Isaiah 57:11

Isa 57:11 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid [it] to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?

Ver. 11. And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared?] q.d., Not me surely, as thou oughtst; but thy fellow creatures, whom thou shouldst have looked upon as so many mice.

That thou hast lied,] i.e., So basely flattered the Assyrian.

Have I not held my peace?] i.e., Borne with thee, more than any else would ever have done? And yet my lenity is even worse than lost upon thee.

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 57:11-14. Of whom hast thou been afraid, &c. — And what, or who are they, the fear of whom drives thee to these wicked and desperate practices? Are they not weak and mortal creatures, such as wholly depend upon me, and can do nothing without me? The fear of my displeasure ought, in all reason, to outweigh all thy other fears and apprehensions, and deter thee from breaking that covenant whereby thou art engaged to me. That thou hast lied — That thou hast dealt thus perfidiously with me, and sought for such foreign assistances contrary to my command. And hast not remembered me — Hast forgotten all those great things which I have done for thee, and all those promises which I have made to thee. Nor laid it to thy heart — Or, nor set me upon thy heart: hast not seriously and affectionately considered what I am, how all-sufficient, faithful, and gracious: for then thou wouldest not have distrusted or disobeyed me. Have I not held my peace, &c. — The Bishops’ Bible, published under Queen Elizabeth, translates the clause thus: Is it not because I held my peace, and that of a long time, therefore thou fearest me not? Sinners take encouragement to continue in sin, from God’s patience and long-suffering. I will declare thy righteousness — I will no longer be silent, but “will show thee thy deserts, and give thee a view of thy deeds, which then will appear quite of another sort than what thy own self-conceit makes thee believe them to be.” For they shall not profit thee — These actions shall be of no real advantage, but quite the contrary. When those criest — Namely, unto me for deliverance; let thy companies deliver thee — Expect it, not from me, whom thou hast forsaken and despised, but from those foreign troops, to which thou hast sought and trusted for succour. But the wind shall carry them all away — They shall be so far from saving thee, that they shall not be able to deliver themselves; but shall be carried away suddenly and violently by the blast of mine anger. Vanity shall take them — Their endeavours to help thee shall be vain and fruitless. But he that putteth his trust in me — Those that still depend upon me, and make use of none of those indirect means to preserve themselves; shall possess the land —

Shall be preserved in, or restored to, their own land, or shall have temporal blessings as far as will be good for them; and shall inherit my holy mountain — Shall enjoy my favour and presence in my temple: shall be blessed with the privileges of the church on earth, and brought at length to the joys of heaven. And shall say — Hebrew, and he shall say: or, and one shall say: God shall raise up one who shall say, with authority and efficacy, Cast ye up, &c. — Make causeways, where it is needful, for the safe and easy passage of my people, and remove all things which may hinder them in their return.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

From fear of man, Israel, and still more Judah, had given up the fear of Jehovah. "And of whom hast thou been afraid, and (whom) didst thou fear, that thou becamest a liar, and didst not continue mindful of me, and didst not take it to heart?" It was of men - only mortal men, with no real power (Isa 51:12) - that Israel was so needlessly afraid, that it resorted to lies and treachery to Jehovah (kı̄, ut, an interrogative sentence, as in Sa2 7:18; Psa 8:5): purchasing the favour of man out of the fear of man, and throwing itself into the arms of false tutelar deities, it banished Jehovah its true shelter out of its memory, and did not take it to heart, viz., the sinfulness of such infidelity, and the eventful consequences by which it was punished (compare Isa 47:7 and Isa 42:25).

With Isa 57:11 the reproaches are addressed to the present. The treachery of Israel had been severely punished in the catastrophe of which the captivity was the result, but without effecting any improvement. The great mass of the people were as forgetful of God as ever, and would not be led to repentance by the long-suffering of God, which had hitherto spared them from other well-merited punishments. "Am I not silent, and that for a long time, whereas thou wast not afraid of me?" A comparison with Isa 42:14 will show that the prophecy returns here to its ordinary style. The lxx and Jerome render the passage as if the reading were מעלם (viz., עיני = παρορῶν, quasi non videns), and this is the reading which Lowth adopts. We may see from this, that the original text had a defective ומעלם, which was intended, however, to be read וּמעלם. The prophet applies the term ‛ōlâm (see Isa 42:14) to the captivity, which had already lasted a long time - a time of divine silence: the silence of His help so fas as the servants of Jehovah were concerned, but the silence of His wrath as to the great mass of the people.

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.)

