Bible Commentaries

1-7. Cease ye from man is now the order.

For behold — Attention is challenged.

The Lord — (Ha-Adon.) “The Lord” as sovereign.

The Lord of hosts — The self-existent God, the revealed God; God, as it were, rallying all his forces of angels and subordinate agencies of whatever kind — for such is virtually the meaning of “Jehovah of hosts.”

Doth take away — Is taking, or is about to take, away.

Stay… staff — Both nearly the same word, but of different genders, the one masculine, the other feminine. Together they mean every kind of support on which they had depended. God was the true “stay “and “staff.” Isaiah 10:20; Isaiah 50:10.

Bread… water — Judah’s spiritual food here symbolized. Civil prosperity depends on this. Isaiah 3:9-10; Isaiah 3:16-18. The “stay” and “staff” are now particularized.

2. 3. Mighty man… man of war — Besides men, martial armaments are included. Uzziah had a widespread military organization. 2 Chronicles 26:11-15.

Prudent — About the same as prophet. Men on secular principles occupied in divining future events.

Ancient — Elders, heads of families.

The captain of fifty — A title near in rank to that of the people.

The honourable — A favourite of the people; of dignified aspect.

Artificer — A maker of war weapons.

Eloquent orator — Not this in our modern sense, but rather, an enchanter; literally, whisperer. Chapter Isaiah 8:19. Akin to “prudent.”

4, 5. Children to be their princes — A phrase descriptive of the evil condition of a state deprived of wise rulers. See conduct of Rehoboam, 1 Kings 12.

Babes — Ignorant and incompetent persons. Did the prophet here look forth one hundred years, and describe what is stated as history in 2 Kings 22-25? Grotius well calls this a state of anarchy; to the Hebrew tone of life a state intensely revolting.

6, 7. Nobody desires state-position in anarchy like this.

Take hold of his brother — In a supplicating way, and then only on a kinsman, or one of his tribe. Outside of ties of blood no one ventures.

Hast clothing — A large wardrobe, which was a mark of oriental wealth.

Be thou our ruler — A like example is that of Jephthah, but in times when anarchy was less desperate, and probably less general (Judges 11:6) than that here represented.

In that day — In that time of anarchy.

Shall he swear — Literally, lift up the hand; this being the usual form of oath-taking.

Not be a healer — Or, binder up; the chief proceeding in oriental surgery. The body politic has been too long and irrecoverably diseased.

In my house — Powerful and wealthy though it has been, it is now impoverished; it has neither bread nor clothing. “It is customary for Eastern rulers to gather an immense quantity of clothes, for there fashions never alter.” — Chardin.

“The kings of Persia have great wardrobes,… many habits to spare and to give away, on occasion, as presents.” — Lowth. The picture here is that of extreme poverty as the result of a long continued ruinous civil and moral condition.

8. The causes of this ruin are now stated. Its character is implied in its causes. It is moral ruin, drawing after it, of course, ruin political and national. “Jerusalem reels, Judah falls,” all because of their tongue and their doings. They have mocked God in pretended temple worship. They have at the same time insulted him in acts of idolatry among the hills, groves, and gardens. They have provoked the eyes of his glory. They have affronted — brazenly faced down — “the eyes of glory,” which streamed forth in love for his faithful ones. The eye, as an outward sense, is the quickest to indicate thought and emotion — to light up with joy or flash in indignation. The word “glory” is a probable allusion to the shekinah, which, in its shining and its withdrawal, or darkening, gave outward expression to the emotions of Jehovah.

9. Show of… countenance — Its bold, staring effrontery declares, testifies, against them; reveals their own true character exactly. Thoughts only of evil are mirrored in their countenances, and are as clearly open to every one’s view as were the open sins of Sodom. The meaning is not that their looks betray them, but that they attempt no concealment, they hide it not.

Woe unto their soul — This expresses the highest abhorrence of their acts.

Rewarded evil unto themselves — Reaped punishment as the only proper retribution.

