Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 32:9
Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
9. The women are addressed partly as representing best certain aspects of the public mind, luxury and complacent ease (ch. Isa 3:16 ff.; Amo 4:1 ff.); partly because of their function as mourners in seasons of calamity (Jer 9:20).
that are at ease careless ] (or, confident) cf. Amo 6:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Ch. Isa 32:9-20 To the Women of Jerusalem
Like the previous sections (Isa 29:1 ff., Isa 29:15 ff., Isaiah 30, 31) this passage is divided into two parts, the announcement of judgment on Jerusalem, and a description of the Messianic salvation (see the analysis below). It presents, however, two remarkable peculiarities: (1) there is no reference to the overthrow of the Assyrians, and (2) it contemplates a complete destruction of Jerusalem and a protracted desolation of the land. For these reasons some critics have been led to assign the prophecy to a period much earlier than the invasion of Sennacherib; and this would be plausible if it were possible to separate the two parts of which it is composed (9 14 and 15 20). But this is difficult on account of the close connexion established by Isa 32:15; and since the latter portion presents some literary affinities with the other members of this group of discourses (ch. 28 31) it will probably be safer to regard the whole as belonging to the same period. It is possible, no doubt, that the Messianic conclusion might have been written later than the address to the women; but even on that assumption we should have to admit that the prophet retained the conception of an indefinitely prolonged depopulation of the land, at a late stage of his career.
The contents of the prophecy are as follows:
i. Isa 32:9-14. A threatening oration, addressed to the women of Jerusalem. The introduction ( Isa 32:9) shews that what roused the ire of the prophet was the careless unconcern and indifference of the women in face of the reiterated warnings he had uttered. He endeavours to shake them out of their light-hearted security by the announcement that “the ingathering shall not come” (10). So clear is the vision of calamity that he calls on his hearers to adopt the attitude of mourners over the ravaged vineyards, the desolate fields, and the deserted palaces of the “jubilant city” (11 14).
ii. Isa 32:15-20. Out of this state of collapse and ruin there will ultimately arise, but after an indefinite period, a new world. Under the vivifying influence of the Divine spirit, external nature will be renewed (15), righteousness will dwell in the land (16), and its blessed fruits will be undisturbed peace and security (17, 18). An unexpected allusion to the judgment (19) somewhat mars the continuity of the passage, which ends with a prophetic felicitation of the peaceful and industrious peasantry who inherit the golden age (20).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Rise up … – Rosenmuller supposes that this commences a new vision or prophecy; and that the former part Isa 32:9-14 refers to the desolation of Judea by the invasion of Sennacherib, and the latter Isa 32:15-20 to the prosperity which would succeed that invasion. It cannot be doubted that this is the general reference of the passage, but there does not seem to be a necessity of making a division here. The entire prophecy, including the whole chapter, relates in general to the reign of Hezekiah; and as these events were to occur during his reign, the prophet groups them together, and presents them as constituting important events in his reign. The general design of this portion of the prophecy Isa 32:9-14 is to show the desolation that would come upon the land of Judea in consequence of that invasion. This he represents in a poetical manner, by calling on the daughters of fashion and ease to arouse, since all their comforts were to be taken away.
Ye women that are at ease – They who are surrounded by the comforts which affluence gives, and that have no fear of being reduced to wang (compare Isa 3:16-26).
Ye careless daughters – Hebrew, Daughters confiding; that is, those who felt no alarm, and who did not regard God and his threatenings.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 32:9
Rise up, ye women, that are at ease
Female complacency reproved
Isaiah turns aside abruptly from his main theme.
His eye, we may suppose, was arrested by the spectacle of some women, sitting down perhaps at a little distance from where he stood, and testifying their indifference to his words. In chap.
3. it was their vanity and love of display which called forth the prophets censure: here it is their complacency and unconcern. (Prof. S. B. Driver, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. Rise up, ye women – “ye provinces.” Ye careless daughters – “ye cities.” – Targum.
From this verse to the end of the fourteenth, the desolation of Judea by the Chaldeans appears to be foretold.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Rise up; bestir and prepare yourselves to hear, as it follows, and shake off sloth and carelessness.
That are at ease; that indulge yourselves in idleness and luxury.
Careless, Heb. confident or secure, who are insensible of your sin and danger.
Daughters; the same before called women; whom he here reproveth and threateneth for their sins, as he did the men before for seeking to Egypt for help, and divers other sins, whereof the men were most guilty.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9-20. Address to the women ofJerusalem who troubled themselves little about the political signs ofthe times, but lived a life of self-indulgence (Isa3:16-23); the failure of food through the devastations of theenemy is here foretold, being what was most likely to affect them asmothers of families, heretofore accustomed to every luxury. VITRINGAunderstands “womendaughters” as the cities and villagesof Judea (Eze 16:1-63).See Am 6:1.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Rise up, ye women that are at ease,…. On beds of down, unconcerned about the present or future state of the nation; who had their share of guilt in the nation’s sins, particularly pride, luxury, superstition, rejection of the Messiah, and contempt of his Gospel, and so should have their part in its punishment. Some think that the men of the nation are so called, because of their effeminacy. The Jews interpret them of the other cities of Judea, besides Jerusalem; the Targum explains it by provinces:
hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear to my speech; the words of the prophet concerning the future desolation of their country; here it is thought the lesser towns and villages are intended by daughters, who dwelt in confidence and security, having no thought and notion of destruction coming upon them; so Ben Melech interprets the “women” of cities, and the “daughters” of villages.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
This short address, although rounded off well, is something more than a fragment complete in itself, like the short parabolic piece in Isa 28:23-29, which commences in a similar manner. It is the last part of the fourth woe, just as that was the last part of the first. It is a side piece to the threatening prophecy of the time of Uzziah-Jotham (Isa 3:16.), and chastises the frivolous self-security of the women of Jerusalem, just as the former chastises their vain and luxurious love of finery. The prophet has now uttered many a woe upon Jerusalem, which is bringing itself to the verge of destruction; but notwithstanding the fact that women are by nature more delicate, and more easily affected and alarmed, than men, he has made no impression upon the women of Jerusalem, to whom he now foretells a terrible undeceiving of their carnal ease, whilst he holds out before them the ease secured by God, which can only be realized on the ruins of the former.
The first part of the address proclaims the annihilation of their false ease. “Ye contented women, rise up, hear my voice; ye confident daughters, hearken to my speech! Days to the year: then will ye tremble, confident ones! for it is all over with the vintage, the fruit harvest comes to nought. Tremble, contented ones! Quake, ye confident ones! Strip, make yourselves bare, and gird your loins with sackcloth! They smite upon their breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. On the land of my people there come up weeds, briers; yea, upon all joyous houses of the rejoicing city. For the palace is made solitary; the crowd of the city is left desolate; the ofel and watch-tower serve as caves for ever, for the delight of wild asses, for the tending of flocks.” The summons is the same as in Gen 4:23 and Jer 9:19 (comp. Isa 28:23); the attributes the same as in Amo 6:1 (cf., Isa 4:1, where Isaiah apostrophizes the women of Samaria). , lively, of good cheer; and , trusting, namely to nothing. They are to rise up ( qomnah ), because the word of God must be heard standing (Jdg 3:20). The definition of the time “days for a year” ( yamm al – shanah ) appears to indicate the length of time that the desolation would last, as the word tirgaznah is without any Vav apod. (cf., Isa 65:24; Job 1:16-18); but Isa 29:1 shows us differently, and the Vav is omitted, just as it is, for example, in Dan 4:28. Shanah is the current year. In an undefined number of days, at the most a year from the present time (which is sometimes the meaning of yamm ), the trembling would begin, and there would be neither grapes nor fruit to gather. Hence the spring harvest of corn is supposed to be over when the devastation begins. is an acc. temporis; it stands here (as in Isa 27:6, for example; vid., Ewald, 293, 1) to indicate the starting point, not the period of duration. The milel -forms , , , , are explained by Ewald, Drechsler, and Luzzatto, as plur. fem. imper. with the Nun of the termination nah dropped – an elision that is certainly never heard of. Others regard it as inf. with He femin. (Credner, Joel, p. 151); but for the infinitive is unexampled; and equally unexampled would be the inf. with He indicating the summons, as suggested by Bttcher, “to the shaking!” “to the stripping!” They are sing. masc. imper., such as occur elsewhere apart from the pause, e.g., (for which the keri has ) in Jdg 9:8; and the singular in the place of the plural is the strongest form of command. The masculine instead of the feminine appears already in , which is used in the place of . The prophet then proceeds in the singular number, comprehending the women as a mass, and using the most massive expression. The He introduced into the summons required that the feminine forms, , etc., should be given up. , from , to be naked, to strip one’s self. absolute, as in Joe 1:13 (cf., Isa 3:24), signifies to gird one’s self with sackcloth ( saq ). We meet with the same remarkable enall. generis in Isa 32:12. Men have no breasts ( shadaim ), and yet the masculine sophedm is employed, inasmuch as the prophet had the whole nation in his mind, throughout which there would be such a plangere ubera on account of the utter destruction of the hopeful harvest of corn and wine. Shadaim (breasts) and (construct to sadoth ) have the same common ring as ubera and ubertas frugum . In Isa 32:13 taaleh points back to qots shamr , which is condensed into one neuter idea. The ki in Isa 32:13 has the sense of the Latin imo (Ewald, 330, b). The genitive connection of with (joy-houses of the jubilant city) is the same as in Isa 28:1. The whole is grammatically strange, just as in the Psalms the language becomes all the more complicated, disjointed, and difficult, the greater the wrath and indignation of the poet. Hence the short shrill sentences in Isa 32:14: palace given up (cf., Isa 13:22); city bustle forsaken (i.e., the city generally so full of bustle, Isa 22:2). The use of is the same as in Pro 6:26; Job 2:4. Ofel , i.e., the south-eastern fortified slope of the temple mountain, and the bachan (i.e., the watch-tower, possibly the flock-tower which is mentioned in Mic 4:8 along with ofel ), would be pro speluncis , i.e., would be considered and serve as such. And in the very place where the women of Jerusalem had once led their life of gaiety, wild asses would now have their delight, and flocks their pasture (on the wild asses, p e ra’m , that fine animal of the woodless steppe, see at Job 24:5; Job 39:5-8). Thus would Jerusalem, with its strongest, proudest places, be laid in ruins, and that in a single year, or ever less than a year.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Joyful Prospects. | B. C. 726. |
9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. 10 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. 11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. 12 They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. 18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; 19 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. 20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
In these verses we have God rising up to judgment against the vile persons, to punish them for their villainy; but at length returning in mercy to the liberal, to reward them for their liberality.
I. When there was so great a corruption of manners, and so much provocation given to the holy God, bad times might well be expected, and here is a warning given of such times coming. The alarm is sounded to the women that were at ease (v. 9) and the careless daughters, to feed whose pride, vanity, and luxury, their husbands and fathers were tempted to starve the poor. Let them hear what the prophet has to say to them in God’s name: “Rise up, and hear with reverence and attention.”
