Isaiah 7

Jerusalem is besieged by Rezin and Perkah, v.1. God sendeth Isaiah unto Achaz, to comfort and encourage him, 3. Foretelling, that they should effect nothing, 7. But that they themselves should be destroyed, 8. For confirmation hereof the Lord giveth Achaz a token, and declareth unto him the conception and birth of Christ, 14. But in regard Achaz rejecteth this tender of grace, the Lord telleth him by the Prophet, that the Kingdom of Juda should be destroyed by the Egyptians and Assyrians, 17. The miserable state and condition of the land of Juda, 22, &c.

1. Now it came to pass in the days of Achaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzzia, [That is, which Jotham was the son of Uzia] King of Juda, [this hath relation unto Achaz] that Rezin the King of Syria, [Heb. Aram, who was one of the sons of Sem, Gen.10.22. From him sprang the Syrians] and Peka [he was a wicked Idolater, who murdered his own King Pekkaia, 2 Kings 15:25,28.] the son of Remalia, King of Israel, marched up towards Jerusalem, to war against it, but he [to wit the King of Syria, who waged the war, and was come to aid the KING of Israel, and (according to the opinion of some) was the principal author of this war, although it had the name that he came to aid and assist the King of Israel] prevailed not by fighting against it.

2. When it was told the house of David, [That is, King Achaz, and the chiefest Lords of the Realm, or his kinsmen] saying, the Syrians rest upon Ephraim: [that is, the Syrians rely upon the aid and assistance of the Ephraimites, they are joined together, and are agreed to set upon thee with one accord. Heb. Aram, that is, Syria riseth upon, &c. Upon Ephraim, that is, upon the ten tribes of the Israelites, as Psal.78.9. and 80.6. and below, v.17. among which tribes the tribes the tribe of Ephraim was the chiefest, and in which tribe the Kings of Israel also kept their court, to wit, in Samaria] then his heart [to wit, the heart of King Achaz] was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest are moved by the wind. [this fear sprang from a bad conscience, unbelief and mistrust.]

3. And the LORD said unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Achaz, [The Prophet is therefore properly sent to Achaz, because he was specially afraid, and because this matter concerned the welfare and prosperity of the Realm] thou and thy son Schear-Jaschab [that is to say, the remnant shall return, to wit, out of the common ruin or captivity, or shall convert themselves. Hence it appeareth, that this name was given unto this son in a Prophetical way, to put the people in mind of Gods promises concerning the return of some of the people. See below, ch.10.21. and compare below, chap.8.3. and Hosea 3:4.6,9.] at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the high way of the Fullers field. [See concerning this the Annotat. 2 Kings, chap.18.on verse 17.]

4. And say unto him, Take heed [To wit, of being afraid] and be quiet, fear not, neither let thine heart grow weak (or faint) because of those two tails, of these smoking fire-brands, because of the kindling of the anger of Rezin, and of the Syrians, and of the son of Remalia. [Because of those two tails of the smoking fire-brands, etc. Thus the Prophet calleth the KING of Syria, and the King of Israel in a disdainful and a contemptible manner, and he intimateth that their anger (which seemed to be like a burning fire, and as if they should have set the whole world on fire) was little to be regarded, and would soon pass away, or have no more strength or virtue, comparing them to a stick that was almost burnt away, comparing them to a stick that was almost burnt away, and had very little or no fire at all any more, but onely had yet some smoak. The King of Syria was almost quite burnt out, or subdued by Joas, the son of Joahaz, 2 Kings 13:25. The King of Israel was almost utterly wasted and brought to nothing by intestine mutiny and war, 2 Kings 15.v.10,14,16. And both of them by Pul, King of Assyria, 2 Kings 15:19, and 1 Chron.5.26. (and of the son of Remalia) The Prophet thinketh him not worthy to call him by his name, or to give him the title of King; whereas he meant notwithstanding, Peka King of Israel, the son of Remalia.]

5. Because the Syrian [Thus doth the Prophet call Rezin, the King of Syria, in a disdainful and contemptible manner] hath advised evil against thee (with) Ephraim, [that is, with the ten tribes of Israel] and the son of Remalia, saying:

6. Let us march up against Juda, [To wit, into the land of Juda] and vex it, [to wit, by besieging the city of Jerusalem a long while, so that they be constrainted at length to yield up themselves into our hands, Oth. Grieve it, or weary it] and divide it amongst us; and make the son of Tabeal King in the midst of it. [They intimate, that their purpose was to rent the land of Juda in twain, and to divide it amongst them both, and in the name of them both to make the son of Tebeal Deputy Governor in it. Who this Tabeal or his son was, is very uncertain: It is probable, that he was a Syrian, of some great house or Family, and an excellent and famous warrior.]

