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Selected Verse: Isaiah 10:27 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 10:27	King James	And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
his burden--the Assyrians' oppression (Isa 9:3). Judah was still tributary to Assyria; Hezekiah had not yet revolted, as he did in the beginning of Sennacherib's reign. because of-- (Hos 10:15). the anointing--namely, "Messiah" (Dan 9:24). Just as in Isa 9:4-6, the "breaking of the yoke of" the enemies' "burden and staff" is attributed to Messiah, "For unto us a child is born," &c., so it is here. MAURER not so well translates, "Because of the fatness"; an image of the Assyrians fierce and wanton pride drawn from a well-fed bull tossing off the yoke (Deu 32:15). So Isa 10:16 above, and Isa 5:17, "fat ones."

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

his burden--the Assyrians' oppression (Isa 9:3). Judah was still tributary to Assyria; Hezekiah had not yet revolted, as he did in the beginning of Sennacherib's reign.

because of-- (Hos 10:15).

the anointing--namely, "Messiah" (Dan 9:24). Just as in Isa 9:4-6, the "breaking of the yoke of" the enemies' "burden and staff" is attributed to Messiah, "For unto us a child is born," &c., so it is here. MAURER not so well translates, "Because of the fatness"; an image of the Assyrians fierce and wanton pride drawn from a well-fed bull tossing off the yoke (Deu 32:15). So Isa 10:16 above, and Isa 5:17, "fat ones."

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
His burden shall be taken away - The oppressions and exactions of the Assyrian. From off thy shoulder - We bear a burden on the shoulder; and hence, any grievous exaction or oppression is represented as borne upon the shoulder. And his yoke ... - Another image denoting deliverance from oppression and calamity. And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing - In the interpretation of these words, expositors have greatly differed. The Hebrew is literally, 'From the face of oil,' מפני-שׁמן mı̂peney-shāmen. The Vulgate renders it, literally, a facie olei. The Septuagint, 'His fear shall be taken from thee, and his yoke from thy shoulders.' The Syraic, 'His yoke shall be broken before the oxen.' The Chaldee Paraphrase, 'The people shall be broken before the Messiah?' Lowth renders it, 'The yoke shall perish from off our shoulders;' following the Septuagint. Grotius suggests that it means that the yoke which the Assyrians had imposed upon the Jews would be broken by Hezekiah, the king who had been annointed with oil. Jarchi also supposes that it refers to one who was anointed - to the king; and many interpreters have referred it to the Messiah, as the anointed of God. Vitringa supposes that the Holy Spirit is here intended. Kimchi supposes, that the figure is derived from the effect of oil on wood in destroying its consistency, and loosening its fibres; and that the expression means, that the yoke would be broken or dissolved as if it were penetrated with oil. But this is ascribing a property to oil which it does not possess. Dr. Seeker supposes that, instead of "oil," the text should read "shoulder," by a slight change in the Hebrew. But for this conjectural reading there is no authority. Cocceius supposes, that the word "oil" here means "fatness," and is used to denote prosperity and wealth, and that the prophet means to say, that the Assyrian would be corrupted and destroyed by the great amount of wealth which he would amass. The rabbis say, that this deliverance was performed on account of the great quantity of oil which Hezekiah caused to be consumed in the synagogues for the study of the law - a striking instance of the weak and puerile methods of interpretation which they have everywhere evinced. I confess that none of these explanations seem to me to be satisfactory, and that I do not know what is the meaning of the expression.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

His burden shall be taken away - The oppressions and exactions of the Assyrian.

From off thy shoulder - We bear a burden on the shoulder; and hence, any grievous exaction or oppression is represented as borne upon the shoulder.

And his yoke ... - Another image denoting deliverance from oppression and calamity.

