9. Careless women, arise, hear my voice; confiding daughters, give
ear unto my speech.
10. In a year and more ye shall tremble, ye confiding ones, for the
vintage fails, the gathering shall not come. 11. Tremble, ye careless
(women); quake, ye confiding (ones); strip you and make you bare, and
gird (sackcloth) on your loins. 12. Mourning for the breasts (or,
beating on the breasts), for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful
vine. 13. Upon the land of my people, thorn (and) thistle shall come
up, for (they shall even come up) upon all (thy) houses of pleasure,
O joyous city (or, upon all houses of pleasure _in_ the joyous city).
14. For the palace is forsaken, the crowd of the city (or, the
crowded city) left, hill and watch-tower (are) for caves (or, dens)
for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks.
15. Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the
wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is
reckoned to the forest. 16. And justice shall abide in the
wilderness, and righteousness in the fruitful field shall dwell.
17. And the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of
righteousness rest and assurance (or, security) for ever. 18. And my
people shall abide in a house of peace, in sure dwellings, and in
quiet resting-places.
19. And it shall hail in the downfall of the forest, and the city
shall be low in a low place (or, humbled with humiliation).
20. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the
foot of the ox and the ass.
THREATENINGS OF RETRIBUTION TO THE
ENEMIES OF GOD'S PEOPLE.--CHAP. XXXIII.
1. Woe to thee spoiling and thou wast not spoiled, deceiving and they
did not spoil thee! When thou shalt cease to spoil thou shalt be
spoiled, and when thou art done deceiving they shall deceive thee.
2. Jehovah, favour us, for on Thee we wait; be their arm in the
mornings, also our salvation in times of trouble. 3. At the noise of
tumult (or, tumultuous noise) the people flee; at Thy rising the
nations are scattered. 4. And your spoil shall be gathered (like) the
gathering of the devourer; like the running of locusts running on it.
5. Exalted is Jehovah because dwelling on high; He fills (or, has
filled) Zion with judgment and righteousness. 6. And He shall be the
security of thy times, strength of salvations, wisdom and knowledge,
the fear of Jehovah, that is his treasure.
7. Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the ambassadors of peace
weep bitterly. 8. The highways are wasted, the wayfarer ceaseth; he
breaks the covenant, despises cities, values no man. 9. The land
mourneth, languisheth; Lebanon is ashamed, it pines away; Sharon is
like a wilderness, and Bashan and Carmel cast (their leaves). 10. Now
will I arise, saith Jehovah, now will I be lifted up, now will I
exalt Myself. 11. Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth
stubble; your breath as stubble shall devour you. 12. And nations
shall be like lime-kilns (or, like burnings of lime); thorns cut up,
in the fire they shall burn. 13. Hear, ye far, what I have done, and
know, ye near, my might.
14. Afraid in Zion are the sinners; trembling has seized the impious.
Who of us can dwell with the devouring fire, who of us can dwell with
everlasting burnings? 15. Walking righteousnesses, and speaking right
things, rejecting with contempt the gain of oppressions (or,
extortions), shaking his hands from taking hold of the bribe,
stopping his ears from hearing bloods, shutting his eyes from looking
at evil, 16. he high places shall inhabit; fastnesses of rocks (shall
be) his lofty place; his bread is given, his water sure. 17. A king
in his beauty shall thine eyes behold, they behold a land of
distances. 18. Thy heart shall meditate terror. Where is he that
counted? Where is he that weighted? Where is he that counted the
towers? 19. The fierce (or, determined) people thou shalt not see; a
people deep of lip from hearing, of barbarous tongue without meaning.
20. Behold Zion, the city of our festivals! Thine eyes shall see
Jerusalem a quiet home, a tent that shall not be removed. Its stakes
shall not be pulled up for ever, and all its cords shall not be
broken. 21. But there shall Jehovah be mighty for us; a place of
rivers, streams broad (on) both sides; there shall not go in it an
oared vessel, and a gallant ship shall not pass through it. 22. For
Jehovah our Judge, Jehovah our Lawgiver, Jehovah our King, He will
save us.
23. Thy ropes are cast loose; they do not hold upright their mast;
they do not spread the sail; then is shared plunder of booty in
plenty; the lame spoil the spoil.
24. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick. The people dwelling
in it (is) forgiven (its) iniquity.
THREATENINGS AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF THE CHURCH, WITH
PROMISES TO THE CHURCH ITSELF.--CHAPS. XXXIV., XXXV.
1. Come near, ye nations, to hear; and ye peoples hearken. Let the
earth hear, and its fulness, the world and all its issues. 2. For
Jehovah is angry against all the nations, and has wrath against all
their host; He has doomed them, He has given them to the slaughter.
3. And their slain shall be cast out, and their carcasses, their
stench shall go up; and mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4. And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll, and all their
host shall fade like the fading of a leaf from off a vine, and like a
fading (leaf) or a withered (fig) from a fig-tree.
5. For My sword is steeped in heaven; behold, upon Edom shall it come
down, and upon the people of My curse. 6. Jehovah has a sword; it is
full of blood, it is smeared with fat, with the blood of lambs and
goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah has a
sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7. And unicorns shall come down with them, and bullocks with blood,
and their dust with fat shall be fattened. 8. For there is a day of
vengeance to Jehovah, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9. And her streams shall be turned to pitch, and her dust to
brimstone, and her land shall become burning pitch. 10. Day and night
it shall not be quenched; for ever shall its smoke go up; from
generation to generation shall it lie waste; for ever and ever there
shall be no one passing through it. 11. Then shall possess it the
pelican and the porcupine, the crane and the crow shall dwell in it.
And One shall stretch upon it the line of confusion and the stones
of emptiness. 12. Her caves--and there is no one there they will
(still) call a kingdom, and all her chiefs will cease to be. 13. And
in her palaces shall come up thorns, nettles, and brambles in her
fortresses; and she shall be a home of wolves, a grass-plot for
ostriches. 14. And wild creatures shall (there) meet with howling
creatures, and the shaggy monster shall call to his fellow; only
there reposes the night-monster, and finds for herself a resting
place. 15. [As to the particular species of animals referred to in
this whole passage, there is no need, as Calvin well observes, of
troubling ourselves much about them. The general sense evidently is,
that a human population should be succeeded by wild and lonely
animals, who should not only live but breed there, implying total and
continued desolation.] 16. Seek ye out of the book of Jehovah and
read; by number will Jehovah call them. For My mouth, it has
commanded; and His Spirit it has gathered them. 17. He too has cast
the lot for them and His hand has divided it to them by line. For
ever shall they hold it as a heritage, to all generations they shall
dwell therein.
XXXV.--1. Desert and waste shall rejoice (for) them; and the
wilderness shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. 2. (It shall)
blossom, it shall blossom and rejoice; yea (with) joy and shouting.
The glory of Lebanon is given unto it, the beauty of Carmel and of
Sharon. They shall see the glory of Jehovah, the beauty of our God.
3. Strengthen hands (now) sinking, and knees (now) tottering make
firm. 4. Say ye to the hasty of heart, Be firm, fear not; behold your
God; He (Himself) is coming, and will save you.
5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the
deaf shall be unstopped. 6. Then shall the lame bound as an hart, and
the tongue of the dumb shall shout (for joy), because waters have
burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
7. And the mirage shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs
of water, (even) in the haunt of wolves, their lair, a court for
reeds and rushes. 8. And there shall be there a highway and a way; it
shall be called the Way of Holiness; and there shall not pass through
it an unclean (thing or person); it shall be for them; the
travellers, yea, those who are ignorant (or foolish) shall not be
able to go astray. 9. There shall not be there a lion, and a ravenous
beast shall not ascend it, nor be found there; and (there) shall walk
redeemed (ones).
10. And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return and come to Zion with
shouting, and everlasting joy upon their head; gladness and joy shall
overtake (them), and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
HISTORICAL APPENDIX TO THE FIRST PART OF
ISAIAH'S PROPHECIES.--CHAPS. XXXVI.-XXXIX.
XXXVI.--1. And it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king
Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fenced
cities of Judah, and took them. 2. And the king of Assyria sent
Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem, to king Hezekiah, with a strong
force, and he stood by the aqueduct of the upper pool, in the highway
of the fuller's field. 3. Then there came forth Eliakim, Hilkiah's
son, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's
son, the recorder.
4. And Rabshakeh said to them: say now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the
great king, the king of Assyria, What is this confidence which thou
confidest in? 5. I say, mere word of lips (is your) counsel and
strength for the war; now on whom hast thou confided, that thou hast
rebelled against me? 6. Behold, thou hast trusted in the support of
this broken reed, in Egypt, which, (if) a man lean upon it, will go
into his hand and pierce it; so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all those
trusting in him. 7. And if thou say to me, We trust in Jehovah our
God; is it not He whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath
taken away, and said to Judah and Jerusalem, Before this altar shall
ye worship? 8. And now, engage, I pray thee, with my lord the king of
Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on
thy part to set riders upon them. 9. And how wilt thou turn away the
face of one governor of the least of my master's servants? So hast
thou reposed thyself on Egypt, with respect to chariots and horses.
10. And now (is it) without Jehovah I have come up against this land
to destroy it? Jehovah said to me, Go up against this land and
destroy it.
11. Then said Eliakim, and Shebna, and Joah, unto Rabshakeh, Pray
speak unto thy servants in Aramean, for we understand (it), and speak
not unto us in Jewish, in the ears of the people who (are) on the
wall.
12. And Rabshakeh said: Is it to thy master and to thee that my
master sent me to speak these words? Is it not to the men sitting on
the wall to eat their own dung and to drink their own water with you?
13. Then Rabshakeh stood and called with a loud voice in Jewish, and
said, Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14. Thus
saith the king: Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able
to deliver you. 15. And let not Hezekiah make you trust in Jehovah,
saying, Jehovah will certainly save us, this city shall not be given
up into the hand of the king of Assyria, 16. Hearken not to Hezekiah,
for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make with me a blessing, and come
out unto me, and eat ye (every) man his own vine and (every) man his
own fig-tree, and drink ye (every) man the waters of his own cistern;
17. until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a
land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18. Let not
Hezekiah seduce you, saying Jehovah will deliver us. Have the gods of
the nations delivered every one his land out of the hand of the king
of Assyria? 19. Where (are) the gods of Hamath and Arpad? where the
gods of Sepharvaim? and (when or where was it) that they delivered
Samaria out of my hand? 20. Who (are they) among all the gods of
these lands that have delivered their land out of my hand, that
Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
21. And they held their peace, and did not answer him a word, for
such was the commandment of the king, Ye shall not answer him.
22. Then came Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, who (was) over the house, and
Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder, unto
Hezekiah, with their clothes rent, and told him the words of
Rabshakeh.
XXXVII.--1. And it came to pass when king Hezekiah heard, that he
rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into
the house of Jehovah. 2. And he sent Eliakim who was over the
household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the people
covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the son of Amoz, the prophet.
3. And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, A day of anguish and
rebuke and contempt (is) this day, for the children are come to the
places of birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. 4. If
peradventure Jehovah thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom
the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God,
and will rebuke the words which Jehovah thy God hath heard, then
shalt thou lift up a prayer for the remnant (that is still) found
(here).
5. And the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6. And Isaiah
said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith Jehovah,
Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, (with) which the
servants of the king of Assyria hath blasphemed me. 7. Behold, I am
putting a spirit in him, and he shall hear a noise, and shall return
to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own
land.
8. And Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting
against Libnah, for he heard that he had decamped from Lachish.
9. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come
forth to make war with thee; and he heard (it), and sent messengers
to Hezekiah, saying, 10. Thus shall ye say to Hezekiah, king of
Judah, Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest, saying,
Jerusalem shall not be given unto the hand of the king of Assyria.
11. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to
all the lands, by utterly destroying them, and thou shalt be
delivered! 12. Did the gods of the nations deliver them, which my
fathers destroyed, (to wit) Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the
children of Eden which is in Telassar? 13. Where is the king of
Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city Sepharvaim,
Henah, and Ivrah?
14. And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and
read it, and went up (to) the house of Jehovah, and Hezekiah spread
it before Jehovah. 15. And Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah, saying,
16. Jehovah of hosts, God of Israel, dwelling between the cherubim,
Thou art He, the God, Thou alone, to all the kingdoms of the earth;
Thou hast made the heavens and the earth. 17. Bow down Thine ear, O
Jehovah, and hear; open Thine eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all
the words of Sennacherib, which he hath sent to reproach the living
God. 18. It is true, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have wasted all
the lands and their land, 19. and given their gods into the fire--for
they (were) no gods, but wood and stone, the work of men's hands--and
destroyed them. 20. And now, O Jehovah, our God, save us from his
hand, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall know that Thou alone
art Jehovah.
21. And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith
Jehovah, the God of Israel, (as to) what thou has prayed to the (with
respect to) Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22. this is the word which
Jehovah hath spoken against him, The virgin daughter of Zion hath
despised thee, she hath laughed thee to scorn, the daughter of
Jerusalem hath shaken her head after thee. 23. Who hast thou
reproached and reviled, and against whom hast thou raised (thy)
voice, and lifted thine eyes (on) high towards the Holy One of
Israel? 24. By the hand of thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord
and said, With the multitude of my chariots I have ascended the
height of mountains, the sides of Lebanon, and I will cut down the
loftiness of its cedars and the choice of its fire, and I will reach
its extreme height, its garden-forest. 25. I have digged and drunk
water, and I will dry up with the sole of my feet all the streams of
Egypt. 26. Hast thou not heard? From afar I have done it, from the
days of old, and formed it, now I have caused it to come, and it
shall be, to lay waste, (as) desolate heaps, fortified cities.
