1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.
9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
1 Behold, a king H4428 shall reign H4427 in righteousness, H6664 and princes H8269 shall rule H8323 in judgment. H4941
2 And a man H376 shall be as an hiding place H4224 from the wind, H7307 and a covert H5643 from the tempest; H2230 as rivers H6388 of water H4325 in a dry place, H6724 as the shadow H6738 of a great H3515 rock H5553 in a weary H5889 land. H776
3 And the eyes H5869 of them that see H7200 shall not be dim, H8159 and the ears H241 of them that hear H8085 shall hearken. H7181
4 The heart H3824 also of the rash H4116 shall understand H995 knowledge, H1847 and the tongue H3956 of the stammerers H5926 shall be ready H4116 to speak H1696 plainly. H6703
5 The vile person H5036 shall be no more called H7121 liberal, H5081 nor the churl H3596 said H559 to be bountiful. H7771
6 For the vile person H5036 will speak H1696 villany, H5039 and his heart H3820 will work H6213 iniquity, H205 to practise H6213 hypocrisy, H2612 and to utter H1696 error H8442 against the LORD, H3068 to make empty H7324 the soul H5315 of the hungry, H7457 and he will cause the drink H4945 of the thirsty H6771 to fail. H2637
7 The instruments H3627 also of the churl H3596 are evil: H7451 he deviseth H3289 wicked devices H2154 to destroy H2254 the poor H6041 H6035 with lying H8267 words, H561 even when the needy H34 speaketh H1696 right. H4941
8 But the liberal H5081 deviseth H3289 liberal things; H5081 and by liberal things H5081 shall he stand. H6965
9 Rise up, H6965 ye women H802 that are at ease; H7600 hear H8085 my voice, H6963 ye careless H982 daughters; H1323 give ear H238 unto my speech. H565
10 Many days H3117 and years H8141 shall ye be troubled, H7264 ye careless women: H982 for the vintage H1210 shall fail, H3615 the gathering H625 shall not come. H935
11 Tremble, H2729 ye women that are at ease; H7600 be troubled, H7264 ye careless ones: H982 strip H6584 you, and make you bare, H6209 and gird H2290 sackcloth upon your loins. H2504
12 They shall lament H5594 for the teats, H7699 for the pleasant H2531 fields, H7704 for the fruitful H6509 vine. H1612
13 Upon the land H127 of my people H5971 shall come up H5927 thorns H6975 and briers; H8068 yea, upon all the houses H1004 of joy H4885 in the joyous H5947 city: H7151
14 Because the palaces H759 shall be forsaken; H5203 the multitude H1995 of the city H5892 shall be left; H5800 the forts H6076 and towers H975 shall be for dens H4631 for H5704 ever, H5769 a joy H4885 of wild asses, H6501 a pasture H4829 of flocks; H5739
15 Until the spirit H7307 be poured H6168 upon us from on high, H4791 and the wilderness H4057 be a fruitful field, H3759 and the fruitful field H3759 be counted H2803 for a forest. H3293
16 Then judgment H4941 shall dwell H7931 in the wilderness, H4057 and righteousness H6666 remain H3427 in the fruitful field. H3759
17 And the work H4639 of righteousness H6666 shall be peace; H7965 and the effect H5656 of righteousness H6666 quietness H8252 and assurance H983 for H5704 ever. H5769
18 And my people H5971 shall dwell H3427 in a peaceable H7965 habitation, H5116 and in sure H4009 dwellings, H4908 and in quiet H7600 resting places; H4496
19 When it shall hail, H1258 coming down H3381 on the forest; H3293 and the city H5892 shall be low H8213 in a low place. H8218
20 Blessed H835 are ye that sow H2232 beside all waters, H4325 that send forth H7971 thither the feet H7272 of the ox H7794 and the ass. H2543
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice.
2 And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
4 And the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 The fool shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
6 For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise profaneness, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 And the instruments of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
8 But the noble deviseth noble things; and in noble things shall he continue.
9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease, `and' hear my voice; ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech.
10 For days beyond a year shall ye be troubled, ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird `sackcloth' upon your loins.
12 They shall smite upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
14 For the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
15 until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest.
16 Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever.
18 And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
19 But it shall hail in the downfall of the forest; and the city shall be utterly laid low.
20 Blessed are yet that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.
1 Lo, for righteousness doth a king reign, As to princes, for judgment they rule.
2 And each hath been as a hiding-place `from' wind, And as a secret hiding-place `from' inundation, As rivulets of waters in a dry place, As a shadow of a heavy rock in a weary land.
