Isaiah 30:1-33

Isaiah 30:1-33

Isaiah 30:1-33

1. Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

1. Væ filiis contumacibus, (vel, perversis) dicit Iehova, ut capiant consilium, et non ex me; ut operiant arcanum. (vel, fundant fusionem,) et non ex spiritu meo; ut peccatum addant peccato.

2. That walk to go down into Egyst, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!

2. Proficiscuntur ut descendant in Ægyptum, et os meum non interrogaverunt, roborantes se robore Pharaonis, et sperantes in umbra Ægypti.

3. Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.

3. Erit autem vobis fortitudo Pharaonis in pudorem, et fiducia in umbra Ægypti in ignominiam.

4. For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.

4. Fuerunt enim principes ejus in Zoan et legati ejus in Hanes venerunt.

5. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.

5. Omnes pudefient in populo qui eis non proderit, neque auxilio erit, neque commodum afferet; sed erit in pudorem, atque etiam in opprobrium.

6. The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them

6. Onus jumentorum Austri. In terra afflictionis et angustiæ, leo, et leo major ab illis, vipera et prester volans, dum portabunt super humerum pullorum divitias suas, et super gibbos camelorum thesauros suos ad populum qui non proderit.

7. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.

7. Certe Ægyptii vanitas, et frustra auxiliabuntur. Propterea clamavi ad illam: Robur illorum quiescere.

8. Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever;

8. Nunc vade, et scribe hanc visionem in tabula coram ipsis, et in libro insculpe eam; ut sit in diem novissimum, in perpetuum usque in secula.

9. That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:

9. Quod populus hic rebellis sit, filii mendaces, filii qui recusant audire legem Iohivæ.

10. Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

10. Qui dicunt videntibus, ne videatis, et prospicientibus, ne prospiciatis nobis recta; loquimini nobis blanditias, videte errores.

11. Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

11. Recedite a via, declinate a semita; facite ut a facie nostra facessat Sanctus Israel.

12. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:

12. Propterea sic dicit Sanctus Israel: quia respuistis verbum hoc, et confisi estis in violentia et pravitate, et innixi estis in eam;

13. Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.

13. Ideo erit vobis iniquitas hæc quasi ruptura cadens, tumor in alto muro, cujus repente et subito venit fractura.

14. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter’s vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.

14. Et contritio ejus quasi contritio vasis figulorum, quod absque misericordia comminuitur; nec in ejus fractura invenitur testa adignem e foco ferendum, vel aquam e puteo hauriendum.

15. For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not.

15. Quoniam sic dixit Dominus Iehova Sanctus Israel: In requie et quiete salvi eritis; in tranquillitate et fiducia erit fortitudo vestra, sed noluistis.

16. But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

16. Et dixistis, Non, sed equis effugiemus; propterea fugietis; super celerem conscendemus; propterea celeriores erunt qui vos persequentur.

17. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

17. Mille unus a facie increpationis unius a facie increpationis quinque fugietis, donec relicti fueritis sicut malus navis in vertice montis, et sicut vexillum in colle.

18. And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement: blessed are all they that wait for him.

18. Propterea expectabit vos Iehova, ut misereatur vestri; et propterea exaltabitur, ut propitius sit vobis; quia Deus judicii Iehova. Beati omnes qui expectant eum.

19. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.

19. Certe populus in Sion habitabit in Ierusalem; flendo non flebis; miserendo miserebitur tui; ad vocem clamoris tui, simulac audierit, respondebit tibi.

20. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

20. Ubi dederit vobis Dominus panem angoris et aquam afflictionis, non arcebitur pluvia tua, et oculi tui videbunt pluviam tuam.

21. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

21. Tum aures tuæ audient verbum a tergo tuo, dicendo: Hæc via, ambulate in ea, sive ad dextram sive ad sinistram eatis.

22. Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

22. Tum profanabitis tectorium sculptilium argenti tui, et operimentum conflatilis auri tui, separabisque ea tanquam pannum menstruo infectum, dices qui illi: Egredere (vel, Apage.)

23. Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.

23. Tum dabit pluviam semini tuo, cum seminaveris terram, et panem proventus terræ; et erit uber et pinguis, et pascentur pecora tua in die illo in amplis pascuis.

24. The oxen likewise, and the young asses that ear the ground, shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.

24. Boves etiam tui, et pulli asinorum colentes terram, pabulum purum comedent, quod in pala ventilatum erit et in vanno.

25. And there shal be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.

25. Et accidet, ut super omnem montem excelsum, et super omnem collem elevatum, sint rivi, rivi aquarum in die cædis magnæ cum turres corruerint.

