Sennacherib]

7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (L)

:

[threatens Hezekiah.

all the defended cities of Judah, and took 2 And the king of Assyria sent them. Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fullers' field. 3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah's son, which was over the house, and Shebua the scribe, and Joah, Asaph's son, the recorder. 4 And Rabshakch said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 5 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it so is Pharaoh kingof Egypt to all that trust in him. 7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? 8 Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my thee two thousand horses, if thou be able master the king of Assyria, and I will give on thy part to set riders upon them.

6

9

How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen ? 10 And am

of the Jews, and their restoration to their own land; to the greater influence and extension of the Christian faith; events predicted in the holy scriptures as antecedent and preparatory to that period.-" Much of the imagery of this chapter seems to allude to the exodus from Egypt; but is greatly enlivened by the life, sentiments, and passions ascribed to inanimate objects. All nature is represented as rejoicing with the people of God in consequence of their deliverance, and administering, iu an unusual manner, to their relief and comfort;" insomuch that, by many, this part of the prophecy is understood, as referring to the final happiness of heaven. "And in this sense, which cannot be wholly excluded, many of the words may be illustrated by expressions parallel to them in the New Testament." Dr. J. Smith.

Ver. 10. And everlasting joy upon their headsLowth, "And perpetual gladness shall crown their heads."

CHAP. XXXVI. &c. Ver. 1. In the fourteenth, &c. This and the following chapter, with part of Chap. xxxviii. being the same account abridged, which we have at length in 2 Kings xviii. xix. we have inserted it in our smaller type, without either Note or Exposition. These chapters are in prose.

the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria : 22 This is the word which the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. 23 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed ? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel. By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am 1 come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof and I

24

will enter into the height of his border,

and the forest of his Carmel. 25 I have digged, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places. 26 Hast

thou not heard long ago, how I have done it; and of ancient times, that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ruinous heaps. 27 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded: they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb; as the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. 28 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 29 Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. 30 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. 31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward : 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. 33 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. 35 For I will

:

[of Hezekiah.

37

defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

CHAP. XXXVIII.

IN those days was Hezekiah sick unto

5

death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD,Setthine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD. 3 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. 4 Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, LORD, the God of David thy father, I have Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: years. 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king Assyria: and I city. will defend this 7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; 8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

of

9¶ The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:

10 I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.

11 I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the

CHAP. XXXVIII. Ver. 1. In those days, &c.-The first eight verses of this chapter are an abridg. ment of 2 Kings xx. ver. 1 to 11, to which, therefore, we refer our readers.

Ver. 10. I said in the cutting off, &c.-Lowth, "I said when my days were going to be cut off;" see ver. 12. Gates of the grace-or of Hades; the unseen world.

living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.

12 Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.

13 I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.

14 Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me.

15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.

17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of cor

CHAP. XXXVIII.

[for his recovery.

ruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.

19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

20 The LORD was ready to save me therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.

21 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall re

cover.

22 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD? (M)

CHAP. XXXIX.
[Omit in Family Reading.]

AT that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he

(M) Ver. 9-22. Hezekiah's thanksgiving for his recovery.-"These verses contain, (says Dr. J. Smith) a tender and beautiful song of thanksgiving, in which this pious king breathed out the sentiments of a grateful heart, when his life was, as it

were, restored. This ode may be adapted to other cases, and will always afford protit and pleasure to those who are not void of feeling and of piety." This document of Hezekiah's piety is omitted in the book of Kings, and to be found only here; but the reader may compare with it our remarks on Hezekiah's sickness. 2 Kings, ch. xx.

Ver. 12. Mine age-Heb. " generation," is departed. The word signifies a circle; the circle of human life; the circle of a family, including posterity; and the meaning seems to be, that his house, his family, and his name, would all become extinct, as Hezekiah, at this time, appears to have had no heir, which to a man, among the Jews, was considered as great an evil as barienness among their women. See Parkhurst and Gesenius in Dor.

Ibid. As a shepherd's tent-which is often and easily removed. I have cut off - Lowth, "My life is cut off, as by the weaver." So Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate. From day to night Lowth, In the course of the day thou wilt finish me." So Boothroyd.

Ver. 13. I reckoned till morning - that is, all night I thought, By the morning, he will break all my bones like a lion. This intimates pain in all his limbs.

Ver. 14. Undertake for me — Marg. "Ease me;" or rather," mitigate my pain/'

Ver. 15. He hath both spoken, &c.-Lowth, "He hath given me a promise, and he hath performed it" I shall go softly all my days. Gesenius seems to give the true sense here. "I will go in procession (so the Hebrew implies) all my years, (or every year) on account of the sufferings of my soul;" namely, those from which God had delivered him, and which he promises never to forget.

Ver. 16. By these things namely, God's promises and their fulfillment, as in the preceding

verse.

Ver. 17. For-Heb. lamed, “instead of," (see Gen. xi. 3.) peace.

Ver. 20. My stringed instruments. — See Expes. Psalm iv.

Ver. 21. For Isaiah had said.—See 2 Kings xx. 7, 8,

CHAP. XXXIX. Ver. 1. At (or about) this time. -See 2 Kings xx. 12-19, which are almost verbatim the same with this chapter.

had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was

nothing in his house, nor in all his domi

nion, that Hezekiah shewed them not. 3 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even

from Babylon. 4 Then said he, What

have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen there is nothing among my

treasures that I have not shewed them. 5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be earried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. 7 And of thy sous that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 8 Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, there shall be peace and truth in my days.

CHAP. XL.

For

COMFORT ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

[return from captivity.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

:

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

10 Behold, the LORD God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

12 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

CHAP. XL. Ver. 2. Speak ye comfortably-Heb. "Speak ye to the heart." &c.-- Her warfareMarg. "Appointed time." See Note on Job vii. 1. -She hath received. . . . double for all her sins. --Neither the matter of fact, nor our reverence for the divine justice, will allow us to suppose the Jews bave been punished more than they deserve. Dr. Boothroyd seems to have given the true sense of this important phrase, which he renders," a full measure of punishment," &c. Mr. Danbuz (on Rev. xviii. 6.) remarks, that God's justice is more severe upon his own people than on others. On the other hand, when they repent, a double reward is promised for their sufferings." See Isa, Ixi. 7. and our Note on Job xi, 6.

Ver. 4. Every valley-that is, the way should be

13 Who hath directed the Spirit of

prepared, by levelling the roads, and removing obstructions, as was common before travelling monarchs. This refers. 1. to preparing the way for Judah's return from Babylon; and, 2. for the ministry of the Messiah.

Ver. 7. The spirit-Lowth, " Wind:" alluding to the blighting winds of the wilderness, which destroy vegetation. See Ps. ciii. 16.

Ver. 9. O Zion-Marg. "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion," and so in the clause following.

6 in

Ver. 10. With strong hand — Marg. Against the strong," so Lowth; but more literally, might."His work Marg. "The recompence of his work." So Lowth; and see Heb. xii. 2. Ver. 11. Those that are with young-Marg. "That give suck." So Lowth, "The nursing ewes."