This iniquity - Of trusting to Egypt, shall be like a wall which is high, but swelling forth in some parts, which, upon the least accident, falls down suddenly.
He - God.
In returning - To God. Quietness - In sitting still, and quieting your minds. Confidence - Placed upon me, and my promises.
'Till - 'Till you be destroyed, and but a few of you left.
Wait - Patiently expect your repentance. Exalted - He will work gloriously. Judgment - Or mercy. That wait - In his way, with faith and patience.
Shall dwell - After a set time, they shall return to Jerusalem, and have a fixed abode. This was in part accomplished upon their return from Babylon; but more fully in the times of the gospel, when many of them were, and the whole body of them shall be brought into Christ's church.
Shall hear - Thou shalt hear the voice of God's word and spirit. Behind thee - A metaphor borrowed from shepherds, who use to follow their sheep, and recall them when they go out of the way.
Defile - To shew your contempt of it. Covering - The leaves or plates wherewith their images were frequently covered. Ornament - It was a costly and glorious robe.
Bread - Which shall be the fruit of thy own land and labour: and excellent for quality, which is called, fat, Deut 32:14, and abundant for quantity.
Clean provender - There should be such plenty of corn, that the very beasts, instead of straw, should eat corn; and that not in the ear, or with the straw, but the pure grain.
Hill - Which is commonly dry and barren. In the day - When God shall destroy the enemies of his people. The towers - The mighty potentates, who fought against God's people.
Sevenfold - As if the light of seven days were combined together in one. Healeth - When God shall effectually cure the wounds of his people, making Israel and Judah to be one, and making Jew and Gentile to be one fold under one shepherd.
Behold - Here he gives them an earnest of those greater mercies in times to come, by assuring them of the approaching destruction of the Assyrian forces. The name - The Lord himself. From far - From a remote place: even from heaven. Heavy - He will inflict heavy judgments upon them. Indignation - He hath pronounced a severe sentence against them, and will give command for the execution of it.
His breath - God's anger. A stream - Coming from him as vehemently, as a mighty torrent of waters. To sift - To shake and scatter, as it were with a sieve. The nations - The Assyrian army, which was made up of several nations. With - Not with an ordinary sieve, which casteth away the chaff only, but with a sieve, which should shake them so long and so vehemently, as to cast away altogether. A bridle - God will over - rule them by his powerful providence. To err - Whereas other bridles guide into the right way, this shall turn them out of the way, by giving them up to their own foolish counsels, which shall bring them to certain ruin.
A song - You shall have songs of praise. The night - He seems to have a particular respect to the solemnity of the passover, in which they spent some considerable part of the night in rejoicing, and singing psalms before the Lord. As when - Like the joy of one that is going up to the solemn feasts with musick.
His voice - His thunder, metaphorically taken for some terrible judgment. The lightning - Upon the Assyrian. With - With great wrath; which is signified by heaping so many words of the same signification together.
The rod - Heb. the founded rod, the judgment of God, called a founded rod, because it was firmly established, by God's immutable purpose. Him - Upon the Assyrian. With harps - Their destruction shall be celebrated by God's people, with joy and musick, and songs of praise. Of shaking - Or, shaking of the hand, of which kind of shaking this Hebrew word is constantly used. God will fight against them, and destroy them by his own hand. With it - With the army of the Assyrians.
Tophet - This was a place near Jerusalem, in which the idolatrous Israelites used to offer up their children to Moloch. It may be put, for any place of torment; and particularly it is put for hell. For the king - For the king of Assyria. Fire - He alludes to the ancient custom, of burning sacrifices, and particularly of burning children to Moloch. The breath - The immediate hand of God, or his word of anger. Brimstone - He seems to allude to that shower of fire and brimstone, Gen 19:24.
Horses - For Egypt had many and choice horses.
He is safe - You think you are safe, in engaging the Egyptians; but God is not inferior to them in wisdom or strength, and therefore you have done foolishly, in preferring them before him, who will execute his judgments upon you, notwithstanding all the Egyptians can do. The help - The helpers, as it is explained in the next verse.
Flesh - Weak and frail.
For - Although you have done evil in sending to Egypt for help, yet the Lord himself will, of his own grace, give you that help which you do not deserve.
As birds - Which come from above, and so cannot be kept off; which fly swiftly, and engage resolutely, when their young ones are in danger. Passing over - The destroying angel shall pass over Jerusalem.
The sword - Not of any man, but of an angel. Discomfited - Heb. shall melt away, a great part of them being destroyed by the angel; and the hearts of the rest melting for fear.
