19 When it shall hail, H1258 coming down H3381 on the forest; H3293 and the city H5892 shall be low H8213 in a low place. H8218
She is empty, H950 and void, H4003 and waste: H1110 and the heart H3820 melteth, H4549 and the knees H1290 smite together, H6375 and much pain H2479 is in all loins, H4975 and the faces H6440 of them all gather H6908 blackness. H6289 Where is the dwelling H4583 of the lions, H738 and the feedingplace H4829 of the young lions, H3715 where the lion, H738 even the old lion, H3833 walked, H1980 and the lion's H738 whelp, H1482 and none made them afraid? H2729 The lion H738 did tear in pieces H2963 enough H1767 for his whelps, H1484 and strangled H2614 for his lionesses, H3833 and filled H4390 his holes H2356 with prey, H2964 and his dens H4585 with ravin. H2966 Behold, I am against thee, saith H5002 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 and I will burn H1197 her chariots H7393 in the smoke, H6227 and the sword H2719 shall devour H398 thy young lions: H3715 and I will cut off H3772 thy prey H2964 from the earth, H776 and the voice H6963 of thy messengers H4397 shall no more be heard. H8085
Behold, to morrow H4279 about this time H6256 I will cause it to rain H4305 a very H3966 grievous H3515 hail, H1259 such as hath not been H3644 in Egypt H4714 since H4480 the foundation H3117 H3245 thereof even until now. Send H7971 therefore now, and gather H5756 thy cattle, H4735 and all that thou hast in the field; H7704 for upon every man H120 and beast H929 which shall be found H4672 in the field, H7704 and shall not be brought H622 home, H1004 the hail H1259 shall come down H3381 upon them, and they shall die. H4191 He that feared H3373 the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 among the servants H5650 of Pharaoh H6547 made his servants H5650 and his cattle H4735 flee H5127 into the houses: H1004 And he that regarded H7760 H3820 not the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 left H5800 his servants H5650 and his cattle H4735 in the field. H7704 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Stretch forth H5186 thine hand H3027 toward heaven, H8064 that there may be hail H1259 in all the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 upon man, H120 and upon beast, H929 and upon every herb H6212 of the field, H7704 throughout the land H776 of Egypt. H4714 And Moses H4872 stretched forth H5186 his rod H4294 toward heaven: H8064 and the LORD H3068 sent H5414 thunder H6963 and hail, H1259 and the fire H784 ran along H1980 upon the ground; H776 and the LORD H3068 rained H4305 hail H1259 upon the land H776 of Egypt. H4714 So there was hail, H1259 and fire H784 H3947 mingled H8432 with the hail, H1259 very H3966 grievous, H3515 such as there was none H3808 like it in all the land H776 of Egypt H4714 since it became a nation. H1471 And the hail H1259 smote H5221 throughout all the land H776 of Egypt H4714 all that was in the field, H7704 both man H120 and beast; H929 and the hail H1259 smote H5221 every herb H6212 of the field, H7704 and brake H7665 every tree H6086 of the field. H7704 Only in the land H776 of Goshen, H1657 where the children H1121 of Israel H3478 were, was there no hail. H1259
Say H559 unto them which daub H2902 it with untempered H8602 morter, that it shall fall: H5307 there shall be an overflowing H7857 shower; H1653 and ye, H859 O great hailstones, H417 H68 shall fall; H5307 and a stormy H5591 wind H7307 shall rend H1234 it. Lo, when the wall H7023 is fallen, H5307 shall it not be said H559 unto you, Where is the daubing H2915 wherewith ye have daubed H2902 it? Therefore thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 I will even rend H1234 it with a stormy H5591 wind H7307 in my fury; H2534 and there shall be an overflowing H7857 shower H1653 in mine anger, H639 and great hailstones H417 H68 in my fury H2534 to consume H3617 it.
