Prophetic view of the CHAP. XXXV. Gospel dispensation Jews, their restoration to their own land, and the second advent of Christ. Much of the imagery of this chapter seems to have been borrowed from the exodus from Egypt: but it is greatly enlivened by the life, sentiments, and passions ascribed to inanimate objects; all nature being represented as rejoicing with the people of God in consequence of their deliverance; and administering in such an unusual manner to their relief and comfort, as to induce some commentators to extend the meaning of the prophecy to the blessedness of the saints in heaven, 1–10. Be strong, fear not: behold, A. M. cir. 3291. B. C. cir. 713. cir. annum Numa Pompilii, 2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice save you. even with joy and singing: the glory of Le-5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, banon shall be given unto it, the excellency and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory 6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Chap. Iv. 12. Chap. xxxii. 15.- e Job iv. 3, 4; Heb. xii. 12.d Heb. hasty.- e Chap. xxix. 18; xxxii. 3, 4; xlii. 7; Matt. ix. 27, &c; xi. 5; xii. 22; xx. 30, &c; xxi. 14; John ix. 6, 7. The various miracles our Lord wrought are the best comment on this chapter, which predicts those wondrous works and the glorious state of the Christian Church. See the parallel texts in the margin. On this chapter Bishop Lowth has offered some im- The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, 3. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, And confirm ye the tottering knees. 4. Say ye to the faint-hearted, Be ye strong; Vengeance will come; the retribution of God: 7. And the glowing sand shall become a pool, 8. And a highway shall be there; And it shall be called The way of holiness: h and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. 7 And the parched ground shall become a Matt. xi. 5; Mark vii. 32, &e. -g Matt. xi. 5; xv. 30; xxi. 14; John v. 8, 9; Acts iii. 2, &e; viii. 7; xiv. 8, &c. Chap. xxxii. 4; Matt. ix. 32, 33; xii. 22; xv. 30.——— Chap. xli. 18; xliii. 19; John vii. 38, 39. b 9. No lion shall be there; Nor shall the tyrant of the beasts come up thither: But the redeemed shall walk in it. 10. Yea, the ransomed of JEHOVAH shall return; And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXV. Verse 1. Shall be glad] ww yesusum; in one MS. the mem seems to have been added; and sum is upon a rasure in another. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it; it seems to have been a mistake, arising from the next word beginning with the same letter. Seventeen MSS. have Dw yesusum, both vaus expressed; and five MSS. □wv yesusum, without the vaus. Probably the true reading is, "The wilderness and the dry place shall be glad.” Not for them. Verse 2. Rejoice even with joy and singing—"The well-watered plain of Jordan shall also rejoice"] For veranen, the Septuagint read 1 yarden, ra spria sou Iopdaveu, "the deserts of Jordan." Four MSS. read лgulath; see Josh. xv. 19: “Irrigua Jordani;" Houbigant. gidoth, Ripa Jordani, "the banks of Jordan;" Kennicott. See De S. Poësi Hebr. Prælect. xx. note. de Unto it] For n lah, to it, nine MSS. of Kennicott's and four of De Rossi's read † lecha, to thee. See ibid. Verse 7. The parched ground-"The glowing sand"] sharab; this word is Arabic, but as well as Hebrew, expressing in both languages the same thing, the glowing sandy plain, which in the hot countries at a distance has the appearance of water. But he himself shall be with them, walking in It occurs in the Koran, chap. xxiv.: "But as to the the way, And the foolish shall not err therein: unbelievers, their works are like a vapour in a plain, which the thirsty traveller thinketh to be water, until, n 8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the way-faring men, though fools, shall not err therein. Chap. xxxiv. 13. Or, a court for reeds, &c. Chap. hii. 1; Joel iii. 17; Rev. xxi. 27. Or, for he shall be with when he cometh thereto, he findeth it to be nothing." Mr. Sale's note on this place is, "The Arabic word serab signifies that false appearance which in the eastern countries is often seen on sandy plains about noon, resembling a large lake of water in motion, and is occasioned by the reverberation of the sun beams: by the quivering undulating motion of that quick succession of vapours and exhalations which are extracted by the powerful influence of the sun.'-Shaw, Trav. p. 378. It sometimes tempts thirsty travellers out of their way; but deceives them when they come near, either going forward, (for it always appears at the same distance,) or quite vanishing." Q. Curtius has mentioned it: "Arenas vapor æstivi solis accendit; camporumque non alia, quam vasti et profundi æquoris species est."