Isa. 9 Joy in the midst of affliction, Isa. 9:1–5. The birth, person, office, and kingdom of Christ, Isa. 9:6–7. Judgments for their pride, Isa. 9:8–12; for their impenitency and hypocrisy, Isa. 9:13–21.

The dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation: the words thus rendered contain a mitigation of the foregoing threatening; and so the sense of the verse may be this, The calamity of this land and its inhabitants shall be great, yet not such as that which was brought upon the kingdom of the…

The people; the people of God, Israel and Judah, and especially those of them mentioned in the foregoing verse. Walked; in Matt. 4:16, it is sat. It notes not their gesture, but their state or condition, they lived or abode. Only walking in darkness is more perilous than sitting.

Thou hast multiplied the nation; thou hast made good thy promise to Abraham concerning the multiplication of his seed, Gen. 15:5, Gen. 22:17, by adding his spiritual seed unto the carnal, by gathering in the Gentiles to the Jews, and making them both one people in Christ, John 10:16, Eph. 2:14;c.

Thou hast broken: this notes the matter and occasion of the foregoing joy. The yoke of his burden; his burdensome and heavy yoke, as the throne of holiness is put for the holy throne, Ps. 47:8.

With confused noise; with the triumphant exclamations of the conqueror, and the bitter lamentations of the conquered, and the differing cries of the same persons, sometimes conquering, and sometimes conquered. And garments rolled in blood; with great difficulty and slaughter.

Having spoken of the glorious light, and joy, and victory of God’s people, he now proceeds to show the ground of it, and by what person these things are procured. Unto us; unto us Jews, of whom Christ was born, and to whom he was primarily sent, Matt. 15:24, for our use and benefit.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end; his peaceable and happy government shall be enlarged without end; either without end of duration, for ever; but that is expressed in a following clause of this verse: or without end of limitation, or without bounds.

Sent a word; a prophetical and threatening message by me; for now the prophet, having inserted some consolatory passages for the support of God’s faithful people, returns to his former work of commination against the rebellious Israelites. It lighted, Heb. it fell, i.e.

Shall know, to wit, by experience; they shall know whether my word be true or false; they shall feel the effects of it. Even Ephraim; the people of the ten tribes, and particularly Ephraim, the strongest and proudest of them all.

The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones. It is true, we have received some damages from our enemies; but Rezin and the Syrians being now our friends and confederates, we doubt not we shall quickly repair them with great glory and advantage.

Therefore; to chastise your pride, and defeat your hopes and resolutions. Set up, Heb. exalt; advance their power, and give them success against him. The adversaries of Rezin; the Assyrians, who, presently after this prophecy, fought and prevailed against him, 2 Kings 16:7.

The Syrians; for although Rezin king of Syria was destroyed, yet the body of the nation survived, and submitted themselves to the king of Assyria, and served under him in his wars, and upon his command invaded Israel afterwards. Before, Heb. on the east; for Syria stood eastward from Israel.

Turneth not from their wicked courses unto God by true repentance. Neither do they seek the Lord of hosts; they do not study and endeavour to procure his favour by sincere and fervent supplication, and by removing the causes of his just displeasure.

Head and tail; high and low, honourable and contemptible, as the next verse explains it. Branch; the goodly branches of tall and strong trees, the mighty and noble. Rush; the bulrush, the weakest and meanest persons. In one day; all together, one as well as another, without any distinction.

He is, i.e. signifies, as that word is commonly used in the Hebrew tongue, as Gen. 41:26–27, and every where. The prophet that teacheth lies; whose destruction he mentions, not as if it were a punishment to them to be deprived of such persons, but partly to show the extent of the calamity, that it…

The leaders; their governors, both civil and ecclesiastical, and especially the latter, their teachers, even the false prophets last mentioned. Or, they that bless or praise them, to wit, the false prophets, that flatter them in their wicked ways, with hopes and promises of peace, as their manner…

Shall have no joy in their young men; shall not rejoice over them to do them good, as he doth to his people, Isa. 62:5, Zeph. 3:17; will not have mercy or pity on them, as the next clause explains it. but will abhor and utterly destroy them; for more is here intended than is expressed, as Prov.

Wickedness burneth, i.e. shall burn you, as it follows, shall devour. Your iniquity shall be your ruin, as God threatens, Ezek. 18:30. The briers and thorns; either, 1. The wicked, who are oft compared to briers and thorns, as 2 Sam. 23:6, Isa. 27:4; or rather, 2.

Darkened, either with the smoke last mentioned, or with misery. Or, burnt up, as the LXX., Chaldee, and Arabic interpreters render it. No man shall spare his brother; they shall destroy one another, as they did in their civil wars, which were frequent among them.

Shall snatch; every one shall greedily and violently seize upon any provisions that come in his way; which implies, either great scarcity, or insatiable covetousness, as is manifest from the next clause. Shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm; either, 1.

Manasseh, Ephraim; though more near and dear to one another than any other tribe, being both sons of Joseph. They together shall be against Judah; which might be accomplished either before Shalmaneser took Samaria, or afterwards.