[That] made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; [that] opened not the house of his prisoners?
17. opened not the house of his prisoners ] Translate as R.V. let not loose his prisoners to their home (a so-called pregnant construction). But from this point the rhythm is defective, and the text is almost certainly in some disorder. The immediate difficulty might be surmounted by bringing the words “every one in his house” from the end of Isa 14:18 (where they are rhythmically superfluous) to the end of Isa 14:17: thus (with a slight alteration):
“That let not loose his prisoners, each to his home.”
But a satisfactory reconstruction of the passage as a whole seems impossible.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That made the world as a wilderness – That made cities and kingdoms desolate.
That opened not the house of his prisoners – This is a description of his oppression and cruelty. Of course many prisoners would be taken in war. Instead of giving them liberty, he threw them into prison and kept them there. This may be rendered, his prisoners he did not release that they might return home (see the Margin). The Chaldee renders it, To his prisoners he did not open the door. The sense is substantially the same. The idea is, that he was cruel and oppressive. He threw his captives into dungeons, and found pleasure in retaining them there.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Whereby he signifies both his irresistible power, and his continued cruelty. He neither was willing to give them any liberty or ease, nor could any force him to do it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. opened not . . . house . . .prisonersBut MAURER,as Margin, “Did not let his captives loose homewards.“
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[That] made the world as a wilderness,…. Both by destroying the inhabitants of it, and by laying waste cities, towns, villages, fields, vineyards, gardens, and all places improved and cultivated, wherever he came, as it follows:
and destroyed the cities thereof; as the Assyrian kings had done, some of which are mentioned in Isa 10:9:
[that] opened not the house of his prisoners; the prison house, in, which they were held; or,
“the gate to his prisoners,”
as the Targum; or rather the words may be rendered, “that opened not to his prisoners”, that they might go “home”; or as De Dieu, in short, yet fully, expresses it, “that did not dismiss his prisoners home”; he not only cruelly and inhumanly put many to the sword, but such as surrendered, and were taken captives, he detained them in prison, and would not loose their bonds, but let them die there; which was an instance of great cruelty and inhumanity.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
17. He made the world as a wilderness. He expresses the cruel and savage disposition of the tyrant, by saying that he brought desolation on the world, that he overthrew cities, that he did not release prisoners. It is sometimes the custom of conquerors to release prisoners, in order to win their hearts by kindness; but tyrants choose rather to be feared than to be loved. They think that the only way to reign is to strike terror into all by inexorable cruelty. There is no reason to wonder, therefore, that their end is so wretched and dismal; for it is impossible that the Lord should not, after having chastised his Church by their cruelty, give them like for like, and withhold all compassion from those who failed to exercise compassion to others. He therefore shows how wretched tyrants are, for they have God for their enemy, and are hated by men.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(17) That opened not the house of his prisoners.Better, as in the margin, he loosed not his prisoners to their homes. This was, we may note, a characteristic feature of the cruelty of the Assyrian kings. So Sennacherib and Assurbanipal boast of having carried off captive kings in chains of iron (Records of the Past, i. pp. 43, 62, 72), and kept them chained like dogs in the court of their palace (ib., pp. 93, 97). So Jehoiachin was kept in prison for thirty-seven years (Jer. 52:31).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 14:17
Ver. 17. That made the world as a wilderness. ] Nero the tyrant came into the world an Agrippa, or born with his feet forward, and turned the world upside down ere he went out of it; so that the senate at last proclaimed him a public enemy to mankind, and condemned him to be drawn through the city, and whipped to death.
That opened not the house of his prisoners.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
world = the habitable world. Hebrew. tebel.
opened not the house of = loosed not.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
made: Isa 13:19-22, Isa 64:10, Eze 6:14, Joe 2:3, Zep 2:13, Zep 2:14
opened not the house of his prisoners: or, did not let his prisoners loose homewards, Isa 45:13, Isa 58:6, 2Ch 28:8-15, Ezr 1:2-4
Reciprocal: Psa 9:6 – thou hast Psa 52:7 – Lo Psa 102:20 – To hear Psa 103:6 – executeth Isa 14:4 – How Isa 23:11 – stretched Isa 37:11 – General Isa 42:22 – are hid Isa 47:6 – thou didst Isa 51:13 – where is Jer 50:33 – and all Lam 3:34 – all Hab 1:17 – and Hab 2:5 – gathereth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
14:17 [That] made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed its cities; [that] opened not {l} the house of his prisoners?
(l) To set them free, noting his cruelty.