(17) Therefore the Lord shall have no joy . . .--The Hebrew tenses are in the past, The Lord had no joy. The severity of the coming judgment is represented as not sparing even the flower of the nation's youth, the widows and orphans who were the special objects of compassion both to God and man. The corruption of the time was universal, and the prophet's formula, "For all this his anger is not turned away . . ." tolls again like the knell of doom.

Folly.--Better, blasphemy or villainy.

Verse 17. - The Lord shall have no joy in their young men. "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy" (Psalm 147:11). He can have no joy or delight in evil-doers, or idolaters, or in those whose speech is profanity. Neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows. The widow and the orphan are objects of God's tenderest love and compassion (Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 10:18; Deuteronomy 14:29; Isaiah 1:17, etc.); but when the wickedness of a land provokes him to send any one of his "four sore judgments" upon it, the widow and the fatherless must suffer with the other inhabitants. God pities them, doubtless, but his justice and his righteous anger force him to restrain his pity, and carry out his judgment in spite of it. Every one is an hypocrite; or, corrupt; compare, "They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Psalm 14:3). A certain allowance must be made for the natural hyperbole of strong feeling. Every mouth speaketh folly. The word translated here (and generally) "folly" is rendered "villany" in Isaiah 32:6 and Jeremiah 29:23. Its proper meaning seems to be "lewdness or "profligacy."

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.Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men,.... Take no delight and pleasure in them; but, on the contrary, detest and abhor them, and so destroy them, being depraved and corrupted by the bad instructions and examples of their parents:

neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows; who are objects of pity and compassion; yet these being wicked, as well as the fathers of the one, and the husbands of the other, shall be no more spared than they have been; so that this expresses both the general corruption and destruction of this people:

for everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer; a hypocrite, as Aben Ezra on the place observes, is one that is outwardly good, and inwardly wicked; which was the general character of the people of Israel in Isaiah's time, as it was of the Jews in the times of Christ, see Matthew 23:25 they pretended to do good, but were doers of evil, workers of iniquity, continually committing sin; and yet would be thought to be very upright and sincere, both in their religion towards God, and in their dealings with men; but deceitful in both:

and every mouth speaketh folly; or falsehood; a lie, as the Targum, as all lies are foolish; as also all vain words, all impious ones; or the savour of irreligion or superstition, and indeed every idle word, and all unsavoury and corrupt speech, and there is particularly foolish talking, which is not convenient, Ephesians 5:4,

for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still; which is repeated from Isaiah 9:12. See Gill on Isaiah 9:12.