Глава 28

A preliminary note about chs. 28–33. How chapters 7-12 contain the first, great, major cycle of Isaiah's prophecies, based on the events depicted in chapter 7. (1 et seq.), so chapters 28–33, based on the events depicted in chapters 36–37, constitute the second main cycle. Ch. 7–12 depict Israel's relationship to Assyria in the days of Ahaz, and 28–33 describe the same relationship under King Hezekiah. But just as Ahaz’s fault was that he sought protection against the alliance of the Syrian and Israeli kings not from God, but from Asshur, so Hezekiah sinned in that against Asshur, who had become an enemy of the Jews, he again sought help not from the Lord, but from Egypt, to an alliance with which the courtiers convinced him. It was against this secretly arranged alliance, contrary to the will of God, that the prophet Isaiah armed himself. He made a whole series of speeches against this alliance, which primarily depicted the internal motives for concluding such an alliance. Here the prophet (in chapter 28) depicts the intoxication in which this alliance was concluded by the Jewish politicians - an intoxication that had almost destroyed Samaria. The prophet then describes the secret plans of Jewish politicians, which, however, did not hide from his watchful gaze (chapter 29), then predicts the failure of all these political combinations and points to the only salvation - in the Lord (chapter 30). In the same way, further (chap. 31 and 32) he points out the powerlessness of Egypt and together paints a bright image of the future kingdom, attacking at the same time the then leaders of Judea and, in addition, especially women, who played an important role in the direction of politics. Finally, the prophet (chapter 33) announces the defeat of Assyria and the salvation of Israel. All these chapters make up a total of five speeches delivered at different times, and each of these speeches begins with the appeal: Woe! 1–13. The intoxication of Ephraim and the intoxication of Judah: the consequences of this intoxication. 14–22. False and true. 23–29. Education of the people of Israel through various punishments. Isa.28:1–13. Samaria - this luxurious crown of the rich land of Ephraim - will soon be crushed and trampled. The Lord will send a formidable enemy against her, who will quickly destroy everything standing in his way - like a whirlwind, like a flood. With Samaria it will be the same as with an early ripened fig, which everyone wants to pick as quickly as possible. But to the remnant of his people - the kingdom of Judah - the Lord will send His intercession and will grant the Jewish judges the spirit of justice, and the leaders of the army - courage. Unfortunately, at the present time - that is, under King Hezekiah - all the leaders of Judah have gone mad with wine and strong drink, just like the leaders of Samaria. They do not want to listen to Isaiah and laugh at his speeches. For this, their enemies will attack them and they will pay severely for their stubbornness. Isa.28:1. Woe to the wreath of pride of the drunken Ephraimites, to the withered flower of their beautiful decoration, which is at the top of the fat valley of those slain by wine! The speech against Samaria (1–4) was apparently said before 722, when Samaria still stood, see in the first years of Hezekiah. Samaria was called the “Wreath of Pride” because it was located on an oval hill and had a majestic and beautiful appearance. The slopes of the hills along which the city was located are still covered with fig trees, olives and orchards in general. The main Samaritan hill rises 400 feet. above the valley level. “Faded”, more precisely: fading. “Valleys of the wine-slain,” i.e., valleys at the top of which live drunkards who drink wine until they lose consciousness. Excessive wealth, says Geikie, often obtained through dishonest means, was concentrated in the hands of only a few nobles, while the rest of the population suffered the greatest need (Holy Land and the Bible, p. 822). Because of this, the Samaritan rich could indulge in extreme intemperance. Isa.28:2. Behold, strong and strong with the Lord, like a hailstorm and a destructive whirlwind, like an overflowing flood of stormy waters, it plunges him with force to the ground. “Strong and strong”, i.e. the Assyrian army. “With the Lord” is the same as before the Lord (Gen. 10:9), that is, in reality (the opposite of what is denoted in Scripture by the expression: before men). Isa.28:3. The wreath of pride of the drunken Ephraimites is trampled underfoot. Isa.28:4. And with the withered flower of its beautiful decoration, which is at the top of the fat valley, the same thing happens that happens with a fig that has ripened before its time, which, as soon as someone sees it, he immediately takes it in his hand and swallows it. "With a withered flower". It would be more correct to say: withering away, because Samaria still existed at that time. "Fig". This fruit generally has a sweet taste, refreshes the mouth and is very good for health; all the more, of course, does everyone strive to pick the first, prematurely ripened fruit of the fig tree. With the same greed, the Assyrians sought to seize luxurious Samaria into their hands. Isa.28:5. In that day the Lord of hosts will be a magnificent crown and a glorious diadem for the remnant of His people, Isa.28:6. and the spirit of justice for those sitting in the judgment seat and courage for those repelling the enemy to the gate. “On that day”, i.e. on the day of the destruction of Samaria. "With a crown and a glorious