Isaiah 33:8 Kommentar

This chapter relates to the same events as the foregoing chapter, the distress of Judah and Jerusalem by Sennacherib's invasion and their deliverance out of that distress by the destruction of the Assyrian army. These are intermixed in the prophecy, in the way of a Pindaric. Observe, I. The great distress that Judah and Jerusalem should then be brought into (Isa 33:7-9). II. The particular frights which the sinners in Zion should then be in (Isa 33:13, Isa 33:14). III. The prayers of good people to God in this distress (Isa 33:2). IV. The holy security which they should enjoy in the midst of this trouble (Isa 33:15, Isa 33:16). V. The destruction of the army of the Assyrians (Isa 33:1-3), in which God would be greatly glorified (Isa 33:5, Isa 33:10-12). VI. The enriching of the Jews with the spoil of the Assyrian camp (Isa 33:4, Isa 33:23, Isa 33:24). VII. The happy settlement of Jerusalem, and the Jewish state, upon this. Religion shall be uppermost (Isa 33:6), and their civil state shall flourish (Isa 33:17-22). This was soon fulfilled, but is written for our learning.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 33 This chapter contains an account of God's judgments upon the enemies of his people, and of the peaceable, comfortable, and happy state of the church in the latter day. The judgment denounced, Isa 33:1 a prayer of the church for safety and protection, which it promises itself from what God had heretofore done, Isa 33:2 an answer to it, declaring the spoil of the enemy, and the happy times the people of God should enjoy through his appearance for them, Isa 33:4 though previous thereunto there would be very distressing ones, Isa 33:7 when the Lord resolves to arise and exert his power in the destruction of the people, who should be burnt up like stubble, thorns, and lime, Isa 33:10 persons far and near are called upon to take notice of this, Isa 33:13 which would issue in a different manner, in the surprise and terror of hypocrites, and in the safety and plenty of provisions for good men, who are described, Isa 33:14 and then follow promises to them, of seeing the King in his beauty, and beholding a distant country of reflecting on past terror with pleasure, being freed from it, and in no danger of a foreign enemy, Isa 33:17 and the chapter is concluded with a famous prophecy of the peace, prosperity, and safety of the church, and of the healthfulness of its inhabitants, under the protection of Christ, its King and Lawgiver, its enemies being also an easy prey to it, Isa 33:20.

The highways lie waste,.... No man walking in them, for fear of the enemy; "the ways of Zion", which are said to "mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts", Lam 1:4 none daring to attend the ministry of the word and ordinances; see Isa 35:8, the wayfaring man ceaseth; or, "the traveller rests" (z); or stops; he does not proceed on his journey; a stop is put to a religious course and conversation; there is an entire cessation of religious worship; a sabbath is kept, but not a religious one; he that would walk in Zion's ways is forbid, and is obliged to sit still: he hath broken the covenant; some, as Kimchi's father, interpret this of the Jews' complaining that God had broken his covenant with them, as in Psa 89:39 but most of Sennacherib's breaking his covenant with Hezekiah, Kg2 18:14 rather this is to be understood of antichrist, whose doctrine is, that faith is not to be kept with heretics, and which will abundantly appear at this distressing time: he hath despised the cities; as Sennacherib did the fenced cities of Judah; he despised their fortifications, and easily took them, and treated the inhabitants with disdain and contempt; and so will the reformed Protestant cities and countries be invaded, seized upon, and insulted, by the Romish antichrist: he regardeth no man; so as to keep covenant with them, have compassion on them, and spare them, he fearing neither God nor man. (z) "cessaverat viator", Junius & Tremellius; "desiit viator", Cocceius.

(Verse 7 and following) Behold, those who see will cry out: The angels of peace will weep bitterly. The roads are abandoned, the passer-by has ceased on the path, the pact has become void, cities have been thrown down, men have not been regarded. The land has mourned and languished, Lebanon is confused and darkened, Sharon has become like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel have been shaken. Now I will arise, says the Lord: now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up. You will conceive chaff, you will give birth to stubble; your spirit will devour you like fire. And the peoples shall be like ashes from a fire: thorns gathered together shall be burned with fire. The Hebrew word Arellam (), which Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion interpreted, I will reveal to them, dividing the final syllable and reading it as Are Lahem (), the Hebrews believe it signifies Angels, and is a prophecy concerning the calling of the Gentiles, and the wealth of the Church, and the destruction of the Temple, which the Angels shall lament, not dwelling within but departing from it: and those who were previously messengers of peace shall bitterly weep. Whether the apostles themselves who were sent to announce peace to Jerusalem, to which the Lord spoke, 'If you also knew the things that are for your peace' (Luke 19:42): at which the Lord appeared to them, in order to comfort them with His presence, Jerusalem will weep, because it did not receive His preaching, because the ways have been scattered, and the one passing by the righteous path has ceased, according to what is said in the Lamentations of Jeremiah: The ways of Zion mourn, because there are none who come to the solemnity (Lamentations 1:4). The covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was also made void: He cast out the cities of Judah: He did not consider the people, who by their own fault wanted to be beasts. The land mourned and grew weak for those who lived in it (Genesis XV and 22). Lebanon is confused and darkened, undoubtedly signifying the Temple, as we read in Zechariah. Open, Lebanon, your gates, so that fire may devour your cedars (Zechariah XI, 1). Or Jerusalem, which is called Libanus in Ezekiel, the Prophet saying: A great eagle, with great wings, which has the ability to enter into Lebanon (Ezekiel II, 3); which afterwards, the divine word interpreting, says: when Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, he clearly referred to the eagle as the king of Babylon, and to Lebanon as Jerusalem. Sharon became like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel were shaken. As for Bashan, the Seventy translated it as Galilee, a province, for one place of the province. But the region around Joppa and Lydda, also called Saron (or Saronas), is a place where wide and fertile fields extend. There is also the region of Basan beyond the Jordan, which was possessed by two and a half tribes and is interpreted as the most fertile and abundant (Deut. III): and Carmel, of which we have spoken above. Therefore, the once fertile lands of Judea will be turned into desolation, through which metaphorically the entire wealth of the Jews will be exchanged for poverty and scarcity. Therefore, since they refused to accept the words of the Apostles, Lebanon was confounded, and Sharon became a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel were shaken. Therefore, the Lord says that either because of his excessive patience or because he will rise from the dead, he will be exalted among the nations and lifted up on the cross. And he addresses the Jews themselves, saying, 'You will conceive burning anger and bring forth stubble, and your breath will ignite a fire that will devour you as the flames consume what is conceived and born.' And there shall be, he said, the people of the Jews showing the magnitude of their misfortune through the ashes remaining from the fire. For the thorns of their sins, which have been gathered in great numbers, shall be consumed by the fire, which many interpret as referring to the ultimate captivity and destruction of Jerusalem. Others affirm that it shall happen more fully and completely in the time of judgment.

