Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 10:2 — To turn aside - Their sentences have the effect, and are designed to have, to pervert justice, and to oppress the poor, or to deprive them of their rights and just claims; compare Isaiah 29:21; Proverbs 27:5.The needy - daliym - דלים dalı̂ym. Those of humble rank and circumstances; who have no powerful friends and defenders. “From judgment.” From obtaining justice.And to take away - To take away by violence and oppression. The word גזל gāzal, is commonly

Isaiah 13:8 — used in the Scriptures to denote the deepest possible pain and sorrow, as well as the suddenness with which any calamity comes upon a people Psalms 48:6; Isaiah 21:3; Isaiah 42:14; Jeremiah 6:24; Jeremiah 13:21; Jeremiah 22:23; Jeremiah 49:24; Jeremiah 50:43; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:9-10; John 16:21; Galatians 4:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:3.They shall be amazed one at another - They shall stare with a stupid gaze on one another, indicating a state of great distress, anxiety, and alarm. They shall look to each

Isaiah 17:3 — The fortress - The strong place of defense; the fortified place.Shall cease - Shall come to an end; shall cease to be, for so the word שׁבת shâbath is often used, Genesis 8:22; Isaiah 24:8; Lamentations 5:15.From Ephraim - The name given to the kingdom of Israel, or to the ten tribes, because Ephraim was the largest of the ten, and was a leading tribe in their councils (see the note at Isaiah 7:2). Ephraim, or the kingdom of Samaria, is mentioned here

Isaiah 21:4 — fear - God has made it a night of consternation and alarm. The prophet here refers to the fact that Babylon would be taken by Cyrus during that night, and that consternation and alarm would suddenly pervade the affrighted and guilty city (see Daniel 5:0).

Isaiah 25:7 — Thus ‘the face of God’ is put for God himself; the ‘face of the earth’ for the earth itself; and the ‘face of the vail’ means the veil itself, or the appearance of the veil. To cover the head or the face was a common mode of expressing grief (see 2Sa 15:30; 2 Samuel 19:5; Esther 6:12). It is probable that the expression here is taken from this custom, and the veil over the nations here is to be understood as expressive of the ignorance, superstition, crime, and wretchedness that covered the earth.

Isaiah 26:1 — restoration to their own land.We have a strong city - Jerusalem. This does not mean that it was then strongly fortified, but that God would guard it, and that thus it would be strong. Jerusalem was easily capable of being strongly fortified Psalms 25:2; but the idea here is, that Yahweh would be a protector, and that this would constitute its strength.Salvation will God appoint for walls - That is, he will himself be the defender of his people in the place of walls and bulwarks. A similar expression

Isaiah 3:15 — What mean ye - What is your object? Or, What advantage is it to you? Or, By what right or pretence do you do this?Beat my people to pieces - That is, that you trample on them; or cruelly oppress them; Psalms 94:5.And grind the faces of the poor - This is an expression also denoting great oppression. It is taken from the act of grinding a substance on a stone until it is worn away and nothing is left. So, by their cruel exactions, by their injustice to the poor,

Isaiah 37:2 — of mourning.Unto Isaiah - It was customary on occasions of danger to consult prophets, as those who had direct communication with God, and seek counsel from them. Thus Balak sent messengers to Balaam to consult him in a time of perplexity (Numbers 22:5 ff); thus Jehoshaphat and the king of Israel consulted Micaiah in time of danger from Syria 1 Kings 22:1-13; thus Ahaziah, when sick, sent to consult Elijah 2 Kings 1:1-9; and thus Josiah sent an embassage to Huldah the prophetess to inquire in regard

Isaiah 43:5 — east ... - From all parts of the earth; from all lands where they were scattered. That they were driven to other places than Babylon on the invasion of their land by the Chaldeans, is abundantly manifest in the historical records Jeremiah 9:16; Ezekiel 5:12; Ezekiel 17:21; Amos 9:9; Zechariah 2:6.

Isaiah 44:19 — closely.’ The sense is, they had not attentively and carefully thought on the folly of what they were doing - a sentiment which is as true of all sinners as it was of stupid idolaters.An abomination - A name that is often given to an idol 2 Kings 11:5, 2Ki 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13. The meaning is, that an idol was abominable and detestable in the sight of a holy God. It was that which he could not endure.Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? - Margin, ‘That which comes of.’ The word בוּל bûl means

Jeremiah 1:10 — evil. And such was Jeremiah’s message to his contemporaries. Yet are all God’s dealings finally for the good of His people. The Babylonian exile was, for the moment, a time of chastisement; it also became a time of national repentance (see Jeremiah 24:5-7).

