Matthew Henry on Isaiah 10:5-19
The destruction of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser king of Assyria was foretold in the foregoing chapter, and it had its accomplishment in the sixth year of Hezekiah, Kg2 18:10. It was total and final, head and tail were all cut off. Now the correction of the kingdom of Judah by Sennacherib king of Assyria is foretold in this chapter; and this prediction was fulfilled in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, when that potent prince, encouraged by the successes of his predecessor against the ten tribes, came up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them, and laid siege to Jerusalem (Kg2 18:13, Kg2 18:17), in consequence of which we may well suppose Hezekiah and his kingdom were grea…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 10:18
glory of his forest--The common soldiers, the princes, officers, &c., all alike together, shall be consumed (see on Isa 9:18).
in one day-- (Isa 37:36).
fruitful field--literally, "Carmel," a rich mountain in the tribe of Asher. Figurative for Sennacherib's mighty army. Perhaps alluding to his own boasting words about to be uttered (Isa 37:24), "I will enter the forest of his Carmel."
soul and body--proverbial for utterly; the entire man is made up of soul and body.
as when a standard bearer fainteth--rather, "they shall be as when a sick man" (from a Syriac root) wastes away." Compare "leanness," that is, wasting destruction (Isa 10:16) [MAURER]. Or, "there shall be an entire dissip…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Gill on Isaiah 10:18
And shall consume the glory of his forest,.... The Assyrian army is compared to a "forest", for the number of men in it; and for the mighty men in it, comparable to large and tall trees, such as oaks and cedars; and like a wood or forest a numerous army looks, when in rank and file, in proper order, and with banners, and having on their armour, their shields, spears, bows and arrows; and the "glory" of it intends either the princes and nobles that were in it, the principal officers, generals, and captains; or the riches of it, the plunder of the Egyptians and Ethiopians, as Kimchi observes, which were all destroyed at once:
both soul and body, or "from the soul even to the flesh" (o); which…
