The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? Ver. 1. _The burden._] See Isaiah 13:1 . _ Of the valley of vision,_] _i.e., _ Of Zion or Jerusalem, as the Septuagint express it, which is called first a valley, though set upon a knoll - _fir... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain [men are] not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. Ver. 2. _Thou that art full of stirs._] _Clamoribus fragosis,_ _a_ How soon hast thou changed thy cheer and thy note? thy joyful acclamations into doleful exclamations?... [ Continue Reading ]
All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, [which] have fled from far. Ver. 3. _All thy rulers are fled together._] _Vagantur,_ As not knowing what to do, or whither to turn themselves. _ All that are found in thee are bound toge... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. Ver. 4. _Therefore said I, Look away from me._] _Ut luctui et lamentis me totum dedam; _ that unseen I may soak myself in the salt tears of sorrow for Zion.... [ Continue Reading ]
For [it is] a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains. Ver. 5. _For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down._] Great is the woe of war; no words how wide soever can set for... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men [and] horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield._ Ver. 6. _And Elam,_] _i.e., _ The Persians (great archers, as Corabo testifieth, lib. xvi.), as Kir standeth here for the Medians, 2Ki 16:9 good at sword and buckler; called also Syromedians. _ Uncovered... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass, [that] thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. Ver. 7. _Thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots._] Iron chariots armed with scythes. These were, saith Vegetius, first a terror, and then a scorn. _... [ Continue Reading ]
And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. Ver. 8. _And he discovered the covering of Judah._] That is, he that is the enemy took the city; _Hoc enim significat nudari operimentum_ - _i.e., _ _Protectionem Iudae; _ or, as other... [ Continue Reading ]
Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. Ver. 9. Ye have seen also … and ye gathered together, &c.] This they did when in distress, to prevent the enemy and provide for their own safety; and this they might well... [ Continue Reading ]
And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. Ver. 10. _And ye have numbered._] This they did not till now, that they might make the city more defensible, and the better keep out the enemy. General Vere told the King of Denmark, that kings car... [ Continue Reading ]
Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. Ver. 11. _Ye made a ditch also._] A new ditch, lest the old one should not suffice, to hold water for the besieged. All t... [ Continue Reading ]
And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: Ver. 12. _And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping._] _Ponit arma quibus civitates ab hostibus defenduntur, nempe arma poenitentiae._ These are the best defen... [ Continue Reading ]
And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die. Ver. 13. _And behold joy and gladness._] Or, But behold, see the madness of these cross grained creatures, who, to thwart the Almighty, _in laetitiam et l... [ Continue Reading ]
_And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts._ Ver. 14. _And it was revealed in mine ears._] It was told me for certain. God is absolute in threatening, because resolute in punishing; such is his h... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, [even] unto Shebna, which [is] over the house, [and say],_ Ver. 15. _Go, get thee unto this treasurer._] This is _Actio Iesaiae in Shebnam, sicut Ciceronis in verrem._ Shebna was a great courtier and an ill member, advanced likely... [ Continue Reading ]
What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, [as] he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, [and] that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? Ver. 16. _What hast thou here?_] What inheritance, possession? _ And whom hast thou here?_] _sc., _... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. Ver. 17. _Behold, the Lord will carry thee away, &c._] Or, Is casting thee out with casting, O thou mighty man. Not, God will carry thee away as a cock is carried, so the Vulgate translator hath it; which cau... [ Continue Reading ]
He will surely violently turn and toss thee [like] a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory [shall be] the shame of thy lord's house. Ver. 18. _He will surely turn and toss thee._] Turn thee like a bowl, and toss thee like a ball. How and when this was... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. Ver. 19. _And I must drive thee from thy station._] This was done in part when, as of a great master of the court, chancellor, lord marshal, or lord high treasurer - for so many ways the word _Sochem_ Isa 22:15 is r... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: Ver. 20. _I will call my servant Eliakim._] Such as honour God shall surely be honoured. He will call them to it, who else would choose to live and die in their self-contented secrecy, like as the sweet v... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. Ver. 21. _And I will clothe him with thy robe,_] _i.e., _ Vest him in thine honours and offic... [ Continue Reading ]
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. Ver. 22. _And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder._] Rulers have their back burdens. “ _Fructus honos oneris: fructus honoris onus._... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will fasten him [as] a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. Ver. 23. _And I will fasten him as a nail._] _Paxilli simile et concinnum et amabile est._ _a_ On a nail are hung utensils of the house - any such thing as cannot stand by its own strengt... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons._ Ver. 24. _And they shall hang upon him._] As upon a nail. _ The offspring and the issue._] All his allies, b... [ Continue Reading ]
In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that [was] upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken [it]. Ver. 25. _Shall the nail that is fastened._] So Shebna once seemed to be, but now it shal... [ Continue Reading ]