Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 31:5
(5) As birds flying . . .—The picture that follows (Æschylean, as the former was Homeric; see “Æsch. Agam. 49-54, though there the point is the wailing of the parent birds over the plundered nest) is, at least, not doubtful in its meaning, whether it be meant as a counterpart or antithesis to that which precedes it. The eagles hovering over their nest, and scaring off man or beast that attacked their nestlings, supplied the most vivid image possible of protection. (Comp. the image, like, but... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 31:4
(4) Like as the lion . . .—The similitude is note worthy, as for its fulness and vividness, so also for the fact that the lion is made the symbol, not of destruction, but protection. As the king of beasts stands haughtily defiant over the prey which he has made his own against the shepherds who seek to rob him of it, so will Jehovah, in His character as the Lord of hosts, refuse to surrender Jerusalem, His peculiar possession, to the armies of the Assyrians. (Comp. Homer, Il., 18:161.)To fight... read more