Isaiah 5:17

Isa 5:17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.

Ver. 17. Then shall the lambs feed after their manner,] i.e., Freely and quietly. By lambs here understand the godly poor - those lambs with golden fleeces - who shall be graciously provided for.

And the waste places of the fat ones.] Medullatorum, of those fat bulls of Bashan, who had oppressed the poor, and laid waste their dwellings, but are now served in like sort by the enemy.

Shall the strangers eat.] Such as had been strangers at home, because held captive in a far country, but are now returned, and repossessed of all.

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.

And when we consider that the Holy Land is at the present time an extensive pasture-ground for Arab shepherds, and that the modern Jerusalem which has arisen from the dust is a Mohammedan city, we may see in this also a literal fulfilment of Isa 5:17 : "And lambs feed as upon their pasture, and nomad shepherds eat the waste places of the fat ones." There is no necessity to supply an object to the verb ורעוּ, as Knobel and others assume, viz., the waste lands mentioned in the second clause; nor is Cedâbrâm to be taken as the object, as Caspari supposes; but the place referred to is determined by the context: in the place where Jerusalem is sunken, there lambs feed after the manner of their own pasture-ground, i.e., just as if they were in their old accustomed pasture (dober, as in Mic 2:12, from dâbar, to drive). The lambs intended are those of the gârim mentioned in the second clause. The gârim themselves are men leading an unsettled, nomad, or pilgrim life; as distinguished from gêrim, strangers visiting, or even settled at a place. The lxx have ἄρνες, so that they must have read either Cârim or gedâim, which Ewald, Knobel, and others adopt. But one feature of the prophecy, which is sustained by the historical fulfilment, is thereby obliterated. Chârboth mêchim are the lands of those that were formerly marrowy, i.e., fat and strutting about in their fulness; which lands had now become waste places. Knobel's statement, that âcăl is out of place in connection with gârim, is overthrown by Isa 1:7, to which he himself refers, though he makes he-goats the subject instead of men. The second woe closes with Isa 5:17. It is the longest of all. This also serves to confirm the fact that luxury was the leading vice of Judah in the time of Uzziah-Jotham, as it was that of Israel under Jeroboam II (see Amo 6:1-14, where the same threat is held out).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

God comforteth the poor lambs of his Church, which had been strangers in other countries, promising that they should dwell in these places again, whereof they had been deprived by the fat and cruel tyrants.

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

after their manner--literally, "according to their own word," that is, at will. Otherwise, as in their own pasture [GESENIUS]: so the Hebrew in Mic 2:12. The lands of the Scenite tent dwellers (Jer 35:7). Arab shepherds in the neighborhood shall roam at large, the whole of Judea being so desolate as to become a vast pasturage.

waste . . . fat ones--the deserted lands of the rich ("fat," Psa 22:29), then gone into captivity; "strangers," that is, nomad tribes shall make their flocks to feed on [MAURER]. Figuratively, "the lambs" are the pious, "the fat ones" the impious. So tender disciples of Jesus Christ (Joh 21:15) are called "lambs"; being meek, harmless, poor, and persecuted. Compare Eze 39:18, where the fatlings are the rich and great (Co1 1:26-27). The "strangers" are in this view the "other sheep not of the" the Jewish "fold" (Joh 10:16), the Gentiles whom Jesus Christ shall "bring" to be partakers of the rich privileges (Rom 11:17) which the Jews ("fat ones," Eze 34:16) fell from. Thus "after their (own) manner" will express that the Christian Church should worship God in freedom, released from legal bondage (Joh 4:23; Gal 5:1).

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 17. The lambs - "And the kids"] גרים gerim, "strangers." The Septuagint read, more agreeably to the design of the prophet, כרים carim, αρνες, "the lambs." גדים gedayim, "the kids," Dr. Durell; nearer to the present reading: and so Archbishop Secker. The meaning is, their luxurious habitations shall be so entirely destroyed as to become a pasture for flocks.

After their manner - "Without restraint"] כדברם kedobram, secundum duetum eorum; i.e. suo ipsorum ductu; as their own will shall lead them.

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

(17) Then shall the lambs feed after their manner.—Better, feed even as on their pasture. The meaning is clear enough. The lands that have been gained by oppression shall, in the day of retribution, become common pasture ground instead of being reserved for the parks and gardens of the rich; and strangers—i.e., invaders, Philistines, Assyrians, or nomadic tribes—shall devour the produce (Isa_1:7). Possibly, however, the “lambs” may stand for the poor and meek, as in contrast with the “fat ones” of the earth. The LXX. version follows a different reading in the second clause, and gives “kids” instead of “strangers.”

