Isaiah 5:12

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 5:8-17

The world and the flesh are the two great enemies that we are in danger of being overpowered by; yet we are in no danger if we do not ourselves yield to them. Eagerness of the world, and indulgence of the flesh, are the two sins against which the prophet, in God's name, here denounces woes. These were sins which then abounded among the men of Judah, some of the wild grapes they brought forth (Isa. 5:4), and for which God threatens to bring ruin upon them. They are sins which we have all need... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 5:12

And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe ,.... Instruments of music; some struck with a bow or quill, or touched with the fingers; and others blown with the mouth: and wine are in their feasts ; so that they lived jovially and merrily, like sons of Bacchus, more than like the people of God: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands ; meaning not the law, as the Targum and Kimchi, which was the work of the Lord, and the writing of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:8-17

The appropriateness of God's punishments. Many of the punishments of sin follow in the way of natural consequence, and these are generally acknowledged to be fitting and appropriate; e . g . — I. IDLENESS IS PUNISHED BY WANT . "If a man will not work, neither shall he eat" ( 2 Thessalonians 3:10 ). Labor naturally produces wealth, or at any rate value of some kind; and those who work the hardest naturally acquire the most. The idle cannot complain if they have few of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:8-24

THE SIX WOES . After the general warning conveyed to Israel by the parable of the vineyard, six sins are particularized as those which have especially provoked God to give the warning. On each of these woe is denounced. Two have special punishments assigned to them ( Isaiah 5:8-17 ); the remainder are joined in one general threat of retribution ( Isaiah 5:18-24 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:11-12

The sin of dissipation. That which is here reproved is not mere drinking habits; it is the riotous feasting and wasting which characterizes the sensualist. Early drinking was considered by the Jews, as it was by the Romans, a mark of the most degraded sensuality. "In the time of Isaiah, the sensual Jews appear to have employed musicians, and all kinds of merry-makers, as dancers, mimics, buffoons, etc; such as are still common all over the East." "They shocked public feeling by morning... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:11-16

Mirth and mourning. I. THOUGHTLESS PLEASURE - SEEKING . A scene of habitual dissipation is depicted by the prophet. 1. Wine and music are used, not legitimately, to relax the tension of the overwrought mind, but to dispel thought altogether. Sensuous pleasure is made an end and object, though it can never be healthy except in succession to work. "They rise early in the morning to follow the wassail; late into the night are heated by wine." "Guitar, and harp, and tambourine, and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:11-22

The evil and the end of intemperance. When other evils have entered and other calamities have overtaken a state, intemperance is sure to make its black and hateful mark. These verses suggest— I. ITS TYRANNY . Such is its strength that it makes its devotees, t rise up early in the morning" ( Isaiah 5:11 ) in order to worship at its shrine. It is an unnatural and detestable action; the earliness of the hour of the day might well be pleaded as a proof of innocency ( Acts 2:15 ). But... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 5:12

The harp and the viol, the tabret and pipe . It is difficult to identify the Hebrew instruments of music with modern names; but there seems to be no doubt that the kinnor was a sort of harp, and the khalib a sort of pipe. The nebel , generally rendered by "psaltery," but hero and in Isaiah 14:11 by "viol," was a stringed instrument played with the fingers (Josephus); perhaps a lyre, perhaps a sort of dulcimer. The toph , here translated "tabret," and elsewhere often "timbrel," was... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 5:12

The prophet proceeds to state still further the extent of their crimes. This verse contains an account of their dissipated habits, and their consequent forgetfulness of God. That they commonly had musical instruments in their feasts, is evident from many passages of the Old Testament; see Amos 6:5-6. Their feasts, also, were attended with songs; Isaiah 24:8-9.The harp - - כנור kinnôr. This is a well-known stringed instrument, employed commonly in sacred music. It is often mentioned as having... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 5:11-12

Isaiah 5:11-12. Wo unto them, that rise up early, &c. Here we find another vice reproved, namely, that of luxury, or intemperance; whose companion and daughter is Inattention to the works of God, whose child, also, is Ignorance; see Isaiah 5:13; that rise up early to follow strong drink As husbandmen and tradesmen rise early to follow their employments; as if they were afraid of losing time from that which is the greatest misspending of time and the most sinful abuse of it. That... read more

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