At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying,

For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.

Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.

33:20 shall no man see me. Note John 1:18; I Timothy 6:16; etc. No man can see God in the glory of His triune personal presence, but He often revealed Himself through “the angel of His presence” (e.g., Isaiah 63:9), that is, a pre-incarnate “theophany” of Christ.

13:2 plague of leprosy. The dread disease of leprosy in ancient times was not only loathsome, but contagious and incurable. Therefore, the seemingly cruel isolation of the leper was necessary for the survival of the tribe. Because of the malady’s character, the Scriptures make it also to be a type of the dread disease of sin, which also is humanly contagious and incurable, eventually becoming loathsome and lethal (compare Psalm 38:3-11; Isaiah 1:6; James 1:15).

11:6 beside this manna. The account of God’s daily miraculous provision of “manna” (meaning “What is it?” in Hebrew) is in Exodus 16:1-36. Christ described this as a type of His own descent from heaven to bring life to the world (see John 6:38,49-51). As the Israelites came to despise the manna, so their descendants later came to despise Christ (Isaiah 53:3).

12:32 nor diminish from it. See also Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Matthew 5:18; Revelation 22:18,19. The Word of God is eternally settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89), and it is dangerous presumption for men and women to try to dilute or augment it. 13:3 Thou shalt not hearken. Even if a “prophet” or magician is allowed by God to make a true prediction or perform a genuine miracle, that is not sufficient proof of his authenticity as a man of God. He must also be using his ability to glorify the true God and confirm His word, not to undermine His authority and lead people into a false religion. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). This warning is as relevant today as it was in ancient Israel, especially in view of the wide resurgence of occultism, pantheism, and all kinds of paranormal phenomena–all opposing true Biblical Christianity.

28:1 above all nations. This magnanimous promise (conditional in part) was implicit in God’s original promise to Abraham. Because of Israel’s disobedience, it has been set aside in the present age. Nevertheless, it will ultimately be fulfilled when Israel as a nation turns back to the one true God of creation and redemption, the Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 2:2-4; Zechariah 14:9,17).

4:4 Deborah, a prophetess. Deborah was clearly a most remarkable woman, to be accepted as judge of Israel at this low ebb in their history. No other woman was ever so honored. Furthermore, she was a true “prophetess,” a position accorded to only four other women named in the Bible, in contrast to the great number of men recognized therein as prophets. The other four were Miriam (Exodus 15:20); Huldah (II Kings 22:14), the wife of Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 8:3), and Anna (Luke 2:36). However, just as there were many false prophets, so two false prophetesses are mentioned, Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14), and the Thyatiran Jezebel (Revelation 2:20).

5:20 the stars. This is not an astrological ascription, for the Bible unequivocally condemns the practice of astrology. This is a poetic reference (in this song of Deborah and Barak) to the intervention of angels in this great battle. Angels are frequently called “stars” in the Bible, because their home is in the starry heavens (Job 38:7; Isaiah 14:12-14; Revelation 1:20; 12:3-9).

13:18 secret. The Hebrew word here for “secret” is the same as for “wonderful” in Isaiah 9:6: “His name shall be called Wonderful.” This angel of the LORD was actually the pre-incarnate Christ. This appearance was a theophany, an indication that God was preparing once again to deliver His people, this time from their forty-year subjugation to the pagan Philistines.

2:10 his anointed. “His anointed” is actually “His Messiah.” This is the first explicit reference in Scripture to the coming Messiah (Hebrew equivalent of the Greek “Christ,” both meaning literally “the anointed one”). Hannah’s inspired prophecy anticipates in much detail the later Messianic prophecies (Psalm 2, Psalm 72, Psalm 110, Isaiah 11, etc.). Hannah’s son, the prophet Samuel, as the last of the judges (I Samuel 7:15), was also the one chosen by God to anoint King David, the most complete type of the ultimate anointed one.

3:9 thy skirt. The Hebrew word is occasionally translated “skirt,” but much more often is translated “wing,” as in Ruth 2:12, which speaks of God’s covering wings. The basic idea, of course, is protection and security, which Ruth was requesting for herself and Naomi from their well-to-do kinsman, Boaz. In effect, she was proposing a Levirate marriage between herself and Boaz (see note on Ruth 3:13). 3:11 virtuous woman. Here Boaz adds his own testimony, based on personal knowledge, to the general awareness of all who knew her, that Ruth was, indeed, a virtuous woman; there had been nothing immoral about her approaching Boaz in the way she did. In fact, he considered it a blessing that she came to him instead of a younger man (Ruth 3:10). 3:13 the kinsman’s part. “The part of the kinsman” is described in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. Although specifically expressed in relation only to brothers, it apparently extended to other male relatives as well, when no living brothers were available to raise up children of the childless relative. Tamar (like Ruth an ancestor of the Messiah) was rewarded in requesting her father-in-law to be her kinsman-redeemer when no brothers were available (Genesis 38:11,14,26). Ruth went to Boaz when both sons and their father were dead. Although such a Levirate marriage (from the Latin levir, “brother”) was not an actual requirement of the law, it was ordained by God as the honorable thing to do. 3:18 Sit still. Sometimes, when a believer has done all he knows to do according to God’s word, he must be content simply to “sit still,” and wait for God to work (compare to Exodus 14:13; Isaiah 30:7). 3:18 finished. Compare Genesis 2:1-3; John 19:30.