17 And I have put judgment for a line, And righteousness for a plummet, And sweep away doth hail the refuge of lies, And the secret hiding-place do waters overflow.
And I have stretched out over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and wiped Jerusalem as one wipeth the dish -- he hath wiped, and hath turned `it' on its face.
and great hail (as of talent weight) doth come down out of the heaven upon men, and men did speak evil of God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague is very great.
Thus hath He shewed me, and lo, the Lord is standing by a wall `made according to' a plumb-line, and in His hand a plumb-line; and Jehovah saith unto me, `What art thou seeing, Amos?' And I say, `A plumb-line;' and the Lord saith: `Lo, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of My people Israel, I do not add any more to pass over to it. And desolated have been high places of Isaac, And sanctuaries of Israel are wasted, And I have risen against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.'
Lo, a mighty and strong one `is' to the Lord, As a storm of hail -- a destructive shower, As an inundation of mighty waters overflowing, He cast down to the earth with the hand.
Lo, a whirlwind of Jehovah -- Fury hath gone forth -- a cutting whirlwind, On the head of the wicked it stayeth. The fierceness of the anger of Jehovah Doth not turn back till His doing, Yea, till His establishing the devices of His heart, In the latter end of the days we consider it!
And opened was the sanctuary of God in the heaven, and there was seen the ark of His covenant in His sanctuary, and there did come lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail.
and the first messenger did sound, and there came hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast to the land, and the third of the trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up.
for a matter He is finishing, and is cutting short in righteousness, because a matter cut short will the Lord do upon the land.
but, according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou dost treasure up to thyself wrath, in a day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.'
And the arms of the flood are overflowed from before him, and are broken; and also the leader of the covenant.
Because, even because, they did cause My people to err, Saying, Peace! and there is no peace, And that one is building a wall, And lo, they are daubing it with chalk. Say to those daubing with chalk -- It falleth, There hath been an overflowing shower, And ye, O hailstones, do fall, And a tempestuous wind doth rend, And lo, fallen hath the wall! Doth not one say unto you, Where `is' the daubing that ye daubed? Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have rent with a tempestuous wind in My fury, And an overflowing shower is in Mine anger, And hailstones in My fury -- to consume. And I have broken down the wall that ye daubed with chalk, And have caused it to come unto the earth, And revealed hath been its foundation, And it hath fallen, And ye have been consumed in its midst, And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah. And I have completed My wrath on the wall, And on those daubing it with chalk, And I say to you: The wall is not, And those daubing it are not; The prophets of Israel who are prophesying concerning Jerusalem, And who are seeing for her a vision of peace, And there is no peace, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
lo, I am raining about `this' time to-morrow hail very grievous, such as hath not been in Egypt, even from the day of its being founded, even until now. `And, now, send, strengthen thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field; every man and beast which is found in the field, and is not gathered into the house -- come down on them hath the hail, and they have died.'
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah, Lo, Mine anger and My fury is poured out on this place, On man, and beast, and on tree of the field, And on fruit of the ground, And it hath burned, and it is not quenched.
I also to the house on which My name is called, In which ye are trusting, And to the place that I gave to you, and to your fathers, Have done, as I have done to Shiloh.
Do not trust for yourselves Unto the words of falsehood, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah `are' they! For, if ye do thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, If ye do judgment thoroughly Between a man and his neighbour, Sojourner, fatherless, and widow, ye oppress not, And innocent blood do not shed in this place, And after other gods do not walk, for evil to yourselves, Then I have caused you to dwell in this place, In the land that I gave to your fathers, From age even unto age. Lo, ye are trusting for yourselves On the words of falsehood, so as not to profit.
And dwelt hath My people in a peaceful habitation, And in stedfast tabernacles, And in quiet resting-places. And it hath hailed in the going down of the forest, And in the valley is the city low.
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.
Because ye have said: `We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a provision, An overflowing scourge, when it passeth over, Doth not meet us, Though we have made a lie our refuge, And in falsehood have been hidden.'
For Thou hast been a stronghold for the poor, A stronghold for the needy in his distress, A refuge from storm, a shadow from heat, When the spirit of the terrible `is' as a storm -- a wall.
And Jehovah of Hosts is high in judgment, And the Holy God sanctified in righteousness,
For to righteousness judgment turneth back, And after it all the upright of heart,
And it cometh to pass, in their fleeing from the face of Israel -- they `are' in the descent of Beth-Horon -- and Jehovah hath cast upon them great stones out of the heavens, unto Azekah, and they die; more are they who have died by the hailstones than they whom the sons of Israel have slain by the sword.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 28
Commentary on Isaiah 28 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 28
In this chapter,
This is written for our admonition, and is profitable for reproof and warning to us.
Isa 28:1-8
Here,
Isa 28:9-13
The prophet here complains of the wretched stupidity of this people, that they were unteachable and made no improvement of the means of grace which they possessed; they still continued as they were, their mistakes not rectified, their hearts not renewed, nor their lives reformed. Observe,
Isa 28:14-22
The prophet, having reproved those that made a jest of the word of God, here goes on to reprove those that made a jest of the judgments of God, and set them at defiance; for he is a jealous God, and will not suffer either his ordinances or his providences to be brought into contempt. He addressed himself to the scornful men who ruled in Jerusalem, who were the magistrates of the city, v. 14. It is bad with a people when their thrones of judgment become the seats of the scornful, when rulers are scorners; but that the rulers of Jerusalem should be men of such a character, that they should make light of God's judgments and scorn to take notice of the tokens of his displeasure, is very sad. Who will be mourners in Zion if they are scorners? Observe,
Isa 28:23-29
This parable, which (like many of our Saviour's parables) is borrowed from the husbandman's calling, is ushered in with a solemn preface demanding attention, He that has ears to hear, let him hear, hear and understand, v. 23.