King James Version
Isaiah 9
21 verses with commentary
A Child Is Born
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. of the nations: or, populous
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse transitions from judgment to hope. The regions 'vexed' and 'afflicted'—Zebulun and Naphtali in Galilee—would be honored afterward. The 'way of the sea' (Via Maris trade route), 'beyond Jordan,' and 'Galilee of the nations' (Gentiles) identify the specific geographic area. What was first humiliated (by Assyrian conquest in 732 BC) would later be glorified. This prepares for verse 2's gre...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**IX.**
(1) **Nevertheless the dimness . . .**—It is obvious, even in the English version, that the chapters are wrongly divided, and that what follows forms part of the same prophetic utterance as Isaiah 8. That version is, however, so obscure as to be almost unintelligible, and requires an entire remodelling:—*Surely there is no gloom to her that was afflicted. In the former time he brought sham...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. (Compare Pr 22:13).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Good and bad men fare alike as to this world. (Eccl. 9:1-3) All men must die, Their portion as to this life. (Eccl. 9:4-10) Disappointments common. (Eccl. 9:11,12) Benefits of wisdom. (Eccl. 9:13-18)
**Verses 1-3** We are not to think our searching into the word or works of God useless, because we cannot explain all difficulties. We may learn many things good for ourselves and usef...
Read full commentary →The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
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KJV Study Commentary
One of Scripture's most beautiful Messianic prophecies. The 'great light' shining on those in darkness directly prophesies Christ's incarnation and ministry. 'Shadow of death' describes the deepest spiritual darkness and hopelessness. The light 'shined upon them' (past tense in Hebrew) demonstrates prophetic certainty—God sees future events as already accomplished. Matthew 4:13-16 explicitly ident...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **The people that walked in darkness . . .**—The words throw us back upon Isaiah 8:21-22. The prophet sees in his vision a light shining on the forlorn and weary wanderers. They had been wandering in the “valley of the shadow of death” (the phrase comes from Psalm 23:4; Job 3:5), almost as in the gloom of Sheol itself. Now there breaks in the dawn of a glorious day. Historically the return of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14. (Compare Pr 6:10; 24:33).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Good and bad men fare alike as to this world. (Eccl. 9:1-3) All men must die, Their portion as to this life. (Eccl. 9:4-10) Disappointments common. (Eccl. 9:11,12) Benefits of wisdom. (Eccl. 9:13-18)
**Verses 1-3** We are not to think our searching into the word or works of God useless, because we cannot explain all difficulties. We may learn many things good for ourselves and usef...
Read full commentary →Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. not: or, to him
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KJV Study Commentary
The multiplication of the nation and increase of joy describes Messianic kingdom blessings. The corrected reading 'thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased their joy' (some manuscripts say 'not increased') emphasizes expansion and blessing. The joy is compared to harvest celebration and dividing spoils after victory—complete, exuberant gladness. This prophesies the gospel's spread to a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy . . .**—Better, following the marginal reading of the Hebrew: *Thou hast increased its joy. *The picture is one of unmingled brightness; the return as of a golden age, the population growing to an extent never attained before (comp. Isaiah 26:15; Jeremiah 31:27; Ezekiel 36:11), and scarcely admits of the dark shadow introduced by the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. (Compare Pr 19:24).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Good and bad men fare alike as to this world. (Eccl. 9:1-3) All men must die, Their portion as to this life. (Eccl. 9:4-10) Disappointments common. (Eccl. 9:11,12) Benefits of wisdom. (Eccl. 9:13-18)
**Verses 1-3** We are not to think our searching into the word or works of God useless, because we cannot explain all difficulties. We may learn many things good for ourselves and usef...
Read full commentary →For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For: or, When thou brakest
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KJV Study Commentary
The broken yoke, staff, and rod symbolize liberation from oppression. 'The yoke of his burden' represents slavery and subjugation. 'The staff of his shoulder' and 'rod of his oppressor' indicate instruments of cruel taskmastering. The comparison to 'Midian' recalls Gideon's miraculous deliverance (Judges 7) when God defeated vast armies with 300 men, demonstrating that salvation is the Lord's work...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden . . .**—The text comes in the Hebrew with all the emphasis of position. *The yoke of his burden ***. . .** *thou hast broken. *The phrase suggests a bondage like that of Egypt, where the “task-masters” (the same word as that here rendered “oppressors”) drove the people to their labours with their rods.
