The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 30
Chapter XXX · Vol. III, pp. 1181–1183
1 The prophet threateneth the people for their confidence in Egypt, 8 and contempt of God's word. 18 God's mercies toward his church. 27 God's wrath, and the people's joy, in the destruction of Assyria.
1 Woe toa the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that btake counsel, but not of me; and that ccover1 with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may dadd sin to sin:2
a De.29.19,20. La.5.16. Eze.16.23. Ho.7.13; 4.16; 9.15. ch.1.2; 63.10. Je.5.23.
b Jos.9.14. ch.8.19; 29.15. Ho.4.10,12.
c ch.28.15,17; 29.15; ver.2,3.
1 See note * in second column.
d Ro.2.5. Eze.17.13. ch.5.18. 2 Ti.3.13.
2 Sin to sin. Adding distrust of God to dependence upon man.—C.
* That attempt to cover themselves with the scanty and insufficient covering of an Egyptian alliance (see ch.28.20), and which none of the prophets, speaking by my Spirit, have sanctioned.—C.
2 Thate walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Thereforeg shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.
g ch.20.5,6; ver.5,7; ch.31.3; 36.6. Eze.29.6,7.
5 Theyi were all ashamed6 of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach.
6 The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish,7 from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they jwill carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that kshall not profit them.
7 For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this,8 Theirl strength is to sit still.
8 Now go, nwrite it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come9 for ever and ever:
9 That othis is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
o ch.1.2,4; 3.9. De.32.6,20. Ro.3.9. Zep.3.2. Zec.7.11,12. Ac.7.51. Je.44.16,17. ch.59.13. Eze.2.5,6; 12.2.
10 Which say to the pseers, qSee not: and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things: rspeak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
p 1 Sa.9.9. 1 Ch.29.29.
q Je.11.21. Am.2.12; 7.13. Mi.2.6,11. Ga.1.10.
r Mi.2.11. Je.6.14; 23.17,26,32. Eze.13.7,8,10,18,22. 1 Ki.22.8,13. Ps.5.9.
11 Gets you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.
s Ac.13.8; 4.18; 5.40. Mi.2.11. Am.6.10. Je.23.34,36. 2 Ch.36.16.
12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise tthis word, and trust in oppression1 and perverseness, and stay thereon:
13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you uas a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall,2 whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
u Ps.62.3; 73.19,20. 1 Th.5.2,3. ch.29.5. Eze.13.10-15. ch.iii. v. ix. Eze.v. vii. xv. &c. Je.44.11,12.
2 The reference is to the high mud walls so common in many Asiatic countries, in which such swellings and breaches are common.—C.
14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel3 that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.
15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, vIn returning4 and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; and xye would not.
v ver.7. Ho.14.1-3. Je.3.14,22; 31.18-20. ch.7.4; 26.3,4. 1 Ch.5.20. 2 Ch.13.18; 16.8,9; 20.12. Ps.34.22; 37.40; 125.1,2.
4 'In returning' from Egypt to rest in your own land; in returning to the Lord, and resting in his promise, 'shall be your strength.'—C.
x Ho.11.2,7. Mat.23.37. Je.44.16,17. ch.31.1. Ps.81.11. Pr.1.24-26.
16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore yshall ye flee: and, we will ride upon the swift; ztherefore shall they that pursue you be swift.
y ch.36.1; 10.28-32; 5.26-30; 8.7,8.
z 2 Ki.25.5.
17 Onea thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon5 upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
a Le.26.8,36,37. De.28.25; 32.30. Am.2.12,13.
A.M. cir. 3279. B.C. cir. 725.
5 Or, a tree bereft of branches, or boughs, or a mast.
18 And therefore6 will the LORD bwait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be cexalted, that he may have mercy upon you; for the LORD is a God of djudgment: blessede are all they that wait for him.
