Isaiah 22 commentary

Why is Jerusalem in such terror? Her slain men are not slain with the sword, but with famine; or, slain with fear, disheartened. Their rulers fled, but were overtaken. The servants of God, who foresee and warn sinners of coming miseries, are affected by the prospect. But all the horrors of a city taken by storm, faintly shadow forth the terrors of the day of wrath.

The weakness of Judah now appeared more than ever. Now also they discovered their carnal confidence and their carnal security. They looked to the fortifications. They made sure of water for the city. But they were regardless of God in all these preparations. They did not care for his glory in what they did. They did not depend upon him for a blessing on their endeavours. For every creature is to us what God makes it to be; and we must bless him for it, and use it for him. There was great contempt of God's wrath and justice, in contending with them. God's design was to humble them, and bring them to repentance. They walked contrary to this. Actual disbelief of another life after this, is at the bottom of the carnal security and brutish sensuality, which are the sin, the shame, and ruin of so great a part of mankind. God was displeased at this. It is a sin against the remedy, and it is not likely they should ever repent of it. Whether this unbelief works by presumption or despair, it produces the same contempt of God, and is a token that a man will perish wilfully.

This message to Shebna is a reproof of his pride, vanity, and security; what vanity is all earthly grandeur, which death will so soon end! What will it avail, whether we are laid in a magnificent tomb, or covered with the green sod? Those who, when in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves. Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place. Those called to places of trust and power, should seek to God for grace to enable them to do their duty. Eliakim's advancement is described. Our Lord Jesus describes his own power as Mediator, Rev. 3:7, that he has the key of David. His power in the kingdom of heaven, and in ordering all the affairs of that kingdom, is absolute. Rulers should be fathers to those under their government; and the honour men bring unto their families, by their piety and usefulness, is more to be valued than what they derive from them by their names and titles. The glory of this world gives a man no real worth or excellence; it is but hung upon him, and it will soon drop from him. Eliakim was compared to a nail in a sure place; all his family are said to depend upon him. In eastern houses, rows of large spikes were built up in the walls. Upon these the moveables and utensils were hung. Our Lord Jesus is as a nail in a sure place. That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to the ground, which is by faith hung upon Christ. He will set before the believer an open door, which no man can shut, and bring both body and soul to eternal glory. But those who neglect so great salvation will find, that when he shutteth none can open, whether it be shutting out from heaven, or shutting up in hell for ever.

1. The burden of the valley of vision. Isaiah again prophesies against Judea, which he calls the valley of vision. He gives this appellation to the whole of Judea rather than to Jerusalem, of which he afterwards speaks; but now in the preface he includes the whole of Judea. He appropriately calls it a “valley,” for it was surrounded on all sides by mountains. It is a harsher view of the metaphor, which is adopted by some, that Jerusalem is called “a valley,” because it was thrown down from its loftiness. The reason why he adds the words, of vision, is plain enough. The Lord enlightened the whole of Judea by his word; the prophets were continually employed in it, and that was the reason why they called them seers. (1 Samuel 9:9.) There is also an implied contrast here, for valleys have less light than open plains, because the height of the mountains intercepts the light of the sun. Now, this valley, he tells us, is more highly enlightened than those countries which were exposed on all sides to the sun. It was by the extraordinary goodness of God that this happened; for he means, that it was enlightened, not by the rays of the sun, but by the word of God.

Besides, the Prophet unquestionably intended to beat down that foolish confidence with which the Jews were puffed up, because God had distinguished them above others by remarkable gifts. They abused his word and prophecies, as if by means of them they had been protected against all danger, though they were disobedient and rebellious against God. He therefore declares that visions will not prevent God from punishing their ingratitude; and he even aggravates their guilt by this mark of ingratitude, that amidst such splendor of heavenly doctrine they still continued to stumble like the blind.

What hast thou here? or, What hast thou now? He now addresses Jerusalem; not that this defeat affects Jerusalem alone, but because the whole country thought it safe to take refuge under the shadow of the sanctuary which then existed, and to lead the Jews to reflect, since this befell a fortified city, what would become of other cities which had no means of defense. He asks in astonishment, “What does it mean that every person leaves his house and flies to the house-top for the purpose of saving his life?” Among the Jews the form of house-tops was different from what is now customary with us, and hence arose that saying of Christ,

“What you have heard in the ear proclaim on the housetops.” (Matthew 10:27.)

When the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled to the house-tops, they left their houses open to be a prey to enemies, and this was a proof that they were exceedingly afraid. It is likewise possible that they went up to the house-tops for the purpose of throwing down javelins and other weapons against the enemies, whose arrival not only terrified them, but made them flee in consternation, and yet they did not escape danger.

2. Thou that art full of noises. He means that it was exceedingly populous; for where great multitudes of people are brought together, noise abounds; and therefore, amidst so crowded a population, there was less cause of fear. In order to make the representation still more striking, Isaiah has therefore added this circumstance, that instead of being, as they ought to have been, walls and bulwarks to defend the city, when there was no scarcity of men, they ignominiously turned their backs on the enemies, and fled to the tops of their houses. By these words he urges the Jews more strongly to consider the judgment of God; for when such overwhelming fear has seized the hearts of men, it is certain that God has struck them with trembling; as if he had said, “How comes it that you have not greater firmness to resist? It is because God pursues and chases you.”

These statements are taken from the writings of Moses, from which, as we have frequently remarked, the prophets borrow their instructions, but with this difference, that what Moses spoke in general terms they apply to the matter in hand.

“The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them. The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart.” (Deuteronomy 28:25, 28.)

He reproaches the Jews for their distressed condition, and with good reason; for it was proper to press the accusation more closely home, that they might learn to ascribe to their sins and transgressions all the afflictions and sufferings that they endured. The Lord had promised that he would continually assist them; and when they are now left destitute, let them acknowledge that they do not deserve such assistance, and that God has cast them off on account of their rebelliousness. The Lord does not deceive or make false promises, but by their own fault those wretched persons have shut themselves out from his aid and favor; and this is still more strongly expressed by the question, What hast thou here? It means that God gave practical evidence that Jerusalem had been deprived of her protector and guardian; for this mode of expression denotes something strange and extraordinary.

Thy slain men are not slain by the sword. To exhibit still more clearly the vengeance of God, he affirms that they who were slain there did not die bravely in battle. Thus he shews that all that they wanted was manly courage; for a timid and cowardly heart was a sure proof that they had all been forsaken by the Lord, by whose assistance they would have bravely and manfully resisted. He therefore does not mean that the defeat would be accompanied by shame and disgrace, but ascribes it to the wrath of God that they had not courage to resist; and unquestionably by this circumstance he beats down their foolish pride.

3. All thy rulers are fled together. This verse has been interpreted in various ways. The fact is abundantly plain, but there is some difficulty about the words. As מ (mem) signifies before and more than, some explain מרחוק (mĕrāchōk) Rendered in the English version, “from afar.”

FT335 “I will weep bitterly. (Heb. I will be bitter in weeping.)” — Eng. Ver.

FT336 “My soul is wearied because of murderers.” — Eng. Ver. See our Author’s view of that passage in his Commentary on Jeremiah, vol. 1 p. 249

FT337 “To the mountains.” — Eng. Ver.

FT338 “La plaine du Jordain;” — “The plain of the Jordan.”

FT339 “And Kir uncovered (Heb. made naked) the shield.” — Eng. Ver.

FT340 “Kir is now agreed to be identical with Κύρος, the name of a river rising in the Caucasus, and emptying into the Caspian Sea, from which Georgia (Girgistan) is supposed to derive its name. Kir was subject to Assyria in the time of Isaiah, as appears from the fact that it was one of the regions to which the exiles of the ten tribes were transported. It may here be put for Media, as Elam is for Persia.” — Alexander

FT341 “Thy choicest valleys, (Heb. the choice of thy valleys.)” — Eng. Ver.

FT342 “The name of ‘the house of the forest’ was given to it, because it was constructed of ‘cedars’ taken from the forest of Lebanon, and because it rested on four rows of fifteen large pillars of cedar. When the inhabitants of Jerusalem heard of the invasion by the Assyrian army, they looked to this armory to draw from it arms for defending the city.” — Rosenmüller. “It was built by Solomon within the city as a cool retreat; and here he laid up his choicest armory. 1 Kings 7:2, 10:17. See Nehemiah 3:19.” — Stock

FT343 “Le sac et l’arrachement des cheveux;” — “Sackcloth and pulling out the hair.”

FT344 “En sac ou cendre;” — “In sackcloth or ashes.”

FT345 Rosenmüller, who is followed in this instance by Stock and Alexander, renders this clause, “Jehovah was revealed in my ears,” remarking that נגלה (niglah) must here be taken for a reflective verb, and quoting as parallel passages, 1 Samuel 2:27, 3:21, in the former of which instead of the literal rendering, “Revealing was I revealed?” our translators say, “Did I plainly appear?” while in the latter they make נגלה (niglah) a reflective verb, “The Lord revealed himself.” — Ed

FT346 “C’est à dire, des enfans de Dieu;” — “That is, of the children of God.”

FT347 “Tellement qu’ils n’ont pas mesme un pied de terre pour estre interrez;” — “So that they have not even a foot of earth for a grave.”

FT348 “He will surely violently turn.” — Eng. Ver.

FT349 “As the robe and the baldric, mentioned in the preceding verse, were the ensigns of power and authority, so likewise was the key the mark of office, either sacred or civil.” — Lowth

FT350 “To comprehend how the key could be borne on the shoulder, it will be necessary to say somewhat of the form of it; but, without entering into a long disquisition, and a great deal of obscure learning, concerning the locks and keys of the ancients, it will be sufficient to observe, that one sort of keys, and that probably the most ancient, was of considerable magnitude, and, as to the shape, very much bent and crooked. Homer, Odyss. 21:6, describes the key of Ulysses’s store-house as εὐκαμπὴς, of a large curvature; which Eustathius explains by saying it was δρεπανοειδὴς, in shape like a reap-hook. The curve part was introduced into the key-hole, and, being properly directed by the handle, took hold of the bolts within, and moved them from their places. We may easily collect from this account, that such a key would lie very well upon the shoulder; that it must be of some considerable size and weight, and could hardly be commodiously carried otherwise. Ulysses’s key was of brass, and the handle of ivory; but this was a royal key; the more common ones were probably of wood.” — Lowth

FT351 “Ce mot est deduit de verité, laquelle est tousjours accompagnee de fermeté et asseurance;” — “This word is derived from truth, which is always accompanied by firmness and certainty.”

FT352 “In ancient times, and in the eastern countries, as the way of life, so the houses were much more simple than ours at present. They had not that quantity and variety of furniture, nor those accommodations of all sorts with which we abound. It was convenient and even necessary for them, and it made an essential part in the building of a house, to furnish the inside of the several apartments with sets of spikes, nails, or large pegs, upon which to dispose of, and hang up, the several moveables and utensils in common use, and proper to the apartment. These spikes they worked into the walls at the first erection of them — the walls being of such materials that they could not bear their being driven in afterwards; and they were contrived so as to strengthen the walls, by binding the parts together, as well as to serve for convenience. Sir John Chardin’s account of this matter is this, ‘They do not drive with a hammer the nails that are put into the eastern walls; the walls are too hard, being of brick; or if they are of clay, too mouldering; but they fix them in the brick-work as they are building. They are large nails with square heads like dice, well-made, the ends being so bent as to make them cramp-irons. They commonly place them at the windows and doors, in order to hang upon them, when they like, veils and curtains.’ (Harmer, Obser. 1 p. 191.) And we may add, that they were put in other places too, in order to hang up other things of various kinds; as it appears from this place of Isaiah, and from Ezekiel 15:3, who speaks of a pin, or nail, to hang any vessel thereon.” — Lowth

FT353 “The offspring and the issue.” — Eng. Ver.

FT354 “Mais s’estendra jusqu’ a ceux qui viendront long temps apres;” “But will extend to those who shall live long afterwards.”

FT355 “Here follow the names of utensils hung up in an eastern house, concerning which we must needs be uncertain. The meaning of the whole figure is, Eliakim shall be the support of all ranks in the state, of the meanest people as well as the highest.” — Stock

FT356 “Even to all the vessels of flagons, (or, instruments of violins.)” — Eng. Ver.

FT357 “The old interpretation of נבלים (nĕbūlīm) as denoting musical instruments,” says Professor Alexander, “though justified by usage, is forbidden by the context.” to mean, “They fled before others, though they were situated in the most distant parts of the country, and were in greater danger.” Others render it, “Although they were at a great distance from Jerusalem, still they did not cease to flee like men who are seized with terror, and never stop in their flight, because they continually think that the enemy is at their heels.”

But a more natural interpretation appears to me to be. They have fled from afar; that is, “they who have resorted to Jerusalem as a safe retreat will be seized by enemies and vanquished;” for Jerusalem might be regarded as the general protection of the whole of Judea, and therefore, when a war broke out, the inhabitants rushed to it from every quarter. While they looked upon their habitation in Jerusalem as safe, they were taken prisoners. Others suppose it to refer to the siege of Sennacherib. (2 Kings 18:13; 2 Chronicles 32:1.) But I cannot be persuaded to expound the passage in this manner, for he speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem. When it was besieged by Sennacherib, the Lord immediately delivered it; none were taken or made prisoners, and there was no slaughter of men. These events therefore happened long after the death of the Prophet, and sacred history relates them, and informs us that in that destruction even the rulers betook themselves to flight; but they derived no advantage from their flight, nor did Jerusalem afford them any defense, for they fell into the hands of their enemies.

When he expressly mentions the rulers, this shews more strongly the shamefulness of the transaction, for they ought to have been the first to expose their persons for the safety of the people. They might be viewed as the shields which ought to have guarded and defended the common people. So long as Jerusalem kept its ground and was in a prosperous condition, these statements might be thought incredible, for it was a very strong and powerfully fortified city. But they chiefly boasted of the protection of God, for they thought that in some way God was bound to his “Temple;” and their pride swelled them with the confident hope that, though all should be leagued against it, no power and no armies could bring it down. (Jeremiah 7:4.) This prophecy might therefore be thought very strange, that they would have no courage, that they would betake themselves to flight, and that even in that manner they could not escape.

4. Therefore I said. Here the Prophet, in order to affect more deeply the hearts of the Jews, assumes the character of a mourner, and not only so, but bitterly bewails the distressed condition of the Church of God. This passage must not be explained in the same manner as some former passages, in which he described the grief and sorrow of foreign nations; but he speaks of the fallen condition of the Church of which he is a member, and therefore he sincerely bewails it, and invites others by his example to join in the lamentation. What has befallen the Church ought to affect us in the same manner as if it had befallen each of us individually; for otherwise what would become of that passage? “The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up.” (Psalm 69:9.)

I will be bitter in my weeping. {Bogus footnote} He does not mourn in secret, or without witnesses; first, because he wishes, as I have already said, to excite others by his example to lamentation, and not to lamentation only, but much more to repentance, that they may ward off the dreadful judgment of God against them, which was close at hand, and henceforth may refrain from provoking his displeasure; and secondly, because it was proper that the herald of God’s wrath should actually make evident that what he utters is not mockery.

Because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. That he expresses the feelings of his own heart may be inferred from what he now declares, that he is bitterly grieved “on account of the daughter of his people.” Being one of the family of Abraham, he thought that this distress affected his own condition, and intimates that he has good grounds for lamentation. By a customary mode of expression he calls the assembly of his people a daughter. Hence it ought to be observed, that whenever the Church is afflicted, the example of the Prophet ought to move us to be touched (συμπαθείᾳ) with compassion, if we are not harder than iron; for we are altogether unworthy of being reckoned in the number of the children of God, and added to the holy Church, if we do not dedicate ourselves, and all that we have, to the Church, in such a manner that we are not separate from it in any respect. Thus, when in the present day the Church is afflicted by so many and so various calamities, and innumerable souls are perishing, which Christ redeemed with his own blood, we must be barbarous and savage if we are not touched with any grief. And especially the ministers of the word ought to be moved by this feeling of grief, because, being appointed to keep watch and to look at a distance, they ought also to groan when they perceive the tokens of approaching ruin.

The circumstance of his weeping publicly tended, as we have said, to soften the hearts of the people; for he had to deal with obstinate men, who could not easily be induced to lament. There is a passage that closely resembles it in Jeremiah, who bewails the miserable and wasted condition of the people, and says, that through grief “his heart fainteth,” {Bogus footnote} (Jeremiah 4:31;) and in another passage, “O that my head were full of waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might bewail the slain of my people!” (Jeremiah 9:1.) When the prophets saw that they labored in vain to subdue the obstinacy of the people, they could not avoid being altogether overwhelmed by grief and sorrow. They therefore endeavored, by their moving addresses, to soften hard hearts, that they might bend them, if it were at all possible, and bring them back to the right path.

5. It is a day of trouble. He again declares that the Lord is the author of this calamity, and that the Jews may not gaze around in all directions, or wonder that their enemies prevail against them, he pronounces that they are fighting against God. Though this doctrine is frequently taught in Scripture, still it is not superfluous, and cannot be so earnestly inculcated as not to be forgotten when we come to practice. The consequence is, that we are not humbled in the presence of our Judge, and that we direct our eyes to outward remedies rather than to God, who alone could cure our distresses. He employs the word day, as is usual in Scripture, to signify an appointed time; for when God winks at the transgressions of men, he appears to make some abatement of the claims of his rank, which, however, he may be said to receive back again at the proper and appointed time.

In the valley of vision. It is not without good reason that he again calls it “the valley of vision,” for the Jews believed that they would be protected against every calamitous event, because the Lord shone on them by the word. But having ungratefully rejected his instruction, they vainly trusted that it would be of avail to them; and indeed the Lord punishes the unbelief of men, not only out of the Church, but within the Church itself; and not only so, but he begins his chastisement at the Church, so that we must not abuse the gifts of God, or vainly glory in his name. (1 Peter 4:17.)

And crying to the mountain. {Bogus footnote} This may refer either to God or to the Babylonians, or even to the exiles themselves. Conquerors raise a cry for the sake of increasing terror, and the vanquished either utter what is fitted to awaken compassion, or give vent to their grief by lamentation. The singular number may be taken for the plural, or rather it denotes that part of the city in which the temple was situated. Both meanings will agree well with the context, and it makes little difference whether we say that the enemies cried to Mount Zion, in order to encourage each other, or that, while they were destroying and plundering the city, a cry was heard in the neighboring mountains, or that the citizens themselves caused their lamentations to resound to the mountains which surrounded the plain of Judea. {Bogus footnote}

6. But Elam carrying the quiver. Here commentators think that the discourse proceeds without any interruption, and that he makes known to the Jews the same judgment which he formerly proclaimed. But when I examine the whole matter more closely, I am constrained to differ from them. I think that the Prophet reproaches the Jews for their obstinacy and rebellion, because, though the Lord had chastised them, they did not repent, and that he relates the history of a past transaction, in order to remind them how utterly they had failed to derive advantage from the Lord’s chastisements. Such then is the manner in which these statements ought to be separated from what came before. First, he foretold those things which would come on the Jews, and now he shews how justly they are punished, and how richly they deserve those sharp chastisements which the Lord inflicts on them; for the Lord had formerly called them to repentance, not only by words, but by deeds, and yet no reformation of life followed, though their riches were exhausted, and the kingdom weakened, but they obstinately persisted in their wickedness. Nothing therefore remained but that the Lord should miserably destroy them, since they were obstinate and refractory.

The copulative ו (vau) I have translated But, which is the meaning that it frequently bears. Those who think that the Prophet threatens for a future period, preserve its ordinary meaning, as if the Prophet, after having mentioned God, named the executioners of his vengeance. But I have already given the exposition which I prefer, and the context will make it still more clear, that I had good reasons for being of that opinion.

When he speaks of the “Elamites” and the “Cyrenaeans,” this applies better, I think, to the Assyrians than to the Babylonians; for although those nations had never make war against the Jews by troops under their own command, yet it is probable that they were in the pay of the Assyrian king, and that they formed part of his army while he was besieging Jerusalem. We have already remarked that, taking a part for the whole, by the “Elamites” are meant the eastern nations.

And Kir making bare the shield {Bogus footnote} By Kir he undoubtedly means the inhabitants of Cyrenaica. {Bogus footnote} Because they were (πελτασταὶ) shieldsmen, he says that they “laid bare the shield;” for when they enter the field of battle, they draw the shields out of their sheaths.

7. And the choice of the valleys {Bogus footnote} was full of chariots. I do not find fault with the translation given by some interpreters, “in a chariot of horsemen,” but I have chosen rather to translate literally the words of the Prophet; for I think that he means “a military chariot.” At that time they made use of two kinds of chariots, one for carrying baggage, and another for the field of battle. Here he means those chariots in which the horsemen rode.

Had it been a threatening, it would have been proper to translate it in the future tense, “And it shall be;” but as the words which immediately follow are in the past tense, and as there is reason to believe that the Prophet is relating events which have already taken place, I have not hesitated to make this beginning agree with what follows. “The choice of the valleys” means “the choicest valleys.” He reminds the Jews of those straits to which they were reduced when the enemies were at their gates. They ought at that time to have sought help from God; but those wretched people became more strongly alienated from God, and more shamefully manifested their rebellion, which shewed them to be men utterly abandoned, and therefore he reproaches them with this hardened obstinacy.

8. And he took away the covering of Judah. He shews in what distress of mind the Jews were when they were so closely besieged. Some refer this verb to God, and others to the enemy; but I rather think it ought to be taken indefinitely, for by a mode of expression frequently used in the Hebrew language, “he took away,” means that “the covering of Judah was taken away.” By the word covering almost all think that either the Temple or God himself is meant, in whose name the Jews falsely boasted. But I interpret it more simply as denoting the armory, in which, as a secret place, they kept the instruments of war. He calls it a “covering,” because they were not exposed to public view, but were concealed in a more sacred place. In short, he describes what commonly happens in a season of great alarm, because at such a time men run to arms, and the instruments of war, which had been formerly concealed, are brought forward.

And thou didst look in that day to the armory of the house of the forest. This latter clause agrees with what has been remarked, that they sought out, on such an occasion, every place which contained the means of arming themselves for a case of extreme urgency, the instruments of war having lain long concealed during peace. Sacred history informs us, that this “house of the forest” was built by Solomon, in order to contain the armory of the whole kingdom. {Bogus footnote} (1 Kings 7:2.) The change of person, thou didst look, does not obscure the meaning, but rather confirms what I have already remarked, that the Prophet relates how eagerly the Jews at that time made every preparation for defending the city.