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

17. The obverse of the picture in Isa_5:14. The city, with all its tumult and gaiety, has vanished into the underworld, and now flocks are seen grazing amidst the ruins,—an image of awful desolation rather than of “idyllic peace.”

Then shall the lambs … manner] And lambs shall grate as in their pasture (R.V.). strangers] sojourners—perhaps “nomadic shepherds.” But the reading of the LXX. (ἄρνες = lambs) can be explained by a slight change in the text and is on some grounds to be preferred.

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.

Then shall the lambs feed after their manner,.... That is, the people of God, the disciples of Christ, either apostles and ministers of the Gospel, whom he sent forth as lambs among wolves, Luk 10:3 who fed the flock of Christ after their usual manner, and as directed by him; even with knowledge and understanding, by the ministry of the word, and administration of ordinances; or the people of God fed by them, who are comparable to lambs for their harmlessness and innocence; and who feed in green pastures, "according as they are led"; as the word used may be rendered (f); or "according to their word"; the doctrine of the ministers of the Gospel, by whom they are instructed and directed to feed on Christ, as he is held forth in the word and ordinances. The Targum is,

"and the righteous shall be fed as is said of them;''

and so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it of the righteous:

and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat; that is, the Gentiles, who are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise; the other sheep that were not of the Jewish fold, Eph 2:12 these shall come in the room of the fat ones of the land of Judea, the rulers, elders, Scribes, and Pharisees; and feed on those pastures which were despised and left desolate by them; enjoy the Gospel they put away from them, and the ordinances of it, which they rejected. The Targum is,

"and they shall be multiplied, and the substance of the ungodly shall the righteous possess.''

(f) "juxta ductum suum", Montanus, Vatablus; "juxta verbum ipsorum", Forerius.

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

Then shall the lambs feed - This verse is very variously interpreted. Most of the Hebrew commentators have followed the Chaldee interpretation, and have regarded it as desired to console the pious part of the people with the assurance of protection in the general calamity. The Chaldee is, ‘Then the just shall feed, as it is said, to them; and they shall be multiplied, and shall possess the property of the inpious.’ By this interpretation, “lambs” are supposed, as is frequently the case in the Scriptures, to represent the people of God. But according to others, the probable design of the prophet is, to denote the state of utter desolation that was coming upon the nation. Its cities, towns, and palaces would be destroyed, so as to become a vast pasturage where the flocks would roam at pleasure.

After their manner - Hebrew, ‘According to their word,’ that is, under their own “command,” or at pleasure. They would go where they pleased without being obstructed by fences.

And the waste places of the fat ones - Most of the ancient interpreters suppose, that the waste places of the fat ones here refer to the desolate habitations of the rich people; in the judgments that should come upon the nation, they would become vacant, and strangers would come in and possess them. This is the sense given by the Chaldee. The Syriac translates it, ‘And foreigners shall devour the ruins which are yet to be restored.’ If this is the sense, then it accords with the “first” interpretation suggested of the previous verse - that the pious should be fed, and that the proud should be desolate, and their property pass into the hands of strangers. By others (Gesenius, etc.), it is supposed to mean that strangers, or foreigners, would come in, and fatten their cattle in the desert places of the nation. The land would be so utterly waste, that they would come there to fatten their cattle in the rank and wild luxuriancy that would spontaneously spring up. This sense will suit the connection of the passage; but there is some difficulty in making it out from the Hebrew. The Hebrew which is rendered ‘the waste places of the fat ones,’ may, however, be translated ‘the deserts that are rich - rank - luxuriant.’ The word “stranger” denotes “foreigners;” or those who are not “permanent” dwellers in the land.

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

Strangers. Ammonites, &c., (Calmet) shall occupy part of the land. (Haydock)

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).

Then; when God shall have finished that work of judgment upon the ungodly, he will extend mercy to a remainder. This is very usual in this prophet, in the midst of his threatenings, to insert something for the support of believers.

The lambs; the poor and harmless people, who shall be left in the land when the rich are carried into captivity, as it fell out, 2Ki 25:12.

Feed after their manner; or, by their fold, as this word is manifestly used, Mic 2:12, the only place of Scripture, except this, in which this word is found. The waste places; the lands left by their owners, who were either slain or carried into captivity.

Of the fat ones; of the rich and great men, so called Psa 22:29; 78:31; Isa 10:16.

Strangers; the poor Israelites, who were left to be vine-dressers and husbandmen, 2Ki 25:12, who are called strangers, because they were so in reference to that land, not being the proper owners of it, nor related to them; as the Israelites of other tribes are called strangers, in opposition to the Levites, as Num 1:51, and elsewhere; yea, and the Levites are so called, in opposition to the seed of Aaron, Num 16:40.

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

17. Then — In the day when Jehovah is “sanctified” by Israel.

Lambs — any body’s flocks — (defined in the next parallel member of the verse) shall feed after their manner, that is, at their pleasure, (literally, at or according to their word,) over the fields of restored Israel. In other words, they shall feed as in their own pasture.

Strangers — Nomadic tribes, Gentiles, the present Arabs, and any others who shall be their successors.

The “strangers” are allowed to eat only the waste places of the fat ones of God’s true Israel.

Third woe — upon the energetic and defiant transgressors, 18, 19.

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

Then shall the lambs feed. Dr. Kay takes the "lambs" to be the remnant of Israel that survived the judgment, who will feed freely, cared for by the good Shepherd; but the parallelism so generally affected by Isaiah seems to require a meaning more consonant with the later clause of the verse. Most commentators, therefore, expound the passage literally, "Then shall lambs feed on the desolated estates of the covetous" (see vers. 8-10). After their manner; or, after their own guidance; i.e. at their pleasure, as they list (so Lowth and Rosenm And the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. Goim, i.e. nomad tribes, shall consume the produce of the wasted fields once possessed by the Hebrew grandees. Ewald proposes to make the verse immediately follow ver. 10; but this is not necessary. The occupation of their lands by wandering tribes, Arabs and others, was a part of the punishment that fell on all the nobles, not on those only who accumulated large estates.

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

Then - When God shall have finished that work of judgment. The lambs - The poor and harmless people, who shall be left in the land when the rich are carried into captivity. Manner - Or, by their fold, as this word is manifestly used, Micah ii, 12, the only place of scripture, except this, in which this word is found. Waste places - The lands left by their owners. Fat ones - Of the rich and great men. Strangers - The poor Israelites, who were left to be vine-dressers and husbandmen, 2 Kings xxv, 12, who are called strangers, because they were so, in reference to that hand, not being the proper owners of it.

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

Having paused, as it were, to show the ultimate effect of these judgments, he now completes the description of the judgments themselves, by predicting the conversion of the lands possessed by the ungodly Jews, into a vast pasture-ground, occupied only by the flocks of wandering shepherds from the neighboring deserts. “And lambs shall feed as (in) their pasture, and the wastes of the fat ones shall sojourners (temporary occupants) devour.”

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

And lambs shall graze as their wont The righteous who are compared to a flock of ewes.

as their wont Heb. כדברם. According to their habit, with equity and with a measure, guiding their affairs with justice, like these lambs. [Variant reading: According to their habit, with equity and of their own, for there will no longer be wicked people in the world, who will rob them.] Our Rabbis expounded כְּדָבְרָם to mean: According to all that was spoken regarding them, [i.e.,] the consolations spoken for them.

and...the ruins of the fat ones the houses of the wicked, who are fat.

sojourners shall eat The righteous, who are like sojourners, shall eat them.

fat Heb. מֵחִים, meaning “fat,” as (Psalms 66: 15): “Burnt offerings of fatlings will I offer up.”

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.

Then shall the lambs feed, etc. Judah will then be desolate, and lambs will feed therein, as if they were driven to be there.

כדברם As if they were driven. Comp. the Chaldee דבר to lead, to drive; and דברת floats (1 Kings 5:25).

מחים Strong lambs, that have marrow (מוח) in their bones; comp. ממוחים things full of marrow (25:6). וחרבות And the waste places of; comp. חרבן destruction. It is the construct state; supply הארץ the land; comp. ושכורת And drunken of SORROW. (51:21). משא ח׳ ל׳ ═ חמר לחם An ass’s LOAD of bread (1 Sam. 16:20). גרים Strangers, that will then dwell there. מחים (Adjective, strong lambs) is the objective case; גרים strangers, the subject.

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.