1. Let them know that God was about to bring wasting desolating judgments upon the land in which they lived in pleasure and were wanton. This seems to refer primarily to the desolations made by Sennacherib’s army when he seized all the fenced cities of Judah: but then those words, many days and years, must be rendered (as the margin reads them) days above a year, that is, something above a year shall this havock be in the making: so long it was from the first entrance of that army into the land of Judah to the overthrow of it. But it is applicable to the wretched disappointment which those will certainly meet with, first or last, that set their hearts upon the world and place their happiness in it: You shall be troubled, you careless women. It will not secure us from trouble to cast away care when we are at ease; nay, to those who affect to live carelessly even little troubles will be great vexations and press hard upon them. They were careless and at ease because they had money enough and mirth enough; but the prophet here tells them, (1.) That the country whence they had their tents and dainties should shortly be laid waste: “The vintage shall fail; and then what will you do for wine to make merry with? The gathering of fruit shall not come, for there shall be none to be gathered, and you will find the want of them, v. 10. You will want the teats, the good milk from the cows, the pleasant fields and their productions:” the useful fields that are serviceable to human life are the pleasant ones. “You will want the fruitful vine, and the grapes it used to yield you.” The abuse of plenty is justly punished with scarcity; and those deserve to be deprived of the supports of life who make them the food and fuel of lust and prepare them for Baal. (2.) That the cities too, the cities of Judah, where they lived at ease, spent their rents, and made themselves merry with their dainties, should be laid waste (Isa 32:13; Isa 32:14): Briers and thorns, the fruits of sin and the curse, shall come up, not only upon the land of my people, which shall lie uncultivated, but upon all the houses of joy–the play-houses, the gaming-houses, the taverns–in the joyous cities. When a foreign army was ravaging the country the houses of joy, no doubt, became houses of mourning; then the palaces, or noblemen’s houses, were forsaken by their owners, who perhaps fled to Egypt for refuge; the multitude of the city were left by their leaders to shift for themselves. Then the stately houses shall be for dens for ever, which had been as forts and towers for strength and magnificence. They shall be abandoned; the owners shall never return to them; every body shall look upon them to be like Jericho, an anathema; so that, even when peace returns, they shall not be rebuilt, but shall be thrown to the waste: A joy of wild asses and a pasture of flocks. Thus is many a house brought to ruin by sin. Jam seges est ubi Troja fuit–Corn grows on the site of Troy.
2. In the foresight of this let them tremble and be troubled, strip themselves, and gird sackcloth upon their loins, v. 11. This intimates not only that when the calamity comes they shall thus be made to tremble and be forced to strip themselves, that then God’s judgments would strip them and make them bare, but, (1.) That the best prevention of the trouble would be to repent and humble themselves for their sin, and lie in the dust before God in true remorse and godly sorrow, which would be the lengthening out of their tranquillity. This is meeting God in the way of his judgments, and saving a correction by correcting our own mistakes. Those only shall break that will not bend. (2.) That the best preparation for the trouble would be to deny themselves and live a life of mortification, and to sit loose to all the delights of sense. Those that have already by a holy contempt of this world stripped themselves can easily bear to be stripped when trouble and death come.
II. While there was still a remnant that kept their integrity they had reason to hope for good times at length and such times the prophet here gives them a pleasant prospect of. Such times they saw in the latter end of the reign of Hezekiah; but the prophecy may well be supposed to look further, to the days of the Messiah, who is King of righteousness and King of peace, and to whom all the prophets bear witness. Now observe,
1. How those blessed times shall be introduced-by the pouring out of the Spirit from on high (v. 15), which speaks not only of the good-will of God towards us, but the good work of God in us; for then, and not till then, there will be good times, when God by his grace gives men good hearts; and therefore God’s giving his Holy Spirit to those that ask him is in effect his giving them all good things, as appears by comparing Luk 11:13; Mat 7:11. This is the great thing that God’s people comfort themselves with the hopes of, that the Spirit shall be poured out upon them, that there shall be a more plentiful effusion of the Spirit of grace than formerly, according as the necessity of the church, in its desolate estate, calls for. This comes from on high, and therefore they look up to their Father in heaven for it. When God designs favours for his church he pours out his Spirit, both to prepare his people to receive his favours and to qualify and give success to those whom he designs to employ as instruments of his favour; for their endeavours to repair the desolations of the church are all fruitless until the Spirit be poured out upon them and then the work is done suddenly. The kingdom of the Messiah was brought in, and set up, by the pouring out of the Spirit (Acts ii.), and so it is still kept up, and will be to the end.
2. What a wonderfully happy change shall then be made. That which was a wilderness, dry and barren, shall become a fruitful field, and that which we now reckon a fruitful field, in comparison with what it shall be then, shall be counted for a forest. Then shall the earth yield her increase. It is promised that in the days of the Messiah the fruit of the earth shall shake like Lebanon, Ps. lxxii. 16. Some apply this to the admission of the Gentiles into the gospel church (which made the wilderness a fruitful field), and the rejection and exclusion of the Jews, which made that a forest which had been a fruitful field. On the Gentiles was poured out a spirit of life, but on the Jews a spirit of slumber. See what is the evidence and effect of the pouring out of the Spirit upon any soul; it is thereby made fruitful, and has its fruit unto holiness. Three things go to make these times happy:–
(1.) Judgment and righteousness, v. 16. When the Spirit is poured out upon a land, then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness and turn it into a fruitful field, and righteousness shall remain in the fruitful field and make it yet more fruitful. Ministers shall expound the law and magistrates execute it, and both so judiciously and faithfully that by both the bad shall be made good and the good made better. Among all sorts of people, the poor and low and unlearned, that are neglected as the wilderness, and the rich and great and learned, that are valued as the fruitful field, there shall be right thoughts of things, good principles commanding, and conscience made of good and evil, sin and duty. Or in all parts of the land, both champaign and enclosed, country and city, the ruder parts and those that are more cultivated and refined, justice shall be duly administered. The law of Christ introduces a judgment or rule by which we must be governed, and the gospel of Christ a righteousness by which we must be saved; and, wherever the Spirit is poured out, both these dwell and remain as an everlasting righteousness.
(2.) Peace and quietness, Isa 32:17; Isa 32:18. The peace here promised is of two kinds:–
[1.] Inward peace, v. 17. This follows upon the indwelling of righteousness, v. 16. Those in whom that work is wrought shall experience this blessed product of it. It is itself peace, and the effect of it is quietness and assurance for ever, that is, a holy serenity and security of mind, by which the soul enjoys itself and enjoys its God, and it is not in the power of this world to disturb it in those enjoyments. Note, Peace, and quietness, and everlasting assurance may be expected, and shall be found, in the way and work of righteousness. True satisfaction is to be had only in true religion, and there it is to be had without fail. Those are the quiet and peaceable lives that are spent in all godliness and honesty, 1 Tim. ii. 2. First, Even the work of righteousness shall be peace. In the doing of our duty we shall find abundance of true pleasure, a present great reward of obedience in obedience. Though the work of righteousness may be toilsome and costly, and expose us to contempt, yet it is peace, such peace as is sufficient to bear our charges. Secondly, The effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance, not only to the end of time, of our time, and in the end, but to the endless ages of eternity. Real holiness is real happiness now and shall be perfect happiness, that is, perfect holiness, for ever.
[2.] Outward peace, v. 18. It is a great mercy when those who by the grace of God have quiet and peaceable spirits are by the providence of God made to dwell in quiet and peaceable habitations, not disturbed in their houses or solemn assemblies. When the terror of Sennacherib’s invasion was over, the people, no doubt, were more sensible than ever of the mercy of a quiet habitation, not disturbed with the alarms of war. Let every family study to keep itself quiet from strifes and jars within, not two against three and three against two in the house, and then put itself under God’s protection to dwell safely, and to be quiet from the fear of evil without. Jerusalem shall be a peaceable habitation; compare ch. xxxiii. 20. Even when it shall hail, and there shall be a violent battering storm coming down on the forest that lies bleak, then shall Jerusalem be a quiet resting-place, for the city shall be low in a low place, under the wind, not exposed (as those cities are that stand high) to the fury of the storm, but sheltered by the mountains that are round about Jerusalem, Ps. cxxv. 2. The high forts and towers are brought down (v. 14), but the city that lies low shall be a quiet resting-place. Those are most safe, and may dwell most at ease, that are humble, and are willing to dwell low, v. 19. Those that would dwell in a peaceable habitation must be willing to dwell low, and in a low place. Some think here is an allusion to the preservation of the land of Goshen from the plague of hail, which made great destruction in the land of Egypt.
(3.) Plenty and abundance. There shall be such good crops gathered in every where, and every year, that the husbandmen shall be commended, and though happy, who sow beside all water (v. 20), who sow all the grounds that are fit for seedness, who cast their bread, or bread-corn, upon the water, Eccl. xi. 1. God will give the increase, but then the husbandman must be industrious, and mind his business, and sow beside all waters; and, if he do this, the corn shall come up so thick and rank that he shall turn in his cattle, even the ox and the ass, to eat the tops of it and keep it under. This is applicable, [1.] To the preaching of the word. Some think it points at the ministry of the apostles, who, as husbandmen, went forth to sow their seed (Matt. xiii. 3); they sowed beside all waters; they preached the gospel wherever they came. Waters signify people, and they preached to multitudes. Wherever they found men’s hearts softened, and moistened, and disposed to receive the word, they cast in the good seed. And whereas, by the law of Moses, the Jews were forbidden to plough with an ox and an ass together (Deut. xxii. 10), which intimated that Jews and Gentiles should not intermix, now that distinction shall be taken away, and both the ox and the ass, both Jews and Gentiles, shall be employed in, and enjoy the benefit of, the gospel husbandry. [2.] To works of charity. When God sends these happy times blessed are those that improve them in doing good with what they have, that sow beside all waters, that embrace all opportunities of relieving the necessitous; for in due season they shall reap.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Vs. 9-14: A WARNING AND APPEAL – JUDGMENT BEFORE BLESSING
1. Here is a scathing condemnation directed toward the careless women of Jerusalem for their flippant self-security, (vs. 9; Isa 3:15-20; Amo 6:1-6).
2. Very shortly (a little over one year) they will be troubled by a scarcity of food – their laughter turned to lamentation, (vs. 10; Isa 5:5-6; Isa 7:23; Isa 24:7).
3. In verses 11-12a the prophet mentions numerous ways wherein their grief will be expressed – all of which are still practiced in Lebanon, (Isa 22:12).
4. Their mourning is for the destruction of the pleasant fields, fruitful vines, and even the houses of mirth, in the once-joyful city; they are soon to be over – run by briers and thornbushes, (vs. 12b-13).