19 For the people shall gdwell in Zion at Jerusalem; hthou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; iwhen he shall hear it, he will answer thee.
g ch.31.4,5; 65.9,24. Je.50.4,5. Eze.20.40. Ro.11.26.
h ch.24.14-16,23; xxv. xxvi. xxxv. xl.-lxvi. Je.xxx. xxxi. xxxiii. Eze.xxxiv. xxxvi. xxxvii. xl.-xlviii. Mi.iv. v. Ho.xiv. Zec.viii.-xiv. Re.v. xix. xxi. Ps.142.1,6; 65.2.
i Je.29.12-14. Ps.50.15; 91.15. ch.58.9; 65.24. Eze.36.37. Mat.7.7-11. Jn.14.13; 16.23. 1 Jn.5.14,15. Ps.34.6.
20 And though the Lord give you jthe bread of adversity, and the water of affliction,7 yet shallk not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:
j 1 Ki.22.27. Jn.16.33. Ac.14.22. Ps.80.5; 127.2; 129.1,2. Da.9.25.
7 Or, oppression.
k Ps.74.9. Am.8.11,12. Mat.9.38. 1 Co.12.28. Ep.4.11.
21 And lthine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is nthe way, walk ye in it, when ye oturn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
l Ps.32.8. ch.44.3; 54.13; 48.17. Jn.6.45. 1 Jn.2.20,27. ch.42.16.
n ch.35.8,9. Jn.14.6. Col.2.6. He.10.20-22. Ps.43.3. Je.3.14,15.
22 Yep shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver,8 and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast9 them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
p ch.1.24,25,29; 2.17-21; 17.7,8; 31.7; 64.6. Ho.14.3,8. Zec.13.2. Mi.5.10-14. Eze.36.31. Ho.2.15,16. Zep.3.12,13. 2 Ch.34.3-7.
8 Heb. the graven images of thy silver.
9 Heb. scatter.
23 Thenq shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that rday shall thy cattle feed in large pastures.
q Mat.6.33. 1 Ti.4.8. Joel 2.23; 3.18. Am.9.13. Eze.34.26. Ho.2.21-23. Zec.8.11,12. ch.44.3-5; 4.2. Ps.85.11-13.
r Ps.36.6; 144.12-14. ch.11.6,7; 32.20. 1 Co.9.9. 1 Ti.5.17. Mal.4.2. 2 Co.9.6.
24 The oxen likewise, and the young asses that ear the ground,1 shall eat 2clean3 provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.
1 That till the ground, and prepare it for bearing ears of corn.—C.
2 Or, savoury, 1 Co.9.9. 1 Ti.5.17,18.
3 Heb. leavened.
25 And sthere shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high4 hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the tgreat slaughter, when the towers fall.5
s ver.23. Eze.34.26. Ps.72.6. ch.32.15; 35.6; 33.21; 41.18. Joel 3.18. Eze.47.1-11. Re.22.1,17.
4 Heb. lifted up.
t ch.10.16-19,25-34; 37.36; 24.21,22; 27.1; xiii. xiv. xlvii. Je.l. li. Ps.110.5,6. Eze.39.17-20. Re.xiv. xvi. xix.
5 When all confidence in worldly principles, practices, and combinations, is brought down.—C.
26 Moreover, uthe light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that vthe LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, xthe name6 of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof7 is heavy,8 his lips are full of indignation, and yhis tongue as a devouring fire:
x ch.10.16,21,34; 11.4; 13.9; 14.25; 31.8,9; ver.33. Ex.23.21. De.28.58; 32.22. Ps.11.5,6. ch.37.36.
6 Being announced by the voice of God speaking in judgments, of which the Assyrian rod (see ver.31) comes from a far country.—C.
A.M. cir. 3279. B.C. cir. 725.
7 Or, and the grievousness of flame.
8 Heb. heaviness.
y Zep.3.8.
28 Andz his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, ato sift the nations with the sieve of vanity:9 and there shall be ba bridle1 in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.
z Job 4.19. Ps.18.15. ch.8.8; 29.5. Ho.13.4. Ps.1.4. ch.17.12-14; 33.3,10-12.
a Lu.22.31.