7. Thus saith the LORD: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. [To wit, the evil or mischief, which those two Kings intend: It shall not be put in execution. See the like phrase, Job 22.verse 28.]

8. But Damascus shall be the head of Syria: [That is Damascus shall be the chief city of the Kingdom of Syria] and Rezin the head of Damascus: [the meaning is, Rezin shall be and continue head or governor onely at Damascus, and not at Jerusalem, as he and his confederates do fancy or imagine: their design shall not prosper, every one shall remain or continue within the bounds of his own land] and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. [That is, they shall have no Kingdom more of their own, nor state, nor Dominion in their own hand: so far is it from thence, that they should enlarge their own Kingdom, by the addition of the land of Judea, or of my part thereof. This desolation happened in part by Salmanassar, 2 Kings 17:3. but in full by Esar-haddon, 2 Kings 17:24. the son of Sanherib, 2 Kings 19:37.]

9. In the mean while Samaria shall be the head of Ephraim, and the son of Remalia the head [That is, King or Ruler] of Samaria: [That is, Samaria shall be the chief City of Ephraim; that is, of the Kingdom of the ten tribes; and he that hath the supreme authority and command in it, is Peka, the son of Remalia] if ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established. [The meaning is, if ye will not believe that promise of God, which I have preached unto you, to wit, that these two Kings shall not prevail against you, then ye shall not be established, or ye can have no comfortable assurance against the great fear which ye have by reason of your enemies, but ye shall be always disquiet in heart. Oth. If ye believe not (this) that cometh (therefore) to pass, because ye are not stable, or fixed; to wit, in faith. Oth. Do ye not believe (this,) because ye are not assured, nor confirmed in your faith? To wit, by a token or miracle?]

10. And [Oth. Therefore] the LORD went on to speak unto Achaz, [To wit, By me his prophet, because he saw that Achaz gave no credit to these promises, neither his people also, which sufficiently appeared by their quaking and trembling], saying,

11. Ask thee a token of the LORD, thy God: [Ask thee, &c. That is, for thy good, namely, for confirmation of thy faith, in that which was even now promised thee. (a token, &c.) Whereby thou mayest perceive, that God hath sent a prophet unto thee, that speaketh truth] ask (it either) in the depth, beneath, or ask (it) in the height above. [that is, pray, that God would shew thee a miracle, either on earth, or in heaven. Heb. Make the request deep, or make (it) high upwards.]

12. But Achaz said, I will not ask it, [To wit, a token of the LORD] neither will I tempt the LORD [Achaz speaketh this in a dissembling way, as an hypocrite or dissembler, as if so be he should say, I will not transgress against the commandment of God, Deut.6.6. left I should provoke the Lord to anger. The Lord forbiddeth to ask a token out of Incredulity, unbelief, or with an evil intent and purpose. But he forbiddeth not to require a token by way of obedience, and according to his special command, for confirmation and strengthening of our faith. See the Annotat. Deut.6.16.]

13. Then said he, [To wit, the Prophet Isaiah] Hear ye now, ye house of David, is it too little for you, that ye weary men, that ye weary my God also? [Ye house of David, etc. To wit, ye that are degenerated, not following the godly foot-steps of David. Hence may be gathered, that those that were next to King Achaz, were incredulous, and refused to ask a token, as well as Achaz himself. (Is it too little for you, etc.) The meaning is, hitherto ye have set little by me and the rest of the Lords Prophets, yea despised us, not believing nor entertaining our counsel and admonitions. But now ye vex and trouble the LORD himself, forasmuch as ye despise and reject the grace, which he offereth unto you.]

14. Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a token: [To wit, seeing ye have despised & rejected the token that was offered unto you, and yet notwithstanding the godly have need of confirmation and strengthening in faith: therefore God will give a miraculous token] Behold, a Virgin shall conceive, and she shall bear a son, and call his name IMMANUEL. [Behold, etc. This word exhorteth them to diligent attention unto that which shall come of the tribe of Juda and be born of a virgin. Therefore shall also much more be able and willing to perform that promise which he maketh concerning the redemption or deliverance out of the hands and power of the enemies; that concerneth the spiritual and eternal redemption, this onely the bodily and temporal deliverance. ( a Virgin) or; that Virgin. (and she shall bear a son, and call his name IMMANUEL.) Oth. And thou (O Virgin) shalt call his name IMMANUEL, signifying hereby, that Christ should give him his name, as fathers are wont to do unto their children, Luke 1:63. (IMMANUEL) that is, God with us, true God, and true man, who shall reconcile, yea, as it were re-unite men unto God.]