diadem". If Samaria proudly called itself the crown of the kingdom of Israel, then for the kingdom of Judah the crown will be the Most High Himself, Who with His mercy will glorify the city of Jerusalem devoted to Him and will show His special presence here. “The Spirit of justice,” that is, the Lord Himself will act through judges and rulers as the God of justice. “By courage,” i.e. He will inspire courage in the Jewish leaders. "To the Gate". The Jewish leaders will approach the gates of their enemies, who had previously besieged the Jewish cities, the capitals and fortresses of the enemy (1 Mac. 5:22). Isa.28:7. But these too are staggered by wine and led astray by strong drink; the priest and the prophet stumble from strong drinks; overcome by wine, maddened by strong drink, mistaken in vision, stumbled in judgment. Isa.28:8. For all the tables are filled with disgusting vomit, there is no clean place. – “But even these ones are unsteady.” Unfortunately, says the prophet, at present the leaders of Jerusalem are not at the height of their calling. They are drunk both literally and figuratively. The expressions that the prophet uses here are very characteristic of this case (schagu - tou, cshagu - tou, sсhagu - paku): they are reminiscent of the unrelated speeches of drunken people. “In vision” (roeh), that is, at such moments when the soul of the prophet must be completely filled with the Spirit of God, the Jewish prophets are in a state of intoxication. Of course, one can hardly understand true prophets here. They are rather those who falsely called themselves worshipers of the Lord. “In judgment”, i.e. during the preparation of court decisions. We are talking about judges. 32 Isa.28:9. And they say: “Whom does he want to teach knowledge? and whom should I admonish by preaching? weaned from breast milk, weaned from their mother's breasts? Isa.28:10. For everything is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little.” To Isaiah’s denunciations, the priests, judges and prophets of the Jews answer: “What is this? Are we little children who need to be taught how to speak? He treats us like a teacher! After all, it is the mother who can only teach small children monosyllable words: kav, zav, etc.” The Jews obviously mocked the prophet in this case, who, appearing to them, said: kav iehovat! i.e., the commandment of Jehovah (I declare to you). “We are tired of these statements of yours about “commandments,” they say, “you keep pointing out to us our deviations from the law” (a little here and a little there). Thus, it is clear that they wanted to irritate the prophet by meaninglessly repeating his appeal to them (kav la kav, zav la sav!). Isa.28:11. Therefore they will speak to this people with babbling lips and in a foreign language. Since the priests, prophets and judges laughed at the prophet, repeating words that were unpleasant to them to no avail, the prophet threatens them with the fact that they, of course, will be spoken to by their enemies in a language that will seem to them an incomprehensible muttering. However, they will have to listen to this muttering with trepidation, because their enemies will not forgive them if they do not carry out their orders, given even in a language incomprehensible to the Jews. The Prophet obviously means the language of the Assyrians, in which there were only three vowels: a, i, u, - which is why the Assyrian’s speech gave the impression of childish babbling to the Jews. Isa.28:12. They were told: “Here is peace, give rest to the weary, and here is peace.” But they didn't want to listen. "Here is peace." Isaiah points out the first sign of disobedience to the law of the Lord - the violation of the law of holiday rest. Perhaps the prophet also wanted to point out that the true prophets had long explained to Israel what the main condition for the peace or quiet life of the Jewish state was, and that the people, unfortunately, did not heed these explanations. Isa.28:13. And the word of the Lord became among them: commandment upon commandment, commandment upon commandment, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, so that they would go and fall backward and be broken, and be caught in a net and be caught. “By the word of the Lord” - more correctly: “with the word of the Lord,” i.e. the Jews always treated the word of the Lord, proclaimed through the true prophets, as something annoying, unnecessary in the sense of leadership, in which everything was the same. – Isaiah clearly depicts the result of such an attitude towards the prophetic words of the prophets in the second half of the verse: the Jews will be taken into captivity! Isaiah 28:14–22. The Jews, refusing to obey the true prophet, hoped to be saved from death by their dexterity and political intrigue. But Isaiah, on behalf of the Lord, announces to them that their only help can only be the precious corner stone on which the Most High will build His blessed kingdom in Zion. Nevertheless, the intrigues of Jewish politicians will not lead to anything, and they will remain completely defenseless against the invasion of powerful enemies. The Lord will even take up arms against His people, just as He once took up arms against the enemies of the Jews. Isa.28:14. Hear therefore the word of the Lord, ye blasphemers, ye rulers of this people which are in Jerusalem. The prophet invites the rulers of the Jews - priests and prophets (cf. v. 7) - to listen to his speeches before it is too late. In what sense does he call them “blasphemers” or scoffers - this can be seen from v. 10. Isa.28:15. Since