And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.
And (on) all hills that shall be - rather, that were once. Digged - in order to plant and rear vines (Isaiah 5:6).
There shall not come there the fear of (namely, those who fear) briers and thorns - i:e., none shall come who fear thorns, seeing that thorns shall abound on all sides (Maurer). Otherwise, 'thou shalt not come for fear of briers and thorns.
But it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle - only cattle shall be able to penetrate the briers ground.
Lesser cattle - sheep and goats. However, the English version of the whole verse gives a good sense. Men in time of invasion take refuge in the hills (Jeremiah 3:23). On them, therefore, alone there should be no fear of thorns coming, but they should be fit pasture whereon to send forth oxen and lesser cattle. This implies a wretched state, when the plains shall be deserted through fear, and the hills alone be cultivated by the few who escape. So Calvin. Grotius explains it, there should be no thorn hedges to prevent the cattle going in and treading down the hill-sides, where once there were fenced, vineyards. I prefer the English version in Calvin's explanation. Compare Isaiah 7:23-24, which contain the antithesis, "all the land shall become briers and thorns," whereas on "all the hills there shall not come briers and thorns." The "thorns" cannot well mean a thorn hedge, but must mean a sign of desolation in this verse, as in the two former verses.
Remarks: When the enemies of the Lord's people conspire together for their destruction, the counsel of the wicked "shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass." The ungodly persecutors, in their "fierce anger" are but as 'tails of smoking firebrands.' So far shall they be from consuming the saints, as they attempt, that they shall themselves be consumed, and go out in utter darkness. The duty of God's servants in times of trial is, not to give way to 'fear and faint-heartedness,' but in 'quiet' self-possession to believe in the promises of the Lord: so shall they "be established." Trust in man, and distrust toward God, are the great hindrances to our peace of mind and to our solid security. God, with exceeding long-suffering, holds out incentives to stimulate faith, as He offered a sign to Ahaz, who was slow to believe His goodness. He saith to us also, "Ask, and it shall be given you." It is not humility, but carnality and unbelief, which cause men to be so slow in accepting so gracious an offer. Ahaz refused the offer of God, saying, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord." Yet presently afterward this same man had no scruple to use Yahweh's brazen altar to divine with, and to substitute for the altar of God, in the worship of God, an altar formed from an idolatrous pattern which he had seen at Damascus. What vile hypocrisy it is to make the letter of some Scripture passage the pretext for flagrantly violating its spirit, and to mask our perverse self-will, crooked devices, unbelief, and will-worship, with the plea of sanctimonious regard for the honour of God.