the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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English Standard Version
Isaiah 22:22
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"I will put the key to David's house around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it. If he closes a door, no one will be able to open it.
I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them.
And the key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
I will put the key to the house of David around his neck. If he opens a door, no one will be able to close it; if he closes a door, no one will be able to open it.
I will place the key to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
The key of the house of David will I lay on his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
"Then I will set on his shoulder the key of the house of David; When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open.
And Y schal yyue the keie of the hous of Dauyd on his schuldre; and he schal opene, and noon schal be that schal schitte; and he schal schitte, and noon schal be that schal opene.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. What he opens, no one can shut; what he shuts, no one can open.
The Lord will put him in charge of the key that belongs to King David's family. No one will be able to unlock what he locks, and no one will be able to lock what he unlocks.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will give the key of the family of David into his care; and what he keeps open will be shut by no one, and what he keeps shut no one will make open.
I will place the key of David's house on his shoulder; no one will shut what he opens; no one will open what he shuts.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And the key of the house of Dauid will I lay vpon his shoulder: so he shall open and none shall shut, and he shall shut and none shall open.
Then I will put on his shoulder the rule of the family of David. What he opens, no one will shut. What he shuts, no one will open.
I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.
And the key of the house of Dauid will I lay vpon his shoulder: so hee shall open, and no ma shal shut: & he shal shut, & no man shal open.
And I will place upon his shoulder the keys of the house of David; so he shall open and none shall shut, and he shall shut and none shall open.
And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder, - And he shall open and none shall shut, And shut and none shall open;
And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And the key of the house of Dauid wyll I lay vpon his shoulder: so that he shall open and no man shut, he shall shut and no man open.
And I will give him the glory of David; and he shall rule, and there shall be none to speak against him: and I will give him the key of the house of David upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and there shall be none to shut; and he shall shut, and there shall be none to open.
I will give him complete authority under the king, the descendant of David. He will have the keys of office; what he opens, no one will shut, and what he shuts, no one will open.
I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one can close; what he closes, no one can open.
The key of the house of David will I lay on his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he shall open and no one will be able to shut; and he shall shut and no one will be able to open.
And the key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder, so that he opens, and no one shuts; and he shuts, and no one opens.
And I have placed the key Of the house of David on his shoulder, And he hath opened, and none is shutting, And hath shut, and none is opening.
I will also laye the keye of Dauids house vpon his shulders, and yf he open, no man shal shit, and yf he do shyt, no man shal open.
"Then I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder; When he opens, no one will shut, When he shuts, no one will open.
The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
"Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, When he opens no one will shut, When he shuts no one will open.
Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder,When he opens no one will shut,When he shuts no one will open.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
And the key: As the robe and the baldric, mentioned in the preceding verse, were the ensigns of power and authority; so likewise was the key the mark of office, either sacred or civil. To comprehend how the key could be borne on the shoulder, it will be sufficient to observe, that the ancient keys were of considerable magnitude, and much bent. Matthew 16:18, Matthew 16:19, Revelation 1:18
so he: Job 12:14, Matthew 18:18, Matthew 18:19, Revelation 3:7
Reciprocal: Numbers 20:26 - General Job 31:36 - I Isaiah 9:6 - the government
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder,.... In allusion either to magistrates carrying a key on their shoulder, hanging down from thence, having a hook at one end of it fit for that purpose; or having one embroidered on that part of their garment: or one carried before them by their servants. It regards either the keys of the temple; or rather the key of the king's house, which it was proper should be delivered to him as treasurer and steward of it; the Targum takes in both,
"and I will give the key of the house of the sanctuary, and the government of the house of David, into his hand.''
In the mystical sense, Christ is said to have this key, Revelation 3:7 where the following words are applied to him:
so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open; all which is expressive of the government of the church being on his shoulders, and of his absolute and uncontrollable power over it; who opens the treasures of his word, of his grace, and of wisdom and knowledge, and communicates them unto, and shuts or hides them from, whom he pleases; who opens and shuts the doors of his church, his house, and lets in, and keeps out, whom he thinks fit; and who also opens and shuts the door of the kingdom of heaven, and introduces into it his own people, and excludes others.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And the key - A key is that by which a house is locked or opened. To possess that is, therefore, to have free access to it, or control over it. Thus we give possession of a house by giving the “key” into the hands of a purchaser, implying that it is his; that he has free access to it; that he can close it when he pleases, and that no other one, without his permission, has the right of access to it.
Of the house of David - Of the house which David built for his royal residence; that is, of the palace. This house was on Mount Zion; and to have the key of that house was to have the chief authority at court, or to be prime minister (see the note at Isaiah 22:15). To be put in possession of that key, therefore, was the mark of office, or was a sign that he was entrusted with the chief authority in the government.
