Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 13:13 — strong, but common figure of speech in the Scriptures, to denote great commotions, judgments, and revolutions. The figure is taken from the image of a furious storm and tempest, when the sky, the clouds, the heavens, appear to be in commotion; compare 1 Samuel 22:8 : Then the earth shook and trembled, The foundation of heaven moved and shook, Because he was wroth.See also Isaiah 24:19-20; Haggai 2:6-7.And the earth shall remove out of her place - A common figure in the Scriptures to denote the great

Isaiah 21:8 — And he cried, A lion - Margin, ‘As a lion.’ This is the correct rendering. The particle כ (k) - ‘as,’ is not unfrequently omitted (see Isaiah 62:5; Psalms 11:1). That is, ‘I see them approach with the fierceness, rapidity, and terror of a lion (compare Revelation 10:3).My lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower - This is the speech of the watchman, and is addressed, not to Yahweh, but to him that

Isaiah 23:12 — And he said - God said Isaiah 23:9.Thou shalt no more rejoice - The sense is, that Tyre was soon to be destroyed. It does not mean that it should never afterward exult or rejoice, for the prophet says Isaiah 23:17, that after its destruction it would be restored, and again be filled with exultation and joy.O thou oppressed Virgin - Lowth renders this, ‘O thou deflowered virgin,’ expressing the sense of the word המעשׁקה hame‛ushâqâh.O daughter of Zidon - Isaiah

Isaiah 23:3 — abundant-waters, or the overflowing of the Nile. Tyre was the mart to which the superabundant productions of Egypt were borne (see Ezekiel 27:0)The seed of Sihor - There can be no doubt that by ‘Sihor’ here is meant the river Nile in Egypt (see Joshua 13:3; 1 Chronicles 13:5; Jeremiah 2:18). The word שׁחר shichor is derived from שׁחר shachar, “to be black” Job 30:30, and is given to the Nile from its color when it brings down the slime or mud by which Egypt is rendered so fertile. The Greeks gave to

Isaiah 23:4 — Be thou ashamed, O Zidon - Tyre was a colony of Sidon. Sidon is here addressed as the mother of Tyre, and is called on to lament over her daughter that was destroyed. In Isaiah 23:12, Tyre is called the ‘daughter of Sidon;’ and such appellations were commonly given to cities (see the note at Isaiah 1:8). Sidon is here represented as ashamed, or grieved - as a mother is who is bereft of all her children.The sea hath spoken - New

Isaiah 29:2 — the city was delivered in a sudden and remarkable manner (see the note at Isaiah 29:7-8), yet it was also true that it was reduced to great distress (see Isaiah 36:0; Isaiah 37:0)And it shall be unto me as Ariel - This phrase shows that in Isaiah 29:1 Jerusalem is called ‘Ariel,’ because it contained the great altar, and was the place of sacrifice. The word “Ariel” here is to be understood in the sense “of the hearth of the great altar;” and the meaning is, ‘I will indeed make Jerusalem like the

Isaiah 30:16 — it, whether against or from an enemy. The sense is, ‘we will by this alliance secure the assistance of cavalry;’ and, doubtless, the design was to employ it in the attack and discomfiture of their foes. It will be recollected that Moses Deuteronomy 17:16 strictly forbade that the future monarch of the Jews should ‘multiply horses to himself, to cause the people to return to Egypt,’ and that consequently the employment of cavalry was against the laws of the nation. For the reasons of this prohibition,

Isaiah 30:19 — For the people shall dwell in Zion - (see the note at Isaiah 1:8). The language here is evidently adapted to a return from the captivity. The whole design of the passage Isaiah 30:19-26 is to describe a future state of prosperity by images mainly drawn from the idea of temporal enjoyment. The sense is, that in

Isaiah 35:3 — looked abroad upon the desolations of their country, were to be comforted by the hope of future blessings; those who lived in those future times were to be consoled by the assurances of the favor of God through the Messiah (compare the notes at Isaiah 40:1).

Isaiah 42:8 — to the people, and assures them that he is the only true God, and that he will not suffer the praise that is due to him to be given to any other, or to any graven image. The name Yahweh signifies being, or essential existence (see the note at Isaiah 1:9). It is a name which is given to none but the true God, and which is everywhere in the Scriptures used to distinguish him from all others.That is my name - That is the name which I have chosen by which to distinguish myself from all idols, and which

Isaiah 43:10 — independent.Neither shall there be after me - He would never cease to live; he would never vacate his throne for another. This expression is equivalent to that which occurs in the Book of Revelation, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last’ Revelation 1:11; and it is remarkable that this language, which obviously implies eternity, and which in Isaiah is used expressly to prove the divinity of Yahweh, is, in the passage referred to in the Book of Revelation, applied no less unequivocally to the Lord

Isaiah 43:4 — worth.Therefore will I give men for thee - As in the case of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba Isaiah 43:3. He would cause other nations to be destroyed, if it were necessary, in order to effect their deliverance, and to restore them to their own land. We learn here: 1. That nations and armies are in the hand of God, and at his disposal. 2. That his people are dear to his heart, and that it is his purpose to defend them. 3. That the revolutions among nations, the rise of one empire, and the fall of another, are often

Isaiah 60:21 — all righteous - (See the notes at Isaiah 4:2).They shall inherit the land for ever - (See the notes at Isaiah 49:8; Isaiah 54:3; compare Isaiah 65:9; Matthew 5:5).The branch of my planting - On the meaning of the word branch, see the notes at Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 14:19. Here it means a scion or shoot which Yahweh had planted, and which had sprung up under his culture. Grotius supposes it means posterity. The idea seems to be, that they would inherit the land and all which would grow up under the culture

Isaiah 63:7 — I will mention - This is evidently the language of the people celebrating the praises of God in view of all his mercies in former days. See the analysis to the chapter. The design of what follows, to the close of Isaiah 64:1-12, is to implore the mercy of God in view of their depressed and ruined condition. They are represented as suffering under the infliction of long and continued ills; as cast out and driven to a distant land; as deprived of their former privileges,

Isaiah 66:16 — For by fire and by his sword - The sword is an instrument by which punishment is executed (see the notes at Isaiah 34:5; compare Romans 13:4).Will he plead with all flesh - Or rather, he will judge (נשׁפט nı̂shephaṭ), that is, he will execute his purposes of vengeance on all the human race. Of course, only that part is intended who ought to be subject to punishment; that is, all his

Jeremiah 15:15-18 — will. God’s long-suffering toward the wicked seemed to the prophet to be the abandonment of himself to death; justice itself required that one who was suffering contumely for God’s sake should be delivered.Rebuke - i. e., reproach, contumely.Jeremiah 15:16Thy words were found - Jeremiah’s summons to the prophetic office had not been expected or sought for by him.I did eat them - i. e., I received them with joy. This eating of the divine words expresses also the close union between that which came

Ezekiel 25:9 — the enemy from the cities, from his cities, from his frontier (or, in every quarter). There is an ironical stress on “his” cities, because these cities belonged not to Moab but to Israel, having been assigned to the Reubenites Numbers 32:38; Joshua 13:20. They lay to the north of the river Arnon, which was the proper boundary of Moab Numbers 21:13. The Moabites had in the last days of the kingdom of Israel recovered this territory Isaiah 16:1-14. They still occupied this land in the time of Ezekiel

Daniel 1:9 — Now God had brought Daniel into favor - Compare Genesis 39:21; Proverbs 16:7. By what means this had been done is not mentioned. It may be presumed, however, that it was by the attractiveness of his person and manners, and by the evidence of promising talent which he had evinced. Whatever were the means, however,

Daniel 3:14 — make an apology for their conduct. The Chaldee word (צדא tsedâ') occurs nowhere else. It is rendered by Gesenius, “purpose, design.” That is, “Is it on purpose?” The corresponding Hebrew word (צדה tsâdâh) means, “to lie in wait, to waylay,” Exodus 21:13; 1 Samuel 24:11, (12). Compare Numbers 35:20, Numbers 35:22. The true meaning seems to be, “Is it your “determined purpose” not to worship my gods? Have you deliberately made up your minds to this, and do you mean to abide by this resolution?” That

Hosea 2:17 — that it shall be the fruit of His converting grace, the gift of Him from whom “is both to will and to do. I will take away, as God saith elsewhere, “I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall be no more remembered Zechariah 13:1-9; and, “the idols He shall utterly abolish” Isaiah 2:18. In like way God foretells of Judah that the fruit of her captivity should be, that her idols should cease, that He would cleanse them from their idols, and renew them by His grace. “In all