**As in the day of Midian.**—The historical al...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. The thoughtless being ignorant of their ignorance are conceited.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** The most despicable living man's state, is preferable to that of the most noble who have died impenitent. Solomon exhorts the wise and pious to cheerful confidence in God, whatever their condition in life. The meanest morsel, coming from their Father's love, in answer to prayer, will have a peculiar relish. Not that we may set our hearts upon the delights of sense, but what God has...
Read full commentary →For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For: or, When the whole battle of the warrior was, etc but: or, and it was, etc fuel: Heb. meat
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse describes the end of warfare through burning battle gear. 'Every battle of the warrior' and 'garments rolled in blood' evoke warfare's violence and horror. Their burning 'for fuel of fire' indicates complete destruction—war implements becoming irrelevant. This prophesies Messiah's peace, when swords become plowshares (Isaiah 2:4). The imagery suggests Christ's kingdom brings true peace ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **For every battle of the warrior . . .**—Here again the whole verse requires re-translating: *“Every boot of the warrior that tramps noisily, and the cloak rolled in blood, are *(*i.e., *shall be) *for burning, *(*as*)* fuel for fire. *The picture of the conquerors collecting the spoil is continued from Isaiah 9:3. The victory is decisive, and the reign of peace begins, and the weapons of war...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. meddleth--**as in Pr 20:19; 24:21; as either holding a dog by the ears or letting him go involves danger, so success in another man's strife or failure involves a useless risk of reputation, does no good, and may do us harm.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** The most despicable living man's state, is preferable to that of the most noble who have died impenitent. Solomon exhorts the wise and pious to cheerful confidence in God, whatever their condition in life. The meanest morsel, coming from their Father's love, in answer to prayer, will have a peculiar relish. Not that we may set our hearts upon the delights of sense, but what God has...
Read full commentary →For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.</strong> This prophetic verse, written 700 years before Christ's birth, stands as one of Scripture's most stunning messianic prophecies. Isaiah announces both the Incarnation ("a ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **For unto us a child is born.**—The picture of a kingdom of peace could not be complete without the manifestation of a king. In the description of that king Isaiah is led to use words which cannot find a complete fulfilment in any child of man. The loftiness of thought, rising here as to its highest point, is obviously connected with the words which told that Jehovah had spoken to the prophet...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
18-19. Such are reckless of results.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** The most despicable living man's state, is preferable to that of the most noble who have died impenitent. Solomon exhorts the wise and pious to cheerful confidence in God, whatever their condition in life. The meanest morsel, coming from their Father's love, in answer to prayer, will have a peculiar relish. Not that we may set our hearts upon the delights of sense, but what God has...
Read full commentary →Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse describes the unending kingdom of the Messiah, emphasizing both its perpetual duration and its character of justice and righteousness. The promise that it will be established 'upon the throne of David' connects it to God's covenant with David (2 Samuel 7), ensuring a descendant would reign forever. The phrase 'the zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this' affirms that this is God's w...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Of the increase . . .**—Better, “*For the increase of the government, and for peace with no end ***. . .** The “throne of David,” though in harmony with the whole body of prophetic tradition as to the Messiah, may be noted as the first appearance of that tradition in Isaiah.
**Henceforth even for ever.**—The words admit, as in the parallels of Psalm 21:4; Psalm 61:6-7; 2Samuel 7:12-16, of be...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
18-19. Such are reckless of results.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 4-10** The most despicable living man's state, is preferable to that of the most noble who have died impenitent. Solomon exhorts the wise and pious to cheerful confidence in God, whatever their condition in life. The meanest morsel, coming from their Father's love, in answer to prayer, will have a peculiar relish. Not that we may set our hearts upon the delights of sense, but what God has...
Read full commentary →The Lord's Anger Against Israel
The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
The shift from Messianic hope to immediate judgment is striking. God sends a word against Jacob (northern Israel) which 'lighteth upon' (falls upon) Israel as judgment. This demonstrates the dual nature of God's word—blessing for the obedient, curse for the rebellious. The 'word' here represents prophetic announcement of coming Assyrian conquest. God's word never fails—whether promise or threat, i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8).**The Lord sent a word into Jacob . . .**—For “hath lighted” read *it lighteth. *A new section, though still closely connected with the historical occasion of Isaiah 7, begins. The vision of the glory of the far-off king comes to an end, and the prophet returns to the more immediate surroundings of his time. The “word” which Jehovah sends is the prophetic message that follows. It is a question...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
20-21. The talebearers foster (Pr 16:28), and the contentious excite, strife.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,
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KJV Study Commentary
The inhabitants of Samaria (Ephraim) would recognize divine judgment. Samaria was northern Israel's capital; Ephraim was its dominant tribe. Yet recognition comes with prideful defiance rather than repentance. 'All the people shall know' indicates undeniable evidence—everyone would witness the judgment's fulfillment. But knowledge without humility produces hardening rather than conversion. This de...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
20-21. The talebearers foster (Pr 16:28), and the contentious excite, strife.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse exemplifies prideful impenitence. Rather than humbling themselves under judgment, they boast of rebuilding bigger and better. 'The bricks are fallen down' acknowledges destruction but not its cause. 'We will build with hewn stones' vows to construct more durable buildings. 'Sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars' promises to replace common trees with premium timber....