3 And not dazzled are the eyes of beholders, And the ears of hearers do attend.
4 And the heart of those hastened Understandeth to know, And the tongue of stammerers hasteth to speak clearly.
5 A fool is no more called `noble,' And to a miser it is not said, `rich;'
6 For a fool speaketh folly, And his heart doth iniquity, to do profanity, And to speak concerning Jehovah error, To empty the soul of the hungry, Yea, drink of the thirsty he causeth to lack.
7 And the miser -- his instruments `are' evil, He hath counselled wicked devices, To corrupt the poor with lying sayings, Even when the needy speaketh justly.
8 And the noble counselled noble things, And he for noble things riseth up.
9 Women, easy ones, rise, hear my voice, Daughters, confident ones, give ear `to' my saying,
10 Days and a year ye are troubled, O confident ones, For consumed hath been harvest, The gathering cometh not.
11 Tremble ye women, ye easy ones, Be troubled, ye confident ones, Strip and make bare, with a girdle on the loins,
12 For breasts they are lamenting, For fields of desire, for the fruitful vine.
13 Over the ground of my people thorn -- brier goeth up, Surely over all houses of joy of the exulting city,
14 Surely the palace hath been left, The multitude of the city forsaken, Fort and watch-tower hath been for dens unto the age, A joy of wild asses -- a pasture of herds;
15 Till emptied out on us is the Spirit from on high, And a wilderness hath become a fruitful field, And the fruitful field for a forest is reckoned.
16 And dwelt in the wilderness hath judgment, And righteousness in the fruitful field remaineth.
17 And a work of the righteousness hath been peace, And a service of the righteousness -- Keeping quiet and confidence unto the age.
18 And dwelt hath My people in a peaceful habitation, And in stedfast tabernacles, And in quiet resting-places.
19 And it hath hailed in the going down of the forest, And in the valley is the city low.
20 Happy `are' ye sowing by all waters, Sending forth the foot of the ox and the ass!
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
2 And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the storm; as brooks of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken;
4 and the heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 The vile man shall be no more called noble, nor the churl said to be bountiful:
6 for the vile man will speak villainy, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against Jehovah, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
8 But the noble deviseth noble things; and to noble things doth he stand.
9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease, hear my voice; ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech.
10 In a year and [some] days shall ye be troubled, ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come.
11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird [sackcloth] on your loins!
12 They shall smite on the breasts [in lamentation] for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vineyards.
13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thistles [and] briars, yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
14 For the palace shall be deserted, the multitude of the city shall be forsaken; hill and watchtower shall be caves for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
15 until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
16 And judgment shall inhabit the wilderness, and righteousness dwell in the fruitful field.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever.
18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
19 And it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.
1 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice.
2 A man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as streams of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
3 The eyes of those who see shall not be dim, and the ears of those who hear shall listen.
4 The heart of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
5 The fool shall be no more called noble, nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 For the fool will speak folly, and his heart will work iniquity, to practice profanity, and to utter error against Yahweh, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7 The instruments of the churl are evil: he devises wicked devices to destroy the humble with lying words, even when the needy speaks right.
8 But the noble devises noble things; and in noble things shall he continue.
9 Rise up, you women who are at ease, [and] hear my voice; you careless daughters, give ear to my speech.
10 For days beyond a year shall you be troubled, you careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the harvest shall not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease; be troubled, you careless ones; strip yourselves, and make yourselves naked, and gird [sackcloth] on your loins.
12 They shall strike on the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13 On the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yes, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
14 For the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks;
15 until the Spirit be poured on us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest.
16 Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field.
17 The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
18 My people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
19 But it shall hail in the downfall of the forest; and the city shall be utterly laid low.
20 Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the feet of the ox and the donkey.
1 See, a king will be ruling in righteousness, and chiefs will give right decisions.
2 And a man will be as a safe place from the wind, and a cover from the storm; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a waste land.
3 And the eyes of those who see will not be shut, and those who have hearing will give ear to the word.
4 The man of sudden impulses will become wise in heart, and he whose tongue is slow will get the power of talking clearly.
5 The foolish man will no longer be named noble, and they will not say of the false man that he is a man of honour.
6 For the foolish man will say foolish things, having evil thoughts in his heart, working what is unclean, and talking falsely about the Lord, to keep food from him who is in need of it, and water from him whose soul is desiring it.
7 The designs of the false are evil, purposing the destruction of the poor man by false words, even when he is in the right.
