1._Now will I sing to my beloved. _The subject of this chapter is different from that of the former. It was the design of the Prophet to describe the condition of the people of Israel, as it then was, in order that all might perceive their faults, and might thus be led by shame and self-loathing to... [ Continue Reading ]
2._And he fenced it. _The incessant care and watchfulness of God in dressing his vine are asserted by the Prophet, as if he had said, that God has neglected nothing that could be expected from the best and most careful householder. And yet we do not choose to attempt, as some commentators have done,... [ Continue Reading ]
3._Now, therefore, O inhabitant of Jerusalem! _Those persons with whom he contends are made judges in their own cause, as is usually done in cases so plain and undoubted that the opposite party has no means of evasion. It is, therefore, a proof of the strongest confidence in his cause, when he bids... [ Continue Reading ]
4._What more ought to have been done to my vineyard? _He first inquires what could have been expected from the best husbandman or householder, _which he has not done to his vineyard _? Hence he concludes that they had no excuse for having basely withheld from him the fruit of his toil. _How did I ex... [ Continue Reading ]
5._And now come, I will show you what I will do to my vineyard. _Having held the Jews to be condemned, as it were, by their own mouth, he next adds that he will take vengeance for their contempt of his grace, so that they will not escape from being punished. The reproof would not have been sufficien... [ Continue Reading ]
6._I will lay it waste. _God will not take pains to dig and prune it, and consequently it will become barren for want of dressing; _briars and thorns _will spring up to choke its branches; and, what is more, by withholding rain, God will dry up its roots. Hence it is evident how manifold are the wea... [ Continue Reading ]
7._Truly the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the house of Israel. _Hitherto he spoke figuratively; now he shows what is the design of this _song_. Formerly he had threatened judgment against the Jews; now he shows that they are not only guilty, but are also held to be convicted persons; for they cou... [ Continue Reading ]
8._Woe to them that join house to house and field to field. _He now reproves their insatiable avarice and covetousness, from which the acts of cheating, injustice, and violence are wont to arise. For it cannot be condemned as a thing in itself wrong, if a man _add field to field and house to house_;... [ Continue Reading ]
9._This is in the ears of Jehovah of hosts. _Here something must be supplied; for he means that the Lord sits as judge, and as taking cognizance of those things. When covetous men seize and heap up their wealth, they are blinded by their desire of gain, and do not understand that they will one day r... [ Continue Reading ]
10._Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath. _He foretells that the same thing will befall their fields and vineyards; that covetous men will not obtain the desired returns, because their greed is insatiable; that, like certain animals which, by their breath, scorch the branches, and wither... [ Continue Reading ]
11._Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning to follow strong drink _The Prophet does not aim at an enumeration of all the vices which then prevailed, but only points out some particular kinds of them, to which they were peculiarly addicted. After having handled the general doctrine, he found... [ Continue Reading ]
12._And the harp_. He adds the instruments of pleasures by which men addicted to intemperance provoke their appetite. These might be different from ours, but they belonged to music. Now, Isaiah does not blame music, for it is a science which ought not to be despised; but he describes a nation swimmi... [ Continue Reading ]
13._Therefore my people are gone into captivity. _I do not approve of the interpretation given by some commentators, that in consequence of the teachers having failed to perform their duty, the people, through ignorance and error, fell into many vices, which at length became the cause of their destr... [ Continue Reading ]
14._Therefore hell hath enlarged his soul _(86) In this verse the Prophet intended to heighten the alarm of men who were at their ease, and not yet sufficiently affected by the threatenings which had been held out to them. Though it was shocking to behold _captivity_, and also famine, yet the slowne... [ Continue Reading ]
15._And the mighty man shall be bowed down. _This may be called the summing up, for it points out the end and result of those chastisements, that all may be cast down, and that the Lord alone may be exalted. We have formerly met with a similar statement, (Isaiah 2:11,) and on that occasion we explai... [ Continue Reading ]
16._But Jehovah of hosts shall be exalted in judgment. _He expresses the manner, or, as it is commonly called, the formal cause, of the excellence of which he has spoken; as if he had said, “The God of hosts, whom ungodly men insolently tread under their feet, will be raised on high, when he shall s... [ Continue Reading ]
17._And the lambs shall feed after their manner. _Some render it _according to their measure_, or, _in proportion to their capacity_, but it means _in the usual manner_. There are various ways of explaining this verse; but we ought first of all to observe that the Prophet intended to bring consolati... [ Continue Reading ]
18._Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity! _After having inserted a short consolation for the purpose of allaying the bitterness of punishments as regards the godly, he returns to threatenings, and proceeds to launch those thunderbolts of words which are fitted to awaken some degree o... [ Continue Reading ]
19._Who say, Let him make speed. _He specifies one class of sins, by means of which he shows that they _draw sins as by ropes_. When men not only lay aside all thought of the Divine judgment, but despise and treat as fabulous all that is said about it, nothing can be worse than this. He intended to... [ Continue Reading ]
20._Wo to them that call evil good. _Though some limit this statement to judges, yet if it be carefully examined, we shall easily learn from the whole context that it is general; for, having a little before reproved those who cannot listen to any warnings, he now proceeds with the same reproof. It i... [ Continue Reading ]
21._Wo to them that are wise in their own eyes! _Here he proceeds to rebuke those on whom no instruction can produce a good effect, and who do not allow any wise counsels or godly warnings to gain admission. In short, he pronounces a curse on obstinate scorners, who set up either the lusts of the fl... [ Continue Reading ]
22._Wo to them that are mighty to drink wine! _Isaiah now censures another vice, namely, drunkenness and excess in eating, of which he had spoken before; so that probably this chapter is collected from various sermons, and the leading topics only are briefly touched; for when the Prophet saw no repe... [ Continue Reading ]
23._Who justify the wicked for a reward. _He censures a corruption which at that time abounded in judgment-seats, and points out the reason why there is no room for justice in these places, namely, that they are under the influence of _gifts_. For covetousness _blindeth the eyes of the wise, and per... [ Continue Reading ]
24._Therefore as the flame of fire devoureth the stubble. _Lest it should be thought that he has so frequently cried out without good reason, he again shows what grievous and dreadful punishment awaits the nation, and threatens utter destruction to the stubborn, because they did not permit themselve... [ Continue Reading ]
25._Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled. _In this verse the Prophet relates the former punishments which the Jews had already endured, and shows that they are not near an end; but that, on the contrary, heavier judgments await them, if they do not return to the right path. I readily acknowled... [ Continue Reading ]
26._And he will lift up an ensign to the nations. _In this and the following verses he describes the nature of the punishment which the Lord would inflict on his people; namely, that they were about to suffer from the Assyrians a similar, or even a heavier calamity, than that which their brethren th... [ Continue Reading ]
27._None shall be weary, nor stumble among them. _The meaning is, that everything will be prepared and arranged in such a manner that there shall be no delay or obstruction to their march; as if a prince, having recruited the ranks of his soldiers, immediately gave orders that the roads should be cl... [ Continue Reading ]
28._Their arrows will be sharp. _He means that they will be provided with necessary weapons. The custom alluded to is that which existed among the Assyrians and other eastern nations, who frequently made use of bows and arrows in battle, as Englishmen of the present day enter into the battlefield wi... [ Continue Reading ]
29._His roaring shall be like that of a lion. _This denotes fierceness and cruelty, for he compares the Chaldeans to _lions_, which, we know, are frightful to behold, and savage by nature; as if he had said that they would not be men who were moved by any feeling of compassion or tenderness, but rat... [ Continue Reading ]
30._He shall roar against him. _(91) The Prophet adds this, that the Jews may understand that the fierce attack of the Chaldeans is not accidental, but that they have been appointed by God and are guided by his hand. By _the roaring of the sea _he means an attack so violent that it will look like a... [ Continue Reading ]