at once transferred to the time of Isaiah, who, in chap. xxxi. 1, utters a woe upon them "that go down to Egypt for help,"--who, in chap. xxx. 4, complains: "His princes are at Zoar, and his ambassadors come to Hanes,"--who, in chap. vii., exhibits the dangerous consequences of seeking help from Asshur. The historical point at issue is brought before us by passages such as 2 Kings xvi. 7: "And Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, saying: I am thy servant and thy son; come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who rise against me."--In chap. lvii. 11-13, the thought is this: Israel is not becoming weary of seeking help and salvation from others than God. But He will soon show that He alone is to be feared, that He alone can help; that they are nothing against whom, and from whom help is sought. The words in ver. 11: "Am I not silent, even of old; therefore thou fearest me not," state the cause of the foolish forgetfulness of God, and hence form the transition to the subsequent announcement of judgment. The prophecy is uttered at a time when Israel still enjoyed the sparing divine forbearance, inasmuch as for time immemorial (since they were in Egypt), no destructive catastrophe had fallen upon them. It was in the Babylonish catastrophe only that the Egyptian received its counterpart. But how does this suit the time of the Babylonish exile, when the people were groaning under the severe judgments of God, [Pg 179] and had not experienced His forbearance, but, on the contrary, for almost 70 years, the full energy of His punitive justice? In ver. 13, it is said: "In thy crying, let thy hosts (thy whole Pantheon so rich, and yet so miserable) help thee." "In thy crying, _i.e._, when _thou_, in the judgment to be inflicted upon thee in future, wilt cry for help." In chap. lxvi. the punishment appears as future; temple and city as still existing; the Lord as yet enthroned in Zion. So specially in ver. 6: "A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to His enemies," A controversy with the hypocrites who presumed upon the temple and their sacrificial service, in vers. 1, 3, has, at the time of the exile, no meaning at all, _Gesenius_, indeed, was of opinion that the Prophet might judge of the worship of God in temples, and of the value of sacrifices, although they were not offered at that time; but it must be strongly denied that the Prophet could do so in such a context and connection. For, the fact that the Prophet has in view a definite class of men of his time, and that he does not bring forward at random a _locus communis_ which, at his time, was no longer applicable--a thing which, moreover, is not by any means his habit--appears from the close of the verse, and from ver. 4, where divine judgment is threatened to those men: "Because they choose their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations: