For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.

For before the child know to call his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus, and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of the Assyrians.

For before the lad knoweth to cry, My father! and, My mother! the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

for before the youth doth know to cry, My father, and My mother, one taketh away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.'

For before the child is able to say, Father, or, Mother, the wealth of Damascus and the goods of Samaria will be taken away by the king of Assyria.

For before the boy knows how to call to his father and his mother, the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be taken away, in the sight of the king of the Assyrians."

Sane antequam sciat puer clamare, Pater mi et mater mea, tolletur substantia Damasci, et spolia Samariae, coram Rege Assyriae.

Truly before the child have knowledge to cry. This is an interpretation both of the dark saying and of the vision which was added to it; for although God did not intend to speak in direct language, still it was proper that obscurity should be removed. I interpret hnr, (hannagnar,) the child, to mean not the Prophet's son, but rather all who should be born soon afterwards. He declares that, before they are grown up, the two kings of Israel and Samaria [1] will be destroyed. Before the face of the king of Assyria. That is, at the disposal, or at the will, of the king of Assyria; alluding perhaps to an ancient custom of carrying the spoils of the enemies before the chariot of those who received a public triumph. In like manner shall the spoils of Samaria and Damascus be carried before the king of Assyria. This makes it still more evident that the Prophet intended nothing else than to foretell the desolation of the kingdom of Israel and of Syria. He does this for the purpose of comforting the godly, and likewise of holding up to scorn the foolish dread of the wicked king, who could not endure that the Lord should assist him; for he rejected not only the promises, but likewise the sign which was offered. In consequence of this, the Prophet goes farther and farther in reproving his wickedness, and that of the whole nation. "Thou dost, indeed, believe nothing, but the Lord will assist his own; and thou shalt quickly see sudden and unexpected changes, by which the Lord will deliver his people." And yet these words were spoken not so much to the king as to godly men; and hence we ought to infer that the servants of God do not always speak so as to be believed by their hearers; for Isaiah here addresses wicked men, in whom he produces no conviction. Why, then, does he speak to them? To convict them more and more of their unbelief, and to reprove them for it; and next, to render the goodness of God more manifest: for who would not have thought that such aggravated wickedness would entirely shut the door against the mercy of God? And yet the Lord, by his goodness, rises superior to the wickedness both of the king and of the people. The object of the Prophet therefore is, to reprove the ungodly for their rebelliousness, and at the same time show that God is always like himself.

Footnotes

1 - It is evident that, by a slip of the pen, Samaria is put for Syria. -- Ed.

For before - This must have occurred in a short time - probably before the expiration of three years. A child would usually learn to address his parents in that time. In fact, the event here predicted occurred in less than three years from the time when the prophecy was spoken; see the notes at Isaiah 7:16.
Before the king of Assyria - By the king, or by his conquests. By the spoil of Samaria here, is to be understood, not the plunder which should be carried away from the city, but from the kingdom of Samaria. In other places, the land is called by the name of the capital; compare 2-Kings 17:26; 2-Kings 23:19; Jeremiah 31:5. The city of Samaria was not plundered until eighteen years after the time mentioned here by the prophet; Isaiah 8:5-6. These verses introduce again what was predicted in Isaiah 7:17, following, respecting the invasion of the land by the king of Assyria. The cause of the invasion is specified, and the consequences are foretold.

For before the child - For my father and my mother, one MS. and the Vulgate have his father and his mother. The prophecy was accordingly accomplished within three years; when Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, went up against Damascus and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin, and also took the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and carried them captive to Assyria, 2-Kings 15:29; 2-Kings 16:9; 1-Chronicles 5:26.

For before the (e) child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the (f) king of Assyria.
(e) Before any child is able to speak.
(f) That is, the army of Assyria.

For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, my father, and my mother,.... Which are commonly the first words children learn to say; and so it signifies that what follows should happen in a year or two; as it did:
the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, shall be taken away before the king of Assyria; or, "he shall take away the riches" (q), &c.; not the child, unless he is considered as the sign of taking them away; but the soldier, put for the whole Assyrian army, which carried off the riches and spoil of these places, in the presence, and by the order, of the king of Assyria; the first of these, namely, Damascus, the metropolis of Syria, with its riches, wealth, and army, were taken and carried away by Tilgathpilneser, king of Assyria, within the time here mentioned, 2-Kings 16:9 but the latter, Samaria, the metropolis of the kingdom of Israel, was not taken and spoiled until the sixth year of Hezekiah, and ninth of Hoshea, 2-Kings 17:6 but because the prophecy began to be fulfilled, and was fulfilled in part, within the time mentioned, the whole is attributed to it; though it should be observed, that before this, after Pekah the son of Remaliah was slain, and Hoshea reigned in his stead, the king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents; which may be called the spoil of Samaria, 2-Kings 17:3.
(q) "asportabit, opulentiam----servus regis Assyriae", Junius & Tremellius "auferet opes----is qui stet coram facie regis Assyriae", Piscator.

before, &c.--within a year.

To cry - To speak and to know his parents; which is within the space of two years. And his agrees with the other prophecy, Isaiah 7:16. Before the child shall know to refuse the evil and chuse the good, which requires a longer time than to distinguish his parents, and suits well to Shear - Jashub, who, being born some years before, was capable of that farther degree of knowledge, as soon as this was capable of the lower degree. Before - In his presence, and by himself and his forces.