1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
8 The Lord GOD, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.
9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
1 Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Keep H8104 ye judgment, H4941 and do H6213 justice: H6666 for my salvation H3444 is near H7138 to come, H935 and my righteousness H6666 to be revealed. H1540
2 Blessed H835 is the man H582 that doeth H6213 this, and the son H1121 of man H120 that layeth hold H2388 on it; that keepeth H8104 the sabbath H7676 from polluting H2490 it, and keepeth H8104 his hand H3027 from doing H6213 any evil. H7451
3 Neither let the son H1121 of the stranger, H5236 that hath joined H3867 himself to the LORD, H3068 speak, H559 saying, H559 The LORD H3068 hath utterly H914 separated H914 me from his people: H5971 neither let the eunuch H5631 say, H559 Behold, I am a dry H3002 tree. H6086
4 For thus saith H559 the LORD H3068 unto the eunuchs H5631 that keep H8104 my sabbaths, H7676 and choose H977 the things that please H2654 me, and take hold H2388 of my covenant; H1285
5 Even unto them will I give H5414 in mine house H1004 and within my walls H2346 a place H3027 and a name H8034 better H2896 than of sons H1121 and of daughters: H1323 I will give H5414 them an everlasting H5769 name, H8034 that shall not be cut off. H3772
6 Also the sons H1121 of the stranger, H5236 that join H3867 themselves to the LORD, H3068 to serve H8334 him, and to love H157 the name H8034 of the LORD, H3068 to be his servants, H5650 every one that keepeth H8104 the sabbath H7676 from polluting H2490 it, and taketh hold H2388 of my covenant; H1285
7 Even them will I bring H935 to my holy H6944 mountain, H2022 and make them joyful H8055 in my house H1004 of prayer: H8605 their burnt offerings H5930 and their sacrifices H2077 shall be accepted H7522 upon mine altar; H4196 for mine house H1004 shall be called H7121 an house H1004 of prayer H8605 for all people. H5971
8 The Lord H136 GOD H3069 which gathereth H6908 the outcasts H1760 of Israel H3478 saith, H5002 Yet will I gather H6908 others to him, beside those that are gathered H6908 unto him.
9 All ye beasts H2416 of the field, H7704 come H857 to devour, H398 yea, all ye beasts H2416 in the forest. H3293
10 His watchmen H6822 are blind: H5787 they are all ignorant, H3045 they are all dumb H483 dogs, H3611 they cannot H3201 bark; H5024 sleeping, H1957 lying down, H7901 loving H157 to slumber. H5123
11 Yea, they are greedy H5794 H5315 dogs H3611 which can H3045 never have H3045 enough, H7654 and they are shepherds H7462 that cannot understand: H995 they all look H6437 to their own way, H1870 every one H376 for his gain, H1215 from his quarter. H7097
12 Come H857 ye, say they, I will fetch H3947 wine, H3196 and we will fill H5433 ourselves with strong drink; H7941 and to morrow H4279 shall be as this day, H3117 and much H3966 more H3499 abundant. H1419
1 Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth it fast; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
3 Neither let the foreigner, that hath joined himself to Jehovah, speak, saying, Jehovah will surely separate me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
4 For thus saith Jehovah of the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant:
5 Unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
6 Also the foreigners that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast my covenant;
7 even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
8 The Lord Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet will I gather `others' to him, besides his own that are gathered.
9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, `yea', all ye beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
12 Come ye, `say they', I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, `a day' great beyond measure.
1 Thus said Jehovah: `Keep ye judgment, and do righteousness, For near `is' My salvation to come, And My righteousness to be revealed.'
2 O the happiness of a man who doth this, And of a son of man who keepeth hold on it, Keeping the sabbath from polluting it, And keeping his hand from doing any evil.
3 Nor speak let a son of the stranger, Who is joined unto Jehovah, saying: `Jehovah doth certainly separate me from His people.' Nor say let the eunuch, `Lo, I am a tree dried up,'
4 For thus said Jehovah of the eunuchs, Who do keep My sabbaths, And have fixed on that which I desired, And are keeping hold on My covenant:
5 I have given to them in My house, And within My walls a station and a name, Better than sons and than daughters, A name age-during I give to him That is not cut off.
