Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 24:20
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
20. reel to and fro like a drunkard ] Cf. Psa 107:27.
shall be removed like a cottage ] Better as in R.V. shall be moved to and fro like a hut. The word for “hut” is that used in ch. Isa 1:8 of the watchman’s frail shelter in the cucumber-field. It might here be fitly rendered “hammock.”
the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it ] The material fabric of the earth is as it were crushed beneath the accumulated guilt of its inhabitants (cf. Isa 24:5, Isa 26:21).
it shall fall, and not rise again ] Apparently a citation from Amo 5:2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard – This is descriptive of the agitation that occurs in an earthquake when everything is shaken from its foundation, and when trees and towers are shaken by the mighty concussion. The same figure is used in Isa 29:9. See also the description of a tempest at sea, in Psa 107:27 :
They reel to and fro,
And stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits end.
And shall be removed like a cottage – Or rather, shall move or vacillate ( hitenodedah) like a cottage. The word cottage ( melunah from lyn, to pass the night, to lodge for a night) means properly a temporary shed or lodge for the watchman of a garden or vineyard (see the note at Isa 1:8). Sometimes these cottages were erected in the form of a hut; and sometimes they were a species of hanging bed or couch, that was suspended from the limbs of trees. They were made either by interweaving the limbs of a tree, or by suspending them by cords from the branches of trees, or by extending a cord or cords from one tree to another, and laying a couch or bed on the cords. They were thus made to afford a convenient place for observation, and also to afford security from the access of wild beasts. Travelers in the East even now resort to such a temporary lodge for security (see Niebuhrs Description of Arabia). These lodges were easily moved to and fro, and swung about by the wind – and this is the idea in the verse before us. The whole land was agitated as with an earthquake; it reeled like a drunkard; it moved, and was unsettled, as the hanging couch on the trees was driven to and fro by the wind.
And the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it – Like a vast incumbent weight on a dwelling which it cannot sustain, and beneath which it is crushed.
And it shall fall, and not rise again – This does not mean, as I apprehend, that the nation should never be restored to its former dignity and rank as a people, for the prophet immediately Isa 24:23 speaks of such a restoration, and of the re-establishment of the theocracy; but it must mean that in those convulsions it would not rise. It would not be able to recover itself; it would certainly be prostrated. As we say of a drunkard, he may stumble often, and partially recover himself, yet he will certainly fall so as not then to be able to recover himself, so it would be with that agitated and convulsed land. They would make many efforts to recover themselves, and they would partially succeed, yet they would ultimately be completely prostrate in the dust.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 20. Like a cottage – “Like a lodge for a night”] See Clarke on Isa 1:8.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The earth; the people of the earth.
Shall reel to and fro like a drunkard; shall be sorely perplexed and distressed, not knowing whither to go, nor what to do. Like a cottage; or like a lodge in a garden, of which this word is used, Isa 1:8, which is soon taken down, and set up ill another place, as occasion requires. Or, as others render it, like a tent, which is easily and commonly carried from place to place.
The transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; those sins which they formerly esteemed light and pleasant shall now be most burdensome and grievous to them, because of the dreadful punishments which shall follow them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
20. removed like a cottage(Seeon Isa 1:8). Here, a hangingcouch, suspended from the trees by cords, such as NIEBUHRdescribes the Arab keepers of lands as having, to enable them to keepwatch, and at the same time to be secure from wild beasts. Translate,”Shall wave to and fro like a hammock” swung about by thewind.
heavy upon itlike anoverwhelming burden.
not rise againnotmeaning, that it never would rise (Isa24:23), but in those convulsions it would not rise, itwould surely fall.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,…. When it shall be moved and agitated to and fro, and dissolved; or this may be meant of the inhabitants, who shall be at their wits’ end, and in the utmost confusion, not knowing what to do, nor where to go, having no more thought, nor sense, nor command of themselves, than a drunken man; and this is in just retaliation, that as they have been drunk with sin, having drank up iniquity like water, they shall now be drunk with punishment, which being heavy upon them, will make them stagger like a drunken man:
and shall be removed like a cottage; or, “a tent” x; either of soldiers or shepherds, which are easily taken down and moved; or like “a lodge” y, as the word is rendered Isa 1:8. The Septuagint render it a “fruit watch”; and, according to the Jewish writers, it signifies a booth or tent, in which the keepers of gardens or vineyards watched in the night; which Jarchi says was built on the top of a tree, and Kimchi on a hill; and, being made of light wood, was easily moved to and fro with the wind. The Targum is,
“and it goes and comes as a bed;”
that is, rocks as a cradle:
and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; that is, the punishment of transgression, which, like a talent of lead, in Zec 5:8 shall crush it, and the inhabitants of it, to pieces:
and it shall fall, and not rise again; in the form it now is; for there will be new heavens and a new earth, in which the righteous, who will share the first resurrection, will dwell; for as for the first earth, or present one, it shall pass away, and no place be found for it, Re 20:11.
