Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 5:15
And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
15, 16. A reminiscence of the refrain in ch. Isa 2:9; Isa 2:11; Isa 2:17; but with significant modifications. These verses seem to interrupt the connexion of Isa 5:17 with Isa 5:14, and are either parenthetical or interpolated.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the mean man … the mighty man – The expressions here mean that all ranks would be subdued and punished; see the note at Isa 2:9.
The eyes of the lofty … – see Isa 2:11, note; Isa 2:17, note.
Shall be exalted in judgment – In his justice; he shall so manifest his justice as to be exalted in the view of tbe people.
Shall be sanctified – Shall be regarded as holy. He shall so manifest his righteousness in his dealings, that it shall be seen and felt that he is a holy God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
All of them, both high and low, shall be brought to destruction.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. (Compare Isa 2:9;Isa 2:11; Isa 2:17).All ranks, “mean” and “mighty” alike; so”honorable” and “multitude” (Isa5:13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the mean man shall be brought down,…. To hell, or the grave, as well as the rich and noble:
and the mighty man shall be humbled; laid low in the dust, and be equal to the poor; for, in the grave, princes and peasants are alike; or they shall be all alike, in the same low and miserable condition:
and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled; when famine and distress, ruin and misery, come upon them, then shall the pride of those be abased, as it was; who boasted of their riches and honour, of their descent and parentage, as the children of Abraham, and as being free men, and never in bondage; of their righteousness and good works; not submitting to the righteousness of Christ; but despising it, and looking with disdain upon, and treating with contempt, such as they thought less holy than themselves. The Scribes and Pharisees, the members of the sanhedrim, and rulers of the people, together with the whole body of the nation, are meant; who were all of the same cast and complexion, being conceited of themselves, and proud boasters.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The prophet now repeats a thought which formed one of the refrains of the second prophetic address (Isa 2:9, Isa 2:11, cf., Isa 2:17). It acquires here a still deeper sense, from the context in which it stands. “Then are mean men bowed down, and lords humbled, and the eyes of lofty men are humbled. And Jehovah of hosts shows Himself exalted in judgment, and God the Holy One sanctifies Himself in righteousness.” That which had exalted itself from earth to heaven, would be cast down earthwards into hell. The consecutive futures depict the coming events, which are here represented as historically present, as the direct sequel of what is also represented as present in Isa 5:14: Hades opens, and then both low and lofty in Jerusalem sink down, and the soaring eyes now wander about in horrible depths. God, who is both exalted and holy in Himself, demanded that as the exalted One He should be exalted, and that as the Holy One He should be sanctified. But Jerusalem had not done that; He would therefore prove Himself the exalted One by the execution of justice, and sanctify Himself ( nikdash is to be rendered as a reflective verb, according to Eze 36:23; Eze 38:23) by the manifestation of righteousness, in consequence of which the people of Jerusalem would have to give Him glory against their will, as forming part of “the things under the earth” (Phi 2:10). Jerusalem has been swallowed up twice in this manner by Hades; once in the Chaldean war, and again in the Roman. But the invisible background of these outward events was the fact, that it had already fallen under the power of hell. And now, even in a more literal sense, ancient Jerusalem, like the company of Korah (Num 16:30, Num 16:33), has gone underground. Just as Babylon and Nineveh, the ruins of which are dug out of the inexhaustible mine of their far-stretching foundation and soil, have sunk beneath the ground; so do men walk about in modern Jerusalem over the ancient Jerusalem, which lies buried beneath; and many an enigma of topography will remain an enigma until ancient Jerusalem has been dug out of the earth again.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
15. And the mighty man shall be bowed down. This may be called the summing up, for it points out the end and result of those chastisements, that all may be cast down, and that the Lord alone may be exalted. We have formerly met with a similar statement, (Isa 2:11,) and on that occasion we explained what was the Prophet’s meaning; (87) which is, that he shows the design of the chastisements which God inflicts on us. Adversity is so hateful to us, that we can perceive nothing good in it. When he speaks of punishments, we detest and abhor them, because we do not perceive the justice of God. But the prophets remind us of another consideration, that so long as men go on in their sins regardlessly, the justice of God is in some degree smothered, and never shines so brightly as when he punishes our sins. This fruit is indeed very great, and ought to be preferred to the salvation of all men; for the glory of God, which shines in his righteousness, ought to be more highly esteemed than all things else.
There is, therefore, no reason why we should so greatly dread the chastisements which God inflicts upon us, but we ought to embrace with reverence what the prophets declare concerning them. In this way, however, the Prophet has severely chastised arrogant hypocrites. who become the more insolent when they are not punished; as if he had said, “Do you imagine that, when God has endured you so long, you will at last be able to tread him under your feet? Assuredly he will arise, and will be exalted in your destruction.”
As the Prophet has employed, first, the word אדם ( adam) and next איש ( ish), it is supposed that this denotes both the noble and the mean; as if he had said, “Not only will the common people perish, but likewise those who are eminent for riches, honor, and high rank.” I cheerfully adopt this opinion; for איש ( ish) is derived from strength and אדם ( adam) from earth. But if any one prefer a more simple interpretation, I leave it to his judgment. However this may be, the Prophet includes all men, both the highest and the lowest.
(87) See p. 116 of this volume.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) The mean man shall be brought.The recurrence of the burden of Isa. 2:9; Isa. 2:11-12; Isa. 2:17, connects Isaiah 5 with the earlier portion of the introduction.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“The mean man shall be brought down (low).” Isa 5:15
How is this possible? Is not the mean man brought low already? To be mean is to be low. What then can be the import of the text? The meaning is that there are always lower depths which may be realised. Even the mean man may daily become meaner. There is a reversion to type that is intellectual and spiritual, as well as merely biological. We have never yet realised how truly mean we may become. The way from anger to meanness is more than one step long. Little by little we go down. Easy is the descent of Avernus; easy is the descent from one degree of meanness to another. A man may not all at once cease to give his shilling to the sanctuary; he may divide it, and subdivide it, and bring down the last donation to so fine a point that it is hardly distinguishable between something and nothing. Or, if we put the text in another light, it is still full of significance. Suppose, for example, that a mean man has been exalted to office: he will soon prove by his meanness that he is unworthy of his elevation, and consequently he will be brought down by the common consent of those who know him best. Suppose that a man should not have been known to be mean because of the skill of his hypocrisy; yet in due time his meanness shall be made obvious, and it shall work his ruin. By meanness we are not to understand poverty of external circumstance; we are to understand moral meanness; that servility of soul which is absolutely without dignity; that poverty of intellect which never contemplates the necessity of the value of other men. There is no hope of meanness. There is hope of wickedness; where there is no hope of real negativeness of character. How seldom is meanness pointed out as a great defect or as a reason for disfellowship on the part of those who are themselves honourable. We expel the drunkard, but not the miser. We expel the adulterer, but not the mean man. The fact is that in meanness there may be infinitely more sin than in any single crime against society that can be named. Publish it abroad, speak it loudly, and with unhesitating emphasis, that the law of the Lord is against meanness, and that all the midnight heavens are in eternal warfare against things that are wanting in the quality of pureness and love.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Isa 5:15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
Ver. 15. And the mean man shall be brought down, &c. ] Here the prophet, before he comes to the third denunciation (for this part of the chapter, like Ezekiel’s roll, is full of lamentation, and mourning, and woe, Eze 2:10 ), inserteth three good effects of the fore-threatened punishments: a – 1. That the wicked shall be thereby tamed (in this verse); 2. That God’s glory shall be asserted; Isa 5:16 and 3. That God’s poor people shall be graciously provided for; Isa 5:17 see for this verse, Isa 2:9 .
And the eyes of the haughty.
a Piscat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the mean man = commoner. Hebrew. ‘adam. App-14.
the mighty man = peer. Hebrew. ‘ish.
lofty = proud. Hebrew. gabah. See note on Isa 2:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the mean: Isa 2:9, Isa 2:11, Isa 2:17, Isa 9:14-17, Isa 24:2-4, Psa 62:9, Jer 5:4, Jer 5:5, Jer 5:9, Jam 1:9-11, Rev 6:15, Rev 6:16
the eyes: Isa 10:12, Isa 13:11, Isa 37:23, Isa 37:29, Exo 9:17, Job 40:11, Job 40:12, Dan 4:37, 1Pe 5:5
Reciprocal: 2Sa 22:28 – but thine Isa 23:9 – to stain Eze 28:22 – I will
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 5:15-17. And the mean man, &c. All of them, both high and low, shall be brought to destruction. But the Lord shall be exalted in judgment By the execution of his just judgment upon his incorrigible enemies. And God that is holy shall be sanctified Shall appear to be a holy God; in righteousness That is, by displaying his righteousness, or executing his righteous judgments. Then, &c. When God shall have finished that work of judgment upon the ungodly, he will extend mercy to the remainder; the lambs The poor and harmless people, who shall be left in the land, when the rich are carried into captivity, as it happened 2Ki 25:12; shall feed after their manner Or, without restraint, as Bishop Lowth renders it. And the waste places of the fat ones The lands left by their owners, the rich and great men, who were either slain or carried into captivity; shall strangers eat The poor Israelites who were left in the land to be vine-dressers and husbandmen, who are called strangers, because they were so in reference to that land, not being the proper owners of it, nor related to them. Vitringa is of opinion that this verse refers to the first disciples of Jesus Christ, who, seeing and deploring the destruction of the Jews, should rest safely under the protection of God; while, according to the next clause, the Gentiles should be brought into the communion of the church, and rejoice in those benefits, prerogatives, and privileges, whereof the carnal, rich, and luxurious Jews were deprived. See Joh 10:16.