Isaiah 17:14

Isa 17:14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; [and] before the morning he [is] not. This [is] the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

Ver. 14. And behold at eventide trouble.] Or, Terror - sc., within Jerusalem, besieged by Sennacherib’s forces. But this mourning lasted but till morning. The time of affliction is ordinarily short; a day, or night; a piece of a night, as here; a "moment"; {Isa 54:8} "a small moment." {Isa 54:7} Or if longer, yet (1.) There are some breathing time between; (2.) There is much good got by it; (3.) It is nothing to eternity.

Before morning he is not.] He and his forces are all gone. The wicked, saith Oecolampadius here, at the eventide of their death have a hard tug of it; and in the morning of the resurrection they are not, or could wish they were not.

This is the portion of them that spoil us.] Epiphonema ad populum Dei. He closeth up his discourse with a word of comfort to all God’s people; for whose sake also it is that all this is said against Assyria, Syria, and other foreign states, enemies to the Church.

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.

Isa_17:14

Behold at evening tide trouble

The night

God fights some battles between evening and morning.

The black night is the field of war. The darkness fights for God. The night is needed for more than rest. How busy the angels are on the fields of darkness! Men are fetched at night by the invisible constable. Who reckons the night when he adds up his time? It may go for nothing to us because of our unconsciousness, but God sleeps not. Speaking of the wicked we may apply the figure of night so as to find in it terror and fear, sorrow and judgment, and death; speaking of the good man, we may say, Dry thy tears, thou foolish unbelieving weeper, or shed them gratefully to get rid of a needless burden; for sorrow endureth but for a night, joy cometh in the morning: take in the black guest, do what thou canst for him, he is sent of God for holy purposes; he can live but for a night, thou mightest afford to be kind to him; it were but one night in a long life. (J. Parker, D. D.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17:14 In the evening . . . by dawn: Despite frightening circumstances, Israel can have confidence in the Lord’s ability to save quickly (see 37:36-38).

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

He compareth the enemies the Assyrians to a tempest, which riseth overnight, and in the morning is gone.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

eventide . . . before morning--fulfilled to the letter in the destruction "before morning" of the vast host that "at eveningtide" was such a terror ("trouble") to Judah; on the phrase see Psa 90:6; Psa 30:5.

he is not--namely, the enemy.

us--the Jews. A general declaration of the doom that awaits the foes of God's people (Isa 54:17).

Isaiah announces the overthrow of Sennacherib's hosts and desires the Ethiopian ambassadors, now in Jerusalem, to bring word of it to their own nation; and he calls on the whole world to witness the event (Isa 18:3). As Isa 17:12-14 announced the presence of the foe, so Isa 18:1-7 foretells his overthrow.

Next: Isaiah Chapter 18

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 14. He is not - "He is no more."] For איננו einennu ten MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, (three ancient,) ten of De Rossi's, and two editions, and the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, Vulgate, and Arabic, have ואיננו veeinenno. This particle, authenticated by so many good vouchers, restores the sentence to its true poetical form, implying a repetition of some part of the parallel line preceding, thus: -

"At the season of evening, behold terror!

Before the morning, and [behold] he is no more!"

That spoil us] For שוסינו shoseynu, them that spoil us, fifteen MSS., one edition, and the Syriac have שוסנו shosenu, him that spoileth us. And for לבזזינו lebozezeynu, them that rob us, six MSS. and the Syriac have לבוזזנו lebozzeno, him that robbeth us: and these readings make the place answer better to Sennacherib, according to Lowth's conjecture. Though God may permit the wicked to prevail for a time against his people, yet in the end those shall be overthrown, and the glory of the Lord shall shine brightly on them that fear him; for the earth shall be subdued, and the universe filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen!

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

(14) And behold at eveningtide trouble.—The words, though spoken in general terms, received a special fulfilment in the destruction of Sennacherib’s army (Isa_37:36). Possibly the parallelism they present to Isa_17:11 may have led to the insertion of the oracle in this place.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. The destruction of the Assyrian shall be accomplished between evening and daybreak. The expression denotes a very short space of time, as in Psa_30:5; Job_27:19; but the destruction of Sennacherib’s army took place literally in the night (ch. Isa_37:36).

And behold … he is not] Render: At eventime, behold terror! before morning, it (the tumult) is gone!

them that spoil us, &c.] the Assyrians; cf. ch. Isa_10:6; Isa_10:13.

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.

And behold at eveningtide trouble,.... Or terror (a) and consternation; which some understand of that which was in the Assyrian army, when the Angel of the Lord destroyed it, taking "evening for night", for it was in the night that that was done; so Jarchi interprets it of Shedim, a sort of spirits or demons, that came against the enemy, and troubled and frightened them: but it is best to take it in the more common sense, of the trouble that Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were in, on the evening or night before their deliverance; the whole land of Judea round about them being laid waste, their city besieged by a powerful army, and the enemy blaspheming, blustering, and triumphing:

and before the morning he is not; Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, he was not before Jerusalem, he was fled: or "it was not" (b); the Assyrian army was not, it was destroyed by an angel in the night, and in the morning were all dead corpses, Kg2 19:35 or trouble was not, that was all over, joy came in the morning; see Psa 30:5,

this is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us; these are the words of the prophet, and of the people of God, he represents, making observation upon, and use of the above dispensation, though not confining it to that; and their meaning is, that this is not the case of these Assyrians only, but of all the enemies of God's people, who, sooner or later, come to destruction; and which is not by chance, but by the appointment and disposition of God, who allots and portions out ruin unto them, as the just reward of their works; see Job 20:29.

(a) "terror", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (b) "non ipsa", Montanus.

Next: Isaiah Chapter 18

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

At evening-tide trouble - In the time of evening - that is, in the night.

Before the morning he is not - That is, he is destroyed. This is strikingly descriptive of the destruction of the army of Sennacherib on that fatal night when the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 men (see the note at Isa 37:36).

This is the portion of them that spoil us - Of those who would plunder us. This is a “general” declaration in regard to the enemies of the Jewish people. This is the lot, the end, the destiny of all who attempt to destroy them. That is, the people of God shall be safe whoever rises up against them; and whatever may be the number, or the power of their foes, they shall be overthrown.

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

CHAPTER XVII.

Not be. Phacee and Rasin were presently exterminated. --- Spoiled us. The kingdom of Achaz, 4 Kings xvii. 5.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Behold at evening-tide trouble; and before the morning he is not: at even there is a great terror and consternation among God’s people, for fear of their enemies; and ere the morning cometh, their enemies are cut off by the hand of God. This was literally and eminently fulfilled in the destruction of Sennacherib’s army before Jerusalem. Although the words may be more generally understood of any great and sudden change, and unexpected deliverance, granted to God’s people, when their enemies were ready to devour them. And this place may be compared with that in Psa 30:5, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us: this is a triumphant conclusion, uttered by the prophet in the name of God’s people.

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

14. And behold… trouble — The different renderings are, terror, trouble, consternation, horror, the shriek of death.

At eveningtide — At the time of evening.

Before… morning he is not — Some suppose a proleptic allusion here to the swoop of destruction upon Sennacherib’s army. Possibly the imagery is purposely suited to that slaughter, yet the language will apply to many other deliverances and judgments. Judgment upon the imperial powers began in the evening, raged through the night: in the morning all were destroyed. This power had finished Damascus and Ephraim; it essayed to demolish Judah; but was itself swept, as it were in a moment, out of existence. So went, ultimately, the whole empire, broken, scattered, and swallowed up by other powers.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold at evening-tide trouble; rather, terror, as the word is elsewhere always translated. (comp. 2Ki_19:35, "It came to pass that night that the angel of the Lord went out," etc.) He is not. (comp. 2Ki_19:35, "They were all dead corpses That spoil us... that rob us. (see 2Ki_18:13-16)

HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM Ver. 14. The gloomy evening.

"Behold at evening-tide trouble." We all love beautiful evenings, whether on land or sea. Then, when the clouds of purple and amber across the horizon constitute a royal chariot for the setting sun, we gaze with admiration and delight on the glorious close of day.

I TROUBLE IS NEVER SO SAD AS IN THE EVENING. At morning or midday we have more of strength to bear it; we can brace our energies to fight the battle or to endure the burden. But in the evening, when heart and strength fail, we look for quiet comfort and considerate friends, and the gentle words of love. Trouble in the evening is a pensive sight. But if it be connected with sin, with personal wrong-doing, how bitter a cup it is! Then, when there should be memory of holy deeds and earnest words; then, when we may fairly think of an honorable reputation well earned, and an influence which we may hope, indeed, will be an "after-glow" after we are dead. Yet so it is. Sin has its judgments, which "follow after" even here below.

II TROUBLE IN THE EVENING IS WELL EXPLAINED. The prophet says (ver. 13), "God shall-rebuke them." It is all contained in that. Rebuke! That involves in its utterance conscience and memory, else how could we feel rebuke? We feel all that is meant by rebuke more from some than others. It does not always need words. A little spectacle that recalls some past scene, an old letter, the Visiting of half-forgotten places, the swift rush at times of old memories, these often have rebukes in them. We have neglected so many never-recurring opportunities, we have scattered so many seeds of evil. But when God, the living God, rebukes us, how can we stand? For he knows our most secret thoughts, and in his book all the life is written.

III TROUBLE IN THE EVENING MAY STILL BE THE LAST ANGEL OF GOD"S MERCY HERE. Even then it is evening, and the light lingers. The Savior"s power to save is still the same. The city of refuge has its gates open. God"s renewing and redeeming grace may yet be ours. Not even then need we despair; for as there is a strain of hope coming for the nation Israel which will occupy us further on in these prophecies, so there is hope in personal life, even in the latter days, if we turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart. The lingering light of evening skill falls on the cross of him who said, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. W.M.S.

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

Behold - At even there is great terror among God's people, for fear of their enemies; and before the morning comes, their enemies are cut off.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

“At evening-tide, and behold terror; before morning he is not. This is (or be) the portion of our plunderers, and the lot of our spoilers.” The Prophet is the speaker, and he uses the plural pronouns only to identify himself with the people.

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

and behold there is fright Demons come upon the enemy and frighten him.

before morning he is no more The enemy is not in the world.

this is the portion of our plunderers The portion of Sennacherib and the portion of Gog and Magog, when they come to plunder us.

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.

At eveningtide, that is, when the inhabitants of Jerusalem are afraid of him.

בלהה Trouble. Comp. בלהות terror (Ez. 26:21); בהלה ═ בלהה like כבש ═ כשב lamb.

And he is not. When the angel will have come forth and destroyed the greater part of the camp.

This is the portion of them that spoil us. These are the words of the prophet in his rejoicing.

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.