Now therefore go in and write for them upon box, and note it diligently in a book, and it shall be in the latter days for a testimony for ever.

“[Isaiah] set his prophecy down in writing in a new book so that, after his prophecy was fulfilled, what he had written might bear witness against the Jews of what the inspired prophet predicted to them a long time before. This is why he did not simply write it in a book, but in a new book, a book capable of staying sturdy for a long time without easily falling apart, a book which could last until the events described in it would come to pass.”

“Woe, sons. In this part the prophet threatens against those who despised the prophecy of Jeremiah, going into Egypt against his counsel, as is found in Jeremiah 43. And it is divided into two. In the first he threatens against the Jews alone; in the second against the Jews and the Egyptians together, in whom they trusted: chapter 31, Woe to those who go down. Or, according to the Gloss, in the first part he forbids the going down, in the second he threatens punishment against those going down. The first into two. In the first he sets forth the threat; in the second, consolation, therefore he waits. The first into two. In the first he reproves the going-down; second, the contempt of the divine precept, therefore I have cried out. Concerning the first he reproves three things in them. First, the disposition of the journey, setting forth their purpose, that you might take counsel ... a web, a wicked contrivance; and the resulting effect, that you might add: 2 Paralipomenon 28: Why do you wish to add sins upon sins? Second, he sets forth the execution of the plan as regards the going of the way, who walk; which is marred by the contempt of the divine counsel, my mouth, the prophet. Jeremiah 15: If you separate the precious from the vile, you shall be as my mouth: because what he said to do you were unwilling to do. And through confidence in human help, having confidence. Jeremiah 17: Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm. And he sets forth the effect: and it shall be to you, Hosea 4: I will change their glory into shame. Hence as to the terminus of the way — for they had gone into Tahpanhes, which is only in another part of Egypt — as though fearing to remain at the first borders. Jeremiah 2: What do you want in the way of Egypt, that you should drink muddy water? And he shows the failure of hope: they are all confounded. Psalm 145: Trust not in princes. Third, he describes the carrying away of goods, the burden of the beasts of burden, first threatening the destruction of Egypt: the burden of the sons of Judah. Of the beasts of burden, on account of their stupidity; or because, like beasts of burden, they carried their own goods. Of the south, because they fled toward the south, or because their dwelling was in the southern region. In the land of tribulation, in Egypt, which in Hebrew is called Mesraim, which is interpreted tribulation, or anguish. Jeremiah 42: The sword which you fear. Second, he sets forth the condition of those carrying the goods: lioness, on account of ferocity; lion, on account of the presumption of daring; viper, on account of cruelty; flying basilisk, not that it has wings, but because it leaps into a man's face, on account of its swiftness in doing harm. Sophonias 3: Her princes are like lions. Third, the carrying away of goods, carrying. Fourth, the frustration of their labor, to a people, Psalm 59: vain is the salvation of man. Therefore I have cried out. Here he reproves in them the contempt of God: and first he shows how they despised the divine precept; in the second how they despised salutary counsel, because thus says. Concerning the first he sets forth three things: first, God's precept; second, the people's contempt, for the people; third, he threatens death, or the ruin of death, to those who despise, therefore thus says. Concerning the first he sets forth three things. First, the precept: therefore — namely because it is useless — be still, in your land. Jeremiah 14: Thus says the Lord to this people, who have loved to move their foot, and have not rested, and have not pleased the Lord. Second, he sets forth the confirmation of the precept. Now therefore, you Isaiah, go in, into the prophetic vision, or you Jeremiah, go in, into Egypt with the people, as is read in Jeremiah 43. Third, he assigns the fruit of the confirmation, and it shall be in that day. Exodus 17: Write this for a memorial. The people. Here he sets forth the contempt of the people: and first insofar as they despised God. Unto wrath, as regards the sin of transgression. Ezechiel 2: Be not exasperating, as the house of Israel is an exasperating house. Lying, as regards the sin of speech, because they promised Jeremiah obedience, which they were unwilling to keep, as is found in Jeremiah 42. Psalm 17: Strange children have lied to me. Unwilling, as regards the sin of omission. Proverbs 28: He who stops his ear against hearing the law, his prayer shall be execrable. Second, he sets forth the contempt of the prophets, who say to the seers, insofar as they forbade them their proper office. Amos 7: You who see, go, flee. Insofar as they were leading them to falsehood, speak. 3 Kings, last chapter: Behold, the words of the prophets all foretell good things to the king. Turn aside, insofar as they forbade the word of divine knowledge. Job 21: Who have said to God: We wish not the knowledge of your ways. Therefore thus says. Here he threatens them with (sudden) ruin, resuming the fault so that the punishment may appear more just: because. But he adjoins the punishment, there, therefore this shall be to you; signifying a sudden punishment by the likeness of a ruin, which lies hidden long in a wall, which at last suddenly falls, because suddenly: 1 Thessalonians 5: For when they shall say, peace and security; then sudden destruction shall come upon them. And he also shows the punishment to be strong, and it shall be broken, under the likeness of the breaking of a flask, of which no shard remains whole for anything of use, namely for carrying fire, and for drawing water. Above, chapter 24: With breaking shall the earth be broken. Note on that word, be still, that man ought first to rest from the act of sin. Above, chapter 1: Cease to do perversely, learn to do well. Second, from the course of wandering. Jeremiah 14: You shall say this to this people, who have loved to move their feet, and have not rested. Third, from immoderate desire. Below, chapter 57: the heart of the wicked is like a raging sea, which cannot rest. Fourth, from a presumptuous intellect. Ecclesiasticus 18: When a man has finished, then shall he begin. For thus says the Lord. Here he reproves in them the contempt of the divine counsel: and concerning this he sets forth three things. First, the counsel: if you return. Below, chapter 45: Be converted to me, and you shall be saved. Second, the contempt: and you said. Therefore you shall flee: this is the word of the Lord. Deuteronomy 2: We will go by one way. And we will ride upon swift ones: the voice of the rebellious people. Therefore swifter ones: the voice of the Lord. Lamentations 4: Our persecutors were swifter than the eagles of the sky. Third, he threatens ruin: a thousand — the Egyptians; one — a Chaldean. You shall all flee — you Jews; five — of the Chaldeans. Deuteronomy 32: How should one pursue after a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight? As a mast, as a sign for avoiding shipwreck. Above, chapter 6: It shall be for a show, like the turpentine tree, and like an oak that spreads its branches. Therefore he waits. Here he sets forth consolation: and concerning this he does two things. First he sets forth the purpose of having mercy; second he carries out the benefit of mercy, for the people. Concerning the first he sets forth three things. First, the purpose of having mercy in God, therefore he waits, not destroying you utterly. Hosea 3: You shall wait for me many days. Second, the judgment of the ungrateful: and therefore he shall be exalted; that is, he shall appear high in justice, punishing you who are ungrateful for his benefits. Above, chapter 5: The Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment. Third, the reward of the good, blessed are all. Luke 12: You like men who wait for their lord. For the people. Here he carries out the benefit of mercy: and first in their exaltation; second in the oppression of their enemies, behold the name. Concerning the first he sets forth two things. First, the removal of evils, against the captivity of exile. For the people, in the time of Zorobabel: or rather mystically, the whole. Psalm 124: He that dwells in Jerusalem shall not be moved forever. Against the anguish of sadness: weeping — earlier; you shall by no means weep — not forever, but until you are set free. Above, chapter 25: He shall take away the tear from every face. Against God's indignation, having mercy. Psalm 90: He shall call upon me, and I will hear him. Against poverty: and the Lord will give you. And the sense is: they shall be content with little food. Ecclesiasticus 29: The chief thing for man's life is bread and water. Or because in the return from Babylon they suffered want. Mystically, according to the Gloss. Second, he sets forth the bestowal of good things: hence, he will give. And first of spiritual things, as to chosen doctrine, describing the teacher: to fly away, to withdraw; the teacher — Esdras, whose doctrine they still use, or Christ; behind your back, like one fleeing when he is called back by one pursuing. Joel 2: The Lord has given you a teacher of justice. And he sets forth the doctrine: this is the way. Numbers 21: We will go by the king's highway. And also as to the due worship of God, and you shall pollute, that is, you shall reduce to common use. 4 Kings 23: He polluted the high places, and demolished them. The covering, all the ornament of the idol. Second, as to temporal goods: hence he says, go forth, namely from spiritual things to temporal, (O Isaiah or Jeremiah). And first he promises the fertility of the land, promising the cause: rain shall be given. Joel 2: He will cause the rain to come down to you. And the effect, as to the food of men. And bread of the grains. Genesis 49: Aser, his bread shall be fat. Psalm 147: He fills you with the fat of wheat. As to the pasture of herds: the lamb shall be fed, as to sheep; bulls, as to oxen; and in both he notes fruitfulness, setting down young ones. And the young of asses, as to the provender of beasts of burden; mash — barley cleared of chaff, which before they ate mixed together. Second, he promises abundance of waters, and there shall be. The Jews say these things are to be fulfilled literally at the end of the world — of many, of the Romans, according to them; which is fabulous. Or it can be a metaphorical expression: so that by water is signified the consolation which they had after the return from captivity and the destruction of Babylon. Or mystically, of the doctrine of Christ. Below, chapter 41: I will open rivers in the highest hills, and fountains in the midst of the plains. Third, the brightness of the sky, and the light of the sun shall be as the light of seven, that is, as much in one as now in seven, as it were sevenfold: or as it was in the first week of days. These things the Jews say fabulously, literally, in the time of golden Jerusalem. But it is better that it be referred to the future glory of the saints, after the renewal of the world. Or metaphorically and hyperbolically it may be referred to the state of the people. Psalm 146: Who heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their bruises. Note on that word, and bread of the grains, that the word of God is bread — first, narrow, on account of the difficulty of keeping it. Matthew 7: Narrow is the way that leads to life. Second, most abundant, on account of the usefulness of its fruit. Below, chapter 55: As the rain comes down from heaven, and drenches the earth, and it springs up, and does not return there anymore, so shall be the word that shall go forth from my mouth. Third, rich, on account of the sweetness of delight. Genesis 49: Aser, his bread shall be fat. Behold the name of the Lord. Here he consoles them from the punishment of their enemies: and concerning this he sets forth three things. First, the coming of the judge who punishes; second, the manner of the punishment, and he shall make heard; third, the place of the punishment, it is prepared. Concerning the first he sets forth three things. First, the coming: he comes, unto universal judgment; from afar, foretold long before by the prophets. Or: he comes unto the destruction of Sennacherib; from afar, from the height of his power. Or unto the destroying of the Babylonians, by the Medes coming from afar. Jeremiah 5: Behold I will bring upon you a nation from afar. The name of the Lord — the Son, as to the first exposition; or because it redounds to his own glory, as to the second and third. Second, he shows the zeal of the one who comes, setting forth wrath in the heart, by way of anthropopathy, burning fury. Fury is anger kindled. Now it is kindled either as to the vehemence of the desire for vengeance; and as to this he says, burning: or as to the quantity of the punishment; and as to this he says, heavy. Below, chapter 65: These were a smoke in my fury, a fire burning all the day. He also sets forth wrath in the mouth: his lips are filled with indignation, reproaching sins; devouring, by threatening torments. Above, chapter 11: With the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. He also sets forth wrath in the deed: his spirit, that is, his indignation, even to the midst of the neck, that is, he shall bring it even unto destruction. Above, chapter 8: The overflowing fury shall pass through Judah. Third, he sets forth the effect of the indignation on the evil: the destruction of nations. To destroy the nations. Psalm 72: Lord, in your city you shall bring their image to nothing. And the cessation of tyrants, and a bridle of error. Job 30: His quiver, etc. He also sets forth the effect on the good, in the praise of the mouth: there shall be a canticle of solemnity: because at the three solemn feasts they went up to Jerusalem with gladness. Leviticus 23; below, chapter 33: Your eyes shall see the city of our solemnity. And in the gladness of the heart, in the joy of the heart. Below, chapter 51: joy and gladness, etc. Judith, last chapter: And the people of the Lord was joyful. And he shall make heard. Here he describes the manner of the punishment: and concerning this he does three things. First, he describes the manner of the punishment as to the act of the one punishing. Of his voice, by which he shall appear glorious; and the terror of his arm, by the likeness of one enraged, who threatens in these ways. Job 40: If you have an arm like God. And as to the instrument, and the flame of fire: because, literally, the Assyrians were burned up. And perhaps there was some storm. Or diverse punishments in the day of judgment are signified. Ecclesiasticus 30: fire, hail, etc. Psalm 148: Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds. Second, he sets forth the infliction of the punishment, showing its horror, for at the voice; and the duration of the punishment, and the passage shall be founded, that is, made firm. Third, the exultation of the saints, with harps; in the chief battles, which are waged by divine power alone. Psalm 57: The just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge. It is prepared. Here he describes the place of the punishment: and first its arrangement. Topheth, the valley of the son of Ennom, Gehenna, because fire was kept there for sacrifices, in stones from Tophet. It is the same valley as Gethsemani, in which the army of Sennacherib was destroyed. Or by it is signified Hell itself. Hence the Jews conjecture that Hell is there, because from two palm trees that are there, smoke is always sent forth. From yesterday, that is, from the beginning; or from the second day, according to the Jews, which had only yesterday: hence the day before yesterday. Concerning this valley it is found in Jeremiah 7 and 19. By the king, God. Above, chapter 5: Hell has enlarged its soul. Second, the diversity of punishments, the nourishment thereof. Wood — the wicked, or those of Sennacherib's army. Breath, that is, by will, metaphorically. Psalm 10: Fire, brimstone, and storms of winds, etc. Note on that word, behold the name of the Lord, that the Son of God is the name of the Father: first, by which he is made manifest. John 17: I have manifested your name to men. Second, by which he is honored. Matthew 6: Father, hallowed be your name. Third, by which he is invoked. John 16: Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Again, on that word, he comes from afar, that he comes from afar, first, on account of the long expectation. Hebrews 11: All these died according to faith, not having received the promises, but beholding them afar off. Second, on account of the imperfection of our merits. Ephesians 2: Coming, he preached peace to you who were far off. Third, on account of the delay of time. Numbers 24: I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not near. Fourth, on account of the height of his majesty. Psalm 18: His going out is from the end of heaven, and his circuit even to the end thereof. Again, on that word, his tongue as fire, that charity is called fire: first because it illumines. Ecclesiasticus 2: You that fear God, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened. Second, because it seethes. Canticle 2: Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples; because I languish with love. Third, because it turns all things to itself. Romans 8: We know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good. Fourth, because it makes ready. John 14: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Fifth, because it draws upward. Canticle 3: In my bed I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, and found him not. Note on that word, it is prepared, that Hell is wide: first, on account of the avidity of retaining, above, chapter 5: Hell has enlarged its soul; second, on account of the multitude of the damned, Matthew 7: Narrow is the way that leads to life; third, on account of the diversity of punishments, Psalm 148: fire, hail, snow, ice, etc., or Psalm 10: fire, brimstone and storms, etc.; fourth, on account of the eternity of the punishment, Matthew 25: Depart, you cursed, into everlasting fire.”

“Here, I. The preface is very awful. The prophet must not only preach this, but he must write it (Isa 30:8), write it in a table, to be hung up and exposed to public view; he must carefully note it, not in loose papers which might be lost or torn, but in a book, to be preserved for posterity, in perpetuam rei memoriam - for a standing testimony against this wicked generation; let it remain not only to the next succeeding ages, but for ever and ever, while the world stands; and so it shall, for the book of the scriptures no doubt, shall continue, and be read, to the end of time. Let it be written, 1. To shame the men of the present age, who would not hear and heed it when it was spoken. Let it be written, that it may not be lost; their children may profit by it, though they will not. 2. To justify God in the judgments he was about to ring upon them; people will be tempted to think he was too hard upon them, and over-severe, unless they know how very bad they were, how very provoking, and what fair means God tried with them before he brought it to this extremity. 3. For warning to others not to do as they did, lest they should fare as they fared. It is designed for admonition to those of the remotest place and age, even those upon whom the ends of the world have come, Co1 10:11. It may be of use for God's ministers not only to preach, but to write; for that which is written remains. II. The character given of the profane and wicked Jews is very sad. He must, if he will draw them in their own colours, write this concerning them (and we are sure he does not bear false witness against them, nor make them worse than they were, for the judgment of God is according to truth), That this is a rebellious people, Isa 30:9. The Jews were, for aught we know, the only professing people God had then in the world, and yet many of them were a rebellious people. 1. They rebelled against their own convictions and covenants: "They are lying children, that will not stand to what they say, that promise fair, but perform nothing;" when he took them into covenant with himself he said of them, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie (Isa 63:8); but they proved otherwise. 2. They rebelled against the divine authority: "They are children that will not hear the law of the Lord, nor heed it, but will do as they have a mind, let God himself say what he will to the contrary." III. The charge drawn up against them is very high and the sentence passed upon them very dreadful. Two things they here stand charged with, and their doom is read for both, a fearful doom: - 1. They forbade the prophets to speak to them in God's name, and to deal faithfully with them. (1.) This their sin is described, Isa 30:10, Isa 30:11. They set themselves so violently against the prophets to hinder them from preaching, or at least from dealing plainly with them in their preaching, did so banter them and browbeat them, that they did in effect say to the seers, See not. They had the light, but they loved darkness rather. It was their privilege that they had seers among them, but they did what they could to put out their eyes - that they had prophets among them, but they did what they could to stop their mouths; for they tormented them in their wicked ways, Rev 11:10. Those that silence good ministers, and discountenance good preaching, are justly counted, and called, rebels against God. See what it was in the prophets' preaching with which they found themselves aggrieved. [1.] The prophets told them of their faults, and warned them of their misery and danger by reason of sin, and they could not bear that. They must speak to them smooth things, must flatter them in their sins, and say that they did well, and there was no harm, no peril, in the course of life they lived in. Let a thing be ever so right and true, if it be not smooth, they will not hear it. But if it be agreeable to the good opinion they have of themselves, and will confirm them in that, though it be ever so false and ever so great a cheat upon them, they will have it prophesied to them. Those deserve to be deceived that desire to be so. [2.] The prophets stopped them in their sinful pursuits, and stood in their way like the angel in Balaam's road, with the sword of God's wrath drawn in their hand; so that they could not proceed without terror. And this they took as a great insult. When they went on frowardly in the way of their hearts they said to the prophets, "Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the paths. What do you do in our way? Cannot you let us alone to do as we please?" Those have their hearts fully set in them to do evil that bid their faithful monitors to stand out of their way. Forbear, why shouldst thou be smitten? Ch2 25:16. [3.] The prophets were continually telling them of the Holy One of Israel, what an enemy he is to sin ad how severely he will reckon with sinners; and this they could not endure to hear of. Both the thing itself and the expression of it were too serious for them; and therefore, if the prophets will speak to them, they will make it their bargain that they shall not call God the Holy One of Israel; for God's holiness is that attribute which wicked people most of all dread. Let us no more be troubled with that state-preface (as Mr. White calls it) to your impertinent harangues. Those have reason to fear perishing in their sins that cannot bear to be frightened out of them. (2.) Now what is the doom passed upon them for this? We have it, Isa 30:12, Isa 30:13. Observe, [1.] Who it is that gives judgment upon them: Thus saith the Holy One of Israel. That title of God which they particularly excepted against the prophet makes use of. Faithful ministers will not be driven from using such expressions as are proper to awaken sinners, though they be displeasing. We must tell men that God is the Holy One of Israel, and so they shall find him, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. [2.] What the ground of the judgment is: Because they despise this word - wither, in general, every word that the prophets said to them, or this word in particular, which declares God to be the Holy One of Israel: "they despise this, and will neither make it their fear, to stand in awe of it, nor make it their hope, to put any confidence in it; but, rather than they will be beholden to the Holy One of Israel, they will trust in oppression and perverseness, in the wealth they have got and the interest they have made by fraud and violence, or in the sinful methods they have taken for their own security, in contradiction to God and his will. On these they lean, and therefore it is just that they should fall." [3.] What the judgment is that is passed upon them: "This iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall. This confidence of yours will be like a house built upon the sand, which will fall in the storm and bury the builder in the ruins of it. Your contempt of that word of God which you might build upon will make every thing else you trust like a wall that bulges out, which, if any weight be laid upon it, comes down, nay, which often sinks with its own weight." The ruin they would hereby bring upon themselves should be, First, A surprising ruin: The breaking shall come suddenly, at an instant, when they do not expect it, which will make it the more frightful, and when they are not prepared or provided for it, which will make it the more fatal. Secondly, An utter ruin, universal and irreparable: "Your and all your confidences shall be not only weak as the potter's clay (Isa 29:16), but broken to pieces as the potter's vessel. He that has the rod of iron shall break it (Psa 2:9) and he shall not spare, shall not have any regard to it, nor be in care to preserve or keep whole any part of it. But, when once it is broken so as to be unfit for use, let it be dashed, let it be crushed, all to pieces, so that there may not remain one sherd big enough to take up a little fire or water" - two things we have daily need of, and which poor people commonly fetch in a piece of a broken pitcher. They shall not only be as a bowing wall (Psa 62:3), but as a broken mug or glass, which is good for nothing, nor can ever be made whole again. 2. They slighted the gracious directions God gave them, not only how to secure themselves and make themselves safe, but how to compose themselves and make themselves easy; they would take their own way, Isa 30:15-17. Observe here, (1.) The method God put them into for salvation and strength. The God that knew them, and knew what was proper for them, and desired their welfare, gave them this prescription; and it is recommended to us all. [1.] Would we be saved from the evil of every calamity, guarded against the temptation of it and secured from the curse of it, which are the only evil things in it? It must be in returning and rest, in returning to God and reposing in him as our rest. Let us return from our evil ways, into which we have gone aside, and rest and settle in the way of God and duty, and that is the way to be saved. "Return from this project of going down to Egypt, and rest satisfied in the will of God, and then you may trust him with your safety. In returning (in the thorough reformation of your hearts and lives) and in rest (in an entire submission of your souls to God and a complacency in him) you shall be saved." [2.] Would we be strengthened to do what is required of us and to bear what is laid upon us? It must be in quietness and in confidence; we must keep our spirits calm and sedate by a continual dependence upon God, and his power and goodness; we must retire into ourselves with a holy quietness, suppressing all turbulent and tumultuous passions, and keeping the peace in our own minds. And we must rely upon God with a holy confidence that he can do what he will and will do what is best for his people. And this will be our strength; it will inspire us with such a holy fortitude as will carry us with ease and courage through all the difficulties we may meet with. (2.) The contempt they put upon this prescription; they would not take God's counsel, though it was so much for their own good. And justly will those die of their disease that will not take God for their physician. We are certainly enemies to ourselves if we will not be subjects to him. They would not so much as try the method prescribed: "But you said, No (Isa 30:16), we will not compose ourselves, for we will flee upon horses and we will ride upon the swift; we will hurry hither and thither to fetch in foreign aids." They think themselves wiser than God, and that they know what is good for themselves better than he does. When Sennacherib took all the fenced cities of Judah, those rebellious children would not be persuaded to sit still and patiently to expect God's appearing for them, as he did wonderfully at last; but they would shift for their own safety, and thereby they exposed themselves to so much the more danger. (3.) The sentence passed upon them for this. Their sin shall be their punishment: "You will flee, and therefore you shall flee; you will be upon the full speed, and therefore so shall those be that pursue you." The dogs are most apt to run barking after him that rides fast. The conquerors protected those that sat still, but pursued those that made their escape; and so that very project by which they hoped to save themselves was justly their ruin and the most guilty suffered most. It is foretold, Isa 30:17, [1.] That they should be easily cut off; they should be so dispirited with their own fears, increased by their flight, that one of the enemy should defeat a thousand of them, and five put an army to flight, which could never be unless their Rock had sold them Deu 32:30. [2.] That they should be generally cut off, and only here and there one should escape alone in a solitary place, and be left for a spectacle too, as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, a warning to others to avoid the like sinful courses and carnal confidences.”

“Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book,.... Meaning their sins, their rebellion against God, their trust in an arm of flesh, and contempt of the divine word; or the prophecy of their destruction, for these things; and both may be meant; which the Lord orders to be written before their eyes, in some public place, as in the temple, upon a table, a table of wood covered with wax, on which they formerly wrote, and then hung it up against a wall, that it might be read by everyone; and he would have him also engross it in a book, that it might be kept for time to come: now what God would have thus written and engrossed, must be something considerable, and of consequence; and, as it may refer to the sins of this people, may denote the blackness and detestableness of them, as being what they had reason to be ashamed of, when thus set before them; and, as it may refer to their punishment, it may signify the certainty of it: that it may be for the time to come, for ever and ever; and so continue to their eternal infamy, and for the justification of God in his proceedings against them, and be cautious unto others. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "for a testimony for ever", a witness for God, and against the Jews; and so the Targum, "and it shall be in the day of judgment for a witness before me for ever.''”

“table--a tablet (Hab 2:2), which should be set in public, containing the prophecy in a briefer form, to be read by all. a book--namely, a parchment roll, containing the prophecy in full, for the use of distant posterity. Its truth will be seen hereafter when the event has come to pass. See on Isa 8:1; Isa 8:16. for ever and ever--rather read, "For a testimony for ever" [Chaldee, JEROME, LOWTH]: "testimony is often joined to the notion of perpetuity (Deu 31:19, Deu 31:21, Deu 31:26).”

“So runs the divine oracle to which the following command refers. "Now go, write it on a table with them, and note it in a book, and let it stand there fore future days, for ever, to eternity." The suffixes of kothbâh (write it) and chuqqâh (note it) refer in a neuter sense to Isa 30:6, Isa 30:7; and the expression "go" is simply a general summons to proceed to the matter (cf., Isa 22:15). Sēpher could be used interchangeably with lūăch, because a single leaf, the contents of which were concluded, was called sēpher (Exo 17:14). Isaiah was to write the oracle upon a table, a separate leaf of durable material; and that "with them," i.e., so that his countrymen might have it before their eyes (compare Isa 8:1; Hab 2:2). It was to be a memorial for posterity. The reading לעד (Sept., Targ., Syr.) for לעד is appropriate, though quite unnecessary. The three indications of time form a climax: for futurity, for the most remote future, for the future without end.”