properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
vain
לָרִ֔יקla.Rik
H7385
emptiness · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
forth
יֵלְד֖וּye.le.Du
H3205
to bear young · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
trouble
לַבֶּהָלָ֑הla.be.ha.Lah
H928
panic · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
seed
זֶ֜רַעZe.ra'
H2233
seed · noun, common masculine singular construct
blessed
בְּרוּכֵ֤יbe.ru.Khei
H1288
to kneel · verb, qal passive participle, masculine plural construct
LORD
יְהוָה֙Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
offspring
וְצֶאֱצָאֵיהֶ֖םve.tze.'e.tza.'ei.Hem
H6631
issue · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
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 61:9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they…
Jeremiah 32:38-39 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
Deuteronomy 28:3-12 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Psalms 115:14-15 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Isaiah 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work…
Isaiah 55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat…
Romans 9:7-8 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 65:17–end
If these promises were in part fulfilled when the Jews, after their return out of captivity, were settled in peace in their own land and brought as it were into a new world, yet they were to have their full accomplishment in the gospel church, militant first and at length triumphant. The Jerusalem that is from above is free and is the mother of us all. In the graces and comforts which believers have in and from Christ we are to look for this new heaven and new earth. It is in the gospel that old things have passed away and all things have become new, and by it that those who are in Christ are new creatures, Co2 5:17. It was a mighty and happy change that was described Isa 65:16, that the for…
bring forth for trouble--literally, "for terror," that is, "They shall not bring forth children for a sudden death" (Lev 26:16; Jer 15:8).
seed . . . blessed-- (Isa 61:9).
offspring with them-- (Hos 9:12). "Their offspring shall be with themselves" [MAURER]; not "brought forth" only to be cut off by "sudden death" (see the parallel clause).
Adam Clarke on Isaiah 65:23
They shall not labor in vain "My chosen shall not labor in vain" - I remove בחירי bechirai, my elect, from the end of the twenty-second to the beginning of the twenty-third verse, on the authority of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, and a MS.; contrary to the division in the Masoretic text. - L. The Septuagint is beautiful: My chosen shall not labor in vain, neither shall they beget children for the curse; for the seed is blessed of the Lord, and their posterity with them."
Nor bring forth for trouble "Neither shall they generate a short-lived race" - לבהלה labbehalah, in festinationem, "what shall soon hasten away." Εις καταραν for a curse, Sept. They seem to have read לאלה lealah. - Gr…
They shall not labour in vain,.... As they do, who build houses, and enemies come and turn them out of them, and dwell in them themselves; or who plant vineyards, and sow their fields, and strangers come and devour them; or they are smitten with blasting and mildew:
nor bring forth for trouble; for death, as the Targum; or for a curse, as the Septuagint: the tense is, they shall not beget and bring forth children, that shall immediately die by some distemper or another, or be taken off by famine, sword, or pestilence, to the great grief and trouble of their parents; but these shall live, and outlive their parents, so that their death will never be a trouble to them:
for they are the seed o…
The Church Fathers
When God sees in us some beginnings of a good will, he at once enlightens it and strengthens it and urges it on toward salvation, increasing that which he himself implanted or which he sees to have arisen from our own efforts. In his goodness, not only does he inspire us with holy desires, but actually creates occasions for life and opportunities for good results, and shows to those in error the way of salvation.
(Verse 23) For according to the days of a tree, the days of my people will be, and the work of their hands will grow old with my chosen. They will not labor in vain, nor bring forth children in trouble, for they are the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants will be with them. LXX: For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my people: and the works of their hands shall be multiplied. My chosen ones shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for a curse: for they are the seed blessed by the Lord, and their offspring with them. The dwelling and plantation of the righteous will be eternal, so that the days of the life of my people may be compared to the days of the life of the tree, about which it is said in the Psalms: The righteous will flourish like a palm tree (Psalm 92:13), triumphing over their adversaries daily and displaying the emblem of victory. However, if we read it according to the Septuagint, we understand 'the days of the life of the tree,' which conveys more the meaning from the Hebrew rather than the words, and we understand it as the tree of life that was situated in paradise. So that Adam would not extend his hand to live, he was driven out of paradise (Genesis, III). In the custody of which, Cherubim, that is, a multitude of knowledge, and a fiery sword was placed to guard the way of the tree of life, so that Adam, who was in sin and not yet aware of his sins, would not eat from it and die from the death of impenitence, desperation, and pride. Solomon explains more clearly what this tree of life is, who, discussing the wisdom of God, says: The tree of life is for all who approach it, and who rely on it, as a firm foundation on the Lord (Proverbs III, 18); there is no doubt that it signifies the Word of God, who himself is the way and wisdom, and speaks of himself: I am the life (John XI, 25). And as the Prophet sings: You have made everything in wisdom: the earth is full of your creatures (Psalm 104:24); and the Apostle Paul: Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). The works of the people of God will also not grow old, but will be renewed daily, so that they do not walk in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of the spirit (Romans 7). Just as through the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one man, many will be made righteous.…
Dictionary and topics
Cattle — Abounded in the Holy Land. To the rearing and management of them the inhabitants chiefly devoted themselves (Deut. 8:13; 12:21; 1 Sam. 11:5; 12:3; Ps. 144:14; Jer. 3:24). They may be classified as,…
Millennium · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Parents · When Faithful: Leave a blessing to their children — When Faithful: Leave a blessing to their children
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).
They shall not toil in vain. He enumerates other kinds of blessings which God promises to the kingdom of Christ; for, although God always blessed his people, yet the blessings were in some measure suspended till the coming of Christ, in whom was displayed full and complete happiness. In a word, both Jews and Gentiles shall be happy, in all respects, under the reign of Christ. Now, as it is a token of God's wrath and curse when we obtain no advantage front our labor, so, on the other hand, it is a token of blessing when we clearly see the fruit of our labor. For this reason he says that they who shall have returned from captivity, in order that they may obtain a true and complete deliverance,…
In the place of the threatened curses of the law in Lev 26:16 (cf., Deu 28:30), the very opposite will now receive their fullest realization. "And they will build houses and inhabit them, and plant vineyards and enjoy the fruit thereof. They will not build and another inhabit, nor plant and another enjoy; for like the days of trees are the days of my people, ad my chosen ones will consume the work of their hands. They will not weary themselves in vain, nor bring forth for sudden disaster; for they are a family of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring are left to them." They themselves will enjoy what they have worked for, without some one else stepping in, whether a countryman by viole…