9. And you have seen the breaches. He proceeds with his narrative, for during prosperity and peace no one cares about bulwarks or instruments of war. It is necessity alone that arouses men and makes them active; peace and quietness make us indolent and cowardly. So long as they thought that they were far from danger, they disregarded the breaches of the wall; but when a report of war arose, they began to be anxious about them, and to make arrangements for preventing the entrance of the enemy.

Of the city of David. By “the city of David,” he means the interior part of the city; for, like many other cities which we see, the city was divided into two parts. The whole of Jerusalem was surrounded by walls and ramparts; but the interior part was more strongly fortified, and was called “the city of David.” The Temple was afterwards fortified, in consequence of which the city might be said to consist of three parts. Isaiah means that the Jews had nearly despaired as to the safety of the whole city, when they withdrew to the inmost and best fortified part of it; and indeed it is evident from sacred history, that everything was in a desperate condition. Hence also we may infer, that the prophecies were not collected in a regular order, and that those who drew them up in one volume paid no attention to the arrangement of dates.

The waters of the lower pool. He adds, that water was collected for necessary purposes, that the besieged might not be in want of it, and that the pool served for cisterns.

10. And you numbered the houses of Jerusalem. He means that the city was closely examined on all sides, that there might not be a house or building which was not defended. Others think that the houses were numbered, that they might have a supply of watchmen. But the former interpretation is preferable, and is confirmed by what the Prophet afterwards adds, that the houses were thrown down for the purpose of rebuilding the walls of the city. This is commonly neglected in the time of peace, and the houses of private individuals are often built on the very walls, and, on that account, must be thrown down in the time of war, to supply the means of fighting and of repelling the enemy, and also lest, by means of houses so near the wall, secret communications with the enemy should be maintained.

11. You made also a ditch. The first clause of this verse relates to the former subjects; for he means that they were reduced to the last necessity, and that the great approaching danger struck them with terror, so that they adopted every method in their power for defending themselves against the enemy.

And you have not looked to its maker. This second clause reproves them for carelessness, because they had given their whole attention to earthly assistance, and had neglected that which is of the greatest importance. Instead of resorting first of all to God, as they ought to have done, they forgot and despised him, and directed their attention to ramparts, and ditches, and walls, and other preparations of war; but their highest defense was in God. What I said at first is now more evident, that the Prophet does not foretell the destruction of the Jews, but declares what they have experienced, in order to shew how justly the Lord was angry with them, because they could not be amended or reformed by any chastisement. The alarming dangers to which they were exposed ought to have warned them against their impiety and contempt of God; but those dangers have made them still more obstinate. Though there is hardly any person so obstinate as not to be induced by adversity, and especially by imminent dangers, to bethink himself, and to consider if they have justly befallen him, if he has offended God and provoked his wrath against himself; yet the Prophet says, that there was not one of the Jews who remembered God in the midst of such distresses, and that therefore God justly ceased to take any concern about them.

Hence infer that it is a token of extreme and desperate wickedness, when men, after having received chastisements or afflictions, are not made better. We ought, first, to follow God and to render to him cheerful obedience; and secondly, when we have been practically warned and chastised, we ought to repent. And if stripes do us no good, what remains but that the Lord shall increase and double the strokes, and cause us to feel them heavier and heavier till we are hurled down to destruction? For it is vain to apply remedies to a desperate and incurable disease. This doctrine is highly applicable to our own times, in which so many strokes and afflictions urge us to repentance. Since there is no repentance, what remains but that the Lord shall try to the very utmost what can be done until he destroy us altogether?

To its maker. By these words he indirectly acknowledges that God does not blame our eagerness to repel the enemy and to guard against dangers; but that he blames the vain confidence which we place in outward defences. We ought to have begun with God; and when we disregard him, and resort to swords and spears, to bulwarks and fortifications, our excessive eagerness is justly condemned as treason. Let us therefore learn to flee to God in imminent dangers, and to betake ourselves, with our whole heart, to the sure refuge of his name. (Proverbs 18:10.) When this has been done, it will be lawful for us to use the remedies which he puts into our hand; but all will end in our ruin if we do not first commit our safety to his protection.

He calls God the maker and fashioner of Jerusalem, because there he had his dwelling, and wished that men should call upon him. (1 Kings 9:3.) As Jerusalem was a lively image of the Church, this title belongs also to us, for in a peculiar manner God is called the Builder of the Church. (Psalm 132:13, 14.) Though this may relate to the creation of the whole world, yet the second creation, by which he raises up from death, (Ephesians 2:1,) regenerates, and sanctifies us, (Psalms 110:3,) is peculiar to the elect, the rest have no share in it. This title does not express a sudden but a continual act, for the Church was not at once created that it might afterwards be forsaken, but the Lord preserves and defends it to the last. “Thou wilt not despise the work of thy hands,” says the Psalmist. (Psalms 138:8.) And Paul says,

“He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it till the day of Christ.” (Philippians 1:6.)

This title contains astonishing consolation, for if God is the maker, we have no reason to fear if we depend on his power and goodness. But we cannot look to him unless we are endued with true humility and confidence, so that, being divested of all haughtiness and reduced to nothing, we ascribe the glory to him alone. This cannot be, unless we can also trust that our salvation is in his hand, and are fully convinced that we shall never perish, even though we be surrounded by a thousand deaths. It was an aggravation of their baseness, that the Lord’s election of that city, which had been established by so many proofs, could not arouse the Jews to rely on the protection of God. As if he had said, What madness is it to think of defending the city when you despise him who made it!

From a distance, or long ago. The Hebrew word denotes either distance of place or length of time. If we refer it to place, the meaning will be, that the Jews are doubly ungrateful, because they have not beheld the Lord even at a distance. Here it ought to be observed, that we ought to look to God not only when he is near, but also when he appears to be at a very great distance from us. Now, we think that he is absent, when we do not perceive his present aid, and when he does not instantly supply our wants. In short, he shews what is the nature of true hope; for it is a carnal and gross looking at God, when we do not perceive his providence unless by visible favor, since we ought to ascend above the heavens themselves. Strictly and truly, no doubt, the Lord is always present, but he is said to be distant and absent with respect to us. This must be understood therefore to refer to our senses, and not to the fact itself; and therefore, although he appear to be at a distance during those calamities which the Church endures, still we ought to elevate our minds towards him, and arouse our hearts, and shake off our indolence, that we may call on him.

But the other meaning is equally admissible, that they did not look to God who created his Church, not yesterday or lately, but long ago, and who had proved himself to be her Maker during many ages. He is therefore called the ancient Maker of his Church, because if the Jews will apply their thoughts and careful search to the long succession of ages, they will perceive that he is the perpetual preserver of his workmanship; and this makes their ingratitude the less excusable.

12. And the Lord of hosts called. The wicked obstinacy of the people is exhibited by the Prophet with additional aggravations. What left them altogether without excuse was the fact, that while they were exposed to so great dangers, they despised the godly remonstrances of the prophets, and rejected the grace of God, when he wished to heal and restore them. It is a proof of consummate depravity, when men have so completely laid aside all feeling that they fearlessly despise both instruction and chastisements, and obstinately “kick against the pricks,” (Acts 9:5,) and this makes it evident that they have been “given over to a reprobate mind.” (Romans 1:28.)

When he says, that “the Lord called” them, this may be explained in two ways; for although the Lord does not speak, still he calls loudly enough by stripes and chastisements. Let it be supposed that we are destitute of all Scripture, of prophets, teachers, and advisers, still he instructs us by distresses and afflictions, so that we may state, in a few words, that every chastisement is a call to repentance. But, unquestionably, the Prophet intended to express something more, namely, that in despising godly warnings, they did not scruple to treat with scorn God’s fatherly invitation.

In that day. There is great weight also in mentioning the day of affliction, when danger threatened them, for they were admonished at the same time by the word and by strokes. The signs of God’s anger were visible, the prophets uttered incessant cries, and still they became no better.

To baldness and girding with sackcloth. When he mentions sackcloth and baldness, {Bogus footnote} he employs the signs themselves to describe repentance; for repentance does not consist in sackcloth or haircloth, {Bogus footnote} or anything outward, but has its place in the heart. Those who sincerely repent are displeased with themselves, hate sin, and are affected with such a deep feeling of grief, that they abhor themselves and their past life; but as this cannot be done without, at the same time, making itself known by confession before men, on this account he describes the outward signs by which we give evidence of our conversion. Now, these things were at that time cast away among the Jews, when they made public declarations of repentance. The Prophet therefore means that they were called to repentance, to humble themselves before God, and to exhibit the evidences of repentance before men. Of themselves, indeed, the signs would not be sufficient, for repentance begins at the heart; and Joel gives warning to that effect,

“Rend your hearts, and not your garments.” (Joel 2:13.)

Not that he wished signs to be laid aside, but he shewed that they are not sufficient, and that of themselves they are not acceptable to God.

Hence infer what is our duty, when the tokens of God’s anger are visible to us. We ought to declare publicly our repentance, not only before God, but also before men. The outward ceremonies, indeed, are of little consequence, and we are not commanded to wear sackcloth or to pull out our hair; but we must practice honestly and sincerely what is actually meant by these signs, disapprobation and confession of our guilt, humility of the heart, and reformation of the life. If we do not confess that we are guilty, and that we deserve punishment, we shall not return to a state of favor with God. In short, as culprits allow their beards to grow, and wear tattered clothes, in order to affect the hearts of the judges, so we ought to betake ourselves as suppliants to the mercy of God, and make a public declaration of our repentance.

But here we ought also to observe the usefulness of outward signs of repentance; for they serve as spurs to prompt us more to know and abhor sin. In this way, so far as they are spurs, they may be called causes of repentance; and so far as they are evidences, they may be called effects. They are causes, because the marks of our guilt, which we carry about us, excite us the more to acknowledge ourselves to be sinners and guilty; and they are effects, because, if they were not preceded by repentance, we would never be induced to perform them sincerely.

13. And, behold, joy and gladness. The Prophet does not here find fault with joy viewed in itself; for we see that Paul exhorts the godly to true joy, the “joy” which is “in the Lord,” (Philippians 4:4;) but now he censures the joy which is opposite to that sadness which commonly springs from repentance, of which Paul also speaks. (2 Corinthians 7:10.) No man can be under the influence of repentance and of a sincere feeling of the wrath of God, without being led, by the grief which accompanies it, willingly to afflict himself. The joy which is opposite to this grief is therefore sinful, because it proceeds from brutish indifference, and is justly blamed, since the Lord curses it. (Luke 6:25.)

Slaying oxen and killing sheep. From what has been said, it is easy to see the reason why he censures them for “slaying oxen and killing sheep.” These things are not in themselves sinful, and are not displeasing to God; but as fasting is a part of a solemn declaration of repentance, which we make before men, so to slay cattle for feasting, when we ought to fast, is a proof of obstinacy and contempt of God; for in this way men despise God’s threatenings, and encourage themselves in their crimes.

Such is the statement which Isaiah intended to make in general terms. But it is absurd in the Papists to think of drawing from it an approbation of abstinence from eating flesh. Why do they not also include what the Apostle adds about wine? They are so far from abstaining from the use of wine, that they freely indulge in drinking it, as a compensation for the want of flesh. But let us pass over these absurdities. Isaiah does not absolutely condemn the use of flesh or the drinking of wine, but he condemns the luxury and wantonness by which men are hardened in such a manner that they obstinately set aside God’s threatenings, and treat as false all that the prophets tell them.

This ought to be carefully observed, for we do not always wear sackcloth and ashes; but we cannot have true repentance without making it manifest by the fruits which it must unavoidably produce. In short, as he had described repentance by its signs, so he marks out obstinacy by its signs; for as by fasting and other outward acts we testify our repentance, so by feasting and luxury we give proofs of an obstinate heart, and thus provoke more the wrath of God, in a similar manner to what we read about the days of Noah. (Genesis 6:5; Matthew 24:38, 39; Luke 17:27.) After having described intemperance and luxury in general terms, he particularly mentions eating and drinking, in which the Jews indulged to such an extent as if they had been able, in some measure, to combat the wrath of God, and to obliterate the remembrance of his threatening.

For to-morrow we shall die. This clause shews plainly enough why the Prophet complained so loudly about eating flesh and drinking wine. It was because all the threatenings uttered by the prophets were turned by them into a subject of jesting and laughter. It is supposed that Paul quotes this passage, when, in writing to the Corinthians, he uses nearly the same words. (1 Corinthians 15:32.) But I am of a different opinion; for he quotes the opinion of the Epicureans, who lived for the passing day, and gave themselves no concern about eternal life, and therefore thought that they should follow their natural disposition, and enjoy pleasures as long as life lasted. Isaiah, on the other hand, relates here the speeches of wicked men, who obstinately ridiculed the threatenings of the prophets, and could not patiently endure to be told about chastisements, banishment, slaughter, and ruin. They employed the words of the prophets, and in the midst of their feasting and revelry, turned them into ridicule, saying, in a boasting strain, “To-morrow we shall die. If the prophets tell us that our destruction is at hand, let us pass the present day, at least, in cheerfulness and mirth.”

Thus, obstinate minds cannot be struck with any terror, but, on the contrary, mock at God and the prophets, and give themselves up more freely to licentiousness. It certainly was frightful madness when, through indignation and wrath, they quoted with bitter irony the words which not only ought to have affected their minds, but ought to have shaken heaven and earth. Would that there were not instances of the same kind in the present day! For whenever God threatens, the greater part of men either vomit out their bitterness, or sneeringly ridicule everything that has proceeded from God’s holy mouth.

14. This is revealed. {Bogus footnote} As if he had said, “Do you think that you can escape punishment for your wantonness, when God calls you to repentance?” It might be thought that here the Prophet says nothing that is new; for undoubtedly all things are known to God. But he adds this for the purpose of shaking off the indolence of men, who never would rise so fiercely against God, if they did not think that they could deceive him; for whosoever knows that God is his witness, must also acknowledge that God is his judge. Hence it follows that wicked men, in their wantonness, rob God of his power; and therefore it is not without reason that they are summoned to his tribunal, that they may know that they must render an account to him.

If this iniquity shall be forgiven you till you die. He adds a dreadful threatening, that this wickedness shall never be forgiven. In the Hebrew language, the conditional particle, if, contains a denial, as if the Lord had said, “Do not think that I am true, or that I have any divine perfections, if I do not take vengeance on so great wickedness.” The reason why the Jews, in their oaths, reserve something which is not expressed, is to accustom us to deeper reverence in this matter; for we entreat God to be our Judge and avenger if we speak falsely, and therefore we ought to restrain ourselves, so as not to make oaths at random. Here Isaiah states generally, that nothing is so displeasing to God as impenitence, by which, as Paul says, (Romans 2:5,) we “heap up for ourselves the treasures of God’s wrath,” and shut out all hope of pardon.

15. Thus saith the Lord. This is a special prediction against a single individual; for, having spoken of the whole nation, he turns to Shebna, whom he will afterwards mention. (Isaiah 37:2.) To this person the Prophet gives two titles, that of “scribe” or “chancellor,” and that of “steward of the house,” for while in this passage he calls him “steward,” in the thirty-seventh chapter he calls him “scribe.” This has led some to think that, at the time of this prediction, he had resigned his office as steward, and that Eliakim was put in his room. But this is uncertain, though the words of the Prophet, in reference to Shebna himself, lead us to conclude that he cherished wicked envy, which led him to attempt to degrade Eliakim from his rank. Nor is it improbable that this prediction was uttered, when Sennacherib’s army was discomfited, and Jerusalem was saved in a miraculous manner. (2 Kings 19:35; Isaiah 37:36.) During the interval, many things might have happened which are now unknown to us; and it is not improbable that this treacherous scoundrel, having obtained the highest authority, made an unjust use of it to the injury of Eliakim. It is evident, from the history of the Book of Kings, that Shebna was a “scribe” or “secretary,” and one of high rank, such as we now call chancellor.

There is greater difficulty about the word סכן, (sōchēn.) Some think that it means “treasurer,” because סכן (sāchăn) signifies to store up; but, as he elsewhere calls him “chancellor,” I think it is not probable that he was treasurer. Besides, the Prophet shews plainly enough that his office as governor was such as allowed others to have scarcely any share of authority along with him. Such a rank could not belong to a treasurer, and therefore I think that the Prophet means something else. As סכן (sāchăn) sometimes signifies “to abet,” and “to foment,” סכן (sōchēn) may here mean “an abettor,” or, as we commonly say, “an accomplice.” It is certain that this Shebna had communications with the enemy, and was a cunning and deceitful person; for he cherished a concealed friendship with the Egyptians and Assyrians, and held treacherous communications with them, so as to provide for his own safety in any event that might arise, and to maintain his authority.

Others think that סכן (sōchēn) is a word denoting the country to which he belonged, and that he was called a Sochnite from the city of which he was a native; for he is said to have been an Egyptian. I certainly do not reject that opinion, but I prefer the former; for he abetted both sides, and thought that, by his cunning, he would be preserved, even though everything should be turned upside down.

The particle הזה, (hăzzēh,) this, is evidently added in contempt. It is as if he had said, “That cunning man, ready for all shifts, (πανοῧργος,) who abets various parties, who curries favor on all sides.” In this sense סכן (sōchēn) is used (1 Kings 1:2) when it relates to a maid who was about to be brought to the aged king in order to cherish him. Yet, if it be thought preferable to understand it as meaning a hurtful and injurious person, I do not object, for the word signifies also “to impoverish.”

16. What hast thou here? Shebna had built a sepulcher at Jerusalem, as if he were to live there continually, and to die there. The Prophet therefore asks why he built a splendid and costly sepulcher in a lofty and conspicuous place, as is commonly done by those who wish to perpetuate the memory of their name in the world. He appears to glance at the ambition of a foreigner and a stranger in longing to be so magnificently buried out of his country, and yet eagerly joining with enemies for the destruction of Judea. What could have been more foolish than to erect a monument in that country for whose ruin he was plotting? And therefore he adds —

17. Behold, the Lord will carry thee away. As if he had said, “Thou shalt be cast out of that place into a distant country, where thou shalt die ignominiously.” גבר (gĕbĕr) is commonly translated as in the genitive case; that is, “with the casting out of a man thou shalt be cast out.” Again, גבר (gĕbĕr) denotes not an ordinary man, but a strong and brave man, and thus it comes to mean, “with a mighty and powerful casting out.” Others render it in the vocative case, “O man!” as if he were addressing Shebna in mockery, “O illustrious man, who so proudly vauntest of thy greatness, who thinkest that thou art some hero!” But the former reading will be more appropriate. Yet here also commentators disagree; for, besides the exposition which I have mentioned, another is brought forward, that men will be carried to a greater distance than women. But I rather think that he alludes to the pride of Shebna, who had built so splendid a sepulcher, in order that his memory, like that of some distinguished man, might be handed down to posterity. “Thou wishest to be renowned after thy death: I will ennoble thee in a different manner. By a remarkable transportation will I remove thee to a foreign and distant country, where thou shalt be buried in an extraordinary manner.”

First, on the word סכן (sōchēn) it is proper to remark how much God is displeased with a false and deceitful heart; for there is nothing which God more earnestly recommends to us than simplicity. He is called a ruler, because, being placed above others, he was likely to be dazzled by the luster of his present greatness, as happens to those who, elated and puffed up by their success, dread no adversity, as if they had been placed beyond the reach of all danger. The Lord threatens that he will be the judge of such persons. Here it also deserves notice, that Isaiah could not, without making himself the object of strong dislike, utter this prediction, especially when addressed to a man of such an elevated station and so haughty; and yet he must not refuse this office, but must approach and threaten this man, as God had commanded him.

As to the sepulcher, we know that solicitude about burying the dead is not wholly condemned; for although “the want of burial,” as one remarks, “is of little importance, yet the desire of being buried is natural to man, and ought not to be entirely disregarded.” He does not blame him, therefore, for wishing to be buried, but for his ambition in building a tomb, by which he shewed his eagerness to obtain vain and empty renown. But there is another circumstance connected with Shebna that must be observed; for, having wished to deliver the city into the hands of the Assyrians by treachery, he thought that he would reign permanently. He hoped that the Assyrians, if they were successful, would bestow on him the government of the kingdom as the reward of his treachery, and that, if they were defeated, he would permanently retain his rank and authority.

But this will appear more clearly from the words themselves, What hast thou here? He was a foreigner, and as such he could honestly become united to the people of God; but, being a traitor and a foreigner, he had no right to that city or country which the Lord had specially assigned to his own people. Isaiah therefore asks, “Of what country art thou? Though thou hast no connection with the people of God by blood or relationship, dost thou wish not only to reign in this country during thy life, but to procure for thyself a settled abode in it after thou art dead? Wilt thou betray us to the Assyrians, and drive out the actual possessors, that thou, who art a foreigner, mayest enjoy that country, of which not even an inch belongs to thee?”

Hence infer that God is highly displeased with that ambition by which men endeavor to obtain undying renown in the world, instead of being satisfied with those honors which they enjoy during their life. They wish to be applauded after death, and in some measure to live in the mouth of men; and although death sets aside everything, they foolishly hope that their name will last through all ages. But God punishes their haughtiness and presumption, and causes those things which they wished to be the records of their glory to become their disgrace and shame. Either their memory is abhorred, so that men cannot see or hear anything connected with them without utter loathing, or he does not even permit them to be laid in their graves, but sends them to gibbets and to ravens, of which we read many instances in history, (Esther 7:10,) and we have seen not a few in our own times.

Whenever I read this passage, I am forcibly reminded of a similar instance, resembling it indeed more closely than any other, that of Thomas More, who held the same office as Shebna; for it is well known that he was Lord Chancellor to the king of England. Having been a very bitter enemy of the gospel, and having persecuted good men by fire and sword, he wished that on this account his reputation should be extensive, and his wickedness and cruelty permanently recorded. He therefore ordered the praises of his virtue to be inscribed on a tomb which he had caused to be built with great cost and splendor, and sent his epitaph, which he had drawn up, to Basle, to Erasmus, along with a palfrey which he gave him as a present, to get it printed. He was so desirous of renown, that he wished to obtain during his life the reputation and praises which he hoped to enjoy after his death. Among other applauses the most conspicuous was, that he had been a very great persecutor of the Lutherans, that is, of the godly. {Bogus footnote} What happened? He was accused of treason, condemned, and beheaded; and thus he had a gibbet for his tomb. Do we ask more manifest judgments of God, by which he punishes the pride, the unbounded eagerness for renown, and the blasphemous vaunting, of wicked men? In this inveterate enemy of the people of God, not less than in Shebna, we ought undoubtedly to acknowledge and adore God’s overruling providence.

Another circumstance worthy of notice is, that this Shebna was a foreigner. Thus, all the tyrants and enemies of the people of God, though they be foreigners, would wish to cast out the actual lords of the soil, that they alone might possess the land; but at length the Lord drives them out, and strips them of all possession, so that they do not even continue to have a tomb. {Bogus footnote} There are innumerable instances in history. True, this does not always happen; but the instances which the Lord holds out to us, ought to lead our thoughts farther to consider his judgments against tyrants and wicked men, who wished to be applauded and celebrated, but are distinguished by some remarkable kind of death, so that their infamy becomes universally known. Thus, the renown of that sepulcher which Shebna had built is indirectly contrasted with the ignominy which quickly followed it.

18. Turning he will turn thee. {Bogus footnote} Isaiah continues the same discourse, in which he ridiculed the pride of Shebna, who had bestowed so much cost on building a sepulcher. This statement is connected with the first clause of the former verse; for, as he formerly said “He will remove thee by an extraordinary removal,” so he now says, “He will toss thee as a ball into an open plain.” By this comparison he means that nothing will prevent the Lord from casting him out into a distant country, though he thinks that his power is firmly established; and since he had been so careful about his sepulcher, and had given orders about it, as if he had been certain as to his death, Isaiah declares that he will not die in Jerusalem, but in a foreign country, to which he shall be banished.

The chariot of thy glory. Under the word chariot he includes all the fame and rank of Shebna; as if he had said that disgrace would be his reputation among foreigners. Thus, the Lord ridicules the mad ambition of those who look at nothing but the world, and who judge of their happiness by the glory of fading and transitory objects.

The shame of thy lord’s house. He calls it “the shame of” the royal “house,” either because he had polluted that holy place which might be regarded as the sanctuary of the Lord, or because Hezekiah had judged ill in elevating him to that station. That the mask of his high rank might not screen him from this prediction, the Prophet expressly states, that the office which he holds aggravates his guilt and renders him more detestable. Let princes, therefore, if they do not wish to expose themselves and their houses to reproaches, learn to act with judgment in appointing men to hold office.

19. And I will cast thee out. He says nothing new, but concludes the former prediction. Though in the next verse he will again mention Shebna, yet now he gives a brief summary of what has been already said. Shebna thought that he had a fixed abode in Jerusalem, so that, whatever might happen, he thought that he could not be driven or removed from it. But the Lord threatens that he will cast him out, and will banish him to a distant country. Thus, the Lord frequently overturns the thoughts of the wicked, (Psalm 33:10,) who, relying on their cunning and dexterity, toss about public affairs according to their own pleasure. The change of person shews that the Prophet speaks sometimes in his own name, and sometimes in the name of God.

20. And it shall come to pass in that day. It is uncertain at what time Eliakim was substituted in the room of Shebna; for we shall see, in the thirty-seventh chapter, that Eliakim was steward of the king’s house when Shebna was chancellor. Whether or not any change took place during the interval cannot with certainty be affirmed; yet it is probable, as I lately hinted, that through the stratagems of this wicked man, Eliakim was afterwards driven from his office, and that Shebna, after having triumphed, was punished for his frauds which had been detected, and, having been driven or banished from Judea, fled to the Assyrians, and there received the reward of his treachery. In like manner does it frequently happen to traitors, who, when they cannot fulfill their engagements, are hated and abhorred by those whom they have deceived; for, having been bold and rash in promising, they must be discovered to be false and treacherous.

The Jews allege that at last he was torn in pieces on account of his treachery, but no history supports that statement. Leaving that matter doubtful, it is certain that he was cast out or banished, and that he ended his days in a foreign country, and not at Jerusalem. It is probable that, after his banishment, Eliakim was again placed in his room.

I will call. It is certain that all princes and magistrates are called by the Lord, even though they be wicked and ungodly; for “all authority is from God,” as Paul affirms. (Romans 13:1.) But here the Prophet speaks of a peculiar calling, by which the Lord manifests his goodness towards his people, when he appoints such persons to be his servants, that it may be known that God governs by them; and they, on the other hand, are well aware of the purpose for which they have been appointed by God, and faithfully discharge the office assigned to them. Shebna had indeed been called for a time, but it was that he might be God’s scourge; for nothing was farther from his thoughts than to obey God. Eliakim was a different kind of person; for he acknowledged himself to be a servant of God, and obeyed the holy calling.

I will call, means, therefore, “I will give a sign to my servant, that he may know that it is I who have raised him to that honorable rank.” There is in this case a peculiar relation between the master and the servant, which does not apply to ungodly men when they obey their own inclination and wicked passions; but this man acknowledged the Lord and sincerely obeyed him. Lastly, this mark distinguishes the true servant of God from a wicked and hypocritical person, who had risen to honor by wicked practices.

21. And I will clothe him. He now explains more fully what he had briefly noticed in the former verse, that it was only by the purpose of God that Shebna was deposed, in order that Eliakim might succeed him. It is true, indeed, that all the changes that happen in the world are directed by the providence of God; for he “girds kings with a girdle,” as we are told in the book of Job, “and ungirds them, according to his pleasure.” (Job 12:18.) A witty saying was at one time current about the Roman emperors, “that they were theatrical kings;” because, as players, who perform their parts in the theater, no sooner have laid aside the rank of a king, than they presently become poor mechanics; so the emperors, after having been thrown down from their lofty station, were speedily hurried to a disgraceful punishment. And yet it is certain that those insurrections did not take place by chance, or merely through the designs of men, or by military forces, but by the purpose of God, which directed the whole. But the Prophet declares, that there is this peculiarity in the case of Shebna, that his deposition will be a clear proof of the vengeance of God, and that the restoration of Eliakim will be regarded as a lawful form of government.

With thy robes and with thy girdle. By the robes and girdle are meant the badges of the magistrates’ office. The girdle was an emblem of royalty, and the chief magistrates undoubtedly wore it as an honorable distinction. At Rome, also, the prætors wore this badge. Job says, that God ungirds kings when he deprives them of their royal rank. (Job 12:18.) These things were foretold by the Prophet, that all might not only see clearly in this instance the providence of God, and acknowledge his purpose, but might perceive that this wicked man, who had raised himself improperly and by unlawful methods, was justly deposed.

He shall be Father. Wicked magistrates are indeed appointed by God, but it is in his anger, and because we do not deserve to be placed under his government. He gives a loose rein to tyrants and wicked men, in order to punish our ingratitude, as if he had forsaken or ceased to govern us. But when good magistrates rule, we see God, as it were, near us, and governing us by means of those whom he hath appointed. The Prophet means that Eliakim will perform the part of a father, because he has been endued with the Spirit of God. At the same time he reminds all godly persons that they will have good reasons for wishing the government of Eliakim, because it tends to the general advantage of the Church.

By the appellation father, he shews what is the duty of a good magistrate. The same thing has been taught by heathen writers, that “a good king holds the place of a father;” and when they wished to flatter those who crushed the commonwealth by the exercise of tyranny, nature suggested to them to call the tyrants by the honorable title of “fathers of their country.” In like manner, philosophers, when they say that a family is the picture of a kingdom, shew that a king ought to hold the place of a father. This is also proved by the ancient titles given to kings, such as “Abimelech,” (Genesis 20:2, 8,) that is, “my father the king,” and others of the same kind, which shew that royal authority cannot be separated from the feelings of a father. Those who wish to be regarded as lawful princes, and to prove that they are God’s servants, must therefore shew that they are fathers to their people.

22. And the key of the house of David. {Bogus footnote} This expression is metaphorical, and we need not spend much time, as some do, in drawing from it an allegorical meaning; for it is taken from an ordinary custom of men. The keys of the house are delivered to those who are appointed to be stewards, that they may have the full power of opening and shutting according to their own pleasure. By “the house of David” is meant “the royal house.” This mode of expression was customary among the people, because it had been promised to David that his kingdom would be for ever. (2 Samuel 7:13; Psalm 132:11, 12.) That is the reason why the kingdom was commonly called “the house of David.”

The key is put in the singular number for keys. Though “keys” are usually carried in the hands, yet he says that they are laid on the shoulders, {Bogus footnote} because he is describing an important charge. Yet nothing more is meant than that the charge and the whole government of the house are committed to him, that he may regulate everything according to his pleasure; and we know that the delivering of keys is commonly regarded as a token of possession.

Some commentators have viewed this passage as referring to Christ, but improperly; for the Prophet draws a comparison between two men, Shebna and Eliakim. Shebna shall be deprived of his office, and Eliakim shall succeed him. What has this to do with Christ? For Eliakim was not a type of Christ, and the Prophet does not here describe any hidden mystery, but borrows a comparison from the ordinary practice of men, as if the keys were delivered to one who has been appointed to be steward, as has been already said. For the same reason Christ calls the office of teaching the word, (Matthew 16:19,) “the keys of the kingdom of heaven;” so that it is idle and foolish to spend much time in endeavoring to find a hidden reason, when the matter is plain, and needs no ingenuity. The reason is, that ministers, by the preaching of the word, open the entrance into heaven, and lead to Christ, who alone is “the way.” (John 14:6.) By the keys, therefore, he means here the government of the king’s house, because the principal charge of it would be delivered to Eliakim at the proper time.

23. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place. The particle of comparison must here be supplied, and therefore I have inserted in the text the word as. By נאמן, (nĕĕmān,) faithful, he means what is “firm and sure.” The original idea of the word is “truth;” for where “truth” is, there firmness and certainty are found; {Bogus footnote} and therefore Hebrew writers employ the word “truth” to denote what is firm and certain. Isaiah employs an elegant metaphor, from which godly magistrates, who are few in number, ought to draw large consolation. They may conclude that not only has God raised them to that honorable rank, but they are confirmed and established, as if they had been fixed by his hand. And indeed, where the fear of the Lord dwells, there the stability, and power, and authority of kings, as Solomon says, are established by justice and judgment. (Proverbs 16:12; 25:5; 29:14.)

This consolation ought to be of advantage to princes, not only that they may meet all danger courageously, but likewise that they may firmly and resolutely proceed in their office, and not turn aside on any account, or shrink from any danger. But there are very few who can actually relish this doctrine. Almost all are like Jeroboam, (1 Kings 12:28,) and think that religion should yield to them, and, so far as they imagine, that it will be of service to them, follow it, or rather bend and change it for their own convenience. Their last thought is about God and religion; and we need not wonder if they are always in doubt about their own affairs, and are scarcely ever at rest; for they do not direct their thoughts to him from whom all authority proceeds. (Romans 13:1.) Hence springs treachery, hence springs cruelty, covetousness, violence, and frauds and wrongs of every kind, in which the princes of the present day indulge with less restraint and with greater impudence than all others. Yet there are some in whom we see what is here said of Eliakim. The Lord guards and upholds them, and blesses that regard to equity and justice which he had bestowed upon them. If the Lord permits even tyrants for a time, because they have some appearance of regular government, what shall happen when a prince shall endeavor, to the utmost of his power, to defend justice and judgment, and the true worship of God? Will he not be still more confirmed and established by him who is the continual guardian of righteousness?

24. And they shall hang upon him. It is as if he had said that Eliakim would be fully qualified for discharging his duties, and would not be indolent in his office. Hence we infer that God does not exalt princes to honor, in order that they may live in indolence or gratify their own passions. The office of a prince is very labourious, if he discharges it properly, and if he do not copy the unmeaning countenances of those who imagine that they have been raised to that honor, that they may live in splendor and may freely indulge in every kind of luxury. If a prince wish to discharge his office in a proper manner, he must endure much toil. It must not be thought that the comparison of a nail is inapplicable to princely government, since it denotes an office full of activity and cares; and we know that metaphors do not apply at all points, but we ought to observe the purpose for which they are introduced.

All the glory of his father’s house, {Bogus footnote} the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. {Bogus footnote} The expression, “his father’s house,” leaves no room to doubt that Eliakim was of royal blood; and therefore by his successors I understand not only those who were nearly related to him, but the whole family of David. He will have the charge of all that shall be in the king’s house. By adding grandchildren, he likewise shews that this princely government will be of long duration, that it will not only last during the life of one individual, but will also extend to his successors. {Bogus footnote} For good princes are useful not only to their own age, but also to posterity, to whom they leave good laws, salutary regulations, and the traces of good government; so that their successors, even though they be wicked men, are ashamed to give themselves up all at once to abandoned wickedness, and, even against their will, are compelled through shame to retain something that is good. He shews that this will be the case with Eliakim, whose government will be so righteous that even posterity shall reap advantage from it.

The smaller vessels. {Bogus footnote} Metaphorically it denotes that there will be uniform justice, or equal laws, as the phrase is; and it is as if he had said, “He will not only support the nobles, but will likewise attend to the interests of the lowest rank.” The more rarely this is found in a prince, so much higher praise does he deserve than if he favored none but the rich and powerful; for these can guard and protect themselves, but the poor and feeble lie open as a prey to the attacks of others, and there is hardly any one that pleads their cause.

To all vessels of music. {Bogus footnote} By vessels the Hebrew writers denote instruments of all kinds, and the meaning is very extensive. When he speaks of musical {Bogus footnote} vessels, he follows out what he had said in a single word; for it serves to explain the word קטן, (kātān,) little; as if he had said that there would be nothing so small, or minute, or insignificant, that he would not take charge of it.

25. In that day. It might be thought that this is inconsistent with what he had formerly said; but he no longer speaks of Eliakim, for he returns to Shebna, who was about to be cast down from his rank, as Isaiah had said. But for this, it might have been thought that there was no way by which Eliakim could arrive at that honor, but by the deposition of Shebna, who had arranged his matters so well, that no person thought it possible that he could be driven from his position. Yet though he has fortified himself by many defences, and thinks that he is at a great distance from all danger, still he shall be deprived of his office, and Eliakim shall be placed in his room.

In a sure place. When he calls it “a sure place,” this must be understood with respect to men; for men judge that what is defended on all sides will be of long duration; but God casts it down with the smallest breath. It was only by way of concession that he called it “a sure place.” Hence it ought to be inferred how foolishly men boast, and rely on their greatness, when they have been exalted to a high rank of honor; for in a very short time they may be cast down and deprived of all honor.

And the burden that was upon it shall be cut off. When wicked men are ruined, all who relied on their authority must also be ruined; and indeed it is in the highest degree reasonable that they who were united by the same bond of crimes, and who aided this wicked man as far as lay in their power, should share in the same punishment. It is difficult for those who place themselves under the protection of wicked men, and employ all their influence in behalf of them, not to be also partakers of their crimes; and if they were guiltless of crime, (which seldom, or rather, we may say, never happens,) still they are justly punished on this ground, that they have placed their trust on them as a very sure defense, and have depended wholly on their will and authority.

CHAPTER 23

Isaiah Chapter 23:1-18

1. The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

1. Onus Tyri. Ululate, naves Tharsis; quia devastatio facta est, ut non sit domus, non sit commeatus e terra Cittim. Revelatum est hoc eis.

2. Be still, ye inhabitatnts of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.

2. Tacete incolæ insularum: negotiator Sidonis, trajicientes mare, qui te replebant.

3. And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

3. In aquis multis semen Nili, messis fluminis fruges ejus; et fuit emporium gentium.

4. Be thou ashamed, O Zidon; for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.

4. Erubesce, Sidon; quia dixit mare, fortitudo maris, dicens, Non parturivi, neque peperi, neque educavi adolescentes, neque extuli virgines.

5. As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.

5. Simul atque rumor pervenerit ad Ægyptios, dolebunt secundum rumorem Tyri.

6. Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

6. Transite in Tharsis; ululate, habitatores insularum.

7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? Her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

7. An hæc vobis exultans? a diebus antiquis vetustas ejus. Ducent eam pedes ejus, ut peregrinetur in terram longinquam.

8. Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?

8. Quis cosultavit hoc super Tyrum coronantem? cujus negotiatores sunt Principes, cujus institores nobiles terræ?

9. The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.

9. Iehova exercituum ita decrevit ad profanandam superbiam omnium magnificorum, ut vilipendat omnes gloriosos terræ.

10. Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.

10. Transi instar fluminis e terra tua ad filiam Tharsis, quia non amplius cingulum.

11. He stretched out his hand over the sea; he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant-city, to destroy the strongholds thereof.

11. Manum suam posuit super mare, concussit regna. Iehova mandavit super Canaan ut enervet robur ejus.

12. And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.

12. Et ait, Non adjicies ultra ut exultes, ubi oppressa fueris, virgo filia Sidon. Surge, ut transeas in Cittim. Atqui etiam illic non erit tibi requies.

13. Behold the land of the Chaldeans: this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

13. Ecce terra Chaldæorum, hic non fuit populus, Assur fundavit eam deserti incolis; erexerunt arces ejus; excitarunt palatia ejus; redegit eam in vastitatem.

14. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.

14. Ululate, naves Tharsis; quia vastata est fortitudo vestra.

15. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.

15. Accidet in die illa, ut sit in oblivione Tyrus septuaginta annis, secundum dies regis unius; a fine septuaginta annorum erit Tyro quasi canticum meretricis.

16. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

16. Sume citharam, circui urbem, meretrix oblivioni tradita, suavem fac melodiam, multiplica carmen, ut in memoriam revoceris.

17. And it shall come to pass, after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

17. Erit ergo a fine septuaginta annorum, ut visitet Iehova Tyrum; et tunc redibit ad mercedem suam, fornicabiturque cum omnibus regnis terræ quæ sunt super terram.

18. And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

18. Sed (tandem) erit negotiatio ejus et merces ejus sancta Iehovæ; non reponetur neque recondetur; sed negotiatio ejus (addicta) erit iis qui habitabant coram Iehovæ, ut comedant ad satietatem, et habeant densum operimentum.

CHAPTER 22

Is 22:1-14. Prophecy as to an Attack on Jerusalem.

That by Sennacherib, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah; Is 22:8-11, the preparations for defense and securing of water exactly answer to those in 2Ch 32:4, 5, 30. "Shebna," too (Is 22:15), was scribe at this time (Is 36:3) [Maurer]. The language of Is 22:12-14, as to the infidelity and consequent utter ruin of the Jews, seems rather to foreshadow the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in Zedekiah's reign, and cannot be restricted to Hezekiah's time [Lowth].

1. of ... valley of vision--rather, "respecting the valley of visions"; namely, Jerusalem, the seat of divine revelations and visions, "the nursery of prophets" [Jerome], (Is 2:3; 29:1; Eze 23:4, Margin; Lu 13:33). It lay in a "valley" surrounded by hills higher than Zion and Moriah (Psa 125:2; Jr 21:13).

thee--the people of Jerusalem personified.

housetops--Panic-struck, they went up on the flat balustraded roofs to look forth and see whether the enemy was near, and partly to defend themselves from the roofs (Jud 9:51, &c.).

2. art--rather, "wert"; for it could not now be said to be "a joyous city" (Is 32:13). The cause of their joy (Is 22:13) may have been because Sennacherib had accepted Hezekiah's offer to renew the payment of tribute, and they were glad to have peace on any terms, however humiliating (2Ki 18:14-16), or on account of the alliance with Egypt. If the reference be to Zedekiah's time, the joy and feasting are not inapplicable, for this recklessness was a general characteristic of the unbelieving Jews (Is 56:12).

not slain with the sword--but with the famine and pestilence about to be caused by the coming siege (La 4:9). Maurer refers this to the plague by which he thinks Sennacherib's army was destroyed, and Hezekiah was made sick (Is 37:36; 38:1). But there is no authority for supposing that the Jews in the city suffered such extremities of plague at this time, when God destroyed their foes. Barnes refers it to those slain in flight, not in open honorable "battle"; Is 22:3 favors this.

3. rulers--rather, "generals" (Jos 10:24; Jud 11:6, 11).

bound--rather, "are taken."

by the archers--literally, "by the bow"; so Is 21:17. Bowmen were the light troops, whose province it was to skirmish in front and (2Ki 6:22) pursue fugitives (2Ki 25:5); this verse applies better to the attack of Nebuchadnezzar than that of Sennacherib.

all ... in thee--all found in the city (Is 13:15), not merely the "rulers" or generals.

fled from far--those who had fled from distant parts to Jerusalem as a place of safety; rather, fled afar.

4. Look ... from me--Deep grief seeks to be alone; while others feast joyously, Isaiah mourns in prospect of the disaster coming on Jerusalem (Mi 1:8, 9).

daughter, &c.--(see on Is 1:8; La 2:11).

5. trouble ... by the Lord--that is, sent by or from the Lord (see on Is 19:15; Lu 21:22-24).

valley of vision--(See on Is 22:1). Some think a valley near Ophel is meant as about to be the scene of devastation (compare see on Is 32:13,14).

breaking ... walls--that is, "a day of breaking the walls" of the city.

crying to the mountains--the mournful cry of the townsmen "reaches" to (Maurer translates, towards) the mountains, and is echoed back by them. Josephus describes in the very same language the scene at the assault of Jerusalem under Titus. To this the prophecy, probably, refers ultimately. If, as some think, the "cry" is that of those escaping to the mountains, compare Mt 13:14; 24:16, with this.

6. Elam--the country stretching east from the Lower Tigris, answering to what was afterwards called Persia (see on Is 21:2). Later, Elam was a province of Persia (Ezr 4:9). In Sennacherib's time, Elam was subject to Assyria (2Ki 18:11), and so furnished a contingent to its invading armies. Famed for the bow (Is 13:18; Jr 49:35), in which the Ethiopians alone excelled them.

with chariots of men and horsemen--that is, they used the bow both in chariots and on horseback. "Chariots of men," that is, chariots in which men are borne, war chariots (compare see on Is 21:7; Is 21:9).

Kir--another people subject to Assyria (2Ki 16:9); the region about the river Kur, between the Caspian and Black Seas.

uncovered--took off for the battle the leather covering of the shield, intended to protect the embossed figures on it from dust or injury during the march. "The quiver" and "the shield" express two classes--light and heavy armed troops.

7. valleys--east, north, and south of Jerusalem: Hinnom on the south side was the richest valley.

in array at the gate--Rab-shakeh stood at the upper pool close to the city (Is 36:11-13).

8. he discovered the covering--rather, "the veil of Judah shall be taken off" [Horsley]: figuratively for, exposing to shame as a captive (Is 47:3; Na 3:5). Sennacherib dismantled all "the defensed cities of Judah" (Is 36:1).

thou didst look--rather, "thou shalt look."

house of ... forest--The house of armory built of cedar from the forest of Lebanon by Solomon, on a slope of Zion called Ophel (1Ki 7:2; 10:17; Ne 3:19). Isaiah says (Is 22:8-13) his countrymen will look to their own strength to defend themselves, while others of them will drown their sorrows as to their country in feasting, but none will look to Jehovah.