26. Moreover, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.

26. Et erit lux lunæ sicut lux solis, et lux solis septuplo major, quasi lux septem dierum, in die qui alligaverit Iehova fracturam populi sui, et perfossionem plagæ ejus sanaverit.

27. Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

27. Ecce nomen Iehovæ venit e loco remoto; ardens facies ejus, et grave onus; labia ejus plena sunt indignatione; et lingua ejus quasi ignis devorans.

28. And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

28. Et spiritus ejus quasi torrens inundans, usque ad collum dividet; ad ventilandas gentes in cribro inutili, et frænum errare faciens in maxillis populorum.

29. Ye shall have a song, as in the night, when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel.

29. Canticum erit vobis, quemadmodum in nocte dum celebratur dies festus, et lætitia cordis quasi ejus qui ad tibiam incedit, ut veniat ad montem Iehovæ, ad Fortem Israelis.

30. And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.

30. Et audiri faciet Iehova potentiam vocis suæ, et descensionem brachii sui videri faciet, cum furore vultus et flamma ignis vorantis, dissipatione, inundatione, et lapide grandinis.

31. For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod.

31. Sane a voce Iehovæ conteretur Assur, qui virga percussit.

32. And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it.

32. Et erit in omni transitu baculus fundatus, quam infliget Iehova super eum cum tympanis, et citharis, et præliis elevationis pugnabit contra eam.

33. For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared: he heath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

33. Quoniam ordinata est ab hesterno Tophet: etiam Regi præparata est: quam in profundum posuit et dilatavit. Pyra ejus ignis, et ligna multa; flatus Iehovæ quasi torrens sulphuris succendit eam.

1. Woe to the rebellious children. The Prophet exclaims against the Jews, because, when they were unable to bear the burden, when they were hard pressed by the Assyrians and other enemies, they fled to Egypt for help. This reproof might appear to be excessively severe, were we merely to consider that weak and miserable men, especially when they are unjustly oppressed, have a right to ask assistance even from wicked persons; for it is a principle implanted in us by nature, that all human beings should willingly, and of their own accord, endeavour to assist each other. But when we come to the very sources, we shall find that no ordinary or inconsiderable guilt had been contracted by the people.

First, it is no light offense, but wicked obstinacy, to disregard and even despise God’s government, and follow their own inclinations. But God had strictly forbidden them to enter into any alliance or league with the Egyptians. (Exodus 13:17; Deuteronomy 17:16.) There were chiefly two causes of this prohibition. One was general, and related to alliances and leagues with other nations; for God did not wish that his people should be corrupted by the superstitions of the Gentiles. (Exodus 23:32; 34:15; Deuteronomy 7:2.) We are gradually infected, I know not how, by the vices of those with whom we have intercourse and familiarity; and as we are more prone by nature to copy vices than virtues, we easily become accustomed to corruptions, and, in short, the infection rapidly spreads from one person to another. This has happened to our own country, France, in consequence of having intercourse with many nations, which leads her too eagerly to imitate their vices, and has covered her with frightful pollution. This immoderate desire of forming alliances unlocked Asia to the Mahometans, and next laid Europe open to them; and though they still retain their moderation in eating and drinking, all that has been subdued by their arms has contracted nothing but filth and debasement. This is what we Frenchmen have also derived from our intercourse with other nations.

The second reason was special and peculiar to this nation; for, since the Lord had delivered the Jews out of Egypt, and commanded them to remember so remarkable a benefit, he forbade them to have any intercourse with the Egyptians. And if they had entered into an alliance with the Egyptians, the remembrance of that benefit might easily have been obliterated; for they would not have been at liberty to celebrate it in such a manner as had been commanded. (Exodus 13:3, 8,14.) It was excessively base to disregard the glory of God for the purpose of cultivating friendship with an irreligious and wicked nation. Since God intended also to testify to his people that he alone was more than sufficient to secure their safety, they ought to have valued that promise so highly as to exclude themselves willingly from other assistance. It was a very heinous crime to endeavour to gain the favour of heathen nations on all sides, and to deprive God of the honour due to him; for if they had been satisfied with having God’s protection alone, they would not have been in such haste to run down to Egypt. Their noisy eagerness convicted them of infidelity.

