Yet the defended city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
Yet the defended city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
For the strong town is without men, an unpeopled living-place; and she has become a waste land: there the young ox will take his rest, and its branches will be food for him.
Yet the fortified city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume its branches.
For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. The calf will feed there, and there he will lie down, and consume its branches.
For the defenced city is solitary, an habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
There shall the calf feed - That is, the king of Egypt, says Kimchi.
Yet the defensed city - Gesenius supposes that this means Jerusalem. So Calvin and Piscator understand it. Others understand it of Samaria, others of Babylon (as Vitringa, Rosenmuller, and Grotius), and others of cities in general, denoting those in Judea, or in other places. To me it seems plain that Babylon is referred to. The whole description seems to require this; and especially the fact that this song is supposed to be sung after the return from captivity to celebrate their deliverance. It is natural, therefore, that they should record the fact that the strong and mighty city where they had been so long in captivity, was now completely destroyed. For the meaning of thee phrase 'defensed city,' see the note at Isaiah 25:2.
Shall be desolate - (see Isaiah 25:2; compare the notes at Isaiah 13)
The habitation forsaken - The habitation here referred to is Babylon. It means the habitation or dwelling-place where "we" have so long dwelt as captives (compare Proverbs 3:33; Proverbs 21:20; Proverbs 24:15).
And left like a wilderness - See the description of Babylon in the notes at Isaiah 13:20-22.
There shall the calf feed - It shall become a vast desert, and be a place for beasts of the forest to range in (compare Isaiah 7:23; see the note at Isaiah 5:17).
And consume the branches thereof - The branches of the trees and shrubs that shall spring up spontaneously in the vast waste where Babylon was.
27:10 Yet - Yet before this glorious promise be fulfilled, a dreadful and desolating judgment shall come. The city - Jerusalem and the rest of the defenced cities in the land. The habitation - The most inhabited and populous places. The calf - This is put for all sorts of cattle, which may securely feed there, because there shall be no men left to disturb them.