27. And their inhabitants are short of hand; they are broken and
confounded; they are grass of the field and green herbage, grass of
the house-tops and a field before the stalk. 28. And thy sitting
down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, I have known, and thy
raging against Me. 29. Because of thy raging against Me, and
(because) thy arrogance has come up into My ears, I will put My hook
in thy nose, and My bridle in thy lips, and I will cause thee to
return by the way by which thou camest.
30. And this to thee, the sign: eat, the (present) year, that which
groweth of itself, and the second year that which springeth of the
same, and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards,
and eat the fruit thereof. 31. And the escaped of the house of Jacob,
that is left, shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward;
32. for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and an escape from
Mount Zion; the zeal of Jehovah of hosts shall do this.
33. Therefore thus saith Jehovah (with respect) to the king of
Assyria, He shall not come to this city, and shall not shoot an arrow
there, and shall not come before it with a shield, and shall not cast
up a mound against it. 34. By the way that he came shall he return,
and to this city shall he not come, saith Jehovah. 35. And I will
cover over this city, (so as) to save it, for My sake, and for the
sake of David My servant.
36. And the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of
Assyria an hundred and eighty and five thousand, and they rose up
early in the morning and behold all of them were dead corpses.
37. Then decamped, and departed, and returned, Sennacherib king of
Assyria, and dwelt in Nineveh. 38. And he was worshipping (in) the
house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote
him with the sword, and they escaped into the land of Ararat, and
Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.
XXXVIII.--1. In those days Hezekiah was sick unto death, and Isaiah
the son of Amoz, the prophet, came unto him, and said unto him, Thus
saith Jehovah, Order thy house, for thou (art) dying, and art not to
live. 2. And Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed to
Jehovah. 3. And he said, Ah, Jehovah, remember, I beseech Thee, how I
have walked before Thee in truth and with a whole heart, and that
which is good in Thine eyes have I done; and Hezekiah wept a great
weeping.
4. And the word of Jehovah came to Isaiah, saying, 5. Go and say to
Hezekiah, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, I have
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold, I am adding unto thy
days fifteen years. 6. And out of the hand of the king of Assyria I
will save thee and this city, and I will cover over this city.
7. And this shall be to thee the sign from Jehovah, that Jehovah will
perform this word which He hath spoken: 8. Behold, I am causing the
shadow to go back, the degree which it has gone down on the degrees
of Ahaz with the sun, ten degrees backward; and the sun returned ten
degrees on the degrees which it had gone down.
9. A writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he was sick, and
recovered from his sickness:--
10. I said in the pause of my days, I shall go into the gate of the
grave, I am deprived of the residue of my years. 11. I said I shall
not see Jah, Jah in the land of the living; I shall not behold man
again with the inhabitants of the world. 12. My dwelling is plucked
up and uncovered by me like a shepherd's tent. I have rolled up, like
the weaver, my life; from the thrum He will cut me off; from day to
night Thou wilt finish me.
13. I set (Him before me) till the morning as a lion (saying), So
will He break all my bones; from day to night Thou wilt make an end
of me. 14. Like a swallow (or) like a twittering sparrow, so I chirp;
I moan like a dove; my eyes are weak (with looking) upward; O
Jehovah; I am oppressed, undertake for me.
15. What shall I say? He hath both spoken to me, and Himself hath
done (it); I shall go softly all my days in the bitterness of my
soul. 16. Lord, upon them they live, and as to everything in them is
the life of my spirit, and Thou wilt recover me and make me to live.
17. Behold to peace (is turned) my bitter bitterness, and Thou hast
loosed my soul from the pit of destruction, because Thou hast cast
behind Thy back all my sins.
18. For the grave shall not confess Thee (nor) death praise Thee;
they that go down to the pit shall not hope for Thy truth. 19. The
living, the living, he shall thank Thee, as I do to-day; fathers to
sons shall make known with respect to Thy truth. 20. Jehovah
(listened) to save me! And my songs we will play, all the days of our
life, at the house of Jehovah.
21. And Isaiah said, Let him take a lump of figs, and lay them
softened on the boil, and he shall live. 22. And Hezekiah said, What
sign (is there) that I shall go up (to) the house of Jehovah?
XXXIX.--1. In that time, Merodach Baladan, son of Baladan, king of
Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, and he heard that he
was sick and was recovered.
2. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them his house of
rarities, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the ointment,
and all his house of arms, and all that was found in his treasures;
there was not a thing which Hezekiah did not show them, in his house,
and in all his dominion.
3. Then came Isaiah the prophet to the king Hezekiah, and said to
him, What said these men, and whence came they unto thee? And
Hezekiah said, From a far country came they unto me, from Babylon.
4. And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah said,
All that is in my house have they seen; there is not a thing that I
have not showed them in my treasures.
5. And Isaiah said, Hear the word of Jehovah of hosts, 6. Behold days
are coming when all that (is) in thy house, and that which thy
fathers have hoarded until this day, shall be carried to Babylon;
there shall not be left a thing, saith Jehovah. 7. And of thy sons
that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt begat, shall they take
away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.
8. And Hezekiah said, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast
spoken. And he said, for there shall be peace and truth in my days.
XL.--[A glorious change awaits the Church, consisting in a new and
gracious manifestation of Jehovah's presence, for which His people
are exhorted to prepare, vers. 1-5. Though one generation perish
after another, this promise shall eventually be fulfilled, because it
rests not upon human but Divine authority, vers. 6-8. Zion may even
now see Him approaching as the conqueror of His enemies, and at the
same time as the shepherd of His people, vers. 9-11. The fulfilment
of these pledges is insured by His infinite wisdom, His Almighty
power, and His independence both of individuals and nations, vers.
12-17. How much more is He superior to material images, by which men
represent Him or supply His place, vers. 18-25. The same power which
supports the heavens is pledged for the support of Israel, vers.
26-31.]
1. Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. 2. Speak to the
heart of Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received from the hand
of Jehovah double for all her sins. 3. A voice crying--in the
wilderness--Clear the way of Jehovah--make straight in the desert a
highway for our God. 4. Every valley shall be raised, and every
mountain and hill brought low, and the uneven shall become level, and
the ridges a plain. 5. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see (it) together, for the mouth of Jehovah
speaks.
6. A voice saying, Cry! And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is
grass, and all its favour like the flower of the field! 7. Dried is
the grass, faded is the flower; for the breath of Jehovah has blown
upon it. Surely the people is grass. 8. Dried is the grass, faded the
flower, and the word of our God shall stand for ever.
9. Upon a high mountain, get thee up, bringer of good news, O Zion!
Raise with strength thy voice, bringer of good news, Jerusalem! Raise
(it), fear not; say to the towns of Judah, Lo, your God! 10. Lo, the
Lord Jehovah is coming in (the person of) a strong one, and His arm
(is) ruling for Him. Lo, His hire is with Him, and His wages before
Him. 11. Like a shepherd His flock will He feed, with His arm will He
gather the lambs, and in His bosom carry (them): the nursing (ewes)
He will (gently) lead.