For I will rise up H6965 against them, saith H5002 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 and cut off H3772 from Babylon H894 the name, H8034 and remnant, H7605 and son, H5209 and nephew, H5220 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068 I will also make H7760 it a possession H4180 for the bittern, H7090 and pools H98 of water: H4325 and I will sweep H2894 it with the besom H4292 of destruction, H8045 saith H5002 the LORD H3068 of hosts. H6635
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 32
Commentary on Isaiah 32 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 32
Isa 32:1-20. Messiah's Kingdom; Desolations, to Be Succeeded by Lasting Peace, the Spirit Having Been Poured Out.
The times of purity and happiness which shall follow the defeat of the enemies of Jehovah's people (Isa 32:1-8). The period of wrath before that happy state (Isa 32:9-14). The assurance of the final prosperity of the Church is repeated (Isa 32:15-20).
1. king—not Hezekiah, who was already on the throne, whereas a future time is contemplated. If he be meant at all, it can only be as a type of Messiah the King, to whom alone the language is fully applicable (Ho 3:5; Zec 9:9; see on Isa 11:3-5). The kingdom shall be transferred from the world kings, who have exercised their power against God, instead of for God, to the rightful King of kings (Eze 21:27; Da 7:13, 14).
princes—subordinate; referring to all in authority under Christ in the coming kingdom on earth, for example, the apostles, &c. (Lu 22:30; 1Co 6:2; 2Ti 2:12; Re 2:26, 27; 3:21).
2. a man—rather, the man Christ [Lowth]; it is as "the Son of man" He is to reign, as it was as Son of man He suffered (Mt 26:64; Joh 5:27; 19:5). Not as Maurer explains, "every one of the princes shall be," &c.
rivers—as refreshing as water and the cool shade are to the heated traveller (Isa 35:6, 7; 41:18).
3. them that see—the seers or prophets.
them that hear—the people under instruction (Isa 35:5, 6).
4. rash—rather, "the hasty"; contrast "shall not make haste" (Isa 28:16); the reckless who will not take time to weigh religious truth aright. Or else, the well-instructed [Horsley].
stammers—those who speak confusedly on divine things (compare Ex 4:10-12; Jer 1:6; Mt 10:19, 20). Or, rather, those drunken scorners who in stammering style imitated Isaiah's warnings to mock them [Maurer] (Isa 28:7-11, 13, 14, 22; 29:20); in this view, translate, "speak uprightly" (agreeably to the divine law); not as English Version, referring to the distinctness of articulation, "plainly."
5. vile—rather, "fool" [Lowth]; that is, ungodly (Ps 14:1; 74:18).
liberal—rather, "noble-minded."
churl—rather, "fraudulent" [Gesenius].
bountiful—religiously. The atheistic churl, who envies the believer his hope "full of immortality," shall no longer be held as a patriot struggling for the emancipation of mankind from superstition [Horsley].
6. vile … villainy—rather, "the (irreligious) fool … (his) folly."
will speak—rather, "present"; for (so far is the "fool" from deserving the epithet "noble-minded") the fool "speaketh" folly and "worketh," &c.
hypocrisy—rather, "profligacy" [Horsley].
error—impiety, perverse arguments.
hungry—spiritually (Mt 5:6).
7. churl—"the fraudulent"; this verse refers to the last clause of Isa 32:5; as Isa 32:6 referred to its first clause.
speaketh right—pleadeth a just cause (Isa 29:21); spiritually, "the poor man's cause" is the divine doctrine, his rule of faith and practice.
8. liberal—rather, "noble-minded."
stand—shall be approved under the government of the righteous King.
9-20. Address to the women of Jerusalem who troubled themselves little about the political signs of the times, but lived a life of self-indulgence (Isa 3:16-23); the failure of food through the devastations of the enemy is here foretold, being what was most likely to affect them as mothers of families, heretofore accustomed to every luxury. Vitringa understands "women—daughters" as the cities and villages of Judea (Eze 16:1-63). See Am 6:1.
