Isaiah 29:5

5 And the multitude of them that winnowed thee, shall be (made) as thin dust; and the multitude of them that had the mastery against thee, shall be (made) as [a] dead spark passing (away). And it shall be (that) suddenly,

Isaiah 29:5 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 29:5

Moreover, the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small
dust
Or "of those that fan thee" ^F17, as the Vulgate Latin Version; and so the Targum,

``of those that scatter thee;''

or of thine enemies, as others; meaning the Romans, who were a strange people to them, who got the dominion over them, and scattered them abroad in the world: and the simile of "small dust", to which they are compared, is not used to express the weakness of them, but the greatness of their number, which was not to be counted, any more than the dust of the earth; see ( Numbers 23:10 ) : and the multitude of the terrible ones [shall be] as chaff that
passeth away;
designing the same numerous army of the Romans as before, who were terrible to the Jews: nor does this metaphor signify any imbecility in them, and much less the ruin of them, but their swiftness in executing the judgments of God upon his people, who moved as quick as chaff, or any such light thing, before a mighty wind: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly;
either the numerous army should be suddenly before Jerusalem, or the destruction of that city should be as it were in a moment; and though the siege of it lasted long, yet the last sack and ruin of it was suddenly, and in so short a time, that it might be said to be in an instant, in a moment, as it were. The Jewish writers interpret this of the sudden destruction of Sennacherib's army by the angel, ( 2 Kings 19:35 ) but the next words show that the destruction of Jerusalem is meant.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (Kyrz) "ventilantium te", V. L. "dispergentium te", Vatablus, so Targum; "hostium tuorum", Pagninus, Cocceius.

Isaiah 29:5 In-Context

3 And I shall compass as a round spear, either trundle, in thy compass, and I shall cast [an heap] (of) earth against thee, and I shall set strongholds, either engines, into thy besieging. (And I shall surround thee with my army, and I shall throw a heap of earth against thee, and I shall set up strongholds, or engines, to besiege thee.)

4 Thou shalt be made low, thou shalt speak (out) of [the] earth, and thy speech shall be heard from the earth; and thy voice shall be as the voice of a dead man raised (up) by conjuring, and thy speech shall oft grutch of the earth (and thy words shall grumble, or groan, out of the earth).

5 And the multitude of them that winnowed thee, shall be (made) as thin dust; and the multitude of them that had the mastery against thee, shall be (made) as [a] dead spark passing (away). And it shall be (that) suddenly,

6 anon it shall be visited of the Lord of hosts, in thunder, and in moving of the earth, and in great voice of whirlwind, and of tempest, and of flame of fire devouring. (at once thou shalt be punished by the Lord of hosts, with thunder, and with earth-shaking, and with the great noise of a whirlwind, and of a tempest, and with a flame of devouring fire.)

7 And the multitude of all folks that fought against Ariel shall be as the dream of a night's vision; and all men that fought, and besieged (it), and had the mastery against it. (And the multitude of all the nations that fought against Ariel, that is, of all those who fought against it, and besieged it, and had the mastery over it, shall vanish like the dream of a night's vision.)