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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 29:9-16

Here, I. The prophet stands amazed at the stupidity of the greatest part of the Jewish nation. They had Levites, who taught the good knowledge of the Lord and had encouragement from Hezekiah in doing so, 2 Chron. 30:22. They had prophets, who brought them messages immediately from God, and signified to them what were the causes and what would be the effects of God's displeasure against them. Now, one would think, surely this great nation, that has all the advantages of divine revelation, is a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 29:9

Stay yourselves, and wonder ,.... Stop a while, pause a little, consider within yourselves the case and circumstances of these people, and wonder at their stupidity. Kimchi thinks these words were spoken in the times of Ahaz, with respect to the men of Judah; and so Aben Ezra says, they are directed to the men of Zion; and it is generally thought that they are spoken to the more religious and sober part of them; though, by the following verse Isaiah 29:10 , it appears that the case was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 29:10

For the Lord hath poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep ,.... Gave them up to a stupid frame of spirit; to a reprobate mind, a mind void of judgment and sense; to judicial blindness and hardness of heart: this was remarkably fulfilled in the Jews, in the times of Christ and his apostles, who choosing darkness rather than the light of the Gospel, which shone around them, were righteously given up to such a temper of mind; and to nothing else can be imputed their obstinate rejection of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 29:9

Stay yourselves, and wonder - התמהמהו hithmahmehu , go on what-what-whatting, in a state of mental indetermination, till the overflowing scourge take you away. See the note on Psalm 119:60 ; (note). They are drunken, but not with wine - See note on Isaiah 51:21 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:1-12

Concerning Ariel. I. VICISSITUDES OF ARIEL . The name is symbolic, perhaps signifying " God ' s lion." It was the city where David dwelt. The prophet bids the city enter upon the new year, and run the round of the feasts. The distress will come, and the city, true to her name, will be mourning like a wounded lioness; and yet her prowess will be seen. She will be beleaguered, the mound for the battering-ram will be set up; she will be abased, and her low voice will be like the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:9

Stay yourselves, and wonder ; rather, stand stupefied and be astonished . The prophet bids them act as he knows that they will act. They will simply "stare with astonishment" at a prophecy which will seem to them "out of all relation to facts" (Cheyne). They will not yield it the slightest credence. They will only marvel how a sane man could have uttered such egregious folly. Cry ye out, and cry . Delitzsch and Mr. Cheyne translate, "Blind yourselves, and be blind," which certainly... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:9-10

Two kinds of spiritual blindness. Spiritual blindness is not the natural condition of man. God has given to all men a certain power of spiritual discernment. He is "the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world " ( John 1:9 ). Children are invariably found to be teachable at an early age—to have a power of receiving and appreciating spiritual verities. The spiritually blind have become such, and in their condition we may trace two stages. I. THE INITIAL STAGE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:9-12

NEITHER WARNING NOR PROMISE COMPREHENDED BY THOSE TO WHOM THEY HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED , "Who hath believed our report?" says the prophet in another place ( Isaiah 53:1 ), "and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" It was among the most painful circumstances attaching to the prophetical office, that scarcely ever was the prophet held in any esteem among his own people, or in his own lifetime. Isaiah knows that his warning will fall dead—that the people and their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:9-12

Spiritual incapacity. Our powers, as men and women, are limited enough; and it may well be that those of God's children who move in wider spheres and are endowed with greater capacities look down in wonder, if not with amusement, on our large pretensions. Yet we talk freely of the incapable, the feeble, the helpless, as if we ourselves were strong. There are various degrees of power and weakness among us, but the most important belong to that kind of incapacity to which the text refers. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:10

The Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. "Sleep," in Scripture, is sometimes "rest," "repose from trouble" ("So he giveth his beloved sleep," Psalms 128:2 ). But here it is "spiritual deadness and impassiveness"—an inability to appreciate, or even to understand, spiritual warnings. The Jews of Isaiah's time were sunk in a spiritual lethargy, from which he vainly endeavored to arouse them. This spiritual lethargy is here said to have been "poured out upon them by... read more

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