Isaiah 57:9

Isa 57:9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase [thyself even] unto hell.

Ver. 9. And thou wentest to the king.] The King of Assyria, who styled himself the Great King, to whom Ahaz both sent and went. {2Ki 16:8; 2Ki 16:10}

With ointment.] Heb., With oil - that is, with balsam, such as Judea only afforded, and was therefore highly esteemed in other countries.

And didst debase thyself even unto hell.] By crouching and cringing to those foreign states in a most submissive and servile way, as Ahaz had done with his, "I am thy servant and thy son," {2Ki 16:7} to the dishonour of God, and to the reproach of Israel, who was God’s "firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth." {Psa 89:27}

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 57:9. Thou wentest to the king, &c. — That is, the king of Assyria or Egypt, to whom the Israelites were very prone to seek, and trust, and send presents. Hosea reproaches the Israelites for the same practice: They make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt, Hos 12:1. Thus the prophet passes from their idolatry to another sin, even to their carnal confidence in heathen princes, for which they are often severely reproved. These two sins indeed were commonly joined together; for they easily received idolatry from those kings whose help they desired. With ointment — With precious ointment, particularly with balm, which was of great price, was a commodity peculiar to those parts, and sometimes sent as a present, Gen 13:11. And didst increase thy perfumes — Didst send great quantities thereof to them, to procure their aid. Didst send thy messengers far off — Into Assyria, which was far from Judea, or into Egypt. And didst debase thyself, &c. — Thou wast willing to submit to the basest terms to procure their aid. “It is well known, that in all parts of the East, whoever visits a great person must carry him a present. ‘It is accounted uncivil,’ says Maundrell, p. 26, ‘to visit in this country without an offering in hand. All great men expect it, as a tribute due to their character and authority; and look upon themselves as affronted, and indeed defrauded, when the compliment is omitted.’” — Bishop Lowth. According to the interpretation of this part of the prophecy, adopted by Vitringa, the king, in this verse, must mean the head of mystical Babylon, the pope, to whom indeed the particulars here very aptly pertain, as they who are acquainted with the history of that antichristian ruler will easily discern. See Rev 18:13.

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

Thou didst seek the favor of the Assyrians by gifts and presents to help thee against the Egyptians: and when they failed thou soughtest to the Babylonians, and more and more didst torment thyself.

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

the king--the idol which they came to worship, perfumed with oil, like harlots (Jer 4:30; Eze 23:16, Eze 23:40). So "king" means idol (Amo 5:26; Zep 1:5); (malcham meaning "king") [ROSENMULLER]. Rather, the king of Assyria or Egypt, and other foreign princes, on whom Israel relied, instead of on God; the "ointment" will thus refer to the presents (Hos 12:1), and perhaps the compliances with foreigners idolatries, whereby Israel sought to gain their favor [LOWTH] (Isa 30:6; Eze 16:33; Eze 23:16; Hos 7:11).

send . . . messengers far off--not merely to neighboring nations, but to those "far off," in search of new idols, or else alliances.

even unto hell--the lowest possible degradation.

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 9. And thou wentest to the king with ointment - "And thou hast visited the king with a present of oil"] That is, the king of Assyria, or Egypt. Hosea, Ho 12:1, reproaches the Israelites for the same practice: -

"They make a covenant with Assyria,

And oil is carried to Egypt."

It is well known, that in all parts of the east, whoever visits a great person must carry him a present. "It is counted uncivil," says Maundrell, p. 26, "to visit in this country without an offering in hand. All great men expect it as a tribute due to their character and authority; and look upon themselves as affronted, and indeed defrauded, when the compliment is omitted." Hence שור shur, to visit a person, is equivalent to making him a present; and תשורה teshurah signifies a present made on such occasions; as our translators have rightly rendered it, 1Sa 9:7; on which Jarchi says Menachem exponit תשורה teshurah, quod significat oblationem sive manus, ut aliquis aspiciat faciem regis, aut alicuius magnatis. "Menachem expounds תשורה teshurah of an offering or gift which is presented in order to be admitted into the presence of the king or some great man."

