Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• David's response to his sins 11:26-12:15a
  At first, David piously tried to salve Joab's conscience for his complicity in Uriah's death (11:25). The Hebrew word translated "displease"literally means "be evil in your sight."David was calling what was sin something othe...
• 5. Yahweh's answer 19:20-37
  God sent Hezekiah the news of what He would do and why through Isaiah. The "virgin"daughter of Zion (v. 21) refers to Jerusalem as a city that a foreign foe had never violated. The "Holy One of Israel"(v. 22), a favorite name...
• 1. Confidence in spite of danger 27:1-3
  27:1 David expressed great confidence as he looked to the future because Yahweh was his light, salvation, and defense or stronghold. Light connotes understanding, joy, and life (cf. 18:28)."Lightis a natural figure for almost...
• 3. Israel's downtrodden condition 80:8-14a
  The psalmist now changed his figure and pictured Israel as a vine that God had transplanted from Egypt to Canaan. He cleared the land of Canaan for her by driving the native people out. Israel had taken root in the Promised L...
• 3. The folly of criticism in view of the uncertain future 10:12-20
  Since we do not know what our earthly future holds (vv. 12-15), even though governmental officials may prove reprehensible (vv. 16-19) it is not wise to criticize them (v. 20).10:12-15 Generally wise people speak graciously, ...
• Title and writer
  The title of this book of the Bible, as is true of the other prophetical books, comes from its writer. The book claims to have come from Isaiah (1:1; 2:1; 7:3; 13:1; 20:2; 37:2, 6, 21; 38:1, 4, 21; 39:3, 5, 8), and Jesus Chri...
• Structure
  Occasional time references scattered throughout the book indicate that Isaiah arranged his prophecies in a basically chronological order (cf. 6:1; 7:1; 14:28; 20:1; 36:1; 37:38). However, they are not completely chronological...
• Outline
  I. Introduction chs. 1-5A. Israel's condition and God's solution ch. 11. The title of the book 1:12. Israel's condition 1:2-93. God's solution 1:10-204. Israel's response 1:21-31B. The problem with Israel chs. 2-41. God's des...
• I. introduction chs. 1--5
  The relationship of chapters 1-5 to Isaiah's call in chapter 6 is problematic. Do the first five chapters describe the prophet's ministry before he received his call--is the order chronological--or do they constitute an intro...
• A. Israel's condition and God's solution ch. 1
  As chapters 1-5 introduce the whole book, so chapter 1 introduces the rest of the introduction to the book (chs. 2-5). It presents the situation in Judah in the second half of the eighth century and reveals God's will for His...
• B. The problem with Israel chs. 2-4
  This second major segment of the introduction to the book (chs. 1-5) contrasts what God intended Israel to be (2:1-5) with what she was (2:6-4:1) and what God will make of her in the future (4:2-6). Thus the progress of thoug...
• 1. God's desire for Israel 2:1-4
  2:1a The presence of another superscription to the following prophecies (cf. 1:1), the only other one in Isaiah, bears witness to the composite nature of the book; it consists of several different prophecies. Probably one app...
• Dearth of leadership 3:1-15
  The emphasis in this pericope is on the lack of qualified leaders and the consequent collapse of society that would result because God's people put their trust in people rather than in Him. The name "the Lord [sovereign] God ...
• C. The analogy of wild grapes ch. 5
  This is the third and last of Isaiah's introductory oracles. The first one (ch. 1) introduced the book as a whole by presenting major themes with which the prophet proceeded to deal in chapters 2-66. The second chiastic one (...
• 1. The song of the vineyard 5:1-7
  Isaiah, as a folk singer, sang a parable about a vineyard that compared Israel to a vineyard that Yahweh had planted and from which He legitimately expected to receive fruit.57However, the prophet's original audience did not ...
• 2. The wildness of the grapes 5:8-25
  Yahweh's crop was worthless because it produced wild grapes that manifested six blights. The word "woe"(Heb. hoy), a term of lament and threat, introduces each one (cf. Amos 5:18; 6:1; Rev. 8:13; 9:12). Two double "therefore"...
• Two initial woes 5:8-12
  5:8-10 The first quality that spoiled Israel's fruit was greed, an example of which Isaiah detailed (cf. Mic. 2:1). The Israelites were buying out their neighbors, as they had opportunity or made the opportunity, to increase ...
• The first explanation for the coming judgment 5:13-17
  5:13 The result of driving other people off their land and living only for pleasure would be, ironically, that the Israelites would be driven off their land and enjoy little pleasure. Instead of more food and drink there woul...
• Sins of the cynically unbelieving 5:18-25
  Isaiah proceeded to expose the attitude that resulted in the people not allowing their knowledge of God to affect the way they lived (cf. v. 13). They thought that God would not act and that they knew what was better for them...
• Four additional woes 5:18-23
  5:18-19 The Israelites were deliberately sinning. They had not innocently fallen into sin, but they were pursuing it willfully. Rather than fleeing from it, they were holding it to themselves. Even worse, they were doing so i...
• The second explanation for the coming judgment 5:24-25
  The second double "therefores"(cf. vv. 13, 14) announce God's judgment for the sins mentioned in verses 18-22, but also those identified since verse 8. The condemnation is cumulative.5:24 The people had challenged God to act ...
• 3. The coming destruction 5:26-30
  The two brief sections explaining the reasons for Judah's judgment (vv. 13-17 and 24-25) give way to fuller clarification of these reasons here. This section is the climax of Isaiah's message in chapter 5.5:26 The Judahites h...
• II. Isaiah's vision of God ch. 6
  Most serious students of Isaiah have believed that the record of Isaiah's call in this chapter occurred before he wrote any of the prophecies in this book. The title "holy one of Israel,"Isaiah's trademark name for God, conne...
• A. The prophet's cleansing 6:1-8
  6:1 Why did Isaiah date this passage since he did not date most of his others?70Probably he did so because King Uzziah had been the best king of Judah since Solomon. Nevertheless during the last part of his reign he suffered ...
• B. The prophet's commission 6:9-13
  The Lord proceeded to give Isaiah specific instructions about what He wanted him to do and what the prophet could expect regarding his ministry (vv. 9-10), his historic-political situation (vv. 11-12), and his nation's surviv...
• The sign of Immanuel 7:10-17
  Isaiah next tried to move Ahaz to faith (vv. 10-12), then denounced the king for his failure to trust Yahweh (vv. 13-15), and finally forecast a calamity worse than the division of Israel's united kingdom (vv. 16-17).7:10 Evi...
• The threat of Assyria 7:18-25
  This section explains how the coming days would be the worse since the division of the kingdom (v. 17). Assyria was not just a powerful and brutal enemy, but it would be a tool in Yahweh's hand that He would use to discipline...
• The faithful king to come 9:2-7
  In contrast to Ahaz, who refused to listen to and obey God, the Lord would raise up a faithful king who would be born and reign in the future (the Millennium). This pericope climaxes the present section (7:1-9:7) dealing with...
• The rule of the Shoot 11:1-9
  Messiah would meet certain qualifications (vv. 2-3a) and would rule with absolute justice (vv. 3b-5) with the result that people would live in peace (vv. 6-9)11:1 The prophet had just described Assyria cut down like a forest ...
• 2. Divine victory over the nations chs. 24-27
  This section of the text has similarities to the preceding oracles against the nations (chs. 13-23), but it is also different in certain respects. It is a third cycle, but not a cycle of oracles.221The content integrates with...
• The future blessing and former discipline of Israel 27:2-11
  27:2 Isaiah, speaking for the Lord, announced that a delightful vineyard that produced wine was in view, and that the news about it was so good that the hearers could sing about it. The vineyard was an ancient and popular fig...
• 3. The folly of trusting the nations chs. 28-33
  Chapters 28-35 are somewhat similar to chapters 13-27 in content and form. The same general pattern of argument unfolds, but the historical context is generally later. The historical context of chapters 13-27 was mainly Ahaz'...
• The woe against Ephraim and Judah ch. 28
  "The section begins (1-6) and ends (23-29) with double illustrations drawn from nature and agriculture. Between lies a meditation in eight broadly equal parts on how Jerusalem's leaders refused the word of invitation and inhe...
• Two woes against Jerusalem ch. 29
  There are two more "woes"that deal with Jerusalem in this chapter (vv. 1-14, 15-24) in addition to the one in chapter 28. The first of these is similar to the previous "woe"(cf. vv. 1-8 with 28:1-6, and vv. 9-14 with 28:7-13)...
• The woe against rejecters of God's help chs. 31-32
  Like the third "woe"(ch. 30), this fourth one deals with the folly of trusting in Egypt for security rather than the Lord. It applies particularly the principles set forth in the first part of the second "woe"(29:1-14), as is...
• C. The tests of Israel's trust chs. 36-39
  Chapters 36-39 conclude the section of the book dealing with the issue of trust by giving historical proof that Yahweh will protect those who trust in Him. In these chapters, King Hezekiah represents the people of Judah.344Th...
