John Calvin on Isaiah 31:9

9. He shall pass to his stronghold for fear. {Bogus footnote} He now speaks of Sennacherib himself, who, trembling, shall betake himself in base and shameful flight to his “stronghold” or fortress, Nineveh, as to his nest. (2 Kings 19:36.) The Prophet adds that “his princes,” or military officers, whose duty it is to encourage the rest of the soldiers, will be so timid that they shall not venture to join the ranks or await the battle, but shall “flee away from the standard.”

Saith Jehovah, who hath a fire in Zion. At length he declares that he is God’s herald in making this proclamation, that the Jews may not, as they are accustomed to do, dispute or hesitate as to the accomplishment of it, or afterwards forget so great a blessing, and ascribe it to fortune. If we read, as some do, Whose fire is in Zion, the meaning will be, that God has abundance of fiery power to consume his enemies. But I think that the relative אשר (ăshĕr) is redundant, or that it should be rendered in the nominative case, “Who shall be to him a fire;” for God is justly called “a fire,” in reference to the Assyrians, whom he will consume.

When the Prophet calls him “a fire,” some consider it to refer to sacrifices; but such an interpretation appears to me to be feeble and unnatural. I have no doubt that he says either that “the Lord has a fire” to consume the Assyrian, or that “God himself is a fire,” and that he thus makes an implied comparison of the Assyrian to straw or chaff. He says that this “fire” is kindled and kept alive “in Zion and Jerusalem,” that is, in the midst of his people, in order to intimate that the persecution of the Church of God by wicked men shall not pass unpunished; for they shall one day feel that he is their Judge, and shall know by experience that he assists his people, who thought that they had been left without all assistance.

In a word, against wicked men, who have maintained unceasing hostility against the Church, vengeance is prepared; and the Lord will not only avenge himself, but will also avenge his people. Let us therefore enjoy this consolation; and though it may appear as if we were defenceless and exposed to every danger, yet let us be fully convinced that the Lord will be “a fire” to our adversaries.

CHAPTER 32

Isaiah 32:1-20

1. Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgement.

1. Ecce in justitia regnabit rex, et principes in judicio præerunt.

2. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

2. Et erit ille vir velut latibulum a vento, receptus ab imbre, rivi aquarum in terra arida, umbra magnæ rupis in terra laboriosa.

3. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim; and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.

3. Tunc non oblinentur oculi videntium, et aures audientium auscultabunt.

4. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.

4. Et cor stultorum intentum erit ad scientiam, et lingua balborum expedita erit ad loquendum diserte.

5. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.

5. Non vocabitur amplius sordidus liberalis, neque parcus dicetur largus.

6. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry; and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

6. Quoniam sordidus loquetur sordes, et cor ejus machinabitur iniquitatem, ad designandam pravitatem, ut proferat subsannationem contra Iehovam, exinaniat animam famelicam, et potum sitienti subtrahat.

7. The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

7. Avari arma sunt mala (vel, mensurœ sunt malœ) ipse pravitates excogitat, ut circumveniat simplices verbis mendacibus, et loquatur contra pauperem in judicio.

8. But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.

8. At liberalis liberalia agitabit, et liberaliter agendo progredietur.

9. Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.

9. Mulieres quitæ, surgite; audite vocem meam, filiæ confidentes; auscultate sermonem meum.

10. Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.

10. Dies super annum expavescetis, confidentes; quia deficiet vindemia, et collectio non veniet.

11. Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.

11. Contremiscite, quietæ; trepidate, confidentes; spoliate, nudate, accingite lumbos.

12. They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

12. Super ubera plangentes, super agros desideratos, super vitem frugiferam.

13. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briars; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:

13. Super terram populi mei ascendet spina et vepris; etiam super omnes domos lætitæ in urbe exultationis.

14. Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;

14. Quoniam palatium desertum, strepitus urbis relictus, turris et propugnaculum redigentur in speluncas in perpetuum, ubi gaudeant onagri, et pascantur greges.

15. Until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

15. Donec super nos effundatur Spiritus ex alto, et ponatur desertum in agrum cultum, et ager cultus instar sylvæ reputetur.

16. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.

16. Et habitabit in deserto judicium, et justitia in agro culto sedebit.

17. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever.

17. Et erit opus justitæ pax; effectus, inquam, justitæ, securitas et quies in perpetuum.

18. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet restingplaces.

18. Et sedebit populus meus in tabernaculo pacis, et in mansionibus securis, et in refrigeriis quieis.

19. When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.

19. Et grando in sylvam descensu divertet, et in loco humili considet civitas.

20. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

20. Beati vos qui seritis super omnes aquas, qui immittitis pedem bovis et asini.