Isaiah 22:13

Isa 22:13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.

Ver. 13. And behold joy and gladness.] Or, But behold, see the madness of these cross grained creatures, who, to thwart the Almighty, in laetitiam et luxum prosiliunt, take a clean contrary course to what he had prescribed, as if they had done it on purpose. {a}

Eating and drinking.] This was all they minded, or were good for, as we say. Gulonum non alia est cura quam cibum ingerere, digerere, egerere, saith Bernard. The belly god is set all on his paunch, as the ass fish hath his heart in his belly; as the spider is little else but belly; as the gulon (a beast so called) eateth that which he preyeth upon - if it be a horse, till all be devoured - ever filling his belly, and then emptying it, and then falling to it again till all be consumed; such a delight hath he in his appetite.

For to morrow we shall die.] So the prophets tell us, but we are wiser than to believe them; so the enemy threateneth us, but we are too well fortified to fear him; so it may happen, for we are all mortal; let us therefore make much of ourselves while we may.

“ Indulge genio, carpamus dulcia: nostrum est

Quod vivis: cinis et manes et fabula fies. ”

- Pers., Sat. v.

St Paul saith that the epicures of his time used the like atheistic expressions. {1Co 15:32, see there} It is the guise of graceless wretches to jest out God’s judgments, and to jeer when they should fear.

{a} Per omne ασωτιας genus grassabantur. - Scult.

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.

Instead of repentance ye were joyful and made great cheer, contemning the admonitions of the Prophets, saying, Let us eat and drink for our Prophets say, that we shall die tomorrow.

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

Notwithstanding Jehovah's "call to mourning" (Isa 22:12), many shall make the desperate state of affairs a reason for reckless revelry (Isa 5:11-12, Isa 5:14; Jer 18:12; Co1 15:32).

In Isa 36:3, Isa 36:22; Isa 37:2, we find Shebna "a scribe," and no longer prefect of the palace ("over the household"), and Eliakim in that office, as is here foretold. Shebna is singled out as the subject of prophecy (the only instance of an individual being so in Isaiah), as being one of the irreligious faction that set at naught the prophet's warnings (Isa. 28:1-33:24); perhaps it was he who advised the temporary ignominious submission of Hezekiah to Sennacherib.

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 13. Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.] This has been the language of all those who have sought their portion in this life, since the foundation of the world. So the poet: -

Heu, heu nos miseri! quam totus homuncio nil est!

Sic erimus cuncti, postquam nos auferet orcus.

Ergo vivamus, dum licet esse, bene.

Alas alas! what miserable creatures are we, only the semblances of men! And so shall we be all when we come to die. Therefore let us live joyfully while we may.

Domitian had an image of death hung up in his dining-room, to show his guests that as life was uncertain, they should make the best of it by indulging themselves. On this Martial, to flatter the emperor, whom he styles god, wrote the following epigram: -

Frange thoros, pete vina, tingere nardo.

Ipse jubet mortis te meminisse Deus.

Sit down to table - drink heartily - anoint thyself with spikenard; for God himself commands thee to remember death.

So the adage: -

Ede, bibe, lude: post mortem nulla voluptas.

"Eat, drink, and play, while here ye may:

No revelry after your dying day."

St. Paul quotes the same heathen sentiment, 1Co 15:32: "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."

Anacreon is full in point, and from him nothing better can be expected: -

Ὡς ουν ετ' ευδι' εστιν,

Και πινε και κυβευε

Και σπενδε τῳ Λυαιῳ·

Μη νουσος, ην τις ελθῃ,

Λεγῃ, σε μη δει πινειν.

ANAC. Od. xv., l. 11.

"While no tempest blots your sky,

Drink, and throw the sportful dye:

But to Bacchus drench the ground,

Ere you push the goblet round;

Lest some fatal illness cry,

'Drink no more the cup of joy.'"

ADDISON.

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

(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 (1Co_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.

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

13. Instead of this the people rush to drown reflection in riotous festivities. The immediate occasion of the revelry was no doubt a great sacrifice of thanksgiving to Jehovah for their unexpected deliverance, but this only rendered their irreligious spirit more detestable to Jehovah (cf. Isa_1:10-17).

for to morrow we shall die] Cf. 1Co_15:32. Probably a current proverb. But the revellers may very well have been conscious that their escape had only procured for them a precarious respite. And in the next verse Isaiah assures them that they shall die.

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 joy and gladness,.... As if it was a time of rejoicing, rather than of weeping and mourning; and as if they were at a festival, and in the greatest prosperity and liberty, and not besieged by a powerful army:

slaying oxen, and killing sheep: not for sacrifice, to make atonement for sin, as typical of the great sacrifice; but to eat, and that not as at ordinary meals, or merely for the support of life, but as at feasts, where, as there was great plenty, so luxury and intemperance were indulged; just as Belshazzar did, at the same time that Babylon was beset by the army of the Medes and Persians, Dan 5:1 so the Jews here, having taken the armour out of the treasury, and furnished the soldiers with them, and took care of provisions of bread and water, and having repaired and fortified the walls of the city, thought themselves secure, and gave up themselves to feasting, mirth, and pleasure: saying,

let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die; which they said, not as believing their case to be desperate; that the next day, or in a few days, their city would be taken by the Assyrians, and they should be put to the sword, and therefore, since they had but a short life to live, they would live a merry one; but rather as not believing it, but scoffing at the prophet, and at the word of the Lord by him; as if they should say, the prophet says we shall die tomorrow, or we are in great danger of being suddenly destroyed; but let us not be dismayed at such words, and to show that we do not believe them, or if this is our case, let us take our fill of pleasure, while we may have it. This is the language of epicures, and of such that disbelieve the resurrection of the dead, and a future state, to whom the apostle applies the words in Co1 15:32.

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

And behold ... - When they ought to give themselves to fasting and prayer, they gave themselves up to revelry and riot.

Let us eat and drink - Saying, Let us eat and drink. That is, it is inevitable that we must soon die. The army of the Assyrian is approaching, and the city cannot stand against him. It is in vain to make a defense, and in vain to call upon God. Since we “must” soon die, we may as well enjoy life while it lasts. This is always the language of the epicure; and it seems to be the language of no small part of the world. Probably if the “real” feelings of the great mass of worldly people were expressed, they could not be better expressed than in this passage of Isaiah: ‘We must soon die at all events. We cannot avoid that, for it is the common lot of all. And since we have been sent into a dying world; since we had no agency in being placed here; since it is impossible to prevent this doom, we may as well “enjoy” life while it lasts, and give ourselves to pleasure, dissipation, and revelry.

While we can, we will take our comfort, and when death comes we will submit to it, simply because we cannot avoid it.’ Thus, while God calls people to repentance and seriousness; and while he would urge them, by the consideration that, this life is short, to prepare for a better life; and while he designs that the nearness of death should lead them to think solemnly of it, they abuse all His mercies, endeavor to thwart all His arrangements, and live and die like the brutes. This passage is quoted by Paul in his argument on the subject of the resurrection in 1Co 15:32. Sentiments remarkably similar to this occur in the writings of the Greek and Roman poets. Among the Egyptians, the fact that life is short was urged as one argument for promoting soberness and temperance, and in order to produce this effect, it was customary at their feasts to have introduced, at some part of the entertainment, a wooden image of Osiris in the form of a human mummy standing erect, or lying on a bier, and to show it to each of the guests, warning him of his mortality, and of the transitory nature of human pleasures.

He was reminded that one day he would be like that; and was told that people ‘ought to love one another, and to avoid those evils which tend to make them consider life too long, when in reality it is too short, and while enjoying the blessings of this life, to bear in mind that life was precarious, and that death would soon close all their comforts.’ (See Wilkinson’s “Ancient Egyptians,” vol. ii. pp. 409-411.) With the Greeks and Romans, however, as well as the Jews in the time of Isaiah, the fact of the shortness of life was used to produce just the contrary effect - to prompt them to dissipation and licentiousness. The fact of the temporary pilgrimage of man served as an inducement to enjoy the pleasures of life while they lasted, since death was supposed to close the scene, and no prospect was held out of happiness in a future state. This sentiment was expressed in their songs at their entertainments to urge themselves on to greater indulgence in wine and in pleasure. Thus, in Anacreon, Ode 4:

Εις εαυτον

Ο δ ̓ Ερως χιτωνα δησας

Υπερ αυχενος παπυρῳ

Μεθυ μοι διηκονειτὀ

Τροχος αρματος γαροια

Βιοτος τρεχει κυλισθεις

Ολιγη δε κεισομεσθα

Κονις, οστεων λυθεντων

Τι σε δει λιθον μυριζειν;

Τι δε γῃ χεειν ματαια;

Εμε μαλλον, ως ετι ζω,

Μυριζον, καλει δ ̓ εταιρην.

Πριν, Ερως, εκει με απελθειο

Υπο νερτερων χορειας,

Σκεδασαι θελω μεριμνας.

Eis eauton

Ho d' Erōs chitōna dēesas

Huper auchenos papurō

Methu moi diēkoneito.

Trochos armatos gar oia

Biotos trechei kulistheis

Oligē de keisomestha

Konis, osteōn luthentōn.

Ti se dei lithon murizein;

Ti de gē cheein mataia;

eme mallon, hōs eti zō,

Murizon, kalei d' hetairēn

Prin, Erōs, ekei me apelthein

Hupo nerterōn choreias,

Skedasai thelō merimnas.

