That reason is that inasmuch as God will soon take away the princes and rulers, it is mere folly to continue relying upon man.

In the second chapter there had been a picture of universal judgment, whereas in the third the application of judgment is more specific, being limited to the nation itself which is to be deprived of the indispensable support of a stable government.

The fulfillment is not to be sought in the Babylonian exile but in all the judgments which from that time on came over Israel and which still rest on that unfortunate people (cf. comments on v. 12). Israel’s whole history is seen at a glance, as though the entire drama were completed in the first act. The exile only began the fulfillment (there were still prophets in the exile); it did not complete it.

The Assyrians and the Babylonians usually took as their first captives the leaders of the nations which they conquered. “And he (the king of Babylon) carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land” (2 Kings 24:14)

ʾAdon signifies God’s supreme power and authority; Yahweh designates Him as self-existent and eternal, yet as the one who at the same time is the God of revelation and the God who stands in peculiar relationship to His people. The qualifying words, “of hosts,” serve to call attention to the fact that God is the ruler of all things. Because of the utmost seriousness of the calamity which is to come upon the people of God these many designations are employed. Perhaps when the people hear these solemn titles, they may give heed to the message which is to be proclaimed unto them. At the same time, these names make clear to the nation that the calamities which will befall them are not the result of chance, but come from the Lord Himself. When judicial acts of God are to be introduced, Isaiah employs the divine names in compound form (cf. 1:24; 10:16, 33; 19:4). Hence, this compound divine name shows that a new announcement of judgment is to be made.

The forms masʿēn and masʿēnāh appear only here. Otherwise misʿān and misʿeneṯ are employed. It may be that the choice is deliberate to accomplish a rhetorical effect. As to the more usual words, misʿān appears in 2 Sam. 22:19; Ps. 18:19, whereas misʿeneṯ is found in Num. 21:18; Ps. 23:4; Isa. 36:6; etc. Other examples of m. and f. to denote totality appear in Isa. 11:12; 22:24; etc.

It is difficult to distinguish the precise force of each of these words. Delitzsch rather aptly compares the Latin, fulcrum, fultura and fulcimen. Masʿēn may be “supporter” and masʿēnāh, “means of support.” The mention of the three similarly sounding words lends a dignity and force to the discourse; thus, “all kinds of support, and first of all the whole stay of bread, etc.”

Inasmuch as the following description has reference to the officers of government, many critics regard 1b, with its mention of bread and water, as a gloss. Yet the presence of these words is supported by textual evidence.

The language of 1b, together with the enumeration in the following verses, yields a heightening effect. The stays include all that forms the basis for the people’s common life. Rulers are included, but they do not exhaust the category. Likewise those of superior talents, abilities and gifts are mentioned, those who represent the higher cultural life of a country. The removal of these stays amounts to a descent from organized life to anarchy and dispersion.

If the staff of bread be removed, destruction results (cf. Lev. 26:26; Gen. 18:5; Judg. 19:5, 8; Ps. 105:16; Ezek. 4:16; 14:13). Water is not elsewhere mentioned as a staff, but its use here may be due to zeugma. Cf. Horace, Satires, II. 3:153, Deficient inopem venat te, ne cibus atque Ingens accedat stomacho fultura ruenti. Cf. also Lam. 2:20. The genitives are appositional; thus, “the whole stay, even bread and water.”

misʿan is const. of misʿan. In the closed unaccented syllable a has shifted to i to avoid two a vowels together (dissimilation). The original form was probably masʿan

Isaiah employs three words of similar sound, thus lending dignity and force to the discourse, mashʿen, mashʿenah and mishʿan. Eight words in this verse begin with the consonant Mem (m)