And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing - In the interpretation of these words, expositors have greatly differed. The Hebrew is literally, 'From the face of oil,' מפני-שׁמן mı̂peney-shāmen. The Vulgate renders it, literally, a facie olei. The Septuagint, 'His fear shall be taken from thee, and his yoke from thy shoulders.' The Syraic, 'His yoke shall be broken before the oxen.' The Chaldee Paraphrase, 'The people shall be broken before the Messiah?' Lowth renders it, 'The yoke shall perish from off our shoulders;' following the Septuagint. Grotius suggests that it means that the yoke which the Assyrians had imposed upon the Jews would be broken by Hezekiah, the king who had been annointed with oil. Jarchi also supposes that it refers to one who was anointed - to the king; and many interpreters have referred it to the Messiah, as the anointed of God. Vitringa supposes that the Holy Spirit is here intended.

Kimchi supposes, that the figure is derived from the effect of oil on wood in destroying its consistency, and loosening its fibres; and that the expression means, that the yoke would be broken or dissolved as if it were penetrated with oil. But this is ascribing a property to oil which it does not possess. Dr. Seeker supposes that, instead of "oil," the text should read "shoulder," by a slight change in the Hebrew. But for this conjectural reading there is no authority. Cocceius supposes, that the word "oil" here means "fatness," and is used to denote prosperity and wealth, and that the prophet means to say, that the Assyrian would be corrupted and destroyed by the great amount of wealth which he would amass. The rabbis say, that this deliverance was performed on account of the great quantity of oil which Hezekiah caused to be consumed in the synagogues for the study of the law - a striking instance of the weak and puerile methods of interpretation which they have everywhere evinced. I confess that none of these explanations seem to me to be satisfactory, and that I do not know what is the meaning of the expression.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The yoke of the imperial power would then burst asunder. "And it will come to pass in that day, its burden will remove from thy shoulder, and its yoke from thy neck; and the yoke will be destroyed from the pressure of the fat." We have here two figures: in the first (cessabit onus ejus a cervice tua) Israel is represented as a beast of burden; in the second (et jugum ejus a collo tuo), as a beast of draught. And this second figure is divided again into two fields. For yâsūr merely affirms that the yoke, like the burden, will be taken away from Israel; but chubbal, that the yoke itself will snap, from the pressure of his fat strong neck against it. Knobel, who alters the text, objects to this on the ground that the yoke was a cross piece of wood, and not a collar. And no doubt the simple yoke is a cross piece of wood, which is fastened to the forehead of the ox (generally of two oxen yoked together: jumenta = jugmenta, like jugum, from jungere); but the derivation of the name itself, ‛ol, from ‛âlal, points to the connection of the cross piece of wood with a collar, and here the yoke is expressly described as lying round the neck (and not merely fastened against the forehead). There is no necessity, therefore, to read chebel (chablo), as Knobel proposes; chubbal (Arabic chubbila) indicates her a corrumpi consequent upon a disrumpi. (On p'nē, vid., Job 41:5; and for the application of the term mippenē to energy manifesting itself in its effects, compare Psa 68:3 as an example.) Moreover, as Kimchi has observed, in most instances the yoke creates a wound in the fat flesh of the ox by pressure and friction; but here the very opposite occurs, and the fatness of the ox leads to the destruction of the yoke (compare the figure of grafting employed in Rom 11:17, to which Paul gives a turn altogether contrary to nature). Salvation, as the double turn in the second figure affirms, comes no less from within (Isa 10:27) than from without (Isa 10:27). It is no less a consequence of the world-conquering grace at work in Isaiah, than a miracle wrought for Israel upon their foes. The prophet now proceeds to describe how the Assyrian army advances steadily towards Jerusalem, spreading terror on every hand, and how, when planted there like a towering forest, it falls to the ground before the irresistible might of Jehovah. Eichhorn and Hitzig pronounce this prophecy a vaticinium post eventum, because of its far too special character; but Knobel regards it as a prophecy, because no Assyrian king ever did take the course described; in other words, as a mere piece of imagination, as Ewald maintains. Now, no doubt the Assyrian army, when it marched against Jerusalem, came from the southwest, namely, from the road to Egypt, and not directly from the north. Sennacherib had conquered Lachish; he then encamped before Libnah, and it was thence that he advanced towards Jerusalem. But the prophet had no intention of giving a fragment out of the history of the war: all that he meant to do was to give a lively representation of the future fact, that after devastating the land of Judah, the Assyrian would attack Jerusalem. There is no necessity whatever to contend, as Drechsler does, against calling the description an ideal one. There is all the difference in the world between idea and imagination. Idea is the essential root of the real, and the reality is its historical form. This form, its essential manifestation, may be either this or that, so far as individual features are concerned, without any violation of its essential character. What the prophet here predicts has, when properly interpreted, been all literally fulfilled. The Assyrian did come from the north with the storm-steps of a conqueror, and the cities named were really exposed to the dangers and terrors of war. And this was what the prophet depicted, looking as he did from a divine eminence, and drawing from the heart of the divine counsels, and then painting the future with colours which were but the broken lights of those counsels as they existed in his own mind.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The yoke of the imperial power would then burst asunder. "And it will come to pass in that day, its burden will remove from thy shoulder, and its yoke from thy neck; and the yoke will be destroyed from the pressure of the fat." We have here two figures: in the first (cessabit onus ejus a cervice tua) Israel is represented as a beast of burden; in the second (et jugum ejus a collo tuo), as a beast of draught. And this second figure is divided again into two fields. For yâsūr merely affirms that the yoke, like the burden, will be taken away from Israel; but chubbal, that the yoke itself will snap, from the pressure of his fat strong neck against it. Knobel, who alters the text, objects to this on the ground that the yoke was a cross piece of wood, and not a collar. And no doubt the simple yoke is a cross piece of wood, which is fastened to the forehead of the ox (generally of two oxen yoked together: jumenta = jugmenta, like jugum, from jungere); but the derivation of the name itself, ‛ol, from ‛âlal, points to the connection of the cross piece of wood with a collar, and here the yoke is expressly described as lying round the neck (and not merely fastened against the forehead). There is no necessity, therefore, to read chebel (chablo), as Knobel proposes; chubbal (Arabic chubbila) indicates her a corrumpi consequent upon a disrumpi. (On p'nē, vid., Job 41:5; and for the application of the term mippenē to energy manifesting itself in its effects, compare Psa 68:3 as an example.) Moreover, as Kimchi has observed, in most instances the yoke creates a wound in the fat flesh of the ox by pressure and friction; but here the very opposite occurs, and the fatness of the ox leads to the destruction of the yoke (compare the figure of grafting employed in Rom 11:17, to which Paul gives a turn altogether contrary to nature). Salvation, as the double turn in the second figure affirms, comes no less from within (Isa 10:27) than from without (Isa 10:27). It is no less a consequence of the world-conquering grace at work in Isaiah, than a miracle wrought for Israel upon their foes.

