Isaiah 1:4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 1:2-9

We will hope to meet with a brighter and more pleasant scene before we come to the end of this book; but truly here, in the beginning of it, every thing looks very bad, very black, with Judah and Jerusalem. What is the wilderness of the world, if the church, the vineyard, has such a dismal aspect as this? I. The prophet, though he speaks in God's name, yet, despairing to gain audience with the children of his people, addresses himself to the heavens and the earth, and bespeaks their attention... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 1:4

Ah sinful nation ,..... Or "sinning nation" F25 גוי חטא "gens peccatrix", Sept. V. L. Syr. Ar. ; that was continually sinning, doing nothing else but sin, the reverse of what they were chosen to be, Deuteronomy 7:6 . These words are said, either as calling and crying to them, to cause them to hear and hearken to what is said, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe, and as הוי is used in Isaiah 55:1 or by way of complaint and lamentation, as Jarchi thinks, because of their general... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 1:4

Ah sinful nation "Degenerate" - Five MSS., one of them ancient, read משחתים moschathim , without the first י yod, in hophal corrupted, not corrupters. See the same word in the same form, and in the same sense, Proverbs 25:26 . Are corrupters "Are estranged" - Thirty-two MSS., five ancient, and two editions, read נזורו nazoru ; which reading determines the word to be from the root זור zur , to alienate, not from נזר nazar , to separate; so Kimchi understands it. See... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:1-9

Jehovah arraigns his people. I. INGRATITUDE THE BASEST OF SINS . He, the Father, has been faithlessly forsaken by ungrateful sons. This is the worst form of ingratitude. "Filial ingratitude! Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand For lifting food to it?" ('King Lear.') It has been said that The wretch whom gratitude once fails to bind, To truth or honor let him lay no claim, But stand confess'd the brute disguised in man." But the brutes are grateful;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:1-31

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:2-6

GOD 'S COMPLAINT AGAINST HIS PEOPLE . The groundwork of Isaiah's entire prophecy is Judah's defection from God. God's people have sinned, done amiss, dealt wickedly. The hour of vengeance approaches. Punishment has begun, and will go on, continually increasing in severity. National repentance would avert God's judgments, but the nation will not repeat. God's vengeance will fall, and by it a remnant will be purified, and return to God, and be his true people. In the present section... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:4

Ah sinful nation. These are the words of Isaiah, not of Jehovah. The prophet, having delivered God's message in verses 2 and 3, proceeds to impress and enforce it on the people by remarks of his own. He begins with a lamentation over their wickedness and impenitence; "Ah sinful nation!" or "Alas for the sinful nation! "the nation called to be holy ( Exodus 19:6 ; Le Exodus 20:26 , etc.), but sunk in sin and wickedness. How sad their condition! How almost hopeless! Laden with iniquity ;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:4

Children that are corrupters. Here we have a broad light on the mission of Isaiah the prophet. The holy nation had become evil. Plants are more poison-spreading in their corruption than forest trees. It is an old proverb, "The corruption of the best is the worst." "Children that are corrupt." How solemn the emphasis of the prophet's adjuration! " Hear , O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:4

The course of sin. It is true that both righteousness and sin have very varied manifestations, the course of one good or one bad man's life differing widely from that of another. Yet there is a logical and moral order in which both holiness and iniquity pursue their path from their beginning to their end. The course of sin is not indicated by the sequence of these accusations, but the different steps are included in the prophetic denunciation. I. IT BEGINS IN THE WITHDRAWAL OF... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 1:4-9

The prophet's enforcement of God's charge. God's words are so weighty, that they may well be few; the preacher's enforcement of them must needs be, comparatively speaking, lengthy. Isaiah, in addressing his erring countrymen, aimed at producing in them— I. CONVICTION OF DIN . For this purpose, he begins with an array of seven charges (verse 4), varying, as it were, the counts of the indictment: The first four are general, and seem to be little more than rhetorical variations of... read more

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