5 As heat by the shade of a cloud, the noise of the men of pride has been made quiet by you; as heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the cruel ones has been stopped.
But the Lord says, Even the prisoners of the strong will be taken from him, and the cruel made to let go his goods: for I will take up your cause against your haters, and I will keep your children safe. And the flesh of your attackers will be taken by themselves for food; and they will take their blood for drink, as if it was sweet wine: and all men will see that I the Lord am your saviour, even he who takes up your cause, the Strong One of Jacob.
And will go out to put in error the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to get them together to the war, the number of whom is like the sands of the sea. And they went up over the face of the earth, and made a circle about the tents of the saints, and the well loved town: and fire came down out of heaven for their destruction.
And a great voice out of the house of God came to my ears, saying to the seven angels, Go, and let that which is in the seven vessels of the wrath of God come down on the earth. And the first went, and let what was in his vessel come down on the earth; and it became an evil poisoning wound on the men who had the mark of the beast, and who gave worship to his image. And the second let what was in his vessel come out into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea came to an end. And the third let what was in his vessel come out into the rivers and the fountains of water; and they became blood. And the voice of the angel of the waters came to my ears, saying, True and upright is your judging, O Holy One, who is and was from all time: For they made the blood of saints and prophets come out like a stream, and blood have you given them for drink; which is their right reward. And a voice came from the altar, saying, Even so, O Lord God, Ruler of all, true and full of righteousness is your judging. And the fourth let what was in his vessel come out on the sun; and power was given to it that men might be burned with fire. And men were burned with great heat: and they said evil things against the name of the God who has authority over these punishments; and they were not turned from their evil ways to give him glory. And the fifth let what was in his vessel come out on the high seat of the beast; and his kingdom was made dark; and they were biting their tongues for pain. And they said evil things against the God of heaven because of their pain and their wounds; and they were not turned from their evil works. And the sixth let what was in his vessel come out on the great river Euphrates; and it became dry, so that the way might be made ready for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, like frogs. For they are evil spirits, working signs; who go out even to the kings of all the earth, to get them together to the war of the great day of God, the Ruler of all. (See, I come as a thief. Happy is he who is watching and keeps his robes, so that he may not go unclothed, and his shame be seen.) And they got them together into the place which is named in Hebrew Armageddon. And the seventh let what was in his vessel come out on the air; and there came out a great voice from the house of God, from the high seat, saying, It is done. And there were flames and voices and thunders; and there was a great earth-shock so that never, from the time when men were on the earth, had there been so great an earth-shock, so full of power. And the great town was cut into three parts, and the towns of the nations came to destruction: and Babylon the great came into mind before God, to be given the cup of the wine of his wrath.
Then Jonah went out of the town, and took his seat on the east side of the town and made himself a roof of branches and took his seat under its shade till he saw what would become of the town. And the Lord God made a vine come up over Jonah to give him shade over his head. And Jonah was very glad because of the vine.
And the king will do his pleasure; he will put himself on high, lifting himself over every god, and saying things to be wondered at against the God of gods; and all will be well for him till the wrath is complete; for what has been purposed will be done. He will have no respect for the gods of his fathers or for the god desired by women; he will have no respect for any god: for he will put himself on high over all. But in place of this he will give honour to the god of armed places, and to a god of whom his fathers had no knowledge he will give honour with gold and silver and jewels and things to be desired. And he will make use of the people of a strange god to keep his strongest places; to those whom he takes note of he will give high honour: and he will make them rulers over the mass of the people, and will make division of the land for a price. And at the time of the end, the king of the south will make an attack on him: and the king of the north will come against him like a storm-wind, with war-carriages and horsemen and numbers of ships; and he will go through many lands like overflowing waters. And he will come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands will be overcome: but these will be kept from falling into his hands: Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon. And his hand will be stretched out on the countries: and the land of the south will not be safe from him. But he will have power over the stores of gold and silver, and over all the valued things of the south: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians will be at his steps. But he will be troubled by news from the east and from the north; and he will go out in great wrath, to send destruction on, and put an end to, great numbers. He will put the tents of his great house between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain: but he will come to his end with no helper.
