Isaiah 1:20

Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it].

Ver. 20. But if ye refuse and rebel.] The Romans sent the Carthaginians caduceum et hastam, that they might take their choice of peace upon submission, or war upon refusal so to do. Similarily dealeth the Lord by this people here. {Deu 30:19}

Ye shall be devoured with the sword.] War is threatened, which is, saith one, the slaughter house of mankind, and the hell of this present world; and that we may not think that these are but big words, brute thunderbolts, it is added for confirmation,

For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.] Now whatsoever he hath spoken with his mouth, he will surely make good with his hand, as Solomon phraseth it in his prayer. The original hath it, "For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken" - q.d., Let his Word stand for a law with you. Justinian telleth us in his Institutes, that it was a prerogative belonging to the Roman emperor, Quicquid principi placuerit, legis habet vigorem, Whatsoever he pleased be bid be done was a law. And the French kings’ edicts or proclamations always end with these binding words, Car bel est nostre plasir, For such is our pleasure, and we look to be obeyed. May not the King of kings say so much more?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:20 I, the Lord, have spoken! This statement marks the solemnity of what God has just promised. The phrase is used eleven times in Isaiah.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Lord hath spoken it--Isaiah's prophecies rest on the law (Lev 26:33). God alters not His word Numbers 23. 19).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. Ye shall be devoured with the sword - "Ye shall be food for the sword"] The Septuagint and Vulgate read תאכלכם tochalchem, "the sword shall devour you;" which is of much more easy construction than the present reading of the text.

The Chaldee seems to read בחרב אויב תאכלו bechereb oyeb teachelu, "ye shall be consumed by the sword of the enemy." The Syriac also reads בחרב bechereb and renders the verb passively. And the rhythmus seems to require this addition. - Dr. JUBB.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. ye shall be devoured with the sword] “Sword” is here taken as an acc. of instrument, a construction of more than doubtful validity in Hebr. A more idiomatic rendering is: ye shall be made to eat the sword. An exactly similar expression is used by the Arabs, although Hebr. analogies are wanting.

21 ff. The elegy (qînâh, distinguished by a peculiar rhythm and by the opening word ’êkâh, “how”) is a frequent vehicle of prophetic utterance. This is the clearest instance in the genuine writings of Isaiah, and it is characteristic of the ‘city prophet’ (Cheyne), that the subject is not the nation but the idealised capital. Isaiah is in a good sense ‘laudator temporis acti.’ He laments the degeneracy of Jerusalem, looking back probably to the days of David, when it was the abode of judgment and righteousness.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But if ye refuse and rebel,.... The Targum is, "and do not receive my Word"; the Messiah, when come, neither his person, nor his doctrines and ordinances:

ye shall be devoured with the sword; of the Roman armies, as they were under Titus Vespasian; see Mat 22:7.

for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it; now, by Isaiah, as well as in former times, Lev 26:25.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

But if ye refuse, ye shall be devoured with the sword - Your enemies shall come in, and lay waste the land. This prediction was fulfilled, in consequence of their continuing to rebel, when the land was desolated by Nebuchadnezzar, and the nation was carried captive to Babylon. It illustrates a general principle of the divine government, that if people persevere in rebelling against God, they shall be destroyed. The word devour is applied to the sword, as if it were insatiable for destruction. Whatever destroys may be figuratively said to devour; see the notes at Isa 34:5-6; compare Isa 5:24; Lam 2:3; Eze 15:4; Joe 2:3; Rev 11:5 - where fire is said to devour.

The mouth of the Lord - Yahweh Himself. This had been spoken by the mouth of the Lord, and recorded, Lev 26:33 :

And I will scatter you among the heathen,

And will draw out a sword after you;

And your land shall be desolate

And your cities waste.

On these points God proposed to reason; or rather, perhaps, these principles are regarded as reasonable, or as commending themselves to men. They are the great principles of the divine administration, that if people obey God they shall prosper; if not, they shall be punished. They commend themselves to people as just and true; and they are seen and illustrated every where.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

If ye refuse and rebel; if you obstinately persist in your disobedience to me, as hitherto you have done.

The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it; he hath said it, who can as easily do it as speak the words, and who cannot lie, and therefore will do it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

If ye refuse and rebel; i.e. "if ye neither consent in will, nor obey in act," antithetical to the two verbs in the first clause of ver. 19. Ye shall be devoured; or, ye shall be eaten. The same verb as in the latter clause of ver. 19. With the sword. The metaphor is not a common one, but occurs in Jeremiah (Jer_2:30 Jer_12:12 Jer_46:10, Jer_46:14) and Nahum. (Nah_2:13) The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. A weighty ending, indicating the certainty of fulfillment, Jehovah, who cannot lie, has spoken; the result will assuredly follow.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This is the converse of the nineteenth verse, a threat corresponding to the promise. “And if ye refuse to comply with my conditions, and rebel,” continue to resist my authority, “by the sword of the enemy shall ye be eaten.” This is no human menace but a sure prediction, “for the mouth of Jehovah speaks,” not man’s.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

for the mouth of the Lord spoke Where did He speak? (Lev. 26:25) “And I will bring upon you a sword.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

You shall be devoured with the sword. That is to say, If you be obedient you shall eat the good, and if you rebel you shall be devoured with the sword. Supply before חֶרֶב ‘ the sword,’ either the verbal noun אֲכִילַת. ‘ a devouring of,’ or the preposition ב ‘ with ’; comp. בבית ═ בית ‘ in the house ’ (2 Kings 18:15).

For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Be sure that this prediction will be fulfilled, for the mouth, etc.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.