Isaiah 30:19

), and this in answer to prayer, which makes his kindness doubly kind: " He will be gracious to thee, at the voice of thy cry, the cry of thy necessity, when that is most urgent--the cry of thy prayer, when that is most fervent. When he shall hear it, there needs no more; at the first word he will answer thee, and say, Here I am. " Herein he is very gracious indeed.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem,.... Or, "for the people of Zion (z) shall dwell in Jerusalem"; those that belonged to the fort of Zion should dwell in Jerusalem, or "abide" there, both they and the inhabitants of it, at least many of them should quietly continue there, waiting the Lord's time to appear for them, and not run here and there, and particularly to Egypt for help or shelter.

Let us therefore not judge of love or hatred by what is before us. It is promised that their eyes should see their teachers, that is, that they should have faithful teachers among them, and should have hearts to regard them and not slight them as they had done; and then they might the better be reconciled to the bread of adversity and the water of affliction.

THE great sin of man is his alienation from God. He has said in his heart, "No God," and in his life he labors to escape from the Divine Presence. The journey into the far country is not only made for the sake of the riotous living, but that he may get away from the Father's house. One would have thought man would turn unto the Lord in the day of trouble, even as Hosea said, "In their affliction they will seek Me early."

THE great sin of man is his alienation from God. He has said in his heart, "No God," and in his life he labors to escape from the Divine Presence. The journey into the far country is not only made for the sake of the riotous living, but that he may get away from the Father's house. One would have thought man would turn unto the Lord in the day of trouble, even as Hosea said, "In their affliction they will seek Me early." But this, alas, is not in truth and sincerity, for too often the sinner follows the example of Ahaz, of whom it is written, "In the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord: this is that King Ahaz." All the trials and troubles in the world will not, of themselves, drive a man to God, but will rather hurry him into rebellion, despair and hardness of heart! Man will look in all directions sooner than look to God. He will sooner, like Saul, seek the help of a witch or a devil than seek the living God. He will rather make a league with death and a covenant with Hell than turn his heart towards his best Friend and Helper. It is written, "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!" Vain is the warning, for man still leans upon an arm of flesh and counts it a foolish and fanciful thing to rely upon the almighty God. Man shifts his ground of trust full often and now depends on this, then on that—and in due course upon a score of equally unreliable confidences. Very early he is deceived. The staff of the broken reed upon which he chose to lean pierces his hand. He smarts and bleeds.

For the people shall dwell in Zion “When a holy people shall dwell in Sion” - Λαος ἁγιος, Septuagint; עם קדוש am kadosh. The word קדוש dro kadosh, lost out of the text, but happily supplied by the Septuagint, clears up the sense, otherwise extremely obscure. When the rest of the cities of the land were taken by the king of Assyria, Zion was preserved, and all that were in it. Thou shalt weep no more “Thou shalt implore him with weeping” - The negative particle לא lo is not acknowledged by the Septuagint. It may perhaps have been written by mistake for לו lo, to him, of which there are many examples.

For the people shall dwell in Zion - (see the note at Isa 1:8). The language here is evidently adapted to a return from the captivity. The whole design of the passage Isa 30:19-26 is to describe a future state of prosperity by images mainly drawn from the idea of temporal enjoyment. The sense is, that in some period subsequent to the calamities that would befall them for their improper reliance on the aid of Egypt Isa 30:16-17, there would be prosperity, peace, and joy in Jerusalem.