King James Version
Isaiah 5
30 verses with commentary
The Song of the Vineyard
Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: a very: Heb. the horn of the son of oil
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KJV Study Commentary
Isaiah introduces the 'Song of the Vineyard,' a prophetic parable about God's relationship with Israel. The 'beloved' is Yahweh, and Isaiah acts as God's spokesman singing this love song. The vineyard in 'a very fruitful hill' represents the ideal conditions God provided Israel—choice land, covenant relationship, and divine care. This introduction sets up the devastating indictment that follows.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
V.
(1) **Now will I sing to my wellbeloved.**—Literally, *Now let me sing. *The chapter bears every mark of being a distinct composition, perhaps the most elaborately finished in the whole of Isaiah. The parable with which it opens has for us the interest of having obviously supplied a starting-point for a later prophet (Jeremiah 2:21), and for our Lord’s teaching in the like parable of Matthew 21...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23. Buy--**literally, "get" (Pr 4:5).
**truth--**generally and specially as opposed to errors of all kinds.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
What renders devotion vain. (Eccl. 5:1-3) Of vows, and oppression. (Eccl. 5:4-8) the vanity of riches shown. (Eccl. 5:9-7) The right use of riches. (Eccl. 5:18-20)
**Verses 1-3** Address thyself to the worship of God, and take time to compose thyself for it. Keep thy thoughts from roving and wandering: keep thy affections from running out toward wrong objects. We should avoid vain ...
Read full commentary →And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. fenced: or, made a wall about made: Heb. hewed
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KJV Study Commentary
The parable details God's exhaustive preparation: fencing (protecting), gathering out stones (removing obstacles), planting choice vines (selecting the best), building a tower (providing security), and making a winepress (preparing for harvest). Despite perfect conditions, the vineyard produced 'wild grapes' (be'ushim, stinking or worthless fruit). The Hebrew wordplay contrasts expected grapes (an...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **And he fenced it**.—In the “fence” we may recognise the law and institutions of Israel which kept it as a separate people (Eph. Ii. 14); in the “stones” that were gathered out, the removal of the old idolatries that would have hindered the development of the nation’s life; in the “tower” of the vineyard (comp. in a different context Isaiah 1:8), the monarchy and throne of David, or the watch...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
24-25. (Compare Pr 10:1; 17:21, 25).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-8** Churches and believers, by carelessness and security, provoke Christ to withdraw. We ought to notice our spiritual slumbers and distempers. Christ knocks to awaken us, knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by afflictions and by our consciences; thus, Rev. 3:20. When we are unmindful of Christ, still he thinks of us. Christ's love to us should engage ours to him, even in the most sel...
Read full commentary →And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
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KJV Study Commentary
God calls the inhabitants of Jerusalem to judge between Him and His vineyard, making them witnesses in His case against Israel. The rhetorical question format anticipates their agreement with the judgment that follows. By inviting human judgment, God demonstrates the reasonableness of His case—even His rebellious people must acknowledge His justice.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem**.—“The song of the vineyard” comes to an end and becomes the text of a discourse in which Jehovah, as the “Beloved” of the song, speaks through the prophet. Those to whom the parable applies are invited, as David was by Nathan, to pass an unconscious judgment on themselves. (Comp. Matthew 21:40-41, as an instance of the same method.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
24-25. (Compare Pr 10:1; 17:21, 25).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-8** Churches and believers, by carelessness and security, provoke Christ to withdraw. We ought to notice our spiritual slumbers and distempers. Christ knocks to awaken us, knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by afflictions and by our consciences; thus, Rev. 3:20. When we are unmindful of Christ, still he thinks of us. Christ's love to us should engage ours to him, even in the most sel...
Read full commentary →What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
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KJV Study Commentary
God's rhetorical question challenges anyone to identify anything more He could have done for Israel. The implied answer—nothing—establishes His complete faithfulness to covenant obligations. The question 'wherefore...brought it forth wild grapes?' expresses divine grief and bewilderment at Israel's perverse response to perfect care. This demonstrates that salvation's failure never lies with God's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **What could have been done more . . .**—The prophet cuts off from the people the excuse that they had been unfairly treated, that their Lord was as a hard master, reaping where he had not sown (Matthew 25:24). They had had all the external advantages that were necessary for their growth in holiness, yet they had not used them rightly. (Comp. the striking parallelism of Hebrews 6:4-8.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-8** Churches and believers, by carelessness and security, provoke Christ to withdraw. We ought to notice our spiritual slumbers and distempers. Christ knocks to awaken us, knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by afflictions and by our consciences; thus, Rev. 3:20. When we are unmindful of Christ, still he thinks of us. Christ's love to us should engage ours to him, even in the most sel...
