Isaiah 5:25 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 5:25
Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֨הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
kindled
חָרָה֩cha.Rah
H2734
to glow or grow warm · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
people
בְּעַמּ֜וֹbe.'a.Mo
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
forth
וַיֵּ֣טvai.Yet
H5186
to stretch or spread out · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
יָד֧וֹya.Do
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular 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
Isaiah 9:21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand…
Isaiah 10:4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his…
2 Kings 9:37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebe…
Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocr…
Jeremiah 4:24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
Daniel 9:16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mo…
2 Chronicles 36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his peopl…
Psalms 18:7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 5:18–end
Here are, I. Sins described which will bring judgments upon a people: and this perhaps is not only a charge drawn up against the men of Judah who lived at that time, and the particular articles of that charge, though it may relate primarily to them, but is rather intended for warning to all people, in all ages, to take heed of these sins, as destructive both to particular persons and to communities, and exposing men to God's wrath and his righteous judgments. Those are here said to be in a woeful condition,
1. Who are eagerly set upon sin, and violent in their sinful pursuits (Isa 5:18), who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, who take as much pains to sin as the cattle do that draw a team,…
anger . . . kindled-- (Kg2 22:13, Kg2 22:17).
hills . . . tremble--This probably fixes the date of this chapter, as it refers to the earthquake in the days of Uzziah (Amo 1:1; Zac 14:5). The earth trembled as if conscious of the presence of God (Jer 4:24; Hab 3:6).
torn--rather, were as dung (Psa 83:10).
For all this, &c.--This burden of the prophet's strains, with dirge-like monotony, is repeated at Isa 9:12, Isa 9:17, Isa 9:21; Isa 10:4. With all the past calamities, still heavier judgments are impending; which he specifies in the rest of the chapter (Lev 26:14, &c.).
John Gill on Isaiah 5:25
Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people,.... His professing people; which character, as it aggravated their sin in rejecting and despising the word of the Lord, so it increased his anger and indignation against them:
and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them; which some understand of past judgments and afflictions upon them, under Joash, Amaziah, and Ahaz; and others of future ones, under Shalmaneser and Nebuchadnezzar:
and the hills did tremble; which Jarchi interprets of their kings and princes; or it may be only a figurative expression, setting forth the awfulness of the dispensation:
and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the…
"Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people." He wanted them to be a people of his own and to be called as such, but this is not what they wanted. Because of this he gives a sign of approaching war and of a multitude of the slain that would fill the mountains with dead corpses. The whole country would become full of their dead. All this would happen to them at the hands of the enemy invaders. The enemies did not do this on their own; rather, God himself brought them about, drawing and leading their enemies to the siege of the accused Israelites.
(Verse 25.) Therefore the wrath of the Lord's fury is upon His people, and He stretches out His hand against them and strikes them, and the mountains tremble, and their dead bodies become like refuse in the middle of the streets. In all of this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is still outstretched. For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, which the Lord had promised to give through Jeremiah, saying: 'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt' (Jeremiah 31:31-32). And the people of Holy Israel blasphemed His speech, saying: He has a devil, and He is a Samaritan (John 8:48); and: Is not this the carpenter's son (Matthew 13:55)? Therefore, the fury of the Lord was kindled against His people, who were previously angry with the rulers and the powerful, who were wise in their own eyes, and justified the wicked for bribes, and their tongue devoured them like fire, and the heat of the flame consumed them, so that the mighty would suffer mighty torments. And He stretched out His hand against the people whom He calls His own; because they are His portion and the inheritance of His possession (Deut. XXXII). But He stretched out His hand to strike, and His fury was kindled, as we read in another place: O Lord, rebuke me not in Thy fury, neither chasten me in Thy wrath (Ps. VI, 1). And Jeremiah says: Correct us, O Lord, but with judgment; not in Thine anger (Jerem. X, 24). However, the Lord is said to be angry, not because He is subject to human disturbances, but because we who sin do not fear the Lord unless we hear Him expressing His anger. Therefore, the Apostle writes (Rom. II) that the goodness and patience of God provoke us to repentance: but we, according to the hardness and impenitence of our heart, treasure up wrath to ourselves against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. And concerning the hand that is stretched forth or lifted up against the sinful people, Job speaks more explicitly: For the hand of the Lord has touched me (Job. XIX, 21). And the devil, knowing the mighty hand of the Lord, and the arm that is revealed to all nations, says to the Lord: send forth your hand, and touch all that he…
Dictionary and topics
Dung — (1.) Used as manure (Luke 13:8); collected outside the city walls (Neh. 2:13). Of sacrifices, burned outside the camp (Ex. 29:14; Lev. 4:11; 8:17; Num. 19:5). To be “cast out as dung,” a figurative…
Earthquake — Mentioned among the extraordinary phenomena of Palestine (Ps. 18:7; comp. Hab. 3:6; Nah. 1:5; Isa. 5:25). The first earthquake in Palestine of which we have any record happened in the reign of Ahab…
Infidelity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Jews, The · Often displeased God by their sins — Often displeased God by their sins
Presumption · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Scoffing · 21:14,15;34:7; — 21:14,15;34:7;
War · 28:25-68;32:30; — 28:25-68;32:30;
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).
