Isaiah 48:2

Isa 48:2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts [is] his name.

Ver. 2. For they call themselves of the holy city.] Inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah; yea, they swore by their city and temple, as appeareth in the gospel, and cried out, ad ravim usque, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord," {Jer 7:4} like as the Romists now do, The Church, the Church, glorying in the false and empty title of Roman Catholics. Sed grande est Christianum esse, non dici, saith Jerome; and it is a great vanity, saith the poet,

“ Respicere ad fumos et nomina vana Catonum. ”

And stay themselves.] As far as a few good words will go. See on Mic 3:11.

The Lord of hosts is his name.] So said these hypocrites, bearing themselves bold upon so great a God, who had all creatures at his command.

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.

They make a show, as though they would have none other God.

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

For--Ye deserve these reproofs; "for" ye call yourselves citizens of "the holy city" (Isa 52:1), but not in truth (Isa 48:1; Neh 11:1; Dan 9:24); so the inscription on their coins of the time of the Maccabees. "Jerusalem the Holy."

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

(2) They call themselves of the holy city . . .—The words of praise are spoken, as the preceding words show, with a touch of irony. Those who so boasted were not true citizens of Zion (Psa_15:1; Mat_3:9). They did not enter into all that was implied in their confession of Jehovah Sabaoth.

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

2. of (or by) the holy city] The phrase is here applied to Jerusalem for the first time in the O.T. It occurs again in ch. Isa_52:1, elsewhere only in the books of Nehemiah and Daniel (comp. Mat_4:5).

3–6 a inculcate the lesson of the “former things,” i.e. the events that have now taken place, especially the appearance of Cyrus. These were predicted in advance, that Israel might not be able to say they were done by the false gods (Isa_48:5).

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.

For they call themselves of the holy city,.... The city Jerusalem, so called because the temple, the place of divine worship, was in it, the residence of the Holy One of Israel: they valued themselves, not only upon their being of the family of Jacob, and of the tribe of Judah, but that they were inhabitants of Jerusalem, the holy city; as many now call themselves fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, when they are strangers both to God and his people in the experimental knowledge of things:

and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; professed to trust in the Lord, and lean upon him, and rely upon his power and providence, his mercy and goodness, and expect all needful things from him, renouncing all confidence in the creature; and yet at the same time acted an hypocritical part, their faith was feigned: see Mic 3:11.

The Lord of hosts is his name; whom they professed to be their God and Father, their Lord and Husband, their Saviour and Redeemer; who has all power in heaven and in earth, and does according to his will in both worlds, having the hosts of angels and armies of men at his command, and therefore so called.

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

For they call themselves of the holy city - Of Jerusalem (see Isa 52:1; Neh 11:1; Mat 4:5; Mat 27:53; Rev. 21:2-27). The word rendered ‘for’ here, (כי kı̂y) means, as it often does, “although”; and the sense is, although they call themselves of the holy city, they do not worship God in sincerity and truth. Jerusalem was called ‘the holy city,’ because the temple, the ark, and the symbol of the divine presence were there, and it was the place where God was worshipped. It was deemed sacred by the Jews, and they regarded it as sufficient proof of goodness, it would seem, that they had dwelt there. Even in Babylon they would pride themselves on this, and suppose, perhaps, that it entitled them to divine protection and favor.

And stay themselves upon the God of Israel - In time of danger and trial they profess to seek him, and to commit their cause to him.

The Lord of hosts is his name - (See the notes at Isa 1:9). The object of the prophet in here mentioning his holy name is, probably, to show them the guilt of their conduct. He was Yahweh, the source of all existence. He was the God of all the hosts of heaven, and all the armies on earth. How wicked, therefore, it was to come before him in a false and hypocritical manner, and while they were professedly worshipping him, to be really offering their hearts to idols, and to be characteristically inclined to relapse into idolatry!

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

City: citizens of Jerusalem, Daniel iii. 28., and Matthew iv. 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).

For; or, as others render it, and this particle frequently signifies, Though. And so this is added as a great aggravation of their want and neglect of truth and righteousness.

They shall call themselves of the holy city: they glory in this, that they are citizens of Jerusalem, a city sanctified by God himself to be the only place of his true worship and gracious presence; which as it is a great privilege, so it laid a great obligation upon them to walk more holily than they did.

Stay themselves; not by a true and well-grounded faith, but by a vain and presumptive confidence, flattering themselves, as that people commonly did, that they should enjoy peace and safety, notwithstanding all their wickedness, because they were the Lord’s people, and had his temple and ordinances among them; which disposition the prophets frequently observe and sharply censure in them.

The Lord of hosts is his name; or, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

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

For they call themselves of the holy city. It is an indication of their real want of truth and righteousness, that they lay such stress upon what is so entirely outward and formal, as the fact of their belonging to" the holy city," Jerusalem. Compare the boast of the Jews in our Lord"s time, "We be Abraham"s seed". (Joh_8:33) Stay themselves upon the God of Israel. Not resting upon him in real faith and true humble dependence, as those Israelites who are mentioned in Isa_10:20. but trusting to the facts that they were "Israel," and that God was "the God of Israel," and therefore bound to protect them. God reminds them that, if he is "the God of Israel," he is also "the Lord of hosts a term, as Dr. Kay notes, especially connected with the holiness of God.

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

Though - They glory that they are citizens of Jerusalem, a city sanctified by God, to be the place of his true worship, and gracious presence. And stay - Not by a true faith, but a vain confidence.

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

“For from the Holy City they are called.” The same name is given to Jerusalem below, (Isa 51:1}, and also in the later books (Dan 9:24; Neh 12:1), and the New Testament (Mat 4:5; Mat 27:53). It is so called as the seat of the true religion, the earthly residence of God, and the center of the church. That the reference is not to mere locality is plain from the application of the name to the whole people. The particle at the beginning of this verse has somewhat perplexed interpreters. The safest, because the simplest course, is to take it in its ordinary sense of ‘for, because’, and to regard it as continuing the previous description, or rather as resuming it after a momentary interruption, for which reason ‘for’ is used instead of ‘and’. The connection may be thus rendered clear by a paraphrase: ‘I speak to those who bear the name of Israel and worship Israel’s God, however insincerely and imperfectly; for they are still the chosen people, and as such entitled to rely upon Jehovah.’ This last is then descriptive not of a mere professed, nor of a real yet presumptuous reliance, but of the prerogative of Israel considered as the church or chosen people, a prerogative not forfeited by their unfaithfulness, so long as its continuance was necessary to the end for which it was originally granted. The false interpretations of the passage have arisen from applying it directly to the faith or unbelief of individuals, in which case there appears to be an incongruity between the parts of the description; but as soon as we apply it to the body, this apparent incongruity is done away, it being not only consistent with Isaiah’s purpose, but a necessary part of it, to hold up the prerogatives of Israel as wholly independent of all merit upon, their part. “Jehovah of Hosts (is) His name.” These words are added to identify the object of reliance more completely, as the being who was called the God of Israel and Jehovah of Hosts. At the same time they suggest the attributes implied in both parts of the name. As if he had said, they rely upon the God of Israel, whom they acknowledge as an independent and eternal Being, and the Sovereign of the universe.

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

and they leaned on the God of Israel in the days of Hezekiah, about whom it is written (2 Kings 18:5): “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel.” That caused them not to be exiled except in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, who exiled them to Babylon, and they had a redemption through Cyrus.

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.

For they call themselves of the holy city, namely children of Zion.

And stay themselves upon the God of Israel with their lips.

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.