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ISAIAH  : 


NEW  TRANSLATION; 


A  PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION, 


AND 


NOTES, 


CRITICAL,  PHILOLOGICAL,  AND  EXPLANATORY. 


BY  ROBERT   LOWTH,  D.D.  F.R.SS.  LOND.  &  GOET. 


LORD  BISHOP  OF  LONDON. 


FROM    THE    TENTH    ENGLISH    EDITION, 


BOSTON: 
WILLIAM  HILLIARD,  14  WATER  STREET. 

CAMBRIDGE: 
JAMES  MUNROE  AND  COMPANY. 

1834. 


PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION. 


THE  design  of  the  following  translation  of  Isaiah,  is  not  only 
to  give  an  exact  and  faithful  representation  of  the  words  and 
of  the  sense  of  the  Prdphet,  by  adhering  closely  to  the  letter  of 
the  text,  and  treading  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  his  footsteps ; 
but,  moreover,  to  imitate  the  air  and  manner  of  the  author,  to 
express  the  form  and  fashion  of  the  composition,  and  to  give 
the  English  reader  some  notion  of  the  peculiar  turn  and  cast 
of  the  original.  The  latter  part  of  this  design  coincides  per- 
fectly well  with  the  former  :  it  is  indeed  impossible  to  give  a 
just  idea  of  the  Prophet's  manner  of  writing,  otherwise  than 
by  a  close  literal  version.  And  yet,,  though  su  many  literal 
versions  of  this  Prophet  have  been  given,  as  well  of  old  as  in 
later  times,  a  just  representation  of  his  manner,  and  of  the 
form  of  his  composition,  has  never  been  attempted,  or  even 
thought  of,  by  any  translator,  in  any  language,  whether  an- 
cient or  modern.  Whatever  of  that  kind  has  appeared  in 
former  translations,  (and  much  indeed  must  appear  in  eve^ 
literal  translation),  has  been  rather  the  effect  of  chance  than 
of  design,  of  necessity  than  of  study:  for  what  room  could 
there  be  for  study  or  design  in  this  case,  or  at  least  for  success 
in  it,  when  the  translators  themselves  had  but  a  very  imperfect 
notion,  an  inadequate  or  even  false  idea,  of  the  real  character 
of  the  author  as  a  writer ;  of  the  general  nature,  and  of  the 
peculiar  form,  of  the  composition  ? 

It  has,  I  think,  been  universally  understood,  that  the 
Prophecies  of  Isaiah  are  written  in  prose.  The  style,  the 
thoughts,  the  images,  the  expressions,  have  been  allowed  to 
be  poetical,  and  that  in  the  highest  degree;  but  that  they 


U  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

are  written  in  verse,  in  measure,  or  rhythm,  or  whatever  it 
is  that  distinguishes,  as  poetry,  the  composition  of  those 
books  of  the  Old  Testament  which  are  allowed  to  be  poetical, 
such  as  Job,  the  Psalms,  and  the  Proverbs,  from  the 
historical  books,  as  mere  prose ;  this  has  never  been  supposed, 
at  least  has  not  been  at  any  time  the  prevailing  opinion. 
The  opinions  of  the  learned  concerning  Hebrew  verse 
have  been  various;  their  ideas  of  the  nature  of  it  vague, 
obscure,  and  imperfect :  yet  still  there  has  been  a  general 
persuasion,  that  some  books  of  the  Old  Testament  are 
written'  in  verse  ;  but  that  the  writings  of  the  prophets  are 
not  of  that  number. 

The  learned  Vitringa  says,*  that  Isaiah's  composition  has 
a  sort  of  numbers,  or  measure;  "esse  orationem  suis  ad- 
strictam  numeris  : n  he  means,  that  it  has  a  kind  of  oratorial 
number,  or  measure,  as  he  afterwards  explains  it ;  and  he 
quotes  Scaliger  as  being  of  the  same  opinion,  and  as  adding, 
that  "Jiowever  upon  this  account  it  could  not  rightly  be 
called  poetry ."t  About  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
Herman  Von  der  Hardt,  t  the  Hardouin  of  Germany, 
attempted  to  reduce  Joel's  Elegies,  as  he-  called  them,  to 
iambic  verse :  and,  consistently  with  his  hypothesis,  he 
affirmed,  that  the  prophets  wrote  in  verse.  This  is  the  only 
exeption  I  meet  with  to  the  universality  of  the  contrary 
opinion.  It  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  his  paradoxes,  and 
little  attention  was  paid  to  it.  But  what  was  his  success  in 
making  out  Joel's  iambics,  and  in  helping  his  readers  to 
form  in  consequence  a  more  just  idea  of  the  character  of  the 
prophetic  style,  I  cannot  say,  having  never  seen  his  treatise 
on  that  subject. 

The  Jews  of  early  times  were  of  the  same  opinion,  that 
the  books  of  the  prophets  are  written  in  prose,  as  far  as  we 
have  any  evidence  of  their  judgment  on  this  subject.  Je- 
rome §  certainly  speaks  the  sense  of  his  Jewish  preceptors 
as  to  this  matter.  Having  written  his  translation  of  Isaiah 
from  the  Hebrew  Verity  in  stiehi^  or  lines  divided  according 
to  the  cola  and  commata,  after  the  manner  of  verse, 
which  was  II  often  done  in  the  prophetic  writings  for  the 

*  ProlegomTin  lesaiam,  p.  8. 

t  Scaligcr,  Animadvere.  in  Chron.  Eusebii,  p.  6. 

t  See  Wolfii  Biblioth.  Hebr.  torn.  ii.  p.  169. 

i  Pr»f.  in  TransL  Esaiae  ex  Heb.  Veritate. 

II  See  Grabe,  Proleg.  in  LXX  Intt.  torn.  i.  cap.  i.  S  6. 


PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

sak£  of  perspicuity,  he  cautions  his  reader  "  not  to  mistake 
it  for  metre,  as  if  it  were  any  thing  like  the  Psalms,  or  the 
writings  of  Solomon;  for  it  was  nothing  more  than  what 
was  usual  in  the  copies  of  the  prose  works  of  Demosthenes 
and  Cicero."  The  later  Jews  have  been  uniformly  of  the 
same  opinion ;  and  the  rest  of  the  learned  world  seem  to 
have  taken  it  up  on  their  authority,  and  have  generally 
maintained  it. 

But  if  there  should  appear  a  manifest  conformity  between 
the  prophetical  style  and  that  of  the  books  supposed  to  be 
metrical, — a  conformity  in  every  known  part  of  the  poetical 
character,  which  equally  discriminates  the  prophetical  and 
the  metrical  books  from  those  acknowledged  to  be  prose — it 
will  be  of  use  to  trace  out  and  to  mark  this  conformity  with 
all  possible  accuracy ;  to  observe  how  far  the  peculiar  charac- 
teristics of  each  style  coincide ;  and  to  see  whether  the  agree- 
ment between  them  be  such  as  to  induce  us  to  conclude, 
that  the  poetical  and  the  prophetical  character  of  style  and 
composition,  though  generally  supposed  to  be  different,  yet 
are  really  one  and  the  same. 

This  I  purpose  to  do  in  the  following  dissertation;  and 
I  the  more  readily  embrace  the  present  opportunity  of  re- 
Burning  this  subject,  as  what  I  have  formerly  written*  upon 
it  seems  to  have  met  with  the  approbation  of  the  learned, 
And  here  I  shall  endeavour  to  treat  it  more  at  large;  to 
pursue  it  further,  and  to  a  greater  degree  of  minuteness ; 
and  to  present  it  to  the  English  reader  in  the  easiest  and 
most  intelligible  form  that  I  am  able  to  give  it.  The  ex- 
amples with  which  I  shall  illustrate  it,  shall  be  more  nume- 
rous, and  all  (a  very  few  excepted)  different  from  those  ak 
ready  given ;  that  they  may  serve  by  way  of  supplement  to 
that  part  of  the  former  work,  as  well  as  of  themselves  to 
place  the  subject  in  the  fullest  and  clearest  light. 

Now,  in  order  to  make  this  comparison  between  the  pro- 
phetical and  the  poetical  books,  it  will  be  necessary,  in  the 
first  place,  to  state  the  true  character  of  the  poetical  or 
metrical  style,  to  trace  out  carefully  whatever  plain  signs  or 
indications  yet  remain  of  metre,  or  rhythm,  or  whatever  else 
it  was  that  constituted  Hebrew  verse ;  to  separate  the  true, 
or  at  least  the  probable,  from  the  manifestly  false ;  and  to 

*  De  Sacra  Pogsi  Hebr»orum  Prelect,  xyiii,  ;tix, 


IV  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION, 

give  as  clear  and  satisfactory  an  explanation  of  the  matter 
as  can  now  reasonably  be  expected,  in  the  present  imperfect 
state  of  the  Hebrew  language,  and  on  a  subject  which  for 
near  two  thousand  years  has  been  involved  in  great  obscurity, 
and  only  rendered  still  more  obscure  by  the  discordant  opin- 
ions of  the  learned,  and  the  various  hypotheses  which  they 
have  formed  concerning  it. 

The  first  and  most  manifest  indication  of  verse  in  the 
Hebrew  poetical  books,  presents  itself  in  the  acrostic  or  al- 
phabetical poems ;  of  which  there  happily  remain  many  ex- 
amples, and  those  of  various  kinds ;  so  that  we  could  not 
have  hoped,  or  even  wished,  for  more  light  of  this  sort  to 
lead  us  on  in  the  very  entrance  of  our  inquiry.  The  na- 
ture, or  rather  the  form,  of  these  poems  is  this  :  The  poem 
consists  of  twenty-two  lines,  or  of  twenty-two  systems  of 
lines,  or  periods,  or  stanzas,  according  to  the  number  of 
the  letters  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet ;  and  every  line,  or 
every  stanza,  begins  with  each  letter  in  its  order,  as  it 
stands  in  the  alphabet ;  that  is,  the  first  line,  or  first  stan- 
za, begins  with  x,  the  second  with  3,  and  so  on.  This 
was  certainly  intended  for  the  assistance  of  the  memory, 
and  was  chiefly  employed  in  subjects  of  common  use,  as 
maxims  of  morality,  and  forms  of  devotion;  which  being 
expressed  in  detached  sentences,  or  aphorisms,  (the  form 
in  which  the  sages  of  the  most  ancient  times  delivered 
their  instructions,)  the  inconvenience  arising  from  the  sub- 
ject, the  want  of  connexion,  in  the  parts,  and  of  a  regular 
train  of  thought  carried  through  the  whole,  was  remedied 
by  this  artificial  contrivance  in  the  form.  There  are  stilt 
extant,  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  twelve*  of 
these  poems ;  (for  I  reckon  the  four  first  chapters  of  the 
Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  as  so  many  distinct  poems)  ; 
three  of  them  perfectly  f  alphabetical,  in  which]  every  line 
is  marked  by  its  initial  letter ;  the  other  nine  less  perfectly 
alphabetical,  in  which  every  stanza  only  is  so  distinguished. 
Of  the  three  former  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  not  only 
every  single  line  is  distinguished  by  its  initial  letter,  but 
that  the  whole  poem  is  laid  out  into  stanzas ;  two  I  of  these 


*  Psal.  xxv.  xxxiv.  xxxvii.  cxi.  cxii.  cxix.  cxlv.      Prov.  xxxi.  10—31. 
JLam.  i.  ii.  iii.  iv. 

t  Psal.  cxi.  cxii.      Lam.  iii.  J    Psal.  cxi.  exit, 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  .         V 

poems  each  into  ten  stanzas,  all  of  two  lines,  except  the  two 
last  stanzas  in  each,  which  are  of  three  lines  :'in  these,  the 
sense  and  the  construction  manifestly  point  out  the  division 
into  stanzas,  and  mark  the  limit  of  every  stanza.  The 
third*  of  these  perfectly  alphabetical  poems  consists  of 
twenty-two  stanzas  of  three  lines  ;  but  in  this  the  initial  let- 
ter of  every  stanza  is  also  the  initial  letter  of  every  line  of 
that  stanza ;  so  that  both  the  lines  and  the  stanzas  are  in- 
fallibly limited :  And  in  all  the  three  poems,  the  pauses  of 
the  sentences  coincide  with  the  pauses  of  the  lines  and 
stanzas. 

It  is  also  further  to  be  observed  of  these  three  poems,  that 
the  lines  so  determined  by  the  initial  letters  in  the  same 
poem,  are  remarkably  equal  to  one  another  in  length,  in  the 
number  of  words  nearly,  and  probably  in  the  number  of 
syllables  ;  and  that  the  lines  of  the  same  stanza  have  a  re- 
markable congruity  one  with  another,  in  the  matter  and  the 
form,  in  the  sense  and  the  construction. 

Of  the  other  nine  poems  less  perfectly  alphabetical,  in 
which  the  stanzas  only  are  marked  with  initial  letters,  six  t 
consist  of  stanzas  of  two  lines,  two*  of  stanzas  of  three 
lines,  and  one  §  of  stanzas  of  four  lines ;  not  taking  into  the 
account  at  present  some  irregularities,  which  in  all  proba- 
bility are  to  be  imputed  to  the  mistakes  of  transcribers. 
And  these  stanzas  likewise  naturally  divide  themselves  into 
their  distinct  lines,  the  sense  and  the  construction  plainly 
pointing  out  their  limits  ;  and  the  lines  have  the  same  con- 
gruity one  with  another  in ,  matter  and  form,  as  was  above 
observed  in  regard  to  the  poems  more  perfectly  alpha- 
betical. 

Another  thing  to  be  observed  of  the  three  poems  perfectly 
alphabetical  is,  that  in  two  II  of  them  the  lines  are  shorter 
than  those  of  the  third  **  by  about  one-third  part,  or  almost 
half;  and  of  the  other  nine  poems,  the  stanzas  only  of 
which  are  alphabetical,  that  threett  consist  of  the  longer 
lines,  and  the  six  others  of  the  shorter. 

T\ow  from  these  examples,  which  are  not  only  curious, 
but  of  real  use,  and  of  great  importance  in  the  present 

*  Lam.  iii. 

t  Psal.  xxv.  xxxiv.  cxix.  cxlv.     Prov.  xxxi.     Lam.  iv. 

I  Larn.  i.  ii.  §  psal.  xxxvii. 

II  Psal.  cxi.  cxii.  *•  Lam.  iii. 
tt  Lam.  i.  ii.  iv. 

1* 


VI  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

inquiry,  we  may  draw  some  conclusions,  which  plainly  fol- 
low from  the  premises,  and  must  be  admitted  in  regard  to  the 
alphabetical  poems  themselves ;  which  also  may  by  analogy 
be  applied  with  great  probability  to  other  poems,  where  the 
lines  and  stanzas  are  not  so  determined  by  initial  letters, 
yet  which  appear  in  other  respects  to  be  of  the  same  kind. 

In  the  first  place,  we  may  safely  conclude  that  the  poems 
perfectly  alphabetical  consist  of  verses  properly  so  called ; 
of  verses  regulated  by  some  observation  of  harmony  or  ca- 
dence ;  of  measure,  numbers,  or  rhythm.  For  it  is  not  at 
all  probable  in  the  nature  of  the  thing,  or  from  examples  of 
the  like  kind  in  other  languages,  that  a  portion  of  mere 
prose,  in  which  numbers  and  harmony  are  totally  disregard- 
ed, should  be  laid  out  according  to  a  scale  of  division,  which 
carries  with  it  such  evident  marks  of  study  and  labour,  of 
art  in  the  contrivance,  and  exactness  in  the  execution.  And 
I  presume  it  will  be  easily  granted  in  regard  to  the  other 
poems  which  are  divided  into  sfanzas  by  the  initial  letters, 
which  stanzas  are  subdivided  by  the  pauses  of  the  sentence 
into  lines  easily  distinguished  one  from  another,  commonly 
the  same  number  of  lines  to  a  stanza  in  the  same  poem, 
that  these  are  of  the  same  kind  of  composition  with  the 
former,  and  that  they  equally  consist  of  verses  :  And,  in 
general,  in  regard  to  the  rest  of  the  poems  of  the  Hebrews, 
bearing  evidently  the  same  marks  and  characteristics  of 
composition  with  the  alphabetical  poems  in  other  respects, 
and  falling  into  regular  lines,  often  into  regular  stanzas, 
according  to  the  pauses  of  the  sentences ;  which  stanzas  and 
lines  have  a  certain  parity  or  proportion  to  one  another ; 
that  these  likewise  consist  of  verse, — of  verse  distinguished 
from  prose,  not  only  by  the  style,  the  figures,  the  diction, 
by  a  loftiness  of  thought  and  richness  of  imagery,  but  by 
being  divided  into  lines,  and  sometimes  into  systems  of 
lines  ;  which  lines,  having  an  apparent  equality,  similitude, 
or  proportion  one  to  another,  were  in  some  sort  measured 
by  the  ear,  and  regulated  according  to  some  general  laws 
of  metre,  rhythm,  harmony,  or  cadence. 

Further,  we  may  conclude,  from  the  example  of  the  per- 
fectly alphabetical  poems,  that  whatever  it  might  be  that 
constituted  Hebrew  verse,  it  certainly  did  not  consist  in 
rhyme,  or  similar  and  correspondent  sounds  at  the  ends  of 
the  verses  ;  for,  as  the  ends  of  the  verses  in  those  poems  are 
infallibly  marked,  and  it  plainly  appears  that  the  final  sylla- 


PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION.  VU 

;bles  of  the  correspondent  verses,  whether  in  distichs  or 
triplets,  are  not  similar  in  sound  to  one  another,  it  is  mani- 
fest that  rhymes,  or  similar  endings,'  are  not  an  essential 
part  of  Hebrew  verses.  The  grammatical  forms  of  the 
Hebrew  language  in  the  verbs,  and  pronouns,  and  the 
plurals  of  nouns,  are  so  simple  and  uniform,  and  bear  so 
great  a  share  in  the  termination  of  words,  that  similar  end- 
ings must  sometimes  happen,  and  cannot  well  be  avoided ; 
but,  so  far  from  constituting  an  essential  or  principal  part 
of  the  art  of  Hebrew  versification,  they  seem  to  have  been 
no  object  of  attention  and  study,  nor  to  'have  been  industri- 
ously sought  after  as  a  favourite  accessary  ornament. 

That  the  verses  had  something  regular  in  their  form  and 
composition,  seems  probable  from  their  apparent  parity  and 
uniformity,  and  the  relation  which  they  manifestly  bear  to 
the  distribution  of  the  sentence  into  its  members.  But  as 
to  the  harmony  and  cadence,  the  metre  or  rhythm,  of  what 
kind  they  were,  and  by  what  laws  regulated,  these  examples 
give  us  no  light,  nor  afford  us  sufficient  principles  on  which 
to  build  any  theory,  or  to  form  any  hypothesis.  For  har- 
mony arises  from  the  proportion,  relation,  and  correspond- 
ence of  different  combined  sounds  -,  and  verse,  from  the 
arrangement  of  words,  and  the  disposition  of  syllables,  ac- 
cording to  number,  quantity,  and  accent ; — therefore  the 
harmony  and  true  modulation  of  verse  depends  upon  a  per- 
fect pronunciation  of  the  language,  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles  and  rules  of  versification  ;  and  metre  supposes  an 
exact  knowledge  of  the  number  and  quantity  of  syllables, 
and,  in  some  languages,  of  the  accent.  But  the  true  pro- 
nunciation of  Hebrew  is  lost, — lost  to  a  degree  far  beyond 
what  can  ever  be  the  case  of  any  European  language  pre- 
served only  in  writing ;  for  the  Hebrew  language,  like  most 
of  the  other  Oriental  languages,  expressing  -only  the  con- 
sonants, and  being  destitute  of  its  vowels,  has  lain  now  for 
two  thousand  years  in  a  manner  mute  and  incapable  of 
utterance  :  the  number  of  syllables  is  in  a  great  many  words 
uncertain,  the  quantity  and  accent  wholly  unknown.  We 
are  ignorant  of  all  these  particulars,  and  incapable  of  ac- 
<quiring  any  certain  knowledge  concerning  them  }  how  then 
is  it  possible  for  us  to  attain  to  the  knowledge  of  Hebrew 
verse  1  That  we  know  nothing  of  the  quantity  of  the  sylla- 
bles in  Hebrew,  and  of  the  number  of  them  in  many  words, 
and  of  the  accent,  will  hardly  now  be  denied  by  any  man  ; 


Vlll  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

but  if  any  should  still  maintain  the  authority  of  the  Masoret- 
ical  punctuation,  (though  discordant  in  many  instances  from 
the  imperfect  remains  of  a  pronunciation  of  much  earlier  date, 
and  of  better  authority,  that  of  the  Seventy,  of  Origen,  and 
other  writers,)  yet  it  must  be  allowed,  that  no  one,  accord- 
ing to  that  system,  hath  been  able  to  reduce  the  Hebrew 
poems  to  any  sort  of  harmony.*  And  indeed  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered,  that  rules  of  pronunciation,  formed,  as  it  is 
now  generally  admitted,  above  a  thousand  years  after  the 
language  ceased  to  be  spoken,  should  fail  of  giving  us  the 
true  sound  of  Hebrew  verse.  But  if  it  was  impossible  for 
the  Masoretes,  assisted  in  some  measure  by  a  traditionary 
pronunciation  delivered  down  from  their  ancestors,  to  attain 
to  a  true  expression  of  the  sounds  of  the  language,  how  is  it 
possible  for  us  at  this  time,  so  much  further  removed  from 
the  only  source  of  knowledge  in  this  case,  the  audible  voice, 
to  improve  or  to  amend  their  system,  or  to  supply  a  more 
genuine  system  in  its  place,  which  may  answer  our  purpose 
better,  and  lay  open  to  us  the  laws  of  Hebrew  versification  ? 
The  pursuit  is  vain  ;  the  object  of  it  lies  beyond  our  reach  ; 
it  is  not  within  the  compass  of  human  reason  or  invention. 
The  question  concerning  Hebrew  metre  is  now  pretty  much 
upon  the  same  footing  with  that  concerning  the  Greek  ac- 
cents. That  there  were'  certain  laws  of  ancient  Hebrew 
metre  is  very  probable ;  and  that  the  living  Greek  language 
was  modulated  by  certain  rules  of  accent  is  beyond  dispute: 
but  a  man  born  deaf  may  as  reasonably  pretend  to  acquire 
an  idea  of  sound,  as  the  critic  of  these  days  to  attain  to  the 
true  modulation  of  Greek  by  accent,  and  of  Hebrew  by 
metre.t 

Thus  much  then,  I  think,  we  may  be  allowed  to  infer 
from  the  alphabetical  poems ;  namely,  that  the  Hebrew 
poems  are  written  in  verse,  properly  so  called  ;  that  the 
harmony  of  the  verses  does  not  arise  from  rhyme,  that  is, 
from  similar  corresponding  sounds  terminating  the  verses,  but 
from  some  sort  of  rhythm,  probably  from  some  sort  of  metre, 
the  laws  of  which  are  now  altogether  unknown,  and  wholly 
undiscoverable  ; — yet  that  there  are  evident  marks  of  a  cer- 
tain correspondence  of  the  verses  with  one  another,  and  of 
a  certain  relation  between  the  composition  of  the  verses  and 

*  See  Hare,  Prolegomena  in  Psalmos,  p.  xl.  &c. 

t  See  A  Larger  Confutation  of  Bishop  Hare's  Hebrew  Metre;  London, 
17CC  ;  where  I  have  fully  treated  of  this  subject. 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  IX 

the  composition  of  the  sentences, — the  formation  of  the  for- 
mer depending  in  some  degree  upon  the  distribution  of  the 
latter, — so  that  generally  periods  coincide  with  stanzas,  mem- 
bers with  verses,  and  pauses  of  the  one  with  pauses  of  the 
other ;  which  peculiar  form  of  composition  is  so  observable, 
as  plainly  to  discriminate  in  general  the  parts  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  which  are  written  in  verse,  from  those  which  are 
written  in  prose.  This  will  require  a  larger  and  more 
minute  explication,  not  only  as  a  matter  necessary  to  our 
present  purpose,  that  is,  to  ascertain  the  character  of  the 
prophetical  style  in  general,  and  of  that  of  the  Prophet 
Isaiah  in  particular,  but  as  a  principle  of  considerable  use, 
and  of  no  small  importance,  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
poetical  parts  of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  correspondence  of  one  verse  or  line  with  another,  I 
call  parallelism.  When  a  proposition  is  delivered,  and  a 
second  is  subjoined  to  it,  or  drawn  under  it,  equivalent,  or 
contrasted  with  it  in  sense,  or  similar  to  it  in  the  form  of 
grammatical  construction,  these  I  call  parallel  .lines  ;  and 
the  words  or  phrases,  answering  one  to  another  in  the  cor- 
responding lines,  parallel  terms. 

Parallel  lines  may  be  reduced  to  three  sorts, — parallels 
synonomous,  parallels  antithetic,  and  parallels  synthetic. 
Of  each  of  these  I  shall  give  a  variety  of  examples,  in  order 
to  shew  the  various  forms  under  which  they  appear ;  first, 
from  the  'books  universally  acknowledged  to  be  poetical ; 
then,  correspondent  examples  from  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  and 
sometimes  also  from  the  other  prophets,  to  shew  that  the 
form  and  character  of  the  composition  is  in  all  the  same. 

As  some  of  the  examples  which  follow  are  of  many  lines, 
the  reader  may  perhaps  note  a  single  line  or  two  intermixed, 
which  do  not  properly  belong  to  that  class  under  which  they 
are  ranged.  These  are  retained^  to  preserve  the  connexion 
and  harmony  of  the  whole  passage ;  and  it  is  to  be  observed, 
that  the  several  sorts  of  parallels  are  perpetually  mixed  with 
one  another,  and  this  mixture  gives  a  variety  and  beauty  to 
the  composition. 

First,  of  parallel  lines  synonomous ;  that  is,  which  corre- 
spond one  to  another,  by  expressing  the  same  sense  in  dif- 
ferent but  equivalent  terms  ;  when  a  proposition  is  delivered, 
.and  is  immediately  repeated,  in  the  whole  or  in  part,  the 


X  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

expression  being  varied,  but  the  sense  entirely  or  nearly  the 
same.     As  in  the  following  examples  : — 

"O-Jehovah,  in-thy-strength  the-king  sh all-rejoice; 
And-in-thy-salvation  how  greatly  shall-he-exult! 
The-desire  of-his-heart  thou-hast-granted  unto-him; 
And-the-request  of-his-lips  thou-hast-not  denied." 

Psal.  xxi.  1,2. 

u  Because  I-called,  and-ye-refused; 
J-stretched-out  my-hand,  and-no-one  regarded; 
But-ye-have-defeated  all  my-counsel; 
And-would-not  incline  to-my-reproof: 
I  also  will-laugh  at-your-calamity ; 
I-will-mock,  when-what-you-feared  cometh ; 
When-what-you-feared  cometh  like-a-devastation ; 
And-your-calamity  advanceth  like-a-tempest; 
When-distress  and-anguish  come  upon-yon: 
Then  shall-they-call-upon-me,  but-I-will-not  answer; 
They-shall  seek-me-early,  but-they-shall  not  find-me; 
Because  they-hated  knowledge; 
And-did-not  choose  the-fear  of-Jehovah; 
Did-not  incline  to-my-counsel; 
Contemptuously-rejected  all  my-reproof : 
Therefore-shall-they-eat  of-the-fruit  of-their-waysj 
And-shall-be-satiated  with-their-own-devices. 
For  the-defection  of-the-simple  shall-slay-them ; 
And-the-security  of-fools  shall-destroy  them." 

Prov.  i.  24—32. 

"  Seek-ye  Jehovah,  while-he-may-be-found; 
Call-ye-upon-him,  while-he-is-near; 
Let-the-wicked  forsake  his-way; 
And-the-vmrighteous  man  his-thoughts: 
And-let-him-return   to  Jehovah,   and-he-will-compassionate 

him; 
And-unto  our-God,  for  he-aboundeth  in  forgiveness." 

Isa.  Iv.  6,  7. 

"  Fear  not,  for  thou-shalt-not  be-ashamed; 
And-blush  not,  for  thou-shalt-not  be-brought-to-reproach: 
For  thou-shalt-forget  the-shame  of-thy-youth; 
And-the-reproach  of-thy-widowhood  thou-shalt-remember  no 
more."  Isa.  liv.  4. 

tf  Hearken  unto-me,  ye-that-know  righteousness; 
The-people  in-whose-heart  is-my-law: 
Fear  not  the-reproach  of-wretched-man ; 
Neither  be-ye-borne-down  by-their-revilings; 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  XI 

For  the-moth  shall-consume-them  like-a-garmentj 
And-the-worm  shall-eat-them  like  wool : 
But-my-righteousness  shall-endure  for-ever; 
And-my-salvation  to-the-age  of-ages."  Isa.  li.  7,  8. 

"  Like-mighty-men  shall-they-rush-on; 
Like-warriors  shall-they  mount  the-wall : 
And-every-one  in-his-way  shall-they-march; 
And-they-shall-not  turn-aside  from-their  paths."      Joel,  ii.  7. 

"  Blessed-is  the-man,  that-feareth  Jehovah; 
That-greatly  delighteth  in-his-commandments."  Psal.  cxii.  1. 

"  Hearken  unto  me,  O-house  of-Jacob; 
And-all  the-remnant  of-the-house  of-Israel.  Isa.  xlvi.  3. 

"  Honour  Jehovah  with-thy-riches; 
And-with-the-first-fruits  of-all  thine-increase."      Prov.  iii.  9. 

"  Incline  your-ear,  and-come  unto-me; 
Hearken,  and-your-soul  shall-live."  Isa.  Iv.  3. 

In  the  foregoing*  examples  may  be  observed  the  diffe- 
rent degrees  of  synonymous  parallelism.  The  parallel  lines 
sometimes  consist  of  three  or  more  synonymous  terms ; 
sometimes  of  two,  which  is  generally  the  case  when  the 
verb,  or  the  nominative  case  of  the  first  sentence  is  to  be 
carried  on  to  the  second,  or  understood  there ;  sometimes 
of  one  only,  as  in  the  four  last  examples.  There  are  also 
among  the  foregoing  a  few  instances,  in  which  the  lines  con- 
sist each  of  double  members,  or  two  propositions.  I  shall 
add  one  or  two  more  of  these,  very  perfect  in  their  kind  : — 

ee  Bow  thy  heavens,  O  Jehovah,  and  descend; 
Touch  the  mountains,  and  they  shall  smoke: 
Dart  forth  lightning,  and  scatter  them; 
Shoot  out  thine  arrows,  and  destroy  them."  Psal.  cxliv.  5,  6. 

"  And  they  shall  build  houses,  and  shall  inhabit  them; 
And  they  shall  plant  vineyards,  and  shall  eat  the  fruit  thereof: 
They  shall  not  build,  and  another  inhabit; 
They  shall  not  plant,  and  another  eat: 
For  as  the  days  of  a  tree,  shall  be  the  days  of  my  people; 
And  they  shall  wear  out  the  works  of  their  own  hands." 

Isa.  Ixv.  21,  22. 

*  The  terms  in  English,  consisting  of  several  words,  are  hitherto  distinguish- 
ed with  marks  of  connexion, — to  shew,  that  they  answer  to  single  words  in 
Hebrew. 


Ill  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

Parallels  are  also  sometimes  formed  by   a   repetition  of 
part  of  the  first  sentence : — 

"My  voice  is  unto  God,  and  I  cry  aloud; 

My  voice  is  unto  God^  and  he  will  hearken  unto  me." 
"  I  will  remember  the  works  of  Jehovah; 

Yea,  I  will  remember  thy  wonders  of  old." 
"  The  waters  saw  thee,  O  God! 

The  waters  saw  thee;  they  were  seized  with  anguish." 

Psal.  Ixxvii.  1.  11.  16. 

"  For  he  hath  humbled  those  that  dwell  on  high; 
The  lofty  city,  he  hath  brought  her  down: 
He  hath  brought  her  down  to  the  ground, 
He  hath  levelled  her  with  the  dust. 
The  foot  shall  trample  upon  her; 
The  feet  of  the  poor,  the  steps  of  the  needy." 

Isa.  xxvi.  5,  6, 

"  What  shall  I  do  unto  thee,  O  Ephraim! 
What  shall  I  do  unto  thee,  O  Judah! 
For  your  goodness  is  as  the  morning  cloud, 
And  as  the  early  dew  it  passeth  away."  Hosea,  vi.  4. 

Sometimes  in  the  latter  line  a  part  is  to  be  supplied  from 
the  former  to  complete  the  sentence : — 

"  And  those  that  persecute  me  thou  wilt  make  to  turn  their 

backs  to  me; 
Those  that  hate  me,*  and  I  will  cut  them  off." 

2  Sam.  xxii.  41. 

t{  The  mighty  dead  tremble  from  beneath; 
The  waters,  and  they  that  dwell  therein.  Job,  xxvi.  5. 

a  And  I  looked,  and  there  was  no  man; 
Even  among  the  idols,|  and  there  was  no  one  that  gave  ad- 
vice; " 

"  And  I  inquired  of  them,  and  [there  was  no  one]  that  returned 
an  answer."  Isa.  xli.  28. 

Further,  there  are  parallel  triplets — when  three  lines  cor- 
respond together,  and  form  a  kind  of  stanza,  of  which,  how- 
ever, only  two  commonly  are  synonymous  : — 

*  In  the  parallel  place,  Psal.  xviii.  the  poetical  form  of  the  sentence  is  much 
hurt,  by  the  removing  of  the  conjunction  from  the  second  to  the  first  word  in 
this  line ;  but  a  MS.  in  that  place  reads  as  here. 

t  See  the  note  on  the  place. 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  Xlll 

-"'The  wicked  shall  see  it  and  it  shall  grieve  him  ; 
He  shall  gnash  his  teeth,  and  pine  away  ; 
The  desire  of  the  wicked  shall  perish."  Psal.  cxii.  JO, 

•"  That  day,  let  it  become  darkness  ; 

Let  not  God  from  above  inquire  after  it  ; 

Nor  let  the  flowing  light  -radiate  upon  it. 

That  night,  let  utter  darkness  seize  it. 

•Let  it  not  be  united  with  the  days  of  the  year  ; 

Let  it  not  come  into  the  number  of  the  months. 

Let  the  stars  of  its  twilight  be  darkened  ; 

Let  it  look  for  light,  and  may  there  be  none  ; 

And  let  it  not  behold  the  eyelids  of  the  morning." 

Job,  iii.  4.  6.  9. 

"  And  he  shall  snatch  on  the  right,  and  yet  be  hungry  ; 
And  he  shall  devour  on  the  left,  and  not  be  satisfied  ; 
Every  man  shall  devour  the  flesh  of  his  neighbour."* 

Isa.  ix.  20. 

"  Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe  ; 

Come  away,  get  you  down,  for  the  wine-press  is  full  ; 
The  vats  overflow  ;  for  great  is  their  wickedness." 

Joel,  iii.  13. 

There  are  likewise  parallels  consisting  of  four  lines ;  two 
dislichs  being  so  connected  together,  by  the  sense  and  the 
construction,  as  to  make  one  stanza.  Such  is  the  form  of 
the  xxxviith  Psalm,  which  is  evidently  laid  out  by  the  initial 
letters  in  stanzas  of  four  lines;  •  though  in  regard  to  that 
disposition  some  irregularities  are  found  in  the  present  copies. 
iFrom  this  Psalm,  which  gives  a  sufficient  warrant  for  consid- 
ering the  union  of  two  disiichs  as  making  a  stanza  of  four 
lines,  I  shall  take  the  first  example  -: — 

"  Be  not  moved  with  indignation  against  the  evil-doers  ; 
Nor  with  zeal  against  the  workers  of  iniquity  : 
For  like  the  grass  they  shall  soon  be  cut  off; 
And  like  the  green  herb  they  shall  wither. 

Psal.  xxxvii.   1,  2. 

'"  The  ox  knoweth  his  possessor  ; 
And  the  ass  the  crib  of  his  lord  : 
But  Israel  doth  not  know  Me  ;* 
Neither  doth  my  people  consider."  Isa.  i.  3. 

"  And  I  said,  I  have  laboured  in  vain  ; 

For  nought  and  for  vanity  I  have  spent  my  strength  : 

*  See  the  note  on  the  place. 


XIV  PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION. 

Nevertheless  my  cause  is  with  Jehovah  ; 

And  the  reward  of  my  work  with  my  God.         Isa.  xlix.  4, 

"  Jehovah  shall  roar  from  Sion  ; 

And  shall  utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem  : 

And  the  habitations  of  the  shepherds  shall  mourn  ; 

And  the  head  of  Carmel  shall  wither."  Amos,  i.  2. 

In  like  manner,  some  periods  may  be  considered  as  mak- 
ing stanzas  of  five  lines,  in  which  the  odd  line  or  member 
either  comes  in  between  two  dislichs,  or  after  two  distichs 
makes  a  full  close  : — 

"  If  thou  wouldst  seek  early  unto  God  ; 

And  make  thy  supplication  to  the  Almighty  ; 

If  thou  wert  pure  and  upright; 
Verily  now  would  he  rise  up  in  thy  defence  ; 
And   make   peaceable   the  dwelling   of  thy  righteousness. 

Job,  viii.  5,  6. 

"  They  bear  him  on  the  shoulder  ;  they  carry  him  about  ; 
They  set  him  down  in  his  place,  and  he  standeth; 

From  his  place  he  shall  not  remove; 
-    To  him,  that  crieth  unto  him,  he  will  not  answer; 
Neither  will  he  deliver  him  from  his  distress." 

Isa.  xlvi.  7. 

"  Who  is  wise,  and  will  understand  these  things? 
Prudent,  and  will  know  them  ? 

For  right  are  the  ways  of  Jehovah; 
And  the  just  shall  walk  in  them; 
But  the  disobedient  shall  fall  therein."  Hosea,  xiv.  9. 

"  And  Jehovah  shall  roar  out  of  Sion; 
And  from  Jerusalem  shall  utter  his  voice; 

And  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  tremble : 
But  Jehovah  will  be  the  refuge  of  his  people; 
And  a  strong  defence  to  the  sons  of  Israel."         Joel,  iii.  16. 

"  Who  establisheth  the  word  of  his  servant; 

And  accomplisheth  the  counsel  of  his  messengers  : 
Who  sayeth  to  Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt  be  inhabited; 
And  to  the  cities  of  Judah,  Ye  shall  be  built; 

And  her  desolate  places  I  will  restore."          Isa.  xliv.  26. 

In  stanzas  of  four  lines,  sometimes  the  parallel  lines  an- 
swer to  one  another  alternately ;  the  first  to  tlie  third,  arid 
the  second  to  the  fourth  : — 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  XV 

"  As  the  heavens  are  high  above  the  earth  ; 

So  high*  is  his  goodness  over  them  that  fear  him: 
As  remote  as  the  east  is  from  the  west; 

So  far  hath  he  removed  from  us  our  transgressions." 

Psal.  ciii.  11,  12. 

'"  And  ye  said,  Nay,  but  on  horses  will  we  flee; 

Therefore  shall  ye  be  put  to  flight: 
And  on  swift  coursers  will  we  ride ; 

Therefore  shall  they  be  swift,  that  pursue  you." 

Isa.  xxx.  16, 

And  a  stanza  of  five  lines  admits  of  the  same  elegance  : — 

"  Who  is  there  among  you  that  feareth  Jehovah? 

Let  him  hearken  unto  the  voice  of  his  servant: 
That  walketh  in  darkness,  and  hath  no  light? 
Let  him  trust  in  the  name  of  Jehovah; 
And  rest  himself  on  the  support  of  his  God."       Isa.  1.  10. 

The  second  sort  of  parallels  are  the  antithetic, — when  two 
lines  correspond  with  one  another  by  an  opposition  of  terms 
and  sentiments;  when  the  second  is  contrasted  with  the 
first,  sometimes  in  expressions,  sometimes  in  sense  only. 
Accordingly  the  degrees  of  antithesis  are  various ;  from  an 
exact  contraposition  of  word  to  word  through  the  whole 
sentence,  down  to  a  general  disparity,  with  something  of  a 
contrariety,  in  the  two  propositions. 

Thus,  in  the  following  examples  : — 

"  A  wise  son  rejoiceth  his  father  ; 
But  a  foolish  son  is  the  grief  of  his  mother,"  Prov.  x.  1. 

Where  every   word   hath  its  opposite ;  for  the  terms  father 
and  mother  are,  as  the  logicians  say,  relatively  opposite. 

"  The  memory  of  the  just  is  a  blessing  ; 
But  the  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot.7'  Prov.  x.  7. 

Here  there  are  only  two  antithetic  terms ;  for  memory  and 
name  are  synonymous. 

'"  There  is  that  scattereth,  and  still  increaseth  ; 

And  that  is  unreasonably  sparing,  yet  groweth  poor." 

Prov.  xi.  24. 

*  Pill ;  compare  the  next  verse  ;  and  see  Isaiafe,  Iv.  9,  and  the  note  there. 


XT1  PRELIMINART    DISSERTATION-. 

Here  there  is  a  kind  of  doable  antithesis  ;  one  between  tHe 
t\vo  lines  themselves  ;  and  likewise  a  subordinate  opposition, 
between  the  two  parts  of  each. 

"  Many  seek  the  face  of  the  prince  ; 

But  the  determination  concerning  a  man  is  from  Jehovah." 

Prov.  xxix.  26. 

Where  the  opposition  is  chiefly  between  the  single  terms, 
she  Prince  and  Jehovah :  but  there  is  an  opposition  like- 
wise in  the  general  sentiment  ;  which  expresses,  or  inti- 
mates, the  vanity  of  depending  an  the  former,  without 
seeking  the  favour  of  the  latter..  In  the  following,  there  is 
much  the  same  opposition  of  sentiment,  without  any  con- 
traposition of  terms  at  all : — 

a  The  lot  is  cast  into  the  lap  ; 
But  the  whole  determination  of  it  is  from  Jehovah." 

Prov.  xvi.  33. 

That  is,  the  event  seems  to  be  the  work  of  chance,  but  is 
really  the  direction  of  Providence. 

The  foregoing  examples  are  all  taken  from  the  Proverbs 
of  Solomony  where  they  abound :  for  this  form  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  that  kind  of  writing — to  adages,  aphorisms,  and 
detached  sentences.  Indeed,  the  elegance,  acuteness,  and 
force  of  a  great  number  of  Solomon's  wise  sayings,  arise  in 
a  great  measure  from  the  antithetic  form,  the  opposition  of 
diction  and  sentiment.  We  are  not  therefore  to  expect 
frequent  instances  of  it  in  the  other  poems  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament ;•  especially-  those  that  are  elevated  in  the  style,,  and 
more  connected  in  the  parts.  However,  I  shall  add  a  few 
examples  of  the  like  kind  from  the  higher  poetry. 

"  These  in  chariots,  and  those  in  horses  ; 
But  we  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  our  God  will  be  strong.* 
They  are  bowed  down,  and  fallen  ; 
But  we  are  risen,  and  maintain  ourselves  firm."  Psal.  xx.  7,  8.. 

"  For  his  wrath  is  but  for  a  moment,  his  favour  for  life  ; 
Sorrow  may  lodge  for  the  evening,  but  in  the  morning  glad- 
ness." Psal.  xxx. .5* 

"  Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  wicked  shall  be  no  more  ; 
Thou  shalt  look  at  his  place,  and  he  shall  not  be  found  :. 

*  T3J1,  so  LXX,  Syr. 


PRELIMINARY     DISSERTATION.  XVll 

But  the  meek  shall  inherit  the  land; 

And  delight  themselves  in  abundant  prosperity." 

Psal.  xxxvii.  10,  11, 

In  the  last  example  the  opposition  lies  between  the  two  parts 
of  a  stanza  of  four  lines,  the  latter  distich  ;being  opposed  to 
the  former.  So  likewise  the  following  : — 

"  For  the  mountains  shall  be  removed; 
And  the  hills  shall  be  overthrown  : 
But  my  kindness  from  thee  shall  not  be  removed; 
And  the  covenant  of  my  peace  shall  not  be  overthrown." 

Isa.  liv.  10. 

"  The  bricks  are  fallen,  but  we  will  build  with  hewn  stone; 
The  sycamores  are  cut  down,  but  we  will  replace  them  with 
cedars."  Isa.  ix.  10. 

Here  the  lines  themselves  are  synthetically  parallel;  and  the 
opposition  lies  between  the  two  members  of  each. 

The  third  sort  of  parallels  I  call  synthetic  or  constructive 
— where  the  parallelism  consists  only  in  the  similar  form  of 
construction ;  in  which  word  does  not  answer  to  word,  and 
sentence  to  sentence,  as  equivalent  or  opposite ;  but  there  is  a 
correspondence  and  equality  between  different  propositions,  in. 
respect  of  the  shape  and  turn  of  the  whole  sentence,  and  of 
the  constructive  parts — such  as  noun  answering  to  noun,  verb 
to  verb,  member  to  member,  negative  to  negative,  interroga- 
tive to  interrogative. 

"  Praise  ye  Jehovah,  ye  of  the  earth; 
Ye  sea-monsters,  and  all  deeps: 
Fire  and  hail,  snow  and  vapour; 
Stormy  wind,  executing  his  command: 
Mountains,  and  all  hills; 
Fruit-trees,  and  all  cedars": 
Wild   beasts,  and  all  cattle; 
Reptiles,  and  birds  of  wing: 
Kings  of  the  earth,  and  all  peoples; 
Princes,  and  all  judges  of  the  earth: 
Youths,  and  also  virgins; 
Old  men,  together  with  the  children: 
Let  them  praise  the  name  of  Jehovah; 
For  his  name  alone  is  exalted; 

His  majesty,  above  earth  and  heaven."  Psal.  cxlviii.  7 — 13, 
2* 


xnn  pRELiMrsrAmr  DTS-SERTATIOTS. 

"  With  him  is  wisdom  and  might; 
To  him  belong  counsel  and  understanding. 
Lo!  he  pulleth  down,  and  it  shall  not  be  built; 
He  encloseth  a  man,  and  he  shall  not  be  set  loose. 
Lo!  he  withholdeth  the  waters,  and  they  are  dried  up; 
And  he  sendeth  them  forth,  and  they  overturn  the  earth. 
With  him  is  strength,  and  perfect  existence; 
The  deceived,  and  the  deceiver,  are  his."     Job,  xii.  13 — 1& 

tl  Is  such  then  the  fast  which  I  choose; 
That  a  man  should  afflict  his  soul  for  a  day  ? 
Is  it,  that  he  should  bow  down  his  head  like  a  bulrush; 
And  spread  sackcloth  and  ashes  for  his  couch? 
Shall  this  be  called  a  fast; 
And  a  day  acceptable  to  Jehovah  ? — 
Is  not  this  the  fast  that  1  choose  ? 
To  dissolve  the  bands  of  wickedness; 
To  loosen  the  oppressive  burthens; 
To  deliver  those  that  are  crushed  by  violence; 
And  that  ye  should  break  asunder  every  yoke? 
Is  it  not  to  distribute  thy  bread  to  the  hungry; 
And  to  bring  the  wandering  poor  into  thy  house? 
When  thou  seest  the  naked,  that  thou  clothe  him; 
And  that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh? 
Then  shall  thy  light  break  forth  like  the  morning; 
And  thy  wounds  shall  speedily  be  healed  over: 
And  thy  righteousness  shall  go  before  thee; 
And  the  glory  of  Jehovah  shall  bring  up  thy  rear." 

Isa.  Ixiii.  5 — 8, 

Of  the  constructive  kind  is  most  commonly  the  parallelism 
of  stanzas  of  three  lines  ;  though  they  are  sometimes  synony- 
mous throughout,  and  often  have  two  lines  synonymous  ; 
examples  of  both  which  are  above  given.  The  following  are 
constructively  parallel : — 

"  Whatsoever  Jehovah  pleaseth, 
That  doeth  he  in  the  heavens,  and  in  the  earth; 
In  the  sea,  and  in  all  the  deeps: 

Causing  the  vapours  to  ascend  from  the  ends  of  the  earth; 
Making  the  lightnings  with  the  rain; 
Bringing  forth  the  wind  out  of  his  treasures." 

Psal.  cxxxv    6,  7 

"  The  Lord  Jehovah  hath  opened  mine  ear. 
And  I  was  not  rebellious; 
Neither  did  I  withdraw  myself  backward, — 
I  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters, 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  XIX 

And  my  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair  ; 

My  face  I  hid  not  from  shame  and  spitting."          Tsa.  1.  5,  6. 

"  Thou  shalt  sow,  but  shall  not  reap; 

Thou  shalt  tread  the  olive,  but  shalt  not  anoint  thee  with  oil; 
And  the  grape,  but  shalt  not  drink  wine."          Micah,  vi.  15. 

Of  the  same  sort  of  parallelism  are  those  passages  fre- 
quent in  the  poetic  books,  where  a  definite  number  is  twice 
put  for  an  indefinite ;  this  being  followed  by  an  enumera- 
tion of  particulars,  naturally  throws  the  sentences  into  a 
parallelism,  which  cannot  be  of  any  other  than  the  synthetic 
kind.  This  seems  to  have  been  a  favourite  ornament.  There 
are  many  elegant  examples  of  it  in  the  xxxth  chapter  of 
Proverbs,  to  which  I  refer  the  reader ;  and  shall  here  give 
one  or  two  from  other  places. 

"  These  six  things  Jehovah  hateth  ; 
And  seven  are  the  abomination  of  his  soul : — 
Lofty  eyes,  and  a  lying  tongue  ; 
And  hands  shedding  innocent  blood  : 
A  heart  fabricating  wicked  thoughts  ; 
Feet  hastily  running  to  mischief : 
A  false  witness  breathing  out  lies  ; 
And  the  sower  of  strife  between  brethren."  Prov.  vi.  16 — 19. 

"  Give  a  portion  to  seven,  and  also  to  eight  ; 
For  thou  knowest  not  what  evil  shall  be  upon  the  earth." 

Eccl.  xi.  2. 

"  These  two  things  have  befallen  thee;  who  shall  bemoan  thee? 

Desolation  and  destruction,  the  famine  and  the  sword  ;  who 

shall  comfort  thee?  "  Isa.  li.  19. 

that  is,  taken  alternately,  desolation  by  famine,  and  de- 
struction by  the  sword.  Of  which  alternate  construction  I 
shall  add  a  remarkable  example  or  two,  where  the  parallel- 
ism arises  from  the  alternation  of  the  members  of  the  sen- 
tences : — 

"  I  am  black,  but  yet  beautiful,  O  daughters  of  Jerusalem  : 
Like  the  tents  of  Kedar  ;  like  the  pavilions  of  Solomon." 

Cant.  i.  5. 

that  is,  black  as  the  tents  of  Kedar,  '  (made  of  dark-colour- 
ed goats  hair) ;  beautiful  as  the  pavilions  of  Solomon. 

"  On  her  house-tops,  and  to  her  open  streets, 
Every  one  howleth,  descendeth  with  weeping."      Isa.  xv.  3. 


XX  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

that  is,  every  one  howleth  on  her  house-tops,  and  descend- 
eth  with  weeping  to  her  open  streets. 

The  reader  will  observe  in  the  foregoing  examples,  that 
though  there  are  perhaps  no  two  lines  corresponding  one 
with  another  as  equivalent,  or  opposite  in  terms ;  yet  there 

•  is  a  parallelism  equally  apparent,  and  almost  as  striking, 
which  arises  from  the  similar  form  and  equality  of  the  lines, 
from  the  correspondence  of  the  members  and  the  construc- 
tion ;  the  consequence  of  which  is  a  harmony  and  rhythm 
little  inferior  in  effect  to  that  of  the  two  kinds  preceding. 

The  degrees  of  the  correspondence  of  the  lines  in  this  last 
sort  of  parallels  must,  from  the  nature  of  it,  be  various. 
Sometimes  the  parallelism  is  more,  sometimes  less  exact ; 
sometimes  hardly  at  all  apparent.  It  requires  indeed  parti- 
cular attention,  much  study  of  the  genius  of  the  language, 
much  habitude  in  the  analysis  of  the  construction,  to  be  able 
in  all  cases  to  see  and  to  distinguish  the  nice  rests  and 
pauses  which  ought  to  be  made,  in  order  to  give  the  period 
or  the  sentence  its  intended  turn  and  cadence,  and  to  each 
part  its  due  time  and  proportion.  The  Jewish  critics, 
called  the  Masoretes,  were  exceedingly  attentive  to  their 
language  in  this  part,  even  to  a  scrupulous  exactness  and 
subtile  refinement,  as  it  appears  from  that  extremely  compli- 
cated system  of  grammatical  punctuation,  more  embarrass- 
ing than  useful,  which  they  have  invented.  It  is  therefore 
not  improbable,  that  they  might  have  had  some  insight  into 
this  matter ;  and,  in  distinguishing  the  parts  of  the  sentence 
by  accents,  might  have  had  regard  to  the  harmony  of  the 
period  and  the  proportion  of  the  members,  as  well  as  to  the 
strict  grammatical  disposition  of  the  constructive  parts.  Of 
this,  I  think,  I  perceive  evident  tokens ;  for  they  sometimes 

(  seem  to  have  more  regard  in  distributing  the  sentence  to 
the  poetical  or  rhetorical  harmony  of  the  period,  and  the 

|  proportion  of  the  members,   than   to  the  grammatical   con- 

I  struction.  To  explain  what  I  mean,  I  shall  here  give  some 
examples,  in  which  the  Masoretes,  in  distinguishing  the  sen- 
tence into  its  parts,  have  given  marks  of  pauses  perfectly 
agreeable  to  the  poetical  rhythm,  but  such  as  the  gramma- 
tical construction  does  not  require,  and  scarcely  admits. 
Though  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  know  the  precise  quantity 
of  time  which  they  allot  to  every  distinctive  point;  for  it 
depends  on  the  relation  and  proportion  which  it  bears  to 
the  whole  arrangement  of  points  throughout  the  sentence; 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION, 

and  though  it  is  impossible  to  express  the  great  variety  of 
them  by  our  scanty  system  of  punctuation, —yet  I  shall  en- 
deavour to  mark  them  out  to  the  English  reader,  in  a  rude 
manner,  so  as  to  give  him  some  notion  of  what  I  imagine  rt 
to  have  been  their  design  to  express.  Thus  then  they  dis- 
tinguish the  following  sentences  : — 

"  And  they  that  recompense  evil  for  good  ;* 
Are  mine  adversaries,  because  I  follow  what  is  good." 

Psal.  xxxviii.  2Qf. 

"  Upon  Jehovah,  in  my  distress  ;* 

I  called,  and  he  heard  me." 
"  Long  hath  my  soul  had  her  dwelling  ;* 

With  him  that  hateth  peace."  Psal.  exx,  1.  6', 

"  I  love  Jehovah,  for  he  hath  heard  •* 
The  voice  of  my  supplication. 
I  will  walk,  before  Jehovah  j* 
In  the  land  of  the  living. 
What  shall  I  return  unto  Jehovah  ;* 
For  all  the  benefits  which  he  hath  bestowed  on  me? 
My  vows  I  will  pay  to  Jehovah  ;* 
Now  in  the  presence  of  all  his  people. 
Precious  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah  ;* 
Is  the  death  of  his  saints."  Psal.  cxvi.  1.  9.  12.  14,  15. 

"Yea  the  stars  of  heaven  and  the  constellations  thereof,! 
Shall  not  send  forth  their  light."  Isa.  xiii.  10. 

"  In  that  day,  shall  his  strongly  fenced  cities  become,J 
Like  the  desertion  of  the  Hivites  and  the  Araorites. 

Isac  xvii.  9. 

"  For  the  glorious  name  of  Jehovah  shall  be  unto  us,| 
A  place  of  confluent  streams,  of  broad  rivers." 

Isa.  xxxiii.  21. 

"  That  she  hath  received  at  the  hand  of  Jehovah,f 
Double  of  the  punishment  of  all  her  sins."     Isa.  xl.  2. 

Of  the  three  different  sorts  of  parallels,  as  above  explain- 
ed, every  one  hath  its  peculiar  character  and  pyoper.  effect ; 

*  Athnac.  f  Zakeph-katoiu  t  Rebiah, 

Athnac  in  the  three  metrical  books,  as  the  Jews  account  them,  is  but  the  third 
in  order  of  power  among  the  distinctive  points ;  but,  however,  always  takes 
place  when  the  period  is  of  two  members  only  ;  in  all  the  other  books  he  is 
second  :  in  the  latter,  therefore,  Rebiah  and  Zakeph-katon,  which  come  next  to 
Athnac,  have  nearly  the  same  distinctive  power  as  Athnac  has  in  the  former. 
They  will  scarce  be  thought  over-rated  at  a  comma. 


XXJl  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

and  therefore  they  are  differently  employed  on  different 
occasions  ;  and  that  sort  of  parallelism  is  chiefly  made  use 
of  which  is  best  adapted  to  the  nature  of  the  subject  and  of 
the  poem.  Synonymous  parallels  have  the  appearance  of 
art  and  concinnity,  and  a  studied  elegance  :  they  prevail 
chiefly  in  shorter  poems  ;  in  many  of  the  Psalms ;  in  Ba- 
laam's prophecies  ;  frequently  in  those  of  Isaiah  which  are 
most  of  them  distinct  poems  of  no  great  length.  The  an- 
tithetic parallelism  gives  an  acuteness  and  force  to  adages 
and  moral  sentences ;  and  therefore,  as  I  observed  before, 
abounds  in  Solomon's  Proverbs,  and  elsewhere  is  not  often 
to  be  met  with.  The  poem  of  Job,  being  on  a  large  plan, 
and  in  a  high  tragic  style,  though  very  exact  in  the  division 
of  the  lines,  and  in  the  parallelism,  and  affording  many  fine 
examples  of  the  synonymous  kind,  yet  consists  chiefly  of  the 
constructive.  A  happy  mixture  of  the  several  sorts  gives  an 
agreeable  variety ;  and  they  serve  mutually  to  recommend 
and  set  off  one  another. 

I  mentioned  above,  that  there  appeared  to  be  two  sorts 
of  Hebrew  verses,  differing  from  one  another  in  regard  to 
their  length :  the  examples  hitherto  given  are  all,  except 
one,  of  the  shorter  kind  of  verse.  The  longer,  though  they 
admit  of  every  sort  of  parallelism,  yet  belonging  for  the 
most  part  to  the  last  class,  that  of  constructive  parallels,  I 
shall  treat  of  them  in  this  place,  and  endeavour  to  explain 
the  nature,  and  to  point  out  the  marks  of  them,  as  fully  and 
exactly  as  I  can. 

This  distinction  of  Hebrew  verses  into  longer  and  shorter, 
is  founded  on  the  authority  of  the  alphabetical  poems ;  one 
third  of  the  whole  number  of  which  are  manifestly  of  the 
longer  sort  of  verse,  the  rest  of  the  shorter.  I  do  not  pre- 
sume exactly  to  define  by  the  number  of  syllables,  supposing 
we  could  with  some  probability  determine  it,  the  limit  that 
separates  one  sort  of  verse  from  the  other,  so  that  every 
verse  exceeding  or  falling  short  of  that  number  should  be 
always  accounted  a  long  or  a  short  verse ;  all  that  I  affirm 
ig  this, — that  one  of  the  three  poems  perfectly  alphabetical, 
and  therefore  infallibly  divided  into  its  verses ;  and  three  of 
the  nine  other  alphabetical  poems,  divided  into  their  verses, 
after  the  manner  of  the  perfectly  alphabetical,  with  the 
greatest  degree  of  probability ;  that  these  four  poems,  being 
the  four  first  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  fall  into  verses 


PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION.  XX111 

about  one-third  longer,  taking  them  one  with  another,  than 
those  of  the  other  eight  alphabetical  poems.  I  shall  first 
give  an  example  of  these  long  verses  from  a  poem  perfectly 
alphabetical,  in  which  therefore  the  limits  of  the  verses  are 
unerringly  defined  : — 

u  I  am  the   man  that  hath   seen  affliction,  by  the  rod  of  his 

anger: 
He  hath  led  me,  and  made  me  walk,    in  darkness,   not  in 

light: 

Even  again  turneth  he  his  hand  against  me,  all  the  day  long. 
He  hath  made  old  my  flesh  and  my  skin,  he  hath  broken   my 

bones: 
He  hath  built  against  me,  and  hath  compassed  me,  with  gall 

and  travail: 

He  hath  made  me  dwell  in  dark  places,  as  the  dead  of  old." 

Lam.  iii.  1 — 6.. 

The  following  is  from  the  first  Lamentation,  in  which  the 
stanzas  are  defined  by  initial  letters,  and  are,  like  the  former,, 
of  three  lines  : — 

"  How  doth  the  city  solitary  sit,  she  that  was  full  .of  people! 
How  is  she  become  a  widow,  that  was  great  among  the  na- 
tions! 

Princess  among  the  provinces,  how  is  she  become  tributary  f 
She  weepeth  sore  in  the  night,    and  her  tear  is  upon  her 

cheek: 

She  hath  none  to  comfort  her,  among  all  her  lovers: 
All  her  friends  have  betrayed  her,  they  became  her  enemies." 

Lam.  i.  1,  2. 

I  shall  now  give  examples  of  the  same  sort  of  verse,  where 
the  limits  of  the  verses  are  to  be  collected  only  from  the  poeti- 
cal construction  of  the  sentences  ; — and  first  from  the  books 
acknowledged  on  all  hands  to  be  poetical ;  and  of  these  we 
must  have  recourse  to  the  Psalms  only,  for  I  believe  there 
is  not  a  single  instance  of  this  sort  of  verse  to  be  found  in 
the  poem  of  Job,  and  scarce  any  in  the  Proverbs  of  Solo- 
mon. 

"  The  law  of  Jehovah  is  perfect,  restoring  the  soul; 
The  testimony  of  Jehovah  is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple: 
The  precepts  of  Jehovah  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart; 
The    commandment   of   Jehovah  is  clear,  enlightening    the 

eyes: 
The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  pure,  enduring  for  ever; 


XXIV  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

The  judgments  of  Jehovah  are  truth;    they  are    altogether 

righteous: 

More  desirable  than  gold,  and  than  much  fine  gold; 
And  sweeter  than  honey,  and  the  dropping  of  honey-combs." 

Psal.  xix.  7 — 10. 

"  That  our  sons  may  be  like  plants,  growing  up  in  their 
youth  ; 

Our  daughters  like  the  corner-pillars,  carved  for  the  struc- 
ture of  a  palace  : 

Our  store-houses  full,  producing  all  kinds  of  provision  : 

Our  flocks  bringing  forth  thousands,  ten  thousands  in  our 
fields  : 

Our  oxen  strong  to  labour  ;  no  irruption,  no  captivity  ; 

And  no  outcry  in  our  streets."  Psal.  cxliv.  12 — 14. 

"  Oh  !  how  great  is  thy  goodness  which  thou  hast  treasured 

up,  for  them  that  fear  thee  ; 
Which  thou  hast  wrought  for  them  that  trust  in  thee,  before 

the  sons  of  men  ! 
Thou  wilt  hide  them  in  the  secret  place  of  thy  presence, 

from  the  vexations  of  man  ; 
Thou  wilt  keep  them  safe  in  the  tabernacle,  from  the  strife 

of  tongues."  Psal.  xxxi.  19,  20. 

"  A  sound  of  a  multitude  in  the  mountains,  as  of  many  people  ; 
A  sound  of  the  tumult  of  kingdoms,  of  nations  gathered  to- 

'gether  : 

Jehovah  God  of  Hosts  mustereth  the  host  for  the  battle. 
They  come  from  a  distant  land,  from  the  end  of  heaven  ; 
Jehovah  and  the  instruments  of  his  wrath,  to  destroy  the 
whole  land."  Isa.  xiii.  4,  5. 

"  They  are  turned  backward,  they  are  utterly  confounded, 

who  trust  in  the  graven  image  ; 
Who  say  unto  the  molten  image,  ye  are  our  gods  !" 

Isa.  xlii.  17. 

"  They  are  ashamed,  they  are  even  confounded,  his  *  adver- 
saries all  of  them  ; 

Together  they  retire  in  confusion,  the  fabricators  of  images  : 

But  Israel  shall  be  saved  in  Jehovah,  with  eternal  salvation  ; 

Ye  shall  not  be  ashamed,  neither  shall  ye  be  confounded,  to 

the  ages  of  eternity. "  Isa.  xlv.  16,  17. 

These  examples,   all  except  the   two   first,   are   of  long 
verses   thrown    in   irregularly,    but    with    design,    between 

*  Sec  the  note  on  the  place. 


•:?RELnilNAKY  'DISSERTATION. 

'verses  of  another  sort  ;  among  which  they  stand  out,  as  it 
were,  somewhat  distinguished  in  regard  to  their  matter  as 
well  as  their  form. 

I  think  I  perceive  some  peculiarities  in  the  cast  and 
structure  of  these  verses,  which  mark  them,  and  distinguish 
them  from  those  of  the  other  sort.  The  closing  pause  of 
each  line  is  generally  very  full  and  strong;  and  m  each  line, 
commonly  towards  the  end,  at  least  beyond  the  middle  of 
K,  there  is  a  small  >rest  or  interval,  depending  on  the  sense 
and  grammatical  construction,  which  I  would  call  a  half- 
pause. 

The  conjunction  \  the  common  particle  of  connexion, 
which  abounds  in  the  Hebrew  language,  and  is  very  often 
used  without  any  'necessity  at  all,  seems  to  be  frequently  and 
studiously  omitted  at  the  halfy>ause  ;  the  remaining  clause 
being  added,  to  use  u  grammatical  term,  by  apposition  to 
some  word  preceding;  or  coming  in.  as  -an  adjunct,  or  cir- 
cumstance depending  on  the  former  part,  and  completing 
the  sentence.  This  -gives  a  certain  air  to  these  verses, 
which  may  be  esteemed  in  some  sort  as  characteristic  of  the 
kind. 

The  first  four  Lamentations  are  four  distinct  poems,  con- 
sisting uniformly  and  entirely  of  *  the  long  verse,  which  may 
therefore  be  properly  called  the  Elegiac  verse-  —  from  those 
elegies,  which  give  the  plainest  and  the  most  undoubted  ex- 
amples of  it.  There  may  perhaps  be  found  many  other 
very  probable  examples  in  the  same  kind  ;  but  this  is  what  1 
cannot  pretend  to  determine  with  any  certainty.  Such,  I 
think,  are  the  42cl  and  43d  Psalms  ;  which  I  imagine  make 

*  In  the  second  Lamentation,  the  second  11  ro  of  the  fourth  period  is  deficient 
in  length  ;  and  so  -likewise  is  the  31st  verse  of  the  third  Lamentation.     In  the 
former,  two  words  are  lost  out  of  the  text  ;  in  the  latter,  one.     This  will  plain 
appear  by  supplying  those  words  from  the  Chaldee  paraphrase,  which  has  hap- 
pily preserved  them.     They  prove  their  own  genuineness  by  making  the  line 
of  a  just  length,  and  by  completely  restoring  the  sense  ;  which  in  the  former  is 
otherwise  not.  unexceptionable,  in  the  latter  manifestly  imperfect.     I  will  ad 
the  lines,  with  the  words  supplied  included  in  crotchets. 


n;u    D  :nm 

"  And  he  slew  [every  youth]  all  that  were  desirable  to  the  eye." 

'nx  [n2>«]  0^7  rov  yh  o 

M  For  the  Lord  will  not  cast  off  [his  servants]  forever.1' 

3 


XXVi  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

one  entire  poem,*  and  ought  not  to  have  been  divided  into 
two  Psalms  :  the  lines  are  all  of  the  longer  kind,  except  the 
v  third  line  of  the  intercalary  stanza  three  times  inserted ; 
which  third  line,  like  that  at  the  close  of  an  example  given 
above  from  the  144th  Psalm,  is  of  the  shorter  kind  of  verse, 
somewhat  like  the  Paroemiac  verse  of  the  Greeks,  which 
commonly  makes  the  close  of  a  set  of  Anapaestic  verses. 
Such  likewise  may  perhaps  be  the  101st  Psalm,  which  seems 
to  consist  of  fourteen  long  verses,  or  seven  distichs,  thus  di- 
vided : — 

"  Mercy  and  judgment  will  1  celebrate  ;  to  thee,  O  Jehovah, 
will  I  sing. 

I  will  act  circumspectly  in  the  perfect  way  ;  when  wilt  thou 
come  unto  me  ? 

I  will  walk  with  a  perfect  heart,  in  the  midst  of  my  house  ; 

I  will  not  set  before  mine  eyes,  a  wicked  thing  ; 

Him  that  dealeth  unfaithfully,  I  hate  ;  he  shall  not  cleave 
unto  me  ; 

A  perverse  heart  shall  remove  from  me  ;  the  wicked  I  will  not 
know. 

Whoso  slandereth  in  secret  his  friend,  him  will  I  destroy. 

The  lofty  of  eyes,  and  the  proud  of  heart,  him  I  will  not  en- 
dure. 

Mine  eyes  shall  be  on  the  faithful  of  the  land,  that  they  may 
dwell  with  me  : 

Whoso  walketh  in  the  perfect  way,  he  shall  minister  unto  me. 

He  shall  not  dwell  within  my  house,  who  practiseth  deceit. 

He  that  speaketh  falsehood,  shall  not  be  established  in  my 
sight. 

Every  morning  will  I  destroy  all  the  wicked  of  the  land  ; 

To  cut  off,  from  the  city  of  Jehovah,  all  the  workers  of  ini- 
quity." 

The  sublime  ode  of  Isaiah  in  the  14th  chapter  is  all  of 
this  kind  of  verse,  except,  perhaps,  a  verse  or  two  towards 
the  end  ;  and  the  prophecy  against  Senacherib  in  the  37th 
chapter,  as  far  as  it  addressed  Senacherib  himself. 

I  venture  to  submit  to  the  judgment  of  the  candid  reader 
the  preceding  observations,  upon  a  subject  which  hardly 
admits  of  proof  and  certainty  ;  which  is  rather  a  matter  of 
opinion  and  of  taste,  than  of  science ;  especially  in  the  latter 

*  This  conjecture,  offered  some  years  age,  has  since  been  confirmed  by  twen- 
ty-two MSS,  which  join  them  together, 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  XXVll 

part,  which  endeavours  to  establish,  and  to  point  out  the  dif- 
ference of  two  sorts  of  verse,  the  longer  and  the  shorter.  For 
though  the  third  Lamentation  of  Jeremiah  gives  a  clear  and 
indubitable  example  of  the  elegiac  or  long  verse,  and  the  two 
Psalms  perfectly  alphabetical  of  the  shorter;  yet  the  whole 
art  of  Hebrew  versification,  except  only  what  appears  in  the 
construction  of  the  sentences,  being  totally  lost,  it  is  not  easy 
to  try  by  them  other  passages  of  verse,  so  as  to  draw  any 
certain  conclusion  in  all  cases,  whether  they  are  of  the  same 
kind  or  not :  And  that,  for  this  among  other  reasons  ;  be- 
cause what  I  call  the  half-pause.,  which  I  think  prevails  for 
the  most  part  in  the  longer  verses,  is  sometimes  so  strong 
and  so  full  in  the  middle  of  the  line,  that  it  seems  naturally 
to  resolve  it  into  a  distich  of  two  short  verses.  I  readily 
therefore  acknowledge,  that  in  settling  the  distribution  of 
the  lines,  or  verses,  in  the  following  translation,  I  have  had 
frequent  doubts  and  particularly  in  determining  the  long 
and  short  verses.  I  arn  still  uncertain  in  regard  to  many 
places,  whether  two  lines  ought  not  to  be  joined  to  make  one, 
or  one  line  divided  into  two.  But  whatever  doubts  may  re- 
main concerning  particulars,  yet,  upon  the  whole,  I  should 
hope  that  the  method  of  distribution  here  proposed,  of  sen- 
tences into  stanzas  and  verses  in  the  poetical  books  of  Scrip- 
ture, will  appear  to  have  some  foundation,  and  even  to  cany 
with  it  a  considerable  degree  of  probability.  Though  no 
complete  system  of  rules  concerning  this  matter  can  perhaps 
be  formed,  which  will  hold  good  in  every  particular  ;  yet 
this  way  of  considering  the  subject  may  have  its  use,  in  fur- 
nishing a  principle  of  interpretation  of  some  consequence, 
in  giving  a  general  idea  of  the  style  and  character  of  the 
Hebrew  poetry,  and  in  shewing  the  close  conformity  of  style 
and  character  between  great  part  of  the  prophetical  writings, 
and  the  other  books  of  the  Old  Testament  universally  ac- 
knowledged to  be  poetical. 

And  that  the  reader  may  not  think  his  pains  wholly  lost, 
in  labouring  through  this  long  disquisition  concerning  sen- 
tences and  members  of  sentences,  in  weighing  words  and 
balancing  periods,  I  shall  endeavour  to  shew  him  something 
of  the  use  and  application  of  the  preceding  observations ; 
and  to  convince  him,  that  this  branch  of  criticism,  minute 
as  it  may  appear,  yet  merits  the  attention  of  the  translator 
and  of  the  interpreter  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  so  large  a  part 


XXVlli"  PRELIMINARY  DFSSERTATION, 

of  which  is  entirely  poetical,  and  where  occasional  pieces  of 
poetry  are  interspersed  through  the  whole. 

It  is  incumbent  on  every  translator  to  study  ifee  manner 
of  his  author ;  to  mark  the  peculiarities  of  his  style,  to  imi- 
tate his  features,  his  air,  his  gesture,  and,  as  far  as  the  dif- 
ference of  language  will  permit,  even  his  voice ;  in  a  word, 
to  give  a  just  and  expressive  resemblance  of  the  original. 
If  he  does  not  carefully  attend  to  this,  he  will  sometimes  fail 
of  entering  into  his  meaning  ;  he  will  always  exhibit  him  un- 
like himself; — in  a  dress,  that  will  appear  strange  and  unbe- 
coming to  all  that  are  in  any  degree  acquainted  with  him. 
Sebastian  Castellio  stands  in  the  first  rank  for  critical  abili- 
ties and  theological  learning,  among  the  modem  translators 
of  Scripture  ;  but,  by  endeavouring  to  give  the  whole  compo- 
sition of  his  translation  a  new  cast,  to  throw  it  out  of  the 
Hebrew  idiom,  and  to  make  it  adopt  the  Latin  phrase  and 
structure  in  its  steai^  he  has  given  us  something  that  is 
neither  Hebrew  nor  Latin :  the  Hebrew  manner  is  destroyed, 
and  the  Latin  manner  is  not  perfectly  acquired  ;  we  regret 
the  loss  of  the  Hebrew  simplicity,  and  we  are  disgusted  with 
the  perpetual  affectation  of  Latin  elegance.  This  is  in  gen- 
eral the  case,  but  chiefly  in  the  poetical  parts.  Take  the 
following  for  a  specimen. 

"  Quum  Israelitse  ex  JEgypto,  quuna  Jacobsea  domus  emigraret 

ex  populo  barbaro, 

Judsei  Israelite  Deo  fuere  sanctitati  atque  potestati. 
Quo  viso,  mare  fugit,  et  Jordanis  retrocessit. 
Montes  arietum,  colles  ove  natorum  ritu  exiliverunt." 

Surely  to  this  even  the  barbarism  of  the  Vulgate  is  pre- 
ferable ;  for  though  it  has  no  elegance  of  its  own,  yet  it  still 
retains  the  form,  and  gives  us  some  idsa  of  the  force  and1 
spirit  of  the  Hebrew.  1  will  subjoin  it  here,  for  it  needs  not 
fear  the  comparison. 

u  In  exitu  Israel  de  JEgypto,  domus  Jacob  dc  populo  barbaro, 
Facta  est  Judaia  sanctificatio  ejus,  Israel  potestas  ejus. 
Mare  vidit,  et  fugit:  Jordanis  conversus  est  retrorsum. 
Montes  exultaverunt  ut  arietes:  et  colles  sicut  agni  ovium.'r 

Flatness  and  insipidity  will  generally  be  the  consequence 
of  a  deviation  from  the  native  mariner  of  an  original,  which 
has  a  real  merit  and  a  peculiar  force  of  its  own :  for  it  will 
be  very  difficult  to  compensate  the  loss  of  this  by  any  adveu.- 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  XXIX 

titious  ornaments.  To  express  fully  and  exactly  the  sense 
of  the  author  is  indeed  the  principal,  but  not  the  whole  duty 
of  the  translator.  In  a  work  of  elegance  and  genius,  he  is 
not  only  to  inform,  he  must  endeavour  to  please ;  and  to 
please  by  the  same  means,  if  possible,  by  which  his  author 
pleases.  If  this  pleasure  arises  in  a  great  measure  from  the 
shape  of  the  composition  and  the  form  of  the  construction, 
as  it  does  in  the  Hebrew  poetry  perhaps  beyond  any  other 
example  whatsoever,  the  translator's  eye  ought  to  be  always 
intent  upon  this  :  to  neglect  this,  is  to  give  up  all  chance  of 
success,  and  all  pretension  to  it.  The  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  the  consequent  necessity  of  keeping  closely  to  the 
letter  of  the  original,  has  confined  the  translators  of  Scrip- 
ture within  such  narrow  limits,  that  they  have  been  forced, 
whether  they  designed  it  or  not,  and  even  sometimes  con- 
trary to  their  design,  as  in  the  case  of  Castellio,  to  retain 
much  of  the  Hebrew  manner.  This  is  remarkably  the  case 
in  our  vulgar  translation,  the  constant  use  of  which  has  ren- 
dered this  manner  familiar  and  agreeable  to  us.  We  have 
adopted  the  Hebrew  taste  ;  and  what  is  with  judgment,  and 
upon  proper  occasion,  well  expressed  in  that  taste,  hardly  ever 
fails  to  suggest  the  ideas  of  beauty,  solemnity,  and  elevation. 
To  shew  the  difference  in  this  respect,  I  shall  here  give  an 
example  or  two  of  a  free  and  loose  translation,  yet  suffi- 
ciently well  expressing  the  sense,  contrasted  with  another 
translation  of  the  same,  as  strictly  literal  as  possible. 

1 .  "  The  merciful  and  gracious  Lord  hath  so  done  his  mar- 
vellous works,  that  they  ought  to  be  had  in  remembrance." 

Psal.  cxi.  4.  Old  Version. 

2.  "  Lo!  children  and  the  fruit  of  the  womb  are  an  heritage 
and  gift,  that  cometh  from  the  Lord."       Psal.  cxxvii.  4.  O.  V. 

3.  "  O  put  not  your  trust  in  princes,  nor  in  any  child  of 
man;  for  there  is  no  help  in  them. 

"For  when  the  breath  of  man  goeth  forth,  he   shall  turn 
again  to  his  earth;  and  then  all  his  thoughts  perish. 

4.  "  The  Lord  thy  God,  O  Sion,  shall  be  king  for  evermore, 
and  throughout  all  generations.        Psal.  cxlvi.  2,  3.  10.  O.  V. 

1.  "  He  hath  made  a  memorial  of  his  wonders:  gracious  and 
of  tender  mercy  is  Jehovah." 

2.  "Behold,  an  heritage  from  Jehovah  are  children;  are- 
ward,  the  fruit  of  the  womb." 

3* 


XXX  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

3.  "  Trust  ye  not  in  princes;  in  the  son  of  man,  in  whom  is 
no  salvation. 

"  His  breath  goeth  forth;  he  returneth  to  his  earth;  in  that 
day  his  thoughts  perish. 

4.  "  Jehovah   shall  reign  for  ever;  thy  God,  O  Sion,  from 
age  to  age." 

The  former  examples  are  mere  prose ;  the  latter  retain 
the  outlines  and  the  features  of  the  original  Hebrew,  and 
from  that  cause  alone  are  still  poetry. 

But  this  strict  attention  to  the  form  and  fashion  of  the 
composition  of  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Old  Testament 
is  not  only  useful,  and  even  necessary,  in  the  translator 
who  is  ambitious  of  preserving  in  his  copy  the  force, 
and  spirit,  and  elegance  of  the  original ;  it  will  be  of 
great  use  to  him  likewise  merely  as  an  interpreter,  and 
will  often  lead  him  into  the  meaning  of  obscure  words 
and  phrases:  sometimes  it  will  suggest  the  true  reading, 
where  the  text  in  our  present  copies  is  faulty ;  and  wilt 
verify  and  confirm  a  correction  offered  on  the  authority 
of  MSS,  or  of  the  ancient  versions.  I  shall  add  a  few  ex- 
amples, as  evidences  of  what  is  here  advanced.  One  short 
passage  of  Isaiah  will  furnish  a  number  sufficient  for  our 
purpose  ;  and  the  observant  reader  will  find  several  more  in 
the  version  and  notes  subjoined. 

"  Wherefore  hear  ye  the  word  of  Jehovah,  ye  scoffers  ; 

Ye  who  to  this  people  in  Jerusalem  utter  sententious  speeches. 
Who  say,  We  have  entered  into  a  covenant  with  death  ; 

And  with  the  grave  we  have  made  a  treaty. 

But  your  covenant  with  death  shall  be  broken  ; 
And  your  treaty  with  the  grave  shall  not  stand." 

Isa.  xxviii.  14,  15.  18*. 

'bi:  *:,  ye  that  rule  this  people,  says  our  version  ;  and  so  the 
generality  of  interpreters  ancient  and  modern.  But  this 
prophecy  is  not  addressed  to  the  rulers  of  the  people,  nor 
is  it  at  all  concerned  with  them  in  particular,  but  is  directed 
to  the  Ephrairmtes  in  general ;  and  this  part  to  the  scoffers 
among  them,  who  ridiculed  the  denunciations  of  the  pro- 
phets, by  giving  out  parabolical  sentences,  and  solemn 
speeches,  somewhat  in  the  prophetic  style,  in  opposition  to 
their  prophecies  ;  of  which  speeches  he  gives  specimens  in  the 
next  verse,  as  he  had  done  before  in  the  9th  and  10th  verses, 
therefore  is  parallel  and  synonymous  to  ~\\>h 


PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION.  XXXI 

scoffers  ;  and  is  not  to  be  translated  rulers,  but  to  be  taken' in 
the  other  sense  of  the  word,  and  rendered,  "  those  that  speak 
parables."  And  larch  i  in  this  place  very  properly  .explains 
it,  "qui  dicunt  verba  irrisionis  parabolice." 

The  next  verse  gives  us  an  instance  still  more  remarkable 
of  the  influence  which  the  parallelism  has  in  determining1 
the  sense  of  words  : 

"  We  have  entered  into  a  covenant  with  death  ; 
And  with  the  grave  we  havejnade " 

what?  Every  one  must  answer  immediately,  an  agreement, 
a  bargain,  a  treaty,  or  something  to  the  same  sense:  and  so 
in  effect  say  all  the  versions,  ancient  and  modem.  But  the 
word  nrn  means  no  such  thing  in  any  part  of  the  Bible; 
(except  in  the  18th  verse  of  this  chapter,  here  quoted,  where 
it  is  repeated  in  the  same  sense,  and  nearly  in  the  same 
form) ;  nor  can  the  lexicographers  give  any  satisfactory 
account  of  the  word  in  this  sense ;  which  however  they  are 
forced  to  admit  from  the  necessity  of  the  case  ;  u  Recte  verto 
vocem  nin?  perinde  ac  rwn,  v.  18.  transactionem,  licet 
neutra  hac  significatione  alibi  occurrat :  circumstantia  enim 
orationis  earn  necessario  exigit;  "  says  the  learned  Vitringa 
upon  the  place.  It  could  not  otherwise  have  been  known 
that  the  word  had  this  meaning  ;  it  is  the  parallelism  alone 
that  determines  it  to  this  meaning ;  and  that  so  clearly,  that 
no  doubt  at  all  remains  concerning  the  sense  of  the  passage. 
Again : — 

"  And  your  covenant  with  death  shall  be  broken  :>J 

But  n3D  means  to  cover,  to  cover  sin,  and  so  to  expiate,  <fcc. 
and  is  never  used  in  the  sense  of  breaking  or  dissolving'  a 
covenant,  though  that  notion  so  often  occurs  in  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  nor  can  it  be  forced  into  thi's  sense,  but  by  a  great  deal 
of  far-fetched  reasoning.  Besides,  it  ought  to  be  m3D,  or 
I33n,  in  the  feminine  form,  to  agree  with  ma.  So  that 
the  word,  as  it  stands,  makes  neither  grammar  nor  sense. 
There  is  great  reason  therefore  to  suspect  some  mistake 
In  our  present  copy.  The  true  reading  is  probably  nan, 
differing  by  one  letter.  So  conjectured  Houbigant ;  and 
so  Archbishop  Seeker:  and  I  find  their  conjecture  con- 
firmed by  the  Chaldee  paraphrast,  who  renders  it  by  tea, 
the  word  which  he  generally  uses  in  rendering  this  common 


XXXU   ;  j|3  PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION. 


phrase,  rro  "van*  And  this  reading  is  still  further  con- 
firmed by  the  parallelism  ;  for  isn,  shall  be  broken,  in  the 
first  line,  is  parallel  and  synonymous  toCDipn  vh,  shall  not 
stand,  in  the  second. 

The  very  same  phrases  are  parallel  and  synonymous,  Isa. 
viii.  10. 

<(  Take  counsel  together,  and  it  shall  come  to  nought,  isni  ; 
Speak  the  word,  and  it  shall  not  stand,  LDip1  K^l." 

I  shall  add  one  example  more;  and  that  of  a  reading 
suggested  by  the  parallelism,  and  destitute  of  all  authority 
of  MSS,  or  ancient  versions. 

"  But  mine  enemies  living  are  numerous  ; 

And  they  that  hate  me  wrongfully  are  multiplied." 

Psal.  xxx  viii.  19. 

The  word  cm,  living,  seems  not  to  belong  to  this  place; 
besides,  that  the  construction  of  it  in  the  Hebrew  is  very 
unusual  and  inelegant.  The  true  reading  in  all  probability 
is  mn,  without  cause  ;  parallel  and  synonymous  to  np&y,. 
wrongfully,  in  the  next  line,  (as  in  Psal.  xxxv.  19.)  ;  which 
completes  the  parallelism  through  both  lines.  Let  the  reader 
compare  Psal.  Ixix.  5.  where  the  very  same  three  terms 
in  each  line  are  set  parallel  to  one  another,  just  in  the  same 
manner  as  I  suppose  they  must  have  been  originally  here. 
Which  place  likewise  furnishes  another  example  in  the  same 
kind:  for  a  fourth  term  being  there  introduced  in  each 
line,  the  fourth  term  in  the  last  line  has  been  corrupted  by 
the  small  mistake  of  inserting  a  '  in  the  middfe  of  it.  It  has 
been  well  restored  by  a  conjecture  of  the  learned  and  ingeni- 
ous Bishop  Hare. 

"  They  that  hate  me  without  cause  are  multiplied  beyond  the 

hairs  of  my  head; 

They  that  are  mine  enemies  wrongfully  are  more  numerous 
then  the  hairs  of  my  locks." 

For  TPOtfD,  who  destroy  me,  read  T>D*D,  more  than  my  locks, 
parallel  to  ^xt  nnjwo,  more  than  the  hairs  of  my  head,  in 
the  first  line.  The  Bishop's  conjecture  is  since  confirmed  by 
seven  MSS. 

Thus  two  inveterate  mistakes,  which  have  disgraced  the 
text  above  two  thousand  years,  (for  they  are  prior  to  the 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION".  XXX111 

Tcrsion  of  the  seventy,)  are  happily  corrected,  and  that,  I 
think,  beyond  a  doubt,  by  the  parallelism  supported  by  the 
example  of  similar  passages. 


RABBI  Az  ARIAS,*  a  learned  Jew  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
has  treated  of  the  ancient  Hebrew  versification  upon  prin- 
ciples similar  to  those  above  proposed,  and  partly  coincident 
with  them :  he  makes  the  form  of  the  verse  to  depend  on 
the  structure  of  the  sentence,  and  the  measures  in  every 
verse  to  be  determined  by  the  several  parts  of  the  proposi- 
tion. As  he  is  the  only  one  of  the  Jewish  writers,  who  ap- 
pears to  have  had  any  just  idea  at  all  of  this  matter ;  as  his 
system  seems  to  be  well  founded  ;  and  as  his  observations 
may  be  of  use  on  the  present  occasion,  both  by  giving  some 
degree  of  authority  to  the  hypothesis  above  explained,  and 
by  setting  the  subject  in  a  light  somewhat  different, — I  shall 
here  give  the  reader  at  large  his  opinion  upon  it, 

This  author  in  a  large  work  entitled  Meor  Enajim,  (that 
is.  The  light  of  the  Eyes?)  containing  a  great  variety  of  mat- 
ter, historical,  critical,  and  philosophical,  takes  occasion  to 
treat  of  the  Hebrew  poetry  in  a  separate  chapter ;  of  which 
the  younger  Buxtorf  has  given  a  Latin  translation,  t 

"  Azarias  finding  little  satisfaction  in  what  former  writers 
had  said  upon  the  subject ;  whether  those  who  make  the- 
Hebrew  verse  consist  of  a  certain  number  of  syllables  and 
certain  feet,  like  that  of  the  Greeks  and  Latins ;  or  those 
who  exclude  all  metre,  and  make  the  harmony  of  their  verse 
to  arise  from  accents,  tones,  and  musical  modulations ;  which 
latter  opinion  he  thinks  agreeable  to  truth  ; — and  having  con- 
sulted the  most  learned  of  his  nation  without  being  able  to 
obtain  any  solution  of  his  difficulties ;  for  they  allowed  that 
there  was  a  sensible  difference  between  the  songs  and  the 
other  parts  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  when  they  were  read  ; 

*  R.  Azarias  Min  Haaduraim,  i.e.  do  Rubcis,  or  Rossi,  of  Ferrara,  finish- 
ed his. treatise  entitled  Meor  Enajim,  A.  D.  1573,  and  published  it  at  Mantua, 
the  place  of  his  birth,  1574.  Wolfii  Biblioth.  Hebrsea,  vol.  i.  p.  944. 

t  Mantissa  Dissertationum,  p.  415.  at  the  end  of  his  edition 'of  Cosri. 
Suspecting,  from  some  obscurities,  that  Buxtorf's  translation  was  not  very 
accurate,  I  procured  the  original  edition  ;  and  having  carefully  examined  kt 
I  corrected  from  it  this  account  of.  the  author's  sentiment?.,. 


XXXlV  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

a  kind  of  metrical  sweetness  in  the  former,  which  the  latter 
had  not ;  but  whence  that  difference  arose  no  one  could  ex- 
plain ;- — in  this  state  of  uncertainty,  he  long  considered  the 
matter,  endeavouring  to  obtain  some  satisfaction  in  his  in- 
quiries. He  at  lasr  came  to  the  following  determination 
upon  it : — That  the  sacred  songs  have  undoubtedly  certain 
measures  and  proportions  ;  which,  however,  do  not  consist 
in  the  number  of  syllables,  perfect  or  imperfect,  according 
to  the  form  of  the  modern  verse  which  the  Jews  make  use" 
of,  and  which  is  borrowed  from  the  Arabians  ;  (though  the 
Arabic  prosody,  he  observes,  is  too  complicated  to  be  ap- 
plied to  the  Hebrew  language)  ;  but  in  the  number  of  things, 
and  of  the  parts  of  things, — that  is,  the  subject,  and  the  pre- 
dicate, and  their  adjuncts,  in  every  sentence  and  proposition. 
Thus  a  phrase,  containing  two  parts  of  a  proposition,  con- 
sists of  two  measures  ;  add  another  containing  two  more,  and 
they  become  four  measures  ;  another  again,  containing  three 
parts  of  a  proposition,  consists  of  three  measures ;  add  to  it 
another  of  the  like,  and  you  have  six  measures. 

"  For  example  ;  in  the  Song  of  Moses,  "  Thy-right-hand, 
O- Jehovah,"  is  a  phrase  consisting  of  two  terms,  or  parts  of 
a  proposition  ;  to  which  is  connected,  "  is-glorious  in-power," 
consisting  likewise  of  two  terms :  these  joined  together  make 
four  measures,  or  a  tetrameter  :  "  Thy-right-hand,  O- 
Jehovah,"  repeated,  makes  two  more ;  "  hath-crushed  the- 
enemy,"  two  more ;  which,  together,  make  four  measures,  or 
a  second  tetrameter.  So  likewise, 

tc  The-enemy  said,  I-will-pursue,  I-will  overtake  ; 

I-will-divide  the-spoil  ;  my-lust  shall-be-satisfied-upon-them  ; 
I-will-draw  my-sword  ;  my-hand  shall-destroy-them  ; 
Thou-didst-blow  with-thy-wind  ;  the-sea  covered-them." 

"  The  Song  of  Deuteronomy  consists  of  propositions  of 
three  parts,  or  three  measures;  which,  doubled  in  the  same 
manner,  make  six,  or  hexameters  :  thus, 

(t  Hearken,    O-heavens,  and-I-will-speak  ;    and-let-the-earth 

hear  the-words-of-my-mouth  :* 

My-doctrine  shall-drop,  as-the-rain  ;  my-word  shall-distil,  as 
the-dew." 

*  Two  words  joined  together  by  maccaph  are  considered  as  a  single  word* 
according  to  the  laws  of  punctuation ;  so  '3"113N  is  one  word. 


PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION.  XXXV 

"  Sometimes  in  the  same  period,  much  more  in  the  same 
song,  these  two  kinds  meet  together,  according  to  the  divine 
impulse  moving  the  prophet,  and  as  the  variety  suited  his 
design,  and  the  nature  of  the  subject.  For  example, — 

"  And-by  the-blast  of-thy-nostrils,  the-waters  were-compress- 
ed;» 

These  are  each  two  measures,  which  together  make  a  tetra- 
meter: it  follows, — 

"  The-floods  stood-upright,  as-in-a-heap  : 

The-deeps  were-congealed  in-the-heart-of-the-sea  :"* 

These  are  two  trimeters,  which  make  an  hexameter.  So  the 
Song  of  the  Well  begins  with  trimeters  ;  to  which  are  after- 
wards subjoined  t  dimeters.  So  in  the  prayer  of  Habakkuk 
the  verses  are  trimeters: — 

"  God  came  from-Teman  ; 

And-the-Holy-One  from  the-mount-of-Paran.J  Selah. 
His-glory  covered  the-heavens  ; 
And-his-splendour  filled  the-earth." 

"  The  author  proceeds  to  observe,  that  in  some  verses  certain 
words  occur,  which  make  no  part  of  the  measures,  or  are 
not  taken  into  the  account  of  the  verse  ;  as  in  the  Song  of 
Deuteronomy  : — 

"  And-he-said, 

I-will-hide  my-face  from-them  :" 

The  word,  "  And-he-said,"  II  stands  by  itself, — and  the  re- 
maining words  make  a  trimeter  : — 

*  D^y?3,  one  word. 

t  The  Song  of  the  Well,  Numb,  xxi.  17,  18.,  according  to  our  way  of  fixing 
the  conclusion  of  it,  and  if  we  measure  it  by  Azarias's  rules,  consist  of  three 
trimeters  and  one  dimeter  only.  But  the  Targum  of  Onkelos  continues  the 
song  to  the  end  of  the  20th  verse,  taking  in  the  catalogue  of  stations,  (as  we 
understand  it),  which  immediately  follows,  as  part  of  the  song  ;  and  interpret- 
ing it  as  such.  Azarias  follows  his  authority:  so  Aben  Tybbon,  (see  Cozri, 
p.  431.),  and  larchi  upon  the  place.  At  this  rate  we  shall  have  half  a  dozen 
dimeters  more. 

\  "pN3"*ino,  (from-the-mount-of-Paran,)  being  joined  by  maccaph,  and  so 
making  but  one  word,  the  author  is  obliged  to  take  in  Selalt  as  part  of  the 
verse,  to  make  out  his  third  term  or  measure.  The  authority  of  the  Masoretic 
maccaph  has  led  him  into  an  error.  The  verse  without  Selah  is  a  trimeter  ;  as 
it  ought  to  be  in  conformity  with  the  rest. 

il  So  far  the  observation  seems  to  be  just;  and  perhaps  there  maybe  two 
more  examples  of  it  in  the  same  poem,  vcr.  26.  and  37. ;  where,  according  to 


XXXVI  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

"  I-will-see,  what-is  their-latter-end," 

is  the  trimeter  answering  to  it.  So  in  the  prayer  of  Habak- 
ktik  :— 

«  O-Jehovah, 

I-have-heard  thy-speech  ;  I-was-afraid  ; 

O-Jehovah, 

Revive  thy-work  in-the-midst-of-the  years  :"* 

The  word,  "  O-Jehovah,"  is  twice  to  be  read  separate  ;  and 
the  words  added  to  it  make  a  trimeter,  But  this  verse, 

"  Though  the-fig-tree  shall-not  blossom," 

is  of  a  different  sort,  consisting  of  the  subject  and  predicate  : 
"  Though  the  fig-tree,"  being  the  subject;  "  shall  not  blos- 
som,''' the  predicate.  So  in  a  verse  containing  twelve  terms, 
those  terms  may  be  reduced  to  six  measures.  For  you  are 
not  to  l)e  reckon,  either  the  syllables,  or  the  words,  but  only 
the  things.  And  for  this  reason  a  particle  is  often  joined  to 
the  word  next  to  it.  The  verses  of  the  Psalms  observe  the 
same  order:  — 

"  Have-mercy-upon-me,    O-God,   according-to-thy-goodness  ; 
According-to-the-multitude-of-thy-mercies,  f    blot-out    my- 
transgressions." 

Azarias's  doctrine,  the  words,  /  said,  And  he  shall  say,  may  conveniently 
enough  be  considered  as  making  no  part  of  the  verse.  So  in  Isaiah,  the  com- 
mon forms,  Thussaitk  Jehovah,  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  and  the 
\  like,  probably  arc  not  always  to  be  reckoned  as-  making  part  of  the  measure. 
The  period  D  in  the  4th  Lamentation  cannot  well  be  divided  into  two  lines,  as 
jt  ought  to  be  ;  but  if  the  words  ID1?  IKIp,  they  cried  unto  them,  and  TDK 
D^JH,  they  said  among  the  heathen,  are  excluded  from  the  measure,  the  re- 
mainder will  make  two  lines  of  just  length  :— 

"  Depart,  ye  are  polluted,  depart;  depart  ye,  forbear  to  touch  : 
Yea,  they  are  fled,  they  are  removed  ;  they  shall  dwell  here  no  more." 

Or  perhaps  they  may  be  two  marginal  interpretations,  which  by  mistake  have 
get  into  the  text;  which,  I  think,  is  better  without  them.  So  likewise,  Lam. 


ii.  15.  the  word  YT2X'tP,  of-*chich-they-said,  either  does  not  reckon  in  the 
verse,  which  with  it  is  too  long  ;  or,  as  I  rather  think,  should  be  omitted,  as 
an  interpolation. 

*  In  order  to  make  out  the  trimeter,  it  is  necessary  to  suppose  that  Azarias 
reads  DTiirmp3  as  one  word. 

t  Azarias  takes  the  liberty  of  joining  the  two  words  "V^m  3*O  together 
by  a  maccaph,  which  is  not  to  be  found  in  our  editions,  in  order  to  bring  the 
vl-iv.e  within  his  rules.  The  render  will  observe,  that  this  distirh,  which  in  the 
Hebrew  contains  but  seven  words,  cannot  be  rendered  in  English  in  less  than 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  XXXVil 

These  arc  trimeters.     So  likewise, 

"  In-God  I-will-praise  his-word  ; 
In-Jehovah  I-will-praise  his-word." 

So  likewise  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon, 

"  Wisdom  crieth  without  ; 
In-the-streets  she-uttereth  her-voice," 

"  I  am  aware,  adds  he,  that  some  verses  are  to  be  found, 
which  I  cannot  accommodate  to  these  ruler,  and  forms;  and 
perhaps  a  great  number.  But  by  observing  iheije  things, 
the  intelligent  may  perhaps  receive  new  light,  rnd  discover 
what  has  escaped  me.  However,  they  may  be  assured,  that 
all  the  verses  that  are  found  in  the  Sacred  Writings;  such 
as  the  song  at  the  Red  Sea,  of  the  Well,  of  MoVe's,  of 
Deborah,  of  David,  of  the  Book  of  Job,  the  Psalms,  and  the 
Proverbs;  all  of  them  have  an  established  order  and  measure, 
different  in  different  places,  or  even  sometimes  different  in 
one  and  the  same  poem; — as  we  may  perceive,  in  reading 
them,  an  admirable  propriety  and  fitness,  though  we  can- 
not arrive  at  the  true  method,  of  measuring  or  scanning 

O  •        C3 

them. 

"  It  is  not  to  be    wondered,   that  the  same  song  should 
consist  cf  different  measures;  for  the  case  is  the  same  in  the 
poetry  of  the 'Greeks  and  Romans:  they  sailed  their  mea- 
sures to  the  nature  cf  the  subject  and  (he  argument;   and  ' 
the  variations  which  they  admitted,  were  accommodated  to  j 
the   motions   of  the    body,  and   the  affections  .  of  the    soul, 
Every  kind  of  measure  is  not  proper  for  every  subject;  and 
an    ode,  a  panegyric,  or  a  prayer,    should    not   be    composed 
in.  the  same  measure  with  an  elegy.     Do  not  you  observe, 
says  he,  in  the  Book  of  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  that  the 
periods  of  the  first  and  second  chapters  each  cf  them  consist 
of  three  prepositions;  and  everyone   of  these   of  a  subject, 
and  a  predicate,  and  of  the    adjuncts  belonging  to    them?    ' 
The  third   chapter  follows  (.he  same  method;  and  for  this 
reason  is  placed  next  to  them   in  order:  but  of  this   chapter 
every    period   is    distributed    into    three  initial  leUera.     But 
the   fourth    chapter  does    not    perfect    the   senses   in    every 

one-and-twenty  words.  By  Ibis  he  will  judge,  under  what  great  disadvantage 
all  the  foregoing  examples,  whether  of  the  parallelism  or  of  the  metre  of  things, 
must  appear  in  an  English  version,  in  which  many  words  are  almost  always 
necessary  to  render  what  is  expressed  by  one  word  in.  Hclrcw. 

4 


XxXVlii  PRELIMINARY  DISSERT  AT  ION. 

verse ;  *  but  consists  of  two  and  two,  which  make  four.  Bu« 
the  fifth  chapter,,  which  contains  a  prayer,  you  will  find  to 
be  built  on  another  plan ;  that  is,  one  and  one,  which  matke 
two,t  or  a  dimeter ;.  like  the  verses  of  the  Books  of  Job7 
Psalms,  and  Proverbs.  So  the  Song  of  Moses,  and  the 
Song  of  Deborah,  have  a  different  form  ;  consisting  of  three 
and  three,  which  make  six ;  that  is,  hexameters  :  like  the 
heroic  measure,  which  is  the  noblest  of  all  measures. 

;c  Upon  the  whole,  the  author  concludes,  that  the  poetical 
pasts  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  are  not  composed  according 
to  the  rales-  and  measures  of  certain  feet,  dissyllables,  tri- 
syllubresr  or  the  like,  as  the  poems  of  the  modern  Jews  are  : 
but  nevertheless  have  undoubtedly  other  measures  which  de- 
pend on  things,£  as  above  explained.  For  which  reason,  they 
are  more  excellent  than  those  which  consist  of  certain  feet, 
according  to  the  number  and  quantity  of  syllables.  Of  this, 
says  he,  you  may  judge  yourself  in  the  Songs  of  the  Prophets. 
For  do  you  not  see,  if  you  translate  some  of  them  into  another 
language,  that  they  still  keep  and  retain  their  measure,  if 
not  wholly,  at  least  in  part  ?  which  cannot  be  the  case  in  those 
verses,  the  measures  of  which  arise  from  a  certain  quantity 
and  number  of  syllables," 

*  He  said  abovcrthat  m  the  1st  aiwl  2d  chapters  each  separate  verse,  or  iiner 
was  a  single  proposition  :  he  now  says,  that  this  is  not  the  case  in  the  4th  chap- 
ter ;  for  it  does  not  perfect  the  sense  in  every  verse  ;  that  is,  each  verse  docs 
not  consist  of  one  single  proposition.  As,  for  example  the  line  or  verse, — 

"  How  is  obscured  the  gold !  changed  the  fine  gold  !  " 

"  How  is  obscured  |  the  gold ! "  makes  one  proposition,  and  two*  measures  r 
"  changed  |  the  fine  gold !  "  another  proposition,  and  two  other  measures ; 
which,  according  to  him  make  a  tetrameter.  This,  he  says,  makes  the  diffe- 
rence between  the  three  first  and  the  4th  chapter.  But  there  seems  to  be  no 
such  difference  ;  many  single  lines  in  the  three  first  containing  two  propositions, 
and  nrany  in  the  4th  containing  only  one. 

t  According  to  the  author's  own  definition  of  his  terms,  one  and  one  which 
make  two,  should  mean,  one  term  and  one  term  making  two  measures,  or  a 
dimeter :  but  the  5th  chapter  does  not  at  all  seem  to  answer  that  description. 
Besides,  he  says,  the  verses  of  it  arc  like  those  of  Job,  Psalms,  and  Proverbs, 
of  two  of  which  books  he  said  before,  that  the  verses  wore  trimeters.  I  know 
not  what  he  means*  unless  it  be  that  one  and  one  sentences  make  two,  that  is  a 
distich ;  and  that  this  chapter  consists  of  distichs,  of  two  short  lines,  as  the 
Books  of  Job,  Psalms,  and  Proverbs,  for  the  most  part  do ;  which  is  true. 

{:  Perhaps  the  harmony  might  depend  in  some  degree  on  both  ;  for  it  may  be 
often  observed,  that  where  the  words  of  an  hemistich  happen  to  be  longer,  and 
consequently  to  consist  of  more  syllables  than  the  words  of  the  adjoining  hemis- 
tich, there  the  things  expressed  are  fewer.  See,  for  example,  Psal.  cviii.  4,  5. 
Which  seerns  to  prove,  that  the  measures  of  the  verses  did  not  depend  on  the 
things  expressed  only,  but  on  the  syllables  also. 


DISSERTATION  XXX IX 

Such  is  R.  Azarias's  hypothesis  of  (he  rhythmus  of  things'; 
'that  is,  of  terms  and  of  senses:  of  the  grammatical  parts  of 
speech,  and  of  the  logical  parts  of  propositions.  The  prin- 
ciple seems  to  be  right ;  hut,  I  think,  he  has  not  made  the 
best  use,  of  which  it  was  capable,  in  (he  application.  He 
acknowledges,  that  it  will  not  hold  in  all  cases.  I  believe, 
there  is  n0  such  thing  to  be  found  ra  the  Hebrew  Bible,  as 
a  whole  poem  consisting  of  trimeters,  tetrameters,  or  hexa- 
meters only,  measured  and  scanned  -according  -to  his  rules. 
The  Song  of  Moses,  Dent,  xxxii.  is  a  very  apt  example  for 
his  purpose  ;  but  will  not  in  all  parts  fall  in  with  his  measures. 
^Besides,  there  is  no  sort  of  reason  for  "his  making  it  to  con- 
sist -of  hexameters,  rather  than  trimeter  distkhs ;  such,  as 
he  says,  the  Psalms  and  Proverbs  consist  of.  Examine  the 
cxith  and  cxiith  Psalms 'by  his  rules;  and  though  they  will 
<fall  into  his  trimeters  for  the  most  .part  pretty  well,  yet  we 
are  sure,  that  these  were  not  to  be  coupled  together  to  make 
hexameters  ;  for  they  are  necessarily  divided  into  twenty-two 
distinct  short  lines  by  the  initial  letters.  The  Hebrew  poe- 
try, consisting  for  the  most  part  of  short  sentences,  must 
an  general  naturally  fall  into  such  measures  as  Azarias  estab- 
lishes ;  or  with  some  management  may  be  easily  reduced 
sto  his  yules.  Every  proposition  must  consist  of  a  subject 
.and  a  predicate,  joined  together  by  a  .copula;  and  <the  pre- 
•  dicate  including  the  copula  will  generally  consist  of  two 
.terms,  expressing  the  action,  and  .the  thing  acted- upon.  In 
Hebrew,  sometimes  the  subject  is  comhin-ed  with  the  copula 
in  one  word,  and  sometimes  the  predicate  ;  sometimes  ali 
three  make  but  one  term.  In  (these  cases,  the  addition  of  a 
simple  adjunct  (for  the  shortness  of  the  style  «will  not  admit 
of  much  more)  to  the  subject,  or  the  predicate,  or  both, 
-furnishes  a  second,  a  third,  and  sometimes  a  fourth  term  ; 
-that  is,  makes  the  verse  a  dimeter,  trimeter,  or  tetrameter. 
For  instance,  in  dimeters, — 

il  They-made-him-^ealous,  .with-st range- Gods  ; 

They-provoked-him,  with-abominations."       Deut.  xxxii.  16~ 

In  trimeters, — 

-"  I-will-bless  Jehovah,  at-all-time  ; 

His-praise  [shall  be]  in  my  mouth,  continually. 
My-soul  shall-make-her-boast,  in-Jehovah  j 
The  meek  shall-hear-it,  and-rejoice,. 


P R E L I :,'  I XA K  Y    DIGS '£ RT ATIOX. 

O-mngnify-yc  Jehovah,  with-me  ; 

And-lct-us -praise  his-name,  together."        Psal.  xxxiv.  1 — 3. 

7:i  thcso  examples,  the  first  part,  of  every  lino  makes  an  en- 
propcsition,  anil  the  last  is  an  adjunct  making  the  se- 
cond, or  the  third,  term.  In  the  following,  the  subject,  and 
she  predicate,  with  their  adjuncts,  consist  of  two  term?,  each 
of  them  :  that  is,,  of  two  measures;  and,  being  joined  toge- 
ther, make  a  tetrameter  : — 

"  The-counsel  of-Jehovah  shall-stand  for-ever."' 

The  next  line  is  in  the  same  form,  except  that  the  verb  is 
understood,  and  the  la-tier  adjunct  divided  into  two  terms  ;. 
and  makes  a  second  tetrameter  to  pair  with  the  first: — 

"  The-thoughts  of-hfs-heartr  frcm-age  to-age." 

Something  of  this  kind  must  necessarily  be  the  result  of  this 
vntiovis  way  of  writing  :  it  is  what  comes  of  course,  with- 
out much  stud}*.  But  whatever  attention  the  Hebrew  poets 
might  give  to  the  scanning  oC  their  verses  by  the  number  Q£ 
k-mi.-r,  it  does  not  appear  to  have  been  their  design  to •  corr- 
fine  all  the  verses  of  the  same  poem  to  any  set  number  of 
terms  ;  whereas  they  do  plainly  appear  to  have  studied  to 
throw  the  corresponding  liaes  of  the  same  distich  into  the 
same  number  of  terms,  into  the  same  form  of  construction, 
and  stiil  more  into  an  identity,  or  opposition,  or  a  general 
conformity  of  sense.  I  agree  therefore  with  Azarias  in  his 
general  principle  of  a  rhythmus  of  things  :  but  instead  of 
considering  terms,  or  phrases,  or  senses,  in  single  lines,  as 
measures ;  determining  the  nature  and  denomination  of 
the  verse,  as  dimeter,  trimeter,  or  tetrameter;  I  consider 
only  that  relation  and  proportion  of  one  verse  to  another, 
which  arises  from  the  correspondence  of  terms,  and  from  the 
form  of  construction  ;  from  whence  results  a  rhythmus  of 
propositions,  and  a  harmony  of  sentences. 

This  peculiar  conformation  of  sentences;  short,  concise, 
with  frequent  pauses,  and  regular  intervals,  divided  into 
pairs,  for  the  most  part,  of  corresponding  lines ;  is  the  most 
evident  characteristic  now  remaining  of  poetry  among  the 
Hebrews,  as  distinguished  from  prose  :  and  this,  I  suppose, 
is  what  is  implied  in  the  name,  Mizmvr'f*  which  I  under- 

*  *YID?D«  *I3T  signifies  to  cut,  to  prune,  to  sing,  to  play  on  a  musical  in- 
strument. Caesura  is  the  common  idea,  which  prevails  in  all. 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  x 

stand  to  be  the  proper  name  for  verse;  that  is,  for  numerous, 
rhythmical,  or  metrical  -language.  This  form  made  their 
verse  peculiarly  fit  for  music  and  dance ;  which  with  them 
were  the  usual  concomitants  of  poetry,  on  occasions  of  public 
joy,  and  in  the  most  solemn  offices  of  religion.*  Both  their 
dance  and  song  were  on  such  occasions  performed  by  t\vo 
-choirs  t  taking  their  parts  alternately  in  each :  the  regular 
form  of  the  stanzas,  chiefly  distichal,  and  the  parallelism  of 
the  lines,  were  excellently  well  suited  to  this  purpose,  and 
•fell  in  naturally  with  the  movements  of  the  body,  of  the 
•voice,  and  of  the  instruments,  and  with  die  division  of  the 
.parts  between  the  .two  sets  of  performers. 

But,  besides  the  poetical  structure  of  the  sentences,  there 
are  other  indications  of  verse  in  the  poetical  and  prophetical 
parts  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  :  such  are,  peculiarities  of 
language ;  unusual  and  foreign  words  ;  phrases,  and  forms 
of  words,  uncommon  in  prose  ;  bold  elliptical  expression  ; 
frequent  and  abrupt  change  of  persons,  and  an  use  of  the 
tenses  out  of  the  common  order  ;  and  lastly,  the  poetical 
dialect,  consisting  chiefly  in  certain  anomalies  ^peculiar  Ito 
poetry ;  in  letters  and  syllables  added  to  -the  ends  of  words ; 
a  kind  of  license  commonly  permitted  to  poetry  in  every 
language.  But  as  these  cannot  be  explained  by  a  few  ex- 
amples, nor  perfectly  understood  without  some  knowledge 
of  Hebrew  ;  I  must  beg  leave  to  refer  the  learned  reader, 
who  would  inquire  further  into  this  subject,  to  what  I  have 
said  upon  it  in  another  place  ;J  or  rather,  to  recommend  it 
to  his  own  observation,  in  reading  the  sacrecl  poets  in  their 
own  language. 

THUS  far  of  tbo  genuine  form  and  character  of  the  Pro- 
phet's composition  ;  which  it  has  been  the  translator's  endea- 
vour closely  to  follo\v,  and  as  exactly  to  express,  as  the  dif- 
ference of  the  languages  would  permit :  in  which  indeed  he 
has  had  great  advantage  in  the  habit,  which  our  language 
has  acquired,  of  expressing  with  ease,  and  not  without  ele- 
gance, Hebrew  ideas  andllebrew  forms  of  speaking,  from 

*  See  Exod.  »v.  20.  21.     2  Sam.  vi.  14.  1C. 

t  See  1  Sam.  xviii.  6,  7.     Ezra  Hi.  11 .     Nehcm.  xii.  24.  and  Philo's  Obser- 
vations (Hty  Twfti&f)  on  the  Song  at  the  Red  Sea. 
i  De  Sacra  Peesi  Heliraeorum,  Pnelect.  iii.  xiv.  xv, 

4* 


Xlii  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

our  constant  use  of  a  clo?s  verbal  translation  of  both  the  Old 
and  Nc\v  Testament ;  which  has  by  degrees  moulded  our 
language  into  such  a  conformity  with  that  of  the  original 
Scriptures,  that  it  can  upon  occasion  assume  the  Hebrew 
character  without  appearing  altogether  forced  and  unnatural. 
It  remains  to  say  something  of  the  Translation  in  regard  to 
its  fidelity  ;  and  of  the  principles  of  interpretation  by  which 
the  translator  has  been  guided  in  the  prosecution  of  it. 

THE  first  and  principal  business  of  a  translator,  is  to  give 
the  plain  literal  and  grammatical  sense  of  his  author;  the 
obvious  meaning  of  his  words,  phrases,  and  sentences  ;  and 
to  express  them  in  the  language  into  which  he  translates,  as 
far  as  may  be,  in  equivalent  words,  pli rases,  and  sentences. 
Whatever  indulgence  may  be  allowed  him  in  other  respects  ; 
however  excusable  he  may  be,  if  he  fail  of  attaining  the  ele- 
gance, the  spirit,  the  sublimity  of  his  author, — which  will 
generally  be  in  some  degree  the  case,  if  his  author  excels  at 
all  in  those  qualities  ;  want  of  fidelity  admits  of  no  excuse, 
and  is  entitled  to  no  indulgence.  This  is  peculiarly  so  in 
subjects  of  high  importance,  such  as  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in 
which  so  much  depends  on  the  phrase  and  expression  ;  and 
particularly  in  the  prophetical  books  of  Scripture ;  where 
from  the  letter  are  often  deduced  deep  and  recondite  senses, 
which  must  owe  all  their  weight  and  solidity  to  the  just  and 
accurate  interpretation  of  the  words  of  the  prophecy.  For 
whatever  senses  are  supposed  to  be  included  in  the  Prophet's 
words,  spiritual,  mystical,  allegorical,  analogical,  or  the  like, 
they  must  all  entirely  depend  on  the  literal  sense.  This 
is  the  only  foundation  upon  which  such  interpretations  can 
be  securely  raised  ;  and  if  this  is  not  firmly  and  well  estab- 
lished, all  that  is  built  upon  it  will  fall  to  the  ground. 

For  example  ;  if  IMD  wro,  Isa.  li.  xx.  does  not  signify 
&5  revrXM  'tip.tep6n,  like  parboiled  bete,  as  the  LXX  render  it; 
bi.t  like  an  oryx  (a  large,  fierce,  wild  beast)  in  the  toils  ; 
what  becomes  of  Theodoret's  explication  of  this  image? 

[K*0£y^flv7f$  #5  c-fvTAfov  Sj/LUf^tfov]  E(5V/|fv  ccvruv  Slot,  fttv  TX  uTrvy  TO  fec6vfMV^ 

of*  oc  TU  **xetvv  TO  cuwfyw.  According  to  this  interpretation, 
the  Prophet  would  express  the  drowsiness  and  flaccidity,  the 
slothfulness  and  want  of  spirit,  of  his  countrymen  :  where- 
as his  idea  was  impotent  rage,  and  obstinate  violence,  sub- 
dued by  a  superior  power ;  the  Jews  taken  in  the  snares  of 
their  own  wickedness,  struggling  in  vain,  till,  overspent  and 


PRELIMINARY  DISSERTATION.  xliii 

exhausted,  they  sink  under  the  weight  of  God's  judgmenls. 
And  Procopius's  explication  of  the  same  passage,  according 
to  the  rendering  of  the  words  by  Aquila,  Symmachus,  and 
Theodction.  which  is  probably  the  true  one,  is  almost  as 
foreign  to  the  purpose :  "  He  compares,  saitli  he,  the  people 
of  Jerusalem  to  the  oryx,  that  is,  to  a  bird ;  because  they 
are  taken  in  the  snares  of  the  devil,  and  therefore  are  de- 
livered over  to  wrath."  Such  strange  and  absurd  deduc- 
tions of  notions  and  ideas,  foreign  to  the  author's  drift  and 
design,  will  often  arise  from  the  invention  of  commentators 
who  have  nothing  but  an  inaccurate  translation  to  work 
upon.  This  was  the  case  of  the  generality  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Christian  Church,  who  wrote  comments  on  the  Old 
Testament :  and  it  is  no  wonder,  that  we  find  them  of  little 
service  in  leading  us  into  the  true  meaning  and  the  deep 
sense  of  the  prophetical  writings. 

It  being  then  a  translator's  indispensable  duty  faithfully 
and  religiously  to  express  the  sense  of  his  author,  he  ought 
to  take  great  care  that  he  proceed  upon  just  principles  of 
criticism,  in  a  rational  method  of  interpretation  ;  and  that 
the  copy  from  which  he  translates  be  accurate  and  perfect  in 
itself,  OL-  corrected  as  carefully  as  possible  by  the  best  autho- 
rilies,  and  on  the  clearest  result  of  critical  inquiry. 

The  method  of  studying  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment has  been  very  defective  hitherto  in  both  these  respects. 
Beside  the  difficulties  attending  it,  arising  from  the  nature 
of  the  thing  itself,  from  the  language  in  which  it  is  written, 
and  the  condition  in  v\hich  it  is  come  down  to  us  through 
so  many  ages  ;  what  we  have  of  it  being  the  scanty  relics  of 
a  language  formerly  copious,  and  consequently  the  true 
meaning  of  many  words  and  phrases  being  obscure  and  du- 
bious, and  perhaps  incapable  of  being  clearly  ascertained  ; 
beside  these  impediments,  necessarily  inherent  in  the  subject, 
others  have  been  thrown  in  the  way  of  our  progress  in  the 
study  of  these  writings,  from  prejudice,  and  an  ill-founded 
opinion  of  the  authority  of  the  Jews,  both  as  interpreters 
and  conservators  of  them. 

The  Masoretic  punctuation,  by  which  the  pronunciation  of 
the  language  is  given,  the  forms  of  the  several  parts  of  speech, 
the  construction  of  the  words,  the  distribution  and  limits  of 
the  sentence?,  and  the  connexion  of  the  several  members 
are  fixed,  is  in  eficct  an  interpretation  of  the  Hebrew  text 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

made  by  the  Jews  of  late  ages,  probably  not  earlier  than 
the  eighth  century  ;  and  may  be  considered  as  their  trans- 
lation of  the  Old  Testament.  Where  the  words  unpointed 
•are  capable  of  various  meanings,  according  as  they  may  be 
variously  pronounced  and  constructed,  the  Jews  by  their 
pointing  have  determined  them  to  one  meaning  and  con- 
struction ;  and  the  sense  which  they  thus  give,  is  their  sense 
of  the  passage  :  just  as  the  rendering  of  a  translator  into 
another  language  is  his  sense  ;  that  is,  the  sense  in  which, 
in  his  opinion,  the  original  words  are  to  be  taken  ;  and  it 
has  no  other  authority,  than  what  arises  from  its  being 
agreeable  to  the  rules  of  just  interpretation.  But  because 
in  the  languages  of  Europe  the  vowels  are  essential  parts 
of  written  words,  a  notion  was  too  hastily  taken  up  by  the 
learned  at  the  revival  of  letters,  when  the  original  Scriptures 
began  to  be  more  carefully  examined,  that  the  vowel  points 
were  necessary  appendages  of  the  Hebrew  letters,  and  there- 
fore coeval  with  them  ;  at  least,  that  they  became  absolutely 
necessary  when  the  Hebrew  was  become  a  dead  language, 
and  must  have  been  added  by  Ezra,  who  collected  and 
formed  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  regard  to  all 
the  books  of  it  in  his  time  extant.  On  this  supposition,  the 
points  have  been  considered  as  part  of  the  Hebrew  text, 
and  as  giving  the  meaning  of  it  on  no  less  than  divine 
authority.  Accordingly  our  public  translations  in  the  mo- 
dern tongues  for  the  use  of  the  church  among  Protestants, 
and  so  likewise  the  modern  Latin  translations,  are  for  the 
most  part  close  copies  of  the  Hebrew  pointed  text,  and 
are  in  reality  only  versions  at  second  hand,  translations  of 
the  Jews'  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament.  We  do  not 
deny  the  usefulness  of  this  interpretation,  nor  would  we  be 
thought  to  detract  from  its  merit  by  setting  it  in  this  light : 
it  is  perhaps,  upon  the  whole,  preferable  to  any  one  of  the 
ancient  versions ;  it  has  probably  the  great  advantage  of 
having  been  formed  upon  a  traditionary  explanation  of  the 
text,  and  of  being  generally  agreeable  to  that  sense  of  Scrip- 
ture which  passed  current,  and  was  commonly  received  by 
the  Jewish  nation  in  ancient  times  ;  and  it  has  certainly 
been  of  great  service  to  the  moderns,  in  leading  them  into 
txe  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  tongue.  But  they  would  have 
made  a  much  better  use  of  it,  and  a  greater  progress  in  the 
explication  of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  had  they 
consulted  it,  without  absolutely  submitting  to  its  authority^; 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  fcv 

had  they  considered  it  as  an  assistant,  not  as  an  infallible 
guide. 

To  what  a  length  an  opinion  lightly  taken  up,  and  em- 
braced with  a  full  assent,  without  due  examination,  may  he 
carried,  we  may  see  in  another  example  of  much  the  same 
kind.  The  learned  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  who  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  giving  translations  of  Scripture  in  the 
modern  languages,  have  for  the  most  part  subjected  and 
devoted  themselves  to  a  prejudice  equally  groundless  and  ab- 
surd. The  Council  of  Trent  declared  the  Latin  translation 
of  the  Scriptures  called  the  Vulgate,  which  had  been  for 
many  ages  in  use  in  their  church,  to  be  authentic.— a  very 
ambiguous  term,  which  ought  to  have  been  more  precisely 
defined  than  the  Fathers  of  this  Council  chose  to  define  it. 
Upon  this  ground  many  contended,  that  the  Vulgate  ver- 
sion was  dictated  by  the  Holy  Spirit :  at  least  was  provi- 
dentially guarded  against  all  error  •  was  consequently  of 
divine  authority,  and  more  to  be  regarded  than  even  the 
original  Hebrew  and  Greek  text?.  And  in  effect  the  decree 
of  the  Council,  however  limited  atid  moderated  by  the  exj 
planation  of  some  of  their  judicious  divines,  has  given  to  the 
Vulgate  such  a  high  degree  of  authority,  that,  in  this  in- 
stance at  least,  the  translation  has  taken  place  of  the  original  i 
for  these  translators,  instead  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  texts, 
profess  to  translate  the  Vulgate.  Indeed,  when  they  find  the 
Vulgate  very  notoriously  deficient  in  expressing  the  sense, 
they  do  the  original  Scriptures  the  honour  of  consulting1 
them,  and  take  the  liberty,  by  following  them,  of  departing 
from  their  authentic  guide:  but  in  general  the  Vulgate  is 
their  original  text,  and  they  give  us  a  translation  of  a  trans- 
lation ;  by  which  second  transfusion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
into  another  tongue,  still  more  of  the  original  sense  must 
be  lost,  and  more  of  the  genuine  spirit  must  evaporate. 

The  other  prejudice,  which  has  stood  in  the  way,  and 
obstructed  our  progress  in  the  true  understanding  of  the 
Old  Testament. — n  prejudice  even  more  unreasonable  than 
the  former,  is  the  notion  that  has  prevailed  of  the  great  care 
and  skill  of  the  Jews  in  preserving  the  text,  and  transmitting 
it  down  to  the  present  times  pure,  and  entirely  free  from  all 
mistakes,  as  it  came  from  the  Jiands  of  the  authors.  In 
opposition  to  which  opinion  it  has  been  often  observed,  that 
?uch  a  perfect  degree  of  integrity  no  human  skill  or  care 


A!V!  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

could  warrant ;  it  must  imply  no  less  than  a  constant  mira- 
culous superintendence  of  divine  Providence,  to  guide  the 
hand  of  the  copyist,  and  to  guard  him  from  error,  in  re- 
spect to  every  transcript  that  has  been  made  through  so 
long  a  succession  of  ages.  And  it  is  universally  acknow- 
ledged, that  Almighty  God  has  not  thought  such  a  miracu- 
lous ^interposition  necessary  in  regard  to  the  Scriptures  of1 
the  New  Testament,  at  least  of  equal  authority  and  impor- 
tance with  those  of  the  Old  :  We  plainly  see,  that  he  has  not 
exempted  them  from  the  common  lot  of  other  books ;  the 
copies  of  these,  as  well  as  of  other  ancient  writings,  differ- 
ing in  some  degree  from  one  another,  go  that  no  one  of  them 
has  any  just  pretension  to  be  a  perfect  and  entire  copy, 
truly  arid  precisely  representing  in  every  word  and  letter 
the  originals,  as  they  came  from  the  hands  of  the  several 
authors.  All  writings  transmitted,  to  us,  like  these,  from1 
barly  times)  the  original  copies  of  which  have  lon/r  ago 
pferished,  have  suffered  in  their  passage  to  us  by  the  mistake^ 
of  many  transcribers  through  whose  hands  we  have  received 
them  ;  errors  continually  accumulating  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  transcripts,  and  the  stream  generally  becoming 
more  impure,  the  more  distant  it  is  from  the  source.  Now, 
the  Hebrew  writings  of  the  Old  Testament  being  for  much 
the  greater  part  the  most  ancient  of  any  ;  instead  of  finding 
jhem  absolutely  perfect,  we  may  reasonably  expect  to  fiiid; 
that  they  have  suffered  in  this  respect  more  ihan  others  of 
less  antiquity  generally  have  done. 

But  beside  this  common  source  of  errors,  there  is  a  cir- 
cumstance very  unfavourable  in  this  respect  to  these  writings 
in  particular,  which  makes  them  peculiarly  liable  to  mis- 
takes in  transcribing  ;  that  is,  the  great  similitude  which 
some  letters  bear  to  others  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet:  such 
as  a  to  3,  T  to  i,  n  to  n,  J  to  j ;  i,  I,  and  I,  to  one  another  •• 
more  perhaps  than  are  to  be  found  in  any  other  alphabet 
-whatsoever  ;  and  in  so  great  a  degree  of  likeness,  that  they 
are  hardly  distinguishable  even  in  some  printed  copies ;  and 
not  only  these  letters,  but  others  likewise  beside  these,  are 
not  easily  distinguished  from  one  another  in  many  manu- 
scripts. This  must  have  been  a  perpetual  cause  of  frequent 
mistakes  ;  of  which,  in  regard  to  the  two  first  pairs  of  letters 
above  noted,  there  are  many  undeniable  examples ;  inso- 
much that  a  change  of  one  of  the  similar  letters  for  the 
•other,  when  it  remarkably  clears  up  the  sense,  may  be  fairly 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

allowed  to  criticism,  even  without  any  other  authority  than 
that  of  the  context  to  support  it. 

But  to  these  natural  sources  of  error,  as  we  may  call  them, 
the  Jewish  copyists  have  added  others,  by  some  absurd  prac- 
tices which  they  have  adopted  in  transcribing ; — such  as 
their  consulting  more  the  fair  appearance  of  their  copy  than 
the  correctness  of  it ;  by  wilfully  leaving  mistakes  uncor- 
rected,  lest  by  erasing  they  should  diminish  the  beauty  and 
the  value  of  the  transcript ;  (for  instance,  when  they  had 
written  a  word,  or  part  of  a  word,  wrongly,  and  immediate- 
ly saw  their  mistake,  they  left  the  mistake  uncorrected.  and 
wrote  the  word  anew  after  it) :  their  scrupulous  regard  to 
the  evenness  and  fulness  of  their  lines  ;  which  induced  them 
to  cut  oft'  from  the  ends  of  lines  a  letter  or  letters,  for  which 
there  was  not  sufficient  room,  (for  they  never  divided  a 
word  so  that  the  parts  of  it  should  belong  to  two  lines)  : 
and  to  add  to  the  ends  of  lines  letters  wholly  insignificant, 
by  way  of  expletives,  to  fill  up  a  vacant  space  :  their  custom 
of  writing  part  of  a  word  at  the  end  of  a  line,  where  there 
was  not  room  for  the  whole,  and  then  giving  the  whole  word 
at  the  beginning  of  the  next  line.  These  and  some  other 
like  practices  manifestly  tended  to  multiply  mistakes :  they 
were  so  man}7  traps  and  snares  laid  in  the  way  of  future 
transcribers,  and  must  have  given  occasion  to  frequent 
errors. 

These  circumstances  considered,  it  would  be  the  most 
astonishing  of  all  miracles,  if,  notwithstanding  the  acknow- 
ledged fallibility  of  transcribers,  and  their  proneness  to 
error,  from  the  nature  of  the  subject  itself  on  which  they 
were  employed,  the  Hebrew  writings  of  the  Old  Testament 
had  come  down  to  us  through  their  hands  absolutely  pure, 
and  free  from  all  mistakes  whatsoever. 

If  it  be  asked,  what  then  is  the  real  condition  of  the 
present  Hebrew  text ;  and  of  what  sort,  and  in  what  num- 
ber, are  the  mistakes  which  we  must  acknowledge  to  be 
found  in  it  7  it  is  answered,  That  the  condition  of  the  He- 
brew text  is  such  as,  from  the  nature  of  the  thing,  the  an- 
tiquity of  the  writings  themselves,  the  wTant  of  due  care,  or 
critical  skill,  (in  which  latter  at  least  the  Jews  have  been 
exceedingly  deficient,)  might  in  all  reason  have  been  ex- 
pected ;  that  the  mistakes  are  frequent,  and  of  various 
kinds  ;  of  letters,  words,  and  sentences  :  by  variation,  omis- 


Xv  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

sion,  transposition ;  such  as  often  injure  the  beauty  and 
elegance,  embarrass  the  construction,  alter  or  obscure  the 
sense,  and  sometimes  render  it  quite  unintelligible.  If  it 
be  objected,  that  a  concession  so  large  as  this  is,  tends  to 
invalidate  the  authority  of  Scripture  ;  that  it  gives  up  in 
effect  the  certainty  and  authenticity  of  the  doctrines  con- 
tained in  it,  and  exposes  our  religion  naked  and  defenceless 
to  the  assaults  of  its  enemies  ;  this,  1  think,  is  a  vain  and 
groundless  apprehension.  Casual  errors  mny  blemish  parts, 
but  do  not  destroy,  or  much  alter,  the  whole.  If  the  Iliad 
or  the  jSneid  had  come  do\vn  to  us  with  more  errors  in  all 
the  copies  than  are  to  be  found  in  the  worst,  manuscript 
now  extant  of  either,  without  doubt  many  particular  pas- 
sages would  have  lost  much  of  their  beauty ;  in  many  the 
sense  would  have  been  greatly  injured  ;  in  some  rendered 
wholly  unintelligible  ;  but  the  plan  of  the  poem  in  the  whole 
and  in  its  parts,  the  fable,  the  mythology,  the  machinery, 
the  characters,  the  great  constituent  parts,  would  slill  have 
been  visible  and  apparent,  without  having  suffered  any 
essential  diminution  of  their  greatness.  Of  all  the  precious 
remains  of  antiquity,  perhaps  Aristotle's  treatise  on  Poetry 
is  come  down  to  us  as  much  injured  by  time  as  any  :  an  it 
has  been  greatly  mutilated  in  the  whole,  some  considerable 
members  of  it  being  lest ;  so  the  parts  remaining  have 
suffered  in  proportion,  and  many  passages  are  rendered  very 
obscure,  probably  by  the  imperfection  and  frequent  mistakes 
of  the  copies  now  extant.  Yet,  notwithstanding  these  dis- 
advantages, this  treatise,  so  much  injured  by  time  and  so 
mutilated,  still  continues  to  be  the  great  code  of  criticism; 
the  fundamental  principles  of  which  are  plainly  deducible 
from  it :  we  still  have  recourse  to  it  for  the  rules  and  laws 
of  epic  and  dramatic  poetry,  and  the  imperfection  of  the 
copy  does  not  at  all  impeach  the  authority  of  the  legislator. 
Important  and  fundamental  doctrines  do  not  wholly  depend 
on  single  passages;  an  universal  harmony  runs  through  the 
Holy  Scriptures;  the  parts  mutually  support  <  ach  other, 
and  supply  one  another's  deficiencies  and  obscurities.  > 
flcial  damages  and  partial  defects  may  greatly  diminish  the 
beauty  of  the  edifice,  without  injuring  its  strength,  and  bring- 
ing on  utter  ruin  and  destruction/ 

*  "  Librariorum  discordiam  ostendunt  varia  exemplar!;!,  in  quibus  idem 
locns  alitcr  at  quo  a!iter  legitur.  Sod  ca  discord h  oflendrrc  nos  non  <vl>t  t  ; 
primuin,  quia  autorurn  non  cst,  sod  librariorum,  quorum  culpam  preestarc 


PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

r  The  copies  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament 
being  then  subject,  like  all  other  ancient  writings,  to  mistakes 
arising  from  the  unskilfulness  or  inattention  of  transcribers, — a 
plain  matter  of  fact,  which  cannot  be  denied,  and  needs  not 
be  palliated  ;  it  is  to  be  considered,  what  remedy  can  be 
applied  in  this  case;  how  such  mistakes  can  be  corrected 
upon  certain  or  highly  probable  grounds?  Now  the  case 
being  the  same,  the  method  which  has  been  used  with  good 
effect  in  correcting  the  ancient  Greek  and  Latin  authors, 
ought  in  all  reason  to  be  applied  to  the  Hebrew  writings. 
At  the  revival  of  literature,  critics  and  editors  finding  the 
Greek  and  Latin  authors  full  of  mistakes,  set  about  cor- 
recting them,  by  procuring  different  copies,  and  the  best 
that  they  could  meet  with :  these  they  compared  together, 
and  the  mistakes  not  being  the  same  in  all,  one  copy 
corrected  another;  and  thus  they  easily  got  rid  of  such 
errors  as  had  not  obtained  possession  in  all  the  copies : 
and  generally  the  more  copies  they  had  to  compare,  the 
more  errors  were  corrected,  and  the  more  perfect  the  text 
was  rendered.  This,  which  common  sense  dictated  in 
the  first  place  as  necessary  to  be  done  in  order  to  the 
removing  of  difficulties  in  reading  ancient  Greek  and  Latin 


autores  nee  possunt  nee  debent.  Deinde,  quia  plerumque  ejusmodi  discordia 
unius  aut  alterius  verbi  est,  in  quo  nihil  leeditur  sententia ;  aut  si  quid  forte 
Iseditur,  aliunde  corrigi  potest ;  quandoquidem  autorum  sententioe  non 
semper  ex  singulis  verbis  superstitiosius  observandis,  sed  plerumque  ex 
orationis  tenore,  aut  similium  locorum  observatione,  aut  mentis  ratiocinatione 
sunt  investigandae.  Ac  tales  librariorum  discordise  etiam  in  profanis  autoribus 
inveniuntur ;  ut  in  Platone,  in  Aristotele,  in  Homero,  in  Cicerone,  in  Virgilio,  et 
ceeteris.  duamvis  enim  summo  in  pretio  semper  fuerint  apud  gentiles  hi  autores, 
summaque  cum  diligentia  describi  soliti,  tamen  caveri  non  potuit,  quin  multa 
scripturse  menda  et  discrepantiae  annorum  longitudine  obrepserint ;  nee  tamen 
ea  res  studiosos  deterret ;  nee  facit,  ut  qui  libri  Ciceronis  habentnr,  ii  aut  non 
boni  aut  non  Ciceronis  esse  ducantur :  ^icut  enim  detorti  aut  etiam  decussi 
ramuli  agricolam  non  offendunt,  nee  arborem  vitiant,  quippe  quse  ramorum 
infinita  multitudine  sic  abundet,  ut  tantulam  jacturam  alibi  sine  ullo  detrimento 
resarciat ;  ita  si  in  autore  pauculis  in  locis  simile  quidpiam  usu  venit,  id  nee 
bonum  lectorem  offendit,  nee  autorem  vitiat.  Manet  enim  ipsa  stirps,  et,  ut  ita 
loquar,  corpus  autoris,  ex  cujus  perpetuo  tenore  dictorumque  ubertate  percipi 
possunt  sine  ullo  detrimento  fructus  pleni. 

Ad  scrupulum  eorum,  qui  metuunt,  ne,  si  hoc  concessum  fuerit,  labescat 
sacrarum  literarum  autoritas,  hoc  respondeo ;  non  esse  scriptorum  autoritatem 
in  paucis  quibusdam  verbis,  quse  vitiari  detrahive  potuerunt,  sed  in  perpetuo 
orationis  tenore,  qui  mansit  incorruptus,  positam.  Itaque  quemadmodum 
Cicero  apud  sui  studiosos  nihilo  minoris  est  autoritatis  propter  paucula  quaedam 
mutilata  aut  depravata,  quam  esset,  si  id  non  accidisset ;  ita  debet  et  sacrarum 
literarum  autoritati  nihil  dctrahi,  si  quid  in  eis  tale,  quale  ostendimus,contigit.'' 
Sebast.  Castellio,  quoted  by  Wetstein,  Nov.  Test.  torn.  ii.  p.  856. 

5 


F  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATIONS 

authors,  we  have  had  recourse  to  in  the  last  place  in  regard 
to  the  ancient  Hebrew  writers.  Hebrew  manuscripts  have 
at  length  been  consulted  and  collated,  notwithstanding  the 
unaccountable  opinion  which  prevailed,  that  they  all  exactly 
agreed  with  one  another,  and  formed  precisely  one  uniform 
text.  An  infinite  number  of  variations  have  been  collected; 
from  above  six  hundred  manuscripts,  and  some  ancient 
printed  editions,  collated  or  consulted,  in  most  parts  of 
Europe  ;  and  have  been  in  part  published,  and  the  publication 
of  the  whole  will  I  hope  soon  be  completed,  by  the  learned 
Dr.  Kennicott,  in  his  edition  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  with 
various  readings  j  a  work,  the  greatest  and  most  important 
that  has  been  undertaken  and  accomplished  since  the  revival 
of  letters. 

But  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  Old  Testament,  compared 
with  the  text  of  ancient  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  has  in 
one  respect  greatly  the  disadvantage.  There  are  manu- 
scripts of  the  latter,  which  are  much  nearer  in  time  to  the 
age  of  the  authors ;  and  have  suffered  much  less  in  propor- 
tion to  the  shorter  space  of  time  intervening.  For  example, 
the  Medicean  manuscript  of  Virgil  was  written  probably 
within  four  or  five  hundred  years  after  the  time  of  the 
poet ;  whereas  the  oldest  of  the  Hebrew  manuscripts  now 
known  to  be  extant,  do  not  come  within  many  centuries  of 
the  times  of  the  several  authors ;  not  nearer  than  about 
fourteen  centuries  to  the  age  of  Ezra,  one  of  the  latest  of 
them,  who  is  supposed  to  have  revised  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  than  extant,  and  to  have  reduced  them  to  a 
perfect  and  correct  standard :  so  that  we  can  hardly  expect 
much  more  from  this  vast  collection  of  variations,  taken  in 
themselves  as  correctors  of  the  text,  exclusively  of  other 
consequences,  than  to  be  able  by  their  means  to  discharge 
and  eliminate  the  errors  that  have  been  gathering  and 
accumulating  in  the  copies  for  about  a  thousand  years  past; 
and  to  give  us  now  as  good  and  correct  a  text  as  was  com- 
monly current  among  the  Jews,  or  might  easily  have  been 
obtained,  so  long  ago.  Indeed,  some  of  the  oldest  manu- 
script?, from  which  these  variations  have  been  collected,  may 
possibly  be  faithful  transcripts  of  select  manuscripts  at  that 
time  very  ancient,  and  so  may  really  carry  us  nearer  to 
the  age  of  Ezra  j  but  this  is  an  advantage  which  we  cannot 
be  assured  of,  and  upon  which  we  must  not  presume.  But 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  H 

to  get  so  far  nearer  to  the  source,  as  we  plainly  do  by  the 
assistance  of  manuscripts,  though  of  comparatively  late  date, 
is  an  advantage  by  no  means  inconsiderable,  or  lightly  to  be 
regarded. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  a  great  advantage  in  regard 
to  the  Hebrew  text,  which  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors 
generally  want,  and  which  in  some  degree  makes  up  for  the 
defect  of  age  in  the  present  Hebrew  manuscripts ;  that  is, 
from  the  several  ancient  versions  of  the  Old  Testament  in 
different  languages,  made  in  much  earlier  times,  and  from 
manuscripts  in  all  probability  much  more  correct  and  per- 
fect than  any  now  extant.  These  versions,  for  the  most 
part,  being  evidently  intended  for  exact  literal  renderings 
of  the  Hebrew  text,  may  be  considered  in  some  respects  as 
representatives  of  the  manuscripts  from  which  they  were 
taken :  and  when  the  version  gives  a  sense  better  in  itself 
and  more  agreeable  to  the  context,  than  the  Hebrew  text 
offers,  and  at  the  same  time  answerable  to  a  word  or  words 
similar  to  those  of  the  Hebrew  text,  and  only  differing  from 
it  by  the  change  of  one  or  more  similar  letters,  or  by  the 
different  position  of  the  same  letters,  or  by  some  other  in- 
•considerable  variation ;  we  have  good  reason  to  believe, 
that  the  similar  Hebrew  words  answering  to  the  version, 
were  indeed  the  very  reading  that  stood  in  the  manuscript 
from  which  the  translation  was  made.  To  add  strength  to 
this  way  of  reasoning,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  manu- 
scripts now  extant  frequently  confirm  such  supposed  read- 
ing of  those  manuscripts  from  which  the  ancient  versions 
were  taken,  in  opposition  to  the  authority  of  the  present 
printed  Hebrew  text ;  and  make  the  collection  of  variations, 
now  preparing  for  the  public,  of  the  highest  importance ; 
as  they  give  a  new  evidence  of  the  fidelity  of  the  ancient 
versions,  and  set  them  upon  a  footing  &f  authority  which 
tthey  never  could  obtain  before.  They  were  looked  upon 
as  the  work  of  wild  and  licentious  interpreters,  who  often 
departed  from  the  text,  which  they  undertook  to  render, 
without  any  good  reason,  and  only  followed  their  own  fancy 
<and  caprice.  The  present  Hebrew  manuscripts  so  often 
justify  the  versions  in  such  passages,  that  we  cannot  but 
conclude,  that  in  many  others  likewise  the  difference  of  the 
version  from  the  present  original  is  not  to  be  imputed  to 
the  licentiousness  of  the  translator,  but  to  the  carelessness 


Ill  PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION". 

of  the  Hebrew  copyist ;  and  this  affords  a  just  and  reasonable 
ground  for  correcting  the  Hebrew  text  on  the  authority  of 
the  ancient  versions. 

But  the  assistance  of  manuscripts''  and  ancient  versions 
united  will  be  found  very  insufficient  perfectly  to  correct 
the  Hebrew  text.  Passages  will  sometimes  occur,  in  which 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other  give  any  satisfactory  sense; 
which  has  been  occasioned  probably  by  very  ancient  mistakes 
of  the  copy,  antecedent  to  the  date  of  the  oldest  of  them* 
On  these  occasions,  translators  are  put  to  great  difficulties, 
through  which  they  force  their  way  as  well  as  they  can : 
they  invent  new  meanings  for  words  and  phrases,  and 
put  us  off  either  with  what  makes  no  sense  at  all,  or  with  a 
sense  that  apparently  does  not  arise  out  of  the  words  of  the 
text.  The  renderings  of  such  desperate  places,  when  they 
carry  any  sense  with  them,  are  manifestly  conjectural ;  and 
full  as  much  so,  as  the  conjectures  of  the  critic  who  hazards 
an  alteration  of  the  text  itself.  The  fairest  way  of  proceeding 
in  these  cases  seems  to  be,  to  confess  the  difficulty,  and  to 
lay  it  before  the  reader;  and  to  leave  it  to  his  judgment 
to  decide,  whether  the  conjectural  rendering,  or  the  conjec- 
tural emendation,  be  more  agreeable  to  the  context,  to  the 
exigence  of  the  place,  to  parallel  and  similar  passages,  to 
the  rules  and  genius  of  the  language,  and  to  the  laws  of 
sound  and  temperate  criticism. 

The  condition  of  the  present  text  of  Isaiah  in  particular 
is  answerable  to  the  representation  above  given  of  the  He- 
brew text  in  general.  It  is,  I  presume,  considerably  injured 
and  stands  in  need  of  frequent  emendation.  Nothing  is 
more  apt  to  affect,  and  sometimes  utterly  to  destroy,  the 
meaning  of  a  sentence,  than  the  omission  of  a  word ;  than 
which  no  sort  of  mistake  is  more  frequent.  I  reckon,  that 
in  the  book  of  Isaiah,  the  words  omitted  in  different  places 
amount  to  the  number  of  fifty.  I  mean  whole  words,  not 
including  particles,  prepositions,  and  pronouns  affixed ;  and 
I  speak  of  such  as  I  am  well  persuaded  are  real  omissions  ; 
much  the  greater  part  of  which,  I  flatter  myself,  the  reader 
will  find  supplied  in  the  translation  and  notes,  with  a  good 
degree  of  probability,  from  manuscripts  and  ancient  ver- 
sions. Beside  these,  there  are  some  other  places,  in  which  1 
suspect  some  omission,  though  there  may  be  no  evidence  to- 


PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION.  liii 

prove  it.  If  there  be  any  truth  in  this  account  of  words 
omitted,  the  reader  will  easily  suppose,  that  mistakes  of 
other  kinds  must  be  frequent  in  proportion,  and  amount  all 
together  to  a  considerable  number. 

The  manuscripts  and  ancient  versions  afford  the  proper 
means  of  remedying  these  and  other  defects  of  the  present 
copy.  It  is  manifest,  that  the  ancient  interpreters  had  be- 
fore them  copies  of  the  Hebrew  text  different  in  many  places 
from  that  which  passes  current  at  present ;  and  the  manu- 
scripts even  now  extant  frequently  vary  from  that,  and  from 
one  another.  Neither  is  there  any  one  manuscript  or  edi- 
tion whatever,  that  has  the  least  pretension  to  a  superior 
authority,  so  as  to  claim  to  be  a  standard  to  which  the  rest 
ought  to  be  reduced.  A  true  text,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to 
recover  it,  is  to  be  gathered  from  the  manuscripts  now  ex- 
tant, and  from  the  evidence  furnished  by  the  ancient  ver- 
sions of  the  readings  of  manuscripts  of  much  earlier  times. 
This  being  the  case,  the  first  care  of  the  translator  should 
be,  especially  in  places  obscure  and  difficult,  to  consider 
whether  the  words  which  he  is  to  render  be  indeed  the 
genuine  words  of  the  Prophet,  and  to  ascertain,  as  far  as 
may  be,  the  true  reading  of  the  text. 

The  ancient  versions  above-mentioned  as  the  principal 
sources  of  emendation,  and  highly  useful  in  rectifying,  as 
well  as  in  explaining,  the  Hebrew  text,  are  contained  in 
the  London  Polyglott. 

The  Greek  version,  commonly  called  the  Septuagint,  or 
of  the  seventy  interpreters,  probably  made  by  different  hands, 
(the  number  of  them  uncertain,)  and  at  different  times,  as 
the  exigence  of  the  Jewish  church  at  Alexandria  and  in 
other  parts  of  Egypt  required,  is  of  the  first  authority,  and 
of  the  greatest  use  in  correcting  the  Hebrew  text ;  as  being 
the  most  ancient  of  all ;  and  as  the  copy,  from  which  it  was 
translated,  appears  to  have  been  free  from  many  errors, 
which  afterwards  by  degrees  got  into  the  text.  But  the 
version  of  Isaiah  is  not  so  old  as  that  of  the  Pentateuch  by 
a  hundred  years  and  more ;  having  been  made  in  all  pro- 
bability after  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  when  the 
reading  of  the  Prophets  in  the  Jewish  synagogues  began  to 
be  practised  ;  and  even  after  the  building  of  Onias's  temple, 
to  favour  which  there  seems  to  have  been  some  artifice  em- 
5* 


llV  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

ployed  in  a  certain  passage  of  Isaiah  *  in  this  version.  And 
it  unfortunately  happens,  that  Isaiah  has  had  the  hard  fate 
to  meet  with  a  translator  very  unworthy  of  him,  there  being 
hardly  any  book  of  the  Old  Testament  so  ill  rendered  in 
that  version  as  this  of  Isaiah.  Add  to  this,  that  the  version 
of  Isaiah,  as  well  as  other  parts  of  the  Greek  version,  is 
come  down  to  us  in  a  bad  condition,  incorrect,  and  with 
frequent  omissions  and  interpolations.  Yet,  with  all  these 
disadvantages,  with  all  its  faults  and  imperfections,  this  ver- 
sion is  of  more  use  in  correcting  the  Hebrew  text  than  any 
other  whatsoever. 

The  Arabic  version  is  sometimes  referred  to  as  verifying 
the  reading  of  the  LXX,  being,  for  the  most  part  at  least, 
taken  from  that  version. 

The  learned  Mr.  Woide,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
the  publication  of  a  Coptic  lexicon  and  grammar,  very  use- 
ful and  necessary  for  the  promotion  of  that  part  of  litera- 
ture, has  very  kindly  communicated  to  me  his  extracts  from 
the  fragments  of  a  manuscript  of  a  Coptic  version  of  Isaiah, 
made  from  the  LXX,  with  which  he  has  collated  them. 
They  are  preserved  in  the  Library  of  St.  Germain  de  Prez  at 
Paris.     He  judges  this  Coptic  version  to  be  of  the  second 
centuty.     The  manuscript  was  written  in  the  beginning  of 
the  fourteenth  century.     The  same  gentleman  has  had  the 
goodness,  at  my  request,  to  collate  with  Bos's  edition  of  the 
LXX,  through  the  book  of  Isaiah,  two  manuscripts  of  the 
King's  Library,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  the  one  mark- 
ed i.  B.  n.  the  other  i.  D.  n.     The  former  manuscript,  con- 
taining the  Prophets  of  the  version  of  the  LXX,  was  writ- 
ten in  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century,  according  to  Grabe ; 
(in  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century,  in  Mr.  Woide's  opinion)  ; 
and  by  a  note  on  the  back  of  the  first  leaf  appears  to  have 
belonged  to  Pachomius,  patriarch  of  Constantinople  in  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.     Grabe  highly  valued 
this  manuscript ;  and  intended  to  write  a  dissertation  on  the 
superiority  of  this  and  of  the  Alexandrian  manuscript  to  that 
of  the  Vatican  ;  but  did  not  live  to  execute  his  design.     See 
Prolegom.  ad  torn.  3tium,  LXX  Interp.  edit.  Grabe,  sect, 
iii.  and  v.,  and  Grabe  de  Vitiis  LXX  Interp.  p.   118.     I 
quote  this  manuscript  by  the  title  of  MS  Pachom.  for  the 
reason  above  given. 

*  Chap,  xix,  18.    See  the  note  there. 


ms 

PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION. 

The  latter  manuscript  i.  D.  n.  above-mentioned,  contains 
many  of  the  historical  books,  beginning  with  Ruth,  and 
ending  with  Ezra,  according  to  the  order  of  the  books  in 
our  English  Bible ;  and  also  the  prophet  Isaiah,  of  the  ver- 
sion of  the  LXX.  This  manuscript  in  the  book  of  Isaiah 
consists  of  two  different  parts :  the  first  from  the  beginning 
to  the  word  ™0A»y,  chap.  xxxv.  5.  written  in  a  more  ancient 
and  better  character,  and  upon  better  vellum ;  which  Mr. 
Woide  judges  to  be  of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century :  the 
remaining  part  he  refers  to  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth 
century ;  which  Grabe  supposes  to  be  the  age  of  the  whole : 
See  Grabe  de  Vitiis,  LXX  Interp.  p.  104,  This  manu- 
script seems  to  have  been  taken  from  a  good  copy,  as  it  fre- 
quently agrees  with  the  best  and  most  ancient  manuscripts, 
and  in  particular  with  the  manuscript  of  Pachomius. 

The  Coptic  fragments  above-mentioned,  and  these  manu- 
scripts, are  useful  for  the  same  purpose  of  authenticating  the 
reading  of  the  LXX  ;  and,  in  consequence,  of  ascertaining  or 
correcting  the  Hebrew  text  in  some  places. 

My  examination  of  Mr.  Woide's  collation  '  of  the  two 
Greek  manuscripts  of  Isaiah,  has  been  confined  to  this  single 
view  in  respect  of  the  Hebrew  text.  Were  these  manuscripts 
to  be  applied  more  extensively,  and  to  their  proper  use,  that 
of  correcting  the  text  of  the  LXX,  through  all  the  parts  of 
it  which  they  contain,  I  am  persuaded  they  would  be  found 
to  be  of  very  great  importance,  and  would  contribute  largely 
to  the  revision  and  emendation  of  that  ancient  and  very 
valuable  version :  a  work,  which  may  be  now  considered  as 
one  of  the  principal  desiderata  of  sacred  criticism;  and 
which  ought  to  follow  that  arduous  undertaking,  which  has 
so  happily  succeeded,  the  collation  of  Hebrew  manuscripts ; 
to  which  it  stands  next  in  order  of  importance  and  usefulness 
towards  our  attaining  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures. 

The  Chaldee  paraphrase  of  Jonathan  Ben  Uziel,  made 
about  or  before  the  time  of  our  Saviour,  though  it  often 
wanders  from  the  text  in  a  wordy  allegorical  explanation,  yet 
very  frequently  adheres  to  it  closely,  and  gives  a  verbal 
rendering  of  it ;  and  accordingly  is  sometimes  of  great  use  in 
ascertaining  the  true  reading  of  the  Hebrew  text. 

The  Syriac  version  stands  next  in  order  of  time,  but  is 
superior  to  the  Chaldee  in  usefulness  and  authority,  as  well 
in  ascertaining  as  in  explaining  the  Hebrew  text.  It  is  a 


v  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

close  translation  of  the  Hebrew  into  a  language  of  near 
affinity  to  it.  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  made  as  early  as 
the  first  century. 

The  fragments  of  the  three  Greek  versions  of  Aquila, 
Symmachus,  and  Theodotion,  all  made  in  the  second  century, 
which  are  collected  in  the  Hexapla  of  Montfaucon,  are  of 
considerable  use  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  Vulgate,  being  for  the  most  part  the  translation  of 
Jerome,  made  in  the  fourth  century,  is  of  service  in  the  same 
way,  in  proportion  to  its  antiquity. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  several  learned  friends  for  their 
observations  on  particular  passages :  To  one  great  person  more 
especially,  whom  I  had  the  honour  to  call  my  friend,  the  late 
excellent  Archbishop  Seeker;  whose  marginal  notes  on  the 
Bible,  deposited  by  his  order  in  the  library  at  Lambeth,  I  had 
permission  to  consult  by  the  favour  of  his  most  worthy 
successor.     There  are  two  Bibles  with  his  notes :  one  a  fob'o 
English  Bible  interleaved,  containing  chiefly  corrections  of 
the  English  translation;  the  other  a  Hebrew   Bible  of  the 
edition  of  Michaelis,  Halle,  1720,  in  4to. ;  the  large  margins 
of  which  are  filled  with  critical  remarks  on  the  Hebrew  text, 
collations  of  the  ancient  versions,  and  other  short  annotations ; 
which  stand  an  illustrious  monument  of  the  learning,  judgment 
and  indefatigable  industry  of  that  excellent  person :  I  add  also, 
of  his  candour  and  modesty ;  for  there  is  hardly  a  proposed 
emendation,  however  ingenious  and  probable,  to  which  he  has 
not  added  the  objections  which  occurred  to  him  against  it. 
These  valuable  remains  of  that  great  and  good  man  will  be  of 
infinite  service,  whenever  that  necessary  work,  a  new  transla- 
tion,  or  a  revision  of  the   present  translation,  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  for  the  use  of  our  church,  shall  be  undertaken. 
To  his  observations  I  have  set  his  name.     And  to  the  remarks 
of  others  of  my  learned  friends,  I  have  likewise  subjoined  in 
the  notes  their  names  respectively.     Among  these  I  must  here 
particularly  mention  the  late  learned  Dr.  Durell,  Principal  of 
Hertford  College  in  Oxford  ;  who  some  years  ago  communi- 
cated to  me  his  manuscript  remarks  on  the  Prophets.     With 
his  leave  I  took  short  memorandums  of  some  of  his  corrections 
of  the  text ;  and  had  his  permission  to  make  what  use  I  pleased 
of  them. 

I  am  in  a  more  particular  manner  obliged  to  my  learned 
friend  Dr.  Kennicott,  for  his  singular  favour  in  frequently 


PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION.  Ivii 

communicating  to  me  his  collations  while  they  were  collecting, 
and  the  printed  copy  of  the  book  of  Isaiah  itself,  as  soon  as  it 
was  finished  at  the  press,  for  my  private  use,  while  the 
remainder  of  the  volume  is  in  hand  and  preparing  for  the 
public.  These  I  have  examined  with  some  attention  ;  and  I 
hope  the  reader,  whose  expectations  do  not  exceed  the  bounds 
of  reason  and  moderation,  will  be  satisfied  with  the  assistance 
and  benefit  which  he  will  find  they  have  afforded  me.  But  I 
must  beg  to  have  it  well  understood,  that  I  do  by  no  means 
pretend  to  have  exhausted  these  valuable  stores :  many 
things  may  have  escaped  me,  which  may  strike  the  eye  of 
another  observer ;  many  a  variation,  which  appears  at  first 
sight  very  minute  and  trifling,  and  manifestly  false  and  absurd, 
may  by  some  side-light  tend  to  useful  discoveries.  To  apply 
these  materials  to  all  the  uses  which  can  possibly  be  made  of 
them,  will  require  much  labour  and  consideration,  much 
judgment  and  sagacity,  and  repeated  trials  by  a  variety  of 
examiners,  to  whose  different  views  they  may  shew  themselves 
in  every  possible  light.  Some  critics  may  be  very  forward 
and  hasty  in  pronouncing  their  judgments ;  but  it  must 
be  left  to  time  and  experience  to  establish  their  real  and  full 
value. 

In  regard  to  the  character  and  authority  of  the  several 
manuscripts  which  have  been  collated  and  which  in  the 
notes  are  referred  to,  we  must  wait  for  the  information 
which  Dr.  Kennicott  will  give  us  in  his  general  Dissertation. 
The  knowledge  of  Hebrew  manuscripts  is  almost  a  new 
subject  in  literature  :  little  progress  has  been  made  in  it  hither- 
to ;  and  no  wonder,  when  they  were  esteemed  uniformly 
consonant  one  with  another,  and  with  the  printed  text ;  con- 
sequently useless,  and  not  worth  the  trouble  of  examining. 
Dr.  Kennicott,  and  his  worthy  and  very  able  assistant  Mr. 
Bruns,  who  have  been  more  conversant  with  Hebrew  manu- 
scripts, and  have  had  more  experience,  and  more  insight  into 
the  subject,  than  any,  or  than  all,  of  the  learned  of  the 
present  age,  will  give  us  the  best  information  concerning  it 
that  can  yet  be  obtained.  It  must  be  left  to  the  attentive 
observation,  and  mature  experience,  of  the  learned  of  suc- 
ceeding times,  to  perfect  a  part  of  knowledge  which,  like  others, 
must,  in  its  nature,  wait  the  result  of  diligent  inquiry,  and  be 
carried  on  by  gradual  improvements. 

In  referring  to  Dr.  Kennicott's  Variations,  I  have  given 
the  whole  number  of  manuscripts  or  editions  which  concur 


Iviii  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION, 

in  any  particular  reading:  what  proportion  that  number 
bears  to  the  whole  number  of  collated  copies  which  contain 
the  book  of  Isaiah,  may,  I  hope,  soon  be  seen  by  Comparing 
it  with  the  catalogue  of  copies  collated,  which  will  be  given 
at  the  end  of  that  book.  But  that  the  reader  in  the  mean 
time,  till  he  can  have  more  full  information  concerning  the 
value  and  authority  of  the  several  manuscripts,  may  at  least 
have  some  mark  to  direct  his  judgment  in  estimating  the 
credit  due  to  the  manuscripts  quoted,  I  have,  from  the  kind 
communication  of  Dr.  Kennicott  concerning  the  dates  of  the 
manuscripts,  whether  certain  or  probable,  given  some  gene- 
ral intimation  of  their  value  in  this  respect :  for  though  an- 
tiquity is  no  certain  mark  of  the  goodness  of  a  manuscript, 
yet  it  is  one  circumstance  that  gives  it  no  small  weight  and 
authority,  especially  in  this  case;  the  Hebrew  manuscripts 
being  in  general  more  pure  and  valuable  in  proportion  to 
their  antiquity;  those  of  later  date  having  been  more  stu- 
diously rendered  conformable  to  the  Masoretic  standard.* 
Among  the  manuscripts  which  have  been  collated,  I  con- 
sider those  of  the  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  centuries,  as 
ancient,  comparatively  and  in  respect  of  the  rest.  There- 
fore in  quoting  a  number  of  manuscripts,  where  the  varia- 
tion is  of  some  importance,  I  have  added,  that  so  many  of 
that  number  are  ancient,  that  is,  are  of  the  centuries  above 
mentioned. 

I  have  ventured  to  call  this  a  New  Translation,  though 
much  of  our  vulgar  translation  is  retained  in  it.  As  the 
style  of  that  translation  is  not  only  excellent  in  itself,  but 
has  taken  possession  of  our  ear,  and  of  our  taste,  to  have 
endeavoured  to  vary  from  it,  with  no  other  design  than  that 
of  giving  something  new  instead  of  it,  would  have  been  to 
disgust  the  reader,  and  to  represent  the  sense  of  the  Pro- 
phet in  a  more  unfavourable  manner;  besides  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  a  verbal  translator  to  follow  an  approved  verbal 
translation,  which  has  gone  before  him,  without  frequently 
treading  in  the  very  footsteps  of  it.  The  most  obvious,  the 
properest,  and  perhaps  the  only  terms  which  the  language 
affords,  are  already  occupied ;  and  without  going  out  of  his 
way  to  find  worse,  he  cannot  avoid  them.  Every  translator 
has  taken  this  liberty  with  his  predecessors :  it  is  no  more 

*  See  Kwmicott,  State  of  the  Printed  Hob.  Text,  Dissert,  ii.  p.  470. 


PRELIMINARY    DISSERTATION.  x 

than  the  laws  of  translation  admit,  nor  indeed  than  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  case  requires.  And  as  to  the  turn  and  modi- 
fication of  the  sentences,  the  translator,  in  this  particular 
province  of  translation,  is,  I  think,  as  much  confined  to  the 
author's  manner,  as  to  his  words :  so  that  too  great  liberties 
taken  in  varying  either  the  expression  or  the  composition, 
in  order  to  give  a  new  air  to  the  whole,  will  be  apt  to  have 
a  very  bad  effect.  For  these  reasons,  whenever  it  shall  be 
thought  proper  to  set  forth  the  Holy  Scriptures  for  the 
public  use  of  our  church  to  better  advantage,  than  as  they 
appear  in  the  present  English  translation,  the  expediency  of 
which  grows  every  day  more  and  more  evident,  a  revision 
or  correction  of  that  translation  may  perhaps  be  more  ad- 
visable, than  to  attempt  an  entirely  new  one  :  For  as  to  the 
style  and  language,  it  admits  of  but  little  improvement; 
but,  in  respect  of  the  sense  and  the  accuracy  of  interpreta- 
tion, the  improvements  of  which  it  is  capable  are  great  and 
numberless. 

The  translation  here  offered  will  perhaps  be  found  to  be 
in  general  as  close  to  the  text,  and  as  literal,  as  our  English 
version.  When  it  departs  at  all  from  the  Hebrew  text  on 
account  of  some  correction,  which  I  suppose  to  be  requisite, 
I  give  notice  to  the  reader  of  such  correction,  and  offer  my 
reasons  for  it :  if  those  reasons  should  sometimes  appear 
insufficient,  and  the  translation  to  be  merely  conjectural,  I 
desire  the  reader  to  consider  the  exigence  of  the  case,  and 
to  judge,  whether  it  is  not  better,  in  a  very  obscure  and 
doubtful  passage,  to  give  something  probable  by  way  of 
supplement  to  the  author's  sense,  apparently  defective,  than 
either  to  leave  a  blank  in  the  translation,  or  to  give  a  merely 
verbal  rendering,  which  would  be  altogether  unintelligible. 
I  believe  that  every  translator  whatever  of  any  part  of  the 
Old  Testament,  has  taken  sometimes  the  liberty,  or  ratherj 
has  found  himself  under  the  necessity,  of  offering  such  ren-j 
derings  as,  if  examined,  will  be  found  to  be  merely  conjecf 
tural.  But  I  desire  to  be  understood  as  offering  this  apo- 
logy in  behalf  only  of  translations  designed  for  the  private 
use  of  the  reader ;  not  as  extended,  without  proper  limita- 
tions, to  those  that  are  made  for  the  public  service  of  the 
church. 

The  design  of  the  Notes  is  to  give  the  reasons  and  autho- 
rities on  which  the  translation  is  founded  ;  to  rectify  or  to 
explain  the  words  of  the  text  j  to  illustrate  the  ideas,  the 


IX  PRELIMINARY   DISSERTATION. 

images,  and  the  allusions  of  the  Prophet,  by  referring  to 
objects,  notions,  and  customs,  which  peculiarly  belong  to  his 
age  and  his  country ;  and  to  point  out  the  beauties  of  par- 
ticular passages.  I  sometimes  indeed  endeavour  to  open  the 
design  of  the  prophecy,  to  shew  the  connexion  between  its 
parts,  and  to  point  out  the  event  which  it  foretells.  But  in 
general  I  must  entreat  the  reader  to  be  satisfied  with  my  en- 
deavours faithfully  to  express  the  literal  sense,  which  is  all 
that  I  undertake.  If  he  would  go  deeper  into  the  mystical 
sense,  into  theological,  historical,  and  chronological  disquisitions, 
there  are  many  learned  expositors  to  whom  he  may  have 
recourse,  who  have  written  full  commentaries  on  this  Prophet ; 
to  which  title  the  present  work  has  no  pretensions.  The 
sublime  and  spiritual  uses  to  be  made  of  this  peculiarly 
evangelical  Prophet,  must,  as  I  have  observed,  be  all  founded 
on  a  faithful  representation  of  the  literal  sense  which  his  words 
contain.  This  is  what  I  have  endeavoured  closely  and  exactly 
to  express.  And  within  the  limits  of  this  humble,  but  neces- 
sary province,  my  endeavours  must  be  confined.  To  proceed 
further,  or  even  to  execute  this  in  the  manner  I  could  wish, 
were  it  within  my  abilities,  yet  would  hardly  be  consistent 
with  my  present  engagements ;  which  oblige  me  to  offer  rather 
prematurely  to  the  public,  what  further  time,  with  more  leis- 
ure, might  perhaps  enable  me  to  render  more  worthy  of  their 
attention. 


ISAIAH 


CHAP.   I. 

1  THE  VISION  OF  ISAIAH  THE  SON  OF  AMOTS,  WHICH 
HE  SAW  CONCERNING  JUDAH  AND  JERUSALEM  ]  IN 
THE  DAYS  OF  UZZIAH,  JOTHAM,  AHAZ,  HEZEKIAH, 
KINGS  OF  JUDAH. 

\2      HEAR,  O  ye  heavens  ;  and  give  ear,  O  earth  ! 
For  it  is  JEHOVAH  that  speaketh. 
I  have  nourished  children,  and  brought  them  up  ; 
And  even  they  have  revolted  from  me. 

3  The  ox  knoweth  his  possessor ; 
And  the  ass  the  crib  of  his  lord : 
But  Israel  knoweth  not  Me  ; 
Neither  doth  my  people  consider. 

4  Ah,  sinful  nation  !  a  people  laden  with  iniquity  ! 
A  race  of  evil  doers  !  children  degenerate  ! 
They  have  forsaken  JEHOVAH  ; 

They  have  rejected  with  disdain  the  Holy  One  of  Israel ; 
They  are  estranged  from  him ;   they  have  turned  their 
back  upon  him. 

5  On  what  part  will  ye  smite  again,  will  ye  add  correction? 
The  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the  whole  heart  faint: 

6  From  the  sole  of  the  foot  even  to  the  head,  there  is  no 

soundness  therein  ; 

It  is  wound,  and  bruise,  and  putrefying  sore : 
6 


£  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I. 

It  hath  not  been  pressed,  neither  hath  it  been  bound ; 
Neither  hath  it  been  softened  with  ointment. 
7  Your  country  is  desolate,  your  cities  are  burnt  with  fire  ; 
Your  land,  before  your  eyes  strangers  devour  it ; 
And  it  is  become  desolate,  as  if  destroyed  by  an   inun- 
dation. 

S  And  the  daughter  of  Sion  is  left,  as  a  shed  in  a  vineyard  ; 
As  a  lodge  in   a  garden  of  cucumbers,  as  a  city  taken  by 

siege. 

9  Had  not  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  left  us  a  remnant, 
We  had  soon  become  as  Sodom  ;   we  had  been  like  unto 
Gomorrah. 

10  Hear  ye  the  word  of  JEHOVAH,  O  ye  princes  of  Sodom ! 
Give  ear  to  the  law  of  our  God,  ye  people  of  Gomorrah  ! 

11  What  have  I  to  do  with  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices  ? 

saith  JEHOVAH  : 
I  am  cloyed  with  the  burnt-offerings  of  rams,  and  the 

fat  of  fed  beasts  ; 
And  in  the  blood  of  bullocks,  and  of  lambs,  and  of  goats, 

I  have  no  delight. 

12  When  you  come  to  appear  before  me, 
Who  hath  required  this  at  your  hands  ? 

13  Tread  my  courts  no  more  ;  bring  no  more  a  vain  obla- 

tion : 

Incense  !  it  is  an  abomination  unto  me. 

The  new  moon,  and  the  sabbath,  and  the  assembly  pro- 
claimed, 

I  cannot  endure ;  the  fast,  and  the  day  of  restraint. 

14  Your  months,  and  your  solemnities,  my  soul  hateth  : 
They  are  a  burthen  upon  me ;  I  am  weary  of  bearing 

them. 

15  When  ye  spread  forth  your  hands,  I  will  hide  mine  eyes 

from  you ; 

Even  when  ye  multiply  prayer,  I  will  not  hear  ; 
For  your  hands  are  full  of  blood, 

16  Wash  ye,  make  ye  ctean  ;  remove  ye  far  away 
The  evil  of  your  doings  from  before  mine  eyes  : 

17  Cease  to  do  evil ;  learn  to  do  well ; 

Seek  judgment ;  amend  that  which  is  corrupted  ; 
Do  justice  Xo  the  fatherless  ;   defend  the  cause  of  the 
widow. 


CHAP.  I.  ISAIAH. 


18  Come  on  now,  and  let  us  plead  together,  saith   JE- 

HOVAH : 
Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white 

as  snow  ; 
Though  they  be  red  as  crimson,  they  shall  be  like  wool. 

19  If  ye  shall  be  willing  and  obedient, 
Ye  shall  feed  on  the  good  of  the  land  ; 

20  But  if  ye  refuse,  and  be  rebellious, 

Ye  shall  be  food  for  the  sword  of  the  enemy  : 
For  the  mouth  of  JEHOVAH  hath  pronounced  it. 

21  How  is  the  faithful  city  become  a  harlot ! 

She  that  was  full  of  judgment,  righteousness  dwelled  in 

her; 
But  now  murtherers ! 

22  Thy  silver  is  become  dross;   thy  wine  is   mixed  with 

water. 

23  Thy  princes  are  rebellious,  associates  of  robbers  ; 

Every  one  of  them  loveth  a  gift,  and  seeketh  rewards : 

To  the  fatherless  they  administer  not  justice  ; 

And  the  cause  of  the  widow  cometh  not  before  them. 

24  Wherefore  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts,  the 

Mighty  One  of  Israel ; 
Aha  !  I  will  be  eased  of  mine  adversaries ; 
I  will  be  avenged  of  mine  enemies. 

25  And  I  will  bring  again  mine  hand  over  thee ; 
And  I  will  purge  in  the  furnace  thy  dross  ; 
And  I  will  remove  all  thine  alloy. 

26  And  I  will  restore  thy  judges,  as  at  the  first ; 
And  thy  counsellors,  as  at  the  beginning  : 
And  after  this  thy  name  shall  be  called, 

The  city  of  righteousness,  the  faithful  metropolis. 

27  Sion  shall  be  redeemed  in  judgment, 
And  her  captives  in  righteousness : 

28  But  destruction  shall  fall  at  once  on  the  revolters  and 

the  sinners  ; 
And  they  that  forsake  JEHOVAH  shall  be  consumed. 

29  For  ye  shall  be  ashamed  of  the  ilexes,  which  ye  have 

desired ; 

And   ye  shall  blush   for   the  gardens,  which   ye  have 
chosen ; 


4  ISAIAH.          f  CHAP.  I. 

30  When  ye  shall  be  as  an  ilex,  whose  leaves  are  blasted ; 
And  as  a  garden,  wherein  is  no  water. 

31  And  the  strong  shall  become  tow,  and  his  work  a  spark 

of  fire ; 

And   they  shall  both   burn  together,   and    none    shall 
quench  them. 


CHAP.  II. 

1  THE  WORD,    WHICH  WAS  REVEALED  TO  ISAIAH,  THE 
SON  OP    AMOTS,  CONCERNING    JUDAH    AND     JERUSALEM. 

2  IT  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  latter  days  ; 

The  mountain  of  the  house  of  JEHOVAH  shall  be  estab- 
lished on  the  top  of  the  mountains  ; 
And  it  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills : 
And  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it. 

3  And  many  peoples  shall  go,  and  shall  say, 

Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  JEHO- 
VAH ; 

To  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob  ; 
And  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways  ; 
And  we  will  walk  in  his  paths : 
For  from  Sion  shall  go  forth  the  law  ; 

4  And  the  word  of  JEHOVAH  from  Jerusalem. 
And  he  shall  judge  among  the  nations ; 
And  shall  work  conviction  in  many  peoples : 

And  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares, 
And  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks : 
Nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation  ; 
Neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more. 

5  O  house  of  Jacob,  come  ye, 

And  let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  JEHOVAH  ! 

6  Verily  thou   hast   abandoned   thy  people,   the  house  of 

Jacob : 

Because  they  are  filled  with  diviners  from  the  east ; 
And  with  soothsayers  like  the  Philistines  ; 
And  they  multiply  a  spurious  brood  of  strange  children. 

7  And  his  land  is  filled  with  silver  and  gold  ; 
And  there  is  no  end  to  his  treasures  : 
And  his  land  is  filled  with  horses  ; 
Neither  is  there  any  end  to  his  chariots. 


CHAP.  II.  ISAIAH.  5 

8  And  his  land  is  filled  with  idols  ; 

He  boweth  himself  down  to  the  work  of  his  hands  ; 
To  that  which  his  fingers  have  made  : 

9  Therefore  shall  the  mean  man  be  bowed  down,  and  the 

mighty  man  shall  be  humbled  ; 
And  thou  wilt  not  forgive  them. 

10  Go  into  the  rock,  and  hide  thyself  in  the  dust ; 

From  the  fear  of  JEHOVAH,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 

majesty, 
When  he  ariseth  to  strike  the  earth  with  terror. 

11  The  lofty  eyes  of  men  shall  be  humbled  ; 
The  highth  of  mortals  shall  bow  down  : 

And  JEHOVAH  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day. 

12  For  the-  day  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  is  against  every 

thing  great  and  lofty  ; 

And  against  every  thing  that  is  exalted,  and  it  shall  be 
humbled. 

13  Even  against  all  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  the  high  and  the 

exalted  ; 
And  against  all  the  oaks  of  Basan  : 

14  And  against  all  the  mountains,  the  high  ones  ; 
And  against  all  the  hills,  the  exalted  ones  ; 

15  And  against  every  tower,  high-raised  ; 
And  against  every  mound,  strongly  fortified. 

16  And  against  all  the  ships  of  Tarshish  ; 
And  against  every  lovely  work  of  art. 

17  And  the  pride  of  man  shall  bow  down  ; 
And  the  highth  of  mortals  shall  be  humbled  ; 
And  JEHOVAH  alone  shall  be  exalted  in  that  day  : 

18  And  the  idols  shall  totally  disappear. 

19  And  they  shall  go  into  caverns  of  rocks,  and  into  holes  of 

the  dust ;. 
From  the  fear  of  JEHOVAH,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 

majesty, 
When  he  ariseth  to  strike  the  earth  with  terror. 

20  In  that  day  shall  a  man  cast  away  his  idols  of  silver, 
And  his  idols  of  gold,  which  they  have  made  to  worship : 
To  the  moles  and  to  the  bats  : 

21  To  go  into  caves  of  the  rocks,  and  into  clefts  of  the  craggy 

rocks ; 

6* 


O  ISAIAH.  CHAP. 

From  the  fear  of  JEHOVAH,  and  from  the  glory  of  his 

majesty, 
When  he  ariseth  to  strike  the  earth  with  terror. 

22       Trust  ye  no  more  in  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nos- 
trils ; 
For  of  what  account  is  he  to  be  made  ? 

CHAP.  III. 

1  For  behold  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts 
Removeth  from  Jerusalem,  and  from  Judah, 
Every  stay  and  support ; 

The  whole  stay  of  bread,  and  the  whole  stay  of  water  ; 

2  The  mighty  man,  and  the  warrior ; 

The  judge,   and  the  prophet,  and  the  diviner,   and  the 
sage  : 

3  The  ruler  of  fifty,  and  the  honourable  person  ; 

And  the  counsellor,  and  the  skilful  artist,  and  the  power- 
ful in  persuasion. 

4  Arid  I  will  make  boys  their  princes  ; 
And  infants  shall  rule  over  them. 

5  And  the  people  shall  be  oppressed,  one  man  by  another : 
And  every  man  shall  behave  insolently  towards  his  neigh- 
bour ; 

The  boy  towards  the  old  man,  and  the  base  towards  the 
honourable. 

6  Therefore  shall  a  man  take  his  brother,  of  his  father's 

house,  by  the  garment ; 
Saying,  Come,  and  be  thou  ruler  over  us ; 
And  let  thine  hand  support  our  ruinous  state. 

7  Then  shall  he  openly  declare,  saying, 

I  will  not  be  the  healer  of  your  breaches  ; 

For  in  my  house  is  neither  bread,  nor  raiment : 

Appoint  not  me  ruler  of  the  people. 

8  For  Jerusalem  tottereth,  ancl  Judah  falleth  ; 

Because   their  tongues,  and  their  hands,  are  against  JE- 
HOVAH ; 
To  provoke  by  their  disobedience  the  cloud  of  his  glory. 

9  The  stedfastness  of  their  countenance  witnesseth  against 

them  ; 
For  their  sin,  like   Sodom,  they  publish,   they   hide  it 

not: 
Wo  to  their  souls  !  for  upon  themselves  have  they  brought 

down  evil. 


CHAP.  III.  ISAIAH.  ' 

10  Pronounce  ye  a  blessing  on  the  just :  verily  good  [shall 

be  to  him] ; 
For  the  fruit  of  his  deeds  shall  he  eat. 

11  Wo  to  the  wicked  :  evil  [shall  be  his  portion]  ; 

For  the  work  of  his  hands  shall  be  repaid  unto  him. 

12  As  for  my  people,  children  are  their  oppressors ; 
And  women  bear  rule  over  them. 

O  my  people,  thy  leaders  cause  thee  to  err  ; 
And  pervert  the  way  of  thy  paths. 

13  JEHOVAH  ariseth  to  plead  his  cause  ; 
He  standeth  up  to  contend  with  his  people. 

14  JEHOVAH  will  meet  in  judgment. 

The  elders  of  his  people,  and  their  princes  : 
As  for  you,  ye  have  consumed  my  vineyard  ; 
The  plunder  of  the  poor  is  in  your  houses. 

15  What  mean  ye,  that  ye  crush  my  people ; 
And  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor  ? 

Saith  JEHOVAH,  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

16  Moreover  JEHOVAH  hath  said  : 
Because  the  daughters  of  Sion  are  haughty; 
And  walk  displaying  the  neck. 

And  falsely  setting  off  their  eyes  with  paint ; 

Mincing  their  steps  as  they  go, 

And  with  their  feet  lightly  tripping  along : 

17  Therefore  will  the  Lord  humble  the  head  of  the  daughters 

of  Sion ; 
And  JEHOVAH  will  expose  their  nakedness. 

18  In  that  day  will  the  Lord  take  from  them  the  ornaments 
Of  the  feet-rings,  and  the  net-works,  and  the  crescents  ; 

19  The  pendents,  and  the  bracelets,  and  the  thin  veils ; 

20  The  tires,  and  the  fetters,  and  the  zones, 
And  the  perfume-boxes,  and  the  amulets  ; 

21  The  rings,  and  the  jewels  of  the  nostril ; 

22  The  embroidered  robes,  and  the  tunics  ; 
And  the  cloaks,  and  the  little  purses ; 

23  The  transparent  garments,  and  the  fine  linen  vests  ; 

And  the  turbans,  and  the  mantles : 

24  And  there  shall  be,  instead  of  perfume,  a  putrid  ulcer ; 
And,  instead  of  well-girt  raiment,  rags  ; 

And,  instead  of  high-dressed  hair,  baldness ; 


ISAIAIT.  eiTAp.  in. 

And,  instead  of  a  zone,  a  girdle  of  sackcloth  r 
A  sun-burnt  skin,  instead  of  beauty. 

25  Thy  people  shall  fall  by  the  sword  ; 
And  thy  mighty  men  in  the  battle. 

26  And  her  doors  shall  lament  and  mourn  ; 
And  desolate  shall  she  sit  on  the  ground. 

CHAP.  IV. 

1  And  seven  women  shall  lay  hold  on  one  man  in  that  day* 

saying : 

Our  own  bread  will  we  eat, 
And  with  our  own  garments  will  we  fee  clothed  ; 
Only  let  us  be  called  by  thy  name  ; 
Take  away  our  reproach. 

2  In  that  day  shall  the  branch  of  JEHOVAH 
Become  glorious  and  honourable  ; 

And  the  produce  of  the  land  excellent  and  beautiful. 
For  the  escaped  of  the  house  of  Israel. 

3  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  whosoever  is  left  in  Sionr 
And  remaineth  in  Jerusalem, 

Holy  shall  he  be  called ; 

Every  one  that  is  written  among  the  living  in  Jerusalem. 

4  When  the  Lord  shall  have  washed  away  the  filth  of  the 

daughters  of  Sion ; 
And  the  blood  of  Jerusalem  shall  have  removed  from  the 

midst  of  her, 

By  a  spirit  of  judgment,  and  by  a  spirit  of  burning  : 
6  Then  shall  JEHOVAH  create  upon  the  station  of  Mount 

Sion, 

And  upon  all  her  holy  assemblies, 
A  cloud  by  day,  and  smoke  ; 
And  the  brightness  of  a  flaming  fire  by  night : 
Yea,  over  all  shall  the  Glory  be  a  covering. 
6  And  a  tabernacle  it  shall  be,  for  shade  by  day  from  the 

heat ; 
And  for  a  covert,  and  a  refuge,  from  storm  and  rain. 

CHAP.  v. 

1.       LET  me  sing  now  a  song  to  my  Beloved  ; 
A  song  of  loves  concerning  his  vineyard. 
My  Beloved  had  a  vineyard, 
On  a  high  and  fruitful  hill : 

2  And  he  fenced  it  round,  and    he    cleared  it  from  the 
stones, 


CHAP.  V.  ISAIAH.  9 

And  he  planted  it  with  the  vine  of  Sorek ; 

And  he  built  a  tower  in  the  midst  of  it, 

And  he  hewed  out  also  a  lake  therein  : 

And  he  expected,  that  it  should  hring  forth  grapes. 

But  it  brought  forth  poisonous  berries. 

3  And  now,  O  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  ye  men  of  Ju- 

dah, 
Judge,  I  pray  you,  between  me  and  my  vineyard  : 

4  What  could  have  been  done  more  to  my  vineyard, 
Than  I  have  done  unto  it? 

Why,  when  I  expected  that  it  should  bring  forth  grapes, 
Brought  it  forth  poisonous  berries  1 

5  But  come  now,  and  I  will  make  known  unto  you, 
What  I  purpose  to  do  to  my  vineyard  : 

To  remove  its  hedge,  and  it  shall  be  devoured  ; 
To  destroy  its  fence,  and  it  shall  be  trodden  down. 

6  And  I  will  make  it  a  desolation  : 

And  it  shall  not  be  pruned,  neither  shall  it  be  digged  ; 
But  the  briar  and  the  thorn  shall  spring  up  in  it ; 
And  I  will  command  the  clouds, 
That  they  shed  no  rain  upon  it. 

7  Verily,  the  vineyard  of  JEHOVAH  GOD  of  Hosts  is  the 

house  of  Israel ; 

And  the  men  of  Judah  the  plant  of  his  delight : 
And  he  looked  for  judgment,  but  behold  tyranny  ; 
And  for  righteousness,  but  behold  the  cry  of  the  oppressed. 

8  Wo  unto  you,  who  join  house  to  house  ; 
Who  lay  field  unto  field  together  ; 

Until  there  be  no  place,  and  ye  have  your  dwelling 
Alone  to  yourselves,  in  the  midst  of  the  land. 

9  To  mine  ear  hath  JEHOVAH  GOD  of  Hosts  revealed  it : 
Surely  many  houses  shall  become  a  desolation  ; 

The  great  and  the  fair  ones,  without  an  inhabitant. 

10  Yea,  ten  acres  of  vineyard  shall  yield  a  single  bath  of 

wine, 
And  a  chomerof  seed  shall  produce  an  ephah. 

11  Wo  unto  them,  who  rise  early  in  the  morning,  to  follow 

strong  drink ; 
Who  sit  late  in  the  evening,  that  wine  may  inflame  them  : 

12  And  the  lyre,  and  the  harp,  the  tabor,  and  the  pipe, 
And  wine,  are  their  entertainments  : 


10  ISAIAH;  CHAP,  v, 

But  the  works  of  JEHOVAH  they  regard  not ; 

And  the  operation  of  his  hands  they  do  not  perceive. 

13  Therefore  my    people   goeth    into   captivity  for  want  of 

knowledge  ; 

And  their  nobles  have  died  with  hunger ; 
And  their  plebeians  are  parched  up  with  thirst. 

14  Therefore  Hades  hath  enlarged  his  appetite  ; 

And  hath  stretched1  open  his  mouth  without  measure : 
And  down  go  her  nobility,  and  her  populace  ; 
And  her  busy  throng,  and  all  that  exult  in  her. 

15  And  the  mean  man  shall  be  bowed  down,  and  the  great 

man  shall  be  brought  low ; 
And  the  eyes- of  the  haughty  shaH  be  humbled  : 

16  And  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  shall  be  exalted  in  judgment ;. 
And  God  the  Holy  One  shall  be  sanctified  by  displaying 

his  righteousness. 

17  Then  shall  the  sheep  feed  without  restraint ; 

And  the  kids  shall  depasture  the  desolate  fields  of  the  lux- 
urious. 

18  "Wo  unto  them,  who  draw   out  iniquity,  as  a:;  long  ca- 

ble; 
And  sin,  as  the  thick  traces  of  a  wain : 

19  Who  say,  let  him  make  speed  then,  let  him  hasten* 
His  work,  that  he  may  see  it ; 

And  let  the  counsel  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel 

Draw  near,  and  come  to  pass,  that  we  may  know  it. 

20  Wo  unto  them  who  call  evil  good,  and  good  evil ; 
Who  put  darkness  for  light,  and  light  for  darkness  ; 
Who  put  bitter  for  sweet  and  sweet  for  bitter. 

21  Wo  unto  them,  who  are  wise  in  their  own  eyes, 
And  prudent  in  their  own  conceit. 

22  Wo  unto  them,  who  are  powerful  to  drink  wine  ; 
And  men  of  might  to  mingle  strong  drink : 

23  Who  justify  the  guilty  for  reward, 

And  take  away  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  from  him 

24  Therefore,  as  the  tongue  of  fire  licketh  up  the  stubble, 
And  as  the  flame  dissolveth  the  chaff; 

So  shall1  their  root  become  like  touchwood, 

And  their  blossom  shall  go  up  like  the  dust : 

Because  they  have  despised  the  law  of  JEHOVAH  God  of 

Hosts; 
And  scornfully  rejected  the  word  of   the  Holy   One   of- 

Israel. 


•CHAP.  Y.  1SJUAH,  W. 

25     Wherefore  the  anger  of  JEHOVAH  is  kindled  against  his 

people  ; 

And  he  hath  stretched  out  his  hand  against  them  : 
And  he  smote  them  ;  and  the  mountains  trembled  ;     , 
And  their  carcasses  became  as  the  dung  in  the  midst  of 

the  streets. 

For  all  this  his  anger  is  not  turned  away:; 
But  still  is  his  hand  stretched  out. 

25  And  lie  will  erect  a  standard  for  the  nations  afar  off ; 
And  he  will  hist  every  one  of  them  from  the  ends  of  the 

ea-rth  ; 
And  behold,  with  speed  swiftly  shall  they  come. 

27  None  among  them  is  faint,  and  none  stumbleth  • 
None  shall  slumber,  nor  sleep : 

Nor  shall  the  girdle  of  their  loins  be  loosed.; 
Nor  shall  the  latchet  of  their  shoes  be  unbound. 

28  Whose  arrows  are  sharpened.; 
And  all  their  bows  are  bent: 

The  hoofs  of  their. horses  shall  be  counted  as  adamant ; 
And  their  wheels  as  a  whirlwind, 

29  Their  growling  is  like  the  growling  of  the  lioness  ; 
Like  the  young  lions  shall  they  growl  : 

They  s-hall  roar  and  shall  seize  the  prey ; 

And  they  shall  bear  it  away,  and  none  shall  rescue  it. 

30  In  that  day,  shall  they  roar  against  them,  like  the  roar- 

ing of  the  sea  ; 
And  these  shall  look  to  the  heaven  upward,  and  down  to 

the  earth ; 

And  lo  !  darkness,  distress  ! 
And  the  light  is  obscured  by  the  gloomy  vapour. 


CHAP.  VI. 

1  In  the  year  in  which  Uzziah  the  king  died,  I  saw  JE- 
HOVAH sitting  on  a  throne  high  and  lofty  ;  and  the  train 

2  of  his  robe  filled  the  temple.     Above  him  stood  seraphim  : 
each  one  of  them  had  six  wings:  with  two  of  them  he  cov- 
ereth  his  face,  with  two  of  them  he  coverelh  his  feet,  and 

3  two  of  them  he  useth  in  flying.    And  they  cried  alternately, 
and  said  : 

Holy,  holy,  holy,  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  ! 
The  whole  earth  is  filled  with  his  glory. 


12  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VI. 

4  And  the  pillars  of  the  vestibule  were  shaken  with  the  voice 
of  their  cry ;  and  the  temple  was  filled  with  smoke.     And 

5  I  said,  Alas  for  me  !  I  am  struck  dumb  :  for  I  am  a  man 
of  polluted  lips  ;  and  in  the  midst  of  a  people  of  polluted 
lips  do  I  dwell :  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  JE- 

6  HOVAH  God  of  Hosts.     And  one  of   the  seraphim  came 
flying  unto  me  ;  and  in  his  hand  was  a   burning  coal, 
which  he  had  taken  with  the  tongs  from  off  the  altar.     And 

7  he  touched  my  mouth,  and  said  : — 

Lo  !  this  hath  touched  thy  lips  ; 

Thine  iniquity  is  removed,  and  they  sin  is  expiated. 

8  And  I  heard  the  voice  of  JEHOVAH,  saying :  Whom  shall 
I  send  ;  and  who  will  go  for  us  ?     And  I  said  :  Behold, 

9  Here  am  I ;  send  rne.     And  he  said  : — 

Go,  and  say  thou  to  this  people  : 
Hear  ye  indeed,  but  understand  not ; 
See  ye  indeed,  but  perceive  not : 
Make  gross  the  heart  of  this  people ; 
Make  their  ears  dull,  and  close  up  their  eyes  ; 
Lest  they  see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears, 
And  understand  with  their  hearts,  and  be  converted ; 
and  I  should  heal  them. 

11  And  I  said  :  How  long,  O  JEHOVAH  ?     And  he  said: — 

Until  cities  be  laid  waste,  so  that  there  be  no  inhabitant ; 
And  houses,  so  that  there  be  no  man  : 
And  the  land  be  left  utterly  desolate. 

12  Until  JEHOVAH  remove  man  far  away  ; 

And  there  be  many  a  deserted  woman  in  the  midst  of 
the  land. 

13  And  though  there  be  a  tenth  part  remaining  in  it. 
Even  this  shall  undergo  a  repeated  destruction  ; 

Yet,  as  the  ilex,  and  the  oak,  though  cut  down,  hath  its 

stock  remaining, 
A  holy  seed  shall  be  the  stock  of  the  nation. 


CHAP.  VII. 

1  In   the   days  of  Ahaz,  the  son  of  Jotham,   the  son  of 
Uzziah  king  of  Judah,  Retsin  king  of  Syria,   and  Pekah, 
the  son  of    Remaliah,   king  of  Israel,   came    up  against 
Jerusalem,   to  besiege  it ;  but  they    could  not  overcome 

2  it.     And  when  it  was  told  to  the  house  of  David,    that 
Syria  was  supported  by  Ephraim  ;  the  heart  of  the  king, 


<OEAP.  VII.  ISAIAK.  13 

and  the  heart  of  his  people,  was  moved  ;  as  the  trees  of 
the  forest  are  moved  before  the  wind. 

3  And  JEHOVAH  said  to  Isaiah  :  Go  out  now  to  meet 
Ahaz ;  thou  and  Shearjashub  thy  son  ;  at  the  end  of  the 
aqueduct  of  the  upper  pool,  at  the  causeway  of  the  ful- 

4  ler's  field.     And  thou  shalt  say  unto  him  : — 

Take  heed,  and  be  still;  fear  not,  neither  let  thy  lieart 

be  faint, 

Because  of  the  two  tails -of  these  smoking  firebrands  ; 
For  the  'fierce  wrath  ef  Retsin,  and  of  -the  son  of  Re 

maliah. 

5  Because  Syria  hath  devised  «evil  against  thee  ; 
Ephraim,  and  the  son  of  Remalkdi,  saying  : 

6  Let  us  go  up  against  Jadah,  and  harass  it ;. 
And  let  us  rend  off  a  part  of  it  for  ourselves  ; 
And  let  us  set  a  king  to  reign  in  the  midst  of  it •;  . 
Even  the  son  of  Tabeal. 

7  Thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  : 

It  shall  not  stand,  neither  shall  it  be. 

8  Though  the  head  of  Syria  be  Damascus, 
And  the  head  of  Damascus,  Retsin ; 
Yet  within  threescore  and  five  years 

Ephraim    shall    be    broken,   that  he  be   no  more    ;«. 
people : 

9  Though  the  hcad^of  Ephraim  be  Samaria  ; 
And  the  head  of  Samaria,  Remaliah's  son. 

If  ye  believe  not  in  me,  ye  shall  not  be  established. 

10  And  JEHOVAH  spake  yet  again  to  Ahaz,  saying  : 

11  Ask  thee  a  sign  from  JEHOVAH  thy  Ged-: 

Go  deep  to  the  grave,  or  high  to  the 'heaven  above. 

12  And  Ahaz  said :  I  will  not  ask  ;  neither  will  I  tempt 

13  JEHOVAH.     And  he  said  : 

Hear  ye  now,  O  house  of  David  : 

Is  it  a  small  thing  for  you  to  weary  men, 

That  you  should  weary  my  God  also  ? 

14  Therefore  JEHOVAH  himself  shall  give  you  a  sign  : 
Behold,  the  Virgin  conceived),  and  beareth  a  son ; 
And  she  shall  call  his  name,  Immanuel. 

15  Butter  and  honey  shall  he  eat, 

When  he  shall  know  to  refuse  what  is  evil,  and  to  choose 
what  is  good  : 

16  For  before  this  child  shall  know 

7 


14  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VII* 

To  refuse  the  evil,  and  to  choose  the  good  ; 
The  land  shall  become  desolate, 
•  By  whose  two  kings  thou  art  distressed. 

17  But  JEHOVAH  shall  bring  upon  thee, 

And  upon  thy  people,  and  upon  thy  father's  house, 

Days,  such  as  have  not  come, 

From  the  day  that  Ephraim  departed  from  Judah. 

18  And  it  shall  co?ne  to  pass  in  that  day  ; 
JEHOVAH  shall  hist  the  fly, 

That  is  in  the  utmost  part  of  the  rivers  of  Egypt ; 
And  the  bee,  that  is  in  the  land  of  Assyria  : 

19  And  they  shall  come,  and  they  shall  light  all  of  them 
On  the  desolate  vallies,  and  on  the  craggy  rocks, 
And  on  all  the  thickets,  and  on  all  the  caverns. 

20  In  that  day,  JEHOVAH  shall  shave  by  the  hired  razor, 

By  the    people  beyond    the    river,    by    the    king  of 

Assyria, 

The  head  and  the  hair  of  the  feet ; 
And  even  the  beard  itself  shall  be  destroyed, 

21  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 

That  if  a  man  shall  feed  a  young  cow,  and  two  sheep  ; 

22  From  the  plenty  of  milk,  which  they  shall  produce,  he 

shall  eat  butter : 

Even  butter  and  honey  shall  he  eat, 
Whosoever  is  left  in  the  midst  of  the  land. 

23  And  every  vineyard,  that  hath  a  thousand  vines, 
Valued  at  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver, 

Shall  become  in  that  day  briers  and  thorns. 

24  With  arrows  and  with  the  bows  shall  they  come  thither  j 
For  the  whole  land  shall  become  briers  and  thorns. 

25  And  all  the  hills,  which  were  dressed  with  the  mattock, 
Where  the  fear  of  briers  and  thorns  never  came, 

Shall  be  for  the  range  of  the  ox,  and  for  the  treading  of 
sheep. 


CHAP.    VIII. 

1  AND  JEHOVAH  said  unto  me  :  Take  unto  thee  a  large 
mirror,  and  write  on  it  with  a  workman's  graving  tool, 

2  To  hasten  the  spoil,    to  take  quickly  the  prey.      And 
I  called    unto  me   for   a  testimony    faithful  witnesses ; 
Uriah  the  priest,  and  Zachariah  the  son  of  Jeberechiah. 


CHAP.  VIII.  ISAIAH.  15 

3  And  I  approached  unto  the  prophetess  ;    and   she  con- 
ceived, and  bare  a  son.     And  JEHOVAH  said  unto  me : 
Call  his  name  Maher-shalal  hash-baz ; 

4  For  before  the  child  shall  know 

To  pronounce,  My  father  and  My  mother, 

The  riches  of  Damascus  shall  be  borne  away, 

And  the  spoil  of  Samaria,  before  the  king  of  Assyria. 

5  Yet  again  JEHOVAH  spake  unto  me,  saying : 

6  Because  this  people  hath  rejected 

The  waters  of  Siloah,  which  flow  gently  ; 

And  rejoiceth  in  Retsin,  and  the  son  of  Remaliah : 

7  Therefore  behold  the  Lord  bringeth  up  upon  them 
The  waters  of  the  river,  the  strong  and  the  mighty  ; 
Even  the  king  of  Assyria,  and  all  his  force. 

And  he  shall  rise  above  all  their  channels, 
And  shall  go  over  all  their  banks, 

8  And   he  shall  pass  through   Judah.  overflowing    and 

spreading, 

Even  to  the  neck  shall  he  reach  : 
And  the  extension  of  his  wings  shall  be 
Over  the  full  breadth  of  thy  land,  O  Immanuel ! 

9  Know  ye  this,  O  ye  peoples,  and  be  struck  with  con- 

sternation ; 

And  give  ear  to  it,  alt  ye  of  distant  lands : 
Gird  yourselves,  and  be  dismayed  ;  gird  yourselves,  and 
be  dismayed. 

10  Take  counsel  together,  and  it  shall  come  to  nought ; 
Speak  the  word,  and  it  shall  not  stand  : 

For  God  is  with  us. 

11  For  thus  said  JEHOVAH  unto  me  ; 

As  taking  me  by  the  hand  he  instructed  me, 
That  I  should  not  walk  in  the  way  of  this  people, 
saying  : 

12  Say  ye  not,  It  is  holy, 

Of  every  thing  of  which  this  people  shall  say,  It  is  holy : 
And  fear  ye  not  the  object  of  their  fear,  neither  be  ye  ter- 
rified. 

13  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts,  sanctify  ye  him  ; 

And  let  him  be  your  fear,  and  let  him  be  your  dread: 

14  And  he  shall  be  unto  you  a  sanctuary  ; 

But  a  stone  of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence, 
To  the  two  houses  of  Israel ; 


16 


ISAIAH1.  CHAP.  VII?.. 


A  tmpfrtfcTa  snare  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem. 

15  And  many  among  them  shall  stumble. 

And  shall  faJl,  and  be  broken;  and  shall  be  ensnared  acd 
caught. 

16  Bind  up  the  testimony,  seal  the  command,  among  my 

disciples. 

17  I   will    therefore  wait    for   JEHOVAH*,    whx>    hideth    his 

face 
From  the  house  of  Jacob ;  yet  will  I  look  for  him. 

18  Behold,  I,  and  the  children, 

Whom  JEHOVAH  hath  given  unto  me  - 
For  signs  and  for  wonders  in  Israel, 
From  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts, 
Who  dwelleth  in  the  mountain  of  Sion. 

19  And  when  they  shall  say  unto  you  : 
Seek  unto  the  necromancers  and  the  wizards; 
To  them  that  speak  iawardly,  and  that  mutter  : 
Should  not  a  people  seek  unto  their  God  ? 

Should  they  seek,  instead  of  the  living,  unto  the  dead  ? 

20  Unto  the  cominandr  and   unto  the  testimony,   1st    them 

seek  : 

If  they  will  not  speak  according  to  this  word, 
In  which  there  is  no  obscurity  ; 

21  Every  one  of  them  shall  pass  through  &be  land  distressed 

and  famished  : 

And  when  he  shall  be  famished,  and  angry  with  himself, 
He  shall  curse  his  kirag  and  his  God. 

22  And  he  shall  cast  his  eyes  upwards,  and  look  down  to  tfte 

earth  : 

And  lo !  distress  and  darkness  ! 
Gloom,  tribulation,  and  accumulated  darkness! 

23  But  there  shall  not  hereafter  be-  darkness  in  the  land) 

which  was  distressed : 
In  the  former  time  he  debased 
The  land  of  Zebuto»,  and' the  land  of>  Naphthali ; 
But  in  the  latter  time  he  hath  made-  it  glorious : 
Even  the  way  of  the  sea,   beyond  Jordan,  Galilee  of  the* 
nations. 

CHA-P.    IX. 

1  The  people,  that  walked  in  darkness, 
Have  seen-  a  great;  light ; 

They  that  dwelled  in  the  land  of  the  shadow  of  death,. 
Unto  them  liath  the  light  shined. 


fcHAP,  IX.  ISAIAH.  1? 

2  Thou  hast  multiplied  the  nation,  thou  hast  increased  their 

j°y: 

They  rejoice  before  thee,  as  with  the  joy  of  harvest ; 
As  they  rejoice,  who  divide  the  spoil. 

3  For  the  yoke  of  his  burthen,  the  staff  laid  on  his  shoul- 

der, 

The  rod  of  his  oppressor,  hast  thou  broken,  as  in  the  day 
of  Midian. 

4  For  the  greaves  of  the  armed  warrior  in  the  conflict, 
And  the  garment  rolled  in  much  blood, 

Shall  be  for  a  burning,  even  fuel  for  the  fire. 

5  For  unto  us  a  Child  is  born  ;  unto  us  a  Son  is  given  ; 
And  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder  : 
And  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor. 
The  mighty  God,  the  Father  of  the  everlasting  age,   the 

Prince  of  peace. 

6  Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be 

no  end ; 

Upon  the  throne  of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom  ; 
To  fix  it,  and  to  establish  it 
With  judgment  and    with  justice,    henceforth   and    for 

ever : 
The  zeal  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  will  do  this. 


7  JEHOVAH  hath  sent  a  word  against  Jacob  ; 
And  it  hath  lighted  upon  Israel. 

8  Because  the  people  all  of  them  carry  themselves  haugh- 

tily 5 

Ephraim,  and  the  inhabitant  of  Samaria  ; 
In  pride  and  arrogance  of  heart,  saying: 

9  The  bricks  are  fallen,  but  we  will  build  with  hewn  stone; 
The  sycamores  are  cut  down,  but  we  will  replace  them  with 

cedars  : 

10  Therefore  will  JEHOVAH  excite  the  princes  of  Retsin  against 

him ; 
And  raise  up  his  enemies  together  : 

11  The  Syrians  from  the  east,  and  the  Philistines  from  the 

west ; 

And  they  shall  devour  Israel  on  every  side. 
For  all  this  his  anger  is  not  turned  away  5 
But  his  hand  is  still  stretched  out. 


12  Yet  this  people  have   not  turned  unto  him  that  sirjote* 

them  : 
And  JEHOVAH'  God  of  Hosts  they  have  not  sought. 

13  Therefore  shall  JEHOVAH  cut  off  from- Israel  the  head  and 

the  tail ; 
The  branch  and  the  rush,  in  one  day  : 

14  The  aged,  and  the  honourable  person,  he  is  the  head; 
And  the  prophet  that  teacheth  falsehood,  he  is  the  tail. 

1 5  For  the  leaders  of  this  people  lead  them  astray ; 
And  they  that  are  led  by  them  shall  be  devoured. 

16  Wherefore  JEHOVAH   shall  not  rejpice  over  their   young 

men ; 
And  on  their  orphans,  and  their  widows,  he  shall  have  no1 

compassion. 

For  everyone  of  them  is  a  hypocrite  and  evil-doer  f 
And  every  mouth  speaketh  folly. 

For  alt  this  his  anger  is  not  turned  away  ; 

But  his  hand  is  still  stretched  out. 

\1       For  wickedness  burneth  like  a  fire  ; 

The  brier  and  the  bramble  it  shall  consume  : 

And  it  shall  kindle  the  thicket  of  the  wood  ; 

And  they  shall  mount  up  in  volumes  of  rising  smoke. 

18  Through  the  wrath  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  is  the  land 

darkened  ; 

And  the  people  shall  be  as  fuel  for  the  fire  : 
A  man  shall  not  spare  his  brother. 

19  But  he  shall  snatch  on  the  right,  and  yet  be  hungry ; 
And  he  shall  devour  on  the  left,  and  not  be  satisfied  : 
Every  man  shall  devour  tbe  flesh  of  his  neighbour. 

20  Manasseh  shall  devour  Ephraim,  and  Ephraim  Manas^ 

seh  ; 

And  both  of  them  shall  be  united  against  Judah. 
For  all  this  his  anger  is  not  turned  away ; 
But  his  hand  is  still  stretched  out. 


CHAP.  X. 

1  Wo  unttfthem,  trxit  decree  unrighteous  decrees  j 
Unto  the  scribes,  that  prescribe  oppression  : 

2  To  turn  aside  the  needy  from  judgment ; 
To  rob  of  their  right  the  poor  of  rny  people  ; 


CHAP.  x.  ISAIAH.  19 

That  the  widows  may  become  their  prey  ; 
And  that  they  may  plunder  the  orphans. 

3  And  what  will  ye  do  in  the  day  of  visitation  ? 

And  in  the  desolation,  which  shall  come  from  afar  ?   j 
To  whom  will  ye  flee  for  succour  ? 
And  where  will  ye  deposit  your  wealth  1 

4  Without  me,  they  shall  bow  down  under  the  bounden, 
And  under  the  slain  shall  they  fall. 

For  all  this  his  anger  is  not  turned  away  ; 
But  his  hand  is  still  stretched  out* 

5  Ho  !  to  the  Assyrian,  the  rod  of  mine  anger, 

The  staff  in  whose  hand  is  the  instrument  of  mine  indig- 
nation ! 

6  Against  a  dissembling  nation  will  I  send  him; 

And  against  a  people  the  object  of  my  wrath  will  I  give 

him  a  charge : 

To  gather  the  spoil,  and  to  bear  away  the  prey  ; 
And  to  trample  them  under  foot  like  the  mire  of  the 

streets. 

7  But  he  doth  not  so  purpose ; 
And  his  heart  doth  not  eo  intend  : 
But  to  destroy  is  in  his  heart ; 
Arid  to  cut  off  nations  not  a  few. 

8  For  he  saith,  Are  not  my  princes  altogether  kings  1 

9  Is  not  Calno  as  Carchemish  ? 
Is  not  Hamath  as  Arphad  ? 
Is  not  Samaria  as  Damascus  ? 

10  As  my  hand  hath  seized  the  kingdoms  of  the  idols, 
Whose  graven  images  were  superior  to  those  of  Samaria  and 

Jerusalem  ; 

11  As  I  have  done  unto  Samaria  and  her  idols, 

Shall  I  not  likewise  do  unto  Jerusalem,  and  her  images  ? 

12  But  it  shall  be,  when  JEHOVAH  hath  accomplished  his 
whole  work 

Upon  Mount  Sion,  and  upon  Jerusalem  ; 

I  will  punish  the  effect  of  the  proud  heart  of  the  king  of 

Assyria  J 
And  the  triumphant  look  of  his  haughty  eyes. 

13  For  he  hath  said,  By  the  strength  of  my  hand  have  I  done 

it; 
And  by  my  wisdom  ;  for  I  am  endowed  with  prudence. 


20  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  X, 

I  have  removed  the  bounds  of  the  peoples ; 
And  i  have  plundered  their  hoarded  treasures  ; 
And  I  have  brought  down    those,  that    were  strongly 
seated. 

14  And  my  hand  hath  found,  as  a  nest,  the  riches  of  the 

peoples  ; 

And  as  one  gathereth  esrgs  deserted, 
So  have  I  made  a  general  gathering  of  the  earth : 
And  there  was  no  one,  that  moved  the  wing  ; 
That  opened  the  beak,  or  that  chirped. 

15  Shall  the  axe  boast  itself  against  him,  that  heweth 

therewith  ? 

Shall  the  saw  magnify  itself  against  him,  that  moveth  it  ? 
As  if  the  rod  should  wield  him,  that  lifteth  it ; 
As  if  the  statT  should  lift  up  its  master. 

16  Wherefore  JEHOVAH  the  Lord  of  Hosts  shall  send 
Upon  his  fat  ones  leanness  ; 

And  under  his  glory  shall  he  kindle 
A  burning  as  of  a  conflagration. 

17  And  the  light  of  Israel  shall  become  a  fire, 
And  his  Holy  One  a  flame  ; 

And  he  shall  burn,  and  consume  his  thorn 
And  his  brier  in  one  day. 

18  Even  the  glory  of  his  forest,  and  of  his  fruitful  field, 
From  the  soul  even  to  the  flesh,  shall  he  consume  ; 
And  it  shall  be,  as  when  one  fleeth  out  of  the  fire. 

19  And  the  remainder  of  the  trees  of  his  forest  shall  be  a  small 

number, 
So  that  a  child  may  write  them  down. 

20  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
No  more  shall  the  remnant  of  Israel, 
And  the  escaped  of  the  house  of  Jacob, 
Lean  upon  him,  that  smote  them  : 

But  shall  lean  upon  JEHOVAH, 
The  Holy  One  of  Israel,  in  truth. 

21  A  remnant  shall  return,  a  remnant  of  Jacob, 
Unto  God  the  Mighty. 

22  For  though  thy  people,  O  Israel,  shall  be  as  the  sand  of  the 

sea, 

A  remnant  of  them  only  shall  return. 
The  consummation  decided,  overflowed!  with  strict  jus* 

tice; 


CHAP.  X. 


ISAIAH.  21 


23  For  a  full  and  decisive  decree 

Shall  JEHOVAH  the  Lord  of  Hosts  accomplish  in  the  midst 
of  the  land. 

24  Wherefore  thus  saith  Jehovah  the  Lord  of  Hosts  : 
Fear  not,  O  my   people,  that  dwellest  in  Sion,  because  of 

the  Assyrian  : 

With  his  staff  indeed  shall  he  smite  thee, 
And  his  rod  shall  he  lift  up  against  thee,  in  the  way  of 

Egypt. 

25  But   yet  a  very  little  time,  and  mine  indignation  shall 

cease ; 
And  mine  anger  in  their  destruction  : 

26  And  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  shall  raise  up  against  him  a 

scourge. 

Like  the  stroke  upon  Midian  at  the  rock  of  Oreb, 
And  like  the  rod  which  he  lifted  up  over  the  sea ; 
Yea  he  will  lift  it  up,  after  the  manner  of  Egypt. 

27  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 

His  burthen  shall  be  removed  from  off  thy  shoulder, 

And  his  yoke  from  off  thy  neck : 

Yea  the  yoke  shall  perish  from  off  your  shoulders. 

28  He  is  come  to  Aiath  ;  he  hath  passed  to  Migron  ; 
At  Michmas  he  will  deposit  his  baggage. 

29  They  have  passed  the  strait ;  Geba  isjjifik  lodging  for 

the  night : 
Ramah  is  frightened  ;  Gibeah  of  Saul  fleeth. 

30  Cry  aloud  with  thy  voice,  O  daughter  of  Gallirn  ; 
Hearken  unto  her,  O  Laish  ;  answer  her,  O  Anathoth. 

31  Madmena  is  gone  away;  the  inhabitants  of  Gebim  flee 

amain. 

32  Yet  this  day  shall  he  abide  in  Nob  : 

He  shall  shake  his  hand  against  the  mount  of  the  daugh- 
ter of  Sion  ; 
Against  the  hill  of  Jerusalem. 

33  Behold  JEHOVAH,  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 

Shall  lop  the  flourishing  branch  with  a  dreadful  crash  ; 
And  the  high  of  stature  shall  be  cut  down, 
And  the  lofty  shall  be  brought  low : 

34  And  he  shall  hew  the  thickets  of  the  forest  with  iron, 
And  Lebanon  shall  fall  by  a  mighty  hand. 


22  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XI. 


CHAP.  XI. 

1  BUT  there  shall  spring  forth  a  rod  from  the  trunk  of 

Jesse  ; 
And  a  scion  from  his  roots  shall  become  fruitful. 

2  And  the  spirit  of  JEHOVAH  shall  rest  upon  him  ; 
The  spirit  of  wisdom,  and  understanding  ; 
The  spirit  of  counsel,  and  strength  ; 

The  spirit  of  the  knowledge,  and  the  fear  of  JEHOVAH. 

3  And  he  shall  be  of  quick  discernment  in  the  fear  of  JEHO- 

VAH : 

So  that  not  according  to  the  sight  of  his  eyes  shall  he 
judge ; 

Nor  according  to  the  hearing  of  his  ears  shall  he  re- 
prove. 

4  But  with  righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  poor, 

And  with  equity  shall  he  work  conviction  in  the  meek  of 

the  earth. 

And  he  shall  smite  the  earth  with  a  blast  of  his  mouth, 
And  with  the  breath  of  his  lips  he  shall  slay  the  wicked 

one. 

5  And  righteousness  shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  loins ; 
And  faithfulness  the  cincture  of  his  reins. 

6  Then  shall  the  wolf  take  up  his  abode  with  the  lamb  ; 
And  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid  : 

And  the  calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fading  shall 

come  together ; 
And  a  little  child  shall  lead  them. 

7  And  the  heifer  and  the  she-bear  shall  feed  together  ; 
Together  shall  their  young  ones  lie  down  ; 

And  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox. 

8  And  the  suckling  shall  play  upon  the  hole  of  the  aspic; 
And  upon  the  den  of  the  basilisk  shall  the  new- weaned 

child  lay  his  hand. 

9  They  shall  not  hurt,  nor  destroy,  in  all  my  holy  moun- 

tain ; 

For  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  JEHOVAH, 
As  the  waters  that  cover  the  depths  of  the  sea. 
10       And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 

The  root  of  Jesse,  which  starideth  for  an  ensign  to  the 

peoples, 

Unto  him  shall  the  nations  repair, 
And  his  resting-place  shall  be  glorious. 


CHAP.  XI.  ISAIAH.  23 

11  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 

JEHOVAH  shall  again  the  second  time  put  forth  his  hand. 
To  recover  the  remnant  of  his  people 
That  remaineth,  from  Assyria,  and  from  Egypt ; 
And  from  Pathros,  and  from  Gush,  and  from  Elam ; 
And  from  Shinear,  and   from   Hamath,    and  from  the 
western  regions. 

12  And  he  shall  lift  up  a  signal  to  the  nations  ; 
And  he  shall  gather  the  outcasts  of  Israel, 
And  the  dispersed  of  Judah  shall  he  collect, 
From  the  four  extremities  of  the  earth. 

13  And  the  jealousy  of  Ephraim  shall  cease ; 
And  the  enmity  of  Judah  shall  be  no  more  : 
Ephraim  shall  not  be  jealous  of  Judah  ; 

And  Judah  shall  not  be  at  enmity  with  Ephraim. 

14  But  they  shall  invade  the  borders  of  the  Philistines  west- 

ward ; 

Together  shall  they  spoil  the  children  of  the  east : 
On  Edom  and  Moab  they  shall  Jay  their  hand ; 
And  the  sons  of  Ammon  shall  obey  them. 

15  And  JEHOVAH  shall  smite  with  a  drought  the  tongue  of 

the  Egyptian  sea ; 

And  he  shall  shake  his  hand  over  the  river  with  his  vehe- 
ment wind ; 

And  he  shall  strike  it  into  seven  streams, 

And  make  them  pass  over  it  dry-shod. 

16  And  there  shall  be  a  high-way  for  the  remnant  of  his 

people, 

Which  shall  remain  from  Assyria  : 
As  it  was  unto  Israel, 
In  the  day  when  he  came  up  from  the  land  of  Egypt. 

CHAP.    XII. 

1  AND  in  that  day  thou  shalt  say  : 

I  will  give  thanks  unto  thee,  O  JEHOVAH  ;  for  though 

thou  hast  been  angry  with  me. 
Thine  anger  is  turned  away,  and  thou  hast  comforted  me. 

2  Behold,  God  is  my  salvation  ; 

I  will  trust,  and  will  not  be  afraid  ; 

For  my  strength,  and  my  song,  is  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  he  is  become  unto  me  salvation. 

3  And  when  ye  shall  draw  waters  with  joy  from  the  foun- 

4  tains  of  salvation  ;  in  that  day  ye  shall  say : 

Give  ye  thanks  to  JEHOVAH;  call  upon" his  name  ; 


24  ISAIAH,  CHAP.  XII. 

Make  known  among  the  peoples  his  mighty  deeds  : 
Record  ye,  how  highly  his  name  is  exalted. 

5  Sing  ye  JEHOVAH  ;  for  he  hath  wrought  a  stupendous 

work  : 
This  is  made  manifest  in  all  the  earth. 

6  Cry  aloud,  and  shout  for  joy,  O  inhabitress  of  Sion  ; 
For  great  in  the  midst  of  thee  is  the  Holy  One  of 

Israel. 


CHAP,    XIII. 

1  THE   ORACLE     CONCERNING   BABYLON,    WHICH  WAS 
REVEALED  TO  ISAIAH,  THE  SON  OF  AMOTS. 

2  UPON  a  lofty  mountain  erect  the  standard ; 
Exalt  the  voice ;  beckon  with  the  hand  ; 
That  they  may  enter  the  gates  of  princes. 

3  I  have  given  a  charge  to  mine  enrolled  warriors  ; 

I  have  even  called  my  strong  ones  to  execute  my  wrath  ; 
Those  that  exult  in  my  greatness. 

4  A  sound  of  a  multitude  in  the  mountains,  as  of  a  great 

people  • 
A  sound  of  the  tumult  of  kingdoms,  of  nations  gathered 

together ! 
JEHOVAH,  God   of   Hosts,    mustereth    the   host  for  the 

battle. 

5  They  come  from  a  distant  land,  from  the  end  of    the 

heavens ; 

JEHOVAH,  and  the  instruments  of  his  wrath,  to  destroy  the 
whole  land. 

6  Howl  ye,  for  the  day  of  JEHOVAH  is  at  hand: 
As  a  destruction  from  the  Almighty  shall  it  come. 

7  Therefore  shall  all  hands  be  slackened ; 

And  every  heart  of  mortal  shall  melt ;  and  they  shall  be 
terrified : 

8  Torments  and  pangs  shall  seize  them  ; 

.As  a  woman  in  travail,  they  shall  be  pained  : 
They  shall  look  one  upon  another  with  astonishment ; 
Their  countenances  shall  be  like  flames  of  fire. 

9  Behold,  the  clay  of  JEHOVAH  cometh,  inexorable  : 
Even  indignation,  and  burning  wrath  : 

To  make  the  land  a  desolation  ; 

And  her  sinners  he  shall  destroy  from  out  of  her. 


CHAP.  XIII. 


ISAIAH.  25 


10  Yea  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  the  constellations  thereof, 
Shall  not  send  forth  their  light : 

The  sun  is  darkened  at  his  going  forth, 

And  the  moon  shall  not  cause  her  light  to  shine. 

11  And  I  will  visit  the  world  for  its  evil, 
And  the  wicked  for  their  iniquity  : 

And  I  will  put  an  end  to  the  arrogance  of  the  proud  ; 
And  I  will  bring  down  the  haughtiness  of  the  terrible. 

12  I  will  make  a  mortal  more  precious  than  fine  gold  ; 
Yea  a  man,  than  the  rich  ore  of  Ophir. 

13  Wherefore  I  will  make  the  heavens  tremble ; 
And  the  earth  shall  be  shaken  out  of  her  place : 
In  the  indignation  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  ; 
And  in  the  day  of  his  burning  anger. 

14  And  the  remnant  shall  be  as  a  roe  chased ; 

And  as  sheep,  when  there  is  none  to  gather  them  to- 
gether ; 

They  shall  look,  every  one  towards  his  own  people  ; 
And  they  shall  flee  every  one  to  his  own  land. 

15  Every  one,  that  is  overtaken,  shall  be  thrust  through  ; 
And  all  that  are  collected  in  a  body  shall  fall  by  the 

sword. 

16  And  their  infants  shall  be  dashed  before  their  eyes ; 
Their  houses  shall  be  plundered,  and  their  wives  ravished. 

17  Behold,  I  raise  up  against  them  the  Medes  ; 
Who  shall  hold  silver  of  no  account ; 

And  as  for  gold,  they  shall  not  delight  in  it. 

18  Their  bows  shall  dash  the  young  men  ; 

And  on  the  fruit  of  the  womb  they  shall  have  no  mercy  ; 
Their  eye  shall  have  no  pity  even  on  the  children. 

19  And  Babylon  shall  become,  she  that  was  the  beauty  of 

kingdoms, 

The  glory  of  the  pride  of  the  Chaldeans, 
As  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  by  the  hand  of 

God. 

20  It  shall  not  be  inhabited  for  ever ; 

Nor  shall  it  be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to  generation : 
Neither  shall  the  Arabian  pitch  his  tent  there ; 
Neither  shall  the  shepherds  make  their  folds  there. 

21  But  there  shall  the  wild  beasts  of  the  deserts  lodge  ; 
And  howling  monsters  shall  fill  their  houses  : 
And  there  shall  the  daughters  of  the  ostrich  dwell ; 
And  there  shall  the  satyrs  hold  their  revels. 

8 


26  ISAIAH, 


CHAP. 


22  And  wolves  shall  howl  to  one  another  in  their  palaces  } 
And  dragons  in  their  voluptuous  pavilions. 
And  her  time  is  near  come  ; 
And  her  days  shall  not  be  prolonged. 

CHAP.    XIV. 

1  FOR  JEHOVAH  will  have  compassion  on  Jacob, 
And  will  yet  choose  Israel. 

And  he  shall  give  them  rest  upon  their  own  land  : 
And  the  stranger  shall  be  joined  unto  them, 
And  shall  cleave  unto  the  house  of  Jacob. 

2  And  the  nations  shall  take  them,  and  bring  them  into  their 

own  place  ; 
And  the  house  of  Israel  shall  possess  them  in  the  land  of 

JEHOVAH, 

As  servants  and  as  handmaids  : 
And  they  shah1  take  them  captive,  whose  captives  they 

were  ; 
And  they  shall  rule  over  their  oppressors. 

3  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  JEHOVAH 
shall  give  thee  rest  from  thine  affliction,  and  from  thy 
disquiet,  and  from  the  hard  servitude  which    was  laid 

4  upon  thee  ;  and  thou  shalt  pronounce  this  parable  upon 
the  king  of  Babylon  ;  and  shalt  say  : 

How  hath  the  oppressor  ceased  !  the  eractress  of  gold 
ceased  ! 

5  JEHOVAH  hath  broken  the  staff  of  the  wicked,  the  sceptre 

of  the  rulers. 

6  He  that  smote  the  peoples  in  wrath,  with  a  stroke  unre- 

mitted  ; 

He  that  ruled  the  nations  in  anger,  is  persecuted,  and  none 
hindereth. 

7  The  whole  earth  is  at  rest,  is  quiet  ;  they  burst  forth  into 

a  joyful  shout  : 

8  Even  the  fir-trees  rejoice  over  thee,    the  cedars  of  Li- 

banus  : 
Since  thou  art  fallen,  no  feller  hath  come  up  against  us. 

9  Hades  from  beneath  is  moved  because  of  thee,  to  meet 

thee  at  thy  coming  : 
He  rouseth  for  thee  the  mighty  dead,  all  the  great  chiefs  of 

the  earth  ; 
He  maketh  to  rise  up  from  their  thrones,  all  the  kings  of 

the  nations. 


CHAP.  XIV.  ISAIAH.  27 

10  All  of  them  shall  accost  thee3  and  shall  say  unto  thee  : 
Art  thou,  even  thou  too,  become  weak  as  we  ?  art  thou 

made  like  unto  us? 

11  Is  then  thy  pride  brought  down  to  the  grave ;  the  sound  of 

thy  sprightly  instruments  ? 

Is  the  vermin  become  thy  couch,  and  the  earth-worm  thy 
covering  ? 

12  How  art  thou  fallen  from  heaven,  O  Lucifer,  son  of  the 

morning ! 

Art  cut  down  to  the  earth,  thou  that  didst  subdue  the  na- 
tions ! 

13  Yet  thou  didst  say  in  thy  heart :  I  will  ascend  the  hea- 

vens ; 

Above  the  stars  of  God  I  will  exalt  my  throne  ; 
And  I  will  sit  upon  the  mount  of  the  divine  presence  on 

the  sides  of  the  north : 

14  I  will  ascend  above  the  highths  of  the  clouds;  I  will  belike 

the  Most  High. 

15  But  thou  shalt  be  brought  down  to  the  grave,  to  the  sides 

of  the  pit. 

16  Those  that  see  thee  shall  look  attentively  at  thee ;  they 

shall  well  consider  thee : 

Is  this  the  man,  that  made  the  earth  to  tremble ;  that 
shook  the  kingdoms  ? 

17  That  made  the  world   like  a  desert ;  that  destroyed  the 

cities  ? 
That  never  dismissed  his  captives  to  their  own  home"? 

18  All  the  kings  of  the  nations,  all  of  them, 

Lie  down  in  glory,  each  in  his  own  sepulchre : 

19  But  thou  art  cast  out  of  the  grave,  as  the  tree  abomi- 

nated ; 

Clothed  with  the  slain,  with  the  pierced  by  the  sword, 
With  them  that  go  down  to  the  stones  of  the  pit;  as  a 

trodden  carcass. 

20  Thou  shalt  not  be  joined  unto  them  in  burial ; 
Because  thou  hast  destroyed  thy  country,  tliou  hast  slain 

thy  people : 
The  seed  of  evil  doers  shall  never  be  renowned. 

21  Prepare  ye  slaughter  for  his.  children,  for  the  iniquity  of 

their  fathers ; 

Lest  they  rise,  and  possess  the  earth  :  and  fill  the  face  of 
the  world  with  cities. 


28  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIV. 

22  For  I  will  arise  against  them,  saith  JEHOVAH   God  of 

Hosts : 

And  I  will  cut  off  from  Babylon  the  name,  and  the  rem- 
nant ; 

And  the  son,  and  the  son's  son,  saith  JEHOVAH. 

23  And  I  will  make  it  an  inheritance  for  the  porcupine,  and 

pools  of  water; 

And  I  will  plunge  it  in  the  miry  gulf  of  destruction,  saith 
JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts. 

24  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  hath  sworn,  saying  : 
Surely  as  I  have  devised,  so  shall  it  be ; 

And  as  I  have  purposed,  that  thing  shall  stand : 

25  To  crush  the  Assyrian  in  my  land,  and  to  trample  him  on 

my  mountains. 

Then  shall  his  yoke  depart  from  off  them  ; 
And  his  burthen  shall  be  removed  from  off  their  shoulder. 

26  This  is  the  decree,  which  is  determined  on  the  whole 

earth ; 

And  this  the  hand,  which  is  stretched  out  over  all  the  na- 
tions : 

27  For  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  hath  decreed  ;  and  who  shall 

disannul  it  ? 

And  it  is  his  hand  that  is  stretched  out ;  and  who  shall 
turn  it  back  ? 


28  IN    THE    YEAR   IN   WHICH  AHAZ    THE    KING   DIED,    THIS 
ORACLE    WAS    DELIVERED. 

29  REJOICE  not,  O  Philistia,  with  one  consent, 
Because  the  rod  that  smote  thee  is  broken  : 

For  from  the  root  of  the  serpent  shall  come  forth  a  basi- 
lisk ; 
And  his  fruit  shall  be  a  flying  fiery  serpent. 

30  For  the  poor  shall  feed  on  my  choice  first-fruits  ; 
And  the  needy  shall  lie  down  in  security  : 

But  he  will  kill  thy  root  with  drought : 
And  thy  remnant  he  will  slay. 

31  Howl,  O  gate  ;  cry  out,  O  city  ! 

O  Philistia,  thou  art  altogether  sunk  in  consternation  f1 

For  from  the  north  cometh  a  smoke  ; 

And  there  shall  not  be  a  straggler  among  his  levies. 


CHAP.  XIT»  ISAIAH.  29 

23  And  what  answer  shall  be  given  to  the  ambassadors  of  the 

nations  ? 

That  JEHOVAH  hath  laid  the  foundation  of  Sion  ; 
And  the  poor  of  his  people  shall  take  refuge  in  her. 


€HAP.  XV. 
1         THE  ORACLE   CONCERNING 


BECAUSE    in  the  night  Ar  is  destroyed,  Moab  is  un 

done  ! 
Because  in   the  night  Kiris  destroyed,  Moab  is  undone  ! 

2  He  goeth  up  to  Beth-Dibon,  to  the  high  places  to  weep  : 
Over  Nebo,  and  over  Medeba,  shall  Moab  howl  : 

On  every  head  there  is  baldness  ;  every  beard  is  shorn. 

3  In  her  streets  they  gird  themselves  with  sackcloth  ; 
On  her  house-tops,  and  to  her  open  places, 
Every  one  howleth,  descended]  with  weeping. 

4  And  Heshbon  and  Eleale  cry  out  aloud  ; 
Unto  Jahats  is  their  voice  heard  : 

Yea  the  very  loins  of  Moab  cry  out  ; 
Her  life  is  grievous  unto  her. 

5  The  heart  of  Moab  crieth  within  her  • 

To  Tsoar  [she  crieth  out]  like  the  lowing  of  a  young 

heifer  : 

Yea  the  ascent  of  Luhith  with  weeping  shall  they  ascend  ; 
Yea  in  the  way  of  Horonaim  they  raise  a  cry  of  destruc- 

tion. 
9  For  the  waters  of  Nimrim  shall  become  desolate  : 

For  the  pasture  is  withered,  the  tender  plant  faileth,  the 

green  herb  is  no  more. 
7  Wherefore    the  riches,    which  they  have   gained,   shall 

perish  ; 
And  what  they  have  deposited,  to  the  valley  of  willows 

shall  be  carried  away. 
3  For  the  cry  encompasseth  the  border  of  Moab  : 

To  Eglaim  reacheth  her  moan  j  and  to  Beer-Elim    her 

howling. 

9  Yea  the  waters  of  Dimon  are  full  of  blood  i 
Yet  will  I  bring  more  evils  upon  Dirnon  ; 
Upon  the  escaped  of  Moab  and  Ariel,  and  the  remnant  of 
Admah. 

8* 


30  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XVI. 

CHAP.  XVI. 

1  I  will  send  forth  the  son  of  the  ruler  of  the  land,1 
From  Selah  of  the  desert  to  the  mount  of  the  daughter  of 

Sion. 

2  And  as  wandering  birds,  driven  from  the  nest, 

So  shall  be  the  daughters  of  Moab  at  the  fords  of  Ar- 
non. 

3  Impart  counsel ;  interpose  with  equity  ; 

Make  thy  shadows  as  the  night  in  the  midst  of  noon-day. 
Hide  the  outcasts  ;  discover  not  the  fugitive. 

4  Let  the  outcasts  of  Moab  sojourn  with  thee,  [O  Sion]  ; 
Be  thou  to  them  a  covert  from  the  destroyer. 

For  the  oppressor  is  no  more,  the  destroyer  ceaseth  ; 
He  that  trampled  you  under  foot  is  perished  from  the 
land. 

5  And  the  throne  shall  be  established  in  mercy, 
And  in  truth  shall  One  sit  thereon ; 

In  the  tabernacle  of  David  a  judge  ; 

Carefully  searching  out  the  right,  and  dispatching  justice. 

6  We  have  heard  the  pride  of  Moab  ;  he  is  very  proud  ; 
His  haughtiness,  and  his  pride,  and  his  anger :  vain  are 

his  lies. 

7  Therefore  shall  Moab  lament  aloud  ; 

For  the  whole  people  of  Moab  shall  he  lament ; 
For  the  men  of  Kirhares  shall  ye  make  a  moan. 

8  For  the  fields  of  Heshbon  are  put  to  shame  ; 
The  vine  of  Sibmah  languisheth, 

Whose  generous  shoots  overpowered  the  mighty  lords  of 

the  nations ; 

They  reached  unto  Jazer ;  they  strayed  to  the  desert ; 
Her  branches  extended  themselves,  they  passed  over  the 

sea. 

9  Wherefore  I  will  weep,  as  with  the  weeping  of  Jazer,  for 

the  vine  of  Sibmah  ; 
I  will  water  thee  with  my  tears,  0  Heshbon  and  Elea- 

leh! 
For  upon  thy  summer  fruits,  and  upon  thy  vintage,  the 

destroyer  hath  fallen. 
10  And  joy  and  gladness  is  taken  away  from  the  fruitful 

field  ; 
And  in  the  vineyards  they  shall  not  sing,  they  shall  not 

shout : 

In  the  vats  the  treader  shall  not  tread  out  the  wine  ; 
An  end  is  put  to  the  shouting. 


CHAP.  XVI.  ISAIAH.  31 

11  Wherefore  my  bowels  for  Moab  like  a  harp  shall  sound  ; 

And  my  entrails  for  Kirhares. 

12  And  it  shall  be,  when  Moab  shall  see, 

That  he  hath  wearied  himself  out  on  the  high  place, 
That  he  shall  enter  his  sanctuary, 
To  intercede  :  but  he  shall  not  prevail. 

13  This  is  the  word,  which  JEHOVAH  spake  concerning 

14  Moab  long  ago ;  but  now  JEHOVAH  hath  spoken,  say- 

ing: 

After  three  years,  as  the  years  of  an  hireling. 

The  glory  of  Moab  shall  be  debased,  in  all  his  "great 

multitude ; 
And   the  remnant  shall  be  few,  small,  and  without 

strength. 


CHAP.  XVII. 

1  THE    ORACLE    CONCERNING    DAMASCUS.  ^ 

BEHOLD  Damascus  is  removed,  so  as  to  be  no  more  a 

city : 
It  shall  even  become  a  ruinous  heap. 

2  The  cities  are  deserted  for  ever  ; 
They  shall  be  given  up  to  the  flocks, 

And  they    shall  lie  down,  and   none  shall  scare  them 
away. 

3  And  the  fortress  shall  cease  from  Ephraim, 
And  the  kingdom  from  Damascus : 

And  the  pride  of  Syria  shall  be  as  the  glory  of  the  sons  of 

Israel ; 
Saith  JEHOVAH  the  God  of  Hosts. 

4  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
The  glory  of  Jacob  shall  be  diminished, 
And  the  fatness  of  his  flesh  shall  become  lean. 

5  And  it  shall  be,  as  when  one  gathereth  the  standing 

harvest, 

And  his  arm  reapeth  the  ears  of  corn  : 
Or  as  when  one  gleaneth  ears  in  the  valley  of  Rephaim. 

6  A  gleaning  shall  be  left  in  it,  as  in  the  shaking  of  the 

olive  tree ; 

Two  or  three  berries  on  the  top  of  the  uppermost  bough  ; 
Four  or  five  on  the  straggling  fruitful  branches : 
Saith  JEHOVAH  the  God  of  Israel. 


32  ISAIAH.  CHAP. 

7  In  that  day  shall  a  man  regard  his  Maker, 

And  toward  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  shall  his  eyes  look  : 

8  And  he  shall  not  regard  the  altars  dedicated  to  the  work 

of  his  hands ; 

And  what  his  fingers  have  made,  he  shall  not  respect ; 
Nor  the  groves,  nor  the  solar  statues. 

9  In  that  day  shall  his  strongly  fenced  cities  become 
Like  the  desertion  of  the  Hivites  and  the  Atnorites, 
When  they   deserted  the  land    before  the  face  of  the 

sons  of  Israel ; 
And  the  land  shall  become  a  desolation. 

10  Because  thou  hast  forgotten  the  God  of  thy  salvation, 
And  hast  not  remembered  the  rock  of  thy  strength  ; 
Therefore,  when  thou  shalt  have  planted  pleasant  plants^ 
And  shalt  have  set  shoots  from  a  foreign  soil ; 

11  In  the  day  when  thou  shalt  have  made  thy  plants  to 

grow, 
And  in  the  morning,  when  thou  shalt  have  made  thy  shoots 

to  spring  forth  ; 
Even  in  the  day  of  possession/  shall  the  harvest  be  taken 

away, 
And  there  shall  be  sorrow  without  hope. 

12  Wo  to  the  multitude  of  the  numerous  peoples, 
Who  make  a  sound  like  the  sound  of  the  seas  : 
And  to  the  roaring  of  the  nations, 

Who  make  a  roaring  like  the  roaring  of  mighty  waters. 

13  Like  the  roaring  of  mighty  waters  do  the  nations  roar  ; 
But  he  shall  rebuke  them,  and  they  shall  flee  far  away  ; 
And  they  shall  be  driven  like  the  chaff  of  the  hills  before 

the  wind, 
And  like  the  gossamer  before  the  whirlwind. 

14  At  the  season  of  evening,  behold  terror ! 
Before  the  morning,  and  he  is  no  more  ! 
This  is  the  portion  of  those  that  spoil  us ; 
And  the  lot  of  those  that  plunder  us. 


CHAP.  XVJII. 

1  Ho  !  to  the  land  of  the  winged  cymbal, 
Which  borders  on  the  rivers  of  Gush  ; 

2  Which  sendeth  ambassadors  on  the  sea. 

And  in  vessels  of  papyrus  on  the  face  of  the  waters. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  ISAIAH. 

Go,  ye  swift  messengers, 

To  a  nation  stretched  out  in  length,  and  smoothed  ; 
To  a  people  terrible  from  the  first,  and  hitherto ; 
A  nation  meted  out  by  line,  and  trodden  down  ; 
Whose  land  the  rivers  have  nourished. 

3  Yea,  all  ye  that  inhabit  the  world,  and  that  dwell  on  the 

earth, 

When  the  standard  is  lifted  up  on  the  mountainsj  be- 
hold ! 

And  when  the  trumpet  is  sounded,  hear ! 

4  For  thus  hath  JEHOVAH  said  unto  me : 

I  will  sit  still,  and  regard  my  fixed  habitation ; 

Like  the  clear  heat  after  rain, 

Like  the  dewy  cloud  in  the  day  of  harvest. 

5  Surely  before  the  vintage,  when  the  bud  is  perfect, 
And  the  blossom  is  become  a  swelling  grape ; 

He  shall  cut  off  the  shoots  with  pruning-hooks, 

And  the  branches  he  shall  take  away,  he  shall  cut  down. 

6  They  shall  be  left  together  to  the  rapacious  bird  of  the 

mountains ; 

And  to  the  wild  beasts  of  the  earth : 
And  the  rapacious  bird  shall  summer  upon  it ; 
And  every  wild  beast  of  the  earth  shall  winter  upon  it. 

7  At  that  time  shall  a  gift  be  brought  to  JEHOVAH  the  God 

of  Hosts, 

From  a  people  stretched  out  in  length,  and  smoothed  ; 
A  nation  meted  out  by  line,  and  trodden  down  ; 
And  from  a  people  terrible  from  the  first,  and  hitherto ; 
Whose  land  the  rivers  have  nourished ; 
To  the  place  of  the  name  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts,  to 

Mount  Sion. 


CHAP.    XIX. 

1  THE  ORACLE  CONCERNING  EGYPT. 

BEHOLD,  JEHOVAH  rideth 
On  a  swift  cloud,  and  cometh  to  Egypt ! 
And  the  idols  of  Egypt  shall  be  moved  at  his  presence ; 
And  the  heart  of  Egypt  shall  melt  in  the  midst  of  her. 

2  And  I  will  excite  Egyptians  against  Egyptians, 

And  they  shall  fight,  every  man  against  his  brother,  and 
every  man  against  his  neighbour : 


34  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIX. 

City  against  city,  kingdom  against  kingdom. 

3  And  the  spirit  of  Egypt  shall  fail  in  the  midst  of  her ; 
And  I  will  swallow  up  her  counsel : 

And  they  shall  seek  to  the  idols,  and  to  the  sorcerers, 
And  to  the  necromancers,  and  to  the  wizards. 

4  And  I  will  give  up  Egypt  bound  into  the  hands  of  cruel 

lords, 

And  a  fierce  king  shall  rule  over  them  ; 
Saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts. 

5  Then  shall  the  waters  fail  from  the  sea, 
And  the  river  shall  be  wasted  and  dried  up. 

6  And  the  streams  shall  become  putrid  ; 

The  canals  of  Egypt  shall  be  emptied  and  dried  up. 
The  reed  and  the  lotus  shall  wither : 

7  The  meadow  by  the  canal,  even  at  the  mouth  of  the 

canal, 

And  all  that  is  sown  by  the  canal, 
Shall  wither,  be  blasted,  and  be  no  more. 

8  And  the  fishers  shall  mourn,  and  lament ; 
All  those  that  cast  the  hook  in  the  river, 

And  those  that  spread  nets  on  the  face  of  the  waters, 
shall  languish. 

9  And  they  that  work  the  fine  flax  shall  be  confounded, 
And  they  that  weave  net-work. 

10  And  her  stores  shall  be  broken  up , 

Even  of  all  that  make  a  gain  of  pools  for  fish. 

11  Surely,  the  princes  of  Zoan  are  fools  ; 

The  wise  counsellors  of  Pharaoh  have  counselled  a  bru- 
tish counsel. 

How  will  ye  boast  unto  Pharaoh  : 
I  am  the  son  of  the  wise,  the  son  of  ancient  kings  ? 

12  Where  are  they  ;  where,  thy  wise  men  ?  let  them  come  ; 
And  let  them  tell  thee  now,  arid  let  them  declare, 
"What  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  hath  determined  against 

Egypt. 

13  The  princes  of  Zoan  are  become  fools,  the  princes  of 

Noph  are  deceived ; 

They  have  caused  Egypt  to  err,  even  the  chief  pillars  of 
her  tribes. 

14  JEHOVAH  hath  mingled  in  the  midst  of  them  a  spirit  of 

giddiness ; 

And  they  have  caused  Egypt  to  err  in  all  her  works, 
As  a  drunkard  staggeretli  in  his  vomit : 


CHAP.  XIX.  ISAIAH.  35 

15  Nor  shall  there  be  any  work  in  Egypt, 

Which  the  head  or  tail,  the  branch  or  rush,  may  per- 
form. 

16  In  that  day  the  Egyptians  shall  be  as  women  : 
And  they  shall  tremble  and  fear, 

At  the  shaking  of  the  hand  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts, 
Which  he  shall  shake  over  them. 

17  And  the  land  of  Judah  shall  become   a  terror  to  the 

Egyptians  : 

If  any  one  mention  it  unto  them,  they  shall  fear  ; 
Because  of  the  counsel  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts, 
Which  he  hath  counselled  against  them. 

18  In   that  day,  there  shall  be  five  cities  in  the  land   of 


Speaking  the  language  of  Canaan, 

And  swearing  unto  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  : 

One  of  them  shall  be  called  the  City  of  the  Sun. 

19  In  that  day,  there  shall  be  an  altar  to  JEHOVAH 
In  the  midst  of  the  land  of  Egypt  ; 

And  a  pillar  by  the  border  thereof  to  JEHOVAH  : 

20  And  it  shall  be  for  a  sign,  and  for  a  witness, 

To  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  in  the  land  of  Egypt  : 
That,  when  they  cried  unto  JEHOVAH  because  of  oppres- 

sors, 
He  sent  unto  them  a  saviour,  and  a  vindicator,  and  he 

delivered  them. 

21  And  JEHOVAH  shall  be  known  to  Egypt, 

And  the  Egyptians  shall  know  JEHOVAH  in  that  day  ; 
And  they  shall  serve  him  with  sacrifice  and  oblation, 
And  they  shall  vow  a  vow  unto  JEHOVAH,  and  shall  per- 
form it. 

22  And  JEHOVAH  shall  smite  Egypt,  smiting  and  healing 

her  ; 

And  they  shall  turn  unto  JEHOVAH,  and  he  will  be  en- 
treated by  them,  and  will  heal  them. 

23  In  that  day,  there  shall  be  a  high-way  from  Egypt  to 

Assyria  ; 
And    the    Assyrian   shall   come   into    Egypt,    and   the 

Egyptian  into  Assyria  : 
And  the  Egyptian  shall  worship  with  the  Assyrian. 

24  In  that  day,  Israel  shall  be  reckoned  a  third, 
Together  with  Egypt  and  Assyria  ; 

A  blessing  in  the  midst  of  the  earth  : 


36  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIX. 

25  Whom  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  hath  blessed,  saying : 
Blessed  be  my  people,  Egypt ; 
And  Assyria,  the  work  of  my  hands  ; 
And  Israel,  mine  inheritance. 


CHAP.  xx. 

1  IN  the  year  that   Tharthan    marched   to   Ashdod f 
whither  he  was  sent  by  Sargon  king  of  Assyria  ;  (and  he 
fought  against  Ashdod,  and  took  it)  ;  at  that  time  JE- 

2  HOVAH  spake  by  Isaiah,  the  son  of  Amots,  saying : 

Go,  loose  the  sackcloth  from  off  thy  loins  ; 
And  put  off  thy  shoes  from  thy  feet. 

3  And  he  did  so,  walking  naked  and  barefoot.     And  JE- 
HOVAH said  : 

As  my  servant  Isaiah  hath  walked  naked  and  bare- 
foot; 

A  sign  and  a  prodigy  of  three  years, 
Upon  Egypt  and  upon  Gush  : 

4  So  shall  the  king  of  Assyria  lead 

The  captives  of  Egypt,  and  the  exiles  of  Gush, 
The  young  and  the  old,  naked  and  barefoot ; 
With  their  hind-parts  discovered,  to  the  shame  of  the 
Egyptians. 

5  And  they  [of  Ashdod]  shall  be  terrified,  and  ashamed 

of  Gush  in  whom  they  trusted, 
And  of  Egypt,  in  whom  they  gloried. 

6  And  the  inhabitant  of  this  country  shall  say,  in  that 

day: 

Behold,  such  is  the  object  of  our  trust, 
To  whom  we  fled  for  succour, 

That  we  might  be  delivered  from  the  king  of  Assyria  I 
How  then  shall  we  escape  ? 


CHAP.  XXI. 

1  THE  ORACLE  CONCERNING  THE  DESERT  OF  THE  SEA. 

LIKE  the  southern  tempests  violently  rushing  along, 
From  the  desert  he  cometh,  from  the  terrible  country. 

2  A  dreadful  vision  !  it  is  revealed  unto  me  : 

The  plunderer  is  plundered,  and  the  destroyei   is  de- 
stroyed ! 


CHAP.  XXI.  ISAIAH.  37 

Go  up,  O  Elam  ;  from  the  siege,  O  Media ! 
I  have  put  an  end  to  all  her  vexations. 

3  Therefore  are  my  loins  filled  with  pain  : 

Anguish  hath  seized  me,  as  the  anguish  of  a  woman  in 

travail. 
I  am  convulsed,  so  that  I  cannot  hear  ;  I  am  astonished, 

so  that  I  cannot  see. 

4  My  heart  is  bewildered  ;  terrors  have  scared  me  : 

The  evening,  for  which  I  longed,  hath  he  turned  into 
horror. 

5  The  table  is  prepared,  the  watch  is  set ;  they  eat,  they 

drink : 
Rise,  O  ye  princes  ;  anoint  the  shield. 

6  For  thus  hath  the  Lord  said  unto  me  : 
Go.  set  a  watchman  on  his  station  ; 
Whatever  he  shall  see,  let  him  report  unto  thee. 

7  And  he  saw  a  chariot  with  two  riders  ; 
A  rider  on  an  ass,  a  rider  on  a  camel. 

And  he  observed  diligently  with  extreme  diligence. 

8  And  he  that  looked  out  on  the  watch  cried  aloud : 
O  my  Lord,  I  keep  my  station  all  the  day  long  ; 
And  on  my  ward  have  I  continued  every  night. 

9  And  behold,  here  cometh  a  man,  one  of  the  two  riders  : 
And   he   answereth,  and   sayeth,  Babylon  is   fallen,   is 

fallen  ; 
And  all  the  graven  idols  of  her  gods  are  broken  to  the 

ground. 
10       O  my  threshing,  and  the  corn  of  my  floor  ! 

What  I  have  heard  from  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts,  the 

God  of  Israel, 
That  I  have  declared  unto  you. 


11       THE 


ORACLE  CONCERNING  DUMAII. 


A  VOICE  crieth  unto  me  from  Seir  : 
Watchman,  what  from  the  night? 
Watchman,  what  from  the  night  ? 
12  The  watchman  replieth  : 

The  morning  cometh,  and  also  the  night. 
If  ye  will  inquire,  inquire  ye  :  come  again, 
9 


38  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXI. 


13  THE  ORACLE  CONCERNING  ARABIA. 

IN  the  forest,  at  even,  shall  ye  lodge, 
O  ye  caravans  of  Dedan  ! 

14  To  meet  the  thirsty  bring  ye  forth  water, 
O  inhabitants  of  the  southern  country  ; 
With  bread  prevent  the  fugitive. 

15  For  from  the  face  of  the  sword  they  shall  flee  : 
From  the  face  of  the  drawn  sword  ; 

And  from  the  face  of  the  bended  bow  ; 
And  from  the  face  of  the  grievous  war. 

16  For  thus  hath  the  Lord  said  unto  me  : 
Within  yet  a  year,  as  the  years  of  an  hireling, 
Shall  all  the  glory  of  Kedar  be  consumed  ; 

17  And  the  remainder  of  the  number  of  the  mighty  bow- 

men, 

Of  the  sons  of  Kedar,  shall  be  diminished  : 
For  JEHOVAH  the  God  of  Israel  hath  spoken  it. 


CHAP.  XXII. 

1  THE  ORACLE    CONCERNING  THE    VALLEY  OF   VISION. 

WHAT  aileth  thee  now,  that  all  thine  inhabitants  are 
gone  up  to  the  house-tops? 

2  O  thou,  that  wast  full  of  noise, 
A  tumultuous  city,  a  joyous  city ! 
Thy  slain  were  not  slain  by  the  sword, 
Neither  did  they  die  in  battle. 

3  All  thy  leaders  are  gone  off  together ;  they  are  fled  from 

the  bow ; 

All  that  were  found  in  thee  are  fled  together,  they  are 
gone  far  away. 

4  Wherefore  I   said :    Turn   away   from    me  ;  I  will  weep 

bitterly  : 

Strive  not  to  comfort  me  for  the  desolation  of  the  daugh- 
ter of  my  people. 

5  For  it  is  a  day  of  trouble,  and  of  treading  down,  and  of 

perplexity ; 

The  day   of  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  God   of  Hosts  in  the 
valley  of  vision : 


CHAP.  XXII.  ISAIAH. 


39 


Breaking  down  the  wall,  and  crying  to  the  mountain. 

6  And  Elam  beareth  the  quiver  ; 

With  chariots  cometh  the  Syrian,  and  with  horsemen ; 
And  Kir  uncovereth  the  shield. 

7  And  thy  choicest  valleys  shall  be  filled  with  chariots ; 
And  the  horsemen  shall  set  themselves  in  array  against 

the  gate  ; 

8  And  the  barrier  of  Judah  shall  be  laid  open  : 

Then  thou  shall  look  towards  the  arsenal  of  the  house 
of  the  forest. 

9  And  the  breaches  of  the  city  of  David,  ye  shall  see  that 

they  are  many ; 
And  ye  shall  collect  the  waters  of  the  lower  pool ; 

10  And  the  houses  of  Jerusalem  ye  shall  number ; 

And  ye  shall  break  down  the  houses  to  fortify  the  ram- 
part : 

11  And  ye  shall  make  a  lake  between  the  two  walls, 
To  receive  the  waters  of  the  old  pool. 

But  ye  look  not  to  him,  that  hath  disposed  this  : 
And  him  that  formed  it  of  old,  ye  regard  not. 

12  And  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  called  in  that  day. 
To  weeping,  and  to  lamentation  ; 

And  to  baldness,  and  to  girding  with  sackcloth  : 

13  But,  behold,  joy  and  gladness, 

Slaying  of  oxen,  and  killing  of  sheep  ; 

Eating  of  flesh,  and  drinking  of  wine  : 

Let  us  eat,  and  drink  :  for  to-morrow  we  die. 

14  And  the  voice  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  was  revealed 

to  mine  ears  : 
Surely  this  your  iniquity  shall  not  be  expiated,  till  ye 

die, 
Saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts. 


15  THUS  saith  the  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  :  Go, 
get  thee  to  this  treasurer,  unto  Shebna,   who  is  over  the 
household  ;  and  say  unto  him  : 

16  What  hast  thou  here?  and  whom  hast  thou  here? 
That  thou  hast  hewn  out    here   a  sepulchre  for  thy- 
self? 

O  thou  that  hewest  out  thy  sepulchre  on  high, 
That  gravest  in  the  rock  an  habitation  for  thyself ! 


40  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXII. 

17      Behold  JEHOVAH  will  cast  thee  out, 

Casting  thee  violently  out,  and  will  surely  cover  thee  : 
IS  He  will  whirl  thee  round  and  round,  and  cast  thee  away, 

Like  a  ball  [from  a  sling]  into  a  wide  country  : 

There  shalt  thou  die ;  and  there  shall  thy  glorious 
chariots 

Become  the  shame  of  the  house  of  thy  lord. 

19  And  I  will  drive  thee  from  thy  station, 
And  from  thy  state  will  I  overthrow  thee. 

20  And  in  that  day  I  will  call  my  servant. 
Even  Eiiakim  the  son  of  Hilkiah  : 

21  And  I  will  clothe  him  with  thy  robe, 

And  with  thy  baldric  will  I  strengthen  him  : 
And  thy  government  will  I  commit  to  his  hand  ; 
And  he  shall  be  a  father  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusa- 
lem, 
And  to  the  house  of  Judah  : 

22  And  I  will  lay  the  key  of  the  house  of  David  upon  his 

shoulder ; 

And  he  shall  open,  and  none  shall  shut ; 
And  he  shall  shut,  and  none  shall  open. 

23  And  I  will  fasten  him  as  a  nail  in  a  sure  place  ; 

And  he  shall  become  a  glorious  seat  for  his  father's 
house. 

24  And  they  shall  hang  upon  him  all  the  glory  of  his 

father's  house, 

The  offspring  of  high  and  of  low  degree  ; 
Every  small  vessel ;  from  every  sort  of  goblets, 
To  every  sort  of  meaner  vessels. 

25  In  that  day,  saith  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts, 

The  nail  once  fastened  in  a  sure  place  shall  be  moved  ; 
And  it  shall  be  hewn  down,  and  it  shall  foil  ; 
And  the  burthen  which  was  upon  it,  shall  be  cut  off: 
For  JEHOVAH  hath  spoken  it. 


CHAP.  XXIII. 
1          THE  ORACLE  CONCERNING  TYRE. 

HOWL,  O  ye  ships  of  Tarshish  ! 
For  she  is  utterly  destroyed  both  within  and  without : 
From  the  land  of  Chittim  the  tidings  are  brought  unto 

them. 


CHAP.  XXIII.  ISAIAH.  41 

2  Be  silent,  O  ye  inhabitants  of  the  sea-coast : 

The  merchants  of  Sidon,  they  that  pass   over  the  sea, 
crowded  thee. 

3  And  the  seed  of  the  Nile,  growing   from  abundant  wa- 

ters ; 

The  harvest  of  the  river,  was  her  revenue  : 
And  she  became  the  mart  of  the  nations. 

4  Be  thou  ashamed,  O  Sidon  ;  for  the  sea  hath  spoken, 
Even  the  mighty  fortress  of  the  sea,  saying  : 

I  am  as  if  I  had  not  travailed,  nor   brought  forth  chil- 
dren ; 
As  if  I  had  not  nourished  youths,  nor  educated  virgins. 

5  When  the  tidings  shall  reach  Egypt, 

They  shall  be  seized  with  anguish  at  the  tidings  of  Tyre. 
G  Pass  ye  over  to  Tarshish  ;  howl,  O  ye  inhabitants  of  the 
sea-coast ! 

7  Is  this  your  triumphant  city ;  whose  antiquity  is  of  the 

earliest  date  ? 
Her  own  feet   bear  her  far  away  to  sojourn. 

8  Who  hath  purposed  this  against  Tyre,  who  dispensed 

crowns  ; 

Whose  merchants  were  princes  ;  whose  traders  were  no- 
bles  of  the  land  I 

9  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  had  counselled  it ; 
To  stain  the  pride  of  all  beauty  ; 

To  make  contemptible  all  the  nobles  of  the  earth. 

10  Overflow  thy  land,  like  a  river, 

O  daughter  of  Tarshish  ;  the  mound  [that  kept  in  thy  wa- 
ters] is  no  more. 

11  He  hath  stretched  his  hand  over  the  sea  ;  he  hath  shaken 

the  kingdoms : 

JEHOVAH  hath  issued  a  command  concerning  Canaan, 
that  they  should  destroy  her  strong  places. 

12  And  he  hath  said  :  Thou  shalt  triumph  no  more, 
O  thou  deflourcd  virgin,  the  daughter  of  Sidon  ! 

To  Chittim  arise,  pass  over  ;  even  there  thou  shalt  have  no 
rest. 

13  Behold  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans  ; 
This  people  was  of  no  account ; 

(The    Assyrian  founded    it   for    the  inhabitants  of  the 
desert ; 


42  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIII. 

They  raised  the  watch-towers,  they  set  up  the  palaces 

thereof)  : 
This  people  hath  reduced  her  to  a  ruin. 

14  Howl,  O  ye  ships  of  Tarshish  ;  for  your  stronghold  is  de- 

stroyed. 

15  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day  ; 
That  Tyre  shall  be  forgotten  seventy  years, 
According  to  the  days  of  one  king  : 

At  the  end  of  seventy  years, 

Tyre  shall  sing,  as  the  harlot  singeth. 

16  Take  thy  lyre,  go  about  the  city,  O  harlot  long  forgotten  ; 
Strike  the  lyre  artfully ;  multiply   the  song  ;  that  thou 

mayest  again  be  remembered. 

17  And  at  the  end  of  seventy  years, 
JEHOVAH  will  take  account  of  Tyre : 

And  she  shall  return  to  her  gainful  practice  ; 

And  she  shall  play  the  harlot  with  all  the  kingdom  of  the 
world. 

That  are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 
IS  But  her  traffic,  and  her  gain,  shall  be  holy  to  JEHOVAH  : 

It  shall  not  be  treasured,  nor  shall  it  be  kept  in  store ; 

For  her  traffic  shall  be  for  J,hem,   that  dwell  before  JEHO- 
VAH, 

For  food  sufficient,  and  for  durable  clothing. 


CHAP.  XXIV. 

1  BEHOLD,  JEHOVAH  emptieth  the  land,  and  maketh  it 

waste ; 

He  even  turneth  it  upside  down,  and  scattereth  abroad  the 
inhabitants.  « 

2  And  it  shall  be,  as  with  the  people,  so  with  the  priest ; 
As  with  the  servant,  so  with  his  master  ; 

As  with  the  handmaid,  so  with  her  mistress  ; 
As  with  the  buyer,  so  with  the  seller ; 
As  with  the  borrower,  so  with  the  lender  ; 
As  with  the  usurer,  so  with  the  giver  of  usury. 

3  The  land  shall  be  utterly  emptied,  and  utterly  spoiled  j 
For  JEHOVAH  hath  spoken  this  word. 

4  The  land  mourneth,  it  withereth  ; 
The  world  languished),  it  withereth  ; 
The  lofty  people  of  the  land  do  languish. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  ISAIAH.  43 

5  The  land  is  even  polluted  under  her  inhabitants  ; 

For  they  have  transgressed  the  law,  they  have  changed 
the  decree ; 

6  They  have  broken  the  everlasting  covenant. 
Therefore  hath  a  curse  devoured  the  land  ; 
Because  they  are  guilty,  that  dwell  in  her. 

Therefore  are   the  inhabitants   of    the   land  destroyed; 
And  few  are  the  mortals  that  are  left  in  her. 

7  The  new  wine  mourneth  ;  the  vine  languisheth  ; 
All,  that  were  glad  of  heart,  sigh. 

8  The  joyful  sound  of  the  tabour  ceaseth  ; 
The  noise  of  exultation  is  no  more  ; 
The  joyful  sound  of  the  harp  ceaseth  : 

9  With  songs  they  shall  no  more  drink  wine ; 

The  palm-wine  shall  be  bitter  to  them  that   drink   it. 

10  The  city  is  broken  down  ;  it  is  desolate: 

Every   house  is  obstructed,  so   that  no  one  can  enter. 

11  There  is  a  cry  in  the  streets  for  wine ; 
All  gladness  is  passed  away  ; 

The  joy  of  the  whole  land  is  banished. 

12  Desolation  is  left  in  the  city  ; 

And  with  a  great   tumult   the   gate   is   battered   down. 

13  Yea  thus  shall  it  be  in  the  very  centre  of  the  land,  in 

the  midst  of  the  people ; 

As  the  shaking  of  the  olive ;  as  the  gleaning,  when  the 
vintage  is  finished. 

14  But  these   shall  lift    up  their  voice,   they  shall  sing; 
The  waters  shall  resound  with  the  exaltation  of  JEHO- 
VAH. 

15  Wherefore  in  the  distant  coasts,  glorify  ye  JEHOVAH  ; 

In  the  distant  coasts  of  the  sea,  the  name  of  JEHOVAH, 
the  God  of  Israel. 

16  From  the  uttermost  part  of  the  land,  we  have   heard 

songs,  Glory  to  the  righteous ! 

But  I  said,  Alas,  my  wretchedness,  my  wretchedness  ! 

Wo  is  me  !  the  plunderers  plunder  ; 

Yea  the  plunderers  still  continue  their   cruel  depreda- 
tions. 

17  The  terror,  the  pit,  and  the  snare, 

Are  upon  thee,  O  inhabitant  of  the  land  : 

18  And  it  shall  be,  that  whoso  fleeth  from  the  terror, 
He  shall  fall  into  the  pit ; 

And  whoso  escapeth  from  the  pit, 


44  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIV. 

He  shall  be  taken  in  the  snare : 

For  the  flood-gates  from  on  high  are  opened  ; 

And  the  foundations  of  the  earth  tremble. 

19  The  land  is  grievously  shaken  ; 

The  land  is  utterly  shattered  to  pieces ; 
The  land  is  violently  shaken  out  of  its  place  ; 

20  The  land  reeleth  to  and  fro  like  a  drunkard  ; 

And  moveth  this  way  and  that,  like  a  lodge  for  a  night : 
For  her  iniquity  lietli  heavy  upon  her  ; 
And  she  shall  fall,  and  rise  no  more. 

21  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 

JEHOVAH  shall  summon  on  high  the  host  that  is  on  high  ; 
And  on  earth  the  kings  of  the  earth  : 
And  they  shall  be  gathered  together,  as  in  a  bundle  for 
the  pit ; 

22  And  shall  be  closely  imprisoned  in  the  prison  : 

And  after  many  days,  account  shall  be  taken  of  them. 

23  And  the  moon  shall  be  confounded,  and  the  sun  shall 

be  ashamed  ; 

For  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  shall  reign 
On  Mount  Sion,  and  in  Jerusalem  ; 
And  before  his  ancients  shall  he  be  glorified.. 

CHAP  XXV. 

1  O  JEHOVAH,  (hou  art  my  God  : 

I  will  exalt  thee ;  I  will  praise  thy  name : 
For  thou  hast  effected  wonderful  things  ; 
Counsels  of  old  time,  promises  immutably  true. 

2  For  thou  hast  made  the  city  an  heap  ; 
The  strongly  fortified  citadel  a  ruin  : 

The  palace  of  the  proud  ones,  that  it  should  be  no  more 

a  city  ; 
That  it  never  should  be  built  up  again. 

3  Therefore  shall  the  fierce  people  glorify  thee  ; 
The  city  of  the  formidable  nations  shall  fear  thee  ; 

4  For  thou  hast  been  a  defence  to  the  poor  ; 
A  defence  to  the  needy  in  his  distress  : 

A  refuge  from  the  storm,  a  shadow  from  the  heat ; 
When   the  blast   of  the  formidable  rages  like  a  winter 
storm. 

5  As  the  heat  in  a  parched  land,  the  tumult  of  the  proud 

shalt  thou  bring  low  ; 


falTH  FT 

CHAP.  XXV.  ISAIAH.  ^^^il!5 

As  the  heat  by  a  thick  cloud,  the  triumph  of  the  formi- 
dable shall  be  humbled. 

6  And  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  shall  make, 
For  all  the  peoples,  in  this  mountain, 

A  feast  of  delicacies,  a  feast  of  old  wines  : 
Of  delicacies  exquisitely  rich,  of  old  wines  perfectly  re- 
fined. 

7  And  on  this  mountain  shall  he  destroy 

The  covering,  that  covered  the  face  of  all  the  peoples ; 
And  the  vail,  that  was  spread  over  all  the  nations. 

8  He  shall  utterly  destroy  death  forever  ; 

And  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  shall  wipe  away  the  tear  from  off 

all  faces  ; 
And  the  reproach  of  his  people  shall  he  remove  from 

off  the  whole  earth  : 
For  JEHOVAH  hath  spoken  it. 

9  In  that  day  shall  they  say  : 
Behold,  this  is  our  God  ; 

We  have  trusted  in  him,  and  he  hath  saved  us : 
This  is  JEHOVAH  ;   we  have  trusted  in  him  ; 
We  will  rejoice,  and  triumph,  in  his  salvation. 

10  For   the  hand   of   JEHOVAH  shall    give  rest  upon  this 

mountain  ; 

And  Moab  shall  be  threshed  in  his  place, 
As  the  straw  is  threshed  under  the  wheels  of  the  car. 

11  And  he  shall  stretch  out  his  hands  in  the  midst  thereof, 
As  he,  that  sinketh,  stretcheth  out  his  hands  to  swim  : 
But  God  shall  bring  down  his  pride  with  the  sudden  gripe 

of  his  hands. 

12  And  the  bulwark  of  thy  high  walls  shall  he  lay  low  : 

He  shall  bring  them  down  to  the  ground  ;  he  shall  lay 
them  in  the  dust. 


CHAP.  XXVI. 

1  IN  that  day  shall  this  song  be  sung : 

In  the  land  of  Judah  we  have  a  strong  city  ; 
Salvation  shall  he  establish  for  walls  and  bulwarks. 

2  Open  ye  the  gates,  and  let  the  righteous  nation  enter  ; 

3  Constant  in  the  truth,  stayed  in  mind : 
Thou  shalt  preserve  them  in  perpetual  peace, 
Because  they  have  trusted  in  thee. 


'46  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXVI. 

4  Trust  ye  in  JEHOVAH  forever; 

For  in  JEHOVAH  is  never-failing  protection. 

5  For  he  hath  humbled  those,  that  dwell  on  high  ; 
The  lofty  city,  he  hath  brought  her  down  ; 

He  hath  brought  her  down  to  the  ground  : 
He  hath  levelled  her  with  the  dust. 

6  The  foot  shall  trample  upon  her ; 

The  feet  of  the  poor,  the  steps  of  the  needy. 

7  The  way  of  the  righteous  is  perfectly  straight ; 
Thou  most  exactly  loveliest  the  path  of  the  righteous. 

8  Even  in  the  way  of  thy  laws,  O  JEHOVAH, 
We  have  placed  our  confidence  in  thy  name  ; 

And  in  the  remembrance  of  thee  is  the  desire  of  our  soul. 

9  With  my  soul  have  I  desired  thee  in  the  night ; 

Yea  with  my  inmost  spirit  in  the  morn  have  I  sought 

thee. 

For  when  thy  judgments  are  in  the  earth, 
The  inhabitants  of  the  world  learn  righteousness. 

10  Though  mercy  be  shewn  to  the  wicked,  yet  will  he  not 

learn  righteousness  : 

In  the  very  land  of  rectitude  he  will  deal  perversely ; 
And  will  not  regard  -the  majesty  of  JEHOVAH. 

11  JEHOVAH,  thy  hand  is  lifted  up,  yet  will  they  not  see  : 
But    they  shall  see,  with  confusion,    thy   zeal    for    thy 

people  * 
Yea  the  fire  shall  burn  up  thine  adversaries. 

12  JEHOVAH,  thou  wilt  ordain  for  us  peace  : 

For  even  all  our  mighty  deeds  thou  hast  performed  for 
us. 

13  O  JEHOVAH,  our  God  ! 

Other  lords,  exclusive  of  thee,  have  had  dominion  over 

us : 

Thee  only,  and  thy  name,  henceforth  will  we  celebrate. 
11  They  are  dead,  they  shall  not  live  ; 

They  are  deceased  tyrants,  they  shall  not  rise. 
Therefore  hast  thou  visited  and  destroyed  them  ; 
And  all  memorial  of  them  thou  hast  abolished. 

15  Thou  hast  added  to  the  nation,  O  JEHOVAH  ; 
Thou  hast  added  to  the  nation  ;  thou  art  glorified  : 
Thou  hast  extended  far  all  the  borders  of  the  land. 

16  O  JEHOVAH,  in  affliction  have  we  sought  thee; 

AVe  have  poured   out    humble  supplication,    when  thy 
chastisement  was  upon  us. 


€HAP.  XXVI,  ISAIAH.  47 

17  As  a  woman,  that   hath-  conceived,  when   her   delivery 

approacheth, 

Is  in  anguish,  crieth  out  aloud,  in  her  travail ; 
Thus  have  \ve  been  before  thee,  O  JEHOVAH. 

18  We  have  conceived ;  we  have  been  in  anguish  j  we  have, 

as  it  were,  brought  forth  wind  : 
Salvation  is  not  wrought  in  the  lancf ; 
Neither  are  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  fallen. 

19  Thy  dead  shall  live  ;  my  deceased,  they  shall  rise  : 
Awake,  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust ! 

For  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  the  dawn  ; 
But  the   earth   shall  cast  forth,  as  an  abortion,  the  de- 
ceased tyrants. 

20  Come,    O    my    people ;  retire  into    thy  secret    apart- 

ments ; 

And  shut  thy  door  after  thee  : 
Hide  thyself  for  a  little  while,  for  a  moment ; 
Until  the  indignation  shall  have  passed  away. 

21  For  behold,  JEHOVAH  issueth  forth  from  his  place ; 
To  punish  .for  his  iniquity  the  inhabitant  of  the  earth  : 
And  the  earth  shall  disclose  the  blood  that  is  upon  her ; 
And  shall  no  longer  cover  her  skin. 


<CHAP.  XXVII. 

1       In  that  day  shall  JEHOVAH  punish  with  his  sword 
His  well-tempered,  and  great,  and  strong  sword  j 
Leviathan  "the  rigid  serpent, 
And  Leviathan  the  winding  serpent : 
And  shall  slay  the  monster,  that  is  in  the  sea. 


2  IN  that  daft 

To  the  beloved  Vineyard,  sing  ye  a  responsive  song. 

3  J.  It  is  I,  JEHOVAH,  that  preserve  her  ; 

I  will  water  her  every  moment  j 
1  will  take  care  of  her  by  night ; 
And  by  day  I  will  keep  guard  over  her. 

4  V.  I  have  no  wall  for  my  defence  : 

0  that  I  had  a  fence  of  the  thorn  and  brier  !' 
J.  Against  them  should  1  march  in  battle, 

1  should  burn  them  up  together. 


48  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXVII. 

5  All !  let  her  rather  take  hold  of  my  protection. 
V.  Let  him  make  peace  with  me  ! 

Peace  let  him  make  with  me  ! 

6  J.  They  that  come  from  the  root  of  Jacob  shall  flourish, 

Israel  shall  bud  forth  ; 
And  they  shall  fill  the  face  of  the  world  with  fruit. 

7  Hath  he  smitten  him,  as  he  smiteth  those  that  smote 

him  ? 

And  like  the  slaughter  of  those,  that  slew   him,  is   he 
slain  ? 

8  In  just  measure,   when  thou   inflictest  the  stroke,  wilt 

thou  debate  with  her  ; 

With   due   deliberation,  even  in    the  rough  tempest,  in 
the  day  of  the  east  wind. 

9  "Wherefore  on  this  condition  shall  the  iniquity  of  Jacob 

be  expiated  ; 
And  so  shall  he  reap  the  whole  benefit  of  the  removal 

of  his  sin ; 

If  he  shall  render  all  the  stones  of  the  altar, 
Like  the  limestones  scattered  abroad  j 
And  if  the  groves  and  the  images  rise  no  more. 

10  But  the  strongly  fortified  city  shall  be  desolate  ; 

An  habitation  forsaken,  and  deserted  as  a  wilderness. 
There  shall  the  bullock  feed,  and  there  shall  he  lie  down  ,' 
And  he  shall  browse  on  the  tender  shoots  thereof. 

11  When  her  boughs  are  withered,  they  shall  be  broken : 
Women  shall  come,  and  set  them  on  a  blaze. 
Surely  it  is  a  people  void  of  understanding  ; 
Wherefore  he,  that  made  him,  shall  not  have  pity  on 

him ; 
And  he,  that  formed  him,  shall  shew  him  no  favour. 

12  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 

JEHOVAH  shall  make  a  gathering  of  his  fruit,  from  the 

flood  of  the  river, 
To  the  stream  of  Egypt ; 
And  ye  shall  be  gleaned  up, 
One  by  one,  O  ye  sons  of  Israel. 

13  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
The  great  trumpet  shall  be  sounded  ; 

And  those  shall  come,  who  were  perishing  in  the  land 

of  Assyria  ; 
And  who  were  dispersed  in  the  land  of  Egypt : 


CHAP.  XXVII.  ISAIAH.  49 

And  they  shall  bow  themselves  down  before  JEHOVAH, 
In  the  holy  mountain,  in  Jerusalem. 

CHAP.  XXVIII. 

1  Wo  to  the  proud  crown  of  the  drunkards  of  Ephraim, 
And  to  the  fading  flower  of  their  glorious  beauty  ! 

To  those,  that  are  at  the  head  of  the  rich  valley,  that  are 
stupified  with  wine  ! 

2  Behold  the  mighty  one,  the  exceedingly  strong  one  ! 
Like  a  storm  of  hail,  like  a  destructive  tempest ; 
Like  a  rapid  flood  of  mighty  waters  pouring  down  ; 
He  shall  dash  them  to  the  ground  with  his  hand. 

3  They  shall  be  trodden  under  foot, 

The  proud  crowns  of  the  drunkards  of  Ephraim : 

4  And  the  fading  flower  of  their  glorious  beauty, 
"Which  is  at  the  head  of  the  rich  valley, 
Shall  be  as  the  early  fruit  before  the  summer ; 
Which  whoso  seeth,  he  plucketh  it  immediately ; 

And  it  is  no  sooner  in  his  hand,  than  he  swalloweth  it. 

5  In  that  day  shall  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  become  a 

beauteous  crown, 
And  a  glorious  diadem,  to  the  remnant  of  his  people  : 

6  And  a  spirit  of  judgment,  to  them  that  sit  in  judgment ; 
And  strength  to  them,  that  repell  the  war  to  the   gate 

[of  the  enemy]. 

7  But  even  these  have  erred  through  wine,  and  through 

strong  drink  they  have  reeled  ; 

The  priest  and  the  prophet  have  erred  through  strong 
drink  ; 

They  are  overwhelmed  with  wine ;  they  have  reeled 
through  strong  drink : 

They  have  erred  in  vision,  they  have  stumbled  in  judg- 
ment. 

8  For  all  their  tables  are  full  of  vomit ; 
Of  filthiness,  so  that  no  place  is  free. 

9  "  Whom  [say  they]  would  he  teach  knowledge  ;  and  to 

"  whom  would  he  impart  instruction  ? 
"  To  such  as  are  weaned  from  the  milk,  as  are  kept  back 

"  from  the  breast  ? 

10  "  For  it  is  command   upon  command ;  command  upon 
"  command  ; 

10 


50  ISAIAH.  CHAP. 

"  Line  upon  line  ;  line  upon  line  : 
"  A  little  here,  and  a  little  there." 

11  Yea  verily,  with  a  stammering  lip,  and  a  strange  tongue, 
He  shall  speak  unto  this  people. 

12  For  when  he  said  unto  them  : 

This  is  the  true  rest ;  give  ye  rest  unto  the  weary ; 
And  this  is  the  refreshment ;  they  would  not  hear. 

13  Therefore  shall  the  word    of  JEHOVAH  be  indeed  unto 

them, 

Command   upon   command,  command  upon  command  ; 
Line  upon  line,  line  upon  line ; 
A  little  here,  and  a  little  there  : 
That  they  may  go  on,  and  fall  backward  ; 
And  be  broken,  and  snared,  and  caught. 

14  Wherefore  hear  ye  the  word  of  JEHOVAH,  ye  scoffers  ; 
Ye  of  this  people  in  Jerusalem,  who  utter  sententious 

speeches : 

15  Who  say,  we  have  entered  into  a  covenant  with  death  ; 
And  with  the  grave  we  have  made  a  treaty : 

The  overflowing  plague,  when  it  passeth  through,  shall 

not  reach  us : 

For  we  have  made  falsehood  our  refuge  ; 
And  under  deceit  we  have  hidden  ourselves. 

16  Wherefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  : 

Behold,  I  lay  in  Sion  for  a  foundation  a  stone,  an  ap- 
proved stone ; 

A  corner-stone,  precious,  immoveably  fixed : 
He,  that  trusteth  in  him,  shall  not  be  confounded. 

17  And  I  will  mete  out  judgment  by  the  rule ; 
And  strict  justice,  by  the  plummet : 

And  the  hail  shall  sweep  away  the  refuge  of  falsehood  ; 
And  the  hiding-place  the  waters  shall  overwhelm. 

18  And  your  covenant  with  death  shall  be  broken  ; 
And  your  treaty  with  the  grave  shall  not  stand  : 
When  the  overflowing  plague  passeth  through, 
By  it  shall  ye  be  beaten  down. 

19  As  soon  as  it  passeth  through,  shall  it  seize  you  ; 

Yea  morning   after   morning  shall   it   pass  through,  by 

day  and  by  night ; 
And  even  the  report  alone  shall  cause  terror. 

20  For  the  bed  is  too  short,  for  one  to  stretch  himself  out 

at  length ; 


CHAP.  XXVI 1 1.  ISAIAH.  51 

And  the  covering  is  too  narrow,  for  one  to  gather  him- 
self up  under  it. 

21  For  as  in  Mount  Peratsim,  JEHOVAH  will  arise  ; 

As  in  the  valley  of  Gibeon,  shall  he  be  moved  with  an- 
ger; 

That  he  may  execute  his  work,  his  strange  work ; 
And  effect  his  operation,  his  unusual  operation. 

22  And  now,  give  yourselves  up  to  scoffing  no  more, 
Lest  your  chastisements  become  more  severe : 
For  a  full  and  decisive  decree  have  I  heard, 

From  the  Lord  JEHOVAH   God  of  Hosts,  on  the  whole 
land. 

23  Listen  ye,  and  hear  my  voice ; 
Attend,  and  hearken  unto  my  words. 

24  Doth  the  husbandman  plough  every  day  that  he  may 

sow, 
Opening,  and  breaking  the  clods  of  his  field  ? 

25  When  he  hath  made  even  the  face  thereof, 

Doth  not  he  then  scatter  the  dill,  and  cast  abroad  the 

cummin  ; 

And  sow  the  wheat  in  due  measure  ; 
And  the  barley,  and  the  rye,  hath  its  appointed  limit  ? 

26  For  his  God  rightly  instructeth  him ;  he  furnisheth  him 

with  knowledge. 

27  The  dill  is  not  beaten  out  with  the  corn-drag  ; 

Nor  is  the  wheel  of  the  wain  made  to  turn  upon  the 

cummin : 
But  the  dill  is  beaten  out  with  the  staff; 

28  And  the  cummin  with  the  flail :  but  the  bread-corn  with 

the  threshing-wain. 

But  not  for  ever  will  he  continue  thus  to  thresh  it ; 
Nor  to  vex  it  with  the  wheel  of  his  wain  ; 
Nor  to  bruise  it  with  the  hoofs  of  his  cattle. 

29  This  also  proceedeth  from  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  : 

He  sheweth  himself  wonderful  in  counsel,  great  in  ope- 
ration. 


62  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIX. 


CHAP.  XXIX. 

1       Wo  to   Ariel,  to    Ariel,   the  city  which  David  be- 
sieged ! 
Add  year  to  year  ;  let  the  feasts  go  round  in  their  course. 

2  Yet  will  I  bring  distress  upon  Ariel ; 

And  there  shall  be  continual  mourning  and  sorrow  : 
And  it  shall  be  unto  me  as  the  hearth  of  the  great  altar. 

3  And  I  will  encamp  against  thee,  like  David ; 
And  I  will  lay  siege  against  thee  with  a  mound  ; 
And  I  will  erect  towers  against  thee. 

4  And  thou  shalt  be  brought  low  ;  thou  shalt  speak  as  from 

beneath  the  earth  : 
And    from  out  of  the   dust  thou  shalt  utter    a   feeble 

speech ; 
And  thy  voice  shall  come  out  of  the  ground,  like  that 

of  a  necromancer : 
And  thy  words  from   out  of  the  dust  shall  give  a  small 

shrill  sound. 

5  But  the  multitude  of  the  proud  shall  be  like  the  small 

dust; 

And  like  the  flitting  chaff  the  multitude  of  the  terrible : 
Yea,  the  effect  shall  be  momentary,  in  an  instant. 

6  From  JEHOVAH   God  of  Hosts  there  shall  be  a  sudden 

visitation, 

With  thunder,  and  earthquake,  and  a  mighty  voice  ; 
With  storm,  and  tempest,  and  flame  of  devouring  fire. 

7  And  like  as  a  dream,  a  vision  of  the  night, 

So  shall  it  be  with  the  multitude  of  all  the  nations,  thai 

fight  against  Ariel ; 
And  all  their  armies,  and  their  towers,  and  those  that 

distress  her. 

8  As  when  a  hungry  man  dreameth ;  and  lo !  he  seemrth 

to  eat ; 

But  he  awaketh,  and  his  appetite  is  still  unsatisfied  : 
And  as  a  thirsty  man  dreameth  ;  and  lo  !  he  seemeth  to 

drink ; 
But  he  awaketh,  and  he  is  still  faint,  and  his  appetite 

still  craving : 

So  shall  it  be  with  the  multitude  of  all  the  nations, 
Which   have   set    themselves    in  array   against  Mount 

Sion. 


CHAP.  XXIX. 


ISAIAH.  53 


9      They  are  struck  with  amazement,   they  stand  aston- 
ished ; 

They  stare  with  a  look  of  stupid  surprise  : 
They  are  drunken,  but  not  with  wine  ; 
They  stagger,  but  not  with  strong  drink. 

10  For  JEHOVAH  hath   poured  upon  you  a  spirit  of  pro- 

found sleep ; 

And  hath  closed  up  your  eyes  ; 

The  prophets,  and  the  rulers  ;  the  seers  hath  he  blind- 
folded. 

11  So  that  all  the  vision  is  to  you,  as  the  words  of  a  book 

sealed  up ; 

Which  if  one  delivers  to  a  man,  that  knoweth  letters, 
Saying,  Read  this,  1  pray  thee  ; 
He  answereth,  I  cannot  read  it ;  for  it  is'  sealed  up  : 

12  Or  should  the  book  be  given  to  one,  that  knoweth  not 

letters, 

Saying,  Read  this,  I  pray  thee  ; 
He  answereth,  1  know  not  letters. 

13  Wherefore  JEHOVAH  hath  said  : 

Forasmuch  as  this  people  draweth  near  with  their  mouth, 
And  honoureth  me  with  their  lips, 
While  their  heart  is  far  from  me  ; 
And  vain  is  their  fear  of  me, 
Teaching  the  commandments  of  men  : 

14  Therefore  behold,  I  will  again  deal  with  this  people, 
In  a  manner  so  wonderful  and  astonishing  ; 
That  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  shall  perish, 

And  the  prudence  of  the  prudent  shall  disappear. 

15  Wo  unto  them,    that  are  too  deep  for  JEHOVAH  in 

forming  secret  designs  ; 
Whose  deeds  are  in  the  dark  ;  and  who  say, 
Who  is  there,  that  seeth  us  ;  and  who  shall  know  us  ? 

16  Perverse  as  ye  are !  shall  the  potter  be  esteemed  as  the 

clay '? 
Shall  the  work  say  of  the  workman,  He  hath  not  made 

me  ? 
And  shall  the  thing  formed  say  of  the  former  of  it,  He 

hath  no  understanding  ? 

17  Shall  it  not  be  but  a  very  short  space, 
Ere  Lebanon  become  like  Carmel, 
And  Carmel  appear  like  a  desert  ? 

10* 


54  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIX. 

18  Then  shall  the  deaf  hear  the  words  of  the  book ; 

And  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  covered  before   with  clouds 
and  darkness,  shall  see. 

19  The  meek  shall  increase  their  joy  in  JEHOVAH  ; 
And  the  needy  shall  exult  in  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

20  For  the  terrible  one  faileth,  the  scoffer  is  no  more ; 

And  all  that  were  vigilant  in  iniquity  are  utterly  cut  off 

21  Who  bewildered  the  poor  man  in  speaking  ; 

And  laid  snares  for  him,  that  pleaded  in  the  gate ; 
And  with  falsehood  subverted  the  righteous. 

22  Therefore  thus  saith  JEHOVAH  the  God  of  the  house 

of  Jacob, 

He  who  redeemed  Abraham  : 
Jacob  shall  no  more  be  ashamed  ; 
His  face  shall  no  more  be  covered  with  confusion  : 

23  For  when  his  children  shall  see  the  work  of  my  hands, 
Among  themselves  shall  they  sanctify  my  name : 
They  shall  sanctify  the  Holy  One  of  Jacob, 

And  tremble  before  the  God  of  Israel. 

24  Those,  that  were  led  away  with  the  spirit  of  error,  shall 

gain  knowledge  ; 
And  the  malignant  shall  attend  to  instruction. 

CHAP.  XXX. 

1  Wo  unto  the  rebellious  children,  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 
Who  form  counsels,  but  not  from  me ; 

Who  ratify  covenants,  but  not  by  my  spirit : 
That  they  may  add  sin  to  sin. 

2  Who  set  forward  to  go  down  to  Egypt ; 
But  have  not  inquired  at  my  mouth : 

To  strengthen  themselves  with  the  strength  of  Pharaoh ; 
And' to  trust  in  the  shadow  of  Egypt. 

3  But  the  strength  of  Pharaoh  shall  be  your  shame  ; 
And  your  trust  in  the  shadow  of  Egypt  your  confusion. 

4  Their  princes  were  at  Tsoan  ; 

And  their  ambassadors  arrived  at  Hanes : 

5  They  were  all  ashamed  of  a  people,  that  profited  them 

not; 

Who  were  of  no  help,  and  of  no  profit ; 
But  proved  even  a  shame,  and  a  reproach  unto  them. 

6  The  burthen  of  the  beasts  travelling  southward, 
Through  a  land  of  distress  and  difficulty  : 
Whence  come  forth  the  lioness,  and  the  fierce  lion ; 
The  viper,  and  the  flying  fiery  serpent : 


CHAP.  XXX.  ISAIAH.  55 

They  carry  on  the  shoulder  of  the  young  cattle  their 

wealth  ; 

And  on  the  bunch  of  the  camel  their  treasures  : 
To  a  people,  that  will  not  profit  them. 

7  For  Egypt  is  a  mere  vapour  ;  in  vain  shall  they  help : 
"Wherefore  have  I  called  her,  Rahab  the  inactive. 

8  Go  now,  write  it  before  them  on  a  tablet ; 
And  record  it  in  letters  upon  a  book : 
That  it  may  be  for  future  times  ; 

For  a  testimony  for  ever. 

9  For  this  is  a  rebellious  people,  lying  children  ; 
Children  who  choose  not  to  hear  the  law  of  JEHOVAH  : 

10  Who  say  to  the  seers,  See  not ; 

And  to  the  prophets,  Prophesy  not  right  things  : 
Speak  unto  us  smooth  things,  prophesy  deceits. 

11  Turn  aside  from  the  way  ;  decline  from  the  straight  path ; 
Remove  from  our  sight  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

12  Wherefore  thus  saith  the  Holy  One  of  Israel : 
Because  ye  have  rejected  this  word  ; 

And  have  trusted  in  obliquity,  and  perversion  ; 
And  have  leaned  entirely  upon  it : 

13  Therefore  shall  this  offence  be  unto  you, 

Like  a  breach  threatening  ruin ;  a  s  welling  in   a  high 

wall ; 
Whose  destruction  cometh  suddenly,  in  an  instant. 

14  It  shall    be  broken,    as  when  one   breaketh  a  potter's 

vessel : 

He  dasheth  it  to  pieces,  and  spareth  it  not ; 

So  that  there  shall  not  be  found  a  sherd  among  its  frag- 
ments, 

To  take  up  fire  from  the  hearth, 

Or  to  dip  up  water  from  the  cistern. 

15  Verily  thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH,  the  Holy  one  of 

Israel : 
By  turning  from  your  ways,  and  by  abiding  quiet,  ye 

shall  be  saved  ; 

In  silence,  and  in  pious  confidence,  shall  be  your  strength : 
But  ye  would  not  hearken. 

16  And  ye  said  :  Nay,  but  on  horses  will  we  flee ; 
Therefore  shall  ye  be  put  to  flight : 

And  on  swift  coursers  will  we  ride ; 
Therefore  shall  they  be  swift,  that  pursue  you. 


56  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXX. 

17  One  thousand,  at  the  rebuke  of  one  ; 

At  the  rebuke  of  five,  ten  thousand  of  you  shall  flee  : 
Till  ye  be  left  as  a  standard  on  the  summit  of  a  moun- 
tain ; 
And  as  a  beacon  on  a  high  hill. 

18  Yet  for  this  shall  JEHOVAH  wait  to  shew  favour  unto  you  ; 
Even  for  this  shall    he  expect  in  silence,  that  he  may 

have  mercy  upon  you  : 
(For  JEHOVAH  is  a  God  of  judgment ; 
Blessed  are  all  they  that  trust  in  him)  : 

19  When  a  holy  people  shall  dwell  in  Sion  ; 

When  in  Jerusalem  thou  shalt  implore  him  with  weep- 
ing: 

At  the  voice  of  thy  cry  he  shall  be  abundantly  gracious 
unto  thee ; 

No  sooner  shall  he  hear,  than  he  shall  answer  thee. 

20  Though  JEHOVAH  hath  given   you  bread  of  distress,  and 

water  of  affliction ; 

Yet  the  timely  rain  shall  no  more  be  restrained  ; 
But  thine  eyes  shall  behold  the  timely  rain. 

21  And  thine  ears  shall  hear  the  word  prompting  thee  be- 

hind: 

Saying,  This  is  the  way  ;  walk  ye  in  it ; 
Turn  not  aside,  to  the  right,  or  to  the  left. 

22  And  ye  shall   treat  as  defiled  the  covering  of  your  idols 

of  silver ; 

And  the  clothing  of  your  molten  images  of  gold  : 
Thou  shalt  cast  them  away  like  a  polluted  garment ; 
Thou  shalt  say  unto  them,  Be  gone  from  me. 

23  And  he  shall  give  rain  for  thy  seed, 
With  which  thou  shalt  sow  the  ground  ; 
And  bread  of  the  produce  of  the  ground  : 
And  it  shall  be  abundant  and  plenteous. 
Then  shall  thy  cattle  feed  in  large  pasture  ; 

24  And  the  oxen,  and  the  young  asses,  that  till  the  ground, 
Shall  eat  well-fermented  maslin, 

Winnowed  with  the  van  and  the  sieve. 

25  And  on  every  lofty  mountain, 
And  on  every  high  hill, 

Shall  be  disparting  rills,  and  streams  of  water, 

In  the  day  of  the  great  slaughter,  when  the  mighty  fall. 


CHAP.  XXX.  ISAIAH.  57 

26  And  the  light  of  the  moon  shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  me- 

ridian sun  ; 

And  the  light  of  the  meridian  sun  shall  be  seven-fold  : 
In  the  day  when  JEHOVAH  shall  bind  up  the  breach  of 

his  people ; 

And  shall  heal  the  wound,  which   his  stroke  hath  in- 
flicted. 

27  Lo  !  the  name  of  JEHOVAH  cometh  from  afar  ; 
His  wrath  burneth,  and  the  flame  rageth  violently  : 
His  lips  are  filled  wTith  indignation  ; 

And  his  tongue  is  as  a  consuming  fire. 

28  His  spirit  is  like  a  torrent  overflowing  ; 
It  shall  reach  to  the  middle  of  the  neck  : 

He  cometh  to  toss  the  nations  with  the  van  of  perdition  ; 
And  there  shall  be  a  bridle,  to  lead  them  astray,  in  the 
jaws  of  the  people. 

29  Ye  shall  utter  a  song,  as  in  the  night  when  the  feast  is 

solemnly  proclaimed  ; 
With  joy  of  heart,  as  when  one  marcheth  to  the  sound 

of  the  pipe  j 
To  go  to  the  mountain  of  JEHOVAH,  to  the  rock  of  Israel. 

30  And    JEHOVAH    shall    cause   his   glorious  voice    to    be 

heard, 

And  the  lighting  down  of  his  arm  to  be  seen ; 

With  wrath  indignant,  and  a  flame  of  consuming  fire  ; 

With  a  violent  storm,  and  rushing  showers,  and  hail- 
stones. 

31  By  the  voice  of  JEHOVAH  the  Assyrian  shall  be  beaten 

down  ; 
He,  that  was  ready  to  smite  with  his  staff. 

32  And  it  shall  be,  that  wherever  shall  pass  the  rod  of  cor- 

rection, 

Which  JEHOVAH  shall  lay  heavily  upon  him ; 
It  shall  be  accompanied  with  tab  rets  and  harps  ; 
And  with  fierce  battles  shall  he  fight  against  them. 

33  For  Tophet  is  ordained  of  old  ; 

Even  the  same  for  the  king  is  prepared  : 
He  hath  made  it  deep ;  he  hath  made  it  large ; 
A  fiery  pyre,  and  abundance  of  fuel  ; 
And  the  breath  of  JEHOVAH,  like  a  stream  of  sulphur, 
shall  kindle  it. 


58  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXI, 


CHAP.  XXXI. 

1  Wo  unto  them,  that  go  down  to  Egypt  for  help ; 
Who  trust  in  horses  for  their  support : 

Who  confide  in  chariots,  because  they  are  many ; 
And  in  horsemen,  because  they  are  very  strong : 
But  look  not  unto  the  Holy  One  of  Israel ; 
And  of  JEHOVAH  they  a.sk  not  counsel. 

2  But  he  in  his  wisdom  will  bring  evil  upon  them  ; 
And  he  will  not  set  aside  his  word  : 

But  will  rise  against  the  house  of  the  wicked  ; 
And  against  the  helpers  of  those  that  work  iniquity. 

3  For  the  Egyptians  are  man,  and  not  God  ; 
And  their  horses  are  flesh,  and  not  spirit : 
And  JEHOVAH  shall  stretch  forth  his  hand; 

And  the  helper  shall  fall,  and  the  holpen  shall  be  over- 
thrown ; 
And  together  shall  all  of  them  be  destroyed. 

4  For  thus  hath  JEHOVAH  said  unto  me : 
Like  as  the  lion  growleth, 

Even  the  young  lion,  over  his  prey ; 
Though  the  whole  company  of  shepherds  be  called  to- 
gether against  him  : 
At  their  voice  he  will  not  be  terrified, 
Nor  at  their  tumult  will  he  be  humbled : 
So  shall  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  descend  to  fight 
For  Mount  Sion,  and  for  his  own  hill. 

5  As  the  mother  birds,  hovering  over  their  young. 

So  shall  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  protect  Jerusalem ; 
Protecting,  and  delivering ;  leaping  forward,  and  rescu- 
ing her. 

6  Return  unto  him,  from  whom  ye  have  so  deeply  c 

gaged  in  revolt, 
O  ye  sons  of  Israel ! 

7  Verily  in  that  day  shall  they  cast  away  with  contempt, 
Every  man  his  idols  of  silver,  and  his  idols  of  gold  ; 
The  sin,  which  their  own  hands  have  made. 

8  And  the  A  ssyrian  shall  fall  by  a  sword  riot  of  man ; 
Yea  a  sword  not  of  mortal  shall  devour  him. 
And  he  shall  betake  himself  to  flight  from  the  face  of 

the  sword ; 
And  the  courage  of  his  chosen  men  shall  fail. 


9  And  through  terror  he  shall  pass  beyond   his  strong- 

hold ; 
And  his  princes  shall  be  struck  with  consternation  at  his 

flight. 

Thus  saith  JEHOVAH,  who  hath  his  fire  in  Sion, 
And  his  furnace  in  Jerusalem. 

CHAP.  XXXII. 

1  BEHOLD,  a  king  shall  reign  in  righteousness  ; 
And  princes  shall  rule  with  equity  : 

2  And  the  man  shall  be  as  a  covert  from  the  storm,  as  a 

refuge  from  the  flood  ; 
As  canals  of  waters  in  a  dry  place ; 
As  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  land  fainting  with 

heat : 

3  And  him  the  eyes  of  those,  that  see,  shall  regard  ; 
And  Uie  ears  of  those,  that  hear,  shall  hearken. 

4  Even  the  heart  of  the  rash  shall  consider,  and  acquire 

knowledge ; 

And  the  stammering    tongue  shall   speak  readily   and 
plainly. 

5  The  fool  shall  no  longer  be  called  honourable ; 
And  the  niggard  shall  no  more  be  called  liberal : 

6  For  the  fool  will  still  utter  folly  ; 
And  his  heart  will  devise  iniquity  : 

Practising  hypocrisy,   and   speaking  wrongfully  against 

JEHOVAH  ; 

To  exhaust  the  soul  of  the  hungry, 
And  to  deprive  the  thirsty  of  drink. 

7  As  for  the  niggard,  his  instruments  are  evil : 
He  plotteth  mischievous  devices  ; 

To  entangle  the  humble  with  lying  words  ; 

And  to  defeat  the  assertions  of  the  poor  in  judgment. 

8  But  the  generous  will  devise  generous  things  ; 

And  he  by  his  generous  purposes  shall  be  established. 

9  O  YE  women,  that  sit  at  ease,  arise,  hear  my  voice ! 

O  ye  daughters,  that  dwell  in  security,  give  ear  unto  my 
speech ! 

10  Years  upon  years  shall  ye  be  disquieted,  O  ye  careless 

women : 

For  the  vintage  hath  failed,  the  gathering  of  the  fruits 
shall  not  come. 


60  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXII. 

11  Tremble,  O  ye  that  are  at  ease ;  be  ye  disquieted,  O  ye 

careless  ones  ! 
Strip  ye,  make  ye  bare  ;  and  gird  ye  sackcloth 

12  Upon  your  loins,  upon  your  breasts; 

Mourn  ye  for  the  pleasant  field,  for  the  fruitful  vine. 

13  Over  the   land   of  my  people   the  thorn  and  the  brier 

shall  come  up; 
Yea,  over  all  the  joyous  houses,  over  the  exulting  city. 

14  For  the  palace  is  deserted,  the  populous  city  is  left  deso- 

late; 
Ophel  and  the  watch-tower  shall  for  a  long  time  be  a 

den, 
A  joy  of  wild  asses,  a  pasture  for  the  flocks  : 

15  Till  the  spirit  from  on  high  be  poured  out  upon  us  ; 
And  the  wilderness  become  a  fruitful  field  ; 

And  the  fruitful  field  be  esteemed  a  forest : 

16  And  judgment  shall  dwell  in  the  wilderness; 
And  in  the  fruitful  field  shall  reside  righteousness. 

17  And  the  work  of  righteousness  shall  be  peace  ; 

And  the  effect  of  righteousness  perpetual  quiet  and  secu- 
rity. 

18  And  my  people  shall  dwell  in  a  peaceful  mansion, 
And  in  habitations  secure, 

And  in  resting  places  undisturbed. 

19  But  the  hail  shall  fall,  and  the  forest  be  brought  down  ; 
And  the  city  shall  be  laid  level  with  the  plain. 

20  Blessed  are  ye,  who  sow  your  seed  in  every  well-watered 

place ; 
Who  send  forth  the  foot  of  the  ox  and  the  ass. 


CHAP.  XXXIII. 

1  Wo  unto  thee,  thou  spoiler,  who  hast  not  been  spoiled 

thyself; 

And  thou  plunderer,  who  hast  not  been  plundered  : 
WThen  thou  hast  ceased  to  spoil,  thou  shalt  be  spoiled  ; 
When  thou  art  weary  of  plundering,  they  shall  plunder 
thee. 

2  O  JEHOVAH,  have  mercy  on  us ;  we  have  trusted  in 

thee; 

Be  thou  our  strength  every  morning ; 
Even  our  salvation  in  the  time  of  distress. 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  ISAIAH.  61 


3  From  thy  terrible  voice  the  peoples  fled  ; 

When  thou  didst  raise  thyself  up,  the  nations  were  dis- 
persed. 

4  But  your  spoil  shall  be  gathered,  as  the  locust  gathereth  ; 
As  the  caterpillar  runneth  to  and  fro,  so  shall  they  run, 

and  seize  it. 

5  JEHOVAH  is  exalted  ;  yea,  he  dwelleth  on  high  : 
He  hath  filled  Sion  with  judgment  and  justice. 

6  And  wisdom  and  knowledge  shall  be  the  stability  of  thy 

times, 

The  possession  of  continued  salvation  ; 
The  fear  of  JEHOVAH,  this  shall  be  thy  treasure. 

7  Behold  the  mighty  men  raise  a  grievous  cry  ; 
The  messengers  of  peace  weep  bitterly. 

8  The  highways  are  desolate  ;  the  traveller  ceaseth  : 

He  hath  broken  the  covenant ;  he  hath  rejected  the  of- 
fered cities  ; 
Of  men  he  maketh  no  account. 

9  The  land  mourneth,  it  languisheth  ; 
Libanus  is  put  to  shame,  it  withereth  : 
Sharon  is  become  like  a  desert ; 

And  Bashan  and  Carmel  are  stripped  of  their  beauty. 

10  Now  will  1  arise,  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 

Now  will  I  lift  myself  up  on  high  ;  now  will  I  be  exalted. 

11  Ye  shall  conceive  chaff;  ye  shall  bring  forth  stubble ; 
And  my  spirit  like  fire  shall  consume  you. 

12  And  peoples  shall  be  burned,  as  the  lime  is  burned  ; 
As  the  thorns  are  cut  up,  and  consumed  in  the  fire. 

13  Hear,  O  ye  that  are  afar  off,  my  doings ; 

And  acknowledge,  O  ye  that  are  near,  my  power. 

14  The  sinners  in  Sion  are  struck  with  dread  ; 
Terror  hath  seized  the  hypocrites  : 

Who  among  us  can  abide  this  consuming  fire  ? 
Who  among  us  can  abide  these  continued  burnings? 

15  He  who  walketh  in  perfect  righteousness,  and  speaketh 

right  things  : 

Who  detesteth  the  lucre  of  oppression  ; 
Who  shaketh  his  hands  from  bribery ; 
Who  stoppeth  his  ears  to  the  proposal  of  bloodshed  ; 


62  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXIII, 

Who  shutteth  his  eyes  against  the  appearance  of  evil : 

16  His  dwelling  shall  be  in  the  high  places  ; 

The  strongholds  of  the  rocks  shall  be  his  lofty  fortress : 
His  bread  shall  be  duly  furnished  ;  his  waters  shall  not 
fail. 

17  Thine  eyes  shall  see  the  king  in  his  beauty  ; 
They  shall  see  thine  own  land  far  extended. 

18  Thine  heart  shall  reflect  on  the  past  terror : 

Where  is  now  the  accomptant?  where   the  weigher  of 

tribute  ? 
Where  is  he,  that  numbered  the  towers  ? 

19  Thou  shalt  see  no  more  that  barbarous  people  ; 

The  people  of  a  deep  speech,   which   thou   couldst  not 

hear ; 

And  of  a  stammering  tongue,  which  thou  couldst  not 
understand. 

20  Thou  shalt  see  Sion,  the  city  of  our  solemn  feasts  ; 
Thine  eyes  shall  behold  Jerusalem, 

The  quiet  habitation,  the  tabernacle  unshaken : 
Whose  stakes  shall  not  be  plucked  up  for  ever, 
And  of  whose  cords  none  shall  be  broken. 

21  But  the  glorious  name  of  JEHOVAH  shall  be  unto  us, 
A  place  of  confluent  streams,  of  broad  rivers  ; 
Which  no  oared  ship  shall  pass, 

Neither  shall  any  mighty  vessel  go  through.  ( 

22  For  JEHOVAH  is  our  judge  ;  JEHOVAH  is  our  lawgiver ; 
JEHOVAH  is  our  king  :  he  shall  save  us. 

23  Thy  sails  are  loose ;  they  cannot  make  them  fast : 
Thy  mast  is  not  firm  ;  they  cannot  spread  the  ensign. 
Then  shall  a  copious  spoil  be  divided ; 

Even  the  lame  shall  seize  the  prey. 

24  Neither  shall   the   inhabitant  say,   I  am  disabled  with 

sickness : 

The   people,   that  dwelleth   therein,   is   freed  from   the 
punishment  of  their  iniquity. 


CHAP,  xxxiv. 

1         DRAW  near,  0  ye  nations,  and  hearken  ; 
And  attend  unto  me,  O  ye  peoples  ! 
Let  the  earth  hear,  and  the  fulness  thereof; 
The  world,  and  all  that  spring  from  it. 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  ISAIAH.  63 

2  For  the  wrath  of  JEHOVAH  is  kindled  against   all  the 

nations ; 

And  his  anger  against  all  the  orders  thereof: 
He  hath  devoted  them ;   he  hath  given   them  up  to 

slaughter. 

3  And  their  slain  shall  be  cast  out ; 

And  from  their  carcasses  their  stink  shall  ascend  ; 
And  the  mountains  shall  melt  down  with  their  blood. 

4  And  all  the  host  of  heaven  shall  waste  away  ; 
And  the  heavens  shall  be  rolled  up  like  a  scroll : 
And  all  their  host  shall  wither ; 

As  the  withered  leaf  falleth  from  the  vine, 
And  as  the  blighted  fruit  from  the  fig-tree. 

5  For  my  sword  is  made  bare  in  the  heavens  : 
Behold,  on  Edom  it  shall  descend  ; 

And  on  the  people  justly  by  me  devoted  to  destruction. 

6  The  sword  of  JEHOVAH  is  glutted  with  blood  ; 
It  is  pampered  with  fat : 

With  the  blood  of  lambs,  and  of  goats  ; 
With  the  fat  of  the  reins  of  rams  : 
For  JEHOVAH  celebrateth  a  sacrifice  in  Botsrah, 
And  a  great  slaughter  in  the  land  of  Edom. 

7  And  the  wild  goats  shall  fall  down  with  them  ; 
And  the  bullocks,  together  with  the  bulls : 

And  their  own  land  shall  be  drunken  with  their  blood. 
And  their  dust  shall  be  enriched  with  fat. 

8  For  it  is  the  day  of  vengeance  to  JEHOVAH  ; 

The  year  of  recompense  to  the  defender  of  the  cause  of 
Sion. 

9  And  her  torrents  shall  be  turned  into  pitch, 
And  her  dust  into  sulphur ; 

And  her  whole  land  shall  become  burning  pitch. : 

10  By  night  or  by  day  it  shall  not  be  extinguished 
For  ever  shall  her  smoke  ascend  : 

From  generation  to  generation  she  shall  lie  desert; 
To  everlasting  ages  no  one  shall  pass  through  her  ; 

11  But  the  pelican  and  the  porcupine  shall  inherit  her  ; 
And  the  owl  and  the  raven  shall  inhabit  there  : 
And  he  shall  stretch  over  her  the  line  of  devastation, 
And  the  plummet  of  emptiness  over  her  scorched  plains. 

12  No  more  shall  they  boast  the  renown  of  the  kingdom  ; 
And  all  her  princes  shall  utterly  fail. 


64  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXIV. 

13  And  in  her  palaces  shall  spring  up  thorns ; 
The  nettle  and  the  bramble,  in  her  fortresses : 
And  she  shall  become  an  habitation  for  dragons, 
A  court  for  the  daughters  of  the  ostrich. 

14  And  the  jackals  and  the  mountain-cats   shall  meet  one 

another ; 

And  the  satyr  shall  call  to  his  fellow : 
There  also  the  screech-owl  shall  pitch  ; 
And  shall  find  for  herself  a  place  of  rest. 

15  There  shall  the  night-raven  make  her  nest,  and  lay  her 

eggs  ; 
And  she  shall  hatch  them,  and  gather  her  young  under 

her  shadow : 

There  also  shall  the  vultures  be  gathered  together ; 
Every  one  of  them  shall  join  her  mate. 

16  Consult  ye  the  book  of  JEHOVAH,  and  read  : 
Not  one  of  these  shall  be  missed  ; 

Not  a  female  shall  lack  her  mate  : 

For  the  mouth  of  JEHOVAH  hath  given  the  command  ; 

And  his  spirit  itself  hath  gathered  them. 

17  And  he  hath  cast  the  lot  for  them  ; 

And  his  hand  hath  meted  out  their  portion  by  the  line : 
They  shall  possess  the  land  for  a  perpetual  inheritance ; 
From  generation  to  generation  shall  they  dwell  therein. 

CHAP.  xxxv. 

1  THE  desert,  and  the  waste,  shall  be  glad  ; 
And  the  wilderness  shall  rejoice,  and  flourish  : 

2  Like  the  rose  shall  it  beautifully  flourish  ; 

And  the  well-watered  plain  of  Jordan  shall  also  rejoice : 
The  glory  of  Lebanon  shall  be  given  unto  it, 
The  beauty  of  Carmel  and  of  Sharon  : 
These  shall  behold  the  glory  of  JEHOVAH, 
The  majesty  of  our  God. 

3  Strengthen  ye  the  feeble  hands, 
And  confirm  ye  the  tottering  knees. 

4  Say  ye  to  the  faint-hearted  :  Be  ye  strong  ; 
Fear  ye  not ;  behold  your  God  ! 
Vengeance  will  come  ;  the  retribution  of  God  : 
He  himself  will  come,  and  will  deliver  you. 

5  Then  shall  be  unclosed  the  eyes  of  the  blind  ; 
And  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  opened  : 

6  Then  shall  the  lame  bound  like  the  hart, 
And  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  shall  sing : 


CHAP.  XXXV.  ISAIAH.  65 

For  in  the  wilderness  shall  burst  forth  waters. 
And  torrents  in  the  desert : 

7  And  the  glowing  sand  shall  become  a  pool, 
And  the  thirsty  soil  bubbling  springs  : 

And  in  the  haunt  of  dragons  shall  spring  forth 
The  grass,  with  the  reed,  and  the  bulrush. 

8  And  a  highway  shall  be  there  ; 

And  it  shall  be  called  the  way  of  holiness  : 

No  unclean  person  shall  pass  through  it : 

But  He  himself  shall  be  with  them,  walking  in  the  way, 

And  the  foolish  shall  not  err  therein. 

9  No  lion  shall  be  there  ; 

Nor  shall  the  tyrant  of  the  beasts  come  up  thither  : 
Neither  shall  he  be  found  there  ; 
But  the  redeemed  shall  walk  in  it. 
10  Yea  the  ransomed  of  JEHOVAH  shall  return  : 

They  shall  come  to  Sion  with  triumph ; 

And  perpetual  gladness  shall  crown  their  heads. 

Joy  and  gladness  shall  they  obtain  ; 

And  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away. 


CHAP.  XXXVI. 

1  IN  the  fourteenth  year  of  king  Hezekiah,  Senacherib 
king  of  Assyria  came  up  against  all  the  fenced  cities  of 

2  Judah,  and  took  them.     And  the  king  of  Assyria  sent 
Rabshakeh,    from   Lachish   to   Jerusalem,   to   the  king 
Hezekiah,  with  a  great  body  of  forces  :  and  he  presented 
himself  at  the  conduit  of  the  upper  pool,  in  the  highway 

3  that  leads  to  the  fuller's  field.     Then  came  out  unto  him 
Eliakim,  the  son  of  Hilldah,  who  was  over  the  house- 
hold, and  Shebna  the  scribe,  and  Joah,  the  son  of  Asaph, 

4  the  recorder.     And  Rabshakeh   said  unto  them :     Say 
ye  to  Hezekiah  ;  Thus  saith  the  great  king,  the  king  of 
Assyria:   What  is  this   ground  of  confidence,  in  which 

5  thou    confidest?     Thou  hast  said,    (but   they  are   vain 
words),  I  have  counsel  and  strength   sufficient  for  the 
war.     Now  in  whom  dost  thou  confide,  that   thou  re- 

6  bellest  against   me  ?     Thou  certainly    confidest   in    the 
support  of  this  broken  reed,  in  Egypt ;  on    which   if  a 
man  lean,  it  will  pierce  his  hand,  and  go  through  it: 
such  is  Pharaoh  king  of    Egypt  to  all  that  confide  in 

7  him.     But  if  ye  say  to  me,  We  confide  in  JEHOVAH  our 


66  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXVI, 

God ;  is  it  not  He,  whose  high  places  and  whose  altars 
Hezekiali   hath  removed  ;  and  hath  commanded  Judah 

8  and  Jerusalem  to  worship  only  before  this  altar  ?     Enter 
now,  I  pray  thee,  into  an  engagement  with  my  lord  the 
king    of  Assyria ;  and  I    will  give  thee  two   thousand 
horses,  on  condition,  that  thou  canst  on  thy  part  provide 

9  riders  for  them.     How  then  wilt  thou  turn  back  any  one 
commander,  among  the  least  of  my  lord's  servants,  ad- 
vancing against  thee?     And  trustest  thou,  that  Egypt 

10  will  supply  thee  with  chariots  and  with  horsemen  ?     And 
am  I  now  come  up  without  JEHOVAH  against  this  land 
to  destroy  it  ?     JEHOVAH  hath  said  unto  me,  Go  thou  up 
against  this  land,  and  destroy  it. 

11  Then   said   Eliakim,    and  Shebna,    and   Joah,    unto 
Rabshakeh  :     Speak,  we  beseech  thee,  to  thy  servants  in 
the  Syrian  language,  for  we  understand  it ;  and  speak 
not  to  us  in  the  Jewish  language,  in  the  hearing  of  the 

12  people,  who  are  upon  the  wall.     And  Rabshakeh  said, 
Hath  my  lord  sent  me  to  thy  lord  and  to  thee,  to  speak 
these  words  ?     and  not  to  the  men,  that  sit  on  the  wall, 
destined  to  eat  their   own  dung,  and  drink  their  own 

13  urine,  together  with  you  ?     Then  Rabshakeh  stood,  and 
cried  with  a  loud  voice  in  the   Jewish  language,    and 
said  :     Hear  ye  the  words  of  the  great  king,  the  king  of 

14  Assyria.     Thus  saith  the  king :  Let  not  Hezekiah  de- 

15  ceive  you  ;  for  he  will  not  be  able  to  deliver  you.     And 
let  not  Hezekiah  persuade   you  to  trust  in  JEHOVAH  ; 
saying,   JEHOVAH   will  certainly   deliver  us;    this    city 
shall  not  be  given   up   into  the  hand  of  the   king  of 

16  Assyria.     Hearken  not  unto  Hezekiah  ;  for   thus   saith 
the  king  of  Assyria :     Make  peace  with  me,  and  come 
out  unto  me.     And  eat  ye  every  one  of  his  own  vine, 
and  every  one  of  his    own  fig-tree ;  and  drink  ye  every 

17  one  the  waters  of  his  own  cistern  :  until  I  come   and 
take  you  to  a  land  like  your  own  land  ;  a  land  of  corn 

18  and  of  wine,  a  land  of  bread  and  of  vineyards.     Nor  let 
Hezekiah  seduce  you,  saying,  JEHOVAH  will  deliver  us. 
Have   the  gods  of  the  nations  delivered   each  his  own 

19  land  from  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Assyria  ?     Where  are 
the  gods  of  Hamath,  and  of  Arphad  ?     where  are  the 
gods  of  Sepharvaim  ?     have  they  delivered  Samaria  out 

20  of  my  hand  ?     Who  are  there  among  all  the  gods  of 


CHAP.  XXXVI.  ISAIAH.  67 

these  lands,  that  have  delivered  their  own  lands  out  of 
my  hand  ;  that  JEHOVAH  should  deliver  out  of  ray  hand 

21  Jerusalem  ?     But  the  people  held  their  peace,  and  an- 
swered him  not  a  word :  for  the  king's  command  was, 
Answer  him  not. 

22  Then  came  Eliakim,  the  son  of  Hilkiah,  who  was 
over  the  household,  and  Shebna  the  scribe,  and  Joah, 
the  son  of  Asaph,  the  recorder,  to  Hezekiah,  with  their 
clothes  rent ;  and  reported  unto  him  the  words  of  Rab- 
shakeh. 

CHAP.  XXXVII. 

1  And  when  king  Hezekiah  heard  it,  he  rent  his  clothes, 
and  covered   himself  with  sackcloth,  and  went  into  the 

2  house   of  JEHOVAH.     And  he   sent   Eliakim,  who  was 
over   the    household,  and    Shebna   the   scribe,    and  the 
elders   of  the  priests,  covered  with  sackcloth,  to  Isaiah, 

3  the  son  of  Amots,   the   prophet.     And   they   said   unto 
him  :  Thus  saith   Hezekiah;   This  day  is  a  day  of  dis- 
tress, and  of  rebuke,  and  of  contumely :  for  the  children 
are  come  to  the  birth,   and  there  is  not  strength  to  bring 

4  forth.     O  that  JEHOVAH  thy  God  would  hear  the  words 
of  Rabshakeh,  whom  his  lord  the  king  of  Assyria  hath 
sent   to  reproach  the  living   God  !  and   that   he  would 
refute  the  words,  which  JEHOVAH  thy  God  hath  heard  ! 
And   do  thou  offer  up  thy  prayer  for  the  poor  remains 

5  of  the  people.     And  the  servants  of  king  Hezekiah  came 

6  to  Isaiah.     And  Isaiah  said  unto  them  ;  Thus  shall  ye 
say  to  your  lord  :     Thus  saith  JEHOVAH,  Be  not  afraid, 
because  of  the  words  which  thou  hast  heard,  with  which 
the  servants  of  the  king  of  Assyria  have  blasphemed  me. 

7  Behold,  I   will  infuse  a  spirit  into   him ;  and  he  shall 
hear  a  rumour,  and  return  to  his  own  land ;  and  I  will 
cause  him  to  fall  by  the  sword  in  his  own  land. 

8  But  Rabshakeh    returned ;    and   found  the   king  of 
Assyria  besieging   Libnah  :  for  he  had  heard,  that   he 

9  had  decamped  from  Lachish.      And  when   Senacherib 
had  received  advice  concerning  Tirhakah  king  of  Gush, 
that  he  was  advancing  to  give  him  battle ;  he  sent  mes- 

10  sengers  again  to  Hezekiah,  saying ;  Thus  'shall  ye  say 
to  Hezekiah  king  of  Judah :  Let  not  thy  God,  in  whom 
thou  confidest,  deceive  thee ;  by  assuring  thee,  that  Je- 
rusalem shall  not  be  given  up  into  the  hand  of  the  king 


68  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXVII. 

11  of  Assyria.     Thou  hast  certainly  heard,  what  the  kings 
of  Assyria  have  done  to  all  lands,  which  they  have  ut- 

12  terly  destroyed  :  and  shalt  thou  be  delivered  ?     Have  the 
gods  of  the  nations  delivered  those,    which   my   fathers 
have  destroyed  ?     Gozan,  and  Haran,  and  Retseph  ;  and 

13  the  sons  of  Eden,  which  were  in  Thelassar  ?     Where  is 
the  king  of  Hamath,  and  the  king  of  Arphad,  and  the 
king  of  the  city  of  Sepharvaim,  of  Henah,  and  of  Ivah  ? 

14  And  Hezekiah  received  the  letters  from  the  hand  of 
the  messengers,  and  read  them  ;  and  he  went  up  to  the 
house  of  JEHOVAH  :  and  Hezekiah  spread  them  before 

15  the  presence  of  JEHOVAH.     And  Hezekiah   prayed  be- 

16  fore  JEHOVAH,  saying  :  O  JEHOVAH,  God  of  Hosts,  thou 
God  of  Israel,  who  art  seated  on  the  cherubim  !     Thou 
art  the  God,   thou   alone,  to  all  the   kingdoms  of  the 
earth !     Thou  hast  made  the  heavens,  and  the  earth  ! 

17  Incline,  O  JEHOVAH,  thine  ear,  and  hear  ;  open,  O  JE- 
HOVAH, thine  eyes,  and  see :  yea,  hear  all  the  words  of 
Senacherib,   which  he  hath  sent  to  reproach  the  living 

18  God.     In  truth,  O  JEHOVAH,  the  kings  of  Assyria  have 
destroyed   all   the   nations,   and   their   lands ;  and  have 

19  cast  their  gods  into  the  fire :  for  they  were   not  gods, 
but  the  work  of  the  hands  of  man,  wood  and   stone  ; 

20  therefore  they  have  destroyed  them.     And  now,  O  JE- 
HOVAH, our  God,  save  us,   we  beseech  thee,  from  his- 
hand;  that   all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  may  know, 
that  thou  JEHOVAH  art  the  only  God. 

21  ,     Then  Isaiah  the  son  of  Amots  sent  unto  Hezekiah, 
saying :  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH  the  God  of  Israel :  Thy 
prayer  unto  me,  concerning  Senacherib  king  of  Assyria, 

22  I  have  heard.     This  is  the  word,  which  JEHOVAH  hath 
spoken  concerning  him : 

THE   virgin  daughter  of  Sion   hath  despised  thee, 

she  bath  laughed  thee  to  scorn  ; 

The  daughter  of  Jerusalem  hath  shaken  her  head  be- 
hind thee.  , 

23  Whom  hast  thou  reproached,  and  reviled  ;  and  against 

whom  hast  thou  exalted  thy  voice? 
And  hast  lifted  up  thine  eyes  on  high?  Even  against 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 


CHAP.  XXXVII.  ISAIAH.  69 

24  By  thy  messengers  hast  thou  reproached  JEHOVAH, 

and  said  : 

By  the  multitude  of  my  chariots  have  I  ascended 

The  highth  of  the  mountains,  the  sides  of  Lebanon ; 

And  I  will  cut  down  his  tallest  cedars,  Ids  choicest  fir- 
trees  ; 

And  1  will  penetrate  into  his  extreme  retreats,  his 
richest  forests. 

25  I  have  digged,  and  I  have  drunk  strange  waters  ; 
And  I  have  dried  up  with  the  sole  of  my  feet  all  the 

canals  of  fenced  places. 

26  Hast  thou   not  heard,  of  old,  that  I  have  disposed  it? 
And,  of  ancient  times,  that  I  have  formed  it  ? 

Now  have  I  brought  it  to  pass,  that  thou  shouldst  be 

to  lay  waste 
Warlike  nations,  strong-fenced  cities. 

27  Therefore  were  their  inhabitants  of  small   strength  j 

they  were  dismayed  and  confounded  : 
They  were  as  the  grass  of  the  field,  and  as  the  green 

herb ; 
The  grass  of  the  house-top ;  and  as  the  corn  blasted 

before  it  groweth  up. 

28  But  thy  sitting  down,  and  thy  going  out,  and  thy 

coming  in, 
And  thy  rage  against  me,  I  have  known, 

29  Because  thy  rage  against  me,  and  thy  insolence,  is 

come  up  into  mine  ears  ; 
Therefore  will  I  put  my  hook  in   thy  nose,  and  my 

bridle  in  thy  jaws  ; 

And  I  will  turn  thee  back  by  the  way  in  which  thou 
earnest. 

30  And  this  shall  be  a  sign  unto  thee  : 
Eat  this  year  that  which  groweth  of  itself; 

And  the  second  year,  that  which  springeth  up  of  the 

same ; 

And  in  the  third  year  sow  ye,  and  reap ; 
And  plant  vineyards,  and  eat  the  fruit  thereof. 

31  And  again  shall  the  escaped,  the  remnant  of  the  house 

of  Judah, 

Strike  root  downward,  and  bear  fruit  upward. 
For  from  Jerusalem  shall  go  forth  the  remnant ; 
And  the  part  escaped  from  Mount  Sion  : 
The  zeal  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  shall  effect  this. 


70  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXVII. 

32  Therefore  thus  saith  JEHOVAH  concerning  the  king  of 

Assyria : 

He  shall  not  enter  into  this  city  ; 

Nor  shall  he  shoot  an  arrow  there  ; 

Nor  shall  he  present  a  shield  before  it ; 

Nor  shall  he  cast  up  a  mound  against  it. 

33  By  the  way,  in  which  he  came,  by  the  same  shall  he 

return  ; 
And  into  this  city  shall  he  not  come  ;  saith  JEHOVAH. 

34  And  I  will  protect  this  city. to  deliver  it ; 

For  mine  own  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  David  my 
servant. 

35  And  the  angel  of  JEHOVAH  went  forth,  and  smote  in 
the  camp  of  the  Assyrians  an  hundred  and  fourscore  and 
five  thousand  men  :  and  when  the  people  arose  early  in 

36  the  morning,  behold,  they  were  all  dead  corpses.     Then 
Senacherib  king  of  Assyria  decamped,  and  departed,  and 

37  returned ;  and  dwelt  at  Nineveh.     And  as  he  was  wor- 
shipping in  the  temple  of  Nisroc  his  god,  Adramelec  and 
Sharetser,  his  sons,  smote  him  with  the  sword  :  and  they 
escaped  into  the  land  of  Armenia  ;  and  Esarhaddon  his 
son  reigned  in  his  stead. 

CHAP.    XXXVIII. 

1  AT  that  time  Hezekiah  was  seized  with  a  mortal  sick- 
ness :  and  Isaiah  the  prophet,  the  son  of  Amots,  came 
unto  him  ;  and  said  unto  him :  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH  : 
Give  orders   concerning  the  affairs   of  thy  family ;    for 

2  thou  must  die  ;  thou  shall  no  longer  live.     Then  Heze- 
kiah turned  his  face  to  the  wall ;  and  made  his  suppli- 

3  cation  to  JEHOVAH.      And  he  said :  I  beseech   thee,   O 
JEHOVAH,  remember  now,  how  I  have  endeavoured  to 
walk  before  thee  in  truth,  and  with  a  perfect  heart ;  and 
have  done  that  which  is  good  in  thine  eyes.     And  He- 

4  zekiah   wept,   and  lamented   grievously.      Now   [before 
Isaiah  was  gone  out  into  the  middle  court,]  the  word  of 
JEHOVAH  came  unto  him,  saying :  Go  [back],  and  say 

5  unto  Hezekiah  :  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH,  the  God  of  David 
thy  father :  I  have  heard   thy  supplication  ;  I  have  seen 
thy  tears.     Behold  [I  will  heal  thee ;  and  on  the  third 
day  thou  shalt  go  up  into  the  house  of  JEHOVAH.     And] 

6  I  will  add  unto  thy  days  fifteen  years.    And  I  will  de- 


CHAP.  XXXVIII.  ISAIAH.  71 

liver  thee,  and  this  city,  from  the  hand  of  the  king  of 

22  Assyria ;  And  I  will  protect  this  city.     And  [Hezekiah 

said  :     By  what  sign  shall  I  know,  that  I  shall  go  up  into 

7  the  house  of  JEHOVAH  ?     And  Isaiah  said  :  ]     This  shall 
be  the  sign  unto  thee  from  JEHOVAH,  that  JEHOVAH  will 

8  bring  to  effect  this  word  which  he  hath  spoken.     Behold, 
I  will  bring  back  the  shadow  of  the  degrees,  by  which 
the  sun  is  gone  down  on  the  degrees  of  Ahaz,  ten  de- 
grees backward.     And  the  sun  returned  backward  ten  de- 
grees,   on    the  degrees   by   which   it  had    gone   down. 

21  And  Isaiah  said  :  Let  them  take  a  lump  of  figs  :  and  they 
bruised  them,  and  applied  them  to  the  boil ;  and  he  re- 
covered. 

9  THE  WRITING  OF  HEZEKIAH  KING  OF  JUDAH,  WHEN 
HE  HAD  BEEN  SICK,    AND  WAS    RECOVERED   FROM    HIS 
SICKNESS. 

10  I  said,  when  my  days  were  just  going  to  be  cut  off, 
I  shall  pass  through  the  gates  of  the  grave  ; 

I  am  deprived  of  the  residue  of  my  years  ! 

11  I  said,  1  shall  no  more  see  JEHOVAH  in  the  land  of 

the  living ! 

I  shall  no  longer  behold  man,  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  world  ! 

12  My  habitation  is  taken  away,  and  is  removed  from  me, 

like  a  shepherd's  tent : 
My  life  is  cut  off,  as  by  the  weaver ;  he  will  sever  me 

from  the  loom ; 
In  the  course  of  the  day  thou  wilt  finish  my  web. 

13  I  roared  until  the  morning,  like  the  lion  ; 
So  did  he  break  to  pieces  all  my  bones. 

14  Like  the  swallow,  like  the  crane  did  1  twitter ; 
I  made  a  moaning  like  the  dove. 

Mine  eyes  fail  with  looking  upward  : 

O  Lord,  contend  thou  for  me ;  be  thou  my  surety. 

15  What  shall  I  say?  he  hath  given  me  a  promise,  and 

he  hath  performed  it. 

Through  the  rest  of  my  years  will  I  reflect  on  this 
bitterness  of  my  soul. 

16  For  this  cause  shall  it  be  declared,  O  JEHOVAH,  con- 

concerning  thee, 
That  thou  hast  revived  my  spirit ; 


72  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXVIII. 

That  thou  hast  restored  my  health,  and  prolonged  my 
life. 

17  Behold  my  anguish  is  changed  into  ease  ! 
Thou  hast  rescued  my  soul  from  perdition ; 
Yea  thou  hast  cast  behind  thy  back  all  my  sins. 

18  Verily   the   grave  shall   not   give   thanks  unto   thee; 

death  shall  not  praise  thee  ; 

They  that  go  down  into  the  pit  shall  not  await  thy 
truth : 

19  The  living,  the  living,  he  shall  praise  thee,  as  I  do 

this  day ; 

The  father  to  the  children  shall  make  known  thy  faith- 
fulness. 

20  JEHOVAH  was  present  to  save  me :  therefore  will  we 

sing  our  songs  to  the  harp, 
All  the  days  of  our  life,  in  the  house  of  JEHOVAH. 

CHAP.  XXXIX. 

1  At  that  time  Merodach  Baladan,  the  son  of  Baladan 
king  of  Babylon,  sent  letters,  and  ambassadors,  arid  a 
present  to  Hezekiah  ;  for  he  had  heard  that  he  had  been 

2  sick,  and   was  recovered.     And   Hezekiah  was  rejoiced 
at  their  arrival :  and  he  shewed  them  'his  magazines,  the 
silver,  and  the  gold,   and  the  spices,   and  the  precious 
ointment,  and  his  whole  arsenal,  and  all  that  was  con- 
tained in  his  treasures  :  there  was  not  any  thing  in  his 
house,  and  in  all  his  dominion,  that  Hezekiah  did  not 
shew  them. 

3  And  Isaiah  the  prophet  came   unto  king  Hezekiah, 
and  said  unto  him  :     What  say  these  men  ?     and  from 
whence  came  they  unto  thee  ?  And  Hezekiah  said  :  They 
are  come  to  me  from  a  distant  country  ;  from  Babylon. 

4  And  he  said  :     What  have  they  seen  in  thy  house  ?   And 
Hezekiah   said :     They  have   seen  every  thing  in  my 
house :  there  is  nothing  in  my  treasures,  which  I  have 

5  not  shewn   them.      And   Isaiah   said   unto    Hezekiah : 
Hear    thou    the    word    of    JEHOVAH    God    of    Hosts. 

6  Behold,  the  day   shall   come,   when  all  that  is  in   thy 
house,  and  that  thy  fathers  have  treasured  up  unto  this 
day,  shall  be  carried  away   to  Babylon :  there  shall  not 

7  any  thing  be  left,  saith  JEHOVAH.     And  of  thy  sons, 
which  shall  issue  from  thee,  which  thou  shalt  beget,  shall 
they  take :  and  they  shall  be  eunuchs  in  the  palace  of 


QHA.P.  XXXIX.  ISAIAH.  73 

8  the  king  of  Babylon.  And  Hezekiah  said  unto  Isaiah  : 
Gracious  is  the  word  of  JEHOVAH,  which  thou  hast  de- 
livered !  For,  added  he,  there  shall  be  peace,  according  to 
his  faithful  promise,  in  my  days. 


CHAP.  XL. 

1  COMFORT  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your  God : 

2  Speak  ye  animating  words  to  Jerusalem,  and  declare  unto 

her, 
That  her  warfare  is  fulfilled ;  that  the  expiation  of  her 

iniquity  is  accepted  ; 

That  she  shall  receive  at  the  hand  of  JEHOVAH 
[Blessings]  double  to  the  punishment  of  all  her  sins. 

3  A  voice  crieth  :  In  the  wilderness  prepare  ye  the  way 

of  JEHOVAH  ! 
Make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God  ! 

4  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  and 

hill  be  brought  low  ; 

And  the  crooked  shall  become  straight,  and  the  rough 
places  a  smooth  plain  : 

5  And  the  glory  of  JEHOVAH  shall  be  revealed  ; 

And  all  flesh  shall  see  together  the  salvation  of  our  God  : 
For  the  mouth  of  JEHOVAH  hath  spoken  it. 

6  A  voice  sayeth :     Proclaim  !     And  I  said,  What  shall 

I  proclaim  ? 

All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  its  glory  like  the  flower  of  the 
field: 

7  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  ; 
When  the  wind  of  JEHOVAH  bloweth  upon  it. 
Verily  this  people  is  grass. 

8  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  ; 

But  the  word  of  our  God  shall  stand  for  ever. 

9  Get  thee  up  upon  a  high  mountain,  O  daughter  lhat 

bringest  glad  tidings  to  Sion  : 
Exalt  thy  voice  with  strength,  O  daughter  that  bringest 

glad  tidings  to  Jerusalem. 
Exalt  it ;  be  not  afraid  : 
Say  to  the  cities  of  Juclah,  Behold  your  God ! 
10      Behold,   the  Lord  JEHOVAH   shall  come  against  the 

strong  one, 

And  his  arm  shall  prevail  over  him. 
12 


74  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XL. 

Behold,  his  reward  is  with  him,  and  the  recompense  of 
his  work  before  him. 

11  Like  a  shepherd  shall  he  feed  his  flock  ; 
In  his  arm  shall  he  gather  up  the  lambs, 

And  shall  bear  them  in  his  bosom  ;  the  nursing  ewes 
shall  he  gently  lead. 

12  Who  hath  measured  the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his 

hand  ; 

And  hath  meted  out  the  heavens  by  his  span  ; 
And  hath  comprehended  the  dust  of  the  earth  in  a  tierce  ; 
And  hath  weighed  in  scales  the  mountains,  and  the  hills 
in  a  balance? 

13  Who  hath  directed  the  spirit  of  JEHOVAH  ; 
And,  as  one  of  his  council,  hath  informed  him? 

14  Whom  hath  he  consulted,  that  he  should  instruct  him. 
And  teach  him  the  path  of  judgment ; 

That  he  should  impart  to  him  science, 

And  inform  him  in  the  way  of  understanding'? 

15  Behold,  the  nations  are  as  a  drop  from  the  bucket ;    . 

As  the  small  dust  of  the  balance  shall  they  be  accounted : 
Behold,  the  islands  he  taketh  up  as  an  atom. 

16  And  Lebanon  is  not  sufficient  for  the  fire  ; 
Nor  his  beasts  sufficient  for  the  burnt-offering. 

17  AH  the  nations  are  as  nothing  before  him  ; 

They  are  esteemed  by   him  as   less   than   nought,  and 
vanity. 

18  To  whom  therefore  will  ye  liken  God? 

And  what  is  the  model  of  resemblance,  that  ye  will  pre- 
pare for  him  ? 

19  The  workman  casteth  an  image  ; 

And  the  smith  overlayeth  it  with  plates  of  gold  ; 
And  forgeth  for  it  chains  of  silver. 

20  He  that  cannot  afford  a  costly  oblation,  chooseth  a  piece 

of  wood  that  will  not  rot ; 
He  procureth  a  skilful  artist, 
To  erect  an  image,  which  shall  not  be  moved. 

21  Will  ye  not  know  ?  will  ye  not  hear  ? 

Hath  it  not  been  declared  to  you  from  the  beginning? 
Have  ye  not  understood  it  from  the   foundations  of  the 
earth  ? 

22  It  is  lie,  that  sitteth  on  the  circle  of  the  earth  ; 


CHAP.  XL.  ISAIAH. 


75 


And  the  inhabitants  are  to  him  as  grasshoppers : 
That  extendeth  the  heavens,  as  a  thin  veil  ; 
And  spreadeth  them  out,  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in : 

23  That  reduceth  princes  to  nothing ; 

That  maketh  the  judges  of  the  earth  a  mere  inanity. 

24  Yea  they  shall  not  leave  a  plant  behind  them,  they  shall 

not  be  sown, 

Their  trunk  shall  not  spread  its  root  in  the  ground  : 
If  he  but  blow  upon  them,  they  instantly  wither  ; 
And  the  whirlwind  shall  bear  them  away  like  the  stubble. 

25  To  whom  then  will  ye  liken  me  ? 

And  to  whom  shall  I  be  equalled?  saith  the  Holy  One. 

26  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high  ; 
And  see,  who  hath  created  these. 

He  draweth  forth  their  armies  by  number  ; 

He  calleth  them  all  by  name  : 

Through  the  greatness  of  his  strength,  and  the  mightiness 

of  his  power, 
Not  one  of  them  faileth  to  appear. 

27  Wherefore  sayest  thou  then,  O  Jacob, 
And  why  speakest  thou  thus,  O  Israel, 
My  way  is  hidden  from  JEHOVAH, 

And  my  cause  passeth  unregarded  by  my  God. 

28  Hast  thou  not  known,  hast  thou  not  heard, 
That  JEHOVAH  is  the  everlasting  God, 
The  Creator  of  the  bounds  of  the  earth  1 
That  he  neither  fainteth,  nor  is  wearied  ; 
And  that  his  understanding  is  unsearchable  ! 

29  He  giveth  strength  to  the  faint, 

And  to  the  infirm  he  multiplied!  force. 

30  The  young  men  shall  faint  and  be  wearied  ; 
And  the  chosen  youths  shall  stumble  and  fall : 

31  But    they   that    trust  in   JEHOVAH   shall    gather   ne\r 

strength  ; 
They  shall   put  forth  fresh   feathers   like   the  moulting 

eagle  : 

They  shall  run,  and  not  be  wearied  ; 
They  shall  march  onward,  and  shall  not  faint. 

CHAP.    XLI. 

1       LET  the  distant  nations  repair  to  me  with  new  force  of 

mind  ; 
And  let  the  peoples  recover  their  strength. 


76  ISAIAH.  CHAP.   XLI. 

Let  them  draw  near ;  then  let  them  speak  ; 
Let  us  enter  into  solemn  debate  together. 

2  Who   hath   raised    up   the    righteous   man   from   the 

east : 

Hath  called  him  to  attend  his  steps  ? 
Hath  subdued  nations  at  his  presence  ; 
And  given  him  dominion  over  kings? 
Hath  made  them  like  the  dust  before  his  sword  ; 
And  like  the  driven  stubble  before  his  bow  'I 

3  He  pursueth  them  ;  he  passeth  in  safety  ; 
By  a  way  never  trodden  before  with  his  feet. 

4  Who  hath  performed,  and  made  these  things, 
Calling  the  several  generations  from  the  beginning  ? 
I  JEHOVAH,  the  first ; 

And  with  the  last,  I  am  the  same. 

5  The  distant  nations  saw,  and  they  were  afraid  ; 
The  remotest  parts  of  the  earth,  and  they  were  terrified. 
They  drew  near,  they  came  together ; 

6  Every  one  assisted  his  neighbour, 

And  said  to  his  brother,  Be  of  good  courage. 

7  The  carver  encourageth  the  smith  ; 

He  that  smootheth  with  the  hammer,  him  that  smiteth 

on  the  anvil ; 

Saying  of  the  solder,  It  is  good  ; 
And  he  fixeth  the  idol  with  nails,  that  it  shall  not  move. 

8  But  thou,  Israel,  my  servant ; 
Thou.  Jacob,  whom  I  have  chosen ; 
The  seed  of  Abraham  my  friend  : 

9  Thou,  whom  I  have  led  by  the  hand  from  the  ends  of 

the  earth ; 

And  called  from  the  extremities  thereof ; 
And  I  said  unto  thee,  Thou  art  my  servant ; 
I  have  chosen  thee,  and  will  not  reject  thee : 

10  Fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee  ; 

Be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  God. 

I  have  strengthened  thee,  I  have  assisted  thee ; 

I  have  even  supported  thee  with   my  faithful  right  hand. 

11  Behold,  they,  that  were  enraged  against  thee,  shall  be 

ashamed  and  confounded  ; 


CHAP.  XLI.  ISAIAH.  77 

They,  that  contended  with  thee,  shall  become  as  nothing, 
and  shall  utterly  perish. 

12  Thou  shall  seek  them,  and  shalt  not  find  them,  even  the 

men  that  strove  with  thee  : 

They  shall   become  as  nothing,    and  as    mere  nought, 
even  the  men  that  opposed  thee  in  battle. 

13  For  I  am  JEHOVAH  thy  God,  that  hold  thee  fast  by  thy 

right  hand ; 
That  say  unto  thee,  Fear  not  j  I  am  thy  helper. 

14  Fear  not,  thou  worm  Jacob  ;  ye  mortals  of  Israel : 
I  am  thy  helper,  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  thine  avenger  is  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

15  Behold,  I  have  made  thee  a  thrashing  wain  ; 
A  new  corn-drag  armed  with  pointed  teeth : 

Thou  shalt  thrash  the  mountains,  and  beat  them  smal   ; 
And  reduce  the  hills  to  chaff: 

16  Thou  shalt  winnow  them,  and  the  wind  shall  bear  them 

away  ; 

And  the  tempest  shall  scatter  them  abroad  : 
But  thou  shalt  rejoice  in  JEHOVAH  ; 
In  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  shalt  thou  triumph. 

17  The  poor  and  the  needy  seek  for  water,  and  there  is 

none  ; 

Their  tongue  is  parched  with  thirst : 
I  JEHOVAH  will  answer  them  ; 
The  God  of  Israel,  I  will  not  forsake  them. 

18  I  will  open  in  the  high  places  rivers ; 
And  in  the  midst  of  the  vallies,  fountains : 
I  will  make  the  desert  a  standing  pool; 
And  the  dry  ground  streams  of  waters. 

19  In  the  wilderness  I  will  give  the  cedar  ; 

The  acacia,  the  myrtle,  and  the  tree  producing  oil : 
I  will  plant  the  fir-tree  in  the  desert ; 
The  pine,  and  the  box  together  : 

20  That  they  may  see,  and  that  they  may  know; 
And  may  consider,  and  understand  at  once, 
That  the  hand  of  JEHOVAH  hath  done  this, 
And  that  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  hath  created  it. 

21  Draw  near,  produce  your  cause,  saith  JEHOVAH  : 
Produce  these  your  mighty   powers,  saith   the  Jking  of 

Jacob. 

12* 


78  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLI. 

22  Let  them  approach,  and  tell  us  the  things  that  shall 

happen ; 
The  things  that  shall  first  happen,  what  they  are,  let 

them  tell  us : 

And  we  will  consider  them  ;  and  we  shall  know  the  event. 
Or  declare  to  us  things  to  come  hereafier : 

23  Tell  us  the  things,  that  will  come  to  pass  in  later  times ; 
Then  shall  we  know  that  ye  are  Gods. 

Yea,  do  good,  or  do  evil ; 

Then  shall  we  be  struck  at  once  with  admiration  and 
terror. 

24  But,  behold,  ye  are  less  than  nothing  ; 
And  your  operation  is  less  than  nought ; 
Abhorred  be  the  man  that  chooseth  you  ! 

25  I  have  raised  up  one  from  the  north,  and  he  shall 

come ; 

From  the  rising  of  the  sun  he  shall  invoke  my  name  : 
And  he  shall  trample  on  princes,  like  the  mortar ; 
Even  as  the  potter  treadeth  down  the  clay. 

26  Who  hath  declared  this  from  the  beginning,  that  we 

should  know  it? 
And  beforehand,  that  we  might  say,  The   prediction  is 

true? 

There  was  not  one,  that  foretold  it ;  not  one,  that  de- 
clared it ; 

There  was  not  one,  that  heard  your  words : 
26  I  first  to  Sion  [give  the  word],  Behold  they  are  here ; 
And  to  Jerusalem  I  give  the  messenger  of  glad  tidings. 

28  But  I  looked,  and  there  was  no  man  ; 

And  among  the  idols,  and  there  was  no  one  that  gave 
warning ; 

29  And  I  inquired  of  them,  and  [there  was  no  one]  that 

could  return  an  answer. 
Behold,  they  are  all  of  them   vanity ;  their    works  arc 

nought : 
Mere  wind  and  emptiness  are  their  molten  images. 

CHAP.  XLII. 

1       BEHOLD  my  servant,  whom  I  will  uphold  ; 
My  chosen,  in  whom  my  soul  delighteth  : 
I  will  make  my  spirit  rest  upon  him  ; 
And  he  shall  publish  judgment  to  the  nations. 


CHAP.  XL1I.  ISAIAH.  79 

2  He  shall  not  cry  aloud,  nor  raise  a  clamour, 

Nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  public  places : 

3  The  bruised  reed  he  shall  not  break ; 

And  the  dimly  burning  flax  he  shall  not  quench  : 
He    shall  publish  judgment,   so   as  to  establish    it  per- 
fectly. 

4  His  force  shall  not  be  abated,  nor  broken  ; 

Until  he  hath  firmly  seated  judgment  in  the  earth  : 
And  the  distant  nations  shall  earnestly  wait  for  his  law. 

5  Thus  saith  the  God,  even  JEHOVAH, 

Who  created  the  heavens,  and  stretched  them  out ; 
Who  spread  abroad  the  earth,  and  the  produce  thereof; 
Who  giveth  breath  to  the  people  upon  it, 
And  spirit  to  them  that  tread  thereon  : 

6  I  JEHOVAH  have  called  thee  for  a.  righteous  purpose  ; 
And   I   will  take  hold  of  thy  hand,  and   will   preserve 

thee  ; 

And  I  will  give  thee  for  a  covenant  to  the  people,  for  a 
light  to  the  nations  : 

7  To  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind; 

To  bring  the  captive  out  of  confinement ; 

And  from  the  dungeon,  those  that  dwell  in  darkness. 

8  I  a  in  JEHOVAH,  that  is  my  name; 
And  my  glory  will  I  not  give  to  another, 
Nor  my  praise  to  the  graven  images. 

9  The  former  predictions,  lo  !  they  are  come  to  pass ; 
A  nd  new  events  I  now  declare  : 

Before  they  spring  forth,  I  make  them  known  unto  you. 

10  Sing  unto  JEHOVAH  a  new  song  ; 
His  praise,  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  : 

Ye  that  go  down  upon  the  sea,  and  all  that  fill  it ; 
Ye  distant  sea-coasts,  and  ye  that  dwell  therein  : 

11  Let  the  desert  cry  aloud,  and  the  cities  thereof; 
The  villages,  and  they  that  dwell  in  Kedar : 

Let  the  inhabitants  of  the  rocky  country  utter  a  joyful 

sound  ; 
Let  them  shout  aloud  from  the  top  of  the  mountains : 

12  Let  them  ascribe  glory  to  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  among  the  distant  nations  make  known  his  praise. 

13  JEHOVAH  shall  march  forth  like  a  hero ; 

Like  a  mighty  warrior  shall  he  rouse  his  vengeance : 


80  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLII. 

He  shall  cry  aloud  ;  he  shall  shout  amain  ; 
He  shall  exert  his  strength  against  his  enemies. 

14  I  have  long  holden  my  peace  ;  shall  I  keep  silence  for 

ever  ? 

Shall  I  still  contain  myself?  I  will  cry  out  like  a  woman 
in  travail; 

Breathing  short,  and  drawing  in  my  breath  with  vio- 
lence. 

15  I  will  make  barren  the  mountains  and  hills; 
And  burn  up  all  the  grass,  that  is  upon  them  : 
I  will  make  the  rivers  dry  daserts ; 

And  scorch  up  the  pools  of  water. 

16  I   will  lead  the  blind  in  a  way,  which  they  have  not 

known  ; 
And  through  paths,  which  they  have  not  known,  will  I 

make  them  go : 

I  will  turn  darkness  into  light  before  them  ; 
And  the  rugged  ways  into  a  smooth  plain. 
These  things  will  1  do  for  them,  and  will  not  forsake 

them. 

17  They  are  turned  backward,  they  are  utterly  confound- 

ed, who  trust  in  the  graven  image  ; 
Who  say  unto  the  molten  image.  Ye  are  our  gods ! 

18  Hear,  O  ye  deaf; 

And,  ye  blind,  look  attentively,  that  ye  may  see  ! 

19  Who  is  blind,  but  my  servant ; 

And  deaf,  as  he  to  whom  I  have  sent  my  messengers? 
Who  is  blind,  as  he  who  is  perfectly  instructed  ; 
And  deaf,  as  the  servant  of  JEHOVAH  ? 

20  Thou  hast  seen  indeed,  yet  thou  dost  not  regard  ; 
Thine  ears  are  open,  yet  thou  \\ilt  not  hear. 

21  Yet  JEHOVAH  was   gracious  unto   him,   for  his   truth's 

snke  : 
He  hath  exalted  his  own  praise,  and  made  it  glorious. 

22  But  this  is  a  people  spoiled  and  plundered  : 
Ail  their  chosen  youths  are  taken   in  the  toils, 
And  are  plunged  in  the  dark  dungeons : 

They  me  become  a  spoil,  and  there  was  none  to  rescue 

them  ; 
A  plunder,  and  no  one  said,  Restore. 


CHAP.  XLII.  ISAIAH. 


81 


23  Who  is  there  among  you,  that  will  listen  to  this  ; 
That  will  hearken,  and  attend  to  it,  for  the  future? 

24  Who  hath  given  Jacob  for  a  spoil  ; 
And.  Israel  to  the  plunderers  ? 

Was  it  not  JEHOVAH  ;     He,    against   whom  they  have 

sinned; 

In  whose  ways  they  would  not  walk  ; 
And  whose  law  they  would  not  obey  ? 

25  Therefore   poured  he  out   upon    them   the  heat   of  his 

wrath,  and  the  violence  of  war : 
And  it,  kindled   a  flame  round  about  him,  yet  he  did  not 

regard  it ; 
And  it  set  him  on  fire,  yet  he  did  not  consider  it. 

CHAP.  XL  III. 

1  Yet  now,  thus  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 

Who  created   thee,  O  Jacob  ;  and   who   formed  thee,  O 

Israel : 

Fear  thou  not,  for  I  have  redeemed  thee  ; 
I  have  called  thee  by  thy  name ;  thou  art  mine. 

2  When  thou  passest  through  waters,  I  am  with  thee; 
And  through  rivers,  they  shall  not  overwhelm  thee : 
When   thou    walkest    in    the   fire,    thou    shalt    not    be 

scorched  ; 
And  the  flame  shall  not  take  hold  of  thee. 

3  For  I  am  JEHOVAH,  thy  God  ; 

The  Holy  One  of  Israel,  thy  redeemer : 
I  have  given  Egypt  for  thy  ransom  ; 
Gush,  and  Saba,  in  thy  stead. 

4  Because  thou  hast  been  precious  in  my  sight, 
Thou  hast  been  honoured,  and  I  have  loved  thee : 
Therefore  will  I  give  men  instead  of  thee ; 

And  peoples  instead  of  thy  soul. 

5  Fear  thou  not,  for  I  am  with  thee  : 
From  the  east  I  will  bring  thy  children, 

And  from  the  west  I  will  gather  thee  together  : 

6  I  will  say  to  the  north,  Give  up  ; 
And  to  the  south,  Withhold  not : 
Bring  my  sons  from  afar; 

And  my  daughters  from  the  ends  of  the  earth  : 

7  Every  one  that  is  called  by  my  name. 
Whom  for  my  glory  I  have  created  ; 

Whom  1  have  formed,  yea  whom  I  have  made. 


82  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLIII. 

8  Bring   forth    the   people,   blind,    although   they   have 

eyes ; 
And  deaf,  although  they  have  ears. 

9  Let  all  the  nations  be  gathered  together, 
And  let  the  peoples  be  collected. 

"Who  among  them  will  declare  this  ; 
And  will  tell  us,  what  first  shall  come  to  pass '? 
Let  them  produce  their  witnesses,  that  they  may  be  jus- 
tified : 
Or  let  them  hear  in  their  turn,  and  say,  This  is  true. 

10  Ye  are  my  witnesses,  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 
Even  my  servant,  whom  I  have  chosen  : 
That  ye  may  know,  and  believe  me  ; 
And  understand,  that  I  am  He. 

Before  me  no  god  was  formed  ; 
And  after  me  none  shall  exist. 

11  I,  even  I,  am  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  beside  me  there  is  no  saviour. 

12  I  declared  my  purpose,  and  I  have  saved  : 

1  made  it  known  ;  nor  was  it  any  strange  god  among 

you  : 
And  ye  are  my  witnesses,  saith  JEHOVAH,  that  I  am 

God. 

13  Even  before  time  was,  I  am  He ; 

And  there  is  none  that  can  rescue  out  of  my  hand  : 
I  work  ;  and  who  shall  undo  what  I  have  done  ? 


14  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH, 

Your  redeemer,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel: 
For  your  sake  have  I  sent  unto  Babylon  ; 
And  I  will  bring  down  all  her  strong  bars; 
And  the  Chaldeans,  exulting  in  their  ships  : 

15  I  am  JEHOVAH,  your  Holy  One; 
The  creator  of  Israel,  your  king. 

16  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 
Who  made  a  way  in  the  sea, 
And  a  path  in  the  mighty  waters  ; 

17  Who  brought  forth  the  rider  and  the  horse,  the  army  and 

the  warrior  ; 

Together  they  lay  down,  they  rose  no  more; 
They  were  extinguished,  they  were  quenched  like  tow : 


CHAP.  XLIII.  ISAIAH.  83 

18  Remember  not  the  former  things  ; 

And  the  things  of  ancient  times  regard  not ; 

19  Behold,  I  make  a  new  thing  ; 

Even  now  shall  it  spring  forth  :  will  ye  not  regard  it  ? 
Yea  I  will  make  in  the  wilderness  a  way  ; 
In  the  desert,  streams  of  water. 

20  The  wild  beast  of  the  field  shall  glorify  me  ; 
The  dragons,  and  the  daughters  of  the  ostrich : 
Because  I  have  given  waters  in  the  wilderness ; 
And  flowing  streams  in  the  desert ; 

To  give  drink  to  my  people,  my  chosen  : 

21  This  people,  whom  I  have  formed  for  myself; 
Who  shall  recount  my  praise. 

22  But  thou  hast  not  invoked  me,  O  Jacob  ; 
Neither  on  my  account  hast  thou  laboured,  O  Israel. 

23  Thou  hast  not  brought  to  me  the  lamb  of  thy   burnt- 

offering  ; 

Neither  hast  thou  honoured  me  with  thy  sacrifices : 
I  have  not  burthened  thee  with  exacting  oblations  ; 
Nor  wearied  thee  with  demands  of  frankincense  : 

24  Thou  hast  not  purchased  for  me  with  silver  the  aromatic 

reed  ; 

Neither  hast  thou  satiated  me  with  the  fat  of  thy  sacri- 
fices. 

On  the  contrary,  thou  hast  burthened  me  with  thy  sins; 

Thou  hast  wearied  me  with  thine  iniquities. 

25  I,  even  I,  am  He  ; 

I  blot  out  thy  transgressions  for  mine  own  sake ; 
And  thy  sins  I  will  not  remember. 

26  Remind    me  of  thy  plea :  let   us   be  judged   on   equal 

terms  : 

Set  forth  thine  own  cause,  that  thou  mayest  clear  thy- 
self. 

27  Thy  chief  leader  hath  sinned  ; 

And  thy  public  teachers  have  revolted  from  me ; 

28  And  thy  princes  have  profaned  my  sanctuary : 
Therefore  will  I  give  up  Jacob  for  a  devoted  thing, 
And  Israel  to  reproach. 

CHAP.  XLIV. 

1  BUT  hear  now,  6  Jacob,  my  servant ; 
And  Israel,  whom  I  have  chosen  : 

2  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH,  thy  maker ; 


84  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLIV. 

And  he  that  formed  thee  from  the  womb,  and  will  help 

thee: 

Fear  thou  not,  O  my  servant  Jacob  ; 
And,  O  Jeshurun,  whom  I  have  chosen  : 

3  For  I  will  pour  out  waters  on  the  thirsty  ; 
And  flowing  streams  on  the  dry  ground  : 
I  will  pour  out  my  spirit  on  thy  seed  j 
And  rny  blessing  on  thine  offspring. 

4  And  they  shall  spring  up  as  the  grass  among  the  waters; 
As  the  willows  beside  the  aqueducts. 

5  One  shall  say  ;  I  belong  to  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  another  shall  be  called  by  the  name  of  Jacob  : 
And  this  shall  inscribe  his  hand  to  JEHOVAH  ; 
And  shall  be  surnamed  by  the  name  of  Israel. 

6  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH,  the  king  of  Israel  ; 
And  his  redeemer,  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  : 
I  am  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last  ; 

And  beside  me  there  is  no  God. 

7  And  who  is  like  me,  that  he  should  call  forth  this  event, 
And  make  it  known  beforehand,  and  dispose  it  for  me, 
From  the  time  that  I  appointed  the  people  of  the  destined 

age  ? 

The  things  that  are  now  coming,  and  are  to  come  hereaf- 
ter, let  them  declare  unto  us. 

8  Fear  ye  not,  neither  be  ye  afraid  : 

Have  I  not  declared  it  unto  you  from  the  first  ? 
Yea,  I  have  foreshewn  it  ;  and  ye  are  my  witnesses. 
Is  there  a  God  beside  me  ? 
Yea,  there  is  no  other  sure  protector  ;  I  know  not  any. 

9  They  that  form  the  graven  image  are  all  of  them  vanity  ; 
And  their  most  curious  works  shall  not  profit. 

Yea,  their  works  themselves  bear  witness  to  them, 
That  they  see  not,  and  that  they  understand  not  : 
10  That  every  one  may  be  ashamed,  that  he  hath  formed  a 


And  cast  a  graven  image,  that  profiteth  not. 
11  Behold,  all  his  associates  shall  be  ashamed  ; 
Even  the  workmen  themselves  shall  blush  : 
They  shall  assemble  all  of  them  ;  they  shall   present 

themselves  ; 
They  shall  fear,  and  be  ashamed  together. 


£HAP.  XLIV.  ISAIAH. 


85 


12  The  smith  cutteth  off  a  portion  of  iron  : 

He  worketh  it  in  the  coals,  and  with  hammers  he  form- 

eth  it ; 

And  he  exerteth  upon  it  the  force  of  his  arm. 
Yea,  he  is  hungry,  and  his  strength  faileth  him  ; 
He  drinketh  no  water,  and  he  is  faint. 

13  The  carpenter  stretcheth  his  line  ; 

He  marketh  out  the  form  of  it  with  red  ochre: 
He  worketh  it  with  the  sharp  tool ; 
He  figureth  it  with  the  compass : 
He  maketh  it  according  to  the  fashion  of  a  man  ; 
According  to  the  beauty  of  the  human  form,  that  it  may 
abide  in  the  house. 

14  He  heweth  down  cedars  for  his  use  : 
And  he  taketh  the  pine,  and  the  oak ; 

And  layeth  in  good  store  of  the  trees  of  the  forest. 
He  planteth  the  ash,  and  the  rain  nourisheth  it ; 

15  That  it  may  be  for  the  use  of  man,  for  fuel: 
And  he  taketh  thereof,  and  warmeth  himself; 

Yea  he  heateth  the  oven  with  it,  and  baketh  bread : 
He  also  formeth  a  god,  and  worshippeth  it : 
He  maketh  of  it  a  graven  image,  and  boweth  down  unto 
it. 

16  Part  of  it  he  burneth  in  the  fire  ; 

And  with  part  of  it  he  dresseth  flesh,  and  eateth  : 
He  roasteth  meat,  and  his  hunger  is  satisfied  ; 
He  also  warmeth  himself,  and  sayeth, 
Aha  !  1  am  warmed,  1  have  enjoyed  the  fire  : 

17  And  the  remainder  thereof  he  maketh  a  god,  even  his 

graven  image  ; 

He  boweth  down  to  it,  and  worshippeth  it : 
And  he  prayeth  unto  it,  and  sayeth ; 
Deliver  me,  for  thou  art  my  God ! 

18  They  know  not,  neither  do  they  understand : 
Verily  their  eyes  are  closed  up,  that  they  cannot  see ; 
And  their  heart,  that  they  cannot  rightly  discern  : 

J.9  Neither  doth  he  consider  in  his  heart ; 

Neither  hath  he  knowledge,  nor  understanding1,  to  say  : 
Part  of  it  1  have  burned  in  the  fire ; 
I  have  also  baked  bread  on  the  coals  thereof; 
I  have  roasted  flesh,  and  I  have  eaten  : 
And  shall  I  make  the  remnant  an  abomination  ? 
13 


86  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLIV. 

Shall  I  bow  myself  down  to  the  stock  of  a  tree  ? 

