John Calvin on Isaiah 10:34

34. And he will cut down the thick places of the forest with iron. There is no difficulty in explaining this metaphor, for it is plain enough that by tall and high trees is denoted all that is powerful, excellent, or lofty. Thus he foretells the destruction and ruin of Judea, which he compares to the cutting down of a forest; by which he means that there is nothing so valuable that the enemies will not destroy it, till they have stripped the whole land of its ornaments.

And Lebanon will fall violently. He mentions Lebanon, because that mountain, as we all know, was highly celebrated for fruitful and highly valuable trees. Now, if he had been speaking of the Assyrians, it would not have been appropriate to introduce the destruction of Lebanon. Hence we infer that the Prophet, in this passage, again threatens the Jews; and this agrees well with the introduction of the discourse, for it begins with a word which calls attention, Behold.

CHAPTER 11

Isaiah Chapter 11:1-16

1. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:

1. Sed prodibit virga ex trunco Isai; et surculus de radicibus ejus fructus edet.

2. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

2. Et requiescet super eum Spiritus Iehovae, spiritus sapientiae et intelligentiae, spiritus consilii et fortitudinis, spiritus scientiae et timoris Iehovae.

3. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:

3. Et sagacem illum reddet in timore Iehovae; non secundum aspectum oculorum suorum judicabit, neque ex auditu aurium suarum arguet.

4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

4. Nam judicabit in justitia pauperes, et in aequitate arguet mansuetis terrae; et percutiet terram virga oris sui, et spiritu labiorum suorum interficiet impium.

5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

5. Et erit justitia balteus lumborum ejus, et fides balteus renum ejus.

6. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

6. Habitabit lupus cum agno, et pardus cum hoedo accubabit; vitulus, et leo, et pecus pingue pariter; et puer parvus reget eos.

7. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

7. Vacca et ursus pascentur; simul accubabunt foetus eorum. Et leo, quasi bos, comedet paleas.

8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

8. Et oblectabitur infans super foramine aspidis; et super speluncam cerastis qui ablactatus est manum suam mittet.

9. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

9. Non nocebunt, neque injuriam inferent in toto monte sanctitatis meae; quoniam impleta erit terra scientia Iehovae, tanquam aquis mare operientibus.

10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

10. Et erit in die illa, Radix Isai, quae stabit in signum populorum, requiretur a Gentibus, et erit requies ejus gloria.

11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

11. Et erit in die illa, adjiciet Dominus rursus manum suum ad possidendas reliquias populi sui, quae residuae erunt ab Assur, et ab AEgypto, a Parthia, ab Arabia, ab AEthiopia, a Perside, a Chaldaea, ab Hamath, et ab insulis maris.

12. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

12. Et levabit signum Gentibus, congregabitque ejectos Israel, et dispersiones Iuda congregabit a quatuor plagis terrae.

13. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

13. Et abscedet aemulatio Ephraim, et hostes Iuda excidentur. Ephraim non aemulabitur Iuda, nec Iuda anget Ephraim.

14. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

14. Involabunt autem in humeros Philistinorum ad occidentem; diripient pariter filios orientis, AEdom et Moab missio manus eorum, et filii Ammon obedientia eorum.

15. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry-shod.

15. Et in nihilum rediget Iehova linguam maris AEgypti; et eriget manum suam super fluvium in fortitudine venti sui; et percutiet illum in septem rivis, et faciet calcari cum calceamentis.

16. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.

16. Et erit semita reliquiis populi ejus, quae residuae erunt ab Assur, quemadmodum fuit Israel, in die qua ascendit e terra AEgypti.