Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

They will sprout among the grass like willows by flowing streams.

“Rather, "The seed shall spring up as willows among the grass beside canals of water" [HORSLEY]. Or, "They shall spring up among the grass (that is, luxuriantly; for what grows in the midst of grass grows luxuriantly) as willows by the water-courses," which makes the…”

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…

“The former view is simpler. surname himself . . . Israel--MAURER and GESENIUS interpret this as the Hebrew sanctions, answering to their rendering of the parallel second clause, "calls blandly (speaks in honorable terms of) the name of Israel."”

Who fashions a god or casts an idol which profits him nothing?

“Who . . . ?--Sarcastic question: "How debased the man must be who forms a god!" It is a contradiction in terms. A made god, worshipped by its maker (1Co 8:4)!”

The woodworker extends a measuring line; he marks it out with a stylus; he shapes it with chisels and outlines it with a compass.

“Or best, the stylus or graver, with which the incision of the outline is made [GESENIUS]. planes--rather, "chisels" or "carving tools," for a plane would not answer for carving. compass--from a Hebrew root, "to make a circle"; by it, symmetry of form is secured.”

It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread; he even fashions it into a god…

“The same tree that furnishes the material for the god is in part used as fuel for a fire to cook his meals and warm himself! thereto--rather, "he falleth down before them," that is, such images [MAURER].”

Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O depths of the earth. Break forth in song, O mountains, you forests and all your trees.

“Call to inanimate nature to praise God; for it also shall share in the coming deliverance from "the bondage of corruption" (Ro 8:20, 21). done it--effected redemption for both the literal and spiritual Israel.”

who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will…

“Antitypically, and ultimately, Messiah, who is the consummating embodiment of all the prophets and messengers of God (Mal 3:1; Joh 10:36); hence the singular, "His servant." counsel--predictions; prophets' counsels concern the future (compare "counsellor," Isa 41:28).”

who says to the depths of the sea, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’

“"The deep" is applied to Euphrates as "sea" (Jer 51:32, 36). "Rivers" refers to the artificial canals from the Euphrates made to irrigate the country; when it was turned off into a different bed (namely, a lake, forty miles square, which was originally formed to…”

I will give you the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who…

“PLINY (Natural History,, 33:3) says that Cyrus obtained from the conquest of Asia thirty-four thousand pounds weight of gold, besides golden vases, and five hundred thousand talents of silver, and the goblet of Semiramis, weighing fifteen talents.”

For the sake of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I call you by name; I have given you a title of honor, though you have not known…

“Isa 43:14). surnamed--that is, designated to carry out My design of restoring Judah (see on Isa 44:5; MAURER here, as in Isa 44:5, translates, "I have addressed thee by an honorable name."”

I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,

“46:9). girded thee--whereas "I will loose (the girdle off) the loins of kings" (Isa 45:1), strengthening thee, but enfeebling them before thee. though . . . not known me-- (Isa 45:4). God knows His elect before they are made to know Him (Ga 4:9;”

Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.

“MAURER translates, "Let all kinds of salvation (prosperity) be fruitful" (Ps 72:3, 6, 7). The revival of religion after the return from Babylon suggests to the prophet the diffusion of Messiah's Gospel, especially in days still future; hence the elevation of the language to a…”

Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?

“Let . . . strive--Not in the Hebrew; rather, in apposition with "him," "A potsherd among the potsherds of the earth!" A creature fragile and worthless as the fragment of an earthen vessel, among others equally so, and yet presuming to strive with his Maker!”

Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought forth?’”

“If it be wrong for a child, born in less favorable circumstances, to upbraid his parents with having given him birth, a fortiori, it is, to upbraid God for His dealings with us. Rather translate, "a father . . . a woman."”

It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.

“The same argument for prayer, drawn from God's omnipotence and consequent power, to grant any request, occurs in Isa 40:26-31. I, even my hands--so Hebrew (Ps 41:2), "Thou . . . thy hand" (both nominatives, in apposition).”

For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but…

“(See on Isa 45:12). not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited--Therefore, Judah, lying waste during the Babylonish captivity, shall be peopled again by the exiles.”

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.

“Not do something, but look to the Saviour (Ac 16:30, 31). Believers look by faith, the eye of the soul.”

Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors!

“In order to be manly we must be godly; for man was made "in the image of God," and only rises to his true dignity when joined to God; virtue is derived from the Latin vir, "a man." bring . . .”

You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate.

“GESENIUS explains it: the dividers of the heavens. In casting a nativity they observed four signs:--the horoscope, or sign which arose at the time one was born; the mid-heaven; the sign opposite the horoscope towards the west; and the hypogee.”

You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open.

“"To open the ear" denotes obedient attention (Isa 50:5); or, "was not opened" to receive them; that is, they were not declared by Me to thee previously, since, if thou hadst been informed of them, such is thy perversity, thou couldst not have been kept…”

Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand, and your offspring as numerous as its grains; their name would never be cut off or eliminated from My presence.”

“JEROME, Chaldee, and Syriac support English Version. his name . . . cut off--transition from the second person, "thy," to the third "his."”

Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed…

“Go . . . forth . . . end of the earth--Primarily, a prophecy of their joyful deliverance from Babylon, and a direction that they should leave it when God opened the way.”

This is what the LORD says: “In the time of favor I will answer You, and in the day of salvation I will help You; I will keep You and…

“Messiah is represented as having asked for the grace of God in behalf of sinners; this verse contains God the Father's favorable answer. an acceptable time--"In a time of grace" [HENGSTENBERG].”

to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’ They will feed along the pathways, and find pasture on every barren hill.

“Another sense probably is the right one. Israel, on its way back to the Holy Land, shall not have to turn aside to devious paths in search of necessaries, but shall find them in all places wherever their route lies; so ROSENMULLER.”

Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”

“Sinim--The Arabians and other Asiatics called China Sin, or Tchin; the Chinese had no special name for themselves, but either adopted that of the reigning dynasty or some high-sounding titles.”