Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, [but] not in truth, nor in righteousness. Ver. 1. _Hear ye this, O house of Jacob._] Ye stiffnecked of I... [ Continue Reading ]
For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts [is] his name. Ver. 2. _For they call themselves of the holy city._] Inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah; yea, they swore by their city and temple, as appeareth in the gospel, and cried ou... [ Continue Reading ]
I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did [them] suddenly, and they came to pass. Ver. 3. _I have declared the former things._] This God had said oft before; but being now to conclude this comfortable sermon, he repeats here... [ Continue Reading ]
Because I knew that thou [art] obstinate, and thy neck [is] an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; Ver. 4. _Because I knew that thou art obstinate._] Heb., Hard, obdurate; therefore do I so inculcate these things, if by any means I may mollify thee. Hypocrites are harder to be wrought upon than other s... [ Continue Reading ]
I have even from the beginning declared [it] to thee; before it came to pass I shewed [it] thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. Ver. 5. _I have even from the beginning, &c._] See Isaiah 48:3. It is probable that ther... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare [it]? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. Ver. 6. _Thou hast heard, see all this._] Here God extorteth from them a confession of the aforesaid truth, and urgeth them to attest and publ... [ Continue Reading ]
They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. Ver. 7. _They are created now,_] _i.e., _ They are now brought to light by my revelations and predictions. _ Behold, I knew them._] By my gods or diviner... [ Continue Reading ]
Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time [that] thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb. Ver. 8. _Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not._] "Yea," so oft used here, is very emphati... [ Continue Reading ]
For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Ver. 9. For my name's sake will I defer mine anger.] Heb., Prolong it. Here he setteth forth the cause of his patience toward so perverse a people, viz., the sole respect to his own glory... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Ver. 10. _Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver._] Much less as gold, which is wont to be fined most exactly, and to the uttermost, because these precious metals will not perish by fire. Bu... [ Continue Reading ]
_For mine own sake, [even] for mine own sake, will I do [it]: for how should [my name] be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another._ Ver. 11. _For mine own sake, even for mine own sake._] This is oft repeated, that it may once be well observed. _Bene cavet Spiritus Sanctus ubique in Scri... [ Continue Reading ]
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I [am] he; I [am] the first, I also [am] the last. Ver. 12. _I am he._] Heb., _Hu; _ this the Rabbis make to be one of the names of God. Sanchez here observeth, that by this threefold "I" is meant the holy Trinity: the deity of Jesus Christ is rightly... [ Continue Reading ]
Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: [when] I call unto them, they stand up together. Ver. 13. _My hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth._] My left hand, say the Rabbis, as "my right hand spanned the heavens"; that is, meted the... [ Continue Reading ]
_All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these [things]? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm [shall be on] the Chaldeans._ Ver. 14. _The Lord hath loved him,_] _i.e., _ Cyrus. He so loveth his people that for their sakes he loveth a... [ Continue Reading ]
I, [even] I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. Ver. 15. _I have brought him._] Heb., Made him to go, or caused him to come, who of himself had no such mind to come on such a design. Herodotus telleth us that Cyrus had once resolved to aba... [ Continue Reading ]
Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there [am] I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. Ver. 16. _Come ye near unto me and hear this._] God calleth often for audience, as knowing our dulness and crossness, our... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go. Ver. 17. _I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit._] And do therefore so oft call upon thee to hear me, not for any b... [ Continue Reading ]
O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Ver. 18. _Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments._] See the like wishes, Deuteronomy 32:29; Deuteronomy 5:29 Psalms 81:13, implying that so they might have red... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me._ Ver. 19. _Thy seed also had been as the sand._] As was promised to Abraham, and performed to his posterity; such a μυριομακαριοτης there... [ Continue Reading ]
Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob. Ver. 20. _Go ye forth of Babylon._] The word among the Jews that despaired of ever returning from Babylon: bu... [ Continue Reading ]
And they thirsted not [when] he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. Ver. 21. _And they thirsted not when he led, &c._] Your fathers did not of old: nor shall you now in your return homeward. The Jews... [ Continue Reading ]
Isaiah 48:22 [There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked. Ver. 22. _There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked._] Babylon's best days are past: therefore go ye forth of her. Isa 48:20 The wicked of what nation soever that hearken not to God's commandments, _as _ Isa 48:18 well they... [ Continue Reading ]