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

(9) Thou wentest to the king . . .—The alteration of a single letter would give to Molech; and this may be the meaning even of the text as it stands. Looking to the Manasseh-surroundings of the passage, however, it is more natural to refer the words to the king, the great king of Assyria, whose religion Judah had basely and shamefully adopted. The sin of Ahaz (2Ki_16:11) had been reproduced by his grandson. The description that follows is that of a harlot adorning herself for her evil calling, and finds its best illustration in Pro_7:14-17. Looking to the previous traces of Isaiah’s study of that book (Isa_11:1-4, &c) we may, perhaps, find in it a deliberate reproduction of that passage. The “ointment” and “perfumes” are symbols of the treasures which were lavished to secure the Assyrian alliance. The words help us to understand Isaiah’s indignation at what must have seemed to him the initial step of a like policy on the part of Hezekiah (Isa_39:3-7). The words which point to the “far-off” land, to which the messengers were sent, seem almost like an echo from that king’s apology.

Even unto hell—i.e., Hades or Sheol, the world of the dead—as the symbol of an abysmal depth of degradation.

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

9. Pilgrimages and deputations to the shrines of foreign deities form a fitting conclusion to the enumeration of their idolatries. Another view taken of the verse is that it refers to political embassies sent to court the favour of some great heathen power. This idea derives support from the resemblance of the passage to Eze_23:16; Eze_23:40, but it is out of keeping with the other allusions of the verse. Oil and ointment have nothing to do with politics; on the other hand unguents of various kinds played a great part in the cultus of the Semites. (See W. R. Smith, Religion of the Semites2, pp. 232 f., 382 f.) And the last line of the verse is most naturally explained as an allusion to infernal deities.

And thou wentest to the king, &c.] Rather, And thou hast journeyed to Melek with oil. “Melek” means king, and is here understood by many of the Great King of Assyria or Babylon. But for the reasons given above it is necessary to explain it as the name of a deity. It is, in fact, the word which has come to us in the Hebrew Bible under the form Molech, its proper vowels having been replaced in Jewish tradition by those of bôsheth, “shameful thing.” (see W. R. Smith, l.c. p. 372.) It was a title applied by the Northern Semites to many gods, and even (among the Israelites) to Jehovah, as “king.’ ” Here it seems to be used as a proper name, and the verb “journey” shows that a foreign god is meant; possibly, as Duhm thinks, Milkom, the chief god of the Ammonites, with whom the Samaritans seem to have been in close alliance (Neh_2:10; Neh_4:7; Neh_6:1 ff.).

thy perfumes] or ointments.

and didst send thy messengers far off] Where they could not go in person they sent messengers with offerings.

and didst debase thyself even unto hell] Rather, and hast sent deep to Sheol (lit. “hast deepened [sc. thy sending] to Sheol”), i.e. they sought the favour of the deities of the underworld, by consulting their oracles etc.

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 thou wentest to the king with ointment,.... To the kings of the earth, the singular for the plural, with whom the whore of Rome has committed fornication or idolatry, in allusion to harlots, who, in order to render themselves the more agreeable to their lovers, anointed themselves with ointment: this may respect the grace of the Spirit of God, which the church of Rome pretends to give by administration of the sacraments, which it is said confer grace "ex opere operato"; and the extreme unction given as a meetness for heaven, in the last moments of life:

and didst increase thy perfumes; after the manner of harlots, who, to ingratiate themselves with men, use much perfumes: this may signify the many ways the whore of Rome takes to make herself regarded by the kings and nations of the earth; pretending to antiquity, infallibility, power of working miracles, works of supererogation, primacy and superiority over all other churches; using great pomp and splendour in places of worship, and in all religious services:

and didst send thy messengers far off; not only into neighbouring kingdoms and states, into all the nations of Europe; but even into the most distant parts of the world, into both the Indies, in order to make proselytes, spread the religion of the see of Rome, and increase its power. The pope's "nuncios" and "legates a latere", may be here pointed at, as well as the Jesuits his emissaries, sent into all parts to promote his interest. Jarchi's note is,

"to exact tribute of the kings of the nations;''

which has been the business of the pope's legates:

and didst debase thyself even unto hell; or lay thyself low; prostitute thyself as harlots do to every lover; or didst feign thyself very lowly and humble, as the pope does when he calls himself "servus servorum"; or rather, "thou didst depress", or "bring low, even unto hell" (t); that is, multitudes of men and women, who are brought down to hell by the false doctrine and worship of the church of Rome; and the followers of the man of sin say, that if he brings down thousands into hell, none ought to say, what dost thou? Cocceius thinks it may have respect to his pretended power over hell, to send as many there as do not please him; arrogating to himself the keys of heaven and hell; or over purgatory, a figment of his brain, where he pretends the souls of men are for a time, and from whence, for a sum of money, he delivers them. The Targum is,

"thou hast depressed the strength of the people; or, as some copies, the strong of the people unto hell.''