15. Butter and honey shall he [That is, the Virgins son] eat, [the meaning is, he shall be nourished and brought up in his child-hood, as other children are, that it may appear, that he is of the same nature that other children are of] till he know how to refuse the evil, and to choose the good. [that is, till he come to years of understanding, and discretion, that he knoweth how to distinguish good from evil.]

16. Surely, before this lad (or child) knoweth, to refuse the evil, and to choose the good: that land of which thou art weary, shall be forsaken of her two Kings. [These words are not (according to the opinion of some) a continuation of the immediate foregoing words, speaking of the incarnation of the Son of God, but the Prophet speaketh here again of the deliverance which he promised unto Achaz, concerning the defence and protection of the Israelites against their enemies. And by the young lad or child, may here be understood, the Prophets little Son, Schear-Jaschab, whom by Gods appointment he had taken along with him, vers.3. or some other child that was already born, or should shortly be born: For these words cannot so well suit with our Saviour Christ; the Prophet speaking here of a short time, wherein both those Kings should perish; whereas our Saviour was not born, and come into the world, till many years after that. Yet some do apply this verse unto our Saviour Christ, in such sense or meaning, that this Prophecy should be accomplished in so short a time, as there should be between the birth of Christ, and his age or years of discretion. (that land, etc. Shall be forsaken of both her Kings.) The meaning is, that those two Kings should not onely not take the land of Juda, but that also they themselves should die within a short while. (that land) to wit, the land of Israel and of Syria, from whence all misery and destruction was to come upon King Achaz. (of which thou art weary) or, which thou abhor rest: For the cause immediately related. (of which thou, etc.) to wit, thou King Achaz. (of her two Kings) Heb. Of the face of her two Kings; to wit, Peka and Rezin. These two Kings, shortly after this prophecy (as some do account) died both of them a violent death; as appeareth, 2 Kings 15:30. and 16.9. before Achaz had reigned four years complete.]

17. (But) the LORD shall cause to cause to come upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy fathers house days, [To wit, heavy, sad, lamentable days] such as have not come from that day that Ephraim departed from Juda, [that is, from that time that the ten tribes were rent from the tribe of Juda, in the time of Rehabeam, and Jeroboam, of which see 1 Kings 12. And here Ephraim onely is named, but the ten tribes of Isra el Ephraim onely is named, but the ten tribes of Israel are meant, not onely because Ephraim was the chiefest of the ten tribes, but also because that rent first began at the tribe of Ephraim, and because Jeroboam came of that tribe, who was the first King over Ephraim, and the other nine tribes, 1 Kings 12.] (by) the King of Assyria. [to wit, shall the Lord so it. The Jews did rely exceedingly upon the Kings of Assyria, and in special Achaz, as appeareth, 2 Kings 16:7. But here the Lord threateneth, that he will cause them to be most plagued and oppressed by the King of Assyria; namely, (as some conceive) by Nebuchadnezar, who at that time had brought also Assyria under his power and dominion. See below, verse 20. But some understand here Tiglath Pilneser, of whom we may read, 2 Chron.28.20. Others Sanherib, of whom is spoken, 2 Kings 18:13, &c.]

18. For it shall come to pass in that day, [To wit, wherein he hath determined to punish you and your posterity] that the LORD shall hiss unto the flies, that are in the end of the Rivers of Egypt, and for the bees, that are in the land of Assar. [that is, he shall by hissing, whistling, or piping, cause them to come to him. See above, chap.5.26. (he shall hiss for the flies, etc. And for the bees, etc.) Thus he calleth the Philistines, Idumeans, and the Ethiopians, which dwelt on the borders of Egypt. See the fulfilling of this Prophecy, 2 Kings 19:9. and 2 Chron.28.17. The Prophet calleth the people Flies, in respect of their great multitude: Bees, as well in regard of their stinging, and of their great number, as in regard of their experience in war, and skill in setting an army in battle array. Compare Deut.1.44. Psal.118.12.]

19. And they [To wit, those Flies and those Bees] shall come, and they shall all rest [or, lie down] in the desolate valleys, and in the clefts of the rocks, and in all thorn-hedges, and in all commended, [oth. Commendable, or praise-worthy, that is, fruitful] places. [The meaning is, that the camps of the enemies should lie down in all places throughout the whole land of Juda, both in convenient and in inconvenient places; whether high or low, fruitful or barren.]

20. In that day shall the LORD shave off with an hired razor (which) is on that side the River, [Meaning the River Euphrates] by the King of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; yea it shall also take the heard quite away [In that day shall the LORD shave off with an hired razor, &c. To wit, hired by King Achaz, to defend him against the Assyrians & Israelites, see 2 Kings 16:7,8. The meaning is, thou hast offended, in putting thy trust in the King of Assyria, but I will punish thee by him. (by the King of Assyria) Not just by the very same King of Assyria, whom Achaz had hired, to wit, Tiglath-Pilneser: for though indeed he is said to have distressed Achaz, 2 Chron.28.20. and 21. Yet he did not so great harm to the people of the Jews, as God threateneth them in this place. Therefore this is to be meant of another King of Assyria. Some conceive that here is spoken of divers Kings of Assyria, who the one after the other plagued the people of the Jews most grievously; as namely, Sanherib, Esar-haddon, and last of all Nebuchadnezar did. See 2 Kings 18:19. and 2 Chron.33.2. 2 Kings 24. And 25. But that excessively mischief and misery, whereof mention is made in this place, seemeth to suit with none else, at least with none more fully then with Nebuchadnezar, who effected the same, when he brought a mighty great army with him into the land of Juda; which the Prophet here the threateneth, see 2 Kings 24. And 25. This King Nebuchadnezar, who was King of Babylon, is called here King of Assyria, because he had subdued Assyria, and had brought it under his dominion. (The Lord shall shave off the head, etc.) to wit, the hair of the head, and of the feet, that is, he will deal severely with every man, sparing none. (yea, it shall also take the heard quite away.) By the beard, is meant the ornament, and repute, and glory of the congregation of the people of the Jews. See the accomplishment hereof, 2 Kings 24. And 25.]

21. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall have kept alive a little cow and two sheep. [That a man shall have kept alive, etc. Or, shall have nourished; namely, so, that the enemies shall not have taken them away from him, or slain them. (A little cow:) or, a young cow, or young heifer. (and two sheep) or two goats. He putteth a certain number for an uncertain. The meaning is, few milch kine or beast shall yield milk enough for those few people that shall be left.]

22. And it shall come to pass, that by reason of the abundance of milk which they shall give. [Hebr. Make See above, ch.5.on v.10.] he shall eat butter; [to wit, good store, or in great abundance, as knowing none to whom he might sell the milk or butter, the land being bereaved of her inhabitants: or because he shall not have many eaters at home with him, or many mouths to feed; for they shall be either slain or driven away by the enemies] yea, every one that shall be left [to wit, after so many desolations and murders] in the midst of the land, [to wit, of the land of Juda] he shall eat butter and honey. [But of other eatable commodities there shall be no great store, the whole land or country lying untilled.]

23. It shall also come to pass in that day, that every [That is, many] place where (there) were a thousand vines, [Hebr. A thousand vine] of (or, at) a thousand silver-lings, [that is, worth a thousand silverlings] the same shall be for thorns and briars: [The meaning is, that the whole land, yea even the most fruitful places, and those that were wont to be best manured, shall lie waste and desolate.]

24. (So) that men shall be fain to go thither with arrows, and with the bow: [To wit, to defend themselves against the wild beasts, which in great number shall be found among the briars and thorns, after that the land shall lie desolate, and empty, untilled and un-inhabited. This is that which the LORD threatenenth unto transgressors in his Law, Levit.26.22.] for all the land shall be thorns and briars. [and consequently, there shall be no great store of corn, and other eatable wares or commodities.]

25. Also (on) all the mountains, which are wont to be digged up with mattocks, [To wit, the vineyards, and other fruitful places, which are wont to be digged up with mattocks) to wit, to plant them afterward with vines] thither shall not men come, (for) fear of thorns and briars; but they [to wit, those mountains and grounds that were wont to bear much good fruit] shall be for the sending in of the ox, and for the treading of small cattle. [that is, that oxen or small cattle, whether sheep or goats, may be sent in thither, see Exod.12.5. Oth. Thus; Concerning all the mountains that shall be digged up with mattocks, thither shall not the fear of thorn sand briars come, but, &c. In this sense, that men shall not be able to hide themselves any where, but on high mountains, where they shall yet prepare a place to send in some cattle thither.]