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Selected Verse: Isaiah 7:4 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 7:4	Strong Concordance	And say [0559] unto him, Take heed [08104], and be quiet [08252]; fear [03372] not, neither be fainthearted [07401] [03824] for the two [08147] tails [02180] of these smoking [06226] firebrands [0181], for the fierce [02750] anger [0639] of Rezin [07526] with Syria [0758], and of the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425].
	King James	And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

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]
Take heed, &c.--that is, See that thou be quiet (not seeking Assyrian aid in a fit of panic). tails--mere ends of firebrands, almost consumed themselves (about soon to fall before the Assyrians, Isa 7:8), therefore harmless. smoking--as about to go out; not blazing. son of Remaliah--Pekah, a usurper (Kg2 15:25). The Easterners express contempt by designating one, not by his own name, but by his father's, especially when the father is but little known (Sa1 20:27, Sa1 20:31).

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

Take heed, &c.--that is, See that thou be quiet (not seeking Assyrian aid in a fit of panic).

tails--mere ends of firebrands, almost consumed themselves (about soon to fall before the Assyrians, Isa 7:8), therefore harmless.

smoking--as about to go out; not blazing.

son of Remaliah--Pekah, a usurper (Kg2 15:25). The Easterners express contempt by designating one, not by his own name, but by his father's, especially when the father is but little known (Sa1 20:27, Sa1 20:31).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Take heed - Hebrew 'Keep thyself;' that is, from fear. Neither be fainthearted - Hebrew, 'Let not thy heart be tender;' that is, let it not be easily moved; be strong, fearless. For the tails ... - There is much beauty and force in this comparison. The "design" of Isaiah is to diminish the fear of Ahaz. Instead, therefore, of calling them "firebrands" - burning and setting on fire everything in their way - he calls them the "tails, that is, the ends," or remains of firebrand - almost consumed themselves, and harmless. And instead of saying that they were "burning and blazing," he says that they were merely "smoking" - the half-burned, decaying remains of what might have been once formidable. The prophet also is just about to announce their approaching destruction by the Assyrians; see Isa 7:8. He, therefore, speaks of them as already almost extinguished, and incapable of doing extensive injury. Son of Remaliah - Pekah, Isa 7:1. 'It is by way of contempt that the king of Israel is not called by his own name. The Hebrews and Arabians, when they wish to speak reproachfully of anyone, omit his proper name and call him merely the son of this or that, especially when his father is but little known or respected. So Saul names David, in contempt, the son of Jesse; Sa1 20:27, Sa1 20:31.' - "Hengstenberg."

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
No means were left untried. "And say unto him, Take heed, and keep quiet; and let not thy heart become soft from these two smoking firebrand-stumps: at the fierce anger of Rezin, and Aram, and the son of Remaliah." The imperative השּׁמר (not pointed השּׁמר, as is the case when it is to be connected more closely with what follows, and taken in the sense of cave ne, or even cave ut) warned the king against acting for himself, in estrangement from God; and the imperative hashkēt exhorted him to courageous calmness, secured by confidence in God; or, as Calvin expresses it, exhorted him "to restrain himself outwardly, and keep his mind calm within." The explanation given by Jewish expositors to the word hisshamēr, viz., conside super faeces tuas (Luzzatto: vivi riposato), according to Jer 48:11; Zep 1:12, yields a sense which hardly suits the exhortation. The object of terror, at which and before which the king's heart was not to despair, is introduced first of all with Min and then with Beth, as in Jer 51:46. The two allies are designated at once as what they were in the sight of God, who sees through the true nature and future condition. They were two tails, i.e., nothing but the fag-ends, of wooden pokers (lit. stirrers, i.e., fire-stirrers), which would not blaze any more, but only continue smoking. They would burn and light no more, though their smoke might make the eyes smart still. Along with Rezin, and to avoid honouring him with the title of king, Aram (Syria) is especially mentioned; whilst Pekah is called Ben-Remaliah, to recall to mind his low birth, and the absence of any promise in the case of his house. The ya‛an 'asher ("because") which follows (as in Eze 12:12) does not belong to Isa 7:4 (as might appear from the sethume that comes afterwards), in the sense of "do not be afraid because," etc., but is to be understood as introducing the reason for the judicial sentence in Isa 7:7.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Be quiet - Settle thy mind by the belief of that joyful message which I am now to deliver thee from the Lord. Fire - brands - They are not whole fire - brands, but small pieces or ends of them, taken out of the fire, in which there is more smoak than fire. They have more of shew and terror, than of strength. Pekah, king of Israel, he calls only the son of Remaliah, to intimate, that he was unworthy the name of king, as having got that title by usurpation, and the murder of his master, Kg2 15:25.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
The Syriac omits וארם vearam, "and Syria;" the Vulgate reads מלך ארם melech aram, "king of Syria:" one or the other seems to be the true reading. I prefer the former: or, instead of וארם ובן vearam uben, read ופקח בן vepekach ben, and pekah son, MS.

