Isaiah 48:5

5 I have already declared it many days ago; before it came to pass I showed it to thee: lest thou should say, My idol has done it, my graven image, and my molten image, has commanded these things.

Isaiah 48:5 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 48:5

I have even from the beginning declared it to thee
From the beginning of their being a people, even before they were formed into a body politic; yea, from the original of them, from the time of Abraham their ancestor, as before observed: before it came to pass I showed it thee;
some hundreds of years before; first to Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to Joseph, and then to Moses, and by him to the children of Israel: lest thou shouldest say, mine idol hath done them, and my graven image,
and my molten image, hath commanded them;
or my libation or fusion of wine, oil, or blood, by which, as by other things, they made conjectures of what was to come to pass; so Gussetius ^F2 interprets the last word; lest they should ascribe their deliverance out of Egypt to the idols they made and worshipped, being a people prone to idolatry; as they did when they made a golden calf, and danced about it, ( Exodus 32:4 ) . This the Lord knew before hand, and therefore to prevent this stupidity, or convince them of it, he foretold what should come to pass, which their idols were never able to do.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Ebr. Comment. p. 517.

Isaiah 48:5 In-Context

3 That which happened, I have already declared many days ago; and it went forth out of my mouth, and I published it; I did it suddenly, and it came to pass.

4 Because I know that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow bronze;

5 I have already declared it many days ago; before it came to pass I showed it to thee: lest thou should say, My idol has done it, my graven image, and my molten image, has commanded these things.

6 Thou hast heard it, thou hast seen it all; and will ye not declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

7 They are created now, and not in days past; nor before this day hast thou heard them lest thou should say, Behold, I knew them.