9. Ye have seen--rather, "Ye shall see."

city of David--the upper city, on Zion, the south side of Jerusalem (2Sa 5:7, 9; 1Ki 8:1); surrounded by a wall of its own; but even in it there shall be "breaches." Hezekiah's preparations for defense accord with this (2Ch 32:5).

ye gathered--rather, "ye shall gather."

lower pool--(See on Is 22:11). Ye shall bring together into the city by subterranean passages cut in the rock of Zion, the fountain from which the lower pool (only mentioned here) is supplied. See on Is 7:3; 2Ki 20:20; 2Ch 32:3-5, represent Hezekiah as having stopped the fountains to prevent the Assyrians getting water. But this is consistent with the passage here. The superfluous waters of the lower pool usually flowed into Hinnom valley, and so through that of Jehoshaphat to the brook Kedron. Hezekiah built a wall round it, stopped the outflowing of its waters to debar the foe from the use of them, and turned them into the city.

10. numbered--rather, "ye shall number," namely, in order to see which of them may be pulled down with the least loss to the city, and with most advantage for the repair of the walls and rearing of towers (2Ch 32:5).

have ye broken down--rather, "ye shall break down."

11. Ye made ... a ditch--rather, "Ye shall make a reservoir" for receiving the water. Hezekiah surrounded Siloah, from which the old (or king's, or upper) pool took its rise, with a wall joined to the wall of Zion on both sides; between these two walls he made a new pool, into which he directed the waters of the former, thus cutting off the foe from his supply of water also. The opening from which the upper pool received its water was nearer Zion than the other from which the lower pool took its rise, so that the water which flowed from the former could easily be shut in by a wall, whereas that which flowed from the latter could only be brought in by subterranean conduits (compare see on Is 22:9; Is 7:3; 2Ki 20:20; 2Ch 32:3-5, 30; Ecclesiasticus 48:17). Both were southwest of Jerusalem.

have not looked ... neither had respect--answering by contrast to "Thou didst look to the armor, ye have seen ('had respect', or 'regard to') the breaches" (Is 22:8, 9).

maker thereof--God, by whose command and aid these defenses were made, and who gave this fountain "long ago." G. V. Smith translates, "Him who doeth it," that is, has brought this danger on you--"Him who hath prepared it from afar," that is, planned it even from a distant time.

12. did the Lord God call--Usually the priests gave the summons to national mourning (Joe 1:14); now Jehovah Himself shall give it; the "call" shall consist in the presence of a terrible foe. Translate, "shall call."

baldness--emblem of grief (Job 1:20; Mi 1:16).

13. Notwithstanding Jehovah's "call to mourning" (Is 22:12), many shall make the desperate state of affairs a reason for reckless revelry (Is 5:11, 12, 14; Jr 18:12; 1Co 15:32).

Is 22:15-25. Prophecy That Shebna Should Be Deposed from Being Prefect of the Palace, and Eliakim Promoted to the Office.

In Is 36:3, 22; 37:2, we find Shebna "a scribe," and no longer prefect of the palace ("over the household"), and Eliakim in that office, as is here foretold. Shebna is singled out as the subject of prophecy (the only instance of an individual being so in Isaiah), as being one of the irreligious faction that set at naught the prophet's warnings (Is 28:1-33:24); perhaps it was he who advised the temporary ignominious submission of Hezekiah to Sennacherib.

15. Go, get thee unto--rather, "Go in to" (that is, into the house to).

treasurer--"him who dwells in the tabernacle" [Jerome]; namely, in a room of the temple set apart for the treasurer. Rather, "the king's friend," or "principal officer of the court" (1Ki 4:5; 18:3; 1Ch 27:33, "the king's counsellor") [Maurer]. "This" is prefixed contemptuously (Ex 32:1).

unto Shebna--The Hebrew for "unto" indicates an accosting of Shebna with an unwelcome message.

16. What ... whom--The prophet accosts Shebna at the very place where he was building a grand sepulcher for himself and his family (compare Is 14:18; Ge 23:1-20; 49:29; 50:13). "What (business) hast thou here, and whom hast thou (of thy family, who is likely to be buried) here, that thou buildest," &c., seeing that thou art soon to be deposed from office and carried into captivity? [Maurer].

on high--Sepulchres were made in the highest rocks (2Ch 32:33, Margin).

habitation for himself--compare "his own house" (Is 14:18).

17. carry ... away with ... captivity--rather, "will cast thee away with a mighty throw" [Maurer]. "Mighty," literally, "of a man" (so Job 38:3).

surely cover--namely, with shame, where thou art rearing a monument to perpetuate thy fame [Vitringa]. "Rolling will roll thee," that is, will continually roll thee on, as a ball to be tossed away [Maurer]. Compare Is 22:18.

18. violently turn and toss--literally, "whirling He will whirl thee," that is, He will, without intermission, whirl thee [Maurer]. "He will whirl thee round and round, and (then) cast thee away," as a stone in a sling is first whirled round repeatedly, before the string is let go [Lowth].

large country--perhaps Assyria.

chariots ... shall be the shame of thy lord's house--rather, "thy splendid chariots shall be there, O thou disgrace of thy lord's house" [Noyes]; "chariots of thy glory" mean "thy magnificent chariots." It is not meant that he would have these in a distant land, as he had in Jerusalem, but that he would be borne thither in ignominy instead of in his magnificent chariots. The Jews say that he was tied to the tails of horses by the enemy, to whom he had designed to betray Jerusalem, as they thought he was mocking them; and so he died.

19. state--office.

he--God. A similar change of persons occurs in Is 34:16.

20. son of Hilkiah--supposed by Kimchi to be the same as Azariah, son of Hilkiah, who perhaps had two names, and who was "over the household" in Hezekiah's time (1Ch 6:13).

21. thy robe--of office.

girdle--in which the purse was carried, and to it was attached the sword; often adorned with gold and jewels.

father--that is, a counsellor and friend.

22. key--emblem of his office over the house; to "open" or "shut"; access rested with him.

upon ... shoulder--So keys are carried sometimes in the East, hanging from the kerchief on the shoulder. But the phrase is rather figurative for sustaining the government on one's shoulders. Eliakim, as his name implies, is here plainly a type of the God-man Christ, the son of "David," of whom Isaiah (Is 9:6) uses the same language as the former clause of this verse. In Re 3:7, the same language as the latter clause is found (compare Job 12:14).

23. nail ... sure place--Large nails or pegs stood in ancient houses on which were suspended the ornaments of the family. The sense is: all that is valuable to the nation shall rest securely on him. In Ezr 9:8 "nail" is used of the large spike driven into the ground to fasten the cords of the tent to.

throne--resting-place to his family, as applied to Eliakim; but "throne," in the strict sense, as applied to Messiah, the antitype (Lu 1:32, 33).

24. Same image as in Is 22:23. It was customary to "hang" the valuables of a house on nails (1Ki 10:16, 17, 21; So 4:4).

offspring and the issue--rather, "the offshoots of the family, high and low" [Vitringa]. Eliakim would reflect honor even on the latter.

vessels of cups--of small capacity: answering to the low and humble offshoots.

vessels of flagons--larger vessels: answering to the high offshoots.

25. nail ... fastened--Shebna, who was supposed to be firmly fixed in his post.

burden ... upon it--All that were dependent on Shebna, all his emoluments and rank will fail, as when a peg is suddenly "cut down," the ornaments on it fall with it. Sin reaches in its effects even to the family of the guilty (Ex 20:5).

Art - gone up to the house-tops "Are gone up to the house-tops" - The houses in the east were in ancient times, as they are still, generally, built in one and the same uniform manner. The roof or top of the house is always flat, covered with broad stones, or a strong plaster of terrace, and guarded on every side with a low parapet wall; see Deu 22:8. The terrace is frequented as much as any part of the house. On this, as the season favors, they walk, they eat, they sleep, they transact business, (1Sam 9:25, see also the Septuagint in that place), they perform their devotions Act 10:9. The house is built with a court within, into which chiefly the windows open: those that open to the street are so obstructed with lattice-work that no one either without or within can see through them. Whenever, therefore, any thing is to be seen or heard in the streets, any public spectacle, any alarm of a public nature, every one immediately goes up to the house-top to satisfy his curiosity. In the same manner, when any one has occasion to make any thing public, the readiest and most effectual way of doing it is to proclaim it from the house-tops to the people in the streets. "What ye hear in the ear, that publish ye on the house-top," saith our Savior, Mat 10:27. The people running all to the tops of their houses gives a lively image of a sudden general alarm. Sir John Chardin's MS. note on this place is as follows: "Dans les festes pour voir passer quelque chose, et dans les maladies pour les annoncer aux voisins en allumant des lumieres, le peuple monte sur les terrasses." "In festivals, in order to see what is going forward, and in times of sickness, in order to indicate them to neighbors by lighting of candles, the people go up to the house-tops."

All thy rulers - are bound by the archers "All thy leaders - are fled from the bow" - There seems to be somewhat of an inconsistency in the sense according to the present reading. If the leaders were bound, אסרו usseru, how could they flee away? for their being bound, according to the obvious construction and course of the sentence, is a circumstance prior to their flight. I therefore follow Houbigant, who reads הסרו huseru, remoti sunt, "they are gone off." גלו galu, transmigraverunt, Chaldee; which seems to confirm this emendation.

Chariots of men "The Syriac" - It is not easy to say what רכב אדם recheb adam, a chariot of men, can mean. It seems by the form of the sentence, which consists of three members, the first and the third mentioning a particular people, that the second should do so likewise. Thus ברכב ארם ופרשים berecheb aram uparashim, "with chariots the Syrian, and with horsemen:" the similitude of the letters ד daleth and ר resh is so great, and the mistakes arising from it are so frequent, that I readily adopt the correction of Houbigant, ארם aram, Syria, instead of אדם adam, man; which seems to me extremely probable. The conjunction ו vau, and, prefixed to פרשים parashim, horsemen, seems necessary in whatever way the sentence may be taken; and it is confirmed by five MSS., (one ancient), four of De Rossi's, and two ancient of my own; one by correction of Dr. Kennicott's, and three editions. Kir was a city belonging to the Medes. The Medes were subject to the Assyrians in Hezekiah's time, (see 2Kgs 16:9, and 2Kgs 17:6); and so perhaps might Elam (the Persians) likewise be, or auxiliaries to them.

The armor "The arsenal" - Built by Solomon within the city, and called the house of the forest of Lebanon; probably from the great quantity of cedar from Lebanon which was employed in the building. See 1Kgs 7:2, 1Kgs 7:3.

Ye gathered together the waters "And ye shall collect the waters" - There were two pools in or near Jerusalem, supplied by springs: the upper pool, or the old pool, supplied by the spring called Gihon, 2Chr 32:30, towards the higher part of the city, near Sion, or the city of David, and the lower pool, probably supplied by Siloam, towards the lower part. When Hezekiah was threatened with a siege by Sennacherib, he stopped up all the waters of the fountains without the city; and brought them into the city by a conduit, or subterranean passage cut through the rock; those of the old pool, to the place where he had a double wall, so that the pool was between the two walls. This he did in order to distress the enemy, and to supply the city during the siege. This was so great a work that not only the historians have made particular mention of it, 2Kgs 20:20;2Chr 32:2, 2Chr 32:3, 2Chr 32:5, 2Chr 32:30; but the son of Sirach also has celebrated it in his encomium on Hezekiah. "Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought in water into the midst thereof: he digged the hard rock with iron, and made wells for water," Ecclesiasticus 48.

Unto the maker thereof "To him that hath disposed this" - That is, to God the Author and Disposer of this visitation, the invasion with which he now threatens you. The very same expressions are applied to God, and upon the same occasion, Isa 37:26 : - "Hast thou not heard of old, that I have disposed it;

And of ancient times, that I have formed it?"

Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die - This has been the language or all those who have sought their portion in this life, since the foundation of the world. So the poet: -

Heu, heu nos miserif quam totus homuncio nil est!

Sic erimus cuncti, postquam nos auferet orcus.

Ergo vivamus, dum licet esse, bene.

Alas alas! what miserable creatures are we, oniy the semblances of men! And so shall we be all when we come to die. Therefore let us live joyfully while we may.

Domitian had an image of death hung up in his dining-room, to show his guests that as life was uncertain, they should make the best of it by indulging themselves. On this Martial, to flatter the emperor, whom he styles god, wrote the following epigram: -

Frange thoros, pete vina, tingere nardo.

Ipse jubet mortis te meminisse Deus.

Sit down to table - drink heartily - anoint thyself with spikenard; for God himself commands thee to remember death.

So the adage: -

Ede, bibe, lude post mortem nulla voluptas. "Eat, drink, and play, while here ye may:

No revelry after your dying day."

St. Paul quotes the same heathen sentiment, 1Cor 15:32 : "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." Anacreon is full in point, and from him nothing better can be expected: - Ὡς ουν ετ' ευδι' εστιν, Και πινε και κυβευε Και σπενδε τῳ Λυαιῳ· Μη νουσος, ην τις ελθῃ, Λεγῃ, σε μη δει πινειν.

Anac. Od. xv., 50:11. "While no tempest blots your sky,

Drink, and throw the sportful dye:

But to Bacchus drench the ground,

Ere you push the goblet round;

Lest some fatal illness cry, 'Drink no more the cup of joy.'"

Addison.

It was revealed in mine ears "The voice of Jehovah" - The Vulgate has vox Domini; as if in his copy he had read קול יהוה kol Yehovah; and in truth, without the word קול kol, voice, it is not easy to make out the sense of the passage; as appears from the strange versions which the rest of the ancients, (except the Chaldee), and many of the moderns, have given of it; as if the matter were revealed in or to the ears of Jehovah: εν τοις ωσι Κυριου, in the ears of the Lord, Septuagint. Vitringa translates it, Revelatus est in auribus meis Jehovah, "Jehovah hath revealed it in mine ears," and refers to 1Sam 2:27; 1Sam 3:21 : but the construction in those places is different, and there is no speech of God added; which here seems to want something more than the verb נגלה nigleh to introduce it. Compare Isa 5:9, where the text is still more imperfect.

The Lord God of hosts - אדני יהוה צבאות Adonai Yehovah tsebaoth. But אדני Adonai, Lord, is omitted by two of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and by two of my own; by three editions, and the Septuagint, Syriac and Arabic.

Go - unto Shebna - The following prophecy concerning Shebna seems to have very little relation to the foregoing, except that it might have been delivered about the same time; and Shebna might be a principal person among those whose luxury and profaneness is severely reprehended by the prophet in the conclusion of that prophecy, Isa 22:11-14.

Shebna the scribe, mentioned in the history of Hezekiah, chap. 36, seems to have been a different person from this Shebna, the treasurer or steward of the household, to whom this prophecy relates. The Eliakim here mentioned was probably the person who, at the time of Sennacherib's invasion, was actually treasurer, the son of Hilkiah. If so, this prophecy was delivered, as the preceding, (which makes the former part of the chapter), plainly was, some time before the invasion of Sennacherib. As to the rest, history affords us no information. "And say unto him" - Here are two words lost out of the text, which are supplied by two of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., one ancient, which read ואמרת אליו veamarta elaiv, and thou shalt say unto him; by the Septuagint, και ειπον αυτῳ, and in the same manner by all the ancient versions. It is to be observed that this passage is merely historical, and does not admit of that sort of ellipsis by which in the poetical parts a person is frequently introduced speaking, without the usual notice, that what follows was delivered by him.

A sepulcher on high - in a rock - It has been observed before, on Isaiah 14, that persons of high rank in Judea, and in most parts of the east, were generally buried in large sepulchral vaults, hewn out in the rock for the use of themselves and their families. The vanity of Shebna is set forth by his being so studious and careful to have his sepulcher on high - in a lofty vault; and that probably in a high situation, that it might be more conspicuous. Hezekiah was buried, למעלה lemalah, εν αναβασει, Sept.: in the chiefest, says our translation; rather, in the highest part of the sepulchres of the sons of David, to do him the more honor, 2Chr 32:33. There are some monuments still remaining in Persia of great antiquity, called Naksi Rustam, which give one a clear idea of Shebna's pompous design for his sepulcher. They consist of several sepulchers, each of them hewn in a high rock near the top; the front of the rock to the valley below is adorned with carved work in relievo, being the outside of the sepulcher. Some of these sepulchers are about thirty feet in the perpendicular from the valley, which is itself perhaps raised above half as much by the accumulation of the earth since they were made. See the description of them in Chardin, Pietro della Valle, Thevenot, and Kempfer. Diodorus Siculus, lib. 17, mentions these ancient monuments, and calls them the sepulchres of the kings of Persia. - L.

Cover thee - That is, thy face. This was the condition of mourners in general, and particularly of condemned persons. See Est 6:12; Est 7:8.

I will drive thee - אהרסך ehersecha, in the first person, Syr. Vulg.

To the inhabitants - ליושבי leyoshebey, in the plural number, four of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., (two ancient), and two of De Rossi's, with the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.

And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder - As the robe and the baldric, mentioned in the preceding verse, were the ensigns of power and authority, so likewise was the key the mark of office, either sacred or civil. The priestess of Juno is said to be the key-bearer of the goddess, κλειδουχος Ἡρας· Aeschyl. Suppl. 299. A female high in office under a great queen has the same title: - Καλλιθοη κλειδουχος Ολυμπιαδος βασιλειης. "Callithoe was the key-bearer of the Olympian queen."

Auctor Phoronidis ap. Clem. Alex. p. 418, edit. Potter. This mark of office was likewise among the Greeks, as here in Isaiah, borne on the shoulder; the priestess of Ceres, κατωμαδιαν εχε κλαιδα, had the key on her shoulder. Callim. Ceres, verse 45. To comprehend how the key could be borne on the shoulder, it will be necessary to say something of the form of it: but without entering into a long disquisition, and a great deal of obscure learning, concerning the locks and keys of the ancients, it will be sufficient to observe, that one sort of keys, and that probably the most ancient, was of considerable magnitude, and as to the shape, very much bent and crooked. Aratus, to give his reader an idea of the form of the constellation Cassiopeia, compares it to a key. It must be owned that the passage is very obscure; but the learned Huetius has bestowed a great deal of pains in explaining it, Animadvers. in Manilii, lib. 1:355; and I think has succeeded very well in it. Homer Odyss. Isa 21:6, describes the key of Ulysses' storehouse as ευκαμπης, of a large curvature; which Eustathius explains by saying it was δρεπανοειδης, in shape like a reaphook. Huetius says the constellation Cassiopeia answers to this description; the stars to the north making the curve part, that is, the principal part of the key; the southern stars, the handle. The curve part was introduced into the key-hole; and, being properly directed by the handle, took hold of the bolts within, and moved them from their places. We may easily collect from this account, that such a key would lie very well upon the shoulder; that it must be of some considerable size and weight, and could hardly be commodiously carried otherwise. Ulysses' key was of brass, and the handle of ivory: but this was a royal key. The more common ones were probably of wood. In Egypt they have no other than wooden locks and keys to this day; even the gates of Cairo have no better. Baumgarten, Peregr. 1:18. Thevenot, part ii., chap. 10. But was it not the representation of a key, either cut out in cloth and sewed on the shoulder of the garment, or embroidered on that part of the garment itself? The idea of a huge key of a gate, in any kind of metal, laid across the shoulder, is to me very ridiculous.

In allusion to the image of the key as the ensign of power, the unlimited extent of that power is expressed with great clearness as well as force by the sole and exclusive authority to open and shut. Our Savior, therefore, has upon a similar occasion made use of a like manner of expression, Mat 16:19; and in Rev 3:7 has applied to himself the very words of the prophet.

A nail - In ancient times, and in the eastern countries, as the way of life, so the houses, were much more simple than ours at present. They had not that quantity and variety of furniture, nor those accommodations of all sorts, with which we abound. It was convenient and even necessary for them, and it made an essential part in the building of a house, to furnish the inside of the several apartments with sets of spikes, nails, or large pegs, upon which to dispose of and hang up the several movables and utensils in common use, and proper to the apartment. These spikes they worked into the walls at the first erection of them, the walls being of such materials that they could not bear their being driven in afterwards; and they were contrived so as to strengthen the walls by binding the parts together, as well as to serve for convenience. Sir John Chardin's account of this matter is this: "They do not drive with a hammer the nails that are put into the eastern walls. The walls are too hard, being of brick; or, if they are of clay, too moldering: but they fix them in the brick-work as they are building. They are large nails, with square heads like dice, well made, the ends being bent so as to make them cramp-irons. They commonly place them at the windows and doors, in order to hang upon them, when they like, veils and curtains." Harmer's Observ. 1 p. 191. And we may add, that they were put in other places too, in order to hang up other things of various kinds; as appears from this place of Isaiah, and from Eze 15:3, who speaks of a pin or nail, "to hang any vessel thereon." The word used here for a nail of this sort is the same by which they express that instrument, the stake, or large pin of iron, with which they fastened down to the ground the cords of their tents. We see, therefore, that these nails were of necessary and common use, and of no small importance in all their apartments; conspicuous, and much exposed to observation: and if they seem to us mean and insignificant, it is because we are not acquainted with the thing itself, and have no name to express it but by what conveys to us a low and contemptible idea. "Grace hath been showed from the Lord our God," saith Ezra, Ezr 9:8, "to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place:" that is, as the margin of our Bible explains it, "a constant and sure abode." "He that doth lodge near her (Wisdom's) house,

Shall also fasten a pin in her walls."

Ecclus. 14:24.

The dignity and propriety of the metaphor appears from the Prophet Zechariah's use of it: - "From him shall be the corner-stone, from him the nail,

From him the battle-bow,

From him every ruler together." Zac 10:4.

And Mohammed, using the same word, calls Pharaoh the lord or master of the nails, that is, well attended by nobles and officers capable of administering his affairs. Koran, Sur. 38:11, and 89:9. So some understand this passage of the Koran. Mr. Sale seems to prefer another interpretation.

Taylor, in his Concordance, thinks יתד yathed means the pillar or post that stands in the middle, and supports the tent, in which such pegs are fixed to hang their arms, etc., upon; referring to Shaw's Travels, p. 287. But יתד yathed is never used, as far as appears to me, in that sense. It was indeed necessary that the pillar of the tent should have such pegs on it for that purpose; but the hanging of such things in this manner upon this pillar does not prove that יתד yathed was the pillar itself.

A glorious throne "A glorious seat" - That is, his father's house and all his own family shall be gloriously seated, shall flourish in honor and prosperity; and shall depend upon him, and be supported by him.

