Chú giải Kinh Thánh

Isa 48:1-22.

THE THINGS THAT BEFALL BABYLON JEHOVAH PREDICTED LONG BEFORE, LEST ISRAEL SHOULD ATTRIBUTE THEM, IN ITS "OBSTINATE" PERVERSITY, TO STRANGE GODS

(Isa 48:1-5).

1. the waters of Judah--spring from the fountain of Judah

(Nu 24:7; De 33:28; Ps 68:26;

Margin). Judah has the "fountain" attributed to it, because it survived the ten tribes, and from it Messiah was to spring.

swear by . . . Lord--

(Isa 19:18; 45:23; 65:16).

mention--in prayers and praises.

not in truth--

(Jer 5:2; Joh 4:24).

2. For--Ye deserve these reproofs; "for" ye call yourselves citizens of "the holy city"

(Isa 52:1),

but not in truth

(Isa 48:1; Ne 11:1; Da 9:24);

so the inscription on their coins of the time of the Maccabees. "Jerusalem the Holy."

3. former--things which have happened in time past to Israel

(Isa 42:9; 44:7, 8; 45:21; 46:10).

suddenly--They came to pass so unexpectedly that the prophecy could not have resulted from mere human sagacity.

4. obstinate--Hebrew, "hard"

(De 9:27; Eze 3:7,

Margin).

iron sinew--inflexible

(Ac 7:51).

brow brass--shameless as a harlot (see

Jer 6:28; 3:3; Eze 3:7,

Margin).

5. (See on

Isa 48:1;

Isa 48:3).

6. Thou, &c.--So "ye are my witnesses"

(Isa 43:10).

Thou canst testify the prediction was uttered long before the fulfilment: "see all this," namely, that the event answers to the prophecy.

declare--make the fact known as a proof that Jehovah alone is God

(Isa 44:8).

new things--namely, the deliverance from Babylon by Cyrus, new in contradistinction from former predictions that had been fulfilled

(Isa 42:9; 43:19).

Antitypically, the prophecy has in view the "new things" of the gospel treasury

(So 7:13; Mt 13:52; 2Co 5:17; Re 21:5).

From this point forward, the prophecies as to Messiah's first and second advents and the restoration of Israel, have a new circumstantial distinctness, such as did not characterize the previous ones, even of Isaiah. Babylon, in this view, answers to the mystical Babylon of Revelation.

hidden--which could not have been guessed by political sagacity

(Da 2:22, 29; 1Co 2:9, 10).

7. Not like natural results from existing causes, the events when they took place were like acts of creative power, such as had never before been "from the beginning."

even before the day when--rather [MAURER], "And before the day (of their occurrence) thou hast not heard of them"; that is, by any human acuteness; they are only heard of by the present inspired announcement.

8. heardest not--repeated, as also "knewest not," from

Isa 48:7.

from that time--Omit "that." "Yea, from the first thine ear did not open itself," namely, to obey them [ROSENMULLER]. "To open the ear" denotes obedient attention

(Isa 50:5);

or, "was not opened" to receive them; that is, they were not declared by Me to thee previously, since, if thou hadst been informed of them, such is thy perversity, thou couldst not have been kept in check [MAURER]. In the former view, the sense of the words following is, "For I knew that, if I had not foretold the destruction of Babylon so plainly that there could be no perverting of it, thou wouldst have perversely ascribed it to idols, or something else than to Me"

(Isa 48:5).

Thus they would have relapsed into idolatry, to cure them of which the Babylonian captivity was sent: so they had done

(Ex 32:4).

After the return, and ever since, they have utterly forsaken idols.

wast called--as thine appropriate appellation

(Isa 9:6).

from the womb--from the beginning of Israel's national existence

(Isa 44:2).