Isaiah 5:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 5:12
And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
drink · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
regard
יַבִּ֔יטוּya.Bi.tu
H5027
to scan · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
work
פֹּ֤עַלPo.'al
H6467
an act or work (concretely) · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָה֙Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
consider
רָאֽוּra.'U
H7200
to see · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
operation
וּמַעֲשֵׂ֥הu.ma.'a.Seh
H4639
an action (good or bad) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
hands
יָדָ֖יוya.Dav
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 28:5 Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
Job 21:11-14 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
Job 34:27 Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:
Amos 6:4-6 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst…
Daniel 5:23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords,…
Jude 1:12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried…
Genesis 31:27 Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and wit…
Psalms 92:5-6 O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 5:8-17
The world and the flesh are the two great enemies that we are in danger of being overpowered by; yet we are in no danger if we do not ourselves yield to them. Eagerness of the world, and indulgence of the flesh, are the two sins against which the prophet, in God's name, here denounces woes. These were sins which then abounded among the men of Judah, some of the wild grapes they brought forth (Isa 5:4), and for which God threatens to bring ruin upon them. They are sins which we have all need to stand upon our guard against and dread the consequences of.
I. Here is a woe to those who set their hearts upon the wealth of the world, and place their happiness in that, and increase it to themselves…
Music was common at ancient feasts (Isa 24:8-9; Amo 6:5-6).
viol--an instrument with twelve strings [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 8.10].
tabret--Hebrew, toph, from the use of which in drowning the cries of children sacrificed to Moloch, Tophet received its name. Arabic, duf. A kettle drum, or tambourine.
pipe--flute or flageolet: from a Hebrew root "to bore through"; or else, "to dance" (compare Job 21:11-15).
regard not . . . Lord--a frequent effect of feasting (Job 1:5; Psa 28:5).
work . . . operation--in punishing the guilty (Isa 5:19; Isa 10:12).
John Gill on Isaiah 5:12
And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe,.... Instruments of music; some struck with a bow or quill, or touched with the fingers; and others blown with the mouth:
and wine are in their feasts; so that they lived jovially and merrily, like sons of Bacchus, more than like the people of God:
but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands; meaning not the law, as the Targum and Kimchi, which was the work of the Lord, and the writing of his hands; rather, as Aben Ezra, the punishment inflicted on the ten tribes being carried into captivity; or else the works of creation and providence, and the daily mercies of life; or, best of all, the great work…
Banquets — among the Hebrews, were not only a means of social enjoyment, but were a part of the observance of religious festivity. At the three solemn festivals the family also had its domestic feast. (16:11)…
Music — Jubal was the inventor of musical instruments (Gen. 4:21). The Hebrews were much given to the cultivation of music. Their whole history and literature afford abundant evidence of this. After the…
Music, Instrumental — Among instruments of music used by the Hebrews a principal place is given to stringed instruments. These were, (1.) The kinnor, the “harp.” (2.) The nebel, “a skin bottle,” rendered “psaltery.” (3.)…
Pipe — (1 Sam. 10:5; 1 Kings 1:40; Isa. 5:12; 30:29). The Hebrew word halil, so rendered, means “bored through,” and is the name given to various kinds of wind instruments, as the fife, flute, Pan-pipes,…
Psaltery — A musical instrument, supposed to have been a kind of lyre, or a harp with twelve strings. The Hebrew word nebhel, so rendered, is translated “viol” in Isa. 5:12 (R.V., “lute”); 14:11. In Dan. 3:5,…
Viol — Heb. nebel (Isa. 5:12, R.V., “lute;” 14:11), a musical instrument, usually rendered “psaltery” (q.v.)
Amusements And Pleasures, Worldly · Lead to: Disregard of the judgments and works of God — Lead to: Disregard of the judgments and works of God
Amusements And Worldly Pleasures · Disregard of the — Disregard of the
Drunkenness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Feasts · Music at — Music at
Godlessness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
John Calvin on Isaiah 5:12
And the harp. He adds the instruments of pleasures by which men addicted to intemperance provoke their appetite. These might be different from ours, but they belonged to music. Now, Isaiah does not blame music, for it is a science which ought not to be despised; but he describes a nation swimming in every kind of luxury, and too much disposed to indulge in pleasures. This is sufficiently evident from what follows.
And they regard not the work of the Lord As if he had said, "They are as constant in luxurious indulgence, and as much devoted to it, as if this had been the purpose for which they were born and reared; and they do not consider why the Lord supplies them with what is necessary." M…
Isa 5:12 describes how they go on in their blindness with music and carousing: "And guitar and harp, kettle-drum, and flute, and wine, is their feast; but they regard not the work of Jehovah, and see not the purpose of His hands." "Their feast" is so and so (משׁתּיהם is only a plural in appearance; it is really a singular, as in Dan 1:10, Dan 1:16, and many other passages, with the Yod of the primary form, משׁתּי = משׁתּה, softened: see the remarks on עלה at Isa 1:30, and עשׂיה at Isa 22:11); that is to say, their feast consisted or was composed of exciting music and wine. Knobel construes it, "and there are guitar, etc., and wine is their drink;" but a divided sentence of this kind is very…
Self-indulgent and contented, these people never think about the Lord. They were too busy enjoying their drunken parties to reflect on why things went bad in the first place, such as why God sent no rain, or why they lost a battle.
Rashi on Isaiah 5:12
harp and lute A lute has more strings than a harp. [Perhaps Rashi explains נֵבֶל as a lyre, which may have more strings than a harp.] Now why is it called נֵבֶל? Because it disgraces (מְנַבֵּל) all kinds of musical instruments. In Midrash Tehillim (81:3).
tamborine That was made of skin.
a flute A flute of reed, chalemel in O.F.
and the work of the Lord they do not regard And in the Torah of the Lord they did not look [from Jonathan].
and the deed of His hands they have not seen They pretended that they did not see His mighty deeds. Another explanation is: They did not praise Him in the morning by reciting, “He Who forms light,” nor in the evening, by reciting, “He Who brings on the even…
Happiness Of The Wicked, The · Is derived from: Vain pleasure — Is derived from: Vain pleasure
Harp · Used in festivities — Used in festivities
Music · .VIOL, a lyre — .VIOL, a lyre
Pleasure · WORLDLY — WORLDLY
Viol · An instrument of music — An instrument of music
Wine · Was used: At all feasts and entertainments — Was used: At all feasts and entertainments
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