‘In decent robe behind him bound,

Cupid shall serve the goblet round;

For fast away our moments steal,

Like the swift chariot’s rolling wheel;

The rapid course is quickly done,

And soon the race of life is run.

Then, then, alas! we droop, we die;

And sunk in dissolution lie:

Our frame no symmetry retains,

Nought but a little dust remains.

Why o’er the tomb are odors shed?

Why poured libations to the dead?

To me, far better, while I live,

Rich wines and balmy fragrance give.

Now, now, the rosy wreath prepare,

And hither call the lovely fair.

Now, while I draw my vital breath,

Ere yet I lead the dance of death,

For joy my sorrows I’ll resign,

And drown my cares in rosy wine.’

A similar sentiment occurs in Horace. Odyssey iii. 13:

Huc vina, et unguente, et nimium brevis

Flores amoenos ferre jube rosae.

Dum res, et aetas, et sororum

Fila trium patiuntur atra.

And still more strikingly in Petronius, “Satyric.” c. 34, “ad finem:”

Heu, heu, nos miseros, quam torus homuncio nil est!

Sic erimus cuncti, postquam nos auferat Orcus:

Ergo vivamus, dum licet esse, bene.

The same sentiments prevailed among the Jews in the time of the author of the Book of Wisdom (Wisd. 11:1-9): ‘Our life is short and tedious, and in the death of a man there is no remedy: neither was there any man known to have returned from the grave. For we are born at all adventure; and we shall be hereafter as though we had never been, for the breath in our nostrils is as smoke, and a little spark in the moving of our heart. Come on, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are present; let us fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments, and let no flower of the spring pass by us; let us crown ourselves with rose buds before they be withered; let none of us go without his part of our voluptuousness; let us leave tokens of our joyfulness in every place.’ It was with reference to such sentiments as these, that Dr. Doddridge composed that beautiful epigram which Dr. Johnson pronounced the finest in the English language:

‘Live while you live,’ the sacred preacher cries,

‘And give to God each moment as it flies;’

‘Live while you live,’ the Epicure would say,

‘And seize the pleasures of the present day.’

Lord, in my view, let both united be,

I live to pleasure when I live to thee.

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

Die. Thus the pagans encouraged themselves to feast. (Calmet) --- Ergo vivamus dum licet esse bene. (Petronius) --- This conduct betrayed an entire want of faith. (Calmet) --- "Nothing offends God so much....as contempt proceeding from despair." (St. Jerome)

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).

Eating flesh; not only for necessity, but to excess and luxury, as eating and drinking are taken, Mat 24:38.

Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we shall die: the prophets tell us that we shall certainly and suddenly be destroyed; it concerns us therefore to make our best of the present time, and to be merry whilst we have the opportunity. A most perverse and desperate conclusion, proceeding from obstinate profaneness, and contempt of God’s judgments.

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

And behold joy and gladness (comp. ver. 2). "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die," is a common sentiment, if not a common expression. It has been supposed to have given rise to the Egyptian practice of carrying round the model of a mummy to the guests at feasts. According to the Greeks, Sardanapalus had a phrase very like it engraved upon his tomb ("Ancient Monarchies," vol. 2. p. 500). Sailors have often acted upon it, when they found it impossible to save their ship. On seeing their city invested, a portion of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, despairing of safety, did as sailors have done so frequently.

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

Let us, &c. - A most perverse and desperate conclusion.

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

“And behold mirth and jollity, slaying of oxen and killing of sheep, eating of flesh and drinking of wine; eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” This verse presents the contrast of their actual behavior with that to which God called them by His providence. The common version, ‘let us eat and drink’, is perfectly correct as to sense, but needlessly departs from the peculiar and expressive form of the original. I have substituted eat and drink, not as imperatives, but as the simplest forms of the English verbs. (See above, Isa 21:5) To eat and to drink might be considered more exact, but would not exhibit the compression and eloquence of the original. It has been disputed whether these last words are expressive of contemptuous incredulity or of a desperate determination to spend the residue of life in pleasure. It is by no means clear that these two feelings are exclusive of each other, since the same man might express his disbelief of the threatening, and his resolution, if it should prove true, to die in the enjoyment of his favourite indulgences. At all events, there can be no need of restricting the full import of the language, as adapted to express both states of mind, in different persons, if not in the same.

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, joy and happiness The Holy One, blessed be He, so to speak, is mourning, and you are eating and rejoicing.

for tomorrow we will die in the World to Come. The prophets tell us in the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, that we will have no share in the World to Come. Let us, therefore, enjoy ourselves during our lifetime.

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.

הרג Slaying, causing the separation of the soul from the body; הרג is used with reference to cattle instead of שחט, and on the other side וישחטם, And he slaughtered them (Num. 14:16) is used with reference to men instead of.ויהרגם

For to-morrow we shall die. The prophet foretells what people will say in the days of the siege.

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.