Isaiah 30

— battles of shaking] “Shaking,” or stretching out, the hand of the Lord. See chap. xix. 16. Purkhurst.

chariots.] See note on chap. ii. 6, 7. Egypt is described here, and elsewhere in Scripture, as abounding in horses; it has been remarked that profane writers have not much noticed this circumstance; but it must be remembered, that the period they chiefly treat of was subsequent to the cutting up of the country with the multitude of canals, which would greatly alter its face, and which alone is mentioned by Herodotus as rendering it unfit for horses; we may add also the circumstance of the seat of government’s being, under the latter kings of Egypt, fixed at a place very near upon the sea, Alexandria. Bachart, Vitringa.

Isaiah 30:3

3. — at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.] It has been usual to consider God the person

Isaiah 30:5

5. As birds flying &c.] Compare Deut. xxxii. 11. W. Lowth. — and passing over he will preserve it.] Most interpreters observe in this place an allusion to the deliverance which God vouchsafed his people, when, going through the land of Egypt to smite the firstborn, He “passed over” the houses of the Israelites. The smultitude designed in this verse seems to be, As the mother bird spreads her wings to cover her young, throws herself before them, and opposes the rapacious bird that assaults them, so shall the Lord defend Jerusalem, protecting and delivering, springing forward and rescuing her. In the same manner may the act of “passing over,” Exod. xii. 23, be supposed to consist in the Lord’s springing forward to arrest the hand of the destroying angel. Bp. Lowth. 8. Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man;] Literally rendered, “of no man.” Bp. Lowth. See note on chap. x. 15. He shall not fall by any mortal power, but by the hand of an angel, chap. xxxvii. 36. If we follow the common opinion, that the Assyrian army was destroyed by a pestilential disease, the immediate stroke of Heaven, the expressions here exactly agree with the description of the angel who smote the Jews with a pestilence, 1 Chron. xxi, who is there represented as standing with “a sword drawn in his hand,” ver. 16. W. Lowth. See note on chap. x. 16. God’s judgments against the enemies of his church. Before CHRIST about 713. Or, and the city shall be utterly obased.

5, 6. The Lord is exalted; &c.] A chorus of Jews is introduced, acknowledging the mercy and power of God, who had undertaken to protect them; extolling it in opposition to the boasted power of their enemies; and celebrating the wisdom and piety of their king Hezekiah, who had placed his confidence in the favour of God. Bp. Lowth.

Isaiah 30:6

6. — shall be the stability of thy times, — the fear of the Lord is his treasure.] Such variation of persons, as we have here, and above, ver. 2, is not uncommon. Vitriga, W. Lowth. See Bp. Lowth’s note on Deut. xxxii. 5.

7—10. In these verses the Prophet describes the disappointment of Hezekiah’s ambassadors, who humbly sued for peace, which indeed had been bought, 2 Kings xviii. 14—16, though Sennacherib would not stand to the agreement; the damp that struck upon the spirits of the whole nation; and, ver. 10, the immediate interposition of God when matters became desperate. W. Lowth.

Isaiah 30:10

10. Now will I rise, saith the Lord;] God Himself is again introduced, declaring that He will interpose in this critical situation of affairs, and disappoint the vain designs of the enemies of his people, by discomfiting them and utterly consuming them. Bp. Lowth.

Isaiah 30:11

11, 12. Ye shall conceive chaff, &c.] Here follows, still in the person of God, which, however, falls at last into that of the Prophet, a description of the dreadful appre-

Before CHRIST about 713. Heb. salvations. Or, messengers. Or, withered away.

Isaiah 30:19

19. — the city shall be low] See note on chap. xxv. 2.

20. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, &c. This sowing in watery places exactly answers the manner of planting rice; for they sow it upon the water; and before sowing, while the earth is covered with water, they cause the ground to be trolden by oxen, horses, and asses; and this is the way of preparing the ground for sowing. As they sow the rice on the water, they transplant it in the water. Sir J. Chardon.

