Isaiah 9:14 - Exposition

Head and tail, branch and rush ; i.e. the whole nation, from the highest to the lowest. The "branch" intended is the "palm branch," at once lofty in position and the most glorious form of vegetable life ( Psalms 92:12 ; So Psalms 7:7 , Psalms 7:8 , etc.); the "rush" is the simple "sedge" that grows, not only low on the ground, but in the "mire" ( Job 8:11 ). The same expression occurs again in Isaiah 19:15 .