Isaiah 33:8 "he hath broken the covenant"

[PeterR]

Isaiah 33:8 "he hath broken the covenant"

Hello. Could someone explain what covenant this verse is about?

[BK1110]

In the ESV: "The highways lie waste; the traveler ceases. Covenants are broken; cities are despised; there is no regard for man."

Some thoughts; it's the Old Testament, so obviously the old Jewish covenant laws come to mind as a possibility. But it could also be prophecy about modern times. The footnote says that some texts, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, say "witnesses" instead of "cities." The NIV says "The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected."

From A.R. Fausset's commentary, which I personally find convincing: "When Sennacherib invaded Judea, Hezekiah paid him a large sum to leave the land; Sennacherib received the money and yet sent his army against Jerusalem." So rather than prophecy it seems more like history.

[Billiards Ball]

On 2/22/2021 at 7:08 AM, PeterR said:

Isaiah 33:8 "he hath broken the covenant"

Hello. Could someone explain what covenant this verse is about?

The context (whole chapter) seems to do with the Return of the Messiah and the Antichrist's faithless covenant with Israel and the nations . . . or at least there seems to be rich prophecy there of same.

[Deborah_]

The word "covenant" has a broader meaning than just the covenants made by God with His people. It could be (and was) used for any legal agreement between two unequal parties.

So, in context, the NIV is probably right to translate it as "treaty". It would probably be referring to the treaty that Hezekiah made with Egypt (which Egypt failed to honour - see Isaiah 36:6).

[PeterR]

On 2/23/2021 at 3:14 PM, Billiards Ball said:

The context (whole chapter) seems to do with the Return of the Messiah and the Antichrist's faithless covenant with Israel and the nations . . . or at least there seems to be rich prophecy there of same.

I have just been guided through a post in another thread for the cross reference of this verse with Romans 1:31

 

Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

 

From Philip Schaff commentary:

"Romans 1: 18-32

1. The Sinfulness of the Gentiles.

This fearful yet truthful description of the moral decay of the Gentile world is not introduced abruptly. In Rom_1: 17 the Apostle had declared that righteousness from God was revealed by faith; he now proves this (and thus the position of Rom_ 1:16) by the fact that God’s wrath is revealed against unrighteousness. This is, indeed, a revelation of God's punitive righteousness, but it shows that sinful men can be saved only through the gospel. Rom_1: 18 suggests the thoughts developed more fully in the entire section. In Rom_1: 19-23 the Apostle shows why this wrath was revealed; in Rom_1: 24-32, how it was revealed; but in the latter part he constantly recurs to the previous thought. The former part is a sketch of the downward progress of the heathen world, in its religious life; the latter describes the consequent immorality, which is in fact a revelation of God’s wrath. (For an analysis of Rom_1: 24-32, see under Rom_1: 24.) The Apostle assumes that religion and morality are inseparably connected; that God punishes impiety by giving up the impious to the wrong practices which are the legitimate fruit of their ungodliness; that truth and right, error and wrong, are vitally connected in human experience.

Romans 1: 18-3: 20
DOCTRINAL PART.

1. UNIVERSAL NEED.

Having asserted that the gospel is God’s power unto salvation to every one that believeth, whether Jew or Greek, the Apostle proceeds to show that all men are sinners, and therefore can be saved only by this method. He first (1.) describes the sinfulness of the Gentiles (chap. Rom_1: 18-32), and then (2.) proves that the Jews are equally in need of this salvation (chaps. Rom_2: 1 to Rom_3: 20) . This proof of the universality of sinfulness establishes directly the propriety of using the phrase 'every one' in Rom_ 1:16, while it indirectly proves that 'God's power' is needed, and that only he that 'believeth' can be saved. Since all are sinners they cannot save themselves, and must be saved by faith.

Romance 1:31

In this verse adjectives take the place of the substantives previously used. The long catalog is thus varied.
Without understanding; the same word as 'senseless' (E. V. 'foolish'),

Rom_1: 21.

Covenant breakers. In the original there is another play upon the sound of the words. (The best authorities omit 'implacable.')
Unmerciful. This concludes the list, marking the absence of the least principle of moral action. "

 

G802
ἀσύνθετος
asunthetos
as-oon'-thet-os
From G1 (as a negative particle) and a derivative of G4934; properly not agreed, that is, treacherous to compacts: - covenant-breaker

[Leonardo Von]

On 2/22/2021 at 9:08 AM, PeterR said:

Isaiah 33:8 "he hath broken the covenant"

Hello. Could someone explain what covenant this verse is about?

The Old Testament.