you say: “We have made an alliance with death and made an agreement with the underworld: when the all-destroying scourge passes, it will not reach us, because we have made lies a refuge for ourselves, and we will cover ourselves with deceit.” The prophet puts into the mouths of his opponents words full of boastfulness and insolence. “Death and... the underworld” are symbols of the death and destruction of the state. The Jews want to say that they are not afraid for the integrity of the Jewish state, because they are on friendly terms with hell and death. "All-destroying scourge". This is probably what the Jews called the Assyrian king at that time (cf. Is. 8 et seq.). “Lies... and deception”, which Jewish politicians hoped for, were common phenomena in the political life of the East. When their Assyrian king calls them to account regarding the alliance of Judah that was being plotted at that time with the Egyptians hostile to the Assyrians, the Jewish politicians will somehow be able to deceive their strict ruler (cf. 2 Kings 17:4; Ezek. 17 et seq.). Isa.28:16. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I lay a stone for the foundation in Zion, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation stone: whoever believes in it will not be put to shame. Isa.28:17. And I will make judgment the standard and righteousness the scales; and the refuge of lies will be destroyed with hail, and the waters will drown the place of hiding. Isa.28:18. And your alliance with death is crumbling, and your agreement with the underworld will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge comes, you will be trampled underfoot. In contrast to such false hopes and showing all their insignificance, the prophet says that the only hope of Israel is the cornerstone, firmly established, laid by the Lord Himself in Zion. The false refuge of Jewish politics will be washed away and those who have entrusted themselves to it will perish. Thus, this place contains first of all a threat, and then a promise. What did the prophet mean by “cornerstone”? This must be the stone in which is the support of all truth and right - therefore, this is not Zion, as some interpreters believe, not the house of David, not Hezekiah, not the church, not the law. It would be quite correct to see in this stone the Messiah, the Son of God, the only mediator between God and people, who was to be born from the line of David (cf. Is. 8:8). The New Testament fully confirms this idea, calling Christ the cornerstone on which the society of those being saved or the Church is built (Eph. 2:20; Acts 4 and 1 Pet. 2:6–7). The stone is called “tested”, i.e. completely reliable. Since we are talking about the Messiah, here one can see an indication of the trials that Christ the Savior was subjected to during His earthly life. A “cornerstone” is one that not only supports a building, but also links its walls at two converging corners. For this purpose, especially strong, square-shaped stones are taken. "He who believes in him". The solid cornerstone reveals its saving effect not in an external magical way, but according to the inner receptivity or faith of those who resort to it. “Judgment by the standard” - that is, the creation of a new holy church will be carried out in such a way that instead of the measuring string that building builders use, truth itself will serve, and instead of a carpenter's plumb line (in Russian incorrectly: scales) - justice itself, straightforwardness. This means that no mistakes will happen here! (cf. Isa. 1:27). “A refuge of lies..., a place of hiding” - figurative expressions to denote the political plans of the Jewish rulers. “Hail... and waters” is the power of God, sending destruction to human plans. “You will be trampled underfoot” - of course, by the troops of the Assyrian king. Isa.28:19. As soon as he goes, he will grab you; He will walk every morning, day and night, and one rumor about him will inspire horror. Isa.28:20. The bed will be too short to stretch out; The blanket is too narrow to wrap yourself in. The Prophet very aptly depicts the mode of action of the Assyrians in relation to Palestine. The Assyrians, indeed, gave no rest to the Jews, day or night, and several times resettled the inhabitants of the kingdom of Israel, as well as the kingdom of Judah (under Manasseh), to Assyria. The prophet obviously depicts the situation of the Jewish people in the language of the proverb about a short bed that also existed among the Jews. Isa.28:21. For the Lord will arise as on Mount Perazim; He will be angry, as in the valley of Gibeon, to do His work, an extraordinary work, and to accomplish His work, His wonderful work. Isa.28:22. Therefore do not blaspheme, lest your bonds become stronger; for I have heard from the Lord, the God of hosts, that destruction is determined upon the whole earth. Israel itself will soon find itself in the same position as its enemies once were. The prophet recalls, firstly, the defeat that David inflicted on the Philistines at Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5:20; 1 Chronicles 14:11), and secondly, about the hail with which the Lord defeated the enemies of Israel in the days of Joshua at Gibeon (Joshua 10:10–11). The prophet calls the punishment of the Jews wonderful and extraordinary because, in fact, the Jews did not expect the Lord to do to them the same way as He once did to their enemies! “Your bonds” - that is, the difficult situation into which you have placed your state with your political intrigues. "Extermination Determined". See