Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 31:6
Turn ye unto [him from] whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
Turn ye unto him – In view of the fact that he will assuredly defend Jerusalem, commit yourselves unto him rather than seek the aid of Egypt.
Have deeply revolted – For the meaning of this phrase, see the note at Isa 29:15.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Have deeply revolted – “Have so deeply engaged in revolt.”] All the ancient Versions read taamiku, in the second person, instead of heemiku, they have deeply revolted, &c.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Turn ye unto him; let the consideration of this gracious promise engage you to repent of your carnal policies, in seeking and trusting to Egypt for help, and sincerely to return to God.
The children of Israel; either,
1. The Israelites, strictly so called, who are now utterly destroyed for their apostacy; and therefore take heed that you do not follow their example. Or,
2. You Jews, who are the children of Israel; which title he here gives them, partly to admonish them of their great and many obligations to God, and partly to aggravate the sin of their apostacy.
Have deeply revolted, in neglecting and forsaking him, and seeking to Egypt for help; which he calls a deep revolt, partly because it was a heinous sin, being contrary to Gods express command, and highly dishonourable to God; and partly because it was carried on with deep dissimulation, and with a public profession of cleaving to God, and with a design of seeking deep to hide this their counsel from the Lord, wherewith he charged this people, Isa 29:15.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. The power and love ofJehovah, just mentioned, are the strongest incentives for returningto Him (Eze 16:62; Eze 16:63;Hos 6:1).
ye . . . IsraelThechange of person marks that when they return to the Lord, He willaddress them in more direct terms of communion in the second person;so long as they were revolters, God speaks of them, asmore at a distance, in the third person, rather than to them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Turn ye unto [him],…. From the Egyptians, to whom they sought for help, unto the Lord, they had neglected; from evil ways and practices, idolatry and impiety, by repentance and reformation; to the true worship of God, to his word and ordinances, statutes and commands. The Targum is,
“turn to the law;”
which they had rejected and broken. These are the words of the prophet, a call of his to the people to repentance, to which they might be induced by the gracious declaration of the Lord unto them, in the preceding verses, promising them preservation and safety:
[from] whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted: or, “made deep a revolt” u; had gone very far back from God, and deep into sin and ruin, that their recovery was difficult; and yet their return was absolutely necessary, which ought to be done both speedily and heartily. Some think reference is had to the deep schemes they had laid, those political ones, at least, which they thought were such, in applying to Egypt for help, when they, as it is said, Isa 29:15 sought “deep to hide their counsel front the Lord”; in doing which they deeply departed from him, and are here called to return to him. This is said not of the ten tribes, that were gone into captivity, but of the Jews, who were the posterity of Israel also; which is mentioned, to put them in mind of their descent, as an aggravation of their sin, and as an argument for their return.
u Heb. “profundam fecerunt recessionem”, Piscator; “profundaverunt defevtionem”, Montanus
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
On the ground of this half terrible, half comforting picture of the future, the call to repentance is now addressed to the people of the prophet’s own time. “Then turn, O sons of Israel, to Him from whom men have so deeply departed.” Strictly speaking, “to Him with regard to whom ( ) ye are deeply fallen away” ( heemq , as in Hos 9:9, and sarah , that which is alienated, alienation, as in Isa 1:5); the transition to the third person is like the reverse in Isa 1:29. This call to repentance the prophet strengthens by two powerful motives drawn from the future.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| A Call to Repentance; Deliverance of Jerusalem. | B. C. 720. |
6 Turn ye unto him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. 8 Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited. 9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.
This explains the foregoing promise of the deliverance of Jerusalem; she shall be fitted for deliverance, and then it shall be wrought for her; for in that method God delivers.
I. Jerusalem shall be reformed, and so she shall be delivered from her enemies within her walls, Isa 31:6; Isa 31:7. Here is, 1. A gracious call to repentance. This was the Lord’s voice crying in the city, the voice of the rod, the voice of the sword, and the voice of the prophets interpreting the judgment: “Turn you, O turn you now, from your evil ways, unto God, return to your allegiance to him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted, from whom you, O children of Israel! have revolted.” He reminds them of their birth and parentage, that they were children of Israel, and therefore under the highest obligations imaginable to the God of Israel, as an aggravation of their revolt from him and as an encouragement to them to return to him. “They have been backsliding children, yet children; therefore let them return, and their backslidings shall be healed. They have deeply revolted, with great address as they supposed (the revolters are profound, Hos. v. 2); but the issue will prove that they have revolted dangerously. The stain of their sins has gone deeply into their nature, not to be easily got out, like the blackness of the Ethiopian. They have deeply corrupted themselves (Hos. ix. 9); they have sunk deep into misery, and cannot easily recover themselves; therefore you have need to hasten your return to God.” 2. A gracious promise of the good success of this call (v. 7): In that day every man shall cast away his idols, in obedience to Hezekiah’s orders, which, till they were alarmed by the Assyrian invasion, many refused to do. That is a happy fright which frightens us from our sins. (1.) It shall be a general reformation: every man shall cast away his own idols, shall begin with them before he undertakes to demolish other people’s idols, which there will be no need of when every man reforms himself. (2.) It shall be a thorough reformation; for they shall part with their idolatry, their beloved sin, with their idols of silver and gold, their idols that they are most fond of. Many make an idol of their silver and gold, and by the love of that idol are drawn to revolt from God; but those that turn to God cast that away out of their hearts and will be ready to part with it when God calls. (3.) It shall be a reformation upon a right principle, a principle of piety, not of politics. They shall cast away their idols, because they have been unto them for a sin, an occasion of sin; therefore they will have nothing to do with them, though they had been the work of their own hands, and upon that account they had a particular fondness for them. Sin is the work of our own hands, but in working it we have been working our own ruin, and therefore we must cast it away; and those are strangely wedded to it who will not be prevailed upon to cast it away when they see that otherwise they themselves will be castaways. Some make this to be only a prediction that those who trust in idols, when they find they stand them in no stead, will cast them away in indignation. But it agrees so exactly with ch. xxx. 22 that I rather take it as a promise of a sincere reformation.
II. Jerusalem’s besiegers shall be routed, and so she shall be delivered from the enemies about her walls. The former makes way for this. If a people return to God, they may leave it to him to plead their cause against their enemies. When they have cast away their idols, then shall the Assyrian fall,Isa 31:8; Isa 31:9. 1. The army of the Assyrians shall be laid dead upon the spot by the sword, not of a mighty man, nor of a mean man, not of any man at all, either Israelite or Egyptian, not forcibly by the sword of a mighty man nor surreptitiously by the sword of a mean man, but by the sword of an angel, who strikes more strongly than a mighty man and yet more secretly than a mean man, by the sword of the Lord, and his power and wrath in the hand of the angel. Thus the young men of the army shall melt, and be discomfited, and become tributaries to death. When God has work to do against the enemies of his church we expect it must be done by mighty men and mean men, officers and common soldiers; whereas God can, if he please, do it without either. He needs not armies of men who has legions of angels at command, Matt. xxvi. 53. 2. The king of Assyria shall flee for the same, shall flee from that invisible sword, hoping to get out of the reach of it; and he shall make the best of his way to his own dominions, shall pass over to some strong-hold of his own, for fear lest the Jews should pursue him now that his army was routed. Sennacherib had been very confident that he should make himself master of Jerusalem, and in the most insolent manner had set both God and Hezekiah at defiance; yet now he is made to tremble for fear of both. God can strike a terror into the proudest of men, and make the stoutest heart to tremble. See Job 18:11; Job 20:24. His princes that accompany him shall be afraid of the ensign, shall be in a continual fright at the remembrance of the ensign in the air, which perhaps the destroying angel displayed before he gave the fatal bow. Or they shall be afraid of every ensign they see, suspecting it is a party of the Jews pursuing them. The banner that God displays for the encouragement of his people (Ps. lx. 4) will be a terror to his and their enemies. Thus he cuts off the spirit of princes and is terrible to the kings of the earth. But who will do this? It is the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and his furnace in Jerusalem. (1.) Whose residence is there, and who there keeps house, as a man does where his fire and his oven are. It is the city of the great King, and let not the Assyrians think to turn him out of the possession of his own house. (2.) Who is there a consuming fire to all his enemies and will make them as a fiery oven in the day of his wrath, Ps. xxi. 9. He is himself a wall of fire round about Jerusalem, so that whoever assaults her does so at his peril, Zec 2:5; Rev 11:5. (3.) Who has his altar there, on which the holy fire is continually kept burning and sacrifices are daily offered to his honour, and with which he is well pleased; and therefore he will defend this city, especially having an eye to the great sacrifice which was there also to be offered, of which all the sacrifices were types. If we keep up the fire of holy love and devotion in our hearts and houses, we may depend upon God to be a protection to us and them.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
6. Return. This verse is explained in various ways; for the Hebrew commentators explain it thus, “Return to the Lord, for you have multiplied revolts.” But, in my opinion, the meaning is more simple: “Return according as you have made a deep revolt; (318) for לאשר ( lăăshĕr) is, I think, employed in the same sense as כאשר ( kăăshĕr), “according as.” (319) He means that the aggravated nature of their wickedness does not shut the door against them from returning to God, if they repent; that, although they have been sunk into the deepest wickedness, still God will pardon them. Yet, at the same time, he makes use of this spur to stimulate them to earnest grief and hatred of their sins, that they may not carelessly and lightly, as frequently happens, aim at a half repentance. He therefore bids them consider attentively with what fearful destruction they have cast themselves down to hell, that they may abhor themselves on account of their aggravated transgressions.
It ought first to be observed, that the Prophet does not lessen the guilt of the people. They who need to be brought back to the Lord must first be made to have a deep and painful conviction of their guilt; for they who flatter themselves in their iniquities are very far from obtaining pardon, and therefore there is nothing better than to lay open the alarming nature of the disease, when a remedy must be applied. Yet, that their hearts may not be led to despair, they must be encouraged and comforted by holding out to them the mercy of God; for Satan aims at nothing else than to cut us off from all hope of pardon. Accordingly, Isaiah declares that, although by their wickedness they have sunk down to hell, God is ready to forgive; for not in vain does the Lord invite us to repentance, but he likewise offers pardon. Hence also, to such exhortations the Scripture always adds promises of grace, that, whenever we are called to repentance, we may know that the hope of pardon is also held out to us.
As you have made a deep revolt. Instead of this rendering, the word עמק, ( gnāmăk,) which signifies to be deep, is explained by some as meaning to multiply and the metaphor is supposed to be borrowed from heaps, “As you have heaped up your sins, so return now.” But I prefer the former exposition. סרה ( sārāh) signifies “revolt.” Others explain it to mean here “depravity,” but the word “revolt” is more appropriate. The Prophet therefore invites them to return to the Lord. (320)
O children of Israel. In calling them by this name, he does not intend to shew them respect, but reproaches them for their ingratitude; for they were degenerate sons (321) who had revolted from the faith and obedience of their fathers, and therefore this title contains an indirect reproach. Yet he means that the Lord had not forgotten the covenant which he made with their fathers, though they had departed widely from him by their treachery; for he declares, that he will acknowledge them to be “the children of Israel,” and will fulfill all that he promised to Abraham and the other patriarchs, if they return to him with all their heart.
(318) Bogus footnote
(319) Bogus footnote
(320) Bogus footnote
(321) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
A CALL TO THE REVOLTED
Isa. 31:6. Turn ye unto Him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
Had mankind adhered to the divine idea, no such word as this would have been necessary. Divine communications would have consisted probably of counsels, directions, predictions, progressive revelations of truth. The demand that man turn shows that he has gone astray. All divine communications suppose the existence of sin and the need of salvation. Happily for us, they show the way in which salvation may be obtained. The parts of the human race are as the whole. The people God distinguished by separating them from the nations, with special connection to Himself, followed the universal tendency to wander from Him. They forsook His law. When trouble came, they sought help anywhere. At the time of this prophecy they were looking to Egypt instead of to the Lord. The prophet remonstrates, and invites them to make a friend of God against Assyria. The text may be addressed to sinners now. Here is
I. A SERIOUS ACCUSATION.
God was the King of Israel. Departure from His laws was a national revolt. Mans revolt from God consists in
1. Disaffection. When love to the sovereign departs, the way is prepared for any act of hostility circumstances may favour. The disaffection of man to God is inbred. From the original fall man derives a mysterious tendency to depart from God (H.E.I., 33903397). Human nature dislikes the divine holiness; dislike of the divine holiness is the root from which grow mens evil deeds. So deep is the revolt that man has no desire to return.
2. Disobedience. You may say it is natural to sin, and we cannot be held responsible for it. Do you judge of, and deal with your fellow-men in that way as to their conduct to you? If they injure, defraud you, do you say they have a natural inclination to fraud and wrongdoing, and therefore are not responsible? When a son who has been carefully trained develops tendencies and inclinations to evil, attaches himself to bad companions, &c., do you exonerate him from blame because it is his nature? You say he ought to have resisted the evil inclinations and cultivated such as were good. You are right. But why should there be a difference when the object of the wrongdoing is God? The dislike of Gods holiness inherent in human nature develops itself in the indulgence of sinful passions and disobedience to Gods commands. Does the fact that it was your nature free you from responsibility? Are you not possessed of reason and conscience? Do not these constitute responsibility? Is not the fact that you decline the help God offers for the subjugation of evil sufficient to throw on you the entire blame of your continued revolt?
3. Distrust. A large part of the revolt of ancient Israel from God consisted in distrust. When man withdraws his love from God and abandons himself to disobedience, he is sure to lose faith. You will soon cease to trust the friend whom you persistently wrong and disregard. Is not this the explanation of much of the unbelief among men? They are unhappy in their severance from God, yet unwilling to return. Then they expunge from their beliefs His declarations concerning sin and its punishment. Truth after truth disappears. Then Himself disappears. They persuade themselves that there is no need of Him, then that He does not exist. The wish is father to the thought. Because the heart and life have revolted from Him, the intellect labours to sweep Him out of the world which He has made.
II. AN EARNEST CALL.
Turn ye unto Him. From the folly of the intellect; from the perversity of the heart; from the disobedience of the life in which your revolt has manifested itself. God is. He is a living person, with all the feelings of one, as well as a supreme ruler clothed with governmental authority. He is worth turning to.
2. In the gospel, He invites you to repent, to turn. It is a complete change of your heart and life. You can examine and reflect upon the truth. You can consider the righteousness of His claim. You can consider the motive that is furnished by His offer of a free pardon and a full salvation procured for you by the death of His Song of Solomon 3. Do you feel yourself weak? He will help you to turn.
4. Turn from the wrong path to the right one.
(1.) Turn to the trust which He encourages. Bring your sin and need to Jesus.
(2.) Turn to the obedience He demands. There must be a complete surrender. All sin must be relinquished, even the dearest. Choose the way of holiness.
(3.) Turn to the love He deserves. It comes indeed into the heart with submission and faith.
5. Think of the danger of continued revolt; of the wrongfulness of revolt; of the blessedness of return.J. Rawlinson.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(6) Turn ye unto him.Then, as ever, this was the sum and substance of the prophets teaching, conversion; with that, all was hope; without it, all was fear. (Comp. 2Ch. 30:6.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. The children of Israel have deeply revolted The remarks to be made here are: 1) Monotheism was the fundamental idea of their religion. 2) A covenant between Israel and their God was a covenant which the latter never broke. 3) Priests and prophets held the whole nation solemnly and organically bound to that covenant. Based on these facts, the prophets, when they spoke, spoke to the whole nation. None was to be excused. The part of the people who broke the covenant could not be exonerated. They determined the external, national destinies of all. The fate of all hung on them. The external theocracy was overthrown by them. Hence the few who, as individuals, were true to God who never broke covenant constituted the theocracy, the remnant, the true Israel, the only Church in Israel. (See Rom 9:11.) The protection implied in these verses implies a return to God of the revolted children of Israel of the sixth verse. The condition then made, “Turn ye unto him” is responded to. Doubtless the prophet was sure the casting away of idolatry was never likely to take place till the utter overthrow of the nation, and the great trial of the people in captivity. Idolatry never appeared after the great captivity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 31:6-7. Turn ye unto him This address of the prophet to the Jews is both monitory of the duty, without which this divine benefit of protection and deliverance would not be conferred, and prophetical, wherein he teaches, that God would offer to them, and that they would as a nation at that time receive the grace of repentance from idolatry, that they might obtain this blessing agreeably to the laws of divine Providence and grace. The admonition immediately respects the Jews, in opposition to the Ephraimites, strictly called the children of Israel; and the sense is this: “When, therefore, God shall grant unto you, Jews, the inhabitants of Sion and Jerusalem, the hope of so great a benefit, that he will protect you by his own right hand against the Assyrians, (which the prophet foretold should come to pass;) then turn you in true repentance unto him, from whom the Ephraimites, seeking help from Egypt, in contempt and neglect of his aid, have most deeply revolted; and place your confidence not in the Egyptians, but in Jehovah himself; which the Ephraimites have neglected to do. Nay, the more grievously they have sinned, and the further they have departed from God, so much the more sincerely do you repent, and unite yourselves the more closely to him.” The prophet immediately adds, that this admonition should have its effect, and that the Jews, reduced to straits by the Assyrians, should cast away their domestic idols; and of course should cease to place any confidence in them; returning to their God, and trusting only in him. See Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
It is blessed to observe how the Lord’s precepts are frequently accompanied with promises; and his commands to his people to return to him, with giving the ability to return. See a beautiful illustration, Jer 31:18-20 . And the provision for returning is blessedly set forth by another prophet, in reference to the blood of Christ, Zec 9:11-12 . And when these divine properties are wrought in the heart by grace, and the Lord hath prepared his people for his mercy; then the mercies prepared for them are given, and, as these other verses set forth, idols are thrown away, and all enemies, like the Assyrian are considered as nought.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 31:6 Turn ye unto [him from] whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.
