Isaiah · Chapter 6

V. 1. I saw-In a vision. The Lord-The Divine Majesty as he subsisteth in three persons. His train-His royal and judicial robe; for he is represented as a judge.

Verse 1. The Lord] Fifty-one MSS. of Kennicott’s, and fifty-four of Deuteronomy Rossi’s, and one edition; in the 8th verse, forty-four MSS. of Kennicott’s, and forty-six of Deuteronomy Rossi’s, and one edition; and in the 11th verse thirty-three MSS. of Kennicott’s, and many of Deuteronomy Rossi’s, and one edition, for ynda Adonai, “the Lord” read hwhy “JEHOVAH,” which is probably the true reading; (compare Isaiah 6:8;) as in many other places, in which the superstition of the Jews has substituted ynda Adonai for hwhy Yehovah. One of my own MSS., a very ancient and large folio, to which the points and the masora have been added by a later hand, has hwhy Yehovah in the 1st and 8th verses, in the teeth of the masora, which orders it in both places to be read ynda Adonai.

Verse 1. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord — “As this vision,” says Bishop Lowth, “seems to contain a solemn designation of Isaiah to the prophetical office, it is by most interpreters thought to be the first in order of his prophecies. But this perhaps may not be so: for Isaiah is said, in the general title of his prophecies, to have prophesied in the time of Uzziah, whose acts, first and last, he wrote, (2 Chronicles 26:22,) and the phrase, in the year when Uzziah died, probably means, after the death of Uzziah; as the same phrase, (Isaiah 14:28,) means, after the death of Ahaz. Not that Isaiah’s prophecies are placed in exact order of time: chapters 2., 3., 4., 5. seem, by internal marks, to be antecedent to chapter 1.; they suit the time of Uzziah, or the former part of Jotham’s reign: whereas, chapter 1. can hardly be earlier than the last years of Jotham: see note on Isaiah 1:1, 7, and 2:1. This might be a new designation of the whole course of God’s dispensations in regard to his people, and the fates of the nation; which are even now still depending, and will not be fully accomplished till the final restoration of Israel.”

I saw the Lord — In a vision or ecstasy. The place of this vision is supposed to be the temple, from which the particular scenery of it is taken. The Divine Majesty is represented as seated upon a throne, high and lifted up — Probably above the ark in the most holy place, where the glory appeared above the cherubim, surrounded by his attendant ministers. “The veil, separating the most holy place from the holy, or the outermost part of the temple, is supposed to be taken away, for the prophet, to whom the whole is exhibited, is manifestly placed by the altar of burnt-offering, at the entrance of the temple, (compare Ezekiel 43:5, 6,) which was filled with the train of the robe, the spreading and overflowing of the divine glory. The Lord upon the throne, according to St. John, (John 12:41,) was Christ, and the vision related to his future kingdom; when the veil of separation was to be removed, and the whole earth was to be filled with the glory of God, revealed to all mankind. It respects, indeed, primarily the prophet’s own time, and the obduration of the Jews of that age, and their punishment by the Babylonish captivity; but extends, in its full latitude, to the age of the Messiah, and the blindness of the Jews to the gospel; the desolation of their country by the Romans, and their being rejected by God; that, nevertheless, a holy seed, a remnant, should be preserved, and that the nation should sprout out and flourish again from the old stock. — Bishop Lowth.

Verse 1. I saw also, or I then saw the LORD. The Hebrew is Adonai, as in Psalm 110:1. But bishop Lowth has collected from the critics, that in the first verse fifty one manuscripts and one printed edition, in the eighth verse forty four manuscripts and one printed edition, and in the eleventh verse fifty three manuscripts and one printed edition, for Adonai read JEHOVAH. Hence he infers that JEHOVAH is probably the true reading, as the superstitions of later Jews have apparently changed the term. Which soever of the terms be the true reading, the Godhead of Christ is hereby incontestably proved. See John 12:41.—Sitting upon a throne, after the manner of kings. Revelation 4:2. 20:11. His throne in the temple, a figure of heaven, is called his rest: Isaiah 11:10. It is also called a glorious high throne, and the place of the soles of his feet. Jeremiah 17:12. Ezekiel 43:7.

1. I saw — An insight into the invisible world. The prophet’s mind is in communication with heaven, but his mode of apprehension is by symbol. The holy of holies in the temple, with the veil removed, is the scene where the vision occurs. It is told us, in John 12:41, that the “Lord,” =Jehovah, whom Isaiah saw in this vision, was the yet unincarnated Jesus. [Compare the much sublimer theophany of Revelation iv, where see notes. Isaiah gives the apocalypse of Jerusalem’s downfal, John of the mystical Babylon’s.] In this vision the beholder sees the sovereign Jehovah on his throne, high and lifted up, with the folds of his train, or skirts, filling all the temple. Above the throne were standing or hovering, as attendant ministers before the ineffably glorious One, seraphim, or burning ones; beings with the radiance and glory of fire — an essence, so to call it — which symbolized certain intense qualities of character. The word is here only used with this sense in Scripture. It is from ãrc, (saraph,) to burn, and the being is evidently spoken of as wearing a human form, with brilliant fiery appearance, covered with wings. [This word, to burn, is often used in the Old Testament, and for some reason the noun saraph, burner, signifies a serpent. Rabbi Solomon says, (quoted by Barnes,) “serpents are called seraphim, because they burn men with the poison of their teeth.” Better, however, is perhaps the suggestion of Nagelsbach, (Lange’s Bibelwerk,) that serpents were called burners from the resemblance of their vibratory creeping to the vibrations of a flame; they were flamers. And these present holy beings are called burners, not as serpents, but as representing, or, as we may say, incarnating, the burning, consuming purity and holiness of God. Hence their ascription, holy, to God, indicates their own holy nature. They are pure flames of purity and love; and though seen in repose by the prophet — they have a radiant human form — yet we may conceive that when on the wing, sent forth by Jehovah, they may become (what the flying flamingo of the south seems to be) a darting flame. As fire they either purify or destroy, as the object they touch may be; they purified the prophet, they consumed the guilty people, all save the final remnant.

