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Selected Verse: Isaiah 33:7 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 33:7	Strong Concordance	Behold, their valiant ones [0691] shall cry [06817] without [02351]: the ambassadors [04397] of peace [07965] shall weep [01058] bitterly [04751].
	King James	Behold, their valiant ones shall cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.

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]
From the vision of future glory Isaiah returns to the disastrous present; the grief of "the valiant ones" (parallel to, and identical with, "the ambassadors of peace"), men of rank, sent with presents to sue for peace, but standing "without" the enemy's camp, their suit being rejected (Kg2 18:14, Kg2 18:18, Kg2 18:37). The highways deserted through fear, the cities insulted, the lands devastated. cry-- (Isa 15:4).

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

From the vision of future glory Isaiah returns to the disastrous present; the grief of "the valiant ones" (parallel to, and identical with, "the ambassadors of peace"), men of rank, sent with presents to sue for peace, but standing "without" the enemy's camp, their suit being rejected (Kg2 18:14, Kg2 18:18, Kg2 18:37). The highways deserted through fear, the cities insulted, the lands devastated.

cry-- (Isa 15:4).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Behold - This verse introduces a new subject by a very sudden transition. It is designed, with the two following, to exhibit the desolation of the land on the invasion of Sennacherib, and the consternation that would prevail. For this purpose, the prophet introduces Isa 33:7 the ambassadors who had been sent to sue for peace, as having sought it in vain, and as weeping now bitterly; he represents Isa 33:8 the desolation that abounded, and the fact that Sennacherib refused to come to any terms; and Isa 33:9 the extended desolations that had come upon the fairest portions of the land. Their valiant ones - The 'valiant ones' of the Jews who had been sent to Sennacherib to obtain conditions of pence, or to enter into a negotiation with him to spare the city and the nation. The word which is rendered here 'valiant ones' (אראלם 'ere'elâm) has given great perplexity to expositors. It occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. The Septuagint renders the verse, 'With the dread of you shall they be terrified; they, of whom you have been afraid, will, for fear of you, raise a grievous cry.' Jerome renders it, 'Behold, they seeing, cry without,' as if the word was derived from ראה râ'âh, to see. The Chaldee renders it, 'And when it shall be revealed to them, the messengers of the people who went to announce peace, shall cry bitterly.' The Syriac, 'If he shall permit himself to be seen by them, they shall weep bitterly.' Symmachus and Theodotion render it, Ἰδοὺ ὀφθήσομαι αὐτοῖς Idou ophthēsomai autois - 'Lo, I will appear to them.' So Aquila, Ὁραθήσομαι αὐτοῖς Horathēsomai autois. Most or all the versions seem to have read it as if it were compounded of לם אראה 'ere'eh lm - 'I will appear to them.' But probably the word is formed from אראל 'ăre'el, the same as אריאל 'ărı̂y'êl (Ariel), 'a hero' (see the note at Isa 29:1), and means "their hero" in a collective sense, or their heroes; that is, their men who were distinguished as military leaders, and who were sent to propose terms of peace with Sennacherib. The most honorable and valiant men would be selected, of course, for this purpose (compare the note at Isa 30:4), but they had made the effort to obtain peace in vain, and were returning with consternation and alarm. Shall cry without - They would lift up their voice with weeping as they returned, and publicly proclaim with bitter lamentation that their efforts to obtain peace had failed. The ambassadors of peace - When Sennacherib invaded fife land, and had advanced as far as to Lachish, Hezekiah sent messengers to him with a rich present, having stripped the temple of its gold, and sent him all the silver which was in his treasury, for the purpose of propitiating his favor, and of inducing him to return to his own land Kg2 18:14-16. But it was all in vain. Sennacherib sent his generals with a great host against Jerusalem, and was unmoved by all the treasures which Hezekiah had sent to him, and by his solicitations for peace Kg2 18:17. It was to the failure of this embassy that Isaiah refers in the passage before us.

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

Behold - This verse introduces a new subject by a very sudden transition. It is designed, with the two following, to exhibit the desolation of the land on the invasion of Sennacherib, and the consternation that would prevail. For this purpose, the prophet introduces Isa 33:7 the ambassadors who had been sent to sue for peace, as having sought it in vain, and as weeping now bitterly; he represents Isa 33:8 the desolation that abounded, and the fact that Sennacherib refused to come to any terms; and Isa 33:9 the extended desolations that had come upon the fairest portions of the land.

Their valiant ones - The 'valiant ones' of the Jews who had been sent to Sennacherib to obtain conditions of pence, or to enter into a negotiation with him to spare the city and the nation. The word which is rendered here 'valiant ones' (אראלם 'ere'elâm) has given great perplexity to expositors. It occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. The Septuagint renders the verse, 'With the dread of you shall they be terrified; they, of whom you have been afraid, will, for fear of you, raise a grievous cry.' Jerome renders it, 'Behold, they seeing, cry without,' as if the word was derived from ראה râ'âh, to see. The Chaldee renders it, 'And when it shall be revealed to them, the messengers of the people who went to announce peace, shall cry bitterly.' The Syriac, 'If he shall permit himself to be seen by them, they shall weep bitterly.' Symmachus and Theodotion render it, Ἰδοὺ ὀφθήσομαι αὐτοῖς Idou ophthēsomai autois - 'Lo, I will appear to them.' So Aquila, Ὁραθήσομαι αὐτοῖς Horathēsomai autois. Most or all the versions seem to have read it as if it were compounded of לם אראה 'ere'eh lm - 'I will appear to them.' But probably the word is formed from אראל 'ăre'el, the same as אריאל 'ărı̂y'êl (Ariel), 'a hero' (see the note at Isa 29:1), and means "their hero" in a collective sense, or their heroes; that is, their men who were distinguished as military leaders, and who were sent to propose terms of peace with Sennacherib. The most honorable and valiant men would be selected, of course, for this purpose (compare the note at Isa 30:4), but they had made the effort to obtain peace in vain, and were returning with consternation and alarm.

Shall cry without - They would lift up their voice with weeping as they returned, and publicly proclaim with bitter lamentation that their efforts to obtain peace had failed.

The ambassadors of peace - When Sennacherib invaded fife land, and had advanced as far as to Lachish, Hezekiah sent messengers to him with a rich present, having stripped the temple of its gold, and sent him all the silver which was in his treasury, for the purpose of propitiating his favor, and of inducing him to return to his own land Kg2 18:14-16. But it was all in vain. Sennacherib sent his generals with a great host against Jerusalem, and was unmoved by all the treasures which Hezekiah had sent to him, and by his solicitations for peace Kg2 18:17. It was to the failure of this embassy that Isaiah refers in the passage before us.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The prophet has thus run through the whole train of thought with a few rapid strides, in accordance with the custom which we have already frequently noticed; and now he commences afresh, mourning over the present miserable condition of things, in psalm-like elegiac tones, and weeping with his weeping people. "Behold, their heroes weep without; the messengers of peace weep bitterly. Desolate are roads, disappeared are travellers; he has broken covenant, insulted cities, despised men. The land mourns, languishes; Lebanon stands ashamed, parched; the meadow of Sharon has become like a steppe, and Bashan and Carmel shake their leaves." אראלּם is probably chosen with some allusion to 'Ariel, the name of Jerusalem in chapter 29; but it has a totally different meaning. We have rendered it "heroes," because אראל is here synonymous with אראל in the Nibelung-like piece contained in Sa2 23:20 and Ch1 11:22. This 'ărı̄'ēl, which is here contracted into 'er'el (compare the biblical name 'Ar'ēlı̄ and the post-biblical name of the angels, 'Er'ellı̄m), is compounded of 'arı̄ (a lion) and ‛El (God), and therefore signifies "the lion of God," but in this sense, that El (God) gives to the idea of leonine courage merely the additional force of extraordinary or wonderful; and as a composite word, it contents itself with a singular, with a collective sense according to circumstances, without forming any plural at all. The dagesh is to be explained from the fact that the word (which tradition has erroneously regarded as a compound of להם אראה) is pointed in accordance with the form כּרמל (כרמלּו). The heroes intended by the prophet were the messengers sent to Sennacherib to treat with him for peace. They carried to him the amount of silver and gold which he had demanded as the condition of peace (Kg2 18:14). But Sennacherib broke the treaty, by demanding nothing less than the surrender of Jerusalem itself. Then the heroes of Jerusalem cried aloud, when they arrived at Jerusalem, and had to convey this message of disgrace and alarm to the king and nation; and bitterly weeping over such a breach of faith, such deception and disgrace, the embassy, which had been sent off, to the deep self-humiliation of Judah and themselves, returned to Jerusalem. Moreover, Sennacherib continued to storm the fortified places, in violation of his agreement (on mâ'as ‛arı̄m, see Kg2 18:13). The land was more and more laid waste, the fields were trodden down; and the autumnal aspect of Lebanon, with its faded foliage, and of Bashan and Carmel, with their falling leaves, looked like shame and grief at the calamities of the land. It was in the autumn, therefore, that the prophet uttered these complaints; and the definition of the time given in his prophecy (Isa 32:10) coincides with this. קמל is the pausal form for קמל, just as in other places an ē with the tone, which has sprung from i, easily passes into a in pause; the sharpening of the syllable being preferred to the lengthening of it, not only when the syllable which precedes the tone syllable is an open one, but sometimes even when it is closed (e.g., Jdg 6:19, ויּגּשׁ). Instead of כּערבה we should read כּערבה (without the article), as certain codd. and early editions do. (Note: We find the same in Zac 14:10, and כּערבים in Isa 44:4, whereas we invariably have בּערבה (see Michlol, 45b), just as we always find בּאבנים, and on the other hand כּבנים.) Isaiah having mourned in the tone of the Psalms, now comforts himself with the words of a psalm. Like David in Psa 12:6, he hears Jehovah speak. The measure of Asshur's iniquity is full; the hour of Judah's redemption is come; Jehovah has looked on long enough, as though sitting still (Isa 18:4). Isa 33:10 "Now will I arise, saith Jehovah, now exalt myself, now lift up myself." Three times does the prophet repeat the word ‛attâh (now), which is so significant a word with all the prophets, but more especially with Hosea and Isaiah, and which always fixes the boundary-line and turning-point between love and wrath, wrath and love. ארומם (in half pause for ארוממא is contracted from עתרומם (Ges. 54, 2, b). Jehovah would rise up from His throne, and show Himself in all His greatness to the enemies of Israel.