6 And sons of the stranger, who are joined to Jehovah, To serve Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, To be to Him for servants, Every keeper of the sabbath from polluting it, And those keeping hold on My covenant.
7 I have brought them unto My holy mountain, And caused them to rejoice in My house of prayer, Their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices `Are' for a pleasing thing on Mine altar, For My house, `A house of prayer,' Is called for all the peoples.
8 An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, Who is gathering the outcasts of Israel: `Again I gather to him -- to his gathered ones.'
9 Every beast of the field, Come to devour, every beast in the forest.
10 Blind `are' his watchmen -- all of them, They have not known, All of them `are' dumb dogs, they are not able to bark, Dozing, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 And the dogs `are' strong of desire, They have not known sufficiency, And they `are' shepherds! They have not known understanding, All of them to their own way they did turn, Each to his dishonest gain from his quarter:
12 `Come ye, I take wine, And we drink, quaff strong drink, And as this day hath been to-morrow, Great -- exceeding abundant!'
1 Thus saith Jehovah: Keep ye judgment and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that holdeth fast to it; that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
3 And let not the son of the alien, that hath joined himself to Jehovah, speak saying, Jehovah hath entirely separated me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree;
4 for thus saith Jehovah: Unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast to my covenant,
5 even unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
6 Also the sons of the alien, that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast to my covenant;
7 even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar: for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.
8 The Lord Jehovah, who gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith: Yet will I gather [others] to him, with those of his that are gathered.
9 All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, all ye beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are all of them blind, they are without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs that cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber:
11 and the dogs are greedy, they know not to be satisfied, and these are shepherds that know not how to discern: they all turn to their own way, every one for his gain, even to the last of them:
12 Come, [say they,] I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, [and] much more abundant.
1 Thus says Yahweh, Keep you justice, and do righteousness; for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
3 Neither let the foreigner, who has joined himself to Yahweh, speak, saying, Yahweh will surely separate me from his people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
4 For thus says Yahweh of the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant:
5 To them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
6 Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, to minister to him, and to love the name of Yahweh, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant;
7 even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
8 The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, Yet will I gather [others] to him, besides his own who are gathered.
9 All you animals of the field, come to devour, [yes], all you animals in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they can't bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds who can't understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.
12 Come you, [say they], I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, [a day] great beyond measure.
1 The Lord says, Let your way of life be upright, and let your behaviour be rightly ordered: for my salvation is near, and my righteousness will quickly be seen.
2 Happy is the man who does this, and the son of man whose behaviour is so ordered; who keeps the Sabbath holy, and his hand from doing any evil.
3 And let not the man from a strange country, who has been joined to the Lord, say, The Lord will certainly put a division between me and his people: and let not the unsexed man say, See, I am a dry tree.
4 For the Lord says, As for the unsexed who keep my Sabbaths, and give their hearts to pleasing me, and keep their agreement with me:
5 I will give to them in my house, and inside my walls, a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an eternal name which will not be cut off.
6 And as for those from a strange country, who are joined to the Lord, to give worship to him and honour to his name, to be his servants, even everyone who keeps the Sabbath holy, and keeps his agreement with me:
7 I will make them come to my holy mountain, and will give them joy in my house of prayer; I will take pleasure in the burned offerings which they make on my altar: for my house will be named a house of prayer for all peoples.
8 The Lord God, who gets together the wandering ones of Israel, says, I will get together others in addition to those of Israel who have come back.
9 All you beasts of the field, come together for your meat, even all you beasts of the wood.
10 His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dogs without tongues, unable to make a sound; stretched out dreaming, loving sleep.
11 Yes, the dogs are for ever looking for food; while these, the keepers of the sheep, are without wisdom: they have all gone after their pleasure, every one looking for profit; they are all the same.