This is what he said: The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom which will come on earth, different from all the kingdoms, and it will overcome all the earth, crushing it down and smashing it. And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will come to power; and after them another will come up: he will be different from the first ones and will put down three kings. And he will say words against the Most High, attempting to put an end to the saints of the Most High; and he will have the idea of changing times and law; and the saints will be given into his hands for a time and times and half a time. But the judge will be seated, and they will put an end to his authority, to overcome it and send complete destruction on it. And the kingdom and the authority and the power of the kingdoms under all the heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all powers will be his servants and do his pleasure.
Son of man, let your voice be loud in sorrow for the people of Egypt and send them down, even you and the daughters of the nations; I will send them down into the lowest parts of the earth, with those who go down into the underworld. Are you more beautiful than any? go down, and take your rest among those without circumcision, Among those who have been put to the sword: they will give a resting-place with them to all their people. The strong among the great ones will say to him from the underworld, Are you more beautiful than any? go down, you and your helpers, and take your rest among those without circumcision, and those who have been put to the sword. There is Asshur and all her army, round about her last resting-place: all of them put to death by the sword: Whose resting-places are in the inmost parts of the underworld, who were a cause of fear in the land of the living. There is Elam and all her people, round about her last resting-place: all of them put to death by the sword, who have gone down without circumcision into the lowest parts of the earth, who were a cause of fear in the land of the living, and are put to shame with those who go down to the underworld: They have made a bed for her among the dead, and all her people are round about her resting-place: all of them without circumcision, put to death with the sword; for they were a cause of fear in the land of the living, and are put to shame with those who go down to the underworld: they have been given a place among those who have been put to the sword. There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her people, round about her last resting-place: all of them without circumcision, put to death by the sword; for they were a cause of fear in the land of the living. And they have been put to rest with the fighting men who came to their end in days long past, who went down to the underworld with their instruments of war, placing their swords under their heads, and their body-covers are over their bones; for their strength was a cause of fear in the land of the living. But you will have your bed among those without circumcision, and will be put to rest with those who have been put to death with the sword. There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who have been given a resting-place with those who were put to the sword: they will be resting among those without circumcision, even with those who go down to the underworld. There are the chiefs of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, who have gone down with those who have been put to the sword: they are shamed on account of all the fear caused by their strength; they are resting there without circumcision, among those who have been put to the sword, and are put to shame with those who go down to the underworld. Pharaoh will see them and be comforted on account of all his people: even Pharaoh and all his army, put to death by the sword, says the Lord. For he put his fear in the land of the living: and he will be put to rest among those without circumcision, with those who have been put to death with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his people, says the Lord.
Even if Babylon was lifted up to heaven, even if she had the high places of her strength shut in with walls, still I would send against her those who will make her waste, says the Lord. There is the sound of a cry from Babylon, and of a great destruction from the land of the Chaldaeans: For the Lord is making Babylon waste, and putting an end to the great voice coming out of her; and her waves are thundering like great waters, their voice is sounding loud: For the waster has come on her, even on Babylon, and her men of war are taken, their bows are broken: for the Lord is a rewarding God, and he will certainly give payment. And I will make her chiefs and her wise men, her rulers and her captains and her men of war, overcome with wine; their sleep will be an eternal sleep without awaking, says the King; the Lord of armies is his name.
They will be crying out together like lions, their voices will be like the voices of young lions. When they are heated, I will make a feast for them, and overcome them with wine, so that they may become unconscious, sleeping an eternal sleep without awaking, says the Lord. I will make them go down to death like lambs, like he-goats together. How is Babylon taken! and the praise of all the earth surprised! how has Babylon become a cause of wonder among the nations! The sea has come up over Babylon; she is covered with the mass of its waves. Her towns have become a waste, a dry and unwatered land, where no man has his living-place and no son of man goes by.
Because you are glad, because you are lifted up with pride, you wasters of my heritage, because you are playing like a young cow put out to grass, and you make a noise like strong horses; Your mother will be put to shame; she who gave you birth will be looked down on: see, she will be the last of the nations, a waste place, a dry and unwatered land. Because of the wrath of the Lord no one will be living in it, and it will be quite unpeopled: everyone who goes by Babylon will be overcome with wonder, and make sounds of fear at all her punishments. Put your armies in position against Babylon on every side, all you bowmen; let loose your arrows at her, not keeping any back: for she has done evil against the Lord. Give a loud cry against her on every side; she has given herself up, her supports are overturned, her walls are broken down: for it is the payment taken by the Lord; give her payment; as she has done, so do to her.
