And all the people shall know - Shall know the message; or shall know the judgment which God denounces against their crimes. The Chaldee renders this, 'All the people have exalted themselves, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, in their magnitude, and in the pride of thee heart.'

Ephraim - This is another name for Israel, as Ephraim was the principal tribe; Note, Isaiah 7:2.

And the inhabitants of Samaria - The capital of Ephraim or Israel; Note, Isaiah 7:9.

That say in the pride - This is a description of general and prevalent pride; and it is traced to the source of all pride - the heart. It was a desire of splendor, power, and magnificence, originating in the heart, and manifesting itself by the language of self-confidence and defiance at the judgments of God.

Stoutness - Hebrew 'Greatness.' It means a self-confident purpose; and indicates the state of feeling in a man when he trusts to his own resources, and not to God.

Pride and stoutness of heart "Carry themselves haughtily" - וידעו veyadeu, "and they shall know;" so ours and the Versions in general. But what is it that they shall know? The verb stands destitute of its object; and the sense is imperfect. The Chaldee is the only one, as far as I can find, that expresses it otherwise. He renders the verb in this place by ואתרברבו veithrabrabu, "they exalt themselves, or carry themselves haughtily; the same word by which he renders גבהו gabehu, Isaiah 3:16. He seems, therefore, in this place to have read ויגבהו vaiyigbehu, which agrees perfectly well with what follows, and clears up the difficulty. Archbishop Secker conjectured וידברו vayedabberu, referring it to לאמר lemor, in the next verse, which shows that he was not satisfied with the present reading. Houbigant reads וירעו vaiyereu, et pravi facti sunt, they are become wicked, which is found in a MS.; but I prefer the reading of the Chaldee, which suits much better with the context.

Houbigant approves of this reading; but it is utterly unsupported by any evidence from antiquity: it is a mere mistake of ר resh for ד daleth; and I am surprised that it should be favored by Houbigant.

And all the people shall know,.... The word of the Lord, and that it is his; and by sad experience shall feel the weight of it; or, "the people shall know the whole of it" (y); shall find that the whole of it will be accomplished, every punctilio in it; whatever is said is done, everything predicted by it, the substance of it, and every circumstance relating to it: or they shall be punished, they shall bear, know, and feel the punishment of their sins; in which sense the word "know", in the Arabic language, is frequently used, of which Schultens (z) has given many instances:

even Ephraim, and the inhabitants of Samaria: the ten tribes are meant by Ephraim; and the inhabitants of Samaria are particularly mentioned, because Samaria was the metropolis of Ephraim, Isaiah 7:9 and because it was to suffer, and did suffer much in the threatened calamity, being besieged three years, then taken, and its inhabitants carried captive; and so experimentally knew the word of the Lord, and the truth of it, 2 Kings 17:5,

that say in the pride and stoutness of heart; being proud and haughty, stout hearted, and far from righteousness, and the fear of God; hardening themselves against him, despising his word, and defying, as it were, his power and providence; saying, as follows:

(y) "totum ejus". (z) Animadv. Philol. in Job, p. 77, 78.

And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

9:9 Know - They shall know whether my word be true or false. Even - The people of the ten tribes, and particularly Ephraim, the proudest of them all. Samaria - The strongest place, and the seat of the king and court.

9. know-to their cost: experimentally (Ho 9:7).

Samaria-the capital of Ephraim (compare as to phrase, Isa 1:1).

9:8-21 Those are ripening apace for ruin, whose hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences. For that which God designs, in smiting us, is, to turn us to himself; and if this point be not gained by lesser judgments, greater may be expected. The leaders of the people misled them. We have reason to be afraid of those that speak well of us, when we do ill. Wickedness was universal, all were infected with it. They shall be in trouble, and see no way out; and when men's ways displease the Lord, he makes even their friends to be at war with them. God would take away those they thought to have help from. Their rulers were the head. Their false prophets were the tail and the rush, the most despicable. In these civil contests, men preyed on near relations who were as their own flesh. The people turn not to Him who smites them, therefore he continues to smite: for when God judges, he will overcome; and the proudest, stoutest sinner shall either bend or break.