10, 11. These verses express general truths. Their meaning is deep. All that is possible to think or feel from the two simple propositions, “It is well to be righteous,” “It is ill to be wicked,” cannot exceed what they mean. The reason for these truths here may be this: The word “Sodom” brought to the prophet the thought of Abraham and Lot; this thought suggested resemblance and contrast: resemblance pushed forward the bad men of the plains; contrast, the good man Lot; then both suggest the awards due to each. As the rule by which God governs and awards, the principle here expressed is true for all in the earth, the righteous and the wicked, but emphatically now true of the Jews to whom the prophet at once returns.

12. Through a vista of years the prophet sees the Jews much reduced in power, pusillanimous in character, enslaved to evil-doing, and so helpless in that slavery, that he says, children — that is, men of weakest moral force are allowed to overpower them; and women, women of the royal court, that is, from the royal harem, rule over them. The statement here seems made in a tone of contempt. The law as to the sexes seems reversed. (Genesis 3:16.) The divine order was first invaded by Solomon, whose wives prattled to him about Chemosh and Milcom, and prevailed.

They which lead thee cause thee to err — Compromises with idolatry are destructive of moral and civil order.

The way of thy paths — The way appointed for Israel; the guide-marks of which along the whole way become obliterated, in so far as any taint of idolatry infests the heart of the people.

13. This headlong life of the nation cannot last.

The Lord standeth up — He cometh forward (that is the verb’s meaning) after sufficient trial and endurance.

To plead — To litigate, to contend, to inflict punishment.

14. The parties are now distinctly named.

The ancients — The elders, heads of houses and tribes, responsible representatives of the people.

Ye have — The address is direct. The charge is against these guides.

Eaten up the vineyard — Destroyed God’s Church by subverting its purity. Ye have “eaten” (literally, burnt) this up. The same in effect as if it stood, “Ye have robbed my people;” and thus it better accords with the word spoil, plunder; the evidence of which is, that it is in your houses.

15. What mean ye — What induces such foul injustice? What motive, what right, impels such action toward the poor? A blow aimed at the public conscience, though parried just for that lawless time, nevertheless comes home some day with its full death stroke.

Grind the faces of the poor — This signifies great oppression. To “grind” is to trample on. “Faces” is here equivalent to persons. The poor are claimed in the Scriptures (Amos 2:6-7; Micah 3:2, etc.) as well as in the universal conscience, as objects of care and protection. In times when justice is prostrate, such as the prophet foresaw in Judah and Jerusalem, crushing oppression of the poor is the greatest social crime.

16. The course of thought which had been interrupted at Isaiah 3:12 is here resumed.

Moreover the Lord saith — In addition to what he had already said, as reasons for divine judgment yet to come on Judah and Jerusalem.

Because the daughters of Zion — Or, the women of Jerusalem.

Are haughty — Are proud. In the prosperous reign of Uzziah there was not only much wealth, but probably it was generally diffused.

And walk with stretched forth necks — With ostentatious display of neck, perhaps to appear taller; the Septuagint, “with lofty neck.”

And wanton eyes — With fascinating glance of eyes, or with attempts to allure, as they walked.

And mincing as they go — Taking affectedly short steps.

Making a tinkling — With ankle-rings made of silver, or gold, or ivory; still used by upper class women in Syria, India, and Egypt.

17. Smite with a scab — Leprosy, no doubt, or its equivalent result. The latter seems the view of the Septuagint, the Targums, and the Syriac. Few things are deemed more degrading to the Hebrew women than baldness.

Discover — This was the highest disgrace. As items of their punishment, they are to be stripped of ornaments, made bald, and taken naked into captivity.

18, 19. In that day — The day of their coming punishment.

Bravery — In Isaiah 4:2 this word means comely. It is applied to different things: in Isaiah 60:7, to the temple; in Isaiah 64:11, to Jerusalem. May it not here mean finery? (There is difficulty in determining the meaning of terms in these verses, because many of them are used only here in the Bible. According to best means at hand, scholars have made them out, generally, as here given.)