Yet I have no doubt that the Prophet directed his indignation against that sacrilege, because, by laboring earnestly to obtain the assistance of the nations around them, they withheld from God the praise of almighty power. Hence also the Spirit elsewhere compares that ardor to the extravagances of love, and even to licentious courses. (Jeremiah 5:8.) Ezekiel shews that, by joining the Egyptians, they acted as if a woman, shamefully transgressing the bounds of decency, not only ran furiously after adulterers, but even desired to associate with horses and asses. (Ezekiel 16:26.) And yet here he does not absolutely condemn all leagues that are made with idolaters, but has especially in view that prohibition by which the law forbade them to enter into alliance with the Egyptians. It is chiefly on account of the prohibition that he kindles into such rage; for it was not without pouring grievous contempt on God that they ran trembling into Egypt. For this reason he calls them סוררים, (sōrĕrīm,) obstinate and rebellious. We have explained this word at the first chapter. It denotes men of hardened wickedness, who knowingly and willingly revolt from God, or whose obstinacy renders them objects of disgust, so that no integrity or sincerity is left in them. At first he reproves that vice on this ground, that they neglected the word of God, and were devoted to their own counsels.

Note 284. See Commentary on Isaiah, vol. 1 p. 75. FT541 The phrase לנסך מסכה (lĭnsōch măssēchāh) has been variously explained. The Peshito makes it mean to pour out libations, probably with reference to some ancient mode of ratifying covenants, and the Septuagint accordingly translates it ἐποιήσατε συνθή᾿κας, ‘you made covenants.’ Cocceius applies it to the casting of molten images, (ad fundendum fusile,) De Dieu to the molding of designs or plots. Kimchi and Calvin derive the words from the root to cover, and suppose the idea here expressed to be that of concealment. Ewald follows J. D. Michaelis in making the phrase mean to weave a web, which agrees well with the context, and is favored by the similar use of the same verb and noun in Isaiah 25:7. Knobel’s objection, that this figure is suited only to a case of treachery, has no force, as the act of seeking foreign aid was treasonable under the theocracy, and the design appears to have been formed and executed secretly. (Compare Isaiah 29:15, where the reference may be to the same transaction.)” — Alexander FT542 See page 345 FT543 The allusion is to the concluding clause of the fifth verse.” — Ed FT544 “For the Egyptians shall help in vain.” — Eng. Ver. FT545 See Commentary on Isaiah, vol. 1 p. 32 FT546 “Disant qu’ils demandent d’estre flattez;” — “When he says that they ask to be flattered.” FT547 נלוז (nālōz) seems to denote perverseness or moral obliquity in general. It is rendered in a strong idiomatic form by Hitzig, (verschmitztheit, craftiness,) and Ewald, (querwege, crossway.) — Alexander. Luther’s term, (muthwillen, wantonness,) conveys the same general idea. — Ed FT548 See Commentary on John’s Gospel, vol. 1 p. 223 note 1. FT549 “Estans pleins de vent;” — “Being full of wind.” FT550 Here the Author departs from his usual manner, by omitting all mention of the concluding and highly expressive clause of the verse. “For גבה, (gĕbĕh,) the English version has ‘pit,’ Lowth, ‘cistern,’ and most other writers ‘well;’ but in Ezekiel 47:11, it denotes a ‘marsh’ or ‘pool.’ Ewald supposes a particular allusion to the breaking of a poor man’s earthen pitcher, an idea which had been suggested long before by Gill: ‘as poor people are wont to do, to take fire from the hearth, and water out of a well in a piece of broken pitcher.’” — Alexander. All must admit, that when one cannot find a “sherd” fit for the meanest purpose, the vessel is broken in pieces. — Ed FT551 Jarchi says, that in this passage שובה (shūbāh) “signifies rest and quietness,” and adduces as a parallel passage one in which the word is commonly viewed as the imperative of שוב, (shūb,) with He paragogic. “Give rest, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel.” (Numbers 10:36.) Breithaupt supports that interpretation, and derives the word from ישב, (yāshăb,) “to sit, to rest.” — Ed FT552 See Commentary on Isaiah, vol. 1 p. 29 FT553 “תרן (tōrĕn) is taken as the name of a tree by Augusti (Tannenbaum, the fir-tree) and Rosenmüller, (pinus, the pine-tree,) by Gesenius and Ewald as a signal or a signal-pole. In the only two cases where it occurs elsewhere, it has the specific meaning of a mast. The allusion may be simply to the similar appearance of a lofty and solitary tree, or the common idea may be that of a flag-staff, which might be found in either situation. The word ‘Beacon,’ here employed by Gataker and Barnes, is consistent neither with the Hebrew nor the English usage.” — Alexander FT554 The latter quotation may appear to be inaccurate, for in the English version it runs thus, “I will correct thee in measure;” but Calvin adheres closely to the Hebrew original, which employs in both passages the word משפט (mĭsphāt) “judgment.” — Ed Ft555 “Thou shalt weep no more.” — Eng. Ver. FT556 “Yet shall not thy teachers be removed.” — Eng. Ver. FT557 “Though ye find yourselves reduced to extremities usual in long sieges, though ye be stinted to a short allowance of ‘bread and water,’ and are forced to undergo a great many other inconveniences, yet use not my prophets ill, make them not to run into corners to hide themselves from the violence of an impatient multitude; but be glad to see them among you, and let their examples encourage you to bear up handsomely under the short afflictions which shall then be upon you. This is the plain meaning of the words, without running to the whimsical expositions of some who by ‘Panis Angustiæ,’ as the Vulgate renders לחם צר (lĕchĕm tzār,) make the prophet mean the compendious doctrine of the gospel, or Christ himself, or the eucharist, and like dreams.” — Samuel White FT558 “Kimchi’s explanation of the word (מורה, mōrĕh, or rather מורים, mōrīm,) as meaning the early rain, (which sense it has in Joel 2:23, and perhaps also in Psalm 84:6,) has been retained only by Calvin and Lowth. The great majority of writers adhere not only to the sense of ‘teacher,’ but to the plural import of the form, (מורים with 2 Sing. Affix.,) and understand the word as a designation or description of the prophets, with particular reference, as some suppose, to their reappearance after a period of severe persecution or oppression.” — Alexander FT559 “The ephods of your molten images, — short cassocks, without sleeves, with which the heathens adorned their idols.” — Stock. Cicero tells a story about Dionysius, who found in the temple of Jupiter Olympius a golden cloak of great weight, with which the statue of Jupiter had been ornamented by Gelo out of the spoils of the Carthaginians, and, after making the witty observation that it was too heavy for summer and too cold for winter, carried it off, and threw around the statue a woolen mantle, which, he said, was adapted to every season of the year. (Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. iii.) — Ed FT560 “De his.” “De ces miracles-là.” FT561 “Isaie parle de ceste faveur speciale.” FT562 “Qui puras nubes, et cœli numen adorant.” FT563 “And the burden thereof (or, And the grievousness of flame) shall be heavy.” — Eng. Ver. “And heavy the column of flame.” — Stock. “And the burning is heavy: for so ought we to translate משאה, (măssāāh,) in the same sense as in Judges 20:40, and in other passages, from נשא, (nāsā,) ‘to lift up,’ because flame and smoke naturally ascend.” — Rosenmüller

