ISAIAH 3 COMMENTARY

EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

1 See now, the Lord,

the LORD Almighty,

is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah

both supply and support:

all supplies of food and all supplies of water,

1.BARNES, For - This is a continuation of the previous chapter. The same prophecy is

continued, and the force of the argument of the prophet will not be seen unless the chapters are read together; see the Analysis prefixed to Isa. 2. In the close of the second chapter Isa_2:22, the prophet had cautioned his countrymen against confiding in man. In this chapter, a reason is given here why they should cease to do it - to wit, that God would soon take away their kings and princes.

The Lord - ha'adon; see the note at Isa_1:24.

The Lord of hosts - see the note at Isa_1:9. The prophet calls the attention of the Jews particularly to the fact that this was about to be done by Yahweh of hosts - a title which he gives to God when he designs to indicate that that which is to be done implies special strength, power, and majesty. As the work which was now to be done was the removal of the mighty men on which the nation was depending, it is implied that it was a work of power which belonged especially to the God of armies - the Almighty.

Doth take away - Is about to remove. In the Hebrew, the word here is a participle, and does not mark the precise time. It has reference here, however, to the future.

From Jerusalem ... - Note Isa_1:1.

The stay - In the Hebrew, the words translated stay and staff are the same, with the exception that the former is in the masculine, and the latter in the feminine gender. The meaning is, that God would remove all kinds of support, or everything on which they relied. The reference is undoubtedly to the princes and mighty men on whose counsels and aid the nation was resting for defense; see Isa_3:2-3.

The whole stay of bread - We use a similar expression when we say that bread is the staff of life. The Hebrews often expressed the same idea, representing the heart in man as being

supported or upheld by bread, Gen_18:5 (margin); Jdg_19:5 (margin); Lev_26:26; Psa_105:16.

Stay of water - He would reduce them from their luxuries introduced by commerce Isa. 2 to absolute want. This often occurred in the sieges and wars of the nation; and in the famines which were the consequence of the wars. The reference here is probably to the invasion of the land by Nebuchadnezzar. The famine consequent on that invasion is described in Jer_38:21; Jer_38:9; Lam_4:4 : The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his month for thirst; the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.

2. CLARKE, The stay and the staff Every stay and support - Hebrew, the support masculine, and the support feminine: that is, every kind of support, whether great or small, strong or weak. Al Kanitz, wal-kanitzah; the wild beasts, male and female. Proverbially applied both to fishing and hunting: i.e., I seized the prey, great or little, good or bad. From hence, as Schultens observes, is explained Isa_3:1, literally, the male and female stay: i.e., the strong and weak, the great and small. - Chappelow, note on Hariri, Assembly 1. Compare Ecc_2:8.

The Hebrew words mashenumashenah come from the same root shaan, to lean against, to incline, to support; and here, being masculine and feminine, they may signify all things necessary for the support both of man and woman. My old MS. understands the staff and stay as meaning particular persons, and translates the verse thus: - Lo forsoth, the Lordschip Lord of Hoostis schal don awey fro Jerusalem and fro Juda the stalworth and the stronge.

The two following verses, Isa_3:2, Isa_3:3, are very clearly explained by the sacred historians account of the event, the captivity of Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon: And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths; none remained save the poorest sort of the people of the land, 2Ki_24:14. Which is supplied by our version.

3. GILL, For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,.... These titles of Jehovah, expressive of power and authority, are used to show that he is able to execute what he threatens to do; and the word "behold" is prefixed, to excite attention to what is about to be said: doth take away from Jerusalem, and from Judea; the present tense is used for the future, because of the certainty of what would be done to the Jews, both in city and country; for as in the preceding chapter Isa_2:1 it is foretold what shall befall the antichristian party among the nations of the world, this is a prophecy of the destruction of the Jews by the Romans; at which time there would be a dreadful famine, signified by the taking away the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; bread and water being the stay and staff of man's life, which support and maintain it; and, in case of disobedience, a famine was threatened this people very early, and in much such terms as here, Lev_26:26 and as there was a very sore famine at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer_52:6 so there was a very dreadful one when the city was besieged by the Romans, as related by Josephus, and predicted by Christ, Mat_24:7.

4. HENRY, The prophet, in the close of the foregoing chapter, had given a necessary caution to all not to put confidence in man, or any creature; he had also given a general reason for that caution, taken from the frailty of human life and the vanity and weakness of human powers. Here he gives a particular reason for it - God was now about to ruin all their creature-confidences, so that they should meet with nothing but disappointments in all their expectations from them (Isa_3:1): The stay and the staff shall be taken away, all their supports, of what kind soever, all the things they trusted to and looked for help and relief from. Their church and kingdom had now grown old and were going to decay, and they were (after the manner of aged men, Zec_8:4) leaning on a staff: now God threatens to take away their staff, and then they must fall of course, to take away the stays of both the city and the country, of Jerusalem and of Judah, which are indeed stays to one another, and, if one fail, the other feels from it. He that does this is the Lord, the Lord of hosts - Adon, the Lord that is himself the stay or foundation; if that stay depart, all other stays certainly break under us, for he is the strength of them all. He that is the Lord, the ruler, that has authority to do it, and the Lord of hosts, that has the ability to do it, he shall take away the stay and the staff. St. Jerome refers this to the sensible decay of the Jewish nation after they had crucified our Saviour, Rom_11:9, Rom_11:10. I rather take it as a warning to all nations not to provoke God; for if they make him their enemy, he can and will thus make them miserable. Let us view the particulars.

I. Was their plenty a support to them? It is so to any people; bread is the staff of life: but God can take away the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; and it is just with him to do so when fulness of bread becomes an iniquity (Eze_16:49), and that which was given to be provision for the life is made provision for the lusts. He can take away the bread and the water by withholding the rain, Deu_28:23, Deu_28:24. Or, if he allow them, he can take away the stay of bread and the stay of water by withholding his blessing, by which man lives, and not by bread only, and which is the staff of bread (Mat_4:4.), and then the bread is not nourishing nor the water refreshing, Hag_1:6. Christ is the bread of life and the water of life; if he be our stay, we shall find that this is a good part not to be taken away, Joh_4:14; Joh_6:27.

II. Was their army a support to them - their generals, and commanders, and military men? These shall be taken away, either cut off by the sword or so discouraged with the defeats they meet with that they shall throw up their commissions and resolve to act no more; or they shall be disabled by sickness, or dispirited, so as to be unfit for business; The mighty men, and the man of war, and even the inferior officer, the captain of fifty, shall be removed. It bodes ill with a people when their valiant men are lost. Let not the strong man therefore glory in his strength, nor any people trust too much to their mighty men; but let the strong people glorify God and the city of the terrible nations fear him, who can make them weak and despicable, Isa_25:3.

III. Were their ministers of state a support to them - their learned men, their politicians, their clergy, their wits and virtuoso? These also should be taken away - the judges, who were skilled in the laws, and expert in administering justice, - the prophets, whom they used to consult in difficult cases, - the prudent, who were celebrated as men of sense and sagacity above all others and were assistants to the judges, the diviners (so the word is), those who used unlawful arts, who, though rotten stays, yet were stayed on, (but it may be taken, as we read it, in a good sense), - the ancients, elders in age, in office, - the honourable man, the gravity of whose aspect commands reverence and whose age and experience make him fit to be a counsellor. Trade is one great support to a nation, even manufactures and handicraft trades; and therefore, when the whole stay is broken, the cunning artificer too shall be taken away; and the last is the eloquent orator, the man skilful of speech, who in some cases may do good service, though he be none of the prudent or the ancient, by putting the sense of others in good language. Moses cannot speak well, but Aaron can. God threatens to take these away, that is, 1. To disable them for the service of their country, making judges fools, taking away the speech of the trusty and the understanding of the aged, Job_12:17, etc. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; and we cannot be sure that those who have been serviceable to us shall always be so. 2. To

put an end to their days; for the reason why princes are not to be trusted in is because their breath goeth forth, Psa_146:3, Psa_146:4. Note, The removal of useful men by death, in the midst of their usefulness, is a very threatening symptom to any people.

IV. Was their government a support to them? It ought to have been so; it is the business of the sovereign to bear up the pillars of the land, Psa_75:3. But it is here threatened that this stay should fail them. When the mighty men and the prudent are removed children shall be their princes - children in age, who must be under tutors and governors, who will be clashing with one another and making a prey of the young king and his kingdom-children in understanding and disposition, childish men, such as are babes in knowledge, no more fit to rule than a child in the cradle. These shall rule over them, with all the folly, fickleness, and frowardness, of a child. And woe unto thee, O land! when thy king is such a one! Ecc_10:16.

5. JAMISON, For continuation of Isa_2:22.

Lord of hosts therefore able to do as He says.

doth present for future, so certain is the accomplishment.

stay ... staff the same Hebrew word, the one masculine, the other feminine, an Arabic idiom for all kinds of support. What a change from the previous luxuries (Isa_2:7)! Fulfilled in the siege by Nebuchadnezzar and afterwards by Titus (Jer_37:21; Jer_38:9).

