Isaiah 18 commentary

This chapter is one of the most obscure in Scripture, though more of it probably was understood by those for whose use it was first intended, than by us now. Swift messengers are sent by water to a nation marked by Providence, and measured out, trodden under foot. God's people are trampled on; but whoever thinks to swallow them up, finds they are cast down, yet not deserted, not destroyed. All the dwellers on earth must watch the motions of the Divine Providence, and wait upon the directions of the Divine will. God gives assurance to his prophet, and by him to be given to his people. Zion is his rest for ever, and he will look after it. He will suit to their case the comforts and refreshments he provides for them; they will be acceptable, because seasonable. He will reckon with his and their enemies; and as God's people are protected at all seasons of the year, so their enemies are exposed at all seasons. A tribute of praise should be brought to God from all this. What is offered to God, must be offered in the way he has appointed; and we may expect him to meet us where he records his name. Thus shall the nations of the earth be convinced that Jehovah is the God, and Israel is his people, and shall unite in presenting spiritual sacrifices to his glory. Happy are those who take warning by his judgment on others, and hasten to join him and his people. Whatever land or people may be intended, we are here taught not to think that God takes no care of his church, and has no respect to the affairs of men, because he permits the wicked to triumph for a season. He has wise reasons for so doing, which we cannot now understand, but which will appear at the great day of his coming, when he will bring every work into judgment, and reward every man according to his works.

1. Woe to the land. I cannot determine with certainty what is the nation of which Isaiah speaks, though he shews plainly that it bordered on Ethiopia. Some consider it to refer to the whole of Egypt; but this is a mistake, for in the next chapter he treats of Egypt separately, from which it is evident that the people here meant were distinct from the Egyptians. Some think that the Troglodytes are here meant, which does not appear to me to be probable, for they had no intercourse with other nations, because their language, as geographers tell us, was hissing and not speech; “The Ethiopian Troglodytes,” says Herodotus “are the swiftest of foot of all men of whom we have received any accounts. The Troglodytes feed on serpents, and lizards, and reptiles of that sort, and the language which they have adopted has no resemblance to any other, but they screech like bats. — Herod. 4:183.

FT270 “In vessels of bulrushes.” — Eng. Ver.

FT271 “Scattered and peeled, or, outspread and polished.” — Eng. Ver.

FT272 “A nation meted out and trodden down.” Heb. “A nation of line, and line, and treading under foot.” — Eng. Ver.

FT273 “A nation meted out by line, that is, utterly subdued. Heb. Put under line and line, to decide what part of them should be destroyed, and what saved by the conquerors. In this manner David is described, (2 Samuel 8:2,) as having dealt with the children of Moab. See Lamentations 2:8. Such a nation might well deserve to be called drawn out and pilled, that is drawn through the fingers (or an instrument) like a willow, in order to be peeled and made fit for wicker work.” — Stock.

FT274 “Videbitis.” “Vous le verrez.”

FT275 “See ye.” “Hear ye.” — Eng. Ver.

FT276 “And I will consider in my dwelling-place.” — Eng. Ver. “I will rest, and look round in my dwelling-place.” — Stock.

FT277 “Like a clear heat upon herbs,” or “after rain” — Eng. Ver.

FT278 Like the clear heat at the coming of daylight. The resting of Jehovah, hovering over the enemy till they are ripe for destruction, is here beautifully compared to the condensed gloom before daylight, which is wont to usher in a hot summer’s day, and to the sheet of dew that appears to hang over the ground in harvest time presently after sunset. עלי, (ălē,) is here used for near the time of, as we say, against such a time. עלי אור, (ălēōr,) prope lucem, adventante luce. — Stock.

FT279 Rosenmüller takes notice of another reading supported by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, ביום קציר, (bĕyōm kātzīr,) “at the time of harvest,” instead of, בהם קציר, (bĕhōm kātzīr,) “in the heat of harvest,” but justly remarks that it makes no difference to the meaning. — Ed.

FT280 “That is, their dead bodies.” — Jarchi.

FT281 “To quit the metaphor, the flourishing leaders of a people, devoted by Jehovah to destruction, shall be cut off and trampled on. The people here spoken of are the Assyrians under Sennacherib.” — Stock.

FT282 See vol. 1 p. 96 but those who are mentioned evidently had intercourse and leagues with other nations.

Still it is uncertain whether they leagued against the Jews or joined with the Egyptians in driving out the Assyrians. If they were avowed enemies to the Jews, Isaiah threatens punishment; but if they deceived them by false promises, he shews that nothing is to be expected from them, because by idle messages they will only protract the time. However that may be, from the neighboring nations to be mentioned in the next chapter, we may in part ascertain where they were situated, that is, not far from Egypt and Ethiopia: yet some may be disposed to view it as a description of that part of Ethiopia which lay on the sea-coast; for we shall afterwards see that the Assyrians were at war with the king of the Ethiopians. (Isaiah 37:9.)

When he says that that land shadows with wings, we learn from it that its sea was well supplied with harbours, so that it had many vessels sailing to it and was wealthy; for small and poor states could not maintain intercourse or traffic with foreign countries. He therefore means that they performed many voyages.

2. Sending ambassadors by the sea. This relates strictly to the state of those times. It would appear that this nation solicited the Egyptians or Syrians to harass the Jews, or that the Assyrians employed them for the purpose of harassing the Jews, or that they had formed an alliance with the Egyptians, in order that, by their united force, they might prevent the power of the Assyrians from increasing beyond bounds; for nothing more than conjectures can be offered, because we have no histories that give any account of it, and where historical evidence is wanting, we must resort to probable conjectures. These voyages, there is reason to believe, were not made to any place near at hand, but to a distant country.

In ships of reeds. {Bogus footnote} We ought not to think it strange that he calls them ships of reeds, for it is evident from the ancient histories that these were commonly used by the Egyptians, because the channel of the Nile is in some places very steep and dangerous to navigators on account of the cataracts, which the Greeks call Κατάδουπα, so that ships of wood cannot be used at those places without being broken and dashed to pieces on the rocks; and therefore it is necessary to employ ships of pliant materials. That the ships might not admit water and thus be sunk, historians tell us that they were daubed within with pitch.

Go, ye swift messengers. This passage is obscure, but I shall follow what I consider to be probable. The Prophet shews the design of his prediction, or the reason why he foretold the destruction of that nation. If we believe them to have been the avowed enemies of the Jews, the design was to afford some consolation to believers who were wretchedly broken up and scattered, that having received this message they might rejoice and give thanks to God. But if we rather think that the Jews were led by this nation into an unlawful league, we must then consider that this exhortation is ironical, and that the Prophet intended to reprove the folly of the chosen people, in forsaking God and relying on useless aid. Some think that these words were spoken by God, as if he commanded those nations who inhabited the sea-coast to destroy the Jews; but I am not at all of that opinion.

To a nation scattered and plundered. {Bogus footnote} I do not agree with those who think that these words describe the destruction of that unknown and obscure nation; for by “a plundered nation” he means the Jews who were to be grievously harassed and scattered, so that no part of them escaped injury.

To a people terrible from their beginning hitherto. He calls it terrible, because so great calamities would disfigure it in such a manner that all who beheld it would be struck with terror. I cannot approve of the exposition given by some, that this relates to the signs and miracles which the Lord performed amongst them, so as to render them an object of dread to all men; for the allusion is rather to that passage in the writings of Moses, “The Lord will make thee an astonishment and a terror.” Deuteronomy 28:37 In like manner it is said elsewhere, “for the shaking of the head and mockery.” (Jeremiah 18:16; 19:8; 25:9, 13, 18.) He therefore means that they are a nation so dreadful to behold as to fill all men with astonishment, and we know that this was foretold and that it also happened to the Jews.

A nation trodden down on every side. {Bogus footnote} קו קו, (kav-kav,) that is, on every side, as if one drew lines and joined them so closely that no space was left between them, or as if one drew furrows in a field so as to break every clod; for in this manner was the nation thrown down and trampled under foot. {Bogus footnote}

Whose land the rivers have spoiled. By the rivers he means the vast army of the enemies, that is, of the Assyrians. He alludes to what he had formerly said, that the nation, not satisfied with its own little stream, longed for rapid and boisterous rivers. (Isaiah 8:6.) After having applied to them for assistance, they were overwhelmed by them as by a deluge; and the reason of the whole evil was this, that they were not satisfied with the promises of God, and sought assistance in another quarter. Now, if this command is understood to be given to the swift messengers in the name of God, we infer from it that he does not immediately assist his own people, but delays his aid till they are brought to a state of despair. He does not send to them a cheerful and prosperous message while they are still uninjured, or when they have received a light stroke, but he sends a message to a nation altogether trodden down and trampled under foot. Yet when he commands them to make haste, he means that the judgment will be sudden and unexpected, so that light will suddenly burst forth amidst the darkness.

3. All ye inhabitants of the world. He shews that this work of God will be so manifestly excellent as to draw the attention not only of the Jews but of all nations.

When he shall lift up an ensign on the mountains, you will see it. {Bogus footnote} These words, which are in the future tense, are rendered by some, agreeably to the custom of Scripture, in the imperative mood; {Bogus footnote} but it is better to view them as denoting what is future. It is as if he had said that the most distant nations will be witnesses of this destruction, because not only will the ensign be beheld by all, but the sound of the trumpets will be heard throughout the whole world. This will plainly shew that the war did not originate with men, but with God himself, who will prove himself to be the author of it by remarkable tokens. When wars are carried on, every one sees clearly what is done; but the greater part of men ascribe the beginning and end of them to chance. On the other hand, Isaiah shews that all these things ought to be ascribed to God, because he will display his power in a new and extraordinary manner; for sometimes he works so as to conceal his hand and to prevent his work from being perceived by men, but sometimes he displays his hand in such a manner that all are constrained to acknowledge it; and that is what the Prophet meant.

4. But thus said Jehovah unto me. After having threatened a slaughter of the Ethiopians or their neighbors, and at the same time shewn that comfort will arise from it to the Jews, or ironically reproved the foolish confidence with which the Jews had been deceived, he now adds that God will regulate these confused changes in such a manner as to gather to him at length his chosen people. The particle כי, (ki,) which I have translated but, sometimes means for and sometimes but. The latter meaning appears to be more appropriate in this passage, for the Prophet replies to a doubt which otherwise might grievously perplex weak minds; because when confusion arises, there may be said to be a veil which conceals from us the providence of God. Such also was the state of that nation whose destruction he foretells, that this prediction might be reckoned fabulous and worthy of ridicule; for, as we may gather from it, there was no danger or change to be dreaded.

I will rest. Some consider this as referring to the person of Isaiah, as if, relying on what God had revealed, he rested, that is, was in a state of composure, as we ought to be when we have heard the word of God, and fully expect what has been foretold. In like manner Habakkuk also says, On my watch-tower will I stand. (Habakkuk 2:1.) But unquestionably he relates what the Lord had foretold to him, and the Lord himself, by the mouth of the Prophet, makes this declaration, I will rest, that is, I will remain unemployed.

