Isaiah 40:24

24 Yea, they shall not be planted, yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth. And He shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

Isaiah 40:24 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 40:24

Yea, they shall not be planted
As trees are, like the cedars in Lebanon, though they may seem to be such; but be like the grass of the field, and herbs of the earth: or, "even they shall be", as if they were "not planted ^F3", they shall not grow and flourish; or they shall be plucked up, and be no more; this is said of the princes and judges of the earth; nay, they shall not be sown;
as seed is, which springing up, brings forth fruit, but so it shall not be with them; or they shall be as if they had not been sown, no fruit being brought forth by them: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth;
so as to continue and abide, but they shall soon vanish and disappear, as the most powerful princes and wisest judges do. The Targum is,

``although they multiply, although they increase, although their children become great in the earth:''

"and" or "yea", he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither;
as grass withers, when a severe wind blows upon it: and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble;
which is not able to stand before the force of it; and as unable are the greatest potentates on earth to stand before the tempest of divine wrath and vengeance; if God blows but upon them in anger, all their glory and grandeur, pomp and power, wither away like the flower of the field; and especially if he comes forth in all the fury of his wrath in a tempestuous way against them, they are no more able to stand before him that stubble before a violent storm: see ( Revelation 6:15-17 ) . The Targum is,

``yet, even he will send his fury upon them; and his word shall take them away, as a whirlwind stubble.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (wejn lb Pa) "perinde ut non plantati", Calvin; and so the following clauses.

Isaiah 40:24 In-Context

22 It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in,

23 who bringeth the princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

24 Yea, they shall not be planted, yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth. And He shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25 "To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal?" saith the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, who bringeth out their host by number. He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for He is strong in power; not one faileth.