Isaiah 6:12

Isa 6:12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and [there be] a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

Ver. 12. And the Lord have removed men far away.] Judea lay utterly waste for seventy years, insomuch that after the slaughter of Gedaliah, when all - man, woman, and child - fled into Egypt, there was not a Jew left in the country. And in that last desolation by the Romans, such affliction befell them as never had been from the beginning, nor shall be to the world’s end. {Mar 13:19} After Titus had slain a million of them, and carried away captive ninty-seven thousand more, Adrian the emperor, for their sedition under Barchochach, drove all the Jews utterly out of Jewry, set a sow of white marble over the chief gate of Jerusalem in reproach of their religion, and by proclamation forbade them so much as to look toward that land from any high tower or mountain. {a} Howbeit, they afterwards obtained leave to go in once a year and bewail the destruction of their temple, giving a piece of money to the soldiers; and at this day, when or wherever they build a house, they use to leave about a yard square of it unplastered, on which they write, Zecher lechorban, The memory of the desolation. {b}

{a} Josephus.

{b} Leo Modena.

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.

(Kg2 25:21).

forsaking--abandonment of dwellings by their inhabitants (Jer 4:29).

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

(12) And the Lord have removed men far away.—The words point to the policy of deportation adopted by the Assyrian kings. From the first hour of Isaiah’s call the thought of an exile and a return from exile was the key-note of his teaching, and of that thought thus given in germ, his whole after-work was but a development, the horizon of his vision expanding and taking in the form of another empire than the Assyrian as the instrument of punishment.

And there be a great forsaking.—Better, great shall be the deserted space. (Comp. Isa_5:9; Isa_7:22-23.) The words may have connected themselves in Isaiah’s thoughts with what he had heard before from the lips of Micah (Jer_26:18; Mic_3:12).

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

12. and there be a great forsaking … land] Better, and great be the vacancy in the midst of the land. The word “vacancy” (deserted place) is used in Isa_17:9 : for the thought cf. ch. Isa_5:9, Isa_7:16 ff.

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 the Lord have removed men far away,.... Not to Babylon, but to the ends of the earth, into the most distant countries, by means of the Romans; for they were but instruments of carrying the Jews captive out of their own land, and dispersing them among the several nations of the world; it was the Lord's doing, and a judgment which he inflicted upon them for their sins:

and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land; not that there should be many left in the land, and multiply and increase in it; which is the sense of the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions; but that the land should be greatly forsaken of men; there should be many places in the midst of the land destitute of them; and this should continue a long time, as Kimchi observes, which therefore cannot be understood of the Babylonish captivity, but of their present one.

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

And the Lord have removed ... - The land shall be given up to desolation. The men - the strength of the nation - shall be taken to a distant land.

And there be a great forsaking - A great desolation; the cities and dwellings shall be abandoned by the inhabitants; compare Isa 17:2; Jer 4:29; Zep 2:4.

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

Earth. After the captivity, the people shall be more docile. But this was more fully verified by the preaching of the gospel.

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).

Have removed men far away; have caused this people to be carried away captive into far countries.

And there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land; till houses and lands be generally forsaken of their owners, either because fled away from the sword into strange lands, or because they went into captivity.

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

12. Lord have removed — Accomplished the punishment of Judah through the agency of Babylon.

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

And the Lord have removed men far away. The Assyrian and Babylonian policy of deportation is pointed at. Pul had attacked the kingdom of Israel ten or twelve years before Uzziah"s death, and had perhaps made the Assyrian policy known, though he had allowed himself to be bought off. (2Ki_15:19, 2Ki_15:20) And there be a great forsaking; rather, and the desolation be great; i.e. till a great portion of Judah be depopulated.

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

Removed - Hath caused this people to be carried away captive into far countries. A forsaking - 'Till houses and lands be generally forsaken of their owners.

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

This verse continues the answer to the Prophet’s question in the verse preceding. “And (until) Jehovah shall have put far off (removed to a distance) the men (or people of the country) and great (much or abundant) shall be that which is left (of unoccupied forsaken ground) in the midst of the land.” This is little more than a repetition, in other words, of the declaration in the verse preceding. The terms of this verse may be applied to all the successive desolations of the country, not excepting that most extreme and remarkable of all which exists at the present moment.

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

and the deserted places be many For the land will be abandoned by them, and this is the explanation of the language: Deserted places will increase in the midst of the land.

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 have removed. He will take them far away, and bring them into a distant country.

העזובה The forsaken land. Adjective or participle passive Kal.

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.