Read full commentary →And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: trodden: Heb. for a treading
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KJV Study Commentary
God announces His intention to remove protective care: tearing down the hedge and wall exposes the vineyard to destruction. What follows is systematic dismantling—it becomes trampled, waste, unpruned, and without rain. This imagery prophesies covenant curse execution: removing divine protection allows enemies to devastate. The withdrawal of rain symbolizes removing spiritual blessing and teaching.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **I will take away the hedge . . .**—This involved the throwing open of the vineyard to be as grazing land which all the wild bulls of Bashan—*i.e., *all the enemies of Zion—might trample on (Ezekiel 34:18). The interpretation of the parable implies that there was to be the obliteration, at least for some time and in some measure, of the distinctness and independence of the nation’s life. (Com...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-8** Churches and believers, by carelessness and security, provoke Christ to withdraw. We ought to notice our spiritual slumbers and distempers. Christ knocks to awaken us, knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by afflictions and by our consciences; thus, Rev. 3:20. When we are unmindful of Christ, still he thinks of us. Christ's love to us should engage ours to him, even in the most sel...
Read full commentary →And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
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KJV Study Commentary
The vineyard owner's drastic action—ceasing pruning, hoeing, allowing briars and thorns, and withholding rain—depicts divine abandonment to covenant curses (cf. Leviticus 26:19-20). The vineyard (Israel, v. 7) that produced wild grapes receives judicial neglect, becoming waste. This anticipates Jesus' parable of the unfruitful fig tree (Luke 13:6-9) and the warning that unfaithful branches are rem...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **There shall** **come** **up briers and thorns.**—The picture of desolation is still part of a parable. The “briers and thorns” (both the words are peculiar to Isaiah) are the base and unworthy who take the place of the true leaders of the people (Judges 9:7-15). The absence of the pruning and the digging answers to the withdrawal of the means of moral and spiritual culture (John 15:2; Luke 1...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-8** Churches and believers, by carelessness and security, provoke Christ to withdraw. We ought to notice our spiritual slumbers and distempers. Christ knocks to awaken us, knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by afflictions and by our consciences; thus, Rev. 3:20. When we are unmindful of Christ, still he thinks of us. Christ's love to us should engage ours to him, even in the most sel...
Read full commentary →For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. his: Heb. plant of his pleasures oppression: Heb. a scab
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KJV Study Commentary
Isaiah identifies the parable's meaning: the vineyard is Israel and Judah, 'the men of His pleasure' (literally, 'plant of His delight'). The devastating wordplay in Hebrew contrasts God's expectation with reality: He expected 'mishpat' (justice) but found 'mispach' (bloodshed/oppression); He sought 'tsedaqah' (righteousness) but heard 'tse'aqah' (a cry of distress). Similar sounds, opposite meani...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts.**—The words remind us of Nathan’s “Thou art the man,” to David (2Samuel 12:7), and of our Lord’s words in Matthew 21:42-43.
**Behold oppression.**—The Hebrew word carries with it the idea of *bloodshed, *and points to the crimes mentioned in Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 4:4. The “cry” is that of the victims who appeal to Jehovah when they find no help in man (Ge...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-8** Churches and believers, by carelessness and security, provoke Christ to withdraw. We ought to notice our spiritual slumbers and distempers. Christ knocks to awaken us, knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by afflictions and by our consciences; thus, Rev. 3:20. When we are unmindful of Christ, still he thinks of us. Christ's love to us should engage ours to him, even in the most sel...
Read full commentary →Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! they: Heb. ye
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KJV Study Commentary
The first of six woes targets greedy land acquisition—adding 'house to house' and 'field to field' until no space remains. This violates Jubilee principles preserving family inheritance (Leviticus 25). The Hebrew 'lebad' (alone) emphasizes isolation through wealth concentration. Their goal to be 'placed alone in the midst of the earth' reveals prideful self-sufficiency and contempt for community.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Woe unto them that join house to house.**—The series of “Woes” which follows has no precedent in the teaching of earlier prophets. The form of Luke 6:24-26 seems based upon it. The general indictment of Isaiah 1 is followed by special counts. That which leads off the list was the destruction of the old village life of Palestine. The original ideal of the nation had been that it should consis...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. In: or, This is in mine ears, saith the LORD, etc Of a: Heb. If not, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
The oath formula 'In mine ears said the LORD of hosts' emphasizes divine determination to judge. The prophecy that 'many houses shall be desolate' and 'great and fair, without inhabitant' describes judgment through depopulation—likely exile. Beautiful dwellings emptied of occupants illustrate vanity of material accumulation without covenant faithfulness. This anticipates Jesus' teaching about the ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **In mine ears said the Lord.**—The italics show that there is no verb in the Hebrew, the text, if it be correct, giving the emphasis of abruptness; but it is rightly supplied in the Authorised Version. The sentence that follows is one of a righteous retribution: There shall be no profit or permanence in the property thus unjustly gained.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah.