That they may cover the secret. The words לנסך מסכה, (lĭnsōch măssēchāh,) are explained by some commentators to mean, “to pour out the pouring out.” Though this is not at variance with the Prophet’s meaning, yet it is more correctly, in my opinion, translated by others, “that they may cover a covering.” I have followed that version, because the words relate to counsels held secretly and by stealth, by which they cunningly endeavored to deceive the prophets, and, as it were, to escape from the eyes of God. Another rendering, “that they may hide themselves by a covering,” is absurd; for although it was for the sake of protection that they sought the Egyptians, yet he rather alludes to that craftiness of which I have spoken. Both expositions amount to the same thing.

Note 285. {Bogus footnote}

By three modes of expression he makes nearly the same statement; that they “cover their counsels,” that is, keep them apart from God; that they do not ask at “the mouth of the Lord;” and that they do not suffer themselves to be governed by “his Spirit.” They who are guided by their own views turn aside to cunning contrivances, that they may conceal their unbelief and rebellion; and because they have resolved not to obey the word of God, neither do they ask his Spirit. Hence arises that miserable and shameful result. Wretchedly and ruinously must those deliberations and purposes end, over which the Lord does not preside. There is no wisdom that is not obtained from “his mouth;” and if we “ask at his mouth,” that is, if we consult his word, we shall also be guided by his Spirit, from whom all prudence and wisdom proceeds.

Let it be observed that two things are here connected, the word and the Spirit of God, in opposition to fanatics, who aim at oracles and hidden revelations without the word; for they wish to come to God, while they neglect and forsake the word, and thus they do nothing else than attempt, as the saying is, to fly without wings. First of all, let it be held as a settled principle, that whatever we undertake or attempt, without the word of God, must be improper and wicked, because we ought to depend wholly on his mouth. And indeed, if we remember what feebleness of understanding, or rather, what lack of understanding, is found in all mankind, we shall acknowledge that they are excessively foolish who claim for themselves so much wisdom, that they do not even deign to ask at the mouth of God.