10. Many days and years—rather, "In little more than a year" [Maurer]; literally, "days upon a year" (so Isa 29:1).
vintage shall fail—through the arrival of the Assyrian invader. As the wheat harvest is omitted, Isaiah must look for the invasion in the summer or autumn of 714 B.C., when the wheat would have been secured already, and the later fruit "gathering," and vintage would be still in danger.
11. strip you—of your gay clothing. (See Isa 2:19, 21).
12. lament for … teats—rather, shall smite on their breasts in lamentation "for thy pleasant fields" (Na 2:7) [Maurer]. "Teats" in English Version is used for fertile lands, which, like breasts, nourish life. The transition from "ye" to "they" (Isa 32:11, 12) is frequent.
13. (Isa 5:6; 7:23).
houses of joy—pleasure-houses outside of Jerusalem, not Jerusalem itself, but other cities destroyed by Sennacherib in his march (Isa 7:20-25). However, the prophecy, in its full accomplishment, refers to the utter desolation of Judea and its capital by Rome, and subsequently, previous to the second coming of the King (Ps 118:26; Lu 13:35; 19:38); "the joyous city" is in this view, Jerusalem (Isa 22:2).
14. palaces—most applicable to Jerusalem (see on Isa 32:13).
multitude … left—the noisy din of the city, that is, the city with its noisy multitude shall lie forsaken [Maurer].
forts—rather, "Ophel" (that is, the mound), the term applied specially to the declivity on the east of Zion, surrounded with its own wall (2Ch 27:3; 33:14; 2Ki 5:24), and furnished with "towers" (or watchtowers), perhaps referred to here (Ne 3:26, 27).
for ever—limited by thee, "until," &c., Isa 32:15, for a long time.
15. This can only partially apply to the spiritual revival in Hezekiah's time; its full accomplishment belongs to the Christian dispensation, first at Pentecost (Joe 2:28; Ac 2:17), perfectly in coming times (Ps 104:30; Eze 36:26; 39:29; Zec 12:10), when the Spirit shall be poured on Israel, and through it on the Gentiles (Mic 5:7).
wilderness … fruitful field … forest—when Judea, so long waste, shall be populous and fruitful, and the land of the enemies of God shall be desolate. Or, "the field, now fruitful, shall be but as a barren forest in comparison with what it shall be then" (Isa 29:17). The barren shall become fruitful by regeneration; those already regenerate shall bring forth fruits in such abundance that their former life shall seem but as a wilderness where no fruits were.
16. judgment—justice.
wilderness—then reclaimed.
fruitful field—then become more fruitful (Isa 32:15); thus "wilderness" and "fruitful field" include the whole land of Judea.
17. work—the effect (Pr 14:34; Jas 3:18).
peace—internal and external.
18. sure … quiet—free from fear of invasion.
19. Literally, "But it shall hail with coming down of the forest, and in lowness shall the city (Nineveh) be brought low; that is, humbled." The "hail" is Jehovah's wrathful visitation (Isa 30:30; 28:2, 17). The "forest" is the Assyrian host, dense as the trees of a forest (Isa 10:18, 19, 33, 34; Zec 11:2).
20. While the enemy shall be brought "low," the Jews shall cultivate their land in undisturbed prosperity.
all waters—well-watered places (Isa 30:25). The Hebrew translation, "beside," ought rather to be translated, "upon" (Ec 11:1), where the meaning is, "Cast thy seed upon the waters when the river overflows its banks; the seed will sink into the mud and will spring up when the waters subside, and you will find it after many days in a rich harvest." Before sowing, they send oxen, &c., into the water to tread the ground for sowing. Castalio thinks there is an allusion to the Mosaic precept, not to plough with an ox and ass together, mystically implying that the Jew was to have no intercourse with Gentiles; the Gospel abolishes this distinction (Col 3:11); thus the sense here is, Blessed are ye that sow the gospel seed without distinction of race in the teachers or the taught. But there is no need of supposing that the ox and ass here are yoked together; they are probably "sent forth" separately, as in Isa 30:24.