ISAIAH 8 COMMENTARY

EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

1 The LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write

on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-

Baz.”[a]

1.BARNES, “Take thee a great roll - The word which is here translated ‘roll’ more properly signifies tablet. So the Chaldee renders it. Those tablets were made of wood, metal, or stone, for the purpose of writing on; see Isa_30:8; Hab_2:2. On these tablets, or smooth plates, writing was performed by cutting the letters with an iron stylus, or small chisel. The process was slow, but the writing was permanent. They sometimes used the skins of animals, or the bark of trees, and subsequently the papyrus of Egypt (compare the note at Isa_19:7); and it is possible that Isaiah may have used such a roll or volume on this occasion; compare Isa_8:16.

With a man’s pen - The word “pen” here (חרט cheretʖ) denotes the iron stylus, which was used to engrave or cut the letters in the metal or wood. The phrase ‘a man’s pen,’ has been variously interpreted. The Chaldee renders it, ‘Write in it an open, or clear writing, or an expanded writing;’ meaning that he should make it clear and distinct, so as to be easily read. The

Syriac, ‘Write on it in the (usual) custom of men.’ The word which is translated ‘man’s אנוש 'eno

sh usually denotes common men, the lower ranks, in opposition to the higher ranks of society.

And probably the direction means simply, ‘write on it in letters such as men commonly use; in a plain, open, distinct manner - without using any mysterious emblems or characters, but so that men may read it distinctly and easily.’ A parallel place occurs in Hab_2:2 : ‘Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.’

Concerning - Hebrew ל (le). This preposition may denote concerning, of, or to. I understand

it here as referring to the heading or title of the prophecy. This was to be set over the prophecy, as a running title, to denote the main subject of it. The subject is indicated in the name which is immediately added.

Maher - Hasten; or, he shall hasten. “Shalal.” Spoil, or prey.

Hash - Hasten, or make speed.

Baz - Spoil, or prey. The name used here is a repetition of the same idea - denoting haste in seizing prey, or spoil; and is repeated to give emphasis, and to excite attention. The idea is, that the Assyrian would hasten to his plunder - that it would be accomplished with speed. This name was to be given to a child of Isaiah; and this child was to be a sign of the event which was signified by the name; see Isa_8:18; compare Hab_2:2-3.

2. CLARKE, “Take thee a great roll “Take unto thee a large mirror” - The word גליון

gillayon is not regularly formed from גלל galal, to roll, but from גלה galah, as פדיון pidyon from פדה

padah, כליון killayon from כלה, calah, נקיון nikkayon from נקה nakah, עליון elyon from עלה alah, etc.,

the י yod supplying the place of the radical ה he. גלה galah signifies to show, to reveal; properly, as Schroederus says, (De Vestitu Mulier. Hebr. p. 294), to render clear and bright by rubbing; to

polish. גליון gillayon, therefore, according to this derivation, is not a roll or volume: but may very

well signify a polished tablet of metal, such as was anciently used for a mirror. The Chaldee

paraphrast renders it by לוח luach, a tablet, and the same word, though somewhat differently

pointed, the Chaldee paraphrast and the rabbins render a mirror, Isa_3:23. The mirrors of the Israelitish women were made of brass finely polished, Exo_38:8, from which place it likewise appears that what they used were little hand mirrors which they carried with them even when they assembled at the door of the tabernacle. I have a metalline mirror found in Herculaneum, which is not above three inches square. The prophet is commanded to take a mirror, or brazen polished tablet, not like these little hand mirrors, but a large one; large enough for him to

engrave upon it in deep and lasting characters, אנוש)בחרט becheret(enosh, with a workman’s

graving tool, the prophecy which he was to deliver. חרט cheret in this place certainly signifies an

instrument to write or engrave with: but חריט charit, the same word, only differing a little in the

form, means something belonging to a lady’s dress, Isa_3:22, (where however five MSS. leave

out the י yod, whereby only it differs from the word in this place), either a crisping-pin, which

might be not unlike a graving tool, as some will have it, or a purse, as others infer from

2Ki_5:23. It may therefore be called here אנוש)חרט cheret(enosh, a workman’s instrument, to

distinguish it from אשה)חרט cheret(ishshah, an instrument of the same name, used by the women.

In this manner he was to record the prophecy of the destruction of Damascus and Samaria by the Assyrians; the subject and sum of which prophecy is here expressed with great brevity in

four words, בז)הש)שלל)מהר maher(shalal(hash(baz; i.e., to hasten the spoil, to take quickly the prey; which are afterwards applied as the name of the prophet’s son, who was made a sign of the speedy completion of it; Maher-shalal-hash-baz; Haste-to-the-spoil, Quick-to-the-prey. And that it might be done with the greater solemnity, and to preclude all doubt of the real delivery of the prophecy before the event, he calls witnesses to attest the recording of it.

The prophet is commanded to take a great roll, and yet four words only are to be written in it,

בז)הש)שלל)מהר maher(shalal(hash(baz, Make haste to the spoil; fall upon the prey. The great volume

points out the land of Judea; and the few words the small number of inhabitants, after the ten tribes were carried into captivity.

The words were to be written with a man’s pen; i.e., though the prophecy be given in the visions of God, yet the writing must be real; the words must be transcribed on the great roll, that

they may be read and publicly consulted. Or, אנוש)חרט cherot(enosh, the pen or graver of the weak miserable man, may refer to the already condemned Assyrians, who though they should be the instruments of chastening Damascus and Samaria, should themselves shortly be overthrown. The four words may be considered as the commission given to the Assyrians to destroy and spoil the cities. Make haste to the spoil; Fall upon the prey, etc.

3. GILL, “Moreover the Lord said unto me,.... This is another prophecy, confirming the same thing that was promised in the preceding chapter Isa_7:1; namely, safety to the Jews from the two kings of Syria and Israel, which combined against them: take thee a great roll; or volume, a writing book, a roll of parchment, in which form the ancients used to write, Psa_40:7. The Targum renders it, a "table"; a writing table, such an one as Zacharias called for, Luk_1:63 and this was to be a "great" or large one, because much was to be written in it; or what was to be written was to be written in large letters: and write in it with a man's pen; such as men usually write with; and in such a style and language as may be easily understood by men, even though unlearned; and so clearly and plainly, that he that runs may read; and so the Targum, "write in it a clear writing;'' very plain, and explicit, and legible: concerning Mahershalalhashbaz; a son of the prophet Isaiah, so called, Isa_8:3 whose name was very significant, and was given him on purpose to express the sudden destruction of the enemies of Judah. The Targum renders it, "hasten to seize the prey, and to take away the spoil.'' Some translate it, "in hastening the prey, the spoiler hastens"; perhaps it may be better rendered, "hasten to the spoil, hasten to the prey"; as if the words were spoken to the Assyrian monarch, to hasten to the spoil of Damascus and Samaria; and the repetition of the same thing in different words may have respect to the spoils of both, see Isa_8:4 and for the greater confirmation of the thing. Gussetius has a very peculiar fancy about the sense of this text; he

observes that חרט, rendered a "pen", signifies some hollow vessel, in which things were put; and

supposes that it here designs a man's chest, or some such thing, in which garments might be laid

up and reserved: and גליון, is the singular of a word used in Isa_3:23, for some sort of luxurious

garments wore by women; so that, upon the whole, the reading and sense of the words are, that the prophet is bid to take a large garment of the above sort, and write upon it, putting it into the chest. This for Mahershalalhashbaz; signifying it was to lie there till this child was born; and intimating hereby, that the women, far from battle, would be spoiled of their soft and precious garments, as well as the men be slain in war (m), though this is more tolerable than the fancy of Huetius (n), that the whole is an euphemism, in modest terms, expressing the prophet's coition with his wife.

4. HENRY, “In these verses we have a prophecy of the successes of the king of Assyria against Damascus, Samaria, and Judah, that the two former should be laid waste by him, and the last greatly frightened. Here we have,

I. Orders given to the prophet to write this prophecy, and publish it to be seen and read of all men, and to leave it upon record, that when the thing came to pass they might know that God had sent him; for that was one end of prophecy, Joh_14:29. He must take a great roll, which would contain those five chapters fairly written in words at length; and he must write in it all that he had foretold concerning the king of Assyria's invading the country; he must write it with a man's pen, in the usual way and style of writing, so as that it might be legible and intelligible by all. See Hab_2:2, Write the vision, and make it plain. Those that speak and write of the things of God should avoid obscurity, and study to speak and write so as to be understood, 1Co_14:19. Those that write for men should write with a man's pen, and not covet the pen or tongue of angels. And forasmuch as it is usual to put some short, but significant comprehensive title before books that are published, the prophet is directed to call his book Maher-shalal-hash-baz - Make speed to the spoil, hasten to the prey, intimating that the Assyrian army should come upon them with great speed and make great spoil. By this title the substance and meaning of the book would be enquired after by those that heard of it, and remembered by those that had read it or heard it read. It is sometimes a good help to memory to put much matter in few words, which serve as handles by which we take hold of more.

5. JAMISON, “Isaiah 8:1-9:7. The first seven verses of the ninth chapter belong to this section. The eighth chapter continues the subject of the seventh chapter, but at a later period (compare Isa_8:4 with Isa_7:16); implying that the interval till the accomplishment is shorter now than then. The tone of Isa_8:17, Isa_8:21, Isa_8:22, expresses calamity more immediate and afflictive than Isa_7:4, Isa_7:15, Isa_7:22.

great — suitable, for letters large enough to be read by all.

roll — rather, tablet of wood, metal, or stone (Isa_30:8; Hab_2:2); sometimes coated with wax, upon which characters were traced with a pointed instrument, or iron stylus; skins and papyrus were also used (Isa_19:7).

man’s pen — that is, in ordinary characters which the humblest can read (so Hab_2:2).

Hebrew, enosh means a “common man,” is contrasted with the upper ranks (Rev_21:17;

Rom_3:5). Not in hieroglyphics. The object was that, after the event, all might see that it had been predicted by Isaiah.

concerning — the title and subject of the prophecy.

Maher-shalal-hash-baz — “They (that is, the Assyrians) hasten to the spoil (namely, to spoil Syria and Samaria), they speed to the prey” [Gesenius]. Otherwise, “The spoil (that is, spoiler) hastens, the rapine speeds forward” [Maurer].

6. K&D, “In the midst of the Syro-Ephraimitish war, which was not yet at an end, Isaiah received instructions from God to perform a singular prophetic action. “Then Jehovah said to me, Take a large slab, and write upon it with common strokes, 'In Speed Spoil, Booty hastens;' and I will take to me trustworthy witnesses, Uriyah the priest, and Zecharyahu the son of Yeberechyahu.” The slab or table (cf., Isa_3:23, where the same word is used to signify a metal mirror) was to be large, to produce the impression of a monument; and the writing upon it was

to be “a man's pen” (Cheret('eno0sh), i.e., written in the vulgar, and, so to speak, popular character, consisting of inartistic strokes that could be easily read (vid., Rev_13:18; Rev_21:17). Philip d'Aquin, in his Lexicon, adopts the explanation, “Enosh-writing, i.e., hieroglyphic writing, so called because it was first introduced in the time of Enosh.” Luzzatto renders it, a lettere

cubitali; but the reading for this would be b'cheret(ammath('ish. The only true rendering is stylo

vulgari (see Ges. Thes. s.v. 'enosh). The words to be written are introduced with Lamed, to

indicate dedication (as in Eze_37:16), or the object to which the inscription was dedicated or applied, as if it read, “A table devoted to 'Spoil very quickly, booty hastens;' “ unless, indeed,

l'mahe0r is to be taken as a fut. instans, as it is by Luzzatto - after Gen_15:12; Jos_2:5; Hab_1:17 -

in the sense of acceleratura sunt spolia, or (what the position of the words might more naturally

suggest) with mahe0r in a transitive sense, as in the construction 1היה לבע, and others, accelerationi spolia, i.e., they are ready for hastening. Most of the commentators have confused the matter here by taking the words as a proper name (Ewald, §288, c), which they were not at first, though they became so afterwards. At first they were an oracular announcement of the immediate future, accelerant spolia, festinat praeda (spoil is quick, booty hastens). Spoil; booty; but who would the vanquished be? Jehovah knew, and His prophet knew, although not initiated into the policy of Ahaz. But their knowledge was studiously veiled in enigmas. For the writing was not to disclose anything to the people. It was simply to serve as a public record of the fact, that the course of events was one that Jehovah had foreseen and indicated beforehand. And when what was written upon the table should afterwards take place, they would know that it was the fulfilment of what had already been written, and therefore was an event pre-determined by God. For this reason Jehovah took to Himself witnesses. There is no necessity to

read ו6עידה (and I had it witnessed), as Knobel and others do; nor והעידה (and have it witnessed), as the Sept., Targum, Syriac, and Hitzig do. Jehovah said what He would do; and the prophet knew, without requiring to be told, that it was to be accomplished instrumentally through him. Uriah was no doubt the priest (Urijah), who afterwards placed himself at the service of Ahaz to gratify his heathenish desires (2Ki_16:10.). Zechariah ben Yeberechyahu (Berechiah) was of course not the prophet of the times after the captivity, but possibly the Asaphite mentioned in

2Ch_29:13. He is not further known to us. In good editions, ben is not followed by makkeph, but

marked with mercha, according to the Masora at Gen_30:19. These two men were reliable

witnesses, being persons of great distinction, and their testimony would weigh with the people. When the time should arrive that the history of their own times solved the riddle of this inscription, these two men were to tell the people how long ago the prophet had written that down in his prophetic capacity.

7. BI, “Maher-shalal-hash-baz

Four words, or rather two sentences, form now the burden of this message; and they are embodied in the name of a boy. Maher-shalal,—this first sentence means that quickly shall trophies be taken—the prophet thus seeing the army of Samaria in full and disgraceful flight. While Hash-baz, the second, tells us about booty being taken, as the Assyrian forces shall enter Damascus in 732 B.C., and help themselves to its wealth. (B. Blake, B. D.)

Unconscious testimony

I. GOD MEANT SOMETHING BY THIS CHILD.

II. GOD HAS A MEANING OF HIS OWN WITH EVERY LIFE. (J. R. Howard.)

God’s writing

God hath a large print in some of His books. Verily, He can write a small hand too, which men can only see through the microscope of tears. (J. Parker, D. D.)

A man’s pen

They that write for men should write with a man’s pen, and not covet the pen or tongue of angels. (M. Henry.)

A help to memory

It is sometimes a good help to memory to put much matter in few words, which serve as handles by which we take hold of more. (M. Henry.)

Naming children from passing events

In 1900 many a helpless infant was saddled for life with a name drawn from South Africa, and reminiscent of certain towns and certain individuals conquered or conquering by the might of British arms. However patriotic we may be, we feel sympathy for these little innocents with the reverse of euphonious names, for their trials in after days when they become Miss Ladysmith Tomkinson and Mr. Pretorius Simpkinson, will not be light. An additional burden for the feminine portion of this sorry community will be, that their mere names will be as definite as a census paper and as plain as a birth certificate, as a declaration of age. In the year 1926, Mr. William Smith will have no need to inquire diligently the approximate age of Miss Methuen Redvers Robinson; he will at once be able to fix the glorious year when her presence began to usher a happy springtime into this wintry world—at least, for him. Strange and unforeseen results may follow from the naming of the little children from the crimsoned fields of war. But the custom of naming the children from passing events is by no means new. The old Hebrews, with their religious intensity, and fervent patriotism, usually found names for their children that had a very distinct meaning and a very distinct message, quite unlike the stolid English, who may by chance stumble upon the fact that Irene means peace, and Theodore, the gift of God, but who never trouble themselves overmuch about such un-English things. (W. Owen.)

Maher-shalal-hash-baz

One very distinct difference between this old Hebrew name and any recent English battle name is this, that the latter is a cry of triumph, and the former an announcement of trial, and in this difference there may be seen a difference in the temper of these name makers. “Let us remember the past,” say the English, let us perpetuate our victories and immortalise them, but let defeat be forgotten, and let the future take care of itself.” “No, let us look onward,” said the Hebrew prophet, “let us face the facts, and realise that no past victory at the Red Sea can make us conquerors now, if we lose our faith in God.” Of course, as the result of such an utterance, Isaiah was deemed a pessimist (as is every man who is far-seeing enough to discern the cloud in the distance, even if it be no bigger than a man’s hand, and brave enough to tell what he has seen), and it was easy enough then, as now, and satisfactory enough to the majority, to label him a pessimist and then ignore him! But, on the other hand, it is not the easiest of things to listen to the men who prophesy smoothly of continual summer, while, round them as they speak, the

leaves are falling in autumn, and the trees stripping themselves bare to face the unseen icy wind. There is room for the cry, “Maher-shalal-hash-baz!” (W. Owen.)

8. PULPIT, “THE SIGN OF MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ. The sign of Immanuel was recondite. In its

more spiritual sense it appealed to faith in an event far distant. Even in its literal import, it was not

calculated to cheer and encourage more than a few, since neither the maiden nor the child was pointed

out with any distinctness. A fresh sign was therefore given by God's goodness to reassure the mass of

the people—a sign about which there was nothing obscure or difficult. Isaiah himself should have a son

born to him almost immediately, to whom he should give a name indicating the rapid approach of the

spoiler, and before this child should be able to utter the first words which childhood ordinarily pronounces,

"Father," "Mother," Damascus and Samaria should be despoiled.

Isa_8:1

Take thee a great roll; rather, a large tablet. The word is the same as that used for "mirror"

in Isa_3:23. Write in it with a man's pen; i.e. "write upon it with the pen used by ordinary men"—in

opposition to the implements of an engraver. The tablet was probably to be hung up to view in a public

place (comp. Isa_30:8), so that all might read, and the writing was therefore to be such as was in ordinary

use. Concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. These were the words which were to be written on the tablet,

which was to be otherwise left blank. They would naturally excite curiosity, like the strange names

placarded in modern streets. The name is literally, "Plunder speeds, spoil hastens." It has been imitated

by Goethe in his "Habebald-Eilebeute" ('Faust,' act 4. sc. 3).

9. CALVIN, “1.And Jehovah said to me. (117) This prophecy contains nothing new, but is a

confirmation of the preceding one, in which Isaiah predicted the approaching desolation of the kingdom of

Israel and Syria. He had foretold that both countries would be deprived of their kings, before the children

who should soon afterwards be born could distinguish between good and evil, that is, before they were

grown up. (Isa_7:16.) But because the wicked are not terrified by any threatenings, it was therefore

necessary that this prediction should be repeated and demonstrated by some outward sign.

First, in order more effectually to arouse the nation, God commands that this prophecy be made publicly

known by writing, that it may be understood by all. We have formerly said, (118) that it was the custom of

the Prophets, after having been enjoined to deliver any message to the people, to sum up in a few words

the substance of what they had said, and to affix it to the gates of the temple; as may be learned

from Hab_2:2; for if that passage be compared with the present, the matter will be sufficiently obvious.

But here something peculiar is expressed; for God does not merely command him to write the prophecy,

but demands a great and large roll, in order that it may be read at a distance. The smaller the writing is, it

is the more obscure, and can with greater difficulty be read. To the same purpose is what immediately

follows, with the pen of a common man, (119) for אנש (enosh) denotes any man of ordinary rank; and the

meaning is, that not even the most ignorant and uneducated persons may be unable to read the writing.

Make speed to spoil, hasten to the prey. (120) This concise brevity is more emphatic than if he had made

a long discourse; for any one could carry home four words, and perceive in them the swiftness of the

wrath of God, and be truly and deeply affected by the judgment of God, as if it had been pointed out with

the finger. In short, God determined that he should not waste words, because there was no time for

controversy, but that he should represent the matter by an outward sign. The Prophets having so

frequently, and without any good effect, threatened vengeance, he gave a striking exhibition of it by an

example, that it might make a deeper impression on their minds, and be engraven on their memory. As

often as these words בז הש שלל מהר (Maher-shalal-hash-baz) were mentioned, they would recall to their

remembrance the destruction of Israel and Syria, and would make them more certain of it.

Isaiah having prophesied about the coming of Christ in the former chapter, (Isa_7:14,) many improperly

explain this also as relating to the same subject, that, endued with heavenly power, he came to spoil the

prince of this world, (Joh_12:31,) and therefore hastened to the prey. This ingenuity is pleasing enough,

but cannot at all harmonize with the text; for the true and natural view of the context shows that in this

passage the Prophet brings forward nothing that is new, but supports what he had formerly said.

(117) Moreover, the LORD said unto me. — Eng. Ver.

(118) See the Author’ Preface, page 32.

(119) With a man’ pen. — Eng. Ver. Our Author’ version is Write on it with a common pen, and his

marginal reading is, or, with the pen of a man. — Ed.

(120) Our translators have not translated these words, but have left them in the form of the original

Hebrew, Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Their marginal reading is, “ In making speed to the spoil he hasteneth

the prey, or, make speed, ” etc. “ the next word מהר, (maher,) the prefix ל (lamed) shews,” says Bishop

Stock, “ it is an inscription; as in Eze_37:16, Write on it ישראל ולבני להודה (lihudah velibne Israel) ( τὸ) this

inscription, Judah and the sons of Israel. Maher-shalal-hash-baz means, Hasteneth the spoil! soon

cometh the prey. ” — Ed

2 So I called in Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of

Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses for me.

1.BARNES, “And I took unto me faithful witnesses - What was the precise object in calling in these witnesses is not known. Some have supposed that it was to bear testimony to the marriage of the prophet at that time. But it may have been for the purpose of a public record of the prophecy; a record so made, that the precise time when it was delivered could be attested without dispute. The prophecy was an important one; and it was important to know, in the most authentic and undisputed manner, that such a prophecy had been delivered. It is probable that the prophecy, attested by the names of those two men, was suspended in some public place in the temple, so that it might be seen by the people, and allay their fears; and in order to remove from the multitude every suspicion that it was a prophecy after the event. That this was a real, and not a symbolic transaction, is perfectly manifest, not only from the narrative itself, but from Isa_8:18. They are called ‘faithful,’ not off account of their private character, but because their public testimony would be credited by the people.

To record - To bear witness.

Uriah the priest - This is, doubtless, the same man that is mentioned in 2Ki_16:10. He was a man of infamous character; the accomplice of Ahaz in corrupting the true religion; but still his testimony might be the more valuable to Ahaz, as he was associated with him in his plans.

And Zechariah ... - It is not certainly known who this was. Perhaps he was one of the Levites whose name is mentioned in 2Ch_29:13.

2. PULPIT, “And I took unto me; rather, and I will have taken for me. It is still God who is

speaking. Uriah the priest. Probably the high priest of the time, mentioned in 2Ki_16:10-16, as the ready

tool of Ahaz at a later date. Though a bad man, he may have been a trustworthy witness to a

fact. Zechariah. Perhaps the father of Abi or Abijah, Ahaz's queen (2Ki_18:2; 2Ch_29:1). It would serve

to call public attention still more to the tablet, if it bore the names of two such eminent persons as

witnesses.

3. GILL, “And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record,.... Not his marriage, nor the birth of his son, nor the name he gave him, but the prophecy written in the roll, concerning the

spoiling of Syria and Israel, in a very short time; that so, when it came to pass, it might be a clear and certain point that it had been foretold by him: Uriah the priest; of whom mention is made in 2Ki_16:10 which some object to, because he proved a wicked man, and obeyed the king's command, contrary to the law of God, in building an altar according to the form of one at Damascus; but to this it is replied, that it was before this happened that Isaiah took him to be a witness; and besides, because of the authority of his office, and his familiarity with Ahaz, he must be allowed to be a proper and pertinent person to bear testimony in this case. Some indeed, and so the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, would have Uriah the prophet meant, who prophesied in the times of Jehoiakim, and was slain by him, Jer_26:20 to which it is objected, that he was no priest, as this was and, besides, was not born at this time; it was a hundred and forty years after that he lived: and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah; this was Zechariah the prophet, as the Targum, and all the Jewish writers, say (o); who lived in the times of Darius, which was two hundred and forty years after this; but most likely this Zechariah is he who was Ahaz's wife's father, 2Ki_18:2 or rather, as Vitringa thinks, Zechariah a Levite, a son of Asaph, 2Ch_29:13 though there are some learned men (p), who think the two prophets Uriah and Zechariah are meant, though then unborn; who prophesied of the like or same things as Isaiah did; and so were faithful witnesses of his prophecy, as of the calamities that should come on the land, the restitution of it to its former fruitfulness, and the coming of the Messiah; nor is the observation of Abarbinel to be despised, taken from the ancient Jews, that these are the words, not of the prophet, but of God himself; as also that they are to be read in the future tense, "and I will take to me", &c.

4. HENRY, “The care of the prophet to get this record well attested (Isa_8:2): I took unto me

faithful witnesses to record; he wrote the prophecy in their sight and presence, and made them

subscribe their names to it, that they might be ready, if afterwards there should be occasion, to

make oath of it, that the prophet had so long before foretold the descent which the Assyrians

made upon that country. He names his witnesses for the greater certainty, that they might be

appealed to by any. They were two in number (for out of the mouth of two witnesses shall every

word be established); one was Uriah the priest; he is mentioned in the story of Ahaz, but for

none of his good deeds, for he humoured Ahaz with an idolatrous altar (2Ki_16:10, 2Ki_16:11);

however, at this time, no exception lay against him, being a faithful witness. See what full

satisfaction the prophets took care to give to all persons concerned of the sincerity of their

intentions, that we might know with a full assurance the certainty of the things wherein we

have been instructed, and that we have not followed cunningly-devised fables.

5. JAMISON, “I took — rather, “The Lord said to me, that I should take,” etc. [Maurer].

Uriah — an accomplice of Ahaz in idolatry, and therefore a witness not likely to assist the prophet of God in getting up a prophecy after the event (2Ki_16:10). The witnesses were in order that when the event should come, they might testify that the tablet containing the prophecy had been inscribed with it at the time that it professed.

Zechariah — (2Ch_29:13).

6. CALVIN, “2.And I took into me witnesses. The noun עדים, (gnedim,) and the verb אעיד, (agnid,)

which the Prophet employs, are derived from the same root, and the allusion is elegant, as if we were to

say, “ have called-to-witness witnesses.” (121) As this was a matter of great importance, he therefore took

to himself witnesses, as is usually done on important occasions.

Faithful witnesses. He calls them faithful, that is, true and worthy of credit; and yet one of them was an

ungodly and worthless apostate, who, wishing to flatter his king, erected an altar resembling the altar at

Damascus, and openly defended ungodliness and unlawful modes of worship. Some commentators, I am

aware, are of opinion that it was a different person; but a careful examination of the circumstances will

convince any one, that this was the same Urijah, of whom the sacred history declares that he was

slavishly devoted to the ungodliness and lawless desires of the king. (2Kg_16:11.) As to those who think

that it was a different person, because Isaiah here calls this man faithful, such an argument carries little

weight; for the Prophet did not look at the man, but at the office which he held, and which rendered him a

fit person for bearing testimony. Accordingly, he does not mean that he was a good and excellent man,

but that his office gave him such influence that nobody could reject him, and that his testimony was, as

they say, free from every objection.

Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. I think that this prophecy was affixed to the gates

of the temple, Uriah and Zechariah having been taken to be witnesses; for he does not speak of a vision,

but of a command of God, which he actually obeyed, in order that these words, like a common proverb,

might be repeated by every person.

(121) The Latin language afforded to our Author an exceedingly successful imitation of the Hebrew

phrase, “Contestatus sum testes .” It is readily acknowledged that the turn of expression adopted by the

translator is much less felicitous; but it is hoped that it will aid the judgment, though it may fail to gratify

the taste, of the English reader. — Ed.

3 Then I made love to the prophetess, and she

conceived and gave birth to a son. And the LORDsaid

to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.

1.BARNES, “Then said the Lord ... - The name thus given was to be emblematic of a particular event - that Assyria would soon take away the spoil of Damascus and Samaria. It is not remarkable that the name Immanuel should also be given to the same child, as signifying the presence and protection of God in defending the nation from the invaders; see the notes at Isa_7:14-15. Calvin thinks that all this passed in a vision before the prophet; but it has every mark of being a literal narrative of the birth of a son to Isaiah; and without this supposition, it is impossible to understand the account contained here.

2. PULPIT, “The prophetess. It is not necessary to suppose that the wife of Isaiah must have uttered

prophecies because she is called "the prophetess." Titles were given in the East to the wives, daughters,

etc; of officials, which merely reflected the dignity of their husbands, fathers, etc. Even Miriam seems to

be called a "prophetess" (Exo_15:20) from her close relationship to Moses, rather than from any

supernatural power that she had. In the Mishna, a priest's wife or daughter is called "priestess"

(Cheyne). Call his name. There is no reason for doubting that the name was actually given. Other

Israelites had such names as Jushab-hosed (1Ch_3:20), Haah-ashtari (1Ch_4:6), Romamti-ezer

(1Ch_25:4), Machnadebai (Ezr_10:40), and the like. Assyrian names were even longer; e.g. As-shur-bel-

nisi-su, Asshur-kinat-ili-kain, etc. In ordinary parlance, names of this type were commonly shortened,

"Shalman-eser' becoming "Shalmau" (Hos_10:14), "Sennacherib Jareb" (Hos_10:6), and the like.

3. GILL, “And I went unto the prophetess,.... His wife, so called; not because she prophesied, but because she was the wife of a prophet; and besides, the birth of her son later mentioned, and his name, had in them the nature of a prophecy. The phrase of going unto her is an euphemism, a modest way of expressing the conjugal debt: and she conceived and bare a son; which Jarchi would have the same with Immanuel in Isa_7:14 but this is a later prophecy, and a distinct one from that; and not only the names of the children are different, but the mothers also; the one a virgin, the other the prophet's wife. Then said the Lord to me, call his name Mahershalalhashbaz: of the signification of this name; see Gill on Isa_8:1. Kimchi thinks that his name did not consist of these four words, only of two of them; and that he was sometimes called "Mahershalal", and sometimes "Hashbaz": both signifying the same thing. Some think that all this was done only in a vision, and not in reality, to declare and confirm what follows; though by that it seems rather to be a real fact.

4. HENRY, “The making of the title of his book the name of his child, that it might be the more taken notice of and the more effectually perpetuated, Isa_8:3. His wife (because the wife of a prophet) is called the prophetess; she conceived and bore a son, another son, who must carry a sermon in his name, as the former had done (Isa_7:3), but with this difference, that spoke mercy, Shear-jashub - The remnant shall return; but, that being slighted, this speaks judgment, Maher-shalal-hash-baz - In making speed to the spoil he shall hasten, or he has hastened, to the prey. The prophecy is doubled, even in this one name, for the thing was certain. I will hasten my word, Jer_1:12. Every time the child was called by his name, or any part of it, it would serve as a memorandum of the judgments approaching. Note, It is good for us often to put ourselves in mind of the changes and troubles we are liable to in this world, and which perhaps are at the door. When we look with pleasure on our children it should be with the allay of this thought, We know not what they are yet reserved for.

5. JAMISON, “prophetess — perhaps the same as the “virgin” (Isa_7:14), in the interim married as Isaiah’s second wife: this is in the primary and temporary sense. Immanuel is even in this sense distinct from Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Thus nineteen months at least intervene from the prophecy (Isa_7:14), nine before the birth of Immanuel, and ten from that time to the birth of Maher-shalal-hash-baz: adding eleven or twelve months before the latter could cry, “Father” (Isa_8:4), we have about three years in all, agreeing with Isa_7:15, Isa_7:16.

6. K&D, “But something occurred in the meantime whereby the place of the lifeless table was taken by a more eloquent and living one. “And I drew near to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son: and Jehovah said to me, Call his name In-speed-spoil-booty-hastens (Maher-shalal-hash-baz): for before the boy shall know how to cry, My father, and my mother, they will carry away the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.” To his son Shear-yashub, in whose name the law of the history of Israel, as revealed to the prophet on the occasion of his call (Isa_6:1-13), viz., the restoration of only a remnant of the whole nation, had been formulated, there was now added a second son, to whom the inscription upon the table was given as a name (with a small abbreviation, and if the Lamed is the particle of dedication, a necessary one). He was therefore the symbol of the approaching chastisement of Syria and the kingdom of the ten tribes. Before the boy had learned to stammer

out the name of father and mother, they would carry away (yissa, not the third pers. fut. niphal,

which is yinnase0, but kal with a latent, indefinite subject hanno0se0': Ges. §137, 3) the treasures of Damascus and the trophies (i.e., the spoil taken from the flying or murdered foe) of Samaria before the king of Asshur, who would therefore leave the territory of the two capitals as a conqueror. It is true that Tiglath-pileser only conquered Damascus, and not Samaria; but he took from Pekah, the king of Samaria, the land beyond the Jordan, and a portion of the land on this side. The trophies, which he took thence to Assyria, were no less the spoil of Samaria than if he had conquered Samaria itself (which Shalmanassar did twenty years afterwards). The birth of Mahershalal took place about three-quarters of a year later than the preparation of the table (as

the verb va'ekrab is an aorist and not a pluperfect); and the time appointed, from the birth of the

boy till the chastisement of the allied kingdoms, was about a year. Now, as the Syro-Ephraimitish war did not commence later than the first year of the reign of Ahaz, i.e., the year 743, and the chastisement by Tiglath-pileser occurred in the lifetime of the allies, whereas Pekah

was assassinated in the year 739, the interval between the commencement of the war and the chastisement of the allies cannot have been more than three years; so that the preparation of the table must not be assigned to a much later period than the interview with Ahaz. The inscription upon the table, which was adopted as the name of the child, was not a purely consolatory prophecy, since the prophet had predicted, a short time before, that the same Asshur which devastated the two covenant lands would lay Judah waste as well. It was simply a practical proof of the omniscience and omnipotence of God, by which the history of the future was directed and controlled. The prophet had, in fact, the mournful vocation to harden. Hence the enigmatical character of his words and doings in relation to both kings and nation. Jehovah foreknew the consequences which would follow the appeal to Asshur for help, as regarded both Syria and Israel. This knowledge he committed to writing in the presence of witnesses. When this should be fulfilled, it would be all over with the rejoicing of the king and people at their self-secured deliverance.

But Isaiah was not merely within the broader circle of an incorrigible nation ripe for judgment. He did not stand alone; but was encircled by a small band of believing disciples, who wanted consolation, and were worthy of it. It was to them that the more promising obverse of the prophecy of Immanuel belonged. Mahershalal could not comfort them; for they knew that when Asshur had done with Damascus and Samaria, the troubles of Judah would not be over, but would only then be really about to commence. To be the shelter of the faithful in the terrible judicial era of the imperial power, which was then commencing, was the great purpose of the prediction of Immanuel; and to bring out and expand the consolatory character of that prophecy for the benefit of believers, was the design of the addresses which follow.

7.CALVIN, “3.And I approached to the prophetess. What follows happened to the Prophet, I have no

doubt, by a vision, for the purpose of sealing the former prediction. The vision given to Isaiah was, that he

had a child by his wife, and was enjoined to give him this name. There would, indeed, be no absurdity in

admitting that the Prophet actually had a son by his wife, and gave him this name; and I shall not eagerly

dispute with any one who is of that opinion. But as it is not probable that this name was given to any man,

and as there is no evidence to prove it, I am more disposed to think that this was a vision exhibited to the

Prophet, in order to confirm the former prediction. He calls his wife a prophetess, not in the same sense in

which the wives of kings, for the sake of showing them respect, are called queens, but because in this

vision she sustained a public character. (122)

(122) Nec dubium est, quin animos piorum a libidinoso coitu data opera abducere voluit Isaias, ut ad

sacrum mysterium attenti forent. Et certe quamvis in conjugio, etc.

4 For before the boy knowshow to say ‘My father’ or

‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder

of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

1.BARNES, “For before ... - This must have occurred in a short time - probably before the expiration of three years. A child would usually learn to address his parents in that time. In fact, the event here predicted occurred in less than three years from the time when the prophecy was spoken; see the notes at Isa_7:16.

Before the king of Assyria - By the king, or by his conquests. By the spoil of Samaria here, is to be understood, not the plunder which should be carried away from the city, but from the kingdom of Samaria. In other places, the land is called by the name of the capital; compare 2Ki_17:26; 2Ki_23:19; Jer_31:5. The city of Samaria was not plundered until eighteen years after the time mentioned here by the prophet; Isa_8:5-6. These verses introduce again what was predicted in Isa_7:17, following, respecting the invasion of the land by the king of Assyria. The cause of the invasion is specified, and the consequences are foretold.

2. CLARKE, “For before the child - For my father and my mother, one MS. and the Vulgate have his father and his mother. The prophecy was accordingly accomplished within three years; when Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, went up against Damascus and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin, and also took the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and carried them captive to Assyria, 2Ki_15:29; 2Ki_16:9; 1Ch_5:26.

3. GILL, “For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, my father, and my mother,.... Which are commonly the first words children learn to say; and so it signifies that what follows should happen in a year or two; as it did: the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, shall be taken away before the king of Assyria; or, "he shall take away the riches" (q), &c.; not the child, unless he is considered as the sign of taking them away; but the soldier, put for the whole Assyrian army, which carried off the riches and spoil of these places, in the presence, and by the order, of the king of Assyria; the first of these, namely, Damascus, the metropolis of Syria, with its riches, wealth, and army, were taken and carried away by Tilgathpilneser, king of Assyria, within the time here mentioned, 2Ki_16:9 but the latter, Samaria, the metropolis of the kingdom of Israel, was not taken and spoiled until the sixth year of Hezekiah, and ninth of Hoshea, 2Ki_17:6 but because the prophecy began to be fulfilled, and was fulfilled in part, within the time mentioned, the whole is attributed to it; though it should be observed, that before this, after Pekah the son of Remaliah was slain, and Hoshea reigned in his stead, the king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents; which may be called the spoil of Samaria, 2Ki_17:3.