6. K&D, For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supporter and means of support, every support of bread and every support of water. The divine name given here, The Lord, Jehovah of hosts, with which Isaiah everywhere introduces the judicial acts of God (cf., Isa_1:24; Isa_10:16, Isa_10:33; Isa_19:4), is a proof that the proclamation of judgment commences afresh here. Trusting in man was the crying sin, more especially of the times of Uzziah-Jotham. The glory of the kingdom at that time carried the wrath of Jehovah within it. The outbreak of that wrath commenced in the time of Ahaz; and even under Hezekiah it was merely suspended, not changed. Isaiah foretells this outbreak of wrath. He describes how Jehovah will lay the Jewish state in ruins, by taking away the main

supports of its existence and growth. Supporter and means of support (mash'en and mash'enah) express, first of all, the general idea. The two nouns, which are only the masculine and feminine forms of one and the same word (compare Mic_2:4; Nah_2:11, and the examples from the Syriac and Arabic in Ewald, 172, c), serve to complete the generalization: fulcra omne genus (props of every kind, omnigena). They are both technical terms, denoting the prop which a

person uses to support anything, whilst mish'an signifies that which yields support; so that the three correspond somewhat to the Latin fulcrum, fultura, fulcimen. Of the various means of support, bread and wine are mentioned first, not in a figurative sense, but as the two indispensable conditions and the lowest basis of human life. Life is supported by bread and water: it walks, as it were, upon the crutch of bread, so that breaking the staff of bread (Lev_26:26; Eze_4:16; Eze_5:16; Eze_14:13; Psa_105:16) is equivalent to physical destruction. The destruction of the Jewish state would accordingly be commenced by a removal on the part of Jehovah of all the support afforded by bread and water, i.e., all the stores of both. And this was literally fulfilled, for both in the Chaldean and Roman times Jerusalem perished in the midst of just such terrible famines as are threatened in the curses in Lev 26, and more especially in Deut 28; and in both cases the inhabitants were reduced to such extremities, that women

devoured their own children (Lam_2:20; Josephus, Wars of Jews, vi. 3, 3, 4). It is very unjust, therefore, on the part of modern critics, such as Hitzig, Knobel, and Meier, to pronounce Isa_3:1 a gloss, and, in fact, a false one. Gesenius and Umbreit retracted this suspicion. The construction of the v. is just the same as that of Isa_25:6; and it is Isaiah's custom to explain his own figures, as we have already observed when comparing Isa_1:7. and Isa_1:23 with what preceded them. Every support of bread and every support of water are not to be regarded in this case as an explanation of the general idea introduced before, supporters and means of support, but simply as the commencement of the detailed expansion of the idea. For the enumeration of the supports which Jehovah would take away is continued in the next two verses.

7. BI, National leaders removed

The Jewish nation, at this time, may be considered as represented by an old building, ready to fall into ruin, to prevent which many props had been added. These supports, on which it leaned, that were derived the authority, the prudence and fortitude of its leading men, God threatens to remove; in consequence of which the State should as certainly become ruinous as a decayed building, when the props on which it rested are taken away. (R. Macculloch.)

The death of the renowned

There is a tendency to trust in the arm of flesh. It would be most wicked if we were ungrateful for our great deliverers, raised up by that God to whom the shield of the earth belongeth; but, at the same time, it must be sinful to trust in them as if they were the authors of all, and, therefore, deserved all the glory.

1. We need the admonition which precedes this textCease ye from man (whether prince or senator, soldier or orator, counsellor or captain), whoso breath (whatever his strength or genius, talent or fame) is in his nostrils.

2. There is no such thing as chance; whether it be a hair which falls to the ground, or a sparrow that drops in its weary way across the field, or a prince smitten from his throne, or a dynasty brokenGod is in them, giving, permitting, overruling, and sanctifying; it is not the shot or shell, the wave or wind, incident or accident, but God that takes away, and those things which we suppose to have played the principal part, are merely servants sent out by God to lead the soldier from his duty in the field, to receive the crown of glory and war no more.

3. But not only is it the Lord, but He has right and jurisdiction to do so. He not only reigns, but He rules. Unsanctified interpositions of God are the darkest judgments; whilst therefore, we recognise His hand in giving, let us recognise His hand in taking away. A father and his child walk. They pick up a stone with a green substance, which appears worthless, and fit only to be cast away; but they apply the microscope, and this green substance on the stone he finds to be a magnificent though tiny forest. So it is with any fact that occurs. Man looks at it with his own eyes, sees it uninstructive; but when seen in the light of Gods truth, he finds in it what is instructive and suggestive.

4. When God removes from a nation its props, pillars, and supports, He does so to lead that nation to see Himself more clearly and to lean on Him more entirely.

5. The Lord thus takes away in order to teach men impressively this lesson which man is very slow to learnthat death must come upon all. Death enters the cabinets of princes and statesmen, the camp of the hero, and the hut of the peasant, without paying the least respect to rank or royalty. (J. Cumming, D. D.)

The death of statesmen

I. Learn from the death of a great statesman THE WEIGHT OF GOVERNMENT IN A FALLEN WORLD. For when we see the mightiest minds that our country has produced, a Fox, a Pitt, a Liverpool, a Canning, one after another taking the weight of government upon them, and dropping under its weight into the arms of deathcan we avoid thinking of the mighty mass of care that has pressed them down?

II. We are taught THE WEAKNESS OF THE SHOULDERS OF MORTAL MEN. However mighty his shoulders may be, he must be a bold man that would venture to take up a burden that has crushed so many: and yet there are many that will venture on it; for there are those who delight in danger, who sport with difficulties, and who delight in doing what no one else can do. And it is well for society that there are men of moral courage. If all preferred the comfort and quiet of domestic life, how could the affairs of government go on? Yet there are some burdens, the weight of which will crush any mind, for the sons of Anak are not omnipotent. And how knows any man how near he is to this point, when he shall be overwhelmed with his own duties, distracted with his own cares, become a prey to the very thing in which he delighted?

III. THE UNCERTAINTY OF ALL HUMAN AFFAIRS. We need to be taught this with a strong hand, for this warm piece of moving clay that is bustling about the earth, ready to drop to pieces every moment, is so swollen with vanity that it would fain fancy it is made of adamant. Therefore God supplies us with strong reasons, at certain seasons, to teach us the contrary.

IV. OUR ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCE ON THE SUPREME GOVERNOR. When we behold the profound counsellor and the mighty orator, and are entranced with their talents and execution, we grow idolatrous, and think these men are more than mortal, and that society could not go on without them; little thinking that He who made them as they are, to be employed as He pleases, and to be laid aside when He pleases, can raise others equally fitted as they are. (Exo_4:11.)

V. Another lesson which we should learn is, THE SACRED DUTY OF PRAYER FOR KINGS AND ALL IN AUTHORITY OVER US. We should make our supplications that councils may be assisted, that the cares of government may not overwhelm and destroy, that there may be a reasonable spirit prevalent in the public, so that it may be rendered less oppressive.

VI. IN YOUR SUPPLICATIONS ESPECIALLY REMEMBER ZION, THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD. The Church has been compared to a building, and the world to a scaffold placed around it in order to assist in rearing the edifice.

VII. LEARN TO PREPARE FOR OUR OWN DEATH. (J. Bennett, D. D.)

The death of the renowned excites special attention and interest

In the humble cottage on some mountain slope, in some shaded valley or distant forest, or in the living wilderness of some great city, are the young and the old, the brave and the fair, passing away in unbroken procession to the dust of the sepulchre, and to the destinies of the life to come But the great world without does not regard it. Like the leaves of autumn that strew our pathway, they sink into the grave, and their death is crowded from recollection by the never-ending succession of new events. But when the tall and graceful trees of the forestthe

monarchs whose heads towered above the general altitudeare brought down by some resistless blow, their fall is attended with a louder crash, and the earth itself trembles beneath the shock: so, when the men who walk upon the loftier heights of place and power, when those whose intellectual stature as they move along the paths of science, of history, of literature, and of art, renders them preeminent above the general mass, are laid prostrate by the stroke of death, the event impresses itself more vividly upon the minds of men, and calls out from its hidden springs in the heart a profounder sentiment of sorrow. (J. A. Todd.)

The perils of greatness

Every state is set in the midst of danger, as all trees are set in the wind; but the tallest endure the greatest violence of the tempest. (Bishop J. Taylor, D. D.)

8. PULPIT, GOD'S JUDGMENT UPON JERUSALEM. The general denunciations against Israel of

the two preceding chapters are here turned especially against Jerusalem. God will deprive her of all her

superior and more honorable classes (Isa_3:1-3); and will give her "children" for her rulers (Isa_3:4).

