Isaiah 51:6

From the thought of the universality of religion the prophet rises to that of its eternity, which is here expressed by a contrast of surprising boldness between the "things which are seen" and the "things which are not seen." The whole visible creation, the heavens above and the earth beneath, are transitory, but Jehovah's salvation endures for ever.

the heavens shall vanish away(or "be dissolved") like smoke To feel the force of the metaphor we must bear in mind the ancient conception of the "firmament" as a solid vault overarching the earth. The word for "vanish away" is connected with noun rendered "rotten rags" in Jeremiah 38:11 f.

wax old like a garment see on ch. Isaiah 50:9, from which the expression is taken. Cf. also Psalms 102:26.

shall die in like manner Rather, as R.V. marg., shall die like gnats. The word kçndoes not occur elsewhere in this sense, unless Numbers 13:33 be an instance, which is doubtful. It might be a collective noun corresponding to the fem. kinnâh(noun of unity = a single gnat), found in Talmudic Hebrew. Several commentators, however, think it necessary to read kinnîm(also a collective), a word used in Exodus 8:16-18 of the "lice" of Egypt. The Ancient Versions and the Jewish interpreters explain as E.V., taking kçnto be the common particle "so."

salvationand righteousnessare practically synonymous, as often. see Appendix, Note II.