Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
I%c Blesainqs of Christ's Kingdom. ISAIAH XXXIII. The Enemies of Zion Threalenta,.
tlie mound), the term applied specially to the declivity on the east of Zion, surrounded with its own wall (2 ClironIcles 27. 3 ; 33. 11 ; 2 Kings 5. 24), and furnished with " towers" (or watch-towers), perhaps referred to here (Nehemiah who was already on the throne, whereas a/«<ure time is contemplated.' If lie be meant at all, it can only be as a type of Messiah the King, to whom alone the language is fully applicable (HoseaS. 3; Zechariah 9.9; seech. 11.3-5,
3. 26, 27). for evei-—limited by thee, "until," etc., next verse,/o/- a long time. 15. This can only partially apply to the spiritual revival in Hezekiah's time ; its full accomplishment belongs to the Christian dispensation, first at Pentecost (Joel 2. 28; Acts 2. 17), perfectly in coming times (Psalm 104. 30; Ezekiel 30. 26 ; 39. 29; Zechariah 12. 10), when the Spirit shall be poured on Israel, and through it on tl;e Gentiles (Micah 5. 7). wilderness . . . fruitful iield . . . forest—when Judea, so long waste, shall be populous and notes). The kingdom shall be transferred from the worldkings, who have exercised their power against God, instead of for God, to the rightful King of kings (Ezekiel
21.27; Daniel 7. 13, 14). princes—subordinate; referring to all in authority under Christ in the coming kingdom on earth, e. g., the apostles, (Sic. (Luke 22. 30; 1 Corinthians
6. 2; 2 Timothy 2. 12; Eevelation 2. 2(i, 27 ; 3. 21). 2. a man —Rather, the man, Christ [Lowth]; it is as "the Son of man" He is to reign, as it was as Son of man He suffered (Matthew 26. 64; John 5. 27; 19.5). Not as Maukeb explains, " every one of the princes shall be," <feo. rivers—as refreshing as water and the cool shade are to the heated traveller fruitful, and the land of the enemies of God shall be desolate. Or, " the field, now fruitful, shall be but as a barren forest in comparison with what it shall be then" (cli. 29.
17). The barren shall become fruitful by regeneration; those already regenerate shall bring forth fruits in such abundance that their former life shall seem but as a wilderness where no fruits were. [Queen Elizabeth's Bible.] 16. judgmentjustice. wilderness—then reclaimed, fruitful field—then become more fruitful (v.
(ch. 35. 6, 7 ; 41. 18). 3. t5»em that see—the seers or prophets, them that hear—the people under instruction (ch. 35. 5, 6). 4. rash— Rather, the hasty; contrast "shall not make haste" (ch. 28. 10); the reckless who will not take time to weigh religious truth aright. Or else, the well-instructed. [HOKSLKY.] stammerers—those who speak confusedly on Divine things (cf. Exodus 4. 10-12; Jeremiah 1. 6; Matthew
15); tlius "wilderness" and "fruitful field" include the xvhole land of Judea. 17. work—the etl'ect (Proverbs 14.
10. 19, 20). Or, rather, those drunken scorners who in stamnfering style imitated Isaiah's warnings to mock them [Mauker] (ch. 28. 7-11, 13, 14, 22 ; 29. 20;) in this view, trans-
34 ; James 3. 18). peace—internal and external. 18. sure. . . quiet—free from fear of invasion 19. Lit., " But it shall hail with coming down of the forest, and in lowness shall the city (Nineveh) be brought low, i. e., humbled." The "hail" is Jehovah's wrathful visitation (ch. 30. 30; 28.
late, "speak uprightly" (agreeably to the Divine law); not as English Version, referring to the distinctness of articulation, plainly. 5. vile—rather,/ooi [Lowth] ; t. e., ungodly (Psalm 14. 1 ; 74. 18). liberal—rather, noble-minded, churl —rather, fraudulent. [Gesenius.> bountiful—religiously. The atheistic churl, who envies tlie believer his hope "full of immortality," shall no longer beheld as a patriot struggling for the emancipation of mankind from super-
2. 17). The " forest" is the Assyrian host, dense as the trees of a forest (ch. 10. 18, 19, 33, 34 ; Zechariah 11. 2). 30. Whilst the enemy shall be brought " low," tlie Jews sliall cultivate their land in undisturbed prosperity, all waters—well-watered places (ch. 30. 2.5). The Hebrew translation, " beside," ought rather to be translated, " upon" (Ecclesiastes 11. 1), where the meaning is, "Cast thy seed upon the waters when the river overflows its banks; the seed will sink into the mud and will spring up when the waters subside, and you will find it after many days in a rich harvest." Before sowing, they send oxen, Ac, into the water to tread the ground for sowing. c;astalio thinks there is an allusion to the Mosaic precept, not to plough with an ox and ass together, mystically implying tliat the Jew was to have no intercourse with Gentiles; the Gospel abolishes this distinction (Colossians 3. 11); thus the sense here is. Blessed are ye that sow the gospel, seed without distinction of race in the teachers or the taught. But there is no need of supposing tliat the ox. and ass here are j/oi-ed together; they are probably " sent forth" separately, as in ch. 30. 24.
stition. [HoRSLEY.] 6. vile . . . villainy—rather, "the (irreligious) fool—(his) folly." will speak—rather, present; for (so far is the "fool" from deserving the epithet " noble-minded") the fool speakelh folly and worketh, <tc. hypocrisy rather, profligaey. [Horsley.] error impiety, pei-verse arguments, hungry—spiritually (Matthew 5. 6). 7. churl the fraudulerU ; this verse refers to the last clause of v. 5; as v. 6 referred to its first clause, speaketh right—pleadoth a just cause (ch. 29. 21); spiritually, "the poor man's cause" is the Divine doctrine, his rule of faith and practice. 8. liberal—rather, noble-minded, stand shall be approved under the government of the righteous King. 9-30. Address to the women of Jerusalem who troubled themselves little about the political signs of the times, but lived a life of self-indulgence (ch. 3. 16-23); the failure of food through the devastations of the enemy is here foretold, being what was most likely to al Tect them as mothers of families, heretofore accustomed to every luxury. ViTKiNGA understands " women—daughters" as the cities and villages of Judea (Ezekiel 16). See Amos 6.
CHAPTEE XXXIII.
Ver. 1-24. The liAST of Isaiah's Prqj-hecies a9 to Sennacherib's Overthrow iv. 19). Ver. 1, 8, 9, describe the ASs.yrian spoiler; strong as he is, he shall fall before Jehovah who is stronger {v. 2-6, 10-12). The time is tho autumn of 713 b. c. 1. and thou—t. e.. Though thou wast not spoiled—though thou wast not dealt treacherously with {Note, ch. 24. 16), thy spoiling and treachery are therefore without excuse, being unprovoked, cease-- When God has let thee do thy worst, in execution of His plans, thine own turn shall come (cf. ch. 10. 12; 14. 2; Habakkuk 2. 8; Revelation 13. 10). 3. us ; we . . . theilr
1. 10. Many days and years—rather, la little more than a year. [Maurer.] Lit., Days upon a year (so ch. 29). 1. vintage shall fall—through the arrival of the Assyrian invader. As the wheat harvest is omitted, Isaiah must look for the invasion in the summer or autumn of 714 b. c, when the wheat would have been secured already, and the later fruit "gathering," and vintage would be still in danger. 11. strip you—of your gay clothing. {JVdte, ch.
2. ) ISJ. lament for teats—rather, shall smite on their breasts In lamentation "for thy pleasant fields" (Nahum 2. 7). [Maurer.] "Teats" in English Version is used for fertile lands, which, like breasts, nourish life. The transition from "ye" to " they" (v. 11, 12) is frequent. 13. (Ch. 5. 6;. . . our—He speaks interceding for His people, separating himself in thought for a moment from them, and immediately returns to his natural Identification with them in the word our. every morning—each day as it dawns, especially during our danger, as the parallel "time of trouble" shows. 3. the tumult—the approach of Jehovah is likened to an advancing thunder-storm (ch. 29. 6; 30. 27^, which is His voice (Revelation 1. 16), causing the people to "flee." nations—the Assyrian levies. *. The invaders' "spoil" shall be left behind by them In their flight, and the Jews shall gather It, caterpillar—rather, the ivingless locust; as it gathers; the Hebrew word for "gathers" is properly used of the gathering of the fruits of harvest (ch. 32. 10). running to and ftrny—lu., in gathering har-
7. 23.) houses of joy—pleasure-houses outside of Jerusa-. lem. not Jerusalem Itself, but other cities destroyed by' Sennacherib in his march (ch. 7. 20-2.5). However, the prophecy, in its full accomplishment, refers to the utter desolation of Judea and its capital by Rome, and subsequently, previous to the second coming of the King (Psalm 118. 26; Luke 13. 35; 19. 38); "the joyous city" is in this view Jerusalem (ch. 22. 2). 141. palaces—mo.st applicable to Jerusalem [Note, v. 13). multitude . . . left—the twisy din of the city, i. e., the city with its noisy multitude shall lie foD-saken. [Maurkk.] fort«—rather, Ophel (t. e., 30