Isaiah 48:5

Isa 48:5 I have even from the beginning declared [it] to thee; before it came to pass I shewed [it] thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

Ver. 5. I have even from the beginning, &c.] See Isa 48:3. It is probable that there were many among the Jews who, when they saw themselves to be so punished, and the heathen prospered, would be ready to think that the God of Israel either could not or would not do for his people, as those devil gods did for theirs. For their help, therefore, under such a temptation, God was pleased to foretell his people what good or evil should betide them, and accordingly to accomplish it.

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.

How thou shouldest be delivered out of Babylon.

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

(See on Isa 48:1; Isa 48:3).

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

5. I have even … thee] And I announced it to thee beforehand (Isa_48:3).

lest thou shouldest say &c.] But for the predictions the appearance of Cyrus would have been attributed to the idols rather than to the God who spoke through the prophets. The prevalence of idolatry among the exiles is abundantly proved by the book of Ezekiel.

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.

I have even from the beginning declared it to thee,.... From the beginning of their being a people, even before they were formed into a body politic; yea, from the original of them, from the time of Abraham their ancestor, as before observed:

before it came to pass I showed it thee; some hundreds of years before; first to Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to Joseph, and then to Moses, and by him to the children of Israel:

lest thou shouldest say, mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them; or my libation or fusion of wine, oil, or blood, by which, as by other things, they made conjectures of what was to come to pass; so Gussetius (b) interprets the last word; lest they should ascribe their deliverance out of Egypt to the idols they made and worshipped, being a people prone to idolatry; as they did when they made a golden calf, and danced about it, Exo 32:4. This the Lord knew before hand, and therefore to prevent this stupidity, or convince them of it, he foretold what should come to pass, which their idols were never able to do.

(b) Ebr. Comment. p. 517.

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

I have even from the beginning declared it to thee - He had foretold future events, so that they had abundant demonstration thai he was the true God, and so that they could not be under a mistake in regard to the source of their deliverances from danger.

Mine idol hath done them - The idols and molten images had not foretold these events and when they came to pass, it could not, therefore, be pretended that they had been produced by idols. By predicting them, Yahweh kept up the proof that he was the true God, and demonstrated that he alone was worthy of their confidence and regard.

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

I foretold these things, that it might be evident that they were the effects of my counsel, and not of thine idols, as I knew thou wast very inclinable to believe.

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

I have even from the beginning declared it (comp. ver. 3). The declaration here made is that God rendered his prophecies more than ordinarily marvellous on account of Israel"s obstinacy, not punishing them for it, lint seeking graciously and lovingly to overcome it by adding to the weight of the evidence to which he would fain hare had it yield. Had his prophecies been less astonishing, had they in a less degree transcended ordinary human experience, Israel might conceivably have ascribed them and the accomplishment of them to the false gods. As it was, this was barely possible. Mine idol... my molten image. It has been already observed (see the comment on Isa_40:18) that there was a strong tendency to idolatry among the Jews, not only before, but during the Captivity. Ezekiel says that those among whom he lived were "polluted after the manner of their fathers, and committed whoredom after their abominations; made their sons pass through the fire, and polluted themselves with all their idols"; (Eze_20:30, Eze_20:31) nay, went so far as to declare boldly, "We will be as the heathen, as the inhabitants of the countries, to serve wood and stone". (Eze_20:32) The "prevailing tendency," as Delitzsch remarks, was "to combine the worship of Jehovah with heathenism, or else to exchange the former altogether for the latter." We cannot conclude anything concerning the mass of the community from the character of those who returned. Those who returned were the sincere worshippers of Jehovah the irreligious did not care to return. It is always to be borne in mind that it was "the great mass even of Judah," no less than of Israel, that "remained behind" (Delitzsch); and these "became absorbed into the heathen, to whom they became more and more assimilated" (ibid.). Hath commanded them; i.e. "hath caused them (the events) to take place". (comp. Psa_33:9)

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

“Therefore I told thee long ago.” This is often the force of the conjunction and after a conditional clause or sentence. “Because I knew thee to be such, and I told thee,” (i.e., therefore I told thee). “Before it comes I have let thee hear (it), lest thou say, My idol did them,” (i.e., did the things before referred to collectively in the singular). The Hebrew word for idol, from the double meaning of its root, suggests the two ideas of an image and a torment or vexation. “My graven image and my molten image ordered them,” (i.e., called them into being).

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

I have even from the beginning, etc. This is the explanation; I foretold thee coming events, in order that thou shouldst not say when they happened, that thy idols worshipped by thee in thy land had prepared them, that by their decree the events took place,

Hath commanded them. It is the same expression as used of the Almighty (45:12)

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.