5. The royal palaces will soon be forsaken, the populous city deserted, and both the hill (Ophel) and watchtower will become a favorite retreat of wild donkeys – a perpetual pastureland for flocks, (vs. 14; Isa 5:17; Isa 27:10).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9. Ye women at ease, arise. These words appear not to be connected with what goes before; for formerly he spoke about restoring the Church, but now he threatens that the judgment of God is ready to strike a people carelessly reposing amidst riches and pleasures; and therefore it is probable that here Isaiah begins a new and distinct subject. Yet there will be no absurdity in connecting this with the former prediction, for the Prophets commonly observe this order. After having promised the grace of God to believers, they next direct their discourse to hypocrites, to declare that the mercy which the Lord promises to believers will be of no avail to hypocrites, and that notwithstanding they shall be punished for their sins.
As to women being chiefly addressed, the Hebrew commentators, agreeably to the frequent usage of their language, suppose “cities” (337) to be meant; but I think that the language here is not figurative, and I rather adhere to the simple meaning of the words. He addresses “women” rather than men, in order to shew the extent of that calamity; for in ordinary circumstances women and children are spared, because they are unfit for war, and have no power to defend themselves. He says that the destruction will be so cruel that none shall be spared.
He expressly addresses them also as “women at ease, ” who are usually more delicate than others, and, enjoying the advantages of wealth, have some means of providing for their safety and of rescuing themselves from calamities, even when persons of ordinary rank are suffering grievous hardships. But to them especially Isaiah makes the intimation, that they must “arise” and “tremble;” and he contrasts this trembling with the ease and luxury which they peacefully enjoyed. He bids them arise, that they may know that this is not the time for repose, and that the Lord will arouse them from their ease and indifference.
Hear my voice, ye careless daughters. (338) In the same manner as before, the word daughters is interpreted by the rabbins to mean “villages” or “smaller cities;” but I think, as I have already said, that it ought to be taken in its literal meaning. He shews them whence shall arise this terror, whence shall arise that violence which shall compel them to “arise” and “tremble.” It is from the judgment of God. But he mentions “a voice,” that they may know that this prophecy shall not fail of its accomplishment; because he proclaims war against them by the command of God. “How efficacious this speech shall be, and what power it shall have to arouse you, one day you shall actually feel.” So frequently does he reproach them for indolence, carelessness, and luxury, not only because it is harder for those who live at ease to be harshly aroused, but because the corruption and depravity of human nature make it scarcely possible for the world to enjoy ease and prosperity without becoming indolent. Next, falling gradually into slothfulness, it will deceive itself by a false imagination, and drive far away from it all fear, and, relying on this confidence, will insolently rise up against God.
(337) Bogus footnote
(338) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
2. SECURITY
TEXT: Isa. 32:9-20
9
Rise up, ye women that are at ease, and hear my voice; ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech.
10
For days beyond a year shall ye be troubled, ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come.
11
Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
12
They shall smite upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13
Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
14
for the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
15
until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest.
16
Then justice shall dwell in the wilderness; and righteousness shall abide in the fruitful field,
17
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence for ever.
18
And my people shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.
19
But it shall hail in the downfall of the forest; and the city shall be utterly laid low.
20
Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.
QUERIES
a.
Why appeal to the women?
b.
When will the Spirit be poured?
c.
What city shall be laid low?
PARAPHRASE
Get up from your lounging around in luxury, you women who have the I could not care less attitude, and pay attention to what I have to say to you. In just a little more than a year you are going to change your attitude to that of caring immensely because the vintage which gives you the wine from which you get so much pleasure will failthere will be no harvest of grapes. You should be trembling now instead of lying around in luxurious ease. You had better strip off all the luxuriant clothes and frivolous dress and put on sackcloth and repent now than wait until you are driven to smite upon your breasts in mourning for the desolation of judgment that will surely come. When this judgment comes it will turn the land of my people into fields of thorns and briers. Thorns and briers will engulf the whole land, grow up over the houses, and over the palaces, for they will all be deserted. The cities will be empty and wild asses and goats will roam through the ruins of walls and watchtowers, sleeping in them and pasturing in the city gardens. This desolation of His people shall continue until the Spirit is poured down on us from heaven. Then desolation will be turned into abundant blessing. Justice and righteousness shall be sown among His people. Peace and rest and security will be harvested from the sowing of righteousness. My people will have a safe and restful place to dwell. But for my enemies I will rain down a hail-storm of judgment that will sweep them away. But whatever my people do will be prospered with all abundance.
COMMENTS
Isa. 32:9-14 WARNING PRONOUNCED: Once again the prophet appeals to the women to repent (cf. Isa. 3:16 to Isa. 4:1). Womanhood is the adhesive fibre of any society. They are the earliest teachers of each succeeding generation; they are the motivators of men; they are keepers of the home which is the essential element of all other social structures. When womanhood becomes decadent or deserts its God-ordained calling the last stronghold of societal cohesion is gone. Isaiah challenges the women of his day, lying around in luxury and self-indulgence, to rise up and listen to his warning. The women of Isaiahs country were probably much like the women of Israel in Amos day, revelers, drunkards, greedy and careless (cf. Amo. 4:1-2; Amo. 6:4-6). The word careless in Isa. 32:9-10 is from the Hebrew, betahk, which means safe, secure. Thus, they were at ease in Zion with the false sense of security brought on by the deceitfulness of sin. The prophet is trying to startle them from their luxurious, indulgent lethargy. Isaiah predicts that in just a little over a year they will be brought up short because the ingathering of the vintage (the annual grape harvest) will not come as usual and their supply of wine and other luxuries will be unavailable. When the Assyrians swept down through Israel (722 B.C.) and on through Judah (cir. 704700 B.C.) they practiced the scorched earth policy of warfare. Most ancient armies burned and destroyed all fortifications, cities and farmlands as they went so their enemies could not use them. Isaiah is probably writing here about a year before the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib (cf. Isaiah 36-39). At that time Assyria had conquered and plundered most of Judah with the exception of Jerusalem, and Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were caged like a bird by the Assyrian army. All those so safe and secure would tremble then!
Now is the time to tremble, says Isaiah. Repentance now will save you from the judgment of God that will surely come, and its beginning will be in little more than a year. The prophet predicts that unless they have a change of mind and heart about their rebellion and sin, and tremble, the Lord is going to make their once fruitful land a desolate ghost town. Thorns and briers will grow up and over houses; the palace of the king will be forsaken and Judahs teeming cities will be deserted. Why? Because the people will all be taken captive. Judah was not taken captive for another 100 years after Isaiahs prophecy here, but the judgment of Judah began with Assyria and continued through Babylon until its restoration in 536 under the Persians. During that period Judah was continually plundered and exploited by pagan empires and her people were being taken into captivity until the final captivity and destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. Judah was restored to her land beginning in 536 B.C. (70 years after Nebuchadnezzars first assault upon Jerusalem in 606 B.C.). She enjoyed a relatively peaceful existence for 200 years until Alexander the Great came conquering the world (cir. 332 B.C.) and his successors, the Seleucids, occupied Palestine. Then from about 165 B.C. until 64 B.C. Judah was free of foreign occupation for another 100 years during the times of the Maccabeans. But Pompey occupied Palestine (64 B.C.) for the Romans. Then in 70 A.D. the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and scattered the Jews to the ends of the earth. When Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one (cf. Dan. 9:24-27) came, the Jews were offered their final overture from God to receive the blessings promised through the prophets. The blessings of the prophets all focus on the first coming of the Messiah. He is the only way left for anyone to repent toward God. There will be no other way (cf. Heb. 6:1-8; Heb. 10:1-31). A reinstituted Judaism with a reinstituted Hebrew priesthood and a rebuilt Jewish temple is not promised anywhere in the N.T. or the O.T. for that matter. For people to return to Judaism, in the light of the finality of the sacrifice of Christ, is apostasy, and it is impossible to renew anyone to repentance through law, Jewish law, or any other law. This leads us to our next section.
Isa. 32:15-20 WEALTH PROMISED: This desolation of Judah, which at its very core was spiritual, would continue (cf. Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi to see the spiritual destitution of this people even after their restoration to their land) until the Spirit was poured out from on high. This evidently has reference to the accomplishments of the Messiah (cf. Dan. 9:24-27) in redemption and establishment of the church (Act. 2:38). The agricultural setting of this prophecy should not confuse the careful student of the New Testament since there are some specific keys in the N.T. which provide clues to proper interpretation of such passages. Consider the following passages:
Isa. 61:1-4
compare with
Luk. 4:16-30
Isa. 55:1-5
compare with
Act. 13:26-41
Amo. 9:11-12
compare with
Act. 15:12-21
See also our list of key New Testament passages in Minor Prophets, by Paul T. Butler, College Press, pages 2527.
The essential nature of the future fruitfulness which Isaiah is predicting is to be justice (true relationship between man and man) and righteousness (true relationship between man and God). These proper relationships are accomplished only through the agency of the Spirit of God, at first incarnate in the Son, then dwelling in believers through faith and the agency of the Word. When these relationships are accomplished, peace, rest and safety are the results. This is exactly what the Messiah brought to the world and gave to all who will receive it by faith (cf. Mat. 11:25-30; Joh. 14:27; Joh. 15:11; Eph. 1:14; Eph. 2:11-22). For the true Jew in the eyes of God is one who is one inwardly (Rom. 2:28-29); indeed the promises made to Abrahams progeny was intended to be found by anyone who would become one of his children by faith in the one seed, Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:6-9; Gal. 3:15-18); and all who are new creatures by faith in Christ are the Israel of God (Gal. 6:14-16). One thing is certain; the promises of Isaiah here in Isa. 32:16-18 have not found fulfillment in the Jews or in Palestine to this point in history. And to hold out a special dispensation for the Jews in some future age seems to us to disparage the finality and completeness of the New Testament, to say the least.
Isa. 32:19 seems to indicate a prediction of the defeat of all that opposes this future Messianic purpose of God. Enemies of God are likened unto forests in Isa. 10:18-19; Jer. 46:23; unto images and beasts in Daniel 2-8; unto dragons and beasts in Revelation 12-13. God will overcome all opposition as He completes His work of redemption and establishing a place of peace, rest and safety on earth. What God will do on earth will last forever (Isa. 32:17). The kingdom of God established on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) is an eternal kingdom.
Those who by faith become citizens of this kingdom will enjoy Gods blessings in abundance (Joh. 10:10; 1Co. 3:21-23; Eph. 1:3; Rom. 8:17-18; Rom. 8:32; 2Co. 4:16-18). Whatever they do, wherever they sow, wherever they work, it will prosper.
QUIZ
1.
What kind of women were prevalent in Isaiahs day?
2.
How would the vintage fail?
3.
How long did the spiritual destitution of the Jews last?
4.
What is the pouring out of the Spirit to bring with it?
