Isaiah · Chapter 21

V. 1. The plain-Of Babylon, which lay in a very plain country. And the title of the sea might well be given to the waters of Babylon, because of the great plenty and multitude of them. South-In those parts which lay southward from Judea, where there were many and great deserts. Pass through-As meeting with no opposition. It-The burden or judgment. Desert-From Media and Persia; a great desert lay between them and Chaldea. A terrible land-From the Medes, a warlike and formidable people.

Verse 1. The desert of the sea] This plainly means Babylon, which is the subject of the prophecy. The country about Babylon, and especially below it towards the sea, was a great flat morass, overflowed by the Euphrates and Tigris. It became habitable by being drained by the many canals that were made in it.

Herodotus, lib. i. 184, says that “Semiramis confined the Euphrates within its channel by raising great dams against it; for before it overflowed the whole country like a sea.” And Abydenus, (quoting Megasthenes, apud Euseb. Præp. Evang. IX. 41,) speaking of the building of Babylon by Nebuchadonosor, says, “it is reported that all this part was covered with water, and was called the sea; and that Belus drew off the waters, conveying them into proper receptacles, and surrounded Babylon with a wall.” When the Euphrates was turned out of its channel by Cyrus, it was suffered still to drown the neighbouring country; and, the Persian government, which did not favour the place, taking no care to remedy this inconvenience, it became in time a great barren morassy desert, which event the title of the prophecy may perhaps intimate. Such it was originally; such it became after the taking of the city by Cyrus; and such it continues to this day.

As whirlwinds in the south— “Like the southern tempests”] The most vehement storms to which Judea was subject came from the desert country to the south of it. “Out of the south cometh the whirlwind,” Job 37:9. “And there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house,” Job 1:19. For the situation of Idumea, the country (as I suppose) of Job, see Lamentations 4:21 compared with Job 1:1, was the same in this respect with that of Judea:— “And JEHOVAH shall appear over them,

And his arrow shall go forth as the lightning;

And the Lord JEHOVAH shall sound the trumpet;

And shall march in the whirlwinds of the south.”

Zechariah 9:14.

Verse 1. The burden of the desert of the sea — That is, of Babylon, as is evident from verse 9. Some think it is so called prophetically, because, although it was at present a populous city, it was shortly to be made desolate, and turned into a marsh, and pools of water. But µy rbdm may be properly rendered, the plain of the sea: for Babylon stood on a plain, and the country about it, and especially below it, toward the sea, was a great flat morass, often overflowed by the Euphrates and Tigris. “Semiramis,” says Herodotus, “confined the Euphrates within its channel, by raising great dams against it; for before it overflowed the whole country like a sea.” And Abydenus, speaking of the building of Babylon, observes, “It is reported that all this part was covered with water, and was called the sea; and that Belus drew off the waters, conveying them into proper receptacles.” It was only by these means, it appears, and by the many canals that were made in the country, that it became habitable. It, however, still more fully and perfectly answered the title of the plain, or desert of the sea, here given it, in consequence of the Euphrates being turned out of its channel by Cyrus, and afterward suffered still to drown the neighbouring country, by which it became, in time, a great barren, morassy desert, which it continues to be to this day. See note on Isaiah 13:20. This second prediction, concerning Babylon, (which, with the two short prophecies following, makes the sixth discourse of this second part of Isaiah’s Visions,) “is a passage,” says Bishop Lowth, “of a singular kind for its brevity and force; for the variety and rapidity of the movements; and for the strength and energy of colouring, with which the action and event are painted. It opens with the prophet’s seeing, at a distance, the dreadful storm that is gathering, and ready to burst upon Babylon: the event is intimated in general terms; and God’s orders are issued to the Persians and Medes to set forth upon the expedition which he has given them in charge. Upon this the prophet enters into the midst of the action; and in the person of Babylon expresses, in the strongest terms, the astonishment and horror that seizes her on the sudden surprise of the city, at the very season dedicated to pleasure and festivity. Then, in his own person, he describes the situation of things there; the security of the Babylonians, and, in the midst of their feasting, the sudden alarm of war. The event is then declared in a very singular manner. God orders the prophet to set a watchman to look out, and to report what he sees; he sees two companies marching onward, representing, by their appearance, the two nations that were to execute God’s orders; who declare that Babylon is fallen.” As whirlwinds in the south, &c. — Bishop Lowth’s translation of this passage gives it a peculiar force and elegance.

“Like the southern tempests, violently rushing along,

From the desert he cometh, from the terrible country.

A dreadful vision! it is revealed unto me:

The plunderer is plundered, and the destroyer is destroyed. Go up, O Elam; from the siege, O Media!

I have put an end to all her vexations.”

By southern tempests, or whirlwinds in the south, the prophet means tempests in those extensive deserts which lay southward from Judea, in which the winds rush along with great force, as meeting with no obstruction from mountains, hills, trees, or buildings. To these he compares the sweeping and irresistible ruin which, by terrible armies, was about to come on Babylon from Media and Persia, through the deserts that lay between it and those countries. “The prophet,” says Lowth, “renews his threatenings against Babylon, as he does afterward, (chap. 47.,) to convince the Jews, by this repetition, of the certainty of the event, and thereby support them under their captivity when it should come.”

Verse 1. The desert of the sea. The army which invaded Babylon came not directly against it; but Cyrus made a circuitous route, and collected part of his army from the deserts and mountains towards the Caspian sea. Others call Babylon a sea, because at Easter, the time of the first fruits, Ecclus. 24:25, the rivers Pison or Tigris, &c. overflowed their banks, by the melting snows on the mountains of Armenia.

Bishop Lowth has much relieved this prophecy of the fall of Babylon by the following translation—Like the southern tempest, rushing violently along, from the desert he cometh, from the terrible country. A dreadful vision! It is revealed unto me: the plunderer is plundered, the destroyer is destroyed. Go up, oh Elam; form the siege, oh Media. I have put an end to all her vexations. Therefore are my loins filled with pain: anguish hath seized me, as the anguish of a woman in travail. I am convulsed so that I cannot hear. I am astonished so that I cannot see. My heart is bewildered: terrors have seized me: the evening for which I longed, hath he turned into horror. The table is spread, the watch is set: they eat, they drink. Rise up, oh ye princes, and anoint the shield; for thus hath the Lord said unto me. Go, set a watchman on his station; whatsoever he shall see, let him report it unto thee. And he saw a chariot with two riders; a rider on an ass, and a rider on a camel; and he observed diligently with extreme diligence. And he that looked out on the watch cried aloud, Oh my lord, I keep my station all the day long; and on my ward have I continued every night. And behold there cometh a man, one of the two riders; and he answered and said— Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven idols of her gods are broken down to the ground.

