Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:3

That sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick "Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles" - These are instances of heathenish superstition, and idolatrous practices, to which the Jews were immoderately addicted before the Babylonish captivity. The heathen worshipped their idols in groves; whereas God, in opposition to this species of idolatry, commanded his people, when they should come into the promised land, to destroy all the places wherein the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:4

Which remain among the graves - "For the purpose of evoking the dead. They lodged in desert places that demons might appear to them; for demons do appear in such places, to those who do believe in them." - Kimchi. In the monuments "In the caverns" - בנצורים bannetsurim , a word of doubtful signification. An ancient MS. has בצורים batstsurim , another בצרים batstsurim , "in the rocks;" and Le Clec thinks the Septuagint had it so in their copy. They render it by εν τοις... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:5

For I am holier than thou - So the Chaldee renders it. קדשתיך kedashticha is the same with ממך קדשתי kadashti mimmecha . In the same manner חזקתני chazaktani , Jeremiah 20:7 , is used for ממני חזקת chazacta mimmenni , "thou art stronger than I." - L. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:6

Behold, it is written before me - Their sin is registered in heaven, calling aloud for the punishment due to it. I will - recompense into their bosom - The bosom is the place where the Asiatics have their pockets, and not in their skirts like the inhabitants of the west. Their loose flowing garments have scarcely any thing analogous to skirts. Into their bosom - For על al , ten MSS. and five editions have אל el . So again at the end of this verse, seventeen MSS. and four... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:7

Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers "Their iniquities, and the iniquities of their fathers" - For the pronoun affixed of the second person חם chem , your, twice, read הם hem , their, in the third person; with the Septuagint and Houbigant. - L. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:8

A blessing is in it - The Hebrews call all things which serve for food ברכה berachah , "a blessing." On this verse Kimchi remarks: "As the cluster of grapes contains, besides the juice, the bark, and the kernels, so the Israelites have, besides the just, sinners among them. Now as the cluster must not be destroyed because there is a blessing, a nutritive part in it; so Israel shall not be destroyed, because there are righteous persons in it. But as the bark and kernels are thrown away,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:9

An inheritor of my mountains "An inheritor of my mountain" - הרי hari , in the singular number; so the Septuagint and Syriac; that is, of Mount Sion. See Isaiah 65:11 ; and Isaiah 56:7 , to which Sion, the pronoun feminine singular, added to the verb in the next line, refers; ירשוה yereshuah , "shall inherit her." - L. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:10

Sharon - and the valley of Achor - Two of the most fertile parts of Judea; famous for their rich pastures; the former to the west, not far from Joppa; the latter north of Jericho, near Gilgal. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:11

That prepare a table for that troop "Who set in order a table for Gad" - The disquisitions and conjectures of the learned concerning Gad and Meni are infinite and uncertain: perhaps the most probable may be, that Gad means good fortune, and Meni the moon. "But why should we be solicitous about it?" says Schmidius. "It appears sufficiently, from the circumstances, that they were false gods; either stars, or some natural objects; or a mere fiction. The Holy Scriptures did not deign to explain... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 65:12

Therefore will I number you - Referring to Meni, which signifies number "Rabbi Eliezar said to his disciples, Turn to God one day before you die. His disciples said, How call a man know the day of his death? He answered, Therefore it is necessary that you should turn to God to-day, for possibly ye may die to-morrow." read more

Group of Brands