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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 10:5-19

The destruction of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser king of Assyria was foretold in the foregoing chapter, and it had its accomplishment in the sixth year of Hezekiah, 2 Kgs. 18:10. It was total and final, head and tail were all cut off. Now the correction of the kingdom of Judah by Sennacherib king of Assyria is foretold in this chapter; and this prediction was fulfilled in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, when that potent prince, encouraged by the successes of his predecessor against the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 10:15

Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith ?.... Hitherto are the words of the Assyrian monarch; and here begin the words of the prophet, rebuking him for his pride, and deriding his vain boasting, in attributing that to himself, to his wisdom and power, who was but an instrument, which belonged to God, the sole Governor and wise orderer of all things; which was all one as if an axe should ascribe the cutting down of trees to itself, and insist on it that the man that cut... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 10:15

No wood "Its master" - I have here given the meaning, without attempting to keep to the expression of the original, עץ לא lo ets , "the no-wood;" that which is not wood like itself, but of a quite different and superior nature. The Hebrews have a peculiar way of joining the negative particle לא lo to a noun, to signify in a strong manner a total negation of the thing expressed by the noun. "How hast thou given help ( כח ללא lelo choach ) to the no-strength? And saved the arm... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:5-15

Assyria the rod of Jehovah. I. A WARLIKE POWER MAY BE THE PENAL INSTRUMENT OF PROVIDENCE . Assyria is here described as the "staff of Jehovah's anger," the "rod of his wrath," appointed to march against a people who have excited the Divine indignation. As he plunders and spoils, and proceeds on his devastating way, he may be in effect like Attila, the "scourge of God," destined like a wholesome tempest to purify the moral air of a corrupt age, and to prepare for a better... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:5-19

SECTION V. PROPHECIES OF WOE UPON FOREIGN NATIONS ( Isaiah 10:5-23 ) ASSYRIA , AFTER BEING GOD 'S INSTRUMENT TO PUNISH ISRAEL , SHALL HERSELF BE PUNISHED IN HER TURN . The wicked are a sword in the hand of God ( Psalms 17:13 ), wherewith he executes his judgments; but this fact is hid from them, and they imagine that they are successful through their own strength and might. So it was with Assyria ( Isaiah 10:5-14 ), which its long career of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:5-19

Assyria, a notable example of pride and its punishment. History furnishes no better example of pride and its punishment than that of Assyria. The pride of the Assyrians is equally apparent in Scripture and on the native monuments. I. ASSYRIA 'S PRIDE AS SHOWN FORTH IN SCRIPTURE . 1. In Rabshakeh's embassy 2 Kings 18:19-35 ) Rabshakeh not only scoffs at the military power of Judaea and Egypt, but ridicules the idea that Jehovah can deliver Jerusalem if the Assyrians... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:5-19

Man in his folly and God in his righteousness. We have a graphic picture here of— I. MAN IN HIS FOLLY . Under the dominion of the folly which is born of sin, man. 1. Indulges in designs which are beyond his strength . ( Isaiah 10:7 .) It is "in his heart" to do much greater things, often to work much greater wickedness, than he has power to execute. Under sin, men indulge in great-and even gross self-exaggeration; guilt is an infatuating thing. 2. Looks with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:15

Shall the axe boast itself ? Here the prophet takes the word, and rebukes Assyria for her folly in forgetting, or not perceiving, that she is a mere instrument, like an axe, a saw, a rod, or a stuff. The saw … him that shaketh it; rather, him that moveth it to and fro . The action of sawing is alluded to. As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up ; rather, as if a rod were to move them to and fro that lift it up . For Assyria to assert herself as if she were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:15

Man, the instrument of God. This passage is most humbling to that pride of man which leads him to say, "I am my own; I can do as I please with my own powers and life." That pride it breaks down by saying," Not so; you are not your own; you are God's; he made you; he gives you all; he uses you for his own high purposes." The proudest, wealthiest, mightiest man on earth may seem to be something. In reality, what is he? An axe, a saw, a staff in the hands of God, to work out his will. How... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 10:15

Shall the axe ... - In this verse God reproves the pride and arrogance of the Assyrian monarch. He does it by reminding him that he was the mere instrument in his hand, to accomplish his purposes; and that it was just as absurd for him to boast of what he had done, as it would be for the axe to boast when it had been welded with effect. In the axe there is no wisdom, no skill, no power; and though it may lay the forest low, yet it is not by any skill or power which it possesses. So with the... read more

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