1. The desert of the sea — Babylon lay on an extended plain of its own, and this was contiguous to the great desert of Arabia on the southwest, from which violent winds often rush. Artificial checks preserved the Euphrates from becoming a sea in its overflowings, like the Nile during its inundations. The word “desert” seems to be used in anticipation of what this great plain will become in the fall of Babylon, when all the embankments of the great river shall be removed. Terrible land — This, according to verse 2, is Persia and Media. Media, especially “terrible,” because of its wild mountain warriors. A rush of these is to be made upon Babylon, like to the hurricanes from the southern deserts.

V. 2. A vision-A vision or prophecy, containing dreadful calamities which were to fall upon Babylon. The spoiler-The Medes and Persians used treachery as well as force against Babylon. Elam-Persia, so called, because Elam was an eminent province of Persia, bordering upon the Medes. Besiege-Namely, Babylon, ver. 9. The sighing-The sighing and groaning of God’s people, and other nations under the oppressions of that cruel empire.

Verse 2. The treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth— “The plunderer is plundered, and the destroyer is destroyed.”] ddwv ddwvhw dgwb dgwbh habboged boged vehashshoded shoded. The MSS. vary in expressing or omitting the w vau, in these four words. Ten MSS. of Kennicott are without the w vau in the second word, and eight MSS. are without the w vau in the fourth word; which justifies Symmachus, who has rendered them passively: o aqetwn aqeteitai kai o talaipwrizwn talaipwrei. He read dwdv dwgb bagud shadud. Cocceius (Lexicon in voce) observes that the Chaldee very often renders the verb dgb bagad, by zzb bazaz, he spoiled; and in this place, and in Isaiah 33:1, by the equivalent word sna anas, to press, give trouble; and in Isaiah 24:16 both by sna anas and zzb bazaz; and the Syriac in this place renders it by µlc talam, he oppressed.

All the sighing thereof have I made to cease— “I have put an end to all her vexations”] Heb. “Her sighing; that is, the sighing caused by her.” So Kimchi on the place: “It means those who groaned through fear of him: for the suffixes of the nouns refer both to the agent and the patient. All those who groaned before the face of the king of Babylon he caused to rest;” Chald. And so likewise Ephrem Syr. in loc., edit. Assemani: “His groans, viz., the grief and tears which the Chaldeans occasioned through the rest of the nations.”

Verse 2. A grievous vision is declared unto me — A vision or prophecy, predicting dreadful calamities about to fall upon Babylon. The treacherous dealer, &c. — In these words the prophet either describes the sin of the Chaldeans, for which God would send the following judgment upon them, namely, they persisted in the practice of treachery and rapine, to which they had been so long accustomed; or he speaks of the Medes and Persians, and represents them as paying the Babylonians in their own coin, and using the same treachery and violence toward them which they had used toward others. The words may be properly rendered, Thou, O Elam, that dealest treacherously with the treacherous dealer, or, that oppressest the oppressor, and spoilest the spoiler, go up, besiege, &c. Babylon had long oppressed and ravaged other countries: and it was now her turn to be oppressed and ravaged. Elam was an eminent province of Persia, bordering upon Media, and is here put for Persia in general. God here gives the Medes and Persians their commission to go up and take Babylon, and thereby to put an end to the sighs and groans of the captive Jews, and of other nations held in bondage, and oppressed by that tyrannical and cruel empire.

Ver. 2. The treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously. Babylon assumed splendid titles: the Lord here gives her the true one. In her grasp at universal empire, the very existence of neighbouring nations was a crime. She robbed and murdered the earth. Now the Medes were divinely commissioned to spoil the spoiler.

2. A grievous vision — A sad and most afflictive prophetic view is shown. The treacherous dealer — Babylonian tyranny overreaches itself in its cruelties. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media — Persia and Media are summoned to execute terrible judgment upon the insolent empire. God ordains that the sighs of the oppressed shall cease. This prophecy is uttered probably two centuries before its fulfilment.

V. 3. My loins-Which he mentions with respect to the following similitude of child-bearing. Pangs-Sharp and grievous pains.

Verses 3, 4. Therefore my loins, &c. — “We have here a symbolical description of the greatness of the Babylonish calamity; the prophet exhibiting in himself, as in a figure, an emblem of the extreme distress, consternation, and horror, which should ensue on this occasion.” See Isaiah 15:5, and 16:8, 9; Luke 21:26. He speaks of his loins being filled with pain, with a reference to the following similitude of child-bearing. Pangs have taken hold on me — Sharp and grievous pains, or extreme anguish, as the word µyryx properly means, torments like those of a woman in labour. I was, or, rather, I am, bowed down — Oppressed with an intolerable load of sorrow and distress, at the hearing of it — Hebrew, [mvm, that I cannot (that is, cannot endure to) hear it. So Dr. Waterland, who reads the three next clauses thus: I am dismayed that l cannot see it: my heart panteth: horror confounds me. Such was the distress and anguish, the confusion and dismay, undoubtedly, of myriads of the inhabitants of Babylon, on the night when the city was unexpectedly taken; and particularly of Belshazzar, when he saw the hand that wrote, and the writing on the wall, and especially when he heard Daniel’s interpretation of it. Then, indeed, was the night of his pleasure turned into fear unto him, in which remarkable words the prophet alludes to the circumstance of Babylon’s being taken in the night of an annual festival, “while the inhabitants were dancing, drinking, and revelling, which is more fully set forth in the next verse.” According to Herodotus, the extreme parts of the city were in the hands of the enemy, before they, who dwelt in the middle of it, knew any thing of their danger.

3, 4. Loins filled with pain — In these verses is described the experiences of a mind frenzied by a prospective view of Babylonian wrongs. The words here, taking full effect upon the reader, make him not merely to sympathize with the prophet — he in a measure feels the pains of the prophet.

V. 4. The night-In which I used to have sweet repose. He seems to have had this vision in a night. But withal this signified that horror and destruction, which should befal the Babylonians in a night of feasting and jollity. He-God, who shewed him that vision.

