Isaiah 49:26

Isa 49:26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD [am] thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

Ver. 26. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh.] Which yet "no man ever hated, but nourisheth and cherisheth it." {Eph 5:29} But Zion’s enemies should one destroy another, and be put to such straits as the Jews were in the siege of their city by Titus, that they fed upon their own flesh, and the flesh of their children. {a} So hard a thing it is "to kick against the pricks"; quae in coelum expuunt, in faciem ipsorum recidunt.

And they shall be drunk with their own blood.] Yea, drowned in it, as was Attila king of Huns, {b} Felix, Count of Wartenburg, a great warrior and bloody persecutor of the Lutherans, who was choked in his own blood, and Charles IX of France, to whom a certain poet thus rightly speaketh,

“ Naribus, ore, oculis, atque auribus undique, et ano,

Et pene, erumpit qui tibi, Carle, cruor,

Non tuus iste cruor, sanctorum at caede cruorem

Quem ferns hausisti, concoquere haud poteras. ”

{a} Alterum ut alterius mactatum sanguine cernas.

{b} Flac. Illyr.

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_49:26

And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh.

Self-destruction

Here is a terrible picture of retributive justice. But the words represent a general principle, which is universal, in the punishment of sin. The sinner is his own avenger.

I. TAKE THE DRUNKARD. He is drinking the poison, but is he not at the same time drinking his own life, and consuming his own happiness and peace?

II. TAKE THE SPENDTHRIFT. He spends his money, but at the same time eats and drinks his existence, his fortune, his home, his happiness.

III. TAKE THE TYRANT. He who wins his throne with blood shall lose it in blood. No one who fights can be without foes, and if he has conquered them at first they will only await their opportunity and in turn conquer him. How few who have raised themselves by the sword have not died by the sword!

IV. TAKE THE OPPRESSORS OF THE CHRISTIAN. They think they injure God's people. How does God avenge His elect? By causing them to feed on their own selves--the bitterness of conscience, the remorse of evil doing. These are the portion of the oppressors. (Homilist.)

All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am thy Saviour

An all-sufficient Deliverer

I. A WORLD-WIDE NEED.

II. AN ALL-SUFFICIENT DELIVERER. (J. Smith, D.D.)

The safety of the Church

1. God is the Protector of the Church, and no weapon formed against her shall prosper.

2. The Churchs enemies shall be distracted in their counsels, and left to anarchy and overthrow.

3. The Church shall rise resplendent from all her persecutions, and shall prosper ultimately, just in proportion to their efforts to destroy it. (A. Barnes, 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.

I will cause them to destroy one another, as Judg. 7:22; 2 Chron. 20:22; Isa. 19:2.

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

feed . . . own flesh--a phrase for internal strifes (Isa 9:20).

own blood--a just retribution for their having shed the blood of God's servants (Rev 16:6).

sweet wine--that is must, or new wine, the pure juice which flows from the heap of grapes before they are pressed; the ancients could preserve it for a long time, so as to retain its flavor. It was so mild that it required a large quantity to intoxicate; thus the idea here is that very much blood would be shed (Rev 14:10, Rev 14:20).

all flesh shall, &c.--the effect on the world of God's judgments (Isa 66:15-16, Isa 66:18-19; Rev 15:3-4).

Next: Isaiah Chapter 50

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

(26) I will feed them that oppress thee . . .—The words are, of course, symbolical of the utter collapse, the self-destructive struggles of the enemies of Zion, i.e., of the company, or Ecclesia, of the redeemed.

The mighty One of Jacob.—Same word, and that a rare one, as in Isa_1:24.

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

26. I will feed them that? &c.] Better: I will cause thine oppressors (the Chaldæans) to eat their own flesh (cf. ch. Isa_9:20; Zec_11:9). The enemies of Zion shall be consumed by internecine war—a common eschatological representation (Eze_38:21; Hag_2:22; Zec_14:13).

and all flesh shall know] Comp. “And thou shalt know” at the end of the previous oracle (Isa_49:23).

the mighty One of Jacob] See on ch. Isa_1:24, and cf. Isa_60:16.

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 I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh,.... Not that they should feed upon their own flesh, because of famine, for this was not the case of Babylon when taken; but that they should destroy one another, as the Midianites did; and which was true of some of the Babylonians, who assisted Cyrus in taking the city, and destroying the inhabitants of it; and will be verified in the Popish party killing one another:

and they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; which denotes the abundance of blood that shall be shed, and the pleasure in shedding of it. It will be a righteous thing with God to give the whore of Rome her own blood to drink, even so as to be made drunk with it as with wine, who has been drunk already with the blood of the saints, Rev 16:6. The Targum is,

"I will give the flesh of them that oppress thee for food to every fowl of the heavens; and as they are drunken with wine, so the beasts of the field shall be drunken with their blood;''

see Rev 19:17,

and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob; it shall be notorious to all the world, that Jehovah, the "Lord" of lords, the Lord of the whole earth, is the "Saviour and Redeemer" of his church and people out of all their afflictions, oppressions, and persecutions, by the Romish antichrist; this will be apparently seen, and publicly owned and acknowledged, when antichrist shall be destroyed, and the church saved; by which it will be manifest, it being the Lord's work, and wondrous in the eyes of men, that he is "the mighty One of Jacob", able to help and save them.

Next: Isaiah Chapter 50

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

And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh - The language used here is that which appropriately describes the distresses resuiting from discord and internal strifes. Similar language occurs in Isa 9:20 (see the note on that verse). Their rage shall be excited against each other; and there shall be anarchy, internal discord, and the desire of mutual revenge. They shall destroy themselves by mutual conflicts, until they are gorged with slaughter, and drunk with blood.

And they shall be drunken with their own blood - A similar expression occurs in Rev 16:6 : ‘For they have shed the blood of the prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink.’ This expression describes a state of internal strife, where blood would be profusely shed, and where it would be, as it were, the drink of those who were contending with each other. Grotius supposes that it refers to the conflicts between the Persians and the Medes, and those of the Medes and Persians with the Babylonians. Vitringa supposes it received its fulfillment in the contests which took place in the Roman empire, particularly during the reign of Diocletian, when so many rivals contended for the sovereignty. Perhaps, however, it is in vain to attempt to refer this to any single conflict, or state of anarchy. The language is general; and it may mean in general that God would guard and protect his people; and that in doing this, he would fill the ranks of his foes with confusion, and suffer them to be torn and distracted with internal strifes; and amidst those strifes, and by means of them, would secure the deliverance and safety of his own people. It has not unfrequently happened that he has suffered or caused discord to spring up among the enemies of his people, and distracted their counsels, and thus secured the safety and welfare of those whom they were opposing and persecuting.

As with sweet wine - Margin, ‘New.’ The Hebrew word (עסיס ‛âsiys) means ‘must,’ or new wine Joe 1:5; Joe 3:18; Amo 9:13. The Septuagint renders it, Οῖνον νέον Oinon neon - ‘New wine.’ The ‘must,’ or new wine, was the pure juice which ran first after the grapes had been laid in a heap preparatory to pressure. The ancients had the art of preserving this for a long time, so as to retain its special flavor, and were in the habit of drinking it in the morning (see Hor. Sat. ii. 4). This had the intoxicating property very slightly, if at all; and Harmer (Obs. vol. ii. p. 151) supposes that the kind here meant was rather such as was used in ‘royal palaces for its gratefulness,’ which was capable of being kept to a great age. It is possible, I think, that there may be an allusion here to the fact that it required a ‘large quantity of the must’ or new wine to produce intoxication, and that the idea here is that a large quantity of blood would be shed.

And all flesh - The effect of all this shall be to diffuse the true religion throughout the world. The result of the contentions that shall be excited among the enemies of the people of God; of their civil wars and mutual slaughter; and of the consequent protection and defense of the people whom they were endeavoring to destroy, shall be to diffuse the true religion among the nations, and to bring all people to acknowledge that he who thus protects his church is the true and only God. It would be easy to show the fulfillment of this prediction from the records of the past, and from the efforts which have been made to destroy the church of God. But that would be foreign to the design of these notes. A very slight acquaintance with the repeated efforts to destroy the ancient people of God in Egypt, in the wilderness, in Babylon, and under Antiochus Epiphanes; with the early persecution of the Christians in Judea; with the successive persecutions in the Roman empire from the time of Nero to Diocletian; with the persecution of the Waldenses in Switserland; of the Huguenots in France; and of the Reformers in England, will be sufficient to convince anyone that God is the protector of the church, and that no weapons formed against her shall prosper. Her enemies shall be distracted in their counsels, and left to anarchy and overthrow; and the church shall rise resplendent from all their persecutions, and shall prosper ultimately just in proportion to their efforts to destroy it.

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

Flesh. They shall attack one another. (Calmet) --- Neriglissor slew Evil-merodac. (Berosus, apud Josephus, contra Apion i.) --- Gobrias and Gadatas betrayed and killed Baltassar. (Xenophon iv. 5, 7.) (Calmet) --- In their fury they shall tear their own flesh. (Menochius)

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).

I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; I will make them eat their own flesh, either through hunger, as Lev 26:29; Isa 9:20, or through rage and madness. Or, I will make thine enemies to destroy one another, and that greedily and with delight, as the next clause implies. All their enemies are here represented as one body; and so when one part of them devoured another, it was their

own flesh that was destroyed.

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

I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh. (Isa_9:20) Civil disunion is intended, which will break the power of Babylon, and render her an easy prey to the Persians. The recently discovered inscriptions clearly show that this was the case. Nabonidus had alienated the affections of his subjects by changes in the religion of the country, and during the course of the war with Cyrus, many Babylonian tribes went over to the invaders, and fought against their own countrymen (see the "Cylinder of Nabonidus;" and comp. Sayce, "Ancient Empires of the East," p. 357). The mighty One of Jacob. (see the comment on Isa_1:24)

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

“And I will make thy oppressors eat their (own) flesh, and as with new wine, with their blood shall they be drunken; and all flesh shall know, that I, Jehovah, am thy Savior, and (that) thy Redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.” The first, clause is commonly explained as a strong metaphorical description of intestine wars and mutual destruction, similar to that in Zec 11:9. In this case, however, as in Isa 9:19, the image is perhaps rather that of a person devouring his own flesh in impotent and desperate rage. The last clause winds up this part of the prophecy by the usual return to the great theme of the whole book, the relation of Jehovah to his people, as their Savior, Redeemer, and Protector, self-existent, eternal, and almighty in Himself, yet condescending to be called the Mighty One of Jacob. The last words may be construed as a single proposition, ‘that I am Jehovah thy Savior and thy Redeemer the Mighty One of Jacob.’ This will be found upon comparison, however, to express much less than the construction above given, which asserts not only that the speaker is Jehovah etc. but that the Being who possesses these attributes is the peculiar covenanted God of Israel or Jacob. For the different epithets of this clause, see above, Isa 1:24; Isa 41:14; Isa 43:3. For a similar statement of the purpose of God’s providential dealings with his people, see Isa 45:3, and v. 23 of this same chapter.

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

redeemer

Heb. goel, Redemp. (Kinsman type). (See Scofield "Isa 59:20").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues speaking to Zion as if it were a person.

I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh

Possible meanings are 1) the oppressors will be so hungry that they will eat the flesh of their friends who have died. AT: "I will cause your oppressors to eat their own flesh" or 2) Yahweh speaks of the oppressors fighting against and destroying themselves as if they were eating themselves. AT: "I will cause your oppressors to destroy themselves, as if they were eating their own flesh" (See: Metaphor)

they will get drunk on their own blood, as if it were wine

Possible meanings are 1) the oppressors will be so thirsty that they drink the blood of their friends who have died. AT: "they will drink their friends' blood and be like weak people who are drunk on wine" or 2) Yahweh speaks of the oppressors fighting against and destroying themselves as if they were drinking their own blood. AT: "they will shed so much of their friends' blood that it will be as though they were getting drunk with wine" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

oppress

flesh

blood

wine

Yahweh

Savior

redeem

might

Jacob

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And those who taunt you I will feed their flesh to the beasts of the field. The word מוֹנַיִךְ is an expression akin to (Lev. 25:14) “You shall not taunt (אַל תּוֹנוּ).” This denotes taunting with words, those who anger you with their revilings.

and as with sweet wine Heb. וְכֶעָסִיס. The sweetness of wine.

they shall become drunk [from] their blood So shall those accustomed to drink blood become drunk from their blood. Now who are they? These are the fowl of the heavens. So did Jonathan render this.

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.

מוניך That oppress thee. Comp. ולא תגו ye shall not oppress (Lev. 25:17). Others say that it means: thy numberers, comparing it with מונה that telleth (Jer. 33:13), because Israel is compared to a flock of sheep.

מדמם = דמם With their own blood. An ellipsis is as frequently found in poetry.

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.