The prophet now proceeds to describe how the Assyrian army advances steadily towards Jerusalem, spreading terror on every hand, and how, when planted there like a towering forest, it falls to the ground before the irresistible might of Jehovah. Eichhorn and Hitzig pronounce this prophecy a vaticinium post eventum, because of its far too special character; but Knobel regards it as a prophecy, because no Assyrian king ever did take the course described; in other words, as a mere piece of imagination, as Ewald maintains. Now, no doubt the Assyrian army, when it marched against Jerusalem, came from the southwest, namely, from the road to Egypt, and not directly from the north. Sennacherib had conquered Lachish; he then encamped before Libnah, and it was thence that he advanced towards Jerusalem. But the prophet had no intention of giving a fragment out of the history of the war: all that he meant to do was to give a lively representation of the future fact, that after devastating the land of Judah, the Assyrian would attack Jerusalem. There is no necessity whatever to contend, as Drechsler does, against calling the description an ideal one. There is all the difference in the world between idea and imagination. Idea is the essential root of the real, and the reality is its historical form. This form, its essential manifestation, may be either this or that, so far as individual features are concerned, without any violation of its essential character. What the prophet here predicts has, when properly interpreted, been all literally fulfilled. The Assyrian did come from the north with the storm-steps of a conqueror, and the cities named were really exposed to the dangers and terrors of war. And this was what the prophet depicted, looking as he did from a divine eminence, and drawing from the heart of the divine counsels, and then painting the future with colours which were but the broken lights of those counsels as they existed in his own mind.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Burden - The burden of the Assyrian. The anointing - Possibly this may be understood of David, who is often mentioned in scripture by the name of God's anointed; and for whose sake, God gave many deliverances to the succeeding kings and ages, as is expressly affirmed, Kg1 11:32, Kg1 11:34. God declares that he would give this very deliverance from the Assyrian, for David's sake, Kg2 19:34, Kg2 20:6. But the Messiah is principally intended, of whom David was but a type; and who was in a particular manner anointed above his fellows, as is said, Psa 45:7. For he is the foundation of all the promises, Co2 1:20, and of all the deliverances and mercies granted to God's people in all ages.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]