O let the heavens be broken open and come down, so that the mountains may be shaking before you, As when fire puts the brushwood in flames, or as when water is boiling from the heat of the fire: to make your name feared by your haters, so that the nations may be shaking before you; While you do acts of power for which we are not looking, and which have not come to the ears of men in the past.
See, they may be moved to war, but not by my authority: all those who come together to make an attack on you, will be broken against you. See, I have made the iron-worker, blowing on the burning coals, and making the instrument of war by his work; and I have made the waster for destruction. No instrument of war which is formed against you will be of any use; and every tongue which says evil against you will be judged false. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness comes from me, says the Lord.
He is full of strength before the sun, and his branches go out over his garden. His roots are twisted round the stones, forcing their way in between them. If he is taken away from his place, then it will say, I have not seen you. Such is the joy of his way, and out of the dust another comes up to take his place.
They will not be in need of food or drink, or be troubled by the heat or the sun: for he who has mercy on them will be their guide, taking them by the springs of water.
And the Lord will send out the sound of his great voice, and they will see his arm stretched out, with the heat of his wrath, and the flame of a burning fire; with a cloud-burst, and storm, and a rain of ice. For through the voice of the Lord the Assyrian will be broken, and the Lord's rod will be lifted up against him. And every blow of the rod of his punishment, which the Lord will send on him, will be with the sound of music: and with the waving of his sword the Lord will make war against him. For a place of fire has long been ready; yes, it has been made ready for the king; he has made it deep and wide: it is massed with fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of fire, puts a light to it.
For this is what the Lord has said to me: I will be quiet, watching from my place; like the clear heat when the sun is shining, like a mist of dew in the heat of summer.
Ah! the voice of peoples, like the loud sounding of the seas, and the thundering of great nations rushing on like the bursting out of waters! But he will put a stop to them, and make them go in flight far away, driving them like the waste of the grain on the tops of the mountains before the wind, and like the circling dust before the storm. In the evening there is fear, and in the morning they are gone. This is the fate of those who take our goods, and the reward of those who violently take our property for themselves.
They all make answer and say to you, Have you become feeble like us? have you been made even as we are? Your pride has gone down into the underworld, and the noise of your instruments of music; the worms are under you, and your body is covered with them. How great is your fall from heaven, O shining one, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the earth, low among the dead bodies! For you said in your heart, I will go up to heaven, I will make my seat higher than the stars of God; I will take my place on the mountain of the meeting-place of the gods, in the inmost parts of the north. I will go higher than the clouds; I will be like the Most High. But you will come down to the underworld, even to its inmost parts. Those who see you will be looking on you with care, they will be in deep thought, saying, Is this the troubler of the earth, the shaker of kingdoms?
And I will send punishment on the world for its evil, and on the sinners for their wrongdoing; and I will put an end to all pride, and will make low the power of the cruel.
This very day he is stopping at Nob; he is shaking his hand against the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. See, the Lord, the Lord of armies, is cutting off his branches with a great noise, and his strong ones are falling and his high ones are coming down. And he is cutting down the thick places of the wood with an axe, and Lebanon with its tall trees is coming down.
For he says, Are not all my captains kings? Will not the fate of Calno be like that of Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? As my hand has come on the kingdoms of the images, whose pictured images were more in number than those of Jerusalem and Samaria; So, as I have done to Samaria and her images, I will do to Jerusalem and her images. For this cause it will be that, when the purpose of the Lord against Mount Zion and Jerusalem is complete, I will send punishment on the pride of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of his uplifted eyes. For he has said, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my knowledge, for I am wise: and I have taken away the limits of the peoples' lands, and the stores of their wealth have become mine; and I have made towns low in the dust, sending destruction on those living in them; And I have put my hands on the wealth of the peoples, as on the place where a bird has put her eggs; and as a man may take the eggs from which a bird has gone, so I have taken all the earth for myself: and not a wing was moved, and not a mouth gave out a sound. Will the axe say high-sounding words against him who is using it, or the blade be full of pride against him who is cutting with it? As if a rod had the power of shaking him who is using it, or as if a stick might take up him who is not wood.
A cloud was stretched over them for a cover; and he sent fire to give light in the night.
Why may the nations say, Where is their God? Let payment for the blood of your servants be made openly among the nations before our eyes. Let the cry of the prisoner come before you; with your strong arm make free the children of death; And give punishment seven times over into the breast of our neighbours for the bitter words which they have said against you, O Lord.
Go up and see the unending destruction; all the evil which your haters have done in the holy place; Sending out their voices like lions among your worshippers; they have put up their signs to be seen. They are cutting down, like a man whose blade is lifted up against the thick trees. Your doors are broken down with hammers and iron blades. They have put on fire your holy place; they have made the place of your name unclean, pulling it down to the earth. They have said in their hearts, Let us put an end to them all together; they have given over to the fire all God's places of worship in the land. We do not see our signs: there is no longer any prophet, or anyone among us to say how long. O God, how long will those who are against us say cruel things? will the hater go on looking down on your name for ever? Why are you keeping back your hand, and covering your right hand in your robe? For from the past God is my King, working salvation in the earth. The sea was parted in two by your strength; the heads of the great sea-beasts were broken. The heads of the great snake were crushed by you; you gave them as food to the fishes of the sea. You made valleys for fountains and springs; you made the ever-flowing rivers dry. The day is yours and the night is yours: you made the light and the sun. By you all the limits of the earth were fixed; you have made summer and winter. Keep this in mind, O Lord, that your haters have said cruel things, and that your name has been looked down on by a people of evil behaviour. O give not the soul of your dove to the hawk; let not the life of the poor go out of your memory for ever. Keep in mind your undertaking; for the dark places of the earth are full of pride and cruel acts. O let not the crushed be turned back in shame; let the low man and the poor give praise to your name. Up! O God, be the judge of your cause; keep in mind the bitter things which the man of evil behaviour says against you every day. Keep in mind the voice of your haters; the outcry of those who come against you goes up every day.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 25
Commentary on Isaiah 25 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Fourfold Melodious Echo - Isaiah 25-26
A. First Echo - Isaiah 25:1-8
Salvation of the Nations after the Fall of the Imperial City
There is not merely reflected glory, but reflected sound as well. The melodious echoes commence with Isaiah 25:1. The prophet, transported to the end of the days, commemorates what he has seen in psalms and songs. These psalms and songs not only repeat what has already been predicted; but, sinking into it, and drawing out of it, they partly expand it themselves, and partly prepare the way for its further extension.
The first echo is Isaiah 25:1-8, or more precisely Isaiah 25:1-5. The prophet, whom we already know as a psalmist from Isaiah 12:1-6, now acts as choral leader of the church of the future, and praises Jehovah for having destroyed the mighty imperial city, and proved Himself a defence and shield against its tyranny towards His oppressed church. “Jehovah, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will praise Thy name, that Thou hast wrought wonders, counsels from afar, sincerity, truth. For Thou hast turned it from a city into a heap of stones, the steep castle into a ruin; the palace of the barbarians from being a city, to be rebuilt no more for ever. Therefore a wild people will honour Thee, cities of violent nations fear Thee. For Thou provedst Thyself a stronghold to the lowly, a stronghold to the poor in his distress, as a shelter from the storm of rain, as a shadow from the burning of the sun; for the blast of violent ones was like a storm of rain against a wall. Like the burning of the sun in a parched land, Thou subduest