• The Babylonian embassy ch. 39
  39:1 The phrase "At that time"(cf. 38:1) anticipates a specially significant event and ties it to what preceded in chapter 38. As this verse explains, the events that follow happened after Hezekiah had recovered from his illn...
• IV. Israel's calling in the world chs. 40--55
  This part of Isaiah picks up a theme from chapters 1-39 and develops it further. That theme is God's faithfulness to His promises to give His people a glorious future after He disciplined them for their unfaithfulness. The Lo...
• 1. The Lord of the servant ch. 40
  Would the coming Babylonian exile prove that God could not deliver His people or that He would not because they had been so sinful? Isaiah's answer was a resounding no! The new historical situation did not signal a change in ...
• The comforting Lord 40:1-11
  The first strophe of this poem (vv. 1-2) sets the tone for the rest of the chapter and for the rest of the book. It is an introduction to an introduction. In spite of affliction that lay ahead for the Judahites, God's ultimat...
• The certainty of redemption 42:10-43:7
  God had not forgotten nor was He unable to deliver His people. Their redemption was certain."This vision of what God will accomplish through his Servant is so exciting that Isaiah breaks into the ecstatic hymn of praise (vv. ...
• The instrument of redemption 45:1-13
  This section begins with God's promise to Cyrus (vv. 1-8; cf. Ps. 2: 110) and concludes with a vindication of God's right to use whom He will (vv. 9-13). The promise to Cyrus was, of course, for the benefit of the Israelites ...
• The Servant's calling 49:1-7
  "The first [biographical Servant] Song was a word from the Lord to the world about his Servant: Your plight is known, my Servant will deal with it' [42:1-4]; but the second [autobiographical] Song is the Servant's testimony h...
• Zion's prominence before God 49:14-26
  God had not forgotten Israel. Even though He would leave her for a time, He would regather all her children from all over the world to Himself. Therefore she should continue to trust in Him.49:14 Having heard the promises tha...
• Free salvation 55:1-5
  The people would need to listen to and rely on God's unconditional promise, but their salvation would cost them nothing.55:1 "The introductory particle (hoi) is mainly an attention-getting device, but it expresses a slight to...
• 1. The need for humility and holiness chs. 56-57
  These chapters introduce the main subject of this section of the book, which grows out of what Isaiah revealed previously. If salvation depends on God's grace, do God's servants have any responsibility other than receiving th...
• But true worship 58:6-14
  Isaiah contrasted God's conception of fasting with that of His people.58:6 The type of fasting that pleases God is giving up wickedness, oppression, enslavement, and binding of other people, not just food. Isaiah did not mean...
• The nations serving Israel 60:10-16
  Now the relationship of the nations to Israel becomes even clearer. The Gentiles will come to Israel because of her God, will submit themselves to Israel because of what the Lord will do for her, and will serve the Lord with ...
• Contrasts with the present 60:17-22
  60:17 Everything will be better in Israel's future. The contrasts appear to be with regard to Zion (v. 14). Peace and righteousness will be the governing principles in that city. If peace and righteousness are the slave drive...
• The solitary Warrior 63:1-6
  "Having described the exaltation of Zion and her enlargement through the influx of the Gentiles, the prophet turns to describe the destruction of Zion's enemies."701"The oracle is most dramatic. The only OT passage that in an...
• 2. The culmination of Israel's future 65:17-66:24
  As the book opened with an emphasis on judgment (chs. 1-5), so it closes with an emphasis on hope (65:17-66:24). Amid judgment, Israel could have hope. Reference to new heavens and a new earth form an inclusiofor this final s...
• Humility rather than sacrifice 66:1-6
  This section introduces judgment into the mood of hope that pervades this section describing Israel's glorious future (65:17-66:24). Oppressors of the godly remnant will not prosper nor will those who depend on externals for ...
• The future glories of Jerusalem 66:7-14
  The mood now reverts back to hope (cf. 65:17-25). In contrast to all the bereavement and deprivation that Jerusalem had experienced and would yet experience (cf. 26:16-18; 37:3; 51:18-20), the ultimate future of the city and ...
• Bibliography
  Alexander, Joseph Addison. Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah. 1846, 1847. Revised ed. 2 vols. in 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971.Allen, Kenneth W. "The Rebuilding and Destruction of Babylon."Bibliotheca...
• Evidences of Israel's ingratitude 2:20-25
  Baal worship fascinated the Israelites, but it was futile.2:20 The Lord had broken the yoke of Egypt off His people at the Exodus and had set them free, but being ungrateful they refused to yield themselves to Him in covenant...