Verses 3, 4. Therefore my loins, &c. — “We have here a symbolical description of the greatness of the Babylonish calamity; the prophet exhibiting in himself, as in a figure, an emblem of the extreme distress, consternation, and horror, which should ensue on this occasion.” See Isaiah 15:5, and 16:8, 9; Luke 21:26. He speaks of his loins being filled with pain, with a reference to the following similitude of child-bearing. Pangs have taken hold on me — Sharp and grievous pains, or extreme anguish, as the word µyryx properly means, torments like those of a woman in labour. I was, or, rather, I am, bowed down — Oppressed with an intolerable load of sorrow and distress, at the hearing of it — Hebrew, [mvm, that I cannot (that is, cannot endure to) hear it. So Dr. Waterland, who reads the three next clauses thus: I am dismayed that l cannot see it: my heart panteth: horror confounds me. Such was the distress and anguish, the confusion and dismay, undoubtedly, of myriads of the inhabitants of Babylon, on the night when the city was unexpectedly taken; and particularly of Belshazzar, when he saw the hand that wrote, and the writing on the wall, and especially when he heard Daniel’s interpretation of it. Then, indeed, was the night of his pleasure turned into fear unto him, in which remarkable words the prophet alludes to the circumstance of Babylon’s being taken in the night of an annual festival, “while the inhabitants were dancing, drinking, and revelling, which is more fully set forth in the next verse.” According to Herodotus, the extreme parts of the city were in the hands of the enemy, before they, who dwelt in the middle of it, knew any thing of their danger.

3, 4. Loins filled with pain — In these verses is described the experiences of a mind frenzied by a prospective view of Babylonian wrongs. The words here, taking full effect upon the reader, make him not merely to sympathize with the prophet — he in a measure feels the pains of the prophet.

V. 5. Prepare-Furnish it with meats and drinks. The prophet foretells what the Babylonians would be doing when their enemies were at their doors. Watch-To give us notice of any approaching danger, that in the meantime we may more securely indulge ourselves. Princes-Of Babylon: arise from the table and run to your arms. Shield-Prepare yourselves and your arms for the approaching battle. The shield is put for all their weapons of offence and defence. They used to anoint their shields with oil, to preserve and polish them, and to make them slippery.

Verse 5. Prepare the table— “The table is prepared”] In Hebrew the verbs are in the infinitive mood absolute, as in Ezekiel 1:14: “And the animals ran and returned, bwvw awxr ratso veshob, like the appearance of the lightning;” just as the Latins say, currere et reverti, for currebant et revertebantur. See Isaiah 32:11, and the note there. Arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.] Kimchi observes that several of the rabbins understood this of Belshazzar’s impious feast and death. The king of a people is termed the shield, because he is their defense. The command, Anoint the shield, is the same with Anoint a new king. Belshazzar being now suddenly slain, while they were all eating and drinking, he advises the princes, whose business it was, to make speed and anoint another in his stead.

Verse 5. Prepare the table — Furnish it with meats and drinks, as it follows. The prophet foretels what the Babylonians would be doing when their enemies were upon the point of entering their city: Watch in the watch-tower — To give us notice of any approaching danger, that we may more securely indulge ourselves in mirth and pleasures. Arise, ye princes — Either, 1st, Ye princes of Babylon. Arise from the table, and run to your arms: which sudden alarm was the consequence of tidings from the watch-tower. Or, 2d, Ye Medes and Persians; as if he had said, While your enemies, the Babylonians, are feasting securely, prepare and make your assault. Most commentators understand the clause in this latter sense. Dr. Waterland, after Vitringa, renders it, The table is spread: the watchman stands upon the watch; they eat, they drink: Arise now, ye princes, &c. The words paint in lively colours the security and revelling of the Babylonians, at the very time when the divine command is given to the Medes and Persians to seize this proper moment to make the assault. See Jeremiah 51:11, 28, &c. The expression, Anoint the shield, means, Prepare your arms: make ready for the battle. The shield is put for all their weapons, offensive and defensive. They used to anoint their shields with oil to preserve and polish them, and make them slippery, that their enemies’ darts might not fix in and penetrate, but slide off from them.

5. The scene of the wildest agitation continues, but it is not unsystematic and insane. There is brevity, rapidity, life, and system in the description. Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink — This is addressed to the Babylonians. The phrase “watch,” etc., is better rendered, Spread the carpets. It describes a banquet scene. However, the usual guard is probably around, and an alarm may have been sounded. Arise, ye princes — Princes of Persia and Media — address, as it were, of the prophet. Anoint the shield — Besmear the “shield,” a practice among the ancients, to aid the glancing off of lances and arrows. See VIRGIL’S Eneid, 7:626: “Pars leves clypeos… arvina pingui” — shields smooth with fat oil. This was practiced, some say, for the preservation of the leather.

V. 6. Go set-This was now done only in a vision, but it signified what should be done really afterwards.

Verse 6. For thus hath the Lord said unto me — I speak only what God hath caused me to see and hear in a vision, the particulars whereof are related in the following verses. “The Holy Spirit, to make Isaiah, and, by him, the church, most certain of this memorable event, confirms the preceding revelation by an elegant emblem, offered to the prophet in vision. This emblem exhibits to us the prophet commanded by God to set a watchman, in this verse; and, in what follows, the consequence of the execution of the command, namely, that the watchman attended accurately to the least motion of the nations against Babylon, and, after long expectation, had discovered” what is afterward related. See Vitringa. The reader will observe, that as the command to set a watchman was given to the prophet in a vision, so it was executed by him only in a vision. It signified, however, what should really be done afterward, namely, when the Medes and Persians should march to besiege and attack Babylon.

6. Go, set a watchman — As if a degree of languor was already coming on the scene. The watchman, to look, apparently, into the distance, then to report the on-coming of Persian troops, and of successive events of the war upon Babylon.

V. 7. A chariot-Hereby he signifies the variety and abundance of warlike provisions which the Medes and Persians should have for their expedition, and particularly of chariots, whereof some were for the carriage of necessary things, and others for the battle.

Verse 7. And he saw a chariot, &c.— “And he saw a chariot with two riders; a rider on an ass, a rider on a camel”] This passage is extremely obscure from the ambiguity of the term bkr recheb, which is used three times, and which signifies a chariot, or any other vehicle, or the rider in it; or a rider on a horse, or any other animal; or a company of chariots, or riders. The prophet may possibly mean a cavalry in two parts, with two sorts of riders; riders on asses or mules, and riders on camels; or led on by two riders, one on an ass, and one on a camel. However, so far it is pretty clear, that Darius and Cyrus, the Medes and the Persians, are intended to be distinguished by the two riders on the two sorts of cattle. It appears from Herodotus, i. 80, that the baggage of Cyrus’ army was carried on camels. In his engagement with Crœsus, he took off the baggage from the camels, and mounted his horsemen upon them; the enemy’s horses, offended with the smell of the camels, turned back and fled.—L.

