Isaiah 48:4 - Exposition

I knew that thou art obstinate; literally, hard , or stiff—the adjective used in the phrase translated in our version "stiff-necked." The idea is still more forcibly expressed in the following clause— thy neck is an iron sinew; or rather, a band of iron , as stiff as if it were made-of the hardest metal. And thy brow brass . The exact simile here used does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. It seems to be the origin of our expressions, "brazen, … brazen-faced," "to brazen a thing out." The forehead may be hardened for a good or for a bad purpose; in obstinacy or in a determination to resist evil (comp. Isaiah 1:7 and Ezekiel 3:8 with Jeremiah 5:3 ; Ezekiel 3:7 ; Zechariah 7:12 ). Here the hardening is evil, marking defiance and self-will.