Isaiah 32:12

12 Beat your chests to show how sad you are. The pleasant fields have been destroyed. The fruitful vines have dried up.

Isaiah 32:12 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 32:12

They shall lament for the teats
Either of the beasts of the field, that should be dried up, and give no milk, through the great drought that should be upon the land; or through the waste of the herbage by the enemy; or else of the women, their breasts and paps, which should afford no milk for their infants, through the famine that should press them sore, which would occasion great lamentation, both in mothers and children; though some think are to be understood of the fields, and are explained by them in the next clause; the fruitful earth being compared to a woman, its fields are like breasts or paps, which yield food and nourishment, but now should not afford any, and therefore there would be cause of lamentation. Jarchi interprets it, "they shall beat upon their breasts" F13 a gesture used in lamentation to express exceeding great grief and sorrow, ( Luke 18:13 ) ( 23:48 ) some, because the word rendered "lament" is of the masculine gender, and so not applicable to women, render the words in connection with the preceding verse ( Isaiah 32:11 ) thus,

``gird sackcloth on your loins, and on your mourning breasts'' F14;
though they may be interpreted indefinitely, "there shall be lamentation for the teats", among all sorts of people, men, women, and children: for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine;
as the fields are when covered with corn and grass, and the vines with clusters of grapes, but now should not be, either through drought, or by being foraged and trampled on by the enemy.
FOOTNOTES:

F13 So it is explained in T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 27. 2.
F14 So Castalio.

Isaiah 32:12 In-Context

10 You feel secure now. But in a little over a year you will tremble with fear. The grape harvest will fail. There won't be any fruit.
11 So tremble, you contented women. Tremble with fear, you who feel so secure. Take your fine clothes off. Put black clothes on.
12 Beat your chests to show how sad you are. The pleasant fields have been destroyed. The fruitful vines have dried up.
13 My people's land is overgrown with thorns and bushes. Sob over all of the houses that were once filled with joy. Cry over this city that used to be full of wild parties.
14 The royal palace will be left empty. The noisy city will be deserted. The fort and lookout tower will become a dry and empty desert forever. Donkeys will enjoy being there. Flocks will eat there.
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