8 But the noble-hearted man has noble purposes, and by these he will be guided.
9 Give ear to my voice, you women who are living in comfort; give attention to my words, you daughters who have no fear of danger.
10 In not much more than a year, you, who are not looking for evil, will be troubled: for the produce of the vine-gardens will be cut off, and there will be no getting in of the grapes.
11 Be shaking with fear, you women who are living in comfort; be troubled, you who have no fear of danger: take off your robes and put on clothing of grief.
12 Have sorrow for the fields, the pleasing fields, the fertile vine;
13 And for the land of my people, where thorns will come up; even for all the houses of joy in the glad town.
14 For the fair houses will have no man living in them; the town which was full of noise will become a waste; the hill and the watchtower will be unpeopled for ever, a joy for the asses of the woods, a place of food for the flocks;
15 Till the spirit comes on us from on high, and the waste land becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is changed into a wood.
16 Then in the waste land there will be an upright rule, and righteousness will have its place in the fertile field.
17 And the work of righteousness will be peace; and the effect of an upright rule will be to take away fear for ever.
18 And my people will be living in peace, in houses where there is no fear, and in quiet resting-places.
19 But the tall trees will come down with a great fall, and the town will be low in a low place.
20 Happy are you who are planting seed by all the waters, and sending out the ox and the ass.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Isaiah 32
Commentary on Isaiah 32 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 32
Isa 32:1-20. Messiah's Kingdom; Desolations, to Be Succeeded by Lasting Peace, the Spirit Having Been Poured Out.
The times of purity and happiness which shall follow the defeat of the enemies of Jehovah's people (Isa 32:1-8). The period of wrath before that happy state (Isa 32:9-14). The assurance of the final prosperity of the Church is repeated (Isa 32:15-20).
1. king—not Hezekiah, who was already on the throne, whereas a future time is contemplated. If he be meant at all, it can only be as a type of Messiah the King, to whom alone the language is fully applicable (Ho 3:5; Zec 9:9; see on Isa 11:3-5). The kingdom shall be transferred from the world kings, who have exercised their power against God, instead of for God, to the rightful King of kings (Eze 21:27; Da 7:13, 14).
princes—subordinate; referring to all in authority under Christ in the coming kingdom on earth, for example, the apostles, &c. (Lu 22:30; 1Co 6:2; 2Ti 2:12; Re 2:26, 27; 3:21).
2. a man—rather, the man Christ [Lowth]; it is as "the Son of man" He is to reign, as it was as Son of man He suffered (Mt 26:64; Joh 5:27; 19:5). Not as Maurer explains, "every one of the princes shall be," &c.
rivers—as refreshing as water and the cool shade are to the heated traveller (Isa 35:6, 7; 41:18).
3. them that see—the seers or prophets.
them that hear—the people under instruction (Isa 35:5, 6).
4. rash—rather, "the hasty"; contrast "shall not make haste" (Isa 28:16); the reckless who will not take time to weigh religious truth aright. Or else, the well-instructed [Horsley].
stammers—those who speak confusedly on divine things (compare Ex 4:10-12; Jer 1:6; Mt 10:19, 20). Or, rather, those drunken scorners who in stammering style imitated Isaiah's warnings to mock them [Maurer] (Isa 28:7-11, 13, 14, 22; 29:20); in this view, translate, "speak uprightly" (agreeably to the divine law); not as English Version, referring to the distinctness of articulation, "plainly."
5. vile—rather, "fool" [Lowth]; that is, ungodly (Ps 14:1; 74:18).
liberal—rather, "noble-minded."
churl—rather, "fraudulent" [Gesenius].
bountiful—religiously. The atheistic churl, who envies the believer his hope "full of immortality," shall no longer be held as a patriot struggling for the emancipation of mankind from superstition [Horsley].
6. vile … villainy—rather, "the (irreligious) fool … (his) folly."
will speak—rather, "present"; for (so far is the "fool" from deserving the epithet "noble-minded") the fool "speaketh" folly and "worketh," &c.
hypocrisy—rather, "profligacy" [Horsley].
error—impiety, perverse arguments.
hungry—spiritually (Mt 5:6).
7. churl—"the fraudulent"; this verse refers to the last clause of Isa 32:5; as Isa 32:6 referred to its first clause.
speaketh right—pleadeth a just cause (Isa 29:21); spiritually, "the poor man's cause" is the divine doctrine, his rule of faith and practice.
8. liberal—rather, "noble-minded."
stand—shall be approved under the government of the righteous King.
9-20. Address to the women of Jerusalem who troubled themselves little about the political signs of the times, but lived a life of self-indulgence (Isa 3:16-23); the failure of food through the devastations of the enemy is here foretold, being what was most likely to affect them as mothers of families, heretofore accustomed to every luxury. Vitringa understands "women—daughters" as the cities and villages of Judea (Eze 16:1-63). See Am 6:1.
10. Many days and years—rather, "In little more than a year" [Maurer]; literally, "days upon a year" (so Isa 29:1).
vintage shall fail—through the arrival of the Assyrian invader. As the wheat harvest is omitted, Isaiah must look for the invasion in the summer or autumn of 714 B.C., when the wheat would have been secured already, and the later fruit "gathering," and vintage would be still in danger.
11. strip you—of your gay clothing. (See Isa 2:19, 21).
12. lament for … teats—rather, shall smite on their breasts in lamentation "for thy pleasant fields" (Na 2:7) [Maurer]. "Teats" in English Version is used for fertile lands, which, like breasts, nourish life. The transition from "ye" to "they" (Isa 32:11, 12) is frequent.
13. (Isa 5:6; 7:23).
houses of joy—pleasure-houses outside of Jerusalem, not Jerusalem itself, but other cities destroyed by Sennacherib in his march (Isa 7:20-25). However, the prophecy, in its full accomplishment, refers to the utter desolation of Judea and its capital by Rome, and subsequently, previous to the second coming of the King (Ps 118:26; Lu 13:35; 19:38); "the joyous city" is in this view, Jerusalem (Isa 22:2).
14. palaces—most applicable to Jerusalem (see on Isa 32:13).
multitude … left—the noisy din of the city, that is, the city with its noisy multitude shall lie forsaken [Maurer].
forts—rather, "Ophel" (that is, the mound), the term applied specially to the declivity on the east of Zion, surrounded with its own wall (2Ch 27:3; 33:14; 2Ki 5:24), and furnished with "towers" (or watchtowers), perhaps referred to here (Ne 3:26, 27).
for ever—limited by thee, "until," &c., Isa 32:15, for a long time.
15. This can only partially apply to the spiritual revival in Hezekiah's time; its full accomplishment belongs to the Christian dispensation, first at Pentecost (Joe 2:28; Ac 2:17), perfectly in coming times (Ps 104:30; Eze 36:26; 39:29; Zec 12:10), when the Spirit shall be poured on Israel, and through it on the Gentiles (Mic 5:7).
wilderness … fruitful field … forest—when Judea, so long waste, shall be populous and fruitful, and the land of the enemies of God shall be desolate. Or, "the field, now fruitful, shall be but as a barren forest in comparison with what it shall be then" (Isa 29:17). The barren shall become fruitful by regeneration; those already regenerate shall bring forth fruits in such abundance that their former life shall seem but as a wilderness where no fruits were.
16. judgment—justice.
wilderness—then reclaimed.
fruitful field—then become more fruitful (Isa 32:15); thus "wilderness" and "fruitful field" include the whole land of Judea.
17. work—the effect (Pr 14:34; Jas 3:18).
peace—internal and external.
18. sure … quiet—free from fear of invasion.
19. Literally, "But it shall hail with coming down of the forest, and in lowness shall the city (Nineveh) be brought low; that is, humbled." The "hail" is Jehovah's wrathful visitation (Isa 30:30; 28:2, 17). The "forest" is the Assyrian host, dense as the trees of a forest (Isa 10:18, 19, 33, 34; Zec 11:2).
20. While the enemy shall be brought "low," the Jews shall cultivate their land in undisturbed prosperity.
all waters—well-watered places (Isa 30:25). The Hebrew translation, "beside," ought rather to be translated, "upon" (Ec 11:1), where the meaning is, "Cast thy seed upon the waters when the river overflows its banks; the seed will sink into the mud and will spring up when the waters subside, and you will find it after many days in a rich harvest." Before sowing, they send oxen, &c., into the water to tread the ground for sowing. Castalio thinks there is an allusion to the Mosaic precept, not to plough with an ox and ass together, mystically implying that the Jew was to have no intercourse with Gentiles; the Gospel abolishes this distinction (Col 3:11); thus the sense here is, Blessed are ye that sow the gospel seed without distinction of race in the teachers or the taught. But there is no need of supposing that the ox and ass here are yoked together; they are probably "sent forth" separately, as in Isa 30:24.