Isaiah 5

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:6

And I will lay it waste ,.... Or "desolate", as it was by the Romans: the whole land of Judea, as well as the city and temple Matthew 23:38 , it shall not be pruned nor digged ; as vineyards are, to make them more fruitful; but no care shall be taken of it, no means made use of to cultivate it, all being ineffectual: but there shall come up briers and thorns ; sons of Belial, wicked and ungodly men; immoralities, errors, heresies, contentions, quarrels, &c.; which abounded... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:7

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel ,.... This is the explication of the parable, or the accommodation and application of it to the people of Israel, by whom are meant the ten tribes; they are signified by the vineyard, which belonged to the Lord of hosts, who had chosen them to be a peculiar people to him, and had separated them from all others: and the men of Judah his pleasant plant ; they were so when first planted by the Lord; they were plants of delight, in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:8

Woe unto them that join house to house ,.... Or "O ye that join", &c.; for, as Aben Ezra observes, it signifies calling, as in Isaiah 55:1 though Jarchi takes it to be expressive of crying and groaning, on account of future punishments; and he observes, that as there are twenty two blessings pronounced in the book of Psalms, on those that keep the law, so there are twenty two woes pronounced by Isaiah upon the wicked: that lay field to field ; the sin of covetousness is exposed... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:9

In mine ears, said the Lord of hosts ,.... This may be understood either of the ears of the Lord of hosts, into which came the cry of the sins of covetousness and ambition before mentioned; these were taken notice of by the Lord, and he was determined to punish them; or of the ears of the prophet, in whose hearing the Lord said what follows: so the Targum, "the prophet said, with mine ears I have heard, when this was decreed from before the Lord of hosts:' of a truth many houses shall... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:10

Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath ,.... They shall get nothing by laying field to field, for their fields shall be barren and unfruitful; though Jarchi and Kimchi take this to be a reason why their houses should be desolate, and without inhabitants, because there would be a famine, rendering the words, "for ten acres", &c.; The Targum makes this barrenness to be the punishment of their sin, in not paying tithes; paraphrasing the words thus, "for because of the sin of not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:11

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning ,.... To rise up early in the morning is healthful, and to rise to do business is commendable; but to spend the day in drunkenness and intemperance is very criminal, which is here meant: that they may follow, strong drink ; not only drink it, but follow on to drink; diligently seek after it, where the best is to be had; go from house to house till they have found it; closely follow the drinking of it, till inebriated with it: that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:12

And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe ,.... Instruments of music; some struck with a bow or quill, or touched with the fingers; and others blown with the mouth: and wine are in their feasts ; so that they lived jovially and merrily, like sons of Bacchus, more than like the people of God: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands ; meaning not the law, as the Targum and Kimchi, which was the work of the Lord, and the writing of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:13

Therefore my people are gone into captivity ,.... Or rather, as Kimchi explains it, "shall go into captivity"; the past for the future; for this cannot be understood even of the captivity of the ten tribes, for they were not carried captive until the sixth year of Hezekiah's reign, 2 Kings 17:6 whereas this prophecy was delivered out many years before, even in the time of Uzziah, as is manifest from the following chapter, Isaiah 6:1 and much less it cannot design the captivity of Judah,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:14

Therefore hell hath enlarged herself ,.... That is, the grave, to receive the dead which die with famine and thirst; signifying that the number of the dead would be so great, that the common burying places would not be sufficient to hold them; but additions must be made to them; or some vast prodigious pit must be dug, capable of receiving them; like Tophet, deep and large: or "hath enlarged her soul" F4 הרחיבה נפשה "dilatavit suam animam", V. L. Munster, Montanus, Cocceius. ; her... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:15

And the mean man shall be brought down ,.... To hell, or the grave, as well as the rich and noble: and the mighty man shall be humbled ; laid low in the dust, and be equal to the poor; for, in the grave, princes and peasants are alike; or they shall be all alike, in the same low and miserable condition: and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled ; when famine and distress, ruin and misery, come upon them, then shall the pride of those be abased, as it was; who boasted of their riches... read more

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