Will I lay upon his shoulder - (see Isaiah 9:6). This seems to have been designed as an emblem of office. But in what way it was done is unknown. Lowth supposes that the key was of considerable magnitude, and was made crooked, and that thus it would lie readily on the shoulder. He has observed also, that this was a well-known badge or emblem of office. Thus the priestess of Ceres is described as having a key on the shoulder (Callim. “Ceres,” ver. 45); and thus in AEschyl. “Supp.” 299, a female high in office is described as having a key. But it is not known in what way the key was borne. It may have been borne on the shoulder, being so made as to be easily carried there; or it may have been attached to the shoulder by a belt or strap, as a sword is; or it may have been a mere emblem or figure fashioned into the robe, and worn as a sign of office; or the figure of a key may have been worn on the shoulder as an epaulet is now, as a sign of office and authority. If the locks were made of wood, as we have reason to suppose, then the key was probably large, and would answer well for a sign of office. ‘How much was I delighted when I first saw the people, especially the Moors, going along the streets with each his key on his shoulder. The handle is generally made of brass (though sometimes of silver), and is often nicely worked in a device of filigrane. The way it is carried is to have the corner of a kerchief tied to the ring; the key is then placed on the shoulder, and the kerchief hangs down in front. At other times they have a bunch of large keys, and then they have half on one side of the shoulder, and half on the other. For a man thus to march along with a large key on his shoulder, shows at once that he is a person of consequence. “Raman is in great favor with the Modeliar, for he now carries the key.” “Whose key have you got on your shoulder?” “I shall carry my key on my own shoulder.”’ - (Roberts)
So he shall open ... - This phrase means, that he should have the highest authority in the government, and is a promise of unlimited power. Our Saviour has made use of the same expression to denote the unlimited power conferred on his apostles in his church Matthew 16:19; and has applied it also to himself in Revelation 3:7.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 22:22. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder — As the robe and the baldric, mentioned in the preceding verse, were the ensigns of power and authority, so likewise was the key the mark of office, either sacred or civil. The priestess of Juno is said to be the key-bearer of the goddess, κλειδουχος Ἡρας· AEschyl. Suppl. 299. A female high in office under a great queen has the same title:-
Καλλιθοη κλειδουχος Ολυμπιαδος βασιλειης.
"Callithoe was the key-bearer of the Olympian queen."
Auctor Phoronidis ap. Clem. Alex. p. 418, edit. Potter. This mark of office was likewise among the Greeks, as here in Isaiah, borne on the shoulder; the priestess of Ceres, κατωμαδιαν εχε κλαιδα, had the key on her shoulder. Callim. Ceres, ver. 45. To comprehend how the key could be borne on the shoulder, it will be necessary to say something of the form of it: but without entering into a long disquisition, and a great deal of obscure learning, concerning the locks and keys of the ancients, it will be sufficient to observe, that one sort of keys, and that probably the most ancient, was of considerable magnitude, and as to the shape, very much bent and crooked. Aratus, to give his reader an idea of the form of the constellation Cassiopeia, compares it to a key. It must be owned that the passage is very obscure; but the learned Huetius has bestowed a great deal of pains in explaining it, Animadvers. in Manilii, lib. i. 355; and I think has succeeded very well in it. Homer Odyss. xxi. 6, describes the key of Ulysses' storehouse as ευκαμπης, of a large curvature; which Eustathius explains by saying it was δρεπανοειδης, in shape like a reaphook. Huetius says the constellation Cassiopeia answers to this description; the stars to the north making the curve part, that is, the principal part of the key; the southern stars, the handle. The curve part was introduced into the key-hole; and, being properly directed by the handle, took hold of the bolts within, and moved them from their places. We may easily collect from this account, that such a key would lie very well upon the shoulder; that it must be of some considerable size and weight, and could hardly be commodiously carried otherwise. Ulysses' key was of brass, and the handle of ivory: but this was a royal key. The more common ones were probably of wood. In Egypt they have no other than wooden locks and keys to this day; even the gates of Cairo have no better. Baumgarten, Peregr. i. 18. Thevenot, part ii., chap. 10. But was it not the representation of a key, either cut out in cloth and sewed on the shoulder of the garment, or embroidered on that part of the garment itself? The idea of a huge key of a gate, in any kind of metal, laid across the shoulder, is to me very ridiculous.
In allusion to the image of the key as the ensign of power, the unlimited extent of that power is expressed with great clearness as well as force by the sole and exclusive authority to open and shut. Our Saviour, therefore, has upon a similar occasion made use of a like manner of expression, Matthew 16:19; and in Revelation 3:7 has applied to himself the very words of the prophet.
