Commentary on Isaiah Part 7 (No. F023vii)

Introduction

This part continues the section that is termed the Apocalypse texts or chapters of Isaiah. It is in reality the culmination of the Messianic message of the first half of the Isaiah text and is a direct warning to the world of what is to occur in the last days at the return of the Messiah and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom of God under Messiah and then the establishment of the humans of the world as Elohim (No. 001) under the Plan of God (No. 001A).

Chapter 26

¹In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. ²Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in. ³Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee. ⁴Trust in the LORD for ever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. ⁵For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. ⁶The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy." ⁷The way of the righteous is level; thou dost make smooth the path of the righteous. ⁸In the path of thy judgments, O LORD, we wait for thee; thy memorial name is the desire of our soul. ⁹My soul yearns for thee in the night, my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee. For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. ¹⁰If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals perversely and does not see the majesty of the LORD. ¹¹O LORD, thy hand is lifted up, but they see it not. Let them see thy zeal for thy people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for thy adversaries consume them. ¹²O LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us, thou hast wrought for us all our works. ¹³O LORD our God, other lords besides thee have ruled over us, but thy name alone we acknowledge. ¹⁴They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end thou hast visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them. ¹⁵But thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified; thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land. ¹⁶O LORD, in distress they sought thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. ¹⁷Like a woman with child, who writhes and cries out in her pangs, when she is near her time, so were we because of thee, O LORD; ¹⁸we were with child, we writhed, we have as it were brought forth wind. We have wrought no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen. ¹⁹Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For thy dew is a dew of light, and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall. ²⁰Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the wrath is past. ²¹For behold, the LORD is coming forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her, and will no more cover her slain.

Intent of Chapter 26

26:1-6 Song of Victory of the Messianic Occupation (see 24:7-16a; 25:1-5). This is a processional psalm to be sung on entering Jerusalem (the strong city) at the return of the Messiah (v. 1 Comp. Ps. 24:7-10), celebrating God's victory (as salvation) over the enemies of Israel, as the righteous nation. These are the remnant of the holy seed of 6:9-13.

v. 5 Low ...height The proud are abased, the humble exalted (Ps. 147:6; Lk. 1:52). Babylon is crushed.

26:7-19 Apocalyptic Psalm

v. 7 God's help for the righteous (Ps. 9:19; 18:25-27; 34:21-22).

v. 8 Comp. Rev. 22:4, 6-20. The desire of the elect is for the memorial name of God and the return of the Messiah.

26:10-11 The wicked do not learn righteousness in an upright land. God is here entreated to let their own evil deeds consume them.

v. 12 God has ordained peace for the elect and ordained their works.

The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143)

vv. 13-14 “... denies the resurrection to the Rephaim or Nephilim. The word Rephaim was interpreted as deceased or dead.

They are not listed in the memory of God. They are not part of the Resurrection. It is quite clear they shall not rise.

The word for deceased here is Rephaim (related to and associated with Nephilim, the offspring of the fallen sons of God) and The Companion Bible states that it is a proper name and should not be translated. The Rephaim refers to the other lords of verse 13. Where it is translated, it is always rendered giants or dead (Job 26:5; Ps. 88:10). Job 26:5 should read:

The Rephaim remain (Heb.: hul) under the waters (Companion Bible, fn. to verse 5).”

The Water here refers to the Flood. The Rephaim were the major reason that God wiped out the population of the Earth as they had been contaminated by the Fallen Host and their DNA made them corrupt and they had to be destroyed. The same is being done now under the mRNA contaminated vaxxes put out by the Globalists in the last days. They have to be destroyed and sent to the Second Resurrection. They will not enter the Millennium (see also The Nephilim (No. 154)).

The Fallacy of the Third Resurrection (No. 166)

“The resurrections are discussed from Isaiah 26:13-14 and follow on into the timeframe outlined in Isaiah 26:15-18.

The nation of Israel is here being increased. This is the future nation of Matthew 21:43. This nation was the woman that travailed as in childbirth in Revelation 12:17, where the seed of the woman was Jew and Gentile, and all of Israel. They did not, however, bring any deliverance. They did not convince the Gentiles to accept the Law and did not save the world. The Dragon tried to destroy them with the flood of his mouth, but he also failed.

The significant aspect here is that Isaiah is saying that the elect failed to bring deliverance to the Earth, or to bring the Earth to repentance, or to destroy its systems. This sequence is immediately prior to the end as is the next text (Isa. 26:19ff.) and goes on to discuss the resurrection.

