Isaiah 33:4 - Exposition

Your spoil shall be gathered . The "spoiling" of Assyria would commence with the discomfiture of the great host. In the historical narrative ( 2 Kings 19:35 ; Isaiah 37:36 ) nothing is said of it; but, beyond a doubt, when the host was to a largo extent destroyed, and the remainder fled, there must have been an enormous booty left behind, which the enemies of the Assyrians would naturally seize. A further spoiling of the fugitives probably followed; and, the prestige of the great king being gone, marauding bands would probably on all sides ravage the Assyrian territory. Like the gathering of the caterpillar . The "caterpillar" ( khasil ) is probably the grub out of which the locust develops—a very destructive insect. Shall he run . It would be better to render, shall they run. The word, indeed, is in the singular; but it is used distributively, of the various spoilers.