Cauls — A network covering for the top of the head, usually made of silk. According to Furst, they are little suns or spangles.

Round tires — Literally, moons, in crescent form; used, perhaps, to deck the network veils.

Chains — More properly eardrops; resembling amber drops.

Bracelets — For the wrists, or collars for the neck.

Mufflers — Veils, light and tremulous; “a veil for the face used by higher-class ladies.”

20. The bonnets — Used of priestly head-bands, Exodus 39:28; it probably means here, ladies’ caps, or similar ornamental headdresses.

Ornaments of the legs — Short stepping chains from one foot to the other, to give a measured gait, (the “mincing” of Isaiah 3:16;) these were attached to the ankle rings, Isaiah 3:16.

Headbands — Literally, girdles. In Jeremiah 2:32, the same word is used for “sashes,”

especially as worn by a bride.

Tablets — Singularly, the literal meaning of the Hebrew is, houses of the soul, or breath; hence, smelling boxes, which were carried about the person.

21. Rings — Usually the word denotes signet rings. But here, finger rings, earrings, or rings in general; gems with inscriptions of magic formulas.

Nose jewels — Suspended from the pierced cartilage of the left nostril.

22. What is now mentioned consists of entire articles. Hitherto only single ornaments were named.

Changeable suits — Put on and off on occasions; holiday dresses. A variety of these indicated wealth.

Mantles — Flowing upper garments; fuller tunics with sleeves.

Wimples — A head covering, intended, perhaps, for a cloak or shawl, thrown over head and shoulders.

Crisping pins — A strange rendering of what seems to mean money bags, purses. But it is one of the most difficult words to determine.

23. Glasses — Mirrors made of polished metal, carried on the person.

Fine linen — Inner wear, undergarments.

Hoods — Turbans, mitres, diadems. Isaiah 60:3; Zechariah 3:5.

Veils — Coverings of the face, minus the eyes, dropping to near the feet. Distinct from “mufflers,” or smaller veils. In 1 Corinthians 11:10 used as a token of woman’s subjection.

24. It shall come to pass — The divine judgment against this luxurious finery is, that in place of sweet smell — aromatics, spicy fragrance, and the like, upon the garments of the person, (Roberts says, “No one ever enters a company without being perfumed,”) there shall be stink — a stench from dead bodies.

Instead of a girdle — An ornament for the waist; used, also, to hold up the gathers of the long outer robe when engaged in active employment.

A rent — Better, a rope; either an emblem of poverty or of captivity: in the latter case the proud females being thereby hauled along in the train of conquerors.

Well set hair — Hair curiously braided and adorned.

Baldness — In this connexion made so by the razor, the hair being shaved off; as conquerors of old time resorted to the last degree of humiliations upon their captives.

Stomacher — It is matter of uncertainty what is meant by this. Most concur in its being a plaited or stiffened ornament worn on the breast, or a broad plaited girdle for the breast.

A girding of sackcloth — The material only changed. “Sackcloth” was of the coarsest material, and worn only in affliction.

Burning — A sunburnt face, from the exposures of captivity and slavery. This, instead of the fair complexion and the well adorned person in a highly civilized and luxurious life.

25. And the proximate cause of all this shall be the profuse slaughter of the male population.

Thy men — The men of Judah and Jerusalem, for these are here evidently addressed.

26. Her gates — A poetical soliloquizing. The “gates” of Jerusalem were places busy with concourses occupied in imparting news, in trades, and in settling of disputes.

Lament and mourn — The usual daily, commonplace air of the above scenes is to be changed to loud wailings, such as Orientals well know how to make.

Sit upon the ground — This was the posture of grief and mourning; and so Judea is represented in the medals struck on the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

The destruction and captivity, however, here looked forward to by the prophet, was probably the first destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar.