Isa 9:18 | 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 9:18

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 (Isa 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].