57:11 The people were living in fear of false gods instead of fearing the Lord (see 8:12-13).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Broken promise with me.

Meaning, that the wicked abuse God’s lenity, and grow to further wickedness.

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

Israel wished not to seem altogether to have denied God. Therefore they "lied" to Him. God asks, Why dost thou do so? "Whom dost thou fear? Certainly not Me; for thou hast not remembered Me." Translate, "seeing that thou hast not remembered Me."

laid it to . . . heart--rather, "nor hast Me at heart"; hast no regard for Me; and that, because I have been long silent and have not punished thee. Literally, "Have I not held My peace, and that for long? and so thou fearest Me not" (Psa 50:21; Ecc 8:11). It would be better openly to renounce God, than to "flatter Him" with lies of false professions (Psa 78:36) [LUDOVICUS DE DIEU]. However, Isa 51:12-13 favors English Version of the whole verse; God's "silent" long-suffering, which was intended to lead them to repentance, caused them "not to fear Him" (Rom 2:4-5).

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 11. Nor laid it to thy heart - "Nor revolved it in thy hand"] Eight MSS., (four ancient,) and the two oldest editions, with another, add the conjunction ו vau, ולא velo: which is confirmed by all the ancient Versions.

Even of old - "And winked"] For ומעולם umeolam, which makes no good sense or construction in this place, twenty-three MSS. (seven ancient) and three editions have מעלם, (to be thus pointed מעלם malim;) παροπω, Septuagint; quasi non videns, "as if not seeing," Vulgate. See Ps 10:1. The truth of this reading, so confirmed, admits of no doubt. In one of my own MSS. the ו vau has been written, but afterwards struck out. Is it not because I was silent, and winked?

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

(11) And of whom hast thou been afraid . . .?—The question implies that Judah had been led by the fear of man to forsake the fear of Jehovah, and this had led her to what was, in the fullest sense of the word, the false step of an alliance with Assyria, which was an acted lie.

Have I not held my peace . . .?—The words suggest, half-pityingly, the cause of the people’s little faith. From “of old,” i.e., during the period that preceded the captivity, or perhaps in the dark time of Manasseh, Jehovah had been silent, and His long- suffering had been mistaken for apathy, and therefore the people had not feared Him.

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

11. Most critics detect in this verse a milder tone on the part of the Divine speaker, as if He would find a partial excuse for the apostasies of the people in their undue fear of other gods, and distrust of Jehovah, who had so long time kept silence (cf. ch. Isa_51:12 f., Isa_42:14). If this impression be right, the theory that the Samaritans are the persons addressed at once falls to the ground. Another view is, however, possible. The question of whom hast thou been afraid and feared? may imply a simple negative answer,—“thou hast been absolutely fearless.” The language of the verse yields itself to either interpretation.

that thou hast lied] Or, “for thou art treacherous.”

have not I held my peace, &c.] Or “Is it not so? I have been silent” etc.: “It was because I held my peace that thou didst not fear me, but other gods.” Cf. Psa_50:21 (“These things thou didst and I kept silence” etc).

even of old] (Isa_42:14). The LXX. and Vulg. evidently vocalised the word differently (מַעְלִם for מֵעֹלָם), so as to read “and covered (sc. my eyes)”; (cf. Psa_10:1; Isa_1:15).

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 of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied,.... By assuming the name of Christian, when it did not belong to her; as it does not to the church of Rome which is antichristian: this lie is told, not out of any fear of God, or reverence of Christ; for she has no fear or reverence of either; but to serve a purpose, to blind the eyes of men under the Christian name, and, with a pretence to serve the cause of Christianity, to get all Christendom under her power:

and hast not remembered me; or, "for thou hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart?" or, "put me upon thy heart" (x); had no regard to Christ, nor had true faith in him, nor love to him; but all the reverse; degraded him in his offices, corrupted his doctrines, ordinances, and worship. The Targum is,

"and hast not remembered my worship, nor put my fear upon thy heart:''

and have not held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not or, "therefore thou fearest me not" (y); because as yet the vials of God's wrath are not poured out, or his judgment inflicted on antichrist; but, ever since he began to reign, he has enjoyed great prosperity; therefore he fears not God, nor regards man; but says, "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow", Rev 18:7.

(x) "nam mei non es recordata, neque posuisti me super cor tuum", Grotius. (y) "idcirco me non times", Calvin, Piscator, Gataker.