12 Come, they say, I will get wine, and we will take strong drink in full measure; and tomorrow will be like today, full of pleasure.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 56
Commentary on Isaiah 56 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The note of admonition struck in the foregoing prophecy is continued here, the sabbatical duties being enforced with especial emphasis as part of the general righteousness of life. “Thus saith Jehovah, Keep ye right, and do righteousness: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to reveal itself. Blessed is the mortal that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth fast hold thereon; who keepeth the Sabbath, that he doth not desecrate it, and keepeth his hand from doing any kind of evil.” Jehovah and Israel have both an objective standard in the covenant relation into which they have entered: משׁפּט (right) is practice answering to this; ישׁוּעה (salvation) the performance promised by God; צדקה (righteousness) on both sides such personal activity as is in accordance with the covenant relation, or what is the same thing, with the purpose and plan of salvation. The nearer the full realization on the part of Jehovah of what He has promised, the more faithful ought Israel to be in everything to which it is bound by its relation to Jehovah. זאת (this) points, as in Psalms 7:4, to what follows; and so also does בּהּ , which points back to זאת . Instead of שׁמור or לשׁמר we have here שׁמר , the זאת being described personally instead of objectively. שּׁבּת is used as a masculine in Isaiah 56:2, Isaiah 56:6 (cf., Isaiah 58:13), although the word is not formed after the same manner as קטּל , but is rather contracted from שׁבּתת (a festive time, possibly with עת = עדת understood), and therefore was originally a feminine; and it is so personified in the language employed in the worship of the synagogue.
(Note: According to b. Sabbath 119 a , R. Chanina dressed himself on Friday evening in his sabbath-clothes, and said, “Come, and let us go to meet Queen Sabbath.” And so did also Jannai, saying, “Come, O bride; come, O bride.” Hence the customary song with which the Sabbath was greeted had נקבּלה שׁבּת פּני כּלּה לקראת דודי לכה as it commencement and refrain.)
The אשרי (blessed) of Isaiah 56:2 is now extended to those who might imagine that they had no right to console themselves with the promises which it contained. “And let not the foreigner, who hath not joined himself to Jehovah, speak thus: Assuredly Jehovah will cut me off from His people; and let not the eunuch say, I am only a dry tree.” As נלוה is not pointed as a participle ( נלוה ), but as a 3rd pers. pres., the ה of הנּלוה is equivalent to אשׁר , as in Joshua 10:24; Genesis 18:21; Genesis 21:3; Genesis 46:27; 1 Kings 11:9 (Ges. §109). By the eunuchs we are to understand those of Israelitish descent, as the attributive clause is not repeated in their case. Heathen, who professed the religion of Jehovah, and had attached themselves to Israel, might be afraid lest, when Israel should be restored to its native land, according to the promise, as a holy and glorious community with a thoroughly priestly character, Jehovah would no longer tolerate them, i.e., would forbid their receiving full citizenship. יבדּילני has the connecting vowel á , as in Genesis 19:19; Genesis 29:32, instead of the usual ē . And the Israelitish eunuchs, who had been mutilated against their will, that they might serve at heathen courts or in the houses of foreign lords, and therefore had not been unfaithful to Jehovah, might be afraid lest, as unfruitful trees, they should be pronounced unworthy of standing in the congregation of Jehovah. There was more ground for the anxiety of the latter than for that of the former. For the law in Deuteronomy 23:4-7 merely prohibits Ammonites and Moabites for all time to come from reception into the congregation, on account of their unbrotherly conduct towards the Israelites as they came out of Egypt, whilst that in Deuteronomy 23:8-9 prohibits the reception of Edomites and Egyptians to the third generation; so that there was no prohibition as to other allies - such, for example, as the Babylonians. On the other hand, the law in Deuteronomy 23:2 expressly declares, as an expression of the horror of God at any such mutilation of nature, and for the purpose of precluding it, that no kind of emasculated person is to enter the congregation of Jehovah. But prophecy breaks through these limits of the law.