20  He  feedeth  on  ashes ;  a  deluded  heart  leadeth  him  aside  ; 
So  that  he  cannot  deliver  his  own  soul,  nor  say, 

Is  there  not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand? 

21  Remember  these  things,  O  Jacob  ; 
.And,  Israel ;  for  thou  art  my  servant : 

I  have  formed  thee ;  thou  art  a  servant  unto  me  ; 

0  Israel,  by  me  thou  shalt  not  be  forgotten. 

22  I  have  made  thy  transgressions  vanish  away  like  a  cloud ; 
And  thy  sins  like  a  vapour : 

Return  unto  me  ;  for  I  have  redeemed  thee. 

23  Sing,  O  ye  heavens,  for  JEHOVAH  hath  effected  it ; 
Utter  a  joyful  sound,  O  ye  depths  of  the  earth : 
Burst  forth  into  song,  O  ye  mountains  ; 

Thou,  forest,  and  every  tree  therein  ! 
For  JEHOVAH  hath  redeemed  Jacob  ; 
And  will  be  glorified  in  Israel. 

24  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH,  thy  redeemer  ; 
Even  he,  that  formed  thee  from  the  womb : 

1  am  JEHOVAH,  who  make  all  things ; 
Who  stretch  out  the  heavens  alone  ; 
Who  spread  the  firm  earth  by  myself : 

25  I  am  he,  who  frustrateth  the  prognostics  of  the  impos- 

tors ; 

And  maketh  the  diviners  mad : 
Who  reverseth  the  devices  of  the  sages, 
And  infatuateth  their  knowledge  : 

26  Who  establisheth  the  word  of  his  servant ; 

And  accomplished!  the  counsel  of  his  messengers  : 
Who  sayeth  to  Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt  be  inhabited  ; 
And  to  the  cities  of  Judah,  Ye  shall  be  built  ; 
And  her  desolated  places  I  will  restore  : 

27  Who  sayeth  to  the  deep,  Be  thou  wasted  ; 
And  I  will  make  dry  thy  rivers  : 

28  Who  sayeth  to  Cyrus,  Thou  art  my  shepherd  ! 
And  he  shall  fulfil  all  my  pleasure  : 

\Vlio  sayeth  to  Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt  be  built ; 
And  to  the  temple,  Thy  foundations  shall  be  laid. 


CHAP.  XLV.  ISAIAH.  87 


CHAP.    XLV. 

1  THUS  saith  JEHOVAH  to  his  anointed  ; 

To  Cyrus,  whom  I  hold  fast  by  the  right  hand  : 
That  I  may  subdue  nations  before  him  ; 
And  ungird  the  loins  of  kings  : 
That  I  may  open  before  him  the  valves  ; 
And  the  gates  shall  not  be  shut. 

2  I  will  go  before  thee  ; 

And  make  the  mountains  level : 

The  valves  of  brass  I  will  break  in  sunder  ; 

And  the  bars  of  iron  will  I  hew  down. 

3  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  treasures  of  darkness. 
And  the  stores  deep  hidden  in  secret  places : 

That  thou  mayest  know,  that  I  am  JEHOVAH  ; 
He  that  calleth  thee  by  thy  name,  the  God  of  Israel. 

4  For  the  sake  of  my  servant  Jacob ; 
And  of  Israel,  my  chosen  ; 

I  have  even  called  thee  by  thy  name ; 

I  have  surnamed  thee,  though  thou  knowest  me  not. 

5  I  am  JEHOVAH,  and  none  else  ; 
Beside  me  there  is  no  God : 

I  will  gird  thee,  though  thou  hast  not  known  me. 

6  That  they  may  know,  from  the  rising  of  the  sun, 
And  from  the  west,  that  there  is  none  beside  me  : 
I  am  JEHOVAH,  and  none  else  ; 

7  Forming  light,  and  creating  darkness  ; 
Making  peace,  and  creating  evil : 

I  JEHOVAH  am  the  author  of  all  these  things. 

8  Drop  down,  O  ye  heavens,  the  dew  from  above  ; 
And  let  the  clouds  shower  down  righteousness  : 

Let  the  earth  open  her  bosom,  and  let  salvation  produce 

her  fruit ; 

And  let  justice  push  forth  her  bud  together  : 
I  JEHOVAH  have  created  it. 

9  Wo  unto  him,  that  contendeth  with  the  power  that 

formed  him  ; 

The  potsherd  with  the  moulder  of  the  clay  ! 
Shall  the  clay  say  to  the  potter,  What  makest  thou   , 
And  to  the  workman,  Thou  hast  no  hands  ? 
10  Wo  unto  him  that  sayeth  to  his  father,  What  begettest  thou  ? 
And  to  his  mother,  What  dost  thou  bring  forth  1 


88  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLV. 


11  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel ; 
And  he  that  formeth  the  things,  which  are  to  come  : 
Do  ye  question  me  concerning  my  children  ? 

And  do  ye  give  me  directions  concerning  the  works  of 
my  hands  ? 

12  I  have  made  the  earth  ;, 

And  man  upon  it  I  have  created  : 

My  hands  have  stretched  out  the  heavens ; 

And  to  all  the  host  of  them  I  have  given  command  : 

13  I  have  raised  him  up  in  righteousness  ; 
And  I  will  make  level  all  his  ways. 

He  shall  build  my  city,  and  release  my  captives  ; 
Not  for  price,  nor  for  reward  : 
Saith  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts. 

14  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH  : 

The  wealth  of  Egypt,  and  the  merchandise  of  Gush, 
And  the  Sabeans  tall  of  stature, 
Shall  come  over  to  thee,  and  shall  be  thine  : 
They  shall  follow  thee  ;  in  chains  shall,  they  pass  along  ; 
They  shall  bow  down  to  thee,  and  in  suppliant  guise  ad- 
dress thee : 

In  thee  alone  is  God  ; 
And  there  is  no  God  besides  whatever. 

15  Verily,  thou  art  a  God  that  hidest  thy  counsels, 
O  God  of  Israel,  the  saviour  ! 

16  They  are  ashamed,  they  are  even  confounded,  his  ad- 

versaries, all  of  them  ; 

Together  they  retire  in  confusion,  the  fabricators  of  im- 
ages. 

17  But  Israel  shall  be  saved  in  JEHOVAH  with  eternal  sal- 

vation : 

Ye  shall  not  be  ashamed,  neither  shall  ye  be  confounded, 
to  the  ages  of  eternity. 

18  For  thus  saith  JEHOVAH, 

Who  created  the  heavens ;  he  is  God  : 

Who  formed  the  earth  and  made  it ;  he  hath  established 
it: 

He  created  it  not  in  vain  ;  for  he  formed  it  to  be  inha- 
bited : 


CHAP.  XLV.  ISAIAH.  89 

I  am  JEHOVAH,  and  none  besides  : 

19  I  have  not  spoken  in  secret,  in  a  dark  place  of  the  earth  ; 
I  have  not  said  to  the  seed  of  Jacob,  Seek  ye  me  in  vain  : 
I  am    JEHOVAH,    who  speak  truth  ;  who    give    direct 

answers. 

20  Assemble  yourselves  together,  and  come  ; 

Gather  yourselves  together,  ye  that  are  escaped  from 
among  the  nations. 

They  know  nothing,  that  carry  about  the  wood,  which 
they  have  carved  ; 

That  address  themselves  in  prayer  to  a  god,  which  can- 
not save. 

21  Publish  it  abroad,  and  bring  them  near ;  and  let  them 

consult  together : 
Who  hath  made  this  known  long  before,  hath  declared  it 

from  the  first  ? 

Is  it  not  I  JEHOVAH,  than  whom  there  is  no  other  God  ? 
A  God,  that  uttereth  truth,  and  granteth  salvation  ;  there 

is  none  beside  me  ? 

22  Look  unto  me,  and  be  saved,  O  all  ye  remote  people  of 

the  earth  ; 
For  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else. 

23  By  myself  have  I  sworn ;  truth  is  gone  forth  from  my 

mouth  ; 

The  word,  and  it  shall  not  be  revoked : 
Surely  to  me  shall  every  knee  bow,  shall  every  tongue  swear: 

24  Saying,  Only  to  JEHOVAH  belongeth  salvation  and  power  : 
To  him  they  shall  come  ;  they  shall  be  ashamed,  all  that 

are  incensed  against  him  : 

25  In  JEHOVAH  shall  be  justified,  and  make  their  boast,  all 

the  seed  of  Israel. 

CHAP.  XLVI. 

1  BEL  boweth  down,  Nebo  croucheth ; 

Their  idols  are  laid  on  the  beasts  and  the  cattle  ; 
Their  burthens  are  heavy,  a  grievous  weight  to  the  weary 
beast.  ' 

2  They  crouched,  they  bowed  down  together  : 
They  could  not  deliver  their  own  charge  ; 
Even  they  themselves  are  gone  into  captivity. 

3  Hearken  unto  me,  O  house  of  Jacob ; 

And  all  ye  the  remnant  of  the  house  of  Israel : 
13* 


90  ISAIAH. 


CHAP.  XLVI. 


Ye  that  have  been  borne  by  me  from  the  birth  ; 
That  have  been  carried  from  the  womb. 

4  And  even  to  your  old  age,  I  am  the  same  ; 
And  even  to  your  grey  hairs,  I  will  carry  you. 
I  have  made,  and  I  will  bear ; 

I  will  carry,  and  will  deliver  you. 

5  To  whom  will  ye  liken  me,  and  equal  me  ? 

And  to  whom  will  ye  compare  me,  that  we  may  be  like? 

6  Ye  that  lavish  gold  out  of  the  bag ; 
And  that  weigh  silver  in  the  balance  ? 

They  hire  a  goldsmith,  and  he  maketh  it  a  god  : 
They  worship  him  ;  yea  they  prostrate  themselves  before 
him. 

7  They  bear  him  on  the  shoulder  :  they  carry  him  about ; 
They  set  him  down  in  his  place,  and  he  standeth  : 
From  his  place  he  shall  not  remove  ; 

To  him  that  crieth  unto  him,  he  will  not  answer  ; 
Neither  will  he  deliver  him  from  his  distress. 

8  Remember  this,  and  shew  yourselves  men  :  / 
Reflect  on  it  deeply,  O  ye  apostates. 

9  Remember  the  former  things,  of  old  time  : 
Verily  I  am  God,  and  none  else  ; 

I  am  God,  nor  is  there  any  thing  like  me. 

10  From  the  beginning  making  known  the  end  ; 

And  from  early  times,  the  things  that  are  not  yet  done ; 

Saying,  My  counsel  shall  stand  ; 

And  whatever  I  have  willed.  I  will  effect. 

11  Calling  from  the  east  the  eagle  ; 

And  from  a  land  far  distant,  the  man  of  my  counsel : 
As  I  have  spoken,  so  will  I  bring  it  to  pass  ; 
I  have  formed  the  design,  and  I  will  execute  it. 

12  Hearken  unto  me,  O  ye  stubborn  of  heart ; 
Ye  that  are  far  distant  from  deliverance  : 

131  bring  my  promised  deliverance  near,  it  shall  not  be  far 

distant ; 

And  my  salvation  shall  not  be  delayed. 
And  I  will  give  in  Sion  salvation  j 
To  Israel  I  will  give  my  glory. 


CHAP.  XLVII.  ISAIAH.  91 


CHAP.  XLVII. 

1  DESCEND,  and  sit  on  the  dust,  O  virgin  daughter  of 

Babylon  ; 
Sit  on  the  bare  ground  without  a  throne,  O  daughter  of 

the  Chaldeans : 
For  thou  shall  no  longer  be  called  the  tender,  and  the 

delicate. 

2  Take  the  mill,  and  grind  the  corn  : 
Uncover  thy  locks,  disclose  thy  flowing  hair  ; 
Make  bare  thy  leg  ;  wade  through  the  rivers. 

3  Thy  nakedness  shall  be  uncovered;  even  thy  shame  shall 

be  seen  : 

I  will  take  full  vengeance  ;  neither  will  I  suffer  man  to  in- 
tercede with  me. 

4  Onr  avenger,  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts, 
The  Holy  One  of  Israel,  is  his  name  ! 

5  Sit  thou  in  silence,  go  into  darkness,  O  daughter  of  the 

Chaldef  ns  * 

For  thou  shalt  no  longer  be  called  the  lady  of  the  king- 
doms. 

6  I  was  angry  with  my  people  ;  I  profaned  my  heritage ; 
And  I  gave  them  up  into  thy  hand  : 

Thou  didst  not  shew  mercy  unto  them  ; 
Even  upon  the  aged  didst  thou  greatly  aggravate  the 
weight  of  thy  yoke. 

7  And  thau  saidst,  I  shall  be  a  lady  for  ever  : 

Because  thou  didst  not  attentively  consider  these  things  ; 
Thou  didst  not  think  on  what  was  in  the  end  to  befall 
thee. 

8  But  hear  now  this,  O  thou  voluptuous,  that  sittest  in  se- 

curity ; 

Thou  that  sayest  in  thy  heart,  I  am,  and  there  is  none 
else  ; 

I  shall  not  sit  a  widow ;  I  shall  not  know  the  loss  of  chil- 
dren. 

9  Yet  shall  these  two  things  come  upon  thee  in  a  moment  ; 
In  one  day,  loss  of  children  and  widowhood  : 

On  a  sudden  shall  they  come  upon  thee ; 
Notwithstanding  the  multitude  of  thy  sorceries,  and  the 
great  strength  of  thine  enchantments. 


92  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLVII. 

10  But  thou  didst  trust  in  thy  wickedness,  and  saidst,  None 

seeth  me : 
Thy   wisdom  and   thy  knowledge  have  perverted  thy 

mind  ; 
So  that  thou  hast  said  in  thy  heart,  I  am,  and  there  is 

none  besides. 

11  Therefore  evil  shall  come  upon  thee,  which  thou  shalt  not 

know  how  to  deprecate  ; 
And  mischief  shall  fall  upon  thee,  which  thou  shalt  not 

be  able  to  expiate ; 
And  destruction  shall  come  upon  thee  suddenly,  of  which 

thou  shalt  have  no  apprehension. 

12  Persist  now  in  thine  enchantments  ; 

And  in  the  multitude  of  thy  sorceries,  in  which  thou 

hast  laboured  from  thy  youth : 
If  peradventure  thou  mayest  be  profited,  if  thou  mayest  be 

strengthened  by  them. 

13  Thou  art  weaned  in  the  multiplicity  of  thy  counsels  : 
Let  them  stand  up  now,  and  save  thee  ; 

The  observers  of  the  heavens,  the  gazers  on  the  stars  ; 
They  that  prognosticate  at  every  new  moon, 
What  are  the  events,  that  shall  happen  unto  thee. 

14  Behold   they  shall  be  like  stubble ;  the  fire  shall  burn 

them  up : 
They  shall  not  deliver  their  own  souls  from  the  power 

of  the  flame ; 
Not  a  coal  to  warm  one,  not  a  fire  to  sit  by,  shall  be  left 

of  them. 

15  Such  shall  these  be  unto  thee,  with  whom  thou  hast  la- 

boured ; 
Thy  negociators,  with  whom  thou  hast  dealt  from  thy 

youth : 
Every  one  shall  turn  aside  to  his  own  business ;  none 

shall  deliver  thee. 

CHAP.  XL VIII. 

1  HEAR  this,  O  house  of  Jacob  ; 

Ye  that  are  called  by  the  name  of  Israel : 
Ye  that  flow  from  the  fountain  of  Judah  ; 
Ye  that  swear  by  the  name  of  JEHOVAH, 
And  publicly  acknowledge  the  God  of  Israel ; 
But  not  in  sincerity,  nor  in  truth  : 

2  Who  take  their  name  from  the  Holy  City, 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  ISAIAH. 


93 


And  make  the  God  of  Israel  their  support ; 
JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  is  his  name  : 

3  The  former  things  I  shewed  unto  you  from  the  first ; 
And  from    my  mouth   they   proceeded,    and   I  declared 

them  : 
On  a  sudden  I  effected  them,  and  they  came  to  pass. 

4  Because  I  knew,  that  thou  wast  obstinate, 
And  that  thy  neck  was  a  sinew  of  iron, 
And  that  thy  front  was  brass  : 

5  Therefore  I  shewed  them  unto  thee  from  the  first ; 
Before  they  should  come  to  pass,  I  made  thee  hear  them : 
Lest  thou  shouldst  say,  Mine  idol  hath  caused  them  ; 
And  my  graven  and  my  molten  image  hath  directed  them. 

6  Thou  didst  hear  it  beforehand  ;  behold,  the  whole  is  ac- 

complished : 

And  will  ye  not  openly  acknowledge  this? 
From  this  time  I  make  thee  hear  new  things, 
Kept  secret  hitherto,  and  of  which  thou  hast  no  know- 
ledge : 

7  They  are  produced  now,  and  not  of  old  ; 

And  before  this  day  thou  hast  not  heard  them  : 
Lest  thou  shouldst  say,  Lo  !  I  knew  them. 

8  Yea,  thou  hast  not  heard,  thou  hast  not  known, 

Yea,  from   the  first  thine  ear  was   not  opened  to  receive 

them  : 

For  I  knew,  that  thou  wouldst  certainly  deal  falsely, 
And  that  Apostate  was  thy  name  from  thy  birth. 

9  For  the  sake  of  my  name  I  will  defer  mine  anger  ; 

And  for  the  sake  of  my  praise  1  will  restrain  it  from  thee, 
That  T  may  not  utterly  cut  thee  off. 

10  Behold,  I  have  purified  thee  in  the  fire,  but  not  as  silver  ; 
I  have  tried  thee  in  the  furnace  of  affliction. 

11  For  mine  own  sake  will  1  do  it ;  for  how  would  my  name 

be  blasphemed  ? 
And  my  glory  I  will  not  give  to  another. 

12  Hearken  unto  me,  O  Jacob  my  servant ; 
And  Israel,  whom  I  have  called. 

I  am  He  ;  lam  the  first,  and  I  am  the  last : 

13  Yea  my  hand  hath  founded  the  earth  ; 

And  my  right  hand  hath  spanned  the  heavens: 
I  summon  them  ;  they  present  themselves  together. 


94  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLVIII. 

14  Gather  yourselves  together  all  of  you,  and  hear : 
Who  among  you  hath  predicted  these  things  ? 
He,  whom  JEHOVAH  hath  loved,  will  execute 

His  will  on  Babylon,  and  his  power  on  the  Chaldeans. 

15  I,  even  I,  have  spoken  ;  yea  I  have  called  him  : 
I  have  brought  him,  and  his  way  shall  prosper. 

16  Draw  near  unto  me,  and  hear  ye  this  : 
From  the  beginning  I  have  not  spoken  in  secret ; 
Before  the  time  when  it  began  to  exist,  I  had  decreed  it. 
And   now   the   Lord   JEHOVAH  hath   sent   me,  and  his 

Spirit. 

17  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH, 

Thy  redeemer,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel : 

I  am  JEHOVAH,  thy  God  ; 

Who  teacheth  thee  what  will  tend  to  thy  profit ; 

Who  directeth  thee  in  the  way  wherein  thou  shouldst  go. 

18  O  that  thou  hadst  attended  to  my  commands  ! 
Then  had  thy  prosperity  been  like  the  river ; 
And  thy  blessedness,  as  the  floods  of  the  sea  : 

19  And  thy  seed  had  been  as  the  sand  ; 

And  the  issue  of  thy  bowels,  like  that  of  the  bowels 
thereof: 

Thy  name  should  not  be  cut  off,  nor  destroyed  from  be- 
fore me. 

20  Come  ye  forth  from  Babylon  ;  flee  ye  from  the  land  of 

the  Chaldeans  with  the  voice  of  joy : 
Publish  ye  this,  and  make  it  heard  ;  utter  it  forth  even  to 

the  end  of  the  earth  : 
Say  ye,  JEHOVAH  hath  redeemed  his  servant  Jacob  ; 

21  They  thirsted  not  in  the  deserts,  through  which  he  made 

them  go ; 

Waters  from  the  rock  he  caused  to  flow  for  them  ; 
Yea  he  clave  the  rock,  and  forth  gushed  the  waters. 

22  There  is  no  peace,  saith  JEHOVAH,  to  the  wicked. 


CHAP.    XLIX. 

1       HEARKEN  unto  me,  O  ye  distant  lands  ; 
And  ye  peoples,  attend  from  afar. 
JEHOVAH  from  the  womb  hath  called  me  ; 


CHAP.  XLIX.  ISAIAH.  95 

From  the  bowels  of  my  mother  hath  he  mentioned  my 
name. 

2  And  he  hath  made  my  mouth  a  sharp  sword  ; 

In  the  shadow  of  his  hand  he  hath  concealed  me : 
Yea  he  hath  made  me  a  polished  shaft ; 
He  hath  laid  me  up  in  store  in  his  quiver : 

3  And  he  hath  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  my  servant ; 
Israel,  in  whom  I  will  be  glorified. 

4  And  I  said  :  I  have  laboured  in  vain  ; 

For  nought,  and  for  vanity,  I  have  spent  my  strength  : 
Nevertheless  my  cause  is  with  JEHOVAH  ; 
And  the  reward  of  my  work  with  my  God. 

5  And  now  thus  saith  JEHOVAH, 

(Who  formed  me  from  the  womb  to  be  his  servant, 
To  bring  back  again  Jacob  unto  him, 
And  that  Israel  unto  him  may  be  gathered  : 
Therefore  am  I  glorious  in  the  eyes  of  JEHOVAH, 
And  my  God  is  my  strength )  : 

6  It  is  a  small  thing  for  thee,  that  thou  shouldst  be  my  ser- 

vant, 

To  raise  up  the  scions  of  Jacob, 
And  to  restore  the  branches  of  Israel : 
I  will  even  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  nations, 
To  be  my  salvation  to  the  end  of  the  earth. 

7  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH, 

The  redeemer  of  Israel,  his  Holy  One  ; 

To  him,  whose  person  is  despised,  whom  the  nation  holds 
in  abhorrence  ; 

To  the  subject  of  rulers  : 

Kings  shall  see  him,  and  rise  up  ; 

Princes,  and  they  shall  worship  him  : 

For  the  sake  of  JEHOVAH,  who  is  faithful ; 

Of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  for  he  hath  chosen  thee. 
Thus  saith  JEHOVAH  : 

In  the  season  of  acceptance  have  I  heard  thee, 

And  in  the  day  of  salvation  have  I  helped  thee  ; 

And  I  will  preserve  thee,  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of 
the  people  ; 

To  restore  the  land,  to  give  possession  of  the  desolate  her- 
itages. 
9  Saying  to  the  bounden.  Go  forth  ; 

And  to  those  that  are  in  darkness,  Appear : 


96  ISAIArf.  CHAP.  XLIX. 

They  shall  feed  beside  the  ways, 

And  on  all  the  eminences  shall  be  their  pasture. 

10  They  shall  not  hunger,  neither  shall  they  thirst ; 
Neither  shall  the  glowing  heat,  or  the  sun,  smite  them  : 
For  he,  that  hath  compassion  on  them,  shall  lead  them  ; 
And  shall  guide  them  to  the  bursting  springs  of  water. 

11  And  I  will  make  all  my  mountains  an  even  way; 
And  my  causeways  shall  be  raised  on  high. 

12  Lo  !  these  shall  come  from  afar ; 

And  lo !  these  from  the  north  and  the  west ; 
And  these  from  the  land  of  Sinim. 

13  Sing  aloud,  O  ye  heavens  ;  and  rejoice,  O  earth  ; 
Ye  mountains,  burst  forth  into  song  : 

For  JEHOVAH  hath  comforted  his  people, 
And  will  have  compassion  on  his  afflicted. 

14  But  Sion  sayeth:  JEHOVAH  hath  forsaken  me  ; 
And  my  Lord  hath  forgotten  me. 

15  Can  a  woman  forget  her  sucking  infant ; 

That  she  should  have  no  tenderness  for  the  son  of  her 

womb? 

Even  these  may  forget ; 
But  1  will  not  forget  thee. 

16  Behold,  on  the  palms  of  my  hands  have  I  delineated 

thee  : 
Thy  walls  are  for  ever  in  my  sight. 

17  They,  that  destroyed  thee,  shall  soon  become  thy  build- 

ers; 

And  they,  that  laid  thee  waste,  shall  become  thine  off- 
spring. 

18  Lift  up  thine  eyes  around,  and  see  ; 

All  these  are  gathered  together,  they  come  to  thee. 

As  I  live,  saith  JEHOVAH, 

Surely  thou  shalt  clothe  thyself  with  them  all,  as  with  a 

rich  dress  ; 
And  bind  them  about  thee,  as  a  bride  her  jewels. 

19  For  thy  waste,  and  thy  desolate  places, 
And  thy  land  laid  in  ruins  ; 

Even  now  it  shall  be  straitened  with  inhabitants  ; 

And  they,  that  devoured  thee,  shall  be  removed  far  away. 

20  The  sons,  of  whom  thou  wast  bereaved,  shall  yet  say  in 

thine  ears  : 


CHAP.  XLIX.  ISAIAH.  97 

This  place  is  too  strait  for  me  ;  make  room  for  me,  that 
I  may  dwell. 

21  And  thou  shall  say  in  thine  heart :     Who  hath  begotten 

me  these  ? 

I  was  bereaved  of  my  children,  and  solitary  ; 
An  exile,  and  an  outcast ;  who  then  hath  nursed  these  up  ? 
Lo !  I  was   abandoned,  and  alone;  these  then,    where 
were  they  ? 

22  Thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  : 

Behold,  I  will  lift  up  my  hand  to  the  nations; 
And  to  the  peoples  will  1  exalt  my  signal ; 
And  they  shall  bring  thy  sons  in  their  bosom, 
And  thy  daughters  shall  be  borne  on  their  shoulder  : 

23  And  kings  shall  be  ihy  foster-fathers, 
And  their  queens  thy  nursing  mothers: 

With  their  faces  to  the  earth  they  shall  bow  down  unto 

thee, 

And  shall  lick  the  dust  of  thy  feet. 
And  thou  shall  know,  that  1  am  JEHOVAH  ; 
And  that  they,  who  trust  in  him,  shall  not  be  ashamed. 

24  Shall  the  spoil  be  taken  away  from  the  mighty  ? 
Or  shall  the  prey  seized  by  the  terrible  be  rescued? 

25  Yea,  thus  saith  JEHOVAH  : 

Even  the  prey  of  the  mighty  shall  be  retaken  ; 
And  the  spoil  seized  by  the  terrible  shall  be  rescued : 
For  with  those.,  that  contend  with  thee,  I  will  contend  ; 
And  thy  children  I  will  deliver. 

26  And  I  will  gorge  thine  oppressors  with  their  own  flesh  ; 
And   with  their  own   blood,  as  with  new  wine,  will  I 

drench  them : 
And  all  flesh  shall  know, 
That  I  JEHOVAH  am  thy  saviour ; 
And  thai  thy  redeemer  is  the  Mighty  One  of  Jacob. 

CHAP.  L. 

1       THUS  saith  JEHOVAH  : 
Where  is  this  bill  of  your  mother's  divorcement, 
By  which  I  dismissed  her  ? 
Or  who  is  he  among  my  creditors, 
To  whom  I  have  sold  you  ? 
Behold,  for  your  iniquities  are  ye  sold ; 
And  for  your  transgressions  is  your  mother  dismissed. 
14 


98  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  L. 

2  Wherefore  came  I,  and  there  was  no  man  ? 
Called  I,  and  none  answered  ? 

Is  then  my  hand  so  greatly  shortened,  that  I  cannot  re- 
deem ? 

And  have  I  no  power  to  deliver  ? 
Behold,  at  my  rebuke  I  make  dry  the  sea  ; 
I  make  the  rivers  a  desert : 
Their  fish  is  dried  up,  because  there  is  no  water  ; 
And  dieth  away  for  thirst. 

3  I  clothe  the  heavens  with  blackness  ; 
And  sackcloth  I  make  their  covering. 


4  THE  Lord  JEHOVAH  hath  given  me  the  tongue  of  the 

learned  ; 
That  I  might  know  how  to  speak  a  seasonable  word  to 

the  weary. 

He  wakeneth,  morning  by  morning, 
He  wakeneth  mine  ear,  to  hearken  with  the  attention  of 

a  learner. 

5  The  Lord  JEHOVAH  hath  opened  mine  ear  ; 
And  I  was  not  rebellious  ; 

Neither  did  I  withdraw  myself  backward. 

6  I  gave  my  back  to  the  sinkers, 

And  my  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair : 
My  face  I  hid  not  from  shame  and  spitting. 

7  For  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  is  my  helper  ; 
Therefore  I  am  not  ashamed. 
Therefore  have  I  set  my  face  as  a  flint ; 
And  1  know,  that  I  shall  not  be  confounded. 

8  He  that  justifieth  me  is  near  at  hand  : 

Who  is  he  that  will  contend  with  me  ?  let  us  stand  forth 

together : 
Who  is  mine  adversary  ?  let  him  come  on  to  the  contest. 

9  Behold,  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  is  my  advocate  : 
Who  is  he  that  shall  condemn  me  ? 

Lo  !  all  of  them  shall  wax  old  as  a  garment ; 
The  moth  shall  consume  them. 

10       Who  is  there  among  you,  that  feareth  JEHOVAH  ? 
Let  him  hearken  unto  the  voice  of  his  servant : 
That  walketh  in  darkness,  and  hath  no  light  ? 
Let  him  trust  in  the  name  of  JEHOVAH  ; 


CHAP.  L. 


ISAIAH.  99 


And  rest  himself  on  the  support  of  his  God. 
11  Behold,  all  ye  who  kindle  a  fire  ; 
Who  heap  the  fuel  round  about : 
Walk  ye  in  the  light  of  your  fire, 
And  of  the  fuel,  which  ye  have  kindled. 
This  ye  shall  have  at  my  hand  ; 
Ye  shall  lie  down  in  sorrow. 

CHAP.  LI. 

1  HEARKEN  unto  me,  ye  that  pursue  righteousness, 
Ye  that  seek  JEHOVAH. 

Look  unto  the  rock,  from  whence  ye  were  hewn  ; 
And  to  the  hollow  of  the  cave,  whence  ye  were  digged. 

2  Look  unto  Abraham  your  father  ; 
And  unto  Sarah,  who  bore  you  : 

For  I  called  him,  being  a  single  person, 
And  I  blessed  him,  and  I  multiplied  him. 

3  Thus  therefore  shall  JEHOVAH  console  Sion  ; 
He  shall  console  all  her  desolations  : 

And  he  shall  make  her  wilderness  like  Eden  ; 
And  her  desert  like  the  garden  of  JEHOVAH  : 
Joy  and  gladness  shall  be  found  in  her  ; 
Thanksgiving,  and  the  voice  of  melody. 

4  Attend  unto  me,  O  ye  peoples  ; 
And  give  ear  unto  me,  O  ye  nations  : 
For  the  law  from  me  shall  proceed  ; 

And  my  judgment  will  I  cause  to  break  forth  for  a  light 
to  the  peoples. 

5  My  righteousness  is  at  hand  ;  my  salvation  goeth  forth  ; 
And  mine  arm  shall  dispense  judgment  to  the  peoples  : 
Me  the  distant  lands  shall  expect ; 

And  to  mine  arm  shall  they  look  with  confidence. 

6  Lift  up  unto  the  heavens  your  eyes  ; 
And  look  down  unto  the  earth  beneath  : 
Verily  the  heavens  shall  dissolve,  like  smoke  ; 
And  the  earth  shall  wax  old,  like  a  garment ; 

And  its  inhabitants  shall  perish,  like  the  vilest  insect : 
But  my  salvation  shall  endure  for  ever ; 
And  my  righteousness  shall  not  decay. 

7  Hearken  unto  me,  ye  that  know7  righteousness; 
The  people,  in  whose  heart  is  my  law  : 

Fear  not  the  reproach  of  wretched  man ; 


100  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LI. 

Neither  be  ye  borne  down  by  their  revilings. 

8  For  the  moth  shall  consume  them,  like  a  garment ; 
And  the  worm  shall  eat  them,  like  wool : 

But  rny  righteousness  shall  endure  for  ever ; 
And  my  salvation  to  the  age  of  ages. 

9  Awake,  awake,  clothe  thyself  with  strength,  O  arm 

of  JEHOVAH  ! 

Awake,  as  in  the  days  of  old,  the  ancient  generations. 
Art  thou  not  the  same  thai  smote  Rahab,  that  wounded 
the  dragon  ? 

10  Art  thou  not  the  same,  that  dried  up  the  sea,  the  waters 

of  the  great  deep  ? 

That  made  the  depths  of  the  sea  a  path  for  the  redeemed 
to  pass  through  ? 

11  Thus  shall  the  ransomed  of  JEHOVAH  return, 
And  come  to  Sion  with  loud  acclamation  : 

And  everlasting  gladness  shall  crown  their  heads  ; 
Joy  and  gladness  shall  they  obtain, 
And  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away. 

12  I,  even  I,  am  he  that  comforteth  you  : 

Who  art  thou,  that  thou  shouldst  fear  wretched  man,  that 

dieth  j 
And  the  son  of  man,  that  shall  become  as  the  grass  ? 

13  And  shouldst  forget  JEHOVAH  thy  maker, 

Who  stretched  out  the  heavens,  and  founded  the  earth  ; 

And  shouldst  every  day  be  in  continued  fear, 

Because  of  the  fury  of  the  oppressor, 

As  if  he  were  just  ready  to  destroy  ? 

And  where  now  is  the  fury  of  the  oppressor  ? 

14  He  marcheth  on  with  speed,  who  cometh  to  set  free  the 

captive  ; 

That  he  may  not  die  in  the  dungeon, 
And  that  his  bread  may  not  fail. 

15  For  I  am  JEHOVAH  thy  God  ; 

He,  who  stilleth  at  once  the  sea,  though  the  waves  there- 
of roar  ; 
JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  is  his  name. 

16  I  have  put  my  words  in  thy  mouth ; 

And  with  the  shadow  of  my  hand  have  I  covered  thee  : 
To  stretch  out  the  heavens,  and  to  lay  the  foundations  of 

the  earth  ; 
And  to  say  unto  Sion,  Thou  art  my  people. 


CHAP,  LI.  ISAIAH.  101 

17      Rouse  thyself,  rouse  thyself  up ;  arise,  O  Jerusalem  ! 
Who  hast  drunken  from  the  hand  of  JEHOVAH  the  cup  of 

his  fury : 
The  dregs  of  the  cup  of  trembling  thou  hast  drunken, 

thou  hast  wrung  them  out. 
IS  There  is  not  one  to  lead  her,  of  all  the  sons  which  she 

hath  brought  forth  ; 

Neither  is  there  one  to  support  her  by  the  hand,  of  all  the 
sons  which  she  hath  educated. 

19  These  two  things  have  befallen  thee ;  who  shall  bemoan. 

thee? 

Desolation,  and  destruction  ;  the  famine,  and  the  sword ; 
who  shall  comfort  thee  ? 

20  Thy  sons  lie  astounded  ;  they  are  cast  down  ; 

At  the  head  of  all  the  streets,  like  the  oryx  taken  in  the 

toils ; 

Drenched  to  the  full  with  the  fury  of  JEHOVAH,  with  the 
rebuke  of  thy  God. 

21  Wherefore  hear  now  this,  O  thou  afflicted  daughter  ;  | 
And  thou  drunken,  but  not  with  wine* 

22  Thus  saith  thy  Lord  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  thy  God,  who  avengeth  his  people  : 
Behold,  I  take  from  thy  hand  the  cup  of  trembling  ; 
The  dregs  of  the  cup  of  my  fury  ; 
Thou  shalt  drink  of  it  again  no  more. 
33  But   I  will  put  it  into  the   hand  of  them  who  oppress 

thee ; 
Who  say  to  thee,  Bow  down  thy  body,  that  we  may  go 

over : 

And  thou  layedst  down  thy  back,  as  the  ground  ; 
And  as  the  street,  to  them  that  pass  along. 


CHAP.  LII. 

1  AWAKE,  awake  ;  be  clothed  with  thy  strength.  O  Sion  : 
Clothe  thyself  with  thy  glorious  garments,  O  Jerusalem, 

thou  holy  city ! 

For  no  more  shall  enter  into  thee  the  uncircumcised  and 
the  polluted. 

2  Shake  thyself  from  the  dust,  ascend  thy  lofty  seat,  O  Je- 

rusalem : 

Loose   thyself  from   the  bands  of  thy  neck,   O  captive 
daughter  of  Sion  ! 


102  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LIT. 

3  For  thus  saith  JEHOVAH  : 
For  nought  were  ye  sold  ; 

And  not  with  money  shall  ye  be  ransomed. 

4  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  : 
My  people  went  down  to  Egypt, 
At  the  first,  to  sojourn  there ; 

And  the  Assyrian,  at  the  last,  hath  oppressed  them. 

5  And  now,  what  have  I  more  to  do,  saith  JEHOVAH  : 
Seeing  that  my  people  is  taken  away  for  nought ; 

And  they,  that  are  lords  over  them,  make  their  boast  of 
it,  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  continually  every  day  is  my  name  exposed  to  con- 
tempt ? 

6  Therefore  shall  my  people  know  my  name  in  that  day  : 
For  I  am  he,  JEHOVAH,  that  promised  ;  and  lo  !  here  I 

am  ! 

7  How  beautiful  appear  on  the  mountains 

The  feet  of  the  joyful  messenger ;  of  him,  that  announc- 

eth  peace ! 
Of  the  joyful  messenger  of  good  tidings ;  of  him,  that  an- 

nounceth  salvation ! 
Of  him,  that  sayeth  unto  Sion,  Thy  God  reigneth  ! 

8  All  thy  watchmen  lift  up  their  voice;  they  shout  toge- 

ther: 

For  face  to  face  shall  they  see,  when  JEHOVAH  returneth 
to  Sion. 

9  Burst  forth  into  joy,  shout  together,  ye  ruins  of  Jerusa- 

lem ! 

For  JEHOVAH  hath  comforted  his  people ;  he  hath  re- 
deemed Israel. 

10  JEHOVAH  hath  made  bare  his  holy  arm,  in  the  sight  of  all 

the  nations ; 

And  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  have  seen  the  salvation  of 
our  God. 

1 1  Depart,  depart  ye,  go  ye  out  from  thence  ;  touch  no 

polluted  thing : 

Go  ye  out  from  the  midst  of  her  ;  be  ye  clean,  ye  that 
bear  the  vessels  of  JEHOVAH  ! 

12  Verily  not  in  haste  shall  ye  go  forth  ; 
And  not  by  flight  shall  ye  march  along : 
For  JEHOVAH  shall  march  in  your  front  ; 

And  the  God  of  Israel  shall  bring  up  your  rear. 


CHAP.  LII.  ISAIAH. 


13  BEHOLD,  my  servant  shall  prosper; 

He  shall  be  raised  aloft,  and  magnified,  and  very  highly 
exalted. 

14  As  many  were  astonished  at  him  ; 

(To  such  a  degree  was  his  countenance  disfigured,  more 

than  that,  of  man  ; 
And  his  form,  more  than  the  sons  of  men  )  ; 

15  So  shall  he  sprinkle  many  nations  : 
Before  him  shall  kings  shut  their  mouths  ; 

For  what  was  not  before  declared  to  them,  they  shall 
see, 

And  what  they  had  not  heard,  they  shall  attentively  con- 
sider. 

CHAP.  LIU. 

1  Who  hath  believed  our  report ; 

And  to  whom  hath  the  arm  of  JEHOVAH  been  manifested? 

2  For  he  groweth  up  in  their  sight  like  a  tender  sucker  ; 
And  like  a  root  from  a  thirsty  soil: 

He  hath  no  form,  nor  any  beauty,  that  we  should  regard 

him  ; 
Nor  is  his  countenance  such,  that  .we  should  desire  him. 

3  Despised,  nor  accounted  in  the  number  of  men  ; 
A  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief; 
As  one  that  hideth  his  face  from  us  : 

Ho  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not. 

4  Surely  our  infirmities  he  hath  borne ; 
And  our  sorrows,  he  hath  carried  them  : 
Yet  we  thought  him  judicially  stricken  ; 
Smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted. 

5  But  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions  ; 
Was  smitten  for  our  iniquities  : 

The  chastisement,  by  which  our  peace  is  effected,  wa» 

laid  upon  him  ; 
And  by  his  bruises  we  are  healed. 

6  We  all  of  us  like  sheep  have  strayed  ; 

We  have  turned  aside,  every  one  to  his  own  way ; 
And  JEHOVAH  hath  made  to  light  upon  him  the  iniquity 
of  us  all. 

7  It  was  exacted,  and  he  was  made  answerable ;  and  he 

opened  not  his  mouth  : 
As  a  lamb  that  is  led  to  the  slaughter, 


104  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LIU. 

And  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers 
Is  dumb ;  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth. 

8  By  an  oppressive  judgment  he  was  taken  off; 
And  his  manner  of  life  who  would  declare  ? 
For  he  was  cut  off  from  the  land  of  the  living  ; 

For  the  transgression  of  my  people  he  was  smitten  to  death. 

9  And  his  grave  was  appointed  with  the  wicked ; 
But  with  the  rich  man  was  his  tomb. 
Although  he  had  done  no  wrong, 

IN  either  was  there  any  guile  in  his  mouth  ; 
1  Yet  it  pleased  JEHOVAH  to  crush  him  with  affliction. 
If  his  soul  shall  make  a  propitiatory  sacrifice, 
He  shall  see  a  seed,  which  shall  prolong  their  days, 
And  the  gracious  purpose  of  JEHOVAH  shall  prosper  in 
his  hands. 

1 1  Of  the  travail  of  his  soul  he  shall  see  [the  fruit],  and  be 

satisfied  : 

By  the  knowledge  of  him  shall  my  servant  justify  many ; 
For  the  punishment  of  their  iniquities  he  shall  bear. 

12  Therefore  will  I  distribute  to  him  the  many  for  his  por- 

tion; 

And  the  mighty  people  shall  he  share  for  his  spoil : 
Because  he  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death  ; 
And  was  numbered  with  the  transgressors : 
And  he  bare  the  sin  of  many  ; 
And  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors. 

CHAP.  LIV. 

1  SHOUT  for  joy,  O  thou  barren,  that  didst  not  bear ; 
Break  forth  into  joyful  shouting,  and  exult,  thou  that 

didst  not  travail : 

For  more  are  the  children  of  the  desolate, 
Than  of  the  married  woman,  saith  JEHOVAH. 

2  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent ; 

And  let  the  canopy  of  thy  habitation  be  extended  : 
Spare  not ;.  lengthen  thy  cords, 
And  firmly  fix  thy  stakes : 

3  For  on  the  right  hand,  and  on  the  left,  thou  shalt  burst 

forth  with  increase ; 
And  thy  seed  shall  inherit  the  nations  ; 
And  they  shall  inhabit  the  desolate  cities. 

4  Fear  not,  for  thou  shalt  not  be  confounded  ; 

And  blush  not,  for  thou  shalt  not  be  brought  to  reproach  : 


CHAP.  LIV.  ISAIAH.  105 

For  thou  shall  forget  the  shame  of  thy  youth  ; 
And  the  reproach  of  thy  widowhood  thou  shalt  remember 
no  more. 

5  For  thy  husband  is  thy  maker; 
JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  is  his  name : 

And  thy  redeemer  is  the  Holy  One  of  Israel ; 
The  God  of  the  whole  earth  shall  he  be  called. 

6  For  as  a  woman  forsaken,  and  deeply  afflicted,  hath  JE- 

HOVAH recalled  thee ; 

And  as  a  wife,  wedded  in  youth,  but  afterwards  rejected, 
saith  thy  God. 

7  In  a  little  anger  have  I  forsaken  thee  ; 

But  with  great  mercies  will  I  receive  thee  again  : 

8  In  a  short  wrath  I  hid   my  face  for  a  moment  from  thee ; 
But  with  everlasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy  on  thee  j 
Saith  thy  redeemer  JEHOVAH. 

9  The  same  will  I  do  now,  as  in  the  days  of  Noah,  when  I 

sware, 
That  the  waters  of  Noah  should  no  more  pass  over  the 

earth  : 
So  have  I  sworn,  that  I  will  not  be  wroth  with  thee,  nor 

rebuke  thee. 

10  For  the  mountains  shall  be  removed  ; 
And  the  hills  shall  be  overthrown  : 

But  my  kindness  from  thee  shall  not  be  removed  ; 
And  the  covenant  of  my  peace  shall  not  be  overthrown  j 
Saith  JEHOVAH,  who  beareth  towards  thee  the  most  ten- 
der affection. 

11  O  thou  afflicted,  beaten  with  the  storm,  destitute  of  con- 

solation ! 

Behold  1  lay  thy  stones  in  cement  of  vermilion, 
And  thy  foundations  with  sapphires  : 

12  And  I  will  make  of  rubies  thy  battlements  ; 
And  thy  gates  of  carbuncles  ; 

And  the  whole  circuit  of  thy  walls  shall  be  of  precious 
stones. 

13  And  all  thy  children  shall  be  taught  by  JEHOVAH  ; 
And  great  shall  be  the  prosperity  of  thy  children. 

14  In  righteousness  shalt  thou  be  established  : 

Be  thou  far  from  oppression  ;  yea  thou  shalt  not  fear  it; 
And  from  terror;  for  it  shall  not  approach  thee. 

15  Behold,   they  shall  be  leagued  together,  but  not  by  my 

command  : 


106  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LIV. 

Whosoever  is  leagued  against  thee,  shall  come  over  to  thy 
side. 

16  Behold,  I  have  created  the  smith, 
Who  bloweth  up  the  coals  into  a  fire, 

And  produceth  instruments  according  to  his  work  ; 
And  1  have  created  the  destroyer  to  lay  waste. 

17  Whatever  weapon  is  formed  against  thee,  it  shall  not  pros- 

per ; 
And   against  every  tongue,  that  contendeth  with  thee, 

thou  shall  obtain  thy  cause. 
This  is  the  heritage  of  JEHOVAH'S  servants, 
And  their  justification  from  me,  saith  JEHOVAH. 


CHAP.  LV. 

1  Ho  !  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters ! 
And  that  hath  no  silver,  come  ye,  buy,  and  eat ! 

Yea,  come,  buy  ye  without  silver  ; 
And  without  price,  wine  and  milk. 

2  Wherefore  do  ye  weigh  out  your  silver  for  that  which  is 

no  bread  ? 

And  your  riches,  for  that  which  will  not  satisfy  ? 
Attend,  and  hearken  unto  me ;  and  eat  that  which  is  truly 

good; 

And  your  soul  shall  feast  itself  with  the  richest  delicacies. 
4  Incline  your  ear,  and  come  unto  me  ; 
Attend,  and  your  soul  shall  live  : 
And  I  will  make  with  you  an  everlasting  covenant ; 
1  will  give  you  the  gracious  promises  made  to   David, 

which  shall  never  fail. 

4  Behold,  for  a  witness  to  the  peoples  I  have  given  him ; 
A  leader,  and  a  lawgiver  to  the  nations. 

5  Behold,  the  nation,  whom  thou  knewest  not,  thou  shalt 

call ; 

And  the  nation,  who  knew  not  thee,  shall  run  unto  thee, 
For  the  sake  of  JEHOVAH  thy  God  ; 
And   for   the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  for  he  hath  glorified 

thee. 

6  Seek  ye  JEHOVAH,  while  he  may  be  found  ; 
Call  ye  upon  him,  while  he  is  near  at  hand  : 

7  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way, 

And  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts; 


CHAP.  LV.  ISAIAH.  107 

And  let  him  return  unto  JEHOVAH,  for  he  will  receive  him 

with  compassion ;  , 

And  unto  our  God,  for  he  ahoundeth  in  forgiveness. 

8  For  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts  ; 
Neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  JEHOVAH. 

9  For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth  ; 
So  are  my  ways  higher  than  your  ways, 
And  my  thoughts  than  your  thoughts. 

10  Verily,  like  as  the  rain  descended!, 
And  the  snow,  from  the  heavens  ; 
And  thither  it  doth  not  return  ; 

But  moisteneth  the  earth, 

And  maketh  it  generate,  and  put  forth  its  increase  ; 
That  it  may  give  seed  to  the  sower,  and  bread  to  the 
eater : 

11  So  shall  be  the  word,  which  goeth  forth  from  my  mouth  ; 
It  shall  not  return  unto  me  fruitless  ; 

But  it  shall  effect  what  I  have  willed  ; 

And  make  the  purpose  succeed,  for  which  I  have  sent  it. 

12  Surely  with  joy  shall  ye  go  forth, 

And  with  peace  shall  ye  be  led  onward  : 

The  mountains  and  the  hills  shall  burst  forth  before  you 

into  song ; 
And  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  clap  their  hands. 

13  Instead  of  the  thorny  bushes  shall  grow  up  the  fir-tree ; 
And  instead  of  the  bramble  shall  grow  up  the  myrtle  : 
Arid  it  shall  be  unto  JEHOVAH  for  a  memorial ; 

For  a  perpetual  sign,  which  shall  not  be  abolished. 


CHAP.  LVI. 

1  THUS  saith  JEHOVAH  : 

Keep  ye  judgment,  and  practise  righteousness  ; 
For  my  salvation  is  near,  just  ready  to  come ; 
And  my  righteousness,  to  be  revealed. 

2  Blessed  is  the  mortal  that  doeth  this  ; 
And  the  son  of  man  that  holdeth  it  fast ; 
That  keepeth  the  sabbath,  and  profaneth  it  not ; 
And  restraineth  his  hand  from  doing  evil. 

3  And  let  not  the  son  of  the  stranger  speak, 
That  cleaveth  unto  JEHOVAH,  saying  : 
JEHOVAH  hath  utterly  separated  me  from  his  people. 


108  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LV1. 

Neither  let  the  eunuch  say  : 
Behold,  I  arn  a  dry  tree. 

4  For  thus  saith  JEHOVAH  to  the  eunuchs : 
Whoever  of  them  shall  have  kept  my  sahbaths, 
And  shall  have  chosen  that  in  which  I  delight, 
And  shall  have  steadfastly  maintained  my  covenant  j 

5  To  them  I  will  give  in  my  house, 

And  within  my  walls,  a  memorial  and  a  name, 
Better  than  that  of  sons  and  daughters: 
An  everlasting  name  will  I  give  them, 
Which  shall  never  be  cut  off. 

6  And  the  sons  of  the  stranger,  who  cleave  unto  JEHOVAH  ; 
To  minister  unto  him,  and  to  love  the  name  of  JEHOVAH, 
And  to  become  his  servants  : 

Every  one  that  keepeth  the  sabbath,  and  profaneth  it  not ; 
And  that  steadfastly  maintaineth  my  covenant: 

7  Them  will  I  bring  unto  my  holy  mountain  ; 

And  I  will  make  them  rejoice  in  my  house  of  prayer : 
Their  burnt-offerings  and  their  sacrifices  shall  be  accepted 

on  mine  altar ; 

For  my  house  shall  be  called,  The  house  of  prayer  for  all 
the  peoples. 

8  Thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH, 

Who  gathereth  together  the  outcasts  of  Israel  : 
Yet  will  I  gather  others  unto  him,  beside  these  that  are 
already  gathered. 


9       0  ALL  ye  beasts  of  the  field,  come  away  ; 
Come  to  devour,  O  all  ye  beasts  of  the  forest ! 

10  His  watchmen  are  blind,  all  of  them  ;  they  are  igno- 

rant ; 

They  are  all  of  them  dumb  dogs,  they  cannot  bark  : 
Dreamers,  sluggards,  loving  to  slumber. 

11  Yea  these  dogs  are  of  untamed  appetite  ; 
They  know  not  to  be  satisfied. 

And  the  shepherds  themselves  cannot  understand : 
They  all  of  them  turn  aside  to  their  own  way  ; 
Each  to  his  own  lucre,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 

12  Come  on,  let  us  provide  wine  ; 
And  let  us  swill  strong  drink  : 

And  as  to-day,  so  shall  be  the  cheer  of  to-morrow  j 
Great,  even  far  more  abundant. 


CHAP.  LV1I.  ISAIAH.  109 


CHAP.  LVII. 

1  THE  righteous  man  perisheth,  and  no  one  considereth  ; 
And  pious  men  are  taken  away,  and  no  one  understand- 

eth, 
That  the  righteous  man  is  taken  away,  because  of  the  evil, 

2  He  shall  go  in  peace  :  he  shall  rest  in  his  bed  ; 

Even  the  perfect  man  ;  he  that  waiketh  in  the  strait  path. 

3  But  ye,  draw  ye  near  hither,  O  ye  sons  of  the  sorcer- 

ess ; 
Ye  seed  of  the  adulterer,  and  of  the  harlot  ! 

4  Of  whom  do  ye  make  your  sport  ? 

At  whom  do  ye  widen  the  mouth,  and  loll  the  tongue  ? 
Are  ye  not  apostate  children,  a  false  seed  ? 

5  Burning  with  the  lust  of  idols  under  every  green  tree ; 
Slaying  the  children  in  the  vallies,  under  the  clefts  of  the 

rocks  ? 

6  Among  the  smooth  stones  of  the  valley  is  thy  portion  ; 
These,  these  are  thy  lot : 

Even  to  these  hast  thou  poured  out  thy  libation, 

Hast  thou  presented  thine  offering. 

Can  I  see  these  things  with  acquiescence  ? 

7  Upon  a  high  and  lofty  mountain   hast  thou  set  thy  bed  : 
Even  thither  hast  thou  gone  up  to  offer  sacrifice. 

8  Behind  the  door  and  the  door-posts  hast  thou  set  thy  me- 

morial : 
Thou  hast  departed  from  me,  and  art  gone  up  ;  thou  hast 

enlarged  thy  bed  ; 

And  thou  hast  made  a  covenant  with  them  : 
Thou   hast  loved  their  bed  ;  thou   hast  provided  a  place 

for  it. 

9  And  thou  hast  visited  the  king  with  a  present  of  oil; 
And  hast  multiplied  thy  precious  ointments: 

And  thou  hast  sent  thine  ambassadors  afar  ; 
And  hast  debased  thyself  even  to  Hades. 

10  In  the  length  of  thy  journeys  thou  hast  wearied  thyself ; 
Thou  hast  said,  There  is  no  hope : 

Thou  hast  found  the  support  of  thy  life  by  thy  labour: 
Therefore  lhou,hast  not  utterly  fainted. 

11  And  of  whom  hast  thou   been  so  anxiously  afraid,  that 

thou  shouldst  thus  deal  falsely  ? 

And  hast  not  remembered  me,  nor  revolved  it  in   thy 
mind  ? 

15 


110  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LVH. 

Is  it  not  because  I  was  silent,  and  winked ;  and  thou 
fearest  me  not  ? 

12  But  I  will  declare  my  righteousness ; 
And  thy  deeds  shall  not  avail  thee. 

13  When  thou  criest,  let  thine  associates  deliver  thee: 

But  the  wind  shall  bear  them  away  ;  a  breath  shall  take 

them  off. 

But  he  that  trusteth  in  me  shall  inherit  the  land, 
And  shall  possess  my  holy  mountain. 

14  Then  will  I  say  :     Cast  up,  cast  up  the  causeway  ; 

make  clear  the  way  ; 
Remove  every  obstruction  from  the  road  of  my  people. 

15  -For  thus  saith  JEHOVAH,  the  high,  and  the  lofty  ; 

Inhabiting  eternity  ;  and  whose  name  is  the  Holy  One : 

The  high  and  the  holy  place  will  I  inhabit ; 

And  with  the  contrite,  and  humble  of  spirit : 

To  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble  ; 

And  to  give  life  to  the  heart  of  the  contrite. 

16  For  I  will  not  alway  contend  ; 
Neither  for  ever  will  I  be  wroth  : 

For  the  spirit  from  before  me  would  be  overwhelmed  ; 
And  the  living  souls,  which  I  have  made. 

17  Because  of  his  iniquity  for  a  short  time  I  was  wroth  : 
And  I  smote  him  ;  hiding  my  face  in  mine  anger. 

And  he  departed,  turning  back  in  the  way  of  his  own  heart. 

18  I  have  seen  his  ways ;  and  I  will  heal  him,  and  will  be 

his  guide  ; 

And  I  will  restore  comforts,  to  him,  and  to  his  mourners. 
191  create  the  fruit  of  the  lips  : 
Peace,  peace,  to  him  that  is  near, 

And  to  him  that  is  afar  off,  saith  JEHOVAH  ;  and  I  will 
heal  him. 

20  But  the  wicked  are  like  the  troubled  sea  ; 
For  it  never  can  be  at  rest ; 

But  its  waters  work  up  filth  and  mire. 

21  There  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked. 

CHAP.  LVIII. 

1       CRY  aloud  ;  spare  not : 
Like  a  trumpet  lift  up  thy  voice  : 
And  declare  unto  my  people  their  transgression  ; 
And  to  the  house  of  Jacob  their  sin. 


CHAP.  LVIII.  ISAIAH.  HI 

2  Yet  me  day  after  day  they  seek  ; 

And  to  know  my  ways  they  take  delight : 

As  a  nation  that  doeth  righteousness, 

And  hath  not  forsaken  the  ordinance  of  their  God. 

They  continually  inquire  of  me  concerning  the  ordinances 

of  righteousness  ; 
They  take  delight  to  draw  nigh  unto  God. 

3  Wherefore  have  we  fasted,  and  thou  seest  not  ? 
Have  we  afflicted  our  souls,  and  thou  dost  not  regard  ? 
Behold,  in  the  day  of  your  fasting,  ye  enjoy  your  pleas- 
ure ; 

And  all  your  demands  of  labour  ye  rigorously  exact. 

4  Behold,  ye  fast  for  strife  and  contention  ; 
And  to  smite  with  the  fist  the  poor. 
Wherefore  fast  ye  unto  me  in  this  manner  ; 
To  make  your  voice  to  be  heard  on  high  1 

5  Is  such  then  the  fast  which  I  choose  ; 
That  a  man  should  afflict  his  soul  for  a  day  ? 

Is  it,  that  he  should  bow  down  his  head  like  a  bulrush ; 
And  spread  sackcloth  and  ashes  for  his  couch  ? 
Shall  this  be  called  a  fast, 
And  a  day  acceptable  to  JEHOVAH? 

6  Is  not  this  the  fast  which  I  choose  ? 
To  dissolve  the  bands  of  wickedness  ; 
To  loosen  the  oppressive  burthens  ; 

To  deliver  those  that  are  crushed  by  violence  ; 
And  that  ye  should  break  asunder  every  yoke  ? 

7  Is  it  not  to  distribute  thy  bread  to  the  hungry  ; 
And  to  bring  the  wandering  poor  into  thy  house  ? 
When  thou  seest  the  naked,  that  thou  clothe  him  ; 
And  that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh  ? 

8  Then  shall  thy  light  break  forth  like  the  morning 
And  thy  wounds  shall  speedily  be  healed  over  : 
And  thy  righteousness  shall  go  before  thee  ; 

And  the  glory  of  JEHOVAH  shall  bring  up  thy  rear. 

9  Then  shalt  thou  call,  and  JEHOVAH  shall  answer ; 
Thou  shalt  cry,  and  he  shall  say,  Lo  I  am  here  ! 
If  thou  remove  from  the  midst  of  thee  the  yoke ; 
The  pointing  of  the  finger,  and  the  injurious  speech  : 

10  If  thou  bring  forth  thy  bread  to  the  hungry, 
And  satisfy  the  afflicted  soul ; 
Then  shall  thy  light  rise  in  obscurity, 
And  thy  darkness  shall  be  as  the  noon-day. 


112  ISATAH.  CHAP.  LVIII. 

11  And  JEHOVAH  shall  lead  thee  continually, 
And  satisfy  thy  soul  in  the  severest  drought ; 
And  he  shall  renew  thy  strength  : 

And  thou  shalt  be  like  a  well-watered  garden,  and  like  a 

flowing  spring, 
"Whose  waters  shall  never  fail. 

12  And  they  that  spring  from  thee  shall  build  the  ancient 

ruins  ; 

The  foundations  of  old  times  shall  they  raise  up : 
And   thou  shalt   be  called    the   repairer  of  the   broken 

mound  ; 
The  restorer  of  paths  to  be  frequented  by  inhabitants. 

13  If  thou  restrain  thy  foot  from  the  sabbath  ; 
From  doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day  : 
And  shalt  call  the  sabbath,  a  delight ; 

And  the  holy  feast  of  JEHOVAH,  honourable  : 
And  shalt  honour  it,  by  refraining  from  thy  purpose  ; 
From   pursuing  thy  pleasure,   and   from  speaking  vain 
words  : 

14  Then  shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  I  will  make  thee  ride  on  the  high    places  of  the 

earth  ; 
And  I  will  feed  thee  on  the  inheritance  of  Jacob  thy 

father : 
For  the  mouth  of  JEHOVAH  hath  spoken  it. 


CHAP.  LIX. 

1  BEHOLD,  the  hand  of  JEHOVAH  is  not  contracted,  so 

that  he  cannot  save  ; 
Neither  is  his  ear  grown  dull,  so  that  he  cannot  hear. 

2  But  your  iniquities  have  made  a  separation 

Between  you  and  your  God  ; 
And  your  sins  have  hidden 

His  face  from  you,  that  he  doth  not  hear. 

3  For  your  hands  are  polluted  with  blood, 

And  your  ringers  with  iniquity  ; 
Your  lips  speak  falsehood, 

And  your  tongue  muttereth  wickedness. 

4  No  one  prefer reth  his  suit  in  justice, 

And  no  one  pleadeth  in  truth  : 
Trusting  in  vanity,  and  speaking  lies  ; 

Conceiving  mischief,  and  bringing  forth  iniquity. 


CHAP,  LIX.  ISAIAH. 


113 


5  They  hatch  the  eggs  of  the  basilisk, 

And  weave  the  web  of  the  spider : 
He  that  eateth  of  their  eggs  dieth  ; 

And  when  it  is  crushed,  a  viper  breaketh  forth. 

6  Of  their  webs  no  garment  shall  be  made  ; 

Neither  shall  they  cover  themselves  with  their  works  : 
Their  works  are  works  of  iniquity, 

And  the  deed  of  violence  is  in  their  hands. 

7  Their  feet  run  swiftly  to  evil, 

And  they  hasten  to  shed  innocent  blood  : 
Their  devices  are  devices  of  iniquity  ; 

Destruction  and  calamity  is  in  their  paths. 

8  The  way  of  peace  they  know  not  j 

Neither  is  there  any  judgment  in  their  tracks  : 
They  have  made  to  themselves  crooked  paths ; 
Whoever  goeth  in  them,  knoweth  not  peace. 

9  Therefore  is  judgment  far  distant  from  us  ; 

Neither  doth  justice  overtake  us  : 
We  look  for  light,  but  behold  darkness  ; 
For  brightness,  but  we  walk  in  obscurity. 

10  We  grope  for  the  wall,  like  the  blind  ; 

And  we  wander,  as  those  that  are  deprived  of  sight : 
We  stumble  at  mid-day,  as  in  the  twilight ; 
In  the  midst  of  delicacies,  as  among  the  dead. 

1 1  We  groan  all  of  us,  like  the  bears  ; 

And  like  the  doves,  we  make  a  continued  moan. 
We  look  for  judgment,  and  there  is  none  ; 
For  salvation,  and  it  is  far  distant  from  us. 

12  For  our  transgressions  are  multiplied  before  thee  ; 

And  our  sins  bring  an  accusation  against  us  : 
For  our  transgressions  cleave  fast  unto  us  ; 
And  our  iniquities  we  acknowledge. 

13  By  rebelling,  and  lying,  against  JEHOVAH  ; 

And  by  turning  backward  from  following  our  God  : 
By  speaking  injury,  and  conceiving  revolt ; 
And  by  meditating  from  the  heart  lying  words. 

14  And  judgment  is  turned  away  backwards; 

And  justice  standeth  aloof: 
For  truth  hath  stumbled  in  the  open  street ; 
And  rectitude  hath  not  been  able  to  enter. 

15  And  truth  is  utterly  lost ; 

And   he  that  shunneth   evil,   exposeth  himself  to  be 
plundered : 

15* 


114  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LIX. 

And  JEHOVAH  saw  it. 

And  it  displeased  him,  that  there  was  no  judgment. 

16  And  he  saw,  that  there  was  no  man  ; 

And  he  wondered,  that  there  was  no  one  to  interpose : 
Then  his  own  arm  wrought  salvation  for  him  ; 
And  his  righteousness,  it  supported  him. 

17  And  he  put  on  righteousness,  as  a  hreast-plate  ; 

And  the  helmet  of  salvation  was  on  his  head  : 
And  he  put  on  the  garments  of  vengeance  for  his  cloth- 
ing; 
And  he  clad  himself  with  zeal,  as  with  a  mantle. 

18  He  is  mighty  to  recompense  ; 

He  that  is  mighty  to  recompense  will  requite  : 
Wrath  to  his  adversaries,  recompense  to  his  enemies  ; 
To  the  distant  coasts  a  recompense  will  he  requite. 

19  And  they  from  the  west  shall  revere  the  name  of  JEHO- 

VAH ; 

And  they  from  the  rising  of  the  sun,  his  glory  ; 
When  he  shall  come,  like  a  river  straitened  in  his  course, 
Which  a  strong  wind  driveth  along. 

20  And  the  Redeemer  shall  come  to  Sion  ; 

And  shall  turn  away  iniquity  from  Jacob ;  saith  JEHO- 
VAH. 

21  And  this  is  the   covenant,    which  I   make  with    them. 

saith  JEHOVAH  : 
My  spirit,  which  is  upon  thee, 
And  my  words,  which  I  have  put  in  thy  mouth ; 
They  shall  not  depart  from  thy  mouth, 
Nor  from  the  mouth  of  thy  seed, 

Nor  from  the  mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 
From  this  time  forth  for  ever. 

CHAP.  LX. 

1  ARISE,  be  thou  enlightened  ;  for  thy  light  is  come  ; 
And  the  glory  of  JEHOVAH  is  risen  upon  thee. 

2  For  behold,  darkness  shall  cover  the  earth  ; 
And  a  thick  vapour  the  nations  : 

And  upon  thee  shall  JEHOVAH  arise  ; 

And  his  glory  upon  thee  shall  be  conspicuous. 

3  And  the  nations  shall  walk  in  thy  light ; 
And  kings  in  the  brightness  of  thy  sun-rising. 

4  Lift  up  thine  eyes  round  about,  and  see ; 

All  of  them  are  gathered  together,  they  come  unto  thee  : 


CHIP.  LX. 


ISAIAH.  115 


Thy  sons  shall  come  from  afar ; 

And  thy  daughters  shall  be  carried  at  the  side. 

5  Then  shalt  thou  fear,  and  overflow  with  joy  ; 
And  thy  heart  shall  be  ruffled,  and  dilated  ; 

When  the  riches  of  the  sea  shall  be  poured  in  upon  thee  ; 
When  the  wealth  of  the  nations  shall  come  unto  thee. 

6  An  inundation  of  camels  shall  cover  thee  ; 
The  dromedaries  of  Midian  and  Epha  ; 
All  of  them  from  Saba  shall  come  : 
Gold  and  frankincense  shall  they  bear  ; 

And  the  praise  of  JEHOVAH  shall  they  joyfully  proclaim. 

7  All  the  flocks  of  Kedar  shall  be  gathered  unto  thee  : 
Unto  thee  shall  the  rams  of  Nebaioth  minister  : 
They  shall  ascend  with  acceptance  on  mine  altar  ; 
And  my  beauteous  house  I  will  yet  beautify. 

8  Who  are  these,  that  fly  like  a  cloud  ? 
And  like  doves  upon  the  wing  ? 

9  Yerily  the  distant  coasts  shall  await  me  ; 
And  the  ships  of  Tarshish  among  the  first : 
To  bring  thy  sons  from  afar ; 

Their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them  : 
Because  of  the  name  of  JEHOVAH  thy  God  ; 
And  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel ;  for  he  hath  glorified 
thee. 

10  And  the  sons  of  the  stranger  shall  build  up  thy  walls  j 
And  their  kings  shall  minister  unto  thee  : 

For  in  my  wrath  I  smote  thee  ; 

But  in  my  favour  I  will  embrace   thee  with  the  most 
tender  affection. 

11  And  thy  gates  shall  be  open  continually ; 
By  day,  or  by  night,  they  shall  not  be  shut : 
To  bring  unto  thee  the  wealth  of  the  nations  ; 

And  that  their  kings  may  come  pompously  attended. 

12  For  that  nation,  and  that  kingdom, 
Which  will  not  serve  thee,  shall  perish  ; 
Yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly  desolated. 

13  The  glory  of  Lebanon  shall  come  unto  thee  ; 
The  fir-tree,  the  .pine,  and  the  box  together  : 
To  adorn  the  place  of  my  sanctuary  ; 

And   that  I  may   glorify  the  place,  whereon  I   rest  my 
feet. 

14  And  the  sons  of  thine  oppressors  shall  come  bending  be- 

fore thee  ; 


116  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LX. 

And  all,  that  scornfully  rejected  thee,  shall  do  obeisance  to 

the  soles  of  thy  feet : 

And  they  shall  call  thee,  The  City  of  JEHOVAH  ; 
The  Sion  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

15  Instead  of  thy  being  forsaken, 

And  hated,  so  that  no  one  passed  through  thee ; 
I  will  make  thee  an  everlasting  boast ; 
A  subject  of  joy  for  perpetual  generations. 

16  And  thou  shalt  suck  the  milk  of  nations  ; 

Even  at  the  breast  of  kings  shalt  thou  be  fostered  : 
And  thou  shalt  know,  that  I  JEHOVAH  am  thy  saviour  j 
And  that  thy  redeemer  is  the  Mighty  One  of  Jacob. 

17  Instead  of  brass,  I  will  bring  gold  ; 
And  instead  of  iron,  I  will  bring  silver  : 
And  instead  of  wood,  brass  ; 

And  instead  of  stones,  iron. 

And  I  will  make  thine  inspectors  peace ; 

And  thine  exactors,  righteousness. 

18  Violence  shall  no  more  be  heard  in  thy  land  ; 
Destruction  and  calamity,  in  thy  borders : 
But  thou  shalt  call  thy  walls.  Salvation  ; 
And  thy  gates,  Praise. 

19  No  longer  shalt  thou  have  the  sun  for  a  light  by  day  ; 
Nor  by  night  shall  the  brightness  of  the  moon  enlighten 

thee: 

For  JEHOVAH  shall  be  to  thee  an  everlasting  light, 
And  thy  God  shall  be  thy  glory. 

20  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down  ; 
Neither  shall  thy  moon  wane  : 

For  JEHOVAH  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light ; 
And  the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall  be  ended. 

21  And  thy  people  shall  be  all  righteous  ; 
For  ever  shall  they  possess  the  land  : 

The  cion  of  my  planting,  the  work  of  my  hands,  that  I 
may  be  glorified. 

22  The  little  one  shall  become  a  thousand  ; 
And  the  small  one  a  strong  nation  : 

I  JEHOVAH  in  due  time  will  hasten  it. 


CHAP.  LXI.  ISAIAH.  117 


CHAP.    LXI. 

1  THE  spirit  of  JEHOVAH  is  upon  me, 
Because  JEHOVAH  hath  anointed  me. 

To  publish  glad  tidings  to  the  meek  hath  he  sent  me ; 
To  bind  up  the  broken  hearted  : 
To  proclaim  to  the  captives  freedom  ; 
And  to  the  bounded,  perfect  liberty  : 

2  To  proclaim  the  year  of  acceptance  with  JEHOVAH  ; 
And  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God. 

To  comfort  all  those  that,  mourn  ; 

3  To  impart  [gladness]  to  the  mourners  of  Sion  : 
To  give  them  a  beautiful  crown,  instead  of  ashes ; 
The  oil  of  gladness  instead  of  sorrow  ; 

The  clothing  of  praise,  instead  of  the  spirit  of  heaviness. 
That  they  may  be  called  trees  approved  ; 
The  plantation  of  JEHOVAH  for  his  glory. 

4  And  they  that  spring  from  thee  shall  build  up  the  ruins 

of  old  times ; 

They  shall  restore  the  ancient  desolations  : 
They  shall  repair  the  cities  laid  waste  ; 
Tire  desolations  of  continued  ages. 

5  And  strangers  shall  stand  up  and  feed  your  flocks; 
And  the  sons  of  the  alien  shall  be  your  husbandmen  and 

vine-dressers. 

6  But  ye  shall  be  called  the  priests  of  JEHOVAH  ; 
The  ministers  of  our  God,  shall  be  your  title. 
The  riches  of  the  nations  shall  ye  eat ; 

And  in  their  glory  shall  ye  make  your  boast. 

7  Instead  of  your  shame,  ye  shall  receive  a  double  inheri- 

tance ; 

And  of  your  ignominy,  ye  shall  rejoice  in  their  portion : 
For  in  their  land  a  double  share  shall  ye  inherit ; 
And  everlasting  gladness  shall  ye  possess. 

8  For  I  am  JEHOVAH,  who  love  judgment ; 
"Who  hate  rapine  and  iniquity  : 

And    I  will  give  them  the  reward   of  their  work  with 

faithfulness  ; 
And  an  everlasting  covenant  I  will  make  with  them  : 

9  And  their  seed  shall  be  illustrious  among  the  nations ; 
And  their  offspring,  in  the  midst  of  the  peoples. 

And  they  that  see  then)  shall  acknowledge  them, 
That  they  are  a  seed  which  JEHOVAH  hath  blessed. 


118  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LIX. 


10  I  will  greatly  rejoice  in  JEHOVAH  ; 
My  soul  shall  exult  in  my  God. 

For  he  hath  clothed  me  with  the  garments  of  salvation  ; 
He  hath  covered  me  with  the  mantle  of  righteousness : 
As  the  bridegroom  decketh  himself  with  a  priestly  crown  ; 
And  as  the  bride  adorneth  herself  with  her  costly  jewels. 

11  Surely,  as  the  earth  pusheth  forth  her  tender  shoots  ; 
And  as  a  garden  maketh  her  seed  to  germinate  : 

So  shall  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  cause  righteousness  to  spring 

forth ; 
And  praise,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  nations. 


CHAP.  LXII. 

1  FOR  Sion's  sake  I  will  not  keep  silence ; 
And  for  the  sake  of  Jerusalem  I  will  not  rest : 
Until  her  righteousness  break  forth  as  a  strong  light ; 
And  her  salvation,  like  a  blazing  torch. 

2  And  the  nations  shall  see  thy  righteousness  ; 
And  all  the  kings,  thy  glory  : 

And  thou  shalt  be  called  by  a  new  name, 

Which  the  mouth  of  JEHOVAH  shall  fix  upon  thee. 

3  And  thou  shalt  be  a  beautiful  crown  in  the  hand  of  JE- 

HOVAH ; 
And  a  royal  diadem  in  the  grasp  of  thy  God. 

4  No  more  shall  it  be  said  unto  thee,  Thou  forsaken  ! 
Neither  to  thy  land  shall   it  be  said  any  more,  Thou  de- 
solate ! 

But  thou  shalt  be  -called,  The  object  of  my  delight ; 
And  thy  land,  The  wedded  matron  : 
For  JEHOVAH  shall  delight  in  thee  ; 
And  thy  land  shall  be  joined  in  marriage. 

5  For  as  a  young  man  weddeth  a  virgin, 
So  shall  thy  restorer  wed  thee  : 

And  as  the  bridegroom  rejoiceth  in  his  bride, 
So  shall  thy  God  rejoice  in  thee. 

6  Upon  thy  walls,  O  Jerusalem, 
Have  I  set  watchmen  all  the  day; 

And  all  the  night  long  they  shall  not  keep  silence. 
O  ye,  that  proclaim  the  name  of  JEHOVAH  ! 

7  Keep  not  silence  yourselves,  nor  let  him  rest  in  silence  ; 


•CHAfr.  LXII.  ISAIAH.  119 

Until  he  establish,  and  until  he  render, 
Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the  earth. 

8  JEHOVAH  hath   sworn  by   his   right   hand,  and  by  his 

powerful  arm  : 

I  will  no  more  give  thy  corn  for  food  to  thine  enemies  ; 
Nor  shall  the  sons  of  the  stranger  drink  thy  must,  for 

which  thou  hast  labored  : 

9  But  they,  that  reap  the  harvest,  shall  eat  it,  and  praise 

JEHOVAH  ; 

And  they,  that  gather  the  vintage,  shall  drink  it  in  my 
sacred  courts. 

10  Pass  ye,  pass  through  the  gates  ;  prepare  the  way  for 

the  people  ! 
Cast  ye  up,  cast  up  the  causeway  ;    clear  it  from  the 

stones  ! 
Lift  up  on  high  a  standard  to  the  nations  ! 

11  Behold,  JEHOVAH  hath   thus  proclaimed  to  the  end  of 

the  earth : 

Say  ye  to  the  daughter  of  Sion,  Lo  thy  saviour  cotneth  ! 
Lo !  his  reward  is  with  him,  and  the  recompense  of  his 

work  before  him. 
And  they  shall  be  called,  The  holy  people,  the  redeemed 

of  JEHOVAH  ; 

12  And  thou  shalt  be  called,  The  much  desired,  The  city 

unforsaken. 


CHAP.  LXIII. 

1  CHO.       WHO  is  this,  that  cometh  from  Edorn  ? 

With  garments  deeply  dyed  from  Botsra  ? 
This,  that  is  magnificent  in  his  apparel  ; 
Marching  on  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength  ? 
MES.  I,   who  publish  righteousness,  and  am  mighty  to 
save. 

2  CHO.  Wherefore  is  thine  apparel  red  ? 

And   thy  garments,  as  of  one   that  treacleth   the 
wine- vat  ? 

3  MES.  I  have  trodden  the  vat  alone  ; 

And  of  the  peoples  there  was  riot  a  man  with  me. 
And  I  trod  them  in  mine  anger; 
And  I  trampled  them  in  mine  indignation  : 
And  their  life-blood  was  sprinkled  upon  my  gar- 
ments t 


120  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXIII. 

And  I  have  stained  all  mine  apparel. 

4  For  the  day  of  vengeance  was  in  my  heart ; 
And  the  year  of  my  redeemed  was  come. 

5  And  I  looked,  and  there  was  no  one  to  help ; 

And  I  was  astonished,  that  there  was  no  one  to 

uphold : 

Therefore  mine  own  arm  wrought  salvation  for  me. 
And  mine  indignation  itself  sustained  me. 

6  And  I  trod  down  the  peoples  in  mine  anger  ; 
And  I  crushed  them  in  mine  indignation  ; 
And  I  spilled  their  life-blood  on  the  ground. 

7  THE  mercies  of  JEHOVAH  will  I  record,  the  praise  of 

JEHOVAH  ; 

According  to  all  that  JEHOVAH  hath  bestowed  upon  us  : 
And  the  greatness  of  his  goodness  to  the  house  of  Israel ; 
Which  he  hath  bestowed  upon  them,  through  his  ten- 
derness and  great  kindness. 

8  For  he  said :  Surely  they  are  my  people,  children  that 

will  not  prove  false  ; 
And  he  became  their  saviour  in  all  their  distress. 

9  It  was  not  an  envoy,  nor  an  angel  of  his  presence,  that 

saved  them  : 

Through  his  love,  and  his  indulgence,  he  himself  re- 
deemed them ; 

And  he  took  them  up,  and  he  bare  them,  all  the  days 
of  old. 

10  But  they  rebelled,  and  grieved  his  holy  spirit ; 

So  that  he  became  their  enemy  ;  and  he  fought  against 
them. 

11  And  he  remembered  the  days  of  old,  Moses  his  servant ; 
How  he  brought  them  up  from  the  sea,  with   the  shep- 
herd of  his  flock ; 

How  he  placed  in  his  breast  his  holy  spirit : 

12  Making  his  glorious  arm  to  attend  Moses  on  his  right 

hand  in  his  march  ; 

Cleaving  the  waters  before  them,  to  make  himself  a  name 
everlasting ; 

13  Leading  them  through  the  abyss,  like  a  courser  in  the 

plain,  without  obstacle. 

14  As  the  herd   descendeth  to  the  valley,  the  spirit  of  JE- 

HOVAH conducted  them : 


CHAP.  LXIII.  ISAIAH.  121 

So  didst  thou  lead  thy  people,  to  make  thyself  a  name  il- 
lustrious. 

15  Look  down  from  heaven,  and  see,  from  thy  holy  and 

glorious  dwelling : 

Where  is  thy  zeal,  and  thy  mighty  power ; 
The  yearning  of  thy  bowels,  and  thy  tender  affections  ? 
are  they  restrained  from  us  ? 

16  Verily,  Thou  art  our  father ;  for  Abraham  knoweth  us  not, 
And  Israel  doth  not  acknowledge  us. 

Thou,  O  JEHOVAH,  art  our  father : 
O  deliver  us  for  the  sake  of  thy  name  ! 

17  Wherefore,  O  JEHOVAH,   dost  thou  suffer  us  to  err  from 

thy  ways  ? 

To  harden  our  hearts  from  the  fear  of  thee  ? 
Return  for  the  sake  of  thy  servants  ; 
For  the  sake  of  the  tribes  of  thine  inheritance. 

18  It  is  little,   that  they  have  taken  possession  of  thy  holy 

mountain  ; 
That  our  enemies  have  trodden  down  thy  sanctuary : 

19  We  have  long  been  as  those,  whom  thou  hast  not  ruled  5 
Who  have  not  been  called  by  thy  name. 

CHAP.  LXIV. 

1  O  !  that  thou   wouldst  rend   the  heavens,  that  thou 

wouldst  descend  ; 
That  the  mountains  might  flow  down  at  thy  presence  ! 

2  As  the  fire  kindleth  the  dry  fuel  ; 

As  the  fire  causeth  the  waters  to  boil : 

To  make  known  thy  name  to  thine  enemies  ; 

That  the  nations  might  tremble  at  thy  presence. 

3  When  thou  didst  wonderful  things,  which  we  expected 

not; 

Thou  didst  descend  ;  at  thy  presence  the  mountains  flowed 
down. 

4  For  never  have  men  heard,  nor  perceived  by  the  ear, 
Nor  hath  eye  seen,  a  God  beside  thee, 

Who  doeth  such  things  for  those  that  trust  in  him. 

5  Thou  meetest  with  joy  those  who  work  righteousness ; 
Who  in  thy  ways  remember  thee. 

Lo  !  Thou  art  angry  ;  for  we  have  sinned : 
Because  of  our  deeds  ;  for  we  have  been  rebellious. 

6  And  we  are  all  of  us  as  a  polluted  thing ; 

And  like  a  rejected  garment  are  all  our  righteous  deeds: 
16 


122  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LX1V. 

And  we  are  withered  away,  like  a  leaf,  all  of  us  ; 
And  our  sins,  like  the  wind,  have  borne  us  away. 

7  There  is  no  one  that  invoketh  thy  name  ; 
That  rouseth  himself  up  to  lay  hold  on  thee  : 
Therefore  thou  hast  hidden  thy  face  from  us  ; 

And  hast  delivered  us  up  into  the  hand  of  our  iniquities. 

8  But  thou,  O  JEHOVAH,  thou  art  our  father  ; 
We  are  the  clay,  and  thou  hast  formed  us  : 
We  are  all  of  us  the  work  of  thy  hands. 

9  Be  not  wroth,  O  JEHOVAH,  to  the  uttermost ; 
Nor  forever  remember  iniquity. 

Behold,   look  upon  us,  we  beseech  thee;   we  are  all  thy 
people. 

10  Thy  holy  cities  are  become  a  wilderness  ; 

Sion  is  become  a  wilderness  ;  Jerusalem  is  desolate. 

11  Our  holy  and  glorious  temple, 
Wherein  our  fathers  praised  thee, 
Is  utterly  burnt  up  with  fire ; 

And  all  the  objects  of  our  desire  are  become  a  devasta- 
tion. 

12  Wilt  thou  contain  thyself  at  these  things,  O  JEHOVAH? 
Wilt  thou  keep  silence,  and  still  grievously  afflict  us  ? 


CHAP.  LXV. 

1  I  AM  made  known  to  those,  that  asked  not  for  me ; 
I  am  found  of  those,  that  sought  me  not : 

I  have  said  :  Behold  me,  here  I  am, 

To  the  nation,  which  never  invoked  my  name  : 

2  I  have  stretched  out  my  hands  all  the  day  to  a  rebellious 

people, 
Who  walk  in  an  evil  way,  after  their  own  devices. 

3  A  people,  who  provoke  me  to  my  face  continually ; 
Sacrificing  in   the  gardens,  and  burning  incense  on  the 

tiles : 

4  Who  dwell  in  the  sepulchres,  and  lodge  in  the  caverns  ; 
Who  eat  the  flesh  of  the  swine  ; 

And  the  broth  of  abominable  meats  is  in  their  vessels  : 

5  Who  say  :  Keep  to  thyself ;  come  not  near  me  ;  for  I  am 

holier  than  thou. ' 

These  kindle  a  smoke  in  my  nostrils,  a  fire  burning  all 
the  day  long. 

6  Behold,  this  is  recorded  in  writing  before  me: 

1  will  not  keep  silence,  but  will  certainly  requite ; 


CHAP.  LXV.  ISAIAH.  123 

7  I  will  requite  into  their  bosom  their  iniquities  ; 

And  the  iniquities  of  their  fathers  together,  saith  JEHO- 
VAH : 

Who  burnt  incense  on  the  mountains,  and  dishonoured 
me  upon  the  hills  : 

Yea,  I  will  pour  into  their  bosom  the  full  measure  of  their 
former  deeds. 

8  Thus  saith  JEHOVAH  : 

As  when  one  findeth  a  good  grape  in  the  cluster  ; 
And  sayeth,  Destroy  it  not ;  for  a  blessing  is  in  it : 
So  will  I  do  for  the  sake  of  my  servants  ;  I  will  not  de- 
stroy the  whole. 

9  So  will  I  bring  forth  from  Jacob  a  seed ; 

And  from  Judah  an  inheritor  of  my  mountain  : 
And  my  chosen  shall  inherit  the  land  ; 
And  my  servants  shall  dwell  there. 

10  And  Sharon  shall  be  a  fold  for  the  flock, 

And  the  valley  of  Achor  a  resting  for  the  herd  ; 
For  my  people,  who  have  sought  after  me. 

11  But  ye,  who  have  deserted  JEHOVAH  ; 
And  have  forgotten  my  holy  mountain  : 
Who  set  in  order  a  table  for  Gad  ; 

And  fill  out  a  libation  to  Meni : 

12  You  will  I  number  out  to  the  sword  ; 

And  all  of  you  shall  bow  down  to  the  slaughter. 

Because  I  called,  and  ye  answered  not ; 

I  spake,  and  ye  would  not  hear  : 

But  ye  did  that,  which  is  evil  in  my  sight ; 

And  that,  in  which  I  delighted  not,  ye~chose. 

13  Wherefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  : 

Behold,  my  servants  shall  eat,  but  ye  shall  be  famished ; 
Behold,  my  servants  shall  drink,  but  ye  shall  be  thirsty  ; 
Behold,  my  servants  shall  rejoice,  but  ye  shall  be  con- 
founded : 

14  Behold,    my   servants  shall  sing  aloud,  for   gladness  of 

heart ; 

But  ye  shall  cry  aloud,  for  grief  of  heart ; 
And  in  the  anguish  of  a  broken  spirit  shall  ye  howl. 

15  And  ye  shall  leave  your  name  for  a  curse  to  my  chosen  : 
And  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  shall  slay  you  ; 

And  his  servants  shall  he  call  by  another  name. 


124  ISAIAH. 


CHAP.  LXV. 


16  Whoso  blesseth  himself  upon  the  earth, 
Shall  bless  himself  in  the  God  of  truth  ; 
And  whoso  sweareth  upon  the  earth, 
Shall  swear  by  the  God  of  truth. 

Because  the  former  provocations  are  forgotten  ; 
And  because  they  are  hidden  from  mine  eyes. 

17  For  behold,  I  create  new  heavens,  and  a  new  earth  : 
And  the  former  ones  shall  not  be  remembered, 
Neither  shall  they  be  brought  to  mind  any  more. 

18  But  ye  shall  rejoice  and  exult  in  the  age  to  come,  which 

I  create : 

For   lo  !    I  create  Jerusalem  a  subject  of  joy,  and  her 
people  of  gladness  ; 

19  And  I  will  exult  in  Jerusalem,  and  rejoice  in  my  people. 
And  there  shall  not  be  heard  any  more  therein, 

The  voice  of  weeping,  and  the  voice  of  a  distressful  cry  : 

20  No  more  shall  be  there  an  infant  short-lived  ; 
Nor  an  old  man  who  hath  not  fulfilled  his  days  : 

For  he,  that  dieth  at  an  hundred  years,  shall  die  a  boy ; 
And  the  sinner  that  dieth  at  an   hundred  years,  shall  be 
deemed  accursed. 

21  And  they  shall  build  houses,  and  shall  inhabit  them  ; 
And  they  shall  plant  vineyards,  and  shall  eat  the  fruit 

thereof. 

22  They  shall  not  build,  and  another  inhabit ; 
They  shall  not  plant,  and  another  eat : 

For  as  the  days  of  a  tree  shall  be  the  days  of  my  people ; 
And  they  shall  wear  out  the  works  of  their  own  hands. 

23  My  chosen  shall  not  labour  in  vain  ; 
Neither  shall  they  generate  a  short-lived  race : 
For  they  shall  be  a  seed  blessed  of  JEHOVAH  ; 
They,  and  their  offspring  with  them. 

24  And  it  shall  be,  that  before  they  call,  I  will  answer  ; 
They  shall  be  yet  speaking,  and  I  shall  have  heard. 

25  The  wolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed  together  ; 
And  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox  : 
But  as  for  the  serpent,  dust  shall  be  his  food. 
They  shall  not  hurt,  neither  shall  they  destroy, 
In  all  my  holy  mountain,  saith  JEHOVAH. 


CHAP.  LXVI.  ISAIAH.  125 


CHAP.  LXVI. 

1  THUS  saith  JEHOVAH  : 

The  heavens  are  my  throne  ;  and  the  earth  is  my  foot- 
stool : 

Where  is  this  house,  which  ye  build  for  me  ? 
And  where  is  this  place  of  my  rest? 

2  For  all  these  things  my  hand  hath  made  ; 
And  all  these  things  are  mine,  saith  JEHOVAH. 

But  such  a  one  will  I  regard,  even  him  that  is  humble, 
And  of  a  contrite  spirit,  and  that  revereth  my  word. 

3  He  that  slayeth  an  ox,  killeth  a  man  ; 
That  sacrificeth  a  lamb,  beheadeth  a  dog  ; 

That  maketh  an  oblation,  [offereth]  swine's  blood  ; 
That  burneth  incense,  blesseth  an  idol : 
Yea,  they  themselves  have  chosen  their  own  ways  ; 
And  in  their  abominations  their  soul  delighteth. 

4  I  will  also  choose  their  calamities ; 

And  what  they  dread,  I  will  bring  upon  them  ; 

Because  I  called,  and  no  one  answered  ; 

I  spake,  and  they  would  not  hear : 

And  they  have  done  what  is  evil  in  my  sight ; 

And  that,  in  which  I  delighted  not,  they  have  chosen. 

5  Hear  ye  the  word  of  JEHOVAH,  ye  that   revere  his 

word  : 

Say  ye  to  your  brethren,  that  hate  you  ; 
And  that  thrust  you  out,  for  my  name's  sake : 
JEHOVAH  will  be  glorified,  and  he  will  appear  ; 
To  your  joy  [will  he  appear],  and  they  shall  be  con- 
founded. 

6  A  voice  of  tumult  from  the  city  !     a  voice  from  the 

temple  ! 

The   voice  of  JEHOVAH  !    rendering  recompense  to  his 
enemies. 

7  Before  she  was  in  travail,  she  brought  forth  ; 
Before  her  pangs  came,  she  was  delivered  of  a  male. 

8  Who  hath  heard  such  a  thing  ?  and  who  hath  seen  th 

like  of  these  things  ? 
Is  a  country  brought  forth  in  one  day  ? 
Is  a  nation  born  in  an  instant  ? 
16* 


126  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXVI. 

For  no   sooner  was  Sion  in  travail,  than  she  brought 

forth  her  children. 
9  Shall  I  bring  to  the  birth,  and  not  cause  to  bring  forth  ? 

saith  JEHOVAH  : 

Shall  I,  who  beget,  restrain  the  birth?  saith  thy  God. 
10  Rejoice  with  Jerusalem,  and  exult  on  her  account,  all  ye 

that  love  her ; 
Be  exceedingly  joyful  with   her,  all  ye  that  mourn  over 

her : 
12  That  ye  may  suck,  and  be  satisfied,  from  the  breast  of 

her  consolations ; 

That  ye  may  draw  forth  the  delicious  nourishment  from 
her  abundant  stores. 

12  For  thus  saith  JEHOVAH  : 

Behold,  I  spread  over  her  prosperity,  like  the  great 
river ; 

And  like  the  overflowing  stream  the  wealth  of  the  na- 
tions : 

And  ye  shall  suck  at  the  breast ; 

Ye  shall  be  carried  by  the  side  ; 

And  on  the  knees  shall  ye  be  dandled. 

13  As  one,  whom  his  mother  comforteth, 
So  will  I  comfort  you  : 

And  in  Jerusalem  shall  ye  receive  consolation. 

14  And  ye  shall  see  it,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice ; 
And  your  bones  shall  flourish,  like  the  green  herb: 

And  the  hand  of  JEHOVAH  shall  be  manifested  to  his 
servants ; 

And  he  will  be  moved  with  indignation  against  his  ene- 
mies. 

15  For,  behold  !  JEHOVAH  shall  come,  as  a  fire ; 
And  his  chariot,  as  a  whirlwind  : 

To  breathe  forth  his  anger  in  a  burning  heat, 
And  his  rebuke  in  flames  of  fire. 

16  For  by  fire  shall  JEHOVAH  execute  judgment ; 
And  by  his  sword,  upon  all  flesh  : 

And  many  shall  be  the  slain  of  JEHOVAH. 

17  They  who  sanctify  themselves,  and  purify  themselves, 
In  the  gardens,  after  the  rites  of  Achad  ; 

In  the  midst  of  those  who  eat  swine's  flesh, 
And  the  abomination,  and  the  field-mouse ; 


CHAP.  LXVI. 


ISAIAH.  127 


Together  shall  they  perish,  saith  JEHOVAH. 

18  For  I  know  their  deeds,  and  their  devices  : 

And  I  come  to  gather  all  the  nations  and  tongues  to- 
gether ; 
And  they  shall  come,  and  shall  see  my  glory. 

19  And  I  will  impart  to  them  a  sign  ; 

And  of  those  that  escape  I  will  send  to  the  nations : 

To  Tarshish,  Phul,  and  Lud,  who  draw  the  bow  ; 

Tuba!,  and  Javan,  the  far  distant  coasts: 

To  those,  who  never  heard  my  name ; 

And  who  never  saw  rny  glory  : 

And  they  shall  declare  my  glory  among  the  nations. 

20  And  they  shall  bring  all  your  brethren, 

From  all  the  nations,  for  an  oblation  to  JEHOVAH  ; 

On  horses,  and  in  litters,  and  in  coune^  ; 

On  mules,  and  on  dromedaries  ; 

To  my  holy  mountain  Jerusalem,  saith  JEHOVAH  : 

Like  as  the  sons  of  Israel  brought  the  oblation, 

In  pure  vessels,  to  the  house  of  JEHOVAH. 

21  And  of  them  will  I  also  take, 

For  priests,  and  for  Levites,  saith  JEHOVAH. 

22  For  like  as  the  new  heavens, 
And  the  new  earth,  which  I  make, 

Stand  continually  before  me,  saith  JEHOVAH  ; 
So  shall  continue  your  seed,  and  your  name. 

23  And  it  shall  be,  from  new  moon  to  new  moon, 
And  from  sabbath  to  sabbath  ; 

All  flesh  shall  come  to  worship  before  me,  saith  JEHO- 

VAH. 

24  And  they  shall  go  forth,  and  shall  see 

The  carcasses  of  the  men  who  rebelled  against  me. 
For  their  worm  shall  not  die, 
And  their  fire  shall  not  be  quenched  ; 
•  And  they  shall  be  an  abhorrence  to  all  flesh. 


NOTES 


ISAIAH. 


ISAIAH  exercised  the  prophetical  office  during  a  long  period 
of  time,  if  he  lived  to  the  reign  of  Manasseh  ;  for  the  lowest 
computation,  beginning  from  the  year  in  which  Uzziah  died, 
when  some  suppose  him  to  have  received  his  first  appoint- 
ment to  that  office,  brings  it  to  61  years.  But  the  tradition 
of  the  Jews,  that  he  was  put  to  death  by  Manasseh,  is  very 
uncertain  ;  and  one  of  their  principal  rabbins  (Aben  Ezra, 
Com.  in  Isa.  i.  1.)  seems  rather  to  think,  that  he  died  before 
Hezekiah ;  which  is  indeed  more  probable.  It  is  however 
certain,  that  he  lived  at  least  to  the  15lh  or  16th  year  of 
Hezekiah  :  this  makes  the  least  possible  term  of  the  duration 
of  his  prophetical  office  about  48  years.  The  time  of  the 
delivery  of  some  of  his  prophecies  is  either  expressly  marked, 
or  sufficiently  clear  from  the  history  to  which  they  relate : 
that  of  a  few  others  may  with  some  probability  be  deduced 
from  internal  marks ;  from  expressions,  descriptions,  and 
circumstances  interwoven.  It  may  therefore  be  of  some  use 
in  this  respect,  and  for  the  better  understanding  of  his  pro- 
phecies in  general,  to  give  here  a  summary  view  of  the  his- 
tory of  his  time. 

The  kingdom  of  Judah  seems  to  have  been  in  a  more 
flourishing  condition  during  the  reigns  of  Uzziah  and  Jo- 
tham,  than  at  any  other  time  after  the  revolt  of  the  ten 
tribes.  The  former  recovered  the  port  of  Elath  on  the  Red 
Sea,  which  the  Edomites  had  taken  in  the  reign  of  Joram  : 
he  was  successful  in  his  wars  with  the  Philistines,  and  took 
from  them  several  cities,  Gath.  Jabneh,  Ashdod ;  as  likewise 
against  some  people  of  Arabia  Deserta ;  and  against  the 
Ammonites,  whom  he  compelled  to  pay  him  tribute.  He 
repaired  and  improved  the  fortifications  of  Jerusalem ;  and 


130  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I. 

had  a  great  army  well  appointed  and  disciplined.  He  was 
no  less  attentive  to  the  arts  of  peace;  and  very  much  en- 
couraged agriculture,  and  the  breeding  of  cattle.  Jotham 
maintained  the  establishments  and  improvements  made  by 
his  father ;  added  to  what  Uzziah  had  done  in  strengthen- 
ing the  frontier  places ;  conquered  the  Ammonites,  who  had 
revolted,  and  exacted  from  them  a  more  stated  and  pro- 
bably a  larger  tribute.  However,  at  the  latter  end  of  his 
time,  the  league  between  Pekah  king  of  Israel  and  Retsin 
king  of  Syria  was  formed  against  Judah  ;  and  they  began 
to  carry  their  designs  into  execution. 

But  in  the  reign  of  Ahaz  his  son,  not  only  all  these  ad- 
vantages were  lost,  but  the  kingdom  of  Judah  was  brought 
to  the  brink  of  destruction.  Pekah  king  of  Israel  overthrew 
the  army  of  Ahaz,  who  lost  in  battle  120,000  men ;  and 
the  Israelites  carried  away  captives  200,000  women  and 
children ;  which  however  were  released,  and  sent  home 
again,  upon  the  remonstrance  of  the  prophet  Oded.  After 
this,  as  it  should  seem,  (see  Vitringa  on  chap.  vii.  2.),  the  two 
kiogs  of  Israel  and  Syria,  joining  their  forces,  laid  siege  to 
Jerusalem  ;  but  in  this  attempt  they  failed  of  success.  In 
this  distress  Ahaz  called  in  the  assistance  of  Tiglath-Pileser 
king  of  Assyria ;  who  invaded  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and 
Syiia,  and  slew  Retsin  :  but  he  was  more  in  danger  than  ever 
from  his  too  powerful  ally  ;  to  purchase  whose  forbearance, 
as  he  had  before  bought  his  assistance,  he  was  forced  to  strip 
himself  and  his  people  of  all  the  wealth  he  could  possibly 
raise,  from  his  own  treasury,  from  the  temple,  and  from  the 
country.  About  the  time  of  the  seige  of  Jerusalem,  the 
Syrians  took  Elath,  which  was  never  after  recovered.  The 
Edomites  likewise,  taking  advantage  of  the  distress  of  Ahaz, 
ravaged  Judea,  and  carried  away  many  captives.  The  Phi- 
listines recovered  what  they  had  before  lost ;  and  took  many 
places  in  Judea,  and  maintained  themselves  there.  Idolatry 
was  established  by  the  command  of  the  king  in  Jerusalem, 
and  throughout  Judea;  and  the  service  of  the  temple  was 
either  intermitted,  or  converted  into  an  idolatrous  worship. 

Hezekiah,  his  son,  at  his  accession  to  the  throne,  imme- 
diately set  about  the  restoration  of  the  legal  worship  of  God, 
both  in  Jerusalem  and  through  Judea.  He  cleansed  and 
repaired  the  temple,  and  held  a  solemn  passover.  He  im- 
proved the  city,  repaired  the  fortifications,  erected  magazines 
of  all  sorts,  and  built  a  new  aqueduct.  In  the  fourth  year  of 


CHAP.  I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  131 

his  reign,  Shalmaneser  king1  of  Assyria  invaded  the  kingdom 
of  Israel,  took  Samaria,  and  carried  away  the  Israelites  into 
captivity ;  and  replaced  them  hy  different  people  sent  from 
his  own  country ;  and  this  was  the  final  destruction  of  that 
kingdom,  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah. 

Hezekiah  was  not  deterred  by  this  alarming  example 
from  refusing  to  pay  the  tribute  to  the  king  of  Assyria, 
which  had  been  imposed  on  Ahaz.  This  brought  on  the  in- 
vasion of  Senacherib  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  reign  ;  an 
account  of  which  is  inserted  among  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah. 
After  a  great  and  miraculous  deliverance  from  so  powerful 
an  enemy,  Hezekiah  continued  his  reign  in  peace :  he  pros- 
pered in  all  his  works,  arid  left  his  kingdom  in  a  flourishing 
state  to  his  son  Manasseh ;  a  son  in  every  respect  unworthy 
of  such  a  father. 


CHAPTER  I. 

1.  The  vision  of  Isaiah — ]  It  seems  doubtful,  whether 
this  title  belong  to  the  whole  book,  or  only  to  the  prophecy 
contained  in  this  chapter.  The  former  part  of  the  title 
seems  properly  to  belong  to  this  particular  prophecy  :  the 
latter  part,  which  enumerates  the  kings  of  Judah,  under 
whom  Isaiah  exercised  his  prophetical  office,  seems  to  exr 
tend  it  to  the  whole  collection  of  prophecies  delivered  in 
the  course  of  his  ministry.  Yitringa  (to  whom  the  world 
is  greatly  indebted  for  his  learned  labours  on  this  Prophet; 
and  to  whom  we  should  have  owred  much  more,  if  he  had 
not  so  totally  devoted  himself  to  Masoretic  authority)  has> 
I  think,  very  judiciously  resolved  this  doubt.  He  supposes, 
that  the  former  part  of  the  title  was  originally  prefixed  to 
this  single  prophecy  ;  and  that,  when  the  collection  of  alt 
Isaiah's  prophecies  was  made,  the  enumeration  of  the  kings 
of  Judah  was  added,  to  make  it  at  the  same  time  a  proper 
title  to  the  whole  book.  As  such  it  is  plainly  taken  in  2 
Chron.  xxxii.  32.  where  the  book  of  Isaiah  is  cifed  by  this 
title :  "  The  vision  of  Isaiah  the  Prophet,  the  son  of 
Amots." 

The  prophecy  contained  in  this  first  chapter  stands  single 
and  unconnected,  making  an  entire  piece  of  itself.  It  con- 
tains a  severe  remonstrance  against  the  corruptions  pre- 
vailing among  the  Jews  of  that  time;  powerful  <•"•  hcrtations 


132  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I. 

to  repentance;  grievous  threatenings  to  the  impenitent; 
and  gracious  promises  of  better  times,  when  the  nation  shall 
have  been  reformed  by  the  just  judgments  of  God.  The 
expression  upon  the  whole  is  clear ;  the  connexion  of  the 
several  parts  easy  ;  and,  in  regard  to  the  images,  sentiments, 
and  style,  it  gives  a  beautiful  example  of  the  Prophet's 
elegant  manner  of  writing ;  though  perhaps  it  may  not  be 
equal  in  these  respects  to  many  of  the  following  prophecies. 
2.  Hear,  O  ye  heavens — ]  God  is  introduced  as  enter- 
ing upon  a  solemn  and  public  action,  or  pleading,  before 
the  whole  world,  against  his  disobedient  people.  The  pro- 
phet, as  herald,  or  officer  to  proclaim  the  summons  to  the 
court,  calls  upon  all  created  beings,  celestial  and  terrestrial, 
to  attend,  and  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  his  plea,  and  the 
justice  of  his  cause.  The  same  scene  is  more  fully  displayed 
in  the  noble  exordium  of  Psalm  1.  where  God  summons 
all  mankind,  from  east  to  west,  to  be  present  to  hear  his 
appeal ;  and  the  solemnity  is  held  on  Sion,  where  he  is  at- 
tended with  the  same  terrible  pomp  that  accompanied  him 
on  mount  Sinai : — 

"A  consuming  fire  goes  before  him, 
And  round  him  rages  a  violent  tempest: 
He  calleth  the  heavens  from  above, 

And  the  earth,  that  he  may  contend  in  judgment  with  his 
people."  Psal.  1.  3,  4. 

By  the  same  bold  figure,  Micah  calls  upon  the  mountains, 
that  is,  the  whole  country  of  Judea,  to  attend  to  him  :  Chap, 
vi.  1,  2. 

"Arise,  plead  thou  before  the  mountains, 
And  let  the  hills  hear  thy  voice. 
Hear,  O  ye  mountains,  the  controversy  of  JEHOVAH; 
And  ye,  O  ye  strong  foundations  of  the  earth: 
For  JEHOVAH  hath  a  controversy  with  his  people, 
And  he  will  plead  his  cause  against  Israel." 

With   the  like    invocation    Moses   introduces    his    sublime 
song  ;  the  design  of  which  was  the  same  as  that  of  this  pro- 
phecy, "  to  testify,  as  a  witness,  against  the  Israelites,"  for 
their  disobedience,  Deut.  xxxi.  21. 
"  Give  ear,  O  ye   heavens,  and  I   will  speak; 
And  let  the  earth  hear  the  words  of  my  mouth." 

Deut.  xxxii.  1. 

This  in  the  simple  yet  strong  oratorical  style  of  Moses  is, 
<{  1  call  heaven  and  earth  to  witness  against  thee  this  day  : 


CHAP.  I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  133 

life  and  death  have  I  set  before  thee ;  the  blessing  and  the 
curse  :  choose  now  life,  that  thon  niayest  live,  thou  and  thy 
seed."  Dent.  xxx.  19.  The  poetical  style,  by  an  apostrophe, 
sets  the  personification  in  a  much  stronger  light. 

Ibid. — that  speaket/t]  I  render  it  in  the  present  time, 
pointin^  it  *Q"i.  There  seems  to  be  an  impropriety  in  de- 
manding attention  to  a  speech  already  delivered. 

Ibid.  /  have  nourished — ]  The  LXX  have  f/Wr*,  / 
have  begotten.  Instead  of  Tftia,  they  read  wiV  ;  a  word 
little  differing  from  the  other,  and  perhaps  more  proper: 
which  the  Chaldee  likewise  seems  to  favour ;  "  vocavi  eos 
filios."  See  Exod.  iv.  22.  Jer.  xxxi.  9. 

3.  The  ox  knowetft — ]  An  amplification  of  the  gross  in- 
sensibility of  the  disobedient  Jews,  by  comparing  them  with 
the  most  heavy  and  stupid  of  all  animals,  yet  not  so  insensible 
as  they.  Bochart  has  well  illustrated  the  comparison,  and 
shewn  the  peculiar  force  of  it.  "  He  sets  them  lower  than 
the  beasts,  and  even  than  the  stupidest  of  all  beasts  ;  for 
there  is  scarce  any  more  so  than  the  ox  and  the  ass.  Yet 
these  acknowledge  their  master ;  they  know  the  manger  of 
their  lord  :  by  whom  they  are  fed,  not  for  their  own,  but  for 
his  good  ;  neither  are  they  looked  upon  as  children,  but  as 
beasts  of  burthen  ;  neither  are  they  advanced  to  honours, 
but  oppressed  with  great  and  daily  labours  :  While  the  Is- 
raelites, chosen  by  the  mere  favour  of  God,  adopted  as  sons, 
promoted  to  the  highest  dignity,  yet  acknowledged  not  their 
Lord  and  their  God  ;  but  despised  his  commandments, 
though  in  the  highest  degree  equitable  and  just."  Hieroz.  i. 
col.  409. 

Jeremiah's  comparison  to  the  same  purpose  is  equally 
elegant ;  but  has  not  so  much  spirit  and  seventy  as  this  of 
Isaiah  : — 

"  Even  the  stork  in  the  heavens  knoweth  her  season  ; 
And  the  turtle,   and  the  swallow,  and  the  crane,  observe  the 

time  of  their  coming  : 
But  my  people  doth  not  know  the  judgment  of  JEHOVAH." 

Jer.  viii.  7. 

Hosea  has  given  a  very  elegant  turn  to  the  same  image,  in 
the  way  of  metaphor  or  allegory  : 

"  I  drew  them  with  human  cords,  with  the  bands  of  love: 
And  I  was  to  them,  as  he  that  lifteth  up  the  yoke  upon  their 

cheek; 

And  I  laid  down  their  fodder  before  them."         Hosea,  xi.  4. 
17 


134  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  1* 

Salomo  ben  Melech  thus  explains  the  middle  part  of  the 
verse,  which  is  somewhat  obscure  :  "  I  was  to  them  at  their 
desire,  as  they  that  have  compassion  on  a  heifer,  lest  she 
be  over- worked  in  ploughing  ;  and  that  lift  up  the  yoke 
from  off  her  neck,  and  rest  it  upon  her  cheek,  that  she  may 
not  still  draw,  but  rest  from  her  labour  an  hour  or  two  in 
the  day." 

Ibid.  But  Israel — ]  The  LXX,  Syriac,  Aquila,  Theo- 
dotion,  and  Vulgate,  read  ^XT^n,  adding  the  conjunction  ; 
which,  being  rendered  as  an  adversative,  sets  the  opposition 
in  a  stronger  light. 

Ibid,  Me.]  The  same  ancient  versions  agree  in  adding 
this  word ;  which  very  properly  answers,  and  indeed  is 
almost  necessarily  required  to  answer,  the  words  possessor 
and  lord  preceding.  I0?««A  &  ME  «»  eyv»,  LXX.  "  Israel 
autem  ME  non  cognovit,"  Vulg.  irpwx  &  MOT  UK  eyw,  Aq. 
Theod.  The  testimony  of  so  scrupulous  an  interpreter 
as  Aquila  is  of  great  weight  in  this  case.  And  both  his 
and  Theodotion's  rendering  is  such,  as  shews  plainly,  that 
they  did  not  add  the  word  MOT  to  help  out  the  sense  ;  for 
it  only  embarrasses  it.  It  also  clearly  determines  what  was 
the  original  reading  in  the  old  copies,  from  which  they  trans- 
lated. It  could  not  be  'J;rr,  which  most  obviously  answers 
to  the  version  of  LXX  and  Vulg.  for  it  does  not  accord 
with  that  of  Aquila  and  Theodotion.  The  version  of  these 
latter  interpreters,  however  injudicious,  clearly  ascertains 
both  the  phrase,  and  the  order  of  the  words,  of  the  original 
Hebrew :  it  was  yr  K1?  Mix  bsnsn.  The  word  THX  has 
been  lost  out  of  the  text.  The  very  same  phrase  is  used  by 
Jeremiah,  chap.  iv.  22.  ijrv  vh  "nix  'ay :  and  the  order  of 
the  words  must  have  been  as  above  represented  ;  for  they 
have  joined  bxTtf*  with  TrtN,  as  in  regimine  :  they  could 
not  have  taken  it  in  tins  sense,  Israel  MEUS  non  cognovit, 
had  either  this  plxrase,  or  the  order  of  the  words,  been  dif- 
ferent. I  have  endeavoured  to  set  this  matter  in  ci  ^  lenr 
light,  as  it  is  the  iirst,  example  of  a  whole  word  lost  out  of 
the  text  ;  of  which  the  reader  will  find  many  other  plain 
examples  in  the  course  of  these  notes. 

The  LXX,  Syr.  Vul?.  read  ^;'i,  "  and  my  people  ; " 
and  so  likewise  sixteen  MSS. 

4.  degenerate]  Five  MSS  (one  of  them  ancient)  read 
without  the  first  '  ;  in  Ilophal,  corrupted,  not 


CHAP.  I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  135 

corrupters.     See  the   same  word,   in  the  same  form,    in.  the 
same  sense,  Prov.  xxv.  26. 

Ibid.  —  arc  estranged]  Thirty-two  MSS  (five  ancient) 
and  two  editions,  read  vmj  :  which  reading  determines  the 
word  to  be  from  the  root  nit,  to  alienate,  not  from  nu,  to 
separate:  "so  Kimchi  understands  it.  See  also  Annotat.  in 
Noldium,  68. 

Ibid,  they  have  turned  their  backs  upon  him]  So  Kimclii 
explains  it  :  "  they  have  turned  unto  him  the  back,  and 
not  the  face  :  "  see  Jer.  ii.  27.  vii.  24.  I  have  been  forced 
to  render  this  line  paraphrastically  ;  as  the  verbal  transla- 
tion "  they  are  estranged  backward,"  would  have  been  unin- 
telligible. 

5.  On  wJiat  part  —  ]  The  Vulgate  renders  nn  ty,  super 
quo,  (see  Job  xxxviii.  6.  2  Chron.  xxxii.  10.),  upon  what 
part  :  and  so  Abendana,  on  Sal.  b.  Melech  :  "  There  are 
some  who  explain  it  thus  :  Upon  what  limb  shall  you  be 
smitten,  if  you  add  defection  ?  for  already  for  your  sins  have 
you  been  smitten  upon  all  of  them  ;  so  that  there  is  not  to 
be  found  in  you  a  whole  limb,  on  which  you  can  be  smitten." 
Which  agrees  with  what  follows:  "From  the  sole  of  the 
foot  even  to  the  head,  there  is  no  soundness  therein  :  "  and 
the  sentiment  and  image  is  exactly  the  same  with  that  of 
Ovid,  Pont.  ii.  7.  42. 

"  Yix  habet  in  nobis  jam  nova  plaga  locum." 

Or  that  still  more  expressive  line  of  Euripides;  the  great 
force  and  effect  of  which  Longinus  ascribes  to  its  close  and 
compressed  structure,  analogous  to  the  sense  which  it  ex- 
presses :  — 


KXKUV  <5y  «'  yjcer1  trf?  OTTJJ  rtCy. 
I'm  full  of  miseries:  there's  no  room  for  more. 

Here.  Fur.  1245.  Long.  sect.  40. 

"On  what  part  will  ye  strike  again  ;  will  ye  add,  correc- 
tion ?"  This  is  addressed  to  the  instruments  of  God's  ven- 
geance ;  those  that  inflicted  the  punishment,  who  or  whatso- 
ever they  were.  "  Ad  verbum  certae  personse  intelligenda3 
sunt,  quibus  ista  actio  [quae  per  verbum  exprimiturj  corn- 
petit  :  "  as  Glassius  says  in  a  similar  case,  Phil.  Sacr.  i.  3.  22. 
See  chap.  viii.  4. 

As  from  ;rr,  nn,  knowledge  ;  from  pr,  rrep,  counsel  ; 
from  JBP,  rut?,  sleep,  &c.  ;  so  from  ip*  is  regularly  derived  rno, 
correction. 


136  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.   I. 

6.  It  hath  not  been  pressed — ]  The  art  of  medicine  in 
the  East  consists  chiefly  in  external  applications  :  accord- 
ingly the  Prophet's  images  in  this  place  are  all  taken  from 
surgery.  Sir  John  Chardin,  in  his  note  on  Prov.  iii.  8.  "  It 
shall  he  health  to  thy  navel,  and  marrow  to  thy  bones," 
observes,  that  "  the  comparison  is  taken  from  the  plasters, 
ointments,  oils,  frictions,  which  are  made  use  of  in  the  East 
upon  the  belly  and  stomach  in  most  maladies.  Being 
ignorant  in  the  villages  of  the  art  of  making  decoctions  and 
potions,  and  of  the  proper  doses  of  such  things,  they  gene- 
rally make  use  of  external  medicines."  Manner's  Observa- 
tions on  Scripture,  vol.  ii.  p.  4S8.  And  in  surgery  their 
materia  medica  is  extremely  simple;  oil  making  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  it.  "In  India,"  says  Tavernier,  "they  have 
a  certain  preparation  of  oil  and  melted  grease,  which  they 
commonly  use  for  the  healing  of  wounds."  Voyage  Ind.  So 
the  good  Samaritan  poured  oil  and  wine  on  the  wounds  of 
the  distressed  Jew  :  wine,  cleansing  and  somewhat  astrin- 
gent, proper  for  a  fresh  wound  ;  oil,  mollifying  and  healing. 
Luke  x.  34. 

Of  the  three  verbs  in  this  sentence,  one  is  in  the  singular 
number  in  the  text,  another  is  singular  in  two  MSS  (one 
of  them  ancient)  riBOn;  and  Syr.  and  Vulg.  render  all  of 
them  in  the  singular  number. 

7 — 9.  Yoiir  country  is  desolate — ]  The  description  of 
the  ruined  and  desolate  state  of  the  country  in  these  verses, 
does  not  suit  with  any  part  of  the  prosperous  times  of  Uzziah 
and  Jotham.  It  very  well  agrees  with  the  time  of  Ahaz, 
when  Judea  was  ravaged  by  the  joint  invasion  of  the  Israel- 
ites and  Syrians,  and  by  the  incursions  of  the  Philistines  and 
Edomites.  The  date  of  this  prophecy  is  therefore  generally 
fixed  to  the  time  of  Ahaz.  But  on  the  other  hand  it  may 
be  considered,  whether  those  instances  of  idolatry,  which 
are  urged  in  the  29th  verse,  (the  worshipping  in  groves  and 
gardens),  having  been  at  all  times  too  commonly  practised, 
can  be  supposed  to  be  the  only  ones  which  the  Prophet 
\vould  insist  upon  in  the  time  of  Ahaz  ;  who  spread  the 
grossest  idolatry  through  the  whole  country,  and  introduced 
it  even  into  the  temple ;  and,  to  complete  his  abominations, 
made  his  son  pass  through  the  fire  to  Moloch.  It  is  said, 
2  Kings  xv.  37.  that  in  Jotham's  time  "  the  Lord  began  to 
send  against  Judah  Rotsin  and  Pekah  :"  If  we  may  suppose 
any  invasion  from  that  quarter  to  have  been  actually  made 


CHAP.  I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  137 

at  the  latter  end  of  Jotham's  reign,  I  should  choose  to  refer 
this  prophecy  to  that  time. 

7.  onr,  (at  the  end  of  the  verse).     This  reading,  though 
confirmed  by  all  the  ancient  versions,  gives  us  no  good  sense ; 
for,  your  land  is  devoured  by  "  strangers  ;  and  is  desolate,  as 
if  overthrown  by  strangers"  is  a  mere  tautology,  or,  what  is 
as  bad,  an  identical  comparison.     Aben  Ezra  thought,   that 
the  word,  in  its  present  form,   might  be  taken  for  the  same 
with  D-IT,  an  inundation :  Schtiltens  is  of  the  same  opinion, 
(see  Taylor's  Concord.) ;  and  Schindler  in  his  Lexicon  ex- 
plains it  in   the  same  manner :  and  so,  says  Kimchi,  some 
explain  it.     Abendana  endeavours  to  reconcile  it  to  gram- 
matical  analogy   in   the   following   manner: — "ffii   is   the 
same  with  D-I?  ;  that  is,   as  overthrown  by  an  inundation  of 
waters:  and  these  two  words  have  the  same  analogy  as  Dip 
and  DHp.     Or  it  may  be  a  concrete,  of  the  same  form  with 
n»3Br ;    and   the    meaning   will    be,    as   overthrown   by    rain 
pouring  down  violently,  and  causing  a  flood."     On  Sal.  b. 
Melech,  in  loc.     But  I  rather  suppose  the  true  reading   to 
be  D^I,   and  have  translated  it  accordingly  :  the   word   D^T, 
in  the  line  above,  seems  to  have  caught  the  transcriber's  eye 
and  to  have  led  him  into  this  mistake. 

8.  as  a  shed  in  a  vineyard — ]     A  little  temporary  hut 
covered  with  boughs,  straw,  turf,  or  the  like  materials,  for  a 
shelter  from  the  heat  by  day,  and  the  cold  and  dews  by  night, 
for  the  watchman  that  kept  the  garden,  or  vineyard,  during 
the  short  season  while  the  fruit  was  ripening  ;   (see  Job  xxvii. 
18.) :  and  presently  removed,   when  it  had  served  that  pur- 
pose.    See  Harmer,   Obser.   i.  454.     They   were   probably 
obliged  to  have  such  a  constant  watch,  to  defend  the  fruit 
from   the  jackals."     «  The  jackal,"  (chical   of  the  Turks,) 
says  Hasselquist,  (Travels,  p.  277.),  "  is  a  species  of  mustela 
which  is  very  common  in  Palestine,   especially  during  the 
vintage,   and  often  destroys  whole  vineyards,  and  gardens  of 
cucumbers."     "  There  is  also  plenty  of  the  canis  vulpes,  the 
fox,   near  the  convent  of  St.  John  in  the  desert,  about  vin- 
tage time  ;  for  they   destroy  all  the   vines,  unless  they  are 
strictly  watched."     Ibid.  p.  184.     See  Cant.  ii.  15. 

Fruits  of  the  gourd  kind,  melons,  water-melons,  cucum- 
bers, &c.  are  much  used,  and  in  great  request^  in  the  Le- 
vant, on  account  of  their  cooling  quality.  The  Israelites  in 
the  wilderness  regretted  the  loss  of  the  cucumbers  and  the 
melons,  among  the  other  good  things  of  Egypt ;  Numb.  xi.  5. 

n* 


138  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I. 

In  Egypt,  the  season  of  water-melons,  which  are  most  in  re- 
quest, and  which  the  common  people  then  chiefly  live  upon, 
lasts  but  three  weeks.  See  Hasselquist,  p.  256.  Tavernier 
makes  it  of  longer  continuance  : — "  L'on  y  void  de  grands 
carreaux  de  melons  et  de  concombres  ;  mais  beaucoup  plus 
des  derniers,  dont  les  Levantins  font  leur  delices.  Le  plus 
souvent  ils  les  mangent  sans  les  peler,  apres  quoy  ils  vorit 
boire  une  verre  d'eau.  Dans  toute  PAsie  c'est  la  nourriture 
ordinaire  du  petit  peuple  pendant  trois  ou  quatre  mois;  toute 
la  famille  en  vit,  et  quand  un  enfant  demande  a  manger,  au 
lieu  qu'en  France  on  ailleurs  nous  luy  donnerions  du  pain, 
dans  le  Levant  on  luy  presente  un  concornbre,  qu'il  mange 
cm  comme  on  le  vient  de  cueillir. — Les  concombres  dans  le 
Levant  ont  une  bonte  particuliere,  et  quoyqu'  on  les  mange 
crus,  ils  ne  font  jamais  de  raal."  Tavernier,  Relat.  du  Ser- 
rail,  c.  xix. 

Ibid,  a  city  taken  by  seige.]     So  LXX  and  Vulg. 

9.  Jehovali    God  of  Hosts]     As  this  title  of  God  nitoy 
mrr,  "  JEHOVAH  of  Hosts,"  occurs  here  for  the   first  time, 
I  think  it  proper  to  note,  that  I  translate  it  always,  as  in  this 
place,  "  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts ;  "  taking  it  as  an  elliptical 
expression    for    niaav  %rhx  rnrr.     This    title   imports,   that 
JEHOVAH  is  the  God,  or  Lord,  of  hosts  or  armies ;  as  he  is 
the  Creator,  and  supreme  Governor  of  all  beings  in  heaven 
and  earth  ;  and  disposeth  and  ruleth  them  all  in  their  several 
orders  and  stations  ;  the  Almighty,  Universal  Lord. 

10.  Ye  princes  of  Sodom — ]     The  incidental  mention  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  preceding  verse,  suggested  to 
the   Prophet   this  spirited  address  to  the  rulers  and  inhabi- 
tants of  Jerusalem,  under  the  character  of  princes  of  Sodom 
and  people  of  Gomorrah.     Two  examples   of  a  sort  of  ele- 
gant turn  of  the  like  kind  may  be  observed   in  St.  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  xv.  4,  5.  and  12,  13.     See  Locke 
on  the  place ;  and  see  29,  30.  of  this  chapter ;  which  gives 
another  example  of  the  same. 

1  i.  — the  fat  of  fed  beasts  ;  And  in  the  blood—}  The  fat 
and  the  blood  are  particularly  mentioned,  because  these 
were  in  all  sacrifices  set  apart  to  God.  The  fat  was  always 
burnt  upon  the  altar ;  and  the  blood  was  partly  sprinkled, 
differently  on  different  occasions,  and  partly  poured  out  at 
the  bottom  of  the  altar.  See  Lev.  iv. 

11 — 16.  What  have  I  to  do — ]  The  prophet  Amos  has 
expressed  the  same  sentiments  with  great  elegance : 


CHAP.  I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  139 

"  I  hate,  I  despise  your  feasts; 

And  I  will  not  delight  in  the  odour  of  your  solemnities; 
Though  ye  offer  unto  me  burnt-offerings: 
And  your  meat-offerings  I  will  not  accept; 
Neither  will  I  regard  the  peace-offerings  of  your  failings. 
Take  away  from  me  the  noise  of  your  songs; 
And  the  melody  of  your  viols  I  will  not  hear. 
But  let  judgment  roll  down  like  waters; 
And  righteousness  like  a  mighty  stream."  Amos,  v.2l  —  24. 

12.  Tread  my  courts  no  more  —  ]     So  the  LXX  divide 
the  sentence  ;  joining  the  end  of  this  verse  to  the  beginning 
of  the  next. 

13.  Tlie  fast  and  the  day  of  restraint]     mypi  px-     These 
words  are  rendered  in  many  different  manners  by  different 
interpreters  ;    to  a  good  and    probable  sense  by  all  ;  but,  I 
think,  by  none  in  such  a  sense  as  can  arise  from  the  phrase 
itself,  agreeably  to  the   idiom  of  the  Hebrew  language.     In- 
stead  of  px,   the   LXX   manifestly    read   ore,   »«•«*»,  "  the 
fast."     This  Houbigant  has  adopted.     The    Prophet  could 
not  well  have  omitted  the  fast  in  the  enumeration  of  their 
solemnities  ;  nor  the  abuse  of  it,  among  the  instances  of  their 
hypocrisy,  which  he  has  treated  at  large  with  such  force  and 
elegance  in   his  58th  chapter.     Observe  also,  that  the  pro- 
phet Joel  twice  joins  together  the  fast,  and  the  day  of  re- 
straint : 


i&np  mv  ian  p 
"  Sanctify  a  fast;  proclaim  a  day  of  restraint."    Joel  i.  14.  ii.  15. 

Which  shews  how  properly  they  are  here  joined  together. 
mxj,*,  the  restraint,  is  rendered,  both  here  and  in  other 
places  in  our  English  translation,  the  solemn  assembly.  Cer- 
tain holy  days,  ordained  by  the  law,  were  distinguished  by 
a  particular  charge,  that  "  no  servile  work  should  be  done 
therein."  Lev.  xxiii.  36.  Numb.  xxix.  35.  Deut.  xvi.  8. 
This  circumstance  clearly  explains  the  reason  of  the  name, 
the  restraint,  or  the  day  of  restraint,  given  to  those  days. 

If  I  could  approve  of  any  translation  of  these  two  words, 
which  I  have  met  with,  it  should  be  that  of  the  Spanish  ver- 
sion of  the  Old  Testament,  made  for  the  use  of  the  Spanish 
Jews  :  "  tortura  y  detenimiento,"  "  it  is  a  pain  and  a  con- 
straint unto  me."  But  I  still  think,  that  the  reading  of  the 
LXX  is  more  probably  the  truth. 

15.  When  ye  spread—-}  The  Syr.  LXX,  and  MS,  read 
,  without  the  conjunction  i. 


140  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I. 

Ibid.  For  your  hands — ]  Ai  ya.%  #^$.  LXX.  Manus 
enim  vestrte.  Vulg.  They  seem  to  have  read  DITY  'D. 

16.  Wash  ye — ]     Referring  to  the  preceding  verse,  "  your 
hands  are  full  of  blood  ;  "  and  alluding  to  the  legal  washings 
commanded  on  several  occasions.     See  Lev.  xiv.  8,  9,  47. 

17.  amend   that   which    is   corrupted]      pan  VUPX.     In 
rendering    this   obscure   phrase  I  follow   Bochart,   (Hieroz. 
Part.  I.  l|b.  ii.  cap.  7.),  though  I  am  not  perfectly  satisfied 
with  his  explication  of  it. 

.18.  Though  your  sins  were  as  scarlet — ]  ^jy,  "  scarlet, 
or  crimson,"  dibaphum}  twice  dipped, or  double-dyed;  from 
«W,  iterare,  to  double,  or  to  do  a  thing  twice.  This  deriva- 
tion seems  much  more  probable  than  that  which  Salmasius 
prefers,  from  pw,  acuere^  from  the  sharpness  and  strength 
of  the  colour ;  0£t^«w*ov.  /?n,  the  same ;  properly  the 
worm,  vermiculuS)  (from  whence  vermeil)  ;  for  this  colour 
was  produced  from  a  worm,  or  insect,  which  grew  in  a  coc- 
cus, or  excrescence,  of  a  shrub  of  the  ilex  kind,  (see  Plin. 
Nat.  Hist.  xvi.  8.) ;  like  the  cochineal  worm  in  the  opuntia 
of  America,  (see  Ulloa's  Voyage,  b.  v.  ch.  2.  note  to  p.  342.) 
There  is  a  shrub  of  this  kind,  that  grows  in  Provence  and 
Languedoc,  and  produces  the  like  insect,  called  the  kermes 
oak)  (see  Miller,  Diet.  Quercus);  from  kermez,  the  Arabic 
word  for  this  colour  ;  whence  our  word  crimson  is  derived. 

"  Neque  amissos  colores 
Lana  refert  medicata  fuco." 

says  the  poet ;  apptying  the  same  image  to  a  different  pur- 
pose. To  discharge  these  strong  colours  is  impossible  to  hu- 
man art  or  power ;  but  to  the  grace  and  power  of  God,  all 
things,  even  much  more  difficult,  are  possible  and  easy. 

19.  Ye  shall  feed  on  the  good  of  the  land}     Referring 
to  ver.  7.;  it  shall  not  be  "  devoured  by  strangers." 

20.  Ye  shall  be  food  for  the  sword]     The  LXX  and 
Vulg.  read  D^DKP,  "  the  sword  shall  devour  you;"  which 
is  of  much  more  easy  construction  than  the  present  reading 
of  the  text. 

"  The  Chaldee  seems  to  read  toxn  2'IN  mra ;  '  ye  shall  be 
consumed  by  the  sword  of  the  enemy}  Syr.  also  reads  Dins, 
and  renders  the  verb  passively.  And  the  rhythmus  seems  to 
require  this  addition."  Dr.  JUBB. 

21.  — become  a  harlot]     See  Lowth,    Comment,  on  the 
place  ;  and  De  S.  Poes.  Hebr.  PrseL  xxxi. 


CHAP.  I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  141 

22.  wine  mixed  with  water]  An  image  used  for  the 
adulteration  of  wine,  with  more  propriety  than  may  at  first 
appear,  if  what  Thevenot  says  of  the  people  of  the  Levant 
of  late  times  was  true  of  them  formerly  :  He  says.  "  they 
never  mingle  water  with  their  wine  to  drink  ;  but  drink  by 
itself  what  water  they 'think  proper  for  abating  the  strength 
of  the  wine."  "  Lorsque  les  Persans  boivent  du  vin,  ils  le 
prennent  tout  pur,  a  la  facon  des  Levantins,  qui  ne  le  me- 
lent  jamais  avec  de  1'eau  ;  mais  en  heuvant  du  vin,  de  temps 
en  temps  ils  prennent  un  pot  d'eau,  et  en  boivent  de  grand 
traits."  Voyage,  Part.  II.  liv.  ii.  chap.  10.  "  Ils  (les  Turcs) 
n'y  melent  jamais  d'eau,  et  se  moquent  des  Chrestiens,  qui 
en  mettent,  ce  qui  leur  semble  tout-a-fait  ridicule."  Ibid. 
Part.  I.  chap.  24. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  whereas  the  Greeks  and  Latins  by 
mixed  wine  always  understood  wine  diluted  and  lowered  wTith 
water,  the  Hebrews  on  the  contrary  generally  mean  by  it 
wine  made  stronger  and  more  inebriating,  by  the  addition 
of  higher  and  more  powerful  ingredients  ;  such  as  honey, 
spices,  defrutum,  (or  wine  inspissated  by  boiling  it  down  to 
two-thirds,  or  one-half,  of  the  quantity),  myrrh,  mandra- 
gora,  opiates,  and  other  strong  drugs.  Such  were  the  ex- 
hilarating, or  rather  stupifying,  ingredients,  which  Helen 
mixed  in  the  bowl  together  with  the  wine  for  her  guests  op- 
pressed with  grief,  to  raise  their  spirits ;  the  composition  of 
which  she  had  learned  in  Egypt : 

C   ccp  sis  6tvov  /3«Af  ^tf^ajtflv,  £v&v  eirivov, 

r*  et%o*ov  TS,  Kttxav  eTribnOov  otTrotvlav.       Hom.  OdjS.  IV.  220. 

"  Mean  while,  with  genial  joy  to  warm  the  soul, 
Bright  Helen  mix'd  a  mirth-inspiring  bowl ; 
Temper'd  with  drugs  of  sovereign  use,  t'  assuage 
The  boiling  bosom  of  tumultuous  rage  : 
Charm'd  with  that  virtuous  draught,  th'  exalted  mind 
All  sense  of  woe  delivers  to  the  wind."  Pope. 

Such  was  "the  spiced  wine  and  the  juice  of  pome- 
granates," mentioned  Cant.  viii.  2.  And  how  much  the  east- 
ern people  to  this  day  deal  in  artificial  liquors  of  prodigious 
strength,  the  use  of  wine  being  forbidden,  may  be  seen  in  a 
curious  chapter  of  Kempfer  upon  that  subject.  Amren.  Exot. 
Fasc.  iii.  Obs.  15. 

Thus  the  drunkard  is  properly  described,  (Prov.  xxiii. 
30.),  as  one  "that  seeketh  mixt  wine  ;  "  and  is  "  mighty  to 
mingle  strong  drink  :  "  Isaiah,  v.  22.  And  hence  the  Psal- 


142  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I. 

mist  took  that  highly  poetical  and  sublime  image  of  the 
cup  of  God's  wrath,  called  by  Isaiah,  (li.  17.)  "  the  cup  of 
trembling,"  (causing  intoxication  and  stupefaction  ;  see 
Chappelow's  note  on  Hariri,  p.  33.) ;  containing,  as  St.  John 
expresses  in  Greek  this  Hebrew  idea,  with  the  utmost  pre- 
cision, though  with  a  seeming  contradiction  in  terms,  x.iy.spac.0- 
jwov  «jc£*7»v,  menim  mixtum,  pure  wine  made  yet  stronger  by 
a  mixture  of  powerful  ingredients :  Rev.  xiv.  10.  "  In  the 
.hand  of  JEHOVAH,"  saith  the  Psalmist,  (Psal.  Ixxv.  9.),  "  there 
is  a  cup,  and  the  wine  is  turbid  :  it  is  full  of  a  mixed  liquor, 
and  he  poureth  out  of  it :  (or  rather,  "  he  poureth  it  out  of 
one  vessel  into  another,"  to  mix  it  perfectly  ;  according  to 
the  reading  expressed  by  the  ancient  versions,  m  ^s  HTD 
in):  verily  the  dregs  thereof,  (the  thickest  sediment  of  the 
strong  ingredients  mingled  with  it),  all  the  ungodly  of  the 
earth  shall  wring  them  out,  and  drink  them." 

23.  associates—]      The  LXX,   Vulg.    and   four   MSB, 
read  nan,  without  the  conjunction  i. 

24.  Aha  !  I  will  be  eased — ]     Anger,  arising  from  a  sense 
of  injury  and  affront,  especially   from  those  who,  from  every 
consideration  of  duty  and  gratitude,  ought  to  have  behaved 
far  otherwise,  is  an  uneasy  and  painful  sensation  ;  and  re- 
venge, executed  to  the  full  on  the  offenders,  removes  that 
uneasiness,   and   consequently  is  pleasing   and   quieting,  at 
least  for   the  present.      Ezekiel  introduces   God  expressing 
Inniself  in  the  same  manner  : 

"  And  mine  anger  shall  be  fully  accomplished: 
And  I  will  make  my  fury  rest  upon  them  ; 
And  I  will  give  myself  ease."  Chap.  v.   13. 

This  is  a  strong  instance  of  the  metaphor  called  Anthropo- 
pathia ;  by  which,  throughout  the  Scriptures,  as  well  the 
historical  as  the  poetical  parts,  the  sentiments,  sensations, 
and  affections,  the  bodily  faculties,  qualities,  and  members 
of  men,  and  even  of  brute  animals,  are  attributed  to  God  ; 
and  that  with  the  utmost  liberty  and  latitude  of  application. 
The  foundation  of  this  is  obvious ;  it  arises  from  necessity  : 
we  have  no  idea  of  the  natural  attributes  of  God,  of  his  pure 
essence,  of  his  manner  of  existence,  of  his  manner  of  acting  : 
when  therefore  we  would  treat  on  these  subjects,  we  find 
ourselves  forced  to  express  them  by  sensible  images.  But 
necessity  leads  to  beauty :  this  is  true  of  metaphor  in  gene- 
ral, and  in  particular  of  this  kind  of  metaphor ;  which  is 


CHAP.  1.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  143 

used  with  great  elegance  and  sublimity  in  the  sacred  poetry  : 
and  what  is  very  remarkable,  in  the  grossest  instances  of  the 
application  of  it,  it  is  generally  the  most  striking  and  the 
most  sublime*  The  reason  seems  to  be  this :  When  the 
images  are  taken  from  the  superior  faculties  of  the  human 
nature,  from  the  purer  and  more  generous  affections,  and 
applied  to  God,  we  are  apt  to  acquiesce  in  the  notion  ;  we 
overlook  the  metaphor,  and  take  it  as  a  proper  attribute: 
but  when  the  idea  is  gross  and  offensive,  as  in  this  passage 
of  Isaiah,  where  the  impatience  of  anger,  and  the  pleasure 
of  revenge,  is  attribute ,i  to  God  ;  we  are  immediately  shock- 
ed at  the  application  ;  the  impropriety  strikes  us  at  once ; 
and  the  mind,  casting  about  for  something  in  the  divine 
nature  analogous  to  the  image,  lays  hold  on  some  greatr 
obscure,  vague  idea,  which  she  endeavours  in  vain  to  com- 
prehend, and  is  lost  in  immensity  and  astonishment.  See 
De  S.  Poesi  Hebr.  Prael.  xvi.  sub  fin.  where  this  matter 
is  treated  and  illustrated  by  examples. 

25.  in  the  furnace]     The  text  has  *OD  ;  which  some  ren- 
der, "  as  with  soap  ;  "  as  if  it  were  the  same  with  mi:D  ;  so 
Kimchi :  but  soap  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  purifying 
of  metals  :  others,  "  according  to  purity,  or  purely"  as  our 
version.     Le    Clerc    conjectured,   that   the   true   reading   is 
103,  "  as  in  the  furnace  :  "  see  Ezek.  xxii.  18.  20.  Dr.  Du- 
rell  proposes  only  a  transposition  of  letters  13D ;  to  the  same 
sense  :  and  so  likewise  Archbishop  Seeker.     That  this  is  the 
true  reading  is  highly  probable. 

26.  And   after   this—}     The   LXX,   Syr.    Chald.    and 
eighteen  MSS,  add  the  conjunction  i. 

27. — in  judgment ;]  by  the  exercise  of  God's  strict  jus- 
tice in  destroying  the  obdurate,  (see  ver.  28.),  and  delivering 
the  penitent:  in  righteousness;  by  the  truth  and  faithful- 
ness of  God  in  performing  his  promises. 

29,  30.  For  ye  shall  be  ashamed  of  the  ilexes — ]  Sacred 
groves  were  a  very  ancient  and  favourite  appendage  of  idol- 
atry. They  were  furnished  with  the  temple  of  the  god  to 
whom  they  were  dedicated ;  with  altars,  images,  and  every 
thing  necessary  for  performing  the  various  rites  of  worship 
offered  there  ;  and  were  the  scenes  of  many  impure  cere- 
monies, and  of  much  abominable  superstition.  They  made 
a  principal  part  of  the  religion  of  the  old  inhabitants  of  Ca- 
naan ;  and  the  Israelites  were  commanded  to  destroy  their 
groves,  among  other  monuments  of  their  false  worship. 


144  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I. 

The  Israelites  themselves  became  afterward  very  much  ad- 
dicted to  this  species  of  idolatry. 

"  When  1  had  brought  them  into  the  land, 

Which  I  sware  that  I  would  give  unto  them  ; 

Then  they  saw  every  high  hill,  and  every  thick  tree: 

And  there  they  slew  their  victims  ; 

And  there  they  presented  the  provocation  of  their  offerings; 

And  there  they  placed  their  sweet  savour; 

And  there  they  poured  out  their  libations."  Ezek.  xx.  28. 
"  On  the  tops  of  the  mountains  they  sacrifice; 

And  on  the  hills  they  burn  incense: 

Under  the  oak,  and  the  poplar; 

And  the  ilex,  because  her  shade  is  pleasant."  Hosea,  iv.  13. 
Of  what  particular  kinds  the  trees  here  mentioned  are,  it 
cannot  be  determined  with  certainty.  In  regard  to  n1?^,  in 
this  place  of  Isaiah,  as  well  as  in  Hosea,  Celsius  (Hierobot.) 
understands  it  of  the  terebinth ;  because  the  most  ancient 
interpreters  render  it  so;  in  the  first  place  the  LXX.  He 
quotes  eight  places  ;  but  in  three  of  these  eight  places  the 
copies  vary,  some  having  3%vs  instead  of  nfj&fcfi  And  he 
should  have  told  us,  that  these  same  LXX  render  it  in  six- 
teen other  places  by  fyvs :  so  that  their  authority  is  really 
against  him  ;  and  the  LXX  st 'ant  pro  quercu,  contrary  to 
what  he  says  at  first  setting  out.  Add  to  this,  that  Sym- 
machus,  Theodotion,  and  Aquila,  generally  render  it  by 
tyvt ;  the  latter  only  once  rendering  it  by  rig*£frfr*  His 
other  arguments  seem  to  me  not  very  conclusive :  he  says, 
that  all  the  qualities  of  rrbx  agree  to  the  terebinth  ;  that  it 
grows  in  mountainous  countries  ;  that  it  is  a  strong  tree  ; 
long-lived ;  large  and  high ;  and  deciduous.  All  these 
qualities  agree  just  as  well  to  the  oak,  against  which  he 
contends ;  and  he  actually  attributes  them  to  the  oak 
in  the  very  next  section.  But,  I  think,  neither  the  oak 
nor  the  terebinth  will  do  in  this  place  of  Isaiah,  from  the 
last  circumstance  which  he  mentions,  their  being  deci- 
duous ;  where  the  Prophet's  design  seems  to  me  to  require 
an  ever-green :  otherwise  the  casting  of  its  leaves  would 
be  nothing  out  of  the  common  established  course  of  nature, 
and  no  proper  image  of  extreme  distress,  and  total  desola- 
tion ;  parallel  to  that  of  a  garden  without  water,  that  id, 
wholly  burnt  up  and  destroyed.  An  ancient,  who  was  an 
inhabitant  and  a  native  of  this  country,  uaderstaode  it,  in 
like  manner,  of  a  tree  blasted  with  uncommon  and  ion  mode- 


CHAP.   I.  NOTES    ON    ISA.IAH.  145 

rate  beat: — "  velut  arbores,  cum  frondcs  aestu  torrenle  de- 
cusserunt."  Ephraem  Syr.  in  loc.  edit.  Assemani.  Com- 
pare Psal.  i.  4.  Jer.  xvii.  8.  Upon  the  whole,  I  have  chosen 
to  make  it  the  ilex  ;  which  word  Vossius  (Etymolog.)  de- 
rives from  the  Hebrew  nb«  ;  that,  whether  the  word  itself 
be  rightly  rendered  or  not,  I  might  at  least  preserve  the  pro- 
priety of  the  poetical  image. 

29.  For  ye  shall  be  ashamed}     r^inn,  in  the  second  per- 
son, Vulg.  Chald.  two  MSS.  and  one  edition  ;  and  in  agree- 
ment with  the  rest  of  the  sentence. 

30.  — whose  leaves]     Twenty-six  MSS  and  three  editions 
read  rp^S  in  its  full  and  regular  form.     This  is  worth  re- 
marking', as  it  accounts  for  a  great  number  of  anomalies  of 
the  like  kind,  which  want  only  the  same  authority  to  rectify 
them. 

30.  — a  garden  wherein  is  no  water.]  In  the  hotter 
parts  of  the  eastern  countries,  a  constant  supply  of  water 
is  so  absolutely  necessary  for  the  cultivation,  and  even  for 
the  preservation  and  existence  of  a  garden,  that  should  it 
want  water  but  for  a  few  days,  every  thing  in  it  would  be 
burnt  up  with  the  heat,  and  totally  destroyed.  There  is 
therefore  no  garden  whatever  in  those  countries,  but  what 
lias  such  a  certain  supply  ;  either  from  some  neighbouring 
river,  or  from  a  reservoir  of  water  collected  from  springs, 
or  filled  with  rain-water  in  the  proper  season,  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  afford  ample  provision  for  the  rest  of  the  year. 

Moses,  having  described  the  habitation  of  man  newly 
created,  as  a  garden,  planted  with  every  tree  pleasant  to  the 
sight  and  good  for  food,  adds,  as  a  circumstance  necessary 
to  complete  the  idea  of  a  garden,  that  it  was  well  supplied 
with  water  :  (Gen.  ii.  10.  and  see  xiii.  10.)  "  And  a  river 
went  out  of  Eden  to  water  the  garden." 

That  the  reader  may  have  a  clear  notion  of  this  matter, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  give  some  account  of  the  management 
of  their  gardens  in  this  respect. 

"  Damascus,  (says  Maundrell,  p.  122.),  is  encompassed 
with  gardens,  extending  no  less,  according  to  common 
estimation,  than  thirty  miles  round  ;  which  makes  it  look 
like  a  city  in  a  vast  wood.  The  gardens  are  thick  set  with 
fruit-trees  of  all  kinds,  kept  fresh  and  verdant  by  the  waters 
of  Barrady,  (the  Chrysorrhoas  of  the  ancients),  which 
supply  both  the  gardens  and  city  in  great  abundance.  This 
river,  as  soon  as  it  issues  out  from  between  the  cleft  of  the 
18 


146  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I, 

mountain  before  mentioned  into  the  plain,  is  immediately 
divided  into  three  streams ;  of  which  the  middlemost  and 
biggest  runs  directly  to  Damascus,  and  is  distributed  to  all 
the  cisterns  and  fountains  of  the  city.  The  other  two 
(which  I  take  to  be  the  work  of  art)  are  drawn  round,  one 
to  the  right  hand,  and  the  other  to  the  left,  on  the  borders 
of  the  gardens,  into  which  they  are  let  as  they  pass,  by  little 
currents,  and  so  dispersed  all  over  the  vast  wood  :  inso- 
much, that  there  is  not  a  garden  but  has  a  fine  quick  stream 
running  through  it.  Barrady  is  almost  wholly  drunk  up  by 
the  city  and  gardens.  What  small  part  of  it  escapes  is 
united,  as  I  was  informed,  in  one  channel  again,  on  the 
south-east  side  of  the  city  ;  and,  after  about  three  or  four 
hours'  course,  finally  loses  itself  in  a  bog  there,  without  ever 
arriving  at  the  sea."  This  was  likewise  the  case  in  former 
times,  as  Strabo.  lib.  xvi.  Pliny,  v.  13.  testify;  who  say, 
"  that  this  river  was  expended  in  canals,  and  drunk  up  by 
watering  the  place." 

"  The  best  sight  (says  the  same  Maundrell,  p.  39.)  that 
the  palace  [of  the  Emir  of  Beroot,  anciently  Berytus] 
affords,  and  the  Worthiest  to  be  remembered,  is  the  orange 
garden.  It  contains  a  large  quadrangular  plat  of  ground, 
divided  into  sixteen  lesser  squares,  four  in  a  row,  with  walks 
between  them.  The  walks  are  shaded  with  orange-trees,  of 
a  large  spreading  size.  Every  one  of  these  sixteen  lesser 
squares  in  the  garden  was  bordered  with  stone  ;  and  in  the 
stone-work  were  troughs,  very  artificially  contrived,  for  con- 
veying the  water  all  over  the  garden :  there  being  little 
outlets  cut  at  every  tree,  for  the  stream,  as  it  passed  by,  to 
flow  out,  and  water  it."  The  royal  gardens  at  Ispahan  are 
watered  just  in  the  same  manner,  according  to  Kempfer's  de- 
scription, Amoen.  Exot.  p.  193. 

This  gives  us  a  clear  idea  of  the  D*2  ^hs,  mentioned  in 
the  first  Psalm,  and  other  places  of  Scripture.  "  the  divisions 
of  waters,"  the  waters  distributed  in  artificial  canals;  for  so 
the  phrase  properly  signifies.  The  prophet  Jeremiah  has  im- 
itated, and  elegantly  amplified,  the  passage  of  the  Psalmist 
above  referred  to  : — 

"  He  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  water- side, 
And  which  sendeth  forth  her  roots  to  the  aqueduct: 
She  shall  not  fear,  when  the  heat  cometh; 
But  her  leaf  shall  be  green; 

And  in  the  year  of  drought  she  shall  not  be  anxious, 
Neither  shall  she  cease  from  bearing  fruit."        Jer.  xvii.  8. 


CHAP.  I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 


147 


From  this  image  the  son  of  Sirach  has  most  beautifully 
illustrated  the  influence  and  the  increase  of  religious  wisdom 
in  a  well-prepared  heart : — 

"  I  also  come  forth  as  a  canal  from  a  river, 
And  as  a  conduit  flowing  into  a  paradise. 
I  said:  I  will  water  my  garden, 
And  I  will  abundantly  moisten  my  border: 
And  lo  !  my  canal  became  a  river, 
And  my  river  became  a  sea."  Eccl'us,  xxiv.  30,  31. 

This  gives  us  the  true  meaning  of  the  following  elegant 
proverb : — 

"  The  heart  of  the  king  is  like  the  canals  of  waters  in  the  hand 
of JEHOVAH  ; 

Whithersoever  it  pleaseth  him,  he  inclineth  it."  Prov.  xxi.  1 . 

The  direction  of  it  is  ih  the  hand  of  JEHOVAH,  as  the  distri- 
bution of  the  water  of  the  reservoir,  through  the  garden,  by 
different  canals,  is  at  the  will  of  the  gardener  : — 
"  Et,  quum  exustus  ager  morientibus  aBstuat  herbis, 
Ecce  supercilio  clivosi  tramitis  undam 
Elicit:  ilia  cadens  raucum  per  levia  murmur 
Saxa  ciet,  scatebrisque  arentia  temperat  arva." 

Virg.  Georg.  i.  107. 
Solomon  mentions  his  own  works  of  this  kind : 

"  I  made  me  gardens,  and  paradises; 

And  I  planted  in  them  all  kinds  of  fruit-trees. 

1  made  me  pools  of  water, 

To  water  with  them  the  grove  flourishing  with  trees." 

Eccles.  ii.  5.  6. 

Maundrell  (p.  88.)  has  given  a  description  of  the  remains,  as 
they  are  said  to  be,  of  these  very  pools  made  by  Solomon, 
for  the  reception  and  preservation  of  the  waters  of  a  spring, 
rising  at  a  little  distance  from  them  ;  which  will  give  us  a 
perfect  notion  of  the  contrivance  and  design  of  such  reser- 
voirs. "  As  for  the  pools,  they  are  three  in  number,  lying 
in  a  row  above  each  other ;  being  so  disposed,  that  the  waters 
of  the  uppermost  may  descend  into  the  second,  and  those  of 
the  second  into  the  third.  Their  figure  is  quadrangular  ; 
the  breadth  is  the  same  in  all,  amounting  to  about  ninety 
paces  :  in  their  length  there  is  some  difference  between  them  ; 
the  first  being  one  hundred  and  sixty  paces  long ;  the  se- 
cond two  hundred;  the  third  two  hundred  and  twenty. 
They  are  all  lined  with  wall,  and  plastered  :  and  contain  a 
great  depth  of  water." 


148 


NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  I. 


The  immense  works  which  were  made  by  the  ancient 
kings  of  Egypt,  for  receiving  the  waters  of  the  Nile  when 
it  overflowed,  for  such  uses,  are  well  known.  But  there 
never  was  a  more  stupendous  work  of  this  kind,  than  the 
reservoir  of  Saba,  or  Merab,  in  Arabia  Felix.  According 
to  the  tradition  of  the  country,  it  was  the  work  of  Baikis, 
that  queen  of  Sheba  who  visited  Solomon.  It  was  a  vast 
lake  formed  by  the  collection  of  the  waters  of  a  torrent  in 
a  valley,  where,  at  a  narrow  pass  between  two  mountains,  a 
very 'high  mole,  or  dam,  was  built.  The  water  of  the  lake 
so  formed  had  near  twenty  fathom  depth ;  and  there  were 
three  sluices  at  different  heights,  by  which,  at  whatever 
height  the  lake  stood,  the  plain  below  might  be  watered. 
By  conduits  and  canals  from  these  sluices  the  water  was 
constantly  distributed  in  due  proportion  to  the  several  lands; 
so  that  the  whole  country  for  many  miles  became  a  perfect 
paradise.  The  city  of  Saba,  or  Merab,  was  situated  imme- 
diately below  the  great  dam  :  a  great  flood  came,  and  raised 
the  lake  above  its  usual  height:  the  dam  gave  way  in  the 
middle  of  the  night ;  the  waters  burst  forth  at  once,  and 
overwhelmed  the  whole  city,  with  the  neighbouring  towns, 
and  people.  The  remains  of  eight  tribes  were  forced  to 
abandon  their  dwelling,  and  the  beautiful  valley  became  a 
morass  and  a  desert.  This  fatal  catastrophe  happened  long 
before  the  time  of  Mohammed,  who  mentions  it  in  the 
Koran,  chap,  xxxiv.  See  also  Sale,  Prelim,  sect.  i.  ;  and 
Michaelis,  Questions  aux  Voyageurs  Danois,  No.  94.  ;  Nie- 
buhr,  Descrip.  de  1' Arabic,  p.  240. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  prophecy  contained  in  the  second,  third,  and  fourth 
chapters,  makes  one  continued  discourse.  The  first  five 
verses  of  chapter  second  foretell  the  kingdom  of  Medial), 
the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles,  and  their  admission  into  it. 
From  the  sixth  verse  to  the  end  of  the  second  chapter  is  fore- 
told the  punishment  of  the  unbelieving  Jews,  for  their  idola- 
trous practices,  their  confidence  in  their  own  strength,  and 
dUnirit  of  God's  protection  ;  and  moreover  the  destruction 
of  idolatry,  in  consequence  of  the  establishment  of  Messiah's 
kingdom.  The  whole  third  chapter,  with  the  first  verse  of 
the  fourth,  is  a  prophecy  of  the  calamities  of  the  Babylonian 


CHAP.  II.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  149 

invasion  and  captivity ;  with  a  particular  amplification  of 
the  distress  of  the  proud  and  luxurious  daughters  of  Sion. 
Chap.  iv.  2 — 6.  promises  to  the  remnant,  which  shall  have 
escaped  this  severe  purgation,  a  future  restoration  to  the  favour 
and  protection  of  God. 

This  prophecy  was  probably  delivered  in  the  time  of 
Jotham,  or  perhaps  in  that  of  Uzziah  ;  as  Isaiah  is  said  to 
have  prophesied  in  his  reign  ;  to  which  time  not  any  of  his 
prophecies  is  so  applicable  as  that  of  these  chapters.  The 
seventh  verse  of  the  second,  and  the  latter  part  of  the  third 
chapter,  plainly  point  out  times  in  which  riches  abounded, 
and  luxury  and  delicacy  prevailed.  Plenty  of  silver  and 
gold  could  only  arise  from  their  commerce ;  particularly 
from  that  part  of  it  which  was  carried  on  by  the  Red  Sea. 
This  circumstance  seems  to  confine  the  prophecy  within  the 
limits  above  mentioned,  while  the  port  of  Elath  was  in  their 
hands  :  it  was  lost  under  Ahaz,  and  never  recovered. 

2.  — iu  the  latter  days — ]  "  Wherever  the  latter  times 
are  mentioned  in  Scripture,  the  days  of  the  Messiah  are 
always  meant;"  sajs  Kimchi  on  this  place:  and,  in  regard 
to  this  place,  nothing  can  be  more  clear  and  certain.  The 
Prophet  Micah  (chap.  iv.  1—4.)  has  repeated  this  proplfecy 
of  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  of  its 
progress  to  universality  and  perfection,  in  the  same  words, 
with  little  and  hardly  any  material  variation  :  for  as  he  did 
not  begin  to  prophesy  till  Jotham's  time,  and  this  seems  to 
be  one  of  the  first  of  Isaiah's  prophecies,  I  suppose  Micah  to 
have  taken  it  from  hence.  The  variations,  as  I  said,  are  of 
no  great  importance.  Verse  2.  Kin  after  wyr,  a  word  of  some 
emphasis,  may  be  supplied  from  Micah,  if  clropt  in  Isaiah  : 
an  ancient  MS  has  it  here  in  the  margin  :  It  has  in  like 
manner  been  lost  in  chap.  liii.  4.  (see  note  on  the  place)  ;  and 
in  Psal.  xxii.  29.  where  it  is  supplied  by  Syr.  and  LXX.  In- 
stead of  D'un  ^D,  all  the  nations,  Micah  has  only  D's;v  peo- 
ples; where  Syr.  has  D'DJ7  ^D,  all  peoples,  as  probably  it 
ought  to  be.  Verse  3.  for  the  2d  bx  read  'TNI,  seventeen  MSS, 
two  editions,  LXX,  Vulg.  Syr.  Chald.  and  so  Micah  iv.  2. 
Verse  4.  Micah  adds,  pm  TJ%  afar  off]  which  the  Syriac  also 
reads  in  ibis  parallel  place  of  Isaiah.  It  is  also  to  be  ob- 
served, that  Micah  has  .improved  the  passage  by  adding  a 
verse,  or  sentence,  for  imagery  and  expression  worthy  even  of 
the  elegance  of  Isaiah  : — 
18* 


150  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  II. 

"  And  they  shall  sit,  every  man  under  his  vine, 
And  under  his  fig-tree,  and  none  shall  affright  them: 
For  the  mouth  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  hath  spoken  it." 

The  description  of  well-established  peace,  by  the  image  of 
"  beating  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  their  spears  into 
pruning-hooks,"  is  very  poetical.  The  Roman  poets  have 
employed  the  same  image  :  Martial,  xiv.  34.  "  Falx  ex  ense." 

"  Pax  me  certa  ducis  placidos  curvavit  in  usus: 
Agricoloe  nunc  sum;  militis  ante  fui." 

The  Prophet 'Joel  hath  reversed  it,  and  applied  it  to  war  pre- 
vailing over  peace  : — 

a  Beat  your  ploughshares  into  swords; 

And  your  pruning-hooks  into  spears."  Joel,  iii.  10. 

And  so  likewise  the  Roman  poet : — 

u  Non  ullus  aratro 

Dignus  honos:  squalent  abductis  arva  colonis, 
Et  curvae  rigidum  falces  conflantur  in  ensem.*' 

Virg.  Georg.  i.  506. 
"  Bella  diu  tenuere  viros:  erat  aptior  ensis 

Vomere:  cedebat  taurus  arator  equo. 
'Sarcula  cessabant;  versique  in  pila  ligones; 

Factaque  de  rastri  pondere  cassis  erat."  Ovid.  Fast.  i.  C97. 

The  Prophet  Ezekiel  has  presignified  the  same  great  event 
wilh  equal  clearness,  though  in  a  more  abstruse  form,  in  an 
allegory ;  from  an  image,  suggested  by  the  former  part  of  the 
prophecy,  happily  introduced,  and  well  pursued  : — 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH: 
I  myself  will  take  from  the  shoot  of  the  lofty  cedar; 
Even  a  tender  cion  from  the  top  of  his  cions  will  I  pluck  off: 
And  I  myself  will  plant  it  on  a  mountain  high  and  eminent. 
On  the  lofty  mountain  of  Israel  will  I  plant  it; 
And  it  shall  exalt  its  branch  and  bring  forth  fruit; 
And  it  shall  become  a  majestic  cedar: 
And  under  it  shall  dwell  all  fowl  of  every  wing; 
In  the  shadow  of  its  branches  shall  they  dwell: 
And  all  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  know, 
That  I  JEHOVAH  have  brought  low  the  high  tree; 
Have  exalted  the  low  tree; 
Have  dried  up  the  green  tree; 
And  have  made  the  dry  tree  to  nourish: 
I  JEHOVAH  have  spoken  it,  and  will  do  it."  Ezek.  xvii.  22-24. 

The  word  wui  in  this  passage,  verse  22.  as  the  sentence 
now  stands,  seems  incapable  of  being  reduced  to  any  proper 


CHAP,  II.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  151 

construction  or  sense  ;  none  of  the  ancient  versions  acknow- 
ledge it,  except  Theodotion  and  Vulg. ;  and  all  but  the  latter 
vary  very  much  from  the  present  reading  of  this  clause, 
Houbigant's  correction  of  the  passage,  by  reading,  instead  of 
Tirol,  npJn,  (and  a  tender  cion),  which  is  not  very  unlike  it, 
(perhaps  better  pjn,  with  which  the  adjective  -p  will  agree 
without  alteration),  is  ingenious  and  probable ;  and  I  have 
adopted  it  in  the  above  translation. 

6.  they  are  filled  with  diviners — ]     Heb.  They  are  filled 
from  the  east ;  or,  more  than  the  east.     The  sentence  is  ma- 
nifestly imperfect.     The   LXX,  Vulg.  and  Chaldee,   seem 
to  have  read  Dip33 ;  and  the  latter,  with  another  word  be- 
fore it  signifying  idols  :   They  are  filled  with  idols  as  from 
of  old.     Houbigant   for  DnprD,  reads  DDpo,  as   Brentius  had 
proposed  long  ago.     I  rather  think,  that  both  words  together 
give  us  the  true  reading  :  DipD,  DDpc7  with  divination  from 
the  east ;  and   that  the  first  word  has  been  by  mistake  omit- 
ted, from  its  similitude  to  the  second. 

Ibid.  And  they  multiply — ]  Seven  MSS  and  one  edition 
read  ip'DD\  "  Read  vrrazr ;  and  have  joined  themselves  to 
the  children  of  strangers  ;  that  is,  in  marriage,  or  worship." 
Dr.  JUBR.  So  Vulg.  adhceserunt.  Compare  chap.  xiv.  1. 
But  the  very  learned  professor  Chevalier  Michaelis  has 
explained  the  word  in£JD',  Job,  xxx.  7.  (German  transla- 
tion, note  on  the  place)  in  another  manner ;  which  perfectly 
well  agrees  with  that  place,  and  perhaps  will  be  found  to 
give  as  good  a  sense  here,  rrao,  the  noun,  means  corn 
springing  up,  not  from  the  seed  regularly  sown  on  cultivated 
land,  but  in  the  untilled  field,  from  the  scattered  grains  of 
the  former  harvest.  This,  by  an  easy  metaphor,  is  applied 
to  a  spurious  brood  of  children  irregularly  and  casually  begot- 
ten. The  LXX  seem  to  have  understood  the  verb  here 
in  this  sense,  reading  it  as  Vulg.  seems  to  have  done :  this 
justifies  their  version,  which  it  is  hard  to  account  for  in  any 
other  manner :  *x.t  TSKVU  VTOM&  oAXopt/A*  sywfa  xvro^.  Compare 
Hos.  v.  7.  and  LXX  there. 

7.  And  Ids  land  is  filled  with  horses]     This  was  in  direct 
contradiction  to  God's  command  in  the  law:  "But  he  [the 
king]  shall  not  multiply  horses   to  himself;  nor  cause  the 
people  to  return  to  Egypt,  to  the  end  that  he  should   mul- 
tiply horses  : — neither  shall  he  greatly  multiply  to  himself 
silver   and    gold  : "     Deut.   xvii.  16,  17.     Uzziah  seems  to 
have  followed   the  example  of  Solomon,  (see  1  Kings  x.  26, 


152  KOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  II. 

— 29.),  who  first  transgressed  in  these  particulars :  he  re- 
covered the  port  of  Elath  on  the  Red  Sea,  and  with  it  that 
commerce,  which,  in  Solomon's  days,  had  "  made  silver  and 
gold  as  plenteous  at  Jerusalem  as  stones :  "  2  Chron.  i.  15. 
He  had  an  army  of  307,500  men ;  in  which,  as  we  may 
infer  from  this  testimony  of  Isaiah,  the  chariots  and  horse 
made  a  considerable  part.  "  The  law  above-mentioned 
was  to  be  a  standing  trial  of  prince  and  people,  whether  they 
had  trust  and  confidence  in  God  their  deliverer."  See  Bp. 
Sherlock's  Discourses  on  Prophecy,  Dissert,  iv.  where  he  has 
excellently  explained  the  reason  and  effect  of  the  law  and  the 
influence  which  the  observance  or  neglect  of  it  had  on 
the  affairs  of  the  Israelites. 

8.  And  his  land  is  filled  with  idols]  Uzziah  and  Jotham 
are  both  said  (2  Kings  xv.  3,  4.  and  34,  35.)  "  to  have 
done  that  which  was  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  ;  "  (that 
is,  to  have  adhered  to,  and  maintained  the  legal  worship  of 
God,  in  opposition  to  idolatry,  and  all  irregular  worship ; 
for  to  this  sense  the  meaning  of  that,  phrase  is  commonly  to 
be  restrained)  ;  c:  save  that  the  high  places  were  not  removed, 
where  the  people  still  sacrificed  and  burned  incense."  There 
was  hardly  any  time  when  they  were  quite  free  from  this 
irregular  and  unlawful  practice ;  which  they  seem  to  have 
looked  upon  as  very  consistent  with  the  true  worship  of 
God  ;  and  which  seems  in  some  measure  to  have  been  tole- 
rated, while  the  tabernacle  was  removed  from  place  to  place, 
and  before  the  temple  was  built.  Even  after  the  conversion 
of  Manasseh,  when  he  had  removed  the  strange  gods,  and 
commanded  Judah  to  serve  JEHOVAH  the  God  of  Israel  ; 
it  is  added,  "Nevertheless  the  people  did  sacrifice  still  on 
the  high  places,  yet  unto  JEHOVAH  their  God  only  : "  2 
Chron.  xxxiii.  17.  The  worshipping  on  the  high  places 
therefore  does  not  necessarily  imply  idolatry :  and  from 
what  is  said  of  these  two  kings,  Uzziah  and  Jotham,  we  may 
presume,  that  the  public  exercise  of  idolatrous  worship  was 
not  permitted  in  their  time.  The  idols  therefore  here  spoken 
of,  must  have  been  such  as  were  designed  for  a  private  and 
secret  use.  Such  probably  were  the  Teraphim  so  often 
mentioned  in  Scripture  ;  a  kind  of  household  gods,  of  human 
form,  as  it  should  seem,  (see  1  Sam.  xix.  13.  and  compare 
Gen.  xxxi.  34.),  of  different  magnitude,  used  for  idolatrous 
and  superstitious  purposes ;  particularly  for  divination,  and 
as  oracles,  which  they  consulted  for  direction  in  their  affairs. 


CHAP.  II.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  153 

9.  —  shall  be    bowed  down]     This  has  reference  to  the 
preceding  verse  :  they  bowed  themselves  down  to  their  idols  ; 
therefore  shall  they   be  bowed  down  and  brought  low  under 
the  avenging  hand  of  God. 

10.  When  he  ariseth  to  strike  the  earth  with  terror.]     On 
the  authority  of  LXX,  confirmed  by  the  Arabic  and  an  an- 
cient MS,  I  have  here  added  to  the  text  a  line,  which  in  the 
19th  and  21st  verses  is  repeated   together  with  the  preceding 
line,  and  has,   I  think,   evidently  been  omitted  by  mistake 
in  this  place.     The  MS  here  varies  only  in   one  letter  from 
the  reading  of  the   other  two  verses  :  it  has  pjo  instead  of 


11.  —  be  humbled}  "  For  rim  ^isv,  read  nt?  ^3ty."  Dr. 
DURELL.  Which  rectifies  the  grammatical  construction. 

13  —  16.  Even  against  all  the  cedars  —  ]  These  verses 
afford  us  a  striking  example  of  that  peculiar  way  of  writing, 
which  makes  a  principal  characteristic  of  the  parabolical  or 
poetical  style  of  the  Hebrews,  and  in  which  their  prophets 
deal  so  largely  ;  namely,  their  manner  of  exhibiting  things 
divine,  spiritual,  moral,  and  political,  by  a  set  of  images  taken 
from  things  natural,  artificial,  religious,  historical  ;  in  the  way 
of  metaphor  or  allegory.  Of  these,  nature  furnishes  much 
the  largest  and  the  most  pleasing  share  ;  and  all  poetry  has 
chiefly  recourse  to  natural  images,  as  the  richest  and  most 
powerful  source  of  illustration.  But  it  may  be  observed  of  the 
Hebrew  poetry  in  particular,  than  in  the  use  of  such  images, 
and  in  the  application  of  them  in  the  way  of  illustration  and 
ornament,  it  is  more  regular  and  constant  than  any  other  poe- 
try whatever  ;  that  it  has,  for  the  most  part,  a  set  of  images 
appropriated  in  a  manner  to  the  explication  of  certain  sub- 
jects. Thus  you  will  find,  in  many  other  places  beside  this 
before  us,  that  cedars  of  Libanusand  oaks  of  Basan  are  used, 
in  the  way  of  metaphor  and  allegory,  for  kings,  princes,  po- 
tentates, of  the  highest  rank  ;  high  mountains  and  lofty  hills, 
for  kingdoms,  republics,  states,  cities  ;  towers  and  fortresses, 
for  defenders  and  protectors,  whether  by  counsel  or  strength, 
in  peace  or  war  ;  ships  of  Tai  shish,  and  works  of  art  and  in- 
vention employed  in  adorning  them,  for  merchants,  men  en- 
riched by  commerce,  and  abounding  in  all  the  luxuries  and 
elegancies  of  life  ;  such  as  those  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  :  for  it 
appears  from  the  course  of  the  whole  passage,  and  from  the 
train  of  ideas,  that  the  fortresses  and  the  ships  are  to  be  taken 
metaphorically,  as  well  as  the  high  trees  arid  the  lofty  moun- 
tains. 


154  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  II. 

Ships  of  Tarshish  are  in  Scripture  frequently  used  by  a 
metonymy  for  ships  in  general,  especially  such  as  are  em- 
ployed in  carrying  on  traffic  between  distant  countries  ;  as 
Tarshish  was  the  most  celebrated  mart  of  those  times,  fre- 
quented of  old  by  the  Phenicians,  and  the  principal  source  of 
wealth  to  Judea  and  the  neighbouring  countries.  The 
learned  seem  now  to  be  perfectly  well  agreed,  that  Tarshish 
is  Tartessus,  a  city  of  Spain,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Baetis  ; 
whence  the  Phenicians,  who  first  opened  this  trade,  brought 
silver  and  gold,  (Jer.  x.  9.  Ezek.  xxvii.  12.),  in  which  that 
country  then  abounded  ;  and  pursuing  their  voyage  still  fur- 
ther to  the  Cassiterides,  [Bochart.  Canaan,  I.  cap.  39.  Huet, 
Hist,  de  Commerce,  p.  194.),  the  islands  of  Scilly  and  Corn- 
wall, they  brought  from  thence  lead  and  tin. 

Tarshish  is  celebrated  in  Scripture  (2  Chron.  viii.  17, 
18.  ix.  21.)  for  the  trade  which  Solomon  carried  on  thither, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Tyrians.  Jehosaphat  (1  Kings 
xxii.  48.  2  Chron.  xx.  36.)  attempted  afterward  to  renew 
that  trade;  and  from  the  account  given  of  his  attempt  it 
appears,  that  his  fleet  was  to  sail  from  Eziongeber  on  the 
Red  Sea :  they  must  therefore  have  designed  to  sail  round 
Africa,  as  Solomon's  fleet  probably  had  done  before,  (see 
Huet,  Histoire  de  Commerce,  p.  32.)  ;  for  it  was  a  three 
years'  voyage,  (2  Chron.  ix.  21.)  ;  and  they  brought  gold 
from  Ophir,  probably  on  the  coast  of  Arabia,  silver  from 
Tartessus,  and  ivory,  apes,  and  peacocks  from  Africa. 
"  T3ix,  Afri,  Africa,  the  Roman  termination,  Africa  terra. 
tsrenn,  some  city,  or  country,  in  Africa.  So  Chald.  on  1 
Kings  xxii.  49.  where  he  renders  win,  by  np-\3N%;  and 
compare  2  Chron.  xx.  36.  from  whence  it  appears,  that  to 
go  to  Ophir  and  to  Tarshish  is  one  and  the  same  thing." 
Dr.  JUBB.  It  is  certain,  that  under  Pharaoh  Necho,  about 
two  hundred  years  afterward,  this  voyage  was  made  by  the 
Egyptians.  (Herodot.  iv.  42.)  They  sailed  from  the  Red 
Sea,  and  returned  by  the  Mediterranean,  and  they  perform- 
ed it  in  three  years  ;  just  the  same  time  that  the  voyage 
under  Solomon  had  taken  up.  It  appears  likewise  from 
'Pliny,  (Nat.  Hist.  ii.  67.),  that  the  passage  round  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  was  known  and  frequently  practised  before 
his  time;  by  Hanno  the  Carthaginian,  when  Carthage  was 
in  its  glory;  by  one  Eudoxus,  in  the  time  of  Ptolemy  La- 
thyrus  king  of  Egypt;  and  Caelius  Antipater,  an  historian 
of  good  credit,  somewhat  earlier  than  Pliny,  testifies 


CHAP.  II.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  155 

he  had  seen  a  merchant,  who  had  made  the  voyage  from 
Gades  to  ^Ethiopia.  The  Portuguese  under  Vasco  de 
Gama,  near  three  hundred  years  ago,  recovered  this  navi- 
gation, after  it  had  been  intermitted  and  lost  for  many 
centuries. 

18.  — shall  disappear]  The  ancient  versions,  and  an  an- 
cient MS.  read  "abrr,  plural. 

19—21.  into  caverns  of  rocks — ]  The  country  of  Judea, 
being  mountainous  and  rocky,  is  full  of  caverns  ;  as  it  ap- 
pears from  the  history  of  David's  persecution  under  Saul. 
At  Engedi,  in  particular,  there  was  a  cave  so  large,  that 
David  with  six  iiundred  men  hid  themselves  in  the  sides  of 
it;  and  Saul  entered  the  mouth  of  the  cave  without  per- 
ceiving that  any  one  was  there  :  1  Sam.  xxiv.  Josephus 
(Antiq.  lib.  xiv.  cap.  15.  ;  and  Bell.  Jud.  lib.  i.  cap.  16.) 
tells  us  of  a  numerous  gang  cf  banditti,  who,  having  in- 
fested the  country,  and  being  pursued  by  Herod  with  his 
army,  retired  into  certain  caverns,  almost  inaccessible,  near 
Arbela  in  Galilee,  where  they  were  with  great  difficulty  sub- 
dued. Some  of  these  were  natural,  others  artificial.  '"Be- 
yond Damascus,"  says  Strabo,  lib.  xvi.  u  are  two  mountains 
called  Trachones;  [from  which  the  country  has  the  name 
of  Trachonitis]  :  and  from  hence,  towards  Arabia  and  Itu- 
rea,  are  certain  rugged  mountains,  in  which  there  are  deep 
caverns  ;  one  of  which  will  hold  four  thousand  men."  Taver- 
nier  (Voyage  de  Perse,  Part  II.  chap.  4.)  speaks  of  a  grot, 
between  Aleppo  and  Bir,  that  would  hold  near  three  thou- 
sand horse.  Three  hours  distant  from  Sidon,  about  a 
mile  from  the  sea,  there  runs  along  a  high  rocky  mountain  ; 
in  the  sides  of  which  are  hewn  a  multitude  of  grots,  all  very 
little  differing  from  each  other.  They  have  entrances  about 
two  feet  square  :  on  the  inside,  you  find  in  most  or  all  of 
them  a  room  of  about  four  yards  square.  There  are  of 
these  subterraneous  caverns  two  hundred  in  number.  It 
may,  with  probability  at  least,  be  concluded  that  these  places 
were  contrived  for  the  use  of  the  living,  and  not  of  the  dead. 
Strabo  describes  the  habitations  of  the  Troglodyt.se  to  have 
been  somewhat  of  this  kind  :"  Maundrell,  p.  118.  The 
Horites,  who  dwelt  in  Mount  Seir,  were  Troglodytes,  as 
their  name  cnn  imports.  But  those  mentioned  by  Strabo 
were  on  each  side  of  the  Arabian  Gulf.  Mohammed  (Ko- 
ran, chap.  xv.  and  xxvi.)  speaks  of  a  tribe  of  Arabians,  the 
tribe  of  Thamud,  "  who  hewed  houses  out  of  the  mountains, 


156  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH,  CHAP.  II. 

to  secure  themselves."  Thus,  "  because  of  the  Midianites, 
the  children  of  Israel  made  them  the  dens  which  are  in  the 
mountains,  and  caves,  and  strongholds."  Judges,  vi.  2.  To 
these  they  betook  themselves  for  refuge  in  times  of  distress 
and  hostile  invasion :  "  When  the  men  of  Israel  saw  that 
they  were  in  a  strait,  (for  the  people  were  distressed),  then 
the  people  did  hide  themselves  in  caves,  and  in  thickets, 
and  in  rocks,  and  in  high  places,  and  in  pits;"  1  Sam, 
xiii.  6.  and  see  Jer.  xii.  9.  Therefore,  "  to  enter  into  the 
rock  ;  to  go  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  into  the  caves  of 
the  earth,"  was  to  them  a  very  proper  and  familiar  image  to 
express  terror  and  consternation.  The  Prophet  Hosea  hath 
carried  the  same  image  further,  and  added  great  strength  and 
spirit  to  it :  Chap.  x.  8. 

"  They  shall  say  to  the  mountains,  Cover  us; 
And  to  the  hills,  Fall  on  us." 

Which  image,  together  with  these  of  Isaiah,  is  adopted  by 
the  sublime  author  of  the  Revelation,  (chap.  vi.  15,  16.),  who 
frequently  borrows  his  imagery  from  our  Prophet. 

20.  — which  they  have  made  to  worship — ]  The  word 
lb,  for  himself,  is  omitted  by  an  ancient  MS,  and  is  un- 
necessary. It  does  not  appear  that  any  copy  of  LXX  has  it, 
except  MS  Pachom.  and  MS  i.  D.  u.  arid  they  have  eavrots, 
on1?,  plural. 

Ibid.  — to  the  moles — ]  They  shall  carry  their  idols  with 
them  into  the  dark  caverns,  old  ruins,  or  desolate  places,  to 
which  they  shall  flee  for  refuge  ;  and  so  shall  give  them  up, 
and  relinquish  them  to  the  filthy  animals  that  frequent  such 
places,  and  have  taken  possession  of  them  as  their  proper 
habitation.  Bellonius,  Greaves,  P.  Lucas,  and  many  other 
travellers,  speak  of  bats  of  an  enormous  size  as  inhabiting  the 
great  Pyramid.  See  Harmer,  Obser.  vol.  ii.  455.  Three 
MSS  express  nn-n-jn,  the  moles,  as  one  word. 


CHAPTER  III. 

1.  Every  stay  and  support — ]  Heb.  "  the  support  mas- 
culine, and  the  support  feminine  ; "  that  is,  every  kind  of 
support,  whether  great  or  small,  strong  or  weak :  "  Al 
kanitz,  wal-kani tzah ;  the  wild  beast,  male  and  female:  Pro- 
verbially applied  both  to  fishing  and  hunting ;  i.  e.  I  seized 
the  prey,  great  or  little,  good  or  bad.  From  hence,  as 


CHAP.  III.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  157 

Schultens  observes,  is  explained  Isa.  iii.  1.  literally  the  male 
and  female  stay:  i.  e.  the  strong  and  weak,  the  great  and 
small."  Chappelow,  note  on  Hariri,  Assembly  1.  Compare 
Eccles.  ii.  8. 

The  two  following  verses,  2,  3.  are  very  clearly  explained 
by  the  sacred  historian's  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  valour,  even  ten  thousand  captives,  and  all  the 
craftsmen  and  smiths:  none  remained,  save  the  poorest  sort  of 
the  people  of  the  land  :  "  2  Kings  xxiv.  14. 

4.  /  uill  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. 

6.  — of  his  father's  house.]  For  ri*3,  the  ancient  inter- 
preters seem  to  have  read  JVUD :  r&  oiium  r&  va,r^  avrx  -3 
LXX  :  domesticum  patris  sui ;  Vulg.  which  gives  no  good 
sense.  (But  LXX,  MS  i.  D.  n.  for  «««*,  has  ««*.)  And, 
his  brother,  of  his  fathers  house,  is  little  better  than  a  tau- 
tology. The  case  seems  to  require,  that  the  man  should  ap- 
ply to  a  person  of  some  sort  of  rank  and  eminence ;  one  that 
was  the  head  of  his  father's  house,  (see  Josh.  xxii.  14.)  ; 
whether  of  the  house  of  him  who  applies  to  him,  or  of  any 
other  ;  rax  r.»3  tf*n.  I  cannot  help  suspecting,  therefore,  that 
the  word  pan  has  been  lost  out  of  the  text. 

Ibid.  — saying — ]  Before  nSstf,  garment,  two  MSS  (one 
ancient),  and  the  Babylonish  Talmud,  have  the  word  "rax1?: 
and  so  LXX,  Yulg.  Syr.  Chald.  I  place  it  with  Houbigant, 
after  n^DB*. 

Ibid.  — 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  : " 
Zech.  viii.  23.  And  so  in  Isaiah,  chap.  iv.  1.  the  same 
gesture  is  used  to  express  earnest  and  humble  entreaty. 
The  behaviour  of  Saul  towards  Samuel  was  of  the  same 
kind,  when  he  laid  hold  on  the  skirt  of  his  raiment:  1  Sam. 
xv.  27.  The  preceding  and  following  verses  shew,  that  his 
whole  deportment,  in  regard  to  the  prophet,  was  full  of  sub- 
mission and  humility. 

Ibid.  And  let  thy  hand  support — ]  Before  "p*  nnn  a 
19 


158  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  III. 


MS  adds  rrnn  ;  another  MS  adds  in  the  same  place  npn 
which  latter  seems  to  be  a  various  reading  of  the  two  preced- 
ing words,  making  a  very  good  sense  ;  "  take  into  thy  hand 
our  ruinous  state."  Twenty-one  MSS,  and  three  editions, 
and  the  Babylonish  Talmud,  have  TT,  plural. 

7.  Then  shall  he  openly  declare  —  ]  The  LXX,  Syr.  and 
Jerom.  read  KS?M,  adding  the  conjunction  ;  which  seems 
necessary  in  this  place. 

Ibid.  For  in  my  house  is  neither  bread  nor  raiment.] 
"  It  is  customary  through  all  the  East,"  says  Sir  J.  Chardin, 
"  to  gather  together  an  immense  quantity  of  furniture  and 
clothes  ;  for  their  fashions  never  alter."  Princes  and  great 
men  are  obliged  to  have  a  great  stock  of  such  things  in 
readiness  for  presents  upon  all  occasions.  "  The  kings  of 
Persia,"  says  the  same  author,  "  have  great  wardrobes,  where 
there  are  always  many  hundreds  of  habits  ready,  designed  for 
presents,  and  sorted."  Harmer,  Observ.  ii.  11.  and  88.  A 
great  quantity  of  provision  for  the  table  was  equally  neces- 
sary. The  daily  provision  for  Solomon's  household,  whose 
attendants  were  exceedingly  numerous,  was  proportionably 
great:  1  Kings,  iv.  22,23.  Even  Nehemiah,  in  his  strait 
circumstances,  had  a  large  supply  daily  for  his  table;  at 
which  were  received  an  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Jews  and 
rulers,  beside  those  that  came  from  among  the  neighbouring 
heathens  :  Neh.  v.  17,  18. 

This  explains  the  meaning  of  the  excuse  made  by  him 
that  is  desired  to  undertake  the  government  :  he  alleges,  that 
he  has  not  wherewithal  to  support  the  dignity  of  the  station 
by  such  acts  of  liberality  and  hospitality  as  the  law  of  custom 
required  of  persons  of  superior  rank.  See  Banner's  Observa- 
tions, i.  340.  ii.  88. 

8.  —  the  cloud]  This  word  appears  to  be  of  very  doubt- 
ful form,  from  the  printed  editions,  the  MSS,  and  the  an- 
cient versions.  The  first  jod  in  «:y,  which  is  necessary, 
according  to  the  common  interpretation,  is  in  many  of  them 
omitted  :  the  two  last  letters  are  upon  a  rasure  in  two  MSS. 
I  think  it  should  be  pj?,  as  the  Syriac  reads  ;  and  that  the 
allusion  is  to  the  cloud,  in  which  the  glory  of  the  Lord  ap- 
peared above  the  tabernacle.  See  Exod.  xvi.  9,  10.  xl.  34  — 
38.  Numb.  xvi.  41,  42. 

10.  Pronounce  ye  —  ]  The  reading  of  this  verse  is  very 
dubious.  The  LXX  for  nnx  read  now  ;  or  both, 

and   W*7   3U3    N1?  »J.      Ayra/MV   TOY 


CHAP.  III.  NOTES    ON  ISAIAH.  159 


e^t.  Perhaps,  for  nDK,  the  true  reading  may  be  wx,  bless 
ye  :  or  n^x  vrotf,  say  ye,  blessed  is  —  .  Vulg.  and  an  ancient 
MS  read,  in  the  singular  number,  *?3K»,  comedet. 

12.  Pervert]     urn,  swallow.     Among  many  unsatisfac- 
tory methods  of  accounting  for  the  unusual  meaning  of  this 
word  in   this  place,  I  chose  Jarchi's  explication,  as  making 
the  best  sense.     "  Read  Ma,  confound.     Syr."     Dr.  JUBB. 
"Read  ibro,  disturb  or  trouble"     SECKER.     So  LXX. 

13.  —  his  people]     ID;*,  LXX. 

14.  —  my  vineyard]     »,TQ,  LXX,  Chald.  Jerom. 

15.  And  grind  the  faces}     The  expression  and  the  image 
is  strong,  to  denote  grievous  oppression  ;  but  is  exceeded  by 
the  prophet  Micah  : 

"  Hear,  I  pray  you,  ye  chiefs  of  Jacob; 
And  ye  princes  of  the  house  of  Israel: 
Is  it  not  yours  to  know  what  is  right  ? 
Ye  that  hate  good,  and  love  evil: 
Who  tear  their  skin  from  off  them; 
And  their  flesh  from  off  their  bones: 
Who  devour  the  flesh  of  my  people; 
And  flay  from  off  them  their  skin: 
And  their  bones  they  dash  in  pieces; 
And  chop  them  asunder,  as  morsels  for  the  pot; 
And  as  flesh  thrown  into  the  midst  of  the  cauldron." 

Micah,  iii.  1  —  3. 

In  the  last  line  but  one,  for  IB?JQ,  read,  by  the  transposition 
of  a  letter,  IXBO  with  the  LXX,  and  Chald. 

16.  And  falsely  setting  off  their  eyes  with  paint}     Heb. 
falsifying  their  eyes.     1  take  this  to  be  the  true  meaning 
and  literal  rendering  of  the  word  ;  from  ipb.     The  Maso- 
retes   have   pointed  it,   as  if  it    were  from   ipiy,  a  different 
word.     This  arose,  as  I  imagine,  from  their  supposing  that 
the  word  was  the  same  with  npD,  Chald.  intueri,   innuere 
oculis  ;  or   that   it   had  an   affinity   with    the    noun   *np»D, 
which  the  Chaldeans,  or  the  Rabbins  at  least,  use  for  sti- 
bium, the  mineral  which  was  commonly  used  in  colouring 
the   eyes.     See  Jarchi's   comment   on   the  place.     Though 
the  colouring  of  the  eyes  with  stibium  be  not  particularly 
here  expressed,  yet  I  suppose  it  to  be  implied  :  and  so  the 
Chaldee    paraphrase    explains    it  ;  "  stibio   linitis    oculis" 
This  fashion  sems  to   have   prevailed  very  generally  among 
the  eastern   people  in  ancient  times  ;  and    they  retain    the 
very  same  to  this  day. 


160  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  III. 

Pietro  della  Valle,  giving  a  description  of  his  wife,  an 
Assyrian  lady,  born  in  Mesopotamia,  and  educated  at 
Baghdad,  whom  he  married  in  that  country,  (Viaggi,  torn. 
i.  lettera  17.),  says,  "  Her  eye-lashes,  which  are  long,  and, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  East,  dressed  with  stibium, 
(as  we  often  read  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Hebrew 
women  of  old,  Jer.  iv.  30.  Ezek.  xxiii.  40. ;  and  in  Xeno- 
phon  of  Astyages  the  grandfather  of  Cyrus,  and  of  the 
Medes  of  that  time,  Cyropeed.  lib.  i.),  give  a  dark,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  majestic  shade  to  the  eyes."  "  Great  eyes 
(says  Sandys,  Travels,  p.  67.,  speaking  of'  the  Turkish 
women)  they  have  in  principal  repute  ;  and  of  those,  the 
blacker  they  be,  the  more  amiable  :  insomuch  that  they  put 
between  the  eye-lids  and  the  eye  a  certain  black  powder, 
with  a  fine  long  pencil,  made  of  a  mineral  brought  from  the 
kingdom  of  Fez,  and  called  alcohole  ;  which,  by  the  not  dis- 
agreeable staining  of  the  lids,  doth  better  set  forth  the  white- 
ness of  the  eye  ;  and  though  it  be  troublesome  for  a  time, 
yet  it  comforteth  the  sight,  and  repelleth  ill  humours/' 
"  Vis  ejus  [stibii]  astringere  ac  refrigerare,  principalis  autem 
circa  oculos  ;  namque  ideo  etiam  pleriqu3  Platyophthalmon 
id  appellavere,  quoniarn  in  calliblepharis  mulierum  dilatat 
oculos ;  et  fluxiones  inhibet  oculorum  exulcerationesque." 
Plin.  Nat.  Hist,  xxxiii.  6. 

"  Ille  supercilium  madida  fultgine  tinctum 
Obliqua  producit  acu,  pingitque  trementes 
Attollens  oculos."  Juv.  Sat.  ii.  92. 

"  But  none  of  those  [Moorish]  ladies,"  says  Dr.  Shaw, 
(Travels,  p.  294.  fol.),  "  take  themselves  to  be  completely 
dressed,  till  they  have  tinged  the  hair  and  edges  of  their 
eye-lids  with  al-kaltolj  the  powder  of  lead  ore.  This  opera- 
tion is  performed  by  dipping  first  into  the  powder  a  small 
wooden  bodkin  of  the  thickness  of  a  quill,  and  (hen  draw-. 
ing  it  afterwards  through  the  eye-lids,  over  the  ball  of  the 
eye."  Ezekiel  (xxiii.  40.)  uses  the  same  word  in  (he  form 
of  a  verb,  ^yy  n^ro,  uthou  didst  dress  thine  eyes  with 
al-cahol ;"  winch  the  LXX  render  in£i&  rx$  o<p6x*uxs  <ry, 
"thou  didst  dress  thine  eyes  with  stibium  ;  "  just  as  they  do 
when  the  word  -pa  is  employed  :  (compare  2  Kings  ix.  30. 
Jer.  iv.  30.)  :  they  supposed  therefore,  that  -pa  and  Sro,  or, 
in  the  Arabic  form,  al-cahol^  meant  the  same  thing  ;  and 
probably  the  mineral  used  of  old,  for  this  purpose,  was  the 
same  that  is  used  now ;  which  Dr.  Shaw  (Ibid,  note)  says, 


CHAP.  III.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  161 

is  "  a  rich  lead  ore,  pounded  into  an  impalpable  powder." 
Alcoholados ;  the  word  nnpffa,  in  this  place,  is  thus  ren- 
dered in  an  old  Spanish  translation.  Sanctius,  See  also 
Russell's  Nat.  Hist,  of  Aleppo,  p.  102. 

The  following  inventory,  as  one  may  call  it,  of  the  ward- 
robe of  a  Hebrew  lady,  must,  from  its  antiquity,  and  from 
the  nature  of  the  subject,  have  been  very  obscure,  even  to 
the  most  ancient  interpreters  which  we  have  of  it ;  and, 
from  its  obscurity,  must  have  been  also  peculiarly  liable  to 
the  mistakes  of  transcribers :  however,  it  is  rather  matter  of 
curiosity  than  of  importance  ;  and  indeed  it  is,  upon  the 
whole,  more  intelligible,  and  less  corrupted,  than  one  might 
have  reasonably  expected.  Clemens  Alexandrinus  (Paedag. 
lib.  ii.  cap.  12.)  and  Julius  Pollux  (lib.  vii.  cap.  22.)  have 
each  of  them  preserved,  from  a  comedy  of  Aristophanes, 
now  lost,  a  similar  catalogue  of  the  several  parts  of  the  dress 
and  ornaments  of  a  Grecian  lady  ;  which  though  much  more 
capable  of  illustration  from  other  writers,  though  of  later 
date,  and  quoted  and  transmitted  down  to  us  by  two  dif- 
ferent authors  ;  yet  seems  to  be  much  less  intelligible,  and 
considerably  more  corrupted,  than  this  passage  of  Isaiah. 
Sahnasius  has  endeavoured,  by  comparing  the  two  quota- 
tions, and  by  much  critical  conjecture  and  learned  disquisi- 
tion, to  restore  the  true  reading,  and  to  explain  the  particu- 
lars ;  with  what  success,  I  leave  to  the  determination  of  the 
learned  reader,  whose  curiosity  shall  lead  him  to  compare 
the  passage  of  the  comedian  with  this  of  the  Prophet,  and 
to  examine  the  critic's  learned  labours  upon  it.  Exercit. 
Plinian.  p.  1148.;  or  see  Clem.  Alex,  as  cited  above,  edit. 
Potter,  where  the  passasre  as  corrected  by  Salmasius  is  given. 

Nich.  Guil.  Schroederus,  professor  of  Oriental  languages 
in  the  university  of  Marpurg,  has  published  a  very  learned 
and  judicious  treatise  upon  this  passage  of  Isaiah.  The 
title  of  it  is.  "  Cornmentarius  Philologico-Criticus  De  Vestitu 
Mulierum  Hebrsearum  ad  lesai,  iii.  ver.  16 — 24.  Lugd.  Bat. 
1745."  4to.  As  I  think  no  one  has  handled  this  subject  with 
so  much  judgment  and  ability  as  this  author,  I  have  for  the 
most  part  followed  him,  in  giving  the  explanation  of  the  sev- 
eral terms  denoting  the  different  parts  of  dress,  of  which  this 
passage  consists  ;  signifying  the  reasons  of  my  dissent,  where 
he  does  not  give  me  full  satisfaction. 

17. — will  the  Lord  humble — ]     Tax-sivam,  LXX  ;  and  so 
Syr.  and  Chald.     For  nas?  they  read 
19* 


162  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  III. 

Ibid.  — expose  their  nakedness}  It  was  the  barbarous 
custom  of  tbe  conquerors  of  those  times  to  strip  their  cap- 
tives naked,  and  to  make  them  travel  in  that  condition, 
exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather ;  and  the  worst 
of  all,  to  the  intolerable  heat  of  the  sun.  But  this  to  the 
women  was  the  height  of  cruelty  and  indignity  ;  and  espe- 
cially to  such  as  those  here  described,  who  had  indulged 
themselves  in  all  manner  of  delicacies  of  living,  and  all  the 
superfluities  of  ornamental  dress  ;  and  even  whose  faces  had 
hardly  ever  been  exposed  to  the  sight  of  man.  This  is  al- 
ways mentioned  as  the  hardest  part  of  the  lot  of  captives. 
Nahum,  denouncing  the  fate  of  Nineveh,  paints  it  in  very 
strong  colours  : 

"  Behold,  I  am  against  thoe,  saith  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts: 

And  I  will  discover  thy  skirts  upon  thy  face  ; 

And  I  will  expose  thy  nakedness  to  the  nations; 

And  to  the  kingdoms  thy  shame. 

And  I  will  throw  ordures  upon  thee; 

And  I  will  make  thee  vile,  and  set  thee  as  a  gazing-stock." 

Nahum,  iii.  5,  6. 

18.  — the  ornaments  of  the  feet  rings — ]  The  late  learn- 
ed Dr.  Hunt,  professor  of  Hebrew  and  Arabic  in  the  uni- 
versity of  Oxford,  has  very  well  explained  the  word  D3JN 
both  verb  and  noun,  in  his  very  ingenious  Dissertation  on 
Prov.  vii.  22,  23.  The  verb  means  to  skip,  to  bound,  to 
dance  along ;  and  the  noun,  those  ornaments  of  the  feet 
which  the  eastern  ladies  wore;  chains,  or  rings,  which 
made  a  tinkling  sound  as  they  moved  nimbly  in  walking. 
Eugene  Roger,  Description  de  la  Terre  Sainte,  liv.  .  ii. 
chap.  2.  speaking  of  the  Arabian  women  of  the  first  rank 
in  Palestine,  says,  "  Au  lieu  de  brasselets  elles  ont  de  me- 
nottes  d'argent,  qu'elles  portent  aux  poignets  et  aux  pieds  ; 
ou  sont  attachez  quantity  de  petits  annelets  d'argent,  qui  font 
im  cliquetis  com  me  d'une  cymbale,  lorsqu'elles  cheminent  ou 
se  mouvent  quelque  peu."  See  Dr.  Hunt's  Dissertation  ; 
where  he  produces  other  testimonies  to  the  same  purpose  from 
authors  of  travels. 

Ibid. — the  net-works]  I  am  obliged  to  differ  from  the 
learned  Schroederus,  almost  at  first  setting  out ;  he  renders 
the  word  D'o1^  by  soliculi,  little  ornaments,  bulla1,  or 
studs  in  shape  representing  the  sun,  and  so  answering  to 
the  following  word  c'MHtf,  Ivimla.,  crescents.  He  supposes 
the  word  to  be  the  same  with  D»&fD#,  the  *  in  the  second 


CHAP.  III.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  163 

syllable  making  the  word  diminutive,  and  the  letter  a  being 
changed  for  3,  a  letter  of  the  same  organ.  How  just  and 
Well-founded  his  authorities  for  the  transmutation  of  these  let- 
ters in  the  Arabic  language  are,  I  cannot  pretend  to  judge; 
but,  as  1  know  of  no  such  instance  in  Hebrew,  it  seems  to 
me  a  very  forced  etymology.  Being  dissatisfied  with  this  ac- 
count of  the  matter,  1  applied  to  my  good  friend  above-men- 
tioned, the  late  Dr.  Hunt,  who  very  kindly  returned  the  fol- 
lowing answer  to  my  inquiries  : — 

"1  have  consulted  the  Arabic  lexicons,  as  well  MS  as 
printed,  but  cannot  find  L»c*3&?  in  any  of  then),  nor  any  thing 
belonging  to  it.  So  that  no  help  is  to  be  had  from  that  lan- 
guage towards  clearing  up  the  meaning  of  this  difficult  word. 
But  what  the  Arabic  denies,  the  Syriac  perhaps  may  afford ; 
in  which  I  find  the  verb  W2W  to  entangle,  or  interweave,  an. 
etymology  which  is  equally  favourable  to  our  marginal 
translation,  net-works,  with  pp,  to  make  chequer-work,  or 
embroider,  (the  word  by  which  Kimchi  andj  othere  have 
explained  D«3tf),  and  has  moreover  this  advantage  over  it, 
that  the  letters  &  and  D  are  very  frequently  put  for  each 
other,  but  v  and  D  scarce  ever.  Aben  Ezra  joins  D'u>3tf. 
and  D'DDy  (which  immediately  precedes  it)  together  ;  and 
says,  that  0*21?  was  the  ornament  of  the  leg's,  as  DD^  was 
of  the  feet.  His  words  are,  D3y  ^  Lfl?:n  D'3ff  D'Bon  ^  C'pw 

too." 

21.  The  jewels  of  the  nostril — ]  «]xn  *au.  Schroederus 
explains  this,  as  many  others  do,  of  jewels,  or  strings  of  pearl, 
hanging  from  the  forehead,  and  reaching  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  nose.  But  it  appears  from  many  passages  of  Holy 
Scripture,  that  the  phrase  is  to  be  literally  and  properly  un- 
derstood of  nose-jewels,  rings  set  with  jewels  hanging  from 
the  nostrils,  as  ear-rings  from  the  ears,  by  holes  bored  to  re- 
ceive them. 

Ezekiel,  enumerating  the  common  ornaments  of  women 
of  the  first  rank,  has  not  omitted  this  particular,  and  is  to  be 
understood  in  the  same  manner;  chap.  xvi.  11,  12.  (See 
also  Gen.  xxiv.  47.) 

"  And  I  decked  thee  with  ornaments; 
And  I  put  bracelets  upon  thine  hands, 
And  a  chain  on  thy  neck: 
And  I  put  a  jewel  on  thy  nose, 
And  ear-rings  on  thine  ears, 
And  a  splendid  crown  upon  thine  head." 


164  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  III. 

And  in  an  elegant  proverb  of  Solomon  there  is  a  manifest 
allusion  to  this  kind  of  ornament,  which  shews  it  to  have  been 
used  in  his  time  : 

"  As  a  jewel  set  in  gold  in  the  snout  of  a  swine; 
So  is  a  woman  beautiful,  but  wanting  discretion." 

Prov.  xi.  22. 

This  fashion,  however  strange  it  may  appear  to  us,  was 
formerly,  and  is  still,  common  in  many  parts  of  the  East, 
among  women  of  all  ranks.  Paul  Lucas,  speaking  of  a 
village,  or  clan,  of  wandering  people,  a  little  on  this  side  of 
the  Euphrates ;  "  The  women,"  says  he,  (2d  Yoyage  du 
Levant,  torn.  i.  art.  24.),  "  almost  all  of  them,  travel  on  foot  : 
I  saw  none  handsome  among  them.  They  have  almost  all 
of  them  the  nose  bored,  and  wear  in  it  a  great  ring,  which 
makes  them  still  more  deformed."  But  in  regard  to  this 
custom,  better  authority  cannot  be  produced  than  that  of 
Pietro  della  Yalle,  in  the  account  which  he  gives  of  the 
lady  before-mentioned,  Signora  Maani  Gioerida,  his  own 
wife.  The  description  of  her  dress,  as  to  the  ornamental 
parts  of  it,  with  which  he  introduces  the  mention  of  this 
particular,  will  give  us  some  notion  of  the  taste  of  the  eastern 
ladies  for  finery.  £C  The  ornaments  of  gold,  and  of  jewels, 
for  the  head,  for  the  neck,  for  the  arms,  for  the  legs,  and 
for  the  feet,  (for  they  wear  rings  even  on  their  toes),  are  in- 
deed, unlike  those  of  the  Turks,  carried  to  great  excess,  but 
not  of  great  value ;  for  in  Baghdad  jewels  of  high  price 
either  are  not  to  be  had,  or  are  not  used  ;  and  they  wear 
such  only  as  are  of  little  value  ;  as  turquoises,  small  rubies, 
emeralds,  carbuncles,  garnets,  pearls,  and  the  like.  My 
spouse  dresses  herself  with  all  of  them  according  to  their 
fashion  ;  with  exception,  however,  of  certain  ugly  rings  of 
very  large  size,  set  with  jewels,  which  in  truth,  very  absurd- 
ly, it  is  the  custom  to  wear  fastened  to  one  of  their  nostrils, 
like  buffaloes :  an  ancient  custom  however  in  the  East,  which, 
as  we  find  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  prevailed  among  the 
Hebrew  ladies  even  in  the  time  of  Solomon :  Prov.  xi.  22. 
These  nose-rings  in  complaisance  to  me  she  has  left  off; 
but  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  prevail  with  her  cousin  and 
her  sisters  to  do  the  same  :  so  fond  are  they  of  an  old  cus- 
tom, be  it  ever  so  absurd,  who  have  been  long  habituated  to 
it."  Viaggi,  torn.  i.  lett.  17. 

23.   The  transparent    garments — ]      D»jrb;n,  TO.  hetpeun 
LXX.     A  kind  of   silken  dress,  transparent,  like 


CHAP.  III.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  165 

gauze  ;  worn  only  by  the  most  delicate  women,  and  such  as 
dressed  themselves  "  eleganlius,  qimm  necesse  esset  probis." 
This  sort  of  garments  was  afterwards  in  use  among  the  Greeks. 
Prodicus,  in  his  celebrated  fable  (Xenoph.  Memorab.  Socr. 
lib.  ii.)  exhibits  the  personage  of  Sloth  in  this  dress  : 


"  Her  robe  betray'd 

Through  the  clear  texture  every  tender  limb, 
Heightening  the  charms  it  only  seemed  to  shade; 
And  as  it  flow'd  adown  so  loose  and  thin, 
Her  stature  shew'd  more  tall,  more  snowy  white  her  skin." 

They  were  called  Multitia  and  Coa  (sc.  vestimenta)  by  the 
Romans,  from  their  being  invented,  or  rather  introduced  into 
Greece,  by  one  Pampliila  of  the  island  of  Cos.  This,  like 
other  Grecian  fashions,  was  received  at  Rome  when  luxury 
began  to  prevail  under  the  Emperors  ;  it  was  sometimes  worn 
even  by  the  men,  but  looked  upon  as  a  mark  of  extreme  ef- 
feminacy: (see  Juvenal,  Sat.  ii.  65,  &c.)  Publius  Syrus,  who 
lived  when  the  fashion  was  first  introduced,  has  given  a  hu- 
morous satirical  description  of  it  in  two  lines,  which  by  chance 
have  been  preserved  : 

"  ./Equum  est,  induere  nuptam  ventum  textilem  ? 
Palam  prostare  nudain  in  nebula  linea  ?  " 

24.  Instead  of  perfume  —  ]  A  principal  part  of  the  delicacy 
of  the  Asiatic  ladies  consists  in  the  use  of  baths,  and  of  the 
richest  oils  and  perfumes  :  an  attention  to  which  is,  in  some 
degree,  necessary  in  those  hot  countries.  Frequent  mention 
is  made  of  the  rich  ointments  of  the  spouse  in  the  Song  of 
Solomon  :  — 
"  How  beautiful  are  thy  breasts,  my  sister,  my  spouse  ! 

How  much  more  excellent  than  wine; 

And  the  odour  of  thine  ointments  than  all  perfumes  ! 

Thy  lips  drop  as  the  honey-comh,  my  spouse  ! 

Honey  and  milk  are  under  thy  tongue: 

And  the  odour  of  thy  garments  is  as  the  odour  of  Lebanon." 

Cant.  iv.  10,  11. 

The  preparation  for  Esther's  being  introduced  to  King 
Ahasuenis  was  a  course  of  bulbing  and  perfuming  for  a 
whole  year;  "Six  months  with  oil  of  myrrh,  and  six 
months  with  sweet  odours:"  Eslh.  ii.  12.  A  diseased  and 
loathsome  habit  of  body,  instead  of  a  beautiful  skin,  softened 
and  made  agreeable  with  all  that  art  could  devise,  and  all 
that  nature,  so  prodigal  in  those  countries  of  the  richest  per- 


166  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.   III. 

fumes,  could  supply,  must  have  been  a  punishment  the  most 
severe,  and  the  most  mortifying  to  the  delicacy  of  these 
haughty  daughters  of  Sion. 

Ibid.  A  sun-burnt  skin — ]  Caspar  Sanctius  thinks  the 
words  nnn  O  an  interpolation,  because  the  Vulgate  has  omit- 
ted them.  The  clause  «3»  nnn  TD  seems  to  me  rather  to  be 
imperfect  at  the  end.  Not  to  mention  that  o,  taken  as  a  noun, 
for  adustio,  burning,  is  without  example,  and  very  improb- 
able :  the  passage  ends  abruptly,  and  seems  to  want  a  fuller 
conclusion. 

In  agreement  with  which  opinion  of  the  defect  of  the  He- 
brew text  in  this  place,  the  LXX,  according  to  MSS  Pachom. 
and  i.  D.  n.  and  Marchal.  which  are  of  the  best  authority, 
express  it  with  the  same  evident  marks  of  imperfection  at 
the  end  of  the  sentence  ;  thus,  retvroc.  rot  ccvn  KAX^U^KT^ — 
The  two  latter  add  c-«.  This  chasm  in  the  text,  from  the  loss 
probably  of  three  or  four  words,  seems  therefore  to  be  of  long 
standing. 

Taking  o  in  its  usual  sense,  as  a  particle,  and  supplying 
Y?  from  <roi  of  the  LXX,  it  might  possibly  have  been  original- 
ly somewhat  in  this  form  : —  ' 

:  n&rra  n;n  -p  n^nn  ^  nnn  '3 

"  Yea,  instead  of  beauty,  thou  shalt  have  an  ill- favoured  coun- 
tenance.'7 

*£P  nnn  o  [<!•  nns]  "  for  beauty  shall  be  destroyed"  Syr. 
from  nnn,  or  nm.  Dr.  DURELL. 

May  it  not  be  TO,  "  wrinkles  instead  of  beauty  ? "  as  from 
nsr  is  formed  ^r  ;  from  n"D,  'ID,  &c.  so  from  nnD,  to  be  wrink- 
led, TD."  Dr.  JUBB. 

25.  thy  mighty  men — ]  For  ^rrfcl,  an  ancient  MS  has 
pDJ.  The  true  reading  from  LXX,  Vulg.  Syr.  Chald.  seems 
to  be  pn:. 

26  — sit  on  the  ground.]  Sitting  on  the  ground  was  a 
posture  that  denoted  mourning  and  deep  distress.  The 
Prophet  Jeremiah  has  given  it  "the  first  place,  among  many 
indications  of  sorrow,  in  the  following  elegant  description  of 
the  same  state  of  distress  of  his  country : — 

"  The  elders  of  the  daughter  of  Sion  sit  on  the  ground,  they 

are  silent: 
They  have  cast  up  dust  on  their  heads;  they  have  girded 

themselves  with  sackcloth: 
The  virgins  of  Jerusalem  have  bowed  down  their  heads  to 

the  ground."  Lam.  ii.  10. 


CHAP.  III.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  167 

"  We  find  Judea,"  says  Mr.  Addison,  (on  Medals,  Dial,  ii.) 
"  on  several  coins  of  Vespasian  and  Titus,  in  a  posture  that 
denotes  sorrow  and  captivity. — I  need  riot  mention  her  sit- 
ting on  the  ground,  because  we  have  already  spoken  of  the 
aptness  of  such  a  posture  to  represent  an  extreme  affliction. 
I  fancy  the  Romans  "might  have  an  eye  on  the  customs  of 
the  Jewish  nation,  as  well  as  those  of  their  country,  in  the 
several  marks  of  sorrow  they  have  set  on  this  figure.  The 
Psalmist  describes  the  Jews  lamenting  their  captivity  in  the 
same  pensive  posture.  "  By  the  waters  of  Babylon  we  sat 
down  and  wept,  when  we  remembered  thee,  O  Sion."  But 
what  is  more  remarkable,  we  find  Judea  represented  as  a 
woman  in  sorrow  sitting  on  the  ground,  in  a  passage  of  the 
Prophet  that  foretells  the  very  captivity  recorded  on  this 
medal."  Mr.  Addison,  I  presume,  refers  to  this  place  of 
Isaiah ;  and  therefore  must  have  understood  it  as  foretelling 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Jewish  nation  by  the 
Romans :  whereas  it  seems  plainly  to  relate,  in  its  first  and 
more  immediate  view  at  least,  to  the  destruction  of  the  city  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  the  dissolution  of  the  Jewish  state  under 
the  captivity  at  Babylon. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

1.  And  seven  women — ]  THE  division  of  the  chapters 
has  interrupted  the  Prophet's  discourse,  and  broken  it  off 
almost  in  the  midst  of  the  sentence.  "  The  numbers  slain 
in  battle  shall  be  so  great,  that  seven  women  shall  be  left  to 
one  man."  The  Prophet  has  described  the  greatness  of  this 
distress  by  images  and  adjuncts  the  most  expressive  and  for- 
cible. The  young  women,  contrary  to  their  natural  modesty, 
shall  become  suitors  to  the  men  :  they  will  take  hold  of 
them,  and  use  the  most  pressing  importunity  to  be  married  : 
in  spite  of  the  natural  suggestions  of  jealousy,  they  will  be 
content  with  a  share  only  of  the  rights  of  marriage  in  com- 
mon with  several  others;  and  that  on  hard  conditions,  re- 
nouncing the  legal  demands  of  the  wife  on  the  husband,  (see 
Exod.  xxi.  10.),  and  begging  only  the  name  and  credit  of 
wedlock,  and  to  be  freed  from  the  reproach  of  celibacy,  (see 
chap.  liv.  4,  5.)  Like  Marcia,  on  a  different  occasion,  and  in 
other  circumstances, — 

"  Da  tantum  nomen  inane 
Connubii :  liceat  tumulo  scripsisse,  Catonis 
Marcia."  Lucan.  ii  342. 


168  NOfES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  IV. 

Ibid.  — in  that  day — ]  These  words  are  omitted  in  LXX 
and  MS. 

Ibid.  The  branch  of  JEHOVAH — ]  The  Messiah  of  JE- 
HOVAH, says  the  Chaldee.  The  branch  is  an  appropriated 
title  of  the  Messiah  ;  and  the  fruit  of  the  land  means  the 
great  Person  to  spring  from  the  house  of  Judah,  and  is  only 
a  parallel  expression  signifying  the  same  ;  or  perhaps  the 
blessings  consequent  upon  the  redemption  procured  by  him. 
Compare  chap.  xlv.  8.  where  the  same  great  event  is  set  forth 
in  similar  images  ;  and  see  the  note  there. 

Ibid.  — the  house  of  Israel.}     A  MS  has  V7&n!&'»n»3. 

3.  — written  among  the  living.]     That  is,  whose  name 
stands  in  the  enrolment  or  register  of  the  people;  or  every 
man  living,  who  is  a  citizen  of  Jerusalem.     See  Ezek.  xiii.  9. 
where  "  they  shall  not  be  written  in  the  writings  of  the  house 
of  Israel,"  is  the  same  with  what  immediately   goes  before, 
"  they  shall  not  be  in  the  assembly  of  my  people."     Compare 
Psal.  Ixxxvii.  6.  Ixix.  28  ;  Exod.  xxxii.  32.     To  number  and 
register  the  people  was  agreeable  to  the  law  of  Moses,  and 
probably  was  always  practised ;  being,  in  sound  policy,  useful 
and  even  necessary.     David's  design  of  numbering  the  people 
was  of  another  kind  ;  it  was  to  enrol  them  for  his  army.     Mi- 
chaelis,  Mosaisches  Recht,  Part  111.  p.  227.     See  also   his 
Dissert,  de  Censibus  Hebraeorum. 

4.  "  The  spirit  of  burning"]  means  the  fire  of  God's 
wrath,  by  which  he  will  prove  and  purify  his  people  ;  gather- 
ing them  into  his  furnace,  in  order  to  separate  the  dross  from 
the  silver,  the  bad  from   the  good.     The  severity  of  God's 
judgments,  the  fiery  trial  of  his  servants,  Ezekiel  (chap.  xxii. 
18 — 22.)  has  set  forth  at  large,  after  his  manner,  with  great 
boldness  of  imagery  and  force  of  expression.     God  threatens 
to  gather  them  into  the  midst  of  Jerusalem,  as  into  the  fur- 
nace ;  to  blow  the  fire  upon  them,  and  to  melt  them.     Malachi 
(chap.  iii.  2,  3.)  treats  the  same  subject,  and  represents  the 
same  event  under  the  like  images  : — 

"  But  who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming? 
And  who  shall  stand  when  he  appeareth? 
For  he  is  like  the  fire  of  the  refiner, 
And  like  the  soap  of  the  fullers. 
And  he  shall  sit  refining  and  purifying  the  silver  ; 
And  he  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi, 
And  cleanse  them  like  gold,  and  like  silver; 
That  they  may  be  JEHOVAH'S  ministers, 
Presenting  unto  him  an  offering  in  righteousness." 


CHAP.  IV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  169 

5.  — the  station — ]    The  Hebrew  text  has,  every  station; 
but   four   MSS   (one  ancient)   omit    *?D;  very  rightly,   as  it 
should  seem  ;  for  the  station  was  Mount  Sion  itself,  and  no 
other.     See  Exod.  xv.  17.     And  the  LXX  and  MS  add  the 
same   word  "73  before  rvanpa,  probably  right :  the  word  has 
only  changed  its  place  by  mistake.     n»*np!3,  "  the  place  where 
they  were  gathered  together  in  their  holy  assemblies,"  says 
Sal.  b.  Melee. 

Ibid.  A  cloud  by  day — ]  This  is  a  manifest  allusion  to 
the  pillar  of  a  cloud  and  of  fire,  which  attended  the  Israelites 
in  their  passage  out  of  Egypt,  and  to  the  glory  that  rested 
on  the  tabernacle,  Exod.  xiii.  21.  xl.  38.  The  prophet  Ze- 
chariah  applies  the  same  image  to  the  same  purpose  : — 

"  And  I  will  be  unto  her  a  wall  of  fire  round  about; 

And  a  glory  will  I  be  in  the  midst  of  her."  Zech.  ii.  5. 
That  is,  the  visible  presence  of  God  shall  protect  her. 
Which  explains  the  conclusion  of  this  verse  of  Isaiah  ; 
where  the  makkaph  between  "73  and  mD,  connecting  the 
two  words  in  construction,  which  ought  not  to  be  connected, 
has  thrown  an  obscurity  upon  the  sentence,  and  misled  most 
of  the  translators. 

6.  And  a  tabernacle — ]     In  countries  subject  to  violent 
tempests,  as  well  as  to  intolerable  heat,  a  portable  tent  is  a  ne- 
cessary part  of  a  traveller's  baggage,  for  defence  and  shelter. 

CHAPTER  V. 

THIS  chapter  likewise  stands  single  and  alone,  unconnect- 
ed with  the  preceding  or  following.  The  subject  of  it  is  near- 
ly the  same  with  that  of  the  first  chapter.  It  is  a  general 
reproof  of  the  Jews  for  their  wickedness  :  but  it  exceeds  that 
chapter  in  force,  in  severity,  in  variety,  and  elegance  ;  and  it 
adds  a  more  express  declaration  of  vengeance,  by  the  B  ,bylo- 
nian  invasion. 

1.  Let  me  sing  now  a  song]  A  MS,  respectable  for  its 
antiquity,  adds  the  word  v#  (a  song)  after  jo;  which  gives 
so  elegant  a  turn  to  the  sentence  by  the  repetition  of  it  in  the 
next  member,  and  by  distinguishing  the  members  so  exactly 
in  the  style  and  manner  of  the  Hebrew  poetical  composition, 
that  I  am  much  inclined  to  think  it  genuine. 

Ibid.  A  song  of  loves]  nn,  for  onn;  status  constructus 
pro  absolute,  as  the  grammarians  say,  as  Micah,  vi.  16.; 
Lament,  iii.  14.  and  66.;  so  Archbishop  Seeker.  Or  rather, 
20 


170  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  V. 

in  all  these  and  the  like  cases,  a  mistake  of  the  transcribers, 
by  not  observing  a  small  stroke,  which  in  many  MSS  is 
made  to  supply  the  D  of  the  plural,  thus  'nn.  cnn  nvzr 
is  the  same  with  JYVV  w,  Psal.  xlv.  1.  In  this  way  of  un- 
derstanding it,  we  avoid  the  great  impropriety  of  making  the 
author  of  the  song,  and  the  person  to  whom  it  is  addressed,  to 
be  the  same. 

Ibid.  On  a  high  and  fruitful  hill]  Heb.  "  on  a  horn  the 
son  of  oil."  The  expression  is  highly  descriptive  and  poet- 
ical. "  He  calls  the  land  of  Israel  a  horn,  because  it  is 
higher  than  all  lands;  as  the  horn  is  higher  than  the 
whole  body  :  and  the  son  of  oil,  because  it  is  said  to  be  a 
land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey."  Kirnchi  on  the  place. 
•The  parts  of  animals  are,  by  an  easy  metaphor,  applied  to 
parts  of  the  earth,  both  in  common  and  poetical  language.  A 
promontory  is  called  a  cape,  or  head ;  the  Turks  call  it  a 
nose.  "  Dorsum  immane  mari  sum  mo  ;  "  Yirg.  a  back,  or 
ridge  of  rocks. 

"  Hanc  latus  angustum  jam  se  cogentis  in  arctum 
Hesperiae  tenuem  producit  in  sequora  linguam^ 
Adriacas  flexis  claudit  quae  cornibus  undas." 
Lucan.  ii.  612.  of  Brundusium,  i.  e.  B^vrcow,  which,  in  the 
ancient  language  of  that  country,  signifies  stag's-head,  says 
Strabo.  A  horn  is  a  proper  .and  obvious  image  for  a  moun- 
tain, or  mountainous  country.  Solinus,  cap.  viii.  says, 
"  Italiam,  ubi  longius  processerit,  in  cortma  duo  scindi :  " 
that  is,  the  high  ridge  of  the  Alps,  which  runs  through  the 
whole  length  of  it,  divides  at  last  into  two  ridges,  one  going 
through  Calabria,  the  other  through  the  country  of  (he 
Brutii.  "  Cornwall  is  called  by  the  inhabitants  in  the  British 
tongue  Kernaw,  as  lessening  by  degrees  like  a  horn,  running 
out  into  promontories  like  so  many  horns.  For  the  Britain^ 
call  a  horn  corn,  in  the  plural  kern : "  Camden.  "  And 
Sammes  is  of  opinion,  that  the  country  had  this  name  origi- 
nally from  the  Phenicians,  who  traded  hither  for  tin  ;  kercn, 
in  their  language,  being  a  horn  :  "  Gibson. 

Here  the  precise  idea  seems  to  be  that  of  a  high  mountain 
standing  by  itself:  "vertex  montis,  aut  pars  montis  ab  aliis 
divisa ;  "  which  signification,  says  I.  H.  Michaelis,  (Cibl. 
Hnllens.  Not.  in  loc.)  the  word  has  in  Arabic. 

Judea  was  in  general  a  mountainous  country ;  whence 
Moses  sometimes  calls  it  the  Mountain  : — "  Thou  shalt 
plant  them  in  the  Mountain  of  thine  inheritance  ;  "  Exod. 
xv.  17.  "I  pray  thee  let  me  go  over,  and  see  the  good  land 


CHAP.  V.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  171 

that  is  beyond  Jordan  ;  that  goodly  Mountain,  and  Leba- 
non ;  "  Deut.  iii.  25.  And  in  a  political  and  religious  view 
it  was  detached  and  separated  from  all  the  nations  round  it. 
Whoever  has  considered  the  descriptions  given  of  Mount 
Tabor,  (see  Reland,  Pakestin. ;  Eugene  Roger,  Terre  Sainte, 
p.  64.),  and  the  views  of  it  which  are  to  be  seen  in  books  of 
travels,  (Maundrell,  p.  114.  Egrnont  and  Heyman,  vol.  ii.  p. 
25.  Thevenot,  vol.  i.  p.  429.)  ;  its  regular  conic  form, 
rising  singly  in  a  plain  to  a  great  height  from  a  base  small 
in  proportion  ;  its  beauty  and  fertility  to  the  very  top  ;  will 
have  a  good  idea  of  u  a  horn  the  son  of  oil  ;  "  and  will  perhaps 
be  induced  to  think,  that  the  Prophet  took  his  image  from 
that  mountain. 

2.  and  he  cleared  it  from  the  stones.}  This  was  agreea- 
ble to  the  ancient  husbandry  :  "  Saxa,  summa  parte  terra,  et 
vites  et  arbores  leedunt;  ima  parte,  refrigerant;"  Columell. 
De  Arb.  4.  "  Saxosum  facile  est  expedire  lectione  lapidum  ;  " 
Id.  ii.  2.  "  Lapides,  qui  supersunt,  [al.  insuper  sunt]  hieme 
rigent,  sestate  fervescunt ;  idcirco  satis,  arbustis,  et  vitibus  no- 
cent;  "  Pallad.  i.  6.  A  piece  of  ground  thus  cleared  of  the 
stones,  Persius,  in  his  hard  way  of  metaphor,  calls  u  Exossa- 
tus  ager  ;  '1  Sat.  vi.  52. 

Ibid.  Sorek,}  Many  of  the  ancient  interpreters,  LXX,  Aq. 
Theod.  have  retained  this  word  as  a  proper  name ;  1  think 
very  rightly.  Sorek  was  a  valley  lying  between  Ascaion  and 
Gaza,  and  running,  far  up  eastward  in  the  tribe  of  Judah. 
Both  Ascaion  and  Gaza  were  anciently  famous  for  wine  : 
the  former  is  mentioned  as  such  by  Alexander  Trallianus  ; 
the  latter  by  several  authors  :  (quoted  by  Reland,  Palaest.  p. 
589.  and  986.)  And  it  seems,  that  the  upper  part  of  the 
valley  of  Sorek,  and  that  of  Eshcol,  where  the  spies  gathered 
the  single  cluster  of  grapes  which  they  were  obliged  to  bear 
between  two  upon  a  staff,  being  both  near  to  Hebron,  were 
in  the  same  neighbourhood  ;  and  that  all  tin's  part  of  the 
country  abounded  with  rich  vineyards.  Compare  Numb.  xiii. 
22,  23.  Jud£.  xvi.  3,  4.  P.  Nan  supposes  Eshcol  and  Sorek 
to  be  only  different  names  for  the  same  valley  :  Voyage  Nou- 
veau  cle  la  Terre  Sainte,  liv.  iv.  chap.  18.  So  likewise  De 
Lisle's  posthumous  map  of  the  Holy  Land  ;  Paris,  1763.  See 
Bochart,  Hieroz.  ii.  col.  725.  Thevenot,  i.  p.  406.  Michaelis 
(note  on  Judg.  xvi.  4.  German  translation)  thinks  it  proba- 
ble, from  some  circumstances  of  the  history  there  given,  that 
Sorek  was  in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  not  in  the  country  of  the 
Philistines. 


172  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  V. 

The  vine  of  Sorek  was  known  to  the  Israelites,  being 
mentioned  by  Moses  (Gen.  xlix.  11.)  before  their  coming 
out  of  Egypt.  Egypt  was  not  a  wine  country.  "  Through- 
out this  country  there  are  no  wines;"  Sandys,  p.  101.  At 
least  in  very  ancient  times  they  had  none.  Herodotus,  ii. 
77.  says,  it  had  no  vines  ;  and  therefore  used  an  artificial 
wine  made  of  barley.  That  is  not  strictly  true ;  for  the  vines 
of  Egypt  are  spoken  of  in  Scripture,  (Psal.  Ixxviii.  47.  cv. 
33;,  and  see  Gen.  xl.  11.  by  which  it  should  seem,  that  they 
drank  only  the  fresh  juice  pressed  from  the  grape,  which 
was  called  «/vo$  *H««AH«$,  Herodot.  ii.  37.)  ;  but  they  had  no 
large  vineyards  ;  nor  was  the  country  proper  for  them,  be- 
ing little  more  than  one  large  plain,  annually  overflowed  by 
the  Nile.  The  Mareotic  in  later  times  is,  I  think,  the  only 
celebrated  Egyptian  wine  which  we  meet  with  in  history. 
The  vine  was  formerly,  as  Hasselquist  tells  us  it  is  now, 
"  cultivated  in  Egypt  for  the  sake  of  eating  the  grapes,  not 
for  wine  ;  which  is  brought  from  Candia,"  &c.  "  They  were 
supplied  with  wine  from  Greece,  and  likewise  from  Phenicia  ;  " 
Herod,  iii.  6.  The  vine  and  the  wine  of  Sorek,  therefore, 
which  lay  near  at  hand  for  importation  into  Egypt,  must,  in 
all  probability,  have  been  well  known  to  the  Israelites  when 
they  sojourned  there.  There  is  something  remarkable  in  the 
manner  in  which  Moses  makes  mention  of  it,  which,  for 
want  of  considering  this  matter,  has  not  been  attended  to : 
It  is  in  Jacob's  prophecy  of  the  future  prosperity  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah  : — 

"  Binding  his  foal  to  the  vine, 

And  his  ass's  colt  to  his  own  Sorek; 

He  washeth  his  raiment  in  wine, 

And  his  cloak  in  the  blood  of  grapes."  Gen.  xlix.  11. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  rendering  np-w,  for  ipw,  his  Sorek, 
as  the  Masoretes  do  of  pointing  rrvy,  for  n1;',  his  foal,  vy 
might  naturally  enough  appear  in  the  feminine  form,  but  it 
is  not  at  all  probable  that  p-iiy  ever  should.  By  naming 
particularly  the  vine  of  Sorek,  and  as  the  vine  belonging  to 
Judah,  the  prophecy  intimates  the  very  part  of  the  country 
which  was  to  fall  to  the  lot  of  that  tribe.  Sir  John  Chardin 
says,  "  That  at  Casbin,  a  city  in  Persia,  they  turn  their 
cattle  into  the  vineyards,  after  the  vintage,  to  browse  on  the 
vines/''  He  speaks  also  of  vines  in  that  country,  so  large 
that  he  could  hardly  compass  the  trunks  of  them  with  his 
arms.  Voyages,  torn.  iii.  p.  12.  12mo.  This  shews,  that 


CHAP.  T.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  173 

the  ass  might  be  securely  bound  to  the  vine  ;  and  without 
danger  of  damaging  the  tree  by  browsing  on  it. 

Ibid.  And  he  built  a  tower  in  the  midst  of  it.]  Our  Sa- 
viour, who  has  taken  the  general  idea  of  one  of  his  parables 
(Matt.  xxi.  33.  Mark  xii.  1.)  from  this  of  Isaiah,  has  like- 
wise inserted  this  circumstance  of  building  a  tower  ;  which 
is  generally  explained  by  commentators,  as  designed  for  the 
keeper  of  the  vineyard  lo  watch  and  defend  the  fruits.  But 
for  this  purpose  it  was  usual  to  make  a  little  temporary  hut, 
(Isa.  i.  8.),  which  might  serve  for  the  short  season  while  the 
fruit  was  ripening,  and  which  was  removed  afterwards.  The 
tower,  therefore,  should  rather  mean  a  building  of  a  more 
permanent  nature  and  use  ;  the  farm,  as  we  may  call  it,  of 
the  vineyard,  containing  all  the  offices  and  implements,  and 
the  whole  apparatus  necessary  for  the  culture  of  the  vine- 
yard, and  the  making  of  the  wine.  To  which  image  in  the 
allegory,  the  situation,  the  manner  of  building,  the  use,  a  ii 
the  whole  service  of  the  temple,  exactly  answered.  And  so 
the  Chaldee  paraph rast  very  rightly  expounds  it :— "  Et 
statui  eos  ( Israeli tas)  ut  plantain  vineae  selectae,  et  aedifi- 
cavi  sanctuarium  meum  in  medio  illorum."  So  also  Hieron. 
in  loc.  "JEdificavit  quoque  turrim  in  medio  ejus:  tern- 
plum  videlicet  in  media  civitate."  That  they  have  still  such 
towers  or  buildings,  for  use  or  pleasure,  in  their  gardens  in 
the  East,  see  Manner's  Observations,  ii.  p.  241. 

Ibid.  And  Jtewed  out  a  lake  therein.]  This  imasre  also 
our  Saviour  has  preserved  in  his  parable.  2p1,  LXX  ren- 
der it  here  trgotopM :  and  in  four  other  places  UTT^VIOV  •  Isa. 
xvi.  10.  Joel,  iii.  13.  Hagg.  ii.  17.  Zech.  xiv.  10.;  I  think, 
more  properly :  and  this  latter  word  St.  Mark  uses.  It 
means,  not  the  wine-press  itself,  or  calcatonum,  which  is 
called  ro,  or  miD,  but  what  the  Romans  called  lacus,  the 
lake;  the  large  open  place,  or  vessel,  which,  by  a  conduit 
or  spout,  received  the  must  from  the  wine-press.  In  very 
hot  countries  it  was  perhaps  necessary,  or  at  least  very  con- 
venient, to  have  the  lake  under  ground,  or  in  a  cave  hewed 
out  of  the  side  of  the  rock,  for  coolness  ;  that  the  heat  might 
not  cause  too  great  a  fermentation,  and-  sour  the  must. 
"Vini  confectio  instil  uitur  in  cella,  vet  intimae  dotnus  ca- 
mera quadam,  a  venlorum  ingressu  remota:'J  Kempfer,  of 
Schiras  wine  ;  Amoen.  Exot.  p.  376  :  For  the  hot  wind,  to 
which  that  country  is  subject,  would  injure  the  wine.  "  The 
\vine-pressesin  Persia,"  says  Sir  John  Chardin,  "are  formed 
20* 


174  NOTES    ON    ISATAH.  CHAP.  V. 

by  making  hollow  places  in  the  ground,  lined  with  mason's 
work."  Harmer's  Observations,  i.  p.  392.  See  a  print  of 
one  in  Kempfer,  p.  377.  Nonnus  describes,  at  large,  Bac- 
chus hollowing  the  inside  of  the  rock,  and  hewing  out  a  place 
for  the  wine-press,  or  rather  the  lake  :  — 

<5V   rifryov 


xeveuvuv 

[f.    Ct^dV.J    fV^Oi^V^OlO   TV7TOV  "STO  lytfOLTO 

He  pierc'd  the  rock;  and  with  the  sharpen'd  tool 

Of  steel  well  temper'd,  scoop'd  its  inmost  depth: 

Then  smooth'd  the  front,  and  form'd  the  dark  recess 

In  just  dimension  for  the  foaming  lake."     Dionysiac.  lib.  xii. 

Ibid.  And  he  expected  —  ]  Jeremiah  uses  the  same  image, 
and  applies  it  to  the  same  purpose,  in  an  elegant  paraphrase 
of  this  part  of  Isaiah's  parable,  in  his  flowing  and  plaintive 
manner  : 

"  But  I  planted  thee  a  Sorek,  a  cion  perfectly  genuine: 
How  then  art  thou  changed,  and  become  to  me  the  degene- 
rate shoots  of  the  strange  vine!  "  Chap.  ii.  21. 

Ibid,  poisonous  berries]  twi&o,  not  merely  useless  un- 
profitable grapes,  such  as  wild  grapes  ;  but  grapes  offensive 
to  the  smell,  noxious,  poisonous.  By  the  force  and  intent 
of  the  allegory,  to  good  grapes  ought  to  be  opposed  fruit 
of  a  dangerous  and  pernicious  quality  ;  as,  in  the  expli- 
cation of  it,  to  judgment  is  opposed  tyranny,  and  to  right- 
eousness oppression.  jaj,  the  vine,  ig  a  common  name, 
or  genus,  including  several  species  under  it  ;  and  Moses,  to 
distinguish  the  true  vine,  or  that  from  which  wine  is  made, 
from  the  rest,  calls  it,  Numb.  vi.  4.  pn  |DJ,  the  wine-vine. 
Some  of  the  other  sorts  were  of  a  poisonous  quality  ;  as  ap- 
pears from  the  story  related  among  the  miraculous  acts  of 
Elisha,  2  Kings  iv.  39—41.  "  And  one  went  out  into  the 
field  to  gather  pot-herbs  ;  and  he  found  a  field-vine  :  and 
he  gathered  from  it  wild  fruit,  his  lapful  ;  and  he  went,  and 
shred  them  into  the  pot  of  pottage  :  for  they  knew  them 
not.  And  they  poured  it  out  for  the  men  to  eat  :  and  it 
came  to  pass,  as  they  were  eating  of  the  pottage,  that  they 
cried  out,  and  said,  There  is  death  in  the  pot,  O  man  of 
God  !  and  they  could  not  eat  of  it.  And  he  said,  Bring 
meal  ;  (leg.  inp,  nine  MSS,  one  edition)  ;  and  he  threw  it 
into  the  pot.  And  he  said,  Pour  out  for  the  people,  that 
they  may  eat.  And  there  was  nothing  hurtful  in  the  pot." 


CHAP.  V.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  175 

I 

From  some  such  sorts  of  poisonous  fruits,  of  the  grape 
kind,  Moses  has  taken  those  strong  and  highly  poetical 
images,  with  which  he  has  set  forth  the  future  corruption 
and  extreme  degeneracy  of  the  Israelites,  in  on  allegory  which 
has  a  near  relation,  both  in  its  subject  and  imagery,  to  this  of 
Isaiah : — 

"  Their  vine  is  from  the  vine  of  Sodom, 
And  from  the  fields  of  Gomorrah: 
Their  grapes  are  grapes  of  gall; 
Their  clusters  are  bitter: 
Their  wine  is  the  poison  of  dragons, 
And  the  cruel  venom  of  aspics."  Deut  xxxii.  32,  33, 

"  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  (says  Hasselquist),  that  the 
Prophet  here  (Isa.  v.  2.  and  4.)  means  the  hoary  night- 
shade, solanum  incanum  ;  because  it  is  common  in  Egypt, 
Palestine,  and  the  East ;  and  the  Arabian  name  agrees  well 
with  it.  The  Arabs  call  it  aneb  el  dib,  i.  e.  wolf-grapes. 
The  Prophet  could  not  have  found  a  plant  more  opposite 
to  the  vine  than  this  ;  for  it  grows  much  in  'the  vineyards, 
and  is  very  pernicious  to  them  ;  wherefore  they  root  it  out : 
it  likewise  resembles  a  vine  by  its  shrubby  stalk  : "  Travels, 
p.  289.  See  also  Michaelis,  Questions  aux  Yoyageurs  Da- 
nois,  No.  64. 

3.  — inhabitants]  w«,  in  the  plural  nujnber  ;  three  MSS, 
(two  ancient)  ;  and  so  likewise  LXX  and  Vulg. 

6.  the  horns  shall  spring  up  in  it.]     A  MS  has  VDSSO  ; 
the  true  reading  seems  to  be  TOP  13:  which  is  confirmed  by 
LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 

7.  And  he  looked  for  judgment — ]     The  paronomasia,  or 
play  on  the  words,  in  this  place,  is  very  remarkable  :  mis  pat, 
mispach  ;  zedakah,  zeakah.     There  are  many  examples  of 
it  in  the  other  Prophets  ;  but  Isaiah  seems  peculiarly  fond  of 
it :  see  chap.  xiii.  6.  xxiv.  17.  xxvii.  7.  xxxiii.  1.  Ivii,  6.  Ixi.  3. 
Ixv.  11,  12.     The  Rabbins  esteem  it  a  great  beauty:  their 
term  for  it  is  jwbn  mrw,  "  elegance  of  language." 

Ibid.  — tyranny]  n£WD,  from  nap,  servum  fecit,  Arab. 
Houbigant:  nnajy,  is.  serva,  a  handmaid,  or  female  slave. 
HSDD,  eighteen  MSS. 

8.  You  who  lay  field — ]     Read  innpn,  in  the  second  per- 
son ;  to  answer  to  the  verb  following  ;  so  Vulg. 

9.  To  mine  ear — ]     The   sentence  in  the  Hebrew  text 
seems   to   be  imperfect  in  this  place ;  as   likewise   in  chap, 
xxii.  14.  where  the  very  same  sense  seems  to  be  required 


176  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  V. 

as  here.  See  the  note  there :  and  compare  1  Sam.  ix.  15. 
In  this  place  LXX  supply  the  word  JJ*«<T&?,  and  Syr.  yon^x, 
auditus  est  JEHOVAH  iu  auribus  rneis  :  i.  e.  rr?:j,  as  in  chap, 
xxii.  14. 

9,  1 0.  — many  houses — ]  This  has  reference  to  what 
was  said  in  the  preceding  verse :  "  In  vain  are  ye  so  intent 
upon  joining  house  to  house,  and  field  to  field:  your  houses 
shall  be  left  uninhabited,  and  your  fields  shall  become  de- 
solate and  barren  ;  so  that  a  vineyard  of  ten  acres  shall  pro- 
duce but  one  bath  (not  eight  gallons^)  of  wine,  and  the  hus- 
bandman shall  reap  but  a  tenth  part  of  the  seed  which  he  lias 
sown." 

11.  — to  follow  strong-  drink]  Theodoret  and  Chrysos- 
tom  on  this  place,  both  Syrians,  and  unexceptionable  wit- 
nesses in  what  belongs  to  their  own  country,  inform  us, 
that  -OB?,  (<n«£*  in  the  Greek  of  both  Testaments,  rendered 
by  us  by  the  general  term  strong  drink),  meant  properly 
palm-wine,  or  date-wine,  which  was  and  is  still  much  in 
use  in  the  eastern  countries.  Judea  was  famous  for  the 
abundance  and  excellence  of  its  palm-trees ;  and  conse- 
quently had  plenty  of  this  wine.  "Fiunt  (vina)  et  e  pomis  : 
— primumque  e  palmis,  quo  Parthi  et  Indi  utuntur,  et  Oriens 
totus  :  maturarum  motiio  in  aquae  congiis  tribus  macerato 
expressoque : "  Pljn.  xiv.  19.  "  Ab  his  cariotcc  [palmte] 
maxime  celebrantur ;  et  cibo  quidem,  sed  etsucco,  uberrimae. 
Ex  quibus  praecipua  yina  Orieuti ;  iniqua  capiti,  unde  porno 
nomen  : "  Id.  xi.ii.  9.  Ka^es  signifies  stupefaction:  and  in 
Hebrew  likewise,  the  wrine  has  its  name  from  its  remarkable 
inebriating  quality. 

11,  12.  Wo  unto  them  who  rise  early — ]  There  is  a 
likeness  between  this  and  the  following  passage  of  the  Prophet 
Amo-j,  who  probably  wrote  before  Isaiah  :  if  the  latter  is  the 
copyer,  he  seems  hardly  to  have  equalled  the  elegance  of  the 
original : — 

"  Ye  that  put  far  away  the  evil  day, 

And  affect  the  seat  of  violence  ; 

Who  lie  upon  beds  of  ivory, 

And  stretch  yourselves  upon  your  couches  ; 

And  eat  the  lambs  from  the  flock, 

And  calves  from  the  midst  of  the  stall  ; 

Who  chant  to  the  sound  of  the  viol, 

And  like  David  invent  for  yourselves  instruments  of  music; 

Who  quaff  wine  in  large  bowls, 

And  are  anointed  with  the  choicest  ointments  : 

But  are  not  grieved  for  the  affliction  of  Joseph."  Amos  vi.  3-6. 


CHAP.  V.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  177 

13,  14.  And  their  nobles — ]  These  verses  have  likewise 
a  reference  to  the  two  preceding.  They,  that  indulged  in 
feasting  and  drinking,  shall  perish  with  hunger  and  thirst ; 
and  Hades  shall  indulge  his  appetite  as  much  as  they  had 
done,  and  devour  them  all.  The  image  is  strong,  and  ex- 
pressive in  the  highest  degree.  Habakkuk  uses  the  same 
image  with  great  force :  the  ambitious  and  avaricious  con- 
queror 

"Enlargeth  his  appetite  like  Hades; 
And  he  is  like  death,  and  will  never  be  satisfied."     Hab.  ii.  5. 

But,  in  Isaiah,  Hades  is  introduced,  to  much  greater  advan- 
tage, in  person  ;  and  placed  before  our  eyes  in  the  form  of  a 
ravenous  monster,  opening  wide  his  unmeasurable  jaws,  and 
swallowing  them  all  together. 

17.  — without    restraint — ]     DWD,    secundum    ductum 
eorum  :  i.  e.  suo  ipsorurn  ductu  ;  as  their  own  will  shall  lead 
them. 

Ibid.  And  the  kids — ]  Heb.  cm,  strangers.  The  LXX 
read,  more  agreeably  to  the  design  of  the  Prophet,  D»-O,  *£»£?> 
the  lambs :  DHJ,  the  kids,  Dr.  DURELL  ;  nearer  to  the  present 
reading  :  and  so  Archbishop  Seeker.  The  meaning  is,  their 
luxurious  habitations  shall  be  so  entirely  destroyed,  as  to  be- 
come a  pasture  for  flocks. 

18.  — as  a  long  cable}     The  LXX,  Aquila,  Sym.  and 
Theod.  for  ^am  read  t^aro,  w  c-^w*'?  or  <r£«wo/$  :  and  the 
LXX,  instead  of  &oty,  read  some  other  word  signifying  long  ; 
as  <r%otvito  f^xx.^  \  and  so  likewise  the  Syriac,  KJ'IN.     Houbi- 
gant  conjectures,  that  the  word  which  the  LXX  had  in  their 
copies   was  ynv,  which  is  used,  Lev.  xxi.  18.  xxii.  23.  for 
something  in  an  animal  body  superfluous,  lengthened  beyond 
its  natural  measure.     And  he  explains  it  of  sin  added  to  sin, 
and  one  sin  drawing  on  another,  till  the  whole  comes  to  an 
enormous  length  and  magnitude  ;  compared  to  the  work  of 
a  rope-maker,  still  increasing  and  lengthening  his  rope,  with 
the   continued   addition  of   new  materials.     "  Eos  propheta 
similes   facit  homini   restiario,  qui  funem  torquet,   cannabe 
addita  et  contorta,  eadem  iterans,  donee  funem  in  longum 
duxerit,   neque  eum  liceat  protrahi  longius."     "  An  evil  in- 
clination (says  Kimchi  on  the  place,  from  the  ancient  Rab- 
bins) is  at  the  beginning  like  a  fine  hair-string,   but  at  the 
finishing  like  a  thick  cart-rope."     By  a  long  progression  n 
iniquity,  and  a  continued  accumulation  of  sin,  men  arrive 
at  length  to  the  highest  degree  of  wickedness  ;  bidding  open 


178  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  V. 

defiance  to  God,  and  scoffing  at  his  threatened  judgments,  as 
it  is  finely  expressed  in  the  next  verse.  The  Chaldee  para- 
phrast  explains  it  in  the  same  manner,  of  wickedness  increas- 
ing from  small  beginnings,  till  it  arrives  to  a  great  magnitude. 

23.  — the  righteous}     pn*,  singular,  LXX;  Vulg.  and  two 
editions. 

24.  — the  tongue  of  fire]     "  The  flame,  because  it  is  in  the 
shape  of  a  tongue  ;  and  so  it  is  called  metaphorically  :"     Sal. 
b.  Melee.     The  metaphor  is  so  exceedingly  obvious,  as  well  as 
beautiful,  that  one  may  wonder  that  it  has  not  been  more  fre- 
quently used.     Virgil  very  elegantly  intimates,  rather  than 
expresses,  the  image  :  J3n.  ii.  682. 

"4Ecce  levis  summo  de  vertice  visus  luli 
Fundere  lumen  apex;  tractuque  innoxia  molli 
Lambere  flamma  comas,  et  circum  tempora pasci" 

And  more  boldly  of  J3tna  darting  out  flames  from  its  top  : 
Mn.  iii.  574. 

"  Attollitque  globos  flammarum,  et  sidera  lambit." 

The  disparted  tongues,  as  it  were,  of  fire,  (Acts  ii.  3.),  which 
appeared  at  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  apostles, 
give  the  same  idea  ;  that  is,  of  flames  shooting  diversely  into 
pyramidal  forms,  or  points,  like  tongues.  It  may  be  further 
observed,  that  the  Prophet  in  this 'place  has  given  the  meta- 
phor its  full  force,  in  applying  it  to  the  action  of  fire  in  eat- 
ing up  and  devouring  whatever  conies  in  its  way,  like  a 
ravenous  animal,  whose  tongue  is  principally  employed  in 
taking  in  his  food  or  prey  ;  which  image  Moses  has  strongly 
exhibited  in  a  most  expressive  comparison  : — "  And  Moab 
said  to  the  elders  of  Midian,  Now  shall  this  collection  of 
people  lick  up  all  that  are  round  about  us,  as  the  ox  licketh 
up  the  grass  of  the  field  ;"  Numb.  xxii.  4.  See  also  1  Kings 
xviii.  38. 

25.  — and  the  mountains  trembled—}     Probably  referring 
to  the  great  earthquakes  in  the  days  of  Uzxiah  king  of  Ju- 
dali,  in,  or  not  long  before,  the  time  of  the  Prophet  himself: 
recorded  as  a  remarkable  era  in  the  title  of  the  Prophecies  of 
Amos,  chap.  i.  1.  and  by  Zechariah,  chap.  xiv.  5. 

26.  — he  will  hist — ]     "  The  metaphor  is  taken  from  the 
practice  of  those  that  keep  bees;  who  draw  them  out  of  their 
hives  into  the  fields,  and  lead   them  back  again,  a-v^te-fieca-i,  by 
a  hiss,  or  a  whistle:"  Cyril,  on  the  place;  and  to  the  same 
purpose,  Theodoret,  ibid.     In  chap.  vii.  18.  the  metaphor  is 


CHAP.  V.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  179 

more  apparent,  by  being  carried  further  ;  where  the  hostile 
armies  are  expressed  by  the  fly  and  the  bee  :  — 
"  JEHOVAH  shall  hist  the  fly, 
That  is  in  the  utmost  parts  of  Egypt; 
And  the  bee,  that  is  in  the  land  of  Assyria." 
On  which  place  see  Deut.  i.  44.  Psal.   cxviii.  12.;  and  God 
calls  the  locusts  his  great  army,  Joel,  ii.  25.     Exod.  xxiii.  28.^ 
See  Huet.  Q,uoest.  Alnet.  ii.  12. 

Ibid.  —  Witk  speed  —  ]  This  refers  to  the  19th  verse.  As 
the  scoffers  had  challenged  God  to  make  speed  and  to  hasten 
his  work  of  vengeance;  so  now  God  assures  them,  that  with 
speed  and  swiftly  it  shall  come. 

27.  Nor  shall  the  girdle  —  ]  The  eastern  people,  wear- 
ing long  and  loose  garments,  were  unfit  for  action  or  busi- 
ness of  any  kind,  without  girding  their  clothes  about  them  : 
when  their  business  was  finished,  they  took  off  their  girdles. 
A  girdle  therefore  denotes  strength  and  activity  ;  and  to  un- 
loose the  girdle,  is  to  deprive  of  strength,  to  render  unfit  fqr 
action.  God  promises  to  unloose  the  loins  of  kings  before 
Cyrus,  chap.  xlv.  1.  The  girdle  is  so  essential  a  part  of  a 
soldier's  accoutrement,  being  the  last  that  he  puts  on  to 
make  himself  ready  for  action,  that  to  be  girded,  (imvriat, 
with  the  Greeks,  means  to  be  completely  armed,  and  ready 
for  battle  :  — 


II.  xi.  15. 

To  <5e  tifrvvai  TCC  oirXot,  exoe,tev  oi  •zra.teiot  fanvvftV*        Pausan.  Bo30t. 

It  is  used  in  the  same  manner  by  the  Hebrews  :  —  "  Let  not 
him,  that  girdeth  himself,  boast,  as  he  that  unlooseth  his 
girdle,"  1  Kings  xx.  11.;  that  is,  "triumph  not,  before  the 
war  is  finished." 

28.  The  hoofs  of  their  horses  shall  be  counted  as  ada- 
mant.]  Tiie  shoeing  of  horses  with  iron  plates  nailed  to  the 
hoof  is  quite  a  modern  practice,  and  unknown  to  the  ancients  ; 
as  appears  from  the  silence  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers, 
especially  those  that  treat  of  horse-medicine  ;  who  could  not 
have  passed  over  a  matter  so  obvious,  and  of  such  impor- 
tance, that  now  the  whole  science  takes  its  name  from  it, 
being  called  by  us  Farriery.  The  horse-shoes  of  leather  and 
of  iron,  which  are  mentioned  ;  the  silver  and  the  gold  shoes 
with  which  Nero  and  Poppea  shod  their  mules,  used  occa- 
sionally to  preserve  the  hoofs  of  delicate  cattle,  or  for  vanity, 


180  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  V. 

were  of  a  very  different  kind  ;  they  inclosed  the  whole  hoof 
as  in  a  case,  or  as  a  shoe  does  a  man's  foot,  and  were  bound 
or  tied  on.  For  this  reason,  the  strength,  firmness,  and  so- 
lidity of  a  horse's  hoof  was  of  much  greater  importance  with 
them  than  with  us ;  and  was  esteemed  one  of  the  first  praises 
of  a  fine  horse.  Xenophon  says,  that  a  good  horse's  hoof  is 
hard,  hollow,  and  sounds  upon  the  ground  like  a  cymbal. 
Hence  the  %«*****&*  'I7r7r°l  of  Homer;  and  Virgil's  "solido 
•graviter  sonat  ungula  cornu."  And  Xenophon  gives  direc- 
tions for  hardening  the  horse's  hoofs,  by  making  the  pave- 
ment, on  which  he  stands  in  the  stable,  with  round-headed 
stones.  For  want  of  this  artificial  defence  to  the  foot,  which 
our  horses  have,  Amos  (vi.  12.)  speaks  of  it  as  a  thing  as 
much  impracticable  to  make  horses  run  upon  a  hard  rock,  as 
to  plough  up  the  same  rock  with  oxen  : — 

"  Shall  horses  run  upon  a  rock  ? 
Shall  one  plough  it  up  with  oxen  ?  " 

These  circumstances  must  be  taken  into  consideration,  in  or- 
der to  give  us  a  full  notion  of  the  propriety  and  force  of  the 
image,  by  which  the  Prophet  sets  forth  the  strength  and  ex- 
cellence of  the  Babylonish  cavalry  ;  which  made  a  great  part 
of  the  strength  of  m  the  Assyrian  army.  Xenoph.  Cyrop* 
lib.  ii. 

27,  28.  None  among  them — ]  Kimchi  has  well  illustrated 
this  continued  exaggeration,  or  hyperbole,  as  he  rightly  calls 
it,  to  the  following  effect : — "  Through  the  greatness  of  their 
courage,  they  shall  not  be  fatigued  with  their  march  ;  nor 
shall  they  stumble,  though  they  march  with  the  utmost  speed  : 
they  shall  not  slumber  by  day,  nor  sleep  by  night ;  neither 
shall  they  ungird  their  armour,  or  put  off  their  sandals,  to 
take  their  rest :  their  arms  shall  be  always  in  readiness,  their 
arrows  sharpened,  and  their  bows  bent :  the  hoofs  of  their 
horses  are  bard  as  a  rock  ;  they  shall  not  fail,  or  need  to  be 
shod  with  iron  :  the  wheels  of  their  carriages  shall  move  as 
rapidly  as  a  whirlwind." 

30.  And  these  shall  look  to  the  heaven  upward,  and  down 

to  the    earth.]        pK1?  tMJl.      IG**  epfcte-^nleu  t(t>  rtjv  yjjv.       So   the 

LXX,  according  to  Vat.  and  Alex,  copies;  but  the  Com  pi. 
and  Aid.  editions  have  it  more  fully  thus,  K*<  ep&tefafltu  «$ 
TO*  ugoaov  «v<y,  xcti  Kot]ui  and  the  Arabic,  from  the  LXX,  as 

if  it  had    Stood    thus,  K«t<   epJo&r^otfoti    ti$  rtv    xgetvov,  x,a.t  ei$   rr,v  <ytp 

Kttlu  :  both  of  which  are  plainly  defective ;  the  words  e/$  TV 
w*  being  wanted  in  the  former,  and  the  word  *v«  in  the 


CHAP.  V.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  181 

latter.  But  an  ancient  Coptic  version  from  the  LXX,  sup- 
posed to  be  of  the  2d  century,  some  fragments  of  which  are 
preserved  in  the  library  of  St.  Germain  des  Prez  at  Paris, 
completes  the  sentence;  for,  according  to  this  version,  it 

Stood    thus    in    LXX,    Kat  ef&te-^ovla.i  £/$  rov  xgavov  ctvu,  X.CM  e/$  rsjy 

y»j»  *atl»i  and  so  it  stands  in  LXX,  MSS  Pachom.  and  i. 
D.  ii.  according  to  which  they  must  have  read  in  their  He- 
brew text  in  this  manner :  T\urh  ptfji  rhynh  Dwb  ami. 
This  is  probably  the  true  reading  ;  with  which  I  have  made 
the  translation  agree.  Compare  chap.  viii.  22.  where  the 
same  sense  is  expressed  in  regard  to  both  particulars,  which 
are  here  equally  and  highly  proper,  the  looking  upwards,  as 
well  as  clown  to  the  earth  ;  but  the  'form  of  expression  is 
varied.  I  believe  the  Hebrew  text  in  that  place  to  be  right, 
though  not  so  full  as  I  suppose  it  was  originally  here ;  and 
that  of  the  LXX  there  to  be  redundant,  being  as  full  as  the 
Coptic  version,  and  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  u.  represent  it 
in  this  place,  from  which  I  suppose  it  has  been  interpolated. 

Ibid,  the  gloomy  vapour]  Syr.  and  Vulg.  seems  to  have 
read  nbavs-  But  Jarchi  explains  the  present  reading  as 
signifying  darkness;  and  so  possibly  Syr.  and  Yulg.  may 
have  understood  it  in  the  same  manner. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

As  this  vision  seems  to  contain  a  solemn  designation  of 
Isaiah  to  the  prophetical  office,  it  is  by  most  interpreters 
thought  to  be  the  first  in  order  of  his  prophecies.  But  this 
perhaps  may  not  be  so  :  for  Isaioh  is  said,  in  the  general  title 
of  his  Prophecies,  to  have  prophesied  in  the  time  of  Uzziah  ; 
whose  acts  first  and  last  he  wrote,  2  Chron.  xxvi.  22.  which 
was  usually  done  by  a  contemporary  Prophet :  and  the  phrase, 
"  in  the  year  when  Uzziah  died,"  probably  means  after  the 
death  of  Uzziah  ;  as  the  same  phrase,  chap.  xiv.  28.  means 
after  the  death  of  Ahaz.  Not  that  Isaiah's  prophecies  are 
placed  in  exact  order  of  time  :  chapters  ii.  iii.  iv.  v.  seem  by 
internal  marks  to  be  antecedent  to  chap.  i. ;  they  suit  the  time 
of  Uzziah,  or  the  former  part  of  Jotham's  reign ;  whereas 
chap.  i.  can  hardly  be  earlier  than  the  last  years  of  Jotham. 
See  note  on  chap.  i.  7.  and  ii.  1.  This  might  be  a  new  de- 
signation, to  introduce  more  solemnly  a  general  declaration 
of  the  whole  course  of  God's  dispensations  in  regard  to  his 
21 


182  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VI. 

people,  and  the  fates  of  the  nation  ;  which  are  even  now  still 
depending,  and  will  not  be  fully  accomplished  till  the  final 
restoration  of  Israel. 

In  this  vision  the  ideas  are  taken  in  general  from  royal 
majesty,  as  displayed  by  the  Monarchs  of  the  East ;  for  the 
Prophet  could  not  represent  the  ineffable  presence  of  God 
by  any  other  than  sensible  and  earthly  images.  The  partic- 
ular scenery  of  it  is  taken  from  the  temple.  God  is  repre- 
sented as  seated  on  his  throne  above  the  ark  in  the  most 
holy  place,  where  the  glory  appeared  above  the  cherubim, 
surrounded  by  his  attendant  ministers.  This  is  called  by 
God  himself,  "  The  place  of  his  throne,  and  the  place  of  the 
soles  of  his  feet ; >;  Ezek.  xliii.  7.  "  A  glorious  throne,  ex- 
alted of  old,  is  the  place  of  our  sanctuary,"  saith  the  Prophet 
Jeremiah,  chap.  xvii.  12.  The  very  posture  of  sitting  is  a 
mark  of  state  and  solemnity:  "Sed  et  ipsuin  verbum  sedere 
regni  significat  potestatem,"  saith  Jerome,  Comment,  in 
Ephes.  i.  20.  See  note  on  chap.  lii.  2.  St.  John,  who  has 
taken  many  sublime  images  from  the  Prophets  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  in  particular  from  Isaiah,  hath  exhibited  the 
same  scenery,  drawn  out  into  a  greater  number  of  particulars, 
Rev.  chap.  iv. 

The  veil,  separating  the  most  holy  place  from  the  holy,  or 
outermost  part  of  the  temple,  is  here  supposed  to  be  taken 
away  ;  for  the  Prophet,  to  whom  the  whole  is  exhibited,  is 
manifestly  placed  by  the  altar  of  burnt-offering,  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  temple,  (compare  Ezek.  xliii.  5,  6.),  which  was 
filled  with  the  train  of  the  robe,  the  spreading  and  overflow- 
ing of  the  divine  glory.  The  Lord  upon  the  throne,  accord- 
ing to  St.  John,  xii.  41.  was  Christ;  and  the  vision  related 
to  his  future  kingdom  ;  when  the  veil  of  separation  was  to 
be  removed,  and  the  whole  earth  was  to  be  filled  with  the 
glory  of  God,  revealed  to  all  mankind  :  which  is  likewise  im- 
plied in  the  hymn  of  the  seraphim  ;  the  design  of  which  is, 
saith  Jerom  on  the  place,  '  ut  mysterium  Triuitatis  in  una 
Divinitate  demonstrent ;  et  neqimquam  templum  Judaicum, 
sicut  prius,  sed  omnem  terram  illius  gloria  plenam  esse  tes- 
tentur."  It  relates  indeed  primarily,  to  the  Prophet's  own 
time,  and  the  obdu ration  of  the  Jews  of  that  age,  and  their 
punishment  by  the  Babylonish  captivity  ;  but  extends  in  its 
full  latitude  to  the  age  of  Messiah,  and  the  blindness  of  the 
Jews  to  the  gospel ;  (see  Matt.  xiii.  14.  John  xii.  40.  Acts 
xxviii.  26.  Rom.  xi.  8.);  the  desolation  of  their  country  by 
the  Romans,  and  their  being  rejected  by  God  :  that  never- 


CHAP.  VI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  183 

theless  a  holy  seed,  a  remnant,  should  be  preserved,  and  that 
the  nation  should  sprout  out  and  flourish  again  from  the  old 
stock. 

In  the  first  verse,  fifty-one  MSS,  and  one  edition  ;  in  the 
8th  verse,  forty-four  MSS,  and  one  edition  ;  and  in  the  llth 
verse,  thirty-three  MSS,  and  one  edition,  for  »nx,  "  the 
Lord,"  read  mn%  "  JEHOVAH  ;"  which  is  probably  the  true 
reading,  (compare  verse  6th)  ;  as  in  many  other  places,  in 
which  the  superstition  of  the  Jews  has  substituted  tnx  for 
mrv. 

2.  he  cover  eth  his  feet.}     By  the  feetlbe  Hebrews  mean 
all  the  lower  parts  of  the  body.     But  the  people  of  the  East 
generally   wearing  long  robes  reaching  to  the  ground,  and 
covering  the  lower  parts  of  the  body  down  to  the  feet,  it  may 
hence  have  been   thought  want  of  respect  and  decency  to 
appear  in   public,  and  on  solemn  occasions,  with  even  the 
feet  themselves  uncovered.     Kcmpfer,  speaking  of  the  king 
of  Persia  giving  audience,  says  ;  "  Rex   in  medio  supremi 
atrii  cruribus  more  patrio  inflexis  sedebat :  corpus  tunica  in- 
vestiebat  flava,  ad  suras  cum  staret   protensa ;  discumbentis 
vero  pedes  discalcealos  pro  urbanitate  patria  operiens: " 
Arnoeri.  Exot.  p.   227.     Sir  John  Chardin's  MS  note  on  this 
place  of  Isaiah  is  as  follows  :  "  Grande  marque  de  respect  en. 
Orient  de  se  cach^r  les  pieds,  quand  on  est  assis,  et  de  b  tisser 
le  visage.     Quand  le  soverain  se  monstre  en  Chine  et  a  Jap- 
on,  chacun  se  jette  le  visage  centre  terre,  ei  il  n'est  pas  permis 
de  regarder  le  roi." 

3.  Holy,  holy,  holy — ]     This  hymn,   performed   by  the 
seraphim,  divided  into   two   choirs,  the  one  singing  respon- 
sively  to  the  other,  which   Gregory  Nazian.   Carm.  18.  very 
elegantly  calls   St^^vey,  avrtipavovj  a/yeA^v  rxnv,  is  formed  upon 
the  practice   of  alternate   singing,    which    prevailed    in    the 
Jewish  church  from  the  time  of  Moses,  whose  ode  at  the 
Red  Sea  was  thus  performed,  (see  Exod.  xv.  20,  21.),   to 
that  of  Ezra,  under  whom  the  priests  and  Levites  sung  al- 
ternately, 

"  O  praise  JEHOVAH,  for  he  is  gracious; 
For  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever." 

Ezra  iii.  11.     See   De  S.  Poes.  Hebr.   Prael.   xix.  at  the  be- 
ginning. 

5.  lam  struck  dumb.]     Man:,  twenty-eight  MSS  (five 
anc'eni)  and  three  editions.     I  understand  it  as  from  on,  or 
and  so  it  is  rendered  by  Syr.  Vulg.  Sym.  and 


184  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VI. 

by  some  of  the  Jewish  interpreters,  apud.  Sal.  b.  Melee. 
The  rendering  of  the  Syriac.  is,  »jx  Tin,  stupens,  attonitus 
sum.  He  immediately  gives  the  reason  why  he  was  struck 
dumb ;  because  he  was  a  man  of  polluted  lips,  and  dwelt 
among  a  people  of  polluted  lips  ;  and  was  unworthy  either  to 
join  the  seraphim  in  singing  praises  to  God,  or  to  be  the  mes- 
senger of  God  to  his  people.  Compare  Exod.  iv.  10.  vi.  12. 
Jer.  i.  6. 

6.  from  off  the  altar  J\  That  is,  from  the  altar  of  burnt- 
offering,  before  the  door  of  the  temple  ;  on  which  the  fire  that 
came  down  at  first  from  heaven,  Lev.  ix.  24.  2  Chron.  vii.  1. 
was  perpetually  kept  burning  :  it  was  never  to  be  extinguish- 
ed, Lev.  vi.  12,  13. 

9.  Thirteen  MSS  have  n*o,  in  the  regular  form. 

10.  Make  gross — ]     The  Prophet  speaks  of  the  event,  the 
fact  as  it  would  actually  happen ;   not  of  God's  purpose  and 
act  by  his  ministry.     The  Prophets  are  in  other  places  said  to 
perform  the  thing  which  they  only  foretell : — 

"  Lo  !  I  have  given  thee  a  charge  this  day, 

Over  the  nations,  and  over  the  kingdoms  ; 

To  pluck  up,  and  to  pull  down  ; 

To  destroy,  and  to  demolish  ; 

To  build,  and  to  plant."  Jer.  i.  10. 

And  Ezekiel  says,  "  when  I  came  to  destroy  the  city ; " 
that  is,  as  it  is  rendered  in  the  margin  of  our  version, 
"  when  I  came  to  prophesy,  that  the  city  should  be  destroy- 
ed ;  "  chap,  xliii.  3.  To  hear,  and  not  understand  ;  to  see, 
and  not  perceive  ;  is  a  common  saying  in  many  languages. 
Demosthenes  uses  it,  and  expressly  calls  it  a  proverb  :  *Ve  ro 

TV&    •zragtifAtots    ogavTctt    fuj    ogety,    MU   ctxovovrcv;    fw    ctKovtn  :    Contra 

Aristogit.  i.  sub  fin.  The  Prophet,  by  the  bold  figure  in  the 
sentiment  above-mentioned,  and  the  elegant  form  and  con- 
struction of  the  sentence,  has  raised  it  from  a  common  proverb 
into  a  beautiful  mashaL  and  given  it  the  sublime  air  of  poetry. 
Ibid.  — close  up]  jwn :  this  word  Sal.  b.  Melee,  ex- 
plains to  this  sense,  in  which  it  is  hardly  used  elsewhere,  on 
the  authority  of  Onkelos.  He  says,  it  means  closing  up  the 
eyes,  so  that  one  cannot  see  ;  that  the  root  is  ywt  by  which 
word  the  Targum  has  rendered  the  word  no,  Lev.  xiv.  42. 
n»D  nx  MB),  "  and  shall  plaster  the  house."  And  the 
word  nD  is  used  in  the  same  sense,  Isa.  xliv.  18.  So  that  it. 
signifies  to  close  up  the  eyes  by  some  matter  spread  upon 
the  lids.  Mr.  Harmer  very  ingeniously  applies  to  this  pas- 


CHAP.  VI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  185 

gage  a  practice  of  sealing  up  the  eyes  as  a  ceremonv,  or  as  a 
kind  of  punishment,  used  in  the  East,  from  which  the  image 
may  possibly  be  taken.  Observations,  ii.  278. 

Ibid.  — with  their  hearts.]    laa^i,  fifteen  MSS,  arid  two 
editions. 

Ibid.  — and  I  should  heal]      N*nw,   LXX,    Vulg.     So 
likewise  Matt.  xiii.  14.  John  xii.  4.0.  Actsxxviii.  27. 

11.  — be  left.]     For  rwffn,  LXX  and  Vulg.  read  ix#n. 

13.  — a  tenth  part]  This  passage,  though  somewhat 
obscure,  and  variously  explained  by  various  interpreters, 
yet,  I  think,  has  been  made  so  clear  by  the  accomplishment 
of  the  prophecy,  that  there  remains  little  room  to  doubt  of 
the  sense  of  it.  When  Nebuchadnezzar  had  carried  away 
the  greater  and  better  part  of  the  people  into  captivity, 
there  was  yet  a  tenth  remaining  in  the  land,  the  poorer 
sort,  left  to  be  vine-dressers  and  husbandmen,  under  Geda- 
liali,  2  Kings  xxv.  12.  2£.;  and  the  dispersed  Jews  gathered 
themselves  together,  and  returned  to  him,  Jer.  xl.  12.:  yet 
even  these,  fleeing  into  Egypt  after  the  death  of  Gedaliah, 
contrary  to  the  warning  of  God  given  by  the  Prophet  Jere- 
miah, miserably  perished  there.  Again,  in  the  subsequent 
and  more  remarkable  completion  of  the  prophecy,  in  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  dissolution  of  the  com- 
monwealth by  the  Romans,  when  the  Jews,  after  the  loss  of 
above  \\  million  of  men.  had  increased  from  the  scanty  resi- 
due that  was  left  of  them,  and  had  become  very  numerous 
again  in  their  country;  Hadrian,  provoked  by  their  rebel- 
lious behaviour,  slew  above  half  a  million  more  of  them,  and 
a  second  time  almost  extirpated  the  nation.  Yet  after  these 
signal  and  almost  universal  destructions  of  that  nation,  and 
after 'so  many  other  repeated  exterminations  and  massacres 
of  them,  in  different  times  a-nci  on  various  occasions  since, 
we  yet  sen,  with  astonishment,  that  the  stock  still  remains, 
froii,  which  God.  according  to  his  promise,  frequently  given 
by  his  Prophets,  will  cause  his  people  to  shoot  forth  again,  and 
to  flourish. 

Pof  rr,  above  seventy  MSS  (eleven  ancient")  read  H2 ;  and 
so  LXX. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  confederacy  of  Relsin  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah 
kin  :  of  Israel,  against  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  was  formed  in 
the  -ime  of  Jotham  ;  and  perhaps  the  effects  of  it  were  felt 


186  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VII. 

in  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  :  see  2  Kings  xv.  37.  and 
note  on  chap.  i.  7 — 9.  However,  in  the  very  beginning 
of  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  they  jointly  invaded  Judah  with  a 
powerful  army,  and  threatened  to  destroy,  or  to  dethrone, 
the  house  of  David.  The  king  and  royal  family  being  in 
the  utmost  consternation  on  receiving  advices  of  their  designs, 
Isaiah  is  sent  to  them  to  support  and  comfort  them  in  their 
present  distress,  by  assuring  them,  that  God  would  make 
good  his  promises  to  David  and  his  house.  This  makes  the 
subject  of  this,  and  the  following,  and  the  beginning  of  the 
ninth  chapters ;  in  which  there  are  many  and  great  diffi- 
culties. 

Chapter  vii.  begins  with  an  historical  account  of  the  occa- 
sion of  this  prophecy  ;  and  then  follows,  ver.  4 — 16.  a  pre- 
diction of  the  ill  success  of  the  designs  of  the  Israelites  and 
Syrians  against  Judah ;  and,  from  thence  to  the  end  of  the 
chapter,  a  denunciation  of  the  calamities  to  be  brought  upon 
the  king  and  people  of  Judah  by  the  Assyrians,  whom  they 
had  now  hired  to  assist  them.  Chapter  viii.  has  a  pretty 
close  connexion  with  the  foregoing :  it  contains  a  confirma- 
tion of  the  prophecy  before  given  of  the  approaching  de- 
struction of  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Syria  by  the  Assy- 
rians ;  of  the  denunciation  of  the  invasion  of  Judah  by  the 
same  Assyrians :  ver.  9,  10.  give-  a  repeated  general  assur- 
ance, that  all  the  designs  of  the  enemies  of  God's  people  shall 
be  in  the  end  disappointed,  and  brought  to  nought :  ver.  11, 
&c.  admonitions  and  threatenings,  (I  do  not  attempt  a  more 
particular  explanation  of  this  very  difficult  part),  concluding 
with  an  illustrious  prophecy  (chap.  ix.  I — 6.)  of  the  mani- 
festation of  Messiah  ;  the  transcendent  dignity  of  his  char- 
acter ;  and  the  universality  and  eternal  duration  of  his 
kingdom. 

4.  The  Syriac  omits-DiNi ;  Vulg.  reads  DIX  -J^D  :  one  or  the 
other  seems  to  be  the  true  read  i  no-.  I  prefer  the  former  ;  or, 
instead  of  pi  DIM,  read  p  np3i,  MS. 

8,  9.  Though  the  head  of  Syria  be  Damascus, 

And  the  head  of  Damascus,  Retsin  ; 

Yet  within  threescore  and  five  years 

Ephraim  shall  be  broken,  that  he  be  no  more  a  people  : 

And  the  head  of  Ephraim  be  Samaria; 

And  the  head  of  Samaria,  Remaliah's  son.] 

"  Here  are  six  lines,  or  three  distichs,  the  order  of  which 
seems  to  have  been  disturbed  by  a  transposition,  occasioned 
by  three  of  the  lines  beginning  with  the  same  word 


CHAP.  VII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 

which  three  lines  ought  not  to  have  been  separated  by  any 
other  line  intervening;  but  a  copyist,  having  written  the 
first  of  them,  and  casting  his  eye  on  the  third,  might  easily 
proceed  to  write,  after  the  first  line  beginning  with  mm, 
that  which  ought  to  have  followed  the  third  line  beginning 
with  ty&ni.  Then,  finding  his  mistake,  to  preserve  tire 
beauty  of  his  copy,  added  at  the  end  the  distich  which 
should  have  been  in  the  middle ;  making  that  the  second 
distich  which  ought  to  have  been  the  third.  For  the  order 
as  it  now  stands  is  preposterous  :  the  destruction  of  Ephraim 
is  denounced,  and  then  their  grandeur  is  set  forth  j  whereas 
naturally  the  representation  of  the  grandeur  of  Ephraim 
should  precede  that  of  their  destruction.  And  the  destruc- 
tion of  Ephraim  has  no  coherence  with  the  grandeur  of 
Syria,  simply  as  such,  which  it  now  follows ;  but  it  naturally 
and  properly  follows  the  grandeur  of  Ephraim,  joined  to  that 
of  Syria  their  ally. 

"  The  arrangement  then  of  the  whole  sentence  seems 
originally  to  have  been  thus  : 

"  Though  the  head  of  Syria  be  Damascus; 
And  the  head  of  Damascus,  Retsin: 
And  the  head  of  Ephraim  be  Samaria; 
And  the  head  of  Samaria,  Remaliah's  son: 
Yet  within  threescore   and  five  years 
Ephraim  shall  be  broken,  that  he  be  no  more  a  people." 

Dr.  JUBB. 

8.  — threescore  and  Jive  years\  It  was  sixty-five  years 
from  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  when  this  pro- 
phecy was  delivered,  to  the  total  depopulation  of  the  king- 
dom of  Israel  by  Esarhaddon,  who  carried  away  the  re- 
mains of  the  ten  tribes  which  had  been  left  by  Tiglath 
Pileser  and  Shalmaneser,  and  who  planted  the  country  with 
new  inhabitants.  That  the  country  was  not  wholly  stripped 
of  its  inhabitants  by  Shalmaneser,  appears  from  many  pas- 
sages of  the  history  of  Josiah  ;  where  Israelites  are  men- 
tioned as  still  remaining  there,  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  6,  7.  33. 
and  xxxv.  18.  2  Kings  xxiii.  19,  20.  This  seems  to  be  the 
best  explanation  of  the  chronological  difficulty  in  this  place, 
which  has  much  embarrassed  the  commentators:  see  Usserii 
Anna!.  V.  T.  ad  an.  3327  ;  and  Sir  I.  Newton,  Chronol.  p.  283. 

"  That  the  last  deportation  of  Israel  by  Esarhaddon  was 
in  the  sixty-fifth  year  after  the  second  of  Ahaz,  is  probable, 
for  the  following  reasons  :  The  Jews,  in  Seder  Olam  Rabba, 


188  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VII. 

and  the  Talmudist*,  in  D.  Kimchi  on  Ezek.  iv.  say,  that 
Manasseh  king  of  J  idah  was  carried  to  Babylon  by  the  king 
of  Assyria's  captains,  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11.  in  the  twenty- 
second  year  of  his  reign  ;  that  is,  before  Christ  676,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Blair's  tables.  And  they  are  probably  right  in 
this.  It  could  not  be  much  earlier ;  as  the  king  of  Assyria 
was  not  king  of  Babylon  till  680  ;  ibid.  As  Esarhaddon 
was  then  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Samaria,  it  is  highly  pro- 
bable that  he  did  then  carry  away  the  last  remains  of  Israel ; 
and  brought  those  strangers  thither,  who  mention  him  as 
their  founder,  Ezra  iv.  2.  But  this  year  is  just  the 'sixty- 
fifth  year  from  the  second  of  Ahaz,  which  was  740  before 
Christ.  Now  the  carrying  away  of  the  last  remains  of 
Israel,  (who,  till  then,  though  their  kingdom  was  destroyed 
forty-five  years  before,  and  though  small  in  number,  yet 
might  keep  up  some  form  of  being  a  people,  by  living  ac- 
cording to  their  own  laws),  entirely  put  an  end  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Israel,  as  a  people  separate  from  all  others  :  for  from 
this  time  they  never  retnrne  I  to  their  own  country  in  a  body, 
but  were  confounded  with  the  people  of  Judah  in  the  captivity  ; 
and  the  whole  people,  the  ten  tribes  included,  were  called 
Jews."  Dr.  JUBB. 

9.  If  ye  believe  not — ]  "  This  clause  is  very  much  illus- 
trated, by  considering  the  captivity  of  Manasseh  as  happen- 
ing, at  the  same  lime  with  this  predicted  final  ruin  of 
Ephraim  as  a  people.  The  near  connexion  of  the  two 
facts  makes  the  prediction  of  the  one  naturally  to  cohere 
with  the  prediction  of  the  other.  And  tho«  words  are  well 
suited  to  this  event  in  the  history  of  the  people  of  Judah. 
"If  ye  believe  not,  ye  shall  not.  be  established;"  ihnt  is, 
unless  ye  believe  this  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Israel, 
ye  Jews  also,  as  well  as  the  people  of  Israel,  shall  not  re- 
main established  as  a  kingdom  and  people  ;  ye  also  shall  be 
visited  with  punishment  at  the  same  time:  As  our  Saviour 
told  the  Jews  in  his  time,  "  unless  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all 
likewise  perish;"  intimating  their  destruction  by  the  Ro- 
mans ;  to  which  also,  as  well  as  to  the  captivity  of  Manas^eh, 
and  to  the  Babylonish  captivity,  the  views  of  the  Prophet 
might  here  extend.  The  close  connexion  of  this  threat  IP  the 
Jews,  with  the  prophecy  of  the  destruction  of  Israel,  is  another 
strong  proof,  that  the  order  of  the  preceding  lines  above  pro- 
posed is  right."  Dr.  JUBB. 

Ibid.  If  ye  believe  not  in.  me — ]  The  exhortation  of  Je- 
hoslmplial  to  his  people,  when  God  had  promised  to  them,  by 


CHAP.  VII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  189 

the  Prophet  Jahaziel,  victory  over  the  Moabites  and  Ammon- 
ites, is  very  like  this,  both  in  sense  and  expression,  and  seems 
to  be  delivered  in  verse  : 

"  Hear  me,  O  Judah  ;  and  ye  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem! 
Believe  in  JEHOVAH  your  God,  and  ye  shall  be  established: 
Believe  his  prophets,  and  ye  shall  prosper."  2  Chron   xx.  20. 

Where  both  the  sense  and  construction  render  very  proba- 
ble a  conjecture  of  Archbishop  Seeker  on  this  place  ;  that 
instead  of  o  we  should  read  vj.  "If  ye  will  not  believe  in 
me,  ye  shall  not  be  established."  So  likewise  Dr.  Durell. 
The  Chaldee  has,  "  If  ye  will  not  believe  in  the  words  of  the 
Prophet , "  which  seems  to  be  a  paraphrase  of  the  reading 
here  proposed,  In  favour  of  which  it  may  be  further  ob- 
served, that  in  one  MS  o  is  upon  a  rasure ;  and  another  for 
the  last  x1?  reads  *6i ;  which  would  properly  follow  o,  but 
could  not  follow  '3. 

11.  Go  deep  to  the  grave — ]  So  Aquila,  Sym.  Theodot. 
Vufc. 

14.  JEHOVAH]  For  TIN,  twenty-five  MSS  (nine  ancient) 
read  mrr.  And  so  ver.  20.  eighteen  MSS. 

14 — 16.  When  he  shall  know — ]  "Though  so  much 
has  been  written  on  this  important  passage,  there  is  an  ob- 
scurity and  inconsequence  which  still  attends  it,  in  the  gen- 
eral run  of  all  the  interpretations  given  to  it  by  the  most 
learned.  Arid  this  obscure  incoherence  is  given  to  it  by  the 
false  rendering  of  a  Hebrew  particle,  viz.  b  in  in^i1?.  This 
has  been  generally  rendered,  either  "  that  he  may  know," 
or  "  till  he  know."  It  is  capable  of  either  version,  without 
doubt.  But  either  of  these  versions  makes  ver.  15.  incoherent 
and  inconsistent  with  ver.  16.  For  ver.  16.  plainly  means  to 
give  a  reason  for  the  assertion  in  ver.  15. ;  because  it  is  sub- 
joined to  it.  by  the  particle  »3,  for.  But  it  is  no  reason  why 
a  child  should  eat  butter  arid  honey  till  he  was  at  an  age  to 
distinguish,  that  before  that  time  the  land  of  his  nativity 
should  be  free  from  its  enemies.  This  latter  supposition 
indeed  implies  what  is  inconsistent  with  the  preceding  asser- 
tion :  For  it  implies,  that  in  part  of  that  time  of  the  infancy 
spoken  of,  the  land  should  not  be  free  from  enemies,  and 
consequently  these  species  of  delicate  food  could  not  be  at- 
tainable., as  they  are  in  times  of  peace.  The  other  version, 
"  that  he  may  know,"  has  no  meaning  at  all :  For  what  sense 
is  there  in  asserting,  that  a  child  shall  eat  butter  and  honey, 


190  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VII. 

that  he  may  know  to  refuse  evil  and  choose  good  ?  Is  there 
.any  such  effect  in  this  food  ?  Surely  no.  Besides,  the  child 
is  thus  represented  to  eat  (hose  things,  which  only  a  state  of 
peace  produces,  during  its  whole  infancy,  inconsistent ly  with 
ver.  16.  which  promises  a  relief  from  enemies  only  before  the 
end  of  this  infancy  ;  implying  plainly,  that  part  of  it  would 
l>e  passed  in  distressful  times  of  war  and  siege  ;  which  was 
the  state  of  things  when  the  prophecy  was  delivered. 

'•  But  all  these  objections  are  cut  off,  and  a  clear  cohe- 
rent sense  is  given  to  this  passage,  by  giving  another  sense 
to  the  particle  *? ;  which  never  occurred  to  me  till  I  saw  it 
in  Harmer's  Observat.  vol.  i.  p.  299.  See  how  coherent 
the  words  of  the  Prophet  run,  with  how  natural  a  connexion 
one  clause  follows  another,  by  properly  rendering  this  one 
panicle  : — "  Behold  this  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son, 
and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Immanuel :  Butter  and  honey 
shall  he  eat,  when  he  shall  know  to  refuse  evil,  arid  choose 
good.  For,  before  this  child  shall  know  to  refuse  evil,  and 
choose  good,  the  land  shall  be  desolate,  by  whose  two  kings 
thou  art  distressed."  Thus  ver.  16.  subjoins  a  plain  reason 
why  the  child  should  eat  butter  and  honey,  the  food  of  plen- 
tiful times,  when  he  came  to  a  distinguishing  age  ;  viz.  be- 
cause before  that  time  the  country  of  the  two  kings,  who  now 
dis  ressed  Judea,  should  be  desolated  ;  and  so  Judea  should 
recover  that  plenty  which  attends  peace.  That  this  render- 
ing, which  gives  perspicuity  and  rational  connexion  to  the 
passage,  is  according  to  the  use  of  the  Hebrew  particle  is 
certain.  Thus,  ip3  nua1?,  "  at  the  appearing  of  morning, 
or,  10. ten  morning  appeared;"  Exod.  xiv.  27.  b^xn  nyS, 
(i  at  meal-time,  or,  when  it  was  time  to  eat ;  "  Ruth.  ii.  14. 
In  the  same  riianner,  my*!1?,  "  at  his  knowing,  that  is,  when 
he  knows." 

"  Harmer  (Ibid.))  has  clearly  shewn,  that  these  articles  of 
food  are  delicacies  in  the  East ;  and  as  such  denote  a  state 
of  plenty.  See  also  Josh.  v.  6.  They  therefore  naturally 
express  the  plenty  of  the  country,  as  a  mark  of  peace  re- 
stored to  it.  Indeed,  ver.  22.  it  expresses  a  plenty  arising 
from  the  thinness  of  the  people;  but  that  it  signifies,  ver.  15. 
a  plenty  arising  from  deliverance  from  war  then  present,  ig 
evi  lent ;  because  otherwise  there  is  no  expression  of  this 
deliverance.  And  that  a  deliverance  was  intended  to  be 
here  expressed  is  plain,  from  calling  the  child,  which  should 
be  born,  Immanuel,  God  with  us.  It  is  plain,  also,  because 


CHAF.  VIL  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH, 

it  is  before  given  to  the  Prophet,  in  charge  ta  make  a  decla- 
ration of  the  deliverance,  vei\  3  —  7.;  and  k  is  there  made  j 
and  this  prophecy  must  undoubtedly  be  conformable  to  that  in 
this  matter."  Dr.  JUBB. 

The  circumstance  of  the  child's  eating  butter  and  honey 
is  explained  by  Jarchi  as  denoting  a  state  of  plenty  :  "  Buty- 
rum  et  mel  comedet  infans  iste,  quoniam  terra  nostra  plena 
erit  omnis  boni  :  "  Comment,  in  locum.  The  int'aQt  Jupiter, 
says  Callimachus,  was  tenderly  nursed  with  goat's  milk  and 
honey  :  Hymn,  in  Jov.  48.  Homer,  of  the  orphan  daughters 
of  Pandareus, 

"  KajW./c-3-f  Jg  ft  Afyohry 
Tyfo>,  ttxt  /u.£*.irt  •yXvMfta,  *«<  *r,}ei  ofvo>."  OdySS.  XX.  68. 

"  Venus  in  tender  delicacy  rears 

With  honey,  milk,  and  wine,  their  infant  years."        Pope, 


/v  iv}ei£t?     "  This  is  a  description   of  delicate  food," 
says  Eusiathius  on  the  place. 

Agreeably  to  the  observations  communicated  by  the 
learned  person  above-mentioned,  which  perfectly  well  ex- 
plain the  historical  sense  of  this  much-disputed  passage,  not 
•excluding  a  higher  secondary  sense,  the  obvious  and  literal 
meaning  of  the  prophecy  is  this  :  '  That  within  the  time  that 
a  young  woman,  now  a  virgin,  should  conceive  and  bring 
forth  a  child,  and  that  child  should  arrive  at  such  an  ago 
as  to  distinguish  between  good  and  evil,  that  is,  within  a 
few  years,  (compare  chap.  viii.  4),  the  enemies  of  Judah 
should  be  destroyed.'  But  the  prophecy  is  introduced  in  so 
solemn  a,  manner  ;  the  sign  is  so  marked,  as  a  sign  selected 
and  given  by  God  himself,  after  Ahaz  had  rejected  the  offer 
of  any  sign  of  his  own  choosing  out  of  the  whole  compass 
of  nature;  the  terms  of  the  prophecy  are  so  peculiar,  and 
the  name  of  the  child  so  expressive,  containing  in  them 
much  more  than  the  circumstances  of  the  birth  of  a  common 
child  required,  or  even  admitted  ;  that  we  may  easily  sup- 
pose, that,  in  minds  prepared  by  the  general  expectation  of 
a  great  Deliverer  to  spring  from  the  house  of  David,  they 
raised  hopes  far  beyond  what  the  present  occasion  suggested  ; 
especially  when  it  was  found,  that  in  the  subsequent  pro- 
phecy, delivered  immediately  afterward,  this  child,  called 
Immanuel,  is  treated  as  the  Lord  and  Prince  of  the  land  of 
Judah.  Who  could  this  be,  other  than  the  heir  of  the 
throne  of  David  ?  under  which  character  a  great  and  even 


192  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VII. 

a  divine  person  had  been  promised.  INo  one  of  that  age 
answered  to  this  character,  except  Hezekiah ;  but  he  was 
certainly  born  nine  or  ten  years  before  the  delivery  of  this 
prophecy.  That  this  was  so  understood  at  that  time,  is 
collected,  I  think,  with  great  probability,  from  a  passage  of 
Micah,  a  Prophet  contemporary  with  Isaiah,  but  who  began 
to  prophesy  after  him  ;  and  who,  as  I  have  already  observed, 
imitated  him,  and  sometimes  used  his  expressions.  Micah, 
having  delivered  that  remarkable  prophecy,  which  deter- 
mines the  place  of  the  birth  of  Messiah,  "  the  ruler  of  God's 
people,  whose  goings  forth  have  been  of  old,  from  everlast- 
ing;"  that  it  should  be  Bethlehem  Ephrata;  adds  imme- 
diately, that  nevertheless,  in  the  mean  time,  God  would 
deliver  his  people  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies :  "  he  will 
give  them  up.  till  she,  who  is  to  bear  a  child,  shall  bring 
forth  ;  "  Micah.  v.  3.  This  obviously  and  plainly  refers  to 
some  known  prophecy  concerning  a  woman  to  bring  forth 
a  child  ;  and  seems  much  more  properly  applicable  to  this 
passage  of  Isaiah,  than  to  any  others  of  the  same  Prophet, 
to  which  some  interpreters  have  applied  it.  St.  Matthew, 
therefore,  in  applying  this  prophecy  to  the  birth  of  Christ, 
does  it  not  merely  in  the  way  of  accommodating  the  words  of 
the  Prophet  to  a  suitable  case  not  in  the  Prophet's  view  ;  but 
takes  it  in  its  strictest,  clearest,  and  most  important  sense,  and 
applies  it  according  to  the  original  design  and  principal  inten- 
tion of  the  Prophet. 

17.  But  JEHOVAH  will  bring]    Houbigant  reads  arm, 
from  LXX ;  *M*  eKafyi  o  Ow :  to  mark  the  transition  to  a 
new  subject. 

Ibid.  Even  the  king  of  Assyria — ]  Houbigant  supposes 
these  words  to  have  been  a  marginal  gloss,  brought  into  the 
text  by  mistake  ;  and  so  likewise  Archbp.  Seeker.  Besides 
their  having  no  force  or  effect  here,  they  do  not  join  well  in 
construction  with  the  words  preceding  ;  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  strange  manner  in  which  the  ancient  interpreters  have 
taken  them  ;  and  they  very  inelegantly  forestall  the  mention 
of  the  king  of  Assyria,  which  comes  in  with  great  propriety 
in  the  20th  verse.  1  have  therefore  taken  the  liberty  of  omit- 
ting them  in  the  translation. 

18.  — hist  the  fly]     See  note  on  chap.  v.  26. 

Ibid.  Egypt  and  Assyria]  Senacherib,  Esarhaddon, 
Pharao  Necho,  and  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  one  after  another 
desolated  Judea. 


CHAP.  VII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  193 

19.  — caverns]     So  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg.  whence  Houbigant 
supposes  the  true  reading  to  betrVTfWl. 

20.  — the  river]     That  is,  the  Euphrates  ;  iron,  so  read 
the  LXX,  and  two  MSS. 

Ibid.  JEHOVAH  shall  shave  by  the  hired  rasor — ]  To 
shave  with  the  hired  rasor  the  head,  the  feet,  and  the  heard, 
is  an  expression  highly  parabolical ;  to  denote  the  utter  de- 
vastation of  the  country  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  the 
plundering  of  the  people,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  by 
the  Assyrians  ;  whom  God  employed  as  his  instrument  to 
punish  the  Jews.  Ahaz  himself,  in  the  first  place,  hired  the 
king  of  Assyria  to  come  to  help  him  against  the  Syrians, 
by  a  present  made  to  him  of  all  the  treasures  of  the  temple, 
as  well  as  his  own  :  And  God  himself  considered  the  great 
nations,  whom  he  thus  employed,  as  his  mercenaries,  and 
paid  them  their  wages  :  thus  lie  paid  Nebuchadnezzar  for 
his  services  against  Tyre,  by  the  conquest  of  Egypt  ;  Ezek. 
xxix.  18 — 20.  The  hairs  of  the  head  are  those  of  the  high- 
est order  in  the  state  ;  those  of  the  feet,  or  the  lower  parts, 
are  the  common  people ;  the  beard  is  the  king,  the  high- 
priest,  the  very  supreme  in  dignity  arid  majesty.  The 
eastern  people  have  always  held  the  beard  in  the  highest 
veneration,  and  have  been  extremely  jealous  of  its  honour. 
To  pluck  a  man's  beard  is  an  instance  of  the  greatest  in- 
dignity that  can  be  offered.  See  Isa.  1.  6.  The  king  of  the 
Ammonites,  to  shew  the  utmost  contempt  of  David,  "cut 
off  half  the  beards  of  his  servants  ;  and  the  men  were  greatly 
ashamed  :  and  David  bade  them  tarry  at  Jericho  till  their 
beards  were  grown  ; "  2  Sam.  x.  4,  5.  Niebuhr,  Arabie,  p. 
275.  gives  a  modern  instance  of  the  very  same  kind  of  insult. 
"  The  Turks,"  says  Thevenot,  "greatly  esteem  a  man  who 
has  a  fine  beard  :  it  is  a  very  great  affront  to  take  a  man  by 
his  beard,  unless  it  be  to  kiss  it:  they  swear  by  the  beard  ;  " 
Voyages,  i.  p.  57.  D'Arvieux  gives  a  remarkable  instance 
of  an  Arab,  who,  having  received  a  wound  in  his  jaw,  chose 
to  hazard  his  life,  rather  than  suffer  his  surgeon  to  take  off 
his  beard.  Me  moires,  torn.  iii.  p.  214.  See  also  Niebuhr, 
Arabie,  p.  61. 

The  remaining  verses  of  this  chapter,  21 — 25.  contain 
an  elegant  and  very  expressive  description  of  a  country 
depopulated,  and  left  to  run  wild,  from  its  adjuncts  and  cir- 
cumstances: the  vineyards  and  corn-fields,  before  well  cul- 
tivated, now  overrun  with  briers  and  thorns  ;  much  grass, 
22 


194  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VII. 

so  that  the  few  cattle  that  are  left,  a  young  cow  and  two 
sheep,  have  their  full  range,  and  abundant  pasture,  so  as 
to  yield  milk  in  plenty  to  the  scanty  family  of  the  owner ; 
the  thinly  scattered  people,  living  not  on  corn,  wine  and  oil, 
the  produce  of  cultivation,  but.  on  milk  and  honey,  the  gifts 
of  nature  ;  and  the  whole  land  given  up  to  the  wild  beasts  ; 
so  that  the  miserable  inhabitants  are  forced  to  go  out  armed 
with  bows  and  arrows,  either  to  defend  themselves  against 
the  wild  beasts,  or  to  supply  themselves  with  necessary  food 
by  hunting. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  prophecy  in  the  foregoing  chapter  relates  directly  to 
the  kingdom  of  Judah  only  :  the  first  part  of  it  promises  them 
deliverance  from  the  united  invasion  of  the  Israelites  and 
Syrians  ;  the  latter  part,  from  vcr.  17.  denounced  the  de- 
solation to  be  brought  upon  the  kingdom  of  Judah  by  the 
Assyrians.  The  6th,  7th,  and  8th  verses  of  this  chapter, 
seem  to  take  in  both  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah. 
"  This  people,  that  refuseth  the  waters  of  Siloah,"  may  be 
meant  of  both:  the  Israelites  despised  the  kingdom  of  Judah, 
which  they  had  deserted,  and  now  attempted  to  des:roy  ;  the 
people  of  Judah,  from  a  consideration  of  their  own  weak- 
ness, and  a  distrust  of  God's  promises,  being  reduced  to 
despair,  applied  to  the  Assyrians  for  assistance  against  the 
two  confederate  kings.  But  how  could  it  be  said  of  Judah, 
that  they  rejoiced  in  Retsin  and  the  son  'of  Remaliah,  the 
enemies  confederated  against  them  ?  If  some  of  the  people 
were  inclined  to  revolt  to  the  enemy,  which  however  does 
not  clearly  appear  from  any  part  of  the  history  or  the  pro- 
phecy, yet  there  was  nothing  like  a  tendency  to  a  general 
defection.  This,  therefore,  must  be  understood  of  Israel. 
The  Prophet  denounces  the  Assyrian  invasion,  which  should 
overwhelm  the  whole  kingdom  of  Israel  under  Tiglath  Pile- 
ser  and  Shalmaneser  :  and  the  subsequent  invasion  of  Judah 
by  the  same  power  under  Senacherib,  which  would  bring 
them  into  the  most  imminent  danger,  like  a  flood  reaching 
to  the  neck,  in  which  a  man  can  but  just  keep  his  head 
above  water.  The  two  next  verses,  9,  10.  are  addressed  by 
the  Prophet,  as  a  subject  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  to  the 
jsmrlites  and  Syrians  ;  and  perhaps  to  all  the  enemies  of 
God's  people  j  assuring  them,  that  their  attempts  against 


CHAP.  VIII.  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  195 

that  kingdom  shall  be  fruitless ;  for  that  the  promised  Im- 
manuel,  to  whom  he  alludes  by  using  his  name,  to  express 
the  signification  of  it,  for  God  is  with  its,  shall  be  the  de- 
fence of  the  house  of  David,  and  deliver  the  kingdom  of 
Judah  out  of  their  hands.  He  then  proceeds  to  warn  the 
people  of  Judah  against  idolatry,  divination,  and  the  like 
forbidden  practices ;  to  which  they  were  much  inclined,  and 
which  would  soon  bring  down  God's  judgments  upon  Israel. 
The  prophecy  concludes,  at-  the  6th  verse  of  chap.  ix.  with 
promises  of  blessings  in  future  times,  by  the  coming  of  the 
great  Deliverer  already  pointed  out  by  the  name  of  Imman- 
uel,  whose  person  and  character  is  set  forth  in  terms  the  most 
ample  and  magnificent. 

And  here  it  may  be  observed,  that  it  is  almost  the  con- 
stant practice  of  the  Prophet  to  connect  in  like  manner  de- 
liverances temporal  with  spiritual.  Thus  the  xith  chapter, 
setting  forth  the  kingdom  of  Messiah,  is  closely  connected 
with  the  xtb,  which  foretells  the  destruction  of  Senacherib. 
So  likewise  the  destruction  of  nations,  enemies  to  God,  in 
the  xxxivth  chapter,  introduces  the  flourishing  state  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  xxxvth.  And  thus  the  chapters,, 
from  xl.  to  xlix.  inclusive,  plainly  relating  to  the  deliverance 
from  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  do  in  some  parts  as  plainly 
relate  to  the  great  deliverance  by  Christ. 

1.  Take  unto  tkee  a  large  mirror — ]  The  word  vbl  is 
not  regularly  formed  from  W,  to  roll,  but  from  nSi ;  as  jvna 
from  ma,  JV^D  from  rrio,  jvpj  from  npj,  jvty  from  nSy,, 
&c.  the  ^  supplying  the  place  of  the  radical  n.  rhi  signifies 
to  shew,  to  reveal ;  properly,  as  Schroederus  says,  (De 
Vestitu  Mulier.  Hebr.  p.  294.),  to  render  clear  and  bright 
by  rubbing,  to  polish  :  jv^jf,  therefore,  according  to  this  de- 
rivation, is  not  a  roll,  or  volume,  but  may  very  well  signify 
a  polished  tablet  of  metal,  such  as  anciently  was  used  for  a 
mirror :  the  Chaldee  paraphrast  renders  it  by  nib,  a  tablet ; 
and  the  same  word,  though  somewhat  differently'  pointed, 
the  Chaldee  paraphrast  and  the  Rabbins  render  a  mirror, 
chap.  iii.  23.  The  mirrors  of  the  Israelitish  women  were 
made  of  brass  finely  polished,  Exod.  xxxviii.  8. ;  from  which 
place  it  likewise  appears,  that  what  they  used  were  little 
hand-mirrors,  which  they  carried  with  them,  even  when  they 
assembled  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle.  I  have  a  metalline 
mirror,  found  in  Herculaneurn,  which  is  not  above  three 
inches  square.  The  prophet  is  commanded  to  take  a 


196  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.   VIII. 

mirror,  or  brazen  polished  tablet,  not  like  tbese  little  hand- 
mirrors,  but  a  large  one  ;  large  enough  for  him  to  engrave 
upon  it.  in  deep  and  lasting  characters,  BMN  Dire,  with  a 
workman's  graving  tool,  the  prophecy  which  he  was  to  de- 
liver, tain  in  this  place  certainly  signifies  an  instrument 
to  write,  or  to  engrave  with  ;  but  D'in,  the  same  word,  only 
differing  a  little  in  the  form,  means  something  belonging  to 
a  lady's  dress,  chap.  iii.  22.  (where  however  five  MSB  leave 
out  the  %  whereby  only  it  differs  from  the  word  in  this 
place)  ;  either  a  crisping-pin,  which  might  be  riot  unlike  a 
graving  tool,  as  some  will  have  it ;  or  a  purse,  as  others 
infer  from  2  Kings  v.  23.  It  may  therefore  be  called  here 
BMX  Din,  a  workman's  instrument,  to  distinguish  it  from 
nt?x  trin,  an  instrument  of  the  same  name  used  by  the 
women.  In  this  manner  he  was  to  record  the  prophecy  of 
the  destruction  of  Damascus  and  Samaria  by  the  Assyrians  : 
the  subject  and  sum  of  which  prophecy  is  here  expressed 
with  great  brevity  in  four  words,  maker  skalal,  li,ash  baz ; 
i.  e.  "to  hasten  the  spoil,  to  take  quickly  the  prey  :"  which 
are  afterwards  applied  as  the  name  of  the  Prophet's  son, 
who  was  made  a  sign  of  the  speedy  completion  of  it :  Maher- 
shalal  Hash-baz  ;  Haste-to-the-spoil  Quick-to-the-prey.  And 
that  it  might  be  done  with  the  greater  solemnity,  and  to  pre- 
clude all  doubt  of  the  real  delivery  of  the  prophecy  before  the 
event,  he  calls  witnesses  to  attest  the  recording  of  it. 

4.  For  before  the  child — ]  The  prophecy  was  according- 
ly accomplished  within  three  years  ;  when  Tiglath  Pileser, 
king  of  Assyria,  went  up  against  Damascus,  and  took  it,  and 
carried  the  people  of  it  captive  to  Kir,  and  slew  Retsin  ;  and 
also  took  the  Reubenites,  and  the  Gadites,  and  the  half  tribe 
of  Manasseh,  and  carried  them  captive  to  Assyria  ;  2  Kings 
xvi.  9.  xv.  29.  1  Chron.  v.  26. 

6,  7.  Because  this  people  have  rejected — ]  The  gentle 
waters  of  Siloah,  a  small  fountain  and  brook  just  without 
Jerusalem,  which  supplied  a  pool  within  the  city  for  the  use 
of  the  inhabitants,  is  an  apt  emblem  of  the  state  of  the  king- 
dom and  house  of  David,  much  reduced  in  its  apparent 
strength,  yet  supported  by  the  blessing  of  God  :  and  is  fine- 
ly contrasted  with  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates,  great,  rapid, 
and  impetuous;  the  image  of  the  Babylonian  empire,  which 
God  threatens  to  bring  down,  like  a  mighty  flood,  upon  all 
these  apostates  of  both  kingdoms,  as  a  punishment  for  their 
manifold  iniquities,  and  their  contemptuous  disregard  of  his 


CHAP.  VIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  107 

promises.  The  brook  and  the  river  are  put  for  the  king- 
doms to  which  they  belong,  and  the  different  states  of  which, 
respectively  they  most  aptly  represent.  Juvenal,  inveighing 
against  the  corruption  of  Rome  by  the  importation  of  Asiatic 
mariners,  says,  with  great  elegance,  that  the  Orontes  has  been 
long  discharging  itself  into  the  Tiber : — 

l<  Jampridem  Syrus  in  Tiberim  defluxit  Orontes." 

And  Virgil,  to  express  the  submission  of  some  of  the  eastern 
countries  to  the  Roman  arms,  says,  that  the  waters  of  Eu- 
phrates now  flowed  more  humbly  and  gently: — "Euphrates 
ibat  jam  mollior  undis  :  "  -ZEn.  viii.  726.  But  the  happy 
contrast  between  the  brook  and  the  river  gives  a  peculiar 
beauty  to  this  passage  of  the  Prophet,  with  which  the  simple 
figure  in  the  Roman  poets,  however  beautiful,  yet  uncon- 
trasted,  cannot  contend. 

8.  Even  to  the  neck  shall  he  reach}     He  compares  Jeru- 
salem (says  Kimchi)  to  the  head  in  the  human   body  :  as 
when  the  waters  come  up  to  a  man's  neck,  he  is  very  near 
drowning  ;  for  a  little  increase  of  them  would  go  over  his 
head :  so  the  king  of  Assyria  coming  up  to  Jerusalem  was 
like  a  flood  reaching  to  the  neck  ;  the  whole  country  was 
overflowed,  and   the  capital  was  in  imminent  danger.     Ac- 
cordingly the  Chaldee  renders  reaching  to  the  neck,  by  reach- 
ing to  Jerusalem. 

9.  Know  ye  this]     God  by  his  Prophet  plainly  declares 
to  the  confederate  adversaries  of  Judah,  and  bids  them  regard 
and  attend  to  his  declaration,  that  all  their  efforts  shall  be  in 
vain.     The  present  reading  i;n,  is  subject,  to  many  difficul- 
ties :    I  follow   that  of  the  LXX,  i;n>  yv«wf.     Archbishop 
Seeker  approves  this  reading.      \jn,  know  ye  this,  is  parallel 
and.  synonymous  to  inxn,  give  ear  to  it,  in  the  next  line. 
The  LXX  have  likewise  very  well  paraphrased  the  conclu- 
sion of  this  verse  :  "  When  ye  have  strengthened  yourselves, 
ye  shall  be  broken  ;  and  though  ye  again   strengthen  your 
selves,  again  shall  ye  be  broken  :  "  taking  inn  as  meaning  the 
same  with  nriBtt. 

11.  As  taking-  me  by  the  hand]    Eleven  MSS  (two  an- 
cient) read  npiro  :  and  so  Sym.  Syr.  Vulg. 

12.  Say  ye  not,  It  is  holy — ]     ityp.     Both  the   reading 
and  the  sense  of  this  word  are  doubtful.     The  LXX  mani- 
festly read  rwp ;    for  they  render  it  by  <r*.^ov,  hard.    Syr. 
and  Chald.  render  it  NTID  and  nno,  rebellion.     How  they 
came  by  this  sense  of  the  word,  or  what  they  read  in  their 

22* 


198  KOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VIII. 

copies,  is  not  so  clear.  But  the  worst  of  it  is,  that  neither 
of  these  readings  or  renderings,  gives  any  clear  sense  in  this 
place  :  For  why  should  God  forbid  his  faithful  servants  to 
say,  with  the  unbelieving  Jews,  it  is  hard ;  or,  there  is  a 
rebellion ;  or,  as  our  translators  render  it,  a  confederacy  ? 
And  how  can  this  be  called,  "walking  in  the  way  of  this 
people,"  ver.  11.  which  usually  means,  following  their  exam- 
ple ;  joining  with  them  in  religious  worship  ?  Or  what  con- 
federacy do  they  mean  ?  The  union  of  the  kingdoms  of 
Syria  and  Israel  against  Judah  ?  That  was  properly  a 
league  between  two  independent  states  ;  not  an  unlawful 
conspiracy  of  one  part  against  another  in  the  same  state  ;  for 
this  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  iBp.  For  want  of  any  satis- 
factory interpretation  of  this  place,  that  I  can  meet  with,  I 
adopt  a  conjecture  of  Archbishop  Seeker,  which  he  proposes 
with  great  diffidence ;  and  even  seems  immediately  to  give 
up,  as  being  destitute  of  any  authority  to  support  it.  I  will 
give  it  in  his  own.  words:  "  Videri  potest  ex  cap.  v.  16.  et 
hujus  cap.  13,  14.  19.  legendum  tsnp,  vel  t?np,  eadem  sen- 
ten  tia,  qua  wrVw,  Hos.  xiv.  3.  Sed  nihil  necesse  est.  Vide 
enim  Jer.  xi.  9.  Ezek.  xxii.  25.  Optime  tamen  sic  responde- 
rent  huic  versiculo  versiculi  13,  14."  The  passages  of  Jere- 
miah and  Ezekiel,  above  referred  to,  seem  to  me  not  at  all  to 
clear  up  the  sense  of  the  wordityp  in  this  place.  But  the  con- 
text greatly  favours  the  conjecture  here  given,  and  makes  it 
highly  probable  :  "  Walk  not  in  the  way  of  this  people  ;  call 
not  their  idols  holy  ;  nor  fear  ye  the  object  of  their  fear :  (that 
is,  the  o-eSarfixTx,  or  gods  of  the  idolaters  ;  for  so  fear  here 
signifies,  to  wit,  the  thing  feared  ;  so  God  is  called ""  the  fear 
of  Isaac,"  Gen.  xxxi.  42.  53.):  but  look  up  to  JEHOVAH  as 
your  Holy  One  ;  and  let  Him  be  your  fear,  and  let  Him  be 
your  dread  ;  and  He  shall  be  a  holy  refuge  unto  you.''  Here 
there  is  a  harmony  and  consistency  running  through  the 
whole  sentence  ;  and  the  latter  part  naturally  arises  out  of  the 
former,  and  answers  to  it.  Observe,  that  the  difference  be- 
tween -ityp  and  imp  is  chiefly  in  the  transposition  of  the  two 
last  letters  ;  for  the  letters  i  and  n  are  hardly  distinguishable 
in  some  copies,  printed  as  well  as  MS  ;  so  that  the  mistake. 
in  respect  of  the  letters  themselves,  is  a  very  easy  and  a  very 
common  one. 

14.  And  He  shall  be  unto  you  a  sanctuary.}  The  word 
tth,  unto  you,  absolutely  necessary,  as  I  conceive,  to  the 
sense,  is  lost  in  this  place :  it  is  preserved  by  the  Vulgate ; 


CHAP.  VIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  199 

"  et  erit  vobis  in  sanctificationem  :  "  the  LXX  have  it  in  the 
singular  number ;  f?xi  rot  us  a,yitx.r^M\.  Or  else,  instead  of  EnpD, 
a  sanctuary,  we  must  read  t&pVD,  a  snare,  which  would  then 
be  repeated,  without  any  propriety  or  elegance,  at  the  end  of 
the  verse.  The  Chaldee  reads  instead  of  it  DD^D,  judgment  ; 
for  he  renders  it  by  jjnia  I  which  word  frequently  answers  to 
D£)^D  in  his  paraphrase.  A  MS  has  (instead  of  p&6i  lanpo) 
pN1?  on1?  5  which  clears  the  sense  and  construction.  But  the 
reading  of  the  Vulgate  is,  I  think,  the  best  remedy  to  this 
difficulty  ;  and  is  in  some  degree  authorized  by  nrh,  the  read- 
ing of  the  MS  above  mentioned. 

16.  among-  my  disciples]  nD1?^.  "  The  LXX  render  it, 
T«  w  [*.x6£tv.  Bishop  Chandler,  Defence  of  Christianity,  p. 
308.  "  thinks  they  read  is1?;:,  that  it  be  not  understood; 
and  approves  this  reading  :  "  Archbishop  SECKER. 

18.  God  of  Hosts}     A  MS  reads  ni*m  Tr?x. 

19.  Should  they  seek — ]     After  &vr,  the  LXX,  repeating 
the  word,    read  tsnYn  :     Ovx  t6vo$  Trpos  S-eoi   XVTX  tK^Tyrw,  rt 
exftjTtjTXTt  wepi  rav  g&>vT&>v  T«J  vsxws  j  and  this  repetition  of  the  verb 
seems  necessary  to  the  sense  ;  and,  as  Procopius  on  the  place 
observes,  it  strongly  expresses  the  Prophet's  indignation  at 
their  folly. 

20.  Unto  the  command,  and  unto  the  testimony — ]     "  Is 
not  rm;?n  here  the  attested  prophecy,  ver.  1 — 4.?  and  perhaps 
mm  the  command,   ver.  11 — 15.7  for  it  means  sometimes  a 
particular,  and  even  a    human  command ;  see  Prov.  vi.  20. 
and  vii.  2,  3.  where  it  is  ordered  to  be   hid,  that  is,  secretly 
kept :  "  Archbishop  SECKER.     So  Deschamps  in  his  transla- 
tion, or  rather  paraphrase,  understands  it:  "  Tenons-nous  a 
1'instrument  authentique.  mis  en  depot  par  ordre  du  Seigneur." 
If  this  be  right,  the  10th  verse  must  be  understood  in  the  same 
manner. 

Ibid.  Li  which  there  is  no  obscurity]  *TO,  as  an  adjec- 
tive, frequently  signifies  dark,  obscure;  and  the  noun  W 
signifies  darkness,  gloominess,  Joel  ii.  2.  if  we  may  judge 
by  the  context : 

"  A  day  of  darkness  and  obscurity  ; 

Of  cloud,  and  of  thick  vapour  ; 

As  the  gloom  spread  upon  the  mountains  : 

A  people  mighty  and  numerous  ;  " 

Where  the  gloom,  inp,  seems  to  be  the  same  with  the 
cloud  and  thick  vapour,  mentioned  in  the  line  preceding : 
see  Lam.  iv.  8.  Job  xxx.  30.  See  this  meaning  of  the  word 


200  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  VIII, 


well  supported  in  Christ.  Muller  Satura  Observationum 
Philolog.  p.  53.  Ludg.  Bat.  1752.  The  morning  seerns  to 
be  an  idea  wholly  incongruous  in  the  passage  of  Joel  :  And 
in  this  of  Isaiah,  the  words,  "  in  which  there  is  no  morning," 
(for  so  it  ought  to  be  rendered,  if  "TO  in  this  place  signifies, 
according  to  its  usual  sense,  morning),  seem  to  give  no  mean- 
ing at  all.  "  It  ie  because  there  is  no  light  in  them,"  says  our 
translation  :  If  there  be  any  sense  in  these  words,  it  is  not  the 
sense  of  the  original  ;  which  cannot  justly  be  so  translated. 
Gtui  n'a  rien  d'obscur  ;  Deschamps.  The  reading  of  LXX 
and  Syr.  nrw,  gift,  affords  not  any  assistance  towards  the 
clearing  up  of  this  difficult  place. 

21.  —  distressed  —  ]     Instead    of   nwpj,   distressed,    the 
Vulg.  Chald.  and  Syrn.  manifestly  read  ^BOJ,  stumbling,  tot- 
tering through  weakness,  ready  to  fall  ;  a  sense  which  suits 
very  well  with  the  place. 

22.  And  he  shall  cast  his  eyes  upward  —  ]     The  learn- 
ed professor  Michaelis,  treating  of  this  place,  (Not.  in  De  S. 
Poes.  Hebr.  Prsel.  ix.),  refers  to  a  passage  in  the  Koran,  which 
is  similar  to  it.     As  it  is  a  very  celebrated  passage,   and  on 
many  accounts  remarkable,  I  shall  give  it  here  at  large,  with 
the  same  author's  further  remarks  upon  it  in  another  place  of 
his  writings.     It  must  be  noted  here,  that  the  learned  profes- 
sor renders  D3J  in  this  and  the  parallel  place,  chap.  v.  30.  which 
I  translate  he  looketh.  by  it  thundereth,  from  Schultens,  Orig. 
Ling.  Hebr.  lib.  i.  chap.  2.;  of  the  justness  of  which  rendering 
I  much  doubt.     This  brings  the  image  of  Isaiah  more  near, 
in  one  circumstance,  to  that  of  Mohammed,  than  it  appears  to 
be  in  my  translation. 

"  Labid,  contemporary  with  Mohammed,  the  last  of  the 
seven  Arabian  poets  who  had  the  honour  of  having  their  poems, 
one  of  each,  hung  up  in  the  entrance  of  the  Temple  of  Mecca, 
struck  with  the  sublimity  of  a  passage  in  the  Koran,  became 
a  convert  to  Mohammedism  ;  for  he  concluded,  that  no  mart 
could  write  in  such  a  manner,  unless  he  were  divinely 
inspired. 

"  One  must  have  a  curiosity  to  examine  a  passage  which 
had  so  great  an  effect  upon  Labid.  It  is,  1  must  own,  the 
finest  that  I  know  in  the  whole  Koran  ;  but  I  scarce  think 
it  will  have  a  second  time  the  like  effect,  so  as  to  tempt  any 
one  of  my  readers  to  submit  to  circumcision.  It  is  in  the 
second  chapter  ;  where  he  is  speaking  of  certain  apostates 
from  the  faith.  'They  are  like,'  saith  he,  'to  a  man  who 


CHAP.  VIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 

kindlelh  a  light.  As  soon  as  it  begins  to  shine,  God  takes 
from  them  the  light,  and  leaves  them  in  darkness,  that  they 
see  nothing.  They  are  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind  ;  and  return 
not  into  the  right  way.  Or  they  fare,  as  when  a  cloud,  full 
of  darkness,  thunder,  and  lightning,  covers  the  heaven : 
when  it  bursteth,  they  stop  their  ears  with  their  fingers,  with 
deadly  fear ;  and  God  hath  the  unbelievers  in  his  power. 
The  lightning  almost  robbeth  them  of  their  eyes  :  as  often 
as  it  flashed),  they  go  on  by  its  light;  and  when  it  vanisheth 
in  darkness,  they  stand  still.  If  God  pleased,  they  would  re- 
tain neither  hearing  nor  sight.'  That  the  thought  is  beauti- 
ful, no  one  will  deny  ;  and  Labid,  who  had  probably  a  mind 
to  flatter  Mohammed,  was  lucky  in  finding  a  passage  in  the 
Koran,  so  little  abounding  in  poetical  beauties,  to  which  Ins 
conversion  might  with  any  propriety  be  ascribed.  It  was 
well  that  he  went  no  further ;  otherwise  his  taste  for  poetry 
might  have  made  him  again  an  infidel."  Michaelis,  Erpenii 
Arabische  Gramniatik  abgekurzt,  Vorrede,  s.  32. 

23.  — accumulated  darkness}  Either  nmJD,  fern,  to  agree 
withruax;  or  rnion  ^ax,  alluding  perhaps  to  the  palpable 
Egyptian  darkness,  Exod.  x.  21. 

Ibid.  The  land  of  Zebulon — ]  Zebulon,  Naphthali,  Ma- 
nasseh,  that  is,  the  country  of  Galilee,  all  round  the  Sea  of 
Genesareth,  were  the  parts  that  principally  suffered  in  the 
first  Assyrian  invasion  under  Tiglath  Pileser  :  see  2  Kings 
xv.  29.  1.  Cbron.  v.  26,:  and  they  were  the  first  that  en- 
joyed tbe  blessing  of  Christ's  preaching  the  gospel,  and  ex- 
hibiting his  miraculous  works  among  them.  See  Mede's 
Works,  p.  101.  and  457. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

2.  Tliou  hast  increased  their  jc,y\  Eleven  MSS  (two 
ancient)  read  ib,  according  to  the  IVlasoretical  correction. 

Ibid.  —  as  with  the  joy  of  harvest]  T2fp3  nnDBO.  For 
TXpu  a  MSS  has  Y¥p,  and  another  Tifpn:  one  of  which 
seems  to  be  the  true  reading,  as  the  noun  preceding  is  in  reg~ 
iminc. 

4.  The  greaves  of  the  armed  warrior]  JND  JIND-  This 
wordj  occurring  ojily  in  this  place,  is  of  very  doubtful  sig- 
nification.  Schfndler  fairly  tells  us,  that,  we  must  guess  at 
it  by  the  context,  The  Jews  have  explained  it,  by  guess  I 


202 


NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  IX. 


believe,  as  signifying  battle,  conflict  :  the  Vulgate  renders  it 
violenta  prccdatio.  But  it  seems  as  if  something  was  rather 
meant,  which  was  capable  of  becoming  fuel  for  the  fire 
together  with  the  garments  mentioned  in  the  same  sentence. 
In  Syriac,  the  word,  as  a  noun,  signifies  a  shoe  or  a  sandal, 
as  a  learned  friend  suggested  to  me  some  years  ago  :  see 
Luke  xv.  22.  Acts  xii.  8.  I  take  it  therefore  to  mean  that 
part  of  the  armour  which  covered  the  legs  and  feet,  and 
I  would  render  the  two  words  in  Latin  by  caliga  caligati. 
The  burning  of  heaps  of  armour,  gathered  from  the  field  of 
battle,  as  an  offering  made  to  the  god  supposed  to  be  the 
giver  of  victory,  was  a  custom  that  prevailed  among  some 
heathen  nations  ;  and  the  Romans  used  it  as  an  emblem  of 
peace:  which  perfectly  well  suits  with  the  design  of  the 
Prophet  in  this  place.  A  medal,  struck  by  Vespasian  on 
finishing  his  wars  both  at  home  and  abroad,  represents  the 
goddess  Peace,  holding  an  olive  branch  in  one  hand,  and 
with  a  lighted  torch  in  the  other  setting  fire  to  a  heap  of  ar- 
mour. Virgil  mentions  the  custom  : 

"  Cum  primam  aciem  Prseneste  sub  ipsa 
Stravi,  scutorumque  incendi  victor  acervos.  "  .ZEn.  viii.  561. 

See  Addison  on  Medals,  Series  ii.  18.  And  there  are  notices 
of  some  such  practice  among  the  Israelites,  and  other  nations 
of  the  most  early  times.  God  promises  to  Joshua  victory 
over  the  kings  of  Canaan  ;  "  T9-morrow  I  will  deliver 
them  up  all  slain  before  Israel  :  thou  shalt  hough  their 
horses,  and  burn  their  chariots  with  fire  ;  "  Josh.  xi.  6.  See 
also  Nahutn  ii.  13.  And  the  Psalmist  employs  this  image 
to  express  complete  victory,  and  a  perfect  establishment  of 
peace  : 

"  He  maketh  wars  to  cease,  even  to  the  end  of  the  land: 
He  breaketh  the  bow,  and  cutteth  the  spear  in  sunder; 
And  burneth  the  chariots  in  the  fire."  Psal.  xlvi.  9. 


?,.  properly  plaustra,  the  baggage-waggons  ;  which  how- 
ever the  LXX  and  Vulg.  render  scuta,  shields,  and  Chald. 
round  shields,  to  shew  the  propriety  of  that  sense  of  the 
word  from  the  etymology;  which,  if  admitted,  makes  the 
image  the  same  with  that  used  by  the  Romans 

Ezekiel,  in  his  bold  manner,  has  carried  this  ima^e  to  a 
degree  of  amplification,  which,  I  think,  hardly  any  other  of 
the  Hebrew  poets  would  have  attempted.  He  describes 
the  burning  of  the  arms  of  the  enemy,  in  consequence  of 


CHAP.  IX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  203- 

the  complete  victory  to  be  obtained  by  the  Israelites  over  Gog 
and  Magog : 

<(  Behold,  it  is  come  to  pass,  and  it  is  done; 
Saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH. 
This  is  the  day,  of  which  I  spake: 

And  the  inhabitants  of  the  cities  of  Israel  shall  go  forth;. 
And  shall  set  on  fire  the  armour,  and  the  shield, 
And  the  buckler,  and  the  bow,  and  the  arrows, 
And  the  clubs,  and  the  lances; 
And  they  shall  set  them  on  fire  for  seven  years: 
And  they  shall  not  bear  wood  from  the  field; 
Neither  shall  they  hew  from  the  forest: 
For  of  the  armour  shall  they  make  their  fires; 
And  they  shall  spoil  their  spoilers, 
And  they  shall  plunder  their  plunderers."  Ezek.  xxxix    8-10,. 

5.  The  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder.]  T  hat  is7 
the  ensign  of  government ;  the  sceptre,  the  sword,  the  key, 
or  the  like,  which  was  borne  upon  or  hung  from  the  shoul- 
der. See  note  on  chap.  xxii.  22. 

Chap.  ix.  7. — Chap.  x.  4.]  This  whole  passage,  reduced 
to  its  proper  and  entire  form,  and  healed  of  the  dislocation 
which  it  suffers  by  the  absurd  division  of  the  chapters,  makes 
3.  distinct  prophecy,  and  a  just  poem,  remarkable  for  the 
regularity  of  its  disposition,  and  the  elegance  of  its  plan.  It 
has  no  relation  to  the  preceding  or  the  following  prophecy  ; 
though  the  parts,  violently  torn  asunder,  have  been,  on  the 
one  side  and  the  other,  patched  on  to  them.  Those  relate 
principally  to  the  kingdom  of  Judah ;  this  is  addressed  ex- 
clusively to  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  The  subject  of  it  is  a 
denunciation  of  vengeance  awaiting  their  crimes.  It  is  di- 
vided into  four  parts,  each  threatening  the  particular  pun- 
ishment of  some  grievous  offence, — of  their  pride;  of  their 
.perseverance  in  their  vices :  of  their  impiety  ;  and  of  their 
injustice.  To  which  is  aaded  a  general  denunciation  of  a 
further  reserve  of  divine  wrath,  contained  in  a  distich,  be- 
fore used  by  the  Prophet  on  a  like  occasion,  chap.  v.  25.  and 
here  repeated  after  each  part :  this  makes  tbe  intercalary 
verse  of  the  poem,  or,  as  we  call  it,  the  burthen  of  tbe  song. 

"  Post  hoc  comma  (chap.  x.  4.)  interponitur  spatium 
unius  linea?,  in  cod.  2.  et  3. :  idemque  observatur  in  245. 
in  quo  null  urn  est  spatium  ad  finem  capitis  ix."  Kcnnicott, 
Yar.  Lect. 

7.  JEHOVAH.]  For  MIK,  thirty  MSS  and  three  editions 
read  rnrr. 


204  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  IX. 

8.  — carry  themselves  haughtily}     i;m,  and  they  shall 
know  :  so  ours,  and  the  versions  in  general.     But  what  is  it 
that  they  shall  know  'I     The  verb  stands  destitute  of  its  ob- 
ject ;  and  the  sense  is  imperfect.     The  Chaldee  is  the  only 
one,  as  far  as  I  can  find,  that  expresses  it  otherwise.     He 
renders  the  verb  in  this  place  by   u"Oir«o,  they  exalt  them- 
selves, or  carry  themselves  haughtily  ;  the  same  word  by 
which  he  renders  irru,  chap.  iii.   16.     He  seems  therefore 
in   this    place  to    have   read    iron;   which    agrees    perfectly 
well  with  what  follows,  and  clears  up  the  difficulty.     Arch- 
bishop   Seeker    conjectured    roYi,   referring    it    to  invh   in 
the  next  verse ;  which  shews,  that  he  was  not  satisfied  with 
the  present  reading.     Houbigant  reads  ijrvi,  et  pravi  facti 
sunt ;  which  is  found  in  a  MS ;  but  I  prefer  the  reading  of 
the  Chaldee,  which  suits  much  better  with  the  context. 

9.  The  bricks—}     "  The  eastern  bricks,  (says  Sir  John 
Chardin,  see  Harmer,  Obser.  i.  p.  176.),  are  only  clay  well 
moistened  with  water,  and  mixed  with  straw,  and  dried  in 
the  sun."     So  that  their  walls  are  commonly  no  better  than 
our  mud-wall :  see  Maundrell,   p.  124.     That  straw  was  a 
necessary  part  in  the  composition  of  this  sort  of  bricks,  to 
make  the  parts  of  the  clay  adhere  together,   appears   from 
Exodus,   chap.   v.      These    bricks  are  properly   opposed    to 
hewn  stone,  so  greatly  superior  in  beauty  and  durableness. 
The  sycamores,  which,  as  Jerom  on  the  place  says,  are  tim- 
ber of  little  worth,  with  equal  propriety  are  opposed  to  the  ce- 
dars.    "  As  the  grain  arid  texture  of  the  sycamore  is  remark- 
ably coarse  and  spongy,  it  could  therefore  stand  in'  no  com- 
petition at  all  (as  it  is  observed.  Isa.  ix.   10.)  with  the  cedar 
for  beauty  and  ornament : "  Shaw,   Supplement  to  Travels, 
p.  96.     We  meet  with  the  same  opposition  of  cedars  to  syca- 
mores, 1  Kings  x.  27.  where  Solomon  is  said  to  have  made 
silver  as  the  stones,  and  cedars  as  the  sycamores  in  the  vale, 
for  abundance.     By  this  mashal,  or  figurative  and  senten- 
tious speech,  they  boast,  that  they  shall  easily  be  able  to  re- 
pair their  present  losses,  suffered    perhaps    by   the  first  As- 
syrian  invasion  under  Tiglath  Pileser;    and    to  bring  their 
affairs  to  a  more  flourishing  condition  than  ever. 

10.  — the  princes  of  Retsin  against  him}     For  nv,  ene- 
mies, Houbigant  by  conjecture  reads  'T^,  princes  ;  which  is 
confirmed  by  twenty-one  MSS  (two  ancient),  and  nine  more 
have  y  upon  a  rasure,  and   therefore  had  probably  at  first 
*w.     The  princes  of  Retsin,  the  late  ally  of  Israel,  that  is, 


CHAP.  IX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  205 

the  Syrians,  expressly  named  in  the  next  verse,  shall  now  be 
excited  against  Israel. 

The  LXX  in  this  place  gives  us  another  variation  :  for 
pxi,  they  read  |Vi*  in,  o^  s<«v,  Mount  Sion  ;  of  which  this 
may  be  the  sense  :  But  JEHOVAH  shall  set  up  the  adversaries 
of  Mount  Sion  against  him  (i.  e.  against  Israel),  and  will 
strengthen  his  enemies  together :  the  Syrians,—-the  Philis- 
tines,— who  are  called  the  adversaries  of  Mount  Sion.  See 
Simonis  Lex.  in  voce  "po. 

11. — on  every  side]  ns  to,  in  every  corner;  in  every 
part  of  their  country,  pursuing  them  to  the  remotest  extrem- 
ities, and  the  most  retired  parts.  So  the  Chald.  irux  to,  in 
every  place. 

13.  — in  one  day]  Eight  MSS  read  on  ;  and  another 
has  a  rasure  in  the  place  of  the  letter  3. 

16.  JEHOVAH]     For  *JIK,  eighteen  MSS  read  nin\ 

17.  For  wickedness — ]  Wickedness  rageth    like    a  fire, 
destroying  and  laying  waste  the  nation :  but  it  shall  be  its 
own  destruction,  by  bringing  down  the  fire  of  God's  wrath, 
which  shall  burn  up  the  briers  and  the  thorns  ;  that  is,  the 
wicked  themselves.     Briers  and   thorns  are   an   image  fre- 
quently applied  in  Scripture,  when  set  on  fire,  to  the  rage  of 
the  wicked,  violent  yet  impotent,  and  of  no  long  continuance, 
— "they  are  extinct  as  the  fire  of  thorns  ;  "  Psal.  cxviii.  12. ; 
— to  the  wicked  themselves,  as  useless  and  unprofitable,  proper 
objects  of  God's  wrath,  to  be  burned  up,  or  driven  away  by  the 
wind, — "  as  thorns  cut  up,  they  shall  be  consumed  in  the  fire ;  " 
Isa.  xxxiii.  12.     Both  these  ideas  seem  to  be  joined  in  Psal. 
Iviii.  9. 

"  Before  your  pots  shall  feel  the  thorn, 

As  well  the  green  as  the  dry,  the  tempest  shall  bear  them 

away.'7 

The  green  and  the  dry  is  a  proverbial  expression,  meaning  all 
sorts  of  them,  good  and  bad,  great  and  small,  &c. ;  so  Ezekiel : 
— "  Behold,  I  will  kindle  a  fire,  and  it  shall  devour  every 
green  tree,  and  every  dry  tree ; "  chap.  xx.  47.  D'Herbelot 
quotes  a  Persian  poet  describing  a  pestilence  under  the  image 
of  a  conflagration  : — "  This  was  a  lightning  that,  falling  upon 
a  forest,  consumed  there  the  green  wood  with  the  dry."  See 
Harmer,  Obser.  ii.  p.  187. 

19.  — the  flesh  of  his  neighbour]     liTov  pga%iovo$Tov  ahxpov 
avrov,   LXX,  Alexand.   Duplex   Versio,  quarum  altera  legit 
i>'i,  quae  vox  extat  Jer.  vi.  21.     Nam  jn,  *<JVApos,  Gen.  xliii. 
23 


206  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  IX. 

33.  Recte,  ni  fallor : "  SECKER.  I  add  to  this  excellent 
remark,  that  the  Chaldee  manifestly  reads  i;n,  not  ijnr ;  for 
he  renders  it  by  rranp,  his  neighbour.  And  Jeremiah  has 
the  very  same  expression:  "hiw  in;n  i^a  BPKI,  "And  every 
one  shall  eat  the  flesh  of  his  neighbour;"  chap.  xix.  9. 
This  observation,  I  think,  gives  the  true  reading  and  sense 
of  this  place ;  and  the  context  strongly  confirms  it,  by  explain- 
ing the  general  idea  by  particular  instances,  in  the  following 
verse  :  "  Every  man  shall  devour  the  flesh  of  his  neighbour"; 
(that  is,  they  shall  harass  and  destroy  one  another) ;  Ma- 
nasseh  shall  devour  Ephraim,  and  EphrainiManasseh  ;  (which 
two  tribes  were  most  closely  connected  both  in  blood  and 
situation,  as  brothers  and  neighbours)  ;  and  both  of  them  in 
the  midst  of  their  own  dissensions  shall  agree  in  preying  upon 
Judah."  The  common  reading,  "  shall  devour  the  flesh  of 
his  own  arm"  in  connexion  with  what  follows,  seems  to  make 
either  an  inconsistency,  or  an  anticlimax ;  whereas  by  this 
correction  the  following  verse  becomes  an  elegant  illustration 
of  the  foregoing. 


CHAPTER  X. 

4.  Without  me — ]     That  is,  without  my  aid,  they  shall 
be  taken  captive  even  by  the  captives,  and  shall  be  subdued 
by  the  vanquished.     "  The  *  in  vhz  is  a  pronoun,  as  in  Hos. 
xiii.  4. :  "  Kimchi  on  the  place. 

5.  Ho  to  the  Assyrian — ]     Here  begins  a  new  and  dis- 
tinct prophecy  ;  continued  to  the  end  of  the  xiith  chapter : 
and  it  appears  from  ver.  9 — 11.   of  this   chapter,  that  this 
prophecy   was   delivered  after    the   taking    of   Samaria    by 
Shalmaneser  ;  which  was  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah  :  and  as  the  former  part  of  it  foretells  the  invasion 
of  Senacherib,  and  the  destruction  of  his  army,  which  makes 
the  whole  subject  of  this  chapter,  it  must  have  been  delivered 
before  the  fourteenth  of  the  same  reign. 

Ibid.  The  staff  in  whose  hand]  The  word  &on  in  this 
place  seems  to  embarrass  the  sentence.  1  omit  it  on  the  au- 
thority of  the  Alexandrine  copy  of  LXX;  and  five  MSS, 
(two  ancient),  for  wn  nDOi,  read  irro.  Archbishop  Seeker 
was  not  satisfied  with  the  present  reading :  he  proposes 
another  method  of  clearing  up  the  sense,  by  reading  era 
instead  of  ora:  "  And  he  is  a  staff  in  the  day  of  mine  indig- 


CHAP.  X.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  207 

12.  JEHOVAH]    For  »J-IN,  fourteen  MSS,  and  three  edi- 
tions, read  mrr. 

Ibid.  — the  effect — ]  "  na,  f.  »3y,  vid.  xiii.  19.  sed  confer 
Prov.  i.  31.  xxxi.  16.  31:"  SECKER.  The  Chaldee  renders 
the  word  na  by  Tn3iy,  opera  ;  which  seems  to  be  the  true 
sense  ;  and  I  have  followed  it. 

13.  — strongly — ]     Twelve  MSS  agree  with  the  Keri  in 
reading  Y2D  without  the  x.     And  S.  b.  Melee  and  Kimchi 
thus  explain  it :  "  Them,  who  dwelled  in  a  great  and  strong 
place,  I  have  brought  down  to  the  ground." 

15.  — its  master}     I  have  here  given  the  meaning,  with- 
out attempting  to  keep  to  the  expression  of  the  original :    vh 
p*,  "  the  no-wood  ;"  that  which  is  not  wood  like  itself,  but  of 
a  quite  different  and  superior  nature.     The  Hebrews  have  a 
peculiar  way  of  joining  the  negative  particle  vh  to  a  noun,  to 
signify  in  a  strong  manner  a  total  negation  of  the  thing  ex- 
pressed by  the  noun. 

"  How  hast  thou  given  help,"riD  N1?1?,  to  the  no-strength? 
And  saved  the  arm,  13?  N1?,  of  the  no-power? 
How  hast  thou  given  counsel, nDDfl  N^?,  to  the  no-wisdom?" 

that  is,  to  the  man  totally  deprived  of  strength,  power,  and 
wisdom  :  Job  xxvi.  2.  3. 

"  Ye  that  rejoice,  w  «V?,  in  no-thing  :." 
that  is,  in  your  fancied  strength,  which  is  none  at  all,  a  mere 
nonentity  :  Amos  vi.  13. 
"  For  I  am  God,  #\s%  N*X  and  no-man; 

The  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of  thee,  yet  do  not  frequent  ci- 
ties." Hosea  xi.  9. 
"  And  the  Assyrians  shall  fall  by  a  sword,  $'&*  K1?,  of  no-man; 
And  a  sword  of,  DIN  N1?,  no-mortal  shall  devour  him." 

Isa.  xxxi.  8. 

"  Wherefore  do  ye  weigh  out  your  silver,  on1?  &01?::,    for    the 
no-bread."  Isa.  Iv.  2. 

So  here  ]y  vh  means  him  who  is  far  from  being  an  inert  piece 
of  wood,  but  is  an  animated  and  active  being  ;  not  an  instru- 
ment, but  an  agent. 

16.  JEHOVAH]     For  rnx,  fifty-two  MSS,  and  six  editions, 
read  mrr. 

Ibid.  And  under  his  glory]  That  is,  all  that  he  could 
boast  of  as  great  and  strong  in  his  army  ;  (Sal.  b.  Melee  in 
loc.);  expressed  afterwards,  ver.  18.  by  the  glory  of  his  forest, 
and  of  his  fruitful  field. 


208  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  X. 

17,  18.  And  he  shall  burn  and  consume  his  thorn — ] 
The  briers  and  thorns  are  the  common  people;  the  glory  of 
his  forest  are  the  nobles,  and  those  of  highest  rank  and  im- 
portance. See  note  on  chap.  ix.  17.  and  compare  Ezek.  xx. 
47.  The  fire  of  God's  wrath  shall  destroy  them  both  great 
and  small,  it  shall  consume  them  from  the  soul  to  the  flesh  : 
a  proverbial  expression  ;  soul  and  body,  as  we  say  ;  it  shall 
consume  them  entirely  and  altogether.  And  the  few  that 
escape  shall  be  looked  upon  as  having  escaped  from  the  most 
imminent  danger ;  "  as  a  firebrand  plucked  out  of  the  fire  ;  " 
Amos  iv.  11.  'n$  h#  zryfes,  1  Cor,  iii.  15.  as  a  man,  when  a 
house  is  burning,  is  forced  to  make  his  escape  by  running 
through  the  midst  of  the  fire. 

I  follow  here  the  reading  of  the  LXX  ;  DDJ  »*«:>,  as  *  pwyw 
a,™  p^/os  xeuofunK-  Symmachus  also  renders  the  latter  word 
by  <pwy*>v. 

22,  23.  For  though  thy  people,  O  Israel — ]  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  keep  to  the  letter  of  the  text,  as  nearly  as  I  can, 
in  this  obscure  passage.  But  it  is  remarkable,  that  neither  the 
LXX,  nor  St  Paul,  Rom.  ix.  28.  who,  except  in  a  few  words 
of  no  great  importance,  follows  them  nearly  in  this  place,  nor 
any  one  of  the  ancient  versions,  take  any  notice  of  the  word 
fp?,  overflowing ;  which  seems  to  give  an  idea  not  easily 
reconcileable  with  those  with  which  it  is  here  joined.  I.  S. 
Moeiiius  (Schol.  Philolog.  ad  Select  a  S.  Cod.  loca)  conjec- 
tures, that  the  two  last  letters  of  this  word  are  by  mistake 
transposed,  and  that  the  true  reading  is  vsv,  judging  with 
strict  justice.  The  LXX  might  think  this  sufficiently  ex- 
pressed by  fv  fauwtinifi  A  IMS,  with  St  Paul  and  LXX  Alex, 
omits '3  in  the  22d  verse:  sixty-nine  MSS,  and  six  editions, 
omit  ^3  in  the  23d  verse  :  and  so  St.  Paul,  Rom.  ix.  28. 

The  learned  Dr.  Bagot,  dean  of  Christen urch,  Oxford, 
in  some  observations  on  this  place,  which  he  has  been  so 
kind  as  to  communicate  to  me,  and  which  will  appear  in 
their  proper  light  when  he  himself  shall  give  them  to  the 
public,  renders  the  wrord  JV'JD  by  accomplishment,  and  makes 
it  refer  to  the  predictions  of  Moses  ;  the  blessing  and  the 
curse  which  he  laid  before  the  people ;  both  conditional, 
and  depending  on  their  future  conduct.  They  had  by  their 
disobedience  incurred  those  judgments  which  were  now  to 
be  fully  executed  upon  them.  His  translation  is :  "  The 
accomplishment  determined  overflows  with  justice ;  for  it  is 


CHAP.  X.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  209 

accomplished,  and  that  which  is  determined  the  Lord  God  of 
Hosts  doeth  in  the  midst  of  the  land." 

24.  and  26.  — in  the  way  of  Egypt}     I  think  there  is  a 
designed  ambiguity  in  these  words.     Senacherib,  soon  after 
his  return  from  his  Egyptian  expedition,   which,   I  imagine, 
took  him  up  three  years,  invested   Jerusalem.     He  is  repre- 
sented by  the  Prophet  as  lifting  up  his  rod  in  his  march  from 
Egypt,  and  threatening  the  people  of  God,  as  Pharaoh  and 
the  Egyptians  had  done  when  they  pursued  them  to  the  Red 
Sea.     But  God  in  his  turn   will  lift  up  his  rod  over  the  sea, 
as  he  did  at  that  time,  in  the  way,  or  after  the  manner  of 
Egypt :  and  as  Senacherib  has  imitated  the  Egyptians  in  his 
threats,  and  came  full  of  rage    against  them   from  the  same 
quarter ;  so  God   will  act  over  again  the  same  part  that  he 
had  taken  formerly  in  Egypt,  and  overthrow  their  enemies 
in  as  signal  a  manner.     It  was  all  to  be,  both  the  attack  and 
the  deliverance,  "jvo,  or  yro,  as  a  MS  has  it  in  each  place,  in 
the  way,  or  after  the  manner,  of  Egypt. 

25.  mine  indignation}     Indi^natio  mea,   Yulg. ;  \  ogwi 

LXX  ;    fix  >  ogw  »  Koiroe.  <r«,    MS.    Pachom.  ;     ^  »  ogyy  xxree,  <r#, 

MS  i.  D.  ii. :  so  that  ^r,  or  ppm,  as  a  MS  has  it,  seems  to 
be  the  true  reading. 

26.  And  like  his  rod  which  he  lifted  up  over  the  sea]  The 
Jewish  interpreters  suppose  here  an  ellipsis  of  2,  the  particle 
of  similitude,  before  jrttts,  to  be  supplied  from  the  line  above  : 
so  that  here  are  two  similitudes ;  one  comparing  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Assyrians   to  the  slaughter  of  the  Midianites  at 
the  rock  of  Oreb  ;  the  other  to  that  of  the  Egyptians  at  the 
Red  Sea.     Aben  Ezra,  Kimchi,  Salomo  b.  Melee. 

27.  — -from  off  your  shoulders}     I  follow  here  the  LXX, 
who,  for  joty  SJDD,  read  DJODiya,  an*  T&V  ay^v  vu.&v,    not  being 
able  to  make  any  good  sense  out  of  the  present  reading.     I 
will  add  here  the  marginal  conjectures  of  Archbishop  Seeker, 
who  appears,  like  all  others,  to  have  been  at  a  loss  for  a 
probable  interpretation  of  the  text  as  it  now  stands.     u«.  leg. 
row  ;  forte  legend,  pisr  T33D,  vid.  cap.  v.  1.  Zech.  iv.  14.     Et 
possunt  intelligi  Judaei  uricti  Dei ;  Psal.  cv.  15.  vel  Assyrii 
D*:opn,  hie  ver.  16.  ut  dicat  Propheta  depulsum  iri  jugum  ab 
hisimpositum  :  sed  hoc  durius.     Vel  potest  legi  w:sn:n 
SECKER. 

28 — 32.  He  is  come  to  Aiath — ]     A  description  of  the 
march  of  Senacherib's  army  approaching  Jerusalem  in  order 
to  invest  it.  and  of  the  terror  and  confusion  spreading  and 
23* 


210  NOTES  ON  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  X. 

increasing  through  the  several  places  as  he  advanced  ;  ex- 
pressed with  great  brevity,  but  finely  diversified.  The  places 
here  mentioned  are  all  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jerusalem  ; 
from  Ai  northward,  to  Nob  westward  of  it ;  from  which  last 
place  he  might  probably  have  a  prospect  of  Mount  Sion. 
Anathoth  was  within  three  Roman  miles  of  Jerusalem  ;  ac- 
cording to  Eusebius,  Jerom,  and  Josephus :  Onomast.  Loc. 
Hebr.  et.  Antiq.  Jud.  x.  7.  -3.  Nob  probably  still  nearer. 
And  it  should  seem  from  this  passage  of  Isaiah,  that  Sena- 
cherib's  army  was  destroyed  near  the  latter  of  these  places. 
In  coming  out  of  Egypt,  he  might  perhaps  join  the  rest  of 
his  army  at  Ashdod,  after  the  taking  of  that  place,  which 
happened  about  that  time,  (see  chap,  xx.) ;  and  march  from 
thence  near  the  coast  by  Lachish  and  Libnah,  which  lay  in 
his  way,  from  south  to  north,  and  both  which  he  invested, 
till  he  came  to  the  north-west  of  Jerusalem  ;  crossing  over  to 
the  north  of  it,  perhaps  by  Joppa  and  Lydda,  or  still  more 
north  through  the  plain  of  Esdraelon. 

29.  They   have  passed  the  strait — ]     The  strait  here 
mentioned  is  that  of  Mich  mas,  a  very  narrow  passage  be- 
tween two  sharp  hills  of  rocks,  (see  1  Sam.  xiv.  4,  5.),  where 
a  great  army  might  have  been  opposed  wTith  advantage  by  a 
very  inferior  force.     The  author  of  the  book  of  Judith  might 
perhaps  mean  this  pass,  at  least  among  others :  "  Charging 
them  to  keep  the  passages  of  the  hill  country  ;  for  by  them 
there  was  an  entrance  into  Judea,  and  it  was  easy  to  stop 
them  that  wrould  come  up ;  because  the  passage  was  strait, 
for  two  men  at  the  most : "    Judith   iv.  7.      The  enemies 
having  passed  the  strait  without  opposition,  shews   that  all 
thoughts  of  making  a  stand  in  the  open  country  were  given 
up,  and  that  their  only  resource  wras  in  the  strength  of  the 
city. 

Ibid.  — their  lodging — ]  The  sense  seems  necessarily 
to  require,  that  wre  read  ipb  instead  of  u1?.  These  two 
words  are  in  other  places  mistaken  one  for  the  other.  Thus 
Isa.  xliv.  7.  for  ID1?  read  u%  with  the  Chaldee :  and  in  the 
same  manner  Psal.  Ixiv.  6.  with  Syr.  and  Psal.  Ixxx.  7.  on 
the  authority  of  LXX  and  Syr.  beside  the  necessity  of  t  e 
sense. 

30.  Hearken  unto  her,  O  Laish  ;  answer  her,  O  Ana- 
thoth /]     I  follow  in  this  the  Syriac  version.     The  Prophet 
plainly  alludes  to  the  name  of  the  place ;  and  with  a  pecu- 
liar propriety,  if  it  had  its  name  from  its  remarkable  echo. 


CHAP.  X.  NOTES  ON  ISAIAH.  211 

"  mw,  responsiones :  eadem  ratio  nominis,  quse  in  rqy 
n'3,  locus  echus ;  nam  hodienum  ejus  rudera  ostenduntur 
in  valle,  scil.  in  medio  montium,  ut  referunt  Robertas  in 
Itiner.  p.  70.  et  Monconnysius,  p.  301."  Simonis  Onomas- 
ticon  Vet.  Test. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  Prophet  had  described  the  destruction  of  the  Assy- 
rian army  under  the  image  of  a  mighty  forest,  consisting  of 
nourishing  trees,  growing  thick  together,  and  of  a  great 
height — of  Lebanon  itself  crowned  with  lofty  cedars  ;  but 
cut  down  and  laid  level  with  the  ground  by  the  axe,  wielded 
by  the  hand  of  some  powerful  and  illustrious  agent.  In  op- 
position to  this  image  he  represents  the  great  person,  who 
makes  the  subject  of  this  chapter,  as  a  slender  twig,  shooting 
out  from  the  trunk  of  an  old  tree,  cut  down,  lopped  to  the 
very  root,  and  decayed  ;  which  tender  plant,  so  weak  in  ap- 
pearance, should  nevertheless  become  fruitful  and  prosper* 
This  contrast  shows  plainly  the  connexion  between  this  and 
the  preceding  chapter ;  which  is  moreover  expressed  by  the 
connecting  particle  :  And  we  have  here  a  remarkable  instance 
of  that  method  so  common  with  the  Prophets,  and  particu- 
larly with  Isaiah,  of  taking  occasion,  from  the  mention  of 
some  great  temporal  deliverance,  to  launch  out  into  the 
display  of  the  spiritual  deliverance  of  God's  people  by  the 
Messiah :  for  that  this  prophecy  relates  to  the  Messiah, 
we  have  the  express  authority  of  St.  Paul,  Rom.  xv.  12. 
"  Conjungit  Parasciam  hanc,  quse  respicit  dies  futuros 
Messiae,  cum  fiducia,  quae  fuit  in  diebus  Ezekiae  :  "  Kimchi 
in  ver.  1.  Thus,  in  the  latter  part  of  Isaiah's  prophecies,  the 
subject  of  the  great  redemption,  and  of  the  glories  of  Mes- 
siah's kingdom,  arises  out  of  the  restoration  of  Judah  by  the 
deliverance  from  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  and  is  all  along 
connected  and  intermixed  with  it. 

4.  By  the  blast  of  his  mouth]  For  D3#3,  by  the  rod, 
Houbigant  reads  raaa,  by  the  blast  of  his  mouth,  from 
3iw,  to  blow.  The  conjecture  is  ingenious  and  probable ; 
and  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  the  LXX  and  Chaldee,  who 
render  it,  by  the  word  of  his  mouth  ;  which  answers  much 
better  to  the  correction  than  to  the  present  reading.  Add 
to  this,  that  the  blast  of  his  mouth,  is  perfectly  parallel  to 
the  breath  of  his  lips  in  the  next  line. 


212  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.   XP. 

5.  —  the  cincture  —  ]  All  the  ancient  versions,  except 
that  of  Symmachus,  have  two  different  words  for  girdle,  in 
the  two  hemistichs.  It  is  not  probable  that  Isaiah  would 
have  repeated  ni'X,  when  a  synonymous  wrord  so  obvious  as 
•Mn  occurred.  The  tautology  seems  to  have  arisen  from 
the  mistake  of  some  transcriber.  The  meaning  of  this  verse 
is,  that  a  zeal  for  justice  and  truth  shall  make  him  active 
and  strong  in  executing  the  great  work  which  he  shall  un- 
dertake. See  note  on  chap.  v.  27. 

6—8.  Then  shall  the  wolf—]  The  idea  of  the  renewal 
of  the  golden  age,  as  it  is  called,  is  much  the  same  in  the 
oriental  writers  with  that  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  :  the 
wild  beasts  grow  tame  ;  serpents  and  poisonous  herbs  become 
harmless  ;  all  is  peace  and  harmony,  plenty  and  happiness  : 

".  Occidet  et  serpens,  et  fallax  herba  veneni 

Occidet." 

-  "  Nee  magnos  metuent  armentaleones." 
"  Nee  lupus  insidias  pecori  -  ."  Virg. 

"  Nee  vespertinus  circumgemit  ursus  ovile, 
Nee  intumescit  alta  viperis  humus."  Hor. 

1}  TXT  oif^a,^  oTTwiKct  ve£gov  ev  evvoi 

rtvecrQcti  tfrav  XVKOC,  yx,  g&Aajo-f/."  Theoc. 


I  have  laid  before  the  reader  these  eomrnon  passages 
from  the  most  elegant  of  the  ancient  poets,  that  he  may  see 
how  greatly  the  Prophet  on  the  same  subject  has  the  advan- 
tage upon  the  comparison  ;  how  much  the  former  fall  short 
of  that  beauty  and  elegance,  and  variety  of  imagery,  with 
which  Isaiah  has  set  forth  the  very  same  ideas.  The  wolf 
and  the  leopard  not  only  forbear  to  destroy  the  lamb  and 
the  kid,  but  even  take  their  abode  and  lie  down  together 
with  them.  The  calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  falling, 
not  only  come  together,  but  are  led  quietly  in  the  same  band, 
and  that  by  a  little  child.  The  heifer  and  the  she-bear  not 
only  feed  together,  but  even  lodge  their  young  ones,  for 
whom  they  used  to  be  most  jealously  fearful,  in  the  same 
place.  All  the  serpent  kind  is  so  perfectly  harmless,  thstf,  the 
sucking  infant,  and  the  newly  weaned  child,  puts  his  hand 
on  the  basilisk's  den,  and  plays  upon  the  hole  of  the  aspic. 
The  lion  not  only  abstains  from  preying  on  the  weaker  ani- 
mals, but  becomes  tame  and  domestic,  and  feeds  on  straw 
like  the  ox.  These  are  all  beautiful  circumstances,  not 
one  of  which  has  been  touched  upon  by  the  ancient  poets. 


CHAP.  XI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  213 

The  Arabian  and  Persian  poets  elegantly  apply  the  same 
ideas,  to  shew  the  effects  of  justice  impartially  administered, 
and  firmly  supported,  by  a  great  and  good  king  : 

"  Rerum  dominus  Mahmud,  rex  potens  ; 
Ad  cujus  aquam  potum  veniunt  simul  agnus  et  lupus." 

Ferdusi. 

ct  Justitia,  a  qua  mansuetus  fit  lupus  fame  astrictus, 
Esuriens,  licet  hinnuleum  candidum  videat."         Ibn  Onein. 
Jones,  Poes.  Asiat.  Comment,  p.  380. 

The  application  is  extremely  ingenious  and  beautiful ;  but  the 
exquisite  imagery  of  Isaiah  is  not  equalled. 

7.  Together — ]  Here  a  word  is  omitted  in  the  text,  nrr, 
together  ;  which  ought  to  be  repeated  in  the  second  hemis- 
tich, being  quite  necessary  to  the  sense.  It  is  accordingly 
twice  expressed  by  the  LXX,  and  Syr. 

10.  The  root  of  Jesse,  which  standeth — ]     St.  John  hath 
taken  this  expression  from   Isaiah,  Rev.  v.  5.  and  xxii.  16. 
where  Christ  hath  twice  applied  it  to  himself.     Seven  MSS 
have  ir:i;',  the  present  participle      "  Radix  Issei  dicitur  jam 
stare,  et  aliquantum  stetisse,  in  signum  populorum  :"  Vitringa. 
Which  rightly  explains  either  of  the  two  readings. 

11.  JEHOVAH}     For  -nx,  thirty-three  MSS,  and  two  edi- 
tions, read  mrr. 

11 — 16.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day — ]  This 
part  of  the  chapter  contains  a  prophecy,  which  certainly  re- 
mains yet  to  be  accomplished.  See  Lowth  on  the  place. 

13.  And  the  enmity  of  Judah — ]  oniy.  "Postulat  pars 
posterior  versus,  ut  intelligantur  inimicitice  Judee  in  Eph- 
raimum  : — et  potest  D'-m  inimicitiam  notare,  ut  D'DHJ  pceniten- 
tiam,  Hos.  xi.  8  ;"  SECKER. 

15.  smite  with  a  drought — ]  The  Chaldee  reads  mnn  ; 
and  so  perhaps  LXX,  who  have  f^tuyov*,  the  word  by  which 
they  commonly  render  it.  Vulg.  desolabit.  The  LXX, 
Vulg.  and  Chald.  read  inimrr,  "  shall  make  it  passable,"  add- 
ing the  pronoun,  which  is  necessary. 

F^re  is  a  plain  allusion  to  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea. 
And  the  Lord's  shaking  his  hand  over  the  river  with  his 
vehement  wind,  refers  to  a  particular  circumstance  of  the 
same  miracle :  for  "  he  caused  the  sea  to  go  back  by  a 
strong  east  wind  all  that  night,  and  made  the  sea  dry  land  :  " 
Exod.  xiv.  21.  The  tongue;  a  very  apposite  and  descrip- 
tive expression  for  a  bay,  such  as  that  of  the  Red  Sea  :  it  is 


214  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XI. 

used  in  the  same  sense,  Josh.  xv.  2.  5.  xviii.  19.  The  Latins 
gave  the  same  name  to  a  narrow  strip  of  land  running  into 
the  sea:  "tenuein  producit  in  scquora  linguam :"  Lucan,  ii. 
613. 

Herodotus,  i.  189.  tells  a  story  of  his  Cyrus,  (a  very  differ- 
ent character  from  that  of  the  Cyrus  of  the  Scriptures  and 
Xenophon),  which  may  somewhat  illustrate  this  passage  ;  in 
which  it  is  said,  that  God  would  inflict  a  kind  of  punishment 
and  judgment  on  the  Euphrates,  and  render  it  fordable,  by 
dividing  it  into  seven  streams.  "  Cyrus  being  impeded  iu  his 
march  to  Babylon  by  the  Gyndes,  a  deep  and  rapid  river 
which  falls  into  the  Tigris,  and  having  lost  one  of  his  sacred 
white  horses  that  attempted  to  pass  it,  was  so  enraged  against 
the  river,  that  he  threatened  to  reduce  it,  and  make  it  so  shal- 
low, that  it  should  be  easily  fordable  even  by  women,  who 
should  not  be  up  to  their  knees  in  passing  it.  Accordingly, 
he  set  his  whole  army  to  work  ;  and,  cutting  three  hundred 
and  sixty  trenches,  from  both  sides  of  the  river,  turned  the 
waters  into  them,  and  drained  them  off." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THIS  hymn  seems,  by  its  whole  tenor,  and  by  many  ex- 
pressions in  it,  much  better  calculated  for  the  use  of  the 
Christian  church,  than  for  the  Jewish  in  any  circumstances, 
or  at  any  time  that  can  be  assigned.  The  Jews  themselves 
seem  to  have  applied  it  to  the  times  of  Messiah.  On  the 
last  day  of  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  they  fetched  water  in  a 
golden  pitcher  from  the  fountain  of  Siloah,  springing  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Sion  without  the  city :  they  brought  it  through 
the  water-gate  into  the  temple,  and  poured  it,  mixed  with 
wine,  on  the  sacrifice  as  it  lay  upon  the  altar,  with  great  re- 
joicing. They  seem  to  have  taken  up  this  custom,  for  it  is  not 
ordained  in  the  law  of  Moses,  as  an  emblem  of  future  bless- 
ings, in  allusion  to  this  passage  of  Isaiah,  "  Ye  shall  draw 
waters  with  joy  from  the  fountains  of  salvation  :"  expres- 
sions, that  can  hardly  be  understood  of  any  benefits  afforded 
by  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  Our  Saviour  applied  the  cere- 
mony, and  the  intention  of  it,  to  himself,  and  to  the  effu- 
sion of  the  Holy  Spirit,  promised,  and  to  be  given,  by  him. 
The  sense  of  the  Jews  in  this  matter  is  plainly  shewn  by  the 
following  passage  of  the  Jerusalem  Talmud:  "Why  is  it 


CHAP.  XII,  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  215 

called  the  place,  or  house,  of  drawing  ?  "  (for  that  was  tire 
term  for  this  ceremony,  or  for  the  place  where  the  water 
was  taken  up)  :  "  Because  from  thence  they  draw  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  as  it  is  written,  And  ye  shall  draw  water  with  joy 
from  the  fountains  of  salvation."  See  Wolf.  Curee  Philol.  in 
N.  T.  on  John  vii.  37.  39, 

1.  /or,  though  tkou  hast  been  angry — ]     The  Hebrew 
phrase,  to  which  the  LXX,  Vulg.  and  our  translation,  have 
too  closely  adhered,  is  exactly  the  same  with  that  of  St.  Paul, 
Rom.  vi.  17.     "  But  thanks  be  to  God,  that  ye  were  the  slaves 
of  sin  ;  but  have  obeyed  from  the   heart " — that   is,    "  that, 
whereas,  or  though,  ye  were  the  slaves  of  sin  ;  yet  ye  have 
now  obeyed  from  the  heart  the  doctrine,  on  the  model  of  which 
ye  were  formed." 

2,  — my  sons' — ]     The  pronoun  is  here  necessary  •  and  it 
is  added  by  LXX,  Vulg.  Syr.  who  read  vrar  ;  as  it  is  in  a 
MS.     Two  MSS  omit  rr  :  See  Houbigant,  not.  in  loc.     An- 
other MS  has  it  in  one  word,  rvrnnT.     Seven  others  omit  miY- 
See  Exod.  xv.  2.  with  Var.  Lect.  Kennkott. 


CHAPTERS  XIII.  &  XIV, 

THESE  two  chapters  (striking  off  the  five  last  verses  of  the 
'latter,  which  belong  to  a  quite  different  subject),  contain  one 
entire  prophecy,  foretelling  the  destruction  of  Babylon  by 
the  Medes  and  Persians ;  delivered  probably  in  the  reign  of 
Ahaz,  (see  Vitringa,  i.  380.),  about  200  years  before  the  com- 
pletion of  it.  The  captivity  itself  of  the  Jew7s  at  Babylon, 
(which  the  Prophet  does  not  expressly  foretell,  but  supposes, 
in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  as  what  was  actually  to  be  effected), 
did  not  fully  take  place  till  about  130  years  after  the 
delivery  of  this  prophecy :  and  the  Medes,  who  are  ex- 
pressly mentioned,  chap.  xiii.  17.  as  the  principal  agents 
in  the  overthrow  of  the  Babylonian  monarchy,  by  which 
the  Jews  were  released  from  that  captivity,  were  at  this 
time  an  inconsiderable  people  ;  having  been  in  a  state  of 
anarchy  ever  since  the  fall  of  the  great  Assyrian  Empire,  of 
which  they  had  made  a  part,  under  Sardanapalus,  and  did 
not  become  a  kingdom  under  Deioces  till  about  the  17th  of 
Hezekiah. 

The  former  part  of  this  prophecy  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful examples,  that  can  be  given,  of  elegance  of  composition, 


216  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIII. 

variety  of  imagery,  and  sublimity  of  sentiment  and  diction,  in 
the  prophetic  style  ;  and  the  latter  part  consists  of  an  ode  of 
supreme  and  singular  excellence. 

The  prophecy  opens  with  the  command  of  God  to  gather 
together  the  forces  which  he  had  destined  to  this  service,  ver. 
2,  3.  Upon  which  the  Prophet  immediately  hears  the  tu- 
multuous noise  of  the  different  nations  crowding  together  to 
his  standard  ;  he  sees  them  advancing,  prepared  to  execute 
the  divine  wrath,  ver.  4,  5.  He  proceeds  to  describe  the  dread- 
ful consequences  of  this  visitation ;  the  consternation  which 
will  seize  those  that  are  the  objects  of  it ;  and,  transferring 
unawares  the  speech  from  himself  to  God,  ver.  11.  sets  forth, 
under  a  variety  of  the  most  striking  images,  the  dreadful  de- 
struction of  the  inhabitants  of  Babylon  which  will  follow,  ver. 
11 — 16. ;  and  the  everlasting  desolation  to  which  that  great 
city  is  doomed,  ver.  17 — 22. 

The  deliverance  of  Judea.  from  captivity,  the  immediate 
consequence  of  this  great  revolution,  is  then  set  forth,  with- 
out being  much  enlarged  upon,  or  greatly  amplified  ;  chap, 
xiv.  1,  2.  This  introduces,  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  the 
utmost  propriety,  the  triumphant  song  on  that  subject,  ver. 
4 — 28.  The  beauties  of  which,  the  various  images,  scenes, 
persons  introduced,  and  the  elegant  transitions  from  one  to 
another,  I  shall  here  endeavour  to  point  out  in  their  order  ; 
leaving  a  few  remarks  upon  particular  passages  of  these  two 
chapters  to  be  given,  after  these  general  observations  on  the 
whole. 

A  chorus  of  Jews  is  introduced,  expressing  their  surprise 
and  astonishment  at  the  sudden  downfall  of  Babylon,  and  the 
great  reverse  of  fortune  that  had  befallen  the  tyrant,  who,  like 
his  predecessors,  had  oppressed  his  own,  and  harassed  the 
neighbouring  kingdoms.  These  oppressed  kingdoms,  or  their 
rulers,  are  represented  under  the  image  of  the  fir-trees  and  the 
cedars  of  Libanus,  frequently  used  to  express  any  thing  in  the 
political  or  religious  world  that  is  supereminently  great  and 
majestic  :  the  whole  earth  sliouteth  for  joy  ;  the  cedars  of  Li- 
banus utter  a  severe  taunt  over  the  fallen  tyrant,  and  boast 
their  security  now  he  is  no  more. 

The  scene  is  immediately  changed  ;  and  a  new  set  of  per- 
sons is  introduced  :  The  regions  of  the  dead  are  laid  open, 
and  Hades  is  represented  as  rousing  up  the  shades  of  the 
departed  monarchs :  they  rise  from  their  thrones  to  meet 
the  king  of  Babylon  at  his  coming  ;  and  insult  him  on  his 


CHAP.  XIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  217 

being  reduced  to  the  same  low  estate  of  impotence  and  dis- 
sokition  with  themselves.  This  is  one  of  the  boldest  proso- 
popoeias that  ever  was  attempted  in  poetry;  and  is  executed 
with  astonishing  brevity  and  perspicuity,  and  with  that  pe- 
culiar force  which  in  a  great  subject  naturally  results  from 
both.  The  image  of  the  state  of  the  dead,  or  the  Infernum 
Poeticum  of  the  Hebrews,  is  taken  from  their  custom  of 
burying,  those  at  least  of  the  higher  rank,  in  large  sepulchral 
vaults  hewn  in  the  rock.  Of  this  kind  of  sepulchres  there 
are  remains  at  Jerusalem  now  extant ;  and  some  that  are 
said  to  be  the  sepulchres  of  the  kings  of  Judah  :  see  Maun- 
drell,  p.  70.  You  are  to  form  to  yourself  an  idea  of  an 
immense  subterraneous  vault,  a  vast  gloomy  cavern,  all 
round  the  sides  of  which  there  are  cells  to  receive  the  dead 
bodies  :  Here  the  deceased  monarchs  lie  in  a  distinguished 
soJt  of  state,  suitable  to  their  former  rank,  each  on  his  own 
couch,  with  his  arms  beside  him,  his  sword  at  his  head,  and 
the  bodies  of  his  chiefs  and  companions  round  about  him  : 
see  Ezek.  xxxii.  27.  On  which  place  Sir  John  Chardin's 
MS  note  is  as  follows : — "  En  Mingrelie  ils  dorment  tons 
leur  epee  sous  leurs  tetes,  et  leurs  autres  armes  a  leur  cote  ; 
et  on  les  enter  re  de  mesme,  leurs  armes  posees  de  cette  fa- 
^on."  These  illustrious  shades  rise  at  once  from  their  couches, 
as  from  their  thrones ;  and  advance  to  the  entrance  of  the 
cavern  to  meet  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  to  receive  him  with 
insults  on  his  fall. 

The  Jews  now  resume  the  speech  :  They  address  the  king 
of  Babylon  as  the  morning-star  fallen  from  heaven,  as  the 
first  in  splendour  and  dignity  in  the  political  world  fallen  from 
his  high  state  ;  they  introduce  him  as  uttering  the  most  ex- 
travagant vaunts  of  his  power  and  ambitious  designs  in  his 
former  glory  :  these  are  strongly  contrasted  in  the  close  with 
his  present  low  and  abject  condition. 

Immediately  follows  a  different  scene,  and  a  most  happy 
image,  to  diversify  the  same  subject,  to  give  it  a  new  turn 
and  an  additional  force.  Certain  persons  are  introduced, 
who  light  upon  the  corpse  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  cast  out 
and  lying  naked  on  the  bare  ground,  among  the  common 
slain,  just  after  the  taking  of  the  city  ;  covered  with  wounds, 
and  so  disfigured,  that  it  is  some  time  before  they  know  him. 
They  accost  him  with  the  severest  taunts,  and  bitterly  re- 
proach him  with  his  destructive  ambition,  and  his  cruel 
usage  of  the  conquered  ;  which  have  deservedly  brought 
24 


218  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIII. 

upon  him  this  ignominious  treatment,  so  different  from  that 
which  those  of  his  rank  usually  meet  with,  and  which  shall 
cover  his  posterity  with  disgrace. 

To  complete  the  whole,  God  is  introduced,  declaring  the 
fate  of  Babylon,  the  utter  extirpation  of  the  royal  family,  and 
the  total  desolation  of  the  city  ;  the  deliverance  of  his  people, 
and  the  destruction  of  their  enemies  ;  confirming  the  Irrever- 
sible decree  by  the  awful  sanction  of  his  oath. 

I  believe  it  may  with  truth  be  affirmed,  that  there  is  no 
poem  of  its  kind  extant  in  any  language,  in  which  the  sub- 
]ect  is  so  well  laid  out,  and  so  happily  conducted,  with  such 
a  richness  of  invention,  with  such  variety  of  images,  persons, 
and  distinct  actions,  with  such  rapidity  and  ease  of  transi- 
tion, in  so  small  a  compass,  as  in  this  ode  of  Isaiah.  For 
beauty  of  disposition,  strength  of  colouring,  greatness  of  sen- 
timent, brevity,  perspicuity,  and  force  of  expression,  it  stands 
among  all  the  monuments  of  antiquity  unrivaled. 

2.  Exalt  the  voice — ]  The  word  on1?,  to  them,  which  is 
of  no  use,  and  rather  weakens  the  sentence,  is  omitted  by  an 
ancient  MS  and  Vulg. 

4.  for  the  battle]  The  Bodley  MS  lias  HDrftn1?.  Cyrus's 
army  was  made  up  of  many  different  nations.  Jeremiah 
calls  it  "  an  assembly  of  great  nations  from  the  north  coun- 
try," chap.  1.  9.  And  afterwards  mentions  the  kingdoms  of 
"  Ararat,  Minni,  and  Ashchenaz,  (i.  e.  Armenia,  Corduene, 
Pontus  vel  Phrygia ;  Vitring.),  with  the  kings  of  the  Medes ;  " 
chap.  li.  27.  28.  See  Xenophon.  Cyrop. 

8.  — and  they  shall  be  terrified]  I  join  this  verb,  ibniui, 
to  the  preceding  verse,  with  Syr.  and  Vulg. 

Ibid,  pangs  shall  seize  them — ]  The  LXX,  Syr.  and 
Chald.  read  oiiriK*,  instead  of  JITHN*,  which  does  not  express 
the  pronoun  them,  necessary  to  the  sense. 

10.  Yea  the  stars  of  heaven — ]  The  Hebrew  poets,  to 
express  happiness,  prosperity,  the  instauration  and  advance- 
ment of  states,  kingdoms,  and  potentates,  make  use  of  images 
taken  from  the  most  striking  parts  of  nature, — from  the  heav- 
enly bodies,  from  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  ;  which  they  de- 
scribe as  shining  with  increased  splendour,  arid  never  setting  ; 
the  moon  becomes  like  the  meridian  sun,  and  the  sun's  light 
is  augmented  sevenfold  ;  see  Isa.  xxx.  26. :  new  heavens  and 
a  new  earth  are  created,  and  a  brighter  age  commences. 
On  the  contrary,  the  overthrow  and  destruction  of  king- 
doms is  represented  by  opposite  images:  the  stars  are  ob- 


CHAP.  XIII.  NOTES    ON  ISAIAH.  219 

scured,  the  moon  withdraws  her  light,  and  the  sun  shines  no 
more  ;  the  earth  quakes,  and  the  heavens  tremble  ;  and  all 
things  seem  tending  to  their  original  chaos.  See  Joel  ii.  10. 
iii.  15,  16.  Amos  viii.  9.  Matth.  xxiv.  29.  and  De  S.  Poes. 
Hebr.  Prael.  vi.  and  ix. 

11.  I  will  visit  the  world]  That  is,  the  Babylonish  em- 
pire :  as  «  o/x«,«.5v»j,  for  the  Roman  empire,  or  for  Judea  ; 
Luke  ii.  1.  Acts  xi.  28.  So,  universus  orbis  Romanus,  for 
the  Roman  empire;  Salvian.  lib.  v.  Minos  calls  Crete  his 
world  :  "  Creten,  quee  meus  est  orbis  ;  "  Ovid.  Metamorph. 
viii.  99. 

14.  And  the  remnant  —  ]     Here  is  plainly  a  defect  in  this 
sentence,  as  it  stands  in  the  Hebrew  text  ;  the  subject  of  the 
proposition  is  lost.     What  is  it,  that  shall  be  like  a  roe  chased? 
The  LXX  happily  supply  it:  01  x,cc,Tottetetw.voty  iyw  ,  the  rem- 
nant.    A  MS  here  supplies  the  word  a^v,  the  inhabitant, 
which  makes  a  tolerably  good  sense  ;  but  I  much  prefer  the 
reading  of  the  LXX. 

Ibid.  They  shall  look  —  ]  That  is,  the  forces  of  the  king 
of  Babylon,  destitute  of  their  leader,  and  all  his  auxiliaries, 
collected  from  Asia  Minor  and  other  distant  countries,  shall 
disperse,  and  flee  to  their  respective  homes. 

15.  Every  one  that  is  overtaken  —  ]     That  is,  none  shall 
escape  from  the  slaughter  ;  neither  they  who  flee  singly,  dis- 
persed and  in  confusion  ;  nor  they  who  endeavour  to  make 
their  retreat  in  a  more  regular  manner,  by  forming  compact 
bodies,  —  they  shall  all  be  equally  cut  off  by  the  sword  of  the 
enemy.     The  LXX  have  understood  it  in  this  sense  ;  which 
they  have  well  expressed  :  — 

t(  C$  yet* 
Kat  oirtvfs 


Where  for  'w?^**?*/,  MS  Pachom.  has  exxev6r,rerM  ;  and  «'< 
r  Cod.  Marchal.  in  margine,  and  MS  i.  D.  n.  txxevTrfarfTeu  : 
which  seems  to  be  right,  being  properly  expressive  of  the 
Hebrew. 

17.  Who  shall  hold  silver  of  no  account]  That  is,  who 
shall  not  be  induced,  by  large  offers  of  gold  and  silver  for 
ransom,  to  spare  the  lives  of  those  whom  they  have  subdued 
in  battle:  their  rage  and  cruelty  will  get  the  better  of  all 
such  motives.  We  have  many  examples  in  the  Iliad  and  in 
the  ^Eneid  of  addresses  of  the  vanquished  to  the  pity  and 
avarice  of  the  vanquishers,  to  induce  them  to  spare  their 
lives. 


220  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIII. 

"  Est  domus  alta:  jacent  penitus  defossa  talenta 
Cselati  argenti:  sunt  auri  pondera  facti 
Infectique  mihi:  non  hie  victoria  Teucrum 
Vertitur;  aut  anima  una  dabit  discrimina  tanta. 
Dixerat:  ^Eneas  contra  cui  talia  reddit: 
Argenti  atq.ue  auri  memoras  quac  multa  talenta 
Gnatis  parce  tuis."  J£n.  x.  526. 

"  High  in  my  dome  are  silver  talents  roll'd, 
"With  piles  of  labour'd  and  unlabour'd  gold: 
These,  to  procure  my  ransom,  I  resign; 
The  war  depends  not  on  a  lite  like  mine: 
One,  one  poor  life  can  no  such  difference  yield, 
Nor  turn  the  mighty  balance  of  the  field. 
Thy  talents,  (cried  the  prince),  thy  treasur'd  store., 
Keep  for  thy  sons."  Pitt, 

It  is  remarkable,  that  Xenophon  makes  Cyrus  open  a  speech 
to  his  army,  and  in  particular  to  the  Medes,  who  made  the 
principal  part  of  it,  with  praising  them  for  their  disregard  of 

riches.      Al4X*$  M«&<,  KOU  -Browns  ot  3T<5fr£ovTf$,  tyu  uf*.x$  ot^ot,   <r#<£>&>$,  CTI 

are  ^Y^ATut  hofisvoi  <rw  tf^i  tfyiXfars'. — li  Ye  Medes,  and  others 
who  now  hear  me,  I  well  know  that  you  have  not  accom- 
panied me  in  this  expedition  with  a  view  of  acquiring  wealth:  " 
Cyrop.  lib.  v. 

18.  Their  bows  shall  dash — ]  Both  Herodotus,  i.  01. 
and  Xenophon,  Anab.  iii.  mention,  that  the  Persians  used 
large  bows,  TO&  ^<yac.\y.\  and  the  latter  says  particularly,  that 
iheir  bows  were  three  cubits  long  ;  Anab.  iv.  They  were 
celebrated  for  their  archers  :  see  chap.  xxii.  6.  Jer.  xlix.  35. 
Probably  their  neighbours  and  allies,  the  Medes,  dealt  much 
in  the  same  sort  of  arms.  In  Psal.  xviii.  35.  and  Job.  xx. 
24.  mention  is  made  of  a  bow  of  brass  :  If  the  Persian  bows 
were  of  metal,  we  may  easily  conceive,  that  with  a  metalline 
bow  of  three  cubits  length,  and  proportionately  strong,  the 
soldiers  might  dash  and  slay  the  youn<r  men, the  weaker  and 
unresisting  part  of  the  inhabitants,  (for  they  are  joined  with 
the  fruit  of  the  womb  and  the  children),  in  the  general  car- 
nage on  taking  the  city. 

18.  And   on   the  fruit—]     A  MS   reads   '-13  b;M.      And 
nine  MSS  (three  ancient)  and  two  editions,  with  LXX,  Vulg. 
Syr.  add  likewise  the  conjunction  i  to  ^  afterward. 

19.  And  Babylon]     The  great  city  of  Babylon  was  at  this 
time  rising  to  its  height  of  glory,  while  the  Prophet  Isaiah, 
was  repeatedly  denouncing  its  utter  destruction.     From  the 
first   of  Hezekiah    to   the   first  of   Nebuchadnezzar,   under 


CHAP.  XIII. 


NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  221 


whom  it  was  brought  to  the  highest  degree  of  strength  and 
splendour,  are  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  years.  I  will 
here  very  briefly  mention  some  particulars  of  the  greatness 
of  the  place,  and  note  the  several  steps  by  which  this  re- 
markable prophecy  was  at  length  accomplished  in  the  total 
ruin  of  it. 

It  was,  according  to  the  lowest  account  given  of  it  by 
ancient  historians,  a  regular  square,  forty-five  miles  in  com- 
pass, enclosed  by  a  wall  two  hundred  feet  high,  fifty  broad  ; 
in  which  there  were  a  hundred  gates  of  brass.  Its  principal 
ornaments  were  the  temple  of  Belus,  in  the  middle  of  which 
was  a  tower  of  eight  stories  of  building,  upon  a  base  of  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  square ;  a  most  magnificent  palace  ;  and  the 
famous  hanging  gardens  ;  which  were  an  artificial  mountain, 
raised  upon  arches,  and  planted  with  trees  of  the  largest  as 
well  as  the  most  beautiful  sorts. 

Cyrus  took  the  city  by  diverting  the  waters  of  the  Eu- 
phrates, which  ran  through  the  midst  of  il,  and  entering  the 
place  at  night  by  the  dry  channel.  The  river,  being  never 
restored  afterward  to  its  proper  course,  overflowed  the  whole 
country,  and  made  it  little  better  than  a  great  morass :  This, 
and  the  great  slaughter  of  the  inhabitants,  with  other  bad 
consequences  of  the  taking  of  the  city,  was  the  first  step  to 
the  ruin  of  the  place.  The  Persian  monarchs  ever  regarded 
it  with  a  jealous  eye;  they  kept  it  under,  and  took  care  to 
prevent  its  recovering  its  former  greatness.  Darius  Hystas- 
pis  not  long  afterward  most  severely  punished  it  for  a  re- 
volt, greatly  depopulated  the  place,  lowered  the  walls,  and 
demolished  the  gates.  Xerxes  destroyed  the  temples,  and 
with  the  rest  the  great  temple  of  Belus  ;  Herod,  iii.  159. 
Arrian.  Exp.  Alexandri,  lib.  vii.  The  building  of  Seleucia 
on  the  Tigris  exhausted  Babylon  by  its  neighbourhood,  as 
well  as  by  the  immediate  loss  of  inhabitants  taken  away  by 
Seleucus  to  people  his  new  city :  Strabo,  lib.  xvi.  A  king 
of  the  Parthians  soon  after  carried  away  into  slavery  a  great 
number  of  the  inhabitants,  and  burnt  and  destroyed  the 
most  beautiful  parts  of  the  city :  Valesii  Excerpt.  Diodori, 
p.  377.  Strabo  (ibid.)  says,  that  in  his  time  great  part  of 
it  was  a  mere  desert ;  that  the  Persians  had  partly  destroyed 
it;  and  that  time,  and  the  neglect  of  the  Macedonians,  while 
they  were  masters  of  it,  had  nearly  completed  its  destruction. 
Jerom  (in  loc.)  says,  that  in  his  time  it  was  quite  in  ruins, 
and  that  the  walls  served  only  for  the  inclosure  of  a  park  or 


222  ,         NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIII 

forest  for  the  king's  hunting.  Modern  travellers,  who  have 
endeavoured  to  find  the  remains  of  it,  have  given  but  a  very 
unsatisfactory  account  of  their  success:  what  Benjamin  of 
Tuclela  and  Pietro  della  Valle  supposed  to  have  been  some 
of  its  ruins,  Tavernier  thinks  are  the  remains  of  some  late 
Arabian  building.  Upon  the  whole,  Babylon  is  so  utterly 
annihilated,  that  even  the  place  where  this  wonder  of  the 
world  stood»  cannot  now  be  determined  with  any  certainty. 
See  also  note  on  chap,  xliii.  14. 

We  are  astonished  at  the  accounts  which  ancient  histo- 
rians of  the  best  credit  give,  of  the  immense  extent,  height, 
and  thickness  of  the  walls  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  :  nor  are 
we  less  astonished  when  we  are  assured,  by  the  concurrent 
testimony  of  modern  travellers,  that  no  remains,  not  the 
least  traces,  of  these  prodigious  works  are  now  to  be  found. 
Our  wonder  will,  I  think,  be  moderated  in  both  respects,  if 
we  consider  the  fabric  of  these  celebrated  walls,  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  materials  of  which  they  consisted.  Buildings  in 
the  East  have  always  been,  and  are  to  this  day,  made  of  earth 
or  clay,  mixed  or  beat  up  with  straw,  to  make  the  parts 
cohere,  and  dried  only  in  the  sun.  This  is  their  method  of 
making  bricks  :  see  note  on  chap.  ix.  9.  The  walls  of  the 
city  were  built  of  the  earth  digged  out  on  the  spot,  and  dried 
upon  the  place  ;  by  which  means  both  the  ditch  and  the  wall 
were  at  once  formed  ;  the  former  furnishing,  materials  for 
the  latter.  That  the  walls  of  Babylon  were  of  this  kind  is 
well  known ;  and  Berosus  expressly  says,  (apud  Joseph. 
Antiq.  x.  11.),  that  Nebuchadnezzar  added  three  new  walls 
both  to  the  old  and  new  city,  partly  of  brick  and  bitumen, 
and  partly  of  brick  alone.  A  wall  of  this  sort  must  have  a 
great  thickness  in  proportion  to  its  height,  otherwise  it  can- 
not stand.  The  thickness  of  the  walls  of  Babylon  is  said  to 
have  been  one-fourth  of  their  height,  which  seems  to  have 
been  no  more  than  was  absolutely  necessary.  Maundrell, 
speaking  of  the  garden  walls  of  Damascus, — "They  are," 
says  he,  "  of  a  very  singular  structure.  They  are  built  of 
great  pieces  of  earth,  made  in  the  fashion  of  brick,  and 
hardened  in  the  sun.  In  their  dimensions  they  are  two 
yards  long  each,  and  somewhat  more  than  one  broad,  and 
lialf  a  yard  thick."  And  afterward,  speaking  of  the  walls  of 
the  houses : — "  From  this  dirty  way  of  building  they  have 
this  amongst  other  inconveniences,  that  upon  any  violent 
rain  the  whole  city  becomes,  by  the  washing  of  the  houses,  aa 
it  were  a  quagmire,"  p.  124. ;  and  see  note  on  chap.  xxx.  13. 


CHAP.  XIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  223 

When  a  wall  of  this  sort  comes  to  be  out  of  repair,  and  is 
neglected,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  the  necessary  consequences  ; 
namely,  that  in  no  long  course  of  ages  it  must  be  totally  de- 
stroyed by  the  heavy  rains,  and  at  length  washed  away,  and 
reduced  to  its  original  earth. 

22.  —  in   their  palaces]     t*rttiO(7tQ,    a    plain   mistake,   I 
presume,  for  rmrnxs.     It  is  so  corrected  in  one  MS. 


ovrat  euajkat,  x,r,rei  Aawv."     Homer.  Hymn,  in  Apol.77. 
Of  which  the  following  passage  of  Milton  may  be  taken  for 
a  translation,  though  not  so  designed  :  — 
"  And  in  their  palaces, 

Where  luxury  late  reign'd,  sea-monsters  whelp'd, 
And  stabled."  P.  L.  xi.  750. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

1.  And  will  yet  choose  Israel]  That  is,  will  still  regard 
Israel  as  his  chosen  people  ;  however  he  may  seem  to-  desert 
them,  by  giving  them  up  to  their  enemies,  and  scattering 
them  among  the  nations.  Judah  is  sometimes  called  Israel  ; 
see  Ezek.  xiii.  16.  Mai.  i.  1.  ii.  11.  ;  but  the  name  of  Jacob, 
and  of  Israel,  used  apparently  with  design  in  this  place, 
each  of  which  names  includes  the  twelve  -tribes,  and  the  other 
circumstances  mentioned  in  this  and  the  next  verse,  which 
did  not  in  any  complete  sense  accompany  the  return  from  the 
captivity  of  Babylon  ;  seem  to  intimate,  that  this  whole  proph- 
ecy extends  its  views  beyond  that  event. 

3.  —  in  that  day]     Ninn  Dm.     The  word  Kinn  is  added 
in  two  MSS,  and  was  in  the  copies  from   which   the  LXX 
and  Vulg.  translated  :  £v  T»I  '**¥?  ««v?i,  in  die  ilia,  ('y  xvcc^-oivo-siy. 
MS  Pachom.   adding  «).     This  is  a  matter  of  no  great  con- 
sequence :  however,  it  restores  the  text  to  the  common  form 
almost  constantly  used  on  such  occasions  ;  arid  is  one  among 
many  instances  of  a  word  lost  out  of  the  printed  copies. 

4.  —  this  parable  —  ]     Mashal.     I  take  this  to  be  the  gen- 
eral  name  for   poetic  style  among  the   Hebrews,  including 
every  sort  of  it,  as  ranging  under  one,  or  other,  or  all  of  the 
characters,   of  sententious,    figurative,   and  sublime;  which 
are  all  contained  in  the  original  notion,   or  in  the  use  and 
application    of   the    word    mashal.     Parables    or    proverbs, 
such  as  those  of  Solomon,  are  always   expressed   in   short 
pointed  sentences  ;  frequently   figurative,    being    formed  on 


224  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIV. 

?:ome  comparison  ;  generally  forcible  and  authoritative,  both 
n  the  matter  and  the  form.  And  such  in  general  is  the  style 
<»f  the  Hebrew  poetry.  The  verb  mas/ial  signifies  to  rule, 
&  exercise  authority  ;  to  make  equal,  to  compare  one  thing 
yith  another;  to  utter  parables,  or  acute,  weighty,  and 
powerful  speeches,  in  the  form  and  manner  of  parables,  though 
not  properly  such.  Thus  Balaam's  first  prophecy.  Numb, 
xxiii.  7 — 10.  is  called  his  mashal ;  though  it  has  hardly  any 
:.hing  figurative  in  it  :  but  it  is  beautifully  sententious,  and, 
rom  the  very  form  and  manner  of  it,  has  great  spirit,  force, 
and  energy.  Thus  Job's  last  speeches,  in  answer  to  the 
,hree  friends,  chap,  xxvii — xxxi.  are  called  mashals ;  from 
.10  one  particular  character  which  discriminates  them  from 
:,he  rest  of  the  poem,  but  from  the  sublime,  the  figurative, 
;,he  sententious  manner,  which  equally  prevails  through  the 
whole  poem,  and  makes  it  one  of  the  first  and  most  eminent 
examples  extant  of  the  truly  great  and  beautiful  in  poetic 
style. 

The  LXX  in  this  place  render  the  word  by  fywos,  a  la- 
mentation. They  plainly  consider  the  speech  here  intro- 
duced as  a  piece  of  poetry ;  and  of  that  species  of  poetry 
which  we  call  the  elegiac, — either  from  the  subject,  it  being 
a  poem  on  the  fall  and  death  of  the  king  of  Babylon ;  or 
from  the  form  of  the  composition,  which  is  of  the  longer 
sort  of  Hebrew  verse,  in  which  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,, 
called  by  the  LXX  3-zvvot,  are  written. 

11.  — thy   covering]     Twenty-eight  MSS  (ten  ancient) 
and  seven  editions,  with  the  LXX  and  Vulg.  read  "pDoi,  in 
the  singular  number. 

12.  O  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morning]  See  note  on  xiii.  10. 

13.  the  mount  of  the  divine  presence — ]       It   appears 
plainly  from  Exod.  xxv.  22.  and  xxix.  42,  43.  where  God 
appoints  the  place  of  meeting  with  Moses,  and  promises  to 
meet  with  him  before  the  ark,  to  commune 'with  him,  and 
to  speak  unto  him  ;  arid  to  meet  the  children  of  Israel  at  the 
door  of  the  tabernacle ;  that  the  tabernacle,   and  afterward 
the  temple,  and  Mount  Sion,  (or  Moriah,  which  is  reckoned 
a  part  of  Sion),  whereon  it  stood,  was  called  the  tabernacle, 
and  the  mount,  of  convention-,  or  of  appointment ;  not  from 
the  people's  assembling  there  to  perform  the  services  of  their 
religion,  (which  is  what  our  translation  expresses  by  calling 
it  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation),  but  because  God  ap- 
pointed that  for  the  place  where  he  himself  would  meet  with 


CHAP.  XIV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  225 

Moses,  and  commune  with  him,  and  would  meet  with  the 
people.  Therefore,  "ijna  in,  or  TJND  hruv,  means  the  place  ap- 
pointed by  God,  where  he  would  present  himself;  agreeably 
to  which  I  have  rendered  it,  in  this  place,  the  mount  of  the 
divine  presence. 

19.  — like  the  free  abominated]     That  is,  as  an  object  of 
abomination  and  detestation  ;  such  as  the  tree  is  on  which  a 
malefactor  has  been  hanged.     "  It  is  written,"     saith  St.  Paul, 
Gal.  iii.  13.  "  Cursed  is  every  man  that  hangeth  on  a  tree ;" 
from  Dent.  xxi.  23.     The  Jews  therefore  held  also  as  ac- 
cursed and  polluted  the  tree  itself  on  which  a  malefactor  had 
been  executed,  or  on  which  he  had  be°n  hanged  after  having 
been    put  to  death    by  stoning.      "  Non    suspendunt   super 
arbore,  qua?  radicibus  solo    aclhsereat;  sed    super  ligno  era- 
clicato,  ut  ne  sit  excisio  molesta :    warn  lignum,  super    quo 
fuit  aliquis  suspensus,  cum  suspend ioso  sepelitur ;  ne  maneat 
illi    maluin  women,  et  dicant  homines,  Istud  est  lignum,  in 
quo  suspensus  est  ille,  o  fetvct.     Sic  lapis,  quo  aliquis  fuit  la- 
pidatus  ;  et  gladius,  quo  fuit   occisus  is   qui    est  occisus  ;  et 
sudarium  sive  mantile,  quo  fuit  aliquis  strangulatus  ;  omnia, 
heec    cum    iis,    qui    perierunt,    sepeliuntur :"     Maimonides, 
apud  Casaub.  in  Baron.   Exercitat.  xvi.  An.  34.  Num.   134. 
"Cum  itaque  homo  suspensus  maximse  esset  abomination! — 
Judaei  quoque  prse  cseteris  abominabantur  lignum  quo  fuerat 
suspensus,  ita  ut  illud  quoque  terra  tegerent,  tanquam   rein 
abominabilem.     Unde  Interpres  Chaldaeus  haec   verba  trans- 
tulit  TOO  DHD,  sicut  virguitum  absconditum,  sive  sepulturn  :" 
Kalinski,  Vaticinia  Observationibus  illustrata,  p.  342.  Agree- 
ably to  which,  Theodoret,  Hist.  Ecclesiast.   i.  17,   18.  in  his 
account  of  the  finding  of  the  cross  by  Helena,  says,  that  the 
three  crosses  were  buried  in  the.  earth  near  the  place  of  our 
Lord's  sepulchre. 

Ibid.  —  Clothed  with  the  slain.]  Thirty-five  MSS«(ten 
ancient),  and  three  editions,  have  the  word  fully  written, 
D'nV  It  is  not  a  noun,  but  the  participle  passive  :  thrown 
out  among  the  common  slain,  and  covered  with  the  dead 
bodies.  So  ver.  11.  the  earth-worm  is  said  to  be  his  bed-cov- 
ering. 

20.  Because  thou  hast  destroyed  thy  country  ;  thou  hast 
slain  thy  people.}     Xenophon  gives  an  instance  of  this  king's 
wanton  cruelty  in  killing  the  son  of  Gobrias,   on-  no  other  pro- 
vocation than  that,  in  hunting,   he  struck  a  boar  and  a  lion, 
which  the  king  had  missed  :   Cyrop.  iv.  p.  309. 


22G  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIV. 

23.  I  will  plunge  it — ]  I  have  here  very  nearly  followed 
the  version  of  the  LXX :  the  reasons  for  which  see  in  the 
ast  note  on  De  Poesi  Hebr.  Preelect.  xxviii. 

25.  To  crush  the  Assyrian — on  my  mountains]  The  As- 
syrians and  Babylonians  are  the  same  people  :  Herod,  i.  199, 
200.  Babylon  is  reckoned  the  principal  city  in  Assyria: 
ibid.  178.  Strabo  says  the  same  thing ;  lib.  xvi.  sub  init. 
The  circumstance  of  this  judgment's  being  to  be  executed  on 
God's  mountains  is  of  importance  :  it  may  mean  the  destruc- 
tion of  Senacherib's  army  near  Jerusalem;  and  have  still  a 
further  view  :  Compare  Ezek.  xxxix.  4.;  and  see  Lowth  on 
this  place  of  Isaiah. 

28.  Uzziah  had  subdued  the  Philistines,  2  Chron.  xxvi. 
6,  7.;  but  taking  advantage  of  the  weak  reign  of  Ahaz,  they 
invaded  Judea,  and  took  and  held  in  possession  s-ome  cities 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  kingdom.  On  the  death  of 
Ahaz,  Isaiah  delivers  this  prophecy,  threatening  them  with 
the  destruction  that  Hezekiah,  his  son,  and  great-grandson 
of  Uzziah,  should  bring  upon  them  :  which  he  effected  ;  for 
"he  smote  the  Philistines,  even  unto  Gaza,  and  the  borders 
thereof;"  2  Kings  xviii.  8*.  Uzziah  therefore  must  be 
meant  by  the  rod  that  smote  them,  and  by  the  serpent,  from 
whom  should  spring  the  flying  fiery  serpent ;  that  is,  Heze- 
kiah, a  much  more  terrible  enemy  than  even  Uzziah  had 
been. 

30.  —  he  will  slay]     The  LXX  read  n'on,  in  the  third 
person,  cwtoi  >,  and  so  Chald.      The   Vulgate    remedies    the 
confusion  of  persons  in  the  present  text,    by  reading  both  the 
verbs  in  the  first  person. 

31.  From  the  north  cometh  a  smoke]     That  is,  a  cloud  of 
dust,  raised  by   the  march  of  Hezeldah's  army  against  'Phi- 
listia  ;  which  lay  to  the  south-west  from  Jerusalem.     A  great 
dust^raised  has,  at  a  distance,  the    appearance   of  smoke : 
"  fu mantes  pulvere  carnpi :"  Virg.  jEn.  xi.  908. 

32.  — to  the  ambassadors  of  the  nations]     The  LXX  read 
D'U,  f6vavj  plural ;  and  so  the  Chaldee,  and  one  MS.     The 
ambassadors  of  the  neighbouring  nations,  that  send  to  con- 
gratulate Hezekiah  on  his  success  ;  which  in  his  answer  he 
will  ascribe  to  the  protection  of  God.     See  2  Chron.  xxxii. 
23.     Or,  if '«,  singular,  the   reading  of  the  text,  be  prefer- 
red, the  ambassadors    sent   by    the  Philistines    to  demand 
peace. 


CHAP.  XV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  227 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THIS  and  the  following-  chapter,  taken  together,  make  one 
entire  prophecy,  very  improperly  divided  into  two  parts. 
The  time  of  the  delivery,  and  consequently  of  the  completion 
of  it,  which  was  to  be  in  three  years  from  that  time,  is  un- 
certain ;  the  former  not  being  marked  in  the  prophecy  it- 
self, nor  the  latter  recorded  in  history.  But  the  most  pro- 
bable account  is,  that  it  was  delivered  soon  after  the  foregoing, 
in  the  first  year  of  Hezckiah  ;  and  that  it  was  accomplished 
ia  his  fourth  year,  when  Shalmaneser  invaded  the  kingdom 
of  Israel.  He  might  probably  march  through  Moab ;  andy 
to  secure  every  thing  behind  him,  possess  himself  of  the  whole 
country,  by  taking  their  principal  strong  places,  Ar  and  Kir- 
hares, 

Jeremiah  has  happily  introduced  much  of  this  prophecy  of 
Isaiah  into  his  own  larger  prophecy  against  the  same  people 
in  his  xlviiith  chapter ;  denouncing  God's  judgments  on  Moab, 
subsequent  to  the  calamity  here  foretold,  and  to  be  executed  by 
Nebuchadnezzar:  by  which  means  several  mistakes  in  the 
present  text  of  both  Prophets  may  be  rectified. 

1.  Because  in  the  night — ]  y?3.     That  both  these  cities 
should  be  taken  in  the  night,  is  a  circumstance  somewhat 
unusual ;  and  not  so  material  as  to  deserve  to  be  so  strongly- 
insisted  upon.     Vitringa,  by  his  remark  on  this  word,  shews, 
that  he  was  dissatisfied  with  it  in  its  plain  and  obvious  mean- 
ing ;  and  is  forced  to  have  recourse  to  a  very  hard  metapho- 
rical interpretation  of  it :  "  ISoctu,  vel  nocturne  impetu  ;  vel 
metaphorice,  repente,  subito,  inexpectata  destructione  :  placet 
posteiius."     Calmet  conjectures,  and  I  think  it  probable,  that 
the  true  reading  is  V?D.     There  are  many  mistakes    in  the 
Hebrew  text  arising  from  the  very  great  similitude  of  the  letters 
"2  and  D,  which  in  many  MSS,  and  even  in  some  printed  edi- 
tions, are  hardly  distinguishable.     Admitting  this  reading,  the 
translation  will  be  : — 

"  Because  Ar  is  utterly  destroyed,  Moab  is  undone  ! 
Because  Kir  is  utterly  destroyed,  Moab  is  undone  !" 

2.  Beth-Dibon  : — ]     This  is  the  name  of  one  place  ;  and 
the  two  words  are  to  be  joined  together,  without  the  i  inter- 
vening: so  Chald.  and  Syr. 

Ibid. — on  every  head]  For  rt^jo,  read  ty&n.  So  the  paral- 
lel place,  Jer.  xlviii.  37.  and  so  three  MSS(one  ancient).  An 
ancient  MS  reads 


228  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XV. 

Ibid,  On  every  head  there  is  baldness  and  every  beard  is 
-shorn.]  Herodotus,  ii.  36.  speaks  of  it  as  a  general  practice 
among  all  men,  except  the  Egyptians,  to  cut  off  their  hair  as  a 
token  of  mourning.  "Cut  oft  thy  hair  and  cast  it  away," 
says  Jeremiah,  vii.  29.  "  and  take  up  a  lamentation." 

T&ro  vv  x.au  ye°otg  otov  oi£vgoi<ri  figoTolcrt 

KttgoirQoti.Tt  Ko/x.qVj  fixfaeiv  r'  MTTO  ^OCK^V  TTctgstav.      Hom.  Od.1V.  197. 

"  The  rites  of  woe 

Are  all,  alas  !  the  living  can  bestow  ; 
O'er  the  congenial  dust  enjoin'd  to  shear 
The  graceful  curl,  and  drop  the  tender  tear."         Pope. 

Ibid. — shorn—]  The  printed  editions,  as  well  as  the  MSS, 
xire  divided  on  the  reading  of  this  word :  some  have  n;ru, 
•others njru-  The  similitude  of  the  letters"!  and  i  has  like- 
wise occasioned  many  mistakes.  In  the  present  case,  the 
sense  is  pretty  much  the  same  with  either  reading.  The  text 
of  Jer.  xlviii.  37.  has  the  latter. 

4. — the  very  loins — ]  So  the  LXX,  «  orpv$,  and  Syr. 
They  cry -out  violently,  with  their  utmost  force. 

5.  The  heart  of  Moab  crieth  within  her.]  For  13*7,  LXX, 
read  13%  or  sS;  the  Chald.  is1?.  For  rrnna,  Syr.  reads  nnro  ; 
and  so  likewise  the  LXX,  rendering  it  sv  avry,  Edit.  Tat. 
or  €*  eetvni,  Edit.  Alex,  and  MS  i.  D.  n. 

Ibid —  a  ymtng  heifer]  Heb.  a  heifer  three  years  old, 
in  full  strength  ;  as  Horace  uses  equa  trima,  for  a  young  mare 
just  coming  to  her  prime.  Bochart  observes  from  Aristotle, 
Hist.  Animal,  lib.  iv.,  that,  in  this  kind  of  animals  alone,  the 
voice  of  the  female  is  deeper  than  that  of  the  male ;  there- 
fore the  lowing  of  the  heifer,  rather  than  of  the  bullock,  is 
chosen  by  the  Prophet  as  the  properer  image  to  express  the 
mourning  of  Moab,  But  I  must  add,  that  the  expression  here, 
is  very  short  tind  obscure,  and  the  opinions  of  interpreters  are 
various  in  regard  to  the  meaning.  Compare  Jer.  xlviiL 
34. 

•  Ibid. — they  shall  ascend]  For  n^T,  LXX  and  a  MS 
read  in  the  plural  hy.  And  from  this  passage  the  parallel 
place  in  Jer.  xlviii.  5.  must  be  corrected  ;  where,  for  »33  rhyy 
which  gives  no  good  sense,  read  13  rhy. 

7 — shall  perish]  nax,  or  rrcx.  This  word  seems  to 
have  been  lost  out  of  the  text :  it  is  supplied  by  the  parallel 
place,  Jer.  xlviii.  36.  Syr.  expresses  it  by  13;',  prseteriit ;  and 
Chald.  by  jnarr,  diripientur. 

Ibid,     to  the  valley  of  willows.]     That  is,  to  Babylon. 


CHAP.  XV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  229 

Hieron.  and  Jarchi  in  loc.  both  referring  to  Psal.  cxxxvii.  2. 
So  likewise  Prideaux,  Le  Clerc,  &c. 

9.  Upon  the  escaped  of  Moab  and  Ariel,  and  the  rem- 
nant of  Admah]  The  LXX  for  mx  read  bxr\x.  Ar  Moab 
was  called  also  Ariel  or  Areopolis  ;  Hieron.  and  Theodoret. 
See  Cellarius.  They  make  nmx  also  a  proper  name. 
Michaelis  thinks,  that  the  Moabiies  might  be  called  the 
remnant  of  Admah,  as  sprung  from  Lot  and  his  daughters 
escaped  from  the  destruction  of  that  and  the  other  cities ;  or 
metaphorically,  as  the  Jews  are  called  the  princes  of  Sodom 
and  people  of  Gomorrah,  chap.  i.  10.  Bibliothek  Orient. 
Part.  V.  p.  195.  The  reading  of  this  verse  is  very  doubtful ; 
and  the  sense,  in  every  way  in  which  it  can  be  read,  very 
obscure. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

1.  I  will  send  forth  the  son — ]  Both  the  reading  and 
meaning  of  this  verse  are  still  more  doubtful  than  those 
of  the  preceding.  The  LXX  and  Syr.  read  nVtfK,  in  the 
first  person  sing,  future  tense  :  the  Vulg.  and  Talmud  Baby- 
lon, read  rr7#,  sing,  imperative.  The  Syr.  for  *o  reads 
13,  which  is  confirmed  by  one  MS,  and  perhaps  by  a  se- 
cond. The  two  first  verses  describe  the  distress  of  Moab  on 
the  Assyrian  invasion  ;  in  which  even  the  son  of  the  prince 
of  the  country  is  represented  as  forced  to  flee  for  his  life 
through  the  desert,  that  he  may  escape  to  Judea ;  and  the 
young  women  are  driven  forth,  like  young  birds  cast  out  of 
the  nest,  and  endeavouring  to  wade  through  the  fords  of  the 
river  Arnon. 

3.  Impart  counsel — ]     The  Vulg.  renders  the  verbs  in 
the  beginning  of  this  verse  in  the  singular  number.     So  the 
Ken ;  and  so  likewise  many  MSS  have  it,  and  some  editions, 
and  Syr.     The  verbs   throughout  the  verse  are  also  in  the 
feminine  gender ;  agreeing  with  Sion,  which  I  suppose  to  be 
understood. 

4.  — the  outcasts  of  Moab — ]  Setting  the  points  aside,  this 
is  by  much  the  most  obvious   construction  of  the  Hebrew, 
as  well  as  most  agreeable  to  the  context,  and   the  design  of 
the  Prophet.     And  it  is  confirmed  by  the  LXX,  01  <pvya&s 
M*>*€,  et  Syr. 

Ibid.  — the  oppressor — ]      Perhaps  the  Israelites ;  who 
in  the  time  of  Ahaz  invaded  Judah,  defeated  his  army,  slay- 
25 


230  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XVI. 

ing-  120.000  men  ;  and  brought  the  kingdom  to  the  brink  of 
destruction.  Judah,  being  now  in  a  more  prosperous  condi- 
tion, is  represented  as  able  to  receive  and  to  protect  the  fugi- 
tive Moabites.  And  with  those  former  times  of  distress,  the 
security  and  nourishing  state  of  the  kingdom  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  Hezekiah  is  contrasted. 

6.  We  have  heard  the  pride  of  Moab — ]  For  &o,  read 
n*O;  two  MSS,  (one  ancient),  and  Jer.  xlviii.  29.  Zepha- 
niah,  in  his  prophecy  against  Moab,  the  subject  of  which  is 
the  same  with  that  of  Jeremiah  in  his  xlviiith  chapter,  (see 
above  Note  on  xv.  1.),  enlarges  much  on  the  pride  of  Moab, 
and  their  insolent  behaviour  towards  the  Jews : — 

"I  have  heard  the  reproach  of  Moab; 
And  the  revilings  of  the  sons  of  Ammon: 
Who  have  reproached  my  people; 
And  have  magnified  themselves  against  their  borders. 
Therefore,  as  I  live,  saith  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts,  the  God 

of  Israel, 

Surely  Moab  shall  be  as  Sodom, 
And  the  sons  of  Ammon  as  Gomorrah: 
A  possession  of  nettles,  and  pits  of  salt, 
And  a  desolation  forever. 
The  residue  of  my  people  shall  spoil  them, 
And  the  remnant  of  my  nation  shall  dispossess  them : 
This  shall  they  have  for  their  pride; 
jBecause  they  have  raised  a  reproach,  and  have  magnified 

themselves, 
Against  the  people  of  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts." 

Zeph.  ii.  8 — 10. 

7.  For  the  men  of  Kirhares — ]  A  palpable  mistake  in 
this  place  is  happily  corrected  by  the  parallel  text  of  Jer. 
xlviii.  3L  where,  instead  of  >#»»«,  foundations  or  flagons, 
we  rend '&UK,  men.  In  the  same  place  of  Jeremiah,  and  in 
ver.  36.,  and  here  in  ver.  11.,  the  name  of  the  city  is  Kir- 
hares,  not  Kirharesheth. 

Ibid.  — are  put  to  shame]  Here  the  text  of  Jeremiah 
leaves  us  much  at  a  loss,  in  a  place  that  seems  to  be  greatly 
corrupted.  The  LXXjoin  the  two  last  words  of  this  verse 
with  the  beginning  of  the  following.  Their  rendering  is  ; 
KM  UK.  evr^otTrr^  rx  vt^tat  ET^M.  For  -]N  they  must  have  read 
bxj  otherwise,  how  came  they  by  the  negative,  which  seems 
not  to  belong  to  this  place  ?  Neither  is  it  easy  to  make  sense 
of  the  rest  without  a  small  alteration,  by  reading,  inste  id  of 
In  u  word,  the  Arabic  version  taken 


CHAP.  XVI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  231 

from  the  LXX,  plainly  authorizes  this  reading  of  the  LXX, 
and  without  the  negative  ;  and  it  is  fully  confirmed  by  SlSS 
Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.  which  have  both  of  them  evr^xTrtj^Toci 
vehat  Erf£«»,  without  the  negative  ;  which  makes  an  excellent 
sense,  and,  I  think,  gives  us  the  true  reading  of  the  Hebrew 
text  :  JISBTI  niDlt?  ID^DJ  IN.  They  frequently  render  the  verb 
Dtaj  by  m£f*4u«i.  And  ID^OJ  answers  perfectly  well  to  V7DK, 
the  parallel  word  in  the  next  line.  The  MSS  vary  in  ex- 
pressing in  the  word  D'JOJ,  which  gives  no  tolerable  sense  in 
this  place  :  one  reads  D'WDU,  two  others  C'iQ2,  in  another  theD 
is  upon  a  rasure  of  two  letters  ;  and  Vulg.  instead  of  it  reads 
OHD3,  plagas  suas. 

8.  Her  branches  extended  themselves  —  ]  For  it&tM  a 
MS  has  ijyjj;  which  may  perhaps  be  right:  Compare  Jer. 
xlviii.  32.  which  has  in  this  part  of  the  sentence  the  synony- 
mous word  IJ.MJ. 

The  meaning  of  this  verse  is,  that  the  wines  of  Sibmah  and 
Heslibon  were  greatly  celebrated,  and  in  high  repute  with  all 
the  great  men  and  princes  of  that  and  the  neighbouring  coun- 
tries; who  indulged  themselves  eyen  to  intemperance  in  the 
use  of  them.  So  that  their  vines  were  so  much  in  request,  as 
not  only  to  be  propagated  all  over  the  country  of  Moab,  to  the 
sea  of  Sodom  ;  but  to  have  cions  of  them  sent  even  beyond 
the  sea  into  foreign  countries. 

10*?n,  knocked  clown,  demolished  ;  that  is,  overpowered,  in- 
toxicated. The  drunkards  of  Ephraim  are  called  by  the 


Prophet,-  chap,  xxviii.  1.    j*T  'Dibn.       See  Schultens  on  Prov. 

xxiii.  25.     Gratius,  speaking  of  the  Mareotic  wine,  says  of  it, 

"  Pharios  quae  fregit  noxia  reges.  "     Cyneg.  ver.  312. 

9.  as  with  the  weeping  —  ]  For  »2n  a  MS  reads  'J2.- 
In  Jer.  xlviii.  32.  it  is  'DUD.  LXX  read  »D33,  which  I  fol- 
low. 

Ibid.  And  upon  thy  vintage  the  destroyer  hath  fallen] 
^33  Tvn  "p'i'p  Syi.  In  these  few  words  there  are  two  great 
mistakes;  which  the  text  of  Jer.  xlviii.  32.-  rectifies: 
for  yvvp,  it  has  -pm  ;  and  for  Tvn,  vuy:  both  which 
corrections  the  Chaldee  in  this  place  confirms.  As  to  the 
first, 

"  Hesebon  and  Eleale,  and 
The  flowery  dale  of  Sibmah  clad  with  vines," 

were  never  celebrated  for  their  harvests  ;  it  was  the  vintage 
that  suffered  by  the  irruption  of  the  enemy  :  and  so  read  LXX 


232  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XVI. 

and  Syr.  rrn  is  the  noisy  acclamation  of  the  t readers  of 
the  grapes :  and  see  what  sense  this  makes  in  the  literal  ren- 
dering of  the  Vulgate — super  m<  m  "  vox  calcantium 
irruit."  The  reading  in  Jer.  xlvii.  32.  is  certainly  right, 
Saj  Tiff jVastator  irruit.  The  shout  of  the  treadersdoes  not  come 
in  till  the  next  verse;  in  which  the  text  of  Isaiah  in  its  turn 
mends  that  of  Jeremiah,  xlviii.  33.  where,  instead  of  the  first 
-n»n,  the  shout,  we  ought  undoubtedly  to  read,  as  here,  -pin, 
I  he  t  reader. 

10.  An  end  is  put  to  the  shouting]  The  LXX  read 
rotsm,  passive,  and  in  the  third  person, — rightly  ;  for  God  is 
not  the  speaker  in  this  place.  The  rendering  of  L?. 
•a-rx-ttvrou  */*{  >u*ivrfta  j  which  last  word,  necessary  to  the  ren- 
dering of  the  Hebrew,  and  to  the  sense,  is  supplied  by  MSS 
Pachora.  and  i.  D.  u.,  having  been  lost  out  of  the  other 
copies. 

12.  when  Moab  shall  see— -]  For  rwnj  a  MS  reads  ruo, 
and  so  Syr.  and  Chald.  "  Perhaps  n&nj  *D  is  only  a  va- 
rious reading  of  rrato  '3 ;  "  SECK  very  probable  con- 
jectn 

without  strength]    An  ancient  MS,  with  LXX 
read 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THIS  prophecy  by  its  title  should  relate  only  to  Damas- 
cus ;  but  it  full  as  much  concerns,  and  more  largely  treats  of, 
the  kingdom  of  Samaria  and  the  Israelites,  confederate  with 
Damascus  and  the  Syrians  against  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  It 
was  delivered  probably  soon  after  the  prophecies  of  the  viith 
and  viiith  chapters,  iti  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Ahaz  ; 
and  was  fulfilled  by  Tiglath  Pileser's  taking  Damascus,  and 
carrying  the  people  captives  to  Kir,  (2  Kings  xvi.  9.) ;  and 
overrunning  great  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  and  carrying 
a  great  number  of  the  Israelites  also  captives  to  Assyria 
still  more  fully  in  regard  to  Israel,  by  the  conquest  of  the  king- 
dom, and  the  captivity  of  the  people,  effected  a  few  years  after 
by  Shalmaneser. 

1. — a  ruinous  heap]  For  73  the  LXX  read  7*7,  Vulg. 
73.     I  follow  the  former. 

2.   The  cities  are  deserted  for  ever}     "What  has  Aroer  on 
the  river  Arnon  to  do  with  Damascus?    and    if  there   be 


CHAP.  XVII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  233 

ano'lier  Arocr  on  tlio  northcn  border  of  the  tribe  of  Gad, 
(as  Reland  seems  to  think  there  might  be),  this  is  not  much 
more  to  the  purpose.  Besides,  the  cities  of  Aroer,  if  Aroer 
itself  is  a  city,  make-;  no  good  sense.  The  LXX,  for  ijn;*, 
Arocr i  read  nr  n.r,  f?  w  «>«»«,  for  ever,  or  for  a  long  dura- 
tion. The  Chald.  takes  the  word  for  a  verb  from  mj,',  trans- 
lating it  imn,  deyastabuntur.  The  Syr.  read  Y;TI)».  So 
that  the  reading  is  very  doubtful.  I  follow  the  LXX,  as 
making  the  plainest  sense. 

3.  — the  pride  of  Syria — ]  For  ixw  Houbigant  reads: 
nxtf,  the  pride,  answering,  as  the  sentence  seems  evidently 
to  require,  to  103,  the  glory  of  Israel.  The  conjecture  id 
so  very  probable,  that  I  venture  to  follow  it. 

5.  — as  when  oiif  ^<i!Ji<  rcth — ]  That  is,  the  kihg  of  As- 
syria shall  sweep  away  the  whole  body  of  the  people,  as  the 
reaper  strippeth  off  the  whole  crop  of  corn  ;  and  the  rem- 
nant shall  be  no  more,  in  proportion,  than  the  scattered  ears 
left  to  the  gleaner.  The  valley  of  Rephaim  near  Jerusalem 
was  celebrated  for  its  plentiful  harvests  ;  it  is  here  used  poet- 
ically for  any  fruitful  country. 

8.  — the  altars  dedicated  to  the  work  of  his  hands]     The 
construction  of  the  words,  and  the  meaning  of  the  sentence, 
in   this  place,  are  not  obvious:  all  the  ancient  versions,  and 
most   of   the  modern,  have  mistaken  it.     The  word   nts^o 
stands///   ri'^iininc  with    mn3T3,  not  in  apposition  with  it : 
it  means  the  altars  of  the  work  of  their  hands ;  that  is,  of 
the  idols;  not  which   are    the  work  of  their   hands.     Thus 
Kiinchi  has  explained  it,  and  Le  Clerc  has  followed  him. 

9.  — the  Hivitcs   and  the    Amorites — ]     "vaxrn  tmnn. 
No  one  has  ever  yet  been  able  to  make  any  tolerable  sense 
of  these  words.     The  translation  of  the  LXX    has  happily 
preserved  what  seems  to  be  the  true  reading  of  the  text,  as 
it  stood   in  the  copies  of  their  time  ;  though  the  words  are 
now  transposed,  either  in   the   text,  or  in  their    version:  01 
Au.olu.toi  MI  01  Evxiot.     It  is  remarkable,  that  many  commen- 
tators, who  never  thought  of  admitting  the  reading  of  the 
LXX,  yet  understand  the  passage  as  referring  to  that  very 
event  which  their  version  expresses  :  so  that  it  is  plain,  that 
nothing  can  be  more  suitable  to  the  context.     My  Father 
saw  the  necessity  of  admitting  this  variation,  at  a  time  when 
it  was  nut  usual  to  make  so  free  with  the  Hebrew  text.     See 
Lowth  on  the  place. 

10.  — shoots  from  a  foreign  soil]     The  pleasant  plants, 

25* 


234  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XVII. 

and  shoots  from  a  foreign  soil,  are  allegorical  expressions  for 
strange  and  idolatrous  worship;  vicious  and  abominable  prac- 
tices connected  with  it ;  reliance  on  human  aid.  and  on  al- 
liances entered  into  with  the  neighbouring  nations,  especially 
Egypt :  to  all  which  the  Israelites  wera  greatly  addicted  ; 
and  in  their  expectations  from  which  they  should  be  grievous- 
ly disappointed. 

12 — 14.  Wo  to  the  multitude — ]  The  three  last  verses 
of  this  chapter  seem  to  have  no  relation  to  the  foregoing 
prophecy,  to  which  they  are  joined.  It  is  a  beautiful  piece, 
standing  singly  and  by  itself;  for  neither  has  it  any  con- 
nexion with  what  follows :  whether  it  stands  in  its  right 
place,  or  not,  I  cannot  say.  It  is  a  noble  description  of  the 
formidable  invasion,  and  of  the  sudden  overthrow,  of  Sena- 
cherib ;  which  is  intimated  in  the  strongest  terms,  and  the 
most  expressive  images,  exactly  suitable  to  the  event. 

12,  13.  Like  the  roaring  of  mighty  waters — ]  Five  words, 
three  at  the  end  of  the  12th  verse,  and  two  at  the  beginning 
of  the  13th,  are  omitted  in  five  MSS  ;  that  is,  in  effect,  the 
repetition,  contained  in  the  first  line  of  verse  13,  in  this 
translation,  is  not  made.  After  having  observed,  that  it  is 
equally  easy  to  account  for  the  omission  of  these  words  by  a 
transcriber,  if  they  are  genuine;  or  their  insertion,  if  they  are 
not  genuine  :  occasioned  by  his  carrying  his  eye  backwards 
to  the  word  D'DN1?,  or  forwards  to  pxp«;  I  shall  leave  it  to  the 
reader's  judgment  to  determine,  whether  they  are  genuine, 
or  not. 

14.  — and  he  is  no  more]  For  w:»x,  ten  MSS  (three  an- 
cient) and  two  editions,  and  LXX,  Syr.  Chald.  Vulg.  have 
UJ'W.  This  particle,  authenticated  by  so  many  good  vouch- 
ers, restores  the  sentence  to  the  true  poetical  form,  implying 
a  repetition  of  some  part  of  the  parallel  line  preceding, 
thus : 

"  At  the  season  of  evening,  behold  terror! 
Before  the  morning,  and  [behold]  he  is  no  more!  " 

See  Prelim.  Dissert,  p.  xii.  note. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THIS  is  one  of  the  most  obscure  prophecies  in  the  whole 
book  of  Isaiah.  The  subject  of  it,  the  end  and  design  of  it, 
the  people  to  whom  it  is  addressed,  the  history  to  which  it 
belongs,  the  person  who  sends  the  messengers,  and  the  na- 


CHAP.   XVIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  235 

tion  to  whom  the  messengers  are  sent ;  are  all   obscure  and 
doubtful. 

1.  The  winged  cymbal]  D'DJD  Wy.  I  adopt  this  as  the 
most  probable  of  the  many  interpretations  that  have  been  given 
of  these  words.  It  is  Bochart's  :  see  Phaleg  iv.  2.  The  Egyp- 
tian Sistrum  is  expressed  by  a  periphrasis  ;  the  Hebrews  had 
no  name  for  it  in  their  language,  not  having  in  use  the 
instrument  itself.  The  cymbal  they  had  ;  an  instrument  in 
its  use  and  sound  not  much  unlike  to  the  sistrum  ;  and  to  dis- 
tinguish from  it  the  sistrurn,  they  called  it  the  cymbal  with 
wings.  The  cymbal  was  a  round  hollow  piece  of  metal, 
which  being  struck  against  another,  gave  a  ringing  sound  : 
the  sistrum  was  a  round  instrument,  consisting  of  a  broad  rim 
of  metal,  through  which  from  side  to  side  ran  several  loose 
laminae,  or  small  rods,  of  metal,  which  being  shaken,  gave  a 
like  sound  :  These  projecting  on  each  side,  had  somewhat  of 
the  appearance  of  wings  ;  or  might  be  very  properly  expressed 
by  the  same  word  which  the  Hebrews  used  for  wings,  or  for 
the  extremity,  or  a  part  of  any  thing  projecting.  The  sistrum 
is  given  in  a  medal  of  Adrian,  as  the  proper  attribute  of  Egypt. 
See  Addison  on  Medals,  Series  iii.  No.  4.  where  the  figure  of 
it  may  be  seen. 

In  opposition  to  other  interpretations  of  these  words  which 
have  prevailed,  it  may  be  brjefly  observed,  that  Wv  is 
never  used  to  signify  shadow,  nor  ppu  applied  to  the  sails  of 
ships. 

If  therefore  the  words  are  rightly  interpreted  the  winged 
cymbal,  meaning  the  sistrum,  Egypt  must  be  the  country  to 
which  the  prophecy  is  addressed  :  And  upon  this  hypothesis 
the  version  and  explanation  must  proceed.  I  further  suppose, 
that  the  prophecy  was  delivered  before  Senacherib's  return 
from  his  Egyptian  expedition,  which  took  up  three  years ; 
and  that  it  was  designed  to  give  to  f  the  Jews,  and  perhaps 
likewise  to  the  Egyptians,  an  intimation  of  God's  counsels  in 
regard  to  the  destruction  of  their  great  and  powerful  ene- 
my. 

Ibid.  Which  borders  on  the  rivers  of  Cusli]  What  are 
the  rivers  of  Gush,  whether  the  eastern  branches  of  the  lower 
Nile,  the  boundary  of  Egypt  towards  Arabia,  or  the  parts  of 
the  upper  Nile  towards  Ethiopia,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine. 
The  word  la^D  signifies  either  on  this  side  or  on  the  further 
side  :  I  have  made  use  of  the  same  kind  of  ambiguous  expres- 
sion in  the  translation. 


236  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XVII1V 

2.  — in  vessels  of  papyrus]  This  circumstance  agrees  per- 
fectly well  with  Egypt.  It  is  well  known,  that  the  Egyp- 
tians commonly  used  on  the  Nile  a  light  sort  of  ships,  or  boats, 
made  of  the  reed  papyrus.  "  Ex  ipso  quidem  papyro  navigia 
texunt :"  Plin.  xiii.  11. 

"  Conseritur  bibula  Memphitis  cymba  papyro."  Luc.  iv.  136. 

Ibid.  Go,  ye  swift  messengers — ]  To  this  nation  before 
mentioned,  who,  by  the  Nile,  and  by  their  numerous  canals. 
have  the  means  of  spreading  the  report,  in  the  most  expedi- 
tious manner,  through  the  whole  country  ;  go,  ye  swift  mes- 
sengers, and  carry  this  notice  of  God's  designs  in  regard  to 
them.  By  the  swift  messengers  are  meant,  not,  any  particu- 
lar persons  specially  appointed  to  this  office,  but  any  the  usu- 
al conveyers  of  news  whatsoever,  travellers,  merchants,  and 
the  like,  the  instruments  and  agents  of  common  fame  : 
these  are  ordered  to  publish  this  declaration  made  by  the 
Prophet  throughout  Egypt,  and  to  all  the  world ;  and  to  ex- 
cite their  attention  to  the  promised  visible  interposition  of  God. 

Ibid.  — stretched  out  in  length — ]  Egypt,  that  is,  the 
fruitful  part  of  it,  exclusive  of  the  deserts  on  each  side,  is  one 
long  vale,  through  the  middle  of  which  runs  the  Nile,  bound- 
ed on  each  side  to  the  east  and  west  by  a  chain  of  mountains  ; 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length ;  in  breadth, 
from  one  to  two  or  three  days'  journey  :  even  at  the  widest 
part  of  the  Delta,  from  Pelusium  to  Alexandria,  not  above  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  broad.  Egmont  and  Hey  man,  and 
Pococke's  Travels. 

Ibid.  — smoothed — ]  Either  relating"  to  the  practice  of  the 
Egyptian  priests,  who  made  their  bodies  smooth  by  shav- 
ing off  their  hair;  see  Herod,  ii.  37.;  or  rather  to  the  coun- 
try's being  made  smooth,  perfectly  plain  and  level,  by  the 
overflowing  of  the  Nile.^ 

Ibid. — meted  out  by  line — ]  It  is  generally  referred  to 
the  frequent  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  mensuration  in 
Egypt,  in  order  to  determine  the  boundaries  after  the  inun- 
dations of  the  Nile  ;  to  which  even  the  origin  of  the  science  of 
geometry  is  by  some  ascribed.  Strabo,  lib.  xvii.  sub  init. 

Ibid.  — trodden  down — ]  Supposed  to  allude  to  a  peculiar 
method  of  tillage  in  use  among  the  Egyptians.  Both  Her- 
odotus (lib.  ii.)  and  Diodorus  (lib.  i.)  say,  that  when  the 
Nile  had  retired  within  its  banks,  and  the  ground  became 
somewhat  dry,  they  sowed  their  land,  and  then  sent  in  their 


CHAP.  XVIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 


237 


cattle  (their  hogs,  says  the   former)  to  tread  in    the  seed ; 
and  without  any  further  care  expected  the  harvest. 

Ibid.  — the  rivers  have  nouriihdd]  The  word  IKD  is 
generally  taken  to  he  an  irregular  form  for  1112,  have  spoiled, 
as  an  ancient  MS  has  it  in  this  place  ;  and  so  most  of  the 
versions,  both  ancient  and  modern,  understand  it.  On 
which  Schultens,  Gram.  Hob.  p.  491.  has  the  following 
remark:  "  Ne  minimam  quidcm  specinn  veri  habet  INTD, 
Esai.  xvii.  2.  elatum  pro  i??2,  diripiunt.  Haec  esset  ano- 
nialia,  cui  nihil  simile  in  toto  lingua?  ambitu.  In  talibus  nil 
finire,  vel  fateri  ex  mera  agi  conjectura,  tutius  jusliuscjue. 
Radicem  ^?3  olim  extare  poiuisse,  quis  neget'/  Si cogna- 
tum  quid  sectandum  erat,  ad  nn,  contemsit,  potius  decur- 
rendum  fuisset :  ut  ixn  pro  m  sit  enuntiatum,  vel  W3. 
Digna  phrasis,  flnmina  coiitemuunt  terram,  i.  e.  inun- 
dant?  '•  Kir,  Arab,  extulit  se  superbius,  item  subjecit  sibi: 
unde  praet.  pi.  IXD  subjccerunt  sibi,  i.  e.  inundarunt  :  " 
Simonis  Lexic.  Heb. 

A  learned  friend  has  suggested  lo  me  another  explanation 
of  the  word.  xr2,  Syr.  ana  NIT,  Chald.  signifies  uber,  mam- 
ma  ;  agreeably  to  which  the  verb  might  signify  to  nourish. 
This  would  perfectly  well  suit  with  the  Nile  :  whereas  nothing 
can  be  more  discordant  than  the  idea  of  spoiling  and  plun- 
dering; for  to  the  inundation  of  the  Nile  Egypt  owed  every 
thing, — the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  very  soil  itself.  Be- 
sides, the  overflowing  of  the  Nile  came  on  by  gentle  degrees, 
covering  without  laying  waste  the  country.  "Mira  eeque 
natura  fluminis,  quod  cum  caeteri  omnes  abluant  terras 
et  eviscerent,  Nilus  tanto  ceeteris  major  adeo  nihil  exedit, 
nee  abradit,  ut  contra  adjiciat  vires  ;  rninimumque  in  eo  sit, 
quod  solum  temperet.  lllato  enim  limo  arenas  saturat  ac 
jungit :  debetque  illi  jEgyptus  non  tantuin  fertilitatem  terra- 
rum,  sed  ipsas :  "  Seneca,  Nat.  Q,uo3st.  iv.  2.  I  take  the 
liberty,  therefore,  which  Schultens  seems  to  think  allowable 
in  this  place,  of  hazarding  a  conjectural  interpretation. 

3.  When  the  standard  is  lifted  up — ]  I  take  God  to  be 
the  'agent  in  this  verse ;  and  that  by  the  standard  and  the 
trumpet  are  meant  the  meteors,  the  thunder,  the  lightning, 
the  storm,  earthquake,  and  tempest,  by  which  Senacherib's 
army  shall  be  destroyed,  or  by  which  at  least  the  destruc- 
tion of  it  shall  be  accompanied  ;  as  it  is  described  in  chap, 
xxix.  6.  and  xxx.  30,  31.  and  x.  16,  17.  See  also  Psal. 
Ixxvi.  and  the  title  of  it  according  to  LXX,  Vulg.  and 


238  NOTES    ON'  ISAIAH. 


CHAP.  XVIII. 


JEthiop.  They  are  called  by  a  bold  metaphor,  the  standard 
lifted  up,  and  the  trumpet  sourided.  The  latler  is  used  by 
Homer,  I  think,  with  great  force,  in  his  introduction  to  the 
battle  of  the  gods  ;  though  1  find  it  has  disgusted  some  of 
the  minor  critics  : 


svgetet  ftfav, 

puyets  X*ctvo<;.  II.  XXI.  388. 


"  Heaven  in  loud  thunders  bids  the  trumpet  sound, 
And  wide  beneath  them  groans  the  rending  ground."     Pope. 

4.  For  thus  hath  JEHOVAH  said  unto  me  —  ]  The  sub- 
ject of  the  remaining  part  of  the  chapter  is,  that,  God  would 
comfort  and  support  his  own  people,  though  threatened  with 
immediate  destruction  by  the  Assyrians  ;  that  Senacherib's 
great  designs  and  mighty  efforts  against  them  should  be 
frustrated,  and  that  his  vast  expectations  should  be  rendered 
abortive,  when  he  thought  them  mature,  and  just  ready  to  be 
crowned  with  success  ;  that  the  chief  part  of  his  army  should 
be  made  a  prey  for  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  the  fowls  of 
the  air,  (for  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  allegory  continued 
through  the  5th  and  Oth  verses)  ;  and  that  Egypt,  being  de- 
Ijvered  from  his  oppression,  and  avenged  by  the  hand  of  God 
of  the  wrongs  which  she  had  suffered,  should  return  thanks 
for  the  wonderful  deliverance,  both  of  herself  and  of  the 
Jews,  from  this  most  powerful  adversary. 

Ibid.  Like  the  dear  heat  —  ]  The  same  images  are  em- 
ployed by  an  Arabian  poet  :  — 

"  Solis  more  fervens,  dum  frigus  ;  quumque  ardet 
Sirius,  turn  vero  frigus  ipse  et  umbra." 

Which  is  illustrated  in  the  note  by  a  like  passage  from 
another  Arabian  poet  :  — 

"  Calor  est  hyeme,  refrigerium  sestate." 

Excerpta  ex  Hamasa  ;  published  by  Schultens,  at  the  end  of 
Erpenius's  Arabic  Grammar,  p.  425. 

Ibid.  —  after  rain  —  ]  "nix  hie  significat  pluviam  ;  juxta 
illud,  sparget  nubes  pluviam  suam,  Job  xxxvii.  1  1."  Kimchi. 
In  which  place  of  Job  the  Chaldee  paraphrast  does  indeed 
explain  nix  by  H^UD;  and  so  again  ver.  21.;  and  chap. 
xxxvi.  30.  This  meaning  of  the  word  seems  to  make  the 
best  sense  in  this  place  •  it  is  to  be  wished,  that  it  were  bet- 
ter supported. 

Ibid.  —  in  the  day  of  harvest.}     For  nrP,  in  the  heat, 


CHAP.  XVIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  239 

• 

five  MSS,  (three  ancient),  LXX,  Syr.  and  Vulg,  read  Di»p, 
in  the  day.  The  mistake  seems  to  have  risen  from  oro  in 
the  line  above. 

5.  — the  blossom — ]  Heb.  her  blossom  ;  n¥J :  that  is, 
the  blossom  of  the  vine.  JDJ,  understood,  which  is  of  the 
common  gender.  See  Gen.  xl.  10.  Note,  that,  by  the  de- 
fective punctuation  of  this  word,  many  interpreters,  and  our 
translators  among  the  rest,  have  been  led  into  a  grievous 
mistake,  (for  how  can  the  swelling  grape  become  a  blossom  ?) 
taking  the  word  n*J  for  the  predicate  ;  whereas  it  is  the  sub- 
ject of  the  proposition,  or  the  nominative  case  to  the  verb. 

7.  — a  gift — ]  The  Egyptians  were  in  alliance  with  the 
kingdom  of  Judah,  and  were  fellow-sufferers  with  the  Jews 
under  the  invasion  of  their  common  enemy  Senacherib  ;  and 
so  were  very  nearly  interested  in  the  great  and  miraculous  de- 
liverance of  that  kingdom  by  the  destruction  of  the  Assyrian 
army.  Upon  which  wonderful  event,  it  is  said,  2  Chron. 
xxxii.  23.  that  "  many  brought  gifts  unto  JEHOVAH  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  presents  to  Hezekiah  king  of  Judah  ;  so  that  he 
was  magnified  of  ail  nations  from  thenceforth."  It  is  not  to 
be  doubted,  that  among  these  the  Egyptians  distinguished 
themselves  in  their  acknowledgments  on  this  occasion. 

Ibid,  —from  a  people — ]  The  LXX  and  Vulg.  read 
pj,»D  ;  which  is  confirmed  by  the  repetition  of  it  in  the  next 
line.  The  difference  is  of  importance  ;  for,  if  this  be  the  true 
reading,  the  prediction  of  the  admission  of  Egypt  into  the 
true  church  of  God  is  not  so  explicit  as  it  might  otherwise 
seem  to  be.  However,  that  event  is  clearly  foretold  at  the 
end  of  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

NOT  many  years  after  the  destruction  of  Senacherib's 
army  before  Jerusalem,  by  which  the  Egyptians  were  freed 
from  the  yoke  with  whiclV  they  were  threatened  by  so 
powerful  an  enemy,  who  had  carried  on  a  successful  war  of 
three  years'  continuance  against  them  ;  the  affairs  of  Egypt 
were  again  thrown  into  confusion  by  intestine  broils  among 
themselves  ;  which  ended  in  a  perfect  anarchy,  that  lasted 
some  few  years.  This  was  followed  by  an  aristocracy,  or 
rather  tyranny,  of  twelve  princes,  who  divided  the  country 
between  them  ;  and  at  last  by  the  sole  dominion  of  Psammi- 


240  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XIX, 

tichus,  which  he  held  for  fifty-four  years.  Not  loner  after 
that,  followed  the  invasion  and  conquest  of  Egypt  hy  Nebu- 
chadnezzar ;  and  then  by  the  Persians  under  Cambyses,  the 
son  of  Cyrus.  The  yoke  of  the  Persians  was  so  grievous, 
that  the  conquest  of  the  Persians  by  Alexander  may  well 
be  considered  as  a  deliverance  to  Egypt ;  especially  as  he  and 
his  successors  greatly  favoured  the  people,  and  improved  the 
country.  To  all  these  events  the  Prophet  seems  to  have  had 
a  view  in  this  chapter;  and  in  particular,  from  ver.  18.  the 
prophecy  of  the  propagation  of  the  true  religion  in  Egypt 
seems  to  point  to  the  flourishing  state  of  Judaism  in  that 
country,  in  consequence  of  the  great  favour  shewn  to  the 
Jews  by  the  Ptolemies.  Alexander  himself  settled  a  great 
many  Jews  in  his  new  city  Alexandria,  granting  them  privi- 
leges equal  to  those  of  the  Macedonians.  The  first  Ptolemy, 
called  Soter,  carried  great  numbers  of  them  thither,  and  gave 
them  such  encouragement,  that  still  more  of  them  were 
collected  there  from  different  parts  ;  so  that  Philo  reckons, 
that  in  his  time  there  were  a  million  of  Jews  in  that  coun- 
try. These  worshipped  the  God  of  their  fathers  ;  and  their 
example  and  influence  must  have  had  a  great  effect  in  spread- 
ing the  knowledge  and  worship  of  the  true  God  through  the 
whole  country.  See  Bishop  Newton  on  the  Prophecies, 
Dissert,  xii. 

4.  — cruel  lords]  Nebuchadnezzar  in  the  first  place,  and 
afterwards  the  whole  succession  of  Persian  kings,  who  in  gen- 
eral were  hard  masters,  and  grievously  oppressed  the  coun- 
try. Note,  that  for  ntyp,  a  MS  reads  D'pp,  agreeable  to  which 
is  the  rendering  of  LXX,  Syr.  and  Vulg. 

6.  — shall  become  putrid]  in'Jfxn.  This  sense  of  the 
word,  which  Simonis  gives  in  his  Lexicon  from  the  meaning 
of  it  in  the  Arabic,  suits  the  place  much  better  than  any 
other  interpretation  hitherto  given.  And  that  the  word  in 
Hebrew  had  some  such  signification  is  probable  from  2  Chron. 
xxix.  18.  where  the  Vulgate  renders  it  by  polluif,  and  the 
Targum  by  profanavit  and  abominabile  fecit,  which  the 
context  in  that  place  seems  plainly  to  require.  The  form  of 
the  verb  here  is  very  irregular ;  and  the  rabbins  and  gram- 
marians seem  to  give  no  probable  account  of  it. 

8.  — And  the  fishers — ]  There  was  great  plenty  of  fish 
in  Egypt :  see  Numb.  xi.  5.  "  The  Nile,"  says  Diodorus, 
lib.  1.  "  abounds  with  incredible  numbers  of  all  sorts  of  fish." 
And  much  more  the  lakes  ;  Egmont,  Pococke,  &c. 


CHAP.  XIX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  241 

10. — her  stores — •]    nvw,  *aroh*ouy  Aqttila. 

Ibid,  all  that  make  a  gain  of  pools  for  fish]  This  ob- 
scure line  is  rendered  by  different  interpreters  in  very  differ- 
ent manners.  Kimchi  explains  »ajx,  as  if  it  were  the  same 
with  OJ>',  from  Job  xxx.  25.  In  which  he  is  followed  hy 
some  of  the  rabbins,  and  supported  by  LXX  :  and  "oy, 
which  I  translate  gain,  and  which  some  take  for  nets,  or  i/t- 
closures,  the  LXX  render  by  £»0«v,  strong  drink,  or  beer, 
which  it  is  well  known  was  much  used  in  Egypt :  and  so 
likewise  the  Syriac,  retaining  the  Hebrew  word  vnyy.  I 
submit  these  very  different  interpretations  to  the  reader 
judgment.  The  version  of  the  LXX  is  as  follows  : — *#< 

TTOtVTeS   01   7TQlXVTt$   TOV  £l>6oV   ^VTT^roVTXl ,    KCCt   Tcl$  "^V^C^  TTOVtCrXO-l  I   "Atld 

all  they  that  make  barley-wine  shall  mourn,  and  be  grieved 
in  soul." 

11. — have  counselled  a  brutish  conns  I]  The  sentence, 
as  it  now  stands  in  the  Hebrew,  is  imperfect ;  it  wants  the 
verb.  Archbishop  Seeker  conjectures,  that  the  words  »xj;i* 
TVG  should  be  transposed  ;  which  would  in  some  degree 
remove  the  difficulty.  But  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the 
translator  of  the  Vulgate  seems  to  have  found  in  his  copy 
the  verb  1¥>"  added  after  njna :  "  Sapientes  consiliarii  Phar- 
aonis  dederunt  consilium  insipiens."  This  is  probably  the 
true  reading ;  it  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  Hebrew  idiom, 
makes  the  construction  of  the  sentence  clear,  and  renders  the 
transposition  of  the  above  words  unnecessary. 

12. — let  them  come — ]  Here  too  a  word  seems  to  have 
been  left  out  of  the  text.  After  yMn,  two  MSS  (one  ancient) 
add  IST,  let  them  come.  Which,  if  we  consider  the  form  and 
the  construction  of  the  sentence,  has  very  much  the  appear- 
ance of  being  genuine  ;  otherwise  the  connective  conjunction 
at  the  beginning  of  the  next  member,  is  not  only  superflu- 
ous but  embarrassing.  See  also  the  version  of  LXX,  in  which 
the  same  deficiency  is  manifest. 

Ibid. — and  let  them  declare — ]  "  For  ii»-v,  let  them  know, 
perhaps  we  ought  to  read  i^nv,  let  them  make  known:71 
SECKER.  The  LXX  and  Yulg.  favour  this  reading  : 

etTrntTarav,   indicent. 

13.  They  have  caused — ]  The  text  has  i^nm,  and  they 
have  caused  to  err.  Fifty  MSS,  thirteen  editions,  Yulg.  and 
Chald.  omit  the  i. 

Ibid. — pillars — ]  n:a  to  be  pointed  as  plural  without  doubt. 
So  Grotius,  and  so  Chald. 
26 


242  NOTES    ON    ISATAH.  CHAP.  XIX. 

14 — in  the  midst  of  them — ]  "ornpa,  LXX,  quod  forte 
rectius  ::'  SECKER.  So  likewise  Chald. 

16. — the  Egyptians  shall  be — ]  vrv,  plural,  MS  Bodl. 
LXX.  and  Chald.  This  is  not  proposed  as  an  emendation, 
for  either  form  is  proper. 

17.  And  the  land  of  Judah — ]  The  threatening  hand  of 
God  will  be  held  out  and  shaken  over  Egypt,  from  the  side  of 
Judea  ;  through  which  the  Assyrians  will  march  to  invade  it. 
Five  MSS  and  two  editions  have  run1?. 

18. — the  City  of  the  Sun]  DTin  T>*.  This  passage  is 
attended  with  much  difficulty  and  obscurity.  First,  in  re- 
gard to  the  true  reading.  It  is  wTell  known,  that  Onias  ap- 
plied it  to  his  own  views,  either  to  procure  from  the  king  of 
Egypt  permission  to  build  his  temple  in  the  Hieropolitan 
Nome,  or  to  gain  credit  and  authority  to  it  when  built ;  from 
the  notion  which  he  industriously  propagated,  that.  Isaiah 
had  in  this  place  prophesied  of  the  building  of  such  a  temple. 
He  pretended,  that  the  very  place  were  it  should  be  built 
was  expressly  named  by  the  Prophet  Dinn  n*;«,  the  city  of 
the  sun.  This  possibly  may  have  been  the  original  reading. 
The  present  text  has  Dinn  Y>',  the  city  of  destruction  :  which 
some  suppose  to  have  been  introduced  into  the  text  by 
the  Jews  of  Palestine  afterwards ;  to  express  their  de- 
testation of  the  place,  being  much  offended  with  this  schis- 
matical  temple  in  Egypt.  Some  think  the  latter  to  have  been 
the  true  reading,  and  that  the  Prophet  himself  gave 
this  turn  to  the  name  out  of  contempt,  and  to  intimate  the 
demolition  of  this  Hieropolitan  temple ;  which  in  effect  was 
destroyed  by  Vespasian's  orders  after  that  of  Jerusalem. 
"  Videtur  Propheta  consulto  scripsisse  Din  pro  Din,  ut  alibi 
scribitur  p«  rra  pro  ^x  rv3,  ntw  »Tx  pro  tyn  wx,  &c. 
Vide  Lowth  in  loc.  : "  SECKER.  But  on  supposition 
that  Dinn  T>',  is  the  true  reading,  others  understand  it 
differently.  The  word  Din  in  Arabic  signifies  a  lion :  and 
Conrad  Ikertius  has  written  a  dissertation  (Dissert.  Philol. 
Theol.  xvi.)  to  prove  that  the  place  here  mentioned  is  not 
Heliopolis,  as  it  is  commonly  supposed  to  be,  but  Leonto- 
polis  in  the  Heliopolitan  Nome  ;  as  it  is  indeed  called  in  the 
letter,  whether  real  or  pretended,  of  Onias  to  Ptolemy, 
which  Josephus  has  inserted  in  his  Jewish  Antiquities,  lib. 
xiii.  cap.  3.  And  I  find,  that  several  persons  of  great  learn- 
ing and  judgment  think  that  Ikenius  has  proved  the  point  be- 
yond contradiction.  See  Christian.  Mullcr.  Satura.  Obscrv. 


CHAP.  XIX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  243 

Philolog.  Michaelis  Bibliothek  Oriental,  Part  V.  p.  171. 
But  after  all,  I  believe,  that  neither  Onias,  nor  Heiiopolis, 
nor  Leontopolis,  has  any  thing  to  do  with  this  subject.  The 
application  of  this  place  of  Isaiah  to  Onias's  purpose  seems 
to  have  been  a  mere  invention  ;  and,  in  consequence  of  it, 
there  may  perhaps  have  been  some  unfair  management  to 
accommodate  the  text  to  that  purpose;  which  has  been  carried 
even  further  than  the  Hebrew  text ;  for  the  Greek  version 
has  here  been  either  translated  from  a  corrupted  text,  or  wil- 
fully mistranslated  or  corrupted,  to  serve  the  same  cause.  The 
place  is  there  called  W«A?$  Areh*,  the  city  of  righteousness  ;  a 
name  apparently  contrived  by  Onias's  party  to  give  credit  to 
their  temple,  which  was  to  rival  that  of  Jerusalem.  Upon 
the  whole,  the  true  reading  of  the  Hebrew  text  in  this 
place  is  very  uncertain  ;  nine  MSS  and  seven  editions  have 
Din,  so  likewise  Sym.  Vulg.  Arab.  LXX,  Oompl.  On  the 
other  hand,  Aquila,  Theodot.  and  Syr.  read  onn  ;  the  Chaldee 
paraphrase  takes  in  both  readings. 

The  reading  of  the  text  being  so  uncerta;n,  no  one  can 
pretend  to  determine  what  the  city  was  that  is  here  men- 
tioned byname  ;  much  less  to  determine,  what  the  four  other 
cities  were  which  the  Prophet  does  not  name.  I  take  the 
whole  passage,  from  the  18th  verse  to  the  end  of  the  chap- 
ter, to  contain  a  general  intimation  of  the  future  pro- 
pagation of  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  in  Egypt  and  Sy- 
ria, under  the  successors  of  Alexander ;  and,  in  consequence 
of  this  propagation,  of  the  early  reception  of  the  gospel  in 
the  same  countries,  when  it  should  be  published  to  the  world. 
See  further  on  this  subject,  Prideaux's  Connect,  an.  149.; 
Dr.  Owen's  Inquiry  into  the  Present  State  of  the  LXX  Ver- 
sion, p.  41.,  and  Bryant's  Observations  on  Ancient  History,  p. 
124. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THARTHAN  beseiged  Ashdod  or  Azotus,  which  probably 
belonged  at  this  time  to  Hezekiah's  dominions:  see  2  Kings 
xviii.  8.  The  people  expected  to  be  relieved  by  the  Cush- 
ites  of  Arabia,  and  by  the  Egyptians.  Isaiah  was  ordered  to 
go  uncovered,  that  is,  without  his  upper  garment,  the 
rough  manile  commonly  worn  by  the  prophets,  (see  Zech. 
xiii.  4.),  pnbably  three  days,  to  shew  that  within  three  years 


244  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XX. 

the  town  should  be  taken,  after  the  defeat  of  the  Cushites 
and  Egyptians  by  the  king  of  Assyria,  which  event  should 
make  their  case  desperate,  and  induce  them  to  surrender. 
Azotus  was  a  strong  place  :  it  afterwards  held  out  twenty-nine 
years  against  Psammitichus,  king  of  JCgypt,  Herod,  ii.  157. 
Tharihan  was  oneofSenacnerib's  generals,  2  Kings  xviii.  17., 
and  Tirluikah  king  of  the  Cushites  was  in  alliance  with  the 
king  of  Egypt  against  Senacherib.  These  circumstances 
make  it  probable,  that  by  Sargon  is  meant  Senacherib.  It 
might  be  one  of  the  seven  names  by  which  Jerom,  on  this 
place,  says  he  was  called.  He  is  called  Sacherdonus  and  Sa- 
cherdan  in  the  book  of  Tobil.  The  taking  of  Azotus  must 
have  happened  before  S  nacherib's  attempt  on  Jerusalem  ; 
when  he  boasted  of  his  late  conquests,  chap.  xxx\  ii.  25.  And 
the  warning  of  the  Prophet  had  a  principal  respect  to  the 
Jews  also,  who  were  too  much  inclined  to  depend  upon  the  as- 
sistance of  Egypt.  As  to  the  rest,  history  and  chronology  af- 
fording us  no  light,  it  may  be  impossible  to  clear, either  this 
cr  any  other  hypothesis,  (which  takes  Sargon  to  be  Shalman- 
cser,  or  Asarhaddon,  &c.),  from  all  difficulties. 

It  is  not  prob'.ible  that  the  Prophet  walked  uncovered  and 
barefoot  for  three  years  :  his  appearing  in  that  manner  was  a 
sign,  that  within  three  years  the  Egyptians  and  Cushites 
should  be  in  the  same  condition,  being  conquered  and  made 
captives  by  the  king  of  Assyria.  The  time  was  denoted,  as 
well  as  the  event;  but  his  appearing  in  that  manner  for  three 
whole  years,  could  give  no  premonition  of  the  time  at  all. 
It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  the  Prophet  was  ordered  to  walk 
so  for  three  days,  to  denote  the  accomplishment  of  the  event 
in  three  years  ;  a  day  for  a  year,  according  to  the  prophetical 
rule :  Numb.  xiv.  34.  Ezek.  iv.  6.  The  words  c»s*  tfbjy, 
three  days,  may  possibly  have  b<  en  'ost  out  of  the  text,  at  the 
end  of  the  second  verse,  after  pjrp,  barefoot ;  or  after  the  same 
word  in  the  third  verse:  where,  in  the  Alexandrine  and  Va- 
tican copies  of  LXX,  and  in  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  ii.  the 
words  rgia,  ert,  are  twice  expressed.  Perhaps,  instead  oft^t? 
jyp',  the  Greek  translator  might  read  DTtf  &Vtf,  by  his  o\\  u 
mistake,  or  by  that  of  his  copy,  after  sjrv  in  the  third  vci 
for  which  stands  the  first  rfietern  in  the  Alexandrine  and  Va- 
tican LXX.  and  in  the  two  MSS  above-mentioned. 


CHAP.  XXI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  245 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  ten  first  verses  of  this  chapter  contain  a  prediction  of 
the  taking  of  Babylon  by  the  Medes  and  Persians.  It  is 
a  passage  singular  in  its  kind,  for  its  brevity  and  force  ;  for 
the  variety  and  rapidity  of  the  movements  ;  and  for  the 
strength  and  energy  of  colouring  with  which  the  action  and 
event  is  painted.  It  opens  with  the  Prophet's  seeing  at  a 
distance  the  dreadful  storm  that  is  gathering,  and  ready  to 
burst  upon  Babylon  :  The  event  is  intimated  in  general 
terms ;  and  God's  orders  are  issued  to  the  Persians  and 
Medes  to  set  forth  upon  the  expedition  which  he  has  given 
them  in  charge.  Upon  this  the  Prophet  enters  into  the  midst 
of  the  action  ;  and,  in  the  person  of  Babylon,  expresses  in  the 
strongest  terms  the  astonishment  and  horror  that  seizes  her 
on  the  sudden  surprise  of  the  city,  at  the  very  season  dedica- 
ted to  pleasure  and  festivity,  ver.  3,  4. :  then  in  his  own  per- 
son describes  the  situation  of  things  there  ;  the  security  of  the 
Babylonians,  and  in  the  midst  of  their  feasting  the  sudden 
alarm  of  war,  ver.  5.  The  event  is  then  declared  in  a  very 
singular  manner.  God  orders  the  Prophet  to  set  a  watchman 
to  look  out,  and  to  report,  what  he  sees  :  he  sees  two  com- 
panies marching  onward,  representing  by  their  appearance 
the  two  nations  that  \vere  to  execute  God's  orders,  W7ho  de- 
clare, that  Babylon  is  fallen,  ver.  6 — 9. 

But  what  is  this  to  the  Prophet,  and  to  the  Jews,  the  ob- 
ject of  his  ministry  ?  The  application,  the  end,  and  design  of 
the  prophecy  is  admirably  given  in  a  short  expressive  address 
to  the  Jews,  partly  in  the  person  of  God,  partly  in  that  of  the 
Prophet :  "  O  my  threshing  !" — "  O  my  people,  whom  for  your 
punishment  I  shall  make  subject  to  the  Babylonians, 
to  try  and  to  prove  you,  and  to  separate  the  chaff  from 
the  corn,  the  bad  from  the  good  among  you ;  hear  this  for 
your  consolation  :  Your  punishment,  your  slavery  and  op- 
pression, w7ill  have  an  end  in  the  destruction  of  your  oppres- 
sors." 

1.  — the  desert  of  the  sca\  This  plainly  means  Babylon, 
which  is  the  subject  of  the  prophecy.  The  country  about 
Babylon,  and  especially  below  it  towards  the  sea,  was  a  great 
flat  morass,  often  overflowed  by  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris. 
It  became  habitable  by  being  drained  by  the  many  canals 
that  were  made  in  it. 

26* 


246  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.   XXI 

Herodotus,  i.  184.  says,  that  "  Semiramis  confined  the  Eu- 
phrates within  its  channel,  by  raising  great  darns  against  it ; 
for  before  it  overflowed  the  whole  country  like  a  se  i." 
And  Abydenus,  (quoting  Megasthenes,  apud  Euseb.  Pru-p. 
Evang.  ix.  41.),  speaking  of  the  building  of  Babylon  by 
Nebuchadonosor,  "  It  is  reported,  that  all  this  part  wa^ 
covered  with  water,  and  was  called  the  sea  ;  and  that  Belus 
drew  off  the  waters,  conveying  them  into  proper  receptacles, 
and  surrounded  Babylon  with  a  wall."  When  the  Euphrates 
was  turned  out  of  its  channel  by  Cyrus,  it  was  suffered  still  to 
drown  the  neighbouring  country.  The  Persian  government, 
which  did  not  favour  the  place,  taking  no  care  to  remedy 
this  inconvenience,  it  became  in  time  a  great  barren  morassy 
desert ;  which  event  the  title  of  the  prophecy  may  perhaps 
intimate.  Such  it  was  originally ;  such  it  became  after  the 
taking  of  the  city  by  Cyrus ;  and  such  it  continues  to  this 
day. 

Ibid.  Like  the  southern  tempests — ]  The  most  vehement 
storms,  to  which  Judea  was  subject,  came  from  the  great 
desert  country  to  the  south  of  it.  <;  Out  of  the  south 
cometh  the  whirlwind;"  Job  xxxvii.  9.  "And  there  came 
a  great  wind  from  the  wilderness,  and  smote  the  four  corners 
of  the  house;"  Ibid.  i.  19;  For  the  situation  of  Id  urn  a,  the 
country,  as  I  suppose,  of  Job,  (see  Lam.  iv.  21.  compared 
with  Job  i.  1.),  was  the  same  in  this  respect  with  that  of 
Judea. 
11  And  JEHOVAH  shall  appear  over  them, 

And  his  arrow  shall  go  forth  as  the  lightning  : 

And  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  shall  sound  the  trumpet; 

And  shall  march  in  the  whirlwinds  of  the  south."  Zech.  ix.  14. 

2.  The  plunderer  is  plundered,  and  the  destroyer  is  de- 
stroyed] iw  iTOrn  uia  1:1:371.  The  MSS  vary  in 
expressing  or  omitting  the  i  in  these  four  words.  Ten  MSS 
are  without  the  i  in  the  second  word,  and  eight  MSS  are 
without  the  i  in  the  fourth  word  ;  which  justifies  Symmachus, 
who  has  rendered  them  passively:  <J  etforen  erterttreu,  xttt  o 
r**euir*(t£in +*>&!**(**•  He  read  m^,iU3.  Cocceius  (Lexi- 
icori  in  voce)  observes,  that  the  Chaldee  very  often  renders 
the  verb  ua  by  ia,  spoliarii;  and  in  this  place,  and  in 
xxxiii.  I.  by  the  equivalent  word  WN;  and  in  chap.  xxiv.  16. 
both  by  D2N  and  112;  and  Syr.  in  this  place  renders  it  by  D^D, 
6j)prcssit. 

Ibid.  — her  vexations — ]     Heb.  her  sighing ;  that  is.  '.he 


CHAP.  XXI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  -  I?' 

sighing  caused  by  her.  So  Kimchi  on  the  place:  "  Innuit 
illos,  qui  gemebant  ob  timorem  ejus;  quia  stiffixa  nom  iimn 
referuntur  ad  a  gen  tern  et  ad  patientem."  "  Omnes  q  i  e- 
mebant  a  facie  regis  Babylonia,  requiescere  feci  eos  ;"  dial  I. 
And  so  likewise  Ephreem  Syr.  in  loc.  edit.  Assemani :  "  G;- 
mitum  ejus:  ciolorem  scilicet  et  lachrymas,  quas  Chal.l.ui 
reliqu.<  per  orbem  gentibus  ciere  pergunt." 

5,  The  table  is  prepared — ]  In  Heb.  the  verbs  are  in 
the  infinitive  mode  absolute;  as  in  Ezek.  i.  14.  "And  'he 
animals  ran  and  returned,  3\ur\  Kin,  like  the  appearance 
of  lightning  :  "  just  as  the  Latins  say  currere  et  reverli,  >r 
currebant  et  revertebantur.  See  chap,  xxxii.  2.  and  the  no  e 
there. 

7.  And  he  saw  a  chariot  with  tw    ri  'crs  ;  a  rider  on    n 
ass,  a  rider  on  a  camel.]    This  passage  is  extremely  obscure, 
from   the  ambiguity  of  the  term  331,  which  is  used  threa 
times ;  and  which  signifies  a  chariot,  or  any  other  vehicle,  or 
the  rider  in  it ;  or  a  rider  on  a  horse,  or  any  other  animal  ^ 
or    a  company  of   chariots    or   riders.     The  Prophet  may 
possibly  mean  a  cavalry  in  two  parts,  with  two  sorts  of  riders  ; 
riders   on   asses  or  mules,  and  riders  on  camels :  or  led  on 
hy  two  riders,  one  on  an  ass,  and  one  on  a  camel.     However, 
so  far  it  is  pretty  clear,    that  Darius  and  Cyrus,  the  Medes 
and   the   Persians,    are    intended  to  be  distinguished  by  the 
two  riders,  or  the  two  sorts  of  cattle.     It  appears  from  Hero- 
dotus, i.  SO.  that  the  baggage  of  Cyrus's  army  was  carried 
on  camels.     In  his  engagement  with  Croesus,  he  took  off  the 
baggage  from  the  camels,  and  mounted   his  horsemen  n    >a 
them  :  the  enemy's  horses,  offended  with  the  smell  of  the 
camels,  turned  back  and  fled. 

8.  he  that  looked  out  on  the  watch—]     The  present  read- 
ing nnx,  a  lion,  is  so  unintelligible,  and  the  mistake  so  ob- 
vious, that  I  make  no  doubt  that  the  true  reading  is  n*nn, 
as  the  Syriac  translator  manifestly  found  it  in  his  copy,  who 
renders  it  by  Kpn,  speculator. 

9.  — a  man,  one  of  the  two  riders]     So  the  Syriac  un- 
derstands it ;  and  Ephreem  Syr. 

18.  O  my  threshing — ]  "  O  thou,  the  object  upon  which 
I  shall  exercise  the  severity  of  my  discipline  ;  that  shalt  lie 
under  my  afflicting  hand,  like  corn  spread  upon  the  floor  to 
be  threshed  out  and  winnowed,  to  separate  the  chaff  from 
the  wheat  ! "  The  image  of  threshing  is  frequently  used  by 
the  Hebrew  poets  with  great  elegance  and  force,  to  express 


248  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXI. 

the  punishment  of  the  wicked  and  the  trial  of  the  good,  or 
the  niter  dispersion  and  destruction  of  Go<T  enemies.  Of 
the  different  ways  of  threshing  in  use  among  the  Hebrews, 
and  the  manner  of  performing  them,  see  note  on  chap,  xx  lii. 
27. 

Our  translators  have  taken  the  liberty  of  u  ing  the  word 
threshing  in  a  passive  sense,  to  express  the  object  or  matter 
that  is  threshed  :  in  which  I  have  followed  them,  not  being 
able  to,  express  it  more  properly,  without  departing  too  much 
from  the  form  and  letter  of  the  original.  Son  of  my  floor, 
Heb.  It  is  an  idiom  of  the  Hebrew  language  to  ca'l  the 
effect,  the  object,  the  adjunct,  any  thing  that  belongs  in  al- 
most any  way  to  another,  the  son  of  it.  u  O  my  threshing — " 
The  Prophet  abruptly  breaks  off  the  speech  of  God,  and, 
instead  of  continuing  it  in  the  form  in  which  he  had  beg  in, 
and  in  the  person  of  God,  "  This  I  declare  unto  you  by  my 
Prophet ;  "  he  changes  the  form  of  address,  and  adds,  in  his 
own  person,  "  This  I  declare  unto  you  from  God." 

11,  12.  The  oracle  concerning  Dnmah.}  "Pro  rran 
Codex  R.  Meiri  habet ;  QHK  et  sic  LXX.  Vid.  Kimchi  ad 
h.  I. ;  "  Biblia  Michaelis,  Hate  1720,  not.  ad  1. 

This  prophecy,  from  the  uncertainty  of  the  occasion  on 
which  it  was  uttered,  and  from  the  brevity  of  (he  expression, 
is  extremely  obscure.  The  Edomites  as  well  as  Jews  were 
subdued  by  the  Babylonians.  They  inquire  of  the  Prophet, 
how  long  their  subjection  is  to  last?  he  intimates,  th  t  the 
Jews  should  be  delivered  from  their  captivity  ;  not  so  the 
Edomites.  Thus  far  the  interpretation  seems  to  carry  with 
it  some  degree  of  probability.  What  the  meaning  of  the  last 
line  may  be,  I  cannot  pretend  to  divine.  In  this  difficulty 
the  Hebrew  MSS  give  no  assistance.  The  MSS  of  LXX, 
and  the  fragments  of  the  other  Greek  versions,  give  some 
variations,  but  no  light.  This  being  the  case,  1  thought  it 
best  to  give  an  exact  literal  translation  of  the  whole  two  verses  ; 
which  may  serve  to  enable  the  English  reader  to  judge  in 
some  measure  of  the  foundation  of  the  various  interpreUiiions 
that  have  been  given  of  them. 

13.  The  oracle  com-cr/tht^-  Arabia.'}  This  title  is  of  doubt- 
ful authority.  In  the  first  place,  because  it  is  not  in  many 
of  the  MSS  of  the  LXX;  it  is  in  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  1). 
ii.  only,  as  far  as  1  can  find  with  certainty  :  secondly,  from 
the  singularity  of  the  phraseology;  for  WD  iu  generally  pre- 
fixed to  its  object  without  a  proposition,  as  te  KB::;  and 


CHAP.  XXI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  249 

never  but  in  this  place  with  the  preposition  X  Besides,  as 
the  word  m;%:3  occurs  at  the  very  beginning1  of  the  prophecy 
itself,  the  first  word  but  one,  it  is  much  to  be  suspected  that 
some  one,  taking  it  for  a  proper  name  and  the  object  of  the 
prophecy,  might  note  it  as  such  by  the  words  :np  K^a 
written  in  the  margin,  from  whence  they  might  easily  get  in- 
to the  text.  The  LXX  did  not  take  it  lor  a  proper  name, 
but  render  it  ey-Tr^as;  and  so  Chald.  whom  I  follow:  for, 
otherwise;  the  forest  in  Arabia  is  so  indeterminate  and  vague 
a  description,  that  in  effect  it  means  nothing-  at  all.  This 
observation  might,  have  been  of  good  use  in  clearing  up  the 
foregoing  very  obscure  prophecy,  if  any  light  had  arisen  from 
joining  the  two  together  by  removing  the  separating  title  ;  but 
I  see  no  connexion  between  them. 

This  prophecy  was  to  have  been  fulfilled  within  a  year  of 
the  time  of  its  delivery,  see  ver.  16.;  and  it  was  probably  de- 
livered about  the  same  time  with  the  rest  in  this  part  of  the 
book,  that  is,  soon  before  or  after  the  14th  of  Hezekiah,  the 
year  of  Seriacherib's  invasion.  In  his  first  march  into  Ju- 
dea,  or  in  his  return  from  the  Egyptian  expedition,  he  might 
perhaps  overrun  these  several  clans  of  Arabians  :  thei  distress 
on  some  such  occasion  is  the  subject  of  this  prophecy. 

14.  — the  southern  country}  0^/^v,  LXX  ;  Aust  -i,  Vulg. 
They  read  j&v\,  which  seems  to  be  right ;  for  probably  the 
inhabitants  of  Tema  might  be  involved  in  the  same  calamity 
with  their  brethren  and  neighbours  of  Kedar,  and  not  in  a 
condition  to  give  them  assistance,  and  to  relieve  them,  in 
their  flight  before  the  enemy,  with  bread  and  water.  To 
bring  forth  bread  and  water  is  an  instance  of  common  hu- 
manity in  such  cases  of  distress  ;  especially  in  these  desert 
countries,  in  which  the  common  necessaries  of  life,  more 
particularly  water,  are  not  easily  to  be  met  with  or  procured. 
Moses  forbids  the  Ammonite  and  Moabite  to  be  admitted 
into  the  congregation  or  the  Lord  to  the  tenth  generation  ; 
one  reason  which  he  gives  for  this  reprobation  is,  their  omis- 
sion of  the  common  offices  of  humanity  towards  the  Israel- 
ites ;  "  because  they  met  them  not  with  bread  and  water  in 
the  way,  when  they  came  forth  out  of  Egypt.;"  Deut.  xxiii.  4. 

17.  — the  mighty  bowmen]  Sagittariomm  fortium,  Vulg. 
transposing  the  two  words,  and  reading  .  . .  «  i_  ;  which  seems 
to  be  right. 

Ibid.  For  JEHOVAH  hath  spoken  it.}  The  prophetic  Car- 
mina  of  Marcius,  foretelling  the  battle  of  Cannae.  Liv.  xxv.  12. 


250  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXI, 

conclude  with  the  same  kind  of  solemn  form  : — "Nam  vnihi 
ita  Jupiter  fatus  est."  Observe,  that  the  word  DXJ  ,  (to  pro- 
nounce, to  declare),  is  the  solemn  word  appropriated  to  the 
delivering  of  prophecies: — "Behold,  I  am  against  the  pro- 
phets, saith  (GNJ)  JEHOVAH,  who  use  their  tongues,  IDWI 
DNJ,  and  solemnly  pronounce,  He  hath  pronounced  it ;:'  Jer. 
xxiii.  31. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THIS  prophecy,  ending  with  the  14th  verse  of  this  chap- 
ter, is  entitled,  "  The  Oracle  concerning  the  Valley  of 
Vision,"  by  which  is  meant  Jerusalem,  because,  says  Sal.  h. 
Melech,  it  was  the  place  of  prophecy.  Jerusalem,  accord- 
ing to  Josephus,  was  built  upon  two  opposite  hills,  Sion  and 
Acra,  separated  by  a  valley  in.  the  midst :  he  speaks  of  ano- 
ther broad  valley  between  Acra  and  Moriah,  Bell.  Jud.  v. 
13.  vi.  6.  It  was  the  seat  of  divine  revelation,  the  place 
where  chiefly  prophetic  vision  was  given,  and  where  God 
manifested  himself  visibly  in  the  holy  place.  The  prophecy 
foretells  the  invasion  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Assyrians  under 
Senacherib ;  or  by  the  Chaldeans  under  Nebuchadnezzar. 
Vitringa  is  of  opinion,  that  the  Prophet  has  both  in  view ; 
that  of  the  Chaldeans  in  the  first  part,  ver.  1 — 5.  (which  he 
thinks  relates  to  the  flight  of  Zedekiah,  2  Kings  xxv.  4,  5.); 
and  that  of  the  Assyrians  in  the  latter  part ;  which  agrees 
with  the  circumstances  of  that  time,  and  particularly  describes 
the  preparations  made  by  Hezekiah  for  the  defence  of  the 
city,  ver.  8 — 11.  Compare  2  Chron.  xxxii.  2 — 5. 
fr  1.  — are  gone  up- to  the  house-tops]  The  houses  in  the 
East  were  in  ancient  times,  as  they  are  still  generally,  built 
in  one  and  the  same  uniform  manner.  The  roof  or  top  of 
the  house  is  always  flat,  covered  with  broad  stones,  or  a 
strong  plaster  of  terrace,  and  guarded  on  every  side  with  a 
low  parapet  wall :  see  Deut.  xxii.  8.  The  terrace  is  fre- 
quented as  much  as  any  part  of  the  house.  On  this,  as  the 
season  favours,  they  walk,  they  eat,  they  sleep,  they  transact 
business,  (1  Sain.  ix.  25.  see  also  the  LXX  in  that  place), 
they  perform  their  devotions,  (Acts  x.  9.)  The  house  is 
built  with  a  court  within,  into  which  chiefly  the  windows 
open ;  those  that  open  to  the  street  are  so  obstructed  with 
lattice- work,  that  no  one  either  without  or  within  can  see 
through  them.  Whenever  therefore  any  thing  is  to  be  seen 


€HAP.  XXII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  251 

or  beard  in  the  streets,  any  public  spectacle,  any  alarm  of  a 
public  nature,  every  one  immediately  goes  up  to  the  house- 
top to  satisfy  his  curiosity.  In  the  same  manner,  when  any 
one  had  occasion  to  make  any  thing  public,  the  readiest  and 
most  effectual  way  of  doing  it  was  to  proclaim  it  from  the 
house-tops  to  the  people  in  the  streets  :  "  What  ye  hear  in  the 
ear,  that  publish  ye  on  the  house-top,"  saith  our  Saviour, 
Matt.  x.  27.  The  people's  running  all  to  the  tops  of  their 
houses  gives  a  lively  image  of  a  sudden  general  alarm.  Sir 
John  Chardin's  MS  note  on  this  place  is  as  follows  : — "Dans 
les  festes  pour  voir  passer  quelque  chose,  et  dans  les  maladies 
pour  les  annoncer  aux  voisins  en  allumant  des  lumieres,  le 
peuple  monte  sur  les  terrasses." 

3.  — are  gone  off  together.]  There  seems  to  be  some- 
what of  an  inconsistency  in  the  sense,  according  to  the  pre- 
sent reading.  If  the  leaders  were  bound,  rex,  how  could  they 
flee  away?  for  their  being  bound,  according  to  the  obvious 
construction  and  course  of  the  sentence,  is  a  circumstance 
prior  to  their  night.  I  therefore  follow  Houbigant,  who  reads 
rcn,  remoti  sunt,  they  are  gone  off.  ibj,  transmigraverunt, 
Chald.  which  seems  to  confirm  this  emendation. 

6.  — the  Syrian — ]  It  is  not  easy  to  say  what  DtN  Dn, 
a  chariot  of  men,  can  mean.  It  seems,  by  the  form  of  the 
sentence,  which  consists  of  three  members,  the  first  and  the 
third  mentioning  a  particular  people,  that  the  second  should 
do  so  likewise  ;  thus  c»Bnai  D*!K  3D13,  "  with  chariots  the 
Syrian,  and  with  horsemen  :  "  the  similitude  of  the  letters  n 
and  i  is  so  great,  and  the  mistakes  arising  from  it  so  frequent, 
that  I  readily  adopt  the  correction  of  Houbigant,  DIX  instead 
of  -.,:,  which  seems  to  me  extremely  probable.  The  con- 
junction i  prefixed  to  D'Bna  seems  necessary,  in  whatever 
way  the  sentence  is  taken  ;  and  it  is  confirmed  by  five  MSS 
(one  ancient)  and  three  editions.  Kir  was  a  city  belonging 
to  the  Medes.  The  Medes  were  subject  to  the  Assyrians  in 
Hezekiah's  time :  see  2  Kings  xvi.  9.  and  xvii.  6. ;  and  so 
perhaps  might  Elam  (the  Persians)  likewise  be,  or  auxiliaries 
to  them, 

8.  — the  arsenal — ]     Built  by  Solomon  within  the  city, 
and  called  the  House  of  the  forest  of  Lebanon  ;  probably  from 
the  great  quantity  of  cedar  from  Lebanon   which  was  em- 
ployed in  the  building :  see  1  Kings  vii.  2,  3. 

9.  And  ye  shall  collect  the  ivaters — ]     There  were  two 
pools  in  or  near  Jerusalem,  supplied  by  springs  :  the  upper 


252  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXII. 

pool,  or  the  old  pool,  supplied  by  the  spring  called  Gihon,  2 
Chron.  xxxii.  30.  towards  the  higher  part  of  the  city,  near 
Sion  or  the  city  of  David  ;  and  the  lower  pool,  probably  sup- 
plied by  Siloam,  towards  the  lower  part.  When  Hezekiah 
was  threatened  with  a  siege  by  Senacherib,  he  stopped  up  all 
the  waters  of  the  fountains  without  the  city,  and  brought 
them  into  the  city  by  a  conduit,  or  subterraneous  passage  cut 
through  the  rock ;  those  of  the  old  pool,  to  the  place  where 
he  made  a  double  wall,  so  that  the  pool  was  between  the  two 
walls.  This  he  did  in  order  to  distress  the  enemy,  and  to 
supply  the  city  during  the  siege.  This  was  so  great  a  work, 
that  not  only  the  historians  have  made  particular  mention 
of  it,  2  Kings  xx.  20.  2  Chron.  xxxii.  2,  3.  5.  30.  ;  but  the 
son  of  Sirach  also  has  celebrated  it  in  his  encomium  on  Hez- 
ekiah :  "  Hezekiah  fortified  his  city,  and  brought  in  water 
into  the  midst  thereof:  he  digged  the  hard  rock  with  iron,  and 
made  wells  for  water :  "  Eccl'us  xlviii.  17. 

11.  — to  him  that  hath  disposed  this]  That  is,  to  God, 
the  author  and  disposer  of  this  visitation,  the  invasion  with 
which  he  now  threatens  you.  The  very  same  expressions  are 
applied  to  God,  and  upon  the  same  occasion,  chap,  xxxvii.  26. 

"Hast  thou  not  heard,  of  old,  that  I  have  disposed  it; 
And,  of  ancient  times,  that  I  have  formed  it?" 

14.  the  voice  of  JEHOVAH — ]     The  Vulg.  has  vox  Do- 
mini ;  as  if  in  his  copy  he  had  read  ni!T  bip:  and,  in  truth, 
without  the  word  ^ip,  it  is  not  easy  to  make  out  the  sense  of 
the  passage ;  as  it  appears  from  the  strange  versions  which 
the  rest  of  the  ancients,   (except  Chald.),  and  many  of  the 
moderns,  have  given  of  it ;  as  if  the  matter  were  revealed  in, 
or  to,  the  ears  of  JEHOVAH  ;  &  rot$  <a<ri  K.vgix,  LXX.     Vitringa 
translates  it,  "revelatus  est  in  auribus  meis  JEHOVAH  ;  "  and 
refers  to  1  Sam.  ii.  27.  iii.  21:  :  but  the  construction  in  those 
places  is  different,  and  there  is  no  speech  of  God  added  ; 
which  here  seems  to  want  something  more  than  the  verb 
rtaj  to  introduce  it.     Compare  chap.  v.  9.  where  the  text  is 
still  more  imperfect. 

15.  Go  unto  Shebna — ]     The  following   prophecy  con- 
cerning Shebna  seems  to  have  very  little  relation  to  the  fore- 
going ;  except  that  it  might  have  been  delivered  about  the 
same  time,  and  Shebna  might  be  a  principal  person  among 
those  whose  luxury  and  profaneness  is  severely  reprehended 
by   the  Prophet  in  the  conclusion  of   that   prophecv,   ver. 
11—14. 


CHAP.  XXII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  253 

Shebna  the  scribe,  mentioned  in  the  history  of  Hezekiah, 
chap,  xxxvi.  seems  to  have  been  a  different  person  from  this 
Shebna,  the  treasurer  or  steward  of  the  household,  to  whom 
the  prophecy  relates.  The  Eliakim  here  mentioned  was 
probably  the  person,  who,  at  the  time  of  Senacherib's  inva- 
sion, was  actually  treasurer,  the  son  of  Hilkiah.  If  so,  this 
prophecy  was  delivered,  as  the  preceding,  which  makes  the 
former  part  of  the  chapter,  plainly  was,  some  time  before  the 
invasion  of  Senacherib.  As  to  the  rest,  history  affords  us  no 
information. 

Ibid.  — and  say  unto  him]  Here  are  two  words  lost  out  of 
the  text ;  which  are  supplied  by  two  MSS,  (one  ancient), 
which  read  vbx  rraxi ;  by  LXX,  *«/  eix-ov  avrca  -,  and  in  the 
same  manner  by  all  the  ancient  versions.  It  is  to  be  observed, 
that  this  passage  is  merely  historical,  and  does  not  admit  of 
that  sort  of  ellipsis  by  which,  in  the  poetical  parts,  a  person 
is  frequently  introduced  speaking,  without  the  usual  notice 
that  what  follows  was  delivered  by  him. 

16.  thy  sepulchre  on  high — in  the  rock]  It  has  been 
observed  before  on  chap.  xiv.  that  persons  of  high  rank  in 
Judea,  and  in  most  parts  of  the  East,  were  generally  buried 
in  large  sepulchral  vaults  hewn  out  in  the  rock  for  the  use 
of  themselves  and  their  families.  The  vanity  of  Shebna  is 
set  forth  by  his  being  so  studious  and  careful  to  have  his 
sepulchre  on  high  ;  in  a  lofty  vault,  and  that  probably  in  a 
high  situation,  that  it  might  be  more  conspicuous.  Heze- 
kiah was  buried  Tihprh,  ev  cimGatrei,  LXX ;  in  the  chiefest, 
says  our  translation  ;  rather,  in  the  highest  part  of  the  se- 
pulchres of  the  sons  of  David,  to  do  him  the  more  honour ; 
2  Chron.  xxxii.  33.  There  are  some  monuments  still  re- 
maining in  Persia  of  great  antiquity,  called  Naksi  Rustam, 
which  give  one  a  clear  idea  of  Shebna's  pompous  design  for 
his  sepulchre.  They  consist  of  several  sepulchres,  each  of 
them  hewn  in  a  high  rock  near  the  top ;  the  front  of  the 
rock  to  the  valley  below  is  adorned  with  carved  work  in  re- 
lievo, being  the  outside  of  the  sepulchre.  Some  of  these  se- 
pulchres are  about  thirty  feet  in  the  perpendicular  from  the 
valley  ;  which  is  itself  raised  perhaps  above  half  as  much  by 
the  accumulation  of  the  earth  since  they  were  made.  See 
the  description  of  them  in  Chardin,  Pietro  della  Valle,  The- 
venot,  and  Kempfer.  Diodorus  Siculus,  lib.  xyii.  mentions 
these  ancient  monuments,  and  calls  them  the  sepulchres  of 
the  kings  of  Persia. 

27 


254  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXII. 

17.  —  cover  thee]  That  is,  thy  face.  This  was  the  con- 
dition of  mourners  in  general,  and  particularly  of  condemned 
persons  :  see  Esther  vi.  12.  vii.  8. 

19.  /  will  drive  thee]  p-intf,  in  the  first  person,  Syr. 
Vulg. 

21.  —  to  M  inhabitants  —  ]     'DtfV1?,  in  the  plural  number, 
four  MSS,  (two  ancient),  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 

22.  —  the  key  upon  his  shoulder.}     As  the  robe  and  the 
baldric,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  verse,  were  the  ensigns 
of  power  and  authority,   so  likewise  was  the  key  the  mark  of 
office,  either  sacred   or  civil.     The  priestess  of  Juno  is  said 
to  be  the  key-bearer  of  the  goddess,  xtedu%ct  H^5:  ^Esrhyl. 
Suppl.  299.     A  female  high  in  office  under  a  great  queen 
has  the  same  title  :  — 


Auctor  Phoronidis  ap.  Clem.  Alex.  p.  418.  Edit.  Potter. 
This  mark  of  office  was  likewise  among  the  Greeks,  as  here 
in  Isaiah,  borne  on  the  shoulder  :  the  priestess  of  Ceres 
itxrtf/uuhtf)  £%£  **#«£*:  Callim.  Ceres,  ver.  45.  To  compre- 
hend how  the  key  could  be  borne  on  the  shoulder,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  say  somewhat  of  the  form  of  it:  but  without 
entering  into  a  long  disquisition,  and  a  great  deal  of  obscure 
learning,  concerning  the  locks  arid  keys  of  the  ancients,  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  observe,  that  one  sort  of  keys,  and  that 
probably  the  most  ancient,  was  of  considerable  magnitude, 
and  as  to  the  shape  very  much  bent  and  crooked.  Aratus, 
to  give  his  reader  an  idea  of  the  form  of  the  constellation 
Cassiopeia,  compares  it  to  a  key.  It  must  be  owned,  that 
the  passage  is  very  obscure  ;  but  the  learned  Huetius  has 
bestowed  a  great  deal  of  pains  in  explaining  it,  Animadvers. 
in  Manilii,  lib.  i.  355.  and  I  think  has  succeeded  very  well 
in  it.  Homer,  Odyss.  xxi.  6.  describes  the  key  of  Ulysses's 
storehouse  as  twutponx)  of  a  large  curvature  ;  which  Eusta- 
thius  explains  by  saying  it  was  %7r*voe/<$V$,  in  shape  like  a 
reap-hook.  Huetius  says,  the  constellation  Cassiopeia  an- 
swers to  this  description  ;  the  stars  to  the  north  making  the 
curve  part,  that  is,  the  principal  part  of  the  key  ;  the 
southern  stars,  the  handle.  The  curve  part  was  introduced 
into  the  key-hole  ;  and,  being  properly  directed  by  the 
handle,  took  hold  of  the  bolts  within,  and  moved  them  from 
their  places.  We  may  easily  collect  from  this  account,  that 
such  a  key  would  lie  very  well  upon  the  shoulder  ;  that  it 
must  be  of  some  considerable  size  and  weight,  and  could 


CHAP.  XXII.  NOTES    ON  ISAIAH.  255 

hardly  be  commodiously  carried  otherwise.  Ulysses's  key 
was  of  brass,  and  the  handle  of  ivory  :  but  this  was  a  royal 
key ;  the  more  common  ones  were  probably  of  wood.  In 
Egypt  they  have  no  other  than  wooden  locks  and  keys  to 
this  day  ;  even  the  gates  of  Cairo  have  no  better  :  Baumgar- 
ten,  Peregr.  i.  18.  Thevenot,  Part  II.  ch.  10. 

In  allusion  to  the  image  of  the  key  as  the  ensign  of 
power,  the  unlimited  extent  of  that  power  is  expressed, 
with  great  clearness  as  well  as  force,  by  the  sole  and  exclu- 
sive authority  to  open  and  shut.  Our  Saviour  therefore 
has  upon  a  similar  occasion  made  use  of  a  like  manner  of 
expression,  Matt.  xvi.  19.;  and  in  Rev.  iii.  7.  has  applied  to 
himself  the  very  words  of  the  Prophet. 

23.  — a  nail — ]  In  ancient  times,  and  in  the  eastern 
countries,  as  the  way  of  life,  so  the  houses  were  much  more 
simple  then  ours  at  present.  They  had  not  that  quantity 
and  variety  of  furniture,  nor  those  accommodations  of  all 
sorts,  with  w.hich  we  abound.  It  was  convenient  and  even 
necessary  for  them,  and  it  made  on  essential  part  in  the 
biiikmig  of  a  house,  to  furnish  the  inside  of  the  several 
apartments  with  sets  of  spikes,  nails,  or  large  pegs,  upon 
which  to  dispose  of,  and  to  hang  up,  the  several  moveablesand 
utensils  in  common  use,  and  proper  to  the  apartment.  These 
spikes  they  worked  into  the  walls  at  the  first  erection  of 
them — the  walls  being  of  such  materials,  that  they  could  not 
bear  their  being  driven  in  afterwards ;  and  they  were  con- 
trived so  as  to  strengthen  the  walls,  by  binding  the  parts 
together,  as  well  as  to  serve  for  convenience.  Sir  John 
Chardin's  account  of  this  matter  is  this  :  "  They  do  not 
drive  with  a  hammer  the  nails  that  are  put  into  the  eastern 
walls:  the  walls  are  too  hard,  being  of  brick;  or  if  they  are 
of  clay,  too  mouldering :  but  they  fix  them  in  the  brick- 
work as  they  are  building.  They  are  large  nails,  with 
square  heads  like  dice,  well  made  ;  the  ends  being  bent  so  as 
to  make  them  cramp-irons.  They  commonly  place  them 
at  the  windows  and  doors,  in  order  to  hang  upon  them, 
when  they  like,  veils  and  curtains :"  Harmer,  Observat.  i. 
p.  191.  And  we  may  add,  that  they  were  put  in  other 
places  too,  in  order  to  hang  up  other  things  of  various 
kinds  ;  as  it  appears  from  this  place  of  Isaiah,  and  from 
Ezekiel  xv.  3.  who  speaks  of  a  pin,  or  nail,  "  to  hang  any 
vessel  thereon."  The  word  used  here  for  a  nail  of  this  sort, 
is  the  same  by  which  they  express  that  instrument,  the  stake, 


256  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXII. 

or  large  pin  of  iron,  with  which  they  fastened  down  to  the 
ground  the  cords  of  their  tents.  We  see,  therefore,  that 
these  nails  were  of  necessary  and  common  use,  and  of  no 
small  importance,  in  all  their  apartments;  conspicuous,  and 
much  exposed  to  observation  :  and  if  they  seem  to  us  mean 
and  insignificant,  it  is  because  we  are  not  acquainted  with 
the  thing  itself,  and  have  no  name  to  express  it  by,  but 
what  conveys  to  us  a  low  and  contemptible  idea.  "Grace 
hath  been  shewed  from  the  Lord  our  God,  (saithEzra  ix.  8.), 
to  leave  us  a  remnant  to  escape,  and  to  give  us  a  nail  in  his 
holy  place :"  that  is,  as  the  margin  of  our  Bible  explains  it, 
'•  a  constant  and  sure  abode." 

"  He  that  doth  lodge  near  her  [Wisdom's]  house, 

Shall  also  fasten  a  pin  in  her  walls."  Eccl'us  xiv.  24. 
The  dignity  and  propriety  of  the  metaphor  appears  from  the 
Prophet  Zechariah's  use  of  it : 

"  From  him  shall  be  the  corner-stone;  from  him  the  nail, 
From  him  the  battle-bow, 
From  him  every  ruler  together."  Zech.  x.  4. 

And  Mohammed,  using  the  same  word,  calls  Pharaoh  the 
lord  or  master  of  the  Nails;  that  is,  well  attended  by  nobles 
and  officers  capable  of  administering  his  affairs  ;  Koran 
Sur.  xxxviii.  11.  and  Ixxxix.  9.  So  some  understand  this 
passage  of  the  Koran :  Mr.  Sale  seems  to  prefer  another  in- 
terpretation. 

Taylor,  in  his  Concordance,  thinks  in11  means  the  pillar  or 
post  that  stands  in  the  middle,  and  supports  the  tent,  in 
which  such  pegs  are  fixed  to  hang  their  arms,  &c.  upon  ; 
referring  to  Shaw's  Travels,  p.  287.  But  nn'  is  never  used, 
as  far  as  it  appears  to  me,  in  that  sense.  It  was  indeed 
necessary  that  the  pillar  of  the  tent  should  have  such  pegs 
on  it  for  that  purpose  ;  but  the  hanging  of  such  tilings  in 
this  manner  upon  this  pillar,  does  not  prove  that  nrr  was  the 
pillar  itself. 

23.  — a  glorious  seat — ]     That  is,  his  father's  house,  and 
all  his  own  family,  shall  be  gloriously  sealed,   shall  flourish 
in  honor  and  prosperity  ;  and  shall  depend  upon  him,  and  be 
supported  by  him. 

24.  — all  the  glory — ]     One  considerable  part  of  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  eastern   princes,  consisted  in  the  great  quanti- 
ty of  gold  and  silver  vessels  which  they  had  for  various  uses. 
"  Solomon's  drinking  vessels  were  of  gold,  and  all  the  vessels 


CHAP.  XXII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  257 

of  the  House  of  the  forest  of  Lebanon  were  of  pure  gold  : 
none  were  of  silver ;  it  was  nothing  accounted  of  in  Solo- 
mon's days  ;"  1  Kings  x.  21.  "  The  vessels  in  the  House 
of  the  forest  of  Lebanon  (the  armory  of  Jerusalem  so 
called)  were  two  hundred  targets,  and  three  hundred  shields, 
of  beaten  gold  ; ;5  Ibid.  ver.  16,17.  These  were  ranged  in 
order  upon  the  walls  of  the. armoury,  (see  Cant.  iv.  4.)  upon 
pins  worked  into  the  walls  on  purpose,  as  above  mentioned. 
Eliakim  is  considered  as  a  principal  stake  of  this  sort,  im- 
inoveably  fastened  in  the  wall,  for  the  support  of  all  vessels 
destined  for  common  or  sacred  uses :  that  is,  as  the  principal 
support  of  the  whole  civil  and  ecclesiastical  polity.  And  the 
consequence  of  his  continued  power  will  be  the  promotion  and 
flourishing  condition  of  his  family  and  dependents,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest. 

Ibid.  — meaner  vessels]  D'bsj  seems  to  mean  earthen  ves- 
sels of  common  use,  brittle,  and  of  little  value,  (see  Lam.  iv. 
2.  Jer.  xlviii.  12.),  in  opposition  to  nu:«,  goblets  of  gold  and 
silver  used  in  the  sacrifices  ;  Exod.  xxiv.  6. 

25.  The  nail  fastened — ]  This  must  be  understood  of 
Shebna,  as  a  repetition  and  confirmation  of  the  sentence  above 
denounced  agraiust  him. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

1.  Howl,  O  ye  ships  of  Tarshish — ]     This  prophecy  cle- 
nounceth  the  destruction  of  Tyre  by   Nebuchadnezzar.     It 
opens  with  an  address  to  the  Tynan,  negociators  and  sailos 
at   Tarshish,  (Tartessus  in   Spain),  a  place  which,  in   the 
course  of  their  trade,  they  greatly   frequented.     The  news 
of  the  destruction  of  Tyre  by  Nebuchadnezzar  is  said  to  be 
brought  to  them  from  Chittim,  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the 
Mediterranean  :  ".  For  the  Tynans,  (says  Jerom  on  ver.  6.), 
when  they  saw  they  had  no  other  means  of  escaping,  fled  in 
their  ships,  and  took  refuge  in  Carthage,  and  the  islands  of 
the  Ionian  and  Egean  Sea  : "  from  whence  the  news  would 
spread  and  reach  Tarshish.     So  also  Jarchi  'on  the  place. 
This  seems  to  be   the  most  probable   interpretation  of  this 
verse. 

2.  Be  silent]     Silence  is  a  mark  of  grief  and  consterna- 
tion :  see  chap,  xlvii.  5.     Jeremiah  has  finely  expressed  this 
image : — 

27* 


258  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIII. 

"  The  elders  of  the  daughter  of  Sion  sit  on  the  ground,  they 

are  silent: 
They  have  cast  up  dust   on   their  heads,  they  have   girded 

themselves  with  sackcloth. 

The   virgins  of  Jerusalem   hang  down  their  heads   to  the 
ground."  Lam.  ii.  10. 

3.  And  the  seed  of  the  Nile—r]     The  Nile  is  called  here 
Shichor,  as  it  is  Jer.  ii.  18.  and  1  Chrori.  xiii.  5.     It  had  this 
name  from  the  blackness  of  its  waters  charged  with  the  mud 
which  it  brings  down  from  Ethiopia,  when  it  overflows,  "  Et 
viridem  ./Egyptum  nigra  fcecundat  arena  :  "  as  it  was  called 
by  the  Greeks  Melas,  and  by  the  Latins  Melo,  for  the  same 
reason.     See  Servius  on  the  above  line  of  Virgil,  Georg.  iv. 
291.     It  was  called  Siris  by  the  Ethiopians  ;  by  some  sup- 
posed to-be  the  same  with  Shichor.     Egypt,  by  its  extraordi- 
nary fertility,  caused  by  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile,  supplied 
the   neighbouring  nations  with  corn  ;  by  which   branch  of 
trade  the  Tyrians  gained  great  wealth. 

4.  Be  ashamed,  O  Sidon — ]     Tyre  is  called,  ver.  12.  the 
daughter  of  Sidon.     "  The  Sidonians,  (says  Justin,  xviii.  3.), 
when  their  city  was  taken  by  the  king  of  Ascalon,  betook 
theinsleves  to  their  ships,  and  landed,  and  built  Tyre."     Si- 
don, as   the   mother  city,  is  supposed  to  be  deeply  affected 
with  the  calamity  of  her  daughter. 

Ibid.  — nor  educated — ]  Tiaom,  so  an  ancient  MS,  pre- 
fixing the  i,  which  refers  to  the  negative  preceding,  and  is 
equivalent  to  N*?I.  See  Deut.  xxxiii.  6.  Prov.  xxx.  3. 

7.  — whose  antiquity  is  of  the  earliest  date.]  Justin,  in 
the  passage  above  quoted,  had  dated  the  building  of  Tyre  at 
a  certain  number  of  years  before  the  taking  of  Troy  ;  but  the 
number  is  lost  in  the  present  copies.  Tyre,  though  not  so 
old  as  Sidon,  yet  was  of  very  high  antiquity :  it  was  a  strong 
city,  even  >in  the  time  of  Joshua :  it  is  called  ijf  WD  vy, 
"  the  city  of  the  fortress  of  Sor,"  Josh.  xix.  29.  Interpre- 
ters raise  difficulties  in  regard  to  this  passage,  and  will  not 
allow  it  to  have  been  so  ancient :  with  what  good  reason,  I 
do  not  see  ;  for  it  is  called  by  the  same  name,  "  the  fortress 
of  Sor,"  in  the  history  of  David,  2  Sam.  xxiv.  7. ;  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  history  determine  the  place  to  be  tbe 
very  same. 

10.  O  daughter  of  Tarshish — ]  Tyre  is  called  the  daugh- 
ter of  Tarshish ;  perhaps  ^because,  Tyre  being  ruined,  Tar- 
shish was  become  the  superior  city,  and  might  be  considered 
as  the  metropolis  of  the  Tyrian  people ;  or  rather,  because  of 


CHAP,  XXI1.J.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  259 

the  close  connexion  and  perpetual  intercourse  between  them  ; 
according  to  that  latitude  of  signification  in  which  the  He- 
brews use  the  words  son  and  daughter,  to  express  any  sort 
of  conjunction  and  dependence  whatever,  rus,  a  girdle, 
which  collects,  binds,  and  keeps  together  the  loose  raiment, 
when  applied  to  a  river,  may  mean  a  mound,  mole,  or  arti- 
ficial dam,  which  contains  the  waters,  and  prevents  them  from 
spreading  abroad.  A  city,  taken  by  seige,  and  destroyed, 
whose  walls  are  demolished,  whose  policy  is  dissolved,  whose 
wealth  is  dissipated,  whose/ people  is  scattered  over  the  wide 
country,  is  compared  to  a  river  whose  banks  are  broken  down, 
and  its  waters,  let  loose  and  overflowing  all  the  neghbouying 
plains,  are  wasted  and  lost.  This  may  possibly  be  the  mean- 
ing of  this  very  obscure  verse  ;  of  which  I  can  find  no  other 
interpretation  that  is  at  all  satisfactory. 

1*3.  Behold  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans — ]  This  verse  is 
extremely  obscure  :  the  obscurity  arises  from  the  ambiguity 
of  the  agents  which  belong  to  the  verbs,  and  of  the  objects 
expressed  by  the  .pronouns ;  from  the  change  of  number  in 
the  verbs,  and  of  gender  in  the  pronouns.  The  MSS 
gives  us  no  assistance  ;  and  the  ancient  versions  very  little. 
The  Chaldee  and  Vulg.  read  mat?  in  the  plural  number. 
I  have  followed  the  interpretation,  which  among  many 
different  ones  seemed  to  me  most  probable,  that  of  Perizonius 
and  Vitringa. 

The  Chaldeans,  Chasdim,  are  supposed  to  have  had  their 
origin,  and  to  have  taken  their  name,  from  Chesed  the  son 
of  Nachor,  the  brother  of  Abraham.  They  were  known  by 
that  name  in  the  time  of  Moses ;  who  calls  Ur  in  Mesopo- 
tamia, from  whence  Abraham  came,  to  distinguish  it  from 
other  places  of  the  same  name,  Ur  of  the  Chaldeans.  And  Je- 
remiah calls  them  an  ancient  nation.  This  is  not  inconsis- 
tent with  what  Isaiah  here  says  of  them  :  "  This  people  was 
not ;"  that  is,  they  were  of  no  account,  (see  Deut.  xxxii.  21.); 
they  were  not  reckoned  among  the  great  and  potent  nations 
of  the  world,  till  of  later  times  :  they  were  a  rude,  uncivilized, 
barbarous  people,  without  laws,  without  settled  habitations ; 
wandering  in  a  wide  desert  country,  D"y,  and  addicted  to 
rapine,  like  the  wild  Arabians.  Such  they  are  represented 
to  have  been  in  the  time  of  Job,  (i.  16.),  and  such  they  con- 
tinued to  be  till  Assur,  some  powerful  king  of  Assyria,  ga- 
thered them  together,  and  settled  them  in  Babylon,  and  the 
neighbouring  country.  This  probably  was  Ninus,  whom  I 


260  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIII. 

suppose  to  have  lived  in  the  time  of  the  Judges.  In  thisr 
with  many  eminent  chronologers.  I  follow  the  authority  of 
Herodotus  ;  who  says,  that  the  Assyrian  monarchy  lasted 
but  five  hundred  and  twenty  years.  Ninus  got  possession  of 
Babylon  from  the  Cuthean  Arabians,  the  successors  of  Nim- 
rod  in  that  empire,  collected  the  Chaldeans,  and  settled  a 
colony  of  them  there,  to  secure  the  possession  of  the  city, 
which  he  and  his  successors  greatly  enlarged  and  ornamented. 
They  had  perhaps  been  useful  to  him  in  his  wars,  and  might 
be  likely  to  be  further  useful  in  keeping  under  the  old  inhabi- 
tants of  that  city,  and  of  the  country  belonging  to  it ;  ac- 
cording to  the  policy  of  the  Assyrian  kings,  who  generally 
brought  new  people  into  the  conquered  countries.  See  Isa. 
xxxvi.  17.  2  Kings  xvii.  6.  24.  The  testimony  of  Dicee- 
archus,  a  Greek  historian  contemporary  with  Alexander, 
(apud  Steph.  de  Urbibus,  in  v.  Xa^atos),  in  regard  to  the 
fact  is  remarkable,  though  he  is  mistaken  in  the  name  of  the 
king  he  speaks  of:  He  says,  "  That  a  certain  king  of  Assy- 
ria, the  fourteenth  in  succession  from  Ninus,"  (as  he  might 
be,  if  Ninus  is  placed,  as  in  the  common  chronology,  eight 
hundred  years  higher  than  we  have  above  set  him),  "  named 
as  it  is  said  Chaldseus.  having  gathered  together  and  united 
all  the  people  called  Chaldeans,  built  the  famous  city  Ba- 
bylon, upon  the  Euphrates." 

14.  Howl,  O  ye  ships — ]  The  Prophet  Ezekiel  hath 
enlarged  upon  this  part  of  the  same  subject  with  great  force 
and  elegance : — 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  concerning  Tyre  : 

At  the  sound  of  thy  fall,  at  the  cry  of  the  wounded, 

At  the  great  slaughter  in  the  midst  of  thee,  shall  not  the  is- 
lands tremble  ? 

And  shall  not  all  the  princes  of  the  sea  descend  from  their 
thrones, 

And  lay  aside  their  robes,  and  strip  off  their  embroidered  gar- 
ments ? 

They  shall  clothe  themselves  with  trembling,  fhey  shall  sit  on 
the  ground  ; 

They  shall  tremble  every  moment,  they  shall  be  astonished  at 
thee. 

And  they  shall  utter  a  lamentation  over  thee,  and  shall  say  un- 
to thee  : 

How  art  thou  lost,  thou  that  wast  inhabited  from  the  seas  ! 

The  renowned  city,  that  was  strong  in  the  sea,  she  and  her 
inhabitants! 


CHAP.  XXIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  261 

That  struck  with  terror  all  her* neighbours! 
Now  shall  the  coasts  tremble  in  the  day  of  thy  fall, 
And  the  isles  that  are  in  the  sea  shall  be  troubled  at  thy  de- 
parture." Ezek.  xxvi.  15 — 18. 

15.  According  to  the  days  of  one  king — ]  That  i?,  of 
one  kingdom.  See  Dan.  vii.  17.  viii.  20.  Nebuchadnezzar 
began  his  conquests  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign  ;  from  thence 
to  the  taking  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus  are  seventy  years  ;  at 
which  time  the  nations  conquered  by  Nebuchadnezzar  were 
to  be  restored  to  liberty.  Tbese  seventy  years  limit  the  du- 
ration of  the  Babylonish  monarchy.  Tyre  was  taken  by  him, 
towards  the  middle  of  that  period  ;  so  did  not  serve  the  king 
of  Babylon  during  the  whole  period,  but  only  for  the  remain- 
ing part  of  it.  This  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  Isaiah  : 
The  days  allotted  to  the  one  king,  or  kingdom,  are  seventy 
years ;  Tyre,  with  the  rest  of  the  conquered  nations,  shall 
continue  in  a  state  of  subjection  and  desolation  to  the  end  of 
that  period — not  from  the  beginning  and  through  the  whole 
of  the  period;  for,  by  being  one  of  I  he- In  test  conquests,  the 
duration  of  that  state  of  subjection  in  regard  to  her  was  not 
much  more  than  half  of  it.  "  All  these  nations,"  saith  Jer- 
emiah, (xxv.  11.),  "shall  serve  the  king  of  Babylon  seventy 
years."  Some  of  them  were  conquered  sooner,  some  later  ; 
but  the  end  of  this  period  was  the  common  term  for  the  de- 
liverance of  them  all. 

There  is  another  way  of  computing  the  seventy  years, 
from  the  year  in  which  Tyre  was  actually  taken  to  the  nine- 
teenth of  Darius  Hystaspis  ;  whom  the  Phenicians,  or  Tyri- 
ans,  assisted  against  the  lonians,  and  probably  on  that  ac- 
count might  then  be  restored  to  their  former  liberties  and  priv- 
ileges. But  I  think  the  former  the  more  probable  interpre- 
tation. 

Ibid,  sing  as  the  harlot  singeth — ]  "  Fidicinam  esse 
meretricum  est,"  says  Donatus  in  Terent.  Eunuch,  hi.  2.  4. 

"  Nee  meretrix  tibicina,  cujus 

Ad  strepitum  salias."  Hor.  I.  Epist.  xiv.  25. 

Sir  John  Chardin,  in  his  MS  note  on  this  place,  says  :  "  C'est 
que  les  vieilles  prostituees — ne  font  que  chanter  quand  les 
jeunes  dancet,  et  les  animer  par  ('instrument  et  par  la  voix." 
17,  18.  And  at  the  end  of  seventy  years — ]  Tyre,  after 
its  destruction  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  recovered,  as  it  is  here 
foretold,  its  ancient  trade,  wealth,  and  grandeur ;  as  it  did 


262  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIII. 

likewise  after  a  second  destruction  by  Alexander.  It  be- 
came Christian  early  with  the  rest  of  the  neighbouring  coun- 
tries. St..  Paul  himself  found  many  Christians  there,  Acts 
xxj.  4.  It  suffered  much  in  the  Diocletian  persecution.  It 
was  an  archbishoprick  under  the  patriarchate  of  Jerusalem, 
with  fourteen  bishopricks  under  its  jurisdiction.  It.  con- 
tinued Christian  till  it  was  taken  by  the  Saracens  in  639  : 
was  recovered  by  the  Christians  in  1124.  But  in  1280 
was -conquered  by  the  Mamelukes;  and  afterwards  taken 
from  them  by  the  Turks  in  1516.  Since  that  time  it  has 
sunk  into  utter  decay  ;  is  now  a  mere  ruin  ;  a  bare  rock  ; 
"a  place  to  spread  nets  upon,"  as  the  Prophet  Ezekiel  fore- 
told it  should  be,  chap.  xxvi.  11.  See  Sandys's  Travels  ; 
Viti  inga  on  the  place ;  Bishop  Newton  on  the  Prophecies, 
Dissert,  xi. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

FROM  t.ho  xiiith  chapter  to  the  xxiiid  inclusive,  the  fate 
of  several  cities  and  nations  is  denounced; — of  Babylon,  of 
the  Philistines,  Moab,  Damascus,  Egypt,  Tyre.  Alter  hav- 
ing foretold  the  destruction  of  the  foreign  nations,  enemies  of 
Judah,  the  Prophet  declares  the  judgments  impending  on  the 
people  of  God  themselves,  for  their  wickedness  and  apostasy  ; 
and  the  desolation  that  shall  be  brought  on  their  whole  coun- 
try. 

The  xxivth,  and  the  three  following  chapters,  seem  to 
have  been  delivered  about  the  same  time — before  the  de- 
struction of  Moab  by  Shalmaneser,  (see  xxv.  10.)  ;  conse- 
quently before  the  destruction  of  Samaria  ;  probably  in  the 
beginning  of  Hezekiah's  reign.  But  concerning  the  partic- 
ular subject  of  the  xxivth  chapter,  interpreters  are  not  at 
all  agreed  :  some  refer  it  to  the  desolation  caused  by  the  in- 
vasion of  Shalmaneser ;  others  to  the  invasion  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar;  and  others  to  the  destruction  of  the  city  and 
nation  by  the  Romans.  Vitringa  is  singular  in  his  opinion, 
who  applies  it  to  trie  persecution  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 
Perhaps  it  may  have  a  view  to  all  of  the  three  great  desola- 
tions of  the  country,  by  Shalmaneser,  by  Nebuchadnezzar, 
and  by  the  Romans  ;  especially  the  last,  to  which  some  parts 
of  it  may  seem  more  peculiarly  applicable.  However,  the 
Prophet  chiefly  employs  general  images  ;  such  as  ?et  forth 
the  greatness  and  universality  of  the  ruin  and  desolation 


CHAP.  XXIT.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  263 

that  is  to  be  brought  upon  the  country  by  these  great  revo- 
lutions, involving  all  orders  and  degrees  of  men,  changing 
entirely  the  face  of  things,  and  destroying  the  whole  polity 
both  religious  and  civil ;  without  entering  into  minute  circum- 
stances, or  necessarily  restraining  it  by  particular  marks  to  one 
great  event,  exclusive  of  others  of  the  same  kind. 

4.  The  world  languisheth}     The  world  is  the  same  with 
the  land  ;  that,  is,  the  kingdoms  of  Judah  and  Israel  ;  orbis 
Israeliticus.     See  note  on  chap.  xiii.  11. 

5.  — tJte    law]     mm,    singular:    so   read     LXX,    Syr. 
Chald. 

6.  — are  destroyed]     For  iin,  read  mn  *•  see  LXX,  Syr. 
Chald.  Sym. 

9.  — palm  wine — ]  This  is  the  proper  meaning  of  the 
word  "o#,  PIMP*-,  see  note  on  chap.  v.  11.  All  enjoyment 
shall  cease ;  the  sweetest  wine' shall  become  bitter  to  their 
taste. 

11.  — is  passed  away]  For  rimy,  read  may;  transpos- 
ing a  letter :  Houbigant,  SECKEU.  Five  MSS  (two  an- 
cient) add  ^D  after  BWD  :  LXX  add  the  same  word  before 
it. 

11.  But  these — ]  That  is,  they  that  escaped  out  of  these 
calamities.  The  great  distresses  brought  upon  Israel  and 
Judah  drove  the  people  away,  and  dispersed  them  all  over 
the  neighbouring  countries :  they  fled  to  Egypt,  to  Asia 
Minor,  to  the  islands  and  the  coasts  of  Greece.  They  were 
to  be  found  in  great  numbers  in  most  of  the  principal  cities 
of  these  countries.  Alexandria  was  in  a  great,  measure 
peopled  by  them.  They  had  synagogues  for  their  worship 
in  many  places ;  and  were  greatly  instrumental  in  propagat- 
ing the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  amongst  these  heathen 
nations,  and  preparing  them  for  the  reception  of  Christian- 
ity. This  is  what  the  Prophet  seems  to  mean  by  the  cele- 
bration of  the  name  of  JEHOVAH  in  the  waters,  in  the  dis- 
tant coasts,  and  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  land.  D*D> 

the  waters  ;    wJ^,  LXX  ;  eJJ*T«,  Theod.;  not  D»o,/row2>  the 
sea. 

15.  In  the  distant  coasts  of  the  sea]  For  anto,  I  sup- 
pose we  ought  to  read  D'n-o ;  which  is  in  a  great  degree 
justified  by  the  repetition  of  the  word  in  the  next  member 
of  the  sentence,  with  the  addition  of  c'n  to  vary  the  phrase, 
exactly  in  the  manner  of  the  Prophet.  D"K  is  a  word 
chiefly  applied  to  any  distant  countries,  especially  those 


264  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIV. 


lying  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Others  conjecture 
onra,  L'DJO,  D1^,  omro  ;  Dniaa,  a  IM,  illustrati  ;  Le  Clerc. 
Twenty  -three  MSS  read  D'IIJO.  The  LXX  do  not  acknowl- 
edge the  reading  of  the  text,  expressing  here  only  the  word 
D"«,  ev  rat  vqrois,  and  that  not  repeated.  But  MSS  Pachom. 
and  i,  D.  n.  supply  in  this  place  the  defect  in  the  other  co- 

v  pies  of  LXX,  thus  :  A/«  rxro  tj  Jo|#  Kvpty  t^a.i  ev  TCC,I$  wi<roi$  Tr.$ 
9-othaa-rtK'  sv  Tot.i$  vqrots  TO  ovoft.se,  TX  Kvpix  ®e&  l<?gou)&  tv^ofyv  erai.  Ac- 

cording  to  which  the  LXX  had  in  their  Hebrew  ccpy  c»»ja, 
repeated  afterward,  not  on*a. 

16.  But  I  said  —  ]     The  Prophet  speaks   in  the  person 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  still  remaining'  there  ;    who 
should  be  pursued  by  divine  vengeance,  and  suffer  repeated 
distresses  from  the  inroads  and  depredations  of  their  powerful 
enemies.     Agreeably  to  what  he  said  before  in  a  general  de- 
nunciation of  these  calamities. 

"  Though  there  be  a  tenth  part  remaining  in  it; 
Even  this  shall  undergo  a   repeated  destruction." 

Chap.  vi.  13.     See  the  note  there. 

Ibid.  The  plunderers  plunder}     The  note  on  chap.  xxi.  2. 

17,  18.   The  terror,  the  pit,  —  ]     If  they  escape  one  cala- 
mity, another  shall  overtake  them  ; 

"  As  if  a  man  should  flee  from  a  lion,  and  a  bear  should  over- 

take him: 
Or  should  betake  himself  to  his  house,  and  lean  his  hand  on 

the  wall, 
And  a  serpent  shall  bite  him."  Amos  v.  19. 

For,  as  our  Saviour  expressed  it  in  a  like  parabolical  man- 
ner, "wheresoever  the  carcass  is,  there  shall  the  eagles  -be 
gathered  together  ;"  Matt.  xxiv.  28.  The  images  are  taken 
from  the  different  methods  of  hunting  and  taking  wild  beasts, 
which  were  anciently  in  use.  The  terror  was  a  line  strung 
with  feathers  of  all  colours,  which  fluttering  in  the  air  scared 
and  frightened  the  beasts  into  the  toils,  or  into  the  pit,  which 
was  prepared  for  them.  "  Nee  est  minim,  cum  maximos 
ferarum  greges  linea  pennis  distincta  contineat,  et  in  insidias 
agat,  ab  ipso  eiFectu  dicta  Formido:"  Seneca  de  ira,  H. 
12.  The  pit,  or  pit-fall,  Fovea  ;  digged  deep  in  the  ground, 
and  covered  over  with  green  boughs,  turf,  (fee.  in  order  to 
deceive  them,  that  they  might  fall  into  it  unawares.  The 
snare,  or  toils,  Indago  ;  a  series  of  nets,  inclosing  at  first  a 
great  space  of  ground,  in  which  the  wild  beasts  were  known 
to  be  ;  and  then  drawn  in  by  degrees  into  a  narrower  com- 


CHAP.  XXIV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  265 

pass,  till  they  were  at  last  closely  shut  up,  and  entangled  in 
them. 

For  Sips  a  MS  reads  13533,  as  it  is  in  Jer.  xlviii.  44. ;  and 
so  the  Vulg.  and  Chald.  Hut  perhaps  it  is  only,  like  the 
latter,  a  Hebraism,  and  means  no  more  than  the  simple  pre-, 
position  3.  See  Psal.  cii.  6.  For  it  does  not  appear,  that 
the  terror  was  intended  to  scare  the  wild  beasts  by  its  noise. 
The  paronomasia  is  very  remarkable  ;  pachadpachath  pack: 
and  that  it  was  a  common  proverbial  form,  appears  from  Jer- 
em i:ilrs  repeating  it  in  the  same  words,  chap,  xlviii.  43, 
44. 

18.  from   the  pit]     For  "pro,  from  the  midst  of:  a  MS 
reads  p,y>0;7z,   as  it  is   in  Jer.   xlviii.  44. ;  and  so  likewise 
LXX,  Syr.  VuUr. 

19.  The  land]     "  p«n,  forte  delendum  n,  lit  ex   prance- 
den  te  ortum.     Vid.  seqq."     SECKER. 

20.  — like  a  lodge  for  a  night.]     See  note  on  chap.  i.  8. 

21 — 23.  — on  high,  — on  earth — ]  That  is,  the  ecclesias- 
tical and  civil  polity  of  the  Jews  ;  which  shall  be  destroyed  : 
The  nation  shall  continue  in  a  state  of  depression  and  dere- 
liction for  a  long  time.  The  image  seems  to  be  taken  from 
the  practice  of  the  great  monarchs  of  that  time ;  who,  when 
they  had  thrown  their  wretched  captives  into  a  dungeon, 
never  gave  themselves  the  trouble  of  inquiring  about  them  ; 
but  let  them  lie  a  long  time  in  that  miserable  condition, 
wholly  destitute  of  relief,  and  disregarded.  God  shall  at 
length  revisit  and  restore  his  people  in  the  last  age ;  and  then 
the  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  established  in  such  perfection, 
as  wholly  to  obscure  and  eclipse  the  glory  of  the  temporary, 
typical,  preparative  kingdom  now  subsisting. 

"  The  figurative  language  of  the  Prophets  is  taken  from 
the  analogy  between  the  world  natural,  and  an  empire  or 
kingdom  considered  as  a  world  politic.  Accordingly  the 
whole  world  natural,  consisting  of  heaven  and  earth,  signifies 
the  whole  world  politic,  consisting  of  thrones  and  people, 
or  sb  much  of  it  as  is  considered  in  prophecy  ;  and  the 
things  in  that  world  signify  the  analogous  things  in  this. 
For  the  heavens  and  the  things  therein  signify  thrones  and 
dignities,  and  those  who  enjoy  them  ;  and  the  earth,  with 
the  things  thereon,  the  inferior  people  ;  and  the  lowest  parts 
of  the  earth,  called  hades  or  hell,  the  lowest  or  most  misera- 
ble part  of  them. — Great  earthquakes,  and  the  shaking  of 
heaven  and  earth,  are  put  for  the  shaking  of  kingdoms,  so 
28 


266  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIV* 

as  to  distract  and  overthrow  them  ;  the  creating  a  new 
heaven  and  earth,  and  the  passing  of  an  old  one,  or  the  be- 
ginning and  end  of  a  world,  for  the  rise  and  ruin  of  a  body 
politic  signified  thereby. — The  sun,  for  the  whole  species 
and  race  of  kings,  in  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  politic ; 
the  moon,  for  the  body  of  the  common  people,  considered 
as  the  king's  wife,;  the  stars,  for  subordinate  princes  and 
great  men  ;  or  for  bishops  and  rulers  of  the  people  of  God, 
when  the  sun  is  Christ : — setting  of  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars  ;  darkening  the  sun,  turning  the  moon  into  blood,  and 
falling  of  the  stars,  for  the  ceasing  of  a  kingdom."  Sir  I. 
Newton,  Observations  on  the  Prophecies,  Part  I.  chap.  ii. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

TT  doth  not  appear  to  me,  that  this  chapter  hath  any  close 
and  particular  connexion  with  the  chapter  immediately  pre- 
ceding, taken  separately,  and  by  itself.  The  subject  of  that 
was  the  desolation  of  the  land  of  Israel  and  Judah,  by  the 
just  judgment  of  God,  for  the  wickedness  and  disobedience 
of  the  people  ;  which,  taken  by  itself,  seems  not  with  any 
propriety  to  introduce  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving  to  God  for 
his  mercies  to  his  people  in  delivering  them  from  their  ene- 
mies. But  taking  the  whole  course  of  prophecies,  from  the 
xiiith  to  the  xxivth  chapter  inclusive,  in  which  the  Prophet 
foretells  the  destruction  of  several  cities  and  nations,  enemies 
to  the  Jews,  and  of  the  land  of  Judah  itself,  yet  with  inti- 
mations of  a  remnant  to  be  saved,  and  a  restoration  to  be  at 
length  effected  by  a  glorious  establishment  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  ;  with  a  view  to  this  extensive  scene  of  God's  pro- 
vidence in  all  its  parts,  and  in  all  its  consequences,  the  Pro- 
phet may  well  be  supposed  to  break  out  into  this  song  of 
praise  ;  in  which  his  mind  seems  to  be  more  possessed  with 
the  prospect  of  future  mercies  than  with  the  recollection  of 
the  past. 

2.  — the  city — ]  Nineveh,  Babylon,  Ar  Moab,  or  any 
other  strong  fortress  possessed  by  the  enemies  of  the  people 
of  God. 

For  the  first  *v;'3,  Syr.  Yulg.  read  vyn;  LXX.  and 
Chald.  read,  in  the  plural,  cnj»,  transposing  the  letters. 
After  the  second  Y;VO,  a  MS  adds  b:1?. 

Ibid.  — the  proud    otie* — ]     For    onr,    strangers,   MS 


CHAP.  XXV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 


267 


Bocll.  and  another  read  DHT,  the  proud :  so  likewise  the 
LXX ;  for  they  render  it  cc^av  here,  and  in  verse  5th,  as 
they  do  in  some  other  places :  see  Dent,  xviii.  20.  22. 
Another  MS  reads  onjf,  adversaries;  which  also  makes  a 
good  sense.  But  DHT  and  onr  are  often  confounded  by  the 
great  similitude  of  the  letters  T  and  i.  See  Mai.  iii.  15. 
iv.  1.  Psal.  xix.  14.  apud  LXX ;  and  Psal.  liv.  5.  (where 
Chald.  reads  DHT)  compared  with  Psal.  Ixxxvi.  14. 

4.  — «  winter  storm.]     For  Yp  read  nip  :  or  as  Yy  from 
Tip,  so  Yp  from  Tip  :  Capellus. 

5.  — £/je  proud  —  }     The  same  mistake  here  as  in  ver.  2. : 
see  note  there.     Here  DHT,   fAe  proud,  is  parallel  to  rryn;», 
the  formidable  ;  as  in  Psal.  liv.  5.  and  Ixxxvi.  14. 

Ibid.  As  the  heat  by  a  thick  cloud.']  For  :nn,  Syr  Chald. 
Vnlg.  and  two  MSS,  read  airo;  which  is  a  repetition  of 
the  beginning  of  the  forgoing  parallel  line :  and  the  verse 
taken  out  of  the  parallel  form,  and  more  fully  expressed, 
would  run  thus :  "  As  a  thick  cloud  interposing  tempers 
die  heat  of  the  sun  on  the  burnt  soil,  so  shalt  thou,  by  the 
interposition  of  thy  power,  bring  low  and  abate  the  tumult 
of  the  proud,  and  the  triumph  of  the  formidable." 

6.  — shall  make  for  all  the  people  a  feast.]     A  feast  is  a 
proper  and  usual  expression   of  joy  in  consequence  of  vic- 
tory, or  any  other  great  success.     The  feast  here  spoken  of 
is  to  be  celebrated  on  Mount  Sion,  and  all  the  peoples  with- 
out distinction  are  to  be  invited  to  it.     This  can  be  no  other 
than  the  celebration  of  the  establishment  of  Christ's  king- 
dom, which  is  frequently   represented   in  the   gospel  under 
the  image  of  a  feast ;  where  many  shall  come  from  the  east 
and  west,  and  shall  sit  down  at  table  with  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;"  Matt.  viii.  11.     See 
also  Luke  xiv.  16.  xxii.  29,  30.     This  sense  is  fully  con- 
firmed by   the  concomitants  of  this  feast  expressed   in  the 
next  verse ;  the  removing  of  the  veil  from   the  face  of  the 
nations,  and  the  abolition  of  death  :  the  first  of  which   is 
obviously  and  clearly  explained  of  the  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  and  the  second  must  mean  the  blessing  of  immortality 
procured  for  us  by  Christ,  "  who  hath  abolished  death  and 
through  death  hath  destroyed  him  that  had  the  power  of 
death." 

Ibid.  *-~of  old  wines]  Heb.  lees  ;  that  is,  of  wines  kept 
long  on  the  lees.  The  word  used  to  express  the  lees  in  the 
original  signifies  the  preservers  ;  because  they  preserve  the 


268  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXV. 

strength  and  flavour  of  the  wine.  "All  recent  wines,  after 
the  fermentation  has  ceased,  ought  to  be  kept  on  their  lees 
for  a  certain  time ;  which  greatly  contribute  to  increase 
their  strength  and  flavour.  Whenever  this  first  fermenta- 
tion has  been  deficient,  they  will  retain  a  more  rich  and 
sweet  taste  than  is  natural  to  them  in  a  recent  true  vinous 
state  ;  and  unless  further  fermentation  is  promoted  by  their 
lying  longer  on  their  own  lees,  they  will  never  attain  their 
genuine  strength  and  flavor,  but  run  into  repeated  and 
ineffectual  fermentations,  and  soon  degenerate  into  a  liquor 
of  an  acetous  kind. — All  wines  of  a  light  and  austere  kind, 
by  a  fermentation  too  great,  or  too  long  continued,  cer- 
tainly degenerate  into  a  weak  sort  of  vinegar ;  while  the 
stronger  not  only  require,  but  will  safely  bear  a  stronger 
and  often  repeated  fermentation  ;  and  are  more  apt  to  de- 
generate from  a  defect  than  excess  of  fermentation,  into  a 
vapid,  ropy,  and  at  length  into  a  putrescent  state :"  Sir 
Edward  Barry,  Observations  on  the  YVines  of  the  Ancients, 
p.  9.  10. 

Thevenot  observes  particularly  of  the  Schiras  wine,  that, 
after  it  is  refined  from  the  lees,  it  is  apt  to  grow  sour:  "II 
a  beaticoup  de  lie ;  c'est  pourquoi  il  donne  puissemment 
dans  la  teste ;  et  pour  le  rend  re  plus  traitable,  on  le  passe 
par  un  chausse  d'hypocras  :  apres  quoi  il  est  fort  clair,  et 
moins  fumeux.  Us  mettent  ce  vin  dans  des  grandes  jarres 
de  terre,  qui  tiennent  dix  ou  douze  jusqu'a  quatorse  cara- 
bas :  mais  quand  Ton  a  entame  une  Jarre,  il  faut  la  vuider 
au  plutost,  et  melt  re  le  vin  qu'on  en  tire  dans  des  bouteilles 
ou  carabas  ;  car  si  Ton  y  manque  en  le  laissant  quelque  terns 
apr'es  que  la  jarre  est  entam6e,  il  se  gate  et  s'aigrit :" 
Voyages,  torn.  ii.  p.  245. 

This  clearly  explains  the  very  elegant  comparison,  or 
rather  allegory,  of  Jeremiah  ;  where  the  reader  will  find  a 
remarkable  example  of  the  mixture  of  the  proper  with  the 
allegorical,  not  uncommon  in  the  Hebrew  poets  : 

"  Moab  hath  been  at  ease  from  his  youth, 
And  he  hath  settled  upon  his  lees  ; 
Nor  hath  he  been  drawn  off*  from  vessel  to  vessel, 
Neither  hath  he  gone  into  captivity  : 
Wherefore  his  taste  rernaineth  in  him, 
And  his  flavor  is  not  changed.7'  Jer.  xlviii.  11. 

Sir  John  Chardin's  MS  note  on  this  place  of  Jeremiah 
is  as  follows  :  u  On  change  ainsi  le  vin  de  cupe  en  cupe  en 


CHA.P.  XXV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  269 

Orient ;  et  quand  on  en  entame  line,  il  faut  la  vuider  en 
petites  cupes  ou  bouteilles,  sans  quoy  il  s'aigrit." 

7.  —the  fa ceof  all—]  MS  Bodl.  reads  ^>&ty.  The 
word  »ja  has  been  removed  from  its  right  place  into  the 
line  above,  where  it  makes  no  sense ;  as  Houbigant  conjec- 
tured. 

9.  — shall  they  say — ]     So  LXX  and  Vulg.  in  the  plural 
number.     They  read  IIDNI.     Syr.  reads  rns&n,   Thou  shalt 
say. 

10.  — shall  give  rest — ]     "  Heb.  nun,  quiescet.     Annon 
TTJn,    quietem    dabit,  ut  Graeci,  avaTroivo-iv  JWow,    et  Copt.  ?" 
Mr.  WOTDE.     That  is,  "  shall  give  peace  and  quiet  to  Sion, 
by  destroying  the  enemy ;"  as  it  follows. 

Ibid.  As  the  straw  is  threshed — ]  "  Hoc  juxta  ritum 
loquitur  Pala?stinae  et  multarum  Orientis  provinciarum, 
qua?  ob  pratorum  et  feeni  penuriam  paleas  preparant  esui 
animantium.  Sunt  autem  carpenta  ferrata  rotis  per  medium 
in  serrarum  modum  se  volventibus,  quae  stipulam  conterunt ; 
et  comminuunt  in  paleas.  Quomodo  igitur  plaustris  ferratis 
paleee  conteruntur,  sic  contexetur  Moab  sub  eo ;  sive  sub 
Dei  potentia,  sive  in  semetipso,  ut  nihil  in  eo  integri  "rema- 
neat :"  Hieron.  in  loc.  See  Note  on  chap,  xxviii.  27. 

Ibid.  — under  the  wheels  of  the  car.}  For  rumn,  LXX, 
Syr.  Vulg.  read  roDTO ;  which  I  have  followed.  See  Joshua 
xv.  21.  compared  with  xix.  5.  where  there  is  a  mistake  very 
nearly  the  same.  The  Keri,  IM,  is  confirmed  by  twenty-eight 
MSS  (seven  ancient)  and  three  editions. 

11.  As  he  that  sinketh  stretchcth  out  his  hands  to  swim} 
There   is  great  obscurity  in  this    place :    some    understand 
God  as  the  agent ;   others  Moab.     I  have  chosen  the  latter 
sense,  as  I  cannot  conceive  that  the  stretching  out  of    the 
hands  of  a  swimmer  in  swimming,  can  be  any  illustration  of 
the  action  of   God  stretching  out  his  hands  over  Moab  to 
destroy  it.     I  take  nni^n,  altering  the  point  on  the  w  on  the 
authority   of  LXX,  to  be  the  participle   of  pint?,  the  sarne 
with  nw  and  nn#,  inclinari,  deprimi;  and  that  the  Prophet 
designed  a  paronomasia  here,  a  figure  which    he  frequent- 
ly uses,  between  the  similar  words  rmiy  and  rnnt?.     As  'nnn, 
in  his  place,  or  on  the  spot,  as  we  say,  in  the   preceding 
verse,  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  sudden  and  complete  destruc- 
tion of  Moab ;  so  13103,  in  the  midst  of  him,  means  that 
this  destruction  shall  be  open,     and    exposed    to  the  view 
of  all :  The  neighbouring  nations  shall  plainly  see  him  strug- 

28* 


270  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP     XX  V 

gling  against  it,  as  a  man  in  the  midst  of  the  deep  waters 
exerts  all  his  efforts,  by  swimming,  to  save  himself  from 
drowning. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

1.  — we  have  a  strong  city]  In' opposition  to  the  city  of 
the  enemy,  which  God  hath  destroyed,  chap.  xxv.  2.;  see  the 
note  there. 

3.  — they  have  trusted]     So  Chald.  int33.     Syr.  and  Vulg. 
read  uri£M,  we  have  trusted.    Schroeder,  Gram.  Hebr.  p.  360. 
explains  the  present  reading,  niLD,   impersonally,    confisum 
est. 

4.  — in  JEHOVAH\     In  JAH  JEHOVAH,  Heb.;    but    see 
Houbigant,   not.  in  cap.  xii.  2. 

8.  We  have  placed  our  confidence  in  thy  name]     LXX, 
Syr.  and  Chald.  read  unp,  without  the  pronoun  annexed. 

9.  — have  I  desired  t/iee]     Forty-one  MSS  (nine  ancient), 
and  five  editions,  read  yn"i«.     It  is  proper  to  note  this  ;  be- 
cause the  second  i  being  omitted  in  the  text,  Vulg.  and  many 
others  have  rendered  it  in  the  third  person. 

16.  — we  have  sought  thee — ]  So  LXX,  and  two  MSS, 
•pJlp3,  in  the  first  person.  And  so  perhaps  it  should  be 
Up¥,  in  the  first  person  :  but  how  LXX  read  this  word  is  not 
clear ;  and  this  last  member  of  the  verse  is  extremely  ob- 
scure. . 

For  ID1?  the  LXX  read  \ht  in. the  first  person  likewise  :  a 
frequent  mistake  ;  see  note  on  chap.  x.  29. 

1$^ — we  have  brought  forth  wind]  The  learned  pro- 
fessor Michaelis  explains  this  image  in  the  following  man- 
ner : — "  Rariorem  morbutn  describi,  empneumatosin,  aut 
ventosarn  molam,  dictum  ;  quo  quae  laborant  diu  et  sibi  et 
peritis  medicis  gravidae  videntur,  tandemque  post  omnes  verae 
graviditatis  molestias  et  laborcs  ventum  ex  utero  emittunt : 
quern  morbum  passim  describunt  medici :"  Syntagma-  Com- 
ment, vol.  ii.  p.  165.  The  Syriac  translator  seems  to  have 
understood  it  in  this  manner :  "  Enixi  sumus,  ut  illae,  quse 
ventos  pariunt." 

Ibid.  — in  the  land)  px3,  so  a  MS,  LXX,  Syr.  and 
Vulg. 

19.  — my  deceased]  All  the  ancient  versions  render  it 
in  the  plural ;  they  read  'ni^m,  my  dead  bodies.  Syr.  and 
Chald.  read  DTPnma,  their  dead  bodies. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  271 

Ibid.  — of  the  dawn}  Lucis,  Yulg. ;  so  also  Syr.  and 
Chald. 

The  deliverance  of  the  people  of  God  from  a  state  of  the 
lowest  depression,  is  explained  by  images  plainly  taken  from 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  In  the  same  manner  the  Pro- 
phet Ezekiel  represents  the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  nation 
from  a  state  of  utter  dissolution,  by  the  restoring  of  the  dry 
bones  to  life,  exhibited  to  him  in  a  vision,  chap,  xxxvii. 
which  is  directly  thus  applied  and  explained,  ver.  11 — 13. 
And  this  deliverance  is  expressed  with  a  manifest  opposition 
to  what  is  here  said  above,  ver.  14.  of  the  great  lords  and 
tyrants  under  whom  they  had  groaned ; 

"  They  are  dead,  they  shall  not  live  ; 
They  are  deceased  tyrants,  they  shall  not  rise  :" 

that  they  should  be  destroyed  utterly,  and  should  never  be 
restored  to  their  former  power  and  glory.  It  appears  from 
hence  that  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  was 
at  that  time  a  popular  and  common  doctrine :  for  an  image 
which  is  assumed  in  order  to  express  or  represent  any  thing 
in  the  way  of  allegory  or  metaphor,  whether  poetical  or  pro- 
phetical, must  be  an  image  commonly  known  and  under- 
stood ;  otherwise  it  will  not  answer  the  purpose  for  which  it 
is  assumed. 

20.  Come  O  my  people  ;  retire — ]  An  exhortation  to 
patience  and  resignation  under  oppression,  with  a  confident 
expectation  of  deliverance,  by  the  power  of  God  manifestly 
to  be  exerted  in  the  destruction  of  the  oppressor.  It  seems 
to  be  an  allusion  to  the  command  of  IVIoses  to  the  Israelites, 
when  the  destroying  angel  was  to  go  through  the  land  of 
Egypt,  "  not  to  go  out  at  the  door  of  their  houses  until  the 
morning  ;"  Exod.  xii.  22.  And  before  the  passage  of  the 
Red  Sea  :  "  Fear  ye  not,  stand  still,  and  see  the  salvation 
of  JEHOVAH  : — JEHOVAH  shall  fight  for  you,  and  ye  shall 
hold  your  peace ;"  Exod.  xiv.  13,  14. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

THE  subject  of  this  chapter  seems  to  be  the  nature,  the 
measure,  and  the  design  of  God's  dealings  with  his  people : 
ver.  1.  his  judgments  inflicted  on  their  great  and  powerful 
enemies :  ver.  2.  his  constant  care  and  protection  of  his  fa- 
vourite vineyard,  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  :  ver.  7.  the  mo- 


272  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXVII. 

deration  and  lenity  with  which  the  severity  of  his  judgments 
have  heen  tempered  :  ver.  9.  the  end  and  design  of  them, 
to  recover  them  from  idolatry  j  and,  ver.  12.  the  recalling* 
of  them,  on  their  repentance,  from  their  several  disper- 
sions. The  first  verse  seems  connected  with  the  two  last 
verses  of  the  preceding  chapter. 

1.  Leviathan,  $*c.]      The  animals  here  mentioned  seem 
to  be, — the  crocodile,  rigid,  by  the  stiffness  of  the  back-bone, 
so  that  he  cannot  readily  turn  himself,  when  he  pursues  his 
prey  ;  hence  the  easiest  way  of  escaping  from  him  is  by 
making  frequent  and  short  turnings  :  the  serpent,  or  dragon, 
flexible  and  winding ;  which  coils  himself  up  in  a  circular 
form  :  the  sea-monster,  or  the  whale.     These  are  used  alle- 
gwically,  without  doubt,  for  great  potentates,  enemies  and 
persecutors  of  the  people  of  God  :  but  to  specify  the  parti- 
cular persons  or  states  designed  by  the  Prophet  under  these 
images  is  a  matter  of  great  difficulty,  and  comes  not  neces- 
sarily within  the  design  of  these  notes. 

2.  — The  beloved  vineyard}     For  nan,  a  great  number  of 
MSS,  and  some  printed  editions,  have  ion ;  which  is  con- 
firmed by  LXX,  and  Chald. 

Ibid.  — a  responsive  song]  That  nay,  to  answer,  signi- 
fies occasionally  to  sing  responsively  ;  and  that  this  mode  of 
singing  was  frequently  practised  among  the  ancient  Jews, 
see  De  S.  Poes.  Hebr.  Preel.  xix.  at  the  beginning. 

3.  I  will  take  care  of  her}     For  np*r  |3,  Syr.  read  npajo: 
and  fifteen  MSS  (six  ancient),  and  six  editions,  read  npax,. 
in  the  first  person. 

4.  /  have  no  wall]         For  nnn,  LXX  and  Syr.   read 
n?m      An   ancient   MS   has  riD'n.      For  TO,    two    MSS 
read  D3,  plural.     The   vineyard   wishes  for  a  wall,  and  a 
fence  of  thorns ;  human  strength  and  protection  ;   (as   the 
Jews  were  too  apt  to  apply  to  their  powerful  neighbours  for 
assistance,  and  to  trust  to  the  shadow  of  Eygpt)  :  JEHOVAH 
replies,  that  this  would  not  avail  her,  nor  defend  her  against 
his  wrath  :  he  counsels  her  therefore  to  betake  herself  to  his 
protection.     On  which  she  entreats  him  to  make  peace  with 
her. 

"About  Tripoly  there  are  abundance  of  vineyards  and 
gardens,  enclosed  for  the  most  part  with  hedges;  which 
chiefly  consist  of  the  rhamnus,  paliurus,  oxyacantha,"  &c. : 
Rawolf,  p.  21,  22.  A  fence  of  thorns  is  esteemed  equal  to 
a  wall  for  strength,  being  commonly  represented  as  impene- 
trable. See  Micah  vii.  4.  Hos.  ii.  6. 


CHAP.  XXVII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  273 


—  of  the  thorn  and  brier]  Seven  MSS  (two  an- 
cient), and  one  edition,  and  Syr.  Vulg.  Aquila,  read  nrtfi,  with 
the  conjunction  i  prefixed. 

5.  Ah  !]     For  ix,  I  read  'ix,  as  it  was  at  first  in  a  MS. 
The  »  was  easily  lost,  being  followed  by  another  \ 

6.  —  -from  the  root]     For  tn#T,  I  read  with  the  Syr.  Bnaro. 
And  for  msi  }'Ti'T,  ms  wy,  joining  the  i  to  the  first  word,  and 
taking  that  into  construction  with-  the  first  part  of  the  sen- 
tence.    I  suppose  the  dialogue  to  be  continued  in  this  verse, 
which  pursues  the  same  image  of  the  allegory,  but  in  the  way 
of  metaphor. 

9.  And  if  —  ]     K1?!',  four  MSS  (two  ancient),  and  LXX. 

11.  —  her  boughs]  rrYjfp,  MS  and  Vulg.  ;  that  is,  the 
boughs  of  the  vineyard,  referring  still  to  the  subject  of  the  di- 
alogue above. 

The  scarcity  of  fuel,  especially  wood,  in  most  parts  of  the 
East  is  so  great,  that  they  supply  it  with  every  thing  capable 
of  burning;  cow  dung  dried,  roots,  parings  of  fruit,  withered 
stalks  of  herbs  and  flowers  :  see  Matt.  vi.  28-^30.  Tine-twigs 
are  particularly  mentioned,  as  used  for  fuel  in  dressing  their 
food,  by  D'Arvieux  ;  La  Roque,  Palestine,  p.  1  98.  Ezekiel 
says,  in  his  parable  of  the  vine,  used  figuratively  for  the  peo- 
ple of  God,  as  the  vineyard  is  here,  "  Shall  wood  be  taken 
thereof  to  do  any  work  ?  or  will  men  take  a  pin  of  it  to  hang 
any  vessel  thereon  ?  Behold,  it  is  cast  into  the  fire  for  fuel  ;)} 
chap.  xv.  3,  4.  '*  If  a  man  abide  not  in  me,"  saith  our  Lord, 
"  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch  [of  the  vine],  and  is  withered  ; 
and  men  gather  them,  and  cast  them  into  the  fire,  and  they 
are  burned  ;  "  John  xv.  6.  They  employed  women  and  chik 
dren  to  gather  these  things  ;  and  they  laid  them  up  in  store 
for  use.  The  dressing  and  pruning  of  their  vines  afforded  'a 
good  supply  of  the  last  sort  of  fuel  :  but  the  Prophet  says, 
that  the  vines  themselves  of  the  beloved  vineyard  shall  be 
blasted,  withered,  and  broken  ;  and  the  women  shall  come, 
and  gather  them  up,  and  carry  away  the  whole  of  them,  to 
make  their  fires,  for  domestic  uses,  See  Harmer.  Qbserv,  i, 
p.  254.  &c, 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

1.   The  proud  crown— ]     "  Sebaste,   the  ancient  Samaria, 
situated  on  a  long   mount  of  an  oval  figure  |  having 


274  NOTES    ON    ISATAH.  CHAP.  XXVIII. 

a  fruitful  valley,  and  then  a  ring  of  bills,  running  round  about 
it  :  "  Maundrell,  p.  58.  "  E  regione  horum  ruderum  mons 
est  peramcenus,  planitie  admodum  frugifera  circmnseptus.  su- 
per quern  olim  Samaria  urbs  coridita  fuit  :  "  Fureri  Itinerati- 
um,  p.  93.  The  city,  beautifully  situated  on  the  top  of  a 
round  hill,  and  surrounded  immediately  with  a  rich  valley, 
and  a  circle  of  other  hills  beyond  it,  suggested  the  idea  of  a 
chaplet,  or  wreath  of  flowers,  worn  upon  their  heads  on  occa- 
sions of  festivity  ;  expressed  by  the  proud  crown,  and  the 
fading  flower  of  the  drunkards.  That  this  custom  of  wear- 
ing chaplets  in  their  banquets  prevailed  among  the  Jews,  as 
well  as  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  appears  from  the 
following  passage  of  the  book  of  Wisdom  : 

"  Let  us  fill  ourselves  with  costly  wine  and  ointments, 
And  let  no  flower  of  the  spring  pass  by  us; 
JLet  us  crown  ourselves  with  rose-buds,  before  they  are 
withered."  Wisd.  ii.  7,  8. 


2.  -  —  the  exceedingly  strong  one]     ?n&6  p»ax,  fords  Dom- 
ino, i.  e.  fortissimus,   a  Hebraism.     For  oix1?,   thirty-eight 
JMSS,  and  two  editions,  read  mrr1?. 

3.  —  crowns]     I   read  nnpj?,  plural,    to   agree   with   the 
Terb  moDin. 

4.  The  early  fruit  before  summer']     "  No  sooner  doth  the 
boccore  [the  early  fig]  draw  near  to  perfection,  in  the  middle 
or  latter  end  of  June,  than   the  kermez,  or  summer  fig,  be- 
gins to  be  formed,  though  it  rarely  ripens  before  August  ; 
about  which  time  the  same  tree  frequently  throws  out  a  third 
crop,  or  the  winter  fi>,   as  we  may  call  it.     This  is  usually 

%of  a  much  longer  shape  and  darker  complexion  than  the 
fcermez,  hanging  and  ripening  upon  the  tree  even  after  the 
leaves  are  shed  ;  and,  provided  the  winter  proves  mild  and 
temperate,  is  gathered  as  a  delicious  morsel  in  the  spring  :  " 
Shaw,  Travels,  p,  370.  fol,  The  image  was  very  obvious  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Judea  and  the  neighbouring  countries,  and 
is  frequently  applied  by  the  Prophets  to  express  a  desirable 
object  ;  by  none  more  elegantly  than  by  Hosea,  chap.  ix. 

id. 

"  Like  grapes  in  the  wilderness,  I  found  Israel; 
Like  the  first  ripe  fig  in  her  prime,  I  saw  your  fathers." 

Ibid.  —  he  plucketh  it]  For  HXT,  which  with  ruon 
makes  a  miserable  tautology,  read  by  a  transposition  of  a 
letter  mxT  ;  a  happy  conjecture  of  Houbigant,  The  image 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  275 

expresses  in  the  strongest  manner  the  great  ease  with  which, 
the  Assyrians  shall  take  the  city  and  the  whole  kingdom, 
and  the  avidity  with  which  they  shall  seize  the  rich  prey 
without  resistance. 