And I will look in my tabernacle. {Bogus footnote} The phrase, I will look, has the same import with the former; for a spectator takes no part in doing, but rests satisfied with looking. Such is likewise the force of the term tabernacle, as if the Lord betook himself to rest under a roof; while, on the contrary, he says that he ascends the judgment-seat, when he avenges the transgressions of the wicked; for these modes of expression are adapted to our capacity. But perhaps it may be thought more probable that the Prophet alludes to the sanctuary; because, although the majesty of God will remain concealed for a time among an afflicted people, yet his rest will not be without effect. It amounts to this, that though everything be turned upside down, so as to awaken a suspicion that God takes no further concern in the government of the world, yet he rests for an express purpose, as if he shut himself up unemployed in a chamber, and the effect of this rest will in due time appear.

As the heat that drieth up the rain. {Bogus footnote} By this beautiful metaphor the Prophet expresses more fully what he had formerly said. Yet there are two ways in which it may be shewn to agree with the Prophet’s meaning; either that God, aroused, as it were, from his rest, will shew a smiling countenance to gladden believers, or will water them by a refreshing shower; and in this way the Prophet would describe their varied success. Or there is an implied contrast, by which he reminds us that, while God appears to remain unemployed and to look at what is going on, still he can execute his judgments as if it were in sport. And yet, as the two following verses are closely connected with this verse, Isaiah appears to mean, that though God does not act in a bustling manner like men, or proceed with undue eagerness and haste, still he has in his power concealed methods of executing his judgments without moving a finger. Perhaps also he intended to shew, that in destroying this nation, God will act in an extraordinary manner. But we ought to be satisfied with what I lately suggested, that when men carelessly resign themselves to sleep in the midst of prosperity, and, intoxicated by their pleasures, imagine that they have nothing to do with God, “sudden destruction is at hand,” because God, by a look, frustrates all the designs or preparations of the world. (1 Thessalonians 5:3.) He therefore declares that he will be like a clear and calm sky, {Bogus footnote} and like the heat that drieth up the rain.

And as a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. {Bogus footnote} Now we know that this rain is exceedingly adapted to ripen the fruits, and likewise that the heat which follows the rain penetrates the fruits with its force, and drives the moisture more inward, by which it hastens their maturity and renders them more productive. Now the Prophet meant, that though calamities and distresses await the reprobate, still everything proceeds so much to their wish, that they appear to be supremely happy, as if the Lord intended to load them with every kind of blessings; but that they are fattened like oxen destined for slaughter, for when they appear to have reached the highest happiness, they suddenly perish.

Hence it follows, that we ought not to form an estimate of the judgments of God according to outward appearances; for when men imagine themselves to be exceedingly safe, they are not far from destruction and from utter ruin. Thus he speedily comforts believers, that they may not suppose that it fares better with the reprobate so long as God forbears to strike; for though he appears to cherish in his bosom those whom he sustains, he will quickly reduce them to nothing. These statements ought to be applied to those wretched and disastrous times when the tyrants who oppress the Church are the only persons that are prosperous, and abound in all kinds of wealth, and contrive in such a manner as if everything were in their power, because they surpass other men in power, and skill, and cunning. But let us know that all these things are done by the appointment of God, who promotes their endeavors and renders them successful, that he may at length slay and destroy them in a moment. I am aware that a widely different meaning is given by some to these words of the Prophet; but any one who takes a judicious view of the whole passage will have little difficulty, I trust, in assenting to my interpretation.

5. For when the harvest shall be at hand. Literally it is, “in presence of the harvest;” but we must soften the harshness of the expressions; and it cannot be doubted that the meaning of the Prophet is, that when the harvest is close at hand, and when the grapes are nearly ripe, the whole produce, in the expectation of which wicked men had rejoiced, will suddenly be snatched from them. The Prophet continues the same subject, and confirms by these metaphors what he had formerly uttered, that the wicked are not immediately cut off, but flourish for a time, and the Lord spares them; but that when the harvest shall be at hand, when the vines shall put forth their buds and blossoms, so that the sour grapes make their appearance, the branches themselves shall be cut down. Thus when the wicked shall be nearly ripe, not only will they be deprived of their fruit, but they and their offspring shall be rooted out. Such is the end which the Lord will make to the wicked, after having permitted them for a time to enjoy prosperity; for they shall be rooted out, so that they cannot revive or spring up again in any way.

Hence we obtain this great consolation, that when God conceals himself, he tries our faith, and does not suffer everything to be carried along by the blind violence of fortune, as heathens imagine; for God is in heaven, as in his tabernacle, dwelling in his Church as in a mean habitation; but at the proper season he will come forth. Let us thus enter into our consciences, and ponder everything, that we may sustain our minds by such a promise as this, which alone will enable us to overcome and subdue temptations. Let us also consider that the Lord declares that he advances and promotes the happiness of wicked men, which tends to exhibit and to display more illustriously the mercy of God. If he instantly cut down and took them away like a sprouting blade of corn, his power would not be so manifest, nor would his goodness be so fully ascertained as when he permits them to grow to a vast height, to swell and blossom, that they may afterwards fall by their own weight, or, like large and fat ears of corn, cuts them down with pruning-knives.

6. They shall be left together. {Bogus footnote} He means that they will be cast aside as a thing of no value, as John the Baptist also compares them to chaff, which is thrown on the dunghill. (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17.) Thus Isaiah shews that they will be exposed to the wild beasts and to the fowls, so that the fowls will nestle in them in summer, and the wild beasts will make their lairs in them in winter; as if he had said, that not only men, but the wild beasts themselves will disdain them. Such therefore is the end of wicked men, who, situated in a lofty place, and thinking that they are beyond all danger, despise every one but themselves. The fowls and the beasts of prey will make use of them for nests and for food. They will be thrown down, I say, not only beneath all men, but even beneath the beasts themselves, and, being exposed to every kind of insult and dishonor, they will be a proof of the wonderful providence of God. {Bogus footnote}

7. In that time. The Prophet again shews why he threatened the destruction of a heathen nation; for when almost all the nations had leagued together against the Church, it appeared as if the Church were utterly ruined, and therefore Jehovah declares that in due time he will render assistance. Had he not opposed such designs, and seasonably restrained the attacks of enemies, the Jews would have despaired; and on this account he shews that he takes care of the Church, and that though he determines to chastise it, still he comes forward at the proper season to hinder it from perishing, and displays his power in opposition to tyrants and other enemies, that they may not overthrow it or succeed in accomplishing what they imagined to be in their power. In order therefore to excite them to patience, he not only distinguishes them from the Ethiopians, but likewise reminds them that God mitigates his judgments for their preservation.

A present shall be brought. He alludes to the second verse of this chapter, [Isaiah 18:2,] in which we have seen the same names and descriptions applied to the Jewish nation, and he employs the word brought because they would first of all be led into captivity, so that it would not be more practicable for them than for foreign nations to go up into the temple.

From a people. This expression deserves notice, for מעם, (mĕgnăm,) means that it will not be an entire nation; as if he had said, though you must be reduced to a small number, so as to be a feeble remnant, yet those few who are left will be offered in sacrifice to God. Hence we ought to learn a doctrine highly useful and exceedingly adapted to our times, for at the present day the Church is not far from despair, being plundered, scattered, and every where crushed and trodden under foot. What must be done in straits so numerous and so distressing? We ought to lay hold of these promises, so as to believe that still God will preserve the Church. To whatever extent the body may be torn, shivered into fragments and scattered, still by his Spirit he will easily unite the members, and will never allow the remembering and the calling on his name to perish. Out of those fragments which are now broken and scattered, the Lord will unite and assemble the people. Those whom he joins together in one spirit, though widely separated from each other, he can easily collect into one body. Although therefore we see the nation diminished in numbers, and some of its members cut off, yet some present will be offered by it to the Lord.

To the place of the name. This mode of expression is customary with the prophets. When they speak of the worship of God they describe it by outward acts, such as altars, sacrifices, washings, and such like; and, indeed, the worship of God being within the soul, there is no way in which it can be described but by outward signs, by which men declare that they worship and adore God. But he chiefly calls it Mount Zion, because that place was consecrated to God, and God commanded that sacrifices should be offered there. The chief honor which he bestowed upon it was when he caused the doctrine of his word (Isaiah 2:3) to go forth from it, as we have formerly seen; {Bogus footnote} so that the name of Mount Zion may be properly understood to denote the pure and uncorrupted worship of God. In short, the prophets do not describe the worship of God as it would be after the coming of Christ, but as it was in their own time, because they found it necessary to accommodate themselves to the people to whom they ministered. Hence it ought to be inferred that there is no other way in which we can belong to the Church than by being offered to God in sacrifice. Let every one therefore who wishes to belong to God present himself for such an oblation, and let him no longer live to himself, but be wholly dedicated to God. (Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 5:15.) Now we know that it is by this sword of the word, that is, by the gospel, that Paul boasts of offering and sacrificing men to God. (Romans 15:16.)

By the place of the name of the Lord, he does not mean that his essence, of which we ought not to form any gross or earthly conception, is confined to it, as if God were limited to a place, but because it was a place in which the Lord commanded that his power should be acknowledged, and that men should worship and call upon him where he manifested his presence by his benefits and by his power, and that on account of the ignorance of the people, who could not otherwise comprehend his majesty. Yet it ought to be observed, that we cannot become acceptable to God without being united in one and the same faith, that is, without being members of the Church; for it is not necessary for us to run to Jerusalem, or to Mount Zion, because in the present day Zion is as wide and extensive as the whole world, which is entirely devoted to God. All that is necessary therefore is, that the same faith dwell in us, and that we be joined together by the bond of love. If this be wanting, every thing about us is heathen, and we have nothing that is sacred or holy.

CHAPTER 19

Isaiah Chapter 19:1-25

1. The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.

1. Onus Ægypti. Ecce Iehova equitat super nubem celerem, et veniet in Ægyptum; et commovebuntur idola Ægypti a facie ejus, et cor Ægypti dissolvetur in medio ejus.

2. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.

2. Et committam Ægyptios cum Ægyptiis, pugnabit quisque tunc contra fratrem suum; quisque, inquam, contra proximum suum; civitas contra civitatem, et regnum contra regnum.

3. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

3. Et exinanietur spiritus Ægypti in medio ejus: et consilium ejus destruam, etiamsi quærant illod apud idola, apud magos, apud pythones, apud divinos.

4. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts.

4. Et tradam Ægyptios in manum domini sævi, et rex fortis dominabitur eis, dicit Dominus Iehova exercituum.

5. And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

5. Tunc deficient aquæ a mari, et fluvius exsiccabitur atque arescet.

6. And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.

6. Elongabuntur flumina; exhaurientur et siccabuntur rivi munitionis, arundo et carectum succidentur.

7. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more

7. Herbæ ad rivum et super os rivi, et omnis sementis rivi arescet, et propelletur, ut non sit.

8. The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the water shall languish.

8. Et moerebunt piscatores, et lugebunt omnes qui hamum projiciunt in rivum; qui expandunt rete super faciem aquarum debilitabuntur.

9. Moreover, they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded.

9. Qui in lino optimo operantur erubescent, et qui texunt plagas foratas, (vel, pellucidas.)

10. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof, all that make sluices and ponds for fish.

10. Erunt enum retia ejus dissipata; et omnes architecti retis (vel, mercedis) tristes erunt anima.

11. Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Paroaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Paraoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings?

11. Certe stulti principes Zoan; prudentum consiliariorum Pharaonis consilium unfatuatum est. Quomodo dicitis Pharaoni, Filius sapientum ego, et filius regum antiquorum?

12. Where are they? Where are thy wise men? And let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

12. Ubi nunc prudentes tui? ut annuntient tibi, aut etiam sciant quid decreverit Iehova exercituum super Ægyptum.

13. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof.

13. Infatuati sunt principes Zoan, decepti sunt principes Noph, seduxerunt Ægyptum angulus tribuum ejus.

14. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof; and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

14. Iehova miscuit in medio ejus spiritum perversitatis; et seduxerunt Ægyptum in omni opere ejus, quemadmodum circumagitur ebrius in vomito suo.

15. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do.

15. Nec erit Ægypto opus quod faciat caput vel cauda, ramus aut juncus.

16. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women; and it shall be afraid and fear, because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.

16. In die illa erit Ægyptus instar mulierum; horrebit enim et pavebit a facie agitationis manus Iehovæ exercituum, quam agitabit ipse super eam.

17. And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt; every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it.

17. Et erit terra Iuda Ægyptiis in tremorem. Omnis qui recordatus fuerit illius pavebit super ipsam, propter consilium Iehovæ exercituum, quod decrevit super eam.

18. In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts: one shall be called, The city of destruction.

18. In die illa erunt quinque civitates in terra Ægypti loquentes labio Canaan, et jurantes per Iehovam exercituum. Civitas desolationis una vocabitur.

19. In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord.

19. In die illa erit altare Iehovæ in medio terræ Ægypti, statua item juxta terminum ejus Iehovæ.

20. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

20. Eritque in signum et in testem Iehovæ exercituum, in terra Ægypti; quia clamabunt ad Iehovam propter oppressores, et mittet eis servatorem et principem, ut liberet eos.

21. And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it

21. Et cognoscetur Iehova ab Ægyptiis, cognoscent, inquam, Ægyptii Iehovam in illo die; et facient sacrificium et oblationem, vovebuntque vota Iehovæ et reddent.

22. And the Lord shall smite Egypt; he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them.

22. Itaque percutiet Iehova Ægyptum, percutiens et sanans; convertentur enim ad Iehovam, et exorabitur ab eis, et sanabit eos.

23. In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.

23. In die illa erit via ab Ægypto in Assyriam; commeabunt Assyrii in Ægyptum, et Ægyptii in Assyriam; et colent Ægyptii Assyrios (vel, cum Assyriis.)

24. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:

24. In die illa erit Israel tertia cum Ægypto, et Assyria benedictio in medio terræ.

25. Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

25. Quia benedicet illi Iehova exercituum, dicens: Benedictus populus meus Ægyptius, et opus manus meæ Assyrius, et hæreditas mea Israel.

CHAPTER 18

Is 18:1-7.

Isaiah announces the overthrow of Sennacherib's hosts and desires the Ethiopian ambassadors, now in Jerusalem, to bring word of it to their own nation; and he calls on the whole world to witness the event (Is 18:3). As Is 17:12-14 announced the presence of the foe, so Is 18:1-7 foretells his overthrow.

1. Woe--The heading in English Version, "God will destroy the Ethiopians," is a mistake arising from the wrong rendering "Woe," whereas the Hebrew does not express a threat, but is an appeal calling attention (Is 55:1; Zec 2:6): "Ho." He is not speaking against but to the Ethiopians, calling on them to hear his prophetical announcement as to the destruction of their enemies.

shadowing with wings--rather, "land of the winged bark"; that is, "barks with wing-like sails, answering to vessels of bulrushes" in Is 18:2; the word "rivers," in the parallelism, also favors it; so the Septuagint and Chaldee [Ewald]. "Land of the clanging sound of wings," that is, armies, as in Is 8:8; the rendering "bark," or "ship," is rather dubious [Maurer]. The armies referred to are those of Tirhakah, advancing to meet the Assyrians (Is 37:9). In English Version, "shadowing" means protecting--stretching out its wings to defend a feeble people, namely, the Hebrews [Vitringa]. The Hebrew for "wings" is the same as for the idol Cneph, which was represented in temple sculptures with wings (Psa 91:4).

beyond--Meroe, the island between the "rivers" Nile and Astaboras is meant, famed for its commerce, and perhaps the seat of the Ethiopian government, hence addressed here as representing the whole empire: remains of temples are still found, and the name of "Tirhakah" in the inscriptions. This island region was probably the chief part of Queen Candace's kingdom (Ac 8:27). For "beyond" others translate less literally "which borderest on."

Ethiopia--literally, "Cush." Horsley is probably right that the ultimate and fullest reference of the prophecy is to the restoration of the Jews in the Holy Land through the instrumentality of some distant people skilled in navigation (Is 18:2; Is 60:9, 10; Psa 45:15; 68:31; Zep 3:10). Phoenician voyagers coasting along would speak of all Western remote lands as "beyond" the Nile's mouths. "Cush," too, has a wide sense, being applied not only to Ethiopia, but Arabia-Deserta and Felix, and along the Persian Gulf, as far as the Tigris (Ge 2:13).

2. ambassadors--messengers sent to Jerusalem at the time that negotiations passed between Tirhakah and Hezekiah against the expected attack of Sennacherib (Is 37:9).

by ... sea--on the Nile (Is 19:5): as what follows proves.

vessels of bulrushes--light canoes, formed of papyrus, daubed over with pitch: so the "ark" in which Moses was exposed (Ex 2:3).

Go--Isaiah tells them to take back the tidings of what God is about to do (Is 18:4) against the common enemy of both Judah and Ethiopia.

scattered and peeled--rather, "strong and energetic" [Maurer]. The Hebrew for "strong" is literally, "drawn out" (Margin; Psa 36:10; Ec 2:3). "Energetic," literally, "sharp" (Ha 1:8, Margin; the verb means to "sharpen" a sword, Eze 21:15, 16); also "polished." As Herodotus (3:20, 114) characterizes the Ethiopians as "the tallest and fairest of men," G. V. Smith translates, "tall and comely"; literally, "extended" (Is 45:14, "men of stature") and polished (the Ethiopians had "smooth, glossy skins"). In English Version the reference is to the Jews, scattered outcasts, and loaded with indignity (literally, "having their hair torn off," Horsley).

terrible--the Ethiopians famed for warlike prowess [Rosenmuller]. The Jews who, because of God's plague, made others to fear the like (De 28:37). Rather, "awfully remarkable" [Horsley]. God puts the "terror" of His people into the surrounding nations at the first (Ex 23:27; Jos 2:9); so it shall be again in the latter days (Zec 12:2, 3).

from ... beginning hitherto--so English Version rightly. But Gesenius, "to the terrible nation (of upper Egypt) and further beyond" (to the Ethiopians, properly so called).

meted out--Hebrew, "of line." The measuring-line was used in destroying buildings (Is 34:11; 2Ki 21:13; La 2:8). Hence, actively, it means here "a people meting out,--an all-destroying people"; which suits the context better than "meted," passively [Maurer]. Horsley, understanding it of the Jews, translates it, "Expecting, expecting (in a continual attitude of expectation of Messiah) and trampled under foot"; a graphic picture of them. Most translate, of strength, strength (from a root, to brace the sinews), that is, a most powerful people.

trodden down--true of the Jews. But Maurer translates it actively, a people "treading under foot" all its enemies, that is, victorious (Is 14:25), namely, the Ethiopians.

spoiled--"cut up." The Nile is formed by the junction of many streams in Abyssinia, the Atbara, the Astapus or Blue river (between which two rivers Meroe, the "Ethiopia" here meant, lies), and the Astaboras or White river; these streams wash down the soil along their banks in the "land" of Upper Egypt and deposit it on that of Lower Egypt. G. V. Smith translates it, "Divide." Horsley takes it figuratively of the conquering armies which have often "spoiled" Judea.

3. see ye ... hear ye--rather, "ye shall see ... shall hear." Call to the whole earth to be witnesses of what Jehovah ("He") is about to do. He will "lift up an ensign," calling the Assyrian motley hosts together (Is 5:26) on "the mountains" round Jerusalem, to their own destruction. This (the eighteenth chapter) declares the coming overthrow of those armies whose presence is announced in Is 17:12, 13. The same motive, which led Hezekiah to seek aid from Egypt, led him to accept gladly the Ethiopian Tirhakah's aid (Is 36:6; 37:9). Ethiopia, Egypt, and Judea were probably leagued together against the common enemy, 713 B.C. See notes on the twenty-second chapter, where a difference of tone (as referring to a different period) as to Ethiopia is observable. Horsley takes the "ensign" to be the cross, and the "trumpet" the Gospel trumpet, which shall be sounded more loudly in the last days.

4. take ... rest ... consider--I will calmly look on and not interpose, while all seems to promise success to the enemy; when figuratively, "the sun's heat" and "the night dews" ripen their "harvest"; but "before" it reaches its maturity I will destroy it (Is 18:5; Ec 8:11, 12).

like a clear heat--rather, "at the time of the clear (serene) heat" [Maurer].

upon herbs--answering to "harvest" in the parallel clause. Maurer translates, "in the sunlight" (Job 31:26; 37:21; Ha 3:4).

like ... dew--rather, "at the time of the dew cloud." God's "silence" is mistaken by the ungodly for consent; His delay in taking vengeance for forgetfulness (Psa 50:21); so it shall be before the vengeance which in the last day shall usher in the restoration of the Jews (Is 34:1-8; 57:11, end of the verse, 2Pe 3:3-10).

5. For--rather, "But."

perfect--perfected. When the enemy's plans are on the verge of completion.

sour grape ... flower--rather, "when the flower shall become the ripening grape" [Maurer].

sprigs--the shoots with the grapes on them. God will not only disconcert their present plans, but prevent them forming any future ones. Horsley takes the "harvest" and vintage here as referring to purifying judgments which cause the excision of the ungodly from the earth, and the placing of the faithful in a state of peace on the earth: not the last judgment (Joh 15:2; Re 14:15-20).

6. birds ... beasts--transition from the image "sprigs," "branches," to the thing meant: the Assyrian soldiers and leaders shall be the prey of birds and beasts, the whole year through, "winter" and "summer," so numerous shall be their carcasses. Horsley translates the Hebrew which is singular: "upon it," not "upon them"; the "it" refers to God's "dwelling-place" (Is 18:4) in the Holy Land, which Antichrist ("the bird of prey" with the "beasts," his rebel hosts) is to possess himself of, and where he is to perish.