Ver. 6. Turn ye unto him. ] Vos apostatae Iudaei. You apostate Jews. He runs far that never turneth again, we say; ye have revolted and run away from God with all your hearts, doing evil as ye could. Oh turn again to him, ex profundo imoque corde ad illum redite, let there be a proportion between your sin and your repentance. Turn ye unto me, usque ad me, all out as far as to me, give not the half turn only; with all your heart. Joe 2:12 “Take heed lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” Heb 3:12 ‘ A parit
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 31:6-9
6Return to Him from whom you have deeply defected, O sons of Israel. 7For in that day every man will cast away his silver idols and his gold idols, which your sinful hands have made for you as a sin.
8And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,
And a sword not of man will devour him.
So he will not escape the sword,
And his young men will become forced laborers.
9His rock will pass away because of panic,
And his princes will be terrified at the standard,
Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
Isa 31:6 Return to Him The VERB is shub (BDB 996, KB 1427, Qal IMPERATIVE), which basically means to turn back or return. It can be used of
1. turning from God, Num 14:43; Jos 22:16; Jos 22:18; Jos 22:23; Jos 22:29; Jdg 2:19; Jdg 8:33; 1Sa 15:11; 1Ki 9:6; Jer 3:19; Jer 8:4
2. turning to God, 1Ki 8:33; 1Ki 8:48; 2Ch 15:4; 2Ch 30:9; Psa 51:13; Psa 116:7; Isa 6:10; Isa 10:21-22; Isa 31:6; Jer 3:7; Jer 3:12; Jer 3:14; Jer 3:22; Jer 4:1; Jer 5:3; Hos 3:5; Hos 5:4; Hos 6:1; Hos 7:10; Hos 7:16; Hos 11:5; Hos 14:1-2; Amo 4:6; Amo 4:8-11 (notice esp. Jeremiah 7 and Amos 4)
3. YHWH initially telling Isaiah that Judah would not/could not repent (cf. Isa 6:10), but not for the first time in the book He calls on them to return to Him.
Repentance is not so much an emotion as it is an attitude toward God. It is a reorientation of life from self to Him. It denotes a willingness to change and be changed. It is not the complete cessation of sin, but a daily cessation of known rebellion! It is a reversal of the self-centered results of the Fall of Genesis 3. It denotes that the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26-27), though damaged, has been restored! Fellowship with God by fallen humans is possible again.
Repentance in the OT primarily means change of action, while repentance in the NT primarily means change of mind. Both of these are necessary for true biblical repentance. It is also necessary to realize that repentance is both an initial act and an ongoing process. The initial act can be seen in Mar 1:15; Act 3:16; Act 3:19; Act 20:21, while the ongoing process can be seen in 1Jn 1:9; Revelation 2, 3. Repentance is not an option (cf. Luk 13:3)! See Special Topic: REPENTANCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT .
deeply defected This speaks of Judah’s rebellion against YHWH.
1. deeply, BDB 770, KB 847, Hiphil PERFECT, this word was used in Isa 30:33 to describe the funeral pyre of the King of Assyria. It can also describe sin, as it does here and in Hos 5:2; Hos 9:9. It may specifically refer to Judah’s secret plan to seek help from Egypt (cf. Isa 29:15).
