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Selected Verse: Isaiah 14:30 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 14:30	King James	And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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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]
first-born of . . . poor--Hebraism, for the most abject poor; the first-born being the foremost of the family. Compare "first-born of death" (Job 18:13), for the most fatal death. The Jews, heretofore exposed to Philistine invasions and alarms, shall be in safety. Compare Psa 72:4, "Children of the needy," expressing those "needy in condition." feed--image from a flock feeding in safety. root--radical destruction. He shall slay--Jehovah shall. The change of person, "He" after "I," is a common Hebraism.

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

first-born of . . . poor--Hebraism, for the most abject poor; the first-born being the foremost of the family. Compare "first-born of death" (Job 18:13), for the most fatal death. The Jews, heretofore exposed to Philistine invasions and alarms, shall be in safety. Compare Psa 72:4, "Children of the needy," expressing those "needy in condition."

feed--image from a flock feeding in safety.

root--radical destruction.

He shall slay--Jehovah shall. The change of person, "He" after "I," is a common Hebraism.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
And the first-born of the poor shall feed - That is, there shall be safety to those parts of Judah which have long been exposed to the invasions of the Philistines. Philistia bordered on Judea, and was constantly making wars upon it, so that there was no safety felt. Isaiah now says, that Hezekiah would so effectually and completely subdue them that there should be no danger from their invasion. The phrase 'the first-born of the poor' is an Hebraism, a strong, emphatic expression, denoting those who are the most poor; the most abject sons of poverty; those who have an eminence or a double portion of need, as the first-born among the Hebrews were entitled to special distinctions and privileges. The idea is, that even the most poor and defenseless would be safe. Shall feed - That is, they shall be supplied with food; they shall feed safely as a flock does that is guarded from wild beasts. They shall be no longer alarmed, but shall dwell in security, peace, and plenty. And I will kill thy root - The word rendered 'root' denotes properly the root of a plant, which being dried up or killed, the plant of course withers and dies. So God says that he would effectually and entirely destroy the power of the Philistines. Slay thy remnant - That is, shall slay all that pertains to thee. Or, he shall dry up the root, and the branches shall wither and die also. The whole power of the nation shall be withered and destroyed.

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

And the first-born of the poor shall feed - That is, there shall be safety to those parts of Judah which have long been exposed to the invasions of the Philistines. Philistia bordered on Judea, and was constantly making wars upon it, so that there was no safety felt. Isaiah now says, that Hezekiah would so effectually and completely subdue them that there should be no danger from their invasion. The phrase 'the first-born of the poor' is an Hebraism, a strong, emphatic expression, denoting those who are the most poor; the most abject sons of poverty; those who have an eminence or a double portion of need, as the first-born among the Hebrews were entitled to special distinctions and privileges. The idea is, that even the most poor and defenseless would be safe.

Shall feed - That is, they shall be supplied with food; they shall feed safely as a flock does that is guarded from wild beasts. They shall be no longer alarmed, but shall dwell in security, peace, and plenty.

And I will kill thy root - The word rendered 'root' denotes properly the root of a plant, which being dried up or killed, the plant of course withers and dies. So God says that he would effectually and entirely destroy the power of the Philistines.

Slay thy remnant - That is, shall slay all that pertains to thee. Or, he shall dry up the root, and the branches shall wither and die also. The whole power of the nation shall be withered and destroyed.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The coming Davidic king is peace for Israel, but for Philistia death. "And the poorest of the poor will feed, and needy ones lie down in peace; and I kill thy root through hunger, and he slays thy remnant." "The poorest of the poor:" becōrē dallim is an intensified expression for benē dallim, the latter signifying such as belong to the family of the poor, the former (cf., Job 18:13, mors dirissima) such as hold the foremost rank in such a family - a description of Israel, which, although at present deeply, very deeply, repressed and threatened on every side, would then enjoy its land in quietness and peace (Zep 3:12-13). In this sense ורעוּ is used absolutely; and there is no necessity for Hupfeld's conjecture (Ps. ii. 258), that we should read בכרי (in my pastures). Israel rises again, but Philistia perishes even to a root and remnant; and the latter again falls a victim on the one hand to the judgment of God (famine), and on the other to the punishment inflicted by the house of David. The change of persons in Isa 14:30 is no synallage; but the subject to yaharōg (slays) is the basilisk, the father of the flying dragon. The first strophe of the massah terminates here. It consists of eight lines, each of the two Masoretic Isa 14:29, Isa 14:30 containing four clauses.

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

The coming Davidic king is peace for Israel, but for Philistia death. "And the poorest of the poor will feed, and needy ones lie down in peace; and I kill thy root through hunger, and he slays thy remnant." "The poorest of the poor:" becōrē dallim is an intensified expression for benē dallim, the latter signifying such as belong to the family of the poor, the former (cf., Job 18:13, mors dirissima) such as hold the foremost rank in such a family - a description of Israel, which, although at present deeply, very deeply, repressed and threatened on every side, would then enjoy its land in quietness and peace (Zep 3:12-13). In this sense ורעוּ is used absolutely; and there is no necessity for Hupfeld's conjecture (Ps. ii. 258), that we should read בכרי (in my pastures). Israel rises again, but Philistia perishes even to a root and remnant; and the latter again falls a victim on the one hand to the judgment of God (famine), and on the other to the punishment inflicted by the house of David. The change of persons in Isa 14:30 is no synallage; but the subject to yaharōg (slays) is the basilisk, the father of the flying dragon. The first strophe of the massah terminates here. It consists of eight lines, each of the two Masoretic Isa 14:29, Isa 14:30 containing four clauses.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
The poor - The people of the Jews, who are brought to extreme poverty. The title of first - born is given to persons or things which are most eminent in their kinds, as to the people of Israel, Exo 4:22, to David, Psa 89:27; Job 18:13, and here to persons eminently poor. Feed - Shall have plenty of provisions. Kill - I will utterly destroy thee both root and branch.

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

The poor - The people of the Jews, who are brought to extreme poverty. The title of first - born is given to persons or things which are most eminent in their kinds, as to the people of Israel, Exo 4:22, to David, Psa 89:27; Job 18:13, and here to persons eminently poor. Feed - Shall have plenty of provisions. Kill - I will utterly destroy thee both root and branch.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
And the first-born of the poor, etc. - The Targum goes on applying all to the Messiah. "And the poor of the people shall he feed, and the humble shall dwell securely in his days: and he shall kill thy children with famine, and the remnant of thy people shall he slay." I will kill "He will slay" - The Septuagint reads המית hemith, to the third person, ανελει; and so the Chaldee. The Vulgate remedies the confusion of persons in the present text, by reading both the verbs in the first person.

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

And the first-born of the poor, etc. - The Targum goes on applying all to the Messiah. "And the poor of the people shall he feed, and the humble shall dwell securely in his days: and he shall kill thy children with famine, and the remnant of thy people shall he slay."

I will kill "He will slay" - The Septuagint reads המית hemith, to the third person, ανελει; and so the Chaldee. The Vulgate remedies the confusion of persons in the present text, by reading both the verbs in the first person.

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