7. present ... people scattered and peeled--For the right rendering, see on Is 18:2. The repetition of epithets enhances the honor paid to Jehovah by so mighty a nation. The Ethiopians, wonder-struck at such an interposition of Jehovah in behalf of His people, shall send gifts to Jerusalem in His honor (Is 16:1; Psa 68:31; 72:10). Thus translate: "a present ... from a people." Or translate, as English Version; "the present" will mean "the people" of Ethiopia converted to God (Ro 15:16). Horsley takes the people converted to Jehovah, as the Jews in the latter days.

place of the name--where Jehovah peculiarly manifests His glory; Ac 2:10 and 8:27 show how worshippers came up to Jerusalem from Egypt" and "Ethiopia." Frumentius, an Egyptian, in the fourth century, converted Abyssinia to Christianity; and a Christian church, under an abuna or bishop, still flourishes there. The full accomplishment is probably still future.

Wo to the land - הוי ארץ hoi arets! This interjection should be translated ho! for it is properly a particle of calling: Ho, land! Attend! Give ear!

Shadowing with wings "The winged cymbal" - צלצל כנפים tsiltsal kenaphayim. I adopt this as the most probable of the many interpretations that have been given of these words. It is Bochart's: see Phaleg, 4:2. The Egyptian sistrum is expressed by a periphrasis; the Hebrews had no name for it in their language, not having in use the instrument itself. The cymbal they had was an instrument in its use and sound not much unlike the sistrum; and to distinguish it from the sistrum, they called it the cymbal with wings. The cymbal was a round hollow piece of metal, which, being struck against another, gave a ringing sound: the sistrum was a round instrument, consisting of a broad rim of metal, through which from side to side ran several loose laminae or small rods of metal, which being shaken, gave a like sound. These, projecting on each side, had somewhat the appearance of wings; or might be very properly expressed by the same word which the Hebrews used for wings, or for the extremity, or a part of any thing projecting. The sistrum is given in a medal of Adrian, as the proper attribute of Egypt. See Addison on Medals, Series 3. No. 4; where the figure of it may be seen. The frame of the sistrum was in shape rather like the ancient lyre; it was not round.

If we translate shadowing with wings, it may allude to the multitude of its vessels, whose sails may be represented under the notion of wings. The second verse seems to support this interpretation. Vessels of bulrushes, גמא gome, or rather the flag papyrus, so much celebrated as the substance on which people wrote in ancient times, and from which our paper is denominated. The sails might have been made of this flag: but whole canoes were constructed from it. Mat sails are used to the present day in China. The Vulgate fully understood the meaning of the word, and has accordingly translated, in vasis papyri, "in vessels of papyrus." Reshi vesselis. - Old MS. Bib. This interpretation does not please Bp. Lowth, and for his dissent he gives the following reasons: -

In opposition to other interpretations of these words which have prevailed, it may be briefly observed that צלצל tsiltsel is never used to signify shadow, nor is כנף canaph applied to the sails of ships. If, therefore, the words are rightly interpreted the winged cymbal, meaning the sistrum, Egypt must be the country to which the prophecy is addressed. And upon this hypothesis the version and explanation must proceed. I farther suppose, that the prophecy was delivered before Sennacherib's return from his Egyptian expedition, which took up three years; and that it was designed to give to the Jews, and perhaps likewise to the Egyptians, an intimation of God's counsels in regard to the destruction of their great and powerful enemy.

Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia "Which borders on the rivers of Cush" - What are the rivers of Cush? whether the eastern branches of the lower Nile, the boundary of Egypt towards Arabia, or the parts of the upper Nile towards Ethiopia, it is not easy to determine. The word מעבר meeber signifies either on this side or on the farther side: I have made use of the same kind of ambiguous expression in the translation.

In vessels of bulrushes "In vessels of papyrus" - This circumstance agrees perfectly well with Egypt. It is well known that the Egyptians commonly used on the Nile a light sort of ships, or boats, made of the reed papyrus. Ex ipso quidem papyro navigia texunt. Pliny, 42:11.

Conseritur bibula Memphitis cymba papyro.

Lucan, 4:136.

Go, ye swift messengers - To this nation before mentioned, who, by the Nile, and by their numerous canals, have the means of spreading the report in the most expeditious manner through the whole country: go, ye swift messengers, and carry this notice of God's designs in regard to them. By the swift messengers are meant, not any particular persons specially appointed to this office, but any of the usual conveyers of news whatsoever, travelers, merchants, and the like, the instruments and agents of common fame. These are ordered to publish this declaration made by the prophet throughout Egypt, and to all the world; and to excite their attention to the promised visible interposition of God.

Scattered "Stretched out in length" - Egypt, that is, the fruitful part, exclusive of the deserts on each side, is one long vale, through the middle of which runs the Nile, bounded on each side to the east and west by a chain of mountains seven hundred and fifty miles in length; in breadth from one to two or three days' journey: even at the widest part of the Delta, from Pelusium to Alexandria, not above two hundred and fifty miles broad. Egmont and Hayman, and Pococke.

Peeled "Smoothed" - Either relating to the practice of the Egyptian priests, who made their bodies smooth by shaving off their hair, (see Herod. 2:37); or rather to their country's being made smooth, perfectly plain and level, by the overflowing of the Nile.

Meted out "Meted out by line" - It is generally referred to the frequent necessity of having recourse to mensuration in Egypt, in order to determine the boundaries after the inundations of the Nile; to which even the origin of the science of geometry is by some ascribed. Strabo, lib. 17 sub init.

Trodden down - Supposed to allude to a peculiar method of tillage in use among the Egyptians. Both Herodotus, (lib. ii.), and Diodorus, (lib. i.), say that when the Nile had retired within its banks, and the ground became somewhat dry, they sowed their land, and then sent in their cattle, (their hogs, says the former), to tread in the seed; and without any farther care expected the harvest.

The rivers have spoiled "The rivers have nourished" - The word בזאו bazeu is generally taken to be an irregular form for בזזו bazezu, "have spoiled," as four MSS. have it in this place; and so most of the Versions, both ancient and modern, understand it. On which Schultens, Gram. Hebrews p. 491, has the following re; mark:"Ne minimam quidem speciem veri habet בזאו bazau, Esai. Isa 18:2, elatum pro בזזו bazazu, deripiunt. Haec esset anomalia, cui nihil simile in toto linguae ambitu. In talibus nil finire, vel fateri ex mera agi conjectura, tutius justiusque. Radicem בזא baza olim extare potuisse, quis neget? Si cognatum quid sectandum erat, ad בזה bazah, contemsit, potius decurrendum fuisset; ut בזאו bazeu, pro בזו bazu, sit enuntiatum, vel בזיו baziv. Digna phrasis, flumina contemmunt terram, i.e., inundant." "בזא baza, Arab. extulit se superbius, item subjecit sibi: unde praet. pl. בזאו bazeu, subjecerunt sibi, i.e., inundarunt." - Simonis' Lexic. Heb.

A learned friend has suggested to me another explanation of the word. בזא baza, Syr., and ביזא beiza, Chald., signifies uber, "a dug," mamma, "a breast;" agreeably to which the verb signifies to nourish. This would perfectly well suit with the Nile: whereas nothing can be more discordant than the idea of spoiling and plundering; for to the inundation of the Nile Egypt owed every thing; the fertility of the soil, and the very soil itself. Besides, the overflowing of the Nile came on by gentle degrees, covering with out laying waste the country: "Mira aeque natura fluminis, quod cum caeteri omnes abluant terras et eviscerent, Nilus tanto caeteris major adeo nihil exedit, nec abradit, ut contra adjiciat vires; minimumque in eo sit, quod solum temperet. Illato enim limo arenas saturat ac jungit; debetque illi Aegyptus non tantum fertilitatem terrarum, sed ipsas." - Seneca, Nat. Quaest., 4:2. I take the liberty, therefore, which Schultens seems to think allowable in this place, of hazarding a conjectural interpretation. It is a fact that the Ganges changes its course, and overruns and lays barren whole districts, from which it was a few years back several miles distant. Such changes do not nourish but spoil the ground.

When he lifteth up an ensign "When the standard is lifted up" - I take God to be the Agent in this verse; and that by the standard and the trumpet are meant the meteors, the thunder, the lightning, the storm, earthquake, and tempest, by which Sennacherib's army shall be destroyed, or by which at least the destruction of it shall be accompanied; as it is described in Isa 10:16, Isa 10:17; Isa 29:6, and Isa 30:30, Isa 30:31. See also Psa 76:1-12 (note), and the title of it, according to the Septuagint, Vulgate and Aethiopic. They are called, by a bold metaphor, the standard lifted up, and the trumpet sounded. The latter is used by Homer, I think with great force, in his introduction to the battle of the gods; though I find it has disgusted some of the minor critics: - Βραχε δ' ευρεια χθων, Αμφι δε σαλπιγζεν μεγας ουρανος.

Il. 21:388. "Heaven in loud thunders bids the trumpet sound,

And wide beneath them groans the rending ground."

Pope

For so the Lord said unto me "For thus hath Jehovah said unto me" - The subject of the remaining part of this chapter is, that God would comfort and support his own people, though threatened with immediate destruction by the Assyrians; that Sennacherib's great designs and mighty efforts against them should be frustrated; and that his vast expectations should be rendered abortive, when he thought them mature, and just ready to be crowned with success; that the chief part of his army should be made a prey for the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, (for this is the meaning of the allegory continued through the fifth and sixth verses); and that Egypt, being delivered from his oppression, and avenged by the hand of God of the wrongs which she had suffered, should return thanks for the wonderful deliverance, both of herself and of the Jews, from this most powerful adversary.

Like a clear heat "Like the clear heat" - The same images are employed by an Arabian poet: -

Solis more fervens, dum frigus; quumque ardet

Sirius, tum vero frigus ipse et umbra.

Which is illustrated in the note by a like passage from another Arabian poet: -

Calor est hyeme, refrigerium aestate.

Excerpta ex Hamasa; published by Schultens, at the end of Erpenius's Arabic Grammar, p. 425.

Upon herbs "After rain" - "אור aur here signifies rain, according to what is said Job 36:11 : 'The cloud scatters his rain.'" - Kimchi. In which place of Job the Chaldee paraphrast does indeed explain אורו auro by מטריה matereyh; and so again Job 36:21 and Job 36:30. This meaning of the word seems to make the best sense in this place; it is to be wished that it were better supported.

In the heat of harvest "In the day of harvest" - For בחם bechom, in the heat, fourteen MSS., (several ancient), the Septuagint, Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate read ביום beyom, in the day. The mistake seems to have arisen from כחם kechom in the line above.

The flower "The blossom" - Hebrews her blossom; נצה nitstsah, that is, the blossom of the vine, גפן gephen, vine, understood, which is of the common gender. See Gen 40:10. Note, that by the defective punctuation of this word, many interpreters, and our translators among the rest, have been led into a grievous mistake, (for how can the swelling grape become a blossom?) taking the word נצה nitstsah for the predicate; whereas it is the subject of the proposition, or the nominative case to the verb.

The present "A gift" - The Egyptians were in alliance with the kingdom of Judah, and were fellow-sufferers with the Jews under the invasion of their common enemy Sennacherib; and so were very nearly interested in the great and miraculous deliverance of that kingdom, by the destruction of the Assyrian army. Upon which wonderful event it is said, 2Chr 32:23, that "many brought gifts unto Jehovah to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so that he was magnified of all nations from henceforth." It is not to be doubted, that among these the Egyptians distinguished themselves in their acknowledgments on this occasion.