(t) "et demisti usque ad infernum", Cocceius.

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

And thou wentest to the king - Margin, ‘Respectedst.’ Jerome renders this, ‘Thou hast adorned thyself with royal ointment, and hast multiplied thy painting; and evidently understands it as a continuance of the sentiment in the previous verses as referring to the kind of decoration which harlots used. The Septuagint renders it, ‘Thou hast multiplied thy fornication with them, and hast done it with many who are far from thee.’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘When thou didst keep the law thou wert prosperous in the kingdom; and when thou didst abound in good works, then thine armies were multiplied.’ Lowth supposes that the king of Egypt or Assyria is intended, and that the prophet refers to the fact, that the Hebrews had sought an alliance with them, and in order to secure it, had carried a present of valuable unguents, after the manner of the East. Rosenmuller supposes, that by the king an idol was intended, and that the sense is, that they had anointed themselves with oil, and prepared perfumes, in order to be acceptable to the idol; that is, had decorated themselves as harlots did.

Grotius supposes that it means that they had imitated foreign kings, and copied the customs of other nations, and refers to the example of Ahaz 2Ki 16:10. Others suppose that the word ‘king’ is to be taken collectively, and that it means that they had sought the alliance, and imitated the customs of foreign nations in general. It is probable that the prophet refers to some such fact. On former occasions, they had sought the alliance of the king of Assyria (see Isa 7:1); and on one occasion, at least, they had meditated an alliance with the king of Egypt (Isa 30:2 ff.) The essential idea is, that they had proved unfaithful to Yahweh. This idea is presented here under the image of a female unfaithful to her husband, who had decorated and perfumed herself that she might allure others. Thus the Jews had forsaken God, and had endeavored to make themselves agreeable in the sight of other nations, and had courted their friendship and alliance. The word I ‘king,’ according to this, refers not to idols, but to foreign princes, whose assistance had been sought.

And didst increase thy perfumes - That is, for the purpose of rendering thyself agreeable, after the manner of a licentious female (see Pro 7:17). The custom of perfuming the person was common in the East, and is still practiced there.

And didst send thy messengers - That is, to distant nations, for the purpose of securing their alliance.

And didst debase thyself even unto hell - On the meaning of the word ‘hell,’ see the notes at Isa 5:14. The idea is, that they had sunk to the deepest possible debasement. In forsaking Yahweh; in seeking foreign alliances; in their anxiety to secure their aid when Yahweh was abundantly able and willing to protect them, they had sunk to the lowest degradation of character and condition. The sentiment is, that people degrade themselves when they do not put confidence in God, and when, distrusting his ability, they put reliance on any other aid than his. If people have God for their protector, why should they court the friendship of earthly princes and kings?

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

King. Moloc, or (Calmet) any foreign king, of whose alliance God did not approve. (Theodoret) --- To please them, the true religion was adulterated.

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).

Thou wentest, either by thyself, or by thy messengers, as it follows. Or, thou didst look, to wit, earnestly, with expectation and vehement affection.

To the king; either to Moloch, which was as it were the king or chief of their idols, and which signifies a king. Or to the great king of Assyria, called the king by way of eminency, to whom the Israelites in the days of Isaiah were very prone to seek, and trust, and send presents. Although the word king may be here taken collectively for the kings of Assyria or Egypt, or any other king, from whom they desired or expected help in their straits. And so the prophet passeth here from their idolatry to another sin, even to their carnal confidence in heathen princes, for which they are oft severely reproved; although these two sins were commonly joined together, and they easily received idolatry from those kings whose help they desired.

