Isaiah 9:1-21

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

And all the people shall know ,.... The word of the Lord, and that it is his; and by sad experience shall feel the weight of it; or, "the people shall know the whole of it" F25 כלו "totum ejus". ; shall find that the whole of it will be accomplished, every punctilio in it; whatever is said is done, everything predicted by it, the substance of it, and every circumstance relating to it: or they shall be punished, they shall bear, know, and feel the punishment of their sins; in which... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:10

The bricks are fallen down ,.... Houses made of bricks, which were without the cities besieged and destroyed by the Assyrians; of which the haughty Israelites made no account, looking upon such a desolation as little, or no loss at all: but we will build with hewn stone , so that the houses will be better and stronger, more beautiful, and more durable: the sycamores are cut down ; which grew in the fields, and outer parts of the cities, and were but a mean sort of wood, and which the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:11

Therefore the Lord shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him ,.... Set them up on high, as the word F1 ישגב "elevabit, sive extollet", Forerius. signifies; exalt them above him, and make them superior to him, and conquerors of him, meaning the Assyrians; who, being sent for by Ahab, went up against Damascus, took it, and carried the people captive, and slew Rezin the king of Syria, the head of which was Damascus, 2 Kings 16:7 this is mentioned, because the Israelites put... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:12

The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind ,.... Rezin, king of Syria, the confederate of the Israelites, being slain, his people joined the Assyrians against Israel; and they, with others mentioned, beset them on all sides, before and behind, east and west; and so the Targum, Septuagint, and other versions, render it, the Syrians on the east, or from the rising of the sun; and the Philistines on the west, or from the setting of the sun; for, as Kimchi observes, Syria lay east of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:13

For the people turneth not to him that smiteth them ,.... Who was the Lord of hosts, as it is explained in the next clause; it was he that had smote the people with the rod of correction and chastisement, by various afflictions and distresses which he had brought upon them; in order to bring them to a sense of their sin and duty, to reclaim and recover them from their backslidings; but they had not such an effect upon them; they returned not to him by repentance and reformation, from whom... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:14

Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail ,.... The former of these is afterwards interpreted of "the ancient and honourable", men in high places, civil magistrates, judges, governors, and elders of the people, the king as supreme, and all subordinate officers; and so the Targum, "the Lord will destroy from Israel the prince and the ruler;' and the latter is interpreted of the false prophet. The people of Israel are compared to a beast with a tail, being so sadly... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:15

The ancient and honourable, he is the head ,.... The elder in office, not in age; and who, on account of his office, dignity, and riches, is honoured by men, is of a venerable countenance himself, and is reverenced when seen and looked upon by others, and received by persons with pleasure and cheerfulness; as the phrase used signifies. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "who admire", or "have" men's "persons in admiration"; which is the character Jude gives of false teachers, ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:16

For the leaders of this people cause them to err ,.... Or, "who bless this people", as the Septuagint and Arabic versions; and so the Targum, "who praise this people;' that call them blessed, pronounce them happy, see Malachi 3:15 and promise them happiness, both in this world and that to come, though guilty of notorious sins, and live a vicious course of life; and so harden them in their iniquities, and cause them to wander more and more from the way of truth and righteousness; and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:17

Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men ,.... Take no delight and pleasure in them; but, on the contrary, detest and abhor them, and so destroy them, being depraved and corrupted by the bad instructions and examples of their parents: neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows ; who are objects of pity and compassion; yet these being wicked, as well as the fathers of the one, and the husbands of the other, shall be no more spared than they have been; so that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 9:18

For wickedness burneth as the fire ,.... That is, the punishment of their sins, as the Targum interprets it; the wrath of God for sin, which is poured out like fire, and consumes as that does; unless wicked men are meant, who are consumed with the fire of divine vengeance; the sense is the same: it shall devour the briers and thorns ; sinners and ungodly, so the Targum paraphrases it; and Aben Ezra observes, they are the wicked; who are compared to briers and thorns, for their... read more

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