Isaiah 30:28

And his breath as an overflowing stream,.... Which comes with great swiftness and force, bearing all before it, breathing out nothing but the fire of divine wrath, before which there is no standing;

And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

His breath; either, 1. The breath of his nostrils, as it is called, ; or the blast of the breath of his nostrils, as ; in both which places it is mentioned as a sign and effect of God’ s anger, and the cause of the destruction of those against whom it is directed. And the expression seems to be borrowed from hence, that men discover their anger by a strong and vehement breathing through their nostrils. Or, 2. The breath of his lips or mouth, to which the destruction of God’ s enemies is elsewhere ascribed, as , which may be the same thing with his lips and tongue in the foregoing verse, or may design strong blast coming out of his mouth; for God is frequently said to destroy wicked men by blowing upon them, as ,24 Ezekiel 21:31 22:21. As an overflowing stream; coming from him as vehemently as a mighty torrent of waters. Shall reach to the midst of the neck; shall bring him into a most dangerous condition, as a man who is in deep waters which reach to his neck is in danger of being drowned; and afterwards, as is related in the following verses, will utterly destroy him. And this was fulfilled in Sennacherib, who was highly endangered, when he lost so great a part of his army, and shortly after slain by his own sons. Although these words may be added as a description of the overflowing: stream now mentioned, and may be thus rendered, Which reacheth even to the midst of the neck; for the relative particle is frequently understood in Scripture. To sift; to shake and scatter, as it were, with a sieve; or to try and vex, as this metaphor signifies, . The nations; the Assyrian army, which was made up of the people of several nations. With the sieve of vanity; not with an ordinary sieve, which casteth away the chaff only, but keepeth the corn; but with a sieve which should shake them so long and so vehemently as to cast away all together, and to make a full end of them. There shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people; God will restrain and overrule them by his secret and powerful providence. Causeth them to err; whereas other bridles guide the bridled creatures into the right way, this shall turn them out of the way, by giving them up to their own mistakes, and foolish counsels, and wicked courses, which shall bring them to sore and certain ruin.

Isaiah 30:28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and [there shall be] a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing [them] to err.Ver. 28. And his breath as an overflowing stream.] God can blow men to destruction, for they are but dust heaps; yea, his breath, as an irresistible torrent, beareth all before it. The prophet had compared God’ s fierce wrath to a raging fire; now he further compareth it here, 1. To a flood; 2. To a fan; 3. To a bridle. To sift the nations with a sieve of vanity,] i.e., Ad perdendas gentes in nihilum, as the Vulgate here hath it, To destroy the nations, and to bring them to nothing.

(28) His breath, as an overflowing stream.—Water supplies its symbolism, as well as fire. The wrath of the judge sweeps onward like an autumn torrent, threatening to engulf all that stand in its way. To sift the nations with the sieve of vanity.—Better, the winnowing fan of nothingness. Sifting is, as elsewhere, the symbol of judgment (so Osiris appears in Egyptian monuments armed with a flail, as the judge of the dead; Cheyne), and the “fan” in this case is one which threatens to annihilate the guilty. A bridle in the jaws of the people.—The words find a parallel in Isaiah 37:29. The enemies of Jehovah should find themselves under a constraining power, leading them on against their will to their own destruction. Quem Deus vult perdere, prius dementat.

Verse 28. To sift the nations with a sieve of vanity - "To toss the nations with the van of perdition"] The word להנפה lahanaphah is in its form very irregular. Kimchi says it is for להניף lehaniph. Houbigant supposes it to be a mistake, and shows the cause of it; the joining it to the ה he, which should begin the following word. The true reading is להניף הגוים lehaniph haggoyim, "to sift the nations." The Vulgate seems to be the only one of the ancient interpreters who has explained rightly the sense; but he has dropped the image: ad perdendas gentes in nihilum, "to reduce the nations to nothing." Kimchi's explanation is to the following effect: " נפה naphah is a van with which they winnow corn; and its use is to cleanse the corn from the chaff and straw: but the van with which God will winnow the nations will be the van of emptiness or perdition; for nothing useful shall remain behind, but all shall come to nothing, and perish. In like manner, a bridle is designed to guide the horse in the right way; but the bridle which God will put in the jaws of the people shall not direct them aright, but shall make them err, and lead them into destruction." This latter image the prophet has applied to the same subject afterwards, Isaiah 37:29: - "I will put my bridle in thy jaws, And turn thee back by the way in which thou camest." And as for the former it is to be observed, that the van of the ancients was a large instrument, somewhat like a shovel, with a long handle, with which they tossed the corn mixed with the chaff and chopped straw into the air, that the wind might separate them. See Hammond on Matthew 3:12. There shall be a bridle in the jaws] A metaphor taken from a headstrong, unruly horse: the bridle checks, restrains, and directs him. What the true God does in restraining sinners has been also attributed to the false gods of the heathen. Thus AEschylus, prom. Vinct. 691: - αλλ' επηναγκαζενιν Διοςχαλινοςπροςβιανπρασσεινταδε. "But the bridle of Jupiter violently constrained him to do these things."

28. Render with R.V. and his breath is as an overflowing stream that reacheth (lit. “divideth”) even unto the neck, &c. (cf. ch. Isaiah 8:8). to sift (lit. “swing”) [the] nations with the sieve of vanity (or “ruin”)] i.e. to sift them until they are annihilated. and there shall be a bridle … err] Better: and (he shall be) a bridle that causeth to err, in the jaws of peoples; i.e. Jehovah by His providence, turns the Assyrians aside from their purpose, and frustrates their enterprise.

And his breath - The word רוח rûach properly means “wind,” air in motion; then a breathing, an exhalation, a breath; then the soul, spirit, etc.

27, 28. The transition here is sudden. The name — The “name” of Jehovah is Jehovah himself, that is, Jehovah in absolute and distinctive personality as revealed in word and act.