With ointment; with precious ointments, and particularly with balm, which was of great price, and was a commodity peculiar to those parts, and was sometimes sent as a present: see Gen 43:11; Jer 8:22; 46:11.

Didst increase thy perfumes; didst send great quantities thereof to them to procure their aid.

Didst send thy messengers far off; into Assyria, which was far from Judea.

Didst debase thyself even unto hell; thou wast willing to submit to the basest terms to procure their aid.

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

9, 10. To the king — Or, possibly, to Moloch, as both words have the same radical letters, and differ only in vowels. If so, the meaning is plain. Or it may be “king,” and refer to some foreign idolatrous king to whom suit had been made for aid, instead of to Jehovah.

With ointment — Perfumery was in choicest request among oriental princes.

Debase thyself… unto hell — That is, to the lowest degradation into which one can sink — the most degrading practices of idolatry.

Wearied in the greatness of thy way — In this low service no wearing toil is too great, no sacrifice spared; with a zeal worthy of a better business thou dost never despond.

The life of thine hand — Or, life enough hast thou in thy hand, never to weary in idol making; never to pine as in sickness. Is is not better to take “the life of thine hand” as denoting illicit gains rather than illicit pleasures?

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

And thou wentest to the king, Delitzsch and Mr. Cheyne understand "the King of Assyria," and regard the verse as bringing forward a new subject of complaint: Not only hast thou deserted me tot other gods, but thou trustest for aid, not to me, but to the Assyrian monarch." But there is no indication of the Jews having put any trust in Assyria after the reign of Ahaz, to which this chapter, by its position in the prophecy, cannot belong. Moreover, the King of Assyria is never called simply" the king." It is, therefore, better to regard "the king" as Moloch, whom the Jews of Isaiah"s time certainly worshipped (see ver. 5), and whose name was a mere dialectic variety of Melech, king" (see Dean Payne Smith"s "Sermons on Isaiah," sermon 4. p. 119). Ointment... perfumes. Either bearing them as offerings, or herself perfumed with them, as was the practice of lewd women. (Pro_7:17) And didst send thy messengers far off; i.e. to distant Moloch-shrines. And didst debase thyself even unto hell; i.e. "didst take on thee the yoke of a mean and grovelling superstition, which debased thee to the lowest point conceivable." There was nothing lower in religion than the worship of Moloch.

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

The King - The king of Assyria, called the king by way of eminency, to whom the Israelites in the days of Isaiah were very prone to trust, and send presents. And so the prophet passes from their idolatry to another sin, even their confidence in Heathen princes. Increase - Didst send great quantities. Far off - Into Assyria, which was far from Judea. Debase - Thou wast willing to submit to the basest terms to procure their aid.

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

In the closest reciprocal connection with this God-forgetting, adulterous craving for the favour of heathen gods, stood their coquetting with the heathen power of the world. "And thou wentest to the king with oil, and didst measure copiously thy spices, and didst send thy messengers to a great distance, and didst deeply abase thyself, even to Hades. Thou didst become weary of the greatness of thy way; yet thou saidst not, It is unattainable: thou obtainedst the revival of thy strength: therefore thou wast not pained." The first thing to be noticed here, is one that has been overlooked by nearly all the modern commentators, viz., that we have here a historical retrospect before us. And secondly, a single glance at Isa 57:11 is sufficient to show that the words refer to a servile coquetry from the fear of man, and therefore to a wicked craving for the favour of man; so that "the king," is not Baal, or any heathen god whatever (according to Isa 8:21 and Zep 1:5), but the Asiatic ruler of the world. Ahaz sent messengers, as we read in Kg2 16:7., to Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, to say to Him, "I am thy servant and thy son." And Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the palace, and sent a bribe to the king of Assyria. And again, at Kg2 16:10., Ahaz went to Damascus to meet the king of Assyria, and there he saw an altar, and sent a model of it to Jerusalem, and had one like it put in the place of the altar of burnt-offering. Such acts as these are here described in the figure of Israel travelling with oil to the king, and taking a quantity of choice spices with it to gain his favour, and also sending messengers, and not only bowing itself to the earth, but even stooping to Hades, that is to say, standing as it were on its head in its excessive servility, for the purpose of obtaining allies. It seems most natural to take בּשׁמן as equivalent to בשמן משׁוּחה: thou wentest in oil (dripping with pomade), and didst apply to thyself many spices; but Beth after verbs of going signifies to go with anything, to take it with one and bring it, so that the oil and spices are thought of here as presents, which she took with her as sensual stimulants, with a view to the amorous pleasures she was seeking (Eze 23:41, cf., Hos 12:2). השׁפּיל signifies to go deep down in Jer 13:18; the meaning here is, to bow very low, or to degrade one's self. By "the greatness or breadth of the way" (a similar expression to that in Jos 9:13), all the great sacrifices are intended which it cost her to purchase the favour of the heathen ruler. Although they were a great trouble to her, yet she did not say נואש, "it is hopeless;" the niphal of יאשׁ signifies in Sa1 27:1, to betake one's self to a thing with despair of its success. The participle in Job 6:26 means a despairing person; it also occurs in a neuter sense in Jer 2:26; Jer 18:12, viz., given up, i.e., absolutely in vain. She did not give up hope, although the offerings nearly exhausted her strength; on the contrary, she gained יד חיּת, "life of her arm," i.e., (according to the use of חיה in the sense of reviving, and החיה, to bring to life again) new life in her arm, in other words, "the renewing of her strength" (recentem vigorem virium suarum). Thus, without noticing the sighs and groans forced from her by the excessive toil and fatigue, but stirring herself up again and again, she pursued the plan of strengthening her alliances with the heathen. Ezekiel's picture of Aholah and Aholibah is like a commentary on Isa 57:3-10 (see Ezek 23).

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.)

“And thou hast gone to the king in oil and hast multiplied thine unguents, and hast sent thine ambassadors even to a far off (land,) and hast gone (or sent) down even to hell.” The first verb has been variously explained as meaning ‘to see, to look around, to appear, to be adorned, to sing, to carry gifts.’ By ‘the king’ some understand the king of Babylon or Egypt, and refer the clause to the eagerness with which the Prophet’s contemporaries sought out foreign alliances. Most writers understand it as a name for idols generally, or for Moloch in particular. Bashemen (in oil) is commonly explained to mean with oil or ointment (as a gift); but some understand it to mean in oil, (i.e., anointed, beautified, adorned). Upon the explanation of this phrase of course depends that of the next, where unguents are said to be multiplied, either in the way of gifts to others or as means of self-adornment.

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

hell

Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")

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 the unfaithful people of Israel.

you went down to Sheol

The people did not literally go to Sheol, the world of the dead. Instead, Yahweh is indicating by exaggeration that the people were willing to go anywhere to find new gods to worship. (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

You found life in your hand

After trying so hard, the idolators found they still had strength to keep going. Here "hand" equals "strength" or "capacity." (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

Molech

oil

ambassador

Hades

life

hand

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 you brought a gift to the king with oil Heb. וַתָּשֻׁרִי. Originally, I aggrandized you, and you would greet your king with all sorts of delights. וַתָּשֻׁרִי is an expression of an audience. Comp. (Num. 24:17) “I see him (אֲשׁוּרֶנוּ) but he is not near.” [Also] (I Sam. 9:7), “And there is no present (תְּשׁוּרָה) to bring,” [i.e.,] a gift for an audience.

and you sent your ambassadors Your messenger afar to collect tribute from the heathen kings. ([Manuscripts and K’li Paz read:] the kings of the nations.)

and you humbled the laws of the heathens (of the nations [Mss. and K’li Paz]) to the grave. Jonathan rendered it in this manner.

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.

ותשרי וגו׳ And thou gavest, etc. There is yet another evil, says the Lord, to Israel; thou hast not only worshipped idols, thou hast also sent presents to the kings of Assyria or Egypt, and hast relied on them. As to the meaning of ותשרי and thou gavest a present, comp. ותשורה and a present (1 Sam. 9:7); R. Moses Hannagid derives תשורה from שור to see, and explains it to signify the fees for the vision and prophecy; according to this explanation ותשרי may be compared with אשורנו I shall see him (Num. 24:17), and explained thou didst go to see him.

With oil. Oil was exported from Palestine.

ציריך Thy messengers.

זתשפילי And didst debase thyself.

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.