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KJV Study Commentary
The curse of agricultural futility—ten acres yielding one bath (6 gallons), a homer of seed producing only an ephah (tenth of original)—depicts covenant curse where labor proves fruitless (Deuteronomy 28:38-40). The dramatic disproportion (90% loss) shows divine judgment nullifying human effort. This illustrates the principle that apart from God's blessing, toil is vain (Psalm 127:1), and anticipa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Ten acres.**—The disproportion was as great as that which we have seen in recent times in vine countries suffering from the *Phylloxera *or the *oidium, *or in the potato failures of Ireland. The *bath *was equal to seventy-two Roman sextarii (Jos. *Ant. viii.* 2-9), about seven and a half gallons, and this was to be the whole produce of ten acres, from which an average yield of 500 *baths ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! inflame: of, pursue
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KJV Study Commentary
The second woe condemns those who 'rise up early' pursuing intoxication and 'continue until night' in drunkenness. The problem isn't wine itself but making alcohol pursuit the organizing principle of life. 'Inflame them' suggests seeking altered consciousness to escape reality or responsibility. This lifestyle demonstrates rejection of God's call to purposeful, sober-minded living.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Woe unto them that rise up early.**—The same class as in Isaiah 5:8 meets us under another aspect. In Judah, as elsewhere, the oppressors were conspicuous for their luxury (Amos 6:5-6). They shocked public feeling by morning banquets (Ecclesiastes 10:16-17; Acts 2:14). Not wine only, but the “strong drink” made from honey and from dates and other fruits (possibly including, as a generic ter...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
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KJV Study Commentary
The indictment of feasting with musical instruments while disregarding 'the work of the LORD' and 'the operation of his hands' critiques spiritual complacency masked by religious festivities. Music and wine aren't inherently wrong, but when they distract from perceiving God's providential working and impending judgment, they become occasions for hardening. This anticipates Amos 6:1-7's woe against...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **The harp, and the viol.**—Here again the fashions of Judah followed those of Samaria, so closely indeed that Isaiah addresses the rulers of his own city as “the drunkards of Ephraim” (Isaiah 28:1; Amos 6:5). The list of instruments is fairly represented by the English words, but *lute *(or *hand-harp*)*, cymbal, timbrel *(or *tambourine*)*, *and *flute *would come somewhat closer to the Heb...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. honourable: Heb. glory are men of famine
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KJV Study Commentary
Exile results from lack of knowledge (Hebrew 'da'at')—not mere ignorance but willful rejection of covenant instruction. The consequence—honorable men famished and multitude dried up with thirst—depicts exile's deprivation. Knowledge of God is prerequisite to covenant blessing; its absence invites curse (Hosea 4:6). This underscores that ignorance isn't innocence; refusing to know God brings judgme...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **My people are gone into captivity.**—The great captivity of Judah lay as yet far off, but the prophet may be speaking of it as already present in his vision of the future. Probably, however, the disastrous wars of Ahaz had involved many captures of the kind referred to (2Chronicles 28:5; 2Chronicles 28:8; 2Chronicles 28:17-18).
**Because they have no knowledge.**—Better, *and they knew not*...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-35. A solemn warning against whoredom and drunkenness (Ho 4:11).
**give me--**This is the address of that divine wisdom so often presented (Pr 8:1; 9:3, &c.).
**heart--**confidence.
**observe--**keep.
**my ways--**such as I teach you (Pr 3:17; 9:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
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KJV Study Commentary
Sheol (the grave/realm of death) personified as having insatiable appetite—opening 'her mouth without measure'—depicts death's voracious consumption of Jerusalem's glory, pomp, and multitude. The imagery anticipates Proverbs 27:20 ('hell and destruction are never full') and Jesus' depiction of hell's finality (Matthew 25:46). Death's indiscriminate consumption of nobles and commoners alike demonst...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Therefore hell hath enlarged herself.**—The Hebrew *Sheol, *or *Hades, *like “hell” itself in its original meaning, expressed not a place of torment, but the vast shadow – world of death, thought of as being below the earth (Psalm 16:10; Psalm 49:14). Here, as elsewhere (Jonah 2:2; Proverbs 1:12; Proverbs 30:16), it is half-personified, as Hades and Death are in Revelation 6:8; Revelation 2...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
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KJV Study Commentary
Echoing 2:9, 11, 17, the promise that 'the mean man shall be brought down' and 'the mighty man shall be humbled' reiterates judgment's leveling effect. The phrase 'the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled' emphasizes pride's universal subjection to divine authority. This pattern—human exaltation brought low, divine glory exalted—pervades Scripture, anticipating Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:52) and Jame...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The mean man shall be brought.**—The recurrence of the burden of Isaiah 2:9; Isaiah 2:11-12; Isaiah 2:17, connects Isaiah 5 with the earlier portion of the introduction.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 24
Pr 24:1-34.
1-2. (Compare Pr 23:3, 17; Psa 37:1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. God: or, the holy God: Heb. the God the holy
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KJV Study Commentary
The consequence of human humbling is divine exaltation: 'the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment.' God's holiness is demonstrated ('sanctified') through righteous judgment, vindicating His character. The parallelism between exaltation and sanctification shows that God's glory and holiness are inseparable—His judgments reveal His holy nature. This anticipates Ezekiel's repeated formula 'they...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Shall be sanctified.**—Men had not recognised the holiness of Jehovah, and therefore He must manifest that holiness (in that sense “be sanctified”) in acts of righteous severity. The “Holy One of Israel” was, we must remember, the name, of all Divine names, in which Israel most delighted, the ever-recurring burden of all the prophet’s utterances.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 24
Pr 24:1-34.
1-2. (Compare Pr 23:3, 17; Psa 37:1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
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KJV Study Commentary
The imagery of lambs feeding in former waste places and strangers eating ruins of the fat depicts complete reversal: covenant people displaced, their inheritance consumed by foreigners. This fulfills covenant curse that others would enjoy their labor (Deuteronomy 28:33). Yet the pastoral scene also hints at eventual restoration when judgment runs its course. The paradox of desolate places becoming...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Then shall the lambs feed after their manner.**—Better, *feed even as on their pasture. *The meaning is clear enough. The lands that have been gained by oppression shall, in the day of retribution, become common pasture ground instead of being reserved for the parks and gardens of the rich; and strangers—i.e., invaders, Philistines, Assyrians, or nomadic tribes—shall devour the produce (Isa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-4. (Compare Pr 14:1; Is 54:14).
**house--**including the family.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
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KJV Study Commentary
The vivid metaphor of drawing iniquity 'with cords of vanity' and sin 'as it were with a cart rope' depicts willful, laborious pursuit of evil. Far from being pulled unwillingly into sin, these actively drag it to themselves with effort. The cart rope imagery suggests heavy, sustained labor in service of wickedness. This anticipates Proverbs 5:22 ('his own iniquities shall take the wicked') and Je...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **That draw iniquity with cords of vanity.**—The phrase is boldly figurative. Evil-doers are thought of as harnessing themselves as to the chariot of sin. The “cords of vanity”—i.e., of *emptiness *or ungodliness—are the habits by which they are thus bound. The “cart ropes,” thicker and stronger than the “cords,” represent the extreme stage, when such habits become irresistibly dominant. Prob...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3-4. (Compare Pr 14:1; Is 54:14).
**house--**including the family.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
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KJV Study Commentary
The mockers' challenge—'Let him make speed, and hasten his work...let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh'—expresses arrogant unbelief, daring God to judge. This cynical demand for immediate divine action demonstrates hardened hearts that mistake patience for impotence. Peter later identifies this same scoffing: 'Where is the promise of his coming?' (2 Peter 3:3-4). God's patience in d...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **That say, Let him make speed.**—We have here, as in Isaiah 28:10, and Jeremiah 17:15, the very words of the wealthy scoffers of Judah. Such taunts are not peculiar to any age or country. We find them in the speech of Zedekiah (1Kings 22:24), in that of the mockers of 2Peter 3:4. In the name of Isaiah’s second son (Isaiah 8:3) we may probably find an answer to the taunt. The words “the couns...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-6. The general statement (Ec 9:16, 18) is specially illustrated (compare Pr 21:22; Psa 144:1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! call: Heb. say concerning evil, It is good, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
This woe condemns moral relativism—calling evil good and good evil, redefining reality to suit sinful desires. The triple contrasts (evil/good, darkness/light, bitter/sweet) emphasize comprehensive moral inversion. This represents the ultimate corruption: not merely sinning but redefining sin as virtue. Such perversion makes repentance impossible and judgment certain, as conscience itself becomes ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Woe unto them that call evil good.**—The moral state described was the natural outcome of the sins condemned in the preceding verses. So Thucydides (iii. 82-84) describes the effects of the spirit of party in the Peloponnesian war. Rashness was called courage, and prudence timidity, and treachery cleverness, and honesty stupidity. That deliberate perversion is in all ages the ultimate outco...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-6. The general statement (Ec 9:16, 18) is specially illustrated (compare Pr 21:22; Psa 144:1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! in their own sight: Heb. before their face
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KJV Study Commentary
The fifth woe targets intellectual pride—those 'wise in their own eyes' and 'prudent in their own sight.' The doubled phrases emphasize self-referential wisdom that rejects divine revelation. This describes autonomous human reason exalted above God's revealed truth. Proverbs warns repeatedly against such self-conceit (Proverbs 3:7, 26:12). Paul identifies this as characteristic of human fallenness...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes.**—Here again the prophet would seem to have definite individual counsellors in his mind. For such men the ideal of statesmanship was a series of shifts and expedients, based upon no principle of righteousness. (Comp. Isaiah 29:15; Isaiah 30:1.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7. (Compare Pr 14:16).
**in the gate--**(Compare Pr 22:22).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
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KJV Study Commentary
Woe pronounced on those 'mighty to drink wine' and 'men of strength to mingle strong drink' satirizes misapplied valor—strength wasted on debauchery rather than righteousness. The ironic 'mighty' and 'strength' applied to drinking capacity mocks perverted values where prowess in vice replaces virtue. This anticipates Proverbs 23:29-35's warning against alcohol excess and Paul's command for sobriet...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **Woe unto them that are mighty to drink. . . . strong drink.**—The words in part reproduce the “woe” of Isaiah 5:11-12, but with the distinctive feature that there the revellers were simply of the careless self-indulgent type, while here they are identified with the unjust and corrupt rulers. They were *heroes *and *valiant men *only in and for their cups. To such men it seemed a light matte...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
8. So called even if he fails to do evil.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
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KJV Study Commentary
Judicial corruption—'justify the wicked for reward' and 'take away the righteousness of the righteous'—inverts justice, the very foundation of God's throne (Psalm 89:14). Accepting bribes to acquit the guilty while condemning the innocent violates explicit Torah prohibitions (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19). This perversion of justice particularly incenses God, as it directly opposes His character...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
9. Same thought varied.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-23** Here is a woe to those who set their hearts on the wealth of the world. Not that it is sinful for those who have a house and a field to purchase another; but the fault is, that they never know when they have enough. Covetousness is idolatry; and while many envy the prosperous, wretched man, the Lord denounces awful woes upon him. How applicable to many among us! God has many ways t...
Read full commentary →Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. fire: Heb. tongue of fire
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KJV Study Commentary
The agricultural imagery of stubble consumed by flame and chaff by fire depicts swift, total judgment. The cause-effect relationship—'because they have cast away the law of the LORD'—directly links judgment to covenant rebellion. Despising 'the word of the Holy One of Israel' compounds rejection: not mere neglect but active contempt. This anticipates John Baptist's warning of unquenchable fire con...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Therefore as the fire devoureth.**—Literally, *the tongue of fire. *The scene brought before us is—(1) that of a charred and burnt-up field, horrible and hideous to look upon (comp. Hebrews 6:8); (2) that of a tree decayed and loathsome. The double imagery represents the end of the riotous mirth of the unjust judges.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. Literally, "If thou fail in the day of straits (adversity), strait (or, small) is thy strength," which is then truly tested.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-30** Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking ...
Read full commentary →Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. torn: or, as dung
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KJV Study Commentary
Divine anger ('the anger of the LORD is kindled') manifesting in 'stretched forth' hand depicts active judgment. The imagery of corpses as refuse in streets shows death's degradation—unburied bodies denied dignity. The refrain 'his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still' (repeated in 9:12, 17, 21; 10:4) emphasizes unrelenting judgment until repentance occurs. This sustained ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **The hills did tremble.**—We again trace the influence of the earthquake which was still fresh in the memories of men. (See Note on Isaiah 2:10.)
**Their carcases were torn.**—Better, *were as sweepings, *or, *as refuse. *The words may point either to pestilence, or war, or famine. The stress laid on scarcity in Isaiah 5:10 makes it probable that the last was prominent in the prophet’s mind....
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11-12. Neglect of known duty is sin (Jas 4:17).
**ready--**literally, "bowing down"
**to be slain--**that is, unjustly. God's retributive justice cannot be avoided by professed ignorance.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-30** Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking ...
Read full commentary →And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
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KJV Study Commentary
God's 'lifting up an ensign' (signal) to distant nations and 'hissing' (whistling to summon) them depicts sovereign control over foreign powers used as judgment instruments. The imagery of nations coming 'swiftly' from 'the end of the earth' shows divine orchestration of history—even pagan armies accomplish God's purposes. This anticipates Habakkuk's revelation that God raised Chaldeans for judgme...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **And he will lift up an ensign.**—The banner on the summit of a hill indicated the meeting-place of a great army. In this case the armies are thought of as doing the work of Jehovah Sabaoth, and therefore as being summoned by Him. The same image meets us in Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 13:2; Isaiah 18:3; Isaiah 49:22; Isaiah 62:10.
**Will hiss unto them.**—The verb meets us in a like c...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
11-12. Neglect of known duty is sin (Jas 4:17).
**ready--**literally, "bowing down"
**to be slain--**that is, unjustly. God's retributive justice cannot be avoided by professed ignorance.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-30** Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking ...
Read full commentary →None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
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KJV Study Commentary
The invading army's tireless perfection—'none shall be weary,' 'none shall slumber nor sleep,' unbroken equipment—depicts divinely empowered judgment force. The hyperbolic description (shoes and latchets unbroken) emphasizes that when God commissions judgment, nothing hinders its execution. This supernatural efficiency demonstrates that resistance to divine judgment is futile, anticipating Joel's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27-29) **None shall be weary **. . .—The three verses paint the progress of the invading army. Unresting, unhasting, in perfect order, they march onward. They do not loosen their girdle for repose. The latchet or *thong *which fastens their sandals is not “broken” or untied. The light-armed troops are there, probably the Medes and Elamites in the Assyrian army (Isaiah 13:18). The chariots of the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13-14. As delicious food whets the appetite, so should the rewards of wisdom excite us to seek it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-30** Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking ...
Read full commentary →Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
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KJV Study Commentary
Sharp arrows, bent bows, horses' hooves 'like flint,' and wheels 'like a whirlwind' continue depicting the invincible judgment force. The accumulated imagery creates overwhelming sense of unstoppable power. This divinely-enabled military might demonstrates that covenant curses (Deuteronomy 28:49-52) find precise fulfillment. The description anticipates eschatological judgment where Christ returns ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13-14. As delicious food whets the appetite, so should the rewards of wisdom excite us to seek it.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-30** Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking ...
Read full commentary →Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
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KJV Study Commentary
The lion imagery—roaring, seizing prey, carrying away with none to deliver—depicts judgment's terrifying finality. Lions symbolize strength and predatory success; applying this to invading armies shows covenant people becoming prey to former subordinates. The phrase 'none shall deliver' emphasizes abandonment: God, Israel's traditional deliverer, now commissions their destruction. This inverts Exo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15-16. The plots of the wicked against the good, though partially, shall not be fully successful (Psa 37:24); while the wicked, falling under penal evil, find no help.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-30** Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking ...
Read full commentary →And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof. sorrow: or, distress and the light: or, when it is light, it shall be dark in the destructions thereof
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KJV Study Commentary
The concluding imagery of roaring against Judah 'like the roaring of the sea' and 'darkness and sorrow' with dimmed light depicts overwhelming, inescapable judgment. Sea roaring suggests chaos and threat (Psalm 46:3), while darkness symbolizes absence of hope and guidance. The phrase 'the light is darkened in the heavens thereof' may indicate ecological devastation or symbolize divine presence wit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **They shall roar against them.**—Literally, *there is a roaring over him. *The verb is the same as in the previous verse, and points therefore to the shout and tramp of the armies. It suggests the thought of the roaring of the sea, and this in its turn that of the darkness and thick clouds of a tempest; or possibly, as before, of an earthquake; or possibly, again, of an eclipse. The word for...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15-16. The plots of the wicked against the good, though partially, shall not be fully successful (Psa 37:24); while the wicked, falling under penal evil, find no help.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 24-30** Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking ...
Read full commentary →