5 Then hath Jehovah prepared Over every fixed place of Mount Zion, And over her convocations, A cloud by day, and smoke, And the shining of a flaming fire by night, That, over all honour a safe-guard,
And in the day of the raising up of the tabernacle hath the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the tent of the testimony; and in the evening there is on the tabernacle as an appearance of fire till morning; so it is continually; the cloud covereth it, also the appearance of fire by night. And according to the going up of the cloud from off the tent and afterwards do the sons of Israel journey; and in the place where the cloud doth tabernacle, there do the sons of Israel encamp; by the command of Jehovah the sons of Israel journey, and by the command of Jehovah they encamp; all the days that the cloud doth tabernacle over the tabernacle they encamp. And in the cloud prolonging itself over the tabernacle many days, then have the sons of Israel kept the charge of Jehovah, and journey not, and so when the cloud is a number of days over the tabernacle; by the command of Jehovah they encamp, and by the command of Jehovah they journey. And so when the cloud is from evening till morning, when the cloud hath gone up in the morning, then they have journeyed; whether by day or by night, when the cloud hath gone up, then they have journeyed. Whether two days, or a month, or days, in the cloud prolonging itself over the tabernacle, to tabernacle over it, the sons of Israel encamp, and journey not; and in its being lifted up they journey;
and Jehovah is going before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give light to them, to go by day and by night; He removeth not the pillar of the cloud by day, and the pillar of the fire by night, `from' before the people.
For thus said Jehovah unto me: `As growl doth the lion and the young lion over his prey, Called against whom is a multitude of shepherds, From their voice he is not affrighted, And from their noise he is not humbled; So come down doth Jehovah of Hosts To war on mount Zion, and on her height. As birds flying, so doth Jehovah of Hosts Cover over Jerusalem, covering and delivering, Passing over, and causing to escape.'
And I -- I am to her -- an affirmation of Jehovah, A wall of fire round about, And for honour I am in her midst. Ho, ho, and flee from the land of the north, An affirmation of Jehovah, For, as the four winds of the heavens, I have spread you abroad, An affirmation of Jehovah. Ho, Zion, be delivered who art dwelling `with' the daughter of Babylon. For thus said Jehovah of Hosts: After honour He hath sent me unto the nations who are spoiling you, For he who is coming against you, Is coming against the daughter of His eye. For lo, I am waving my hand against them, And they have been a spoil to their servants. And ye have known that Jehovah of Hosts hath sent me. Singe, and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, For lo, I am coming, and have dwelt in thy midst, An affirmation of Jehovah.
And the messenger of God, who is going before the camp of Israel, journeyeth and goeth at their rear; and the pillar of the cloud journeyeth from their front, and standeth at their rear, and cometh in between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and the cloud and the darkness are, and he enlighteneth the night, and the one hath not drawn near unto the other all the night.
And the cloud covereth the tent of meeting, and the honour of Jehovah hath filled the tabernacle; and Moses hath not been able to go in unto the tent of meeting, for the cloud hath tabernacled on it, and the honour of Jehovah hath filled the tabernacle. And in the going up of the cloud from off the tabernacle the sons of Israel journey in all their journeys; and if the cloud go not up then they journey not, until the day of its going up: for the cloud of Jehovah `is' on the tabernacle by day, and fire is in it by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel in all their journeys.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 4
Commentary on Isaiah 4 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 4
In this chapter we have,
Thus, in wrath, mercy is remembered, and gospel grace is a sovereign relief, in reference to the terrors of the law and the desolations made by sin.
Isa 4:1
It was threatened (ch. 3:25) that the mighty men should fall by the sword in war, and it was threatened as a punishment to the women that affected gaiety and a loose sort of conversation. Now here we have the effect and consequence of that great slaughter of men,
Isa 4:2-6
By the foregoing threatenings Jerusalem is brought into a very deplorable condition: every thing looks melancholy. But here the sun breaks out from behind the cloud. Many exceedingly great and precious promises we have in these verses, giving assurance of comfort which may be discerned through the troubles, and of happy days which shall come after them, and these certainly point at the kingdom of the Messiah, and the great redemption to be wrought out by him, under the figure and type of the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem by the reforming reign of Hezekiah after Ahaz and the return out of their captivity in Babylon; to both these events the passage may have some reference, but chiefly to Christ. It is here promised, as the issue of all these troubles,