Isaiah 64:4

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear,.... Not only the things unexpected, undesired, and undeserved, had been done for the Lord's people of old; but there

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

Whereas there are but three ways whereby men ordinarily come to the knowledge of a thing, viz. by the ear, either our own hearing, or by hearsay; and by the eye; and by reason, which the apostle adds, where he makes use of this text, ; two of them are mentioned here. Besides thee; with reference either to the gods that do them. never any other god could do like time; or to things done, never any besides thee could do such things as were never seen or heard of. He refers to those terrible things mentioned in the former verse. It seems to be clear by comparing this with . Not to be restrained to these, but to be applied to all the wonderful works that God at all times wrought for his people. And thus they are a plea with God, that they might well expect such things from him now, that had done such wonderful things for their fathers of old. That waiteth for him; the apostle hath it, that love him, , to show that none can wait on him that love him not; so all that love him will wait on him. This may be taken with reference both to the state of grace and glory, those incomprehensible things that are exhibited through Christ in the mysteries of the gospel, as well as the good things of this present life, which the prophet may here literally aim at; it being not unusual for the prophets.in mentioning these temporal things to point at spiritual, especially being things that do so well suit with each other.

Isaiah 64:4 For since the beginning of the world [men] have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, [what] he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.Ver. 4. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard,] scil., The mysteries of the gospel revealed by the Spirit; whereunto the angels also desire to look, as the apostles witness. Neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides thee.] Or, A God beside thee, i.e., That can do as thou doest. For him that waiteth for him.] For "them that love him," saith the apostle. It is by faith and hope that we wait upon God; now Faith, Hope, and Charity are near of kin, and never severed. All that truly love God are well content to wait for him, yea, to want, if he see it fit, being desirous rather that God may be glorified, than themselves gratified.

(4) Neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee . . .—The best commentators are in favour of rendering, Neither hath the eye seen a God beside Thee, who will work for him that waiteth for Him. The sense is not that God alone knows what He hath prepared, but that no man knows (sight and hearing being used as including all forms of spiritual apprehension) any god who does such great things as He does. St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 2:9, applies the words freely, after his manner, to the eternal blessings which God prepares for His people. Clement of Rome (chap. 34), it may be noted, makes a like application of the words, giving “those who wait for Him” (as in Isaiah), instead of “those who love Him.”

Verse 4. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard - "For never have men heard"] St. Paul is generally supposed to have quoted this passage of Isaiah, Isaiah 64:1; Isaiah 2:9; and Clemens Romanus in his first epistle has made the same quotation, very nearly in the same words with the apostle. But the citation is so very different both from the Hebrew text and the version of the Septuagint, that it seems very difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile them by any literal emendation, without going beyond the bounds of temperate criticism. One clause, "neither hath it entered into the heart of man," (which, by the way, is a phrase purely Hebrew, עלה על לב alah al leb, and should seem to belong to the prophet,) is wholly left out; and another is repeated without force or propriety; viz., "nor perceived by the ear," after, "never have heard:" and the sense and expression of the apostle is far preferable to that of the Hebrew text. Under these difficulties I am at a loss what to do better, than to offer to the reader this, perhaps disagreeable, alternative: either to consider the Hebrew text and Septuagint in this place as wilfully disguised and corrupted by the Jews; of which practice in regard to other quotations in the New Testament from the Old, they lie under strong suspicions, (see Dr. Owen on the version of the Septuagint, sect. vi.-ix.;) or to look upon St. Paul's quotation as not made from Isaiah, but from one or other of the two apocryphal books, entitled, The Ascension of Esaiah, and the Apocalypse of Elias, in both of which this passage was found; and the apostle is by some supposed in other places to have quoted such apocryphal writings. As the first of these conclusions will perhaps not easily be admitted by many, so I must fairly warn my readers that the second is treated by Jerome as little better than heresy. See his comment on this place of Isaiah. - L. I would read the whole verse thus; "Yea, from the time of old they have not heard, they have not hearkened to, an eye hath not seen a God besides thee. He shall work for that one that waiteth for him." This I really think on the whole to be the best translation of the original. The variations on this place are as follows: for שמעו shameu, they have heard, a MS. and the Septuagint read שמענו shamanu, we have heard: for the second לא lo, not, sixty-nine MSS. and four editions have ולא velo, and not, and the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate. And so ועין veayin, and eye, Septuagint and Syriac. את eth, the, (emphatic,) is added before אלהים Elohim, God, in MS. Bodleian. למחכי limechakkey, to them that wait, plural, two MSS. and all the ancient Versions. - L.

4–7. This difficult passage contains (1) an appeal to that which distinguishes Jehovah from all other deities: He is the only God who works for them that wait for Him in the way of righteousness; (2) a confession of the people’s sinful condition due to the persistency of the divine wrath. A contrast between these thoughts is probably intended; the severity of Jehovah’s dealings with Israel seems at variance with His known character. But the text is in some places hopelessly corrupt, and the exact sense is somewhat uncertain. For since the beginning … heard] Lit. “And from of old they have not heard.” It is tempting (with Duhm) to take this as a relative clause parallel to and continuing Isaiah 64:3 (“… terrible things which we hoped not for, and which from of old men have not heard”). There is an awkwardness, however, in commencing a new sentence with the next clause, and still greater difficulty in carrying on the sentence of Isa 64:3 to the word “seen” (Hitzig). Accepting the traditional division, Isaiah 64:4 will read nearly as in R.V., And from of old men have not heard, have not perceived by the ear, no eye hath seen a God beside Thee, Who worketh for him that waiteth for Him. The rendering of A.V. is partly accommodated to St Paul’s language in 1 Corinthians 2:9, where, however, a different text (not the LXX.) seems to be followed. Jerome says that the Apostle’s words are found in certain Apocalyptic books, although he will not admit that they are quoted from them. “Worketh for”=“sheweth Himself active on behalf of”; without obj., as Genesis 30:30; Psalms 37:5.

For since the beginning of the world - This verse is quoted, though not literally, by the apostle Paul, as illustrating the effects of the gospel in producing happiness and salvation (see the notes at 1 Corinthians 2:9).

4. Since the beginning of the world — Or, beginning of Israel’s history.