Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye collected the waters of the lower pool.

And the breaches of the city of David ye have seen, For they have become many, And ye gather the waters of the lower pool,

And you saw all the broken places in the wall of the town of David: and you got together the waters of the lower pool.

And you will see breaches in the city of David, for these have been multiplied. But you have gathered together the waters of the lower fish-pool.

Et interruptiones civitatis David vidistis, quæ multæ erant; et collegistis aquas piscinæ inferioris.

And you have seen the breaches. He proceeds with his narrative, for during prosperity and peace no one cares about bulwarks or instruments of war. It is necessity alone that arouses men and makes them active; peace and quietness make us indolent and cowardly. So long as they thought that they were far from danger, they disregarded the breaches of the wall; but when a report of war arose, they began to be anxious about them, and to make arrangements for preventing the entrance of the enemy. Of the city of David. By "the city of David," he means the interior part of the city; for, like many other cities which we see, the city was divided into two parts. The whole of Jerusalem was surrounded by walls and ramparts; but the interior part was more strongly fortified, and was called "the city of David." The Temple was afterwards fortified, in consequence of which the city might be said to consist of three parts. Isaiah means that the Jews had nearly despaired as to the safety of the whole city, when they withdrew to the inmost and best fortified part of it; and indeed it is evident from sacred history, that everything was in a desperate condition. Hence also we may infer, that the prophecies were not collected in a regular order, and that those who drew them up in one volume paid no attention to the arrangement of dates. The waters of the lower pool. He adds, that water was collected for necessary purposes, that the besieged might not be in want of it, and that the pool served for cisterns.

Ye have seen also the breaches - You who are inhabitants of the city. That such breaches were actually made, see 2-Chronicles 32:5.
Of the city of David - Of Jerusalem, so called because it was the royal residence of David. Zion was usually called the city of David, but the name was given also to the entire city.
And ye gathered together - That is, Hezekiah and the people of the city collected those waters.
Of the lower pool - (For a description of the upper and lower pool, see the notes at Isaiah 7:3). The superfluous waters of the lower pool usually flowed into the valley of Hinnom, and thence, into the valley of Jehoshaphat, mingling with the waters of the brook Kedron. It would seem from the passage here that those waters were not usually retained for the use of the city, though it was possible to retain them in case of a drought or a siege. At present, the lower pool is without the walls, but Hezekiah appears to have extended a temporary wall around it so as to enclose it (see the note at Isaiah 22:11). This he did, probably for two purposes;
(1) to cut off the Assyrians from the supply of water; and
(2) to retain "all" the water in the city to supply the inhabitants during the siege; see 2-Chronicles 32:4, where it is expressly declared that Hezekiah took this measure to distress the Assyrians.

Ye gathered together the waters "And ye shall collect the waters" - There were two pools in or near Jerusalem, supplied by springs: the upper pool, or the old pool, supplied by the spring called Gihon, 2-Chronicles 32:30, towards the higher part of the city, near Sion, or the city of David, and the lower pool, probably supplied by Siloam, towards the lower part. When Hezekiah was threatened with a siege by Sennacherib, he stopped up all the waters of the fountains without the city; and brought them into the city by a conduit, or subterranean passage cut through the rock; those of the old pool, to the place where he had a double wall, so that the pool was between the two walls. This he did in order to distress the enemy, and to supply the city during the siege. This was so great a work that not only the historians have made particular mention of it, 2-Kings 20:20;2-Chronicles 32:2, 2-Chronicles 32:3, 2-Chronicles 32:5, 2-Chronicles 32:30; but the son of Sirach also has celebrated it in his encomium on Hezekiah. "Hezekiah fortified his city, and brought in water into the midst thereof: he digged the hard rock with iron, and made wells for water," Ecclesiasticus 48.

Ye have seen also (l) the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
(l) You forfeited the ruinous places which were neglected in times of peace: meaning, the whole City, and the City of David, which was within the compass of the other.

Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many,.... Not Jerusalem in general, but that part of it which was called the stronghold of Zion, and in particular had the name of the city of David, 2-Samuel 5:7 the fortifications of which, in times of peace, had gone to decay; and which they had seen before, but took no notice of, being in safety; but now besieged, and in great danger, they looked upon them in good earnest, in order to repair them, and secure themselves from the irruption of the enemy; for this is not to be understood of breaches now made by the Assyrian army, but of old ones, which had lain neglected; see 2-Chronicles 32:5,
and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool: not to make mortar with, to be used in repairing the breaches, as Kimchi; but either that they might be as a wall round about the place, as Aben Ezra; or rather to deprive the enemy of them, and cut off all communications from him, and to supply the inhabitants of the city with them; see 2-Chronicles 32:3. The Septuagint version is, "and he turned the water of the old pool into the city": but the old pool was another pool hereafter mentioned, and was without the city, the same with the upper pool; whereas this was the lower, and was in the city. The Targum is,
"and ye gathered the people to the waters of the lower pool.''

Ye have seen--rather, "Ye shall see."
city of David--the upper city, on Zion, the south side of Jerusalem (2-Samuel 5:7, 2-Samuel 5:9; 1-Kings 8:1); surrounded by a wall of its own; but even in it there shall be "breaches." Hezekiah's preparations for defense accord with this (2-Chronicles 32:5).
ye gathered--rather, "ye shall gather."
lower pool--(See on Isaiah 22:11). Ye shall bring together into the city by subterranean passages cut in the rock of Zion, the fountain from which the lower pool (only mentioned here) is supplied. See on Isaiah 7:3; 2-Kings 20:20; 2-Chronicles 32:3-5, represent Hezekiah as having stopped the fountains to prevent the Assyrians getting water. But this is consistent with the passage here. The superfluous waters of the lower pool usually flowed into Hinnom valley, and so through that of Jehoshaphat to the brook Kedron. Hezekiah built a wall round it, stopped the outflowing of its waters to debar the foe from the use of them, and turned them into the city.

Seen - That is, observed in order to the reparation of them. The waters - That you might both deprive the enemy of water, and supply the city with it.