King James Version
Isaiah 4
6 verses with commentary
The Branch of the Lord
And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. let: Heb. let thy name be called upon us to take: or, take thou away
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KJV Study Commentary
The desperation of seven women seeking one man reverses typical marriage patterns, illustrating the devastating male population loss from war (3:25). Their offer to provide their own sustenance ('eat our own bread...wear our own apparel') and merely seek to remove reproach shows cultural stigma of childlessness. This depicts covenant curse outworking (Deuteronomy 28:30, 62), yet also transitions t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
IV.
(1) **And in that day seven women . . .**—The chapter division wrongly separates this verse from the foregoing. It comes as the climax of the chastisement of the daughters of Zion, as the companion picture to Isaiah 3:6. As men sought eagerly, yet in vain, a protector, so women should seek for a husband. Those who had been wooed and courted, and had been proudly fastidious, should supplicate i...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
17-18. (Compare Margin). The prosperity of the wicked is short.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 4
Miseries from oppression. (Eccl. 4:1-3) troubles from envy. (Eccl. 4:4-6) The folly of covetousness. (Eccl. 4:7,8) The advantages of mutual assistance. (Eccl. 4:9-12) the changes of royalty. (Eccl. 4:13-16)
**Verses 1-3** It grieved Solomon to see might prevail against right. Wherever we turn, we see melancholy proofs of the wickedness and misery of mankind, who try to create troub...
Read full commentary →In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. beautiful: Heb. beauty and glory them: Heb. the escaping
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KJV Study Commentary
The 'branch of the LORD' (Hebrew 'tsemach YHWH') is messianic terminology (cf. Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:8), pointing to Christ as the shoot from Jesse's root. The parallelism between 'branch of the LORD' and 'fruit of the earth' may indicate both divine and human nature, anticipating incarnation. For the remnant ('them that are escaped of Israel'), this Branch becomes 'beautiful and...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **In that day . . .**—The dark picture of punishment is relieved by a vision of Messianic glory, like that of Isaiah 2:1-4. The “day” is, as in Isaiah 3:18, the time of Jehovah’s judgments.
**The branch of the Lord . . .**—The thought of the “branch,” though not the Hebrew word, is the same as in Isaiah 11:1. The word itself is found in the Messianic prophecies of Jeremiah 23:5-6; Jeremiah 33:...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
17-18. (Compare Margin). The prosperity of the wicked is short.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6** Not only the setting forth Christ's kingdom in the times of the apostles, but its enlargement by gathering the dispersed Jews into the church, is foretold. Christ is called the Branch of the Lord, being planted by his power, and flourishing to his praise. The gospel is the fruit of the Branch of the Lord; all the graces and comforts of the gospel spring from Christ. It is called the...
Read full commentary →And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: among: or, to life
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KJV Study Commentary
Those 'left in Zion' and 'remaining in Jerusalem' are designated 'holy'—set apart by divine election and purification, not inherent merit. The phrase 'written among the living' anticipates the book of life concept (Exodus 32:32; Revelation 20:12), signifying divine determination of salvation. This selective preservation reflects Reformed doctrine of particular redemption: God sovereignly preserves...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **He that is left in Zion . . .**—The prophet turns from the Jerusalem that then was, with the hypocrisies and crimes of the men and the harlot fashions of its women, to the vision of a new Jerusalem, which shall realise the ideal of Psalms 15, 24. There every one should be called “holy” (comp. 1Corinthians 1:2; 2Corinthians 1:1), and the name should be no unreal mockery (Isaiah 32:5), but sho...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19-21. guide ... way--**or direct thy thoughts to a right course of conduct (compare Pr 4:4; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6** Not only the setting forth Christ's kingdom in the times of the apostles, but its enlargement by gathering the dispersed Jews into the church, is foretold. Christ is called the Branch of the Lord, being planted by his power, and flourishing to his praise. The gospel is the fruit of the Branch of the Lord; all the graces and comforts of the gospel spring from Christ. It is called the...
Read full commentary →When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's washing away filth (literally 'dung') and purging blood 'by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning' describes sanctifying work through trial and discipline. The Holy Spirit's dual action—judicial (judgment) and purifying (burning)—removes moral corruption. This anticipates John Baptist's prophecy that Christ would baptize with Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11), and Peter's te...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **When the Lord shall have washed away the filth . . .**—This serves as the connecting link with Isaiah 3:16-24. The prophet has not forgotten the daughters of Zion. Jehovah will wash away, as with the baptism of repentance, the “filth,” the moral uncleanness, that lay beneath their outward show of beauty. The “blood of Jerusalem,” in the next verse, has a wide range of meaning, from the “murd...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19-21. guide ... way--**or direct thy thoughts to a right course of conduct (compare Pr 4:4; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6** Not only the setting forth Christ's kingdom in the times of the apostles, but its enlargement by gathering the dispersed Jews into the church, is foretold. Christ is called the Branch of the Lord, being planted by his power, and flourishing to his praise. The gospel is the fruit of the Branch of the Lord; all the graces and comforts of the gospel spring from Christ. It is called the...
Read full commentary →And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. upon all: or, above all defence: Heb. covering
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KJV Study Commentary
The promise of divine presence—cloud by day and flaming fire by night—deliberately echoes Exodus imagery of God's presence guiding Israel (Exodus 13:21-22). The phrase 'upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies' extends Shekinah glory beyond tabernacle/temple to every habitation, anticipating new covenant reality where God dwells with His people directly (Revelation 21:3). T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **And the Lord will create **. . .—The verb “create” has all the solemn force with which we find it in Genesis 1:1. It is one of Isaiah’s favourite words. The word for “dwelling-place” is almost invariably used for the tabernacle or temple, and would seem to have that meaning here. This determines the character of the “assemblies.” They are not the meetings of the people for counsel or debate,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19-21. guide ... way--**or direct thy thoughts to a right course of conduct (compare Pr 4:4; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6** Not only the setting forth Christ's kingdom in the times of the apostles, but its enlargement by gathering the dispersed Jews into the church, is foretold. Christ is called the Branch of the Lord, being planted by his power, and flourishing to his praise. The gospel is the fruit of the Branch of the Lord; all the graces and comforts of the gospel spring from Christ. It is called the...
Read full commentary →And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.
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KJV Study Commentary
The tabernacle/booth provides fourfold protection: shade from heat, refuge from storm, hiding from rain, covering from flood. This comprehensive security imagery depicts God as ultimate shelter for His remnant people (Psalm 91:1-4). The language anticipates eschatological security where God wipes away every tear and removes all danger (Revelation 7:16-17; 21:4). This concludes chapter 4's movement...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **And there shall be a tabernacle.**—Perhaps *It shall be *. . . The thought is that of Psalm 27:5; Psalm 31:20. In the manifested glory of Jehovah men would find, as the traveller finds in his tent, a protection against all forms of danger, against the scorching heat of noon, and against the pelting storm.
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. Hearken--**that is, obey (Pr 1:8; Ep 6:1).
**despise ... old--**Adults revere the parents whom, as children, they once obeyed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-6** Not only the setting forth Christ's kingdom in the times of the apostles, but its enlargement by gathering the dispersed Jews into the church, is foretold. Christ is called the Branch of the Lord, being planted by his power, and flourishing to his praise. The gospel is the fruit of the Branch of the Lord; all the graces and comforts of the gospel spring from Christ. It is called the...
Read full commentary →