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³¹ For as long as [03117] the son [01121] of Jesse [03448] liveth [02425] upon the ground [0127], thou shalt not be established [03559], nor thy kingdom [04438]. Wherefore now send [07971] and fetch [03947] him unto me, for he shall surely die [01121] [04194].

²⁷ And it came to pass on the morrow [04283], which was the second [08145] day of the month [02320], that David's [01732] place [04725] was empty [06485]: and Saul [07586] said [0559] unto Jonathan [03083] his son [01121], Wherefore cometh [0935] not the son [01121] of Jesse [03448] to meat [03899], neither yesterday [08543], nor to day [03117]?

²⁵ But Pekah [06492] the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425], a captain [07991] of his, conspired [07194] against him, and smote [05221] him in Samaria [08111], in the palace [0759] of the king's [04428] house [01004], with Argob [0709] and Arieh [0745], and with him fifty [02572] men [0376] of the Gileadites [01121] [01569]: and he killed [04191] him, and reigned [04427] in his room.

⁸ For the head [07218] of Syria [0758] is Damascus [01834], and the head [07218] of Damascus [01834] is Rezin [07526]; and within threescore [08346] and five [02568] years [08141] shall Ephraim [0669] be broken [02865], that it be not a people [05971].

¹ And it came to pass in the days [03117] of Ahaz [0271] the son [01121] of Jotham [03147], the son [01121] of Uzziah [05818], king [04428] of Judah [03063], that Rezin [07526] the king [04428] of Syria [0758], and Pekah [06492] the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425], king [04428] of Israel [03478], went up [05927] toward Jerusalem [03389] to war [04421] against it, but could [03201] not prevail [03898] against it.

⁷ Thus [03541] saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069], It shall not stand [06965], neither shall it come to pass.

⁴ And say [0559] unto him, Take heed [08104], and be quiet [08252]; fear [03372] not, neither be fainthearted [07401] [03824] for the two [08147] tails [02180] of these smoking [06226] firebrands [0181], for the fierce [02750] anger [0639] of Rezin [07526] with Syria [0758], and of the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425].

¹² And the prince [05387] that is among [08432] them shall bear [05375] upon his shoulder [03802] in the twilight [05939], and shall go forth [03318]: they shall dig [02864] through the wall [07023] to carry out [03318] thereby: he shall cover [03680] his face [06440], that [03282] he see [07200] not the ground [0776] with his eyes [05869].

⁴⁶ And lest your heart [03824] faint [07401], and ye fear [03372] for the rumour [08052] that shall be heard [08085] in the land [0776]; a rumour [08052] shall both come [0935] one year [08141], and after [0310] that in another year [08141] shall come a rumour [08052], and violence [02555] in the land [0776], ruler [04910] against ruler [04910].

¹² And it shall come to pass at that time [06256], that I will search [02664] Jerusalem [03389] with candles [05216], and punish [06485] the men [0582] that are settled [07087] on their lees [08105]: that say [0559] in their heart [03824], The LORD [03068] will not do good [03190], neither will he do evil [07489].

¹¹ Moab [04124] hath been at ease [07599] from his youth [05271], and he hath settled [08252] on his lees [08105], and hath not been emptied [07324] from vessel [03627] to vessel [03627], neither hath he gone [01980] into captivity [01473]: therefore his taste [02940] remained [05975] in him, and his scent [07381] is not changed [04171].