The Prophet foresees and pronounces blessed the lot of those that should go out in the Gospel times to sow the word in all lands, when the desert of the Gentiles should be changed into a fruitful field, and the parched ground become springs of water, chap. xxx. 25; xxxv. 7. We may suppose him to contrast with this happy prospect with his own fruitless labours in preaching to the obstinate and impenitent Jews. Vitriga.

Chap. XXXIII. We may call this chapter a triumphant ode upon the destruction of Sennacherib’s army before Jerusalem. The Prophet sets forth the several scenes of that transaction with all the beauties of portical description. At the beginning he addresses himself to Sennacherib, “Woe to thee that spoilest,” &c. expressing the injustice of his ambitious designs, and the sudden disappointment of them. W. Lowth, Bp. Lowth.

Ver. 2. O Lord, be gracious unto us; &c.] The Jews are here introduced offering up their earnest supplications to God in their present distressful condition; with expressions of their trust and confidence in his protection. Bp. Lowth.

— be thou their arm] Several versions give it, “our arm or strength.” Bp. Lowth.

Isaiah 30:24

24. — that ear the ground] “Ear,” that is, plough. See the note on Gen. xlv. 6. Concerning winnowing, see note at Ruth iii. 2; Ps. i. 4. From this passage it appears, that asses as well as oxen were anciently employed in Judea for ploughing, and so they are in the East to this day. Dr. Russell says, that after the camel, the ass may be reckoned the next in importance among the Syrian beasts of burden. Large caravans of them are employed in bringing provisions from the villages: they serve also for the plough. And Niebuhr tells us, that near Bagdad he twice saw an ass harnessed to a plough together with oxen. Parkhurst. 25. — there shall be rivers and streams of waters! Rain, and dew, and living water, are put in prophetic language for the graces and doctrines of the Spirit, and the defect of rain for spiritual barrenness. Sir I. Newton. See ver. 23. — in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.] This must refer to the great and terrible destruction of God’s enemies, which shall be hereafter, when the strong fortifications, or perhaps the great ones of the earth, denoted here by the towers, shall fall. See Rev. xiv. 20; xix. 21. W. Lowth.

Isaiah 30:26

26. — the light of the moon &c.] The Hebrew poets, to express happiness, prosperity, advancement of kingdoms, &c. make use of images taken from the most striking parts of nature, from the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and stars, shining with increased splendour, and never setting; new heavens and a new earth are created, and a brighter age commences: calamity, the overthrow and destruction of kingdoms, are represented by opposite images. See notes on chap. xiii. 10. 13. Bp. Lowth. 27. Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, &c.] From hence to the end of the chapter follows a lively description of God’s vengeance, devouring the Assyrian army like fire, and consuming it all at once. W. Lowth. tion, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

Isaiah 30:28

28. — to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity.] The sieve or 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. “But the van,” Kimchi observes, “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 here put into the jaws of the people, shall not direct them aright, but shall, in his judgment on their stubbornness, make them err, and lead them into destruction.” This latter image the Prophet applies to the same subject, chap. xxxvii. 29. Bps. Lowth and Hall. 29. Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept.] The Jewish festivals were kept from even to even, Lev. xxiii. 32. The feast of the Passover is chiefly alluded to here, which was kept in the evening, and the supper concluded with a hymn, Matt. xxvi. 30. W. Lowth. 32. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, &c.] In an old English translation it is much planner, “Whithersoever he goes, the rod shall cleave unto him, which the Lord shall lay upon him.” The words translated “the grounded staff,” signify such a rod or stroke as sinks deep, and makes lasting marks in the flesh. W. Lowth. The verse may be thus paraphrased: So shall the Lord smite him again, and smite him soundly and deep, so that the prints of his staff shall be seen upon him; and, wheresoever the Lord shall lay his heavy hand upon him, the judgment shall be entertained with the joy and acclamation of all his oppressed neighbours, as a benefit to themselves; and in all his terrifying battles will the Lord, with his staff of vengeance, fight against him. Bp. Hall. Before CHRIST about 713. glory of his voice. passing of the rod founded. to rest upon him. The folly of trusting in Egypt, and forsaking of God. Before CHRIST about 713. them. yesterday. shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight

Isaiah 30:33

33. — Tophet is ordained of old; &c.] See note at