We go from the Rephaim (or Nephilim) not having a resurrection, and at verse 19 we talk about a resurrection. So it is making a distinction between the Rephaim and the descendants who are those of the creation of God. The period of the prophecy is over the term called the Times of the Gentiles and spans an enormous period of history. The end of this period deals with a number of concepts. The resurrection of the dead is grouped. Isaiah refers to the dead at the end of the period of the world systems as being God's dead men, and that he also was with them in that resurrection. Thus the prophets are in the First Resurrection (No. 143A). Secondly, the People of God then enter into chambers prepared for them and the doors are shut about them. This is the shutting of the doors referred to in Matthew 25:1ff., where the parable of the wise and foolish virgins was used to show that the wise virgins – the elect who are full of the Spirit, those virgins referred to in Revelation 14:4 – enter the doors of the Kingdom and the doors are shut behind them and nobody can get in.

That is the hour of trial that comes upon all the Earth, and from which the Philadelphian system is protected. The Laodicean system and the foolish virgins and the Sardis system do not go into that protection. Those two churches do not go into the First Resurrection. Only a very few of them enter. So these people enter the chambers and they become the Temple of God. These texts interrelate to Revelation 7:3 where the Earth and sea were not to be hurt until the servants of the Lord were sealed. These were sealed for the nation of Israel referred to in Isaiah 26:19ff. above. These elect of God were grouped with the Lamb until the nations were overthrown. The timeframe of this prophecy deals with the Day of the Lord which covers the period of one thousand years from the [wars and the] First Resurrection until the Second Resurrection when the Earth discloses its blood and no more covers its slain. Thus Isaiah 26:19-21 covers the one-thousand years of Revelation 20:4ff., called the Millennium.” So we don’t need the New Testament to know that the Millennium is a protracted period (a thousand years) and the span of the resurrections follow. The concept flows from the Old Testament. Both Testaments say the same thing and cover seven thousand one hundred years.

26:20-27:1 Fourth Eschatological Segment

Logically following the preceding petition, the text returns to judgment and to the return of the exiles referred to in 27:12-13, and also those of Chs. 65-66.

26:20-21 The people await God's victory at the return of Messiah.

Chapter 27

¹In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. ²In that day: "A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! ³I, the LORD, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest any one harm it, I guard it night and day; ⁴I have no wrath. Would that I had thorns and briers to battle! I would set out against them, I would burn them up together. ⁵Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me." ⁶In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit. ⁷Has he smitten them as he smote those who smote them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain? ⁸Measure by measure, by exile thou didst contend with them; he removed them with his fierce blast in the day of the east wind. ⁹Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be expiated, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Ashe'rim or incense altars will remain standing. ¹⁰For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes, there he lies down, and strips its branches. ¹¹When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, he that formed them will show them no favor. ¹²In that day from the river Euphra'tes to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel. ¹³And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Intent of Chapter 27

The Fall of Egypt…(No. 036)

“Isaiah 27 goes on to discuss the slaying of Leviathan in the day of the Lord. This Leviathan, the piercing and crooked serpent, the dragon that is in the sea shall be slain or bound as in Revelation 20:4. Then shall Israel take root throughout the world. In that day the Lord will beat off or harvest as one would olives, the Children of Israel from the channel of the River, or the Tigris-Euphrates, to the stream of Egypt.”

27:1 Leviathan Canaanite mythological sea monster. Dragon Hebrew tannin another sea monster applied to the demons also (see Ps. 74:13-14). The texts seem to apply these terms to the demonic influences in both Assyria and Babylonia and also in Egypt (vv. 12-13; Ezek. 29:3; Rev. 12:7-12).

27:2-11 Fourth Apocalyptic Poem of Deliverance

27:2-6 God's Vineyard (comp. 5:1-7) (Nos. 001B; 001C). Here Israel is prepared as God's Vineyard and at the return of the Messiah the entire world will be converted under the Messianic system.

27:7-11 Israel (Jacob) will be blessed as will the entire world be blessed once all semblance of idolatry is removed. All false religion and every aspect of the Mystery and Sun Cults will be removed from the face of the earth (see No. 141F). There will be no effigies or idols permitted anywhere, nor their calendars or symbols. The Asherim or symbols of the goddess Easter or Ashtaroth will be completely removed and crushed. The Sabbaths and New Moons will be ordered kept holy as in the Temple Period (66:23-24). The fortified city refers to the Last Days and the state of the Military Industrial Complex raised under the Babylonian system of Daniel Ch. 2 (F027ii; xiii) destroyed by Messiah at his return (No. 282E) (see also 24:10; 26:5). God's Law (L1) and God's Calendar (No. 156) will be kept throughout the world on pain of death (see 66:23-24).

