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ISAIAH 3 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah
1 See now, the Lord,
the LORD Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
both supply and support:
all supplies of food and all supplies of water,
1.BARNES, For - This is a continuation of the previous chapter.
The same prophecy is
continued, and the force of the argument of the prophet will not
be seen unless the chapters are read together; see the Analysis
prefixed to Isa. 2. In the close of the second chapter Isa_2:22,
the prophet had cautioned his countrymen against confiding in man.
In this chapter, a reason is given here why they should cease to do
it - to wit, that God would soon take away their kings and
princes.
The Lord - ha'adon; see the note at Isa_1:24.
The Lord of hosts - see the note at Isa_1:9. The prophet calls
the attention of the Jews particularly to the fact that this was
about to be done by Yahweh of hosts - a title which he gives to God
when he designs to indicate that that which is to be done implies
special strength, power, and majesty. As the work which was now to
be done was the removal of the mighty men on which the nation was
depending, it is implied that it was a work of power which belonged
especially to the God of armies - the Almighty.
Doth take away - Is about to remove. In the Hebrew, the word
here is a participle, and does not mark the precise time. It has
reference here, however, to the future.
From Jerusalem ... - Note Isa_1:1.
The stay - In the Hebrew, the words translated stay and staff
are the same, with the exception that the former is in the
masculine, and the latter in the feminine gender. The meaning is,
that God would remove all kinds of support, or everything on which
they relied. The reference is undoubtedly to the princes and mighty
men on whose counsels and aid the nation was resting for defense;
see Isa_3:2-3.
The whole stay of bread - We use a similar expression when we
say that bread is the staff of life. The Hebrews often expressed
the same idea, representing the heart in man as being
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supported or upheld by bread, Gen_18:5 (margin); Jdg_19:5
(margin); Lev_26:26; Psa_105:16.
Stay of water - He would reduce them from their luxuries
introduced by commerce Isa. 2 to absolute want. This often occurred
in the sieges and wars of the nation; and in the famines which were
the consequence of the wars. The reference here is probably to the
invasion of the land by Nebuchadnezzar. The famine consequent on
that invasion is described in Jer_38:21; Jer_38:9; Lam_4:4 : The
tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his month for
thirst; the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto
them.
2. CLARKE, The stay and the staff Every stay and support -
Hebrew, the support masculine, and the support feminine: that is,
every kind of support, whether great or small, strong or weak. Al
Kanitz, wal-kanitzah; the wild beasts, male and female.
Proverbially applied both to fishing and hunting: i.e., I seized
the prey, great or little, good or bad. From hence, as Schultens
observes, is explained Isa_3:1, literally, the male and female
stay: i.e., the strong and weak, the great and small. - Chappelow,
note on Hariri, Assembly 1. Compare Ecc_2:8.
The Hebrew words mashenumashenah come from the same root shaan,
to lean against, to incline, to support; and here, being masculine
and feminine, they may signify all things necessary for the support
both of man and woman. My old MS. understands the staff and stay as
meaning particular persons, and translates the verse thus: - Lo
forsoth, the Lordschip Lord of Hoostis schal don awey fro Jerusalem
and fro Juda the stalworth and the stronge.
The two following verses, Isa_3:2, Isa_3:3, are very clearly
explained by the sacred historians account of the event, the
captivity of Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon: And he
carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty
men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and
smiths; none remained save the poorest sort of the people of the
land, 2Ki_24:14. Which is supplied by our version.
3. GILL, For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,.... These
titles of Jehovah, expressive of power and authority, are used to
show that he is able to execute what he threatens to do; and the
word "behold" is prefixed, to excite attention to what is about to
be said: doth take away from Jerusalem, and from Judea; the present
tense is used for the future, because of the certainty of what
would be done to the Jews, both in city and country; for as in the
preceding chapter Isa_2:1 it is foretold what shall befall the
antichristian party among the nations of the world, this is a
prophecy of the destruction of the Jews by the Romans; at which
time there would be a dreadful famine, signified by the taking away
the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay
of water; bread and water being the stay and staff of man's life,
which support and maintain it; and, in case of disobedience, a
famine was threatened this people very early, and in much such
terms as here, Lev_26:26 and as there was a very sore famine at the
siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, Jer_52:6 so there was a very
dreadful one when the city was besieged by the Romans, as related
by Josephus, and predicted by Christ, Mat_24:7.
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4. HENRY, The prophet, in the close of the foregoing chapter,
had given a necessary caution to all not to put confidence in man,
or any creature; he had also given a general reason for that
caution, taken from the frailty of human life and the vanity and
weakness of human powers. Here he gives a particular reason for it
- God was now about to ruin all their creature-confidences, so that
they should meet with nothing but disappointments in all their
expectations from them (Isa_3:1): The stay and the staff shall be
taken away, all their supports, of what kind soever, all the things
they trusted to and looked for help and relief from. Their church
and kingdom had now grown old and were going to decay, and they
were (after the manner of aged men, Zec_8:4) leaning on a staff:
now God threatens to take away their staff, and then they must fall
of course, to take away the stays of both the city and the country,
of Jerusalem and of Judah, which are indeed stays to one another,
and, if one fail, the other feels from it. He that does this is the
Lord, the Lord of hosts - Adon, the Lord that is himself the stay
or foundation; if that stay depart, all other stays certainly break
under us, for he is the strength of them all. He that is the Lord,
the ruler, that has authority to do it, and the Lord of hosts, that
has the ability to do it, he shall take away the stay and the
staff. St. Jerome refers this to the sensible decay of the Jewish
nation after they had crucified our Saviour, Rom_11:9, Rom_11:10. I
rather take it as a warning to all nations not to provoke God; for
if they make him their enemy, he can and will thus make them
miserable. Let us view the particulars.
I. Was their plenty a support to them? It is so to any people;
bread is the staff of life: but God can take away the whole stay of
bread, and the whole stay of water; and it is just with him to do
so when fulness of bread becomes an iniquity (Eze_16:49), and that
which was given to be provision for the life is made provision for
the lusts. He can take away the bread and the water by withholding
the rain, Deu_28:23, Deu_28:24. Or, if he allow them, he can take
away the stay of bread and the stay of water by withholding his
blessing, by which man lives, and not by bread only, and which is
the staff of bread (Mat_4:4.), and then the bread is not nourishing
nor the water refreshing, Hag_1:6. Christ is the bread of life and
the water of life; if he be our stay, we shall find that this is a
good part not to be taken away, Joh_4:14; Joh_6:27.
II. Was their army a support to them - their generals, and
commanders, and military men? These shall be taken away, either cut
off by the sword or so discouraged with the defeats they meet with
that they shall throw up their commissions and resolve to act no
more; or they shall be disabled by sickness, or dispirited, so as
to be unfit for business; The mighty men, and the man of war, and
even the inferior officer, the captain of fifty, shall be removed.
It bodes ill with a people when their valiant men are lost. Let not
the strong man therefore glory in his strength, nor any people
trust too much to their mighty men; but let the strong people
glorify God and the city of the terrible nations fear him, who can
make them weak and despicable, Isa_25:3.
III. Were their ministers of state a support to them - their
learned men, their politicians, their clergy, their wits and
virtuoso? These also should be taken away - the judges, who were
skilled in the laws, and expert in administering justice, - the
prophets, whom they used to consult in difficult cases, - the
prudent, who were celebrated as men of sense and sagacity above all
others and were assistants to the judges, the diviners (so the word
is), those who used unlawful arts, who, though rotten stays, yet
were stayed on, (but it may be taken, as we read it, in a good
sense), - the ancients, elders in age, in office, - the honourable
man, the gravity of whose aspect commands reverence and whose age
and experience make him fit to be a counsellor. Trade is one great
support to a nation, even manufactures and handicraft trades; and
therefore, when the whole stay is broken, the cunning artificer too
shall be taken away; and the last is the eloquent orator, the man
skilful of speech, who in some cases may do good service, though he
be none of the prudent or the ancient, by putting the sense of
others in good language. Moses cannot speak well, but Aaron can.
God threatens to take these away, that is, 1. To disable them for
the service of their country, making judges fools, taking away the
speech of the trusty and the understanding of the aged, Job_12:17,
etc. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; and we
cannot be sure that those who have been serviceable to us shall
always be so. 2. To
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put an end to their days; for the reason why princes are not to
be trusted in is because their breath goeth forth, Psa_146:3,
Psa_146:4. Note, The removal of useful men by death, in the midst
of their usefulness, is a very threatening symptom to any
people.
IV. Was their government a support to them? It ought to have
been so; it is the business of the sovereign to bear up the pillars
of the land, Psa_75:3. But it is here threatened that this stay
should fail them. When the mighty men and the prudent are removed
children shall be their princes - children in age, who must be
under tutors and governors, who will be clashing with one another
and making a prey of the young king and his kingdom-children in
understanding and disposition, childish men, such as are babes in
knowledge, no more fit to rule than a child in the cradle. These
shall rule over them, with all the folly, fickleness, and
frowardness, of a child. And woe unto thee, O land! when thy king
is such a one! Ecc_10:16.
