Isaiah 1

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:3

The ox knoweth his owner ,.... Knows his voice, when he calls him, and follows him where he leads him, whether to plough in the field, or feed in the meadows; and the ass his masters crib , or "manger"; where he is fed, and to which he goes when he wants food, and at the usual times. Gussetius F23 Comment. Ling. Ebr. p. 13, 14. interprets the words; the ass knows the floor where he treads out the corn, and willingly goes to it, though it is to labour, as well as to eat; and so puts... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:4

Ah sinful nation ,..... Or "sinning nation" F25 גוי חטא "gens peccatrix", Sept. V. L. Syr. Ar. ; that was continually sinning, doing nothing else but sin, the reverse of what they were chosen to be, Deuteronomy 7:6 . These words are said, either as calling and crying to them, to cause them to hear and hearken to what is said, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe, and as הוי is used in Isaiah 55:1 or by way of complaint and lamentation, as Jarchi thinks, because of their general... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:5

Why should ye be stricken any more ?.... Or "for what are ye stricken again" F1 על מה תכו "super quo", V. L. "ad quid", Ar. ? with afflictions and chastisements, with which God smites his people by way of correction for their sins, Isaiah 57:17 and the sense is, either that they did not consider what they were afflicted for, that it was for their sins and transgressions; they thought they came by chance, or imputed them to second causes, and so went on in sin, and added sin to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:6

From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it ,.... Every member of the body politic was afflicted in one way or another, or sadly infected with the disease of sin; see Psalm 28:3 . So the Targum, "from the rest of the people, even unto the princes, there is none among them who is perfect in my fear;' see Daniel 9:8 . but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores ; to which either public calamities on a city or nation may be compared, Hosea 5:13 ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:7

Your country is desolate ,.... Or "shall be"; this is either a declaration in proper terms of what is before figuratively expressed, or rather a prophecy of what would be their case on account of transgressions; and which had its accomplishment partly in the Babylonish captivity, and fully in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans; when not only their city and temple, called their house, Matthew 23:38 , were left unto them desolate, but the whole land; and they were carried captive,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:8

And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in the vineyard ,.... The Targum is, "after they have got in the vintage.' A cottage in the vineyard was a booth, as the word F5 כסכה ως σκηνη , Sept. signifies, which was erected in the middle of the vineyard for the keeper of the vineyard to watch in night and day, that the fruit might not be hurt by birds, or stolen by thieves, and was a very, lonely place; and when the clusters of the vine were gathered, this cottage or booth... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:9

Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant ,.... This is an instance of the super abounding goodness of the Lord of hosts, as the Targum expresses it; that he should, in those very wicked and calamitous times, leave and reserve a few from being defiled with the sins of the age, and from being involved in the general calamity of it; which was true of the Christian Jews at the time of Jerusalem's destruction; for that this prophecy belongs to these times is clear from the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:10

Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom ,.... Not literally, but mystically, meaning the governors of Judea; they and their people having sinned in like manner, and as openly, as the rulers of Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof; see Isaiah 3:9 and so the Targum paraphrases the words, "receive the word of the Lord, ye governors, whose works are evil like the governors of Sodom.' These are called to attend to the word of the Lord; either the Scriptures, which should be the rule of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:11

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord ,.... These people, though they neglected the weightier matters of the law, and the more substantial duties of religion, as did the Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's time, Matthew 23:23 yet were very diligent in the observance of the ceremonial law, and repeated their sacrifices almost without number, on which they placed all their trust and dependence; wherefore, to take off their confidence in these things, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:12

When ye come to appear before me ,.... At the grand festivals of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, at which times all the males in Israel appeared before God, Exodus 23:17 . who hath required this at your hand ; either to appear at such times, these feasts being no more to be observed; or to offer the above sacrifices; these were not required of the Israelites when they first came out of Egypt, Jeremiah 7:22 nor were they necessary to appear before God with, or to introduce... read more

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