Isaiah 47:10-11

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 47:7-15

Babylon, now doomed to ruin, is here justly upbraided with her pride, luxury, and security, in the day of her prosperity, and the confidence she had in her own wisdom and forecast, and particularly in the prognostications and counsels of the astrologers. These things are mentioned both to justify God in bringing these judgments upon her and to mortify her, and put her to so much the greater shame, under these judgments; for, when God comes forth to take vengeance, glory belongs to him, but... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:10

For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness ,.... In wealth and power wickedly obtained; in political schemes wickedly contrived; in her ambition and pride, tyranny and cruelty; and especially in her wicked arts of astrology, divination, and magic: thou hast said, none seeth me ; lay her schemes of policy, which she thought so deeply laid, as not to be discovered; perform her magic arts, which were secretly done, and other her wicked actions done in the dark; but nothing can be hid from the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 47:11

Therefore shall evil come upon thee ,.... The evil of punishment, a great calamity; so Nebuchadnezzar foretold, as Abydenus relates F15 Ib. c. 41. p. 456. , that συμφορη , a calamity, should come upon the Babylonians; a day of evil, because of the above sins Babylon was guilty of: thou shall not know from whence it riseth ; from what quarter it will come, little dreaming of Cyrus, with whom the Chaldeans had had no quarrel. So mystical Babylon will not know from whence her ruin... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 47:11

Thou shalt not know from whence it riseth "Thou shalt not know how to deprecate" - שחרה shachrah ; so the Chaldee renders it, which is approved by Jarchi on the place; and Michaelis Epim. in Praelect. xix.; see Psalm 78:34 . Videtur in fine hujus commatis deese verbum, ut hoc membrum prioribus respondeat . "A word appears to be wanting at the end of this clause to connect it properly with the two preceding." - Secker. In order to set in a proper light this judicious remark, it is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:1-15

A SONG OF TRIUMPH OVER THE FALL OF BABYLON . The song divides itself into four strophes, or stanzas—the first one of four verses ( Isaiah 47:1-4 ); the second of three ( Isaiah 47:5-7 ); the third of four ( Isaiah 47:8-11 ); and the fourth also of four ( Isaiah 47:12-15 ). The speaker is either Jehovah (see Isaiah 47:3 , ad fin. ) or "a chorus of celestial beings" (Cheyne), bent on expressing their sympathy with Israel read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:1-15

The fall of ancient states a warning to modern ones. History has been defined as "philosophy teaching by examples." It is only on the supposition that there are lessons to be learnt from them that historical inquiries or historical records can be regarded as of any value or importance. In a certain sense it is no doubt true to say that "history never repeats itself." The exact circumstances, even of those historical events which most nearly resemble each other, are always in many respects... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:1-15

The fall of Babylon. This is a scoffing song at the overthrow of Babylon. It is divided into four nearly equal stanzas. Luxury, ambition, and the practice of magic—the one sin worse than the others—were prevalent at Babylon. Each of these is lashed in the first three stanzas. There is a climax, the scorn of the prophet reaching its highest point in the last stanza (Ewald). Spiritually considered, the picture may represent the course of "this present world" in its godless pride. I. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:7-11

Spiritual infatuation. This is a striking picture of infatuation. We note— I. ITS ESSENTIAL NATURE . Under the perverting influence of sin men come into a mental and spiritual condition in which everything is strange, unnatural, distorted. Something has "perverted" them ( Isaiah 47:10 ). It is a condition in which things seem to them other than they are—in which they fail to discern what ought to be quite palpable to them, in which they are subject to unhappy and hurtful... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:10

Thou hast trusted in thy wickedness; i.e. in thy incantations and spells, which were supposed to work in secret, and which could not be counteracted if their victim was not aware of them. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee. The astronomical "wisdom and knowledge" of the Babylonians, confessed by the Greeks to have been the origin of their own astronomical knowledge, led them on to that perversion of true science, astrology, which, when once entered upon, seduces the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 47:11

Therefore shall evil come upon thee . Connect this with the first clause of Isaiah 47:10 , "Thou hast trusted in thine own evil (moral), therefore shall evil (physical) fall upon thee." The same word, ra ' ah , is used in both places. Thou shalt not know from whence it riseth . So the Vulgate, Vitringa, Gesenius, and Dr. Kay. But the bulk of modern commentators (Hitzig, Ewald, Delitzsch, Nagelsbach, Weir, Cheyne) render, "Thou wilt not know how to charm it away. " Both meanings... read more

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