King James Version
Isaiah 31
9 verses with commentary
Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt
Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help</strong> (הוֹי הַיֹּרְדִים מִצְרַיִם לְעֶזְרָה, <em>hoy hayordim Mitsrayim le'ezrah</em>)—the seventh woe pronounces judgment on those יָרַד (<em>yarad</em>, going down) to מִצְרַיִם (<em>Mitsrayim</em>, Egypt) for עֶזְרָה (<em>ezrah</em>, help). <strong>And stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many</strong> (וְעַל־סוּסִים יִשָּ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXXI.
(1) **Woe to them that go down . . .**—The Egyptian alliance was, of course, the absorbing topic of the time, and Isaiah returns to it yet again. As in Isaiah 30:16, the princes of Judah were attracted by the prospect of strengthening themselves in their weakest point, and reinforcing the cavalry of Judah, which could hardly be mentioned by an Assyrian ambassador without a smile (Isaiah 36:9...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
Chapter Outline
An exhortation to king Lemuel to take heed of sin, and to do duties.(1-9)
The description of a virtuous woman.(10-31)
**Verses 1-9**
When children are under the mother's eye, she has an opportunity of fashioning their minds aright. Those who are grown up, should often call to mind the good teaching they received when children. The many awful instances o...
Read full commentary →Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. call: Heb. remove
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Yet he also is wise</strong> (וְגַם־הוּא חָכָם, <em>vegam-hu chakham</em>)—a divine ironic statement: God too possesses חָכְמָה (<em>chokmah</em>, wisdom), just like Egypt's vaunted counselors. <strong>And will bring evil, and will not call back his words</strong> (וַיָּבֵא רָע וְאֶת־דְּבָרָיו לֹא הֵסִיר, <em>vayave ra ve'et-devaraw lo hesir</em>)—He will bring רָע (<em>ra</em>, evil, cala...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Yet he also is wise.**—The words have a ring of sarcasm in them. Isaiah admits ironically that the counsellors of Hezekiah were wise in their generation. He reminds them that there might be some little wisdom in Jehovah, and in the prophet by whom He spake.
**And will not call back his words.**—Such words, *e.g., *as those of the preceding chapter (Isaiah 30:12-13; Isaiah 30:16-17).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2
So 2:1-17.
**1. rose--**if applied to Jesus Christ, it, with the white lily (lowly, 2Co 8:9), answers to "white and ruddy" (So 5:10). But it is rather the meadow-saffron: the Hebrew means radically a plant with a pungent bulb, inapplicable to the rose. So Syriac. It is of a white and violet color [Maurer, Gesenius, and Weiss]. The bride thus speaks of herself as lowly though lovely, ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
Chapter Outline
An exhortation to king Lemuel to take heed of sin, and to do duties.(1-9)
The description of a virtuous woman.(10-31)
**Verses 1-9**
When children are under the mother's eye, she has an opportunity of fashioning their minds aright. Those who are grown up, should often call to mind the good teaching they received when children. The many awful instances o...
Read full commentary →Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now the Egyptians are men, and not God</strong> (וּמִצְרַיִם אָדָם וְלֹא־אֵל, <em>uMitsrayim adam velo-El</em>)—Egyptians are אָדָם (<em>adam</em>, man, mortal) not אֵל (<em>El</em>, God). <strong>And their horses flesh, and not spirit</strong> (וְסוּסֵיהֶם בָּשָׂר וְלֹא־רוּחַ, <em>vesusehem basar velo-ruach</em>)—horses are בָּשָׂר (<em>basar</em>, flesh) not רוּחַ (<em>ruach</em>, spirit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **The Egyptians are men . . .**—We hear again the key-note of Isaiah’s teaching. The true strength of a nation lay in its spiritual, not in its material, greatness: in seeking the Holy One of Israel by practising holiness. Without that condition the alliance with Egypt would be fatal both to those that sought for help and those who gave it.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. Jesus Christ to the Bride (Mt 10:16; Joh 15:19; 1Jo 5:19). Thorns, equivalent to the wicked (2Sa 23:6; Psa 57:4).
**daughters--**of men, not of God; not "the virgins." "If thou art the lily of Jesus Christ, take heed lest by impatience, rash judgments, and pride, thou thyself become a thorn" [Luther].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
Chapter Outline
An exhortation to king Lemuel to take heed of sin, and to do duties.(1-9)
The description of a virtuous woman.(10-31)
**Verses 1-9**
When children are under the mother's eye, she has an opportunity of fashioning their minds aright. Those who are grown up, should often call to mind the good teaching they received when children. The many awful instances o...
Read full commentary →For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. noise: or, multitude
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey</strong> (כִּי כֹה אָמַר יְהוָה אֵלַי כַּאֲשֶׁר יֶהְגֶּה הָאַרְיֵה וְהַכְּפִיר עַל־טַרְפּוֹ, <em>ki khoh amar YHWH elay ka'asher yehgeh ha'aryeh vehakfir al-tarpo</em>)—like an אַרְיֵה (<em>aryeh</em>, lion) and כְּפִיר (<em>kefir</em>, young lion) הָגָה (<em>hagah</em>, growling, roaring) over ט...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Like as the lion . . .**—The similitude is note worthy, as for its fulness and vividness, so also for the fact that the lion is made the symbol, not of destruction, but protection. As the king of beasts stands haughtily defiant over the prey which he has made his own against the shepherds who seek to rob him of it, so will Jehovah, in His character as the Lord of hosts, refuse to surrender J...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. Her reply. apple--**generic including the golden citron, pomegranate, and orange apple (Pr 25:11). He combines the shadow and fragrance of the citron with the sweetness of the orange and pomegranate fruit. The foliage is perpetual; throughout the year a succession of blossoms, fruit, and perfume (Jas 1:17).
**among the sons--**parallel to "among the daughters" (So 2:2). He alone is ever fru...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-8** All things change, and never rest. Man, after all his labour, is no nearer finding rest than the sun, the wind, or the current of the river. His soul will find no rest, if he has it not from God. The senses are soon tired, yet still craving what is untried.
As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem</strong> (כְּצִפֳּרִים עָפוֹת כֵּן יָגֵן יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָם, <em>ketsipporim afot ken yagen YHWH tseva'ot al-Yerushalaim</em>)—like צִפֳּרִים (<em>tsipporim</em>, birds) עוּף (<em>uf</em>, flying, hovering), Yahweh will גָּנַן (<em>ganan</em>, defend, shield). <strong>Defending also he will deliver it; and passing ov...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **As birds flying . . .**—The picture that follows (Æschylean, as the former was Homeric; see “Æsch. *Agam. *49-54, though there the point is the wailing of the parent birds over the plundered nest) is, at least, not doubtful in its meaning, whether it be meant as a counterpart or antithesis to that which precedes it. The eagles hovering over their nest, and scaring off man or beast that attac...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4. Historically fulfilled in the joy of Simeon and Anna in the temple, over the infant Saviour (Lu 2:25-38), and that of Mary, too (compare Lu 1:53); typified (Ex 24:9-11). Spiritually, the bride or beloved is led (So 2:4) first into the King's chambers, thence is drawn after Him in answer to her prayer; is next received on a grassy couch under a cedar kiosk; and at last in a "banqueting hall," su...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-8** All things change, and never rest. Man, after all his labour, is no nearer finding rest than the sun, the wind, or the current of the river. His soul will find no rest, if he has it not from God. The senses are soon tired, yet still craving what is untried.
Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted</strong> (שׁוּבוּ לַאֲשֶׁר הֶעְמִיקוּ סָרָה בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, <em>shuvu la'asher he'emiqu sarah beney Yisrael</em>)—the imperative שׁוּב (<em>shuv</em>, return, turn back, repent) calls for return to the One from whom they העְמִיקוּ (<em>he'emiqu</em>, made deep) סָרָה (<em>sarah</em>, rebellion, turning aside). The ve...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Turn ye unto him.**—Then, as ever, this was the sum and substance of the prophet’s teaching, conversion; with that, all was hope; without it, all was fear. (Comp. 2Chronicles 30:6.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. flagons--**Maurer prefers translating, "dried raisin cakes"; from the Hebrew root "fire," namely, dried by heat. But the "house of wine" (So 2:4, Margin) favors "flagons"; the "new wine" of the kingdom, the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
**apples--**from the tree (So 2:3), so sweet to her, the promises of God.
**sick of love--**the highest degree of sensible enjoyment that can be attained here. ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-8** All things change, and never rest. Man, after all his labour, is no nearer finding rest than the sun, the wind, or the current of the river. His soul will find no rest, if he has it not from God. The senses are soon tired, yet still craving what is untried.
