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John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:20

He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation ,.... Who is so poor that he cannot bring an offering to his God, yet he will have one; and though he cannot purchase a golden or silver one, or one that is gilt, and adorned with either; yet he will have a wooden one, as follows. Some render it, "he that is set over the oblation", which Aben Ezra mentions; that was over the treasury, where the oblations were; the Heathen priest, whose business it was from thence to procure idols to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:21

Have ye not known? This is the speech of the prophet, directed to the idolaters, appealing to their own natural knowledge, who, from the light of nature, might know that idols were nothing, had no divinity in them: that it is God that made the earth and governs the world, and who only ought to be worshipped: have ye not heard ? by tradition from the ancients, from your forefathers, who received it from theirs, and have delivered it to you: hath it not been told you from the beginning ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:22

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth ,.... Or, "the globe F26 על חוג "super sphaeram", Pagninus; "globum", Montanus Vatablus; "super orbem telluris", Vitringa. " of it; for the earth is spherical or globular: not a flat plain, but round, hung as a ball in the air; here Jehovah sits as the Lord and Sovereign; being the Maker of it, he is above it, orders and directs its motion, and governs all things in it: Kimchi rightly observes, that the heavens are the circle of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:23

That bringeth princes to nothing ,.... The great men of the earth, kings, rulers, and nobles, these he brings to the dust; and all their counsels, schemes, and purposes, come to nothing; and their monarchies and kingdoms too in time. Where are now the Babylonish, Persian, and Grecian monarchies, and those great princes that formerly reigned in them? he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity ; their decrees and decisions to stand for nothing, as "tohu" and "bohu", the first of which... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:24

Yea, they shall not be planted ,.... As trees are, like the cedars in Lebanon, though they may seem to be such; but be like the grass of the field, and herbs of the earth: or, "even they shall be", as if they were "not planted F3 אף בל נטעו "perinde ut non plantati", Calvin; and so the following clauses. ", they shall not grow and flourish; or they shall be plucked up, and be no more; this is said of the princes and judges of the earth; nay, they shall not be sown ; as seed... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 40:25

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One? Or be upon a level with? since the greatest of men on earth are brought to nothing by him, and are no more: this is repeated from Isaiah 40:18 and supported with fresh strength of argument, to show that there is nothing whatever, that is a fit likeness and similitude, by which to represent the Lord. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:16

And Lebanon is not sufficient - The image is beautiful and uncommon. It has been imitated by an apocryphal writer, who however comes far short of the original: - "For all sacrifice is too little for a sweet savor unto thee: And all the fat is not sufficient for thy burnt-offering." Judith 16:16. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:19

And casteth silver chains "And forgeth for it chains of silver" - For צורף tsoreph , the participle, twenty-seven MSS., five ancient, and three editions, read צרף tsaraph , pret. third person. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:20

Chooseth a tree that will not rot - For what? To make a god out of it! The rich we find made theirs of gold and silver; the poor man was obliged to put up with a wooden god! From the words "he that hath no oblation chooseth a tree," we may learn that the gold and silver necessary to make the graven image was first dedicated, and then formed into a god! How stupid is idolatry! Strange that these people did not perceive that there could be no help in these molten and wooden idols! read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 40:21

Have ye not known - On this verse Kimchi has a very interesting comment, an extract of which I subjoin. "The whole world may be considered as a house built up; heaven its roof; the stars its lamps; and the fruits of the earth its table spread. The Master of the house is God, blessed for ever; and man is the steward into whose hand all the business of the house is given. If he always consider in his heart that the Master of the house is continually over him, and that he keeps his eye upon his... read more

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