4. HENRY, “That Syria and Israel, who were now in confederacy against Judah, should in a very little time become an easy prey to the king of Assyria and his victorious army (Isa_8:4): “Before the child, now newly born and named, shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and My mother” (which are usually some of the first things that children know and some of the first words that children speak), that is, “in about a year or two, the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, those cities that are now so secure themselves and so formidable to their neighbours, shall be taken away before the king of Assyria, who shall plunder both city and country, and send the best effects of both into his own land, to enrich that, and as trophies of his victory.” Note, Those that spoil others must expect to be themselves spoiled (Isa_33:1); for the Lord is righteous, and those that are troublesome shall be troubled.

5. JAMISON, “before, etc. — within a year.

6. PULPIT, “My father Y my mother. "Abi," "Immi," would have been among the first utterances of

childhood—simple sounds, combinations of primary vowels with labials, corresponding in easiness of

utterance to "Pappy," "Mammy," rather than to the expressions of the text. A child commonly utters such

sounds when it is about a year old. The riches of Damascus. The position of Damascus lay in the direct

path of the main trade that was carried on between the West and East, which was conducted by the

merchants of Tyro chiefly, and passed from the Syrian coast by way of Damascus and Tadmor to

Nineveh and Babylon. This commerce greatly enriched the cities lying upon its route.

"Damascus,"says Ezekiel, addressing Tyre, "was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy

making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool" (Eze_27:18). The "palaces

of Benhadad" seem to have been noted for their magnificence (Jer_49:27; Amo_1:4). The spoil of

Samaria shall be taken away before the King of Assyria. Scripture does not record the fulfillment of

this prophecy, which makes the same Assyrian king carry off the spoil of Samaria and the spoil of

Damascus, fixing also the time of the carrying off as within a few years of the time when the prophecy

was given. But the inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser himself supply the deficiency. They state that this

monarch "sent the population, the goods of the people of Beth-Omri, and their furniture to the land of

Assyria;" after which he "appointed Husih (Hoshea) to the dominion ever them," and fixed their annual

tribute at two talents of gold and a thousand talents of silver.

7.CALVIN, “4.Truly before the child have knowledge to cry. This is an interpretation both of the dark

saying and of the vision which was added to it; for although God did not intend to speak in direct

language, still it was proper that obscurity should be removed. I interpret הנער, (hannagnar,) the child, to

mean not the Prophet’ son, but rather all who should be born soon afterwards. He declares that, before

they are grown up, the two kings of Israel and Samaria (123) will be destroyed.

Before the face of the king of Assyria. That is, at the disposal, or at the will, of the king of Assyria; alluding

perhaps to an ancient custom of carrying the spoils of the enemies before the chariot of those who

received a public triumph. In like manner shall the spoils of Samaria and Damascus be carried before the

king of Assyria.

This makes it still more evident that the Prophet intended nothing else than to foretell the desolation of the

kingdom of Israel and of Syria. He does this for the purpose of comforting the godly, and likewise of

holding up to scorn the foolish dread of the wicked king, who could not endure that the Lord should assist

him; for he rejected not only the promises, but likewise the sign which was offered. In consequence of

this, the Prophet goes farther and farther in reproving his wickedness, and that of the whole nation. “ dost,

indeed, believe nothing, but the Lord will assist his own; and thou shalt quickly see sudden and

unexpected changes, by which the Lord will deliver his people.” And yet these words were spoken not so

much to the king as to godly men; and hence we ought to infer that the servants of God do not always

speak so as to be believed by their hearers; for Isaiah here addresses wicked men, in whom he produces

no conviction. Why, then, does he speak to them? To convict them more and more of their unbelief, and

to reprove them for it; and next, to render the goodness of God more manifest: for who would not have

thought that such aggravated wickedness would entirely shut the door against the mercy of God? And yet

the Lord, by his goodness, rises superior to the wickedness both of the king and of the people. The object

of the Prophet therefore is, to reprove the ungodly for their rebelliousness, and at the same time show

that God is always like himself.

(123) It is evident that, by a slip of the pen, Samaria is put for Syria. — Ed.

5 The LORD spoke to me again:

1.PULPIT, “Isa_8:5-10

THE FLOOD OF ASSYRIAN INVASION WILL PASS FROM SYRIA AND SAMARIA INTO JUDAEA, BU

T WILL THERE BE ARRESTED. Syria and Samaria were barriers, breakwaters, so placed as to stem the

tide of invasion, and be a defense to Judaea against Assyrian attack. When once they were

overwhelmed, the waters would have free course, and the submersion of Judaea was certain. It might be

delayed by the Divine favor, and would be, so long as the people, or even a remnant of them, remained

faithful, but only through the might of the name Immanuel, "God with us."

2. CLARKE, “

3. GILL, “The Lord spake also unto me again,.... In the same prophecy, or in another; the Targum is, "the Word of the Lord added to speak with me again;'' but rather Jehovah the Father, or the Spirit of the Lord, is meant, since the Person speaking is distinguished from Immanuel, Isa_8:8, saying; as follows:

4. K&D 5-7, “The heading or introduction, “And Jehovah proceeded still further to speak to

me, as follows,” extends to all the following addresses as far as Isa_12:1-6. They all finish with

consolation. But consolation presupposes the need of consolation. Consequently, even in this

instance the prophet is obliged to commence with a threatening of judgment. “Forasmuch as

this people despiseth the waters of Siloah that go softly, and regardeth as a delight the alliance

with Rezin and the son of Remalyahu, therefore, behold! the Lord of all bringeth up upon them

the waters of the river, the mighty and the great, the king of Asshur and all his military power;

and he riseth over all his channels, and goeth over all his banks.” The Siloah had its name

(Shiloach, or, according to the reading of this passage contained in very good MSS, Shilloach),

ab emittendo, either in an infinitive sense, “shooting forth,” or in a participial sense, with a

passive colouring, emissus, sent forth, spirted out (vid., Joh_9:7; and on the variations in

meaning of this substantive form, Concord. p. 1349, s.). Josephus places the fountain and pool

of Siloah at the opening of the Tyropoeon, on the south-eastern side of the ancient city, where

we still find it at the present day (vid., Jos. Wars of the Jews, v. 4, 1; also Robinson, Pal. i. 504).

The clear little brook - a pleasant sight to the eye as it issues from the ravine which runs between

the south-western slope of Moriah and the south-eastern slope of Mount Zion

(Note: It is with perfect propriety, therefore, that Jerome sometimes speaks in the fons Siloe as flowing ad radices Montis Zion, and at other times as flowing in radicibus Montis Moria.)

(V. Schulbert, Reise, ii. 573) - is used here as a symbol of the Davidic monarchy enthroned upon Zion, which had the promise of God, who was enthroned upon Moriah, in contrast with the imperial or world kingdom, which is compared to the overflowing waters of the Euphrates. The reproach of despising the waters of Siloah applied to Judah as well as Ephraim: to the former because it trusted in Asshur, and despised the less tangible but more certain help which the house of David, if it were but believing, had to expect from the God of promise; to the latter, because it had entered into alliance with Aram to overthrow the house of David; and yet the house of David, although degenerate and deformed, was the divinely appointed source of that salvation, which is ever realized through quiet, secret ways. The second reproach applied more

especially to Ephraim. The 'eth is not to be taken as the sign of the accusative, for su0s never occurs with the accusative of the object (not even in Isa_35:1), and could not well be so used. It is to be construed as a preposition in the sense of “and (or because) delight (is felt) with (i.e., in) the alliance with Rezin and Pekah.” (On the constructive before a preposition, see Ges. §116, 1:

su0s('e0th, like ratzah(‛im.) Luzzatto compares, for the construction, Gen_41:43, v'natho0n; but only the inf. abs. is used in this way as a continuation of the finite verb (see Ges. §131, 4, a).

Moreover, משוש is not an Aramaic infinitive, but a substantive used in such a way as to retain the

power of the verb (like מ=ע in Num_10:2, and מספר in Num_23:10, unless, indeed, the reading

here should be מי ספר). The substantive clause is preferred to the verbal clause ושש, for the sake

of the antithetical consonance of משושס with מאס. It is also quite in accordance with Hebrew

syntax, that an address which commences with יען כי should here lose itself in the second sentence “in the twilight,” as Ewald expresses it (§351, c), of a substantive clause. Knobel and others suppose the reproof to relate to dissatisfied Judaeans, who were secretly favourable to the enterprise of the two allied kings. But there is no further evidence that there were such persons; and Isa_8:8 is opposed to this interpretation. The overflowing of the Assyrian forces would fall

first of all upon Ephraim. The threat of punishment is introduced with ולכן, the Vav being the

sign of sequence (Ewald, §348, b). The words “the king of Asshur” are the prophet's own gloss, as in Isa_7:17, Isa_7:20.

6 “Because this people has rejected

the gently flowing waters of Shiloah

and rejoices over Rezin

and the son of Remaliah,

1.BARNES, “Forasmuch as this people - There has been a considerable difference of opinion among interpreters respecting the ‘people’ to whom the prophet here refers. Some have supposed that it refers to the kingdom of Judah alone; others to a party in that kingdom; and others to the kingdom of Judah in connection with the ten tribes, or the kingdom of Israel also. The latter is probably the correct interpretation. The prophet reproves the whole nation of the Jews for despising the mild and gentle reign of the family of David, and for seeking the aid of foreign nations; the ten tribes as seeking an alliance with Rezin and Pekah; and the kingdom of Judah as seeking an alliance with the king of Assyria. It was characteristic of the nation - both of the ten tribes, and of the tribe of Judah - that they forsook the defense which they had in themselves. and sought foreign alliances. Hence, God says, that he will bring upon them the judgments which they deserve. That there is a joint reference to both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, is apparent from Isa_8:14. It cannot refer to the kingdom of Judah alone, for it could not be brought as an accusation against them, that they took pleasure in Rezin. In the opinion that it refers to the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah - to the whole Jewish people, Vitringa, Lowth, and Hengstenberg concur.

The waters of Shiloah that go softly - That flow gently. The name Siloah, or Siloam, is found only three times in the Scriptures as applied to waters; once in this place, where it is

spoken of a running water; once as a pool in Nehemiah - ברכה השלח berekah hashelach - Isa_3:15, and again as a pool, in the account of the miracle of healing the man who was born blind; Joh_9:7, Joh_9:11. Siloam is on the east side of the city of Jerusalem, to the southeast of the site of the temple, and its waters flow into the valley of Jehoshaphat. The name means sent, or

sending, from שלח shalach to send, and was probably given to it because the waters were sent or made to pass through a subterranean passage or aqueduct.

At present, it properly consists of two receptacles or reservoirs, the waters from one of which flow into the other. The first, or upper one, is now called the ‘Fountain of the Virgin,’ from a tradition that it was here that the Virgin Mary resorted before her purification, in order to wash her child’s linen. This fountain is on the west side of the valley of Jehoshaphat, and is about 1550 feet from the southeast corner of the city wall. The cavity of this fountain is wholly excavated in the solid rock. To enter it there is at first a descent of sixteen steps, to a level place or platform of twelve feet in diameter, and then another descent of ten steps to the water, making the whole depth twenty-five feet. The basin here is about fifteen feet long by five or six wide, and the height six or eight feet. There is some reason to suppose that this is supplied by a fountain lying under the mosque of Omar, on the site of the temple of Solomon. From this fountain the water is conducted by a subterranean passage, in a direction a little to the west of south to what is properly called the fountain of Siloam. This passage runs under the extremity of mount Ophel; is cut entirely from the solid rock, and is found by measurement to be 1750 feet in length.

At the lower part it is from ten to fifteen feet in height by two in breadth; but in the middle so low, that it can be passed only by creeping on the hands and knees. The passage is partly fiilled up with sand. From this aqueduct the water is conveyed into the pool of Siloam, situated near where the Tyropeon, or ‘valley of cheesemongers,’ opens into the valley of Jehoshaphat. This reservoir is fifty-three feet long, eighteen feet broad, and nineteen feet deep, though now there is usually no water remaining within it. From this reservoir the water flows off into the vale below, furnishing water for the gardens which are constructed in terraces on the side of the valley. The water in both these fountains is the same. It is sweet, and slightly brackish, but not disagreeable. It is the common water now used by the inhabitants of the neighboring village of Kefr Selwane - or the straggling village of Siloam. For a full description of this fountain, see Robinson’s Bib. Researches, vol. i. pp. 493-514. This fountain was probably formerly included within the walls, and furnished a part of the supply of water to the city.

The meaning of this passage is this. The waters of Siloam denote the reign of Yahweh, as manifesting itself in the administration of the family of David - a mild, gentle, and munificent reign, beautifully represented by the unfailing and gently flowing waters on which the happiness of Jerusalem so much depended. That reign a large part of the nation - the ten tribes - had rejected, and had set up a separate kingdom, and had sought the aid of the king of Damascus. The remainder - the kingdom of Judah - were in like manner now disposed to reject the aid of Yahweh, and sought an alliance with the king of Assyria - beautifully represented here by the river Euphrates. The waters of Siloam - a gentle, small sweetly-flowing stream, represented the government of Yahweh. The waters of the Euphrates - violent, rapid, impetuous, and overflowing, represented the government of Assyria. The one they despised; the other they sought and admired. The power of the kingdom of David was then feeble and decayed. That of the Assyrian monarch was vigorous, mighty, vast. They despised the one, and sought the alliance of the other.

And rejoice - That is, they confide in, and feel that in their protection riley are safe.

In Rezin - King of Syria.

And Remaliah’s son - Pekah, king of Samaria; Isa_7:1. The crime here mentioned was unique to the kingdom of Israel; showing that the prophet, in part at least, had reference to them.

2. CLARKE, “Forasmuch as this people refuseth “Because this people have rejected” - The gentle waters of Shiloah, a small fountain and brook just without Jerusalem, which supplied a pool within the city for the use of the inhabitants, is an apt emblem of the state of the kingdom and house of David, much reduced in its apparent strength, yet supported by the blessing of God; and is finely contrasted with the waters of the Euphrates, great, rapid, and impetuous; the image of the Babylonian empire, which God threatens to bring down like a mighty flood upon all these apostates of both kingdoms, as punishment for their manifold iniquities, and their contemptuous disregard of his promises. The brook and the river are put for the kingdoms to which they belong, and the different states of which respectively they most aptly represent. Juvenal, inveighing against the corruption of Rome by the importation of Asiatic manners, says, with great elegance, that “the Orontes has been long discharging itself into the Tiber:” -

Jampridem Syrus in Tiberim defluxit Orontes.

And Virgil, to express the submission of some of the Eastern countries to the Roman arms, says: -

Euphrates ibat jam mollior undis. Aen. 8:726.

“The waters of the Euphrates now flowed more humbly and gently.”

But the happy contrast between the brook and the river gives a peculiar beauty to this passage of the prophet, with which the simple figure in the Roman poets, however beautiful, yet uncontrasted, cannot contend.

3. GILL, “Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah, that go softly,.... The same with Siloam, Joh_9:7 and so it is called in the Septuagint version here; and the word here used signifies "sent", as it is there interpreted. Jarchi says it is a fountain, whose name was Gihon and Shiloah; see 1Ki_1:33 concerning which Jerom yet writes, "Siloam is a fountain at the foot of Mount Sion, which does not send forth water continually, but on certain times and days; and comes through the hollow places of the earth, and caves of a hard rock, with a great noise; of which we especially cannot doubt, who dwell in this province.'' This was a small current of water, which moved softly and slowly, and not with a rapid motion, as some rivers do; to which the kingdom of the house of David is compared, because of its easy and gentle government; as the Targum, which paraphrases the words thus, "because this people loathed the kingdom of the house of David which ruled them quietly, as the waters of Shiloah which flow softly;'' or because of the weakness of it in the days of Ahaz, it had not strength to oppose their enemies, as Kimchi suggests; now the ten tribes despised the house of David, and departed from it, and continued in their revolt, and had that government in contempt, as well as the religion of it. Jerusalem, the temple, and the worship of God in it, may be meant by the waters of Shiloah; it being usual to name places by the rivers that are near them. And rejoice in Rezin, and in Remaliah's son: in Rezin king of Syria; and in Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel. Perhaps respect may be had to later times, to the times of the Messiah, when the Jews would despise his government, and reject him as King; though he is the Prince of peace, and his government the most quiet and peaceable one, and he the Shiloah, the sent of God, and declare they had no other king but Caesar.

4. HENRY, “That forasmuch as there were many in Judah that were secretly in the interests of

Syria and Israel, and were disaffected to the house of David, God would chastise them also by

the king of Assyria, who should create a great deal of vexation to Judah, as was foretold,

Isa_7:17. Observe, (1.) What was the sin of the discontented party in Judah (Isa_8:6): This

people, whom the prophet here speaks to, refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly, despise

their own country and the government of it, and love to run it down, because it does not make so

great a figure, and so great a noise, in the world, as some other kings and kingdoms do. They

refuse the comforts which God's prophets offer them from the word of God, speaking to them in

a still small voice, and make nothing of them; but they rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son, who

were the enemies of their country, and were now actually invading it; they cried them up as

brave men, magnified their policies and strength, applauded their conduct, were well pleased

with their successes, and were hearty well-wishers to their designs, and resolved to desert and

go over to them. Such vipers does many a state foster in its bosom, that eat its bread, and yet

adhere to its enemies, and are ready to quit its interests if they but seem to totter.

5. JAMISON, “waters of Shiloah ... softly — Their source is on the southeast of Zion and east of Jerusalem. It means “sent,” the water being sent through an aqueduct (Joh_9:7). Figurative for the mild, though now weak, sway of the house of David; in the highest sense Shiloah expresses the benignant sway of Jehovah in the theocracy, administered through David. Contrast to the violent Euphrates, “the river” that typifies Assyria (Isa_8:7; Rev_17:15). “This people” refers both to Israel, which preferred an alliance with Rezin of Syria to one with the kings of Judah, and to Judah, a party in which seems to have favored the pretentions of the son of Tabeal against David’s line (Isa_7:6); also to Judah’s desire to seek an Assyrian alliance is included in the censure (compare Isa_7:17). Isa_8:14 shows that both nations are meant; both alike rejected the divine Shiloah. Not “My people,” as elsewhere, when God expresses favor, but “this people” (Isa_6:9).

6. PULPIT, “Forasmuch as this people. It is a question which people is intended, Judah or Israel.

Ewald supposes Judah, and draws the conclusion that there was a strong party in Jerusalem which

favored "the son of Tabeal." Dr. Kay does the same, but understands the charge against Judah to be, not

that it sympathized with Rezin, but that it fell into the same sins. Other commentators suggest that Israel

is the people intended (as in Isa_9:16), the sense being carried on from Isa_8:4, where the word

"Samaria" is suggestive of the Israelite people. Refuseth the waters of Shiloah. The "pool of Siloah"

(Neh_3:15) was the tank or reservoir at the southwestern foot of Ophel, which is supplied with water by a

narrow conduit cut through the limestone rock for a distance of 1750 feet from the "Pool of the Virgin" on

the opposite side of Ophel, in the Kedron valley. This pool itself is fed from reservoirs under the temple

area, which have not yet been fully explored. It is probable that Isaiah uses the expression "waters of

Shiloah" in a general sense for the streams, springs, reservoirs, conduits, which supplied the temple, and

were connected with its service. "Refusing the waters of Shiloah" would then be, without any violent

metaphor, refusing the temple service and worship, which was exactly what the Israelites had done from

the time of Jeroboam. That go softly. In contrast with the "waters of the river, strong and many," of the

next verse. They who refused the mild and gentle government of Jehovah should experience the

impetuous and torrent-like rush of the Assyrian armies. Rejoice in Rezin; rather, rejoice with

Rezin; i.e.sympathize with him, rejoice when he rejoices.

7.CALVIN, “6.Because this people hath despised (or, disdained (124)) the waters of Shiloah That Ahaz

may not slumber in unfounded expectation, the Prophet all at once breaks off his discourse about the

general safety of the godly, and next threatens punishment on unbelievers. Some think that he speaks

against those who wished for revolutions; as it frequently happens that the multitude are not satisfied with

their present condition, and desire to have a new king. Those who are diseased often expect that, by a

change of place, they will be in better health. So perverse is the will of men, that when matters do not go

to their wish, they look for a change of their condition, snatch at it eagerly, and hope to obtain from it

some relief.

But I think that the Prophet’ meaning is more extensive, and does not apply to those only who desired a

change; but that the discourse is general, and includes all ranks; for impiety and contempt of God almost

universally prevailed, and he does not speak of a few persons, or of a particular party, but of the great

body of the nation. I confess, indeed, that he excepts a few persons, servants of God, who will afterwards

be mentioned; but that does not prevent the remonstrances of Isaiah from being directed against the

whole nation; for since almost all were corrupted, he justly reproves them all. The offense is, that the

people, distrusting their own weakness, sought increased wealth and increased forces. He says,

therefore, that they despised the waters of Shiloah, because the Jews despised and disdained their

condition.

And their joy was to Rezin and Remaliah’ son. (125) Some render it with Rezin, but the

preposition to expresses more fully the perverse desire. He means that the Jews, perceiving that they had

not strong fortresses, looked in another direction, and longed for the wealth of the kingdom of Israel.

Beholding their small number and their poverty, they trembled, and placed no confidence in God, but only

in outward assistance, and thought that they would be perfectly safe, if they had as powerful a king as the

Israelites had. Thus they rejoiced in the riches of others, and in longing for them.

(124) The former word occurs in the version, and the latter at the exposition. — Ed.

(125) And rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’ son. — Ed.

7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them

the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—

the king of Assyria with all his pomp.

It will overflow all its channels,

run over all its banks

1.BARNES, “The waters of the river - By the river, in the Scripture, is commonly meant the river Euphrates, as being, by way of eminence, the largest river with which they were acquainted; and also as being that distinguished by the fact that Abraham had lived beyond it, and crossed it; see the note at Isa_7:20. In this verse the image is kept up which was commenced in Isa_8:6. The Jews rejected the gentle waters of Siloah, and sought the alliance of a foreign king, whose kingdom stretched along, and extended beyond the Euphrates. It was natural, therefore, to compare the invasion of the land to the overflowing of mighty waters that would sweep everything away. A similar comparison is found in Juvenal, who, in describing the introduction of Eastern customs into Rome, represents the Orontes as flowing into the Tiber: Jampridem Syrus in Tiberim defluxit Orontes. The comparison of an invading army with an overflowing stream, or an inundation, is not uncommon; see Lucan’s Phars. vi. 272. Hor. Car. iv. 14, 15ff.

Strong and many - Violent waves, and numerous. It means that a mighty host would come up upon the land.

Even the king of Assyria - It has been supposed by many that this is a gloss, or explanation, which has crept into the text. There is no doubt that it expresses the true sense of the passage, but it is remarkable that Isaiah himself should furnish a literal explanation in the midst of a figurative description.

And all his glory - Eastern kings marched in the midst of vast splendor. They moved with all the magnificence of the court, and were attended usually with their princes and nobles; with a splendid retinue; and with all the insignia of royalty. Such was the case with Xerxes when he invaded Greece; and such, too, with Darius, and with most of the Oriental conquerors.

And he shall come up ... - The figure of overflowing waters is here retained. To understand this, it is necessary to remark, that the Euphrates annually overflows its banks to a very considerable extent. It rises in the mountains of Armenia, and, flowing for a considerable distance in a region where the mountains are covered with snow, it falls into the level region of Mesopotamia or Syria, and flows through that region, almost parallel with the Tigris, toward the Persian Gulf. From its banks, vast numbers of canals were made, as in Egypt, to receive the water, and to render the country fertile. By the melting of the snows in Armenia, in the summer, the stream becomes greatly enlarged, and overflows vast portions of the adjacent country in a manner similar to the Nile. Usually the river is not very large. Otho says, that on the 12th of March, when he crossed the Euphrates, it was not more than 200 paces in width, but in its height, it extends 500 or 600 paces into the plains on the right. Thevenot observes, that near to Bir, the Euphrates seemed no larger than the Seine at Paris, but was very large when it was swollen. At Babylon, it is said to be about four hundred feet in breadth. That it overflows its banks, is abundantly attested by ancient as well as modern travelers; see Rosenmuller and Gesenius on this verse.

Its channels - This word means either brooks, or valleys, or canals, or channels of a river. The Euphrates flowed through a level region, and it is not improbable that it had at various times made for itself many channels. Besides this, there were many canals cut in various directions to convey its waters to the gardens, farms, etc. All these the prophet says would be full - and the water would extend even far beyond them.

2. PULPIT, “The waters of the river, strong and many. "The river" is, of course, the Euphrates, as

in Isa_7:20. In its lower course the Euphrates often overflows its banks, and inundates the adjacent

districts, causing vast damage to crops, and some-limes threatening to break down the walls of cities. It is

scarcely likely, however, that Isaiah had any acquaintance with this fact. His experience would probably

have been limited to the "swellings of Jordan" (Jer_12:5; comp.Jos_3:15). All his

glory (comp. Isa_10:12, Isa_10:16, Isa_10:18, etc.). He shall come up over all his channels. A graphic

description of the swelling of rivers in the East. These, when they are low, contract their waters from the

many channels, in which they ordinarily flow, into some one or two, leaving the others dry. The first effect

of a flood is to fill all the channels, after which it may proceed further and overflow the banks.

3. GILL, “Now therefore the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many,.... Alluding to the river Euphrates, which ran by Babylon, which was a large river, full of water, and had a rapid torrent, and so is opposed to Shiloah and its waters; and these waters are explained as follows: even the king of Assyria, and all his glory; his army, which was his glory, in which he gloried, and by which he got himself honour and glory. It is usual for mighty kings, kingdoms, and armies, to be signified by such waters, for their multitude and strength; see Rev_17:1, and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks; that is, either of the land of Ephraim or Israel, and overflow the borders thereof, run over all the whole land, and possess its fortified towns and cities. The Targum is, "therefore behold the Lord shall bring, and cause to ascend upon them, the army of the people, who are many, as the waters of a river, strong and mighty, the king of Assyria, and his army; and he shall come up upon all his rivers, and shall go upon all his banks;'' or rather "its own" (r) channels and banks, as it may be rendered; and so denotes, that the king of Assyria, and his army, should pass the Euphrates, and come out of their own land, and subdue the adjacent kingdoms and territories, and particularly the land of Judah, as follows.

4. HENRY, “The judgment which God would bring upon them for this sin. The same king of Assyria that should lay Ephraim and Syria waste should be a scourge and terror to those of their party in Judah, Isa_8:7, Isa_8:8. Because they refuse the waters of Shiloah, and will not accommodate themselves to the government God has set over them, but are uneasy under it, therefore the Lord brings upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, the river Euphrates. They slighted the land of Judah, because it had no river to boast of comparable to that; the river at Jerusalem was a very inconsiderable one. “Well,” says God, “if you be such admirers of Euphrates, you shall have enough of it; the king of Assyria, whose country lies upon that river, shall come with his glory, with his great army, which you cry up as his glory, despising your own king because he cannot bring such an army as that into the field; God shall bring that army upon you.” If we value men, if we over-value them, for their worldly wealth and power, it is just with God to make them thereby a scourge to us. It is used as an argument against magnifying rich men that rich men oppress us, Jam_2:3, Jam_2:5. Let us be best pleased with

the waters of Shiloah, that go softly, for rapid streams are dangerous. It is threatened that the Assyrian army should break in upon them like a deluge, or inundation of waters, bearing down all before it, should come up over all his channels, and overflow all his banks. It would be to no purpose to oppose or withstand them. Sennacherib and his army should pass through Judah, and meet with so little resistance that it should look more like a march through the country than a descent upon it. He shall reach even to the neck, that is, he shall advance so far as to lay siege to Jerusalem, the head of the kingdom, and nothing but that shall be kept out of his hands; for that was the holy city. Note, In the greatest deluge of trouble God can and will keep the head of his people above water, and so preserve their comforts and spiritual lives; the waters that come into their souls may reach to the neck (Psa_69:1), but there shall their proud waves be stayed. And here is another comfortable intimation that though the stretching out of the wings of the Assyrian, that bird of prey, though the right and left wing of his army, should fill the breadth of the land of Judah, yet still it was Immanuel's land. It is thy land, O Immanuel! It was to be Christ's land; for there he was to be born, and live, and preach, and work miracles. He was Zion's King, and therefore had a peculiar interest in and concern for that land. Note, The lands that Immanuel owns for his, as he does all those lands that own him, though they may be deluged, shall not be destroyed; for, when the enemy shall come in like a flood, Immanuel shall secure his own, and shall lift up a standard against him, Isa_59:19.

5. JAMISON, “therefore — for the reason given in Isa_8:6, the Assyrian flood, which is first to overflood Syria and Samaria, shall rise high enough to reach rebel Judah also (Isa_8:8).

the river — Euphrates swollen in spring by the melting of the snow of the Armenian mountains (compare Isa_8:6; Isa_7:20).

all his glory — Eastern kings travel with a gorgeous retinue.

channels — natural and artificial in the level region, Mesopotamia.

6. CALVIN, “7.Therefore, behold. He speaks in the present tense, that all may attend more

closely: Behold, the Lordbringeth violent waters. We must attend to the metaphors which the Prophet

employs, for the style is much more elegant than if it had been naked and unadorned. “ is as if he had

said, Because the people are not satisfied with their condition, and desire the riches of others, I will show

them what it is to have a powerful king.” For instance, if a small nation, whose king was mean and little

esteemed, had powerful neighbors over whom an illustrious king reigned, and said, “ delightful would it be

to serve that prosperous king, to be the subjects of the emperor, or of the kings of France; for their power

is irresistible!” would not God justly punish such an unlawful desire? The more powerful that kings are, the

more grievously do they oppress their people; there is nothing which they will not attempt, they do

everything according to their caprice. Besides, they know no limit to their power, and in proportion to their

strength they indulge with less restraint. The Lord reproves that mad desire of the Jews, in not being

satisfied with their condition, and in looking, not to the Lord, but to the resources of powerful kings; and

this reproof is far more graceful under these metaphors than if he had spoken in plain and direct

language.

Shiloah, as Jerome tells us, was a small fountain, from which flowed a little river that ran gently through

the midst of Jerusalem. That narrow river yielding them little protection, they therefore distrusted it, and

desired to have those great rivers by which cities are usually defended and greatly enriched; for there is

nothing by which a country is more enlarged or more rapidly enriched, than by those large and navigable

rivers, which render it easy to import and export merchandise of every description. He therefore compares

Euphrates, which was the most celebrated river in all the East, to Shiloah, and pursues the same

metaphor, meaning by those rapid waters of the river the Assyrians, who would destroy the whole of

Judea, and would waste it like a deluge. (2Kg_18:13.) “ will show,” saith the Lord, “ it is to desire those

rapid and violent waters.”

And he shall come up. This passage ought to be carefully observed; for we all have a distrust that may be

called natural to us, so that, when we see ourselves deprived of human assistance, we lose courage.

Whatever God may promise, we cannot at all recover ourselves, but keep our eyes fixed on our

nakedness, and sit like bewildered persons in our fear; and therefore we ought to seek a cure for this

fault. Shiloah, therefore, that is, the calling or lot which God has assigned to us accompanied by a

promise, though we do not see it with our eyes, ought to be our defense, and we should prefer it to the

highest power of all the kings in the world. For if we rely on human aid, and place our strength in large

forces and abundance of wealth, we must look for the punishment which is here threatened by the

Prophet.

The sacred history assures us that these things were fulfilled, so that any one who shall read the history

will not need a lengthened exposition of this passage; for the Assyrians, whom the Jews called to their

assistance, destroyed them. This was the just punishment of their distrust; and we see in it a striking

instance of the wicked greediness of men, who cannot be satisfied with the promise and assistance of

God.

From this destruction of the Jews let us learn to attend to our own interests. The Church is almost always

in such a condition as to be destitute of human aid, lest, if we were too largely furnished, we should be

dazzled by our wealth and resources, and forget our God. We ought to be so well satisfied and so highly

delighted with our weakness as to depend wholly on God. The small and gentle waters should be more

highly valued by us than the large and rapid rivers of all the nations, and we ought not to envy the great

power of the ungodly. Such is the import of what is written in the Psalms:

“ streams of the river shall make glad the city of God, the sanctuary of the tabernacle of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; God will help her before the dawn. Let the heathen rage, let the kingdoms be

moved, and let the earth melt when the sound is uttered. Jehovah of armies is with us; the God of Jacob

is our fortress.” (Psa_46:4.)

If it be objected that we ought not to reject human aid, the answer is easy. The Prophet does not

condemn human aid, but he condemns that wicked fear by which we are thrown into distrust, and

tremble, so that no promise of God can keep us within reasonable bounds. Now, we ought to render to

God this honor, that though all things else should fail, we shall be satisfied with him alone, and shall be

convinced that he is at hand. And in that case it matters little whether we have or have not outward

assistance; if we have it, we are at liberty to use it; if we have it not, let us bear the want of it with

patience, and let God alone suffice us for all that we need; for he will be able to execute his promises,

since he has no need of any outward aid. Only let us trust entirely to his power and defense.

8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,

passing through it and reaching up to the neck.

Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your

land, Immanuel[b]!”

1.BARNES, “He shall ... - That is, the Assyrians - though still retaining the idea of an overflowing stream, or a deluge of waters.

Reach even to the neck - Chaldee, ‘They shall come even to Jerusalem.’ ‘The prophet compares Jerusalem here,’ says Kimchi, ‘to the head of the human body. As when the waters reach to the neck of a man, he is very near drowning, so here, the prophet intimates that the whole land would be deluged, and that it would be nearly utterly destroyed.’ The figure thus understood is a very sublime one Jerusalem was situated on hills - elevated above the surrounding country, and, in reference to the whole land, might be aptly compared to the

human head. Thus, Josephus (De Bello, lib. iii. ch. ii.), describing Jerusalem, says - ?εροσόλυµα(π

ροανίσχουσα(τNς(περιοίκου(πάσης,(Uσπερ(V(κεφαλX(σώµατος Hierosoluma proanischousa te0s perioikou

pase0s, ho0sper he0 kephale0 so0matos - “Jerusalem, eminent above all the surrounding region, as the

head of the body.” The country is represented as being laid under water - a vast sea of rolling and tumultuous waves - with Jerusalem alone rising above them, standing in solitary grandeur

amidst the heaving ocean, and itself in danger each moment of being ingulphed; see a similar figure, Isa_30:28 :

He is spirit is like a torrent overflowing It shall reach to the middle of the neck.

And so also, Hab_3:13 :

Thou didst go forth for the salvation of thy people, For the salvation of thine anointed: Thou didst smite the head from the house of the wicked, Destroying the foundation even to the neck.

And the stretching out of his wings - This is a continuation of the same idea under a new figure. The term wings is often applied to an army, as well in modern as in ancient writings. It denotes that the invading army would be so vast as, when expanded or drawn out, to fill the land.

Shall fill the breadth - Shall occupy the entire land, so that there shall be no city or town which he shall not invade.

Thy land, O Immanuel - see the note at Isa_7:14. If this be understood as referring to the son of Isaiah that was to be born, then it means that the child was given as a pledge that the land would be safe from the threatened invasion. It was natural, therefore, to address the child in that manner; as reminding the prophet that this land, which was about to be invaded, belonged to God, and was yet under his protection. Its meaning may be thus paraphrased: ‘O thou who art a pledge of the protection of God - whose birth is an assurance that the land is under his care, and who art given as such a sign to the nation. Notwithstanding this pledge, the land shall be full of foes. They shall spread through every part and endanger all.’ Yet the name, the circumstances of the birth, the promise at that time, would all remind the prophet and the king, that, notwithstanding this, the land would be still under the protection of God. If the language be understood as referring to the future Messiah, and as an address made to him then, by calling the land his land, it is intimated that it could not be brought to utter desolation, nor could the country where he was to be born remain wasted and ruined. It would be indeed invaded; the armies of the Assyrian would spread over it, but still it was the land of Immanuel; and was to be the place of his birth, and it was to be secure until the time should arrive for him to come. The probability is, I think, that the address is here solely to the Messiah; and that the purpose of God is to fix the mind of the prophet on the fact that the Messiah must come, as an assurance that the land could not be wholly and perpetually desolate; see the notes at Isa_7:14.

2. CLARKE, “He shall reach even to the neck - He compares Jerusalem, says Kimchi, to the head of the human body. As when the waters come up to a man’s neck, he is very near drowning, (for a little increase of them would go over his head), so the king of Assyria coming up to Jerusalem was like a flood reaching to the neck - the whole country was overflowed, and the capital was in imminent danger. Accordingly the Chaldee renders reaching to the neck by reaching to Jerusalem.

3. GILL, “And he shall pass through Judah,.... That is, the king of Assyria, compared to a river of mighty waters; who should not only run over and possess the land of Israel, or the ten tribes, but should enter into Judea, and pass through it, as a chastisement for not trusting in the Lord, but sending to Assyria for help; who instead of helping, distressed them in the times of Ahaz, even Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, 2Ch_28:20, he shall overflow, and go over; the whole land of Judea, as Sennacherib king of Assyria did in Hezekiah's time: he shall reach even to the neck; that is, to Jerusalem: the whole land is compared to a body, of which Jerusalem was the head; the Assyrian army, comparable to the waters of a great river, overflowed the whole land, took all the fenced cities of Judah, and came up even to Jerusalem, so that the whole was in great danger of being drowned and destroyed; as a man is, when the waters are come up to his neck; see 2Ki_18:13, and the stretching out of his wings, the wings of the Assyrian army, shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel; Judea, called Immanuel's land, because he was to be born there, and converse and die there; and this is particularly mentioned, to show that, though this land should be overrun by the Assyrians, yet not destroyed, until Immanuel, the son of the virgin, was born here. The Targum is, "and he shall pass through the land of the house of Judah as an overflowing torrent, unto Jerusalem shall he come; and the people of his army shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.''

4. PULPIT, “And he shall pass through Judah; rather, he shall pass on into Judah ("He shall sweep

onward into Judah," Revised Version). The Assyrians will not be content with invading Syria and Samaria;

they will "pass on into Judaea." It is not clear whether this is to be done immediately by Tiglath-Pileser, or

by one of his successors at a later date. There is reason to believe from Tiglath-Pileser's inscriptions that

he used the territory of Ahaz for the passage of his armies as those of a vassal king, but did not ravage

them. He shall reach even to the neck. The Assyrian attacks on Judaea shall stop short of destroying it.

The flood shall not submerge the head, but only rise as high as the neck. This prophecy was fulfilled,

since it was not Assyria, but Babylon, which destroyed the Jewish kingdom. The stretching out of his

wings shall fill the breadth of thy land. The Assyrian armies shall visit every part of the land. The

sudden change of metaphor is in the manner of Isaiah (see Isa_1:30, Isa_1:31; Isa_5:24, Isa_5:30,

etc.). O Immanuel. On the importance of this address, as indicating the kingly, and so (probably) the

Divine character of Immanuel, see the notes on Isa_7:14. Isaiah could not speak of the land as belonging

to his own infant son.

5. JAMISON, “pass through — The flood shall not stop at Syria and Samaria, but shall penetrate into Judea.

the neck — When the waters reach to the neck, a man is near drowning; still the head is not said to be overflowed. Jerusalem, elevated on hills, is the head. The danger shall be so imminent as to reach near it at Sennacherib’s invasion in Hezekiah’s reign; but it shall be spared (Isa_30:28).

wings — the extreme bands of the Assyrian armies, fulfilled (Isa_36:1; Isa_37:25).

thy land, O Immanuel — Though temporarily applied to Isaiah’s son, in the full sense this is applicable only to Messiah, that Judea is His, was, and still is, a pledge that, however sorely overwhelmed, it shall be saved at last; the “head” is safe even now, waiting for the times of restoration (Act_1:6); at the same time these words imply that, notwithstanding the temporary deliverance from Syria and Israel, implied in “Immanuel,” the greatest calamities are to follow to Judah.

6. K&D, “Not till then would this overflowing reach as far as Judah, but then it would do so most certainly and incessantly.”And presses forward into Judah, overflows and pours onward, till it reaches to the neck, and the spreading out of its wings fill the breadth of thy land, Immanuel.” The fate of Judah would be different from that of Ephraim. Ephraim would be laid completely under water by the river, i.e., would be utterly destroyed. And in Judah the stream, as it rushed forward, would reach the most dangerous height; but if a deliverer could be found, there was still a possibility of its being saved. Such a deliverer was Immanuel, whom the prophet sees in the light of the Spirit living through all the Assyrian calamities. The prophet appeals complainingly to him that the land, which is his land, is almost swallowed up by the world-

power: the spreadings out (muttoth, a hophal noun: for similar substantive forms, see Isa_14:6;

Isa_29:3, and more especially Psa_66:11) of the wings of the stream (i.e., of the large bodies of water pouring out on both sides from the main stream, as from the trunk, and covering the land like two broad wings) have filled the whole land. According to Norzi, Immanuël is to be written

here as one word, as it is in Isa_7:14; but the correct reading is Imman(El, with mercha silluk

(see note on Isa_7:14), though it does not therefore cease to be a proper name. As Jerome

observes, it is nomen proprium, non interpretatum; and so it is rendered in the Sept., Μεθ(ʆ Vµ`ν

a Θεός.

7.CALVIN, “8.And crossing over into Judah The verb חלפ, (chalaph,) which sometimes signifies to

pass through, here means to attack and cut off: that is, it will not only water Judea, but will overflow it, so

as utterly to drown it; for it will spread far and wide on every part. He adds —

Even to the neck. The comparison is taken from a man who, entering a river, dips into it gradually, till the

water reaches to the neck. In this manner shall Judea be overflowed by that rapid river, that is, by the

Assyrian, till he be plunged up to the neck. He means Jerusalem, which was the metropolis of the

country; and when the Assyrian came to it, Judea was at no great distance from destruction.

The breadth of thy land. That is, in all directions; for he pursues his metaphor in his prophecy, and shows

how violent the Assyrian will be, and enlarges the representation of his strength and violence by the same

comparison; that is, by comparing him to an impetuous river, which bursting through its barriers and

overflowing its banks, spreads far and wide, and overturns and destroys everything by its violence. He

proceeds in his discourse against the Jews, as he had begun to do in the two former verses; for, having

foretold the destruction of the Israelites and Syrians, he likewise threatens that the Jews, in their turn,

shall be punished for their unbelief.

To understand this better, Isaiah’ highly beautiful and closely connected discourse must be examined.

First, he turned aside to address others; for Ahaz was unworthy of being addressed. The Lord will

give you a sign; which was declared in the former chapter. Next, he adds the manner of preserving

Jerusalem, by the sudden changes which should take place in Syria and Samaria. This was confirmed, in

the beginning of this chapter, both by a commandment and by a vision. He now comes to the Jews

themselves, that they may not hope to escape without being punished, or be too highly elated by the

destruction of their enemies; for he declares that for them also a reward is prepared, and that they, too,

will be punished for their wickedness and treachery, because they despised the Lord, and would not rest

satisfied with his promises, and signs, and acts of kindness largely and bountifully offered.

O Immanuel. It may be asked, Why does the Prophet direct his discourse to Christ, instead of simply

calling the land “’ holy land?” For there can be no doubt that by the name Immanuel he means Christ. It

might be thought that this expression was used in order to express the disgrace more strongly; for, since

Judea not only was set apart to God, but in the person of the Mediator had God as the guardian of its

safety, it was disgraceful that it should be destroyed by a heathen king. But I rather think that the Prophet

added this name, in order to hold out to good men some remnant of hope, and to comfort them in so

great a calamity; for, when the country was wasted and cruelly torn, they might have lost courage. He

therefore means, that that desolation would not prevent the coming of the Redeemer, of whom he had

formerly spoken. As if he had said, “ the land shall be thine, O Immanuel; in it shalt thou have thy

residence and abode.” This was, therefore, added instead of a consolation, in order to intimate that the

land, though torn and wasted, belongs to God and not to men. The sudden change too a direct address

( ἀποστροφὴ) is emphatic; for in this way the Prophet solemnly declares his belief in redemption, that the

Lord may set a limit to the frightful calamities.

9 Raise the war cry,

[c] you nations, and be shattered!

Listen, all you distant lands.

Prepare for battle, and be shattered!

Prepare for battle, and be shattered!

1.BARNES, “Associate yourselves - In the previous verses the prophet had seen the Assyrian coming up on the land like an overwhelming flood. He looked upon the danger, and his mind was turned to the pledge of safety which God had given. The name Immanuel, and the promise connected with the giving of that name Isa_7:16, reminded him of the perfect safety of the nation, for it was a pledge that God was with them; see Isa_8:10. In view of this pledge of the protection of God, this verse is a spirited apostrophe to the mighty host that was about to invade the land. Though confederated and vast, yet they could not prevail. They should be scattered, much as they might be prepared for victory, for God had given a pledge that he would defend his people.

Associate - There has been much variety among interpreters about the meaning of the Original word used here. It may mean “to be terrified, to be alarmed,” as well as to associate or become confederate. The Vulgate and Chaldee render it, ‘Be assembled, or congregated.’ The Septuagint, ‘Know, ye nations,’ etc. The Syriac, ‘Tremble, ye people,’ etc. Still the notion of associating, confederating, or entering into an alliance, suits the connection better; answers to the parallelism in the latter part of the verse, and is equally consonant with the original.

O ye people - Ye people of Assyria. This is an apostrophe to the mighty multitudes that were to come up upon the land from that country.

And ye shall be broken in pieces - That is, though the confederacy be mighty, yet shall not prevail. It shall not accomplish that which you purpose - the entire destruction of the land of Judah.

Give ear, all ye of far countries - That should be particularly engaged in the confederacy - Assyria, and the kingdoms allied with it.

Gird yourselves - As if for war; that is, prepare yourselves thoroughly for conquest; see the note at Isa_5:27. The repetition of this shows the excited and agitated state of the prophet’s mind. It is a strong, emphatic mode of expression - denoting that they should be certainly broken in pieces, notwithstanding the strength of their confederacy.

2. CLARKE, “Associate yourselves “Know ye this” - God by his prophet plainly declares to the confederate adversaries of Judah, and bids them regard and attend to his declaration, that all their efforts shall be in vain.

The present reading, רעו rou, is subject to many difficulties; I follow that of the Septuagint, דעו

deu, γνωτε. Archbishop Secker approves this reading. דעו deu know ye this, is parallel and

synonymous to האזינו haazinu, give ear to It, in the next line. The Septuagint have likewise very well paraphrased the conclusion of this verse: “When ye have strengthened yourselves, ye shall

be broken; and though ye again strengthen yourselves, again shall ye be broken;” taking חתו

chottu as meaning the same with נשברו, shall be broken.

3. GILL, “Associate yourselves, O ye people,.... Both of Syria and Israel, whose two kings were confederate against Judah: and ye shall be broken in pieces; as the kingdom of Syria was by Tilgathpilneser quickly after this, 2Ki_16:9 and the kingdom of Ephraim or Israel by Shalmaneser, 2Ki_17:6, and give ear, all ye of far countries; the Assyrians, and the nations that belonged to them, who were more remote from Judea: gird yourselves; for a long and tedious march, and for war; it may signify the putting on of their whole armour; for, as Pausanius (s) says, the ancients used to call putting on of armour, girding: and ye shall be broken in pieces: as the Assyrian army was, which came up against Jerusalem in Hezekiah's time, 2Ki_19:35, gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; this is repeated for confirmation sake, to denote the certainty of it.

4. HENRY, “The prophet here returns to speak of the present distress that Ahaz and his court and kingdom were in upon account of the threatening confederacy of the ten tribes and the Syrians against them. And in these verses,

I. He triumphs over the invading enemies, and, in effect, sets them at defiance, and bids them do

their worst (Isa_8:9, Isa_8:10): “O you people, you of far countries, give ear to what the

prophet says to you in God's name.” 1. “We doubt not but you will now make your utmost efforts

against Judah and Jerusalem. You associate yourselves in a strict alliance. You gird yourselves,

and again you gird yourselves; you prepare for action; you address yourselves to it with

resolution; you gird on your swords; you gird up your loins. You animate and encourage

yourselves and one another with all the considerations you can think of: you take counsel

together, call councils of war, and all heads are at work about the proper methods for making

yourselves masters of the land of Judah. You speak the word; you come to resolutions

concerning it, and are not always deliberating; you determine what to do, and are very confident

of the success of it, that the matter will be accomplished with a word's speaking.” Note, It is with

a great deal of policy, resolution, and assurance, that the church's enemies carry on their designs

against it; and abundance of pains they take to roll a stone that will certainly return upon them.

2. “This is to let you know that all your efforts will be ineffectual. You cannot, you shall not, gain

your point, nor carry the day: You shall be broken in pieces. Though you associate yourselves,

though you gird yourselves, though you proceed with all the policy and precaution imaginable,

yet, I tell you again and again, all your projects shall be baffled, you shall be broken in pieces.

Nay, not only shall your attempts be ruined, but your attempts shall be your ruin; you shall be

broken by those designs you have formed against Jerusalem: Your counsels shall come to

nought; for there is no wisdom nor counsel against the Lord. Your resolves will not be put in

execution; they shall not stand. You speak the word, but who is he that saith, and it cometh to

pass, if the Lord commandeth it not? What sets up itself against God, and his cause and counsel,

cannot stand, but must inevitably fall. For God is with us” (this refers to the name of Immanuel

- God with us); “the Messiah is to be born among us, and a people designed for such an honour

cannot be given up to utter ruin. We have now the special presence of God with us in his temple,

his oracles, his promises, and these are our defence. God is with us; he is on our side, to take our

part and fight for us; and, if God be for us, who can be against us?” Thus does the daughter of

Zion despise them.

5. JAMISON, “Associate yourselves — rather, “Raise tumults,” or, Rage, that is, Do your worst [Maurer], referring perhaps to the attack of Rezin and Pekah on Jerusalem.

and ... be broken in pieces — rather, “yet ye shall be thrown into consternation.” Imperative in the Hebrew, according to the idiom whereby the second of two imperatives implies the future, namely, the consequence of the action contained in the first (so Isa_6:9). The name “Immanuel” in Isa_8:8 (compare Isa_8:10) suggests the thought of the ultimate safety of Immanuel’s land, both from its present two invaders, and even from the Assyrians, notwithstanding the grievous flood, wherewith the previous verses foretell they shall deluge it. The succession of the house of David cannot be set aside in Judah, for Immanuel Messiah is to be born in it as heir of David, of whom Isaiah’s son is but a type (Isa_9:4, Isa_9:6).

give ear ... far countries — witness the discomfiture of Judah’s enemies. The prophecy probably looks on also to the final conspiracy of Antichrist and his supporters against the Heir of David’s throne in the latter days and their utter overthrow [Horsley].

gird yourselves ... gird yourselves — The repetition expresses vehemently the certainty of their being thrown into consternation (not as English Version, “broken in pieces”).

6. K&D, “The prophet's imploring look at Immanuel does not remain unanswered. We may see this from the fact, that what was almost a silent prayer is changed at once into the jubilate of holy defiance. “Exasperate yourselves, O nations, and go to pieces; and see it, all who are far off in the earth! Gird yourselves, and go to pieces; gird yourselves, and go to pieces! Consult counsel, and it comes to nought; speak the word, and it is not realized: for with us is God.” The second imperatives in Isa_8:9 are threatening words of authority, having a future signification,

which change into futures in Isa_8:19 (Ges. §130, 2): Go on exasperating yourselves רעו( with

the tone upon the penultimate, and therefore not the pual of רעה, consociari, which is the

rendering adopted in the Targum, but the kal of רעע, malum esse; not vociferari, for which (רוע, a different verb from the same root, is commonly employed), go on arming; ye will nevertheless

fall to pieces (Cho0ttu, from Chathath, related to Cathath, Confringi, Consternari). The prophet

classes together all the nations that are warring against the people of God, pronounces upon them the sentence of destruction, and calls upon all distant lands to hear this ultimate fate of the kingdom of the world, i.e., of the imperial power. The world-kingdom must be wrecked on the land of Immanuel; “for with us,” as the watchword of believers runs, pointing to the person of the Savour, “with us is God.”

7. PULPIT, “Associate yourselves. It is impossible to obtain this meaning from the existing Hebrew

text, which must be translated, "Be angry," or "Rage" ("Make an uproar," Revised Version). The prophet

passes from the consideration of the opposition offered to Jehovah by Israel, Syria, and Assyria, to a

general consideration of all the nations of the earth. He challenges them to the combat against Jehovah,

and confidently predicts their defeat. O ye people; rather, O ye peoples (compare the corresponding

expression in the next clause, "All ye of far countries").

8. CALVIN, “9.Associate yourselves. The verb רעו, (rognu,) whether it be derived from רוע (ruang) or

from רעה, (ragnah,) signifies to bruise. But as רעה (ragnah) signifies to associate, some prefer taking it in

this sense, which certainly agrees better with the scope and argument of the Prophet. Some render

it, Bruise ye, that is, bruise the kingdom of Judah, or, bruise the Assyrians; but this appears to be

unnatural or far-fetched. That it describes the plans and undertakings by which they endeavored to crush

the Church of God, is evident from its being immediately added, and a second time repeated, by the

Prophet, Gird you, that is, “ a plan.” The wordassociate, therefore, is the most suitable, unless, perhaps, it

be thought preferable to take the verb רעו (rognu) metaphorically; and I willingly favor that opinion, so as

to make it mean to heap up (126); for those things which are bruised must of necessity be violently

pressed and squeezed together. He therefore means not only gathering together, but likewise pressing

closely together; as if he had said, “ close to one another, as if you were a dense mass.” This meaning

agrees beautifully, I think, with the scope of this passage; for to the same purpose is what he immediately

adds, “ yourselves, Gird you. ”

The Prophet rises into confidence after having mentioned Immanuel, that is, God, who would assist his

people; and at the same time cherishes increased hope in opposition to enemies, that though it might be

thought that they had gained their object when they had depopulated the country, still the Lord would be

victorious, and would preserve his people against the cruelty of their enemies. Withdrawing his mind,

therefore, from the sight of that calamity, he turns to Christ, and, by contemplating him, acquires such

courage that he ventures to taunt his enemies as if he had vanquished them. We must view the Prophet

as on a watch-tower, from which he beholds the distressed condition of the people, and the victorious

Assyrians proudly exulting over them. Refreshed by the name and the sight of Christ, he forgets all his

distresses, as if he had suffered nothing; and, freed from all his wretchedness, rises against the enemies

whom the Lord would immediately destroy. This ought to be carefully observed; that, as we have still to

contend against the same temptations amidst those afflictions which the Church endures, and by the

weight of which it is almost overwhelmed, we may direct our eyes to Christ, by the sight of whom we shall

be able to triumph over Satan and over enemies of every description.

Ye peoples. (127) Why does he call them עמים, (gnammim,) peoples, when it was the Assyrian only that

would lay waste Judea? I reply, the army of the Assyrian was composed of various peoples; for he had

subdued not only the Chaldeans, but many other peoples; and, accordingly, that monarchy consisted of

various nations. Yet the Prophet might refer to the Israelites, the Syrians, and the Egyptians, and to all

others who were enemies of the Church of God; for he does not speak of one stroke inflicted on the

Church, but of the incessant contests which the chosen people had continually to endure. But in order to

understand this better, we must join with it the following verse, at the end of which we find the words for

Immanuel, that is, for God is with us; for this is the security for our deliverance. Let men league together,

and contrive, and form plans and determinations, they will not be able to accomplish anything;

for there is no counsel against the Lord, (Pro_21:30;)

and therefore we must begin with this foundation, if we wish to stand firm.

But we must ascertain if all men have a right to glory on that ground, for wicked men also boast that God

is with them, and in his name do not scruple to grow insolent and haughty; but their glorying is idle and

unfounded. Now, the valor of the godly rests on the word of God, and proceeds from true faith; and if this

dwells in our minds, we may triumph over all our enemies; as Paul also teaches, when he encourages the

godly by this doctrine,

If God be for us, who shall be against us?

(Rom_8:31.)

First, then, we ought to make sure that God is with us, which cannot be unless we embrace the promises

by faith; and if we have faith, we do not glory in vain. As to his addressing a nation so distant, to whom

that word could not reach, the reason is obvious, that the efficacy of the word might be made known to

unbelievers, and that they might know that he would restrain the Assyrians with all their warlike

accoutrements, though they were at a great distance; as if he had said, “ do indeed despise God, but it

will be easy for him to keep you at a distance, and to repress all your rage.”

Gird yourselves. This is not a superfluous repetition; for it is far more difficult to expect the assistance of

God a second time, when we have once been delivered, than to embrace the promise of one single

deliverance. Besides, although the first attacks of enemies do not so greatly alarm us, yet when we see

them hardened in their malice, their obstinacy reduces us to weakness. We have experience of this every

day; for if any danger threatens us, we may expect assistance from the Lord; but if we are again in

danger, we give way; and so great is our ingratitude, that we scarcely think that God will help us a second

time. In consequence of this, we faint if we are frequently brought into danger, and do not consider that

God is never wearied by doing us good, and by continually assisting us.

Isaiah, therefore, intended to oppose this frailty of men, that when armed foes had once and again

attacked us, we may stand firm. If, after being vanquished or weakened, they again muster their forces,

and do not cease to annoy us, let us not be discouraged; for to-morrow, and the next day, and as often as

they league together, God will be able to frustrate and destroy them. Hence, also, we are reminded of our

condition, that we may be always prepared for enduring additional conflicts, and may not think that we

have done all that was required from us, when we have once resisted; for Satan is unwearied in his

efforts, and continually labors to accomplish our destruction; he animates his soldiers, and inflames them

with new eagerness. But although the contests must be often maintained, we are certain of victory, and

therefore we ought to fight boldly, and to remain constantly on the field.

(126) The Author illustrates it by a word borrowed from his own vernacular, entasser , which, like the Latin

verb coacervare , signifies to heap up, or gather into heaps. — Ed.

(127) “O ye people. ” — Eng. Ver.

10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;

propose your plan, but it will not stand,

for God is with us.[d]

1.BARNES, “Take counsel together - This is an address to the same foreign nations. It refers to the designs which they would form to destroy the Jewish state.

Speak the word - That is, give the command - to overturn the nation of the Jews.

It shall not stand - It shall not be accomplished.

For God is with us - Hebrew ‘For Immanuel.’ It indicates the confidence of the prophet in view of the promise and the pledge. His reliance was there. Though the enemies were strong and mighty; though the confederacy was formidable; yet his simple reliance was in the name Immanuel! In this he had confidence, in spite of all the violent efforts and designs of the foes of Judah; see Num_14:9 :

Only, rebel not ye against the Lord: Neither fear ye the people of the land; For they are bread for us; Their defense is departed from them, And Jehovah is with us, Fear thom not.

See also Psa_46:6-7 :

The heathen raged, The kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice, the earth dissolved. Jehovah of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.

2. PULPIT, “Take counsel together; literally, devise a device; i.e. form some plan, even the cleverest

possible, against God's people, and the result will be utter failure. It shall not stand (comp. Isa_7:7). For

God is with us. In the Hebrew, ki 'immanu-El, "for with us (is) God" words declarative of the true meaning

of the name which God had made a sign to his people (Isa_7:14). It was his being "with them" that could

alone save them from their enemies.

3. GILL, “Take counsel together,.... As Rezin king of Syria, and Remaliah's son, did against Judah, Isa_7:5, it shall come to nought; for, though they came up against it, they could not overcome it, 2Ki_16:5,

speak the word; what they intended, resolved upon, and determined to do; this is the issue of their counsels: and it shall not stand; See Gill on Isa_7:7,

for God is with us; which is the interpretation of the name "Immanuel": and which shows that

the reason why the consultations and resolutions of the enemies of Judah could not take place,

so as to destroy it, was because Immanuel, the virgin's son, was to be born in it.

4. JAMISON, “the word — of command, for the assault of Jerusalem.

God is with us — “Immanuel” implies this (Num_14:9; Psa_46:7).

5. CALVIN, “10.Take counsel. After having spoken of the forces of the enemies, he now comes to

their counsels; as if he had said, “ the enemies may abound not only in armor and in strength, but,

in counsel and wisdom, still they will accomplish nothing.” And this warning was very necessary; for it

often happens that we despise enemies, though powerful and well armed, because they want counsel,

and are guided by blind violence rather than by reason. He therefore forewarns them that the craftiness of

the enemies, and all the arts by which they endeavor to gain advantage over the people of God, will in the

end be unsuccessful; and, therefore, that they will accomplish nothing, though they be in want of nothing,

and though they may have a great abundance of everything, of forces, and counsels, and crafty designs.

He adds —

Speak the word. To make the meaning more clear, I have rendered it decree a decree. This relates to

their insolence, or it is the conclusion of the consultation; for after deliberation a decree usually follows.

He declares that all these things will vanish into smoke. It is, therefore, sufficiently evident what the

Prophet means, and to what purpose this passage ought to be applied; for it may be regarded as a shield

by which we can drive away all the terrors of enemies, whether they excel, on the one hand, in forces,

wealth, power, influence, and rank; or, on the other, in wisdom, counsel, craftiness, sagacity, and

invention, or, in a word, in insolence. For we are well armed and very powerful, if God is with us; and,

therefore, all the contrivances or decrees of adversaries will immediately vanish away.

For God is with us. אל עמנו כי, (ki Immanu-el;) literally, for Immanuel. We have already explained the force

of this argument. (128) For my own part, I have no doubt that he alludes to the name which he formerly

gave to Christ; for although he means that God assists his people, yet as the majesty of God is not of

itself sufficient to support us, he contemplates God himself in the person of the Mediator, in whom alone

he has promised to assist us.

11 This is what the LORD says to me with his strong

hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of

this people:

1.BARNES, “For the Lord spake thus - Spake that which immediately follows in the next verse. Warned him not to Unite in the alliance with foreign kingdoms which the nation was about forming.

With a strong hand - Margin, ‘With strength of hand.’ That is, when the hand of God urged me. A strong prophetic impulse is often represented as being produced by God’s laying his hand on the prophet; or by his being thus, as it were, urged or impelled to it; Eze_3:14 : ‘The hand of Jehovah was strong upon me;’ 2Ki_3:15 : ‘And it came to pass, that when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him;’ Jer_20:7 : ‘O Lord, thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed;’ see also Ecc_2:24; 1Ki_18:46; 2Ki_3:15; Eze_33:22; Eze_40:1; compare the Introduction, section 7. 11. (3.) The meaning is, that the prophet was strongly, and almost irresistibly, urged by the divine influence, to say what he was about to say.

That I should not walk ... - That I should not approve, and fall in with the design of Ahaz, and of the nation, in calling in the aid of the Assyrian armies.

2. CLARKE, “With a strong hand “As taking me by the hand” - Eleven MSS., (two

ancient), of Kennicott’s, thirty-four of De Rossi’s, and seven editions, read כחזקת kechezkath; and so Symmachus, the Syriac, and Vulgate. Or rather with a strong hand, that is, with a strong and powerful influence of the prophetic Spirit.

3. GILL, “For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand,.... In the strength of prophecy, as the Targum explains it; and so all the Jews' interpreters understand it of prophecy, as in Eze_1:3, or, "the Lord spake thus to me, when he took (me) by the hand" (t); as parents or masters take hold of the hands of children, while they are advising and instructing them, as expressive of their great affection for them; and when they would retain them with them, or restrain them from doing amiss:

and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people: or join with them in desiring and seeking for the help of the king of Assyria, against Rezin and Remaliah's son; or in being willing to surrender up into their hands: saying; as follows:

4. HENRY, “He comforts and encourages the people of God with the same comforts and encouragements which he himself had received. The attempt made upon them was very formidable; the house of David, the court and royal family, were at their wits' end (Isa_7:2), and then no marvel if the people were in a consternation. Now,

1. The prophet tells us how he was himself taught of God not to give way to such amazing fears as the people were disturbed with, nor to run into the same measures with them (Isa_8:11): “The Lord spoke to me with a strong hand not to walk in the way of this people, not to say as they say nor do as they do, not to entertain the same frightful apprehensions of things nor to approve of their projects of making peace upon any terms, or calling in the help of the Assyrians.” God instructed the prophet not to go down the stream. Note, (1.) There is a proneness in the best of men to be frightened at threatening clouds, especially when fears are epidemic. We are all too apt to walk in the way of the people we live among, though it be not a good way. (2.) Those whom God loves and owns he will instruct and enable to swim against the stream of common corruptions, particularly of common fears. He will find ways to teach his own people not to walk in the way of other people, but in a sober singularity. (3.) Corruption is sometimes so active in the hearts even of good men that they have need to be taught their duty with a strong hand, and it is God's prerogative to teach so, for he only can give an understanding and overpower the contradiction of unbelief and prejudice. He can teach the heart; and herein none teaches like him. (4.) Those that are to teach others have need to be themselves well instructed in their duty, and then they teach most powerfully when they teach experimentally. The word that comes from the heart is most likely to reach to the heart; and what we are ourselves by the grace of God instructed in we should, as we are able, teach others also.

5. JAMISON, “with a strong hand — or else, “when He grasped me with His hand” [Horsley]. Maurer, as English Version, “with the impetus of His hand,” that is, the felt impulse of His inspiration in my mind (Jer_15:17; Eze_1:3; Eze_3:14, Eze_3:22; Eze_37:1).

way of ... people — their distrust of Jehovah, and the panic which led them and Ahab to seek Assyrian aid.

6. K&D, “There then follows in Isa_8:11 an explanatory clause, which seems at first sight to pass on to a totally different theme, but it really stands in the closest connection with the triumphant words of Isa_8:9, Isa_8:10. It is Immanuel whom believers receive, constitute, and hold fast as their refuge in the approaching times of the Assyrian judgment. He is their refuge and God in Him, and not any human support whatever. This is the link of connection with Isa_8:11, Isa_8:12 : “For Jehovah hath spoken thus to me, overpowering me with God's hand, and instructing me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, Call ye not conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy; and what is feared by it, fear ye not, neither think ye dreadful.”

the hand,” is the absolute hand, which is no sooner laid upon a man than it overpowers all“ ,היד

perception, sensation, and though: Chezkath(hayyad (viz., alai, upon me, Eze_3:14) therefore

describes a condition in which the hand of God was put forth upon the prophet with peculiar force, as distinguished from the more usual prophetic state, the effect of a peculiarly impressive and energetic act of God. Luther is wrong in following the Syriac, and adopting the rendering,

“taking me by the hand;” as Chezkath points back to the kal (invalescere), and not to the hiphil

(apprehendere). It is this circumstantial statement, which is continued in v'yissereni (“and

instructing me”), and not the leading verb amar (“he said”); for the former is not the third pers.

pret. piel, which would be v'yisserani, but the third pers. fut. kal, from the future form yisso0r

(Hos_10:10, whereas the fut. piel is v'yasse0r); and it is closely connected with Chezkath(hayyad, according to the analogy of the change from the participial and infinitive construction to the finite verb (Ges. §132, Anm. 2). With this overpowering influence, and an instructive warning against going in the way of “this people,” Jehovah spake to the prophet as follows. With regard to the substance of the following warning, the explanation that has been commonly adopted since the time of Jerome, viz., noli duorum regum timere conjurationem (fear not the conspiracy of the two kings), is contrary to the reading of the words. The warning runs thus: The

prophet, and such as were on his side, were not to call that kesher which the great mass of the

people called kesher (cf., 2Ch_23:13, “She said, Treason, Treason!” kesher, kesher); yet the alliance of Rezin and Pekah was really a conspiracy - a league against the house and people of David. Nor can the warning mean that believers, when they saw how the unbelieving Ahaz brought the nation into distress, were not to join in a conspiracy against the person of the king (Hofmann, Drechsler); they are not warned at all against making a conspiracy, but against

joining in the popular cry when the people called out kesher. The true explanation has been given by Roorda, viz., that the reference is to the conspiracy, as it was called, of the prophet and his disciples (“sermo hic est de conjuratione, quae dicebatur prophetae et discipulorum ejus”). The same thing happened to Isaiah as to Amos (Amo_7:10) and to Jeremiah. Whenever the prophets were at all zealous in their opposition to the appeal for foreign aid, they were accused and branded as standing in the service of the enemy, and conspiring for the overthrow of the kingdom. In such perversion of language as this, the honourable among them were not to join. The way of God was now a very different one from the way of that people. If the prophet and his followers opposed the alliance with Asshur, this was not a common human conspiracy against the will of the king and nation, but the inspiration of God, the true policy of Jehovah. Whoever trusted in Him had no need to be afraid of such attempts as those of Rezin and Pekah, or to look upon them as dreadful.

7.CALVIN, “11.For thus Jehovah spake to me. Here the Prophet contends against another kind of

temptations, that is, against the unbelief of the people; and in order to make that more manifest, it ought

to be observed that there were two remarkable temptations, the one external, and the other internal. The

external temptation came from professed enemies, such as from the Assyrian; and when the people saw

his plundering and cruelty, they thought that all was over with them, because he had brought them almost

to utter ruin. The other temptation was internal; for that sacred people, which boasted of having been

chosen by God, relied on the assistance of man rather than of God. Now, this was a most dangerous

temptation; for it appeared as if that nation, by its unbelief, refused admission to the promises of God,

which were daily offered, and which were continually sounded in their ears. And what could the Prophet

think, amidst so great perplexity, but that the destruction of this wicked people, which did not cease

wickedly to reject the grace of God, was close at hand? The Lord, therefore, determined that both the

Prophet and his disciples should be armed against a temptation of this kind.

As if by taking hold of my hand. (129) This is a beautiful metaphor, which the commentators, I think, have

not understood. He alludes to fathers or teachers, who, when their words have not sufficient effect, seize

the hand of their children or scholars, and hold them so as to compel them to obey. Thus the servants of

the Lord are sometimes disposed to throw everything away, because they think that they are laboring to

no purpose; but the Lord lays as it were, his hand on them, and holds them fast, that they may go forward

in the discharge of their duty. This is well understood to be very necessary, and is actually experienced by

all who faithfully serve the Lord; for no temptation is more severe than when they in whom faith ought to

dwell revolt; and, in a word, when faith appears to be banished from the world.

This taking hold of the hand is, therefore, highly necessary, because not only are we fickle and liable to

unsteadiness, but we are also by nature too much inclined to what is evil, though no one entice us. But if

the force of custom be added, we are scarcely master of ourselves. Undoubtedly, we would every

moment be driven up and down, were it not that we are held by the powerful government of God, and fix

the anchor of constancy in firm ground. Every one of us ought to meditate earnestly on this thought; for

though we may be convinced, yet when it comes to the trial we fail, and look at men rather than God. We

should, therefore, attend more carefully to this doctrine, and pray to God to hold us, not only by his word

but by laying his hand on us.

Besides, it ought to be observed that we are exceedingly disposed to wicked imitation. When we see bad

examples, we are drawn to them with great force, and take the example for a law; for when others go

before us, we think that we have a right to act in the same manner, and especially when it is not only one

or a few persons who have led the way, but the custom has become universal. What is in itself manifestly

wrong is concealed by the plausible cloak of public opinion; and not only so, but all are carried, as it were,

by the violence of a whirlwind, to adopt an established custom, as if the will of the people had the force of

a law to authorize their corruptions. This has not been the fault of a single age, but at the present day it

abounds as much or even more than before; for it is an evil deeply seated in all by the corruption of

nature, to reckon a prevailing error as a law. Hence arise the superstitions of all ages, and those which at

the present day exist in Popery, the origin of which, if it be investigated, will be found to be nothing else

than that some persons have drawn others into the same error; and thus almost all have been foolishly

caught by the snares of Satan, and the general agreement of men is still the chief foundation of those

superstitions. All defend themselves by this weapon. “ are not alone,” say they; “ follow an immense

multitude.”

(129) With a strong hand. — Eng. Ver. The marginal reading is, “ in strength of hand. ” — Ed.

8. PULPIT, “For the Lord. Mr. Cheyne regards this passage as "a short oracle, complete in itself," and entirely unconnected with what has preceded. But the initial ki, "for," is in that case inexplicable. Spake thus to me with a strong hand; literally,with strength of hand—i.e. laying a strong grasp upon him; and, as it were, constraining him to attend (comp. Eze_1:3; Eze_3:14, Eze_3:22, etc.). That I should not walk in the way of this people. Isaiah was bidden not to "follow a multitude to evil" (Exo_23:2). It was not merely idolatry against which he was warned, but the whole spirit and tone of the society of his day. He was not to entertain their suspicions, or to hope their hopes, or to fear their fears. He was to take a line of his own, to fear God and him only; then God would be "for a Sanctuary" to him.

9. BI, “God’s overpowering hand

The hand is the absolute Hand which, when it is laid upon a man, overpowers all his perception, feeling, and thinking. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.)

“With strength of hand”

(Isa_8:11):—That is, seizing him and casting him into the prophetic trance (2Ki_3:15; Eze_1:3; Eze_3:14; Eze_8:1). (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)

Warning and encouragement

The cry in Judah had been, “There is a conspiracy against us, a formidable combination, which can only be met by a counter-alliance with Assyria” (such appears to be the best interpretation of this difficult verse): Isaiah and his little circle of adherents had been warned not to join in it, not to judge of the enterprise, or probable success, of Rezin and Pekah, by the worldly and superficial estimate of the masses. A truer guide for action had been revealed to them. “Do not,” such is the lesson which he has been taught, “do not follow the common people in their unreasonable alarm” (verse 12): “Jehovah of hosts, Him shall ye count holy; and let Him be your fear, and Him your dread,” i.e., in modern phraseology, “Do not be guilty of a practical abandonment of Jehovah; do not sacrifice principle to expediency. If you do not lose faith, “He will be for you a sanctuary” (verse 14), i.e., (apparently) He will be as a sanctuary protecting the territory in which it is situated, and securing for those who honour it safety and peace; “but” (it is ominously added) “a cause of stumbling and ruin to both the houses of Israel,” to you of Judah not less than to those of Ephraim, to whom alone you think that the warning can apply. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)

Principle and expediency

Translated into modem language, the prophet’s lesson is this—that those who in a time of difficulty and temptation sacrifice principle to expediency, sad abandon the clear path of duty for a course which may seem to lead to some greater immediate advantage, must not be surprised if the penalty which they ultimately have to pay be a severe one. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)

Isaiah 8:12-14 Neither fear ye their fear. Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself.

Sanctifying the Lord

To sanctify Jehovah is in mind and in practice to recognise Him as the holy God, the Lord who is absolute, free from the limitations which hinder all other beings from carrying their wills into full operation; and to believe with the whole heart that God can and does govern all things according to the counsel of His own will, and that what He determines does certainly come to pass, however probabilities and appearances may be against the belief. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)

God should be a sailor’s supreme regard

Isaiah’s—or rather the Divine—policy was one of non-alliance and non-intervention. It did not forbid kindly commercial and literary intercourse with foreign nations. On the contrary, it ever looked hopefully forward to a time when all kings and their subjects should acknowledge Jehovah, and flow into His house. It was a policy of justifiable and absolute trust in the protecting care of the living God, who holds the nations in the hollow of His hand. It was a policy of the highest and truest patriotism, because it first insisted on the internal purification of the nation from sin and disobedience, from idolatry, drunkenness, oppression of the poor, unrighteous trading, luxury and lust, from hypocrisies and shams of ceremonial religion; and then, upon the uselessness and irrationality of standing armies and warlike weapons. (F. Sessions.)

The true remedy against fear

I. SPEAK AGAINST GIVING WAY TO FEAR. In periods of alarm the reports that are spread always much outstrip the truth. Fear is a very inventive passion; it creates to itself many causes of alarm which have no existence, and greatly magnifies those which really exist.

II. POINT OUT THE PROPER AND ONLY SUFFICIENT REMEDY AGAINST DISQUIETUDE. There is no rationality in being free from fear, or relieved from fear, otherwise than by true piety towards God. “Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself,” etc.

III. SHOW HOW COMPLETE THIS RELIEF OUGHT TO BE. And in doing this, I shall place before you a few passages of Holy Scripture showing what is proposed to you, what may be hoped for and ought to be aspired after. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower,” etc. The perfections of God are our never-failing resource and security. “Come, My people, enter into thy

chambers,” etc. (Isa_26:20). “Be careful for nothing,” etc. “Cast thyburden on the Lord,” etc. Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace, etc. They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion,” etc. (J. Scott, M. A.)

The fear of God

I. THE WHOLE SUBJECT OF GODHEAD IS ONE OF AWE, and if of awe, then “dread.” The more you know of God, the more you feel the unfathomableness of the mystery of Godhead. And all mystery is awe. It is a rule of our being, that we must tremble when we stand on the margin of the unknown. Therefore they who know most of God will most “fear,” not His anger, but simply His amazing greatness.

II. THE SENSE OF MERCY AND BENEFITS HEAPED UPON US HAS AN OVERWHELMING INFLUENCE UPON THE MIND. Do not you know what it is to tremble at a danger when you have escaped it, much more than you did when you encountered it? That is exactly the “fear” and the “dread” of a pardoned sinner. It is the contemplation of a thundercloud which has rolled over your head.

III. REVERENCE IS THE GREAT LESSON WHICH OUR AGE HAS TO LEARN. Be suspicious of the love which is without awe. Remember that our best acquaintance with God only shows us more the immensity of the fields of thought which no mind can traverse.

IV. “HE SHALL BE FOR A SANCTUARY.” Do you recoil at the idea of dreading God? That which makes the dread makes the hiding place. To those who fear, He shall be for a sanctuary.

1. To a Jewish mind, the first idea of the sanctuary would be refuge.

2. The sanctuary of safety becomes the home of peace. “Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.”

3. God is the fountain of your holiness. The Shechinah shines you become familiar with the precincts of that holy you catch some of its rays, and reflect its glory. (J. Vaughan.)

Fear

I. AN EVIL PRACTICE PROHIBITED. “Fear not their fear, neither be afraid.” Sinful fears are apt to drive the best men into sinful compliances and indirect shifts to help themselves. Their fear may be understood two ways—

1. Subjectively. A fear that enslaved them in bondage of spirit, a fear that is the fruit of sin, a sin in its own nature, the cause of much sin to them, and a just punishment of God upon them for their other sins.

2. Effectively. Let not your fear produce in you such mischievous effects as their fear doth; to make you forget God, magnify the creature, prefer your own wits and policies to the almighty power and never-failing faithfulness of God.

II. AN EFFECTUAL REMEDY PRESCRIBED. “Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself,” etc. The fear of God will swallow up the fear of man, a reverential awe and dread of God will extinguish the slavish fear of the creature, as the sunshine puts out fire, or as one fire fetches out another. When the Dictator ruled at Rome, then all other officers ceased; and so, in a great measure, will all other fears, where the fear of God is dictator in the heart.

III. A SINGULAR ENCOURAGEMENT PROPOSED. “He shall be for a sanctuary.” (J. Flavel.)

Fear and it, remedy

I. THE BEST MEN ARE TOO APT TO BE OVERCOME WITH SLAVISH FEARS IN TIMES OF IMMINENT DISTRESS AND DANGER.

II. THE FEAR OF GOD IS THE MOST EFFECTUAL MEANS TO EXTINGUISH THE SINFUL FEAR OF MAN AND TO SECURE US FROM DANGER. (J. Flavel.)

Different kinds of fear

There is a threefold fear in man, namely—

I. NATURAL, of which all are partakers that partake of the common nature. It is the trouble or perturbation of mind, from the apprehension of approaching evil or impending danger.

1. To this natural fear it pleased our Lord Jesus Christ to subject Himself in the days of His flesh (Mar_14:33).

2. This fear creates great trouble and perturbation in the mind; in proportion to the danger is the fear, and in proportion to the fear, the trouble and distraction of the mind; if the fear be exceedingly great, reason is displaced.

3. Evil is the object of fear, and the greater the evil is the stronger the fear must needs be; therefore the terrors of an awakened and terrified conscience must be allowed to be the greatest of terrors, because in that case a man hath to do with a great and terrible God, and is scared with apprehensions of His infinite and eternal wrath, than which no evil is or can be greater.

4. Yet evil, as evil, is rather the object of hatred than of fear. It must be an imminent or near approaching evil that provokes fear.

5. All constitutions and tempers admit not the same degrees of fear.

II. SINFUL. Not only our infelicity but our fault. The sinfulness of it lies in five things.

1. In the spring and cause of it, which is unbelief (chap. 30:15-17).

2. In the excess and immoderacy of it; for it may be truly said of our fears, as the philosopher speaks of waters, it is hard to keep them within bounds.

3. In the inordinacy of it. To exalt the power of any creature by our fears, and give it such an ascendancy over us as if it had an arbitrary and absolute dominion over us, or over our comforts, to do with them what it pleased—this is to put the creature out of its own class and rank into the place ofGod. To trust in any creature as if it had the power of a God to keep us, or to fear any creature, as if it had the power of a God to hurt us, is exceedingly sinful (Mat_10:28).

4. In the distracting influence it hath upon the hearts of men, whereby it discomposes and unfits them for the discharge of their duties. Under an extraordinary fear both grace and reason, like the wheels of a watch, wound above its due height, stand still, and have no motion at all.

5. In the power it hath to dispose and incline men to the use of sinful means to put by their danger, and to cast them into the hands and power of temptation (Pro_29:25; Isa_57:11).

There is a double lie occasioned by fear, one in words and another in deeds; hypocrisy is a lie done, a practical He, and our Church history abounds with sad examples dissimulation through fear.

III. RELIGIOUS. This is our treasure, not our torment; the chief ornament of the soul; its beauty and perfection. It is the natural passion sanctified, and thereby changed and baptized into the name and nature of a spiritual grace. This fear is prescribed as an antidote against sinful fears; it devours carnal fears, as Moses’ serpent did those of the enchanters.

1. It is planted in the soul as a permanent and fixed habit; it is not of the natural growth and production of man’s heart, but of supernatural infusion and implantation (Jer_32:40).

2. It puts the soul under the awe of God’s eye. It is the reproach of the servants of men to be eye servants, but it is the praise and honour of God’s servants to be so.

3. This respect to the eye of God inclines them to perform and do whatsoever pleaseth Him and is commanded by Him; hence, fearing God and working righteousness, are linked together (Act_10:35; Gen_22:12).

4. This fear engageth, and in some degree enableth, the soul in which it is, to avoid whatsoever is displeasing to God (Job_2:3). (J. Flavel.)

The use of natural fear

If fear did not clap its fetters upon the wild and boisterous lusts of men, they would certainly bear down all milder motives, and break loose from all bonds of restraint. Men would become like the fishes of the sea (Hab_1:14), where the greater swallow up a multitude of the smaller fry alive at one gulp; power and opportunity to do mischief would measure out to men their lot and inheritance, and consequently all societies must disband and break up. It is the law and fear of punishment that keeps the world in order; men are afraid to do evil because they are afraid to suffer it. If the severest penalties in the world were annexed to, or appointed by, the law, they could signify nothing to the ends of government without fear. This is that tender, sensible power or passion on which threatenings work, and so brings men under moral government and restraint (Rom_13:3-4). (J. Flavel.)

The use of sinful fear

The Lord knows how to overrule this in His providential government of the world to His own wise and holy purposes. And He does so—

1. By making it HIS scourge to punish His enemies. If men will not fear God they shall fear men. There is scarce a greater torment to be found in the world than for a man to be his own tormentor, and his mind made a rack and engine of torture to his body. It is a dreadful threatening which is recorded in Deu_28:65-67. When fear hath once seized the heart, you may see death’s colours displayed in the face.

2. By fear God punishes His enemies in hell.

3. Providence makes use of the slavish fears and terrors of wicked men to scatter them, when they are combined and confederated against the people of God (Psa_78:55, and Jos_24:11-12. See also Psa_9:20). (J. Flavel.)

The use of religious fear

1. By this fear the people of God are excited to and confirmed in the way of duty (Ecc_12:13; Jer_32:40).

2. Another excellent use of this fear is, to preserve the purity and peace of our consciences by preventing grief and guilt therein (Pro_16:6; Gen_39:9; Neh_5:15).

3. A principal use of this fear is, to awaken us to make timely provisions for future distresses, that whensoever they come, they may not come by way of surprise upon us (Heb_11:7; Pro_14:16). (J. Flavel.)

The causes of sinful fear

I. The sinful fears of most good men spring out of their IGNORANCE; all darkness disposes to fear, but none like intellectual darkness. You read Son_3:8) how Solomon’s lifeguard had every man his sword upon his thigh, “because of fear in the night.” The night is the frightful season, in the dark every bush is a bear; we sometimes smile by day to see what silly things those were that scared us in the night. So it is here; were our judgments but duly informed, how soon would our hearts be quieted! There is a fivefold ignorance out of which fears are generated.

1. Ignorance of God. Ignorance and inconsiderateness lay at the root of the fears expressed in Isa_40:27.

2. Ignorance of men. Did we consider men as they are in the hand of our God we should not tremble at them as we do.

3. Ignorance of ourselves and the relation we have to God (IsaGe 15:1; Neh_6:11). O that we could, without vanity, but value ourselves duly according to our Christian dignities and privileges, which, if ever it be necessary to count over and value, it is in such times of danger, when the heart is so prone to sinking fears.

4. Ignorance of our dangers and troubles. We are ignorant of—

(1) The comforts that are in them. Paul and Silas met that in a prison which made them to sing at midnight, and so have many more since their day.

(2) The outlets and escapes from them (Psa_68:20; 2Pe_2:9; 1Co_10:13).

5. Especially ignorance and inconsiderateness of the covenant of grace.

II. Another cause of sinful fear is GUILT UPON THE CONSCIENCE. No sooner had Adam defiled and wounded his conscience with guilt, but he trembles and hides himself (Pro_28:1; Isa_33:14). To this wounded and trembling conscience is opposed the spirit of a sound mind 2Ti_1:7). An evil conscience foments fears and terrors three ways.

1. By aggravating small matters. So it was with Cain (Gen_4:14), “Every one that meets me will slay me.” Now every child was a giant in his eye, and anybody he met his over-match.

2. By interpreting all doubtful cases in the worst sense that can be fastened upon them. If the swallows do but chatter in the chimney, Bessus interprets it to be a discovery of his crime; that they are telling tales of him and saying, Bessus killed a man.

3. A guilty conscience can and often does create fears and terrors out of nothing at all (Psa_53:5).

III. No less is the sin of UNBELIEF the real and proper cause of most distracting fears (Mat_8:26). Fear is generated by unbelief, and unbelief strengthened by fear, as in nature there is an observable circular generation, vapours begetting showers and showers new vapours.

1. Unbelief weakens the assenting act of faith, and thereby cuts off from the soul, in a great measure, its principal relief against danger and troubles Heb_11:27).

2. Unbelief shuts up the refuges of the soul in the Divine promises, and by leaving it without those refuges, must needs leave it in the hand of fears and terrors.

3. Unbelief makes men negligent in providing for troubles before they come, and so brings them by way of surprises upon them.

4. Unbelief leaves our dearest interests and concerns in our own hands; it commits nothing to God, and consequently must needs fill the heart with distracting fears when imminent dangers threaten us (1Pe_4:19; 2Ti_1:12; Pro_16:3).

IV. Many of our fears are raised by THE PROMISCUOUS ADMINISTRATION OF PROVIDENCE in this world (Ecc_9:2; Eze_21:3; Hab_1:13). The butcheries of the Albigenses, Waldenses, etc.

1. We are apt to consider that the same race and kind of men that committed these outrages upon our brethren are still in being, and that their malice is not abated in the least degree. Cain’s club is to this day carried up and down the world, stained with the blood of Abel, as Bucholtzer speaks.

2. We know also that nothing hinders the execution of their wicked purposes against us but the restraints of providence.

3. We find that God hath many times let loose these lions upon His people. The best men have suffered the worst things.

4. We are conscious how far short we come in holiness of those excellent persons who have suffered these things, and therefore have no ground to expect more favour from providence than they found. The revolving of such considerations in our thoughts and mixing our own unbelief with them, creates a world of fears, even in good men, till, by resignation of all to God, and acting faith upon His promises (Rom_8:28; Ps Isa_27:8; Rev_7:17), we do, at last, recover our hearts out of the hands of our fears again, and compose them to a quiet and sweet satisfaction in the wise and holy pleasure of our God.

V. OUR IMMODERATE LOVE OF LIFE AND THE COMFORTS AND CONVENIENCES THEREOF may be assigned as a proper and real ground and cause of our sinful fears, when the dangers of the times threaten the one or the other (Rev_12:11; Act_20:24-25).

1. Life is the greatest and nearest interest men naturally have in this world, and that which wraps up all other inferior interests in itself (Job_2:4; Gen_25:32).

2. That which endangers life must, in the eyes of the natural man, be the greatest evil that can befall him.

3. Though death be terrible in any shape, yet a violent death by the hands of cruel and merciless men is the most terrible form that death can appear in.

VI. Many of our sinful fears flow from THE INFLUENCES OF SATAN upon our phantasies. By putting men into such frights he weakens their hands in duty, as is plain from his attempt this way upon Nehemiah (Neh_6:13), and if he prevail there, he drives them into the snares and traps of his temptations, as the fisherman and fowler do the birds and fishes in their nets, when once they have frighted them out of their coverts. (J. Flavel.)

Effects of slavish and inordinate fear

I. DISTRACTION OF MIND IN DUTY (Luk_1:74).

1. Hereby Satan will cut off the freedom and sweetness of our communion with God in duties.

2. So distracting fears cut off the soul from the reliefs it might otherwise draw from the promises.

3. We lose the benefit and comfort of all our past experiences (Isa_51:12-13).

II. DISSIMULATION AND HYPOCRISY. Abraham (Gen_20:2; Gen_20:11); Gen_26:7); Peter (Mat_26:69, etc.)

1. By these falls and scandals religion is made contemptible in the eyes of the world.

2. It greatly weakens the hands of others, and proves a sore discouragement to them in their trials, to see their brethren faint for fear, and ashamed to own their principles.

3. It will be a terrible blow and wound to our own consciences.

III. THE STRENGTHENING OF TEMPTATION IN TIMES OF DANGER Pro_29:25). Aaron (Exo_32:1-35) ; David (1Sa_21:12). It was fear that prevailed with Origen to yield so far as he did in offering incense to the idol, the consideration of which fact brake his heart to pieces.

1. Sinful fear drives men out of their place and duty.

2. Fear is usually the first passion in the soul that parleys with the enemy, and treats with the tempter about terms of surrender. “The castle that parleys is half won” (French proverb), e.g., Spira.

3. Fear makes men impatient of waiting God’s time and method of deliverance, and so drives the soul into the snare of the next temptation.

IV. PUSILLANIMITY AND COWARDICE. You find it joined frequently in the Scriptures with discouragement (Deu_1:21; Deu_20:3, etc.).

V. APOSTASY. It is not so much from the fury of our enemies without, as from our fears within, that temptations become victorious over us Mat_24:9-10).

VI. GREAT BONDAGE OF SPIRIT. Sinful fear makes death a thousand times more terrible than it would otherwise be (Heb_2:16).

1. Such a bondage as this destroys all the comfort and pleasure of life.

2. It destroys our spiritual comforts.

3. It deprives us of the manifold advantages we might gain by the calm and composed meditations of our own death. (J. Flavel.)

The security of the righteous under national calamity

I. A CAUTION (Isa_8:12).

1. It will be necessary to explain the emotion against which the caution is directed. Taking the caution in its comprehensive import, it is addressed to men, not to submit the government of the soul to the influence of excessive terror, arising from the approach of

temporal calamity and distress. It is an universal disposition, among the children of men, in the prospect of evil, to admit such fears and such emotions as these. The thought, for example, of national distresses, such as those which were now about to be poured out on the people of Israel; the thought of personal trials in the common relations of life, from domestic distress, from disease, from bereavement and death, are causes that often inspire the emotion we contend against, as existing in former ages, and which we are aware is often witnessed now.

2. We must consider also, the reasons on which the propriety of this caution is founded.

(1) The origin of this emotion of fear is always degrading and improper, proceeding, as it invariably does, from ignorance or forgetfulness, or a disbelief of God as a God of providence and grace.

(2) Its workings always fill the mind with unnecessary agitation, alarm, and anguish, and disturb it from, and entirely unfit it for, the right and adequate performance of the existing and the varied duties of life.

(3) It opens the way for the entrance of many dark and dreadful temptations, and thus drives men to seek a shelter in those means which are forbidden by God; to propose an alliance, on any terms whatever, with adversaries whom, as idolaters, and the avowed and open enemies of God, they ought entirely to have foiled.

(4) It is often directed to means of increased danger and trial, or to resort to those refuges which are but the means of increasing calamity. Thus, when we find that a confederacy of this unholy description, under the influence of slavish fear, had been formed by Israel with the people of Egypt, that very plan was the means of their downfall. God, at the commencement of the thirty-first chapter of Isaiah, exclaims, “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help,” etc.

II. A RECOMMENDATION. “Sanctify,” or select and set apart, “the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him,” so selected and set apart, “be your fear, and let Him be your dread.”

1. In this recommendation there is a call upon man to honour Jehovah, by recognising the presence and the action of His perfections in the various calamitous visitations which He permits or sends. His knowledge, His power, His holiness, His justice, His wisdom—

2. Here is a call upon men to honour Jehovah by repenting of their past transgressions, and by devoting themselves to a practical obedience to His commandments. It is remarkable to observe, especially in the Old Testament, how often the fear of God is connected with repentance, and with obedience to God.

3. Here is a call upon men to honour Jehovah by resorting and trusting to His mercy, as that which will grant spiritual blessings, and give final salvation to their souls.

III. A PROMISE. “He shall be for a sanctuary.” The ordinary meaning which is ascribed to the word “sanctuary” is simply a place of religious worship; in this case, however, as in many others of the sacred writings, it signifies a place of religious worship, devoted also as a place where endangered persons may receive security. Amongst the heathen, religious temples were places of refuge; and when men endangered by misfortune or even crime ran within the threshold of the place called holy there was no possibility of grasping the offender; so long as he remained in the sanctuary he was safe. So it was amongst the Jews. When it is said that “God shall be for a sanctuary,” it is intended that God shall be as a holy building where men endangered by temporal calamity may find shelter and repose. The instances are singularly numerous in which God is presented in the character of a refuge (Psa_18:1-2; Psa_46:1; Psa_46:11; Pro_18:10; Isa_4:6; Isa_26:1; Isa_26:3; Isa_26:20).

1. God shelters those who resort to Him as their sanctuary from the perturbation of slavish fear. The fear of God is strictly what is called an expulsive emotion; it banishes from the mind of man a vast quantity of other modifications of feeling, from which he could derive only sorrow and anguish and pain (Pro_14:26).

2. The Lord of hosts shelters those who resort to Him as their sanctuary from temporal judgments. There is provided, on behalf of the righteous, a remarkable exemption from those temporal calamities and judgments which God inflicts upon men directly as the consequence of sin. And if it sometimes does happen that the righteous suffer in those judgments as well as the wicked, it is not because of failure in the promises of God, but because the righteous will not come out and be separate. If a man will stay in Sodom when God has threatened to devour it with fire, the man who so stays must be destroyed. But when there is a separation from all the ungodly confederacies of the world, and a solemn and determinative sanctification to the Lord, by causing Him to be our fear and dread, the Scriptures plainly state that there shall, as the result, be an exemption from all those calamities which fall upon the world for sin (Eze_9:4-6).

3. With regard to those calamities which are the common allotments of life, we are not to say that from these there is an exemption; they must suffer death in its most sudden, and its most awful power. But there is a Spirit that “guides the whirlwind and that rides upon the storm”; there is a hand of mercy in these calamities of providence, transforming them into a new class of blessings.

4. The Lord of hosts shelters those who resort to Him as their sanctuary from the perils and perdition of final ruin. (James Parsons.)

The Lord a sanctuary

I. THE DUTY. “Sanctify the Lord of hosts,” etc.

II. THE PROMISE. “He shall be for a sanctuary.” Consider the preciousness of this promise in the time when all human help will be vain. We refer to the last day, when Christ shall come “to judge both the quick and the dead.” (W. Horwood.)

The true sanctuary, and how to get there

I. THIS PASSAGE TELLS US WHAT TO DO WITH OUR NATURAL FEARS. God is in the believer’s life as He is not in the life of another. He has come to him in the wilderness to be his guide, into the storm to be his pilot, into the battle to be his captain. All difficulties are nothing before Divine wisdom, all opposition nothing against Divine strength. The Christian’s great danger is unbelief or unfaithfulness to God, which would make him lose for a time the means of safety and victory. He is like one closely following a guide in the darkness over pathless mountains, whose one concern is to keep him in sight who will thus secure to him a safe and successful journey; and again he k like a child who does not burden himself with any cares, but that of pleasing the father whose love and power have supplied all his need in the past and will supply all in the future. It is thus that the Christian fears his foes, only as the possible causes of the one misfortune of estrangement from his God. The treacherousness of his own heart and the subtlety of those enemies who are ever seeking to break the union which makes him too strong for them, exercise his thoughts and his feelings, but all in relation to God, so that He alone may be truly said to be the fear of HIS people. All this is true for a Church as it is true for the individual Christian.

II. THIS PASSAGE TEACHES US WHAT IS, OR SHOULD BE, TO US TRULY HOLY.

III. THIS PASSAGE OFFERS THE MOST EXALTED NOTION OF A SANCTUARY. Man dwelling in God is the realisation of our happiness and of the Divine glory. It speaks to all of purity, safety, peace, but it speaks of much more, according to the spiritual capacity of those to whom it is made known. But few among the thousands of Israel knew anything of abiding in that house of God, which, whether they knew it or not, represented Jehovah Himself.

Most of them visited it at intervals more or less rare, and left to the priestly family the duty and privilege of regarding it as their home. And in this the great mass of professors are aptly represented by the nation of Israel. They seek the Divine sanctuary as a house of defence or a place for pardon, when specially pressed by trouble or a sense of sin; but, if they would be Christians indeed, they should remember that the Church of Christ is the spiritual priesthood; that the members of it are expected to “offer the sacrifice of praise continually”; that to do this they must “dwell in God,” they must “abide in Christ”; and that no less close and no less constant union than this can be natural to faith which has learnt that “we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.”

IV. THIS PASSAGE PREPARES US FOR WHAT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE SEEMED INCONSISTENT WITH THE BLESSEDNESS IT SPEAKS OF—the sight of others stumbling at that which has become our glory, finding Jehovah Himself to be a rock of offence. How is this? A very simple law will answer. We stumble through ignorance. It is not what we know, but what we do not know that offends us. The rock of offence is a thing misunderstood, for which our philosophy had not prepared us. Now nothing is more misunderstood than goodness among the bad, than God among those who have fallen from the knowledge of Him. He Himself has said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways.” This stumbling of the natural mind at God may be seen in all His manifestations. Men deny His government because they do not see in it what they think worthy of His hand; they grumble or rage at His distribution of goods; they reject or explain away His revelations of the future; and, above all, they refuse to believe in salvation through His crucified Christ. But in all this they are fulfilling His sure Word of prophecy, and while they continue to exhibit the depravity of fallen man, and so the riches of Divine grace, they do not prevent humble, believing souls from sanctifying God in their hearts and proving Him to be their sanctuary. (J. F. B. Tinling, B. A.)

The fear of God steadying the soul in worldly loss

Augustine relates a very pertinent and memorable story of Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, who was a very rich man both in goods and grace: he had much of the world in his hands, but little of it in his heart; and it was well there was not, for the Goths, a barbarous people, breaking into that city, like so many devils, fell upon the prey; those that trusted to the treasures which they had were deceived and ruined by them, for the rich were put to tortures to confess where they had hid their monies. This good bishop fell into their hands, and lost all he had, but was scarce moved at the loss, as appears by his prayer, which my anther relates thus: Lord, let me not be troubled for my gold and silver: Thou knowest it is not my treasure; that I have laid up in heaven, according to Thy command. I was warned of this judgment before it came, and provided for it; and where all my interest lies, Lord, Thou knowest. (J. Flavel.)

The fear of God delivers from the fear of death

Mr. Bradford, when the keeper’s wife same running into his chamber suddenly, with words able to have put most men in the world into a trembling posture: “Oh, Mr. Bradford! I bring you

heavy tidings; tomorrow you must be burned, and your chain is now buying”! he put off his hat, and said, “Lord, I thank Thee; I have looked for this a great while, it is not terrible to me; God make me worthy of such a mercy.” (J. Flavel.)

True courage

The following prayer was found in the desk of a schoolboy after his death: “O God, give me courage to fear none but Thee.” (Sunday School Chronicle.)

The exaggerations of guilty fear

The rules of fear are not like the rules in arithmetic, where many nothings make nothing, but fear can make something out of nothing. (J. Flavel.)

12 “Do not call conspiracy

everything this people calls a conspiracy;

do not fear what they fear,

and do not dread it.

1.BARNES, “Say ye not - Do not join in their purposes of forming a confederacy. Do not unite with the king and the people of Judah in their alarms about the threatened invasion by the kings of Syria and Samaria, and in their purpose to form an alliance with the king of Assyria. The reason why they should not do this, he states in Isa_8:13, where he exhorts the nation to put confidence in the Lord rather than in man. There has been, however, great diversity in the

interpretation of this passage. The Septuagint renders the word קשר qesher, ‘confederacy,’ by the

word σκληρόν skle0ron - ‘Everything which this people say, is hard.’ The Syriac, ‘Do not say, rebellion,’ etc. The Chaldee understands the word in the same sense. Lowth proposes to change

the word קשר qesher, into קדש qadosh, because Dr. Seeker possessed one manuscript in which

this reading was found; and he translates the passage:

‘Say ye not it is holy, Of everything of which this people shall say it is holy.’

That is, ‘call not their idols holy; nor fear ye the object of their fear; that is, the gods of the idolaters.’ But it is plain that this does not suit the connection of the passage, since the prophet is not reproving them for their idolatry, but is discoursing of the alliance between the kings of Syria and Samaria. Besides, the authority of one manuscript, without the concurrence of any ancient version, is not a sufficient authority for changing the Hebrew text. Most commentators

have understood this word ‘confederacy’ as referring to the alliance between the kings of Syria and Samaria; as if the prophet had said, ‘Do not join in the cry so common and almost universal in the nation, “There is a confederacy between those two kingdoms; there is an alliance formed which endangers our liberty” - a cry that produces alarm and trepidation in the nation.’ Thus Rosenmuller and Gesenius explain it.

Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, however. understand it of a conspiracy, which they suppose was formed in the kingdom of Ahaz, against him and the house of David; and that the prophet warns the people against joining in such a conspiracy. But of the existence of such a conspiracy there is no evidence. Had there been such a conspiracy, it is not probable that it would have been so well known as to make it a proper subject of public denunciation. Conspiracies are usually secret and concealed. I regard this, however, as a caution to the prophet not to join in the prevailing demand for an alliance with the king of Assyria. Ahaz trembled before the united armies of Syria and Samaria. He sought, therefore, foreign assistance - the assistance of the king of Assyria. It is probable that in this he was encouraged by the leaders of the people, and that this would be a popular measure with the mass of the nation. Yet it implied distrust of God (note, Isa_8:6); and, therefore, the prophet was directed not to unite with them in seeking this ‘confederacy,’ or

alliance, but to oppose it. The word translated ‘confederacy,’ קשר qesher is derived from the verb

qashar, “to bind, to fetter;” to enter into a conspiracy. It usually refers to a conspiracy, but it קשרmay mean a combination or alliance of any kind. Or, if it here means a conspiracy, a union between Ahaz and the Assyrians may be regarded as a species of conspiracy, as it was an unnatural alliance; a species of combination against the natural and proper government of Judah - the theocracy.

Neither fear ye their fear - Do not partake of their alarm at the invasion of the land by the united armies of Syria and Samaria. Rather put confidence in God, and believe that he is able to save you; compare 1Pe_3:13-15.

2. CLARKE, “Say ye not, A confederacy “Say ye not, It is holy” - קשר kesher. Both the

reading and the sense of this word are doubtful. The Septuagint manifestly read קשה kashah; for

they render it by σκληρον, hard. The Syriac and Chaldee render it מרדא merda, and מרוד(dn

merod, rebellion. How they came by this sense of the word, or what they read in their copies, is

not so clear. But the worst of it is, that neither of these readings or renderings gives any clear sense in this place. For why should God forbid his faithful servants to say with the unbelieving Jews, It is hard; or, There is a rebellion; or, as our translators render it, a confederacy? And how can this be called “walking in the way of this people?” Isa_8:11, which usually means, following their example, joining with them in religious worship. Or what confederacy do they mean? The union of the kingdoms of Syria and Israel against Judah? That was properly a league between two independent states, not an unlawful conspiracy of one part against another in the same

state; this is the meaning of the word קשר kesher. For want of any satisfactory interpretation of this place that I can meet with, I adopt a conjecture of Archbishop Secker, which he proposes with great diffidence, and even seems immediately to give up, as being destitute of any authority to support it. I will give it in his own words:

“Videri potest ex cap. Isa_5:16, et hujus cap. Isa_8:13, Isa_8:14, Isa_8:19,

legendum קרש vel קדוש kadosh, eadem sententia, qua אלהינו Eloheynu, Hos_14:3.

Sed nihil necesse est. Vide enim Jer_11:9; Eze_22:25. Optime tamen sic responderent huic versiculo versiculi Isa_8:13, Isa_8:14.”

The passages of Jeremiah and Ezekiel above referred to seem to me not at all to clear up the

sense of the word קשר kesher in this place. But the context greatly favors the conjecture here given, and makes it highly probable: “Walk not in the way of this people; call not their idols holy,

nor fear ye the object of their fear:” (that is, the σεβασµατα, or gods of the idolaters; for so fear here signifies, to wit, the thing feared. So God is called “The fear of Isaac,” Gen_31:42, Gen_31:53): “but look up to Jehovah as your Holy One; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread; and he shall be a holy Refuge unto you.” Here there is a harmony and consistency running through the whole sentence; and the latter part naturally arises out of the former, and answers to it. Idolatry, however, is full of fears. The superstitious fears of the Hindoos are very numerous. They fear death, bad spirits generally, and hobgoblins of all descriptions. They fear also the cries of jackals, owls, crows, cats, asses, vultures, dogs, lizards, etc. They also dread different sights in the air, and are alarmed at various dreams. See Ward’s Customs. Observe that

the difference between קשר kesher and קדש kadosh is chiefly in the transposition of the two last

letters, for the letters ר resh and ד daleth are hardly distinguishable in some copies, printed as

well as MS.; so that the mistake, in respect of the letters themselves, is a very easy and a very common one. - L.

3. GILL, “Say ye not, a confederacy,.... With the king of Assyria, or any other; do not cry it up as a right thing, and express pleasure and satisfaction in it, and encourage others to come into it, and vote for it, and declare an approbation of it; or a "rebellion", as the Targum, that is, against Ahaz; and so deliver up the kingdom of the house of David into the hands of its enemies: to all them to whom this people shall say, a confederacy: who either were for entering into an alliance with the Assyrian monarch, and sending for him to help; or were for joining with their enemies, to the subversion of the present government. Jarchi interprets this of Shebna the Scribe, and his company; who, as he suggests, conspired against Hezekiah, and secretly made an agreement with Sennacherib king of Assyria; but the former sense is best: neither fear their fear, nor be afraid: let not the same fear possess you as does them, on account of Syria and Israel combining together against Judah; nor be afraid of their two kings, as they were; since there was nothing to fear from them; it being impossible that the kingdom of Judah should fail until Shiloh came, or Immanuel was born of a virgin in it; nor does it become the people of God, and especially his prophets and ministers, to be afraid of men; since the fear of men brings a snare. See 1Pe_3:14.

4. HENRY, “Now what is it that he says to God's people?

(1.) He cautions them against a sinful fear, Isa_8:12. It seems it was the way of this people at this time, and fear is catching. He whose heart fails him makes his brethren's heart to fail, like his heart (Deu_20:8); therefore Say you not, A confederacy, to all those to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; that is, [1.] “Be not associated with them in the confederacies they are projecting and forecasting for. Do not join with those that, for the securing of themselves, are for making a league with the Assyrians, through unbelief, and distrust of God and their cause. Do

not come into any such confederacy.” Note, It concerns us, in time of trouble, to watch against all such fears as put us upon taking any indirect courses for our own security. [2.] “Be not afraid of the confederacies they frighten themselves and one another with. Do not distress yourselves with the apprehension of a confederacy upon every thing that stirs, nor, when any little thing is amiss, cry out presently, There is a plot, a plot. When they talk what dismal news there is, Syria is joined with Ephraim, what will become of us? must we fight, or must we flee, or must we yield? do not you fear their fear: Be not afraid of the signs of heaven, as the heathen are, Jer_10:2. Be not afraid of evil tidings on earth, but let your hearts be fixed. Fear not that which they fear, nor be afraid as they are. Be not put into such a fright as causes trembling and shaking;” so the word signifies. Note, When the church's enemies have sinful confederacies on foot the church's friends should watch against the sinful fears of those confederacies.

5. JAMISON, “The words of Jehovah.

confederacy — rather, a conspiracy; an appropriate term for the unnatural combination of Israel with Syrian foreigners against Judea and the theocracy, to which the former was bound by ties of blood and hereditary religion [Maurer].

to all ... say — rather, of all which this people calleth a conspiracy [G. V. Smith].

their fear — namely, object of fear: the hostile conspiracy.

be afraid — rather [Maurer], “nor make others to be afraid.”

6. PULPIT, “Say ye not. The transition from the singular to the plural is noticeable. It implies that Isaiah

did not stand alone, but had followers—a "little flock," it may be—but still enough to give him the support

of sympathy (comp. verse 16). A confederacy; rather, treason,

or conspiracy (see 2Sa_15:12; 1Ki_16:20; 2Ki_11:12; 2Ki_12:20; Jer_11:9; Eze_22:25, etc.). The

command is, not to call a course of conduct treasonable simply because the people generally so call it.

Jeremiah was charged with treason for preaching the hopelessness of offering resistance to

Nebuchadnezzar (Jer_20:1; Jer_26:8-11). Those who opposed an Assyrian alliance were probably now

taxed with treason. To all them to whom; rather, everything which. Translate the entire clause thus: Call

ye not conspiracy everything which this people shall call conspiracy. Neither fear ye their fear. They feared

man (Isa_7:2). Isaiah and his disciples are commanded to fear no one but God.

7.CALVIN, “12.Say not, a conspiracy. First, we must consider what was the condition of that people,

for they saw that they were not provided with numerous forces, and were not able to contend in battle

against such powerful enemies. They longed for outward assistance, and eagerly desired to obtain it, for

they thought that they were utterly ruined if they did not obtain the assistance of others. In this sense I

understand the word conspiracy, that they thought it necessary to have the assistance of allies. The

word conspiracy being employed by the Hebrews in different acceptations, and sometimes denoting

a bond, I take it in a good sense. But some take it in a bad sense: “ thy enemies, the king of Israel and the

king of Syria, have conspired together.” But I rather agree with those who apply it to the league and

friendship which many unbelievers were desirous to contract with the Assyrian. The Lord therefore

admonishes Isaiah not to regard the counsels of wicked men, though the whole of the people should vie

with each other in attending to them.

Neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. There may also be a twofold meaning; for some read it

separately, as if in this second clause the Prophet condemned in general terms the wicked customs of the

people. But these two clauses ought rather to be joined together. “ it not distress you, if your countrymen

in the present day plot about unlawful confederacies, and do not consent to them.” Now, though the

Prophet belonged to the number of those who needed to be admonished not foolishly to dissuade others

from following by faith, yet the plural number, say ye not, shows that all the godly were taught in his

person.

Their fear. Hence we perceive what is the source of those wavering counsels by which men are agitated;

it is, because their minds are overwhelmed by terror, so that they are violently hurried along without any

moderation. He describes the cause of all this, why the Jews so eagerly desired to have the Assyrians for

allies. It was because they were terrified beyond measure, and did not expect to be preserved in any

other way, and because their blind fear did not permit them to look to the assistance of the Lord. This was

the reason why they so eagerly desired a league. The same cause of fear was alleged both against the

godly and against the ungodly; but all did not fear in the same manner, for the godly composed their

minds, because they knew that God took care of their preservation, and, armed by the promise of God,

cheered their hearts whenever they mentioned the name of Immanuel. But the ungodly, overcome by

terror, thought of nothing but the assistance of the Assyrians, did not consider that there is help in God,

and did not betake themselves to him. The Lord certainly does not forbid the godly to fear, for they cannot

avoid that; but he bids them overcome that excessive terror by which the ungodly are swallowed up. Let

us not, therefore, by their example, gaze around in every direction, and rush headlong to seek unlawful

aid; and especially we must beware lest fear take away our judgment. There is but one remedy for this

evil, to restrain ourselves by the word of God, from which proceeds real tranquillity of mind. Comparing

the condition of that people with our own, let us learn to betake ourselves to the name of God, which will

be to us an impregnable fortress. (Pro_18:10.)

That the Lord did not speak to the Prophet alone, is also evident from the words being in the plural

number, תיראו לא, (lo thireu,) fear ye not. Peter also has drawn from it a general doctrine, (1Pe_3:14,)

warning us not to fear with the fear of the ungodly, but to place all our confidence in God, and to keep our

eyes continually fixed on him, that we may remain steadfast, though heaven and earth should be mingled.

If that warning of Peter was ever necessary, it is especially so in the present day, for we see all things

tossed up and down and mingled in frightful confusion. That we may not be disturbed, the Lord withdraws

us from beholding men, that we may, by attending to his word, keep our position firmly. Peter, indeed,

understands this fear passively, while Isaiah understands it actively; for Peter exhorts believers to

perseverance, so as not to waver on account of the threats and terrors of the ungodly; but Isaiah

condemns the trembling, which induced the Jews to seek heathen alliances. But as it was not the

intention of Peter to explain this passage, or even to quote the exact words, and as he meant only to

allude to that statement, we need not wonder at this diversity.

8. CHARLES SIMEON. “GOD THE ONLY PROPER OBJECT OF FEAR

Isa_8:12-14. Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither

fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be

your dread: and he shall be for a sanctuary.

RELIGION, under any circumstances, is of incalculable advantage: but its benefits are most seen and felt

when we come into trials of a complicated and overwhelming nature. Such were the troubles of the

Jewish nation at the time referred to in my text. The Syrians had entered into a league with the ten tribes

of Israel to dethrone Ahaz, King of Judah, and to establish a king of their own appointment upon his

throne: and the prospect of this event spread such dismay amongst the Jewish people, that they were “all

moved by it as trees of the wood before the wind [Note: Isa_7:1-2; Isa_7:6.].” But the prophet was sent to

shew them where their strength lay, and to assure them, that, if they would but trust in God, they had

nothing to fear, since Omnipotence itself would interpose for their deliverance. In the message which the

prophet was instructed to deliver to them, we see,

I. A word of reproof—

To the people of that day was a reproof most justly due—

[They all were alarmed at the confederacy that had been formed; and each, by expressing his own fears,

helped to spread a panic through the land. But the prophet was ordered to discountenance this, both by

precept and example, not by any means joining in the general cry, or suffering himself to participate in the

people’s fears.

Somewhat of a similar consternation prevailed occasionally among the Apostolic Churches: on which

account St. Peter, plainly referring to the very words of my text, bade the Christians of his day not to be

troubled about the menaces of their adversaries, but to follow the advice here given [Note: 1Pe_3:14-15.].

And are there not many amongst ourselves who give way to needless fears, on account of the number

and inveteracy of their enemies? “We wrestle, not with flesh and blood only, but with all the principalities

and powers of hell:” and at times our hands are ready to hang down, and our hearts to faint in utter

despondency. It was thus with David when he said, “I shall one day perish by the hands of Saul.” And

more especially was it thus with Asaph, when he questioned with himself, “Will the Lord cast off for ever?

and will he be favourable no more [Note: Psa_77:7-9.]?” In fact, by the recital of our own doubts and

fears, we often contribute to create the same painful feelings in others, and to diffuse amongst our

brethren apprehensions, which ought rather to be discountenanced and withstood. We know what

discouragement the spies occasioned through the whole camp of Israel by their representations of the

promised land, and of the difficulties which must be overcome, before it should be possessed

[Note: Num_13:28-33; Num_14:1.]. We know also the commendations given to Caleb and to Joshua for

their manly opposition to such degrading fears [Note: Num_32:10-12.]. This shews us of what

spirit we should be, whatever confederacies may be formed against us, or whatever difficulties we may

have to encounter: we should dismiss all fear from our own hearts, and strengthen to the uttermost the

hands of our timid and desponding brethren.]

To his reproof the prophet adds,

II. A word of counsel—

[Surely it became the Jews, whose whole history was one continued record of miraculous interpositions,

to “encourage themselves in the Lord their God,” and to expect at his hands all needful support. But more

particularly were they taught in this place to look unto their Messiah, whose advent had just been

predicted in express connexion with these very events [Note: Isa_7:7-14.]. That he is the person here

designated by “the Lord of Hosts himself,” is evident; because, whilst he is spoken of as “a Sanctuary” to

some, it is declared that he shall be “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offence” to others [Note:

Compare ver. 14, withRom_9:33.]. Now, says the prophet, “Sanctify him in your hearts, and let him be

your fear, and let him be your dread.” And precisely the same advice does the Apostle Peter give to timid

and desponding Christians in his day, “Be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the

Lord God in your hearts [Note:1Pe_3:14-15.].” To “sanctify the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts,” is, to

regard him as possessing all power in heaven and in earth, and us exercising it for his people’s good.

This is the true antidote to all distressing fears, from whatever quarter they may arise. For, supposing a

confederacy of all the men on earth and all the devils in hell, what device can prevail against infinite

wisdom, or what efforts against Almighty power? If “the Lord’s eye be over us for good,” it matters not

what eye is upon us for evil. “No weapon formed against us can prosper,” when both the smith who

formed it, and the man who holds it, were created by him and are under his controul [Note: Isa_54:15-

17.]. Protected by this Saviour, we can have no cause for fear. Our minds may be peaceful in the midst of

the most troublous scenes; [Note: Psa_46:1-3.] confident, though menaced by the most inveterate foes

[Note: Psa_27:3-5.]; and assured, though in circumstances, in which no power less than that which is

infinite could uphold us [Note: Rom_8:35-39.]. This then is the counsel which I would give to every

drooping and desponding soul: “Fear none except the Lord of Hosts himself.” Him you can never fear too

much: “Let him therefore be your fear and your dread.” But, having him for your Protector, you need fear

none else: for “if He be for you, who can be against you?”]

Hear ye then as from God himself,

III. A word of encouragement—

[To his people of old this adorable Saviour was “a Sanctuary:” and such he will be to us. You remember

that when the Man-slayer had once got within the city of refuge, he was safe: the pursuer of blood could

not touch him. So, when once you “have fled to Christ for refuge,” you are out of the reach of every

enemy; “Your life is hid with Christ in God:” nor can all the powers of darkness ever destroy it. It is not

by power only that you are protected, but by love, and truth, and faithfulness. The Lord Jesus Christ has

pledged his word, that none shall ever pluck you out of his hands [Note: Joh_10:28-29.]:” yea, and

Jehovah has “confirmed his word with an oath, on purpose that by two immutable things, in which it is

impossible for God to lie, you may have the stronger consolation [Note: Heb_6:17-18.].” What then have

you to do but to repose your confidence in him, assured, that “heaven and earth shall sooner pass away,

than one jot or tittle of his word shall fail?” Know ye then for your comfort, that “the name of the Lord is a

strong tower; and that if you run to, and take refuge in it, you are safe [Note: Pro_18:10.],” safe from every

enemy that would assault you; safe in time, and safe in eternity.]

And now I appeal to you whether the true believer be not the happiest person upon earth?

[I grant, he may be an object of the most inveterate hostility both to men and devils. But he has “horses of

fire and chariots of fire all around him [Note: 2Ki_6:14-17.];” yea, “the Lord Jehovah is himself a wall of

fire round about him [Note: Zec_2:5.],” for his protection. Compare the state of Ahaz and all his people at

this time with that of those who believed the prophet’s word. Who were the happier, those who feared the

confederacy, or those who feared the Lord? See also the state of Hezekiah’s mind at the time of

Sennacherib’s invasion: “The virgin, the daughter of Israel, hath laughed thee to scorn [Note: Isa_37:22.]”

— — — “The Lord will put a hook in thy nose, and a bridle in thy jaws, and turn thee back by the way by

which thou camest [Note: Isa_37:29.].” This is the effect of a realizing sense of God’s providence. The

man who fears the Lord has nothing else to fear: and the man who “sanctifies the Lord,” may be assured,

that under all circumstances God will preserve him even as the apple of his eye. But take eternity into the

account, and how happy is the Believer then! O what a sanctuary is the Lord to him from the terrors of a

guilty conscience, and from the fears of God’s wrath! The Believer, and he alone, understands the true

import of these words, “I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on me, because he trusteth in

me [Note: Isa_26:3.].” Yes, even at the day of judgment may the Believer stand before the Lord with great

boldness [Note: 1Jn_3:21; 1Jn_4:17.], whilst the unbelieving world are “crying to the rocks and to the hills

to fall upon them, and to hide them from his wrath.” Make then the Lord Jesus your sanctuary here, and

he will be your portion for evermore.]

9. CHARLES SIMEON, “GOD THE ONLY PROPER OBJECT OF FEAR

Isa_8:12-14. Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither

fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be

your dread: and he shall be for a sanctuary.

RELIGION, under any circumstances, is of incalculable advantage: but its benefits are most seen and felt

when we come into trials of a complicated and overwhelming nature. Such were the troubles of the

Jewish nation at the time referred to in my text. The Syrians had entered into a league with the ten tribes

of Israel to dethrone Ahaz, King of Judah, and to establish a king of their own appointment upon his

throne: and the prospect of this event spread such dismay amongst the Jewish people, that they were “all

moved by it as trees of the wood before the wind [Note: Isa_7:1-2; Isa_7:6.].” But the prophet was sent to

shew them where their strength lay, and to assure them, that, if they would but trust in God, they had

nothing to fear, since Omnipotence itself would interpose for their deliverance. In the message which the

prophet was instructed to deliver to them, we see,

I. A word of reproof—

To the people of that day was a reproof most justly due—

[They all were alarmed at the confederacy that had been formed; and each, by expressing his own fears,

helped to spread a panic through the land. But the prophet was ordered to discountenance this, both by

precept and example, not by any means joining in the general cry, or suffering himself to participate in the

people’s fears.

Somewhat of a similar consternation prevailed occasionally among the Apostolic Churches: on which

account St. Peter, plainly referring to the very words of my text, bade the Christians of his day not to be

troubled about the menaces of their adversaries, but to follow the advice here given [Note: 1Pe_3:14-15.].

And are there not many amongst ourselves who give way to needless fears, on account of the number

and inveteracy of their enemies? “We wrestle, not with flesh and blood only, but with all the principalities

and powers of hell:” and at times our hands are ready to hang down, and our hearts to faint in utter

despondency. It was thus with David when he said, “I shall one day perish by the hands of Saul.” And

more especially was it thus with Asaph, when he questioned with himself, “Will the Lord cast off for ever?

and will he be favourable no more [Note: Psa_77:7-9.]?” In fact, by the recital of our own doubts and

fears, we often contribute to create the same painful feelings in others, and to diffuse amongst our

brethren apprehensions, which ought rather to be discountenanced and withstood. We know what

discouragement the spies occasioned through the whole camp of Israel by their representations of the

promised land, and of the difficulties which must be overcome, before it should be possessed

[Note: Num_13:28-33; Num_14:1.]. We know also the commendations given to Caleb and to Joshua for

their manly opposition to such degrading fears [Note: Num_32:10-12.]. This shews us of what

spirit we should be, whatever confederacies may be formed against us, or whatever difficulties we may

have to encounter: we should dismiss all fear from our own hearts, and strengthen to the uttermost the

hands of our timid and desponding brethren.]

To his reproof the prophet adds,

II. A word of counsel—

[Surely it became the Jews, whose whole history was one continued record of miraculous interpositions,

to “encourage themselves in the Lord their God,” and to expect at his hands all needful support. But more

particularly were they taught in this place to look unto their Messiah, whose advent had just been

predicted in express connexion with these very events [Note: Isa_7:7-14.]. That he is the person here

designated by “the Lord of Hosts himself,” is evident; because, whilst he is spoken of as “a Sanctuary” to

some, it is declared that he shall be “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offence” to others [Note:

Compare ver. 14, with Rom_9:33.]. Now, says the prophet, “Sanctify him in your hearts, and let him be

your fear, and let him be your dread.” And precisely the same advice does the Apostle Peter give to timid

and desponding Christians in his day, “Be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the

Lord God in your hearts [Note: 1Pe_3:14-15.].” To “sanctify the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts,” is, to

regard him as possessing all power in heaven and in earth, and us exercising it for his people’s good.

This is the true antidote to all distressing fears, from whatever quarter they may arise. For, supposing a

confederacy of all the men on earth and all the devils in hell, what device can prevail against infinite

wisdom, or what efforts against Almighty power? If “the Lord’s eye be over us for good,” it matters not

what eye is upon us for evil. “No weapon formed against us can prosper,” when both the smith who

formed it, and the man who holds it, were created by him and are under his controul [Note: Isa_54:15-

17.]. Protected by this Saviour, we can have no cause for fear. Our minds may be peaceful in the midst of

the most troublous scenes; [Note: Psa_46:1-3.] confident, though menaced by the most inveterate foes

[Note:Psa_27:3-5.]; and assured, though in circumstances, in which no power less than that which is

infinite could uphold us [Note: Rom_8:35-39.]. This then is the counsel which I would give to every

drooping and desponding soul: “Fear none except the Lord of Hosts himself.” Him you can never fear too

much: “Let him therefore be your fear and your dread.” But, having him for your Protector, you need fear

none else: for “if He be for you, who can be against you?”]

Hear ye then as from God himself,

III. A word of encouragement—

[To his people of old this adorable Saviour was “a Sanctuary:” and such he will be to us. You remember

that when the Man-slayer had once got within the city of refuge, he was safe: the pursuer of blood could

not touch him. So, when once you “have fled to Christ for refuge,” you are out of the reach of every

enemy; “Your life is hid with Christ in God:” nor can all the powers of darkness ever destroy it. It is not

by power only that you are protected, but by love, andtruth, and faithfulness. The Lord Jesus Christ has

pledged his word, that none shall ever pluck you out of his hands [Note: Joh_10:28-29.]:” yea, and

Jehovah has “confirmed his word with an oath, on purpose that by two immutable things, in which it is

impossible for God to lie, you may have the stronger consolation [Note: Heb_6:17-18.].” What then have

you to do but to repose your confidence in him, assured, that “heaven and earth shall sooner pass away,

than one jot or tittle of his word shall fail?” Know ye then for your comfort, that “the name of the Lord is a

strong tower; and that if you run to, and take refuge in it, you are safe [Note: Pro_18:10.],” safe from every

enemy that would assault you; safe in time, and safe in eternity.]

And now I appeal to you whether the true believer be not the happiest person upon earth?

[I grant, he may be an object of the most inveterate hostility both to men and devils. But he has “horses of

fire and chariots of fire all around him [Note: 2Ki_6:14-17.];” yea, “the Lord Jehovah is himself a wall of

fire round about him [Note: Zec_2:5.],” for his protection. Compare the state of Ahaz and all his people at

this time with that of those who believed the prophet’s word. Who were the happier, those who feared the

confederacy, or those who feared the Lord? See also the state of Hezekiah’s mind at the time of

Sennacherib’s invasion: “The virgin, the daughter of Israel, hath laughed thee to scorn [Note: Isa_37:22.]”

— — — “The Lord will put a hook in thy nose, and a bridle in thy jaws, and turn thee back by the way by

which thou camest [Note: Isa_37:29.].” This is the effect of a realizing sense of God’s providence. The

man who fears the Lord has nothing else to fear: and the man who “sanctifies the Lord,” may be assured,

that under all circumstances God will preserve him even as the apple of his eye. But take eternity into the

account, and how happy is the Believer then! O what a sanctuary is the Lord to him from the terrors of a

guilty conscience, and from the fears of God’s wrath! The Believer, and he alone, understands the true

import of these words, “I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is staid on me, because he trusteth in

me [Note: Isa_26:3.].” Yes, even at the day of judgment may the Believer stand before the Lord with great

boldness [Note: 1Jn_3:21; 1Jn_4:17.], whilst the unbelieving world are “crying to the rocks and to the hills

to fall upon them, and to hide them from his wrath.” Make then the Lord Jesus your sanctuary here, and

he will be your portion for evermore.]

13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as

holy,

he is the one you are to fear,

he is the one you are to dread.

1.BARNES, “Sanctify ... - Regard Yahweh as holy; that is, worship and honor him with pious fear and reverence. Regard him as the source of safety, and the true defense. Ahaz and his people sought for aid from Assyria against the armies of Syria and Samaria. The direction here is rather to seek aid from God.

Let him be your fear - Do not be alarmed at what man can do Isa_8:12, but fear and honor God. Be afraid to provoke his wrath by looking to other sources of help when his aid only should be sought.

2. PULPIT, “Sanctify the Lord of hosts. God was sanctified by being believed in (Num_20:12). They

who feared Rezin and Pekah, despite of God's assurances that their design should fail, did not believe in

him, and so did not "sanctify" him.

3. GILL, “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself,.... Christ, Immanuel, God with us, the Lord of the armies above and below, of angels and of men, God over all, the true Jehovah, who is sanctified by his people, when they declare him to be so; as the Targum paraphrases it, "the Lord of hosts, him shall ye say is holy;'' for they cannot make him so, nor can he receive any holiness from them, nor does he need any; but they celebrate the perfection of his holiness, and ascribe it to him; yea, they sanctify him, by ascribing their holiness to him; by looking to him as their sanctification, and by deriving and expecting every degree and measure of holiness from him, to complete theirs; by exercising faith upon him, and showing a regard to his commands and ordinances: and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread; that is, the object of fear and dread; not of a servile fear and dread, but of a holy reverence and godly fear; such a fear as is the grace of the covenant, which flows from the goodness of God, and has that for its object, and is influenced by it; see Hos_3:5 where the same Lord, Messiah, David the king, is meant, as here. See 1Pe_3:15.

4. HENRY, “He advises them to a gracious religious fear: But sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, Isa_8:13. Note, The believing fear of God is a special preservative against the disquieting fear of man; see 1Pe_3:14, 1Pe_3:15, where this is quoted, and applied to suffering Christians. [1.] We must look upon God as the Lord of hosts, that has all power in his hand and all creatures at his beck. [2.] We must sanctify him accordingly, give him the glory due to that name, and behave towards him as those that believe him to be a holy God. [3.] We must make him our fear, the object of our fear, and make him our dread, keep up a reverence of his providence and stand in awe of his sovereignty, be afraid of his displeasure and silently acquiesce in all his disposals. Were we but duly affected with the greatness and glory of God, we should see the pomp of our enemies eclipsed and clouded, and all their power restrained and under check; see Neh_4:14. Those that are afraid of the reproach of men forget the Lord their Maker, Isa_51:12, Isa_51:13. Compare Luk_12:4, Luk_12:5.

5. JAMISON, “Sanctify — Honor His holy name by regarding Him as your only hope of safety (Isa_29:23; Num_20:12).

him ... fear — “fear” lest you provoke His wrath by your fear of man and distrust of Him.

6. K&D, “The object of their fear was a very different one. “Jehovah of hosts, sanctify Him; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your terror. So will He become a sanctuary, but a

stone of stumbling and a rock of offence (vexation) to both the houses of Israel, a snare and trap to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and shall fall; and be dashed to pieces, and be snared and taken.” The logical apodosis to Isa_8:13 commences

with v'hahah (so shall He be). If ye actually acknowledge Jehovah the Holy One as the Holy One

(hikdısh, as in Isa_29:23), and if it is He whom ye fear, and who fills you with dread (ma‛arıtz,

used for the object of dread, as mo0rah is for the object of fear; hence “that which terrifies” in a

causative sense), He will become a mikdash. The word mikdash may indeed denote the object

sanctified, and so Knobel understands it here according to Num_18:29; but if we adhere to the

strict notion of the word, this gives an unmeaning apodosis. Mikdash generally means the

sanctified place or sanctuary, with which the idea of an asylum would easily associate itself, since even among the Israelites the temple was regarded and respected as an asylum (1Ki_1:50; 1Ki_2:28). This is the explanation which most of the commentators have adopted here; and the punctuators also took it in the same sense, when they divided the two halves of Isa_8:14 by

athnach as antithetical. And mikdash is really to be taken in this sense, although it cannot be exactly rendered “asylum,” since this would improperly limit the meaning of the word. The temple was not only a place of shelter, but also of grace, blessing, and peace. All who sanctified the Lord of lords He surrounded like temple walls; hid them in Himself, whilst death and tribulation reigned without, and comforted, fed, and blessed them in His own gracious

fellowship. This is the true explanation of v'hayah(l'mikdas, according to such passages as Isa_4:5-6; Psa_27:5; Psa_31:21. To the two houses of Israel, on the contrary, i.e., to the great mass of the people of both kingdoms who neither sanctified nor feared Jehovah, He would be a rock and snare. The synonyms are intentionally heaped together (cf., Isa_28:13), to produce the fearful impression of death occurring in many forms, but all inevitable. The first three verbs of Isa_8:15

refer to the “stone” ('eben) and “rock” (tzu0r); the last two to the “snare” (pach), and “trap” or

springe (mo0ke0sh).

(Note: Malbim observes quite correctly, that “the pach catches, but does not hurt; the

mokesh catches and hurts (e.g., by seizing the legs or nose, Job_40:24): the former is a

simple snare (or net), the latter a springe, or snare which catches by means of a spring” (Amo_3:5).)

All who did not give glory to Jehovah would be dashed to pieces upon His work as upon a stone, and caught therein as in a trap. This was the burden of the divine warning, which the prophet heard for himself and for those that believed.

7. SBC, “I. The whole subject of Godhead is one of awe, and if of awe, then "dread." The more you know of God, the more you feel the unfathomableness of the mystery of Godhead. And all mystery is awe. It is a rule of our being, that we must tremble when we stand on the margin of the unknown. Therefore they who know most of God will most "fear," not His anger, but simply His amazing greatness.

II. The sense of mercy and benefits heaped upon us has an overwhelming influence upon the mind. Do not you know what it is to tremble at a danger when you have escaped it, much more than you did when you encountered it? That is exactly the "fear" and the "dread" of a pardoned sinner. It is the contemplation of a thunder-cloud which has rolled over your head.

III. Reverence is the great lesson which our age has to learn. Be suspicious of the love which is without awe. Remember that our best acquaintance with God only shows us more the immensity of the fields of thought which no mind can traverse.

IV. "He shall be for a sanctuary." Do you recoil at the idea of dreading God? That which makes the dread makes the hiding-place. To those who fear, He shall be for a sanctuary. (1) To a Jewish mind, the first idea of the sanctuary would be refuge. (2) The sanctuary of safety becomes the home of peace. "Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations." (3) God is the fountain of your holiness. The Shechinah shines within the veil; but as you become familiar with the precincts of that holy place, you catch some of its rays, and reflect its glory.

J. Vaughan, Sermons, 9th series; p. 245.

8. CALVIN, “13.Sanctify Jehovah of hosts himself. We have said that the reason why dangers lead to

immoderate alarm is, that wretched men do not raise their eyes and minds to heaven. The Prophet now,

therefore, proposes a suitable remedy for allaying terrors, that they who dread the evils which threaten

them may learn to give to God the honor due to him. To sanctify the God of armies means to exalt his

power highly; so as to remember that he holds the government of the world, and that the beginning and

the end of good and evil actions are at his disposal. Hence it follows that, in some respects, God is

robbed of his holiness, when we do not immediately betake ourselves to him in cases of perplexity. This

mode of expression, therefore, is highly emphatic; for it shows us that no higher affront can be offered to

God than to give way to fear, as if he were not exalted above all creatures, so as to control all events. On

the other hand, when we rely on his aid, and, through victorious steadfastness of faith, despise dangers,

then do we actually ascribe to him lawful government; for if we are not convinced that innumerable

methods, though unknown to us, are in his power for our deliverance, we conceive of him as a dead idol.

And let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. He properly adds, that God himself should be

the fear and the dread of the people, in order to inform them that there awaits them a just and lawful

reward of their crimes and of their contempt of God, when they thus in wretchedness and alarm tremble

at dangers. Though he speaks not only of fear but of dread, yet he does not mean that the Jews should

be filled with horror at the name of God, so as to desire to flee from him, but merely demands from them

reverence for God, and uses both words in order to express continuance. He therefore means that they

will be free and exempted from solicitude of mind, if a sincere fear of God be deeply engraven on their

hearts, and never pass away from them; and indeed every person who freely devotes himself to God, and

undertakes to fear him alone, so as to lay this restraint on himself, will find that no haven is more safe

than his protection. But as the ungodly do not cease to provoke his anger by shameless transgression, he

harasses their minds by continual uneasiness, and thus inflicts the most appropriate revenge for their

careless indifference.

14 He will be a holy place;

for both Israel and Judah he will be

a stone that causes people to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall.

And for the people of Jerusalem he will be

a trap and a snare.

1.BARNES, “And he shall be for a sanctuary - The word translated sanctuary means, literally, a holy place, a consecrated place, and is usually applied to the tabernacle, or to the temple; Exo_25:8; Lev_12:4; Lev_21:12; Jer_51:51. It also means an asylum, or a refuge, to which one might flee in case of danger, and be safe; see Eze_11:16. Among all ancient nations, temples were regarded as safe places to which people might flee when pursued, and when in danger. It was deemed sacrilege to tear a man away from a temple or an altar. That the temple was so regarded among the Jews is manifest; see 1Ki_1:50; 1Ki_2:28. In allusion to this, the prophet says, that Yahweh would be a sanctuary; that is, an asylum, or refuge, to whom they should flee in times of danger, and be safe; see Psa_46:1 : ‘God is our refuge and strength;’ Pro_18:10 : ‘The name of the Loan is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.’ It is also well known that temples and altars were regarded as asyla among the Greeks and Romans. The reference here is rather to an altar, as the asylum, than to a city or temple; as, in the other member of the sentence, the same object is said to be a stone of stumbling - a figure which would not be applicable to a temple or a city.

A stone of stumbling - A stone against which one should impinge, or over which he should fall. The idea is, that none could run against a hard, rough, fixed stone, or rock, without injuring himself. So the Jews would oppose the counsels of God; instead of making him their refuge and strength, they would resist his claims and appeals, and the consequence would be their destruction. It is also to be remembered, that God is often represented in the Scriptures as a rock, a firm defense, or place of safety, to those who trust in him. But instead of their thus taking refuge in him, they would oppose themselves to this firm rock, and ruin themselves; see Deu_32:4, Deu_32:15, Deu_32:18, Deu_32:30-31, Deu_32:37; Psa_19:14; Psa_28:1; Psa_31:2, Psa_31:8; Psa_41:2; Psa_42:9. Many of the ancient Jewish commentators applied this to the Messiah. - Gesenius in loc. It is also applied to Christ in the New Testament, 1Pe_2:8.

A rock of offence - A rock over which they should fall. The English word offence, had that meaning formerly, and retains it in our translation of the Bible.

To both the houses of Israel - To the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel; that is, to the wicked portion of them, not to those who were truly pious.

For a gin - A net, or snare, to take birds. The idea is the same as in the former part of the verse. By rejecting the counsel of God; by despising his protection, and by resisting his laws, they would be unexpectedly involved in difficulties, as birds which are caught in a snare.

2. CLARKE, “And he shall be for a sanctuary “And he shall be unto you a

sanctuary” - The word לכם lachem, unto you, absolutely necessary, as I conceive, to the sense, is lost in this place: it is preserved by the Vulgate, “et erit vobis in sanctificationem.” The

Septuagint have it in the singular number: εσται(σοι(εις(lγιασµον, it shall be to Thee. Or else,

instead of מקדש mikdash, a sanctuary, we must read מוקש mokesh, a snare, which would then be repeated without any propriety or elegance, at the end of the verse. The Chaldee reads instead of

it משפט mishpat, judgment; for he renders it by פורען purean, which word frequently answers to

ולאבן)מקדש mishpat in his paraphrase. One MS. has in stead of משפט mikdash(uleeben, לאבן)להם

lahem(leeben, which clears the sense and construction. But the reading of the Vulgate is, I think,

the best remedy to this difficulty; and is in some degree authorized by להם lahem, the reading of the MS. above mentioned.

3. GILL, “And he shall be for a sanctuary,.... Not the king of Assyria, as Aben Ezra, but the Lord of hosts: the Targum rightly interprets it of the word of the Lord, the essential Word; of the Messiah, who is for a sanctuary, or asylum, a place of refuge for his people in all times of distress, and who is their dwelling place in all generations; he dwells in them, and they dwell in him; and where they dwell safely and securely, peaceably and quietly, comfortably and pleasantly, and that always; he is a sanctuary to worship in, in whom they draw nigh to the Father, and offer up the sacrifices of prayer and praise, and where the glory of God is seen by them, and they have communion with him; or "for sanctification", as the Septuagint version; this Christ is to his people, 1Co_1:30, but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence, to both the houses of Israel: which Jarchi interprets of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, and his company, and of Shebna and his company; but Aben Ezra much better of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah, especially when the twelve tribes were under one form of government in Christ's time. In the Talmud (u) it is explained of the two houses of the fathers of Israel; and these are they, the head of the captivity in Babylon, and the prince in the land of Israel; and the Nazarenes, as Jerom (w) reports, apply the words to the two houses or families of Hillel and Shammai, who were two heads of schools in Jerusalem, a little before the times of Christ, and were of the sect of the Pharisees; and to whom indeed Christ was a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, as he was to the Jews in common; who were offended and stumbled at his birth and parentage, he descending from poor parents; at his education and place of bringing up; at the mean appearance of himself and his followers; at the obscurity of his kingdom, it not being of this world, nor coming with observation; at the company he kept, and the audience that attended on him; at his doctrines and miracles; and at his death, and the manner of it; see Rom_9:32. For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; even the principal inhabitants of it, such as the elders of the people, priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, who sought to entangle Christ in his talk, and to ensnare him by questions they put unto him; but were themselves snared and taken, convicted, confounded, and silenced. See Mat_22:15.

4. HENRY, “He threatens the ruin of the ungodly and unbelieving, both in Judah and Israel. They have no part nor lot in the foregoing comforts; that God who will be a sanctuary to those who trust in him will be a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to those who leave these waters of Shiloah, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son, (Isa_8:6), who make the creature their fear and their hope, Isa_8:14, Isa_8:15. The prophet foresees that the greatest part of both the houses of Israel would not sanctify the Lord of hosts, and to them he would be for a gin and a snare; he would be a terror to them, as he would be a support and stay to those that trusted in him. Instead of profiting by the word of God, they should be offended at it; and the providences of God, instead of leading them to him, would drive them from him. What was a savour of life unto life to others would be a savour of death unto death to them. “So that many among them shall stumble and fall; they shall fall both into sin and into ruin; they shall fall by the sword, shall be taken prisoners, and go into captivity.” Note, If the things of God be an offence to us, they will be an undoing to us. Some apply this to the unbelieving Jews, who rejected Christ, and to whom he became a stone of stumbling; for the apostle quotes this scripture with application to all those who persisted in their unbelief of the gospel of Christ (1Pe_2:8); to them he is a rock of offence, because, being disobedient to the word, they stumble at it.

5. JAMISON, “sanctuary — inviolable asylum, like the altar of the temple (1Ki_1:50; 1Ki_2:28; Eze_11:16; compare Pro_18:10); namely, to those who fear and trust in Him.

but ... offence — that is, a rock over which they should fall to their hurt; namely those who would not believe.

both ... houses — Israel and Judah. Here again the prophecy expands beyond the temporary application in Ahaz’ time. The very stone, Immanuel, which would have been a sanctuary on belief, becomes a fatal stumbling-block through unbelief. Jesus Christ refers to this in Mat_21:44. (Compare Deu_32:4, Deu_32:15, Deu_32:18, Deu_32:30, Deu_32:31, Deu_32:37; Dan_2:34; Rom_9:33; 1Pe_2:8).

gin — trap, in which birds are unexpectedly caught (Luk_21:35; 1Th_5:2). So at the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus.

6. PULPIT, “He shall be for a Sanctuary (comp. Eze_11:16, "Yet will I be to them as a little

Sanctuary"). A sanctuary is "a refuge" (Psa_90:1; Psa_91:9), and something more. It is a holy refuge, a

place which is a refuge because of its holiness. Its material counterpart in the Mosaic system is, not "the

city of refuge," but the altar (1Ki_1:50; 1Ki_2:28). Both the houses of Israel; i.e. "the two reigning

houses of Samaria and Judaea," both of which were Israelite. Both the "houses" would ultimately forsake

Jehovah, and find in him a "Snare" and a "Rock of offense."

7.CALVIN, “14.And he shall be for a sanctuary. He promises that the true worshippers of God will

enjoy tranquillity of mind, because the Lord, covering them, as it were, under his wings, will quickly dispel

all their fears. There is an allusion to the word sanctify which he had lately used; for the word מקדש,

(mikdash,) which means sometimes a sanctuary, and sometimes a place of refuge, is derived from the

same root. (130) The meaning therefore is, that God demands nothing for which he does not offer mutual

recompense, because every one that sanctifies him will undoubtedly find him to be a place of refuge.

Now, although in this sanctification there is a mutual relation between us and God, yet there is a

difference, for we sanctify him by ascribing all praise and glory to him, and by relying entirely upon him;

but he sanctifies us, by guarding and preserving us from all evils. As there were few who believed and

relied on his promises, the Prophet wished that the godly should be fortified against this kind of

temptation; for there was a danger lest they should be carried away by such bad examples as by a kind of

tempest.

The Prophet therefore meant, “ Lord will be your best and most faithful guardian. Though others stumble

against him, yet be not you terrified; remain steadfastly in your calling.” And here a contrast is implied,

though not expressed; for a sanctuary may be said to be a citadel situated in a lofty position, and a

bulwark for defending and guarding the godly, but for destroying and overwhelming the ungodly, because

they rashly stumble against it. We shall afterwards see more clearly how this was fulfilled, partly during

the reign of Hezekiah, and partly at the time of the captivity into Babylon; and yet at the same time Christ

was prefigured, who was to be not a place of refuge, but rather a stone of stumbling to the Israelites.

Isaiah forewarns them of this stumbling, that the godly may be aware of it.

To the two houses of Israel. The Jews ignorantly and improperly tear asunder this verse, instead of

dividing it. “ will be,” say they, “ a sanctuary and partly a stone of stumbling; as if by the two families he

distinguished between the godly and the unbelievers. On the contrary, he enjoins believers, though nearly

the whole multitude of both kingdoms should dissuade them from obedience to God, not to be

discouraged, but to disregard everything else, and break through all opposition. The Prophet might have

simply said, he will be for an offense to Israel; but he intended to express more, for he includes the whole

nation, and declares that God will be their destruction. The nation was divided into two kingdoms,

Ephraim and Judah; and, therefore, he mentioned both. There were, indeed, some exceptions, but he

speaks here of the whole body.

This is a remarkable passage and cannot be sufficiently called to remembrance, especially at the present

time, when we see the state of religion throughout the whole Christian world brought nearly to ruin. Many

boast that they are Christians who are strongly alienated from God, and to whom Christ is a stone of

stumbling. The papists insolently and proudly boast of his name, though they profane the whole of his

worship by superstitions, and bring upon it dishonor and reproach. Among those to whom a purer worship

of God has been restored, there are very few who embrace the Gospel of God with sincere regard.

Wherever we turn our eyes, very sore temptations meet us in every direction; and, therefore, we ought to

remember this highly useful instruction, that it is no new thing, if a great multitude of persons, and almost

all who boast that they belong to the Church, stumble against God. Yet let us constantly adhere to him,

however small may be our numbers.

For a snare to the inhabitant of Jerusalem. This is the second circumstance introduced for heightening

the picture; for, after having mentioned the two kingdoms, he names the metropolis itself. Although the

whole country was crippled, yet it seemed that the Lord kept his abode there. He therefore means that

God became a snare, not only to the common people who were scattered throughout the fields and

villages, but to the nobles themselves, and to the priests who dwelt in Jerusalem, who dwelt in that holy

habitation in which God intended that the remembrance of his name should be chiefly preserved. That

was testified also by David, thatthose builders whom the Lord appointed rejected the chief corner-stone.

(Psa_118:22.) Christ quotes this passage against the Jews, and shows that it applies to himself.

(Mat_21:42; Mar_12:10.) This happened, indeed, in the time of Isaiah, but still more in the time of Christ;

for ungodliness and rebellion gradually increased till they came to a height. Accordingly, both the highest

and the lowest, who always had obstinately disobeyed God, at that time broke out against him still more

with unrestrained indulgence, and therefore their destruction also reached its height; for they were

altogether rejected by God, whose Son they had refused. Hence also we infer the eternal divinity of

Christ, for Paul shows that it is God of whom the Prophet here speaks. (Rom_9:33.) Now, he speaks not

of a pretended God, but of that God by whom heaven and earth were created, and who revealed himself

to Moses. (Exo_3:6.) It is, therefore, the same God by whom the Church has been always governed.

(130) It may aid the English reader, in understanding this observation, to be reminded that the two

words sanctify and sanctuary, come from the same root, sanct, or saint, that is, holy. — Ed.

15 Many of them will stumble;

they will fall and be broken,

they will be snared and captured.”

1.BARNES, “And many among them - Many by the invasion under the Assyrian. Many were taken captive; many killed. and many were carried to Babylon. The repetition here of so many expressions so nearly synonymous is emphatic, and shows that it would be certainly done.

2. PULPIT, “Many among them (so the Vulgate, Ewald, Delitzsch, and Knobel). But most others

translate, "Many shall stumble thereon,"i.e. on the stone and the rock (Rosenmüller, Gesenius, Vance

Smith, Kay, Cheyne). Fall, and be broken. The effect of stumbling against a stone

(Mat_21:44; Luk_20:18). Be snared, and be taken. The effect of being caught in a gin

(Psa_9:15, Psa_9:16).

3. GILL, “And many among them,.... Not all, though the greater part; for Christ was set for the falling and rising of many in Israel, Luk_2:34, shall stumble, and fall, and be broken: stumble at Christ, the stumbling stone; fall by unbelief into other sins and punishment, and be broken in pieces by this stone, Mat_21:44, and be snared, and be taken; and so die in their sins, and perish eternally. The allusion is to birds being taken in a snare or trap, or with bird lime, and therein or thereby held and detained.

4. KRETZMANN, “v. 15. And many among them, all those who persist in their enmity toward the Lord, shall stumble, by their own fault, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. To him who deliberately rejects Jesus and His mercy the very Gospel-message becomes a savor of death unto death, as the application of this word by Simeon, Luk_2:34, by Paul, Rom_9:33, to the obdurate Jews of their day, and by Peter, 1Pe_2:7-8, to the unbelievers in general shows. This fact will tend all the more to make the believers serve the Lord with fear and to rejoice with trembling.

5. JAMISON, “stumble ... taken — images from the means used in taking wild animals.

6. CALVIN, “15.And many among them shall stumble. He goes on to threaten the ungodly, as he had

formerly begun, and declares that those who refuse to trust in God will not escape without being

punished. The threatening runs thus: “ they have stumbled, they will then fall, and afterwards they will be

bruised. ” This agrees with the former metaphor, in which he compared God to a stone. Christ has alluded

to that metaphor, including both clauses.

“ who shall fall on this stone will be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will bruise him.”

(Mat_21:44.)

And shall be snared and taken. This agrees with the latter metaphor, in which he compared God to

a snare and gin. Let not the ungodly, therefore, imagine that they are stronger or wiser than God; for they

will find that he excels them in strength and wisdom, and that to their destruction. They must, therefore,

unavoidably be ruined; for either they will be utterly bruised, or they will be snared in such a manner, that

they can never extricate themselves.

This threatening also regards the godly, that they may not hesitate to withdraw from holding fellowship

with the multitude, and that they may not resolutely disregard the sinfulness of revolt. Now, this does not

strictly belong to God, but is rather, as we would say, accidental; for it belongs to God to receive men into

his favor, and to give them a firm security for their salvation. That was more clearly manifested in Christ,

and is still manifested; and, therefore, Peter reminds us that, though many unbelievers stumble, this is no

reason why their stumbling should obstruct the progress of our faith; for Christ is notwithstanding a

chosen and precious stone. (1Pe_2:4.)

16 Bind up this testimony of warning

and seal up God’s instruction among my disciples.

1.BARNES, “Take thee a great roll - The word which is here translated ‘roll’ more properly signifies tablet. So the Chaldee renders it. Those tablets were made of wood, metal, or stone, for the purpose of writing on; see Isa_30:8; Hab_2:2. On these tablets, or smooth plates, writing was performed by cutting the letters with an iron stylus, or small chisel. The process was slow, but the writing was permanent. They sometimes used the skins of animals, or the bark of trees, and subsequently the papyrus of Egypt (compare the note at Isa_19:7); and it is possible that Isaiah may have used such a roll or volume on this occasion; compare Isa_8:16.

With a man’s pen - The word “pen” here ( טחר cheretʖ) denotes the iron stylus, which was used to engrave or cut the letters in the metal or wood. The phrase ‘a man’s pen,’ has been variously interpreted. The Chaldee renders it, ‘Write in it an open, or clear writing, or an expanded writing;’ meaning that he should make it clear and distinct, so as to be easily read. The

Syriac, ‘Write on it in the (usual) custom of men.’ The word which is translated ‘man’s אנוש 'eno

sh usually denotes common men, the lower ranks, in opposition to the higher ranks of society.

And probably the direction means simply, ‘write on it in letters such as men commonly use; in a plain, open, distinct manner - without using any mysterious emblems or characters, but so that

men may read it distinctly and easily.’ A parallel place occurs in Hab_2:2 : ‘Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.’

Concerning - Hebrew ל (le). This preposition may denote concerning, of, or to. I understand

it here as referring to the heading or title of the prophecy. This was to be set over the prophecy, as a running title, to denote the main subject of it. The subject is indicated in the name which is immediately added.

Maher - Hasten; or, he shall hasten. “Shalal.” Spoil, or prey.

Hash - Hasten, or make speed.

Baz - Spoil, or prey. The name used here is a repetition of the same idea - denoting haste in seizing prey, or spoil; and is repeated to give emphasis, and to excite attention. The idea is, that the Assyrian would hasten to his plunder - that it would be accomplished with speed. This name was to be given to a child of Isaiah; and this child was to be a sign of the event which was signified by the name; see Isa_8:18; compare Hab_2:2-3.

2. CLARKE, “Take thee a great roll “Take unto thee a large mirror” - The word גליון

gillayon is not regularly formed from גלל galal, to roll, but from גלה galah, as פדיון pidyon from פדה

padah, כליון killayon from כלה, calah, נקיון nikkayon from נקה nakah, עליון elyon from עלה alah, etc.,

the י yod supplying the place of the radical ה he. גלה galah signifies to show, to reveal; properly, as Schroederus says, (De Vestitu Mulier. Hebr. p. 294), to render clear and bright by rubbing; to

polish. גליון gillayon, therefore, according to this derivation, is not a roll or volume: but may very

well signify a polished tablet of metal, such as was anciently used for a mirror. The Chaldee

paraphrast renders it by לוח luach, a tablet, and the same word, though somewhat differently

pointed, the Chaldee paraphrast and the rabbins render a mirror, Isa_3:23. The mirrors of the Israelitish women were made of brass finely polished, Exo_38:8, from which place it likewise appears that what they used were little hand mirrors which they carried with them even when they assembled at the door of the tabernacle. I have a metalline mirror found in Herculaneum, which is not above three inches square. The prophet is commanded to take a mirror, or brazen polished tablet, not like these little hand mirrors, but a large one; large enough for him to

engrave upon it in deep and lasting characters, אנוש)בחרט becheret(enosh, with a workman’s

graving tool, the prophecy which he was to deliver. חרט cheret in this place certainly signifies an

instrument to write or engrave with: but יטחר charit, the same word, only differing a little in the

form, means something belonging to a lady’s dress, Isa_3:22, (where however five MSS. leave

out the י yod, whereby only it differs from the word in this place), either a crisping-pin, which

might be not unlike a graving tool, as some will have it, or a purse, as others infer from

2Ki_5:23. It may therefore be called here אנוש)חרט cheret(enosh, a workman’s instrument, to

distinguish it from אשה)חרט cheret(ishshah, an instrument of the same name, used by the women.

In this manner he was to record the prophecy of the destruction of Damascus and Samaria by the Assyrians; the subject and sum of which prophecy is here expressed with great brevity in

four words, בז)הש)שלל)מהר maher(shalal(hash(baz; i.e., to hasten the spoil, to take quickly the prey; which are afterwards applied as the name of the prophet’s son, who was made a sign of the speedy completion of it; Maher-shalal-hash-baz; Haste-to-the-spoil, Quick-to-the-prey. And

that it might be done with the greater solemnity, and to preclude all doubt of the real delivery of the prophecy before the event, he calls witnesses to attest the recording of it.

The prophet is commanded to take a great roll, and yet four words only are to be written in it,

בז)הש)לשל)מהר maher(shalal(hash(baz, Make haste to the spoil; fall upon the prey. The great volume

points out the land of Judea; and the few words the small number of inhabitants, after the ten tribes were carried into captivity.

The words were to be written with a man’s pen; i.e., though the prophecy be given in the visions of God, yet the writing must be real; the words must be transcribed on the great roll, that

they may be read and publicly consulted. Or, אנוש)חרט cherot(enosh, the pen or graver of the weak miserable man, may refer to the already condemned Assyrians, who though they should be the instruments of chastening Damascus and Samaria, should themselves shortly be overthrown. The four words may be considered as the commission given to the Assyrians to destroy and spoil the cities. Make haste to the spoil; Fall upon the prey, etc.

3. GILL, “Moreover the Lord said unto me,.... This is another prophecy, confirming the same thing that was promised in the preceding chapter Isa_7:1; namely, safety to the Jews from the two kings of Syria and Israel, which combined against them: take thee a great roll; or volume, a writing book, a roll of parchment, in which form the ancients used to write, Psa_40:7. The Targum renders it, a "table"; a writing table, such an one as Zacharias called for, Luk_1:63 and this was to be a "great" or large one, because much was to be written in it; or what was to be written was to be written in large letters: and write in it with a man's pen; such as men usually write with; and in such a style and language as may be easily understood by men, even though unlearned; and so clearly and plainly, that he that runs may read; and so the Targum, "write in it a clear writing;'' very plain, and explicit, and legible: concerning Mahershalalhashbaz; a son of the prophet Isaiah, so called, Isa_8:3 whose name was very significant, and was given him on purpose to express the sudden destruction of the enemies of Judah. The Targum renders it, "hasten to seize the prey, and to take away the spoil.'' Some translate it, "in hastening the prey, the spoiler hastens"; perhaps it may be better rendered, "hasten to the spoil, hasten to the prey"; as if the words were spoken to the Assyrian monarch, to hasten to the spoil of Damascus and Samaria; and the repetition of the same thing in different words may have respect to the spoils of both, see Isa_8:4 and for the greater confirmation of the thing. Gussetius has a very peculiar fancy about the sense of this text; he

observes that חרט, rendered a "pen", signifies some hollow vessel, in which things were put; and

supposes that it here designs a man's chest, or some such thing, in which garments might be laid

up and reserved: and גליון, is the singular of a word used in Isa_3:23, for some sort of luxurious

garments wore by women; so that, upon the whole, the reading and sense of the words are, that

the prophet is bid to take a large garment of the above sort, and write upon it, putting it into the chest. This for Mahershalalhashbaz; signifying it was to lie there till this child was born; and intimating hereby, that the women, far from battle, would be spoiled of their soft and precious garments, as well as the men be slain in war (m), though this is more tolerable than the fancy of Huetius (n), that the whole is an euphemism, in modest terms, expressing the prophet's coition with his wife.

4. HENRY, “Isaiah 8:16-22 The unspeakable privilege which the people of God enjoy in having the oracles of God consigned over to them, and being entrusted with the sacred writings. That they may sanctify the Lord of hosts, may make him their fear and find him their sanctuary, bind up the testimony, Isa_8:16. Note, It is a great instance of God's care of his church and love to it that he has lodged in it the invaluable treasure of divine revelation. 1. It is a testimony and a law; not only this prophecy is so, which must therefore be preserved safely for the comfort of God's people in the approaching times of trouble and distress, but the whole word of God is so; God has attested it, and he has enjoined it. As a testimony it directs our faith; as a law it directs our practice; and we ought both to subscribe to the truths of it and to submit to the precepts of it. 2. This testimony and this law are bound up and sealed, for we are not to add to them nor diminish from them; they are a letter from God to man, folded up and sealed, a proclamation under the broad seal. The binding up and sealing of the Old Testament signified that the full explication of many of the prophecies of it was reserved for the New Testament times. Dan_12:4, Seal the book till the time of the end; but what was then bound up and sealed is now open and unsealed, and revealed unto babes, Mat_11:25. Yet with reference to the other world, and the future state, still the testimony is bound up and sealed, for we know but in part, and prophesy but in part. 3. They are lodged as a sacred deposit in the hands of the disciples of the children of the prophets and the covenant, Act_3:25. This is the good thing which is committed to them, and which they are charged with the custody of, 2Ti_1:13, 2Ti_1:14. Those that had prophets for their tutors must still keep close to the written word.

5. JAMISON, “The words of Jehovah.

confederacy — rather, a conspiracy; an appropriate term for the unnatural combination of Israel with Syrian foreigners against Judea and the theocracy, to which the former was bound by ties of blood and hereditary religion [Maurer].

to all ... say — rather, of all which this people calleth a conspiracy [G. V. Smith].

their fear — namely, object of fear: the hostile conspiracy.

be afraid — rather [Maurer], “nor make others to be afraid.”

Isaiah 8:16 Bind up ... seal — What Isaiah had before briefly noted by inscribing Maher-shalal-hash-

baz in a tablet, fixed up in some public place, he afterwards wrote out more in detail in a parchment roll (Isa_30:8); this he is now to seal up, not merely in order that nothing may be added to, or taken from it, as being complete, but to imply that it relates to distant events, and is therefore to be a sealed and not understood testimony (Isa_6:9, Isa_6:10), except in part among God’s “disciples,” that is, those who “sanctify the Lord” by obedient trust (Psa_25:14). Subsequent revelations would afterwards clear up what now was dark. So the Apocalypse explains what in Daniel was left unexplained (compare Dan_8:26; Dan_12:9). “The words are

closed up and sealed till the time of the end”; but Rev_22:10, “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy ... for the time is at hand” (compare Rev_5:1, Rev_5:5, Rev_5:9),

testimony — attested by Uriah and Zechariah (Isa_8:2).

law — the revelation just given, having the force of a law.

disciples — not as Maurer, Uriah and Zechariah (compare Joh_7:17; Joh_15:15).

6. K&D, “The words that follow in Isa_8:16, “Bind up the testimony, seal the lesson in my disciples,” appear at first sight to be a command of God to the prophet, according to such parallel passages as Dan_12:4, Dan_12:9; Rev_22:10, cf., Dan_8:26; but with this explanation it

is impossible to do justice to the words “in my disciples” (b'ilmmudai). The explanation given by Rosenmüller, Knobel, and others, viz., “by bringing in men divinely instructed” (adhibitis viris piis et sapientibus), is grammatically inadmissible. Consequently I agree with Vitringa, Drechsler, and others, in regarding Isa_8:16 as the prophet's own prayer to Jehovah. We tie

together (צרר, imperf. צר = צור) what we wish to keep from getting separated and lost; we seal

(Chatam) what is to be kept secret, and only opened by a person duly qualified. And so the prophet here prays that Jehovah would take his testimony with regard to the future, and his instruction, which was designed to prepare for this future - that testimony and thorah which the great mass in their hardness did not understand, and in their self-hardening despised - and lay them up well secured and well preserved, as if by band and seal, in the hearts of those who

received the prophet's words with believing obedience (limmu0d, as in Isa_50:4; Isa_54:13). For it would be all over with Israel, unless a community of believers should be preserved, and all over with this community, if the word of God, which was the ground of their life, should be allowed to slip from their hearts. We have here an announcement of the grand idea, which the second part of the book of Isaiah carries out in the grandest style. It is very evident that it is the prophet himself who is speaking here, as we may see from Isa_8:17, where he continues to speak

in the first person, though he does not begin with ואני.

7. PULPIT, “Bind up the testimony, etc. The words are still those of Jehovah, addressed to his servant

Isaiah. God commands that the prophecy shall be written in a roll, which is then to be carefully tied with a

string and sealed, for future use.Seal the Law; rather, the instruction—the advice given in verses 12-15

(comp. Dan_12:4).

8. CALVIN, “16.Bind up the testimony. The Lord now turns his discourse to the Prophet, and

encourages him, while he must contend against apostates and rebels, to discharge his office with

boldness and perseverance. This was highly necessary, for Isaiah had met with great obstinacy in the

people; so that if he had only looked at their present condition, that is, at the unbelief of the people, and

his fruitless and unsuccessful exertions, he must have altogether given way. On this account the Lord

determined to confirm and seal his calling, not only on his account, but for the sake of all who should

obey his doctrine; and if very few persons believed the words of the Prophet, still the Lord testifies that his

doctrine has been sealed to them, and that, therefore, neither must he desist from his office of teaching,

nor must they cease to yield the obedience of faith.

Seal the law. He compares the doctrine of the word to a sealed letter, which may indeed be felt and

handled by many persons, but yet is read and understood by few, that is, by those to whom it is sent and

addressed. Thus the word of God is received by few, that is, by the elect, though it is held out

indiscriminately to all. The word is therefore sealed to those who derive no advantage from it, and

is sealed in such a manner that the Lord unseals and opens it to his own people by the Spirit. Some

derive the verb צור (tzor) from נצר, (natzar,) and translate it keep. But though this does not greatly affect

the general meaning, still the superiority of the rendering which I have followed (131) may be proved from

the other verb seal; for the custom in ancient times was, first, to tie a thread around a letter, and then

to seal it.

We draw from it this highly useful doctrine, namely, that teachers and ministers of the word ought

constantly to persevere in discharging their office, though it may seem that all men revolt, and give no

evidence of anything but obstinacy and rebellion; for the Lord will reserve for himself some disciples, by

whom his letter will be read with advantage, though it be closed to others. The Prophet afterwards

employs the same metaphor, when he says, that the word is like a closed book, (Isa_29:11;) but there he

only mentions wicked men, and here he mentions disciples, to whom the doctrine of the word is not

without advantage.

It may be objected, Was it then the duty of the Prophet to disregard the people, and to withdraw and shut

himself up with the disciples, among whom some good effect was produced? I reply, this was not the

Prophet’ meaning; for it was the will of the Lord that Isaiah should appear in public, and cry aloud, and

reveal his will to all. But as he spoke to the deaf, and might be discouraged by seeing no evidence of the

fruit of his labors, the Lord determined to excite and encourage him to go forward, even when matters

were in a desperate condition, and, satisfied with his disciples, though their number was small, to become

every day more and more courageous.

(131) Which is also followed in the English Bible, namely, Bind. — Ed.

17 I will wait for the LORD,

who is hiding his face from the descendants of

Jacob.

I will put my trust in him.

1.BARNES, “And I will wait upon the Lord - This is the commencement of a new subject. The prophet had closed his former message; but had seen that in regard to the great mass of the nation, his exhortation had been in vain. He now says, that having delivered his message, he would patiently look to God alone. His hope was in him, though the nation looked elsewhere; and though calamities were coming, yet he would still trust in God only.

That hideth his face - This is a figurative expression, denoting the withdrawing of his favor and protection. He would leave them, and give them to deserved punishment; compare Job_23:9; Job_13:24; Psa_44:24; Psa_10:1; Psa_104:29.

And I will look for him - I will expect aid from him, and will believe that his promises of final protection will yet be fulfilled; compare Hab_2:3 :

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, But at the end it shall speak, and not lie: Though it tarry, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

2. PULPIT, “ISAIAH DEFINES HIS OWN ATTITUDE AND THAT OF HIS CHILDREN. It is questioned

whether something has not fallen out between Isa_8:16 and Isa_8:17. The transition is exceedingly

abrupt, undoubtedly; but perhaps not more abrupt than elsewhere in Isaiah and the prophets

contemporary with him. The Divine "instruction" comes to an end in verse 16; and Isaiah might have been

expected to comment on it, or enforce its teaching; but he does neither. He simply states what his own

attitude will be under the coming calamity (verse 8). He will "wait for the Lord and look to him" (verse 17),

and consider himself and his children as doing a work for God in being "signs" (verse 18)—signs to which

the rest of Israel may look, and from which they may derive sufficient hope and confidence to carry them

through the dark time which is approaching.

Isa_8:17

I will wait upon the Lord; rather, I will wait for the Lord; i.e. "await the time of his relenting"

(see Isa_30:18; Isa_64:4, etc.). That hideth his face from the house of Jacob (compare the threats

in Deu_31:17; Deu_32:20). The light of God's countenance is to the spiritual what that of the sun is to the

material world. All life, health, joy, happiness, proceed from it. This light was now to be withdrawn for a

time on account of the people's sins. But Isaiah would "wait" for its reappearance.

3. GILL, “And I will wait upon the Lord,.... Or "for the Lord" (x); for the coming of Christ, the Immanuel, who would be a sanctuary to some, and a stone of stumbling to others, and whose doctrine in the meanwhile would be bound up and sealed; faith in, and expectation of the Messiah's coming, are often signified by waiting for him, Isa_25:9, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob; to whom the promise of him was made, from whom he should descend, to whom he should be sent, and whom he would redeem. This is not to be understood of his deserting of his people, and withdrawing his gracious presence from them, to show his displeasure at them, and resentment of their conduct, which is sometimes the sense of this phrase; but as descriptive of Christ before his assumption of human nature, when he was "Deus absconditus", the hidden God, as some render the words in Isa_45:15 until he was manifest in the flesh; and which is therefore called his "appearing", 2Ti_1:10, and I will look for him; the prophet here speaks in his own person, and in the person of the church who in that, and in succeeding ages, as well as before, were looking by faith for the coming of Christ, and redemption by him, Luk_2:38 though some understand this of Christ, expressing his satisfaction in the few disciples he had among the Jews, and determining to wait for the accomplishment of divine promises hereafter, when he should have a larger number; the Lord for the present hiding his face from the Jewish nation, and giving them to a spirit of judicial blindness; which sense well agrees with what goes before, and follows after.

4. HENRY, “The good use which we ought to make of this privilege. This we are taught,

1. By the prophet's own practice and resolutions, Isa_8:17, Isa_8:18. He embraced the law ad the testimony, and he had the comfort of them, in the midst of the many discouragements he met with. Note, Those ministers can best recommend the word of God to others that have themselves found the satisfaction of relying upon it. Observe,

(1.) The discouragements which the prophet laboured under. He specifies two: - [1.] The frowns of God, not so much upon himself, but upon his people, whose interests lay very near his heart: “He hides his face from the house of Jacob, and seems at present to neglect them, and lay them under the tokens of his displeasure.” The prophet was himself employed in revealing God's wrath against them, and yet grieved thus for it, as one that did not desire the woeful day. If the house of Jacob forsake the God of Jacob, let it not be thought strange that he hides his face from them. [2.] The contempt and reproaches of men, not only upon himself, but upon his disciples, among whom the law and the testimony were sealed: I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders; we are gazed at as monsters or outlandish people, pointed at as we go along the streets. Probably the prophetical names that were given to his children were ridiculed and bantered by the profane scoffers of the town. I am as a wonder unto many, Psa_71:7. God's people are the world's wonder (Zec_3:8) for their singularity, and because they run not with them to the same excess of riot, 1Pe_4:4. The prophet was herein a type of Christ; for this is quoted (Heb_2:13) to prove that believers are Christ's children: Behold, I and the children whom God has given me. Parents must look upon their children as God's gifts, his gracious gifts; Jacob did so, Gen_33:5. Ministers must look upon their converts as their children, and be tender of them accordingly (1Th_2:7), and as the children whom God has given

them; for, whatever good we are instrumental of to others, it is owing to the grace of God. Christ looks upon believers as his children, whom the Father gave him (Joh_17:6), and both he and they are for signs and wonders, spoken against (Luk_2:34), every where spoken against, Act_28:22.

(2.) The encouragement he took in reference to these discouragements. [1.] He saw the hand of God in all that which was discouraging to him, and kept his eye upon that. Whatever trouble the house of Jacob is in, it comes from God's hiding his face; nay, whatever contempt was put upon him or his friends, it is from the Lord of hosts; he has bidden Shimei curse David, Job_19:13; Job_30:11. [2.] He saw God dwelling in Mount Zion, manifesting himself to his people, and ready to hear their prayers and receive their homage. Though, for the present, he hide his face from the house of Jacob, yet they know where to find him and recover the sight of him; he dwells in Mount Zion. [3.] He therefore resolved to wait upon the Lord and to look for him; to attend his motions even while he hid his face, and to expect with a humble assurance his returns in a way of mercy. Those that wait upon God by faith and prayer may look for him with hope and joy. When we have not sensible comforts we must still keep up our observance of God and obedience to him, and then wait awhile; at evening time it shall be light. 2. By the counsel and advice which he gives to his disciples, among whom the law and the

testimony were sealed, to whom were committed the lively oracles. (1.) He supposes they would be tempted, in the day of their distress, to consult those that had

familiar spirits, that dealt with the devil, asked his advice, and desired to be informed by him concerning things to come, that they might take their measures accordingly. Thus Saul, when he was in straits, made his application to the witch of Endor (1Sa_28:7, 1Sa_28:15), and Ahaziah to the god of Ekron, 2Ki_1:2. These conjurors had strange fantastic gestures and tones: They peeped and muttered; they muffled their heads, that they could neither see nor be seen plainly, but peeped and were peeped at. Or both the words here used may refer to their voice and manner of speaking; they delivered what they had to say with a low, hollow, broken sound, scarcely articulate, and sometimes in a puling or mournful tone, like a crane, or a swallow, or a dove, Isa_38:14. They spoke not with that boldness and plainness which the prophets of the Lord spoke with, but as those who desire to amuse people rather than to instruct them; yet there were those who were so wretchedly sottish as to seek to them and to court others to do so, even the prophet's hearers, who knew better things, whom therefore the prophet warns not to say, A confederacy with such. There were express laws against this wickedness (Lev_19:31; Lev_20:27), and yet it was found in Israel, is found even in Christian nations; but let all that have any sense of religion show it, by startling at the thought of it. Get thee behind me, Satan. Dread the use of spells and charms, and consulting those that by hidden arts pretend to tell fortunes, cure diseases, or discover things lost; for this is a heinous crime, and, in effect, denies the God that is above.

(2.) He furnishes them with an answer to this temptation, puts words into their mouths. “If any go about thus to ensnare you, give them this reply: Should not a people seek to their God? What! for the living to the dead!” [1.] “Tell them it is a principle of religion that a people ought to seek unto their God; now Jehovah is our God, and therefore to him we ought to seek, and to consult with him, and not with those that have familiar spirits. All people will thus walk in the name of their God, Mic_4:5. Those that made the hosts of heaven their gods sought unto them, Jer_8:2. Should not a people under guilt, and in trouble, seek to their God for pardon and peace? Should not a people in doubt, in want, and in danger, seek to their God for direction, supply, and protection? Since the Lord is our God, and we are his people, it is certainly our duty to seek him.” [2.] “Tell them it is an instance of the greatest folly in the world to seek for living men to dead idols.” What can be more absurd than to seek to lifeless images for life and living comforts, or to expect that our friends that are dead should do that for us, when we deify them and pray to them, which our living friends cannot do? The dead know not any thing, nor is

there with them any device or working, Ecc_9:5, Ecc_9:10. It is folly therefore for the living to make their court to them, with any expectation of relief from them. Necromancers consulted the dead, as the witch of Endor, and so proclaimed their own folly. We must live by the living, and not by the dead. What life or light can we look for from those that have no light or life themselves?

(3.) He directs them to consult the oracles of God. If the prophets that were among them did not speak directly to every case, yet they had the written word, and to that they must have recourse. Note, Those will never be drawn to consult wizards that know how to make a good use of their Bibles. Would we know how we may seek to our God, and come to the knowledge of his mind? To the law and to the testimony. There you will see what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. Make God's statutes your counsellors, and you will be counselled aright. Observe, [1.] What use we must make of the law and the testimony: we must speak according to that word, that is, we must make this our standard, conform to it, take advice from it, make our appeals to it, and in every thing be overruled and determined by it, consent to those wholesome healing words (1Ti_6:3), and speak of the things of God in the words which the Holy Ghost teaches. It is not enough to say nothing against it, but we must speak according to it. [2.] Why we must make this use of the law and the testimony: because we shall be convicted of the greatest folly imaginable if we do not. Those that concur not with the word of God do thereby evince that there is no light, no morning light (so the word is) in them; they have no right sense of things; they do not understand themselves, nor the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood. Note, Those that reject divine revelation have not so much as human understanding; nor do those rightly admit the oracles of reason who will not admit the oracles of God. Some read it as a threatening: “If they speak not according to this word, there shall be no light to them, no good, no comfort or relief; but they shall be driven to darkness and despair;” as it follows here, Isa_8:21, Isa_8:22. What light had Saul when he consulted the witch? 1Sa_28:18, 1Sa_28:20. Or what light can those expect that turn away from the Father of lights?

5. JAMISON, “I — Whatever the rest of the nation may do, I will look to Jehovah alone.

that hideth ... face — though He seems now to withdraw His countenance from Judah (the then representative of “the house of Jacob”). Let us wait and trust in, though we cannot see, Him (Isa_50:10; Isa_54:8; Hab_2:3; Luk_2:25, Luk_2:38).

6. K&D, “Whilst offering this prayer, and looking for its fulfilment, he waits upon Jehovah. “And I wait upon Jehovah, who hides His face before the house of Jacob, and hope for Him.” A time of judgment had now commenced, which would still last a long time; but the word of God was the pledge of Israel's continuance in the midst of it, and of the renewal of Israel's glory afterwards. The prophet would therefore hope for the grace which was now hidden behind the wrath.

7.CALVIN, “17.Therefore I will wait for the Lord. (132) I have chosen to render the particle ו (vau)

by therefore; for the Prophet recovers himself, after having received from the Lord the consolation which

we have just now seen. “ that the Lord is pleased to have disciples to whom his doctrine is sealed, I will

wait for him, though he hath hid his face from Jacob, that is, hath rejected and cast off his people.” This is

a remarkable passage, and, by meditating continually on it, we must be greatly encouraged; for though it

may seem as if the whole world had revolted, still we ought boldly to persevere; and even though

God hath hid his face from his people, and they who professed his name have been cast off, still we

ought to wait for him with unshaken hope. This is the only remedy that is left to us.

The word wait is exceedingly emphatic; as if he had said, “ I will not turn aside from God, I will persevere

in faith.” He increases the force of it by adding, I will look for him; for the occurrence of any offense is

wont to make our faith waver and faint, and it is most grievously shaken when we see that we are

deprived of allies, and that there are open enemies who boldly take to themselves the name of the

Church. Offenses commonly turn us aside from God, and perplex us in such a manner that we call in

question the truth of the word. This consolation is therefore highly necessary, whether the Church is

oppressed by outward calamities, or thrown into confusion by the treachery of the multitude.

(132) And I will wait for the Lord. — Eng. Ver.

18 Here am I, and the children the LORD has given

me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from

the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.

1.BARNES, “Behold, I... - By ‘signs and wonders,’ here, it is meant that they, by the names given them, were intended to teach important lessons to the Jewish people. Their names were significant, and were designed to illustrate some important truth; and especially the prophet here intimates that they were to inculcate the truth in regard to the presence and protection of God, to induce the people to look to him. Thus the name immanuel, ‘God with us,’ Isa_7:14; and Shear-jashub, ‘the remnant shall return,’ Isa_7:3, were both significant of the fact that none but God could be the protector of the nation. And in like manner, it is possible that his own name, signifying the salvation of Jehovah, had been given him with such a reference. But at all events, it was a name which would remind them of the truth that he was now inculcating, that salvation was to be found in Yahweh, and that they should look to him. Names of children were often thus emblematic (see Hos_1:1-11); and the prophets themselves were regarded as signs of important events; Eze_24:24; compare the note at Isa_20:3. This passage is quoted with reference to the Messiah in Heb_2:13.

Which dwelleth in mount Zion - Mount Zion was the residence of the house of David, or of the court, and it was often used to signify Jerusalem itself. The sense here is, that God was the protector of Jerusalem, or regarded that as his home; see the note at Isa_1:8.

2. CLARKE, “Lord of hosts - One MS. reads צבאות)אלהי Elohey(tsebaoth, God of hosts.

3. GILL, “Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord hath given me,.... These are the words of Christ, as is clear from Heb_2:13 who, upon the prophet's declaring his resolution to look and wait for him, presents himself and his children to him, as if he was actually come, or else continues his discourse from the preceding verse; for these are not the words of the prophet, speaking of himself and his natural children, Shearjashub and Mahershalalhashbaz; nor of his spiritual children, his disciples, called sometimes the sons of the prophets; but of Christ, who has a seed, a spiritual offspring, to whom he stands in the relation of a father, Isa_9:6 and who are given him of God, in the covenant of grace; for whose sake he partook of flesh and blood, and died to gather them together, being scattered abroad; and redeemed them, that they might receive the adoption of children; and who, being regenerated, believe in him: these were from eternity given unto him, to be his seed and offspring, his spouse, his sheep, his portion, and inheritance; in virtue of which they are brought unto him, and received by him in time in effectual calling; which gift of them to Christ is an instance of the Father's love to him, and of distinguishing grace to them. Are for signs and wonders in Israel; not the prophet and his natural children; though it is true that he himself was for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and Ethiopia, Isa_20:3 and his children, Shearjashub and Mahershalalhashbaz, were signs in their very names, as well as actions, of the future deliverance of Judah from its enemies; but Christ and his spiritual children: Christ the Immanuel, the son of the virgin, is "for a sign", given by the Lord himself, even of the same deliverance, Isa_7:14 and a sign of the love of God to his people, and of his care of them, and regard unto them; and a sign that should be spoken against, as he was in his person, office, doctrines, and miracles, by the unbelieving Jews, Luk_2:34. and for wonders: his name being wonderful; his person, as God man, wonderful; his love to his people wonderful; his works and actions, doctrines and miracles, life and death, being wonderful; See Gill on Isa_9:6 and so his children and people are "for signs and wonders"; they are like Joshua's fellows, men wondered at; see Gill on Zec_3:8; they are a wonder to themselves, that such sinful and unworthy creatures should partake of so much grace; they are a wonder to angels, that they should be chosen, redeemed, and called; and they are a wonder to Christ, who admires his own grace in them; and they are a wonder to the men of the world, a spectacle, a gazingstock to them, and are reproached by them; and all this is from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion; Christ, as man and Mediator, is from him, and all that befall him is according to his determination, will, and pleasure; his children, and their being children, and given to him; and whatsoever they have, and whatsoever they meet with, and befall them, is all from the Lord; and this may serve to comfort them, that "the Lord of hosts", of armies in heaven and in earth, is for them, and on their side, and therefore need not fear any that shall be against them; and that he "dwelleth in Mount Zion", the

church, which he has chosen for his rest, and where he will dwell for ever, and so will never leave nor forsake his people.

4. CHARLES SIMEON, “BELIEVERS ARE FOR SIGNS AND WONDERS

Isa_8:18. Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord hath given me, are for signs and for wonders in

Israel, from the Lord of hosts which dwelleth in Mount Zion.

FROM the time of Cain and Abel to the present moment, there have existed upon earth two classes of

men, essentially distinct from each other, and indeed opposed to each other, even as light and darkness:

the one of these consists of men “born after the flesh only; the other, of persons born after the Spirit also.”

Unhappily, it is to the former of these classes that the great majority of mankind have at all times

belonged: the latter class has been composed of only a small remnant, who, on that account, have been,

to all the rest of the world, objects of reproach and contempt. The Prophet Isaiah complains of this, in his

day: and from his complaint I shall take occasion,

I. To confirm his statement—

There is, in the special case before us, a reference probably to the prophet’s own family at that time—

[The prophet had two sons; to whom, by God’s special direction, he gave very peculiar names. The name

of one was “Shear-jashub [Note: Isa_7:3.];” the name of the other was “Maher-shalalhash-baz

[Note: Isa_8:3.].” These names were given for the purpose of declaring to that people God’s intentions

respecting them; and the children were therefore both signs of what God had purposed respecting the

land, and pledges that he would carry that purpose into effect. The ungodly people of that day, not

believing the purposes of God, turned both the prophet and his children into objects of contempt and

ridicule. And this seems to be the literal import of our text.]

But the prophet had some followers also, who, having been converted by his ministry, were regarded by

him as “his children”—

[These also, as being witnesses for God against their ungodly neighbours, were, together with the

prophet, regarded as objects of popular reproach.

These, too, were honoured by the Lord as his peculiar friends and favourites; or, rather, as his

own children, to whom he stood in the relation of a Father. In this respect the prophet was a type of the

Messiah; who, being the spiritual Parent of these persons, acknowledged them as members of his

mystical body; yea, as “members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones [Note: Heb_2:13.

with Eph_5:30.].”

Now this rendered them still more obnoxious to the ungodly world; who always hate the saints, in

proportion as they bear the divine image, and appear to be objects of God’s peculiar love

[Note: Joh_15:19.]. And this I conceive to be the precise import of the prophet’s words. He has, in the first

place, an oblique reference to his own sons; but he more especially alludes to his pious followers, whom,

through the instrumentality of his word, the Lord himself had brought into the nearest possible union with

himself. Of these he says, that they were “for signs and for wonders in Israel.”]

In the same light have the saints in all ages been regarded—

[In the days of the Apostles, the children of God were looked upon “as the filth of the world, and the off-

scouring of all things [Note: 1Co_4:13.]:” and to this very hour are they, as the prophet Zechariah

expresses it, “men wondered at [Note: Zec_3:8.].” There is no one thing which will render persons more

universally despised than a profession of real godliness. Every description of men, the moral and the

immoral, the proud Pharisee and the scoffing Infidel, are alike hostile to the true Christian. The whole

world will hate a follower of Christ. To the whole world, he himself was a butt of contradiction

[Note: Luk_2:34. The Greek.]: and all who designated him Beelzebub, will be sure to find some name

sufficiently opprobrious, for the purpose of characterizing his faithful disciples.]

This statement being still as true as in the prophet’s days, I will proceed,

II. To point out its aspect on the parties concerned—

Truly its aspect is very different,

1. On those who account the saints to be “for signs and for wonders”—

[They, alas! only betray their own ignorance. Methinks, if they exercised any sound judgment, they would

rather account themselves “signs and wonders;” and stand amazed that ever they should have been

capable of acting so irrational a part as they have, throughout their whole lives. What! “gaze strangely at

persons, and speak evil of them, merely because they will not run to the same excess of riot” as the

ungodly world are pursuing [Note: 1Pe_4:4. The Greek.]! Is this consistent—I will not say, with piety, but

with common sense? But, in fact, these very persons, in the midst of all their profane jests or acrimonious

proceedings, cannot help venerating, in their hearts, the servants of Christ, and wishing at least to “die

their death,” even though they will not endeavour to live their life. And assuredly the time is coming, when

they will condemn their present conduct as bitterly as now they inveigh against the conduct of the Lord’s

people. Now they call the saints “the troublers of Israel;” and complain of them, as wishing “to turn the

world upside down:” but in a little time their voice will be changed; and they will bemoan themselves,

saying, “We fools accounted their life madness, and their end to be without honour: but now, how are they

numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints! Therefore have we erred from the

way of truth . Y but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it [Note: Wisd. 5:4–7.].”]

2. On those who are so accounted—

[Be it so, that ye are and must be, despised and “hated, of all men, for Christ’s sake.” But shall I condole

with you on this account? No: I will rather congratulate you; for the whole tenour of Scripture pronounces

this to be a ground of joy [Note: Mat_5:10-12.] — — — Is it a ground of joy, that “the Spirit of glory and of

God resteth upon you? and that you are conformed to your Saviour’s image? and that he is glorified in

you [Note: 1Pe_4:12-14.]? Then I bid you rejoice. Again; Is it aground of joy that the work of God’s grace

is advanced in you [Note: 1Pe_1:7.], and an accumulated weight of glory is preparing for you

[Note: 2Co_4:17.]? Then, again I say, Rejoice. But particularly bear in mind what was before spoken

respecting our blessed Saviour’s acknowledgment of those who thus serve him with fidelity: even in the

presence of his Father will he confess them, as partakers of his nature, and as heirs of his glory

[Note:Heb_2:13.]. I say, then, be content to be signs and wonders for a little season; that ye may answer

the designs of God respecting you in this world, and be partakers of his glory for ever in the world to

come.]

5. JAMISON, “I and the children — Isaiah means “salvation of Jehovah”; His children’s names, also (Isa_7:3, Isa_7:14; Isa_8:3), were “signs” suggestive of the coming and final deliverance.

wonders — that is, symbols of the future (Isa_20:3; Zec_3:8). “Behold I ... me” is quoted in Heb_2:13 to prove the manhood of the Messiah. This is the main and ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy; its temporary meaning is applied to Ahaz’ time. Isaiah typically, in Isa_8:17, Isa_8:18, personates Messiah, who is at once “Father” and “Son,” Isaiah and Immanuel, “Child” and “Mighty God,” and is therefore called here a “wonder,” as in Isa_9:6, “Wonderful.” Hence in Heb_2:13, believers are called His “children”; but in Isa_8:11, Isa_8:12, His “brethren.” On “the Lord hath given me,” see Joh_6:37, Joh_6:39; Joh_10:29; Joh_17:12.

which dwelleth in ... Zion — and will therefore protect Jerusalem.

6. K&D, “His home was the future, and to this he was subservient, even with all his house. “Behold, I and the children which Jehovah hath given me for signs and types in Israel, from Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth upon Mount Zion.” He presents himself to the Lord with his children, puts himself and them into His hands. They were Jehovah's gift, and that for a higher purpose than every-day family enjoyment. They subserved the purpose of signs and types in

connection with the history of salvation. “Signs and types:” 'oth (sign) was an omen or

prognostic (σηµεoον) in word and deed, which pointed to and was the pledge of something future

(whether it were in itself miraculous or natural); mopheth was either something miraculous (τέρα

ς) pointing back to a supernatural cause, or a type (τύπος, prodigium = porridigium) which

pointed beyond itself to something future and concealed, literally twisted round, i.e., out of the

ordinary course, paradoxical, striking, standing out (Arab. aft, ift, res(mira, δεινόν τι), from 6פת

(related to (מאפת = (6בך) ,הפך, like מאסר = מוסר. His children were signs and enigmatical symbols of

the future, and that from Jehovah of hosts who dwelt on Zion. In accordance with His counsel

(to which the (עם in מעם points), He had selected these signs and types: He who could bring to pass the future, which they set forth, as surely as He was Jehovah of hosts, and who would bring it to pass as surely as He had chosen Mount Zion for the scene of His gracious presence upon earth. Shear-yashub and Mahershalal were indeed no less symbols of future wrath than of future

grace; but the name of the father (Yesha'hahu) was an assurance that all the future would issue from Jehovah's salvation, and end in the same. Isaiah and his children were figures and emblems of redemption, opening a way for itself through judgment. The Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb_2:13) quotes these words as the distinct words of Jesus, because the spirit of Jesus was in Isaiah - the spirit of Jesus, which in the midst of this holy family, bound together as it was only to the bands of “the shadow,” pointed forward to that church of the New Testament which would be found together by the bands of the true substance. Isaiah, his children, and his wife, who is

called “the prophetess” (nebi'ah) not only because she was the wife of the prophet but because she herself possessed the gift of prophecy, and all the believing disciples gathered round this family - these together formed the stock of the church of the Messianic future, on the foundation and soil of the existing massa perdita of Israel.

7. PULPIT, “I and the children Y are for signs. Isaiah's children seem to have been "for signs,"

especially in respect of their names. Shear-Jashub meant "A remnant shall return" (Isa_10:21), and thus

held out two hopes; one that a remnant of Israel would return to God and become his true servants,

another that a remnant would return from the captivity that had been prophesied (Isa_5:13). Maher-

shalal-hash-baz—"Plunder speeds, spoil hastens"—was a "sign" of a different kind. Primarily, his name

referred to the spoiling of Damascus and Samaria (verses 3, 4); but it may further have indicated a time of

general disturbance, plunder, and ravage. It is not quite clear in what respects Isaiah was a "sign."

Perhaps he, too, in his name, which meant "(Our) salvation is Jehovah"—certainly also in his symbolical

acts (Isa_20:3), and possibly in the firmness of his faith, which never wavered. From the Lord of hosts;

literally, from by the Lord of hosts—an expression like the French de chez. God had supernaturally

appointed the sign in one case (verses 1-4), but in the other two had merely brought them about by the

secret working of his providence. But the prophet treats all three as coming equally from him. Which

dwelleth in Mount Zion. Hero, again, is encouragement. God has not quitted Zion. The Shechinah still

rests between the cherubim in the holy of holies. While this is so, God is still with his people (Immanuel).

8. BI, “Names as signs

The Hebrews, like most Eastern races, were very quick to see the omen in the nomen, the sign or portent in the name. (“Niger” in Expositor.)

Isaiah and his children as signs

If one of these names implied judgment, three of them implied mercy. The omen in the name “Speed-spoil Hasten-booty” was doubtless full of terror; for the Assyrians were the most fierce and cruel race of ancient times, and would sweep through the land like a destructive storm; but, if this one name was so terribly ominous and suggestive, all the others speak of an untiring and inalienable compassion. “Shear-jashub” predicted that God would bring back a faithful remnant even from the cruel bondage of Assyria; “Immanuel” assured them that God would be with them in all their perils and reverses; while the name of Isaiah himself pointed to the end of all Jehovah’s dealings with them—“salvation” from all evil. (“Niger” in Expositor.)

Christian nurture

There are some things which if we can give them place and power in our own lives, win lucre great influence in enabling us to carry through our work as parents to a blessed issue of success.

I. FAITHFULNESS. The meaning of this word is explained by the resolve of the Psalmist when he says: “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way; I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” Always when we try to do good to others we are thrown back upon ourselves; we are reminded that high work must have fit instruments, and that our influence is likely to be as our character is. As the man is so will be his strength. This is peculiarly the case as between us and our children. They know us much better than others, are much nearer to us, see us more clearly. For our children’s sakes we are bound to be the best we may. Nothing that we can say or do will have half the force of that invisible and almost irresistible power which comes right from our souls, and goes at once and straight into theirs. This power, issuing from the depths of our own being, is an involuntary thing on our part. We cannot make it this or that by an act of will. This sincerity on our part ought to take as one of its forms a firm, steady family rule—an exercise of wise parental authority. On the other hand, parents mar their own influence, hinder their prayers, and injure their children, although they are very far from meaning it, by over-indulgence. They never command—never rule calmly and firmly—all is softness, liberty, or even license. Such parents tell us in defence of their system: “It is not for us to command; our best influence is, as has been said, that of personal character; if that be not right, commands from us will be of little use.” On the same principle it might be said that God does not need to command; that He only needs to reveal to His creatures what He is, and they will love and serve Him. He has revealed Himself to us. And yet this same God, this Father of mercies, commands, legislates, and duly brings penalty upon those who do not obey. Law and love, these make the whole revelation of God.

II. TENDERNESS. A mother’s tenderness! It is one of the continual wonders of the world. It is really a greater thing than a father’s constancy, a soldier’s courage, or a patriot’s love. Yet the world is full of it.

III. Such feelings will lead to PRAYER. In prayer for our children we are putting ourselves in the line of God’s laws. “Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” It is not our nurture, it is His, and in prayer we cast it over on Him.

IV. We are thus naturally led to the last word—HOPEFULNESS. We ought to cherish a feeling of cheerful confidence in God as to the result of our endeavours for our children’s good. Discouragement, and despondency even, will come to us soon enough, and darkly enough, if we will permit them. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)

“I and the children”

Turn to the New Testament and the text will be no mystery to you; its key hangs on its proper nail (Heb_2:18). We have evidence that it is our Lord who speaks, and speaks of His people as His children. This clue we will follow. The context sets forth, as is most common throughout the whole of Scripture, the different results which follow from the appearance of the Saviour. He is rejected by many, and accepted by others.

I. Here is A REMARKABLE RELATIONSHIP. Jesus is called a Father. This is not according to precise theology, or according to the more formal doctrinal statements of Scripture.

1. Still, the title of Father is very applicable to our Lord Jesus Christ for many reasons.

(1) Because He is our federal Head. We speak correctly of “father Adam,” and Jesus is the second Adam who heads up our race anew, and is the representative man of redeemed mankind.

(2) Our Lord is also Father of the golden age of grace and glory.

(3) There is a sense in which Christ is our Father, because by His teaching we are born unto God. Just as the minister who brings a soul to Christ is said to be the spiritual parent to such a soul, and is, indeed, instrumentally so, so the Lord Jesus, as the author of our faith, is our spiritual Father in the family of God.

2. Now, let us see whether there is not much of teaching in this metaphor by which we are called children of the Lord Jesus. The expression denotes—

(1) That we derive our spiritual life from Him as children take their origin from their father.

(2) They have a likeness to His nature.

(3) The text has in it very clearly the idea of charge and responsibility. Children are a charge always; a comfort sometimes. Wherever conscience is lively, fatherhood is regarded as a solemn thing.

(4) In our relationship towards our children there is involved very often a great deal of care and grief.

(5) The possession of children involves a very near and dear love.

(6) Children, when they behave aright, bring to the heart of their parent sweet solace and dear delight.

II. A SPONTANEOUS AVOWAL “Behold I,” etc.

1. The Lord owns His children Sometimes they are ashamed to own Him; and He might always be ashamed to own them, but He never is.

2. He glories in them as being God’s gift to Him. “Whom Thou hast given Me”; as if they were something more than ordinary children.

3. He challenges inspection. “Behold! look at them, for they are meant to be looked at; they are set ‘for signs and wonders’ throughout all generations.”

4. And do notice again—for it affects my mind much more powerfully than I can express, “Behold, I and the children.” I can understand a mother speaking thus about herself and children, but for Christ the Lord of glory to unite His glorious name with those of such poor worms of the dust is very wonderful. Now, if Jesus owns us so lovingly, let us always own Him: and if Christ takes us into partnership—“I and the children”—let us reply, “Christ is all.” Let Him stand first with us; and let our name be forever joined with His name.

III. A COMMON FUNCTION. Christ and His people “are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts which dwelleth in Mount Zion.” Both Christ and His people are set for a purpose.

1. They are to be “signs and wonders” by way of testimony.

2. By way of marvel. Genuine Christians will generally be reckoned by the world to be singular people.

3. When the believer’s testimony for good becomes marvel, it is not wonderful if he afterwards becomes an object of contempt. Hold on, brother t and hold out to the end; be humbly and quietly faithful Do not try to be a wonder, but be a wonder. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Children have a mission

Infancy is the perpetual Messiah which comes to the arms of men and pleads with them to return to Paradise. (R. W. Emerson.)

9. CALVIN, “18.Behold, I. Here the Prophet not only testifies that he will wait patiently, but also gives

an evidence of courage, by appearing in public along with the disciples whom he had gained to God, and

who still remained. As if he had said, “ others may withdraw, yet I am ready to obey thee, and I bring

along with me those whom thou hast been pleased to preserve in a wonderful manner through my

agency.” He therefore declares by these words his unshaken courage, and promises that he will

persevere in faith and obedience to the Lord, though all should revolt.

And the children. By children are meant the various classes of servants, agreeably to the ordinary custom

of the Hebrew, and also of the Latin language. (133) He speaks of the disciples whom he had formerly

mentioned. Hence we see what is demanded from those who wish to be reckoned among the true

disciples of the Lord. It is, to declare with Isaiah that they are submissive and ready to hear, and that, as

soon as the Lord has spoken, they will yield immediate obedience. Now, teachers ought to bring disciples

with them, and not merely to send them before; they ought, I say, to go before them, and by their example

to point out the way, as was formerly explained, (134) (Isa_2:3;) otherwise they will have no authority in

teaching. The apostle to the Hebrews applies this passage to Christ, (Heb_2:13,) and draws from it an

instruction which ought to be a very powerful excitement to us, that considering ourselves to be followers

not only of Isaiah, but of Christ himself, as our leader and instructor, we may press forward with greater

alacrity.

Whom the Lordhath given me. By this the Prophet shows to whom our faith ought to be ascribed. It is to

God, and to his undeserved election; for Isaiah taught publicly, admonished every person, and invited all

without exception to come to God; but his doctrine is of advantage to those only who have been given to

him by God. By given he means those whom God drew by an inward and secret operation of his Spirit,

when the sound of the external voice fell on the ears of the multitude without producing any good effect.

In like manner Christ declares that the elect were given to him by the Father. (Joh_17:6.) Thus we see

that readiness to believe does not depend on the will of men; but that some of the multitude believe,

because, as Luke tells us, they had been foreordained. (Act_13:48.) Now, whom he foreordained he

likewise calls, (Rom_8:30,) and efficaciously seals in them the proof of their adoption, that they may

become obedient and submissive. Such, therefore, is the giving of which Isaiah now speaks. This applies

strictly to Christ, to whom the Father presents and gives disciples, as it is said in the Gospel by John,

No man cometh to me, unless the Father hath drawn him.

(Joh_6:44.)

Hence it follows, that he is also appointed to be our guardian, to preserve us under his protection to the

end. (Joh_10:28.) Wherefore he saith,

not one of those whom the Father hath given to me shall perish. (Joh_17:12.)

For signs and wonders. Some consider this passage to refer to miracles, but that is inapplicable, for the

meaning is totally different, namely, that all the godly will be regarded not only with hatred, but even with

abhorrence, as if they had been monsters; and that not only by strangers or by professed enemies, but

even byIsrael. We have experience of this at the present day; for papists look upon us with greater

abhorrence than they look upon Mahometans or Jews, or even dogs or monsters. Though this is

exceedingly base, we need not greatly wonder at it; for it was necessary that this prophecy should even

now be fulfilled. It was experienced by Isaiah from his countrymen, and has been experienced by all

others who have followed his doctrine.

Nor is it only in papists that we discover it, but in those who wish to be regarded as very closely

connected with the Church, the greater part of whom either view us with strong dislike, or ridicule us, or,

in a word, hold us to be monsters, because we are so anxious, and give ourselves so much uneasiness,

about the salvation of the Church, the honor of God, and eternal life; and because we do not scruple to

undergo so many dangers, such hatred, censure, reproach, banishment, poverty, hunger, nakedness,

and, in a word, death itself. These things appear monstrous to them; for when they are so careful to

protect their skin, how could they have a relish for the highest blessings? But that we may not be

disturbed by their reproaches, we must arm ourselves with this exhortation of the Prophet.

From the Lordof hosts. To show how trifling and worthless is the conspiracy of the wicked multitude, he

contrasts the God of armies with the pride of the whole world, and raises a lofty defiance; as if he had

said, that he cared not though he were universally abhorred by men, because he knew that God was on

his side.

Who dwelleth in Mount Zion. The addition of these words carries great weight; for although the people

abounded in every kind of crimes and enormities, still they boasted that they were devoted to God, and,

abusing his promises, condemned the true servants of God who reproved them. On the other hand, the

Prophets, in order to shake off their false confidence and pride, declared that they were the servants of

the only and true God, whom the people falsely boasted of worshipping in Mount Zion. God had not

chosen it for his habitation as if, because he was bound to the spot, he would accept of false and

spurious worship, but he wished to be sought and worshipped according to the rule of his word.

Accordingly, when Isaiah claims for himself God who dwelleth in Mount Zion, he sharply reproves

hypocrites, because through false boasting they indulge in foolish pride whenever they say, The temple of

the Lord, (Jer_7:4,) for it was rather an idol in which they boasted contrary to the word. Though they

snatched at the promises, yet they falsely tortured them against the true servants of God, as the papists

at the present day are wont to torture them against us. The Prophets, therefore, distinguish God by this

title, in order to tear the mask from hypocrites, who were accustomed to quote the mere name of the

temple in opposition to the plain word of God. For this reason Isaiah now says, “ us, if you choose, for

monsters, yet God acknowledges us to be his own; and you cannot detest us without at the same time

abhorring the God of Abraham and David, whose servants we are.”

(133) The allusion is to the Latin noun Puer , to which might have been added the Greek noun Παἰς, and

similar uses of the word denoting Child are found in modern languages. — Ed

(134) See page 94 where the difference between Come and Go up is explained. — Ed.

The Darkness Turns to Light 19 When someone tells you to consult mediums and

spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people

inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf

of the living?

1.BARNES, “And when they shall say - When the people, instead of putting confidence in God, shall propose to apply to necromancers. In the time of Ahaz the people were, as they were often, much inclined to idolatry; 2Ki_16:10. In their troubles and embarrassments, instead of looking to Yahweh, they imitated the example of surrounding nations, and applied for relief to those who professed to be able to hold converse with spirits. That it was common for idolatrous people to seek direction from those who professed that they had the power of divining, is well known; see Isa_19:3; Isa_29:4. It was expressly forbidden to the Jews to have recourse to those who made such professions; Lev_20:6; Deu_18:10-11. Yet, notwithstanding this express command, it is evident that it was no uncommon thing for the Jews to make application for such instructions; see the case of Saul, who made application to the woman of Endor, who professed to have a familiar spirit, in 1 Sam. 28:7-25. Among pagan nations, nothing was more common than for persons to profess to have contact with spirits, and to be under the influence of their inspiration. The oracle at Delphi, of this nature, was celebrated throughout Greece, and throughout the world. Kings and princes, warriors and nations, sought of the priestess who presided there, responses in undertaking any important enterprise, and were guided by her instructions; see the Travels of Anacharsis, vol. ii. 376ff.

Seek unto - Apply to for direction.

That hath familiar spirits - Hebrew, אבות 'oboth. The word ‘familiar,’ applied to spirit, is

supposed to have been used by our translators to imply that they were attended by an invisible spirit that was subject to their call, or that would inspire them when they sought his direction. The Hebrew word is used to denote a necromancer, a conjuror; particularly one who was supposed to have power to call up the dead, to learn Of them respecting future events; see 1Sa_28:7-19; Deu_18:11. The word is most commonly applied to women; as it was almost entirely confined to women to profess this power; Lev_19:31; Lev_20:6; 1 Sam. 28. The idea was, that they could call up the spirits of the dead who were supposed to have seen objects invisible to the living, and who could, therefore, inform them in regard to things which mortals

on earth could not see. The Vulgate renders this by ‘Pythons and diviners.’ A Python, among the Greeks and Romans, denoted one that had the spirit of prophesying, and was particularly applied to the priestess of Apollo at Delphi. The Septuagint renders the place thus: ‘And if they

say to you, Seek the “ventriloquists,” vγγαστριµύθους engastrimuthous, and those speaking from

the earth, and speaking vain things, who speak from the belly,’ οw(vκ(τNς(κοιλίας(φωνοxσιν hoi ek

te0s koilias pho0nousin. From this it is evident, that the art of the ventriloquist, so well known now,

was known then; and it is highly probable that the secret of the art of soothsayers consisted very much in being able to throw the voice, with various modifications, into different places, so that it would seem to come from a grave, or from an image of a dead person, that was made to appear at the proper time.

And unto wizards - The word used here - ידענים yidde‛onıIym - is derived from the verb ידע

yada‛ to know; and means a wise man, a soothsayer, a magician, or one possessed with a spirit of

divination. The arts of the magician, or soothsayer, were often the arts of one skilled in natural magic; acquainted somewhat with the laws of chemistry; and able, therefore, to produce appearances among an ignorant people that would surprise them; see Brewster’s Natural Magic, where this art is fully explained.

That peep - This word is properly used of young birds, and means to chirp, to pip; and also to make a small noise by the gentle opening of the mouth. It is then applied to the gentle whispering which the ancients ascribed to departed spirits; the small, low, shrill voice which they were supposed to use, and which, probably, those attempted to imitate who claimed the power of raising them to the earth. It was believed among all the ancient nations, that departed spirits did not speak out openly and clearly, but with an indistinct, low, gentle, suppressed voice. Thus, in Virgil:

- Pars tollere vocem Exiguam.

AEneid, vi. 492.

- gemitus lachrymabilis imo Auditur tumulo, et vox reddita ferter ad aures.

AEneid, iii. 39.

Thus Horace:

Umbrae cum Sagana resonarint triste et acutum. Sat. lib i. 8, 40.

Thus Homer, speaking of the shade or spirit of Patroclus, says that it went with a whizzing

sound: ʆΩχετο(τετριγυoα Oɿcheto tetriguia. - Iliad, ψ- 101.

He said, and with his longing arms essay’d In vain to grasp the visionary shade; Like a thin smoke he sees the spirit fly And hears a feeble, lamentable cry.

This night my friend, so late in battle lost, Stood at my side a pensive, plaintive ghost.

Pope.

So, also, Lucian says of the infernal regions, ‘The whizzing shades of the dead fly around us;’ see Gesenius in loc. and Rosenmuller; also Bochart’s Hieroz., Part i. B. iii. ch. ii. p. 731.

And that mutter - The word used here - הגה hagah - usually means to meditate, to consider;

and then to speak, to utter. It also means to sigh, to mourn, Jer_48:31; Isa_16:7; to coo, as a dove, Isa_37:14; Isa_59:11; and then to roar like a lion; not the loud roar, but the grumbling, the suppressed roar (Bochart); Isa_31:4. The idea here is, probably, that of gently sighing, or mourning - uttering feeble, plaintive lamentations or sighs, as departed shades were supposed to do; and this was; probably, imitated by necromancers. By thus feigning that they conversed with the dead, they imposed on the ignorant populace, and led them to suppose that they had supernatural powers.

Should not a people seek ... - Is it not proper that a people should inquire of the God that is worshipped, in order to be directed in perplexing and embarrassing events? Some have understood this to be a question of the idolaters, asking whether it was not right and proper for a people to seek counsel of those whom they worshipped as God. I understand it, however, as a question asked by the prophet, and as the language of strong and severe rebulge. ‘You are seeking to idols, to the necromancers, and to the dead, But Yahweh is your God. And should not a people so signally favored, a people under his special care, apply to him, and seek his direction?’

For the living - On account of the affairs of the living. To ascertain what will be their lot, what is their duty, or what will occur to them.

To the dead - The necromancers pretended to have contact with the spirits of the dead. The prophet strongly exposes the absurdity of this. What could the dead know of this? How could they declare the future events respecting the living? Where was this authorized? People should seek God - the living God - and not pretend to hold consultation with the dead.

2. CLARKE, “Should not a people seek “Should they seek” - After ידרש yidrosh, the

Septuagint, repeating the word, read הידרש hayidrosh: Ουκ(εθνος(προς(Θεον(αυτου(εκζητησουσιˇ(τι(ε

κζητησουσι(περι(των(ζωντων(τους(νεκρους; Should not a nation seek unto its God? Why should you

seek unto the dead concerning the living? and this repetition of the verb seems necessary to the sense; and, as Procopius on the place observes, it strongly expresses the prophet’s indignation at their folly.

3. GILL, “And when they shall say unto you,.... These are the words of Christ continued, as making his appearance in Israel; and are an address to his people among them, even to his children, disciples, and followers, advising them what they should do, when those among whom they dwelt should press them to seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards, that peep, and that mutter; meaning the Scribes and Pharisees, the doctors among the Jews, who sat in Moses's chair, and who were very much given to sorcery, and the magic art, and used enchantments, which were performed by "muttering"; hence we read of muttering over a wound for the healing of it; and muttering over serpents and scorpions at the driving of them away (y); and of such a Rabbi muttering in the name of such an one (z); and of such and such a doctor skilled in

wonders or miraculous operations: See Gill on Mat_24:24 yea, even such as were chosen into the sanhedrim, or great council, were to be skilled in the arts of soothsayers, diviners, and wizards, and the like, that they might know how to judge them (a); now the Jews would have had the disciples of Christ to have applied to these men to direct their judgments in religious affairs, and be determined by them concerning the Messiah and other things: should not a people seek unto their God? "to" Christ, who is the Lord God omniscient and omnipotent, who knows all things, and whose name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Angel of the great council; and who is able to give the best counsel and direction in matters of moment and consequence, and able to do everything for his people they stand in need of; and who being present with them, God manifest in the flesh, it would be egregious folly to apply to any other, and especially such as are here described; see Joh_6:68, for the living to the dead? that is, should men seek to such who are no other than dead men, for the sake or on the account of such who are living? The disciples of Christ, the children that God had given him, were quickened and made alive by the grace of God, had principles of grace and spiritual life implanted in them, had passed from death to life, lived by faith on Christ, lived holy lives, and were heirs of eternal life; and therefore it does not become them, nor any of them, to consult persons dead in trespasses and sins, who knew no more, and were no more capable of judging of spiritual things, than dead men are. See 1Co_2:14.

4. KRETZMANN, “v. 19. And when they, the unbelieving people, shall say unto you, in

endeavoring to coax the faithful away from the truth of the revealed Word, Seek unto them that have

familiar spirits, asserting that they possess the ability of interviewing departed souls, and unto wizards

that peep and that mutter, said of the murmuring noises made in imitation of the shades in the realm of

death and of the whispering of magical formulas which they claimed to have received from disembodied

spirits, just as the modern tribe of spiritists does: Should not a people, so the Lord indignantly

asks, seek unto their God? turning to Him for counsel and assistance in every emergency in life, for the

living to the dead? How can men be so foolish as to seek help from the dead? as the spiritists insist that

they are quoting the spirits of the departed. Over against this blasphemous foolishness the Lord places

His urgent summons:

5. JAMISON, “Seek unto — Consult in your national difficulties.

them ... familiar spirits — necromancers, spirit charmers. So Saul, when he had forsaken God (1Sa_28:7, etc.), consulted the witch of En-dor in his difficulties. These follow in the wake of idolatry, which prevailed under Ahaz (2Ki_16:3, 2Ki_16:4, 2Ki_16:10). He copied the soothsaying as he did the idolatrous “altar” of Damascus (compare Lev_20:6, which forbids it, Isa_19:3).

wizards — men claiming supernatural knowledge; from the old English, “to wit,” that is, know.

peep — rather “chirp faintly,” as young birds do; this sound was generally ascribed to departed spirits; by ventriloquism the soothsayers caused a low sound to proceed as from a

grave, or dead person. Hence the Septuagint renders the Hebrew for “necromancers” here “ventriloquists” (compare Isa_29:4).

mutter — moan.

should not, etc. — The answer which Isaiah recommends to be given to those advising to have recourse to necromancers.

for the living, etc. — “should one, for the safety of the living, seek unto (consult) the dead?” [Gesenius]. Lowth renders it, “In place of (consulting) the living, should one consult the dead?”

6. K&D, “It is to this ecclesiola in ecclesia that the prophet's admonition is addressed. “And when they shall say to you, Inquire of the necromancers, and of the soothsayers that chirp and whisper:-Should not a people inquire of its God? for the living to the dead?” The appeal is supposed to be made by Judaeans of the existing stamp; for we know from Isa_2:6; Isa_3:2-3, that all kinds of heathen superstitions had found their way into Jerusalem, and were practised there as a trade. The persons into whose mouths the answer is put by the prophet (we may supply before Isa_8:19, “Thus shall ye say to them;” cf., Jer_10:11), are his own children and disciples. The circumstances of the times were very critical; and the people were applying to

wizards to throw light upon the dark future. 'Ob signified primarily the spirit of witchcraft, then

the possessor of such a spirit (equivalent to Baal(ob), more especially the necromancer. Yidd‛oni,

on the other hand, signified primarily the possessor of a prophesying or soothsaying spirit (πύθω

ν or πνεxµα τοx πύθωνος), Syr. yodu0a‛ (after the intensive from pa‛ul with immutable vowels), and

then the soothsaying spirit itself (Lev_20:27), which was properly called yidda'o0n (the much

knowing), like δαίµων, which, according to Plato, is equivalent to δαήµων. These people, who are

designated by the lxx, both here and elsewhere, as vγγαστρόµυθοι, i.e., ventriloquists, imitated

the chirping of bats, which was supposed to proceed from the shadows of Hades, and uttered their magical formulas in a whispering tone.

(Note: The Mishnah Sanhedrin 65a gives this definition: “Baal'ob is a python, i.e., a

soothsayer ('with a spirit of divination'), who speaks from his arm-pit; yidd‛oni, a man who

speaks with his mouth.” The baal ob, so far as he had to do with the bones of the dead, is

called in the Talmud oba temayya', e.g., the witch of Endor (b. Sabbath 152b). On the history

of the etymological explanation of the word, see Böttcher, de inferis, §205-217. If 'ob, a skin or leather bottle, is a word from the same root (rendered “bellows” by the lxx at Job_32:19), as it apparently is, it may be applied to a bottle as a thing which swells or can be blown out, and to a wizard of spirit of incantation on account of this puffing and gasping. The

explanation “le revenant,” from אוב = Arab. aba, to return, has only a very weak support in

the proper name איוב = avvab (the penitent, returning again and again to God: see again at Isa_29:4).)

What an unnatural thing, for the people of Jehovah to go and inquire, not of their won God, but

of such heathenish and demoniacal deceivers and victims as these (darash('el, to go and inquire

of a person, Isa_11:10, synonymous with sha'ar(b', 1Sa_28:6)! What blindness, to consult the

dead in the interests of the living! By “the dead” (hamme0thim) we are not to understand “the idols” in this passage, as in Psa_106:28, but the departed, as Deu_18:11 (cf., 1 Sam 28) clearly

proves; and עד is not to be taken, either here or elsewhere, as equivalent to tachath (“instead of”), as Knobel supposes, but, as in Jer_21:2 and other passages, as signifying “for the benefit of.” Necromancy, which makes the dead the instructors of the living, is a most gloomy deception.

7. PULPIT,

“ISAIAH RECOMMENDS LOOKING TO GOD AND THE REVEALED WORD RATHER THAN TO NEC

ROMANCY. AFFLICTION WILL BRING ISRAEL TO GOD. Isaiah returns, in verse 19, to the

consideration of his disciples. In the terrible times impending, they will be recommended to have recourse

to necromancy; he urges that they should look to God and the Law. He then further suggests that, in the

coming affliction which he describes (verses 21, 22), men will generally turn for relief to the same quarter

(verse 20).

Isa_8:19

Seek unto them that have familiar spirits. In times of great distress the Israelites seem always to have

been tempted to consult those among them who pretended to magic and divination. So Saul in the

Philistine war resorted to the witch of Endor (1Sa_28:7-20); Manasseh, threatened by Esar-haddon,

"used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards" (2Ki_21:6). Israel generally, oppressed

by Syria and Assyria, "used divination and enchantments" (2Ki_17:17). There was the same inclination

now on the part of many Jews. The vexed question of the actual powers possessed by such persons

cannot be discussed within the limits of a footnote. It has, moreover, already been treated in the present

Commentary, in connection with Le 19:31. Wizards that peep, and that mutter; rather, that chirp and

mutter. Tricks of the ventriloquists, probably, who disguised their voices, and represented that they were

the voices of ghosts (comp. Isa_29:4). The natural speech of some tribes has been compared to the

"chirping of birds". Should not a people, etc.? Very abrupt and elliptical Isaiah means to say, "Do not

attend to them; but answer, Should not a people," etc.? For the living. This may either mean "instead of

the living," or "on behalf of the living seek to the dead?" or, Would not that be plainly preposterous?

8. CALVIN, “19.And when they shall say to you. Isaiah continues the former subject, which is, that all

the godly should not only use the authority of God as a shield, but should fortify themselves with it as a

brazen wall, to contend against all ungodliness. He therefore entreats them to resist courageously if any

one shall tempt them to superstition and unlawful modes of worship. The plural number is employed by

him in order to signify that it was a vice which pervaded all ranks, and which abounded everywhere; as if

he had said, “ see what will happen; you will be placed in great danger; for your countrymen will endeavor

to draw you away from the true God; for, being themselves ungodly, they will wish you to resemble them.”

At the same time he shows how wickedly they had departed from God’ law and covenant, by shamelessly

pushing forward diviners and soothsayers whose name ought to have been held by them in abhorrence.

Should not a people ask counsel of their God? Some read these words in connection with what goes

before, applying them to the ungodly, as if this were a pretense which they abused in order to deceive the

simple; because there is no nation that has not oracles and revelations, but every nation consults its

gods, or, in place of them, magicians and soothsayers. But what I reckon to be the more correct view is,

that Isaiah advises his disciples to give this answer if they shall happen to be tempted to wicked modes of

worship. Still the meaning is not fully cleared up; for this passage is commonly expounded as if it were a

comparison drawn from the less to the greater. “ seeing that the Gentiles consult their gods, and yet these

gods are false, shall we not more highly esteem him whom we know to be the true God, and who hath

revealed himself to us by so many proofs? What a shame will it be if their idols are more highly valued by

the Gentiles than God is by us!”

But I interpret this as referring to the Jews themselves, who were called by way of eminence ( κατ ᾿

ἐξοχὴν) the people, because God had adopted them. Nor is it of any importance that the Prophet employs

the plural form (135) ,אלהיו (elohaiv;) for אלהים (elohim) is used as in the singular number. This is a shield

by which all the superstitions which come imperceptibly upon us ought to be repelled. While some ponder

and hesitate whether or not it be proper to consult diviners, let us have this answer in readiness, that God

alone ought to be consulted. The Prophet alludes to that passage in Deuteronomy in which the Lord

forbade them to go to magicians and soothsayers; and lest they should excuse themselves on the

pretense that every nation had its interpreters or fortune-tellers, added, that they would not cease to have

a Prophet, or be deprived of necessary instruction (Deu_18:10.) It was therefore the will of the Lord that

they should depend entirely on his word, and should learn from it alone whatever was useful for them to

know, and should render obedience to him.

From the living to the dead. The preposition בעד (begnad) is variously rendered: frequently it is

translated for; and in that case the meaning will be, “ the dead be consulted for the business of the

living ?” But as that meaning is forced, it would perhaps be better to explain it thus: “ Lord desires to be

our teacher, and for that purpose hath appointed prophets, that we may learn from them his will, for a

prophet is the mouth of the Lord. It is therefore unlawful to goto the dead, who have not been appointed

for that end; for God did not intend to make use of the dead for instructing us.”

But when I examine the whole matter more closely, I choose rather to consider בעד (begnad) to

mean from, that is, from the living to the dead; as if he had said, “ God is sufficient for us for the living and

the dead. If you search through heaven, earth, and hell, you will find that one God is sufficient for us.”

This is, I think, the best sense, and flows naturally. Accordingly, the Prophet arms the godly against the

schemes and contrivances of wicked men by whom they might otherwise have been tempted to revolt,

with the exhortation to be satisfied with God alone as their teacher, and not to offer him such an insult as

to disregard his instruction and seek other teachers, but to cast away everything else, and depend on his

truth alone, which immediately afterwards he again repeats and confirms.

(135) If אלהים (elohim) were not only a plural form, as it actually is, but used in a plural signification, it

would mean gods, and אלהיו (elohaiv) would mean his gods; but since אלהים (elohim) means God, אלהיו

(elohaiv) means his God. It may be proper to add that the pronominal affix, his agrees with עם,

(gnam,) people, which is masculine. — Ed

9. CHARLES SIMEON, “SEEKING AFTER GOD

Isa_8:19. Should not a people seek unto their God? [Note: The extreme simplicity of this subject renders

any further elucidation of it superfluous.] THE appeals which God makes to men in the inspired volume

are exceeding forcible: they make men judges in their own cause; and cannot fail to carry conviction to

every mind. Who could resist the appeal of Nehemiah to the usurious and oppressive Israelites: “Ought

ye not to walk in the fear of God [Note: Neh_5:9.]?” So I doubt not but that all of you will readily

acknowledge the obligation which lies upon you, whilst I,

I. Make the appeal to you—

Nothing can be conceived more just or simple than the question here proposed for your consideration.

For,

1. Who amongst us does not stand in need of help?

[Who has not many sins to be forgiven? — — — and many wants, temporal as well as spiritual, to be

supplied? — — —]

2. Who but God can supply our wants?

[We have “not in ourselves a sufficiency even for a good thought [Note: 2Co_3:5.]” — — — nor is there a

creature in the universe able to render us any effectual assistance [Note: Psa_49:7.] — — —]

3. Is not God both able and willing to do for you all that you can possibly desire?

[Suppose your sins to be as great as those of Manasseh, can he not pardon them [Note: 2Ch_33:12-13.]?

or your necessities to be as great as those of Israel in the wilderness, can he not supply them

[Note: Psa_78:12-16. Eph_3:20.]? Search the annals of the world, and find one, if you can, “who ever

sought his face in vain [Note: Isa_45:19.]” — — —]

4. Will it not, hereafter, be to you a ground of bitter self-reproach, if you neglect to seek him?

[Our Lord will surely say to you at the last day, “How often would I have gathered you, even as a hen

gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not [Note: Mat_23:37.]!” The fault is all your own:

“ye would not come to me, that ye might have life [Note: Joh_5:40.].” And the conviction of this will be the

bitterest ingredient of that cup which shall then be given you to drink to all eternity.]

Assured that you cannot but have felt the force of this appeal, I will,

II. Found upon it some suitable advice—

What shall I say? Seek the Lord:

1. With understanding—

[You must seek God as reconciled to you in Christ Jesus [Note: 2Co_5:19-21.]. In Himself he is “a

consuming fire [Note: Heb_12:29.].” It is in Christ alone that any sinner in the universe can gain access to

him [Note: Joh_14:6. Heb_10:19-22.] — — —]

2. With earnestness—

[It is not by any formal services that you can hope to succeed. You must “not only seek but strive

[Note: Luk_13:24.].” “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence; and the violent must take it by force

[Note: Mat_11:12.]” — — —]

3. With speed—

[There may come a time, even in this life, when God may give you over to a reprobate mind, and heaven

may be shut against you for ever [Note: Psa_81:10-12. Rom_1:28. Isa_55:6.] — — — At all events, death

may quickly terminate all your hopes. In the eternal world, however loudly you may cry, you will “not be

able to obtain one drop of water to cool your tongue.”]

4. With constancy—

[To the latest hour of your life must you continue to seek help from God, as much as at the present

moment. If at any period you draw back from him, you will “draw back unto perdition [Note: Heb_10:38-

39.].” You must not “be weary in well-doing;” for “he only who endures to the end shall be saved

[Note: Mat_10:22.].”]

20 Consult God’s instruction and the testimony of

warning. If anyone does not speak according to this

word, they have no lightof dawn.

1.BARNES, “To the law ... - To the revelation which God has given. This is a solemn call of the prophet to try everything by the revealed will of God; see Isa_8:16.

If they speak not - If the necromancers - those that pretended to have contact with the dead.

According to this word - According to what God has revealed. By this standard all their pretended revelations were to be tried. By this standard all doctrines are still to be tried.

It is because - There has been a great variety of criticism upon this verse, but our translation

expresses, probably, the true idea. The word rendered here ‘because,’ אשר 'asher, commonly

denotes ‘which;’ but it seems here to be used in the sense of the Syriac? “Dolath,” or the Greek τ

ι hoti.

No light - Margin, ‘Morning.’ Hebrew שחר sha0char. The word usually means the morning

light; the mingled light and darkness of the aurora; daybreak. It is an emblem of advancing

knowledge, and perhaps, also, of prosperity or happiness after calamity, as the break of day succeeds the dark night. The meaning here may be, ‘If their teachings do not accord with the law and the testimony, it is proof that they are totally ignorant, without even the twilight of true knowledge; that it is total darkness with them.’ Or it may mean, ‘If they do not speak according to this word, then no dawn will arise, that is, no prosperity will smile upon this people.’ - Gesenius. Lowth understands it of obscurity, darkness:

‘If they speak not according to this word, In which there is no obscurity.’

But there is no evidence that the word is ever used in this sense. Others suppose that the Arabic sense of the word is to be retained here, deception, or magic. ‘If they speak not according to this oracle, in which there is no deception.’ But the word is not used in this sense in the Hebrew. The meaning is, probably, this: ‘The law of God is the standard by which all professed communications from the invisible world are to be tested. If the necromancers deliver a doctrine which is not sustained by that, and not in accordance with the prophetic communications, it shows that they are in utter ignorance. There is not even the glimmering of the morning twilight; all is total night, and error, and obscurity with them, and they are not to be followed.’

2. CLARKE, “To the law and to the testimony “Unto the command, and unto the

testimony” - “Is not תעודה teudah here the attested prophecy, Isa_8:1-4? and perhaps תורה

torah the command, Isa_8:11-15? for it means sometimes a particular, and even a human,

command; see Pro_6:20, and Pro_7:1, Pro_7:2, where it is ordered to be hid, that is, secretly kept.” - Abp. Secker. So Deschamps, in his translation, or rather paraphrase, understands it: “Tenons nous a l’instrument authentique mis en depot par ordre du Seigneur,” “Let us stick to the authentic instrument, laid up by the command of the Lord.” If this be right, the sixteenth verse must be understood in the same manner.

Because there is no light in them “In which there is no obscurity” - שחר shachor, as

an adjective, frequently signifies dark, obscure; and the noun שחר shachar signifies darkness, gloominess, Joe_2:2, if we may judge by the context: -

“A day of darkness and obscurity; Of cloud, and of thick vapor; As the gloom spread upon the mountains: A people mighty and numerous.”

Where the gloom, שחר shachar, seems to be the same with the cloud and thick vapor

mentioned in the line preceding. See Lam_4:8, and Job_30:30. See this meaning of the word

.shachar well supported in Christ. Muller. Sat. Observat. Philippians p. 53, Lugd. Bat. 1752 שחר

The morning seems to have been an idea wholly incongruous in the passage of Joel; and in this

of Isaiah the words in which there is no morning (for so it ought to be rendered if שחר shachar in this place signifies, according to its usual sense, morning) seem to give no meaning at all. “It is because there is no light in them,” says our translation. If there be any sense in these words, it is not the sense of the original; which cannot justly be so translated. Qui n’a rien d’obscur, “which

has no obscurity.” - Deschamps. The reading of the Septuagint and Syriac, שחד shochad, gift,

affords no assistance towards the clearing up of any of this difficult place. R. D. Kimchi says this was the form of an oath: “By the law and by the testimony such and such things are so.” Now if

they had sworn this falsely, it is because there is no light, no illumination, שחר shachar, no scruple of conscience, in them.

3. GILL, “To the law, and to the testimony,.... Kimchi takes this to be an oath, "by the law, and by the testimony", it is so and so; but Aben Ezra observes there is no instance of this kind in Scripture; it is a direction of Christ's to his disciples, to attend to the writings of Moses and the prophets, to search the Scriptures, as in Joh_5:39 and particularly what is before said in this prophecy concerning himself, the same is meant as on Isa_8:16. if they speak not according to this word; this sure word of prophecy, to which men do well to take heed, as to a light shining in a dark place, it being the rule of faith and practice, a lamp to the feet, and a light to the path: it is because there is no light in them; that is, in them that speak not according to it, meaning the Scribes and Pharisees; who, rejecting the written word, set up the traditions of the elders above it, and taught the people to walk according to them; and so were, as our Lord says, "blind leaders of the blind", Mat_15:14 or the words may be read, "if not"; if they will not regard the Scriptures, and the evangelical doctrine in them, and the testimony they give concerning Christ; "let them speak according to this word"; or instruction, and counsel, they have from the Scribes and Pharisees: "in which there is no light" (b); but the darkness of ignorance, infidelity, superstition, and will worship; or "no morning"; but a night of Jewish darkness, even though the sun of righteousness was risen, and the dayspring from on high had visited the earth; yet they had received no light and knowledge from him, which was their condemnation, Joh_1:4, Joh_3:19 or thus, "to the law, and to the testimony, though they may say after this manner, there is no light in it" (c); in the law and testimony, preferring the traditions, decisions, and determinations of their doctors above it. Noldhius (d) renders the words thus, "seeing they speak not according to this word, certainly they shall have no morning"; that is, seeing the seducers and false teachers, in the preceding verse Isa_8:19, speak not according to the word of God, and testimony of Jesus, they shall have no morning of light and joy, of grace and comfort, or any spiritual felicity; Christ will be no morning to them, but they will continue in their dark, benighted, and miserable condition, described in the following verse.

4. KRETZMANN, “v. 20. To the Law and to the testimony! Turn to the Word and the promises of

the Lord alone; trust in His Gospel, in the glorious assurance of salvation contained therein; make the

clear exposition of His Word the one guide of your lives! If they, the unbelieving majority, speak not

according to this word, if they do not join in this call and invitation nor heed its summons, it is because

there is no light in them, the dawn of salvation will not arise for them. He who sets aside, ignores,

rejects, the Word of God destroys himself, has no hope for time and for eternity.

5. JAMISON, “To the law, etc. — the revelation of God by His prophet (Isa_8:16), to which he directs them to refer those who would advise necromancy.

if they speak not ... it is because — English Version understands “they” as the necromancers. But the Hebrew rendered “because” is not this but “who”; and “if not,” ought rather to be “shall they not”; or, truly they shall speak according to this word, who have no morning light (so the Hebrew, that is, prosperity after the night of sorrows) dawning on them [Maurer and G. V. Smith]. They who are in the dark night of trial, without a dawn of hope, shall surely say so, Do not seek, as we did, to necromancy, but to the law,” etc. The law perhaps includes here the law of Moses, which was the “Magna Charta” on which prophetism commented [Kitto].

6. K&D, “In opposition to such a falling away to wretched superstition, the watchword of the prophet and his supporters is this. “To the teaching of God (thorah, Gotteslehre), and to the testimony! If they do not accord with this word, they are a people for whom no morning dawns.” The summons, “to the teaching and to the testimony” (namely, to those which Jehovah gave through His prophet, Isa_8:17), takes the form of a watchword in time of battle (Jdg_7:18).

With this construction the following אם־לא (which Knobel understands interrogatively, “Should not they speak so, who, etc.?” and Luzzatto as an oath, as in Psa_131:2, “Surely they say such words as have no dawn in them”) has, at any rate, all the presumption of a conditional signification. Whoever had not this watchword would be regarded as the enemy of Jehovah, and

suffer the fate of such a man. This is, to all appearance, the meaning of the apodosis אין־לו שהר

Luther has given the meaning correctly, “If they do not say this, they will not have the .אשר

morning dawn;” or, according to his earlier and equally good rendering, “They shall never overtake the morning light,” literally, “They are those to whom no dawn arises.” The use of the plural in the hypothetical protasis, and the singular in the apodosis, is an intentional and significant change. All the several individuals who did not adhere to the revelation made by Jehovah through His prophet, formed one corrupt mass, which would remain in hopeless

darkness. אשר is used in the same sense as in Isa_5:28 and 2Sa_2:4, and possibly also as in

1Sa_15:20, instead of the more usual י, when used in the affirmative sense which springs in

both particles out of the confirmative (namque and quoniam): Truly they have no morning dawn to expect.

(Note: Strangely enough, Isa_8:19 and Isa_8:20 are described in Lev. Rabba, ch. xv, as words of the prophet Hosea incorporated in the book of Isaiah.)

7.CALVIN, “20.To the law and testimony. There are indeed various ways of explaining this passage.

Some think that it is the form of an oath, as if the Prophet were swearing by the law that they were

apostates, and would entice others to a similar apostasy. But I take a different view of it, which is, that he

directs our attention to the law and the testimony; for the preposition ל, (lamed,) to, plainly shows that this

is the meaning. Now, the testimony is joined with the law, not as if it were different, but for the sake of

explanation, “to the law, ” which contains the testimony or declaration of the will of God toward us. In

short, we ought to take the word testimony as describing a quality, in order to inform us what advantage

we derive from the law; namely, that God reveals himself to us in the law, and declares what is that

relation to us which he chooses to hold, and lays down what he demands from us, and in short everything

necessary to be known.

It is therefore a very high commendation of the law that it contains the doctrine of salvation, and the rule

of a good and happy life. For this reason also he justly forbids us to turn aside from it in the smallest

degree; as if he should say, “ all the superstitions on which they are so madly bent; for they are not

satisfied with having God alone, and call to their aid innumerable inventions.” In this manner also Christ

speaks,

They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them, (Luk_16:29;)

for though Abraham is there brought forward as the speaker, still it is a permanent oracle which is uttered

by the mouth of God. We are therefore enjoined to hear the law and the prophets, that we may not be

under the influence of eager curiosity, or seek to learn anything from the dead. If the law and the

prophets had not been sufficient, the Lord would not have refused to allow us other assistance.

Hence we learn that everything which is added to the word must be condemned and rejected. It is the will

of the Lord that we shall depend wholly on his word, and that our knowledge shall be confined within its

limits; and therefore, if we lend our ears to others, we take a liberty which he has forbidden, and offer to

him a gross insult. Everything that is introduced by men on their own authority will be nothing else than a

corruption of the word; and consequently, if we wish to obey God, we must reject all other instructors. He

likewise warns us that, if we abide by the law of the Lord, we shall be protected against superstitions and

wicked modes of worship; for, as Paul calls

the word of God is the sword of the Spirit,

(Eph_6:17,)

so by the word, Satan and all his contrivances are put to flight. We ought therefore to flee to him

whenever we shall be attacked by enemies, that, being armed with it, we may contend valiantly, and at

length put them to flight.

If they shall not speak. I do not relate all the expositions of this passage, for that would be too tedious;

and I consider the true exposition to be so well supported that it will easily refute all others. It is usually

explained to mean that wicked men trifle with their inventions, and expose their impostures to

sale, because there is nolight in them; that is, because they have not ordinary understanding. For my own

part, I consider this to be a reason for encouraging believers to perseverance; that if wicked men depart

from the true doctrine, they will evince nothing else than their own blindness and darkness. We ought to

despise their folly, that it may not be an obstruction to us; as Christ also teaches us that we should boldly

set aside such persons, so as not to be in any degree affected by their blindness or obstinacy. “They are

blind, ” says he, “and leaders of the blind. Do you wish of your own accord to perish with them?”

(Mat_15:14.)

The Prophet therefore enjoins us to ascribe to the word such high authority, that we shall venture boldly

to despise the whole world, if the word be opposed by them; for if even angels should do this, we might

condemn them also by the authority of the word.

If an angel from heaven, says Paul, preach anything else, let him be accursed. (Gal_1:8.)

How much more boldly, therefore, shall we condemn men who set themselves in opposition to God? The

mode of expression is emphatic, If they shall not speak according to this word. He brings an accusation of

blindness against every man who does not instantly and without dispute adopt this sentiment, that we

ought not to be wise beyond the law of God.

21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the

land; when they are famished, they will become

enraged and, looking upward, will cursetheir king and

their God.

1.BARNES, “And they shall pass - The people who have been consulting necromancers. This represents the condition of these who have sought for counsel and direction, and who have not found it. They shall be conscious of disappointment, and shall wander perplexed and alarmed through the land.

Through it - Through the land. They shall wander in it from one place to another, seeking direction and relief.

Hardly bestead - Oppressed, borne down, agitated. The meaning is, that the people would wander about, oppressed by the calamities that were coming upon the nation, and unalleviated by all that soothsayers and necromancers could do.

And hungry - Famished; as one effect of the great calamities that would afflict the nation.

They shall fret themselves - They shall be irritated at their own folly and weakness, and shall aggravate their sufferings by self-reproaches for having trusted to false gods.

Their king and their God - The Hebrew interpreters understand this of the false gods which they bad consulted, and in which they had trusted. But their looking upward, and the connection, seem to imply that they would rather curse the true God - the ‘king and the God’ of the Jewish people. They would be subjected to the proofs of his displeasure, and would vent their malice by reproaches and curses.

And look upward - For relief. This denotes the condition of those in deep distress, instinctively casting their eyes to heaven for aid. Yet it is implied that they would do it with no right feeling, and that they would see there only the tokens of their Creator’s displeasure.

2. CLARKE, “Hardly bestead “Distressed” - Instead of נקשה niksheh, distressed, the

Vulgate, Chaldee, and Symmachus manifestly read נכשל nichshal, stumbling, tottering through

weakness, ready to fall; a sense which suits very well with the place.

And look upward “And he shall cast his eyes upward” - The learned professor Michaelis, treating of this place (Not. in de Sacr. Poes. Hebr. Prael. ix.) refers to a passage in the Koran which is similar to it. As it is a very celebrated passage, and on many accounts remarkable, I shall give it here at large, with the same author’s farther remarks upon it in

another place of his writings. It must be noted here that the learned professor renders נבט

nibbat, הביט hibbit, in this and the parallel place, Isa_5:30, which I translate he looketh by it thundereth, from Schultens, Orig. Ling. Hebr. Lib. 1 cap. 2, of the justness of which rendering I much doubt.

This brings the image of Isaiah more near in one circumstance to that of Mohammed than it appears to be in my translation: -

“Labid, contemporary with Mohammed, the last of the seven Arabian poets who had the honor of having their poems, one of each, hung up in the entrance of the temple of Mecca, struck with the sublimity of a passage in the Koran, became a convert to Mohammedism; for he concluded that no man could write in such a manner unless he were Divinely inspired.

“One must have a curiosity to examine a passage which had so great an effect upon Labid. It is, I must own, the finest that I know in the whole Koran: but I do not think it will have a second time the like effect, so as to tempt any one of my readers to submit to circumcision. It is in the second chapter, where he is speaking of certain apostates from the faith. ‘They are like,’ saith he, ‘to a man who kindles a light. As soon as it begins to shine, God takes from them the light, and leaves them in darkness that they see nothing. They are deaf, dumb, and blind; and return not into the right way. Or they fare as when a cloud, full of darkness, thunder, and lightning, covers the heaven. When it bursteth, they stop their ears with their fingers, with deadly fear; and God hath the unbelievers in his power. The lightning almost robbeth them of their eyes: as often as it flasheth they go on by its light; and when it vanisheth in darkness, they stand still. If God pleased, they would retain neither hearing nor sight.’ That the thought is beautiful, no one will deny; and Labid, who had probably a mind to flatter Mohammed, was lucky in finding a passage in the Koran so little abounding in poetical beauties, to which his conversion might with any propriety be ascribed. It was well that he went no farther; otherwise his taste for poetry might have made him again an infidel.” Michaelis, Erpenii Arabische Grammatik abgekurzt, Vorrede, s. 32.

3. GILL, “And they shall pass through it,.... The land, as the Targum and Kimchi supply it; that is, the land of Judea, as Aben Ezra interprets it. Here begins an account of the punishment that should be inflicted on the Jews, for their neglect of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and their rejection of the Messiah: hardly bestead and hungry; put to the greatest difficulty to get food to eat, and famishing for want of it; which some understand of the time when Sennacherib's army was before Jerusalem, as Aben Ezra; but it seems better, with others, to refer it to the times of Zedekiah, when there was a sore famine, Jer_52:6 though best of all to the besieging of Jerusalem, by the Romans, and the times preceding it, Mat_24:7 and it may also be applied to the famine of hearing the word before that, when the Gospel, the kingdom of heaven, was taken from them, for their contempt of it: and it shall come to pass, when they shall be hungry: either in a temporal sense, having no food for their bodies; or in a mystical sense, being hungry often and earnestly desirous of the coming of their vainly expected Messiah, as a temporal Saviour of them: they shall fret themselves; for want of food for their bodies, to satisfy their hunger; or because their Messiah does not come to help them: and curse their King, and their God; the true Messiah, who is the King of Israel, and God manifest in the flesh; whom the unbelieving Jews called accursed, and blasphemed: and look upwards; to heaven, for the coming of another Messiah, but in vain; or for food to eat.

4. HENRY, “He reads the doom of those that seek to familiar spirits and regard not God's law and testimony; there shall not only be no light to them, no comfort or prosperity, but they may expect all horror and misery, Isa_8:21, Isa_8:22. [1.] The trouble they feared shall come upon them: They shall pass through the land, or pass to and fro in the land, unfixed, unsettled, and driven from place to place by the threatening power of an invading enemy; they shall be hardly bestead whither to go for the necessary supports of life, either because the country would be so impoverished that there would be nothing to be had, or at least themselves and their friends so impoverished that there would be nothing to be had for them; so that those who used to be fed to the full shall be hungry. Note, Those that go away from God go out of the way of all good. [2.] They shall be very uneasy to themselves, by their discontent and impatience under their trouble. A good man may be in want, but then he quiets himself, and strives to make himself easy; but these people when they shall be hungry shall fret themselves, and when they have nothing to feed on their vexation shall prey upon their own spirits; for fretfulness is a sin that is its own punishment. [3.] They shall be very provoking to all about them, nay, to all above them; when they find all their measures broken, and themselves at their wits' end, they will forget all the rules of duty and decency, and will treasonably curse their king and blasphemously curse their God, and this more than in their thought and in their bedchamber, Ecc_10:20. They begin with cursing their king for managing the public affairs no better, as if the fault were his, when the best and wisest kings cannot secure success; but, when they have broken the bonds of their allegiance, no marvel if those of their religion do not hold them long: they next curse their God, curse him, and die; they quarrel with his providence, and reproach that, as if he had done them wrong. The foolishness of man perverts his way, and then his heart frets against the Lord,

Pro_19:3. See what need we have to keep our mouth as with a bridle when our heart is hot within us; for the language of fretfulness is commonly very offensive. [4.] They shall abandon themselves to despair, and, which way soever they look, shall see no probability of relief. They shall look upward, but heaven shall frown upon them and look gloomy; and how can it be otherwise when they curse their God? They shall look to the earth, but what comfort can that yield to those with whom God is at war? There is nothing there but trouble, and darkness, and dimness of anguish, every thing threatening, and not one pleasant gleam, not one hopeful prospect; but they shall be driven to darkness by the violence of their own fears, which represent every thing about them black and frightful. This explains what he had said Isa_8:20, that there shall be no light to them. Those that shut their eyes against the light of God's word will justly be abandoned to darkness, and left to wander endlessly, and the sparks of their own kindling will do them no kindness.

5. JAMISON, “More detailed description of the despair, which they shall fall into, who sought necromancy instead of God; Isa_8:20 implies that too late they shall see how much better it would have been for them to have sought “to the law,” etc. (Deu_32:31). But now they are given over to despair. Therefore, while seeing the truth of God, they only “curse their King and God”; foreshadowing the future, like conduct of those belonging to the “kingdom of the beast,” when they shall be visited with divine plagues (Rev_16:11; compare Jer_18:12).

through it — namely, the land.

hardly bestead — oppressed with anxiety.

hungry — a more grievous famine than the temporary one in Ahaz’ time, owing to Assyria; then there was some food, but none now (Isa_7:15, Isa_7:22; Lev_26:3-5, Lev_26:14-16, Lev_26:20).

their king ... God — Jehovah, King of the Jews (Psa_5:2; Psa_68:24).

look upward ... unto the earth — Whether they look up to heaven, or down towards the land of Judea, nothing but despair shall present itself.

dimness of anguish — darkness of distress (Pro_1:27).

driven to darkness — rather, “thick darkness” (Jer_23:12). Driven onward, as by a sweeping storm. The Jewish rejection of “their King and God,” Messiah, was followed by all these awful calamities.

6. K&D, “The night of despair to which the unbelieving nation would be brought, is described in Isa_8:21, Isa_8:22 : “And it goes about therein hard pressed and hungry: and it comes to pass, when hunger befals it, it frets itself, and curses by its king and by its God, and turns its face upward, and looks to the earth, and beyond distress and darkness, benighting with

anguish, and thrust out into darkness.” The singulars attach themselves to the לו in Isa_8:19,

which embraces all the unbelievers in one mass; “therein” (bah) refers to the self-evident land

('eretz). The people would be brought to such a plight in the approaching Assyrian oppressions,

that they would wander about in the land pressed down by their hard fate (niksheh) and hungry

(ra'eb), because all provisions would be gone and the fields and vineyards would be laid waste.

As often as it experienced hunger afresh, it would work itself into a rage (v'hithkazzaqph with Vav

apod. and pathach, according to Ges. §54, Anm.), and curse by its king and God, i.e., by its idol.

This is the way in which we must explain the passage, in accordance with 1Sa_14:43, where killel(

be0holim is equivalent to killel(b'she0m(elohim, and with Zep_1:5, where a distinction is made

between an oath layehovah, and an oath b'malcam; if we would adhere to the usage of the

language, in which we never find a ( קלל corresponding to the Latin execrari in aliquem (Ges.),

but on the contrary the object cursed is always expressed in the accusative. We must therefore

give up Psa_5:3 and Psa_68:25 as parallels to b'malco and b'lohai: they curse by the idol, which passes with them for both king and God, curse their wretched fate with this as they suppose the most effectual curse of all, without discerning in it the just punishment of their own apostasy, and humbling themselves penitentially under the almighty hand of Jehovah. Consequently all this reaction of their wrath would avail them nothing: whether they turned upwards, to see if the black sky were not clearing, or looked down to the earth, everywhere there would meet them

nothing but distress and darkness, nothing but a night of anguish all around (me‛u0ph(zu0kah is a

kind of summary; ma‛u0ph a complete veiling, or eclipse, written with u0 instead of the more usual

o0 of this substantive form: Ewald, §160, a). The judgment of God does not convert them, but

only heightens their wickedness; just as in Rev_16:11, Rev_16:21, after the pouring out of the fifth and seventh vials of wrath, men only utter blasphemies, and do not desist from their works. After stating what the people see, whether they turn their eyes upwards or downwards, the closing participial clause of Isa_8:22 describes how they see themselves “thrust out into

darkness' (in caliginem propulsum). There is no necessity to supply הוא; but out of the previous

hinne0h it is easy to repeat hinno or hinnennu (en ipsum). “Into darkness:” aphe0lah (acc. loci) is

placed emphatically at the head, as in Jer_23:12.

7. BI, “Unsanctified suffering

I. SIN LEADS TO SUFFERING.

II. THERE IS IN SUFFERING NO SANCTIFYING POWER. It may harden men in iniquity.

III. SUFFERING DOES NOTHING IN ITSELF TO ABATE GOD’S ANGER AGAINST SINNERS. Nothing will turn away that anger but a genuine repentance Isa_9:13). (R. A. Bertram.)

Nemesis

He reads the doom of those that seek to familiar spirits, and regard not God’s law and testimony. There shall not only be no light to them, no comfort; or prosperity, but they may expect all horror and misery.

1. The trouble they feared shall come upon them. They shall pass to and fro in the land, unfixed, unsettled, and driven from place to place by the threatening power of an invading enemy.

2. They shall be very uneasy to themselves, by their discontent and impatience under their trouble.

3. They shall be very provoking to all about them, nay, to all above them. When they find all their measures broken, and themselves at their wits’ end, they will forget all the rules of duty and decency, and will treasonably curse their king, and blasphemously curse their God.

4. They shall abandon themselves to despair, and, which way soever they look, shall see no probability of relief. They shall look upward, out heaven shall frown upon them; they shall look to the earth, but what comfort can that yield to those whom God is at war with? (M. Henry.)

Hardly bestead

Embarrassed with difficulties, oppressed with anxieties, distressed with bitter reflections and desponding thoughts, not knowing what to do or whither to go. (R. Macculloch.)

Hungry

Destitute not only of necessary provision |or their personal support, but of the Word of the Lord, which is the nourishment of the soul Amo_8:11-12). (R. Macculloch.)

Fretfulness

Through hunger and poverty is indeed a great calamity, yet fretfulness of spirit is a still greater one; and when both are united, it is evident that the mind is as empty of spiritual good as the body is of necessary provision. (R. Macculloch.)

No good without God

Them that go away from God, go out of the way of all good. (M. Henry.).

8. PULPIT, “They shall pass through it. "It," which is feminine, must mean "the land." The Jews left in it

shall wander about it (comp. Isa_7:21-25), seeking pasture for the remnant of their cattle. They shall fret

themselves; rather, they shall be deeply angered (Cheyne). And curse their king and their God. As the

causes of their sufferings. And look upward. Not in hope, but in rage and defiance.

9. KRETZMANN, “ And they, the unbelievers, shall pass through it, walking about in the

land, hardly bestead, oppressed both from within and without, and hungry, in the very depths of

misery; and it shall come to pass that when they shall be hungry, in the midst of tribulation besetting

them on every hand, they shall fret themselves, be filled with a helpless rage, and curse their King

and their God, blaspheming the Lord and His Messiah, and look upward.

10. CALVIN, “21.Then they shall pass through that land. Not to permit believers to be ensnared by the

common errors, he adds how dreadful is the punishment which awaits the ungodly when they have

revolted from God, and have labored to induce others to join in the same revolt. The passage is

somewhat obscure; but the obscurity arises from the want of proper attention in examining the words. The

verb עבר (gnabar) is emphatic; for by passing through he means that uncertainty in which men wander up

and down, and are not able to find a resting-place, or any permanent abode. To the indefinite verb we

must supply a noun, The Jews shall pass. By the pronoun בה, (bahh,) in it, (136) he means Judea, which

the Lord had preferred to all other countries; and therefore it is easily understood, though the Prophet

does not express it. As if he had said, “ promised indeed that that country would be the perpetual

inheritance of my people, (Gen_13:15;) but they shall lead a wandering and restless life, as is the case

with those who, driven from their habitations, and afflicted with hunger and pestilence and every kind of

calamities, seek, but nowhere find, a better condition and abode.” These words are therefore contrasted

with the extraordinary kindness of God, which is so frequently mentioned by Moses, namely, that they will

have a fixed residence in Judea; for here he threatens that they will be stragglers and wanderers, not in

their own, but in a foreign country; so that, wherever they come, they will be attacked and hunted down by

innumerable vexations.

When they shall be hungry. The Prophet appears to point out the conversion of the Jews, as if he had

said, “ they have been weighed down by afflictions they will at length repent;” and undoubtedly this is the

remedy by which the Lord generally cures the disease of obstinacy. Yet if any one suppose that the

word hungerdescribes the indignation and roaring of the wicked without repentance, it may be stated that

it includes not only hunger and thirst, but, by a figure of speech in which a part is taken for the whole,

( συνεκδοχικῶς,) every other kind of calamity.

They shall fret themselves. (137) They will begin to be displeased with themselves, and to loathe all the

supports on which they had formerly relied; and this is the beginning of repentance; for in prosperity we

flatter ourselves, but in sore adversity we loathe everything that is around us. But if it be thought

preferable to refer it to the reprobate, this word denotes the bitterness, which is so far from leading them

to humility that it rather aggravates their rage.

And curse their king and their God. By King some suppose that he means God. In this sense Zephaniah

used the word מלכם (malcham), that is, their King. (Zep_1:5.) But here I draw a distinction

between King and God; for wicked men are first blinded by a false confidence in idols, and afterwards

they place their defense in earthly things. When the Jews had a king, they were proud of his glory and

power; and when Isaiah preached, wicked men enraged the king against him, and even aroused the

whole of the nation to follow the king as their standard-bearer. Since, therefore, their false boasting had

been partly in the idols and partly in the king, he threatens that they will be afflicted with so many

calamities, that they will be constrained to abhor both their gods and the king. And this is the beginning of

repentance, to loathe and drive far from us everything that kept us back or led us away from God.

And look upward. He describes the trembling and agitation of mind by which wretched men are tormented

until they have learned steadfastly to look up. There is, indeed, some proficiency, as I lately hinted, when,

in consequence of having been taught by afflictions and chastisements, we throw away our indifference

and endeavor to find out remedies. But we must advance farther. Fixing our eye on God alone we must

not gaze on all sides, or through fickleness be tossed to and fro. (Eph_4:14.) However that may be, Isaiah

threatens the utter destruction of the Jews; for so thoroughly were they hardened, that their rebellion

could not be subdued by a light and moderate chastisement from the hand of God. Yet it might be taken

in a good sense, that the Jews will at length raise their eyes to heaven; but in that case we must read

separately what follows: —

(136) Through it. — Eng. Ver.

(137) Not satisfied with the Latin word irritentur for conveying the import of the Hebrew התקצף,

(hithkatzeph,) Calvin illustrates it by a phrase taken from his own vernacular, Ils se despiteront , which

means, they will fume, or chafe, or burst into furious passion. — Ed

22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only

distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will

be thrust into utter darkness.

1.BARNES, “And they shall look unto the earth - They would look upward and find no relief, and then in despair cast their eyes to the earth to obtain help there. Yet equally in vain. The whole image is one of intense anguish brought on the nation for leaving the counselor the true God.

And behold ... - see the note at Isa_5:30.

Trouble - Anguish, oppression, צרה tsarah, from צור tsur, to oppress, to straiten, to afflict. This is a remarkable instance of the prophet Isaiah’s manner - of a rapid, impetuous, and bold style of utterance. He accumulates images; piles words on each other; and deepens the anxiety by each additional word, until we almost feel that we are enveloped by the gloom, and see objects of terror and alarm on every side.

Dimness of anguish - These words should be kept separate in the translation - מעוף צוקה me‛

up tsuqah, “darkness, oppression” - accumulated epithets to heighten the gloom and terror of the

scene.

And they shall be driven to darkness - Hebrew, ואפלה מנדה va'ape0lah menuda0ch a darkness that is driven, or that is urged upon itself; that becomes condensed, accumulated, until it becomes terrible and frightful. The idea is that of a driving tempest, or an involving obscurity

The prophet .(nadah, to push, thrust, impel, urge on, as a driving storm נדה menuda0ch from מנדה)

has thus accumulated every possible idea of gloom and obscurity, and probably there is not anywhere a more graphic description of gathering darkness and trouble, and of the consternation of those involved in it, than this. So fearful and terrific are the judgments of God when he comes forth to punish people!

2. PULPIT, “They shall look unto the earth. For necessary nutriment, or simply as the place to which

downcast and despairing eyes are turned naturally. They shall be driven to darkness. So Kay, who

thinks the Captivity is meant; but it seems better to render the whole passage, with Mr. Cheyne, "They

shall look to earth, and behold, distress and darkness, gloom of affliction, and thick darkness driven (upon

them)." The darkness is spoken of as if it were a thing palpable, like rain or snow (comp. Exo_10:21).

3. GILL, “And they shall look unto the earth,.... As persons in distress, upwards and downwards, backwards and forwards, on the right hand and on the left, particularly into the land of Judea; a land that used to flow with milk and honey, a land of light, plenty, and prosperity: and behold trouble and darkness; adversity, and miseries of all kinds, expressed by a variety of words; and even words fail to express the tribulation of these times, which were such as were not from the beginning of the world, Mat_24:22, dimness of anguish; or "fleeing from affliction" (e), multitudes everywhere fleeing from one place to another, to avoid the calamities coming upon them, Mat_24:16,

and they shall be driven to darkness; when they endeavour to escape one calamity, they shall be driven and fall into another; the whole land shall be full of nothing else.

4. PULPIT, “The helplessness of superstition.

Here a mass of thought is found, struggling for expression as the new-lighted fuel struggles into flame.

I. THE ORACLE SEALED. 'Tis time to make an end. Let what has been written remain, rolled up and

sealed and kept, until the day when those taciturn letters shall find their tongue and burst into flame. And,

indeed, every true thing may be said to be "written down for the time to come, forever and ever." It may

be lost sight of for a time, but only to be recovered. For though the records of human thought, nay, the

human mind itself, is a palimpsest, oft scribbled over, the eternal writing of God upon the conscience is

indelible, and will be seen, despite willful blindness and pedantic glosses. The testimony we bear is first

and last for the eyes of God. The Roman poet (Hor; 'Ep.,' Eph_1:20) seems to dread the fate of oblivion

for his verse at certain moments—cannot brook the thought that his roll shall be packed into its case and

left unread. But such was not to be the fate of the poetry of Horace, nor of any true poetry. God can read

through the closed pages of true lives, and faithful utterances find audience in the court of angels, in the

hails of eternity.

II. PLEDGES OF FUTURE GOOD. "I and the children whom Jehovah hath given me are signs and

omens in Israel on the part of Jehovah of hosts, who dwelleth on the Zion-mount." His own name meant

"God's salvation;" those of his children, as we have seen, "The remnant will return" (or, "be converted"),

and "Hasten-booty, Speed-spoil." For the soul that is strong in faith is also strong in hope, and it makes its

own omens, or finds omens where others can see none.

III. MAGICAL SUGGESTIONS REPUDIATED. The wizard, the magician, the "medium," as he is now

called, was in great vogue in the days of Ahaz. Just as at modern séances, these media would imitate the

supposed voices of ghosts in some low chirping or muttering tone. What keener satire could be launched

against such practices than that of the prophet! It is indeed turning to the dead, instead of to the living and

the true God. Where the taste for truth is spoiled, the appetite for the extraordinary and marvelous springs

up; and men will fall headlong into the greatest follies, provided they flatter their self-conceit, though wide

awake to their interest, and keen to detect the impositions of others in general.

IV. TOO-LATE REPENTANCE. The language is condensed, the thought fused in a mass. But the

meaning seems to be—too late will the weak and wicked apply to the true oracles they had forsaken for

the false. "In extreme distress, and afflicted with the pangs of starvation, the man rushes as a maniac

through the land, curses in the moment of his terrible distress and exasperation his god and lord whom he

vainly and slavishly served, and directs his eyes upwards to the true God. But when he looks down to the

earth again because he had discerned no light above, he sees there the most dreadful darkness and

distress, without any ray of light, without any hope breaking through it, and thus he is hunted forth again

into the darkness to perish therein (cf. Job_15:22, Job_15:23; Job_18:5, Job_18:13)" (Ewald).—J.

5. KRETZMANN, “v. 22. And they shall look unto the earth, seeking alleviation and deliverance

from their affliction, and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish, not one ray of relief and

salvation penetrating the night of their suffering; and they shall be driven to darkness, cast out into

utter darkness. Such is the punishment of God upon the unbelievers, upon those who reject the Messiah,

even here on earth; how much more terrible, then, will the condemnation of eternity be into which the

present punishment will merge!

6. CALVIN, “22.And when they shall look to the earth. The meaning will then be, that the Jews will be

converted to God, because they will be deprived of every assistance on the earth, and will see nothing

but frightful calamities, to whatever side they turn their eyes.

Behold, trouble and darkness. These words are partly figurative and partly literal; for

by dimness and darkness he means nothing else than adversity, according to the custom of Scripture.

But he adds, driven to darkness. This aggravates the calamity to an amazing degree; for if one who is

in darkness be driven or pushed forward, he is far more in danger of stumbling than before. Thus he

intimates, that to a heavy calamity another still heavier will be added, that they may be more completely

ruined; for he means nothing else than that the judgments of God will be so dreadful, and the

punishments so severe, that, whether they will or not, they shall be constrained to look up to heaven.

Footnotes:

a. Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in

verse 3.

b. Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.

c. Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst

d. Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel

New International Version (NIV)

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