V. 2. Stood-As ministers attending upon their Lord. Seraphim-An order of holy angels, thus called from fire and burning, which this word properly signifies; to represent either their nature, which is bright and glorious, subtile, and pure; or their property, of fervent zeal for God’s service and glory. Covered-Out of profound reverence.

Verse 2. Above it stood the seraphim] µyprc seraphim, from ãrc seraph, to burn. He saw says Kimchi, the angels as flames of fire, that the depravity of that generation might be exhibited, which was worthy of being totally burnt up.

He covered his feet— “He covereth his feet”] By the feet the Hebrews mean all the lower parts of the body. But the people of the East generally wearing long robes, reaching to the ground, and covering the lower parts of the body down to the feet, it may hence have been thought want of respect and decency to appear in public and on solemn occasions with even the feet themselves uncovered. Kempfer, speaking of the king of Persia giving audience, says, Rex in medio supremi atrii cruribus more patrio inflexis sedebat: corpus tunica investiebat flava, ad suras cum staret protensa; discumbentis vero pedes discalceatos pro urbanitate patria operiens.—Amœn. Exot. p. 227. “The king sat on the floor cross-legged, as is the custom of the country. He was covered with a yellow garment, which reached down to the feet when standing, but covered the feet for decency when sitting with his slippers off.” Sir John Chardin’s MS. note on this place of Isaiah is as follows: Grande marque de respect en orient de se cacher les pieds, quand on est assis, et de baisser le visage. Quand le souvrain se monstre en Chine et a Japon, chacun se jette le visage contre terre, et il n’est pas permis de regarder le roi; “It is a great mark of respect in the East to cover the feet, and to bow down the head in the presence of the king.”

Verse 2. Above it — Or, rather, above him, as wl l[mm might be better rendered; stood the seraphim — As ministers attending upon their Lord, and waiting to receive and execute his commands. The word seraphim, which, like cherubim, is plural, signifies burning, or flaming ones, from the verb ãrc, seraph, to burn or flame. The expression here means spiritual beings, qui a claritate et aspectus splendore, quasi flammantes et ignei visi sunt, “who, from their brightness, and the splendour of their aspect, appeared as if they were fiery and flaming.” It is probable that both their name and their fiery, burning appearance were intended to signify, 1st, Their nature, which is bright and glorious, subtle and pure; and, 2d, Those qualities of fervent love to God, and zeal for his glory and service, which they possess. Each one had six wings — For the purpose immediately mentioned. With twain he covered his face — Out of profound reverence, as being sensible of the infinite distance between God and him, so that he durst not presume to look directly upon him, and judged himself neither able nor worthy to behold the brightness of his glory. And with twain he covered his feet — To signify the sense he had of his own natural, though not moral, infirmity; and his desire that God would not too severely examine all his ways and actions, commonly signified by the feet; because, though they did not swerve from God’s commands, yet they were not worthy of the acceptance, nor suitable to the dignity of so glorious a majesty. And with twain he did fly — Which implies his great readiness and alacrity, his activity and celerity in executing God’s commands. We may infer from this description of the seraphim, that they appeared in a human form: but whether that is the form they always bear, or whether it was only assumed on this occasion, cannot be determined.

Ver. 2. The seraphim, the burning ones, more fully noticed in Ezekiel 1. He makes his angels spirits, his messengers as flames of fire. Hebrews 1:7. To write seraphims is injudicious. These, it would seem, were only two in the temple, but four in Ezekiel, and in the Revelation. Here they seem to make only two choirs.

2. Above it — Rather, above Him; that is, as winged beings, higher than the divine Occupant of the throne, hovering around when in motion, standing like choristers in a gallery when still. With twain — Two pairs of the six wings were used as veils, the upper of the face and the lower of the lower parts of the body, extending to the feet. The face is veiled, as if to prevent the too full lustre of the divine radiance upon the eyes; the lower extremities from reverence and decency. The middle pair are for flying; but out of the divine presence, in performance of messages, doubtless the whole six are free to speed the lightning-like flight.

V. 3. Cried-Singing in consort. Holy-This is repeated thrice, to intimate the Trinity of persons united in the Divine essence. Glory-Of the effects and demonstrations of his glorious holiness, as well as of his power, wisdom, and goodness.