the noise of the barbarians; ( like ) the burning of the sun through the shadow of a cloud, the triumphal song of violent ones was brought low.” The introductory clause is to be understood as in Psalms 118:28 : Jehovah ( voc. ), my God art Thou. “ Thou hast wrought wonders: ” this is taken from Exodus 15:11 (as in Psalms 77:15; Psalms 78:12; like Isaiah 12:2, from Exodus 15:2). The wonders which are now actually wrought are “ counsels from afar ” ( m ērâcōk ), counsels already adopted afar off, i.e., long before, thoughts of God belonging to the olden time; the same ideal view as in Isaiah 22:11; Isaiah 37:26 (a parallel which coincides with our passage on every side), and, in fact, throughout the whole of the second part. It is the manifold “counsel” of the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 5:19; Isaiah 14:24-27; Isaiah 19:12, Isaiah 19:17; Isaiah 23:8; Isaiah 28:29) which displays its wonders in the events of time. To the verb עשׂית we have also a second and third object, viz., אמן אמוּנה . It is a common custom with Isaiah to place derivatives of the same word side by side, for the purpose of giving the greatest possible emphasis to the idea (Isaiah 3:1; Isaiah 16:6). אמוּנה indicates a quality, אמן in actual fact. What He has executed is the realization of His faithfulness, and the reality of His promises. The imperial city is destroyed. Jehovah, as the first clause which is defined by tzakeph affirms, has removed it away from the nature of a city into the condition of a heap of stones. The sentence has its object within itself, and merely gives prominence to the change that has been effected; the Lamed is used in the same sense as in Isaiah 23:13 (cf., Isaiah 37:26); the min , as in Isaiah 7:8; Isaiah 17:1; Isaiah 23:1; Isaiah 24:10. Mappēlâh , with kametz or tzere before the tone, is a word that can only be accredited from the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 17:1; Isaiah 23:13). עיר , קריה , and אמרון are common parallel words in Isaiah (Isaiah 1:26; Isaiah 22:2; Isaiah 32:13-14); and zârim , as in Isaiah 1:7 and Isaiah 29:5, is the most general epithet for the enemies of the people of God. The fall of the imperial kingdom is followed by the conversion of the heathen; the songs proceed from the mouths of the remotest nations. Isaiah 25:3 runs parallel with Revelation 15:3-4. Nations hitherto rude and passionate now submit to Jehovah with decorous reverence, and those that were previously oppressive ( ‛arı̄tzim , as in Isaiah 13:11, in form like pârı̄tzim , shâlı̄shı̄m ) with humble fear. The cause of this conversion of the heathen is the one thus briefly indicated in the Apocalypse, “for thy judgments are made manifest” (Revelation 15:4). דּל and אביון (cf., Isaiah 14:30; Isaiah 29:19) are names well known from the Psalms, as applying to the church when oppressed. To this church, in the distress which she had endured ( לו בּצּר , as in Isaiah 26:16; Isaiah 63:9, cf., Isaiah 33:2), Jehovah had proved Himself a strong castle ( m â'ōz ; on the expression, compare Isaiah 30:3), a shelter from storm and a shade from heat (for the figures, compare Isaiah 4:6; Isaiah 32:2; Isaiah 16:3), so that the blast of the tyrants (compare ruach on Isaiah 30:28; Isaiah 33:11, Ps. 76:13) was like a wall-storm, i.e., a storm striking against a wall (compare Isaiah 9:3, a shoulder-stick, i.e., a stick which strikes the shoulder), sounding against it and bursting upon it without being able to wash it away (Isaiah 28:17; Psalms 62:4), because it was the wall of a strong castle, and this strong castle was Jehovah Himself. As Jehovah can suddenly subdue the heat of the sun in dryness ( tzâyōn , abstract for concrete, as in Isaiah 32:2, equivalent to dry land, Isaiah 41:18), and it must give way when He brings up a shady thicket (Jeremiah 4:29), namely of clouds (Exodus 19:9; Psalms 18:12), so did He suddenly subdue the thundering ( shâ'on , as in Isaiah 17:12) of the hordes that stormed against His people; and the song of triumph ( zâmı̄r , only met with again in Song of Solomon 2:12) of the tyrants, which passed over the world like a scorching heat, was soon “brought low” ( ‛ânâh , in its neuter radical signification “to bend,” related to כּנע , as in Isaiah 31:4).
