(12) To weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness . . .—National danger, Isaiah adds, should call to a national repentance in its outward manifestations, like the fast described in Joel 2:0 “Baldness,’ produced by the tearing of the hair in extreme grief, took its place naturally, with weeping and sackcloth, in those manifestations. read more
(13) And behold joy and gladness . . .—As things were, however, the danger, imminent as it was, led, as in the plague at Athens in the time of Pericles, and that of Florence in the time of Boccaccio, not to repentance, but to recklessness and sensuality. The cry of the baser form of epicureanism in all ages (1 Corinthians 15:32) was uttered, or acted on, and the prophet echoes the spoken words, or gives utterance to the unspoken thought, in tones of burning indignation. read more
(14) It was revealed in mine ears . . .—The special form indicates that the warning was “borne in,” ringing, as it were, on the inward ears of the prophet, as an oracle of God. That sensual recklessness could have but one end in all countries and ages, and that end was death. No formal religion, no chastisement, even, would avail to purge an iniquity like that in the absence of a true repentance. read more
The Key of the House of David Isaiah 22:22 Not often, even in Isaiah, are there words more full of mystery than these. I. See how, of David also, according to his degree, it might be said that 'He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief'. Persecuted by his own brethren in the army of the Israelites; hunted after by his own lord, King Saul; ridiculed by his own wife, Michal; betrayed by his own familiar friend, Ahithophel; conspired against by his own favourite son, Absalom; all but... read more
CHAPTER XXTHE TURN OF THE TIDE: MORAL EFFECTS OF FORGIVENESS701 B.C.Isaiah 22:1-25 Contrasted With 33THE collapse of Jewish faith and patriotism in the face of the enemy was complete. Final and absolute did Isaiah’s sentence ring out: "Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith Jehovah of hosts." So we learn from chapter 22, written, as we conceive, in 701, when the Assyrian armies had at last invested Jerusalem. But in chapter 33, which critics unite in placing a few... read more
CHAPTER 22 The Burden of the Valley of Vision (Jerusalem) 1. Jerusalem’s deplorable state (Isaiah 22:1-4 ) 2. The invading armies (Isaiah 22:5-7 ) 3. The siege and the calamity (Isaiah 22:8-14 ) 4. Shebna (Isaiah 22:15-19 ) 5. Eliakim (Isaiah 22:20-25 ) This is another intensely interesting prophecy. Jerusalem has passed through many sieges and at last in part the prophecy has been fulfilled. But there is another siege of Jerusalem impending. It will come after the message of the... read more
22:8 And he uncovered the {k} coverings of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.(k) The secret place where the armour was: that is, in the house of the forest, 1 Kings 7:2 . read more
22:9 Ye have seen also {l} the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.(l) You forfeited the ruinous places which were neglected in times of peace: meaning, the whole City, and the City of David, which was within the compass of the other. read more
22:10 And ye have numbered the houses {m} of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.(m) Either to pull down such as might hurt, or else to know what men they were able to make. read more
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 22:11
(11) Ye made also a ditch between the two walls.—Better, a pond or pool, to form a reservoir for the supply of the city. This was probably identical with the “pool of Hezekiah,” known also as the Birket-el-Batrak (“pool of the patriarchs”), between two walls, that to the north of Zaon, and that which runs to the north-east round the Acra. During the rainy season this is supplied by the small conduit which runs from the upper pool along the surface of the ground, and then under the wall near the... read more