Verse 7. And he saw a chariot with two riders, &c. — “This passage,” says Bishop Lowth, “is extremely obscure from the ambiguity of the term bkr,” (here rendered chariot,) “which is used three times; and which signifies a chariot, or any other vehicle, or the rider in it; or a rider on a horse, or any other animal; or a company of chariots or riders. The prophet may possibly mean a cavalry in two parts, with two sorts of riders; riders on asses, or mules, and riders on camels: or led on by two riders, one on an ass, and one on a camel.” Or, as some think, the verse may be rendered, He saw a cavalcade, two file of horse, (µyvrp dmx,) with ass-carriages, and carriages of camels; and he attended with very close attention. According to this translation, the meaning is, that the watchman saw the army of the Medes and Persians, with their usual cavalcade of horse, (attended by those beasts of burden, asses and camels, which accompanied armies,) moving toward Babylon; upon which he gave the greatest attention possible. Or, according to the common reading, Darius and Cyrus, leading the Medes and Persians, are intended to be distinguished by the two riders, or the two sorts of cattle. The baggage of Cyrus’s army, Herodotus tells us, was carried on camels.

Ver. 7. A couple of horsemen. This is a catachresis, a figure which improperly puts one thing for another; for these horsemen turn out to be an ass and a camel—Darius and Cyrus.

7. Chariot… horsemen… asses… camels — The first report is, the approach of a long procession, headed by horsemen, seen in perspective as two, a column of two, or two abreast, then successions of chariots drawn by asses and camels, which animals were used in ancient campaigns for different purposes, as both Herodotus and Xenophon testify of the Persians. (Xenophon, Cyrop., 4:3.) They not only carried baggage and provisions, but were taken into battle to throw the enemy into confusion by fright, etc. The watchman not only saw, but he listened — listened with intense listening; yet he heard nothing, so still was the approach.

V. 8. A lion-The watchmen cried out, I see also a lion marching before the horsemen and chariots: which they suppose to represent Cyrus or Darius marching in the head of their armies. My lord-The watchman speaks to the prophet, who had set him in this station. Whole nights-According to thy command I have stood, and do yet stand continually, both day and night, upon my watch-tower.

Verse 8. And he cried, A lion— “He that looked out on the watch”] The present reading, hyra aryeh, a lion, is so unintelligible, and the mistake so obvious, that I make no doubt that the true reading is harh haroeh, the seer; as the Syriac translator manifestly found it in his copy, who renders it by awqd duka, a watchman.

Verses 8, 9. And he cried, A lion — “The present reading, hyra, a lion, is so unintelligible,” says Bishop Lowth, “and the mistake so obvious, that I make no doubt that the true reading is harh,” (he that saw, or looked out,) “as the Syriac translator manifestly found it in his copy, who renders it by aqwr, speculator,” the observer, or watchman. The bishop, therefore, renders the clause, He that looked out on the watch cried aloud. My lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower — The watchman speaks these words to the prophet, who, by command from God, had set him in this station; to whom, therefore he gives the following account of his discharge of the office wherewith he was intrusted. In the daytime, &c., whole nights — According to thy command I have stood, and do stand continually, both day and night, in my ward. This is said to express his great care and attention, and thereby to confirm the truth of the prediction which follows, as that which would as certainly come to pass, as if a watchman had descried the approach of an enemy afar off. And behold, here cometh a chariot, &c. — Or, as in verse 7, a cavalcade of men; two file of horse, &c. Bishop Lowth renders it, from the Syriac and Ephraim Syrus, Behold, here cometh a man, one of the two riders: and he answered — Answered to the prophet, who set him to watch, or the Lord, by whose command he was set. Babylon is fallen, is fallen — The expression is doubled, to show the certainty of the event. It is usual, likewise, for the prophets to speak of a thing future as if it were already accomplished, to signify that it will certainly be accomplished; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken, &c. — “It is remarkable that Xerxes, after his return from his unfortunate expedition into Greece, partly out of religious zeal, being a professed enemy to image-worship, and partly to reimburse himself after his immense expenses, seized the sacred treasures, plundered or destroyed the temples and idols of Babylon, and thereby accomplished this prophecy.” — Bishop Newton.

Ver. 8. A lion, my lord. This animal was anciently used to denote a king, and a conqueror. Perhaps the prophet did not deem it prudent to speak more plainly.

8. And he cried, A lion — This may mean that the appearance in the distance was formidable enough to be represented under the figure of “a lion;” or, more probably, it means that from long listening with no result, but rather, perhaps, even the vanishing away for a time of the processions before seen, the watchman himself, impatient at fruitless results, cries out, as with a lion’s voice, that is, roars or growls out, “Lord, I stand every moment watching, day and night, but see nothing more than this inexplicable procession, and scarcely that at present.” The watchman was not necessarily at Babylon, but probably near it.

V. 9. Men-Not fitted with goods, but provided with men to fight. He-The prophet, who here gives an explication of the vision. He-God, by the hands of Cyrus.

Verse 9. Here cometh a chariot of men, &c.— “A man, one of the two riders”] So the Syriac understands it, and Ephrem Syr.

Verses 8, 9. And he cried, A lion — “The present reading, hyra, a lion, is so unintelligible,” says Bishop Lowth, “and the mistake so obvious, that I make no doubt that the true reading is harh,” (he that saw, or looked out,) “as the Syriac translator manifestly found it in his copy, who renders it by aqwr, speculator,” the observer, or watchman. The bishop, therefore, renders the clause, He that looked out on the watch cried aloud. My lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower — The watchman speaks these words to the prophet, who, by command from God, had set him in this station; to whom, therefore he gives the following account of his discharge of the office wherewith he was intrusted. In the daytime, &c., whole nights — According to thy command I have stood, and do stand continually, both day and night, in my ward. This is said to express his great care and attention, and thereby to confirm the truth of the prediction which follows, as that which would as certainly come to pass, as if a watchman had descried the approach of an enemy afar off. And behold, here cometh a chariot, &c. — Or, as in verse 7, a cavalcade of men; two file of horse, &c. Bishop Lowth renders it, from the Syriac and Ephraim Syrus, Behold, here cometh a man, one of the two riders: and he answered — Answered to the prophet, who set him to watch, or the Lord, by whose command he was set. Babylon is fallen, is fallen — The expression is doubled, to show the certainty of the event. It is usual, likewise, for the prophets to speak of a thing future as if it were already accomplished, to signify that it will certainly be accomplished; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken, &c. — “It is remarkable that Xerxes, after his return from his unfortunate expedition into Greece, partly out of religious zeal, being a professed enemy to image-worship, and partly to reimburse himself after his immense expenses, seized the sacred treasures, plundered or destroyed the temples and idols of Babylon, and thereby accomplished this prophecy.” — Bishop Newton.

9. But soon his complaint is hushed, and then bursts on his view the cavalcade, coming as it were from out of Babylon itself, shouting, Babylon is fallen, is fallen. This is Delitzsch’s explanation, who says of this part of the scene: “It is now clear enough where the procession went to when it disappeared. It had entered Babylon, made itself master of the city, and established itself there, and afterward came forth announcing the downfall.” This is ingenious, and neither the grammar nor the rhetoric of the passage is adverse to such an explanation. That Cyrus was to act as the anointed of Jehovah in this scene is more fully stated in Isaiah 41:2, 3; 45:1. And the scene here in effect repeats the facts prophesied of in chapter 13.

V. 10. Threshing-Threshing is put for the corn threshed; and the corn threshed for people sorely afflicted. This is probably spoken of Babylon. The corn-Which I will cause to be threshed upon the floor. You-Unto you my people; for all the prophecies, even concerning other nations, were published to them, and for their use and comfort.

Verse 10. O my threshing] “O thou, the object upon which I shall exercise the severity of my discipline; that shalt lie under my afflicting hand, like corn spread upon the floor to be threshed out and winnowed, to separate the chaff from the wheat!” The image of threshing is frequently used by the Hebrew poets, with great elegance and force, to express the punishment of the wicked and the trial of the good, or the utter dispersion and destruction of God’s enemies. Of the different ways of threshing in use among the Hebrews, and the manner of performing them, see the note on Isaiah 28:27.

Our translators have taken the liberty of using the word threshing in a passive sense, to express the object or matter that is threshed; in which I have followed them, not being able to express it more properly, without departing too much from the form and letter of the original. “Son of my floor,” Heb. It is an idiom of the Hebrew language to call the effect, the object, the adjunct, any thing that belongs in almost any way to another, the son of it. “O my threshing.” The prophet abruptly breaks off the speech of God; and instead of continuing it in the form in which he had begun, and in the person of God, “This I declare unto you by my prophet,” he changes the form of address, and adds, in his own person, “This I declare unto you from God.”

Verse 10. O my thrashing, &c. — In these words, which form the conclusion of the prophecy, “the application, the end, and design of it, are admirably given in a short expressive address to the Jews, partly in the person of God, partly in that of the prophet.” The first words of the verse, O my thrashing, and the corn of my floor, are supposed to be spoken by God, in which thrashing is put for the corn thrashed, and the corn thrashed for people sorely afflicted and punished: as if he had said, “O my people, whom for your punishment I have made subject to the Babylonians, to try and to prove you, and to separate the chaff (or straw) from the corn, the bad from the good among you; hear this for your consolation: your punishment, your slavery and oppression, will have an end in the destruction of your oppressors.” The reader will observe, “the image of thrashing is frequently used by the Hebrew poets, with great elegance and force, to express the punishment of the wicked and the trial of the good, or the utter dispersion and destruction of God’s enemies.” That which I have heard, &c. — Here “the prophet abruptly breaks off the speech of God, and instead of continuing it in the form in which he had begun, and in the person of God, he changes the form of address, and adds, in his own person, That which I have heard, &c., have I declared unto you.” In which words he signifies, that he had faithfully related to them what God had revealed to him, and that the predictions which he had uttered were not his own inventions, but the very word of God, which, therefore, would be infallibly accomplished in their season. See Bishop Lowth.

10. My threshing — My crushingly oppressed ones; a sympathetic utterance from the prophet for his chastised brethren. Now appears the bearing this prophecy has on the Lord’s people. Corn of my floor — Rather, son or child of my threshing-floor, the sanctified results of a long disciplinary affliction. The captivity in Babylon was the judicial separation of grains and husks in Israel. Babylon was the threshing floor of God; love now restrains the wrath. That which I have heard — The revelation from God in relation to Israel’s sore providential handling. Declared unto you — Is now made all clear.

V. 11. Dumah-Of Edom or Idumea. He-The people of Dumah, one of them in the name and by the appointment of the rest. Me-To the watchman: the prophet delivers his prophecy in the form of a dialogue between the people and the watchman. Seir-Out of Edom, which is frequently called Seir. Watchman-The watchman of Edom, whom they had set as people use to do in times of great danger. Night-The people are supposed to come to him very early in the morning, to enquire what had happened in the night; which shews a state of great perplexity and fear. Night-The repetition of the words, shew the greatness of their solicitude.

Verse 11. The burden of Dumah— “The oracle concerning Dumah.”] Pro hmwd Dumah, Codex R. Meiri habet אדום Edom; and so the Septuagint, Vid. Kimchi ad h. l. Biblia Michaelis, Halae, 1720, not. ad l. See also Deuteronomy Rossi. Bishop Lowth translates the prophecy thus:—

11. THE ORACLE CONCERNING DUMAH.

A voice crieth to me from Seir:

Watchman, what from the night?

Watchman, what from the night?

12. The watchman replieth:—

The morning cometh, and also the night.

If ye will inquire, inquire ye: come again.

This differs very little from our common Version. One of Kennicott’s MSS., and one of my own, omit the repetition, “Watchman, what from the night?”

This prophecy, from the uncertainty of the occasion on which it was uttered, and from the brevity of the expression, is extremely obscure. The Edomites as well as the Jews were subdued by the Babylonians. They inquire of the prophet how long their subjection is to last: he intimates that the Jews should be delivered from their captivity; not so the Edomites. Thus far the interpretation seems to carry with it some degree of probability. What the meaning of the last line may be, I cannot pretend to divine. In this difficulty the Hebrew MSS. give no assistance. The MSS. of the Septuagint, and the fragments of the other Greek Versions, give some variations, but no light. This being the case, I thought it best to give an exact literal translation of the whole two verses, which may serve to enable the English reader to judge in some measure of the foundation of the various interpretations that have been given of them.

The burden of Dumah.—R. D. Kimchi says, “His father understood this of the destruction of Dumah (one of the cities of the Ishmaelites) by the inhabitants of Seir; and that they inquired of the prophet to know the particular time in which God had given them a commission against it. The prophet answered: The morning—the time of success to you, cometh, is just at hand; and the night-the time of utter destruction to the inhabitants of Dumah, is also ready.”

