King James Version
Isaiah 43
28 verses with commentary
Israel's Only Savior
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
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KJV Study Commentary
After judgment (42:25), God speaks comfort with 'But now.' The Hebrew 'bara' (created) and 'yatsar' (formed) emphasize God's sovereign work in Israel's existence. The threefold assurance—'I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine'—establishes intimate, personal relationship. The covenant formula grounds security in God's ownership.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XLIII.
(1) **But now . . .**—The outpouring of love that follows is contrasted with the wrath of the preceding verse.
**The Lord that created thee.**—The title implies something more than “the Maker of heaven and earth.” Jehovah has created Israel as specially answering, as other created things did, to an archetype in His own purpose. To “call by name*” *is everywhere, but pre-eminently in the Eas...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. Is it a small thing?--**Is it not enough for you (Nu 16:9)? The allusion to "David" is in order to contrast his trust in God with his degenerate descendant Ahaz' distrust.
**weary--**try the patience of.
**men--**prophets. Isaiah as yet had given no outward proof that he was from God; but now God has offered a sign, which Ahaz publicly rejects. The sin is therefore now not merely against...
Read full commentary →When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse offers profound assurance of God's presence in life's most overwhelming trials. The 'when' (not 'if') acknowledges that believers will face difficulties. Four scenarios represent different types of trials: waters (overwhelming circumstances), rivers (strong opposition), fire (persecution/testing), and flames (intense suffering). God doesn't promise exemption from trials but presence in ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **When thou passest through the waters . . .**—The two contrasted forms of elemental perils are used, as elsewhere, proverbially for all forms of danger (Psalm 66:12).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. himself--**since thou wilt not ask a sign, nay, rejectest the offer of one.
**you--**for the sake of the house of believing "David" (God remembering His everlasting covenant with David), not for unbelieving Ahaz' sake.
**Behold--**arresting attention to the extraordinary prophecy.
**virgin--**from a root, "to lie hid," virgins being closely kept from men's gaze in their parents' custod...
Read full commentary →For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.</strong> This verse unveils God's covenant faithfulness through three divine titles. The Hebrew <em>YHWH Elohim</em> (LORD thy God) emphasizes personal relationship within covenant, while <em>Qedosh Yisrael</em> (Holy One of Israel) maintains God's transcendent otherness even in intimacy. The title <em>moshia'</em> (Saviour) p...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **I gave Egypt for thy ransom . . .**—Speaking after the manner of men, the prophet paints Jehovah as surrendering Egypt and other kingdoms to the arms of Cyrus, as if they were a price paid to him for liberating the Jews of Babylon. Ethiopia (Heb., *Cûsh*) may be taken of either the Asiatic or African people that bore that name—Seba as Meroe, between the Blue and White Nile, the modern *Dâr S...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15. Butter--**rather, curdled milk, the acid of which is grateful in the heat of the East (Job 20:17).
**honey--**abundant in Palestine (Jud 14:8; 1Sa 14:25; Mt 3:4). Physicians directed that the first food given to a child should be honey, the next milk [Barnabas, Epistle]. Horsley takes this as implying the real humanity of the Immanuel Jesus Christ, about to be fed as other infants (Lu 2:52...
Read full commentary →Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. life: or, person
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee.</strong> This verse articulates the Reformed doctrine of unconditional election with breathtaking clarity. The Hebrew <em>yaqar</em> (precious, valuable) indicates intrinsic worth assigned by the valuer, not earned merit. God's estimation precedes Israel's existence or performance - election springs fro...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16. For--**The deliverance implied in the name "Immanuel," and the cessation of distress as to food (Is 7:14, 15), shall last only till the child grows to know good and evil;
**for ... the land that ... abhorrest ... forsaken of ... kings--**rather, desolate shall be the land, before whose two kings thou art alarmed [Hengstenberg and Gesenius].
**the land--**namely, Syria and Samaria regarde...
Read full commentary →Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
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KJV Study Commentary
God's promise 'Fear not: for I am with thee' grounds courage in His presence. He will bring offspring 'from the east...from the west'—gathering scattered Israel from all directions. The Hebrew 'qavats' (gather) reverses the scattering of judgment, demonstrating God's sovereignty over both dispersion and restoration.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **From the east . . .**—Even from Isaiah’s stand-point, the dispersion of Israel might well be contemplated in all this wide extent. The Ten Tribes were already carried off to the cities of the Medes (2Kings 17:6). The Babylonian exile had its beginning under Esar-haddon (2Chronicles 33:11); others may have been found before the time of Zephaniah (Zephaniah 3:10) beyond the rivers of Ethiopia....
Read full commentary →I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
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KJV Study Commentary
God commands north to 'Give up' and south to 'Keep not back'—directing even compass directions. The call for 'my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth' emphasizes both gender inclusion and global scope. The Hebrew 'kala' (keep not back/withhold not) demands complete return of all God's children.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Bring my sons . . .**—The words imply an escort of honour, given by the heathen nations to the returning exiles.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. hiss--**whistle, to bring bees to settle (see on Is 5:26).
**fly--**found in numbers about the arms of the Nile and the canals from it (Is 19:5-7; 23:3), here called "rivers." Hence arose the plague of flies (Ex 8:21). Figurative, for numerous and troublesome foes from the remotest parts of Egypt, for example, Pharaoh-nechoh.
**bee--**(De 1:44; Psa 118:12). As numerous in Assyria as the ...
Read full commentary →Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
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KJV Study Commentary
Those gathered are 'called by my name'—bearing God's identity and reputation. The threefold declaration—'I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him'—emphasizes God's purposeful work. The Hebrew 'bara,' 'yatsar,' and 'asah' (three different creation verbs) stress comprehensive divine action for His glory.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Every one that is called by my name**—*i.e., *who is marked as belonging to the people that is chosen as the Lord’s servant
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. rest--**image of flies and bees kept up. The enemy shall overspread the land everywhere, even in "desolate valleys."
**thorns--**wild, contrasted with "bushes," which were valued and objects of care (see Margin).
Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
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KJV Study Commentary
The paradoxical command to 'bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears' describes those with physical capacity but spiritual dysfunction. This continues the indictment of Israel's willful ignorance (42:18-20), yet now they're called forth as witnesses despite their blindness.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Bring forth the blind people . . .**—The command comes abruptly, as from a Divine voice, and is, as it were, a reversed echo of Isaiah 42:18-20. There Israel saw but did not observe, had eyes and yet was blind. Here the blind and deaf—*i.e., *the heathen, or the Israel that had fallen into heathenism—are spoken of as having capacities for sight and hearing which will one day be developed.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. razor--**The Assyrians are to be God's instrument of devastating Judea, just as a razor sweeps away all hair before it (Is 10:5; Eze 29:19, 20).
**hired--**alluding to Ahaz' hiring (2Ki 16:7, 8) Tiglath-pileser against Syria and Israel; namely,
**by them beyond the river--**namely, the Euphrates; the eastern boundary of Jewish geographical knowledge (Psa 72:8); the river which Abram cros...
Read full commentary →Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
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KJV Study Commentary
All nations are gathered for trial. God challenges them: 'let them bring forth their witnesses' and 'let them hear, and say, It is truth.' The Hebrew 'ed' (witness) requires testimony validated by truth. Only God's witnesses can verify their testimony; false gods remain silent with no validation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Who among them . . .**—The challenge of Isaiah 41:22-23 is repeated. Who among their gods has foretold the “former things”? has predicted events that were then in the future, and have now come to pass?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Is 7:21-25. The Coming Desolate State of the Land Owing to the Assyrians and Egyptians.
**21. nourish--**that is, own.
**young cow--**a heifer giving milk. Agriculture shall cease, and the land become one great pasturage.
Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. no: or, nothing formed of God
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KJV Study Commentary
God declares 'Ye are my witnesses' to Israel—their existence and experience testify to His reality. The purposes: 'that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he.' The Hebrew 'yada' (know), 'aman' (believe), and 'bin' (understand) progress from experiential to intellectual to comprehensive knowledge. The emphatic 'I am he' asserts absolute deity.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Ye are my witnesses . . .**—These are collectively addressed as the servant of Jehovah. Their calling and election had not been cancelled, and they might yet fulfil it. They, in that restoration from exile which Isaiah had foretold, should be a living proof of the foresight granted to the prophets, and, therefore, of the foreknowledge of Him who alone could say, “I am He,” to whom past, pre...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. abundance--**by reason of the wide range of land lying desolate over which the cows and sheep (including goats) may range.
**butter--**thick milk, or cream.
**honey--**(See on Is 7:15). Food of spontaneous growth will be the resource of the few inhabitants left. Honey shall be abundant as the bees will find the wild flowers abounding everywhere.
I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
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KJV Study Commentary
The exclusive claim: 'I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.' The emphatic repetition 'I, even I' (Hebrew 'anoki anoki') and absolute negation of other saviors establishes God's unique ability to save. The Hebrew 'yasha' (save) denotes deliverance from danger and enemies.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. where there were, &c.--**where up to that time there was so valuable a vineyard as to have in it a 1000 vines, worth a silverling (shekel, about 2s. 3d.; a large price) each, there shall be only briers (So 8:11). Vineyards are estimated by the number of the vines, and the goodness of the kind of vine. Judea admits of a high state of cultivation, and requires it, in order to be productive...
Read full commentary →I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's threefold testimony: 'I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed'—comprehensive revelation and action. The conclusion: 'ye are my witnesses...that I am God.' The Hebrew 'nagad' (declared), 'yasha' (saved), and 'shama' (shewed/announced) cover word and deed, promise and fulfillment.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **When there was no strange god among you.**—Better, *and there was ***. . .** It was no heathen oracle or soothsayer that had foretold the restoration. Israel as a people, through its whole future history, was to be a living witness of the oneness and eternity of its God, and the eternity implies (Isaiah 43:13) omnipotence.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
24. It shall become a vast hunting ground, abounding in wild beasts (compare Jr 49:19).
Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? let it: Heb. turn it back?
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KJV Study Commentary
God's eternal existence is affirmed: 'before the day was I am he.' The unchangeable permanence: 'there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?' The Hebrew 'shub' (reverse/let) indicates impossibility of thwarting God's purposes. His work is irrevocable.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Who shall let it?**—Literally, *who shall turn it back? *One of the numerous echoes from Job (Isaiah 9:12; Isaiah 11:10).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. shall be--**rather, "were once."
**digged--**in order to plant and rear vines (Is 5:6).
**there shall not come--**that is, none shall come who fear thorns, seeing that thorns shall abound on all sides [Maurer]. Otherwise, "Thou shalt not come for fear of thorns" [Gesenius]. Only cattle shall be able to penetrate the briery ground.
**lesser cattle--**sheep and goats.
Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. nobles: Heb. bars
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KJV Study Commentary
God identifies as 'your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel'—combining redemption and holiness. The promise: He will send to Babylon and bring down their fugitives, turning Chaldean rejoicing to crying. The Hebrew 'go'el' (redeemer) emphasizes God as kinsman-avenger who will vindicate His people.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **I have sent to Babylon.**—For the first time in 2 Isaiah, the place of exile is named. For “have brought down all their nobles” read, *I will bring them all down as fugitives. *The marginal “bars” represents a various reading, *defences, *in the sense of *defenders.*
**The Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.**—Better, *into the ships of their shouting—i.e., *the ships which used to echo w...
Read full commentary →I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
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KJV Study Commentary
Triple self-identification: 'I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.' Each title reveals an aspect of God's relationship to Israel: covenant LORD (YHWH), morally transcendent Holy One, creative originator, and ruling King. This comprehensive identity grounds His promises.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 8
Is 8:1-9:7.
The first seven verses of the ninth chapter belong to this section. The eighth chapter continues the subject of the seventh chapter, but at a later period (compare Is 8:4 with Is 7:16); implying that the interval till the accomplishment is shorter now than then. The tone of Is 8:17, 21, 22, expresses calamity more immediate and afflictive than Is 7:4, 15, 22.
**1. grea...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
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KJV Study Commentary
God made 'a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters'—recalling the Red Sea deliverance. The Hebrew 'derek' (way) and 'netivah' (path) emphasize God's ability to create passage through impossibility. This past deliverance grounds confidence for future redemption.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Which maketh a way in the sea . . .**—A distinct echo of Exodus 14:16 and Psalm 77:19. The return from Babylon is to be as a second Exodus from another house of bondage. In the one, as in the other, the “horse and his rider” are to be thrown into the sea.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. I took--**rather, "The Lord said to me, that I should take," &c. [Maurer].
**Uriah--**an accomplice of Ahaz in idolatry, and therefore a witness not likely to assist the prophet of God in getting up a prophecy after the event (2Ki 16:10). The witnesses were in order that when the event should come, they might testify that the tablet containing the prophecy had been inscribed with it at ...
Read full commentary →Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
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KJV Study Commentary
God brought forth 'the chariot and horse, the army and the power'—Pharaoh's military might—only to make them 'lie down together' in death. The Hebrew 'shakav' (lie down) euphemistically describes death. The extinction imagery: 'quenched as tow' (flax)—quickly consumed. God neutralizes all opposition.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Quenched as tow**—*i.e.,* as the wick of a lamp going out. (See Note on Isaiah 42:3.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. prophetess--**perhaps the same as the "virgin" (Is 7:14), in the interim married as Isaiah's second wife: this is in the primary and temporary sense. Immanuel is even in this sense distinct from Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Thus nineteen months at least intervene from the prophecy (Is 7:14), nine before the birth of Immanuel, and ten from that time to the birth of Maher-shalal-hash-baz: adding elev...
Read full commentary →Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
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KJV Study Commentary
The surprising command: 'Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.' After emphasizing the Exodus, God says don't dwell there! The Hebrew 'zakar' (remember) in negative form suggests not fixating on past mercies when greater works are coming.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18, 19) **Remember ye not . . .**—All the wonders of the great historic past of Israel were to be as nothing compared with the new manifestation of the power of Jehovah, which Isaiah sees as already dawning in the future.
**Shall ye not know it?**—Better, *Will ye not give heed to it?*
**I will even make a way in the wilderness . . .**—The literal and the spiritual senses melt into each other. Th...
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**4. before, &c.--**within a year.
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, I will do a new thing</strong> (חָדָשָׁה, <em>chadashah</em>)—not merely recent, but unprecedented in quality and character. God announces a redemption surpassing even the Exodus. <strong>Now it shall spring forth</strong> (תִּצְמָח, <em>titsmach</em>)—the verb used of vegetation sprouting, suggesting organic, irresistible life breaking through death.<br><br><strong>Shall ye not kn...
Read full commentary →The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls : because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. owls: or, ostriches: Heb. daughters of the owl
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KJV Study Commentary
Even wild animals—'beasts of the field, the dragons and the owls'—will honor God for providing water in wilderness. The Hebrew 'taniyn' (dragons/jackals) and 'bath ya'anah' (owls) represent creatures comfortable in desolation. If they recognize blessing, how much more should God's chosen people!
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. waters of Shiloah ... softly--**Their source is on the southeast of Zion and east of Jerusalem. It means "sent," the water being sent through an aqueduct (Joh 9:7). Figurative for the mild, though now weak, sway of the house of David; in the highest sense Shiloah expresses the benignant sway of Jehovah in the theocracy, administered through David. Contrast to the violent Euphrates, "the river...
Read full commentary →This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
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KJV Study Commentary
The purpose of creating this people: 'they shall shew forth my praise.' The Hebrew 'yatsar' (formed) emphasizes deliberate design, and 'sepher' (shew forth) means recount or declare. Israel exists to be God's praise-people, declaring His works. Corporate worship is central to their identity and mission.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. therefore--**for the reason given in Is 8:6, the Assyrian flood, which is first to overflood Syria and Samaria, shall rise high enough to reach rebel Judah also (Is 8:8).
**the river--**Euphrates swollen in spring by the melting of the snow of the Armenian mountains (compare Is 8:6; Is 7:20).
**all his glory--**Eastern kings travel with a gorgeous retinue.
**channels--**natural and arti...
Read full commentary →But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
The indictment shocks: 'But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.' Despite God's creating, redeeming, and sustaining, Israel failed to pray ('qara'—call upon) and grew weary ('yaga') of God. Neglect of prayer reveals heart coldness.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **But thou hast not called upon me.**—The startling abruptness of the complaint has led many critics to question the genuineness of these verses (22-24). Their insertion, however, by a later writer would be at least as hard to understand as their having come from the hand of the same writer as the glowing picture that precedes them. May we not find the solution of the problem in the fact that...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. pass through--**The flood shall not stop at Syria and Samaria, but shall penetrate into Judea.
**the neck--**When the waters reach to the neck, a man is near drowning; still the head is not said to be overflowed. Jerusalem, elevated on hills, is the head. The danger shall be so imminent as to reach near it at Sennacherib's invasion in Hezekiah's reign; but it shall be spared (Is 30:28).
*...
Read full commentary →Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. small: Heb. lambs, or, kids
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KJV Study Commentary
God lists Israel's failures: not bringing burnt offerings, not honoring with sacrifices. Yet God didn't burden them with offerings or weary them with incense requirements. The Hebrew 'abad' (serve/labor) with negative shows God didn't impose excessive demands—their failure was voluntary neglect.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **I have not caused thee to serve . . .**—The words practically imply the suspension of sacrifices during the exile. Jehovah had not imposed that bond service on them—had not wearied them with demanding incense when they were far away from the Temple to whose ritual it belonged.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. Associate yourselves--**rather, "Raise tumults," or, Rage, that is, Do your worst [Maurer], referring perhaps to the attack of Rezin and Pekah on Jerusalem.
**and ... be broken in pieces--**rather, "yet ye shall be thrown into consternation." Imperative in the Hebrew, according to the idiom whereby the second of two imperatives implies the future, namely, the consequence of the action conta...
Read full commentary →Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. filled: Heb. made me drunk, or, abundantly moistened
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KJV Study Commentary
Israel bought God no sweet cane (incense) or filled Him with sacrifice fat, yet burdened Him with sins and wearied Him with iniquities. The Hebrew 'abad' (serve/make to serve) used ironically—they made God serve their sins rather than serving Him! The role reversal is striking and offensive.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **No sweet cane . . .**—Probably some species of *Amomum *for the anointing oil (Exodus 30:23). It is distinguished from the incense, and is not one of the ingredients (Exodus 30:34).
**Thou hast made me to serve.**—The verbs of Isaiah 43:23 are repeated with the emphasis of scorn, the thought being analogous to that of Isaiah 1:14. The people had made this hypocritical worship as a service w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. the word--**of command, for the assault of Jerusalem.
**God is with us--**"Immanuel" implies this (Nu 14:9; Psa 46:7).
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
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KJV Study Commentary
Despite Israel's offense, God says 'I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake.' The emphatic 'I, even I' stresses God as sole actor in forgiveness. The Hebrew 'machah' (blot out) indicates complete removal. The motivation—'for mine own sake'—shows grace flowing from God's character, not human merit.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **I, even I . . .**—As in Isaiah 1:2; Isaiah 1:18, the analogy with which may be noted as evidence of identity of authorship, the incisive words that prove the guilt of Israel are followed by the fullest offer of pardon on repentance. And this he does “for His own sake,” to manifest the everlasting righteousness which is also the everlasting love. The “blotting out” finds an echo in Colossian...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. with a strong hand--**or else, "when He grasped me with His hand" [Horsley]. Maurer, as English Version, "with the impetus of His hand," that is, the felt impulse of His inspiration in my mind (Jr 15:17; Eze 1:3; 3:14, 22; 37:1).
**way of ... people--**their distrust of Jehovah, and the panic which led them and Ahab to seek Assyrian aid.
Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
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KJV Study Commentary
God invites legal confrontation: 'Put me in remembrance: let us plead together'—bring your case! The challenge 'declare thou, that thou mayest be justified' tests whether Israel can claim innocence. The Hebrew 'shaphat' (plead) indicates courtroom confrontation where God confidently awaits their defense, knowing it's impossible.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **Put me in remembrance . . .**—The object of the verb has been differently supplied: (1) “Remind me, if thou canst, *of thy merits; *plead in thine own defence for an acquittal;” and (2) “Remind me *of my promise to thee, *of that electing grace which called thee to be my servant.” The former seems to fit in best with what follows.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-16. The words of Jehovah.
**confederacy--**rather, a conspiracy; an appropriate term for the unnatural combination of Israel with Syrian foreigners against Judea and the theocracy, to which the former was bound by ties of blood and hereditary religion [Maurer].
**to all ... say--**rather, of all which this people calleth a conspiracy [G. V. Smith].
**their fear--**namely, object of fear: ...
Read full commentary →Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me. teachers: Heb. interpreters
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KJV Study Commentary
The verdict: 'Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.' From origin (Abraham? Jacob? Adam?) to current leadership, sin permeates Israel's history. The Hebrew 'meliyts' (teachers/interpreters) indicates those responsible for spiritual instruction failed. Leadership failure compounds corporate guilt.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Thy first father hath sinned . . .**—The words have been interpreted: (1) of Adam; (2) of Abraham; (3) of Jacob; (4) of the ancestors of Israel collectively; (5) of this or that high priest individually. (3) fits in best. (See Isaiah 43:28.)
**Thy teachers.**—Literally, *thy interpreters *(Job 33:23), or *thy mediators. *The term is used in 2Chronicles 32:31 of the “ambassadors “of the king...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-16. The words of Jehovah.
**confederacy--**rather, a conspiracy; an appropriate term for the unnatural combination of Israel with Syrian foreigners against Judea and the theocracy, to which the former was bound by ties of blood and hereditary religion [Maurer].
**to all ... say--**rather, of all which this people calleth a conspiracy [G. V. Smith].
**their fear--**namely, object of fear: ...
Read full commentary →Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches. princes: or, holy princes
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary.</strong> This sobering conclusion to Isaiah 43 demonstrates God's covenant justice even toward His elect nation. The Hebrew <em>chalal</em> (profaned, polluted) indicates ceremonial defilement rendering priests unfit for sacred service. God Himself enacted judgment by removing the sanctity of Israel's religious leadership - a devastat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary.**—Better, *holy princes. *The title is given to the chief priests in 1Chronicles 24:5. In the exile their priestly functions were in abeyance. They were practically desecrated.
**The curse.**—The *cherem, *or *ban, *answering to the *anathema. *The state described answers to that of Hosea 3:4.
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Text Co...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12-16. The words of Jehovah.
**confederacy--**rather, a conspiracy; an appropriate term for the unnatural combination of Israel with Syrian foreigners against Judea and the theocracy, to which the former was bound by ties of blood and hereditary religion [Maurer].
**to all ... say--**rather, of all which this people calleth a conspiracy [G. V. Smith].
**their fear--**namely, object of fear: ...
Read full commentary →