Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 64:10
Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
10. Thy holy cities ] is a phrase which does not occur elsewhere, and both LXX. and Vulg. substitute the sing. for the plur. It is not necessary, however, to follow them. If the land is holy (Zec 2:12) there is no reason why the epithet should not be applied to all its cities.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
10, 11. The evidences of Jehovah’s displeasure are to be seen on every hand, in the desolation and ruin of the sacred places.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thy holy cities are a wilderness – It is to be remembered that this is supposed to be spoken near the close of the exile in Babylon. In accordance with the usual custom in this book, Isaiah throws himself forward by prophetic anticipation into that future period, and describes the scene as if it were passing before his eyes (see the Introduction, Section 7). He uses language such as the exiles would use; he puts arguments into their mouths which it would be proper for them to use; he describes the feelings which they would then have. The phrase, thy holy cities, may either mean the cities of the holy land – which belonged to God, and were holy, as they pertained to his people; or it may mean, as many critics have supposed, the different parts of Jerusalem. A part of Jerusalem was built on Mount Zion, and was called the upper city, in contradistinction from that built on Mount Acra, which was called the lower city. But I think it more probable that the prophet refers to the cities throughout the land that were laid waste.
Are a wilderness – They were uninhabited, and were lying in ruins.
Zion is a wilderness – On the name Zion, see the notes at Isa 1:8. The idea here is, that Jerusalem was laid waste. Its temple was burned; its palaces destroyed; its houses uninhabited. This is to be regarded as being uttered at the close of the exile, after Jerusalem had been lying in ruins for seventy years – a time during which any forsaken city would be in a condition which might not improperly be called a desert. When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, he burned the temple, broke down the wall, and consumed all the palaces with fire (2Ch 36:19). We have only to conceive what must have been the state of the city seventy years after this, to see the force of the description here.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Thy holy cities; either Zion and Jerusalem, being the cities they instance in: q.d. Thy holy cities, viz. Zion and Jerusalem: or rather, other cities also in the land of Judea besides those two; called holy, either,
1. Because they were built upon Gods inheritance, Isa 63:17. Or,
2. Because they were inhabited by the Jews, who were a holy people, Deu 7:6; Dan 12:7. Or,
3. Because God had his synagogues in them, Psa 74:8. For all which reasons also they are called thy cities.
A desolation; utterly waste; not only the ordinary cities, but even Jerusalem and Zion themselves; the one called the upper Jerusalem, or the city of David, because it was built upon Mount Zion; the other the lower city, because it lay under the hill of Zion in the valley: he particularizeth Zion and Jerusalem, though he had mentioned the other cities before, because the chiefest of the cities; it being usual, notwithstanding the mentioning of generals, in which all the particulars or individuals are included, to name the particular again; as, and from the hand of Saul, Psa 18:1.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. holy citiesNo city butJerusalem is called “the holy city” (Isa 48:2;Isa 52:1); the plural,therefore, refers to the upper and the lower parts of the samecity Jerusalem [VITRINGA];or all Judea was holy to God, so its cities were deemed “holy”[MAURER]. But theparallelism favors VITRINGA.Zion and Jerusalem (the one city) answering to “holycities.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thy holy cities are a wilderness,…. Meaning either Zion, the city of David, and Jerusalem; the one called the upper, the other the lower city; now uninhabited, and a mere wilderness: or else the other cities of Judea, in which were formerly synagogues for religious service, and in which dwelt many godly families where the worship of God was kept up; but now a desert, at least quite devoid of true religion and godliness.
Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation; which are either explanative of the holy cities in the preceding clauses, or are mentioned as distinct from them; the account proceeding from the lesser to the metropolitan cities, which fared no better than they did, but equally lay desolate; and which fulfilled the prophecy in Mic 3:12 and was the case of those cities, at the destruction of them by Titus; and to this day are in a ruinous condition in the hands of the Turks.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
10. The cities of thy holiness. The Church again recounts her miseries, that she may move God to mercy and obtain pardon. She says that the cities have been reduced to “a wilderness;” and, for the sake of amplification, adds that “Zion is a desert;” because it was the royal residence, in which God wished that men should call upon him. She adds also Jerusalem, in which Zion was; for it appeared to be shameful that a city, which God had consecrated to himself, should be ruined and destroyed by enemies.
She calls them “cities of holiness,” because, as the Lord had sanctified a people, so he also wished that the cities, and even the whole country, should be consecrated to himself. Seeing, therefore, that the cities were dedicated to God, they are justly called “cities of his holiness;” for in them God reigned, and men called upon him. In the same manner we may at the present day give the appellation of “cities of God’s holiness” to those which, laying aside superstitions, worship him in a sincere and right manner.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(10) Thy holy cities . . .There is no other instance of the plural, and this probably led the LXX. and Vulg. to substitute the singular. It probably rests on the thought that the whole land was holy (Zec. 2:12), and that this attribute extended, therefore, to all its cities, especially to those which were connected with historical memories. Possibly, however, Zion and Jerusalemthe former identified with the Temple, the latter with the people of Jehovahare thought of as two distinct cities, locally united. The wilderness is, as elsewhere, rather open pasture-land than a sandy desert.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10, 11. Thy holy cities are a wilderness In the interest of anti-supernaturalism many German and some English interpreters claim support from these verses. They advocate a pseudo-Isaiah, an unknown prophet who lived at or before the time of the Exile, and wrote these later prophecies. They assume miracle and predictive prophecy to be impossible, and that Isaiah, who wrote seven hundred years prior to events and facts here delineated, cannot be the author. This is a cool begging of the whole question; and, being so, is unworthy of further notice.
Our holyhouse burned The reference here is to the burning of the temple. But which temple? The first one was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the second by the Romans in A.D. 70, besides being twice polluted first by Syrians, and next by the Romans. Nothing shows it certain that the temple referred to was the one destroyed by the Babylonians, but the description of the burning and the long unrestored desolation points most suitably to the ruin effected by the Romans. The “holy cities” apply more seemly to those of Jerusalem and Judah. This view renders more impressive the deep confession of the chapter and the closing appeal of the people to God as their Father, and tohis power as of a potter over the clay.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 64:10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
Ver. 10. Thy holy cities are a wilderness. ] And is that for thine honour. “Behold, see, we beseech thee.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
holy. See note on Exo 3:6.
desolation. Referring to the time of Mat 23:38; Mat 24:2.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 64:10-12
Isa 64:10-12
“Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste. Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O Jehovah? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?”
“Thy holy cities …” (Isa 64:10). Only Jerusalem was ordinarily honored with the title of “Holy City”; but here the term is extended to include all the cities of Judah. This is not out of keeping with the rest of the Old Testament, because in Zec 2:12, the whole land of Judah is called the Holy Land.
“Our beautiful house (the Temple) is burned with fire …” (Isa 64:11). As Hailey noted, believers in the multiple authorship of Isaiah, “Ascribe this portion of the book to the times after the exile,” according to the critical dictum that God could not have prophesied the burning of the temple until after the event. It is high time the critics invented another “dictum.” The Old Testament prophesied the birth of Christ in Bethlehem about 800 years before the event! Furthermore, Isaiah authored hundreds of prophecies that are even far more wonderful than foretelling the burning of the temple, centuries, and even millenniums before they happened; and some of those events have not even happened yet! “The Bible abounds in declaring events long before they occur, speaking of them as though they had already taken place.” The burnt temple in this passage is an example of this. We have often mentioned Isaiah’s prophecy of the two graves of Jesus (Isa 53:9).
“Wilt thou refrain thyself …?” (Isa 64:12). The prayer closes with a series of questions, “Wilt thou refrain thyself?, wilt thou hold thy peace? wilt thou afflict us sorely? wilt thou refuse to come to our aid? wilt thou decline to come to us? wilt thou not save us from our calamities? Not all of these are formulated into words, but all of them are implied. The prayer closes with these questions, which, on the face of things required negative answers to all of them. That answer was forthcoming from God Himself in the next chapter. Moreover, God gave the reasons for his answer.
Isa 64:10-12 OMNIPOTENCE: The second motive Zion thinks should move Jehovah to act immediately on her behalf is the continuing plunder of Judahs cities and villages by the Assyrians. This continuing plunder portends an even more disastrous day when the Temple may be put to the torch and the holy city itself, beautiful Jerusalem, may be overrun and ruined by the heathen hordes. It was evidently so imminent that the prophet spoke of it as if it were already happening! Jerusalem and the Temple were not completely destroyed and burned until 586 when Nebuchaddnezzar razed the whole city (cf. Jer 52:13). Isaiah is not writing after the fact but using the predictive present.
The statement in Isa 64:12 sums up and presses home the point Zion is pleading-need for immediate, direct intervention by Jehovah to deliver her from her enemies. God must not allow the land and the people who bear His name to be profaned lest His name be profaned throughout the world. Jehovah has acted in the past to vindicate His power and glorify His name; will He now remain silent? The Hebrew word khesheh is translated peace in Isa 64:12, but more literally means silence. The usual Hebrew word for peace is shalom. The phrase ad-meod which means, . . . unto strength . . . is repeated in this verse. In view of the continued plundering of the cities and the imminent razing of Jerusalem and the Temple, will Jehovah continue to keep silent and continue to afflict Judah so severely? Indeed He will so long as Judah keeps on walking in sin. One has only to read Jeremiah and Ezekiel to know that Judah not only continued but worsened in her sin and rebellion (cf. Eze 5:5-6; Eze 8:7-18) until finally Jehovah withdrew His glory from her altogether (Eze 11:22-25).
For the sake of His name and the faithfulness of a small remnant, Jehovah delivered His people from their captivity and rebuilt their city and their temple. However, the rebuilt Jerusalem and Zerubbabels temple were temporary edifices used by the Lord to the ultimate end He sought and that was a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:22), the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the church the presence of the Lord dwells now and forever more. An earthly Jerusalem and an earthly temple are now of no consequence to God and His people. Those who worship Him now and forever more worship in Spirit and in truth (cf. Joh 4:19-26).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Isa 1:7, 2Ki 25:9, 2Ch 36:19-21, Psa 79:1-7, Lam 1:1-4, Lam 2:4-8, Lam 5:18, Dan 9:26, Dan 9:27, Dan 12:7, Mic 3:12, Luk 21:21, Luk 21:24, Rev 11:1, Rev 11:2
Reciprocal: Lev 26:32 – And I Neh 1:3 – the wall Psa 74:3 – the perpetual Psa 79:7 – laid Isa 14:17 – made Isa 27:10 – the defenced Isa 48:2 – they call Isa 49:21 – am desolate Jer 32:29 – and set Jer 34:22 – and I will Jer 44:2 – a desolation Jer 52:13 – burned Lam 1:10 – seen Lam 2:7 – cast off Eze 5:14 – I will Eze 6:6 – the cities Eze 12:20 – General Eze 36:4 – a prey Hos 2:3 – as Mat 23:38 – General Luk 13:35 – your Luk 21:6 – there
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 64:10-12. Thy holy cities Zion and Jerusalem, mentioned immediately after; or other cities also in the land of Judea besides these two; called holy, because God had his synagogues in them, in which he was worshipped, Psa 74:8. Zion is a wilderness, &c. Utterly waste: not only the ordinary cities, but Zion and Jerusalem themselves are in a state of ruin and desolation. Our holy and beautiful house Our temple. Not only our principal cities, but even our temple, which we thought sacred and inviolable, in which we gloried, because it was thine, and our fathers house, and ours: the place where thy holy service was performed, and thy glory and presence were wont to be manifested. Where our fathers praised thee They do not presume to mention themselves, having been every way so very abominable; but put the Lord in mind of their fathers, many of whom were his faithful servants, having praised him there. Is burned up with fire This relates to the burning of the temple by the Romans, who made an entire destruction of it, according to our Saviours prediction, Mat 24:2. And all our pleasant things are laid waste Not only the pleasant land, but all that was magnificent, ornamental, or desirable in Jerusalem, or any other city, town, or place. Wilt thou refrain, or, contain, thyself for, or, at, these things Wilt thou behold them unmoved, as an indifferent spectator? Wilt thou neither show thy compassion toward thy servants, nor thy resentment toward thine enemies? Wilt thou hold thy peace Wilt thou be as one that regards not? And afflict us very sore And persist to afflict us in thy continued hot displeasure?
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 64:10-12. These verses, which describe the Temple as not merely desecrated but actually burned, seem to be a late addition from a period of which we have no exact information.
The cities of the holy land are become a desert, Jerusalem a curse (LXX and Latin). The Temple, which has existed long enough to have exchanged its simplicity for adornment, and to be hallowed by memory, is burned. All that the people took delight in is ruined. Can Yahweh refrain from action on behalf of his people?
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
64:10 {l} Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
(l) Who were dedicated to your service, and to call on your Name.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Judah lay desolate. Jerusalem was in ruins. The holy cities of the holy God reflected nothing of His greatness.