Thus the first hymnic echo dies away; and the eschatological prophecy, coming back to Isaiah 24:23, but with deeper prayerlike penetration, proceeds thus in Isaiah 25:6 : “And Jehovah of hosts prepares for all nations upon this mountain a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things rich in marrow, of wines on the lees thoroughly strained.” “ This mountain ” is Zion, the seat of God's presence, and the place of His church's worship. The feast is therefore a spiritual one. The figure is taken, as in Psalms 22:27., from the sacrificial meals connected with the shelâmim (the peace-offerings). Sh e mârim m e zukkâkim are wines which have been left to stand upon their lees after the first fermentation is over, which have thus thoroughly fermented, and have been kept a long time (from shâmar , to keep, spec . to allow to ferment), and which are then filtered before drinking (Gr. οἶνος σακκίας , i.e., διΰλισμένος or διηθικὸς , from διηθεῖν , percolare ), hence wine both strong and clear. Memuchâyı̄m might mean emedullatae (“with the marrow taken out;” compare, perhaps, Proverbs 31:3), but this could only apply to the bones, not to the fat meat itself; the meaning is therefore “mixed with marrow,” made marrowy, m edullosae . The thing symbolized in this way is the full enjoyment of blessedness in the perfected kingdom of God. The heathen are not only humbled so that they submit to Jehovah, but they also take part in the blessedness of His church, and are abundantly satisfied with the good things of His house, and made to drink of pleasure as from a river (Psalms 36:9). The ring of the v. is inimitably pictorial. It is like joyful music to the heavenly feast. The more flexible form ממחיים (from the original, ממחי = ממחה ) is intentionally chosen in the place of ממּסהי ם . It is as if we heard stringed instruments played with the most rapid movement of the bow.
Although the feast is one earth, it is on an earth which has been transformed into heaven; for the party-wall between God and the world has fallen down: death is no more, and all tears are for ever wiped away. “And He casts away upon this mountain the veil that veiled over all peoples, and the covering that covered over all nations. He puts away death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah wipes the tear from every face; and He removes the shame of His people from the whole earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it.” What Jehovah bestows is followed by what He puts away. The “veil” and “covering” ( m assēcâh , from nâsac = m âsâc , Isaiah 22:8, from sâcac , to weave, twist, and twist over = to cover) are not symbols of mourning and affliction, but of spiritual blindness, like the “veil” upon the heart of Israel mentioned in 2 Corinthians 3:15. The p e nē hallōt (cf., Job 41:5) is the upper side of the veil, the side turned towards you, by which Jehovah takes hold of the veil to lift it up. The second hallōt stands for הלּט (Ges. §71, Anm. 1), and is written in this form, according to Isaiah's peculiar style (vid., Isaiah 4:6; Isaiah 7:11; Isaiah 8:6; Isaiah 22:13), merely for the sake of the sound, like the obscurer niphal forms in Isaiah 24:3. The only difference between the two nouns is this: in lōt the leading idea is that of the completeness of the covering, and in m assēcâh that of its thickness. The removing of the veil, as well as of death, is called בּלּע , which we find applied to God in other passages, viz., Isaiah 19:3; Psalms 21:10; Psalms 55:10. Swallowing up is used elsewhere as equivalent to making a thing disappear, by taking it into one's self; but here, as in many other instances, the notion of receiving into one's self is dropped, and nothing remains but the idea of taking away, unless, indeed, abolishing of death may perhaps be regarded as taking it back into what hell shows to be the eternal principle of wrath out of which God called it forth. God will abolish death, so that there shall be no trace left of its former sway. Paul gives a free rendering of this passage in 1 Corinthians 15:54, κατεπόθη ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος (after the Aramaean n e tzach , vincere ). The Syriac combines both ideas, that of the Targum and that of Paul: absorpta est mors per victoriam in sempiternum . But the abolition of death is not in itself the perfection of blessedness. There are sufferings which force out a sigh, even after death has come as a deliverance. But all these sufferings, whose ultimate ground is sin, Jehovah sweeps away. There is something very significant in the use of the expression דּמעה (a tear), which the Apocalypse renders πᾶν δάκρυον (Revelation 21:4). Wherever there is a tear on any face whatever, Jehovah wipes it away; and if Jehovah wipes away, this must be done most thoroughly: He removes the cause with the outward symptom, the sin as well as the tear. It is self-evident that this applies to the church triumphant. The world has been judged, and what was salvable has been saved. There is therefore no more shame for the people of God. Over the whole earth there is no further place to be found for this; Jehovah has taken it away. The earth is therefore a holy dwelling-place for blessed men. The new Jerusalem is Jehovah's throne, but the whole earth is Jehovah's glorious kingdom. The prophet is here looking from just the same point of view as Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:28, and John in the last page of the Apocalypse.
