Isaiah 17:14

And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(14) And behold at eveningtide trouble.—The words, though spoken in general terms, received a special fulfilment in the destruction of Sennacherib’s army (Isaiah 37:36). Possibly the parallelism they present to Isaiah 17:11 may have led to the insertion of the oracle in this place.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

17:12-14 The rage and force of the Assyrians resembled the mighty waters of the sea; but when the God of Israel should rebuke them, they would flee like chaff, or like a rolling thing, before the whirlwind. In the evening Jerusalem would be in trouble, because of the powerful invader, but before morning his army would be nearly cut off. Happy are those who remember God as their salvation, and rely on his power and grace. The trouble of the believers, and the prosperity of their enemies, will be equally short; while the joy of the former, and the destruction of those that hate and spoil them, shall last for ever.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

At evening-tide trouble - In the time of evening - that is, in the night.

Before the morning he is not - That is, he is destroyed. This is strikingly descriptive of the destruction of the army of Sennacherib on that fatal night when the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 men (see the note at Isaiah 37:36).

This is the portion of them that spoil us - Of those who would plunder us. This is a "general" declaration in regard to the enemies of the Jewish people. This is the lot, the end, the destiny of all who attempt to destroy them. That is, the people of God shall be safe whoever rises up against them; and whatever may be the number, or the power of their foes, they shall be overthrown.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

14. eventide … before morning—fulfilled to the letter in the destruction "before morning" of the vast host that "at eveningtide" was such a terror ("trouble") to Judah; on the phrase see Ps 90:6; 30:5.

he is not—namely, the enemy.

us—the Jews. A general declaration of the doom that awaits the foes of God's people (Isa 54:17).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Behold at evening-tide trouble; and before the morning he is not: at even there is a great terror and consternation among God’s people, for fear of their enemies; and ere the morning cometh, their enemies are cut off by the hand of God. This was literally and eminently fulfilled in the destruction of Sennacherib’s army before Jerusalem. Although the words may be more generally understood of any great and sudden change, and unexpected deliverance, granted to God’s people, when their enemies were ready to devour them. And this place may be compared with that in Psalm 30:5, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us: this is a triumphant conclusion, uttered by the prophet in the name of God’s people.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And behold at eveningtide trouble,.... Or terror (a) and consternation; which some understand of that which was in the Assyrian army, when the Angel of the Lord destroyed it, taking "evening for night", for it was in the night that that was done; so Jarchi interprets it of Shedim, a sort of spirits or demons, that came against the enemy, and troubled and frightened them: but it is best to take it in the more common sense, of the trouble that Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were in, on the evening or night before their deliverance; the whole land of Judea round about them being laid waste, their city besieged by a powerful army, and the enemy blaspheming, blustering, and triumphing:

and before the morning he is not; Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, he was not before Jerusalem, he was fled: or "it was not" (b); the Assyrian army was not, it was destroyed by an angel in the night, and in the morning were all dead corpses, 2 Kings 19:35 or trouble was not, that was all over, joy came in the morning; see Psalm 30:5,

this is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us; these are the words of the prophet, and of the people of God, he represents, making observation upon, and use of the above dispensation, though not confining it to that; and their meaning is, that this is not the case of these Assyrians only, but of all the enemies of God's people, who, sooner or later, come to destruction; and which is not by chance, but by the appointment and disposition of God, who allots and portions out ruin unto them, as the just reward of their works; see Job 20:29.

(a) "terror", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (b) "non ipsa", Montanus.

Geneva Study Bible

And behold at the time of evening {q} trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that plunder us, and the lot of them that rob us.

(q) He compares the Assyrians to a tempest which rises overnight and in the morning is gone.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

14. The destruction of the Assyrian shall be accomplished between evening and daybreak. The expression denotes a very short space of time, as in Psalm 30:5; Job 27:19; but the destruction of Sennacherib’s army took place literally in the night (ch. Isaiah 37:36).

And behold … he is not] Render: At eventime, behold terror! before morning, it (the tumult) is gone!

them that spoil us, &c.] the Assyrians; cf. ch. Isaiah 10:6; Isaiah 10:13.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 14. - Behold at evening-tide trouble; rather, terror, as the word is elsewhere always translated (comp. 2 Kings 19:35, "It came to pass that night that the angel of the Lord went out," etc.). He is not (comp. 2 Kings 19:35, "They were all dead corpses"). That spoil us... that rob us (see 2 Kings 18:13-16).



Isaiah 17:14

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Fourth turn: "Woe to the raoring of many nations: like the roaring of seas they roar; and to the rumbling of nations, like the rumbling of mighty waters they rumble! Nations, like the rumbling of many waters they rumble; and He threatens it: then it flies far away, and is chased like chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a cloud of dust before the gale. At eventide, behold consternation; and before the morning dawn it is destroyed: this the portion of our plunderers, and the lot of our robbers." It is the destruction of Asshur that the prophet is predicting here (as in Isaiah 14:24-27; Isaiah 29:5-8, etc.), though not of Asshur as Asshur, but of Asshur as the imperial kingdom, which embraced a multitude of nations (Isaiah 22:6; Isaiah 8:9, Isaiah 8:10; Isaiah 14:26; Isaiah 29:7, Isaiah 29:8) all gathered together under the rule of one will, to make a common attack upon the church of God. The connection between this fourth turn and the third is precisely the same as between Isaiah 8:9, Isaiah 8:10, and Isaiah 8:6-8. The exclamation of woe (hoi) is an expression of pain, as in Isaiah 10:1; and this is followed by a proclamation of the judgment of wrath. The description of the rolling wave of nations is as pictorial as the well-known illi inter sese, etc., of the Cyclops in Virgil. "It spreads and stretches out, as if it would never cease to roll, and roar, and surge, and sweep onward in its course" (Drechsler). In the expression "it" (bo) in Isaiah 17:13, the many surging nations are kneaded together, as it were, into one mass. It costs God simply a threatening word; and this mass all flies apart (mimmerchâk like mērâchōk, Isaiah 23:7), and falls into dust, and whirls about in all directions, like the chaff of threshing-floors in high situations, or like dust whirled up by the storm. The judgment commences in the evening, and rages through the night; and before the morning dawns, the army of nations raised by the imperial power is all destroyed (compare Isaiah 29:7, Isaiah 29:8, and the fulfilment in Isaiah 37:36). The fact that the oracle concerning Damascus in its fourth stage takes so comprehensive and, so far as Israel is concerned, so promising a form, may be explained on the ground that Syria was the forerunner of Asshur in the attack upon Israel, and that the alliance between Israel and Syria became the occasion of the complications with Asshur. If the substance of the massâ Dammesek (the oracle concerning Damascus) had been restricted to the prophecy contained in the name Mahershalal, the element of promise so characteristic of the prophecies against the nations of the world would be entirely wanting. But the shout of triumph, "This is the portion," etc., supplied a terminal point, beyond which the massa could not go without the sacrifice of its unity. We are therefore warranted in regarding Isaiah 18:1-7 as an independent prophecy, notwithstanding its commencement, which apparently forms a continuation of the fourth strophe of Isaiah 17:1-14.