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Selected Verse: Isaiah 43:20 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Isa 43:20 |
King James |
The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
beast--image of idolaters, defiled with blood and pollutions, dwelling like dragons, &c., in the wastes of Gentile ignorance: even they shall be converted. Or else, literally, such copious floods of water shall be given by God in the desert, that the very beasts shall (in poetic language) praise the Lord (Psa 148:10) [JEROME].
dragons--"serpents," or else jackals (see on Isa 13:22).
owls--rather, "ostriches." |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
The beast of the field shall honor me - The sense of this passage is plain, and the image is highly poetical and beautiful. God would pour such copious floods of waters through the waste sandy deserts to supply his people, that even the wild beasts would be sensible of his abundant goodness, and would break forth into thanksgiving and praise for the unusual supply.
The dragons - (See the note at Isa 13:22). The Septuagint renders the word used here (תנין tannı̂yn), by σειρῆνες seirēnes - 'sirens' - among the ancients a marine monster that was fabled to use sweet and alluring tones of music. It is probable, however, that the Septuagint understood here some species of wild-fowl which responded to one another. The Syriac translator here interprets it as denoting some wild animal of the canine species - a wood-dog.
And the owls - Margin, as Hebrew, 'Daughters of the owl, or ostrich' (see the note at Isa 13:21). |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
The beast - Shall have cause, if they had abilities, to praise me for their share in this mercy. Dragons - Which live in dry and barren deserts. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
The beast of the field shall honor me "The wild beast of the field shall glorify me" - The image is elegant and highly poetical. God will give such an abundant miraculous supply of water to his people traversing the dry desert in their return to their country, that even the wild beasts, the serpents, the ostriches, and other animals that haunt those arid regions, shall be sensible of the blessing, and shall break forth into thanksgiving and praises to him for the unusual refreshment which they receive from his so plentifully watering the sandy wastes of Arabia Deserta, for the benefit of his people passing through them. |
22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
10 Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.