Isaiah 10:1-2 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 10:1-4

Whether they were the princes and judges of Israel of Judah, or both, that the prophet denounced this woe against, is not certain: if those of Israel, these verses are to be joined with the close of the foregoing chapter, which is probable enough, because the burden of that prophecy (for all this his anger is not turned away) is repeated here (Isa. 10:4); if those of Judah, they then show what was the particular design with which God brought the Assyrian army upon them?to punish their... read more

John Gill

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

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees ,.... Or, "O ye that decree", &c.; הוי being a sign of the vocative case, and an interjection of calling, as Aben Ezra observes; though the Targum and other versions understand it of a threatening denounced; and is to be understood as lying against lawgivers and judges, political rulers and governors of the people, that made unrighteous laws; laws which were not agreeable to the law of God, nor right reason; and were injurious to the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 10:2

To turn aside the needy from judgment ,.... Such laws being made as discouraged them from any application for justice; and, when they did, were harassed with such long, vexatious, and expensive suits, as obliged them to desist, and the cause being generally given against them, and for the rich: and to take away the right from the poor of my people ; for not to do justice to the poor is the same as to rob and plunder them, and take away by force what of right belongs to them; wherefore it... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 10:2

My people - Instead of עמי ammi , my people, many MSS., and one of my own, ancient, read עמו ammo , his people. But this is manifestly a corruption. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:1

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees (comp. Isaiah 1:17 , Isaiah 1:20 , Isaiah 1:26 ; Isaiah 5:23 , etc.). The perversion of judgment from the judgment-seat is the sin rebuked. It was certainly prevalent in Judah, it may also have been practiced in Israel. And that write grievousness , etc. Translate, and unto the writers that enregister oppression . The decrees of courts were, it is clear, carefully engrossed by the officials, probably upon parchment, every outward... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:1-4

The prophecy begun in Isaiah 9:8 terminates with this stanza, which contains a warning against injustice and oppression, addressed to Israel and Judah equally, and accompanied by the threat of a "day of desolation," when those who have refused to make God their Refuge will have no resource, but to go into captivity with the "prisoners," or to perish with the "slain." A foreign conquest, accompanied by slaughter, and the deportation of captives, is not obscurely intimated. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:1-4

The helplessness of man under the wrath of God. The anger of the Lord is here expressly declared against the oppressor. We are again reminded: 1. That God judges those who are in authority over men; that however these may be placed above the reach of human justice, they will not escape Divine retribution. 2. That God especially requires an account of our treatment of the suffering and the dependent. Whoso wrongs the widow or the orphan must expect a fearful reckoning with the pitiful... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:2

The poor … the widow … the fatherless . These were the classes who were the chief sufferers by the perversion of justice (comp. Isaiah 1:17 , Isaiah 1:23 ). They were exactly the classes for whom God had most compassion, and whom he had commended in the Law to the tender care of his people (see note on Isaiah 9:17 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:2

The Divine avenger of the poor. The idea of a goel , or avenger, belongs to the primitive conditions of society. When there was no settled government, no police, and no magistracy, each individual had to guard his life, liberty, and property as best he could. The first and simplest form that mutual protection took was "the family," and the principle was established that the nearest of kin to an injured or murdered person should avenge the injury or death. As this led to feuds among... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 10:1

Wo unto them that decree unrighteous decrees - To those who frame statutes that are oppressive and iniquitous. The prophet here refers, doubtless, to the rulers and judges of the land of Judea. A similar description he had before given; Isaiah 1:10, Isaiah 1:23, ...And that write ... - Hebrew, ‘And to the writers who write violence.’ The word translated “grievousness,” עמל ‛âmâl, denotes properly “wearisome labor, trouble, oppression, injustice.” Here, it evidently refers to the judges who... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 10:1-4

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 10:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 10:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:1-4

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 10:2

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 10:1

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