LIX. (1) BEHOLD, THE LORD’S HAND... — The declaration is an implied answer to the complaint, like that of Isaiah 58:3, that the glorious promises had not as yet been fulfilled. The murmurera are told that the hindrance is on their side.... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE SEPARATED — _i.e.,_ have become, as it were, a “middle wall of partition” excluding them from the Divine presence. HIS FACE. — Better, _the face._ The Hebrew has neither article nor possessive pronoun, the substantive being treated almost as a proper name.... [ Continue Reading ]
YOUR HANDS ARE DEFILED WITH BLOOD. — The accusation of the “grand indictment” of Isaiah 1:15 is reproduced _verbatim. _... [ Continue Reading ]
NONE CALLETH FOR JUSTICE. — Better, _none preferreth his suit with truthfulness._ The words point chiefly to the guilt of unrighteous prosecutions, but may include that of false witness also. THEY TRUST IN VANITY. — Literally, _in chaos_ — the characteristic _tohu_ of both parts of Isaiah (Isaiah 2... [ Continue Reading ]
THEY HATCH COCKATRICE’ EGGS. — Better, _basilisk’s,_ as in Isaiah 14:29. The schemes of the evil-doers are displayed in their power for evil and their impotence for good. To “eat of the eggs,” which are assumed to be poisonous, is to fall in with their schemes, and so be ruined: to “crush” them is t... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR WEBS SHALL NOT BECOME GARMENTS. — See the same figure in Isaiah 30:1. The point of the comparison lies chiefly in the uselessness of the spider’s webs, but the second clause emphasises also the fact that the only purpose which the webs serve is one of mischief. They may catch flies, they canno... [ Continue Reading ]
THEIR FEET RUN TO EVIL. — Note the parallelisms, entirely after the manner of Isaiah, with Proverbs 1:16; Proverbs 16:17. So the four words “paths,” “goings,” “ways,” and “paths” (another word in the Hebrew) are all from the same book.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE IS JUDGMENT. — The pleading of the prophet is followed by the confession which he makes on their behalf. They admit that the delay in the manifestation of God’s judgment against their enemies, and of His righteousness (i.e., bounty) towards themselves, has been caused by their own sins. W... [ Continue Reading ]
WE GROPE FOR THE WALL... — The words present a striking parallelism with Deuteronomy 28:29, and may have been reproduced from, or in, it. WE ARE IN DESOLATE PLACES... — Many critics render, (1) _among those full of life,_ or (2) _in luxuriant fields,_ of which (1) is preferable, as giving an antith... [ Continue Reading ]
WE ROAR ALL LIKE BEARS... — The comparison is not found elsewhere in Scripture, but Horace (_Epp._ xvi. 51) gives “_circumgemit ursus ovile.”_ For the dove, comp. Isaiah 38:14; Ezekiel 7:16.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS... — The parallelism with the confessions of Daniel (Isaiah 9:5) and Ezra (Isaiah 9:6) is singularly striking, but is as explicable on the hypothesis that they reproduced that of 2 Isaiah as on the assumption that this also was written at the close of the exile. It would, of c... [ Continue Reading ]
IN TRANSGRESSING... — The clauses point respectively (1) to false and hypocritical worship; (2) to open apostacy; (3) to sins against man, and these subdivided into (_a_) sins against truth, and (_b_) sins against justice.... [ Continue Reading ]
TRUTH IS FALLEN IN THE STREET — i.e., the broad open place, or _agora,_ of the city. The words point naturally to Jerusalem. If they refer to Babylon, we must assume, unless we deal with the language as altogether figurative, that the exiles had a quarter of their own, in which they had an _agora fo... [ Continue Reading ]
TRUTH FAILETH — _i.e.,_ is banished, and becomes as a missing and lost thing. The man who departs from evil is but the victim of the evil-doers. Other renderings are (1) _is outlawed,_ and (2) _is counted mad,_ but the Authorised Version is quite tenable. The words remind us of the terrible picture... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SAW THAT THERE WAS NO MAN... — If the words mean no “righteous man,” we have a parallel in Jeremiah 5:1, and the “intercessor” points to action like that of Aaron (Numbers 16:48) or Phinehas (Numbers 25:7). On the interpretation here adopted, “no man” is equivalent to “no champion.”... [ Continue Reading ]
HE PUT ON RIGHTEOUSNESS... — The close parallelism with Isaiah 11 points, as far as it goes, to identity of authorship; and that with Ephesians 6:14 suggests a new significance for St. Paul’s “whole armour of God.” THE GARMENTS OF VENGEANCE... — As parts of a warrior’s dress the “garments” are the... [ Continue Reading ]
TO HIS ADVERSARIES... — The judgment is generally against all, in Israel or outside it, who come under this description. The word “islands” is used, as elsewhere, for far-off lands. The words point to every such judgment, from that of Cyrus to the great final day.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THE ENEMY SHALL COME IN... — The noun admits of the senses “adversary,” “adversity,” “hemmed in,” “rushing,”and the verse has accordingly been very differently rendered. (1) _He_ (_Jehovah_)_ shall come like a rushing stream which the breath of Jehovah_ (_i.e.,_ a strong and mighty wind) _drive... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE REDEEMER SHALL COME... — The picture of the Theophany is continued — Jehovah comes as a Redeemer (Goel, as in Isaiah 41:14; Isaiah 43:1; Job 19:25) to the true Zion, to those who have turned from their transgression. The verse is noticeable as being quoted, with variations, by St. Paul in Ro... [ Continue Reading ]
AS FOR ME, THIS IS MY COVENANT... — The words are, as to their form, an echo of Genesis 17:4; as to their meaning, the germ of Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:10; Hebrews 10:16. The new covenant is to involve the gift of the Spirit, that writes the law of God inwardly in the heart, as distinct from the La... [ Continue Reading ]