Isaiah 1

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:3

The ox ... - The design of this comparison is to show the great stupidity and ingratitude of the Jews. Even the least sagacious and most stupid of the animals, destitute as they are of reason and conscience, evince knowledge anal submission far more than the professed people of God. The ox is a well known domestic animal, remarkable for patient willingness to toil, and for submission to his owner.Knoweth his owner - Recognizes, or is submissive to him.The ass - A well known animal, proverbial... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:4

Ah! sinful nation - The word rendered ‘ah!’ - הוי hôy - is not a mere exclamation, expressing astonishment. It is rather an interjection denouncing threatening, or punishment. ‘Wo to the sinful nation.’ Vulgate, ‘Vae genti peccatrici.’ The corruption pertained to the nation, and not merely to a part. It had become general.Laden with iniquity - The word translated “laden” - כבד kebed - denotes properly anything “heavy,” or burdensome; from כבד kâbad, “to be heavy.” It means that they were... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:5

Why ... - The prophet now, by an abrupt change in the discourse, calls their attention to the effects of their sins. Instead of saving that they had been smitten, or of saying that they had been punished for their sins, he assumes both, and asks why it should be repeated. The Vulgate reads this: ‘Super quo - on what part - shall I smite you anymore?’ This expresses well the sense of the Hebrew - על־מה ‛al-meh - upon what; and the meaning is, ‘what part of the body can be found on which blows... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:6

From the sole of the foot ... - Or is we say, ‘from head to foot,’ that is, in every part of the body. There may be included also the idea that this extended from the lowest to the highest among the people. The Chaldee paraphrase is, ‘from the lowest of the people even to the princes - all are contumacious and rebellious.’No soundness - מתם methôm, from תמם tâmam, to be perfect, sound, uninjured. There is no part unaffected; no part that is sound. It is all smitten and sore.But wounds - The... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:7

Your country is desolate - This is the literal statement of what he had just affirmed by a figure. In this there was much art. The figure Isaiah 1:6 was striking. The resemblance between a man severely beaten, and entirely livid and sore, and a land perfectly desolate, was so impressive as to arrest the attention. This had been threatened as one of the curses which should attend disobedience; Leviticus 26:33 :And I will scatter you among the heathen,And will draw out a sword after you:And your... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:8

And the daughter of Zion - Zion, or Sion, was the name of one of the hills on which the city of Jerusalem was built. On this hill formerly stood the city of the Jebusites, and when David took it from them he transferred to it his court, and it was called the city of David, or the holy hill. It was in the southern part of the city. As Zion became the residence of the court, and was the most important part of the city, the name was often used to denote the city itself, and is often applied to the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:9

Except ... - It is owing entirely to the mercy of God, that we are not like Sodom. The prophet traces this not to the goodness of the nation, not to any power or merit of theirs, but solely to the mercy of God. This passage the apostle Paul has used in an argument to establish the doctrine of divine sovereignty in the salvation of people; see the note at Romans 9:29.The Lord - Hebrew Yahweh. Note Isaiah 1:2.Of hosts - צבאות tsebâ'ôth - the word sometimes translated “Sabaoth”; Romans 9:29;... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:10

Hear the word of the Lord - The message of God. Having stated the calamities under which the nation was groaning, the prophet proceeds to address the rulers, and to state the cause of all these woes.Ye rulers of Sodom - The incidental mention Sodom in the previous verse gives occasion for this beautiful transition, and abrupt and spirited address. Their character and destiny were almost like those of Sodom, and the prophet therefore openly addresses the rulers as being called to preside over a... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:11

To what purpose - לי למה lâmâh lı̂y. ‘What is it to me; or what profit or pleasure can I have in them?’ God here replies to an objection which might be urged by the Jews to the representation which had been made of their guilt. The objection would be, that they were strict in the duties of their religion, and that they even abounded in offering victims of sacrifice. God replies in this and the following verses, that all this would be of no use, and would meet with no acceptance, unless it... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:12

When you come to appear before me - The temple was in Jerusalem, and was regarded as the habitation, or dwelling-place, of the God of Israel. Particularly, the most holy place of the temple was deemed the place of his sacred abode. The Shekinah - from שׁכן shâkan, to dwell - the visible symbol of his presence, rested on the cover of the ark, and from this place he was accustomed to commune with his people, and to give responses to their requests. Hence, ‘to appear before God,’ Hebrew ‘to be... read more

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:5

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:6

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:7

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:8

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:9

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:10

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:11

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 1:12

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