All the glory - One considerable part of the magnificence of the eastern princes consisted in the great quantity of gold and silver vessels which they had for various uses. "Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver; it was nothing accounted of in Solomon's days;" 1Kgs 10:21. "The vessels in the house of the forest of Lebanon," the armory of Jerusalem so called, "were two hundred targets, and three hundred shields of beaten gold." Ibid. 1Kgs 10:16, 1Kgs 10:17. These were ranged in order upon the walls of the armory, (see Sol 4:4), upon pins worked into the walls on purpose, as above mentioned. Eliakim is considered as a principal stake of this sort, immovably fastened in the wall for the support of all vessels destined for common or sacred uses; that is, as the principal support of the whole civil and ecclesiastical polity. And the consequence of his continued power will be the promotion and flourishing condition of his family and dependents, from the highest to the lowest.

Vessels of flagons "Meaner vessels" - נבלים nebalim seems to mean earthen vessels of common use, brittle, and of little value, (see Lam 4:2; Jer 48:12), in opposition to אגנות aganoth, goblets of gold and silver used in the sacrifices. Exo 24:6.

The nail that is fastened - This must be understood of Shebna, as a repetition and confirmation of the sentence above denounced against him.

What is said of Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Isa 22:20-24, is very remarkable; and the literal meaning is not easy to be understood. From Isa 9:6, and from Rev 3:7, it seems to belong to our Lord alone. The removal of Shebna from being over the treasure of the Lord's house, Isa 22:19, and the investiture of Eliakim with his robe, girdle, office, and government, Isa 22:20, etc., probably point out the change of the Jewish priesthood, and the proclaiming of the unchangeable priesthood of Christ. See Psa 110:4. Eliakim signifies The resurrection of the Lord; or, My God, he shall arise. Hilkiah signifies The Lord my portion or lot. The key of David, shutting and opening, etc., may intend the way of salvation through Christ alone. For the hope of salvation and eternal life comes only through Eliakim, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

It is said, Isa 22:24, "They shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house" - for, in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and the offspring and the issue, הצאצאים hatstseetsaim from יצא yatsa, to go out, - the suckers from the root; the sideshoots, the apostles and primitive ministers of his word. The issue, הצפיעות hatstsephioth, probably means the issue's issue; so the Targum. The grandchildren, all those who believe on the Lord Jesus through their word. "The nail that is fastened in the sure place shall be removed," Isa 22:25, Kimchi refers not to Eliakim, but to Shebna, Isa 22:17-19. By, "They shall hang upon him all vessels of small quantity and large quantity," has been understood the dependence of all souls, of all capacities, from the lowest in intellect to the most exalted on the Lord Jesus, as the only Savior of all lost human spirits.

As the literal interpretation of this prophecy has not been found out, we are justified from parallel texts to consider the whole as referring to Jesus Christ, and the government of the Church, and the redemption of the world by him. Nor are there many prophecies which relate to him more clearly than this, taken in the above sense.

The valley - Of Judah; and especially of Jerusalem, called a valley, because great part of it flood in a valley; and the valley of vision, because of the many and clear visions or revelations of God's mind, in that place. House - tops - As they used to do in times of great consternation, that they might look, to and cry to heaven for help.

Noises - Of joyful shouts. Tumultuous - Through revelling and jollity. Battle - But either by famine or pestilence in the siege, or in their flight.

Rulers - Zedekiah and his chief commanders, whose flight he foretells. Found - That remain there with Zedekiah in the siege; for those who had fled to the Chaldeans saved their lives and liberties. Bound - In fetters, Jer 52:11. Fled - Who fled from Jerusalem, but were pursued and overtaken by their enemies, and bound, as others had been.

Look away - Take off your eyes and thoughts from me, and leave me alone.

Treading down - In which my people are trodden under foot by their enemies. By the Lord - Not only men, but God himself fought against them. Walls - Of the strong cities of Judah. Mountains - With such loud and dismal outcries as should reach to the neighbouring mountains.

Elam - The Persians, who now, and for a long time after, were subject to the Assyrian and Chaldean emperors. Quiver - Being expert bowmen. Horsemen - As some fought on foot, so others fought from chariots and horses. Kir - The Medes, so called from Kir, an eminent city and region of Media. Uncovered - Prepared it and themselves for the battle.

Valleys - Valleys were the most proper places for the use of chariots. Gate - To assist the footmen while they made their assault, and to prevent those who endeavoured to escape.

He - The enemy. Covering - He took those fenced cities, which were a covering or safe - guard both to the people of Judah, and to Jerusalem. The armour - Thy trust was placed in the arm of flesh. The forest - More fully called the house of the forest of Lebanon, 1Kings 7:2, not because it was built in Lebanon, for it was in Jerusalem; but because it was built of the trees of Lebanon.

Seen - That is, observed in order to the reparation of them. The waters - That you might both deprive the enemy of water, and supply the city with it.

Numbered - That they might exactly know their own strength. The houses - Which stood upon or without the walls, and so gave their enemies advantage, and hindered the fortifying the city.

Thereof - Of Jerusalem, expressed in the foregoing verse. Him - God, who made it a city, and the place of his special presence and worship. Long ago - Which may be added to aggravate their sin, in distrusting that God, who had now for a long time given proof of his care and kindness in defending this city.

Call - By his providence, and by his precepts requiring these things in such times. Baldness - By plucking or shaving off the hair of their heads, as was usual in great sorrows.

Let us, &c. - A most perverse and desperate conclusion.

'Till ye die - You shall feel the sad effects of this, as long as you live.

What - What right hast thou to this place and office? Whom - What kindred or relations? For the Jews say, he was a stranger by birth; which is the more probable, because his pedigree is not mentioned in any of those places of scripture where he is named. On high - In an high and eminent place. An habitation - He erected a stately house to live in, and a stately sepulchre to receive him when he died. And these two are fitly joined together, because their sepulchres were commonly built in or near their houses. A rock - A fit place both for strength and state.

Will carry - Will cause thee to be carried into captivity by a strong hand. Cover - This may be an allusion to the ancient custom of covering the faces of condemned persons.

Thy chariots - Thy glorious chariots where thou didst ride in great state at Jerusalem, shall be turned into shame to thyself, and to thy master.

He - The Lord; such sudden changes of persons being very usual in these writings.

Call - By my powerful providence.

Girdle - There was a peculiar sort of robe and girdle which was the badge of his office. A father - He shall govern them with fatherly care and affection.

The key - The government, the power of opening and shutting, of letting men into it, or putting them out of it, whereof a key is a fit emblem. Shoulder - He mentions the shoulder rather than the hand, in which keys are commonly carried, from some ceremony then in use, of carrying a key upon the shoulder of the officer of state.

Fasten - I will establish the power in his hands. Sure place - In the strong walls, or solid timber, in the house. He shall be - By his prudent and righteous government he shall procure great glory, to all that have any relation to him.

The glory - Of his own kindred and family, who shall all depend upon him, and receive glory from him; of the house of David, which is called his father's house, because he was of the blood - royal. The offspring - Great and small, the children and grand - children of his father's house, the meanest of them shall receive a lustre from their relation to him. All vessels - All sorts of vessels, great or small, mean or precious, may be hanged upon him, without any fear of falling.

The nail - Shebna, who seemed to be so. The burden - All those wicked officers that were advanced and supported by his power.

THE burden of the valley of Vision . What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the house tops .

Of Iudah; and especially of the City of Ierusalem, as the next Verse sheweth. Which is called a valley, because a great part of it stood in a Valley, and comparatively to those higher Mountains wherewith it was encompassed; of which see Psal. 121. 1. & 125. 2. Isa. 52. 7. and the valley of vision, because of the many and clear Visions or Revelations of God's Mind, in that Place, above all other Parts of the World. As the Prophets are called seers, 1 Sam. 9. 9. so Prophecy is frequently called vision, as 1 Sam. 3. 1. Isa. 1. 1. Ezek. 7. 13, 26.

As they used to do in times of great Confusion and Consternation, that they might mourn, and look, and cry to Heaven for Help. Compare Isa. 15. 3. Ier. 48. 38.

2 Thou art full of stirs : a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battel .

Or, Thou who wast full of stirs, or noises, to wit, of joyful Shouts, as the following Words limit it, and as this Word is used Zech. 4. 7. though elsewhere it be taken for doleful Cries.

Or, streperous, full of noise and clamour, through Revelling and Jollity. See Prov. 20. 1. Zech. 9. 15.

But either by Famine or Pestilence in the Siege, as many died, Ier. 14. 18. & 38. 2. or in their Flight, as others were; both which were inglorious kinds of Death.

3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers : all that are found in thee are bound together , which are fled from far .

Zedekiah and his Chief Commanders, whose Flight he here foretels.

Heb. from the bow, i. e. so as they were disenabled from using the Bow: which is an usual Hebraisin, as from a king is put for from being a king, 1 Sam. 15. 23. and from seeing, Psal. 69. 23. is rendred that they cannot see, Rom. 11. 10. But this Word is by some, and may very well be joyned to the foregoing Clause; for the Words in the Hebrew lie thus, All thy rulers are fled together from the bow (or, bowmen, as this Word is rendred, Isa. 21. 17.) they are bound. Which seems most plain and unforced, and suits best with the following Words, as also with the Prophet's use of the same Phrase, ch. 21. 15. they fled—from the bent bow, &c.

That remaineth there with Zedekiah in the Siege; for those who had fled to the Chaldeans saved their Lives and Liberties.

In Fetters, Ier. 52. 11.

Which fled to Ierusalem from the remotest parts of the Land.—But he rather speaks of those who fled from Ierusalem, and from their Enemies, whereof some had fled away, but were pursued and overtaken by their Enemies, and bound, as others had been. And the Words seem to be well rendred, they fled far away, as this very Word is used Isa. 23. 7. which may be understood either of the same Persons who fled, but were taken in their Flight, as was now said; or of others, who fled away, when others abode there and were bound.

Marginal references: Heb. of the bow.

4 Therefore said I, Look away from me , I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me : because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people .

Take off your Eyes and Thoughts from me, and leave me alone, that I may take my fill of Sorrows.

For all your Labour will be lost, I neither can nor will receive any Consolation.

Of that City and Nation whereof I am a Member. The Title of daughter is oft given both to Cities and Nations, as hath been noted before.

Marginal references: Jer. 4. 19. & 9. 1.; Heb. I will be bitter in weeping.

5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down , and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls , and of crying to the mountains .

In which my People are trodden under foot by their insolent Enemies.

This is added partly to shew, that this did not happen without God's Providence: and partly to aggravate their Calamity, because not onely Men, but God himself fought against them.

Of the strong Cities of Iudah▪ which was done by Sennacherib, 2 Kings 25. 10.

With such loud and dismal Outcries as should reach to the neighbouring Mountains, and make them ring again therewith.

6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen , and Kir uncovered the shield .

The Persians, who now, and for a long time after, were subject to the Assyrian and Chaldean Emperours, and were employ'd by them in their Wa[illegible: 1+ letters]s.

Being expert Bowmen, as appears from Ier. 49. 35. and from Strabo's Testimony.

As some of them fought on foot, so others sought from Chariots and Horses.

The Medes, so called by a Synachdeche from Kir, an eminent City and Region of Media, of which see 2 Kings 16. 9. Amos 1. 5.

Prepared it and themselves for the Battel; for in Times of Peace Arms were wrapt up and covered, to preserve them clean, and fit for use.

Their defensive and offensive Weapons.

Marginal references: Heb. made naked.

7 And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots , and the horsemen shall set themselves in aray at the gate .

Valleys were the most proper Places for the use of Chariots: See Ios. 17. 16.

To assist and defend the Footmen whilst they made their Assault, and withal to prevent and take those who endeavoured to escape.

Marginal references: Heb. the choice of the valleys.; Or, towards.

8 And he discovered the covering of Judah , and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forrest .

The Enemy, Sennacherib, of whose Invasion he seems to speak.

He took those fenced Cities, which [illegible: 1 word] a Covering or Safeguard both to the People of Iudah, who fled to them, and to Ierusalem, which was begirt and defended by them.

Thy Hope and Trust was wholly or chiefly placed in the Arm of Flesh. For although Hezekiah was commended for his Trust in God, yet the General[illegible: 1+ letters]ty of the People were guilty of Distrust in God, an[illegible: 1+ letters] Confidence in the Creature.

More fully called, the house of the forest of Lebanon, 1 Kings 7. 2. not because it was built in Lebanon, for it was in Ierusalem; but either because it was built of the Trees of Lebanon, for which cause the Temple is called Lebanon, Zech. 11. 1. or for other Reasons. See my Notes on 1 Kings 7. 2.

Marginal references: Chap. [illegible: 1+ letters]0. 1.; 1 Kings 10. 17.

9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool .

i. e. Observed or confidered, as this Word is used, Exod. 32. 9. and elsewhere, in order to the Reparation of them, and to fortifie the City, as the next Words manifest.

That you might both deprive the Enemy of Water, and supply the City with it; of which see on 2 Chron. 32. 4, 5.

10 And ye have numbred the houses of Jerusalem , and the houses have ye broken down to fortifie the wall.

That they might exactly know their own Strength, and the Number of their People, and so lay the Burdens more equally upon them, and make sufficient Provisions for them.

Which stood upon or without the Walls of their City, and so gave their Enemies any Advantage against them, and hindred the searching or fortifying the Walls and City.

11 Ye made also a Ditch between the two walls , for the water of the old pool : but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof , neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago .

Either those 2 Kings 25. 4. or those 2 Chron. 32. 5. in both which Places we read of two Walls.

To receive the Waters conveyed into it by Pipes from the old Pool.

Either, 1. of the Water; for both the Springs and the Rain which filleth the Pools are from God alone: or, 2. of Ierusalem, expressed in the foregoing Verse, and easily understood here, because all these Works were undertaken for Ierusalems Defence and Provision. And it is usual in Scripture for the Pronoun Relative to be put by it self, without any express mention of the Person or Thing to which it belongs, which is left to the Reader to gather out of the foregoing or following Words; of which see the Notes on Psal. 87. 1. Cant. 1. 1.

Heb. the former, or framer of it, God, who made it a City, and the Place of his special Presence and Worship; which also he had undertaken to protect, if the People would observe his Commands; to whom therefore they should have resorted and trusted in this time of their distress.

Which Clause may be added to aggravate their Sin, in distrusting that God who had now for a long time given proof of his Care and Kindness in desending this City.

12 And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning; and to baldness , and to girding with saccloth.

Invite and oblige them by the Course of his Providence, and require this by the Precepts requiring these things in such Times and Conditions.

To make themselves bald, by plucking or shaving off the Hair of their Heads, as was usual in great Sorrows, as Ezra 9. 3. Iob 1. 20. Mic. 1. 16▪ although it was forbidden in case of the Death of Relations, for a special Reason; of which see on Levit. 19. 27, 28. & 21. 5.

13 And behold, joy and gladness, slaying Oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh , and drinking wine; let us eat and drink for to morrow we shall die .

Not onely for Necessity, but to Excess and Luxury, as eating and drinking are taken Mat. 24. 38.

The Prophets tell us, that we shall certainly and suddenly be destroyed; it concerns us therefore to make our best of the present time, and to be merry whilst we have oportunity. A most perverse and desperate Conclusion, proceeding from obstinate Profaneness, and Contempt of God's Judgments.

Marginal references: Chap. 56. 12. 1 Cor. 15. 32.

14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you, till ye die , saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

What I am saying is not my own Invention, nor uncertain Reports; but what I heard with these Ears of mine. The like Phrase we have 1 Sam. 9. 15. the Lord had told Samuel in his ear.

You shall feel the sad Effects of this wickedness, and my just displeasure for it, as long as you live. This is not spoken exclusively, as if it should be purged after their death, which is absurd and impious to imagine, at least concerning such as lived and died in this desperate and impenitent Condition; but emphatically, to shew that God would have no mercy upon them in that time of Life, in which he useth and delighteth to give Repentance and Remission of Sins unto Mankind.

15 Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer , even unto Shebna , which is over the house , and say,

Which the Prophet might boldly do, because he had the Protection not onely of God, who sent him upon this Errand, but probably of Hezekiah also, who at the time of this Prophecy was either King, or his Fathers Viceroy, or at least Heir-apparent to the Crown.

Who seems to have been advanced by wicked Ahaz, and to have been a great Patron of Impiety and Injustice in his Reign, and by politick Compliance with Hezekiah, thought to gain his Favour, and so to keep his Place and Power at Court.

Over the House of David, as is more fully expressed below, v. 22. Possibly he was not onely the Lord Treasurer, but also the Kings Prime Minister of State.

16 What hast thou here ? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high , and graveth an habitation for himself in a rock ?

Or, What dost thou here? what right hast thou to this Place and Office?

Either, 1. What Friends, in whom thou canst confide? Thou hast so ill managed thy self and thy Affairs, that thou art universally hated. Or, 2. What Kindred or Relations? For the Jews say, he was a Stranger by Birth; which is the more probable, because his Pedigree is not mentioned in any of those Places of Scripture where he is named.

As great and ambitious Men used to do.

Not in thine own Country, the proper Place for such a Monument; but in Ierusalem, which should not be defiled nor disparaged with it.

In an high and eminent Place, as Isa. 57. 7.

A fit Place both for Strength and State. Thus we read of a sepulchre hewed out in a rock, Mat. 27. 60.

g Either, 1. a Sepulchre, which is called a mans house, Iob 30. 23. or, 2. a Dwelling-house. He erected, or is compared to one that doth erect, a stately House to live in, and a stately Sepulchre to receive him when he dies. And these two are fitly joined together, because their Sepulchres were commonly built in or near their Houses. See Isa. 14. 18. Ioh. 19. 41.

Marginal references: Or, O he.

17 Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity , and will surely cover thee .

Will cause thee to be carried into Captivity by a strong Hand, or by the Hand of a mighty man, from which therefore thou shalt not be able to escape. Or, will cast thee away with the casting of a mighty man, i. e. with great force: or, in casting will cast thee away, O thou mighty man.

To wit, with confusion, as is here implied, and as this Phrase is more fully expressed, Psal. 89. 40. & 109. 29. Or, covering may be put for obscuring his Glory, which he designed to publish, and to that end erected stately Monuments, &c. Or, this may be an Allusion to the ancient Custom of covering the Faces of Condemned Persons; of which see Esth. 7. 8. Compare Iob 9. 24. Ezek. 12. 6, 12.

Marginal references: Or, the LORD who covered thee with an excellent covering, and clothed thee gorgeously, shall surely, &c.; Heb. the captivity of a man.

18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country : there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lords house .

Heb. Wrapping he will wrap thee up like a ball, which consists of Materials wrapped and bound together, that it may be tossed far away. Or, Rolling he will roll thee with the rolling of a ball.

Like a Ball which is cast into a large and plain Spot of Ground, where being thrown by a strong man, it runs far and wide. Or, to a far Countrey, which seems to be here called large of spaces, not so much in it self, for that was inconsiderable to him, whether the Land of his Captivity was large or little, as in respect of its distance from the Place of his Birth and Abode.

The sence of the Words thus rendred, seems to be this, Thy glorious Chariots wherein thou didst ride in great State at Ierusalem, shall then and there be turned into shame to thy self, and to thy Master, to whom it is just matter of reproach, that he was so foolish as to advance and trust such a faithless and unworthy Person. But the Words are by divers others fitly rendred, there the chariots of thy glory shall be, (or, shall die or vanish, i. e. That shall be the end of all thy pompous Chariots, and other Monuments of thy Pride) O thou who art the shame of thy lords house, who by thy unjust and wicked Practices hast exposed thy King and Master, and the Royal Family, to Reproach and Contempt.

Marginal references: Heb. large of spaces.

19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.

The Lord, whose Words these are, v. 15. as is manifest from the following Verses.

The Lord; such sudden changes of Persons being very usual in these Writings.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:

By my Spirit fitting him, and by my powerful Providence moving Hezekiah's Heart to call him.

Marginal references: 2 Kings 18. 18.

21 And I will cloath him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle , and I will commit thy government into his hand, and he shall be a father to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.

There was a peculiar sort of Robe and Girdle which was the Badge of his Office, which should be taken from him, and given to Eliakim.

He shall not onely have the Authority of a Father, which thou now hast, in which respect all Rulers are called fathers, as Exod, 2[illegible: 1+ letters]. 12. Numb. 36. 1. but shall also govern them with Fatherly Care and Affection, and not with Rigour and Cruelty, as thou dost.

22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder : so he shall open and none shall shut , and he shall shut and none shall open.

The Government, the Power of opening and shutting, of letting men into it, or putting them out of it, whereof a key is a fit Emblem; whence the delivering of the Keys of an House or City into the Hands of another, is a Sign to signifie and confirm the giving him the Power and Possession of it.

He mentions the shoulder rather than the Hand, in which Keys are commonly carried, either from some Ceremony then in use, of carrying a Key upon the Shoulder, either of the Officer of State himself, or of another in his name and stead; or to signifie that this was a Key of greater weight than ordinary, and that Government, which is designed by this Key, is an heavy Burden, and therefore in Scripture-phrase said to be upon the shoulder, as Isa. 9. 6.

Against his Will, or without his Commission or Consent.

Marginal references: Job 12. 14. Rev. 3. 7.

23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place : and he shall be for a glorious throne to his fathers house .

I will establish the Power in his Hands.

In the strong Walls, or solid Timber, in the House: Which is opposed to Shebna, instability, signified by a Ball, v. 18.

By his prudent and righteous Government he shall procure great Glory not onely to himself, but to all that have any relation to him. This also is opposed to what is said of Shebna in the end of v. 18.

Marginal references: Ezra 9. 8.

24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his fathers house , the off-spring and the issue , all vessels of small quantity ; from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons .

Of his own Kindred and Family, who shall all depend upon him, and receive Glory from him: of the House of David, which is called his fathers house, either because Kings are called the fathers of all their Subjects, both in Scripture, as 1 Sam. 24. 12. 2 Kings 5. 13. & 16. 7. and in other Authors; or, as Calvin ingeniously conjectures, because he was of the Blood Royal. Otherwise this had been no great Commendation to him, that he studied so much the Advancement of his own private Family. And this seems more probable, because this Character is opposed to that of Shebna, who was the shame of his lords, to wit, the King's house or Family, v. 18.

Great and small, the Children and Grandchildren of his Fathers House.

The meanest of them shall receive a Lustre and Advantage from their Relation to him.

All sorts of Vessels, great or small, mean or precious, may be hanged upon him, without any fear of falling; whereas ordinary Nails or Pins, if they be oppressed with too great weight, are easily broken down, and the Vessels fall with them.

Marginal references: Or, instruments of vials.

