Isaiah 65:12 - Exposition

Therefore will I number you ; or, apportion you ( maaithi ) — a play upon the name of M'ni . The sword … slaughter . Not, perhaps, intended literally. Wicked men are God's sword ( Psalms 17:13 ), and deliverance into their hand would be deliverance to the sword and slaughter. The exiles suffered grievously at the hands of their Babylonian masters ( Isaiah 47:6 ; Isaiah 49:17 , etc.). The character of their sufferings is given in the ensuing verses ( Isaiah 65:13 , Isaiah 65:14 ). When I called, ye did not answer (see 2 Chronicles 36:15 , 2 Chronicles 36:16 ; Proverbs 1:20-25 ; Isaiah 66:4 ).