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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 30:8-17

Here, I. The preface is very awful. The prophet must not only preach this, but he must write it (Isa. 30:8), write it in a table, to be hung up and exposed to public view; he must carefully note it, not in loose papers which might be lost or torn, but in a book, to be preserved for posterity, in perpetuam rei memoriam?for a standing testimony against this wicked generation; let it remain not only to the next succeeding ages, but for ever and ever, while the world stands; and so it shall, for... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 30:16

But ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses ,.... Hither and thither to get help and assistance; go down to Egypt for it on them, or thither for them, as some render it; and then face the enemy, and, if we can not conquer him, will flee from him, and so provide for our safety; this is man's way of salvation, as opposed to God's way; see Hosea 1:7 or this may design their fleeing on horses and camels with their riches into Egypt, both for the security of them and their persons, Isaiah... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 30:17

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one ,.... A troop of horse, consisting of a thousand men, shall flee upon the attack and onset of a single person, so dispirited should they be, and so possessed of the fear of the enemy; what was promised to them with respect to their enemies is here turned against them, Leviticus 26:7 , at the rebuke of five shall ye flee ; being attacked by a very small number, the whole army should run away: this denotes with what ease they should be... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 30:17

At the rebuke of five shall ye flee "At the rebuke of five, ten thousand of you shall flee" - In the second line of this verse a word is manifestly omitted, which should answer to one thousand in the first: the Septuagint supply πολλοι , רבים rabbim . But the true word is רבבה rebabah , as I am persuaded any one will be convinced, who will compare the following passages with this place: - "How should one chase a thousand; And two put ten thousand ( רבבה ) to flight?" ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 30:8-17

A RENEWAL OF THREATENING . The denunciation of the Egyptian alliance had been made viva voce , in the courts of the temple or in some other place of public resort. As he ended, Isaiah received a Divine intimation that the prophecy was to be put on record, doubly, upon a tablet and in a book. At the same time, the " rebelliousness " of the people was further pointed out, and fresh threats (verses 13, 14, and 17) were uttered against them. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 30:8-18

A testimony forever. The prophet pauses. Perhaps he hears an inner voice bidding him to write down a few words, such as the last significant Rahab . As in Isaiah 8:1 , the inscription is to be on a large tablet, set up in a conspicuous place, so that he who runs may read. Then he is to inscribe the prophecy more fully on a scroll. Litera scripta manet . The oracle, the oral utterance, transferred to parchment, becomes a κτῆμα εἰς ἀεί , a "possession forever." The perpetuity... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 30:8-18

Aspects of sin. This severe denunciation by the prophet of the sins of the Jews may remind us of some of the darker and sadder aspects of sin itself. I. THE PERMANENCY OF ITS RECORD . Isaiah was to record the guilt of "the rebellious children" in a book, that it might be there inscribed " for the time to come forever and ever." And in the sacred volume there stand written, to be read for all time, the accusations which the Lord brought against Israel; the record of their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 30:16

Ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses ; rather, we will fly upon horses . The nobles had perhaps a manly eagerness to mount the Egyptian war-horses, and rush upon the enemy at full speed, in the hope of discomfiting them. Isaiah warns them that they will not really fig on the enemy, but flee before him. We will ride upon the swift . "The swift" (kal) seems to be a mere variant for "horse," the parallelism being, as so frequently, "synonymous." Therefore shall they that pursue... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 30:16

The peril of the willful. "We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift." We will— there is man's sin. That is not a fit position for dependent man ever to take. "They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare." "Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will , we shall live, and do this, or that." From some points of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 30:17

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one . A hyperbole common in Scripture ( Deuteronomy 32:30 ; Joshua 23:10 ; Le 26:8), and not confined to the sacred writers. Piankhi the Ethiopian boasts, in his great inscription, that, with Ammon's help, "many should turn their backs upon a few, and one should rout a thousand". At the rebuke of five . The "rebuke" of five ( i.e. their war-shout) would put to flight the whole army. As a beacon ; rather, as a flag-staff—stripped and bare... read more

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