25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastned in the sure place , be removed, and be cut down, and fall: and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Shebna, who seemed to be so, both in his own Eyes, and in the Eyes of others.

All those wicked Officers that were advanced and supported by his Power.

Isa 22:1-3

The prophet exposes the nature and worthlessness of their confidence in Isa 22:1-3 : “What aileth thee, then, that thou art wholly ascended upon the house-tops? O full of tumult, thou noisy city, shouting castle, thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor slaughtered in battle. All thy rulers departing together are fettered without bow; all thy captured ones are fettered together, fleeing far away.” From the flat house-tops they all look out together at the approaching army of the foe, longing for battle, and sure of victory (cullâk is for cullēk, Isa 14:29, Isa 14:31). They have no suspicion of what is threatening them; therefore are they so sure, so contented, and so defiant. מלאה תּשׂאות is inverted, and stands for תּשׁאות מלאת, like מנדּח אפלה in Isa 8:22. עלּיזה is used to denote self-confident rejoicing, as in Zep 2:15. How terribly they deceive themselves! Not even the honour of falling upon the battle-field is allowed them. Their rulers (kâtzin, a judge, and then any person of rank) depart one and all out of the city, and are fettered outside “without bow” (mikkesheth), i.e., without there being any necessity for the bow to be drawn (min, as in Job 21:9; 2Sa 1:22; cf., Ewald, §217,b). All, without exception, of those who are attacked in Jerusalem by the advancing foe (nimzâ'aik, thy captured ones, as in Isa 13:15), fall helplessly into captivity, as they are attempting to flee far away (see at Isa 17:13; the perf. de conatu answers to the classical praesens de conatu). Hence (what is here affirmed indirectly) the city is besieged, and in consequence of the long siege hunger and pestilence destroy the inhabitants, and every one who attempts to get away falls into the hands of the enemy, without venturing to defend himself, on account of his emaciation and exhaustion from hunger. Whilst the prophet thus pictures to himself the fate of Jerusalem and Judah, through their infatuation, he is seized with inconsolable anguish.

Isa 22:4-5 “Therefore I say, Look away from me, that I may weep bitterly; press me not with consolations for the destruction of the daughter of my people! For a day of noise, and of treading down, and of confusion, cometh from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, in the valley of vision, breaking down walls; and a cry of woe echoes against the mountains.” The note struck by Isaiah here is the note of the kinah that is continued in the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Jeremiah says sheber for shod (Lam 3:48), and bath-ammi (daughter of my people) is varied with batḣZion (daughter of Zion) and bath-yehudah (daughter of Judah). Mērēr babbeci (weep bitterly) is more than bâcâh mar (Isa 33:7): it signifies to give one’s self thoroughly up to bitter weeping, to exhaust one’s self with weeping. The two similar sounds which occur in Isa 22:5, in imitation of echoes, can hardly be translated. The day of divine judgment is called a day in which masses of men crowd together with great noise (mehūmâh), in which Jerusalem and its inhabitants are trodden down by foes (mebūsâh) and are thrown into wild confusion (mebūcâh). This is one play upon words. The other makes the crashing of the walls audible, as they are hurled down by the siege-artillery (mekarkar kir). Kirkēr is not a denom. of kı̄r, as Kimchi and Ewald suppose (unwalling walls), but is to be explained in accordance with Num 24:17, “he undermines,” i.e., throws down by removing the supports, in other words, “to the very foundations” (kur, to dig, hence karkârâh, the bottom of a vessel, Kelim ii. 2; kurkoreth, the bottom of a net, ib. xxviii. 10, or of a cask, Ahaloth ix. 16). When this takes place, then a cry of woe echoes against the mountain (shōa‛, like shūa‛, sheva‛), i.e., strikes against the mountains that surround Jerusalem, and is echoed back again. Knobel understands it as signifying a cry for help addressed to the mountain where Jehovah dwells; but this feature is altogether unsuitable to the God - forgetting worldly state in which Jerusalem is found. It is also to be observed, in opposition to Knobel, that the description does not move on in the same natural and literal way as in a historical narrative. The prophet is not relating, but looking; and in Isa 22:5 he depicts the day of Jehovah according to both its ultimate intention and its ultimate result.

Isa 22:6-7

The advance of the besiegers, which leads to the destruction of the walls, is first described in Isa 22:6, Isa 22:7. “And Elam has taken the quiver, together with chariots with men, horsemen; and Kir has drawn out the shield. And then it comes to pass, that thy choicest valleys are filled with chariots, and the horsemen plant a firm foot towards the gate.” Of the nations composing the Assyrian army, the two mentioned are Elam, the Semitic nation of Susiana (Chuzistan), whose original settlements were the row of valleys between the Zagros chain and the chain of advanced mountains bounding the Assyrian plains on the east, and who were greatly dreaded as bowmen (Eze 32:24; Jer 49:35), and Kir, the inhabitants of the country of the Cyrus river, which was an Assyrian province, according to 2Ki 16:9 and Amo 1:5, and still retained its dependent position even in the time of the Achaemenides, when Armenia, at any rate, is expressly described in the arrowheaded writings as a Persian province, though a rebellious one. The readiness for battle of this people of Kur, who represent, in combination with Elam, the whole extent of the Assyrian empire from south to north,The name Gurgistan (= Georgia) has nothing to do with the river Kur; and it is a suspicious fact that Kir has k at the commencement, and i in the middle, whereas the name of the river which joins the Araxes, and flows into the Caspian sea, is pronounced Kur, and is written in Persian with k (answering to the Armenian and old Persian, in which Kuru is equivalent to Κῦρος). Wetzstein considers Kir a portion of Mesopotamia. is attested by their “drawing out the shield” (‛ērâh mâgēn), which Caesar calls scutis tegimenta detrahere (bell. gall. ii. 21); for the Talmudic meaning applicare cannot be thought of for a moment (Buxtorf, lex. col. 1664). These nations that fought on foot were accompanied (Beth, as in 1Ki 10:2) by chariots filled with men (receb 'âdâm), i.e., war-chariots (as distinguished from ‛agâloth), and, as is added ἀσυνδέτως, by pârâshim, riders (i.e., horsemen trained to arms). The historical tense is introduced with ויהי in Isa 22:7, but in a purely future sense. It is only for the sake of the favourite arrangement of the words that the passage does not proceed with Vav relat. וּמלאוּ. “Thy valleys” (‛amâkaik) are the valleys by which Jerusalem was encircled on the east, the west, and the south, viz., the valley of Kidron on the east; the valley of Gihon on the west; the valley of Rephaim, stretching away from the road to Bethlehem, on the south-west (Isa 17:5); the valley of Hinnom, which joins the Tyropaeum, and then runs on into a south-eastern angle; and possibly also the valley of Jehoshaphat, which ran on the north-east of the city above the valley of Kidron. These valleys, more especially the finest of them towards the south, are now cut up by the wheels and hoofs of the enemies’ chariots and horses; and the enemies’ horsemen have already taken a firm position gatewards, ready to ride full speed against the gates at a given signal, and force their way into the city (shı̄th with a shoth to strengthen it, as in Psa 3:7; also sı̄m in 1Ki 20:12, compare 1Sa 15:2).

Isa 22:8-11

When Judah, after being for a long time intoxicated with hope, shall become aware of the extreme danger in which it is standing, it will adopt prudent measures, but without God. “Then he takes away the covering of Judah, and thou lookest in that day to the store of arms of the forest-house; and ye see the breaches of the city of David, that there are many of them; and ye collect together the waters of the lower pool. And ye number the houses of Jerusalem, and pull down the houses, to fortify the wall. And ye make a basin between the two walls for the waters of the old pool; and ye do not look to Him who made it, neither do ye have regard to Him who fashioned it long ago.” Mâsâk is the curtain or covering which made Judah blind to the threatening danger. Their looks are now directed first of all to the forest-house, built by Solomon upon Zion for the storing and display of valuable arms and utensils (nēshĕk, or rather, according to the Masora on Job 20:24, and the older editions, nĕshĕk), and so called because it rested upon four rows of cedar columns that ran all round (it was in the centre of the fore-court of the royal palace; see Thenius, das vorexil. Jerusalem, p. 13). They also noticed in the city of David, the southern and highest portion of the city of Jerusalem, the bad state of the walls, and began to think of repairing them. To this end they numbered the houses of the city, to obtain building materials for strengthening the walls and repairing the breaches, by pulling down such houses as were suitable for the purpose, and could be dispensed with (vattithtzu, from nâthatz, with the removal of the recompensative reduplication). The lower pool and the old pool, probably the upper, i.e., the lower and upper Gihon, were upon the western side of the city, the lower (Birket es-Sultan) to the west of Sion, the upper (Birket el-Mamilla) farther up to the west of Akra (Robinson, i. 483-486; V. Raumer, Pal. pp. 305-6). Kibbētz either means to collect in the pool by stopping up the outflow, or to gather together in the reservoirs and wells of the city by means of artificial canals. The latter, however, would most probably be expressed by אסף; so that the meaning that most naturally suggests itself is, that they concentrate the water, so as to be able before the siege to provide the city as rapidly as possible with a large supply. The word sâtham, which is used in the account of the actual measures adopted by Hezekiah when he was threatened with siege (2Ch 32:2-5), is a somewhat different one, and indicates the stopping up, not of the outflow but of the springs, and therefore of the influx. But in all essential points the measures adopted agree with those indicated here in the prophecy. The chronicler closes the account of Hezekiah’s reign by still further observing that “Hezekiah also stopped the outflow of the upper Gihon, and carried the water westwards underground to the city of David” (2Ch 32:30, explanatory of 2Ki 20:20). If the upper Gihon is the same as the upper pool, there was a conduit (teeâlâh), connected with the upper Gihon as early as the time of Ahaz, Isa 7:3. And Hezekiah’s peculiar work consisted in carrying the water of the upper pool “into the city of David.” The mikvâh between the two walls, which is here prospectively described by Isaiah, is connected with this water supply, which Hezekiah really carried out. There is still a pool of Hezekiah (also called Birket el-Batrak, pool of the patriarchs, the Amygdalon of Josephus) on the western side of the city, to the east of the Joppa gate. During the rainy season this pool is supplied by the small conduit which runs from the upper pool along the surface of the ground, and then under the wall against or near the Joppa gate. It also lies between two walls, viz., the wall to the north of Zion, and the one which runs to the north-east round the Akra (Robinson, i. 487-489). How it came to pass that Isaiah’s words concerning “a basin between the two walls” were so exactly carried out, as though they had furnished a hydraulic plan, we do not know. But we will offer a conjecture at the close of the exposition. It stands here as one of those prudent measures which would be resorted to in Jerusalem in the anticipation of the coming siege; but it would be thought of too late, and in self-reliant alienation from God, with no look directed to Him who had wrought and fashioned that very calamity which they were now seeking to avert by all these precautions, and by whom it had been projected long, long before the actual realization. עשׂיה might be a plural, according to Isa 54:5; but the parallel יצרהּ favours the singular (on the form itself, from עשׂי = עשׂה, see Isa 42:5, and at Isa 5:12; Isa 1:30). We have here, and at Isa 37:26, i.e., within the first part of the book of Isaiah, the same doctrine of “ideas” that forms so universal a key-note of the second part, the authenticity of which has been denied. That which is realized in time has existed long before as a spiritual pattern, i.e., as an idea in God. God shows this to His prophets; and so far as prophecy foretells the future, whenever the event predicted is fulfilled, the prophecy becomes a proof that the event is the work of God, and was long ago the predetermined counsel of God. The whole of the Scripture presupposes this pre-existence of the divine idea before the historical realization, and Isaiah in Israel (like Plato in the heathen world) was the assiduous interpreter of this supposition. Thus, in the case before us, the fate of Jerusalem is said to have been fashioned “long ago” in God. But Jerusalem might have averted its realization, for it was no decretum absolutum. If Jerusalem repented, the realization would be arrested.

Isa 22:12-14

And so far as it had proceeded already, it was a call from Jehovah to repentance. “The Lord, Jehovah of hosts, calls in that day to weeping, and to mourning, and to the pulling out of hair, and to girding with sackcloth; and behold joy and gladness, slaughtering of oxen and killing of sheep, eating of flesh and drinking of wine, eating and drinking, for 'tomorrow we die.' And Jehovah of hosts hath revealed in mine ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be expiated for you until ye die, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.” The first condition of repentance is a feeling of pain produced by the punishments of God. But upon Jerusalem they produce the opposite effect. The more threatening the future, the more insensibly and madly do they give themselves up to the rude, sensual enjoyment of the present. Shâthoth is interchanged with shâthō (which is only another form of שׁתה, as in Isa 6:9; Isa 30:19), to ring with shâchōt (compare Hos 10:4). There are other passages in which we meet with unusual forms introduced for the sake of the play upon the words (vid., Isa 4:6; Isa 8:6; Isa 16:9, and compare Eze 43:11, and the keri of 2Sa 3:25). The words of the rioters themselves, whose conduct is sketched by the inf. abs., which are all governed by hinnēh, are simply “for tomorrow we shall die.” This does not imply that they feel any pleasure in the thought of death, but indicates a love of life which scoffs at death. Then the unalterable will of the all-commanding God is audibly and distinctly revealed to the prophet. Such scoffing as this, which defies the chastisements of God, will not be expiated in any other way than by the death of the scoffer (cuppar, from câphar, tegere, means to be covered over, i.e., expiated). This is done in the case of sin either by the justice of God, as in the present instance, or by the mercy of God (Isa 6:7), or by both justice and mercy combined (as in Isa 27:9). In all three cases the expiation is demanded by the divine holiness, which requires a covering between itself and sin, by which sin becomes as though it were not. In this instance the expunging act consists in punishment. The sin of Jerusalem is expiated by the giving up of the sinners themselves to death. The verb temūthūn (ye shall die) is written absolutely, and therefore is all the more dreadful. The Targum renders it “till ye die the second (eternal) death” (mōthâh thinyânâh). So far as they prophecy threatened the destruction of Jerusalem by Assyria, it was never actually fulfilled; but the very opposite occurred. Asshur itself met with destruction in front of Jerusalem. But this was by no means opposed to the prophecy; and it was with this conviction that Isaiah, nevertheless, included the prophecy in the collection which he made at a time when the non-fulfilment was perfectly apparent. It stands here in a double capacity. In the first place, it is a memorial of the mercy of God, which withdraws, or at all events modifies, the threatened judgment as soon as repentance intervenes. The falling away from Assyria did take place; but on the part of Hezekiah and many others, who had taken to heart the prophet’s announcement, it did so simply as an affair that was surrendered into the hands of the God of Israel, through distrust of either their own strength or Egyptian assistance. Hezekiah carried out the measures of defence described by the prophet; but he did this for the good of Jerusalem, and with totally different feelings from those which the prophet had condemned. These measures of defence probably included the reservoir between the two walls, which the chronicler does not mention till the close of the history of his reign, inasmuch as he follows the thread of the book of Kings, to which his book stands, as it were, in the relation of a commentary, like the midrash, from which extracts are made. The king regulated his actions carefully by the prophecy, inasmuch as after the threats had produced repentance, Isa 22:8-11 still remained as good and wise counsels. In the second place, the oracle stands here as the proclamation of a judgment deferred but not repealed. Even if the danger of destruction which threatened Jerusalem on the part of Assyria had been mercifully caused to pass away, the threatening word of Jehovah had not fallen to the ground. The counsel of God contained in the word of prophecy still remained; and as it was the counsel of the Omniscient, the time would surely come when it would pass out of the sphere of ideality into that of actual fact. It remained hovering over Jerusalem like an eagle, and Jerusalem would eventually become its carrion. We have only to compare the temūthūn of this passage with the ἀποθανείσθε of Joh 8:21, to see when the eventual fulfilment took place. Thus the “massa of the valley of vision” became a memorial of mercy to Israel when it looked back to its past history: but when it looked into the future, it was still a mirror of wrath.

Isa 22:15-19 “Thus spake the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, Go, get thee to that steward there, to Shebna the house-mayor. What has thou here, and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewn thyself out a sepulchre here, hewing out his sepulchre high up, digging himself a dwelling in rocks? Behold, Jehovah hurleth thee, hurling with a man’s throw, and graspeth thee grasping. Coiling, He coileth thee a coil, a ball into a land far and wide; there shalt thou die, and thither the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of the house of thy lord! And I thrust thee from thy post, and from thy standing-place he pulleth thee down.” לך־בּ, go, take thyself in - not into the house, however, but into the present halting-place. It is possible, at the same time, that the expression may simply mean “take thyself away,” as in Gen 45:17 and Eze 3:4. The preposition אל is interchanged with על, which more commonly denotes the coming of a stronger man upon a weaker one (1Sa 12:12), and is here used to designate the overwhelming power of the prophet’s word. “That steward there:” this expression points contemptuously to the position of the minister of the court as one which, however high, was a subordinate one after all. We feel at once, as we read this introduction to the divine address, that insatiable ambition was one of the leading traits in Shebna’s character. What Isaiah is to say to Shebna follows somewhat abruptly. The words “and say to him,” which are added in the Septuagint, naturally suggest themselves. The question, What hast thou to do here, and whom hast thou to bury here? is put with a glance at Shebna’s approaching fate. This building of a sepulchre was quite unnecessary; Shebna himself would never lie there, nor would he be able to bury his relations there. The threefold repetition of the word “here” (poh) is of very incisive force: it is not here that he will stay - here, where he is even now placing himself on a bier, as if it were his home. The participles חצבי and חקקי (with chirek compaginis: see on Psa 113:1-9) are also part of the address. The third person which is introduced here is syntactically regular, although the second person is used as well (Isa 23:2-3; Hab 2:15). Rock-tombs, i.e., a collection of tombs in the form of chambers in the rocks, were indeed to be found to the east of Jerusalem, on the western slope of the Mount of Olives, and in the wall of rock to the west of Jerusalem; but the word mârom (“high up”), in connection with the threefold “here” (poh), and the contemptuous “that administrator there,” warrants us in assuming that mârom refers to “the height of the sepulchres of the sons of David” (2Ch 32:33), i.e., the eastern slope of Zion, where the tombs of the kings were excavated in the rocks.

So high did Shebna stand, and so great did he think himself, that he helped after his death to rest among kings, and by no means down at the bottom. But how he deceived himself! Jehovah would hurl him far away (tūl, to be long; pilpel, to throw or stretch out to a distance),In the later form of the language, this verbal stem signifies generally to move onward; hence tiyyūl, motion, or a walk, and metaltelı̄n, furniture, i.e., moveable goods. גּבר טלטלה. This is either equivalent to גּבר טלטלת טלטלה, with a man’s throw (Rosenmüller), or גּבר is in apposition to Jehovah (Gesenius and Knobel). As taltēlah stands too baldly if the latter be adopted, for which reason the vocative rendering “O man,” which is found in the Syriac, does not commend itself, and as such an elliptical combination of the absolute with the genitive is by no means unusual (e.g., Pro 22:21; Jer 10:10), we give the preference to the former. Jerome’s rendering, “as they carry off a cock,” which he obtained from the mouth of his Hebraeus, cannot be taken into consideration at all; although it has been retained by Schegg (see Geiger, Lesestücke aus der Mischna, p. 106). The verb עטה does not give a suitable sense as used in Jer 43:12, where it merely signifies to cover one’s self, not to wrap up; nor can we obtain one from 1Sa 15:19; 1Sa 25:14; 1Sa 14:32, since the verbal forms which we find there, and which are to be traced to עיט (from which comes עיט, a bird of prey), and not to עטה, signify “to rush upon anything” (when construed with either בּ or אל). It is better, therefore, to take it, as Michaelis, Rosenmüller, Knobel, and others do, in the sense of grasping or laying hold of. On the other hand, tzânaph, which is applied in other instances to the twisting of a turban, also signifies to wrap up, make up into a bundle, or coil up. And caddūr, like tzenēphâh, signifies that into which Shebna would be coiled up; for the Caph is not to be taken in a comparative sense, since the use of caddūr in the sense of globus or sphaera is established by the Talmud (see at Job 15:24), whereas the Arabic daur only means gyrus, periodus. Shebna is made into a round coil, or ball, which is hurled into a land stretching out on both sides, i.e., over the broad surface of Mesopotamia, where he flies on farther and farther, without meeting with any obstacle whatever.Compare the old saying, “The heart of man is an apple driven by a tempest over an open plain.”

He comes thither to die - he who, by his exaggeration and abuse of his position, has not only dishonoured his office, but the Davidic court as well; and thither do his state carriages also come. There can be no doubt that it was by the positive command of Jehovah that Isaiah apostrophized the proud and wealthy Shebna with such boldness and freedom as this. And such freedom was tolerated too. The murder or incarceration of a prophet was a thing of rare occurrence in the kingdom of Judah before the time of Manasseh. In order to pave the way for the institution of another in Shebna’s office, the punishment of deposition, which cannot be understood in any other way than as preceding the punishment of banishment, is placed at the close of the first half of the prophecy. The subject in Isa 22:19 is not the king, as Luzzatto supposes, but Jehovah, as in Isa 22:19 (compare Isa 10:12).

Isa 22:20-24

Jehovah first of all gives him the blow which makes him tremble in his post, and then pulls him completely down from this his lofty station,וּממּעמדך has not only the metheg required by the kametz on account of the long vowel, and the metheg required by the patach on account of the following chateph patach (the latter of which also takes the place of the metheg, as the sign of a subordinate tone), but also a third metheg with the chirek, which only assists the emphatic pronunciation of the preposition, out which would not stand there at all unless the word had had a disjunctive accent (compare Isa 55:9; Psa 18:45; Hos 11:6). in order that another worthier man may take his place. “And it will come to pass in that day, that I call to my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and invest him with thy coat, and I throw thy sash firmly round him, and place they government in his hand; and he will become a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I place the key of David upon his shoulder: and when he opens, no man shuts; and when he shuts, no man opens. And I fasten him as a plug in a fast place, and he becomes the seat of honour to his father’s house. And the whole mass of his father’s house hangs upon him, the offshoots and side-shoots, every small vessel, from the vessel of the basins even to every vessel of the pitchers.” Eliakim is called the “servant of Jehovah,” as one who was already a servant of God in his heart and conduct; the official service is added for the first time here. This title of honour generally embraces both kinds of service (Isa 20:3). It is quite in accordance with oriental custom, that this transfer of the office is effected by means of investiture (compare 1Ki 19:19): chizzēk, with a double accusative, viz., that of the person and that of the official girdle, is used here according to its radical signification, in the sense of girding tightly or girding round, putting the girdle round him so as to cause the whole dress to sit firmly, without hanging loose. The word memshaltekâ (thy government) shows how very closely the office forfeited by Shebna was connected with that of the king. This is also proved by the word “father,” which is applied in other cases to the king as the father of the land (Isa 9:5). The “key” signifies the power of the keys; and for this reason it is not given into Eliakim’s hand, but placed upon his shoulder (Isa 9:5). This key was properly handled by the king (Rev 3:7), and therefore by the “house-mayor” only in his stead. The power of the keys consisted not only in the supervision of the royal chambers, but also in the decision who was and who was not to be received into the king’s service. There is a resemblance, therefore, to the giving of the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter under the New Testament. But there the “binding” and “loosing” introduce another figure, though one similar in sense; whereas here, in the “opening” and “shutting,” the figure of the key is retained. The comparison of the institution of Eliakim in his office to the fastening of a tent-peg was all the more natural, that yâthēd was also used as a general designation for national rulers (Zec 10:4), who stand in the same relation to the commonwealth as a tent-peg to the tent which it holds firmly and keeps upright. As the tent-peg is rammed into the ground, so that a person could easily sit upon it, the figure is changed, and the tent-peg becomes a seat of honour. As a splendid chair is an ornament to a room, so Eliakim would be an honour to his hitherto undistinguished family. The thought that naturally suggests itself - namely, that the members of the family would sit upon this chair, for the purpose of raising themselves to honour - is expressed by a different figure. Eliakim is once more depicted as a yâthed, but it is as a still higher one this time - namely, as the rod of a wardrobe, or a peg driven high up into the wall. Upon this rod or peg they hang (thâlu, i.e., one hangs, or there hangs) all the câbōd of the house of Eliakim, i.e., not every one who wished to be honoured and attained to honour in this way (cf., Isa 5:13), but the whole weight of his family (as in Isa 8:7). This family is then subdivided into its separate parts, and, as we may infer from the juxtaposition of the masculine and feminine nouns, according to its male and female constituents. In צאצאים (offshoots) and צפעות (“side-shoots,” from צפע, to push out; compare צפיע, dung, with צאה, mire) there is contained the idea of a widely ramifying and undistinguished family connection. The numerous rabble consisted of nothing but vessels of a small kind (hakkâtân), at the best of basons (aggânoth) like those used by the priests for the blood (Exo 24:6), or in the house for mixing wine (Sol 7:3; Aram. aggono, Ar. iggâne, ingân, a washing bason), but chiefly of nebâlim, i.e., leather bottles or earthenware pitchers (Isa 30:14). The whole of this large but hitherto ignoble family of relations would fasten upon Eliakim, and climb through him to honour. Thus all at once the prophecy, which seemed so full of promise of Eliakim, assumes a satirical tone. We get an impression of the favouring of nephews and cousins, and cannot help asking how this could be a suitable prophecy for Shebna to hear.

Isa 22:25

We will refer to this again. But in the meantime the impression is an irresistible one; and the Targum, Jerome, Hitzig, and others, are therefore right in assuming that Eliakim is the peg which, however glorious its beginning may have been, comes at last to the shameful end described in Isa 22:25 : “In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, will the peg that is fastened in a sure place be removed, and be cast down, and fall; and the burden that it bore falls to the ground: for Jehovah hath spoken.” The prophet could not express in clearer terms the identity of the peg threatened here with Eliakim himself; for how is it conceivable that the prophet could turn all that he has predicated of Eliakim in Isa 22:23, Isa 22:24, into predicates of Shebna? What Umbreit says - namely, that common sense must refer Isa 22:25 to Shebna - is the very reverse of correct. Eliakim himself is also brought down at last by the greatness of his power, on account of the nepotism to which he has given way. His family makes a wrong use of him; and he is more yielding than he ought to be, and makes a wrong use of his office to favour them! He therefore falls, and brings down with him all that hung upon the peg, i.e., all his relations, who have brought him to ruin through the rapacity with which they have grasped at prosperity.

Hitzig maintains that Isa 22:24, Isa 22:25 form a later addition. But it is much better to assume that the prophet wrote down Isa 22:15-25 at one sitting, after the predicted fate of the two great ministers of state, which had been revealed to him at two different times, had been actually fulfilled. We know nothing more about them than this, that in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah it was not Shebna, but Eliakim, “who was over the house” (Isa 36:3, Isa 36:22; Isa 37:2). But Shebna also filled another office of importance, namely that of sōpher. Was he really taken prisoner and carried away (a thing which is perfectly conceivable even without an Assyrian captivity of the nation generally)? Or did he anticipate the threatened judgment, and avert it by a penitential self-abasement? To this and other questions we can give no reply. One thing alone is certain - namely, that the threefold prediction of Shebna’s fall, of Eliakim’s elevation, and of Eliakim’s fall, would not stand where it does, if there were any reason whatever to be ashamed of comparing the prophecy with its fulfilment. The Oracle Concerning Tyre - Isaiah 23

The second leading type of the pride of heathen power closes the series of prophecies against the nations, as Stier correctly observes, just as Babylon opened it. Babylon was the city of the imperial power of the world; Tyre, the city of the commerce of the world. The former was the centre of the greatest land power; the latter of the greatest maritime power. The former subjugated the nations with an iron arm, and ensured its rule by means of deportation; the latter obtained possession of the treasures of the nations in as peaceable a manner as possible, and secured its advantages by colonies and factories. The Phoenician cities formed at first six or eight independent states, the government of which was in the hands of kings. Of these, Sidon was much older than Tyre. The thorah and Homer mention only the former. Tyre did not rise into notoriety till after the time of David. But in the Assyrian era Tyre had gained a kind of supremacy over the rest of the Phoenician states. It stood by the sea, five miles from Sidon; but when hard pressed by enemies it had transferred the true seat of its trade and wealth to a small island, which was three-quarters of a mile farther to the north, and only twelve hundred paces from the mainland. The strait which separated this insular Tyre (Tyrus) from ancient Tyre (Palaetyrus) was mostly shallow, and its navigable waters near the island had only a draught of about eighteen feet, so that on one or two occasions a siege of singular Tyre was effected by throwing up an embankment of earth - namely, once by Alexander (the embankment still in existence), and once possible by Nebuchadnezzar, for Tyre was engaged in conflict with the Chaldean empire as well as the Assyrian. Now which of these two conflicts was it that the prophet had in his mind? Eichhorn, Rosenmüller Hitzig, and Movers say the Chaldean, and seek in this way to establish the spuriousness of the passage; whereas Gesenius, Maurer, Umbreit, and Knobel say the Assyrian, thinking that this is the only way of sustaining its genuineness. Ewald and Meier say the same; but they pronounce Isa 23:15-18 an interpolation belonging to the Persian era. De Wette wavers between the genuineness and spuriousness of the whole. In our opinion, however, as in that of Vitringa and those who tread in his footsteps, the question whether the imperial power by which Tyre was threatened was the Assyrian or the Chaldean, is a purely exegetical question, not a critical one.

The Consternation of Jerusalem. (b. c. 718.)

1 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? 2 Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. 3 All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. 4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. 5 For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains. 6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield. 7 And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

The title of this prophecy is very observable. It is the burden of the valley of vision, of Judah and Jerusalem; so all agree. Fitly enough is Jerusalem called a valley, for the mountains were round about it, and the land of Judah abounded with fruitful valleys; and by the judgments of God, though they had been as a towering mountain, they should be brought low, sunk and depressed, and become dark and dirty, as a valley. But most emphatically is it called a valley of vision because there God was known and his name was great, there the prophets were made acquainted with his mind by visions, and there the people saw the goings of their God and King in his sanctuary. Babylon, being a stranger to God, though rich and great, was called the desert of the sea; but Jerusalem, being entrusted with his oracles, is a valley of vision. Blessed are their eyes, for they see, and they have seers by office among them. Where Bibles and ministers are there is a valley of vision, from which is expected fruit accordingly; but here is a burden of the valley of vision, and a heavy burden it is. Note, Church privileges, if they be not improved, will not secure men from the judgments of God. You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore will I punish you. The valley of vision has a particular burden. Thou Capernaum, Matt. xi. 23. The higher any are lifted up in means and mercies the heavier will their doom be if they abuse them.

Now the burden of the valley of vision here is that which will not quite ruin it, but only frighten it; for it refers not to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, but to the attempt made upon it by Sennacherib, which we had the prophecy of, ch. x., and shall meet with the history of, ch. xxxvi.. It is here again prophesied of, because the desolations of many of the neighbouring countries, which were foretold in the foregoing chapters, were to be brought to pass by the Assyrian army. Now let Jerusalem know that when the cup is going round it will be put into her hand; and, although it will not be to her a fatal cup, yet it will be a cup of trembling. Here is foretold,

I. The consternation that the city should be in upon the approach of Sennacherib's army. It used to be full of stirs, a city of great trade, people hurrying to and fro about their business, a tumultuous city, populous and noisy. Where there is great trade there is great tumult. It used to be a joyous revelling city. What with the busy part and what with the merry part of mankind, places of concourse are places of noise. "But what ails thee now, that the shops are quitted, and there is no more walking in the streets and exchange, but thou hast wholly gone up to the house-tops (v. 1), to bemoan thyself in silence and solitude, or to secure thyself from the enemy, or to look abroad and see if any succours come to thy relief, or which way the enemies' motions are." Let both men of business and sportsmen rejoice as though they rejoiced not, for something may happen quickly, which they little think of, that will be a damp to their mirth and a stop to their business, and send them to watch as a sparrow alone upon the house-top, Ps. cii. 7. But why is Jerusalem in such a fright? Her slain men are not slain with the sword (v. 2), but, 1. Slain with famine (so some); for Sennacherib's army having laid the country waste, and destroyed the fruits of the earth, provisions must needs be very scarce and dear in the city, which would be the death of many of the poorer sort of people, who would be constrained to feed on that which was unwholesome. 2. Slain with fear. They were put into this fright though they had not a man killed, but so disheartened themselves that they seemed as effectually stabbed with fear as if they had been run through with a sword.

II. The inglorious flight of the rulers of Judah, who fled from far, from all parts of the country, to Jerusalem (v. 3), fled together, as it were by consent, and were found in Jerusalem, having left their respective cities, which they should have taken care of, to be a prey to the Assyrian army, which, meeting with no opposition, when it came up against all the defenced cities of Judah easily took them, ch. xxxvi. 1. These rulers were bound from the bow (so the word is); they not only quitted their own cities like cowards, but, when they came to Jerusalem, were of no service there, but were as if their hands were tied from the use of the bow, by the extreme distraction and confusion they were in; they trembled, so that they could not draw a bow. See how easily God can dispirit men, and how certainly fear will dispirit them, when the tyranny of it is yielded to.

III. The great grief which this should occasion to all serious sensible people among them, which is represented by the prophet's laying the thing to heart himself; he lived to see it, and was resolved to share with the children of his people in their sorrows, v. 4, 5. He is not willing to proclaim his sorrow, and therefore bids those about him to look away from him; he will abandon himself to grief, and indulge himself in it, will weep secretly, but weep bitterly, and will have none go about to comfort him, for his grief is obstinate and he is pleased with his pain. But what is the occasion of his grief? A poor prophet had little to lose, and had been inured to hardship, when he walked naked and barefoot; but it is for the spoiling of the daughter of his people. It is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity. Our enemies trouble us and tread us down, and our friends are perplexed and know not what course to take to do us a kindness. The Lord God of hosts is now contending with the valley of vision; the enemies with their battering rams are breaking down the walls, and we are in vain crying to the mountains (to keep off the enemy, or to fall on us and cover us) or looking for help to come to us over the mountains, or appealing, as God does, to the mountains, to hear our controversy (Mic. vi. 1) and to judge between us and our injurious neighbours.

IV. The great numbers and strength of the enemy, that should invade their country and besiege their city, v. 6, 7. Elam (that is, the Persians) come with their quiver full of arrows, and with chariots of fighting men, and horsemen. Kir (that is, the Medes) muster up their arms, unsheath the sword, and uncover the shield, and get every thing ready for battle, every thing ready for the besieging of Jerusalem. Then the choice valleys about Jerusalem, that used to be clothed with flocks and covered over with corn, shall be full of chariots of war, and at the gate of the city the horsemen shall set themselves in array, to cut off all provisions from going in, and to force their way in. What a condition must the city be in that was beset on all sides with such an army!

Contempt of Divine Goodness; Contempt of Divine Judgments. (b. c. 718.)

8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. 11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: 13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die. 14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.

What is meant by the covering of Judah, which in the beginning of this paragraph is said to be discovered, is not agreed. The fenced cities of Judah were a covering to the country; but these, being taken by the army of the Assyrians, ceased to be a shelter, so that the whole country lay exposed to be plundered. The weakness of Judah, its nakedness, and inability to keep itself, now appeared more than ever; and thus the covering of Judah was discovered. Its magazines and stores, which had been locked up, were now laid open for the public use. Dr. Lightfoot gives another sense of it, that by this distress into which Judah should be brought God would discover their covering (that is, uncloak their hypocrisy), would show all that was in their heart, as is said of Hezekiah upon another occasion, 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. Thus, by one means or other, the iniquity of Ephraim will be discovered and the sin of Samaria, Hos. vii. 1.

They were now in a great fright, and in this fright they manifested two things much amiss:—

I. A great contempt of God's goodness, and his power to help them. They made use of all the means they could think of for their own preservation; and it is not for doing this that they are blamed, but, in doing this, they did not acknowledge God. Observe,

1. How careful they were to improve all advantages that might contribute to their safety. When Sennacherib had made himself master of all the defenced cities of Judah, and Jerusalem was left as a cottage in a vineyard, they thought it was time to look about them. A council was immediately called, a council of war; and it was resolved to stand upon their defence, and not tamely to surrender. Pursuant to this resolve, they took all the prudent measures they could for their own security. We tempt God if, in times of danger, we do not the best we can for ourselves. (1.) They inspected the magazines and stores, to see if they were well stocked with arms and ammunition: They looked to the armour of the house of the forest, which Solomon built in Jerusalem for an armoury (1 Kings x. 17), and thence they delivered out what they had occasion for. It is the wisdom of princes, in time of peace, to provide for war, that they may not have arms to seek when they should use them, and perhaps upon a sudden emergency. (2.) They viewed the fortifications, the breaches of the city of David; they walked round the walls, and observed where they had gone to decay for want of seasonable repairs, or were broken by some former attempts made upon them. These breaches were many; the more shame for the house of David that they suffered the city of David to lie neglected. They had probably often seen those breaches; but now they saw them to consider what course to take about them. This good we should get by public distresses, we should be awakened by them to repair our breaches, and amend what is amiss. (3.) They made sure of water for the city, and did what they could to deprive the besiegers of it: You gathered together the water of the lower pool, of which there was probably no great store, and of which therefore they were the more concerned to be good husbands. See what a mercy it is that, as nothing is more necessary to the support of human life than water, so nothing is more cheap and common; but it is bad indeed when that, as here, is a scarce commodity. (4.) They numbered the houses of Jerusalem, that every house might send in its quota of men for the public service, or contribute in money to it, which they raised by a poll, so much a head or so much a house. (5.) Because private property ought to give way to the public safety, those houses that stood in their way, when the wall was to be fortified, were broken down, which, in such a case of necessity, is no more an injury to the owner than blowing up houses in case of fire. (6.) They made a ditch between the outer and inner wall, for the greater security of the city; and they contrived to draw the water of the old pool to it, that they might have plenty of water themselves and might deprive the besiegers of it; for it seems that was the project, lest the Assyrian army should come and find much water (2 Chron. xxxii. 4) and so should be the better able to prolong the siege. If it be lawful to destroy the forage of a country, much more to divert the streams of its waters, for the straitening and starving of an enemy.

2. How regardless they were of God in all these preparations: But you have not looked unto the Maker thereof (that is, of Jerusalem, the city you are so solicitous for the defence of) and of all the advantages which nature has furnished it with for its defence—the mountains round about it (Ps. cxxv. 2), and the rivers, which were such as the inhabitants might turn which way soever they pleased for their convenience. Note, (1.) It is God that made his Jerusalem, and fashioned it long ago, in his counsels. The Jewish writers, upon this place, say, There were seven things which God made before the world (meaning which he had in his eye when he made the world): the garden of Eden, the law, the just ones, Israel, the throne of glory, Jerusalem, and Messiah the Prince. The gospel church has God for its Maker. (2.) Whatever service we do, or endeavour to do, at any time to God's Jerusalem, must be done with an eye to him as the Maker of it; and he takes it ill if it be done otherwise. It is here charged upon them that they did not look to God. [1.] They did not design his glory in what they did. They fortified Jerusalem because it was a rich city and their own houses were in it, not because it was the holy city and God's house was in it. In all our cares for the defence of the church we must look more at God's interest in it than at our own. [2.] They did not depend upon him for a blessing upon their endeavours, saw no need of it, and therefore sought not to him for it, but thought their own powers and policies sufficient for them. Of Hezekiah himself it is said that he trusted in God (2 Kings xviii. 5), and particularly upon this occasion (2 Chron. xxxii. 8); but there were those about him, it seems, who were great statesmen and soldiers, but had little religion in them. [3.] They did not give him thanks for the advantages they had, in fortifying their city, from the waters of the old pool, which were fashioned long ago, as Kishon is called an ancient river, Judg. v. 21. Whatever in nature is at any time serviceable to us, we must therein acknowledge the goodness of the God of nature, who, when he fashioned it long ago, fitted it to be so, and according to whose ordinance it continues to this day. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; and therefore, whatever use it is of to us, we must look at him that fashioned it, bless him for it, and use it for him.

II. A great contempt of God's wrath and justice in contending with them, v. 12-14. Here observe,

1. What was God's design in bringing this calamity upon them: it was to humble them, bring them to repentance, and make them serious. In that day of trouble, and treading down, and perplexity, the Lord did thereby call to weeping and mourning, and all the expressions of sorrow, even to baldness and girding with sackcloth; and all this to lament their sins (by which they had brought those judgments upon their land), to enforce their prayers (by which they might hope to avert the judgments that were breaking in), and to dispose themselves to a reformation of their lives by a holy seriousness and a tenderness of heart under the word of God. To this God called them by his prophet's explaining his providences, and by his providences awakening them to regard what his prophets said. Note, When God threatens us with his judgments he expects and requires that we humble ourselves under his mighty hand, that we tremble when the lion roars, and in a day of adversity consider.

2. How contrary they walked to this design of God (v. 13): Behold, joy and gladness, mirth and feasting, all the gaiety and all the jollity imaginable. They were as secure and cheerful as they used to be, as if they had had no enemy in their borders or were in no danger of falling into his hands. When they had taken the necessary precautions for their security, then they set all deaths and dangers at defiance, and resolved to be merry, let come on them what would. Those that should have been among the mourners were among the wine-bibbers, the riotous eaters of flesh; and observe what they said, Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die. This may refer either to the particular danger they were now in, and the fair warning which the prophet gave them of it, or to the general shortness and uncertainty of human life, and the nearness of death at all times. This was the language of the profane scoffers who mocked the messengers of the Lord and misused his prophets. (1.) They made a jest of dying. "The prophet tells us we must die shortly, perhaps to-morrow, and therefore we should mourn and repent to-day; no, rather let us eat and drink, that we may be fattened for the slaughter, and may be in good heart to meet our doom; if we must have a short life, let it be a merry one." (2.) They ridiculed the doctrine of a future state on the other side death; for, if there were no such state, the apostle grants there would be something of reason in what they said, 1 Cor. xv. 32. If, when we die, there were an end of us, it were good to make ourselves as easy and merry as we could while we live; but, if for all these things God shall bring us into judgment, it is at our peril if we walk in the way of our heart and the sight of our eyes, Eccl. xi. 9. Note, A practical disbelief of another life after this is at the bottom of the carnal security and brutish sensuality which are the sin, and shame, and ruin of so great a part of mankind, as of the old world, who were eating and drinking till the flood came.

3. How much God was displeased at it. He signified his resentment of it to the prophet, revealed it in his ears, to be by him proclaimed upon the house-top: Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till you die, v. 14. It shall never be expiated with sacrifice and offering, any more than the iniquity of the house of Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 14. It is a sin against the remedy, a baffling of the utmost means of conviction and rendering them ineffectual; and therefore it is not likely they should ever repent of it or have it pardoned. The Chaldee reads it, It shall not be forgiven you till you die the second death. Those that walk contrary to them; with the froward he will show himself froward.

The Downfall of Shebna; The Advancement of Eliakim. (b. c. 714.)

15 Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say, 16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth a habitation for himself in a rock? 17 Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee. 18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house. 19 And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. 20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. 24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. 25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it.

We have here a prophecy concerning the displacing of Shebna, a great officer at court, and the preferring of Eliakim to the post of honour and trust that he was in. Such changes are common in the courts of princes; it is therefore strange that so much notice should be taken of it by the prophet here; but by the accomplishment of what was foretold concerning these particular persons God designed to confirm his word in the mouth of Isaiah concerning other and greater events; and it is likewise to show that, as God has burdens in store for those nations and kingdoms abroad that are open enemies to his church and people, so he has for those particular persons at home that are false friends to them and betray them. It is likewise a confirmation in general of the hand of divine Providence in all events of this kind, which to us seem contingent and to depend upon the wills and fancies of princes. Promotion comes not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south; but God is the Judge, Ps. xxv. 6, 7. It is probable that this prophecy was delivered at the same time with that in the former part of the chapter, and began to be fulfilled before Sennacherib's invasion; for now Shebna was over the house, but then Eliakim was (ch. xxxvi. 3); and Shebna, coming down gradually, was only scribe. Here is,

I. The prophecy of Shebna's disgrace. He is called this treasurer, being entrusted with the management of the revenue; and he is likewise said to be over the house, for such was his boundless ambition and covetousness that less than two places, and those two of the greatest importance at court, would not satisfy him. It is common for self-seeking men thus to grasp at more than they can manage, and so the business of their places is neglected, while the pomp and profit of them wholly engage the mind. It does not appear what were the particular instances of Shebna's mal-administration, for which Isaiah is here sent to prophesy against him; but the Jews say, "He kept up a traitorous correspondence with the king of Assyria, and was in treaty with him to deliver the city into his hands." However this was, it should seem that he was a foreigner (for we never read of the name of his father) and that he was an enemy to the true interests of Judah and Jerusalem: it is probable that he was first preferred by Ahaz. Hezekiah was himself an excellent prince; but the best masters cannot always be sure of good servants. We have need to pray for princes, that they may be wise and happy in the choice of those they trust. These were times of reformation, yet Shebna, a bad man, complied so far as to keep his places at court; and it is probable that many others did like him, for which reason Sennacherib is said to have been sent against a hypocritical nation, ch. x. 6. In this message to Shebna we have,

1. A reproof of his pride, vanity, and security (v. 16): "What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here? What a mighty noise and bustle dost thou make! What estate has thou here, that thou was born to? Whom hast thou here, what relations, that thou art allied to? Art thou not of mean and obscure original, filius populi—a mere plebeian, that comest we know not whence? What is the meaning of this then, that thou hast built thyself a fine house, hast graved thyself a habitation?" So very nice and curious was it that it seemed rather to be the work of an engraver than of a mason or carpenter; and it seemed engraven in a rock, so firmly was it founded and so impregnable was it. "Nay, thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre," as if he designed that his pomp should survive his funeral. Though Jerusalem was not the place of his father's sepulchres (as Nehemiah called it with a great deal of tenderness, Neh. ii. 3), he designed it should be the place of his own, and therefore set up a monument for himself in his life-time, set it up on high. Those that make stately monuments for their pride forget that, how beautiful soever they appear outwardly, within they are full of dead men's bones. But it is a pity that the grave-stone should forget the grave.

2. A prophecy of his fall and the sullying of his glory. (1.) That he should not quickly be displaced and degraded (v. 19): I will drive thee from thy station. High places are slippery places; and those are justly deprived of their honour that are proud of it and puffed up with it, and deprived of their power that do hurt with it. God will do it, who shows himself to be God by looking upon proud men and abasing them, v. 25 refers. "The nail that is now fastened in the sure place (that is, Shebna, who thinks himself immovably fixed in his office) shall be removed, and cut down, and fall." Those are mistaken who think any place in this world a sure place, or themselves as nails fastened in it; for there is nothing here but uncertainty. When the nail falls the burden that was upon it is cut off; when Shebna was disgraced all that had a dependence upon him fell into contempt too. Those that are in high places will have many hanging upon them as favourites whom they are proud of and trust to; but they are burdens upon them, and perhaps with their weight break the nail, and both fall together, and by deceiving ruin one another—the common fate of great men and their flatterers, who expect more from each other than either performs. (2.) That after a while he should not only be driven from his station, but driven from his country: The Lord will carry thee away with the captivity of a mighty man, v. 17, 18. Some think the Assyrians seized him, and took him away, because he had promised to assist them and did not, but appeared against them: or perhaps Hezekiah, finding out his treachery, banished him, and forbade him ever to return; or he himself, finding that he had become obnoxious to the people, withdrew into some other country, and there spent the rest of his days in meanness and obscurity. Grotius thinks he was stricken with a leprosy, which was a disease commonly supposed to come from the immediate hand of God's displeasure, particularly for the punishment of the proud, as in the case of Miriam and Uzziah; and by reason of this disease he was tossed like a ball out of Jerusalem. Those who, when they are in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves when their day shall come to fall. Many who have thought themselves fastened like a nail may come to be tossed like a ball; for here have we no continuing city. Shebna thought his place too strait for him, he had no room to thrive; God will therefore send him into a large country, where he shall have room to wander, but never find the way back again; for there he shall die, and lay his bones there, and not in the sepulchre he had hewn out for himself. And there the chariots which had been the chariots of his glory, in which he had rattled about the streets of Jerusalem, and which he took into banishment with him, should but serve to upbraid him with his former grandeur, to the shame of his lord's house, of the court of Ahaz, who had advanced him.

II. The prophecy of Eliakim's advancement, v. 20, &c. He is God's servant, has approved himself faithfully so in other employments, and therefore God will call him to this high station. Those that are diligent in doing the duty of a low sphere stand fairest for preferment in God's books. Eliakim does not undermine Shebna, nor make an interest against him, nor does he intrude into his office; but God calls him to it: and what God calls us to we may expect he will own us in. It is here foretold, 1. That Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place of lord-chamberlain of the household, lord-treasurer, and prime-minister of state. The prophet must tell Shebna this, v. 21. "He shall have thy robe, the badge of honour, and thy girdle, the badge of power; for he shall have thy government." To hear of it would be a great mortification to Shebna, much more to see it. Great men, especially if proud men, cannot endure their successors. God undertakes the doing of it, not only because he would put it into the heart of Hezekiah to do it, and his hand must be acknowledged guiding the hearts of princes in placing and displacing men (Prov. xxi. 1), but because the powers that are, subordinate as well as supreme, are ordained of God. It is God that clothes princes with their robes, and therefore we must submit ourselves to them for the Lord's sake and with an eye to him, 1 Pet. ii. 13. And, since it is he that commits the government into their hand, they must administer it according to his will, for his glory; they must judge for him by whom they judge and decree justice, Prov. viii. 15. And they may depend upon him to furnish them for what he calls them to, according to this promise: I will clothe him; and then it follows, I will strengthen him. Those that are called to places of trust and power should seek unto God for grace to enable them to do the duty of their places; for that ought to be their chief care. Eliakim's advancement is further described by the laying of the key of the house of David upon his shoulders, v. 22. Probably he carried a golden key upon his shoulder as a badge of his office, or had one embroidered upon his cloak or robe, to which this alludes. Being over the house, and having the key delivered to him, as the seals are to the lord-keeper, he shall open and none shall shut, shut and none shall open. He had access to the house of the precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices; and to the house of the armour and the treasures (ch. xxxix. 2), and disposed of the stores there as he thought fit for the public service. He put whom he pleased into the inferior offices and turned out whom he pleased. Our Lord Jesus describes his own power as Mediator by an allusion to this (Rev. iii. 7), that he has the key of David, wherewith he opens and no man shuts, he shuts and no man opens. His power in the kingdom of heaven, and in the ordering of all the affairs of that kingdom, is absolute, irresistible, and uncontrollable. 2. That he should be fixed and confirmed in that office. He shall have it for life, and not durante bene placito—during pleasure (v. 23): I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place, not to be removed or cut down. Thus lasting shall the honour be that comes from God to all those who use it for him. Our Lord Jesus is as a nail in a sure place: his kingdom cannot be shaken, and he himself is still the same. 3. That he should be a great blessing in his office; and it is this that crowns the favours here conferred upon him. God makes his name great, for he shall be a blessing, Gen. xii. 2. (1.) He shall be a blessing to his country (v. 21): He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. he shall take care not only of the affairs of the king's household, but of all the public interests in Jerusalem and Judah. Note, Rulers should be fathers to those that are under their government, to teach them with wisdom, rule them with love, and correct what is amiss with tenderness, to protect them and provide for them, and be solicitous about them as a man is for his own children and family. It is happy with a people when the court, the city, and the country, have no separate interests, but all centre in the same, so that the courtiers are true patriots, and whom the court blesses the country has reason to bless too; and when those who are fathers to Jerusalem, the royal city, are no less so to the house of Judah. (2.) He shall be a blessing to his family (v. 23, 24): He shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. The consummate wisdom and virtue which recommended him to this great trust made him the honour of his family, which probably was very considerable before, but now became much more so. Children should aim to be a credit to their parents and relations. The honour men reflect upon their families by their piety and usefulness is more to be valued than that which they derive from their families by their names and titles. Eliakim being preferred, all the glory of his father's house was hung upon him; they all made their court to him, and his brethren's sheaves bowed to his. Observe, The glory of this world gives a man no intrinsic worth or excellency; it is but hung upon him as an appurtenance, and it will soon drop from him. Eliakim was compared to a nail in a sure place, in pursuance of which comparison all the relations of his family (which, it is likely, were numerous, and that was the glory of it) are said to have a dependence upon him, as in a house the vessels that have handles to them are hung up upon nails and pins. It intimates likewise that he shall generously take care of them all, and bear the weight of that care: All the vessels, not only the flagons, but the cups, the vessels of small quantity, the meanest that belong to his family, shall be provided for by him. See what a burden those bring upon themselves that undertake great trusts; they little think how many and how much will hand upon them if they resolve to be faithful in the discharge of their trust. Our Lord Jesus, having the key of the house of David, is as a nail in a sure place, and all the glory of his father's house hangs upon him, is derived from him, and depends upon him; even the meanest that belong to his church are welcome to him, and he is able to bear the stress of them all. That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to the ground, though ever so weighty, that is by faith hung upon Christ.

CHAP. XXII.

Ver. 1. THe burden] See chap. 13.1.

Of the Valley of Viſion] i. e. Of Zion or Jeruſalem (as the Septuagint expreſs it) which is called firſt a Valley (though ſet upon a knole) becauſe invironed with Mountains, Pſalm 125.2. ſecondly, becauſe ſhortly to be laid low and level'd with the ground; ita ut vallis aut vorago dici poſſet.

Of Viſion] So Jeruſalem is called, Firſt, Becauſe there [illegible: 1 word] Gods viſible or aſpectable preſence. Secondly, Becauſe it was a Seminary of Seers (as Hierom elegantly termeth it) not without ſome alluſion, as tis thought, to Mount Moriah (whereon ſtood the Temple) which ſignifieth Viſion, q. d. O Zion, thou waſt Moriah, but now thou art Marah: thou waſt the Mountain of Viſion; but now thou art a Valley of tears and of darkneſs: thou waſt the Temple of God, but now thou art a den of thieves.

What ayleth thee now that thou art wholly gone up to the houſe-tops?] Luctus & ſalutis cauſa, ſaith Scultetus, there to lament thy diſtreſs, or elſe for ſafeguard in this deſtraction: Shouldeſt thou not rather go out to fight, then go up thus wholly and fully to the tops of thy Terriſies?

Ver. 2. Thou that art full of ſtirres] Clamoribus fragoſis: Screptra. how ſoon haſt thou changed thy chear and thy Note? thy joyful acclamations into doleful exclamations?

Thy ſlain men are not ſlain with the ſword] ſed mortui ex anxietate, but are fore-ſlain with fear, or as others, by the viſible vengeance of God, as Titus acknowledged at the laſt ſack of that City, and as the Poet ſang of Troy, Joſeph. lib. 7. cap. 16. Non tibi Tindaridis facies inviſa Lacaenae,Virgil. Culpatuſve Paris; verum inclementia divum Has evertit opes.—

Ver. 3. All thy Rulers are fled together] As not knowing what to do,Vagantur. or whether to turn themſelves.

All that are found in thee, are bound together] Either in fetters, Jer. 52.11. or with fear, Pſalm 76.5.

Which have fled from far] Or, they flye far away, even as faſt and as far as they can out of danger.

Ver. 4. Therefore ſaid I, look away from me] Ʋt luctui & lamentis me totum dedam, that unſeen I may ſoak my ſelf in the ſalt-tears of ſorrow for Sion.

Ver. 5. For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down] Great is the wo of War: no words how wide ſoever, can ſet forth to the full, the diſtreſs and deſtruction thereof.

And of perplexity] Mebuſah ſamebucah, ſo the original elegantly, as in the laſt words of the verſe, rythmically.

Breaking down the walls] According to chap. 5.5.

Ver. 6. And Elam] i. e. The Perſians (great archers, as Corabo teſtifieth,Dominus exparietavit. Vatab. lib. 16.) as Kir ſtandeth here for the Medians, 2 King. 16.9. good at Sword and Buckler: called alſo Syromedians.

Ʋncovered the ſhield] Kept covered till then for fear of ruſting. Theſe were deſperate fellows, bloodily bent, skilful to deſtroy.

Ver. 7. Thy choyceſt Valleys ſhall be full of Chariots] Iron Chariots armed with Sythes: theſe were, ſaith Vegetius, firſt a terrour, and then a ſcorn.

In array at the gate] ſc. To force entrance into the City, as Judg. 9.44, 52.

Ver. 8. And he diſcovered the covering of Judah] That is,Zeged. Diodat. Oecolamp. he that is the enemy took the City: hoc enim ſignificat nudari operimentum, i. e. protectionem Judae; Or, as others ſence it, God took away his Protection, the Rampire and Defence of their Countrey. See Exod. 32.25. Numb. 14.9. Mic. 1.11. Or the enemy deſtroyed the Temple wherein the Jews ſo fooliſhly confided, Jer. 7.

To the armour of the houſe] To any thing but whom they ſhould have looked unto. Our hearts are top-full of harlotry, ready to ſhift and ſhark in every by-corner for comfort: to hang their hopes on every hedge rather then to roll themſelves upon God the hope of Iſrael.

Ver. 9. Ye have ſeen alſo—and ye gathered together, &c.] This they did, when in diſtreſs, to prevent the enemy, and provide for their own ſafety: and this they might well have done, had not God been neglected: This of all things he can leaſt endure. The wicked ſhall be turned into hell, and all the Nations that forget God, Pſalm 9.17. See chap. 30.1.

Ver. 10. And ye have numbred] This they did not till now, that they might make the City more defenſible, and the better keep out the enemy. General Vere told the King of Denmark, that Kings cared not for Souldiers and Warlike preparations, until ſuch times as their crowns hang on the one ſide of their head.

Ver. 11. Ye made a ditch alſo] A new ditch (leſt the old one ſhould not ſuffice) to hold water for the beſieged. All this was well and wiſely done: had not the main matter been left undone. See 2 Chron. 32.3, 5. with 2 King. 18.14, 16. The community of the Jews were carnal, and truſted in the arm of fleſh. Hezekiah alſo himſelf faltred, &c.

But ye have not looked unto the maker thereof] i. e. To the Author of that trouble, Oecolamp. treading down and perplexity, ver. 5. Or, to the Founder of Jeruſalem, which, ſay the Rabbins, was one of thoſe ſeven things which God had in his thoughts before he made the world.

Ver. 12. And in that day did the Lord God of Hoſts call to weeping] Ponit arma quibus civitates ab hoſtibus defenduntur, nempe arma poenitentiae. Theſe are the beſt defenſive Weapons, which therefore God of his goodneſs calleth people to, or ere he puniſheth them. He calleth them, I ſay, by his Word, and by his Works, both ordinary and extraordinary, that his Juſtice may be magnified, and every foul mouth ſtopped.

To weeping and mourning] The walls of Sion cannot but ſtand firm, if well temper'd with the tears of true penitents.

And to baldneſs] Forbidden in other caſes, Lev. 19.27, 28. and 21.5. Deut. 14.1. but here, and Mic. 1.16. called for in the practice of holy Repentance, which hath nothing to do with deſpair: See Ezra. 9 3.

Per omne [non-Latin text not transcribed] genus graſſabantur. Scult. Ver. 13. And behold joy and gladneſs] Or, But behold; ſee the madneſs of theſe croſs-grain'd creatures, who to thwart the Almighty, in laetitiam & luxum proſiliunt, take a clean contrary courſe to what he had preſcribed, as if they had don't on purpoſe.

Eating and drinking] This was all they minded, or were good ſo, as we ſay, Gulonum non alia eſt cura quam cibum ingerere, digerere, egerere, ſaith Bernard. The belly-god is ſet all on his panch; as the Aſs-fiſh hath his heart in his belly: as the Spider is little elſe but belly: as the Gulon (a beaſt ſo called) eateth that which he preyeth upon; if it be a horſe, till all be devoured; ever filling his belly, and then emptying it, and then falling to it again till all be conſumed: ſuch a delight hath he in his appetite.

For to morrow we ſhall dye] So the Prophets tell us, but we are wiſer then to believe them: ſo the enemy threateneth us, but we are too well fortified to fear him: ſo it may fall out, for we are all mortal; let us therefore make much of our ſelves whiles we may.

Perſ. Sat. 5.Indulge genio, carpamus dulcia: noſtrum eſt Quod vivis: cinis & manes & fabula fies.

Saint Paul ſaith, that the Epicures of his time uſed the like Atheiſtical expreſſions, 1 Cor. 15.32. See there. It is the guiſe of graceleſs wretches to jeſt out Gods Judgements, and to jeer when they ſhould fear.

Ver. 14. And it was revealed in mine ears] It was told me for certain: God is abſolute in threatning becauſe reſolute in puniſhing: ſuch is his hatred againſt ſcoffing Epicures.

Surely this iniquity ſhall not be purged] Heb. If it be ever purged, let me be never truſted again.

Till ye dye] That is, Never: for ye ſhall dye in your ſin, dye Eternally: O fearful! Pavete, cavete.

Ver. 15. Go get thee unto this Treaſurer] This is Actio Jeſaiae in Shebnam, ſicut Ciceronis in Verrem. Shebna was a great Courtier and an ill member; advanced likely by King Ahaz, and tolerated for a time by good Hezekiah, as Joab was by David, becauſe he could neither will nor chuſe: or as Stephanus the Perſian was by Juſtinian the ſecond Emperour of Conſtantinople: who being praefectus aulae likewiſe, ſet over the houſe, grew ſo inſolent, that he ſpared not the Emperours mother though ſhe were Auguſta, Funcelus. but whipt her, as if ſhe had been his bondſlave: This Shebna is thought to have been an Aegyptian, a Sochite, and of mean Parentage; Aſperius nihil eſt humili cum ſurgit in altum.

Shebna likely, was one of thoſe jeering Epicures above-taxed and now particularly threatened: Some for Treaſurer render Fautor, adjutor, a favourer and helper, ſc. of thoſe prophane ſcoffers, ver. 13. or of the enemies, with whom he under-hand dealt and packt: he is therefore threatened to be ex officed, and ſent packing into a ſtrange Countrey.

Ver. 16. What haſt thou here?] What inheritance, poſſeſſion?

And whom haſt thou here?] ſc. of thy ſtock and kindred?Terrae filius. Art not thou a forraigner, a new man, an upſtart muſhroom? why then doſt thou cut thee out ſuch a coſtly and ſtately Sepulchre in Jeruſalem, as if thou wert of the ſtock-Royal? or as if thou wert ſure to dye here in thy neſt? Will it not prove a true [non-Latin text not transcribed], as the Greeks call it? Some conceive that for the ſafeguard of his Tomb, and other trinkets, Shebna was one of thoſe Princes, 2 King. 19. that gave the King counſel to fortifie ſo ſtrongly. The Hebrews ſay, that he likewiſe ſecretly kept correſpondency with the enemy, that he might have a ſtake in ſtore, which way ſoever the dice chanced to turn: yea that he treacherouſly agreed with the enemy to deliver the City into his hands: and therefore it was but time to take him a link lower, as Hezekiah did upon this Prophecy of Iſaiah. Some add, that for betraying the City he hoped to be made King there till his death; and therefore hewed him out a Mauſolaeum or Royal Sepulchre there, and that among thoſe of the Houſe of David, ſay the Rabbins.

Ver. 17. Behold the Lord will carry thee away, &c.] Or, is caſting thee out with caſting, O thou mighty man: Not, God will carry thee away as a cock is carried, ſo the vulgar Tranſlator hath it: which cauſed a learned Interpreter to ſay, he wondred whence this cock flew into the Text.

And will ſurely cover thee] As they uſed to do to condemned perſons unworthy any longer to ſee the light; they covered their faces, as Job 9.24. Eſt. 7.8. See the Note there.

Ver. 18. He will ſurely turn and toſs thee] Turn thee like a bowl, and toſs thee like a ball. How and when this was fulfilled, the Scripture relateth not: But the Talmudiſts tell us, that Shebna revolting to Sennacherib was by him (after the execution done by Gods Angel upon his Forces) carried to Niniveh, there tyed to an Horſe-tail, and drawn through bryars and brambles till he dyed.

There ſhalt thou dye]—Ingloria vita recedet. Spotſwood Arch-Biſhop of St. Andrews, who had diſcouraged and by degrees extirpated many faithful Miniſters of Scotland, thought it ſeaſonable, Anno 1639. to repair into England, Myſt. of Iniq. pag. 15. where he dyed: and ſo was fulfilled upon him the prediction of Mr. Walſh a famous Scottiſh Miniſter, who in a Letter to the Biſhop written long before, told him, he ſhould dye an out-caſt.

And there the Chariots of thy glory] Thy ſtately Chariots wherein thou delighteſt to be hurried up and down, theſe ſhall alſo dye or ceaſe; O domus regiae dedecus! O dedecus domus domini! O optimi regis opprobrium! (for ſo ſome read the words by an Apoſtrophe to Shebna) O thou that art ſuch a blur to thy good Maſter, and ſuch a diſgrace to his Houſe. Shebna affected to bear as great a port almoſt as the King himſelf did: ſed paſſus eſt manes ſuos, but he came to an ill end. So did the Duke of Guiſe in France: and ſo did here Cardinal Woolſey, Sir Thomas Moor, Sir Francis Bacon, &c.

Ver. 19. And I muſt drive thee from thy ſtation] This was done in part, when as of a great maſter of the Court, Chancellour, Lord Marſhall, or Lord high Treaſurer, (for ſo many wayes the word Sochem, ver. 15. is rendred) he was made Scribe or Secretary, chap. 36.3. (which was a far inferiour place) but much more when all that befell him that is threatned ver. 17.18. as it did no doubt.

Ver. 20. I will call my ſervant Eliakim] Such as honour God, ſhall ſurely be honoured: He will call them to it, who elſe would chuſe to live and dye in their ſelf-contented ſecrecy: like as the ſweet Violet grows low to the ground, hangs the head downward, and beſides, hides it ſelf with its own leaves.

Ver. 21. And I will cloath him with thy Robe] i. e. Veſt him in thine Honours and Offices, thy ſelf being laid by, and lookt upon as an Officiperda.

And he ſhall be a Father] A fit Title for a Ruler: as this Text is a fit Looking-glaſs for a good Counſellour.

Ver. 22. And the Key of the Houſe of David will I lay upon his ſhoulder] Rulers have their back-burdens.

Fructus honos oneris: fructus honoris onus.

The meaning is, he ſhall have chief authority under the King, together with dexterity and diſcretion to manage it aright. And herein Eliakim was a Type of Chriſt, Rev. 3.7. Let us pray for ſuch Eliakims as a common bleſſing.

Sit princeps miſeris paxillum, cui appendeant urceolos ſuos. Scult. Ver. 23. And I will faſten him as a nail] Paxilli ſimile & concinnum & amabile eſt. On a nail are hung Utenſils of the houſe: any ſuch thing as cannot ſtand by its own ſtrength. Eliakim was to be a common ſupport to the people; but eſpecially to his fathers houſe.

And he ſhall be for a glorious Throne] He ſhall enoble his whole ſtock and kindred.

Ver. 24. And they ſhall hang upon him] As upon a nail.

The ofſpring and the iſſue] All his Allyes both great and ſmall ſhall be the better for him: he ſhall employ and prefer them. And this Shebna is told the more to ſpight him.

Ver. 25. Shall the nail that is faſtened] So Shebna once ſeemed to be, but now it ſhall appear to be otherwiſe: for he ſhall fall, and with him all his dependants ſhall be ruined.