Isaiah 5:24

24 Therefore, as fire licks up the stubble, and the chaff is consumed in the flame; so their root will rot, and their flowers scatter like dust; because they have rejected the Torah of ADONAI-Tzva'ot, they have despised the word of the Holy One of Isra'el.

Isaiah 5:24 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 5:24

Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble
Or "tongue of fire" F8; meaning the flame, the same as in the next clause; because it is in the form of a tongue; see ( Acts 2:3 ) : and the flame consumeth the chaff;
which is done easily, speedily, and entirely; the metaphors denote that their destruction would be easy, swift, sudden, irresistible, and irrecoverable. Reference may be had to the burning of Jerusalem, literally understood: [so] their root shall be rottenness;
and so utterly perish; meaning their fathers, as Aben Ezra and Abarbinel think; or their chief and principal men, before mentioned; or their riches and substance, and whatever they gloried of, or trusted in; see ( Matthew 3:10 ) : and their blossom shall go up as dust;
before the wind; either their children, or whatever was excellent or valuable with them; so Jarchi interprets it of their grandeur, pomp, and glory; it seems to express an utter destruction of them, root and branch, as in ( Malachi 4:1 ) : because they have cast away the law of the Lord;
or doctrine of the Lord; that is, the Gospel; which the Jews blasphemed, contradicted, and put away from them, and judged themselves unworthy of everlasting life: the preaching of a crucified Christ, and salvation by him, and justification by his righteousness, were a stumbling block to them: this is to be understood not of the law of works, but of the law or doctrine of faith: and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel;
meaning either the same as before; expressing their great contempt of the Gospel, and the reason why they rejected it, because they loathed, abhorred, and despised it: or else Christ, the essential Word of God; so the Targum,

``they rejected the Word, the Holy One of Israel;''
as the Messiah, and received him not; and this their rejection of him, and ill treatment of his Gospel and ministers, were the cause of the burning of Jerusalem, and of their utter ruin and destruction, ( Matthew 22:4-7 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F8 (va Nwvl) "lingua ignis", Vatablus.

Isaiah 5:24 In-Context

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, men whose power goes to mixing strong drinks,
23 who acquit the guilty for bribes but deny justice to the righteous!
24 Therefore, as fire licks up the stubble, and the chaff is consumed in the flame; so their root will rot, and their flowers scatter like dust; because they have rejected the Torah of ADONAI-Tzva'ot, they have despised the word of the Holy One of Isra'el.
25 This is why ADONAI's anger blazed up against his people, why he stretched out his hand against them and struck them [so hard that] the hills shook, and corpses lay like trash in the streets. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens.
26 He will give a signal to faraway nations, he will whistle for them to come from the ends of the earth; and here they come, so fast!
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.