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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-7

The title of this prophecy is very observable. It is the burden of the valley of vision, of Judah and Jerusalem; so all agree. Fitly enough is Jerusalem called a valley, for the mountains were round about it, and the land of Judah abounded with fruitful valleys; and by the judgments of God, though they had been as a towering mountain, they should be brought low, sunk and depressed, and become dark and dirty, as a valley. But most emphatically is it called a valley of vision because there God... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 22:1

The burden of the valley of vision ,.... A prophecy concerning Jerusalem, so called, because it lay in a valley, encompassed about with mountains, and which was the habitation of the prophets or seers, and the seat of vision and prophecy; and perhaps there is an allusion to its name, which signifies the vision of peace, or they shall see peace. The Septuagint version calls it, "the word of the valley of Sion"; and the Arabic version, "a prophecy concerning the inhabitants of the valley of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 22:2

Thou art full of stirs ,.... Or, "wast full of stirs"; through the multitude of people walking about in it, and the vast hurry of business done in it; but now all hush and quiet, the streets clear of people, and the shops shut up, and all got up to the housetops for shelter; or, "full of noises" F12 תשאת מלאה "plena strepitibus", Munster; "tumultuationibus", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius; "fragoribus", Piscator. , as a populous trading city is. The word signifies shoutings and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 22:1

Art - gone up to the house-tops "Are gone up to the house-tops" - The houses in the east were in ancient times, as they are still, generally, built in one and the same uniform manner. The roof or top of the house is always flat, covered with broad stones, or a strong plaster of terrace, and guarded on every side with a low parapet wall; see Deuteronomy 22:8 . The terrace is frequented as much as any part of the house. On this, as the season favors, they walk, they eat, they sleep, they... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1

The burden of the valley of vision . "The valley of vision" is only mentioned here and in Isaiah 22:5 . It must have been one of the deep depressions near Jerusalem troll which there is a good view of the town. The LXX . render, "the burden of the valley of Zion ." What aileth thee now ? Jerusalem is addressed by the prophet, who assumes the role of a spectator, surprised at what he sees , and asks an explanation. That thou art wholly gone up to the housetops . Partly, no... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-2

Ill-timed joy. The "valley of vision" is, without doubt, Jerusalem, though Mr. Birks thinks Samaria may be meant. The Prophet Isaiah speaks thus poetically of it as the place where he had his visions. Now he sees the people hurrying, in great excitement, on to the fiat roofs of the city, to watch the gathering hosts of Sennacherib's army. The attitude of the people surprised him. At such a time, when pestilence decimated the inhabitants, the leading citizens had fled to secure their personal... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-14

A PROPHECY AGAINST JERUSALEM . The prophet, present in Jerusalem, either actually, or at any rate in spirit, sees the inhabitants crowded together upon the housetops, in a state of boisterous merriment ( Isaiah 22:1 , Isaiah 22:2 ). Outside the walls is a foreign army threatening the town ( Isaiah 22:5-7 ). Preparations have been made for resistance, which are described ( Isaiah 22:8-11 ); but there has been no turning to God. On the contrary, the danger has but made the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-14

Judgment upon Jerusalem. I. THE PROPHET AS SPECTATOR . The valley of vision seems to mean Jerusalem as a whole, round about which are mountains ( Psalms 125:2 ); the city is spoken of, when compared with the surrounding mountains, as the "inhabitant of the valley," otherwise as the "rock of the plain" ( Jeremiah 21:13 ; comp. Jeremiah 17:3 ). If Isaiah is gazing from his house in the lower town, the city would appear as in a valley in relation to the mountains inside as much... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-14

The sorrow of the world. We have here a striking picture of that which, in distinction from "godly sorrow," Paul calls "the sorrow of the world." I. THAT GOD SENDS SORROW TO HUMAN SOULS . These national distresses were to be of his sending; it was to be "a day of trouble … by the Lord of hosts" ( Isaiah 22:5 ). The human instrumentality would be visible enough, and both those who inflicted the blow and those who endured it—their enemies and themselves—might fail to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:2

A joyous city (comp. Isaiah 22:13 ). Thy slain men are not slain with the sword. It is a blockade rather than a siege. Men die, not of wounds, but of privations ( Lamentations 4:9 ). Sennacherib himself says, "Hezekiah, like a caged bird, within Jerusalem, his royal city, I confined; towers round about him I raised; and the exit of the great gate of his city I shut". read more

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