“For thus saith Jehovah to the circumcised, Those who keep my Sabbaths, and decide for that in which I take pleasure, and take fast hold of my covenant; I give to them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters: I give such a man an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.” The second condition after the sanctification of the Sabbath has reference to the regulation of life according to the revealed will of God; the third to fidelity with regard to the covenant of circumcision. יד also means a side, and hence a place (Deuteronomy 23:13); but in the passage before us, where ושׁם יד form a closely connected pair of words, to which וּמבּנות מבּני ם is appended, it signifies the memorial, equivalent to מצּבת (2 Sam 18; 1:1-24:25; 1 Samuel 15:12), as an index lifted up on high (Ezekiel 21:24), which strikes the eye and arrests attention, pointing like a signpost to the person upon whom it is placed, like monumentum a monendo . They are assured that they will not be excluded from close fellowship with the church (“in my house and within my walls”), and also promised, as a superabundant compensation for the want of posterity, long life in the memory of future ages, by whom their long tried attachment to Jehovah and His people in circumstances of great temptation will not be forgotten.
The fears of proselytes from among the heathen are also removed. “And the foreigners, who have joined themselves to Jehovah, to serve Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be His servants, whoever keepeth the Sabbath from desecrating it, and those who hold fast to my covenant, I bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their whole-offerings and their slain-offerings are well-pleasing upon mine altar: for my house, a house of prayer shall it be called for all nations.” The proselytes, who have attached themselves to Jehovah ( על־הא ),
(Note: The oriental reading, not in Isaiah 56:3, but here in Isaiah 56:6, is על־ה ; the western, אל־ה . The Masora follows the western ( מערבאי( nre ), i.e., the Palestinian, and reckons this passage as one of the 31 על־ה in the Old Testament Scriptures.)
the God of Israel, with the pure intention of serving Him with love, are not to be left behind in the strange land. Jehovah will bring them along with His people to the holy mountain, upon which His temple rises once more; there will He cause them to rejoice, and all that they place upon His altar will find a most gracious acceptance. It is impossible that the prophet should be thinking here of the worship of the future without sacrifice, although in Isaiah 53:1-12 he predicts the self-sacrifice of the “Servant of Jehovah,” which puts an end to all animals sacrifices. But here the temple is called “the house of prayer,” from the prayer which is the soul of all worship. It will be called a house of prayer for all nations; and therefore its nature will correspond to its name. This ultimate intention is already indicated in Solomon's dedicatory prayer (1 Kings 8:41-43); but our prophet was the first to give it this definite universal expression. Throughout this passage the spirit of the law is striving to liberate itself from its bondage. Nor is there anything to surprise us in the breaking down of the party wall, built up so absolutely between the eunuchs on the one hand and the congregation on the other, or the one partially erected between the heathen and the congregation of Israel; as we may see from Isaiah 66:21, where it is affirmed that Jehovah will even take priests and Levites out of the midst of the heathen whom Israel will bring back with it into its own land.
The expression “ saying of the Lord ” ( N e 'um Jehovah ), which is so solemn an expression in itself, and which stands here at the head of the following declaration, is a proof that it contains not only something great, but something which needs a solemn confirmation because of its strangeness. Not only is there no ground for supposing that Gentiles who love Jehovah will be excluded from the congregation; but it is really Jehovah's intention to gather some out of the heathen, and add them to the assembled diaspora of Israel. “Word of the Lord, Jehovah: gathering the outcasts of Israel, I will also gather beyond itself to its gathered ones.” We only find ה נאם at the commencement of the sentence, in this passage and Zechariah 12:1. The double name of God, Adonai Jehovah , also indicates something great. עליו (to it) refers to Israel, and לנקבּציו is an explanatory permutative, equivalent to על־נקבציו ; or else על denotes the fact that the gathering will exceed the limits of Israel (cf., Genesis 48:22), and ל the addition that will be made to the gathered ones of Israel. The meaning in either case remains the same. Jehovah here declares what Jesus says in John 10:16 : “Other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd:” “Jehovah one, and His name one,” as it is expressed in Zechariah 14:9. Such as the views and hopes that have grown up out of the chastisement inflicted by their captivity. God has made it a preparatory school for New Testament times. It has been made subservient to the bursting of the fetters of the law, the liberation of the spirit of the law, and the establishment of friendship between Israel and the Gentile world as called to one common salvation.