I have heard the words applied in the way of general exhortation. 1. Every minister of God is a watchman. He is continually watching for the safety and interests of his people, and looking for the counsel of God that he may be properly qualified to warn and to comfort. 2. Such are often called to denounce heavy judgments; they have the burden of the word of the Lord to denounce against the impenitent, the backslider, the lukewarm, and the careless. 3. When the watchman threatens judgments, some are awakened, and some mock: Watchman, what of the night? “What are the judgments thou threatenest, and when are they to take place?” 4. To this question, whether seriously or tauntingly proposed, the watchman answers: 1. The morning cometh-there is a time of repentance granted; a morning of God’s long-suffering kindness now appears: and also the night-the time in which God will no longer wait to be gracious, but will cut you off as cumberers of the ground. 2. But if you will inquire seriously how you are to escape God’s judgments, inquire ye. 3. There is still a door of hope; continue to pray for mercy. 4. Return from your iniquities. 5. Come to God, through Christ, that ye may obtain salvation.

Verses 11, 12. The burden of Dumah — Or Idumea, as appears by the mention of mount Seir, which follows. This prophecy, “from the uncertainty of the occasion on which it was uttered, and from the brevity of the expression,” is acknowledged to be extremely obscure. The general opinion of interpreters seems to be, that it refers to the time of some common calamity, which the prophet foresaw would oppress Judea and the neighbouring countries, as suppose the invasion of the Assyrians, or the tyrannical domination of the Babylonians. During this calamity the prophet introduces the Idumeans, inquiring of him concerning the quality and duration of it. He informs them in answer, that “the calamity should soon pass from Judea, and that the light of the morning should arise to the Jews, while the Idumeans should be oppressed with a new and unexpected affliction; so that what should be a time of light to the Jews, should be to them a time of darkness. The prophet, foreseeing that they would scarcely believe his words, admonishes them that the matter was fixed, as they would find the more accurately they inquired into it.” According to this general view of the passage, the particular expressions may be interpreted as follows: Watchman — So they term the prophet, either seriously or in scorn, because the prophets were so called by God and by the people of the Jews; what of the night — What have you certain to tell us of the state of the night? How far is it advanced? Do you observe no signs of the approach of the morning? That is, what do you observe of our present distress and calamity? Is there any appearance of its departure, and of the approach of the morning of deliverance? The prophet answers enigmatically, The morning cometh — Deliverance to the Jews; and also the night — To the Idumeans: to them I will give light; you I will leave in darkness. So St. Jerome and the Chaldee Paraphrase. See Dodd. Or the meaning of the prophet’s answer may be, “that the deliverance of the Jews would come in its appointed time; but that the day of their prosperity would be succeeded by a dark night of adversity: or, that after a short continuance of approaching prosperity to the Edomites, a dreadful ruin would come upon them, of which the prophet saw no end.” — Scott. The last clause, If ye will inquire, &c, is taken by some to be an exhortation to the Edomites, to consider their ways, to repent and turn to God. Lowth paraphrases it thus: “If you will inquire indeed, and ask questions in earnest, inquire of God first, ask his mercy, and afterward come again, and ye shall have a more favourable answer.”

Ver. 11. Dumah. The LXX write it Idumea. Being now under the Babylonian yoke, they enquire with great and redoubled eagerness concerning Babylon. Watchman, what of the night; watchman, what of the night. Shall we have peace or war, prosperity or renewed calamities, life or death?

11, 12. These verses contain a single prophecy, one entirely distinct from all others. Burden of Dumah — Strictly, “Dumah” means silence. The word is used here probably as emblematic of the long silence that is to come over Edom and its capital, and hence here means Edom. He calleth to me out of Seir — “Seir” was the mountainous tract of Edom. In a rocky defile within this mountainous tract was the capital city, Sela; a name taken from its houses, temples, sepulchres, etc., being cut out of the rocky mountain sides. Its later name was Petra, noticed in chap. 18. The call is, as it were, to one stationed on a watchtower at a distance, not improbably at Jerusalem. Watchman, what of the night — From urgent anxiety the question is repeated. Edom never had kindly feeling toward Israel. Hatred dates back to Esau and his descendants. It was shown in its denial to Israel of a passage through Edom to the land of Canaan. See Numbers 20:17,

18. The question may be a taunt to Judah in ideal affliction during a foreseen captivity, when its city is desolate, and its people are at Babylon; or it may be an agonizing inquiry in Edom’s own behalf. The morning cometh — The answer appears as if it were the latter. “The morning cometh, and also the night.” Edom has a short prospect of a returning day of prosperity, but a night, a long night, of adversity, is soon to succeed it. How faithfully true in Edom’s history! The Assyrian period darkened it. The Chaldean, the Grecian, the Roman, followed each other. Then the light of Edom went out forever: its very capital was unknown for ages till discovered in this our own century. Nevertheless, the watchman’s word encourages. If ye will inquire after the true Jehovah, inquire ye; inquire at once, your chance is not lost. Return, come — Repent, seek, and regain at least your spiritual birthright. The oracle, like the Gospel to impenitent sinners, closes with a yearning entreaty.

V. 12. The night-The night is past without any mischief, and the light of the morning is approaching; but tho’ the morning is coming, it will be gone, and the night will return, and your fears with it. Come-If you will enquire, enquire: I perceive your danger is not past, and there will be occasion for farther enquiries. Therefore return, come-Come to me the next morning, and so from morning to morning.

Verses 11, 12. The burden of Dumah — Or Idumea, as appears by the mention of mount Seir, which follows. This prophecy, “from the uncertainty of the occasion on which it was uttered, and from the brevity of the expression,” is acknowledged to be extremely obscure. The general opinion of interpreters seems to be, that it refers to the time of some common calamity, which the prophet foresaw would oppress Judea and the neighbouring countries, as suppose the invasion of the Assyrians, or the tyrannical domination of the Babylonians. During this calamity the prophet introduces the Idumeans, inquiring of him concerning the quality and duration of it. He informs them in answer, that “the calamity should soon pass from Judea, and that the light of the morning should arise to the Jews, while the Idumeans should be oppressed with a new and unexpected affliction; so that what should be a time of light to the Jews, should be to them a time of darkness. The prophet, foreseeing that they would scarcely believe his words, admonishes them that the matter was fixed, as they would find the more accurately they inquired into it.” According to this general view of the passage, the particular expressions may be interpreted as follows: Watchman — So they term the prophet, either seriously or in scorn, because the prophets were so called by God and by the people of the Jews; what of the night — What have you certain to tell us of the state of the night? How far is it advanced? Do you observe no signs of the approach of the morning? That is, what do you observe of our present distress and calamity? Is there any appearance of its departure, and of the approach of the morning of deliverance? The prophet answers enigmatically, The morning cometh — Deliverance to the Jews; and also the night — To the Idumeans: to them I will give light; you I will leave in darkness. So St. Jerome and the Chaldee Paraphrase. See Dodd. Or the meaning of the prophet’s answer may be, “that the deliverance of the Jews would come in its appointed time; but that the day of their prosperity would be succeeded by a dark night of adversity: or, that after a short continuance of approaching prosperity to the Edomites, a dreadful ruin would come upon them, of which the prophet saw no end.” — Scott. The last clause, If ye will inquire, &c, is taken by some to be an exhortation to the Edomites, to consider their ways, to repent and turn to God. Lowth paraphrases it thus: “If you will inquire indeed, and ask questions in earnest, inquire of God first, ask his mercy, and afterward come again, and ye shall have a more favourable answer.”

Ver. 12. The morning cometh, of joy and repose; but also the night cometh, of darkness and affliction. These words are brief, and by consequence obscure. The Chaldaic gives a paraphrase, which becomes a watchman to utter in calamitous times. “The prophet replied, God shall reward the righteous, and the wicked shall be the victims of his wrath; therefore if you will be converted, be converted while you may.”

11, 12. These verses contain a single prophecy, one entirely distinct from all others. Burden of Dumah — Strictly, “Dumah” means silence. The word is used here probably as emblematic of the long silence that is to come over Edom and its capital, and hence here means Edom. He calleth to me out of Seir — “Seir” was the mountainous tract of Edom. In a rocky defile within this mountainous tract was the capital city, Sela; a name taken from its houses, temples, sepulchres, etc., being cut out of the rocky mountain sides. Its later name was Petra, noticed in chap. 18. The call is, as it were, to one stationed on a watchtower at a distance, not improbably at Jerusalem. Watchman, what of the night — From urgent anxiety the question is repeated. Edom never had kindly feeling toward Israel. Hatred dates back to Esau and his descendants. It was shown in its denial to Israel of a passage through Edom to the land of Canaan. See Numbers 20:17,

18. The question may be a taunt to Judah in ideal affliction during a foreseen captivity, when its city is desolate, and its people are at Babylon; or it may be an agonizing inquiry in Edom’s own behalf. The morning cometh — The answer appears as if it were the latter. “The morning cometh, and also the night.” Edom has a short prospect of a returning day of prosperity, but a night, a long night, of adversity, is soon to succeed it. How faithfully true in Edom’s history! The Assyrian period darkened it. The Chaldean, the Grecian, the Roman, followed each other. Then the light of Edom went out forever: its very capital was unknown for ages till discovered in this our own century. Nevertheless, the watchman’s word encourages. If ye will inquire after the true Jehovah, inquire ye; inquire at once, your chance is not lost. Return, come — Repent, seek, and regain at least your spiritual birthright. The oracle, like the Gospel to impenitent sinners, closes with a yearning entreaty.

V. 13. Forest-Not as you used to do, in the houses or tents of the Arabians: whereby he implies, that that populous country should be a wilderness. Companies-In those parts travellers then did, and still do, go together in companies. Dedanim-These were merchants, who used to trade with Tyre, and their way lay thro’ Arabia.

Verse 13. The burden upon Arabia— “The oracle concerning Arabia”] This title is of doubtful authority. In the first place, because it is not in many of the MSS. of the Septuagint; it is in MSS. Pachom. and I. D. II. only, as far as I can find with certainty. Secondly, from the singularity of the phraseology; for acm massa is generally prefixed to its object without a preposition, as lbb acm massa babel; and never but in this place with the preposition b beth. Besides, as the word בערב baarab occurs at the very beginning of the prophecy itself, the first word but one, it is much to be suspected that some one, taking it for a proper name and the object of the prophecy, might note it as such by the words בערב acm massa baarab written in the margin, which he might easily transfer to the text. The Septuagint did not take it for a proper name, but render it en tw drumw esperav, “in the forest, in the evening,” and so the Chaldee, which I follow; for otherwise, the forest in Arabia is so indeterminate and vague a description, that in effect it means nothing at all. This observation might have been of good use in clearing up the foregoing very obscure prophecy, if any light had arisen from joining the two together by removing the separating title; but I see no connexion between them. The Arabic Version has, “The prophecy concerning the Arabians, and the children of Chedar.”

This prophecy was to have been fulfilled within a year of the time of its delivery, see Isaiah 21:16; and it was probably delivered about the same time with the rest in this part of the book, that is, soon before or after the 14th of Hezekiah, the year of Sennacherib’s invasion. In his first march into Judea, or in his return from the Egyptian expedition, he might perhaps overrun these several clans of Arabians; their distress on some such occasion is the subject of this prophecy.—L.

Verse 13. The burden of Arabia — “While God revealed to his prophet the fate of foreign nations, among others he declares that of those Arabians who inhabited the western part of Arabia Deserta, or Petrea,” and bordered upon the Idumeans last mentioned. They are here termed the companies of Dedanim, being the descendants of Dedan, the son of Jokshan, the son of Abraham by Keturah; and travelling companies, because a great number of them used to travel together the same way, as now companies travelling together in those parts are called caravans. In saying, In the forest shall ye lodge, the prophet foretels that they should be driven into flight by the Assyrians, or that that populous country should be turned into a desolate wilderness.

13-15. Burden upon Arabia — On critical grounds, both Ewald and Delitzsch make it doubtful that Arabia, as a whole, is meant, but rather think that the oracle relates to the sandy desert, the Arabah, the region over which the ancient caravan trade was carried. Their opinion is not simply plausible, it is reasonable. It is still Arabia, though a specific part. The caravans are called Dedanim, a mixture of Cushites and Ishmaelites. Their roads or camel routes to and from Tyre, and probably Gaza, are invaded by a foreign force, possibly the Assyrian, in its foraging parties, as the army passes toward Egypt or toward Tyre; and the caravans are dispersed from their accustomed track of travel far out into inhospitable deserts. Forest — Forests, properly so-called, do not exist in Arabia. In wide and moist wadies thickets grow, and in these the caravans could conceal themselves when pursued.

V. 14. Tema-A part of Arabia. Fled-Whereby he implies, that those other Arabians, against whom this prophecy is principally directed, should be reduced to great scarcity, and forced to flee for their lives, from a bloody enemy.

Verse 14. The land of Tema— “The southern country”] Qaiman, Sept.; Austri, Vulg. They read תימנ teiman, which seems to be right; for probably the inhabitants of Tema might be involved in the same calamity with their brethren and neighbours of Kedar, and not in a condition to give them assistance, and to relieve them, in their flight before the enemy, with bread and water. To bring forth bread and water is an instance of common humanity in such cases of distress; especially in those desert countries in which the common necessaries of life, more particularly water, are not easily to be met with or procured. Moses forbids the Ammonite and Moabite to be admitted into the congregation of the Lord to the tenth generation. One reason which he gives for this reprobation is their omission of the common offices of humanity towards the Israelites; “because they met them not with bread and water in the way, when they came forth out of Egypt,” Deuteronomy 23:4.

Verses 14, 15. The inhabitants of the land of Tema — Another part of Arabia, (of which see Job 6:19; Jeremiah 25:23,) namely, the posterity of Tema, Ishmael’s son; brought water to him that was thirsty — To the Dedanites, who are here represented as being reduced to great straits, being forced to flee from the enemy without any provision for their subsistence. They prevented with bread him that fled — That is, that fled for his life from the sword of the enemy, as is more fully expressed in the next verse. “To bring forth bread and water, in such cases of distress, is an instance of common humanity; especially in these desert countries, in which the common necessaries of life, more particularly water, are not easily met with, or procured.” See Deuteronomy 23:4.

14. Tema — If this place has been identified, as is claimed, it lay on the present pilgrim road from Damascus to Mecca. Its people are commanded to supply provisions to the caravans, who were fleeing from “the drawn sword, the bent bow, and the grievousness of war.”

Verses 14, 15. The inhabitants of the land of Tema — Another part of Arabia, (of which see Job 6:19; Jeremiah 25:23,) namely, the posterity of Tema, Ishmael’s son; brought water to him that was thirsty — To the Dedanites, who are here represented as being reduced to great straits, being forced to flee from the enemy without any provision for their subsistence. They prevented with bread him that fled — That is, that fled for his life from the sword of the enemy, as is more fully expressed in the next verse. “To bring forth bread and water, in such cases of distress, is an instance of common humanity; especially in these desert countries, in which the common necessaries of life, more particularly water, are not easily met with, or procured.” See Deuteronomy 23:4.

13-15. Burden upon Arabia — On critical grounds, both Ewald and Delitzsch make it doubtful that Arabia, as a whole, is meant, but rather think that the oracle relates to the sandy desert, the Arabah, the region over which the ancient caravan trade was carried. Their opinion is not simply plausible, it is reasonable. It is still Arabia, though a specific part. The caravans are called Dedanim, a mixture of Cushites and Ishmaelites. Their roads or camel routes to and from Tyre, and probably Gaza, are invaded by a foreign force, possibly the Assyrian, in its foraging parties, as the army passes toward Egypt or toward Tyre; and the caravans are dispersed from their accustomed track of travel far out into inhospitable deserts. Forest — Forests, properly so-called, do not exist in Arabia. In wide and moist wadies thickets grow, and in these the caravans could conceal themselves when pursued.

V. 16. A year-From the time of this prophecy: an exact year. Glory-Their power, and riches, and all things wherein they used to glory. This was executed by the Assyrians.

Verses 16, 17. For thus hath the Lord said — Hitherto the prophet had spoken figuratively: now he ceases to do so; within a year — From the time of the delivery of this prophecy, according to the years of a hireling — Namely, an exact year: for hirelings diligently observe and wait for the end of the year, when they are to receive their wages. And this prophecy “was probably delivered about the same time with the rest in this part of the book, that is, soon before or after the 14th of Hezekiah, the year of Sennacherib’s invasion. In his first march into Judea, or in his return from the Egyptian expedition, he might, perhaps, overrun these several clans of Arabians, whose distress, on some such occasion, is the subject of this prophecy.” — Bishop Lowth. And all the glory of Kedar shall fail — Their power and riches, and all things wherein they used to glory The Kedarenes were another division of the Arabians, descended from Kedar, Ishmael’s son, (Genesis 25:13,) who were famous for the use of the bow, as is intimated in verse 17, at which weapon their ancestor Ishmael was very expert, Genesis 21:20. The same people are said to dwell in the tents of Kedar, (Psalm 120:5; Song of Solomon 1:5,) and were remarkable for their swarthiness, the word Kedar signifying black or tawny. It is here foretold that they should suffer a grievous slaughter, whereby their mighty men should be diminished, and that they should be deprived of their flocks, tents, furniture, and wealth, and be obliged to save themselves by fleeing into the interior parts of the desert.

16. Years of a hireling — The desert carriers had probably become rich, and plunder was the object of assaults upon them. The prophet sees that God is to permit them, that is, Kedar — the representative term for all Arabian carriers — to be impoverished. These, and all their glory of wealth and protective guards are to be ruined within a year, as the hireling figure runs — hired for one year.

Verse 17. The archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar— “The mighty bowmen of the sons of Kedar”] Sagittariorum fortium, Vulg.; transposing the two words, and reading hvq yrwbg gibborey kesheth; which seems to be right. The strong men of the bow, the most excellent archers.

For the Lord—hath spoken it— “For JEHOVAH hath spoken it.”] The prophetic Carmina of Marcius, foretelling the battle of Cannæ, lib. xxv. 12, conclude with the same kind of solemn form: Nam mihi ita Jupiter fatus est; “Thus hath Jupiter spoken to me.” Observe that the word נאם naam, to pronounce, to declare, is the solemn word appropriated to the delivering of prophecies: “Behold, I am against the prophets, saith (נאם naam, pronounceth) JEHOVAH, who use their tongues, נאם wmanyw vaiyinamu neum, and solemnly pronounce, He hath pronounced it;” Jeremiah 23:31. What God says shall most assuredly come to pass; he cannot be deceived.

ISAIAH

Verses 16, 17. For thus hath the Lord said — Hitherto the prophet had spoken figuratively: now he ceases to do so; within a year — From the time of the delivery of this prophecy, according to the years of a hireling — Namely, an exact year: for hirelings diligently observe and wait for the end of the year, when they are to receive their wages. And this prophecy “was probably delivered about the same time with the rest in this part of the book, that is, soon before or after the 14th of Hezekiah, the year of Sennacherib’s invasion. In his first march into Judea, or in his return from the Egyptian expedition, he might, perhaps, overrun these several clans of Arabians, whose distress, on some such occasion, is the subject of this prophecy.” — Bishop Lowth. And all the glory of Kedar shall fail — Their power and riches, and all things wherein they used to glory The Kedarenes were another division of the Arabians, descended from Kedar, Ishmael’s son, (Genesis 25:13,) who were famous for the use of the bow, as is intimated in verse 17, at which weapon their ancestor Ishmael was very expert, Genesis 21:20. The same people are said to dwell in the tents of Kedar, (Psalm 120:5; Song of Solomon 1:5,) and were remarkable for their swarthiness, the word Kedar signifying black or tawny. It is here foretold that they should suffer a grievous slaughter, whereby their mighty men should be diminished, and that they should be deprived of their flocks, tents, furniture, and wealth, and be obliged to save themselves by fleeing into the interior parts of the desert.