1 I am sought of them that asked not for me: I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, vnto a nation that was not called by my name.
2 I haue spread out my hands all the day vnto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their owne thoughts:
3 A people that prouoketh mee to anger continually to my face, that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense vpon altars of bricke:
4 Which remaine among the graues, and lodge in the monuments, which eate swines flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels:
5 Which say; Stand by thy selfe, come not neere to me; for I am holier then thou: these are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keepe silence, but will recompence, euen recompence into their bosome,
7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, (saith the Lord) which haue burnt incense vpon the mountaines, & blasphemed mee vpon the hils: therfore will I measure their former worke into their bosome.
8 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it: so wil I doe for my seruants sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
9 And I will bring forth a seede out of Iacob, and out of Iudah an inheritour of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my seruants shall dwell there.
10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flockes, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie downe in, for my people that haue sought me.
11 ¶ But yee are they that for sake the Lord, that forget my holy mountaine, that prepare a table for that troope, and that furnish the drinke offring vnto that number.
12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and yee shall all bow downe to the slaughter: because when I called, yee did not answere; when I spake, yee did not heare, but did euill before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not:
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, my seruants shall eate, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my seruants shall drinke, but yee shall be thirstie: behold, my seruants shall reioyce, but yee shall be ashamed.
14 Behold, my seruants shall sing for ioy of heart, but yee shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howle for vexation of spirit.
15 And yee shall leaue your name for a curse vnto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his seruants by another name:
16 That he who blesseth himselfe in the earth, shall blesse himselfe in the God of trueth; and he that sweareth in the earth, shall sweare by the God of trueth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
17 ¶ For behold, I create new heauens, and a new earth: & the former shal not be remembred, nor come into mind.
18 But bee you glad and reioyce for euer in that which I create: for beholde, I create Ierusalem a reioycing, and her people a ioy.
19 And I wil reioyce in Ierusalem, and ioy in my people, and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
20 There shalbe no more thence an infant of dayes, nor an olde man, that hath not filled his dayes: for the childe shall die an hundreth yeeres olde: but the sinner being an hundreth yeres old, shalbe accursed.
21 And they shall builde houses, and inhabite them, and they shall plant vineyards, and eate the fruit of them.
22 They shal not build, and another inhabit: they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the daies of a tree, are the dayes of my people, and mine elect shal long enioy the worke of their hands.
23 They shall not labour in vaine, nor bring forth for trouble: for they are the seede of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.
24 And it shal come to passe, that before they call, I will answere, & whiles they are yet speaking, I will heare.
25 The wolfe and the lambe shall feede together, and the lyon shall eate straw like the bullocke: and dust shalbe the serpents meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountaine, sayth the Lord.
The calling of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews. (1-7) The Lord would preserve a remnant. (8-10) Judgments upon the wicked. (11-16) The future happy and flourishing state of the church. (17-25)1-7 The Gentiles came to seek God, and find him, because they were first sought and found of him. Often he meets some thoughtless trifler or profligate opposer, and says to him, Behold me; and a speedy change takes place. All the gospel day, Christ waited to be gracious. The Jews were bidden, but would not come. It is not without cause they are rejected of God. They would do what most pleased them. They grieved, they vexed the Holy Spirit. They forsook God's temple, and sacrificed in groves. They cared not for the distinction between clean and unclean meats, before it was taken away by the gospel. Perhaps this is put for all forbidden pleasures, and all that is thought to be gotten by sin, that abominable thing which the Lord hates. Christ denounced many woes against the pride and hypocrisy of the Jews. The proof against them is plain. And let us watch against pride and self-preference, remembering that every sin, and the most secret thoughts of man's heart, are known and will be judged by God.
8-10 In the bunch of unripe grapes, at present of no value, the new wine is contained. The Jews have been kept a distinct people, that all may witness the fulfilment of ancient prophecies and promises. God's chosen, the spiritual seed of praying Jacob, shall inherit his mountains of bliss and joy, and be carried safe to them through the vale of tears. All things are for the display of God's glory in the redemption of sinners.
11-16 Here the different states of the godly and wicked, of the Jews who believed, and of those who persisted in unbelief, are set against one another. They prepared a table for that troop of deities which the heathen worship, and poured out drink-offerings to that countless number. Their worshippers spared no cost to honour them, which should shame the worshippers of the true God. See the malignity of sin; it is doing by choice what we know will displease God. In every age and nation, the Lord leaves those who persist in doing evil, and despise the call of the gospel. God's servants shall have the bread of life, and shall want nothing good for them. But those who forsake the Lord, shall be ashamed of vain confidence in their own righteousness, and the hopes they built thereon. Wordly people bless themselves in the abundance of this world's goods; but God's servants bless themselves in him. He is their strength and portion. They shall honour him as the God of truth. And it was promised that in him should all the families of the earth be blessed. They shall think themselves happy in having him for their God, who made them forget their troubles.
17-25 In the grace and comfort believers have in and from Christ, we are to look for this new heaven and new earth. The former confusions, sins and miseries of the human race, shall be no more remembered or renewed. The approaching happy state of the church is described under a variety of images. He shall be thought to die in his youth, and for his sins, who only lives to the age of a hundred years. The event alone can determine what is meant; but it is plain that Christianity, if universal, would so do away violence and evil, as greatly to lengthen life. In those happy days, all God's people shall enjoy the fruit of their labours. Nor will children then be the trouble of their parents, or suffer trouble themselves. The evil dispositions of sinners shall be completely moritified; all shall live in harmony. Thus the church on earth shall be full of happiness, like heaven. This prophecy assures the servants of Christ, that the time approaches, wherein they shall be blessed with the undisturbed enjoyment of all that is needful for their happiness. As workers together with God, let us attend his ordinances, and obey his commands.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.