5.
Name some N.T. scriptures where we may find the fulfillment of these promised blessings.
6.
Who are the true people of God?
7.
When did God defeat the ultimate opposition of the forces of evil?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(9) Rise up, ye women that are at ease . . .The beginning of a new section, probably a distinct sermon, or, as it were, pamphlet, against the evils of which the prophet had spoken in Isa. 2:16-22, and which continued, it would seem, unabated, in spite of Hezekiahs reformation. It probably finds a place here as painting the harem influence, which then, as in the policy of modern Eastern monarchies, Constantinople and elsewhere, lay behind the counsels of the king and his ministers. The whole tone is that of invective against the women of the pseudo-aristocracy that had been covertly attacked in the preceding verses.
Give ear unto my speech . . .Another echo of the teaching of the Proverbs (Pro. 2:1; Pro. 3:1; Pro. 4:1; Pro. 6:1; Pro. 6:20.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
APPENDIX TO THE FOURTH WOE-ADDRESS TO THE WOMEN.
9. There is an abrupt change here. From men in high life to women in high life the prophet now turns. All aglow with views of the glorious coming time in his closing address to the men, he comes suddenly back to the real state of things for a separate admonition to the women.
Rise up, ye women Not a physical rising up is meant, though the form of address is like to that of Lamech to his wives, (Gen 4:23.) but an inward rousing of the conscience.
At ease careless ones Women at ease, and self-secure in luxurious living, not dreaming of calamity and unprepared for it.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Life As It Will Be Before The King Comes In Terms of Careless Women At Ease ( Isa 32:9-14 ).
Isaiah showed neither fear nor favour. He was as ready to draw attention to the sins of the womenfolk as well as those of the men. He was concerned that none should be able to hide behind a cloak of anonymity. Here he castigates the better off women who enjoy their ease and are overconfident and complacent, we might almost say ‘cocky’, about themselves and their importance. He no doubt met many of them around the court, full of their opinions and derogatory of others. It is probable that he saw them as depicting the spiritual barrenness of the nation more than most, for they paraded their condition openly (Isa 3:16-23), and because it is often the women who are the most openly devout, their behaviour emphasised what little devoutness there was in the nation.
Analysis.
a Rise up you women who are at ease, and hear my voice. You complacent (overconfident) daughters, give ear to my speech. For days beyond a year you will be troubled, you complacent (overconfident) women (Isa 32:9-10 a).
b For the vintage will fail, the ingathering will not come (Isa 32:10 b).
c Tremble you women who are at ease, be troubled you complacent (overconfident) ones (Isa 32:11 a).
c Strip yourselves and make yourselves bare, and gird sackcloth on your loins (Isa 32:11 b).
b They will smite on the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine (Isa 32:12).
a On the land of my people will come up thorn-briars, yes, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city. For the palace will be forsaken, the populous city will be deserted, the hill and the watchtower will be dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks (Isa 32:13-14).
In ‘a’ the women at ease are to rise up because trouble is coming, while in the parallel thorn-briars will come up and all in which they trust will be done away. In ‘b’ the vintage will fail, and in the parallel they will smite on their breasts for the fruitful vine. In ‘c’ they are to tremble and be troubled, and in the parallel they are to publicly demonstrate their despair.
Isa 32:9-12
‘Rise up you women who are at ease, and hear my voice.
You complacent (overconfident) daughters, give ear to my speech.
For days beyond a year you will be troubled, you complacent (overconfident) women.
For the vintage will fail,
The ingathering will not come.
Tremble you women who are at ease,
Be troubled you complacent (overconfident) ones,
Strip yourselves and make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your loins.
They will smite on the breasts for the pleasant fields,
For the fruitful vine.’
These women enjoyed plentiful leisure and indulgence, and this had made them somewhat above themselves. They were at ease and complacent. They felt that nothing could disturb the equanimity of their lives. As they paraded themselves they no doubt looked down arrogantly on the poor and lowly women who had to work in the fields or do menial labour. But now Isaiah warns them that hard times are coming, even for them, shortage of wine and summer fruits, their treasured delicacies. And it would go on for more than one bad year. It would be better for them therefore if they now took off their splendid clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn. For shortly would come the time for the beating of breasts at the lack of harvest, at the emptiness and devastation of the fields that always results from invasion or drought.
Indeed the stripping off of the clothes may be intended to signify more than mourning. Perhaps he is here already preparing them for the long march into exile, for in Isa 20:2-3 stripping off the clothes indicates exile and captivity as men are led off in shame and ignominy. As the following verses make clear it is finally exile that is in mind. But we must accept that Isaiah in his warning probably still hoped for a repentant people, and therefore longed that they might show signs of returning to God.
Isa 32:13
‘On the land of my people will come up thorn-briars,
Yes, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
This is the picture of a deserted land. Thorn-briars (wilderness weeds) would spring up everywhere, even in the houses in the cities where there was so much hilarity. The complacent women at ease would no longer be complacent but would feel the prick of the thorns.
Isa 32:14
For the palace will be forsaken,
The populous city will be deserted,
The hill and the watchtower will be dens for ever,
A joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks.’
All that the women at ease looked to would be gone. The palace would be forsaken, the city, once so populous, deserted, and even the watchtowers would be home to the wild ass. ‘The hill’ was probably a recognised watch place, possibly the southern projection of the temple mount, the Ophel, paralleling the watchtower. They will no longer have a use but will instead be made use of by wild asses and flocks who will enjoy them to the full.
This is either speaking of exile or of a land so devastated that comparatively few are left. In view of Isa 6:11-12 we may presume the first, although both were no doubt true. While he was aware that God would deliver Jerusalem from Sennacherib he looked beyond that and recognised what the end must be. Indeed these words may well have been spoken after that great deliverance when it was apparent how little real effect it had had on the lives of the people. Either way he had his inaugural instructions which had told him how it must finally be. ‘For the cities will be waste without inhabitant, and the houses without men, and the land become utterly waste. And Yahweh has removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land’ (Isa 6:10-11). And he knew now with sinking heart that it had to be. Even Hezekiah had shown himself as unreliable (Isa 39:1-6).
(The one piece of light in the darkness was that this fate did not affect the whole of the promised land. While different groups were taken into exile, from Galilee, from Samaria and from Jerusalem, this did not cover the whole land. The poor were not taken and there were many parts which were not left so empty of population (even though for a time they had fled to the mountains) and would recover. Those who were exiled were the leadership and the artisans, the aristocratic and the educated from the targeted places. The ordinary people were left behind. So the picture was not quite as bleak as it seemed, looked at from the point of view of the whole land. But it undoubtedly was for Jerusalem and for those directly involved).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Desolation and Restoration
v. 9. Rise up, ye women that are at ease, v. 10. Many days and years shall ye be troubled, v. 11. Tremble, ye women that are at ease, v. 12. They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, v. 13. Upon the land of my people, v. 14. Because the palaces, v. 15. until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high, v. 16. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, v. 17. And the work of righteousness v. 18. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, v. 19. when it shall hail, coming down on the forest, v. 20. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Isa 32:9-10. Rise up, ye women The prophet, to shew the sinners and hypocrites in Zion, (ch. Isa 33:14.) that they must not build any false hopes of blessings from God, such as he had just now predicted, while in their state of impenitence,denounces against them the calamities which, first by the Assyrian, Isa 32:9-10 and then by the Babylonish destruction, Isa 32:11-14 should come upon them. By the women at ease, and careless daughters, are to be understood the cities and villages of Judaea, vainly confident in their present security; and he tells them, that, at a certain period, which he here calls a day beyond a year, the land of Canaan, not by the inclemency of the heavens, but by means of the desolation to be brought upon it by its enemies, should deceive the common hope of its inhabitants, who enjoyed its fruits in plenty, and of the best kind, not for their necessities only, but also for their delights. There is great doubt respecting the phrase which we render many days and years; Vitringa thinks that it signifies two years, for it is literally, iamim al shanah, days above a year; and that it denotes the time of the continuance of the calamity brought upon Judaea by Sennacherib. We may just observe, that the destroying of the vintage is a symbol of taking away all joy. See ch. Isa 16:8.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
4.THE PRESENT PUNISHMENT OF THE PROUD WOMEN, AND THE FUTURE GLORY OF THE NATION
Isa 32:9-20
9Rise up, ye women that Ire at ease;
Hear my voice, ye careless daughters;
Give ear unto my speech.
1014 Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women:
For the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
11Tremble, ye women that are at ease;
Be troubled, ye careless ones:
Strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
1215 They shall lament for the teats,
For 16 the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briars;
17 Yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:
14Because the palaces 18 shall be forsaken;
The multitude of the city b shall be left;
The 19 forts and towers 20 shall be for dens forever,
A joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
15Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high,
And the wilderness be a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
1621 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17And the work of righteousness shall be peace;
And the 22effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.
18And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation
And in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
1923 When it shall hail, coming down on the forest;
And 24 the city shall be in a low place.
20Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters,
That send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Isa 32:9. is here used absolutely as in Jdg 18:7; Jdg 18:10; Jdg 18:27; Jer 7:8; Jer 12:5. again Isa 32:9; Isa 32:11; Isa 32:18; Isa 33:20; Isa 37:29.
Isa 32:10. The singular must be taken in the sense of one year, seeing there is nothing to indicate that it is a collective.After the specification of time the sentence ought properly to proceed with the Vav. consec. and the perf. Yet there are also examples of the use of the imperf. with Vav. (Exo 12:3; Jer 8:1 Kthibh) or without it (Isa 27:6; Isa 7:8 comp. Isa 21:16; Jer 8:1 Kri; Gen 40:13; Gen 40:19). The accusative responds to the question when, to signify the point of time where the predicted event will intervene.On comp. at Isa 14:6.
Isa 32:11. In we have the masculine as the chief form that includes the feminine, as the man rules and represents the woman: In , , , we have also the chief form of the imperative, i. e., the masculine, with the cohortative He of motion toward. Thus these imperatives contain no individualized command, but one formed quite generally as to matter, without regard to person and number: similar to our way in giving words of command, wherein at least no regard is had to the number of those addressed as we use the infin., or past particip. [the illustration is drawn of course from the Germ. idiom.Tr.]. This ver. shows plainly how in Hebrew the gender of words is not so rigidly fixed as in classical and modern languages, and hence it not so consistently adhered to.Isaiah uses only here.Of nudum esse he uses the Piel Isa 23:13.
Isa 32:12. The same preponderance of the masc. gender appears in that is noticed in Isa 32:11, and has the same explanation. as verb in Isaiah, only here; comp. Isa 22:12; Jer 49:3,Note the similarity in sound of and . amoenitas, deliciae only here in Isaiah, comp. on Isa 27:2; Amo 5:11 comp. Isa 17:6; Psa 128:3; Eze 19:10.
Isa 32:13 thorn, thorn bushes, again in Isaiah only Isa 13:12, and is joined with only here. Everywhere else Isaiah joins this word with (Isa 5:6; Isa 7:23 sqq.; Isa 9:17; Isa 10:17; Isa 17:4). One might grammatically regard the words as having a genitive relation. But as the words ,Isa 27:3, occur in apposition ( which is ), we may assume the same construction here. The general notion (resecandum, from = comp. locks) is more exactly defined as (prickly thing).The are not necessarily the houses of . For there are such houses of pleasure, not only in the capital, but in all cities and villages of the land. Therefore I can as little take in the genitive with as I could assume that construction Isa 28:1. As there , so here is dependent on .
Isa 32:14. This verse is subordinated to the last clause of Isa 32:13, for it explains how the city has become overgrown with thorns.There is a metonymy in the expression , the effect being put for the cause, i.e., stands for Isa 22:2.
Isa 32:15. The expression occurs only here; occurs in Isaiah, often: Isa 22:16; Isa 24:18; Isa 40:26; Isa 57:15; Isa 58:4, etc.
Isa 32:17. (comp. Isa 5:2; Isaiah 4:10; Hab 3:17) is “the yield;” in the sense of “fruit of service,” comp. , occurs, as far as I can see, only here. in the same sense as here Isa 33:20; Isa 34:13; Isa 35:7. in Isaiah only here. Isa 11:10; Isa 28:12; Isa 66:1.
Isa 32:19. The verb occurs only here: but comp. Isa 28:2; Isa 28:17; Isa 30:30 is . Note that and , and on the one hand, and and on the other correspond in assonance.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. As in chapter 3. so here, the Prophet addresses men and women separately, having in mind especially those of the higher, and highest ranks. According to the foregoing exposition, Isa 32:1-8, under the guise of a glorious Messianic prophecy, contain a sharp reproof for powerful ones in Jerusalem. The second part of the chapter, on the other hand, is directed against the proud, secure women, announcing a season of disaster for them (Isa 32:9-14), [until by a special divine influence a total revolution shall take place in the character, and, as a necessary consequence, in the condition of the people.J. A. A., on Isa 32:15] (Isa 32:15-20).
2. Rise uppasture of flocks.
Isa 32:9-14. The form of the introduction calls to mind Isa 1:2; Isa 28:23, but more especially the address of Lamech to his wives Gen 4:23. I do not think that rise up demands a physical rising up. Like our German auf up, it may signify the merely inward rousing of the spirit to give attention (comp. Num 23:18). has elsewhere also the secondary meaning of proud ease: Psa 123:4; Amo 6:1; Zec 1:15. The specification of time in Isa 32:10, does not relate to the continuance of the desolation, as is evident from Isa 32:15 until the spirit, etc. According to Isa 29:1, which is manifestly related to our passage both as to matter and time (see the exposition there), it is probable that the Prophet means an indefinite number of days added to a year. (See Text. and Gram.). Evidently the Prophet has in mind women that have heretofore never known any want, but have continually lived in abundance and luxury. Just for this reason will trembling and dismay seize them. For they would assuredly not have dispensed with the products of the wine and fruit harvest, had not the enemy occupied the territory about Jerusalem and made gathering and plucking impossible. Thus the scarcity of those noble products, felt as a sure token of the enemys presence, most of all in the apartments of women of rank, will frighten the women out of their secure and proud repose. Comp. Isa 16:7 sqq. the wine harvest (comp. Isa 24:13). , elsewhere (Exod. 23:16; 24:22), is the fruit harvest (Mic 7:1). The word occurs again only Isa 33:4, and there only in its fundamental sense. That which Isa 32:10 is presented as in prospect, is announced in Isa 32:11 as the command, the will of God. Hence it must happen. Strip you,etc. The command to disrobe is that garments of mourning may replace those before worn (Joe 1:13; Isa 15:3; Isa 22:12).
Though we may translate , Isa 32:13 b, by yea (immo), as more accordant with our speech, still there underlies it a causal relation. That the land is overgrown with thorns and thistles, will appear the more credible, when it is perceived that even the houses of pleasure, indeed the very capital grows rank with such weeds. (See Text. and Gram.). The joyous city means Jerusalem (comp. Isa 22:2; Zep 2:15). as was shown at Isa 22:2, has the secondary meaning presumptuous joy. The propriety of this sense here in reference to the women of careless ease is evident. (On the logical connection of Isa 32:14 see Text. and Gram.). Inasmuch as joyous city and multitude of the city, (which expressions are conjoined Isa 22:2), occur only in Isa 22:2 and our text, one properly infers a relationship between these chapters both as regards matter and time.
As not every city has an Ophel, and thus Ophel may not be taken as a general attribute of cities, but as something peculiar to Jerusalem (though not in distinction from all cities, for Samaria had an Ophel, 2Ki 5:24), so we may understand by it the locality mentioned, 2Ch 27:3; 2Ch 33:14; Neh 3:26 sq.; Neh 11:21, the southern steep, rocky prominence of Moriah from the south end of the temple-place to its extremest point, the , of Josephus. (Arnold in HerzogsR. Ency. VIII., p. 632). (. .) is anyway kindred to or (Isa 23:13) and must, according to the fundamental meaning of the verb (probare, explorare, examinare) signify a locality suitable for this, a watch-tower, look-out. But whether towers in general or a particular tower is meant, is hard to say. does not occur elsewhere; yet the common word for tower, , signifies also watch-tower (2Ki 9:17; 2Ki 17:9, etc.), and wall-towers (Neh 3:11; Neh 12:38). Perhaps this would have been used here, were only towers in general spoken of. Hence it is rather probable that this word , named along with and occurring only in this passage, signifies a tower especially designated by this name, located in Ophel; perhaps the great tower of Neh 3:27 that is mentioned in connection with Ophel. Ophel and shall be pro speluncis or vice speluncarum. which everywhere involves the notion of something separating, has here the meaning for, instead of. For what intervenes for another, in a measure puts itself before it, and in this way forms a partition between it and the observer. Wild, lonely, and far remote from all human intercourse must be the caves in which the wild ass ( only here in Isaiah) has as much joy as a man in his finely built dwelling (Isa 32:13).
3. Until the spiritand the ass.
Isa 32:15-20. As all the preceding prophecies are double-sided, including as it were day and night, such too is the case with the present one. But here, too, the Prophet does not promise immediate salvation. He sets the glorious Messianic last time over against the pernicious present time, yet in a way that overleaps the long centuries that intervene, and sees that future directly behind the present. Thus that begins Isa 32:15 is both a restriction of the hyperbolical (immeasurable extent of time as e.g., Isa 63:16; Jer 2:20), and a bold bridge from the present into the remote future. He portrays the latter in that aspect that corresponds to the things he reproves in the present. Proud security now reigns, for which however there is no reason. But in that time there will reign security and repose, resting on the securest foundation. For Israel will then be filled with the spirit of God, and serve in this spirit, by which shall be assured to them Gods protection and support against all enemies. The expression is very strong, meaning properly: the spirit from on high will be emptied out on us, completely poured out (comp. Isa 11:9, and respecting the word Gen 24:20 comp. Isa 3:17; Isa 22:6; Isa 53:12). How far-reaching and comprehensive is the gaze of the Prophet here! He regards the spirit from on high not merely as an ethical and intellectual, but also as a physical life-principle. He speaks here, as he does Isa 11:2-9, of nature and of persons as wholly pervaded by spirit. And the wilderness will be a fruitful field,etc., which has a proverbial sound, must certainly be taken in another sense than that of Isa 29:17. The latter passage speaks of retrogression; here progress is meant. There is a descending climax, Lebanon, fruitful field, forest; here an ascending, desert, fruitful field, forest, in which the Prophet manifestly treats the forest, not as representing absence of cultivation, but as representing the most prodigious development of vegetation. He would say: what is now waste will then be fruitful field, and what is now fruitful field will then be forest, i.e., will stand high as a forest. Then a very different, a higher principle of life, originating from the divine will penetrate even nature. Of course, then, the personal life of men also. And how beautifully the Prophet depicts this harmony of both! He names again the wilderness and the fruitful field (Isa 32:16) in order to say that judgment and righteousness shall dwell in them (comp. Isa 1:27; Isa 5:16; Isa 9:6; Isa 10:22; Isa 28:17). And the fruit of this spiritual right-being will in turn make its impress by a right glorious outward appearance, viz., in everlasting peace, rest and security. What a picture for the proudly secure women (Isa 32:9 sqq.)! They may see why they are so called in a reproving sense. Their ease and security lack foundation.
When it shall hail,etc. I can only regard Isa 32:19 as the sombre foil which the Prophet uses to enhance the splendor of that future which he displayed to his people. [Some think there is an allusion to the hail in Egypt while Goshen was spared; see Exo 9:22-26.Tr.]. We have had several such pictures of the future with a dark background (Isa 11:14 sq.; Isa 25:10 sqq.; Isa 26:5 sq., etc.). Every one admits that 19a, relates to Assyria. We had the forest as emblem of Assyria Isa 9:17; Isa 10:18-19; Isa 10:34. This forest shall fall under a storm of hail. On comp. Deu 28:52; Zec 11:2. It is not said that the forest shall break down by the hail, but that it shall hail when the forest breaks down. Thus this breaking down may be effected by something else, say by the blows of an axe. Anyway the forest will break down under a storm of hail, some phenomenon coming from on high and accredited as a divine instrument of judgment. Very many expositors understand the city in a low place to mean Jerusalem (Hitzig, Knobel, Caspari, Delitzsch,etc.). But why of a sudden this dark trait in the picture of light? Is not the abasement of Jerusalem sufficiently declared in Isa 32:13-14? Why a repetition here? or, if not repetition, why thus suddenly a new judgment in the midst of the blessed, spirit-effected condition of peace? If the forest means the world-power generally, then the city must mean the centre of it, the world-city (comp. Isa 24:10-12; Isa 25:2-3; Isa 25:12; Isa 26:5. It is worthy of remark that, Isa 25:12; Isa 26:5, the Prophet uses thrice in reference to the judgment on the world-city. That he does not elsewhere in 2833, mention the world-city is no reason why he may not once mention it here. Why need he mention it oftener? Is it more probable that he would not mention it at all, than that he should do so once?
In Isa 32:20 the Prophet returns exclusively to Israel In contrast with the desolations (near for Israel, remote for the world-power), he promises to his people the possession of the land in its widest extent, and the freest use of it for cultivation and pasture. Blessed are ye (comp. Isa 30:18; Isa 56:2) he says, who sow beside all waters, i.e., on all fruitful lands. Thus all well-watered and so fruitful land-stretches will be at Israels service, and Israel shall cultivate them, and raising cattle shall be unhindered (comp. Isa 30:23). In fact the earth shall be theirs, and they may use as much laud as they wish for either. Cattle may pasture in full freedom, unrestrained by fetters or fence. The whole land shall be for the sending forth of oxen, Isa 7:25.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa 31:1-2, Against the perverted confidence and fleshly trust in human wisdom, power and might, because the people doubt Gods help, and because of such wicked doubt put their trust in human power, wit and skill. It is true the Scripture does not deny that one may use means and call in human aid in danger, yet so that even the heart looks rather to God, and knows that if He watches not and keeps not Israel, all other human help and means are in vain (Psa 127:1; Jer 17:5).Cramer.
2. On Isa 31:3. Notetur diligenter sententia isthaec prophetae: Aegyptus homo et non Deus, adeoque symboli loco semper in ore habeatur et usurpatur tum ad doctrinam, tum ad consolationem (Psa 62:10; Psa 73:18 sq.).Foerster.
3. On Isa 31:4-5. The Lord, on the one hand, compares Himself to a lion, that will not suffer his prey to be torn away from him, and means by that that He will not suffer Himself to be turned from His counsel against Jerusalem by those false helpers, to which Jerusalem looks for protection against the punishments that it has deserved. But on the other hand the Lord compares Himself most touchingly and fittingly to the eagle that stretches its feathers over its young to protect them (Deu 32:11) [see Trs. note on Isa 32:5]. Blessed is he that sits under the shelter of the Highest, and abides under the shadow of the Almighty (Psa 91:1; comp. Matt. 33:27).
4. On Isa 31:7. Foerster remarks on this verse, that it is used by the Reformed as a proof-passage against the use of images in churches. He distinguishes between imagines superstitiosae, whose use is of course forbidden, and imagines non superstitiosae, the like of which were even, permitted and used in the worship of Jehovah, e. g., the cherubim and other images of art in the Tabernacle and in the Temple.
5. On Isa 31:8. God has manifold ways by which He can head off tyrants, and does not need always to draw the sword over them. Examples: Sennacherib, 2Ki 19:35; Nebuchadnezzar, Dan 4:30; Herod, Act 12:23.Cramer.
6. On Isa 31:9. That the Lord has in Zion His fire and His hearth in Jerusalem is at once the strength and the weakness of the Old Covenant. It is its strength so far as, of course, it is a high privilege that Israel enjoys above all nations of the Gentile world, that the point of the earths surface that the Lord has made the place of His real presence on earth is the central point of their land and of their communion. But it is its weakness so far as this presence is only a transient and outward one, which, when misunderstood, can minister only to an outward worship and a false confidence (comp. Jer 7:4) that affords only a treacherous point of support that is dangerous to the soul. How totally different is the real presence of the Lord in the church of the New Covenant! To it the Lord is organically joined as a member, as on the other hand the Lord joins all members of His church really to Himself by His Spirit and His sacraments.
7. On Isa 32:1-8. The picture which the Prophet paints here of the church of the last time is the picture of every true congregation of Christ. In it, the will of the Lord must be the only law according to which men judge, and not any fleshly consideration of any sort. In it, there must be open eyes and ears for Gods work and word; and if in some things precedence is readily allowed to the children of this world, still in spiritual things the understanding must be right and the speech clear. Finally, in it persons must be valued according to their true Christian, moral worth, not according to advantages that before God are rather a reproach than an honor. But the picture of the true congregation mirrors to us our own deformities. All this is not found in us. Everywhere appears worldly consideration, looking to the world, much weakness in spiritual judgment, and in speech far too much respect for the advantages that worldly position and wealth give the church member. May the Lord mend these things in us; and if only at the last He transforms the old church in its totality into the new, so let each of us pray the Lord that still He would more and more transform each worldling into a true, spiritual man.Weber. The Prophet Isaiah, 1875.
8. On Isa 32:1-4. Men of all times may learn from the Prophets words what sort of persons true kings, noblemen and officials ought to be. Underlying the whole discourse of Isaiah is the thought that those in authority are there for the sake of the people [comp. Luk 22:25-26.Tr.], and that truth and honor are the first conditions of flourishing rule (comp. Herz., R-Encycl. XI. p. 24).
On Isa 32:8. Old Flattig once met the Duke of Wurtemburg on the latters birth day. Well, Flattig, inquired the Duke, what did you preach on my birth-day? Serene highness, what did I preach? I just preached that princes ought to have princely thoughts. The Duke rode on without making any reply. Where there is no princely heart, there can come forth no princely thoughts. And only then does one have a princely heart when the Lord is the hearts prince.
9. On Isa 32:9. One must not suppose that it was no part of the Prophets office to reform women, seeing God includes all men under sin, and the proud daughters of Zion with their ostentation, were a great cause of the land being laden with sins (Isa 3:6).Cramer.
[The alarm is sounded to women,to feed whose pride, vanity and luxury, their husbands and fathers were tempted to starve the poor.M. Henry, in loc.].
HOMILETICAL HINTS
1. On Isa 31:1-4. Warning against confiding in human help. 1) It is insulting to God. 2) It proves idle at last, for a, the power of men is in itself weak; b, it is wholly powerless against the strong hand of God.
2. On Isa 31:5-9. The Lord alone is the shelter of His Own. 1) He will be such (Isa 32:5); 2) He must be such (ver, 9 b, His own interest demands this); 3) He alone can be such (Isa 32:8); 4) He will be such on one condition (Isa 32:6).
3. [On Isa 31:6-7 1) It is general; every one shall cast away his own idols and begin with them before trying to demolish those of other people, which there will be no need of when every man reforms himself. 2) It is thorough: for they shall part with their idolatry, their beloved sin, made more precious by the gold and silver devoted to it. 3) It is on the right principle: a principle of piety and not of policy; because idolatry was a sin and not because it was profitless (deeply revolted, sinfully made idols). After M. Henry, in locTr.].
4. On Isa 32:1-8. As there are always poor people, so there must always be persons of power and superior rank. The latter must know that they are there for the sake of the people, as guardians of right, as protectors of the poor and weak, so to speak, as the eyes, ears and tongues of the commonwealth. But as in Gods kingdom descent from Abraham counts for nothing any more, and true worship is no more that which is offered in Jerusalem, but that which is in spirit and in truth, so, too, the nobility of the flesh must yield precedence to nobility of the spirit. Not he that is noble according to the flesh, but a fool according to the spirit shall be called noble. Only he that has princely thoughts shall be called a prince; for truth reigns in the kingdom of God.
5. [On Isa 32:2. This may be given a spiritual application by a special reference to Christ, as eminently true of Him, the King of kings. This application is old and precious. Wind and tempest, rain and hail and burning heat are emblems of the calamities of life, and especially of Gods judgments on sin. Distress and impending judgment make men seek shelter. Christ is the only adequate hiding-place and covert. Let men run to Him with the eagerness of travellers in the burning desert taking refuge under a rock from the coming storm. The same rock-cliff often has a bountiful stream issuing just there where its cavernous recess affords the best shelter. While the traveller is safe from the tempest, he may rest and refresh himself from the distress he has endured. The rock not only excludes the rays of the sun, but it has itself a refreshing coolness that is most grateful to a weary traveller.Barnes. Some observe here, that as the covert, and hiding-place, and the rock, do themselves receive the battering of the wind and storm, to save those from it that take shelter in them, so Christ bore the storm Himself to keep it off from us.M. Henry. Tr.].
6. On Isa 32:9-11. When a land goes to ruin a great part of the blame of it rests on the women. For they are more easily prompted to evil, as they are to good. Where evil has once taken root, they are the ones that carry it to an extreme. Und geht es zu des Bsen Haus, das Weib hat tausend Schritt voraus. Therefore the punishment falls the hardest on them. As the weaker and more delicate, they suffer the most under the blows of misfortune.
7. On Isa 32:15 sqq. When once the Spirit of God is poured out on all flesh (Joe 3:1) then the personal and impersonal creation will be glorified. Then Satan will be bound, and the Lord alone will rule in men, and in nature. Then at last will it be beautiful on earth. For then right and righteousness will reign on earth, and peace, and that rest that is promised to the people of God (Heb 4:9).
Footnotes:
[14]Heb. Days above a year.
[15]They beat on the breasts for.
[16]Heb. the fields of desire.
[17]Or, Burning upon, etc.
[18]is.
[19]Or, clifts and watchtowers.
[20]are.
[21]And.
[22]service.
[23]And it will hail when the forest falls.
[24]Or, the city shall be utterly abased.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
I include the whole of these blessed verses under one reading, for the sake of shortness. How very gracious is this call to all careless and inconsiderate persons; and how strikingly doth the Prophet set forth the awful judgments which must fall upon those, that slight the invitation to mercy; while, at the same time, he sets forth the security and happiness of those that accept it. Reader! the Lord grant, if consistent with his mind and will, that you and I may be among the number of those, the Prophet pronounceth blessed, from sitting round those rich waters of grace, beside which the great Shepherd of Israel feeds his sheep?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 32:9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
Ver. 9. Rise up, ye women that are at ease. ] Secure sedentes, ye court ladies, whose pride hath brought on the wars; Isa 3:25 or, ye hen hearted Jews, A A ; or, ye lesser cities and villages of Judah, rise up, and rouse up yourselves, ad exhibendum honorem verbo Dei, In honour of God’s holy Word. Jdg 3:20
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 32:9-20
9Rise up, you women who are at ease,
And hear my voice;
Give ear to my word,
You complacent daughters.
10Within a year and a few days
You will be troubled, O complacent daughters;
For the vintage is ended,
And the fruit gathering will not come.
11Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist,
12Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
13For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up;
Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city.
14Because the palace has been abandoned, the populated city forsaken.
Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever,
A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks;
15Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
16Then justice will dwell in the wilderness
And righteousness will abide in the fertile field.
17And the work of righteousness will be peace,
And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
18Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation,
And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;
19And it will hail when the forest comes down,
And the city will be utterly laid low.
20How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
Who let out freely the ox and the donkey.
Isa 32:9-12 This strophe speaks of the rich, wealthy society women of Jerusalem (cf Isa 3:16 to Isa 4:1). Notice how they are addressed.
1. rise up you women who are at ease, Isa 32:9, BDB 877, KB 1086, Qal IMPERATIVE. The same VERB was used in the previous verse in the sense of stand or remain, but here it means stand up when I the Lord (or His prophet) address you.
2. hear my voice, Isa 32:9, BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERATIVE
3. give an ear to my word, Isa 32:9, BDB 24, KB 27, Hiphil IMPERATIVE (cf. Isa 28:23). Notice how the second and third VERBS are parallel, as are the descriptive phrases women who are at ease, (cf. Isa 32:11) and you complacent daughters, and again in Isa 32:10-11.
4. you will be troubled, Isa 32:10, BDB 919, KB 1182, Qal IMPERFECT. This term denotes agitation, shaking, being perturbed. Note the time elements in Isa 32:10.
a. within a year and a few days
b. time of the vintage is ended
c. the fruit gathering will not come
5. tremble, Isa 32:11, BDB 353, KB 350, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Isa 10:29; Isa 19:16; Isa 41:5. This is parallel to troubled in Isa 32:10 (surprisingly all the IMPERATIVES of Isa 32:11 are MASCULINE, but addressed to women).
6. be troubled, Isa 32:11, BDB 919, KB 1182, Qal IMPERATIVE, same VERB as Isa 32:10
7. strip, Isa 32:11, BDB 832 II, KB 980, Qal IMPERATIVE. This could be a sign of (1) mourning (cf. Eze 26:16) or (2) humiliation (cf. Hos 2:5).
8. undress, Isa 32:11, BDB 792, KB 889, Qal IMPERATIVE
9. put sackcloth on your waist, Isa 32:11, BDB 291, KB 291, Qal IMPERATIVE, also a sign of mourning. See Special Topic: Grieving Rites .
10. beat your breasts, Isa 32:12, BDB 704, KB 763, Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE, another sign of mourning, Luk 18:13; Luk 23:48.
All of these relate to the period of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 B.C. Sieges were horrible experiences of deprivation and disease.
Isa 32:9-11
NASB, NKJV,
NRSVcomplacent daughters
NJBover-confident daughters
REBdaughters without a care
LXXdaughters of hope
JPSOAconfident ladies
The Hebrew term (BDB 105, KB 120) normally means security or confidence, though some scholars see another root (BDB 105 II, KB 121) meaning fall to the ground (NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 649).
This term also occurs in Isa 32:17 and is translated confidence or security (NASB margin). These wealthy, elite women were over-confident (NJB).
Isa 32:10 Within a year and a few days This is a very specific time reference (possibly connected to the harvest season) and seems to relate to the invasion of Sennacherib in 701 B.C.
Isa 32:12 Beat your breasts There are three ways to deal with this phrase.
1. relate it to the stripped and bare-breasted women of Isa 32:11
2. change the Hebrew breast (rare poetic term, BDB 994, ) to fields (BDB 961, , cf. Isa 56:9), as JPSOA lists in a footnote. If option #2 is followed, then fields, the pleasant fields, and the fruitful vine become parallel for the loss of agricultural abundance.
3. see it as an idiom for mourning whether male or female (Peshitta)
Isa 32:13 the joyful houses This same term joyful (BDB 965) is used in Isa 32:14 for a delight for wild donkeys. Isaiah uses
1. doubling
2. word plays
3. repeated metaphors
to communicate his messages. The Hebrew text of Isaiah is far more dynamic and artistic than in translation. He was a master poet. One wonders if YHWH communicated the messages in poetry or Isaiah crafted them. Since all of YHWH’s revelations are not in artistic poetry, it seems this was Isaiah’s skill. Many of the word choices in Isaiah have far more to do with sound plays than lexical meaning. Rare words are used, as are unique meanings to common words. This is where the ambiguity for modern interpreters is exacerbated!
the jubilant city See note at Isa 24:10 and the chart at the introduction to chapter 26, D. God wanted to uniquely bless the people of the covenant to attract the attention of the nations, but because of Israel and Judah’s rebellion, instead of abundance and peace came thorns and briars (cf. Isa 5:6; Isa 7:23-25; Isa 9:18; Isa 10:17; Isa 27:4; Gen 3:18).
Isa 32:14 This verse describes the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Isa 6:11; Isa 64:10), which is unusual for Isaiah who usually sees its deliverance (cf. Isa 1:8-9; Isa 8:8; Isa 29:1-8; Isa 37:36-37). Isaiah asserts Jerusalem’s sanctity because of YHWH’s presence there (i.e., the temple), but later Jeremiah clearly adds to this theological issue by focusing on the conditional nature of YHWH’s promises to His covenant people (i.e., Deuteronomy 27-28). Isaiah trusts God’s word, but His promises must be matched by appropriate human faith and obedience. Covenant is a two-way street!
Notice how the destruction is characterized.
1. the palace has been abandoned (i.e., the Davidic seed forsaken)
2. the populated city has been forsaken (i.e., the Abrahamic seed forsaken)
3. NASB, hill
NJB Ophel (BDB 779), a section of the southeastern ridge of ancient Jerusalem (or a metaphor for the whole city, similar to Zion). It is mentioned in 2Ch 27:3; 2Ch 33:14; Neh 3:26-27; Neh 11:21
4. #3 is parallel to watch-tower; both would denote the fortifications of Jerusalem being destroyed
5. a delight for wild donkeys
6. a pasture for flocks, both #5 and #6 denote a deserted, destroyed city, inhabited only by animals (cf. Isa 13:21; Isa 34:13)
There are two parallel VERBS.
1. has been abandoned, BDB 643, KB 695, Pual PERFECT, the Pual occurs only here
2. forsaken, BDB 736, KB 806, Qal PASSIVE (or Pual) PERFECT, cf. Jer 49:25
NASBcaves
NKJVlairs
NRSVdens
NJBthe Keep
The term (BDB 792) means cave, but in this context, an animal’s den. It is possible that Isaiah chose this term because of its sound similarity to
1. sepulcher (Arabic root), (context of death and destruction)
2. strip oneself, , rare VERB used in Isa 32:11
3. bare field, from Arabic root (NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 1034)
forever This is the relative use of the Hebrew term ‘olam. This term has a large semantical usage and must be interpreted in context.
SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER (‘OLAM)
Isa 32:15-20 This strophe describes a new day, a righteous day for Jerusalem.
1. The Spirit is poured out from God. The exact relationship between YHWH and the Spirit in the OT is difficult to relate to the full personal revelation of the NT. The Spirit is often associated with creation (cf. Gen 1:2; Job 26:13; Psa 104:29-30). With a new creation! For your information, I have included in this verse my NT Special Topic on The Personhood of the Spirit.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PERSONHOOD OF THE SPIRIT
2. The wilderness becomes a fertile field. . .a forest, Isa 32:15. This is the reversal of Isa 32:12-13. See the same metaphor of fertility in Isa 29:17.
3. Justice. . .righteousness abide, Isa 32:16
4. Peace, quietness, and confidence forever, Isa 32:17. This means no invasions (cf. Isa 32:18).
5. Isa 32:19 may refer to the destruction of Assyria.
6. Isa 32:20 is another blessing, but it is somewhat ambiguous.
Isa 32:15
NASB, NKJV,
NIVUntil the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high
NRSV, JPSOA until a spirit from on high is poured out on us
TEVGod will send us his spirit
NJBuntil the spirit is poured out on us from above
REBuntil a spirit from on high is lavished upon us
The Hebrew text has no ARTICLE, PRONOUN, or descriptive phrase (i.e., of the LORD, as in Isa 11:2 or My, Isa 44:3; Isa 59:21; Joe 2:28) linked to the NOUN spirit (BDB 924). The question is to whom does it refer.
1. the spirit of the new age
2. the Holy Spirit
3. a spirit of repentance and trust from God
Grammar suggests #1 or #3, but context suggests #2.
This is a radical break in the context. Similar passages which speak of God’s Spirit are Isa 44:3; Eze 39:29; Joe 2:28-29; Zec 12:10; Act 2:1-21. The same VERB is used in a sacrificial sense of the Messiah in Isa 53:12. There is a series of seven blessings that will result because of the Spirit’s presence: (1) fertility, (2) justice, (3) righteousness, (4) peace, (5) quietness, (6) confidence, and (7) secure dwelling.
from on high This is an idiom for heaven, the place of YHWH’s abode (cf. Job 16:19; Job 31:2; Isa 33:5).
Isa 32:16 justice. . .righteousness These are a common pair in the OT (cf. 2Sa 8:15; 1Ki 10:9; 1Ch 18:14; 2Ch 9:8; Psa 99:4; Isa 9:7; Isa 32:16; Isa 33:5; Isa 59:14; Jer 4:2; Jer 9:24; Jer 22:3; Jer 22:15; Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15; Eze 18:5; Eze 18:19; Eze 18:21; Eze 18:27; Eze 33:14; Eze 33:16; Eze 33:19; Eze 45:9; Amo 5:7; Amo 5:24). They denote the kind of society (cf. Isa 32:17-18) where all people are honored and treated fairly as covenant partners. They then characterize the unique presence of God among His people. See Special Topic: Judge, Judgment, Justice .
Isa 32:17 peace See Special Topic following.
SPECIAL TOPIC: PEACE (SHALOM)
quietness and confidence These two terms (BDB 1052 and BDB 105) also occur in Isa 30:15, which characterizes the new age of justice, righteousness, and peace (cf. Isa 32:1; Isa 32:16).
Isa 32:19 This is a very difficult verse which seems out of place. It may refer to Assyria. The phrase the forest is used of Assyria in Isa 10:18-19; Isa 10:33-34. The phrase the city is used of Assyria in Isa 24:10; Isa 25:2-3; Isa 26:5.
NASBit will hail
NKJVthough hail
NRSVwill disappear completely
TEV(but hail will fall. . .)
NJBbe totally destroyed
LXXif hail descends
PESHITTAhail shall come down
REBit will be cool on the slopes
JPSOAshall sink and vanish
The ancient versions see the MT’s (unknown form) as , BDB 135, hail, cf. noun in Isa 28:2; Isa 28:17.
REB sees it as coming from the same root in Arabic meaning become cool (BDB 135).
The NJB and JPSOA see the MT’s first two words as being from the same VERBAL root, ,
1. Qal PERFECT
2. Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
denoting a total and complete destruction (descent).
Isa 32:20 This verse is also very difficult to fit into the context. However, the consensus seems to be that in the days of God’s blessings, the crops will be so abundant that the cattle could roam freely and eat without really affecting the outcome of the crop.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
ye women. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species), “women” being put for the whole nation, now reduced by sin to utter weakness; or, a special message, as in Isa 3:16-26.
hear my voice. Reference to Pentateuch (Deu 4:33, Deu 4:36), App-92.
careless = confident. Hebrew. batah. App-69. Used here of self-confidence, in irony.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 32:9-15
Isa 32:9-15
“Rise up, ye women that are at ease, and hear my voice; ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech. For days beyond a year shall ye be troubled, ye careless women; for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come. Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones; strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. They shall smite upon the breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city. For the palace shall be forsaken; the populous city shall be deserted; the hill and the watch-tower shall be for dens forever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; until the Spirit be poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest.”
At first, these lines seem to have no connection with the preceding and subsequent paragraphs; but as Rawlinson noted, “They furnish a link between the two portions of the chapter, making it probable that they were delivered upon the same occasion. He also accepted the speculation of Cheyne that, this prophecy was uttered at a public festival, and that, “A group of women, gathered, we may suppose, at a little distance from the rest and testifying their indifference (perhaps by frivolity), received this address from Isaiah.” The warning was indeed shocking. In about a year, disaster would come upon Jerusalem, this fixing the approximate date of the prophecy as just prior to the destruction of Sennacherib’s army in 701 B.C.
“The beating of their breasts” because of the failure of the vintage and the harvest, is similar to what is related of the priestesses of Nineveh during the fall of that wicked city: “She is uncovered, she is carried away; and her handmaids moan as with the voice of doves, beating upon their breasts” (Nah 2:7).
Although Jerusalem was not destroyed by Sennacherib, all of the suburban cities were indeed captured and plundered; and the fields and vineyards were devastated indeed. Besides that, an even greater disaster loomed starkly ahead, which would be executed in the Babylonian destruction and captivity of the people. Thus the warning to these women who were so indifferent to God’s Word was one that was well deserved and should have been heeded.
“Yet, the desolation shall not be permanent.” It will last only “until God’s Spirit is poured out upon the people from on high” (Isa 32:15); therefore, we must understand a limitation on the words “forever” in Isa 32:14. It is good to keep in mind that “forever” in the Hebrew Bible never means “for all eternity.”
The mention of God’s Spirit here is very significant and shows that the theme of the whole chapter continues to be the Messianic Age, to which the prophecy returned after Isaiah’s rebuke of the careless women. The second chapter of Joel which was quoted by the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost identifies the coming of God’s Spirit upon men as a mark of the New Covenant.
We now know, of course, that God’s Spirit came on Pentecost and that the wonderful blessings promised by Isaiah here would be delivered by the preaching of the gospel of Christ; but, we may not suppose for a moment that Isaiah fully understood “when” such blessings would occur; and, it may even be admitted that the prophet might have “thought,” either that a repentant Hezekiah might be that righteous king, or that soon after Sennacherib’s army was destroyed, the Messiah would indeed come, etc. There is no greater error, however, than trying to interpret the Bible by what men “suppose” the prophet who gave the message might have “thought.” It is totally irrelevant what Isaiah may have thought. God is the speaker in his prophecy, not Isaiah.
Isa 32:9-14 WARNING PRONOUNCED: Once again the prophet appeals to the women to repent (cf. Isa 3:16 to Isa 4:1). Womanhood is the adhesive fibre of any society. They are the earliest teachers of each succeeding generation; they are the motivators of men; they are keepers of the home which is the essential element of all other social structures. When womanhood becomes decadent or deserts its God-ordained calling the last stronghold of societal cohesion is gone. Isaiah challenges the women of his day, lying around in luxury and self-indulgence, to rise up and listen to his warning. The women of Isaiahs country were probably much like the women of Israel in Amos day, revelers, drunkards, greedy and careless (cf. Amo 4:1-2; Amo 6:4-6). The word careless in Isa 32:9-10 is from the Hebrew, betahk, which means safe, secure. Thus, they were at ease in Zion with the false sense of security brought on by the deceitfulness of sin. The prophet is trying to startle them from their luxurious, indulgent lethargy. Isaiah predicts that in just a little over a year they will be brought up short because the ingathering of the vintage (the annual grape harvest) will not come as usual and their supply of wine and other luxuries will be unavailable. When the Assyrians swept down through Israel (722 B.C.) and on through Judah (cir. 704-700 B.C.) they practiced the scorched earth policy of warfare. Most ancient armies burned and destroyed all fortifications, cities and farmlands as they went so their enemies could not use them. Isaiah is probably writing here about a year before the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib (cf. Isaiah 36-39). At that time Assyria had conquered and plundered most of Judah with the exception of Jerusalem, and Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were caged like a bird by the Assyrian army. All those so safe and secure would tremble then!
Now is the time to tremble, says Isaiah. Repentance now will save you from the judgment of God that will surely come, and its beginning will be in little more than a year. The prophet predicts that unless they have a change of mind and heart about their rebellion and sin, and tremble, the Lord is going to make their once fruitful land a desolate ghost town. Thorns and briers will grow up and over houses; the palace of the king will be forsaken and Judahs teeming cities will be deserted. Why? Because the people will all be taken captive. Judah was not taken captive for another 100 years after Isaiahs prophecy here, but the judgment of Judah began with Assyria and continued through Babylon until its restoration in 536 under the Persians. During that period Judah was continually plundered and exploited by pagan empires and her people were being taken into captivity until the final captivity and destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. Judah was restored to her land beginning in 536 B.C. (70 years after Nebuchadnezzars first assault upon Jerusalem in 606 B.C.). She enjoyed a relatively peaceful existence for 200 years until Alexander the Great came conquering the world (cir. 332 B.C.) and his successors, the Seleucids, occupied Palestine. Then from about 165 B.C. until 64 B.C. Judah was free of foreign occupation for another 100 years during the times of the Maccabeans. But Pompey occupied Palestine (64 B.C.) for the Romans. Then in 70 A.D. the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and scattered the Jews to the ends of the earth. When Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one (cf. Dan 9:24-27) came, the Jews were offered their final overture from God to receive the blessings promised through the prophets. The blessings of the prophets all focus on the first coming of the Messiah. He is the only way left for anyone to repent toward God. There will be no other way (cf. Heb 6:1-8; Heb 10:1-31). A reinstituted Judaism with a reinstituted Hebrew priesthood and a rebuilt Jewish temple is not promised anywhere in the N.T. or the O.T. for that matter. For people to return to Judaism, in the light of the finality of the sacrifice of Christ, is apostasy, and it is impossible to renew anyone to repentance through law, Jewish law, or any other law. This leads us to our next section.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the Fruits of Righteousness
Isa 32:9-20
When Christs kingdom is set up it will bring dismay to the poor children of fashion. For more days than there are in the year will they be troubled, Isa 32:10, and will smite on their breasts in lamentation, Isa 32:12. The prediction of Isa 32:15-20 includes Pentecost, and looks forward to the era which lies immediately beyond this travail of the world. What is now reckoned as a fruitful field will be regarded as a barren forest in comparison with what shall then exist. Let us remember that righteousness must precede peace. See Mat 5:24 and Heb 7:2. When Gods judgments are hurtling through the air, and proud cities are being leveled to the earth, let us take refuge in His loving care. In Him are our safe dwellings and our quiet resting-places. But when the world is most unquiet, let us pursue our work of salvation; for when waters overflow the banks of the river, oxen and asses may still be sent forth to make furrows for the harvest seed.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
ye women: Isa 3:16, Isa 47:7, Isa 47:8, Deu 28:56, Jer 6:2-6, Jer 48:11, Jer 48:12, Lam 4:5, Amo 6:1-6
give ear: Isa 28:23, Jdg 9:7, Psa 49:1, Psa 49:2, Mat 13:9
Reciprocal: Neh 1:3 – in great Pro 31:13 – worketh Isa 3:24 – a girding Isa 24:7 – General Isa 47:1 – thou shalt Jer 9:20 – hear Jer 48:33 – joy Jer 49:31 – wealthy nation Lam 1:4 – her priests Eze 25:4 – they shall eat Eze 30:9 – careless Luk 9:44 – these
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 32:9-12. Rise up, &c. The prophet, to show the sinners and hypocrites in Zion, (Isa 33:14,) that they must not expect to receive blessings from God, such as he had just now predicted, while they remained in a state of impenitence, denounces against them the calamities which should come upon them; 1st, By the Assyrian, and then by the Babylonish destruction. Ye women that are at ease That indulge yourselves in idleness and luxury; shake off your carelessness and sloth, and prepare yourselves to hear the sentence pronounced by God concerning you. Hear my voice, ye careless daughters Hebrew, , ye confident and secure, who are insensible of your sin and danger. Many days and years Hebrew, , days above a year; that is, a year and some days: which, it seems, expresses the time of the continuance of the judgment by the Assyrians; that it should last some days above one year, as indeed it did, and no longer; for Hezekiah reigned in all but twenty-nine years, 2Ki 18:2. And Sennacherib invaded the country in his fourteenth year; and, after his defeat and departure, God promised and added to him fifteen years more, 2Ki 20:6. For the vintage shall fail During the time of the Assyrian invasion. The gathering shall not come Namely, of the other fruits of the earth; as that feast which was observed after the gathering of all the fruits was called the feast of ingathering, Exo 23:16. Tremble, ye women, &c. It seems probable, from these repeated addresses to the women, that those of Jerusalem especially, and, perhaps, also of many of the other towns in Judea, were, at that time, peculiarly vain, luxurious, dissipated, and wanton, and regardless of all religion. The prophet, therefore, especially addresses them, and warns them that a time of trouble awaited them. Strip ye and make ye bare Put off your ornaments, as God commanded upon a like occasion, (Exo 33:5,) that you may put on sackcloth instead of them, as mourners and penitents used to do. They shall lament for the teats For the pleasant and fruitful fields which, like teats, yielded you plentiful and excellent nourishment.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
32:9 Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye {f} careless daughters; give ear to my speech.
(f) He prophecies of such calamity to come that they will not spare the women and children, and therefore wills them to take heed and provide.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
An appeal to Judah’s women to repent 32:9-18
Isaiah had appealed to the sons of Israel to return to the Lord (Isa 31:6), and now he appealed to the women of Israel to rise up in repentance (Isa 32:9; cf. Isa 3:16-26). Appeal to both sexes stresses the importance of everyone repenting. As in his appeal to the men, the prophet also announced an immediate threat and a more distant disaster.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The women of Judah blandly assumed that nothing would disturb their present secure circumstances. Isaiah challenged them to listen to him. They were not secure.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
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BOOK 3
ORATIONS ON THE EGYPTIAN INTRIGUES AND ORACLES ON FOREIGN NATIONS
705-702 B.C.
Isaiah:
29About 703
30A little later
31A little later
32:1-8Later
32:9-20Date uncertain
—————–
14:28-21736-702
23About 703
WE now enter the prophecies of Isaiahs old age, those which he published after 705, when his ministry had lasted for at least thirty-five years. They cover the years between 705, the date of Sennacheribs accession to the Assyrian throne, and 701, when his army suddenly disappeared from before Jerusalem.
They fall into three groups:-
1. Chapters 29-32., dealing with Jewish politics while Sennacherib is still far from Palestine, 704-702, and having Egypt for their chief interest, Assyria lowering in the background.
2. Chapters 14:28-21 and 23, a group of oracles on foreign nations, threatened, like Judah, by Assyria.
3. Chapters 1, 22, and 33, and the historical narrative in 36, and 37., dealing with Sennacheribs invasion of Judah and siege of Jerusalem in 701; Egypt and every foreign nation now fallen out of sight, and the storm about the Holy City too thick for the prophet to see beyond his immediate neighbourhood.
The first and second of these groups-orations on the intrigues with Egypt and oracles on the foreign nations-delivered while Sennacherib was still far from Syria, form the subject of this Third Book of our exposition.
The prophecies on the siege of Jerusalem are sufficiently numerous and distinctive to be put by themselves, along with their appendix (38, 39), in our Fourth Book.