5. JAMISON, For continuation of Isa_2:22.
Lord of hosts therefore able to do as He says.
doth present for future, so certain is the accomplishment.
stay ... staff the same Hebrew word, the one masculine, the
other feminine, an Arabic idiom for all kinds of support. What a
change from the previous luxuries (Isa_2:7)! Fulfilled in the siege
by Nebuchadnezzar and afterwards by Titus (Jer_37:21;
Jer_38:9).
6. K&D, For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, takes away
from Jerusalem and from Judah supporter and means of support, every
support of bread and every support of water. The divine name given
here, The Lord, Jehovah of hosts, with which Isaiah everywhere
introduces the judicial acts of God (cf., Isa_1:24; Isa_10:16,
Isa_10:33; Isa_19:4), is a proof that the proclamation of judgment
commences afresh here. Trusting in man was the crying sin, more
especially of the times of Uzziah-Jotham. The glory of the kingdom
at that time carried the wrath of Jehovah within it. The outbreak
of that wrath commenced in the time of Ahaz; and even under
Hezekiah it was merely suspended, not changed. Isaiah foretells
this outbreak of wrath. He describes how Jehovah will lay the
Jewish state in ruins, by taking away the main
supports of its existence and growth. Supporter and means of
support (mash'en and mash'enah) express, first of all, the general
idea. The two nouns, which are only the masculine and feminine
forms of one and the same word (compare Mic_2:4; Nah_2:11, and the
examples from the Syriac and Arabic in Ewald, 172, c), serve to
complete the generalization: fulcra omne genus (props of every
kind, omnigena). They are both technical terms, denoting the prop
which a
person uses to support anything, whilst mish'an signifies that
which yields support; so that the three correspond somewhat to the
Latin fulcrum, fultura, fulcimen. Of the various means of support,
bread and wine are mentioned first, not in a figurative sense, but
as the two indispensable conditions and the lowest basis of human
life. Life is supported by bread and water: it walks, as it were,
upon the crutch of bread, so that breaking the staff of bread
(Lev_26:26; Eze_4:16; Eze_5:16; Eze_14:13; Psa_105:16) is
equivalent to physical destruction. The destruction of the Jewish
state would accordingly be commenced by a removal on the part of
Jehovah of all the support afforded by bread and water, i.e., all
the stores of both. And this was literally fulfilled, for both in
the Chaldean and Roman times Jerusalem perished in the midst of
just such terrible famines as are threatened in the curses in Lev
26, and more especially in Deut 28; and in both cases the
inhabitants were reduced to such extremities, that women
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devoured their own children (Lam_2:20; Josephus, Wars of Jews,
vi. 3, 3, 4). It is very unjust, therefore, on the part of modern
critics, such as Hitzig, Knobel, and Meier, to pronounce Isa_3:1 a
gloss, and, in fact, a false one. Gesenius and Umbreit retracted
this suspicion. The construction of the v. is just the same as that
of Isa_25:6; and it is Isaiah's custom to explain his own figures,
as we have already observed when comparing Isa_1:7. and Isa_1:23
with what preceded them. Every support of bread and every support
of water are not to be regarded in this case as an explanation of
the general idea introduced before, supporters and means of
support, but simply as the commencement of the detailed expansion
of the idea. For the enumeration of the supports which Jehovah
would take away is continued in the next two verses.
7. BI, National leaders removed
The Jewish nation, at this time, may be considered as
represented by an old building, ready to fall into ruin, to prevent
which many props had been added. These supports, on which it
leaned, that were derived the authority, the prudence and fortitude
of its leading men, God threatens to remove; in consequence of
which the State should as certainly become ruinous as a decayed
building, when the props on which it rested are taken away. (R.
Macculloch.)
The death of the renowned
There is a tendency to trust in the arm of flesh. It would be
most wicked if we were ungrateful for our great deliverers, raised
up by that God to whom the shield of the earth belongeth; but, at
the same time, it must be sinful to trust in them as if they were
the authors of all, and, therefore, deserved all the glory.
1. We need the admonition which precedes this textCease ye from
man (whether prince or senator, soldier or orator, counsellor or
captain), whoso breath (whatever his strength or genius, talent or
fame) is in his nostrils.
2. There is no such thing as chance; whether it be a hair which
falls to the ground, or a sparrow that drops in its weary way
across the field, or a prince smitten from his throne, or a dynasty
brokenGod is in them, giving, permitting, overruling, and
sanctifying; it is not the shot or shell, the wave or wind,
incident or accident, but God that takes away, and those things
which we suppose to have played the principal part, are merely
servants sent out by God to lead the soldier from his duty in the
field, to receive the crown of glory and war no more.
3. But not only is it the Lord, but He has right and
jurisdiction to do so. He not only reigns, but He rules.
Unsanctified interpositions of God are the darkest judgments;
whilst therefore, we recognise His hand in giving, let us recognise
His hand in taking away. A father and his child walk. They pick up
a stone with a green substance, which appears worthless, and fit
only to be cast away; but they apply the microscope, and this green
substance on the stone he finds to be a magnificent though tiny
forest. So it is with any fact that occurs. Man looks at it with
his own eyes, sees it uninstructive; but when seen in the light of
Gods truth, he finds in it what is instructive and suggestive.
4. When God removes from a nation its props, pillars, and
supports, He does so to lead that nation to see Himself more
clearly and to lean on Him more entirely.
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5. The Lord thus takes away in order to teach men impressively
this lesson which man is very slow to learnthat death must come
upon all. Death enters the cabinets of princes and statesmen, the
camp of the hero, and the hut of the peasant, without paying the
least respect to rank or royalty. (J. Cumming, D. D.)
The death of statesmen
I. Learn from the death of a great statesman THE WEIGHT OF
GOVERNMENT IN A FALLEN WORLD. For when we see the mightiest minds
that our country has produced, a Fox, a Pitt, a Liverpool, a
Canning, one after another taking the weight of government upon
them, and dropping under its weight into the arms of deathcan we
avoid thinking of the mighty mass of care that has pressed them
down?
II. We are taught THE WEAKNESS OF THE SHOULDERS OF MORTAL MEN.
However mighty his shoulders may be, he must be a bold man that
would venture to take up a burden that has crushed so many: and yet
there are many that will venture on it; for there are those who
delight in danger, who sport with difficulties, and who delight in
doing what no one else can do. And it is well for society that
there are men of moral courage. If all preferred the comfort and
quiet of domestic life, how could the affairs of government go on?
Yet there are some burdens, the weight of which will crush any
mind, for the sons of Anak are not omnipotent. And how knows any
man how near he is to this point, when he shall be overwhelmed with
his own duties, distracted with his own cares, become a prey to the
very thing in which he delighted?
III. THE UNCERTAINTY OF ALL HUMAN AFFAIRS. We need to be taught
this with a strong hand, for this warm piece of moving clay that is
bustling about the earth, ready to drop to pieces every moment, is
so swollen with vanity that it would fain fancy it is made of
adamant. Therefore God supplies us with strong reasons, at certain
seasons, to teach us the contrary.
IV. OUR ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCE ON THE SUPREME GOVERNOR. When we
behold the profound counsellor and the mighty orator, and are
entranced with their talents and execution, we grow idolatrous, and
think these men are more than mortal, and that society could not go
on without them; little thinking that He who made them as they are,
to be employed as He pleases, and to be laid aside when He pleases,
can raise others equally fitted as they are. (Exo_4:11.)
V. Another lesson which we should learn is, THE SACRED DUTY OF
PRAYER FOR KINGS AND ALL IN AUTHORITY OVER US. We should make our
supplications that councils may be assisted, that the cares of
government may not overwhelm and destroy, that there may be a
reasonable spirit prevalent in the public, so that it may be
rendered less oppressive.
VI. IN YOUR SUPPLICATIONS ESPECIALLY REMEMBER ZION, THE CHURCH
OF THE LIVING GOD. The Church has been compared to a building, and
the world to a scaffold placed around it in order to assist in
rearing the edifice.
VII. LEARN TO PREPARE FOR OUR OWN DEATH. (J. Bennett, D. D.)
The death of the renowned excites special attention and
interest
In the humble cottage on some mountain slope, in some shaded
valley or distant forest, or in the living wilderness of some great
city, are the young and the old, the brave and the fair, passing
away in unbroken procession to the dust of the sepulchre, and to
the destinies of the life to come But the great world without does
not regard it. Like the leaves of autumn that strew our pathway,
they sink into the grave, and their death is crowded from
recollection by the never-ending succession of new events. But when
the tall and graceful trees of the forestthe
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monarchs whose heads towered above the general altitudeare
brought down by some resistless blow, their fall is attended with a
louder crash, and the earth itself trembles beneath the shock: so,
when the men who walk upon the loftier heights of place and power,
when those whose intellectual stature as they move along the paths
of science, of history, of literature, and of art, renders them
preeminent above the general mass, are laid prostrate by the stroke
of death, the event impresses itself more vividly upon the minds of
men, and calls out from its hidden springs in the heart a
profounder sentiment of sorrow. (J. A. Todd.)
The perils of greatness
Every state is set in the midst of danger, as all trees are set
in the wind; but the tallest endure the greatest violence of the
tempest. (Bishop J. Taylor, D. D.)
8. PULPIT, GOD'S JUDGMENT UPON JERUSALEM. The general
denunciations against Israel of
the two preceding chapters are here turned especially against
Jerusalem. God will deprive her of all her
superior and more honorable classes (Isa_3:1-3); and will give
her "children" for her rulers (Isa_3:4).