As to the loneliness of the ways: the ways are made desolate: the ways of Zion mourn, because there are none that come to the solemn feast (Lam 1:4); as to the breaking of covenants: the covenant is made void, namely, the covenant by which Sennacherib had insured Ezechias, and therefore, he has rejected, as if despising their friendship, he has not regarded, because of the pride of his heart: he swallows the ground, neither doth he regard when the noise of the trumpet sounds (Job 39:24).

In this chapter the prophet predicts a restoration of Israel and Judah to the favor of God, attended with such glorious circumstances as shall astonish all the world, Jer 33:1-9. Their prosperity from that period is then described by a beautiful enumeration of circumstances, Jer 33:10-13. Thus leads to the promise of the Messiah, the grand subject of the prophetical writings, and the happiness and stability which the children of Israel shall enjoy under his government; promises which, in so far as they respect the great body of the Jews, remain still to be fulfilled, Jer 33:14-26.

The time is the autumn of 713 B.C. (Isa 33:1, Isa 33:8-9, describe the Assyrian spoiler; strong as he is, he shall fall before Jehovah who is stronger (Isa 33:2-6, Isa 33:10-12)) and thou--that is, though thou wast not spoiled--though thou wast not dealt treacherously with (see on Isa 24:16), thy spoiling and treachery are therefore without excuse, being unprovoked. cease--When God has let thee do thy worst, in execution of His plans, thine own turn shall come (compare Isa 10:12; Isa 14:2; Hab 2:8; Rev 13:10).

broken . . . covenant--When Sennacherib invaded Judea, Hezekiah paid him a large sum to leave the land; Sennacherib received the money and yet sent his army against Jerusalem (Kg2 18:14, Kg2 18:17). despised--make slight of as unable to resist him (Isa 10:9; Isa 36:19); easily captures them.

We are now in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah's reign. The threatenings of the first years, which the repentance of the people had delayed, are now so far in force again, and so far actually realized, that the Assyrians are already in Judah, and have not only devastated the land, but are threatening Jerusalem. The element of promise now gains the upper hand, the prophet places himself between Asshur and his own nation with the weapons of prophecy and prayer, and the woe turns from the latter to the former. "Woe, devastator, and thyself not devastated; and thou spoiler, and still not spoiled! Hast thou done with devastating? thou shalt be devastated. Hast thou attained to rob? men rob thee." Asshur is described as not devastated and not spoiled (which could not be expressed by a participle as with us, since bâgad is construed with Beth, and not with the accusative of the person), because it had not yet been visited by any such misfortune as that which had fallen upon other lands and nations. But it would be repaid with like for the like as soon as כּ indicating simultaneousness, as in Isa 30:19 and Isa 18:5, for example) its devastating and spoiling had reached the point determined by Jehovah. Instead of בך, we find in some codd. and editions the reading בו, which is equally admissible. In כּהתימך (from תּמם) the radical syllable is lengthened, instead of having dagesh. כּנּלתך is equivalent to כּהנלותך, a hiphil syncopated for the sake of rhythm (as in Isa 3:8; Deu 1:33, and many other passages), written here with dagesh dirmens, from the verb nâlâh, which is attested also by Job 15:29. The coincidence in meaning with the Arab. verb nâl (fut. i and u), to acquire or attain (see Comm. on Job, at Job 15:29 and Job 30:24-27), has been admitted by the earliest of the national grammarians, Ben-Koreish, Chayug, etc. The conjecture כּכלּותך (in addition to which Cappellus proposed כנלאותך) is quite unnecessary. The play upon the sound sets forth the punishment of the hitherto unpunished one as the infallible echo of its sin.