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **The bricks are fallen down . . .**—Sun-dried bricks and the cheap timber of the sycamore (1Kings 10:27) were the common materials used for the dwellings of the poor, hewn stones and cedar for the palaces of the rich. Whatever injury Samaria had sustained (the words are too proverbially figurative to make literal interpretation probable), through the intervention of Tiglath-pileser, was, its...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
22. (Compare Pr 18:8).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; join: Heb. mingle
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KJV Study Commentary
God responds to pride by intensifying judgment. 'Therefore' indicates consequence—pride brings escalation. 'Set up the adversaries of Rezin against him' refers to Assyria defeating Syria, then turning on Israel who had allied with Syria. 'Join his enemies together' suggests coalitions forming against Israel. God sovereignly orchestrates historical events to accomplish His purposes, even using paga...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries . . .**—The Hebrew tenses are in the past (*has set up*)*, *but probably as representing the prophet’s visions of an accomplished future. The “adversaries” of the text can hardly be any other than the Assyrians; yet the context that follows clearly points to an attack on Ephraim in which the armies of Rezin were to be conspicuous. The natural ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
23. Warm professions can no more give value to insincerity than silver coating to rude earthenware.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. open: Heb. whole
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KJV Study Commentary
The judgment comes from all directions: 'Syrians before' (east) and 'Philistines behind' (west), indicating comprehensive encirclement. 'They shall devour Israel with open mouth' depicts ravenous enemies consuming the nation. The phrase 'For all this' introduces a refrain (repeated in verses 13, 17, 21, 10:4) emphasizing persistent rebellion. 'His anger is not turned away' indicates God's wrath co...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **For all this his anger is not turned away . . .**—The formula which in Isaiah 5:25 had been applied to Judah is here and in Isaiah 9:17; Isaiah 9:21 used of Israel at large, and specially of Ephraim. It embodied the law which governed God’s dealing with both.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. dissembleth--**though an unusual sense of the word (compare Margin), is allowable, and better suits the context, which sets forth hypocrisy.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.
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KJV Study Commentary
The root problem is identified: despite judgment, the people refuse to return to God. 'Turneth not' indicates deliberate refusal to repent. 'Him that smiteth them' acknowledges God as the source of judgment, yet they won't turn to Him. 'Neither do they seek the Lord of hosts' reveals lack of spiritual desire despite pain. This demonstrates total depravity—the unregenerate heart resists God even un...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **For the people turneth not . . .**—What follows was the word that was meant for all Israel. They had not “turned” to the Lord, there were no proofs of that conversion which true prophets and preachers have at all times sought after.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
25. Sentiment of Pr 26:24 carried out.
**seven abominations in his heart--**that is, very many (compare Pr 24:16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's judgment targets leadership first. 'The ancient and honourable' (elders/nobles) and 'the prophet that teacheth lies' (false prophets) are 'the head.' 'The rush and bulrush' (marsh plants—flexible, hollow) represent common people following corrupt leadership—'the tail.' The metaphor of cutting off head and tail indicates comprehensive judgment affecting all social strata. Corrupt leadership b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Head and tail, branch and rush . . .**—The “branch” is strictly that of the palm-tree, which in its stately height answered to the nobles of the land, while the “rush,” the emblem of a real or affected lowliness (Isaiah 58:5) represented the “mean man” of Isaiah 2:9. The same proverbial formula meets us in Isaiah 19:15.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-27. Deceit will at last be exposed, and the wicked by their own arts often bring on retribution (compare Pr 12:13; Psa 7:16; 9:17, &c.).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →The ancient and honourable , he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
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KJV Study Commentary
Verse 15 clarifies verse 14's metaphor. The 'ancient and honourable' are the head (leadership); the lying prophet is the tail (misleading followers). The inversion is significant—prophets should be heads (spiritual leaders), but false prophets become tails (lowest, most despised). 'The prophet that teacheth lies' is singled out for special condemnation. False teaching doesn't just fail to help; it...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The ancient and honourable . . .**—Comp. Isaiah 3:2-3, for the meaning of the words. These, the prophet seems to say, were the true leaders of the people. The ideal work of the prophet was, indeed, that of a teacher who was to lead even them, but *corruptio optimi pessima; *and to Isaiah, as to Jeremiah, there was no class so contemptible and base as that of spiritual guides whose policy wa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
26-27. Deceit will at last be exposed, and the wicked by their own arts often bring on retribution (compare Pr 12:13; Psa 7:16; 9:17, &c.).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. the leaders: or, they that call them blessed led of: or, called blessed of destroyed: Heb. swallowed up
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KJV Study Commentary
Leaders who should guide people to safety instead lead them to destruction. 'The leaders of this people cause them to err' assigns responsibility to those in authority. 'They that are led of them are destroyed' shows the tragic consequence—followers perish due to corrupt leadership. The passive voice 'are destroyed' might suggest victimhood, but Scripture also holds followers accountable for follo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28. Men hate those they injure.
**A lying tongue--**"lips" for the persons (compare Pr 4:24; Psa 12:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. folly: or, villany
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KJV Study Commentary
Universal corruption explains why God shows no mercy—even young men, orphans, and widows (normally protected classes) find no favor. 'Therefore' indicates logical consequence. 'Every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer' declares total corruption. 'Every mouth speaketh folly' shows sin's comprehensive nature—words reveal hearts (Matthew 12:34). The refrain returns: despite this judgment, God's ange...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Therefore the Lord shall have no joy . . .**—The Hebrew tenses are in the past, *The Lord had no joy. *The severity of the coming judgment is represented as not sparing even the flower of the nation’s youth, the widows and orphans who were the special objects of compassion both to God and man. The corruption of the time was universal, and the prophet’s formula, *“*For all this his anger is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
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KJV Study Commentary
Wickedness is depicted as a consuming fire that burns briars, thorns, and forest thickets. The fire imagery suggests sin's self-destructive nature—wickedness ultimately consumes those who practice it. 'Kindleth' indicates how sin ignites easily and spreads rapidly. 'Mount up like the lifting up of smoke' portrays judgment as visible and inescapable. The fire represents both their sin and God's jud...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **It shall devour the briers and thorns . . .**—The words are obviously figurative for men who were base and vile, as in 2Samuel 23:6; but the figure may have been suggested by Isaiah 7:23-24. The outward desolation, with its rank growth of underwood, was to the prophet’s eye a type of the moral condition of his people. And for such a people sin becomes the punishment of sin, and burns like a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 27
Pr 27:1-27.
1. Do not confide implicitly in your plans (Pr 16:9; 19:21; Jas 4:13-15).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. fuel: Heb. meat
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KJV Study Commentary
Divine wrath darkens the land, and the people become fuel for the fire. 'No man shall spare his brother' describes complete social breakdown—even familial bonds dissolve. This civil war emerges from God's wrath combined with human wickedness. The phrase 'fuel of the fire' suggests people become both perpetrators and victims—in destroying others, they destroy themselves. This depicts the logical en...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19, 20) **Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened . . .**—The vision of darkness and famine which had come before the prophet’s eyes in Isaiah 8:21 appears once again, and here, as there, it is a question whether the words are to be understood literally or figuratively. The definiteness of the language of Isaiah 9:20 suggests the thoughts of the horrors of a famine like that o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2. Avoid self-praise.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: snatch: Heb cut
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KJV Study Commentary
The horror intensifies: desperate hunger leads to cannibalism. 'Snatch on the right hand' and 'eat on the left' suggest frantic, indiscriminate consumption—they devour anything available. 'Eat every man the flesh of his own arm' is likely metaphorical for self-destruction and possibly literal for siege cannibalism. 'They shall not be satisfied' indicates insatiable hunger—both physical and spiritu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. heavy--**The literal sense of "heavy," applied to material subjects, illustrates its figurative, "grievous," applied to moral.
**a fool's wrath--**is unreasonable and excessive.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
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KJV Study Commentary
Tribal warfare erupts between Manasseh and Ephraim (both sons of Joseph, brother tribes), then they unite against Judah. This intra-family violence shows how sin destroys even closest relationships. Brother fights brother, then both fight their cousins—comprehensive civil war. The refrain returns for the fourth time: despite all this judgment, God's anger isn't satisfied and His hand remains exten...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. envy--**or, "jealousy" (compare Margin; Pr 6:34), is more unappeasable than the simpler bad passions.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-21** Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all w...
Read full commentary →