There will be continued oppression, and the rise of an insolent
and undutiful spirit (Isa_3:5). Those fit to
bear rule will refuse to do so (Isa_3:6, Isa_3:7).
Isa_3:1
The Lord, the Lord of hosts (see note on Isa_1:24). The stay and
the staff; rather, stay and staff. Neither
word has the article. The latter is the feminine form of the
former; and the intention is to announce that all
support of every kind is about to be withdrawn. The whole stay
of bread of water. Mr. Cheyne agrees
with Hitzig and Knobel that this clause is probably a gloss on
the text, subsequently introduced into it, and
a gloss which (lid not proceed from a very enlightened
commentator. The "stay" and "staff" intended are
certainly not, literal "bread" and "water," but the powerful and
respectable classes enumerated in the two
following verses. If the words are Isaiah's, he must have
intended them to be taken metaphorically.
9. CALVIN, 1.For, behold. We stated, a little before, that this
is the same subject which the Prophet
began to treat towards the close of the former chapter; for he
warns the Jews that their wealth, however
great it may be, will be of no avail to prevent the wrath of
God, which, when it has once been kindled, will
burn up all their defenses. Hence it follows that they are
chargeable with excessive madness, when, in
order to drive away their alarm, they heap up their forces,
strength, and warlike accoutrements,
consultations, armor, abundant supply of provisions, and other
resources.
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The demonstrative particle , (hinneth,) is employed not only to
denote certainty, but to express the
shortness of time, as if Isaiah caused wicked men to be
eye-witnesses of the event; for it frequently
happens that they who do not venture openly to ridicule the
judgments of God pass them by, as if they did
not at all relate to them, or were still at a great distance. is
that to us? say they; if they shall ever
happen, why should we be miserable before the time? Will it not
be time enough to think of those
calamities when they actually befall us? Since, therefore,
wicked men, in order to set at naught the
judgments of God, dig for themselves lurking-places of this
description, on this account the Prophet
presses them more closely and earnestly, that they may not
imagine that the hand of God is distant, or
vainly expect that it will be relaxed.
The Lord Jehovah of hosts will take away from Jerusalem. This is
also the reason why he calls God
the Lord and Jehovah of Hosts, that the majesty of God may
terrify their drowsy and sluggish minds; for
God has no need of titles, but our ignorance and stupidity must
be aroused by perceiving his glory. First,
the Prophet threatens that the Jews will have the whole produce
of the harvest taken from them, so that
they will perish through famine. Immediately afterwards he
speaks in the same manner about military
guards, and all that relates to the good order of the state.
Hence we may infer that the Jews boasted of
the prosperity which they at that time enjoyed, so as to
entertain a foolish belief that they were protected
against every danger. But Isaiah threatens that not only the
whole country, but Jerusalem herself, which
was the invincible fortress of the nation, will be exposed to
God chastisements; as if he had said, wrath
of God will not only fall on every part of the body, but will
pierce the very heart.
The power and the strength. (49) As to the words , (mashgnen
umashgnenah) which differ
only in this respect, that one is in the masculine, and the
other in the feminine genders, I have no doubt
that the Prophet intended by this change to express more fully
the certainty that supports of every kind
would be broken; and therefore I have translated them the power
and the strength (50) I do not agree with
those interpreters who view it as referring to the persons of
men, for it more appropriately denotes all
supports, whatever may be their nature.
Still it is doubtful whether the Prophet limits it to food, or
extends it to all other kinds of support, which he
mentions immediately afterwards. But it is natural to suppose
that by , (mashgnen
umashgnenah) is included generally everything that is necessary
to sustain the order of the city or of the
people; and next that, for the sake of explanation, he
enumerates some particulars. The first clause
therefore means, will take away every help and assistance by
which you think that you are upheld, so
that nothing whatever may be left to support you.
Next, he adds, what will be their want and nakedness; and he
begins, as we have said, with food and
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nourishment, which hold the first rank in sustaining the life of
men. Now there are two ways in which God
takes away the strengthof bread and water; either when he
deprives us of victuals, or when he takes from
them the power of nourishing us; for unless God impart to our
food a hidden power, the greatest
abundance of it that we may possess will do us no good.
(Lev_26:26.) Hence in another passage God is
said to break the staff of bread (Eze_4:16,) when the bakers
deliver the bread by weight, and yet it does
not yield satisfaction. And this comparison ought to be
carefully observed, in order to inform us that, even
though the belly be will filled, we shall always be hungry,
there being nothing but the secret blessing of
God that can feed or support us.
Though the hunger which the Prophet threatens in this passage
may be understood to mean that the
fields will be unproductive, or, that God will take away from
the Jews every kind of food, yet, since the
Prophets are generally accustomed to borrow their forms of
expression from the law, this interpretation
will apply very well. For he might simply have said, will take
away the bread and wine; but he expresses
something more secret when he speaks of thesupport of bread and
water; as if he had said that, though
the people be not reduced to famine, yet God will make them,
even while they are rioting in gluttony, to
pine with hunger; for when the blessing of God is withdrawn, all
its usefulness will vanish away. We may
sum it up in this manner, that the people will have no food to
strengthen them; either because they will not
have bread and water, or, if they have, will derive no advantage
from them.
(49) support masculine and the support feminine, that is, every
kind of support, whether great or small,
strong or weak. Al kenitz, wal kanitzan; the wild beast, male
and female: proverbially applied both to
fishing and hunting; that is, I seized the prey, great or
little, good or bad. From hence, as Schultens
observes, is explained Isa_3:1, literally, the male and female
stay; that is, the strong and weak, the great
and small. Chappelow, quoted by Lowth.
(50) Calvin has imitated the Hebrew phrase by the rendering
vigorem et vim ; employing two words, of
which one is in the masculine and the other in the feminine
gender, and both begin with the same letter,
while each of them denotes strength. Our English version has
imitated the alliteration by stay and the
staff Ed.
2 the hero and the warrior,
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the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
1.BARNES, The mighty man - The hero, The idea expressed is not
simply that of personal
strength and prowess, but the higher one of military eminence or
heroism. Prof. Alexander. This was fully accomplished in the time
of Nebuchadnezzar; 2Ki_24:14.
And the prudent - This word in the original - qosem - means
properly a diviner, or a soothsayer. But it is sometimes used in a
good sense; see Pro_16:10, margin. The Chaldee understands it of a
man who is consulted, or whose opinion is asked, in times of
perplexity or danger. The word was originally applied to false
prophets, diviners, and soothsayers, who claimed the power of
looking into futurity. It came, however, to denote also the man of
sagacity, the statesman, the experienced counselor, who from the
records of the past could judge of the future, and to whom,
therefore, the nation could look in times of perplexity and danger.
Vitringa supposes that it may refer here to the false prophets on
whose advice the nation might be relying.
The ancient - The old man. Such men, especially among the
Hebrews, were deemed particularly qualified to give advice. They
had experience; they kept the traditions of their fathers; they had
conversed with the wise of the preceding generation; and in a land
where there were few books, and knowledge was to be gained mainly
by conversation and experience, great respect was shown them; see
Lev_19:32; 2Ch_31:17; 1Ki_12:6, 1Ki_12:8.
2. PULPIT, The mighty man, and the man of war; or, hero and
warrior. The first rank is given to those
distinguished in war, as being held in the highest esteem, and
perhaps as actually, under the coming
circumstances, the men of most importance to the country. It is
thus implied, as later (Isa_3:25, Isa_3:26)
it is expressly taught, that the impending visitation will be a
terrible invasion. The judge, and the
prophet; literally, judge and prophet. The judge holds his place
as one of the highest officers of the state
(see Isa_1:26); the prophet holds a lower position than might
have been expected, on account of the
writer's humility. The prudent; rather, the diviner, as the word
is translated
in Deu_18:14;1Sa_6:2; Isa_44:25; Jer_27:9; Jer_29:8; Eze_13:9;
Mic_3:7; Zec_10:2; or soothsayer, as
in Jos_13:22. Isaiah arranges the classes, not so much according
to the order in which he values them,
as to that in which they were valued by the people. The ancient;
i.e. "the elder," as the word is translated
commonly. The "elders" had an ascertained position in the state
under the monarchy
(2Sa_5:3; 2Sa_19:11; 1Ki_8:1; 1Ki_20:7; 2Ki_6:32, etc.).
3. GILL, The mighty man, and man of war,.... The meaning is
either that these should die in war, as thousands of them did; or
that men fit to be generals of armies should be removed by
-
death before this time, so that they should have none to go out
with their armies, and meet the enemy: the judge and the prophet;
there should be none to sit upon the bench, and administer justice
to the people in civil affairs, and to determine causes relating to
life and death; and none to instruct them in religious matters, and
deliver the mind and will of God to them; and before this time the
Jews were under the Roman jurisdiction, and had a Roman governor
over them, and had not power to judge in capital cases, in matters
of life and death, as they suggest, Joh_18:31 and they say (z),
that forty years before the destruction of the temple this power
was taken from them; and at the time that Jerusalem was besieged,
and taken by the Romans, and before that, they had no prophets
among them; for though there were prophets in the Christian
churches, yet none among them; this shows that this prophecy cannot
be understood of the Babylonish captivity, because there were
prophets then, as Jeremy, Ezekiel, and Daniel, but of Jerusalem's
destruction by the Romans: and the prudent and the ancient: with
whom are wisdom, and who are fit to give advice and counsel in
matters of difficulty; but these would be removed by famine or
sword. The first of these words is used sometimes in an ill sense,
for a diviner or soothsayer, Deu_18:10. The Jewish writers (a)
interpret it of a king, according to Pro_16:10 and it is certain
they were without one at this time, and have been ever since,
Hos_3:4.
4. HENRY, Was their army a support to them - their generals, and
commanders, and military men? These shall be taken away, either cut
off by the sword or so discouraged with the defeats they meet with
that they shall throw up their commissions and resolve to act no
more; or they shall be disabled by sickness, or dispirited, so as
to be unfit for business; The mighty men, and the man of war, and
even the inferior officer, the captain of fifty, shall be removed.
It bodes ill with a people when their valiant men are lost. Let not
the strong man therefore glory in his strength, nor any people
trust too much to their mighty men; but let the strong people
glorify God and the city of the terrible nations fear him, who can
make them weak and despicable, Isa_25:3.
III. Were their ministers of state a support to them - their
learned men, their politicians, their clergy, their wits and
virtuoso? These also should be taken away - the judges, who were
skilled in the laws, and expert in administering justice, - the
prophets, whom they used to consult in difficult cases, - the
prudent, who were celebrated as men of sense and sagacity above all
others and were assistants to the judges, the diviners (so the word
is), those who used unlawful arts, who, though rotten stays, yet
were stayed on, (but it may be taken, as we read it, in a good
sense), - the ancients, elders in age, in office, - the honourable
man, the gravity of whose aspect commands reverence and whose age
and experience make him fit to be a counsellor. Trade is one great
support to a nation, even manufactures and handicraft trades; and
therefore, when the whole stay is broken, the cunning artificer too
shall be taken away; and the last is the eloquent orator, the man
skilful of speech, who in some cases may do good service, though he
be none of the prudent or the ancient, by putting the sense of
others in good language. Moses cannot speak well, but Aaron can.
God threatens to take these away, that is, 1. To disable them for
the service of their country, making judges fools, taking away the
speech of the trusty and the understanding of the aged, Job_12:17,
etc. Every creature is that to us which God makes it to be; and we
cannot be sure that those who have been serviceable to us shall
always be so. 2. To put an end to their days; for the reason why
princes are not to be trusted in is because their breath goeth
forth, Psa_146:3, Psa_146:4. Note, The removal of useful men by
death, in the midst of their usefulness, is a very threatening
symptom to any people.
-
IV. Was their government a support to them? It ought to have
been so; it is the business of the sovereign to bear up the pillars
of the land, Psa_75:3. But it is here threatened that this stay
should fail them. When the mighty men and the prudent are removed
children shall be their princes - children in age, who must be
under tutors and governors, who will be clashing with one another
and making a prey of the young king and his kingdom-children in
understanding and disposition, childish men, such as are babes in
knowledge, no more fit to rule than a child in the cradle. These
shall rule over them, with all the folly, fickleness, and
frowardness, of a child. And woe unto thee, O land! when thy king
is such a one! Ecc_10:16.
5. JAMISON, Fulfilled (2Ki_24:14).
prudent the Hebrew often means a soothsayer (Deu_18:10-14); thus
it will mean, the diviners, on whom they rely, shall in that day
fail. It is found in a good sense (Pro_16:10), from which passage
the Jews interpret it a king; without whom Israel long has been
(Hos_3:4).
ancient old and experienced (1Ki_12:6-8).
6. K&D, Hero and man of war, judge and prophet, and
soothsayer and elder; captains of fifty, and the highly
distinguished, and counsellors, and masters in art, and those
skilled in muttering. As the state had grown into a military state
under Uzziah-Jotham, the prophet
commences in both vv. with military officers, viz., the gibbor,
i.e., commanders whose bravery
had been already tried; the man of war (ish imlchamah), i.e.,
private soldiers who had been
equipped and well trained (see Eze_39:20); and the captain of
fifty (sar Chamisshim), leaders of
the smallest divisions of the army, consisting of only fifty men
(pentekontarchos, 2Ki_1:9, etc.).
The prominent members of the state are all mixed up together;
the judge (shophet), i.e., the
officers appointed by the government to administer justice; the
elder (zaken), i.e., the heads of
families and the senators appointed by the town corporations;
the counsellor (yoetz), those
nearest to the king; the highly distinguished (nesu panim),
lit., those whose personal
appearance (panim) was accepted, i.e., welcome and regarded with
honour (Saad.: wa'gh, from
wa'gh, the face of appearance), that is to say, persons of
influence, not only on account of their
office, but also on account of wealth, age, goodness, etc.;
masters in art (Chacam Charashim:
lxx + - ), or, as Jerome has very well rendered it, in artibus
mechanicis exercitatus easque callide tractans (persons well versed
in mechanical arts, and carrying them out with skill). In the
Chaldean captivities skilled artisans are particularly mentioned as
having been carried away (2Ki_24:14.; Jer_24:1; Jer_29:2); so that
there can be no doubt whatever that
Charashim (from Cheresh) is to be understood as signifying
mechanical and not magical arts, as
Gesenius, Hitzig, and Meier suppose, and therefore that Chacam
Charashim does not mean
wizards, as Ewald renders it (Cha6rashim is a different word
from Charashim, fabri, from Chara
sh, although in 1Ch_4:14, cf., Neh_11:35, the word is regularly
pointed even in this personal sense). Moreover, the rendering
wizards produces tautology, inasmuch as masters of
the black art are cited as nebon lachash, skilled in muttering.
Lachash is the whispering or
-
muttering of magical formulas; it is related both radically and
in meaning to nachash,
enchantment (Arabic nachs, misfortune); it is derived from
lachash, sibilare, to hiss (a kindred
word to nachash; hence nachash, a serpent). Beside this, the
masters of the black art are also
represented as kosem, which, in accordance with the radical idea
of making fast, swearing,
conjuring, denoted a soothsayer following heathen superstitions,
as distinguished from the nabi, of false Jehovah prophet (we find
this as early as Deu_18:10, Deu_18:14).
(Note: According to the primary meaning of the whole thema,
which is one of hardness,
rigidity, firmness, aksama (hi. of kasam) signifies, strictly
speaking, to make sure, i.e., to swear, either by swearing to the
truth and certainty of a thing, or by making a person swear
that he will do or not do a certain thing, by laying as it were
a kasam upon him. The kal, on
the other hand (kasama), gets its meaning to divide from the
turn given to the radical idea in
the substantive kism, which signifies, according to the original
lexicographers, something
fixed (= nasb), definite, i.e., a definite portion. There is
just the same association of ideas in
azama as in aksama, namely, literally to be firm or make firm,
i.e., to direct one's will firmly towards an object or place; also
to direct one's will firmly towards a person, to adjure him to do a
thing or not to do it; sometimes with a softer meaning, to urge or
invite a person to
anything, at other times to recite conjuring formulas
(azaim.)
These came next to bread and water, and were in a higher grade
the props of the state. They are mixed together in this manner
without regular order, because the powerful and splendid state was
really a quodlibet of things Jewish and heathen; and when the wrath
of Jehovah broke out, the godless glory would soon become a mass of
confusion.
7.CALVIN, 2.The strong man, and the man of war He mentions other
ends which contribute to the
safety and good order either of nations or of cities. Of these
he threatens that the Jews will be wholly
deprived, so that they will neither have wisdom or bravery at
battle, nor military forces abroad. He is not
careful to attend to order, but is satisfied with giving a short
abridgement, and mixes one subject with
another. He begins with men of war, into whose hands was
committed the defense of the country. God
sometimes takes them away by death, and sometimes by making them
soft and effeminate. The latter is
more frequent, so that posterity degenerates from the bravery of
ancestors, and those who were formerly
courageous become, in process of time, cowardly and unfit for
war. But we see also that the former
sometimes happens, in consequence of which the boldest men
suddenly lose heart.
The judge and the prophet. We know that, in the Hebrew language,
the word judge stands for every kind
of governors; and it is certain that by prophets are meant every
kind of teachers. Accordingly, he
threatens that the civil government will be set aside, and that
instruction will be at an end, and that thus
the Jews will be destroyed; and, indeed magistrates and teachers
hold the same place in the
-
commonwealth that the two eyes do in the human body.
Aged diviners and old men (51) I consider the same rank as
before to be denoted by old men, who are
more fit for governing, because age brings along with it
prudence, wisdom, and gravity. As to the
word diviner, though it is used in a bad sense in Scripture, yet
here it appears to be used in a good sense,
when Isaiah enumerates those things which contribute to preserve
the good order of a city and of a
kingdoms. The term might, therefore, be applied to a soothsayer,
who divines or penetrates into dark
matters, not by omens or superstitious arts, but by
extraordinary acuteness and skill. But as God forbade
them to consult magicians, soothsayers, and diviners,
(Deu_18:20,) and as Balaam himself declares
that there is no divination against Israel, (Num_23:23,) I do
not quarrel with those who would prefer to use
the word diviner as denoting magical divinations; nor will there
be any absurdity in enumerating among
the punishments of the nation, that it would be deprived also of
those aids which were sinful and criminal;
for along with the altar and sacrifices Hosea mentions teraphim.
(52) (Hos_3:4.)
The captain of fifty. He employs this term agreeably to the
custom which then prevailed; for as the
Romans had centurions, or captains of hundreds, so the Jews had
captains, or rulers of fifties, which the
Greeks call, but as that custom did not exist among the Latins,
so the name was
unknown among them. By persons of venerable aspect (53) he means
those whose reputation for bravery
gave then influence among the people.
The senator. (54) The word (yognetz,) for which I have put
senator, may be applied to men in private
life who are eminent for prudence; but as it is strictly
applicable to counsellors, who discharge a public
office, I resolved not to depart from the common opinion.
The sinful artificer. Because the mechanical arts are not less
advantageous for upholding the prosperity
of a nation, and for the support of animal life, Isaiah likewise
mentions that, through the want of them, the
destruction of the Jews is at hand.
And the eloquent. (55) he word which is placed last in the
enumeration has been variously explained by
commentators. Literally it means, in muttering, or in a subdued
tone of speech. since the heathen
oracles give out their replies by whisperings or in mutterings,
some think that the word
denotes enchantments. A better exposition is given by those who
interpret (lahash) to mean secret
designs; but as a style which is both mysterious and weighty may
be not inappropriately denoted by this
word, I had no hesitation in rendering it by the word eloquent.
Yet if it be thought preferable to view it as
denoting wise and cautious men, who, though not qualified for
public speaking, give private advices of
what may profitably be done, I have no objection.
-
We must attend to this comprehensive description of a
well-regulated state. For Isaiah has placed first
corn and other things necessary for bodily support; secondly,
military forces; thirdly, skill in governing a
nation and the various parts of civil government; fourthly, the
prophetical office; and fifthly, the mechanical
arts. With these ornaments does God adorn the nations which he
intends to render safe and sound; and,
on the other hand, he takes them from those nations which he
intends utterly to destroy. Let us, therefore,
know that everything which we find to be profitable for the
support of life flows from the undeserved
goodness of God. Hence also there follows another instruction,
namely, that we ought to beware lest, by
our ingratitude, we deprive ourselves of those excellent gifts
of God.
(51) And the prudent and the ancient. Eng. Ver
(52) Prophet, says Calvin, to speak here of idols, for he
afterwards adds teraphim; and teraphim were
no doubt images, (Gen_31:19) which the superstitious used while
worshipping their fictitious gods, as we
read in many places. The King of Babylon is said to have
consulted the teraphim; and it is said that
Rachel stole the teraphim, and shortly after Laban calls the
teraphim his gods. Com. on the Twelve
Minor Prophets, vol 1, p. 130.
(53) The honourable man. Eng. Ver
(54) The counsellor. Eng. Ver.
(55) In a marginal reading of the text our author renders this
phrase by skilled in mysterious discourse.
powerful in persuasion. Lowth. expert dealer in charms. Bishop
Stock. is
to whisper or mutter certain words, by which jugglers pretended
to charm noxious creatures, and to
deprive them of their power of hurting. Parkhurst.
3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank,
the counselor, skilled craftsman and clever
enchanter.
-
1.BARNES, The captain of fifty - By this was probably denoted an
officer in the army.
The idea is, that the commanders of the various divisions of the
army should be taken away.
The honourable man - Hebrew nes'u' pan6ym. The man of elevated
countenance. That is, the man high in office. He was so called from
the aspect of dignity which a man in office would assume. In the
previous chapter, the phrase is used to denote rather the pride
which attended such officers, than the dignity of the office
itself.
And the counselor - Note, Isa_1:26.
The cunning artificer - Hebrew, The man wise in mechanic arts:
skilled in architecture, etc.
And the eloquent orator - nebon lachash. literally, skilled or
learned in whispering,
in conjuration, in persuasion. The word lachash denotes properly
a whispering, sighing, or
calling for help; (Isa_26:16, they have poured out a prayer,
lachash - a secret speech, a feeble sigh for aid.) It is applied to
the charm of the serpents - the secret breathing or gentle noise by
which the charm is supposed to be effected; Psa_58:6; Jer_8:17;
Ecc_10:11. In Isa_3:20 of this chapter it denotes a charm or amulet
worn by females; see the note at that verse. It is also applied to
magic, or conjuration - because this was usually done by gentle
whispering, or incantation; see the note at Isa_8:19. From this use
of the word, it comes to denote one that influences another; one
who persuades him in any way, as an orator does by argument and
entreaty. Ancient orators also probably sometimes used a species of
recitative, or measured cadence, not unlike that employed by those
who practiced incantations. Jerome says that it means here, a man
who is learned, and acquainted with the law, and the prophets.
Chaldee, The prudent in council. It may be used in a good sense
here; but if so, it is probably the only place where the word is so
used in the Old Testament. A prophecy similar to this occurs in
Hos_3:4 : For the children of Israel shall abide many days without
a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without
an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim.
2. PULPIT, The captain of fifty. "Captains of fifties" were
scarcely at this period "civil officers"
(Cheyne). They represent simply the lowest grade of officers in
the army
(2Ki_1:9, 2Ki_1:11, 2Ki_1:13). Honorable. The same expression is
used again in Isa_9:15. It occurs also
in 2Ki_5:1-27. I and Job_22:8. The cunning artificer. "All the
craftsmen and smiths" in Jerusalem were
carried away by Nebuchadnezzar in the captivity of Jehoiachin
(2Ki_24:14; cf. Jer_24:1). They were
among the most valuable of the population, in time of war no
less than of peace, since on them depended
the construction and repair of the military engines which were
regarded as of so much importance
(2Ch_26:15). The eloquent orator; rather, the expert enchanter
(comp. Ecc_10:11; Jer_8:17).
-
3. GILL, The captain of fifty,.... A semi-centurion, such an one
as in 2Ki_1:9. So far should there be from being captains of
thousands, and of hundreds, that there should not be one of fifty:
and the honourable man; by birth, breeding, and behaviour, through
riches and greatness; and one of power and authority among the
people, and in their favour and esteem: and the counsellor; one
able to give advice in matters of moment and difficulty, and in
controversy between man and man; it suggests that nothing should be
done with advice and counsel, with wisdom and discretion, but all
tumult and sedition, as the history of these times shows: the Jews
(b) interpret this of one that knows how to intercalate years, and
fix the months: and the cunning artificer: in any kind of metal,
old, silver, brass, and iron, and in any sort of wood, and in any
kind of manual and mechanical business; which would now be laid
aside, shops shuts up, and all trade and business neglected and
discouraged, occasioned partly by the siege without, and chiefly by
their internal divisions and robberies, and by their zealots and
cutthroats, which swarmed among them. The Septuagint render it,
"the wise architect", or "masterbuilder"; the same word is used by
the apostle in 1Co_3:10, and the eloquent orator; who has the
tongue of the learned, and can speak a word in season to the
distressed; or who is able to plead at the bar the cause of the
injured and oppressed, the widow and the fatherless. Aben Ezra
interprets it of one that is skilful in enchanting serpents; that
charms wisely, as in Psa_58:5 it may be rendered, "one that
understands enchantment" (c): with the Septuagint it is a "prudent
hearer"; sad is the case of a nation when men of so much usefulness
are taken away from them. See 2Ki_24:15.
4. PULPIT, Many steps in the decay of states.
Ruin does not often come on states at once, even when God has
determined on it. There are many steps
in the fall of a great nation.
I. CESSATION OF A SUCCESSION OF GREAT AND WISE MEN. (Isa_3:2,
Isa_3:3.) One of the first
marks of decay is a falling off in this succession. When the
intervals between one great man and another
lengthen; when wise men, capable of giving the state good
counsel, grow rare; when mediocrity
everywhere prevails, and no one steps forth conspicuous by
marked superiority to his fellows;then it
may at once be proclaimed that decline has set in, and that the
nation is verging towards its fall. The
great and the wise are the salt which preserve society from
corruption. Without them all goes wrong; the
pulse of the national life slackens, energy disappears, foreign
aggression is weakly resisted, a general
debilitation becomes apparent in every part and function of the
body politic. No state can long resist the
insidious malady, which, like atrophy or anaemia, steals
gradually over the entire frame, exhausting it and
bringing about its dissolution.
-
II. ACTIVE FOLLY IN THE RULERS. (Isa_3:4.) When the great and
the wise fail, government necessarily
falls into the hands of the incompetent. If not "children" in
age, they will be "babes" in respect of policy
and statecraft. So long, however, as they are willing to follow
the traditions of the past, to work upon well-
known lines, and carry out established practices, no very great
harm can arise. But they are seldom
content for many years to act thus. A childish desire seizes
them to attract attention, to exhibit their
power. Hence they plunge into active follies, wild schemes of
aggression and conquest, or imprudent and
unsuitable alliances, as that of Ahaz with Tiglath-Pileser
(2Ch_28:16,2Ch_28:20). The state is brought
into difficulties and entanglements, and the wisdom is wanting
that should have seen a way out of them.
One embarrassment follows another. Unexpected circumstances
arise, and it is not perceived how they
should be met. The unwisdom of the good is perhaps as fatal as
the folly of the wicked (e.g. Josiah's
uncalled-for resistance of Pharaoh-Nechoh, 2Ki_23:29), and leads
to great disasters. Meanwhile other
causes are at work, which advance the general confusion and
accelerate the final catastrophe.
III. DEVELOPMENT OF SELFISHNESS AMONG THE PEOPLE. (Isa_3:5.)
Society is based upon the
principles of justice and mutual good will. While states
prosper, it requires no extraordinary virtue in men
to deal justly by their neighbors, and act towards them in a
friendly spirit. But when the times are out of
joint, when there is general impoverishment and distress, it is
no longer easy to be amicable or even just.
"Every man for himself!" becomes the cry; the spirit of
selfishness is evoked and runs riot; "the people"
(no longer the "rulers" or the "judges," Isa_1:10, Isa_1:23)
"oppress every one another, and every one his
neighbor" (Isa_3:5). This indulgence of the selfish spirit acts
as a solventloosens the bonds which have
hitherto held society together, and goes far to reduce the
united mass, in whose union was its strength, to
a congeries of atoms.
IV. CESSATION OF RESPECT FOR AGE OR SOCIAL RANK. (Isa_3:5.) The
disintegration of society
tends to place all the atoms upon a par. While the social order
was maintained, and the whole society felt
itself one, the parts knew their need one of the other, and
recognized their respective positions of
inferiority and superiority. But with the loosening of the
social ties comes naturally a general self-
assertion. In a physical chaos atoms are of equal value, and why
not in a disintegrated society? Hence
the young in such a state throw off their allegiance to the old;
even sons cease to respect or obey their
fathers, and daughters their mothers. The humbler classes of
toilers for daily bread no longer look up to
their more favored brethren, but rather view them with jealousy
and hatred. Class is alienated from class,
and the tendency to a complete dissolution of society
aggravated.
V. NEGLECT OF THEIR CIVIL DUTIES ON THE PART OF THE WELL-TO-DO
CLASSES.
(Isa_3:6, Isa_3:7.) Noblesse oblige. In a distracted state of
society, it is especially incumbent on those
whose means place them beyond the reach of want, and allow them
ample leisure, to come to the relief
-
of their neighbors by undertaking those civil duties and offices
on which the welfare of the body politic
depends. But it is exactly at such times that we find this class
of persons most inclined to ignore this
obligation, and withdraw wholly from political life (Isa_3:7).
Some, like Plato, justify themselves under the
plea that nothing can be done to save society, and that they may
be excused for taking refuge under the
first shelter that offers while the storm rages and exhausts
itself. Others plead the vulgarizing effect of
active political life, and claim the right of keeping their
superfine humanity free from the smears and stains
which mixture with the crowd would bring upon it. On one excuse
or another, or not infrequently without
condescending to make any excuse, the upper classes in a
distracted state stand aloof, neglect their civil
duties, and refuse all the calls that are made on them to come
to the rescue, and do their best to save the
"ruin" that is tottering to its fall.
5. JAMISON, captain of fifty not only captains of thousands, and
centurions of a hundred, but even semi-centurions of fifty, shall
fail.
honourable literally, of dignified aspect.
cunning skilful. The mechanics business will come to a
standstill in the siege and subsequent desolation of the state;
artisans are no mean stay among a nations safeguards.
eloquent orator rather, as Vulgate, skilled in whispering, that
is, incantation (Psa_58:5). See Isa_8:19, below; and on prudent,
see on Isa_3:2.
4 I will make mere youths their officials;
children will rule over them.
1.BARNES, And I will give children - Not children in respect to
age so much as in regard
to talent for governing. I will commit the land to the
government of weak and imbecile princes. This would naturally occur
when the wise and great were removed; compare Ecc_10:16 : Wo to
thee, O land, when thy king is a child; compare Isa_3:12.
And babes shall rule ... - That is, babes in experience and
knowledge. This was fully accomplished in the succession of weak
and wicked princes that succeeded Isaiah, until the time of
Zedekiah, the last of them, when the temple was taken by
Nebuchadnezzar. - Lowth.
2. CLARKE, I will give children to be their princes I will make
boys their princes - This also was fully accomplished in the
succession of weak and wicked princes, from the death of Josiah to
the destruction of the city and temple, and the taking of Zedekiah,
the last of them, by Nebuchadnezzar.
-
Babes shall rule over them - Dymennysche men schul lordschopen
to hem. - Old MS. Bible.
3. GILL, And I will give children to be their princes,....
Either in age, or in understanding, who are really so, or act like
such; and in either sense, when this is the case, it is an
unhappiness to a nation, Ecc_10:16, and babes shall rule over them;
which is the same as before. The Targum is, "the weak shall rule
over them;'' such who are weak in their intellectuals, or are of
mean pusillanimous spirits, "effeminate", as the Vulgate Latin
version renders it; and so as "children" are opposed to the
"ancient", that should be taken away, these are opposed to "men of
might" and courage, who would now be wanting: or "men of
illusions", as in the margin; such as were subtle as foxes, and
should deceive them, and impose upon them, and were audacious and
impudent, and would mock at them, and despise them. So Jarchi and
Abarbinel; and according to this sense of the word the Septuagint,
Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, "mockers shall rule over
them".
4. PULPIT, I will give children to be their princes; rather,
youths than "children." The extreme youth
of the later kings of Judah at the date of their accession is
very remarkable. After Hezekiah, only one was
as much as twenty-five years old when he came to the throne.
Jehoahaz was twenty-three (2Ki_23:31);
Amon, twenty-two (2Ki_21:19); Zedekiah twenty-one (2Ki_24:18);
Jehoiachin, eighteen (2Ki_24:8);
Manasseh, twelve (2Ki_21:1); and Josiah eight (2Ki_22:1). Thus
this prophecy was fulfilled to the
letter. And babes shall rule over them; literally, puerilities
shall rule over them; i.e. the youths shall
behave in a childish way.
5. JAMISON, children in ability for governing; antithesis to the
ancient (see Isa_3:12; Ecc_10:16).
babes in warlike might; antithesis to the mighty and man of
war.
6. K&D, Thus robbed of its support, and torn out of its
proper groove, the kingdom of Judah would fall a prey to the most
shameless despotism: And I give them boys for princes, and caprices
shall rule over them. The revived Solomonian glory is followed, as
before, by the times of Rehoboam. The king is not expressly named.
This was intentional. He had sunk into the mere shadow of a king:
it was not he who ruled, but the aristocratic party that surrounded
him, who led him about in leading strings as unum inter pares. Now,
if it is a misfortune in most
cases for a king to be a child (na'ar, Ecc_10:16), the
misfortune is twice as great when the princes
or magnates who surround and advise him are youngsters (ne'arim,
i.e., young lords) in a bad
-
sense. It produces a government of talulim. None of the nouns in
this form have a personal signification. According to the primary
meaning of the verbal stem, the word might signify
childishnesses, equivalent to little children (the abstract for
the concrete, like - amasius), as Ewald supposes; or puppets,
fantocci, poltroons, or men without heart or brain, as Luzzatto
maintains. But the latter has no support in the general usage of
the language, and the verb
yimshelu (shall rule) does not necessarily require a personal
subject (cf., Psa_19:14; Psa_103:19).
The word talulim is formed from the reflective verb hithallel,
which means to meddle, to gratify
one's self, to indulge one's caprice. Accordingly talulim itself
might be rendered vexationes
(Isa_66:4). Jerome, who translates the word effeminati, appears
to have thought of J in an
erotic sense. The Sept. rendering, NP is better, though N would
be more exact.
When used, as the word is here, along with ne'arim, it signifies
outbursts of youthful caprice, which do injury to others, whether
in joke or earnest. Neither law nor justice would rule, but the
very opposite of justice: a course of conduct which would make
subjects, like slaves, the helpless victims at one time of their
lust (Jdg_19:25), and at another of their cruelty. They would be
governed by lawless and bloodstained caprice, of the most despotic
character and varied forms. And the people would resemble their
rulers: their passions would be let loose, and all restraints of
modesty and decorum be snapt asunder.
7. BI, Puerile government
Probably an abstract term used for a concretepuerilities or
childishnesses for childish persons. (J. A. Alexander.)
Juvenile government a curse
If it is in itself generally a misfortune when the king of a
country is a lad (Ecc_10:16), it is doubly so when the princes or
magnates surrounding end advising him are also youths or youngsters
in the bad sense of the term . . . Varying humour, utterly
unregulated and unrestrained, rules supreme. (F. Delitzsch.)
A foolish ruler: Justinian II (of Constantinople)
The name of a triumphant lawgiver was dishonoured by the vices
of a boy, who imitated his namesake only in the expensive luxury of
building. His passions were strong; his understanding was feeble;
and he was intoxicated with a foolish pride that his birth had
given him the command of millions, of whom the smallest community
would not have chosen him for their local magistrate. His favourite
ministers were two beings the least susceptible of human sympathy,
a eunuch and a monk; the one he abandoned the palace, to the other
the finances; the former corrected the emperors mother with a
scourge, the latter suspended the insolvent tributaries, with their
heads downward, over a slow and smoky fire. (Gibbons Rome.)
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Isaiah 3:5 And the people shall be oppressed
Tyranny
The dissolution of good order and political confusion.
Oppression and pride everywhere prevail. (R. Macculloch.)
State chaos
There is a natural relation of classes. Whilst all that is
purely mechanical and arbitrary is to be viewed with suspicion, yet
there is a natural sequence in things; there is, indeed, what is
called a fitness or harmony of things; and when society is rightly
inspired the base man knows that he is base, and his baseness is
his weakness, and his weakness defines his position; and the child
knows himself to be but a child, and therefore he behaves himself
with discretion, and is limited by circumstances which he cannot
control. Once let the moral centre be lost, and then you have lost
all arithmetical counting, all geometrical relationship, all figure
and form and mechanism and security, and the foursquare is thrown
out of its parallel, and that which was right is numbered with that
which is forbidden, (J. Parker, D. D.)
An evil spirit in the nation
It is here threatened that God would send an evil spirit among
them (Jdg_9:23), which would make them
1. Injurious and unneighbourly one towards another. The people
shall be oppressed everyone by his neighbour, and their princes,
being children, take no care to restrain the oppressors, or relieve
the oppressed. Nor is it to any purpose to appeal to them.
2. Insolent and disorderly towards their superiors. It is as ill
an omen to a people as can be, when the rising generation among
them is generally untractable, rude, and ungovernable, when the
child behaves himself proudly against the ancient; whereas he
should rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the
old man (Lev_19:32). When young people are conceited and pert, and
carry it scornfully towards their superiors, it is not only a
reproach to themselves, but of ill consequence to the public; it
slackens the reins of government, and weakens the hands that hold
them. It is likewise ill with a people when persons of honour
cannot support their authority, but are affronted by the base and
beggarly; when judges are insulted by the mob, and their power set
at defiance. (M. Henry.)
A lamentable state of society
Homo homini lupusman becomes a wolf to man;
jusque datum sceleriwickedness receives the stamp of law;
nec hospes ab hospite tutusthe guest and the host are in danger
from each other. (M. Henry.)
-
8. CALVIN, 4.And I will appoint children to be their princes
(56) That the vengeance of God may be
more manifest, he now describes how sad and wretched will be the
change, when competent and faithful
rulers shall be taken from among them and God shall put cowardly
and worthless persons in their room.
By children are meant not only those who are so by age, but also
by mind and conduct, such as delicate
and effeminate persons, who are destitute of courage and cannot
wield the sword entrusted to them. He
does not here carry out the contrast, clause by clause; for he
thought it enough to point out one way in
which a commonwealth is speedily ruined; that is, when its
rulers are weak and foolish men like children,
who have no gravity or wisdom. But it must be laid down as a
principle, that no man is qualified for
governing a commonwealth unless he have been appointed to it by
God, and be endued with uncommon
excellence. Plato, too, understood this matter well: for though,
being a heathen, he had no true
knowledge of this kind, yet his quick sagacity enabled him to
perceive that no man is fit and qualified for
public government which has not been prepared for it by God in
an extraordinary measure; for public
government proceeds from God alone, and in like manner every
part of it must be upheld by him.
Besides, they whom the Lord does not govern have nothing left
for them but to be children, or rather to be
twice children, that is, destitute of all skill and of all
wisdom.
Now the Lord executes this vengeance in two ways; because it
frequently happens, that when we appear
to have those who are grave and skillful in business, no sooner
do they come to action than they stumble
like blind men, and have no more wisdom than children; for the
Lord deprives them of that remarkable
ability which they had formerly received from him, and stuns
them, as if he had struck them with a
thunderbolt. But sometimes the Lord proceeds more gently, and
gradually removes men of extraordinary
ability, who were fit for ruling, and commits the reins of
government to those who were unable to govern a
family, or even a single child liken these things happen, it is
very certain that destruction is not far off.
Besides, it deserves our notice, as I lately mentioned, that a
well-regulated commonwealth is a singular
gift of God, when the various orders of judges and senators,
soldiers, captains, artificers, and teachers,
aid each other by mutual intercourse, and join in promoting the
general safety of the whole people. For
when the Prophet threatens, and pronounces it to be a very
severe punishment, that these things shall be
taken away, he plainly shows that those eminent and uncommon
gifts of God are necessary for the safety
of nations. Accordingly, he here commends the office of
magistrates, and captains, and soldiers, and
likewise the office of teachers. This deserves our notice in
opposition to fanatics, who endeavor to banish
from the world the power of using the sword, together with all
civil government and order. But the Prophet
declares that these things are not taken away or removed unless
when God is angry. It follows, therefore,
that they who oppose, and, as far as lies in their power, set
aside or destroy such benefits, are wicked
men and enemies of the public safety.
-
He likewise commends instruction, without which a commonwealth
cannot stand; for, as Solomon says,
where prophecy is not, the nation must be ruined.
(Pro_29:18.)
At the same time, he commends the mechanical arts, agriculture,
manual occupations of every
description, architecture, and such like, which we cannot
dispense with; for all artisans of every kind, who
contribute what is useful to men, are the servants of God, and
have the same end in view with those who
were formerly mentioned, namely, the preservation of mankind
The same thing must be said about war; for, although lawful, war
ought to be nothing else than an
attempt to obtain peace; yet sometimes an engagement is
unavoidable, that they who have the power of
the sword may use it, and defend themselves and their followers
by arms. War, therefore, is not in itself to
be condemned; for it is the means of preserving the
commonwealth. But neither must eloquence be
despised; for it is often needed, both in public and in private
life, that something may be clearly and fully
explained and demonstrated to be true. This is also reckoned
among the gifts and important blessings of
God, when a state abounds in wise and eloquent men,
who can contend with the adversaries in the gate.
(Psa_127:5.)
This passage may be thus summed up, God takes away those gifts,
and alters the condition of a people,
in whatever way this takes place, either by changing the form of
government, or by taking away the rulers,
the anger of God ought to be acknowledged; for, as Hosea
says,
He Taketh Away Kings In His Wrath,
And Appointeth Them In His Indignation. (Hos_13:11.)
Let us not, therefore, ascribe these changes to chance or other
causes.
(56) And I will give children to be their princes. Eng. Ver.
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5 People will oppress each other
man against man, neighbor against neighbor.
The young will rise up against the old,
the nobody against the honored.
1.BARNES, And the people shall be oppressed - This describes the
state of anarchy
and confusion which would exist under the reign of children and
babes Isa_3:4, when all law would be powerless, and all rights
violated, and when the feeble would be oppressed and borne down by
the strong. The word used here, properly denotes that unjust
exactions or demands would be made, or that the people would be
urged to fulfill them.
Every one by another - In turn they shall oppress and vex one
another. Hebrew man by man; and man by his neighbor - a strong mode
of expression, denoting that there would be a state of mutual
strife, and violation of rights; compare 1Ki_20:20.
The child ... - All ranks of society shall be broken up. All
respect due from one rank in life to another shall be violated.
Shall behave himself proudly - The word used here means rather
to urge, or press on. The child shall crowd on the old man. This
was particularly descriptive of a state of anarchy and disorder,
from the fact that the Jews inculcated so much respect and
deference for age; see the note at Isa_3:2.
The ancient - The old man.
And the base - The man of low rank in life. The word properly
means the man that is despised, the vile, the ignoble; 1Sa_18:23;
Pro_7:9.
The honorable - All the forms of respect in life would be broken
up; all the proper rules of deference between man and man would be
violated. Neither dignity, age, nor honor would be respected.
2. PULPIT, And the people shall be oppressed, etc.; rather,
shall oppress each man his fellow, and
each man his companion. This would be no new thing (see
Isa_1:17, Isa_1:21, Isa_1:23), but perhaps
might be more widely spread, having passed from the upper
classes to the lower ones, as is usual with
vices. The child; rather, the youth. Shall behave himself
proudly; or, insolently. The respect for age
inculcated by the Law (Le 19:32) shall disappear. Youths shall
set at naught the counsel of the aged. The
spirit of Rehoboam shall prevail over that of Solomon, with the
usual resultrashness, recklessness, and
failure. And the base, etc. Respect for station shall likewise
disappear. The dregs of the people shall
grow insolent towards those above them in the social scale; and
thus the old social order shall be
inverted.
-
3. GILL, And the people shall be oppressed, everyone by another,
and everyone by his neighbour,.... There being no governors, or
such as were unfit for government, no decorum was kept and
observed, but a mere anarchy; and so everyone did as he pleased, as
when there was no king in Israel; and everyone rushed into the
house of his neighbour, and plundered his goods; this was the case
of Jerusalem, at the time of the siege, it abounding with robbers
and spoilers: the child shall behave himself proudly against the
ancient; show no respect to them, nor honour them, as the law
requires in Lev_19:32 but behave insolently towards them; and so
the Jews say (d), that when the son of David is come, as he now
would be, young men shall make ashamed the faces of old men, and
old men shall stand before young men: and the base against the
honourable; persons of a mean birth and extract would rise up
against and insult such as were men of families and fortune, of
noble birth and of high degree.
4. HENRY, Was the union of the subjects among themselves, their
good order and the good understanding and correspondence that they
kept with one another, a stay to them? Where this is the case a
people may do better for it, though their princes be not such as
they should be; but it is here threatened that God would send an
evil spirit among them too (as Jdg_9:23), which would make them, 1.
Injurious and unneighbourly one towards another (Isa_3:5): The
people shall be oppressed every one by his neighbour, and their
princes, being children, will take no care to restrain the
oppressors or relieve the oppressed, nor is it to any purpose to
appeal to them (which is a temptation to every man to be his own
avenger), and therefore they bite and devour one another and will
soon be consumed one of another. Then homo homini lupus - man
becomes a wolf to man; jusque datum sceleri - wickedness receives
the stamp of law; nec hospes ab hospite tutus - the guest and the
host are in danger from each other. 2. Insolent and disorderly
towards their superiors. It is as ill an omen to a people as can be
when the rising generation among them are generally untractable,
rude, and ungovernable, when the child behaves himself proudly
against the ancient, whereas he should rise up before the hoary
head and honour the face of the old man, Lev_19:32. When young
people are conceited and pert, and behave scornfully towards their
superiors, their conduct is not only a reproach to themselves, but
of ill consequence to the public; it slackens the reins of
government and weakens the hands that hold them. It is likewise ill
with a people when persons of honour cannot support their
authority, but are affronted by the base and beggarly, when judges
are insulted and their powers set at defiance by the mob. Those
have a great deal to answer for who do this.
VI. It is some stay, some support, to hope that, though matters
may be now ill-managed, yet other may be raised up, who may manage
better? Yet this expectation also shall be frustrated, for the case
shall be so desperate that no man of sense or substance will meddle
with it.
5. JAMISON, The anarchy resulting under such imbecile rulers
(Isa_3:4); unjust exactions mutually; the forms of respect violated
(Lev_19:32).
base low-born. Compare the marks of the last days (2Ti_3:2).
-
6. K&D, And the people oppress one another, one this and
another that; the boy breaks
out violently upon the old man, and the despised upon the
honoured. Niggas is the reciprocal
niphal, as the clause depicting the reciprocity clearly shows
(cf., nilcham, Isa_19:2); nagas followed by Beth means to treat as
a tyrant or taskmaster (Isa_9:3). The commonest selfishness would
then stifle every nobler motive; one would become the tyrant of
another, and ill-mannered insolence would take the place of that
reverence, which is due to the old and esteemed from boys and those
who are below them in position, whether we regard the law of
nature, the Mosaic law (Lev_19:32), or the common custom of
society. Nikleh (from kalah, the
synonym of , Isa_9:1; Isa_23:9; cf., Isa_16:14, kal, to be light
or insignificant) was a term used to denote whoever belonged to the
lowest stratum of society (1Sa_18:23). It was the
opposite of nichad (from Cabed, to be heavy or of great
importance). The Septuagint rendering, T
U + + V is a very good one (as the Semitic languages have no
such antithetical
formations with W ). With such contempt of the distinctions
arising from age and position, the state would very soon become a
scene of the wildest confusion.
7.CALVIN, 5.The people will oppress every man his neighbor He
describes the utmost confusion,
which was about to overtake the Jews, when order was destroyed
or relaxed; and this will happen to all
nations, as soon as government is removed or falls to the
ground. We know how great is the wantonness
of the human mind, when every man is hurried along by ambition
and, in short, how furious the lawless
passions are when they are laid under no restraint. There is no
reason, therefore, to wonder if, when the
judgment-seats have been laid low, every man insults his
neighbor, cruelty abounds, and licentiousness
rages without control. If we considered this wisely, we would
set a higher value on the kindness of God,
when he preserves us in any tolerable condition, and does not
allow us to be lamentably ruined. Hence it
is evident that they who direct or apply their minds to sap the
foundations of civil government are the
open enemies of mankind, or rather, they are in no respect
different from wild beasts.
But this confusion described by the Prophet is most disgraceful,
that a child shall dare to insult an old
man, that the dregs of a low and despised multitude shall rise
up against nobles and men of high
reputation; for it is the most preposterous of all things that
modesty shall be thrown away, so that they
who were worthy of veneration shall be treated with contempt.
And yet this spectacle, so shameful and
revolting, must unavoidably be exhibited when civil government
has been overthrown. As to my rendering
of the verb (niggash) in an active sense, to oppress, I was
forced to adopt it, for otherwise the
meaning of the passage would have been imperfect.
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6 A man will seize one of his brothers
in his fathers house, and say,
You have a cloak, you be our leader;
take charge of this heap of ruins!
1.BARNES, When a man shall take hold ... - In this verse, and
the following verses, the
prophet continues to describe the calamitous and ruined state
that would come upon the Jews; when there would be such a want of
wealth and people, that they would seize upon anyone that they
thought able to defend them. The act of taking hold here denotes
supplication and entreaty, as when one in danger or distress clings
to that which is near, or which may be likely to aid him; compare
Isa_4:1; 1Sa_15:27,
His brother - His kinsman, or one of the same tribe and family -
claiming protection because they belonged to the same family.
Of the house of his father - Descended from the same paternal
ancestors as himself. Probably this refers to one of an ancient and
opulent family - a man who had kept himself from the civil broils
and tumults of the nation, and who had retained his property safe
in the midst of the surrounding desolation. In the previous verse,
the prophet had said that one characteristic of the times would be
a want of respect for the aged and the honorable. He here says that
such would be the distress, that a man would be compelled to show
respect to rank; he would look to the ancient and wealthy families
for protection.
Thou hast clothing - In ancient times wealth consisted very much
in changes of garments; and the expression, thou hast clothing, is
the same as you are rich, you are able to assist us; see Exo_12:34;
Exo_20:26; Gen_45:22; 2Ki_5:5.
And let this ruin ... - This is an expression of entreaty. Give
us assistance, or defense. We commit our ruined and dilapidated
affairs to thee, and implore thy help. The Septuagint reads this,
and let my food, that is, my support, be under thee - do thou
furnish me food. There are some other unimportant variations in the
ancient versions, but the sense is substantially given in our
translation. It is expressive of great distress and anarchy - when
there would be no ruler, and every man would seek one for himself.
The whole deportment evinced here by the suppliant is one of
submission, distress, and humility.
2. CLARKE, Of the house of his father Of his fathers house - For
beith, the
house, the ancient interpreters seem to have read mibbeith, from
the house;
, Septuagint; domesticum patris sui, Vulgate; which gives no
good sense. But the
Septuagint MS. 1. D. 2: for has . And, his brother, of his
fathers house, is little better than a tautology. The case seems to
require that the man should apply to a person of some sort of rank
and eminence; one that was the head of his fathers house, (see
Jos_12:14), whether
-
of the house of him who applies to him, or of any other;
roshbeithabaiu, the chief, or
head of his fathers house. I cannot help suspecting, therefore,
that the word rosh, head, chief, has been lost out of the text.
Saying - Before simlah, garment, two MSS., one ancient, and the
Babylonish Talmud
have the word lemor, saying; and so the Steptuagint, Vulgate,
Syriac, and Chaldee. I place it
with Houbigant, after simlah.
Thou hast clothing Take by the garment - That is, shall entreat
him in an humble and supplicating manner. Ten men shall take hold
of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, Let us go with you; for
we have heard that God is with you, Zec_8:23. And so in Isa_4:1,
the same gesture is used to express earnest and humble entreaty.
The behavior of Saul towards Samuel was of the same kind, when he
laid hold on the skirt of his raiment, 1Sa_15:27. The preceding and
following verses show, that his whole deportment, in regard to the
prophet, was full of submission and humility.
And let this ruin be under thy hand And let thy hand support -
Before
tachathyadecha, a MS. adds tihyeh, let it be; another MS. adds
in the same place,
takachbeyadecha, which latter seems to be a various reading of
the two preceding words, making a very good sense: Take into thy
hand our ruinous state. Twenty-one MSS. of Kennicotts, thirteen of
De Rossis, one of my own, ancient, and three editions of the
Babylonish Talmud
have yadeycha, plural, thy hands.
3. GILL, When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house
of his father,.... One of the same country, kindred, and family;
for only one of their brethren, and not a stranger, might rule over
them, Deu_17:15 this taking hold of him may design not so much a
literal taking hold of his person, his hand or garment, much less
using any forcible measures with him; though indeed the Jews would
have took Christ by force, who was one of their brethren, and would
have made him a temporal king, which he refused, as this man did
here spoken of, Joh_6:15 but rather an importunate desire and
entreaty, urging him, as follows, saying, thou hast clothing, be
thou our ruler; that is, he had good and rich clothing, fit for a
ruler or civil magistrate to appear in, which everyone had not, and
some scarce any in those troublesome times: and let this ruin be
under thy hand; that is, let thy care, concern, and business, be to
raise up the almost ruined state of the city and nation; and let
thy hand be under it, to support and maintain it. The Targum is,
"and this power shall be under thy hand;'' thou shalt have power
and government over the nation, and the honour and greatness which
belong unto it, and all shall be subject unto thee. The Septuagint
renders it, "let my meat be under thee", or "from thee", as the
Arabic version.
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4. HENRY, 1. The government shall go a begging, Isa_3:6. Here,
(1.) It is taken for granted that there is no way of redressing all
these grievances, and bringing things into order again, but by good
magistrates, who shall be invested with power by common consent,
and shall exert that power for the good of the community. And i