Isaiah 30:28

“And his breath as an overflowing stream, &c.] Which comes with great swiftness and force, bearing all before it, breathing out nothing but the fire of divine wrath, before which there is no standing; nor could the Assyrian army stand before it, but suddenly, in a moment, was carried away with the force of it: thus our Lord will consume the man of sin with the spirit or breath of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming, (<530208>2 Thessalonians 2:8): and this stream shall reach to the midst of the neck; which shows the extreme danger the army would be in, as a man that is up to the neck in water, and can find no way of escaping; and very aptly represents their state and…”

“(Isa 11:4; Th2 2:8). reach . . . neck--the most extreme danger; yet as the head, or capital of Judah, was to be spared (Isa 8:8), so the head, or sovereign of Assyria, Sennacherib, should escape. sieve of vanity--Rather, "the winnowing fan of destruction" [LOWTH] (Isa 41:16). bridle in . . . jaws--as prisoners are represented in the Assyrian inscriptions (Isa 37:29). causing . . . to err-- (Isa 63:17). "People," Hebrew, "peoples," namely, the various races composing the Assyrian armies (Isa 5:26).”

“His breath - God's anger. A stream - Coming from him as vehemently, as a mighty torrent of waters. To sift - To shake and scatter, as it were with a sieve. The nations - The Assyrian army, which was made up of several nations. With - Not with an ordinary sieve, which casteth away the chaff only, but with a sieve, which should shake them so long and so vehemently, as to cast away altogether. A bridle - God will over - rule them by his powerful providence. To err - Whereas other bridles guide into the right way, this shall turn them out of the way, by giving them up to their own foolish counsels, which shall bring them to certain ruin. Isaiah 30:29”

“30:28 like a flood up to the neck: Assyria’s destruction would be as devastating as their invasion of Judah (see 8:8).”

“his breath: Isa 11:4; Psa 18:15; Luk 22:31; Th2 2:8; Heb 4:12; Rev 1:16, Rev 2:16 an overflowing: Isa 8:8, Isa 28:17, Isa 28:18, Isa 29:6; Hab 3:12-15 to sift: Bp. Lowth renders, "to toss the nations with the van of perdition;" that is, says Kimchi nothing useful shall remain behind, but all shall come to nothing and perish. The van of the ancients was a large instrument, somewhat like a shovel, with a long handle, with which they tossed the corn mixed with the chaff and chopped straw into the air, that the wind might separate them. Isa 19:12, Isa 19:14, Isa 33:10-12; Hos 13:3; Amo 9:9; Mat 3:12 a bridle: Isa 37:29; Kg2 19:28; Psa 32:9; Pro 26:3 causing: Isa 19:3, Isa 19:13, Isa 19:14; Sa2…”