Of a people "From a people" - Instead of עם am, a people, the Septuagint and Vulgate read מעם meam, from a people, which is confirmed by the repetition of it in the next line. The difference is of importance; for if this be the true reading, the prediction of the admission of Egypt into the true Church of God is not so explicit as it might otherwise seem to be. However, that event is clearly foretold at the end of the next chapter. - L.

The lord - Either Ethiopia beyond Egypt; or of Egypt. Wings - The title of wings is given, in scripture, to divers things which have some kind of resemblance to wings, as to the battlements of an house or temple, to an army, and to the sails of a ship, as this word is here commonly understood. And shadowing with wings is nothing else but overspread or filled with them. Which title may be given either to Ethiopia or Egypt, in regard of the great numbers either of their armies, or of their ships or vessels sailing upon the sea or rivers. Besides - Situated on both sides of the Nile. Rivers - Called rivers, in the plural number, either for its greatness, or for the many rivulets that run into it, or for the various streams into which it is divided.

Sendeth - That at this time are sending ambassadors, to strengthen themselves with alliances. Bulrushes - Both the Egyptians and Ethiopians, used boats of rushes or reeds, which were more convenient for them than those of wood, because they were both cheaper and swifter, and lighter for carriage from place to place. These seem to be the words of the prophet, who having pronounced a woe against the land hitherto described, here continues his speech, and gives a commission from God to these messengers, to go to this nation scattered, &c. Then he calls to all nations to be witnesses of the message sent, ver.3, and then the message follows in the succeeding verses. Messengers - Whom I have appointed for this work, and tell them what I am about to do with them. Scattered - Not by banishment but in their habitations. Which agrees well to the Ethiopians, for the manner of their habitation, which is more scattered than that of other people. Peeled - Having their hair plucked off. This is metaphorically used in scripture, for some great calamity, whereby men are stripped of all their comforts. And this title may be given to them prophetically, to signify their approaching destruction. Terrible - Such were the Egyptians, and Ethiopians, as appears both from sacred and profane histories. Meted - Meted out as it were with lines to destruction. Trodden - By Divine sentence, and to be trodden down by their enemies. The rivers - Which may be understood of the Assyrians or Babylonians breaking in upon them like a river, and destroying their land and people.

When - When God shall gather together the nations, as it were by the lifting up of an ensign, or by the sound of a trumpet, to execute his judgments upon this people.

Rest - I will not bestir myself, to help this people. God is said in scripture to rest, or sit still, when he doth not work on the behalf of a person or people. Dwelling - place - In heaven, the place where God dwells. Harvest - The sense is, that God would look upon them with as uncomfortable an influence as the sun with a clear heat upon the herbs, which are scorched and killed by it; and as a cloud of the dew, which brings dew or rain, in the heat of harvest, when it is unwelcome and hurtful.

For - Before they receive the end of their hopes. When - When the bud or flower is turned into a grape, which gives hopes of good vintage. He - The Lord. The branches - Instead of gathering the grapes, shall cut down the tree, and throw it into the fire.

Thy - The branches being cut down and thrown upon the ground, with the unripe grapes upon them. Left - They shall lie upon the earth, so that either birds or beasts may shelter themselves with them, or feed on them, both summer and winter.

In that time - At or after that time, when the judgment shall be compleatly executed. A people - The people of whom I am speaking shall present themselves, and their sacrifices, to the true God.

WO to the land shadowing with wings , which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia :

Either, 1. of Arabia; or, 2. of Ethiopia beyond Egypt; or, 3. of Egypt, as some both ancient and later Interpreters judge; of whom he speaks more darkly in this Chapter, and then explains himself more clearly in the next Chapter. But this Controversie will be best determined by examining the following Description.

The Title of wings is oft given, both in Scripture and in other Authors, unto divers things which have some general kind of resemblance to Wings, as to the Battlements of an House or Temple, as Mat. 4. 5. to the Skirts of a Garment, as Ruth 3. 9. and oft elsewhere; to an Army, as Isa. 8. 8. Ier. 48. 40. & 49. 22. and to the Sails of a Ship, as this Word is here commonly understood, and as it is unquestionably used in other Authors. And shadowing with wings is nothing else but overspread or filled with them. Which Title may be given either to Ethiopia or Egypt, in regard of the great numbers either, 1. of their Armies; or rather, 2. of their Ships or Vessels sailing upon the Sea or Rivers: For, 1. in these they exceeded most of those Nations who had Dealings with the Jews, whereas other Nations either equalled or exceeded them in numerous Armies: But they had an innumerable Company of Ships or Boats, not onely because of the Commodiousness of the River Nilus, and its many Branches, and the Red Sea, and the Midland Sea▪ for Navigation; but also because of the frequent Overflowings of the River Nilus over their Land, which made them absolutely necessary. 2. This best suits with the next Verse. 3. Those ancient and venerable Interpreters, the Seventy, and the Chaldee, who best understood the Hebrew Words and Phrases, expound it so.

Or, on this side, as this Particle is rendred Numb. 21. 13. & 22. 1. and in many other places. Or, as others translate it, besides, which may comprehend both sides; and so the Land of which he speaks is supposed to be scituated on both sides of this River or Rivers; which is most true both of Egypt and of Ethiopia.

A late Learned Writer understands this of three or four Rivers of Arabia Chus[illegible: 1+ letters]a, whereof one flows into the Red Sea, another into the Midland Sea, and a third into a great Lake. Which being obscure and very inconsiderable Rivers, and running in so distant Channels, it is not probable that this Land should receive its Denomination from them. And therefore it seems more reasonable to understand this of the great River Nilus, which comes from Ethiopia, and runs through the length of that Land, and through Egypt, into the Midland Sea; and which is here called rivers, in the Plural Number, as it is also Exod. 7. 19. Isa. 7. 18. Ezek. 29. 3, 4. and, unquestionably, Nahum 3. 8. And so it might well be called, either for its Greatness, or for the many Rivulets that run into it, or for the various Streams or Channels into which it is divided; as Tigris, upon the same Reasons, hath the same Title of rivers ascribed to it, Nahum 2. 6.

Heb. of Cush. By which he seems to understand either, 1. Arabia, which in many places of Scripture comes under that name, though not in all places, as some Learned Men contend. Nor doth this Place seem to be understood here, because these Rivers were not interposed between Iudaea, in which Isaiah wrote this Prophecy, and Arabia; nor were the Rivers of Arabia, mentioned before, interposed between Iudaea and Egypt or Ethiopia: and besides, those Rivers were but small and inconsiderable, and therefore, as was noted before, this Land, whatsoever it is, would not have been denominated from them, especially when it is not properly situated either beyond them, or on this side of them. But if this Cush be Arabia, peradventure it were better to understand the rivers, or the river, as it was explained before, of the Red Sea, beyond which indeed both Egypt and Ethiopia were, in reference to Arabia. And whereas it may be objected, That the Title of river or rivers is very improperly given to the Sea, it may be fairly answered, That as Rivers are sometimes called by the name of the sea, as Euphrates is, Isa. 21. 1. Ier. 51. 36. so this very Word here rendred river, is used concerning the Sea in the Hebrew Text, Ionah 2. 3. and indeed may not unfitly be given to the Red Sea, which both for its Length and Breadth hath a manifest resemblance unto some large Rivers which are in the World. And so the Words may be very truly understood either of Egypt or of Ethiopia, both which Countries in this sence are beyond the rivers or river of Arabia. But this I onely propose, and submit to the Reader's Judgment. Or, 2. Ethiopia, properly so called: For the Cushites or Ethiopians are distinguished by Herodotus, and divers other both ancient and later Writers, into the Eastern, which seem to be the Arabians, and the Western, which seem to be the Ethiopians under Egypt. And it is probably thought, that these Cushites were first planted in Arabia, and, upon their increase, part of them passed over into Africa by crossing the Red Sea, which was a very short and an easie Passage, and setled there. And according to this Interpretation of the Word, the Description of the Land given in the last Clause of this Verse agrees either to Ethiopia, or to Egypt, as is evident from what hath been already said for the clearing of this dark and difficult Verse.

Marginal references: Chap. 20. 4. Ezek. 30. 9. Zeph. 2. 12. & 3. 10.

2 That sendeth ambassadours by the sea , even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters , saying , Go ye swift Messengers to a nation scattered and peeled , to people terrible from their beginning hitherto ; a nation meted o[illegible: 1+ letters] and troden down , whose land the rivers have spoiled .

That at this time are sending Ambassadours, after their manner, to strengthen themselves with Leagues and Alliances, whereby they think to prevent those Judgments and Calamities, which, notwithstanding all their Endeavours, I will bring upon them. The first part of this Verse seems to contain a further Description of the People of the Land mentioned in the foregoing Verse.

Either by the Midland Sea, or by the Red Sea, or by great Lakes which were both in and near the Land of Egypt; it being usual among the Hebrews to give the Title of seas to Lakes, or any great Collections of Waters, as hath been oft observed before.

For both the Egyptians and Ethiopians, as Diodorus Siculus, and Strabo, and Pliny relate, did commonly use Boats of Rushes or Reeds, which were more convenient for them than those of Wood, because they were both cheaper, and swifter, and lighter for carriage from Place to Place; for which they had frequent occasion in those Parts: and safer, because of the many Rocks, and Shelves, and Waterfalls of Nilus.

Heb. upon the face or surface of the waters. Which is properly expressed, because such Vessels being very light, did not sink so deep into the Waters as those of Wood do.

This Word is supplied here, as it is in many other Places. And the Words here following are supposed to contain the Commission and Direction given by the People hitherto described, unto their Messengers, to go to the People described in the following Words. But this Word, saying, is not in the Hebrew Text, nor is it supplied either by the Seventy, or by the Chaldee; nor doth it seem necessary to be understood. And it seems very improbable, that the People to whom the Messengers were sent, should be described in such general and ambiguous Terms, and in so large a manner, and not a Word said concerning their Message. And therefore, with submission, I humbly conceive these to be the Words of the Prophet, who having in God's Name pronounced a Wo against the Land hitherto described, here continues his Speech, and gives a Commission from God to these messenge[illegible: 1+ letters]s following, to go to this nation scattered, &c. Then he calls to all Nations to be Witnesses of the Message sent by these Messengers, v. 3. And then the Message follows in the succeeding Verses. And so the Coherence seems to be clear.

O you my Angels, or Men, whom I have appointed for this Work, go speedily to them, and tell them what I am about to do with them, or inflict the following Judgment upon them.

Not by Banishment, but in their Habitations. Which agrees well to the Cushites or Ethiopians, both for the vastness of the Land inhabited by them, to wit, Ethiopia and Arabia, and for the manner of their Habitation, which is more scattered than that of other People. Or, these People may be called scattered Prophetically, not that they were so, but that they should be so. Or, this Word may he rendred, as it is in the Margin, and by some others, out-spread, or drawn cut at length▪ which exactly suits to Egypt, which is much more extended in length than in Breadth.