2. defected, BDB 694, here refers to apostasy, cf. Deu 13:5; Isa 1:5; Isa 31:6; Jer 28:16; Jer 29:32
O sons of Israel In the Bible the term Israel can refer to several things: (l) it can refer to the Patriarch Jacob and his children, (2) it can refer to the Northern Ten Tribes-also called Samaria and Ephraim, or (3) it can refer to Judah. In this context it #Isaiah 3.
Isa 31:7 Israel had become eclectic in her faith and tried to incorporate the Canaanite fertility rites (see Special Topic at Isa 17:8) along with her worship of YHWH. This is always a disaster. YHWH will be God or He will be nothing at all.
Isa 31:8 the Assyrian will fall Assyria was the tool which God used to judge the Northern Ten Tribes (cf. Isa 10:5), but God would deal justly with the godless nation of Assyria also (cf. Isa 10:12; Isa 14:15; Isa 30:31-33; Isa 37:7). Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, fell to Neo-Babylon in 612 B.C.
a sword not of man will devour him Read chapters 36 and 37 of Isaiah, which describe the invasion and siege of Jerusalem under Sennacherib. Notice God’s miraculous deliverance (not by human sword) in Isa 37:36.
forced laborers Defeated armies who survived the battle could be
1. conscripted as mercenaries into the victorious army
2. sold as slaves
3. turned into forced laborers to serve the military
All other inhabitants were forced into slavery (cf. Lam 1:1). Slavery was common in the ancient world for debtors or those who were defeated.
Isa 31:9 His rock. . .his princes These are in a Hebrew parallel relationship, therefore, the term rock refers to the king of Assyria (or one of his gods, cf. Deu 32:31; Deu 32:37) and his military commanders (i.e., princes) terrified at YHWH’s standard (BDB 651, cf. Isa 13:2; Jer 50:2; Jer 51:12; Jer 51:27) over Jerusalem.
whose fire. . .furnace This refers, not to the fire of judgment (although an allusion to Isa 30:33 is possible), nor the fire of illumination, but to God’s home fireplace, hearth (cf. Ariel, Isa 29:1-2; Isa 29:7, which referred to Jerusalem).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. How does Isaiah 31 relate to our modern situation of the arms race?
2. Does superior technology and superior force assure the protection of a nation?
3. Why would YHWH be described in feminine terms?
4. Describe repentance. Is it a once-and-for-all act or ongoing experience? Is it basically an attitude or is it a change of actions?
5. Describe how Assyria was defeated by non-human means.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Turn = Return.
children = sons.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Turn: Isa 55:7, Jer 3:10, Jer 3:14, Jer 3:22, Jer 31:18-20, Hos 14:1-3, Joe 2:12, Joe 2:13, Act 3:19, Act 26:20
deeply: Isa 1:4, Isa 29:15, Isa 48:8, 2Ch 33:9-16, 2Ch 36:14, Jer 5:23, Hos 9:9
Reciprocal: Isa 17:8 – the work Isa 59:13 – departing Jer 4:1 – return Jer 6:28 – all grievous Hos 12:6 – turn Zec 1:3 – Turn Zec 1:4 – Turn Act 9:35 – turned
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 31:6-7. Turn ye unto him, &c. Let the consideration of this gracious promise engage you to repent of all your sins, and among the rest, of your carnal policies in seeking and trusting to Egypt for help, and sincerely to return to God. From whom the children of Israel From whom not only the Israelites, strictly so called, those of the ten tribes, but from whom you of the two tribes, you Jews, who are also the children of Israel, and therefore are under very great obligations to God, have deeply revolted In your hearts and lives, your affections being alienated from him, and set upon your sins and idols, and your actions a scene of disobedience to his laws. For in that day When the Assyrian shall invade your land; every man shall cast away his idols You shall find the vanity of those idols to which you have trusted; and therefore shall cast them away with indignation, and be forced to seek to Jehovah for help; which your hands have made unto you for sin That is, as instruments of your sin of idolatry, and of many other sins connected therewith.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
31:6 Turn ye to [him from] whom the children of Israel have {f} deeply revolted.
(f) He touches their conscience that they might earnestly feel their grievous sins, and so truly repent, for as much as now they are almost drowned and past recovery.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Another call for repentance 31:6-9
The prophet now called his audience to repent with the prospect of salvation that lay in the future.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Many Israelites had been seriously unfaithful to the Lord, and Isaiah appealed to those of them in Judah to return to Him with their heart, not just because he had announced coming judgment.