For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. his idols of gold: Heb. the idols of his gold
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold</strong> (כִּי בַיּוֹם הַהוּא יִמְאָסוּן אִישׁ אֱלִילֵי כַסְפּוֹ וֶאֱלִילֵי זְהָבוֹ, <em>ki vayom hahu yim'asun ish eleley kaspo ve'eleley zehavo</em>)—each אִישׁ (<em>ish</em>, man) will מָאַס (<em>ma'as</em>, reject, despise, cast away) his אֱלִילִים (<em>elilim</em>, idols, worthless things). <strong>Wh...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **In that day every man shall cast away . . .**—The act is the same as that of Isaiah 2:20, but with a marked difference of motive: there it springs from the terror of despair, here from the repentance which is the ground of hope.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. The "stay" she prayed for (So 2:5) is granted (De 33:12, 27; Psa 37:24; Is 41:16). None can pluck from that embrace (Joh 10:28-30). His hand keeps us from falling (Mt 14:30, 31); to it we may commit ourselves (Psa 31:5).
**left hand--**the left is the inferior hand, by which the Lord less signally manifests His love, than by the right; the secret hand of ordinary providence, as distinguished ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-8** All things change, and never rest. Man, after all his labour, is no nearer finding rest than the sun, the wind, or the current of the river. His soul will find no rest, if he has it not from God. The senses are soon tired, yet still craving what is untried.
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. from: or, for fear of discomfited: or, tributary: Heb. for melting, or, tribute
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him</strong> (וְנָפַל אַשּׁוּר בְּחֶרֶב לֹא־אִישׁ וְחֶרֶב לֹא־אָדָם תֹּאכְלֶנּוּ, <em>venafal Ashur becherev lo-ish vecherev lo-adam tokhlennu</em>)—Assyria will fall by a חֶרֶב (<em>cherev</em>, sword) that is לֹא־אִישׁ (<em>lo-ish</em>, not of man) and לֹא־אָדָם (<em>lo-adam</...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Not of a mighty man . . .**—The Hebrew has no adjectives, but the nouns are those which are commonly opposed to each other in this way, as in Isaiah 2:9, like the Latin *vir *and *homo. *The thought expressed is, of course, that the whole work would be of God, and not of man. The “sword” was that of the Divine judgment (Deuteronomy 32:41), perhaps, as in 1Chronicles 21:16, of the destroying ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. by the roes--**not an oath but a solemn charge, to act as cautiously as the hunter would with the wild roes, which are proverbially timorous; he must advance with breathless circumspection, if he is to take them; so he who would not lose Jesus Christ and His Spirit, which is easily grieved and withdrawn, must be tender of conscience and watchful (Eze 16:43; Ep 4:30; 5:15; 1Th 5:19). In Margin...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-8** All things change, and never rest. Man, after all his labour, is no nearer finding rest than the sun, the wind, or the current of the river. His soul will find no rest, if he has it not from God. The senses are soon tired, yet still craving what is untried.
And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. he: Heb. his rock shall pass away for fear his strong hold: or, his strength
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear</strong> (וְסַלְעוֹ מִמָּגוֹר יַעֲבוֹר, <em>vesal'o mimmagor ya'avor</em>)—he will pass over to his סֶלַע (<em>sela</em>, rock, stronghold) מִן־מָגוֹר (<em>min-magor</em>, from fear, terror). <strong>And his princes shall be afraid of the ensign</strong> (וְחַתּוּ מִנֵּס שָׂרָיו, <em>vechattu mines saraw</em>)—his שָׂרִים (<em>sarim</em>, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **He shall pass over to his strong hold for fear.**—Most recent critics translate, *His rock will pass away for terror, *the “rock” (not the same word, however, as that elsewhere, *e.g., *Deuteronomy 32:31, used for God) being the symbol of Assyria’s strength. The laws of parallelism point to our taking the noun as the subject of the sentence, corresponding to “princes” in the next clause, and...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. voice--**an exclamation of joyful surprise, evidently after a long silence. The restlessness of sin and fickleness in her had disturbed His rest with her, which she had professed not to wish disturbed "till He should please." He left her, but in sovereign grace unexpectedly heralds His return. She awakes, and at once recognizes His voice (1Sa 3:9, 10; Joh 10:4); her sleep is not so sinfully d...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-11** Men's hearts and their corruptions are the same now as in former times; their desires, and pursuits, and complaints, still the same. This should take us from expecting happiness in the creature, and quicken us to seek eternal blessings. How many things and persons in Solomon's day were thought very great, yet there is no remembrance of them now!