Jesaja 10:18

Schlachter Bibel

und die Herrlichkeit seines Waldes und Feldes mit Stumpf und Stiel vertilgen, daß es sein wird wie ein Aussterben;

Parallel Translations

Lutherbible (1912)
Und die Herrlichkeit seines Waldes und seines Baumgartens soll zunichte werden, von den Seelen bis aufs Fleisch, und wird zergehen und verschwinden,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

consume: Isaiah 10:33, Isaiah 10:34, Isaiah 9:18, 2 Kings 19:23, 2 Kings 19:28, Jeremiah 21:14, Ezekiel 20:47, Ezekiel 20:48

both soul and body: Heb. from the soul and even to the flesh

Reciprocal: Nehemiah 6:11 - Should such Psalms 29:9 - discovereth Song of Solomon 5:10 - the chiefest Isaiah 21:17 - the mighty Isaiah 37:24 - General Jeremiah 46:23 - cut Revelation 8:7 - the third

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And shall consume the glory of his forest,.... The Assyrian army is compared to a "forest", for the number of men in it; and for the mighty men in it, comparable to large and tall trees, such as oaks and cedars; and like a wood or forest a numerous army looks, when in rank and file, in proper order, and with banners, and having on their armour, their shields, spears, bows and arrows; and the "glory" of it intends either the princes and nobles that were in it, the principal officers, generals, and captains; or the riches of it, the plunder of the Egyptians and Ethiopians, as Kimchi observes, which were all destroyed at once:

both soul and body, or "from the soul even to the flesh" o; which denotes the total consumption of them, nothing of them remaining; the Targum is,

"the glory of the multitude of his army, and their souls with their bodies, it shall consume;''

and so some understand this of the eternal destruction of soul and body in hell: the Rabbins are divided about the manner of the consumption of the Assyrian army; some say their bodies and souls were both burnt, which these words seem to favour; and others, that their souls were burnt, and not their bodies, their lives were taken away, and their bodies unhurt; which they think is favoured by Isaiah 10:16 where it is said, "under his glory", and not "his glory" p:

and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth; who when he fails, the whole company or army is thrown into confusion, and flees; and so the Targum,

"and he shall be broken, and flee.''

Some render it, "as the dust of the worm that eats wood" q; so Jarchi; signifying that they should be utterly destroyed, and become as small as the dust that falls from a worm eaten tree; which simile is used, a forest being made mention of before.

o מנפש ועד בשר "ab anima usque ad carnem", V. L. Montanus, Piscator. p T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 113. 2. & Sanhedrin, fol 94. 1, 2. See Kimchi in loc. q כמסוס נסס "at pulvis teredinis", Tigurine version.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The glory of his forest - In these expressions, the army of Sennacherib is compared with a beautiful grove thick set with trees; and as all the beauty of a grove which the fire overruns is destroyed, so, says the prophet, it will be with the army of the Assyrian under the judgments of God. If the ‘briers and thorns’ Isaiah 10:17 refer to the common soldiers of his army, then the glory of the forest - the tall, majestic trees - refer to the princes and nobles. But this mode of interpretation should not be pressed too far.

And of his fruitful field - וכרמלו v^ekar^emilô. The word used here - “carmel” - is applied commonly to a rich mountain or promontory on the Mediterranean, on the southern boundary of the tribe of Asher. The word, however, properly means a fruitful field, a finely cultivated country, and Was given to Mount Carmel on this account, In this place it has no reference to that mountain, but is given to the army of Sennacherib to “keep up the figure” which the prophet commenced in Isaiah 10:17. That army, numerous, mighty, and well disciplined, was compared to an extensive region of hill and vale; of forests and fruitful fields; but it should all be destroyed as when the fire runs over fields and forests, and consumes all their beauty. Perhaps in all this, there may be allusion to the proud boast of Sennacherib 2 Kings 19:23, that he would ‘go up the sides of Lebanon, and cut down the cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof’, and enter into the forest of Carmel.’ In allusion, possibly, to this, the prophet says that God would cut down the tall trees and desolate the fruitful field - the ‘carmel’ of his army, and would lay all waste.

Both soul and body - Hebrew, ‘From the soul to the flesh;’ that is, entirely. As the soul and the flesh, or body, compose the entire man, so the phrase denotes the entireness or totality of anything. The army would be totally ruined.

And they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth - There is here a great variety of interpretation. The Septuagint reads it: ‘And he shall flee as one that flees from a burning flame.’ This reading Lowth has followed; but for this there is not the slightest authority in the Hebrew. The Vulgate reads it, ‘And he shall fly for terror, “et crit terrore profugus.” The Chaldee, ‘And he shall be broken, and shall fly.’ The Syriac, ‘And he shall be as if he had never been.’ Probably the correct idea is, “and they shall be as when a sick man wastes away.” The words which are used (נסס כמסס kı̂m^esos nosēs) are brought together for the sake of a paranomasia - a figure of speech common in the Hebrew. The word rendered in our version “fainteth” (מסס m^esos) is probably the infinitive construct of the verb מסס mâsas, “to melt, dissolve, faint.” It is applied to the manna that was dissolved by the heat of the sun, Exodus 16:21; to wax melted by the fire, Psalms 68:2; to a snail that consumes away, Psalms 58:8; or to water that evaporates, Psalms 58:7.

Hence, it is applied to the heart, exhausted of its vigor and spirit, Job 7:5; to things decayed that have lost their strength, 1 Samuel 15:9; to a loan or tax laid upon a people that wastes and exhausts their wealth. It has the general notion, therefore, of melting, fainting, sinking away with the loss of strength; Psalms 22:14; Psalms 112:10; Psalms 97:5; Isaiah 19:1; Isaiah 13:7; Joshua 2:11; Joshua 5:1; Joshua 7:5. The word rendered “standard-bearer” (נסס nosēs) is from the verb נסס nāsas. This word signifies sometimes “to lift up,” to elevate, or to erect a flag or standard to public view, to call men to arms; Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 11:10, Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 13:2; Isaiah 18:3; Isaiah 49:22; and also to lift up, or to exhibit anything as a judgment or public warning, and may thus be applied to divine judgments. Gesenius renders the verb, “to waste away, to be sick.” In Syriac it has this signification. Taylor (“Heb. Con.”) says, that it does not appear that this word ever has the signification of a military standard under which armies fight, but refers to a standard or ensign to “call” men together, or to indicate alarm and danger. The probable signification here, is that which refers it to a man wasting away with sickness, whose strength and vigor are gone, and who becomes weak and helpless. Thus applied to the Assyrian army, it is very striking. Though mighty, confident, and vigorous-like a man in full health - yet it would be like a vigorous man when disease comes upon him, and he pines away and sinks to the grave.