Verse 3. Holy, holy, holy] This hymn performed by the seraphim, divided into two choirs, the one singing responsively to the other, which Gregory Nazian., Carm. 18, very elegantly calls Sumfwnon, antifwnon, aggelwn stasin, is formed upon the practice of alternate singing, which prevailed in the Jewish Church from the time of Moses, whose ode at the Red Sea was thus performed, (see Exodus 15:20, 21,) to that of Ezra, under whom the priests and Levites sung alternately,

“O praise JEHOVAH, for he is gracious;

For his mercy endureth for ever;”

Ezra 3:11. See Deuteronomy Sac. Pœs. Hebr. Præl. xix., at the beginning.

Verse 3. And one cried unto another — Divided into two choirs, they sung responsively one to the other; and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts — “God’s holiness,” says Lowth, “or the superlative purity of his nature, implies in it all the rest of his attributes, especially his justice and mercy, which are dispensed by the most exact rules of rectitude. The Christian Church has always thought the doctrine of the Trinity to be implied in this threefold repetition of holy: as it is also intimated in several other passages of the Old Testament, particularly in that form commanded to be used in blessing the people, Numbers 6:24-26; and Isaiah 48:16, of this book;” where see the notes. Thus Jerome observes the design of their hymn was “to show that there is a Trinity in the one Godhead; and to testify, that, not the Jewish temple, as formerly, (for that was to be forsaken of God,) but the whole earth was full of his glory:” namely, of the effects and demonstrations of his glorious holiness, as well as of his power, wisdom, and goodness.

3. Cried unto another — If more than two, then they stood in opposite rows, each side the throne, and responded each singly to his opposite fellow, after the manner of an antiphonal service. Holy — The threefold utterance might be supposed simply a repetition for emphasis, but the same threefoldness in Revelation 4:8 (where see notes) plainly indicates the trinity.

V. 4. The posts-Together with the door itself. Such violent motions were commonly tokens of God’s anger. Smoak-Which elsewhere is a token of God’s presence and acceptance, but here of his anger.

Verse 4. And the posts of the door moved — Together with the door itself. Such violent motions were commonly tokens of God’s anger. And here, it seems, this concussion of the temple was intended to signify God’s displeasure against his people for their sins, and to be a token of its destruction, by the Babylonians first, and afterward by the Romans; and the house was filled with smoke — Which elsewhere is a token of God’s presence and acceptance, but here, of his anger; and may be considered likewise as an emblem of the darkness and blindness of that generation of Jews, accustomed to worship in that temple, as also of that future generation of the same people, who should worship there in the days of the Messiah, before its second destruction by the Romans.

4. Posts… moved… voice of him — As each cried “holy” singly, the prophet, standing in front of the vestibule, (not far from the great altar,) beheld a tremor of the “posts;” a trembling not caused by the physical force of the cry, but as a pulsation at the intensity of the divine holiness. Filled with smoke — The incense from the burning altar of verse 6, the symbol of worship of the present Jehovah, accompanying the ascription. See notes on Revelation 8:2-5.

V. 5. l am-I am a great sinner, as many other ways, so particularly by my lips. I am an unclean branch of an unclean tree; besides my own uncleanness, I have both by my omissions and commissions involved myself in the guilt of their sins. Have seen-The sight of this glorious and holy God gives me cause to fear that he is come to judgment against me.

Verse 5. Wo is me! for I am undone] ytymdn nidmeythi, I am become dumb. There is something exceedingly affecting in this complaint. I am a man of unclean lips; I cannot say, Holy, holy, holy! which the seraphs exclaim. They are holy; I am not so: they see God, and live; I have seen him, and must die, because I am unholy. Only the pure in heart shall see God; and they only can live in his presence for ever, Reader, lay this to heart; and instead of boasting of thy excellence, and trusting in thy might, or comforting thyself in thy comparative innocence, thou wilt also be dumb before him, because thou hast been a man of unclean lips, and because thou hast still an unclean heart.

I am undone— “I am struck dumb”] ytymdn nidmeythi, twenty-eight MSS. (five ancient) and three editions.—I understand it as from דום dum or דמם damam, silere, “to be silent;” and so it is rendered by the Syriac, Vulgate, Symmachus, and by some of the Jewish interpreters, apud Sal. b. Melec. The rendering of the Syriac is yna rywt tavir ani, stupens, attonitus sum, “I am amazed.” He immediately gives the reason why he was struck dumb: because he was a man of polluted lips, and dwelt among a people of polluted lips, and was unworthy, either to join the seraphim in singing praises to God, or to be the messenger of God to his people. Compare Exodus 4:10; 6:12; Jeremiah 1:6.

Verse 5. Then said I, &c. — The second part of this vision begins here, containing the sanctification of the prophet, in order to his undertaking of a great prophetical office, and showing, 1st, his state of mind upon the sight of the preceding illustrious vision: his consternation under a sense of his great unworthiness; and, 2d, describing the singular mode of his sanctification — Wo is me, for I am undone, &c. — That is, if God deal with me in strict justice. For I have made myself obnoxious to his displeasure; because I am a man of unclean lips — I am a great sinner, having offended him, as in many other ways, so particularly by my lips. And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips — I am an unclean branch of an unclean tree; besides my own uncleanness, I have, both by want of zeal and of diligence, and faithfulness in the discharge of my duty, involved myself in the guilt of their sins, and therefore may justly fear to partake with them in their plagues. Add to this, his consternation probably also arose, in part, from a sense of his want of due qualifications for the important office in which he was to be employed, and of his unworthiness to be God’s messenger to his people, or even to join with the seraphim in praising him. For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts — The sight of this glorious and holy God gives me cause to fear that he is come to enter into judgment with me. Observe, reader, while sinners are presumptuous and secure, even in the acts of their worship, though merely formal and hypocritical, holy persons have always been filled with reverence and humiliation before God: and the more extraordinary the manifestations of God’s presence have been to them, the more have they reverenced and stood in awe of him, and the more have they abhorred themselves. Thus Job 42:5, 6, Now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes! And thus may not only every penitent sinner, but every justified believer, say,

My humbled soul, when thou art near,

In dust and ashes lies;

How shall a sinful worm appear,

Or meet thy purer eyes!

5. Woe is me — At sight of this display of divine holiness the prophet is dismayed. The fire of purity, he fears, will not cleanse, but consume him, conscious as he is of impurity. A man of unclean lips — And yet he had dared to prophesy in the name of this thrice holy! Midst of a people of unclean lips — Impure, not only inwardly and individually, but by contagion from without. The filthy tongues of neighbours and countrymen have contaminated my ears, heart, and soul. The thought is not that I am by this uncleanness unfitted for joining the “holy, holy, holy,” of the seraphim; but it is that I am unfit to speak as the mouth of Jehovah: for it is for this that the coal of the seraph purifies his lips; and this profound consecration for his office is key to this whole vision.

V. 6. Flew-By God’s command. A coal-Both a token and an instrument of purification. The altar-Of burnt-offering.

Verse 6. A live coal] The word of prophecy, which was put into the mouth of the prophet.

From off the altar] That is, from the altar of burnt-offerings, before the door of the temple, on which the fire that came down at first from heaven (Leviticus 9:24; 2 Chronicles 7:1) was perpetually burning. It was never to be extinguished, Leviticus 6:12, 13.

Verses 6, 7. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me — By God’s command; having a live coal in his hand — Both a token and an instrument of purification, as the next verse explains it; which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar — Of burnt-offering, which stood in the court of the priests, where the prophet appeared to himself to be during the vision. The seraph took it from the altar, to show that men are to expect the expiation of sin, and purification from it, only by such means as God hath appointed, and particularly by the mediation of Christ, whom that altar manifestly represented, and by that purifying and refining grace of the Holy Spirit, which was signified by this live coal, and is conferred on none except through the merit of Christ’s sacrifice; see Hebrews 9:14, and 13:10. And he laid it upon my mouth — So as only to touch my lips, and not to burn them. This was done to signify, not only that all the gifts and graces that purify the mind, and fit us for the discharge of any particular duty or function, come from God; but that there must be a real application and communication of them to our souls. It is not sufficient that we hear, think, and speak of them; or even that we desire them, and believe them to be attainable; but we must really receive and possess them. Observe this, reader. It is of infinite consequence to thy salvation. Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquity is taken away — This is a sign that the guilt of thy sin is removed by pardoning mercy, and thy corrupt disposition and inclination to sin, by renewing grace; and, therefore, nothing can hinder thee from being accepted of God, as a worshipper, in concert with the holy angels; or from being employed for God, as a messenger to the children of men. Those only, who are thus purged from an evil conscience, are prepared to serve the living God, Hebrews 9:14. The taking away of sin is necessary, in order to our speaking with confidence and comfort, either to God in prayer, or from God in preaching. Nor are any so fit to display to others the riches and power of gospel grace, as those who have themselves tasted the sweetness, and felt the influence of that grace.

6. Flew — The seraph spread his middle pair of wings and “flew” from the throne, first to the altar of incense, then to the prophet with a glowing coal. This “coal” is originally taken from the atoning great altar before the temple door, and so Isaiah was pardoned through the atonement; it was taken by the angel from the holy altar of incense, and so, applied to the prophet’s mouth, purified his lips for the coming terrible utterances they were to deliver.

V. 7. Laid it-So as only to touch my lips, and not to burn them; which God could easily effect. Lo-This is a sign that I have pardoned and purged the uncleanness of thy lips.

Verses 6, 7. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me — By God’s command; having a live coal in his hand — Both a token and an instrument of purification, as the next verse explains it; which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar — Of burnt-offering, which stood in the court of the priests, where the prophet appeared to himself to be during the vision. The seraph took it from the altar, to show that men are to expect the expiation of sin, and purification from it, only by such means as God hath appointed, and particularly by the mediation of Christ, whom that altar manifestly represented, and by that purifying and refining grace of the Holy Spirit, which was signified by this live coal, and is conferred on none except through the merit of Christ’s sacrifice; see Hebrews 9:14, and 13:10. And he laid it upon my mouth — So as only to touch my lips, and not to burn them. This was done to signify, not only that all the gifts and graces that purify the mind, and fit us for the discharge of any particular duty or function, come from God; but that there must be a real application and communication of them to our souls. It is not sufficient that we hear, think, and speak of them; or even that we desire them, and believe them to be attainable; but we must really receive and possess them. Observe this, reader. It is of infinite consequence to thy salvation. Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquity is taken away — This is a sign that the guilt of thy sin is removed by pardoning mercy, and thy corrupt disposition and inclination to sin, by renewing grace; and, therefore, nothing can hinder thee from being accepted of God, as a worshipper, in concert with the holy angels; or from being employed for God, as a messenger to the children of men. Those only, who are thus purged from an evil conscience, are prepared to serve the living God, Hebrews 9:14. The taking away of sin is necessary, in order to our speaking with confidence and comfort, either to God in prayer, or from God in preaching. Nor are any so fit to display to others the riches and power of gospel grace, as those who have themselves tasted the sweetness, and felt the influence of that grace.

7. Touched thy lips — Yet, though “mouth” alone was touched by the coal, the purifying power burned through the whole nature. The “lips” were touched because they were the organ through which the purified nature would express itself.

V. 8. Who-To deliver the following message. The change of the number, I and us, is very remarkable; and both being meant of one and the same Lord, do sufficiently intimate a plurality of persons in the Godhead.

Verse 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord — We have here the third part of this vision, comprehending, 1st, A trial of the disposition of the prophet, now sanctified, with his reply to the Lord, in this verse; 2d, The command delivered to him concerning the execution of the divine judgment upon the Jews, of blindness, &c., verses 9, 10; 3d, A more full and explicit declaration of a most grievous temporal judgment, which should be joined with the spiritual one, verses 11-13. — Vitringa. Whom shall I send? — God asks this question, not as if he were unresolved whom to send, but that Isaiah might have an opportunity of voluntarily offering his service. And who will go for us? — To deliver the following message. The change of the number, I and us, is very remarkable; and both being meant of one and the same Lord, do sufficiently intimate a plurality of persons in the Godhead. Then said I, Here am I, &c. — God’s last and great favour to him both encouraged and obliged him to be thus forward in his service.

8. Voice of the Lord — The seraphs’ voices are hushed at the “voice” of Jehovah. From amid the Presence a great inquiry reaches the prophet’s ear. It is an inquiry which Jehovah is ever making; namely, for preachers and missionaries to a dying world. Whom shall I send, and who will go, are the divine queries. The first query implies that whoever goes should first receive his commission from Jehovah; he should be sent, and not go before he is sent. The second implies that he should freely will to go; he should heartily accord with his commission. For us — The plural may here, as elsewhere, be the plural of royalty, by which kings speak of themselves as we and us. Or, it may include with Jehovah himself his attendant court of seraphim. Or, as many eminent commentators, it may denote the trinity, indicated in the thrice “holy” uttered by the seraphim. Here am I — And this is the man who a few minutes ago was agonized with fear for his life because in his impurity he had seen God. Touched with the heavenly fire he now faces with bold joy the divine Presence, and announces himself ready for any message.

V. 9. Perceive not-The Hebrew words are imperative; yet they are not to be taken as a command what the people ought to do, but only as a prediction what they would do. The sense is, because you have so long heard my words, and seen my works, to no purpose, and have hardened your hearts, and will not learn nor reform, I will punish you in your own kind, your sin shall be your punishment. I will still continue my word and works to you, but will withdraw my Spirit, so that you shall be as unable, as now you are unwilling, to understand.

Verse 9. And he said] yl li, to me, two MSS. and the Syriac. Thirteen MSS. have har raah, in the regular form.

Verses 9, 10. And he said, Go, and tell this people — Not my people, for I disown them as they have rejected me. Hear ye indeed, but understand not, &c. — The Hebrew words are imperative; yet they are not to be taken as a command, enjoining what the people ought to do, but only as a prediction foretelling what they would do. The sense is, Because you have so long heard my words, and seen my works, to no purpose, and have hardened your hearts, and will not learn nor reform, I will punish you in your own way; your sin shall be your punishment. I will still continue my word and works to you, but will withdraw my Spirit, so that you shall be as unable, as now you are unwilling, to understand. Make the heart of this people fat — Stupid and senseless. This making of their hearts fat, is here ascribed to the prophet, as it is ascribed to God in the repetition of this prophecy, (John 12:40,) because God inflicted this judgment upon them by the ministry of the prophet, partly by way of prediction, foretelling that this would be the effect of his preaching, and partly by withdrawing the light and help of his Spirit. Make their ears heavy — Make them dull of hearing. Lest they see with their eyes — That they may not be able, as before they were not willing to see. And convert — Turn from their sinful practices unto God; and be healed — Of sin, (which is the disease of the soul,) by remission and sanctification, and of all the deadly effects of sin. This prophecy might relate, in some measure, to the state of the Jews before the Babylonish captivity, but certainly it did not receive its full accomplishment till the days of our Lord; and in this sense it is understood and applied by the writers of the New Testament, and by Christ himself.

9. Hear ye… but understand not — Not a command, but a recognition in imperative form of what their hard predispositions indicated they would do: Hear and (as it is clear you purpose to do) refuse to appreciate the truth; shut it out from your cognizance; ignore it and persistently misunderstand it.

V. 10. Fat-Stupid and senseless. This making of their hearts fat, is here ascribed to the prophet, as it is ascribed to God in the repetition of this prophecy, John 12:40, because God inflicted this judgment upon them by the ministry of the prophet, partly by way of prediction, foretelling that this would be the effect of his preaching; and partly by withdrawing the light and help of his Spirit. Heavy-Make them dull of hearing. Lest-That they may not be able, as before they were not willing to see. Convert-Turn to God.

Verse 10. Make the heart of this people fat— “Gross”] The prophet speaks of the event, the fact as it would actually happen, not of God’s purpose and act by his ministry. The prophets are in other places said to perform the thing which they only foretell:—

“Lo! I have given thee a charge this day

Over the nations, and over the kingdoms;

To pluck up, and to pull down;

To destroy, and to demolish;

To build, and to plant.”

Jeremiah 1:10.

And Ezekiel says, “When I came to destroy the city,” that is, as it is rendered in the margin of our version, “when I came to prophesy that the city should be destroyed; “ Ezekiel 43:3. To hear, and not understand; to see, and not perceive; is a common saying in many languages. Demosthenes uses it, and expressly calls it a proverb: wste to thv paroimiav orwntav mh oran, kai akouontav mh akouein; Contra Aristogit. I., sub fin. The prophet, by the bold figure in the sentiment above mentioned, and the elegant form and construction of the sentence, has raised it from a common proverb into a beautiful mashal, and given it the sublime air of poetry.

Or the words may be understood thus, according to the Hebrew idiom: “Ye certainly hear, but do not understand; ye certainly see, but do not acknowledge.” Seeing this is the case, make the heart of this people fat— declare it to be stupid and senseless; and remove from them the means of salvation, which they have so long abused.

There is a saying precisely like this in Æschylus:—

blepontev eblepon mathn,

Kluontev ouk hkouon.

ÆSCH. Prom. Vinct. 456.

“Seeing, they saw in vain; and hearing, they did not understand.” And shut— “Close up”] [vh hasha. This word Sal. ben Melec explains to this sense, in which it is hardly used elsewhere, on the authority of Onkelos. He says it means closing up the eyes, so that one cannot see; that the root is [wv shava, by which word the Targum has rendered the word jc tach, Leviticus 14:42, tyb ta jcw vetach eth beith, “and shall plaster the house.” And the word jc tach is used in the same sense, Isaiah 44:18. So that it signifies to close up the eyes by some matter spread upon the lids. Mr. Harmer very ingeniously applies to this passage a practice of sealing up the eyes as a ceremony, or as a kind of punishment used in the East, from which the image may possibly be taken. Observ. ii. 278.

With their heart— “With their hearts”] wbblbw ubilebabo, fifteen MSS. of Kennicott’s and fourteen of Deuteronomy Rossi’s, and two editions, with the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate.

And be healed— “And I should heal”] ap raw veer pa, Septuagint, Vulgate. So likewise Matthew 13:14; John 12:40; Acts 28:27.

Verses 9, 10. And he said, Go, and tell this people — Not my people, for I disown them as they have rejected me. Hear ye indeed, but understand not, &c. — The Hebrew words are imperative; yet they are not to be taken as a command, enjoining what the people ought to do, but only as a prediction foretelling what they would do. The sense is, Because you have so long heard my words, and seen my works, to no purpose, and have hardened your hearts, and will not learn nor reform, I will punish you in your own way; your sin shall be your punishment. I will still continue my word and works to you, but will withdraw my Spirit, so that you shall be as unable, as now you are unwilling, to understand. Make the heart of this people fat — Stupid and senseless. This making of their hearts fat, is here ascribed to the prophet, as it is ascribed to God in the repetition of this prophecy, (John 12:40,) because God inflicted this judgment upon them by the ministry of the prophet, partly by way of prediction, foretelling that this would be the effect of his preaching, and partly by withdrawing the light and help of his Spirit. Make their ears heavy — Make them dull of hearing. Lest they see with their eyes — That they may not be able, as before they were not willing to see. And convert — Turn from their sinful practices unto God; and be healed — Of sin, (which is the disease of the soul,) by remission and sanctification, and of all the deadly effects of sin. This prophecy might relate, in some measure, to the state of the Jews before the Babylonish captivity, but certainly it did not receive its full accomplishment till the days of our Lord; and in this sense it is understood and applied by the writers of the New Testament, and by Christ himself.

Ver. 10. Make the heart of this people fat. [gross] When God foretels an event, he is said to do it, as when he said to Abraham, “I have made thee a father of many nations.” And Jacob said, “with corn and wine have I blessed him.” Isaiah’s new mission was to call the Jews to repentance, on the death of so good a king, when every family wept, as having lost a father. But the ultimate bearing of the mission regarded the final obduracy of the Jews in the rejection of their humble Messiah, as all the prophets had witnessed. The mission of Isaiah was therefore a mission of defiance, like that of Jehu to the elders of Samaria, for God knows how to talk to rebels. Pride blinded the mind of the Jews, while every evil propensity entered their hearts. Nothing would do with them but a Messiah reigning on the throne of David in Jerusalem, and a world of gentile worshippers crowding their courts with gifts and offerings to the Lord. Thus the god of this world hath blinded the minds of those who believe not. To this day the veil is on their hearts; they do not distinguish the two grand traits of prophecy, first the sufferings, and then the glory of Christ.

10. Make the heart… fat — The prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:10) was verbally directed to produce effects which he only predicted. Here Isaiah is directed to cause results which will doubtless take place, but are not necessary effects of his action. His prophecy is not responsible for results produced by the hardness of the people to whom it is delivered. Lest depends upon heavy. The heaviness or torpidity is vigilant “lest” conversion should follow the prophet’s gospel.

V. 11. Lord-An abrupt speech, arising from the prophet’s great passion and astonishment: how long shall this dreadful judgment last? Until-Until this land be totally destroyed, first by the Babylonians, and afterward by the Romans.

Verse 11. Be utterly desolate— “Be left”] For havt tishaeh, the Septuagint and Vulgate read ravt tishshaer.

Verses 11, 12. Then said I, Lord, how long? — An abrupt speech, arising from the prophet’s great passion and astonishment: how long shall this dreadful judgment last? Until the cities be wasted, &c. — Until this land be totally destroyed, first by the Babylonians, and afterward by the Romans. And the Lord have removed men far away — Hath caused this people to be carried away captive into far countries. And there be a great forsaking — Till houses and lands be generally forsaken of their owners. The reader wilt observe, “There is a remarkable gradation in denouncing these judgments; not only Jerusalem and the cities should be wasted without inhabitant, but even the single houses should be without man; and not only the houses of the cities, but even the country should be utterly desolate; and not only the people should be removed out of the land, but the Lord should remove them far away; and they should not be removed for a short period, but there should be a great, or rather, a long forsaking in the midst of the land. And hath not the world seen all these particulars exactly fulfilled? Have not the Jews laboured under a spiritual blindness and infatuation, in hearing, but not understanding, in seeing, but not perceiving the Messiah, after the accomplishment of so many prophecies, after the performance of so many miracles? And, in consequence of their refusal to convert and be healed, have not their cities been wasted without inhabitants, and their houses without man? Have they not been removed far away into the most distant parts of the earth? and hath not their removal, or banishment, been now of above 1700 years duration? And do they not still continue deaf and blind, obstinate and unbelieving? The Jews, at the time of the delivery of this prophecy, gloried in being the peculiar church and people of God; and would any Jew, of himself, have thought or have said, that his nation would, in process of time, become an infidel and reprobate nation; infidel and reprobate for many ages, oppressed by man, and forsaken of God? It was above 750 years before Christ that Isaiah predicted these things; and how could he have predicted them, unless he had been illuminated by the divine vision; or could they have succeeded accordingly, unless the Spirit of prophecy had been the Spirit of God?” See Bishop Newton on the Prophecies, vol. 1. p. 233.

11. How long a period will this hardness last, and how extended a time must the message predict? Until — The direful answer covers the whole period until Nebuchadnezzar carries the people to Babylon. Cities will be reduced to solitudes; houses will stand tenantless and dilapidated; land or soil will be untilled and run wild.

V. 12. Removed-Hath caused this people to be carried away captive into far countries. A forsaking-‘Till houses and lands be generally forsaken of their owners.

Verses 11, 12. Then said I, Lord, how long? — An abrupt speech, arising from the prophet’s great passion and astonishment: how long shall this dreadful judgment last? Until the cities be wasted, &c. — Until this land be totally destroyed, first by the Babylonians, and afterward by the Romans. And the Lord have removed men far away — Hath caused this people to be carried away captive into far countries. And there be a great forsaking — Till houses and lands be generally forsaken of their owners. The reader wilt observe, “There is a remarkable gradation in denouncing these judgments; not only Jerusalem and the cities should be wasted without inhabitant, but even the single houses should be without man; and not only the houses of the cities, but even the country should be utterly desolate; and not only the people should be removed out of the land, but the Lord should remove them far away; and they should not be removed for a short period, but there should be a great, or rather, a long forsaking in the midst of the land. And hath not the world seen all these particulars exactly fulfilled? Have not the Jews laboured under a spiritual blindness and infatuation, in hearing, but not understanding, in seeing, but not perceiving the Messiah, after the accomplishment of so many prophecies, after the performance of so many miracles? And, in consequence of their refusal to convert and be healed, have not their cities been wasted without inhabitants, and their houses without man? Have they not been removed far away into the most distant parts of the earth? and hath not their removal, or banishment, been now of above 1700 years duration? And do they not still continue deaf and blind, obstinate and unbelieving? The Jews, at the time of the delivery of this prophecy, gloried in being the peculiar church and people of God; and would any Jew, of himself, have thought or have said, that his nation would, in process of time, become an infidel and reprobate nation; infidel and reprobate for many ages, oppressed by man, and forsaken of God? It was above 750 years before Christ that Isaiah predicted these things; and how could he have predicted them, unless he had been illuminated by the divine vision; or could they have succeeded accordingly, unless the Spirit of prophecy had been the Spirit of God?” See Bishop Newton on the Prophecies, vol. 1. p. 233.

12. Lord have removed — Accomplished the punishment of Judah through the agency of Babylon.

V. 13. A tenth-A small remnant reserved, that number being put indefinitely. Return-Out of the Babylonish captivity, into their own land. Eaten-That remnant shall be devoured a second time, by the kings of Syria, and afterwards by the Romans. Yet-Yet there shall be another remnant, not such an one as that which came out of Babylon, but an holy seed, who shall afterwards look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn over him. When-Who when their leaves are cast in winter, have a substance within themselves, a vital principle, which preserves life in the root of the tree, and in due time sends it forth into all the branches. The support-Of the land or people, which, were it not for the sake of these, should be finally rooted out.

Verse 13. A tenth] This passage, though somewhat obscure, and variously explained by various interpreters, has, I think, been made so clear by the accomplishment of the prophecy, that there remains little room to doubt of the sense of it. When Nebuchadnezzar had carried away the greater and better part of the people into captivity, there was yet a tenth remaining in the land, the poorer sort left to be vine-dressers and husbandmen, under Gedaliah, 2 Kings 25:12, 22, and the dispersed Jews gathered themselves together, and returned to him, Jeremiah 40:12; yet even these, fleeing into Egypt after the death of Gedaliah, contrary to the warning of God given by the prophet Jeremiah, miserably perished there. Again, in the subsequent and more remarkable completion of the prophecy in the destruction of Jerusalem, and the dissolution of the commonwealth by the Romans, when the Jews, after the loss of above a million of men, had increased from the scanty residue that was left of them, and had become very numerous again in their country; Hadrian, provoked by their rebellious behaviour, slew above half a million more of them, and a second time almost extirpated the nation. Yet after these signal and almost universal destructions of that nation, and after so many other repeated exterminations and massacres of them in different times and on various occasions since, we yet see, with astonishment, that the stock still remains, from which God, according to his promise frequently given by his prophets, will cause his people to shoot forth again, and to flourish.—L. A tenth, hyryc[ asiriyah. The meaning, says Kimchi, of this word is, there shall yet be in the land ten kings from the time of declaring this prophecy. The names of the ten kings are Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah; then there shall be a general consumption, the people shall be carried into captivity, and Jerusalem shall be destroyed.

For בם bam, in them, above seventy MSS., eleven of Kennicott’s, and thirty-four of Deuteronomy Rossi’s, read hb bah, in it; and so the Septuagint.

ISAIAH

Verse 13. But yet in it shall be a tenth — A small remnant reserved, that number being put indefinitely. And it shall return — Out of the Babylonish captivity, into their own land. And shall be eaten — Or, shall be for a prey, as Dr. Waterland translates it: that is, that remnant shall be devoured a second time by the kings of Syria, and afterward by the Romans. Yet as a teil-tree, and as an oak, &c. — Yet there shall be another remnant, not such a one as that which came out of Babylon, but a holy seed, who shall afterward look upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn over him. Whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves, &c. — Who, when their leaves are cast in winter, have a substance within themselves, a vital principle, which preserves life in the root of the tree, and in due time sends it forth into all the branches. So the holy seed shall be the substance, or, rather, the support thereof — Of the people, who, were it not for the sake of these, should be finally rooted out and destroyed.

Ver. 13. As an oak. Dr. William Stukeley, our learned antiquary, and a principal founder of the Royal Society, says here, “As an oak whose misletoe plant is alive upon it, when its leaves fall off, so the holy seed shall be like this plant. In this obscure passage, which commentators avoid, Isaiah seems to make the misletoe symbolical of the Messiah, and of christianity grafted on the Jewish stock.”

13. A tenth — A remnant of some one in ten shall be left in Judah by the captor. Thus, in 2 Kings 25:12, it is said “the captain of the guard left the poor of the land to be vine-dressers and husbandmen.” It was the great land monopolists that were taken from the land. So, 2 Kings 24:14, it is said, “Nebuchadnezzar carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths; none remained save the poorer sort of the people of the land.” Over these he made Gedaliah king. 2 Kings 24:22. It shall return — The prophecy omits to say that this “tenth” emigrated at first to Egypt, and that it was from Egypt that it returned. The omission is supplied by 2 Kings 25:26, where it is said that the remnant “arose and came to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldees,” or Babylonians. They afterwards, however, returned to Judea, (Jeremiah 40:11, 12,) and resumed residence under the rule of Gedaliah. Be eaten — Literally, be grazed, or consumed as grass is by grazing cattle. They would be worn out with poverty and hardship, Teil tree — The terebinth or turpentine tree. A large tree, less than the oak, with lancet-shaped leaves of a dark reddish hue, and a trunk producing a fine resin. It is not an evergreen. Cast their leaves — In autumn these noble deciduous trees shed their “leaves;” but their sap retires to the trunk, and the concentrated vitality will put on new glory in the spring. So shall the holy seed — the offspring of Abraham — be the stock thereof, that is, of the Hebrew race. The remnant, reinforced by the restoration from the captivity, will constitute a trunk surviving the downfal, as a tree survives its cast-off foliage. Wonderfully truly, from the prophet’s time to the present hour, has this prophecy of the persistent vitality of the Jewish race been verified.]