After this prophetic section, which follows the first melodious echo like an interpolated recitative, the song of praise begins again; but it is soon deflected into the tone of prophecy. The shame of the people of God, mentioned in Isaiah 25:8, recals to mind the special enemies of the church in its immediate neighbourhood, who could not tyrannize over it indeed, like the empire of the world, but who nevertheless scoffed at it and persecuted it. The representative and emblem of these foes are the proud and boasting Moab (Isaiah 16:6; Jeremiah 48:29). All such attempts as that of Knobel to turn this into history are but so much lost trouble. Moab is a mystic name. It is the prediction of the humiliation of Moab in this spiritual sense, for which the second echo opens the way by celebrating Jehovah's appearing. Jehovah is now in His manifested presence the conqueror of death, the drier of tears, the saviour of the honour of His oppressed church. “And they say in that day, Behold our God, for whom we waited to help us: this is Jehovah, for whom we waited; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” The undefined but self-evident subject to v'âmar (“they say”) is the church of the last days. “Behold:” hinnēh and zeh belong to one another, as in Isaiah 21:9. The waiting may be understood as implying a retrospective glance at all the remote past, even as far back as Jacob's saying, “I wait for Thy salvation, O Jehovah” (Genesis 49:18). The appeal, “Let us be glad,” etc., has passed over into the grand hodu of Psalms 118:24.
In the land of promise there is rejoicing, but on the other side of the Jordan there is fear of ruin. Two contrasted pictures are placed here side by side. The Jordan is the same as the “great gulf” in the parable of the rich man. Upon Zion Jehovah descends in mercy, but upon the highlands of Moab in His wrath. “For the hand of Jehovah will sink down upon this mountain, and Moab is trodden down there where it is, as straw is trodden down in the water of the dung-pit. And he spreadeth out his hands in the pool therein, as the swimmer spreadeth them out to swim; but Jehovah forceth down the pride of Moab in spite of the artifices of his hands. Yea, thy steep, towering walls He bows down, forces under, and casts earthwards into dust.” Jehovah brings down His hand upon Zion ( nūach , as in Isaiah 7:2; Isaiah 11:1), not only to shelter, but also to avenge. Israel, that has been despised, He now makes glorious, and for contemptuous Moab He prepares a shameful end. In the place where it now is תּחתּיו , as in 2 Samuel 7:10; Habakkuk 3:16, “in its own place,” its own land) it is threshed down, stamped or trodden down, as straw is trodden down into a dung-pit to turn it into manure: hiddūsh , the inf. constr. , with the vowel sound u , possibly to distinguish it from the inf. absol. hiddosh (Ewald, §240, b ). Instead of בּמו (as in Isaiah 43:2), the chethib has בּמי (cf., Job 9:30); and this is probably the more correct reading, since m admēnâh , by itself, means the dunghill, and not the tank of dung water. At the same time, it is quite possible that b'mo is intended as a play upon the name Moab , just as the word m admēnâh may possibly have been chosen with a play upon the Moabitish Madmēn (Jeremiah 48:2). In Isaiah 25:11 Jehovah would be the subject, if b'kirbo (in the midst of it) referred back to Moab; but although the figure of Jehovah pressing down the pride of Moab, by spreading out His hands within it like a swimmer, might produce the impression of boldness and dignity in a different connection, yet here, where Moab has just been described as forced down into the manure-pit, the comparison of Jehovah to a swimmer would be a very offensive one. The swimmer is Moab itself, as Gesenius, Hitzig, Knobel, and in fact the majority of commentators suppose. “ In the midst of it: ” b'kirbo points back in a neuter sense to the place into which Moab had been violently plunged, and which was so little adapted for swimming. A man cannot swim in a manure pond; but Moab attempts it, though without success, for Jehovah presses down the pride of Moab in spite of its artifices עם , as in Nehemiah 5:18; ארבּות , written with dagesh (according to the majority of MSS, from ארבּה , like the Arabic urbe , irbe , cleverness, wit, sharpness), i.e., the skilful and cunning movement of its hands. Saad. gives it correctly, as m uchâtale , wiles and stratagems; Hitzig also renders it “machinations,” i.e., twistings and turnings, which Moab makes with its arms, for the purpose of keeping itself up in the water. What Isaiah 25:11 affirms in figure, Isaiah 25:12 illustrates without any figure. If the reading were מבצר ך חומות משׂגּב , the reference would be to Kir-Moab (Isaiah 15:1; Isaiah 16:7). But as the text stands, we are evidently to understand by it the strong and lofty walls of the cities of Moab in general.