Isa.10:23. Isa.28:23. Incline your ear and listen to my voice; be attentive and listen to my speech. Isa.28:24. Does the farmer always plow for sowing, furrow and harrow his land? Isa.28:25. No; when he levels its surface, he sows chernuka, or scatters caraway seeds, or scatters wheat in rows, and barley in a certain place, and spelt next to it. However, the prophet does not want to leave the Jewish state without consolation. In the parable, he inspires his fellow citizens with hope for a change in the difficult fate awaiting them. Just as a farmer not only plows all the time, but, in addition, also sows, and then threshes the grown and ripened bread in different ways, adapting to the properties of each type of bread, so as not to spoil the grain by inappropriate production, so the All-Wise God will not always only punish His people and, moreover, not all Jews equally, but will make a distinction and put an end to their suffering. "Incline your ear". This call for attention is explained by the fact that what follows is figurative speech, which requires a particularly attentive attitude towards oneself. "Is it always a farmer". The prophet obviously compares the actions of the farmer, breaking and cutting dry soil with a plow and furrow, with the punishing activity of the Lord in relation to the hardened people of Israel. In 25 Art. the prophet refers to a large plot of land on which different types of grain are sown in order. “Chernukha” (nigella saliva) – used by bakers as a seasoning, “cumin” – also gives a special taste to dishes; “wheat” - in rows, since among the Jews wheat was sown with special care and, one might say, was not even sown, but planted like garden plants. “Spelled next to it” (barley). Spelled is a grain plant similar to barley. The cattle do not like it very much, and therefore the ridges of spelled in the East block the area where barley is sown, so that the cattle, having tasted the spelled, do not go further to the barley, which they love more. Isa.28:26. And his God teaches him this order; He instructs him. Isa.28:27. For chernukhas are not threshed with a toothed roller, and threshing wheels are not rolled over caraway seeds; but they beat out chernukha with a stick, and caraway seeds with a stick. Isa.28:28. Grain bread is threshed, but not broken; and they drive threshing wheels with their horses over it, but do not grind it. Isa.28:29. And this comes from the Lord of Hosts: wondrous are His destinies, great is His wisdom! The Prophet said that the farmer does not sow different types of grain equally. Now he draws the attention of his readers to the fact that the farmer processes different types of bread that have already ripened in different ways so that they are fit for consumption. Art. 26 can be conveyed as follows: “and he beats it (bread) in special suitable ways - his God teaches him this”... This means that the farmer removes and removes the shell of the grains carefully, taking into account their hardness, and he does this on the basis of observing the order of life and growth of plants established by God (there is no talk of any direct teaching from God here). “They don’t thresh black sheep.” More delicate seeds, such as chernuka and caraway, did not require such bulky machines for their processing as, for example, a large thresher placed on wheels and having special rollers. In the same way, a farmer carefully threshes grain bread, fearing to grind and crush the grain. "And this comes from the Lord." The prophet wants to say that even this, that is, the processing of the bread, was taken care of by the Lord - how attentive He is, then, to His people! And he therefore concludes the chapter with praise of the wisdom and salvation of the Lord (instead of the word “fate” in the Russian translation it is better to read: advice, wisdom, and instead of “wisdom” - salvation). In fact, the Lord either punished His people or rewarded them—changed, so to speak, His treatment of them. Even the punishments that He sent to Israel were mild, they expressed the wise condescension of the Almighty towards His people and concern for their moral improvement. According to all data in the text, verses 1–8 of chapter 28 were written before the destruction of Samaria, next, before 722, while all subsequent speeches contained in Is. 28:9–32 are undoubtedly of later origin, appearing around 702; It is too clear that the prophet speaks in them about attempts to conclude an alliance with Egypt to overthrow the Assyrian yoke, which took place before Sennacherib’s invasion of Judea. Authenticity 1–22 art. 28 is recognized by almost all critics, but the parable contained in verses 23–29, which is not included in the previous poem, is considered by some to be not a genuine work of Isaiah. But, strictly speaking, the thought of this parable is in harmony with the general worldview of Isaiah, and he could express it precisely now, when punishment from God was expected, which was supposed to cleanse the Chosen People from attempts inappropriate for the Chosen People to conclude an alliance with Egypt. The stanzas of Condamin's poem are arranged as follows: 1 stanza – 1–4 art. – (2, 2, 3) 1 stanza – 9–13 art. – (3, 3, 3) Stanza 2 – 14–19a) art. – (3, 3, 3) 3 stanza – 19b)-22 art. – (2, 2, 2) These three verses do not coincide with the Slavic translation of the LXX. For example, a very strong moment - in verse 8 - a curse on priests and prophets who drink wine and strong drink - “A curse will fall on this advice, this... advice for the sake of covetousness.” Note ed. You might be interested in: