּעָרָה/<em>ge'arah</em>) can mean a threatening roar or battle cry—a single enemy soldier's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one.**—The hyperbole is natural and common enough (Deuteronomy 32:30; Joshua 23:10; Leviticus 26:8); but the fact that the inscription of King Piankhi Mer. Amon., translated in *Records of the Past, ii.* 84, gives it in the self-same words (“many shall turn their backs on a few; and one shall rout a thousand”) as his boast of the strength of Egypt, m...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
INTRODUCTION
The Song of Solomon, called in the Vulgate and Septuagint, "The Song of Songs," from the opening words. This title denotes its superior excellence, according to the Hebrew idiom; so holy of holies, equivalent to "most holy" (Ex 29:37); the heaven of heavens, equivalent to the highest heavens (De 10:14). It is one of the five volumes (megilloth) placed immediately after the Pentateuc...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-17**
Cruelty and covetousness are two daughters of the horseleech, that still cry, "Give, give," and they are continually uneasy to themselves. Four things never are satisfied, to which these devourers are compared. Those are never rich that are always coveting. And many who have come to a bad end, have owned that their wicked courses began by despising their parents' authority.
The Lord Longs to Be Gracious
And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you</strong> (יְחַכֶּה/<em>yechakkeh</em>)—After devastating judgment threats, this verse pivots dramatically. God <em>waits</em>—the same verb used for patient expectation—because his purpose is grace (חָנַן/<em>chanan</em>), showing unmerited favor. <strong>He will be exalted</strong> (יָרוּם/<em>yarum</em>) means lifted high...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **And therefore . . .**—The words seem to embody the thought that “man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” Precisely because of this isolated misery Jehovah was “waiting,” *i.e., longing, *with an eager expectation, to come to the rescue.
**And therefore will he be exalted.**—A very slight alteration gives a meaning more in harmony with the context, *will wait in stillness *(Cheyne). If we adh...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. him--**abruptly. She names him not, as is natural to one whose heart is full of some much desired friend: so Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre (Joh 20:15), as if everyone must know whom she means, the one chief object of her desire (Psa 73:25; Mt 13:44-46; Php 3:7,8).
**kiss--**the token of peace from the Prince of Peace (Lu 15:20); "our Peace" (Psa 85:10; Col 1:21; Ep 2:14).
**of his mouth...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-20**
Four things cannot be fully known. The kingdom of nature is full of marvels. The fourth is a mystery of iniquity; the cursed arts by which a vile seducer gains the affections of a female; and the arts which a vile woman uses to conceal her wickedness.
For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem</strong>—After exile threats, restoration is promised. The Hebrew emphasizes permanence: shall <em>dwell</em> (יָשַׁב/<em>yashav</em>), not merely visit but settle and abide. <strong>Thou shalt weep no more</strong> (בָּכֹה לֹא־תִבְכֶּה/<em>bakho lo-tivkeh</em>)—emphatic Hebrew construction: "weeping you shall not weep," absolutely no more te...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem.**—The two words are, of course, practically synonymous; but the prophet dwells with a patriot’s affection on both the names which were dear to him. The words admit of being taken as a vocative, “*Yea, O people that dwellest.”*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. Rather, "As regards the savor of thy ointments, it is good" [Maurer]. In So 4:10, 11, the Bridegroom reciprocates the praise of the bride in the same terms.
**thy name--**Christ's character and office as the "Anointed" (Is 9:6; 61:1), as "the savor of ointments" are the graces that surround His person (Psa 45:7, 8). Ec 7:1, in its fullest sense, applies to Him. The holy anointing oil of the h...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-20**
Four things cannot be fully known. The kingdom of nature is full of marvels. The fourth is a mystery of iniquity; the cursed arts by which a vile seducer gains the affections of a female; and the arts which a vile woman uses to conceal her wickedness.
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: affliction: or, oppression
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction</strong> (לֶחֶם צָר וּמַיִם לָחַץ/<em>lechem tzar umayim lachatz</em>)—Bread and water were prison rations (1 Kings 22:27), the bare minimum for survival. <em>Tzar</em> means distress, narrow straits; <em>lachatz</em> means oppression, pressure. God permits affliction as discipline, not abandonment—the exile is co...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **The bread of adversity.**—Better, *bread in small quantity, and water in scant measure. *The words seem to imply an allusion to the scant rations of a siege such as Jerusalem was to endure from the Assyrian armies. For this there should be the compensation that the true “teachers” of the people, Isaiah and his fellow-workers, should at least be recognised—no longer thrust into a corner, as ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4. (1) The cry of ancient Israel for Messiah, for example, Simeon, Anna, &c. (2) The cry of an awakened soul for the drawing of the Spirit, after it has got a glimpse of Christ's loveliness and its own helplessness.
**Draw me--**The Father draws (Joh 6:44). The Son draws (Jr 31:3; Ho 11:4; Joh 12:32). "Draw" here, and "Tell" (So 1:7), reverently qualify the word "kiss" (So 1:2).
**me, we--...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-20**
Four things cannot be fully known. The kingdom of nature is full of marvels. The fourth is a mystery of iniquity; the cursed arts by which a vile seducer gains the affections of a female; and the arts which a vile woman uses to conceal her wickedness.
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee</strong>—the divine voice of guidance comes from behind, suggesting God's sovereign oversight of our path, not merely leading ahead but correcting from our past missteps. The Hebrew <em>dabār</em> (דָּבָר) means 'word' but carries the weight of divine decree and promise.<br><br><strong>This is the way, walk ye in it</strong> (זֶה הַדֶּרֶךְ לְכוּ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee.**—The voice of the human teacher on whom the people looked as they listened would find an echo in that inner voice telling them which was the true way, when they were tempted to turn to the right hand or the left.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. black--**namely, "as the tents of Kedar," equivalent to blackness (Psa 120:5). She draws the image from the black goatskins with which the Scenite Arabs ("Kedar" was in Arabia-Petræa) cover their tents (contrasted with the splendid state tent in which the King was awaiting His bride according to Eastern custom); typifying the darkness of man's natural state. To feel this, and yet also feel on...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-23**
Four sorts of persons are very troublesome. Men of low origin and base spirit, who, getting authority, become tyrants. Foolish and violent men indulging in excesses. A woman of a contentious spirit and vicious habits. A servant who has obtained undue influence. Let those whom Providence has advanced from low beginnings, carefully watch against that sin which most easily besets...
Read full commentary →Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. thy graven: Heb. the graven images of thy silver cast: Heb. scatter
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold</strong> (וְטִמֵּאתֶם אֶת־צִפּוּי פְסִילֵי כַסְפֶּךָ וְאֶת־אֲפֻדַּת מַסֵּכַת זְהָבֶךָ)—This verse describes radical repentance through idol destruction. The verb <em>timme'tem</em> (defile, make unclean) indicates treating as ritually impure what was once treasured. <strong>Cover...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Ye shall defile also . . .**—The first effect of the turning of the people was to be the putting away of what had been their besetting sin. The “graven” image possibly refers to the “carved” wooden figure which was afterwards overlaid with silver and gold. (Comp. Isaiah 40:19.) These, which had been worshipped, were now to be cast aside, like that which was the very type of loathsomeness.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. She feels as if her blackness was so great as to be gazed at by all.
**mother's children--**(Mt 10:36). She is to forget "her own people and her father's house," that is, the worldly connections of her unregenerate state (Psa 45:10); they had maltreated her (Lu 15:15, 16). Children of the same mother, but not the same father [Maurer], (Joh 8:41-44). They made her a common keeper of vineyards,...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-23**
Four sorts of persons are very troublesome. Men of low origin and base spirit, who, getting authority, become tyrants. Foolish and violent men indulging in excesses. A woman of a contentious spirit and vicious habits. A servant who has obtained undue influence. Let those whom Providence has advanced from low beginnings, carefully watch against that sin which most easily besets...
Read full commentary →Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then shall he give the rain of thy seed</strong> (וְנָתַן מְטַר זַרְעֲךָ)—After spiritual renewal (v. 22), material blessing follows. The verb <em>natan</em> (give) emphasizes God as source. Rain for your <em>zera</em> (seed) means timely rains that germinate crops. <strong>And bread of the increase of the earth</strong>—The Hebrew <em>lechem</em> (bread) from <em>tevuah</em> (produce, yie...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Then shall he give the rain . . .**—Following in the steps of Joel (Joel 2:21-26), the prophet draws a picture of the outward plenty that should follow on the renewal of the nation’s inner life.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. my soul loveth--**more intense than "the virgins" and "the upright love thee" (So 1:3, 4; Mt 22:37). To carry out the design of the allegory, the royal encampment is here represented as moving from place to place, in search of green pastures, under the Shepherd King (Psa 23:1-6). The bride, having first enjoyed communion with him in the pavilion, is willing to follow Him into labors and dange...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 21-23**
Four sorts of persons are very troublesome. Men of low origin and base spirit, who, getting authority, become tyrants. Foolish and violent men indulging in excesses. A woman of a contentious spirit and vicious habits. A servant who has obtained undue influence. Let those whom Providence has advanced from low beginnings, carefully watch against that sin which most easily besets...
Read full commentary →The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. clean: or, savoury: Heb. leavened
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender</strong> (וְהָאֲלָפִים וְהָעֲיָרִים עֹבְדֵי הָאֲדָמָה בְּלִיל חָמִיץ יֹאכֵלוּ)—Even working animals eat <em>belil chamits</em> (clean, salted fodder). The adjective <em>chamits</em> means seasoned, savory, or fermented—higher quality than ordinary straw. Animals that <em>ovdey</em> (work, serve) the land re...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **The oxen likewise and the young asses . . .**—It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to remind the reader that the verb “ear” means “plough.”
**Clean provender.**—Literally, *salted. *The epithet describes what in modern phrase would be the favourite “mash” of the highest class of cattle-feeding, corn mixed with salt or alkaline herbs; and this was to be made, not, as commonly, of inferior barley...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. If--**she ought to have known (Joh 14:8, 9). The confession of her ignorance and blackness (So 1:5) leads Him to call her "fairest" (Mt 12:20). Her jealousy of letting even "His companions" take the place of Himself (So 1:7) led her too far. He directs her to follow them, as they follow Him (1Co 11:1; He 6:10, 12); to use ordinances and the ministry; where they are, He is (Jr 6:16; Mt 18:19, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-28**
Four things that are little, are yet to be admired. There are those who are poor in the world, and of small account, yet wise for their souls and another world.
And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. high hill: Heb. lifted up, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>There shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters</strong> (וְהָיָה עַל־כָּל־הַר גָּבֹהַּ וְעַל־כָּל־גִּבְעָה נִשָּׂאָה פְּלָגִים יִבְלֵי־מָיִם)—Mountains and hills, normally dry, will have <em>pelagim</em> (streams, channels) and <em>yivley-mayim</em> (watercourses). This supernatural fertility reverses desert conditions. <strong>In the day of...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **There shall be upon every high mountain . . .**—The picture of a golden age is continued. The mountains and hills, often so dry and barren, should flow down with rivers of waters, and irrigate the valleys. And this should coincide with the day of a “great slaughter,” perhaps of the enemies of Israel, perhaps also of the people themselves (judgment coming before the blessing), and of the fal...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. horses in Pharaoh's chariots--**celebrated for beauty, swiftness, and ardor, at the Red Sea (Ex 14:15). These qualities, which seem to belong to the ungodly, really belong to the saints [Moody Stuart]. The allusion may be to the horses brought at a high price by Solomon out of Egypt (2Ch 1:16, 17). So the bride is redeemed out of spiritual Egypt by the true Solomon, at an infinite price (Is 5...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-28**
Four things that are little, are yet to be admired. There are those who are poor in the world, and of small account, yet wise for their souls and another world.
Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days</strong>—Celestial luminosity increases exponentially: moon bright as current sun, sun seven times brighter than normal. The Hebrew <em>shiv'atayim</em> (sevenfold) and <em>or shiv'at ha-yamim</em> (light of seven days) suggests either seven days' light c...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **The light of the moon shall be . . .**—The vision of the future expands, ascending from the new earth to the new heaven. With the passionate joy in light which sees in it, in proportion to its intensity, the symbol of the Divine glory, Isaiah beholds a world in which sun and moon shall shine with a brightness that would now be intolerable, but which shall then be an element of delight.
**In...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. rows of jewels--**(Eze 16:11-13). Olerius says, Persian ladies wear two or three rows of pearls round the head, beginning on the forehead and descending down to the cheeks and under the chin, so that their faces seem to be set in pearls (Eze 16:11). The comparison of the horses (So 1:9) implies the vital energy of the bride; this verse, her superadded graces (Pr 1:9; 4:9; 1Ti 2:9; 2Pe 1:5).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-28**
Four things that are little, are yet to be admired. There are those who are poor in the world, and of small account, yet wise for their souls and another world.
Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: burden: or, grievousness of flame heavy: Heb. heaviness
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger</strong> (הִנֵּה שֵׁם־יְהוָה בָּא מִמֶּרְחָק בֹּעֵר אַפּוֹ)—The 'name of the LORD' represents God's revealed character and presence. It comes <em>mimmerchaq</em> (from far), indicating divine approach from transcendence. <em>Bo'er</em> (burning) with <em>apo</em> (His anger/nostril) depicts fury as consuming fire. <strong...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far . . .**—The use of “the Name of Jehovah” for Jehovah Himself is noticeable as an anticipation of the later use of the *memra *(*sc., *“word”) in the Targumim (or paraphrases) of the sacred writings, and of the *logos *of St. John, a distinct, though not defined, conception of a duality in the Divine essence. In other respects the vision of the Th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. We--**the Trinity implied by the Holy Ghost, whether it was so by the writer of the Song or not (Ge 1:26; Pr 8:30; 30:4). "The Jews acknowledged God as king, and Messiah as king, in interpreting the Song, but did not know that these two are one" [Leighton].
**make--**not merely give (Ep 2:10).
**borders of gold, with studs of silver--**that is, "spots of silver"--Jesus Christ delights to...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-28**
Four things that are little, are yet to be admired. There are those who are poor in the world, and of small account, yet wise for their souls and another world.
And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>His breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck</strong> (וְרוּחוֹ כְּנַחַל שׁוֹטֵף עַד־צַוָּאר יֶחֱצֶה)—God's <em>ruach</em> (breath, spirit, wind) is like a <em>nachal shotef</em> (overflowing torrent) reaching <em>ad-tsavvar</em> (to the neck). The image: floodwaters rising to drowning level—just enough to kill. The verb <em>yechetsah</em> (divide, reach) sugg...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **His breath, as an overflowing stream.**—Water supplies its symbolism, as well as fire. The wrath of the judge sweeps onward like an autumn torrent, threatening to engulf all that stand in its way.
**To sift the nations with the sieve of vanity.**—Better, *the winnowing fan of nothingness. *Sifting is, as elsewhere, the symbol of judgment (so Osiris appears in Egyptian monuments armed with a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. While--**It is the presence of the Sun of Righteousness that draws out the believer's odors of grace. It was the sight of Him at table that caused the two women to bring forth their ointments for Him (Lu 7:37, 38; Joh 12:3; 2Co 2:15). Historically fulfilled (Mt 2:11); spiritually (Re 3:20); and in church worship (Mt 18:20); and at the Lord's Supper especially, for here public communion with ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-28**
Four things that are little, are yet to be admired. There are those who are poor in the world, and of small account, yet wise for their souls and another world.
Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel. mighty: Heb. Rock
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept</strong>—While judgment falls on nations (vv. 27-28), God's people sing. The <em>shiyr</em> (song) is compared to festival nights—specifically <em>hiqqadesh chag</em> (sanctifying a feast), likely Passover when Israel was delivered from Egypt's judgment. The parallel: as Israel sang while Egyptian firstborns died (Exodus 1...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Ye shall have a song . . .**—The “holy solemnity,” or feast, was probably the Feast of Tabernacles, the feast of in-gathering, of all the festivals of the Jewish year the most abounding in its joy. In later times, and probably, therefore, in earlier, it had a night-ritual of special solemnity, the court of the Temple being illuminated with a great candelabrum. It was known as being pre-emin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. bundle of myrrh--**abundant preciousness (Greek), (1Pe 2:7). Even a little myrrh was costly; much more a bundle (Col 2:9). Burrowes takes it of a scent-box filled with liquid myrrh; the liquid obtained by incision gave the tree its chief value.
**he--**rather, "it"; it is the myrrh that lies in the bosom, as the cluster of camphire is in the vineyards (So 1:14).
**all night--**an undivid...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-33**
We may learn from animals to go well; also to keep our temper under all provocations. We must keep the evil thought in our minds from breaking out into evil speeches. We must not stir up the passions of others. Let nothing be said or done with violence, but every thing with softness and calmness. Alas, how often have we done foolishly in rising up against the Lord our King! Le...
Read full commentary →And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones . his glorious: Heb. the glory of his voice
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard</strong> (וְהִשְׁמִיעַ יְהוָה אֶת־הוֹד קוֹלוֹ)—The verb <em>hishmi'a</em> (cause to hear) emphasizes God making His voice audible. <em>Hod qolo</em> (majesty/glory of His voice) recalls Sinai where God's voice shook the mountain (Exodus 19:19; Hebrews 12:26). <strong>And shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice . . .**—The peace and joy at home are contrasted with the judgments that fall on the enemies of Israel. They are exposed to the full thunderstorm of the wrath of Jehovah. “Hailstones and coals of fire” were the natural symbols of His anger.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. cluster--**Jesus Christ is one, yet manifold in His graces.
**camphire--**or, "cypress." The "hennah" is meant, whose odorous flowers grow in clusters, of a color white and yellow softly blended; its bark is dark, the foliage light green. Women deck their persons with them. The loveliness of Jesus Christ.
**vineyards--**appropriate in respect to Him who is "the vine." The spikenard was f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-33**
We may learn from animals to go well; also to keep our temper under all provocations. We must keep the evil thought in our minds from breaking out into evil speeches. We must not stir up the passions of others. Let nothing be said or done with violence, but every thing with softness and calmness. Alas, how often have we done foolishly in rising up against the Lord our King! Le...
Read full commentary →For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod</strong> (כִּי־מִקּוֹל יְהוָה יֵחַת אַשּׁוּר בַּשֵּׁבֶט יַכֶּה)—The verse shifts from general judgment (vv. 27-30) to specific target: Assyria. The verb <em>yechat</em> (be shattered, dismayed) indicates total defeat. God's <em>qol</em> (voice) alone destroys them—no human army needed. The irony: As...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.**—Better, *and He *(Jehovah) *shall smite with the rod. *Asshur appears as the foremost and most dreaded enemy of Judah. The prediction points to the destruction of the armies of Sennacherib.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. fair--**He discerns beauty in her, who had said, "I am black" (So 1:5), because of the everlasting covenant (Psa 45:11; Is 62:5; Ep 1:4,5).
**doves' eyes--**large and beautiful in the doves of Syria. The prominent features of her beauty (Mt 10:16), gentleness, innocence, and constant love, emblem of the Holy Ghost, who changes us to His own likeness (Ge 8:10, 11; Mt 3:16). The opposite kin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-33**
We may learn from animals to go well; also to keep our temper under all provocations. We must keep the evil thought in our minds from breaking out into evil speeches. We must not stir up the passions of others. Let nothing be said or done with violence, but every thing with softness and calmness. Alas, how often have we done foolishly in rising up against the Lord our King! Le...
Read full commentary →And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. in every: Heb. every passing of the rod founded lay: Heb. cause to rest upon him with it: or, against them
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass</strong> (וְהָיָה כֹּל מַעֲבַר מַטֵּה מוּסָדָה)—The <em>matteh musadah</em> (appointed staff/rod) refers to God's rod of punishment. Every place it 'passes' (<em>ma'avar</em>, passing, crossing) receives judgment. <strong>Which the LORD shall lay upon him</strong>—God actively applies this rod to Assyria. <strong>It shall be with tabre...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **And in every place where the grounded **staff **. . .**—It is not clear what meaning the English was intended to convey. Better, *Wherever shall pass the destined rod *(literally, *the rod of foundation*)* which the Lord causes to fall upon him.*
**It shall be with tabrets and harps . . .**—*i.e., *at every stroke of God’s judgments upon Asshur Israel should raise its song of triumph with t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. Reply of the Bride. She presumes to call Him beloved, because He called her so first. Thou callest me "fair"; if I am so, it is not in myself; it is all from Thee (Psa 90:17); but Thou art fair in Thyself (Psa 45:2).
**pleasant--**(Pr 3:17) towards Thy friends (2Sa 1:26).
**bed ... green--**the couch of green grass on which the King and His bride sit to "rest at noon." Thus her prayer in S...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-33**
We may learn from animals to go well; also to keep our temper under all provocations. We must keep the evil thought in our minds from breaking out into evil speeches. We must not stir up the passions of others. Let nothing be said or done with violence, but every thing with softness and calmness. Alas, how often have we done foolishly in rising up against the Lord our King! Le...
Read full commentary →For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. of old: Heb. from yesterday
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For Tophet is ordained of old</strong> (כִּי־עָרוּךְ מֵאֶתְמוֹל תָּפְתֶּה)—Tophet (תָּפְתֶּה) was a valley near Jerusalem (later called Gehenna) where children were sacrificed to Molech (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31-32). The verb <em>aruk</em> (arranged, prepared) with <em>me-etmol</em> (from yesterday, of old) indicates God prepared this place of judgment long ago. <strong>Yea, for the ki...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **Tophet is ordained of old.**—Literally, *the Tophet, or place of burning, *with perhaps the secondary sense of “a place of loathing.” Tophet was the name given to the Valley of Hinnom, outside Jerusalem, where, within the memory of living men, Ahaz had made his son to pass through the fire to Moloch (2Kings 16:3), and where like sacrifices had taken place up to the time of Hezekiah’s access...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. our house--**see on So 1:16; but primarily, the kiosk (Is 11:10), "His rest." Cedar is pleasing to the eye and smell, hard, and never eaten by worms.
**fir--**rather, "cypress," which is hard, durable, and fragrant, of a reddish hue [Gesenius, Weiss, and Maurer]. Contrasted with the shifting "tents" (So 1:5), His house is "our house" (Psa 92:13; Ep 2:19; He 3:6). Perfect oneness of Him and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 29-33**
We may learn from animals to go well; also to keep our temper under all provocations. We must keep the evil thought in our minds from breaking out into evil speeches. We must not stir up the passions of others. Let nothing be said or done with violence, but every thing with softness and calmness. Alas, how often have we done foolishly in rising up against the Lord our King! Le...
Read full commentary →