He - Sennacherib shall flee away, from Jerusalem, to his strong city of Nineveh. The ensign - Of the Lord's ensign, which he hath lifted up against them. Whose fire - Who is, and will appear to be in Zion, like a fire to defend his people, and to consume their enemies.
Behold - This seems to be a distinct prophecy from the former, and delivered before that which is related in the former chapters. The prophecies are not always set down in that order, in which the prophets delivered them. The foregoing prophecy was delivered, not in the time of Ahaz for he sent to the Assyrian, not the Egyptian, for help; it was Hezekiah, who rebelled against the king of Assyria, and was too prone to trust upon the staff of Egypt. But this seems to have been delivered in the time of Ahaz. A king - Hezekiah, a type of Christ, and Christ typified by him.
A man - Each of his princes. A hiding place - Unto the people under their government. The wind - From the rage and violence of evil men. As rivers - No less refreshing. As the shadow - In a dry and scorched country, which is called weary, because it makes travellers weary; as death is called pale in other authors, because it makes mens faces pale.
The eyes - The people, they shall not shut their eyes and ears against the good counsels and examples of their religious king and rulers, as they have done formerly: both princes and people shall be reformed.
The rash - Who were hasty in judging of things; which is an argument of ignorance and folly. The tongue - That used to speak of the things of God, darkly, and doubtfully; which though it was in part fulfilled in Hezekiah, yet was truly and fully accomplished only by Christ, who wrought this wonderful change in an innumerable company both of Jews and Gentiles.
The vile - Base and worthless men. Liberal - Shall no longer be reputed honourable, because of their high and honourable places, but wickedness shall be discovered where ever it is, and virtue manifested and rewarded. The churl - The sordid and covetous man; but under this one vice, all vices are understood, as under the opposite virtue of bountifulness; all virtues are comprehended.
Villainy - Men shall no longer be miscalled; for every one will discover what he is by his words and actions. Will work - He will, from time to time, be advising wickedness, that he may execute it when he hath opportunity. To practise - To do bad things, tho' with a pretence of religion and justice. To utter - To pass unjust sentence, directly contrary to the command of God. Cause the drink - Whereby they take away the bread and the drink of the poor.
Lying words - With false and unrighteous decrees. Even - When their cause is just and good.
Ye - That indulge yourselves in idleness and luxury. Careless - Who are insensible of your sin and danger.
The vintage shall fail - During the time of the Assyrian invasion. The gathering - Of the other fruits of the earth.
Strip - Put off your ornaments.
The teats - For the pleasant and fruitful fields, which like teats yielded you plentiful and excellent nourishment.
Yea - Upon that ground, where now your houses stand, in which you take your fill of mirth and pleasure.
Forsaken - Of God, and given up into their enemies hands. A joy - Desolate places, in which wild asses delight to be.
Until - Until the time come, in which God will pour, or, as the Hebrew word properly signifies, reveal, evidently and plentifully pour out his spirit from heaven upon his people, which was fully accomplished in the days of the Messiah. The fruitful field - God's people who were desolate, shall be revived and flourish, and their flourishing enemies shall be brought to destruction.
Judgment - Just judgment. Righteousness - Justice shall be executed in all the parts of the land.
The work - The effect of this shall be prosperity. Quietness - Tranquility, both of mind and outward estate. Assurance - Of God's mercy, and the fulfilling of his promises.
It shall hail - As my blessings shall be poured down upon my people, who, from a wilderness, are turned into a fruitful field, so my judgments (which are signified by hail, chap.28:2,17, and elsewhere) shall fall upon them, who were a fruitful field, but are turned into a forest, upon the unbelieving and rebellious Jews. The city - Jerusalem, which, though now it was the seat of God's worship and people, yet he foresaw, would be the great enemy of the Messiah. Low - Heb. shall be humbled with humiliation: shall be greatly humbled, or brought very low.
Blessed - As the barren forest shall be destroyed, so the fruitful field shall be improved, and bring forth much fruit; which is signified by a declaration of the blessedness of them that sow in it. Waters - In all moist grounds, which are like to yield good fruit. But this also is to be understood of the times of the gospel, and of the great and happy success of the ministers of it. The ox - Which they employed in plowing and sowing the ground.
To thee - Sennacherib, who wasted the land of Judah.
O Lord - The prophet contemplating the judgment which was now coming upon God's people, directs his prayer to God for them. Their arm - Our arm or strength. The change of persons is frequent in prophetical writings. Every morning - When we offer the morning sacrifice, and call upon thee: which yet is not meant exclusively, as if he did not desire God's help at other times; but comprehensively, the morning being put for the whole day. The sense is, help us speedily and continually.