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

The prophet has thus run through the whole train of thought with a few rapid strides, in accordance with the custom which we have already frequently noticed; and now he commences afresh, mourning over the present miserable condition of things, in psalm-like elegiac tones, and weeping with his weeping people. "Behold, their heroes weep without; the messengers of peace weep bitterly. Desolate are roads, disappeared are travellers; he has broken covenant, insulted cities, despised men. The land mourns, languishes; Lebanon stands ashamed, parched; the meadow of Sharon has become like a steppe, and Bashan and Carmel shake their leaves." אראלּם is probably chosen with some allusion to 'Ariel, the name of Jerusalem in chapter 29; but it has a totally different meaning. We have rendered it "heroes," because אראל is here synonymous with אראל in the Nibelung-like piece contained in Sa2 23:20 and Ch1 11:22. This 'ărı̄'ēl, which is here contracted into 'er'el (compare the biblical name 'Ar'ēlı̄ and the post-biblical name of the angels, 'Er'ellı̄m), is compounded of 'arı̄ (a lion) and ‛El (God), and therefore signifies "the lion of God," but in this sense, that El (God) gives to the idea of leonine courage merely the additional force of extraordinary or wonderful; and as a composite word, it contents itself with a singular, with a collective sense according to circumstances, without forming any plural at all. The dagesh is to be explained from the fact that the word (which tradition has erroneously regarded as a compound of להם אראה) is pointed in accordance with the form כּרמל (כרמלּו). The heroes intended by the prophet were the messengers sent to Sennacherib to treat with him for peace. They carried to him the amount of silver and gold which he had demanded as the condition of peace (Kg2 18:14). But Sennacherib broke the treaty, by demanding nothing less than the surrender of Jerusalem itself. Then the heroes of Jerusalem cried aloud, when they arrived at Jerusalem, and had to convey this message of disgrace and alarm to the king and nation; and bitterly weeping over such a breach of faith, such deception and disgrace, the embassy, which had been sent off, to the deep self-humiliation of Judah and themselves, returned to Jerusalem. Moreover, Sennacherib continued to storm the fortified places, in violation of his agreement (on mâ'as ‛arı̄m, see Kg2 18:13). The land was more and more laid waste, the fields were trodden down; and the autumnal aspect of Lebanon, with its faded foliage, and of Bashan and Carmel, with their falling leaves, looked like shame and grief at the calamities of the land. It was in the autumn, therefore, that the prophet uttered these complaints; and the definition of the time given in his prophecy (Isa 32:10) coincides with this. קמל is the pausal form for קמל, just as in other places an ē with the tone, which has sprung from i, easily passes into a in pause; the sharpening of the syllable being preferred to the lengthening of it, not only when the syllable which precedes the tone syllable is an open one, but sometimes even when it is closed (e.g., Jdg 6:19, ויּגּשׁ). Instead of כּערבה we should read כּערבה (without the article), as certain codd. and early editions do.

(Note: We find the same in Zac 14:10, and כּערבים in Isa 44:4, whereas we invariably have בּערבה (see Michlol, 45b), just as we always find בּאבנים, and on the other hand כּבנים.)

Isaiah having mourned in the tone of the Psalms, now comforts himself with the words of a psalm. Like David in Psa 12:6, he hears Jehovah speak. The measure of Asshur's iniquity is full; the hour of Judah's redemption is come; Jehovah has looked on long enough, as though sitting still (Isa 18:4). Isa 33:10 "Now will I arise, saith Jehovah, now exalt myself, now lift up myself." Three times does the prophet repeat the word ‛attâh (now), which is so significant a word with all the prophets, but more especially with Hosea and Isaiah, and which always fixes the boundary-line and turning-point between love and wrath, wrath and love. ארומם (in half pause for ארוממא is contracted from עתרומם (Ges. 54, 2, b). Jehovah would rise up from His throne, and show Himself in all His greatness to the enemies of Israel.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Behold - That the mercy promised might be duly magnified, he makes a lively representation of their great danger and distress. The ambassadors - Whom he shall send to beg peace of the Assyrian. Shall weep - Because they cannot obtain their desires.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Their valiant ones shall cry without "The mighty men raise a grievous cry" - Three MSS. read אראלים erelim, that is, lions of God, or strong lions. So they called valiant men heroes; which appellation the Arabians and Persians still use. See Bochart. Hieroz. Part 1 lib. 3 cap. 1. "Mahomet, ayant reconnu Hamzeh son oncle pour homme de courage et de valeur, lui donne le titre ou surnom d'Assad Allah, qui signifie le lion de Dieu. "D'Herbelot, p. 427. And for חצה chatsah, the Syriac and Chaldee, read קשה kashah, whom I follow. The Chaldee, Syriac, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion read אראה להם ereh lahem, or יראה yireh, with what meaning is not clear. The word אראלם erellam, which we translate valiant ones, is very difficult; no man knows what it means. Kimchi supposes that it is the name of the angel that smote the Assyrian camp! The Vulgate, and my old MS., translate it seers; and most of the Versions understand it in this way. None of the MSS. give us any help, but as we see above in Lowth.

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⁴ And Heshbon [02809] shall cry [02199], and Elealeh [0500]: their voice [06963] shall be heard [08085] even unto Jahaz [03096]: therefore the armed soldiers [02502] of Moab [04124] shall cry out [07321]; his life [05315] shall be grievous [03415] unto him.

³⁷ Then came [0935] Eliakim [0471] the son [01121] of Hilkiah [02518], which was over the household [01004], and Shebna [07644] the scribe [05608], and Joah [03098] the son [01121] of Asaph [0623] the recorder [02142], to Hezekiah [02396] with their clothes [0899] rent [07167], and told [05046] him the words [01697] of Rabshakeh [07262].

¹⁸ And when they had called [07121] to the king [04428], there came out [03318] to them Eliakim [0471] the son [01121] of Hilkiah [02518], which was over the household [01004], and Shebna [07644] the scribe [05608], and Joah [03098] the son [01121] of Asaph [0623] the recorder [02142].

¹⁷ And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] sent [07971] Tartan [08661] and Rabsaris [07249] and Rabshakeh [07262] from Lachish [03923] to king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] with a great [03515] host [02426] against Jerusalem [03389]. And they went up [05927] and came [0935] to Jerusalem [03389]. And when they were come up [05927], they came [0935] and stood [05975] by the conduit [08585] of the upper [05945] pool [01295], which is in the highway [04546] of the fuller's [03526] field [07704].

¹⁴ And Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] sent [07971] to the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] to Lachish [03923], saying [0559], I have offended [02398]; return [07725] from me: that which thou puttest [05414] on me will I bear [05375]. And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] appointed [07760] unto Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] three [07969] hundred [03967] talents [03603] of silver [03701] and thirty [07970] talents [03603] of gold [02091].
¹⁵ And Hezekiah [02396] gave [05414] him all the silver [03701] that was found [04672] in the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and in the treasures [0214] of the king's [04428] house [01004].
¹⁶ At that time [06256] did Hezekiah [02396] cut off [07112] the gold from the doors [01817] of the temple [01964] of the LORD [03068], and from the pillars [0547] which Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] had overlaid [06823], and gave [05414] it to the king [04428] of Assyria [0804].

⁴ For his princes [08269] were at Zoan [06814], and his ambassadors [04397] came [05060] to Hanes [02609].

¹ Woe [01945] to Ariel [0740], to Ariel [0740], the city [07151] where David [01732] dwelt [02583] ! add [05595] ye year [08141] to year [08141]; let them kill [05362] sacrifices [02282].

⁹ The earth [0776] mourneth [056] and languisheth [0535]: Lebanon [03844] is ashamed [02659] and hewn down [07060]: Sharon [08289] is like a wilderness [06160]; and Bashan [01316] and Carmel [03760] shake off [05287] their fruits.

⁸ The highways [04546] lie waste [08074], the wayfaring man [05674] [0734] ceaseth [07673]: he hath broken [06565] the covenant [01285], he hath despised [03988] the cities [05892], he regardeth [02803] no man [0582].

⁷ Behold, their valiant ones [0691] shall cry [06817] without [02351]: the ambassadors [04397] of peace [07965] shall weep [01058] bitterly [04751].

¹⁰ Now will I rise [06965], saith [0559] the LORD [03068]; now will I be exalted [07426]; now will I lift up [05375] myself.

⁴ For so [03541] the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto me, I will take my rest [08252], and I will consider [05027] in my dwelling place [04349] like a clear [06703] heat [02527] upon herbs [0216], and like a cloud [05645] of dew [02919] in the heat [02527] of harvest [07105].

⁶ The words [0565] of the LORD [03068] are pure [02889] words [0565]: as silver [03701] tried [06884] in a furnace [05948] of earth [0776], purified [02212] seven times [07659].

⁴ And they shall spring up [06779] as among [0996] the grass [02682], as willows [06155] by the water [04325] courses [02988].

¹⁰ All the land [0776] shall be turned [05437] as a plain [06160] from Geba [01387] to Rimmon [07417] south [05045] of Jerusalem [03389]: and it shall be lifted up [07213], and inhabited [03427] in her place, from Benjamin's [01144] gate [08179] unto the place [04725] of the first [07223] gate [08179], unto the corner [06434] gate [08179], and from the tower [04026] of Hananeel [02606] unto the king's [04428] winepresses [03342].

¹⁹ And Gideon [01439] went in [0935], and made ready [06213] a kid [05795] [01423], and unleavened cakes [04682] of an ephah [0374] of flour [07058]: the flesh [01320] he put [07760] in a basket [05536], and he put [07760] the broth [04839] in a pot [06517], and brought it out [03318] unto him under the oak [0424], and presented [05066] it.

¹⁰ Many days [03117] and years [08141] shall ye be troubled [07264], ye careless women [0982]: for the vintage [01210] shall fail [03615], the gathering [0625] shall not come [0935].

¹³ Now in the fourteenth [0702] [06240] year [08141] of king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] did Sennacherib [05576] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] come up [05927] against all the fenced [01219] cities [05892] of Judah [03063], and took [08610] them.

²² Benaiah [01141] the son [01121] of Jehoiada [03077], the son [01121] of a valiant [02428] man [0376] of Kabzeel [06909], who had done many [07227] acts [06467]; he slew [05221] two [08147] lionlike men [0739] of Moab [04124]: also he went down [03381] and slew [05221] a lion [0738] in [08432] a pit [0953] in a snowy [07950] day [03117].

²⁰ And Benaiah [01141] the son [01121] of Jehoiada [03077], the son [01121] of a valiant [02428] man [0376] [0381], of Kabzeel [06909], who had done many [07227] acts [06467], he slew [05221] two [08147] lionlike men [0739] of Moab [04124]: he went down [03381] also and slew [05221] a lion [0738] in the midst [08432] of a pit [0953] in time [03117] of snow [07950]: