23 In that day, in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,[1] there will be only briers and thorns. 24 Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers and thorns. 25 As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.
23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. 25 And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
23 In that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels
23 But that's not the end of it. This country that used to be covered with fine vineyards - thousands of them, worth millions! - will revert to a weed patch. 24 Weeds and thorn bushes everywhere! Good for nothing except, perhaps, hunting rabbits. 25 Cattle and sheep will forage as best they can in the fields of weeds - but there won't be a trace of all those fertile and well-tended gardens and fields.
23 It shall happen in that day, That wherever there could be a thousand vines Worth a thousand shekels of silver, It will be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and bows men will come there, Because all the land will become briers and thorns. 25 And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe, You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns; But it will become a range for oxen And a place for sheep to roam.
23 In that day the lush vineyards, now worth 1,000 pieces of silver, will become patches of briers and thorns. 24 The entire land will become a vast expanse of briers and thorns, a hunting ground overrun by wildlife. 25 No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 7:23-25
Commentary on Isaiah 7:17-25
(Read Isaiah 7:17-25)
Let those who will not believe the promises of God, expect to hear the alarms of his threatenings; for who can resist or escape his judgments? The Lord shall sweep all away; and whomsoever he employs in any service for him, he will pay. All speaks a sad change of the face of that pleasant land. But what melancholy change is there, which sin will not make with a people? Agriculture would cease. Sorrows of every kind will come upon all who neglect the great salvation. If we remain unfruitful under the means of grace, the Lord will say, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever.