For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?
The verse belongs to the first part of Isaiah, chapters 1 through 39, given during Isaiah's active involvement in public concerns as God's messenger to the nation as a distinct prophecy published on its own occasion and later gathered with others into one collection. This is distinct from chapters 40 to 66, given apparently in later years apart from active exertion and devoted to future consolation by deliverance from the predicted Babylonian captivity, deliverance from sin and error through the Messiah, and the glory of God's spiritual kingdom. It belongs to a section that reproves the sins of Isaiah's time, and those conditions also serve as types of similar conditions in the last days. It is part of a historical account of an Assyrian invasion of Judah whose king is not made clear in the passage, which led critics to describe the invasion and its Assyrian king as ideal rather than historical.
It belongs to the strife and war and wickedness described in Isaiah 10, which stands in contrast to the rest and peace and righteousness of Christ's kingdom in Isaiah 11. The speaker in the verse is boasting that his princes are themselves kings and rulers in their own right, revealing the pride and power claimed by earthly leaders.
The verse teaches that even a great king's dominion is received from God, since he is an instrument in God's hands and has no independent power of his own. High position increases rather than removes the duty to fear God and remain loyal to him.
The verse belongs to the first part of Isaiah, chapters 1 through 39, given during Isaiah's active involvement in public concerns as God's messenger to the nation as a distinct prophecy published on its own occasion and later gathered with others into one collection. This is distinct from chapters 40 to 66, given apparently in later years apart from active exertion and devoted to future consolation by deliverance from the predicted Babylonian captivity, deliverance from sin and error through the Messiah, and the glory of God's spiritual kingdom. It belongs to a section that reproves the sins of Isaiah's time, and those conditions also serve as types of similar conditions in the last days. It is part of a historical account of an Assyrian invasion of Judah whose king is not made clear in the passage, which led critics to describe the invasion and its Assyrian king as ideal rather than historical.
It belongs to the strife and war and wickedness described in Isaiah 10, which stands in contrast to the rest and peace and righteousness of Christ's kingdom in Isaiah 11. The speaker in the verse is boasting that his princes are themselves kings and rulers in their own right, revealing the pride and power claimed by earthly leaders.
The verse teaches that even a great king's dominion is received from God, since he is an instrument in God's hands and has no independent power of his own. High position increases rather than removes the duty to fear God and remain loyal to him.