27:12-13 The eschatological harvest separates the Wicked from the Righteous which is the winnowing we see with the Holy Seed (Ch. 6). That act will see the earth reduced to less than a tenth of its people (6:9-13; Am. 9:1-15). Those driven out to Assyria and Egypt (north and south) will be restored (as in Chs. 65-66). The Trumpet call is that of the Restoration at the Archangel's call (Dan. 12:1; Mat. 24:31; 1Thes. 4:16) (see also Num. 2:10; Jl. 2:15).

Everyone has the choice of obeying God and keeping His Laws or suffering the consequences.

Chapter 28

¹Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of E'phraim, and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine! ²Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he will cast down to the earth with violence. ³The proud crown of the drunkards of E'phraim will be trodden under foot; ⁴and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer: when a man sees it, he eats it up as soon as it is in his hand. ⁵In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people; ⁶and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. ⁷These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are confused with wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. ⁸For all tables are full of vomit, no place is without filthiness. ⁹"Whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? ¹⁰For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little." ¹¹Nay, but by men of strange lips and with an alien tongue the LORD will speak to this people, ¹²to whom he has said, "This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose"; yet they would not hear. ¹³Therefore the word of the LORD will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. ¹⁴Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! ¹⁵Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement; when the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter"; ¹⁶therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: 'He who believes will not be in haste.' ¹⁷And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter." ¹⁸Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through you will be beaten down by it. ¹⁹As often as it passes through it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. ²⁰For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in it. ²¹For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Pera'zim, he will be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon; to do his deed--strange is his deed! and to work his work--alien is his work! ²²Now therefore do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord GOD of hosts upon the whole land. ²³Give ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. ²⁴Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? does he continually open and harrow his ground? ²⁵When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cummin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border? ²⁶For he is instructed aright; his God teaches him. ²⁷Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cummin; but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cummin with a rod. ²⁸Does one crush bread grain? No, he does not thresh it for ever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. ²⁹This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.

28:1-35:10 Oracles Concerning Judah and Ephraim

Intent of Chapter 28

The Fall of Egypt…(No. 036)

“Isaiah 28 then goes on to talk of the crushing of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim. Thus the end days involve war in Ephraim. The prophecy is clearly interrelated to that of Ezekiel and the destruction of Egypt. Moreover, the last days are indisputably involved and developed.”

28:1-13 Against Religious leaders

28:1-4 The text commences with the rejection of Israel as the drunkards of Ephraim referring to the entire nation. The reference to the crown of Ephraim was as the walls of Samaria (Am. 3:9,15) before Assyria's onslaught (2Kgs. 17:5). However this is in the last days and refers to the Military Industrial Complex of Israel in both Ephraim and Manasseh and the EU in the wars of the end (No. 141C).

First ripe fig - Just as quickly will Israel be consumed later, just as it was in 722 BCE.

28:5-6 In that day The Day of the Lord God will be a blessing to the Holy Seed that survives into the Millennial Kingdom of God under Christ.

28:7-10 This section continues vv. 1-4 but is directed against Judah. It is not confined to Palestine but Judah throughout the world. It is directed at Judah's intemperate religious leaders who were incapable of responsible guidance (Jer. 13:12-14). So also are they to this day with the Hillel abominations and absolute failure to keep the Laws of God and His Calendar (No. 156). Priest and prophet. This applies to the leadership of Judah but also in all Israel (see also Jer. 26:7-9). No doubt Isaiah's opponents were a problem (comp. v. 9-10 where the foundation of the law and prophecy is detailed). He had no respect for them.

Tables For sacrificial feasts (1Sam. 9:12-13).

28:11-13 Israel and Judah will not listen and so they must be subject to other nations and hear the word of the Lord in a foreign tongue especially so that Judah and Levi have it driven into them precept upon precept line upon line, here a little, there a little. So will it be with Israel in the last days. So will they go captive to Messiah and returned.

28:14-22 Against Civil Leaders

vv. 14-15 The scoffers have forsaken God for other gods. They believe they are free from death and that with the grave, and the demons, they have an agreement. The world in the last days treats God as a myth and subjects themselves to raging pestilence.

28:16-17a The Symbolic name of the foundation stone (v. 16d; 1:26), gives salvation to those who trust in God.

Justice and Righteousness (1:21; 5:16) will characterise the New Jerusalem.

28:17b-22 The faithless will be destroyed by the storm of God's wrath.

v. 20 This proverb describes an insoluble problem.

v. 21 Perazim 2Sam. 5:17-21.

28:23-29 Parable of the Farmer

As with the farmer, God conducts His Affairs according to Plan (comp. vv. 16-17a).

Spelt less valuable than wheat and barley.

Dill and Cummin Spices are too soft to thresh with a sledge. God teaches each as each requires to be brough to Salvation.

Chapter 29

¹Ho Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their round. ²Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel. ³And I will encamp against you round about, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you. ⁴Then deep from the earth you shall speak, from low in the dust your words shall come; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust. ⁵But the multitude of your foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly, ⁶you will be visited by the LORD of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. ⁷And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. ⁸As when a hungry man dreams he is eating and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. ⁹Stupefy yourselves and be in a stupor, blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! ¹⁰For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets, and covered your heads, the seers. ¹¹And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." ¹²And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read." ¹³And the Lord said: "Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men learned by rote; ¹⁴therefore, behold, I will again do marvelous things with this people, wonderful and marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid." ¹⁵Woe to those who hide deep from the LORD their counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?" ¹⁶You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay; that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"? ¹⁷Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? ¹⁸In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. ¹⁹The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. ²⁰For the ruthless shall come to nought and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off, ²¹who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right. ²²Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. ²³For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. ²⁴And those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction."

Intent of Chapter 29

29:1-8 Judah's Eventual Restoration

29:1 Ariel - Meaning “Mountain of God” or “Hero” as an allusion to Jerusalem.

v. 2 Like an Ariel - a second meaning of Ariel is like an underworld or shade. This meaning is derived from the Babylonian word “Arallu.” (see OARSV n.). The words are used here as a word play to emphasise Jerusalem's (and Israel's) degradation by the Babylonian Mystery and Sun Cults epitomised by the Hillel Calendar of Modern Judaism.

29:9-24 Spiritual Blindness of the People

The text refers to miscellaneous oracles as they affect the people’s relationship with God. In the last days of the Age it is at the lowest point in history.

29:9-12 Independent section related to vv. 1-8; 13-14.

vv. 9-10 As drunkards Israel's leadership is incapable of moral discrimination. Now in the last days they are destroying their people with drugs for profit.

29:11-12 Is considered to be an explanatory later prose addition (see OARSV n.).

Book a scroll (Jer. 32:9-15).

29:13-14 There will be a new relationship with God emerge in the Millennium that will be based on a positive response to His Laws and Government in replacement of the traditions and lies of the “oral law” they use to regulate God's Laws in disobedience to God's Will and Law (see also Ex. 19:4-6). He refers to their traditions ironically as wisdom and discernment (comp. Isa. 45:9; 1Cor. 1:19).

29:15-16 Judah's leaders usurp God's prerogatives by plotting against Assyria (45:9; Jer. 18:1-6; Mat. 10:24; Rom. 9:20-21).

29:17-24 Considered by the Oxford scholars to be two later stanzas from Chs. 40-46 (see OARSV n.).

29:17-21 Israel's sufferings will soon be ended at the return of the Messiah (35:1-2; 41:17).

v. 19 Holy One of Israel see 1:4 n.; 41:14,16, 20.

29:22-24 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is to restore Israel when it is brought to repentance and accepts God's Instructions (Ezek. 36:22-32; see also Isa. 41:8; 51:2).

Bullinger’s Notes on Chs. 26-29 (for KJV)

Chapter 26

Verse 1

In that day: i.e. in the yet future day, when these judgments shall have been accomplished.

Judah. In Isaiah 2:0 6 we have the Song of Judah (Isaiah 26:1 ); in Isaiah 27:0 , the Song of Israel. Compare verses: Isaiah 26:6 , Isaiah 26:12 .

Verse 2

keepeth the truth = maintaineth fidelity. No Article. Compare Deuteronomy 32:20 . Occurs only here, in Isaiah.

Verse 3

perfect peace. Hebrew peace, peace. Figure of speech Epizeuxis , for emphasis, beautifully expressed In the Authorized Version. The same expression occurs in Isaiah 57:19 , indicating the unity of the book. See note on Isaiah 24:16 , and App-79 . Compare Isaiah 27:5 .

mind = thought.

trusteth = confideth. Hebrew. batah . See App-69 .

Verse 4

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

THE LORD. Hebrew Jah. App-4 . In Isaiah, only here and Isaiah 12:2 ; Isaiah 38:11 , Isaiah 38:11 .

JEHOVAH. One of the four passages where the Authorized Version transliterates the word instead of translating it. See note on Isaiah 12:2 , and App-48 .

everlasting strength = a rock of ages. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32:4 , Deuteronomy 32:18 , Deuteronomy 32:30 , same word as here). See App-92 . Found only in Deuteronomy and as applied to God (see App-79 ); and here, and Isaiah 30:29 , in the "former" portion; and Isaiah 44:8 in the "latter" portion. Compare Habakkuk 1:12 .

1 Samuel 2:2 . 2 Samuel 23:3 , and Psalms.

Verse 5

bringeth down, &c. See note on Isaiah 25:12 .

ground = earth. Hebrew ' erez .

Verse 6

poor = wretched, afflicted. Here singular. Hebrew. amah . See note on Proverbs 6:11 .

needy = lowly ones.

Verse 7

way. See note on "path", Isaiah 2:3 .

the just = a just one.

uprightness = a perfect or level way.

weigh = ponder.

Verse 8

we waited. See note on Isaiah 25:9 .

soul. Hebrew. nephesh . App-13 .

remembrance. Reference to Pentateuch. Same as "memorial" in Exodus 3:15 . The words are quoted again in Psalms 102:12 ; Psalms 135:13 and Hosea 12:5 , and nowhere else. App-92 .

Verse 9

spirit. Hebrew. ruach . App-9 .

early = with the dawn.

when, &c. Hence the multitudes which come out of the great tribulation in Revelation 7:14-17 .

Verse 10

the wicked = a lawless one. Hebrew. rasha . App-44 .

Verse 11

the fire, &c. or, fire shall devour Thine adversaries (Revised Version)

Verse 12

ordain = arrange.

in us = for us. Compare Philippians 1:2 , Philippians 1:13 . App-4 .

lords = owners. Referring to the Canaanite oppressors of Israel and their false gods.

had dominion = domineered, or lorded it.

make mention = call upon.

Thy name = Thee. See note on Psalms 20:1 .

Verse 14

They are dead: i.e. the "other lords" of Isaiah 26:13 . Hebrew. methim . Not dead men, as such, for "all" men shall rise again (2 John 1:5; 2 John 1:5 :28 , John 5:29 . Acts 23:6 , Acts 23:8 ; Acts 24:15 . 1 Corinthians 15:22 .Revelation 20:4-6 , Revelation 20:13 ), but those referred to in Isaiah 26:13 .

deceased = the Rephaim . This is a proper name, and should not be translated. Where it is translated it is always rendered "giants" or "dead" (Isaiah 26:19 . Job 26:5 .Psalms 88:10 . Proverbs 2:18 ; Proverbs 9:18 ; Proverbs 21:16 . Proverbs 14:9 ); why not so here? or transliterated, as it is in Isaiah 17:5 .

they shall not rise. These Rephaim will not rise. They were the progeny of the fallen angels: these latter are kept "in prison" (1 Peter 3:19 ), in "chains" (2 Peter 2:4 .Jude 1:6; Jude 1:6 ), "reserved" unto judgment: but their progeny will "not rise"(verses: Isaiah 26:14 , Isaiah 26:19 ) or be judged, for they have been "visited", "destroyed", and:'perished". See App-23 and App-25 .

Verse 15

the nation: i.e. Israel. The future nation of Matthew 21:43 .

Verse 17

Like as a woman. &c. These refer to the birth-pangs of the Great Tribulation, which issue in the new nation.

Verse 18

neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen = nor did the inhabitants of the world come to the light: i.e. by being born. The Hebrew naphal, to fall, is used of birth, as Hebrew. nephel occurs only in Job 3:16 . Psalms 58:8 . Ecclesiastes 6:3 .

world = the inhabited world. Hebrew. tebel.

Verse 19

Thy dead men = Thy dead ones. Hebrew. methim, as in Isaiah 26:14 . These are very different from the dead in Isaiah 26:14 . They are Jehovah's dead. These shall rise.

my dead body shall. arise = my corpse (a noun of multitude).

shall they arise (plural verb): i.e. all the dead bodies of Jehovah's people. All these shall awake and sing (Psalms 17:15 ).

dwell in dust = lie in the dust: i.e. buried in the dust of the earth.

as the dew of herbs = like the dew upon herbs: i.e. revivifying them. Compare Isaiah 66:14 .

and = but; introducing the important contrast already expressed in Isaiah 26:14 .

cast ou t: or, cast away. Not yield up in resurrection. Whom will the earth thus cast away? See the answer in the word which follows.

the dead = the Rephaim. See note on Isaiah 26:14 , and App-23 and App-25 . These will "not rise".

Verse 20

Come = Go.

Verse 21

disclose her blood. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 4:10 , Genesis 4:11 ).

Chapter 27

Verse 1

In that day: i.e. the period of judgment foretold in Isaiah 26:21 .

leviathan. Three great aquatic animals are here mentioned: probably referring to Israel's three great enemies: Assyria (with Nineveh, on the Tigris); Babylon (on the Euphrates); and Egypt (on the Nile); with Satan himself behind them all, as their great instigator.

piercing = fleeing, or fugitive (like the Tigris). crooked tortuous (like the winding Euphrates).

dragon = the crocodile of the Nile.

sea = the Nile, as in Isaiah 19:5 .Nahum 3:8 .

Verse 2

sing: or, answer.

red wine. Hebrew. chemer. App-27 . Some codices, with one early printed edition, Aramaean, and Septuagint, read chemed, pleasant, or lovely.

Verse 4

Fury. Hebrew. chemah = heat, wrath, displeasure.

not in Me: i.e. not now. There was in the other song (Isaiah 5:5-7 ): but now, "in that day", all wrath will have gone.

briers and thorns: i.e. the internal enemies of the vineyard (as the wild beasts are the external enemies). These are now the objects of His wrath, not His vineyard.

Verse 5

Or: i.e. if such enemies wish to avert My wrath, let them make peace with Me.

My strength = Me, as a refuge or protection.

Verse 6

He shall cause, &c. This verse is not an "addendum". or "irrelevant", or "an illegible gap". It is necessary in order to give us the subject of the song, which is reserved till this verse. The symbol is to tell us that Israel is the vineyard (Compare Isaiah 27:12 ). See the Structure on the previous page; and note that in (Isaiah 26:1-21 ) we have the Song of Judah, while in (Isaiah 27:2-6 ) the song concerning Israel.

the world = the inhabited world. Hebrew. tebel.

Verse 7

as, &c. = according to the stroke of those, &c.

Verse 8

In measure = By measure. Referring to the smiting of Israel, as being in limited measure. Hebrew. seah . App-51 . (11), (5).

when it shooteth forth = when Thou didst send it forth (i.e. the stroke of Isaiah 27:7 ).

Thou wilt debate with it = Thou wilt curb it (i.e. the stroke of Isaiah 27:7 ). Hebrew. rib . = plead, as in Isaiah 1:17 ; Isaiah 3:13 ; Isaiah 51:22 .Jeremiah 2:9 , Jeremiah 2:29 ; Jeremiah 12:1 ; Jeremiah 50:34 .Micah 7:9 .

rough = harsh, or severe.

wind. Hebrew. ruach . App-9 .

east wind. A violent, hot, scorching wind; pernicious to the fruit of a vineyard.

Verse 9

By this = In this way.

iniquity. Hebrew. avah . App-44 .

purged = covered: i.e. atoned for. Hebrew. kaphar . See note on Exodus 29:33 .

this is all the fruit = all this is the fruit or result.

sin. Hebrew. chata '. App-44 .

the altar = [all] altars.

as = no better than.

in sunder = to pieces.

the groves = the Asherahs. App-42 .

images = images of Ashtoreth. See note on Isaiah 17:8 .

not = no more.

Verse 10

Yet = For.

forsaken. See note on Isaiah 1:4 .

consume = devour.

Verse 11

the boughs, &c. = her harvest drieth up.

they. Feminine., i.e. the "stones" of Isaiah 27:9 .

broken off = broken, or destroyed.

Verse 12

in that day: verses: Isaiah 27:12 , Isaiah 27:13 refer to Israel, as verses: Isaiah 27:7 , Isaiah 27:10-11 refer to Israel's enemies.

beat off: i.e. as olives from a tree = "beat off [his fruit]": i.e. gather the sons of Israel.

channel = flood.

river: i.e. the Euphrates.

children = sons.

Verse 13

ready to perish. So the end will be like the beginning. See Deuteronomy 26:5 .

holy. See note on Exodus 3:5 .

mount = mountain.

hasty fruit = early fig [becomes].

eateth it up = swalloweth it.

Chapter 28

Verse 1

Woe = Ho! We now come to a cycle of woes corresponding with the "burdens". In these "woes" Jehovah's purpose is alternately thrown into sharp contrast (see the Structure, above). crown of pride = pride's crown, or proud crown (i.e. Samaria; compare Amos 6:1 , Amos 6:3 ). Figure of speech Enallage ( App-6 ). Referring to the circle of towers which girdled Samaria.

to = of.

Ephraim = one tribe. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for all the tribes of Israel.

a fading flower. Compare Isaiah 1:30 ; Isaiah 40:7 .

fat = rich, or luxuriant.

Verse 2

hath a mighty and strong one = hath a mighty one, immensely strong: i.e. Assyria (2 Kings 17:5 , 2 Kings 17:6 ).

cast down = cast [Ephraim] down.

Verse 4

be = become.

and. Omit.

hasty fruit = early fig [becomes].

eateth it up = swalloweth it.

Verse 5

the Lord of hosts. See note on Isaiah 1:9 .

Verse 6

spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 .

turn = turn, or drive, back.

Verse 7

they. Referring to Judah.

strong drink. Hebrew. shekar . App-27 .

judgment = pronouncing judgment.

Verse 8

tabled. Used at sacrificial feasts (Tabernacles, Harvest, &c.) 1 Samuel 20:34 .Ezekiel 40:39-43 .Malachi 1:7 , Malachi 1:12 .

Verse 9

Whom = Whom [say they].

milk. breasts? (Two questions.)

Verse 10

For = For [say they] mimicking the prophet as though he were teaching little children in a school.

must be: or, [hath been]. The verse then reads: "For it is zav lazav, zav lazav kav lakav, kav lakav ze'er sham, ze'er sham . "The Figures of speech: Epizeuxis and Paronomasia ( App-6 ), for emphasis. It may be Englished by: "Law upon law, Saw upon saw".

Verse 11

For = Yea, verily. Taking the words out of their own taunting lips, and turning them against themselves. Quoted in 1 Corinthians 14:21 .

stammering = jabbering.

another = foreign. Referring to the Assyrian language they were (alas!) soon to hear (Compare Isaiah 33:19 . Deuteronomy 28:49 ).

He speak: i.e. by the Assyrians.

Verse 12

To whom He said: or, He (Jehovah) Who said to them: i.e. by His prophets (Isaiah 7:4 ; Isaiah 8:6 ; Isaiah 30:15 ).

Verse 13

was = became. Giving back to the scoffers their own words (from Isaiah 28:10 ) in the form of a threatening.

might = may.

fall backward, &c. Note the Figure of speech Synonymia , by which the similar words are heaped together to impress on them the solemnity and certainty of the judgment.

taken = caught.

Verse 15

made = cut, or solemnized.

made a covenant. It is alleged that the use of the word "covenant" is confined to Jehovah by the "second Isaiah" (i.e. after Isaiah 40:0 ): but it is so used before that (See Isaiah 24:5 ; Isaiah 33:8 ), But why should not a covenant be made with, and by, other parties as it is here in Isaiah 28:15 , Isaiah 28:18 ? See App-79 .

hell. Hebrew Sheol. App-35 .

Verse 16

I lay = I have laid. So the Syriac and Septuagint. Laid, in the counsels of eternity: in Abraham's promise (Genesis 12:0 ); in David's covenant (2 Samuel 7:0 ).

in Zion. In Zion; not Zion itself.

a stone. This is a distinct reference to Isaiah 49:24 . It is the Immanuel (of Isaiah 7:0 ), the promised Son (of Isaiah 9:0 ), the rod from Jesse's stem (of Isaiah 11:0 ).

a tried stone = a test stone: i.e. tested itself, and testing others. Compare Isaiah 28:17 , and Zechariah 3:9 .

a sure foundation. Figure of speech Polyptoton ( App-6 ), for emphasis. Hebrew a foundation founded: i.e. a wellfounded foundation, or a firm or sure foundation.

not make haste = be constant, steady, not fleeing away. See note on Proverbs 8:30 . Note the Figure of speech Metonymy (of Subject), by which the hastening, or flight is put for the confusion and shame which is the cause of it. Septuagint reads "ashamed". In Romans 9:33 ; Romans 10:11 . 1 Peter 2:6 , the Figure of speech is translated, and means therefore exactly the same thing: = shall have no need for hurried flight (Compare Isaiah 49:23 ).

Verse 17

Judgment also will I lay to the line, &c. = I will make judgment the line, and righteousness the plumbline.

Verse 19

take you = take you away.

vexation = terror.

report = hearing. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for what is heard.

Verse 20

the bed, &c. This allegory is to show that their false security as to the approach of Sennacherib would afford them no real rest, it would soon be disturbed.

Verse 21

Perazim. Gibeon. This could not be known or understood without reference to 2 Samuel 5:20 , and Joshua 10:10 ; and this reference must have been in writing: too long before (700 years) to be a matter of mere memory. See App-92 .

His strange work = strange His work [is]. Hebrew. zur = foreign.

His strange act = unwonted [is] His act. Hebrew. nakar.

Verse 22

earth = land, or soil.

Verse 24

plow all day: i.e. continually = ever keep ploughing? See the note on Isaiah 28:28 .

he open = he [for ever] open.

Verse 25

The principal wheat = wheat in rows. Only here. place = due order. Connect "appointed" with "place", not with "barley".