x “quasi tabernaculum”, V. L. y “Ut diversoriolum”, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
20. And shall be removed like a tent. This does not mean that any change will take place in the position of the earth; but these words, as we have already said, must be referred to men; as if he had said, that there would be no kingly power and no regular government. In short, he intended to describe those changes which he had spoken of in the tenth chapter.
And the transgressions thereof shall be heavy upon it. When he says that “the earth is laden with its iniquity,” he has very appropriately assigned this reason, that we may understand that God is never angry with men without a cause; for we ourselves are the authors of all the evils which we suffer. God is by nature disposed to kindness, and regards us with a father’s love; and therefore it is our own fault that we are treated with sharpness and severity, and we have no reason to blame him. (131)
And it shall fall, and not rise again. He at length repeats what he briefly stated a little before, that there will be no remedy for those evils. Some think that this relates to the Jews, whose form of government was entirely taken away, so that they were broken down and scattered, and were scarcely reckoned in the rank of men. But I give a more extensive interpretation, that the distresses of the world will be so severe, that it cannot be restored to its original condition. Men always contend against adverse events, and their minds are full of confidence. Having endured calamities, they think that there will be some room for breathing, and their minds are swelled with false hopes, which the Prophet therefore takes away, that they may not in future deceive themselves by unfounded expectation. Yet it ought to be observed, that this general statement does not set aside the exception which Isaiah formerly made.
(131) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(20) The earth shall reel to and fro . . .The point of the first comparison is obvious. (Comp. the like illustration of a ship tossed by the waves in Psa. 107:27.) The second becomes clearer if we render hammock instead of cottage, a hanging mat, suspended from a tree, in which the keeper of the vineyard slept, moving with every breath of wind; the very type of instability. In the words that follow the prophet traces the destruction to its source. The physical catastrophe is not the result of merely physical causes. The earth totters under the weight of its iniquity, and falls (we must remember the Hebrew idea of the world as resting upon pillars, 1Sa. 2:8), never to rise again. In its vision of the last things the picture finds a parallel, though under different imagery, in 2Pe. 3:10-13.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 24:20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
Ver. 20. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard. ] As the inhabitants thereof had drunk in iniquity like water; Job 15:16 so they should now drink and be drunk with the cup of God’s wrath.
And shall be removed like a cottage.
And the transgression,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
reel to and fro. Hebrew staggering, staggereth.
removed. Hebrew rocketh to and fro.
transgression = revolt. Hebrew. pasha. App-44. Not the same word as in Isa 24:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
reel: Isa 19:14, Isa 29:9, Psa 107:27
removed: Isa 1:8, Isa 38:12
the transgression: Isa 5:7-30, Psa 38:4, Lam 1:14, Hos 4:1-5, Mat 23:35, Mat 23:36
and it: Jer 8:4, Jer 25:27, Dan 11:19, Amo 8:14, Zec 5:5-8, Rev 18:21
Reciprocal: Gen 41:31 – grievous Deu 32:22 – shall consume Job 9:6 – shaketh Job 12:25 – maketh Psa 97:5 – hills Psa 99:1 – be moved Isa 33:9 – earth Eze 14:13 – when Amo 5:2 – she shall Amo 8:8 – the land Mar 13:24 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The prophet compared the earth under divine judgment to a reeling drunkard about to collapse and to an old shack about to fall down. A drunkard falls because of internal weakness, and a shack gives way because of external pressures. What causes the destruction is the guilt of transgression that weighs heavily on the earth. This fall will be irrevocable.
This section of Isaiah’s vision of God’s victory over the nations (Isa 24:1-20) provides the basis for the following sections, which elaborate on features of the judgments previously described.