It is a question whether Isaiah 56:9 forms the commencement of a fresh prophecy, or merely the second half of the prophecy contained in Isaiah 56:1-8. We decide, for our part, in favour of the former. If Isaiah 56:9. formed an antithetical second half to the promising first half in Isaiah 56:1-8, we should expect to find the prophets and leaders of Israel, whose licentiousness and want of principle are here so severely condemned, threatened with destruction in the heathen land, whilst true proselytes and even eunuchs were brought to the holy mountain. But we meet with this antithesis for the first time in Isaiah 57:13, where we evidently find ourselves in the midst of another prophetic address. And where can that address commence, if not at Isaiah 56:9, from which point onwards we have that hard, dull, sharp, and concise language of strong indignation, which recals to mind psalms written “in a thundering style” ( Psalter , i. 80) and the reproachful addresses of Jeremiah, and which passes again in Isaiah 57:11. into the lofty crystalline language peculiar to our prophet's “book of consolation?” The new prophetic address commences, like Isaiah 55:1, with a summons. “All ye beasts of the field, come near! To devour, all ye beasts in the forest!” According to the accentuation before us ( לכל m ercha , כלח־יתו tiphchah ), the beasts of the field are summoned to devour the beasts in the forest. This accentuation, however, is false, and must be exchanged for another which is supported by some MSS, viz., לכל tiphchah , כלח־יתו m ercha , and ביער Beth raphatum . It is true that even with these accents we might still adhere to the view favoured by Jewish commentators, viz., that the beasts of the field are to be devoured by the beasts of the forest, if this view yielded any admissible sense (compare, for example, that supported by Meyer, “Ye enemies, devour the scattered ones of my congregation”), and had not against it the synonymous parallelism of שדי חיתו and ביער חיתו (Isaiah 43:20; Psalms 104:11, Psalms 104:20; cf., Genesis 3:14). But there remains another view, according to which ביער כל־חיתו is a second vocative answering to שׂדי כל־חיתו . According to the Targum, what is to be devoured is the great body of heathen kings attacking Jerusalem; according to Jerome, Cyril, Stier, etc., the pasture and food provided by the grace of God. But what follows teaches us something different from this. Israel has prophets and shepherds, who are blind to every coming danger, and therefore fail to give warning of its approach, because they are sunken in selfishness and debauchery. It resembles a flock with a keeper, and therefore an easy prey (Ezekiel 34:5); and the meaning of the appeal, which is certainly addressed to the nations of the world, the enemies of the people of God, is this: “Ye have only to draw near; ye can feed undisturbed, and devour as much as ye please.” This is the explanation adopted by most of the more modern commentators. In Jeremiah 12:9, which is founded upon this (“Assemble all ye beasts of the field, bring them hither to devour”), it is also Jerusalem which is assigned as food to the heathen. The parallel in Isaiah 56:9 is both synonymous and progressive. The writer seeks for rare forms, because he is about to depict a rare inversion of the proper state of things. חיתו (with the first syllable loosely closed) is the antiquated form of connection, which was admissible even with ביּער following (cf., Isaiah 5:11; Isaiah 9:1-2; 2 Samuel 1:21) . On אתיוּ (= אתוּ ), see at Isaiah 21:12 (cf., Isaiah 21:14).
