Verse 5: “And the Lord spoke to me more saying,”

Verse 6: “On account that these people have loathed the softly flowing waters of Shiloah, rejoicing in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son.”

On account that: Because of this.

These people have loathed: They loathed the things of God. They loathed the Word of God. They loathed the promises of God. The tribes who made up Northern Israel loathed Jerusalem, and anything related to Jerusalem – going so far as to move their place of
worship to Samaria. They did not want to worship God as He demanded to be worshipped, but they wanted to worship God on their own terms.

Waters of Shiloah: This is the same pool that is also called ‘Siloam’ – John 9:7. This pool was built during the reign of Hezekiah and is located in Jerusalem. Its name literally means ‘Sent’. The water in this pool was very slow moving.

Rejoicing in Rezin and in Remaliah’s son: They rejoiced in the confederacy that was made up of Rezin (king of Syria) and Pekah – Ramaliah’s son – king of Israel (northern kingdom). This confederacy (an ungodly coalition), rather than God and His promises, gave them
confidence and a false sense of security.

Verse 7: “Therefore, behold! The Lord is bringing up upon them the waters of a strong and abundant River – the King of Assyria with all his glory; he will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks.”

A strong and abundant River: Egypt is associated with the Nile River. Babylon is associated with the Euphrates River and Assyria is associated with the Tigres River. ‘The River’ Isaiah is referring to here is the Tigres River.

The King of Assyria: We do not need to guess that this river is being personified as the King of Assyria. He is coming to war against this coalition between Syria and Israel.

All his glory: He is coming with all of his power. He is not taking this war lightly but is taking it seriously.

All his channels: All the springs and streams of waters.

Go over all his banks: This means that there is going to be a total annihilation. Israel and Syria are going to be in total submission to Assyria. Assyria will have full control over all aspects of their land.

Verse 8: “And he is going to pass through into Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach to the neck; and will stretch out of his wings to the fullness of the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”

He will reach to the neck: Being up to our necks in water is not good, but it means that we can still breathe (we remain undefeated by the water). This is the image that Isaiah is giving us here. Judah (the southern kingdom) is not going to be unscathed by the Assyrians, but they would not be as hard pressed as Syria or Israel.

Stretch out of his wings to the fullness of the breadth of your land: This does not sound good for Judah, but….

O Immanuel: These words usher in hope….God is with them through this time! Immanuel is the redemptive name for the Messiah, and it speaks of victory, the ability to overcome. Assyria was not going to be successful against Judah.

Verse 9: “Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries. They girded themselves but they were dismayed. They girded themselves but were dismayed.”

Be shattered… be broken: The people were going to experience evil. It was going to be difficult for them and they were going to become dismayed about all that was going on.

They girded themselves: They strengthened themselves. They were ready for the conflict with Assyria.

They girded themselves but were dismayed: They were not called to go out into battle. They were called to believe in the deliverance of God (Exodus 14:13).


Verse 10: “They will take counsel together, but it is going to be for nothing; They will speak the word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.”

They will take counsel together: They ignore prophetic truth.

Nothing: In modern Hebrew the word used here is the word for breadcrumbs. Their counsel is going to crumble.

God is with us: Immanuel.