12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted
out heaven with the span, and comprehended in a measure the dust of
the earth, and weighed in a balance the mountains, and the hills in
scales? 13. Who hath measured the Spirit of Jehovah, and (who, as)
the man of His counsel, will teach Him? 14. Whom did He consult, and
he made Him understand, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and
taught Him knowledge, and the way of understanding (who) will make
Him know? 15. Lo, nations are as a drop from a bucket, and as dust on
scales are reckoned; lo, islands as an atom He will take up. 16. And
Lebanon is not enough for burning, and its beasts are not enough for
a sacrifice. 17. All the nations (are) as nothing before Him, less
than nothing and vanity are counted to Him.
18. And (now) to whom will ye liken God, and what likeness will ye
compare to Him? 19. The image a carver has wrought, and a gilder with
gold shall overlay it, and chains of silver (he is) casting. 20. (As
for) the man impoverished (by) offering, a tree (that) will not rot
he chooses, a wise carver he seeks for it, to set up an image (that)
shall not be moved. 21. Will you not know? Will you not hear? has it
not been told you from the first? have you not understood (from) the
foundations of the earth? 22. The (One) sitting over the circle of
the earth, and its inhabitants (are) as locusts; the One spreading
like an awning the heavens, and He stretches them out like a tent to
dwell in; 23. the One bringing princes to nothing, the judges of the
earth like emptiness He has made. 24. Not even planted were they, not
even sown, not even rooted in the ground their stock, and He just
breathed upon them, and they withered, and a whirlwind like the chaff
shall take them up. 25. And now to (whom) will ye liken Me, and to
(whom) shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26. Lift up on high your eyes and see--who hath created these?--and
who is the (One) bringing out by number their host?--to all of them
by name will He call--from abundance of might and because strong in
power--not one faileth. 27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and why (thus)
speak, O Israel? Hidden is my way from Jehovah, and from my God my
cause will pass away. 28. Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard?
The God of eternity, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
will not faint, and will not tire; there is no search (with respect)
to His understanding. 29. Giving to the weary strength, and to the
powerless might will He increase. 30. And (yet) weary shall youths be
and faint, and chosen (youths) shall be weakened, be weakened.
31. And (on the other hand) those waiting for Jehovah shall gain new
strength; they shall raise the pinion like the eagles, they shall run
and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
XLI.--[Until the ends of Israel's national existence are
accomplished, that existence must continue in spite of hostile
nations and their gods, who shall all perish sooner than the chosen
people, vers. 1-16. However, feeble Israel may be in herself, Jehovah
will protect him, and raise up the necessary instruments for his
deliverance and triumph.]
1. Be silent to Me, O islands, and the nations shall gain new
strength; they shall approach, then shall they speak, together to the
judgment-seat will we draw near. 2. Who hath raised up from the east?
Righteousness shall call Him to its foot; it shall give nations
before Him, and cause Him to tread upon kings; it shall give (them)
as dust to His sword, and as driven stubble to His bow. 3. He shall
pursue them; He shall pass (in) safety; a path with His feet He shall
not go. 4. Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from
the beginning? I Jehovah, the First and with the Last, I (am) He.
5. The isles have seen it and are afraid, the ends of the earth
tremble: they have approached and come. 6. A man his neighbour they
will help, and to his brother (one) will say, Be strong! 7. And the
carver has strengthened the gilder, the smoother with the hammer, the
smiter on the anvil; he says of the solder, It is good; and he
sharpeneth it with nails; it shall not be moved. 8. And thou Israel
My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My
friend; 9. thou whom I have grasped from the ends of the earth, and
from its sides have I called thee, My servant (art) thou; I have
chosen thee, and not rejected thee.
10. Fear thou not, for I (am) with thee; look not around, for I (am)
thy God; I have strengthened thee, yea, I have helped thee, yea, I
have upheld thee with the right hand of My righteousness. 11. Lo,
ashamed and confounded shall be all those inflamed against thee; they
shall be as though they were not, and destroyed shall be they that
strive with thee. 12. Thou shalt seek them and not find them, the men
of quarrel; they shall be as nothing and as nought, thy men of war.
13. For I, Jehovah thy God, (am) holding fast thy right hand; the
(one) saying to thee, Fear not, I have helped thee. 14. Fear not,
thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I have helped thee, saith
Jehovah, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15. Behold I have
placed thee for a threshing-sledge, sharp, new, possessed of teeth;
thou shalt thresh mountains and beat (them) small, and hills like the
chaff shalt thou make. 16. Thou shalt fan them, and a wind shall take
them up, and a whirlwind shall scatter them, and thou shalt joy in
Jehovah, and in the Holy One of Israel shalt thou boast.
17. The suffering and the poor (are) seeking water, and it is not;
their tongue with thirst is parched. I Jehovah will answer them.
18. I will open upon bare hills streams, and in the midst of valleys
fountains; I will convert the desert into a pool of water, and the
dry land into springs of water. 19. I will give in the wilderness
cedar, acacia, and myrtle, and oil tree; I will place in the desert
fir, pine, and box together. 20. That they may see, and know, and
consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done
this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
21. Present your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your strong
reasons, saith the King of Jacob. 22. Let them bring forward and show
forth to us the (things) which are to happen; the former things, when
they were, show forth, and we will set our heart, and know the issue;
or (else) the coming events make us to hear. 23. Show forth the
(things) to come hereafter, and we will know that ye are gods; yes,
ye shall do good or evil, and we will look about and see together.
24. Lo, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought; an abomination is
he that chooseth you. 25. I have raised up (one) from the north, and
he has come; from the rising of the sun shall he call upon My name;
and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as a potter
treadeth clay. 26. Who hath declared from the beginning? (Say) and we
will know; and beforehand, and we will say, True! Nay, there was none
that told; nay, there was none that uttered; nay, there was none that
heard your words. 27. (I am the) first (to say) to Zion, Behold,
behold them! and (to give) to Jerusalem a bringer of good news.
28. And I will look, but there is no man; and of these, but there is
no one advising; and I will ask them, and (perhaps) they will return
an answer. 29. Lo, they (are) all nought, nothing their words, wind
and emptiness their molten images.
XLII.--[This chapter exhibits to our view the servant of Jehovah,
_i.e.,_ the Messiah and His people, as a complex person, and as the
messenger or representative of God among the nations. His mode of
operation is described, vers. 1-4. The effects of His influence are
represented, as not natural but spiritual, vers. 5-9. The power of
God is pledged for His success, notwithstanding all appearances of
inaction or indifference on His part, vers 10-17. In the latter
portion of the chapter, the Church or Body of Christ, as
distinguished from its Head, and representing Him until He came, is
charged with unfaithfulness to its great trust, and this
unfaithfulness declared to be the cause of what it suffered, vers.
18-25.]