Either, 1. without Hair; for so were the Ethiopians in a great measure, through the great Heat of their Country: Or, 2. having their Hair shaven or plucked off; for the Word doth not signifie a natural want of Hair, but a violent taking away of Hair, as appears from Ezra 9. 3. Nehem. 13. 25. Isa. 50. 6. And this plucking or shaving of the Hair is metaphorically used in Scripture to signifie some great Calamity, whereby men are stripped of all their Comforts, as Isa. 7. 20. and elsewhere. And this Title may be given to them Prophetically, to signifie their future and approaching Destruction.

Such were the Egyptians, and Ethiopians or Cushites, as appears both from Sacred and Profane Histories. And this may be here added as an Aggravation of their impending Miseries, that they who had been for a long time terrible to others, should now become a contemptible and wretched People.

Heb. of line line, i. e. meted out as it were with Lines to Destruction; of which Phrase and Custom see 2 Sam. 8. 2. 2 Kings 21. 13. Psal. 60. 6. Isa. 34. 11.

By Divine Sentence, and to be trodden down by their Enemies.

Which may be taken either, 1. literally, because Egypt and Ethioopia were frequently overflowed by those two great Rivers Niger and Nilus; although that Overflow was rather an Advantage to the Land, by making it fruitful, than a Mischief: Or, 2. metaphorically and prophetically, of the Assyrians or Babylonians breaking in upon them like a River, and destroying their Land and People; of which see more on Ezek. 30. For powerful Enemies invading a Country, are oft compared to a River, as Isa. 8. 7, 8. & 59. 19. Ier. 46. 7, 8.

Marginal references: Or, outspread and polished.; Or, a nation that needeth out and treadeth down.; Heb. a nation of line, line, and treading under foot.; Or▪ whose land the rivers despise.

3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains, and when he bloweth a trumpet , hear ye .

Take notice of what I say, and God will do. Or, Ye shall see it; you shall be Eye-witnesses of this dreadful Wo or Judgment which I am bringing upon the People of whom I have spoken. The Prophet doth in a manner summon all Nations to bear witness of his Prophecy, and of the Accomplishment thereof.

When God shall gather together the Nations, as it were by the lifting up of an Ensign, or by the sound of a Trumpet, to execute his Judgments upon this People. Heb. as when a man lifts up an ensign upon the mountains, which men can easily see; and as when a man sounds a trumpet, they can hear: no less visible and manifest shall this Judgment of God be.

Ye shall hear it, as in the other Branch.

4 For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest , and I will consider in my dwelling-place , like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest .

I will sit still, and not bestir my self, either to help this People, or to hinder their Enemies. God is said in Scripture to rest, or sit still, when he doth not work on the behalf of a Person or People; as, on the contrary, he is said to bestir himself, when he acts for them.

Or, I will contemplate, or look upon them, to wit, the People of whom I am here speaking. So it is onely an Ellipsis of the Pronoun. Now God's looking in Scripture is variously used; sometimes in way of Favour and Mercy, as Psal. 25. 18. Isa. 66. 2. &c. and sometimes in a way of Anger and Judgment, as Exod. 14. 24. Psal. 25. 19. and, as I humbly conceive, in this place. I know some Learned men render this and the next Word, I will look upon my dwelling place, and interpret the Place of God's gracious Respect to his Church or People, to preserve and deliver it in the midst of all the Confusions and Combustions that happen in the World. Which Interpretation seems altogether unsuitable to the scope and Business of the Chapter, which in all the foregoing and following Verses speaks of another sort of People, even of the Egyptians or Ethiopians, of whom therefore this Verse also must be understood, or otherwise we make a breach in the Context.

In Heaven, the Place where God dwells, and where he is said to hear Prayers, 1 Kings 8. 30, 32. as here to consider Men and Things, as elsewhere he is said to hear and to look from heaven, as 2 Chron. 6. 21. Isa. 63. 15. the Hebrew Particles b[illegible: 1+ letters]th, in, and mem, from, being put promiscuously one for another, as hath been noted before.

The sence is, That God would look upon them, as the Sun with clear Heat looks upon Herb[illegible: 1+ letters], &c. But this may be understood either, 1. in way of Mercy, as most take it: And so the sence is, That God would look out and shine forth upon his Church and People, and be as comfortable and refreshing to them, as the clear heat which shines upon the herbs; or, as others render it, after the rain, or, as a cloud of dew is in the heat of harvest: Or, 2. in way of Judgment: And so the sence is, That God would look upon them with as uncomfortable an Influence as the Sun with a clear heat upon the herbs, which are scorched and killed by it; and as a cloud of the dew, which brings Dew or Rain, in the heat of harvest, when it is unwelcome and hurtful. And this sence seems best to agree with the following Verse, which continueth the Metaphor of an Harvest, and manifestly speaks not of refreshing, but of the destruction of the Fruits thereof.

Marginal references: Or, regard my set dwelling.; Or, after rain.

5 For afore the harvest , when the bud is perfect, and the sowr grape is ripening in the flower , he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and take away and cut down the branches .

Before they receive the End of their Hopes, and finish the Work which they have designed and begun.

When the Bud or Flower is turned into a perfect but unripe Grape, which gives hopes of a good Vintage. The Body of this People are compared to a Vine-tree.

The Lord, who is easily understood from the foregoing Verse, and who is here represented under the Notion of an Husbandman or Vine-dresser.

In stead of the gathering of the Grapes, he shall cut down the Body and Branches of the Tree, and throw it into the Fire.

6 They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them .

The Sprigs and Branches being cut down and thrown upon the Ground, with the unripe Grapes upon them.

They shall lie upon the Earth neglected by Men, as being unripe, and unfit for their use, so that either Birds or Beasts may shelter themselves with them, or feed on them, both Summer and Winter. You are not to understand that the Summer is appropriated to the Fowls, and the Winter to the Beasts; but this is onely an Elegancy of the Hebrew Language, to use such Distributions, of which we have many Instances in Prophetical Writings.

7 In that day shall there a present be brought unto the LORD of hosts, of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the Name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion▪

Which is to be taken largely and indefinitely, as it is frequently in the Prophets, as we have already seen, and shall more fully see hereafter. At or after that time, when the Judgment threatned in the foregoing Verses shall be fully and compleatly executed, whereby that People will be awakened to Repentance.

The People of whom I am speaking shall present and offer themselves, and their Sacrifices, unto the True God. He speaks of their Conversion to God and Christ, by the Preaching of the Gospel; the Accomplishment of which Promise is recorded in the Histories of the Church.

Marginal references: Zeph. 3. 10.; Or, outspread and polished.

Isa 18:1-3

The prophecy commences with hoi, which never signifies heus, but always vae (woe). Here, however, it differs from Isa 17:12, and is an expression of compassion (cf., Isa 55:1; Zec 2:10) rather than of anger; for the fact that the mighty Ethiopia is oppressed by the still mightier Asshur, is a humiliation which Jehovah has prepared for the former. Isa 18:1, Isa 18:2: “Woe to the land of the whirring of wings, which is beyond the rivers of Cush, that sends ambassadors into the sea and in boats of papyrus over the face of the waters.” The land of Cush commences, according to Eze 29:10 (cf., Isa 30:6), where Upper Egypt ends. The Sevēneh (Aswân), mentioned by Ezekiel, is the boundary-point at which the Nile enters Mizraim proper, and which is still a depot for goods coming from the south down the Nile. The naharē-Cush (rivers of Cush) are chiefly those that surround the Cushite Seba (Gen 10:7). This is the name given to the present Sennâr, the Meroitic island which is enclosed between the White and Blue Nile (the Astapos of Ptolemy, or the present Bahr el-Abyad, and the Astaboras of Ptolemy, or the present Bahr el-Azrak). According to the latest researches, more especially those of Speke, the White Nile, which takes its rise in the Lake of Nyanza, is the chief source of the Nile. The latter, and the Blue Nile, whose confluence (makran) with it takes place in lat. 15° 25´, are fed by many larger or smaller tributary streams (as well as mountain torrents); the Blue Nile even more than the Nile proper. And this abundance of water in the land to the south of Sevēnēh, and still farther south beyond Seba (or Meroë), might very well have been known to the prophet as a general fact. The land “beyond the rivers of Cush” is the land bounded by the sources of the Nile, i.e., (including Ethiopia itself in the stricter sense of the word) the south land under Ethiopian rule that lay still deeper in the heart of the country, the land of its African auxiliary tribes, whose names (which probably include the later Nubians and Abyssinians), as given in 2Ch 12:3; Nah 3:9; Eze 30:5; Jer 46:9, suppose a minuteness of information which has not yet been attained by modern research. To this Ethiopia, which is designated by its farthest limits (compare Zep 3:10, where Wolff, in his book of Judith, erroneously supposes Media to be intended as the Asiatic Cush), the prophets give the strange name of eretz tziltzal cenâp. This has been interpreted as meaning “the land of the wings of an army with clashing arms” by Gesenius and others; but cenâphaim does not occur in this sense, like 'agappim in Ezekiel. Others render it “the land of the noise of waves” (Umbreit); but cenâphaim cannot be used of waters except in such a connection as Isa 8:8. Moreover, tziltzal is not a fitting onomatopoetic word either for the clashing of arms or the noise of waves. Others, again, render it “the land of the double shadow” (Grotius, Vitringa, Knobel, and others); but, however appropriate this epithet might be to Ethiopia as a tropical land, it is very hazardous to take the word in a sense which is not sustained by the usage of the language; and the same objection may be brought against Luzzatto’s “land of the far-shadowing defence.” Shelling has also suggested another objection - namely, that the shadow thrown even in tropical lands is not a double one, falling northwards and southwards at the same time, and therefore that it cannot be figuratively described as double-winged. Tziltzal cenâphaim is the buzzing of the wings of insects, with which Egypt and Ethiopia swarmed on account of the climate and the abundance of water: צלצל, constr. צלצל, tinnitus, stridor, a primary meaning from which the other three meanings of the word-cymbal, harpoon (a whirring dart), and grasshopperSchröring supposes tziltzal to be the scarabaeus sacer (Linn.); but it would be much more natural, if any particular animal is intended, to think of the tzaltzalya, as it is called in the language of the Gallas, the tzetze in the Betschuana language, the most dreaded diptera of the interior of Africa, a species of glossina which attacks all the larger mammalia (though not men). Vid., Hartmann, Naturgeschichtlich-medic. Skizze der Nilländer, Abth. i. p. 205.  - are derived. In Isa 7:18 the forces of Egypt are called “the fly from the end of the rivers of Egypt.” Here Egypt and Ethiopia are called the land of the whirring of wings, inasmuch as the prophet had in his mind, under the designation of swarms of insects, the motley swarms of different people included in this great kingdom that were so fabulously strange to an Asiatic. Within this great kingdom messengers were now passing to and fro upon its great waters in boats of papyrus (on gōme, Copt. ‛gōme, Talm. gâmi, see at Job 8:11), Greek βαρίδες παπύριναι (βαρίς, from the Egyptian bari, bali, a barque). In such vessels as these, and with Egyptian tackle, they went as far as the remote island of Taprobane. The boats were made to clap together (pilcatiles), so as to be carried past the cataracts (Parthey on Plutarch. de Iside, pp. 198-9). And it is to these messengers in their paper boats that the appeal of the prophet is addressed.

He sends them home; and what they are to say to their own people is generalized into an announcement to the whole earth. “Go, swift messengers, to the people stretched out and polished, to the terrible people far away on the other side, to the nation of command upon command and treading down, whose land rivers cut through. All ye possessors of the globe and inhabitants of the earth, when a banner rises on the mountains, look ye; and when they blow the trumpets, hearken!” We learn from what follows to what it is that the attention of Ethiopia and all the nations of the earth is directed: it is the destruction of Asshur by Jehovah. They are to attend, when they observe the two signals, the banner and the trumpet-blast; these are decisive moments. Because Jehovah was about to deliver the world from the conquering might of Assyria, against which the Ethiopian kingdom was now summoning all the means of self-defence, the prophet sends the messengers home. Their own people, to which he sends them home, are elaborately described. They are memusshâk, stretched out, i.e., very tall (lxx ἔθνος μετέωρον), just as the Sabaeans are said to have been in Isa 45:14. They are also mōrât = memorât (Ges. §52, Anm. 6), smoothed, politus, i.e., either not disfigured by an ugly growth of hair, or else, without any reference to depilation, but rather with reference to the bronze colour of their skin, smooth and shining with healthy freshness. The description which Herodotus gives of the Ethiopians, μέγιστοι καὶ κάλλιστοι ἀνθρώπων πάντων (iii. 20), quite answers to these first two predicates. They are still further described, with reference to the wide extent of their kingdom, which reached to the remotest south, as “the terrible nation והלאה מן־הוּא,” i.e., from this point, where the prophet meets with the messengers, farther and farther off (compare 1Sa 20:21-22, but not 1Sa 18:9, where the expression has a chronological meaning, which would be less suitable here, where everything is so pictorial, and which is also to be rejected, because מן־הוּא cannot be equivalent to הוּא מאשׁר; cf., Nah 2:9). We may see from Isa 28:10, Isa 28:13, what kâv (kăv, with connecting accusatives and before makkeph), a measuring or levelling line, signifies, when used by the prophet with the reduplication which he employs here: it is a people of “command upon command,” - that is to say, a commanding nation; (according to Ewald, Knobel, and others, kâv is equivalent to the Arabic kūwe, strength, a nation of double or gigantic strength.) “A people of treading down” (sc., of others; mebūsah is a second genitive to goi), i.e., one which subdues and tramples down wherever it appears. These are all distinctive predicates - a nation of imposing grandeur, a ruling and conquering nation. The last predicate extols its fertile land. בּזא we take not in the sense of diripere, or as equivalent to bâzaz, like מאס, to melt, equivalent to mâsas, but in the sense of findere, i.e., as equivalent to בזע, like גּמא, to sip = גּמע. For it is no praise to say that a land is scoured out, or washed away, by rivers. Böttcher, who is wrong in describing this chapter as “perhaps the most difficult in the whole of the Old Testament,” very aptly compares with it the expression used by Herodotus (ii. 108), κατετμήθη ἡ Αἴγυπτος. But why this strange elaboration instead of the simple name? There is a divine irony in the fact that a nation so great and glorious, and (though not without reason, considering its natural gifts) so full of self-consciousness, should be thrown into such violent agitation in the prospect of the danger that threatened it, and should be making such strenuous exertions to avert that danger, when Jehovah the God of Israel was about to destroy the threatening power itself in a night, and consequently all the care and trouble of Ethiopia were utterly needless.

Isa 18:4-6

The prophet knows for certain that the messengers may be home and announce this act of Jehovah to their own people and to all the world. “For thus hath Jehovah spoken to me: I will be still, and will observe upon my throne during clear weather in sunshine, during a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For before the harvest, when the blossom falls off, and the fruit becomes the ripening grape: then will He cut off the branches with pruning-hooks; and the tendrils He removes, breaks off. They are left altogether to the birds of prey on the mountains, and to the cattle of the land; and the birds of prey summer thereon, and all the cattle of the land will winter thereon.” The prophecy explains itself here, as is very frequently the case, especially with Isaiah; for the literal words of v. 6 show us unquestionably what it is that Jehovah will allow to develop itself so prosperously under favourable circumstances, and without any interposition on His part, until He suddenly and violently puts an end to the whole, must as it is approaching perfect maturity. It is the might of Assyria. Jehovah quietly looks on from the heavenly seat of His glorious presence, without disturbing the course of the thing intended. This quietness, however, is not negligence, but, as the hortative expressions show, a well-considered resolution. The two Caphs in v. 4 are not comparative, but indicate the time. He remains quiet whilst there is clear weather with sunshine (עלי indicating continuance, as in Jer 8:18; 1Sa 14:32), and whilst there is a dew-cloud in the midst of that warmth, which is so favourable for the harvest, by causing the plants that have been thoroughly heated in the day and refreshed at night by the dew, to shoot up and ripen with rapidity and luxuriance. The plant thought of, as v. 5 clearly shows, is the vine. By liphnē kâtzir (before the harvest) we are either to understand the period just before the wheat-harvest, which coincides with the flowering of the grape; or, since Isaiah uses kâtzir for bâzri in Isa 16:9, the time at the close of the summer, immediately preceding the vintage. Here again the Caph indicates the time. When the blossoming is over, so that the flower fades away, and the fruit that has set becomes a ripening grape (boser, as in Job 15:33, not in the sense of labruscum, but of omphax; and gâmal, maturescere, as in Num 17:8, maturare), He cuts off the branches (zalzalilm, from zilzēl, to swing to and fro; compare the Arabic dâliye, a vine-branch, from dalâ, to hang long and loose) upon which the nearly ripened grapes are hanging, and removes or nips offהתז = התז with a pausal sharpening of the tzere, which is lengthened by the tone, from tâzaz or tı̄z in post-biblical Hebrew, to knock off, knock to pieces, or weaken (compare tâshash). On this change of vowels in pause, see at Gen 17:14; and compare Olshausen, §91, d. For an example of the post-biblical use of the word, vid., b. Sanhedrin 102 a, “like two sticks hammattı̄zōth,” i.e., one of which “hits the other in two” (hittiz, apparently from tūz, or tiz, like hinnı̄ach from nuach). the tendrils (netishoth, as in Jer 5:10, from nâtash, to stretch far out; niphal, to twist about a long way, Isa 16:8, compare Jer 48:32); an intentional asyndeton with a pictorial sound. The words of Jehovah concerning Himself have here passed imperceptibly into words of the prophet concerning Jehovah. The ripening grapes, as Isa 18:6 now explains, are the Assyrians, who were not far from the summit of their power; the fruit-branches that are cut off and nipped in pieces are their corpses, which are now through both summer and winter the food of swarms of summer birds, as well as of beasts of prey that remain the whole winter through. This is the act of divine judgment, to which the approaching exaltation of the banner, and the approaching blast of trumpets, is to call the attention of the people of Ethiopia.

Isa 18:7

What effect this act of Jehovah would have upon the Ethiopian kingdom, if it should now take place, is described in Isa 18:7 : “At that time will there be offered as a homage to Jehovah of hosts a nation stretched out and polished, and from a terrible people, far away on the other side; a nation of command upon command and treading down, whose land rivers cut through, at the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, the mountain of Zion.” עם (a people), at the commencement, cannot possibly be equivalent to מעם (from a people). If it were taken in this sense, it would be necessary to make the correction accordingly, as Knobel has done; but the important parallels in Isa 66:20 and Zep 3:10 are against this. Consequently ‛am and goi (people and nation) must be rendered as subjects; and the מן in מעם must be taken as partitive. Ethiopia is offered, i.e., offers itself, as a free-will offering to Jehovah, impelled irresistibly by the force of the impression made by the mighty act of Jehovah, or, as it is expressed in “the Titan among the Psalms” (Psa 68:32, probably a Davidic psalm of the time of Hezekiah), “there come kingdoms of splendour out of Egypt; Cush rapidly stretches out its hands to Elohim.” In order that the greatness of this spiritual conquest might be fully appreciated, the description of this strangely glorious people is repeated here; and with this poetical rounding, the prophecy itself, which was placed as a kind of overture before the following massa Mitzraim when the prophet collected the whole of his prophecies together, is brought to a close. The Oracle Concerning Egypt  - Isaiah 19

The three prophecies in Isa 18:1-7, 19 and Isa 20:1-6 really form a trilogy. The first (Isa 18:1-7), which, like chapter 1, the introduction to the whole, is without any special heading, treats in language of the sublimest pathos of Ethiopia. The second (chapter 19) treats in a calmer and more descriptive tone of Egypt. The third (Isa 20:1-6) treats of both Egypt and Ethiopia in the style of historic prose. The kingdom to which all three prophecies refer is one and the same, viz., the Egypto-Ethiopian kingdom; but whilst Isa 18:1-7 refers to the ruling nation, chapter 19 treats of the conquered one, and Isa 20:1-6 embraces both together. The reason why such particular attention is given to Egypt in the prophecy, is that no nation on earth was so mixed up with the history of the kingdom of God, from the patriarchal times downwards, as Egypt was. And because Israel, as the law plainly enjoined upon it, was never to forget that it had been sheltered for a long time in Egypt, and there had grown into a great nation, and had received many benefits; whenever prophecy has to speak concerning Egypt, it is quite as earnest in its promises as it is in its threats. And thus the massa of Isaiah falls into two distinct halves, viz., a threatening one (Isa 19:1-15), and a promising one (Isa 19:18-25); whilst between the judgment and the salvation (in Isa 19:16 and Isa 19:17) there stands the alarm, forming as it were a connecting bridge between the two. And just in proportion as the coil of punishments is unfolded on the one hand by the prophet, the promise is also unfolded in just as many stages on the other; and moving on in ever new grooves, rises at length to such a height, that it breaks not only through the limits of contemporaneous history, but even through those of the Old Testament itself, and speaks in the spiritual language of the world-embracing love of the New Testament.

Judgments Denounced. (b. c. 712.)

1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: 2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. 4 For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. 5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. 6 They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. 7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.