9 The sieve or fan of judgment that will show the mightiest nations to be but vanity.—C.
b ch.37.29,7; 10.15.
1 The bridle of unhallowed power, at once curbing the popular desires, and guiding them astray for its own purposes.—C.
29 Yec shall have a song, as in the 2night when a holy solemnity is kept: and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the Mighty One3 of Israel.
30 And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice4 to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.
31 For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which dsmote with a rod.
d ch.10.5,24; 9.4. Mi.5.5.
32 And in every place where the grounded staff5 shall pass,6 which the LORD shall 7lay upon him,8 ite shall be with tabrets and harps: and gin battles of shaking will he fight 9with it.1
5 The grounded staff. 'The rod of correction.'—Lowth.
6 Heb. every passing of the appointed or terrible rod founded, or the correcting, Mi.6.9. ver.31; ch.10.5,15,24; 14.5.
7 Heb. cause to rest upon him.
8 Upon him. Upon the Assyrian, who first corrected Israel for idolatry, and then was corrected for his own pride and cruelty.—C.
e See ver.29.
g ch.11.15; 19.16; 10.16-19,25-34; 14.25; 37.7,29,36,37; ver.28.
9 Or, against them.
1 'And in fierce battles will the Lord fight against it'—'the rod of correction'—the Assyrian power.—C.
33 For hTophet is ordained of old,2 yea, for the king it is prepared: he hath made it deep, and large; the pile thereof is fire and imuch wood: jthe breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
h 2 Ki.23.10. Je.7.31,32, with Mat.18.8,9; 23.15; 25.41. Re.20.10.
2 Heb. from yesterday.
i ch.9.4; 10.16-19,33,34; 33.10-12.
j ver.27,28,30,31; ch.37.36,38. Re.6.17; 14.9,10; 18.8; 19.20; 20.9,10,15, with Ge.19.24. Ps.11.5,6.
Notes
Ver. 1-5. Dreadful ruin shall overtake those Israelites and Jews who, without regarding my counsel, increase their wickedness, by taking unwarrantable methods for their own protection and deliverance. 6, 7. They send whole loads of presents upon asses and camels southward into Egypt, which will but hurt instead of helping them, and will soon be as miserable as themselves. But their only way to secure themselves is to stay at home, and trust in and wait upon God for his help. See ver. 15. 9-17. And since this rebellious and hypocritical people will disregard my admonitions, and require my prophets to forbear delivering my messages, unless they flatter their humours and lusts, they shall quickly find themselves, and their carnal confidences, all shattered to pieces. And since they refuse to stay at home, and turn to and trust in me, but will trust to their Egyptian allies, the Assyrians shall pursue and scatter them till only a few stragglers be left. 18-26. Nevertheless the Lord will wait for a fit season to deliver you, and will, in infinite wisdom, glorify his own perfections in working graciously for you. Notwithstanding Sennacherib's attempts, and the attempts of all your other enemies, ye shall safely dwell in Jerusalem; ye shall return thither from your Chaldean captivity; and in the latter days shall, to your inexpressible comfort and happiness, be converted to Christ and his church. And whatever adversities you may quickly suffer, you shall then have plenty of public ordinances and teachers, and be remarkably directed in all your ways. Ye shall, with the utmost detestation, relinquish your idolatries, and destroy every monument thereof. While your fields and hills produce plentiful crops of corn, grass, vines, &c., your nation shall bring forth multitudes of converts, and fruits of righteousness, to the glory of God. And while your proud enemies, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syro-Grecians, Antichristians, and Turks, are brought down, great and amazing shall be your refreshment, knowledge, comfort, and vigour. 27-33. For, behold, to your sudden and inexpressible joy, the Lord, in the execution of his purposes and predictions, will with great ease, but in a most terrible and sudden manner, destroy the Assyrian army in the valley of Hinnom, before Jerusalem, as a prelude of similar ruin to the rest of your adversaries.
Ver. 6. This verse should either begin a new chapter or paragraph, for there can be no reason for understanding the word burden in any sense but that of a heavy judgment denounced, as in ch. 13. 1, &c.—Beasts of the south. Not the beasts that carry southward, but the men of whom the ravenous lion and venomous reptile are the emblems. C.
Ver. 7. Their strength is to sit still. Not to sit still in idleness; but to sit still in the land of promised blessing, waiting in faith, hope, and prayer for the salvation of God. C.
Ver. 10, 11. The prophet does not mean that they used the very words of ver. 10, 11: but that their words, when rightly interpreted, had the meaning he assigns. C.
Ver. 14. Not be found . . . a sherd to take fire from the hearth. The culinary vessels in most Asiatic countries are generally of earthenware. Should the fire be extinguished, a potsherd carries a little borrowed fire: the want of even a potsherd is an emblem of the deepest poverty. C.
Ver. 18. And therefore. Yet 'notwithstanding' all your self-will and neglect of his counsel, 'the Lord will wait,' &c. C.
Ver. 19. Thou shalt weep no more. This refers to a time not yet arrived, and synchronizes with the blessed period foretold, Re. 21. 4, when 'God shall wipe away all tears,' and 'there shall be neither sorrow nor crying.' C.
Ver. 21. Shall hear a word behind thee, &c. If ye 'turn to the right or the left to do evil,' and go for a moment astray, you will hear the voice of your teachers, who lately stood 'before your eyes,' ver. 20, now calling from 'behind you,' saying, 'Turn ye, turn ye,' 'this is the way, walk ye in it.' C.
Ver. 24. Some ancient paintings exhibit the Egyptian method of winnowing grain, either by lifting it and letting it fall through the air in front of the winnower or throwing it over his shoulder, as is still practised in some of the northern parts of Europe. In these paintings, each winnower is attended by an assistant, with a short shovel or scoop, to lift the grain into the fan, one species of which seems a light and broad tray with a short handle.—Note. Though this prophecy may be considered literal—for godliness is profitable unto all things—yet it is chiefly to be regarded as emblematic of gospel tillage, gospel pasture, gospel labours, and abundance of grace, mercy, and peace. C.
Ver. 33. Tophet signifies a drum; which name is supposed to have been given on account of drums being used to drown the cries of the children that were there offered to Molech. It was considered a striking emblem of the place of 'everlasting punishment.' The commencement of this prophecy lies in the destruction of the army of Sennacherib; its conclusion in the destruction of the 'man of sin'—'antichrist'—'the wilful king'—'whom the Lord will consume by the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy by the brightness of his coming,' 2 Th. 2. 8. C.
Reflections.—Men are too fond of trusting to human help in their distress, and too careless of that which is divine. But what is got without the Lord's leave cannot be of any real service, but hurt. The notorious wickedness of professors justifies God's severest judgments against them!—It is infinitely criminal and hazardous for men to tempt God's ministers to unfaithfulness in delivering his messages. God frequently gives them up to delusion who incline to it; and punishes such as scoff at his admonitions with fearful, certain, and unavoidable ruin. There is no way of escaping his judgments but by a believing and penitent turning to himself. And if, notwithstanding thousands of provocations and judgments, he still waits to be gracious, earnestly ought we to wait and cry for his favours. Persevering faith and prayer always issue in substantial and lasting comforts. Great is the mercy to have an open access to Jesus Christ's ministers and ordinances, and to be directed in every step by God's teaching Spirit and a tender conscience. Detestable to exercised saints are their formerly beloved lusts, and precious are spiritual blessings. The relief of God's people, and the fall of the wicked, are marvellously connected. In his anger he blasts, overflows, sifts, bridles, beats, and burns up his most proud and powerful opposers with the greatest ease! Having therefore received a kingdom that cannot be moved, let me have grace, wherewith I may serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear; for our God is a consuming fire.