15 Woe H1945 unto them that seek deep H6009 to hide H5641 their counsel H6098 from the LORD, H3068 and their works H4639 are in the dark, H4285 and they say, H559 Who seeth H7200 us? and who knoweth H3045 us?
He hath said H559 in his heart, H3820 God H410 hath forgotten: H7911 he hideth H5641 his face; H6440 he will never H5331 see H7200 it. Arise, H6965 O LORD; H3068 O God, H410 lift up H5375 thine hand: H3027 forget H7911 not the humble. H6035 H6041 Wherefore doth the wicked H7563 contemn H5006 God? H430 he hath said H559 in his heart, H3820 Thou wilt not require H1875 it.
In G1722 the mean time, G3739 when there were gathered together G1996 an innumerable multitude G3461 of people, G3793 insomuch that G5620 they trode G2662 one upon another, G240 he began G756 to say G3004 unto G4314 his G846 disciples G3101 first of all, G4412 Beware G4337 ye G1438 of G575 the leaven G2219 of the Pharisees, G5330 which G3748 is G2076 hypocrisy. G5272 For G1161 there is G2076 nothing G3762 covered, G4780 that G3739 shall G601 not G3756 be revealed; G601 neither G2532 hid, G2927 that G3739 shall G1097 not G3756 be known. G1097 Therefore G473 G3739 whatsoever G3745 ye have spoken G2036 in G1722 darkness G4653 shall be heard G191 in G1722 the light; G5457 and G2532 that which G3739 ye have spoken G2980 in G4314 the ear G3775 in G1722 closets G5009 shall be proclaimed G2784 upon G1909 the housetops. G1430
Woe H1945 unto them that draw H4900 iniquity H5771 with cords H2256 of vanity, H7723 and sin H2403 as it were with a cart H5699 rope: H5688 That say, H559 Let him make speed, H4116 and hasten H2363 his work, H4639 that we may see H7200 it: and let the counsel H6098 of the Holy One H6918 of Israel H3478 draw nigh H7126 and come, H935 that we may know H3045 it!
[[To the chief Musician, H5329 A Psalm H4210 of David.]] H1732 O LORD, H3068 thou hast searched H2713 me, and known H3045 me. Thou knowest H3045 my downsitting H3427 and mine uprising, H6965 thou understandest H995 my thought H7454 afar off. H7350 Thou compassest H2219 my path H734 and my lying down, H7252 and art acquainted H5532 with all my ways. H1870 For there is not a word H4405 in my tongue, H3956 but, lo, O LORD, H3068 thou knowest H3045 it altogether. Thou hast beset H6696 me behind H268 and before, H6924 and laid H7896 thine hand H3709 upon me. Such knowledge H1847 is too wonderful H6383 H6383 for me; it is high, H7682 I cannot H3201 attain unto it. Whither shall I go H3212 from thy spirit? H7307 or whither shall I flee H1272 from thy presence? H6440 If I ascend up H5266 into heaven, H8064 thou art there: if I make my bed H3331 in hell, H7585 behold, thou art there.
Yet they say, H559 The LORD H3050 shall not see, H7200 neither shall the God H430 of Jacob H3290 regard H995 it. Understand, H995 ye brutish H1197 among the people: H5971 and ye fools, H3684 when will ye be wise? H7919 He that planted H5193 the ear, H241 shall he not hear? H8085 he that formed H3335 the eye, H5869 shall he not see? H5027
They encourage H2388 themselves in an evil H7451 matter: H1697 they commune H5608 of laying H2934 snares H4170 privily; H2934 they say, H559 Who shall see H7200 them? They search out H2664 iniquities; H5766 they accomplish H8552 a diligent H2664 search: H2665 both the inward H7130 thought of every one H376 of them, and the heart, H3820 is deep. H6013
They are of those that rebel H4775 against the light; H216 they know H5234 not the ways H1870 thereof, nor abide H3427 in the paths H5410 thereof. The murderer H7523 rising H6965 with the light H216 killeth H6991 the poor H6041 and needy, H34 and in the night H3915 is as a thief. H1590 The eye H5869 also of the adulterer H5003 waiteth H8104 for the twilight, H5399 saying, H559 No eye H5869 shall see H7789 me: and disguiseth H5643 H7760 his face. H6440 In the dark H2822 they dig through H2864 houses, H1004 which they had marked H2856 for themselves in the daytime: H3119 they know H3045 not the light. H216 For the morning H1242 is to them even as H3162 the shadow of death: H6757 if one know H5234 them, they are in the terrors H1091 of the shadow of death. H6757
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 29
Commentary on Isaiah 29 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 29
Isa 29:1-24. Coming Invasion of Jerusalem: Its Failure: Unbelief of the Jews.
This chapter opens the series of prophecies as to the invasion of Judea under Sennacherib, and its deliverance.
1. Ariel—Jerusalem; Ariel means "Lion of God," that is, city rendered by God invincible: the lion is emblem of a mighty hero (2Sa 23:20). Otherwise "Hearth of God," that is, place where the altar-fire continually burns to God (Isa 31:9; Eze 43:15, 16).
add … year to year—ironically; suffer one year after another to glide on in the round of formal, heartless "sacrifices." Rather, "add yet another year" to the one just closed [Maurer]. Let a year elapse and a little more (Isa 32:10, Margin).
let … kill sacrifices—rather, "let the beasts (of another year) go round" [Maurer]; that is, after the completion of a year "I will distress Ariel."
2. Yet—rather, "Then."
heaviness … sorrow—rather, preserving the Hebrew paronomasia, "groaning" and "moaning."
as Ariel—either, "the city shall be as a lion of God," that is, it shall emerge from its dangers unvanquished; or "it shall be as the altar of burnt offering," consuming with fire the besiegers (Isa 29:6; Isa 30:30; 31:9; Le 10:2); or best, as Isa 29:3 continues the threat, and the promise of deliverance does not come till Isa 29:4, "it shall be like a hearth of burning," that is, a scene of devastation by fire [G. V. Smith]. The prophecy, probably, contemplates ultimately, besides the affliction and deliverance in Sennacherib's time, the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome, the dispersion of the Jews, their restoration, the destruction of the enemies that besiege the city (Zec 14:2), and the final glory of Israel (Isa 29:17-24).
3. I—Jehovah, acting through the Assyrian, &c., His instruments (Isa 10:5).
mount—an artificial mound formed to out-top high walls (Isa 37:33); else a station, namely, of warriors, for the siege.
round about—not fully realized under Sennacherib, but in the Roman siege (Lu 19:43; 21:20).
forts—siege-towers (De 20:20).
4. Jerusalem shall be as a captive, humbled to the dust. Her voice shall come from the earth as that of the spirit-charmers or necromancers (Isa 8:19), faint and shrill, as the voice of the dead was supposed to be. Ventriloquism was doubtless the trick caused to make the voice appear to come from the earth (Isa 19:3). An appropriate retribution that Jerusalem, which consulted necromancers, should be made like them!
5. Moreover—rather, "Yet"; yet in this extremity help shall come, and the enemy be scattered.
strangers—foreign enemies, invaders (Isa 25:2).
it shall be—namely, the destruction of the enemy.
at an instant—in a moment (Isa 30:23).
6. Thou—the Assyrian army.
thunder, &c.—not literally, in the case of the Assyrians (Isa 37:36); but figuratively for an awful judgment (Isa 30:30; 28:17). The ulterior fulfilment, in the case of the Jews' foes in the last days, may be more literal (see as to "earthquake," Zec 14:4).
7. munition—fortress.
8. Their disappointment in the very height of their confident expectation of taking Jerusalem shall be as great as that of the hungry man who in a dream fancies he eats, but awakes to hunger still (Ps 73:20); their dream shall be dissipated on the fatal morning (Isa 37:36).
soul—simply his appetite: he is still thirsty.
9. Stay—rather, "Be astounded"; expressing the stupid and amazed incredulity with which the Jews received Isaiah's announcement.
wonder—The second imperative, as often (Isa 8:9), is a threat; the first is a simple declaration of a fact, "Be astounded, since you choose to be so, at the prophecy, soon you will be amazed at the sight of the actual event" [Maurer].
cry … out … cry—rather, "Be ye blinded (since you choose to be so, though the light shines all round you), and soon ye shall be blinded" in good earnest to your sorrow [Maurer], (Isa 6:9, 10).
not with wine—but with spiritual paralysis (Isa 51:17, 21).
ye … they—The change from speaking to, to speaking of them, intimates that the prophet turns away from them to a greater distance, because of their stupid unbelief.
10. Jehovah gives them up judicially to their own hardness of heart (compare Zec 14:13). Quoted by Paul, with variations from the Septuagint, Ro 11:8. See Isa 6:10; Ps 69:23.
eyes; the prophets, &c.—rather, "hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads (Margin; see also Isa 3:2), the seers, He hath covered." The Orientals cover the head to sleep; thus "covered" is parallel to "closed your eyes" (Jud 4:19). Covering the face was also preparatory to execution (Es 7:8). This cannot apply to the time when Isaiah himself prophesied, but to subsequent times.
11. of all—rather, "the whole vision." "Vision" is the same here as "revelation," or "law"; in Isa 28:15, the same Hebrew word is translated, "covenant" [Maurer].
sealed—(Isa 8:16), God seals up the truth so that even the learned, because they lack believing docility, cannot discern it (Mt 13:10-17; 11:25). Prophecy remained comparatively a sealed volume (Da 12:4, 9), until Jesus, who "alone is worthy," "opened the seals" (Re 5:1-5, 9; 6:1).
12. The unlearned succeed no better than the learned, not from want of human learning, as they fancy, but from not having the teaching of God (Isa 54:13; Jer 31:34; Joh 6:45; 1Co 2:7-10; 1Jo 2:20).
13. precept of men—instead of the precepts of God, given by His prophets; also worship external, and by rule, not heartfelt as God requires (Joh 4:24). Compare Christ's quotation of this verse from the Septuagint.
14. (Hab 1:5; Ac 13:41). The "marvellous work" is one of unparalleled vengeance on the hypocrites: compare "strange work," Isa 28:21. The judgment, too, will visit the wise in that respect in which they most pride themselves; their wisdom shall be hid, that is, shall no longer appear, so as to help the nation in its distress (compare 1Co 1:19).
15. seek deep to hide—rather, "That seek to hide deeply," &c. (compare Isa 30:1, 2). The reference is to the secret plan which many of the Jewish nobles had of seeking Egyptian aid against Assyria, contrary to the advice of Isaiah. At the same time the hypocrite in general is described, who, under a plausible exterior, tries to hide his real character, not only from men, but even from God.
16. Rather, "Ah! your perverseness! just as if the potter should be esteemed as the clay!" [Maurer]. Or, "Ye invert (turn upside down) the order of things, putting yourselves instead of God," and vice versa, just as if the potter should be esteemed as the clay [Horsley], (Isa 45:9; 64:8).
17. turned—as contrasted with your "turnings of things upside down" (Isa 29:16), there shall be other and better turnings or revolutions; the outpouring of the Spirit in the latter days (Isa 32:15); first on the Jews; which shall be followed by their national restoration (see on Isa 29:2; Zec 12:10) then on the Gentiles (Joe 2:28).
fruitful field—literally, "a Carmel" (see on Isa 10:18). The moral change in the Jewish nation shall be as great as if the wooded Lebanon were to become a fruitful field, and vice versa. Compare Mt 11:12, Greek: "the kingdom of heaven forces itself," as it were, on man's acceptance; instead of men having to seek Messiah, as they had John, in a desert, He presents Himself before them with loving invitations; thus men's hearts, once a moral desert, are reclaimed so as to bear fruits of righteousness: vice versa, the ungodly who seemed prosperous, both in the moral and literal sense, shall be exhibited in their real barrenness.
18. deaf … blind—(Compare Mt 11:5). The spiritually blind, &c., are chiefly meant; "the book," as Revelation is called pre-eminently, shall be no longer "sealed," as is described (Isa 29:11), but the most unintelligent shall hear and see (Isa 35:5).
19. meek—rather, the afflicted godly: the idea is, virtuous suffering (Isa 61:1; Ps 25:9; 37:11) [Barnes].
poor among men—that is, the poorest of men, namely, the pious poor.
rejoice—when they see their oppressors punished (Isa 29:20, 21), and Jehovah exhibited as their protector and rewarder (Isa 29:22-24; Isa 41:17; Jas 2:5).
20. terrible—namely, the persecutors among the Jewish nobles.
scorner—(Isa 28:14, 22).
watch for—not only commit iniquity, but watch for opportunities of committing it, and make it their whole study (see Mic 2:1; Mt 26:59; 27:1).
21. Rather, "Who make a man guilty in his cause" [Gesenius], that is, unjustly condemn him. "A man" is in the Hebrew a poor man, upon whom such unjust condemnations might be practiced with more impunity than on the rich; compare Isa 29:19, "the meek … the poor."
him that reproveth—rather, "pleadeth"; one who has a suit at issue.
gate—the place of concourse in a city, where courts of justice were held (Ru 4:11; Pr 31:23; Am 5:10, 12).
just—one who has a just cause; or, Jesus Christ, "the Just One" [Horsley].
for a thing of naught—rather, "through falsehood," "by a decision that is null in justice" [Barnes]. Compare as to Christ, Pr 28:21; Mt 26:15; Ac 3:13, 14; 8:33.
22. Join "saith … concerning the house of Jacob."
redeemed—out of Ur, a land of idolaters (Jos 24:3).
not now—After the moral revolution described (Isa 29:17), the children of Jacob shall no longer give cause to their forefathers to blush for them.
wax pale—with shame and disappointment at the wicked degeneracy of his posterity, and fear as to their punishment.
23. But—rather, "For."
he—Jacob.
work of mine hands—spiritually, as well as physically (Isa 19:25; 60:21; Eph 2:10). By Jehovah's agency Israel shall be cleansed of its corruptions, and shall consist wholly of pious men (Isa 54:13, 14; 2:1; 60:21).
midst of him—that is, his land. Or else "His children" are the Gentiles adopted among the Israelites, his lineal descendants (Ro 9:26; Eph 3:6) [Horsley].
24. They … that erred—(Isa 28:7).
learn doctrine—rather, "shall receive discipline" or "instruction." "Murmuring" was the characteristic of Israel's rebellion against God (Ex 16:8; Ps 106:25). This shall be so no more. Chastisements, and, in Horsley's view, the piety of the Gentiles provoking the Jews to holy jealousy (Ro 11:11, 14), shall then produce the desired effect.