smitten
וַיַּכֵּ֗הוּvai.ya.Ke.hu
H5221
to strike (lightly or severely · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
hills
הֶֽהָרִ֔יםhe.ha.Rim
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
tremble
וַֽיִּרְגְּזוּ֙vai.yir.ge.Zu
H7264
to quiver (with any violent emotion · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
carcases
נִבְלָתָ֛םniv.la.Tam
H5038
a flabby thing · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
torn
כַּסּוּחָ֖הka.su.Chah
H5478
something swept away · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
midst
בְּקֶ֣רֶבbe.Ke.rev
H7130
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
streets
חוּצ֑וֹתchu.Tzot
H2351
properly · noun, common feminine plural absolute
anger
אַפּ֔וֹ'a.Po
H639
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
away
שָׁ֣בshav
H7725
to turn back (hence · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
יָד֥וֹya.Do
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
out
נְטוּיָֽהne.tu.Yah
H5186
to stretch or spread out · verb, qal passive participle, feminine singular absolute
John Calvin on Isaiah 5:25
Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled. In this verse the Prophet relates the former punishments which the Jews had already endured, and shows that they are not near an end; but that, on the contrary, heavier judgments await them, if they do not return to the right path. I readily acknowledge that the past tense is frequently employed instead of the future, but the meaning which I have stated will best agree with the context; for there are two things quite distinct from each other, which he lays down, on account of the resolute obstinacy of the people. First, how God perceives their crimes. Secondly, since there are no signs of repentance, he has other scourges within his reach for chast…
"Therefore is the wrath of Jehovah kindled against His people, and He stretches His hand over them, and smites them; then the hills tremble, and their carcases become like sweepings in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not appeased, and His hand is stretched out still." We may see from these last words, which are repeated as a refrain in the cycle of prophecies relating to the time of Ahaz (Isa 9:11, Isa 9:16; Isa 10:4), that the prophet had before his mind a distinct and complete judgment upon Judah, belonging to the immediate future. It was certainly a coming judgment, not one already past; for the verbs after "therefore" (‛al-cên), like those after the three previous la…
mountains tremble: God’s wrath against sinners is often expressed as the shaking of the earth’s foundations (13:13; 23:11; 24:18-19; 29:6; 54:10). God’s appearance in judgment or salvation in natural phenomena such as smoke, darkness, lightning, and earthquake is called a theophany (see 6:1-4, 6; 13:13; Exod 19:18-19; Ps 18:7-15; Mic 1:3-4; Rev 8:5; 16:17-18; 18:21-22).
Rashi on Isaiah 5:25
therefore [i.e.,] because of these deeds of theirs.
and the mountains have quaked [This is symbolic of] their kings and their princes.
like spittle Heb. כַּסּוּחָה, like spittle and vomit, which is expelled (נִיסָח) from a person’s body, which is repugnant. In the language of the Rabbis, it is called סְחִי and so (Lamentations 3:45): “Loathsome and rejected.”
in the midst of the streets So they will be loathsome among the nations.
with all this that has come upon them.
His anger has not turned back They have not been rectified with their deeds to cause His anger to turn back.
and His hand is still outstretched to harm them.