-Lib. vii., c. 5. Dr. Hyde gives us the precise meaning and derivation of the word. "Dictum nomen Barca пpɔɔn habberakah, splendorem, seu splendentem regionem notat; cum ea regio radiis solaribus tam copiose collustretur, ut reflexum ab arenis lumen adeo intensè fulgens, a longinquo spectantibus, ad instar corporis solaris, aquarum speciem referat; et hinc arenarum splendor et radiatio, (et linguâ Persicâ petito nomine,) dicitur serab, i. e., aquæ superficies seu superficialis aquarum species." Annot. in Peritsol., cap. ii. "Shall spring forth"] Then he in rebitseh seems to have been at first mem in MS. Bodl., whence Dr. Kennicott concludes it should be r rebitsim. But instead of this word the Syriac, Vulgate, and Chaldee read some word signifying to grow, spring up, or abound. Perhaps paretsah, or A. M. cir. 3291 Olymp. XVI. 4 cir. annum R. Roman., 3. 10 And the P ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. them. Lev. xxvi. 6; chap. xi.9; Ezek. xxxiv. 25. Chap. li. 11. Verse 9. It shall not be found there-" Neither shall he be found there"] Three MSS. read i velo, adding the conjunction; and so likewise the Septuagint and Vulgate. And four MSS., one ancient, read yimmatsa, the verb, as it certainly ought to be, in the masculine form. The redeemed shall walk there] 0x geulim. Those whose forfeited inheritances are brought back by the kinsman, 1 goel, the nearest of kin to the family. This has been considered by all orthodox divines as referring to the incarnation of our Lord, and his sacrificial offering. After D geulim, one of De Rossi's MSS. adds Dhy y ad olam, for ever. "The redeemed shall walk there for ever.” Verse 10. The ransomed] " peduyey, from padah, "to redeem by paying a price." Those for whom a price was paid down to redeem them from bondage and death. Sighing shall flee away.] anachah. Never was a sorrowful accent better expressed than in this strong guttural word, an-ach-ah; nearly the same with the Irish in their funeral wailings, och-och-on. The whole nation express all their mournful accents by these three monosyllables. THIS chapter contains the following parts: 1. We have here blessed promises of the latter-day glory. -parats hachatsir, as Hou פרץ החציר paretsu, or פרצו bigant reads.-L. Verse 8. And a highway] The word 7771 vederech is by mistake added to the first member of the sentence from the beginning of the following member. Sixteen MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, seven ancient, and two of De Rossi's, have it but once; so likewise the Syriac, Septuagint, and Arabic. Err therein.] A MS. of Dr. Kennicott's adds 1 bo, in it, which seems necessary to the sense; and so the Vulgate, per eam, “by it." One of De Rossi's has O sham, there. But it shall be for those-" But he himself shall be with them, walking in the way."] That is, God; see ver. 4. "Who shall dwell among them, and set them an example that they should follow his steps." Our old English Version translated the place to this pur 2. The prophet may be considered as addressing the teachers of the Gospel, to show them that it was their business to encourage and direct the people in their expectation of redemption. 3. A promise of the manifestation of God among men is given. 4. The miracles which Christ should work are explicitly mentioned. 5. The privileges of Christianity are specified; there shall be, 1. Thorough teaching; 2. Holy walking. 6. Perfect safety. 7. Complete happiness. And8. Final glory. The chapter shows also that no impurity should be tolerated in the Church of God; for as that is the mystical body of Christ, it should be like himself, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. Sennacherib invades Judea, CHAP. XXXVI. and besieges Jerusalem. CHAPTER XXXVI. .. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, comes against Judah, and takes all the fenced cities, 1. He afterwards sends a great host against Jerusalem; and his general Rabshakeh delivers an insulting and blasphemous message to Hezekiah, 2–20. Hezekiah and his people are greatly afflicted at the words of Rabshakeh, 21, 22. 5 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but dvain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? 2 Kings xviii. 13, 17; 2 Chron. xxxii. 1.- bOr, secretary. 2 Kings xviii. 19, &c.— d Heb. a word of lips. The history of the invasion of Sennacherib, and of the miraculous destruction of his army, which makes the subject of so many of Isaiah's prophecies, is very properly inserted here as affording the best light to many parts of those prophecies, and as almost necessary to introduce the prophecy in the thirty-seventh chapter, being the answer of God to Hezekiah's prayer, which could not be properly understood without it. We find the same narrative in the Second Book of Kings, chaps. xviii., xix., xx.; and these chapters of Isaiah, xxxvi., xxxvii., xxxviii., xxxix., for much the greater part, (the account of the sickness of Hezekiah only excepted,) are but a different copy of that narration. The difference of the two copies is little more than what has manifestly arisen from the mistakes of transcribers; they mutually correct each other, and most of the mistakes may be perfectly rectified by a collation of the two copies with the assistance of the ancient versions. Some few sentences, or members of sentences, are omitted in this copy of Isaiah, which are found in the other copy in the Book of Kings. Whether these omissions were made by design or mistake may be doubted.-L, NOTES ON CHAP. XXXVI. Verse 3. Then came forth unto him] A. M. cir. 3294. B. C. cir. 710. Olymp. XVII. 3. Numa Pompilii, R. Roman., 6. cir. annum 6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. 7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? 8 Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen ? 10 And am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? the LORD said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. e 11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah Or, but counsel and strength are for the war.- Ezek. xxix. 6, 7.- Or, hostages. these words the other copy, 2 Kings xviii. 18, adds, on p" vaiyikreu el hammelech, “And they demanded audience of the king." Verse 5. Í say "Thou hast said"] Fourteen MSS. (three ancient) of Kennicott's and De Rossi's have it in the second person, ♫ amarta; `and so the other copy, 2 Kings xviii. 20. But they are but vain words] debar sephathayim, a word of the lips. Thou dost talk about counsels, but thou hast none; about strength, but there is none with thee. Verse 6. The staff of this broken reed] A weakened, faithless ally. On Egypt] The Bodl. MS. adds melech, the king of Egypt; and so perhaps the Chaldee might read. It will go into his hand, and pierce it] Will take subsidy after subsidy, and do nothing for it. Verse 7. But if thou say-" But if ye say"] Two ancient MSS. have 12 tomeru in the plural number; so likewise the Septuagint, Chaldee, and the other copy, 2 Kings xviii. 22. Ye shall worship before this altar-"To worship only before this altar"] See 2 Chron. xxxii. 12. Verse 10. Am I now come up without the Lord] Probably some apostate Israelitish priest might have Before encouraged the king of Assyria by telling him that The blasphemous message B. C. cir. 710. cir. annum A. M. cir. 3294. unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray | one of his fig-tree; and drink 12 But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak those words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? 13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. 14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you for he shall not be able to deliver you. 15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, h Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: * and eat ye every one of his vine, and every Or, Seek my favour by a present. JEHOVAH had given him a commission against Jerusalem. A. M. cir. 3294. B. C. cir. 710. cir. annum 17 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? 21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not. 22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh. ¡Heb. Make with me a blessing.- Zech. iii. 10. not unto Hezekiah when he seduceth you." Verse 17. And vineyards] The other copy, 2 Kings xviii. 32, adds here: "A land of oil-olive, and of Verse 12. That they may eat their own dung-honey; that ye may live, and not die and hearken "Destined to eat their own dung"] leechol, that they may eat, as our translation literally renders it. But the Syriac reads ND meechol, that they may not eat, perhaps rightly, and afterward inni umishshethoth, or in ushethoth, to the same purpose. Seventeen of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., ten of De Rossi's, and two of my own, read 'D' meymey, the water; mine have ON') 'D'D meymey sheneyhem, and write in the mar meumey regaleyhem, the water of מימי רגליהם gin their feet, a modest way of expressing urine: Verse 15. This city shall not be delivered] ve-lo, AND this city. Ten of Kennicott's MSS., and nine of De Rossi's, with one (ancient) of my own, add the conjunction. Verse 16. Make an agreement] berachah, make a blessing with me; i. e., Give me a ransom for the city, and I will not destroy it; give me the yearly tribute thou hast promised. Verse 19. Where are the gods] Many MSS. add the conjunction here also: And, or But, where are the gods, &c, For other matters relative to this chapter, see the notes on 2 Kings xviii. 13, &c. Of Sepharvaim] The other copy, 2 Kings xviii. 34, adds, of “ Henah and Ivah.” Have they delivered] vechi. The copulative is not expressed here by the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and three MSS.; nor is it in any other copy. Ib. Houbigant reads 'n hachi, with the interrogative particle; a probable conjecture, which the ancient Versions above quoted seem to favour. העם The word Verse 21. But they held their peace" But the people held their peace"] haam, the people, is supplied from the other copy, and is authorized by a MS. which inserts it after in otho, CHAPTER XXXVII. Isaiah returns a com Hezekiah is greatly distressed, and sends to Isaiah the prophet to pray for him, 1–4. fortable answer, and predicts the destruction of the king of Assyria and his army, 5-7. Sennacherib, hearing that his kingdom was invaded by the Ethiopians, sends a terrible letter to Hezekiah, to induce him Isaiah's comfortable answer CHAP. XXXVII. to King Hezekiah. to surrender, 9–13. Hezekiah goes to the temple, spreads the letter before the Lord, and makes a most affecting prayer, 14-20. Isaiah is sent to him to assure him that his prayer is heard; that Jerusalem shall be delivered; and that the Assyrians shall be destroyed, 21-35. That very night a messenger of God slays one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians, 36., Sennacherib returns to Nineveh, and is slain by his own sons, 37, 38. A. M. cir. 3294. B. C. cir. 710. Olymp. XVII. 3. cir. annum AND B. C. cir. 710, cir. annum ND it came to pass, when heard, wherewith the servants of A. M. cir. 3294, king Hezekiah heard it, that the king of Assyria have blas- Olymp. XVII. 3. Numa Pompilii, he rent his clothes, and covered phemed me. R. Roman., 6. himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. 4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. 5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast a2 Kings xix. 1, &c.- bOr, provocation. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXVII. Verse 6. Thus shall ye say] ɔ ko tomerun, "thus shall ye (explicitly, earnestly, and positively) say." The paragogic | nun deepens and increases the sense. Verse 7. I will send a blast—“I will infuse a spirit into him”] “13 ¡ nothen boruach never signifies any thing but putting a spirit into a person: this was TVsuμa dsiλias, the spirit of deceit."-Secker, "I will send a blast”—I do not think that Archbishop Secker has hit the true meaning of these words. I believe ruach means here a pestilential wind, such as the Arabs call simoom, that instantly suffocates both man and beast; and is what is termed "the angel of the Lord," God's messenger of death to the Assyrians, ver. 36. Verse 8. Rabshakeh returned] From chap. xxxvi. | 2, we learn that the king of Assyria had sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem; now it is likely that Rabshakeh had besieged that place, and that the king of Assyria had taken his station before this city, and despatched Rabshakeh against Jerusalem. But, as in the verse above it is said, "he had departed from Lachish," probably he had been obliged to raise the siege, and sat down before Libnah, which promised an easier conquest, d Numa Pompilii, R. Roman., 6. 7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. 8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. 9 And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered cHeb. found.- d Or, put a spirit into him. Verse 9. He heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia] When he heard that Tirhakah king of Ethiopia had come out against him, then he sent that blasphemous manifesto which is contained in ver. 10-13, to terrify Hezekiah into submission. How much was this like, in words and spirit, to the manifesto sent to the Parisians by the late Duke of Brunswick, from the plains of Champaigne, in 1792, which was the forerunner of the mighty torrents of human blood which was shed in the French revolution! And what a blast of God fell upon him and his army-nearly like that which fell on the army of Sennacherib! He sent messengers-" He sent messengers again"] The word " vaiyishma, "and he heard," which occurs the second time in this verse, is repeated by mistake from the beginning of the verse. It is omitted in an ancient MS. It is a mere tautology, and embarrasses the sense. The true reading instead of it is, a veyesheb, " and he returned," which the Septuagint read in this place, arsorgee, and which is preserved in the other copy, 2 Kings xix. 9: "He returned and sent," that is, according to the Hebrew idiom, "he sent again.". 66 Verse 12. As Gozan, and Haran] ¡m Charan: but |