the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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King James Version
Isaiah 49:2
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He has set My mouth like a sharp sword;In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;And He has also set Me as a select arrow;He has hidden Me in His quiver.
He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.
He hath made my mouth lyke a sharpe sworde, vnder the shadowe of his hande hath he defended me, and hid me in his quiuer as a good arrowe,
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hath concealed me under the shadow of his hand, and he hath made me a polished shaft: in his quiver hath he hidden me.
And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me."
And He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand, and made Me a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver;
He used me to speak for him. He used me like a sharp sword, but he also held me in his hand to protect me. He used me like a sharp arrow, but he also kept me safe in his arrow bag.
and he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid me: and he has made me a polished shaft; in his quiver has he kept me close:
And he hath made my mouth like a sharpe sword, in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made mee a polished shaft; in his quiuer hath hee hid me,
he hath made my mouth like a sharpe swerde, vnder ye shadowe of his honde hath he defended me, and hyd me in his quyuer, as a good arowe,
He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has kept Me hidden; And He has made Me a sharpened arrow, In His quiver He has hidden Me.
and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me: and he hath made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he kept me close:
And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shade of his hand he has kept me; and he has made me like a polished arrow, keeping me in his secret place;
and he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he has hid me: and he has made me a polished shaft; in his quiver he has kept me close:
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shade of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
He made my tongue like a sharp sword. He hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me like a sharp arrow. He hid me in the holder for his arrows.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hid me in the hollow of his hand; he made me like a sharpened arrow, he hid me in his quiver.
He made my words pierce like a sharp sword or a pointed arrow; he kept me safely hidden in the palm of his hand.
He has made my mouth like a sharp sword while hiding me in the shadow of his hand; he has made me like a sharpened arrow while concealing me in his quiver.
And hee hath made my mouth like a sharpe sworde: vnder the shadowe of his hande hath he hid mee, and made me a chosen shafte, and hid me in his quiuer,
He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid me and made me a chosen arrow; in his quiver has he hid me,
and he has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid me: and he has made me a polished shaft; in his quiver has he kept me close:
And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me; and He hath made me a polished shaft, in His quiver hath He concealed me;
He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.
He has made My mouth like a sharp sword. He has hidden Me in the shadow of His hand. He has made Me a shining arrow, keeping Me in His secret place.
and he has made my mouth as a sharp sword, and he has hid me under the shadow of his hand; he has made me as a choice shaft, and he has hid me in his quiver;
and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me; and he hath made me a polished shaft, in his quiver hath he kept me close:
He made my mouth like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a polished arrow; He hid me in His quiver.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away.
And he made my mouth, like a sharp sword, In the shadow of his hand, he concealed me, - And made of me a polished arrow, In his quiver, he hid me;
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of his hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow: in his quiver he hath hidden me.
And he made my mouth like a sharp sword; he hid me in the shadow of his hand, and he made me like an sharpened arrow; he hid me in his quiver.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away.
He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a sharpened arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.
He made my words as sharp as a sword. With his own hand he protected me. He made me like an arrow, sharp and ready for use.
He made my words like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow; He hid me in His quiver.
And he hath set my mouth as a scharp swerd, he defendide me in the schadewe of his hond, and settide me as a chosun arowe; he hidde me in his arowe caas,
He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away.
And he maketh my mouth as a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He hath hid me, And He maketh me for a clear arrow, In His quiver He hath hid me.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
he hath made: Isaiah 11:4, Psalms 45:2-5, Hosea 6:5, Hebrews 4:12, Revelation 1:16, Revelation 2:12, Revelation 19:15
in the: Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 51:16, Psalms 91:1, Luke 23:46
made me: The polished shaft, says Bp. Lowth, denotes the same efficacious word which is before represented by the sharp sword. The doctrine of the gospel pierced the hearts of its hearers, "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Isaiah 50:4, Isaiah 61:1-3, Psalms 45:5, Jeremiah 1:18, Jeremiah 15:19, Jeremiah 15:20
Reciprocal: Exodus 4:12 - General Psalms 22:9 - that took Psalms 45:3 - Gird Isaiah 46:3 - borne Jeremiah 1:9 - and touched Zechariah 9:13 - made Zechariah 10:4 - of him came forth Luke 2:46 - both Ephesians 6:17 - the sword Revelation 2:16 - will fight
Cross-References
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord .
My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword,.... Or,
"he hath put his words in my mouth as a sharp sword,''
as the Targum; namely, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and is sharper than a twoedged sword, and is said to come out of the mouth of Christ, Ephesians 6:17, with which he pierces into and cuts the hearts of men, and lays open all their sin and unrighteousness, and cuts down the worst and best in men, and slays all his enemies; so his mouth was as a sharp sword in the days of his flesh, to inveigh against the sins and to refute the errors of the Scribes and Pharisees; as it will be, in the latter day, to smite the nations of the earth, Revelation 19:15: "in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me"; in his counsels and purposes of old, and in his providence;
"in the shadow of his power hath he protected me,''
as the Targum; thus he hid, and protected him from Herod's cruelty in his infancy; and from the rage and malice of the Scribes and Pharisees, who sought often to lay hands on him, and take away his life before his time. The Jews talk very much of the Messiah's being hid under the throne of glory. Aben Ezra's remark, that the phrase, "he hath hid me", answers to the scabbard of a sword, before mentioned, is not amiss:
and made me a polished shaft; or, "choice arrow" s; which being polished at the point, or well oiled, and shining, pierces the deeper, So the doctrines of Christ, the words of his mouth, are compared to bright and sharp arrows, which make cutting work, and give great pain where they come; as they sometimes do like arrows, swiftly, suddenly, and with great force and power, Psalms 45:5. Kimchi observes, that he speaks of a sharp sword with respect to the Jews that were near, where a sword could reach them; and of a polished shaft or arrow with respect to the Gentiles afar off, which must be cast after them:
in his quiver hath he hid me, meaning his secret purposes, and his powerful protection, as before; which he compares to a quiver, a case in which arrows are put, because mention had been made of a polished shaft or arrow before.
s חץ ברור βελος εκλεκτον Sept. "sagittam electam", V. L. "telum electum", Cocceius; "sagittam nitidam vel electam", Vitringa.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And he hath made my mouth - The idea here is, that he had qualified him for a convincing and powerful eloquence - for the utterance of words which would penetrate the heart like a sharp sword. The mouth here, by an obvious figure, stands for discourse. The comparison of words that are pungent, penetrating, powerful, to a sword, is common. Indeed the very terms that I have incidentally used, ‘pungent,’ ‘penetrating,’ are instances of the same kind of figure, and are drawn from a needle, or anything sharp and pointed, that penetrates. Instances of this occur in the following places in the Scriptures: ‘The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies’ Ecclesiastes 12:11. ‘The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow’ Hebrews 4:12. In Revelation 1:16, probably in reference to this passage, the Redeemer is represented as seen by John as having a ‘sharp two-edged sword’ proceeding out of his mouth. So in Isaiah 19:15 : ‘And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword.’ The bold and striking metaphor of the sword and arrow applied to powerful discourse, has been used also by pagan writers with great elegance and force. In the passages quoted by Lowth, it is said of Pericles by Aristophanes:
‘His powerful speech
Pierced the hearer’s soul, and left behind
Deep in his bosom its keen point infixt.’
So Pindar, Olym. ii. 160:
‘Come on! thy brighest shafts prepare,
And bend, O Muse, thy sounding bow:
Say, through what paths of liquid air
Our arrows shall we throw?’
West
A similar expression occurs in a fragment of Eupolis, in Diod. Sic. xii. 40, when speaking of Pericles:
- καὶ μόνος τῶν ῥητόρων
τὸ κέντρον ἐγκατέλειπε τοἴς ἀκροωμένοις.
- kai monos tōn rētorōn
to kentron egkateleipe tois akroōmenois.
A similar metaphor occurs frequently in Arabic poetry. ‘As arrows his words enter into the heart?
In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me - This passage has been very variously interpreted. Many have understood it as meaning that the shadow of the hand of God would cover or defend him - as a shade or shadow protects from heat. The word ‘shadow’ is used for protection in Isaiah 25:4; Psalms 17:8; Psalms 36:8. This is the interpretation which Gesenius adopts. Piscator says that it means that God protected him from the snares of the Scribes and Pharisees. Others suppose that it means that he was hidden or protected, as the sword is in the sheath, which is under the left hand, so that it can be easily drawn by the right hand. But Vitringa remarks that the figure here is that of a drawn sword, and he supposes that the meaning is, that the shadow of the hand of God is what covers and defends it, and serves, as it were, for a scabbard. Hengstenberg coincides with this opinion, and supposes that the image is taken from a dirk which a man carries in his hand, and which he suddenly draws forth in the moment of attack. In the parallel member of the sentence, the Redeemer is represented as an arrow that is laid up in a quiver, ready to be drawn forth at any moment. Here, the image is that of a sword under the divine protection, and the idea is, that the shadow of the hand of God constitutes the protection, the covering of the sword. He is the defender of the Messiah, and of his words; and his hand shall guard him as the scabbard does the sword, or as the quiver does the arrow. The Messiah, like the sword, and the polished arrow, was suited for the execution of the plans of God, and was ready at any moment to be engaged in his cause. His words, his doctrines, would be like the sharp sword and polished arrow. They would penetrate the heart of his foes, and by his doctrines, and the truths which he would teach, he would carry his conquests around the world.
And made me a polished shaft - The word rendered ‘polished’ (ברוּר bârûr), may mean either chosen, or polished. It properly means that which is separated, or severed from others; then select, chosen. Then it may mean anything which is cleansed, or purified, and here may denote an arrow that is cleansed from rust; that is, polished, or made bright. The word ‘shaft’ (חץ chēts), means properly an arrow; and the sense here is, that the Messiah pierced the hearts of people like a pointed and polished arrow that is sped from the bow. “In his quiver.” The word ‘quiver’ means the covering that was made for arrows, and which was so slung over the shoulder that they could be readily reached by the hand as they should be needed.
Hath he hid me - ‘Before his appearing,’ says Hengstenberg, ‘the Messiah was concealed with God like a sword kept in its sheath, or like an arrow lying in the quiver.’ But perhaps this is too much refined and forced. The meaning is, probably, simply that he had protected him. ‘God, by his own power,’ says Calvin, ‘protected Christ and his doctrine, so that nothing could hinder its course.’ Yet there is, undoubtedly, the idea that he was adapted to produce rapid and mighty execution; that he was fitted, like an arrow, to overcome the foes of God; and that he was kept in the ‘quiver’ for that purpose.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Isaiah 49:2. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword - "And he hath made my mouth a sharp sword"] The servant of God, who speaks in the former part of this chapter, must be the Messiah. If any part of this character can in any sense belong to the prophet, yet in some parts it must belong exclusively to Christ; and in all parts to him in a much fuller and more proper sense. Isaiah's mission was to the Jews, not to the distant nations, to whom the speaker in this place addresses himself. "He hath made my mouth a sharp sword;" "to reprove the wicked, and to denounce unto them punishment," says Jarchi, understanding it of Isaiah. But how much better does it suit him who is represented as having "a sharp two-edged sword going out of his mouth," Revelation 1:16; who is himself the Word of God; which word is "quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart;" Hebrews 4:12. This mighty Agent and Instrument of God, "long laid up in store with him, and sealed up among his treasures," is at last revealed and produced by his power, and under his protection, to execute his great and holy purposes. He is compared to a polished shaft stored in his quiver for use in his due time. The polished shaft denotes the same efficacious word which is before represented by the sharp sword. The doctrine of the Gospel pierced the hearts of its hearers, "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." The metaphor of the sword and the arrow, applied to powerful speech, is bold, yet just. It has been employed by the most ingenious heathen writers, if with equal elegance, not with equal force. It is said of Pericles by Aristophanes, (see Cicero, Epist. ad Atticum, xii. 6:) -
Οὑτως εκηλει, και μονος των ῥητορων
Το κεντρον εγκατελειπε τοις ακροωμενοις.
Apud. Diod. lib. xii.
His powerful speech
Pierced the hearer's soul, and left behind
Deep in his bosom its keen point infixed.
Pindar is particularly fond of this metaphor, and frequently applies it to his own poetry: -
Επεχε νυν σκοπῳ τοξον,
Αγε, θυμε. τινα βαλλομεν
Εκ μαλθακας αυτε φρε -
νος ευκλεας οΐστους
Ἱεντες - ;
Olymp. ii. 160.
"Come on! thy brightest shafts prepare,
And bend, O Muse, thy sounding bow;
Say, through what paths of liquid air
Our arrows shall we throw?"
WEST.
See also ver. 149 of the same ode, and Olymp. ix. 17, on the former of which places the Scholiast says, τροπικος ὁ λογος· βελη δε τους λογους εορηκε, δια το οξυ και καιριον των εγκωμιων. "He calls his verses shafts, by a metaphor, signifying the acuteness and the apposite application of his panegyric."
This person, who is (Isaiah 49:3) called Israel, cannot in any sense be Isaiah. That name, in its original design and full import, can only belong to him who contended powerfully with God in behalf of mankind, and prevailed, Genesis 32:28. After all that Vitringa, Bp. Lowth, and others have said in proof of this chapter speaking of the Messiah, and of him alone, I have my doubts whether sometimes Isaiah, sometimes Cyrus, and sometimes the Messiah, be not intended; the former shadowing out the latter, of whom, in certain respects, they may be considered the types. The literal sense should be sought out first; this is of the utmost importance both in reading and interpreting the oracles of God.