Hosea 10:4 — And what harvest? Not any wholesome plant, but poison. They cultivate injustice and wickedness, as if these were to be the fruits to be rendered to God from His own land. So Amos says, “Ye have turned judgment into gall or wormwood” Amos 6:12; Amos 5:7, and Habakkuk, “Judgment went forth perverted” Habakkuk 1:4.

Amos 3:4 — lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? - Then, further, each question by itself suggests its own thought. Amos had already, in repeating Joel’s words, spoken of God’s Voice, under the image of a lion roaring (Amos 1:2; Hosea 11:10 (add Hosea 5:14; Hosea 6:1; Hosea 13:7); Jeremiah 25:30). Hosea had likened Israel to “a silly dove without heat Hosea 7:11; on the other hand, he had likened God’s loud call to repentance to the roaring of the lion, the conversion of Israel to the return of the

Zechariah 6:8 — Then God, or the Angel of the Lord - who speaks of what belonged to God alone, “called me” (probably “loudly” Judges 4:10, Judges 4:13; 2 Samuel 20:4-5), so as to command his attention to this which most immediately concerned his people.These have quieted My spirit in the north country - Or rather, “have made My anger to rest” on, that is, have carried it thither and deposited it there, made it to

Zechariah 7:3 — myself - This seems to be added, to intensify the fast which they had kept. The Nazarite was bound to “separate himself from wine and strong drink” Numbers 6:3, and so, they severed themselves to the Lord, and consecrated themselves to Him (Numbers 5:0. See the note at Amos 2:11). These had severed themselves from food, from things pleasant, from pleasure, from sin, it may be, for the day, but not abidingly: they had not given themselves to God.As I have done these so many years - Literally, “how

Zechariah 7:9 — is, through the former prophets, for he goes on to speak of their rejection in the past. “Execute true judgment.” He retains the words of Ezekiel. The injunction itself runs throughout the prophets. “Shew mercy” (as Isaiah 1:17, Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 58:6-7; Jeremiah 7:5; Ezekiel 18:8; Hosea 12:6, etc.), that is, tender love, to all; compassion, to the unhappy. Omit no act of love, God so loves the loving. Lap.: “Like Paul to the Romans Romans 13:9, he names only the duties to the neighbor, but understands

Matthew 11:12 — it was not probably more than a year. Our Saviour here simply states a fact. He says there was a great rush or a crowd pressing to hear John. Multitudes went out to hear him, as if they were about to take the kingdom of heaven by force. See Matthew 3:5. So, he says, it has continued. Since “the kingdom of heaven,” or “the gospel,” has been preached, there has been a “rush” to it. People have been “earnest” about it; they have come “pressing” to obtain the blessing, as if they would take it by violence.

Matthew 18:7 — Woe unto the world because of offences - That is, offences will be the cause of woe or of suffering. Offences, here, mean things that will produce sin: that will cause us to sin, or temptations to induce others to sin. See the notes at Matthew 5:29.It must needs be ... - That is, such is the depravity of man that there will be always some who are attempting to make others sin; some people of wickedness endeavoring to lead Christians astray, and rejoicing when they have succeeded in causing

Matthew 23:33 — Ye serpents - This name is given to them on account of their pretending to be pious, and very much devoted to God, but being secretly evil, At the heart, with all their pretensions, they were filled with evil designs, as the serpent was, Genesis 3:1-5Generation of vipers - See the notes at Matthew 12:34.Damnation of hell - This refers, beyond all question, to future punishment. So great was their wickedness and hypocrisy, that, if they persevered in this course, it was impossible to escape the damnation

Matthew 27:44 — evangelists, when for the sake of brevity they avoid particularizing, often attribute to many what is said or done by single persons, meaning no more than that it was done by some one or more of them, without specifying the one. Compare Mark 7:17 with Matthew 15:15; Mark 5:31 with Luke 8:45; Luke 9:13 with John 6:8-9.Cast the same in his teeth - This is a most unhappy translation. It means in the original simply, they upbraided him or reproached him in the same manner.