Interpreters are very much at a loss where to find this land that lies beyond the rivers of Cush. Some take it to be Egypt, a maritime country, and full of rivers, and which courted Israel to depend upon them, but proved broken reeds; but against this it is strongly objected that the next chapter is distinguished from this by the title of the burden of Egypt. Others take it to be Ethiopia, and read it, which lies near, or about, the rivers of Ethiopia, not that in Africa, which lay south of Egypt, but that which we call Arabia, which lay east of Canaan, which Tirhakah was now king of. He thought to protect the Jews, as it were, under the shadow of his wings, by giving a powerful diversion to the king of Assyria, when he made a descent upon his country, at the time that he was attacking Jerusalem, 2 Kings xix. 9. But though by his ambassadors he bade defiance to the king of Assyria, and encouraged the Jews to depend upon him, God by the prophet slights him, and will not go forth with him; he may take his own course, but God will take another course to protect Jerusalem, while he suffers the attempt of Tirhakah to miscarry and his Arabian army to be ruined; for the Assyrian army shall become a present or sacrifice to the Lord of hosts, and to the place of his name, by the hand of an angel, not by the hand of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, v. 7. This is a very probable exposition of this chapter. But from a hint of Dr. Lightfoot's, in his Harmony of the Old Testament, I incline to understand this chapter as a prophecy against Assyria, and so a continuation of the prophecy in the last three verses of the foregoing chapter, with which therefore this should be joined. That was against the army of the Assyrians which rushed in upon Judah; this is against the land of Assyria itself, which lay beyond the rivers of Arabia, that is, the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, which bordered on Arabia Deserta. And in calling it the land shadowing with wings he seems to refer to what he himself had said of it (ch. viii. 8), that the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel! The prophet might perhaps describe the Assyrians by such dark expressions, not naming them, for the same reason that St. Paul, in his prophecy, speaks of the Roman empire by a periphrasis: He who now letteth, 2 Thess. ii. 7. Here is,

I. The attempt made by this land (whatever it is) upon a nation scattered and peeled, v. 2. Swift messengers are sent by water to proclaim war against them, as a nation marked by Providence, and meted out, to be trodden under foot. Whether this refer to the Ethiopians waging war with the Assyrians, or the Assyrians with Judah, it teaches us, 1. That a people which have been terrible from their beginning, have made a figure and borne a mighty sway, may yet become scattered and peeled, and may be spoiled even by their own rivers, that should enrich both the husbandman and the merchant. Nations which have been formidable, and have kept all in awe about them, may by a concurrence of accidents become despicable and an easy prey to their insulting neighbours. 2. Princes and states that are ambitious of enlarging their territories will always have some pretence or other to quarrel with those whose countries they have a mind to. "It is a nation that has been terrible, and therefore we must be revenged on it; it is now a nation scattered and peeled, meted out and trodden down, and therefore it will be an easy prey for us." Perhaps it was not brought so low as they represented it. God's people are trampled on as a nation scattered and peeled; but whoever think to swallow them up may find them still as terrible as they have been from their beginning; they are cast down, but not deserted, not destroyed.

II. The alarm sounded to the nations about, by which they are summoned to take notice of what God is about to do, v. 3. The Ethiopians and Assyrians have their counsels and designs, which they have laid deep, and promise themselves much from, and, in prosecution of them, send their ambassadors and messengers from place to place; but let us now enquire what the great God says to all this. 1. He lifts up an ensign upon the mountains, and blows a trumpet, by which he proclaims war against the enemies of his church, and calls in all her friends and well-wishers into her service, v. 3. He gives notice that he is about to do some great work, as Lord of hosts. 2. All the world is bidden to take notice of it; all the dwellers on earth must see the ensign and hear the trumpet, must observe the motions of the divine providence and attend the directions of the divine will. Let all enlist under God's banner, and be on his side, and hearken to the trumpet of his word, which gives not an uncertain sound.

III. The assurance God gives to his prophet, by him to be given to his people, that, though he might seem for a time to sit by as an unconcerned spectator, yet he would certainly and seasonably appear for the comfort of his people and the confusion of his and their enemies (v. 4): So the Lord said unto me. Men will have their saying, but God also will have his; and, as we may be sure his word shall stand, so he often whispers it in the ears of his servants the prophets. When he says, I will take my rest, it is not as if he were weary of governing the world, of as if he either needed or desired to retire from it and repose himself; but it intimates that the great God has a perfect, undisturbed, enjoyment of himself, in the midst of all the agitations and changes of this world (the Lord sits even upon the floods unshaken; the Eternal Mind is always easy), and, though he may sometimes seem to his people as if he took not wonted notice of what is done in this lower world (they are tempted to think he is as one asleep, or as one astonished, Ps. xliv. 23; Jer. xiv. 9), yet even then he knows very well what men are doing and what he himself will do.

1. He will take care of his people, and be a shelter to them. He will regard his dwelling-place; his eye and his heart are, and shall be, upon it for good continually. Zion is his rest for ever, where he will dwell; and he will look after it (so some read it); he will lift up the light of his countenance upon it, will consider over it what is to be done, and will be sure to do all for the best. He will adapt the comforts and refreshments he provides for his people to the exigencies of their case; and they will therefore be acceptable, because seasonable. (1.) Like a clear heat after rain (so the margin), which is very reviving and pleasant, and makes the herbs to flourish. (2.) Like a dew and a cloud in the heat of harvest, which are very welcome, the dew to the ground and the cloud to the labourers. Note, There is that in God which is a shelter and refreshment to his people in all weathers and arms them against the inconveniences of every change. Is the weather cool? There is that in his favour which will warm them. Is it hot? There is that in his favour which will cool them. Great men have their winter-house and their summer-house (Amos iii. 15); but those that are at home with God have both in him.

2. He will reckon with his and their enemies, v. 5, 6. When the Assyrian army promises itself a plentiful harvest in the taking of Jerusalem and the plundering of that rich city, when the bud of that project is perfect, before the harvest is gathered in, while the sour grape of their enmity to Hezekiah and his people is ripening in the flower and the design is just ready to be put in execution, God shall destroy that army as easily as the husbandman cuts off the sprigs of the vine with pruning hooks, or because the grape is sour and good for nothing, and will not be cured, takes away and cuts down the branches. This seems to point at the overthrow of the Assyrian army by a destroying angel, when the dead bodies of the soldiers were scattered like the branches and sprigs of a wild vine, which the husbandman has cut to pieces. And they shall be left to the fowls of the mountains, and the beasts of the earth, to prey upon, both winter and summer; for as God's people are protected all seasons of the year, both in cold and heat (v. 4), so their enemies are at all seasons exposed; birds and beasts of prey shall both summer and winter upon them, till they are quite ruined.

IV. The tribute of praise which should be brought to God from all this (v. 7): In that time, when this shall be accomplished, shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts. 1. Some understand this of the conversion of the Ethiopians to the faith of Christ in the latter days, of which we have the specimen and beginning in Philip's baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch, Acts viii. 27, &c. Those that were a people scattered and peeled, meted out, and trodden down (v. 2), shall be a present to the Lord: and, though they seem useless and worthless, they shall be an acceptable present to him who judges of men by the sincerity of their faith and love, not by the pomp and prosperity of their outward condition. Therefore the gospel was ministered to the Gentiles that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, Rom. xv. 16. It is prophesied (Ps. lxviii. 31) that Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. 2. Others understand it of the spoil of Sennacherib's army, out of which, as usual, presents were brought to the Lord of hosts, Num. xxxi. 50. It was the present of a people scattered and peeled. (1.) It was won from the Assyrians, who were now themselves reduced to such a condition as they scornfully described Judah to be in, v. 1. Those that unjustly trample upon others shall themselves be justly trampled upon. (2.) It was offered by the people of God, who were, in disdain, called a people scattered and peeled. God will put honour upon his people, though men put contempt upon them. Lastly, Observe, The present that is brought to the Lord of hosts must be brought to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts; what is offered to God must be offered in the way that he has appointed; we must be sure to attend him, and expect him to meet us, where he records his name.

CHAP. XVIII.

Ver. 1. WO to the Land] To Ethiopia deſcribed here. 1. By the ſhady Mountains wherewith it is ſurrounded.Strabo. 2. By the Rivers wherewith it is watered.

Which is beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia] Or, which is along by the Rivers, even Ethiopia, which alſo may be ſaid to be beyond the Rivers, i. e. beyond the ſeven ſtreams of Nilus, in reſpect of Jeruſalem.

Ver. 2. That ſendeth Embaſſadors by the ſea] Heralds to defie the Aſſyrian, and to bid him battle, to their own ruin.

Junceae fiſcella picatae. Vide Plin. lib. 6. cap. 22. Even in the veſſels of bul-ruſhes] Or, in paper barks-well pitched. Theſe were much in uſe among the Ethiopians and Egyptians, both for expedition, and alſo for ſafety againſt Rocks, ſhallows and falls of Rivers.

Go ye ſwift meſſengers] Tirhaka's words to his Heralds. See 2 King. 19.9.

To a Nation ſcattered and peeled] i. e. To the Aſſyrians, whoſe great Forces are at this time ſcattered up and down in ſeveral Countreys; and therefore with more eaſe and ſafety to be ſet upon. Thus the Ethiopian pleaſeth himſelf in the conceit of an eaſie Conqueſt, but was quickly confuted; the Jews who truſted unto him were diſappointed, and Sennacherib more enraged againſt Jeruſalem.

To a people terrible] The mauls of mankind; but I ſhall chaſtiſe them. Thus he triumpheth before the victory, having already devoured Aſſyria in his hopes.

A Nation meted out, and trodden down] Or rather, meting out, and treading down, or ſhortly to be meted out to corculcation or deſtruction.

Whoſe Land the Rivers have ſpoiled] Or, the floods (inundations of enemies) ſhall spoil; Or, whoſe Land the Rivers (1. the Ethiopians who live by the Rivers, ver. 1.) do deſpiſe: For this Chapter is not more ſhort then dark: and diverſly rendred and ſenſed.

Ver. 3. All the Inhabitants of the world— ſee ye] Or, ye ſhall ſee when he lifteth up a banner on the Mountains, and when he bloweth a Trumpet, ye ſhall hear, i. e. ye ſhall ſhortly ſee the Aſſyrians returning from the Conqueſt of the Ethiopian, with glory and great joy. But what will the Lord do the while?

Ver. 4. I will take my reſt, I will conſider] He will ſit and bethink himſelf as it were, how he may beſt beſtow his poor people: The Aſſyrian ſhall go on with his great deſign for a while, and none ſhall interrupt him: but the Church mean-while ſhall not be unprovided for.

Like a clear heat upon herbs] Or, after-rain, which makes herbs and plants ſuddenly to ſprout and ſhoot up a main. God will not only look upon his people, but refreſh them in troubles.

Ver. 5. For afore the Harveſt] Or, Vintage.

When the bud is perfect, &c.] When the Aſſyrian, fleſhed with his former Victory, maketh full account that all is his own, God ſhall make his hopes to hop headleſs, He ſhall ſlaughter his Forces, as ver. 6. branches and ſprigs, great and ſmall.

Ver. 6. They ſhall be left together] They, that is, the Aſſyrians ſlain by the Angel, as Pſalm 79.2. Chap. 37.37.

The fowls ſhall ſummer upon them] Both birds and beaſts of prey ſhall have enough to feed upon the whole year about.

Ver. 7 In that time] When the Aſſyrians are thus ſlain.

Shall the preſent be brought] ſc. By the Jews, who ſhall conſecrate a conſiderable part of the ſpoils of the Aſſyrians, according to Numb. 31.28, 47, 50, 54. Thankfulneſs for publike deliverances is ſtill due to the moſt High: Bring preſents unto him that ought to be feared, Pſalm. 76.11.