1. Behold My servant! I will hold Him fast; My chosen One, (in whom)
My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him; judgment to the
nations shall He cause to go forth. 2. He shall not cry, and He shall
not raise (His voice), and He shall not let His voice be heard in the
street. 3. A broken reed shall He not break, and a dim wick will He
not quench; by the truth He will bring forth judgment. 4. He shall
not be dim, and He shall not be crushed, until He shall set judgment
in the earth, and for His law the isles shall wait.
5. Thus saith the mighty (God), Jehovah, creating the heavens and
stretching them out, spreading the earth and its issues, giving
breath to the people on it, and spirit to those walking in it. 6. I,
Jehovah, have called Thee in righteousness, and will lay hold of Thy
hand, and will keep Thee, and will give Thee for a covenant of the
people, for a light of the Gentiles. 7. to open blind eyes, to bring
out from prison the bondman, from the house of confinement the
dwellers in darkness. 8. I am Jehovah, that is My name, and My glory
to another will I not give, and My praise to graven images. 9. The
former things--lo, they have come, and new things I (am) telling;
before they spring forth I will let you hear (them).
10. Sing to Jehovah a new song, His praise from the end of the earth,
(ye) going down to the sea and its fulness, isles and their
inhabitants! 11. The desert and its towns shall raise (the voice),
the enclosures (in which) Kedar dwells; the dwellers in the rock
shall shout, from the top of the mountains shall they cry aloud.
12. They shall give to Jehovah honour, and His praise in the islands
they shall show forth. 13. Jehovah, like a strong one, will go forth;
like a warrior He will cry; against His foes will show Himself
strong. 14. I have long been still, (saying) I will hold my peace, I
will restrain myself. (But now), like the travailing (woman) I will
shriek, I will pant and gasp at once. 15. I will lay waste mountains
and hills, and all their herbage will I dry up; I will turn streams
to islands, and pools will I dry up. 16. And I will make the blind
walk in a way they know not, in paths they know not I will make them
tread; I will turn darkness before them to light, and obliquities to
straightness. These are the words; I have made them, and have not
left them. 17. They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly
ashamed, those trusting in the graven image, those saying to the
molten images, Ye are our gods!
18. Ye deaf, hear! and, ye blind, look to see! 19. Who (is) blind but
My servant, and deaf like My messenger (whom) I will send? Who (is)
blind like the devoted are, and blind like the servant of Jehovah?
20. Thou hast seen many things and wilt not observe. (Sent) to open
ears! and he will not hear! 21. Jehovah (is) willing for His
righteousness' sake; He will magnify the law and make it honourable.
22. And (yet) it (is) a people spoiled and robbed, ensnared in holes
all of them, and in houses of confinement they are hidden. They have
become a spoil, and there is none delivering; a prey, and there is
none saying, Restore! 23. Who among you will give ear to this, and
hearken and hear for the time to come? 24. Who has given Jacob for a
prey, and Israel to spoilers? Hast not Jehovah, against whom we have
sinned? and they were not willing in His ways to walk, and did not
hearken to His law. 25. And He poured upon him fury, (even) His wrath
and the violence of war: and it set him on fire round about, and he
knew it not; and it burned him, and he will not lay it to heart.
XLIII.--[Israel is the peculiar people of Jehovah, cherished and
favoured at the expense of other nations, vers. 1-4. But these are
one day to become partakers of the same advantages, vers. 5-9. The
proofs of the Divine protection are afforded by the history of
Israel, vers. 10-13. One of the most remarkable, yet future, is the
downfall of Babylon and the liberation of the exiles, vers. 14, 15.
An analogous example was the deliverance from Egypt, vers. 16, 17.
But both these instances shall be forgotten in comparison with the
great change which awaits the Church hereafter, vers. 18-21. Of all
these distinguishing favours none was owing to the merit of the
people, but all to the sovereign grace of God, vers. 22-25. The
people were not only destitute of merit, but deserving of punishment,
which they had experienced and must experience again, vers. 26-28.]
1. And now, thus saith Jehovah, thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former,
O Israel, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called by thy
name, thou art Mine. 2. When thou passest through the waters, I will
be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee;
when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be scorched, and
the flame shall not burn thee. 3. For I, Jehovah, thy God, the Holy
One of Israel, thy Saviour, have given (as) thy ransom Egypt,
Ethiopia, and Seba, instead of thee. 4. Since thou wast precious in
My eyes; thou hast been honoured, and I have loved thee, and will
give men instead of thee, and nations instead of thy life.
5. Fear not, for I (am) with thee; from the east I will make thy seed
come, and from the west I will gather thee; 6. I will say to the
north, Give, and to the south, Withhold not, let My sons come from
far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth; 7. Every one called
by My name, and for My glory I have created him; I have formed him
yea, I have made him. 8. He hath brought out the blind people, and
there are eyes (to them), and the deaf, and (there are) ears to them.
9. All the nations are gathered together, and the people are to be
assembled. Who among them will declare this, and let us hear the
first things? Let them produce their witnesses and be justified; and
(if they cannot do this) let them hear (My witnesses), and say, (it
is) the truth.
10. Ye are My witnesses saith Jehovah, and My servant whom I have
chosen, that ye may know and believe Me, and may understand that I am
He; before Me was not formed a god, and after Me there shall not be;
11. I, I, Jehovah, and beside Me there is no Saviour. 12. I have told
and have saved and have declared, and there is not among you (any)
stranger; and ye are My witnesses, saith Jehovah, and I (am) God.
13. Even from the day I am He, and there is no one freeing from My
hand; I will do, and who will undo it?
14. Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For
your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down fugitives all
of them; and the Chaldeans, in the ships their shout; 15. I, Jehovah,
your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
16. Thus saith Jehovah, the (One) giving in the sea a way, and in
mighty waters a path; 17. the (One) bringing out chariot and horse,
force and strong; together shall they lie, they shall not rise; they
are extinct, like tow they are quenched.
18. Remember not former things, and old things consider not.
19. Behold I (am) doing (something) new, it is yet to sprout; do you
not know it? Yes, I will place in the wilderness a way, in the desert
streams. 20. The living creature of the field shall honour Me,
jackass and ostriches; because I have given in the wilderness waters,
and streams in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen.
21. This people I have formed for Myself; My praise shall they
recount.
22. And not Me hast thou called, O Jacob; for thou hast been weary of
Me, O Israel. 23. Thou hast not brought to Me the sheep of thy
burnt-offering, and (with) thy sacrifices thou hast not honoured Me.
I have not made thee serve with oblations, and I have not wearied
thee with incense. 24. Thou hast not brought for Me sweet cane with
honey, and with the fat of thy sacrifices thou hast not drenched Me;
thou hast only made Me serve with thy sins, and wearied Me with thine
iniquities. 25. I, I am He blotting out thy transgressions for Mine
own sake, and thy sins I will not remember.
