Isaiah 17:8 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 17:6-8

Mercy is here reserved, in a parenthesis, in the midst of judgment, for a remnant that should escape the common ruin of the kingdom of the ten tribes. Though the Assyrians took all the care they could that none should slip out of their net, yet the meek of the earth were hidden in the day of the Lord's anger, and had their lives given them for a prey and made comfortable to them by their retirement to the land of Judah, where they had the liberty of God's courts. 1. They shall be but a small... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 17:8

And he shall not took to the altars, the work of his hands ,.... That is, to altars erected to the worship of idols, which are both the works of men's hands, so as to serve at them, and sacrifice upon them. Kimchi observes, that the latter clause is not to be understood as belonging to the former, but as distinct from it, and signifies idols which men have made; otherwise all altars, even the altars of God, were the works of men, which yet it was right to look unto, and offer sacrifice upon;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 17:8

The altars, the work of his hands "The altars dedicated to the work of his hands" - The construction of the words, and the meaning of the sentence, in this place are not obvious; all the ancient Versions, and most of the modern, have mistaken it. The word מעשה maaseh , "the work," stands in regimine with מזבחות mizbechoth , "altars," not in opposition to it; it means the, altars of the work of their hand; that is of the idols, which are the work of their hands. Thus Kimchi has... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:1-8

Damascus and Israel. The present oracle bids us turn to a different scene—to the famed city and territory of Damascus. It lies in the vast rich plain east of Mount Antilibanus, on the border of the desert. Through the plain flows the river Barada, probably the Abaca in which Naaman delighted. "In the midst of the plain lies at your feet the vast lake or island of deep verdure—walnuts and apricots waving above, corn and grass below; and in the midst of the mass of foliage rises, striking... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:4-11

A DENUNCIATION OF WOE ON ISRAEL , COMBINED WITH THE PROMISE OF A REMNANT . Israel, having united herself with Syria to resist the Assyrians, will incur a similar fate. Her glory will decay, her population dwindle and almost disappear. Still there will be a few left, who, under the circumstances, will turn to God ( Isaiah 17:7 ). But it will be too late for anything like a national recovery; the laud will remain "a desolation" on account of the past sins of its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:6-11

National repentance may come too late to avert national ruin. The crisis of a nation's fate is brought on by slow degrees, and results from a multitude of acts, each one of which, when once done, is past recall. Up to a certain point there is a possibility of retrieval. "Tout peut se retablir," as a great monarch of our own time said. The modes of action that have brought the state into difficulties may be renounced, or even reversed; and recovery may set in as a natural consequence of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:7-8

The function of adversity. I. THE PREVALENCE OF TROUBLE IN THIS WORLD OF SIN . "That day" was the day of national disaster, and, therefore, of individual distress. In the more settled and durable condition of modern times and Western lands, we are much less liable to suffer from this particular cause. But civilization brings its own perils and its own troubles, and while sin lasts "the day" of sorrow will be continually recurring. How many are the sources whence it may... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:8

And he shall not look to the altars . The altars at Dan and Bethel ( 1 Kings 12:28-33 ) may be intended, or the Israelites may have had other idolatrous altars besides these ( 2 Kings 17:11 ; Hosea 8:11 ). Josiah, about B.C. 631, broke down altars throughout all the land of Israel, in the cities of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon (?), even unto Naphtali ( 2 Chronicles 34:5-7 ). Apparently he had the consent of the inhabitants to this demolition. Either the groves, or the images , ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:8

The prophet on heathen worship. Having described in brief the true religion as a "looking up to God" as Maker and Redeemer of Israel, the prophet with equal expressiveness characterizes the heathen worship around. I. IT IS REVERENCE FOR THE OBJECT OF HUMAN ART . Contemptuous is the reference to "the work of his hands," and "that which his fingers have made"—altars and images. When the spiritual nerve of religion is weakened, the affections fix upon the symbols, forms,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 17:8

And he shall not look to the altars - That is, the altars of the gods which the Syrians worshipped, and the altars of the false gods which had been erected in the land of Israel or Samaria by its wicked kings, and particularly by Ahaz. Ahaz fancied an altar which he saw at Damascus when on a visit to Tiglath-pileser, and ordered Urijah the priest to construct one like it in Samaria, on which he subsequently offered sacrifice 2 Kings 16:10-13. It is well known, also, that the kings of Israel and... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 17:6-8

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 17:8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 17:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:1-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:4-11

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:6-11

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:7-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 17:8

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 17:8

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