5.  In  that  day — ]     Thus  far  the  prophecy  relates  to  the 
Israelites,  and  manifestly  denounces   their  approaching  de- 
struction  hy  Shalinaneser.     Here  it  turns  to  the  two  tribes 
ofJudah  and  Benjamin,  the  remnant  of  God's  people,  who 
were  to  continue  a  kingdom  after  the  final  captivity  of  the 
Israelites.      It  begins  with   a  favourable    prognostication   of 
their  affairs  under  Hezekiah  ;  but  soon  changes  to  reproofs 
and   threateningSj  for  their  intemperance,  disobedience,  and 
profaneness. 

6.  — to  the  gate  of  the  enemy]     That  is,  who  pursue  the 
fleeing  enemy   even  .to  the   very  gates  of  their  own   city: 
"But  we   were  upon  them  even  unto  the   entering  of  the 
gate ;"  2  Sam.  xi.  23.  ;  that  is,  we  drove  the  enemy  back  to 
their  own  gates  :  see  also  1  Sam.  xvii.  52. 

9.  Whom  [say  they}  would  he  teach — ]  The  scoffers 
mentioned  below,  ver.  14.  are  here  introduced  as  uttering 
their  sententious  speeches  :  they  treat  God's  method  of  deal- 
ing with  them,  and  warning  them  by  his  Prophets,  with 
contempt  and  derision.  What,  say  they,  doth  he  treat  us 
as  mere  infants  just  weaned  ?  doth  he  teach  us  like  little 
children,  perpetually  inculcating  the  same  elementary  les- 
sons, the  mere  rudiments  of  knowledge  ;  precept  after  pre- 
cept, line  after  line,  here  and  there,  by  little  and  little? 
imitating  at  the  same  time,  and  ridiculing,  ver.  10.  the  con- 
cise prophetical  manner.  God  by  his  Prophet  retorts  upon 
them,  with  great  seventy,  their  own  contemptuous  mockery ; 
turning  it  to  a  sense  quite  different  from  what  they  intended. 
Yes,  saith  he.  it  shall  be  in  fact  as  you  say :  ye  shall  be 
taught  by  a  strange  tongue,  and  a  stammering  lip  ;  in  a 
strange  country  :  ye  shall  be  carried  into  captivity  by  a 
people  whose  language  shall  be  unintelligible  to  yon,  and 
which  ye  shall  be  forced  to  learn  like  children  :  and  my 
dealing  with  you  shall  be  according  to  your  own  words  ;  it 
shall  be  command  upon  command  for  your  punishment ;  it 
shall  be  line  upon  line,  stretched  over  you  to  mark  out  your 
destruction  ;  (compare  2  Kings  xxi.  13.)  :  it  shall  come  upon 
you  at  different  times,  and  by  different  degrees ;  till  the 
judgments,  with  which  from  time  to  time  I  have  threatened 
3^011,  shall  have  their  full  accomplishment. 


276  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXVIII. 

Jerom  seems  to  have  rightly  understood  the  general  de- 
eign  of  this  passage,  as  expressing  the  manner  in  which  the 
scoffers,  by  their  sententious  speeches,  turned  into  ridicule 
the  warnings  of  God  by  his  Prophets  ;  though  he  has  not 
so  well  explained  the  meaning  of  the  repetition  of  their 
speech  in  the  13th  verse.  His  words,  are,  on  ver.  9.  "Sole- 
bant  hoc  ex  persona  Prophetarum  ludentes  dicere  :"  and  on 
ver.  14.  "  Quod  supra  diximus,  cum  irrisione  solitos  prin- 
cipes  Judreorum  Prophetis  dicere,  manda^  remanda,  et 
csetera  his  similia,  per,  quae  ostenditur,  riequaquani  eos  Pro- 
phetarum credidisse  sermonibus,  seel  Prophetiam  habuisse 
despectui,  prsesens  ostendit  capitulum,  per  quod  appellantur 
v?iri  illusores  :"  Hieron.  in  loc. 

And  so  Jarchi  interprets  the  word  D'VtfD  in  the  next 
verse :  "  Q,ui  dicunt  verba  irrisionis  parabolice."  And  the 
Chaldee  paraphrases  the  llth  verse  to  the  same  purpose, 
understanding  it  as  spoken  not  of  God,  but  of  the  people 
deriding  his  prophets :  "  Gtuoniam  in  mutatione  loquel&e  et 
in  lingua  subsannationis  irridebant  contra  Prophetas  qui 
prophetabant  populo  huic." 

12.  This  is  the  true  rest—]  The  sense  of  this  verse  is  : 
God  had  warned  them  by  his  prophets,  that  their  safety 
and  security,  their  deliverance  from  their  present  calamities, 
and  from  the  apprehensions  of  still  greater  approaching, 
depended  wholly  on  their  trust  in  God,  their  faith  and  obe- 
dience ;  but  they  rejected  this  gracious  warning  with  con- 
tempt and  mockery. 

15.  — a  covenant  with  death]  To  be  in  covenant  with, 
is  a  kind  of  proverbial  expression  to  denote  perfect  security 
from  evil  and  mischief  of  any  sort : 

<c  For  thou  shalt  be  in  league  with  the  stones  of  the  field  ; 
And  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall  be  at  peace  with  thee." 

Job  v.,23. 

"  And  I  will  make  a  covenant  for  them  with  the  beasts  of  the 
field, 

things 


And  with  the  fowls  of  heaven,  and  with  the  creeping  thin 
of  the  ground."  Hos.  ii.  IB. 


That  is,  none  of  these  shall  hurt  them.  But  Lucan,  speak- 
ing of  the  Psylli,  whose  peculiar  property  it  was  to  be  unhurt 
by  the  bite  of  serpents,  with  which  their  country  abounded, 
comes  still  nearer  to  the  expression  of  Isaiah  in  this  place  : — 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH, 


277 


"  Gens  unica  terras 
Incolit  a  ssevo  serpentum  innoxia  morsu 

Marmaridoe  Psylli. 

Pax  illis  cum  morte  data  est."  Pharsal.  ix.  894. 

"  Of  all  who  scorching  Afric's  sun  endure, 
None  like  the  swarthy  Psyllians  are  secure; 
With  healing  gifts  and  privileges  graced, 
Well  in  the  land  of  serpents  were  they  placed: 
Truce  with  the  dreadful  tyrant  death  they  have, 
And  border  safely  on  his  realm  the  grave."  Rowe. 

18.  — shall  be  broken]  For  ^DD,  which  seems  not  to  be- 
long to  this  place,  Chald.  reads  nan;  which  is  approved  by 
Houbigant  and  SECKER  :  see  Jer.  xxxiii.  21.  where  the  very 
same  phrase  is  used.  See  Prelim.  Dissert,  p.  xxxi. 

20.  — For  the  bed  is  too  short — j  A  mashal  or  prover- 
bial saying,  the  meaning  of  which  is,  that  they  will  find  all 
means  of  defence  and  protection  insufficient  to  secure  them, 
and  cover  them  from  the  evils  coming  upon  them,  pa,  chap, 
xx ii.  8.  the  covering,  is  used  for  the  outworks  of  defence, 
the  barrier  of  the  country;  and  here  in  the  allegorical  sense 
it  means  much  the  same  thing.  Their  beds  were  only  mat- 
tresses laid  on  the  floor ;  and  the  coverlet,  a  sheet,  or  in  the 
winter  a  carpet,  laid  over  it,  in  which  the  person  wrapt  him- 
self. For  DJDnrp,  it  ought  probably  to  be  DJDnna:  Houbigant, 
SECKER. 

23.  Listen  ye,  and  hear  my  voice — ]     The  foregoing  dis- 
course,   consisting   of   severe   reproofs,    and   threatenings   of 
dreadful  judgments  impending   on  the  Jews  for  their  vices, 
and  their   profane   contempt  of  God's  warnings  by  his  mes- 
sengers, the  Prophet  concludes  with  an  explanation  and  de- 
fence of  God's  method  of  dealing  with  his   people  in  an  ele- 
gant parable  or  allegory ;  in  which  he  employs  a  variety  of 
images,  all  taken  from  the  science  of  agriculture.     As  the 
husbandman  uses  various  methods  in  preparing  his  land,  and 
adapting  it  to  the  several  kinds  of  seed  to  be  sown,  with  a 
due  observation  of  times  and  seasons  ;  and,  when  he  hath 
gathered  in  his  harvest,  employs  methods  as  various  in  sepa- 
rating the  corn  from  the  straw  and  the  chaff  by  different  in- 
struments, according  to  the   nature  of  the  different  sorts  of 
grain  :  so  God,   with   unerring  wisdom,  and  with  strict  jus- 
tice, instructs,  admonishes,    and  corrects  his  people;  chastise* 
and  punishes  them  in  various  ways,  as  the  exigence  of  the 
case    requires;  now  more  moderately,  now  more  severely; 
always  tempering  justice   with   mercy ;  in  order  to  reclaim 
29 


278  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXVIII. 

the  wicked,  to  improve  the  good  ;  and  finally,  to  separate  the 
one  from  the  other. 

26.  For  his  God  instructeth  him]  All  nations  have  agreed 
in  attributing  agriculture,  the  most  useful  and  the  most  ne- 
cessary of  all  sciences,  to  the  invention  and  to  the  suggestions 
of  their  deities.  "  The  Most  High  hath  ordained  husbandry," 
saith  the  son  of  Sirach  ;  Eccl'us  vii.  15.  H 

"  Namque  Ceres  fertur  fruges,  Liberque  liquoris 
Vitigeni  laticem  mortalibus  instituisse."  Lucretius,  v.  14, 


siri  eeyov  eyeigst 
fitoroio'  teyei  $*  ore  /3<yAo$ 
re  KM  [MixeXyrt'  teyei  <P  ore 
Ka«  PVTOC  yvgatrsu,  x.ett  FTrtgfActToe,  TTCCVTOC.  fiaXir&ix,!.    Aratus,  PllSBn.  5. 

He  (Jupiter)  to  the  human  race 
Indulgent,  prompts  to  necessary  toil 
Man  provident  of  life;  with  kindly  signs 
The  seasons  marks,  when  best  to  turn  the  glebe 
With  spade  and  plough,  to  nurse  the  tender  plant, 
And  cast  o'er  fostering  earth  the  seeds  abroad. 

27,  28.  Four  methods  of  threshing  are  here  mentioned,  by 
different  instruments  ;  the  flail,  the  drag,  the  wain,  and  the 
treading  of  the  cattle.  The  staff,  or  flail,  was  used  for  the 
tnfirmiora  semina,  says  Hieron.  the  grain  that  was  too  tender 
to  be  treated  in  the  other  methods.  The  drag  consisted  of 
a  sort  of  frame  of  strong  planks,  made  rough  at  the  bottom 
with  hard  stones  or  iron  :  it  was  drawn  by  horses  or  oxen  over 
the  corn-sheaves  spread  on  the  floor,  the  driver  sitting  upon 
it.  Kempfer  has  given  a  print  representing  the  manner  of 
using  this  instrument  :  Amoen.  Exot.  p.  682.  fig.  3.  The 
wain  was  much  like  the  former,  but  had  wheels  with  iron 
teeth  or  edges  like  a  saw.  "  Ferrata  carpenta  rotis  per  me- 
dium in  serrarum  mod  um  se  volventibus  :  "  Hieron.  in  loc.  ; 
by  which  it  should  seem  that  the  axle  was  armed  with  iron 
teeth,  or  serrated  wheels,  throughout.  See  a  description 
and  print  of  such  a  machine  used  at  present  in  Egypt  for 
the  same  purpose;  it  moves  upon  three  rollers  armed  with 
iron  teeth  or  wheels,  to  cut  the  straw  ;  in  Niebuhr's  Voyage 
en  Arabie,  tab.  xvii.  p.  123.  In  Syria  they  make  use  of  the 
drag,  constructed  in  the  very  same  manner  as  above  de- 
scribed :  Niebuhr,  Description  de  1'  Arabie,  p.  140.  This 
not  only  forced  out  the  grain,  but  cut  the  straw  in  pieces 
for  fodder  for  the  cattle  ;  for  in  the  eastern  countries  they 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  279 

have  no  hay.  See  Harmer's  Observ.  i.  p.  425.  The  last 
method  is  well  known  from  the  law  of  Moses,  which  "  forbids 
the  ox  to  be  muzzled,  when  he  treadeth  out  the  corn  ;"  Dent. 
xxv.  4. 

28.  — but  the  bread-corn — ]  I  read  on1?!,  on  the  author- 
ity of  Vulg.  and  Symmachus :  the  former  expresses  the 
conjunction  i,  omitted  in  the  text,  by  autem ;  the  latter  by 
&. 

Ibid.  — hoofs — ]  For  rana,  horsemen,  read  roia,  hoofs:  so 
Syr.  Sym,  Theod.  Vulg. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  subject  of  this  and  the  four  following  chapters  is  the 
invasion  of  Senacherib  ;  the  great  distress  of  the  Jews  while 
it  continued;  their  sudden  and  unexpected  deliverance  by 
God's  immediate  interposition  in  their  favour ;  the  subse- 
quent prosperous  state  of  the  kingdom  under  Hezekiah  ; — 
interspersed  with  severe  reproofs,  and  threats  of  punishment, 
for  their  hypocrisy,  stupidity,  infidelity,  their  want  of  trust 
in  God,  and  their  vain  reliance  on  the  assistance  of  Egypt ; 
and  with  promises  of  better  times,  both  immediately  to  suc- 
ceed, and  to  be  expected  in  the  future  age.  The  whole 
making  not  one  continued  discourse,  but  rather  a  collection 
of  different  discourses  upon  the  same  subject ;  which  is  treat- 
ed with  great  elegance  and  variety  :  though  the  matter  is  va- 
rious, and  the  transitions  sudden,  )^et  the  Prophet  seldom  goes 
far  from  his  subject.  It  is  properly  enough  divided  by  the 
chapters  in  the  common  translation. 

I.  Ariel — ]  That  Jerusalem  is  here  called  by  this  name 
is  very  certain  ;  but  the  reason  of  this  name,  and  the  mean- 
ing of  it  as  applied  to  Jerusalem,  is  very  obscure  and  doubt- 
ful. Some,  with  the  Chaldee,  suppose  it  to  be  taken  from 
the  hearth  of  the  great  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  which  Ezekiel 
plainly  calls  by  the  same  name ;  and  that  Jerusalem  is  here  con- 
sidered as  the  seat  of  the  fire  of  God,  *->$.  IIK,  which  should 
issue  from  thence  to  consume  his  enemies :  compare  chap, 
xxxi.  9.  Some,  according  to  the  common  derivation  of  the 
word,  ^x  *"ix,  the  lion  of  God,  or  the  strong,  lion,  suppose 
it  to  signify  the  strength  of  the  place,  by  which  it  was  en- 
abled to  resist  and  overcome  all  its  enemies.  T/y<$  h 
sirei  dice, 


280  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIX. 


Procop.  in  loc.  There  are  other  explanations  of 
this  name  given,  but  none  that  seems  to  be  perfectly  satisfac- 
tory. 

Ib\d"Add  year  to  year  —  ]  Ironically  :  Go  on  year  after 
year  ;  keep  your  solemn  feasts  :  yet  know,  that  God  will 
punish  you  for  your  hyp<  critical  worship,  consisting  of  mere 
form  destitute  of  true  piety.  Piobably  delivered  at  the  time 
of  some  great  feast,  when  they  were  thus  employed. 

2.  —  mourning  and  sorrow  —  ]     Instead  of  your  present 
joy  and  festivity. 

Ibid.  —  as  the  hearth  of  the  great  altar  —  ]  That  is,  it 
shall  be  the  seat  of  the  fire  of  God  ;  which  shall  issue  from 
thence  to  consume  his  enemies.  See  note  on  ver.  1.  Or, 
perhaps,  all  on  flame,  as  it  was  when  taken  by  the  Chal- 
deans ;  or  covered  with  carcasses  and  blood,  as  when  taken 
by  the  Romans  :  an  intimation  of  which  more  distant  events, 
though  not  immediate  subjects  of  the  prophecy,  may  perhaps 
be  given  in  this  obscure  passage. 

3.  —  like  David]     For  11-0  read  iro;  So  LXX,  and  two 
MSS,  and  f.  two  more. 

Ibid.  —  towers  —  ]  For  nma  read  nmn  ;  so  LXX,  and 
five  MSS,  one  of  them  ancient. 

4.  —  a  feeble  speech]     That  the  souls  of  the  dead  uttered 
a  feeble  stridulous   sound,  very  different    from  the  natural 
human  voice,  was  a  popular  notion  among  the  heathens  as 
well  as  among  the  Jews.     This  appears   from  several  pas- 
sages of  their    poets  ;    Homer,  Virgil,    Horace.     Tta     pre- 
tenders to  the  art  of  necromancy,  who  were  chiefly  women, 
had  an  art  of  speaking  with  a  feigned  voice  ;  so  as  to  deceive 
those  who  applied  to  them,  by  making  them  believe  that  it 
was  the  voice    of  the  ghost.     They  had  a  way   of  uttering 
sounds,  as  if  they  were  formed,  not  by  the  organs  of  speech, 
but  deep  in    the  chest,  or  in  the  belly  ;  and  were    thence 
called   ry/rtfftpvfcf,   ventriloqui  :    they    could  make   the  voice 
seem  to  come  from  beneath  the  ground,  from  a  distant  part, 
in  another  direction,  and  not   from  themselves,  the   better  to 
impose    upon  those  who  consulted    them.     Egnrmifa  r«  yfvo$ 

TOVTO  Toy  etfivfyov  r,%ov  t^rtrij^evovrott  j  fMI/hl  TJJV  a.<rct@£ictv  TK  fiavrt  rov  rev 

•j/fvhvg  *inJbtyt*»to*vi  fAfy^ov  :  Psellus  de  Da;monibus,  apud 
Bochart.  i.  p.  731.  "These  people  studiously  acquire,  and 
affect  on  purpose,  this  sort  of  obscure  sound,  that  by  the 
uncertainty  of  the  voice  they  may  the  better  escape  being 
detected  in  the  cheat."  From  these  arts  of  the  necromaa- 


CHAP.  XXIX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  281 

cers,  the  popular  notion  seems  to  have  arisen,  that  the  ghost's 
voice  was  a  weak,  stridulous,  almost  inarticulate  sort  of 
sound,  very  different  from  the  speech  of  the  living-. 

5. — the  proud — ]  For  "pr,  thy  strangers,  read  D'lT,  the 
proud,  LXX  ;  parallel  and  synonymous  to  D'2fT"ip  the  terrible, 
in  the  next  line  :  the  i  was  at  first  n  in  a  MS.  See  note  on 
xxv.  2. 

5 — 7.  But  the  multitude  of  the  proud — ]  These  verses 
contain  an  admirable  description  of  the  destruction  of  Se- 
nacherib's  army,  with  a  beautiful  variety  of  the  most  expres- 
sive and  sublime  images ;  perhaps  more  adapted  to  shew 
the  greatness,  the  suddenness,  and  horror,  of  the  eve'nt, 
than  the  means  and  manner  by  which  it  was  effected.  Com- 
pare chap  xxx.  30 — 33. 

7. — like  as  a  dream — ]  This  is  the  beginning  of  the 
comparison,  which  is  pursued  and  applied  in  the  next  verse. 
Senacherib  and  his  mighty  army  are  not  compared  to  a 
dream,  because  of  their  sudden  disappearance :  but  the  dis- 
appointment of  their  eager  hopes  is  compared  to  what  hap- 
pens to  a  hungry  and  thirsty  man,  when  he  awakes  from  a 
dream  in  which  fancy  had  presented  to  him  meat  and  drink 
in  abundance,  and  finds  it  nothing  but  a  vain  illusion. 
The  comparison  is  elegant  and  beautiful  in  the  highest  de- 
gree, well  wrought  up,  and  perfectly  suited  to  the  end  pro- 
posed :  the  image  is  extremely  natural,  but  not  obvious  ;  it 
appeals  to  our  inward  feelings,  not  to  our  outward  senses  ; 
and  is  applied  to  an  event  in  its  concomitant  circumstances 
exactly  similar,  but  in  its  nature  totally  different.  See  De 
S.  Poes.  Hebr.  Prselect.  xii.  For  beauty  and  ingenuity  it 
may  fairly  come  in  competition  with  one  of  the  most  elegant 
of  Virgil,  (greatly  improved  from  Homer,  Iliad  xxii.  199.), 
where  he  has  applied  to  a  different  purpose,  but  not  so  hap- 
pily, the  same  image  of  the  ineffectual  working  of  imagina- 
tion in  a  dream  : — 

"  Ac  veluti  in  somnis  oculos  ubi  languida  pressit 
Nocte  quies,  necquicquam  avidos  extendere  cursus 
Velle  videmur,  et  in  mediis  conatibus  aegri 
Succidimus  ;  non  lingua  valet,  non  corpore  notae 
Sufficiunt  vires,  nee  vox,  aut  verba  sequuntur."  j£En.  xii.  908. 

"  And  as,  when  slumber  seals  the  closing  sight, 
The  sick  wild  fancy  labours  in  the  night  ; 
Some  dreadful  visionary  foe  we  shun 
With  airy  strides,  but  strive  in  vain  to  run  ; 
29* 


282  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIX. 

In  vain  our  baffled  limbs  their  powers  essay  ; 

We  faint,  we  struggle,  sink,  and  fall  away  ; 

Drain'd  of  our  strength,  we  neither  fight  nor  fly, 

And  on  the  tongue  the  struggling  accents  die."  Pitt. 

Lucretius  expresses  the  very  same  image  with  Isaiah  : 

"Ac  veluti  in  somnis  sitiens  quum  quurit,  et  humor 
Non  datur,  ardorem  in  membris  qui  stinguere  possit  : 
Sed  laticum  simulachra  petit,  frustraque  laborat, 
In  medioque  sitit  torrenti  flumine  potans."  iv.  1091. 

Ibid.  — their  armies  and  their  towers]  For  nmroi  rr3¥, 
I  read  with  the  Chald.  omVDi  DKav. 

9.  They  are  drunken,  but  not  with  wine.]  See  note  on 
chap.  li.  21. 

11.  J  cannot  read  it — ]  An  ancient  MS  and  LXX  have 
preserved  a  word  here,  lost  out  of  the  text,  nnp1?,  (for 

nJOpS),  ctvovyvavat. 

13.  JEHOVAH— ]  For  'rus%  sixty-three  MSS  and  three 
editions  read  nirr,  and  five  MSS  add  mrr. 

Ibid.  And  vain — ]  I  read,  for  »nrn,  mm  with  LXX, 
Matt.  xv.  9.  Mark  vii.  7. ;  and  for  rnnba,  DHD^D  with 
Chald. 

17.  Ere  Lebanon  become  like  Carmel — ]  A  mashal,  or 
proverbial  saying,  expressing  any  great  revolution  of  things; 
and,  when  respecting  two  subjects,  an  entire  reciprocal 
change :  explained  here  by  some  interpreters,  I  think  with 
great  probability,  as  having  its  principal  view  beyond  the 
revolutions  then  near  at  hand  ;  to  the  rejection  of  the  Jews, 
and  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles.  The  first  were  the  vine- 
yard of  God,  *7N  D-o,  (if  the  Prophet,  who  loves  an  allu- 
sion to  words  of  like  sounds,  may  be  supposed  to  have 
intended  one  here),  cultivated  and  watered  by  him  in  vain, 
to  be  given  up,  and  to  become  a  wilderness :  compare  chap. 
v.  1 — 7.  The  last  had  been  hitherto  barren,*but  were,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  to  be  rendered  fruitful.  See  Matt.  xxi. 
43.  Rom.  xi.  30,  31.  Carmel  stands  here  opposed  to  Le- 
banon, and  therefore  is  to  be  taken  as  a  proper  name. 

21.  — that  pleaded  in  the  gate]  "  They  are  heard  by 
the  treasurer,  master  of  the  horse,  and  other  principal  offi- 
cers of  the  regency  [of  Algiers],  who  sit  constantly  in  the 
gate  of  the  palace  f6r  that  purpose ;"  [that  is,  the  distribu- 
tion of  justice]  :  Shaw's  Travels,  p,  315.  fol.  He  adds,  in 
the  note,  "  That  we  read  of  the  elders  in  the  gate,  Deut. 
xxii.  15.  xxv.  7. ;  and  Isa.  xxix.  21.  Amos.  v.  10.  of  him 


CHAP.  XXIX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  283 

that  reproveth  and  rebnketh  in  the  gate.  The  Ottoman 
Court  likewise  seems  to  have  been  called  the  Port,  from  the 
distribution  of  justice,  and  the  despatch  of  public  business, 
that  is  carried  on  in  the  gates  of  it." 

22.  — the  God  of  the  house  of  Jacob.}     I  read  bx  as  a 
noun,  not  a  preposition  :  the  parallel  line  favours  this  sense  ; 
and  there  is  no  address  to  the  house  of  Jacob,  to  justify  the 
other. 

Ibid.  — covered  with  confusion}  "  miT,  Chald.  ut  « 
DtfraCotoi"),  Theod.  evrfctmiFsTai,  Syr.  narw,  videtur  legend  urn 
ran*  :  hie  enim  solum  legitur  verbum  im,  nee  in  linguis 
affinibus  habet  pudoris  significationem  :  "  SECKER. 

23.  When  his  children  shall  see — ]      For  in&ro,  I 
naro,  with  LXX  and  Syr. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

1.  Who  ratify  covenants  —  ]  Heb.  "Who  pour  out  a 
libation."  Sacrifice  and  libation  were  ceremonies  constant- 
ly used,  in  ancient  times,  by  most  nations,  in  the  ratifying 
of  covenants  :  a  libation  therefore  is  used  for  a  covenant,  as 
in  Greek  the  word  evoi^  for  the  same  reason,  stands  for 
both.  This  seems  to  be  the  most  easy  explication  of  the 
Hebrew  phrase  ;  and  it  has  the  authority  of  the  LXX, 


4.  —  at  Hones]     Six  MSS,  and  perhaps  six  others,  read 
in  vain,  for  wn,  Hanes  ;  and  so  also  LXX,  who  read 

likewise  iyr,  laboured,  for  i;n',  arrived  at. 

5.  —  were  ashamed  —  ]     Eight  MSS  (one  ancient)  read 
isran  without  K.     So  Chald.  and  Vulg. 

Ibid.  But  proved  —  ]  Four  MSS  (three  ancient)  after 
»3  add  DK,  which  seems  wanted  to  complete  the  phrase  in  its 
usual  form. 

6.  The  burthen  —  ]     N^D  seems  here   to  be  taken  in  its 
proper  sense  ;  the  load,  not  the  oracle.     The  same  subject 
is  continued  ;  and  there  seems  to  be  no  place  here  for  a  new 
title  to  a  distinct  prophecy. 

Ibid.  —  a  land  of  distress  —  ]  The  same  deserts  are  here 
spoken  of,  which  the  Israelites  passed  through  when  they 
came  out  of  Egypt  ;  which  Moses  describes,  Dent.  viii.  15. 
as  "  that  great  and  terrible  wilderness,  wherein  were  fiery 
serpents,  and  scorpions,  and  .drought  ;  where  there  was  no 


284  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXX. 

water."  And  which  was  designed  to  be  a  kind  of  barrier 
between  them  and  Egypt,  of  which  the  Lord  had  said,  "  Ye 
shall  henceforth  return  no  more  that  way  ;  "  Deut.  xvii.  16. 

6.  — will  not  profit  them']     A  MS  adds  in  the  margin  the 
word  is1?,  which  seems  to  have  been  lost  out  of  the  text :  it 
is  authorized  by  LXX  and  Vulg. 

7.  Rahab   the   Inactive]     The  two  last  words,   rot?  on, 
joined   into  one,   make  the  participle  pihel,  rotynn.        find, 
that  the  learned  professor  Doederlein,  in  his  version  of  Isaiah, 
and  note    on    this    place,  has   given  the  same  conjecture ; 
which  he  speaks  of  as  having  been  formerly  published  by 
him.     A  concurrence  of  different  persons  in  the  same  conjec- 
ture, adds  to  it  a  greater  degree  of  probability. 

8.  For  a  testimony]     V?,  so  Syr.  Chald.  Vulg.  and  LXX, 
in  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.  tt$  t*M%lv%tov  •,  which  two  words 
have  been  lost  out  of  the  other  copies  of  LXX. 

12.  — in  obliquity]     Bpjn,  transposing  the  two  last  letters 
of  pBfltt,  in  oppression,  which  seems  not  to  belong  to  this 
place  :  a  very  probable  conjecture  of  Houbigant. 

13.  — a  swelling  in  a  high  wall]     It  has  been  observed 
before,  that  the   buildings  in  Asia  generally  consist  of  little 
better   than  what  we  call  mud-walls.     "  All  the  houses  at 
Ispahan,"  says  Thevenot,  vol.  ii.  p.  159.  "are  built  of  bricks 
made  of  clay  and  straw,  and  dried  in  the  sun  ;  and  covered 
with  a  plaster  made  of  a  fine  white  stone.     In  other  places 
in  Persia,  the  houses  are  built  with  nothing  else  but  such 
bricks,  made  with  tempered  clay    and  chopped  straw,  well 
mingled  together,  and  dried  in  the  sun,  and  then  used  :  but 
the  least  rain  dissolves  them."     Sir  John  Chardin's  MS  re- 
mark on  this  place  of  Isaiah  is  very  apposite  :  "  Murs  en  Asie 
etant  fails  de  terre  se  fendent  ainsi  par  milieu  et  de  haut  en 
bas."     This  shews  clearly   how  obvious  and  expressive  the 
image  is.     The  Psalmist  has  in  the  same  manner  made  use 
of  it,  to  express  sudden  and  utter  destruction  : 

"  Ye  shall  be  slain  all  of  you; 

[Ye  shall  be]  like  an  inclining  wall,  like  a  shattered  fence." 

Psal.  Ixii.  4. 

14.  — and  spareth  it  not]     Five  MSS  add  the  conjunc- 
tion i  to  the  negative ;  a6i. 

17.  — ten  thousand — ]  In  the  second  line  of  this  verse 
a  word  is  manifestly  omitted,  which  should  answer  to  one 
thousand  in  the  first:  LXX  supply  voMot,  D'm.  But  the 
true  word  is  ram;  as,  I  am  persuaded,  any  one  will  be 


CHAP.   XXX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  285 

convinced,  who  will  compare  the  following  passage  with 
this  place  : 

"  How  should  one  chase  a  thousand  : 
And  two  put  ten  thousand  [mm]  to  flight  ?" 

Deut.  xxxii.  30. 

"  And  five  of  you  shall  chase  a  hundred  ; 
And  a  hundred  of  you  shall  chase  [roDi]  ten  thousand." 

Lev.  xxvi.  8. 

18.  — shall  he  expect  in  silence']     For  D"v,  he  shall  be 
exalted,  which  belongs  not  to  this   place,  Houbigant  reads 
DVY,  he  shall   be  silent :  and  so  it  seems  to  be  in  a  MS. 
Another  MS  instead  of  it  reads  yw,  he  shall  return.     The 
mistakes  occasioned  by  the  similitude  of  the  letters  n  and  *i 
are  very  frequent,  as  the  reader  may  have  already  observed. 

1 9.  When  a  holy  people — ]     Aao$  «y*0$,    LXX,  amp  pp. 
The  word   ump,  lost  out  of  the  text,   but  happily  supplied 
by  LXX,  clears  up  the  sense,  otherwise  extremely  obscure. 

Ibid.  — shalt  implore  him  with  weeping]  The  negative 
particle  *6  is  not  acknowledged  by  LXX.  It  may  perhaps 
have  been  written  by  mistake  for  1*7,  of  which  there  are 
many  examples. 

20.  Though  JEHOVAH — ]     For  TIN,  sixteen  MSS  and 
three  editions  have  rnrp. 

21.  —to  the   right,  or  to   the  left}    Syr.  Chald.  Vulg. 
translate  as  if,  instead  of  01 — 'D,  they  read  vh] — yh. 

22.  And  ye  shall  treat — ]     The  very  prohibition  of  Mo- 
ses, Deut.  vii.  25.   only  thrown  out  of  the  prose  into  the 
poetical  form.     "  The  graven  images  of  their  gods  ye  shall 
burn  with  fire  :  thou  shalt  not  desire  the  silver  or  the    gold 
that  is  on  them ;  nor  take  it  unto  thee,  lest  thou  be  snared 
therein  ;  for  it  is  an  abomination  to  JEHOVAH  thy  God." 

25.  — the  mighty — ]      D'blJD,  tteyettovf,  Sym. 

Aquila  ;  |Oi3i,  Chald. 

26.  — shall   be    sevenfold]      The   text  adds, 

t'irn,  "as  tne  light  of  seven  days ;"  a  manifest  gloss,  taken 
in  from  the  margin  :  it  is  not  in  most  of  the  copies  of  LXX  ; 
it  interrupts  the  rhythmical  construction,  and  obscures  the 
sense  by  a  false,  or  at  least  an  unnecessary  interpretation. 

27.  — the  flame — ]     HN^D;  this  word  seems  to  be  rightly 
rendered  in  our  translation,  -the  flame,  Judg.    xx.   30.   40. 
&c.  ;  a  sign  of  fire,  Jer.  vi.  1.  called  properly  rWD,  an  ele- 
vation, from  its  tending  upwards. 

28.  — to  toss  the  nations  with  the  van  of  perdition]   The 


286  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXX. 


word  ns^nb  is  in  its  form  very  irregular.  Kimchi  says  it  is 
for  eyjn1?.  Houbigant  supposes  it  to  be  a  mistake,  and  shews 
the  cause  of  it  ;  ihe  adjoining  it  to  the  n,  which  should  begin 
the  following  word.  The  true  reading  is  D'un  spn1?. 

The  Vulgate  seems  to  be  the  only  one  of  the  ancient  in- 
terpreters who  has  explained  lightly  the  sense  :  but  he  has 
dropped  the  image  :  "  ad  perdendas  gentes  in  niliilum." 
Kimchi's  explanation  is  to  the  following  effect  :  "  r?3j  is 
a  van  with  which  they  winnow  corn  ;  and  its  use  is  to 
cleanse  the  corn  from  the  chaff  and  straw  :  but  the  van,  with 
which  God  will  winnow  the  nations,  will  be  the  van  of  emp- 
tiness, or  perdition  ;  for  nothing  useful  shall  remain  behind, 
but  all  shall  come  to  nothing,  and  perish.  In  like  manner, 
a  bridle  is  designed  to  guide  the  horse  in  the  right  way  ;  but 
the  bridle  which  God  will  put  in  the  ja\vs  of  the  people, 
shall  not  direct  them  aright,  but  shall  make  them  err,  and 
lead  them  into  destruction."  This  latter  image  the  Prophet 
has  applied  to  the  same  subject  afterward,  chap,  xxxvii.  29. 

"  I  will  put  my  bridle  in  thy  jaws, 
And  turn  thee  back  by  the  way  in  which  thou  earnest." 

And  as  to  the  former  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  van  of 
the  ancients  was  a  large  instrument,  somewhat  like  a  shovel, 
with  a  long  handle,  with  which  they  tossed  the  corn  mixed 
with  the  chaff  and  chopped  straw  into  the  air  that  the  wind 
might  separate  them.  See  Hammond  on  Matt.  iii.  12. 

31.  He,   that  was  —  ]      "  Post  -WN   forte   excidit  -I#K  :" 
SECKER. 

32.  —  the  rod  of  correction]     For  mom,  the  grounded 
staff,  of  which  no  one  yet  has  been  able  to  make  any  tolera- 
ble sense,   Le   Clerc   conjectured   mojn,   of  correction  ;  see 
Prov.  xxii.  15.  ;  and  so  it  is  in  two  MSS  (one  of  them  an- 
cient), and  seems  to  be  so  in  the  Bodley  MS.     Syr.  has 
rrajwi,  virga  domans,  vel  subjectionis. 

Ibid.  —  against  them}  For  ro,  fifty-two  MSS  and  five 
editions  read  02. 

Ibid.  —  with  tabrcts  and  harps]  With  every  demonstra- 
tion of  joy  and  thanksgiving  for  the  destruction  of  the  enemy 
in  so  wonderful  a  manner:  with  hymns  of  praise,  accom- 
panied with  musical  instruments.  See  ver.  29. 

33.  For  Tophct  is  ordained  —  ]     Tophet  is  a  valley  very 
near  to  Jerusalem,  to  the  south-east,  called  also  the  valley  of 
Hinnom,  or  Gehenna  ;  where  the  Canaanites,  and  afterwards 
the  Israelites,  sacrificed  their  children,  by  making  them  pass 


CHAP.  XXX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  287 

through  the  fire — that  is,  by  burning  them  in  the  fire — to 
Moloch.  Jt  is  therefore  used  for  a  place  of  punishment  by 
fire  ;  and  by  our  blessed  Saviour  in  the  gospel  for  hell-fire  ; 
as  the  Jews  themselves  had  applied  it.  See  Chald.  on  Isa. 
xxxiii.  14.  where  zhy  npis  is  rendered  c'the  Gehenna  of 
everlasting  fire."  Here  the  place  where  the  Assyrian  army 
was  destroyed  is  called  Tophet  by  a  metonymy;  for  the  As- 
syrian army  was  destroyed  probably  at  a  greater  distance 
from  Jerusalem,  and  quite  on  the  opposite  side  of  it :  for 
Nob  is  mentioned  as  the  last  station  from  which  the  king 
of  Assyria  should  threaten  Jerusalem,  chap.  x.  32.  where 
the  Prophet  seems  to  have  given  a  very  exact  chorographical 
description  of  his  march  in  order  to  attack  the  city. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

1.  Who  trust—}     For  *yn,  lmo,  twenty  MSS,  and  LXX 
and  Vulg.  read1?;?,  without  the  conjunction. 

2.  —  his  word]     mi,  singular,  without  ••  ;  MS  and  LXX, 
and  Targ.  Hieros. 

4.  Like  as  the  lion  —  ]  This  comparison  is  exactly  in 
the  spirit  and  manner,  and  very  nearly  approaching  to  the  ex- 
pression of  Homer  :  — 

BJJ  pifiev,  O>?E 

OS 


«/cng  %   evgyrt  TT^  avTofii  p<arogot<;  a 


pec,  T' 

oy   at,**  t]    y^TTct,      /aeTotX/AtvoS)  qs  x.xt  ctvTo$ 


ev  TrgaToirt  Soys  KTTO  X,H%O$  CMOVTI.  Iliad,  Xli.  299. 

As  the  bold  lion,  mountain-bred,  now  long 
Famish'd,  with  courage  and  with  hunger  stung, 
Attempts  the  thronged  fold  :  him  nought  appals, 
Though  dogs  and  armed  shepherds  stand  in  guard 
Collected;  he  nathless  undaunted  springs 
O'er  the  high  fence,  and  rends  the  trembling  prey; 
Or  rushing  onward  in  his  breast  receives 
The  well-aimed  spear. 

Of  metaphors,  allegories,  and  comparisons  of  the  Hebrew 
poets,  in  which  the  divine  nature  and  attributes  are  repre- 
sented under  images  taken  from  brutes  and  other  low  ob- 


288  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXI. 

jects  ;  of  their  effect,  their  sublimity,  and  the  cause  of  it ;  see 
De  S.  Poes.  Hebr.  Prselect.  xvi.  sub  fin. 

5.  leaping  forward — ]  .  The  generality  of  interpreters 
observe,  in  this  place,  an  allusion  to  the  deliverance  which 
God  vouchsafed  to  his  people,  when  he  destroyed  the  first- 
born of  the  Egyptians,  and  exempted  those  of  the  Israelites 
sojourning  among  them  by  a  peculiar  interposition.  The 
same  word  is  made  use  of  here  which  is  used  upon  that  oc- 
casion, and  which  gave  the  name  to  the  feast  which  was 
instituted  in  commemoration  of  that  deliverance  ;  nD3.  But 
the  difficulty  is,  to  reconcile  the  commonly  received  meaning 
of  that  word  with  the  circumstances  of  the  similitude  here 
used  to  illustrate  the  deliverance  represented  as  parallel  to  the 
deliverance  in  Egypt. 

"  As  the  mother-birds  hovering  over  their  young; 
So  shall  JEHOVAH  God  of  Hosts  protect  Jerusalem, 
Protecting  and  delivering,  passing  over,  and  rescuing  her." 

This  difficulty  is,  1  think,  well  solved  by  Vitringa  ;  whose 
remark  is  the  more  worthy  of  observation,  as  it  leads 
to  the  true  meaning  of  an  important  word,  which  hitherto 
seems  greatly  to  have  been  misunderstood  ;  though  Vitringa 
himself,  as  it  appears  to  me,  has  not  exactly  enough  defined 
the  precise  meaning  of  it.  He  says,  "  HDD  signifies  to 
cover,  to  protect  by  covering  ;  mira™  v^,  LXX  ;  JEHOVAH 
obteget  ostium  :"  whereas  it  means  that  particular  action 
or  motion,  by  which  God  at  that  time  placed  himself  in. 
such  a  situation  as  to  protect  the  house  of  the  Israelite 
against  the  destroying  angel, — to  spring  forward,  to  throw 
one's  self  in  the  way,  in  order  to  cover  and  protect.  Coc- 
ceius  comes  nearer  to  the  true  meaning  than  Vitringa,  by 
rendering  it  gradumfacere,  to  march,  to  step  forward  :  Lexi- 
con in  v.  The  common  meaning  of  the  word  noa  upon 
other  occasions  is  to  halt,  to  be  lame,  to  leap  as  in  a  rude 
manner  of  dancing,  (as  the  prophets  of  Baal  did,  1  Kings 
xviii.  26.);  all  which  agrees  very  well  together ;  for  the  motion 
of  a  lame  person  is  a  perpetual  springing  forward,  by  throw- 
ing himself  from  the  weaker  upon  the  stronger  leg.  The 
common  notion  of  God's  passing  over  the  houses  of  the  Is- 
raelites is,  that  in  going  through  the  land  of  Egypt  to  smite 
the  first-born,  seeing  the  blood  on  the  door  of  the  houses  of 
the  Israelites,  he  passed  over,  or  skipped,  those  houses,  and 
forbore  to  smite  them.  But  that  this  is  not  the  true  notion 
of  the  thing,  will  be  plain  from  considering  the  words  of  the 


CHAP.  XXXI.  NOTES  ON  ISAIAH.  289 

sacred  historian  ;  where  he  describes  very  explicitly  the  ac- 
tion :  "  For  JEHOVAH  will  pass  through,  to  smite  the  Egyp- 
tians ;  and  when  he  seeth  the  blood  on  the  lintels  and  on 
the  two  side-posts,  JEHOVAH  will  spring  forward  over  (or  be- 
fore) the  door,  nnan  V  nirv  HDDi,  and  will  not  suffer  the  de- 
stroyer to  come  into  your  houses  to  smite  you  ;"  Exod.  xii. 
23.  Here  are  manifestly  two  distinct  agents,  with  which  the 
notion  of  passing  over  is  not  consistent  ;  for  that  supposes 
but  one  agent  :  The  two  agents  are  the  destroying  angel 
passing  through  to  smite  every  house;  and  JEHOVAH  the 
protector,  keeping  pace  with  him  ;  and  who,  seeing  the  door 
of  the  Israelite  marked  with  the  blood,  the  token  prescribed, 
leaps  forward,  throws  himself  with  a  sudden  motion  in  the 
way,  opposes  the  destroying  angel  ;  and  covers  and  protects  that 
house  against  the  destroying  angel,  nor  suffers  him  to  smite 
it.  In  this  way  of  considering  the  action,  the  beautiful  simil- 
itude of  the  bird  protecting  her  young,  answers  exactly  to 
the  application  by  the  allusion  to  the  deliverance  in  Egypt  : 
As  the  mother-bird  spreads  her  wings  to  cover  her  young, 
throw's  herself  before  them,  and  opposes  the  rapacious  bird 
that  assaults  them  ;  so  shall  JEHOVAH  protect,  as  with  a 
shield,  Jerusalem  from  the  enemy,  protecting  and  delivering, 
springing  forward  and  rescuing  her  ;  virtgGouven,  as  the 
three  other  Greek  interpreters,  Aquila,  Symmachus,  and  The- 
odotion,  render  it:  LXX,  iregi7roirt<rerett  ;  instead  of  which,  MS 
Pachom.  has  SK^W**,  circumeundo  proteget,  which  I 
think  is  the  true  reading.  Homer  (II.  viii.  331.)  expresses 
the  very  same  image  by  this  word  :  — 


But  Ajax  his  broad  shield  displayed, 
And  screen'd  his  brother  with  a  mighty  shade."     Pope. 


-  '05  X^t/STjy  up0t€e€ttxetg.       '  II.  i.  37. 

Which  the  Scholiast  explains  by  7r£f<£f&jx«$,  vregpaxeie. 

6,  ye  have  so  deeply  —  ]     All   the  ancient  versions  read 
Ip'pjtfi,  in  the  second  person. 

7.  The  sin,  which  their  own  hands  have  made]  The  con- 
struction of  the   word   NDH,  sin,  in   this  place   is   not  easy. 
The  LXX  have  omitted  it  :  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.  and 
Cod.  Marchal.  in  margine,  supply  the  omission  by  the  word 
KpagTiotv,  or  <*^*£Tjj^,   said    to    be    from    Aquila's    version  ; 
which  1  have  followed.      The  learned  professor  Schroeder, 
Institut.  Ling.  Hebr.  p.  298.  makes  it  to  be  in  regiminc  with 

30 


290  NOTES  ON  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXI. 

DD»T,  as  an  epithet ;  your  sinful  hands.  The  LXX  render 
the  pronoun  in  the  third  person,  «<  %etgft  «vr«v;  and  an  an- 
cient MS  has,  agreeably  to  that  rendering,  on1?,  for  DD1?; 
which  word  they  have  likewise  omitted,  as  not  necessary  to 
complete  the  sense. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


1.  And  princes  —  ]     Dntsn,   without    S  ;    so    the   ancient 
versions.     An  ancient  MS  has  man,  and  to  princes, 

2.  ^4s  */ie  shadow  of  a  great  rock]     The  shadow  of  a 
great  projecting  rock  is  the  most  refreshing  that  is  possible  in 
a  hot  country  ;  not  only  as  most  pe  fe;tly  excluding  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  but  also  having  in  itself  a  natural  coolness,  which 
it  reflects  and  communicates  to  every  thing  about  it. 

"  Speluncaeque  tegant,  et  saxea  procubet  umbra." 

Virg.  Georg.  iii.  145. 
"  Let  the  cool  cave  and  shady  rock  protect  them." 


re 
rt  my  KM  B;£A/VO$  o>vo$.  Hesiod.  ii.  206. 


When  Sirius  rages,  and  thine  aching  head, 
Parch'd  skin,  and  feeble  knees,  refreshment  need; 
Then  to  the  rock's  projected  shade  retire, 
With  Biblin  wine  recruit  thy  wasted  powers, 

3.  And  him  the  eyes]  For  vh)  Le  Clerc  reads  hi  ;  of 
which  mistake  the  Masoretes  acknowledge  there  are  fifteen 
instances  ;  and  many  rnoie  are  reckoned  by  others.  The  re- 
moval of  the  negative  restores  to  the  verb  its  true  and  usual 
sense. 

6.  The  fool  will  still  utter  folly]     A  sort  of  proverbial 
saying  ;  which  Euripides  (Bacchse,  369.)  has  expressed  in 
the  very  same  manner  and  words  :  /«*>£  *  ya,%  ^u^  teyei.     Of 
this  kind  of  simple  and  unadorned  proverb  or  parable,  see 
De  S.  Poes.  Hebr.  Prselect.  xxiv. 

Ibid.  Against  JEHOVAH]  For  bx,  two  MSS  read  V, 
more  properly. 

7.  As  for  the  niggard  his  instruments  —  ]     His  machi- 
nations, his  designs.     The  paronomasia,  which  the  Prophet 
frequently  deals  in,  suggested  this  expression  :  v^D  ^31.     The 
first  word  is  expressed  with  some  variety  in  the  MSS  :  se.en 
MSS  read  >V3i,  one  to,  another  ^oi. 


CHAP.  XXXII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  291 

Ibid.  And  to  defeat  the  assertions — ]  A  word  seems  to 
have  been  lost  here,  and  two  others  to  have  suffered  a  small 
alteration  ;  which  has  made  the  sentence  very  obscure.  The 
LXX  have  happily  retained  the  rendering  of  the  lost  word, 
and  restored  the  sentence  in  all  its  parts  :  ««<  ^MPXU&MVM  Ao- 
yw  Txreivav  tv  xpurer  £33iyM  fi'DK  nin  i£)if?i.  They  frequent- 
ly render  the  verb  nan  by  <2w*e<J*5-«/.  A  MS  reads  lanbi ; 
which  gives  authority  for  the  preposition  b  necessary  to  the 
sense  ;  and  LXX,  Syr.  Chald.  read  D3^D3. 

8.  And  he  by  his  generous — ]  "  Of  the  four  sorts  of  per- 
sons mentione  i  ver.  5.  three  are  described,  ver.  6,  7,  and  8. 
but  not  the  fourth:"  SECKER.  Perhaps  for  xim  we  ought 
to  read  yvy\. 

11.  Gird  the  sackcloth — ]     pjy,  sackcloth,  a  word  neces- 
sary to  the  sense,  is  here  lost,  but  preserved  by  LXX,  MSS 
Alex,  and  Pacliom.  and  i.  D.  n.  and  Edit.  Aid.  and  Comp. 
and  Arab,  and  Syr. 

Ibid.  Tremble — be  disquieted — strip  ye — ]  nr;n,  rws, 
<fcc.  These  are  infinitives,  with  a  paragogic  n,  according 
to  Schultens,  Institut.  Ling.  Hebr.  p.  453.  and  are  to  be 
taken  in  an  imperative  sense. 

12.  Mourn  ye  for  the  pleasant  field]     The  LXX,  Syr. 
and   Vulg.  read  I-JDD,  mourn  ye,  imperative :  twelve  MSS 
(five  ancient),  two  editions,   LXX,   Aquilla,   Sym.   Theod. 
Syr.  Vulg.  all  read  rntf,  field  ;  not  nt?,  breasts. 

13.  — And  the  brier  shall  come  up]     All  the  ancient  ver- 
sions read  TDjyi,  with  the   conjunction.      And   an   ancient 
MS   has  n  ntyn,  which  seems  to   be   right ;  or  rather  ro: 
and  there  is  a  rasure  in  the  place  of  n  in  another  ancient  MS. 

Ibid.  Yea  over  all — ]  For  >3,  the  ancient  versions,  ex- 
cept Vulg.  seem  to  have  read  i.  «j  may  perhaps  be  a  mis- 
take for  n  or  ro  above-mentioned.  It  is  not  necessary  in 
this  place. 

13 — 18.  Over  the  land  of  my  people — ]  This  description 
of  impending  distress  belongs  to  other  times  than  that  of 
Senacherib's  invasion,  from  which  they  were  so  soon  de- 
livered. It  must  at  least  extend  to  the  ruin  of  the  country 
and  city  by  the  Chaldeans.  And  the  promise  of  blessings, 
which  follows,  was  not  fulfilled  under  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion ;  they  belong  to  the  kingdom  of  Messiah.  Compare 
ver.  15.  with  chap  xxix.  17.  and  see  the  note  there. 

14.  Ophel]     It  was  a  part  of  Mount  Sion,  rising  higher 
than  the  rest ;  at  the  eastern  extremity,  near  to  the  temple. 


292  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXI  I. 

a  little  to  the  south  of  it ;  called  by  Micah,  iv.  8.  "  Ophel  of 
the  daughter  of  Sion."  It  was  naturally  strong  by  its  situa- 
tion, and  had  a  wall  of  its  own,  by  which  it  was  separated 
from  the  rest  of  Sion. 

15.  And  the  fruitful  field]  ^rrorn,  fifteen  MSS  (six 
ancient),  and  two  editions  ;  which  seems  to  make  the  noun 
an  appellative. 

10.  The  city  shall  be  laid  level  with  the  plain]  For 
rrbsaai,  Syr.  reads  n^ssjoi.  The  city,  probably  Nineveh, 
or  Babylon  :  but  this  verse  is  very  obscure.  "  Saltus  ;  As- 
syriorum  regnum:  civitas :  magnifica  Assyriorum  castra  :" 
Ephraem.  Syr.  in  loc.  For  1131,  a  MS  has  YVI  ;  and  so 
conjectured  Archbishop  Seeker,  referring  to  Zech.  xi.  2 

20.  who  sow  your  seed  in  every  watery  place]  Sir  John 
Chardin's  note  on  this  place  is  :  "  This  exactly  answers  the 
manner  of  planting  rice;  for  they  sow  it  upon  the  water: 
and  before  sowing,  while  the  earth  is  covered  with  water, 
they  cause  the  ground  to  be  trodden  by  oxen,  horses,  and 
asses,  who  go  mid-leg  deep;  and  this  is  the  way  of  prepar- 
ing the  ground  for  sowing.  As  they  sow  the  rice  on  the 
water,  they  transplant  it  in  the  water  ;  Harmer's  Observ- 
i.  p.  280.  "  Rice  is  the  food  of  two-thirds  of  mankind :" 
Dr.  Arbuthnot.  "It  is  cultivated  in  most  of  the  eastern 
countries:"  Miller.  "It  is  good  for  all,  and  at  all  times:" 
Sir  J.  Chardin,  ibid.  "  La  ris,  qui  est  leur  principal  aliment 
et  leur  froment  (i.  e.  des  Siamois),  n'est  jamais  assez  arrose  ; 
il  croit  an  milieu  de  I'eau,  et  les  campagnes  ou  on  le  cultive 
ressemblent  plutot  a  de  marets  que  non  pas  a  des  terres 
qu'on  laboure  avec  la  charue.  Le  ris  a  bien  cette  force,  que 
quoy  qu'il  y  ait  six  ou  sept  pieds  d'eau  sur  lui,  il  pousse 
toujours  sa  tige  au  dessus,  et  le  tuyau  qui  le  porte  s'eleve  et 
croit  a  proportion  de  la  hauteur  de  I'eau  qui  noye  son 
champ :"  Voyage  de  1'Eveque  de  Beryte,  p.  144.  ;  Paris, 
1666. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE  plan  of  the  prophecy,  continued  in  this  chapter,  and 
which  is  manifestly  distinct  from  the  foregoing,  is  peculiarly 
elegant.  To  set  it  in  a  proper  light,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
mark  the  transitions  from  one  part  of  it  to  another. 

In  ver/  1.  the  Prophet  addresses  himself  to  Senacherib, 
briefly,  but  strongly  and  elegantly,  expressing  the  injustice 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  293 

of  his  ambitious  designs,  and  the  sudden  disappointment  of 
them. 

Ver.  2.  the  Jews  are  introduced  offering  np  their  earnest 
supplications  to  God  in  their  present  distressful  condition; 
with  expressions  of  their  trust  and  confidence  in  his  pro- 
tection. 

Ver.  3.  and  4.  the  Prophet,  in  the  name  of  God,  or  ra- 
ther God  himself,  is  introduced  addressing  himself  to  Sena- 
cherib,  and  threatening  him,  that  notwithstanding  the  terror 
which  he  had  occasioned  in  the  invaded  countries,  yet  he 
should  fall,  and  become  an  easy  prey  to  those  whom  he  had 
intended  to  subdue. 

Yer.  5.  and  6.  a  chorus  of  Jews  is  introduced,  acknow- 
ledging the  mercy  and  power  of  God,  who  had  undertaken 
to  protect  them  ;  extolling  it  with  direct  opposition  to  the 
boasted  power  of  their  enemies ;  and  celebrating  the  wis- 
dom and  piety  of  their  king  Hezekiah.  who  had  placed  his 
confidence  in  the  favour  of  God. 

Then  follows,  ver.  7 — 9.  a  description  of  the  distress  and 
despair  of  the  Jews,  upon  the  king  of  Assyria's  marching 
against  Jerusalem,  and  sending  his  summons  to  them  to 
surrender,  after  the  treaty  he  had  made  with  Hezekiah  on 
the  conditions  of  his  paying,  as  he  actually  did  pay  to  him, 
three  hundred  talents  of  silver,  and  thirty  talents  of  gold ; 
2  Kings  xviii.  14 — 16. 

Ver.  10.  God  himself  is  again  introduced,  declaring  that 
he  will  interpose  in  this  critical  situation  of  affairs,  and  dis- 
appoint the  vain  designs  of  the  enemies  of  his  people,  by 
discomfiting  and  utterly  consuming  them. 

Then  follows,  ver.  11 — 22.  still  in  the  person  of  God, 
(which  however  falls  at  last  into  that  of  the  Prophet),  a 
description  of  the  dreadful  apprehensions  of  the  wicked  in 
those  times  of  distress  and  imminent  danger ;  finely  con- 
trasted with  the  confidence  and  security  of  the  righteous, 
and  their  trust  in  the  promises  of  God,  that  he  will  be  their 
never-failing  strength  and  protector. 

The  whole  concludes,  in  the  person  of  the  Prophet,  with 
a  description  of  the  security  of  the  Jews  under  the  protection 
of  God,  and  of  the  wretched  state  of  Senacherib  and  his  army, 
wholly  discomfited,  and  exposed  to  be  plundered  even  by  the 
weakest  of  the  enemy. 

Much  of  the  beauty  of  this  passage  depends  on  the  expla- 
nation above  given  of  ver.  3,  and  4.  as  addressed  bv  the 
30* 


294  NOTES    OX    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXIII, 

Prophet,  or  by  God  himself,  to  Senacherib ;  not,  as  it  is  usually 
taken,  as  addressed  by  the  Jews  to  God,  ver.  3.  and  then,  ver. 
4.  as  addressed  to  the  Assyrians.  To  set  this  in  a  clear  light, 
it  may  be  of  use  to  compare  it  with  a  passage  of  the  Prophet 
Joel ;  where,  speaking  of  the  destruction  caused  by  the  locusts. 
he  sets  in  the  same  strong  light  of  opposition,  as  Isaiah  does 
here,  the  power  of  the  enemy,  and  the  power  of  JEHOVAH  who 
would  destroy  that  enemy.  Thus  Isaiah,  to  Senacherib  ; 

"  When  tbou  didst  raise  thyself  up,  the  nations  were  dispersed. 

ver.  3. 

"  But  now  will  I  arise,  saith  JEHOVAH; 
Now  will  I  be  exalted."  ver.  10. 

And  thus  Joel,  ii.  20,  21. 

"  His  stink  shall  come  up,  and  his  ill  savour  shall  ascend; 
Though  he  hath  done  great  things. 
Fear  not,  O  land,  be  glad  and  rejoice; 
For  JEHOVAH  will  do  great  things." 

1.  thou  plunderer — ]     See  note  on  chap.  xxi.  2. 

Ibid.  — when  thou  art  weary — ]  "-jrto,  alibi  non  extat 
in  s.  s.  nisi  f.  Job.  xv.  29.  — simplicius  est  legere  -pbzo.  Vid. 
Capell.  nee  repugnat  Yitringa.  Vid.  Dan.  ix.  24.  rhl, 
trnn:  "  SECKER. 

2.  our  strength — ]     For   pjnr,   Syr.  Chald.   Vulg.   read 
Uinr,  in  the  first  person  of  the  pronoun,  not  the  third  :  the 
edition  of  Felix  Pratensis  has  irnpf  in  the  margin. 

3.  From  thy  terrible  voice — ]     For  pan,  LXX  and  Syr. 
read  -pK  ;  whom  I  follow. 

6.  — thy  treasure — ]     ofyravgos  nv,  Sym.     He  had  in  his 
copy  •pxtf,  not  TON. 

7.  — the  mighty  men  raise  a  grievous  cry]    Three  MSS 
read  D'^NIN;  that  is,  lions  of  God,  or  strong  lions  :  so  they 
called  valiant  men,  heroes ;  which   appellation  the  Arabians 
and  Persians  still  use.     See  Bochart.  Hieroz.   Part  I.  lib.  iii. 
cap.  1.     "  Mahomet  ayant  reconnu  Hamzeh  son  oncle  pour 
homme  de  courage  et  de  valeur,  lui  donne  le  titre  ou  surnom 
d' Assad  Allah,  qui   signifie,  le  Lion  de   Dieu :  "    D'Herbe- 
lot,    p.    427.     And   for  nvn,     Syr.  and  Chald.   read   n&p: 
whom   I  follow.     Chald.    Syr.    Aquila,    Sym.    and  Theod. 
read    on1?    n*nN,   or    PINT  ;    with    what    meaning,    is    not 
clear. 

9.  — are  stripped — ]     LXX,  p«Kf«  tw  they  read  m;'j% 
11,  And   my  spirit — ]      "For    conn,    read    133  »nn:" 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  295 

SECKER.  Which  reading"  is  confirmed  by  Chald.  where 
ns»D,  my  word,  answers  to  'mi,  my  spirit. 

15.  —  the  proposal  of  bloodshed]     A  MS  reads  D'?m. 

18.  Where  is  he  that  numbered  the  towers  ?]  That  is, 
the  commander  of  the  enemy's  forces,  who  surveyed  the 
fortifications  of  the  city,  and  took  an  account  of  the  height, 
strength,  and  situation  of  the  walls  and  towers,  that  he  might 
know  where  to  make  the  assault  with  the  greatest  advan- 
tage ;  as  Capaneus  before  Thebes  is  represented  in  a  pas- 
sage of  the  Phceriissse  of  Euripides,  which  Grotius  has  ap- 
plied as  an  illustration  of  this  place  : 


KOCI  xara  Tei%i)  psTgav.  VCr.   187. 

20.  Thou  shall  see  —  ]  For  n?n,  read  nmn  with  the  Chaldee  : 
Houbigant. 

21.  But  the  glorious  name  of  JEHOVAH  —  ]     I  take  DB? 
for  a  noun,  with  LXX  and  Syr.  :  see  Psal.  xx.  1.  Prov.  xviii. 
10. 

23.  Thy  mast  —  ]  For  win,  their  mast,  Syr.  reads  yjin, 
LXX  and  Vul.  pin,  o  KS-K  <rov  tuKnv,  thy  mast  is  fallen  aside: 
LXX,  they  seem  to  have  read  npJ,  or  (rus)  pin;  or  rather  *6 
p,  is  not  firm,  the  negative  having  been  omitted  in  the  pres- 
ent text  by  mistake.  However,  I  have  followed  their  sense, 
which  seems  very  probable  ;  as  the  present  reading  is  to  me 
extremely  obscure. 

24.  Neither  shall  the  inhabitant  say  —  ]  This  verse  is  some- 
what obscure  :  the  meaning  of  it  seems  to  be,  that  the  army 
of  Senacherib  shall  by  the  stroke  of  God  be  reduced  to  so 
shattered  and  so  weak  a  condition,  that  the  Jews  shall  fall 
upon  the  remains  of  them,  and  plunder  them  without  resis- 
tance :  that  the  most  infirm  and  disabled  of  the  people  of  Je- 
rusalem shall  come  in  for  their  share  of  the  spoil  ;  the  lame 
shall  seize  the  prey  ;  even  the  sick  and  the  diseased  shall 
throw  aside  their  infirmities,  and  recover  strength  enough  to 
hasten  to  the  general  plunder. 

The  last  line  of  the  verse  is  parallel  to  the  first,  and  ex- 
presses the  same  sense  in  other  words.  Sickness  being  con- 
sidered as  a  visitation  from  God,  and  a  punishment  of  sin  ; 
the  forgiveness  of  sin  is  equivalent  to  the  removal  of  a  disease. 
Thus  the  Psalmist; 

"Who  forgiveth  all  thy  sin; 
And  healeth  all  thine  infirmities."  Psal.  ciii.  3. 


296  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXIII. 

Where  the  latter  line  only  varies  the  expression  of  the  for- 
mer. And  our  blessed  Saviour  reasons  with  the  Jews  on  the 
same  principle :  "  Whether  is  it  easier  to  say  to  the  sick 
of  the  palsy,  Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee ;  or  to  say,  Arise, 
and  take  up  thy  bed.  and  walk  ?"  Mark  ii.  9.  See  also 
Matt.  viii.  17.  Isa.  liii.  4.  "  dui  locus  Isaiae,  1  Pet.  ii. 
24.  referlur  ad  remissionem  peccatorum  :  hie  vero  ad  sana- 
tionetn  morborum,  quia  ejusdem  potentise  et  bonitatis  est 
utrumque  prrestare  ;  et,  quia  peccatis  remissis,  et  morbi,  qui 
fructus  sunt  peccatorum,  pelluntur  :"  Wetstein  on  Matt.  viii. 
17. 

That  this  prophecy  was  exactly  fulfilled,  I  think  we  may 
gather  from  the  history  of  this  great  event  given  by  the 
Prophet  himself.  It  is  plain,  that  Hezekiah,  by  his  treaty 
with  Senacherib,  by  which  he  agreed  to  pay  him  three  hun- 
dred talents  of  silver  and  thirty  talents  of  gold,  had  stripped 
himself  of  his  whole  treasure  :  he  not  only  gave  him  all  the 
silver  and  gold  that  was  in  his  own  treasury,  and  in  that  of 
the  temple,  but  was  even  forced  to  cut  off  the  gold  from  the 
doors  of  the  temple  and  from  the  pillars,  with  which  he  had 
himself  overlaid  them,  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  king  of 
Assyria :  but  after  the  destruction  of  the  Assyrian  army  we 
find,  that  he  "  had  exceeding  much  riches,  and  that  he  made 
himself  treasuries  for  silver,  and  for  gold,  and  for  precious 
stones,"  &c.;  2  Chron.  xxxii.  27.  He  was  so  rich,  that  out 
of  pride  and  vanity  he  displayed  his  wealth  to  the  ambassadors 
from  Babylon.  This  cannot  be  otherwise  accounted  for,  than 
by  the  prodigious  spoil  that  was  taken  on  the  destruction  of 
the  Assyrian  army. 


CHAPTERS  XXXIV.  &  XXXY. 

THESE  two  chapters  make  one  distinct  prophecy ;  an 
entire,  regular,  and  beautiful  poem,  consisting  of  two  parts  : 
the  first  containing  a  denunciation  of  Divine  vengeance 
against  the  enemies  of  the  people  or  church  of  God  ;  the 
second  describing  the  flourishing  state  of  the  church  of  God, 
consequent  upon  the  execution  of  those  judgments.  The 
event  foretold  is  represented  as  of  the  highest  importance, 
and  of  universal  concern:  all  nations  are  called  upon  to 
attend  to  the  declaration  of  it;  and  the  wrath  of  God  is 
denounced  against  all  the  nations  ;  that  is,  all  those  that 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  297 

had  provoked  to  anger  the  defender  of  the  cause  of  Sion. 
Among  those,  Edom  is  particularly  specified.  The  prin- 
cipal provocation  of  Edom  was  their  insulting  the  Jews  in. 
their  distress,  and  joining  against  them  with  their  enemies 
the  Chaldeans:  see  Amos  i.  11.  Ezek.  xxv.  12.  xxxv.  15. 
Psal.  cxxxvii.  7.  Accordingly  the  Edomites  were,  toge- 
ther with  the  rest  of  the  neighbouring  nations,  ravaged  and 
laid  waste  by  Nebuchadnezzar  :  see  Jer.  xxv.  15. — 26  Mai. 
i.  3,  4.  ;  and  see  Marsham.  Can.  Chron.  Ssec.  xviii.  who  calls 
this  the  age  of  the  destruction  of  cities.  The  general  de- 
vastation spread  through  all  these  countries  by  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, may  be  the  event  which  the  Prophet  has  primarily 
in  view  in  the  xxxivth  chapter ;  but  this  event,  as  far  as  we 
have  any  account  of  it  in  history,  seem  by  no  means  to 
come  up  to  the  terms  of  the  prophecy,  or  to  justify  so  high- 
wrought  and  so  terrible  a  description.  And  it  is  not  easy 
to  discover  what  connexion  the  extremely  flourishing  state 
of  the  church  or  people  of  God,  described  in  the  next  chap- 
ter, could  have  with  those  events,  and  how  the  former  could 
he  the  consequence  of  the  latter,  as  it  is  there  represented 
to  be.  By  a  figure  very  common  in  the  prophetical  writ- 
ings, any  city,  or  people,  remarkably  distinguished  as  ene- 
mies of  the  people  and  kingdom  of  God,  is  put  for  those 
enemies  in  general.  This  seems  here  to  be  the  case  with 
Edorn  and  Botsra.  It  seems  therefore  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose, with  many  learned  expositors,  that  this  prophecy  has 
a  further  view  to  events  still  future  ;  to  some  great  revo- 
lutions to  be  effected  in  later  times,  antecedent  to  that  more 
perfect  state  of  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth,  and  serv- 
ing to  introduce  it,  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  warrant  us 
to  expect. 

That  the  xxxvth  chapter  has  a  view  beyond  any  thing 
that  could  be  the  immediate  consequence  of  those  events,  is 
plain  from  every  part,  especially  from  the  middle  of  it,  ver. 
5,  6. ;  whsre  the  miraculous  works  wrought  by  our  blessed 
Saviour  are  so  clearly  specified,  that  we  cannot  avoid  mak- 
ing the  application.  And  our  Saviour  himself  has  moreover 
plainly  referred  to  this  very  passage  as  speaking  of  him  and 
his  works :  Matt.  xi.  4,  5.  He  bids  the  disciples  of  John 
to  go  and  report  to  their  master  the  things  which  they 
heard  and  saw  ;  that  the  blind  received  their  sight,  the  lame 
walked,  and  the  deaf  heard ;  and  leaves  it  to  him  to  draw 
the  conclusion  in  answer  to  his  inquiry,  whether  he  who 


"298  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXIV. 

performed  the  very  works  which  the  Prophets  foretold 
should  be  performed  by  the  Messiah,  was  not  indeed  the= 
Messiah  himself?  And  where  are  these  works  so  distinctly 
marked  by  any  of  the  Prophets  as  in  this  place  ;  and  ho\v 
could  they  be  marked  more  distinctly  ?  To  these  the  strictly 
literal  interpretation  of  the  Prophet's  words  directs  us. 
According  to  the  allegorical  interpretation  they  may  have 
a  further  view :  This  part  of  the  prophecy  may  run  parallel 
with  the  former,  and  relate  to  the  future  advent  of  Christ; 
to  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  and  their  restitution  to  their 
land  ;  to  the  extension  and  purification  of  the  Christian 
faith  ; — events  predicted  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  preparatory 
to  it. 

1.  And  attend  unto  me — ]     A  MS  adds  in  this  line  the 
word  %l?x,  unto  me,  after  &nyh;  which  seems  to  be  genuine. 

4.  And  all  the  host  of  heaven — ]     See  note   on   chap, 
xxiv.  21.  and  De  S.  Poesi  Hebreeorum  Prsel.  ix. 

5.  For  my  sword  is  made  bare  in  the  heaven}     There 
seems  to  be  some  impropriety  in  this,  according  to  the  pre- 
sent reading,  "  my  sword  is  made  drunken,  or  is  bathed,  in 
the  heavens ;"  which  forestalls,  and  expresses  not  in  its  pro- 
per place,  what  belongs  to  the  next  verse :  for  the  sword  of 
JEHOVAH  was  not  to  be  bathed  or  glutted  with  blood  in  the 
heavens,   but  in   Botsra   and   the  land  of  Edom.     In   the 
lieavens  it  was   only   prepared  for  slaughter.     To  remedy 
this,   Archbishop   Seeker  proposes   to   read,   for  D*DBa,DDi3; 
referring  to  Jer.  xlvi.   10.     But  even  this  is  premature,  and 
not  in  its  proper  place.     The  Chaldee,  for  nnn,  has  ^:nn, 
ehall  be  revealed,  or   disclosed :  perhaps   he    read   n*nn,   or 
nntra.     Whatever    reading,   different   I    presume  from   the 
present,  he  might  find  in  his  copy,  I  follow  the  sense  which 
he  has  given  of  it. 

6.  For  JEHOVAH  celebrateth  a  sacrifice}     Ezekiel   has 
manifestly  imitated  this  place  of  Isaiah :  he  hath  set  forth 
the  great  leaders  and  princes  of  the   adverse  powers  under 
the  same  emblems  of  goats,  bulls,  rams,  fallings,  &c.  and 
lias  added  to   the  boldness  of  the  imagery,  by  introducing 
God  as  summoning  all  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  all  the  beasts 
of  the    field,  and  bidding  them  to  the  feast  which  he  has 
prepared  for  them  by  the  slaughter  of  the  enemies  of  his 
people : — 

11  And  thou,  son  of  man, 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  : 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  290 

Say  to  the  bird  of  every  wing, 

And  to  every  beast  of  the  field, 

Assemble  yourselves,  and  come  ; 

Gather  together  from  every  side, 

To  the  sacrifice  which  I  make  for  you, 

A  great  slaughter  on  the  mountains  of  Israel. 

And  ye  shall  eat  flesh  and  drink  blood : 

The  flesh  of  the  mighty  shall  ye  eat, 

And  the  blood  of  the  lofty  of  the  earth  shall  ye  drink; 

Of  rams,  of  lambs,  and  of  goats, 

Of  bullocks,  all  of  them  the  fat  ones  of  Basan. 

And  ye  shall  eat  fat,  till  ye  are  cloyed, 

And  drink  blood  till  ye  are  drunken; 

Of  my  slaughter,  which  I  have  slain  for  you." 

Ezek.  xxxix.  16.  17, 

The  sublime  author  of  the  Revelation  (chap.  xix.  17,  18.) 
has  taken  this  image  from  Ezekiel,  rather  than  from  Isaiah. 

7.  — with  their  blood]     DDHD:  so  an  ancient  MS,  Syr.  and 
Chald. 

8.  — the  defender  of  the  cause  of  Sion]     As  from  }n,  pr 
a  judge ;  so  from  an,  a*-),  an  advocate,  or  defender :  Judici 
Sionis,  Syr. 

11.  — over  her  scorched  plains']  The  word  mn>  joined 
to  the  12th  verse,  embarrasses  it,  and  makes  it  inexplicable, 
At  least  I  do  not  know  that  any  one  has  yet  made  out  the 
construction,  or  given  any  tolerable  explication  of  it.  1  join 
it  to  the  llth  verse,  and  supply  a  letter  or  two,  which  seem 
to  have  been  lost.  Fifteen  MSS  (five  ancient),  and  two- 
editions,  read  TVrtn.  The  first  printed  edition  of  1486,  I 
think  nearer  to  the  truth,  mn  iin«  I  read  jvnro,  or  rvnn 
V  :  see  Jer.  xvii.  6.  A  MS  has  nnn,  and  the  Syrian? 
reads  nnn,  gaudium,  joining  it  to  the  two  preceding- 
words ;  which  he  likewise  reads  differently,  but  without 
improving  the  sense.  However,  his  authority  is  clear  for 
dividing  the  verses,  as  they  are  here  divided.  I  read  D#  as 
a  noun.  They  shall  boast,  i*np'  j  see  Prov.  xx.  6. 

13.    And    in    her    palaces    shall   spring  up — ]     ibjn 
jrniwiNai  so  read  all  the  ancient  versions. 

15.  Every   one   her   mate]     A   MS   adds  btf  after  nn% 
which  seems  necessary  to  the  construction  ;  and  so  Syr.  and 
Vulg.     Another  MS  adds  in  the  same  place  nx,   which  is 
equivalent. 

16.  For  the  mouth  of  JEHOVAH}    For  Kin,  five  MSS 
(three   ancient)  read  mrr,  and   another    is  so  corrected:  so 


300  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXIV. 

likewise  LXX.  Two  editions  have  DIS,  and  so  LXX  and 
Vulg. ;  and  a  MS  has  D2ttp,  wilh  the  masculine  pronoun, 
instead  of  the  feminine :  and  so  in  the  next  verses  it  is  on1?, 
instead  of  jrV?,  in  fourteen  MSS,  six  of  them  ancient. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


1.  —  shall  be  glad,~]  Dm-»  :     In   a  MS  the  D  seems  to 
have   been  added  ;    and  DIP   is    upon   a   rasure   in  another. 
None  of  the  ancient  versions   acknowledge  it  :    it  seems  to 
have  been  a  mistake  arising  from  the  next  word's  beginning 
"\viih  the  same  letter.     Sixteen  MSS  have  Di&Ttf11,   and  five 

MSS  QBfi&'». 

2.  The  well-watered  plain  of  Jordan."]      For  pm,  the 
LXX  read  pr  ;  TO.  e^u*  TOV  I*?}*™.     Four  MSS  read  rhi  ; 
see  Joshua  xv.   19.  irrigua  Jordan!  ;  Houbigant  :  rn'J,  ripa 
Jordani  ;  Kennicott.     See  De  S.   Poesi  Hebr.  Prelect.  xx. 
note, 

Ibid.     For  rh,  to  it,  nine  MSS  read  ]*?,  to  thce.     See  ibid. 

7.  —  the  glowing  sand]  :nty:  This  word  is  Arabic  as 
well  as  Hebrew,  expressing  in  both  languages  the  same 
thing  ;  the  glowing  sandy  plain,  which  in  the  hot  countries 
at  a  distance  has  the  appearance  of  water.  It  occurs  in  the 
Koran,  chap,  xxiv.  "  But  as  to  the  unbelievers,  their  works 
are  like  a  vapour  in  a  plain  ;  which  the  thirsty  traveller 
thinketh  to  be  water,  until,  when  he  comet  h  thereto,  he 
fmdeth  it  to  be  nothing."  Mr.  Sale's  note  on  this  place  is  : 
—  "The  Arabic  word  serab  signifies  that  false  appearance 
which  in  the  eastern  countries  is  often  seen  in  sandy  plains 
about  noon,  resembling  a  large  lake  of  water  in  motion,  and 
is  occasioned  by  the  reverberation  of  the  sunbeams  :  ['  by 
the  quivering  undulating  motion  of  that  quick  succession  of 
vapours  and  exhalations,  which  are  extracted  by  the  power- 
ful influence  of  the  sun  ;  '  Shaw,  Trav.  p.  378.]  It  some- 
times tempts  thirsty  travellers  out  of  their  way,  but  deceives 
them,  when  they  come  near,  either  going  forward,  (for  it 
ahvays  appears  at  the  same  distance),  or  quite  vanishes." 
Q,.  Curtius  has  mentioned  it:  —  "Arenas  vapor  aestivi  solis 
accendit  ;—  camporumque  non  alia,  quam  vasti  et  profnndi 
sequoris  species  est  ;  "  lib.  vii.  cap.  5.  Dr.  Hyde  gives  us  'the 
precise  meaning  and  derivation  of  the  word  :  —  "  Dictum 
nomen  [Barca]  np-cn,  splendorem  seu  splendentcm  rcgio- 


CHAP.  XXXV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 

nem  notat ;  cum  ea  regio  radiis  solaribus  tarn  copiose  collus- 
tretur,  ut  renexum  ab  arenis  lumen  adeo  intense  fulgens,  a 
longinquo  spectantibus,  ad  instar  corpora  Solaris,  aquarum 
speciem  referat ;  et  hinc  arenarum  splendor  et  radiatio  (ex 
lingua  Persica  petito  nomine)  dicittir  serab,  i.  e.  aqua)  super- 
ficies, seu  superficialis  aquarum  species :"  Annot,  in  Peritsol. 
cap.  2. 

Ibid.  — shall  spring  forth — ]  The  n,  in  nvm,  seems  to 
have  been  at  first  D  in  MS  Bodl. ;  whence  Dr.  Kennicott 
concludes  it  should  he  D»3O1.  But  instead  of  this  word, 
Syr.  Vulg.  and  Chald.  read  some  word  signifying  to  grow, 
spring  up,  or  abound ;  perhaps  nna,  or  ims  ;  or  pa 
Tiffin,  as  Houbigant  reads. 

8.  And  a  highway}     The  word  -pii  is  by  mistake  added 
to  the  first  member  of  the  sentence  from  the  beginning  of 
the  following  member :  sixteen  MSS  (seven  ancient)  have 
it  but  once  ;  so  likewise  Syr. 

Ibid.  —  err  therein}  A  MS  adds  13,  which  seems  neces- 
sary to  the  sense  :  and  so  Vulg.  per  earn. 

Ibid.  But  He  shall  be  with  them  walking — ]  That  is, 
God  ;  see  ver.  4.  "  Who  shall  dwell  among  them,  and  set 
them  an  example,  that  they  should  follow  his  steps."  Our 
old  English  versions  translated  the  place  to  this  purpose  :  our 
last  translators  were  misled  by  the  authority  of  the  Jews,  who 
have  absurdly  made  a  division  of  the  verses  in  the  midst  of 
the  sentence,  thereby  destroying  the  construction  and  the 
sense. 

9.  Neither  shall  he  be  found  there]     Three  MSS  read 
vh),  adding   the   conjunction ;    and  so   likewise   LXX   and 
Vulg.     And  four  MSS   (one  ancient)  read  KVE',  the  verty 
as  it  certainly  ought  to  be,  in  the  masculine  form. 

For  further  remarks  on  the  two  foregoing  chapters,  see 
De  S.  Poesi  Hebr.  Prelect,  xx. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE  history  of  the  invasion  of  Senacherib,  and  of  the 
miraculous  destruction  of  his  army,  which  makes  the  subject 
of  so  many  of  Isaiah's  prophecies,  is  very  properly  inserted 
here,  as  affording  the  best  light  to  many  parts  of  those  pro- 
phecies ;  and  as  almost  necessary  to  introduce  the  prophecy  in 
the  xxxviith  chapter,  being  the  answer  of  God  to  Hezekiah's 
31 


302  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXVI. 

prayer,  which  could  not  be  properly  understood  without  it. 
We  find  the  same  narrative  in  the  second  book  of  Kings, 
chapters  xviii.  xix.  xx.  ;  and  these  chapters  of  Isaiah,  xxxvi. 
xxxvii.  xxxviii.  xxxix.  for  much  the  most  part,  (the  account 
of  the  sickness  of  Hezekiah  only  excepted),  are  but  a  differ- 
ent copy  of  that  narration.  The  difference  of  the  two  copies 
is  little  more  than  what  has  manifestly  arisen  from  the  mis- 
takes of  transcribers :  they  mutually  correct  each  other,  and 
most  of  the  mistakes  may  be  perfectly  rectified  by  a  collation 
of  the  two  copies,  with  the  assistance  of  the  ancient  versions. 
Some  few  sentences,  or  members  of  sentences,  are  omitted 
in  this  copy  of  Isaiah,  which  are  found  in  the  other  copy  in 
the  book  of  Kings.  Whether  these  omissions?  were  made  by 
design  or  by  mistake,  may  be  doubted  :  these  therefore  I 
have  not  inserted  in  the  translation  ;  I  shall  only  report  them 
in  the  notes. 

3.  Then  came  out  unto  him]  Before  these  words,  the 
other  copy,  2  Kings-  xviii.  18.  adds  "j^nn  bx  i&np'i,  "  and 
they  demanded  audience  of  the  king." 

5.  Thou  hast  said]     Fourteen  MSS  (three  ancient)  have 
it  in  the  second  person,  rna'tf;  and  so  the  other  copy,  2  Kings 
xviii.  20. 

6.  — in  Egypt]     MS  Bodl.  adds  -r^n,  the  Icing-  of  Egypt : 
and  so  perhaps  Chald.  migftt  read. 

<  7.  But  if  ye  say]  Two  ancient  MSS  have  na^n  in  the 
plural  number:  so  likewise  LXX,  Chald.  and  the  other 
copy,  2  Kings  xviii.  22. 

Ibid,  only  before  this  altar — ]     See  2  Chron.  xxxii.  12. 

12.  destined  to  eat  their  own  dung]  biyh,  "  that  they 
may  eat,"  as  our  translation  literally  renders  it.  But  Syr. 
reads  hoxn,  "  that  they  may  not  eat,"  perhaps  rightly ;  and 
afterwards  nin^ai,  or  rowi,  to  the  same  purpose. 

17.  and  of  vineyards]  The  other  copy,  2  Kings  xviii. 
32.  adds  here,  "  a  land  of  oil-olive,  and  of  honey  ;  that  ye 
may  live,  and  not  die ;  and  hearken  not  unto  Hezekiah, 
when  he  seduceth  you." 

19.  — of  Sepliarvaim — ]  The  other  copy,  2  Kings  xviii. 
34.  adds  of  "  Henah  and  Ivah." 

Ibid,  have  they  delivered}  01,  the  copulative  is  not  ex- 
pressed here  by  LXX,  Syr.  Yulg.  and  three  MSS ;  nor  is  it 
in  the  other  copy :  Ibid.  Houbigant  reads  on,  with  the 
interrogative  particle :  a  probable  conjecture,  which  the  ancient 
versions,  above  quoted,  seem  to  favour. 


CHAP.  XXXVI.  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  303 

21.  But  the  people  held  their  peace']  The  word  D^n,  the 
people,  is  supplied  from  the  other  copy ;  and  is  authorized 
by  a  MS,  which  inserts  it  after  m«. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

7.  I  will  infuse  a  spirit  into  him]  "rm  13  pro  never 
signifies  any  thing  but  putting  a  spirit  into  a  person  ;  this 
was  7nEvp.sc,  ^ttxtat'*  "  SECKER. 

9.  he  sent  messengers  again]  The  word  j?DBn,  (and  he 
heard) ,  which  occurs  the  second  time  in  this  verse,  is  re- 
peated by  mistake  from  the  beginning  of  the  verse.  It  is 
omitted  in  an  ancient  MS.  It  is  a  mere  tautology,  and  em- 
barrasses the  sense.  The  true  reading,  instead  of  it,  is  nun, 
which  the  LXX  read  in  this  place  nain^t^'y  and  which  is 
preserved  in  the  other  copy,  2  Kings  xix.  9.  "  He  returned 
and  sent ''" — that  is,  according  to  the  Hebrew  idiom,  "  he  sent 
again." 

14.  and  read  them]     DJOp"),  so  MS  Bodl.  in  this  place ; 
and  so  the  other  copy  ;  instead  of  inx^pn,  and  read  it. 

Ibid.  — and  spread  them]  iriBHsn;  in  is  upon  a  rasure 
in  a  MS  ;  which  probably  was  at  first  D.  The  same  mistake 
as  in  the  foregoing  note. 

15.  — before  JEHOVAH]    That  is,  in  the  sanctuary.  For 
^N,  Syr.  Chald.  and  the  other  copy,  2  Kings  xix.   15.  read 
^. 

18.  — the  nations — ]  nijnxn,  the  lands :  instead  of  this 
word,  which  destroys  the  sense,  ten  MSS  (one  ancient)  have 
here  DTI,  nations;  which  is  undoubtedly  the  true  reading, 
being  preserved  also  in  the  other  copy,  2  Kings  xix.  17. 
Another  MS  suggests  another  method  of  rectifying  the  sense 
in  this  place,  by  reading  DD^D,  their  king,  instead  of  orux, 
their  land ;  but  it  ought  to  be  DHO^D,  "all  the  countries 
and  their  kings." 

20.  Save  its,  we  beseech  thee — ]     The  supplicating  per 
ticle  w  is  supplied  here  from  eighteen  MSS  (three  ancient), 
and  from  the  other  copy. 

Ibid.  — that  thou  JEHOVAH  art  the  only  God]  The 
word  D^rbx,  God>  is  lost  here  in  the  Hebrew  text,  but  pre- 
served in  the  other  copy,  2  Kings  xix.  19.  Syr.  and  LXX 
seem  here  to  have  had  in  their  copies  DVT7X,  instead  of  mrr. 

21.  Then  Isaiah  sent  unto  Hezckiah}     Syr.  and  LXX 
understand  and  render  the  verb  passively,  was  sent. 


304  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXVII, 

Ibid.  — I  have  heard]  wyiyy:  this  word,  necessary  to  the 
sense,  is  lost  in  this  place  out  of  the  Hebrew  text.  A  MS 
has  it  written  above  the  line  in  a  later  hand.  LXX  and 
Syr.  found  it  in  their  copies ;  and  it  is  preserved  in  the  other 
copy,  2  Kings  xix.  20. 

23.  — against  the  Holy  One  of  Israel]   For  *K,  the  other 
copy  has  fy,  rather  more  properly. 

24.  — By  thy  messengers — ]     The  text  has  "pap ;  thy 
servants:  but  the  true  reading  seems  to  be  73*613,  thy  mes- 
sengers, as  in  the  other  copy,  2  Kings  xix.  23. ;  and  as  LXX 
and  Syr.  found  it  in  their  copies  in  this  place. 

Ibid.  — his  extreme  retreats]  The  text  has  onn,  the 
highth ;  which  seems  to  have  been  taken  by  mistake  from 
the  line  but  one  above.  A  MS  has  here  j6a,  the  lodge,  or 
retreat ;  which  is  the  word  in  the  other  copy,  2  Kings  xix. 
23. ;  and  I  think  is  the  true  reading. 

25.  — strange  waters]     The  word  D"IT,  strange,  lost  out 
of  the  Hebrew  text  in  this  place,  is  supplied  from  the  other 
copy.     A  MS  supplies  the  word  0*31,  many,  instead  of  it. 

Ibid,  all  the  canals  of  fenced  places]  The  principal  cities 
of  Egypt,  the  scene  of  his  late  exploits,  were  chiefly  defended 
by  -deep  moats,  canals,  or  large  lakes,  made  by  labour  and 
art,  with  which  they  were  surrounded.  SeeHarmer's  Observ. 
ii.  p.  304.  Clandian  introduces  Alaric  boasting  of  his  con- 
quests in  the  same  extravagant  manner  : 

"  Subsidere  nostris 

Sub  pedibus  montes;  arescere  vidimus  arnnes. — 
Fregi  Alpes,  galeisque  Padum  victricibus  hausi." 

De  Bello  Getic.  526. 

26.  warlike  nations]     o»2tt  Dll?j.     It  is  not  easy  to  give  a 
satisfactory  account  of  these  two  words  ;  which  have  greatly 
embarrassed  all  the  interpreters,  ancient  and   modern.     For 
D^J,  I  read    D'U,   as  the  LXX  do  in  this  place,  &*>.     The 
word  D'VJ,  Vulg.  renders  in  this  place  compugnantium  ;  in 
the  parallel  place,  2  Kings  xix.  25.  pugnantium,  and  LXX, 
f4.^i/uMv,  fighting,  warlike.     This  rendering  is  as  well  autho- 
rized as  any  other  that  I  know  of,  and,  with  the  reading  of 
LXX,  perfectly  clears  up  the  construction. 

27.  corn  blasted]     rranty.     It  does  not  appear  that  there 
is  any  good  authority  for  this  word.     The  true  reading  seems 
to  be  naiff,  as  it  is  in  four  MSS  (two  ancient),  here,  and  in 
the  other  copy. 

29.  I  will  put  my  hook  in  thy  nose]  "  Etffanwn  meum: 


CHAP.  XXXVII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  305 

Jonathan  vocem  ana  interpretatus  est  DDT,  i.  e.  annulum, 
sive  uncurn,  eumque  ferreum,  quern  infigunt  naribus  ca- 
metre :  eoque  trahilur,  quoniam  ilia  feris  motibus  agitur :  et 
hoc  est,  quod  discimus  in  Talmude  ;  et  camela  cum  annulo 
narium :  scilicet,  egreditur  die  Sabbathi :"  Jarchi  in  2  Reg. 
xix.  28.  "  Ponam  circulum  in  naribus  tuis  :"  Hieron.  Just 
as  at  this  day  they  put  a  ring  into  the  nose  of  the  bear,  the 
buffalo,  and  other  wild  beasts,  to  lead  them,  and  to  govern 
them  when  they  are  unruly. 

35.  And  the  angel — ]  Before  "the  angel,"  the  other 
copy,  2  Kings  xix.  35.  adds,  "  it  came  to  pass  the  same  night, 
that" 

The  Prophet  Hosea  has  given  a  plain  prediction  of  this 
miraculous  deliverance  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah  : 

"  And  to  the  house  of  Judah  I  will  be  tenderly  merciful: 
And  I  will  save  them  by  JEHOVAH  their  God. 
And  I  will  not  save  them  by  the  bow; 
Nor  by  sword,  nor  by  battle; 
By  horses,  nor  by  horsemen.  Hosea  i.  7. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

2.  Then  Hezekiah  turned  his  face  to  the  wall}  The  fur- 
niture of  an  eastern  divan,  or  chamber  either  for  the  recep- 
tion of  company  or  for  private  use,  consists  chiefly  of  carpets 
spread  on  the  floor  in  the  middle,  and  of  sophas  or  couches 
ranged  on  one  or  more  sides  of  the  room,  on  a  part  raised 
somewhat  above  the  floor.  -On  these  they  repose  themselves 
in  the  day,  and  sleep  at  night.  It  is  to  be  observed,  that 
the  corner  of  the  room  is  the  place  of  honour.  Dr  Pococke. 
when  he  was  introduced  to  the  Sheik  of  Furshout,  found 
him  sitting  in  the  corner  of  his  room.  He  describes  ano- 
ther Arab  Sheik,  "  as  sitting  in  a  corner  of  a  large  green 
tent,  pitched  in  the  middle  of  an  encampment  of  Arabs ; 
and  the  Bey  of  Girge  as  placed  on  a  sopha  in  a  corner  to 
the  right  as  one  entered  the  room  :'7.  Harmer's  Obs.  ii.  p.  60. 
Lady  Mary  W.  Montague,  giving  an  account  of.  a  visit 
which  she  made  to  the  Kahya's  lady  at  Adrianople,  says, 
"  She  ordered  cushions  to  be  given  me,  and  took  care  to  place 
me  in  the  corner,  which  is  the  place  of  honour  :"  Letter 
xxxiii.  The  reason  of  this  seems  to  be,  that  the  person,  so 
placed,  is  distinguished,  and  in  a  manner  separated  from  the 
31* 


306  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXVIH. 

rest  of  the  company,  and  as  it  were  guarded  by  the  wall  on 
each  side.  We  are  to  suppose  Hezekiah's  couch  placed  in  the 
same  situation  :  in  which,  turning  on  either  side,  he  must 
turn  his  face  to  the  wall ;  by  which  he  would  withdraw  him- 
self from  those  who  were  attending  upon  him  in  his  apart- 
ment, in  order  to  address  his  private  prayer  to  God. 

4,  5.  The  words  in  the  translation  included  within  crotchets 
are  supplied  from  the  parallel  place,  2  Kings  xx.  4,  5.  to 
make  the  narration  more  perfect.  1  have  also  taken  the 
liberty,  with  Houbigant,  of  bringing  forward  the  two  last 
verses  of  this  chapter,  and  inserting  them  in  their  proper 
places  of  the  narration  with  the  same  mark.  Kimchi's  note 
on  these  two  verses  is  as  follows :  "  This  and  the  following 
verse  belong  not  to  the  writing  of  Hezekiah :  and  I  see  no 
reason  why  they  are  written  here  after  the  writing ;  for  their 
right  place  is  above,  toft&r  And  twill  protect  this  city,  ver.  6. 
And  so  they  stand  in  the  book  of  Kings  ;"  2  Kings  xx.  7,  8. 
The  narration  of  this  chapter  seems  to  be  in  some  parts  an 
abridgment  of  that  of  2  Kings  xx.  The  abridger,  having 
finished  his  extract  here  with  the  llth  verse,  seems  to  have 
observed,  that  the  7th  and  8th  verses  of  2  Kings  xx.  were 
wanted  to  complete  the  narration :  he  therefore  added  them 
at  the  end  of  the  chapter,  after  he  had  inserted  the  song  of 
Hezekiah,  probably  with  marks  for  their  insertion  in  their 
proper  places  ;  which  marks  were  afterwards  neglected  by 
transcribers :  or  a  transcriber  might  omit  them  by  mistake, 
and  add  them  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  with  such  marks. 
Many  transpositions  are,  with  great  probability,  to  be  account- 
ed for  in  the  same  way. 

0.  1  will  protect  this  city — ]  The  other  copy,  2  Kings 
xx.  6.  adds,  "  for  mine  own  sake,  and  for  the  sake  of  David 
my  servant ;"  and  the  sentence  seems  somewhat  abrupt  with- 
out it. 

8.  by  which  the  sun  is  gone  down — ]     For  BfoBO,LX3t, 
Syr.   Chald.   read   vns&n:    Houbigant.        In  the    history  of 
this  miracle  in  the  book  of  Kings,  2  Kings  xx.  9 — 11.  them 
is  no  mention  at  all  made  of  the  sun,  but  only  of  the  going 
backward  of  the  shadow ;  which  might  be  effected  by  a  su- 
pernatural refraction.     The  first  <5  **/«$  in  this  verse  is  omitted 
in  LXX,  MS  Pachom. 

9.  The  writing  of  Hezekiah."]     Here  the  book  of  Kings 
deserts  us,  the  song  of  Hezekiah  not/ being  inserted  in  it. 
Another  copy  of  this  very  obscure  passage  (obscure  not  only 


CHAP.  XXXVIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  307 

from  the  concise  poetical  style,  but  because  it  is  probably 
very  incorrect)  would  have  been  of  great  service.  The  MSS 
and  ancient  versions,  especially  the  latter,  will  help  us  to  get 
through,  some  of  the  many  difficulties  which  we  meet  with  in 
it. 

11.  JEHOVAH]    rv  rv  seems  to  be  mrv  in  MSS  Bodl. 
and  it  was  so  at  first  written  in  another  ;  so  Syr.     See  Hou- 
bigant. 

12.  —  a  shepherds  tent  —  ]     »;n  is   put   for  njn,  say  the 
Rabbins  ;  Sal.  b.  Melee  on  the  place  :  but  much  more  proba- 
bly is  written  imperfectly  for  Dr;n.     See  note  on  chap.  v.  1. 

Ibid.  My  life  is  cut  off  —  ]  -map:  this  verb  is  rendered 
passively,  and  in  the  third  person,  by  Syr.  Chald.  Vulg. 

13.  The    last  line  of  the    foregoing    verse,    nV1?   ny  DTTD 
'JJT^n,  "  In  the  course  of  the  day  thou  wilt  finish  my  web," 
is  not  repeated  at  the  end  of  this  verse  in  the  Syriac  version  ; 
and  a  MS  omits  it.     It  seems  to  have  been  inserted  a  second 
time  in  the  Hebrew  text  by  mistake. 

Ibid.  I  roared  —  ]  For  rmtf,  the  Chaidee  has  jvnru:  he 
read  »n:xiy,  the  proper  term  for  the  roaring  of  a  lion  ;  often 
applied  to  the  deep  groaning  of  men  in  sickness  :  see  Psal. 
xxii.  2.  xxxii.  4.  xxxviii.  9.  Job.  iii.  24.  The  Masoretes  di- 
vide the  sentence,  as  I  have  done,  taking  »ijo,  like  a  lion, 
into  the  first  member  ;  and  so  likewise  LXX. 

14.  Like  the  swallow  —  ]     D^DD;  so  read  two  MSS,  Theod. 
and  Hieron. 

Ibid.  —  mine  eyes  fail]  For  iVi,  the  LXX  read  to, 
f|eAHT«v.  Compare  Psal.  Ixix.  4.  cxix.  82.  123.  Lain.  ii.  11.  iv. 
17.  in  the  Hebrew  and  in  LXX. 

Ibid.  —  O  Lord  —  ]  For  mrr,  thirty  MSS  and  eight  edi- 
tions read  'JIN. 

Ibid.  —  contend  thou  —  ]  npB>>%  with  \y,  Jarchi.  This 
sense  of  the  word  is  established  by  Gen.  xxvi.  20.  "  he  called 
the-  name  of  the  well  p#y,  Esek,  because  they  strove  with 
him  :  "  ip^nn,  equivalent  to  irr  at  the  beginning  of  the 
verse. 

15.  —  will  I  reflect  —  ]     mix,  recogitabo,  Yulg.  reputabo, 
Hieron.  in  loc. 


16.  Por  this  cause  shall  it  be  declared  —  ]     n 

ei,  KM  ffyystgcts  fu>v  ryv  wow,  LXX.  They  read  in 
their  copies,  »nn  "nm  ^i  nrv  rvty;  not  very  different  from 
the  present  text,  from  which  all  the  ancient  versions  vary. 
They  entirely  omit  two  words,  p3  Wi;  as  to  which  there  is 


308  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXVIII. 


eome  variation  in  the  MSS.  A  MS  has  ^331,  two  others  ^m, 
and  ten  MSS  have  oro. 

Ibid.  —  hast  prolonged  my  Ufe.~]  A  MS  and  the  Baby- 
lonish Talmud  read  »j"nm;  and  so  the  ancient  versions.  It 
must  necessarily  be  in  the  second  person. 

17.  My  anguish  is  changed  into  ease  —  ]  ID  ?i?  -o, 
"  mutata  mihi  est  amaritudo."  Paronomasia  ;  a  figure, 
which  the  Prophet  frequently  admits  :  I  do  not  always  note 
it,  because  it  cannot  ever  be  preserved  in  the  translation,  and 
the  sense  seldom  depends  upon  it.  But  here  it  perfectly  clears 
up  the  great  obscurity  of  the  passage.  See  Lowth  on  the 
place. 

Ibid.  Thou  hast  rescued  —  ]  ro&>n,  with  D  instead  of  p  ; 
so  LXX  and  Vulg.  :  Houbigant.  See  Chappelow  on  Job 
xxxiii.  18. 

Ibid.  —  -from  perdition  —  ]  '^  nnspn,  *»*  w  avo^ou, 
LXX;  ut  non  periret,  Vulg.  ;  perhaps  inverting  the  order  of 
the  words.  See  Houbigant. 

19.  —thy  truth~\  ]nDK  *?x.  A  MS  omits  SN;  and  instead 
of  ^N,  an  ancient  MS  and  one  edition  read  nx.  The  same 
mistake  as  in  Psal.  ii.  7. 

21.  Let  them  take  a  lump  of  figs  :  and  they  bruised 
them  —  ]  God,  in  effecting  this  miraculous  cure,  was  pleased 
to  order  the  use  of  means  not  improper  for  that  end.  "  Folia, 
et,  quae  non  maturuere,  fici,  strumis  illinuntur,  omnibusque 
quee  emollienda  sunt  discutiendave  :  "  Plin.  Nat.  Hist,  xxiii. 
7.  "  Ad  discutienda  ea,  quae  in  corporis  parte  aliqua  coierunt. 
maxime  possunt  —  ficus  arida,"  &c.  :  Celsus.  v.  11. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

HITHERTO  the  copy  of  this  history  in  the  second  book  of 
Kings  has  been  much  the  most  correct :  in  this  chapter,  that 
in  Isaiah  has  the  advantage.  In  the  two  first  verses  two 
mistakes  in  the  other  copy  are  to  be  corrected  from  this  :  for 
irvprn,  Hc^ekiah,  read  pirn,  and  was  recovered;  and  for 
jjnan,  he  heard,  read  rwi,  he  rejoiced. 

1.  — and  ambassadors.]  The  LXX  add  here  XM.I  .*fr0&/$; 
that  is,  DOK^DI,  and  ambassadors ;  which  word  seems 
necessary  to  the  sense,  though  omitted  in  the  Hebrew  text 
both  here  and  in  the  other  copy,  2  Kings  xx.  12.  For  the 
subsequent  narration  refers  to  them  all  along;  "these  men, 


CHAP.  XXXIX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  309 

whence  came  they  ? "  &c.  plainly  supposing  them  to  have 
been  personally  mentioned  before.  See  Houbigant. 

6.  — to  Babylon — ]  nta  ;  so  two  MSS  (one  ancient)  ; 
rightly  without  doubt,  as  the  other  copy,  2  Kings  xx.  17.  has 
it. 

8.  And  Hezekiah  said — ]  The  nature  of  Hezekiah's 
crime,  and  his  humiliation  on  the  message  of  God  to  him 
by  the  Prophet,  is  more  expressly  declared  by  the  author  of 
the  book  of  Chronicles :  "  But  Hezekiah  rendered  not  again, 
according  to  the  benefit  done  unto  him  ;  for  his  heart  was 
lifted  up :  therefore  there  was  wrath  upon  him,  and  upon 
Judah  and  Jerusalem.  Notwithstanding,  Hezekiah  humbled 
himself  for  the  pride  of  his  heart,  (both  he  and  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Jerusalem),  so  that  the  wrath  of  the  LORD  came 
not  upon  them  in  the  days  of  Hezekiah.  And  Hezekiah 
prospered  in  all  his  works.  Howbeit,  in  the  business  of  the 
ambassadors  of  the  princes  of  Babylon,  who  sent  unto  him 
to  inquire  of  the  wonder  that  was  done  in  the  land,  God  left 
him,  to  try  him,  that  he  might  know  all  that  was  in  his 
heart ; "  2  Chron.  25,  26.  30;  31. 


CHAPTER  XL, 

THE  course  of  prophecies,  which  follow  from  hence  to  the 
end  of  the  book,  and  which  taken  together  constitute  the  most 
elegant  part  of  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Old  Testament  ; 
interspersed  also  with  many  passages  of  the  highest  sublimi- 
ty ;  was  probably  delivered  in  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah.  The  Prophet  in  the  foregoing  chapter  had  de- 
livered a  very  explicit  declaration  of  the  impending  dissolution 
of  the  kingdom,  and  of  the  captivity  of  the  royal  house  of 
David,  and  of  the  people,  under  the  kings  of  Babylon.  As 
the  subject  of  his  subsequent  prophecies  was  to  be  chiefly  of 
the  consolatory  kind,  he  opens  them  writh  giving  a  promise  of 
the  restoration  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  return  of  the  people 
from  that  captivity,  by  the  merciful  interposition  of  God  in 
their  favour.  But  the  views  of  the  Prophet  are  not  confined 
to  this  event.  As  the  restoration  of  the  royal  family,  and 
of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  which  would  otherwise  have  soon  be- 
come undistinguished,  and  have  been  irrecoverably  lost,  was 
necessary,  in  the  design  and  order  of  Providence,  for  the  ful- 
filling of  God's  promises  of  establishing  a  more  glorious  and 


310  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XL. 

an  everlasting  kingdom,  under  the  Messiah  to  be  born  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  and  of  the  family  of  David ;  the  Prophet 
connects  these  two  events  together,  and  hardly  ever  treats  of 
the  former  without  throwing  in  some  intimations  of  the 
latter  ;  and  sometimes  is  so  fully  possessed  with  the  glories  of 
the  future  more  remote  kingdom,  that  he  seems  to  leave  the 
more  immediate  subject  of  his  commission  almost  out  of  the 
question. 

Indeed  this  evangelical  sense  of  the  prophecy  is  so  apparent, 
and  stands  forth  in  so  strong  a  light,  that  some  interpreters 
cannot  see  that  it  has  any  other ;  and  will  not  allow  the 
prophecy  to  have  any  relation  at  all  to  the  return  from  the 
captivity  of  Babylon.  It  may  be  useful,  therefore,  to  ex- 
amine more  attentively  the  train  of  the  Prophet's  ideas,  and 
to  consider  carefully  the  images  under  which  he  displays  his 
subject.  He  hears  a  crier  giving  orders  by  solemn  proclama- 
tion to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord  in  the  wilderness ;  to 
remove  all  obstructions  before  JEHOVAH  marching  through 
the  desert ;  through  the  wild,  uninhabited,  unpassable  coun- 
try. The  deliverance  of  God's  people  from  the  Babylonish 
captivity  is  considered  by  him  as  parallel  to  the  former  de- 
liverance of  them  from  the  Egyptian  bondage.  God  was 
then  represented  as  their  king,  leading  them  in  person  through 
the  vast  deserts,  which  lay  in  their  way  to  the  promised  land 
of  Canaan.  It  is  not  merely  for  JEHOVAH  himself,  that  in 
both  cases  the  way  was  to  be  prepared,  and  all  obstructions 
to  be  removed;  but  for  JEHOVAH  marching  in  person  at 
the  head  of  his  people.  Let  us  first  see,  how  this  idea  is 
pursued  by  the  sacred  poets  who  treat  of  the  Exodus,  which 
is  a  favourite  subject  with  them,  and  affords  great  choice  of 
examples : — 

"  When  Israel  came  out  of  Egypt; 

The  house  of  Jacob,  from  the  barbarous  people; 

Judah  was  his  sanctuary, 

Israel  his  dominion."  Psal.  cxiv.  1,  2. 

"  JEHOVAH  his  God  is  with  him; 

And  the  shout  of  a  king  is  among  them: 

God  brought  them  out  of  Egypt."       Numb,  xxiii.  21,  22. 
"  Make  a  highway  for  him  that  rideth  through  the  deserts: 

O  God,  when  thou  wentest  forth  before  thy  people; 

When  thou  marchedst  through  the  wilderness, 

The  heavens  dropped.'7  Psal.  Ixviii.  4.  7. 

Let  us  now  see  how  Isaiah  treats  the  subject  of  the  return 


CHAP.  XL.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  311 

of  the  people  from  Babylon :  they  were  to  march  through 
the  wilderness  with  JEHOVAH  at  their  head,  who  was  to  lead 
them,  to  smooth  the  way  before  them,  and  to  supply  them 
with  water  in  the  thirsty  desert ;  with  perpetual  allusion  to 
the  Exodus : 

"  Come  ye  forth  from  Babylon,  flee  ye  from  the  land  of  the 

Chaldeans  with  the  voice  of  joy: 
Publish  ye  this,  and  make  it  heard;  utter  it  forth  even  to 

the  end  of  the  earth  : 

Say  ye,  JEHOVAH  hath  redeemed  his  servant  Jacob: 
They  thirsted  not  in  the  deserts,  through  which  he  made 

them  go; 

Waters  from  the  rock  he  caused  to  flow  for  them; 
Yea  he  clave  the  rock,  and  forth  gushed  the  waters." 

Chap,  xlviii.  20,  21. 
"  Remember  not  the  former  things; 
And  the  things  of  ancient  times  regard  not: " 

(That  is,  the  deliverance  from  Egypt)  : 
"  Behold,  I  make  a  new  thing; 

Even  now  shall  it  spring  forth:  will  ye  not  regard  it? 
Yea  I  will  make  in  the  wilderness  a  way; 
In  the  desert,  streams  of  water."         Chap,  xliii.   18,  19. 
"  But  he  that  trusteth  in  me  shall  inherit  the  land, 
And  shall  possess  my  holy  mountain. 
Then  will  I  say,  Cast  up,  cast  up  the  causeway;  make 

clear  the  way  ; 
Remove  every  obstruction  from  the  road  of  my  people." 

Chap.  Ivii.  13,  14. 

"  How  beautiful  appear  on  the  mountains 
The  feet  of  the  joyful  messenger,  of  him  that  announceth 

peace; 

Of  the  joyful  messenger  of  good  tidings,  of  him  that  an- 
nounceth salvation; 

Of  him  that  sayeth  to  Sion,  Thy  God  reigneth! 
All  thy  watchmen  lift  up  their  voice,  they  shout  together; 
For  face  to  face  shall  they  see,  when  JEHOVAH  returneth 

to  Sion. 

Verily  not  in  haste  shall  ye  go  forth; 
And  not  by  flight  shall  ye  march  along: 
For  JEHOVAH  shall  march  in  your  front  ; 
And  the  God  of  Israel  shall  bring  up  your  rear." 

Chap.  Hi.  7,  8.  12. 

Babylon  was  separated  from  Judea  by  an  immense  tract 
of  country,  which  was  one  continued  desert ;  that  large  part 
of  Arabia  called  very  properly  Deserta.  It  is  mentioned 


312  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XL. 

in  history  as  a  remarkable  occurrence,  that  Nebuchadnezzar, 
having  received  the  news  of  the  death  of  his  father,  in  order 
to  make  the  utmost  expedition  in  his  journey  to  Babylon  from 
Egypt  and  Phoenicia,  set  out  with  a  few  attendants,  and 
passed  through  this  desert.  Berosus,  apud  Joseph.  Antiq.  x. 
11.  This  was  the  nearest  way  homewards  for  the  Jews ; 
and  whether  they  actually  returned  by  this  way  or  not,  the 
first  thing  that  would  occur  on  the  proposal  or  thought  of 
their  return,  would  be  the  difficulty  of  this  almost  impractica- 
ble passage.  Accordingly  the  proclamation  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  way  is  the  most  natural  idea,  and  the  most  obvious 
circumstance,  by  which  the  Prophet  could  have  opened  his 
subject. 

These  things  considered,  I  have  not  the  least  doubt,  that 
the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  captivity  of  Babylon  is  the 
first,  though  not  the  principal,  thing  in  the  Prophet's  view. 
The  redemption  from  Babylon  is  clearly  foretold  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  is  employed  as  an  image  to  shadow  out  a  redemp- 
tion of  an  infinitely  higher  and  more  important  nature.  I 
should  not  have  thought  it  necessary  to  employ  so  many 
words  in  endeavouring  to  establish  what  is  called  the  literal 
sense  of  this  prophecy,  which  I  think  cannot  be  rightly  un- 
derstood without  it,  had  I  not  observed,  that  many  interpre- 
ters of  the  first  authority,  in  particular  the  very  learned  Vit- 
ringa,  have  excluded  it  entirely. 

Yet  obvious  and  plain  as  I  think  this  literal  sense  is,  we 
have  nevertheless  the  irrefragable  authority  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist, and  of  our  blessed  Saviour  himself,  as  recorded  by  all  the 
Evangelists,  for  explaining  this  exordium  of  the  prophecy  of 
the  opening  of  the  gospel  by  the  preaching  of  John,  and  of 
the  introducing  of  the  kingdom  of  Messiah  ;  who  was  to  ef- 
fect a  much  greater  deliverance  of  the  people  of  God,  Gen- 
tiles as  well  as  Jews,  from  the  captivity  of  sin  and  the  domin- 
ion of  death.  And  this  we  shall  find  to  be  the  case  in  many 
subsequent  parts  also  of  this  prophecy,  where  passages  mani- 
festly relating  to  the  deliverance  of  the  Jewish  nation,  effected 
by  Cyrus,  are  with  good  reason,  and  upon  undoubted  author- 
ity, to  be  understood  of  the  redemption  wrought  for  mankind 
by  Christ. 

If  the  literal  sense  of  this  prophecy,  as  above  explained, 
cannot  be  questioned,  much  less  surely  can  the  spiritual ; 
which,  I  think,  is  allowed  on  all  hands  even  by  Grotius 
himself.  If  both  are  to  be  admitted,  here  is  a  plain  example 


CHAP.  XL.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  313 

of  the  mystical  allegory,  or  double  sense,  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  of  prophecy  ;  which  the  sacred  writers  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament clearly  suppose,  and  according  to  which  they  frequent- 
ly frame  their  interpretation  of  passages  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. Of  the  foundation  and  properties  of  this  sort  of  alle- 
gory, see  De  S.  Poes.  Hebr.  Prelect,  xi. 

2.  Blessings  double   to  the  punishment]     It   does   not 
seem  reconcileable  to  our  notions  of  the  divine  justice,  which 
always  punishes  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve,  to  suppose, 
that  God  had   punished  the  sins  of  the  Jews  in  double  pro- 
portion :  and  it  is  more  agreeable  to   the  tenor  of  this  con- 
solatory  message,  to  understand  it  as  a  promise  of  ample 
recompense  for  the  effects  of  past  displeasure,  on  the  recon- 
ciliation of  God  to  his  returning  people.     To   express  this 
sense  of  the  passage,  which  the  words  of  the  original  will 
very  well  bear,  it  was  necessary  to  add  a  word  or  two  in 
the   version  to  supply  the  elliptical  expression    of  the  He- 
brew.    Compare  chap.   Ixi.    7.  Job.  xlii.   10.  Zech.  ix.  12. 
nxttn  signifies  punishment  for  sin,  Lam.  hi.  39.  Zech.  xiv.  19. 

3.  A  voice  crieth  :  In  the  wilderness — ]     The  idea  is 
taken  from  the  practice  of  eastern  monarchs,  who,  whenever 
they  entered  upon  an  expedition,  or  took  a  journey,  especially 
through  desert  and  unpractised  countries,  sent  harbingers  be- 
fore them  to  prepare  all  things  for  their  passage,  and  pioneers 
to  open  the  passes,  to  level  the  ways,  and  to  remove  all  im- 
pediments.    The  officers  appointed  to  superintend  such  prep- 
arations the  Latins  call   Stratores.     "  Ipse  (Johannes  Bap- 
tista)  se  stratorem  vocat  Messiae,  cujus  esset  alta  et  elata  voce 
homines  in  desertis  locis  habitantes  ad   itinera  et  vias  Regi 
mox  venture  sternendas  et  reficiendas  hortari : "   Mosheim, 
Instituta  Majora,  p.  96. 

Diodorus's  account  of  Semiramis's  marches  into  Media 
and  Persia,  will  give  us  a  clear  notion  of  the  preparation  of 
the  way  for  a  royal  expedition  :  "  In  her  march  to  Ecbatane 
she  came  to  the  Zarcean  mountain  ;  which  extending  many 
furlongs,  and  being  full  of  craggy  precipices  and  deep  hol- 
lows, could  not  be  passed  without  taking  a  great  compass 
about.  Being  therefore  desirous  of  leaving  an  everlasting 
memorial  of  herself,  as  well  as  of  shortening  the  way,  she 
ordered  the  precipices  to  be  digged  down,  and  the  hollows 
to  be  filled  up  ;  and  at  a  great  expense  she  made  a  shorter 
and  more  expeditious  road,  which  to  this  day  is  called  from 
32 


314  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XL. 

her  the  Road  of  Semiramis.  Afterward  she  went  into  Per- 
sia, and  all  the  other  countries  of  Asia  subject  to  her  domin- 
ion ;  and  wherever  she  went,  she  ordered  the  mountains  and 
precipices  to  be  levelled,  raised  causeways  in  the  plain  coun- 
try, and  at  a  great  expense  made  the  ways  passable  : "  Diod. 
Sic.  lib.  ii. 

The  writer  of  the  apocryphal  book  called  Baruch,  expresses 
the  same  subject  by  the  same  images  ;  either  taking  them 
from  this  place  of  Isaiah,  or  from  the  common  notions  of  his 
countrymen :  "  For  God  hath  appointed,  that  every  high  hill, 
and  banks  of  long  continuance,  should  be  cast  down,  and 
vallies  filled  up,  to  make  even  the  ground,  that  Israel  may  go 
safely  in  the  glory  of  God ; "  chap.  v.  7. 

The  Jewish  church,  to  which  John  was  sent  to  announce 
the  coming  of  Messiah,  was  at  that  time  in  a  barren  and 
desert  condition,  unfit  without  reformation  for  the  reception 
of  her  king.  It  was  in  this  desert  country,  destitute  at  that 
time  of  all  religious  cultivation,  in  true  piety  and  good 
works  unfruitful,  that  John  was  sent  to  prepare  the  way  of 
the  Lord  by  preaching  repentance.  I  have  distinguished 
the  parts  of  the  sentence  according  to  the  punctuation  of  the 
Masoretes,  which  agrees  best  both  with  the  literal  and  the 
spiritual  sense  ;  which  the  construction  and  parallelism  of 
the  distich  in  the  Hebrew  plainly  favours  ;  and  of  which  the 
Greek  of  the  LXX  and  of  the  Evangelists  is  equally  suscep- 
tible. 

John  was  born  in  the  desert  of  Judea,  and  passed  his  whole 
life  in  it,  till  the  time  of  his  being  manifested  to  Israel.  He 
preached  in  the  same  desert :  it  was  a  mountainous  coun- 
try ;  however,  not  entirely  and  properly  a  desert,  for,  though 
less  cultivated  than  other  parls  of  Judea,  yet  it  was  not  unin- 
habited :  Joshua  (chap.  xv.  61,  62.)  reckons  six  cities  in  it. 
We  are  so  prepossessed  with  the  idea  of  John's  living  and 
preaching  in  the  desert,  that  we  are  apt  to  consider  this  par- 
ticular scene  of  his  preaching  as  a  very  important  and  essen- 
tial part  of  his  history  :  whereas  I  apprehend  this  circumstance 
to  be  no  otherwise  important,  than  as  giving  us  a  strong 
idea  of  the  rough  character  of  the  man.  which  was  answera- 
ble to  the  place  of  his  education  ;  and  as  affording  a  proper 
emblem  of  the  rude  state  of  the  Jewish  church  at  that  time  ; 
which  was  the  true  wilderness  meant  by  the  Prophet,  in 
which  John  was  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah. 


CHAP.  XL.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  315 

4.  The  word  spy  is  very  generally  rendered  crooked  ;  but 
this  sense  of  the  word  seems  not  to  be  supported  by  any  good 
authority.     Ludolphus,  Comment,  ad  Hist.   ./Ethiop.  p.  206. 
says,  that  in  the  jEthiopic  language  it  signifies  clivus,  locus 
editus  ;  and  so  the  Syriac  version  renders  it  in   this  place 
NOV,  Heb.  nsyip,  tumulus,  acervus.     Thus  the  parallelism 
would  be  more  perfect :  "  the  hilly  country   shall  be  made 
level,  and  the  precipices  a  smooth  plain." 

5.  — the  salvation  of  our  God}     These  words  are  added 
here  by  LXX :  TO  a-ar^tev  TOV  GEOV,  irn^N  n>w  r,x,  as  it  is  in 
the  parallel  place,  chap.  lii.  10.     The  sentence  is  abrupt  with- 
out it,  the  verb  wanting  its  object ;  and  I  think  it  is  genuine. 
Our   English  translation  has  supplied  the  word  it,  which  is 
equivalent  to  this  addition  from  LXX. 

This  omission  in  the  Hebrew  text  is  ancient,  being  prior 
to  the  Chaldee,  Syriac,  and  Vulgate  versions  :  but  the  words 
stand  in  all  the  copies  of  the  LXX  ;  and  they  are  acknowl- 
edged by  Luke,  iii.  6. 

6.  its  glory — ]     For  non  read  nn;  LXX,  and  Vulg.  and 
1  Pet.  i.  24. 

7.  this  people — ]     So  Syr.  who  perhaps  read  HTH  D#n. 

6 — 8.  A  voice  sayeth.  Proclaim — ]  To  understand  right- 
ly this  passage  is  a  matter  of  importance ;  for  it  seerns  de- 
signed to  give  us  the  true  key  to  the  remaining  part  of  Isaiah's 
prophecies ;  the  general  subject  of  which  is  the  restoration 
of  the  people  and  church  of  God.  The  Prophet  opens  the 
subject  with  great,  clearness  and  elegance :  he  declares  at  once 
God's  command  to  his  messengers,  (his  Prophets,  as  the 
Chaldee  rightly  explains  it,)  to  comfort  his  people  in  captivi- 
ty, to'lmpart  to  them  the  joyful  tidings,  that  their  punish- 
ment has  now  satisfied  the  divine  justice,  and  the  time  of 
reconciliation  and  favour  is  at  hand.  He  then  introduces  a 
harbinger  giving  orders  to  prepare  the  way  for  God  leading 
his  people  from  Babylon,  as  he  did  formerly  from  Egypt, 
through  the  wilderness  ;  to  remove  all  obstacles,  and  to  clear 
the  way  for  their  passage.  Thus  far  nothing  more  appears 
to  be  intended  than  a  return  from  the  Babylonish  captiv- 
ity :  but  the  next  wor-ds  seem  to  intimate  something  much 
greater : 

"  And  the  glory  of  JEHOVAH  shall  be  revealed; 
And  all  flesh  shall  see  together  the  salvation  of  our  God." 

He  then   introduces  a   voice   commanding   him  to  make  a 
solemn  proclamation.     And  what  is  the  import  of  it  ?     That 


316  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XL, 

the  people,  the  flesh,  is  of  a  vain  temporary  nature ;  that  all 
its  glory  fadeth,  and  is  soon  gone  ;  but  that  the  word  of 
God  endiireth  for  ever.  What  is  this,  but  a  plain  opposi- 
tion of  the  flesh  to  the  spirit ;  of  the  carnal  Israel  to  the 
spiritual ;  of  the  temporary  Mosaic  economy  to  the  eternal 
Christian  dispensation  ?  You  may  be  ready  to  conclude, 
(the  Prophet  may  be  supposed  to  say),  by  this  introduction 
to  my  discourse,  that  my  commission  is  only  to  comfort  you 
with  a  promise  of  the  restoration  of  your  religion  and  polity, 
of  Jerusalem,  of  the  temple,  and  its  services  and  worship  in 
all  its  ancient  splendour :  These  are  earthly,  temporary, 
shadowy,  fading  things,  which  shall  soon  pass  away,  and  be 
destroyed  for  ever ;  these  are  not  worthy  to  engage  your 
attention,  in  comparison  of  the  greater  blessings,  the  spirit- 
ual redemption,  the  eternal  inheritance,  covered  under  the 
veil  of  the  former,  which  I  have  it  in  charge  to  unfold  unto 
you.  The  law  has  only  a  shadow  of  good  things  ;  the  sub- 
stance is  the  gospel.  I  promise  you  a  restoration  of  the 
former  ;  which,  however,  is  only  for  a  time,  and  shall  be 
done  away,  according  to  God's  original  appointment:  but 
under  that  image  I  give  you  a  view  of  the  latter ;  which 
shall  never  be  done  away,  but  shall  endure  for  ever.  This 
I  take  to  be  agreeable  to  St.  Peter's  interpretation  of  this 
passage  of  the  Prophet,  quoted  by  him  1  Pet.  i.  24,  25. 
"  All  flesh  is  as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  of  man  as  the  flower 
of  grass.  The  grass  withereth,  and  the  flower  thereof  falleth 
away ;  but  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever.  And 
this  is  the  word  which  by  the  gospel  is  preached  unto  you." 
This  is  the  same  word  of  the  Lord  of  which  Isaiah  speaks, 
which  hath  now  been  preached  unto  you  by  the  gospel.  The 
law  and  the  gospel  are  frequently  opposed  to  one  another  by 
St  Paul  under  the  images  of  flesh  and  spirit  :  "  Having  begun 
in  the  spirit,  are  ye  now  made  perfect  by  the  flesh  ?  "  Gal. 
iii.  3. 

7.  When  the  wind  of  JEHOVAH — ]  mrr  nn,  a  wind  of 
JEHOVAH,  is  a  Hebraism,  meaning  no  more  than  a  strong 
wind.  It  is  well  known,  that  a  hot  wind  in  the  East  destroys 
at  once  every  green  thing.  Compare  Psal.  ciii.  16.  Two 
MSS  omit  the  word  mrr,  JEHOVAH. 

9.  O  daughter  that  bringest  glad  tidings]  That  the  true 
construction  of  the  sentence  is  this,  which  makes  Sion  the 
receiver,  not  the  publisher,  of  the  glad  tidings,  (which  latter 
has  been  the  most  prevailing  interpretation),  will,  I  think* 


CHAP.  XL.  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  317 

very  clearly  appear,  if  we  rightly  consider  the  image  itself, 
and  the  custom  and  common  practice  from  which  it  is  taken. 
I  have  added  the  word  daughter,  to  express  the  feminine 
gender  of  the  Hebrew  participle,  which  I  know  not  how 
to  do  otherwise  in  our  language.  And  this  is  absolutely 
necessary  in  order  to  ascertain  the  image  ;  for  the  office  of 
announcing  and  celebrating  such  glad  tidings  as  are  here 
spoken  of,  belonged  peculiarly  to  the  women.  On  occasion 
of  any  great  public  success,  a  signal  victory,  or  any  other 
joyful  event,  it  was  usual  for  the  women  to  gather  together, 
and  with  music,  dances,  and  songs,  to  [publish  and  celebrate 
the  happy  news.  Thus,  after  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea, 
Miriam,  and  all  the  women,  with  trimbrels  in  their  hands, 
formed  a  chorus,  and  joined  the  men  in  their  triumphant 
song,  dancing,  and  throwing  in  alternately  the  refrain  or 
burthen  of  the  song  : — 

Sing  ye  to  JEHOVAH,  for  he  is  greatly  exalted; 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  cast  into  the  sea." 

Exod.  xv.  20,  21. 

So  Jephthah's  daughter  collected  a  chorus  of  virgins,  and 
with  dances  and  songs  came  out  to  meet  her  father,  and  to 
celebrate  his  victory ;  Judg.  xi.  34.  After  David's  conquest 
of  Goliah,  "  all  the  women  came  out  of  the  cities  of  Israel, 
singing  and  dancing,  to  meet  Saul,  with  tabrets,  with  joy, 
and  with  instruments  of  music  :"  and  forming  themselves  in- 
to two  chorusses,  they  sung  alternately, — 
"  Saul  has  slain  his  thousands; 

And  David  his  ten  thousands."          1  Sam.  xviii.  6,  7. 
And  this  gives  us  the  true   sense  of  a  passage  in  the  Ixviiith 
Psalm,  which  has  frequently  been  misunderstood  : — 
"  JEHOVAH  gave  the  word;  (that  is,  the  joyful  news); 

The  women,  who  published  the  glad  tidings,  were  a  great 
company : 

The  kings  of  mighty  armies  did  flee,  did  flee; 

And  even  the  matron,  who  staid  at  home,  shared  the   spoil." 

The  word  signifying  the  publishers  of  glad  tidings  is  the 
same,  and  expressed  in  the  same  form  by  the  feminine  par- 
ticiple, as  in  this  place ;  and  the  last  distich  is  the  song  which 
they  sung.  So  in  this  place,  JEHOVAH  having  given  the 
word  by  his  Prophet,  the  joyful  tidings  of  the  restoration  of 
Sion,  and  of  God's  returning  to  Jerusalem,  (see  chap.  Hi. 
8.),  the  women  are  exhorted  by  the  Prophet  to  publish  the 
32* 


3 18  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XL, 

joyful  news  with  a  loud  voice  from  eminences,  whence  they 
might  best  be  heard  all  over  the  country ;  and  the  matter  and 
burthen  of  their  song  was  to  be,  "  Behold  your  God  !" 

JO.  — his  reward,  and  the  recompense  of  his  work]  That 
is,  the  reward  and  recompense,  which  he  bestows  and 
which  he  will  pay  to  his  faithful  servants  :  this  he  has  ready 
at  hand  with  him,  and  holds  it  out  before  him,  to  encourage 
those  who  trust  in  him,  and  wait  for  him. 

11.  The  nursing  ewes  shall  he  gently  lead]  A  beautiful 
image,  expressing,  with  the  utmost  propriety  as  well  as  ele- 
gance, the  tender  attention  of  the  shepherd  to  his  flock. 
That  the  greatest  care  in  driving  the  cattle  in  regard  to  the 
dams  and  their  young  was  necessary,  appears  clearly  from 
Jacob's  apology  to  his  brother  Esau,  Gen.  xxxiii.  13.  "  The 
flocks  and  the  herds  giving  suck  to  their  young  are  with 
me  ;  and  if  they  should  be  over-driven,  all  the  flock  will  die." 
Which  is  set  in  a  still  stronger  light  by  the  following  remark 
of  Sir  John  Chardin  :  "  Their  flocks,  (says  he,  speaking 
of  those  who  now  live  in  the  East  after  the  patriarchal  man- 
ner), feed  down  the  places  of  their  encampments  so  quick, 
by  the  great  numbers  that  they  have,  that  they  are  obliged 
to  remove  them  too  often  ;  which  is  very  destructive  to  their 
flocks  on  account  of  the  young  ones,  who  have  not  strength 
enough  to  follow :"  Harmer's  Observ.  i.  p.  126. 

16.  And  Lebanon  is  not  sufficient — ]     The  image  is  beau- 
tiful and  uncommon :  it  has  been  imitated  by  an  apocryphal 
writer,  who  however  comes  far  short  of  the  original : — 
"  For  all  sacrifice  is  too  little  for -a  sweet  savour  unto  thee; 
And  all  the  fat  is  not  sufficient  for  thy  burnt  offering." 

Judith  xvi.  16. 

19.  — and  forgeth — ]  For  epiy,  the  participle,  twenty- 
seven  MSS  (five  ancient),  and  three  editions,  read  tpy,  praet. 
3d  person. 

21.  — understood  it  from  the  foundation — ]     The  true 
reading  seems  to  be  nnoiDD,  to  answer  to  tf&nn  in  the  fore- 
going line.     It  follows  a  word  ending  with  D;  and  out  of  three 
mems  concuring,  it  was  an  easy  mistake  to  drop  the  middle  one. 

22.  — as  a  thin  veil]     "  It  is  usual  in  the  summer  season, 
and  upon  all  occasions,  when  a  large  company  is  to  be  re- 
ceived, to  have  the  court  sheltered  from  heat,  or  inclemency 
of  the  weather,  by  a  vein      umbrella,  or  veil,  as  I  shall  call 
it ;  which,  being  expanded  on  ropes  from  one  side  of  the 
parapet-wall    to  the  other,  may  be  folded    or    unfolded    at 


CHAP.  XL.  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  319 

pleasure.  The  Psalmist  seems  to  allude  to  some  covering 
of  this  kind  in  that  beautiful  expression  of  spreading  out  the 
heavens  like  a  curtain  :"  Shaw,  Trav.  p.  274. 

24.  If  he  but  blow  upon  them]  The  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 
and  MS  Bodl.  and  another,  have  DJ  without  the  conjunc- 
tion i. 

28.  And  that  his  understanding  —  [  Twenty-four  MSS, 
two  editions,  LXX,  and  Vulg.  read  pn,  with  the  conjunc- 
tion i. 

31.  They  shall  put  forth  fresh  feathers.']  It  has  been  a 
common  and  popular  opinion,  that  the  eagle  lives  and  re- 
tains his  vigour  to  a  great  age  ;  and  that,  beyond  the  com- 
mon lot  of  other  birds,  he  moults  in  his  old  age,  and  renews 
his  feathers,  and  with  them  his  youth.  "  Thou  shalt  renew 
thy  youth  like  the  eagle,"  says  the  Psalmist,  ciii.  5.  ;  on  which 
place  St.  Ambrose  notes,  "  Aquila  longam  setatem  ducit, 
dum,  vetustis  plumis  fatiscentibus,  nova  pennarum  succes- 
sione  juvenescit."  Phile,  de  Animalibus,  treating  of  the 
eagle,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  Emperor  Michael 
Palaeologus  junior,  raises  his  compliment  upon  the  same 
notion  :  — 


Tovrov  G-V)  fictriteVj  TOV  TTO^VV 

Ast  vsovgyavj  KSCI  Kgarvvav  TJJV 

Long  may'st  thou  live,  O  king  ;  still  like  the  eagle 

Renew  thy  youth,  and  still  retain  thy  vigour. 
To  this  many  fabulous  and  absurd  circumstances  are  added 
by  several  ancient  writers  and  commentators  on  Scripture: 
see  Bochart,  Hieroz.  II.  ii.  1.  Whether  the  notion  of  the 
eagle's  renewing  his  youth  is  in  any  degree  well  founded  of 
not,  I  need  not  inquire  ;  it  is  enough  for  a  poet,  whether 
profane  or  sacred,  to  have  the  authority  of  popular  opinion 
to  support  an  image  introduced  lor  illustration  or  ornament. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

1  .  —  repair  to  me  with  new  sentiments]  Eyiucntgerte,  LXX. 
For  itynnn,  be  silent^  they  certainly  read  in  their  copy 
winn,  be  renewed  ;  which  is  parallel  and  synonymous  with 
ro  lirVr,  recover  their  strength  ;  that  is,  their  strength  of 
mind,  their  powers  of  reason  ;  that  they  may  overcome  those 
prejudices  by  which  they  have  been  so  long  held  enslaved 
to  idolatry.  A  MS  has  in  upon  a  rasure.  ^The  same  mi»- 


320  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLI. 

take  seems  to  have  been  made  in  this  word,  Zeph.  iii.  17. : 
for  iroruo  Bnrr,  "  silebit  in  dilectione  sua,"  as  the  Vul- 
gate renders  it,  which  seems  not  consistent  with  what  im- 
mediately follows,  "  exultabit  super  te  in  laude  ;"  LXX  and 
Syr.  read  iran&o  BHrV,  "renovabitur  in  amore  suo." 

2.  — the  righteous  man.}  The  Chald.  and  Vulg.  seem  to 
have  read  p^v-  But  Jerom,  though  his  translation  has 
justum,  appears  to  have  read  piv;  for  in  his  comment  he 
expresses  it  byjustum,  sive  jusiitiam.  However,  I  think  'all 
interpreters  understand  it  of  a  person.  So  the  LXX,  in 
MS  Pachom.  txaterev  CLVTOV,  but  the  other  copies  have  eumn. 
They  are  divided  in  ascertaining  this  person :  some  explain 
it  of  Abraham  ;  others  of  Cyrus.  I  rather  think  that  the 
former  is  meant ;  because  the  character  of  the  righteous 
man,  or  righteousness,  agrees  better  with  Abraham  than  with 
Cyrus.  Besides,  immediately  after  the  description  of  the  suc- 
cess given  by  God  to  Abraham  and  his  posterity,  (who,  I 
presume,  are  to  be  taken  into  the  account),  the  idolaters  are 
introduced  as  greatly  alarmed  at  this  event.  Abraham  was 
called  out  of  the  east ;  and  his  posterity  were  introduced 
into  the  land  of  Canaan,  in  order  to  destroy  the  idolaters  of 
that  country ;  and  they  were  established  there,  on  purpose 
to  stand  as  a  barrier  against  idolatry,  then  prevailing,  and 
threatening  to  overrun  the  whole  face  of  the  earth.  Cyrus, 
though  not  properly  an  idolater,  or  worshipper  of  images, 
yet  had  nothing  in  his  character  to  cause  such  an  alarm 
among  the  idolaters,  ver.  5 — 7.  Further,  after  having  just 
touched  upon  that  circumstance,  the  Prophet  with  great  ease 
returns  to  his  former  subject,  and  resumes  Abraham  and  the 
Israelites ;  and  assures  them,  that  as  God  had  called  them, 
and  chosen  them  for  this  purpose,  he  would  uphold  and 
support  them  to  the  utmost,  and  at  length  give  them  victory 
over  all  the  heathen  nations,  their  enemies ;  ver.  8 — 16. 

Ibid.  — made  them  like  the  dust — ]  The  image  is  strong 
and  beautiful ;  it  is  often  made  use  of  by  the  sacred  poets ; 
see  Psal.  i.  4.  xxxv.  5.  Job.  xxi.  18.  and  by  Isaiah  himself  in 
other  places,  chap.  xvii.  13.  xxix.  5.  But  there  is  great 
difficulty  in  making  out  the  construction.  The  LXX  read 
Drwp,  DJTi,  their  sword,  their  bow,  understanding  it  of  the 
sword  and  bow  of  the  conquered  kings  ;  but  this  is  not  so 
agreeable  to  the  analogy  of  the  image,  as  employed  in  other 
places.  The  Chaldee  Paraphrast  and  Kimchi  solve  the  dif- 
ficulty by  supposing  an  ellipsis  of  'ja1?  before  those  words. 


C^AP.  XLI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  321 

It  must  be  owned,  that  the  ellipsis  is  hard  and  unusual  :  but 
I  choose  rather  to  submit  to  this,  than,  by  adhering  with 
Vitringa  to  the  more  obvious  construction,  to  destroy  entirely 
both  the  image  and  the  sense.  But  the  Vulgate  by  gladio 
ejuSy  and  arcui  ejus,  seems  to  express  lannb  and  rwp1?  ;  the 
admission  of  which  reading  may  perhaps  be  thought  prefera- 
ble to  Kimchi's  ellipsis. 

3.  —  he  passeth  in  safety}    The  preposition  seems  to  have 
been  omitted  in  the  text  by  mistake  :  LXX  and  Vulg.  seem 
to  have  had  it  in  their  copies  ;  *v  etgwy,  in  pace,  vhwi. 

4.  —  and  made  these  things}     A  word  is  here  lost,  out  of 
the  text.     It  is  supplied  by  an  ancient  MS,  rhx,  these  things  ; 
and  by  LXX,  ravr**,  and  by   Vulg.  hcec  ;  and    by    Chald. 


5.  —  and  they  were  terrified}  Three  MSS  have  mm, 
adding  the  conjunction  i,  which  restores  the  second  member 
of  the  sentence  to  its  true  poetical  form. 

7.  —  that  it  shall  not  move.}  Five  MSS  (two  ancient), 
and  the  ancient  versions,  add  the  conjunction  i,  reading  *6i  ; 
which  seems  to  be  right. 

9.  —  from  the  extremities  thereof}  rvVvxn:  V¥N  signi- 
fies the  arm,  axilla,  ala  ;  and  is  used  like  fp,  the  wing,  for 
any  thing  extended  from  the  extremity  of  another,  or  joined 
on  to  it.  It  is  here  parallel  and  synonomous  to  mypD,//w?i 
the  ends,  in  the  preceding  member. 

15.  —  a  threshing"  wain,  —  a  corn-drag-}  See  note  on 
chap,  xxviii.  27,  28. 

19.  In  the  wilderness  I  will  give  the  cedar}     The  two 
preceding  verses  express  God's  mercy  to  them  in  their  pas- 
sage through  the  dry  deserts,  in  supplying  them  with  abun- 
dant water,  when  distressed  with  thirst,   in  allusion  to  the 
Exodus  :  this  verse  expresses  the  relief  afforded  to  them,  faint- 
ing with  heat  in  their  journey  through  that  hot  country,  des- 
titute of  shelter,  by  causing  shady  trees,  and  those  of  the 
tallest  and  most  beautiful  kinds,  to  spring  up  for  their  defence. 
The  apocryphal  Baruch,  speaking  of  the  return  from  Baby- 
lon, expresses  God's  protection  of  his  people  by   the   same 
image  :  "  Even  the  woods  and  every  sweet  smelling  tree  shall 
overshadow   Israel   by  the   commandment  of  God  ;  "  chap. 
v.  8. 

20.  —  and  may  consider  —  ]     The  verb  iD'tf',   without  31? 
added,  cannot  signify  to  apply   the  heart,  or  to  attend  to  a 
thing,  as  Houbigant  has  observed  :  he  therefore  reads  W, 


322  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLI. 

they  shall  wonder.  The  conjecture  is  ingenious :  but  it  is 
much  more  probable  that  the  word  ^  is  lost  out  of  the  text ; 
for  all  the  ancient  versions  render  the  phrase  to  the  same 
sense,  as  if  it  were  fully  expressed,  3b  iw;  and  the  Chaldee 
renders  it  paraphrastically,  yet  still  retaining  the  very  words 
in  his  paraphrase,  pro1?  ty  'rbm  pun,  "  ut  ponant  timorem 
meum  in  corde  suo."  See  also  ver.  22.  where  the  same  phrase 
is  used. 

21.  Produce  these  your  mighty  powers]  "  Accedant,  in- 
quit,  idola  vestra,  quse  putatis  esse  fortissima :"  Hieron.  Com. 
in  loc.  I  prefer  this  to  all  other  interpretations  of  this  place, 
and  to  Jerom's  own  translation  of  it,  which  he  adds  immedi- 
ately after,  "  Afferte,  si  quid  forte  habetis."  The  false  gods 
are  called  upon  to  come  forth,  and  appear  in  person ;  and  to 
give  evident  demonstration  of  their  fore-knowledge  and  power, 
by  foretelling  future  events,  and  exerting  their  power  in  doing 
good  or  evil. 

23.  — and  terror]     The  word  aroi  is  written  imperfectly  in 
the  Hebrew  text :  the  Masoretes  supply  n  at  the  end ;  and 
so  it  is  read  in  twenty-two  MSS,  and  four  editions  :  that  is, 
n*roi,  and   we  shall  see.     But  the  true  reading  seems  to  be 
KYJI,  and  we  shall  /ear,  with  r  supplied,  from  *o». 

24.  — than  nought]     ForyDND,  read  DSHD;  so  Chald.  and 
Vulg.     A  manifest  error  of  the  text :  compare  chap.  xl.  17. 
The  Rabbins  acknowledge  no  such  error  ;  but  say,  that  the 
former  word  signifies  the  same  with  the  latter,  by  a  change 
of  the  two  letters  o  and  y:  Sal.  b.  Melech  in  loc. 

25.  — jie  shall  trample — ]     For  *o>,  Le  Clerc  reads  D3», 
from  the  Chaldee,  who  seems  to  read  both  words.     "  Forte 
legend.   Dm,  vel  DDTI  ;  sequitur   D  :  "     SECKER.      See  Na- 
hum  iii.  14. 

27.  I  first  to  Sion — ]     This  verse  is  somewhat  obscure  by 
the  transposition  of  the  parts  of  the  sentence,  and  the  peculiar 
manner  in  which  it  is  divided   into  two  parallel  lines.     The 
verb  at  the  end  of  the  sentence  belongs  to  both  parts  ;  and 
the  phrase,  Behold  they  are  here  !  is  parallel  to  the  messen- 
ger of  glad  tidings  ;  and  stands,  like  it,  as  the  accusative 
case  to  the  verb.     The  following  paraphrase  will  explain  the 
form  and  the  sense  of  it :  "I  first,  by  my  Prophets,  give  no- 
tice of  these  events,  saying,  Behold,  they  are  at  hand  !  and  I 
give  to  Jerusalem  a  messenger  of  glad  tidings." 

28.  And  among  the  idols — "J     For  H^KDI,  I  read  Q^XDI, 
with  the  LXX,  **<  *TF*  ™  f<^A»».  See  Exod.  xv.  11.  Isa.  Ivii.  5. 


CHAP.  XLI1.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  323 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

THE  Prophet,  having  opened  his  subject  with  the  pre- 
paration for  the  return  from  captivity  at  Babylon,  and  in- 
timated that  a  much  greater  deliverance  was  covered  un- 
der the  veil  of  that  event ;  proceeded  to  vindicate  the  power 
of  God,  as  creator  and  disposer  of  all  things  ;  and  his  infi- 
nite knowledge,  from  his  prediction  of  future  events,  and  in 
particular  of  that  deliverance.  He  went  still  further,  and 
pointed  out  the  instrument  by  which  he  should  effect  the 
redemption  of  his  people  the  Jews  from  slavery,  namely,  a 
great  conqueror,  whom  he  would  call  forth  from  the  north 
and  the  east  to  execute  his  orders.  In  this  chapter  he  pro- 
ceeds to  the  greater  deliverance;  and  at  once  brings  forth  in- 
to full  view,  without  throwing  any  veil  of  allegory  over  the 
subject,  the  Messiah.  "  Behold,  my  servant,  Messiah,"  says 
the  Chaldee.  St  Matthew  has  applied  it  directly  to  Christ ; 
nor  can  it  with  any  justice  or  propriety  be  applied  to  any  oth- 
er person  or  character  whatever. 

1.  And  he  shall  publish  judgment]  Four  MSS  (two  an- 
cient) add  the  conjunction  DSPDI.  See  Matt.  xii.  18. 

The  word  DD^D,  judgment,  like  npi¥,  righteousness,  is 
taken  in  a  great  latitude  of  signification.  It  means  rule, 
form,  order,  model,  plan  ;  rule  of  right,  or  of  religion ;  an 
ordinance,  institution ;  judicial  process,  cause,  trial,  sentence, 
condemnation,  acquittal,  deliverance,  mercy,  &c.  It  certain- 
ly means  in  this  place  the  law  to  be  published  by  Messiah ; 
the  institution  of  the  gospel. 

4.  His  force  shall  not  be  abated  nor  broken}  "  Rabbi 
Meir  ita  citat  locum  istum,  ut  post  pw  addat  inTD,  robur  ejus, 
quod  hodie  non  comparet  in  textu  Hebraeo,  sed  addendum 
videtur,  ut  sensus  fiat  planior :"  Capel.  Crit.  Sac.  p.  382. 
For  which  reason  I  had  added  it  in  the  translation,  before  I 
observed  this  remark  of  Capellus. 

6.  a  covenant  to  the  people]     For  qy,  two  MSS  read  thy, 
the  covenant  of  the  age  to  come,    or  the  everlasting-  cove- 
nant ;  which  seems  to  give  a  clearer  and  better  sense. 

7.  To  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind — ]     In  this  verse  the 
Prophet  seems  to  set  forth  the  spiritual   redemption,    under 
images  borrowed  from  the  temporal  deliverance. 

Ibid.  — and  from  the  dungeon — ]  The  LXX,  Syr.  and 
four  MSS  (one  ancient),  add  the  conjunction  i,  mini. 


324  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLII, 

10.  Ye  that  go  down  upon  the  sea\     This  seerhs  not  to 
belong  to  this  place  ;  it  does  not  well  consist  with  what  fol- 
lows, "  and  the  fulness  thereof."     They  that  go  down  upon 
the  sea,  means  navigators,  sailors,  traders,  such  as  do  busi- 
ness in   great  waters  :   an  idea  much   too  confined  for  the 
Prophet,  who  means  the  sea  in  general,  as  it  is  used  by  the 
Hebrews,  for  the  distant  nations,  the  islands,  the  dwellers 
on  the  sea-coasts  all  over  the  world.     I  suspect  that  some 
transcriber  had  the  23d  verse  of  Psal.  cvii.  running  in  his 
head,  nnxa  DTI  «m»  ;    and  wrote  in   this  place  DTI    «-nv 
instead  of  DTI    pjrv,   or  ;n',  or  p»  ;  "let  the   sea  roar,  or 
shout,  or  exult."     But  as  this  is  so  different  in  appearance 
from  the  present  reading,  I  do  not  take  the  liberty  of  in- 
troducing  it   into  the  translation.     "  Conjeceram  legendum 
rrr  ,ut  ver.  12. ;  sed  non  favent  versioues :"     SECKER. 

11.  Let  the  desert — ]     The  most  uncultivated  countries, 
and  the  most  rude  and  uncivilized  people,  shall  confess  and 
celebrate  with  thanksgiving  the  blessing  of  the  knowledge 
of  God   graciously   imparted   to    them.     By   the    desert  is 
meant  Arabia  Deserta ;  by   the  rocky  country,  Arabia  Pe- 
treea :    by   the   mountains,   probably   those   celebrated    ones, 
Paran,  Horeb,  Sinai,  in  the  same  country ;  to  which  also 
belonged  Kedar,  a  clan  of  Arabians,  dwelling  for  the  most 
part  in  tents  :  but  there  were  others  of  them,   who  inhabited 
or  frequented  cities  and  villages,  as  may  be  collected  from 
this  place  of  the   prophet.     Pietro  della  Valle,  speaking  of 
the  people  of  Arabia   Deserta,   says,   "  There  is   a   sort  of 
Arabs  of  that  country  called  Maedi,  who  with  their  herds, 
of  buffaloes  for  the  most  part,  sometimes  live  in  the  deserts, 
and  sometimes  in  cities  ;  from  whence  they  have  their  name, 
which  signifies  wandering,  going  from  place  to  place.     They 
have  no  professed  homes ;  nor .  are  they  properly  Bedaui,  or 
Beduui,  that  is,  Deserticoli,  who  are  the  most  noble  among 
them,  and  never  abide  within  walls,  but  always  go  wandering 
through  the  open  country  with  their  black  tents;  nor  are 
they  properly  Hhadesi,  as  they  call  those  who  dwell  in  cities 
and  lands  with  fixed  houses  :  these  by  the  latter  are  esteemed 
ignoble  and  base  ;  but  by  both  are  considered  as  of  low  con- 
dition :"  Viaggi,  Parte  III.  lett.  2. 

14.  shall  1  keep  silence  for  ever  1]     After  Dityn,    in    the 
copy  which  the  LXX  had  before   them,  followed  the  word 

DlS^H,    e<riairi}<rt6   aw?    eitavos'   put   xxt     ctet  o-iaTryro/Actf,  according   to 

MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.  and  edition  Complut. ;  which 


CHAP.  XLII.  NOTES    ON  ISAIAH.  325 


word  Dbijftn  has  been  omitted  in  the  text  by  an  easy  mistake 
of  a  transcriber,  because  of  the  similitude  of  the  word  preced- 
ing. 

15.  —  dry  deserts]     Instead  of  DT%  islands,  read  D"2f;  a 
very  probable  conjecture  of  Houbigant. 

16.  And  through  paths—]     The  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg.  and 
nine  MSS  (two  ancient),  read  myntti. 

Ibid.  —  will  1  do  for  them]  orvwjp:  This  word  so  written, 
as  it  is  in  the  text,  means,  Thou  wilt  do,  in  the  second  per- 
son :  the  Masoretes  have  indeed  pointed  it  for  the  first  per- 
son ;  but  the  '  in  the  last  syllable  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
distinguish  the  first  person  ;  and  so  it  is  written  in  forty  MSS, 


Jarchi,  Kimchi,  Sal.  b.  Melech,  &c.  agree,  that  the  past 
time  is  here  put  for  the  future,  wvy  for  n^K;  and  indeed  the 
context  necessarily  requires  that  interpretation.  Further,  it  is 
to  be  observed,  that  D'rvBrp  is  for  orft  »nTP,y,  /  have  done 
them,  for  I  have  done  for  them  ;  as  on'tfy  is  for  ft  irvifipp,  / 
have  made  myself,  for  /  have  made  for  myself  ;  Ezek. 
xxix.  3.  :  and  in  the  celebrated  passage  of  Jephthah's  vow, 
Judges  xi.  31.  rftiy  ijvnft.prn,  for  rftiy  ft  'nftyn,  /  will  offer 
him  a  burnt-offering,  for  1  will  offer  unto  him  (that  is 
unto  JEHOVAH)  a  burnt-offering  ;  by  an  ellipsis  of  the  prep- 
osition, of  which  Buxtorflf  gives  many  other  examples,  Thes. 
Grammat.  lib.  ii.  17.  See  also  note  on  chap.  Ixv.  5.  A  late 
happy  application  of  this  grammatical  remark  to  that  much 
disputed  passage,  has  perfectly  cleared  up  a  difficulty  which 
for  two  thousand  years  had  puzzled  all  the  translators  and 
expositors,  had  given  occasion  to  dissertations  without  num- 
ber, and  caused  endless  disputes  among  the  learned,  on  the 
question,  whether  Jephthah  sacrificed  his  daughter,  or  not  : 
in  which  both  parties  have  been  equally  ignorant  of  the  mean- 
ing of  the  place,  of  the  state  of  the  fact,  and  of  the  very  terms 
of  the  vow  ;  which  now  at  last  has  been  cleared  up  beyond 
all  doubt  by  my  very  learned  friend  Dr.  Randolph,  Margaret 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  university  of  Oxford,  in  his  ser- 
mon on  Jephthah's  vow  ;  Oxford,  1766. 

19.  —  as  he,  to  whom  I  have  sent  my  messengers.]  oaftnD 
rft^K,  "ut  ad  quern  nuncios  meos  misi  ;  "  Vulg.  Chald.  ; 
almost  the  only  interpreters  who  render  it  rightly,  in  consis- 
tence with  the  rest  of  the  sentence,  and  in  perfect  agreement 
with  the  Hebrew  idiom  ;  according  to  which  the  ellipsis  is  to 
be  thus  supplied, 

33 


326  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLII. 

Ibid.  — as  he  that  is  perfectly  instructed]  See  note  on 
chap.  xliv.  2. 

Ibid.  And  deaf  [as  the  servant  of  JEHOVAH]  For-njn, 
and  blind,  we  must  read  mm,  and  deaf:  **£>«$,  Symmachus  ; 
and  so  MS.  The  mistake  is  palpable,  and  the  correction 
self-evident ;  and  admissible,  though  there  had  been  no  au- 
thority for  it. 

20.  Thou  hast  seen  indeed]     The  text  has  rn:n   n»&o, 
which  the  Masoretes  in  the  marginal  Keri  have  corrected  to 
man  man  ;  as  indeed  a  hundred  and  seven  MSS,  and  five 
editions,  now  have  it  in  the  text.     This  was  probably  the 
reading  of  most  of  the  MSS  in  their  time ;  which,  though 
they  approved  of  it,  out  of  some  superstition  they  would  not 
admit  into  their  standard  text.     But  these  wretched  critics, 
though  they  perceived  there  was  some   fault,   yet  did  not 
know  where  the  fault  lay,  nor  consequently  how  to  amend 
it;  and  yet  it  was  open  enough  to  a  judicious  eye:  anm, 
sic  ve.teres  ;  et  tamen  forte  legendum,  niao  :  vide  cap.  vi.  9  :  " 
SECKER.     That  is,  rn*n  rvao.     I  believe  no  one  will  doubt 
of  admitting  this  as  the  true  reading. 

Ibid.  — yetthou  wilt  not  hear]  Forjw,  read  ynpn,  in 
the  second  person :  so  all  the  ancient  versions,  and  forty 
MSS  (four  of  them  ancient),  and  perhaps  five  more.  Two 
others  have  WDBTI,  second  person,  plural. 

21.  — his  own  praise]     For  mm,  the  LXX  read  min. 

22.  — are  taken  in  the  toils]    For  nan,  read  main,  in  the 
plural  number,  Hophal ;  as  i&onn,  which  answers  to  it  in 
the  following  member  of  the  sentence  :  Le  Clerc,  Houbigant. 
nan,  SECKER. 

24.  — they  have  sinned]     For  uwan,  first   person,  LXX 
and  Chald.  read  iKOn,  in  the  third  person. 

25.  the  heat  of  his  wrath]     For  non,  the  Bodley  MS  has 
non,  in  regimine  ;  more  regularly. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

1.  I have  called  thee  by  thy  name]  pisa  »n&op.  "Sicver- 
siones.  Videtur  ex  versu  septimo  et  reipsa  legendum  yn&np 
'DUO,  [vocavi  te  raeo  nomine]  ;  nam  saepe  usurpatur  heec 
phrasis,  nunquam  altera.  Nam  xlv.  24.  de  Gyro  alia  res  est. 
Sed  dum  Deus  Jacobum  Israelem  vocat,  Dei  nomine  vocat. 
Vide  Exod.  xxxi.  2."  SECKER. 


CHAP.  XLIII. 


NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  327 


3.  I  have  given  Egypt  for  thy  ransom]  This  is  commonly 
supposed  to  refer  to  the  time  of  Senacherib's  invasion  ;  who, 
when  he  was  just  ready  to  fall  upon  Jerusalem,  soon  after 
his  entering  Judea,  was  providentially  diverted  from  that 
design,  and  turned  his  arms  against  the  Egyptians,  and  their 
allies  the  Cushean  Arabians,  with  their  neighbours  the  Sa- 
beans  probably  joined  with  them,  under  Tirhakah.  See 
chap.  xx.  and  xxxvii.  9.  Or,  as  there  are  some  reasonable 
objections  to  this  opinion,  perhaps  it  may  mean  more  gene- 
rally, that  God  had  often  saved  his  people  at  the  expense  of 
other  nations,  whom  he  had,  as  it  were  in  their  stead,  given 
up  to  destruction.  Vitringa  explains  this  of  Shalmaneser's 
designs  upon  the  kingdom  of  Judea,  after  he  had  destroyed 
that  of  Samaria ;  from  which  he  was  diverted  by  carrying 
the  war  against  the  Egyptians,  Cusheans,  and  Sabeans  ;  but 
of  this,  I  think,  he  has  no  clear  proof  in  history.  It  is  not 
to  be  wondered,  that  many  things  of  this  kind  should  re- 
main very  obscure  for  want  of  the  light  of  history,  which  in 
regard  to  these  times  is  extremely  deficient. 

"  Did  not  Cyrus  overcome  these  nations  ?  and  might  they 
not  be  given  him  for  releasing  the  Jews  ?  It  seems  to  have 
been  so  from  chap.  xlv.  14 :"  SECKER. 

7.  Whom  for  my  glory — ]     Ten  MSS  (three  ancient), 
Syr.  and  Vulg.  read  nus1?,  without  the  conjunction  i. 

8.  Bring  forth  the  people  blind — ]     I  understand  this  of 
the  Gentiles,  as  the  verse  following,  not  of  the  Jews.     Their 
natural  faculties,  if  they  had  made  a  proper  use  of  them, 
must  have  led  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  being  and  attri- 
butes of  the   one  true   God ;  "  for  his   eternal  power  and 
Godhead,  if  well  attended  to,  are  clearly  seen  in  his  works  ;" 
Rom.  i.  20. ;  and  would  have  preserved  them  from  running 
into  the  folly  and  absurdity  of  worshipping  idols.     They  are 
here  challenged  to  produce  the  evidence  of  the  power  and 
foreknowledge  of  their   idol-gods  ;    and  the  Jews   are  just 
afterward,  ver.  10,  appealed  to  as  witnesses  for  God  in  this 
cause :  therefore  these  latter  cannot  here  be  meant  by  the 
people  blind  with  eyes,  and  deaf  with  ears. 

9.  Who   among  them — ]     Seven  MSS  (three  ancient), 
and  the  first  edition,   1486,  with  Syr.  and  Vulg.  read  033, 
who  among  you.     The  present  reading  is  preferable. 

14.  — the  Chaldeans  exulting  in  their  ships]  Babylon 
was  very  advantageously  situated,  both  in  respect  to  com- 
merce and  as  a  naval  power.  It  was  open  to  the  Persian 


32$  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLIII. 

Gulf  by  the  Euphrates,  which  was  navigable  by  large  ves- 
sels ;  and  being  joined  to  the  Tigris  above  Babylon  by  the 
canal  called  Naharmalca,  or  the  Royal  River,  supplied  the 
city  with  the  produce  of  the  whole  country  to  the  north  of 
it,  as  far  as  the  Euxine  and -Caspian  Seas:  Herod,  i.  194. 
Semiramis  was  the  foundress  of  this  part  also  of  the  Baby- 
lonian greatness :  she  improved  the  navigation  of  the 
Euphrates  ;  Herod,  i.  184.  Strabo,  lib.  xvi.  :  and  is  said  to 
have  had  a  fleet  of  three  thousand  gallies :  Huet,  Hist,  du 
Commerce,  chap.  xi.  We  are  not  to  wonder,  that  in  later 
times  we  hear  little  of  the  commerce  and  naval  power  of 
Babylon;  for,  after  the  taking  of  the  city  by  Cyrus,  the 
Euphrates  was  not  only  rendered  less  fit  for  navigation,  by 
being  on  that  occasion  diverted  from  its  course,  and  left  to 
spread  over  the  whole  country,  but  the  Persian  monarchs, 
residiag  in  their  own  country,  to  prevent  any  invasion  by 
sea  on  that  part  of  their  empire,  purposely  obstructed  the 
navigation  of  both  the  rivers,  by  making  cataracts  in  them  ; 
Strabo,  ibid. ;  that  is?  by  raising  dams  across  the  channel,  and 
making  artificial  falls  in  them,  that  no  vessel  of  any  size  or 
force  could  possibly  come  up.  Alexander  began  to  restore 
the  navigation  of  the  rivers  by  demolishing  the  cataracts 
upon  the  Tigris  as  far  up  as  Seleucia ;  Arrian.  lib.  vii. ;  but, 
he  did  not  live  to  finish  his  great  designs ;  those  upon  the 
Euphrates  still  continued,  ^.mmianus,-  xxiv.  1.  mentions 
them  as  subsisting  in  his  time. 

The  Prophet  therefore  might  very  justly  speak  of  the 
Chaldeans  as  glorying  in  their  naval  power  in  his  time, 
though  afterward  they  had  no  foundation  for  making  any- 
such  boast. 

15.  The  Creator  of  Israel]  For  fcnia,  creator,  six  MSS 
(two  ancient)  have  TI^K,  God. 

20.  The  wild  beast  of  the  field  shall  glorify  me—}  The 
image  is  elegant  and  highly  poetical.  God  will  give  such  an 
abundant  miraculous  supply  of  water  to]  his  people  traversing 
the  dry  desert,  in  their  return  to  their  country,  that  even  the 
wild  beasts,  the  serpents,  the  ostriches,  and  other  animals 
that  haunt  those  adust  regions,  shall  be  sensible  of  the  bless- 
ing ;  and  shall  break  forth  into  thanksgiving  and  praises  to 
him  for  the  unusual  refreshment,  which  they  receive  from 
his  so  plentifully  watering  the  sandy  wastes  of  Arabia  De- 
serta,  for  the  benefit  of  his  people  passing  through  them. 
22 — 24.  But  thou  hast  not  invoked — ]  The  connexion 


CHAP.  XLIII.  NOTES  ON   ISAIAH.  329 

is — But  thou,  Israel,  whom  I  have  chosen,  whom  I  have 
formed  for  myself,  to  be  my  witness  against  the  false  gods 
of  the  nations  ;  even  thou  hast  revolted  from  me,  hast  neg- 
lected my  worship,  and  hast  been  perpetually  running  after 
strange  gods.  The  emphasis  of  this  and  the  following  parts 
of  the  sentence,  on  which  the  sense  depends,  seems  to  lie  on 
the  words  Me,  on  My  account.  &c.  The  Jews  were  dili- 
gent in  performing  the  external  services  of  religion  ;  in  of- 
fering prayers,  incense,  sacrifices,  oblations :  but  their  pray- 
ers were  not  offered  with  faith  ;  and  their  oblations  were 
made  more  frequently  to  their  idols  than  to  the  God  of  their 
fathers.  The  Hebrew  idiom  excludes  with  a  general  nega- 
tive, in  a  comparative  sense,  one  of  two  objects  opposed  to 
one  another :  thus,  "  I  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice ; " 
Hosea  vi.  6.  u  For  I  spake  not  to  your  fathers,  nor  com- 
manded them — concerning  burnt-offerings  or  sacrifices ;  but 
this  thing  I  commanded  them,  saying,  Obey  my  voice ; " 
Jer.  vii.  22,  23.  And  the  meaning  of  this  place  of  Isaiah 
seems  to  be  much  the  same  with  that  of  Amos  ;  who  however 
has  explained  at  large  both  parts  of  the  comparison,  and 
specified  the  false  service  opposed  to  the  true  : 

"  Have  ye  offered  unto  Me  sacrifices  and  offerings 
In  the  wilderness  forty  years,  O  house  of  Israel  ? 
Nay,  but  ye  have  borne  the  tabernacle  of  your  Moloch, 
And  Chiun,  your  images  ; 

The  star  of  your  God,  which  you  made  to  yourselves." 

Amos  v.  25,  26. 

22.  Neither  hast  thou  laboured — ]  For  njw  O,  LXX 
and  Vulg.  read  nyri:  Houbigant.  The  negative  is  re- 
peated, or  referred  to,1  by  the  conjunction  i ;  as  in  many 
other  places.  See  note  on  chap,  xxiii.  4. 

20.  And  thy  princes  have  profaned — ]  Instead  of  ^rw 
»"«y,  read  "pp  Mm.  So  Syr.  and  LXX,  KM  ti**w  o* 
*ZX»*Tet  ret  uyict,  IMV,  ?tsnp  *  Houbigant.  'o/  «f#«m$  rev,  MSS 
Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.  and  Marchal. 

Ibid. — to  reproach.}  nan:1?,  in  the  singular  number; 
so  an  ancient  MS,  and  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

2.  Jeshurun  means  Israel.    This  name  was  given  to  that 
people  by  Moses,  Deut.  xxxii.  15.  xxxiii.  5.  and  26.    The 
33* 


330  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLIV* 

most  probable  account  of  it  seems  to  be  that  in  which  the 
Jewish  commentators  agree  ;  namely,  that  it  is  derived  from 
"ttsr,  and  signifies  upright.  In  the  same  manner,  Israel,  as 
a  people,  is  called  D^IPD,  perfect,  chap.  xlii.  19.  They  were 
taught  of  God.  and  abundantly  furnished  with  the  means  of 
rectitude  and  perfection  in  his  service  and  worship. 

4.  — as  the  grass  among  the  waters}     Tvn  pa ,  "  They 
shall  spring   up  in  the  midst  of,  or  rather,  in  among,  the 
grass"     This  cannot  be  right :  ten  MSS,  and  two  editions, 
have  pa,  or  pD.       Twenty-four  MSS  read   it  without  the 
',   p3 ;  and  so  reads  the  Ohaldee ;  tiie  Syriac,  yan.     The 
true   reading   is  in   all   probability  "pD;  and  the  word  D-D, 
which  should  have  followed  it,  is  lost  out  of  the  text ;  but  it 
is  happily  supplied  by  the    LXX  :  aq  a**  pew  oSem*.     "  In 
every  place  where  there  is  water,  there  is  always  grass ;  for 
water  makes  every  thing  grow  in  the  East :"  Sir  John  Char- 
din's  note  on  1  Kings  xviii.  5.  ;  Harmer's  Observ.  i.  p.  54. 

5.  — shall  be  called]      Passive,  *ap'»  x^^«raM,   Symma- 
chus. 

Ibid.  And  this  shall  inscribe  his  hand  to  JEHO  VAH.]     K*< 

fregos  wyga^ei  xetgt  (%etga9  Aq.  Sym.)  etvrev,  rev  Geov  ei^t  :    "  And 

another  shall  write  upon  his  hand,  I  belong  to  God  : "  LXX. 
They  seem  to  have  read  here,  as  before,  %JN  rnrvb.  But 
the  repetition  of  the  same  phrase  without  any  variation  is 
not  elegant.  However,  they  seem  to  have  understood  it 
rightly  as  an  allusion  to  the  marks  which  were  made,  by 
punctures  rendered  indelible  by  fire  or  by  staining,  upon 
the  hand  or  some  other  part  of  the  body,  signifying  the  state 
or  character  of  the  person,  and  to  whom  he  belonged :  the 
slave  was  marked  with  the  name  of  his  master  ;  the  soldier, 
of  his  commander;  the  idolater,  with  the  name  or  ensign  of 

Ills  god  :    rey/twwa  eTTiygecipefMva,  otat,   ttat   s-getTevoftevuv  ev  Tec,t$  %eg<rn  : 

Aelius  apud  Turnebum  Advers.  xxiv.  12.  "Victuris  in 
cute  punctis  milites  scripti  et  matriculis  inserti  jurare  solent:" 
Vegetius,  ii.  5.  And  the  Christians  seem  to  have  imitated 
this  practice,  by  what  Procopius  says  on  this  place  of  Isaiah : 

T«  Je   TH<  XEIPI,  hot.  TO   ngeti  to-aq  iroMws  ITTI  xotgnrav,  q  /3f*£/ov»»,  » 

T«U  rxvgov  TO  e-Efiutov,  tj  TJJ»  Xgwj  Treoff-tyogioui :  "  Because  many 
marked  their  wrists,  or  their  arms,  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  or  with  the  name  of  Christ."  See  Rev.  xx.  4. 
Spencer,  De  Leg.  Hebr.  lib.  ii.  cap.  20. 

7.  — let  them  declare  unto  us]     For  is1?,  unto  them,  the 
Chaldee  reads  u%  unto  us.     The  LXX  read  nib,  unto  you  : 


CHAP.  XLIV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  331 

which  is  preferable  to  the  reading  of  the  text.  But  \ch  and 
U1?  are  frequently  mistaken  one  for  the  other  :  see  chap.  x. 
29.  Psal.  Ixxx.  7.  Ixiv.  6. 

8.  Fear    ye    not  —  ]       "  imn    nusquam    occurrit  :   forte 
ix-vn,  timete  :"  SECKER.     Two  MSS  read  im»n. 

9,  10.   That  every  one  may  be  ashamed,  that  he  hath 
formed  a  god]     The  Bodleian  MS,  one  of  the  first   ex- 
tant for  its   antiquity   and   authority,  instead  of  'o  at   the 
beginning  of  the  10th  verse  has  -o,  which  greatly  clears  up 
the   construction  of  a   very   obscure   passage.     The   LXX 
likewise  closely  connect  in  construction  the  end  of  ver.  9. 
with  the  beginning  of  ver.  10.  and  wholly  omit  the  interro- 
gative 'D,  which  embarrasses  the  sentence  :  a/o-xvy^nvrcu  01 

wAa<ro-avT£5  ©fov,  xcti    yAypams    •aravTss    <6va»^fA?j  :    agreeably    to    the 

reading  of  the  MS  above-mentioned. 

11.  Even  the  workmen  themselves  shall  blush']  I  do  not 
know,  that  any  one  has  ever  yet  interpreted  these  words  to 
any  tolerably  good  sense:  DIND  nan  D'Bnni-  The  Vul- 
gate, and  our  translators,  have  rendered  them  very  fairly, 
as  they  are  written  and  pointed  in  the  text  :  "  Fabri  enim 
sunt  ex  hominibus  :"  "  And  the  workmen,  they  are  of  men." 
Out  of  which  the  commentators  have  not  been  able  to  ex- 
tract any  thing  worthy  of  the  Prophet.  I  have  given  an- 
other explanation  of  the  place  ;  agreeable  enough  to  the 
context,  if  it  can  be  deduced  from  the  words  themselves.  I 
presume,  that  mx,  rubuit  may  signify  erubuit,  to  be  red 
through  shame,  as  well  as  from  any  other  cause  ;  though  I 
cannot  produce  any  example  of  it  in  that  particular  sense  : 
and  the  word  in  the  text  I  would  point  D^KD  ;  or  if  any 


one  should  object  to  the  irregularity  of  the  number,  I  would 
read  D»DIKD.  But  I  rather  think,  that  the  irregularity  of 
the  construction  has  been  the  cause  of  the  obscurity,  and 
has  given  occasion  to  the  mistaken  punctuation.  The  sin- 
gular is  sometimes  put  for  the  plural  ;  see  Psal.  Ixviii.  31.  ; 
and  the  participle  for  the  future  tense  ;  see  Isa.  Ix.  11. 

12.  —  cutteth  off—}     -tf;>D,  participium   pihel  of  iyy,  to 

"  - 


cut  ;  still  used  in  that  sense  in  the  Arabic.  See  Simonis 
Lex.  Heb.  The  LXX  and  Syr.  take  the  word  in  this  form  ; 
but  they  render  it,  sharpeneth  the  iron.  See  Castell.  Lex. 
in  voce. 

The  sacred  writers  are  generally  large  and  eloquent  upon 
the  subject  of  idolatry  :  they  treat  it  with  great  severity,  and 
set  forth  the  absurdity  of  it  in  the  strongest  light.  But  this 


332  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLIV- 

passage  of  Isaiah,  ver.  .12 — 20.  far  exceeds  any  thing  that 
ever  was  written  upon  the  subject,  in  force  of  argument, 
energy  of  expression,  and  elegance  of  composition.  One 
or  two  of  the  apocryphal  writers  have  attempted  to  imitate 
the  Prophet,  but  with  very  ill  success ;  Wisd.  xiii.  11 — 19. 
xv.  7,  &c.  Baruch,  chap.  vi. ;  especially  the  latter,  who, 
injudiciously  dilating  his  matter,  and  introducing  a  number 
of  minute  circumstances,  has  very  much  weakened  the  force 
and  effect  of  his  invective.  On  the  contrary,  a  heathen  au- 
thor, in  the  ludicrous  way,  has,  in  a  line  or  two,  given  idol- 
atry one  of  the  severest  strokes  it  ever  received  : — 

"  Olim  truncus  eram  ficulnus,  inutile  lignum  ; 
Cum  faber,  incertus  scamnum  faceretne  Priapum, 
Maluit  esse  Deum."  Horat. 

14.  He  heweth  down—]  For  ntfc,  the  LXX  and  Vulg. 
read  mD,  or  rro'« 

16.  And  with  part— ]  Twenty-three  MSS,  LXX,  and 
Vulg.  add  the  conjunction  i,  tyi. 

18.  —their  eyes  are  closed  up}  The  LXX,  Chald.  and 
Vulg,  for  nt3  read  inB.  See  note  on  chap.  vi.  10. 

20.  Hefeedeth  on  ashes]  He  feedeth  on  that  which  af- 
fordeth  no  nourishment:  a  proverbial  expression  for  using 
ineffectual  means,  and  bestowing  labour  to  no  purpose.  In 
the  same  sense  Hosea  says,  "  Ephraim  feedeth  on  wind," 
chap.  xii.  1. 

22.  /  have  made  thy  transgressions  vanish  away  like  a 
cloud,  and  thy  sins  like  a  vapour.]  Longinus  admired  the 
sublimity  of  the  sentiment,  as  well  as  the  harmony  of  the 
numbers,  in  the  following  sentence  of  Demosthenes :  Tovro 

TO  •fylpirijut  TOV  Tore  ry  irotei  •&tf>ierxf\ot>   x/vJWv  vrocg cA0e/y  cvrotijtrgi  aitnrep 

K<pos:  "  This  decree  made  the  danger  then  hanging  over  the 
city  pass  away  like  a  cloud." 

24.  by  myself]  Thirteen  MSS  (six  ancient),  confirm 
the  reading  of  the  Keri,  VINE. 

27.  Who  sayeth  to  the  deep,  Be  thou  wasted]  Cyrus  took 
Babylon  by  laying  the  bed  of  the  Euphrates  dry,  and  lead- 
ing his  army  into  the  city  by  night  through  the  empty  chan- 
nel of  the  river.  This  remarkable  circumstance,  in  which 
the  event  so  exactly  corresponded  with  the  prophecy,  was  also 
noted  by  Jeremiah : 

"  A  drought  shall  be  upon  her  waters,  and  they  shall  be  dried  up. 
I  will  lay  her  sea  dry  ; 
And  I  will  scorch  up  her  springs.'1  Jer.  1.  38.  li.  36. 


CHAP.  XLIV.  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  333 

It  is  proper  here  to  give  some  account  of  the  means  and 
method  by  which  the  stratagem  of  Cyrus  was  effected. 

The  Euphrates  in  the  middle  of  summer,  from  the  melt- 
ing of  the  snows  on  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  like  the  Nile, 
overflows  the  country.  In  order  to  diminish  the  inundation, 
arid  to  carry  off  the  waters,  two  canals  were  made  by  Neb- 
uchadnezzar a  hundred  miles  above  the  city  ;  the  first  on 
the  eastern  side,  called  Naharmalca,  or  the  royal  river,  by 
which  the  Euphrates  was  let  into  the  Tigris ;  the  other  on 
the  western  side,  called  Pallacopas,  or  Naharaga,  (wx  TIJ, 
the  river  of  the  pool),  by  which  the  redundant  waters  were 
carried  into  a  vast  lake,  forty  miles  square,  contrived  not 
only  to  lessen  the  inundation,  but  for  a  reservoir,  with  sluices, 
to  water  the  barren  country  on  the  Arabian  side.  Cyrus,  by 
turning  the  whole  river  into  the  lake  by  the  Paliacopas,  laid 
the  channel,  where  it  ran  through  the  city,  almost  dry  ;  so 
that  his  army  entered  it,  both  above  and  below,  by  the  bed 
of  the  river,  the  water  not  reaching  above  the  middle  of  the 
thigh.  By  the  great  quantity  of  water  let  into  the  lake,  the 
sluices  and  dams  were  destroyed  ;  and  being  never  repaired 
afterward,  the  waters  spread  over  the  whole  country  below, 
and  reduced  it  to  a  morass,  in  which  the  river  is  lost.  "  In- 
gens  modo  et  navigabilis,  inde  tenuis  rivus,  despectus  emori- 
tur ;  et  nusquam  manifesto  exitu  effluit,  ut  alii  omnes,  sed 
deficit:"  Mela,  iii.  8.  Herod,  i.  185.  190.  Xenophon.  Cyrop. 
vii.  Arrian.  vii. 

28.  Who  sayeth  to  Cyrus,  Thou  art  my  shepherd}  "  Pas- 
tor meus  es  : "  Vulg.  The  true  reading  seems  to  be  »jn 
nnK  ;  the  word  nntf  has  probably  been  dropt  out  of  the  text. 
The  same  word  is  lost  out  of  the  text.  Psal.  cxix.  57.  It  is 
supplied  in  LXX  by  the  word  et. 

Ibid.  Who  sayeth  to  Jerusalem]  For  noxbi,  LXX  and 
Vulg.  read  imxn. 

Ibid.  — and  to  the  temple]  brwVn,  as  thvnh  before  :  the 
preposition  is  necessary ;  and  the  Vulgate  seems  to  read  so : 
Houbigant. 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

1.  And  ungird  the  loins  of  kings]  '  See  note  on  chap.  v. 
27.  Xenophon  gives  the  following  list  of  the  nations  con- 
quered by  Cyrus  :  the  Syrians,  Assyrians,  Arabians,  Cappa- 
docians,  both  the  Phrygians,  Lydians,  Carians,  Phenicians, 


334  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLV. 

Babylonians.  He  moreover  reigned  over  the  Bactrians,  In- 
dians, Cilicians,  the  Sacae,  Paphlagones,  and  Mariandyni : 
Cyrop.  lib.  i.  p.  4.  edit.  Hutchinson,  4lo.  All  these  king- 
doms he  acknowledges,  in  his  decree  for  the  restoration  of 
the  Jews,  to  have  been  given  to  him  by  JEHOVAH,  the  God 
of  heaven  :  Ezra  i.  2. 

Ibid.  That  I  may  open  before  him  the  valves  ;  and  the 
gates  shall  not  be  shut.]  The  gates  of  Babylon  within  the 
city,  leading  from  the  streets  to  the  river,  were  providentially 
left  open,  when  Cyrus's  forces  entered  the  city  in  the  night 
through  the  channel  of  the  river,  in  the  general  disorder  oc- 
casioned by  the  great  feast  which  was  then  celebrated ;  other- 
wise, says  Herodotus,  i.  191.  the  Persians  would  have  been 
shut  up  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  taken  as  in  a  net,  and 
all  destroyed  :  And  the  gates  of  the  palace  were  opened  im- 
prudently by  the  king's  orders,  to  inquire  what  was  the  cause 
of  the  tumult  without ;  when  the  two  parties  under  Gobrias 
and  Gadatas  rushed  in,  got  possession  of  the  palace,  and 
slew  the  king :  Xenoph.  Cyrop.  vii.  p.  528. 

2.  — the  mountains — ]     For  D'inn,  a  word  not  easily  ac- 
counted for  in  this  place,  the  LXX  read  Dr"nn,  **  op.     Two 
MSS  have  aTYn,  without  the  1 ;  which  is  hardly  distinguish- 
able from  the  reading  of  the  LXX.     The  divine  protection 
which  attended  Cyrus,  and  rendered  his  expedition  against 
Babylon  easy  and  prosperous,  is  finely  expressed  by  God's 
going  before  him,  and  making  the  mountains  level.     The 
image  is  highly  poetical : 

"  At  vos,  qua  veniet,  tumidi  subsidite  montes, 

Et  faciles  curvis  vallibus  este  vise."      Ovid.  Amor.  ii.  16-. 

Ibid.  The  valves  of  brass — ]  Abydenus,  apud  Euseb. 
Pr»p.  Evang.  ix.  41.  says,  that  the  wall  of  Babylon  had 
brazen  gates.  And  Herodotus,  i.  179.  more  particularly : 
"  In  the  wall  all  round  there  are  a  hundred  gates,  all  of  brass  : 
and  so  in  like  manner  are  the  sides  and  the  lintels."  The 
gates  likewise  within  the  city,  opening  to  the  river  from  the 
several  streets,  were  of  brass  ;  as  were  those  also  of  the  tem- 
ple of  Belus:  Id.  i.  180,181. 

3.  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  treasures  of  darkness]  Sardes 
and   Babylon,  when  taken  by    Cyrus,  were  the  wealthiest 
cities  in  the  world.     Croesus,   celebrated  beyond  all  the  kings 
of  that  age  for  his  riches,  gave   up  his  treasures  to  Cyrus, 
with  an  exact  account  in  writing  of  the  whole,  containing 
the  particulars  with  which  each  waggon  was  loaded,  when 


CHAP.  XLV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 

they  were  carried  away ;  and  they  were  delivered  to  Cyrus 
at  the  palace  of  Babylon :  Xenoph.  Cyro'p.  lib.  vii.  p.  503. 
515.  540. 

Pliny  gives  the  following  account  of  the  wealth  taken  by 
Cyrus  in  Asia.  "  Jam  Cyrus  devicta  Asia,  pondo  xxxiv 
millia  [auri]  invenerat ;  prseter  vasa  aurea,  aurumque  fac- 
tuni,  et  in  eo  folia,  ac  platanum,  vitemque.  Qua  victoria 
argenti  quingenta  millia  talentorum  reportavit ;  et  craterem 
Semiramidis,  cujus  pondus  quindecim  talenta  colligebat. 
Talentum  autem  JEgyptium  pondo  Ixxx  patere  [1.  capere] 
Varro  tradit : "  Nat.  Hist,  xxxiii.  15. 

The  gold  and  silver,  estimated  by  weight  in  this  ac- 
count, being  converted  into  pounds  sterling,  amount  to 
£.  126,224,000  :  Brerewood,  De  Ponderibus,  cap.  x. 

7.  Forming  light,  and  creating  darkness]  It  was  the 
great  principle  of  the  Magian  religion,  which  prevailed  in 
Persia  in  the  time  of  Cyrus,  and  in  which  probably  he  was 
educated,  that  there  are  two  supreme,  co-eternal,  and  inde- 
pendent Causes,  always  acting  in  opposition  one  to  the  other ; 
one  the  author  of  all  good,  the  other  of  all  evil ;  the  good  Be- 
ing they  called  Light ;  the  evil  Being,  Darkness :  that,  when 
light  had  the  ascendant,  then  good  and  happiness  prevailed 
among  men ;  when  darkness  had  the  superiority,  then  evil 
and  misery  abounded : — an  opinion  that  contradicts  the 
clearest  evidence  of  our  reason,  which  plainly  leads  us  to  the 
acknowledgment  of  one  only  Supreme  Being,  infinitely  good 
as  well  as  powerful.  With  reference  to  this  absurd  opinion, 
held  by  the  person  to  whom  this  prophecy  is  addressed,  God 
by  his  Prophet,  in  the  most  significant  terms,  asserts  his  om- 
nipotence and  absolute  supremacy : 

"  I  am  JEHOVAH,  and  none  else; 
Forming  light,,  and  creating  darkness  j 
Making  peace,  and  creating  evil : 
I  JEHOVAH  am  the  author  of  all  these  things. " 

Declaring,  that  those  Powers  whom  the  Persians  held  to 
be  the  original  authors  of  good  and  evil  to  mankind,  repre- 
senting them  by  light  and  darkness  as  their  proper  em- 
blems, are  no  other  than  creatures  of  God,  the  instruments 
which  he  employs  in  his  government  of  tfre  world,  ordained 
or  permitted  by  him  in  order  to  execute  his  wise  and  just 
decrees ;  and  that  there  is  no  Power,  either  of  good  or  evil, 
independent  of  the  One  Supreme  God,  infinite  in  power  and 
in  goodness. 


336         s  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLT. 

There  were,  however,  some  among  the  Persians,  whose 
sentiments  were  more  moderate  as  to  this  matter  ;  who  held 
the  evil  principle  to  be  in  some  measure  subordinate  to  the 
good ;  and  that  the  former  would  at  length  be  wholly  sub- 
dued by  the  latter:  See  Hyde,  De  Relig.  Vet.  Pers.  cap, 
xxii. 

That  this  opinion  prevailed  among  the  Persians  as  early 
as  the  time  of  Cyrus,  we  may,  I  think,  infer,  not  only  from 
this  passage  of  Isaiah,  which  has  a  manifest  reference  to  it, 
but  likewise  from  a  passage  in  Xenophon's  Cyropeedia, 
where  the  same  doctrine  is  applied  to  the  human  mind. 
Araspes,  a  noble  young  Persian,  had  fallen  in  love  with  the 
fair  captive  Panthea,  committed  to  his  charge  by  Cyrus. 
After  all  his  boasting,  that  he  was  superior  to  the  assaults  of 
that  passion,  he  yielded  so  far  to  it,  as  even  to  threaten 
violence,  if  she  would  riot  comply  with  his  desires.  Awed 
by  the  reproof  of  Cyrus,  fearing  his  displeasure,  and  having 
by  cool  reflection  recovered  his  reason  ;  in  his  discourse  with 
him  on  this  subject  he  says,  "  O  Cyrus,  I  have  certainly 
two  souls  ;  and  this  piece  of  philosophy  I  have  learned  from 
that  wicked  sophist  Love.  For  if  I  had  but  one  soul,  it 
would  not  be  at  the  same  time  good  and  evil ;  it  would  not 
at  the  same  time  approve  of  honourable  and  base  actions ; 
and  at  once  desire  to  do,  and  refuse  to  do,  the  very  same 
things.  But  it  is  plain,  that  I  am  animated  by  two  souls  ; 
and  when  the  good  soul  prevails,  I  do  what  is  virtuous  ;  and 
when  the  evil  one  prevails,  I  attempt  what  is  vicious.  But 
now  the  good  soul  prevails,  having  gotten  you  for  her  as- 
sistant, and  has  clearly  gained  the  superiority :"  Lib.  vi. 
p.  424. 

8.  Drop  dow^  O  ye  heavens — ]  The  eighty-fifth  Psalm 
is  a  very  elegant  ode  on  the  same  subject  with  this  part  of 
Isaiah's  prophecies — the  restoration  of  Judah  from  captivity  ; 
and  is,  in  the  most  beautiful  part  of  it,  a  manifest  imitation 
of  this  passage  of  the  Prophet : — 

"  Verily  his  salvation  is  nigh  unto  them  that  fear  him, 
That  glory  may  dwell  in  our  land. 
Mercy  and  truth  have  met  together  ; 
Righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed  each  other. 
Truth  shall  spring  from  the  earth, 
And  righteousness  shall  look  down  from  heaven. 
Even  JEHOVAH  will  give  that  which  is  good, 
And  our  land  shall  yield  her  produce. 


CHAP.  XLV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  337 

Righteousness  shall  go  before  him, 

And  shall  direct  his  footsteps  in  the  way." 

Psal.  Ixxxv.  10—14. 

These  images  of  the  dew  and  the  rain  descending  from 
heaven,  and  making  the  earth  fruitful,  employed  by  the  pro- 
phet, and  some  of  those  nearly  of  the  same  kind  which  are 
used  by  the  Psalmist,  may  perhaps  be  primarily  understood  as 
designed  to  set  forth  in  a  splendid  manner  the  happy  state 
of  God's  people  restored  to  their  country,  and  flourishing 
in  peace  and  plenty,  in  piety  and  virtue:  but  justice  and 
salvation,  mercy  and  truth,  righteousnesss  and  peace,  and 
glory  dwelling  in  the  land,  cannot  with  any  sort  of  pro- 
priety, in  the  one  or  the  other,  be  interpreted  as  the  conse- 
quences of  that  event ;  they  must  mean  the  blessings  of  the 
great  redemption  by  Messiah. 

Ibid.  — let  salvation  produce  her  fruit]  For  r^n,  the 
LXX,  Vulg.  arid  Syr.  read  ma'i ;  and  a  MS  has  a  rasure 
close  after  the  letter  i,  which  probably  was  n  at  first. 

9.  Wo  unto  him,  that  contendeth  with  the  power  that 
formed  him]  The  Prophet  answers  or  prevents  the  objec- 
tions and  cavils  of  the  unbelieving  Jews,  disposed  to  mur- 
mur against  God,  and  to  arraign  the  wisdom  and  justice  of 
his  dispensations  in  regard  to  them  ;  in  permitting  them  to 
be  oppressed  by  their  enemies,  and  in  promising  them  de- 
liverance instead  of  preventing  their  captivity.  St  Paul 
has  borrowed  the  image,  and  has  applied  it  to  the  like  pur- 
pose with  equal  force  and  elegance :  "  Nay,  but,  O  man  ! 
who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God  ?  Shall  the  thing 
formed  say  to  him  that  formed  it.  Why  hast  thou  made  me 
thus  ?  Hath  not  the  potter  power  over  the  clay,  out  of  the 
same  lump  to  make  one  vessel  to  honour,  and  another  to  dis- 
honour ?»  Rom.  ix.  20,  21. 

Ibid.  — and  to  the  workmen,  Thou  hast  no  hands]  The 
Syr.  renders  as  if  he  had  read  -p*  tya  »rrn  *6i,  "  Neither 
am  I  the  work  of  thy  hands ;"  the  LXX,  as  if  they  had 
read,  -j1?  on»  pxi  rhys  *6i,  "  Neither  hast  thou  made  me ; 
and  thou  hast  no  hands."  But  the  fault  seems  to  be  in  the 
transposition  of  the  two  pronouns :  for  'ftysi  read  ibyai; 
and  for  i1?  read  "]b.  So  Houbigant  corrects  it,  reading 
also  i^abi  ;  which  last  correction  seems  not  altogether 
necessary.  The  LXX  in  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  u.  have 
it  thus  :  xou  TO  egyov,  ovx,  e^fi^  %e<f«s  j  which  favours  the  reading 
here  proposed. 

34 


338  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLV, 

1 1 .  And  he  thatformeth  the  things  which  are  to  come']  I 
read  wi,  without  the  i  suffixed,  from  the  LXX,  who  join  it 
in  construction  with  the  following  word  ;  0  ?w<«o-*«  roe.  m^^a.,- 

Ibid.  Do  ye  question  me — ]  "  ^Ktfn,  Chald.  recte  : 
praecedit  n  ;  et  sic  forte  legerunt  reliqui  Intt. :"  SECKER. 

14.  The  wealth  of  Egypt — ]  This  seems  to  relate  to  the 
future  admission  of  the  Gentiles  into  the  church  of  God, 
Compare  Psal.  Ixviii.  32.  Ixxii.  10.  chap.  Ix.  6 — 9.  And 
perhaps  these  particular  nations  may  be  named,  by  a  me- 
tonymy common  in  all  poetry,  for  powerful  and  wealthy 
nations  in  general.  See  note  on  chap.  Ix.  1. 

Ibid.  The  Sabeans  tall  of  stature-*-]  That  the  Sabeans 
were  of  a  more  majestic  appearance  than  common,  is  par- 
ticular y  remarked  by  Agatharchides,  an  ancient  Greek  his- 
torian quoted  by  Bochart,  Phaleg.  ii.  26.  vet.  o-aiMt.?*  s?t  rw 
)ca.loncowlay  ee£to*0y*itga.  So  also  the  LXX  understand  it,  ren- 
dering it  enfyft  ufafoi.  And  the  same  phrase,  rm  WK,  is 
used  for  persons  of  extraordinary  stature,  Numb.  xiii.  32. 
and  1  Chron.  xx.  6, 

Ibid.  — and  in  suppliant  guise — ]  The  conjunction  i  is 
supplied  by  the  ancient  versions,  and  confirmed  by  fifteen 
MSS  (seven  ancient),  and  six  editions.  -J^KI.  Three  MSS 
(two  ancient),  omit  the  i  before  -fix  at  the  beginning  of  the 
line. 

16.  They  arc  ashamed — ]  The  reader  cannot  but  ob- 
serve the  sudden  transition  from  the  solemn  adoration  of 
the  secret  and  mysterious  nature  of  God's  counsels,  in  re- 
gard to  his  people,  to  the  spirited  denunciation  of  the  con- 
fusion of  idolaters,  and  the  final  destruction  of  idolatry  ; 
contrasted  with  the  salvation  of  Israel,  not  from  temporal 
captivity,  but  the  eternal  salvation  by  Messiah,  strongly 
marked  by  the  repetition  and  augmentation  of  the  phrase, 
to  the  ages  of  eternity.  But  there  is  not  only  a  sudden 
change  in  the  sentiment ;  the  change  is  equally  observable 
in  the  construction  of  the  sentences ;  which  from  the  usual 
short  measure  runs  out  at  once  into  two  distichs  of  the  longer 
sort  of  verse:  See  Prelim.  Dissert,  p.  xli.  &c.  There  is 
another  instance  of  the  same  kind,  and  very  like  to  this,  of 
a  sudden  transition  in  regard  both  to  the  sentiment  and 
construction  in  chap.  xlii.  17. 

Ibid.  — his  adversaries,  all  of  them.}  This  line,  to  the 
great  diminution  of  the  beauty  of  the  distich,  is  imperfect 
in  the  present  text ;  the  subject  of  the  proposition  is  not 


CHAP.  XLV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  339 

particularly  expressed,  as  it  is  in  the  line  following.  The 
version  of  the  LXX  happily  supplies  the  word  that  is  lost ; 
ci  avTiKeifuvot  otvrca :  the  original  word  was  ri2f . 

18.  —for  heformeth  it  to  be  inhabited}     An  ancient  Iv  S 
has  «3  before  rot?1?;  and  so  the  ancient  versions. 

19.  /  have  not  spoken  in  secret,  in  a  dark  place  of  the 
earth]     In  opposition  to  the  manner  in  which  the  heathen 
oracles  gave  their  answers  ;  which  were  generally  delivered 
from  some  deep  and  obscure  cavern.     Such  was  the  seat  of 
the  Cumean  Sybil : 

"  Excisum  Euboicse  latus  ingens  rupis  in  antrum." 

Virg.  ^En.  vi.  42. 

Such  was  that  of  the  famous  oracle  at  Delphi:  of  which, 

says    Strabo,    lib.    9.  <pot<ri  F  eivetiro  f^cvleiov  <MTgov  xotbov  pel*  fixOovf, 

«v  ft#A*  fvfvrof«v:  '•'  The  .oracle  is  said  to  be  a  hollow  cavern 
of  considerable  depth,  with  an  opening  not  very  wide." 
And  Diodorus,  giving  an  account  of  the  origin  of  this  oracle, 
says,  "  that  there  was  in  that  place  a  great  chasm,  or  cleft, 
in  the  earth  ;  in  which  very  place  is  now  situated  what  is 
called  the  Adytum  of  the  temple."  A<$V7«v  G-^A^/OV,  y  TO  etyr^v 
<pov  (4,t£o$  TOV  isgov  :  Hesych.  "  Adytum  means  a  cavern,  or 
the  hidden  part  of  the  temple." 

Ibid.  I  am  JEHOVAH,  who  speak  truth,  who  give  direct 
answers.]  This  also  is  said  in  opposition  to  the  false  and 
ambiguous  answers  given  by  the  heathen  oracles ;  of  which 
there  are  many  noted  examples ;  none  more  so  than  that 
of  the  answer  given  to  Croesus,  when  he  had  marched  against 
Cyrus,  which  piece  of  history  has  some  connexion  w  th 
this  part  of  Isaiah's  prophecies.  Let  us  hear  Cicero's  account 
of  the  Delphic  answers  in  general,  and  of  this  in  particular. 

"  Sed  jam  ad  te  venio, 

O  Sancte  Apollo,  qui  umbilicum  certum  terrarum  obsides, 
Unde  superstitiosa  primum  saeva  evasit  vox  fera. 

Tuis  enim  oraculis  Chrysippus  totum  volumen  implevit, 
partim  falsis,  ut  ego  opinor ;  partim  casu  veris,  ut  fit  in 
omni  oratione  ssepissime;  partim  flexiloquis  et  obscuris,  ut 
interpret  egeat  interprete,  et  sors  ipsa  ad  sortes  referenda 
sit ;  partim  ambiguis,  et  quae  ad  dialecticum  deferenda  sint. 
Nam  cum  sors  ilia  edita  est  opulentissimo  regi  Asise, 

Cro3sus  Halym  penetrans  magnam  pervertet  opum  vim: 

hostium  vim  sese  perversurum  putavit ;  pervertit  autem 
suam.  Utrum  igitur  eorum  accidisset,  verum  oraculum 
fuisset :"  De  Divinat.  ii.  56. 


340  NOTES  ON  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLV, 

21.  — bring  them  near,  and  let  them  consult  together}  For 
rayr,  let  them  consult,  the  LXX  read  i;n»,  let  them  know ; 
but  an  ancient  MS  has  nyv,  "  let  them  come  together  by 
appointment ;"  which  may  probably  be  the  true  reading. 

23.  — truth  is  gone  forth  from  my  mouth  ;   The  word — ] 
So  the  LXX  distinguish  the  members  of  the  sentence ;  pre- 
serving the  elegance  of  the  construction,  and  the  clearness 
of  the  sense. 

24.  Saying,  Only  to  JEHOVAH — ]     A  MS  omits '%  unto 
me  ;  and  instead  of  not*  «*?,  he  said  or  shall  say  unto  rne. 
the  LXX  read,  in  the  copy  which  they  used,  IDK%  saying, 
For  JOT,  he  shall  come,  in  the  singular,  twelve  MSS  (three 
ancient)  read  1*0%  plural ;  and  a  letter  is  erased  at  the  end 
of  the  word  in  two  others  :  and  so  the  Alexandrine  copy  of 
the  LXX,  Syr.  and  Yulg.  read  it.     For  nipiy,  plural,  two 
MSS  read  npitf,  singular  :  and  so  LXX,  Syr.  Chald. 

CHAPTER  XLVI 

1.  Their  burthens  are  heavy]     For  DSTINBO,  your  bur- 
thens, the  LXX  had  in  their  copy  DTWXBU,  their  burthens. 

2.  They  could  not  deliver  their  own  charge]     That  is. 
their  worshippers ;  who  ought  to  have  been  borne  by  them. 
See  the  two  next  verses.     The  Chaldee  and  Syriac  versions 
render  it  in  effect  to  the  same  purpose,  port  antes  se,  those 
that  bear  them>  meaning  their  worshippers :  but  how  they 
can  render  wyn  in  an  active  sense.  I  do  not  understand. 

Ibid.  Even  they  themselves — ]  For  D^D:I,  an  ancient  MS 
has  DtfSj  »D,  with  more  force. 

3 — 7.  Ye  that  have  been  borne  by  me  from  the  birth — [ 
The  Prophet  very  ingeniously,  and  with  great  force,  con- 
trasts the  power  of  God,  and  his  tender  goodness  effectually 
exerted  towards  his  people,  with  the  inability  of  the  false 
gods  of  the  heathen  :  He  like  an  indulgent  father  had  car- 
ried his  people  in  his  arms,  "  as  a  man  carrieth  his  son  ; r 
Deut.  i.  31. ;  he  had  protected  them,  and  delivered  them  fron. 
their  distresses  :  whereas  the  idols  of  the  heathen  are  forced 
to  be  carried  about  themselves,  and  removed  from  place  to 
place,  with  great  labour  and  fatigue,  by  their  worshippers; 
nor  can  they  answer,  or  deliver  their  votaries,  when  they  crv 
unto  them. 

Moses,   expostulating    with    God   on    the   weight   of  the 


CHAP.  XLVI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  341 

charge  laid  upon  him  as  leader  of  his  people,  expresses  that 
charge,  under  the  same  image  of  a  parent's  carrying  his 
children,  in  very  strong  terms  :  "  Have  I  conceived  all  this 
people  ?  have  I  begotten  them  ?  that  thou  shouldest  say  unto 
me,  Carry  them  in  thy  bosom,  as  a  nursing  father  beareth 
the  sucking  child,  unto  the  land  which  thou  swarest  unto 
their  fathers  ;"  Numb.  xi.  12. 

Pindar  has  treated  with  a  just  and  very  elegant  ridicule 
the  work  of  the  statuary,  even  in  comparison  with  his  own 
poetry,  from  this  circumstance  of  its  being  fixed  to  a  certain 
station.  "  The  friends  of  Pytheas,  says  the  Scholiast,  came 
to  the  poet,  desiring  him  to  write  an  ode  on  his  victory.  Pin- 
dar demanded  three  drachms  (minte,  I  suppose  it  should  be) 
for  the  ode.  No,  say  they,  we  can  have  a  brazen  statue 
for  that  money,  which  will  be  better  than  a  poem.  However, 
changing  their  minds  afterwards,  they  came  and  offered  him 
what  he  had  demanded."  This  gave  him  the  hint  of  the  follow- 
ing ingenious  exordium  of  his  ode  :  — 

Ovx.  e 


TrotyKgotrtx  rspavov.  Nem.  V. 

Thus  elegantly  translated  by  Mr  Francis  in  a  note  to  Hor. 
Carm.  iv.  2.  19. 

"  It  is  not  mine  with  forming  hand 
To  bid  a  lifeless  image  stand 

For  ever  on  its  base  : 
But  fly,  my  verses,  and  proclaim 
To  distant  realms,  with  deathless  fame, 

That  Pytheas  conquered  in  the  rapid  race." 

Jeremiah  seems  to  be  indebted  to  Isaiah  for  most  of  the  fol- 
lowing passage  :  — 

"The  practices  of  the  people  are  altogether  vanity; 
For  they  cut  down  a  tree  from  the  forest; 
The  work  of  the  artificer's  hand  with  the  axe: 
With  silver  and  with  gold  it  is  adorned; 
With  nails  and  with  hammers  it  is  fastened,  that  it  may  not  totter. 
Like  the  palm-tree  they  stand  stiff,  and  cannot  speak  ; 


342  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.   XLVI. 

They  are  carried  about,  for  they  cannot  go : 
Fear  them  not,  for  they  cannot  do  harm, 
Neither  is  it  in  them  to  do  good."  Jer.  JT.  3 — 5. 

8.  — shew  yourselves  men}  iBrpxnn.  This  word  is  rath- 
er of  doubtful  derivation  and  signification.  It  occurs  only  in 
this  place  ;  and  some  of  the  ancient  interpreters  seem  to  have 
had  something  different  in  their  copies.  Vulg.  read  wann, 
take  shame  to  yourselves ;  Syr.  iwunn,  consider  with  your- 
selves ;  LXX,  wet^ere;  perhaps  iSaxTWi,  groan,  or  mourn, 
within  yourselves. 

11.  Calling  from  the  cast  the  eagle\  A  very  proper  em- 
blem for  Cyrus,  as  in  other  respects,  so  particularly  because 
the  ensign  of  Cyrus  was  a  golden  eagle,  AETOS  xgvrovs  -,  the 
very  word  D»y,  which  the  Prophet  uses  here,  expressed  as  near 
as  may  be  in  Greek  letters.  Xcnoph.  Cyrop.  lib.  vii.  sub. 
init. 

Ibid.  And  from  a  land]     Two  MSS  add  the  conjunction 
;  and  so  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

1.  Descend,  and  sit  on  the  dmt—~]     See  note  ou  chap,  iii. 
26.  and  on  chap.  Iii.  2. 

2.  Take  the  mill,  and  grind  the  corn]     It  was  the  \\ oik 
of  slaves  to  grind  the  corn.     They  used  handmills :  water- 
mills  were  not  invented  till  a  little  before  the  time  of  Augus- 
tus ;  (see  the  Greek  epigram  of  Antipater,  which  seems  to 
celebrate  it  as  a  new   invention  :  Anthol.    Cephalae,    653.): 
wind-mills,  long  after.     It  was   not  only  the  work  of  slaves, 
but  the  hardest  work:  and  often  inflicted  on  them  as  a  se- 
vere punishment. 

"  Molendum  in  pistrino ;  vapulandum:  habendae  coinpedes.'" 

Terent.  Phormio,  ii.  1.  19. 

"  Hominem  pistrino  dignum!"  Id.  Heaut.  iii.  2.  19. 

But  in  the  East  it  was  the  work  of  the  female  slaves.  Sec 
Exod.  xi.  5.  xii.  29.  (in  the  version  of  the  LXX),  Matt 
xxiv.  41.  Homer.  Odyss.  xx.  105 — 108.  And  it  is  the  same 
to  this  day  :  "Women  alone  are  employed  to  grind  ilieh 
corn  ;"  Shaw,  Algiers  and  Tunis,  p.  297.  "  They  arc  tin- 
female  slaves  that  are  generally  employed  in  the  en  si.  ,ii 
those  Un  ml -mills  [for  grinding-  corn]:  it.  is  extremely  laborious. 
and  esteemed  the  lowest  employment  in  (.lie  house  :"  t-ir  . 
Chardin.  Harmer's  Observ.  i.  p.  153. 


i 

C«AP.  XLVH.  NOTES  ON  ISAIAH.  343 

2.  I  will  not  suffer  man  to  intercede]  The  verb  should 
be  pointed,  or  written,  jnSK,  in  Hiphil. 

4.  Our  avenger — ]  Here  a  chorus  breaks  in  upon  the 
midst  of  the  subject ;  with  a  change  of  construction,  as  well 
as  sentiment,  from  the  longer  to  the  shorter  kind  of  verse, 
for  one  distich  only  ;  after  which  the  former  subject  and  style 
is  resumed.  See  note  on  xlv.  16. 

6.  /  was  angry  with  my  people — ]     God,  in  the  course  of 
his  providence,  makes  use  of  great  conquerors  and  tyrants  as 
his  instruments  to  execute  his  judgments  in  the  earth  :  he 
employs  one  wicked  nation  to  scourge  another.     The  inflic- 
tor  of  the  punishment  may  perhaps  be  as  culpable   as  the 
sufferer :  and  may  add  to  his  guilt  by  indulging  his  cruelty 
in  executing  God's  justice.     When   he  has  fulfilled  the  work 
to  which  the  divine  vengeance  has  ordained  him,  he  will  be- 
come himself  the  object  of  it.     See  chap.   x.  5 — 12.     God 
charges  the  Babylonians,    though  employed  by  himself  to 
chastise  his  people,  with  cruelty  in  regard  to  them.     They 
exceeded  the  bounds  of  justice  and  humanity   in  oppressing 
and  destroying  them  ;  and  though  they  were  really  executing 
the  righteous  decree  of  God,  yet,  as  far  as  it  regarded  them- 
selves, they  were  only  indulging  their  own  ambition    and 
violence.     The  Prophet  Zechariah  sets  this  matter  in  the 
same  light :  "  I  was  but  a  little  angry,  and  they  helped  for- 
ward the  affliction  ;  "  chap.  i.  15. 

7.  Because  thou  didst  not — ]     For  -\y  read  hy  :  so  two 
MSS,  and  one  edition.     And  for  nmns*,  the  latter  end  of  it, 
read  ];VTIK,  thy  latter  end :  so  thirteen  MSS,  and  two  edi- 
tions, and  Vulg. 

9.  On  a  sudden — ]  Instead  of  cnro,  in  their  perfection, 
as  our  translation  renders  it,  the  LXX  and  Syr.  read,  in  the 
copies  from  which  they  translated,  OKHS,  suddenly  ;  parallel 
to>';n,  in  a  moment,  in  the  preceding  alternate  member  of 
the  sentence.  The  concurrent  testimony  of  LXX  and  Syn. 
favoured  by  the  context,  may  be  safely  opposed  to  the  author- 
ity of  the  present  text. 

Ibid.  Notwithstanding  the  multitude — ]  ma,  for  this 
sense  of  the  particle  n,  see  Numb.  xivr.  11. 

11.  — how  to  deprecate]  rnnfc' :  so  the  Chaldee  renders 
it ;  which  is  approved  by  Jarchi  on  the  place,  and  Michaelis 
Epim.  in  Prselect.  xix.  ;  see  Psal.  Ixxviii.  34. 

Ibid.  "  Videtur  in  fine  [hujus  commatis]  deesse  verbum  ut 
hoc  mernbrum  prioribus  respondeat :  "  SECKER. 


344  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLVII. 

In  order  to  set  in  a  proper  light  this  judicious  remark,  it  is 
necessary  to  give  the  reader  an  exact  verbal  translation  of  the 
whole  verse : — 

"  And  evil  shall  come  upon  thee,  thou  shall  not  know  how  to 

deprecate  it; 
And  mischief  shall  fall  upon  thee,  thou  shalt  not  be  able  to 

expiate  it; 
And  destruction  shall  come  suddenly  upon  thee,  thou  shalt 

not  know  " — — 

What  ?  how  to  escape,  to  avoid  it,  to  be  delivered  from  it ; 
(perhaps  nJDO  nxv,  Jer.  xi.  11.)  I  am  persuaded,  that  a 
phrase  is  here  lost  out  of  the  text.  But  as  the  ancient  ver- 
sions retain  no  traces  of  it,  and  a  wide  field  lies  open  to  un- 
certain conjecture,  I  have  not  attempted  to  fill  up  the  chasm  ; 
but  have  in  the  translation,  as  others  have  done  before  me, 
palliated  and  disguised  the  defect,  which  I  cannot  with  any 
assurance  pretend  to  supply. 

13.  What  are  the  events — ]  For  -WKD,  read  i^x  no  ; 
so  the  LXX. 

15.  — to  his  own  business]  nay*?.  Expositors  give  no 
very  good  account  of  this  word  in  this  place.  In  a  MS  it  was 
at  first  nny1?,  which  is  probably  the  true  reading.  The  sense 
however  is  pretty  much  the  same  with  the  common  inter- 
pretation. 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

1.  Ye  that  flow  from  the  fountain  ofjudah]  »DD,  from 
the  waters.  "  Perhaps  »^DD,  from  the  bowels  ,  [so  many 
others  have  conjectured],  or  [mtfv]  'JD,  or  mrPD,/rom  Ju- 
dah : "  SECKER.  But  see  Michaelis  in  Praelect.  not.  22. 
And  we  have  upy  }';',  the  fountain  of  Jacob,  Deut.  xxxiii.  28. 
and  ^arw  "npDD,  from  the  mountain  of  Israel,  Psal.  Ixviii.  27. 
Twenty-seven  MSS,  and  three  editions,  have  >D'D,  from  the 
days  ;  which  makes  no  good  sense. 

6.  — behold,  the  whole  is  accomplished]  For  run,  see,  a 
MS  has  nin,  this ;  thou  hast  heard  the  whole  of  this :  the 
Syriac  has  rvrn),  thou  hast  heard,  and  thou  hast  seen,  the 
whole.  Perhaps  it  should  be  njn,  behold.  In  order  to  ex- 
press the  full  sense,  I  have  rendered  it  somewhat  pharaphras- 
tically. 

9.  And  for  the  sake  of  my  praise]  I  read  'n^nn  jyo1?!. 
The  word  pzh,  though  not  absolutely  necessary  here,  for 


CHAP.  XLVIII.  NOTES    ON    iSAlAtt.  345 

it  may  be  understood  as  supplied  from   the  preceding  mem 
her,  yet  seems  to  have  been  removed  from  hence  to  ver.  11.  ; 
where  it  is  redundant,  and  where  it  is  not  repeated,  in  LXX< 
Syr.  and  a  MS.     I  have  therefore  omitted  it  in   the  latter 
place,  and  added  it  here. 

10.  I  have  tried  thce  —  ]     For  "[mm*  I  have  chosen  thee- 
a  MS  has  yruro*  I  have  tried  thee.     And  so  perhaps  read 
the  Syriac  and  Chaldee  interpreters  :  they  retain  the  same 
word  imro  ;  but  in  those  languages  it  signifies.  I  have  tried 
thee.     cpDD,  quasi  argentum,  Vulg. 

11.  for  how  would  my  name  be  blasphemed  ?]  The  word 
W,  my  name,  is  dropt  out  of  the  text  :  it  is  supplied  by  a 
MS  which  has  *Q#  ;  and  by  LXX,  on  TO  e/u>v  ovofAx  ^i^areti 
The  Syr.  and  Vulg.  get  over  the  difficulty,  by  making  the 
verb  in  the  first  person,  that  I  may  not  be  blasphemed. 

12.  —  "O  Jacob,  my  servant]     After  apjr$  a  MS,  and  the 
two  old  editions  of  1486  and  1488,  add  the  word  fqp$  which 
is  lost  out  of  the  present  text  ;  and  there  is  a  rasure  in  its 
place  in  another  ancient  MS,     The  Jerusalem  Talmud  ha? 
the  same  word. 

Ibid.  For  'jx  «]K,  even  I,  two  ancient  MSS,  and  the  ancient 
versions,  read  »JNI,  and  I  ;  more  properly. 

14.  Who  among  you  —  ]  For  Droa  among  them,  twenty- 
one  MSS  (nine  ancient),  and  two  editions  (one  of  them 
that  of  the  year  1488),  have  DDD,  among  you  ;  and  so  the 
Syriac. 

Ibid.  He,  whom  JEHOVAH  hath  loved,  will  execute]  That 
is,  Cyrus  :  so  Symmachus  has  well  rendered  it  ;  *o»  o 


Ibid.  —  on  the  Chaldeans]  The  preposition  is  lost  ;  it  is 
supplied  in  the  edition  of  1486,  which  has  D^KCD;  and  so 
Chald.  and  Vulg, 

16.  Draw  near  unto  me,  and  hear  ye  this  ]  After  the 
word  nip,  draw  near,  a  MS  adds  o'U,  O  ye  nations; 
which,  as  this  and  the  two  preceding  verses  are  plainly  ad- 
dressed to  the  idolatrous  nations,  reproaching  their  gods  as 
unable  to  predict  future  events,  is  probably  genuine, 

Ibid.  —  and  hear—]  A  MS  adds  the  conjunction,  i;wi; 
and  so  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 

Ibid.  —  1  have  not  spoken  in  secret}  The  Alexandrine 
copy  of  LXX  adds  here,  OwJfe  e»  TOTTM  y»j$  o-wTsivca,  nor  in  a  dark 
place  of  the  earth,  as  in  xlv.  19.  That  it  stands  rightly,  or 
at  least  stood  very  early,  in  this  place  of  the  version  of  th* 


346  >s*OTES   ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLVIII. 

LXX,  is  highly  probable;  because  it  is  acknowledged  by 
the  Arabic  version,  and  by  the  Coptic,  MS  St  Germain 
<le  Prez,  Paris,  translated  likewise  from  the  LXX.  But 
whether  it  should  be  inserted  as  of  right  belonging  to  the 
Hebrew  text,  may  be  doubted  ;  for  a  transcriber  of  the  Greek 
version  might  easily  add  it  by  memory  from  the  parallel 
place  ;  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  the  sense. 

Ibid.  —  when  it  began  to  exist]  An  ancient  MS  has  onrn, 
they  began  to  exist  :  and  so  another  had  it  at  first. 

Ibid.  I  had  decreed  it]  I  take  uv  for  a  verb,  not  an  ad- 
verb. 

Ibid.  And  now  the  Lord  JEHOVAH  hath  sent  me,  and  hi$ 

Spirit]  Ttf  e?n  o  iv  T<a  Hnx,toi  teyav  ;  xotv  vvv  K.vgt6$  ctTres-e&e  (AS  unit 
vQ  HVEV/UM  etvTov'  tv  ca  Mpjp&ofav  ovTog  TOV  pyToVj  iroTegov  o  TIctTtjg  KMI  TO 
'Aytov  Hvtvjjux,  ctTrs^etXstv  TOV  IqrovVj  jj  o  HotTyg  aTrerette  TOV  TS  Xgtrov  x.ttt 

ro  'A?  lev  Tiievfur  T»  hvTtgov  tnv  ettojOes:  "Who  is  it  that  saith 
in  Isaiah,  And  now  the  Lord  hath  sent  me  and  his  Spirit  ? 
in  which,  as  the  expression  is  ambiguous,  is  it  the  Father 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  who  hath  sent  Jesus  ;  or  the  Father 
who  hath  sent  both  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  The  latter 
is  the  true  interpretation  :  "  Origen.  cont.  Cels.  lib.  i.  1  have 
kept  to  the  order  of  the  words  of  the  original,  on  purpose 
that  the  ambiguity,  which  Origen  remarks  in  the  version  of 
LXX,  and  which  is  the  same  in  the  Hebrew,  might  still  re- 
main, and  the  sense  which  he  gives  to  it  be  offered  to  the 
reader's  judgment  ;  which  is  wholly  excluded  in  our  vulgar 
translation. 

18.  like  the  river]     That  is,  the  Euphrates. 

19.  —  like  that  of  the  bowels  thereof]     D*n  'pD   •KVKVJ  oni 
a»j-in  :  "  As  the  issue  of  the  bowels  of  the  sea  ;  that  is,  the 
iishes  ;  "    Salom.  b.  Melee.      And  so  likewise  Aben  Ezra, 
Jarchi,  Kimchi,  &c. 

Ibid.  Thy  name]  For  IDP,  his  name,  the  LXX  had  in 
the  copy  from  which  they  translated  -pp,  thy  name. 

20.  —  and  make  it  heard  —  ]      Twenty-seven   MSS  (ten 
ancient),  and  one  edition,  prefix  to  the  verb  the  conjunction  i, 


21.  They  thirsted  not  in  the  deserts  —  ]  Kimchi  has  a 
surprising  observation  upon  this  place  :  u  If  the  prophecy;' 
-ays  he,  "  relates  to  the  return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity, 
as  it  seems  to  do,  it  is  to  be  wondered  how  it  comes  to  pass, 
that  in  the  book  of  Ezra,  in  which  he  gives  an  account  of 
their  return,  no  mention  is  made  that  such  miracles  were 


CHAP.  XLVI1I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 

wrought  for  them ;  as,  for  instance,  that  God  clave  the 
rock  for  them  in  the  desert/'  It  is  really  much  to  be  won- 
dered, that  one  of  the  most  learned  and  judicious  of  the 
Jewish  expositors  of  the  Old  Testament,  having  advanced 
so  far  in  a  large  comment  on  Isaiah,  should  appear  to  be 
totally  ignorant  of  the  Prophet's  manner  of  writing  ;  of  the 
parabolic  style  which  prevails  in  the  writings  of  all  the 
Prophets  j  and  more  particularly  in  the  Prophecy  of  Isaiah, 
which  abounds  throughout  in  parabolic  images  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end ;  from  "  Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give 
ear,  O  earth,"  to  "  the  worm  and  the  fire  "  in  the  last  verse. 
And  how  came  he  to  keep  his  wonderment  to  himself  so 
long  ?  Why  did  he  not  expect,  that  the  historian  should 
have  related,  how,  as  they  passed  through  the  desert,  cedars, 
pines,  and  olive-trees,  shot  up  at  once  on  the  side  of  the 
way  to  shade  them  ;  and  that,  instead  of  briers  and  brambles, 
the  accacia  and  the  myrtle  sprung  up  under  their  feet,  ac- 
cording to  God's  promises,  chap.  xli.  19.  and  Iv.  13.  ?  These, 
and  a  multitude  of  the  like  parabolical  or  poetical  images, 
were  never  intended  to  be  understood  literally :  all  that 
the  Prophet  designed  in  this  place,  and  which  he  has  exe- 
cuted in  the  most  elegant  manner,  was  an  amplification  and 
illustration  of  the  gracious  care  and  protection  of  God, 
vouchsafed  to  his  people  in  their  return  from  Babylon,  by 
an  allusion  to  the  miraculous  Exodus  from  Egypt.  See 
De  S.  Poesi  Hebr.  Prael.  ix. 

22   There  is  no  peace,  saith  JEHO  VAH-,   to  the  icicked.} 
See  below,  note  on  chap.lvii.  21. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

1.  Hearken  unto  me,  O  ye  distant  lands — ]  Hitherto 
the  subject  of  the  prophecy  has  been  chiefly  confined  to  the 
redemption  from  the  captivity  of  Babylon  ;  with  strong  in- 
timations of  a  more  important  deliverance  sometimes  thrown 
in ;  to  the  refutation  of  idolatry ;  and  the  demonstration  of 
the  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  foreknowledge  of  God.  The 
character  and  office  of  the  Messiah  was  exhibited  in  gene- 
ral terms  at  the  beginning  of  chap.  xlii.  but  here  he  is  in- 
troduced in  person,  declaring  the  full  extent  of  his  commis- 
sion ;  which  is  not  only  to  restore  the  Israelites,  and  recon- 
cile them  to  their  Lord  and  Father,  from  whom  they  had 


348  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLIX. 

so  often  revolted  ;  but  to  be  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles, 
to  call  them  to  the  knowledge  and  obedience  of  the  true  God, 
and  to  bring  them  to  be  one  church  together  wtih  the  Israel- 
ites, and  to  partake  with  them  of  the  same  common  salvation 
procured  for  all  by  the  great  Redeemer  and  Reconciler  of  man 
to  God. 

2.  And  he  hath  made  my  mouth  a  sharp  sword  —  ]  The 
servant  of  God,  who  speaks  in  the  former  part  of  this  chap- 
ter, must  be  the  Messiah.  If  any  part  of  this  character 
can,  in  any  sense,  belong  to  the  Prophet,  yet  in  some  parts 
it  must  belong  exclusively  to  Christ;  and,  in  all  parts,  to 
him  in  a  much  fuller  and  more  proper  sense.  Isaiah's 
mission  was  to  the  Jews,  not  to  the  distant  nations,  to  whom 
the  speaker  in  this  place  addresses  himself.  "  He  hath 
made  my  mouth  a  sharp  sword,"  "  to  reprove  the  wicked, 
and  to  denounce  unto  them  punishment,"  says  Jarchi,  un- 
derstanding it  of  Isaiah  ;  but  how  much  better  does  it  suit 
him,  who  is  represented  as  having  "a  sharp  two-edged 
sword  going  out  of  his  mouth,"  Rev.  i.  16.  who  is  himself 
the  Word  of  God  ?  which  "  Word  is  quick  and  powerful, 
and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  piercing  even  to 
the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and 
marrow,  and  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
heart  ;"  Heb.  iv.  12.  This  mighty  agent  and  instrument 
of  God,  "  long  laid  up  in  store  with  him,  and  sealed  up 
among  his  treasures,"  is  at  last  revealed,  and  produced  by 
his  power,  and  under  his  protection,  to  execute  his  great 
and  holy  purposes:  he  is  compared  to  a  polished  shaft 
stored  in  his  quiver  for  use  in  his  due  time.  The  polished 
shaft  denotes  the  same  efficacious  word,  which  is  before 
represented  by  the  sharp  sword.  The  doctrine  of  the  gos- 
pel pierced  the  hearts  of  its  hearers,  "  bringing  into  capti- 
vity every  thought  to  the  obedience  of  Christ."  The  meta- 
phor of  the  sword  and  the  arrow,  applied  to  powerful  speech, 
is  bold,  yet  just.  It  has  been  employed  by  the  most  inge- 
nious heathen  writers,  if  with  equal  elegance,  not  with  equal 
force.  It  is  said  of  Pericles  by  Aristophanes,  (see  Cicero, 
Epist.  ad  Atticum,  xii.  6.)— 


T«  Kj»T^«y  fyx-ecTfXftTTf  Tots  outf>oa(4,ew$.  Apud  Diod.  lib.  xii. 

His  powerful  speech 

Pierced  the  hearer's  soul,  and  left  behind 
Deep  in  his  bosom  its  keen  point  infixt. 


CHAP.  XLIX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  349 

Pindar  is  particularly  fond  of  this  metaphor,  and  frequently 
applies  it  to  his  own  poetry  :  — 


Aye,  Svtu. 

Ex.  fMi.h6otx.ots  otvre 


Olymp.  ii.  160. 
"  Come  on!  thy  brightest  shafts  prepare, 
And  bend,  O  Muse,  thy  sounding  bow; 
Say,  through  what  paths  of  liquid  air 
Our  arrows  shall  we   throw?"  West. 

See  also  ver.  149.   of  the  same  ode,  and  Olymp.  ix.   17.;  on 
the  former  of  which  places  the  Scholiast  says,  T^KIM^  o  toyo? 

fifX>)  JV  TOV$  foyov$   eigwe,  Slot  TO  o%v  XMI  x-otigiov  ruv    eyxM/MW.    lt  He 

calls  his  verses  shafts  by  a  metaphor,  signifying  the  acuteness 
and  the  apposite  application  of  his  panegyric." 

This  person  who  is,  ver.  3.  called  Israel,  cannot  in  any  sense 
be  Isaiah.  That  name,  in  its  original  design  and  full  import, 
can  only  belong  to  him  who  contended  powerfully  with 
God  in  behalf  of  mankind,  and  prevailed  :  Gen.  xxxii. 
28. 

5.  And  now  thus  saith  JEHOVAH]      The  word  ro,  before 
IDK,  is  dropt  out  of  the  text  :  it  is  supplied  by  eight  MSS  (two 
ancient),  and  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 

Ibid.  And  that  Israel  unto  him  may  be  gathered]  Five  MSS 
(two  ancient),  confirm  the  Keri,  or  marginal  correction  of 
the  Masoretes,  ib,  unto  him,  instead  of  vhi  not,  in  the  text  ;  and 
so  read  Aquila  and  Chald.:  LXX  and  Arab,  omit  the  nega- 
tive. But  LXX,  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.  express  also 
the  Keri  i1?  by  ^o?  avrov. 

6.  And  to  restore  the  branches  of  Israel]     *1^3,  or  myj, 
as  the  Masoretes  correct  it  in  the  marginal  readings      This 
word  has  been  matter  of  great  doubt  with  interpreters  :  the 
Syriac  renders  it  the  branch,  taking  it  for  the  same  with  nyj,, 
chap.  xi.  1.:  see  Michaelis,  Epim.  in  Praelect.  xix. 

7.  The  Redeemer  of  Israel,  his  Holy  One]     "  Forte,  wnp1?  j" 
SECKER  :  that  is,  to  his  Holy  One.     The  preceding  word  ends 
with  a  *?,  which  might  occasion  that  letter's  being  lost  here. 
The  Talmud  of  Babylon  has  wnpi. 

Ibid.  To  him,  whose  person  is  despised]  "  Forte,  nTjMj"  SEC- 
KER  :  or  "no,  Le  Clerc  :  that  is,  instead  of  the  active,  the 
sive  form,  which  seems  here  to  be  required, 
35 


350  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XL1X. 

9.  And  to  those  that  are  in  darkness  —  ]  Fifteen  MSS 
(five  ancient),  and  the  two  old  editions  of  1486  and  1488,  add 
the  conjunction  i  at  the  beginning  of  this  member  :  another 
MS  had  it  so  at  first  ;  and  two  others  have  a  rasure  at  the 
place  :  and  it  is  expressed  by  LXX,  Syr.  Chald.  Vulg. 

12.  Lo!  and  these  shall  come  from  afar]     "  Babylon  was  far, 
and  east,  miDD;  (non  sic  Vett.);  Sinim,  Pelusians,  to  the  south:" 
SECKER. 

Ibid.  —  the  land  of  Sinim]  Prof.  Deoderlein  thought  of 
Syene,  the  southern  limit  of  Egypt  ;  but  does  not  abide  by 
it.  Michaelis  thinks  it  is  right  ;  and  promises  to  give  his 
reasons  for  so  thinking  in  the  second  part  of  his  Specilegium 
Geographic  Hebreeorum  Exterae.  See  Biblioth.  Oriental. 
Part  XI.  p.  176. 

13.  Ye  mountains  burst  forth]     Three  ancient    MSS  are 
without  either  the  »,  or  the  conjunction  1,  before  the  verb  :  and 
so  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 

16.  Behold,  on  the  palms  of  my  hands  have  I  delineated  thee] 
This  is  certainly  an  allusion  to  some  practice,  common  among 
the  Jews  at  that  time,  of  making  marks  on  their  hands  or  arms 
by  punctures  on  the  skin,  with  some  sort  of  sign  or  representa- 
tion of  the  city  or  temple,  to  shew  their  affection  and  zeal  for 
it.     They  had  a  method  of  making  such  punctures  indelible 
by  fire,  or  by  staining.     See  note  on  chap.  xliv.  5.     It  is  well 
known,  that  the  pilgrims  at  the  holy  sepulchre  get  themselves 
marked  in  this  mariner  with  what  are  called  the  ensigns  of 
Jerusalem  ;    Maimdrell,    p.  75.;  where  he  tells  us  how  it  is 
performed  :  and  this  art  is  practised  by  travelling  Jews  all  over 
the  world  at  this  day. 

17.  They  that  destroyed  thee  shall  soon  become  thy  builders] 
"  Auctor  Vulgatse  pro  :pa  videtur  legisse  .-pu,    unde  vertit, 


structores  tui  ;  cui  et  LXX  fere  consentiunt,  qui  verterunt 
a>x030w0w,  ccdifaata  es.  prout  in  Plantiniana  editione  habetur  ; 
in  Vaticana  sive  Romana  legitur,  »0»&jwofo«»,  adifaaberis. 
Hisce  etiam  Targum  Jonathanis  aliquatenus  consentit,  ubi, 
et  ccdifaabunt.  Confer  infra  Esai.  cap.  liv.  ver.  13.  ad  quern 
locum  Rabbini  quoque  notarunt  ex  tractatu  Talmudico  Bera- 
chot.  cap.  ix.  quod  non  legendum  sit  ."pa,  id  est,filiitui  ;  sed 

:pa,  adificatores  tui.  Confer  not.  ad  librum  Prec.  Jud.  Part. 
II.  p.  226.  ut  et  D.  Wagenseil  Sot.  p.  253.  n.  9.:"  Breith- 
aupt.  not.  ad  Jarchi'in  loc.  See  also  note  on  this  place  in  De 
Sac.  Poes.  Hebr.  Prselect.  xxxi. 


CHAP.  XLIX. 


NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  351 


Ibid.— shall  become  thine  offspring]  i«r  pn,  shall 
proceed,  spring,  issue,  from  thee, — as  thy  children.  The 
phrase  is  frequently  used  in  this  sense :  see  chap.  xi.  1. 
Micah  v.  2.  Nahum  i.  11.  The  accession  of  the  Gentiles 
to  the  church  of  God  is  considered  as  an  addition  made  to 
the  number  of  the  family  and  children  of  Sion  :  see  ver.  21, 
22.  and  chap.  Ix.  4.  The  common  rendering,  "shall  go 
forth  of  thee,  or  depart  from  thee,"  is  very  flat,  after  their 
zeal  had  been  expressed  by  "  shall  become  thy  builders ;  " 
and  as  the  opposition  is  kept  up  in  one  part  of  the  sentence, 
one  has  reason  to  expect  it  in  the  other,  which  should  have 
been  parallel  to  it. 

18.  And  bind  them  about  thee,  as  a  bride—']  The  end 
of  the  sentence  is  manifestly  imperfect.  Does  a  bride  bind 
her  children,  or  her  new  subjects,  about  her?  Sion  clothes 
herself  with  her  children,  as  a  bride  clothes  herself — with 
what  ?  some  other  thing  certainly.  The  LXX  help  us  out 
in  this  difficulty,  and  supply  the  lost  word :  «$  xoo-ftov  wpQy 
r^D  rvto,  or  n^D  nto.  The  great  similitude  of  the 
two  words  has  occasioned  the  omission  of  one  of  them.  See 
chap.  Ixi.  10. 

21. — these  then,  where  were  they1?]  The  conjunction  is 
added  before  num,  thai  is,  nSw,  ia  above  thirty  MSS  (nine 

ancient)  ;  and  so  LXX,  Chald.  Vulg. 

23.  With  their  faces  to  the  earth — ]  It  is  well  known, 
that  expressions  of  submission,  homage,  and  reverence,  al- 
ways have  been,  and  are  still,  carried  to  a  great  degree  of 
extravagance  in  the  eastern  countries.  When  Joseph's 
brethren  were  introduced  to  him,  "  they  bowed  down  them- 
selves before  him  with  their  faces  to  the  earth  ;  "  Gen.  xlii.  6. 
The  kings  of  Persia  never  admitted  any  one  to  their  pre- 
sence without  exacting  this  act  of  adoration  ;  for  that  was 
the  proper  term  for  it.  "Necesse  est,"  says  the  Persian 
courtier  to  Conon,  "si  in  conspectum  veneris,  venerari  te 
regem  ;  quod  ^oo-Kwetv  illi  vocant ;  "  Nepos  in  Conone.  Alex- 
ander, intoxicated  with  success,  affected  this  piece  of  oriental 
pride :  "  Itaque  more  Persarum  Macedonas  venerabundos 
ipsum  salutare,  prosternentes  humi  corpora : "  Curtius,  lib. 
viii.  The  insolence  of  eastern  monarchs  to  conquered  prin- 
ces, and  the  submission  of  the  latter,  is  astonishing.  Mr. 
Harmer,  Obs.  ii.  43.  gives  the  following  instance  of  it  from 
D'Herbelot ; — "  This  prince  threw  himself  one  day  on  the 
ground,  and  kissed  the  prints  that  his  victorious  enemy's 


352  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLIX. 

horse  had  made  there ;  reciting  some  verses  in  Persian, 
which  he  had  composed,  to  this  effect : — 

"  The  mark  that  the  foot  of  your  horse  has  left  upon  the 
dust,  serves  me  now  for  a  crown. 

"  The  ring,  which  I  wear  as  the  badge  of  my  slavery,  is 
become  my  richest  ornament. 

"  While  I  shall  have  the  happiness  to  kiss  the  dust  of  your 
feet,  I  shall  think  that  fortune  favours  me  with  its  tenderest 
caresses,  and  its  sweetest  kisses." 

These  expressions,  therefore,  of  the  Prophet,  are  only 
general  poetical  images,  taken  from  the  manners  of  the 
country,  to  denote  great  respect  and  reverence  :  and  such 
splendid  poetical  images,  which  frequently  occur  in  the  pro- 
phetical writings,  were  intended  only  as  general  amplifica- 
tions of  the  subject,  not  as  predictions  to  be  understood  and 
fulfilled  precisely  according  to  the  letter. 

24.  Shall  the  prey  seized  by  the  terrible  be  rescued  ?]  For 
pn3f  read  j»v«  A  palpable  mistake,  like  that  in  chap, 
xlii.  19.  The  correction  is  self-evident  from  the  very  terms 
of  the  sentence ;  from  the  necessity  of  the  strict  correspond- 
ence in  the  expressions  between  the  question  and  the  answer 
made  to  it ;  and  it  is  apparent  to  the  blindest  and  most  pre- 
judiced eye.  However,  if  authority  is  also  necessary,  there 
is  that  ot  Syr.  and  Vulg.  for  it  ;  who  plainly  read  ]'ny  in 
the  24th  as  well  as  in  the  25th  verse,  rendering  it  in  the 
former  place  by  the  same  word  as  in  the  latter. 


CHAPTER  L. 

1.  WHERE  is  this  bill — ]  Husbands,  through  moroseness 
or  levity  of  temper,  often  sent  bills  of  divorcement  to  their 
wives  on  slight  occasions,  as  they  were  permitted  to  do  by 
the  law  of  Moses,  Deut.  xxiv.  1.  And  fathers,  being  op- 
pressed with  debt,  often  sold  their  children  ;  which  they 
might  do,  for  a  time,  till  the  year  of  release :  Exod.  xxi.  7. 
That  this  was  frequently  practised,  appears  from  many 
passages  of  Scripture  ;  and  that  the  persons  and  the  liberty 
of  the  children  were  answerable  for  the  debts  of  the  father. 
The  widow,  2  Kings  iv.  1.  complains,  "  that  the  creditor  is 
come  to  take  unto  him  her  two  sons  to  be  bondmen.''  And 
in  the  parable,  Matt,  xviii.  25.  "The  lord,  forasmuch  as 
his  servant  had  not  to  pay,  commands  him  to  be  sold,  and 


CHAP.  L.  NOTES    ON   ISAIAH.  353 

his  wife  and  children,  and  all  that  he  had,  and  payment  to 
be  made."  Sir  John  Chardin's  MSS  note  on  this  place  of 
Isaiah  is  as  follows :  "  En  Orient,  on  paye  ses  dettes  avec 
ses  esclaves,  car  ils  sont  des  principaux  meubles ;  et  en  plu- 
sieurs  lieux  on  les  paye  aussi  de  ses  enfans."  But  this,  saith 
God,  cannot  be  my  case :  I  am  not  governed  by  any  such 
motives ;  neither  am  I  urged  by  any  such  necessity :  your 
captivity,  therefore,  and  your  afflictions,  are  to  be  imputed  to 
yourselves,  and  to  your  own  folly  and  wickedness. 

2.  Their  fish  is  dried  up]  For  arcan,  stinketh,  read  tm% 
is  dried  up :  so  it  stands  in  the  Bodleian  MS,  and  it  is  con- 
firmed by  the  LXX,  fy%*v6tiwroit. 

5.  Neither   did  1  withdraw — ]      Eleven   MSS,   and   the 
oldest  edition,   prefix   the  conjunction  i ;    and  so  also  LXX 
and  Syr. 

6.  And  my  cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair]     The 
greatest  indignity  that  could  possibly  be  offered.     See  note 
on  chap.  vii.  20. 

Ibid.  My  face  I  hid  not  from  shame  and  spitting]  Anoth- 
er instance  of  the  utmost  contempt  and  detestation.  It  was 
ordered  by  the  law  of  Moses,  as  a  severe  punishment,  carry- 
ing with  it  a  lasting  disgrace :  Deut.  xxv.  9.  Among  the 
Medes,  it  was  highly  offensive  to  spit  in  any  one's  presence, 
Herod,  i.  99. ;  and  so  likewise  among  the  Persians,  Xeno- 
phon.  Cyrop.  lib.  i.  p.  18. 

"  They  abhor  me;  they  flee  far  from  me; 
They  forbear  not  to  spit  in  my  face."  Job.  xxx.  10. 

And  JEHOVAH  said  unto  Moses  :  "  If  her  father  had  but  spit 
in  her  face,  should  she  not  be  ashamed  seven  days  ?  "  Numb. 
xii.  14. ;  on  which  place  Sir  John  Chardin  remarks,  "  that 
spitting  before  any  one,  or  spitting  upon  the  ground  in 
speaking  of  any  one's  actions,  is  through  the  East  an  expres- 
sion of  extreme  detestation : "  Harmer's  Observ.  ii.  509. 
See  also,  of  the  same  notions  of  the  Arabs  in  this  respect, 
Niebuhr,  Description  de  1'Arabie,  p.  26.  It  so  evidently 
appears,  that  in  those  countries  spitting  has  ever  been  an 
expression  of  the  utmost  detestation,  that  the  learned  doubt 
whether  in  the  passages  of  Scripture  above  quoted,  any  thing 
more  is  meant  than  spitting  (not  in  the  face,  which  perhaps 
the  words  do  not  necessarily  imply,  but  only)  in  the  presence 
of  the  person  affronted.  But  in  this  place  it  certainly  means 
spitting  in  the  face :  so  it  is  understood  in  St  Luke,  where 
our  Lord  plainly  refers  to  this  prophecy : — "  All  things  that 
35* 


354  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  L. 

are  written  by  the  Prophets  concerning  the  Son  of  Man  shall 
be  accomplished  ;  for  he  shall  be  delivered  to  the  Gentiles, 
and  shall  be  mocked  and  spitefully  entreated,  and  spitted  on, 
sftaFlvrtojo-ileu,"  xviii.  31,  32.  ;  which  was  in  fact  fulfilled  ;  w 
j»f|*»T«  Tint  epTrlveiv  cuflu,  Mark  xiv.  65.  xv.  19.  If  spitting  in 
a  person's  presence  was  such  an  indignity,  how  much  more 
spitting  in  his  face? 

7.  Therefore  have  I  set  my  face  as  a  flint — ]     The  Pro- 
phet Ezekiel  has  expressed  this  with  great  force,  in  his  bold 
and  vehement  manner : 

"  Behold,  I  have  made  thy  face  strong  against  their  faces, 
And  thy  forehead  strong  against  their  foreheads  : 
As  an  adamant,  harder  than  a  rock,   have  I  made  thy  fore- 
head. 

Fear  them  not,  neither  be  dismayed  at  their  looks, 
Though  they  be  a  rebellious  house."  Ezek.  iii.  8.  9. 

8.  Who  is  he  that  will  contend—]    The  Bodleian  MS,  and 
another,  add  the  word  Kin  ;  m'  Kin  »a,  as  in  the  like  phrase 
in  the  next  verse  :  and  in  the  very  same  phrase,  Job  xiii.  19.; 
and  so  likewise  in  many  other  places,   Job  xvii.   3.  xli.  1. 
Sometimes,  on  the  like  occasions,   it  is  nr  »D,  and  ni  Kin  T,o. 
The  word  has  been   probably  lost  out  of  the  present  text : 
and  the   reading  of  the    MS  above-mentioned  seems  to  be 
genuine. 

10.  Let  him   hearken  to   the   voice   of  his  servant .]     For 
JDBT,  pointed  as  the  participle,  the  LXX  and  Syr.  read  ywi, 
future  or  imperative :  this  gives  a  much  more  elegant  turn 
and  distribution  to  the  sentence. 

11.  — ye  ivho  kindle  afire — ]     The  fire  of  their  own  kind- 
ling, by  the  light  of  which  they  walk  with  security  and  satis- 
faction, is  an  image  designed  to  express,  in  general,  human 
devices,  and  mere  worldly  policy,  exclusive  of  faith  and  tiust 
in  God ;  which,  though  they  natter  them   for  a  while  with 
pleasing  expectations  and  some  appearance  of  success,  shall 
in  the  end  turn  to  the  confusion  of  the  authors.     Or,   more 
particularly,  as  Vitringa  explains  it,  it  may  mean  the  designs 
of  the  turbulent  and  factious  Jews  in  the  times  succeeding 
tho-e  of  Christ ;    who,   in   pursuit  of  their   own   desperate 
schemes,  stirred  up  the  war  against  the  Romans,  and  kindled 
a  fire  which  consumed  their  city  and  nation. 

Ibid.  — who  heap  the  fuel  round  about]  "  7i??UD,  accen- 
dentes,  Syr.  forte  legerunt  [pro  niKo]  TTKD;  nam  sequitur 
•UK  :  "  SECKER.  Lud.  Capellus,  in  his  criticarnotes  on  this 
place,  thinks  it  should  be  npra,  from  the  LXX, 


CHAP.  LI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  355 


CHAPTER  LI. 

4.  — O  ye  people;  O  ye  nations]     For  fpp,  my  people,  the 
Bodley   MS,   and  another,  read  D'pp,  ye  peoples;    and   for 
'Dix1?,  my  nation,  the  Bodley  MS,  and  eight  others  (two  of  them 
ancient),  read  D'iM6,  ye  nations  ;  and  so  the  Syriac  in  both 
words.     The  difference  is  very  material :  for  in  this  case  the 
address  is  made,   not  to  the  Jews,   but  to  the  Gentiles,  as 
in  all  reason  it  ought  to  be ;  for  this  and  the  two  following- 
verses  express  the  call  of  the  Gentiles,  the  islands,  or  the  dis- 
tant lands  on  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  and  other  seas. 
It  is  also  to  be  observed,  that  God  in  no  other  place  calls  his 
people  'DX1?.     It  has  been  before  remarked,  that  transcribers 
frequently  omitted  the  final  D  of  nouns   plural,  and  supplied 
it,  for  brevity-sake,  and  sometimes  for  want  of  room  at  the 
end  of  a  line,  by  a  small  stroke  thus,  ''Dy;  which  mark,  being 
effaced  or  overlooked,  has  been  the  occasion  of  many  mistakes 
of  this  kind. 

5.  My  righteousness  is  at  hand — ]     The   word  pis?,  right- 
eousness, is  used  in  such  a  great  latitude  of  signification,  for 
justice,  truth,  faithfulness,  goodness,  mercy,  deliverance,  sal- 
vation, &c.,  that  it  is  not  easy  sometimes  to  give  the  precise 
meaning  of  it  without  much  circumlocution :  it  means  here 
the  faithful  completion  of  God's  promises  to  deliver  his  peo- 
ple. 

11.  — shall  they  obtain,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee 
away}  Nineteen  MSS,  and  the  two  oldest  editions,  have 
\w;  and  forty-six  MSS,  and  the  same  two  editions,  and 
agreeably  to  them  Chald.  and  Syr.  have  IDJI  :  and  so  both 
words  are  expressed,  chap.  xxxv.  10.  of  which  place  this  is 
a  repetition.  And  from  comparing  both  together  it  appears, 
that  the  i  in  this  place  is  become  by  mistake  in  the  present 
text  the  final  j  of  the  preceding  word. 

13.  — of  the  oppressor,  as  if  he — ]  "  The  3  in  IPJO  seems 
clearly  to  have  changed  its  situation  from  the  end  of  the 
preceding  word  to  the  beginning  of  this  ;  or  rather,  to  have 
been  omitted  by  mistake  there,  because  it  was  here.  That  it 
was  there,  the  LXX  shew  by  rendering  ip'sfon,  $*£««•««  nr 
of  him  that  oppressed  thee.  And  so  they  render  this  word 
in  both  its  places  in  this  verse.  The  Yulgate  also  has  the 
pronoun  in  the  first  instance  :  furoris  ejus  qui  te  tribulabat :  " 
Dr.  JUBB.  The  correction  seems  well  founded.  I  have  not 


356  NOTES   ON   ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LI. 

conformed  the  translation  to  it,  because  it  makes  very  little 
difference  in  the  sense. 

14.  He  marcheth  on  with  speed — ]  Cyrus,  if  understood 
of  the  temporal  redemption  from  the  captivity  of  Babylon ; 
in  the  spiritual  sense,  the  Messiah. 

16.  To  stretch  out  the  heavens]  In  the  present  text  it  is 
j  to  plant  the  heavens.  The  phrase  is  certainly  very  ob- 
scure, and  in  all  probability  is  a  mistake  for  niBjS.  This 
latter  is  the  word  used  in  ver.  13.  just  before,  in  the  very  same 
sentence  :  and  this  phrase  occurs  frequently  in  Isaiah,  chap, 
xl.  22.  xlii.  5.  xliv.  24.  xlv.  12. ;  the  former  in  no  other  place. 
It  is  also  very  remarkable,  that  in  the  Samaritan  text,  Numb, 
xxiv.  6.  these  two  words  are  twice  changed,  by  mistake, 
one  for  the  other,  in  the  same  verse. 

19.  These  two  things — desolation  and  destruction,  the  fam- 
ine and  the  sword]     That  is,  desolation  by  famine,  and  de- 
struction  by  the  sword  ;    taking  the    terms  alternately :    of 
which  form  of  construction  see  other  examples,  De  S.  Poesi 
Heb.  Prsel.  xix.  and  Prelim.  Dissert,  p.  xix.     The  Chaldee 
paraphrast,  not  rightly  understanding  this,  has  had  recourse 
to  the  following  expedient :  "  Two  afflictions  are  come  upon 
thee, — and  when  four  shall  come  upon  thee,  depredation  and 
destruction,   and  the  famine  and  the  sword— "     Five  MSS 
have  3;nn,  without  the  conjunction  i;  and  so  LXX  and  Syr. 

Ibid.  —Who  shall  comfort  thee?]  A  MS,  LXX,  Syr. 
Chald.  and  Vulg.  have  it  in  the  third  person,  "pnr ;  which  is 
evidently  right. 

20.  — in  the  toils,  drenched  to  the  full — ]     "  Forte  moan 
&vhv:  "  SECKER.     The  demonstrative  n,  prefixed  to  O'x^o. 
seems  improper  in  this  place. 

21.  And  thou  drunken,  but  not  with  wine.]     ^schylus  has 
the  same  expression  : 

AOIVOIS  £f*uavti$  S-vfAafAeiri.  Eumen.  863. 

Intoxicate  with  passion,  not  with  wine. 

Schultens  thinks,  that  this  circumlocution,  as  he  calls  it, 
"  gradum  adfert  incomparabiliter  majorem  ;  "  and  that  it 
means  not  simply  without  wine,  but  much  more  than  with 
wine :  Gram.  Hebr.  p.  182.  See  his  note  on  Job  xxx.  28. 

The  bold  image  of  the  cup  of  God's  wrath,  often  em- 
ployed by  the  sacred  writers,  (see  note  on  chap.  i.  22.),  is  no 
where  handled  with  greater  force  and  sublimity  than  in  this 
passage  of  Isaiah,  ver.  17 — 23.  Jerusalem  is  represented  in 


CHAP.  LI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  357 

person  as  staggering  under  the  effects  of  it,  destitute  of  that 
assistance  which  she  might  expect  from  her  children  ;  not 
one  of  them  being  able  to  support  or  to  lead  her.  They, 
abject  and  amazed,  lie  at  the  head  of  every  street,  over- 
whelmed with  the  greatness  of  their  distress  :  like  the  oryx 
entangled  in  a  net,  in  vain  struggling  to  rend  it,  and  extri- 
cate himself.  This  is  poetry  of  the  first  order,  sublimity  of 
the  highest  proof. 

Plato  had  an  idea  something  like  this  :  "  Suppose,  says  he, 
God  had  given  to  men  a  medicating  potion  inducing  fear ; 
so  that  the  more  any  one  should  drink  of  it,  so  much  the 
more  miserable  he  should  find  himself  at  every  draught,  and 
become  fearful  of  every  thing  both  present  and  future  ;  and 
at  last,  though  the  most  courageous  of  men,  should  be  totally 
possessed  by  fear ;  and  afterward,  having  slept  off  the  effects 
of  it,  should  become  himself  again  : "  De  Leg.  i.  near  the 
end.  He  pursues  at  large  this  hypothesis,  applying  it  to  his 
purpose,  which  has  no  relation  to  the  present  subject.  Homer 
places  two  vessels  at  the  threshold  of  Jupiter,  one  of  good, 
the  other  of  evil :  he  gives  to  some  a  potion  mixed  of  both,  to 
others  from  the  evil  vessel  only  :  these  are  completely  misera- 
ble :  Iliad,  xxvi.  527. 

23.  —  who  oppress  thee]  "  Videntur,  LXX,  Chald.  Syr. 
Tuig.  legisse  piti;  ut  xl.  26. : "  SECKER.  And  so  it  is  in 
edit.  Gersom. 

Ibid.  That  say  to  thee,  Sow  down  thy  body]  A  very 
strong  and  most  expressive  description  of  the  insolent  pride 
of  eastern  conquerors  ;  which,  though  it  may  seem  greatly 
exaggerated,  yet  hardly  exceeds  the  strict  truth.  An  ex- 
ample has  already  been  given  of  it  in  note  to  chap.  xlix.  23. 
I  will  here  add  one  or  two  more.  "  Joshua  called  for  all 
the  men  of  Israel ;  and  said  unto  the  captains  of  the  men  of 
war  that  went  with  him  :  Come  near,  put  your  feet  upon 
the  necks  of  these  kings  ;  "  Josh.  x.  24.  "  Adonibezek  said, 
Threescore  and  ten  kings,  having  their  thumbs  and  their 
great  toes  cut  off,  gathered  their  meat  under  my  table  :  as  I 
have  done,  so  hath  God  requited  me ;  "  Judg.  i.  7.  The 
Emperor  Valerianus  being  through  treachery  taken  prisoner 
by  Sapor  king  of  Persia,  was  treated  by  him  as  the  basest 
and  most  abject  slave :  for  the  Persian  monarch  commanded 
the  unhappy  Roman  to  bow  himself  down,  and  offer  him 
his  back,  on  which  he  set  his  foot,  in  order  to  mount  his 
chariot  or  his  horse,  whenever  he  had  occasion  :  Lactan- 


358  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LI. 

tius,  De  Mort.  Persec.  cap.  v.  ;  Aurel.  Victor.  Epitome,  cap. 
xxxii. 

CHAPTER  LII. 

2.  —  ascend  thy  lofty  seat]  The  literal  rendering  here 
is,  according  to  our  English  translation,  "  arise,  sit  :  "  on 
which  a  very  learned  person  remarks  :  "So  the  old  versions. 
But  sitting  is  an  expression  of  mourning  in  Scripture  and 
the  ancients  ;  and  doth  not  well  agree  with  the  rising  just 
before/5  It  doth  not  indeed  agree  according  to  our  ideas  : 
but  considered  in  an  oriental  light,  it  is  perfectly  consistent. 
The  common  manner  of  sitting  in  the  eastern  countries  is 
upon  the  ground  or  floor,  with  the  legs  crossed.  The 
people  of  better  condition  have  the  floors  of  their  chambers 
or  divans  covered  with  carpets  for  this  purpose  ;  and  round 
the  chamber  broad  couches,  raised  a  little  above  the  floor. 
spread  with  mattresses  handsomely  covered,  which  are  called 
sophas.  When  sitting  is  spoken  of  as  a  posture  of  more 
than  ordinary  state,  it  is  quite  of  a  different  kind  ;  and  means 
sitting  on  high,  on  a  chair  of  state  or  throne  ;  for  which  a 
footstool  was  necessary.,  both  in  order  that  the  person  might 
raise  himself  up  to  it,  and  for  supporting  the  legs  when  he 
was  placed  in  it.  "  Chairs  (saith  Sir  John  Chardin)  are 
never  used  in  Persia  but  at  the  coronation  of  their  kings. 
The  king  is  seated  in  a  chair  of  gold  set  with  jewels,  three 
feet  high.  —  The  chairs  which  are  used  by  the  people  in  the 
East  are  always  so  high  as  to  make  a  footstool  necessary. 
And  this  proves  the  propriety  of  the  style  of  Scripture,  which 
always  joins  the  footstool  to  the  throne:  "  (Isa.  Ixvi.  1.  Psal. 
ex.  1.)  :  Voyages,  torn.  ix.  p.  85.  12mo.  Beside  the  six  steps 
to  Solomon's  throne,  there  was  a  footstool  of  gold  fastened 
to  the  seat,  2  Chron.  ix.  18.  which  would  otherwise  have 
been  too  high  for  the  king  to  reach,  or  to  sit  on  conveniently. 

When  Thetis  comes  to  wait  on  Vulcan  to  request  armour 
for  her  son,  she  is  received  with  great  respect,  and  seated 
on  a  silver-studded  throne,  a  chair  of  ceremony,  with  a  foot- 
stool :— 


fiev  tirftroc,  xctOfio-fV  tin  3-govov 

e)?ra  &      jj»u?  itonv  w.  Iliad,  xviii.  389. 


"  High  on  a  throne,  with  stars  of  silver  graced, 
And  various  artifice,  the  queen  she  placed; 
A  footstool  at  her  feet."  Pope. 


CHAP.  LII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  359 


en  xedefyec  <rvv  wTaTflJW.   Athenaeus, 

v.  4.  :  "A  throne  is  nothing  more  than  a  handsome  sort  of 
chair,  with  a  footstool." 

5.  And  they  that  are  lords  over  them  —  ]     For  *hwn,  sin- 
gular. in  the  text,  more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  MSS 
have  V-^D,  plural,  according  to  the  Masoretical  correction 
in  the  margin  :  which  shews,  that  the  Masoretes  often  super- 
stitiously  retained  apparent  mistakes  in  the  text,  even  when 
they  had  sufficient  evidence  to  authorize  the  introduction  of 
the  true  reading. 

Ibid.  —  make  their  boast  of  it]  For  iy?rv,  "  make  them 
to  howl,"  five  MSS  (two  ancient)  have  iV?nr,  "  make  their 
boast  ;  "  which  is  confirmed  by  the  Chaldee  paraphrast,  who 
renders  it  jTDrwD. 

6.  Therefore  shall  my  people  —  ]     The   word  {3%   occur- 
ring the  second  time  in  this  verse,  seems  to  be  repeated  by 
mistake.     It   has  no  force  or   emphasis  as  a  repetition  ;  it 
only  embarrasses  the  construction  and  the  sense.     It   was 
not  in  the  copies  from    which  ,the  LXX,  Syr.  and  Vulg. 
were  translated;  it   was   not  in   the   copy   of    LXX    from 
which  the  Arabic  was  translated  :  but  in  tl^e  Aldine  and 
Complutensian  editions   <JW  TWO  is  repeated  ;    probably   so 
corrected,  in  order  to  make  it  conformable  with  the  Hebrew 
text. 

Ibid.  For  1  am  He  that  promised}  For  Kin,  the  Bodley 
MS,  and  another,  have  nin»;  "  for  I  am  JEHOVAH  that  prom- 
ised :  "  and  another  ancient  MS  adds  nin»  after  Kin.  The 
addition  of  JEHOVAH  seems  to  be  right,  in  consequence  of 
what  was  said  in  the  preceding  line,  "  My  people  shall  know 
my  name." 

7.  How  beautiful  —  ]     The  watchmen    discover  afar  off, 
on  the  mountains,  the  messenger  bringing  the  expected  and 
much  wished-for  news  of  the  deliverance  from  the  Babylonish 
captivity.     They  immediately  spread  the  joyful  tidings,  ver. 
8.  and  with  a  loud  voice  proclaim  that  JEHOVAH  is  returning 
to  Sion,  to  resume  his  residence  on  his  holy  mountain,  which 
for  some  time  he  seemed  to  have  deserted.     This  is  the  literal 
sense  of  the  place. 

"  How  beautiful  on  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  the 
joyful  messenger,"  is  an  expression  highly  poetical  ;  for,  how 
welcome  is  his  arrival  !  how  agreeable  are  the  tidings  which 
he  brings  ! 

Nahum,  who  is  generally  supposed  to  have  lived  after 


360  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LII. 

Isaiah,  has  manifestly  taken  from  him  this  very  pleasing 
image ;  but  the  imitation  ^does  not  equal  the  beauty  of  the 
original : 

<(  Behold  upon  the  mountains  the  feet  of  the  joyful  messenger, 

Of  him  that  announceth  peace: 

Celebrate,  O  Judah,  thy  festivals;  perform  thy  vows: 

For  no  more  shall  pass  through  thee  the  wicked  one; 

He  is  utterly  cut  off.  Nah.  i.  15, 

But  it  must  at  the  same  time  be  observed,  that  Isaiah's  sub- 
ject is  infinitely  more  interesting,  and  more  sublime,  than 
that  of  Nahum  :  The  latter  denounces  the  destruction  of  the 
capital  of  the  Assyrian  empire,  the  most  formidable  enemy 
of  Judah  ;  the  ideas  of  the  former  are  in  their  full  extent 
evangelical :  and  accordingly  St  Paul  has,  with  the  utmost 
propriety,  applied  this  passage  to  the  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel, Rom.  x.  15.  The  joyful  tidings  here  to  be  proclaimed, 
"  Thy  God,  O  Sion,  reigneth,"  are  the  same  that  John  the 
Baptist,  the  messenger  of  Christ,  and  that  Christ  himself 
published,  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 

8.  Ml  thy  watchmen — ]     There  is  a  difficulty  in  the  con- 
struction of  this  place,   which,   I  think,  none  of  the  ancient 
versions,  or  modern  interpreters,  have  cleared  up  to  satisfac- 
tion.    Rendered  word  for  word  it  stands  thus  :  "  The  voice 
of  thy  watchmen  :  they  lift  up  their  voice."     The  sense  of 
the  first  member,  considered  as  elliptical,  is  variously  sup- 
plied by  various  expositors ;  by  none,  as  it  seems  to  me,  in 
any  way  that  is  easy  and  natural.     I  am  persuaded  there  is 
a  mistake  in  the  present  text,  and  that  the  true  reading  is 
yD¥  *»,   "  all  thy    watchmen  ;  "    instead  of  yav  *?ip.      The 
mistake  was  easy  from  the  similitude  in  sound  of  the  two  let- 
ters D  and  p.     And  in  one  MS  the  p  is  upon  a  rasure.     This 
correction  perfectly  rectifies  the  sense  and  the  construction. 

Ibid.  — when  JEHOVAH  returneth  to  Sion.~\  So  the  Chal- 
dee :  jvv1?  rvnoy  a»;y  "O,  "  when  he  shall  bring  back  his 
presence  to  Sion,"  God  is  considered  as  having  deserted 
his  people  during  the  captivity  ;  and,  at  the  restoration,  as 
returning  himself  with  them  to  Sion  his  former  habitation  : 
See  Psal.  Ix.  1.  chap.  xl.  9.  and  note. 

9.  — he   hath   redeemed  Israel]      For    the    word    DVtfW, 
which  occurs  the  second  time  in  this  verse,  MS  Bodley,  and 
another,  read    bvw.     It  is  upon  a  rasure  in  a  third ;  and 
left  unpointed  at  first,  as  suspected,  in  a  fourth.     It  was  an 
easy  mistake,  by  the  transcriber's  casting  his  eye  on  the  line 


•CHAP.  LII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  361 

above ;  and  the  propriety  of  the  correction,  both  in  regard  to 
sense  and  elegance,  is  evident. 

11.  Depart,  depart  ye ;  go  ye  out  from  thence}  The 
Prophet  Jeremiah  seems  to  have  had  his  eye  on  this  passage 
of  Isaiah,  and  to  have  applied  it  to  a  subject  directly  oppo- 
site. It  is  here  addressed  by  the  Prophet  in  the  way  of  en- 
couragement and  exhortation  to  the  Jews  coming  out  of 
Babylon  :  Jeremiah  has  given  it  a  different  turn,  and  has 
thrown  it  out  as  a  reproach  of  the  heathen  upon  the  Jews, 
when  they  were  driven  from  Jerusalem  into  captivity  : 
"  Depart;  ye  are  polluted,  depart;  depart  ye,  forbear  to  touch: 

Yea,  they  are  fled,  they  are  removed:  they  shall  dwell  here 
no  more."  Lam.  iv.  15. 

Of  the  metrical  distribution  of  these  lines,  see  the  Prelim. 
Dissertation,  p.  xxxvi.  note. 

13.  The  subject  of  Isaiah's  prophecy,  from  the  fortieth 
chapter  inclusive,  has  hitherto  been,  in  general,  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  people  of  God.  This  includes  in  it  three  distinct 
parts ;  which,  however,  have  a  close  connexion  with  one 
another :  that  is,  the  deliverance  of  the  Jews  from  the  cap- 
tivity of  Babylon  ;  the  deliverance  of  the  Gentiles  from  their 
miserable  state  of  ignorance  and  idolatry  ;  and  the  deliver- 
ance of  mankind  from  the  .  captivity  of  sin  and  death. 
These  three  subjects  are  subordinate  to  one  another ;  and 
the  two  latter  are  shadowed  out  under  the  image  of  the 
former.  They  are  covered  by  it  as  by  a  veil ;  which  how- 
ever is  transparent,  and  suffers  them  to  appear  through  it* 
Cyrus  is  expressly  named  as  the  immediate  agent  of  God  in 
effecting  the  first  deliverance :  A  greater  Person  is  spoken 
of  as  the  agent  who  is  to  effect  the  two  latter  deliverances  ; 
called  the  servant,  the  elect  of  God,  in  whom  his  soul  de- 
lighteth  ;  Israel,  in  whom  God  will  be  glorified.  Now  these 
three  subjects  have  a  very  near  relation  to  one  another  ;  for, 
as  the  agent  who  was  to  effect  the  two  latter  deliverances, 
that  is,  the  Messiah,  was  to  be  born  a  Jew,  with  particular 
limitations  of  time,  family,  and  other  circumstances ;  the 
first  deliverance  was  necessary  in  the  order  of  Providence, 
and  according  to  the  determinate  counsel  of  God,  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  two  latter  deliverances ;  and  the  se- 
cond deliverance  was  necessary  to  the  third,  or  rather,  was 
involved  in  it,  and  made  an  essential  part  of  it.  This  being 
the  case,  Isaiah  has  not  treated  the  three  subjects  as  quite 
distinct  and  separate  in  a  methodical  and  orderly  manner, 
36 


362  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LII. 

like  a  philosopher  or  a  logician,  but  has  taken  them  in  their 
connective  view :  he  has  handled  them  as  a  prophet  and  a 
poet ;  he  hath  allegorized  the  former,  and  under  the  image 
of  it  has  shadowed  out  the  two  latter ;  he  has  thrown  them 
all  together  ;  has  mixed  one  with  another,  has  passed  from 
this  to  that  with  rapid  transitions,  and  has  painted  the  whole 
with  the  strongest  and  boldest  imagery.  The  restoration  of 
the  Jews  from  captivity,  the  call  of  the  Gentiles,  the  redemp- 
tion by  Messiah,  have  hitherto  been  handled  interchangeably 
and  alternately  :  Babylon  has  hitherto  been  kept  pretty  much 
in  sight ;  at  the  same  time  that  strong  intimations  of  some- 
thing much  greater  have  frequently  been  thrown  in.  But 
here  Babylon  is  at  once  dropped ;  and  I  think  hardly  ever 
comes  in  sight  again :  unless  perhaps  in  chap.  Iv.  12.  and  Ivii.  14. 
The  Prophet's  views  are  almost  wholly  engrossed  by  the  su- 
perior part  of  his  subject.  He  introduces  the  Messiah  as  ap- 
pearing at  first  in  the  lowest  state  of  humiliation,  which  he 
had  just  touched  upon  before,  chap.  1.  5,  6.  and  obviates  the 
offence  which  would  be  occasioned  by  it,  by  declaring  the 
important  and  necessary  cause  of  it,  and  foreshewing  the 
glory  which  should  follow  it. 

This  seems  to  me  to  be  the  nature  and  the  true  design  of 
this  part  of  Isaiah's  prophecies  ;  and  this  view  of  them  seems 
to  afford  the  best  method  of  resolving  difficulties  in  which 
expositors  are  frequently  engaged,  being  much  divided  be- 
tween what  is  called  the  literal  and  the  mystical  sense — not 
very  properly  ;  for  the  mystical  or  spiritual  sense  is  very  often 
the  most  literal  sense  of  all. 

Abarbanel  seems  to  have  had  an  idea  of  this  kind,  as  he  is 
quoted  by  Vitringa  on  chap.  xlix.  1.  who  thus  represents  his 
sentiments  :  "  Censet  Abarbanel  Prophetam  hie  transitum 
facere  a  liberations  ex  exilio  Babylonico  ad  liberationem  ex 
exilio  Romano,  (for  this  he  takes  to  be  the  secondary  sense)  ; 
et,  quod  hie  animadversu  dignum  est,  observat  liberationem 
ex  exilio  Babylonico  esse  rrsni  niK,  signum  et  argumentum 
liberationis  futurse ;  atque  adeo  orationem  Prophetsede  duabus 
hisce  liberationibus  in  superioribus  concionibus  saepe  inter  se 
permisceri.  Verba  ejus :  '  Et  propterea  verba,  sive  res,  in 
prophetia  superiore  inter  se  permixtse  occurrunt ;  modode  lib- 
eratione  Babylonica,  modo  de  liberatione  extrema  accipiendae. 
ut  orationis  necessitas  exigit.'  Nullum  hie  vitium,  nisi  quod 
redemptionem  veram  et  spiritualem  a  Messia  vero  Jesu  ad- 
ductam  non  agnoscat." 


OHAP.  Lit.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  363 

14.  — were  astonished  at  him]     For  y1?^  read  vty:  so 
Syr.  Chald.  and  Vulg.  in  a  MS ;  and  so  likewise  two  ancient 
MSS. 

15.  So  shall  he  sprinkle  many  nations]    I  retain  the  com- 
mon  rendering,  though  I  am  by  no  means  satisfied  with  it. 
"  nr}  frequent  in   the   law,  means  only  to  sprinkle :  but  the 
water  sprinkled  is  the  accusative  case  ;  the  thing,  on  which, 
has  ^y  or  *7N.     ©at^c-ovr**,  o,   makes  the  best  apodosis.     any 
would  do.  nnr  is  used  ii.  2.  Jer.  xxxi.  12.  li.  44.  but  is  unlike. 
Kings  shall  shut,   &c.  is  good  ;  but  seems  to  want  a  first 
part :  "     SECKER.     Munster  translates  it,  "  Faciet  loqui  (de 
se)  ;  "  and  in  his  note  thus  explains  it:  "nr  proprie  signifi- 
cat  spargere  et  stillas  disseminare  :  hie  vero  capitur  pro  loqui, 
et  verbum  disseminare."     This  is  pretty  much   as  the  Rab- 
bins, Kimchi,  and  Salomo  ben  Melee,  explain  it,  referring  to 
the  expression  of  ''•  dropping  the   word."     But  the  same  ob- 
jection lies  to  this  as  to  the  common  rendering  ;  it  ought  to 
be  Dyu  by  (-on)  nr.     Bishop  Chandler,  Defence,  p.  148.  says, 
"  that  to  sprinkle,  is  used  for  to  surprise  and  astonish,  as  peo- 
ple are  that  have  much   water  thrown  upon  them.     And  this 
sense  is  followed  by  the  LXX."     This  is  ingenious,  but  rather 
too  refined.     Dr  DURELL  conjectures,  that  the  true  reading 
may  be   NIT,  they  shall  regard,  which  comes  near  to  the 
ftavftatioi'tca  of  the  LXX  ;  who  seem  to  give  the  best  sense  of 
any  to  the  place. 

"  I  find  in  my  papers  the  same  conjecture  which  Dr 
DURELL  made  from  bawtuvroflou  in  LXX.  And  it  may  be 
added,  that  run  is  used  to  express  "  looking  on  any  thing 
with  admiration  ;  "  Psal.  xi.  7.  and  xvii.  15.  and  xxvii  .4.  and 
Ixiii.  2.  Cant.  vi.  13.  It  is  particularly  applied  to  "  looking 
on  God,"  Exod.  xxiv.  11.  and  Job  xix.  26.  Gisbert  Cuper, 
in  Observat.  lib.  ii.  1.  though  aliud  agens,  has  some  obser- 
vations which  shew  how  nearly  o^eta  and  d-avfutga  are  allied, 
which  (with  the  peculiar  sense  of  the  verb  run  above  noted) 
add  to  the  probability  of  S-avftotrovlcii  being  the  version  of  ITTV 
in  the  text :  «<  JV  w  *aot  navies  ^  etvlov  ogao-i.  Hesiod.  id  est, 
cum  veneratione  quadam  admirantur.  Hinc  o$*a  et 
junxit  Themistius  Or.  1.  E/?«  7r*tW7«<  «<  w^um 
ogavlttj  KXI  G-e  (Mvov  ^vfjux^o^.  Theophrastus  in  Charact.  cap. 
iii.  EvSvfii)  aq  et7ro£te7ry<rit  ei$  <re  oi  owfyaTrot.  Hence  the  rendering 
of  this  verse  seems  to  be  : — 

So  many  nations  shall  look  on  him  with  admiration; 
Kings  shall  stop  their  mouths — "  Dr  JUBB. 


364 


NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LIII- 


CHAPTER  LIII. 


2.  He  hath  no  form,  nor  any  beauty  —  ]  Ov%  tihs  etvreay  & 

iiec  £ifrau.ev  O.VTOV'   xfe  $-eagiei,   ivce,   ei7ri6vf^.u^v  ctvrov'.    Symma- 

chus  ;    the  only   one  of  the  ancients  that   has  translated  it 
rightly. 

3.  —  and  acquainted  with  grief  —  ]    For  yrri,  eight  MSS 
and  one  edition   have  jm;  LXX,  Syr.  and   Yulg.  read  it. 


_ 

Ibid.  —  as  one  that  hideth  his  face]  For  "inDDDi,  four 
MSS  (two  ancient)  have  TnDDDi,  one  MS  TnDDi.  For 
o?:3,  two  MSS  have  VJ3;  and  so  likewise  LXX  and  Vulg. 
Mourners  covered  up  the  lower  part  of  their  faces,  and  their 
heads  ;  2  Sam.  xv.  30.  Ezek.  xxiv.  17.  ;  and  lepers  were 
commanded  by  the  law.  Lev.  xiii.  45.  to  cover  their  upper 
lip.  From  which  circumstance  it  seems,  that  Vulg.  Aquiia, 
Symmachus,  and  the  Jewish  commentators,  have  taken  the 
word;n:j,  stricken,  in  the  next  verse,  as  meaning  stricken 
with  the  leprosy,  ev  a$y  evict,  Sym  :  «0wtsw,  Aq.  :  leprosunru 
Vulg. 

4.  Surely  our  infirmities  —  ]     Seven  MSS  (two  ancient), 
and  three  editions,  have  ir^n,  in  the  plural  number. 

Ibid.  —  he  hath  carried  them}  Fifteen  MSS  (two  ancient). 
and  two  editions,  have  the  word  Nin  before  0*730  in  the  text: 
lour  other  MSS  have  it  in  the  margin.  This  adds  force  to 
the  sense,  and  elegance  to  the  construction. 

5.  —  by  which  our  peace   is   effected]     Twenty-one  MSS 
and  six  editions  have  the  word  fully  and  regularly  expressed. 
O'D1^;  "  pacificationum  nostrarum  :  "  Ar.  Montan. 

6.  —  the  iniquities  of  us   all]     For  jrp,  the  ancient  inter- 
preters read  nui;%  plural  ;  and  so  Vulg.  in  MS  Blanchini. 

8.  Jlnd  his  manner  of  life  who  would  declare  ?]  My 
learned  friend  Dr  KENNICOTT  has  communicated  to  me  the 
following  passages  from  the  Mishna,  and  the  Gemara  of 
Babylon,  as  leading  to  a  satisfactory  explication  of  this  diffi- 
cult place.  It  is  said  in  the  former,  that,  before  any  one 
was  punished  for  a  capital  crime,  proclamation  was  made 
before  the  prisoner  by  the  public  crier  in  these  words  : 
'^y  -roVi  X31  HDT  V?  yrwv  !D  ^DJ  "  quicunque  noverit  ali- 
(juid  de  ejus  innocentia.  venial  et  doceat  cle  eo:"  Tract. 
Sanhedrim.  Surenhus.  Par.  IV.  p.  233.  On  which  passage 
the  Gemara  of  Babylon  adds.  that.  "  before  the  death  of 


CHAP.  LIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  365 

Jesus,  this  proclamation  was  made  for  forty  days ;  but  no 
defence  could  be  found."  On  which  words  Lardner  ob- 
serves," It  is  truly  surprising  to  see  such  falsities,  contrary 
to  well  known  facts :"  Testimonies,  vol.  i.  p.  198.  The 
report  is  certainly  false  ;  but  this  false  report  is  founded  on 
the  supposition  that  there  was  such  a  custom,  and  so  far 
confirms  the  account  above  given  for  the  Mishna.  The 
Mishna  was  composed  in  the  middle  of  the  second  century, 
according  to  Prideaux :  Lardner  ascribes  it  to  the  year  of 
Christ  180. 

Casaubon  has  a  quotation  from  Maimonides,  which  fur- 
ther confirms  this  account :  Exercitat.  in  Baronii  Annales,  Art. 
Ixxxvi.  Ann.  34.  Num.  119.  "Auctor  est  Maimonides  in 
Perek  xiii.  ejus  Libri  ex  opere  Jad,  solitum  fieri,  ut  cum  Reus, 
sententiam  mortis  passus,  a  loco  judicii  exibat  ducendus  ad 
supplicium,  prsecederet  ipsum  mm,  xjj?v|,  prseco  ;  et  heec  verba 
diceret :  llle  exit  occidendus  rnorte  ilia,  quia  transgressus  est 
transgressione  ilia,  in  loco  illo,  tempore  illo,  et  sunt  ejus  rei 
testes  ille  et  ille.  Q,ui  noverit  aliquid  ad  ejus  innocentiam 
probandam,  veniat,  et  loquatur  pro  eo." 

Now  it  is  plain  from  the  history  of  the  four  Evangelists,  that 
in  the  trial  and  condemnation  of  Jesus  no  such  rule  was  ob- 
served, (though,  according  to  the  account  of  the  Mishna,  it 
must  have  been  in  practice  at  that  time);  no  proclamation  was 
made  for  any  person  to  bear  witness  to  the  innocence  and 
character  of  Jesus  ;  nor  did  any  one  voluntarily  step  forth  to 
give  his  attestation  to  it.  And  our  Saviour  seems  to  refer  to 
such  a  custom,  and  to  claim  the  benefit  of  it,  by  his  answer 
to  the  High  Priest,  when  he  asked  him  of  his  disciples  and  of 
his  doctrine  :  "  I  spake  openly  to  the  world  ;  I  ever  taught  in 
the  synagogue  and  in  the  temple,  whither  the  Jews  always 
resort ;  and  in  secret  have  I  said  nothing.  Why  askest  thou  me? 
ask  them  which  heard  me,  what  I  have  said  unto  them  :  be- 
hold, they  know  what  I  said  ;"  John  xviii.  20,  21.  This  there- 
fore was  one  remarkable  instance  of  hardship  and  injustice, 
among  others,  predicted  by  the  prophet,  which  our  Saviour  un- 
derwent in  his  trial  and  sufferings. 

St.  Paul  likewise,  in  similar  circumstances,  standing  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  Festus,  seems  to  complain  of  the  same 
unjust  treatment ;  that  no  one  was  called,  or  would  appear 
to  vindicate  his  character  :  "  My  manner  of  life  (TV  ptartv  pav, 
"in),  from  my  youth,  which  was  at  the  first  among  my  own 
36* 


366  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  L1II. 

nation  at  Jerusalem,  know  all  the  Jews  :  which  knew  me  from 
the  beginning,  if  they  would  testify  :  that  after  the  straitest 
sect  of  our  religion  I  lived  a  Pharisee  ;"  Acts  xxvi.  4,  5. 

-in  signifies  age,  duration,  the  time  which  one  man  or  many 
together  pass  in  this  world  ;  in  this  place,  the  course,  tenor,  or 
manner  of  life.  The  verb  in  signifies,  according  to  Castell. 
"ordinatam  vitam  sive  aetatem  egit,  ordinavit,  ordine  constitu- 
it."  In  Arabic,  "  curavit,  administravit." 

Ibid.  —  he  was  smitten  to  death']  The  LXX  read  mrh, 
ets  Seuefln.  And  so  the  Coptic  and  Sahidic  versions  from  LXX, 
MSS  St.  Germain  de  Prez. 

"  Origen,  (contra  Celsum.  lib.  i.  p.  370.  edit.  1733),  after 
having  quoted  at  large  this  prophecy  concerning  the  Messiah. 
tells  us,  that  having  once  made  use  of  this  passage  in  a  dispute 
against  some  that  were  accounted  wise  among  the  Jews  ;  one 
of  them  replied,  that  the  words  did  not  mean  one  man,  but 
one  people,  the  Jews  ;  who  were  smitten  of  God,  and  dis- 
persed among  the  Gentiles  for  their  conversion  :  that  he  then 
urged  many  parts  of  this  prophecy,  to  shew  the  absurdity  of 
this  interpretation  ;  and  that  he  seemed  to  press  them  the 
hardest  by  this  sentence  :  a™  rav  aaofUM  ra  A**  /u#  v%6n  tit  Swain. 
Now  as  Origen,  the  author  of  the  Hexapla,  must  have  un- 
derstood Hebrew,  we  cannot  suppose  that  he  would  have  urged 
this  last  quotation  as  so  decisive,  if  the  Greek  version  had  not 
agreed  here  with  the  Hebrew  text  ;  nor  that  these  wise  Jews 
would  have  been  at  all  distressed  by  this  quotation,  unless 
their  Hebrew  text  had  read  agreeably  to  ei$  ftavaxov.  on  which 
the  argument  principally  depended  :  for,  by  quoting  it  imme- 
diately, they  would  have  triumphed  over  him.  and  reprobated 
his  Greek  version.  This,  whenever  they  could  do  it.  was 
their  constant  practice,  in  their  dispute  with  the  Christians. 
Jerom,  in  his  preface  to  the  Psalms,  says.  ;;  Nuper  cum 
Ilebrax)  disputan?,  queedam  pro  Domino  salvatore  de 
Psalmis  testimonia  protulisti  :  volensque  ille  te  illudere, 
per  sermones  fere  singulos  asserebat,  non  ita  haberi 
in  -  Hebrseo,  ut  tu  de  LXX  opponebas/'  And  Origen 
himself,  who  laboriously  compared  the  Hebrew  text  with  the 
LXX  has  recorded  the  necessity  of  arguing  with  the 
Jews  from  such  passages  only  as  were  in  the  LXX 
agreeable  to  the  Hebrew  :  /»*  ^05 


See  Epist.  ad  African,  p.  15.  17. 


CHAP.  LI1I.  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  367 

Wherefore,  as  Origen  had  carefully  compared  the  Greek 
version  of  LXX  with  the  Hebrew  text,  and  speaks  of  the 
contempt  with  which  the  Jews  treated  all  appeals  to  the 
Greek  version,  where  it  differed  from  their  Hebrew  text ; 
and  as  he  puzzled  and  confounded  the  learned  Jews,  by  urg- 
ing upon  them  the  reading  eis  ftavaiov  in  this  place  ;  it  seems 
almost  impossible  not  to  conclude,  both  from  Origen's  argu- 
ment and  the  silence  of  his  Jewish  adversaries,  that  the  He- 
brew text  at  that  time  actually  had  mo1?,  agreeably  to  the 
version  of  the  LXX  :  "  Dr.  KENNICOTT. 

7.  But  with  the  rich  man  was  his  tomb]  Among  the 
various  opinions  which  have  been  given  on  this  passage,  I 
have  no  doubt  in  giving  my  assent  to  that  which  makes  the 
2  in  rniM  radical,  and  renders  it  cxcelsasua.  This  is  men- 
tioned by  Aben  Ezra,  as  received  by  some  in  his  time ;  and 
has  been  long  since  approved  by  Schindler,  Drusius3  and 
many  other  learned  Christian  interpreters. 

The  most  simple  tombs  or  monuments  of  old  consisted  of 
hillocks  of  earth  heaped  up  over  the  grave  :  of  which  we 
have  numerous  examples  in  our  own  country,  generally 
allowed  to  be  of  very  high  antiquity.  The  Romans  called 
it  monument  of  this  sort  very  properly  tumulus :  and  the 
Hebrews  as  properly  HIM,  for  that  is  the  form  of  the  noun  in 
the  singular  number ;  and  sixteen  MSS,  and  the  two  oldest 
editions,  express  the  word  fully  in  this  place,  vmoa.  "  Tu- 
mulus et  collem  et  sepulchrum  fuisse  significat.  Potest  enirn 
tumulus  sine  sepulchro  interpretatione  collis  interdum  accipi. 
Nam  et  terree  congestio  super  ossa  tumulus  dicitur  :  "  Servius, 
in  jEneid  iii.  22.  And  to  make  the  tumulus  still  more  ele- 
vated and  conspicuous,  a  pillar  or  some  other  ornament  was 
often  erected  upon  it : — 

%evctvTeSj  KOU  SKI  rqhyv  Egvo-avrss, 

i>oTct.T(a,  TVfi<£<f)  evtiges  eger/nov.  Odyss.  Xli.  14. 

"  A  rising  tomb,  the  silent  dead  to  grace, 
Fast  by  the  roarings  of  the  main  we  place : 
The  rising  tomb  a  lofty  column  bore, 
And  high  above  it  rose  the  tapering  oar."          Pope. 

The  tomb  therefore  might  with  great  propriety  be  called  the 
high  place.  The  Hebrews  might  also  call  such  a  tomb  niD3, 
from  the  situation  ;  for  they  generally  chose  to  erect  them  on 
eminences.  The  sepulchre  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  in  which 
the  body  of  Christ  was  laid,  was  upon  a  hill,  Mount  Calvary. 
See  chap.  xxii.  16.  and  the  note  there. 


368  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LII. 


"  It  should  be  observed,  that  the  word  vrrtna  is  not  formed 
from  moa,  the  plural  of  noa,  the  feminine  noun,  but  from 
DTnoa,  the  plural  of  a  masculine  noun,  nioa.  This  is  noted, 
because  these  two  nouns  have  been  negligently  confounded 
with  one  another,  and  absurdly  reduced  to  one,  by  very 
learned  men.  So  Buxtorff,  Lex.  in  v.  rroa,  represents  >nioa, 
though  plainly  without  any  pronoun  suffixed,  as  it  governs 
the  word  px  following  it,  as  only  another  form  of  maa; 
whereas  the  truth  is,  that  rona  and  ovnDa  are  different  words, 
and  have  through  the  whole  Bible  very  different  significa- 
tions :  nna,  whether  occurring  in  the  singular  or  plural  num- 
ber, always  signifying  "  a  place,  or  places,  of  worship  ;  "  and 
DTnna  always  signifying  "  heights."  Thus  in  Deut.  xxxii. 
13.  Isa.  Iviii.  14.  Amos  iv.  13.  and  Mic.  i.  3.  p«  won  signifies 
;i  the  heights  of  the  earth  :  "  Isa.  xiv.  14.  ay  »niDa,  c;  the 
heights  of  the  clouds  ;  "  and  in  Job  ix.  8.  D1  *m»a,  "  the 
heights  of  the  sea,"  i.  e.  the  high  waves  of  the  sea,  as  Virgil 
calls  a  wave  "  praeruptus  aquae  mons."  These  being  all  the 
places  where  this  word  occurs  without  a  suffix,  the  sense  of 
it  seems  clearly  determined  by  them.  It  occurs  in  other 
instances  with  a  pronoun  suffixed,  which  confirm  this  signi- 
fication. Unluckily  our  English  Bible  has  not  distinguished 
the  feminine  noun  rroa  from  the  masculine  singular  noun 
nioa;  and  has  consequently  always  given  the  signification 
of  the  latter  to  the  former,  always  rendering  it  "  a  high 
place  :  "  whereas  the  true  sense  of  the  word  appears  plainly 
to  be,  in  the  very  numerous  passages  in  which  it  occurs,  "  a 
place  of  worship,"  or  "a  sacred  court,"  or  "a  sacred  inclo- 
sure,"  whether  appropriated  to  the  worship  of  idols,  or  to 
that  of  the  true  God  :  for  it  is  used  of  both  passim.  Now, 
as  the  Jewish  graves  are  shewn,  from  2  Chron.  xxxii.  33. 
and  Isa.  xxii.  16.  to  have  been  in  high  situations  ;  to  which 
may  be  added  the  custom  of  another  eastern  nation  from 
Osbeck's  Travels,  who  says,  vol.  i.  p.  339.  "  The  Chi- 
nese graves  are  made  on  the  side  of  hills  ;  "  "  his  heights  " 
becomes  a  very  easy  metaphor  to  express  his  sepulchre  :  " 
Dr.  JUBB. 

The  exact  completion  of  this  prophecy  will  be  fully  shewn, 
by  adding  here  the  several  circumstances  of  the  burial  of 
Jesus,  collected  from  the  accounts  of  the  Evangelists  :  — 

"  There  was  a  rich  man  of  Arimathea,  named  Joseph,  a 
member  of  the  Sanhedrim,  and  of  a  respectable  character, 
who  had  not  consented  to  their  counsel  and  act  :  he  went 


CHAP.  L1II.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  369 

to  Pilate,  and  begged  the  body  of  Jesus  ;  and  he  laid  it  in 
his  own  new  tomb,  which  had  been  hewn  out  of  the  rock, 
near  to  the  place  where  Jesus  was  crucified ;  having  first, 
wound  it  in  fine  linen  with  spices,  as  the  manner  of  the 
Jews  was  to  bury  the  rich  and  great." 

10.  — with  grief]     For  >l?nn,  the  verb,  the  construction 
of  which  seems  to  be  hard  and  inelegant  in  this  place,  Yulg. 
reads  '^ro,  in  infirmitate. 

Ibid.  If  his  soul  shall  make—]  For  D'tyn,  a  MS  has 
D#n,  which  may  be  taken  passively,  "  If  his  soul  shall  be 
made — ,"  agreeably  to  some  copies  of  LXX,  which  have 
dwTcci.  So  likewise  Syr. 

11.  — and  be  satisfied— -]     LXX,  Vulg.  Syr.  and  a  MS, 
add  the  conjunction  to  the  verb  j  yzvw* 

Ibid,  -^-shall  my  servant  justify]  Three  MSS  (two  of 
them  ancient),  omit  the  word  p*ny;  it  seems  to  be  only  an 
imperfect  repetition,  by  mistake,  of  the  preceding  word.  It 
makes  a  solecism  in  this  place ;  for,  according  to  the  con- 
stant usage  of  the  Hebrew  language,  the  adjective,  in  a 
phrase  of  this  kind,  ought  to  follow  the  substantive  ;  and 
"py  p"i¥  in  Hebrew  would  be  as  absurd  as  "  shall  my  ser- 
vant righteous  justify/'  in  English.  Add  to  this,  that,  it 
makes  the  hemistich  too  long, 

12.  And  made  intercession- — ]     For  y&,  in  the  future, 
a  MS  has  yjan,  preterit;  rather  better,   as   agreeable  with 
i,.he  other  verbs  immediately  preceding  in  the  sentence. 


CHAPTER   LIV, 

1.  Shout  for  joy,  O  thou  barren- — ]  The  church  of  God 
under  the  Old  Testament,  confined  within  the  narrow 
bounds  of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  still  more  so  in  respect  of 
the  very  small  number  of  true  believers,  and  which  some- 
times seemed  to  be  deserted  of  God  her  husband  ;  is  the 
barren  woman,  that  did  not  bear,  and  was  desolate.  She  is 
exhorted  to  rejoice,  and  to  express  her  joy  in  the  strongest 
manner,  on  the  reconciliation  of  her  husband,  see  ver.  6. 
and  on  the  accession  of  the  Gentiles  to  her  family.  The 
converted  Gentiles  are  all  along  considered  by  the  Prophet 
as  a  new  accession  of  adopted  children,  admitted  into  the 
original  church  of  God,  and  united  with  it.  See  chap,  xlix, 
20,  21. 


3f<3  ttOtES    ON    ISAIAH.  CtiAP.  LlV, 


4.  For  thou  shalt  forget]  "  Shame  of  thy  youth  ;  i.  e* 
the  bondage  of  Egypt  i  widowhood,  the  Captivity  of  Baby- 
lon :  ?'  SECKER. 

7.  Jw  a  little  anger  —  ]  So  the  Chald.  and  Syr.  either 
reading  m  for  >U1$  or  understanding  the  latter  word  as 
meaning  the  same  with  the  former,  which  they  both  make 
use  of.  See  Psal.  xxx.  5.  xxxv.  20.  in  LXX,  where  they 
render  #n  by  6^. 

•8.  I  hid  my  face  \f  or  a  moment]  from  thee]  The  word 
>»jn  is  omitted  by  LXX,  Syr.  and  two  MSS.  It  seems  to 
embarrass  rather  than  to  help  the  sentence.  "  Forte  reponi 
debet  pro  *pn0j  quod  potest  a  f]Vp  errore  scribee  originem 
duxisse  :  "  SECKER. 

9.  -^-as  in  the  days  of  Noah]  'D'Dj  in  one  word,  in  a 
MS,  and  some  editions  ;  and  so  Syr.  Chald.  Vulg.  Sym. 
Theod.  Abarbartel,  Salomo  b.  Melee,  and  Kirachij  ac- 
knowledge that  their  copies  vary  in  this  place. 

11,  12.  Behold,  I  lay  thy  stones-—]  These  seem  to  be 
general  images  to  express  beauty,  magnificence}  purity^ 
strength,  and  solidity,  agreeably  to  the  ideas  of  the  eastern 
nations  ;  and  to  have  never  been  intended  to  be  strictly 
scrutinized,  or  minutely  and  particularly  explained,  as  if 
they  had  each  of  them  some  precise  moral  or  spiritual 
meaning.  Tobit,  in  his  prophecy  of  the  final  restoration  of 
Israel,  describes  the  New  Jerusalem  in  the  same  oriental 
manner  :  "  For  Jerusalem  shall  be  built  up  with  sapphires, 
and  emeralds,  and  precious  stones  ;  thy  walls,  and  towers, 
and  battlements,  with  pure  gold.  And  the  streets  of  Jeru- 
salem shall  be  paved  with  beryl,  and  carbuncle,  and  stones 
of  Ophir  :  "  Tob,  xiii,  16,  17,  Compare  also  Rev.  xxi, 
18—21. 

15.  ^-,shall  come  over  to  thy  side]  For  Vi3%  twenty- 
eight  MSS  (eight  ancient)  have  *?S',  in  its  more  common 
form.  For  the  meaning  of  the  word  in  this  place,  see  Jer, 
xxxvii,  13, 

CHAPTER  LV. 

9.  Fer  us  the  heavens  are  higher  —  >]  I  am  persuaded 
that  3,  the  particle  of  comparison,  is  lost  in  this  place,  from 
the  likeness  of  the  particle  4Z)  immediately  preceding  it.  So 
Houbigant,  and  SECKER.  And  their  remark  is  confirmed 
by  all  the  ancient  versions,  which  express  it  ;  and  by  the 


CHAP.  LV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  371 

following   passage  of  Psalm,   ciii.  11.  which   is  almost  the 
same  :  — 


VIM  H3JD  '3 

.van'  hy  non  naa 

"  For  as  the  heavens  are  high  above  the  earth, 
So  high  is  his  goodness  over  them  that  fear  him." 

Where,  by  the  nature  of  the  sentence,  the  verb  in  the 
second  line  ought  to  be  the  same  with  that  in  the  first  :  HDJ, 
not  13J  :  so  Archbishop  Seeker  conjectured  ;  referring  how- 
ever to  Psal.  cxvii.  2. 

12.  The  mountains  and  the  hills  —  ]     These  are  highly 
poetical  images,  to  express  a  happy  state  attended  with  joy 
and  exultation. 

"  Ipsi  laetitia  voces  ad  sidera  jactant 
Intonsi  montes:  ipsae  jam  carmina  rupes, 
Ipsa  sonant  arbusta."  Virg.  Eel.  v. 

13.  Instead  of  the  thorny  bushes  —  ]     These  likewise  (see 
note  on  the  preceding  verse,  and  on  chap.  liv.  11.)  are  gen- 
eral poetical  images,   expressing  a  great  and  happy  change 
for  the    better.      The    wilderness    turned    into  a  paradise, 
Lebanon  into  Carmel  :  the  desert  of    the  Gentiles  watered 
with  the  heavenly  snow  and  rain,  which  fail  not  to   have 
their  due  effect,  and    becoming  fruitful  in  piety  and  right- 
eousness ;  or,  as  the  Chaldee  gives  the  moral  sense  of  the 
emblem,  u  Instead  of  the  wicked  shall  arise  the  just,  and 
instead  of  sinners,  such  as  fear  to  sin."     Compare  ch.  xxxv. 
1,  2.  xli.  19. 

Ibid.  And  instead  of  —  ]  The  conjunction  i  is  added, 
nnni,  in  forty  -five  MSS,  and  five  editions  ;  and  it  is  acknowl- 
edged by  all  the  ancient  versions.  The  Masoretes  therefore 
might  have  safely  received  it  into  the  text,  and  not  have  re- 
ferred us  for  it  to  the  margin. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

5.  — will  /  give  them]  For  i1?  in  the  singular,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  we  ought  to  read  in1?  in  the  plural :  so  read  LXX, 
Syr.  Chald  and  Vulg. 

7.  — shall  be  accepted]  A  word  is  here  lost  out  of  the 
text :  it  is  supplied  from  the  LXX,  rrr,  ftiovccu :  Houbigant. 

9.   Oall  ye  beasts  of  the  field — ]     Here  manifestly  begins 


372  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LVI. 

a  new  section.  The  Prophet,  in  the  foregoing  chapters, 
having  comforted  the  faithful  Jews  with  many  great  promises 
of  God's  favour  to  be  extended  to  them,  in  the  restoration 
of  their  ruined  state,  and  of  the  enlargement  of  his  church 
by  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles ;  here,  on  a  sudden,  makes 
a  transition  to  the  more  disagreeable  part  of  the  prospect ; 
and  to  a  sharp  reproof  of  the  wicked  and  unbelievers,  and 
especially  of  the  negligent  and  faithless  governors  and  teach- 
ers, of  the  idolaters  and  hypocrites,  who  would  still  draw 
down  his  judgments  upon  the  nation :  probably  having  in 
view  the  destruction  of  their  city  and  polity  by  the  Chal- 
deans, and  perhaps  by  the  Romans.  The  same  subject  is 
continued  in  the  next  chapter ;  in  which  the  charge  of  cor- 
ruption and  apostasy  becomes  more  general  against  the 
whole  Jewish  church.  Some  expositors  have  made  great 
difficulties  in  the  9th  verse  of  this  chapter,  where  there  seems 
to  be  none.  It  is  perfectly  well  explained  by  Jeremiah  : 
where,  having  introduced  God  declaring  his  purpose  of 
punishing  his  people,  by  giving  them  up  as  a  prey  to  their 
enemies  the  Chaldeans,  a  charge  to  these  his  agents  is  given 
in  words  very  nearly  the  same  with  those  of  Isaiah  in  this 
place  :— 

"  I  have  forsaken  my  house;  I  have  deserted  my  heritage; 
I  have  given  up  the  beloved  of  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  her 

enemies. — 
Come  away,  be  ye  gathered  together,  all  ye  beasts  of  the 

field; 
Come  away  to  devour."  Jer.  xii.  7.  9. 

Ibid.  — beasts  of  the  forest]  Instead  of  ijra,  three  MSS 
have  ^jr,  without  the  preposition  :  which  seems  to  be  right ; 
and  is  confirmed  by  all  the  ancient  versions. 

10.  dumb  dogs,  they  cannot  bark]  See  below,  note  on 
chap.  Ixii.  6. 

Ibid.  Dreamers]  D'in,  fvtwr««^»(t«»«/,  LXX.  This  seems 
to  be  the  best  authority  for  the  meaning  of  this  word,  which 
occurs  only  in  this  place :  but  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  three 
MSS,  and  three  editions,  have  D'?n;  and  so  Vulg.  seems  to 
have  read,  videntes  vana. 

12.  — let  us  provide  wine]  For  nnpx,  first  person  sin- 
gular, an  ancient  MS  has  nnpJ,  first  person  plural ;  and 
another  ancient  MS  has  pK  upon  a  rasure.  So  Syr.  Chald. 
and  Vulff.  render  it. 


CHAP.  LVII,  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH,  373 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

2.  He  shall  go  in  peace}  uhv  KIT  :  the  expression  is 
elliptical,  such  as  the  Prophet  frequently  uses.  The  same 
sense  is  expressed  at  large  and  in  full  terms,  Gen.  xv.  15. 
01^3  I'muN  ^  wan  nnw,  "  And  thou  shalt  go  to  thy  fathers 
in  peace." 

Ibid.  — he  shall  rest  in  his  bed;  even  the  perfect  man] 
This  obscure  sentence  is  reduced  to  a  perfectly  good  sense, 
and  easy  construction,  by  an  ingenious  remark  of  Dr  DURELL. 
He  reads  on  ttDttfD  ty  MM*.  Two  MSS  (one  of  them  ancient) 
have  mr,  singular;  and  so  Vulg.  renders  it,  requiescat. 
The  verb  was  probably  altered  to  make  it  plural,  and  so  con- 
sistent with  what  follows,  after  the  mistake  had  be  en  made 
in  the  following  words,  by  uniting  ODPD  arid  on  into  one 
word.  See  Merrick's  Annotations  on  the  Psalms,  Addenda  ; 
where  the  reader  will  find,  that  J.  S.  Moerlius,  by  the  same 
sort  of  correction,  and  by  rescuing  the  adjective  on,  which 
had  been  swallowed  up  in  another  word  in  the  same*  manner, 
has  restored  to  a  clear  sense  a  passage  before  absolutely  un- 
intelligible : — 

ir:1?  nunn  }'«  o 
ID^IX  JT-QI  on 

u  For  no  distresses  happen  to  them; 
Perfect  and  firm  is  their  strength."  Psal.  Ixxiii.  4. 

6.  Among  the  smooth  stones  of  the  valley — ]  The  Jews 
were  extremely  addicted  to  the  practice  of  many  supersti- 
tious and  idolatrous  rites,  which  ihe  Prophet  here  inveighs 
against  with  great  vehemence.  Of  the  worship  of  rude 
stones  consecrated,  there  a>«  many  testimonies  of  the  an- 
cients. They  were  caWed  XMTV*OI  and  Eeurv*i*i  probably 
from  the  stone  which  Jacob  erected  at  Bethel,  pouring  oil 
upon  the  top  of  it.  The  practice  was  very  common  in  dif- 
ferent ages  and  places.  Arnobius,  lib.  i.  gives  an  account 
of  his  own  practice  in  this  respect,  before  he  became  a  Chris- 
tian :  "  Si  quando  conspexeram  lubricatum  lapidem,  et  ex 
olivi  unguine  sordidatum ;  tanquam  inesset  vis  praesens, 
adulabar,  affabar,  et  beneficia  poscebam  nihil  sentiente  de 
trunco."  Clemens  Alex.  Strom,  lib.  vii.  speaks  of  a  wor- 
shipper of  every  smooth  stone  in  a  proverbial  way,  to  denote 
one  given  up  to  superstition.  And  accordingly  Theophras- 
tus  has  marked  this  as  one  strong  feature  in  the  character 
37 


374  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LVII. 


of  the  superstitious  man  :  K«M  T«V  Mveqcn  A<0«v  TUV  &  rxig  r$  <«- 

J0<$  iretgMVj   ex.  rr^   >yiK.vQov   e^otttv   x,XTct%&V)   YM.I   ITTI   •yovarec  Tso-av   KOU 

Tgoo-KwtirMs  ctTrotMscrleo-Oxt:  -'Passing  by  the  anointed  stones 
in  the  streets,  he  takes  out  his  phial  of  oil,  and  pours  it  on 
them  ;  and  having  fallen  011  his  knees,  and  made  his  adora- 
tions, he  departs," 

8.  Behind  the  door,  and  the  door-posts,  hasi  thou  set  thy 
memorial]     That  is,  the  image   of  their   tutelary  gods,  or 
something  dedicated  to  them  ;    in  direct  opposition    to  the 
law  of  God,  which  commanded  them  to  write  upon  the  door- 
posts of  their  house,  and  upon  their  gates,  the  words  of  God's 
law  :  Deut.  vi.  9.  xi.  20.     If  they  chose  for  them  such  a 
situation  as  more  private,   it  was  in  defiance  of  a  particular 
curse  denounced  in  the  law  against  the  man  who  should 
make  a  graven  or  a  molten  image,  and  put  it  in  a  secret  place  ; 
Deut.  xxvii.   15.     An  ancient  MS,   with  another,  has  ins, 
without  the  conjunction  i. 

9.  And  thou  hast  visited  the  king  with  a  present  of  oil.} 
That  is,  the  king  of  Assyria,  or   Egypt.     Hosea  reproaches 
the  Israelites  for  the  same  practice  :  — 

"  They  make  a  covenant  with  Assyria, 

And  oil  is  carried  to  Egypt."  Hosea  xii.  1. 

It  is  well  known,  that  in  all  parts  of  the  East,  whoever  visits 
a  great  person  must  carry  him  a  present.  "  It  is  counted 
uncivil,"  says  Maundrell,  p.  26.  "  to  visit  in  this  country 
without  an  offering  \n  hand.  All  great  men  expect  it  as  a 
tribute  due  10  their  character  and  authority  ;  and  look  upon 
themselves  as  affronted,  &nd  indeed  defrauded,  when  the 
compliment  is  omitted."  Htnce  insr,  to  visit  a  person,  is 
equivalent  to  making  him  a  present  :.  and  miffn  signifies 
a  present  made  on  such  occasions  ;  as  our  translators  have 
rightly  rendered  it,  1  Sam.  ix.  7.  :  on  which  Jarchi  says, 
"Menachem  exponit  rrwn  quod  sigiAficet  oblationem  sive 
munus,  ut  aliquis  aspiciat  faciem  regis,  auialicujus  magnatis." 

10.  Thou  hast  said.    There  is  no  hope\     In  one  of  the 
MSS    at   Konirigsberg,   collated    by    Lilienthal,    the    words 
maw  N1?  are  left  in  the  text  unpointed,  as  suspected  ;  and  in 
the  margin  the  corrector  has  written  "ro^ni-     Now,  if  we  com- 
pare Jer.  ii.  25.  and  xviii.  12.  we  shall  find,  that  the  subject 
is  in  both  places  quite  the  same  with  this  of  Isaiah,  and  the 
sentiment  expressed,  that  of  a  desperate  resolution  to  continue 
at  all  hazard  in  their  idolatrous  practices  ;  the  very  thing  that 
jn  all  reason  we  might  expect  here.     Probably  therefore  the 

atter  is  the  true  reading  in  this  place. 


CHAP.  LVII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  375 

11.  —  nor  revolved  it—]  Eight  MSS  (four  ancient), 
and  the  two  oldest  editions,  with  another,  add  the  conjunc- 
tion i,  *6i  :  which  is  confirmed  by  all  the  ancient  versions. 

Ibid.  —  and  winked]  For  DTp&lj  which  makes  no  good 
sense  or  construction  in  this  place,  twenty-three  MSS 
(seven  ancient),  and  three  editions,  have  thyn,  (to  be  thus 
pointed  D1?^);  Tre^o^a,  LXX;  quasi  non  videns,  Vulg.  :  see 


Psal.  x.  1.     The  truth  of  this  reading  so  confirmed  admits 
of  no  doubt. 

12.  —  my  righteousness]     For  ppiy,  thy  righteousness, 
Syr.  LXX,  MSS  Alex,  and  Pachora.  and  i.  D.   n.,  and 
Marchal.  and  ot  r,  and  Arab,  read  'npiy,  my  righteousness. 

13.  —  let  thine  associates  deliver  thee]     Thirty-nine  MSS 
(ten  ancient),  and  the  two  oldest  editions,  have  "jiVar,  plural. 

14.  then  will  I  say]     IDW,  to  be  pointed  as  the  first  per- 
son future  :  they  are  the  words  of  God,  as  it  is  plain  from 
the  conclusion  of  the  verse  ;  my  people,  »pp. 

15.  Far  thus  sn*th    JnrTnvATt]     A  MS  adds  rnrp  after 
-10*,  and  edition  Prag.    1518.     So  LXX,  Alex,  and  Arab. 
An  ancient  MS  adds  rr. 

Ibid.  And  with  the  contrite  —  ]  Twelve  MSS  have  r», 
without  the  conjunction  i.  "  Pro  nw,  forte  legendum 
n*ow  :  confer  Psal.  cxiii.  5.  et  cxxxviii.  6.  :  "  SECKER. 

16.  For  I  will  not  alway  —  ]     The  learned  have  taken  a 
great  deal  of  pains  to  little  purpose  on  the  latter  part  of  this 
verse,  which  they  suppose  to  be  very  obscure.     After  all  their 
labours  upon  it.  I  think  the  best  and  easiest  explication  of  it 
is  given  in  the  two  following  elegant  passages  of  the  Psalms, 
which  I  presume  are  exactly  parallel  to  it,  and  very  clearly 
express  the  same  sentiment. 

"  But  He  in  his  tender  mercy  will  forgive  their  sin, 

And  will  not  destroy  them; 

Yea  oftentimes  will  he  turn  away  his  wrath, 

And  will  not  rouse  up  all  his  indignation  : 

For  he  remembereth  that  they  are  but  flesh, 

A  breath  that  passeth,  and  returneth  not."  Ixxviii.  38.  39. 
"  He  will  not  always  contend, 

Neither  will  he  for  ever  hold  his  wrath  : 

As  a  father  yearneth  towards  his  children, 

So  is  JEHOVAH  tenderly  compassionate  towards  them  that  fear 
him: 

For  he  knoweth  our  frame; 

He  remembereth  that  we  are  but  dust."  ciii.  9.  13,  14. 


376  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LVII. 

la  the  former  of  these  two  passages,  the  second  line  seems 
to  be  defective  both  in  measure  and  sense:  I  suppose  the 
word  oniN,  them,  is  lost  at  the  end  ;  which  seems  to  be  ac- 
knowledged by  Chald.  and  Vulg.  who  render  as  if  they  had 
read,  omx  nw?  vbi. 

17.  Because  of  his  iniquity  for  a  short  time  I  was  wroth] 
For  1^3, 1  read  #30,  paululum,  a  jraa,  abscidit ;  as  LXX 
read  and  render  it,  /3f«^y  n.  "Propter  iniquitatem  avariticc 
ejus"  the  rendering  of  Vulg.,  which  our  translators,  and  1 
believe  all  others  follow,  is  surely  quite  beside  the  purpose. 

19.  /  create  the  fruit  of  the  lips  ; — ]  "  The  sacrifice  of 
praise,"  saith  StPaul,  Heb.  xiii.  15.  "is  the  fruit  of  the  lips.:' 
God  creates  this  fruit  of  the  lips,  by  giving  new  subject  and 
cause  of  thanksgiving,  by  his  mercies  conferred  on  those 
among  his  people  who  acknowledge  and  bewail  their  trans- 
gressions, and  return  to  him.  The  great  subject  of  thanks- 
giving is  peace ;  reconciliation  and  pardon  offered  to  them 
that  are  nigh,  and  to  them  that  are  afar  off ;  not  only  to  the 
Jew,  but  also  to  the  Gentile,  as  St  Paul  more  than  once 
applies  these  terms,  Eph,  ii.  13.  17. :  see  also  Acts  ii.  39. 

21.  There  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God — ]  For  >rf?»x, 
twenty-two  MSS  (five  ancient)  read  rnn».  Vulg.  LXX 
Alex.  Arab,  and  three  MSS,  have  both.  This  verse  has 
reference  to  the  19th.  The  wicked  and  impenitent  are  ex- 
cluded from  all  share  in  that  peace  above-mentioned,  that 
reconcilement  and  pardon,  which  is  promised  to  the  penitent 
only.  The  xlviiith  chapter  ends  with  the  same  declaration  : 
to  express  the  exclusion  of  the  unbelievers  and  impenitent 
from  the  benefit  of  the  foregoing  promises. 

CHAPTER  LVIII 

3.  — afflicted  our  souls — j     Twenty-seven  MSS  (six  an- 
cient), and  the  old  edition  of  1488,  have  the  noun  in  the 
plural  number,  WSJ :  and  so  LXX,  Chald.  Vulg. 

4.  And  to  smite  with  the  fist  the  poor.     Wherefore  fast  ye 
unto  me — ]     I  follow  the  version  of  the  LXX,   which  gives 
a  much  better  sense  than  the  present  reading  of  the  Hebrew. 
Instead  of  N1?  jrcn,  they  seem  to  have   read  in  their  copy 
'S  no  ty  en :  the  four   first  letters  are  the  same,  but  other- 
wise divided  in  regard  to  the  words ;  the  four  last  are  lost, 
and  K  added  in  their  place,  in  order  to  make  some  sort  of 
sense  with  Sytzn.     The  version  of  the  LXX  is  ««/  iW?rre 

Tctiretoo*'  Ivcc  n  (MI  vy.rtvtre . 


CHAP    LVIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  377 


7.  —  the  wandering  poor*  —  ]     5r7«^ot/$  ctreyovs,  LXX  ;  ege- 
nos  vagosque,  Vulg.  ;  and  j^D^DD,  Chald.     They  read,  in- 
stead of  D»ino,  onwn.    ia  is  upon  a  rasure  in  the  Bodleian 
MS.     The  same  MS  reads  nn%  in  domum. 

8.  And  thy  wounds  shall  speedily  be  healed]     "  Et  cica- 
trix  vulneris  tui  cito  obducetur."     Aquila's  version,  as  reported 
by  Jerom  ;  with  which  agrees  that  of  the  Chaldee. 

Ibid.  And  the  glory  —  ]  Sixteen  MSS  (five  ancient),  and 
LXX,  Syr.  Vulg.  add  the  conjunction  i,  IUDI. 

10.  If  thou  bring  forth  thy  bread—]     "  To  draw  out  thy 
soul  to  the  hungry,"  as  our  translators  rightly  enough  express 
the  present  Hebrew  text,  is  an  obscure  phrase,  and  without 
example  in  any  other  place.     But  instead  of  "JBPSJ,  thy  soul, 
eight  MSS  (three  ancient)  read  priS,  thy  bread  ;  and  so  the 
Syriac  renders  it.     The  LXX  express  both  words,  ror  CCQTOV 
fx  TIIS  yvxns  tiov,  thy  bread  from  thy  soul. 

11.  And  he  shall  renew  thy  strength]     "  Oaldaeus  forte 
legit  tjnDxy  sybrv.     Confer  cap.  xl.  29.  31.  et  xli  l.  :  "  SECKER. 

Chald.  has  vzhy  "HD  "n»  *\aui,  "  et  corpus  tdum  vivificabit  in 
vita  aeterna."  The  rest  of  the  ancients  se-sni  not  to  know  what 
to  make  of  yVr  ;  and  the  rendering  jf  the  Vulgate,  which 
seems  to  be  the  only  proper  one,  OSSP  tua  liber  obit,  makes  no 
sense.  I  follow  this  excellent  emendation  ;  to  favour  which, 
it  is  still  further  to  be  observed,  that  three  MSS,  instead  of 
Tnoxp,  have  IHDV^,  singular. 

12.  —  to  be  frequented  by  inhabitants]     To  this  purpose 
it  is  rendered  by  Syr.  Syn?-  and  Theod. 

13.  From  doing   thy  pleasure]     The  LXX,  Syr.   and 
Chald.  for  rwy  manifestly  express  rwyn.     So  likewise  a  MS 
has  it  ;  but  with  the  omission  of  the  words  ytoi  rap. 

Ibid.  And  the  holy  feast]  Twenty-eight  MSS  (seven 
ancient)  add  the  injunction  i,  wnfi\'  and  so  Syr.  and  Chald. 

Ibid.  —  and  from  speaking  vain  words]  It  is  necessary 
to  add  some  epithet  to  make  out  the  sense  :  the  LXX  say 
angry  words  ;  Chald.  words  of  violence.  If  any  such  epithet 
is  lost  here,  the  safest  way  is  to  supply  it  by  the  Prophet's  own 
expression,  ver.  9.  JIN  wi,  vain  words  ;  that  is,  profane,  im- 
pious, injurious,  &c. 

"The  additional  epithet  seems  unnecessary.  The  Vulg. 
and  Syr.  have  it  not.  And  the  sense  is  good  without  it  ;  two 
ways,  first  by  taking  -cni  for  a  noun,  and  *oi  for  the  participle 
pahul,  and  rendering, 

"  From  pursuing  thy  pleasure*  and  the  thing  resolved  on:  " 
37* 


3?8  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LVlIt. 

Or,  secondly,  by  supposing  the  force  of  the  preposition  a  to  \>e 
continued  from  the  verb  m*DD  to  the  verb-cm  immediately  fol- 
lowing, and  rendering. 

"  From  executing  thy  pleasure,  and  from  speaking  words 

concerning  it." 
But  the  first  seems  the  easier  rendering/'     Dr.  JUBR. 

CHAPTER  L1X. 

THE  foregoing  elegant  chapter  contained  a  severe  reproof 
of  the  Jews,  in  particular  for  their  hypocrisy  in  pretending  to 
make  themselves  accepted  with  God  by  fasting  and  outward 
humiliation  without  true  repentance,  while  they  still  continued 
to  oppress  the  poor,  and  to  indulge  their  own  passions  and 
vices  ;  \vith  great  promises,  however,  of  God's  favour  on  con- 
dition of  th&ir  reformation.  This  chapter  contains  a  more  gen- 
eral reproof  of  their  wickedness ;  bloodshed,  violence,  falsehood, 
injustice.  At  vtr.  9.  they  are  introduced  as  making  them- 
selves an  ample  confession  of  their  sins,  and  deploring  their 
wretched  state  in  co^equence  of  them.  On  this  act  of  humi- 
liation a  promise  is  giv^n,  that  God,  in  his  mercy  and  zeal  for 
his  people,  will  rescue  ft^em  from  this  miserable  condition ; 
that  the  Redeemer  will  co»ie  like  a  mighty  hero  to  deliver 
them  :  he  will  destroy  his  Demies,  convert  both  Jews  and 
Gentiles  to  himself,  and  give  <.hem  a  new  covenant,  and  a 
law,  which  shall  never  be  abolisi^d. 

As  this  chapter  is  remarkable  fort,he  beauty,  strength,  and 
variety  of  the  images  with  which  it  abounds  ;  so  is  it  peculiar- 
ly distinguished  by  the  elegance  of  tin  composition,  and  the 
exact  construction  of  the  sentence?  :  fror*  the  first  verse  to  the 
two  last,  it  falls  regularly  into  stanzas  of  fc>ur  lines,  (see  Prel. 
Dissert,  p.  xiii.),  which  I  have  endeavoured  tt  express  as  near- 
ly as  possible  in  the  form  of  the  original. 

2.  His  face — ]     For  cna,  faces •,  I  read  VJS,  \is  face.     So 
Syr.  LXX,  Alex.  Arab.  Vulg.  '32,  MS.     -  Fortt'legenduni 
•33  ;  nam  n  sequitur,  et  loquitur  Deus  :  confer  lviV\      14. :  " 
SECKER.     I  rather  think  that  the  speech  of  God  wa^  closed 
with  the  last  chapter ;  and  that  this  chapter  is  delivered  «i  the 
person  of  the  Prophet. 

3.  And  your  t9ngue — ]     An  ancient  MS,  and  LXX  and 
Vulg.  add  the  conjunction. 

8.  Whoever  goeth  in  them — ]  For  ro  singular,  read  D3 
plural,  with  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg.  Chald.  The  n  is  upon  a  rasure 
in  MS.  Or  for  nrrnrru  plural,  we  must  read  oroTO  singular, 


CHAP.  LIX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  379 

as  it  is   in  an   ancient   MS,   to   preserve    the   grammatical 
concord. 

10.  And  we  wander  —  ]     I  adopt  here  an  emendation  of 
Houbigant,  TUIBO,  instead  of  the  second  rrcrau:,-  the  repetition 
of  which  has  a  poverty  and  inelegance  extremely  unworthy 
of  the  Prophet,  and  unlike  his  manner.     The  mistake  is  of 
long  standing,  being  prior  to  all  the  ancient  versions  :  it  was 
a  very  easy  and  obvious  mistake  ;  and  I  have  little  doubt  of 
our  having  recovered  the  true  reading  in  this  ingenious  cor- 
rection. 

11.  —  and  it  is  far  distant  from  us.]     The  conjunction  i 
must  necessarily  be  prefixed  to  the  verb,  as  Syr.  Chald.  Vulg. 
found  it  in  their  copies,  n^rW- 

15.  And  JEHOVAH  saw  it,  ........  ]     This  third  line 

of  the  stanza  appears  manifestly  to  rne  to  be  imperfect  by  the 
loss  of  a  phrase.     The  reader  will  perhaps  more  perfectly  con- 
ceive my  idea  of  the  matter,  if  I  endeavour  to  supply  the  sup 
posed  defect.     I  imagine  it  might  have  stood  originally  in  this 
manner  : 

lh  TW]  mrr  KTI 


"  And  JEHOVAH  saw  it,  [and  he  was  wroth]  : 

And  ifv  displeased  him,  that  there  was  no  judgment." 
We  have  had  already  many  examples  of  mistakes  of  omis- 
sion :  this,  iC  it  be  such,  is  very  ancient,  being  prior  to  all  the 
versions. 

17.  —  -for   his  clothing]     niBO^n.     "  I   cannot  but  think 
that  ftEttfrfl  is  ay  interpolation.     1.  It  is  in  no  one  ancient 
version.     2.  It  is  xedundant  in  the  sense,  as  it  is  before  ex- 
pressed  in  n:o.     ^It  makes  the  hemistich  just  so  much 
longer  than  it  ought  >fl  be,  if  it  is  compared  with  the  others 
adjoining.     4.  It  make\a  form  of  construction  in  this  clause 
less  elegant  than  that  i\  the  others.     5.  It  might  probably 
be  in  some  margin  a  various   reading  for  njo»  and  thence 
taken  into  the  text.     This  \  the  more  probable,  as  its  form  is 
such  as  it  would  be  if  it  were^i  regimine.  as  it  must  be  be- 
fore opy:  "  Dr.  JUBB. 

18.  He  is  mighty  —  ]     The  former  part  of  this  verse,  as 
it  stands  at  present  in  the  Hebrew  text,  seems  to  me  to  be 
very  imperfect,  and  absolutely   unintelligible.     The  learned 
Vitringa   has   taken   a    great  deal  of  pains  upon   it,   after 
Cocceius  ;  who,  he  says,  is  the  only  one  of  all  the  interpre- 
ters, ancient  or  modern,  who  has  at  all  understood  it,  and 
has  opened  the  way  for  him.     He  thinks,  that  both  of  them 


380  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LIX, 

together  have  clearly  made  out  the  sense :  I  do  not  expect 
that  any  third  person  will  ever  be  of  that  opinion.  He 
says.  "  Videtur  sententia  ad  verbum  sonare  :  quasi  propter 
facta  [adversariorum]  quasi  propter  rependet;  excandescen- 
tiarn,  &c.  et  sic  reddidit  Pagninus."  This  he  converts,  by 
a  process  which  will  not  much  edify  my  reader,  into  "  Se- 
cundum  summe  merita,  secundum  summe  [merita]  repen- 
det : "  which  is  his  translation.  They  that  hold  the  present 
Hebrew  text  to  be  absolutely  infallible,  must  make  their  way 
through  it  as  they  can  ;  but  they  ought  surely  to  give  us  some- 
what that  has  at  least  the  appearance  of  sense.  However, 
I  hope  the  case  here  is  not  quite  desperate :  the  Chaldee 
leads  us  very  fairly  to  the  correction  of  the  text,  which  is 
both  corrupted  and  defective.  The  paraphrase  runs  thus : 
chw  *6w  Kin  K^DJ  '-ID,  "  Dominus  retributionum  ipse  retribu- 
tionem  reddet."  He  manifestly  read  tyjj,  instead  of  tyD. 
K^DJ  *ID  is  rnSnji  tya ;  as  wnnono  *ID,  is  f|K  Sjo,  Prov.  xxii. 
24.  And  so  in  the  same  Chaldee  paraphrase  on  Isaiah 
xxxv.  4.  »*MJV  wn  »» whoi  no,  "  Dominus  retributionum  JE- 
HOVAH ipse  revelabitur."  Words  very  near  to  those  of 
the  Prophet  in  this  place.  The  second  *?;£>,  which  the 
Chaldee  has  omitted,  must  be  read  ^3  likewise  With 
this  only  addition  to  the  Chaldee,  which  the  Hebrew  text 
justifies,  we  are  supplied  with  the  following  clear  reading  of 
the  passage : — 

xin  rn^iDJ  tyrs 
.chip*  rn^Dj  ^3 

The  3  in  'TJQ  twice  seems  to  have  been  «•*  first  3  in  MS. 
This  verse  in  LXX  is  very  imperfect.  In  the  first  part  of  it 
they  give  us  no  assistance  ;  the  last  part  is  wholly  omitted  in 
the  printed  copies  ;  but  it  is  thus  suppled  in  MSS  Pachom. 
and  i.  D.  u. — rotg  vxevavTiois  avrtw  afivvav  TOI$  t%6gois 

UVTOV  TCCIS  V7](tOl$  aJUO$OfJLa  CCJlOTltifl 

19.  — which  a  strong  wind  driveth  along]     "  Quam  spi- 
ritus  Domini  cogit ;  "     Vulg.  non3>  pihel  a  D13  fugit.     Kimchi 
says,  his  father  thus  explained  ihis  word :     "  nDDU  interpreta- 
tur  in  significatione  fugffi ;  et  ait,  Spiritus  Domini  fugabit 
hostem ; — nam   secundum  eum   noou   est   ex   conjugatione 
quadrata,  ej usque  radix  est  Dtt."     The  object  of  this  action  I 
explain  otherwise.     The  conjunction  i  prefixed  to  nn  seems 
necessary  to  the  sense :  it  is  added  by  the  corrector  in  one  of 
the  Koningsberg  MSS  colkted  by  Lilienthal. 

20.  And  shall  turn  away  iniquity  from  Jacob]  So  LXX, 
and  St.  Paul.  Rom.  xi.  26. ;  reading,  instead  of  woh  and 


CHAP.  L1X.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  38t 

apjra,  rtym  and  apjpo.  Syr.  likewise  reads  3»»ro;  and 
Chald.  to  the  same  sense,  U'fcTibi.  Our  translators  have 
expressed  the  sense  of  the  present  reading  of  the  Hebrew  text  : 
"  And  unto  them  that  turn  from  transgression  in  Jacob." 

21.  —  which  1  make  with  them]     For  oniN,  them  twenty 
four  MSS  (four  ancient)  and  nine  editions  have  DDK,  with 


CHAPTER  LX. 

THE  subject  of  this  chapter  is  the  great  increase  and 
flourishing  state  of  the  church  of  God,  by  the  conversion  and 
accession  of  the  heathen  nations  to  it  ;  which  is  set  forth  in 
such  ample  and  exalted  terms  as  plainly  shew,  that  the  full 
completion  of  this  prophecy  is  reserved  for  future  times. 
This  subject  is  displayed  in  the  most  splendid  colours,  under 

ft     frreat     V**r^***y    **^    imag^a      liigpl-ily      j-"  -ti.^ly     -.1  v^j^....  w«V   tor—  gp***» 

<*  general  idea  of  the  glories  of  that  perfect  state  of  the 
church  of  God  which  we  are  taught  to  expect  in  the  latter 
times  ;  when  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  shall  come  in,  and 
the  Jews  shall  be  converted  and  gathered  from  their  disper- 
sions ;  and  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the 
kingdoms  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ. 

Of  the  use  in  prophecy  of  general  or  common  poetical 
images,  in  setting  forth  the  greatness  and  importance  of  a 
future  event  universally,  without  descending  to  particulars, 
or  too  minutely  explaining  circumstances,  I  have  already 
pretty  largely  treated  in  the  xxth  Prelection  on  the  Hebrew 
Poetry  ;  and  have  more  than  once  observed  in  these  notes, 
that  such  images  are  not  always  to  be  applied  particularly 
to  persons  and  things,  and  were  never  intended  to  be 
minutely  explained.  I  shall  add  here  the  opinion  of  a  very 
learned  and  judicious  person  upon  this  subject  :  "  It  is,  I  think, 
a  mark  of  right  understanding  in  the  language  of  prophecy, 
and  in  the  design  of  prophecy  too,  to  keep  to  what  appears 
the  design  and  meaning  of  the  prophecy  in  general,  and 
what  the  whole  of  it,  laid  together,  points  out  to  us  ;  and 
not  to  suffer  a  warm  imagination  to  mislead  us  from  the  real 
intention  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  by  following  uncertain 
applications  of  the  parts  of  it  :  "  Lowman  on  the  Revelation, 
note  on  chap.  xix.  21. 

4.  —  shall  be  carried  at  the  side]  For  mnwi,  shall  la 
nursed,  LXX  and  Chald.  read  nj&awn,  shall  be  carried. 
A  MS  has  ruwwn  *]ro  hp,  instead  of  ruD«n  ns  ty  ;  shall 


382  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LX. 

be  carried  on  the  shoulder,  instead  of  shall  be  nursed  on  the 
side.  Another  MS  has  both  *]ro  and  i*.  Another  MS 
has  it  thus:  mbxn:  ruxiwn,  with  a  line  drawn  over  the 
first  word.  Sir  John  Chardin  says,  that  it  is  the  general 
custom  in  the  East  to  carry  their  children  astride  upon  the 
hip,  with  the  arm  round  their  body.  His  MS  note  on  this 
place  is  as  follows  :  "  Coutume  en  Orient  de  porter  les  en- 
fans  sur  le  coste  a  califourchqn  sur  la  hanche :  cette  facon 
est  generale  aux  Indes  ;  les  enfans  se  tiennent  comme  cela, 
et  la  personne  qui  les  porte  les  embrasse  et  serre  par  le 
corps  ;  parceque  sont  [ni]  emmaillottes.  ni  en  robes  qui  les 
embrassent." 

"  Non  brachiis  occidentalium  more,  sed  humeris,  diva- 
ricatis  tibiis,  impositos  circumferunt : "  Cotovic.  Iter  Syr. 
cap.  xiv.  This  last  quotation  seems  to  favour  the  reading 
r|TO  by,  as  the.  LXX  likewise  do :  but  upon  the  whole  I 
UiinH  btMb  i  w»>w.^  i*  v  :.  *u«  4-.,~  -«r,a;^gy/  which  the 
Chaldee  favours ;  and  I  have  accordingly  followed  it.  c^. 
chap.  Ixvi.  12. 

5.  Then  shalt  thou  fear — ]     For  'son,  thou  shalt  see,  as 
ours,  and  much  the  greater  number  of  the  translators,  an- 
cient and  modern,  render  it ;  forty  MSS  (ten  ancient),  and 
the  old  edition  of  1488.  have  ?m«n,  thou  shalt  fear  ;   the 
true    reading,  confirmed   by  the  perfect    parallelism  of  the 
sentences  :  the  heart  ruffled  and  dilated  in  the  second  line 
answering  to  the  fear  and  joy  expressed  in  the  first.     The 
Prophet  Jeremiah  (chap,  xxxiii.  9.)  has  the  same  natural  and 
elegant  sentiment : — 

"  And  [this  city]  shall  become  to  me  a  name  of  joy  ; 
A  praise  and  an  honour  for  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  ; 
Which  shall  hear  all  the  good  that  I  do  unto  them  ; 
And  they  shall  fear,  and  they  shall  tremble,  at  kall  the  good- 
ness, 
And  at  all  the  prosperity,  that  I  procure  unto  her." 

And  David,  (Psal.  cxxxix.  14.) 

"  I  will  praise  thee,  for  I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made.'* 
"  His  tibi  me  rebus  quaedam  divina  voluptas 

Percipit  atque  horror."  Lucret.  iii.  28. 

"  Recenti  mens  trepidat  metu, 

Plenoque  Bacchi  pectore  turbidum 

Laetatur."  Hor.  Carm.  ii.  19. 

6.  And  the  praise  of  JEHOVAH — ]     Thirty-three  MSS 
and  three  editions  have  n^nm,  in  the  singular  number ;  and 
so  read  the  ancient  versions. 


CHAP.  LX.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  383 

7.  Unto  thee  shall  the  rams  of  Nebaioth  minister}     Vi- 
triuga   (on   the  place)    understands   their    ministering1,    and. 
ascending,  or  going  up  on  the  altar,  as  offering  themselves 
voluntarily  :    "  Ipsi  se,  non  expectato    sacerdote  alio,  gloriae 
et  sanctificationi  Divini  nominis  ultro  ac  libenter  oblaturi." 
This  gives  a  very  elegant  and  poetical  turn  to  the  image. 
It  was  a  general  notion  that  prevailed  with  sacrificers  among 
the  heathen,  that  the  victim's  being  brought  without  reluc- 
tance to  the  altar  \\  as  a  good  omen  ;  and  the  contrary  a  bad 
one.      "  Sabinos   petit    aliquanto  tristior ;    quod   sacrificanti 
hostia  aufugerat :  "  Sueton.  Titus,  cap.  x.     "  Accessit  dirum 
omen,  profugus  altaribus  taurus  :  "  Tacit.  Hist.  iii.  56. 

8.  And  like  doves  upon  the  wing~\     Instead  of  btf,  to,  for- 
ty-two MSS  have  ty,  upon.     For  orrnrnx,  their  windows, 
read    DrrrrON,   their    wings,    transposing  a  letter :    Houbi- 
gant.     The  LXX  render  it  <$w  veotidois,  with  their  young  : 
they  read  Dirrrfltf;  nearer  to  the  latter,  than  to  the  present 
reading. 

9.  — among  the  first — ]     For  r^jou,  twenty-five  MSS 
and  Syr.  read  rutsrtrDD,  as  at  the  first. 

13.  — the  place  whereon  I  rest  my  feet]  The  temple  of 
Jerusalem  was  called  the  house  of  God,  and  the  place  of  his 
rest  or  residence :  the  visible  symbolical  appearance  of  God. 
called  by  the  Jews  the  Shechinah,  was  in  the  most  holy 
place,  between  the  wings  of  the  cherubim  above  the  ark. 
This  is  considered  as  the  throne  of  God,  presiding  as  king 
over  the  Jewish  state ;  and  as  a  footstool  is  a  necessary  ap- 
pendage of  a  throne,  (see  note  on  chap.  Iii.  2.),  the  ark  is  con- 
sidered as  the  footstool  of  God  ;  and  is  so  called,  Psal.  xcix.  5. 
I  Chron.  xxviii.  2. 

Ibid.   The  glory  of  Lebanon]     That  is,'Athe  cedar. 

19.  Nor  by  night  shall  the  brightness  of  the  moon  en- 
lighten thee]  This  line,  as  it  stands  in  the  present  text, 
seems  to  be  defective.  The  LXX  and  Chald.  both  express 
the  night,  which  is  almost  necessary  to  answer  to  day  in  the 
preceding  line,  as  well  as  to  perfect  the  sense  here.  I  there- 
fore think  that  we  ought,  upon  the  authority  of  LXX  and 
Chald.  to  read  either  rr?'1?),  and  by  night,  instead  of 
and  for  brightness  :  or  nVSa  ruj^i,  adding  the  word 
by  night. 

21.  — of  my  planting]  ^EOD,  so  with  the  Keri  read  forty- 
four  MSS  (seven  ancient)  and  six  editions  ;  with  which  agree 
Syr.  Chald.  Vulg. 


384  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LX1. 

CHAPTER  LXI. 

1.  The  Spirit  of  JEHOVAH—]  The  LXX,  Vulg.  and 
St  Luke  iv.  18.  and  MS.  and  two  old  editions,  omit  the  word 
\nx,  the  Lord;  which  was  probably  added  to  the  text  through 
the  superstition  of  the  Jews,  to  prevent  the  pronunciation  of 
the  word  rnrv  following.  See  Kennicott  on  the  State  of  the 
Printed  Heb.  Text,  i.  p.  510. 

Ibid.  — perfect  liberty]  Ten  MSS  and  one  edition  have 
mpnpa  in  one  word  ;  and  so  the  LXX  and  Vulg.  appear  to 
have  taken  it. 

The  proclaiming  of  perfect  liberty  to  the  bounden,  and  the 
year  of  acceptance  with  JEHOVAH,  is  a  manifest  allusion  to 
the  proclaiming  of  the  year  of  jubilee  by  sound  of  trumpet : 
see  Lev.  xxv.  9.  &c.  This  was  a  year  of  general  release — 
of  debts  and  obligations  ;  of  bond  men  and  women  ;  of  lands 
and  possessions,  which  had  been  sold  from  the  families  and 
tribes  to  which  they  belonged.  Our  Saviour,  by  applying  this 
text  to  himself,  Luke  iv.  18,  19.  a  text  so  manifestly  relating 
to  the  institution  above-mentioned,  plainly  declares  the  typical 
design  of  that  institution. 

3.  To  impart  [gladness]  to  the  mourners]  A  word  ne- 
cessary to  the  sense  is  certainly  lost  in  this  place ;  of  which 
the  ancient  versions  have  preserved  no  traces.  Houbigant, 
by  conjecture,  inserts  the  word  pBrar,  gladness,  taken  from  the 
line  next  but  one  below,  where  it  stands  opposed  to  ^x,  sor- 
row, or  mourning  ;  as  the  word  lost  here  was  to  »San,  mourn- 
ers ;  I  follow  him. 

Ibid.  — a  beautiful  crown,  instead  of  ashes]  In  times  of 
mourning  the  Jews  put  on  sackcloth,  or  coarse  and  sordid 
raiment ;  and  spread  dust  and  ashes  on  their  heads  :  on  the 
contrary,  splendid  clothing,  and  ointment  poured  on  the 
head,  were  the  signs  of  joy.  "  Feign  thyself  to  be  a  mourn- 
er," says  Joab  to  the  woman  of  Tekoah,  "  and  put  on  now 
mourning  apparel,  and  anoint  not  thyself  with  oil ; "  2  Sam. 
xiv.  2.  These  customs  are  at  large  expressed  in  the  book  of 
Judith :  "  She  pulled  off  the  sackcloth  which  she  had  on, 
and  put  off  the  garments  of  her  widowhood,  and  washed  her 
body  all  over  with  water,  and  anointed  herself  with  precious 
ointment,  and  braided  the  hair  of  her  head,  and  put  on  a  tire 
[mitre,  marg.]  upon  it ;  and  put  on  her  garments  of  glad 
ness  ;  "  chap.  x.  3. 

Phear,  instead  of  apher ;  a  paronomasia,  which  the  Pro- 


CHAP.  LXI,  NOTES   ON    ISAIAH.  385 

phet  often  uses :  a  chaplet,  crown,  or  other  ornament  of  the 
head,  (for  so  the  Vulgate  renders  the  word  here,  and  in  the 
10th  verse  ;  in  which  last  place  the  LXX  agree  in  the  same 
rendering),  instead  of  dust  and  ashes,  which  before  covered 
it ;  and  the  costly  ointments  used  on  occasion  of  festivity,  in- 
stead of  the  ensigns  of  sorrow. 

Ibid.  — trees  approved]  Heb.  oaks  of  righteousness,  or 
truth  ;  that  is,  such  as  by  their  flourishing  condition  should 
shew  that  they  were  indeed  "  the  cion  of  God's  planting,  and 
the  work  of  his  hands :  "  under  which  images,  in  the  preced- 
ing chap.  ver.  21.  the  true  servants  of  God,  in  a  highly  im- 
proved state  of  the  church,  were  represented  ;  that  is,  says  Vi- 
tringa  on  that  place,  "  commendable  for  the  strength  of  their 
faith,  their  durability,  and  firmness." 

4.  And  they  that  spring  from  thee]  A  word  is  lost  here 
likewise.  After  wat,  they  shall  build,  add  ]Dn,  they  that 
spring  from  thce.  Four  MSS  have  it  so,  (two  of  them  an- 
cient), and  it  is  confirmed  by  chap.  Iviii.  12.  where  the  sen- 
tence is  the  very  same,  this  word  being  here  added.  Kimchi 
makes  the  same  remark  :  "  the  word  -JOD  is  omitted  here  ;  but 
is  found  in  chap.  Iviii.  12," 

7.  Instead  of  your  shame — ]     The  translation  of  this 
verse,  which  is  very  confused,  and  probably  corrupted  in  the 
Hebrew,  is  taken  from  the  Syriac  version ;  except  that  the 
latter  has  not  expressed  the  word  mi?D,  double,  in  the  first 
place.     Five  MSS  add  the  conjunction  i  to  nrw.     Syr.  reads 
inn  and  iBn»n  in  the  second  person,  "  ye  shall  rejoice,  ye  shall 
inherit."     And  for  on1?,  to  them,  two  MSS  (one  of  them 
ancient),  and  Syr.  read  DD1?,  to  you,  in   the  second  person 
likewise. 

The  version  of  the  LXX  is  imperfect  in  this  place :  the 
first  half  of  the  verse  is  entirely  omitted  in  all  the  printed 
copies.  It  is  supplied  by  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.  in  the 
following  manner : 

Am  TK  eur%wi)s  vfM»  TIK  JV?rAj«, 

Kott  ecvri  TW  (vrgoTTtx  evyechtocccrerw  «  /uc£*f  avritr 

Aiac  rtvro  rtjv  yjjv  etvrav  etc  fevregov 

In  which  the  two  MSS  agree,  except  that  i.  D.  n.  has  by 
mistake  rintQcts  for  77  p^is.  And  Cod.  Marchal.  in  the  mar- 
gin, has  pretty  nearly  the  same  supplement  as  from  Theodotion. 

8.  — and  iniquity]     Syr.  and  Chald.  prerix  the  conjunc- 
tion i,  instead  of  the  preposition  3,  to  rfay  ;  which  they  render 
iniquity  or  oppression ;  and  so  the  LXX, 

38 


386  NOTES  ON  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXI. 

10.  As  the  bridegroom  decketh  himself  with  a  priestly 
crown]     An  allusion  to  the  magnificent  dress  of  the  High 
Priest,  when   performing   his  functions  ;  and  particularly  to 
the  mitre,  and  crown,  or  plate  of  gold  on  the  front  of  it ; 
Exod.  xxix.  6.     The  bonnet  or  mitre  of  the  priests  also  was 
made,   as  Moses  expresses  it,  "  for  glory  and  for  beauty ;  *' 
Exod.  xxviii.  40.     It  is  difficult  to  give  its  full  force  to  the 
Prophet's   metaphor   in  another  language ;    the   version   of 
Aquila  and  Symmachus   comes   nearest  to  it :    cos  wp(ptoi 
iegarevoaevov  tirftpavG). 

11.  The  Lord  JEHOVAH — ]     "  jnx,  the  Lord,  makes  the 
line  longer   than  the  preceding  and  following :  and  LXX. 
Alex,  [and  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.]  and  Arab,  do  not 
render  it.     Hence*  it  seems  to  be  interpolated : "  Dr.  JUBB. 
Three  MSS  have  it  not :  See  note  on  ver.  1.  of  this  chapter. 

CHAPTER  LXII. 

5.  For  as  a  young  man — so — ]     The  particles  of  com- 
parison are  not  at  present  in  the  Hebrew  text ;  but  the  LXX, 
Syr.  and  Chald.  seem  to  have  read  in  their  copies  D  prefixed 
to   the  verb  bipTD  '3,  which  seems   to   have   been   omitted 
by  mistake  of  a  transcriber,  occasioned  by  the  repetition  of 
the  same  two  letters.     And  before  the  verb  in  the  second 
line  a  MS  adds  p,  so  ;  which  the  LXX,  Syr.  and   Chald. 
seem  also  to  have  had  in  their  copies.     In  the  third  line  of 
this  verse  the  same  MS  has  in  like  manner  Bn^DDi,  and  two 
MSS  and  the  Babylonish  Talmud  B^DD,  adding  the  D:  and 
in  the  fourth  line,  the  Babylonish  Talmud  likewise  adds  p,  so. 
before  the  verb. 

Sir  John  Chardin,  in  his  note  on  this  place,  tells  us,  "  that 
it  is  the  custom  in  the  East  for  youths,  tnat  were  never  mar- 
ried, always  to  marry  virgins  ;  and  widowers,  however  young, 
to  marry  widows  : "  Harmer,  Observ.  ii.  p.  482. 

Ibid.  — thy  restorer — ]     rpji;  see  note  on  chap.  xlix.  17. 

6.  O  ye  that  proclaim — ]    The  faithful,  and  in  particu- 
lar the  priests  and  Levites,  are  exhorted  by  the  Prophet   to 
beseech  God,  with  unremitted  importunity,  (compare  Luke 
xviii.  1.  &c.),  to  hasten  the  redemption  of  Sion.     The  image 
in  this  place  ii  taken  from  the  temple  service :  in  which  there 
was  appointed  a  constant  watch,  day  and  night,  by  the  Le- 
vites :  and  among  them  this  service  seems  to  have  belonged 
particularly  to  the  singers ;  see  1  Chron.  ix.  33,     Now  the 
watches  in  the  East,  even  to  this  day,  are  performed  by  a  loud 
cry  from  time  to  time  of  the  watchmen,  to  mark  the  time,  and 


CHAP.  LXII.  NOTES  ON  ISAIAH.  387 

that  very  frequently,  and  in  order  to  show  that  they  them- 
selves are  constantly  attentive  to  their  duty.  Hence  the 
watchmen  are  said  by  the  Prophet,  chap.  Hi.  8.  to  lift  up 
their  voice ;  and  here  they  are  commanded,  not  to  keep 
silence  ;  and  the  greatest  reproach  to  them  is,  that  they  arc 
dumb  dogs ;  they  cannot  bark  ;  dreamers,  sluggards,  lov- 
ing to  slumber :  chap.  Ivi.  10.  "  The  watchmen  in  the 
camp  of  the  caravans  go  their  rounds,  crying  one  after  another, 
;  God  is  One,  He  is  merciful ; '  and  often  add,  '  Take  heed  to 
yourselves:"  Tavernier,  Voyage  de  Perse,  liv.  i.  chap.  x. 
The  cxxxivth  Psalm  gives  us  an  example  of  the  temple 
watch.  The  whole  Psalm  is  nothing  more  than  the  alternate 
cry  of  two  different  divisions  of  the  watch.  The  first  watch 
addresses  the  second,  reminding  them  of  their  duty ;  the 
second  answers  by  a  solemn  blessing :  the  address  and  the 
answer  seem  both  to  be  a  set  form,  which  each  division  pro- 
claimed, or  sung  aloud,  at  stated  intervals,  to  notify  the  time 
of  the  night :  — 

First  Chorus. 
(l  Come  on  now,  bless  ye  JEHOVAH,  all  ye  servants  of  JEHOVAH; 

Ye  that  stand  in  the  house  of  JEHOVAH  in  the  nights: 

Lift  up  your  hands  towards  the  sanctuary, 

And  bless  ye  JEHOVAH." 

Second  Chorus. 
u  JEHOVAH  bless  thee  out  of  Sion; 

He  that  made  heaven  and  earth." 

"  Qui  statis  in  loco  custodies,  domus  sanctuarii  JEHOV.E, 
et  laudatis  per  noctes  ; "  says  the  Chaldee  paraphrase  on  the 
second  line.  And  this  explains  what  is  here  particularly 
meant  by  proclaiming,  or  making  remembrance  of,  the  name 
of  JEHOVAH.  The  form  which  the  watch  made  use  of  on 
these  occasions  was  always  a  short  sentence,  expressing  some 
pious  sentiment,  of  which  JEHOVAH  was  the  subject :  and  it 
is  remarkable,  that  the  custom  in  the  East  in  this  respect  also 
still  continues  the  very  same  ;  as  it  appears  by  the  example 
above  given  from  Tavernier. 

And  this  observation  leads  to  the  explanation  of  an  obscure 
passage  in  the  Prophet  Malachi,  ii.  12. 
"  JEHOVAH  will  cut  off  the  man  that  doeth  this  ; 

The  watchman   and  the  answerer,   from  the  tabernacles  of 
Jacob; 

And  him  that  presenteth  an  offering  to  JEHOVAH  God  of 
Hosts." 


388  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXII. 

mjn  13;,  the  master  and  the  scholar,  says  our  translation  after 
Yulg.  ;  the  son  and  the  grandson,  says  Syr.  and  Chald.  as 
little  to  the  purpose  :  Arias  Montanus  has  given  it.  vigilantem 
et  respondentem,  the  watchman  and  the  answerer  ;  that  is, 
the  Levite  :  and  him  thatpresenteth  an  offering  to  Jehovah  ; 
that  is,  the  priest. 

9.  But  they  that  reap  the  harvest  shall  eat  it,  and  praise 
JEHO  VAH  —  ]  This  and  the  following  line  have  reference  to 
the  law  of  Moses  :  "  Thou  mayest  not  eat  within  thy  gates 
the  tithe  of  thy  corn,  or  of  thy  wine,  or  of  thy  oil  ;  —  but  thou 
must  eat  them  before  the  Lord  thy  God,  in  the  place  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  shall  choose  ;  "  Deut.  xii.  17.  18.  "  And 
when  ye  shall  come  into  the  land,  and  shall  have  planted  all 
manner  of  trees  for  food,  then  ye  shall  count  the  jfruit  there- 
of as  uncircumcised  :  three  years  it  shall  be  as  uncircumcised 
unto  you  ;  it  shall  not  be  eaten  of.  But  in  the  fourth  year 
all  the  fruit  thereof  shall  be  holy  to  praise  the  Lord  withal 
And  in  the  fifth  year  ye  shall  eat  the  fruit  thereof:  "  Lev.  xix. 
23  —  25.  This  clearly  explains  the  force  of  the  expressions, 
"  shall  praise  JEHOVAH,"  and  "  shall  drink  it  in  my  sacred 


Five  MSS  (one  ancient)  have  ini^DN*,  fuljy  expressed  : 
and  so  likewise  imnBN  is  found  in  nineteen  MSS,  three  of 
them  ancient. 

10—  -for  the  people]  Before  the  word  oyn,  the  people, 
two  MSS  insert  mrr,  Jehovah  ;  one  MS  adds  the  same  word 
after  it  :  and  eight  MSS  (three  ancient),  instead  of  pyn  have 
mrv,  and  so  likewise  one  edition.  But  though  it  makes  a 
good  sense  either  way,  I  believe  it  to  be  an  interpolation,  as 
the  ancient  versions  do  not  favour  it.  The  LXX  indeed  read 
my  people. 

11.  —  Lo  !  thy  Saviour  —  ]  So  all  the  ancient  versions 
render  the  word  •yw. 

Ibid.     Lo  !  his  reward  —  ]     See  note  on  chap.  xl.  10. 

CHAPTER  LXIII. 

THE  very  remarkable  passage  with  which  this  chapter  be- 
gins, seems  to  me  to  be  in  a  manner  detached  from  the  rest, 
and  t»  stand  singly  by  itself  ;  having  no  immediate  connec- 
tion with  what  goes  before,  or  with  what  follows  ;  otherwise 
than  as  it  may  pursue  the  general  design,  and  stand  in  its 
proper  place  in  the  order  of  prophecy.  It  is  by  many  learned 


CHAP.  LXIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  389 

interpreters  supposed,  that  Judas  Maccabeus  and  his  victories 
make  the  subject  of  it.  What  claim  Judas  can  have  to  so 
great  an  honour,  will,  I  think,  be  very  difficult  to  make 
out ;  or  how  the  attributes  of  the  great  person  introduced 
can  possibly  suit  him.  Could  Judas  call  himself  the  an- 
nouncer of  righteousness,  mighty  to  save  ?  Could  he  talk  of 
the  day  of  vengeance  being  in  his  heart,  and  the  year  of  his 
redeemed  being  come  ?  or  that  his  own  arm  wrought  salva- 
tion for  him  ?  Besides,  what  were  the  great  exploits  of  Judas 
in  regard  to  the  Idumeans  ?  he  overcame  them  in  battle,  and 
slew  twenty  thousand  of  them  :  and  John  Hyrcanus,  his 
brother  Simon's  son  and  successor,  who  is  called  in  to  help 
out  the  accomplishment  of  the  prophecy,  gave  them  another 
defeat  some  time  afterward,  and  compelled  them  by  force  to 
become  proselytes  to  the  Jewish  religion,  and  to  submit  to 
circumcision  ;  after  which  they  were  incorporated  with  the 
Jews,  and  became  one  people  with  them.  Are  these  events 
adequate  to  the  Prophet's  lofty  prediction  ?  Was  it  so  great 
an  action  to  win  a  battle  with  considerable  slaughter  of  the 
enemy ;  or  to  force  a  whole  nation  by  dint  of  the  sword  into 
Judaism  ?  or  was  the  conversion  of  the  Idumeans,  however 
effected,  and  their  admission  into  the  church  of  God,  equi- 
valent to  a  most  grievous  judgment  and  destruction  threat- 
ened in  the  severest  terms  ? — But  here  is  another  very  ma- 
terial circumstance  to  be  considered,  which,  I  presume,  en- 
tirely excludes  Judas  Maccabeus,  and  even  the  Idumeans 
properly  so  called :  The  Idumea  of  the  Prophet's  time  was 
quite  a  different  country  from  that  which  Judas  conquered ; 
for,  during  the  Babylonish  captivity,  the  Nabatheans  had 
driven  the  Edomites  out  of  their  country,  who  upon  that  took 
possession  of  the  southern  parts  of  Judea,  and  settled  them- 
selves there ;  that  is,  in  the  country  of  the  whole  tribe  of 
Simeon,  and  in  half  of  that  of  Judah  :  See  Prideaux,  ad  An. 
740  et  165. :  And  the  metropolis  of  the  Edomites,  and  of  the 
country  thence  called  Idumea,  which  Judas  took,  was  Hebron, 
1  Mace.  v.  65.  not  Botsra. 

I  conclude  therefore,  that  this  prophecy  has  not  the  least 
relation  to  Judafe  Maccabeus.  It  may  be  asked,  To  whom, 
and  to  what  event  does  it  relate  ?  I  can  only  answer,  that 
I  know  of  no  event  in  history  to  which,  from  its  importance 
and  circumstances,  it  can  be  applied ;  unless  perhaps  to  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Jewish  polity,  which  in 
the  gospel  is  called  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  the  days  of 
38* 


390  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXII1. 

vengeance  ;  Matt.  xvi.  28.  Luke  xxi.  22.  But,  though  this 
prophecy  must  have  its  accomplishment,  there  is  no  necessity 
of  supposing  that  it  has  been  already  accomplished.  There 
are  prophecies,  which  intimate  a  great  slaughter  of  the 
enemies  of  God  and  his  people,  which  remain  to  be  fulfilled. 
Those  in  Ezekiel,  chap,  xxxviii.  and  in  the  Revelation  of  St. 
John,  chap.  xx.  are  called  Gog  and  Magog.  This  prophecy 
of  Isaiah  may  possibly  refer  to  the  same  or  the  like  event. 
We  need  not  be  at  a  loss  to  determine  the  person  who  is 
here  introduced  as  stained  with  treading  the  wine-press,  if 
we  consider  how  St.  John  in  the  Revelation  has  applied  this 
image  of  the  Prophet  ;  Rev.  xix.  13.  15,  16.  :  compare  chap. 
xxxiv. 

1.  1  who  announce  righteousness,  and  —  ]     A  MS  has 
131DH,  with  the  demonstrative  article  added,  with  greater  force 
and  emphasis.  The  announcer  of  righteousness.     A  MS  has 
np*iy,   without  n   prefixed  ;  and  so  L  XX  and  Vulg.     And 
thirty-eight  MSS  (seven  ancient)  add  the  conjunction  i  to  ai; 
which  the  LXX  Syr.  and  Vulg.  confirm. 

2.  Wherefore  is  thine  apparel  red  —  ]     For  •jtsn::1?'?,  twen- 
ty-nine MSS  (nine  ancient),  and  one  edition,  have  "]»»DV?  in 
the  plural  :  so  LXX  and  Syr.     And  all  the  ancient  versions 
read  it  with  D  instead  of  the  first  *?.     But  the  true  reading  is 
probably  "jt^n^D  in  the  singular,  as  in  ver.  3. 

3.  And  I  have  stained  —  ]     For   ;V?JOX,  a  verb  of  very 
irregular  formation,  compounded,  as  they  say,  of  the  two  forms 
of  the   preterite   and  future,  a  MS  has  inStUN,  the  regular 
future  with  a  pleonastic  pronoun  added  to  it,  according  to  the 
Hebrew   idiom  :  "And  all  my    raiment,  I  have  stained  it." 
The  necessity  of  the  verb's  being  in  the  past  time,  seems  to 
have  given  occasion  to  the  alteration  made  in  the  end  of  the 
word.     The  conversive  i  at  the  beginning  of  the  sentence 
affects  the  verb,  though  not  joined  to  it  ;  of  which  there  are 
many  examples  :  — 


"  And  thou  wilt  hear  me,  (or  hear  thou  me),  from  among 
the  horns  of  the  unicorns."  Psal.  xxii.  22. 

7.  And  mine  indignation  —  ]  For  vmrn,  nineteen  MSS 
(three  ancient),  and  four  editions,  have  *np"ȴi,  and  my  right- 
eousness; from  chap.  lix.  16.  which,  I  suppose,  the  trans- 
criber retained  in  his  memory. 

6.  And  1  crushed  them]  For  DTDBW,  "  and  I  made 
them  drunken,"  twenty-seven  MSS  (three  ancient),  and 


CHAP.  LXIII.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  391 

the  old  edition  of  1488,  have  Dia»w,  "  and  I  crushed  them  :" 
and  so  Syr.  and  Chald.  The  LXX  have  omitted  this  whole 
line. 

7.  The  remaining  part  of  this  chapter,  with  the  whole 
chapter  following,  contains  a  penitential  confession  and  sup- 
plication of  the  Israelites  in  their  present  state  of  dispersion, 
in  which  they  have  so  long  marvellously  subsisted,  and  still 
continue  to  subsist,  as  a  people ;  cast  out  of  their  country ; 
without  any  proper  form  of  civil  polity,  or  religious  worship ; 
their  temple  destroyed,  their  city  desolated  and  lost  to  them  ; 
and  their  whole  nation  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth ; 
apparently  deserted  and  cast  off  by  the  God  of  their  fathers, 
as  no  longer  his  peculiar  people. 

They  begin  with  acknowledging  God's  great  mercies  and 
favours  to  their  nation,  and  the  ungrateful  returns  made 
to  them  on  their  part ;  that  by  their  disobedience  they  had 
forfeited  the  protection  of  God,  and  had  caused  him  to  be- 
come their  adversary.  And  now  the  Prophet  represents 
them,  induced  by  the  memory  of  the  great  things  that  God 
had  done  for  them,  as  addressing  their  humble  supplication 
for  the  renewal  of  his  mercies  :  They  beseech  him  to  regard 
them  in  consideration  of  his  former  loving-kindness ;  they 
acknowledge  him  for  their  Father  and  Creator  ;  they  confess 
their  wickedness  and  hardness  of  heart ;  they  entreat  his 
forgiveness ;  and  deplore  their  present  miserable  condition 
under  which  they  have  so  long  suffered.  It  seems  designed 
as  a  formulary  of  humiliation  for  the  Israelites,  in  order  to 
their  conversion. 

The  whole  passage  is  in  the  elegiac  form,  pathetic  and  ele- 
gant ;  but  it  has  suffered  much  in  our  present  copy  by  the 
mistakes  of  transcribers. 

Ibid.  — the  praise  of  JEHOVAH}  For  nibnn,  plural, 
twenty-nine  MSS  (three  ancient),  and  two  editions,  have 
nbnn,  in  the  singular  number :  and  so  the  Vulgate  renders 
it ;  and  one  of  the  Greek  versions,  in  the  margin  of  Cod. 
Marchal.  and  in  the  text  of  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.  irp 
cuvttiiv  xvgiov. 

8,  9.  And  he  became  their  saviour  in  all  their  distress — ] 
I  have  followed  the  translation  of  the  LXX  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  8th  and  the  former  part  of  the  9th  verse  ;  which 
agrees  with  the  present  text,  a  little  differently  divided,  as 
to  the  members  of  the  sentence.  They  read  ^DD,  out  of  all, 
instead  of  to,  in  all,  which  makes  no  difference  in  the 
sense  ;  and  iv  they  understand  as  T¥.  Kcu  eyevevo  avuois  et$ 


392  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXIII. 


jtatirjs  'O'Ati^fcos  CCVTCOV  ov  7iQ£ti6vs,  ovde  ayy&og— 
An  angel  of  his  presence  means  an  angel  of  superior  order,  in 
immediate  attendance  upon  God.  So  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
says  to  Zacharias,  "  I  am  Gabriel,  that  stand  in  the  presence 
of  God  ;  "  Luke  i.  19.  The  presence  of  JEHOVAH,  Exod. 
xxxiii.  14,  15.  and  the  angel,  Exod.  xxiii.  20,  21.  is  JEHOVAH 
himself  :  here,  an  angel  of  his  presence  is  opposed  to  JEHOVAH 
himself;  as  an  angel  is  in  the  following  passages  of  the  same 
book  of  Exodus.  After  their  idolatrous  worshipping  of  the 
golden  calf,  "  when  God  had  said  to  Moses,  I  will  send  an  an- 
gel before  thee  —  I  will  not  go  up  in  the  midst  of  thee  —  the 
people  mourned,"  Exod.  xxxiii.  2  —  4.  God  afterwards  com- 
forts Moses  by  saying,  "My  presence  (that  is,  I  myself  in 
person,  and  not  by  an  angel)  will  go  with  thee,"  ver.  14.  avros 
xQOTiogtvtiofjiai  tfov,  as  the  LXX  render  it. 

The  MSS  and  editions  are  much  divided  between  the  two 
readings  of  the  text  and  margin  in  the  common  copies,  xb  and 
i1?.  All  the  ancient  versions  express  the  chetib  16. 

Ibid.  And  he  took  them  up,  and  he  bare  them]  See  the 
note  on  chap.  xlvi.  3. 

10.  And  he  fought   against  them]     Twenty-six  MSS 
(ten  ancient),  and  the  first  edition,  with  another,  add  the  con- 
junction i,  Kirn. 

11.  How  he  brought  them  up  from  the  sea  with  the  shep- 
herd of  his  flock  ;  How  —  ]     For  n%  how,   interrogative, 
twice,  the  Syriac  version  reads  ytf,  how,  without  interrogation  : 
as  that  particle  is  used  in  the  Syriac  language,  and  sometimes 
in  the  Hebrew.     See  Ruth  iii.  18.  Eccles.  ii.  16. 

Ibid.  Moses  his  servant  —  ]  For  my,  his  people,  two 
MSS  (one  of  them  ancient),  and  the  old  edition  of  1488, 
and  Syr.  read  nay,  his  servant.  These  two  words  have  been 
mistaken  one  for  the  other  in  other  places  :  Psal.  Ixxviii. 
71.  and  Ixxx.  5.  for  ioy  and  py,  the  LXX  read  nay  and 


Ibid.  —  the  shepherd  of  his  flock]  That  is,  Moses.  The 
MSS  and  editions  vary  in  this  word  :  some  have  it  nyi  in 
the  singular  number  ;  so  LXX,  Syr.  Chald.  ;  others  »yi, 
plural. 

14.  The  spirit  of  Jehovah  conducted  them]     For  umn, 
caused  him  to  rest,  the  LXX  have  wd^^efcv  avtovs,  conduct- 
ed them.     They  read  omn  :  Syr.  Chald.  Vulg.  read  wron, 
conducted  him.    Two  MSS  have  the  word  without  the  *  in 
the  middle. 

15.  —  and  thy  mighty  power]    For  -pmiaj,  plural,  thirty- 


CHAP.  LXI1I.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  393 

two  MSS  (seven  ancient),  and  seven  editions,  have  -jmi:u,  sin- 
gular. 

Ibid.  —  are  they  restrained  from  us]  For  ^,from  (or 
in  regard  to)  me,  LXX  and  Syr.  read  wbKjfrom  us. 

16.  O  deliver  us  for  the  sake  of  thy  name]  The  present 
text  reads,  as  our  translation  has  rendered  it,  "  Our  Re- 
deemer, thy  name  is  from  everlasting."  But  instead  of 
D^iyD,  from  everlasting,  an  ancient.  MS  has  \yditfor  the 
sake  of,  which  gives  a  much  better  sense.  To  shew  the 
impropriety  of  the  present  reading,  it  is  sufficient  to  observe, 
that  the  LXX  and  Syriac  translators  thought  it  necessary 
to  add  why,  upon  us,  to  make  out  the  sense  ;  that  is,  "  Thy 
name  is  upon  us,  or  we  are  called  by  thy  name,  from  of  old.77 
And  the  LXX  have  rendered  ubw  in  the  imperative  mood, 


13.  It  is  little  that  they  have  taken  possession  of  thy  holy 
mountain]  The  difficulty  of  the  construction  in  this  place 
is  acknowledged  on  all  hands.  Vitringa  prefers  that  sense 
as  the  least  exceptionable,  which  our  translation  has  ex- 
pressed ;  in  which  however  there  seems  to  me  to  be  a  great 
defect  ;  that  is,  the  want  of  what  in  the  speaker's  view  must 
have  been  the  principal  part  of  the  proposition,  the  object 
of  the  verb,  the  land,  or  it,  as  our  translators  supply  it  ;  which 
surely  ought  to  have  been  expressed,  and  not  to  have  been 
left  to  be  supplied  by  the  reader.  In  a  word,  I  believe,  there 
is  some  mistake  in  the  text.  And  here  the  LXX  help  us  out  : 
they  had  in  their  copy  ^n,  mountain,  instead  of  pp,  people  ; 
Tov  ogovs  TOV  dyiov  tiov.  "  Not  only  our  enemies  have  taken 
possession  of  Mount  Sion,  and  trodden  down  thy  sanctuary  ; 
even  far  worse  than  this  has  befallen  us  :  Thou  hast  long 
since  utterly  casfe  us  off;  and  dost  not  consider  us  as  thy  pe- 
culiar people." 

CHAPTER  LXIV. 

2.  —  the  dry  fuel  —  ]  D'DDH.  "  It  means  dry  stubble, 
and  the  root  is  onn,  "  says  Rabbi  Jonah,  apud  Sal.  ben  Melech 
in  loc.  Which  is  approved  by  Schultens,  Orig.  Hebr.  p.  30. 

"  The  fire  kindling  the  stubble  does  not  seem  like  enough 
to  the  melting  of  the  mountains  to  be  brought  as  a  simile  to  it. 
Quid  si  sic? 

That  the  mountains  might  flow  down  at  thy  presence  ! 
As  the  fire  of  things  smelted  burneth, 
As  the  fire  causeth  the  waters  to  boil  — 


394  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXIV. 

There  is  no  doubt  of  the  Hebrew  words  of  the  second  line 
bearing  that  version  :  "  DR  JUBB. 

I  submit  these  different  interpretations  to  the  readers  judg- 
ment. For  my  own  part,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
text  is  much  corrupted  in  this  place.  The  ancient  versions 
have  not  the  least  traces  of  either  of  the  above  interpretations. 
The  LXX  and  Syr.  agree  exactly  together  in  rendering  this 
line  by,  "  As  the  wax  melted  before  the  fire,"  which  can  by 
no  means  be  reconciled  with  the  present  text.  Vulg.  for 
D'DDn  reads  IDD*. 

Ibid.  That  the  nations — ]  For  ofu,  the  nations,  four 
MSS  (one  of  them  ancient)  have  D»nn,  the  mountains. 

4.  For  never  have  men  heard — ]  St.  Paul  is  generally 
supposed  to  have  quoted  this  passage  of  Isaiah,  1  Cor.  ii.  9. ; 
and  Clemens  Romanus,  in  his  first  epistle,  has  made  the 
same  quotation,  very  nearly  in  the  same  words  with  the 
apostle.  But  the  citation  is  so  very  different  both  from  the 
Hebrew  text  and  the  version  of  LXX,  that  it  seems  very 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  reconcile  them  by  any  literal 
emendation,  without  going  beyond  the  bounds  of  temperate 
criticism.  One  clause,  "  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,"  (which,  by  the  way,  is  a  phrase  purely  He- 
brew, ih  by  rhy,  and  should  seem  to  belong  to  the  Pro- 
phet), is  wholly  left  out ;  and  another  is  repeated  without 
force  or  propriety,  viz.  "  nor  perceived  by  the  ear,"  after 
"  never  have  heard  : "  and  the  sense  and  expression  of  the 
apostle  is  far  preferable  to  that  of  the  Hebrew  text.  Under 
these  difficulties,  I  am  at  a  loss  what  to  do  better  than  to 
offer  to  the  reader  this,  perhaps  disagreeable,  alternative ; 
Either  to  consider  the  Hebrew  text  and  LXX  in  this  place 
as  wilfully  disguised  and  corrupted  by  the  Jews ;  of  which 
practice,  in  regard  to  other  quotations  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment from  the  Old,  they  lie  under  strong  suspicions ;  (see 
Dr.  Owen  on  the  Version  of  the  Seventy,  sect.  vi. — ix.)  ;  or 
to  look  upon  St.  Paul's  quotation  as  not  made  from  Isaiah, 
but  from  one  or  other  of  the  two  apocryphal  books  en- 
titled, The  Ascension  of  Esaiah,  and  The  Apocalyps  of 
Elias,  in  both  of  which  this  passage  was  found  ;  and  the 
apostle  is  by  some  supposed  in  other  places  to  have  quoted 
such  apocryphal  writings.  As  the  first  of  these  conclusions 
will  perhaps  not  easily  be  admitted  by  many  ;  so  I  must 
fairly  warn  my  readers,  that  the  second  is  treated  by  Jerom 
as  little  better  than  heresy.  See  his  comment  on  this  place 
of  Isaiah. 


CHAP.  LXIV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  395 


The  variations  on  this  place  are  as  follows  :  for  }ynw,  they 
have  heard,  a  MS  and  LXX  read  vynv,  we  have  heard  : 
for  the  second  N1?,  sixty-nine  MSS  and  four  editions  have  s6i  ; 
and  Syr.  Chald.  Vulg.  ;  and  so  j'jn,  LXX  Syr.  n«  is  added  be- 
fore DTi1?**  in  MS  Bodl.  onn1?,  plural,  two  MSS,  and  all  the 
ancient  versions. 

5.   Thou  meetest  with  joy  those  —  ]     Syr.  reads  —  nnx  ;uia 


Ibid.  Because  of  our  deeds,  for  ice  have  been  rebellious.'] 
obiy  oro.  I  am  fully  persuaded,  that  these  words, 
as  they  stand  in  the  present  Hebrew  text,  are  utterly  unin- 
telligible :  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  meaning  of  each  word 
separately,  but  put  together  they  make  no  sense  at  all.  1 
conclude,  therefore,  that  the  copy  has  suffered  by  mistakes 
of  transcribers  in  this  place.  The  corruption  is  of  long 
standing  ;  for  the  ancient  interpreters  were  as  much  at  a 
loss  for  the  meaning  as  the  moderns,  and  give  nothing  satis- 
factory. The  LXX  render  these  words  by  dux.  TOVTO  exlavr,- 
Orltufv  :  they  seem  to  have  read  jwaa  Dirty,  without  helping 
the  sense.  In  this  difficulty,  what  remains  but  to  have  re- 
course to  conjecture  ?  Archbishop  SECKER  was  dissatisfied 
with  the  present  reading  :  he  proposes,  jwui  U'ty  twn  ;  "  look 
upon  us,  and  we  shall,  or  that  we  may,  be  saved  ;  "  which 
gives  a  very  good  sense,  but  seems  to  have  no  sufficient  foun- 
dation. Besides,  the  word  jwwi,  which  is  attended  with  great 
difficulties,  seems  to  be  corrupted,  as  well  as  the  two  pre- 
ceding ;  and  the  true  reading  of  it  is,  I  think,  given  by  the 
LXX,  JWDJI,  ejilavrflrmtv  ,  (so  they  render  the  verb  yva,  chap. 
xlvi.  8.  and  Ezek.  xxxiii.  12),  parallel  to  NBTUI,  ri[ta<>TO{t£v. 
For  thy  ore,  which  mean  nothing,  I  would  propose  wbtyon  ; 
which  I  presume  was  first  altered  to  Dn?t?tyD3,  an  easy  and 
common  mistake  of  the  third  person  plural  of  the  pronoun 
for  the  first,  (see  note  on  chap,  xxxiii.  2.),  and  then  with 
some  further  alteration  to  DViy  oro.  The  Dirty,  which  the 
LXX  probably  found  in  their  copy,  seems  to  be  a  remnant  of 


This,  it  may  be  said,  is  imposing  your  sense  upon  the 
Prophet.  It  may  be  so  ;  for  perhaps  these  may  not  be  the 
very  words  of  the  Prophet  :  but  however  it  is  better  than  to 
impose  upon  him  what  makes  no  sense  at  all  ;  as  they  gene- 
rally do  who  pretend  to  render  such  corrupted  passages. 
For  instance,  our  own  translators  :  "  In  those  is  continu- 
ance, and  we  shall  be  saved  :  "  In  those  —  in  whom,  or  what  ? 


396  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH. 


CHAP.  LXIV. 


There  is  no  antecedent  to  the  relative.  In  the  ways  of  God, 
say  some  :  with  our  fathers,  says  Vitringa,  joining  it  in  con- 
struction with  the  verb  nsvp,  thou  hast  been  angry  with 
them,  'our  fathers ;  and  putting  KDTOI,  for  we  have  sinned, 
in  a  parenthesis.  But  there  has  not  been  any  mention  of 
our  fathers:  and  the  whole  sentence,  thus  disposed,  is 
utterly  discordant  from  the  Hebrew  idiom  and  construction. 
In  those  is  continuance :  thy  means  a  destined,  but  hidden 
and  unknown,  portion  of  time  ;  but  cannot  mean  continua- 
tion of  time,  or  continuance,  as  it  is  here  rendered.  Such 
forced  interpretations  are  equally  conjectural  with  the  boldest 
critical  emendation  ;  and  generally  have  this  further  disad- 
vantage,' that  they  are  altogether  unworthy  of  the  sacred 
writers. 

6.  There  is  no  one — ]     Twelve  MSS  have  j'K,  without  the 
conjunction  i  prefixed  :  and  so  read  Chald.  and  Vulg. 

Ibid.  And  hast  delivered  us  up — ]  For  tiJinm,  hast  dissolved 
us,  LXX,  Syr.  Chald.  had  in  their  copies  wunn,  hast  delivered 
us  up :  Houbigant ;  SECKER. 

7.  But  Thou,  O  JEHOVAH,  Thou — ]    Fornryn,  and  now. 
live  MSS  (one  of  them  ancient),  and  the  two  oldest  editions 
of  1486  and  1488,  have  nnw,  and  thou  ;  and  so  Chald.  seems 
to  have  read.     The  repetition  has  great  force.     The  other 
word  may  be  well  spared. 

Ibid.  We  are  all  of  us  the  work  of  thy  hands.]  Three 
MSS  (two  of  them  ancient),  and  LXX,  read  n^D,  with- 
out the  conjunction  i  prefixed.  And  for  -p>,  the  Bodl.  and 
two  other  MSS,  LXX,Syr.Vulg.  read  -p»,  in  the  plural  number. 

CHAPTER  LXV. 

THIS  chapter  contains  a  defence  of  God's  proceedings  in 
regard  to  the  Jesvs,  with  reference  to  their  complaint  in  the 
chapter  preceding.  God  is  introduced  declaring,  that  he 
had  called  the  Gentiles,  though  they  had  not  sought  him ; 
and  had  rejected  his  own  people,  for  their  refusal  to  attend 
to  his  repeated  call ;  for  their  obstinate  disobedience,  their 
idolatrous  practices,  and  detestable  hypocrisy.  That  never- 
theless he  would  not  destroy  them  all ;  but  would  preserve  a 
remnant,  to  whom  he  would  make  good  his  ancient  promises. 
Severe  punishments  are  threatened  to  the  apostates ;  and 
great  rewards  are  promised  to  the  obedient  in  a  future  flour- 
ishing state  of  the  church. 

1.  lam  made  known  to  those  that  asked  not  for  me] 


CHAP.  LXV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  397 


LXX,  Alex,  and  St  Paul,  Rom.  x.  20.  ;  who 
has  however  inverted  the  order  of  the  phrases,  fpfimK  f/evofw, 
and  evfebp,  from  that  which  they  have  in  LXX.  'rnsrvu 
means,  "qusesitus  sum  cum  effectu  —  I  am  sought,  so  as  to 
be  found  :  "  Vitring.  If  this  be  the  true  meaning  of  the 
word;  then  I^KIP,  that  asked,  which  follows,  should  seem  to 
be  defective,  the  verb  wanting  its  object  ;  but  two  MSS  (one 
of  them  ancient)  have  lyhwy,  asked  me  ;  and  another  MS 
>C7  htiw,  asked  for  me  ;  one  or  other  of  which  seems  to  be 
right.  But  Cocceius  in  Lex.  and  Vitringa  in  his  translation- 
render  wru  by  "  I  have  answered  ;  "  and  so  the  word  s 
rendered  by  all  the  ancient  versions  in  Ezek.  xx.  3.  31.  If 
this  be  right,  the  translation  will  be,  "  I  have  answered  those 
that  asked  not."  I  leave  this  to  the  reader's  judgment  :  but 
have  followed  in  my  translation  the  LXX,  and  St  Paul,  and 
the  MSS  above  mentioned.  'Jtypa  is  written  regularly  and  fully 
in  above  a  hundred  MSS,  and  in  the  oldest  edition,  Wp3. 

3,  4.  Sacrificing  in  the  gardens,  and  —  ]  These  are  in- 
stances of  heathenish  superstition,  and  idolatrous  practices, 
to  which  the  Jews  were  immoderately  ^addicted  before  the 
Babylonish  captivity.  The  heathen  worshipped  their  idols 
in  groves  j  whereas  God,  in  opposition  to  this  species  of 
idolatry,  commanded  his  people,  when  they  should  come 
into  the  promised  land,  to  destroy  all  the  places  wherein  the 
Canaanites  had  served  their  gods,  and  in  particular  to  burn 
their  groves  with  fire  ;  Deut.  xii.  2,  3.  These  apostate  Jews 
sacrificed  upon  altars  built  of  bricks,  in  opposition  to  the 
command  of  God  in  regard  to  his  altar,  which  was  to  be  of 
unhewn  stone  ;  Exod.  xx.  25.  c£  -  —  et  pro  uno  altari,  quod 
impolitis  lapidibus  Dei  erat  lege  constructum,  coctos  la- 
teres  et  agrorum  cespites  hostiarum  sanguine  cruentabant  :  " 
Hieron.  in  loc.  Or  it  means,  perhaps,  that  they  sacrificed 
upon  the  roofs  of  their  hpuses,  which  were  always  flat,  and 
paved  with  brick,  or  tile,  or  plaster  of  terrace.  An  instance 
of  this  idolatrous  practice  we  find  in  2  Kings  xxiii.  12.  where 
it  is  said,  that  Josiah  "  beat  down  the  altars  that  were  on 
the  top  of  the  upper  chamber  of  Ahaz,  which  the  kings  of 
Judah  had  made."  See  also  Zeph.  i.  5.  Sir  John  Chardin's 
MS  note  on  this  place  of  Isaiah  is  as  follows  :  "  Ainsi  font 
tous  les  Gentiles,  sur  les  lieux  eleves,  et  sur  les  terrasses. 
appellez  lateres,  parceque  sont  faits  de  briq."  —  "  Who  dwell 
in  the  sepulchres,  and  lodge  in  the  caverns"  for  the  pur- 
poses of  necromancy  and  divination  ;  to  obtain  dreams  and 
39 


398  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXV. 

revelations.     Another  instance  of  heathenish  superstition  : — 
"  Hue  donasacerdos 

Cum  tulit,  et  caesarum  ovium  sub  nocte  silenti 

Pellibus  incubuit  stratis,  somnosque  petivit; 

Multa  modis  simulacra  videt  volitantia  miris, 

Et  varias  audit  voces,  fruiturque  deorum 

Colloquio,  atque  imis  Acheronta  affatur  Avernis." 

Virg.  -/En.  vii.  86. 
"  Here  in  distress  the  Italian  nations  come, 

Anxious  to  clear  their  doubts,  and  learn  their  doom: 

First,  on  the  fleeces  of  the  slaughtered  sheep, 

By  night  the  sacred  priest  dissolves  in  sleep; 

When,  in  a  train,  before  his  slumbering  eye, 

Thin  airy  forms  and  wondrous  visions  fly : 

He  calls  the  Powers  who  guard  the  infernal  floods, 

And  talks,  inspired,  familiar  with  the  gods."  Pitt. 

— "  Who  eat  swine's  flesh"  which  was  expressly  forbidden 
by  the  law,  Lev.  xi.  7.  ;  but  among  the  heathen  was  in 
principal  request  in  their  sacrifices  and  feasts.  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  compelled  the  Jews  to  eat  swine's  flesh,  as  a  full 
proof  of  their  renouncing  their  religion,  2  Mace.  vi.  18.  and 
vii.  1.— "And  the  broth  of  abominable  meats"  for  lustra- 
tions, magical  arts,  and  other  superstitious  and  abominable 
practices. 

Ibid.  — in  the  caverns.}  onuna,  a  word  of  doubtful  sig- 
nification. An  ancient  MS  has  onrea,  another  D'ljfa,  in 
the  rocks ;  and  Le  Clerc  thinks  the  LXX  had  it  so  in  their 
copy.  They  render  it  by  «» rots  <rm)*ouoi$. 

Ibid.  — in  their  vessels.]  For  on' *?D,  a  MS  had  at  first 
DTV^aa :  so  Vulg.  and  Chald.  ;  and  the  preposition  seems 
necessary  to  the  sense. 

5.  — For  1  am  holier  than  thou]     So  the  Ohaldee  renders 
it.      ynenp    is   the   same   with   po   'fiunp.       In   the   same 
manner   ^npin,  Jer.    xx.  7.   is  used  for  'JDD  npm,  thou  art 
stronger  than  I. 

7.  — into  their  bosom]     For  ty,  ten  MSS  and  five  edi- 
tions have  ^x.     So  again,  at  the  end  of  this  verse,   seventeen 
MSS  and  four  editions  have  SK. 

6,  7.  — their  iniquities  and  the  iniquities  of  their  fathers} 
For  the  pronoun  affixed  of  the  second  person  oa,  your,  twice, 
read  on,  their,  in  the  third  person  ;  with  LXX,  and  Houbigant. 

8.  — -for  the  sake  of  my  servants']     It  is  to  be  observed, 
that  one  of  the   Koningsberg  MSS  collated   by  Lilienthal 
points  the  word  naj?,  singular  ;  that  is,  my  servant^  meaning 


CHAP.  LXV.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  399 

the  Messiah  ;  and  so  read  the  LXX  ;  which  gives  a  very  good 
sense. 

9.  — inheritor    of  my  mountain}     nn,  in   the  singular 
number  ;  so  LXX  and  Syr.;  that  is,  of  Mount  Sion.     See  ver. 
11.  and  chap.  Ivi.  7.;  to  which   Sion,  the  pronoun  feminine 
singular,  added  to  the  verb  in  the  next  line,   refers;  men', 
shall  inherit  her. 

10.  — Sharon,  and  the  valley  of  Achor — ]     Two  of  the 
most  fertile  parts  of  Judea,  famous  for  their  rich  pastures :  the 
former  to  the  west,  not  far  from  Joppa  ;  the  latter  north  of 
Jericho,  near  Gilgal. 

11.  Who  set  in  order  a  table  for  Gad — ]     The  disquisi- 
tions and  conjectures    of  the  learned    concerning  Gad   and 
Meni  are  infinite  and  uncertain  :  perhaps  the  most  probable 
may  be,  that  Gad  means  good  fortune,  and  Meni  the  moon. 
"  But  why  should  we  be  solicitous  about  it '/"  says  Schmi- 
dius.     "  It  appears  sufficiently,  from  the  circumstance,  that 
they  were  false  gods,  either  stars  or  some  other  natural  ob- 

or  a  mere  fiction.  The  Holy  Scriptures  did  not  deign 
to  explain  more  clearly  what  these  objects  of  idolatrous  wor- 
ship were ;  but  chose  rather  that  the  memory  of  the  knowl- 
ledge  of  them  should  be  utterly  abolished.  And  God  be 
praised  that  they  are  so  totally  abolished,  that  we  are  now 
quite  at  a  loss  to  know  what  and  what  sort  of  things  they 
were :"  Schmidius  on  the  place,  and  on  Judg.  ii.  13.  Bibl. 
Hallensia. 

Jerom,  on  the  place,  gives  an  account  of  this  idolatrous  prac- 
tice of  the  apostate  Jews,  of  making  a  feast,  or  a  lectisterni- 
um,  as  the  Romans  called  it,  for  these  pretended  deities. 
"  Est  in  cunctis  urbibus,  et  maxime  in  JEgypto,  et  in  Alex- 
andria, idololatrise  vetus  consuetude,  ut  ultimo  die  anni,  et 
mensis  ejus  qui  extremus  est,  ponant  rnensam  refertam  varii 
generis  epulis,  et  poculum  mulso  mixtum  ;  vel  praeteriti  anni 
vel  futuri  fertilitatem  auspicantes.  Hoc  autem  faciebant  et 
Israelite,  omnium  simulacrorum  portenta  venerantes ;  et 
nequaquam  altari  victimas,  sed  hujusmodi  mensae  liba  fun- 
debant."  See  also  Le  Clerc  on  the  place  ;  and  on  Ixvi.  17.  and 
Dav.  Millii  Dissert,  v. 

The  allusion  to  Meni,  which  signifies  number,  is  obvious. 
If  there  had  been  the  like  allusion  to  Gad,  which  might 
have  been  expected,  it  might  perhaps  have  helped  to  let  us 
into  the  meaning  of  that  word.  It  appears  from  .lerom's  ver- 
sion of  this  place,  that  the  words  rea  }ati*oitca,  (or  ^atifMvi,  as 
some  copies  have  it),  and  «i  rv%y  stood  in  his  time  in  the 


400  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.   LXV. 

Greek  version  in  an  inverted  order  from  that  which  they 
have  in  the  present  copies  ;  the  latter  then  answering  to  ij, 
the  former  to  UD:  by  which  some  difficulty  would  be  avoid- 
ed; for  it  is  commonly  supposed  that  -u  signifies  iv-^.  See 
Gen.  xxx.  11.  apud  LXX.  This  matter  is  so  far  well  cleared 
up  by  MSS  Pachom.  and  i.  D.  n.;  which  agree  in  placing 
these  two  words  in  that  order  which  Jerom's  version  sup- 
poses. 

15.  — shall  slay  you.]     For  in'Dm,  shall  slay  thee,  LXX 
and  ChakL  read  DDrrnm,  shall  slay  you,  plural. 

17.  — I  create  new  heavens,  and  a  new  earth]     Concern- 
ing this  image  and  the  application  of  it,  see  De  S.  Poes.  Hebr. 
PraeL.  ix. 

18.  — in  the  age   to  come,  which  I  create']     So  in  chap, 
ix.  5.  ny  '3K,  naTTig  TOV  peMovros  auaws,  LXX.     See   Bishop 
Chandler,  Defence  of  Christianity,  p.  136. 

20.  For  DPD,  thence,  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg.  read  u&9  there. 

21.  They  shall  not  build,  and  another  inhabit]     The  re- 
verse of  the  curse  denounced  on  the  disobedient,  Dent,  xxviii. 
30.  "  Thou  shalt  build  a  house,  and  thou  shalt  not  dwell 
therein ;  thou  shalt  plant  a  vineyard,  and  shalt  not  gather  the 
grapes  thereof." 

22.  For  as  the  days  of  a  tree — ]     It  is  commonly  sup- 
posed,  that  the  oak,  one  of  the  most  long-lived  of  the  trees> 
lasts  about  a   thousand    years ;    being   five   hundred   years 
growing  to    full  perfection,  and  as  many  decaying ;    which 
seems    to  be   a   moderate  and    probable  computation:    See 
Evelyn,    Sylva.    B.    iii.  ch.    3.     The    present  Emperor  of 
China,  in  his  very  ingenious  and  sensible .  poem,  entituled. 
Eioge  de  Moukden,  a  translation  of  which  in  French  was 
published  at  Paris,   1770,  speaks  of  a  tree    in   his  country 
which  lives   more  than  a   hundred  ages ;   and   of  another, 
which  after  fourscore  ages  is  only   in    its  prime,  p.   37,   38. 
But  his  imperial  majesty's  commentators,  in  their  note  on 
the  place,  carry    the  matter  much  further  ;  and  quote   au- 
thority which  affirms,  that  the  tree  last   mentioned   by  the 
Emperor,  the  immortal  tree,  after  having  lived  len  thousand 
years,  is  still  only  in  its  prime.     I  suspect  that  the  Chinese 
enlarge  somewhat  in  their  national  chronology,  as  well  as  in 
that  of  their  trees  :  See  Chou   King,  Preface,  by  Mons.  De 
Guignes.     The  Prophet's  idea  seems  to  be,   that  they  shall 
live  to  the  age  of  the  antediluvians  ;   which  seems  to  be  very 
justly   expressed   by    the  days  of  a  tree;   according  to  our  no- 
tions. 


CHAP.  LXV.  NOTES    ON     ISAIAH.  401 


23.  My  chosen  shall  not  labour  in  vain]  I  remove 
from  the  end  of  the  22d  to  the  beginning  of  the  23d  verse, 
on  the  authority  of  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg.  and  a  MS  ;  contrary 
to  the  division  in  the  Masoretic  text. 

Ibid.  Neither  shall  they    generate  a  short-lived  race] 
in  festinationem,    what   shall    soon    hasten  away. 
TaQav^for  a  curse,  LXX.     They  seem  to  have  read 
Grotius.     But  Psal.  Ixxviii.  33.  both  justifies  and  ex- 
plains the  word  here. 


u  And  he  consumed  their  days  in  vanity; 

And  their  years  in  haste." 

Mera  dTwvdr^^  say  the  LXX.  Jerom  on  this  place  of  Isaiah, 
explains  it  to  the  same  purpose  :  "  us  «vw7r*f|<*v,  hoc  est,  ut 
esse  desistant" 

25.  —  shall  feed  together]  For  inio,  as  one,  an  ancient 
MS  has  nrr,  together  ;  the  usual  word,  to  the  same  sense, 
but  very  different  in  the  letters.  LXX,  Syr.  and  Vulg.  seem 
to  agree  with  the  MS. 

CHAPTER  LXVI. 

THIS  chapter  is  a  continuation  of  the  subject  of  the  fore- 
going. The  Jews  valued  themselves  much  upon  their  tem- 
ple, and  the  pompous  system  of  services  performed  in  it, 
which  they  supposed  were  to  be  of  perpetual  duration  ;  and 
they  assumed  great  confidence  and  merit  to  themselves  for 
their  strict  observance  of  all  the  externals  of  their  religion. 
And  at  the  very  time  when  the  judgments,  denounced  in 
ver.  6th  and  12th  of  the  preceding  chapter,  were  hanging 
over  their  heads,  they  were  rebuilding,  by  Herod's  munifi- 
cence, the  temple  in  a  most  magnificent  manner.  'God  ad- 
monishes them,  that  the  Most  High  dwelleth  not  in  temples 
made  with  hands  ;  and  that  a  mere  external  worship,  how 
diligently  soever  attended,  when  accompanied  with  wicked 
and  idolatrous  practices  in  the  worshippers,  would  never  be 
accepted  by  him.  This  their  hypocrisy  is  set  forth  in  strong 
colours  ;  which  brings  the  Prophet  again  to  the  subject  of 
the  former  chapter  ;  and  he  pursues  it  in  a  different  manner, 
with  more  express  declaration  of  the  new  economy,  and  of 
the  flourishing  state  of  the  church  under  it.  The  increase 
of  the  church  is  to  be  sudden  and  astonishing,  They  that 
39* 


NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXVI. 

escape  of  the  Jews,  that  is,  that  become  converts  to  the 
Christian  faith,  are  to  be  employed  in  the  divine  mission  te 
the  Gentiles,  and  are  to  act  as  priests  in  presenting  the  Gen- 
files  as  an  offering  to  God  :  see  Rom.  xv.  16. :  And  bothr 
now  collected  into  one  body,  shall  be  witnesses  of  the  final 
perdition  of  the  obstinate  and  irreclaimable. 

These  two  chapters  manifestly  relate  to  the  calling  of  the 
Gentiles,  the  establishment  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  and 
the  reprobation  of  the  apostate  Jews,  and  their  destruction 
executed  by  the  Romans. 

2.  — all  these  things  are  mine~\     A  word,  absolutely  ne- 
cessary to  the  sense,  is  here  lost  out  of  the   text ;  ^  mine  ; 
it  is  preserved  by  LXX,  and  Syr. 

3.  He  that  slayeth  an  ox,  killeth  a  man  ; — ]     These  arc 
instances  of  extreme  wickedness  joined  with  hypocrisy  ,  of  the 
most  flagitious  crimes,  committed  by  those  who  at  the  same 
lime  affected  great  strictness  in  the  performance  of  all  the  ex- 
ternal services  of  religion.     God,  by  the  Prophet  Ezekiel,  up- 
braids the  Jews  with  the  same  practices:  "  When  they  had 
slain  their  children  to  their   idols,   then  they  came  the  same 
day  into  my  sanctuary  to  profane  it ;  "  chap,  xxiii.  39.     Of 
the  same  kind  was  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Pharisees  in  out  Sa- 
viour's time  ;  "  who  devoured  widows'  houses,  and  for  a  pre- 
tence made  long  prayers;"  Matt,  xxiii.  14. 

The  generality  of  interpreters,  by  departing  from  the  literal 
rendering  of  the  text,  have  totally  lost  the  true  sense  of  it. 
and  have  substituted  in  its  place  what  makes  no  good  sense 
at  all ;  for  it  is  not  easy  to  shew,  how  in  any  circumstances 
sacrifice  and  murder,  the  presenting  of  legal  offerings  and 
idolatrous  worship,  can  possibly  be  of  the  same  account  in  the 
sight  of  God. 

Ibid.  — that  maketh  an  oblation  \offeretti\  swine's  blood^ 
A  word  here  likewise,  necessary  to  complete  the  sense,  is 
perhaps  irrecoverably  lost  out  of  the  text.  The  Vtilg.  and 
Chald.  add  the  word  ojfereth,  to  make  out  the  sense ;  not,, 
as  I  imagine,  from  any  different  reading,  (for  the  word  wanted 
seems  to  have  been  lost  before  the  time  of  the  oldest  of  then), 
as  the  LXX  had  it  not  in  their  copy),  but  from  mere  necessity. 

Le  Clerc  thinks,  that  rr/?D  is  to  be  repeated  from  the 
beginning  of  this  member ;  but  that  is  not  the  case  in  the 
parallel  members,  which  have  another  and  a  different  verb 
in  the  second  place.  "  m,  sic  versiones :  putarem  tamen 
legendum  participium  aliquod,  et  quidem  rpr,  cum  sequatur 


CHAP.  LXVI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  403 

n,  nisi  jam  prtecesserat : ''  SECKER.  Houbigant  supplies  ^DN, 
eateth.  After  all,  I  think  the  most  probable  word  is  that 
which  Chald.  and  Vulg.  seem  to  have  designed  to  represent ; 
that  is,  3»ipo. 

5.  Say  ye  to  your  brethren — ]  The  Syr.  reads  TTON 
DDT1&6  ;  and  so  the  LXX,  edit.  Comp.  fiTiare  adelcpois  vfjiwv ; 
and  MS  Mnrchal.  has  adelyois  •  and  so  Cyril  and  Proco- 
pius  read  and  explain  it.  It  is  not  easy  to  make  sense  of  the 
reading  of  LXX  in  the  other  editions  :  uxctTe  adtlyoi  rtu(ar 
rot?  fiidovdiv  vfiag — but  for  ftfton ,  MS  i.  D.  n.  also  has  vpwi >. 

8.  — and  who  hath  seen]  Twenty  MSS  (four  ancient), 
and  the  two  oldest  editions,  with  two  others,  have  »oi,  adding 
the  conjunction  i :  and  so  read  all  the  ancient  versions. 

11.  — -from  her  abundant  stores}  For  T»TO,  two  MSS, 
and  the  old  edition  of  1488,  have  via;  and  the  latter  ? 
is  upon  a  rasure  in  three  other  MSS.  It  is  remarkable,  that. 
Kimchi  and  Sal.  ben  Melee,  not  being  able  to  make  any 
thing  of  the  word  as  it  stands  in  the  text,  says  it  means  the 
same  with  VTD  :  that  is,  in  effect,  they  admit  of  a  various 
reading,  or  an  error,  in  the  text.  But,  as  Vitringa  observes, 
what  sense  is  there  in  sucking  nourishment  from  the  splen- 
dour of  her  glory  ?  He  therefore  endeavours  to  deduce  ano- 
ther sense  from  the  word  PT;  but,  as  far  as  it  appears  to  me, 
without  any  authority.  I  am  more  inclined  to  accede  to  the 
opinion  of  those  learned  Rabbins,  and  to  think  that  there  is 
some  mistake  in  the  word  ;  for  that  in  truth  is  their  opinion, 
though  they  disguise  it  by  saying,  that  the  corrupted  word 
means  the  very  same  with  that  which  they  believe  to  be 
genuine.  So  in  chap.  xli.  24.  they  say,  that  ya»,  a  viper, 
means  the  same  with  DDK,  nothing  ;  instead  of  acknowledg- 
ing that  one  is  written  by  mistake  instead  of  the  other.  I 
would  propose  to  read  in  this  place  J??D,  or  JTD,  (instead  of 
no),  from  the  stores;  from  pi,  to  nourish^  to  feed :  see 
Gen.  xlv.  23.  2  Chron.  xi.  23.  Psal.  cxliv.  13.  And  this 
perhaps  may  be  meant  by  Aquila,  who  renders  the  word  by 
CCTLO  Tiavdajuas  :  with  which  that  of  the  Vulgate,  "  ab  omni- 
moda  gloria,"  and  of  Symnmchus  and  Theodotion,  nearly 
agree.  The  Chaldee  follows  a  different  reading,  without  im- 
proving the  sense  ;  f'D,/row  the  wine. 

12.  — like  the  great  river,  and  like  the  overflowing 
stream — ]  That  is,  the  Euphrates,  (it  ought  to  have  been 
pointed  in»,  utfluvius  ille,  as  The  River),  and  the  Nile. 

Ibid.  And  ye  shall  suck  at  the  breast]  These  two  words 
-»a?  ty,  at  the  breast,  seem  to  have  been  omitted  in  the  pre- 


404  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH,  CHAP.  LXVI. 

sent  text,  from  their  likeness  to  the  two  words  following ; 
is  hy9  at  the  side.  A  very  probable  conjecture  of  Houbi- 
gant.  Chald.  and  Vulg.  have  omitted  the  two  latter  words 
instead  of  the  two  former.  See  note  on  chap.  Ix.  4. 

15.  — shall  come  as  a  fire\  For  #ao,  in  Jire,  the  LXX 
had  in  their  copy  t?*o,  as  a  fire  ;  a*  vv£. 

Ibid.  To  breathe  forth  his  anger\  Instead  of  y\ynb>  as 
pointed  by  the  Masoretes,  to  render,  I  understand  it  as  yvrh, 
to  breathe,  from  3&:. 

17.  after  the  rites  of  Achad — ]  The  Syrians  worshipped 
a  god  called  Adad :  Plin.  Nat.  Hist,  xxxvii.  11.  Macrob. 
Sat.  i.  23.  They  held  him  to  be  the  highest  and  greatest  of 
the  gods,  and  to  be  the  same  with  Jupiter  and  the  Sun : 
and  the  name  Adad,  says  Macrobius,  signifies  One  ;  as  like- 
wise does  the  word  Achad  in  Isaiah.  Many  learned  men 
therefore  have  supposed,  and  with  some  probability,  that  the 
Prophet  means  the  same  pretended  deity.  inK,  in  the 
Syrian  and  Chaldean  dialects  is  -in ;  and  perhaps  by  redu- 
plication of  the  last  letter,  to  express  perfect  unity,  it  may 
have  become  Tin,  not  improperly  expressed  in  Latin  by 
Macrobius  Adad,  without  the  aspirate.  It  was  also  pro- 
nounced by  the  Syrians  themselves,  with  a  weaker  aspirate 
Tin ;  as  in  Benhaded,  Hadadezer,  names  of  their  kings, 
which  were  certainly  taken  from  their  chief  object  of  worship. 
This  seems  to  me  to  be  a  probable  account  of  this  name. 

But  the  Masoretes  correct  the  text  in  this  place :  their 
marginal  reading  is  nntf,  which  is  the  same  word,  only  in 
the  feminine  form ;  and  so  read  thirty  MSS  (six  ancient) 
and  the  two  oldest  editions.  This  Le  Clerc  approves,  and 
supposes  it  to  mean  Hecate,  or  the  Moon ;  and  he  supports 
his  hypothesis  by  arguments  not  at  all  improbable.  See  his 
note  on  the  place. 

Whatever  the  particular  mode  of  idolatry  which  the  Pro- 
phet refers  to  might  be,  the  general  sense  of  the  place  is 
perfectly  clear.  But  Chald.  and  Syr.  and  after  them  Sym- 
machus  and  Theodotion,  cut  off  at  once  all  these  difficulties, 
by  taking  the  word  in**  in  its  common  meaning,  not  as  a 
proper  name ;  the  two  latter  rendering  the  sentence  thus : 
fjTKru  ax***™  tv  fury  ertiorrw  re  xgtots  TO  %otgftov,  one  after  another, 
in  the  midst  of  those  that  eat  swings  flesh.  I  suppose,  they 
all  read  in  their  copies  nntf  nnx,  one  by  one,  or  perhaps  nnx, 
•vw  inx,  one  after  another.  See  a  large  Dissertation  on  this 
subject  in  Davidis  Millii  Dissertationes  Selectae,  Dissert,  vi. 


CHAP.  LXVI.  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  405 

18.  For  I  know  their  deeds  — ]     A  word  is  here  lost  out 
of  the  present  text,  leaving  the  sense  quite  imperfect.     The 
word  is;nv,  knowing,  supplied  from  the  Syriac.     The  Chald. 
had  the  same  word  in  the  copy  before  him.  which   he  para- 
phrases by  j1?:  'mp,  their  deeds  are  manifest  before  me  :  and 
the  Aldine  and  Complutensian  editions  of  LXX  acknowledge 
the  same  word.  f7r/r«f«e/j  which  is  verified  by  MS  Pachom.  and 
the  Arabic  version.     1  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  its 
being  genuine. 

Ibid.  And  1  come — ]  Fornao,  which  will  not  accord  with 
any  thing  in  the  sentence,  I  read  aa,  with  a  MS  ;  the  parti- 
ciple answering  to  ;nv;  with  which  agree  LXX,  Syr.  Vulg. 
Perhaps  it  ought  to  be  aai,  Syr.  quando  veniam  :  and  so  LXX, 
according  to  edit.  Aid.  and  Complut.  and  Cod.  Marchal. 

19.  — who  draw  the  bow}     1  much  suspect,  that  the  words 
r,s&p  wn ,  who  draw  the  bow,  are  a  corruption  of  the  word 
•JBTD,  Moschi,   the   name   of  a  nation  situated  between   the 
Euxine  and   Caspian   Seas  ;    and  properly  ioined  with  bsn, 
the   Tibareni:   see  Bochart,   Phaleg.  iii.    12.     The    LXX 
have  po<ro%,  without  any  thing  of  the  drawers  of  the  bow:  the 
word  being  once  taken   for  a  participle,  the  bow  was  added 
to  make  sense  of  it.     rrtfp,  the  bow,  is  omitted  in  a  MS. 

Ibid.  — who  never  heard  myname~]  For  *yrnD  ^  my  fame. 
I  read  with  LXX  and  Syr.  TOP,  my  name. 

20.  — and  in  counes]     There  is  a  sort  of  vehicle,  much 
used  in  the  East,  consisting  of  a  pair  of  hampers,  or  cradles, 
thrown  across  a  camel's  back,  one  on  each  side  ;  in  each  of 
which  a  person  is  carried.     They  have  a  covering  to  defend 
them  from  the  rain   and  the  sun.      Thevenot    calls   them 
Counes,  i.  p.  356.     Maillet  describes  them  as   covered  cages 
hanging  on  both  sides  of  a  camel.     "  At  Aleppo,"  says  Dr 
Russell,  ''women  of  inferior   condition,  in   longer  journies, 
are  commonly  stowed,  one  on  each   side  of  a  mule,  in  a  sort 
of  covered  cradles :  "  Nat.  Hist,  of   Aleppo,   p.    89.     These 
seem  to  be  what  the  Prophet  means  by  the  word  D"3V :  See 
Harmer,  Observ.  i.  p.  445. 

21.  — and  for  Levitcs]     For  onV?,  fifty-nine  MSS  (eight 
ancient)   have  a^Vn,  adding  the  conjunction  i,  as  the  sense 
seems   necessarily   to  require  ;    and   so  read  all  the  ancient 
versions.     See  Josh.  iii.  3.  and  the  various  readings  on  that 
place  in  Kennicott's  Bible. 

24.  For  their  worm  shall  not  die — ]  These  words  of  the 
Prophet  are  applied  by  our  blessed  Saviour.  Mark  ix.  44. 


406  NOTES    ON    ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LXVI. 

to  express  the  everlasting  punishment  of  the  wicked  in  Ge- 
henna, or  iu  Hell.  Gehenna,  or  the  Valley  of  Hinnom7 
was  very  near  to  Jerusalem,  to  the  south-east :  it  was  the 
place  where  the  idolatrous  Jews  celebrated  that  horrible  rite 
of  making  their  children  pass  through  the  fire — that  is,  of 
burning  them  in  sacrifice — to  Moloch.  To  put  a  stop  to 
this  abominable  practice,  Josiah  defiled,  or  desecrated,  the 
place,  by  filling  it  with  human  bones ;  2  Kings  xxiii.  10. 
14.  ;  and  probably  it  was  the  custom  afterwards  to  throw  out 
the  carcasses  of  animals  there  ;  and  it  became  the  common 
burying-place  for  the  poorer  people  of  Jerusalem.  Our 
Saviour  expressed  the  state  of  the  blessed  by  sensible  images : 
such  as  Paradise,  Abraham's  bosom,  or,  which  is  the  same 
thing,  a  place  to  recline  next  to  Abraham  at  table  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven :  see  Matt.  viii.  11.  ("Caenabat  Nerva  cum 
paucis.  Veientoprozimus,  atque  etiam  in  sinu  recumbebat ;" 
Plin.  Epist.  iv.  22. :  compare  John  xiii.  23.) ;  for  we  could 
not  possibly  have  any  conception  of  it,  but  by  analogy  from 
worldly  objects.  In  like  manner,  he  expressed  the  place  of 
torment  under  the  image  of  Gehenna  ;  and  the  punishment 
of  the  wicked,  by  the  worm  which  there  preyed  on  the  car- 
casses, and  the  fire  which  consumed  the  wretched  victims: — 
marking  however,  in  the  strongest  manner,  the  difference 
between  Gehenna  and  the  invisible  place  of  torment ;  namely, 
that  in  the  former  the  suffering  is  transient — the  worm  it- 
self, that  preys  on  the  body,  dies  ;  and  the  fire,  which  totally 
consumes  it,  is  soon  extinguished  ; — whereas  in  the  figurative 
Gehenna  the  instruments  of  punishment  shall  be  everlasting, 
and  the  suffering  without  end ;  for  there  "  the  worm  dieth 
not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched." 

These  emblematical  images,  expressing  heaven  and  hell, 
were  in  use  among  the  Jew7s  before  our  Saviour's  time ;  and 
in  using  them  he  complied  with  their  notions.  '*  Blessed  is 
he  that  shall  eat  bread  in  the  kingdom  of  God,"  says  the 
Jew  to  our  Saviour,  Luke  xiv.  15.  And  in  regard  to  Ge- 
henna, the  Chaldee  paraphrast,  as  I  observed  before  on 
chap.  xxx.  33.  renders  everlasting,  or  continual,  burnings, 
by  "  the  Gehenna  of  everlasting  fire."  And  before  his  time 
the  Son  of  Sirach,  vii.  17.  had  said,  "  the  vengeance  of  the 
ungodly  is  fire  and  worms."  So  likewise  the  author  of  the 
book  of  Judith  :  '•'  Wo  to  the  nations  rising  up  against  my 
kindred  :  the  Lord  Almighty  will  take  vengeance  of  them  in 
the  day  of  judgment,  in  putting  fire  and  worms  in  their  flesh," 
chap.  xvi.  17. ;  manifestly  referring  to  the  same  emblem. 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS 


OCCASIONALLY  ILLUSTRATED, 


The  small  Numeral  Letters  refer  to  the  pages  of  the  DISSERTATION  ;  the 
Figures,  to  the  pages  of  the  Notes. 


GENESIS. 


ii.  10. 
xiii.  10. 
xxiv.  47. 
xxvi.  20. 
xxx.  11. 
xxxi.  34. 

42,  53. 

xxxiii.  13. 
xl.  11. 
xlii.  6. 
xlix.  11. 

iv.  10. 
v. 

vi.  12. 
x.  21. 
xi.  5. 
xii.  22. 

—  23. 

—  29. 
xiii.  21. 
xiv.  13, 14. 

21. 

27. 

xv.  17. 

—  20,21. 
xvi.  9.  10. 
xx.  25. 
xxi.  7. 

10. 

xxiii.  20,21. 

28. 

xxiv.  6. 
xxv.  22. 


EXODUS. 


Page 

xxviii.  40. 

145 

xxix.  6. 

145 

42,  43. 

163 

xxxiii.  2  —  4.  14  ^ 

307 

14,  15. 

400 

xxxviii.  8. 

152 

xl.  34—38. 

198 

—  38. 

318 

172 

LEVITICUS. 

351 

iv. 

172 

vi.  12,  13. 

ix.24. 

184 

xi.  7. 

204 

xiii.  45. 

184 

xiv.  42. 

201 

xix.  23—25. 

342 

xxi.  18. 

271 

xxii.  23. 

289 

xxiii.  36. 

342 

xxv.  9,  &c. 

169 

xxvi.  8. 

271 

213 

NUMBERS. 

190 

vi.4. 

169,170 

xi.5. 

xli,  183,317 

—  12. 

158 

xii.  14. 

:    397 

xiii.  22,  23. 

352 

xiv.  34. 

167 

xvi.  41  ,  42. 

392 

xxi.  17,  18. 

179 

xxii.  4. 

257 

xxiii.  7—10. 

224 

21,22. 

386 
224 
392 
392 
195 
158 
169 


138 
184 
184 
398 
364 
184 
388 
177 
177 
139 
384 
285 


174 

137,  240 
341 
353 
171 
244 
158 
xxxV 
178 
224 
310 


408 


INDEX    OF    TEXTS. 


xxiv.  6. 
xxix.  Si 


DEUTEROHOMY. 


xxxv, 


iii.  3. 
v.6. 
x.24. 
xi.  6. 
zv.  2.  5. 
xviii.  19. 
xix.  29. 
xxii.  14. 

i.  7. 
vi.  2. 
xi.  31. 
—  34. 
xvi.  3,  4. 
M.  38.  40. 

ii.  14. 
iii.  18. 


JOSHUA. 


JUDGES. 


RUTH. 


356 

1  SAMUEL. 

rage 

139 

i.  27. 

252 

ii.  21. 

252 

x.  7. 

374 

340 

—  15. 

176 

179 

—  25. 

250 

171 

xiii.  6. 

156 

285 

xiv.  4,  5. 

210 

283 

xv.  27. 

157 

397 

xvii.  52. 

275 

388 

xviii.  6,  7. 

xli,  317 

139 

xix.  13. 

152 

284 

xxiv. 

155 

151 

225 

2  SAMUEL. 

282 

vi.  14.  16. 

xli 

250 

x.  4,  5. 

193 

249 

xi.  23. 

275 

352 

xiv.  2. 

384 

279 

xv.  30. 

364 

282 

xxii.  41. 

xii 

353 

xxiv.  7. 

.     258 

374 

400 

1  KINGS. 

133 

v.  22,  23. 

158 

132 

vii.  2,  3. 

251 

xxxix 

x.  16,  17,21. 

257 

132 

—  26—29. 

151 

368 

—  27. 

204 

329 

xviii.  26. 

288 

xxxix 

—  38. 

178 

259 

XX.  11. 

179 

285 

xxii.  48. 

154 

175 

49. 

154 

329 

258 

•    2  KINGS. 

344 

iv.  1. 

352 

_  39—41. 

174 

v.  23. 

196 

405 

ix.  30. 

160 

190 

xv.  3,  4.  34,  36. 

152 

357 

—  29. 

196,  201 

202 

—  37. 

136,  186 

214 

xvi.  9. 

196,232,251 

214 

xvii.  6. 

251 

258 

6.  24. 

260 

157 

xviii,  xix,  xx. 

302 

xviii.  8. 

226,  243 

357 

14—16. 

293 

156 

17. 

244 

325 

18. 

302 

317 

xviii.  20. 

302 

171 

22. 

302 

285 

32. 

302 

34 

302 

190 

xix.  9. 

303 

392 

-15. 

303 

INDEX    OF    TEXTS. 


409 


six  17. 

—  19. 
-20. 

—  23. 

—  25. 

—  35. 
xx.  4,  5. 

—  6. 
-7,8. 
-9.11. 

—  12. 

—  17. 

—  20. 
xxi.  13. 
xxiii.  10.  14. 

12. 

19,  20. 

xxiv.  14. 
xxv.  4,  5. 
12.  22. 


v.  26. 
ix.  33 
xiii.  5. 
xxviii.  2. 


1  CHRONICLES. 


2  CHRONICLES. 


i.  15. 
vii.  i. 

viii.  17,  18. 
ix.  18. 

—  21. 
xx.  20. 

—  36. 
xxvi.  6,  7. 

22. 

xxix.  19. 
xxxii.  2—5. 

2,3.5.30. 

10. 

23. 

25,26.30,31. 

27. 

30. 

32. 

33. 

xxxiii.  11. 

17. 

xxxiv.  6,  7.  33. 
xxxv.  18. 


i.2. 
iii.  11. 
iv.  2. 
ix.8. 


EZRA. 


40 


p^ 

NJEHEMIAH. 

303 

v.  17,18. 

304 

xii.  24. 

304 

304 

ESTHBR. 

305 

ii.  12. 

306 

vi.  12.  and  vii. 

8. 

306 

306 

JOB. 

306 

i.  1. 

308 

-17. 

309 

-19. 

252 

iii.  4.  6.  9. 

275 

—  24. 

406 

v.  23. 

397 

viii.  5.  6. 

187 

ix.8. 

157 

xii.  13—16. 

250 

xiii.  19. 

185 

xvii.  3. 

xx.  24. 

xxi.  18. 

196,201 

xxvi.  2,  3. 

386 

xxvi.  5. 

258 

xxvii  —  xxxi. 

383 

xxvii.  18. 

xxx.  7. 

-  —  10. 

152 

30. 

184 

xxxiii.  18. 

154 

xxxvii.  9. 

358 

11, 

154 

xxxviii.  6. 

189 

xli.  1. 

154 

xiii.  10. 

226 

181 

PSALMS. 

240 

i.3. 

250 

-4. 

252 

ii.  7. 

135 

x.  1. 

226,239 

xviii.  35. 

309 

xix.  7—10. 

296 

14. 

252 

XX.  1. 

131 

7,8. 

253,868 

xxi.  1,  2. 

188 

xxii.  2. 

152 

22. 

187 

29. 

187 

XXV. 

xxx.  5. 

xxxi,  19,  20. 

334 

xxxii.  3. 

xli,  183 

xxxiv. 

188 

1—3. 

256 

Page 

158 
xli 


165 

254 


246 
257 
248 

xiii 
307 
276 
xiv 
368 


354 
354 
220 
320 
207 


137 
151 
353 
199 

308 
246 
238 
135 
354 
313 


146 

145,320 
308 
375 
220 

xxiv 

267 

295 

xvi 

x 

307 
390 
149 

iv,v 
xvi,  370 

xxiv 
307 

Kg 


410 


INDEX   OF    TEXTS. 


Pasl^ 

cxvii.  2. 

370 

cxviii.  12. 

v 

cxix. 

xiii 

57. 

xvii 

cxx.  1.  6. 

307 

cxxvii.  4. 

xxxii. 

cxxxiv. 

xxi 

cxxxv.  6,  7. 

XXV 

cxxxvii.  1. 

170 

2. 

202 

cxxxix.  14. 

132 

cxliv.  5,  6. 

205 

12—14. 

360 

cxlv. 

284 

cxlvi.  2,  3.  10. 

210,  331 

cxlviii.  7  —  13. 

310 

317 

PROVERBS. 

344 

i.  24—32. 

331 

iii.  8. 

338 

9. 

xxxii 

vi.  16—19. 

163 

—  20. 

338 

vii.  2. 

373 

—  22,  23. 

142 

x.  1.  7. 

237 

xi.  22. 

401 

—  24. 

342 

xvi.  33. 

375 

xviii.  10. 

172 

xxi.  1. 

392 

xxiii.  30. 

392 

xxv.  26. 

210,  331 

xxix.  26. 

337 

XXX. 

267 

3. 

168 

xxxi.  10—31. 

383 

xxvi 

ECCLESIASTKS. 

265 

ii.  5,  5. 

295 

-8. 

319 

—  16. 

375 

xi.  2. 

371 

CANTICLIB. 

XV 

i.  5. 

316 

ii  15. 

172 

iv.  4. 

xxxviii 

-  10,  11. 

358 

viii.  2. 

iv,  v 

xxix 

ISAIAH. 

iv,  v 

i.3. 

x 

-8. 

xiii 

iii.  1. 

xxviii 

iv.  1. 

310 

-  5. 

xxi 

-22. 

"3E 

179.  205 
iv,  v 

333 

xxi 
xxix 

387 
xviii 

167 


xi 
xxiv 

iv,  v 
xxix 

xvii 


x 

136 

xi 

xix 

199 

199 

162 

xv 

164 

xv 

xvi 

295 

147 

141 

135 

xvi 

xix 

258 

iv 


147 

157 
392 
xix 


xix 
137 
257 
165 
141 


xia 
173 
157 
157 
175 
141 


INDEX    OF    TEXTS. 


411 


vi.  13. 

Fage 
264 

xlvi.  3. 

viii.  10. 

xxxi 

9. 

22. 

181 

xlvii.  5. 

ix.  10. 

xvii,  20< 

xlviii.  20,  21. 

—  20. 

xii 

xlix.  4. 

x.  5—12. 

334 

—  20,  21. 

—  32. 

287 

1.  5,  6. 

xiii.  4,  5. 

xxiv 

-10. 

6. 

175 

li.  7,  '8. 

10. 

XX 

--  17. 

xiv.  4—27. 

XXVI 

--  19. 

—  14. 

368 

-20. 

—  28. 

181 

lii.  7,  8.  12. 

xv.  3. 

xix 

-8. 

xvi.  10. 

173 

liii.  4. 

xvii.  9. 

xx: 

liv.  4. 

—  13. 

320 

—  4,5. 

XX. 

327 

—  10. 

xxii.  6. 

220 

lv.  2. 

14. 

175 

—  3. 

—  16. 

367,  368 

-6,7. 

xxiv.  17. 

175 

-  13. 

xxvi.  5,  6. 

xii 

Ivii.  6. 

xxvii.  7. 

175 

13,  14. 

xxtiii.  14,  15.  18. 

XXX 

Iviii.  5—8. 

xxix.  5. 

320 

-----  14. 

21. 

282 

lx.4. 

xxx.  16. 

XV 

—  6-9. 

26. 

218 

—  11. 

30—33. 

281 

Ixi.  3. 

xxxi.  8. 

207 

—  7. 

9. 

279 

Ixv.  11,  12. 

xxxii.  11. 

247 

-----21,22. 

xxxiii.  1. 

175 

Ixvi.  1. 

12. 

205 

21. 

xxi 

J 

xxxiv. 

390 

i.  6. 

xxxv.  1,  2, 

371 

-10. 

xxxvi,  xxxvii,  xxxviii. 

xxxix       302 

ii.  18. 

xxxvi.  17. 

260 

ii.  21. 

xxxvii.  9. 

327 

-25. 

22,  &c. 

xxvi 

-27. 

25. 

244 

iv.  30. 

26. 

252 

vi.  1. 

on 

286 

vii.  22,  23. 

xl.  2. 

xxi 

—  24. 

xli.  19. 

347,  371 

—  29. 

—  24. 

403 

viii.  7. 

—  28. 

xii 

x.  3—5. 

xliii.  17. 

xxiv,  338 

-9. 

xliii.  18,  19. 

311 

xii.  7.  9. 

xliv.  7. 

210 

xvii.  § 

18. 

184 

12. 

26. 

xiv 

xviii.  12. 

xlv.  1. 

179 

xix.  9. 

8. 

168 

xx.  7. 

16,  17. 

xxiv 

\xiii.  31. 

JEREMIAH. 


Page 
xi 
xiv 
257 
311 
xiv 
369 
xix 

XV 

xi 
142 
xix 
xlii 
311 
317 
149,  296 

x 

167 
xvii 
207 

xi 

x 

347 
175 
311 
xviii 
368 
351 
338 
331 
175 
313 
175 

xi 
358 


184 
184 
258 
174 
374 
135 
160 
285 
329 
135 
228 
133 
342 
154 
372 

145,  146 
182 
374 
206 
398 
250 


412 


INDEX  OP  TEXTS. 


Page 

XXV.  11. 

261 

xxii.  18—22. 

xxxiii.  9. 

382 

xxiii.  30. 

xxxvii.  13, 

370 

40. 

xl.  12. 

185 

xxiv.  17. 

xii.  9. 

156 

xxvi.  14. 

xlviii. 

227 

15—18. 

5 

228 

xxvii.  12. 

—  ii. 

268 

xxix.  3.  . 

12. 

257 

18—20. 

29. 

230 

xxxii.  27. 

31. 

230 

xxxvii.  11—13. 

32. 

231 

xxxviii. 

33. 

232 

xxxix.  4. 

34 

228 

8—10. 

36. 

228,  230 

16,  17. 

37. 

227,  228 

xliii.  3. 

43  44^ 

265 

5,  6. 

xlix.  35.' 

220 

„  7 

1.9. 

218 

--38. 

332 

DANIEL. 

li.  27,  28. 

218 

vii.  17. 

-36. 

332 

viii.  20. 

LAMENTATIONS* 

HOSEA. 

i. 

V 

L7. 

-1,  2. 

xxiii 

ii.  6. 

ii. 

V 

r-18. 

-4. 

XXV 

iv.  13. 

-10. 

166,  258 

v.  7. 

.-15. 

xxxvi 

vi.  4. 

iii. 

iv,  v 

—  6. 

—  1—  S 

xxiii 

ix.  10. 

—  14. 

169 

x.  8. 

—  31. 

XXV 

xi.  4. 

—  39. 

313 

—  9. 

—  66. 

169 

xii.  1. 

iv. 
iv.2. 

iv,  v 
257 

xiii.  4. 
xiv.  9. 

—  8. 

199 

_  15.                                  xxxvi,  361 

JOEL. 

—  17. 

307 

i.  14. 

—  21. 

246 

ii.  2. 

—  7. 

EZEKIKL. 

—  10. 

i.  14. 

247 

—  15. 

iii.  8,  9. 

354 

—  20.  22. 

iv.  6. 

244 

—  25. 

T.  13. 

142 

iii.  10. 

xiii.  9. 

168 

—  13. 

16. 

223 

—  15,16. 

xv.  3. 

255 

—  16. 

—  3,4. 

273 

xv  i.  11,  12. 

163 

AMOS. 

xvii.  22—24. 

150 

i.  1. 

xx.  3.  31. 

397 

-2. 

—  38. 

144 

iv.  11. 

—  47. 

305,  208   —  13. 

Page 
168 
402 
160 
364 
262 
261 
154 
325 
193 
217 
271 


299 
184 
182 
182 


261 

261 


305 
272 
276 
144 
151 
xii 
329 
274 
156 
133 
207 

332,  374 
206 
xiv. 


199 
xi 
219 
139 
294 
179 
150 

xiii,  173 
219 
xiv 


178 
xiv 
208 
368 


INDEX    OF   TEXTS. 


413 


v.  10. 
-19. 

-  21—24. 

-  25,  26. 
vi.  3— 6. 

—  12. 

—  13. 
viii.  9. 


i.3. 

iii.  1—3. 
iv.  1—4. 

—  8. 
v.2. 

—  3. 
vi.  1,  2. 
-15. 

—  16. 
vii.  4. 

i.  11. 
-15. 
ii.  13. 
iii.  5,  6. 

—  14. 


ii.  5. 


i.  5. 

ii.  8—11. 

iii.  17. 


ii.  17. 


i.  15. 
ii.  5. 
viii.  23. 
ix.  12. 
—  14. 
x.4. 
xiii.  4. 
xiv.  5. 

10. 

19. 


i.  1. 
ii.  11. 
—  12. 
iii.  2,3. 
-15. 

IT.  1. 


MICAH: 


NAHUM. 

HABAKKUK. 
ZEPHAVIAH. 

HAGGAI. 
ZECHARIAH. 


MALACHI 


40* 


P1^ 

TOBIT. 

Page 

264 

xiii.  16,  17. 

370 

139 

329 

JUDITH. 

176 

iv.7. 

210 

180 

x.3. 

384 

207 

xvi.  16. 

318 

219 

17. 

406 

WISDOM. 

368 

ii.  7,  8. 

274 

159 

xiii.  11—19. 

332 

149 

xv.  7. 

332 

292 

351 

ECCLESIASTICUS. 

192 

vii.  15. 

278 

132 

—  17. 

406 

xix 

xiv.  24. 

256 

169 

xxiv.  30,  31. 

147 

272 

xlviii.  17. 

252 

351 

BARUCH. 

360 

v.7. 

314 

202 

—  8. 

321 

162 

vi. 

332 

322 

1  MACCABEES. 

v.  65. 

389 

177 

2  MACCABEES. 

vi.  18. 

398 

vii.   1. 

398 

397 

230 

MATTHEW. 

320 

iii.  3. 

314 

vi.  28—30. 

273 

173 

viii.  11. 
17. 

267,  406 
296 

x.  27. 

251 

xi.  4,  5. 

297 

343 

xii.  18. 

323 

169 

xiii.  14. 

182,  185 

157 

xv.  9. 

282 

313 

xvi.  19. 

255 

246 

—-28. 

390 

256 

xviii.  25. 

352 

243 

xxi.  33. 

173 

178 

43. 

283 

173 

xxiii.  14. 

403 

313 

xxiv.  28. 

264 

29. 

219 

OOQ 

41. 

342 

SSSeO 

223 

MARK. 

387 

.3. 

216 

168 

i.9. 

39^ 

267 

vii.  7. 

285 

267 

x.  44 

40 

414 


INDEX;  off  TEXTS, 


xii.  l. 

^iv.  65, 

xv.  li). 


ii.  J. 
iiju  4. 
iv.  18, 19. 
x.  34. 
xiv.  15. 

16. 

xv.  22. 
xviii.  1. 

31,  32, 

xxi.  22. 
xxii.  29,  30. 


i.  23. 

vii.  37.  39. 
xii.  40. 
—  41. 
xui.  23. 
xv.  6. 
xviii.  20,21. 


ii.3. 

—  30. 
x.  9. 
xi.  28. 
xii.  8. 
xxi.4. 
xxvi.  4,  5. 
xxv  iu.  26. 
2V. 


j.20. 
yi.  17. 
ix.  20,21. 


LUKE. 


JOHI*. 


ACT*. 


ROMANS. 


Page 

173 

ix.  28. 

354 

x.  15. 

354 

—20. 

xi.  8. 

—  26. 

392 

—  30,  31  . 

219 
219 

xv.  4,  5. 
-  12. 

384 

—  12,  13. 

136,  214 

406 

1  CORINTHIANS. 

267 

ij.9. 

202 

Hi.  15. 

386 

354 

GALATIANS. 

390 

iii.  3. 

267 

-  13. 

EPHESIANS. 

214 

ii.  13.  17. 

215 

182,  185 

HEBREWS. 

182 

iv.  12. 

406 

xiii.  15. 

273 

365 

1  PETER. 

i.  24. 

--  24,  25. 

178 

376 

REVELATION. 

250 

i.  16. 

219 

iii.  7. 

202 

iv.  73. 

262 

v.  5. 

366 

vi.  15,  16. 

182 

xiv.  10. 

185 

xix.  13.  15,  16. 

17,  18. 

XX. 

327 

...  4. 

215 

xxi.  18—21. 

337 

xxii.  16. 

397 
182 

380 
282 
138 
211 
138 


394 
208 


316 
225 


37ti 


348 
376 


315 
316 


348 
255 
182 
213 
156 
142 
390 
299 
390 
330 
370 


INDEX  OF  PERSONS. 


Abarbanel,  362,  370 
Abendana,  135, 137 
Aben-Ezra,  129,  137,  163,  209,  346, 

367 

Aben  Tybbon,  xxxv 
Abraham,  320 
Abydenus,  246,  334 
Addison,  167,  202,235 
jEschylus,  254,  356 
^tius,  330 
Agatharchides,  338 
Ahaz,  130,  136 
Alexander,  240,  262 
Ambrose,  319 
Ammianus,  328 
Antiochus  Epiph.  liii. 
Antipater,  342 

Aquila,  xliii,  Ivi,  134,  144, 177.  377 
Aratus,254,  278 
Arbuthnot,  292 
Arias  Montanus,  364, 388 
Aristophanes,  161,348 
Aristotle,  his  Treatise  on  Poetry,  xlviii. 

Hist.  Animal.  228 

Arnobius,  373 
Arrian,  221,  328,  333 
Atheneeus,  359 
Aurelius  Victor,  358 
Azarias,  Rab.  xxxiii,  &c. 

Bagot,  208 

Balkis,  aueen  of  Sheba.  148 

Barry,  268 

Baumgarten,  255 

Benjamin  of  Tu'dela,  222 

Berosus,  222,  312 

Beryte,  TEv^que  de,  292 

Blanchini,  364 

Bochart,  140,  154,  171,  228,  235,  280, 

294,  319,  338,  405 
Breithaupt,  350 
Brentius,  151 
Brerewood,  335 
Bruns,  Ivii. 
Bryant,  243 
Buxtorff,  325,  368 
Buxtorff,  junior,  xxxiii. 


C  alias  Antipater,  154 

Callimachus,  191,  254 

Calmet,  227 

Cambyses,  240 

Camden,  170 

Capellus,  267,  323,  354 

Casaubon,  365 

Castell,  331,366 

Castellio,  xxviii,  xlix. 

Cellarius,  229 

Celsius,  144 

Celsus,  308 

Chandler,  Bp.  199,  363,  400 

Chappelow,  142, 157,  308 

Chardin,  136,  158,  172,  173,  183,  204, 

217,  251,  253,  255,  261,  268,  284, 

292,  318,  330,  342,  353,  358,  382, 

386,  397 
Chrysostom,  176 
Cicero,  Hi,  339,  348 
Claudian,  304 
Clemens  Alexand.  161,  254,  373 

Rom.  394 

Cocceius,246,  288,  379,  397 

Columella,  171 

Cotovicus,  382 

Cro2sus,  334,  339 

Cuper,  363 

Curtius,  300,  351 

Cyril,  178,  403 

Cyrus,  214,  220,  246,  247,  320,  332, 

333,  334,  335,  336,  361 

Darius  Hystaspis,  221 
D'Arvieux,  193,  273 
De  Guignes,  400 
De  Lisle,  171 
Demosthenes,  iii,  332 
Deschamps,  200 
D'Herbelot,  205,  294,  351 
Dicaearchus,  260 
Diodorus,  236, 240,  253,  314,  33U 
Doederlein,  284,  350 
Donatus,  261 
Drusius,  367 

Durell,  Ivi,  143,  153,   166,  177,   189, 
363,  373 


416 


INDEX   OF    PERSONS. 


Egmont  and  Heyman,  171,  236,  240 

Ephrem  Syr.  145,  247,  292 

Esarhaddon,  187 

Eudoxus,  154 

Evelyn,  400 

Eugene  Roger,  162,  171 

Euripides,  135,  290,  295 

Eusebius,  210,  334 

Eustathius,  254 

Festus,  365 
Furer,  274 

Gibson,  170 

Glassius,  135 

Grabe,  ii,  Iv. 

Gratius,  231 

Gregory  Naz.  183 

Grotius,  241,  295,  312,  401 

Hadrian,  185 
Hammond,  286 
Hanno,  154 
Hare,  viii,  xxxii. 

Harmer,  136,  137,  156,  158,  173,  174, 
184,  190,  205,  255,  273,  279,  292, 

304,  305,  318,  330,  342,  351,  353, 
386,  405 

Hasselquist,  137,  172,  175 

Herman  von  der  Hardt,  ii. 

Herodotus,  154,  172,  214,  220,  221, 
226,  228,  236,  244,  247,  260,  328, 
330,  333,  334,  353 

Hesiod,  290,  363 

Hesychius,  339 

Hezekiah,  130,  230,  251.  252,  293, 
296,  302,  309 

Homer,  141,  180,  191,  223,  228,  238, 
254,  280,  281,  287,  289,  342,  343 
357,  358,  367 

Horace,  212,  261,  280,  332,  382 

Houbigant,  xxxi,  139, 151, 157,  175, 
177,  192,  204,  211,  215,  233,  251, 
263,  269,  274,  277,  284,  285,  286, 
295,  300,  302,  306,  308,  309,  321, 
325,  326,  329,  337,  370,  371,  379, 
383,  384,  396,  398,  403,  404 

Huet,  154,  179,  254,  328 

Hunt,  162 

Hyde,  300,  336 

Jarchi,  xxxi,  159,  181,  191,  229,  257, 
276,  305,  307,  325,  343,  346,  348, 
374 

Jephthah,  his  vow,  325 

Jerom,  ii,  Ivi.  173,  182,  204,  210,  221, 
229,  244,  257,  269,  276,  278,  287, 

305,  307,  320,  366,  377,  394,  397, 
399,  400. 


Ikenius,  242 

John  the  Baptist,  313— 315 

John  Hyrcanus,  389 

Jonathan  Ben  Uziel,  Iv. 

Jones,  213 

Josephus,  155,  210,  222 

Jotham,  129 

Isaiah,  129 

Jubb,   140,   151,  154,  159,  166,  187, 

188,  355,  363,  368,  378,  379,  386, 

394 

Judas  Maccabeus,  389 
Julius  Pollux,  161 
Justin,  258 
Juvenal,  160, 165,  197 

Kalinski,  225 

Kempfer,  141,  146,  173,  183,  253, 
278 

Kennicott,  1,  Mi.  203,215,300,  301, 
364,  367,  384,  405 

Kimchi,  135,  137,  143,  149,  170,  177, 
180,  188,  197,  206,  207,  209,  212, 
233,  238,  241,  246,  248,  286,  306, 
320,  325,  346,  364,  370,  380,  385, 
403 

Labid,  200 

Lactantius,  357 

Lardner,  365 

La  Roque,  273 

Le  Clerc,  143,  229,  233,  286,  290,  322, 

326,  349,  398,  399,  402,  404 
Lilienthal,  374,  380,  398 
Livy,  249 
Locke,  138 
Longinus,  135,  332 
Lowman,  381 

Lowth,  140,  213,  226,  233,  242,  306 
Lucan,  167,  170,  214,  236,  276 
Lucretius,  278,  282,  382 
Ludolphus,  315 

Macrobius,  404 

Maillet,  405 

Maimonides,  225,  365 

Martial,  150 

Maundrell,  145,  146,  147,   155, 171, 

204,  217,  222,  274,  350,  374 
Megasthenes,  246 
Meir,  Rabbi,  248,  323 
Mela,  333 
Merrick,  373 
Michaelis,   148,  151,  168,   170,  171, 

175,  200,  229,  243,  270,  343,  344, 

349,350 
Miller,  140,  292 
Millius,  Dav.  399,  304 
Milton,  223 


INDEX    OF    PERSONS. 


41? 


Moerlius,  208,  373 
Mohammed,  148,  155,  200,  256 
Montagu,  L.  Mary,  305 
Mosheim,  313 
Montfaucon,  Ivi. 
Muller,  200,  242 
Munster,  363 

Nau,  171 

Nebuchadnezzar,  227,  240.  246,  257, 

261,262,  297,333 
Nepos,  351 
Newton,  Sir  T.  187,  266 

Bp.  240,  262 

Niebuhr,  148,  193,  278,  353 
Ninus,  259 
Nonnus,  174 

Onkelos,  XXXT. 

Origen,  viii,  346,  366,  377 

Osbeck,  368 

Ovid,  135, 150,  219,  334 

Owen,  243,  394 

Pachomius,  liv. 

Palladius,  171 

Paul  Lucas,  156,  164 

Pausanias,  179 

Pekah,  130 

Perizonius,  259 

Persius,  171 

Phile,  319 

Philo,  xli.  240 

Pietro  della  Valle,  160,  164,  222.  253, 

324 

Pindar.  341,  349 
Plato,  357 
Pliny,  140,  146,  154,  160,  176,  236, 

308,  335,  404,  406 
Pococke,  236,  240,  305 
Prideaux,  229,  243,  365,  389 
Pvocopius,  xliii.  199,  280,  403 
Prodiucs,  165 
Psammitichus,239,  244 
Psellus,  280 
Ptolemy  Philometer,  242 

Soter,  240 

Publius,  Syr.  165 

Randolph,  325 
Rauwolf,  272 
Reland,  171,  233 
Retsin,  130,  185,  194 
Russell,  161,  405 

Sal.  ben  Melee,  134,  137,  169,  178, 
184,  207,  209,  250,  307,  322,  325. 
346,  363,  370,  393,  403 


Sale,  148,  256,  300 

Salmasius,  140,  161 

Salvian,2l9 

Sanctius,  161,  166 

Sandys,  160,  172,  262 

Sardanapalus,  215 

Scaliger,  ii. 

Schindler,  137,  201,  270,  367 

Schmidius,  387 

Schroeder,  161,  195,  289 

Schultens,  137,  157,  200,  231,  237, 
233,  356,  393 

Seeker,  xxxi,  Ivi,  143,  159.  169,  177, 
189,  192,  197,  198,  204,  206,  207, 
209,  213,  232,  241,  242,  263,  265, 
277,  283,  286,  291,  292,  294,  298, 
303,  322,  324,  326,  327,  331,  338, 
343,  344,  349,  354,  356,  357,  363, 
370,  371,  375,  377,  378,  395,  396. 
403 

Semiramis,  246,  313.  328 

Senacherib,  131,  206,  209,  210,  234, 
237,  244,  279,  293,  294.  301,  327 

Seneca,  237,264 

Servius,  258,  367 

Shalmaneser,  131,  187,  206,  227,  232, 
262,  275,  327 

Shaw,  160,  204,  256.  274,  282,  300, 
319,  342 

Shebna,  252,  253 

Sherlock,  152 

Simonis,  205,  211,  237,  240,  331 

Solinus,  170 

Solomon,  147, 148,  151, 158,  204,  251, 
SDO 

Spencer,  330 

Strabo,  146,  155,  170,  221,  226,  236 

328,  339 
I  Suetonius,  383 

Surenhusius,  364 

Symmachus,  xliii,  Ivi,  144,  177,  246, 
326,  330,  345,  364 

Tacitus,  883 

Tavernier,  136, 138,  155,  222,  387 

Taylor,  Concord.  137,  256 

Terence,  262,  342 

Tharthan,  243 

Themistius,  363 

Theocritus,  212 

Theodoret,  xlii,  176, 168,  225 

Theodotion,  xliii,   Ivi,  134,  144,  177 

385 

Theophrastus,  363,  373 
Thevenot,  141, 171, 193,  253,  255,268. 

284,  405 
Tiglath  Pileser,  130,   187,  196,  201, 

204,232 


418 


INDEX    OF    PERSONS. 


Tirhakah,  244,  327 
Trallian,  171 

Valesius,  221 

Vasco  de  Gama,  155 

Vegetius,  330 

Virgil,   1.  147,  150,    170,  178,  180, 

197,  202,  212,  220,  226,  258,  280, 

281,  290,  339,  368,  371,  398 
Vitringa,  ii,  xxxi,  130,  213,  215,  218, 

227,  250,  252,  259,  262,  288,  312. 

321,  327,  354,  362,  379,  383,  385, 

393. 396,  397,  403 


Ulloa,  140 
Vossius,  145 
Usher,  187 
Uzziah,  129,  226 

Wetstein,  xlix,  296 
Woide,  Iv,  269 
Wolfius,  ii,  xxxiii,  215 

Xenophon,  160,  165,  180,214,  218, 
220,  225,  333,  334,  335,  336,  342, 
353 

Xerxes,  221 


INDEX  OF  THINGS. 


Acrostic ;  see  Alphabetical. 
Abraham,  320 

his  bosom,  406 

Additions,  Hebrew  text,    xxxv,  192, 

218,  286,  306,  344,  345,  369,  379, 

384 

vEneid,  xlviii. 
Africa,  154 
Agriculture,  27? 
Alcahol,  160 

Alexandria,  Jewish  church  there,  liii. 
many   Jews  there.   240, 

263 

Allegory,  mystical,  313 
Alphabetical,  twelve  Hebrew  poems, 

iv. 
their    cause    and 

use,  iv. 
Alternate  membirs,  xix. 

singing ;  see  Responsive. 

Anomalies,  probably  corruptions.  145, 

170,  355,  390 
Anthropopathia,  142,  287 
Ancient  versions,  lii,  343 
confirmed   by  He- 
brew MSS,  lii,  liii. 

-some  examples  of  it, 


145,  153,  157,  223,  239,  280,  282, 
283,291,  320,  321,  325,  326,  331, 
343,345,  349,353,  355,  356,  364, 
370,  372,  375,  377,  382,  386,  390, 
396,  405 

Apocalyps  of  Elias,  394 

Arabic  version,  liv,  230 

Arabs,  different  sorts  of  them,  324 

Armour,  burning  of,  emblem  of  peace, 
202 

Ascension  of  Esaiah,  394 

Assyrians  and  Babylonians  the  same, 
236 

Azotus,  244 

Babylon,  245,  259 

its  naval  power,  327 

greatness  and  ruin,  220, 

221 


Babylon,  the  total  annihilation  of  its 
walls  accounted  for,  221 

how  taken,  245,  332,  334 

-  Prophecy  on  it,  beautiful, 


215 

deliverance  from  it,  a  sha- 
dow of  deliverance  by  Christ,  315 
316 

Balaam's  prophecies,  xxii. 
Beard,  highly  honoured  in  the  East, 

'193 

Botsra,  297,  389 
Buildings,  eastern,  204,  221,  284 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  passed,  154 
Cassiterides,  154 
Caverns  large,  for  refuge,  155 
Chaldee  Paraphrase,   xxxi,   xxxv,  Iv, 

140,  204,  207,  231,  282,  298,  320; 

321,325,345,380 
Chambers,  eastern,  305 
Chapters,  not  in  order  of  time,  181 
not  rightly  divided,  167, 203, 

215,  227,  272 
Chasdim,  Chaldeans,  259 
Chinese  chronology,  400 
Chittim,  257 

Chorus,  216,  293,  343,  387 
Collation  of  MSS  necessary,  xlix. 
Heb.  MSS,  how  far  useful, 

1,  li,  liv,  Ivii. 

requires  long 


examination,  Ivii. 
MSS  of  LXX 


very 
desirable,  Iv. 

Comparison,  particles  of,  omitted,  386 
Conjectures,  concurrent  284 

in  correcting,  xxxi. 

in  translating,  lii. 

the  latter  as  hazardous  as 


the  former,  lii,  396 

Construct  state  for  absolute,  probably 
a  mistake,  169,  307. 

Construction  of  sentences,  suddenly- 
changed,  388,  343. 

alternate,  xix. 


420 


INDEX    OP    THINGS. 


Coptic  version,  Iv,  181,  269,  346  366 

Copyists,  Jewish,  fallible,  xlvii,  lii. 

—  their  customs  in  wri- 
ting, xlvii,  170 

Corner,  the  place  of  honour  in  the 
East,  305 

Corruptions,  perhaps  wilful,  liii,  395 

Counes,  an  eastern  vehicle,  405 

Cymbal,  235 

Cup  of  God's  wrath,  142,  356 

Damascus,  145,  232 
Delphi,  oracle  there,  339 
Dream,  similitude  from,  281 

Eagle,  319 

•  Cyrus's  ensign,  342 

Edomites,  297 

settled  in  Judea,  389 

Egypt,  234—236,  239,  243 

Eluth,  port,  129 

Elegiac  verses,  in  Hebrew,  xxv. 

Ellipsis,    138,    209,    253,    320,    325, 

373 
English    version,    vulgar,    xxix,    xli, 

Iviii. 

revision  of  it  expedient, 


Ivi,  lix. 


versions  old,,  sometimes 


better,  302 
Eshcol,  171 
Euphrates,  328,  333 
Eziongeber,  154 
Expedition  of  eastern  monarch*,  the 

manner  of  it,  313 

Fathers,  Christian,  generally  bad  com- 
mentators on  the  prophecies,  xliii. 


Figs,  274 
Flocks, 


great  care   in  driving  them 
necessary,  318 
Footstool,  857,  383 
Fuel,  273 

Gardens  in  the  East,  145 

Garments,  transparent,  165 

Gate,  the  place  of  judicature,  282 

Gehenna,  286,  406 

Gemara  of  Babylon,  364 

Gentiles  called  by  Christ,  355,  369, 
381,  396,  402 

Girdle,  179,  212 

Glosses,  from  margin  into  text,  192, 
285 

Gog  and  Magog,  390 

Golden  age,  212 

Gourd-kind,  fruits  of  the,  much  in  re- 
quest in  the  East,  137 


Greek  New   Test,  its  non-integrity, 
xlv,  xlvi. 

version  of  the  Old  Testament, 


its  importance,  liii,  139,  185,  192, 
213,233,282,  284,  291,  300  304 
308,  315,  330,  392 

interpolated,  181 

altered,  perhaps  wilful- 


ly, liii,  243 

MSS  of   LXX    very 

useful,  166,  230,  232, 244,  264,  284, 
289, 329,  330,  380,  385,  392 
collation  of  them 


,  liv. 

S  Pachom. 


and  MS 


i.  D.  ii.  Br.  Mas.  liv,  166, 181,  209, 
219,  231,  232,  248,  284,   289,  324, 
329,  337,  349,  380,  385 
Groves,  sacred,  143 

Hades,  image  of,  177,216 
Halle  Bible,  Ivi.  " 

Half-pause,  in  long  verses,  xxv,  xxvii. 
Hands,  marks  on,  330,  350 
Harbinger  of  eastern  monarchs,  313 
Harian  metre  confuted,  viii. 
Hebraisms,  274,  316 
Heb.  alphabet,  only  consonants,  vii. 
-•  •        Bible,    left  complete  by  Ezra, 
-  mistakes  in  it  early,   xxxiii, 


315,  395 

now  incorrect,  xlvii. 

its  integrity  strangely  be- 
lieved, xlv. 

its  true  readings  how  recov- 
erable, liii. 

letters  similar,  the  sources  of 

error,  xlvi,  xlvii. 

MSS,  now  extant,  how  old,  1, 

Iviii. 

the  present  collation  of  them, 

poetry,  its  characteristic,  xl. 

verses  not  in  rhyme,  vii,  viii. 

longer  and  shorter,  xxii — xxvii. 

words  single,  require  many  En- 
glish, xxxvi. 

Homage,  eastern  modes  of,  351, 
357 

Horites,  '155 

Hosts,  for  God  of  Hosts,  138 

Houses  in  the  East,  250 

Hunting,  ancient,  264 

Jackal,  137 
Idolatry  exposed,  331 
Idolatrous  practices  among  the  Jews, 
397,  399 


INDEX    OF    THINGS. 


421 


Idumea,  3S9 
Jerusalem,  the  Valley  of  Vision,  250 
Jeshurun,  329 

Jewels  of  the  feet,  nostrils,  &c.  162 
Jews,  iircat  destructions  of  them,   185 
pr.-sent  dispersion,  \vitha  confes- 
sion for  them,  391 
Iliad,  xlviii. 
Images  poetical,  from  nature,  &c.  153, 

337 
emblematical  of  heaven  and 

hell,  406 
Infinitives  absolute,  for  tenses   past, 

247 

•  signify  imperatively,  291 

^Intercalary  stan/a,  xxvi. 
'Interpolation ;  see  Additions. 
Job,  book,  already  allowed  poetical,  ii, 

xxii. 
Isaiah,  book,  Hi. 

history  of  its  time,  129 

Notes  here,  their  design, 

Ix. 
Israel  sometimes  means  the  Messiah, 

349 

people,  carried  away,  in  6th 


Hezekiah,  131 


finally,  22d 


Manasseh,  187 
Judea  called  the  Mountain,  170 

-  wilderness  of,  314 

Keys,  ancient,  254 

-  mark  of  office,  254 

Kingdom  of  Christ,  under  the  image 

of  a  feast,  267,  406 
Koran,  155,  200,  256,  300 

Lake,  below  the  wine-press,  173 
Latter  days,  149 

Lebanon,  House  of  the  Forest  of,  257 
--  and  Carmel,  282 
Leviathan,  the  crocodile,  and  the  ser- 


pent, 272 
Libat 


tion,  283 

Literal  sense,  the  necessary  founda- 
tion of  all  interpretations,  xli,  xlii, 
Ix, 

-  may  be  the  mystical,  or 
spiritual,  362 

is  so  ;  see  Messiah. 


London  Polyglott,  Hi. 

Magian  religion,  335 

Marks  on  the  hands,  330,  350 

Mashal,  its  nature,  xxx,  184,  223,277, 

Masoretes,  their  pauses  and  punctua- 
tion, viii,  xx,  xliii. 

41 


Masoretes,  wretched  critics,  326 

Mcdirean  MS  of  Virgil,  li. 

Medicine  and  surgery,  1:'><i 

Messiah  himself,  168,  1^2,  186,  192, 
-Ml,  2:)1,  310,  323,337  317, 
318,  811),  353,  361,  365,  368,  369, 
378,  369 

his  kingdom,  148,  182, 186, 

195,  201,  211,  214,  266,  267,  291, 
310  312,  316,  338,  355,  369,  378, 
381,  389,  396,  401 

Metre  of  things  ;  see  Phythmus. 

Mills,  grinding  at,  the  work  of  fe- 
males, 342 

Mirrors  of  metal,  195 

Mishna,  361 

Moukden,  present  Emperor  of  China's 
poem,  400 

Mizmor,  its  nature,  xl. 

Naharaga,  333 

Naharmalca.  328,  333 

Nails,  ancient,  255 

Necromancy,  2oO 

Negative,   understood  as  if  repeated, 

258,  320 
Nile,  237,  240,  258 

Shichor,  258 

Nose-jewels,  163 

Ode  on  K.  Babylon,  most  excellent, 
216—218 

Old  Testament,  defective  method  of 
studying  it,  xliii. 

Omissions,  Heb.  Text,  xxv,  lii,  134, 
151,153,  157,  166,  175,180,  181. 
198,  213,  219,  223,  228,  241,  252, 
253,  282,  283,  285,291,  299,  301, 
303,  308,  321,  322,  325,  330,  333, 
344,  345,  349,  351,  354,  364,  370, 
371,  374,  376,  377,  379,  384,  385, 
402,  403,  405. 

Onias's  temple,,  242 

Ophel,  29.1. 

Ophir,  154. 

Pallacopas,  333. 

Palm-wine,  176,  263. 

Parabolic  style,    153,   218,  265,  272, 

320,  323,  347,  352,  370,  371,  381. 
Parallelism  of  verses  or  lines,  ix,  xxxii. 
attention  to,  useful  in  in- 


terpreting  poetical  parts  of  Scrip- 
ture, xxx.     . 
Parallel  lines,  synonymous,  ix. 

antithetic,  ix,  xv. 

synthetic,  ix,  xvii. 

places,   useful  in   correcting, 


422 


INDEX    OF    THINGS. 


227,  228,  230-232,  302,  306,  309, 
315. 

Paronomasia,  175,  265,  290,  308,  384. 

Participle,  for  future  tense,  331. 

Passover,  the  manner  of  that  deliver- 
ance, 288. 

Perfumes,  eastern,  165. 

Personification,  iv. 

Port,  the,  whence  the  name,  283. 

Presents  to  the  great  in  the  East  ne- 
cessary, 374. 

Prophecies  of  Isaiah,  not  prose,  ii. 

not  now  in  order 

of  time,  136,  181. 

Prosopopoeia,  217. 

Proverbs  of  Solomon,  xvi,  xxii. 

allowed  poetical,  ii. 

Psalms,  already  allowed  poetical,  ii, 
xxii. 

ill-divided,  xxvi. 

Rabbinical  evasion,  403. 

Responsive  song,  xli,  183,  272,  316, 

317. 

Resurrection,  a  common  doctrine,  271. 
Rhythmus  of  things,  xxxiii — xli. 
Rice,  how  planted,  292. 
Romans,  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by, 

262. 

Saba,  reservoir  of,  148. 

Sahidic  version,  366. 

Samaria,  273. 

Scoffers,  275. 

Seder  Olam,  187- 

Separation  of  Psalms,  xxvi. 

words,  284,  373. 

Sepulchres,  253,  367,  368. 

Sickness  and  sin  considered  as  equi- 
valent, 295. 

Sidon,  mother-city  of  Tyre,  258. 

Siloah,  196,  252. 

Singulars  sometimes  for  plurals,  331. 

Sitting  in  the  East,  common  manner 
of,  358. 

in  state,  358. 

Sistrum,  235. 

Sorek,  in  Judah,  vines  of,  171. 

Spanish  version,  139,  161. 

Speech  of  ghosts  supposed  feeble,  280. 

Spitting,  an  expression  of  detestation, 
353. 

Standard  copy,  none  infallible,  liii. 

Strong  drink,  176,  263. 

Supreme  Beings,  two,  Persian,  335. 
Syriac  version,  Iv,  213,247,  365,  392. 


Tabor,  Mount,  171. 
Talmud,  Babylonish,  158,  349. 
Tarshish,  where,  154,  257. 
-  ships,  154,  257. 


Teraphim  consulted,  152. 

Threshing,  247,  269,  278. 

Tophet,  286. 

Transcribers ;  see  Copyists. 

Translations,  modern,  whether  in  Ln- 
tin,  or  for  the  use  of  the  Protestant 
Churches,  all  from  the  pointed  He- 
brew text,  xliii. 

Translator's  duty,  xxviii,  xxix,  xlii. 

Transpositions,  Hebrew  text,  186,  198, 
307. 

Treasures  of  Cyrus,  335. 

Trees,  long-lived,  400. 

Troglodytes,  155. 

Tyre,  257—262. 

Van,  ancient,  285. 

Various  readings,  Hebrew,  publication 

of  commended,  xlix. 
Veil,  to  shade  the  court,  318. 
Ventriloqui,  280. 
Verse,  its  characteristics,  iv — viii,  xx. 

xli. 

Verses,  ill-divided,  139,  218,  299,  401. 
long  or  shor  ,  xxii. 


Versions  of  versions  useful,  Iv,  180, 

230. 

Vineyard-tower,  173. 
Vines,  large  trunks  of,  172. 

poisonous  fruit  of,  174. 

Vowel  points,    not  original,   nor  by 

Ezra,  xliv. 
Vulgate,   xxviii,  Ivi,    135,    175,   185, 

198,  218,  252,  285,  301,  321,  322, 

325. 
authentic,    by    Council    of 

Trent,  xlv. 

Wardrobes,  Eastern,  158. 

Watchmen  in  the  Temple,  387. 

Water,  in  gardens,  145. 

Wine  mixed,  141. 

Wine-press,  173. 

Wines,  267. 

Women  celebrate  great  events,  317. 

Words,  many  now  lost  in  the  text  of 

Isaiah,  Hi. 

wrongly  divided,  153,  273. 

World,  sometimes  for  land  or  country, 

219,  263, 


INDEX    OP   THINGS. 


423 


•rw  formrr ,  183, 203, 205, 207, 

213,  285,  307. 
7TK  and  yj*,  392. 
D"K  and  D"Y,  259,  262,  325. 
3  and  D  mistaken,  177, 189, 209, 

228,  380,  404. 

BoirvAaf,  373. 

ni»3,  368. 

-1  and  n  mistaken,  197, 198,204, 
228,251,267,281,285,3^6. 
\\+n,  195. 

I  omitted  at  the  half-pau  e,  xxv. 
)  for  *6i,  258. 

D'n?  and  Dm  changed,  266,  267. 

II  necessary,  1st  person  preterite, 

270,  325. 


,  punishment  for  sin,  313.. 
*h  and  i1?  changed,  285,  290. 
ID1?  and  rt  changed,  210,  2^0, 

330. 

D,  plural  termination,  frequent- 
ly omitted,  170,  355. 
-IIDTD,  xl. 

,  as  D,  265. 

,  xxx,  223,  277,  282. 

,  323. 

DM,  solemn  delivery  of  prophe- 
cy, 250. 
H03,  288. 

,  323,  355. 

y,  the  glowing  sand  ina  the^ 
East,  300. 


Text. 


Remarkable  Variations  in  the  Text  of  Isaiah,  where  them  is  lit- 
tle Similitude  between  the  Words. 

Variations.  Chapter. 

IJTU'i  ix,  8.  Chald. 

*7ipD  xxiv.  18.  MS,  Chald1  Tul'g; 

3»n  xxxvii.9.LXX  and  parallel,  place,. 

D»U  xxxvii.  18.  ten  MSS, 

xxxvii,  24.  LXX,  Syr. 

xlii.  19,  MS,  Sym. 

Dxna  xlvii,  9,  LXX,  Syr. 

f-iy  xlix.  24.  Syr.  Vu% 

lii.  9.  two  MSS. 

Iviii.  10.  eight  MSS,  Syr. 
ro  lx.  4.  MS. 

Ixiii.  1L  two  MSS^ vet.  edit.  Syr. 

Ixiii.  16.  MS. 

nn  Ixiii.  18.  LXX. 

D-a  D^n  xliv..  2,  four  MSS. 

ixv,25.  MS,  LXX,  Sir.  Vulg. 


oanD 


THE    END. 


ISAIAH. 


AN 


APPENDIX: 


CONTAINI NG 


THE    ESSENTIAL    VARIATIONS 


FROM     THE 


TRANSLATION     OF     LOWTH, 


BY 


MICHAEL   DODSON,   Esa. 


AND 


JOSEPH    STOCK,  D.D.  BISHOP  OF  KILLALA. 


[Entered,  according  to  act  of  congress,  in  the  year  1834,  by  Mnnroe  &  Franoi»,  in  the  Clerk's  office  for 
the  District  of  Massachusetts.] 


BOSTON  : 

MUNROE  AND  FRANCIS,  WASHINGTON-STREET  J 
C.  S.  FRANCIS,  NEW-YORK. 

1834. 


APPENDIX. 

•CONTAINING  THE  ESSENTIAL  VARIATIONS  OP  DODSON*  AND  STOCKf  FROM 
THE  TEXT  OF  LOWTH. 


CHAPTER  L 

^Verse.  Line. 

4,  5.  S.  here  follows  the  C.  V. 

5,  1.  Why  will  ye  still  be  smitten,  still  add  revolt  ?  S. 

Why  will  ye  still  turn  aside,  why  will  ye  repeat  re- 
volt?     D. 

6,  4.  Neither  hath  the  sore  been  anointed  with  oil.    S. 

7,  3.  And  it  is  wasted  by  the  desolation  of  foreign  nations.  D. 

8,  2.  [As  a  city]  As  a  desolated  city.   D. 

12,  2.  [  Who  hath  required}    Who  hath  required  this  at  your 

hands  to  tread  my  courts.  S. 

13,  4.  [  The  fast, fyc.}  A  grief  to  me  is  even  your  public  fast.  <S. 

14,  1.  Your  new  moons  and  stated  festivals  my  soul  hateth.  S. 

15,  3.  Wash  ye  your  hands,  which  are  full  of  blood,  and  be  ye 

clean.    D. 

17,  2.  [Amend  that,  fyc}  Help  forward  the  aggrieved.  S. 

Deliver  the  oppressed.   D. 

18,  1.  [Let  us  plead,  fyc}  Let  us  settle  our  dispute.     S. 

24,  1.  Alas  !   O,  ye  mighty  ones  of  Jerusalem,  I  will  not  suffer 

my  indignation  against  my  adversaries  to  rest.  D. 

25,  3.  And  I  will  take  away  all  thy  tin.    S. 

29,  1.  [The  ilexes}    The  holm-oaks.  S. 

30,  1.  [As  an  ilex]    As  an  elm.   S.    So  too,  Ch.  VI.  13. 

*  A  New  Translation  oflsaiah,with  Notes  supplementary  to  those  of 
Dr.  Lowth,  late  Bishop  of  London.  By  a  Layman  (Michael  Dodson, 
esq.)  8vo.  London.  1790. 

t  The  Book  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah  :  in  Hebrew  and  English.  The 
Hebrew  Text  metrically  arranged:  the  Translation  altered  from  that 
of  Bishop  Lowth.  By  Joseph  Stock,  D.D.  Bishop  of  Killala,  and  for- 
merly fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  4to,  Bath,  1803. 


ISAIAH.  CHAP.    II.    Ill, 


CHAPTER  II. 

2,  2.  The  mountain  of  Jehovah  shall  be  conspicuous  ;  yea, 
the  house  of  God  on  the  summit  of  the  mountains.  D. 
4,  2.  And  give  sentence  to  many  nations.    S. 
6,  2.  [From  the  East]   More  than  the  East.    D. 

Because  they  are  filled  from  the  east,  with  diviners  like 

the  Philistines.  S. 

And  with  the  sons  of  strangers  they  are  well  stored.  S. 
8,  1-3.  [  With  idols]  With  idols  the  work  of  their  own  hands, 
and  they  bow  themselves  down  to  that  which  their 
fingers  have  made.    D. 
10,  3.  Stock,  with  the  C.  V.  omits  this  line. 
16.       [  Works  of  art]    Every  lovely  palace.    D. 
20,  3.  To  the  bats  and  other  vermin.    D. 
22.       Dodson,  following  the  Ar.  and  Sept.  versions,  drops  this 
verse  as  an  interpolation. 


CHAPTER  III. 

3,  2.  [  The  powerful  in  persuasion]    The  expert  dealer  in 

charms.    S. 

6,  1.  [Of  his  father's  house]    Born  in  his  father's  house. 
Saying  thou  hast  clothing,  be  thou,  (fee.    S.  [Clothing, 

i.e.  some  little  remains  of  property ',  the  natural  source 

of  authority  and  power.    S.] 

8,  1.  Because  their  speech  and  their  actions  towards  Jehovah, 

Tend  to  provoke  his  glorious  eyes.    S. 

9,  1.  [The  steadfastness]    The  confession.    S. 
3.  [  To  their  souls]  Unto  their  lives.    S. 

Even  to  them  !  Because  they  have  devised  evil  against 
9,  3.      themselves,  saying,  "  let  us  destroy  the  Just  One,  for  he 
10.  is  of  no  use  to  us."     Therefore  the  fruits  of  their  ac- 

tions they  shall  eat.    D.  [who,  alleging  the  corruption 
of  the  Hebrew  text  here  follows  the  Septuagent.] 


CHAP.  IV.  V.  VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  5 

11,  1.  [Evil  shall  be]    Evil,  according  to  the  deserving  of  his 

hands  shall  be  done  to  him.  D.  [who  seems  to  dis- 
pense with  the  parenthesis  of  Lowth.] 

12,  4.  And  the  track  of  thy  paths  they  destroy.    S. 
16,  4.  And  leering  with  their  eyes.    S. 

16,  6.  And  on  their  feet  tinkle  the  rings.    S. 

17,  1.  Smite  with  a  scab  the  head  of  the  daughters  ofSion.  S. 

18,  2.  [The  net-works]     The  broidered  kerchiefs.    S. 
22.       Stock  gives  this  vs.  thus  : 

The  pellues  and  the  mufflers, 
And  the  plaids  and  the  sachels. 

24,  2.  And  instead  of  a  girdle,   a  gathering.    S.   [i.  e.  in  the 
place  where  the  zone  used  to  pass,  a  gathering^  tumor 
or  whittle,  from  the  friction  of  the  sackcloth  belt,  (next 
couplet,)] 
24,  5.  These  things  thou  shalt  have  instead  of  beauty.  D. 

CHAPTER  TV. 

2,  3-4.  And  the  fruit  of  the  land  shall  be  the  pride,  and  the 
beauty  of  the  escaped  of  Israel.     S. 

4,  1.  [Of  the  daughters]  Dodson  reads, — Of  the  sons  and 

daughters  of  Sion. 

5,  3.  [And  smoke]    And  the  smoke  and  brightness  of  a  fla- 

ming fire  by  night.  D. 

CHAPTER  V. 

1,  3.  I  have  a  vineyard,  &c.    D.  [who  retains  the  first  person 

through  the  vs.,  on  the  ground  of  the  impropriety  of 
making  the  author  of  the  song,  and  the  person  to 
whom  it  is  addressed,  the  same.] 

2,  2.  [  The  vine  of  Sorek]    The  choicest  vine.    S. 
2,  4.  [^1  lake]    A  receiver.    S. 

2,  6.  [Poisonous  berries]    Night-shade  berries.    S. 
11,2.  [  That  wine  may,  fyc.]    Till  wine  inflames  them.    S. 
12,  1.  [The  lyre]    The  dulcimer.    S. 


'6  ISAIAH.  CHAP.    VI.  VII. 

13,  1.  [Of  knowledge]    Dodson,  on  the  authority  of  the  Sept. 

and  Ara.  reads, — For  want  of  the  knowledge  of  Je- 
hovah. 

14,  1.  Therefore  the  grave  hath  enlarged  her  person.    S. 

17,  2.  And  the  waste  pastures  of  fat  cattle  shall  kids  devour.  S, 

18.  Who  draw  on  their  punishment  with  cords  of  folly. 
And  the  reward  of  sin,  like  a  cart-rope.     S. 

22,  2.  [To  mingle]    To  manage.    S. 

30,  2.  Stock  follows  almost  verbally  the  C.  V. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

1.  [The  train  of  his  robe]  And  the  temple  was  full  of  his 
glory.  D.  [after  the  Sept.  Chald.  and  Ar.] 

5.       [Alas  for  me]    Wo  is  me  !   for  I  am  undone.    S. 

8.  [  Who  will  go]  Dodson,  with  the  Sept.  and  Ar.  reads, 
— Who  will  go  to  this  people  ? 

10,  1.  [Make  gross  the  heart]  For  the  heart  of  this  people  is 

become  gross ;    and  their  ears  they  have  made  dull, 
&c.   D. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

4,  3.  For  the  two  tails  of  firebrands, 
These  two  that  smoke.    S. 

8.  For  as  surely  as  the  head  of  Syria  is  Damascus,  &c. 
tSo  within  threescore,  &c.  S. 

9,  1.  And  as  surely  as  the  head  of  Ephraim  is  Samaria,  &c. 

So  if  ye  believe  not  in  me,  ye  shall  not  stand  firm.    S. 
Dodson  transposes  the  two  first  lines  of  this  verse,  so 
as  to  stand  between  the  two  couplets  of  verse  8. 

11,  2.  Go  to   the  depth  for   thy   demand   or  seek   it  in   the 

heighth.    S. 

16,  3.  The  land  which  thou  [O,  Ahaz]  fearest,  shall  be  deprived 
Of  the  presence  of  both  the  kings.    D. 
Stock  (the  last  line) — At  whose  two  kings  thou  dost  fret. 


CHAP.    VIII,  VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH. 

17,  4.  [From  Judah]    Stock  here  follows  the  C.  V, 

18,  2.  Jehovah  will  holla  to  the  fly.  S. 

19,  3.  Dodson,  without  explanation, omits  the  first  clause.  Stock 

renders  the  second, — And  upon  all  gaudy  flowers. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

1.       [  With  a  workman 's,  $*c.] — with  a  strong  pen, 

MAHAR    SHALAL    HASH-BAZ.    S. 

Dodson   presents  the  name  in  its  English  import,  yet 
more  emphatically  thanLowth, — HASTEN'  THE  SPOIL, 

TAKE  Q.UICKLY  THE    PREY. 

7,2.  [The  strong  and  the  mighty}  The  strong  and  the- 
many  waters.    S. 

8,  3.  And  the  extent  of  his  camp  shall  be,  &c.    D. 

9,  1.  [Know  ye  this]     Associate  yourselves.    D.  &  S. 

11,  2.  With  great  earnestness,  and  instructed  me.   D. 

12,  1.  Call  not  a  confederacy, 

Every  thing,  which  this  people  shall  call  a  confederacy.  S. 
14,  1.  And  he  Immanuel  shall  be  to  the  nations  for  sanctifica- 
tion.    D. 

16.  Then  will  be  manifested  those  who  seal  the  law  that  they 

may  not  learn  ;  and  he  will  say,  (vs.  17)  1  will  wait, 
&c.  D.   [following  the  Sept.] 

17,  2.  [  Yet  will  I  look]    And  I  will  trust  in  him.    D. 
19,  2.  Inquire  of  the  ventriloquists  and  the  wizards.    D. 

19,  4.  Should  not  a  people  seek  unto  their  God 

Among  the  still-living,  not  the  dead, 

20,  Looking"  to  the  Law  and  to  the  testimony  ?    S. 
Dodson  gives  the  second  line, — Should  they  inquire  of 

the  dead  concerning  the  living  ? 

21,  2-3.  Stock  follows  the  C.  V. 

23,  1-2.  Nevertheless  the  gloom  shall  not  be  as  when  the  sore 

pressure  was  upon  her  : 
As  in  the  former  time,  &c.  S. 
23,  4.  So  in  future  shall  he  make  it  glorious.   S. 


ISAIAH.  CHAP.   IX.  X, 


CHAPTER  IX. 

4,  1.  For  every  greave  of  the  warrior  with  its  rattling  noise, 

<fec.    S. 
And  every  weapon  of  the  warrior  used  in  battle,  &c.  D. 

5,  1.  [  Wonderful  counsellor]    The  messenger  of  the  great 

design  ;    The  father  of  the  age,  &c.  D.    [The  father 
of  the  future  age.  S.] 
8,  1.  Stock  here  follows  the  C.  V.  So  too,  in  the  first  couplet 

of  verse  11. 

16,  3-4.  For  every  one  of  them  is  a  wretch  and  a  criminal, 
And  every  mouth  uttereth  villainy.    S. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1,  2.  And  to  the  prescribers  that  dictate  vexation.  S. 

To  the  scribes  who  act  wickedly  in  drawing  up  de- 
crees'.   D. 

4,  1-2.  Excepting  him  that  boweth  as  a  captive, 

As  slain  men  they  shall  fall  down.  S. 

5,  2.  And  the  staff  in  their  hand  is  the  staff  of  mine  indig- 

nation.   S. 
And  the  staff  of  my  indignation  is  in  his  hand.  D. 

13,  5.  And  1  have  let  fall  the  curtain  of  the  inhabitants,  [i.  e. 
put  them  out  of  sight  by  destroying  them  ;  a  meta- 
phor derived  from  the  mosquito-net  or  curtain  of  gauze 
or  goat's  hair,  used  in  hot  countries  for  protectionf  rom 
insects.]  S. 

15,  4.  [Its  master]     What  is  not  wood.    S. 

18,  3.  [As  when  onejleeth]    As  a  thing  which  melted  evapo- 
rates.   S. 

22,  3.  Their  fixed  completion  taketh  its   round  in   righteous- 
ness. S. 


CHAP.  XI.  XII.          VARIATIONS    PROM    LOWTH.  9 

24,  4.  [In  the  way  of  Egypt]  As  did  Egypt.  S.  As  the 
Egyptians  did.  D. 

26,4,  [After  the  manner  of  Egypt]  As  he  did  on  Egypt.  S. 
As  he  did  against  the  Egyptians.  D. 

27,  4.  And  the  yoke  shall  be  tied  up  from  touching  the  un- 
guent. S. 

33,  2.  Shall  lop  the  bough  with  terror.    S, 


CHAP.  XL 

3,  1.  And  his  delight  shall  be  in  the  fear  of  Jehovah.    S. 

4,  1.  And  with  equity  shall  he  give  sentence  to  the  meek  of 

the  earth,    S. 
9,  2.  [The  earth]    The  land,  [viz.  of  Jndea,]  D.    So  too  in 

verse  4. 

10,  2-3.  There  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse  ;  and  he  who  shall  arise 
to  reign  over  the  nations,  in  him  shall  the  nations 
hope  ;  and  his,  &c.  D. 

14,  1.  But  they  shall  fly  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Philistines 

westward.    S. 

15,  1.  [Shall  smite^   $*c.]    Shall  utterly  destroy  the  tongue, 

&c.  S.      Dodson  renders,  (after  Joseph  Mede,) — As 
Jehovah   smote  with    a   drought,  &c.   so  he  will 
shake  his  hand,  <fec. 

CHAP.    X1L 
5,  5.  [A  stupendous  work]     Proud  things.    S. 

CHAP.   XIIL 

2.  Upon  a  mountain  with  a  plain  surface,  [i.  e.  free  from 
trees  which  might  intercept  the  view  of  the  signal  pla- 
ced on  it]  erect  the  standard,  D. 


10  ISAIAH.  CHAP.    XTV. 

3.  1.  [To    mine    enrolled    warriors]      To    my  appointed 

ones.     S. 

3,  3.  [  Those  that  exult]     Even  my  proud  exulters.    S. 
7,  2.  [And  they,  $*c:]   The  elders  shall  be  terrified,  (vs.  8.) 
and  pangs  shall  seize  them  as  a  woman  in  labour  ; 
they  shall  look,  &c.    D. 

11,  1.  [The  world  for  its  evil]   Unnatural  sin  for  its  guilt.  S. 
19,  2.  The  boasted  ornament  of  the  Chaldeans.  S. 
21,1.  [The  wild  beasts]  Wild-cats.  D. 

21.  4.  [The satyrs]     Goats.    D. 

21r  3.  And  there  shall  screech-owls  haunt.    S. 

22,  1.  [  Wolves]    Jackalls.    D. 

CHAP.  XIV, 

4.  [The  exactness  of  gold]  The  golden  city.  S.    Dodson 

after  the  Septaagint,  reads, — The  tyrant. 
11,  1-2.  Thy  pomp  is  brought  down  to  the  grave, 
The  music  of  thy  viols  : 
Underneath  thee  is  spread  the  reptile, 
And  thy  covering  is  the  worm.    S, 
13,  £  Upon  the  mount  of  the  assembly 
On  the  sides  of  the  north.    S. 

1  will  seat  myself  upon  a  lofty  mountain  in  the  extremities 
of  the  north.    D. 

18,  2.  [In  his  own  sepulchre]  In  his  last  home.    S. 

19,  1-2.  Dodson,  [after  the  Sept.J  transposes  the  last  clause  of  the 

vs. — But  thou  art  cast  out  upon  the  mountains,  as 

being  a  corpse  detested  ;  clothed  with  the  slain,  &c. 
21,  2.  [  With  cities]    Dodson,  (with  the  Sept.)  renders— With 

warriors. 
23,  2,  [  Will  plunge  it,  fyc.}  Will  sweep  it  with  the  besom  of 

destruction.    S. 

30,  1.  [My  choice  first-fruits}    My  first-ripe  figs,    S. 

31,  2.  Melted  with  fear,  O  Palestine,  is  thy  whole  substance.  S. 
31,  4.  And  there  is  not  a  dropper-off  among  his  quick  march- 
ers.   S. 


CHAP.  XV.  XVI.       VARIATIONS  FROM  LOWTH.  11 


CHAP.  XV. 

1,  2.  [Moab  is  undone]  Dodson,  (with  Blayney,)  renders, — 

The  Moabites  are  reduced  to  silence.  So  too,  the  line 
following. 

2,  1.  Buitha  and  Dibon  are  going  up 

To  the  high-places  to  weep.    S, 
5,  1-  The  heart  of  Moab  belloweth  out  at  the  bare  approach 

thereof, 

Even  to  Zoar,  like  a  heifer  of  three  years.    S. 
5,  3.  For  in  the  ascent  of  Luhith  with  weeping 
Shall  weeping  go  up.  S. 

Dodson  coincides  very  nearly  with  this, 

7,  Therefore  the  substance  which  they  have  saved,  and 

their  store, 
To  the  valley  of  willows  shall  men  carry  off.  S. 

Dodson  renders  the  second  line  of  Lowth, — And  as 
to  their  deposits,  tl  ic  Arabians  shall  carry  them  to  a 
valley. 

8,  2.  [  To  Eglaim  reacheth,  fyc.]  Unto  Egypt  the  howling 

thereof.    S. 

9,  3.  Stock  here  follows  the  C.  V. 


CHAR  XVI. 

1,  1-2.  Send  ye  the  lamb  due  to  the  ruler  of  the  land, 

From  Selah  to  the  desert, 

To  the  mount  of  the  daughter  of  Zion. 

[i.  e.  show  kindness,  while  you  may,  to  the  outcasts  of 
the  ruined  kingdom  of  Israel,  who  will  nevertheless 
one  day  be  restored  to  their  country,  and  united 
with  Judah  under  a  descendant  of  David.  Act  thus 
and  the  storm  that  hangs  over  your  heads  may  not 
wholly  destroy  you,]  S. 


12  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XVII. 

3,  1-2.  [Interpose  with  equity]    Execute  justice, 

Make  thy  shadow  refreshing  as  night 
In  the  midst  of  the  noon-day  heats.    S, 

4,  1-2.  Stock  here  coincides  with  the  C.  V. 

4,  3.  Until  the  extortioner  hath  ceased,  the  spoil  is  over,  &c.  S, 

6,  2-3.  But  their  power  is  not  equal  to  their  haughtiness,  and 

their  pride,  and  their  anger.    Therefore  wail  ye  for 
Moab,  &c,    D. 
[  Vain  are  his  lies]    The  futility  of  his  diviners.    S. 

7,  3.  For  the  wine-jars  of  Kirhareseth 

Moan  even  ye7  who  yourselves  are  smitten. 

8,  For  the  fields  of  Heshbon  languish,  &c.  S. 

9,  1.  [For  the  vine  of  Sibmah]  O  vine  of  Sibmah.    D. 

9,  3.  Because  for  thy  summer  fruits,  and  for  thy  harvest  the 

shout  of  joy  is  fallen.    S. 
12,  4.  [Shall  not  prevail]    Shall  profit  nothing  by  it.    S. 


CHAP.  XVII. 

1,  2.  Dodson  renders  this  line,  with  vs.  2 — It  shall  even  be- 

come a  ruinous  heap,  deserted  for  ever  ;   it  shall  be  a 
resting-place  for  the  flocks,  &c. 

2,  1,  Forsaken  are  the  cities  of  the  valley.    S. 

3,  1-2.  And  the  kingdom  from  Damascus,  and  the  remnant 

of  Syria  : 
As  the  glory  of  the  children    of  Israel  shall  they  be, 

&c.   S. 

8,  1.  And   he   shall  not  look  to  his  altars,  the  work  of  his 
hands,  S. 

8,  3.  [Nbr  the  groves]    Nor  the  images  of  Astarte.     D. 

9,  2-3.  Like  the  leavii  g  of  the  ploughed  field, 

Or  on  the  topmost  bough,  which  they  leave  before  the 
face  of  the  children  of  Israel.  S. 

Stock,  who  adopts  this  version  from  Parkhurst,  conceives 
a  reference  in  the  passage  to  those  provisions  of  the 
Jewish  Law,  Lev.  xix.  9,  10  ;  Deut.  xxiv.  19,  21. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  XIX.       VARIATIONS  FROM  LOWTH.  13 

11,  3.  Away  flieth  the  harvest  in  the  day  of  hurry  and  of  wo- 

ful  trouble.    S. 

13,  1.  Dodson,  without  comment,  omits,  this  line. 
13,  4.  [Like  the  gossamer]    Like  thistle-down.    S. 


CHAP.  XVIII. 

1,1.  Ho !  to  the  land  shadowed  with  sails.    S, 

2,  1.  Sendeth  out  on  the  sea  its  rafts.     S. 

2,  4.  To  a  nation  drawn  out  and  pilled.  S.  So  also  below 
vs.  7,  line  2. 

4,  3.  Like  the  clear  heat  at  the  coming  of  daylight.  S.  [i.  e. 
the  resting  of  Jehovah,  hovering  over  the  enemy  till 
they  are  ripe  for  destruction,  being  compared  to  the 
condensed  gloom  before  day-light,  which  is  wont  to 
usher  in  a  hot  summer's  day.] 


CHAP.  XIX. 

1,  4.  And  away 

Flit  the  idols  of  Egypt  from  his  presence.  S. 

2,  3.  [Kingdom  against  kingdom]     District  against  Dis- 

trict.   D. 

3,  2.  [  Will  swallow  up]    Will  disconcert  her  purpose.   D. 

3,  4.  [Sorcerers  and  necromancers]    Charmers, — owners  of 
familiar  spirits.  S. 

5,  1-2.  Then  shall  they  drink  water  from  the  sea  ;  for  the  riv- 

er shall  be,  &c.  D.    [after  the  Sept  and  Ar.J 

6,  2.  [  The  canals  of  Egypt]    And  exhausted  shall  be  the 

embanked  canals.    S. 
9,  1.  And  confounded  shall  be  the  manufacturers  of  brown 

linen.    S. 
2.  [  Weave  net-work]   Make  wicker-work.  D. 


14 


ISAIAH,  CHAP.  XXI. 


10.  Dodson  follows  here  the  Sept.  and  Syriac, — And  all  who 

make  barley-wine  for  their  drink,  shall  mourn  and  be 

grieved  in  soul. 
And  the  weirs  shall  be  broken 
Of  all  that  make  a  gain  of  ponds  for  live  fish.   S. 
[Weirs,  i.e.  basket-work  placed  in  the  river  for  catching 

and  enclosing  fish.]  S. 

11,  4.  [Of  ancient  kings]    Of  the  kings  of  the  East?  S, 
13,2.  [  The  chief-pillars]    The  coin-stones.  S. 

14,1.  [Of  giddiness]    Of  perverseness.    S. 
15,  2.  Which  head  or  tail  may  perform, 
Stalk  or  knob.  S. 

22,  1.  [Smiting  and  healing  her]    As  smiting,  so  healing 

her.  S. 

23,  2.  [And  the  Egyptian,  $*c]    Dodson  omits  this  clause. 

CHAP.  XXI. 

2,  2.  [Is  plundered, — is  destroyed]    Dodson  and  Stock  both 

give  an  active  sense  to  these  verbs ;  following  the  Sept 
Ara.  Chald.  Syr.  and  Vulgate : — spoileth — destroyeth. 
[The  prophet  sees  in  vision  the  cruelties  inflicted  on 
his  countrymen  by  the  Babylonians,  and  hears  the  or- 
ders of  God  to  set  out  on  an  expedition  against  these 
tyrannical  oppressors  ;  whom  it  is  incongruous  there- 
fore to  represent  as  already  "  plundered"  and  "  des- 
troyed." D. 
4.  To  all  the  sighs  she  hath  caused  I  have  put  an  end.  S. 

3,  3.  I  am  convulsed  at  the  report ;  I  am  astonished  at  the 

sight.    D. 

4,  1.  [Scared  me]  Siezed  me.  S.     Dodson  reads  the  second 

line,  with  the  Sept.  and  Ar. — I  am  fallen  into  great 
horror. 

5,  2.  [Anoint  the  shield]    Dress  up  the  shield  [i.  e.  by  oiling 

its  leather  cover  to  fit  it  for  action.]    S. 


CHAP.  XXII.          VARIATIONS  FROM  LOWTH,  15 

7,  1.  And  he  saw  riding  a  couple  of  riders.    S. 

8,  1-2.  And  he  cried,  A  caravan  ! 

Sir,  on  my  watch  1  stand 
Constantly,  during  the  day,  &c.  S. 

10,  1.  Dodson,  following  the  Sept.  and  Ar.,  renders — Hear,  O 

ye  remnant ;  and,  O  ye  afflicted,  hear  ! 

11,  1.  [Concerning  Dumah}    The  oracle  at  midnight, — is 

Stock's  version  ;  [who  conceives  "that  the  whole  diffi- 
culty of  the  two  following  oracles  has  been  created  by 
mistaking  the  Hebrew  terms  for  proper  wames,which 
in  truth  signify  times  or  different  stages  in  the  twenty- 
four  hours."] 

12,  2.  [And  also  the  night]  But  still  it  is  night.     S, 

13,  1.  Stock  renders, — The  oracle  in  the  evening.    See  note 

above. 

14,  2.  [Of  the  southern  country}    Of  the  land  of  Tima.   S. 

[i.  e.  the  son  of  Ishmael,  Gen.xxv.  15,  who  settled  in 
Arabia  Deserta.] 
3.  [Prevent,  ^c.J    Assist  the  fugitive.    D. 

CHAP.  XXIL 

3.       All  thy  leaders  are  either  gone  oflf^ 
Or  they  are  bound  by  the  archers  : 
All  that  were  within  thee  are  either  in  bonds, 
Or  they  are  fled  afar.    S. 

5,  2.  [The  day  of  the  Lord]    Dodson  renders — of  perplex- 
ity from  Jehovah,  God  of  hosts,  &c. ; 
Stock, — Before  the  Lord,  Jehovah  of  hosts,  &c. 
3.  Of  making  walls  to  resound,  and  of  shouts  to  the 
mountain.    S. 

11.  3.  [To  him  that  hath,   fyc.]    To  the  maker  of  your 

city.    S. 

12.  And  although  Jehovah,  God  of  hosts,  calleth  to-day  to 

13.  weeping,  &,c.,  yet  ye  rejoice  and  are  glad,  &c.    D. 
16,  3.  As  he  that  heweth  on  high  his  sepulchre.    S. 


ISAIAH,  CHAP.  XXIII, 

19,  2.  And  from  thy  post  will  he  pull  thee  down.    S. 

23,  2.  And  he  shall  be  a  resting-place  for  the  valuables  of  his 

father's  house. 

24.  And  they  shall  hang  on  him  all  the  valuables  of  hia 

father's  house  ; 
The  earthen  jugs  and  the  metal  ones,  &c.     S. 


CHAP.  XXIII. 

1,  2.  [Both  within  and  without]    Without   house  or  en- 
trance. S.     So  that  no  one  goeth  into  it.  D. 

2,1.  [  The  sea-coast]  Dodson  and  Stock  both  render, — isle 
or  island.  [Tyre  at  this  time  was  seated  on  an 
island  ;  after  Alexander's  conquest  it  was  rebuilt  on 
the  continent.]  S. 

2.  Thou,  whom  the   sea-faring  trader   of  Sidon   replen- 
ished.  S. 

5,  1.  [  When  the  tidings,  fyc.]     As  at  the  report,  fyc.     S. 

after  the  C.  V. 

10.  Cultivate  thy  land ;  for  the  ships  no  longer  come  from 
Tarshish  ;  and  thy  hand,  which  made  kingdoms  to 
tremble,  no  longer  prevaileth  upon  the  sea.  Je- 
hovah hath  issued,  &c.  D.  [after  the  Sept.  and 
Ar.J 

12,  2.  [O  thou  deflowered  virgin]  O  thou  much-courted  vir- 

gin. S. 

13.  [  This  people,  $*c.]    This  was  no  land.  S.  who  renders 

the  last  line  of  the  verse — Even  these  have  reduced 

her  to  a  ruin. 
15.       [Tyre  shall  sing]  It  shall  be  unto  Tyre 

As  the  song  of  the  harlot.    S. 
17,  3-4.  And  she  shall  be  restored  to  her  former  stale,  and  shall 

be  a  mart  to  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  D.  after 

the  Sept.  and  Ar. 


CHAP.    XXIV.         VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  17 


CHAP.  XXIV. 

5,  1.  [The  land.]  The  earth.    S. 

6,  2.  And  the  dwellers  therein  suffer  for  their  guilt.    S. 
11,  2.  A  dusk  is  thrown  over  all  joy.   S. 

15,  2.  [In  the  distant  coasts]    In  the  islands.  S.     So  also 
next  line. 

20,  2.  And  it  shall  swing  itself  like  a  hammock.  S. 

21,  2.  Jehovah  will  visit  the  host  of  the  high  ones  in  the 

height.    S. 

22,  2.  [As  in  a  bundle,  $*c.]  Chained  into  the  dungeon.  S. 
22,  4.  [Account  shall  be  taken]    They  shall   receive   their 

due.    S. 

CHAP.  XXV. 

1,  4.  [Promises  immutably  true]  Hast  thou  made  perfect- 
ly true.    S. 
2,3.  [Of  ihe  protid  ones]  Of  foreigners.    S. 

6,  3.  [Of  delicacies  exquisitely  rich}  Of  dainties  composed 

of  marrow.    S. 

7,  2.  The  face  of  the  covering  which  was  cast  over  all  peo- 

ple.   S. 

9,  3.  We  have  waited  for  him,  and  he  will  save  us.    S. 
10,  2-3.  [And  Moab  shall,  fyc.}   And  Moab  shall  be  trodden 

down  in  his  place, 
As  the  threshing-floor  is  trodden  by  the  roller.    S. 

CHAP.  XXVI. 

1,  1.  [This  song  be  sung]    This  song  be  sung  in  the  land 

of  Judah  : 
We  have,  &c.    S. 
c 


18  ISAIAH.  CHAP.    XXVII. 

1,  3.  [Shall  he  establish]  Shall  he  substitute.    S. 

2,  1.  [Let  the  righteous,  $*e.]  And  there  shall  enter  a  right- 

eous nation,  keeping  the  truth. 

3,  1-3.  The  firm  of  purpose,  thou  wilt  keep  in  perfect  peace. 

Because  in  thee  is  firm  trust. 

7,  2.  Rightly  the  path  of  the  just  dost  thou  make  even. 

8,  1-3.  Yea,  in  the  way  of  thy  judgments,  O  Jehovah,  have 

we  waited  for  thee ; 

To  thy  name  and  to  the  remembrance  of  thee  is  the 

bent  of  our  soul.   S. 

11,  2-3.  [  With  confusion]  And  with  shame,  their  envy  of 
thy  people  ; 

The  fire  itself  of  thine  enemies  shall  devour  them.     S. 
13,  2-3.  Dodson,  [with  the  Sept.]  renders   this  verse, — Take 
thou  us  for  thy  inheritance.     We  know  no  God  be- 
side ;  and  we  will  remember  thy  name. 

Stock,  the  last  line  of  the  triplet, — 

But  through  thee  only  do  we  record  thy  name. 
16,  1-2.  [Have  we  sought]  Have  they  sought  thee  ; 

They  poured  out  a  whisper  when  thy,  &c.  S. 

Dodson  [with  the  Sept.]  gives  the  second  line  of  Lowth 
thus  : — By  a  moderate  affliction  thou  didst  discipline 
us! 

18,  2.  A  land  of  safety  we  have  not  made  our  land.    S. 

The  couplet  reads  in  Dodson.  who  follows  the  Syriac, 
— Save  thou  us  lest  we  perish,  and  lest  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  world  fall. 

19,  4.  And  the  earth  shall  cast  forth  the  dead.    S. 


CHAP.  XXVII. 

1,  3.  [  The  rigid  serpent]  The  mailed  serpent.    S. 

2,  2.  A  vineyard  of  delight  responsively  call  ye  her.    S. 

Dodson  has, — Concerning  the  beloved  vineyard,  &c. 
3r  3-4.  Lest  any  mischief  should  befall  her, 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  19 

Night  and  day  1  will  keep  guard  over  her.    S. 
Dodson  renders — And  will  take  care  of  her  ;  by  night 

and  by  day  I  will  keep,  &c. 
4.       Stock  adopts  the  C.  V.  through  the  verse. 

6,  1.  The  days  are  coming  when  Jacob  shall  take  root, 

When  Israel  shall  blossom  and  bud,  &c.    S. 

7,  8.  As  he  smote,  shall  he  not  be  smitten  ;  and  as  he  slew, 

shall  he  not  be  slain  ?  According  to  the  measure, 
with  which  he  measured,  it  shall  be  measured  to 
him  ;  because  he  cruelly  meditated  of  destruction. 
Dodson's  version  of  the  entire  verse,  on  the  authority 
of  the  Sept.  Ar.  and  Syr. 
Stock  gives  verse  8, — In  exact  measure,  when  she 

sprouteth  forth,  wilt  thou  debate  with  her, 
Doubting  to  let  go  his  rough  blast  in  the  day  of  the 

east  wind. 
9,  2.  And  this  be  all  the  profit  required  for  removing  his 

sin.    S. 
5.  If  the  images  of  Astarte  and  the  solar  statues  rise  no 

more.    D. 

11,  1.  When  the  harvest  shall  be  dug,  it  shall  be  destroy- 
ed.   D. 


CHAP.  XXYIII. 

1,  2-3.  [Of  their  glorious  beauty]  Of  their  goodly  ornament, 

Which  is  at  the  head  of  the  rich  valley  of  those  that 
are,  &c.    S. 

2,  3-4.  As  a  storm  of  mighty  waters  overflowing. 

Which  is  cast  down  to  the  ground  with  violence.    S. 
4,  4.  Which  he  eyeth,  whoever  seeth  it.    S. 
9,  1-2.  [  To  whom,  fyc.]  And  whom  shall  he  cause  to  hear 
instruction  ? 

They  are  infants  weaned  from  the  milk, 

Newly  parted  from  the  breast.    S. 


20  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXIX. 

11,  1.  [A  stammering  lip]  Foreign  lips.  D. ;  who  reads  at 
the  end  of  the  vs.  and  even  then  they  will  not  hear 
me.  [These  words,  as  being  cited  by  an  apostle, 
(1  Cor.  xiv.  21,)  he  supposes  to  have  been  lost  from 
the  text  of  the  prophet.] 

14,  2.  That  rule  this  people  which  is  in  Jerusalem.  S. 

15,  Because  ye  say,  &c.    S. 

16,  3.  A  precious  coin-stone,  firmly  settled.    S. 

16,  2-3.  Dodson  inserts  in  brackets,  between  these  lines,  [and  a 
stone  of  stumbling,  and  a  rock  of  offence;]  as  being 
on  the  authority  of  Rom.  ix.  33,  a  genuine  fragment 
of  the  vs. 

22,  2.  Lest  your  chains  be  more  riveted.    S. 

25,  3-4.  And  sow  the  wheat,  and  the  barley,  and  the  millet, 
and  the  rice  in  the  proper  places.  D. 

CHAP.  XXIX. 

1,  1-2.  [Which  David  besieged]   Where  David  resided. 

Add  a  year  to  this  year,  let  the  feasts  take  their  roundr 
&c.   S. 

2,  3.  [As  the  hearth,  $*c.]  As  Arui-el  [the  torn  of  God.]  S. 

Dodson  omits  the  whole  line. 

4,  2,  And  from  the  dust  shalt  thou  steal  out  thy  words.    S. 
4,  3.  [A  necromancer]    A  ventriloquist.    D. 

4,  5.  And  from  the  dust  thou  shalt  chirp  thy  words.    S. 

5,  1.  But  like  as  fine  powder  shall  be  the  multitude  of  thy 

foreign  enemies,  &c.    S. 
5,  3.  Yea  in  an  instant,  suddenly,  (vs.  6,)  from  Jehovah, 

God  of  hosts,  &c.    D. 
9,  1-2.  Dally  on  and  wonder, 

Turn  yourselves  and  stare  around  ;  S. 

Delay  and  wonder ;  indulge  yourselves  in  pleasure  and 

cry  for  help ;  ye  who  are  drunk,  &c.    D. 
13.  5-6.  And  their  fear  towards  me  is 

A  lessen  taught  by  the  precept  of  men.    S. 


CHAP.  XXX.  VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  21 

14.  1-3.  I  will  again  cause  this  people  to  go  into  captivity ;  yea, 

I  will  surely  cause  them  to  go  into  captivity,  and  I 
will  destroy  the  wisdom  &c.  D. 

15,  1.  [That   are  too  deep,  fyc.]   That  plunge   themselves 

deep  from  Jehovah,  to  hide  their  counsel !    S. 
Who   endeavour   to   hide   from    Jehovah    their    pur- 
poses. D. 

15,  3.  [  Who  shall  know    us  ?]      Who  knoweth  us  or  our 

works?  (vs.  16.)  Behold  ye  are  esteemed  as  the  clay 
of  the  potter.  D. 

16,  2.  [Shall  the  ivork,  fyc.}  Because  the  work  saith,  &c.    S. 

17,  3.  And  Carmel  be  esteemed  as  a  city  ?    D. 

And  Carmel  shall  be  counted  as  a  forest  ?    S. 
"21,  1.  Who  drew  men  into  sin  by  their  words.   D. 

Stock  renders  the  whole  vs.  : 
That  cause  the  poor  man  to  be  cast  in  his  process, 
And  for  him  that  reproveth  them,  lay  snares  in  the 

gate, 
And  turn  off  the  righteous  into  disappointment. 

22,  4.  Neither  shall  his  looks  now  grow  pale.    S. 

23,  1-2.  But  when  he  seeth  his  children,  the  work  of  my 

hands, 
In  the  midst  of  him,  they  shall,  &c.    S. 

CHAP.  XXX. 

1,  2-3.  Prompt  to  form  counsels,  but  not  through  me  ; 

And  to  spread  out  a  web,  but  not  by  my  spirit,  &c.   S. 
4,  1.  [Tsoan]    Tanis,  (a  city  of  Lower  Egypt.)    D. 

6,  1-4.  Stock  gives  this  line.— The  oracle  concerning  the  beasts 

travelling  southward.  [Regarding  this,  "  as  in  so 
many  other  places,  for  the  inscription  of  an  oracle  or 
prophesy  of  Isaiah,  concerning  the  ill-judged  measure 
of  asking  aid  of  the  Egyptians,  whose  country  is  here 
called  'the  south,'  relatively  to  Judea."  S. 

7.  For  Egypt  in  vain  and  to  no  purpose  shall  give  aid : 


22  ISAIAH. 


CHAP.    XXXI. 


Therefore  did  I  cry  unto  this  people, 
Their  strength  is  to  sit  still.    S. 
8,  4.  For  a  testimony  forever;  (vs.  9.)  that  this  is  a  rebellious 

people,  &c.   D. 
11,  1.  [Decline,  fyc.]  Turn  aside  from  our  path.   S. 

14,  2.  Mashing-,  he  shall  not  spare  it,    S. 

15,  2.  In  tranquillity  and  rest  ye  shall  find  safety.    S. 

17,  2.  At -the  rebuking  of  fire  shall  ye  flee.    S. 

By  repentance  and  by  contrition  shall  ye  be  saved,  D. 
[following  the  Sept.  Ar.  and  Syr.] 

18,  2.  And   yet  will   he  raise   himself  to  have  mercy  upon 

you.    S. 

19,  1-2.  For  the  people  shall  dwell  in  Zion,  in  Jerusalem. 

Thou  shalt  weep  no  more.    S. 

20,  2-3.  Yet  shall  he  not  any  more  put  aside  thy  teachers, 

But  thine  eyes  shall  behold  thy  teachers,  &c.    S. 

21,  3.  When  ye  are  straying  to  the  right  hand,  (fee.  S. 

22,  2.  [The  clothing]    The  ephods.    S. 

22,  3.  Thou  shalt  eject  them  like  a  menstruous  woman.    S. 

23,  4.  [Abundant  and  plenteous]    Rich  and  nourishing.    S. 

24,  3.  Winnowed  with  the  shovel  and  the  fan.    D. 

25,  4.  f  The  mighty]    Stock  renders — the  towers. 

26,  3.  As  the  light  of  seven  days,  &c.    S.  [with  the  C.  V.] 
28,  1-3.  Stock  here  conforms  to  the  C.  V.     Dodson  renders 

also,  (third  line) — sieve  of  vanity. 

32,  1.  [The  rod  of  correction]  The  grounded  staff.    S. 

33,  1.  For  Tophet  has  a  good  while  been  ready.    S. 


CHAP.  XXXI. 

5,  3.  [Leaping  forward,  $*c.]  Flying  round,  he  will  rescue 

her.   S. 
3,  8.  And  he  shall  flee  when  no  one  shall  pursue.  D.  [on  the 

authority  of  the  Ar.] 
8,  4.  And  his  young  men  shall  sink  into  melting.   S. 


CHAP.  XXXII.        VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH. 


9,  2.  [And  his  princes]  And  his  captains  shall  look  with 
dread  on  the  standard.    S. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

2,  2.  [And  the  man]  And  each  man.    S. 

3,  1.  [Shall  regard]  Both  the  other  translators  retain   the1 

negative.  Shall  not  wander.  S.  Shall  not  turn 
aside.  D. 

4,  The  heart  of  the  ignorant  shall   understand    knowl- 

edge ;  and  the  tongue  of  the  barbarians  shall  speak 
peace  ;  (vs.  5.)  The  wicked  man  shall  no  longer  be1 
called  generous;  nor  the  prodigal  be  called  liberal.  D. 

Stock  gives  vs.  5,  thus  : — No  more  shall  the  sneaking 
man  be  called  generous, 

Nor  to  the  selfish  shall  be  given  the  name  of  liberal. 
6.       For  the  sneaking  person,  &c. 

6,  4.  To  baffle  the  appetite  of  the  hungry.    S. 

7,  1.  The  prodigal.  D. 

7,  4.  [And  to  defeat]  And  the  poor  with  law-suits.  S. 
10,  1.  Shortly  after  a  year, 

Shall  ye  be  troubled,  0  careless  women.  S. 

10,  2.  [  The  gathering]  The  seed-time  ceaseth ;    and  theyv 

will  not  soon  return.  D.  [who  refers  to  the  Sept.  as 
authority  for  this  last  clause.] 

11,  2.  [And  gird  ye\  Dodson  gives  these  verses  thus  : — and 

gird  sackcloth  (vs.  2,)  upon  your  loins.  Smite 
upon  your  breasts  for  the  pleasant  field  and  the  fruit- 
ful vine. 

Stock : — Gird  sackcloth  upon  your  loins, 
For  the  lamented  fields, 
For  the  fields  of  desire,  for  the  fruitful  vine. 

14,  1.  For  the  temple  shall  be  destroyed,  the  populous  city  de- 

serted.  D. 

15,  2-3.  [^l  fruitful  field]    Carmel ;    and  Carmel  shall  be, 

<fec.  D.  and  S. 


24 


ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XXXIII. 


15,  3.  [A  forest]  A  city.  D. 

17.       [And  the  effect,  $*c.]  And  the  service  done  by  right- 
eousness, &c.  S. 
19.       But  the  forest  shall  be  laid  very  low, 

And  the  city  shall  be  deeply  humbled.  S. 
Yea  the  hail,  if  it  fall,  shall  not  come  upon  you,  and 
the  dwellers  in  the  woods  shall  be  as  secure  as  the 
dwellers  in  the  plain,  D.  [following  the  Sept.  and  Ar.] 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

4,  2.  Like  the  running  about  of  beasts  shall  they  run  upon 

it.  S. 
7,  1.  Behold  the  mighty  lions  are  roaring  without,  [i.  e.  Rab- 

shakeh  and  the  other  captains  of  Sennacherib,  who 

stood  without  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  announcing 

the  menaces  of  their  master.]  S. 
9,  4.  [Are  stripped,  fyc]  Are  tossed  about.  S. 
11,  2.  Your  own  fiery  blast  shall  consume  you.  S. 

14,  3-4.  Who  will  approach  for  us  the  devouring  fire  ? 

Who  will  approach  for  us  the  everlasting  burnings  ?  S, 
[Can  abide]  Shall  dwell  with.  D. 

15,  4-5.  That  he  may  not  hear  the  condemnation  of  innocent 

blood  ;  who  shutteth  his  eyes  that  he  may  not  see 
wickedness.  D. 

Stock,  (the  second  line) :  And  turneth  away  his  eyes 
from  the  sight  of  injustice. 

17,  2.  They  shall  view  the  country  to  a  great  extent.  S. 

18  2-3.  Where  now  is  the  commissary  ?  Where  the  collector  ? 
Where  is  the  barrack-master  ?  S. 

19,  2.  [  Which  thou,  $*c]  That  thou  canst  not  catch  it.  S. 

19,  3.  [^4  stammering-  tongue]  A  jargon  tongue,  S.     A  bar- 
barian tongue,  D. 

21,  2.  [A  place,  $r.]  A  place  of  rivers,  currents  wide  in  ex- 
tent.  S. 


CHAP.  XXXIV.         VARIATIONS    PROM    LOWTH.  25 

23,  1-2.  Thy  ropes  are  loose  ; 

They  cannot  steady  the  bottom  of  their  mast,  nor  hoist 

their  colours.  S. 
Dodson  renders  : — Their  cords  are  so  loose,  that  they 

will  not  be  able  to  make  them  fast ;  their  mast  will 

incline  so  much  that  they  will  not  be  able  to  spread 

the  ensign. 

24,  2.  [From  the  punishment,  $-c.]     From  disease.    S. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

2,  2.  And  his  fury  upon  all  their  hosts.  S. 
5,  1.  Is  made  bare]  Is  tempered.  S. 
7,  1.  And  down  shall  come  the  buffaloes  with  them,  &c.  S. 

11,  4.  [Over  her  scorched  plains]  These  words  appear  to  be 

rejected  by  Stock. 

12,  1.  Stock's  version  of  this  line,  is : 

They  shall  call  her  nobles,  (and  none  are  there)  to  the 
crown. 

14.  L  And  the  jackals  shall  meet  the  kites.    S. 
2.  [The  satyr]  The  goat.  D. 

15,  1.  There  shall  the  darting  serpent  nestle  and  lay  eggs.   S. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

1,  2.  Let  the  thirsty  wilderness  be  glad,  and  let  the  desert  re- 
joice and  flourish  as  the  rose.     Let  the  bank  of  the 
Jordan  flourish  and  rejoice,  &c.  D. 
Stock  corresponds  very  nearly  to  the  C.  V. 

7,  3-4.  [Shall  spring  forth,  $*c.]  There  shall  be  grass  in- 

stead of  the  reed  and  bulrush.  D. 

where  each  of  them  lay, 

Shall  be  a  plot  for  the  reed  and  the  bulrush.   S. 

8,  4-5.  But  it  shall  never  be  without  passengers ;  and  the 

foolish,  &c.   D.  [after  the  Chald.] 


26  ISAIAH.  XXXVI.  XXXVII. 

9,  2-3.  The  destroyer  of  animals  shall  not  come  up  thither, 
Nor  the  lioness  be  found  in  it.  S. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

5.       Words,  yea  lip-business  merely  it  is, 
To  talk  of  counsel  and  ability  to  war. 
Now  in  whom,  &c.  S.  [who  thinks  the  Hebrew  text  in 

this  place  to  be  corrupted.] 
7.       Dodson  omits — whose  high  places  and. 
9.       And  how  then  wilt  thou  turn  the   face   of  a  single 

bashaw, 
Among  the  least  of  my  master's  servants  ?  S. 

CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

7.  Behold  I  am  sending  upon  him  a  blast  [viz.  the  Sirocco 
of  the  East,  by  which  his  army  before  Jerusalem 
shall  be  suffocated]  S.  So  too  Dodson  : — I  will  send 
a  wind  against  him. 

9.       And  the  king  heard  concerning  Tirhakah,  &c.  S. 
24,  5.  And  I  will  enter  the  lodging  of  his  border,  the  forest  of 

his  Carmel.  S. 

26.  Hast  thou  not  heard  ?  Of  old  1  have  done  it ;  and  of 
ancient  times  I  have  formed  it.  Now  I  have  brought 
it  on  ;  and  thou  bast  been  for  the  desolation  of  flour- 
ishing nations,  strongly  fortified  cities.  D.  Stock's 
version  of  the  cor  elusion  of  the  verse,  is  : — 

that  thou  shculdst  be  to  lay  waste 

Fenced  cities  into  ruinous  heaps. 
29,1.  [Thy  insolence.}  Thy  self  confidence.  S. 

CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

4.       [Before  Isaiah  was  gone.]  This  parenthesis,  as  well  as 
those  in  the  two  succeeding  verses,  are  omitted  by  Stock. 


CHAP.  XXXIX.          VARIATIONS  FROM  LOWTH.  27 

10,  1.  [  When   my    days,    fyc.}    In   the    noon-tide    of    my 
days.  S. 

10,  3.  [lam  deprived,  fyc.]  I  miss  the  prime  of  my  years.  S. 

11,  2.  [  With  the  inhabitants,  fyc.}  Being  counted  with  the 

inhabitants  of  the  lower  world.  S. 

12,  1.  The  men  of  my  generation  are  gone,  and  are  removed 

from  me,  as  an  encampment  of  the  shepherds.  D. 

12,  2-3.  I  have  rolled  up  my  life  as  doth  a  weaver  his  web  : 

From  the  border  he  will  cut  me  off. 
Within  a  day  and  a  night  wilt  thou  make  an  end  of 
me.   S. 

13,  1-2.  Stock  renders, — I  roared  till  morning  like  a  lion, 

So  sorely  did  he  break,  &c. 

14,  1-2.  As  the  hoopoe  I  lamented  ;  1  made  a  moaning  as  the 

dove.  D. 

14,  4.  O  Jehovah,  I  am  oppressed  ;  be  surety  for  me.  S. 

15,  2,  I  shall  trip  lightly  all  my  years  for  this  bitterness  of  my 

soul.  S. 

16,  1-2.  O  Lord,  by  these  things  do  men  live, 

And  in  all  these  things  is  the  life  of  my  spirit.  S. 

17,  1-2.  Behold,  instead  of  peace,  bitter,  bitter  was  my  lot : 

But  thou  hast  drawn  back  my  soul  from  the  pit  of  de- 
struction. S. 

18,  2,  [Shall  not  await]  Stock  renders, — Shall  not  look  out 

to,  <fec. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

1,1.  [King  of  Babylon]  Omitted  by  Dodson, 

7.  [And  ambassadors]  Omitted  by  Stock. 
2.       [His  magazines]  The  house  of  his  precious  things.  S. 
8,       [Peace,  <J*c.]  Peace  and  truth  in  my  days.  D. 
Peace  and  security  in  my  days.  S. 


28  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XL. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

2,  2.  That  her  appointed  time  is  come  ;  that  her  iniquity  is 

pardoned  ;  that  she  hath  received  at  the  hand  of  Je- 
hovah a  sufficient  punishment  for  all  her  sins.  D. 
Stock  corresponds  to  the  C.  Y. 

3,  1.  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness.  D.  (as  in 

the  C.  V.) 

4,  2.  And  the  projections  shall  be  levelled, 

And  the  rough  places  made  smooth  glens.  S. 
7,  2.  [The  wind]  The  breath.  S.     Dodson,  [on  the  author- 
ity of  the  Sept.  and  nine  Hebrew  MSS.]  omits  this 
and  the  two  succeeding  lines  of  Lowth. 

10,  1.  [Against,  fyc.]  Dochon  and  Stock  essentially  conform 

here  to  the  C.  V. 

[And  the  recompense]  To  give  to  every  man  accord- 
ing to  his  work.  D. 

11,  3.  [Nursing]  Stock  renders, — teeming. 

13,  1.  Who  hath  known  the  mind  of  Jehovah,  &c.  D. 

20,  Dodson,  with  the  concurrence  of  Houbigant  and  Ken- 

nicott,  inserts  between  this  and  the  next  verse,  as 
being  their  proper  position,  two  verses  (6,  7,)  from 
Chap.  XLI,  where  "  they  manifestly  interrupt  the 
connection  of  the  discourse." 

21,  1.  Have  ye  not  known  ?  Have  ye  not  heard  ?  S. 

22,  3.  [As  a  thin  veil]  Like  an  awning.  S. 

23,  2.  [The  judges  of  the  earth]  The  rulers  of  the  world.  S. 

24,  1.  Yea,  they  shall  neither  plant  nor  sow.  D.     Stock  con- 

forms to  the  C.  V. 

27,  4.  And  of  my  God  doth  my  conduct  pass  unregarded.  S. 
29,  2.  And  to    the    unafflicted    sorrow.  D.   (after   the   Sept. 

and  Ar.) 
31,  2-  They  shall  tower  on  the  wing  like  eagles.  S. 


CHAP.  XLI.  XLII.      VARIATIONS  FROM  LOWTH.  29 


CHAPTER  XLI. 

1,1.  Let  the  islands  be  new-braced  before  me.  S. 

2,  1-2.  Who  is  He  that  raised  up  from  the  east 

The  man  whom  justice  met  at  every  step  ?  S. 
5-6.  Rendered  swift  as  the  dust  his  sword, 
As  driven  stubble  his  bow  ?  S. 

3,  2.  The  road  with  his  feet  he  seemeth  not  to  measure.  S. 

4,  3.  I  Jehovah  am  the  first ;  and  I  am  the  last ;  and  beside 

me  there  is  no  God.  D.  on   the  authority   of  the 
Chald. 
7,  1-2.  The  carpenter  encourageth  the  goldsmith. 

The  plier  of  the  hammer  him  that  striketh  by  turns 

with  him.  S. 
11,1.  [That  were  enraged]  Stock  renders, — that  snorted. 

2.  [Contended  with]  Did  persecute.  S. 
14,  3.  [Thine  avenger]  Thy  redeemer.  S. 
19,4.  [The  pine]  The  ash."  S. 
21,  2.  Produce  your  strong  arguments,  &c.  S. 
23,  4.  And  we  shall  all  look  about  us  and  fear.  S. 

26,  2.  And  from  ancient  times,  that  we  might  say,  "  THE 

JUST  ONE  ?"  D. 

27,  Dodson,  after  the  Sept,  and  Ar.  renders  these  verses — 

28,  I  will  give  dignity  to  Zion  ;   and  to  Jerusalem  a 
messenger  of  glad  tidings  :  for  I  looked  ;  and  from 
the  nations  there  was  no  man;  and  from  the  idols 
there  was  no  adviser ;  that  I  might  enquire,  &c. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

1,1.  [/  will  uphold.]  I  will  take  by  the  hand.  S.     I  have 

chosen  ;  my  beloved  in  whom,  &c.  D. 
4.  A  rule  of  right  to  the  nations  shall  he  publish.  S. 
And  he  shall  publish  true  religion  to  the  nations*  D. 


30 


ISAIAH.  CHAP.    XLIIT. 


3,  3.  According  to  truth  shall  he  publish  a  rule.  S. 

4.  He  shall  not  slacken,  he  shall  not  founder. 
Until  he  settle  in  the  earth  a  rule, 

And  for  his  law  the  isles  shall  wait.  S. 

Dodson,  who  rejects  as  interpolations  the  three  lines 
preceding  of  Lowth,  renders  the  two  last  lines  of  this 
verse, — Until  he  shall  establish  true  religion  forever  j 
and  in  his  name  the  nations  shall  hope. 
6,  1.  [For  a  righteous  purpose]  For  salvation.  D,  In 
faithfulness.  S. 

10,  3.  Let  the  sea  roar,  and  the  fulness  thereof.  D. 

11,  2.  The  villages  wherein  dwelleth  Kedar.  S. 

13,  2.  [Rouse  his  vengeance]  Stir  up  zeal.  S. 

14.  I  was  silent  for  a  long  time, 

I  held  my  peace,  I  contained  nr^self ; 
Now  like  a  woman  in  travail  will  I  gather  breath ; 
I  will  blow  and  puff  at  once.  S. 

16,  5.  Dodson  connects  this  with  verse  17, — will  not  forsake 
them ;  although  they  have  gone  backward.  Be 
ashamed,  ye  who  trust,  &c. 

19,  2-3-4.  And  deaf  like  the  messenger  that  I  sent? 
Who  is  perverse  like  the  man  that  is  perfect ; 
And  blind  as  the  servant  of  Jehovah  ?  S. 
21.       Jehovah  was  desirous  to  save  Israel,   and  to  exalt  his 
own  praise,  and  make  it  illustrious.  D.  on  the  author- 
ity of  the  Chald.  and  Symmachus.     Stock  gives  the 
second  line  of  Lowth, — 
He  magnified  his  law  and  made  it  glorious. 
25,  1.  [And  the  violence  of  war]  Omitted  by  Dodson, 

CHAP.   XLIII. 

8,  1.  I  will  bring  forth,  &c.  D. 

9,  4.  And  will  let  us  hear  former  predictions  ?  S. 

12,  I  declared  it,  and  I  saved,  and  gave  you  notice, 
When  there  was  among  you  no  strange  god.  S. 


CHAP.  XLIV.          VARIATIONS  FROM  LOWTH.  31 

I  have  declared  my  purpose,  and  I  will  save  j.  I  have 
made  it  known,  and  not  a  strange  god  among  you.  D. 

14.  And  I  will  cause  all  the  fugitives  to  return  ;  and  the 

15.  Chaldeans  shall  be  bound  in  chains.     I  Jehovah  am 
your  Holy  One,  &c.  D.  after  the  Sept.  and  A*. 

17,  1.  Who  brought  forth  the  chariots,  and  the  horses,  and 
the  powerful  army.  D.  Stock  gives  the  second  clause, 
— valour  and  strength. 

22,  2.  For  thou  hast  been  weary  of  me,  O  Israel.  S. 

24,  1.  [  TJie  aromatic  reed}  The  sugar-cane.  S. 

26,  1.  Remind  me  ;  let  us  come  to  a  trial  together.  S. 

27,  Thy  prime  spiritual  father  hath  sinned, 

And  thy  advocates  with  me  have  transgressed  against 
me.  S. 

Thy  fathers  heretofore  sinned,  and  thy  teachers  trans- 
gressed against  me.  D. 

28,  1.  Therefore  will  I  unhallow  the  princes  of  the  sanctu- 

ary? S. 

CHAP.   XLIV. 

4.  And  they  shall  shoot  up,  as,  amidst  the  grass, 
Willows  beside  the  water  courses.  S. 

5,  3.  [Inscribe]  Puncture.  S.  [meaning,  I  belong  to  him ;  in 

allusion  to  the  practice  of  tattooing.    Stock;    who 
also  illustrates  his  remarks  by  Gal.  vi.  17.] 
4.  And  shall  exult  in  the  name  of  Israel.  D. 

7,  1-3.  And  who  like  me  will  name  a  thing, 

And  declare  it  and  arrange  it  for  me, 
From  my  appointing  of  the  ancient  people,  &c.  S. 
Who,  as  I  have  done,  could  call  forth  and  previously 
announce  events,  and  dispose  them  for  me,  from  the 
time  when  I  made  man  to  the  present  time?  D. 

8,  3.  [And  ye  are,  $*c.j    Be  ye  yourselves   witnesses.     Is 

there  a  God  beside  me  ?    Yea,  there  is  no  rock,  [no 
other  fence.  S.]  D. 


32  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  XLV. 

9.         Dodson  connects  the  last  line  of  vs.  9,  with  vs.  10, — 

10,  and  that  they  understand  not ;  to  this  end  that  they 
may  be  ashamed.     Who  hath  formed  a  god  or  set 
up  a  graven  image  that  profiteth  not  ?  Stock,  in  like 
manner. 

11,  2.  And  the  artificers,  they  above  all  men.  D. 

12,  3.  This  line  omitted  by  Dodson. 

13,  2.  He  directeth  it  with  a  pencil.  S. 

14,  3.  And  seasoneth  them  for  himself  among  the  trees  of  the 

forest.  S. 
16,  2.  And  on  the  coals  thereof  he  baketh  bread.  D. 

18,  1-3.  Verily  they  are  so  blinded,  that  they  cannot  see  with 

their  eyes,  nor  understand  with  their  hearts.  D. 

19,  7.  Stock  connects  with  this  line,  the  first  clause  of  the  20th 

verse, — 

To  the  branch  of  a  tree  shall  I  fall  down,  to  the  com- 
rade of  ashes  ? 

21,  2.  And  know,  O  Israel,  that  thou  art  my  servant.  D. 
25,  1.  Even  he  that  annulleth  the  omens  of  soothsayers.  S. 

3.  That  turneth  wise  men  backward.   S. 
28,  1.  Who  saith  to  Cyrus,  "Understand  thou."  D.  [follow- 
ing the  Sept.] 

CHAP.  XLV. 

1,5.  [The  valves]  The  two-leaved  doors.  S.     The  gates; 

and  the  cities  shall  not  be  shut,  &c.  D. 
2,  2.  And  the  suburbs  I  will  level.  S. 
4,  4.  And  I  will  support  thee,  although  thou  knowest  me 

not.  I). 

6,  2.  And  from  the  west,  That  nothing  is  without  me.  D. 
8,  3-4.  Let  the  earth  open  and  produce  salvation,  and  let 

goodness  spring  up  at  the  same.  D. 
Stock  gives  the   fourth  line : — And  let  righteousness 

blossom  along  with  it. 


CHAP.  XLVI.  VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  33 

9,  4.  And  thy   work  cry,  He  hath  no  hands.  S.     Dodson 
conveys  the  same  sense. 

11,  2.  The  Holy  One  of  Israel  and  his  Maker: 

Do  ye  question  me  of  things  to  come  ? 
Concerning  my  sons,  and  concerning  the  work  of  my 
hands,  do  ye  give  me  directions  ? 

14,  2.  The    industry  of   Egypt  and  merchandise   of    Ethi- 

opia.  S. 
The   manufacturers   of  Egypt,  and  the  merchants  of 

Gush.  D. 

6.  [And  in  suppliant,  $*c.]  And  in  thee  they  shall  offer 
up  their  prayers,  because  God  is  in  thee,  and  shall 
say  to  him,  "  Beside  thee  there  is  no  God."  D.  [after 
the  Sept.  Ar.  Syr.  and  old  Latin.] 
Stock  renders  the  seventh  line, — • 
Saying,  Surely  in  thee  is  God,  &c. 

15,  1.  Verily,  thou  art  God,  although  we  know  thee  not.  D. 

16,  1.  [His  adversaries]    These   words   are  passed  over  by 

Stock. 
19,  3.  [  Who  give,  $*c.]  Who  report  right  things.  S. 

22,  1.  Return  to  me,  and  ye  shall  be  saved,  &c.  D. 

23,  1.  [Truth  is  gone  forth}    Out  of  my  mouth  has  gone 

with  truth  the  word,  and  it  shall  not  return  ; 
That  unto  me  every  knee  shall  bow,  (fee.   S. 
Dodson  preserves  in  the  same  manner,  the  continuity 

between  the  two  last  lines. 

CHAP.  XLVI. 

1,  3.  Your  chairs  of  state  packed  up, 

A  load  upon  the  weary  beast.  S. 

2,  2.  [Their  own  charge]  Their  own  lumber.    S. 

7,  3.  [He  shall  not  remove]  He  cannot  move  himself.  D. 

8,  1.  [And  show  yourselves,  fyc]  And  be  ashamed.  D. 

And  be  ye  on  fire.  S. 

12,  2.  [From  deliverance]  From  righteousness.  S. 


34  ISAIAH.  XLVH.  XLV1II, 


CHAP.    XL VII. 

2r  2.  [Disclose,  $*c.]  Stock  renders — make  bare  the  leg. 
Disclose  the  thigh,  wade  through  the  rivers. 

3,  2.  [Neither  will  1,  $*c.]  Neither  as  a  mortal  will  I  meet 

thee.    S. 

4,  1.  [Our  avenger]  Our  redeemer.  D.  and  S. 

7,  2.  Dodson  closely  connects  this  with  the  line  succeeding : 
— Because  thou  didst  not,  &c.  thou  hast  no  concep- 
tion of  the  sufferings  which  in  the  end  will  befall 
thee. 

9,  4.  Amidst  the  multitude,  &c.    S. 

11,  1.  [Shalt  not  know,  $*c.]   Knowest  not  how  to  shade.  S. 

Shalt  not  be  able  to  escape.  D. 

12,  3.  [If  thou  mayest,  $»c.]  If  so  be  thou  mayest  strike  dread 

with  them.  S. 

13,  4.  They  that  are  knowing  in  the  new  moons.  S. 


CHAP.  XL VIII. 

6,  1.  Thou  didst  hear  this  thing,  the  whole  of  it,  &c.  S. 
8,  4.  [Apostate]  Backslider.  S. 

16,  2-3.  From  the  beginning,  I  have  not  spoken  in  secret,  in  a 
dark  place  of  the  earth.  When  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
I  shall  be  there.  D. 

The  third  line  reads  in  Stock : — From  the  time  that  it 
existed,  there  was  I. 

19,  2.  [Like  that,  $»c.]  Like  the  gravel  thereof.  S.     As  the 

dust  of  the  earth.  D. 

20,  1.  [Flee  ye,  fyc.}  Flee  from  the  Chaldeans  ; 

With  the  voice  of  triumph,  declare  ye  this,  &c.  S. 

21,  1.  If  they  shall  be  thirsty  in   the   desert,  he  will  lead 

them. 


CHAP.    XLIX.         VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  35 


CHAP.  XLIX. 

3.  Behold,  I  send  my  messenger  before  thy  face,  who  shall 
prepare  thy  way  before  thee.  D.  [who  inserts  after 
vs.  3,  these  words,  found  in  Matt.  xi.  10,  Mark  i.  2, 
Luke  vii.  27.  His  reasons  for  this,  the  reader  will 
find  in  the  original  work,  p.  105.] 
6,  1.  It  is  a  great  thing  for  thee,  &c.  D.  following  the  Sept. 

Ar.  and  old  Latin  versions. 
2-3.  To  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob, 

And  the  preserved  of  Israel  to  bring  back.  S. 
7, 1-3.  [His  holy  One]  Dodson  renders,  after  the  Sept.  and 
Ar. — Sanctify  ye  him,  who  despised  his  life  ;  who 
was  abhorred  by  the  nation  ;  who  was  the  slave  of 
rulers. 

9,  4.  [All  the  eminences]  All  the  plains.  D. 
17.       Thy  sons  shall  make  haste : 

Thy  destroyers  and  thy  demolishes  shall  go  forth  of 

thee.  S. 
19,  2.  And  the  land  where  thou  wast  harassed.  S. 

23,  6.  Because  they  who  trust  in  me,  &c.  D. 

24,  2.  Or  the  completely  captivated  be  rescued  ?  S. 


CHAP.  L. 

2,  7.  Their  fish  stinketh  for  want  of  water.  S. 

4.  4.  [  To  hearken,  $*c.]  Stock  gives  this, — To  listen  as  the 

learned. 
6,  2.  And  my  cheeks  to  be  smitten  with  the  palm  of  the 

hand.  D. 

10,  2-3.  That  hearkeneth  to  the  voice  of  his  servant, 

Yet  who  walketh  in  darkness,  &c.  S. 

11,  5.  On  my  account  this  thing  shall  happen  to  you.  D. 


36  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LI.  LII. 


CHAP.  LI. 

1,  1.  [Righteousness}  Salvation.  D. 

4,  4.  And  my  rule   for  a  light  to  the  nations  will  I    set 

down.   S. 

5,  1.  [My  righteousness]  My  goodness.  D.     My  mercy.  S. 

And  in  the  same  manner  verses  6,  and  8. 

6,  5.  [Like  the,  fyc.]  In  like  manner.  D. 

9,  3.  [The  dragon]  The  crocodile.  D.  and  S. 
14.       Speedily  shall  the  prostrate  captive  be  loosed, 
Neither  shall  he  die  in  the  dungeon. 
Nor  shall  his  bread  be  wanting.  S. 

Dodson's  version  is  to  the  same  effect. 
17,  3.  The  crown  of  the  cup  of  reeling 

Thou  hast  drunken,  thou  hast  swooped  off.  S. 
20,  1-2.  Thy  sons  have  fainted,  they  are  laid  down 

At  the  head  of  all  the  streets,  as  a  roebuck  taken  in 

the  toils,  &c.  S. 
22,  2.  [Avengeth]  Rendeth  for.  S. 

CHAP.  LII. 

1,3.  [The  polluted]  The  profane.  S. 

4.  4.  But  to   Assyria  they    have  been    carried    away    by 

force.  D. 

5.  1.  [Have  I  more,  ^c.]  Have  I  here  to  do,  &c.  S. 

3.  They  that  are  lords  over  them,  swagger,  saith  Jeho- 

vah. S. 

4.  And  on  your  account  my  name  is  blasphemed  among 

the  nations.  D. 

6.  Therefore  shall  my  people  know  my  name ; 
Therefore  in  that  day  shall  they  know, 
That  I  am  he,  who  said,  Here  am  I.     S. 

8.  2.  When  face  to  face  they  shall  see 
Jehovah  bringing  back  Zion.  S. 


CHAP.  LIU.  VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  37 

11,2.  [Be  ye  clean,  fyc.]  And  be  ye  separated,   saith  Jeho- 
vah. D. 

12,  4.  And  I  the  God  of  Israel  will  receive  you.  D. 
15,  1.  So,  many  nations  shall  look  on   him    with   admira- 
tion. D. 

So  shall  he  startle  many  nations. 
At  sight  of  him  shall  kings,  &c.    S. 
3-4.  For  they  to  whom  nothing  hath  been  told  concerning 
him  shall  see ;  and  they  who  have  not  heard  shall 
understand.  D. 


CHAP.  LIII. 

3,  1.  He  is  despised  and  abject  above  all  men.  S. 

4,  1-2.  Surely  our  infirmities  he  took  away ;  and  our  sick- 

nesses he  removed.  D. 

7,  1.  Tt  was  executed,  and  he  was  distressed ;  yet  he  opened 

not,  &c.  S. 

He  was  brought  forth,  and  being  questioned,  he  opened 
not,  <fec.  D. 

8,  1-2.  From  durance,  and  from  judgment  he  is  taken  away, 

And  into  his  manner  of  life  who  stoopeth  to  look  ?  S. 
Dodson  thus  gives  the  whole  verse : — In  his  humiliation 
his  condemnation  was  extorted  ;  and  the  men  of  his 
generation  who  will  be  able  to  describe  ?  For  his  life 
was  cut  off  from  the  earth  ;  through  the  wickedness 
of  my  people  was  he  smitten  to  death. 

9,  3.  Stock  connects  this  with  the  second  line  by  a  semi- 

colon : 

Because  he  did  no  violence,  &c. 

10,  3.  He  shall  see  a  seed,  and  shall  prolong  his  days.  D. 
12,  1-2.  Therefore  will  I  assign  him  a  distinct  portion  among 

many, 

And  with  the  strong  shall  he  share  the  spoil.  S. 
5.  [He  bare]  He  took  away.  D. 


38  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LIV.  LV.  LVI, 


CHAP.  LIV. 

4,  1.  [For  thou,  fyc.]  Because  thou  hast  been  put  to  shame  ; 
•      and  blush  not  because  thou  hast  been  brought  to  re- 
proach. D.     Stock  renders  the  second  line, — Neither 
shrink  back,  for  thou  shalt  not  be  put  to  the  blush. 
6.       For  as  a  woman  deserted,  and  vexed  in  spirit, 

Hath  Jehovah  recalled  thee,  and  as  a  wife  of  youth, 
Even  when  thou  wast  put  away,  saith  thy  God.  S. 
12.       And  I  form  of  carbuncles  thy  loop-holes, 
And  thy  gates  of  glittering  stones, 
And  all  thy  mearing-wall  of  stones  of  price.  S. 

14,  1.  [In  righteousness]  In  mercy.    D. 

15.  Behold  one  shall  surely  cause  fear,  but  not  sent  by  me  ; 

Who  putteth  thee  to  fear,  shall  stumble  against  thee.  S. 

Behold  strangers  shall  sojourn  with  thee  on  my  ac- 
count ;  yea,  they  shall  sojourn  with  thee  and  join 
themselves  to  thee.  D. 


CHAP.  LV. 

1,  4.  [Milk]  Delicious  food.  D. 

2,  4.  And  let  your  appetite  please  itself  with  fatness.  S. 

3,  4.  I  will  give  you  the  sacred  things  of  David  which  shall 

never  fail.  D. 
5,4,  [Glorified]  Beautified.  S. 

12,  4.  [Clap  their  hands']  Wave  their  branches.  D. 

13,  3-4.  And  Jehovah  shall  be  to  you  a  signal;  yea,  a  per- 

petual sign  which  shall  not  fail.  D. 

CHAP.  LVI. 

1,  4.  [My  righteousness']  My  goodness.  D. 

6,  2.  [A  memorial  and  a  name]  A  place  of  distinction.  D. 


CHAP.  LVII.  VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  39 

6,  3.  Dodson  annexes  to  this  line,  on  the  authority  of  the 

Sept.  and  Ar. — and  his  handmaids. 
11,  4-5.  They  look  all  of  them  to  their  own  way, 

Each  man  to  his  profit,  from  his  quarter.  S. 


CHAP.  LVII. 

1,  2.  [And  no  one,  fyc.}  Stock  connects  this  with  the  follow- 

ing line  : — none  perceiving, 
That  out  of  the  way  of  evil,  the  righteous  is  carried  off. 

2.  Dodson  reads  this  vs.  thus  :  And  peace  shall  be  to  him. 
And  he  shall  arise  from  his  bed,  walking  before  it,  al- 
though his  sepulchre  is  sealed. 

[He  shall  rest,  fyc.]  They  shall  rest  upon  their  beds, 
Every  one  that  walketh  in  his  onward  path.     S. 
[Dodson  detaches  these  two  verses,  (which  he  considers 
as  a  prophecy  pertaining  to  the  death,  burial  and  res- 
urrection of  Christ,)  from  their  present  place,  and  in- 
serts them  in  Chap,  liii,  10,  (after  the  first  line)  where 
they  seem  to  him  of  right  to  belong.     For  his  rea- 
sons the  reader  is  referred  to  his  work. — p.  115.] 
6,  5.  Shall  I  not  take  vengeance  for  these  things  ?     D. 
8,  2.  For  to  another  than  me  thou  hast  uncovered  thyself, 

and  art  gone  up  ; 
Thou  hast  enlarged,  &c.     S. 
4.  [  Thou  hast  provided,  fyc.]    Thou  hast  struck  hands 

with  them. 
9.  Also  thou  didst  visit  Moloch  with  ointments,  &c.     S. 

10,  2.  And  hast  not  said,  I  will  desist.     D. 

Thou  saidst  not,  It  is  desperate.     S. 
4.  Therefore  thou  wast  not  troubled.     S. 

11,  3.  Have  I  not  been  silent  even  for  a  long  time, 

12,  And  thou  fearest  me  not  ? 

I  will  declare  thy  righteousness,  and  thy  deeds, 
And  they  shall  not  profit  thee.     S. 


40  ISAIAH.  CHAP.    LVIII. 

13.       When  thou  criest,  can  they  deliver  thee  in  thy  distress  ? 

No  :   for  the  wind,  &c.     D. 
15,  1.  [The  high  and  lofty]    The  most  High,  who  dwelleth 

in  heaven  forever,  and  whose  name  is,  &c.     D. 
17,  1.  For  his  finished  iniquity  was  I  wroth.     S. 

3.  And  he  went  on   frowardly   in   the  way  of  his  own 

heart.     S. 

Dodson,  with  the  Sept.  renders  the  two  last  lines  of  the 
vs. — And  I  smote  him,  hiding  my  face  from  him  : 
and  he  was  grieved  and  departed,  lamenting  on  ac- 
count of  his  ways. 
19,  1-2.  He  that  createth  the  fruit  of  the   lips,  saith,  Peace, 

&c.     S. 

Dodson  (the  second  line) :    Peace,  Peace  to  him  who  is 
afar  off  as  to  him  who  is  near. 


CHAP.  LVIII. 

2,  5-6.  They  ask  of  me  righteous  ordinances, 

A  near  approach  to  God,  they  desire.     S. 

3,  4.  And  all  your  surrendered  debtors  ye  cruelly  oppress.  D. 

4,  2-3.  And  to  smite  with  the  fist  of  malice. 

Observe  not  such  a  fast  as  this  day's,  &c.     S. 

5,  3.  [Like  a  bulrush]    In  a  circle.     D. 

6,  2-4.  To  undo  the  knots  of  the  wicked  man, 

To  loosen  the  bundles  of  the  yoke, 
And  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free,  &c.  S. 
8,  2.  And  thy  recovery  shall  speedily  shoot  up.     S. 
4.  [Bring  up  thy  rear]    Encompass  thee.     D. 

10,  1.  If   thou  pour  out  thy  soul,  [i.  e.  open  thy  heart.]     S. 
3.  [In  obscurity]    In  the  dawn.    S. 

11,  3.  And  thy  bones  he  shall  supple.     S. 

12,  1-2.  And  thy  ancient  ruins  shall  be  built ;    and  thy  foun- 


CHAP.  T.IX.  VARIATIONS  FROM  LOWTH.  41 

dations  of  old  time  thou  shalt  restore.  D.     The  sec- 
ond line  is  in  Stock  : — 
The  foundations  prostrate  for  ages  shalt  thou   raise 

up,  (fee. 
13,-  5.  [By  refraining,  fyc.\    Not  doing  thine  own  ways.     S. 


CHAP.  LIX. 

4,  2.  And  no  one  decideth  with  equity.     D. 

8,  2.  Neither  is  justice  in  their  tracks.  S.    [who  also  .adopts 

this  word   in  place  of  judgment ',  in  verses  9,   11,- 
14,  and  15.] 

9,  1-2.  Therefore  judgment  is  far  distant  from  them ;    and 

mercy  overtaketh    them    not.    D.     [He  retains  the 
third  person  through  the  first  couplet  of  verse  11.] 
2.  [Justice}    Righteousness  :    S.     So  also  vs.  14,  line  2. 
10,  1-2.  We  draw  near,  as  the  blind,  to  the  wall, 

And  as  the  sightless,  we  draw  near  to  it.     S. 
10,  4.  In  sparks  of  fire,  as  if  we  were  dead  men.     S. 
In  plentiful  places,  they  are  as  dead  men.     D. 
12,  4  {  We  acknowledge]    We  do  know.     S. 

1 5,  2.  \E.xposeth  himself  ]  <^c.]    Must  seclude  himself.     S. 

16,  And  his   mercy  supported  him  ;  and  he  put  on  mercy, 

17,  &c.  D,     So  also  Stock. 

18,  1.  The  dispenser  of  rewards  will  repay  them  their  work.  S. 

19,  4.  [A  strong  wind]  A  wind  from  Jehovah.     S. 

20,  1.  [To  Siort]    From  Sion.    D.    [agreeably  to  the  citation 

of  this  prophecy,  Rom.  xi.  26,  and  as  he  believes  the 

true  reading.] 

20,  2.  Stock  conforms  in  this  line  to  the  C.  V. 
51,  1.  Dodson  inserts  after  them,  the  words, — when  I  shall 

take  away  their  sins.    [These  he  supposes  to  have 

been  lost  from  the  Hebrew  text,  being  found  in  Rom. 

XL  27,  attached  to  the  former  part  of  (his  verse.} 


42  ISAIAH.  CHAP.  LX.    LXI. 


CHAP.  LX. 

4,  4.  [At  the  side]    On  the  shoulder.  D.     On  the  hip.  S. 

7,  4.  And  my  house  of  prayer  shall  be  glorified.     D. 

5.  Unto  the  name,  &c.     S. 

6.  [Glorified]    Beautified.     S. 

8,  2.  [  Upon  the  wing-]     To  their  dovecots.    D.      To  their 

louvres.     S. 

9,  1.  [The  distant  coasts]  The  islands.  S.  [as  he  uniform- 

ly renders.] 
13,  2.  [The  pine]    The  ash.     S. 

16,  2.  And  the  riches  of  kings  thou  shalt  eat.     D. 

17,  5.  [Inspectors]  Tax-gatherers.     S. 

18,  2.  [Calamity]  Havock.     S. 

19,  2.  Nor  in-  her  time  of  shining  shall  the  moon  illuminate 

thee.     S, 


CHAP.  LXI 

1,  2.  [Dodson  again,  on  the  plea  of  their  having  been  dis- 
placed, and  their  irrelevancy  in  the  present  connec- 
tion, removes  these  two  verses,  with  the  four  first 
lines  of  verse  3,  to  Chap.  xlix.  which  in  his  version 
they  introduce.  To  this  fragment  he  annexes  anoth- 
er also ;  the  two  first  verses  of  Ps.  Ixxviii.  which  Dr. 
Kennicott  hath  clearly  proved  to  belong  to  Isaiah, 
and  not  to  the  Psalm.  See  Dodson — p.  101. 

1,  5.  [Dodson,  after  this  line,  adds,  (on  the  authority  of  the 
Ar.  and  old  Latin  versions) — and  to  the  blind,  recovery 
of  sight.  He  omits  without  comment  the  third  line 
of  verse  3.] 

3,  1.  To  visit  with  respect  the  mourners  of  Sion.    S. 
5.  That  they  may  be  called  oaks  of  just  size.    S. 

4,  1.  They  shall  build  up  the  ruins  of  old  times.  D,    Stock's 

version  the  same  in  effect. 


LXII.  LXIII.  VARIATIONS    FROM    LOWTH.  43 

6,  4.  And  for  their  valuables  ye  shall  make  exchange  with 

them.     S. 

7,  1-2.  Instead  of  your  double  shame, 

And  reproach,  they  shall  rejoice  in  their  portion.     S. 

8,  2.  Who  hate  whatsoever  is  ravished  by  deceit.    S. 

3.  Therefore  I  will  give  the  reward  of  your  work,  &c.  D. 
[who  uses  the  second  person  through  the  verse  fol- 
lowing.] 

9,  1.  And  known  among  the  gentiles  shall  be  their  seed.     S. 
3.  {Acknowledge,  them]  Take  note-of  them.     S. 

10,4.  [Of  righteousness]    Of  joy.  D. 

6.  As  a  bridegroom  halloweth  himself  with  ornament.  S. 


CHAP.  LXII. 

1,3.  [Her  righteousness]  Her  prosperity.  D.     So  too,  next 
verse. 

3,  2.  [A  royal  diadem}  A  royal  turban.  S. 

4,  3.  But  thou  shalt  be  called,  My  joy  is  in  her.  S. 

5,  1-2.  For  as  a  young  man  taketh  possession  of  a  virgin, 

So  shall  thy  sons  take  possession  of  thee.  S. 

6,  2-3.  I  have  set  watchmen.;  by  day  or  by  night  they  shall 

never  be  silent.  D. ;  with  whom  Stock  coincides. 

11,  3.  [And  the  recompense,  $*c.]  And  his  labourer's  pay  be- 

fore him.  S.     To  give  to  every  man  according  to  his 
work.  D. 

12,  1.  [The  much  desired]  The  courted  lady.  S. 


CHAP.  LXIII. 

4 

2.     With  scented  gaments  from  Bozrah  ?  S. 

4-5.  Conquering  by  the  greatness  of  his  strength  1    I  the 

announcer  of  mercy,  who  am  mighty  to  save.  D. 
Stock  renders  the  last  line, — 
I  that  speak  according  to  truth,  mighty  to  save. 


44  ISAIAH.  CHAP.    LXFV. 

9y  1,  Stock  connects  the  last  words  of  the  former  verse  wjith 

this  :— 

In  all  their  distress-  he  did  not  keep  close, 
Nor  did  an  angel  from  his  presence  save  them. 
Not  an  envoy,  not  an  angel,  but  Jehovah  himself  saved 

them.  D. 
11.       Still  he  remembered  the  days  of  old,   Moses  and  his 

people. 

Where  is  he  that  brought  them  up  from  the  seay 
With  the  shepherd  of  his  people  ? 
Where  is  he  that  placed  in  the  midst  of  them  his  holy 

spirit?  S. 

13,  L  [Like  a  courser,  $*cj  As  horse  through  the  desert,  and 

(hey  stumbled  not.  D. 

That,  as  a  horse  through   the  champaign,  they  stum- 
bled not.  S. 

14,  1.  As  the  herd  descendeth  to  the  gleny 

Where  the  breeze  of  Jehovah  refresheth  them,  &c.  S. 

16,  1-3.  Stock  conforms  in  these  lines  to  the  C.  V. 

16r  4.  Deliver  thou  us  ;  for  we  have  long  been  called  by  thy 

name.  D. 
From  everlasting  is  thy  name  our  redeemer.  S. 

17,  1.  [Suffer  us  to  err]  Cause  us  to  err.  S. 

18,  Stock  conforms  in  this  verse  to  the  C.  V.     Dodson  con- 

nects verse  17  with  this  by  a  colon,  and  renders  : — 
that  we  may  soon  take  possession  of  thy  holy  moun- 
tain. Our  enemies  have  trodden  down  thy  sanctu- 
ary ;  and  we  are  become  as  heretofore,  when  thou 
ruledst  us  not,  and  we  were  not  called,  &c. 


CHAP.  LXIVr 

2,  1.  As  fire  kindleth  things  molten.  S. 

As  wax   melteth  before  the  fire  ;  (2)  so  the  fire  will 
consume  thy  adversaries.  D. 


CHAP.  LXV.  VARIATIONS  FROM  I^QWTH.  45 

4.  Eye  hath  never  seen,  nor  hath  ear  heard,  nor  hath  the 

heart  of  man  conceived,  what  things  God  hath  pre- 
pared for  those  that  love  him,  D.  [who  says  "  this 
verse  certainly  ought  to  be  corrected  according  to  the 
citation  of  it  in  1  Cor.  ii.  9 ;  it  being  impossible  to 
make  sense  of  it,  as  it  now  stands  in  the  Hebrew 
text  or  the  Sept."] 

5,  1.  Thou  meetest  him  that  rejoicest  in  and  worketh  right- 

eousness. S. 

5,  3.-4.  Behold,  thou  wast  angry,  for  we  sinned, 

A  thing  of  nought  were  we  of  old,  and  we  trans- 
gressed. S. 

Behold,  thou  art  angry  ;  for  we  have  continually  trans- 
gressed them  [i.  e.  thy  ways] ;  and  we  have  been  re- 
bellious. D. 

6,  2.  [ A  rejected  garment]  A  stained  cloth.  S, 

7,  3-4.  Since  thou  hast  hid  thy  face  from  us, 

And  caused  us  to  waste  away  by  means  of  our  iniqui- 
ties. S. 

CHAPTER  LXV. 

1,  1.  I  am  enquired  of  by  those  that  had  not  asked  for  me.  S, 
I  have  answered  those  who  ask  me  not.  D.  [who  trans- 
poses  the   lines   of  this   first   couplet,   agreeably  to 
Paul's  citation  of  them.  Rom.  x.  20.] 

4,  3.  And  joints  of  unclean  meats  are  in  their  vessels.  S. 

6,  2.  [But  will  certainly  requite,  $*c.}  until  I  recom- 
pense, 
Yea,  until  I  recompense,  &c.  1 

(7,  4.)  And  until  I   measure   their  former  work  into  their 
bosom.  S. 

9,  1-2.  I  will  bring  forth  the  descendant  of  Jacob  and  of  Ju- 

dah  ;  and  he  shall  possess  my  holy  mountain,  &c.  D, 

13,  2.  [But  ye  shall  be  famished]  Stock  renders, — when  ye 

shall  hunger.     [He  gives  the  same  construction  to 

the  two  lines  following.] 


46  ISAIAH.  LXVJ. 

16,  1-2.  Whoever  shall  be  blessed  in  the  land,  shall  be  blessed 

by  the  true  God.  D.     Dodson  and  Stock  read  land, 

both  here  and  in  the  third  line. 
16,  5.  [Provocations.]  Distresses.  S. 
18,  1.  But  rejoice  ye,  and  exult  forever 

In  that  which  I  create.   S. 
20,  3-4.  For  a  child  shall  he  be  thought,  who  dieth  at  an 

hundred  years, 
And  a  sinner,  who  at  an  hundred  years  is  curst  with 

death.  S. 
25,  3.  And  the  serpent  dust,  his  proper  food.   S. 


CHAPTER  LXVI. 

2,  3.  And  on  whom  shall  I  look,  but  on  him  who  is  hum- 

ble, &c.  D. 

3,  1.  [Killeth  a  man]  Stock  renders, — is  as  he  that  killeth, 

<fec.  ;    and   connects   by   the   same    antithesis,   the 
clauses  of  the  three  following  lines.     So  also  Dodson. 

4,  1.  [  Their  calamities]  Their  suppositions  [i.  e.  the  thoughts 

that  come  up  into  their  hearts,  I  will  realize.]  S, 

5,  4.  Stock  connects  this  with  the  former  line  : — 

For  my  name's  sake,  Jehovah  will  be  glorified, 

And  he  will  appear  to  your  joy,  and  they  shall   be 

ashamed. 

Dodson's  version  from  the  second  line  is  :— Say  "  Ye 
are  our  brethren,"  to  them  who  hate  you,  and  who 
thrust  you  out ;  that  the  name  of  Jehovah  may  be 
glorified  :  and  your  joy  shall  be  seen,  and  they  shall 
be  confounded. 
9,  1.  Shall  I  cause  to  bring  forth,  and  shall  I  not  beget, 

<fcc.  ?  D. 

9,  2.  Shall  I  give  the  child,  and  shut  up  the  womb  ?  S. 
12,  5.  [At  the  side]  On  the  hip.  S.     On  the  shoulder.  D. 
15,  3.  To  render  his  vengeance  in  fury.  D. 


VARIATIONS  FROM  LOWTH.  47 

17,  2-3.  [After  the  rites  of  Achad\  Who  in  the  porches  eat 

swine's  flesh,  and  the  abomination,  &c.  D. 
4.  [Abomination}  Creeping  things.  S. 

19,  3.  To   Tarshish,  Phul  and  Lud ;  Meshech,  Tubal  and 

Javan,  &c.  D.  [after  the  Sept.  and  Ar.] 

20,  4.  [On  dromedaries]  In  pairs  of  cradles.  S. 

7.  [In  pure  vessels]  With  songs.   D.  [with  the  Sept  and 
Ar.] 

23,  3.  Dodson  inserts,  on  the  authority  of  the  Sept.  Ar.  and 

old  Latin,  after  the  words,  before  me, — in  Jerusalem. 

24,  5.  [An  abhorrence]  A  spectacle.  D. 


ERRATA. 


Page  4.     Chap.    iii.    9, 3.    for   Even      read    Wo. 
5.     22.         „     pellues       „       pelli 


10.  — : —  xiv.     4.  „  exactness  „  exactress. 

11.     xv.      2.  „  Buitha      „  Baitha. 

36.     li.      22.  „  Rendeth    „  Pleadeth. 

37.  — —  liii.      7.  executed  exacted. 


14  DAY  USE 

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LOAN  DEPT. 

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