26. Remind Me; let us plead together: state (thy case) that thou
mayest be justified. 27. Thy first father sinned, and thy
interpreters rebelled against Me. 28. And I will profane the holy
chiefs, and will give up Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
XLIV.--[The chapter opens, like the fortieth and forty-third, with
cheering promises to Israel, followed by reasons for confiding in
them, drawn from the wisdom, power, and goodness of Jehovah. The
specific promise, which constitutes the theme or basis of the
prophecy, is that of abundant spiritual influences and their fruits;
not only internal prosperity, but large accessions from without,
vers. 1-5. The pledge for the fulfilment of this promise is afforded
by the proofs of God's omniscience, as contrasted with all other
gods, vers. 6-9. The folly of image-worship is then established by
two arguments. The first is, that idols are themselves the creatures
of mere men, vers. 10-14. The other is, that they are not only made,
and made by man, but made of the very same materials applied to the
most trivial domestic uses, vers. 15-20. From this demonstration of
the power of Jehovah to perform His promise we are now brought back
to the promise itself, vers. 21-24. This is again confirmed by an
appeal to God's creative power, and illustrated by the raising up of
Cyrus as a deliverer to Israel, vers. 25-28.]
1. And now hear, Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.
2. Thus saith Jehovah, Thy Maker and thy Former from the womb will
help thee; fear not, My servant Jacob, and Jeshurun whom I have
chosen. 3. For I will pour waters upon the thirsty, and flowing
(waters) on the dry (land); I will pour My Spirit on thy seed, and My
blessing on thine offspring. 4. And they shall spring up in the midst
of the grass, like willows by the water-courses. 5. They shall say,
To Jehovah I (belong); and this shall call on the name of Jacob; and
this shall inscribe with his hand, To Jehovah, and with the name of
Israel shall entitle.
6. Thus saith Jehovah, King of Israel, and his Redeemer Jehovah of
hosts; I (am) first, and I (am) last, and without Me there is no God.
7. And who, like Me, will call, and tell it, and state it to Me,
since I placed the ancient people; and coming things and things which
are to come will tell to them? 8. Quake not and fear not; have I not
let thee hear and told thee, and are ye not My witnesses? Is there a
God without Me? I know not (any). 9. The image-carvers all of them
are vanity, and their desired ones are worthless; and their witnesses
themselves will not see and will not know, that they may be ashamed.
10. Who formed the god and cast the image to no use? 11. Lo, all his
fellows shall be ashamed, and the workmen themselves are of men; they
shall assemble all of them, they shall stand, they shall tremble,
they shall be ashamed together. 12. He has carved (iron) with a
graver, and has wrought (it) in the coals, and with his hammer he
will shape it. Besides, he is hungry and has no strength, he has not
drunk water and is faint. 13. He has carved wood, he has stretched a
line, he will mark it with the awl, he will form it with the chisel,
and with the compass he will mark it, and then he will make it after
the model of a man, like the beauty of mankind, to dwell in a house.
14. To hew him down cedars, and (now) he has taken a cypress and an
oak--and has raised it for himself among the trees of the forest--he
has planted a pine, and the rain shall increase (it). 15. And it
shall be to man for fuel, and he has taken of them and warmed
himself; yea, he will kindle and bake bread; yea, he will form a god
and fall prostrate; he has made it a graven image and bowed down to
them. 16. Half of it he hath burned in the fire; on half of it he
will eat flesh, he will roast and be filled; yea, he will warm
himself and say, Aha, I am warm, I have seen fire. 17. And the rest
of it he has made into a god, into his graven image; he will bow down
to it, and will worship, and will pray to it, and say, Deliver me,
for thou (art) my god. 18. They have not known, and they will not
understand, for He hath smeared their eyes from seeing, their hearts
from doing wisely. 19. And he will not bring it home to himself, and
there (is) not knowledge, and (there is) not understanding to say,
Half of it I have burned in the fire, and have also baked bread on
its coals; I will roast flesh and eat, and the rest of it I will make
to (be) an abomination; to a log of wood I will cast myself down.
20. Feeding on ashes, (his) heart is deceived; it has led him astray,
and he cannot deliver himself; and he will not say, Is there not a
lie in my right hand?
21. Remember these (things), Jacob and Israel, for thou art My
servant; I have formed thee, a servant unto Me art thou; Israel, thou
shalt not be forgotten by Me. 22. I have blotted out, like a cloud,
thy transgressions, and like a vapour, thy sins; return to Me, for I
have redeemed thee. 23. Sing, O heavens, for Jehovah hath done (it);
shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth, ye mountains,
Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and in Israel He will glorify Himself.
24. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and thy Former from the womb,
I, Jehovah, making all, stretching the heavens alone, spreading the
earth by Myself.
25. Breaking the signs of babblers, and diviners He will madden;
turning sages back, and their knowledge He will stultify;
26. confirming the word of His servant, and the counsel of His
messengers He will fulfil; the (One) saying as to Jerusalem, She
shall be inhabited, and as the cities of Judah, They shall be built,
and the ruins will I raise; 27. the (One) saying to the deep, Be dry,
and I will dry up thy floods; 28. the (One) saying as to Cyrus, My
shepherd, and all My pleasure he will fulfil, and saying to
Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and (to) the temple, Thou shalt be
founded.
XLV.--[The chapter opens, in direct continuation of the forty-fourth,
with a further prophecy of Cyrus and of his successors, vers. 1-3.
These are then referred to the power of God and His design of mercy
towards His people, so that all misgivings or distrust must be
irrational and impious, vers. 4-13. Then leaving Cyrus out of view,
the prophet turns his eyes to the nations, and declares that they
must be subdued, but only in order to be blessed and saved, which is
declared to have been the Divine purpose, and revealed as such from
the beginning, vers 14-25.]
1. Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I
have held fast, to tread down before him nations, and the loins of
kings I will loose; to open before him double doors, and gates shall
not be shut. 2. I will go before thee, and uneven places will I
level; doors of brass I will break, and bars of iron I will cut.
3. And I will give thee treasures of darkness and hidden riches of
secret places, in order that thou mayest know that I Jehovah, the
(One) calling thee by name, am the God of Israel.
4. For the sake of My servant Jacob and Israel My chosen, therefore
will I call thee by thy name: I will give thee a title, and thou hast
not known Me. 5. I am Jehovah, and there is no other; except Me there
is no God; I will gird thee, and thou hast not known Me; 6. that they
may know, from the rising of the sun to the west, that there is none
without Me; I am Jehovah, and there is no other. 7. Forming light and
creating darkness, making peace and creating evil, I (am) Jehovah
doing all these things. 8. Distil, ye heavens, from above, and let
the clouds pour out righteousness; let the earth open, and let
salvation and righteousness grow, let him bring (them) forth
together. I Jehovah have created it. 9. Woe to him striving with his
Maker--a potsherd with potsherds of the earth. Shall clay say to its
former, What art thou doing? and thy work, He has no hands? 10. Woe
to him saying to a father, What wilt thou beget? and to a mother,
What wilt thou bring forth? 11. Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of
Israel and his Maker, Ask Me (of) the things to come; concerning My
sins and concerning the work of My hands, ye may command Me. 12. I
make the earth, and man upon it I created; I, My hands, spread the
heavens, and all their host commanded. 13. I, and no other, raised
him up in righteousness, and all his ways will I make straight; (it
is) he (that) shall build My city, and My captivity he will send
(home), not for reward, and not for hire, saith Jehovah of hosts.
14. Thus saith Jehovah, The toil of Egypt, and the gain of Cush, and
the Sebaim men of measure unto thee shall pass, and to thee shall
they belong, after thee shall they go, in chains shall they pass
over; and unto thee shall they bow themselves, to thee shall they
pray, saying, Only in thee (is) God, and there is none besides, no
(other) God. 15. Verily Thou art a God hiding Thyself, O God of
Israel, the Saviour! 16. They are ashamed and also confounded all of
them together, they are gone away in confusion--the carvers of
images. 17. Israel is saved in Jehovah (with) an everlasting
salvation; ye shall not be ashamed, and ye shall not be confounded
for ever. 18. For thus saith Jehovah, the Creator of the heavens--He
is God--the Former of the earth and its Maker--He established it--not
to be empty did He create it--to be inhabited He formed it--I am
Jehovah, and there is none besides. 19. Not in secret have I spoken,
in a dark place of the earth; I have not said to the seed of Jacob,
In vain seek ye Me. I (am) Jehovah, speaking truth, declaring right
things. 20. Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, ye
escaped of the nations. They know not, those carrying the wood, their
graven image, and praying to a god (who) cannot save. 21. Bring
forward and bring near! Yea, let them consult together. Who hath
caused this to be heard of old, since thou declared it! Have not I
Jehovah? and there is no other God besides Me; a righteous and a
saving God, there is none besides Me. 22. Turn unto Me and be ye
saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none
besides. 23. By Myself I have sworn; the word is gone out of a mouth
of righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me shall bow every
knee, shall swear every tongue. 24. Only in Jehovah have I, says he,
righteousness and strength; unto Him shall he come, and all that were
incensed at Him shall be ashamed. 25. In Jehovah shall be justified
and boast themselves all the seed of Israel.
XLVI.--[In conformation of the general threats and promises with
which chap. xlv. is wound up, the prophet now exhibits the particular
case of the Babylonian idols, as a single instance chosen from the
whole range of past and future history. They are described as fallen
and gone away into captivity, wholly unable to protect their
worshippers or save themselves, vers. 1, 2. With these he then
contrasts Jehovah's constant care of Israel in times past and in time
to come, vers. 3, 4. The contrast is carried out by another
description of the origin and impotence of idols, vers. 5-7, and
another assertion of Jehovah's sole Divinity, as proved by His
knowledge and control of the future, and by the raising up of Cyrus
in particular, vers. 8-11. This brings him back to the same solemn
warning of approaching judgments, and the same alternative of life
and death, with which the foregoing chapter closes, vers. 12, 13.]
1. Bel is bowed down, Nebo stooping; their images are (consigned) to
the beasts and to the cattle. Your burdens are packed up (as) a load
to the weary (beast). 2. They stoop, they bow together; they cannot
save the load; themselves are gone into captivity.
3. Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the
house of Israel, those borne from the belly, those carried from the
womb. 4. And to old age I am He, and to grey hair I will bear (you);
I have done it, and I will carry and I will bear and save (you).
5. To whom will ye liken Me, and equal and compare Me, that we may be
like? 6. The prodigals will weigh gold from the bag, and silver with
the rod; they will hire a gilder, and he will make it a god: they
will bow down, yea, they will fall prostrate. 7. They will lift him
on the shoulder, they will carry him, they will set him in his place,
and he will stand (there); from his place he will not move; yea, one
will cry to him, and he will not answer, from his distress he will
not save him.
8. Remember this, and show yourselves men; bring it home, ye
apostates, (to) your mind. 9. Remember former things of old, for I am
the Mighty, and there is no other God, and there is none like Me,
10. declaring from the first the last, and from ancient time the
things which are not (yet) done, saying, My counsel shall stand and
all My pleasure I will do. 11. Calling from the east a bird of prey,
from a land of distance the man of His counsel; I have both said and
will also bring it to pass, I have formed (the plan) and will also do
it.
12. Hearken to Me, ye stout of heart, those far from righteousness.
13. I have brought near My righteousness, it shall not be far off;
and My salvation, it shall not tarry; and I will place in Zion My
salvation, to Israel My glory.
XLVII.--[Having exemplified his general doctrine, as to God's ability
and purpose to do justice both to friends and foes, by exhibiting the
downfall of the Babylonian idols, Isaiah now attains the same end by
predicting the downfall of Babylon itself, and of the state to which
it gave its name. Under the figure of a royal virgin, she is
threatened with extreme degradation and exposure, vers 1-3.
Connecting this event with Israel and Israel's God, as the great
themes which it was intended to illustrate, he predicts the fall of
the empire more distinctly, ver. 5, and assigns as a reason the
oppression of God's people, ver. 6, pride and self-confidence, ver.
7-9, especially reliance upon human wisdom and upon superstitious
arts, all which would prove entirely insufficient to prevent the
great catastrophe, vers. 10-15.]
1. Come down! Sit on the dust, virgin daughter of Babel! There is no
throne, daughter of Chasdim! For thou shalt not continue to be called
tender and delicate. 2. Take millstones and grind meal! Remove thy
veil, lift up thy skirt, uncover the leg, cross streams! 3. Let thy
nakedness be uncovered, likewise let thy shame be seen. I will take
vengeance; I shall encounter no man.
4. Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts (is) His name, the Holy One of
Israel.
5. Sit in silence and go into darkness, daughter of Chasdim! For thou
shalt not continue to be called mistress of kingdoms. 6. I was wroth
against My people; I profaned My heritage; and I gave them into thy
hand. Thou didst not show them mercy; on the ancient thou didst
aggravate thy yoke exceedingly; 7. and thou saidst, For ever I shall
be a mistress (of kingdoms); until (at last) thou didst not lay these
things to heart, thou didst not remember the end of it. 8. And now,
hear this, thou voluptuous one, the (one) sitting in security, the
(one) saying in her heart, I (am) and none besides; I shall not sit
(as) a widow, and I shall not know the loss of children; 9. and they
shall come to thee,--these two suddenly, loss of children and
widowhood in the midst of the multitude of thy enchantments, in the
midst of the multitude of thy spells. 10. And (yet) thou art secure
in thy wickedness; thou hast said, there is no one seeing me. Thy
wisdom and thy knowledge, it has seduced thee; and thou hast said in
thy heart, I am, and there is no other. 11. And so there cometh upon
thee evil,--thou shalt not know how to charm it away; and there shall
fall upon thee ruin,--thou shalt not be able to avert it; and there
shall come upon thee suddenly a crash,--thou shalt not know (it).
12. Persist now in thy spells and in the abundance of thy charms, in
which thou hast wearied thyself; perhaps thou wilt be able to
succeed, perhaps thou wilt grow strong. 13. Thou art wearied in the
multitude of thy counsel. Now let them stand and save thee, the
dividers of the heavens, the star-gazers, making known at the
new-moon what shall come upon thee. 14. Behold, they are like
stubble, fire has burned them; they cannot deliver themselves from
the hand of the flame; (this fire) is not a coal (at which) to warm
one's self; a fire to sit before. 15. Thus are they to thee; and so
are (even) thy traders: each to his own quarter, straight before him,
they wander; there is no one saving thee.
XLVIII.--[Although Israel is God's chosen and peculiar people, he is
in himself unworthy of the honour and unfaithful to the trust, vers.
1, 2. Former predictions had been uttered expressly to prevent his
ascribing the event to other gods, vers. 3-5. For the same reason new
predictions will be uttered now, of events which have never been
distinctly foretold, vers. 6-8. God's continued favour to His people
has no reference to merit upon their part, but is the fruit of His
own sovereign mercy, and intended to promote His own designs, vers.
9-11. He again asserts His own exclusive deity, as proved by the
creation of the world, by the prediction of events still future, and
especially by the raising up of Cyrus, as a promised instrument to
execute His purpose, vers 12-16. The sufferings of Israel are a fruit
of his own sin, but his prosperity and glory, of God's sovereign
grace, vers. 17-19. The book closes as it opened, with a promise of
deliverance from exile, accompanied in this case by a solemn
limitation of the promise to its proper objects, vers. 20-22.]
1. Here this, O house of Jacob, the man called by the name of Israel,
and from the waters of Judah they have come out; those swearing by
the name of Jehovah, and (who) of the God of Israel makes mention,
not in truth and not in righteousness. 2. Nor from the Holy City they
are called, and upon the God of Israel rely; Jehovah of hosts is His
name.
3. The former things since then I declared, and out of My mouth they
went forth, and I cause them to be heard; suddenly do I do (them),
and they come to pass. 4. Because I know that thou art hard, and an
iron sinew (is) thy neck, and thy forehead brass, 5. therefore I told
thee long ago; before it comes I have let thee hear (it), lest thou
say, My idol did them, my graven image and my molten image ordered
them.
6. Thou has heard the (prediction), see all of it accomplished. And
ye, will ye not predict (something)? I have made thee to hear new
things from now, and (things) kept (in reserve), which thou hast not
known. 7. Now they are created, and not of old; before this day thou
hast never heard them, lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew them.
8. Nay, thou didst not hear; nay, thou didst not know; likewise of
old thine ear was not opened; I knew thou wouldst act very
treacherously, and Apostate from the womb wast thou called.
9. For My name's sake I will defer My anger, and (for) My praise I
will restrain (it) towards thee, so as not to cut thee off.
10. Behold, I have melted thee, and not with silver; I have chosen
thee in the furnace of affliction. 11. For My own sake, for My own
sake, I will do (it)--for how is it profaned!--and My honour to
another will I not give.
12. Hearken unto Me, O Jacob, and Israel My called; I am He, I am the
First, also I the Last. 13. Also My hand founded the earth, and My
right hand spread the heavens; I call to them, and they will stand up
together. 14. Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among
them hath predicted these things? Jehovah loves him; He will do His
pleasure in Babylon, and His arm (shall be upon) the Chaldees. 15. I,
I have spoken; I have also called him; I have brought him (forth),
and he prospers in his way. 16. Draw near unto me! Hear this; not
from the beginning in secret have I spoken; from the time of its
being, I was there; and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and His
Spirit.
17. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am
Jehovah thy God, teaching thee to profit, making thee to tread in the
way thou shalt go. 18. Oh that thou hadst hearkened to My
commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy
righteousness as the waves of the sea; 19. then should have been like
the sand thy seed, and the offspring of thy bowels like (the
offspring of) its bowels; his name should not be cut off from before
Me.
20. Go forth from Babel! Flee ye from the Chaldeans! With the voice
of joy tell this, cause it to be heard, utter it even to the end of
the earth; say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed His servant Jacob. 21. And
they thirsted not in the desert (through which) He made them go;
water from a rock He made to flow for them; and He clave the rock,
and waters gushed out. 22. There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the
wicked.
XLIX.--[This chapter, like the whole division which it introduces,
has for its great theme the relation of the Church to the world, and
of Israel to the Gentiles. It opens with an exhibition of the Messiah
and His people, under one ideal person, as the great appointed
Teacher, Apostle, and Restorer of the apostate nations, vers. 1-9.
This is followed by a promise of Divine protection and of glorious
enlargement, attended by a joyous revelation in the state of the
whole world, vers. 10-16. The doubts and apprehensions of the Church
herself are twice recited under different forms, vers. 14, 24, and as
often met and silenced, first by repeated and still stronger promises
of God's unchanging love to His people and of their glorious
enlargement and success, vers. 15-23; then by an awful threatening of
destruction to their enemies and His, vers 25, 26.]
1. Hearken, ye Islands, unto Me, and attend, ye nations from afar.
Jehovah from the womb hath called Me, from the bowels of My mother He
hath mentioned My name. 2. And He hath rendered My mouth like a sharp
sword, and He rendered Me as a polished arrow, in His quiver He has
hid Me. 3. And He said to Me, Thou art My servant, Israel, in whom I
will be glorified. 4. And I said, In vain have I toiled, for
emptiness and vanity My strength have I consumed; but My right is
with Jehovah and My work with My God. 5. And now, saith Jehovah, who
formed Me from the womb for a servant to Himself, to restore Jacob to
Him, and (yet) Israel will not be gathered--and yet I shall be
honoured in the eyes of Jehovah, and My God has (already) been My
strength. 6. And He said, It is a light thing that Thou shouldst be
My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and the preserved of
Israel to restore; and I have given Thee for a light to the Gentiles,
to be My salvation even to the end of the earth. 7. Thus saith
Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One, to the heartily
despised, to the nation exciting abhorrence, to a servant of rulers,
Kings shall see it, and rise up, princes (shall see) and bow
themselves, for the sake of Jehovah who is faithful, the Holy One of
Israel who has chosen Thee. 8. Thus saith Jehovah, In a time of
favour I have heard Thee, and to a day of salvation have I helped
Thee; and I will keep Thee, and I will give Thee for a covenant to
the people, to raise up the earth, and to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages; 9. to say to those bound, Come forth, and to
(those) who are in darkness, Show yourselves.
On the ways they shall feed, and in all bare hills shall be their
pasture. 10. They shall not hunger and they shall not thirst, and
there shall not smite them mirage and sun; for He that hath mercy on
them shall guide them, and by springs of water shall He lead them.
11. And I will place all mountains for the way, and My roads shall be
high. 12. Behold, these from afar shall come, and behold these from
the north and from the sea, and these from the land of Sinim.
13. Shout, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, let the mountains burst
forth into a shout; because Jehovah has comforted His people, and on
His sufferers He will have mercy.