5 As birds flying, so will the LORD also he will deliver it, and passing of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending over he will preserve it. Ps. 46. 5. New Translation. 5. As birds flying, so will JEHOVAH of hosts defend Jerusalem. In vain loud mastiffs bay him from afar, So also Iliad xviii. 161, 162: -But checked he turns; repulsed attacks again. POPE. POPE. Is called forth. When the neighborhood is alarmed, and all the inhabitants turn out to destroy him. He will not be afraid, &c. He will be so intent on his prey that he will not heed their shouting. ¶ Nor abase himself. That is, he will not be frightened, or disheartened. So shall the LORD of hosts, &c. That is, with the same intensity of purpose; with the same fixedness of design. He will be as little dismayed and diverted from his purpose by the number, the designs, and the war-shout of the Assyrian armies. 5. As birds flying. This is another comparison indicating substantially the same thing as the former, that JEHOVAH would protect Jerusalem. The idea here is evidently that JEHOVAH would protect Jerusalem in the same manner as birds defend their young by hovering over them, securing them under their wings, and leaping forward, if they are suddenly attacked, to defend them. Our Saviour has used a similar figure to indicate his readiness to have defended and saved the same city (Matt. xxiii. 27), and it is possible that he may have had this passage in his eye. The phrase "birds flying" may mean to denote the rapidity with which birds fly to defend their young, and hence the rapidity with which God would come to defend Jerusalem; or it may more properly, I think, refer to the fact that birds when their 6. Return to him from whom ye have so deeply revolted, O children of Israel! 7. For in that day shall every man cast away with contempt His idols of silver, and his idols of gold; The sin which your own hands have made. 8. Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword-not of a mighty man; And the sword-not of a mean man-shall devour him; And he shall betake himself to flight from the face of the sword, 66 young are attacked, fly, or flutter around them to defend them; they they will not leave them. The figure is a striking one; and the idea here may be, as in the previous figure, the courage, the fixed, determined purpose with which God would defend Jerusalem. ¶ And passing over. nic. Lowth renders this, leaping forward." This word which is usually applied in some of its forms to the Passover (Ex. xii. 13, 23, 27, 2 Chron. xxx. 18, Num. ix. 4, Josh. v. 11), properly means as a verb to pass over; and hence to preserve or spare. It means here, I think, simply to preserve; and I see no evidence that the idea which Lowth supposes to be attached to it is correct. The idea in the passage is, that JEHOVAH would protect Jerusalem, as a bird defends its young. 6. Turn ye unto him. In view of the fact that he will assuredly defend Jerusalem, commit yourselves unto him rather than seek the aid of Egypt. T Have deeply revolted. For the meaning of this phrase see Note ch. xxix. 15. Every man shall cast Comp. Note ch. ii. 20. 7. For in that day. That is, in the invasion of Sennacherib, and the events that shall be consequent thereon. away his idols, &c. See Note ch. xxx. 22. For a sin. Or rather, the sin which your own hands have made. The sense is, that the making of those idols had been a sin, or sin it 9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes 3 his rock shall pass away for fear. 4 or, strength. shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem, New Translation. 9. And he shall pass on beyond his strong hold for fear; And his princes shall be struck with consternation at his standard, And his furnace in Jerusalem. self. It had been the sin by way of eminence which was chargeable upon them. 8. Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword. The sword is often used as an instrument of punishment, or vengeance. It is not meant here literally that the sword would be used, but it is employed to denote that complete destruction would come upon them. Not of a mighty man. The idea here is, that the army should not fall by man; but that it should be done by the direct interposition of God. See ch. Xxxvii. 36. Of a mean man. Of a man of humble rank. His army shall not be slain by the hand of mortals. This was fulfilled in a striking manner; and the design of the statement is to show them that it was improper on all accounts to seek an alliance with Egypt. But he shall flee. The Assyrian monarch escaped when his army was destroyed, and fled towards his own land; ch. xxxvii. 37. ¶ From the sword. Marg. for fear of. The Heb. is from the face of the sword;' and the sense is, that he would flee before the destruction of his host here represented as destroyed by the sword of JEHOVAH. And his young men. The flower and strength of his army. Shall be discomfited. Marg. 'for melting; or tribute, or tributary.' op. LXX, for destruction,' sis hernua. The Hebrew word on măs, derived probably from oo mâsăs to melt away, to dissolve, is most usually employed to denote tribute; a levy, fine, or taxso called, says Taylor, because it wastes or exhausts the substance and strength of a people. The word is often used to denote that men should become tributary, or vassals, as in Gen. ix. 15, Deut. xx. 11. Comp. 1 Kings v. 13, Est. x. 1, 2 Sam. xx. 24, 1 Kings iv. 6, Josh. xvi. 10. Probably it does not here mean that the strength of the Assyrian army would become literally tributary to the Jews, but that they would be as if they had been placed under a levy or tribute to them; their vigor and strength would melt away, as property and numbers do under taxation and tribute, 6 9. And he shall pass over. Marg. His rock shall pass away for fear.' The Hebrew would bear this, but it does not convey a clear idea. The sense seems to be this. The word rendered ' hold' 'strong (Heb. his rock) evidently denotes his fortifications, or places of strength in which he trusted. Probably the Assyrian monarch had many such places which he regarded as perfectly safe and secure, both in the limits of his own kingdom, and on the line of his march towards Judea. Those places would naturally be made strong and secure, in order to afford a refuge in case of a defeat or a failure in the expedition. The idea here is, that so great would be his alarm at the sudden destruction of his army and the failure of his plans, that in his flight he would pass over or beyond these strong places; he would not even stop to take refuge there and reorganize his scattered forces, but would flee with alarm beyond them, and make his way to his own capital. This appears to have been most strikingly fulfilled. See ch. xxxvii. 37. And his princes. Those perhaps that ruled over his dependent provinces. Shall be afraid of the ensign. That is, probably of any standard or banner that they saw. They would suppose that it was the standard of an enemy. This denotes a state of great consternation and alarm, when all the princes and nobles under the command of the Assyrian would be filled with fright, and be completely dismayed. Whose fire is in Zion, &c. That is, whose altar is there, and always burns there. That was the place where he was worshipped, and it was a place, therefore, which he would defend. The meaning is, that they would be as certainly destroyed as the God whose altar was in Jerusalem was a God of truth, and would defend the place where he was worshipped. ¶ And his furnace, &c. See Note ch. xxix. I. Where his altar continually burns. The word rendered "furnace" (1) means properly a baking oven. Ex. vii. 28, Lev. ii. 4, vii. 9, xi. 35. This was either a large conical pot which was heated, in which the cakes were baked at the sides; or an excavation made in the earth which was heated by putting wood in it, and when that was removed the dough was put in it.-Perhaps the whole idea here is, that JEHOVAH had a home in Jerusalem, with the usual appendages of a house; that his fire and his oven were there-an expression descriptive of a dwelling-place. If so, then the idea is, that he would defend his own home, and that the Assyrian could not expect to prevail against it. CHAPTER XXXII. ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER. THIS chapter is evidently closely connected with the preceding; and has been regarded by many as a continuation and conclusion of the prediction there commenced. Though it was, however, probably uttered at about the same time, and with reference to the same general subject, yet there is no impropriety in its being separated into a distinct chapter. It is complete in itself, and may possibly not have been uttered at precisely the same time as the preceding. The previous chapter closes with a prediction that the Assyrian army, which had been so much the object of dread, should be totally destroyed. This would be of course followed with important consequences, some of which are depicted in this chapter. The prophet, therefore, states (vs. 1-8,) that the defeat of Sennacherib would be followed by the peaceful and prosperous state of the kingdom under a righteous prince; under whose reign there should be ample protection (ver. 2); at which time the advantages of instruction should prevail, and the ignorant should be enlightened (vs. 3, 4); when there should be a proper estimate put on moral worth, and when illiberality, hypocrisy, and falsehood should be no longer held in repute, but should be abhorred (vs. 6, 7); and when the character of the nation should be that of a people which devised and executed large and liberal purposes (ver. 8). That this has a reference to the reign of Hezekiah, has been abundantly shown by Vitringa; and indeed must be obvious on the slightest inspection. For (1.) It is immediately connected with the account of the destruction of Sennacherib, and evidently means that the state of things here described would immediately succeed that. (2.) There is nothing in the account that does not fully accord with the prosperous and happy times of the reign of Hezekiah. (3.) There are statements in it which cannot be applied directly, or with propriety literally to the times of the Messiah. For example, the statement (ver. 1,) that "princes shall rule in righteousness cannot be applied with any propriety to the apostles; since they are not anywhere designated by that name. That, after the usual manner of Isaiah, he might not also in the progress of his description have glanced at the times of the Messiah, perhaps there can be no reason to doubt. But the main and leading purpose was doubtless to present a description of the happy times that should succeed the destruction of the army of the Assyrian. Calvin supposes, not improbably, I think, that this prophecy may have been uttered in the time of Ahaz, in whose reign wickedness so much abounded, and ignorance and idolatry so much prevailed. But whether the prophecy was actually uttered in the time of Ahaz or not-which cannot now be determined-yet it may have been uttered in view of the ignorance, and superstition, and hypocrisy which prevailed in his reign, and which extended their influence into the time of his successor, and on account of which the nation was to be subjected to the calamities arising from the invasion of Sennacherib. After that, the king Hezekiah should reign in righteousness; and his kingdom should enjoy the blessings of his mild and virtuous reign. The prophet then (vs. 10-14,) proceeds to show that previous to the happy and prosperous times predicted there should be a state of desolation, and alarm. This is indicated by his calling on the daughters of luxury and fashion, who were reposing in security and confidence, to rise up in consternation at the calamities which were impending, and which should certainly come upon them (vs. 10,11), and by the assurance that there should be a time of want, and calamity, and desolation, when they would sigh for the luxuries which they had before enjoyed (vs. 12-14). This is descriptive of the calamities which would attend |