In this chapter, under the parable of a vineyard and its ruins, the Jews and their destruction are represented; the reasons of which are given, their manifold sins and transgressions, particularly enumerated, with the punishment threatened to them, and which is delivered in form of a song.

Now will I sing to my well beloved These are the words of the Prophet Isaiah, being about to represent the state and condition of the people of Israel by way of parable, which he calls a song, and which he determines to sing to his beloved, and calls upon himself to do it; by whom he means either…

And he fenced it With good and wholesome laws, which distinguished them, and kept them separate from other nations; also with his almighty power and providence; especially at the three yearly festivals, when all their males appeared before God at Jerusalem: and gathered out the stones thereof; the…

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah All and everyone of them, who were parties concerned in this matter, and are designed by the vineyard, for whom so much had been done, and so little fruit brought forth by them, or rather so much bad fruit: judge, I pray you, between me and my…

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? &c.] Or “ought”, as the Vulgate Latin: this is generally understood of good things done to it in time past; as what better culture could it have had? what greater privileges, blessings, and advantages, natural, civil, and…

And now, go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard Not by bestowing fresh favours upon them, but by inflicting punishment on them, for abusing what they had received; and this he told by John Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, what he determined to do; and what he was about to do to the…

And I will lay it waste Or “desolate”, as it was by the Romans: the whole land of Judea, as well as the city and temple , it shall not be pruned nor digged; as vineyards are, to make them more fruitful; but no care shall be taken of it, no means made use of to cultivate it, all being ineffectual:…

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel This is the explication of the parable, or the accommodation and application of it to the people of Israel, by whom are meant the ten tribes; they are signified by the vineyard, which belonged to the Lord of hosts, who had chosen them to…

Woe unto them that join house to house Or “O ye that join”; for, as Aben Ezra observes, it signifies calling, as in though Jarchi takes it to be expressive of crying and groaning, on account of future punishments; and he observes, that as there are twenty two blessings pronounced in the book of…

In mine ears, said the Lord of hosts This may be understood either of the ears of the Lord of hosts, into which came the cry of the sins of covetousness and ambition before mentioned; these were taken notice of by the Lord, and he was determined to punish them; or of the ears of the prophet, in…

Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath They shall get nothing by laying field to field, for their fields shall be barren and unfruitful; though Jarchi and Kimchi take this to be a reason why their houses should be desolate, and without inhabitants, because there would be a famine,…

Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning To rise up early in the morning is healthful, and to rise to do business is commendable; but to spend the day in drunkenness and intemperance is very criminal, which is here meant: that they may follow, strong drink; not only drink it, but follow on…

And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe Instruments of music; some struck with a bow or quill, or touched with the fingers; and others blown with the mouth: and wine are in their feasts; so that they lived jovially and merrily, like sons of Bacchus, more than like the people of God: but…

Therefore my people are gone into captivity Or rather, as Kimchi explains it, “shall go into captivity”; the past for the future; for this cannot be understood even of the captivity of the ten tribes, for they were not carried captive until the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign, whereas this prophecy…

Therefore hell hath enlarged herself That is, the grave, to receive the dead which die with famine and thirst; signifying that the number of the dead would be so great, that the common burying places would not be sufficient to hold them; but additions must be made to them; or some vast prodigious…

And the mean man shall be brought down To hell, or the grave, as well as the rich and noble: and the mighty man shall be humbled; laid low in the dust, and be equal to the poor; for, in the grave, princes and peasants are alike; or they shall be all alike, in the same low and miserable condition:…

But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment By the “Lord of hosts” is meant Christ, the Lord of the armies, and of the inhabitants of the earth, of angels, and of men; who, though in our nature, in his state of humiliation, was brought very low, yet is now highly exalted; and which…

Then shall the lambs feed after their manner That is, the people of God, the disciples of Christ, either apostles and ministers of the Gospel, whom he sent forth as lambs among wolves, who fed the flock of Christ after their usual manner, and as directed by him; even with knowledge and…

Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, &c.] The prophet returns to the wicked again, and goes on with the account of their sin and punishment; and here describes such, not that are drawn into sin unawares, through the prevalence of their own hearts’ lusts and corruptions, through…

That say, let him make speed, and hasten his work Either the punishment of their sins, threatened by the prophets; which, because not speedily and immediately executed, therefore they did not believe it ever would; and in a daring and insolent manner call upon God to inflict it: that we may see it,…

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil That call evil actions good, and good actions evil; that excuse the one, and reproach the other; or that call evil men good, and good men evil; to which the Targum agrees.

Woe unto therm that are wise in their own eyes And yet betray such stupidity and sottishness, as to call things by their wrong names; and make such a perverse judgment of them, as before described.

Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine That can bear a great deal, and not be overcome and intoxicated with it; that try their strength this way with others, and get the mastery and glory in it: not mighty to fight their enemies, as Kimchi observes, and defend their country, but to drink wine;…

Which justify the wicked for reward This is either spoken of judges, and civil magistrates, who gave the cause in favour of the wicked, that bribed them, contrary to law, or rather of the Scribes and Pharisees, who pronounced the wicked righteous men, provided they kept the traditions of the…

Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble Or “tongue of fire” [[7]]; meaning the flame, the same as in the next clause; because it is in the form of a tongue; see : and the flame consumeth the chaff; which is done easily, speedily, and entirely; the metaphors denote that their destruction would…

Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people His professing people; which character, as it aggravated their sin in rejecting and despising the word of the Lord, so it increased his anger and indignation against them: and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath…

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, &c.] Not to the Chaldeans or Babylonians, for they were not nations, but one nation, and were a people near; but to the Romans, who consisted of many nations, and were afar off, and extended their empire to the ends of the earth; these, by one…

None shall be weary nor stumble among them Though they should come from far, and make long marches, yet none should be weary by the way, but go on with great cheerfulness and strength; and though they should make such haste, they should not stumble at any thing by the way, nor rush one against…

Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent Ready to shoot their arrows upon any occasion; and which being sharp, penetrated deep, and were deadly.

Their roaring shall be like a lion When engaged in war, just seizing on their prey. The phrase denotes their fierceness and cruelty, and the horror they should inject into the hearts of their enemies: they shall roar like young lions; that are hungry, and almost famished, and in sight of their…

And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea That is, the Romans against the Jews; whose attacks upon them should be with so much fierceness and power, that it should be like the roaring of the sea, which is very dreadful, and threatens with utter destruction; the…