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The prophet, in this chapter, is dealing, I. With the proud oppressors of his people at home, that abused their power, to pervert justice, whom he would reckon with for their tyranny (Isa 10:1-4). II. With a threatening invader of his people from abroad, Sennacherib king of Assyria, concerning whom observe, 1. The commission given him to invade Judah (Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6). 2. His pride and insolence in the execution of that commission (Isa 10:7-11, Isa 10:13, Isa 10:14). 3. A rebuke given to his haughtiness, and a threatening of his fall and ruin, when he had served the purposes for which God raised him up (Isa 10:12, Isa 10:15-19). 4. A promise of grace to the people of God, to enable them to bear up under the affliction, and to get good by it (Isa 10:20-23). 5. Great encouragement given to them not to fear this threatening storm, but to hope that, though for the present all the country was put into a great consternation by it, yet it would end well, in the destruction of this formidable enemy (Isa 10:24-34). And this is intended to quiet the minds of good people in reference to all the threatening efforts of the wrath of the church's enemies. If God be for us, who can be against us? None to do us any harm.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 10 This chapter contains denunciations of punishment, first on the governors of the Jewish nation, and then upon the Assyrians; a woe is denounced on the makers and imposers of bad laws, whereby the poor and the needy, the widows and the fatherless, were deprived of their right, Isa 10:1 which woe or punishment is explained to be a desolation of their country by the Assyrians, that should come afar off, and which they could not escape; under whom they should bow and fall; and yet there should not be an end of their punishment, Isa 10:3 next follows a prophecy of the destruction of the Assyrians themselves, for the comfort of God's people; in which is observed, that the Assyrian monarch was an instrument in the hand of the Lord to chastise his people, and therefore is called the rod and staff of his wrath and indignation, Isa 10:5 the people are described against whom he was sent, and the end for which is mentioned, Isa 10:6 though this was not his intention, nor did he design to stop here, but to destroy and cut off many other nations, Isa 10:7 which he hoped to do from the magnificence of his princes, who were as kings, and from the conquests he had made of kingdoms, and their chief cities, Isa 10:8 wherefore, when the Lord had done what he designed to do by him among his people the Jews, he was determined to punish him, because of the pride of his heart, and the haughtiness of his looks, and his boasting of his strength and wisdom, and of his robberies and plunders, without opposition; which boasting was as foolish as if an axe, a saw, a rod, and a staff, should boast, magnify, move, and lift up themselves against the person that made use of them, Isa 10:12 which punishment is said to come from the Lord, and is expressed by leanness, and by a consuming and devouring fire; for which reason his army is compared to thorns and briers, to a forest, and a fruitful field, which should be destroyed at once; so that what of the trees remained should be so few as to be numbered by a child, Isa 10:16 and, for the further consolation of the people of God, it is observed, that in the times following the destruction of the Assyrian monarchy, a remnant of the people of Israel should be converted, and no more lean upon an arm of flesh, but upon the Lord Christ, the Holy One of Israel; even a remnant only; for though that people were very numerous, yet a remnant, according to the election of grace, should be saved, when it was the determinate counsel of God, and according to his righteous judgment, to destroy the far greater part of them, for their perverseness and obstinacy, Isa 10:20 wherefore the people of God are exhorted not to be afraid of the Assyrian, though chastised by him; since in a little time the anger of the Lord would cease in his destruction, which should be after the manner of the Egyptians at the Red sea, and as the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; whereby they would be free from his burden and yoke, because of the anointed King that should reign, or the King Messiah, Isa 10:24 and then follows a description of the expedition of the king of Assyria into Judea, by making mention of the several places through which he should pass with terror to the inhabitants, until he should come to Jerusalem, against which he should shake his hand, Isa 10:28 and then, under the similes of lopping a bough, and cutting down the thickets of a forest, and the trees of Lebanon, is predicted the destruction of his army and its generals by an angel, Isa 10:33.

As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols,.... Which worship idols, as the Targum paraphrases it. He speaks of them as being very easily taken by him; he had no trouble in subduing them; no sooner did he come up to them, and looked on them, and saw where they were, but they fell into his hands; they gave up themselves to him at once, and he took possession of them. And whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; being made of better metal, or more richly ornamented, or worshipped in a more pompous manner; or were "more" than they of Jerusalem and Samaria, exceeded them in number; or were "stronger" and mightier than they, as Kimchi supplies it, and yet could not protect them; or were "from Jerusalem, and from Samaria"; the wicked men of Israel, Jarchi says, supplied all the nations with images, they all sprung from them; and if the idols which came from hence could not secure the nations of the earth from falling into the hands of the Assyrian monarch, neither could they preserve Jerusalem and Samaria from being taken by him.

(Verse 5 and following) Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hands is my fury. I will send him against a deceitful nation, and I will command him against the people of my wrath, to take the spoil and seize the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. But he does not understand this, and his heart does not take it to heart, but his purpose is to destroy and cut off nations. For my princes are not also kings? Is not Charcamis like Chalanno, and Arphad like Emath? Is not Damascus like Samaria? Just as my hand found the kingdoms of idols, so too their images from Jerusalem and Samaria. Shall I not do to Jerusalem and its idols what I did to Samaria and its idols? Let us put here the translation of the Septuagint, which differs in many ways from the Hebrew. LXX: Woe to the Assyrians: the rod of my anger is in their hands, I will send my wrath against a wicked nation, and I will command my people to plunder and loot, and to trample down cities and reduce them to dust. But he did not think so, and did not intend it that way; rather, his purpose is to destroy, and to annihilate many nations. And if they say to him: You alone are the ruler, he will reply: I did not conquer the region above Babylon, and Chalane, where the tower was built. But I came to Arabia, and Damascus, and Samaria: just as I brought these, so I will take all the kingdoms. Howl, statues in Jerusalem and Samaria; for just as I did to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its images. First, it must be known that in Hebrew there is no 'Chalane,' but 'Chalanno' (). For the last letter of this name is not 'Iod,' as they believed, but 'Vau,' which letters differ in size only. However, the tower was built in the plain of Shinar, where there were Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, and Babylon, which received its name from the confusion of languages (Genesis 11). However, in Hebrew, Arabia is not mentioned, but rather Hamath, which the Syrians still call Epiphania. They also added idols in Jerusalem of their own accord. And that which is written above: If they say to him, 'You alone are the prince,' he will answer, 'I did not take that region, and that one, but I took Arabia, and Damascus, and Samaria.' This suggests the meaning: When, he says, the Assyrians who were captured say, 'You are the prince of all,' he, still feeling weak, will answer, 'How do you call me prince, when I have only taken Arabia, and Damascus, and Samaria, and the distant nations beyond Babylon have not yet submitted to my rule?' But just as I captured Arabia, Damascus, and Samaria, I will subdue all kingdoms to me. Let us now turn to Hebrew and write down briefly what we think. Woe to the Assyrians, that is, Sennacherib, for he is the rod and staff of my fury. In his hand is my indignation, and through him I will strike down the deceitful nation that has always cowered between me and idols, that has lied about obeying my commands. I will command him against my furious people, to plunder and loot them, and to reduce them to dust and trample them like mud in the streets. That is, to strike them but not kill them, to wound them but not take their lives. But he extended the scope of my anger and not only raged against Israel, against whom it had been directed, but he also ravaged many nations, so that he wore out all the kingdoms around, and his sword raged even against the destruction of many nations. For he rose up in pride, and dared to say: My commanders are the kings of other nations, and they are subject to me, they will rule over all nations. Just as I took (conquered) Carcamis, so I also took (conquered) Chalanne; just as I obtained Arphad, so I also obtained Emath; just as I took (conquered) Damascus, so I also subjugated Samaria. Just as I have conquered the other kingdoms that worshiped idols, I will also bring Jerusalem and Samaria, where the same idols are worshiped, under my control. Just as I have taken Samaria with its idols, I will also capture Jerusalem, because they worship the same gods. Additionally, we have added 70 cities from the region beyond Babylon, including Chalane where the tower was built, completely abandoning Arphad. According to their translation and tropology, as long as it is pious, we can infer freedom from the fact that he says, 'And I will command my people to take the spoils and the plunder, and to trample on cities and reduce them to dust.' We can also interpret this to mean that every day the Lord commands his people to reduce to dust the cities of the adversaries that rise up against the knowledge of God and have been built by the excessive labor of heretics, and to demonstrate that they are nothing. One who understands the weakness of the human heart, and that being encompassed by mortal flesh, cannot have perfect victory over virtues, nor can all nations accept it, even though others may admire and say: You alone are the leader, will respond to them: There are many things which I must destroy, and yet I have not been able to destroy them: I know that I do not know. And although I have overcome many arguments of adversaries, there are still many that must be overcome. At the same time, with hope for the future, he promises himself victory from the things he has overcome and also from the others. The idols of Jerusalem and Samaria are ordered to howl, not the ones that are fake, but those who made them, metaphorically those who made them, through the things that were made, so that not only those who fabricated idols in heresies, but also those who defend falsehood in the Church out of ignorance, may testify that they have erred with howling and repentance.

Second, the subjugation of cities: is not Calano as Charcamis, below: for of a truth, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste lands, and their countries (Isa 37:18).

The Jews, about to be carried into captivity, are here warned against the superstition and idolatry of that country to which they were going. Chaldea was greatly addicted to astrology, and therefore the prophet begins with warning them against it, Jer 10:1, Jer 10:2. He then exposes the absurdity of idolatry in short but elegant satire; in the midst of which he turns, in a beautiful apostrophe, to the one true God, whose adorable attributes repeatedly strike in view, as he goes along, and lead him to contrast his infinite perfections with those despicable inanities which the blinded nations fear, Jer 10:3-16. The prophet again denounces the Divine judgments, Jer 10:17, Jer 10:18; upon which Jerusalem laments her fate, and supplicates the Divine compassion in her favor, Jer 10:19-25.

Fourth strophe. (Isa 10:1-4) them that decree--namely, unrighteous judges. write grievousness, &c.--not the scribes, but the magistrates who caused unjust decisions (literally, "injustice" or "grievousness") to be recorded by them (Isa 65:6) [MAURER], (Isa 1:10, Isa 1:23).

Is not . . . as--Was there any one of these cities able to withstand me? Not one. So Rab-shakeh vaunts (Isa 36:19). Calno--Calneh, built by Nimrod (Gen 10:10), once his capital, on the Tigris. Carchemish--Circesium, on the Euphrates. Taken afterwards by Necho, king of Egypt; and retaken by Nebuchadnezzar: by the Euphrates (Jer 46:2). Hamath--in Syria, north of Canaan (Gen 10:18). Taken by Assyria about 753 B.C. From it colonists were planted by Assyria in Samaria. Arpad--near Hamath. Samaria--now overthrown. Damascus-- (Isa 17:1, Isa 17:3).