• The intensity and severity of the coming judgment 4:11-18
  4:11-12 The Lord also said that when this invasion would come it would descend like a violent wind from the north. It would be far more severe than an ordinary attack that the prophet compared to a gentle breeze that would wi...
• Judah's false security 5:10-19
  5:10 Speaking to the invading soldiers that He would use to judge Judah, the Lord instructed them to prune His vine (cf. Isa. 5:1-7). However, they were to leave a remnant (cf. v. 18). They were to take many branches away bec...
• The breadth of Judah's guilt 6:9-15
  6:9 The sovereign Lord promised that the coming enemy would remove the people of Judah from their land as a grape harvester removed the grapes from his vines (cf. 5:10; Isa. 5:1-6). The harvest would be so thorough that even ...
• I. The oracle against Babylon chs. 50-51
  Jeremiah wrote almost as much about Babylon's future as he did about the futures of all the other nations in his other oracles combined. The length of this oracle reflects the great importance of Babylon in his ministry as we...
• 6. The unprofitable vine of Jerusalem ch. 15
  This is the first in a series of three parables designed to impress on the overly optimistic exiles that there was no possibility that Jerusalem would escape destruction (cf. chs. 16-17).15:1-2 The Lord asked Ezekiel how the ...
• 10. A lament for the kings of Israel ch. 19
  This prophecy shows that there were no more rulers left in Judah who could restore the nation to its former glory. Evidently the exiles hoped that some Davidic descendant would prove successful in overcoming the Babylonians a...
• 2. Judgment on Israel 2:8-13
  In the section that follows, the relationship between Israel and Yahweh becomes even clearer. The mention of Baals and Israel's feasts makes this obvious. Hosea's relationship with Gomer recedes into the background.2:8 Israel...
• A warning to Ephraim and Judah 5:8-15
  This warning confronted the tribe of Ephraim, or perhaps all Israel, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.5:8 Blowing trumpets in cities announced the coming of an invader. Throughout Israel's towns the sentries would blow alarm...
• B. A call to mourn 1:5-13
  Joel called on four different entities to mourn the results of the locust invasion: drunkards (vv. 5-7), the land (vv. 8-10), farmers (vv. 11-12), and priests (v. 13). In each section there is a call to mourn followed by reas...
• An accusation of legal injustice 5:7
  The reason for Yahweh's consuming judgment of Israel was that the Israelites were turning sweet justice into something bitter and were throwing righteousness to the ground with disrespect. These figures picture their total co...
• 1. Sins of the wealthy 2:1-5
  "It is in 2:1-5 that the prophet establishes the basis for the national crisis and the future collapse of the nation. It was not the imperialism of Assyria or the fortunes of blind destiny that brought the house of Israel to ...
• 3. The indictment of Israel's leaders 3:9-12
  3:9 Micah proceeded to carry out his ministry (cf. v. 8). He called on all Israel's leaders to pay attention to what he had to say to them, they who despised (lit. utterly abhorred) justice and perverted right ways (cf. Isa. ...
• A. The Lord's indictment against His people 6:1-5
  6:1-2 Micah called his audience to hear what Yahweh had told him to say. Yahweh had a case (lawsuit, Heb. rib) to bring against His people. The Lord was summoning Israel to defend herself in a courtroom setting. He addressed ...
• D. Micah's lament over his decadent society 7:1-7
  This section is an individual lament similar to many of the psalms (cf. 1:8-16).7:1 Micah bewailed his own disappointment with Israel's situation. He compared himself to Israel's fruit pickers and grape gatherers who felt gre...
• A. The sovereign justice of Yahweh 1:15-2:2
  1:15 This is the first verse of chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible. Nahum called his audience to give attention. Someone was coming over the mountains with a message of peace. Consequently the people of Judah could celebrate their...
• 3. The Lord's sentence on Babylon 2:6-20
  The Lord pronounced taunts or mocking statements on the Babylonians announcing that they would receive judgment for their sins. This taunt song consists of five stanzas of three verses each. Five woes follow. Each woe is "an ...
• 1. Jesus' forerunner 3:1-12 (cf. Mark 1:2-8; Luke 3:3-18)
  It was common when Jesus lived for forerunners to precede important individuals to prepare the way for their arrival. For example, when a king would visit a town in his realm his emissaries would go before him to announce his...
• Jesus' preaching and teaching about man's heart 15:10-20
  15:10-11 Jesus had been responding to the question of His critics so far. Now He taught the assembled crowds the same lesson and at the same time gave a direct answer to the Pharisees and scribes. He responded with a parable ...
• The parable of the workers in the vineyard 20:1-16
  This parable explains why the last will become first. It begins with a well known scene but then introduces surprising elements to make a powerful point."Jesus deliberately and cleverly led the listeners along by degrees unti...
• The parable of the wicked tenant farmers 21:33-46
  Jesus proceeded immediately to tell another parable. Luke wrote that Jesus addressed it to the crowds in the temple courtyard (Luke 20:9). The chief priests and elders continued to listen (vv. 45-46).21:33-34 Jesus alluded to...
• 1. Jesus' teaching and healing in the Capernaum synagogue 1:21-28 (cf. Luke 4:31-37)
  1:21 Capernaum became Jesus' base of ministry in Galilee (cf. Luke 4:16-31). It stood on the Sea of Galilee's northwest shore and was the hub of the most populous district in Galilee. Archaeologists have done extensive restor...
• The parable of the wicked tenant farmers 12:1-12 (cf. Matt. 21:33-46; Luke 20:9-19)
  "The other major example of the concentric [chiastic] pattern in Mark's story [beside 2:1-3:6] is the series of Jesus' conflicts with the authorities in Jerusalem [ch. 12], comprised of seven episodes: Episodes A and A1 invol...
• The death of Jesus 15:33-41 (cf. Matt. 27:45-56; Luke 23:44-49; John 19:28-30)
  Mark's account of Jesus' death included five climactic events: the darkness, two of Jesus' cries, the tearing of the temple veil, and the Roman centurion's confession. All of these events happened during the last three of the...
• 2. John's preaching 3:7-18 (cf. Matt. 3:7-12; Mark 1:7-8)
  Essentially John called his hearers to change their minds about their relationship to God and to demonstrate the genuineness of their repentance with righteous conduct (vv. 7-14). He also promoted Jesus (vv. 15-17). Only Luke...
• The choices of disciples 6:20-26
  Matthew recorded nine beatitudes, but Luke included only four. Matthew gave no woes, but Luke recorded four. The four beatitudes precede the four woes, and the beatitudes parallel the woes in thought. The beatitudes are posit...
• The parable of the fruitless fig tree 13:6-9
  This parable illustrated the need for repentance, but it also drew attention to God's grace in allowing time for repentance.13:6-7 The parable as a whole is very similar to Isaiah 5:1-7, though there the plant in view was a g...
• 2. The parable of the wicked tenant farmers 20:9-19 (cf. Matt. 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12)
  This parable taught that Israel's religious leaders who had authority were mismanaging their authority. It also affirmed Jesus' authority, not just as a prophet, but as God's Son. The leaders had expressed fear of death (v. 6...
• Jesus' self-sacrifice to God 23:44-49 (cf. Matt. 27:45-56; Mark 15:33-41; John 19:28-30)
  Luke included three things in this heart of the death scene. He gave two evidences of God's displeasure with people for rejecting His Son. He recorded Jesus' prayer of trust in the Father, and he noted three immediate reactio...
• The vine and the branches metaphor 15:1-8
  Jesus often used a grapevine to describe the nation of Israel (cf. Matt. 20:1-16; 21:23-41; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 13:6-9; 20:9-16). The vine as a symbol of Israel appears on coins of the Maccabees.474Here Jesus used the vine meta...
• 4. The sentencing of Jesus 19:1-16 (cf. Matt. 27:22-26; Mark 15:12-15; Luke 23:20-25)
  There is quite a bit of unique material in this pericope. This includes the details of the Roman soldiers' abuse of Jesus (vv. 1-5) and the situation that Pilate's learning that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God instigated (...
• 3. The misuse of wealth 5:4-6
  5:4 Some of James' readers were evidently getting rich by cheating their hired workers out of their fair wages (cf. Deut. 24:15). Cries for justice from these oppressed people had entered God's ears (cf. Gen. 4:5; 18:20-21). ...
• 2. The seriousness of the error vv. 10-13
  v. 10 The things the false teachers did not understand but reviled probably refer to aspects of God's revealed will that they chose to reject (cf. 1 Cor. 2:7-16)."Jude, like his brother James, denounces the sins of the tongue...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• A Prophet's Woes
  Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! 9. In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall he desolat...
• I. The Preparation And Allotment Of The Vineyard.
  The parable begins with a tender description of the preparation and allotment of the vineyard.The picture is based upon Isaiah's lovely apologue (Isaiah 5:1), which was, no doubt, familiar to the learned officials. But there ...
• God's Last Arrow
  Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved, he sent him also last unto them.'--Mark 12:6.REFERENCE to Isaiah 5. There are differences in detail here which need not trouble us.Isaiah's parable is a review of the theocratic...