Isaiah 3:8

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of bread and water, ²the mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the soothsayer and the elder, ³the commander of fifty and the dignitary, the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter. ⁴"I will make mere lads their leaders, and children will rule over them." ⁵The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will rise up against the old, and the base against the honorable. ⁶A man will seize his brother within his father's house: "You have a cloak-you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of rubble." ⁷On that day he will cry aloud: "I am not a healer. I have no food or clothing in my house. Do not make me leader of the people!" ⁸For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Jerusalem: 2 Chronicles 28:5-7, 2 Chronicles 28:18, 2 Chronicles 33:11, 2 Chronicles 36:17-19, Jeremiah 26:6, Jeremiah 26:18, Lamentations 5:16, Lamentations 5:17, Micah 3:12

because: Isaiah 5:18, Isaiah 5:19, Isaiah 57:4, Psalms 73:8, Psalms 73:9, Ezekiel 8:12, Ezekiel 9:9, Hosea 7:16, Malachi 3:13-15, Matthew 12:36, Matthew 12:37, Jude 1:15

to provoke: Isaiah 65:3-5, 2 Chronicles 33:6, 2 Chronicles 33:7, Ezekiel 8:4-6, Ezekiel 8:17, Ezekiel 8:18, Habakkuk 1:13, 1 Corinthians 10:22

Reciprocal: Genesis 13:13 - before 1 Samuel 2:17 - before Isaiah 1:4 - provoked Isaiah 29:4 - thou shalt Jeremiah 7:18 - that they Jeremiah 23:36 - for every Jeremiah 44:8 - ye provoke Lamentations 1:9 - came Amos 5:2 - is fallen Zechariah 1:6 - according to our ways

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat of any tree in the garden?'"

Genesis 3:2
The woman answered the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,

Genesis 3:3
but of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.'"

Genesis 3:9
So the LORD God called out to the man, "Where are you?"

Genesis 3:10
"I heard Your voice in the garden," he replied, "and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."

Genesis 3:12
And the man answered, "The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

Genesis 3:21
And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

Genesis 3:22
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever..."

Deuteronomy 4:33
Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?

Deuteronomy 5:25
But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen, e.] This is a reason given why the government of them is refused they were fallen into such a ruinous condition, that there was no probability of recovering them. And the reason of this their fall and ruin is,

because their tongue and their doings [are] against the Lord; against the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they reproached and vilified as an impostor, a blasphemer, and a seditious person; and whom they spit upon, buffeted, scourged, and crucified:

to provoke the eyes of his glory; whose glory, as seen by some in the days of his humiliation, was as the glory of the only begotten of the Father; and, upon his ascension, he was crowned with glory and honour: and as his eyes saw, as well as his ears heard, all their blasphemy and wickedness; so they refusing to have him to reign over them, he was provoked to come in his kingdom with power, and cause his wrath to fall upon them to the uttermost, in the destruction of their country, city, and temple.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For Jerusalem ... - The prophet proceeds to show the cause of this state of things. ‘These are the words of the prophet, and not of him who was chosen leader.’ - “Jerome.”

Is ruined - It would be so ruined, and the prospect of preserving it would be so completely taken away, that no one could be induced to undertake to defend and protect it.

Judah - The kingdom of Judah, of which Jerusalem was the capital; Note Isaiah 1:1.

Is fallen - Hebrew, “falls;” that is, is about to fall - as a tower or a tree falls to ruin. If the “capital” fell and was ruined, the kingdom would also fall as a matter of course.

Because their tongue ... - This is the “reason” why Judah was ruined. By word and deed - that is, in every way they opposed God. The “tongue” here represents their “language,” their manner of speaking. It was proud, haughty, rebellious, perhaps blasphemous.

To provoke - To irritate; to offend.

The eyes of his glory - This is a Hebrew expression to denote “his glorious eyes.” The eye quickly expresses anger or indignation. We perceive these passions in the flashing of the eye sooner than in any other part of the countenance. Hence, to “provoke the eyes,” is an expression signifying simply to excite to anger, or to excite him to punish them. Lowth proposes to render this ‘to provoke the cloud of his glory’ - referring to the Shekinah or cloud that rested over the ark in the temple. By a slight variation of the Hebrew text, reading ענן ‛ânân instead of עני ‛ēnēy, it may be so read, and the Syriac so translates it: but the change in the Hebrew text does not seem to be authorized.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 3:8. The eyes - "The cloud"] This word appears to be of very doubtful form, from the printed editions, the MSS., and the ancient versions. The first yod in עיני eyney, which is necessary according to the common interpretation, is in many of them omitted; the two last letters are upon a rasure in two MSS. I think it should be ענן anan, "a cloud," as the Syriac reads; and the allusion is to the cloud in which the glory of the Lord appeared above the tabernacle; see Exodus 16:9-10; Exodus 40:34-38; Numbers 16:41-42.

Either of the readings gives a very good sense. The allusion may be to the cloud of the Divine presence in the wilderness: or the eyes of the Lord may be meant, as they are in every place beholding the evil and the good. And he cannot look upon iniquity but with abhorrence; therefore, the eyes of his glory might be well provoked by their crimes.