King James Version
Isaiah 65
25 verses with commentary
Judgment and Salvation
I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
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KJV Study Commentary
'I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.' God responds to chapter 64's prayer by revealing Himself to the Gentiles who weren't seeking! Paul quotes this in Romans 10:20 regarding Gentile inclusion. 'Behold me' repeated emphasizes God's initiative in self-revelation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
LXV.
(1) **I am sought of them . . .**—Is this the answer to the previous prayer? Most commentators say “Yes;” but there is, at least, an apparent absence of continuous sequence. A more probable view is that it was written after an interval more or less considerable, and that the prophet utters what had been revealed to him as explaining why the plaintive appeal of Isaiah 64:12 did not meet at onc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. strong one--**the Assyrian (Is 10:5).
**cast down--**namely, Ephraim (Is 28:1) and Samaria, its crown.
**with ... hand--**with violence (Is 8:11).
I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
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KJV Study Commentary
'I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts.' The open hands picture invitation and appeal. The Hebrew 'paras' (spread) indicates welcoming gesture. Yet Israel is 'rebellious' (sarar), walking 'their own way' (darkam) and 'their own thoughts.' Divine invitation met by persistent rejection.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **I have spread out my hands . . .**—Here, of course, the words were meant for Israel, as St. Paul applies them. It may not be without interest to note the fact that the words stand over the portal of the Church of Santa Maria, which stands at the entrance of the Ghetto at Rome. Of how many churches at Rome and elsewhere might it not be said, “Thou art the man,” “The beam is in thine own eye”?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. crown ... the drunkards--**rather, "the crown of the drunkards."
A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; upon: Heb. upon bricks
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KJV Study Commentary
'A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face, that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick.' The provocations are specified: garden sacrifices and brick-altar incense - pagan worship practices. 'To my face' (al-panai) indicates blatant, open rebellion. The Hebrew 'ka'as' (provoke to anger) is continuous.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **That sacriflceth in gardens.**—It is not without significance, as bearing on the date of the chapter, that the practice was common in Judah under Ahaz. (Comp. Isaiah 1:29, Mi. 5; Ezekiel 20:28.)
**Burneth incense upon altars of brick.**—Literally, *on the bricks, *and possibly, therefore, on the roofs of houses, as was common in the idolatrous practices of Judah (2Kings 23:12; Jeremiah 19:13...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4. Rather, "the fading flower, their glorious beauty (Is 28:1), which is on the head of the fat (fertile) valley, shall be as the early fig" [G. V. Smith]. Figs usually ripened in August; but earlier ones (Hebrew bikkurah, Spanish bokkore) in June, and were regarded as a delicacy (Jr 24:2; Ho 9:10; Mi 7:1).
**while it is yet--**that is, immediately, without delay; describing the eagerness of the...
Read full commentary →Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; broth: or, pieces
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KJV Study Commentary
'Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels.' Further abominations: necromancy (consulting the dead), swine consumption (explicitly forbidden in Leviticus 11:7), and unclean food. These are not accidents but deliberate violations of known law.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Which remain among the graves.**—Probably the rock graves of Palestine, which, although they were ceremonially unclean, were not unfrequently used as dwellings (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:3). The charge may be one merely of neglecting the precepts of the Law, but possibly also may imply that the graves were frequented, as in Isaiah 8:19; Isaiah 29:4, for necromantic purposes.