The prophet now proceeds with צפו ( צפיו ): the suffix refers to Israel, which was also the object to לאכל . “His watchmen are blind: they ( are ) all ignorant, they ( are ) all dumb dogs that cannot bark; raving, lying down, loving to slumber. And the dogs are mightily greedy, they know no satiety; and such are shepherds! They know no understanding; they have all turned to their own ways, every one for his own gain throughout his border.” The “watchmen” are the prophets here, as everywhere else (Isaiah 52:8, cf., Isaiah 21:6, Habakkuk 2:1; Jeremiah 6:17; Ezekiel 3:17). The prophet is like a watchman ( tsōpheh ) stationed upon his watch-tower ( specula ), whose duty it is, when he sees the sword come upon the land, to blow the shōphâr , and warn the people (Ezekiel 33:1-9). But just as Jeremiah speaks of bad prophets among the captives (Jer 29), and the book of Ezekiel is full of reproaches at the existing neglect of the office of watchman and shepherd; so does the prophet here complain that the watchmen of the nation are blind, in direct opposition to both their title and their calling; they are all without either knowledge or the capacity for knowledge (vid., Isaiah 44:9; Isaiah 45:20). They ought to resemble watchful sheep-dogs (Job 30:1), which bark when the flock is threatened; but they are dumb, and cannot bark ( nâbhach , root nab ), and leave the flock to all its danger. Instead of being “seers” ( c hōzı̄m ), they are ravers ( hōzı̄m ; cf., Isaiah 19:18, where we have a play upon החרס in ההרס ). הזים , from הזה , to rave in sickness, n. act. hadhajan (which Kimchi compares to parlare in sônno ); hence the Targum נימים , lxx ἐνυπνιαζόμενοι A φανταζόμενοι , S ὁραματισταί , Jer. videntes vana . The predicates which follow are attached to the leading word hōzı̄m (raving), if not precisely as adjectives, yet as more minutely descriptive. Instead of watching, praying, wrestling, to render themselves susceptible of visions of divine revelations for the good of their people, and to keep themselves in readiness to receive them, they are idle, loving comfortable ease, talkers in their sleep. And the dogs, viz., those prophets who resemble the worst of them (see at Isaiah 40:8), are נפשׁ עזּי , of violent, unrestrained soul, insatiable. Their soul lives and moves in the lowest parts of their nature; it is nothing but selfish avarice, self-indulgent greediness, violent restlessness of passion, that revolves perpetually around itself. With the words “and these are shepherds,” the range of the prophet's vision is extended to the leaders of the nation generally; for when the prophet adds as an exclamation, “And such ( hi = tales) are shepherds!” he applies the glaring contrast between calling and conduct to the holders of both offices, that of teacher and that of ruler alike. For, apart from the accents, it would be quite at variance with the general use of the personal pronoun המה , to apply it to any other persons than those just described (viz., in any such sense as this: “And those, who ought to be shepherds, do not know”). Nor is it admissible to commence an adversative minor clause with והמה , as Knobel does, “whereas they are shepherds;” for, since the principal clause has הכלבים (dogs) as the subject, this would introduce a heterogeneous mixture of the two figures, shepherds' dogs and shepherds. We therefore take רעים והמה as an independent clause: “And it is upon men of such a kind, that the duty of watching and tending the nation devolves!” These רעים (for which the Targum reads רעים ) are then still further described: they know not to understand, i.e., they are without spiritual capacity to pass an intelligible judgment (compare the opposite combination of the two verbs in Isaiah 32:4); instead of caring for the general good, they have all turned to their own way ( l e darkâm ), i.e., to their own selfish interests, every one bent upon his own advantage ( בּצע from בּצע , abscindere , as we say, seinen Schnitt zu machen , to reap an advantage, lit., to make an incision). מקּצהוּ , from his utmost extremity (i.e., from that of his own station, including all its members), in other words, “throughout the length and breadth of his own circle;” qâtseh , the end, being regarded not as the terminal point, but as the circumference (as in Genesis 19:4; Genesis 47:21, and Jeremiah 51:31).
An office-bearer of the kind described is now introduced per mimesin as speaking. “Come here, I will fetch wine, and let us drink meth; and tomorrow shall be like today, great, excessively abundant.” He gives a banquet, and promises the guests that the revelry shall be as great tomorrow as today, or rather much more glorious. מחר יום is the day of tomorrow, τὸ ἐπαύριον , for m âchâr is always without an article; hence et fiet uti hic ( dies ) dies crastinus , viz., magnus supra modum valde . יתר , or יתר (as it is to be pointed here according to Kimchi, Michlol 167 b , and Wörterbuch ), signifies superabundance; it is used here adverbially in the sense of extra-ordinarily, beyond all bounds (differing therefore from יותר , “more,” or “singularly,” in the book of Ecclesiastes).