1._And it came to pass. _Here is related a remarkable prophecy about the wonderful deliverance of Jerusalem, when it appeared to have been utterly ruined. Now the Prophet explains all the circumstances, that by means of them the miracle may be more fully displayed, and to make it manifest, that not... [ Continue Reading ]
2._And it was told the house of David. _He does not mean that, at the very time when the two kings were approaching to the city, the king received intelligence about the league; for it would not have been safe for Ahaz to go out, when the invading army was spread over the country; but before they ha... [ Continue Reading ]
3._Then said the LORD. _First, we see how God, remembering his covenant, anticipates this wicked king by sending the Prophet to meet him; for he does not wait for his prayers, but of his own accord promises that he will grant deliverance. _His son Shear-jashub _is joined with the Prophet as a witnes... [ Continue Reading ]
4._And thou shalt say to him _(102) The Hebrew word שמר (_shamar_,) which signifies _to keep_, is here put in the Hiphil; (103) and the greater part of interpreters take it for _beware_; but they erroneously apply this to an unnatural and far-fetched meaning, that Ahaz should _beware _of carrying on... [ Continue Reading ]
5._The king of Syria hath taken evil counsel against thee. _Though he foretold that empty would be the threats, and vain the attempts of the enemies of the people of God, yet he does not conceal that their devices are cruel, if the Lord do not restrain them. By _evil counsel _he means _destructive c... [ Continue Reading ]
6._Let us go up_. That is, _Let us make an invasion _ נקיצנה (_nekitzennah_) is rendered by some, _Let us distress _or _afflict_; which is also expressed by the derivation of the word. But in this conjugation it rather signifies “to stir up and arouse.” Though I do not reject the former interpretati... [ Continue Reading ]
7._It shall not stand. _What he had formerly stated was intended to show more fully that the deliverance was great and uncommon; for when the Lord intends to assist us in our trials, he represents the greatness of the danger, that we may not think that he promises less than the necessity requires. H... [ Continue Reading ]
8._For the head of Syria is Damascus. _As if he had said, “Those two kings shall have their limits, such as they have them now. They aspire to thy kingdom; but I have set bounds to them which they shall not pass.” _Damascus _was the metropolis of _Syria_, as Paris is of France. He says, therefore, t... [ Continue Reading ]
9._Meanwhile _(107) _the head of Ephraim is Samaria. _As it is a repetition by which he confirms what he formerly said, that God had set bounds to the kingdom of Israel for an appointed time, I have rendered the copulative ו, (_vau_,) _meanwhile_. Otherwise, it would have been absurd to say that the... [ Continue Reading ]
10._And Jehovah added to speak to Ahaz. _(108) As the Lord knew that King Ahaz was so wicked as not to believe the promise, so he enjoins Isaiah to confirm him by adding a sign; for when God sees that his promises do not satisfy us, he makes additions to them suitable to our weakness; so that we not... [ Continue Reading ]
11._Either in the deep. _I understand it simply to mean _Either above or below_. He allows him an unrestricted choice of a miracle, to demand either what belongs to earth or what belongs to heaven. But perhaps in the word _deep _there is something still more emphatic; as if he had said, “It belongs... [ Continue Reading ]
12._And Ahaz said. _By a plausible excuse he refuses the sign which the Lord offered to him. That excuse is, that he is unwilling _to tempt the LORD_; for he pretends to believe the words of the Prophet, and to ask nothing more from God than his word. Ungodliness is certainly detestable in the sight... [ Continue Reading ]
13._And he said, Hear now, O house of David. _Under the pretense of honor to exclude the power of God, which would maintain the truth of the promise, was intolerable wickedness; and therefore the Prophet kindles into warmer indignation, and more sharply rebukes wicked hypocrites. Though it would hav... [ Continue Reading ]
14._Therefore the _Lord_himself shall give you a sign. _Ahaz had already refused the sign which the Lord offered to him, when the Prophet remonstrated against his rebellion and ingratitude; yet the Prophet declares that this will not prevent God from _giving the sign _which he had promised and appoi... [ Continue Reading ]
15._Butter and honey shall he eat. _Here the Prophet proves the true human nature of Christ; for it was altogether incredible that he who was God should be born of _a virgin_. Such a prodigy was revolting to the ordinary judgment of men. To hinder us from thinking that his fancy now presents to us s... [ Continue Reading ]
16._Before the child shall know. _Many have been led into a mistake by connecting this verse with the preceding one, as if it had been the same child that was mentioned. They suppose that it assigns the reason, and that the particle כי (_ki_) means _for _(110) But if we carefully examine the Prophet... [ Continue Reading ]
17._The _Lord_shall bring upon thee. _Here the Prophet, on the other hand, threatens the wicked hypocrite, who pretended that he was unwilling _to tempt God_, and yet called for those whom the Lord had forbidden him to call to his aid. (Exodus 23:32.) That he might not indulge in undue exultation an... [ Continue Reading ]
18._And it shall be in that day. _The Jews thought that the Assyrians were bound by their league with them; but the Prophet ridicules this folly, and declares that they will be ready at God’s bidding to drive them in any direction that he thinks fit. Yet instead of command he employs the metaphor _h... [ Continue Reading ]
19._And they shall come. _He follows out the same metaphor; for bees commonly seek nests for themselves in caverns, or valleys and bushes, and such like places; as if he had said that there would not be a corner in which the enemy would not settle down and dwell. It is unnecessary to give ourselves... [ Continue Reading ]
20._The _Lord_will shave with a hired razor. _He now employs a different metaphor, and compares those enemies by whom the Lord had determined to afflict Judea at the appointed time, to _a razor_, by which the _beard _and _hair _are shaved, and other excrescences of the same kind are removed. ב (_bet... [ Continue Reading ]
21._And it shall come to pass on that day. _In these verses, down to the end of the chapter, the Prophet describes the state of a country torn and wasted; for he intends to present a striking and lively picture of such overwhelming distress that, wherever you turn your eyes, nothing is to be seen bu... [ Continue Reading ]
22._On account of the abundance of milk. _Some explain it thus: “there will scarcely be as much obtained from one cow as would be required for the food of a family;” for those who rear cattle do not feed on milk alone, but likewise make cheeses, and have butter to sell. When, therefore, he says, tha... [ Continue Reading ]
23._A thousand vines. _As to the opinion of those who think that Isaiah here comforts believers, I pass it by without refutation; for it is sufficiently refuted by the context, and the words plainly declare that Isaiah continues to threaten destruction, and to describe the desolation of the land. Ot... [ Continue Reading ]
24._With arrows and bow shall they come thither. _The verb יבא, (_yabo_,) _he shall come_, is in the singular number; but it ought to be explained by the plural, that the archers will march through Judea. Some think that Isaiah speaks of _bows and arrows_, because such would be the dread of enemies,... [ Continue Reading ]
25._And on all the hills that are dug with the hoe. _Here the Prophet appears to contradict himself; for, having hitherto spoken of the desolation of the land, he now describes what may be called a new condition, when he says that, where _thorns and briers _were, there oxen will feed. The consequenc... [ Continue Reading ]