Verse 26

For his God, &c. Render: "For One hath instructed him in the right course; his God doth teach him".

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .

Verse 27

threshing instrument. Only here, and Isaiah 41:15 .

Verse 28

Bread = Corn. Bread is put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Effect), for the corn of which it is made. Compare Job 28:5 .

bruised = crushed: i.e. reduced to powder. Compare Exodus 32:20 . 2 Kings 23:6 . Render, as a question: Is corn crushed? because = nay. The Hebrew accent t ebir is disjunctive and requires this rendering. Compare Revised Version margin, and Job 22:2 .

ever = for ever.

Verse 29

This: i.e. this same design in His treatment of His people. His purpose is the same as that of the husbandman. Compare Amos 9:9 .

excellent = lofty.

working = wisdom. The sort of wisdom which carries the purpose through to permanency. Hebrew. tushiyah, See note on Proverbs 2:7 .

Chapter 29

Verse 1

Woe. The second of the six woes.

Ariel = either a lion of GOD (El, App-4 . IV) (2 Samuel 23:20 ); or the altar-hearth of GOD (Ezekiel 43:15 , Ezekiel 43:16 ; and the Moabite Stone, line 12, App-54 ). Jerusalem is called Har-el on old Egyptian monuments.

the city. Put by Figure of speech Polyonymia for Jerusalem. "City" is in the construct state: = city of [the spot] where David camped.

dwelt = encamped.

year. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for festival.

let them kill, &c.: or, let the feasts go round. Figure of speech Eironeia. App-6 .

Verse 2

as Ariel = as a veritable hearth of GOD.

Verse 4

ground =. earth. a familiar spirit = an Ob . See note on Leviticus 19:31 .

whisper = peep, chirp, or mutter.

Verse 5

strangers: i.e. adversaries.

like, &c. . . . as, &c. Figure of speech Hyperbole.

terrible ones = tyrants.

Verse 6

visited. These judgments (in Isaiah 29:6 ) refer to the deliverance from Jerusalem's enemies.

the LORD of hosts. See note on 1 Samuel 1:3 .

Verse 7

Ariel. Here it is plainly Jerusalem.

Verse 8

as = according as.

soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 .

Verse 9

wine. Hebrew. yayin. App-27 .

strong drink. Hebrew. shekar. App-27 .

Verse 10

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

hath poured, &c. Quoted in Romans 11:8 .

spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 .

Verse 11

of all = of the whole, or altogether.

book = scroll, or document, in writing.

Verse 13

the LORD*. One of the 134 places where the Sopherim say they changed Jehovah of the primitive text to Adonai. See App-32 .

said. Quoted in Matthew 15:7-9 . Mark 7:6 .

but = though.

taught by the precept of men = a commandment of men in which they have been schooled: i.e. taught by rote.

men = mortals. Hebrew, plural of enosh . App-14 .

Verse 14

for. Quoted in 1 Corinthians 1:19 .

wisdom. Hebrew. chakam. See notes on

understanding. Hebrew. binah. Proverbs 1:2 .

Verse 16

say. Compare Isaiah 45:9 .

Verse 18

book = scroll.

Verse 19

meek = oppressed.

poor = oppressed. Hebrew. 'ebyon. See note on Proverbs 6:11 .

the Holy One of Israel. See note on Isaiah 1:4 .

Verse 20

the terrible one = the tyrant.

Verse 21

make a man an offender for a word = who bring a man into condemnation by a word (i.e. by false witness).

reproveth = decideth: i.e. in judgment.

just = righteous.

a thing of nought. See note on "confusion", Isaiah 24:10 .

Verse 22

Abraham. Reference to Pentateuch, as well known. App-92 .

the house of Jacob. See note on Isaiah 2:5 .

his face . . . wax pale. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for fear.

Verse 23

children = young children.

the God of Israel. This expression occurs seven times in Isaiah (here; Isaiah 41:17 ; Isaiah 45:3 , Isaiah 45:15 ; Isaiah 48:1 , Isaiah 48:2 ; Isaiah 52:12 ). Elsewhere twenty-nine times, without Jehovah preceding (Genesis 33:20 . Exodus 24:10 . Numbers 16:9 . Joshua 22:16 . 1Sa 1:17 ; 1 Samuel 5:7 , 1Sa 5:8 , 1 Samuel 5:8 , 1Sa 5:8 , 1 Samuel 5:10 , 1 Samuel 5:11 ; 1Sa 6:3 , 1 Samuel 6:5 ; 1 Samuel 25:32 . 2 Samuel 23:3 .Ezra 3:2 , &c.

Verse 24

shall come, &c. = shall know discernment.

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