Isa 9:20, 49:26 | JFB | STEP | 18-21. Third strophe. burneth-- maketh consumption, not only spreading rapidly, but also consuming like fire: sin is its own punishment. briers ... thorns-- emblem of the wicked; especially those of low rank ( ; ). forest-- from the humble shrubbery the flame spreads to the vast forest; it reaches the high, as well as the low. mount up like ... smoke-- rather. "They (the thickets of the forest) shall lift themselves proudly aloft [the Hebrew is from a Syriac root, a cock, expressing stateliness of motion, from his strutting gait, Horsley], in (in passing into) volumes of ascending smoke" [Maurer].

‏ Isaiah 9:20

18-21. Third strophe.

burneth--maketh consumption, not only spreading rapidly, but also consuming like fire: sin is its own punishment.

briers ... thorns--emblem of the wicked; especially those of low rank (Is 27:4; 2Sa 23:6).

forest--from the humble shrubbery the flame spreads to the vast forest; it reaches the high, as well as the low.

mount up like ... smoke--rather. "They (the thickets of the forest) shall lift themselves proudly aloft [the Hebrew is from a Syriac root, a cock, expressing stateliness of motion, from his strutting gait, Horsley], in (in passing into) volumes of ascending smoke" [Maurer].

‏ Isaiah 49:26

26. feed ... own flesh--a phrase for internal strifes (Is 9:20).

own blood--a just retribution for their having shed the blood of God's servants (Re 16:6).

sweet wine--that is, must, or new wine, the pure juice which flows from the heap of grapes before they are pressed; the ancients could preserve it for a long time, so as to retain its flavor. It was so mild that it required a large quantity to intoxicate; thus the idea here is that very much blood would be shed (Re 14:10, 20).

all flesh shall, &c.--the effect on the world of God's judgments (Is 66:15, 16, 18, 19; Re 15:3, 4).