And the lambs shall feed according to their order, and strangers shall eat the deserts turned into fruitfulness.

“And lambs shall graze as their wont The righteous who are compared to a flock of ewes. as their wont Heb. כדברם. According to their habit, with equity and with a measure, guiding their affairs with justice, like these lambs. [Variant reading: According to their habit, with equity and of their own, for there will no longer be wicked people in the world, who will rob them.] Our Rabbis expounded כְּדָבְרָם to mean: According to all that was spoken regarding them, [i.e.,] the consolations spoken for them. and...the ruins of the fat ones the houses of the wicked, who are fat. sojourners shall eat The righteous, who are like sojourners, shall eat them. fat Heb. מֵחִים, meaning “fat,” as (Psalms 66: 15): “Burnt offerings of fatlings will I offer up.””

“Then shall the lambs feed, etc. Judah will then be desolate, and lambs will feed therein, as if they were driven to be there. כדברם As if they were driven. Comp. the Chaldee דבר to lead, to drive; and דברת floats (1 Kings 5:25). מחים Strong lambs, that have marrow (מוח) in their bones; comp. ממוחים things full of marrow (25:6). וחרבות And the waste places of; comp. חרבן destruction. It is the construct state; supply הארץ the land; comp. ושכורת And drunken of SORROW. (51:21). משא ח׳ ל׳ = חמר לחם An ass’s LOAD of bread (1 Sam. 16:20). גרים Strangers, that will then dwell there. מחים (Adjective, strong lambs) is the objective case; גרים strangers, the subject.”

“Woe to you who rise up early in the morning to drunkenness. Here he charges them with their fault as regards the abuse of food: and first he charges the fault; second he threatens the punishment, at the words, therefore, captive. Concerning the first he does two things. First he charges gluttony as regards its species, second as regards its effect, at the words, and you do not regard the work of the Lord. Now the species of gluttony are five, which are contained in this verse: too hastily, sumptuously, too much, ardently, studiously. He says therefore first: woe to you who rise up early in the morning — as regards too hastily. Ecclesiastes 10: Woe to thee, O land, whose king is a child, and whose princes eat in the morning. Proverbs 23: When shall I awake, and find wine again? As regards ardently he says, to be pursued. As regards too much he says, even until evening. Proverbs 23: To whom is woe? To whom is a father's woe? To whom are quarrels? To whom are pits? To whom are wounds without cause? To whom is the gouging out of eyes? Is it not to those who tarry long over wine, and who apply themselves to draining the cups? That you may be inflamed with wine — unto luxury, and unto all vices. As regards studiously he says, harp and wine — sought after studiously, because with great zeal they prepare for themselves delight in foods. As regards sumptuously he says, in their feasts, in which great preparations are made and choice foods. Amos 6: you who eat the lamb from the flock, and the calves from the midst of the herd; who sing to the sound of the psaltery: as David they thought they had instruments of song, drinking wine in bowls, and anointed with the best ointment. Now the effect is thoughtlessness: and as regards this he says: and you do not regard the work of the Lord, which you ought to do; nor the works, which he himself has done. Proverbs 20: Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness is riotous. Therefore, captive. Here he sets down the corresponding punishment; and first as regards the affection of the will: hence he says, therefore — as their knowledge is made captive through drunkenness, so shall they themselves be made captive. Hosea 4: My people has fallen silent, because it had not knowledge. But it seems that ignorance does not merit punishment, because it excuses fault. And it must be said that ignorance can denote merely a negation of knowledge; and thus it merits neither punishment nor pardon, as the ignorance of geometry in country-folk. It can also denote a privation of knowledge, such that it leaves behind the aptitude that was due in the subject; and thus it is clear that not to know those things which one is able and bound to know is culpable. Second, he sets down the punishment against the species of gluttony; and thus he sets down hunger and thirst, which correspond to that which is too hastily as regards its cause: because hunger is caused by the fact that someone delays too long in taking food; as if he were to say: you ate too quickly, but you delayed so much that you shall hunger. Again it corresponds to that species which is ardently as regards its own kind: for hunger is a desire for food: hence he says, and the nobles. And he sets down thirst against the multitude of the common people, who are accustomed to quench thirst at least with water; but against the nobles, who abounded in provisions, and were at times burdened with thirst, he sets down hunger. Lamentations 4: It was better for those slain by the sword than for those killed by hunger. Second, against the other species which is too much, he sets down the insatiability of those who take captive, in the captivity — hence he says: therefore Hell has enlarged, that is, death or the Devil, its soul, as regards its desire, opened its mouth, as regards its effect. And he speaks after a human manner, because Hell does not have a soul. Proverbs 27: Hell and destruction are never filled. Or Hell is said to mean Nebuchadnezzar. Habakkuk 2: Hell has enlarged its soul, and it is like death, and is not satisfied. Third, as regards the studious preparation of food, which arises from a certain haughtiness, he sets down the punishment of humiliation, at the words, and they shall go down. And he shows that they are to be humbled in three respects. First as regards captivity: hence he says, they shall go down, as though humbled, to it, namely to the Hell of captivity, its strong ones, as regards the powerful, and its exalted ones, as regards the rich and those eminent in other goods, in which they take pride, and its glorious ones, as regards the noble and famous. Jeremiah 39: and the king of Babylon killed all the nobles of Judah. He also put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, that he might be led into Babylon. And further in the same: and the remnant of the people who remained in the city, and the deserters who had fled over to him, and the rest of the common people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the soldiers carried away to Babylon. Second, as regards the abasement of the captives: and man shall be bowed down, existing in captivity, as regards the exalted, and man shall be humbled, as regards the powerful, and the eyes of the lofty, as regards the glorious. Deuteronomy 28: among those nations also you shall not rest; neither shall there be rest for the sole of your foot. Third, as regards the exaltation of God who punishes. And he shall be exalted: he who before was despised shall appear on high, in just judgment, and God, holy in himself, shall be sanctified, that is, shall appear holy. Above, chapter 2: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Fourth, against the species which is sumptuously, he sets down the devouring of goods by enemies: and lambs shall feed, that is, shall be eaten by your enemies according to their own order, because the better ones first — as regards the animals; and as regards the produce of the earth, the deserts, that is your fields deserted by you, into fruitfulness, that is, the strangers made more fruitful. Deuteronomy 28: The Lord shall bring you, and your king whom you shall set over you, into a nation which you do not know, you and your fathers. Further in the same: the stranger who dwells with you in the land shall rise above you, and shall be higher. Mystically, the lambs, that is the saints, shall feed — they shall be refreshed with the doctrine of God the Father according to their order, that is, their capacity; the strangers are the Gentiles; and the deserts, left by the Jews, namely the sacred Scriptures, turned into fruitfulness, of spiritual understanding. Woe to you who draw. Here he charges the obstinacy of sinning: and first he charges the fault, second he threatens the punishment, at the words, because of this, as. Concerning the first he does two things. First he charges in general; second he explains in particular, at, who say. He says therefore first: woe to you who draw, that is, drag out iniquity with the cords of vanity, that is, with vain occasions, by which man is drawn to sins, while through increase the fault is prolonged. Proverbs 5: his own iniquities catch the wicked man, and he is bound fast with the cords of his own sins. And this is said as regards common sins; but as regards grave sins he adds: and sin as the cord of a cart, that is, by which a cart is bound and drawn, which is a greater thing. And he designates the gravity of sin by the cart. Below, chapter 58: loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the bundles that weigh down. Who say. Here he shows these vanities in particular, from which they were drawing sin upon themselves; and this in three respects. First as regards contempt of the judge; second as regards the excusing of sin, at the words, woe to you who say; third as regards presumption in sinning, at the words, woe to you who are wise. And here is the threefold cord, which is broken with difficulty: Ecclesiasticus 4. They despised the threat of the judge on account of two things: namely on account of the delay of the sentence: hence he says, let it hasten, and let the work of captivity, which you threaten, come quickly. Ecclesiastes 8: for because sentence is not pronounced quickly against evildoers, the sons of men commit evils without any fear. Second, on account of the removedness of the judge: hence he says, let it draw near: as if he were to say: he is in heaven, and cannot see; so let it become near. Ezekiel 9: for they said: the Lord has forsaken the earth, and the Lord does not see. Note, upon that phrase, and sin as the cord of a cart, that sin is called, first, a cord; and this because it draws, first, toward the example of sin. Proverbs 7: immediately he follows her, like an ox led to the sacrifice, and he does not know that the fool is being drawn to bonds. Second, toward the habit of sinning. Jeremiah 2: a wild ass accustomed to the wilderness, in the desire of his soul drew in the wind of his love. Third, toward the ruin of eternal death. Proverbs 24: deliver those who are being led to death, and do not cease to free those who are drawn to destruction. Second, sin is called vanity; and this because, first, it fails from the imitation of divine truth. Wisdom 13: all men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God. Second, it fails from the attainment of the hoped-for end. Ecclesiastes 2: but to the sinner he has given affliction and superfluous care, that he may add and gather, and hand it over to him who has pleased God. But this too is vanity, and a vain anxiety of mind. Third, it fails from the long duration of time. Ecclesiasticus 17: the son of man is not immortal, and they were pleased in the vanity of malice. Wisdom 5: all those things have passed away like a shadow, and like a messenger running ahead. Third, sin is called a bond; and this because, first, it binds the intellect, lest it see. Wisdom 17: for since the wicked were persuaded that they could dominate the holy nation, they, fettered with the chains of darkness and of a long night, shut up under roofs, were pleasing to everlasting providence. And while they think themselves hidden in their dark sins, they have been scattered by the dark veil of forgetfulness. Second, it binds the hand, lest it do good. Third, the feet, lest they advance. Concerning these two, Matthew 22: bind his feet and hands, and cast him into outer darkness. Fourth, sin is called a cart; and this because, first, it oppresses with the burden of servitude. Jeremiah 16: and there you shall serve strange gods day and night, who will not give you rest. Second, with fear of heart. Wisdom 17: for since wickedness is cowardly, it has been given over to the condemnation of all. Third, with the unquiet of conscience. Below, chapter 57: but the heart of the wicked is like a raging sea, which cannot rest.”

“Then shall the lambs feed after their manner,.... That is, the people of God, the disciples of Christ, either apostles and ministers of the Gospel, whom he sent forth as lambs among wolves, Luk 10:3 who fed the flock of Christ after their usual manner, and as directed by him; even with knowledge and understanding, by the ministry of the word, and administration of ordinances; or the people of God fed by them, who are comparable to lambs for their harmlessness and innocence; and who feed in green pastures, "according as they are led"; as the word used may be rendered (f); or "according to their word"; the doctrine of the ministers of the Gospel, by whom they are instructed and directed to feed on Christ, as he is held forth in the word and ordinances. The Targum is, "and the righteous shall be fed as is said of them;'' and so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it of the righteous: and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat; that is, the Gentiles, who are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise; the other sheep that were not of the Jewish fold, Eph 2:12 these shall come in the room of the fat ones of the land of Judea, the rulers, elders, Scribes, and Pharisees; and feed on those pastures which were despised and left desolate by them; enjoy the Gospel they put away from them, and the ordinances of it, which they rejected. The Targum is, "and they shall be multiplied, and the substance of the ungodly shall the righteous possess.'' (f) "juxta ductum suum", Montanus, Vatablus; "juxta verbum ipsorum", Forerius.”

“after their manner--literally, "according to their own word," that is, at will. Otherwise, as in their own pasture [GESENIUS]: so the Hebrew in Mic 2:12. The lands of the Scenite tent dwellers (Jer 35:7). Arab shepherds in the neighborhood shall roam at large, the whole of Judea being so desolate as to become a vast pasturage. waste . . . fat ones--the deserted lands of the rich ("fat," Psa 22:29), then gone into captivity; "strangers," that is, nomad tribes shall make their flocks to feed on [MAURER]. Figuratively, "the lambs" are the pious, "the fat ones" the impious. So tender disciples of Jesus Christ (Joh 21:15) are called "lambs"; being meek, harmless, poor, and persecuted. Compare Eze 39:18, where the fatlings are the rich and great (Co1 1:26-27). The "strangers" are in this view the "other sheep not of the" the Jewish "fold" (Joh 10:16), the Gentiles whom Jesus Christ shall "bring" to be partakers of the rich privileges (Rom 11:17) which the Jews ("fat ones," Eze 34:16) fell from. Thus "after their (own) manner" will express that the Christian Church should worship God in freedom, released from legal bondage (Joh 4:23; Gal 5:1).”

“And when we consider that the Holy Land is at the present time an extensive pasture-ground for Arab shepherds, and that the modern Jerusalem which has arisen from the dust is a Mohammedan city, we may see in this also a literal fulfilment of Isa 5:17 : "And lambs feed as upon their pasture, and nomad shepherds eat the waste places of the fat ones." There is no necessity to supply an object to the verb ורעוּ, as Knobel and others assume, viz., the waste lands mentioned in the second clause; nor is Cedâbrâm to be taken as the object, as Caspari supposes; but the place referred to is determined by the context: in the place where Jerusalem is sunken, there lambs feed after the manner of their own pasture-ground, i.e., just as if they were in their old accustomed pasture (dober, as in Mic 2:12, from dâbar, to drive). The lambs intended are those of the gârim mentioned in the second clause. The gârim themselves are men leading an unsettled, nomad, or pilgrim life; as distinguished from gêrim, strangers visiting, or even settled at a place. The lxx have ἄρνες, so that they must have read either Cârim or gedâim, which Ewald, Knobel, and others adopt. But one feature of the prophecy, which is sustained by the historical fulfilment, is thereby obliterated. Chârboth mêchim are the lands of those that were formerly marrowy, i.e., fat and strutting about in their fulness; which lands had now become waste places. Knobel's statement, that âcăl is out of place in connection with gârim, is overthrown by Isa 1:7, to which he himself refers, though he makes he-goats the subject instead of men. The second woe closes with Isa 5:17. It is the longest of all. This also serves to confirm the fact that luxury was the leading vice of Judah in the time of Uzziah-Jotham, as it was that of Israel under Jeroboam II (see Amo 6:1-14, where the same threat is held out).”