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

And of whom hast thou been afraid - The sense of this verse is exceedingly obscure. The design is evidently to reprove the Jews for the course which they had been pursuing in practicing idolatry, and in seeking the alliance of foreign powers. The main scope of the passage seems to be, to state that all this was proof that they did not fear God. Their conduct did not originate from any reverence for him, or any respect to his commands. And the question, ‘of whom hast thou been afraid?’ seems to mean that they had not been afraid of God. If they had had any reverence for any being or object that had led to the course which they had pursued, it was not for God.

That thou hast lied - That thou hast been false and unfaithful to God. The image is here kept up of unfaithfulness to the marriage vow Isa 57:6-8.

And hast not remembered me - The proof of this was, that they had fallen into idolatry, and had sought the alliance and friendship of foreign powers.

Have not I held my peace - The idea here seems to be, that God had been silent a long time, and they had, therefore, been emboldened to sin. He had, as it were, connived at their apostasy and infidelity; and they had thus cast off the fear of him, and given themselves wholly to idolatry. Compare Ecc 8:11.

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

CHAPTER LVII.

Afraid, since thou hast despised my, my laws and offers.

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).

And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared? and what or who are they the fear of whom drives thee to these wicked and desperate courses? Are they not men, weak and mortal creatures, such as wholly depend upon me, and can do nothing to thee either against me or without me?

That thou hast lied; that thou hast dealt thus disloyally and perfidiously with me, and sought for such foreign assistances, contrary to my command, and thy solemn covenant,

and hast not remembered me: hast thou forgotten all those great things which I have done for thee, and all those promises which I have made to thee, and constantly performed, when thou hast not grossly violated the conditions upon which they were made?

Nor laid it to thy heart; or thus, nor set me upon thine heart, as these very words are rendered, Son 8:6. And so this is a repetition of what is said in the foregoing clause in other words. The sense is, Thou hast not seriously and affectionately considered what I am, how all-sufficient, and faithful, and gracious, for then thou wouldst not have distrusted or disobeyed me.

Have not I held my peace even of old? have not I forborne to reprove and punish thee for this and for other sins, from time to time, ever since thou wast my people, that by this goodness I might oblige thee to love me, and to cleave unto me?

And thou fearest me not; or, therefore thou dost not fear or regard me. Thus thou abusest mine indulgence and long-suffering, taking occasion from thence to despise me.

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

11. Of whom hast thou been afraid — Much in these verses is very obscure, and this verse more than all. The question and context imply that there really was one or more who were objects of fear. But they were not such as would relieve from fear. Is there here an obscure reference to Israel and Judah in the times of Ahaz and Hezekiah? Much like this could have been asked in the past days of Isaiah. Look at chap. 28. The facts of that history seem prophetically paralleled along almost all the earthly life of the Jews. The Jews relied, not on Jehovah, but on earthly powers, to deliver them. One time it is Egypt; another, Syria; at another, it is Assyria. So through all their future, the same question applies. Not Jehovah, indeed, but weak man is carnal Israel’s reliance. Is not this the key to the meaning, and are not the words following, to Isa_57:13, sheer irony on the same line of thought? The description of life at Jerusalem in Isaiah’s time, and long afterward, is put in strong colours, but the inward spirit of that life is not overdrawn. In the reign of Ahaz idolatry became rampant, even on the surface; in Hezekiah’s time it was repressed, but not fully suppressed; in Manasseh’s, it was outrageous. Josiah attempted to crush it forever, but it was too late. The proneness to idolatry in the nation could not be arrested — its onward rush dashed the nation to ruin. Captivity and exile alone cured the evil. A similar spiritual aspect, though assuming a different phase, largely appeared in the ruling class at Jerusalem in Christ’s time; and so far forth this prophecy has continued application.

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

Of whom hast thou been afraid? Judah"s abandonment of Jehovah and devotion to new deities was caused by fear the fear of man, especially of Assyria. This induced them to seek for help in each new superstition that presented itself, and produced the enlarged syncretism which has been noticed in the comment on ver. 8. But how absurd to be driven by fear of man into offending God! That thou hast lied (see the last clause of ver. 4, with the comment). Have not I held my peace, etc.? i.e. "Is it not because I have for so long a time held my peace, that thou fearest me not?" God had for a long time suffered them to "go on still in their wickedness he had not interposed with any severe judgment; therefore they had ceased to fear him, and had feared men instead.

Wrong thoughts of God keep men from repentance.

God pleads, saying, "Who filled thee with dread, or of whom wast thou afraid, when thou provedst false, and didst not remember me?" Some mental creation of God, or some false teaching concerning God, occupied the thought and the heart, and kept the men of Israel from feeling all those persuasions to repentance which come from the full and the worthy knowledge of him. Compare the expressions, "Not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance;" "This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Some think that the allusion is to the helpless idols in whose aid the people vainly trusted. Matthew Arnold paraphrases thus: "How could thy calamities, and the fear of thy Babylonian tyrant, make thee so superstitious and forgetful?" Illustrating the earlier method of interpreting the verse, it may be shown how wrong and imperfect thoughts of God are still the great hindrances in men"s way. These wrong thoughts come either as

I CREATIONS OF MEN"S OWN FEARS. God too often is not to men what he really is, but what he seems to be when seen through their fears and conscience of sin. So a revelation was needed which could assure men of God"s pitying mercy and forgiving love. When men, conscious of transgression and fearing judgment, try to paint God, we cannot wonder that their picture should be untrue and unworthy The thing of which it is so difficult to persuade sinners is that there is forgiveness with God, and that he delighteth in mercy.

II MISCONCEPTIONS OF THEOLOGICAL TEACHINGS. There is always the danger to be guarded against that the exigencies of a system make us fashion a suitable God, rather than try to recognize in all simplicity the God who has been revealed. Therefore, in our day, so many resist the teachings that are known as Calvinistic. The hard, legal Deity of that system is felt to represent most imperfectly and unworthily the Father of Jesus, and Saviour of the world. But we must understand that the false representations are more often found in the statements of those who attempt to expound a system than in the system itself.

III AS ONE-SIDED VISIONS OF TRUTH WHICH NEEDS TO BE SEEN AS A WHOLE. This mistake is often pointed out in connection with the two attributes of "mercy" and "justice." The modern tendency to dwell on the milder features of the Divine nature, and to exclude the sterner ones, is perilously keeping men from that repentance which is the only open highway to the eternal life. R.T.

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

Feared - And who are they, the fear of whom drives thee to these wicked courses? Lied - That thou hast dealt thus perfidiously with me. Not remembered - Hast thou forgotten all those great things which I have done for thee. Held my peace - Have not I forbore to punish thee from time to time, that by this goodness I might oblige thee to love me. And thou - Or, therefore thou dost not fear or regard me. Thou abusest my long-suffering.

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

“And whom hast thou feared and been afraid of, that thou shouldest lie? and me thou hast not remembered, thou hast not called to mind (or laid to heart). Is it not (because) I hold my peace, and that of old, that thou wilt not fear me?” They have no real fear of God; why then should they affect to serve Him? His forbearance only served to harden and embolden them. ‘Have I not long kept silence? It cannot be that you fear me.’ The image is identical with that presented in Isa 42:14. See also Isa 40:27; Isa 51:12-13.

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

General Information:

Yahweh continues speaking to the unfaithful people of Israel.

Whom are you worried about? Whom do you fear so much that has caused you to act so deceitfully ... about me?

Yahweh uses these questions to scold the people. AT: "You must really fear these idols for you to act so deceitfully ... about me!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

so much that you would not remember me or think about me

These two phrases mean basically the same thing and emphasize that, although the people should have remembered Yahweh, they did not. (See: Doublet)

I will proclaim all your righteous acts and tell all that you have done

Yahweh is being sarcastic, calling their evil deeds so-called righteousness. (See: Irony)

translationWords

fear

deceive

preach

righteous

works

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 whom did you dread Of whom were you afraid?

that you failed Heb. תְּכַזֵּבִי, that you ceased to worship Me and you betrayed Me. Comp. (infra 58:11) “Whose water shall not fail (יְכַזְּבוּ).” Comp. also (Psalms 116:11) “Every man is a traitor (כֹּזֵב).” Falajjnc in O.F., to fail. Likewise, every expression of כָּזָב means one upon whom people rely, and he fails and betrays them.

Indeed, I am silent I kept silent in the face of many transgressions that you transgressed against Me.

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.

And of whom hast thou been afraid, etc. What hadst thou to fear from an enemy and to be afraid of him for, so as to lie, and not to think of me.

מחשה is a causative verb, and means silencing. אני מחשה ומעולם I silence, even of old, those that lie; this I am doing now, and have always done. It is, however, possible to explain the words ואת מי דאגת ונו׳ when hast thou feared me, etc.; but I prefer the first explanation. Some compare אני מחשה with החשתי I have holden my peace (42:14), and explain it I held my peace, I forbore; it is in that case an anthropomorphism.

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.