Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 30:28
And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and [there shall be] a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing [them] to err.
28. Render with R.V. and his breath is as an overflowing stream that reacheth (lit. “divideth”) even unto the neck, &c. (cf. ch. Isa 8:8).
to sift (lit. “swing”) [ the ] nations with the sieve of vanity (or “ruin”)] i.e. to sift them until they are annihilated.
and there shall be a bridle err ] Better: and (he shall be) a bridle that causeth to err, in the jaws of peoples; i.e. Jehovah by His providence, turns the Assyrians aside from their purpose, and frustrates their enterprise.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And his breath – The word ruach properly means wind, air in motion; then a breathing, an exhalation, a breath; then the soul, spirit, etc. The idea here seems to be that of excited, and rapid, and agitated breathing, as when one is in anger (compare Jdg 8:3; Zec 6:8).
As an overflowing stream – This figure is common to express desolating judgments (see the notes at Isa 8:8; Isa 10:22; Isa 28:17; compare Psa 69:2, Psa 69:15).
Shall reach to the midst of the neck – Isaiah Isa 8:8, in describing the invasion of Sennacherib, and comparing it to an oveflowing torrent, says it would reach even to the neck; that is, it would overflow the land, and even approach the head, the capital, but that that would be spared. By the use of a similar figure, and perhaps referring to that, he here says, that the judgment of God would overflow the army of the Assyrians, but that it would approach only to the neck, the head would still be spared; the commander and sovereign would not be destroyed. In accordance with this prediction, the angel in one night, as with an overflowing flood, cut off the army, and yet spared the sovereign, Sennacherib, who escaped with his life Isa 37:36-37. The word rendered shall reach ( yechetseh) properly means shall divide, or cut into two parts Gen 33:8; Num 31:37, Num 31:42; Jdg 9:43; and the idea here seems to be that a man who is in the water seems to be divided into two parts, one part above, and one in the water.
To sift the nations – Doubtless many nations were laid under requisition to furnish an army so large as that of Sennaherib, as the kingdom of Assyria was made up of a number of tributary people and provinces. The word rendered to sift refers to the act of winnowing or fanning grain, in which the grain is tossed or thrown from the shovel into the air. As the chaff is driven away by the wind, so the nations in the army of Sennacherib would be scattered.
With the sieve of vanity – That is, of emptiness or perdition; he would so scatter them that nothing would be left.
A bridle in the jaws of the people – The idea is, that he had all these nations as much under his control as a man has a horse with a bridle in his mouth. The same idea the prophet has used in reference to the same subject in Isa 37:29 :
I will put my bridle in thy jaws,
And I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
Causing them to err – That shall cause them to wander; that is, he would turn them from the path in which they had designed to go. They had purposed to go to Jerusalem, but he would lead them back to their own land, discomfited and disheartened (see Isa 37:29).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 28. To sift the nations with a sieve of vanity – “To toss the nations with the van of perdition”] The word lahanaphah is in its form very irregular. Kimchi says it is for lehaniph. Houbigant supposes it to be a mistake, and shows the cause of it; the joining it to the he, which should begin the following word. The true reading is lehaniph haggoyim, “to sift the nations.”
The Vulgate seems to be the only one of the ancient interpreters who has explained rightly the sense; but he has dropped the image: ad perdendas gentes in nihilum, “to reduce the nations to nothing.” Kimchi’s explanation is to the following effect: ” naphah 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 emptiness 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 jaws 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 afterwards, Isa 37:29: –
“I will put my bridle in thy jaws,
And turn thee back by the way in which thou camest.”
And as for 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 Mt 3:12.
There shall be a bridle in the jaws] A metaphor taken from a headstrong, unruly horse: the bridle checks, restrains, and directs him. What the true God does in restraining sinners has been also attributed to the false gods of the heathen. Thus AEschylus, prom. Vinct. 691: –
‘
.
“But the bridle of Jupiter violently constrained him to do these things.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
His breath; either,
1. The breath of his nostrils, as it is called, Job 4:9; or the blast of the breath of his nostrils, as Psa 18:15; in both which places it is mentioned as a sign and effect of Gods anger, and the cause of the destruction of those against whom it is directed. And the expression seems to be borrowed from hence, that men discover their anger by a strong and vehement breathing through their nostrils. Or,
2. The breath of his lips or mouth, to which the destruction of Gods enemies is elsewhere ascribed, as Job 15:30; Isa 11:4, which may be the same thing with his lips and tongue in the foregoing verse, or may design strong blast coming out of his mouth; for God is frequently said to destroy wicked men by blowing upon them, as Isa 40:7,24; Eze 21:31; 22:21. As an overflowing stream; coming from him as vehemently as a mighty torrent of waters.