There will be continued oppression, and the rise of an insolent and undutiful spirit (Isa_3:5). Those fit to

bear rule will refuse to do so (Isa_3:6, Isa_3:7).

Isa_3:1

The Lord, the Lord of hosts (see note on Isa_1:24). The stay and the staff; rather, stay and staff. Neither

word has the article. The latter is the feminine form of the former; and the intention is to announce that all

support of every kind is about to be withdrawn. The whole stay of bread of water. Mr. Cheyne agrees

with Hitzig and Knobel that this clause is probably a gloss on the text, subsequently introduced into it, and

a gloss which (lid not proceed from a very enlightened commentator. The "stay" and "staff" intended are

certainly not, literal "bread" and "water," but the powerful and respectable classes enumerated in the two

following verses. If the words are Isaiah's, he must have intended them to be taken metaphorically.

9. CALVIN, 1.For, behold. We stated, a little before, that this is the same subject which the Prophet

began to treat towards the close of the former chapter; for he warns the Jews that their wealth, however

great it may be, will be of no avail to prevent the wrath of God, which, when it has once been kindled, will

burn up all their defenses. Hence it follows that they are chargeable with excessive madness, when, in

order to drive away their alarm, they heap up their forces, strength, and warlike accoutrements,

consultations, armor, abundant supply of provisions, and other resources.

The demonstrative particle , (hinneth,) is employed not only to denote certainty, but to express the

shortness of time, as if Isaiah caused wicked men to be eye-witnesses of the event; for it frequently

happens that they who do not venture openly to ridicule the judgments of God pass them by, as if they did

not at all relate to them, or were still at a great distance. is that to us? say they; if they shall ever

happen, why should we be miserable before the time? Will it not be time enough to think of those

calamities when they actually befall us? Since, therefore, wicked men, in order to set at naught the

judgments of God, dig for themselves lurking-places of this description, on this account the Prophet

presses them more closely and earnestly, that they may not imagine that the hand of God is distant, or

vainly expect that it will be relaxed.

The Lord Jehovah of hosts will take away from Jerusalem. This is also the reason why he calls God

the Lord and Jehovah of Hosts, that the majesty of God may terrify their drowsy and sluggish minds; for

God has no need of titles, but our ignorance and stupidity must be aroused by perceiving his glory. First,

the Prophet threatens that the Jews will have the whole produce of the harvest taken from them, so that

they will perish through famine. Immediately afterwards he speaks in the same manner about military

guards, and all that relates to the good order of the state. Hence we may infer that the Jews boasted of

the prosperity which they at that time enjoyed, so as to entertain a foolish belief that they were protected

against every danger. But Isaiah threatens that not only the whole country, but Jerusalem herself, which

was the invincible fortress of the nation, will be exposed to God chastisements; as if he had said, wrath

of God will not only fall on every part of the body, but will pierce the very heart.

The power and the strength. (49) As to the words , (mashgnen umashgnenah) which differ

only in this respect, that one is in the masculine, and the other in the feminine genders, I have no doubt

that the Prophet intended by this change to express more fully the certainty that supports of every kind

would be broken; and therefore I have translated them the power and the strength (50) I do not agree with

those interpreters who view it as referring to the persons of men, for it more appropriately denotes all

supports, whatever may be their nature.

Still it is doubtful whether the Prophet limits it to food, or extends it to all other kinds of support, which he

mentions immediately afterwards. But it is natural to suppose that by , (mashgnen

umashgnenah) is included generally everything that is necessary to sustain the order of the city or of the

people; and next that, for the sake of explanation, he enumerates some particulars. The first clause

therefore means, will take away every help and assistance by which you think that you are upheld, so

that nothing whatever may be left to support you.

Next, he adds, what will be their want and nakedness; and he begins, as we have said, with food and

nourishment, which hold the first rank in sustaining the life of men. Now there are two ways in which God

takes away the strengthof bread and water; either when he deprives us of victuals, or when he takes from

them the power of nourishing us; for unless God impart to our food a hidden power, the greatest

abundance of it that we may possess will do us no good. (Lev_26:26.) Hence in another passage God is

said to break the staff of bread (Eze_4:16,) when the bakers deliver the bread by weight, and yet it does

not yield satisfaction. And this comparison ought to be carefully observed, in order to inform us that, even

though the belly be will filled, we shall always be hungry, there being nothing but the secret blessing of

God that can feed or support us.

Though the hunger which the Prophet threatens in this passage may be understood to mean that the

fields will be unproductive, or, that God will take away from the Jews every kind of food, yet, since the

Prophets are generally accustomed to borrow their forms of expression from the law, this interpretation

will apply very well. For he might simply have said, will take away the bread and wine; but he expresses

something more secret when he speaks of thesupport of bread and water; as if he had said that, though

the people be not reduced to famine, yet God will make them, even while they are rioting in gluttony, to

pine with hunger; for when the blessing of God is withdrawn, all its usefulness will vanish away. We may

sum it up in this manner, that the people will have no food to strengthen them; either because they will not

have bread and water, or, if they have, will derive no advantage from them.

(49) support masculine and the support feminine, that is, every kind of support, whether great or small,

strong or weak. Al kenitz, wal kanitzan; the wild beast, male and female: proverbially applied both to

fishing and hunting; that is, I seized the prey, great or little, good or bad. From hence, as Schultens

observes, is explained Isa_3:1, literally, the male and female stay; that is, the strong and weak, the great

and small. Chappelow, quoted by Lowth.

(50) Calvin has imitated the Hebrew phrase by the rendering vigorem et vim ; employing two words, of

which one is in the masculine and the other in the feminine gender, and both begin with the same letter,

while each of them denotes strength. Our English version has imitated the alliteration by stay and the

staff Ed.

2 the hero and the warrior,

the judge and the prophet,

the diviner and the elder,

1.BARNES, The mighty man - The hero, The idea expressed is not simply that of personal

strength and prowess, but the higher one of military eminence or heroism. Prof. Alexander. This was fully accomplished in the time of Nebuchadnezzar; 2Ki_24:14.

And the prudent - This word in the original - qosem - means properly a diviner, or a soothsayer. But it is sometimes used in a good sense; see Pro_16:10, margin. The Chaldee understands it of a man who is consulted, or whose opinion is asked, in times of perplexity or danger. The word was originally applied to false prophets, diviners, and soothsayers, who claimed the power of looking into futurity. It came, however, to denote also the man of sagacity, the statesman, the experienced counselor, who from the records of the past could judge of the future, and to whom, therefore, the nation could look in times of perplexity and danger. Vitringa supposes that it may refer here to the false prophets on whose advice the nation might be relying.

The ancient - The old man. Such men, especially among the Hebrews, were deemed particularly qualified to give advice. They had experience; they kept the traditions of their fathers; they had conversed with the wise of the preceding generation; and in a land where there were few books, and knowledge was to be gained mainly by conversation and experience, great respect was shown them; see Lev_19:32; 2Ch_31:17; 1Ki_12:6, 1Ki_12:8.

2. PULPIT, The mighty man, and the man of war; or, hero and warrior. The first rank is given to those

distinguished in war, as being held in the highest esteem, and perhaps as actually, under the coming

circumstances, the men of most importance to the country. It is thus implied, as later (Isa_3:25, Isa_3:26)

it is expressly taught, that the impending visitation will be a terrible invasion. The judge, and the

prophet; literally, judge and prophet. The judge holds his place as one of the highest officers of the state

(see Isa_1:26); the prophet holds a lower position than might have been expected, on account of the

writer's humility. The prudent; rather, the diviner, as the word is translated

in Deu_18:14;1Sa_6:2; Isa_44:25; Jer_27:9; Jer_29:8; Eze_13:9; Mic_3:7; Zec_10:2; or soothsayer, as

in Jos_13:22. Isaiah arranges the classes, not so much according to the order in which he values them,

as to that in which they were valued by the people. The ancient; i.e. "the elder," as the word is translated

commonly. The "elders" had an ascertained position in the state under the monarchy

(2Sa_5:3; 2Sa_19:11; 1Ki_8:1; 1Ki_20:7; 2Ki_6:32, etc.).

3. GILL, The mighty man, and man of war,.... The meaning is either that these should die in war, as thousands of them did; or that men fit to be generals of armies should be removed by

death before this time, so that they should have none to go out with their armies, and meet the enemy: the judge and the prophet; there should be none to sit upon the bench, and administer justice to the people in civil affairs, and to determine causes relating to life and death; and none to instruct them in religious matters, and deliver the mind and will of God to them; and before this time the Jews were under the Roman jurisdiction, and had a Roman governor over them, and had not power to judge in capital cases, in matters of life and death, as they suggest, Joh_18:31 and they say (z), that forty years before the destruction of the temple this power was taken from them; and at the time that Jerusalem was besieged, and taken by the Romans, and before that, they had no prophets among them; for though there were prophets in the Christian churches, yet none among them; this shows that this prophecy cannot be understood of the Babylonish captivity, because there were prophets then, as Jeremy, Ezekiel, and Daniel, but of Jerusalem's destruction by the Romans: and the prudent and the ancient: with whom are wisdom, and who are fit to give advice and counsel in matters of difficulty; but these would be removed by famine or sword. The first of these words is used sometimes in an ill sense, for a diviner or soothsayer, Deu_18:10. The Jewish writers (a) interpret it of a king, according to Pro_16:10 and it is certain they were without one at this time, and have been ever since, Hos_3:4.

4. HENRY, Was their army a support to them - their generals, and commanders, and military men? These shall be taken away, either cut off by the sword or so discouraged with the defeats they meet with that they shall throw up their commissions and resolve to act no more; or they shall be disabled by sickness, or dispirited, so as to be unfit for business; The mighty men, and the man of war, and even the inferior officer, the captain of fifty, shall be removed. It bodes ill with a people when their valiant men are lost. Let not the strong man therefore glory in his strength, nor any people trust too much to their mighty men; but let the strong people glorify God and the city of the terrible nations fear him, who can make them weak and despicable, Isa_25:3.

III. Were their ministers of state a support to them - their learned men, their politicians, their clergy, their wits and virtuoso? These also should be taken away - the judges, who were skilled in the laws, and expert in administering justice, - the prophets, whom they used to consult in difficult cases, - the prudent, who were celebrated as men of sense and sagacity above all others and were assistants to the judges, the diviners (so the word is), those who used unlawful arts, who, though rotten stays, yet were stayed on, (but it may be taken, as we read it, in a good sense), - the ancients, elders in age, in office, - the honourable man, the gravity of whose aspect commands reverence and whose age and experience make him fit to be a counsellor. Trade is one great support to a nation, even manufactures and handicraft trades; and therefore, when the whole stay is broken, the cunning artificer too shall be taken away; and the last is the eloquent orator, the man skilful of speech, who in some cases may do good service, though he be none of the prudent or the ancient, by putting the sense of others in good language. Moses cannot speak well, but Aaron can. God threatens to take these away, that is, 1. To disable them for the service of their country, making judges fools, taking away the speech of the trusty and the understanding of the aged, Job_12:17, etc. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; and we cannot be sure that those who have been serviceable to us shall always be so. 2. To put an end to their days; for the reason why princes are not to be trusted in is because their breath goeth forth, Psa_146:3, Psa_146:4. Note, The removal of useful men by death, in the midst of their usefulness, is a very threatening symptom to any people.

IV. Was their government a support to them? It ought to have been so; it is the business of the sovereign to bear up the pillars of the land, Psa_75:3. But it is here threatened that this stay should fail them. When the mighty men and the prudent are removed children shall be their princes - children in age, who must be under tutors and governors, who will be clashing with one another and making a prey of the young king and his kingdom-children in understanding and disposition, childish men, such as are babes in knowledge, no more fit to rule than a child in the cradle. These shall rule over them, with all the folly, fickleness, and frowardness, of a child. And woe unto thee, O land! when thy king is such a one! Ecc_10:16.

5. JAMISON, Fulfilled (2Ki_24:14).

prudent the Hebrew often means a soothsayer (Deu_18:10-14); thus it will mean, the diviners, on whom they rely, shall in that day fail. It is found in a good sense (Pro_16:10), from which passage the Jews interpret it a king; without whom Israel long has been (Hos_3:4).

ancient old and experienced (1Ki_12:6-8).

6. K&D, Hero and man of war, judge and prophet, and soothsayer and elder; captains of fifty, and the highly distinguished, and counsellors, and masters in art, and those skilled in muttering. As the state had grown into a military state under Uzziah-Jotham, the prophet

commences in both vv. with military officers, viz., the gibbor, i.e., commanders whose bravery

had been already tried; the man of war (ish imlchamah), i.e., private soldiers who had been

equipped and well trained (see Eze_39:20); and the captain of fifty (sar Chamisshim), leaders of

the smallest divisions of the army, consisting of only fifty men (pentekontarchos, 2Ki_1:9, etc.).

The prominent members of the state are all mixed up together; the judge (shophet), i.e., the

officers appointed by the government to administer justice; the elder (zaken), i.e., the heads of

families and the senators appointed by the town corporations; the counsellor (yoetz), those

nearest to the king; the highly distinguished (nesu panim), lit., those whose personal

appearance (panim) was accepted, i.e., welcome and regarded with honour (Saad.: wa'gh, from

wa'gh, the face of appearance), that is to say, persons of influence, not only on account of their

office, but also on account of wealth, age, goodness, etc.; masters in art (Chacam Charashim:

lxx + - ), or, as Jerome has very well rendered it, in artibus mechanicis exercitatus easque callide tractans (persons well versed in mechanical arts, and carrying them out with skill). In the Chaldean captivities skilled artisans are particularly mentioned as having been carried away (2Ki_24:14.; Jer_24:1; Jer_29:2); so that there can be no doubt whatever that

Charashim (from Cheresh) is to be understood as signifying mechanical and not magical arts, as

Gesenius, Hitzig, and Meier suppose, and therefore that Chacam Charashim does not mean

wizards, as Ewald renders it (Cha6rashim is a different word from Charashim, fabri, from Chara

sh, although in 1Ch_4:14, cf., Neh_11:35, the word is regularly pointed even in this personal sense). Moreover, the rendering wizards produces tautology, inasmuch as masters of

the black art are cited as nebon lachash, skilled in muttering. Lachash is the whispering or

muttering of magical formulas; it is related both radically and in meaning to nachash,

enchantment (Arabic nachs, misfortune); it is derived from lachash, sibilare, to hiss (a kindred

word to nachash; hence nachash, a serpent). Beside this, the masters of the black art are also

represented as kosem, which, in accordance with the radical idea of making fast, swearing,

conjuring, denoted a soothsayer following heathen superstitions, as distinguished from the nabi, of false Jehovah prophet (we find this as early as Deu_18:10, Deu_18:14).

(Note: According to the primary meaning of the whole thema, which is one of hardness,

rigidity, firmness, aksama (hi. of kasam) signifies, strictly speaking, to make sure, i.e., to swear, either by swearing to the truth and certainty of a thing, or by making a person swear

that he will do or not do a certain thing, by laying as it were a kasam upon him. The kal, on

the other hand (kasama), gets its meaning to divide from the turn given to the radical idea in

the substantive kism, which signifies, according to the original lexicographers, something

fixed (= nasb), definite, i.e., a definite portion. There is just the same association of ideas in

azama as in aksama, namely, literally to be firm or make firm, i.e., to direct one's will firmly towards an object or place; also to direct one's will firmly towards a person, to adjure him to do a thing or not to do it; sometimes with a softer meaning, to urge or invite a person to

anything, at other times to recite conjuring formulas (azaim.)

These came next to bread and water, and were in a higher grade the props of the state. They are mixed together in this manner without regular order, because the powerful and splendid state was really a quodlibet of things Jewish and heathen; and when the wrath of Jehovah broke out, the godless glory would soon become a mass of confusion.

7.CALVIN, 2.The strong man, and the man of war He mentions other ends which contribute to the

safety and good order either of nations or of cities. Of these he threatens that the Jews will be wholly

deprived, so that they will neither have wisdom or bravery at battle, nor military forces abroad. He is not

careful to attend to order, but is satisfied with giving a short abridgement, and mixes one subject with

another. He begins with men of war, into whose hands was committed the defense of the country. God

sometimes takes them away by death, and sometimes by making them soft and effeminate. The latter is

more frequent, so that posterity degenerates from the bravery of ancestors, and those who were formerly

courageous become, in process of time, cowardly and unfit for war. But we see also that the former

sometimes happens, in consequence of which the boldest men suddenly lose heart.

The judge and the prophet. We know that, in the Hebrew language, the word judge stands for every kind

of governors; and it is certain that by prophets are meant every kind of teachers. Accordingly, he

threatens that the civil government will be set aside, and that instruction will be at an end, and that thus

the Jews will be destroyed; and, indeed magistrates and teachers hold the same place in the

commonwealth that the two eyes do in the human body.

Aged diviners and old men (51) I consider the same rank as before to be denoted by old men, who are

more fit for governing, because age brings along with it prudence, wisdom, and gravity. As to the

word diviner, though it is used in a bad sense in Scripture, yet here it appears to be used in a good sense,

when Isaiah enumerates those things which contribute to preserve the good order of a city and of a

kingdoms. The term might, therefore, be applied to a soothsayer, who divines or penetrates into dark

matters, not by omens or superstitious arts, but by extraordinary acuteness and skill. But as God forbade

them to consult magicians, soothsayers, and diviners, (Deu_18:20,) and as Balaam himself declares

that there is no divination against Israel, (Num_23:23,) I do not quarrel with those who would prefer to use

the word diviner as denoting magical divinations; nor will there be any absurdity in enumerating among

the punishments of the nation, that it would be deprived also of those aids which were sinful and criminal;

for along with the altar and sacrifices Hosea mentions teraphim. (52) (Hos_3:4.)

The captain of fifty. He employs this term agreeably to the custom which then prevailed; for as the

Romans had centurions, or captains of hundreds, so the Jews had captains, or rulers of fifties, which the

Greeks call, but as that custom did not exist among the Latins, so the name was

unknown among them. By persons of venerable aspect (53) he means those whose reputation for bravery

gave then influence among the people.

The senator. (54) The word (yognetz,) for which I have put senator, may be applied to men in private

life who are eminent for prudence; but as it is strictly applicable to counsellors, who discharge a public

office, I resolved not to depart from the common opinion.

The sinful artificer. Because the mechanical arts are not less advantageous for upholding the prosperity

of a nation, and for the support of animal life, Isaiah likewise mentions that, through the want of them, the

destruction of the Jews is at hand.

And the eloquent. (55) he word which is placed last in the enumeration has been variously explained by

commentators. Literally it means, in muttering, or in a subdued tone of speech. since the heathen

oracles give out their replies by whisperings or in mutterings, some think that the word

denotes enchantments. A better exposition is given by those who interpret (lahash) to mean secret

designs; but as a style which is both mysterious and weighty may be not inappropriately denoted by this

word, I had no hesitation in rendering it by the word eloquent. Yet if it be thought preferable to view it as

denoting wise and cautious men, who, though not qualified for public speaking, give private advices of

what may profitably be done, I have no objection.

We must attend to this comprehensive description of a well-regulated state. For Isaiah has placed first

corn and other things necessary for bodily support; secondly, military forces; thirdly, skill in governing a

nation and the various parts of civil government; fourthly, the prophetical office; and fifthly, the mechanical

arts. With these ornaments does God adorn the nations which he intends to render safe and sound; and,

on the other hand, he takes them from those nations which he intends utterly to destroy. Let us, therefore,

know that everything which we find to be profitable for the support of life flows from the undeserved

goodness of God. Hence also there follows another instruction, namely, that we ought to beware lest, by

our ingratitude, we deprive ourselves of those excellent gifts of God.

(51) And the prudent and the ancient. Eng. Ver

(52) Prophet, says Calvin, to speak here of idols, for he afterwards adds teraphim; and teraphim were

no doubt images, (Gen_31:19) which the superstitious used while worshipping their fictitious gods, as we

read in many places. The King of Babylon is said to have consulted the teraphim; and it is said that

Rachel stole the teraphim, and shortly after Laban calls the teraphim his gods. Com. on the Twelve

Minor Prophets, vol 1, p. 130.

(53) The honourable man. Eng. Ver

(54) The counsellor. Eng. Ver.

(55) In a marginal reading of the text our author renders this phrase by skilled in mysterious discourse.

powerful in persuasion. Lowth. expert dealer in charms. Bishop Stock. is

to whisper or mutter certain words, by which jugglers pretended to charm noxious creatures, and to

deprive them of their power of hurting. Parkhurst.

3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank,

the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever

enchanter.

1.BARNES, The captain of fifty - By this was probably denoted an officer in the army.

The idea is, that the commanders of the various divisions of the army should be taken away.

The honourable man - Hebrew nes'u' pan6ym. The man of elevated countenance. That is, the man high in office. He was so called from the aspect of dignity which a man in office would assume. In the previous chapter, the phrase is used to denote rather the pride which attended such officers, than the dignity of the office itself.

And the counselor - Note, Isa_1:26.

The cunning artificer - Hebrew, The man wise in mechanic arts: skilled in architecture, etc.

And the eloquent orator - nebon lachash. literally, skilled or learned in whispering,

in conjuration, in persuasion. The word lachash denotes properly a whispering, sighing, or

calling for help; (Isa_26:16, they have poured out a prayer, lachash - a secret speech, a feeble sigh for aid.) It is applied to the charm of the serpents - the secret breathing or gentle noise by which the charm is supposed to be effected; Psa_58:6; Jer_8:17; Ecc_10:11. In Isa_3:20 of this chapter it denotes a charm or amulet worn by females; see the note at that verse. It is also applied to magic, or conjuration - because this was usually done by gentle whispering, or incantation; see the note at Isa_8:19. From this use of the word, it comes to denote one that influences another; one who persuades him in any way, as an orator does by argument and entreaty. Ancient orators also probably sometimes used a species of recitative, or measured cadence, not unlike that employed by those who practiced incantations. Jerome says that it means here, a man who is learned, and acquainted with the law, and the prophets. Chaldee, The prudent in council. It may be used in a good sense here; but if so, it is probably the only place where the word is so used in the Old Testament. A prophecy similar to this occurs in Hos_3:4 : For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim.

2. PULPIT, The captain of fifty. "Captains of fifties" were scarcely at this period "civil officers"

(Cheyne). They represent simply the lowest grade of officers in the army

(2Ki_1:9, 2Ki_1:11, 2Ki_1:13). Honorable. The same expression is used again in Isa_9:15. It occurs also

in 2Ki_5:1-27. I and Job_22:8. The cunning artificer. "All the craftsmen and smiths" in Jerusalem were

carried away by Nebuchadnezzar in the captivity of Jehoiachin (2Ki_24:14; cf. Jer_24:1). They were

among the most valuable of the population, in time of war no less than of peace, since on them depended

the construction and repair of the military engines which were regarded as of so much importance

(2Ch_26:15). The eloquent orator; rather, the expert enchanter (comp. Ecc_10:11; Jer_8:17).

3. GILL, The captain of fifty,.... A semi-centurion, such an one as in 2Ki_1:9. So far should there be from being captains of thousands, and of hundreds, that there should not be one of fifty: and the honourable man; by birth, breeding, and behaviour, through riches and greatness; and one of power and authority among the people, and in their favour and esteem: and the counsellor; one able to give advice in matters of moment and difficulty, and in controversy between man and man; it suggests that nothing should be done with advice and counsel, with wisdom and discretion, but all tumult and sedition, as the history of these times shows: the Jews (b) interpret this of one that knows how to intercalate years, and fix the months: and the cunning artificer: in any kind of metal, old, silver, brass, and iron, and in any sort of wood, and in any kind of manual and mechanical business; which would now be laid aside, shops shuts up, and all trade and business neglected and discouraged, occasioned partly by the siege without, and chiefly by their internal divisions and robberies, and by their zealots and cutthroats, which swarmed among them. The Septuagint render it, "the wise architect", or "masterbuilder"; the same word is used by the apostle in 1Co_3:10, and the eloquent orator; who has the tongue of the learned, and can speak a word in season to the distressed; or who is able to plead at the bar the cause of the injured and oppressed, the widow and the fatherless. Aben Ezra interprets it of one that is skilful in enchanting serpents; that charms wisely, as in Psa_58:5 it may be rendered, "one that understands enchantment" (c): with the Septuagint it is a "prudent hearer"; sad is the case of a nation when men of so much usefulness are taken away from them. See 2Ki_24:15.

4. PULPIT, Many steps in the decay of states.

Ruin does not often come on states at once, even when God has determined on it. There are many steps

in the fall of a great nation.

I. CESSATION OF A SUCCESSION OF GREAT AND WISE MEN. (Isa_3:2, Isa_3:3.) One of the first

marks of decay is a falling off in this succession. When the intervals between one great man and another

lengthen; when wise men, capable of giving the state good counsel, grow rare; when mediocrity

everywhere prevails, and no one steps forth conspicuous by marked superiority to his fellows;then it

may at once be proclaimed that decline has set in, and that the nation is verging towards its fall. The

great and the wise are the salt which preserve society from corruption. Without them all goes wrong; the

pulse of the national life slackens, energy disappears, foreign aggression is weakly resisted, a general

debilitation becomes apparent in every part and function of the body politic. No state can long resist the

insidious malady, which, like atrophy or anaemia, steals gradually over the entire frame, exhausting it and

bringing about its dissolution.

II. ACTIVE FOLLY IN THE RULERS. (Isa_3:4.) When the great and the wise fail, government necessarily

falls into the hands of the incompetent. If not "children" in age, they will be "babes" in respect of policy

and statecraft. So long, however, as they are willing to follow the traditions of the past, to work upon well-

known lines, and carry out established practices, no very great harm can arise. But they are seldom

content for many years to act thus. A childish desire seizes them to attract attention, to exhibit their

power. Hence they plunge into active follies, wild schemes of aggression and conquest, or imprudent and

unsuitable alliances, as that of Ahaz with Tiglath-Pileser (2Ch_28:16,2Ch_28:20). The state is brought

into difficulties and entanglements, and the wisdom is wanting that should have seen a way out of them.

One embarrassment follows another. Unexpected circumstances arise, and it is not perceived how they

should be met. The unwisdom of the good is perhaps as fatal as the folly of the wicked (e.g. Josiah's

uncalled-for resistance of Pharaoh-Nechoh, 2Ki_23:29), and leads to great disasters. Meanwhile other

causes are at work, which advance the general confusion and accelerate the final catastrophe.

III. DEVELOPMENT OF SELFISHNESS AMONG THE PEOPLE. (Isa_3:5.) Society is based upon the

principles of justice and mutual good will. While states prosper, it requires no extraordinary virtue in men

to deal justly by their neighbors, and act towards them in a friendly spirit. But when the times are out of

joint, when there is general impoverishment and distress, it is no longer easy to be amicable or even just.

"Every man for himself!" becomes the cry; the spirit of selfishness is evoked and runs riot; "the people"

(no longer the "rulers" or the "judges," Isa_1:10, Isa_1:23) "oppress every one another, and every one his

neighbor" (Isa_3:5). This indulgence of the selfish spirit acts as a solventloosens the bonds which have

hitherto held society together, and goes far to reduce the united mass, in whose union was its strength, to

a congeries of atoms.

IV. CESSATION OF RESPECT FOR AGE OR SOCIAL RANK. (Isa_3:5.) The disintegration of society

tends to place all the atoms upon a par. While the social order was maintained, and the whole society felt

itself one, the parts knew their need one of the other, and recognized their respective positions of

inferiority and superiority. But with the loosening of the social ties comes naturally a general self-

assertion. In a physical chaos atoms are of equal value, and why not in a disintegrated society? Hence

the young in such a state throw off their allegiance to the old; even sons cease to respect or obey their

fathers, and daughters their mothers. The humbler classes of toilers for daily bread no longer look up to

their more favored brethren, but rather view them with jealousy and hatred. Class is alienated from class,

and the tendency to a complete dissolution of society aggravated.

V. NEGLECT OF THEIR CIVIL DUTIES ON THE PART OF THE WELL-TO-DO CLASSES.

(Isa_3:6, Isa_3:7.) Noblesse oblige. In a distracted state of society, it is especially incumbent on those

whose means place them beyond the reach of want, and allow them ample leisure, to come to the relief

of their neighbors by undertaking those civil duties and offices on which the welfare of the body politic

depends. But it is exactly at such times that we find this class of persons most inclined to ignore this

obligation, and withdraw wholly from political life (Isa_3:7). Some, like Plato, justify themselves under the

plea that nothing can be done to save society, and that they may be excused for taking refuge under the

first shelter that offers while the storm rages and exhausts itself. Others plead the vulgarizing effect of

active political life, and claim the right of keeping their superfine humanity free from the smears and stains

which mixture with the crowd would bring upon it. On one excuse or another, or not infrequently without

condescending to make any excuse, the upper classes in a distracted state stand aloof, neglect their civil

duties, and refuse all the calls that are made on them to come to the rescue, and do their best to save the

"ruin" that is tottering to its fall.

5. JAMISON, captain of fifty not only captains of thousands, and centurions of a hundred, but even semi-centurions of fifty, shall fail.

honourable literally, of dignified aspect.

cunning skilful. The mechanics business will come to a standstill in the siege and subsequent desolation of the state; artisans are no mean stay among a nations safeguards.

eloquent orator rather, as Vulgate, skilled in whispering, that is, incantation (Psa_58:5). See Isa_8:19, below; and on prudent, see on Isa_3:2.

4 I will make mere youths their officials;

children will rule over them.

1.BARNES, And I will give children - Not children in respect to age so much as in regard

to talent for governing. I will commit the land to the government of weak and imbecile princes. This would naturally occur when the wise and great were removed; compare Ecc_10:16 : Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child; compare Isa_3:12.

And babes shall rule ... - That is, babes in experience and knowledge. This was fully accomplished in the succession of weak and wicked princes that succeeded Isaiah, until the time of Zedekiah, the last of them, when the temple was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. - Lowth.

2. CLARKE, I will give children to be their princes I will make boys their princes - This also was fully accomplished in the succession of weak and wicked princes, from the death of Josiah to the destruction of the city and temple, and the taking of Zedekiah, the last of them, by Nebuchadnezzar.

Babes shall rule over them - Dymennysche men schul lordschopen to hem. - Old MS. Bible.

3. GILL, And I will give children to be their princes,.... Either in age, or in understanding, who are really so, or act like such; and in either sense, when this is the case, it is an unhappiness to a nation, Ecc_10:16, and babes shall rule over them; which is the same as before. The Targum is, "the weak shall rule over them;'' such who are weak in their intellectuals, or are of mean pusillanimous spirits, "effeminate", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; and so as "children" are opposed to the "ancient", that should be taken away, these are opposed to "men of might" and courage, who would now be wanting: or "men of illusions", as in the margin; such as were subtle as foxes, and should deceive them, and impose upon them, and were audacious and impudent, and would mock at them, and despise them. So Jarchi and Abarbinel; and according to this sense of the word the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "mockers shall rule over them".

4. PULPIT, I will give children to be their princes; rather, youths than "children." The extreme youth

of the later kings of Judah at the date of their accession is very remarkable. After Hezekiah, only one was

as much as twenty-five years old when he came to the throne. Jehoahaz was twenty-three (2Ki_23:31);

Amon, twenty-two (2Ki_21:19); Zedekiah twenty-one (2Ki_24:18); Jehoiachin, eighteen (2Ki_24:8);

Manasseh, twelve (2Ki_21:1); and Josiah eight (2Ki_22:1). Thus this prophecy was fulfilled to the

letter. And babes shall rule over them; literally, puerilities shall rule over them; i.e. the youths shall

behave in a childish way.

5. JAMISON, children in ability for governing; antithesis to the ancient (see Isa_3:12; Ecc_10:16).

babes in warlike might; antithesis to the mighty and man of war.

6. K&D, Thus robbed of its support, and torn out of its proper groove, the kingdom of Judah would fall a prey to the most shameless despotism: And I give them boys for princes, and caprices shall rule over them. The revived Solomonian glory is followed, as before, by the times of Rehoboam. The king is not expressly named. This was intentional. He had sunk into the mere shadow of a king: it was not he who ruled, but the aristocratic party that surrounded him, who led him about in leading strings as unum inter pares. Now, if it is a misfortune in most

cases for a king to be a child (na'ar, Ecc_10:16), the misfortune is twice as great when the princes

or magnates who surround and advise him are youngsters (ne'arim, i.e., young lords) in a bad

sense. It produces a government of talulim. None of the nouns in this form have a personal signification. According to the primary meaning of the verbal stem, the word might signify

childishnesses, equivalent to little children (the abstract for the concrete, like - amasius), as Ewald supposes; or puppets, fantocci, poltroons, or men without heart or brain, as Luzzatto maintains. But the latter has no support in the general usage of the language, and the verb

yimshelu (shall rule) does not necessarily require a personal subject (cf., Psa_19:14; Psa_103:19).

The word talulim is formed from the reflective verb hithallel, which means to meddle, to gratify

one's self, to indulge one's caprice. Accordingly talulim itself might be rendered vexationes

(Isa_66:4). Jerome, who translates the word effeminati, appears to have thought of J in an

erotic sense. The Sept. rendering, NP is better, though N would be more exact.

When used, as the word is here, along with ne'arim, it signifies outbursts of youthful caprice, which do injury to others, whether in joke or earnest. Neither law nor justice would rule, but the very opposite of justice: a course of conduct which would make subjects, like slaves, the helpless victims at one time of their lust (Jdg_19:25), and at another of their cruelty. They would be governed by lawless and bloodstained caprice, of the most despotic character and varied forms. And the people would resemble their rulers: their passions would be let loose, and all restraints of modesty and decorum be snapt asunder.

7. BI, Puerile government

Probably an abstract term used for a concretepuerilities or childishnesses for childish persons. (J. A. Alexander.)

Juvenile government a curse

If it is in itself generally a misfortune when the king of a country is a lad (Ecc_10:16), it is doubly so when the princes or magnates surrounding end advising him are also youths or youngsters in the bad sense of the term . . . Varying humour, utterly unregulated and unrestrained, rules supreme. (F. Delitzsch.)

A foolish ruler: Justinian II (of Constantinople)

The name of a triumphant lawgiver was dishonoured by the vices of a boy, who imitated his namesake only in the expensive luxury of building. His passions were strong; his understanding was feeble; and he was intoxicated with a foolish pride that his birth had given him the command of millions, of whom the smallest community would not have chosen him for their local magistrate. His favourite ministers were two beings the least susceptible of human sympathy, a eunuch and a monk; the one he abandoned the palace, to the other the finances; the former corrected the emperors mother with a scourge, the latter suspended the insolvent tributaries, with their heads downward, over a slow and smoky fire. (Gibbons Rome.)

Isaiah 3:5 And the people shall be oppressed

Tyranny

The dissolution of good order and political confusion. Oppression and pride everywhere prevail. (R. Macculloch.)

State chaos

There is a natural relation of classes. Whilst all that is purely mechanical and arbitrary is to be viewed with suspicion, yet there is a natural sequence in things; there is, indeed, what is called a fitness or harmony of things; and when society is rightly inspired the base man knows that he is base, and his baseness is his weakness, and his weakness defines his position; and the child knows himself to be but a child, and therefore he behaves himself with discretion, and is limited by circumstances which he cannot control. Once let the moral centre be lost, and then you have lost all arithmetical counting, all geometrical relationship, all figure and form and mechanism and security, and the foursquare is thrown out of its parallel, and that which was right is numbered with that which is forbidden, (J. Parker, D. D.)

An evil spirit in the nation

It is here threatened that God would send an evil spirit among them (Jdg_9:23), which would make them

1. Injurious and unneighbourly one towards another. The people shall be oppressed everyone by his neighbour, and their princes, being children, take no care to restrain the oppressors, or relieve the oppressed. Nor is it to any purpose to appeal to them.

2. Insolent and disorderly towards their superiors. It is as ill an omen to a people as can be, when the rising generation among them is generally untractable, rude, and ungovernable, when the child behaves himself proudly against the ancient; whereas he should rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man (Lev_19:32). When young people are conceited and pert, and carry it scornfully towards their superiors, it is not only a reproach to themselves, but of ill consequence to the public; it slackens the reins of government, and weakens the hands that hold them. It is likewise ill with a people when persons of honour cannot support their authority, but are affronted by the base and beggarly; when judges are insulted by the mob, and their power set at defiance. (M. Henry.)

A lamentable state of society

Homo homini lupusman becomes a wolf to man;

jusque datum sceleriwickedness receives the stamp of law;

nec hospes ab hospite tutusthe guest and the host are in danger from each other. (M. Henry.)

8. CALVIN, 4.And I will appoint children to be their princes (56) That the vengeance of God may be

more manifest, he now describes how sad and wretched will be the change, when competent and faithful

rulers shall be taken from among them and God shall put cowardly and worthless persons in their room.

By children are meant not only those who are so by age, but also by mind and conduct, such as delicate

and effeminate persons, who are destitute of courage and cannot wield the sword entrusted to them. He

does not here carry out the contrast, clause by clause; for he thought it enough to point out one way in

which a commonwealth is speedily ruined; that is, when its rulers are weak and foolish men like children,

who have no gravity or wisdom. But it must be laid down as a principle, that no man is qualified for

governing a commonwealth unless he have been appointed to it by God, and be endued with uncommon

excellence. Plato, too, understood this matter well: for though, being a heathen, he had no true

knowledge of this kind, yet his quick sagacity enabled him to perceive that no man is fit and qualified for

public government which has not been prepared for it by God in an extraordinary measure; for public

government proceeds from God alone, and in like manner every part of it must be upheld by him.

Besides, they whom the Lord does not govern have nothing left for them but to be children, or rather to be

twice children, that is, destitute of all skill and of all wisdom.

Now the Lord executes this vengeance in two ways; because it frequently happens, that when we appear

to have those who are grave and skillful in business, no sooner do they come to action than they stumble

like blind men, and have no more wisdom than children; for the Lord deprives them of that remarkable

ability which they had formerly received from him, and stuns them, as if he had struck them with a

thunderbolt. But sometimes the Lord proceeds more gently, and gradually removes men of extraordinary

ability, who were fit for ruling, and commits the reins of government to those who were unable to govern a

family, or even a single child liken these things happen, it is very certain that destruction is not far off.

Besides, it deserves our notice, as I lately mentioned, that a well-regulated commonwealth is a singular

gift of God, when the various orders of judges and senators, soldiers, captains, artificers, and teachers,

aid each other by mutual intercourse, and join in promoting the general safety of the whole people. For

when the Prophet threatens, and pronounces it to be a very severe punishment, that these things shall be

taken away, he plainly shows that those eminent and uncommon gifts of God are necessary for the safety

of nations. Accordingly, he here commends the office of magistrates, and captains, and soldiers, and

likewise the office of teachers. This deserves our notice in opposition to fanatics, who endeavor to banish

from the world the power of using the sword, together with all civil government and order. But the Prophet

declares that these things are not taken away or removed unless when God is angry. It follows, therefore,

that they who oppose, and, as far as lies in their power, set aside or destroy such benefits, are wicked

men and enemies of the public safety.

He likewise commends instruction, without which a commonwealth cannot stand; for, as Solomon says,

where prophecy is not, the nation must be ruined. (Pro_29:18.)

At the same time, he commends the mechanical arts, agriculture, manual occupations of every

description, architecture, and such like, which we cannot dispense with; for all artisans of every kind, who

contribute what is useful to men, are the servants of God, and have the same end in view with those who

were formerly mentioned, namely, the preservation of mankind

The same thing must be said about war; for, although lawful, war ought to be nothing else than an

attempt to obtain peace; yet sometimes an engagement is unavoidable, that they who have the power of

the sword may use it, and defend themselves and their followers by arms. War, therefore, is not in itself to

be condemned; for it is the means of preserving the commonwealth. But neither must eloquence be

despised; for it is often needed, both in public and in private life, that something may be clearly and fully

explained and demonstrated to be true. This is also reckoned among the gifts and important blessings of

God, when a state abounds in wise and eloquent men,

who can contend with the adversaries in the gate.

(Psa_127:5.)

This passage may be thus summed up, God takes away those gifts, and alters the condition of a people,

in whatever way this takes place, either by changing the form of government, or by taking away the rulers,

the anger of God ought to be acknowledged; for, as Hosea says,

He Taketh Away Kings In His Wrath,

And Appointeth Them In His Indignation. (Hos_13:11.)

Let us not, therefore, ascribe these changes to chance or other causes.

(56) And I will give children to be their princes. Eng. Ver.

5 People will oppress each other

man against man, neighbor against neighbor.

The young will rise up against the old,

the nobody against the honored.

1.BARNES, And the people shall be oppressed - This describes the state of anarchy

and confusion which would exist under the reign of children and babes Isa_3:4, when all law would be powerless, and all rights violated, and when the feeble would be oppressed and borne down by the strong. The word used here, properly denotes that unjust exactions or demands would be made, or that the people would be urged to fulfill them.

Every one by another - In turn they shall oppress and vex one another. Hebrew man by man; and man by his neighbor - a strong mode of expression, denoting that there would be a state of mutual strife, and violation of rights; compare 1Ki_20:20.

The child ... - All ranks of society shall be broken up. All respect due from one rank in life to another shall be violated.

Shall behave himself proudly - The word used here means rather to urge, or press on. The child shall crowd on the old man. This was particularly descriptive of a state of anarchy and disorder, from the fact that the Jews inculcated so much respect and deference for age; see the note at Isa_3:2.

The ancient - The old man.

And the base - The man of low rank in life. The word properly means the man that is despised, the vile, the ignoble; 1Sa_18:23; Pro_7:9.

The honorable - All the forms of respect in life would be broken up; all the proper rules of deference between man and man would be violated. Neither dignity, age, nor honor would be respected.

2. PULPIT, And the people shall be oppressed, etc.; rather, shall oppress each man his fellow, and

each man his companion. This would be no new thing (see Isa_1:17, Isa_1:21, Isa_1:23), but perhaps

might be more widely spread, having passed from the upper classes to the lower ones, as is usual with

vices. The child; rather, the youth. Shall behave himself proudly; or, insolently. The respect for age

inculcated by the Law (Le 19:32) shall disappear. Youths shall set at naught the counsel of the aged. The

spirit of Rehoboam shall prevail over that of Solomon, with the usual resultrashness, recklessness, and

failure. And the base, etc. Respect for station shall likewise disappear. The dregs of the people shall

grow insolent towards those above them in the social scale; and thus the old social order shall be

inverted.

3. GILL, And the people shall be oppressed, everyone by another, and everyone by his neighbour,.... There being no governors, or such as were unfit for government, no decorum was kept and observed, but a mere anarchy; and so everyone did as he pleased, as when there was no king in Israel; and everyone rushed into the house of his neighbour, and plundered his goods; this was the case of Jerusalem, at the time of the siege, it abounding with robbers and spoilers: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient; show no respect to them, nor honour them, as the law requires in Lev_19:32 but behave insolently towards them; and so the Jews say (d), that when the son of David is come, as he now would be, young men shall make ashamed the faces of old men, and old men shall stand before young men: and the base against the honourable; persons of a mean birth and extract would rise up against and insult such as were men of families and fortune, of noble birth and of high degree.

4. HENRY, Was the union of the subjects among themselves, their good order and the good understanding and correspondence that they kept with one another, a stay to them? Where this is the case a people may do better for it, though their princes be not such as they should be; but it is here threatened that God would send an evil spirit among them too (as Jdg_9:23), which would make them, 1. Injurious and unneighbourly one towards another (Isa_3:5): The people shall be oppressed every one by his neighbour, and their princes, being children, will take no care to restrain the oppressors or relieve the oppressed, nor is it to any purpose to appeal to them (which is a temptation to every man to be his own avenger), and therefore they bite and devour one another and will soon be consumed one of another. Then homo homini lupus - man becomes a wolf to man; jusque datum sceleri - wickedness receives the stamp of law; nec hospes ab hospite tutus - the guest and the host are in danger from each other. 2. Insolent and disorderly towards their superiors. It is as ill an omen to a people as can be when the rising generation among them are generally untractable, rude, and ungovernable, when the child behaves himself proudly against the ancient, whereas he should rise up before the hoary head and honour the face of the old man, Lev_19:32. When young people are conceited and pert, and behave scornfully towards their superiors, their conduct is not only a reproach to themselves, but of ill consequence to the public; it slackens the reins of government and weakens the hands that hold them. It is likewise ill with a people when persons of honour cannot support their authority, but are affronted by the base and beggarly, when judges are insulted and their powers set at defiance by the mob. Those have a great deal to answer for who do this.

VI. It is some stay, some support, to hope that, though matters may be now ill-managed, yet other may be raised up, who may manage better? Yet this expectation also shall be frustrated, for the case shall be so desperate that no man of sense or substance will meddle with it.

5. JAMISON, The anarchy resulting under such imbecile rulers (Isa_3:4); unjust exactions mutually; the forms of respect violated (Lev_19:32).

base low-born. Compare the marks of the last days (2Ti_3:2).

6. K&D, And the people oppress one another, one this and another that; the boy breaks

out violently upon the old man, and the despised upon the honoured. Niggas is the reciprocal

niphal, as the clause depicting the reciprocity clearly shows (cf., nilcham, Isa_19:2); nagas followed by Beth means to treat as a tyrant or taskmaster (Isa_9:3). The commonest selfishness would then stifle every nobler motive; one would become the tyrant of another, and ill-mannered insolence would take the place of that reverence, which is due to the old and esteemed from boys and those who are below them in position, whether we regard the law of

nature, the Mosaic law (Lev_19:32), or the common custom of society. Nikleh (from kalah, the

synonym of , Isa_9:1; Isa_23:9; cf., Isa_16:14, kal, to be light or insignificant) was a term used to denote whoever belonged to the lowest stratum of society (1Sa_18:23). It was the

opposite of nichad (from Cabed, to be heavy or of great importance). The Septuagint rendering, T

U + + V is a very good one (as the Semitic languages have no such antithetical

formations with W ). With such contempt of the distinctions arising from age and position, the state would very soon become a scene of the wildest confusion.

7.CALVIN, 5.The people will oppress every man his neighbor He describes the utmost confusion,

which was about to overtake the Jews, when order was destroyed or relaxed; and this will happen to all

nations, as soon as government is removed or falls to the ground. We know how great is the wantonness

of the human mind, when every man is hurried along by ambition and, in short, how furious the lawless

passions are when they are laid under no restraint. There is no reason, therefore, to wonder if, when the

judgment-seats have been laid low, every man insults his neighbor, cruelty abounds, and licentiousness

rages without control. If we considered this wisely, we would set a higher value on the kindness of God,

when he preserves us in any tolerable condition, and does not allow us to be lamentably ruined. Hence it

is evident that they who direct or apply their minds to sap the foundations of civil government are the

open enemies of mankind, or rather, they are in no respect different from wild beasts.

But this confusion described by the Prophet is most disgraceful, that a child shall dare to insult an old

man, that the dregs of a low and despised multitude shall rise up against nobles and men of high

reputation; for it is the most preposterous of all things that modesty shall be thrown away, so that they

who were worthy of veneration shall be treated with contempt. And yet this spectacle, so shameful and

revolting, must unavoidably be exhibited when civil government has been overthrown. As to my rendering

of the verb (niggash) in an active sense, to oppress, I was forced to adopt it, for otherwise the

meaning of the passage would have been imperfect.

6 A man will seize one of his brothers

in his fathers house, and say,

You have a cloak, you be our leader;

take charge of this heap of ruins!

1.BARNES, When a man shall take hold ... - In this verse, and the following verses, the

prophet continues to describe the calamitous and ruined state that would come upon the Jews; when there would be such a want of wealth and people, that they would seize upon anyone that they thought able to defend them. The act of taking hold here denotes supplication and entreaty, as when one in danger or distress clings to that which is near, or which may be likely to aid him; compare Isa_4:1; 1Sa_15:27,

His brother - His kinsman, or one of the same tribe and family - claiming protection because they belonged to the same family.

Of the house of his father - Descended from the same paternal ancestors as himself. Probably this refers to one of an ancient and opulent family - a man who had kept himself from the civil broils and tumults of the nation, and who had retained his property safe in the midst of the surrounding desolation. In the previous verse, the prophet had said that one characteristic of the times would be a want of respect for the aged and the honorable. He here says that such would be the distress, that a man would be compelled to show respect to rank; he would look to the ancient and wealthy families for protection.

Thou hast clothing - In ancient times wealth consisted very much in changes of garments; and the expression, thou hast clothing, is the same as you are rich, you are able to assist us; see Exo_12:34; Exo_20:26; Gen_45:22; 2Ki_5:5.

And let this ruin ... - This is an expression of entreaty. Give us assistance, or defense. We commit our ruined and dilapidated affairs to thee, and implore thy help. The Septuagint reads this, and let my food, that is, my support, be under thee - do thou furnish me food. There are some other unimportant variations in the ancient versions, but the sense is substantially given in our translation. It is expressive of great distress and anarchy - when there would be no ruler, and every man would seek one for himself. The whole deportment evinced here by the suppliant is one of submission, distress, and humility.

2. CLARKE, Of the house of his father Of his fathers house - For beith, the

house, the ancient interpreters seem to have read mibbeith, from the house;

, Septuagint; domesticum patris sui, Vulgate; which gives no good sense. But the

Septuagint MS. 1. D. 2: for has . And, his brother, of his fathers house, is little better than a tautology. The case seems to require that the man should apply to a person of some sort of rank and eminence; one that was the head of his fathers house, (see Jos_12:14), whether

of the house of him who applies to him, or of any other; roshbeithabaiu, the chief, or

head of his fathers house. I cannot help suspecting, therefore, that the word rosh, head, chief, has been lost out of the text.

Saying - Before simlah, garment, two MSS., one ancient, and the Babylonish Talmud

have the word lemor, saying; and so the Steptuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, and Chaldee. I place it

with Houbigant, after simlah.

Thou hast clothing Take by the garment - That is, shall entreat him in an humble and supplicating manner. Ten men shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, Let us go with you; for we have heard that God is with you, Zec_8:23. And so in Isa_4:1, the same gesture is used to express earnest and humble entreaty. The behavior of Saul towards Samuel was of the same kind, when he laid hold on the skirt of his raiment, 1Sa_15:27. The preceding and following verses show, that his whole deportment, in regard to the prophet, was full of submission and humility.

And let this ruin be under thy hand And let thy hand support - Before

tachathyadecha, a MS. adds tihyeh, let it be; another MS. adds in the same place,

takachbeyadecha, which latter seems to be a various reading of the two preceding words, making a very good sense: Take into thy hand our ruinous state. Twenty-one MSS. of Kennicotts, thirteen of De Rossis, one of my own, ancient, and three editions of the Babylonish Talmud

have yadeycha, plural, thy hands.

3. GILL, When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father,.... One of the same country, kindred, and family; for only one of their brethren, and not a stranger, might rule over them, Deu_17:15 this taking hold of him may design not so much a literal taking hold of his person, his hand or garment, much less using any forcible measures with him; though indeed the Jews would have took Christ by force, who was one of their brethren, and would have made him a temporal king, which he refused, as this man did here spoken of, Joh_6:15 but rather an importunate desire and entreaty, urging him, as follows, saying, thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler; that is, he had good and rich clothing, fit for a ruler or civil magistrate to appear in, which everyone had not, and some scarce any in those troublesome times: and let this ruin be under thy hand; that is, let thy care, concern, and business, be to raise up the almost ruined state of the city and nation; and let thy hand be under it, to support and maintain it. The Targum is, "and this power shall be under thy hand;'' thou shalt have power and government over the nation, and the honour and greatness which belong unto it, and all shall be subject unto thee. The Septuagint renders it, "let my meat be under thee", or "from thee", as the Arabic version.

4. HENRY, 1. The government shall go a begging, Isa_3:6. Here, (1.) It is taken for granted that there is no way of redressing all these grievances, and bringing things into order again, but by good magistrates, who shall be invested with power by common consent, and shall exert that power for the good of the community. And i