John Gill

At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness and recovery.

“At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon,.... The same is called Berodach, 2Ki 20:12 which, according to Hillerus (z), is the same with Barmerodach, the son of Merodach; though it is generally took to be a slip of the scribe's there…”

A voice says, “Cry out!” And I asked, “What should I cry out?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

“The voice said, cry,.... Not the same voice as in Isa 40:3, nor the voice of an angel, as Aben Ezra; but a voice from the Lord, as Jarchi; the voice of prophecy, says Kimchi; it is the Lord's voice to the prophet, or rather…”

He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.

“That bringeth princes to nothing,.... The great men of the earth, kings, rulers, and nobles, these he brings to the dust; and all their counsels, schemes, and purposes, come to nothing; and their monarchies and kingdoms too in time.”

He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.

“He giveth power to the faint,.... Who are ready to faint under afflictions, because they have not immediate deliverance, or their prayers are not answered at once, or promises not fulfilled as they expected; to such he gives fresh supplies of spiritual strength; he strengthens…”

Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”

“They helped everyone his neighbour,.... By advice and counsel, by the best arguments they could make use of, to withstand the new religion, and defend the old one; to prevent the embracing the one, and relinquishing the other: and everyone said to his brother, be…”

Behold, you are nothing and your work is of no value. Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

“Behold, ye are of nothing,.... Not as to the matter of them, for they were made of gold, silver, brass, &c.”

This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on…

“Thus saith God the Lord,.... The God of the world, as the Targum.”

Let the desert and its cities raise their voices; let the villages of Kedar cry aloud.

“Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice,.... The eastern part of the world, Arabia Deserta, and the inhabitants of the cities which were in it: the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; or the "courts" (t), or tents, the Kedarenes inhabited, who…”

Let them give glory to the LORD and declare His praise in the islands.

“Let them give glory unto the Lord,.... For all the great and good things he has done for them, in sending his Gospel to them, calling them by his grace, enlightening their minds, and revealing his Son in them, and making them partakers of the…”

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.

“When thou passest through the waters; I will be with thee,.... The Targum and Jarchi apply this to the Israelites' passage through the waters of the Red sea, as a thing past; and Kimchi to Sennacherib's army, compared to the waters of a river strong…”

I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.

“I, even I, am the Lord,.... Jehovah, the self-existing, eternal, and immutable Being; this is doubled for the confirmation of it, and to exclude all others: and besides me there is no Saviour; either in a temporal or spiritual sense; the gods of the Heathens…”

Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake, I will send to Babylon and bring them all as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the…

“Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer,.... That redeemed Israel out of Egypt, and would redeem the Jews from Babylon in a short time, and be the author of a greater redemption to his people than either of these, even a spiritual and eternal one: the…”

You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver, nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices.

“Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money,.... Or "calamus" (r), which was used in the anointing oil, and for the perfume or incense, Exo 30:7, this they thought too expensive, and so left it out of the composition, or neglected the whole this…”

Your first father sinned, and your spokesmen rebelled against Me.

“Thy first father hath sinned,.... Either Adam, as Kimchi, in whom all have sinned, and from whom all derive a sinful and corrupt nature; or Abraham, as Jarchi, the father of the Jewish nation, of whom they boasted, and in whom they trusted, as being…”

One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take…

“One shall say, I am the Lord's,.... This expresses the success of the apostles' ministry, not only among the Jews, but more especially among the Gentiles, who were not called by the name of Jacob and Israel; but now should call themselves by those names…”

who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”

“That saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd,.... Or Coresh, as his name in the Hebrew language is; and in the Persian tongue signifies the "sun"; from whence he had his name, as Ctesias (q) and Plutarch (r) say; to which the Hebrew word "cheres"…”

Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

“Verily thou art a God that hideth thyself,.... Who hid himself from the Gentile world for some hundreds of years, who had no knowledge of the true God, lived without him in the world, and whose times of ignorance God overlooked, and suffered them to…”

They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.

“They lavish gold out of the bag,.... As if it was of no value and account; that is, the Heathen idolaters, some of them, who are excessively devoted to idolatry; these, being rich, take out their bags of gold, and give it in a very…”

I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

“Declaring the end from the beginning,.... The end of the Jewish state, both as a church, and a commonwealth, from the first settlement of it in the times of Moses, and by him, Deu 32:29.”

Listen to Me, you stubborn people, far removed from righteousness:

“Hearken unto me, ye stout hearted,.... This is not an address to the Chaldeans, as Kimchi and others think, who were merciless and cruel to the Jews, and far from doing that which was right unto them, but oppressed them, and would not let them…”

Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams.

“Take the millstones, and grind meal,.... Foretelling that the Chaldeans should be taken captives, and used as such, and sent to prison houses, where they should turn the mill, and grind corn into meal; a very servile work, and which used to be done by…”

I was angry with My people; I profaned My heritage, and I placed them under your control.

“I was wroth with my people,.... The people of Israel, for their sins and transgressions, particularly their idolatries.”

So now hear this, O lover of luxury who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.

“Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures,.... To carnal lusts and pleasures; gratifying her sensual appetite; indulging herself in everything that was agreeable to the senses; abounding in delicacies, and living deliciously; as is said of mystical Babylon, Rev 18:4, particularly given…”

But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off.

“Therefore shall evil come upon thee,.... The evil of punishment, a great calamity; so Nebuchadnezzar foretold, as Abydenus relates (o), that συμφορη, a calamity, should come upon the Babylonians; a day of evil, because of the above sins Babylon was guilty of: thou shall not…”

For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.

“Because I knew that thou art obstinate,.... Or "hard" (a), hard hearted, an obdurate and rebellious people, contradicting and gainsaying: and thy neck is as an iron sinew; stiffnecked, inflexible, not compliant with the will of God, and his commands; unwilling to admit his yoke…”