Shall reach to the midst of the neck; shall bring him into a most dangerous condition, as a man who is in deep waters which reach to his neck is in danger of being drowned; and afterwards, as is related in the following verses, will utterly destroy him. And this was fulfilled in Sennacherib, who was highly endangered, when he lost so great a part of his army, and shortly after slain by his own sons. Although these words may be added as a description of the overflowing: stream now mentioned, and may be thus rendered, Which reacheth even to the midst of the neck; for the relative particle is frequently understood in Scripture.
To sift; to shake and scatter, as it were, with a sieve; or to try and vex, as this metaphor signifies, Amo 9:9; Luk 22:31. The nations; the Assyrian army, which was made up of the people of several nations. With the sieve of vanity; not with an ordinary sieve, which casteth away the chaff only, but keepeth the corn; but with a sieve which should shake them so long and so vehemently as to cast away all together, and to make a full end of them.
There shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people; God will restrain and overrule them by his secret and powerful providence. Causeth them to err; whereas other bridles guide the bridled creatures into the right way, this shall turn them out of the way, by giving them up to their own mistakes, and foolish counsels, and wicked courses, which shall bring them to sore and certain ruin.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
28. (Isa 11:4;2Th 2:8).
reach . . . neckthemost extreme danger; yet as the head, or capital of Judah, wasto be spared (Isa 8:8), so thehead, or sovereign of Assyria, Sennacherib, should escape.
sieve of vanityRather,”the winnowing fan of destruction” [LOWTH](Isa 41:16).
bridle in . . . jawsasprisoners are represented in the Assyrian inscriptions (Isa37:29).
causing . . . to err(Isa 63:17). “People,”Hebrew, “peoples,” namely, the various racescomposing the Assyrian armies (Isa5:26).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And his breath as an overflowing stream,…. Which comes with great swiftness and force, bearing all before it, breathing out nothing but the fire of divine wrath, before which there is no standing; nor could the Assyrian army stand before it, but suddenly, in a moment, was carried away with the force of it: thus our Lord will consume the man of sin with the spirit or breath of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming, 2Th 2:8: and this stream
shall reach to the midst of the neck; which shows the extreme danger the army would be in, as a man that is up to the neck in water, and can find no way of escaping; and very aptly represents their state and condition, the whole body of the army being encompassed and destroyed by this overflowing stream of divine wrath, only their head, their king Sennacherib was saved; and he in a little time was cut off, when he had got into his country; as the Assyrian army served the Jews, they are served themselves; see Isa 8:7:
to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity; that is, the breath, wind, or Spirit of the Lord, compared to an overflowing stream, should be of this use, and have this effect, to sift the people of several nations, of which the Assyrian army consisted, so as to dash them one against another, and utterly destroy them; for they were to be sifted, not with a good and profitable sieve, which retains the corn, and shakes out the chaff, or so as to have some taken out and spared; but with a sieve that lets all through, and so be brought to nothing, as the Vulgate Latin version; and thus will all the antichristian nations be agitated, and shaken, and destroyed, ere long:
and [there shall be] a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing [them] to err; from the way they intended to go, namely, up to Jerusalem, and take and sack it, and obliging them to betake themselves another way for their retreat and safety; see Isa 37:29.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
28. And his Spirit. (308) He proceeds with that threatening which he had begun to utter, namely, that the Church will indeed be chastised, but yet that the Assyrians shall utterly perish; for he says that they will be plunged into the deep by the “Spirit” of God, or rather, that the “Spirit” himself is like a deep torrent which shall swallow them up. Others translate רוה, (309) (rūăch,) by “blowing,” and think that the allusion is to a storm or violent wind.
And with a useless sieve. The next metaphor employed is that of a “sieve,” which is very frequent in Scripture (Mat 3:12.) He says that he will shake the Assyrians with a sieve, in order to thrash and scatter them; and therefore he calls it “the sieve of vanity,” that is, a useless sieve, (310) intended not to preserve, but to destroy; for, in another sense, the Lord is wont to “sift” his own people also, so as to gather them like good grain into the barn.
And a bridle causing to err. (311) The third metaphor is that of a “bridle,” by which the Lord continually restrains the pride and rebelliousness of wicked men, and, in a word, shews that he is their Judge. True, indeed, the Lord commonly restrains and subdues his own people by a “bridle,” but it is in order to bring them to obedience; while, on the other hand, he restrains wicked men in such a manner as to cast them down headlong to destruction. This is what he means by the phrase “causing to err.” As furious horses are driven about in all directions by their riders, and, the more they kick are more violently struck and beaten; so the ungodly, when they are kept back, rush eagerly in the opposite direction, as it is beautifully described by David. (Psa 32:9.)
