Isaiah 42:25

25 So he poured on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle; it set him on fire all around, 1but he did not understand; it burned him up, 2but he did not take it to heart.

Isaiah 42:25 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 42:25

Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger
The Lord was angry with these people for their rejection of the Messiah, and contempt of his Gospel; and therefore his wrath came upon them to the uttermost, not in some small drops, but in great abundance, to the utter ruin of their nation, city, and temple. Josephus says F5,

``the Romans came to subdue Palestine, but their coming was the pouring out of the heat of the wrath of the Lord:''
and the strength of battle;
or "war"; all the miseries and calamities that are the effects of war. The Targum is,
``he hath brought upon them the strength of his warriors;''
the Roman soldiers: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned
him, yet he laid it not to heart;
the Roman army set fire first to the lower part of the city of Jerusalem, and then the higher F6, and wholly consumed it; and yet this has not to this day brought this people to lay it to heart, to consider and observe the true reason of it, their rejection of the Messiah.
FOOTNOTES:

F5 Josephus apud Forerium in loc.
F6 Josephus de Bello Jud. l. 7. c. 7. sect. 2. and c. 8. sect. 5.

Isaiah 42:25 In-Context

23 Who among you will give ear to this, will attend and listen for the time to come?
24 Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?
25 So he poured on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle; it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand; it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.

Cross References 2

  • 1. [Isaiah 47:11; Hosea 7:9]
  • 2. Isaiah 57:1, 11
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.