John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 21:14

"Unto him that was thirsty they brought water; the inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitives with their bread." — Isaiah 21:14 (ASV)

To meet the thirsty bring waters. He heightens the description of that trembling with which the Lord had determined to strike the Arabians, so that they thought of nothing but flight and did not take time even to collect what was necessary for their journey.

Isaiah therefore declares that the Arabians will come into the country of Dedanim, empty and destitute of all things, and that they will not be provided with any food. For this reason, he exhorts the inhabitants to go out and meet them with bread and water, because otherwise they will faint from lack of the necessities of life.

I am aware that this passage is explained differently by some commentators, who think that the Prophet mocks the Arabians, who had been cruel and barbarous toward the Jews, as if he were saying, “How gladly you would now bring water to the thirsty!” But that exposition is too strained.

And yet I do not deny that they received the reward of their cruelty when they ran here and there in a state of hunger. But the meaning I have given is twofold: that the Arabians in their flight will be so wretched that they will not even have the necessary supply of water, and they will therefore faint with thirst if they do not quickly receive assistance; and he intimates that there will be a scarcity of both food and drink.

He calls on the neighbors to provide assistance, not to exhort them to do their duty, but to state the fact more clearly. He urges them to give their bread to them, not because it is deserved, but because they are suffering extreme need. Yet, as it is based on the common law of nature and humanity, the Prophet indirectly implies that the hungry and thirsty are defrauded of their bread when food is denied to them.