Isaiah 59:9-12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 59:9-15

The scope of this paragraph is the same with that of the last, to show that sin is the great mischief-maker; as it is that which keeps good things from us, so it is that which brings evil things upon us. But as there it is spoken by the prophet, in God's name, to the people, for their conviction and humiliation, and that God might be justified when he speaks and clear when he judges, so here it seems to be spoken by the people to God, as an acknowledgment of that which was there told them and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 59:9

Therefore is judgment far from us ,.... These are the words of the few godly persons in those times, taking notice of prevailing sins, confessing and lamenting them, and observing that these were the source of their calamities under which they groaned; "therefore", because of the above mentioned sins, and in just retaliation, no justice or judgment being among men; therefore, in great righteousness "judgment is far from us"; or God does not appear to right our wrongs, and avenge us of our... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 59:10

We grope for the wall like the blind ,.... Who either with their hands, or with a staff in them, feel for the wall to lean against, or to guide them in the way, or into the house, that they may know whereabout they are, and how they should steer their course: and we grope as if we had no eyes : which yet they had, the eyes of their reason and understanding; but which either were not opened, or they made no use of them in searching the Scriptures, to come at the light and knowledge of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 59:11

We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves ,.... Some in a more noisy and clamorous, others in a stiller way, yet all in private: for the bear, when robbed of its whelps, goes to its den and roars; and the dove, when it has lost its mate, mourns in solitude: this expresses the secret groanings of the saints under a sense of sin, and the forlorn state of religion. The Targum paraphrases it thus, "we roar because of our enemies, who are gathered against us as bears; all of us indeed... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 59:12

For our transgressions are multiplied before thee ,.... Not only an increase of immorality among the people in common, but among professors of religion; and as their transgressions are committed against the Lord, so they are in his sight taken notice of and observed by him, are loathsome and abominable to him, and call aloud for his judgments on them: and our sins testify against us ; God is a witness against us, in whose sight our sins are done; and our consciences are witnesses against... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 59:10

We stumble at noon day as in the night "We stumble at mid-day, as in the twilight" - I adopt here an emendation of Houbigant, נשגגה nishgegah , instead of the second, נגששה negasheshah , the repetition of which has a poverty and inelegance extremely unworthy of the prophet, and unlike his manner. The mistake is of long standing, being prior to all the ancient versions. It was a very easy and obvious mistake, and I have little doubt of our having recovered the true reading in this... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 59:11

But it is far off from us "And it is far distant from us" - The conjunction ו vau must necessarily be prefixed to the verb, as the Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate found it in their copies; ורחקה verachakah , "and far off." read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 59:1-15

The separation of the soul from God. Why in the hour of need is there no deliverance? Why are prayers for aid unanswered? A theory might obtain, or an objection might be raised, that Divine power was not sufficient, that the Divine sensibility was dulled. And yet this cannot be. The simplest knowledge of what God is must contradict an assumption so foolish. There must be another explanation; and that, the conscience says, is to be found on the human side of the relation. I. THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 59:9

Therefore — i.e. on account of these sins— is judgment far from us ; i.e. "does God refrain from judging our enemies." Neither doth justice— i.e. the righting of the wrongs which we suffer at the hands of the heathen—overtake us. We are left by God unavenged, and our enemies are left unpunished on account of our many transgressions. We wait for light. We look for a bright dawn to succeed the night of our trouble; but we wait in vain—the obscurity continues. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 59:9-10

The goal of guilt. A course of conduct or a principle of action is rightly judged by the issue to which it tends. All is well that ends well, and all is ill that ends ill. If we look far enough and deep enough in our estimate of consequences , we shall always find that the goal of guilt is wretchedness and ruin. It ends in— I. A SENSE OF WRONG . The nation feels that "judgment and justice" are lacking and the enemy is triumphant; the individual feels that he is injured, that... read more

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