The object of these metaphors is to shew that we must not sport with the Lord; for, although he appear for a time to act differently, we shall at length know by experience the truth of what the Prophet says, that his “breath” alone will be like a torrent to cast down the wicked, that they may be suddenly overwhelmed. Next, when he gives warning that the nations shall be winnowed with “a useless sieve,” we ought to fear lest the Lord, if he find in us nothing but chaff, throw us on the dunghill. Lastly, we must observe the difference that exists between the children of God and the reprobate; for the Lord chastises both, but in different ways — the children of God, that they may be purified and preserved — and the reprobate, that they may be cast down headlong and destroyed.
(308) “And his breath.” — Eng. Ver.
FT565 “Grotius renders רוח ( rūăch) anger, Luther and the English version breath; but there is no sufficient reason for excluding an allusion to the Holy Spirit as a personal agent.” — Alexander
FT566 “The sieve of emptiness. A sieve full of holes, that suffers both corn and chaff to pass together to the ground. So shall Jehovah make no distinction among the enemies of Israel.” — Stock
FT567 “And a misleading bridle.” — Alexander
FT568 “His glorious voice. (Heb. The glory of his voice.)” — Eng. Ver. “The majesty of his voice.” — Stock
FT569 Calvin’s phrase, baculus fundatas, is followed by almost all the Latin interpreters, including Vitringa, and appears to have suggested the rendering, grounded staff, which is given in our common version, and has been followed by other translators. Almost all the commentators treat מוסדה ( mūsādāh) as the particple Hophal of יסד ( yāsăd); but there are strong reasons for viewing it as an abstract noun, for Rosenmüller has justly remarked that מטה ( măttēh,) with Tzere instead of Segol, is in the construct state. Availing himself, as it would seem, of this suggestion, Professor Alexander very felicitously renders it “the rod of doom.” “The common version, grounded staff,” says he, “is almost unintelligible. It is now very generally agreed that מוסדה ( mūsādāh) denotes the divine determination or decree, and that the whole phrase means the rod appointed by him, or, to put it in a form at once exact and poetical, the rod of destiny or doom.” Diodati’s Italian version gives “ (lang. it) Ed ogni passagio della verga ferma,” “and every passage of the firm staff.” — Ed
FT570 “ Que la playe a esté attachee au dos de l’Assyrien;” — “That the wound has been fastened to the back of the Assyrian.”
FT571 גיא הנום, ( gēhĭnnōm,) “the Valley of Hinnom.”
FT572 “Of old.” — Eng. Ver.
(309) Bogus footnote
(310) Bogus footnote
(311) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(28) His breath, as an overflowing stream.Water supplies its symbolism, as well as fire. The wrath of the judge sweeps onward like an autumn torrent, threatening to engulf all that stand in its way.
To sift the nations with the sieve of vanity.Better, the winnowing fan of nothingness. Sifting is, as elsewhere, the symbol of judgment (so Osiris appears in Egyptian monuments armed with a flail, as the judge of the dead; Cheyne), and the fan in this case is one which threatens to annihilate the guilty.
A bridle in the jaws of the people.The words find a parallel in Isa. 37:29. The enemies of Jehovah should find themselves under a constraining power, leading them on against their will to their own destruction. Quem Deus vult perdere, prius dementat.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 30:28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and [there shall be] a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing [them] to err.
Ver. 28. And his breath as an overflowing stream. ] God can blow men to destruction, Job 4:9 for they are but dust heaps; yea, his breath, as an irresistible torrent, beareth all before it. The prophet had compared God’s fierce wrath to a raging fire; now he further compareth it here, 1. To a flood; 2. To a fan; 3. To a bridle.
To sift the nations with a sieve of vanity,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
breath = blast. Hebrew. ruach. See note on Isa 25:4.
people = peoples.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
his breath: Isa 11:4, Psa 18:15, Luk 22:31, 2Th 2:8, Heb 4:12, Rev 1:16, Rev 2:16
an overflowing: Isa 8:8, Isa 28:17, Isa 28:18, Isa 29:6, Hab 3:12-15
to sift: Bp. Lowth renders, “to toss the nations with the van of perdition;” that is, says Kimchi nothing useful shall remain behind, but all shall come to nothing and perish. 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. Isa 19:12, Isa 19:14, Isa 33:10-12, Hos 13:3, Amo 9:9, Mat 3:12
a bridle: Isa 37:29, 2Ki 19:28, Psa 32:9, Pro 26:3
causing: Isa 19:3, Isa 19:13, Isa 19:14, 2Sa 17:14, 1Ki 22:20-22, Job 39:17, Eze 14:7-9, 2Th 2:11
Reciprocal: Isa 10:3 – in the desolation Isa 10:17 – for a flame Isa 30:33 – the breath Isa 37:7 – I will Isa 66:15 – the Lord Jer 4:4 – lest Lam 3:9 – made Nah 1:12 – Through
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
30:28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of {a} vanity: and [there shall be] a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing [them] to err.
(a) To drive you to nothing: and thus God consumes the wicked by that means, by which he cleanses his.