Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 9:19
Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.
19. darkened ] Another translation is “made to glow”; the word is not found elsewhere.
no man sparing his brother. The clause shews that the fire is an emblem of ungovernable party strife. The sense would be still clearer if we could adopt Duhm’s hazardous emendation in the preceding clause so as to make it read “and the people became like man-eaters (cannibals).”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Through the wrath – By the anger, or indignation. This spreading desolation is the proof of his anger.
Is the land darkened – The word used here – atham – occurs nowhere else. According to Gesenius, it is the same as tamam to be or make complete; and hence means, in this place, to be consumed, or laid waste. Kimchi and Aben Ezra render it, The land is darkened. Septuagint, Sungkekautai. Chaldee, charokat – Is scorched. Jerome renders it, Conturbata est terra – The land is disturbed. The effect is doubtless such as ascending and spreading columns of fire and smoke would produce, and perhaps the general word desolate had better be used in translating the word.
And the people shall be as fuel of the fire – This is an image of widespread ruin. The idea is, that they shall destroy one another as pieces of wood, when on fire, help to consume each other. The way in which it shall be done is stated more fully in the next verse.
No man shall spare his brother – There shall be such a state of wickedness, that it shall lead to anarchy, and strife, and mutual destruction. The common ties of life shall be dissolved, and a man shall have no compassion on his own brother.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Darkened, either with the smoke last mentioned, or with misery. Or, burnt up, as the LXX., Chaldee, and Arabic interpreters render it.
No man shall spare his brother; they shall destroy one another, as they did in their civil wars, which were frequent among them. The name brother is oft largely used among the Hebrews, even of the remoter kindred, yea, of the fellow members of one city, or tribe, or nation.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. darkenednamely, withsmoke (Isa 9:18). TheSeptuagint and Chaldee render it, “is burnt up,”so MAURER, from an Arabicroot meaning “suffocating heat.”
no man . . . spare . . .brotherintestine discord snapping asunder the dearest ties ofnature.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened,…. Brought into great distress and affliction; sore judgments and calamities being upon it; for not darkness in a natural, but in a figurative sense, is intended, see Isa 8:22 the allusion is to the ascending of the smoke before mentioned, through fire being kindled in the thickets of the forest, which filled the air with darkness; as smoke arising in great quantity does. This sense of the word, which is only to be met with in this place, is given by Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, from the use of it in the Arabic language, in which it signifies f darkness; but the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, “the whole land is burned”; and which is confirmed by the Targum, which so interprets it; and this sense well agrees with the context:
and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire; this explains who are meant by the briers and thorns, and thickets of the forest, the inhabitants of the land of Israel; who, as they are the fuel of fire, were the objects of divine wrath and fury:
no man shall spare his brother; which may be ascribed either to the darkness and confusion in which they should be, and so not be able to discern a friend from a foe, as persons surrounded with smoke; or to their malignant spirit, cruelty and inhumanity, not only doing ill to their enemies, but to their own friends and relations, to their own flesh and blood.
f “obscura evasit”, —- “tertia pars noctis, a fine crepusculi, tempus quo posterior peragitur precatio vespertina”, Golius, col. 1521, 1522. Castel col. 2944. So Schindler, col. 1410.
“[ateme], caligo, tenebra, crepusculum”.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
19. Through the anger of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened. After having shown that the cause of all our evils proceeds from ourselves, and that therefore the blame of it should be laid upon us, he at the same time shows that God is a most righteous avenger. When men draw down upon themselves calamities and distresses, God does not suffer them to escape his hand; not that he is inclined to cruelty, for he is gracious and merciful, (Exo 34:6,) but because he is just, and cannot endure the wicked. The dreadful nature of God’s vengeance is described by the metaphor of darkness, than which nothing can be more dismal; for without figures of speech a judgment so revolting cannot be expressed. And yet he appears to allude to smoke, of which he spoke in the former verse; for when a conflagration extends, and rages with such violence, the light must be overpowered by the thick smoke
No man shall spare his brother. In this last clause and in the following verse, the Prophet describes the methods and means, as they are called, by which the Lord will execute his vengeance, when his wrath has been thus kindled. When no enemies shall be seen whom we have cause to dread, he will arm ourselves for our destruction. As if he had said, “The Lord will find no difficulty in executing the vengeance which he threatens; for though there be none to give us any annoyance from without, he will ruin us by intestine broils and civil wars.” It is shocking and monstrous to relate, No man shall spare his brother, “every man shall devour his own flesh;” for no man ever hated his own flesh. (Eph 5:29.) But when the Lord hath blinded us, what remains but that we mutually destroy each other? And though it is monstrous, yet it happens almost every day.
We are not restrained by any relationship either of blood, or of religion, or of the image of God, which we all bear; though even the heathen, on the contrary, were prevented, by sharing in this common nature, from injuring each other, because they perceived that the beasts themselves are restrained by similarity of nature from cruelty against their own kind; for a wolf does not devour a wolf, and a bear does not devour a bear. That human beings, from whom the name of humanity is derived, should fight with such cruelty and fierceness against one another as to exceed the rage of wild beasts, is monstrous; and this evil can arise from no other source than that God hath blinded them, and given them up to a reprobate sense. (Rom 1:28.) Justly hath Isaiah described this kind of revenge; for when men enjoy peace, they think that they are placed beyond the reach of danger, and dread nothing. But the Lord laughs at this indifference, and shows that he will execute his vengeance by their own hand, which he will arm and direct against them.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19, 20) Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened . . .The vision of darkness and famine which had come before the prophets eyes in Isa. 8:21 appears once again, and here, as there, it is a question whether the words are to be understood literally or figuratively. The definiteness of the language of Isa. 9:20 suggests the thoughts of the horrors of a famine like that of Samaria (2Ki. 6:28-29), or of Deu. 28:53-57; Zec. 11:9. But even that scene of horror might be only typical of a state of chaos and confusion pervading the whole order of society, fierce passions, jealousies, rivalries working out the destruction of the nations life; such as Thucydides (iii. 82-84) has painted as the result of the Peloponnesian war. The mention of Ephraim and Manasseh as conspicuous in the self-destructive work confirms the figurative interpretation. They were devouring the flesh of their own arm when they allowed their old tribal jealousies (Jdg. 8:1; Jdg. 12:1-4; 2Sa. 19:43) to break up the unity of the nation.
And they together shall be against Judah.This formed the climax of the whole. The only power of union that showed itself in the northern kingdom was to perpetuate the great schism in which it had its origin. The idea that Israel as such was a nation was forgotten. Ephraim and Manasseh could join in a common expedition against Judah when they could join in nothing else. Of this the alliance of Pekah with Rezin was the most striking instance (2Ch. 28:6-15). Traces of internal division are found in the conspiracy of the Gileadites of the trans-Jordanic district of Manasseh, against Pekahs predecessor in Samaria (2Ki. 15:25).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Through the wrath Prophecy breathes an intense ethical spirit, expressing how God feels toward wrong in itself.
Land darkened Or, blackened by fire of judgment the besotted people being the fuel thereof.
No man spare When humanity loses all pity for itself the extreme of judgment has come.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 9:19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.
Ver. 19. Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, ] viz., By that pride of smoke, or vast pillar of smoke, mentioned Isa 9:18 . Tristem et miseram rerum faciem designat.
No man shall spare his brother.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
of = for. Genitive of Relation (App-17.)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
is the land: Isa 5:30, Isa 8:22, Isa 24:11, Isa 24:12, Isa 60:2, Jer 13:16, Joe 2:2, Amo 5:18, Mat 27:45, Act 2:20
fuel: Heb. meat, Isa 9:5
no man: Isa 13:18, Eze 9:5, Mic 7:2, Mic 7:6, 2Pe 2:4
Reciprocal: 1Sa 14:20 – every man’s Isa 3:5 – the people Isa 51:20 – full Jer 17:27 – then Eze 19:14 – fire Eze 20:47 – I will kindle Eze 30:18 – the day Hag 2:22 – every Zec 11:6 – deliver Zec 11:9 – and let Mat 24:7 – nation shall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
9:19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall {q} spare his brother.
(q) Though there was no foreign enemy, yet they will destroy one another.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord of armies uses human sin to consume sinners, and people consume one another trying to satisfy their own desires.