2. Yet--rather, "Then."
heaviness . . . sorrow--rather, preserving the Hebrew paronomasia,
"groaning" and "moaning."
as Ariel--either, "the city shall be as a lion of God," that is, it
shall emerge from its dangers unvanquished; or "it shall be as the
altar of burnt offering," consuming with fire the besiegers
(Isa 29:6;
Isa 30:30; 31:9;
Le 10:2);
or best, as
Isa 29:3
continues the threat, and the promise of deliverance does
not come till
Isa 29:4,
"it shall be like a hearth of burning," that is, a scene of devastation
by fire [G. V. SMITH]. The prophecy, probably,
contemplates ultimately, besides the affliction and deliverance
in Sennacherib's time, the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome, the
dispersion of the Jews, their restoration, the destruction of the
enemies that besiege the city
(Zec 14:2),
and the final glory of Israel
(Isa 29:17-24).
JFB.
Picture Study Bible