For Jerusalem ... - The prophet proceeds to show the cause of this state of things. ‘These are the words of the prophet, and not of him who was chosen leader.’ - “Jerome.”
Is ruined - It would be so ruined, and the prospect of preserving it would be so completely taken away, that no one could be induced to undertake to defend and protect it.
Judah - The kingdom of Judah, of which Jerusalem was the capital; Note Isaiah 1:1.
Is fallen - Hebrew, “falls;” that is, is about to fall - as a tower or a tree falls to ruin. If the “capital” fell and was ruined, the kingdom would also fall as a matter of course.
Because their tongue ... - This is the “reason” why Judah was ruined. By word and deed - that is, in every way they opposed God. The “tongue” here represents their “language,” their manner of speaking. It was proud, haughty, rebellious, perhaps blasphemous.
To provoke - To irritate; to offend.
The eyes of his glory - This is a Hebrew expression to denote “his glorious eyes.” The eye quickly expresses anger or indignation. We perceive these passions in the flashing of the eye sooner than in any other part of the countenance. Hence, to “provoke the eyes,” is an expression signifying simply to excite to anger, or to excite him to punish them. Lowth proposes to render this ‘to provoke the cloud of his glory’ - referring to the Shekinah or cloud that rested over the ark in the temple. By a slight variation of the Hebrew text, reading ענן ‛ânân instead of עני ‛ēnēy, it may be so read, and the Syriac so translates it: but the change in the Hebrew text does not seem to be authorized.