Isa 5:26, 7:18 | JFB | STEP | 26. lift . . . ensign —to call together the hostile nations to execute His judgments on Judea ( ). But for mercy to it, in . hiss — ( ). Bees were drawn out of their hives by the sound of a flute, or hissing, or whistling ( ). God will collect the nations round Judea like bees ( ). end of the earth —the widely distant subject races of which the Assyrian army was made up ( ). The ulterior fulfilment took place in the siege under Roman Titus. Compare "end of the earth" ( , &c.). So the pronoun is singular in the Hebrew, for "them," "their," "whose" (him, his, &c.), ; referring to some particular nation and person [HORSLEY ].

Isaiah 5:26

26. lift . . . ensign—to call together the hostile nations to execute His judgments on Judea (Isa 10:5-7; 45:1). But for mercy to it, in Isa 11:12; 18:3.

hiss— (Isa 7:18). Bees were drawn out of their hives by the sound of a flute, or hissing, or whistling (Zec 10:8). God will collect the nations round Judea like bees (De 1:44; Ps 118:12).

end of the earth—the widely distant subject races of which the Assyrian army was made up (Isa 22:6). The ulterior fulfilment took place in the siege under Roman Titus. Compare "end of the earth" (De 28:49, &c.). So the pronoun is singular in the Hebrew, for "them," "their," "whose" (him, his, &c.), Isa 5:26-29; referring to some particular nation and person [HORSLEY].

Isaiah 7:18

18. hiss—whistle, to bring bees to settle (see on Isa 5:26).

fly—found in numbers about the arms of the Nile and the canals from it (Isa 19:5-7; 23:3), here called "rivers." Hence arose the plague of flies (Ex 8:21). Figurative, for numerous and troublesome foes from the remotest parts of Egypt, for example, Pharaoh-nechoh.

bee— (De 1:44; Ps 118:12). As numerous in Assyria as the fly in marshy Egypt. Sennacherib, Esar-haddon, and Nebuchadnezzar fulfilled this prediction.