The Pulpit Commentary on Isaiah 1:20

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

If ye refuse and rebel; i.e. "if ye neither consent in will, nor obey in act, "antithetical to the two verbs in the first clause of Isaiah 1:19. Ye shall be devoured; or, ye shall be eaten. The same verb as in the latter clause of Isaiah 1:19.

With the sword. The metaphor is not a common one, but occurs in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:30; Jeremiah 12:12; Jeremiah 46:10, Jeremiah 46:14) and Nahum (Nahum 2:13). The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. A weighty ending, indicating the certainty of fulfillment, Jehovah, who cannot lie, has spoken; the result will assuredly follow.

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