**Lodge in the monume...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. nose: or, anger
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KJV Study Commentary
'Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.' The supreme irony: those practicing paganism claim superior holiness! 'Stand back, I'm holier than you.' Such hypocrisy is 'smoke in my nose' (disgusting odor) and 'fire that burneth' (constant irritation). Self-righteousness amid actual sin provokes divine ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Which say, Stand by thyself . . .**—The picture, in its main outlines, reminds us of the proud exclusiveness of the later Pharisees, and the root-evil is, of course, identical. Here, however, the ground of the exclusiveness is not the consciousness of the peculiar privileges of Israel, but rests on what was an actual apostasy. Those of whom Isaiah speaks boasted of their initiation into heat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,
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KJV Study Commentary
'Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom.' God has 'written' (recorded) their sins - judgment is certain. He will 'not keep silence' (answer chapter 64's complaint about divine inactivity). 'Recompense into their bosom' indicates personal, direct judgment - they will receive what they deserve.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **It is written before me . . .**—The thought is that of the great register, the book of God’s remembrance, in which men’s deeds, good and evil, are ever being recorded. (Comp. Jeremiah 17:1; Psalm 56:8; Daniel 12:1; Malachi 3:16.)
**But will recompense . . .**—Literally, *without recompensing, *or, *except I recompense. *Men took the long-suffering of God as if it indicated forgetfulness (Rom...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.
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KJV Study Commentary
'Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.' Accumulated sin - their own plus their fathers' - is addressed. Mountain and hill worship was pagan practice. 'Measure' (madad) indicates precise proportional judgment. Like fathe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Which have burned incense upon the mountains . . .**—The old inveterate sin of the worship of high places (comp. Isaiah 57:7; Hosea 4:13; Ezekiel 6:13; 2Kings 15:4; 2Kings 15:35). The worship paid there to other gods, or nominally to Jehovah in a way which He had forbidden, was practically a “blasphemy” or “reproach” against Him.
**Their former work.**—Better, *I will measure their work firs...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
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KJV Study Commentary
'Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.' A vineyard metaphor: a good cluster among bad grapes is preserved. The Hebrew 'tirosh' (new wine) represents potential blessing. For His servants' sake, God won't destroy all. A remnant is preserved.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **As the new wine . . .**—Literally, *the must, *or *unfermented juice of the grape. *The transition from the denunciations of the preceding verse is abrupt, and suggests the thought of an interval of time and absence of direct continuity. Possibly, however, a link may be found in the “first” of the amended translation, which prepares the way for something that is to follow. God chastens, but ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.' The promise of offspring (zera - seed) continues Abraham's promise. 'My mountains' are Judah's highlands; 'mine elect' and 'my servants' will inherit. Faithful remnant receives the land promise.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob **. . .**—Jacob (*i.e., *Israel) and Judah are used to represent respectively the remnants of the two kingdoms that had been carried into captivity.
**My mountains.**—One of Isaiah’s characteristic phrases (comp. Isaiah 14:25; Isaiah 29:11; Ezekiel 6:2-3. Not Zion only, but every hill in Canaan was a sharer in a derived sanctity.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.
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KJV Study Commentary
'And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down, for my people that have sought me.' Sharon (coastal plain) and Achor (Jordan Valley) represent the land from west to east. Both become prosperous pastures - flocks, herds lying down securely. The condition: 'for my people that have sought me.'
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Sharon.**—As elsewhere, the name appears in the Hebrew with the article—*the *Sharon, the rich plain stretching along the coast from Joppa to the foot of Carmel. The LXX., Josephus, and Strabo render it by *the plain, *or *the woodland. *(Comp. Isaiah 33:9; Isaiah 35:2.)
**The valley of Achor.**—The name, traditionally connected with the sin of Achan (Joshua 7:24-26), belonged to a valley r...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop , and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. troop: or, Gad number: or, Meni, a pagan god
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KJV Study Commentary
'But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.' Sharp contrast: those who forsake and forget. 'That troop' (Gad) and 'that number' (Meni) are pagan fortune/destiny deities. Preparing tables and offerings for these 'gods' constitutes abandonment of the LORD.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **That forget my holy mountain . . .**—The words imply, like Isaiah 65:3-5, the abandonment of the worship of the Temple for a heathen ritual, but those that follow point, it will be seen, to Canaanite rather than Babylonian idolatry, and, so far, are in favour of the earlier date of the chapter. The same phrase occurs, however, as connected with the exiles in Psalm 137:5.
**That prepare a ta...
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5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.
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KJV Study Commentary
'Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.' Wordplay on 'Meni' (number): since you serve 'number,' I will number you to judgment. The Hebrew 'manah' (number/destine) is ironic. Despite calling and speaking, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-13. The prophet now turns to Judah; a gracious promise to the remnant ("residue"); a warning lest through like sins Judah should share the fate of Samaria.
**crown--**in antithesis to the "fading crown" of Ephraim (Is 28:1, 3).
**the residue--**primarily, Judah, in the prosperous reign of Hezekiah (2Ki 18:7), antitypically, the elect of God; as He here is called their "crown and diadem," so ...
Read full commentary →Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
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KJV Study Commentary
'Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed.' Sharp contrast between servants and rebels: eating vs. hunger, drinking vs. thirst, rejoicing vs. shame. The Hebrew 'eved' (servant) marks the blessed group. Parallel structure emphasizes the contrast.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **My servants shall eat . . .**—The form of the punishment is apparently determined by that of the sin. That had been the orgy of an idol’s feast; the penalty would be hunger and thirst, while joy and gladness would be the portion of those who had abstained from it. The words present a striking parallelism to Luke 6:20-26.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. scornful--**(See on Is 28:9).
Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. vexation: Heb. breaking
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KJV Study Commentary
The contrast between the righteous and wicked intensifies: "Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit." The Hebrew <em>rinnah</em> (sing/shout for joy) describes exuberant celebration from <em>tuv lev</em> (goodness of heart)—profound inner gladness. This contrasts sharply with the wicked's experience: crying for <e...
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**15. said--**virtually, in your conduct, if not in words.
**covenant--**There may be a tacit reference to their confidence in their "covenant" with the Assyrians in the early part of Hezekiah's prosperous reign, before he ceased to pay tribute to them, as if it ensured Judah from evil, whatever might befall the neighboring Ephraim (Is 28:1). The full meaning is shown by the language ("covenant ...
Read full commentary →And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
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KJV Study Commentary
God pronounces judgment on the rebellious: "And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee." Their name becomes a byword for divine judgment—others will use it as a curse formula (Jeremiah 29:22). The Hebrew <em>shevuah</em> (curse/oath) suggests their name exemplifies what happens to those who rebel against God. "The Lord GOD shall slay thee" uses <em>he...
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(15) **Ye shall leave your name for a curse . . .**—The phrase has parallels in Numbers 5:21; Zechariah 8:13; Jeremiah 29:22, the thought in each case being that the person named is under so heavy a penalty from the wrath of Jehovah that he becomes a representative instance of what that wrath can accomplish, and because the old name, say of Jacob or of Judah, has been thus identified with evil. He...
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16. Literally, "Behold Me as Him who has laid"; namely, in My divine counsel (Re 13:8); none save I could lay it (Is 63:5).
**stone--**Jesus Christ; Hezekiah [Maurer], or the temple [Ewald], do not realize the full significancy of the language; but only in type point to Him, in whom the prophecy receives its exhaustive accomplishment; whether Isaiah understood its fulness or not (1Pe 1:11, 12), ...
Read full commentary →That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
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KJV Study Commentary
The promise that 'he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth' and 'he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth' depicts universal acknowledgment of Yahweh. The title 'God of truth' (literally 'God of Amen') emphasizes absolute faithfulness and reliability. The reason: 'because the former troubles are forgotten' - God's comprehensive redemption ec...
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(16) **Shall bless himself in the God of truth . . .**—Literally, *the God of the Amen. *In Revelation 3:14 we have an echo of the Hebrew; in John 17:3 we have as distinct an echo of the LXX. rendering, τὸν θεὸν τὸν ἀληθινόν*. *The words seem to imply that the prophet had entered into the inner meaning of what was to most men only a liturgical formula.
**Because the former troubles . . .**—The add...
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**17. line--**the measuring-line of the plummet. Horsley translates, "I will appoint judgment for the rule, and justice for the plummet." As the corner-stone stands most perpendicular and exactly proportioned, so Jehovah, while holding out grace to believers in the Foundation-stone, will judge the scoffers (Is 28:15) according to the exact justice of the law (compare Jas 2:13).
**hail--**divine ...
Read full commentary →New Heavens and New Earth
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. come: Heb. come upon the heart
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KJV Study Commentary
This prophetic declaration announces God's ultimate restoration project—complete cosmic renewal. 'For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth' (ki hineni bore shamayim chadashim ve-erets chadasah, כִּי־הִנְנִי בוֹרֵא שָׁמַיִם חֲדָשִׁים וְאָרֶץ חֲדָשָׁה) uses the verb bara (create), the same word describing original creation in Genesis 1:1. This isn't renovation but new creation. 'New' (chada...
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(17) **Behold, I create new heavens . . .**—The thought reappears in many forms in the New Testament—verbally in 2Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1, substantially in the “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21), in the “manifestation of the sons of God” (Romans 8:19). The “former things,” the sin and sorrow of the past, shall then fade away from the memory of God’s people, absorbed in the abounding and e...
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**18. disannulled--**obliterated, as letters traced on a waxen tablet are obliterated by passing the stylus over it.
**trodden down--**passing from the metaphor in "scourge" to the thing meant, the army which treads down its enemies.
But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
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KJV Study Commentary
God commands transformed response: "But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." The imperative <em>sisu</em> (be glad) and <em>gilu</em> (rejoice) call for active celebration. The duration is <em>ad-ad</em> (forever and ever)—perpetual gladness. The reason: God creates (<em>bore</em>—the same verb as Genesis 1:1) s...
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(18) **I create Jerusalem . . .**—From the prophet’s stand-point, as elsewhere, both in 1 and 2 Isaiah, the earthly city, transformed and transfigured, occupies the central place in the new creation. In the New Testament we note the transfer of the promise to the unseen eternal city, the Jerusalem which is above (Galatians 4:26; Revelation 21:10).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. From the time, &c.--**rather, "As often as it comes over (that is, passes through), it shall overtake you" [Horsley]; like a flood returning from time to time, frequent hostile invasions shall assail Judah, after the deportation of the ten tribes.
**vexation ... understand ... report--**rather, "It shall be a terror even to hear the mere report of it" [Maurer], (1Sa 3:11). But G. V. Sm...
Read full commentary →And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's response to His new creation: "And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people." The mutual joy is profound—God rejoices in His people, and they in Him. The Hebrew <em>gil</em> (rejoice) and <em>sus</em> (joy) show God's delight in His work. Then comes the glorious promise: "and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." The Hebrew <em>bechi</em> (wee...
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20. Proverbial, for they shall find all their sources of confidence fail them; all shall be hopeless perplexity in their affairs.
There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
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KJV Study Commentary
A difficult but important promise: "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed." This verse has generated interpretive debate. The most likely meaning within its context: in the renewed earth, lifespans will extend dramatically (like pre-floo...
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(20) **There shall be no more thence . . .**—The prophet sees in the restored city not so much an eternal and a deathless life as the return of the traditional longevity of the prediluvian and patriarchal age (Genesis 5, 11), Life will not be prematurely cut off, as it had been, by pestilence and war. (Comp. Zechariah 8:4.) He who dies at the age of a hundred will be thought of as dying young; eve...
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**21. Perazim--**In the valley of Rephaim (2Sa 5:18, 20; 1Ch 14:11), there Jehovah, by David, broke forth as waters do, and made a breach among the Philistines, David's enemies, as Perazim means, expressing a sudden and complete overthrow.
**Gibeon--**(1Ch 14:16; 2Sa 5:25, Margin); not Joshua's victory (Jos 10:10).
**strange--**as being against His own people; judgment is not what God delights...
Read full commentary →And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
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KJV Study Commentary
God promises security and enjoyment: "And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." This reverses the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28:30: "Thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof." The covenant blessings promised the opposite (Deuteronomy 28:1-14)...
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(21) **They shall build houses . . .**—The proverbial type of national security and peace, as the opposite was of national misfortune (Leviticus 26:16; Deuteronomy 28:30).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22. mockers--**a sin which they had committed (Is 28:9, 10).
**bands--**their Assyrian bondage (Is 10:27); Judah was then tributary to Assyria; or, "lest your punishment be made still more severe" (Is 24:22).
**consumption--**destruction (Is 10:22, 23; Da 9:27).
They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. shall long: Heb. shall make them continue long, or, shall wear out
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KJV Study Commentary
The promise continues: "They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat." This emphatically restates verse 21's promise—complete security without dispossession. Then comes the comparison: "for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Trees live for centuries or millennia (oaks, cedars), suggesting dr...
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(22) **As the days of a tree . . .**—We may think of the cedars of Lebanon or the oaks of Bashan as furnishing the prophet with the ideal standard of longevity. Commonly, as by Homer and other poets, the lives of men have been compared to that of the leaves of deciduous trees; here they are compared to the life of the tree itself. The prophet is still speaking, not of national, but of individual l...
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23. Calling attention to the following illustration from husbandry (Psa 49:1, 2). As the husbandman does his different kinds of work, each in its right time and due proportion, so God adapts His measures to the varying exigencies of the several cases: now mercy, now judgments; now punishing sooner, now later (an answer to the scoff that His judgments, being put off so long, would never come at all...
Read full commentary →They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
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KJV Study Commentary
The promise extends to labor and offspring: "They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble." Labor won't be futile (<em>riq</em>—empty/vain), and children won't be born for <em>behalah</em> (sudden terror/calamity). This reverses the curse where labor is toilsome and uncertain (Genesis 3:17-19) and children face premature death or disaster. The reason: "for they are the seed of the bl...
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(23) **Their offspring with them . . .**—The picture presented is that of a patriarchal family, including many generations, fathers no longer outliving their children and mourning for their death, as Jacob did (Genesis 37:35; Genesis 42:38), and as men had often done in the times of war, famine, and pestilence, through which Isaiah had lived.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. all day--**emphatic; he is not always ploughing: he also "sows," and that, too, in accordance with sure rules (Is 28:25).
**doth he open--**supply "always." Is he always harrowing?
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
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KJV Study Commentary
The stunning promise 'before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear' depicts God's anticipatory grace - answering before asking. This demonstrates omniscience (knowing needs before verbalized) and eagerness (ready to respond). The temporal language ('before...while yet') emphasizes that God doesn't wait for complete, perfect prayers but responds to incipient faith m...
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(24) **Before they call . . .**—In man’s experience of men, often, as things are now, in his relations with God, there is an interval between prayer and the answer. In the new Jerusalem the two would be simultaneous, or the answer would anticipate the prayer.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. face--**the "surface" of the ground: "made plain," or level, by harrowing.
**fitches--**rather, "dill," or "fennel"; Nigella romana, with black seed, easily beaten out, used as a condiment and medicine in the East. So the Septuagint, "cummin" was used in the same way.
**cast in ... principal wheat--**rather, plant the wheat in rows (for wheat was thought to yield the largest crop, by bei...
Read full commentary →The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
The chapter culminates with reconciliation in creation: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat." This echoes Isaiah 11:6-9, prophesying dramatic transformation of animal nature—predators becoming herbivores, natural enmities ceasing. The wolf and lamb feeding together, the lion eating straw, symbolize complete...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **The wolf and the lamb . . .**—The words point to what have been called the discords in the harmony of Nature, the pain and death involved, of necessity, in the relation of one whole class of animals to another. In St. Paul’s language, the “whole creation groaneth and travaileth together” (Romans 8:22). In the new heaven and the new earth of the prophet’s vision there would be no such discor...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. to discretion--**in the due rules of husbandry; God first taught it to man (Ge 3:23).