Burden - The burden of the Assyrian. The anointing - Possibly this may be understood of David, who is often mentioned in scripture by the name of God's anointed; and for whose sake, God gave many deliverances to the succeeding kings and ages, as is expressly affirmed, Kg1 11:32, Kg1 11:34. God declares that he would give this very deliverance from the Assyrian, for David's sake, Kg2 19:34, Kg2 20:6. But the Messiah is principally intended, of whom David was but a type; and who was in a particular manner anointed above his fellows, as is said, Psa 45:7. For he is the foundation of all the promises, Co2 1:20, and of all the deliverances and mercies granted to God's people in all ages.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
From off thy shoulder - Bishop Lowth translates the whole verse thus: - "And it shall come to pass in that day, His burden shall be removed from off thy shoulder; And his yoke off thy neck: Yea, the yoke shall perish from off your shoulders.' On which he gives us the following note: I follow here the Septuagint, who for מפני שמן mippeney shamen read משכמיכם mishshichmeychem, απο των ωμων ὑμων, from your shoulders, not being able to make any good sense out of the present reading. I will add here the marginal conjectures of Archbishop Secker, who appears, like all others, to have been at a loss for a probable interpretation of the text as it now stands." o. leg. שכם shakam; forte legend. מבני שמן mibbeney shamen, vide cap. Isa 5:1. Zac 4:14 : Et possunt intelligi Judaei uncti Dei, Psa 105:15, vel Assyrii, משמנים mishmannim, hic Psa 105:16, ut dicat propheta depulsum iri jugum ab his impositum: sed hoc durius. Vel potest legi מפני שמי mippeney shami."

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

From off thy shoulder - Bishop Lowth translates the whole verse thus: -

"And it shall come to pass in that day,

His burden shall be removed from off thy shoulder;

And his yoke off thy neck:

Yea, the yoke shall perish from off your shoulders.'

On which he gives us the following note: I follow here the Septuagint, who for מפני שמן mippeney shamen read משכמיכם mishshichmeychem, απο των ωμων ὑμων, from your shoulders, not being able to make any good sense out of the present reading. I will add here the marginal conjectures of Archbishop Secker, who appears, like all others, to have been at a loss for a probable interpretation of the text as it now stands." o. leg. שכם shakam; forte legend. מבני שמן mibbeney shamen, vide cap. Isa 5:1. Zac 4:14 : Et possunt intelligi Judaei uncti Dei, Psa 105:15, vel Assyrii, משמנים mishmannim, hic Psa 105:16, ut dicat propheta depulsum iri jugum ab his impositum: sed hoc durius. Vel potest legi מפני שמי mippeney shami."

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