Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/cottagebiblefami02will_0 THE COTTAGE BIBLE, AMD FAMILY EXPOSITOR; CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, WITH PRACTICAL EXPOSITIONS AND EXPLANATORY NOTES. % BY THOMAS WILLIAMS, AUTHOR OF “ THE AGE OF INFIDELITY,” IN ANSWER TO PAINE ; A NEW TRANSLATION OF SOLOMON’S SONG ; AN HISTORIC DEFENCE OF EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION; A DICTIONARY OF ALL RELIGIONS, RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS, AC. & C, TO WHICH ARE ADDED, THE REFERENCES AND MARGINAL READINGS OF THE POLYGLOTT BIBLE, TOGETHER WITH ORIGINAL NOTES, AND SELECTIONS FROM BAGSTER’S COMPREHENSIVE BIBLE, AND OTHER STANDARD WORKS, INTRODUCTORY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS ON EACH BOOK OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS AND A VALUABLE CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX. THE WHOLE CAREFULLY REVISED, AND ADAPTED TO THE USE OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS, BIBLE CLASSES AND CHRISTIANS GENERALLY. IBmbtlUxhz'ti tottli aps anti SngrabC ugs. EDITED BY REV. WILLIAM PATTON. Uaderetandest thou what thou readest? How can I, except some man should guide me? Acts viii. 30, 31. they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. Ne/uxniah rii. 8» COMPLETE IN TWO VOLUMES.— VOL. II. ^cxrtforb . PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY CASE, TIFFANY AND COMPANY. 1849 . THE NAMES AND ORDER OF ALL THE BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 3ENESIS hath Chapters 60 I KINGS 22 ECCLESIASTES . 12 OBADIAH 1 EXODUS 40 II. KINGS 25 SONG OF SOLOMON S JONAH . 4 LEVITICUS . 27 I. CHRONICLES . 29 ISAIAH .... 66 MICA II . 7 NUMBERS . 36 II. CHRONICLES 36 JEREMIAH . 62 NAHUAT 3 DEUTERONOMY 34 EZRA 10 LAMENTATIONS 6 HABAKKUK 3 josiiua 24 NEHEMIAH . 13 EZEKIEL 48 ZEPHAN1AH 3 JUDGES 21 ESTHER 10 DANIEL 12 HAGGAI 2 RUTH . 4 JOB 42 HOSEA .... 14 ZECHARIAH 14 1 SAMUEL . 31 PSALMS 150 JOEL .... 3 MALACHI 4 II. SAMUEL . 24 PROVERBS . 31 AMOS .... THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. MATTHEW hath Chapters . 28 II. CORINTHIANS . . 13 I. TIMOTHY . 6 II. PETER . 3 MARK GALATIANS . 6 II. TIMOTHY . 4 I. JOHN . 5 LUKE EPHESIANS . 6 TITUS .... II. JOHN 1 JOHN PH1LIPPIANS . 4 PHILEMON . . 1 III JOHN 1 THE ACTS .... . 28 COLOSSI A NS . 4 j’O THE HEBREWS . 13 JUDE 1 ro THE ROMANS . . 16 I. THESSALONIANS . . 5 EPISTLE OF JAMES . 5 REVELATION 22 i. CORINTHIANS . 16 II. THESSALONIANS . 3 I. PETER THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, WITH THE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE REFERENCES. THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. B. C. B. C. B. C. 1491 GENESIS . Ge. 1004 I. KINGS, I.— XI. . 1 Ki. 623 II. CHRONICLES, X. &c. . 2 Ch JOB . . Job. 1004 II CHRONICLES, I. -IX. . 2 Ch. 590 II. KINGS . 2 Ki. 1491 EXODUS . . Ex. 1000 PROVERBS . . Pr. 588 JEREMIAH . . Je. 1490 LEVITICUS . . Le. 975 ECCLESIASTES . . Ec. 588 LAMENTATIONS . . La. 1451 DEUTERONOMY . De. 897 I. KINGS, XII. &c. . 1 Ki. 587 OBADIAH . Ob. 1451 NUMBERS . . Nu. 862 JONAH . . Jo. 574 EZEKIEL . Eze. 1427 JOSHUA . Jos. 800 JOEL . Joel. 534 DANIEL .... 1406 JUDGES . Ju. 787 AMOS . Am. 520 HAGGAI. . . . . Hag 1312 RUTH . 750 MICAH . . Mi. 520 ZECHARIAH . . Zee. 1055 I. SAMUEL . . 1 Sa 740 HOSEA . . Ho. 509 ESTHER .... . Es. 1018 11. SAMUEL . . 2 Sa. 713 NAHUM . Na. 457 EZRA .... • Ezr. 1015 I. CHRONICLES . • . 1 Ch. 698 ISAIAH . . Is. 434 NEHEMIAH . . Ne. PSALMS . Ps. 630 ZEPHANIAH . Zep. 397 MALACHI . Mai. 1013 SONG OF SOLOMON . Ca. 626 HABAKKUK . Hab. THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. A. D. 38 & 61 MATTHEW . . Mat. A. D. 61 JAMES Ja. A. D. 64 I. PETER . I Pe. 62 1. THESSALONIANS . 1 Th. 62 COLOSSIANS . Col. 64 or 65 JUDE . Jude. 62 II. THESSALONIANS . 2 Th. 62 PHILEMON . Phil. 65 11 TIMOTHY . . 2 TL 62 or 53 GALATIANS . . Ga. 62 or 63 PHILIPPI ANS . Phi. 65 II. PETER . 2 Pe 67 1. CORINTHIANS . . 1 Co. 63 HEBREWS He. 68 I. JOHN . . 1 Jn. 58 ROMANS . Ro. 63 or 64 LUKE Lu. 69 II. JOHN . . 2 Jn. 58 11. CORINTHIANS . 2 Co. 63 or 64 ACTS Ac. 69 III JOHN . 3 Jn. 61 MARK 64 I. TIMOTHY . 1 Ti. 96 or 97 REVELATION . Re. 61 EPHESIANS . . Ep. 64 TITUS Tit 97 or 98 JOHN TABLES OF JEWISH MONEYS, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES. MONEY. MEASURES. — Liquid. MEASURES OF LENGTH. REDUCED TO DOLLARS AND CENTS. REDUCED TO ENGLISH WINE MEASURE. paces, ft. in. D. c. galls, c/ts. pts. A Digit (or finger) nearly ... 0 0 1 A Shekel of Silver 0 50 A Log (l-72d of an ephah) about 0 0 °T A Palm, or Hand's breadth . . 0 0 n Ditto of Gold 8 9 An Omer (1-10 ditto) . 0 3 0 A Span (three palms) nearly . . 0 0 ii A Drachm (silver) 0 18 A Cab (1-18 ditto) 0 0 A Sacred ditto o l 9 S A Bekali, Didrachma, or Half-shekel 0 24 A Hin ( 1 -6th ditto) l 1 0 A Common Cubit .... 0 l 6 A Gerah (l-20t.h of ditto) about . 0 2 A Seali ( 1 -3d ditto) 2 2 0 A Fathom 0 7 3k A Maneh, or Mina (50 shekels) . 25 43 An Ephah, or Bath 7 2 OA A Pace 0 5 0 A Talent of Silver . 32 An Homer (Cliomah). or Cor 75 2 1 A Furlong, or Stadium . . .145 4 7 Ditto of Gold .... . 23,309 0 %’■ Carefully distinguish between an Omer and A Sabbath Day’s Journey, about an English mile. *** Silver is here reckoned at Si. 12 , and Gold at a Homer, which contains 100 Omers. 817.75, per ounce. ROMAN MONEYS DRY. OR CORN MEASURE. MENTIONED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. WEIGHTS.— Troy. pks. gals. pts. Reduced to Dollars and Cents. A Cab, nearly .... 0 0 3 lb. oz. dwts. grs. An Omer (orGomer) 0 5 1 D. C. A Gerah 0 0 0 12 A Scab 1 0 1 A Mite, about equal, in our money, to . 0 A Shekel (20 gerahs) 0 0 10 0 An Ephah 3 0 3 A Farthing (two mites) .... 0 3 A Maneh (60 shekels) 2 6 0 0 A Lete.cl*, or Half-homer . 1G 0 0 A Penny ( denarius ) 0 13 A Talent (50 manelis) 125 0 0 0 A Homer, or Cor 32 0 1 A Pound (mbui) 14 Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1833, by Janles Conner and William R. Cooke, in the Clerk’s Office of tile District Court of the Southern District of New York. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPHETS ‘The early Prophets committed nothing to writing; their predictions being only or cliietly of a temporal nature, are inserted in the historical books, toge- ther with their fulfilment. Such appears to have been the case with Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, and others ; but those who were gifted with the spirit of pro- phecy in its most exalted sense, and were commissioned to utter predictions, the accomplishment of which was as yet far distant, were directed to write them, or cause them to be written in a book. (Compare Isa. viii. 1. ; xxx. 8 Jer. xxx. 2.; xxxvi. 2, 28. Ezek. xliii. II. Hah. ii. 2, &c.) The predictions thus committed to writing were carefully preserved, under a conviction that they contained important truths, thereafter to be more fully revealed, which were to receive iheir accomplishment at the appointed periods. It was also the office of the Prophets to commit to writing the history of the Jews ; and it is on this account that, in the Jewish classification of the books of the Old Testament, we find several historical writings arranged among the Prophets. Throughout their prophetic and historical books, the utmost plainness and sincerity prevail. They record the idolatries of the nation, and foretel the judgments of God, which were to befall the Jews, in consequence of their forsaking his worship and sendee • and they have transmitted a relation of the crimes and miscon- duct of their best princes, David, Solomon, and others — (who wore types of the .Messiah and from whose race they expected that he would uescend : re- garding the glories of their several reigns, as presages of his)— who arc de- scribed, not only without flattery, but also without any reserve or extenua- tion. They write like men who had no regard to any thing but truth and the glory of God. “ The manner in which the Prophets announced their predictions varied ac- cording to circumstances. Sometimes they uttered them aloud in a public place : and it is in allusion to this practice that Isaiah is commanded to ‘ cry aloud, spare not, lift up Ins voice like a trumpet, and show the people of God their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.’ (Isa. I viii. I.) Some- times their predictions were affixed to the gates of the temple, where they might be generally read ; (Jer. vii. 2,;) but upon important occasions, 4 when it was necessary to rouse the fears pfa disobedient people, and to recall them to repentance, the Prophets, as objects of universal attention, appear to have w alked about publicly in sackcloth, and with every external mark of humilia- tion and sorrow. Tiny then adopted extraordinary modes of expressing their convictions of impending wrath, and endeavoured to awaken the apprehen- sions of their countrymen, by the most striking illustrations of threatened pu- nishment. Thus Jeremiah made bonds and yokes, and put them on liis neck, (Jer. xxvii.) strongly to intunate the subjection that God would bring on the nations whom Nebuchadnezzar should subdue. Isaiah likewise walked na- ked; that 13 , without the rough garment of the prophet ; and barefoot, (Isa. xx. 2 .) as a sign of the distress that awaited the Egyptians. So Jeremiah broke the potter’s vessel ; (xix. 10.;) and Ezekiel publicly removed bis house- hold goods from the city, more forcibly to represent, by these actions, some correspondent calamities ready to fall on nations obnoxious to God’s wrath ; this mode of expressing important circumstances by action being customary and familiar among all Eastern nations. “Sometimes the prophets were commanded to seal and shut up their pro- phecies, that the originals might be preserved until they were accomplished, and then compared with the event, (Isa. viii. is. Jer. xxxii. 14. Dan. viii. 26. ; and xii. 4.) For, when the prophecies were not to be fulfilled till after many years, and in some cases, not till after several ages, it was requisite that the original writings should be kept with the utmost care ; but when the time was so near at hand, that the prophecies must be fresh in every person’s recollec- tion, or that the originate could not be suspected or supposed to be lost, the same care was not required, (Rev. xxii. 10.) Itseem.s to have been customary for the Prophets to deposit their writings in the tabernacle, or lay them up be- fore the Lord. (1 Sam. x. 25.) And there is a tradition, that all the canonical books, as well as the law, were put into the side of the ark.” — Home's Intro- duction. We here subjoin the following passages from other writers of eminence, on two important points connected with this subject : — On Prophetic Action. “ There is a circumstance running through the Old and New Testament, which has puzzled many serious inquirers, owing to their unacqunintance with former manners : I speak of the mode of information by action. In the first ages, when words were few, men made up the deficiency ofspeech by action, a 3 savages are observed to do at this day : so that conveying ideas by action was as usual as conveying them by speech. This practice, from its signih- cancy and strong tendency to imprint vivid pictures on lh^ imagination, en- dured long after the reasons for its origination ceased. It appears to have been confined \o no particular country. The Scythians sent Danus a mouse, a frog, and a bird, which action spoke as plainly as words could do, and much more energetically, that he should fly with all speed to inaccessible fastnesses. When the son of Tarquinius Superbus had counterfeited desertion to Gabn, and had secured tin: confidence of the citizens, he sent a trusty messenger to his father to know how he should conduct himself. Tarquin led him into a garden, struck olTthe heads of the highest poppies m his presence ; which he- rn*' r dated to Sextus, he knew that lie should take oft the heads of the princi- pal inhabitants. Conformable to this usage, when Jacob feared the wrath of Esau, an angel wrestled with him ; thereby signifying that his apprehensions were groundless, and that, as he had prevailed with a divine Being, 90 he shoulif be powerful over man. Conformable to this, Ezekiel puts on a yoke to represent the bondage of his countermen, and walks without his upper gar- ment, to represent the / nakedness in captivity. Conformable to this, Jesus Christ curses the fig tree, to prefigure the fate of a people unfruitful in good works. Agabus binds himself with Paul’s girdle, to prefigure the imprison- ment of the latter ; and a mighty angel, in the Revelation, cast a huge stone into the sea, saying, Thus shall Babylon be cast doxon. and found no more at ail for ever. — At other times this information was conveyed in visions, and not literally transacted ; as when Ezekiel is said to lie many days on one side ; to carry a wine-cup to the neighbouring kings ; and to bury a book' in the Eu- phrates. The reader must own now that in this mode of instruction there was nothing fanatic ; for fanaticism consists in a fondness for unusual actions, or modes ofspeech : whereas these were general, and accommodated to the ru- ling taste T God spoke in the language of eternity, who could understand him? He, like the prophet, shrinks himself into the proportion of the child, which be means to revive.” — ( Murray's evidences of the Jewish and Christian Revelations.) The Subjects of Prophecy. The subjects of prophecy are various and extensive, indeed so much so, as has been shown by*Bishop Newton . that they form a chain of predictions from the beginning to the end of the Bible, and the world ; but the grand subject of prophecy is the coming and kingdom of the Messiah, who was promised as the seed of the woman and of Abraham, the son of David and of God. This is indeed the prominent topic of most of the Prophets now before us, and espe- cially "f Isaiah. Many of his predictions will be found to refer to him alone ; and others, though they may have a partial accomplishment in nearer events and inferior circumstances, nave in him their final and complete accomplish- ment. “ The argument from prophecy, (says the learned Bishop Hurd) is not to be formed from the consideration of single prophecies, hut from all the prophe- cies taken together, and considered as making one system ; in which, from the mutual dependance and connexion of its parts, preceding prophecies prepare and illustrate those which follow ; and these again reflect light on the forego- ing ; just as, in any philosophical system, that which shows the solidity of it, is the harmony and correspondence of the whole ; not the application of it in particular instances. “ Hence, though the evidence be but small, from the completion of any one prophecy taken separately, yet, that evidence being always something, the amount of the whole evidence resulting from a great number of prophecies, all relative to the same design, may be considerable ; like many scattered rays, which, though each be weak in itself, yet, concentred into one point, shall form a strong light, and strike the sense very powerfully. Still more: this evidence is not simply a growing evidence, but is indeed multiplied upon us, from the number of reflected lights whi>h the several component parts of such a system reciprocally throw upon each ; till, at length, the conviction rises unto a high degree of moral certainty.” (Hurd's Sermons on Prophecy.) It is certain that the writings of the ancient Prophets were carefully pre- served during the captivity, and they are frequently referred to and cited bj the later Prophets. Thus the prophecy of Micah is quoted m Jer. xxvi. 18, a short time before the captivity, and, under it the prophecy of Jeremiah is cited in Dan. ix. 2, and the Prophets generally in ix. 6. Zechariah not only quotes the former Prophets, (i. 4.) but supposes their writings to be well known to the people, (vii. 7.) It is evident that Ezra, Nehcmiah, Daniel, Zechariah, and the other Prophets, who flourished during the captivity, carefully preserved the writings of their inspired predecessors ; for they very frequently cited and ap- pealed to them, and expected deliverance from their captivity by the accom- plishment of their predictions. Although some parts of the writings of the Prophets are clearly in prose, of which instances occur in the prophecies of Isaian, Jeremiah, Ezekief Jonah, and Daniel, yet by far the larger portion of the prophetic writings are classed by Bishop Lowth among the poetical productions of the Jews, and (with the exception of certain passages in Isaiah. Habakkuk, and Ezekiel, which ap- pear to constitute complete poems of different kinds, odes as well a9 elegies) form a particular species of ppesy, wliich he distinguishes by the appellation of prophetic. “The prophetic poesy,” says the same learned Prelate, “is more ornamented, more splendid, and more florid, than any other. It abounds more in imagery, at least that species of imagery which, in the parabolic style, is of common and established acceptation ; and which, by means of a settled analogy, always preserved, is transferred from certain and definite objects, to express indefinite and general ideas. Of all the images peculiar to the para- bolic style, it most frequently introduces those which are taken from natural objects and sacred history ; it abounds in metaphors, allegories, comparisons, and even in copipus and diffuse descriptions ; it excels in the brightness of imagination, and in clearness and energy of diction, and consequently rises to an uncommon pitch of sublimity.’ 1 As it is well known the Prophets did not live nor write in the order in which their books are inserted in our Bible, we shall bore introduce a Chronological Table of their respective dates, from Horne. The four greater prophets (as they are called) we shall distinguish by putting their names in capitate. These Prophets, Horne remarks, may be arranged under three periods : — 1. Eefore the Babylonian captivity— Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Joel, Mi- cah, Nahum, Zephaniah : For the history of this period, see the second book of the Kings and Chronicles. 2. During the captivity, in part or in whole— Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Daniel, Obadiah, and Ezekiel. 3. After the return— Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Compare the Books of Ezra and Neiiemiah as to this period. TABLE OF THE PROPHETS. NAMES. YEARS B. C. KINGS OF JUDAH’S REIGNS. KINGS OF ISRAEL’S REIGNS. Jonah - - - 856 to 784. Jehu & Jehoahaz— (Bp. Lloyd.) Joash & Jeroboam— (Blair.) Amos - - - 810 to 785. Uzziah, chap. i. 1. Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, the third year of Jeroboam II. chap. i. 1. Ho3ea 810 to 725. Jeroboam II. chap. i. 1. ISAIAH - - 810 to 698. Hezekiah. Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Joel - - - 810 to 660 . chap. i. 1, and perhaps Manasseh. Uzziah, or possibly Manasseh. Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, chap. i. 1. Micah - - 758 to 699. Pekah (or Pekahiah) & Hosea. Nahum - - 720 to 698. Probably towards the close of Hezekiah’s Zephaniah - 640 to 609. reign. In the reign of Josiah, chap. i. 1 . JEREMIAH 628 to 586. In the thirteenth year of Josiah. Habakkuk - 612 to 598. Probably in the reign of Jehoiakim. DANIEL - 606 to 534. During all the captivity. Between the taking of Jerusalem by Nebu- Obadiah - - 588 to 583. EZEKIEL - 595 to 536. chadnezzar and the destruction of the Edomites by him. During part of the captivity. Haggai - - Zechariah - Malachi - - 520 to 518. After the return from Babylon. 520 to 518. 436 to 420. 92 737 THE HOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. Isaiah who te placed first in our aacred volume, prophesied at least during four reigns, as stated chap. i. 1 ; he flourished between A. M. 3194 and 3306, or B. C. 910 and 699 ; anil, as some think, also, during part of the reipn of Ma- nasseh, whom the Jews charge with being his murderer, by sawing him asun- der at a very advanced age. He calls himself the son of Amoz— not Amos the prophet ; but Amoz, the son of Joash, and brother of Uzziah, kin" of Judah. His style of writing is so sublime and beautiful, that Bishop LOlOth calls him, ' the prince of all tne prophets.” He has been also called the Evangelical Pro- phet, from the many discoveries he exhibits of the work and character of the Messiah. As we have hitherto acknowledged the principal help we have received from commentators and critics on separate, books, it may be proper here to state, that on the Prophets we have regularly consulted Lowth, Blaney. arm N't* came; but our obligations are the most considerable to a small volume by l)r. John Smith , of Cambleton, in which he has admirably condensed the ^in- stance of their remarks, with many beautiful thoughts and pious reflections cf his own. To this valuable book we have had recurrence, even more frequently than wc have thought it necessary to express.— We have not, however, omit- ted to consult the general Commentators, and the New Translation of Dr. Boothroyd. On this book of Isaiah we have had also repeated reference to the “ Annotations ” nut forth by “The Westminster Assembly of Divines,” whose exposition of this and some other of the Prophets, is well known to have been written by the very learned Gataker, who was one of theii body. CHAPTER I. 1 Isaiah coraplaineth of Judah for her rebellion. 5 He lamenteth her judgments. 10 He upbraiueth their whole service. 16 He exhorteth to repentance^ witli promises and tnreatenings. 21 Bewailing their wickedness, he denounceth God’s judgments. 25 He promiseth grace, 23 and ilireateneth destruction to the wicked. T HE vision a of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Je- rusalem in the days b of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2 c Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth : for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up d children, and they have re- belled against me. 3 The 'ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4 Ah sinful nation, a people f laden with e ini- quity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are h gone away backward. 5 H Why > should ye be stricken any more ? ye will j revolt more and more : the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it ; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with k ointment. 7 Your country is i desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as m overthrown by strangers. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left n as a cot- tage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. 9 Except “the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as p Sodom, and we should have been like un- to Gomorrah. 10 If Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 11 To what purpose « is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of r he-goats. 12 When ye come to ‘appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13 Bring no more vain 1 oblations ; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I can- not away with ; it is u iniquity, even the so- lemn meeting. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth : they are a trouble un- to me ; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when v ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye w make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of * blood. 16 H Wash i you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ; cease 2 to do evil ; 17 Learn to do well ; seek judgment, ‘relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason b together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scar- let, they shall be as white c as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land : 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be de- voured with the sword : for the mouth of the Lord d hath spoken it. 21 Tf How is the faithful city become a e har- lot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. 22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mix- ed with water : 23 Thy princes are rebellious, and compa- nions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause "of the wi- dow come unto them. 24 Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of A. M. 3244. B. C. 760. a Nu.12.6. b 2Ch.c.26 ..32. c De.32.1. Je.2.12. Mi.6.1,2. d c. 63.16. e Je.8.7. f of heavi- ness. g Mat. 11.28 h alienated or, sepa- rated. Ps.58.3. i Je.2.30. j increase revolt k or, oil. 1 De.28.51. m the over- throw of. n La.2.6. o La. 3. 22. Ro.9.29. p Ge. 19.24. q Ps.50.8, &c. Am. 5.21, 22 . r great he- goats. s be seen. t Lu. 11.42. u or, grief. v Mi. 3.4. w multiply prayer. x bloods. y Je.4.14. z lPe.3.11. a or, Tighten b c.43.26. c Ps.51.7. d Le.26.33. e Je.2. 20,21. Chap. I. Ver. 1 — 31. Isaiah upbraids the ingratitude and hypocrisy of Judah , and exhorts them to repentance. — The first verse we consider as a general title to Isaiah’s prophe- cies, which were delivered during several successive reigns, j Lowth is of opinion, that the first five chapters were written during the reign of king Uzziah. If so, the desolation it de- scribes must allude to the calamities which had been previous- ly occasioned by Jehoash, king of Israel, (2 Kings xiv. 12 — 14.) But as prophecies are not always arranged according to the order of time in which they were delivered, Bishop Horsley and others refer it to the time" of Ahaz, (which it appears to suit better,) and to the invasion of Rezin and Pekah : and some place it still later, when Jerusalem was besieged by Senna- cherib. The prophet, with a boldness and majesty becoming the herald of the Most High, begins with calling on the whole cre- ation to attend, while Jehovah himself speaks; and a charge of gross insensibility and ingratitude is then brought against the Jews, by contrasting their conduct with that of the ox and the ass, ihe most stupid of all animals. This leads to an am- plification of their guilt, highly aggravated by their slighting the chastisements and judgments of God, though repeated till they had been left almost like Sodom and Gomorrah. The incidental mention of those places leads to an address to the Chap. 1. Ver. 6. Have not been closed.— Lowth, “ pressed,” which seems to intimate that the modern practice of binding wounds was not then unknown. Ver. 7. Overthrown by strangers— That is, by a foreign power. Many cri- tics, however, read. “ by an inundation.” . Ver. 8. As a cottage . ... a lodge , &c.— That is, a temporary hut, for a guard against wild beasts. &c. Lowth. Ver. 11. I am full— Lowth, “ cloyed.” Ver. 12. To tread my courts— Lowth, following the LXX., begins the next verse with these words : “ Tread my courts no more : bring no more.” Ver. 13. His iniquity .—[Lowth renders, “ the fast and the day of restraint reading, with the LXX., instead of aioen , “iniquity,” tzom, “the fast;” which, however, is not sanctioned by any M5*. The version for the use of the 738 Spanish Jews has, tortvra y detenimento , “ it is pain and restraint to ine .” but we may render it with Weston, connecting it with the preceding. “ I can- not bear wickedness and a solemn assembly,” meaning a wicked solemn as- sembly. 1 —Bag8ter. Ver. 14. They are a trouble— Lowth, “A burden.” Weary to bear — Loicth. “Weary of bearing.” Ver. 17. Relieve. — See margin ; i. e. do justice to the oppressed. Ver. 18. As wool— Meaning, white as wool ; i. e. cleansed from the guilt of blood, ver. 15. Ver. 20 . Devoured with the sword.— Lowth, “Ye shall be food for the 8 word.” Ver. 23. Come unto them— Loicth, " Come before them.” Chnsl's kingdom foretold. ISAIAH. — CHAP. II. Effects of God's majesty. hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease f me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies : 25 And s I will turn my hand upon thee, and h purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin : 26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning : afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. 27 Zion shall 'be redeemed with judgment, and ■ her converts with j righteousness. 28 Tf And the k destruction of the transgres- sors and of the sinners shall he 1 together, and they that forsake m the Lord shall be con- sumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be con- founded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fa- deth, and as a garden that hath no water. 31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them. CHAPTER II. 1 Isaiah prophesieth trie ooming of Christ’s kingdom- 6 Wickedness is the cause of God’s forsaking- 10 He exhorteth to fear, because of the powerful effects of God’s majesty. T HE word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And a it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be b established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all c nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come Q ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and ne will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion s shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru- salem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they f shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into s pruning-hooks : nation shall not A. M. 2990. B. C. 1014. f De.28:63. Eze.5.13. g Mai. 3.3. h accord- ing to pureness. i or, they that re- turn of her. j 1 Co. 1.30. k breaking. 1 Ps. 125.5. Lu. 12.45, 46. m Zcp.1.6. a Mi. 4.1 , &c. b or, pre- pared. c Ps.2.8. d Je.31.6. 50.5. Zec.8.21 . 23. c Lu. 24.47. f Ps.46.9. Ho. 2. 18. g or, scythes. h Ep.5.8. i or, more than. j De. 18. 14. k or fibound with. 1 Ne. 13.23. m De. 17. 17. n Je.2.2S o -ver. 19. 21. Re.6. 15,16 n Ps. 18.27. ver. 17. c.5.16. n Zep.3.11, 16. Zec.9.16. r Eze.3L3. Zec.ll. 1,2 s pictures of desire. t ver. 11. u or, shall utterly pass away. lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk h in the light of the Lord. 6 H Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenish- ed ' from the east, and are soothsayers j like the Philistines, and they k please themselves in the children i of strangers. 7 Their ln land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures ; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: 8 Their land also is full of n idols ; they wor- ship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made : 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself : therefore forgive them not. 10 If Enter 0 into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glo- ry of his majesty. 11 The lofty looks Pof man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that i day. 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up ; and he shall be brought low : 13 Arid upon all the cedars r of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15 And upon every high tower, and upon eve- ry fenced wall, 16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all 8 pleasant pictures. 17 And <■ the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low : and the Lord alone shall be exalt- ed in that day. 18 And " the idols he shall utterly abolish. 19 And they shall go into the holes of the rulers and people of Judah, (under the character of princes of Sodom and people of Gomorrah,) 119 less spirited and elegant. In verse 10 , and following, the vanity of trusting to the per- formance of outward rites and ceremonies of religion is ex- posed; and the necessity of repentance and reformation strongly urged, as well by the most encouraging promises, as by the most awful threatening. The prophet, aware that nei- ther of these motives produce their proper effect, he bit- terly laments their degeneracy; and concludes with declaring, in the name of Jehovah, his purpose of inflicting still heavier judgments, such as would destroy the wicked, and excite in the righteous (who should also pass through the furnace) an everlasting shame and abhorrence of every thing connected with idolatry' the source of all their misery. “ The whole chapter affords a beautiful example of this great prophet’s manner; whose writings, like his lips, were touched with hallowed fire.” Chap. II. Ver. 1 — 22. Isaiah prophecies the coming of Mes- siah's kingdom , and the destruction of idolatry. — This and the two following chapters make one se tion of prophecy, to which the verse with which it opens is the title. The first five verses foretel the kingdom of the Messiah, and the conversion of the Gentiles : for it is the opinion of the most learned Rab- bins, that the term “latter days” always refers to the times of the Messiah. In the remaining part of the chapter is foretold the punishment of the unbelieving Jews for their idolatrous practices; their self-confidence and distrust in God; also the destruction of idolatry', in consequence of the establishment of Messiah’s kingdom. The description which this chapter con- tains of the terrible consternation that will seize the wicked, who shall in vain seek for rocks and mountains to hide them irom the face of God in the day of his judgments, is beautifully and highly worked up. But to what period these judgments aie to he referred is doubtful. Some have applied them to the first, and some to the second coming of our Lord ; some to the destruction of the Jews, and some to the fall of Anti christ! Perhaps yve ought not to confine the w'ords to any one of these events exclusively. The prophecy has, no doubt, been in a great measure fulfilled by the early and astonishing success of the gospel: yet the happy period so beautifully predicted in verse 4th, has only yet dawned, and some signal revolutions may yet be necessary to the establishment of universal peace, Of part of these predictions at least we have lived to see the fulfilment. Messiah is come ; the Gentiles have been admitted Ver. 25. And l will turn. &c. — Lowth, “ I will bring again my hand oyer thee, and I will purge in the furnace thy dross, and I will remove all thine allov.” Ver. 27. Her converts.— Sze margin. Lowth , “ Her captives.” Ver. 29. The oaks .... the gardens— That is, the scene and object of their idolatries. [Allah is supposed by Celsius to denote the terebinth or tur- pentine tree, as the LXX. sometimes render, though in other cases they have an oak. Lowth, however, supposes it to denote the ilex (which Vossius de- rives from the Hebrew word) or holly-oak. which, in a good soil, grows to a considerable height. The leaves are From three to four inches long, one broad near the base, and gradually lessening towards a point, of a lucid green on the upper side, but whitish and downy on the lower, standing on pretty long foot- stalks, and retaining their verdure throughout the year. 1— Bagster. Ver. 31. And the maker.— ' 1 And his work.” So Lowth. Chap. IT. Ver. 1. That Isaiah saw.— Lowth, “ That was revealed to Isaiah.” Ver. 4. Pruning -hooks. — [The highly poetical and beautiful image used here to describe a well established peace, has also been employed by the Ro- man poets : “ Sweet ^eace has transformed me : I was once the property of a soldier, and am now the property of tlie husbandman.” Martial.] — Bagster. Ver. 6. Replenished from, the East. — Lowth , “ Filled (with diviners) from,” 6r. c. They please theme elves —Lowth, “They multiply a spurious brood of strange children.” This refers to the illegitimate produce of their licentious connexion with the heathen, which is here compared (in the original) with the corn, or grass, springing from seed accidentally scattered. Ver. 7. Full of silver and gold . . . horses . &c.— This was contrary to Deut. xvii. 16 , 17. He followed the example of Solomon, 2 Chron. j. 14, 15. Ver. 9. The mean man boweth, &c.— That is, all ranks bow down to idols : but Lowth renders this in the future ; “ therefore shall tne mean man be bow- ed :” so Boothroyd. Forgive thesn not.— Lowth, “Thou wilt not forgive them.” Ver. 12. Shall be upon . — “ Is against,” and so in the four following verses. Losvth. Ver. 13. Cedars of Lebanon, &c. — That is, great men, princes, &c. Ver. 14. High mountains— Kingdoms, states, &c. Ver. 15. Every high tower. — Military state. Ver. 16 . Ships of Tarshish.— Maritime powers. Pleasant pictures.— Se* margin. Lowth, ,r Every lovely work of art.” Ver. 18. And the idols, &c — See margin. Lonoth, “Totally disappear,” 739 Calamities occasioned by sin. ISAIAH. — CHAP. III. The impudence of the people. rocks, and into the caves of the v earth, for fear of the Loan, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly w the earth. 5ii> In that day a man shall cast x his idols of sliver, and his idols of gold, which they made • T each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats ; 21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and in- to the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 22 Cease z ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be account- ed of? CHAPTER III. t The great confusion which cometh by sin. 9 The impudency of the people. 12 The oppression and covetousness of the rulers. 16 The judgments which shall be for the pride of the women. F OR, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away a from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and b the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, 2 The mighty c man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, 3 The captain of fifty, and d the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning ar- tificer, and the e eloquent orator. 4 And I will give children f to be their prin- ces, and babes shall rule over them. 5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neigh- bour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. 6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying , Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand : 7 In that day shall he s swear, saying, I will not be a h healer ; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing : make me not a ruler of the people. 8 For Jerusalem is i ruined, and Judah is fallen : because ) their tongue and their do- ings are against the Lord, to provoke the k eyes of his glory. A. M 2990. D C. 10U. v dual. w Hag. 2. 6, 21 . He. 12.26, 27. x the idol a of hie silver, y or, /or him. z Ps. 146. 3,4 Je.17.5. a c.36.12. Jc.38.9. b Le.26.26. c 2Ki.24.14. d a nutn eminent in coun- tenance. e or. skilful of speech. f Ec. 10. 16. g lift up the hand. Ge. 11.22. h binder up. i Mi. 3. 12. J La. 5. 16, 17. k 1 Co. 10.22. 1 Je.3.3. m Ec.8.12, 13. n done to. o or, call thee bless- ed. p swallow up. q Mi.6.2. r or, burnt. s Mat. 21. 33 t c.58.4. u deceiving with their eyes. v or, trip- ping nice- ty- w make naked. x or, net- works. y or, sweet bails. z or, span- gled or- naments. a houses of the souL 9 The show of their countenance > doth wit- ness against them ; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Wo unto their soul ! for they have rewarded evil unto them- selves. 10 IT Say ye to the righteous, that m it shall be well with him : for they shall eat the fruit o. their doings. 11 Wo unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be " given him. 12 If As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which 0 lead thee cause thee to err, and p destroy the way of thy paths. 13 The Lord standeth up to “J plead, and standeth to judge the people. 14 The Lord will enter into judgment with ,tlie ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have r eaten up the 'vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. 15 What mean ye that ye beat 1 my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts. 16 T[ Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and “ wanton eyes, walk- ing and v mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will w discover their secret parts. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet , and their * cauls, and their • round tires like the moon, 19 The y chains and the bracelets, and the z mufflers, 20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the » tablets, and the ear-rings, 21 The rings, and nose-jewels, 22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping- pins, into his church. Idolatry in many nations has been suppress- ed ; and, even in our own time, the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands, as also of some parts of Africa, and even India, have thrown away their idols. We cannot indeed say that men “learn war no more;” but the calamities attending the late European wars, have induced the nations to make a pause; and it is now generally admitted among civilized go- vernments, that no wars are defensible that are not founded on principles of justice. This is a grand point gained, and, we think, may lead eventually to the attainment of universal peace, the principles of which cannot be too much cherished in the Christian world. Chap. III. Ver. 1 — 26. Judgments on the wickedness of the men, and the pride and Jolly of the women . — The whole of this chapter, with the first verse of the following, is a prophecy of the Babylonian invasion and captivity, in which all ranks of society were involved. These calamities are represented as so great, and so general, that even the honour of government Ver. 20. To the. moles and to the bats. — That is, for shame and fear, he shall hide them in darkness and obscurity. [Three MSS. read chepharphairoth , in one word ; which, from chaphar, to dig, delve, is an excellent periphrasis for the mole, which is formed to burrow and live holly under the earth. It is less than a rat, and bigger than a mouse, with a coat of fine, short, glossy, black hair ; nose, long and pointed ; eyes, scarcely discernible, but sufficient for a creature which lives in darkness; ears, merely two holes ; neck, short ; body, thick and round ; tail, small and short ; legs, very short, the hind being longer and weaker than the fore, which are very short and strong, each fur- nished with five claws, turned outwards and backwards, by which it throws back the earth with ease. Bats. — AtaJlaiph, from atal, “darkness,” and aivh, “ flying.” well characterizes the bat, which only flies abroad in the night. It has the body of a mouse, and wings of a leathery skin, with feel or claws growing out of them. They frequent tops of houses, caves , and old ruins, and live upon flies, insects, &c.]— Bagster. Chap. 111. Ver. 7. Clothing. &c.— [Princes and great men in the East, as Sir J. Chardin testifies, are obliged to have a great stock of clothes in readi- ness fpr presents on all occasions ; and a great quantity of provisions for the table is equally necessary, (see 1 Kings iv. 22, 23. Ne. v. 17, 18.) Hence the person desired to undertake the government, alleges as an excuse that he is lot able to support'the dignity of his station.] — Bagster. Ver. 8. The eyes of his glory. — That is, his omniscience. Ver. 12. And destroy. — See margin. So the monsters of the deep destroy : 740 should be declined, from the desperate state of the country, as affording no ground to hope the return of its prosperity. Its governors are declared to be weak as women, capricious as children, and corrupt as Sodom, whereby they had brought these evils upon themselves. Amidst all the evils denounced, however, an exception is made in favour of good men — “ Say ye to the righteous, that it is, and shall be well !” The latter part of the chapter is a particular amplification of the distress of the delicate daughters of Zion, whose deplora- ble situation is finely contrasted with their former luxury and ease. Some think that this prophecy may likewise refer to the de- struction of Jerusalem by the Romans ; and it is remarkable, that on a medal struck by Vespasian on that occasion, Jerusa- lem is represented in the very posture described by the last words of this chapter, under the figure of a disconsolate mo ther bewailing the unhappy fate of Tier children. (See Psalm cxxxvii.) but to “swallow a way,” seems to refer to an inundation of error and vice, which prevented their progress in the way of duly. Ver. 14. The ancients— Loioth, “ Eldere.” Ver. 16. Wanton eyes.— See margin : i. e. by amorous glances. Loioth thinks this refers to painting the eyes. See Jer. iv. 30. Tinkling with their feel. — [The Eastern ladies wear on their ankles large rings, to which smaller ones are attached, which make a tinkling sound as they move nimbly. Roger.]— B. Ver. 17. Discover their secret parts.— Loioth, “ Nakedness.” The text re- fers to the barbarous custom of exposing captives naked. Ver. 18. Tinkling ornaments.— Lore th, “ Feet-rings i. e. rings on the toes, which tinkled in tripping as they went. See ver. 16. Round tiers, &c. — Loioth, “ Crescents.” Ver. 19. The chains— Lowth, " The pendants.” The mufflers. — See mar- gin. Loioth, “ Their veils.” Ver. 20. The bonnets. — Lowth, “Tires;” i. e. high head-dresses. The tablets. — See margin ; which Loioth ingeniously explains of “perfume boxes/* and the ear-rings as “ amulets,” or ornaments worn as charms against disease. Ver. 21. Nose jeioels were certainly used by ladies in the East, as they are in some parts to this day. See note on Gen. xxiv. 47 ; also, Ezek. xvi. 12. Loioth reads, “ Jewels of the nostril.” Ver. 22. The changeable suits, &c.— Lowth, “ The embroidered robes ana the tunics.” The wimples and the crisping pins. — Loioth. “ The cloaks and the little purseft.” Christ’s kingdom a sanctuary. ISAIAH.— CHAP. IV., V. God’s judgments on Israel. 23 The glasses, and the line linen, and the hoods, and the vails. 24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink ; and instead of a girdle a rent ; and instead of well set hair b baldness ; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth ; and burning instead of beauty. 25 Tf Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy c mighty in the war. 26 And d her gates shall lament and mourn ; and she being e desolate shall sit upon f the ground. CHAPTER IV. la the extremity of evils, Christ’s kingdom shall be a sanctuary. A ND in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel : only let a us be called by thy name, b to take away our reproach. 2 U In that day shall the branch c of the Lokd be J beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for e them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called f holy, even every one that is written e among the living in Jerusalem : 4 When the Lord shall have h washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 5 And the Lord will create upon every dwell- ing place of mount Zion, and upon her as- semblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by ■ night : for i upon all the glory shall be a k defence. 6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a sha- dow in the day-time from the heat, and for a place of i refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. CHAPTER V. I Under the parable of a vineyard God excused) his severe judgment. 8 His judgments upon covetousness, 1 1 upon lasciviousness, 13 upon impiety, 20 and upon injustice. 2b The executioners of God’s judgments. N OW will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a * vineyard in b a very fruit- ful hill : A. M. 3244 B. C. 760. b Mi. 1.16. c might. d La. 1.4. e cleansed } or, empti- ed. 2Ki.21.13. f La. 2. 10. a thy name be called upon us. b or, take thou away. c Je.23.5,6. Zee. 6. 12, 13. d beauty and glory. e the esca- ping of Israel. f c.60.21. He. 12. 14. g or, to life. Re.2l.27. h Zee. 13.1. i Zec.2.5. j or, above. k covering. 1 c.25.4. a Lu.20.9, &c. b the horn of the son of oil. c or, made a wadi about it. d Je.2.21. e hewed. f Ps.80.12, 13. S for tl treading. h plant of his plea- sures. i a scab. J Mi. 2.2. k ye. 1 or, this is in mine m if not. n Hag.1.9.. 11. o or, pur- sue them. p Am. 6. 5,6. q Ps.28.5. r Ho. 4. 6. Lu. 19.44. s glory are men of famine 2 And he c fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choi- cest d vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also e made a wine-press therein : and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? where- fore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ? 5 And now go to ; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard : I will take away the f hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up ; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be s trodden down : 6 And I will lay it waste : it shall not be pru- ned, nor digged; but there shall come up bri- ars and thorns : I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah h his pleasant plant : and he looked for judgment, but behold f oppression ; for righteousness, but behold a cry. 8 H Wo unto them that join j house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that k they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth ! 9 ' In mine ears said the Lord of hosts, m Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. 10 "Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah. 11 T[ Wo unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine 0 inflame them ! 12 And Pthe harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in theirfeasts : but they q regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. 13 Therefore my people are gone into cap- tivity, because r they have no knowledge : and 8 their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. Chap. IV. Ver. 1 — 6. A prophecy of Christ, the Branch ; and the blessings to spring from him. — The first verse of this chapter (which ought not to have been separated from the pre- ceding) represents the havock occasioned by war, and other calamities which the Prophet had been describing, so great, that seven women should be left to one man ; in consequence of which, they, instead of being courted, shall be compelled to become suitors, and that, upon any terms, to take away their reproach. The following verses promise to the remnant that should escape those severe trials, a restoration to the divine favour, and a share in the blessings of the man whose name is The Branch, one of the appropriated names of the Messiah. (See Zech. iii. 8 ; vi. 12.) The great blessings of the gospel are frequently set forth (as in ver. 5.) by allusions to the glory and pomp of the Mosaic dis- pensation ; so the protection and glory afforded by Messiah shall be equal to that of the divine Shechinah, under the Mo- saic dispensation : nay more, for it shall not only be a pillar of Ver. 23. The glasses— Lowth, “ The transparent garments a kind of silken gauze, worn by women of light character. The hoods and the veils. — Loicth , “ The turbans and the mantles.” Ver. 24. Instead of a sweet smell, a stink. — Lowth , “ Instead of a perfume, a putrid ulcer.” Instead of o. girdle, a rent.— Lowth, “Instead of well- girt raiment, rags.” A stomacher —Lowth, “A zone.” And burning. —Lowth, “ A sun burnt skin.” Ver. 26 . And she (being) desolate, shall sit upon the ground— See Lam. ii. 8. Addison remarks, that on several coins of Vespasian and Titus, Judcea Capta is so represented. Chap. IV. Ver. 2. The branch of the Lord,. — “The Messiah of Jehovah,” says the Chaldee. Fruit of the earth.— Lowth, “ Of the land i. e. of Judah. By this expression, if not exactly parallel with the. preceding, Lowth would understand its fruit; “the blessings consequent upon his redemp- tion.” Ver. 3. Among the living— \. e. enrolled among the remnant left. See Ezek. xui. 9. Ver. 4. A spirit of burning.— ' Meaning the fire of God’s wrath, by which (in his furnace) he will purify his people.” Lowth. See Ezek. xxii. 17—22 fire and of cloud, but also the new tabernacle, or Christian Church, shall be a place of refuge from every danger, and a covert from every storm. Chap. V. Ver. L— 30. Under the Parable of a Vineyard , God justifies himself and reproves the Jews. — This chapter opens with a parable of the class called by the Hebrews, “ Songs of Love,” a term nearly corresponding to pastoral, of which we have examples in the 45th Psalm, and in the Songs of Solomon. In the first seven verses, by a beautiful allegory, God represents his care and tenderness towards the house of Israel, and particularly Judah, and the ungrateful returns with which his kindness had been requited. In verse 8 the parable is dropped; and the Prophet, in plain terms, reproves and threatens the nation for their wickedness ^particularly for their covetousness, intemperance, and inattention to the warnings of providence. Then follows an enumeration of God’s judg- ments as the necessary consequence. Captivity and famine appear, with all their horrors; Hell, (or the grave,) like a ra- ver. 5. Upon all the glory shall be a defence. — Heb. “Above all the glory shall be a rovering.” See Exod. xiii. 21. xl. 38. Chap. V. Ver. 1. In a vei-y fruitful hill.—[ Rendered by Lowth, “on a high and fruitful hill.” The situation of Canaan, being high and mountainous, is represented by a horn, which is higher than any other part of the animal ; and the “ son of oil” is a Hebraism denoting fertility, oil olive being one of tho most esteemed and valuable productions of the land.]— Bagster. Ver. 2. He fenced it. — “ Made a wall about it, which was generally formed of the stones found upon the land.” The choicest vine.—\Sorek. in Arabic; sharik, certainly denotes an excellent vine : but some, with Bishop Lowth. retain it as a proper name. Sorek was a valley lying between Askalon ana Gaza, so called from the excellence ofits vines. Ju. 16 . 4.]— Bagster. Built a tower.— See Matt. xxi. 23. Made a win e-press. —See margin Not the press itself, but the lake, which received the must from the wine nross, which was often under ground, in the recess of a rock, &c. Wild grapes. — Lowth , “ Poisonous berries.” See 2 Jfing9 iv. 39 — 41. also, Deut. xxxii. 32, 33. Ver. 9. In mine ears said, &c .—Lowth, “ In mine ears hath the Lord . . revealed it.” Of a truth— A. usual form of swearing. Lowth, “ Surely.” Ver. 10. One bath.— Less than eight gallons. Lowth. 741 The executioners of God's judgments. ISAIAH. — (..'HA 1*. VI. Isaiah’s vision oj God's glory. 14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure : and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. 15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled : 16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and ‘ God that is holy shall be sanc- tified in righteousness. 17 Then shall the lambs feed after their man- ner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. IS Tf Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope : 19 That say, Let u him make speed, and has- ten his work, that we may see it : and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it ! 20 T[ Wo unto them that * call evil good, ahd good evil ; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. 21 Wo unto them that are wise in their own w eyes, and prudent in 1 their own sight ! 22 Wo unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink : 23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him ! 24 Therefore as the y fire devoureth the stub- ble, and the flame consumeth z the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25 Therefore is the anger of the Lord kin- dled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did “tremble, and their carcasses were b torn in the midst of the streets. For all c this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 26 TI And he will lift up an ensign to the na- tions from far, and will hiss unto them from a. m. sai. | u c. toj. : t the God ! llir holy, | or, the no- j ly God, u ‘iPe.3 3,4. | v say con- cerning evil , it is good. w Pr.26. 12. x before their face y tongue of fire. z Mat. 3. 12. i flab. 3. 6. b or, as dung. c Le.26.14, &c. the end of the earth: and, behold, they snail come with speed swiftly: 27 None u shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken : 23 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. 30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea : and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and * sor- row, f and the light is darkened in the hea- vens thereof. d Joel 2.3.. 11 . e or, distress f or, when it is light , it shall be dark in the de- structions thereof. A. M. 3245. B. C. 759. a 2 Ki.15.7. blKi.22.19. c or t the shirts thereof. d Eze.1.11. e this cried to this. f his glory is the ful- ess of the whole earth. g thres- holds. h cut off. i Zep.3.1..7 J and in his hand a live coal k Re. 8.3. 1 caused it to touch. m Behold me. CHAPTER VI. I Isaiah, In a vision of The Lord in his glory, 5 being terrifiel, is confirmed for his mes- sage. 9 He showelh the obstinacy of tile people unto their desolation. 13 A remnant shall be saved. TN the year “ that king Uzziah died I saw J- b also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and c his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the Seraphims : each one had six wings ; with twain he covered his face, and with twain d he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And e one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts : f the whole earth, is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the edoor moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 If Then said I, Wo is me! for I am ’’un- done; because 1 1 am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of un- clean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, ) having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the k altar : 7 And he ’laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine ini- quity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Tf Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, m Here am I ; send me. venous monster, opens wide its jaws, and swallows down its myriads. Distress lays hold on all ranks of people, and one judgment follows another, until the whole land is left desolate ; a place for the flocks and herds to range in. The Prophet then goes on to threaten and reprove them ; and, finally, sums up the whole of his awful denunciation in a very lofty and spirit- ed conclusion. The God of armies, having hitherto corrected to no purpose, is represented, with inimitable majesty, as only giving the hist, and the heathen nations; like swarms of bees, hasten to his standard ; and, upon the first permission, keen, cruel, and resolute, they fly immediately to execute their commission, and leave the land desolate and dark, without one ray of com- fort to cheer the gloom. Their approach is compared to the roaring of lions and of the ocean : and the consequence is uni- versal desolation, darkness, and distress. Chap. VI. Ver. 1 — 13. Isaiah’s vision of the divine glory, and prophecy respecting the Jews. — Bishop Lowth remarks. ‘ In this vision the ideas are taken, in general, from Royal Majesty, as displayed by the Monarchs of the East : foi the Ver. 14. Hell. — Lowth , “ Hades,” which he here explains of the grave. See Hab. ii. 5. Ver. 17. The lambs .... after their manner— That is, in their own way, without guidance or restraint. Lowth , with a slight variation, reads, ” Kids shall depasture the desolate fields of the luxurious.” But if we adhere to the present text, we must explain it of foreigners. Ver. 18. Cord Is of vanity — Seem to be long and thin cords by a cart-rope is evidently meant, a thick and strong cord, such as are used foi the traces of a wagon ; taking both images together, the sense is, they use all possible means to accomplish their ends. Ver. 24. As the fire devoureth— [ That is, as a Rabbin explains it, the flame , so called fro n its resemblance to a tongue. The metaphor, as Lowth observes, is so exceedingly obvious, as well as lieautitul. that one may wonder it has not been more frequently used. Virgil elegantly intimates, rather than expresses, the image : “ With gentle touch the lambent flame glides harmless along his .•air, and feeds around his temples.” And more boldly of Etna darling out flames : “ And throws up globes of flame, and licks the stars . "\— Bolster. 742 Prophet could not represent the ineffable presence of God bv any other than sensible and earthly images. The particular scenery of it is taken from the Temple. God is represented as seated on his throne above the Ark, in the most holy place, where the glory appeared above the Cherubim, surrounded by his attendant ministers. This is called, by God himself, ' The place of his throne, and the place of the soles of his feet.’ (Ezek. xliii. 7.) 'A glorious throne, exalted of old, is the place of our sanctuary,’ saith the prophet Jeremiah, (chap. xvit. 12A The very posture of sitting is a mark of state and solemnity as is observed by Jerome. St. John, who has taken many sub- lime images from the Prophets of the Old Testament, and in particular from Isaiah, hath exhibited the same scenery, drawn out into a greater number of particulars. (Rev. iv. 2 — 8.) “The veil separating the most holy place from the holy, or outermost part of the Temple, is here supposed to be taken away; for the Prophet, to whom the whole is exhibited, is manifestly placed by the altar of burnt-offering, at the en trance of the Temple — (compare Ezek. xliii. 5, 6.) — which vvas filled with the train of the robe, the spreading and overflowing Ver. 26. Will hiss ( Loioth , “ hist”) unto them. — It alludes to the practice of those who keep bees, who hiss or whistle to d.aw them from their hives. Loioth. See chap. vii. 18. Chap. VI. Ver. l. In the year —Loioth, Wells . and Lightfoot, think this was just after Uzziah’s death. In this verse, more than fifty MSS., and one edition, (and in ver. 8. nearly as many,) for Adonai read Jehovah. See not/* on Ps. cx. 1. His train. — Loioth , “ The train of his robe.’ N. B. Ver. 1 -- 3, also, 5 and 6 of this chapter, are admitted to be prose. Ver. 2. Seraphiins — The Hebrew word “ ireraphim” is plural, without the (s.) Ver. 3. The lohole earth, &c.— See margin. In this anthem, and in y°r. s where the Divine Being uses the first person plural, ioc, &c. both the Christian fathers and the most ancient Rabbins find intimations of the Holy Trinity. Set Dr. P- Smith's Messiah, and Lowth' s quotation from Jerome. Compar* Gen. i 26, with our exposition. Vei. 4. The posts. — Loioth, “ Pillars of the vestibule.” Ver. b. I am undone.— Lowth, “ Struck dumb.” Jihaz comforted by Isaiah. ISAIAH. — CHAP. VII. Christ promised. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye “ indeed, but understand not ; and see ye 5 indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he an- swered. Until the cities be wasted without in- habitant, and the houses without man, and the land be p utterly desolate, 12 And the Lord have removed 'men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13 IT But yet in it shall be a tenth, r and it shall return, and shall be eaten : as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose s substance is in them, when they cast their leaves : so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. CHAPTER VII. I Ahaz, being troubled with fear of Rezin and Pekah, is comforted by Isaiah. 10 Ahaz. having liberty to choose a sign, and refusing it, hath for a sign, Christ promised. 17 His judgment is prophesied to come by Assyria. A ND a it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and" Pekah the'son of Remaliah, king of Is- rael, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2 And it was told the house of David, say- ing, Syria b is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are mo- ved with the wind. 3 Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and c Shear-Jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the up- per pool in the d highway of the fuller’s field ; 4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet ; fear not, e neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, A. M. 3245. B. C. 759. n in hear- ZFthZ't ceasing. o in seeing. p desolate with deso- lation. q ‘2Ki.25.21. r or t when it is re- turned and hath been b roused. s or, stock, or, stem. A. M. 2262. B. C. 742. a 2 Ki. 16.5. b restethon . c i. e. the remnant shall re- turn. c. 10.21. d or, causeway. e let not thy heart be tender. f or, weak- en. g from a. h or, Do ye not be- lieve ? it is because ye are not stable. i And the LORD added to speak. ) c. 38. 7,22. k or, make thy peti- tion deep. 1 Lu.1.31.. 35. m Mat 1.23. n or .thou, O Virgin , shalL o Je. 16.16. 6 Let us go up against Judah, and f vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son ol Tabeal : 7 Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. 8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin ; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, e that it be not a people. 9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. h If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be es- tablished. 10 If > Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign i of the Lord thy God; k ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also ? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and m shall call his name "Im- manuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. 17 If The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. 18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the ut- termost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 And 0 they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the of Divine Glory. The Lord upon the throne, according to St. John, (chap. xii. 41.,) was Christ, and the vision related to his future kingdom, when the veil of separation was to be removed, and the whole earth was to be filled with the glory of God, re- vealed to all mankind ; which is likewise implied in the hymn of the Seraphim, (which Jerome considers as a demonstration of the trinity.] It (the prophecv) relates indeed primarily to the Prophet’s own time, and the obduration of the Jews of that age, with their punishment by the Babylonish captivity; but extends, in its full latitude, to the age of Messiah, and the blindness of the Jews to the Gospel — (see Matt. xiii. 14. John xii. 40. Acts xxviii. 26. Rom. xi. 8.)— the desolation of their country by the Romans, and their behw rejected by God ; that, nevertheless, a holy seed, a remnant, should be preserved, and that the nation should sprout out and flourish again from the old stock.” Chap. VII. Ver. 1 — 25. Deliverance prom-iscd to Ahaz , which is farther typical of salvation by the Messiah . — “The king of Judah and the royal family being in the utmost con- sternation,” on account of the invasion of their country by Rezin and Pekah, the kings of Syria and Israel, (see 2 Kings xvi. 5 — 7.) on this occasion the prophet is sent to assure them, that God would make good bis promises to David and his house; so that, although they might be corrected, they should not be destroyed, while these remained to be accomplished. This is the subject of the 7th, 8th, and beginning of the 9th chapters. This 7th chapter begins with an account of the occasion of the prophecy, and then follow's a prediction of the ill success of the Israelites and Syrians against Jpdah. The particular period in which Ephraim (or Israel) should be no more a nation, is foretold, ver. 8 . (viz. 65 years,) when this prophecy was punctually fulfilled by the total depopulation of Ver. 10. Fat. — Loioth, “ Gross.” And convert. — Loioth, “ Be converted.” Ver. 12. A great forsaking.— Loioth, “Many a deserted woman.” See chap. iv. 1. Ver. 13 But yet, &c. — 'Tin's verse is very obscure ; but Loioth reads, “ And though there be a tenth part remaining in it, even this shall undergo a repeat- ed destruction. Yet as the ilex (or teil tree) and the oak, though cut down, hath its stock remaining, a holy seed shall be the stock of the nations.” [The teil tree is the linden or lime tree, a species of the orange tree very common in Palestine ; the leaf of which resembles that of the laurel, and its flower that of the olive. But the original ailah, which our translators render the oak, fbut here distinguished from allon, the oak,) and Loioth the ilex, in chap. i. 29. 30. probably denotes, as Celsius contends, the terebinth : it is an evergreen of moderate size, hut having the top and branches large in proportion to the trunk ; leaves, like those of the olive, hut green intermixed with red and pur- ple : flowers. like those of- the vine, growing in hunches, and purple ; fruit, of a ruddy purple, the size of a juniper Berry, hanging in clusters, very juicy, and containin'; a single seed of the size of a grape stone ; wood, Bard and fibrous, from which a resin distils ; witli an excrescence scattered among the leaves, of the size of a chestnut, of a purple colour, variegated with green and white. 3ee Martfi's Travels. ]—Bagsler. Chap VII. Ver. 1 to 3. inclusive, are prose. Ver. 2. Syria is confederate with— Loioth, “ Is supported by” Ephraim. Ver. 3. Bheer-jo^hub — means as in the margin. Ver. I. Tails of these smoking firebrand*— i. e. the remains of half-burnt twigs, which must soon expire.— ITarmer. Ver. 8. Head of Syria .— transposes the former part of ver. 9. and renders, “ Though the head of Syria be Damascus ; and the head of Damascus, Rezin ; and the head of Ephraim he Samaria ; and Ihe head of Samaria, Remaliah’s son : yet within threescore -and five years Ephraim shall be broken that he be no more a people.” This renders the passage perfectly clear, and the prophe- cy received its full accomplishment when Esarhaddon carried away the re- mains of the ten tribes.]— Bagster. That it be not— a people. This is rec- koned from the second year of Ahaz. Jubb , in Lowth’s notes. That the land was not wholly stripped of its inhabitants before this period, see 2 Ch. xxxiv. 6, 7, 33. and xxxv. 18. 2 Kings xxiii. 19, 20. Ver. 14. A sign.— This sign, as Bishop Hurd remarks, was to Ahaz a simple assurance of deliverance at hand : to the house of David a type of Christ and a pledge of full deliverance by him. A virgin shall conceive— Loioth, “The virgin conceiveth.” Immanuel— or “Emmanuel;” that is, “God with us.” Matt. i. 23. Ver. 15. Butler (or cream) and honey — the usual food of children, and even grown persons, in times of prosperity, *2 Sam. xvii. 29. That he may kn'oio. Loioth, “When he shall know.” With submission, however, we should prefer rendering the particle lamed “ for,” or, because of, as Psalm cxix. 20. He would eat it, because he knew what was good. [Connecting this verse with the preceding and following, we may render with Dr. Jubb and Loioth, “ Be- hold the virgin ( haalmah , as the word uniformly signifies) shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Immanuel ; butter and honey shall he eat when he shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before,” &c .]— Bagster. 743 Israel und Judah tin eutened. ISAIAH.— CHAP. VIII. God’s judgments in esistible. doles of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all p bushes. 20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet : and it shall also con- sume the beard. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sneep ; 22 And it shall come to pass, for the abun- dance of milk that they shall give that he shall eat butter : for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left « in the land. 23 And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thou- sand vines at a thousand silverlings, it shall even be for briers and thorns. 24 With arrows and with bows shall men come thither ; because all the land shall be- come briers and thorns. 25 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. CHAPTER VIII. i In Maher-slmlal-hash-baz, he prophesieth that Syria and Israel shall be subdued by Assyria. 5 Judah likewise tor their infidelity. 9 God’s Judgments shall be uiiresisti- ble. 11 Comfort shall be to them that fear 19 Great athiclions to idolaters. M OREOVER the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning a Maher-shalal-hash-baz. 2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah b the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. 3 And I c went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash- baz. q in the midst of. a in making speed, to the spoil, he hasten- elh the Prey , or, make speed, Ac. b 2Ki.l6. 10. e approach- d c.7.16. e or, he that is be- fore the king of shall take away the riches. f 2Ki. 15.29. 16.9. c. 17.3. A. M. 3263. B. C. 741. h c.7. 16,17. i fulness of the breadth of thy land shall be the slretrh- ines out of his wings. J c.36. l,&c. k or, yeU 1 c.37.36. m Ps.46.1,7. strength of o Pr.1.15. q Lu.12.5. r Eze.11.16. s 1 Pe. 2.8. t Mat 13. 57. 4 For d before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, e the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken r away before the king of Assyria. 5 1[ The Lord spake also unto me again saying, 6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the wa- ters of Shiloah e that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son ; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even h the king of Assyria, and al his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: 8 And he shall pass through Judah ; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the > stretching out of his wings shall fill ) the breadth of thy land, O Im- manuel. 9 Tf Associate yourselves, O ye people, k and ye shall be broken > in pieces ; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces ; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. 10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand : for God m is with us. 11 If For the Lord spake thus to me " with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not “walk in the way of this people, saying, 12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them . to whom this people shall say, A confederacy ; neither p fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. 13 Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him i be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he shall be for a r sanctuary ; but foi a stone of 'stumbling and for a rock of 1 of fence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin their country by Esar-haddon, who gleaned away all the re- mains that had been left by former conquerors. From this pe- riod, the ten tribes were confounded with the people of Judah in the captivity, and with them have been comprehended, ever since, in the general name of Jews. (See note.) The period here referred to being, however, at the distance of more than threescore years, the king is allowed to ask a miracle, as Gideon had done formerly. (Judges vi. 36 — 42.) and Hezekiah did afterwards, (2 Kings xx. 8 — II.) in assurance of immediate deliverance ; but Ahaz not having confidence in the prophet, nor in his God, declines this, under a pretence of modesty, though, in fact, as his character shows, from a principle of unbelief The prophet then addresses himself, not to Ahaz personally, but to the house and family of David, and delivers what may be justly called (as it is by Chandler and Hurd,) a typical prophecy of the Messiah : 11 A virgin shall conceive,” &c. Lowth. renders this in the present tense, conceiveth and btareth , which we can only admit upon the principle of the prophetic spirit realizing events yet to come, and calling things future as though they were really present. It is admitted, however, that the words might have a primary reference to some betrothed virgin that should now prove pregnant of a son : and before “this boy” should come to years ot distinguishing “ good and evil,” or right and wrong, the invaders should be destroyed, and peace and plenty, for a time, restored. But this prophecy is here introduced with so much solemni- ty; the circumstances of it are so peculiarly marked, and the name of the child so emphatic, that, however applicable the terms might be to the case immediately in view, tney must be allowed to refer chiefly to the great Deliverer, who was after- wards to be “born of a virgin,” and who, in the sequel of this very prophecy, (viii. 8.) is characterized as Lord, or prince of the land of Judah. We must always remember, that it is the manner of this prophet to connect temporal and spiritual deliverances together, and that frequently the view of the lat- ter rushing powerfully on his mind, absorbs, as it were, the for- mer. — (See Lowth’s Isaiah, Chandler’s Def. of Christianity, Hurd on the Prophecies, and Dr. J. P. Smith’s Messiah.) “With regard to the more immediate accomplishment ol this prophecy, see 2 Kings xv. 30. and xvi. 9. where we have an account of the captivity of Israel and Syria by Tiglath- pileser, and of the death of Pekah and Rezin, all within three years after the date of this prediction. “Notwithstanding the prophet’s assurance of deliverance, Ahaz could not trust in God, but applied for aid to the king oi Assyria, (2 Kings xvi. 7,8.) upon which the prophet foretels the calamities about to ensue from this powerful ally, “ the hired razor,” whose forces, aided by Egyptian auxiliaries, God would hist, like so many swarms of insects, for the pur- pose of desolating all parts of his country, and plundering, oi cutting ofT, all ranks of people, from the highest to the lowest. “The remaining verses (21 — 25) contain a beautiful and pa- thetic description of a land utterly desolate and forsaken : ‘ The vineyards and cornfields, before well cultivated, are now overrun with weeds, briers, and thorns; the pasture so rank, and the cattle left upon it so few, that a young cow, and a cou- ple of sheep, having full range, shall yield abundance of milk to the scanty family of the owner: the thinly scattered peo- ple live, not on corn, wine, and oil, the produce of cultivation, but on milk and honey, the gifts of nature; and the whole land is given up to the wild beasts; so that the miserable inhabitants are forced to go out with hows and arrows, either to defend themselves against those wild beasts, or procure sus- tenance by hunting.’ ” (See Bp. Lowth and Dr. J. Smith.) Chap. VIII. Ver. 1 — 22. The subjection both of Israel, and subsequently of Judah, to the Assyrian power. — The foregoing chapter, and the first four verses of this, refer only to the king- dom of Judah ; the 6th and 7th verses appear to include Israel, which, for rejecting the gentle stream of Shiloah, (nigh Jeru saleni,) should be overthrown by the great river of Assyria; alluding to the conquests of Tiglath-pileser and Shalmanezer over that kingdom. The 8th verse again refers to the kingdom Ver. 20 . A razor that U hired.— Namely, tfie kins of Assyria. Ver. 23. Silverlings.— Lowth," Pieces ot silver.” Ver. 25. There shall not come, &c —Lowth, “ Where the fear of thorns und briers never came, shall be for the ranee of the ox,” &c. Chap. VIII. Ver. 1. A great roll.— The papyrus (or Egyptian reed) of which, probably, the first paper was made, was always rolled ; it would not bear fold- ing. Lowth, however, renders this word a mirror ; i. e. a polished metal ta- blet : so instead of pen he reads, ” a workman’s tool.” Maher-shatat-hash- baz. — i. e. ” Making speed to the spoil, he hasteneth the prey.” Lowth, ” To hasten the spoil, to lake quickly the prey.” — The first three verses of this chap- ter are prosaic. Ver. 6. H'atcrs of Shiloah . — “ A small fountain and brook, just without Je- 744 rusalem, which supplied a poo] within the city. [The brook and the river, ns Bishop Lowth remarks, are put for the kingdoms to which they belong. So Juvenal, inveighing against the corruplion of Rome Ihe importation of Asiatic manners, says, with great elegance, “ the Orontcs lias been long dis charging itseifinto the Tiber.” And Virgil, to express the submission of some of the Eastern countries to the Roman arms, says, “ The waters of the Eu- phrates now flowed more humbly and gently.” But the happy contrast between the brook and the river gives a peculiar beauty to this passage of Ihe prophet with which the simple figure in the Roman poets, however ueauliful, yet un contrasted, cannot contend.]— Bagster. Ver. 12. Say ye nor, A confederacy.— Lowth, “ Say ye not, It is holy,” &e. but, with Dr. Boothroyd , we prefer tne common rendering. Great affliction to idolaters. ISAIAH.— CHAP. IX. Christ's birth and kingdom and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jeru- salem. 15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. 16 Bind up the testimony, seal “ the law among T my disciples. 17 And w I will wait upon the Lord, that hi- deth 1 his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18 i Behold, T and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. 19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter : should not a people seek unto their God ? for the li- ving to the dead ? 20 To 2 the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no a light in them. 21 And they shall pass through it, hardly be- stead and hungry : and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret b themselves, and c curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of an- guish ; and they shall be driven to dark- ness. CHAPTER IX. 1 What joy shall be in the midst of afflictions, by the kingdom and birth of Christ. 8 Tlie judgments upou Israel for their pride, 13 for their hypocrisy, 18 and for their impeuitency. ]VrEVERTHELESS the dimness shall not fie ^ ' such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee a of the na- tions. u Re. 5. 1,5. x Hab.2.3. y He. 2. 13. z Lu. 16.29. Jn.5.39. a morning. b PrJ.9.3. c Re. 16. 11. b Mat 4. 15, c or , to him. d or, when thou brakest. g or, and it h meal. i Lu.2.11. j Mat. 28. 18. k He. 1.8. 1 Ep.2.14. m Da. 2. 44. ICo. 15.25. n mingle. 2 The b people that walked in darkness have seen a great light : they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not c increased the joy : they joy before thee ac- cording to the joy in harvest, and as men re- joice when they divide the spoil. 4 d For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day c of Mi- dian. 5 f For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; s but this shall be with burning and h fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto ? us a son is given : and the government i shall be upon his shoulder : and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty k God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of i Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no m end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to or der it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. 8 ]\ The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. 9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, 10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into ce- dars. 11 Therefore the Lord shall set up the ad- versaries of Rezin against him, and "join his enemies together ; of Judah, which would be in such imminent danger from the same quarter (under Sennacherib) as a man that is drowning when he can but just keep his head above the waters. The two next verses (9,10) are addressed by the prophet to the Israelites and Syrians, confederated against Judah, and perhaps to all the enemies of God’s people; assuring them that all their efforts would be fruitless, for that the promised Immanuel (or “God with us”) would be the defence of his people. He then proceeds to warn his countrymen against false alarms on the one hand, and against idolatry, divina- tion, and the like sinful practices, on the other; exhorting them to trust in God, and seek direction from his word ; pro- fessing, in a beautiful apostrophe to God, (ver. 17.) that this was his own determined resolution. And to enforce this coun- sel, and strengthen their faith, he punts to his children, whose symbolic names were signs or pledges of the divine promises : the one (chap. vii. 13.) implying that a remnant should return from the captivity ; the cither (chap viii. 1, 3.) tha ttheir enemies were devoted to destruction : intimating withal, that the faithful, who should attend to his counsels, should find security ; while the generality of the nation would be involved in the utmost 'hstress, in consequence of their rejecting it. This part of the prophecy respects principally the time of the Messiah’s mani- festation, when the generality of the Jews, rejecting God’s foundation, stumbled at that stone which he had laid in Ver. 19. That peep. — Lrnoth, “Speak inwardly.” — -For the living, &c. — We also prefer in the last clause, the translation of Dr. Boothroyd, (following the LXX.) “ Should they seek concerning the living to the dead?” Ver. 20. Because there is no tight in them. — Hebrew, “ No dawn,” which is the obscurity of the morning: Loiuth and others therefore translate, “In which (meaning God’s word) there is no obscurity.” If they reject this, it rollows, Ver. 21. They shall pass through it— that is, the land, &c. Chap. IX Ver. I. Such as was in her vexation. — Here the Chaldee and Vulgate. Drs. Loioth and Mede, divide the chapters : but [Bishop Loioth con- nects this with the preceding chapter, and renders, “ But there shall not here- after be darkness in the land which was distressed : in the former time he de- based the land of Zebulun and the iantl of Naphtali ; but in the latter time he nath made it glorious ; even the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations.”! — Bagster. In her vexation. — The same word as (in ch. viii. 22.) is rendered “ anguish.” When at the first, &c.— Different scenes of afflic- tion are evidently here referred to in the invasions of the country, each increas- ing in calamity. Ver. 3. lad not increased the joy— Our marginal notes here intimate a dif- fer -it reading ; and Bishop I.oiolh remarks, that instead of la, “ not,” eleven M9S. (two of which are ancient) read lo, “ to him he therefore reads in the affirmative, “Thou hast increased their joy." 94 Zion, and all their hopes were “ broken” on the stone on which they ought to have been built. (See Ps. cxviii. 22. Rom. ix. 33. 1 Pet. ii. 8.) And this led to the awful destruction of their city and their temple, when they themselves were “ driven into darkness and despair.” Chap. IX. Ver. 1 — 21. A prophecy of the blessings of Mes- siah’ s kingdom,, and judgments denounced against the impeni- tent. — The first verse of this chapter connects intimately with the close of the preceding, from which it is improperly divided. There, the unbelieving Jews, who rejected God’s counsels, and even his Messiah, are represented as plunging deeper and deep- er into the gloom of national troubles. Here is a dawn of better days, even in the parts most grievously afflicted by the invasion of Tiglath-pileser ; namely, “lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, and that part of Galilee beyond Jordan.” (2 Kings xv. 29.) Here, it is predicted, should arise the first dawn of salvation by the Messiah. Here, accordingly, our Lord began his ministry, as St. Matthew informs us, with re- ference to this very chapter. (See Matt. iv. 12—16.) Here “the Sun of Righteousness” arose, and spread his inthinces like the morning light, first over the land of Judah, and then through the Gerttile world. His conquests are represented as no less extraordinary than those of Gideon over the Midianites. (Judges viii.) But their success, in the gradual establishment of peace, and truth, and righteousness, throughout the earth Ver. 4. The staff of his shoulder— Loiuth, “ The staff laid on his shoulder.” Ver. 5. For every battle of theioarrior , &c.— The word rendered “ battle ,” occurs only in this place, and is of very doubtful meaning. Loioth renders it “ greaves.” (i. e. leg-armour.) and reads the verse thu3 : For the greaves of the armed warrior in the conflict, and the garment rolled in much blood, shall be for a burning, even fuel for the fire.” This learned critic mentions, that “ a medal, struck by Vespasian, on finishing his wars, represents the goddess Peace, holding an olive-branch in one hand, and, with a lighted torch in the other, setting fire to a heap of armour.” Compare Psalm xlvi. 9. Ezek. xxxlx. 8 — 10 . Ver. 6. The government — that is, the key, and other ensigns of government. See ch. xxii. 22. The everlasting Father.— Some (as Datlie) read, “TJio father of eternity meaning, “ the eternal ” But Loioth , and many others, following the LXX. read, “ The father of the future age meaning, the Chris- tian dispensation. Ver. 9. And all the people shall know. — “ Know what ?” says Bp. Loioth, suspecting an error in the Hebrew text ; but we conceive that nothing is want- ing but to supply the pronoun it, as is often done ; namely, that the word is from God. So Gataker. Ver. 10. The bricks, &c. — The bricks of the ancients were, in general, of clay, dried in the sun ; consequently, much inferior to stone. Ver. 11. Adversaries of Rezin— namely, the Assyrians. See 2 Kings xvi. 9. 745 Judgments upon Israel for pride. ISAIAH. — CHAP. X. Fall of Assyria foreshown 12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with •> open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13 Tf For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of hosts. 14 Therefore the Lord will cut off from Is- rael head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head ; and the prophet that tcacheth lies, he is the tail. 16 For Pthe leaders of this people cause them to err ; and they that are “ led of them are destroyed. 17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh 8 folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 18 T[ For wickedness burneth ‘ as the fire : it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. 19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land “ darkened, and the people shall be as the v fuel of the fire : no man shall spare his ' v brother. 20 And he shall x snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and ? he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied : they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm : 21 Manasseh, Ephraim ; and Ephraim, Ma- nasseh : and they together shall he against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. CHAPTER X. 1 The wo of tyrants. 5 Assyria, the rod of hypocrites, for his pride shall be broken. 20 A remnant of Israel shall be saved. 24 Israel is comforted with promise of deli- verance from Assyria W O a unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and b that write grievousness ' which they have prescribed ; 2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless ! 3 And c what will ye do in the day of visita- A. M. 3264. B. C. 740. o whole. p or, they that call them bleated. q or, called bleated. r swallow- ed up. 8 or^villany. t MqI. 4.1. u Ac. 2. 20. w Mi.7.2,6. x cut. y Le.2G.26. Je.19.9. A. M. 3291. B. C. 713. a Ps.94.20. b or, to the writers that. c Job 31. 14. Ho. 9. 7. Re. 6. 17. d or, wo to the Assy- rian. e Assher. f Je.51.20, 21 . g or, though. h Je.47.6,7. i lay them a tread- ing. j c.37.26. k Mi. 4. 12. 1 2 Ki. 13.33. 19.12,13. m Am.6.2. n 20 1.35. 20. o 2 Ki. 16.9. p visit upon. q Je.50.18. r greatness of the heart. s Ps. 18.27. t or, many people. u or, a rod should shake them. v or, that which is not wood. tion, and in the desolation which shall come from afar? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory ? 4 Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 5 If d O ' Assyrian, the rod f of mine anger, e and the staff in their hand is mine indigna- tion. 6 I will send him against an hypocritical na- tion, and against the people ol my wrath will I give him a b charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to 'tread them down ) like the mire of the streets. 7 Howbeit he k meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to de- stroy and cut off nations not a few. 8 For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings ? 9 Is not i Calno m as ” Carchemish ? is not Hamath as Arpad ? is not Samaria as 0 Da- mascus ? 10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria ; 11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols ? 12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will p punish ithe fruit of the r stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high 8 looks. 13 For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom ; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like ‘ a valiant man : 14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people : and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth ; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. 15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith ? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if “the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up T itself, as if it were no wood. was to be effected, not by “ the battle of the warriors,” but by the incarnation of the prince of peace. His first appearance in our w rid is, however, in the form of infancy; but as his character is developed, his dominion spreads, till it becomes supreme, universal, and eternal. From ver. S. of this chapter to the end ofver. 4. of the next, though broken by an improper division of the chapter, is one distinct prophecy ; a beautiful piece of poetry, remarkable for its elegance and regularity. It relates chiefly, if not altogether, to the kingdom of Israel, and is divided into four parts, or stanzas, each threatening the particular punishment of some henious sin; as of pride, in defying the divine judgments; also habits of vice, profligacy, and impiety, which, spreading like a conflagration, threatened to devour the whole country. To each part is added a distich, menacing farther judgments, and forming, as it were, the burden of the song. “ But for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” Chap. X. Ver. 1 — 34. Judgment is denounced against all op- pressors, and particular/!/ a S a ins t Assyria, from whom Israel is promised deliverance. — The first four verses of this chap- ter (as already intimated) are connected closely with the p e- ceding. But the 5th verse begins a new and distinct prophe- cy, which is continued to the end of chap. xii. The subject ol it is, the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and the destruction of his army. “ That mighty monarch is represented as a rod in the hand of God to correct his people for their sins : and his ambitious purposes, contrary to his own intentions, are made subservient to the great designs of Provi- dence. Having accomplished the work allotted him, the Al- Ver. 12. The Syrians before. — “ On the East.” With open mouth. — The meaning is, that the Syrians, who had before joined with Israel, having fallen under the power of Assyria, now combined with that power to destroy them 4 with open mouth,” like ravenous beasts. Ver. 16. The lenders . . . . and they that are ted.— See margin : the former meaning vjtner the priests, whose office it was ; or the false prophets, who flatter*, a them with success : the latter (they that are blessed) means certainly the people. Ver. 18. The briers and thorns . &c— That is. it shall devour everv thing. See Ezck. xx. 47. Ver. 20. The Jlesh of his oton arm — [The Alexandrine copy of the LXX. has “ the arm of his brother;’' and Seeker suspected that, instead of zeroo , “ his arm,” we should read rco, “ his friend” or neighbour. This probable con- jecture seems confirmed by the Chaldee, which has keerevaih , “his neigh hour;" and is adopted by Bishop Lototh. 1 — Bagster. ('hap X. Ver. 3. Leave your glory 7 — Lototh, “ Deposit your wealth?” Ver. 5. O Assyrian /—(Bishop Loiolh renders, Ho to the Assyrian.” This is a distinct prophecy concerning the invasion of Sennacherib, delivered, as appears from ver. 9 — 11, after the taking of Samaria by Shalmaneser.]— Bag’ stcr. Ver. 9. Calno. — [Calno, is probably the same as Cain eh, a city built byNim- roa, which the Jerusalem Targum, Jonathan, Eusebius , Jerome, Ephraim the Syrian, and Abulfaragius , say is Ctesiphon. a noble city on the eastern shore of the Tigris, about three miles below Seleuoia, (now Bagdad,) and some time the wint' r residence of the Parthian kings. The district around it, according to Pliny, had hence tlu* name of Chalonitis ; and Ammianus says, that Pacorus, a Parthian king changed its name into Ctesiphon. It is now called Modain; and the remains which still exist, indicate it to have been of some extent.}— Bagster. Ver. 11. J have done— From this and preceding verses, Lototh infers, that this prophecy was delivered after the taking of Samaria by Shalmane- ser, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, and before the invasion of Sennacherib, in the fourteenth. Ver. 14. Opened the mouth, or peeped.— Lototh, “ Opened the beak, or chirped ;” i. e. he gathered the riches of the nations, almost without oppe sition Israel promised deliverance. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XI. Christ's peaceable kingdom 1G Therefore "'shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones 31 leanness ; and imder his glory he shall kindle a burning like (he burning of a fire. j7 And the light of Israel shall be for a J fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one 1 day ; 18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, .and of his fruitful field, 1 both soul and body : and they shall be as when a standard-bearer tainteth. l r i And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be b few, that a child may write them. 20 T[ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are es- caped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote c them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Is- rael, in truth. 21 The remnant 'shall return, even the rem- nant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. 22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet f a remnant s of them shall return : the consumption h decreed shall overflow ' with righteousness. 23 For the Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land. 21 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not i afraid of the Assyrian : he shall smite thee with a rod, k and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. 25 For yet a very little while, and the indig- nation 'shall cease, and mine anger in their m destruction. 26 And the Lord of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian " at the rock of Oreb : and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. 27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall 0 be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the p anointing. A. M. 3291. B. C. 713. w Ac. 12.23. x Ps. 106. 15. y He. 12.29. z e. 37.36. a from the soul and even to the flesh. b number. c 2Ch.23.20 d Ho. 14.3. e c.0. 13. 65.8,9. f Ro.9.27,28 g in, or, among. h c.28.22. Da.9.27. j or, in. j c.37.6. k or, but he shall. 1 Da. 11. 36. m2KL19.35 n Ju.7.25. 0 remove. p Da. 9.24. q Je.31.15. r cry shrill tenth. s orj mightily. a c. 53.2. b Ac.13.23. Re. 22. 16. c Zee. 6. 12. d Mat.3.16. Jn.3.34. e 1 Co. 1.30. f scent, or, smell g Ps.72.2,4. Re. 19. 11. h argue. 1 Re. 2. 16. 19.15. j Ep.6.14. k c.65.25. 28 T[ He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Mig ron ; at Michmash he hath laid up his car riages : 29 They are gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba ; Ra- mah i is afraid ; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 30 r Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim : cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Ana- thoth. 31 Madmenah is removed ; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. 32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day : he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. 34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall ’by a mighty one. CHAPTER XI. 1 The peaceable kingdom of the Branch out of the root of Jesse. 10 The victorious restoration of Israel, and vocation erf the Gentiles. A ND ’there shall come forth a rod out of the stem b of Jesse, and a c Branch shall grow out of his roots : 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon d him, the spirit of wisdom e and understand- ing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ; 3 And shall make him of quick f understand- ing in the fear of the Lord : and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither re- prove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But s with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and h reprove with equity for the meek of the earth : and he shall smite the earth with the rod i of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the j girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The k wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf and the young lion and the fat- lingtogether ; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. mighty takes account of his impious vauntings, and threatens utter destruction to the small and great of his army, represent- ed by the thorns, and the glory of the forest. With this pre- diction the prophet consoles his countrymen. The close of the chapter gives a brief description of the march of Sennacherib towards Jerusalem, and of the alarm and terror which he spread everywhere as he hastened forward. The spirit, and tne rapidity of the description, is admirably suited to the sub- ject. You see the affrighted people fleeing, and the eager in- vader pursuing. You hear the cries of one city echo to those of another, and groan swiftly succeeds to groan, till at length the rod is lifted over the last citadel. In this critical situation, however, the promise of a divine interposition is seasonably renewed; the scene instantly changes, the uplifted arm of this mighty tyrant is at once arrested, and laid low by the hand of heaven ; and the mind is equally pleased with the equity of the judgment, and the beauty and majesty of the de- scription.” — Dr. J. Smith. Chap. XI. Ver. 1 — 16. The peaceable kingdom of Messiah, the return of the Jews , and the calling of the Gentiles.— In the close of the preceding chapter, Bp. Lowth remarks, “the pro- phet had described the destruction of the Assyrian army, un- der the image of a mighty forest .... now laid low by the axe, wielded by the hand of some powerful and illustrious agent. In opposition to this, he represents the Great Person who makes the subject of this chapter, as a slender twig, shooting up from the trunk of an old tree, cut down and decayed ; which tender plant, so weak in appearance, should nevertheless be come fruitful, and prosper. This contrast shows plain. y the connexion between this and the preceding chapter, .... and affords a striking instance of that method so common with the prophets, especially with Isaiah, of taking occasion from themention of somegreat temporal deliverance, to launch out into the display of the spiritual deliverance of God’s people by the Messiah.” The beautiful assemblage of images by which the peace and happiness of his kingdom are set forth in this Ver. 25. For.—Lmcth, “ But.” Oesenius remarks, Ki is so rendered, Gen. xlv. 8. Ex. xvi. 8. 1 Kings xxi. 15. Ver. 27. Because of the anointing— Hub. “ Before the oiled.” The word is used Judges iii. 19. for lusty, powerful men. Some, however, apply it to Hezekiah, as a type of Messiah. Ver. 28. Aiath. — I This is a prophetical description of the march of Senna- cherib's army approaching Jerusalem in order to invest it, and of the terror and confusion spreading and increasing through the several places as he ad- vanced ; expressed with great brevity, but finely diversified. Aiath , or Ai , was situated a little east of Bethel, about twelve miles north of Jerusalem ; Michmash . about three miles nearer, where there was a narrow pass between two sharp hi. Is ; Geba^ and Hamah , about three miles more to the south ; Gi- beah. a mile and a half more southward ; Anathoth, within three miles of Je- rusalem ; to the westward of which, towards Lydda, was Nob, from which place Sennacherib might have a prospect of Zion, and near which, it would appear, his army was destroyed.]— Bagster. Ver. 29. Gone over the 'passage.— Lowth, “ They have passed the strait. viz. Michmash. a very narrow passage between two sharp hills. See 1 Sam. xr/. 4 5. Ver. 32. Remain at Nob. — Probably within two or three miles of Jerusa- lem, and Loioth thinks Sennacherib’s army was destroyed very near this place. Chap. XI. Ver. 1. A branch shall grow— Hebrew, “ Shall become fruitful.” [The prophet having described the destruction of the Assyrian army under that of a mighty forest, here takes occasion to represent the great Person, who makes the subject of this chapter, as a slender t wig, shooting out of I he trunk of an old tree ; which tender twig, though weak in appearance, should becomo fruitful and prosper.]— Bagster The Targum of Jonathan expressly refers this to the Messiah, and St. John applies it to our Lord. Rev. v. 5.; xxii. 16 . Ver. 4. Rod — or sceptre ; Chaldee, “ word.” But Houbigant and Lowth read (by the exchange of a letter) “ blast.” Compare 2Thcs. ii. 8. Ver. 6. Wolf also.— [ The Oriental poets elegantly apply the same ideas to show the effects of justice impartially administered. “ Through the influence of righteousness, the hungry wolf becomes mild, though in the presence oftho white kid.”] — Bagster. Ver. 7. Shall feed— That is, feed together, as in the next clause So LXX. and Syriac. Eat straw.— That is, chopped straw, which was used to fod der cattle. See Gen. xxiv. 25. 747 Victorious restoration of Israel. 1SALAII.- •( 11 A i*. Ail., Alii. A thanksgiving of the faithful- 1 or , adders. n Job 5.23. , (5. 9 Re. 21. 27. i Pd. 72. 19. Hab.2.14. » ver.l. p Ro.15.9.. 12. q Mat. 11. 28 He. 4.1, Stc. r glory. b Zee. 10. 10, 11 . t c.18.3. j Ps. 147.2. c. 27.13. 56.8. i Jn.7.35. Ja. 1.1. * wings. x Je.3.18. E7.e.37.17, 22 . Ho.1.11. y Iht child- z Edom and Mo ab Bhall be the laying on of their hand. Da. 11.41. a c. 60.14. b their obe- dience. c in shoes. d Ex. 14.29. i Ps.3U, &c. b Ps. 30.5. c. 54. 7,8. Ho.6.1. c Ps.118.14. d Ca.2.3. eJn.4. 10,14. f Ps. 145.4.. 6 . g or, pro- claim. h Ex. 15.1, 21. Ps.93.1. i Zep.3.14. J inhabil- ress. k Ps.89.18. A. M. 3292. D. C. 712. a c.21,47. Je.c.50,51. b Joel 2.11. c the like- CHAPTER XII. A joyful thanksgiving of the faithful for the mercies of God. A ND in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, 1 ‘ will praise thee : though b thou wast an- gry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation ; I will trust, and not be afraid : for c the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is be- come my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy ■' shall ye draw water • out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say, f Praise the Lord, e call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing h unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things : this is known in all the earth. 6 Cry i out and shout, thou ) inhabitant ot Zion : for k great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee. CHAPTER XIII. I God mustereth the armies of his wruth. 6 He threatened! to destroy Babylon by the Medes. 19 The desolation of Babylon. T HE burden of a Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. 2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high moun- tain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. 3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my b mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. 4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, c like as of a great people ; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together : the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. 5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. » S And the sucking child shall play on the tioie of the asp, and the weaned child shall put iiis hand on the ' cockatrice’s den. 9 They shall not hurt m nor destroy in all my holy mountain : for n the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. 10 1[ And in that day there shall be a 0 root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the p Gentiles seek ; and his rest i shall be r glorious. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from • Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Ha- math, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign 1 for the na- tions, and shall assemble the outcasts "of Is- rael, and gather together the dispersed v of Judah from the four w corners ofthe earth. 13 The x envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off : Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west ; they shall spoil y them of the east together : 2 they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab ; and 1 the children of Ammon b shall obey them. 15 And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea ; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over c dry shod. 16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria ; like as it was d to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. chapter, cannot be sufficiently admired. The wolf and the leopard, no longer fierce, lie down with the lamb and the kid ; the calf and the young lion, are led in the same peaceful band, and that by a little child ; also the heifer and the she-bear feed together, and lodge their young, of whom they used to be so jealous, in the same place: all tne serpent kind are so harm- less, that the sucking child may put his hand on the basilisk’s den, and play on the hole of the aspic. “ The Greek and Latin poets have painted their golden age in very beautiful colours, but the exquisite imagery of Isaiah stands unequalled and inimitable. “It is hardly necessary to observe, that these figurative ex- pressions of the prophet denote the power of the gospel in changing the hearts, tempers, and lives of the worst of men. Of this happy power there has been, in every age, a cloud of witnesses, although its most glorious era, predicted here, may not yet be arrived. “The latter part of the chapter, in which there are many beautiful allusions to the Exodus from Egypt, seems to refer principally to the future restoration of the .lews from their se- veral dispersions, and to that happy period when they and the Gentiles shall stand together under the banner of Jesus, and unite their zeal in extending the limits of his kingdom.” — Dr. J. Smith. With this prediction the following hymn is evidently con- nected, by the opening words, “ in that day thou shalt say,” &c. Certainly whenever that day shall come which is here alluded to; when Israel shall be restored to their own land, under the standard of that Messiah, whom they have so long rejected; it will be a matter of universal joy to all the church of God. Chap. XII. Ver. 1 — 6. A song of triumph in God's salva- tion . — “This hymn (says Bishop Lowth) seems, by its whole tenor much better calculated for the use of the Christian church, than for the Jewish, in any circumstances, or at any time that can be assigned. The Jews themselves seem to have applied it to the times of the Messiah. On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, they fetched water in a golden pitcher from the fountain of Shiloah, springing at the foot of mount Sion, without the city: they brought it through the water- gate into the temple, and poured it, mixed with wine, on the sacrifice, as it lay on the altar, with great rejoicing.” Some add, that during this ceremony, they sung at least a part of this hymn, (ver. 3.) looking forward to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which they expected m the times of the Messiah, and of which this ceremony was a very significant emblem. Thus the Jerusalem Talmud expounds it, and in this sense our Saviour applies the passage to himself, and to the blessings of gospel times. (See John vii. 37, 39.) Chap. XIII. Ver. 1 — 22. Judgments denounced against Babylon . — This and the following chapter (deducting the last five verses) contain the fate of Babylon, and its destruction by the Medes and Persians. The oracle was delivered, according to Vitringa and Lowth, nearly 200 years before its accomplish ment. The captivity itself, which the prophet here takes for granted as a thing certain, without mentioning it, did not fully take place till about 130 years after this prediction was deliver- ed ; and the Medes, who are expressly mentioned (ver. 7.) as theprincipal agents in overturning this great monarchy, and re- leasing the Jews from their captivity, were at that time a people of no account, formingonly a province of the Assyrian empire. Ver. S. The weaned.— Lowth, “The new-weaned child.” Cockatrice.— Lowth, “ Basilisk.” Cover the sea— Lowth, “ The depths of the sea.” Ver. it. Pathros— \ Pathros is probably the same as the Phaturi.tes of Pli- ny. a nome or district in the Thebais in Upper or Southern Egypt. This is a prophecy which certainly remains to be fulfilled.] — Btlgster. Cush, Ethiopia, nr Arabia ; Elam is Persia ; Shinar, Babylon ; Ilamath, on the confines of Judea; Islandsof the sea. Europe. Ver. ll. They shall fly upon the shoulders.— Lowth. “ Invade the borders of the Philistines." ‘ I take the expression to be idiomatic.” Boothroyd. - — Spoil them— i. e. "the children ofthe East." They shall lay, tea.— [Edom and Moab shall be the laying on of their hand ; the children of Am- mon their obedience.]— Bagster. Ver. 15. Utterly destroy. — Loicth. “Smite with a drought ;” i. e. dry it, so ns to render it fordable. Compare Rev. xvi. 12. Shall smite it in, a c.— f.owth, “Shall smite it into seven streams.” This has been sometimes done ny cutting various streams from a river, to divide the current. See Orient. Cus. No. 1066. The tongue of a sea, or river, is its uav. 748 Chap. XII. Ver. 1. Comfortedst. — Lowth, “ Host comforted.” Ver. 3. Welts of salvation. — The purifying, fertilizing, and consolatory influ- ences of the Hofy Spirit are commonly denoted, under the emblem of springing water. This water flows through the mediatory work of Christ, and is con- veyed to the souls of men by the ordinances of God’s worship. When the gos- pel is preached in any place, “ wells of salvation" are opened, which commu- nicate with the Fountain of life in Christ: and in the predicted times, this Fountain of life, and these ” wells of salvation,” though long hidden from Is- rael, will he discovered to them, and they will praise God with joyful hearts. The Jews themselves seem to have applied it to the times of the Messiah.— T. Scott. Ver. 4. Praise, &c — See 1 Chron. xvi. 8. His doings— Lowth, “ His mighty deeds.” Ver. 6. Inhabitant.— Heb. “ Inhabitress.” Chap. XIII. Ver. 3 My sanctified ones.— Not holy, hut separated ; “ Mine enrolled warriors,” says Lowth. Ver 5. Weapons of his indignation . — Lowth. ” Instruments of his wrath '■ Babylon is threatened. ISAIAH. 6 TI Howl ye ; for the day d of the Lord is at hand ; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands e be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sor- rows shall take hold of them ; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth : they shall f be amazed e one at another ; their faces shall be. as h flames. 9 Behold, the day ■ of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate : and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constella- tions thereof shall not give their light : the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity ; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore j I will shake the heavens, and the earth 11 shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up : they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land. 15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through.; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. A. M. 3292. B. C. 7L2. — CHAP. XIV. The desolation of Babylon. 16 Their children also shall be i dashed to pieces before their eyes ; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I will stir up the m Medes against them, which shall not regard silver ; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. 18 Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces ; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb ; their eye shall not spare children. 19 If And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be n as when God ° overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It p shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither sha 1 the Arabian pitch tent there ; nei- ther shall the shepherds make their fold there. 21 But 9 wild beasts of the desert shall lie there ; and their houses shall be full of r dole ful creatures; and 8 owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. 22 And the < wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their “desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near v to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. CHAPTER XIV. 1 God’s merciful restoration of Israel. 4 Their triumphant insultation over Babel. 24 God’s purpose against Assyria. 29 Palestina is threatened. F OR “the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose b Israel, and set them in their own land : and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. 2 And the people shall take them, and bring c them to their place : and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for g every man at his neigh- bour . . h faces of the fames. i Mal.4.1. j Hag. 2. 6. IPs. 137. 8, 9. m Da. 5. 28. 31. n the over- throioing of p Je.50.3.39. 51.29,62. Re. 18.2. &c. r Ochim. s or, ostriches , Heb. daughters of Vie owl. t Jim. u or, palaces. v De.32.35, c c.18.7. 60.4, &c. 66 . 20 . The prophecy divides itself into two parts ; the first is re- markable for sublimity of thought and elegance of style, and the latter (chap, xiv.) is a triumphant ode, of unequalled excel- lence. The subject opens with the command of God to as- semble the forces destined for this service. “Upon this, the prophet (says Lowth ) immediately hears the tumultuous noise of the different nations crowding together to his standard; he sees them advancing, prepared to execute the divine wrath. ‘They come from a far country .... to destroy the whole land. He proceeds to describe the dreadful consequences of this visitation; the consternation which should seize those who are the subjects of it; and transferring unawares the speech from himself to God, (ver. 11.) sets forth, under a va- riety of the most striking images, the dreadful destruction of the inhabitants of Babylon/and the everlasting desolation to which that great city was doomed.” Babylon , whose destruction and utter ruin are here predict- ed, was situated in the midst of a large plain, having a very deep and fruitful soil, on the Euphrates, about 252 miles south- east of Palmyra, and the same distance north-west of Susa and the Persian gulf, in lat. 32° 30 N. and long. 44“ 20' E. Ac- cording to Herodotus , it formed a perfect square, each side of which was 120 stadia, and consequently its circumference 480 stadia, or 60 miles ; inclosed by a wall 200 cubits high, and 50 wide, on the top of which were small watch-towers, of one story high, leaving a space between them, through which achariotana four might pass and turn. On each side were 25 gates of solid brass ; from each of which proceeded a street, 150 feet broad, making in all 50 streets ; which, crossing each other at right an- gles, intersected the city into 676 squares, extending four stadia and a half on each side, along which stood the houses, all built three or four stories high, and highly decorated towards the street; the interior of these squares being employed as gardens, pleasure grounds, &c. Its principal ornaments were the temple ofBelus, having a tower of eight stories, upon a base of a quarter of a mile square; a most magnificent palace; and the famous hanginggardens, or artificial mountains raised upon arches, and planted with large and beautiful trees. Cyrus took it by divert- ing the waters of the Euphrates, which ran through the midst, and entering by the channel : and the river being never restored to its proper course, overflowed the whole country, and made it a morass. Darius Hystaspes afterwards depopulated the place, lowered the walls, and demolished the gates ; Xerxes destroyed the temples ; the building of Seleucia nearly ex- hausted it of its inhabitants ; a king of the Parthians carried a number of them into slavery, and destroyed the most beautiful parts : so that modern travellers describe it as a mass of shape- less ruins, the habitation of wild beasts. Chap. XIV. Ver. 1 — 32. God' s mercy to Israel. A song of triumphant exultation over fallen Babylon. — The deliverance of Judah from captivity, the immediate consequence of this great revolution, is here gratefully mentioned, without being enlarged upon, and this introduces, with the utmost propriety, the triumphant song which follows ; “ the beauties of which, the various images, scenes, persons introduced, and the ele- gant transitions from one to another, (says Lowth ) I shall here endeavour to point out. “A chorus of Jews is introduced, expressing their surprise and astonishment at the sudden downfall of Babylon, and the g reat reverse of fortune that had befallen the tyrant, who, like is predecessors, had oppressed his own, and harassed the neighbouring kingdoms. These oppressed kingdoms, or their rulers, are represented under the image of the fir trees, and the cedars of Libanus, frequently used to express any thing in the political or religious world, that is super-eminently great and majestic: the whole earth shouteth for joy: the cedars of Libanus utter a severe taunt against the fallen tyrant, and boast their security, now he is no more. “ The scene is immediately changed ; and a new set of per- sons is introduced ; the regions of the dead are laid open, and Hades is represented as rousing up the shades of the departed monarchs : they rise from their thrones to meet the king of Babylon at his coming: and insult him on his being reduced to the same low estate of impotence and dissolution with themselves. This is one of the boldest prosopopoeias, (or per- sonifications) that ever was attempted in poetry; and is exe- cuted with astonishing brevity and perspicuity, and with that peculiar force which, in a great subject, naturally results from both. The image of the state of the dead, or the infernum poeticum (the poetical hell) of the Hebrews, is taken front their custom of burying those at least of the higher ranks in large sepulchral vaults, hewn in the rock. Of this kind of sepulchres there are remains at Jerusalem now extant ; and some that are said to be the sepulchres of the kings of Judah. (See Maundrell, p. 76.) You are to form to yourself an idea of an immense subterraneous vault, a vast gloomy cavern, Ver. 14. It shall be— What’ Lowth , following the LXX. supplies, “ The remnant.” Ver. 17. Not regard silver. — It is remarkable, that Xenophon makes Cy- rus open a 3peech to hi3 army, particularly the Medes, with telling them, he knew that they had not accompanied him with any view of acquiring wealth. Vor. 18. Their bows also shall dash . — The Persians (and probably the Medes) used long bows, and if they were made of metal, (as Fsalm xviii. 35. they might well dash men to pieces. Ver. 21. Doleful creatures— Lowth, “Howling monsters.” — — Satyrs. - These are commonly supposed to have been goals ; but Doederlein supposes them to have been a species of ape, “ shaggy, like goat9.”— Harris’s Natural Hist, of the Bible, in Satyr. Ver. 22. Wild beasts.— Lowth. “ Wolves ” 749 God’s restoration of Israel. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XIV. Palestine /. is threatened servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose d captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. 3 H And it shall come to pass in the day that the Loud shall give thee rest e from thy sor- row, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, 4 That f thou shalt take up this e proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased ! the h golden city i ceased ! 5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. 6 He who smote i the people in wrath with a k continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Yea, the fir trees ' rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art .aid down, no feller is come up against us. 9 m Hell "from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the 0 chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou Become like unto us? 11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols : the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O p Lu- cifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations ! 13 For thou hast said in thy heart, I will as- cend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars d of God : I will sit also up- on the mount of the congregation, in the sides r of the north : 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be 8 like the Most High. 15 Yet 1 thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms ; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof ; that “ opened not the house of his prisoners ? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. A. M. 32 92. B. C. 712. d that had taken them cap- tives. e Eze.2S.24. f IIab.2.6. g or, taunt- ing spceclu h or, exact- ress of gold. j Re. 18. 16. J c.33.1. k a stroke without removing. I Ere. 31. 16. m or, the graves. n Eze.32.21. 0 leaders , or, great goats. p or, day- star. q Da. 8. 10. r Ps.48.2. s 2 Tli. 2. 4. 1 Mat. 11.23. u or, did not let his prisoners loose home- wards. v Job 18.16. Pa. 37.28. w Ex. 20.5. x c. 10.27. y 2Ch.20.6. Job 23.13. Pr.2l.30. Da. 4. 35. A. M. 3278. D. C. 726. z 2Ki. 16.20. a 2Ch.26.6. b or, adder. c 2KU8.8. d or, he shall not. e or, as- semblies. f Ps.87. 1..6. g Zep.3.12. h betake themselves unto iL 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment o. those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit ; as a carcass trodden under feet. 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in bu- rial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people : the v seed of evil-doers shall never be renowned. 21 Prepare slaughter for his w children for the iniquity of their fathers ; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. 22 For 1 will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off' from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. 23 I will also make it a possession for the bit- tern, and pools of water : and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts. 24 Tf The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass ; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand : 25 That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then x shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoul- ders. 26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth : and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. 27 For y the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it baqk ? 28 In the year Ghat king Ahaz died was this burden. 29 Tf Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, be cause a the rod of him that smote thee is bro- ken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a b cockatrice, and his c fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. 30 And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety : and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. 31 Howl, O gate ; cry, O city ; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and d none shall be alone in his e appointed times. 32 What shall one then answer the messen- gers of the nation ? That f the Lord hath found- ed Zion, and the e poor of his people shall h trust in it. all round the sides of which there are cells to receive the dead bodies; here the deceased nionarchs lie in a distinguished sort of state, suitable to their former rank, each on his own couch, with his arms beside him, his sword at his head, and the bo- dies of his chiefs and companions round about him. (See Ezek. xxxiii. 27.) These illustrious shades rise at once from their couches, as from their thrones, and advance to the en- trance of the cavern to meet the king of Babylon, and to re- ceive hint with insults on his fall. “ The Jews now resume the speech : they address the king of Babylon as the morning star, fallen from heaven; as the first in splendour and dignity in the political world, fallen from his high state, thev introduce him as uttering the most extra- vagant vaunts of his power, and ambitious designs, in his for- mer glory: these are strongly contrasted in the close, with nis present low and abject condition. “ Immediately follows a different scene, and a most happy image, to diversify the same subject, and to give it a new turn, and an additional force. Certain persons are introduced, who Chap. XIV. Ver. 3. In the day.— Lowth, “In that d ay.” Ver. 9. Hell— See margin. Lotofh , “ Hades i. e. the invisible world. Ver. 12. Son of the morning. — Or. “ Morning star.” Ver. 17. That opened not the house of his prisoners— See margin. Lowth, * That never dismissed his captives to their home.” Ver. 19 As the raiment . . . of the slain.— Lowth, “ With the slain.” Ver. 22. The nephew. — Lowth , “ Son’s son.” Ver. 23. I will sweep it with the besom of destruction. — Lowth reads, “ I will plunge it in the mirr gulf of destruction ” following the LXX. and others : 750 light upon the corpse of the king of Babylon, cast out and ly- ing naked on the bare ground among the common slain, just after the taking of the city ; covered with wounds, and so dis- figured that it is some time before thev know him.. They ac- cost him with the severest taunts, and bitterly reproach him with his destructive ambition, and his cruel usage of the con- quered, which have deservedly brought upon him this ignemi nious treatment, so different from that which those of lus rank usually meet with, and which shall cover his posterity with disgrace. “To complete the whole, God is introduced, declaring the fate of Babylon, the utter extirpation of the royal family, and | the total desolation of the city; the deliverance of his people, and the destruction of their enemies; confirming the irrever- sible decree by the awful sanction of his oath.” For the fulfilment of this prophecy, see Dan. v. 30. The five last verses of this chapter contain severe threaten- ings against the Philistines. During the distress of Ahaz, ; they invaded Judea, and possessed themselves of some of its but Aristophanes is quoted as using the same figure ; “ O Jove . . . lay down ! thy besom : sweep not Greece.” i Ver. 29. In the year, &c.— This evidently begins a new subject, and gives | the date of it. Ver. 31. Thou , whole Palestina. art dissolved. — Loioth, “O Philistia, thou '• art altogether sunk in consternation.” From the north conneth a smoke— i That is, says Bishop Lowth, a cloud of dust, raised by Hezekiah’s army from Jerusalem. And one shaJl be alone, &r — See margin. Loioth , * * * ' There shall ! not be n straggler among his levies.” The Icmentublestate of Moab. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XV., XVI. Muab exhorted to obedience CHAPTER XV. ■ The lamentable state of Moab. T HE a burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and b brought to silence ; because in the night Kir of Moab 's laid waste, and brought to silence; 2 He is gone to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep : Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads •shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. 3 In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth : on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall howl, c weeping abundantly. 4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh : their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: there- fore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. 5 My d heart shall cry out for Moab ; e his fu- gitives shall flee unto Zoar, a heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up ; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of f destruction. 6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be e deso- late : for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. 7 Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the h brook of the willows. 8 For the cry is gone round about the bor- ders of Moab ; the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer- elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood : for I will bring ‘ more upon Dimon, lions i upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land. CHAPTER XVI . 1 Moab is exhorted tovield obedience to Christ’s kingdom. 6 Moab is threatened for her pride. 9 The prophet bewaileth her. 12~The judgment of Moab. S END ye the lamb a to the ruler of the land from b Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. 2-For it shall be, that , as a wandering bird cast c out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of d Arnon. 3 'Take counsel, execute judgment ; make A. M. 3m B. C. 726. a Je.48.1, &c. Eze.25.8.. 11. Am.21.3. b or, cut off. c descend- ing into weeping, or, com- ing down ■with weeping. d c.16.11. e or, to the borders thereof, heifer. f breaking. g desola- tions. h or, valley of the Arabi- ans. i additions. j 2Ki. 17.25. a 2 Ki.3.4. h a rock, or, Petra. c or, a nest forsaken. d Nu.21.13. e bring. f wringer, g treaders down. h or, pre- pared. i Da.7.14, 27. Mi.4.7. Lu.1.32, 33. j Ps.72.2. k Zep.2.10. 1 2 Ki.3.25. m or, mutter. n or, pluck- ed up. o Je.48.32, &c. p or, the alarm is fallen upon. q c.2i.8. r c.63.15. s c.26.16. t Pr.1.28. thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noon-day ; hide the outcasts ; bewray not him that wandereth. 4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab ; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler : for the f extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the z oppressors are con- sumed out of the land. 5 And in mercy shall the throne be h estab- lished: and i he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, s judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness. 6 T[ We have heard of the pride k of Moab ; he is very proud : even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath : but his lies shall not be so. 7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, eve ry one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir- hareseth i shall ye "mourn; surely they are stricken. 8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and, the vine of Sibmah : the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal plants there- of, they are come even unto Jazer, they wan- dered through the wilderness: her branches are " stretched out, they are gone over the sea. 9 Therefore 0 1 will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah : I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for Pthe shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen. 10 And i gladness is taken a way, and joy out of the plentiful field ; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vin- tage shouting to cease. 11 Wherefore my bowels r shall sound like a harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh. 12 And it shall come to pass, when it is seen that Moab is weary s on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray ; but 1 he shall not prevail. 13 This is the word that the Lord hath spo- ken concerning Moab since that time. 14 But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, cities. On the death of Ahaz, Isaiah here threatens them with the destruction that Hezekiah his son, and the grandson of Uzziah, should bring upon them : Uzziah, therefore, was the rod, and Hezekiah the serpent. (See 2 Kings xviii. 8.) Chap. XV. Ver. I — 9. The oracle concerning Moab. — This and the following chapter are one prophecy, probably deliver- ed in the first, and accomplished in the fourth year of Heze- kiah, (xvi. 14.) when Shalmanezer invaded the kingdom of Israel. He might perhaps march through Moab, take posses- sion of its principal strong places, Ar, and Kirares, and occa- sion that general distress which the prophet paints in such strong and lively colours. The usual methods of expressing grief are here stated, and are not very different from those of ’he Greeks, as described by Homer : “O’er the congenial dust enjoined to shear The graceful curl, and drop the tender tear.” The cries and howlings here ascribed to Moab, though to us they may appear extravagant, are perfectly in character with Eastern manners. (Compare .Ter. xlviii. 31—39.) And when they made these lamentations, it appears they carried their la- mentations to the altars of their gods, and wept on the high places. But, alas! their gods could neither hear nor see, much less relieve their troubles. (See 1 Kings xviii. 26 — 29.) Chap. XVI. Yer. 1 — 14. The oracle concerning Moab con tinued.— The distress of Moab. by this invasion, is still more pathetically described, by a variety of circumstances connect ed with the desolation of the country. She is compared to a bird driven from her nest, and her daughters, (i. e. her inhabi- tants) are represented as obliged to-wade through the fords of Arnon, the boundary of their country, to seek protection in a foreign land. If we admit the reading of Bp. Lowth, and sup pose the heir to the crown to be a fugitive among the rest, Chap. XV. Ver. 2. He is gone up, tec.— Lowth, “ He goeth up to Beth-Di bon,” understanding these as one place. Ver. 3. Weeping abundantly .—See margin. That is, they pass down the streets. Ver. 4. His life, fee,.— Lowth, “ Her life is grievous unto her.” Ver. 5. His fug Hives shall flee— See margin. Boothroyd , “ Her fugitives, along even unto Zoar, cry out like the lowing of a young heifer.” By the rnr-unting. — Lowth, “ Yea, the ascent of Luhith, with weeping shall they as- cend.” Ver. 8. Eglaim. — \ Eglaim is called Agallim by Eusebius , who places it eight mile? south from Ar or Areopolis.] — Bagster. "Ver. 9. Dimon— [ Some have Dibon; and Jerome says that the same town was called both Dibon and Dimon.]— Bagster. Bring more. — That is, more evils. Escapeth. — (Bishop Lowth , "upon the authority of the LXX., renders, " upon the escaped of Moab, and Ariel, and the remnant of Admah.”] —Bagster. Chap. XVI. Ver. 1 . Sendye the lamb— By 2 Sam viii. 2, we learn that Da- vid conquered the Moabites, and laid on them a tribute, which they paid in small cattle. At Solomon ’s death, the kings of Israel obtained this tribute till the death of Ahab, when it was refused. 2 Kings iii. 4. The prophet, there- fore, here advises to restore this tribute, which he calls “the ruler’s lamb,” from all parts of the country. Gataker. Boothroyd. It may be proper, how- ever, to remark, that Lowth, for Kar, a lamb, reads Bar, a son, on tne autho- rity of the Syriac, and one MS. He therefore translates, “ I will send forth the son of the ruler,” &c., but we think unnecessarily. From Sela (or Petra) to (rather “ of”) the wilderness, &c. — This is thought to be a city on the con- fines of Moab and Edom. — Gataker. Ver. 2. For it shall be, &c. — Boothroyd, “ For as a wandering bird driven from the nest : so shall the daughters of Moab,” &c., therefore are they, in the next verse, exhorted to take pity on them. Ver. 3. Make thy shadow as the night.— That is, effectually hide them. Ver. 4. The extortUmer.—See margin ; i. e. who wrings the last pennvfrom the poor. The oppressors— See margin ; i. e. those who Irampie upon the distressed. Ver. 5. And he shall sit—i. c. Messiah. Ezek. xxi. 27. Ver. 7. Moab howl for Moab— Rather, to” Moab ; that is, every man to his neighbour, throughout the land. For the foundation of Kir-hareseth ;— the parallel passage, Jer. xlviii. 31, reads, for the men of Kir- hareseth.” So Lowth here. Shall ye mourn.— See margin. Lowth, “ Make a moan.” Ver. 8. Lords of the heathen. — (Rather, “ whose choice plants overpowered ( halemoo , knocked down ; see Jer. xxviii ) the lords of the nations ; they are come unto Jazer,” &c. The meaning of which is, says Bishop Loioth , that the wines of Sihmah and Heshbon were in .'ugh repute with the princes of the neighbouring nations, who indulged themselves even to excess in the use of them. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 9. For the shouting, fee— Loioth corrects this verse by the para.lci pas- sage, Jer. xlviii. 32. “ The spoiler (or destroyer) hath fallen upon thy summer fruits, and upon thy vintage.” Syria and Israel threatened. ISAIAH.— CHAP. XVII., XVIII. Etkiopiu is threatened. Within three years, as u the years of a hire- ling, and the glory of Moab shall be con- temned, with all that great multitude ; and the remnant shall be very small and v feeble. CHAPTER XVII. Svna ami Israel are threatened. G A remnant shall forsake idolatry. 9 The real shall be plagued for their impiety. 12 Ti»e wo of Israel's enemies. r PHE a burden of Damascus. Behold, Da- -L mascus b is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken : they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and c none shall make them afraid. 3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria : they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. 4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and d the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. 5 And e it shall be as when the harvest-man gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm ; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim. 6 H Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three ber- ries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel. 7 At that day shall a man look f to his Ma- ker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel. 8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the s images. 9 Tf In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Is- rael: and there shall be desolation. A. M. 3278. I!. C. 720. ii c.21.16. v or, not in any. A. M. cir. 3263. B. C. cir. 741. a Jc. 49.23, &c. Am. 1.3.. 5 Zec.9.1, fulfilled, b 2 Ki. 16.9. c Je.7.33. .1 ,• 10 16 e Je.51.33. f Mi.7.7. g or, sun images. h Je. 17.13. i Je.5.31. J or, re- . moved in the day of inherit- ance , , and there shall be deadly sorrow. k or, noise. 1 or, many. m Ps. 9.5. n or, thistle down. o Je.2.3. A. M. cir. 3290. B. C. cir. 714. a C.20.3..5. Eze.30.4.. 9. Zep.2.12. 3.10. A. M. 3290. B. C. 714. b or, out- spread and polished. c of line , and line , and treading under foot, or, that mete'h out and treadeth down. d or .desjnse e c.5.26. f or, regard my set dwelling. 10 Because h thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful ol the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt tl ou plant pleasant plants, anil shalt set it with strange slips : 11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish : but the harvest shall 1 be ) a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. 12 H Wo to the k multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of > mighty waters ! 13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but m God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like " a rolling thing before the whirlwind. 14 And behold at evening-tide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This?*- the por- tion of them 0 that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. CHAPTER XVIII. 1 God in care of his people will destroy the Ethiopians. 7 An access thereby shall grow unto the church. W O to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the a rivers of Ethiopia : 2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, say- ing, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation fc scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto ; a nation 'me- ted out and trodden down, whose land the ri- vers d have spoiled ! 3 All ye inhabitants of the world, arid dwell- ers on the earth, see ye, when fie lifteth up an ensign e on the mountains ; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. 4 For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will r consider in my dwelling the picture becomes still more distressing. “ Indeed, all the cir- cumstances that enter into the description— the languishing of the vine — the ceasing of the vintage-shouting — ana the sound of the prophet’s bowels, quivering like a harp — are most hap- pily chosen. Ver. 3 to 5 are addressed to Zion, recommending mercy towards her enemies in their distress, and encouraging her to look for more signal blessings under the Messiah, and more immediately, under Hezekiah, who was a type of him.” Chap. XVII. Ver. 1 — 14. The oracle concerning Damascus and Israel. — “This prophecy, by its title, (says Bp. Lowth,) should relate only to Damascus ; but it full as much concerns, and more largely treats of, the kingdom of Samaria, and the Israelites, who confederated with Damascus and Syria against Judah.” The first three verses describe the. judgments of Da- mascus; the next five those of Israel, and the good effects of those judgments on the small remnant, or gleaning, that should escape them ; the fallowing verses represent the same Ver. 14 Three years. — [That is, exactly three years ; which are to be com- noted from the death of Aha/., and end the third year of Hezekiah, three years before tiie lakine of Samaria by Shalmaneser ; who did not ruin Moab com- pletely, but iell the final desolation of it to Nebuchadnezzar. ] — Bagster. Chap. XVII. Ver. 1. The burden. — Heh. Mashal. See this word explained in the note on Prov. i. 1. But in the prophets, it usually meuns an Oracle (or inspired prediction) of some great calamity. [Tip's prophecy, as Bishop Lowth observes, was probably delivered soon after the prophecies of the seventh and eighth chapters : and was fulfilled by Tiglath Pileser's taking Damascus, and carrying the people captives to Kir. 2 Ki. xvi. 9.] — Bagster. Ver. 2. The cities of Aroer are forsaken. — [This Aroer was probably not the city of Moab on thc.Arnon, but the plain of Damascus, called El Gauta ; Aroer, it is probable, being I lie same as the Arabic ghawr. a valley, or plain, which is also applied to Phcenicia and a district in Arabia.] — Bagsler. Lowth follow's the LXX. in reading, " The cities are deserted (or forsaken) for ever ;” and the difference in the original is but small. Ver. 8. The altars, the work of his hands.— That is, “ dedicated” to his idols. Lowth Either the groves, &c.— Lowth, “ Nor the groves, nor the solar statues.” See margin. Ver. 9. His strong cities be as a forsaken bough. See— That is, as a bough stripped of leaves and fruit, and therefore totally disregarded ; so shall their cities be stripped of inhabitants and treasure. But Lowth, following the LXX., eads, “ His strongly fenced cities shall become like the desertion of the Hi- vites and Amorttes, when they deserted the land before the face of the sons e foolishness of ♦heir princes. 18 The calling of Egypt to the church. 23 The covenant of Egypt, Assyria, and Israel. T HE burden of a Egypt. Behold, the Lord rideth b upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols c of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. 2 And I will d set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and everyone against his neighbour ; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. 3 And the spirit of Egypt shall e fail f in the A. M. 3290. B. C. 714. g or, ajler h Ps.68.31. 72.10. i or, out- spread and po- lished. ver. 2. a Je.46.13. Eze.29.30. b Ps.18.10. 104.3 c Ex.12.12. Je.43. 12. d mingle. e be empti- ed. f Eze.22.14. g swallow up. h c.8.19. 47.12.’ i or , shut up. ) c.20.4. k2Ki. 19.24. 1 shall not be. mlKi.10. 23. n or, while works. o founda- tions. p of living things. q Nu. 13.22. r 1 Co. 1.20. midst thereof: and I will e destroy the counsel thereof : and they shall seek h to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have fami - liar spirits, and to the wizards. 4 And the Egyptians will I i give over into the hand of a cruel ) lord, and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the Lore of hosts. 5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. 6 And they shall turn the rivers far away ; and the brooks k of defence shall be emptied and dried up : the reeds and flags shall wither. 7 The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and i be no more. 8 The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish. 9 Moreover they that work in fine m flax, and they that weave n networks, shall be con- founded. 10 And they shall be broken in the 0 pur- poses thereof, all that make sluices and ponds p for fish. 11 *[[ Surely the princes of Zoan ‘i are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish : how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings ? 12 Where r are they ? where are thy wise to Egyvt and to Israel. — This prophecy is very obscure, and the history and people to which it refers, doubtful. It was probably designed to give the Jews, and perhaps the Egyptians, (supposed to be intended, verses 1, 2.) with whom many Jews resided, an intimation of God’s interposition in favour of Zion, and of his counsels in regard to the destruction of their common enemy, Sennacherib ; that his vast army, just as he thought his projects ripe, and ready to be crowned with success, should become a prey to the beasts of the field, and to the fowls of hea- ven ; and that Egypt should be grateful to God for the deliverance vouchsafed her. (Compare ver. 7. with 2 Chron. xxxii. 23.) Bp. Lowth, (following Bochari,) instead of “ the land shadowed with wings,” as in our version, renders it, “the land of the winged cymbal,” meaning the sistrum, a tinkling in- strument, somewhat like the cymbal in its sound and object : but in its form more like a battledore, having thick lateral wires, running through from side to side, with an imagined similitude to wings. This instrument was used by the Egyptians in all their sacrifices to Isis. Their country is a long vale, ex- tending to 750 miles ; made level and smooth by the overflow- ing of the Nile. The prophecy is delivered to messengers that were probably sent by the Egyptians, either to bring tidings of Sennacherib, or to form an alliance with the Jews against him. Bp. Horsley, however, is of opinion, that it refers to the Jews, at the period of their restoration, and the destruction of Antichrist, it is very true, that the Jews answer well to the character of “a nation scattered and peeled;” and that the standard upon the mountains, and the trumpet blown at the same time, well represent the promulgation of the gospel; but then “the vessels of bulrushes,” the land “meted out and trodden down,” will scarcely apply to any country beside that of Egypt. We must, however, conclude as we begun, with confessingourinability to give a clear elucidation of the chapter. Bp. Lowth. himself says, “This is one of the most obscure prophecies^in the whole book of Isaiah.” (See notes.) Chap. XIX. Ver. 1 — 25. An oracle respecting Egypt . — Not many years after the destruction of Sennacherib’s army, before Jerusalem, by which the Egyptians were freed from so powerful an enemy, their country became a prey tc intestine broils, which ended in anarchy, and in the division of the king- dom among twelve tyrant princes. To this succeeded the sole dominion of Psammiticus for 54 years. This was followed by the conquest of Egypt, by Nebuchadnezzar, and then by the Persians under Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. But the yoke of the Persians was so grievous, that the conquest of them by Alexander may well be considered as a deliverance to Egypt, which he and his successors greatly favoured and im- proved. To all these events Bp. Lowth conceives the Prophet had a view in this chapter. He likewise intimates (ver. 18, &c.) the spread of the Jewish religion in Egypt and Syria, under Alexander, and his successors. The Ptolemies, the first of whom, called Soter, (or the deliverer,) may be alluded to in verse 20; although, in their highest sense, the words must un- doubtedly be referred to a greater Saviour. In the time of this Ptolemy, Philo reckons that there was one million of Jews in that country, who all worshipped the God of their fathers, taught and spread the knowledge of him, and consequently paved the way for an early reception of the gospel in this and the neighbouring countries. (See Bp. Newton's Dissert, xii.) For the dispersion of the Jew’s of old, was like casting the seed of true religion abroad in the earth, as they every where carried with them the knowledge of the true God, and an expected Messiah. And it is not impossible but even their present dis- persion may, in the issue, prove equally beneficial in its conse- quences to the world at large. As to the Egyptians, their chief boast was in the antiquity of their nation, their acquaintance with the occult sciences, their fisheries and canals, and their flax-manufactories; all which are alluded to in this chapter. But these the threatened failure of the Nile would of course destroy ; and all their arts and wisdom must fail, when the judgments of God should visit them. He, however, who wounded them, would also heal. We have already remarked the spread of Judaism in Egypt: and may now add, that Jeremiah, for a time, resided there, and there delivered many of his prophecies. (Jer. xliii. 5, &c.) Among the first converts to Christianity we also find “ dwell- ers in Egypt,” and all the neighbouring parts. (Acts ii. 10; viii. 27, &c.) Also before the erection of the see of Constantinople, Alexandria ranked next to Rome ; and there are still great V er. 5. Afore for before) the harvest— This evidently refers to the grape har- vest : i. e. the gathering of the vintage. Sprigs. -Lowth, “Shoots.” Chap. XIX. Ver. 2. lioill set.— This refc-ts .o r he civil dissension, mention- ed in our exposition. Ver. 3. The spirit of Egypt shall fail and will destroy, &c.— [This is a prophecy of whrt took place in Egypt about twenty-two years after the de- struction of Sennacherib’s army; when, upon the death of Tirhakah, not being able to settle about the succession, they continued for two years in a state of anarchy, confusion, anti civil wars; which was followed by the ty- ranny of twelve princes, who, dividing the country among litem, governed it for fifteen years ; and at last, by the sole dominion of Psammiticus, which he held for fifty-four years. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 4. Give over.— Hebrew, " Shut up;” alluding to the case of prisoners of war. A cruel lord,.— [Rather, “cruel lords,” agreeably to the LXX., Sy- riac, Vulgate, and the oriVnal, adonini kasheh. Nebuchadnezzar, who first conquered and ravaged Egypt, E. C. 573, and the following year ; and then, not 95 only his successors, but Cambyses, (who invaded Egypt B. C. 526,) the son ol Cyrus, and the whole succession of Persian kings till the time of Alexander, wito were in general hard masters, and grievously oppressed the country.!— Bagster. Ver. 5. From the sea. — So the Nile was called, when it overflowed the country. Ver. 6. And they shall turn the rivers far away.— Lowth, ' And the streams shall become putrid.” So Bonthroyd. And the brooks of defence.— By these, Lowth and others understand, “ the canals of Egypt.” Ver. 7. ‘l'he paper reeds by the brooks. — The papyrus being included among the reeds, Ac. in verse 6, Lmoth renders this, ” The meadows by the canal,’ and Boothroyd , (after Kimclti,) ” The marshy meadows at the mouth oi the river.” . Ver. 10. And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof— See margin that is, in modern terms, the weavers shall be bankrupt, their trade being ruined, as well as that of the fish dealers. 753 Covenant of Egypt, Assyria, fyc. ISAIAH. — men ? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what ■ the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. 13 The princes of Zoan are become « fools, the princes of Noph u are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even T they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. 14 The w Lord hath mingled a 1 perverse spi- rit in the midst thereof : and they have cau- sed Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. 15 Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. 16 In that day shall Egypt be like r unto wo- men : and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it. 17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which he hath determined against it. 18 In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak 2 the language 1 of Canaan, and swear to the Lord of hosts ; one shall be called, The city of b destruction. 19 In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a c pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. 20 And it shall be for a sign d and for a wit- ness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord be- cause of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. 21 And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do ' sacrifice and oblation ; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and per- form it. 22 And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even Io the Lord, and he shall be entreated of them, and shall heal them. 23 TT In that day shall there be a f highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 24 In that day shall Israel be the third with XX., XXI. Captivity oj Egypt and Ethiopia Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land : 25 Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, say- ing, Blessed be Egypt my e people, and Assy- ria the work h of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. CHAPTER XX. A type prefiguring the shameful captiviy of Egypt and Ethiopia. I N the year “ that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it; 2 At the same time spake the Lord b by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 And the Lord said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia ; 4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away c the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the d shame of Egypt. 5 And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. 6 And the inhabitant of this e isle shall say in that day, Behold, such f is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria : and how shall we escape ? CHAPTER XXI. I The prophet, bewailing the captivity of his people, eeeth in a vision the fall of Baby- lon by the Medes and Persians. 1 1 Edom, scorning the prophet, is moved to repent- ance. 13 The set time of Arabia’s calamity. T HE burden of the desert of the sea. As R whirlwinds in the south pass through ; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A b grievous vision is declared unto me ; the treacherous dealer c dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go d up, O Elam : besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3 Therefore ' are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth : I was bowed down at the hearing of it ; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. 4 My f heart panted, fearfulness affrighted CHAP. ■ c.44.7,8. t Uo.1.22. o Je.2.16. v the cor- ners , or, govern- ors. wl Ki.22. 22,23. x spirit of perverse- y Je.51.30. Na.3.13. z lip. a Zep.3.9. b o , Herrs, or , the sun. d Jos.4.20. e Mai. 1.11. fc 11.16. g 1 Pe.2.10. h Ep.2.10. a 2Ki. 18. 17. b by the hand. of. c captivity 0/ Egyvt e or, coun- try. Je. 47.4. f Job 6.20. a Zec.9.14. b hard. c c.33.1. d c.13.17. Je 49.34. f or. My wind wandered. numbers of nominal Christians in that country, which may serve as the foundation of a future church. Chap. XX. Ver. 1 — 6. An oracle against Ashdod and Egypt.— Tartan, general to Sargon, (one of the names of Sen- nacherib,) king of Assyria, besieged Ashdod, (or Azotis,) which probably belonged at that time to the king of Judah. (2 Kings xviii. 18.) The inhabitants expected to be relieved by the Cush- ites (or Ethiopians) and Egyptians. Isaiah was ordered to go uncovered ; that is, without his upper garment, (the rough mantle worn by the prophets, Zech. xiii. 4.) probably three days, a day for a year, according to the prophetic rule, (Num. xiv. 34. Ezek. iv. 6.) to show that within three years, Ashdod should be taken, after the defeat of the Cushites and Egyptians; and that the king of Assyria should carry away the inhabitants naked and barefooted, as typified by the dress, or rather un- dress, of the prophet. Had he walked thus for three years, till the event took place, Bp. Lovth remarks, it would have been no sign. Ver. 12. Let them knoio.—Boothroyd, “Make known.” Ver. 13. Even they that are the stay.—Lowth, “The chief pillars of the tribes.” ' Ver. 18. One of them shall be called. The city of destruction.— See mar- fin. The Jews on the building of Heliopolis, (the city of the sun.) called it the city of righteousness, and regarded it as a rival of the temple of Jerusa- lem ; but their brethren in Palestine, by a play on the word, called it, in aver- sion. " the city of destruction. * Ver. 19. An altar, &c.— i. e. the worship of the true God shall be received and maintained, according to his appointment. See Josh. xxii. 2t — 29. Zeph. fii. 9 Korn. xv. 6. Chap. XX. Ver. 1. Sargon — is generally supposed to be another name for Sennacherib, but this is by no means certain. Vitringa supposes him to have been Psalmaneser, father of Sennacherib, but Rosenmuller, that he was his successor. Ver. 3. Naked and barefoot three years. — Lmoth. " A Sicn and a prodigy 754 This warning had a view to the nation of the Jews, (ver. 6.) who were generally inclined to rely on the aid of Egypt, more than oil that of God ; which is, indeed, far too generally the case with us all : we look to the creature, instead of the Creator. Chap. XXI. Ver. 1 — 17. Oracles respecting Babylon, Edom, and Arabia.—" The first ten verses of this chapter (says Bp. Lowth ) contain a prediction of the taking of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. It opens with the prophet’s seeing at a distance the dreadful storm that is gathering, and ready to burst on Babylon,” which, by the flooding of the Euphrates, sometimes became a marshy desert. The event is intimated in general terms ; and the Almighty orders the Persians and Medes to set forward on the expedition. Upon this, the prophet enters at once into the midst of the action ; and in the person of Babylon, strongly expresses the astonishment and horror that seize her, on the sudden surprise of the city, at the very season dedicated to pleasure and festivity, (ver. 4.) The prophet then, in his own person, describes the false security of the of three years upon Egypt and upon Cush,” (or Ethiopia.) Bishop Lmoth sup- poses the words three days, may have been dropped by the transcriber, or that the word days may have been chaneed for years ; but Gataker thinks that the Hebrew might be rendered, “ a three years sign and wonder upon Egypt.” &c. which is nearly the version of Loxoth. Chap. XXI. Ver. 1. The desert of the sea — “ The country about Babylon, and especially toward the sea. was a great, flat morass, often overflowed hy the Euphrates and Tigris. It became habitable through being drained, by the many canals that were made in it ."—Lowth. It cometh from the desert.— (The whirlwinds in Arabia, to the south of Judea, often come with the most destructive fury ; and thus ruin would irresistibly come upon Babylon from Persia and Media, the armies of which were very terrible, through the deserts that intervened between those countries.! — Bagster. Ver. 2. The treacherous dealer , &c.— Loxoth, “ The plunderer is plundered and the destroyer is destroyed I” O Elam .— The ancient name of Persia, Ver. 4. My heart panted .— See margin. Loxoth, “ Is bewildered ” Fall oj Habylon foreshown. ISAIAH, me • the s night of my pleasure hath he 11 turn- ed into fear unto me. 5 Prepare the table, watch in the watch- ower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. 6 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. 7 And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed : 8 And he cried, « A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in i the day- time, and I am set in my ward k whole nights : 9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answer- ed and said, Babylon Us fallen, is fallen ; and m all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground. 10 O my threshing, and the " corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared 0 un- to you. 11 If The burden of p Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? 12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, in- quire ye : return, come. 13 Tf The burden upon Arabia. In the fo- rest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim. 14 The inhabitants of the land of Tema « brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled. A. M. 3290. B. C. 714. CHAP. XXII. Invasion of Jewiy lamented. 15 For r they fled 6 from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and ' from the grievousness of war. 16 For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of a ‘ hireling, and all the glory of Kedar » shall fail: 17 And the residue of the number of T arch- ers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished : for the Lord God of Is- rael hath spoken it. CHAPTER XXII. 1 The prophet lamentrth the invasion of Jewry by the Persians. 8 He reproveth their human wisdom and worldly joy. 15 He propliesieth Shebna’s deprivation, 520 and Eliakim, prefiguring the kingdom of Christ, his substitution. T HE burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the a house-tops ? 2 Thou that art full of stirs, atumultuous city, a b joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. 3 All thy rulers are fled c together, they are bound d by the archers : all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. 4 Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will e weep f bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. 5 For it is a day of trouble, and of tread- ing down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the moun- tains. 6 And Elam e bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir h uncovered the shield. h put. j Hab.2.1. k or, every night. 1 Je.51.8, &c. Re. 14.8. n son. o Eze.3. 17 ..19. Ac. 20. 26, 27. p lCh.1.30. Je.49.7, &c. Eze.35.2, &c. Ob.l,&c. q or, bring ye. r Job 6.19, 20. s from the face of, or, for fear. t Job 7.1. u c.60.7. A. M. cir. 3292. B. C. cir. 712. a De.22.8. b c. 352. 13. c 2 Ki.25.5, 11. e be bitter in weep- ing. f Je.4.19. 9.1. La. 1.2. g Je. 49.35. h made naked. Babylonians; and in the midst of their feasting is given the sudden alarm of war. The event is now depicted in a very pe- culiar manner. God orders the prophet to set a watchman to look out, and to report what he sees. He sees two companies marching onward, representing, by their appearance, the two nations that were to execute Goa’s orders, and immediately u*?- on hearing this, the prophet declares that the fall of Babylon is come: “Babylon is fallen— is fallen.” (Comp. Rev. xiv. 8.) The fulfilment of this prophecy will be found in Dan. chap. v. The prophet then makes a snort application of the prophecy to his countrymen; “O my threshing,” &c. — as if he had said, “O my people, against whom I have been long denoun- cing the severe operations of the great Husbandman, who will ‘thoroughly purge his floor;’ that accomplished, now shall ye be delivered and avenged !” And then he adds, like a faithful messenger from Goa, “ That which I have heard of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, that have I declared unto you.” The short prophecy in the 11th and 12th verses, called “the burden,” (or oracle of Dumah,) is generally understood, and we think justly, to refer to Eclom, (or Idumea,) because the inquiring voice came from Mount Seir. It is certainly obscure, and perhaps enigmatical. Watchmen were always stationed in fortresses, and it should seem, at certain periods, gave re- Ver. 5. Prepare the table— Lowth reads, “ The table is prepared ; the watch i9 set ; they eat,” &c. “ In the Hebrew, the words are in the infinitive abso- lute.” Anoint the shield. — That is, prepare for war. We have elsewhere supposed it was customary to anoint the shield when done with : by this it should seem that it was also an act of military preparation, and perhaps of consecration also. Compare note on 1 Sam. i. 21 . and see chap. xxii. 6. The shields of the ancients were commonly of wood, covered with ox-hides. See Orient. Lit. No. 918. Ver. 6. Thus hath (or had) the Lord said. — The former verse states that the Babylonians had set a watch, which had given the note of alarm ; “Anoint the shield this informs us, that the prophet himself had been ordered to set a watch also, who bad given a like alarm. Ver. 7. And he saw a chariot.— The great ambiguity of the Hebrew word for a chariot , renders this passage very obscure. It signifies both a chariot and a rider. Lowth renders it, ” A chariot with two riders ; a rider on an ass, a rider on a camel.” But Boothroyd reads, “ And he saw chariots and bands of horse- men ; riders on asses, and riders on camels which also Lowth hints at. It is. however, agreed, that the Medes and Persians are here intended, led on by Darius and Cyrus. We are told that the latter, in hi3 engagements with Croe- sus. took the baggage from off his camels, and mounted lus cavalry on them, mid the enemy’s horses were so offended with the smell of the camels, that they turned hack, and fled. (Lowth.) Ver. 8. And he cried , “ A lion."— See margin. But we conceive this was a proverbial expression, and the common note of alarm. Thus the sluggard, as an excuse for keeping within doors, says. “ There is a lion in the way— a Jion in the street.” Prov xxvi. 13. So when Jeremiah gives the alarm to Judah, Cell. iv. 7.) he say3, “ The lion is come up !” it was a note of danger. Ver. 9. A chariot of men , with a couple of horsemen— Lowth, A man. one of the two riders Boothroyd , “ Chariots with men and bands of horsemen.” -And he answered.—' This is differently explained ; but we conceive them o he the words of the prophet, who immediately perceived the fall of Babylon wa« approaching. See Gataker in Assembly’s Ann. ports of the progress of time, and possibly of the weather. Prophets were watchmen, (Ezek. iii. 17.) whose office it was to warn the people of the advance of divine judgments or deliver- ances. The inquiry is made in a tone of earnestness and ap- parent impatience ; the answer implies, that the prophet had no commission to announce present deliverance to them ; but directs them to wait and watch for it, as God was bringing many revolutions to pass ; and to come again from time to time, till he should have an answer for them. The remaining verses of this chapter (ver. 13 to the end) con- tain a burden or oracle respecting Arabia. It was probably delivered about the same time with the prophecies immediate- ly preceding, that is, about the 14th year of Hezekiah, and im- mediately preceding Sennacherib’s invasion of Judea. It is supposed, that in his return from his Egyptian expedition, or soon after, he might overrun these Arab clans, and that tneir distress on that occasion forms the subject of these predictions, which were fulfilled in the year following that in which they were delivered. Chap. XXII. Ver. 1 — 25. The. burden (pr oracle) of the Valley of Vision. — The prophecy which begins this chapter, and ends with verse 14, relates to Jerusalem; but why this should be called the valley of vision, is not so easy to explain, especially as Jerusalem was not built in a valley, but on two Ver. 10. O my threshing.— The term threshing i.s here used passively, fin tire grain threshed. The corn of my floor ; — implying, that Ins office was to thresh and to winnow the Lord’s harvest. Ver. 11 . Dumah — [D uma/i is probably the same as Dumatha , a city or Arabia mentioned by Stephanus ; and the modern Dumah and DumathaJ. gandel on the borders of Arabia and Syria in a rocky valley. See Michaetis. Supplem. The Edomites, says Bishop Lowth, as well as Jews, were subdued by the Babylonians. They inquire of the prophet, how long their subjection is to last : he intimates that the Jews should be delivered from their captivity ; not so the Edomites. — “ The morning cometh, and also the night.”] — B. Ver. 12 . Return, come.— That is, in tjie Hebrew idiom, C 9 me again. Ver. 13. The burden upon — or, oracle concerning Arabia. Bishop Lowth expresses some doubts concerning this title, as being wanting in some of the best copies of the LXX., but we do not find it wanting in the Hebrew. Ver. 14. Brought water, &c.— These were the usual acts of hospitality in the East. See Gen. xxiv. 32, 43. Chap. XXII. Ver. 1 . The valley of vision— Some think mount Moriah, on which the temple stood, was called the mount of vision, because there the Lord appeared to Abraham. See Gen. xxii. 14. Possibly the term valley, may be used mystically, as “ the valley of death I” but this is offered only as a suggestion. Goneuyto the house-tops— IThe eastern houses are built with a court within, into which chiefly the windows open ; those that open to the street being so obstructed with latticework, that no one can see through them. Whenever therefore any thing is to be seen or heard in the streets, any public spectacle, or any alarm, every one immediately goe9 up to the house-top to satisfy his curiosity. Hence all the people running to the top of their houses, gives a lively image of a sudden general alarm. )—Bagster. Ver. 3. All thy rulers are fled— This is supposed to allude to the flight of Zedekiah and his attendants, who were pursued and overtaken, and, it is here said, were bound by the archers. Compare 2 Kings xxv. 4,5. Ver. 6. Kir uncovered the shield— Kir was a city of the Mede9, subject ti- the Assyrians in Hczekiah’s tim^ ; and so perhaps Elam, or the Persians. Sea 755 She.tma's deprivation. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XXIII. Prophecy concerning EUakim 7 And it shall come to pass, that i thy choicest • valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horse- men shall set themselves in array ) at the gate. 8 H And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest. 9 Ye i have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many : and ye ga- thered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 And ye have numbered the houses of Je- rusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall. 11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool : but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, nei- ther had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call m to weeping, and to mourning, and to n baldness, and to girding with sackcloth : 13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking Avine: let 0 us eat and drink; for to-morrow Ave shall die. 14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts. 15 U Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto p Sheb- na, Avhich is over the house, and say, 16 What hast thou here 1 and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a se- pulchre here, ■> as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth a habita- tion for himself in a rock ? 17 Behold, the Lord r will carry thee aAvay with 5 a mighty captivity, and will surely co- ver thee. 18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee A. M. cir. 3 B. C. cir. 712. i the choice o] thy. J or, to- ward. k 1 Ki.7 2. 10.17. 1 2Ch.32.4. m Joel 1.13. n Job 1.20. Mi. 1.16. o c.56.12. p2Ki. 18.37. q or, O he. r or, who covered thee with an excel- lent covering , and clothed thee gor- geously, shall surely. ver. 18. a the capti- vity of a ■man. t land large of spaces. u2Ki. 18.18. v c.9.6. w Job 12.14. Re.3.7. y or, instru- ments of viols. A. M. 3289. B. C. 715. a Je. 25.22. 47.4. Kze.26.28. Am. 1.9, 10 Zee. 9.2. .4. b ver. 12. Je.2.10. c silent. like a ball into a 1 large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall he the shame of thy lord’s house. 19 And I Aviil drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down. 20 TJ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant u Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I wiP commit thy government into his hand : and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jeru- salem, and to the house of Judah. 22 And the key of the house of David will 1 lay upon his ’shoulder; so he shall w open, and none shall shut ; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him as a nail 1 in a sure place ; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. 24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the is- sue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the * vessels ol flagons. 25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall ; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it. CHAPTER XXIII. 1 The miserable overthrow of Tyre. 17 Their unhappy return. T HE burden of a Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish ; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in : from the land ol Chittim b it is revealed to them. 2 Be c still, ye inhabitants of the isle ^ thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. 3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor,1he hills, Zion and Moriah, on the side of the latter of which stood the temple; where the Lord usually revealed himself, and which was the more usual residence of the seers , or those who saw visions. But though Jerusalem was not properly a valley, but an elevated situation, yet was it much lower (according to Galaker ) than the mountains by which it was surrounded. This, indeed, is not very satisfactory ; there can be little doubt, however, of its being so called, though we may not be able t for in the Lord JEHOVAH is ) everlasting strength : 5 If For he bringeth down them that dwell on high ; the lofty city, he layeth it low ; he layeth it low, even to the ground ; he bringeth it even to the dust. 6 The k foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. 7 The way > of the just ^uprightness : m thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. 8 Y ea, in the way of thy " judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee ; the desire 0 of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. 9 With my soul have I desired thee in the p night ; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early : for when i thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. 10 Let r favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in “the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty ' of the Lord. 11 Lord when thy hand is lifted up, they u will not see : but they shall v see, and be ashamed for their envy w at the people ; yea, the fire * of thine enemies shall devour them. 12 If Lord, thou wilt ordain peace * for us : for thou also hast wrought all our works 1 in us. A. M. 3292. B. C. 712. a Ps.3l.21. b c.60.18. c Ps.lia 19. d truths. e peace, peace. f Ph.4.7. g or, thought , or. Imagi- nation. h Ps.62.8. i Ps. 125.1. j the rock of ages. k Mai. 4.3. 1 F-p.2. 10. m Ps.37.23. n c.64.4,5. o Ps.63.1..6 p Ca.3.1. q Ps.58.11. r Ec.8.11. Re.2.21. s Ec.3.16. t c.2.10. u Je.5.3. v Re. 1.7. w or, to- ward thy. x Da.3.22, 25. y ver.3. z or, for. a 2Ch.28.5, 6 . Ro.6.16.. 18. b Ps.71.15, 16. c Ho.5.15. d secret speech. e Da. 12.2. f Jude 14 ,15. g bloods. a Ps.74.14. b or, cross- ing like a bar. 13 O Lord our God, other a lords beside thee have had dominion over us : but b by thee on ly will we make mention of thy name. 14 They are dead, they shall not live ; they are deceased, they shall not rise : therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. 15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation : thou art glo rifled : thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. 16 Lord, in trouble c have they visited thee, they poured out a d prayer when thy chas- tening was upon them. 17 Like as a woman with child, that draw eth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs ; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord. 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliver ance in the earth ; nefitier have the inha bitants of the world fallen. 19 Thy dead men shall live, together with m> dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye “that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 20 If Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee : hide thyself as it were for a little moment, un- til the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the Lord cometh f out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity : the earth also shall disclose hei s blood, and shall no more cover her slain. CHAPTER XXVII. 1 The care of God over his vineyard. 7 His chastisements differ from judgments, li! The church of Jews and Gentiles. I N that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong s^vord shall punish leviathan a the b piercing serpent, even leviathan that by his own death, eventually destroy (or, in the Hebrew idiom, wallow up) death itself— wipe away all tears — and introduce into the New Jerusalem above, everlasting joy, and peace, and happiness. (See Rev. xxi. 1 — 4.) Chap. XXVI. Ver. 1 — 21. Another hymn of triumphant praise . — This chapter, like the foregoing, is a song of praise, in which thanksgivings for temporal and spiritual mercies are beautifully mingled, though the latter still predominate. This hymn, like the preceding, is beautifully diversified by the fre- quent change of speakers. It opens with a chorus of the church, celebrating the protection vouchsafed by God to his people, and the happiness of the righteous, whom he protects, contrasted with the misery of the wicked, whom he punishes. To this very naturally succeed their own pious resolutions of obedience, and trust and delighting in God. Here the prophet breaks in, in his own person, eagerly catching the last words of the chorus, which were perfectly in unison with his own feelings ; these he beautifully repeats, as one musical instru- ment reverberates the sound of another in unison with it. He makes, likewise, a suitable response to what had been said on the judgments of God ; and observes their different effects on good and bad men, improving the one, and hardening the other. Ver. 12. is supposed to commence another chorus, in which the hand of God is acknowledged, all idol worship is abjured, and God is praised for increasing the nation, and enlarging its boundaries. In verses 16 to 18, Israel is compared to a wo- verses are extremely difficult to translate, (as Gataker has sufficiently shown,) out of the general sense, as implying the subjugation and overthrow of Moab, there can be no doubt. Chap. XXVI. Ver. 1. A strong city — in opposition to that of the enemy overt hrown, chap. xxv. 2. In the land of Judah. — Lototh unites this with ,he latter clause, instead of the preceding : “ In the land of Judah we have a strong city.” Ver. 3. In perfect peace.— “ Peace, peace the word being repeated by wav of emphasis. Whose mind (imagination or thoughts) is stayed — settled, nn wavering. Ver. 7. Uprightness— Lowth. “ Perfectly straight.” Thou dost weigh — Lototh, “ Thou exactly Jevellest the word signifies to regulate, either by weight or measure. See Prov. iv. 26. Ver. 9. Will I seek.— Lowth. “ Have I sought.” Ver. il. For their envy at the people— Lowth, “ They shall see with con- fusion thy zeal for thy people.” Ver. 13. By thee only. — Loiuth , “ Thee only, and thy name, henceforth will we celebrate.” Ver. 15. Removed it far unto.— Read the text without the supplementary words, “ Thou hadst removed far all ends, borders (or boundaries) of, not the earth, but the land.” man supposing herself pregnant, first pouring out her sorrows in secret, and afterwards more vehemently, in the agony ot supposed labour, which, however, proves to be a mistake. They conceived and brought forth wind. They made great professions of reform, and in consequence of those professions, indulged hopes of deliverance ; but their professions were hy- pocritical, and their hopes were disappo nted. Still, however, they are encouraged to hope; and tho igh their situation is compared to that of the dead, they are cirected to look to him who is able to raise the dead, for a moial and political resur- rection. From hence, says Bishop Low.h, justly, “ It appears that the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was at that time a popular and common doctrine; for an image which is assumed in order to express or represent any thing in the way of allegory, or metaphor, whether poetical or prophetical, must be an image commonly known and understood ; otherwise it will not answer the purpose for which it is assumed.” The chapter closes with inviting God’s people to fly to him in prayer, while he arises to punish sinners. Chap. XXVII. Ver. i — 13. God’s conduct toward his church represented by the care of a husbandman over his vineyard. The first verse evidently belongs to the preceding chapter. God there announces his rising to execute judg- ment : here he states the objects of his vengeance. The straight serpent is plainly the crocodile — the crooked serpent, probably the Boa-constrictor , and the Sea-serpent, (perhaps Ver. 16. Poured out a prayer— See margin ; a whisper ; i. e. a private prayer. But Lowth renders it, “ Humble supplication.” Ver. 17. Like as a woman with child.— Lowth, “ That hath conceived.” Ver. 18. We have been with child.— Lowth, “We have conceived.” Tha case .here stated is that of a woman suffering under a disorder, with all the symptoms of pregnancy, arising from wind only. Ver. 19. Together with, &c. — Lowth omits the supplementary words in italics, and reads, “ My deceased, they shall rise.” All the ancient versions read in the plural.— — Deio of herbs. — Boothroyd reads, “ Mallows,” which are said to imbibe much dew ; but Lowth renders it, “ Of the dawn.” As dev/ raises the vegetable world to new life, (as it were,) so God’s Spirit acts upon the moral world. And the earth shall cast out the dead— Lototh renders this, “ But the earth shall cast forth (as an abortion) the deceased tyrants the word here used, is Rephaim, giants, tyrants, alluding to ver. 14.; whoso carcasses are represented as “ cast forth,” but not resuscitated. See note on Job xxvi. 5. Cha-P. XXVII. Ver. 1. Leviathan— The name is used for any great mon- ster, either by sea or land, and especially for the crocodile ; see exposition of Job xli. [The animals here mentioned, says Bishop Lowth, (which he thinks are the crocodile, serpent , and whale,) are used allegorically, without doubt, for great potentates . enemies and persecutors of the people of God ; but to soe- 759 God’s care over flis vineyard. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XXVIII. Ephraim is threatened crooked serpent ; and he shall slay the dragon lhat is in the sea. 2 If In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard e of red wine. 3 I J the Lord do keep it ; I will water it eve- ry moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. 4 Fury is not in me : who would set the bri- ers and thorns against me in battle ? I would e go through them, I would burn them together. 5 Or let him take hold of my f strength, that he may make peace s with me; and he shall make peace with me. 6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take h root : Israel shall blossom and bud, and i fill the face of the world with fruit. 7 Tf Hath he smitten him, ) as he smote those that smote him ? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? 8 In measure, when k it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it : i he stayeth his m rough wind in the day of the east wind. 9 By this therefore shall the iniquity of Ja- cob be “purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin ; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalk-stones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and “images shall not stand up. 10 If Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof. 11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off : the women come, and set them on fire : for p it is a people of no A. M. 3B2. B. C. 7112. c I.u.20.9, Sic. d Pa. 121. 4. 6 . e or, march, against. f c.45.24. g Job 22.21. h Ps. 92. 13.. 15. Ho. 14. 5,6 I Ro. 11.12. J according to the stroke of. k or, thou sendee t it forth. 1 or, when he rcmo- veth it. m c.57.16. n He. 12. 6. o or, sun images. p De.32.28. Ho. 4. 6. q Jn.6.37. r Mnt.24.31 lTh.4.16. Re. 11. 15. A. M. 3279. B. C. 725. a broken. b Eze. 13.11- c with. d Ps.73.19, 20 . e swallow- elh. understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that form- ed them will show them no favour. 12 If And it shall come to pass in that day, lhat the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and *> ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. 13 And it shall come to pass in thal day, that the great trumpet “shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. CHAPTER XXVIII. 1 The prophet threnteneth Ephraim for their pride and drunkenness. 5 The residue shall be advanced in the kingdom of Christ 7 He rebuketh their error. 9 Their untowardness to learn, 14 and their security. 16 Christ the sure foundation is pro mised. 13 Their security shall be tried. 23 They arc incited to the consideration of God’s discreet providence. W O to the crown of pride, to the drunk- ards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are a overcome with wine 1 2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest b of hail and a destroy- ing storm, as a flood of mighty waters over- flowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. 3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden c under feet : 4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be d a fading flow- er, and as the hasty fruit before the summer ; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he e eateth it up. 5 IT In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for that enormous creature lately seen upon the American shores,) though generally supposed to be the whale. These were un- doubtedly designed to typify tyrannical powers of the first class, but which of them it is not easy, nor perhaps possible to ascertain. , Then comes in the beautiful parable of the Vineyard, which is doubtless designed to represent the nature of God’s dealings with his people Israel, in a kind of dialogue (called in the ori- ginal “ a responsive song”) between Jehovah, the great Hus- bandman, (John xv. l.) and the people of Israel, who are his vineyard. According to Bishop Lowth’s view of this passage, “ The church wishes for a wall, or a defence of thorns ; hu- man strength and protection : Jehovah replies that this w'ould nought avail her, nor defend her against his wrath : he coun- sels her therefore to betake herself to his protection. On which she entreats him to make peace with her.”— Such is the import of this “responsive song.” The prophet then compares the afflictions of Israel with the more terrible judgments against their enemies, and asks, 1 Hath he smitten him (Jacob) as he smote those that smote him?” i. e. their enemies. The answer is, No: his judg- ments on Israel are tempered with mercy (ver. 8.) and in- cify the particular persons or states designed by the prophet under these images is a matter of great difficulty.]— Bagster. Ver. 2. Sing ye— Loioth, “ Sing ye a responsive song,” which the Hebrew certainly implies. tSee Neh. xii. 31—40. with our notes.) A vineyard of red wine. — Loioth , “The beloved vineyard so a great number of MSS., some printed editions, theLXX.,and Chaldee. ThcHebrewin no case has any re- mark to distinguish the speakers, as we have ; but the learned Bishop just quoted, distributes them thus : Ver. 3. (.Jehovah.) It is I, Jehovah, that preserve her ; I will water her every moment ; I will take care of her by night ; And by day I will keep guard over her. Ver. 4. (Vineyard.) I have no wall for my defence ; 0 lhat 1 had a fence of the thorn and brier ! (Jehov.) Against them should I march in battle ; 1 s"hould burn them up together. 5. Ah ! let her rather take hold of my protection. (Viney.) Let him make peace with me! Peace let him make with me. 8 . (Jeh.) They that come, Ac. This verse seems to end the dialogue. To this version and distribution, Dr. Eoothroyd adheres very nearly, except in the sixth verse. To render this intelligible, it may be proper to remark on ver. 4. that hedges of thorn and brier are often used instead of stone ; but in those hot countries they are so combustible as easily to take fire, and are often omployed for fuel. In ver. 4, instead of Fury is not in me, Loioth reads, “ I have no wall which, however, does not differ widely in the original ; for the Hebrew word for fury, by the insertion of a vau, becomes “ a wall and in this change he is supported by the LXX. anil the Syriac. Ver. 3. In measure when it shooteth forth— See margin ; that is, the rod of correction, “Thou wilt debate with it.” This, though rejected by the 760 tended to purify and not destroy. And therefore when their enemies shall be utterly destroyed, as fuel for the fire, they shall be gathered, like fruit, from every country into which they have been scattered. Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 1—29. Judgments denounced , loth against Israel and Judah — but intermixed with mercy. — This chapter begins with a denunciation of the approaching ruin of the Israelites by Shalmanezer, whose power is compared to a tempest or flood, and his keenness to the aridity with which one plucks and swallows the fruit that is first ripe, and which, according to Dr. Shaw, is a great delicacy in the east. Ver. 5. the Prophet turns to the kingdom of Judah, to whom the Lord promises, in opposition to the fading crowns of Ephraim, to be nimself a crown of glory, which is thought to have re- ference to the reign of Hezekiah. But Judah also degene- rated to intemperance and profaneness; for they are intro- duced as not only scornfully rejecting, but also mocking and ridiculing the instructions of the Prophet. ‘-‘Whom shall he teach?” &c. To this God immediately retorts, in terms al- luding to their own mocking, but differently applied. “Yes, my dealing with you shall fie according to your own words ; in a country whither you shall be carried captives, you must, Bishop and Dr. Boothroyd, we think very beautiful ; it is the portrait of a fa- ther chastising his child, and hesitating, or debating with the rod, that it be not too severe. Again he stayeth , holdetli back, (sec Prov. xxx. 4.) the roughness of the wind in the day of tempest. Ver. 9. And this is all the fruit —Boothroyd, “ This shall be the whole fruit;” i. e. the ultimate consequence, even ‘‘the removal of his sin.” — When he maketh, &c. — That is, when he destroyelh all the vestiges of ido latry, and particularly the ‘‘sun images,” as the margin reads. (See chap xvii. 8.) Ver. 10. The defenced (or fortified) city— Dr. Boothroyd refers this to Ba bylon, which, like a worthless vine, was to be broken down and burnt. Ver. 12. The Lord shall beat off, &c— Boothroyd, Shall gather bis fruit, from the flood of the river unto,” &c. This was done by beating the fruit from the trees. Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 1. The crown of pride. — Bishop Loioth considers the city of Samaria situated upon a hill of oval form, surrounded with a rich val- ley, and then with other hills, cs suggesting the idea of a chaplet ; such as was worn in banquets, not only bv the Greeks, but the luxurious Israelites, as appears in ver. 1, 3, 4 ; and from tne apocryphal book of Wisdom, ch. ii. 7,8. This to drunkards was the “ crown of pride,” though composed but of “ fading flowers.” Ver. 2. A mighty and strong one.— This evidently refers to Shalmanezer, king of Assyria, as related 2 Kings xviii. 9—12. With the.— Loioth, “ His” hand. Ver. 4. It seeth. — Houbigant , by the transposition of only a letter, reads. “ He plucketh it,” which avoids tautology, and is followed both by Lowth and Boothroyd. [“ No sooner,” says Dr. Shaw, “ doth the boccore (or early fig) draw near to perfection in the middle or latter end of June, than the kemnez or summer fig, begins to be formed, though it rarely ripens before August ; about which time, the same tree frequently throws out a third cron, or winter fig, a9 we may call it. This is usually of a much longer shape and darker com- plexion than the kermez, hanging and ripening upon the tree even after the leaves are shed j and, provided the winter proves mdd and temperate, is ga thered as a delicious morsel in the spring.” 1 —Bagster t'p/iraim is incited to the ISAIAH. — CHAP. XXVIII. consideration of God’s providence. a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people. 6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sit- leth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. 7 TT But they also have erred through f wine, and through strong drink are out of the way ; the s priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink ; they err in vision, they stum- ble in judgment. 8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthi- ness, so that there is no place clean. 9 TT Whom h shall he teach knowledge ? and whom shall he make to understand ■ doctrine ? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept i must be upon precept, pre- cept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line ; here a little, and there a little : 11 For with k stammering lips and another tongue 1 will he speak to this people. 12 To whom he said, This is the rest where- icith ye may cause the weary to rest ; and this is the refreshing : yet they would not hear. 13 But m the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept ; line upon line, line upon line ; here a little, and there a little ; that 11 they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. 14 ff Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement ; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come “unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehoo’d have we hid ourselves : 16 Tf Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Be- hold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a p stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone , a sure foundation: he 4 that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Tf Judgment also will I lay to the line, and A M. 3279. 13. C. 725. f Ho.4.11. g c.56.10.. 12 . h Je.G.10. i the hear - j or, hath been. k stammer- ings of. 1 or, he hath s-poken. m Ho. 6. 5. 8 . 12 . n Mat 13. 14 o Ec.8.8. p Ps.113.22. Mat. 21. 42 Ac.4.11. Ro.9.33. Ep.2.20. q Ro.10.ll. r a tread- ing down to it. s Mai. 4.3. t or, when he shall make you to under- stand doctrine. a 2Sa.5.20. v Jos. 10. 10, &c. I Cb.14.16 w La. 3- 33. x Da. 9. 27. y or, the wheat in the prin- cipal place, and barley in the ap- pointed place. z or, spelt. a border. b or, and he bind - eth it in such sort as his God doth teach him c Ps.92.5. Je.32.19. Ro.11.33. righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand ; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through ; then ye shall be r trodden down ‘ by it. 19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you : for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only 1 to understand the report. 20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it : and the covering nar- rower than that he can wrap himself in it. 21 For the Lord shall rise up as u in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as T in the valley ofGibeon, that he may do his work, his strange w work ; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. 22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong : for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a * consumption, even determined upon the whole earth. 23 ff Give ye ear, and hear my voice ; heark- en, and hear my speech. 24 Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow ? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 25 When he hath made plain the face there- of, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in * the prin- cipal wheat and the appointed barley and the 2 rye in their a place ? 26 b For his God doth instruct him to discre- tion, and doth teach him. 27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin ; but the fitch- es are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. 28 Bread corn is bruised ; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it -with his horsemen. 29 This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful “in counsel, and excellent in working. like children, learn a strange language, with a stammering tongue; it shall then be command upon command for your punishment; it shall be line upon line to mark out your ruin ; (compare 2 Kings xxi. 13 ;) it shall come upon you at different times, and by different degrees, till all my threatenings against vou be fulfilled.” The Prophet then (ver. 14.) addresses these profane scoffers, who considered themselves secure from every evil, and assures them that there was no method but one, by which they could be saved; namely, by faith in him, and in the means of his appointment. (Compare ver. 16. with Ephes. _ Ver. 6 That turn the battle to the safe. — That is, according to Lowth, ‘That repel the war,’* (to the gate of the enemy.) See tiie fulfilment of this m 2 Kings xviii. 8. Ver. 7. The priest anil the prophet. — It is much to be feared, that being des- titute both of the spirit of prophecy and the fervour of devotion, these might seek inspiration from their liquor, and in that > state did they “ err in vision,” by substituting the dreams of intemperance for prophetic visions, and mock the true prophets of the Lord. Ver. 9. \Vhorm shall he teach ? — i. e. does the prophet think we are hut babes 1 So Lowth, who reads the whole of this verse in the interrogative. Ver. 10. Precept must be. — Lowth, " is hut there is no verb in the original. I. math considers I his verse also as the language of these drunken prophets. Boothroyd takes a different view of the passage, which we subjoin. He con- siders ver. 9. as the language of the prophet, who represents these Jewish priests, & c. as utterly incompetent to be teachers ; “ Whom can such teach knowledge?” and adds, *' They are like children weaned from the milk,” &c. And what is said ver. to, ” Precept upon precept,” &c. he considers as refer- ring to their imperfect method of instruction, by bits and scraps, and in stam- mering accents. Ver. 11 . For with stammering lips and another ti e. a foreign) tongue will he speak.— See margin. _ Both interpretations consider this and the following verses as the language of the prophet Isaiah. The substance of the Bishop’s exposition is given in ours ; and Dr. Boothroyd does not here materially differ. Ver. 12. This is the rest. — That is, the true rest: namely, trust in God’s word. Ver. 13. But the word of the Lord was— Lowth, “ Shall be." So Booth- royd. Ver. 14. That rule this people. — Lowth, ‘‘Ye people that utter sententious speeches,” or parables : such as here follow. ’ter. 15. We har.e made a covenant with death and with hell, Her,.— Lowth, ' Tlte grave.” — [To be in covenant with a thing, cays Bishop Lenoth, is a pro- 00 ii. 20.) The Prophet concludes with a beautiful parable in explanation and defence of God’s dealings with his people.— “As the husbandman uses various methods in preparing his land, and adapting it to the several kinds of seeds to be sown, with a due observation of times and seasons; and when he hath gathered in the harvest, employs methods as various in separating the corn from the straw and chaff by different in- struments, according to the nature of the different sorts of grain : — so God, with unerring wisdom and impartial justice, instructs, admonishes, and corrects his people; chastises and verhial expression to denote perfect security from mischief or evil of which it is the cause. Lucan, speaking of the Psylii, whose peculiar property it was to be unhurt by the bite of serpents, will: which their country abounded, ap- proaches very nearly to Ihe expression of Isaiah: 11 Truce with the dreadful tyrant death they have, And border safely on his realm, the grave.” Rowe.]— Bagster. Ver. 19. Only to understand, A promise of buiiciification to ! IhegoCly. W O a to Ariel, to Ariel, b the city where \ c David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them ;1 kill sacrifices. 2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be [ heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto! me as Ariel. 3 And I will camp against thee round about, ! and will lay siege * against thee with a mount, and 1 will raise forts against thee. 4 And thou shalt be brought f down, and\ shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall oe, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall * whisper out of the dust. 5 Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff h that pass- eth away : yea, it shall be at an instant ■ sud- denly. 6 Thou ) shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. 7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all k that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream ' of a night vision. 8 It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth ; but he awa- keth, and his soul is empty : or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drink- eth ; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite : so shall the multi- tude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. 9 ][ Stay yourselves, and wonder ; m cry ye out. and cry : they are drunken, " but not with wine ; they stagger, but not with strong drink. 10 For 0 the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes : the prophets and your p rulers, the seers i hath he covered. 11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a r book that is ■ sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, A. M. 8292. H. C. 712. a or, O Ariel, i.e. U>e lion of God. b or. of the city. c 2 Sa.5.9. d cut of the heads. e SKi.25.1. &c. f La. 1.9. g peev, or, chirp. h Job21.18. i I Th. 5. 3. J C.30.3U kc.41.ll, 12. 1 c. 37.36. m or, take your pleasure and rioL p heads. c. 1.5. q 1 Sa.9.9. r or, letter. s Da. 12. 4,9. Re.5. 1. .9. t Eze. 33.31. Mat. 15.6 ..9. u Col. 2. 22. v add. w Hab. 1.5. x Je.49.7. Oh. 8. 1 Co. 1.19. y Ps. 139.7, &c. c.30.1. z Ps.94.7. a c.45.9. Ru. 9.20. b c.32.15. Mat. 19.30 c c.35.5. Lu.7.22. d c.61.1. e add. f Ja.2.5. i Am. 5.10, 12 . J Jos. 24. 3. k c. 54.4. 1 c.60.21. Ep.2.10. Read this, I pray thee : and he saith, I cannot for it is sealed : 12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee : and he saith, I am not learned. 13 If Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their i mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of “ men : 14 Therefore, behold, I will v proceed to do a marvellous w work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder : for * the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 15 Wo unto them that seek deep to hide y their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who 1 seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning ofthings upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay : for a shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no under- standing ? 17 Tf Is it not yet a very little while, and Le- banon shall be turned b into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest ? 18 And c in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. 19 The meek d also shall c increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor f among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the terrible one is brought to s nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch h for iniquity are cut off: 21 That make a man an offender for a w r ord, and i lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. 22 Therefore thus saith the ) Lord, who re- deemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not k now be ashamed, nei- ther shall his face now wax pale. 23 But when he seeth his children, the work 1 1 of my hands, in the midst of him, they shall Dunishes them in various ways, as the exigency of the case requires; always tempering justice with mercy, in order to re- claim the wicked, to improve the good, and, finally, to sepa- rate the one from the other.” Bishop Lowth. Chap. XXIX. Yer. 1 — 24. 77ie invasion of Judah, by Sen- nacherib announced . — “ The subject of this, and the four fol- lowing chapters, is the invasion of Sennacherib : the great distress of the Jews while it continued ; their sudden ana un- expected deliverance by God’s immediate interposition in their favour; the subsequent prosperous state of the kingdom un- der Hezekiah, interspersed with severe reproofs, and threats of punishment for their hypocrisy, stupidity, infidelity; their want of trust in God, and their vain reliance on the assistance Chap. XXIX. Ver. 1. Wo to Ariel. — Ariel, according to some, means, “ the lion of God according to others, and to which Loioth inclines, “ the fire of God,” which interpretation seems countenanced by ver. 2. The city where David dwelt— i. e. Jerusalem. Add ye year to year— Spoken ironi rally, according to Lowth : “ Go on, year after year, keep your solemn feasts : yet know that God will punish you for your hypocritical worship, consisting of mere form, destitute of true piety.” Ver. 2. .4s Ariel.— Either as “ the lion of God,” i. e. a strong lion, or “ the fire of God,” the sacred fire : but why so called, is still a question. The mo- dern Persians sav that their capital was called Shiraz, “ a lion.” for the great quantity of provisions it consumed. See Orient. Cast. No 1074. So might Je- rusalem he called “ the lion of God,” or a strong lion, for the vast quantity of flesh it consumed, the sacrifices included ; or, “ the fire of God,” from its be- ing the residence of the sacred fire. As Ariel may therefore mean, “ fierce as a lion,” as Boothroyd explains it,— lor. as Bishop Lowth renders, “and it shall be unto me as the hearth of the great altar;” that is, it shall be the seat of the fire of God, which shall issue from thence to consume his enemies. The hearth of the altar is expressly called ariei by Ezekiel, chap, xliii. 15; which is put, in the former part of the verse, for Jerusalem, the city in which the altar was.]— Bagster. Ver. 4. Shalt speak out of the ground. — It was a popular notion of the heathen, that ghosts uttered, “ hollow sepulchral sounds,” which seems here alluded to. The Necromancers were, many ot them, Ventriloquists, and whis- iHjmd “ as out of the dust.” Loioth. Ver. 5. The multitude of thy strangers.— Here as elsewhere, (see note on of Egypt ; with promises of better times, both immediately to succeed, and to be expected in the future age (of the Messiah ;) the whole making, not one continued discourse, but rather a collection of different discourses upon the same subject; which is treated with great elegance and variety.” Bishop Lowth. The chapters are not ill-divided, but it may be proper to mark the transitions from one topic to another as we proceed. Ariel is here certainly Jerusalem ; and the opening of the chapter represents the distress of the city on Sennacherib’s invasion, with their recourse to necromancers; then follows the defeat of the haughty monarch by divine Providence, without human aid, and the utter destruction of his army. Finally, the Prophet describes and bewails the perverseness of xxv. 2.) Bishop Loioth exchanges the term strangers for “ the proud,” as we conceive, without necessity. The “ multitude of strangers” here, we consi- der as “ the multitude of all nations ver. 7. Ver. 9. Cry ye out and cry.— Sea margin. The cry is here, not perhaps cither that of distress or revclrv, but the noise of faction, quarrelling among them- selves. It might therefore be rendered, “Amuse yourselves with your own noise.” Bui Gesenius renders it, “ Be ye dazzled and blinded which agrees very well with the context. , . . , Ver. ll. A book that is sealed — That is, the Lord had given them up to the blindness of their own hearts, (sec Ephes. iv. 18 .) so that God's word had be- come to them utterly unintelligible. . , Ver. 13 Their fear toward me, &c. — The Evangelist Matthew (chap. vm. 9.) quotes this from the Septuacint., “But in vain do they worship me, teach- ing (for) doctrines the commandments of men.” Ver. 16. Surely your turning, &c.— This very obscure passage is thus ren- dered by Lowth , “ Perverse as ye are ! shall the potter be esteemed as the clay?” and Boothroyd to the same effect. Ver. 17. Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field —Lowth, Shall bo come like Carmel, and Carmel,” &c. i. e. great changes must be expected, which some think may refer to the rejection of the Jews, and calling of the Gentiles. See Lowth. . Ver. 18. In that day. — That is, under the gospel dispensation. See chap. it. 11. 17.; xii. 1.; xix. 21.; xxvi. 1. &e. Ver. 21. That make a man an offender, &c .—Lowth and Boothroyd con- tinue the sentence ; “ Who made a man offender.” &c.; or, as Dr. B. turns it 762 The people threatened \ ISAIAH.- sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. 24 They m also that erred in spirit shall " come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine. CHAPTER XXX. 1 The prophet threatened the people for their confidence in Egypt, 8 and contempt of God’s word. 18 God’s mercies towards his church. 27 God’s wrath, and the peo- ple’s joy, in the destruction of Assyria. W O a to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover b with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may c add sin to sin : 2 That d walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth ; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt ! 3 Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. 4 For his princes were at Zoan, and his am- bassadors came to Hanes. 5 They were all ashamed 'of a people that could not profit them, nor be a help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. 6 The burden of the beasts of the south : into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. 7 For f the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose : therefore have I cried s con- cerning this, Their h strength is to sit still. 8 IT Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever : 9 That this is a rebellious i people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord : 10 Which say k to the seers, See not ; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us i smooth things, prophesy de- ceits : 11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. 12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Is- rael, Because ye despise this word, and trust m in " oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon : 13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as CHAP. XXX. God’s mercies to his church . n know under- standing. A. M. cir. 3291. B. C. cir. 713. a De.29.19, 20 . b c.29.15. 3 Ro.2.5. d c.31.1. e Je.2.36. f Je.37.7. g or, to her. h ver.15. i latter day. j De. 32.20. k Je.ll.2l. Am. 2. 12. 7.13. Mi. 2.6, 11. 1 1 Ki.22.13. m Ps.62.10. n or, fraud p Ps.2.9. Je. 19.11. q bottle of potters. ■ ver.7. s 2 K i.25. 5. t De.32.30. u or, a tree bereft of branches , or, boughs or, a mast i Ho.5. 15. n Pa. 34. 8. x c. 65.9,24. 7 Je.29. 12.. 14. z Ps.80.5. i or, op- pression. b Ps.74.9. A m. 8. 1 1 , 12 . c Pa. 32. 8. d the gra- ven ima- ges of thy silver. e scatter. f Ho.14.8. g leavened , or, sa- voury a breach “ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 14 And he shall break p it as the breaking of the i potter’s vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare : so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. 15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel ; In returning and r rest shall ye be saved ; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength : and ye would not. 1G But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses ; therefore shall ye flee : and, We will ride upon the swift ; therefore shall they that pursue 8 you be swift. 17 One thousand » shall flee at the rebuke of one ; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee : till ye be left as u a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill. 18 And therefore will the Lord v wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you : for the Lord is a God of judgment : w blessed are all they that wait for him. 19 For the people shall dwell x in Zion at Je- rusalem : thou shalt weep no more : he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry ; when y he shall hear it, he will an- swer thee. 20 And though 2 the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of a affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be b removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers : 21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This c is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. 22 Ye shall defile also the covering of d thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt 'cast them away as a menstruous cloth ; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee f hence. 23 Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal ; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat. and plenteous : in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. 24 The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat s clean proven- the Jews, predicts their rejection and the calling of the Gen- tiles, and concludes with a farther reference to the progress of Messiah’s kingdom. Chap. XXX. Ver. 1 — 33. The Jews threatened for their reliance on Egypt, and the awful destruction of Assyria again predicted. — The folly of the former, in their sending ambassadors with enormous presents into Egypt, through the wilderness of wild beasts and serpents, is exposed and ridi- culed. For this foolish and rebellious conduct they are se- verely threatened; and it is predicted that Egypt, in which they trusted, should not only afford them no protection ; but, like a tottering wall, should fall suddenly on them, and over- whelm them with destruction. “ Who accounted a man guilty for a word, and laid snares,’' &c. Bishop Stock refers this to judicial proceedings, and renders the clause, “ That cause I he poor man to he cast in the process.” Chap. XXX. Ver. 1. That cover with a covering.— “ Who pour out a li- bation.” to ratify their covenant with Egypt, ” hut not of my spirit.” The ap- pointed lihat'ons had a reference to God's spirit, (see exposition of chap, xii.) but this alludes, probably, to some heathen rife. Ver. 4 Ilanes.— [The Chaldee, paraphrast and others, by Hanes understand Tahpanhes, or Daphnes , but it is probably the same as Anysis , the royal city of a king of the same name, mentioned by Herodotus. The learned Forster : s of opinion that it is the same city as tile Thennesum of Cassianus , situ- ated on the Mendesian lake.) — Bagster. Ver. 6 The burden of the beasts of the south— Lototh, “ Going south- ward i. e. wini presents to Egypt, to secure their alliance. The land of trouble. — {Or, as Bishop Lowth renders, ” through a land of distress and diffi- culty the same deserts are Imre spoken of which the Israelites passed through. De. viii. 13.; xvii. 16.]— Bagster. Ver. 7 Their strength is to sit still. -Applying this to Israel, it may mean tier had better sit still and not go to seek help in Egypt. Or to Egypt, it Ver. 18. Consolation is, however, afforded them in promises of mercy and deliverance; which, though long delayed, shall not fail: “Blessed are all they that wait for him.” A holy people shall yet be restored to Zion, to be dispersed and weep no more. Divine instruction shall be afforded them; idolatry shall be utterly suppressed, and temporal prosperity shall be restored. That these promises have reference to the new dis- pensation of the Messiah there can be no doubt, for to that only can be applied the promises of increasing light and glory in verse ( 26 , when the day of knowledge and of grace is to be increased to a sevenfold degree of splendour. The latter part of the chapter relates evidently to the terrible overthrow of Sennacherib and his army, which were to be utterly destroy- means, that all they could do would be in vain, and amount to nothing. See Gataker. Ver. 15 inclines us to the former. Ver. 8. In a table— or on a tablet. That it may be for the time to come. — See margin. Even for ever and ever ; referring to Messiah’s kingdom. Ver. 11. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before vs. — Loioth, “ Remove from our sight the Holy One of Israel.” See Job xxi. 14, 15. Ver. 14. lie shall break. — Lowth , ” It shall be broken, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel.” Ver. 15. In returning— That is, in returning to put their confidence in God. Ver. 16. Ride upon the noift.— Boothroyd, “ Horses ;” Lowth , ** Coursers.” Ver. 17. At the rebuke of Jive . — Something is evidently to be here under- stood ; Gataker supplies the word all; “ Ye shall all flee,” and the LXX. the word many ; but Lowth , from a comparison of this text with Levit. xxvi. 8. and Deut. xxxii. 30, supplies *’ 10,000,” which, in the Hebrew, is expressed nearly the same as “ many.” So Boothroyd. Ver. 19. For the people— LXX. * A holy people which is followed by Lowth and Boothroyd. Ver. 22. Ye shall defile.— That is. treat it as an abomination. Cast them away, as a polluted garment— This is the version of Bishop Loioth. 763 destruction of Assyria foretold. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XXXI., XXXII. Folly of trusting in Egypt fler, which hath been winnowed with the sho- vel and with the fan. 25 And there shall be upon every high moun- tain, and upon every h high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover the light ■ of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. 27 U Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and i the Durden thereof is k heavy : his iips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring i fire : 28 And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift m the nations with the sieve of vanity : and there shall be a bridle "in the jaws of the peo- ple, causing them to err. 29 Ye shall have a song, as "in the night when a holy solemnity is kept ; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the r mighty One of Israel. 30 And the Lord shall cause *> his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the light- ing down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hail- stones. 31 For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. 32 And r in every place where the grounded staff" shall pass, which the Lord shall s lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps : and in battles of shaking will he fight <■ with it. 33 For Tophet u is ordained v of old; yea, for the king it is prepared ; he hath made it deep and large : the pile thereof is fire and much wood ; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of w brimstone, doth kindle it. A. M. cir. 3291. H. C. eir. 713. h lifted up. i c.G0. 19,20. J or, griev- ousness of Jlame. k heaviness. 1 Zep.3.8. in Lu.22.31. n c.37.29. o Ps.42.3,4. p Rock. q the glory of fiia voice. r every passing of the rod founded. 8 cause to rest. t or, against them. u Je.7.31. v from yesterday. w Re. 14.9, 10 . a Ho. 7. 7. b remove. c Ho. 11. 10. d or, multi- tude. e Ps.46.5. f Je.3.12. g Ho.9.9. h the idols of his gold. i c. 37.36. j or, for fear of. k f or melt- tributary 1 his rock shall pass away for fear. m or, strength. a Ps. 45.6,7. Je.23.5,6. Zee. 9. 9. Ro.5.21. CHAPTER XXXI. 1 The prophet showeth the cursed folly in trusting to Egypt, and forsaking ot God. He exhorteih to conversion. 8 He showeth the full of Assyria. YYT O to them that go down to Egypt for '' help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horse- men, because they are very strong; but a they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord ! 2 Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not b call back his words : but will arise against the house of the evil-doers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. 3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God ; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together. 4 For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion " and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the d noise of them : so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof. 5 As birds fiying, so will the Lord of hosts defend ' Jerusalem ; defending also he will de- liver it ; and passing over he will preserve it. 6 U Turn f ye unto him from whom the child- ren of Israel have deeply e revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and h his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin 8 If Then shall the Assyrian fall i with the sword, not of a mighty man ; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him : but he shall flee j from the sword, and his young men shall be k discomfited. 9 And i he shall pass over to his m strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. CHAPTER XXXII. 1 The blesslngB of Christ’s kingdom. 9 Desolation is foreshown. 15 Restoration » _____ promised to succeed. T>EHOLD, a king shall reign in a righteous- ness, and princes shall rule in judgment. 2 And a man shall be as a hiding place from ed, like the sacrifices in the valley of Hinnom, here called Tophet. Chap. XXXI. Ver. 1 — 9. The Jews are again reproved for their confidence in Egypt. — This chapter is very similar to the preceding. Their folly is strongly exhibited in a contrast between the weakness of creatures and the power of the Cre- ator : What is flesh to spirit? what is man compared with God ? Two fine comparisons are here introduced. The for- mer, verse 4. represents the weakness of Egypt as a protect- ing power, no more able to secure Israel against their offended God, than a company of unarmed shepherds to oppose the mighty lion. The other, verse 5. exhibits the divine protection of nis people, in allusion to the mounting eagle guarding her own nest. “As the mother-birds hovering over their young; so shall Jehovah God of hosts protect Jerusalem : protecting and delivering ; leaping forward and rescuing her — Lowth. Compare Deut. xxxii. 11. — The Jews are then exhorted to re- pentance, and to the rejection of their idols. The chapter concludes like the last, with again predicting the fall of Sennacherib. It was proper to dwell much on this im- portant event, which, in human appearance, was very unlikely, the Assyrian being at that time the greatest empire in all the world. But what is all the world before the power of Je- hovah? Chap. XXXII. Ver. 1 — 20. The blessings of Messiah's kingdom , with a warning to hypocrites and unbelievers. — The opening verses of this chapter have been applied to the reign of Hezekiah ; but in their full and literal sense have their ful- filment onlv in his government, who is emphatically “ the King of righteousness and of peace.” (Heb. vii. 2.) The pro- ven 25. When the towers— Lowth, “ The mighty” fall ; i. e. in the day when God shall destroy his enemies, and the enemies of his people. Ver. 27. The name of the Lord— The report of his great judgments, his mighty fame. And the burden thereof is heavy. — Lowth, 41 His wrath Durneth, and the flame rageth.” So Boothroyd. Ver. 28. His breath. — Lowth, “ Spirit.” The sieve of vanity . — [^Bishop 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 ancienrs 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.]— Bagster. See Matt. iii. 12. There shall be a bridle.— That is, they shall De infatuated with a sense of their own security, which shall lead them blind- fold to ruin. Ver. 29. A song as in the night . — That is, in the eve preceding every great festival. Ver. 30. And shall show the lighting down of his arm . — So the Lord is said to “make bare his arm.” See chap. Iii. 10. Ver. 31. 'Which smote with a rod . — We think, with Gataker , this refers to the Lord’s smiting the Assyrian “as with a rod,” supplying as instead of which. Compare Ps. ii. 9. Ver. 32. And in every place , &c.— Sec margin. On the authority of two or three MSS. only, Lowth reads, “the rod of correction,” but we think impro- perly, since it was the rod of destruction, as appears by the context. We would propose to read, “ And in every place where the passing staff is ground- ed. it shall be,” &c. We consider it an allusion to a criminal being 764 scourged to the place of execution, and at every pause of the scourging rod, Israel shall exult in songs. And with battles of shaking, See — Lowth, “ And with fierce battles shall he fight against ihem.” Ver. 33. Tovhet is ordained of old— \ Tophet was a part of the valley of Hinnom, south-east of Jerusalem, where the Canuanites, and afterwards the Israelites, sacrificed their children to Moloch, with the sound of drums. So was Assyria to be consumed amid the noise of triumph. And it is here used by metonymy, for the place where the Assyrian army was destroyed, which appears to have really happened on the opposite side of Jerusalem, near Nob. chap. x. 32.1— -Bagger. Chap. XXXI. Ver. 2. Not callback. — Sec margin. Lowth , “ Not set aside.” Ver. 5. Passing over. — (Or rather, as Bishop Lowth renders, “ leaping for ward,” pasoach. As the mother bird spreads her wings to cover her young, throws herself before them, and opposes the rapacious bird that assaults them ; so shall Jehovah protect, as with a shield, Jerusalem from the enemy, pro- tecting and delivering, springing forward and rescuing her.]— Bagster. Ver. 8. Not of a?7iightyman. See— Lowth, “ Not of man the meaning is. he should not fall by the sword of man, but of God. llis young men shall b ■ dwcomfited.— Lowth, “ The courage of his young (or chosen) men shall fail.” Ver. 9. He shall pass over to his strong hold.—Lowthj “ Beyond his strong hold,” even to Nineveh, where he w as slain. Ch. xxxviii. 37, 3S. Afraid of the ensign.— Loioth, “ Struck with consternation at his flight.” Chap. XXXII. Ver. 2. A man— Lowth, “The man;” i. e. the king iust named. Shadow. — [The shadow of a great projecting rock, observes Bishop Lowth, is the most refreshing that is possible in a hot country : not only o* Blessings of Christ's kingdom. ISAIAH.— CHAP. XXXIII. Judgments on Zion's enemies the wind, and a covert b from the tempest ; as rivers c of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a d great rock in a weary land. 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall nearken. 4 The heart also of the e rash shall under- stand knowledge, and the tongue of the stam- merers shall be ready to speak f plainly. 5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. 6 For the vile person will s speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypo- crisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when h the needy speak- eth right. 8 But the liberal deviseth liberal things ; and by liberal things shall he * stand. 9 IT Rise up, ye women that are at j ease ; hear my voice, ye careless daughters ; give ear unto my speech. 10 k Many days and years shall ye be trou- bled, ye careless women : for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. 11 Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones : strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. 12 They shall lament for the teats, for the i pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. 13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns m and briers ; " yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city : 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken ; the multitude of the city shall be left ; the 0 forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks ; 15 Tf Until the spirit p be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and ■» the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilder- ness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness shall be A. M. cir. 3'49l. B. C. cir. 713. b c.4.6. c c.44.3. tl heavy. e hasty. f or, ele- gantly. g Je.13.23. h or, he speaketh against the poor injudg. ment. i or, he es- tablished. j Ain. 6.1. k days above a year. 1 fields of desire. m Ho. 10. 8. n or, burn- ing upon. o or, clifts and watch towers. p Joel 2.28. q Ps. 107.33, &c. r Ps. 85.10. Ja.3.18. s He. 4.9. # t c. 30.30. u or, utter- ly abased. vEc. 11.1,2. a c.21.2. Hab.2.8. b Re. 13. 10. c Ps.97.9. d Ro.3.26. e salvations. f Pr.14.27. g or, mes- sengers. h or, wither- ed away. i Ps.46.10. r peace ; and the effect of righteousness quiet- ness and assurance for ever. 18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable * habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; 19 When it shall 1 hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be “low in a low place. 20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all T wa- ters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass. CHAPTER XXXIII. 1 God’s judgments against the enemies of the church. 13 The privileges of the godly. TT J O to thee that a spoilest, and thou wast ’’ not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee ! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou b shalt be spoiled ; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacher- ously with thee. 2 O Lord, be gracious unto us ; we have wait- ed for thee : be thou their arm every morn- ing, our salvation also in the time of trouble. 3 At the noise of the tumult the people fled at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered. 4 And your spoil shall be gathered like the gathering of the caterpillar : as the running to and fro of locusts shall he run upon them. 5 The Lord is c exalted ; for he dwelleth on high : he hath filled Zion with d judgment and righteousness. 6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of e salva- tion : the fear f of the Lord is his treasure. 7 Behold, their s valiant ones shall cry with out : the ambassadors of peace shall weep bit- terly. 8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth : he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man. 9 The earth mourneth and languisheth : Le- banon is ashamed and 11 hewn down : Sharon is like a wilderness ; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. 10 Now will I rise, saith the Lord ; now will I be ■ exalted ; now will I lift up myself. 11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring tection which he, end which he only, can afford, is illustrated by a comparison of great beauty, in reference to the climate of the Eastern countries. He is a rock, and, as such, affords refuge from all the tempests of man s rage and of God's wrath; while the shadow which he yields, is like that of “ a great rock” in a weary and parched land. Thus is he at once a defence from the wintry storm and the summer heat. There was also a rock which yielded to Israel, not only shade, but water; that followed them through the wilderness, and “ that rock was (typically) Christ” — the King here spoken of. Warnings are then given against oppression and hypocrisy, and to all those sinners (here spoken of as women) who were at ease in Zion, indifferent to its interests and its prosperity. They are threatened with want, and directed to clothe them- most perfectly excluding the rays of the sun, but also having in itself a natural coolness, which it reflects and communicates to every thing about it. “ Let the cool cave, and shady rock, protect them.” Virgil.)— Bolster. Ver. 3. Shall not be dim. — Bishop Lowth rejects the negative here, with con- siderable reason, as an error of the transcribers, (of which there are several ac- knowledged instances,) and is followed by Boothroyd , who reads, “ The eyes of those that see shall regard hirn.” Ver. 4 The heart also— Lowth, “ Even the heart,” &c. Ver. 5. The churl.— Lowth, “Niggard.” So in ver. 7. Ver. 7. Even when the needy speaketh right. — Lowth , “ And to defeat the assertions of the poor in judgment.” So Boothroyd. Ver. 12. They shall lament for the teats— that is, the milk of the kine and flock. But Lowth connects this line with the preceding, thusj “ Gird ye sack- cloth upon your loins, and upon your breasts.” But the Hebrew ( shadirn ) sig- nifies fields^*.* well as breasts ; we therefore decidedly prefer the version of Parkhurst, ‘ For the lamented fields, for the fields of desire i. e. these were to be the objects of their regret. Ver. 13. Yea, upon aJl the houses of joy.— The eastern houses were built with flat roofs (and often gardens on them) with court yards in the centre : when these houses were deserted, grass and weeds would fill the latter, and, In many cases, cover the former. Ver. 19. When it shall hail , &c .—Loioth, “But the hail shall fall, and the forest shall be brought down, and the city be laid level with the plain.”— See selves in mourning, and like public mourners lament the mise- ries of their country. The troubles of God’s people, however, are not like those of the world around them. They may be severe, but they are not perpetual. We look for the fulfilment of Messiah’s promises, that “the spirit shall be poured upon us from on high ;” and that not once only, but again and again as our exigencies and the progress of his kingdom may re- quire. In the mean time, let us sow the seed of his word “beside (or upon) all waters.” Wherever the leadings of pro- vidence may direct, or the streams of divine influence flow — let us cast “the seed of the word,” and we shall find it “ after many days.” (Eccles. xi. 1.) Chap. XXXIII. Ver. I — 24. Sennacherib again threatened, and the church encouraged to trust in God. — The Prophet ad- margin. By this city, some understand Nineveh, and others Babylon ; but Je- rusalem and the Jews may possibly be intended, as in ver. 13 and 14. They were to be humbled and then restored. See Gataker. Ver. 20 . Blessed are ye, &c.— Here is an evident allusion to the manner of sowing their grain in Egypt, and treading it in by the feet of the small cattle. Chap. XXXIII. Ver. 1. Wo unto thee. — These words are supposed to be addressed to Sennacherib, remonstrating with him on the injustice of his con- duct. Ver. 2. Their arm— rOr rather, as Lowth reads, on the authority of the Sy- riac, Chaldee, and Vulgate, instead of zeroam , “ their arm,” zeroenoo, “ our arm as otherwise the prophet, who is here praying against the enemies of God' 8 people, would appear as if praying in their behaV.]— Bagster. Ver. 4. And, your spoil, &c. — is also addressed to the haughty enemy of Ju dah, whose very name was a terror to the nations, and implies, that the spoil oi his army should be gathered with the same avidity as the locust and the cater- pillar plunder the fiel is of grain, or the trees of fruit. Shall he run upon them— Lot oth, “ Shall they run an-J seize it.” Ver. 6. Strength, &c. — Rather, “ The strength of (thy) salvation.” His treasure— Some of the ancient versions read in the second person, “ thy trea- sure,” and the sense seems to require it. Ver. 7. Their valiant ones. — See margin.— ;Heb. “Heroes,” and some few copies read, “ their lions of God,” or strong lions ; a term still in use among the Arabians. 765 The privileges of the godly . ISAIAH. — CHAP. XXXIV. Fate of the church? a enemies forth stubble : your breath, us fire, shall de- vour you. 12 And the people shall be us the burnings of lime : as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire. 13 If Hear, ye that are far off, what I hhve done ; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. 14 The sinners in Zion are afraid ; fearful- ness hath surprised j the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire ? who among us shall dwell with everlasting Durnings ? 15 He k that walketh ' righteously, and speak- eth uprightly ; he that despiseth the gain of n oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of “blood, and shutteth his p eyes from seeing evil ; 16 He shall dwell on « high : his place of de- fence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him ; his waters shall be sure. 17 Thine eyes shall see the r king in his Deauty: they shall behold the land 8 that is very far off. 18 Thy heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe ? where is the ‘receiver? where is he that counted the towers ? 19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a peo- ple of deeper speech than thou canst perceive ; of a “ stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand. 20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemni- ties : thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be ta- ken down ; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever T be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. 21 But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place w of broad rivers and streams ; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. A. M. cir. 3291. 13. (J. cir. 713. J Mat 22. 12. ; I’b.15.2. 1 in right- eowftiesB. m upright- nesses. n or, de- ceit. t. o bloods. p Pa. 119.37. q heights. or, high places. r Jn.17.S4. 8 of far dis- tances. t weigher. u or. ridi- culous. v Re.3. 12. w broad of spaces, or, hands. x statute- maker, y or, they have for- saken thy lacklings. z 1 Co. 1.27. b Je.50.20. a Pis. 49.1. b De 32.1. c the full- ness thereof. d Zep.3.8. e Vs. 102.26. Eze.32.7,8 Joel 2.31. 3.15,16. Mat 24.29 2 Pe.3. 10. Re.6.13, 14. f Je.49.6. g c.63.1,&c. h or, rhino- ceroses. i or, drunk- J Je.46.10. 22 For the Lord fa our judge, the Lord is our 1 lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us. 23 y Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not well strengthen their mast, they could not spread the sail : then is the prey of a great spoil divided ; the lame 1 take the prey. 24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am “sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven b their iniquity. CHAPTER XXXIV. 1 The judgments wherewith God revengeth his church. 1 1 The desolation of her ene mies. 16 The certainty of the prophecy. C OME “ near, ye nations, to hear; and heark- en, ye people : let the b earth hear, and c all that is therein ; the world, and all things that come forth of it. 2 For rt the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath deli vered them to the slaughter. 3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. 4 And e all the host of heaven shall be dis- solved, and the heavens shall be rolled toge- ther as a scroll : and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling^zg- from the fig tree. 5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven : behold, it shall come down upon f Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. 6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams : for the Lord hath a sacrifice in e Boz- rah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idu- mea. 7 And the h unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be ‘ soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. 8 For it is the day j of the Lord’s vengeance, dresses himself to Sennacherib, remonstrating against the in- justice of his ambitious designs, and denouncing a just retalia- tion : at the same time praying for an interference on behalf of Israel. In verse 5. according to Bishop Lowth, “ A chorus of Jews is introduced, acknowledging the mercy and power of God, who had undertaken to protect them : extolling it in direct op- position to the boasted power of their enemies, and celebrating the wisdom and piety of their King, Hezekiah, who had placed his confidence in the favour of God.” To him are addressed the following words, (ver. 6.) “ Wisdom and knowledge are the stability of thy times,” &c. Verses 7 to 9, describe the distress and despair of the Jews, (as il were, the whole face of nature languishing) on Senna- cherib’s marching against their city, after Hezekiah, accord- ing to treaty, had actually paid him an immense sum of mo- ney. (See 2 Kings xviii. 14 — 26.) Ver. 10. the Almighty is introduced, declaring he will arise and interpose in this critical juncture, anddestroy the enemies of his people. Then follows, (ver. 11 to 22.) according to the same learned prelate, a description of the dreadful apprehensions of the wicked in those times of distress and danger : finely contrast- ed with the calm confidence and security of the righteous, and their trust in the promises of God, that he will be their never- failing strength and protector. The whole concludes with a description of the security of the Jews under the protection of God, and of the wretched state of Sennacherib and his army, wholly discomfited, and exposed to be plundered by the weakest of the enemy. The images employed to represent ihe security of Israel, and the debilitated state of Assyria, are very beautiful. The Lord pro- tects Israel, as by a stormy impassible sea, where, in the sea- phrase, “no galley with oars, nor gallant ship, can live; whereas the Assyrian power is represented as reduced to the state of an old vessel, worn out and laid by, and no longer sea- worthy \ as the sailors’ phrase is. Chap. XXXIV. Ver. 1 — 17. The church avenged of her enemies . — This and the following chapter, as Bp. Lowth observes, form one distinct prophecy; an entire, regular, Ver. 11. Your brea*h, as, fire, &c.— The sense seems to be, that their schemes of ambition should he worthless as stubble, and destroyed by their own breath. See Job iv. 8 ; Ps. vii. 14.’ Ver. 12. As the burnings of lime.— Lowth, “ The people shall be burned, as the lime is burned.” Ver. 14. Devouring fire— referring, in the first instance, to the burnings just mentioned, and probably to the burnings in the valley of Tophet. chap. xxx. 33.- — Everlasting burnings. — Loivth and Boothroyd , “ Perpetual burnings.” Ver. 15. Walketh righteously. — Sec margin — so also “ uprightness, bloods,” &o. all plural, for emphasis. Ver. 17. The king in his beauty — That is, Hezekiah, in his royal robes, in- stead of sackcloth. . . ... .The land that is very far off— sue margin— i. e. says Dr. Boothroyd, “ the siege being ended, and the enemy destroyed, any part of the land may be visited at pleasure ; .*r any foreign land.” Ver. 18. Thy heart sha'l meditate i error— That is, according to Lowth, "Shall reflect on the post terror.”. . . .Where is the scribe, &c. — The scribe who look down the names of those who were to pay tribute. The receiver — See margin— i. e. of tribute, who received the money. He that counted the towers — he that directed the siege. See Boothroyd. These were all now done away with. Ver. 19. Of a stammering — See margin—” Tongue i. e. foreigners, whose •anguagc they could not understand. Ver. 21. A place of broad rivers, &c. — the Lord shall protect them, like an impassable sea. Ver. 23. Thy tacklings are loosed. — The prophet compares the enemy to a •hip, worn out and laid by ; for to the enemy this must be addressed — Booth- rgyd Ver. 24. I am. sick. — Lowth, “ Disabled with sickness i. e. pestilence as well as war are now removed, and the nation pardoned. Chap. XXXIV. Ver. 2. He hath destroyed— Lowth, “Devoted” them. Ver. 3. Mountains shall melt down with their blood —An ima^e of uncom- mon boldness, implying, perhaps, that the sanguinary torrent should flow down like a hail storm, carrying all before it. Compare Micah i. 3, 4. Ver. 4. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved— Sir Isaac Newton re- marks, that “ the figurative language of the prophets is taken from the analo- gy between the world natural, and an empire or kingdom considered as a world politic. Accordingly the whole world natural, consisting of heaven and earth, signifies the whole world politic, consisting of thrones and people.” On this principle, the dissolution of the host of heaven must mean, the overthrow of tnrones and governments; and the falling of stars, the subjection of kings, &c. as we shall have farther occasion to remark. The rolling together of the firmament as a scroll of parchment, must therefore imply, the removal of the existing powers, political or ecclesiastical, as a finished scroll. This interpretation of these figures in the prophets, is admitted by all judicious cii» ics. Ver. 5. My sword, shall be bathed in heaven. — Taken literally, it may allude to the practice of cavalry, w ho flourish their swords in air, when advancing to battle ; hut figuratively, (as just explained,) it intimates great slaughter among the higher ranks of society. But the late Levi, a Jewish expositor ren- ders this verse, “ For my sword that is in heaven, shall be satiated with blood : behold, on Edom (or Idumea) it shall descend ;” and to this we feel much in- clined. By Bozrah, however, Mr. L. and his Jewish brethren understand Rome, the great enemy (by its persecutions) both of Jews and Christians and they infer from ver. 9 and 10. that that city shall be literally visited by the same 7C6 The blessings of the gospel. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XXXV., XXXVI. Sennacherib invades Judah and the year of recompenses for the contro- versy k of Zion. 9 And i the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and thelandthereofshall become burning pitch. 10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the ra smoke thereof shall go up for ever : from generation to generation it shall lie waste ; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. 11 But the 11 cormorant 0 and the bittern shall possess it ; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it : and he shall stretch out upon it the line p of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. 12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. 13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof : and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for i owls. 14 r The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with 5 the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow ; the ‘ screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. 15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be ga- thered, every one with her mate. 16 TI Seek “ ye out of the book of the Lord, and read : no one v of these shall fail, none shall wanthermate: for my mouthithath com- manded, and his spirit it hath gathered them. 17 And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein. CHAPTER XXXV. The joyful flourishing of Christ’s kingdom. 3 The weak are encouraged by the vir- tues and privileges of the gospel. CTlHE wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and "the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. A. M. cir. 3291. B. C. cir. 713. k Mi. 6.1. 1 De.29.23. m Re- 19.2.3 n or, pelican. o Zep.2.14. Re. 18.2. p 2Ki.21.13. q daughters of uie owl , or, ostriches. c 13.21,22 r Ziim. 8 Ijim. t or, night monster. u c.8.20. Jn.5.39. 2Pe-l.l9. v Mat.5.18. ' Lu.21.33. a c. 55. 12,13 b Ho.14,5,6. c He. 12. 12. d hasty, e c.44.2. f c.25.9. Lu.2l.28. g Mat 11. 5. h c.41.18. 43.19. i Jn.4.14. 7.33. j or, a court for reeds. k c.52.1. Joel 3.17. Re. 21.27. 1 or, for he shall be with them. mEze.34.25. n c.51.11. o Re.5.9. p Jude 24. q Re.7.17. 21.4. a 2Ki. 18.13, &c. 2Ch.32.l, &c. 2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing : the glory of Le- banon b shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glo- ry of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. 3 If Strengthen c ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. 4 Say to them that are of a ll fearful heart, be strong, fear e not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a re- compense ; he will come and save f you. 5 Then s the eyes of the blind shall be open- ed, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters h break out, and streams in the desert. 7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs ■ of water, in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be i grass with reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness ; the unclean k shall not pass over it ; 1 but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. 9 No m lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there ; but the redeemed shall walk there : 10 And the ransomed n of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with 0 songs and everlasting joy p upon their heads : they shall obtain joy and gladness, and i sorrow and sighing shall flee away. CHAPTER XXXVI. 1 Sennacherib invacleth Judah. 4 Rab-shakeh, sent by Sennacherib, by blasphemous persuasions solicitelh the people to revolt. 22 His words are told to Hezekiah. N OW a it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them. 2 Tf And the king of Assyria sent Rab-shakeh from Lachishto Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah and beautiful poem, consisting of two parts. The first con- taining a denunciation of Divine vengeance against the ene- mies of the people or church of Gon. The second descri- bing the flourishing state of that church consequent upon those judgments. The event foretold is represented as of the highest importance, and of universal concern: all nations are called upon to attend to the declaration of it; and the wrath of God is denounced against all the nations who had provoked to anger the Defender of the cause of Zion. By a figure very common in the prophetical writings, the cities and people mentioned here, who were remarkably distinguished as the enemies of the people of God, are put for those enemies in general. Edom and Bozrah are mentioned, a part for the whole. Ac- cordingly, the Edomites and neighbouring nations were sub- dued by Nebuchadnezzar. (Jer. xxv. 15—26.) But this event, though it may not be excluded, “seems by no means to come up to the terms of this prophecy, or to justify so highly wrought and terrible a description.” “It seems, therefore, reasonable to suppose, with many learned expositors, that this prophecy has a farther view to events still future; to some great revolutions to be effected in later times, antecedent to that more perfect stale of the kingdom of God upon earth, and serving to introduce it, which the scriptures warrant us to ex- pect.” (Bp. Lowth i) Cidp. XXXV. Ver. 1 — 10. The blessings consequent on Messiah’s incarnation. — That 'this second part of the prophe- judgments a? Sodom and Gomorrah, in which some Protestant commentators agree with them. Sec Rev. xviii. IS. — xix. 3, 17, 18. Ver. ll. The cormorant and the bittern. — Lowth , “The pelican and the porcupine.” The line of confusion— Lowth, “ Of devastation.’’. . . .And the stone. — Lowth , ' FJummet of emptiness.” Ver. 12 . They shall cat / the nobles thereof to the kingdom. &c. — Booth- rrryd, “ As to her notilcs. there shall be none, whom they may call to rule over them, for alt her princes shall utterly fail.” Ver u. Satyr — ! Salr. the he-goat. Goats are remarkable for calling one another, amlileliebi to browse among mined buildings.! — Bagster. Ver. 15. Great ow'.—lKijrpoz. in Arabic, kafazat, the darter, a species of ser- pent ; some of which we know are oviparous, and hatch their eggs on the ground.— See, Arts '.tie. Hist. Anim.]— Bagster. Chap. XXXV. Ver. 7. The-parchedground.—Lmoth, “ The glowing sand.” - — In the hat nation of dragons (or serpents) — " shall spring forth grass,” &c. Ver. 8. And ft way.— Sixteen 1VI.SS. omit these words, and Lowth thinks they were repeated Dy an error of the scribes. Wayfaring men. . . . . thullnot err therein —Bishop Warlvrton says, " Take a pfain man with an cy before us, describing the flourishing state of the church of God consequent to those judgments, is to be understood of the gospel-times, is plain from every part of it. — The 5th and 6th verses had their literal accomplishment in our Saviour. He quoted them to the messengers of John the Baptist, who were directed to compare with them what they saw and heard, as affording satisfactory proofs of his divine mission and cha- racter. (Matt. xi. 4, 5.) But Bp. Lowth supposes that “they may have a farther view;” and that “ this part of the pro- phecy may run parallel to the former, and relate to the future advent of Christ, to the conversion of the Jews, and their resto- ration to their own land ; to the greater influence and exten- sion of the Christian faith ; events predicted in the holv scrip tures as antecedent and preparatory” to that period.— “Much of the imagery of this chapter seems to allude to the exodus from Egypt; but is greatly enlivened by the life, sentiments, and passions ascribed to inanimate objects. All nature is re- presented as rejoicing with the people of God in consequence of their deliverance, and administering, in aryunusual manner, to their relief and comfort,” insomuch that, by many, this art of the prophecy is understood as referring to the final appiness of heaven. “And in this sense, which cannot he wholly excluded, many of the words may be illustrated by ex- pressions parallel to them in the New Testament.” Dr. J Smith. Chap. XXXVI. Ver. 1 — 22. Blasphemy of Sennacherib . — Infidels, in every age, deride the dependence placed by believ hones! heart, give him his Bible, and make him conversant in it, and I will on- gage for him that lie will never be at a loss to know how to act agreeably to his duty, in every circumstance of life. Yet give this man a good English translation of Aristotle’s Ethics, one of the most complete works for method in its kind, and by the time he has got to the end of it, I dare say he will not understand one word he has been reading.” Ver. 9. It shall be for those.— Lowth. fl He (God) shall be with them, walk- ing in the way, and the foolish shall not err therein.” Ver. 10 . And everlasting joy won their heads.— T.owth, “ And perpetual gladness shall crown their heads.” Chap. XXXVI. As many of Isaiah’s predictions relaled to the events here recorded ; it was proper that the history contained in this and the following chapiters should be insert ed : but, as it ba9 before been fully considered, it will not be necessary to add more than a few hints in this place. ” AVe may proba- bly conjecture, that this was part of that history of Hezekiah’s reign, which Isaiah wrote, as we read 2 Cbion. xxxii. 32.” Lowth— T. Scott. Ver. 2. Three verses found in Kings, are here omitted. Hezekiah on tins first invasion of the land, submitted to the invader, and gave Sennacherib all his 7CT Jtab-shakeh’s blasphemy. ISAIAH.— CHAP. XXXVII. Hezelaah sendelh to Isaiah with a great army. And lie stood by the con- duit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field. 3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hil- kiah’s son, which was over the house, and Shebna the b scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the recorder. 4 And Kab-shakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Ilezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest ? 5 I say, sayest thou , (but they are but c vain words,) d 7 have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou re- oellest against me ? 6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt ; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it : so is Pha- raoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. 7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God : is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken e away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall wor- ship before this altar'? 8 Now therefore give f pledges, I pray thee, to my master the Icing of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand e horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. 9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s ser- vants, and put thy trust on Egypt b for cha- riots and for horsemen ? 10 And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? the Lord * said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. 11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language ; for we un- derstand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall. 12 But Rab-shakeh said, Hath I my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you? 13 TI Then Rab-shakeh stood, and cried with k a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the > great king, the king of Assyria. A. M. 8SM. 1!. C. 110. b or, v er.rt- lary c a word of tips. d or, but counsel and strength are for the war. t 2 Ki.18.4. f or, hos- tage 8. Ps.20.7,8. Ho.14.3 h Je.2.36. i c. 37.28. A in. 3. 6. J Pn.31.18. k Ph. 17.10.. 13. 1 Ps.82.6,7. Da. 4. 37. m P8.71.10, 11 . n with me a blessin g, or, seek vty fa- vour by a present. o Zec.3.10. p Pr. 12.10. q Da. 3. 15. r 2Ki. 18.10. s c.37. 18,19. 45.16,17. t Pr.26.4. a 2Ki.l9.1, &c. b Job 1.20. c ver.14. d Joel 1.13 e P3.50.15. 14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah de- ceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you. 15 Neither m let Ilezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us : this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make "an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me : ai>d eat ye every one of his ° vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern ; 17 Until p I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, say- ing, The Lord will deliver us. i Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Ar- phad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out r of my hand ? 20 Who are they among all the gods • of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Je- rusalem out of my hand ? 21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word : for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him 1 not. 22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over fhe household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the re- corder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent and told him the words of Rab-shakeh. CHAPTER XXXVII. 1 Hezekiah mourning sendeth to Isaiah to pray for them. 6 Isaiah comforteth them 8 Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sendeth a blasphemous letter to Heze kiah. 14 Hezekiah’s prayer. 21 Isaiah’s prophecy of the pride and destruction o«. Sennacherib, and the good of Zion. 36 An angel slayelh the Assyrians. 37 Senna- cherib is slain at Nineveh by his own 6ons. A ND a it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent b his clothes, ana covered himself with sackcloth, and went c into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the el- ders of the priests covered with d sackcloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. 3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Heze- kiah, This day is a day of e trouble, and of ers on an invisible protection : but their own self-confidence will terminate in shame, when the hope, which rests on the word of God, shall “be found to praise, and honour, and glo- ry.” The aliiicted servant of God will generally find it best to leave ungodly men to revile, boast, insult, and menace, without making any reply : for humiliation, faith, and praver, are our proper employment, in seasons of personal or public distress. And, however, men attempt to discourage or exas- perate us, they will not do us any real harm ; unless they can prevail with us to neglect or violate the commandments of our Lord and Master. — 7\ Scott. Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 1 — 38. Hezekiah' s pious conduct. — Tempters and persecutors are effectually subservient to our highest interest, when their endeavours to terrify us, or se- duce us from God, make us more simple in our cfependence, and more fervent in our prayers : and when they revile us for the Lord’s sake, and for our reliance on him, and devoted obe- dience to him; they engage him on our side, and ensure our victory. Those exploits, in which powerful and wicked men glory, form a counterpart of the conduct of the devil, their father: and when their course is run, some unexpected event sends them to their “own place.” But the Lord will defend his church, for his own sake, and that of his annointeo King; and those, who fix their hopes and love on him, shall witness the destruction of all their enemies, and triumph in the most complete answer of their largest prayers. — T. Scott treasures as the price of peace : but soon after, probably the next year, Senna- cherib sent Rabshukeh, and others, with a great army, as here recorded. It is also added in the parallel passage, that Rab-shakeh and his companions “ call- ed to the king," or demanded an audience of him. — T. Scott. Ver. 3. Shebna . — “This declareth, that there were hut few godly to he found in the king’s house, when he was driven to send this wicked man in so weighty a matter.”— T. Scott. Ver. 4. Rab-shakeh — [The history of the invasion of Sennacherib, observes Bishop Loioth, and the miraculous destruction of his army, which makes the subject of so many of Isaiah’s prophecies, is very properly inserted here, as affording the best light to many parts of these prophecies ; and as almost ne- cessarv to introduce the prophecy in the thirty seventh chapter, being the an- swer of God to Hezekiah’s prayer, which could not he properly understood without it. Sennacherib succeeded his father Shalmaneser on the throne of Assyria, A. M. 3290. B. C. 714., and r igned only about eight years. Toh. i. 15. Assyria— Assyria proper, now Kourdfstan, was hounded by Armenia on the north. Media und Persia on the «*ast, Babylonia on the south, and the Ti- gris, which divides it from Mesopotamia, on fhe west, between 33° and 38° N. atitude, and 42° and 46° E. longitude. But the Assyrian empire, the hounds of which were different at different limes, in its most flourishing state, accord- ng to the descriptions of the Greek and Roman writers, comprehended all the countri* s and nations between the Mediterranean on the west, and the Indus 70S on the east, and between the deserts of Scythia on the north, and the Indian Ocean on the south.]— Bagster. Ver. 10. " He interprets his former successes, as if they were an argument that Heaven was on his side : or he may mean, that some oracle or idol . . . had promised him success : and this pretended deity he impiously calls by the name of the true God . — " Loioth. Ver. 11. The Syrian The Syrian tongue is what we now call Chaldee Dan. ii. 4. Ezra iv. 7.” — Loioth. Ver. IS. Betoare lest. &c.— In Kings we read, after “a land of bread anc vineyards,” (17.)—” A land of oil olive and of honey ; that ye may live uno not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you.”— T. Scott. Ver. 19. Sepharvaim.— \Cabnet is of opinion, that Sepharvaim was the capital of the Saspires, who, according to Herodotvs , were the only people that inhabited between the Colchians and Medcs : anti probably the Sarapasei whom Strabo places in Armenia. Hiller considers the name ns denoting Sc- phar of the Parcaim . i. e. Mount Sephar adjacent to the regions of Arabia called Parvaim. But it is more probable, as Wells and others suppose, that Sepharvaim is the Sipphara of Ptolemy, ‘he city of the Sippareni , men- tioned by Abydenus, and probably the Hipparenum of Pliny, a city of Mesopotamia, situated upon the Euphrates near where it is divided into two arms, by one of which, it is probable, it was divided into two parts. 1— 2? Isaiah comforteth Hezekiah. ISAIAH.— f rebuke, and of s blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there h is not strength to bring forth. 4 It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assy- ria his master hath sent to reproach i the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard : wherefore lift up thy prayer for the i remnant that is k left. 5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. 6 7" And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid i of the words that thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Behold, I will m send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and return to his own land ; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. 8 IT So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against " Libnah : for he had heard that he was departed from 0 La- chish. 9 And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done p to all lands by destroying them utterly ; and shalt thou be delivered ? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as •i Gozan, and r Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of 5 Eden which were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of 1 Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepbarvaim, Hena, and Ivah? 14 If And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up “unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying, 16 O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwell- est ’ between the cherubims, thou w art the God, even thou 1 alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth : thou hast made heaven and earth. 17 Incline y thine ear, O Lord, and hear ; open thine 1 eyes, O Lord, and see : and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God. 18 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the a nations, and their countries, 19 And have b cast their gods into the fire : for they were no gods, but c the work of men’s hands, wood and stone : therefore they have destroyed them. 20 Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 3. The children. — “ We are in as great sorrow as a woman that travailethof child, and cannot be delivered.” — T. Scott. Ver. 9. Ethiopia. — [Cush, which is generally rendered Ethiopia, is applied in Scripture to at least three distinct and different countries. 1. The country watered by the Gjhon or Araxes, (Ge. ii. 13.) alsocalled Cuth, 2 Kings xvii. 20 . 2. A country of Arabia Petreea, bordering upon Egypt, which extended from the northern extremity of the Red sea along its eastern shore. (Compare Ex. iii. 1. with Num. xii. l. Hab. iii. 7. and see Bochart.) 3. Ethiopia Proper, an extensive country of Africa, comprehending Nubia and Abyssinia, being bound- ed on the north by Egypt, on the east by the Red sea and Indian ocean, and on the south and west by various nations of Africa, and extending from about 6® to 24° N. lat and 25® to 45® E. long. It is probable that it was this latter Cush, or Ethiopia, of which Tirhakah was king : he being in league with his kinsman Sevecnu3, son of So or Sabacon, king of Egypt, against Sennacherib ihe king of Assyria, See Prideaux.]— Bolster. Ver. 12. Eden, soul. 16 O Lord, by these things men i live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 17 Behold, m for peace I had great bitterness : but thou hast n in love to my soul delivered it from the pit 0 of corruption : for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. 18 For the grave p cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee : they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father i to the children shall make known thy truth. 20 The Lord was ready to save me: there- fore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord. 21 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover. 22 Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house r of the Lord ? CHAPTER XXXIX. I Merodach-baladan, sending 1o visit Hezekiah because of the wonder, hath notice o- his treasures. 3 Isaiah, understanding thereof, foretelleth the Babylonian captivity. - A T k that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters Chap. XXXVIII. Ver. 1—22. Hezekiah' s thanksgiving for his recovery . — “ These verses contain (says Dr. J. Smith) a tender and beautiful song of thanksgiving, in which this pious king breathed out the sentiments of a grateful heart, when his life was, as it were, restored. This ode may be adapted to other cases, and will always afford profit and plea- Ver. 38. Esar-haddon.— \ Esar-haddon, called Asar-addinus in llie Canon of Ptolemy, was the third son of Sennacherib ; and having reigned twenty- nine years over the Ass - rians, he took advantage of the anarchy and confusion which followed the d >«ith of Mesessimordacus, and seized upon Babylon; which he added to his lormcr empire, and reigned over both for thirteen years ; when he was succeeded by his son Saosduchinus, A. M. 3336. B. C. 663.]— Bagster. Chap. XXXVIII Ver. 1. In those days, &c.— The first eight verses of this chapter are an abridgment of 2 Kings xx. ver. I to 11, to which, therefore, we refer our readers. Ver. 8. Sun dial— [Or, as the Hebrew might he rendered, “the steps of Aliaz. ” The researches of curious travellers, in Hindustan, observes Bishop Stock, have lately discovered in that country, three observatories of similar form, the most remarkable of which is to be seen within four miles of Delhi, tlie ancient capital of the Mogul empire. A rectangled triangle, whose hypo- thesise, is a staircase, (apparently parallel to the axis of the earth,) bisects a zone, or coping of a wall, which wall connects the two terminating towers at right and left. The coping itself is of a circular form, and accurately gradu- ated, to mark, by the gnomon above, the sun’s progress before and after noon. According to the known law of refraction, a cloud, or body of air, of different density to the common atmosphere, interposed between the gnomon and the coping, or dial plate below, would, if denser, cause the shadow to ascend the stepson the coping by which it had gone down, and ; f rarer, a contrary event would take place.]— Bagster. Ver. 10 . 1 said in the cutting off, &c. — Loioth, *' I said when my days were going to be cut off;” see verse 12. Gates of the grave — or of Hades; the unseen world. Ver. 12. Mine age— Hebrew, '* generation,”— is departed. The word signi- fies a circle ; the circle of human life ; the circle of a family, including poste- rity : and the meaning seems to be that his house, his family, and his name, would all become extinct, as Hezekiah, at this time, appears to have had no heir, which to a man, among the Jews. was considered as great nn evil as bar- 770 sure to those who are not void of feeling and of piety.” This document of Hezekiah’s piety is omitted in the book of Kings, and to be found only here; but the reader may compare with it our remarks on Hezekiah’s sickness. (2 Kings, cn. xx.) Chap. XXXIX. Ver. 1 — 8. Ilezekiah’s evil conduct.— “Merodach was the name of an tool worshipped by the Baby- renness among their women. See Parkhnrst and Gesenius. As a shep- herd's tent— which is often and easily removed. 1 have cut off. — Lowth , “ My life is cut oil', as by the weaver.” So Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate. From day to night— Lowth, “ In the course of the day thou wilt finish mo.” So Boothroyd. Ver. 13. I reckoned, till morning. — That is, all night I thought.— By the morning, he ivill break all my bones like a lion — This intimates pain in all his limbs. Ver. 15. He hath both spoken , &c —Lowth, “ He hath given me a promise, and he hath performed it.” J shall go softly all my days.— Gesenius seems to give the true sense here. “ I will go in procession (so the Hebrew implies) all my years, (or every year,) on account of the sufferings of my soul : ' namely, those from which God had delivered him, and which he promises ne- ver to forget. Ver. 16 . By these things— namely, God’s promises and their fulfilment, as in the preceding verse. Ver. 21. For Isaiah had said.—\Loicth, after Houbigant , inserts these two concluding verses after ver. 6. But it is probable, as Bishop Stock supposes, that they were added by Isaiah as an after-explanation of the preceding story. Considered as necessary to complete the narrative, they were inserted in fh#*ii natural place by the historian of the kings, who copied from the prophet.]— Bagster. Chap. XXXIX. Ver. 1. At (or nbonie this time.— See 2 Kings xx. 12—19. which are almost verbatim the same with this chapter. Merodach baladan . — [Merodach-baladan , called Berodach-ba/adan by the mutation of mem and baith, is called Mardoc-empadvs in the Canrm of Ptolemy, who says he be- gan to reign at Babylon twenty-six years after ihe arra of Nahonassar, A. M. 3283. B. C. 721. For after the death of Belesis Baladan, or Nabonassar, his fa- ther, several other princes succeeded in Babylon, before the crown came tc him. See Pridcavx. Letters, &.C.— Bishop Lowth observes, the LXX. add here, “and ambassadors,” which word seems necessary to the sense, though omitted in the Hebrew text both here ami in the other ropy. 2 Ki. x. 12. Foi Bubyionish captivity jorezoid. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XL. The promulgation of the gospel. and a present to Hezekiah : for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. 2 And Hezekiah was glad of them, and show- ed them the house of his b precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his c armour, and all that was found in his trea- sures : there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. 3 Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men ? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. 4 Then said he, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in my house have they seen : there is nothing among my d treasures that I have not showed them. 5 Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts : 6 Behold, the days e come, that all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried f to Babylon : nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. 7 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away ; and e they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. S Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, h Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days. CHAPTER XL. 'Hie promulgation of the gospel. 3 The preaching of John Baptist. 9 The preach- ing of the apostles. 12 Tne prophet, by the oinnipotency of God, 18 and his incom- parableness, 26 comforteth the people. pOMFORT 1 ye, comfort ye my people, ^ saith your God. 2 Speak ye b comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her c warfare is accomplish- ed, that her iniquity is pardoned : for she hath A. M. cir. 3292. B. C. cir. 712. b or, spicery, c vessels , or, instru- ments, or, jewels. d Pr.23.5. e Je.20.5. f 2Ki.25.6, &<*.. g fulfilled. Da. 1.2. .7. h l Sa.3.18. a He. 6. 17, 18. b to the heart. c or, ap- pointed time. d c.61.7. e Mat.3.3. f Mai. 3.1. c.45.2. strait place. i or, a plain place. j Ps. 103.15. Ja. 1.10,11 k 1 Pe.1.24, 25. 1 Ma. 13.31. m or, thou that tellesl good ti- dings to Zion. c.41.27. n or, thou that tel lest good tidings to Jerusa- lem. o or, against the strong p Re.22.12. q or, recom- pense for his work. 1 Ch.49.4. r Ps.23.1. Jn.10.ll. s or, ^ive t tierce. u Ro. 11.34. v man of nrs coun- sel. \v made him - un- derstand. received of the Lord’s hand double d for all her sins. 3 The voice' of him that crieth in the wilder- ness, Prepare f ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low : and the crooked e shall be made h straight, and the rough places > plain : 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be reveal- ed, and all flesh shall see it together : for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All j flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field : 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth : be- cause the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it : surely the people is grass. 8 The k grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word i of our God shall stand for ever. 9 TT O m Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain ; O "Jerusa- lem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength ; lift it up, be not afraid ; say unto the cities ofJudah, Behold your God ! 10 Behold, the Lord God will come 0 with strong hand , and his arm shall rule for him : behold, his reward p is with him, and 15 his work before him. 11 He shall feed his flock like a r shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that ■ are with young. 12 “\] Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a 'measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance ? 13 Who u hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being v his counsellor hath taught him ? 14 With whom took he counsel, and who w in- structed him, and taught him in the path of lonians: and Baal or Bel was another: .Ter. 1. 2. and these two idols, with the addition of Adan , or Adon , which signifies iord, gave a name to this king of Babylon. It was usual for the Babylonian kings to take their names from the idols which they worshipped. Thus we find one of the kings was called Kvil-inerodach. 2 Kings xxv. 27. — Nebo was another idol of t lie Babylonians, . . . whence Nebonassar, Nebuchadnezzar, and several other kings of Babylon took their names.... One reason of sending this embassy was, to satisfy himself about the prodigy of the sun’s going backward upon the king’s recovery. (2 Chr. xxxii. 31.) — The Babylonians were famous for the study of astronomy, which made their king the more in- quisitive about so extraordinary a phenomenon.'' — Lowth. Even eminent believers are apt to forget the mercies of God, and to be elated with pride when they ought to be animated in gratitude, and to adoring thanksgivings. On some occa- sions, also, they value too highly the friendly notice of ungodly in jii, in exalted stations. But such coalitions with the world ensure painful consequences; and the Lord will rebuke and correct those whom he loves. Their submission, however, to distressing appointments, shows that grace has regained the ascendency ; and thus truth and peace shall yet be with them through time and to eternity. — T. Scott. Chap. XL. Ver. 1 — 31. Predictions of Judah’s return from captivity , and of the coming of Messiah. — “The course of prophecies which follow from hence to the end of the book, and which, taken together, constitute the most elegant part o f the sacred writings of the Old Testament, interspers- ed also with many passages of the highest sublimity, was pro- bably delivered in the later part of the reign of Hezekiah. [To him] the Prophet had delivered a very explicit declaration of the impending dissolution of the kingdom, and of the cap- tivity of the royal house of David, ana of the people, under the kings of Babylon. As the subject of his subsequent pro- phecies was to be chiefly of the consolatory kind, he opens them with giving a promise of the restoration of the kingdom, and the return of the people from that captivity, by the mer- ciful interposition of God in their favour. But the views of the Prophet are not confined to this event, as the restoration of the royal family, and of the tribe of Judah, which would otherwise have soon become undistinguished and have been irrecoverably lost, was necessary for the fulfilling of God’s promise, of establishing a more glorious and an everlasting kingdom under the Messiah; to be born of the tribe ofJudah, and of the family of David. The Prophet connects these two events together, and hardly ever treats of the former, without throwing in some intimations of the latter; and, sometimes, is so fully possessed-with the glories of the future more remote kingdom, that he seems to leave the more immediate subject of his commission almost out of the question.” Bishop Lowth. In this chapter the Prophet opens the subject with great force and elegance; declaring God’s commands to his mes- sengers (the Piophets) to comfort his people in their captivity, and to impart to them the glad tidings that their sins were the subsequent narration refers to them all along, “ these men, whence came ihey?” &c.; plainly supposing them tohavebeen personally mentioned before. Her Houbigant.\—Bagster. Chap. XL. Ver. 2. She hath received .... double for ail her sins. — Nei- Iher the matter of fact, nor our reverence for the divine justice, will allow us to suppose the Jews have been punished more than they deserve. Dr. Booth- ft.yrl seems to have given the true sense of this important phrase, which he lenders, “ a full measure of punishment,” &c. Daubuz (on Rev. xviii. 6.) re- marks, that ” God's justice is more severe upon his own people than on others. On the other hand, when they repent, a double reward is promised for their sufferings.” See Isa. Ixi. 7. and our note on Job xi. 6. Ver. 3. Voice that crieth.—{ The idea, observes Bishop Lorwth , is taken from the practice of eastern monarchs. who, whenever they entered upon an expe- dition, especially through desert countries, sent harbingers to prepare for their passage, and pioneers to open the passes, to level the ways, and to remove all impediments. The officers appointed to superintend such preparations the Larins call stratores 8ee Diodorus' account of the march of Semiramis.] - Bagater Ver. 4. Every valley. — That is, the way should be prepared, by levelling the roads, and removing obstructions, as was common before travelling monarchs. This refers, 1, to preparing the way for Judah’s return from Babylon ; and, 2, for the ministry of the Messiah. Ver. 7. The spirit —Lowth, “ Wind alluding to the blighting winds of the wilderness, winch destroy vegetation. See Fs. ciii. 16. Ver. to. With strong hand. — See margin. So Loioth; but more literally, “ in might.” Ver. 11. Those that are with young— See margin. So Lowth," The nursing ewes.”— [A beautiful image, as Bishop Lowth remarks, expressive of the ten- der attention of the shepherd to his nock. That the greatest care in driving the cattle, in regard to the dams and their young, was necessary, appears clearly from Jacob’s apology to his brother Esau, Gen. xxxiii. 13. Which is set in a still stronger light by the following remarks of Sir J. Chardin: ” Their flocks feed down the places of their encampments so quick, by the great numbers that they have, that they are obliged to remove them olien , which is very destructive to their flocks on account of the young ones, who have not strength enough to follow ”!— Bagster. God's incomparable power. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XLI. God's mercies to the church. judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of x understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the oalance : behold, he takcth up the isles as a very little thing. 10 And Lebanon ts not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt- offering. 17 All nations before him are as y nothing; and they are counted to him less than 1 no- thing, and vanity. 18 If To whom then will ye liken God ? or what likeness a will ye compare unto him? 19 The workman b melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadethit over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20 He that c is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot ; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. 21 Have d ye not known ? have ye not heard ? hath it not been told you e from the beginning ? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth ? 22 It is f he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grass- hoppers ; that stretcheth out the e heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in : 23 That bringeth the princes to b nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24 Yea, they shall not be planted ; yea, they shall not be sown : yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth : and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 25 To i whom then will ye liken me, or shall 1 be equal ? saith the Holy One. 26 If Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things , that bringeth out their host by number : he calleth j them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power ; not one faileth. 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My k way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God ? 28 Hast thou not known? hastthou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Crea- tor of the ends of the earth, fainteth 1 not, A. M. 3292. B C. 712. x under- standings y Do.4.35. z Pa. 62. 9. a Ac. 17.29. b c.41.6,7. 44.12,4c. Je. 10.3, &c. c in poor of oblation. d Ps.19.1. Ac.14.17. Ro.1.19, 20 . e Ro.3.1,2. f or, him that sit- teth. g Job 9.8. h Job 12.21. Pb. 107.40. i De.4.23, &c J I ’s. 147.4. k Ps.77.7, &c- 1 c.59.1. m Pa. 147.5. Ro.ll.33. n 2 Co. 12.9. o Pa.84.7. 92.1.13. p change. q Pa. 103. 5. r He. 12.1. a Mi. 4. 5. a Zec.2.13. b right- eousness. c c.46.11. d Ezr.1.2. e in peace. f Re. 1.17. 22.13. g tfong. h c.40.19. i or, the founder. J or, the smiling. k or.saying of the solder, It is good. 1 Ps. 135.4. m2Ch.20.7. Ja.2.23. n ver. 13,14. c.43.5. o De.31.6,8. p c.40.29. neither is weary ? m there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He n giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he incrcaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall : 31 But “they that wait upon the ’Lord shall p renew i their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall r run, and not be weary J and they shall walk *and not faint. CHAPTER XLI. I God expostulated with his people, nboul his mercies to the church, 10 about his pro mises, 21 and about the etnily of idols. K EEP a silence before me, O islands ; and let the people renew their strength : let them come near ; then let them speak : let us come near together to judgment. 2 Who raised up b the righteous man from the east, called “him to his foot, gave d the na- tions before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. 3 He pursued them, and passed c safely ; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. 4 Who hath wrought and done it , calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the f first, and with the last ; I am, he. 5 The isles saw it, and feared ; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came. 6 They helped every one his neighbour ; and every one said to his brother, Be e of good courage. 7 So h the carpenter encouraged the i gold- smith, and he that smoothed) with the ham- mer i him that smote the anvil, k saying, It is ready for the soldering : and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. 8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have 1 chosen, the seed of Abraham my m friend. 9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my ser- vant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. 10 T[ Fear "thou not; for 1 am with “thee: be not dismayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen p thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. ardorted, and that deliverance was at hand. — Immediately a arbinger is introduced, giving orders (as is usual in the march of Eastern monarchs) to remove every obstruction, and to prepare the way for their return to their own land. The same words, however, in a higher sense, relate to the opening of the Messiah’s kingdom by the preaching of John the Baptist. (Matt. iii. 3, 4.) Accordingly, this subject, coming once in view, is principally attended to in the sequel. Of this the Pro- phet gives us sufficient notice, by introducing (ver. 6) a voice commanding another proclamation, which calls off our atten- tion from all temporary fading things to the spiritual and eter- nal things of the Gospel ; (see 2 Pet. i. 24, 25,) and to the cha- racter of the great Deliverer, “Behold your God!” — And. to remove every obstacle in the way of the prophecy, in either sense, he enlarges on the power and wisdom of God, and con- cludes by showing that both are engaged in promoting the sal- vation of his people. “ It is impossible to read this description of God. the most sublime that ever was penned, without being struck with in- expressible reverence and self-abasement. ' The contrast be- tween the great Jehovah and every thing reputed great in this world; how admirably imagined! how exquisitely finished ! What atoms and inanities are they all before Him who sitteth on the circle of the immense heavens, and views the potentates of the earth in the light of grasshoppers! “ those poor insects that wander over the barren heath for sustenance, spend the day in insignificant chirping, and take up their contemptible lodging at night on a blade of grass !” — Dr. J. Smith. Chap. XLI. Ver. 1 — 29. God's expostulation with his peo pleontheir ingrot lude . — TheProphet having intimated thede- liverance from Babylon, and the still greater redemption couched under it, resumes the subject, foretells the success of the deliverer that should release them from their captivity, and the ineffectual attempts of the nations and their idols to im- pede his progress. He then encourages the seed of Abraham not to fear; for that God would subdue all their enemies under them, and furnish every thing necessary to refresh and com- fort them in their passage homewards through the desert. These he exhibits, under the figures of fountains and rivers, and the cultivation of the barren deserts. The Prophet then takes occasion to extol the prescience of God, in his know- ledge of future events ; and justly challenges the idols of the Ver. 15. As a very little thing— Lowth, “ An atom." Ver. 19. Melteth — That is, casteth. And casteth silver chains— That the heathen chained their gods, see Orient. Lit. No. 931 Ver. 2-2. As a curtain— I Or, “ as a thin veil.” as Loiolh renders ; which he illustrates by the following passage from Dr. Shaia. “ It is usual, in the sum- mer season, and upon all occasions, when a large company is to be received, to have the court sheltered from heat, or inclemency of the weather, by a ve- lum. umbrella, or veil, as I shall call it ; which, being expanded on ropes from one end of the parapet to the other, may be folded or unfolded at pleasure. The Psalmist seems to allude to some covering of this kind, in that beautiful expression of snreadingout the heavens as a curtain.”)— Bag.ter 771 Ver. 27. My judgment passed over.— Lowth, "My cause passeth unre garded.” Ver. 29. He increaseth.—Hcb. " Mulliplicth strength.” Ver. 31. Shall renew their strength— It wa9 the general opinion of the an cients, that eagles moulted in old age. See Lowth, and our note on Psalm Dili. 3. Chap. XLI. Ver. 2. the dust to his sword.— That is, numerous as the dust. Sec chap. xvii. 13. xxix. 5. Ver. 5. They drew near , and came— That is, the heathen, struck with es- tonishment, flew to idols for protection. V*»r. 7. The carpenter encouraged the goldsmith.— Loujth. “The carvnr ( rod's promices 10 his church ISAIAH. — CHAP. XL1I. Ihe vanity of idols. 11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed i and confounded : they shall be as nothing ; and r they that strive with thee shall perish. 12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even • them that contended with thee : ‘ they that war against thee shall be as no- thing, and as a thing of nought. 13 Fori the Lord thy God will hold thy "right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not ; I will help thee. 14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye ’men of Israel ; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having w teeth : thou shalt thresh the 1 mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. 16 Thou shalt fan r them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them : and thou shalt rejoice in 2 the Lord, and shalt glory "in the Holy One of Is- rael. 17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, / the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18 I will open rivers b in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys : I will make the wilderness c a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. 19 I d will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together : 20 That they may see, and know, and con- sider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. 21 e Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. 22 Let them f bring them forth, and show us what shall happen : let them show the former things, what they be, that we may s consider A. M. 3293. B C. 713. q c. 45.24. Zeo.12.3. r the men qf thy strife. s the men of thy contention t the men of thy war. a De.33.26 ..29. v or, few w mouths. x Mi. 4. 13. y Mat 3. 12. z Ro.6.11. a c. 45.25. b Ps. 105.41. c Ps. 107.35. d c.55.13. e cause to come near. f Jn. 13.19. g set our heart upon. h or, worse than nothing. i or, worse than of a viper. J ver. 2. k c.40.9. 1 Lu. 2.10, 11 m return. a Ep.1.4. b Mat 17.5. c or, dimly burning. d quench it e broken. f Gc. 49.10. them, and know the latter end of them , or declare us things for to come. 23 Show the things that are to come hereaf- ter, that we may know that ye are gods : yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 24 Behold, ye are h of nothing, and your work i of nought: an abomination is lie that chooseth you. 25 I J have raised up one from the north, and he shall come : from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the pot- ter treadeth clay. 26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know ? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that declar- eth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. 27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them : and I will give to Jerusale mone k that bringeth good > tidings. 28 For I beheld, and there was no man ; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could m answer a word. 29 Behold, they are all vanity, their works are nothing : their molten images are wind and confusion. CHAPTER X L 1 1 . I The office of Christ, graced with meekness and constancy. 5 God’s promise unto him. 10 An exhortation to praise God for his gospel. 17 He reproveth the people of incredulity. B EHOLD my servant, whom I uphold ; mine "elect, in whom my soul b delighteth ; I have put my spirit upon him : he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the c smoking flax shall he not d quench : he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4 He shall not fail nor be e discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his f law. 5 IT Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out ; he that heathens to give the like proof of their pretended divinity. But they are all vanity, and accursed are they that choose or serve them. The chief question in this chapter regards “the righteous person from the east,” concerningwhom there are two prin- cipal opinions. Bishop Lowth, following the Chaldee and the great stream of Jewish interpreters, understands it of Abra- ham ; but with all our reverence for the learned prelate, we confess ourselves more inclined to the interpretation which explains it of Cyrus , who is expressly named by the Prophet, chap. xliv. and xlv. ; in the last verse of the former being called the Lord’s “ Shepherd,” and in the first of the latter “ the Lord’s anointed, ” and before whom the Lord had pro- mised to break his enemies in pieces. The advocates of both these interpretations, however, give the text a reference ulti- mately to the Messiah, in whom centre all the rays of typical and prophetic glory. The latter interpretation (as referring to Cyrus) is sanctioned also bynames of great eminence, among whom we shall only mention Gataktr , Dr. J. Smith , and Dr. Boothroyd. Chap. XLII. Yer. 1 — 25. A prophecy of the Messiah . — Here the Prophet drops the veil, and brings the Messiah into full view, without type or allegory : “ Behold my servant Mes- siah,” says the Chaldee. St. Matthew, (chap. xii. 18, &c.) encouraged the smith." Kim that smote. — Lowth, “ Smiteth.” Saying it is ready. See. — See margin. So Lowth. Ver. 11. They that strive with thee— See margin. So next verse, “ Men of thy contention, of thy war." Ver. 15. Hairing teeth. — (Or, as Bishop Lowth renders, " a threshing wain ; a new com drag armed with pointed teeth.” The drag consisted of a sort of Btrong planks, made rough at the bottom with hard stones or iron ; and was drawn by horses or oxen over the com sheaves spread on the floor, the driver sitting upon it The wain was much like the former ; but had wheels with iron teeth, or edges like a saw. In Syria they use a drag constructed in the same manner: it not only forces out the grain, but cuts the straw in pieces for fodder. ]—Bagsler. Vet. 19. Shittah tree.— Lowth, “ The acacia.” Oil tree. -[This cannot de note the olive tree, from which it is expressly distinguished in Neh. viii. 15. Jack- son says, the argan tree " produces a kind of olive, from the kernel of which the Shelluchs express an oil, much superior-to butter for frying fish.”] — B. Ver. it. Your strong reasons.—' Thrs last word seems improperly supplied. has applied this directly to Jesus Christ; nor can it (says Bishop Lowth ) with any justice or propriety be applied to any other person whatever. The Prophet then expatiates on the meekness of his character, and the extent and blessings of his kingdom, particularly among the Gentiles ; and calls upon all nations to join in one song of praise to God on his incarna- tion. After this, (ver. 13.) he seems again to glance at the de- liverance from the captivity, although the words no less aptly apply to the deliverance vouchsafed the Church, the overthrow of her most powerful enemies, and to the prevalency of true religion over idolatry and error. Lastly, the Prophet reproves the blindness and infidelity of the Jews, in rejecting their Mes- siah, and gives intimation of those awful judgments, which their guilt would at length draw upon them. There is some difficulty as to the person spoken of in versr 21. Lowth and Boothroyd supply the pronoun “him” — mean- ing Israel; hut we are much disposed to refer back to verse 1. (the more early antecedent,) the Lord’s “elect” (or chosen servant, “ in whom his soul delighteth.” — In him, we appre- hend, the Lord was well pleased, for his (Messiah’s) righteous- ness’ sake — “He (Messiah) will magnify the law, and make it (or him) honourable and this agrees exactly with the doc- trine of the New Testament, (see Matt. iii. 17. Rom. iii. 25, 26.) This, however, is offered to the reader’s consideration : it is Lowth reads , “ Your mighty powers but, with submission, we should ralher supply "statements we conceive the language to be judicial, and the idols (see ver. 23.) are challenged to state their cause (or controversy, Jer. xxv. 31.) in the strongest terms. Ver. 24. Ye are of nothing . . . of nought— Lowth, “ Less than nothing .... less than nought.” Ver. 25. From the north, &c . — [Jehovah here predicts the victories of Cyrus over the Chaldeans and their allies, at least 150 years before the event, as one instance of his foreknowledge and invincible power. Media lay north of Ba- bylon, and Persia eastward ; and Cyrus commanded the forces of both these nations ; and, by his wonderful success, he trampled down mighty monarchs as mortar, and as the potter treads the clay.l — Bagster. Ver. 23. Even amongst them . — Meaning the idols. So Lowth. Chap. XLII. Ver. 2. He shall not cry nor lift up. — Lowth, Nor raise & clamour.” The meaning evidently is, we conceive, that he should not raise a sedition, or attempt to excite tumult, in which respect our Saviour was emi- nently distinguished from all the false messiahs of whom we read. 773 Christ’s mission to the Gentiles. ISAIAH. — CHAT XLlll. Gudconifurlelhlhechurc.il spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it ; he that giveth breath unto the peo- ple upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein : 6 I the Lord have called thee in righteous- ness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the peo- ple, for a light s of the Gentiles ; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring h out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness ■ out of the prison house. 8 I am the ) Lord : that is my name : and k my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. 9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare : before > they spring forth I tell you of them. 10 T[ Sing unto the Lord a new m song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and n all that is therein ; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice , the villages that Kedar doth inhabit : let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let 0 them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands. 13 T[ The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a p man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar ; he shall "> prevail against his enemies. 14 I have long time holden my peace ; I have been still, and refrained myself: now r will I cry like a travailing woman ; I will destroy and • devour at once. 15 I will make waste 1 mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs ; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools. 16 And " I will bring the blind v by a way that they knew not ; I will lead them in paths w that they have not known: I will make darkness lightbefore them, and crooked things x straight. These things will I do ^unto them, and not 1 forsake them 17 They “shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Y e are our gods. 18 T[ b Hear, ye deaf ; and look, ye 'blind, that ye may see. 19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent ? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s ser- vant ? 20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not ; opening the ears, but he heareth not. A. M. 1Z». h.c. m h 2TL2.26. i 1 Pe.2.9. ) l’s.83. 18. k c.48.11. I Ac. 15.18. m Re.5.9. n the J ul- lher eof o Pa. 117.1. p Ex. 15.3. q or, behave himself mightily. b bid allow, or , sup up. i c.49.11. u Ho. 2.14. ■ Ep.5.8. v Ho. 2.6. y Eze. 14.23. z He. 13.5. n Ps.97.7. b c.6.10. c Jn.9.39. Re. 3. 17, 18. d Ps. 71. 16, f or, him. Jn.17.1. g c.18.2 h or, en- young men of them. : treading. j aftertime. k Ju.2.14. Ne.9.26, 27. 1 De.3222. m Ho. 7.9. a Je. 33.24.. 26. b Ps.66. 12. d Da.3.25, 27. e Pr.21.18. f or, person, g c.18.7. h Ja.27. i Ep.2.10. ) Eze. 122 21 The Lord is well pleased for 11 his right- eousness’ sake ; he will magnify e the law, and make r it honourable. 22 But this is a people robbed and e spoiled ; 11 they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses : they are for a prey, and none delivereth ; for a i spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23 Who among you will give ear to this ? who will hearken and hear for the i time to come ? 24 Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, he k against whom we have sinned ? for they would not walk in his ways, neither were they obedient unto his law. - 25 Therefore he hath poured' upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle • and it hath set him on fire > round about, yet m he knew not ; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. CHAPTER XLIII. I The Lord cornforteth the church with his promises. 8 He appealeth to the people for witness of his omnipotency. 14 He foretelleih them the destruction of Babylon, 18 and his wonderful deliveraiffce of his people. 2i He reproveth the people as inex- cusable. B UT a now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not : for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name ; thou art mine. 2 When b thou passest through the c -waters, l will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when thou walk- est through the d fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour : I ' gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy f life. 5 Fear not : for I am with thee : I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6 I will say to the north, Give up ; and to the south, Keep not back : bring s my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth ; 7 Even every one that is called u by my name : for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made '< him. 8 ff Bring forth the blind ) people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled : who among certain, that when God or Christ is spoken of, as being the great subject of revelation, the relative is often omitted, or left at a considerable distance. Chap. XLIII. Ver. 1 — 28. The church encouraged with pro- mises of salvation.— We have here the pleasing prospect of those times of reconciliation and favour which should here- after succeed, when, with tender care, God should gather again his people from their several dispersions throughout the world, and bring them safely to their own land. Struck with astonishment at so clear a display of an event so distant, the Prophet again challenges all the pagan nations and their idols to produce an instance of such foreknowledge, and intimates that the Jews should remain (as at this day) a separate peo- ple, to witness the truth of the prediction, till it should at length be completely fulfilled by the Almighty power of God. He then returns to their nearer deliverance, from the captivity of Babylon, which, as usual, he illustrates by allusions to that from Egypt : (see Exod. xiv. :) than which this is represented as much more wonderful. On this occasion the Prophet re- resents the tender care of God, in comforting and refreshing is people on their way through the desert, to be so great as to make even the wild beasts haunting those places sensible of the blessing of the copious streams then provided by him. This leads finally to a beautiful contrast of the ingratitude of Ver. 6. Have called thee. — This is addressed expressly to Messiah ; compare chap. xlix. 8. Luke ii. 32. Ver. 7. To open the blind eyes— See chap. xxxv. 5. Ixi. 1. Luke iv. 18. Ver. 11. Let the wilderness. — (The most uncultivated and uncivilized people, says Bishop Lowth, shall confess and celebrate with thanksgiving the blessing of the knowledge of God graciously imparted to them. By the desert is meant Arabia Deserta ; by the rocky country , (Arabia Petraea ; by the mountains , probably those celebrated ones, Paran, Horeb, and Sinai, in the same country ; to which also belonged Kedar , a clan of Arabians dwelling for the most part in tents. ]—Bagster. Ver. 13. He shall cry , yea roar.— This alludes to the shout of war ; see Josh. vi. 5, 10. 16. Ver. 14. I will destroy and devour at once—Loi.oth refers this, as the clause preceding, to a woman in travail ; “ breaking short, and drawing in my breath with violence ;” or, as Boothroyd , “ at once drawing in my breath.” Ver. 15. Dry up all their herbs.— Lowth, “ Bum up all the grass.” 1 will make the rivers islands.— Lowth, “ Deserts.” Ver. 16. Crooked things straight— Lowth, “ The rugged ways smooth.” 774 Ver. 19. Deaf as my messenger. — [Or rather, “ Who is blind, but my ser- vant, and deaf as he to whom I have sent my messengers? Who is blind, as he who is perfectly instructed ; and deuf as the servant of Jehovah.”]— B. Ver. 20 . Seeing many things.— Boothroyd, “Thou verily seest, hut wilt not regard. Thine ears are open, yet wilt thou not hear.” Lowth to the samr effect. Ver. 22. They are all. — Sec margin. To the same effect, Lowth. . . . For a spoil. — See margin ; i. e. to be trodden under foot Chap. XLIII. Ver. 2 Walkest through the fire— Harmer thinks this al ludes to setting on fire fields of grass. Ver. 3. Egypt for thy ransom.—" God (says Lmvth ) has often saved bis people at the expense of other nations, whom he has (as it were) given up tc destruction.”— [When Sennacherib was just readv to fall upon Jerusalem, soon after entering Judea, he was providentially diverted from that design, and turned his arms against the Egyptians and their allies, the Ethiopians, and probably Sabeans ; and it is very likely, that these nations, when vanquished by Cyrus, might be considered els a ransom paid him for the release of Ji« Jews.]— Bags ter CHAP. XLIV. r l'he canity of idol*. 25 I, even I, am he that blotteth a out thy transgressions for mine own b sake, and will not remember c thy sins. 26 Put me in remembrance : let us plead to- gether : declare thou, that thou mayest be d justified. 27 Thy first father hath sinned, and thy e teachers have transgressed against me. 28 Therefore I have profaned the f princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches. CHAPTER XLIV. 1 God comfortetli the church with his promises. 7 The vanity of idols, 9 and folly of idol makers. 21 He exhorteth to praise Got! for his redemption and omnipotency. Y ET now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen : 2 Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help a thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, b Jesurun, whom I have 8 chosen. 3 For J I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground : I will pour my spirit upon thy e seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: 4 And they shall spring up f as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. 5 One e shall say, I am the Lord’s ; and ano- ther shall call himself by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel. 6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer h the Lord of hosts ; I i am the first, and I am the last; and beside j me there is no God. 7 And k who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people ? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them. 8 Fear i ye not, neither be afraid : have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my m witnesses. Is there a God beside me ? yea, there is no n God ; 1 know not any. 9 They 0 that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their p delectable things shall not profit ; and they are their own wit nesses ; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. 10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a gra- ven image that is profitable q for nothing? 11 Behold, all his fellows shall be r ashamed : and the workmen, they are of men : let them all be gathered together, let them stand up ; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. 12 The smith 8 with ‘ the tongs both worketh A. M. 3292. B. C. 712. k C.-H.8. 1 Ph.2.7. m Col. 1.17. n or, no- thing formed of God. o Ho. 13.4. Ac.4.12. p c.46.10. Da. 4-36. q turn it back. r bars. s Ex. 14. 16, 22 . Ps. 77.19. t daughters of die owl, or, ostriches. u Ep. 1.6,12 v Mai. 1.13. w la.mbs, or, kids. x Mat 11.30 y made me drunk, or, abun- dantly moistened z Mai. 2. 17. a Je.50.20. Ao.3.19. b Eze.26.22, 32. c Je.31.34. d Ro.8.33. e interpre- ters. Mal.2.7,8 f or, holy princes. a Ps.46.5. He. 4. 16. b De.32.15. c Ro.8-30. Ep. 1.4. lTh.1.4. d Jn.7.38. e c. 59.21. f Ac. 2.41. g Je.50.5. 2 Co. 8. 5. h c.43.14. i Re. 1.8,17. j De.4 35,39 32.39. k c. 46.9, 10. 1 Pr.3.25,26. m lJn.5.10. n rock. De.32.4. o c. 4 1.24 ,29. p desirable. q Hab.2.18. lCo.8.4. r Ps.97.7. s c.40.19,&c t or, an axe. iJestmictian of Babylon foretold. ISAIAH. them can declare this, and show us former things ? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified : or let them hear, and say, It is truth. 10 Ye k are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant 1 whom I have chosen : that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he : before me m there was " no God formed, neither shall there be after me. Ill, even I, am the Lord ; and beside me there is no ° saviour. 12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you : therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. 13 Yea, before the day was I am he ; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand : 1 will work, and who p shall i let it? 14 T[ Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel ; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their r nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. 16 Thus saith the Lord, which 8 maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters ; 17 Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power ; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise : they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing ; now it shall spring forth ; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the ‘owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. 21 This people have I formed for myself; they ° shall show forth my praise. 22 If But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob ; but thou hast been weary T of me, O Israel. 23 Thou hast not brought me the w small cat- tle of thy burnt-offerings ; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to 1 serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense. 24 Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou y filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied * me with thine iniquities. the Jews, and a vindication of God’s dealings toward them. — [n a figurative sense, this prophecy may be well applied to the redemption by Messiah, the effects of his gospel among the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews at the same time for their infidelity. Ver. 10. Neither shall there he after me— Lowth, “ And after me none shall exist.” Ver. 12. I have showed , &c. — Lowth , “ I made it known ; nor was it any strange god among you.” Ver. 14. Nobles.— Heb. “Bars.” A class of Chaldean nobles might be call- ed bars, with as much propriety as the pope’s nobles are called “ cardinals ;” i. e. hinges. Whose cry , &c. — [This is a prediction of the destruction of the navigation of the Babylonians, by the Euphrates to the Persian gulf, by Cyrus, who diverted the river from its course, and thus inundated the neigh- bouring country. ]—Bagster. Ver. 24. No si o eel cane.—Savary (Letters on Egypt) says, “perhaps the sugar cane which grew spontaneously near the Nile.” (See Ex. xxx. 23. and Jer. vi 20.) Ver. 27. Thy first father— Lowth, “ Thy chief leader.” . . . Thy teachers -See margin. Lowth , “ Public teachers.” Chap. XLIV. Ver. 4. As among the grass— Lowth reads, “ As grass among the waters.” So the LXX., and the sense obviously requires it Ver. 5. Subscribe with his hand.— The preposition “ with” is not in the ori- ginal, and probably should not he supplied. It was customary to mark some "•art of the body, as the forehead, arm, or hand, with punctures, which were made indelible. “ The slave was marked with the name of his master; the Chap. XLIV. Ver. 1 — 28. Promises of God? s Spirit , and an exposure of the folly of idolatry. — This chapter, besides promises of redemption, of the effusion of the Spirit, and suc- cess of the gospel, sets forth, in a very sublime manner, the supreme power and foreknowledge of the one true God, and soldier, of his commander ; the idolater, with the name or ensign of his god ; and the Christians seem to have imitated this practice.” Procopius says. “ Many marked their wrists or arms with the sign of the cross, or the name oi Christ.” Bp. Lowth. Compare Rev. xx. 4. Ver. 10, Who hath formed— Lowth connects this verse w'th the preceding, thus ; “ That every one may be ashamed that he hath formed a god.” See his reasons, which appear satisfactory to Boothroyd , who hath followed his version. Ver. 11. They are of men— rather, “ They are men only,” or “ but men.”— Boothroyd. Ver. 12. The smith with the tongs.— [ The Sacred Writers, observes Lowth , are generally large and eloquent upon the subject of idolat ry : they treat it with great severity, and set forth the absurdity of it in the strongest light. But this passage of Isaiah, ver. 12 — 20, far exceeds any thing ever written upon the sub- ject, in force of argument, energy of expression, and elegance of composition. One or two of the apocryphal writers have attempted to imitate the prophet, but with very ill success: U isd. xiii. 11 — 19. xv. 7, &c. Baruch, ch. vi.. espe- cially the latter ; who, injudiciously dilating his matter, and introducing a num- ber of minute circumstances, has very much weakened the force and effect of his invective. On the contrary, a heathen author, in the ludicrous way, has, m a line or two, given idolatry one of the severest strokes it ever received. “ For- 775 Folly of idol-makers. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XLV. Restoration, by Cyrus promised. in the coals, and fashioneth ii with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line ; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the com- pass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man ; that it may remain in the house. 14 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he u strength- ened for himself among the trees of the fo- rest : he planted an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. 15 Then shall it be for a man to burn : for he will take thereof, and warm himself ; yea, he kindled it, and baketh bread ; yea, he ma- keth a god, and worshipped t7; he maketh it a graven image, and faileth down thereto. 16 He burned part thereof in the fire ; with part thereof he eateth flesh ; he roasted roast, and is satisfied, yea, he warmed himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: 17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image : he faileth down unto it, and worshipped it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me ; for thou art my god. 18 They v have not known nor understood : for w he hath x shut their eyes, that they can- not see ; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. 19 And none ? considered 1 in his heart, nei- ther is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire ; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abo- mination? shall I fall down to “the stock of a tree? 20 He feedeth on ashes : a deceived heart b hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand ? A M. 3399. B C. 713. n or, tnketh courage. v C.45-2G. w c.G.9,10. x daubed. y setteth to. z Ho.7.2. a that which comes of. h Ho.4.12. Ro.1.31. 2Th-2.ll. o c. 49.14, 15 d Pi. 103. 12. c. 1.18. e 1 Co.6.20. 1 Pe. 1.18. Re.5.9. f Pa.96.ll. 12 . Re. 18.20. g Eze.36.1, h c.55.13. i ver.6. J Ga.1.15. k Pa. 104.2. 1 2 Ch. 18.11, 34. Je.50.36. 1 Co.3.19. m Zee. 1.6. 2 Pe.l. 19. n wastes. o Ezr.l.l, &c. a or, strength- ened. b Da. 5. 6,30. c Ps. 107.16. 21 H Remember these, O Jacob and Israel ; for thou art my servant : I have formed thee ; thou art my servant : O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten c of me. 22 I have blotted 11 out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins : re- turn unto me ; for l have redeemed • thee. 23 Sing, O ye f heavens ; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye s mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified '' himself in Israel. 24 Thus ' saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from j the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things ; that k stretcheth forth the heavens alone ; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself ; 25 That i frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad ; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh theirknowledge foolish; 26 That confirmed) m the word of his ser- vant, and performed) the counsel of his mes- sengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the " decayed places thereof : 27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers : 28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even say- ing to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be “built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. CHAPTER XLV. 1 God caileth Cyrus for his church’s sake. 5 Bv his omnipotency he chnllengeth obo- dience. 20 He convinced) die idols of vanity by his saving power. CPHUS saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cy- -L rus, whose right hand I » have holden, to subdue nationsbefore him ; and I will loose b the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates ; and the gates shall not be shut ; 2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight : I will break c in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron : 3 And I will give thee the treasures of dark- exposes the absurdity of idolatry with admirable force and spirit. The God of Israel, being reconciled to his people, promises to blot out or forgive their sins, as the rising sun disperses the morning vapour, or the driving wind the more heavy clouds. The prophet then calls upon all nature to unite with Israel in a song of universal praise. Verse 27th plainly alludes to the stratagem used by Cyrus to draw off the waters of the Eu- phrates, while his army entered the dry bed of the river, by night, at a time when the Babylonians were all intoxicated and asleep, of which we shall remark farther particulars in the next chapter. The prophet concludes with announcing by name Cyrus as their deliverer from Babylon ; and this remarkable predic- tion, which has excited the admiration, as well of heathens as of Jews and Christians, appears to have been recorded more than 200 years before Cyrus himself was born. Chap. XLV. Ver. 1 — 25. God caileth Cyrus to deliver his people , and encourages him to trust in him “ The predictions of the prophets,” says Dr. J. Smith, “became always the clearer, in proportion as they approached the event predicted. Isaiah at length particularizes the very circumstances and manner of the taking of Babylon by Cyrus. He had already alluded to the drying up of the Euphrates, and now he men- tions the gates of brass being opened before him, and that the treasures ne should find there should be immense. (Ver. 1—3.) Accordingly, the historians of this event, (Herodotus and Xenophon,) with a most astonishing conformity to the prophe- cy, tell us, that Cyrus contrived the stratagem of diverting the river Euphrates into a channel cut by the kings of Babylon, to receive a part of its waters in times ai an inundation ; and of entering the eitv upon the night of an annual festival, in the empty channel, which ran in through the midst of it; that af- ter he and his armv had got into the bed of the river, they might have been taken there as in a net, if the brazen gates which led from the streets to the river had not on that night been providentially left open, by which means they got in; and then the gates of the palace were opened by the king’s orders, to inquire into the cause of the tumult. So clearly are the most contingent circumstances foreseen by God!” (See merty I was the stump of a fig-tree, a useless log ; when the carpenter, hesi- tating whether to make me a Priapus or a stool , at last determined to make me a sod : thus 1 became a god, and a great terror to thieves and birds.” See Note on Ps cxv. 4. 1 — Bagster. Ver 13. With aline. Loxoth. “ He marketh the form of it with red ochre so Kimchi. See Orient. Oust. No. 1079 With planes— Lototh, ” with a sharp tool.” Ver. 14. Which he strengtheneth, &c. — Boothroyd, ” And prepareth for him- self the trees ot the forest.” Ver. 16. He eateth flesh.— Low th, “ He dresseth flesh and eateth.” Ver. 18. He hath shut their eyes. Harmer explains this of closing, or seal- ing, the eyes with sum, &c. by way of punishment. Observ. vol. ii. p. 273. Ver. 20. He feedeth on ashes a proverbial expression for labouring to no purpose. Compare Hos. xii. 1. Ver. 22. I have blotted, out as a cloud , &c— Boothroyd, “ I have blotted out thy transgressions as a cloud, and thy sins as a thick cloud.” Ver. 25. Of the liars. Lowth , “ Impostors.” The Hebrew word badim here means a specie* of conjurors who affected solitude, and pretended to be divine, as is common among the heathen, both in the cast and west, even to the pre- sent day. Comp. ch. xlvii. 12, 13. Jer. 1. 36.. Ver. 27. Be dry.— [This alludes to the taking of Babylon by Cyrus (here fore- told by name more than a century before his birth,) by laying the bed of the Euphrates dry, and leadi g his army into the city by night through the empty 776 channel of the river. This remarkable circumstance, in which the event ac- tually corresponded with the prophecy, was also noted by the prophet Jeremi ah.] — Bagster. Compare Jer. 1. 38.— Ii. 36. Chap. XLV. Ver. 1. Subdue nations.— [Xenophon says, that Cyrus con- quered the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, both the Phrygians, Lydians, Carians. Phoenicians, Babylonians : und also reigned over the Bac- trians, Indians, Cilicians, the Sacae, Paphlagones, and Mariandyni. See Ezr.i.2.1— Bagster. — I will loose the loins of kings — that is, loose their girdles, which rendered them unfit for exertion. Compare ver. 5. — (All the streets of Babylon, leading on each side to the river, were secured by two-leaved brazen gates, and these were providentially left open when Cyrus’s forces entered the city in the night through the channel of the river, in the general disorder occa- sioned by the great feast which was then celebrated ; otherwise, says Herodo- tus, the Persians would have been shut up in the bed of the river as in a net, and all destroyed. The gates of the palace were also imprudently opened to ascer- tain the occasion of thejtumult ; when the two parties under Gobrias and Ga datas rushed in, .got possession of the palace, and slew the king. — Xenophon. —Bagster. Ver. 2. Break in pieces— They were rendered useless, in the first instance, by being left open, and they were doubtless eventually destroyed. Ver. 3. Treasures of darkness — that is, hidden treasures, as in the next clause. Cyrus had conquered Crcesus, proverbial for his riches, before he took Babylon. d c.48.15. e De.4.35, 39. f ver. 14,18. 22 . g Ps. 18.32, 39 h c. 37.20. Mal.1.11. i Ge. 1.3,4. j P3.29.ll. k Am. 3.0. 1 Ps.35.11. mPs.72.3. n Je. 18.6. > Je.31.l. Ga.3.26. p Jn. 16.23. q Pa. 102.25. He.11.3. r or, make straight s2Ch.36.22. 1.52.3. u Ps.68.3l. 72.10,11. c.49.23. 60.9. .16. Zee. 8.22, 23. v Ps.149.8. 7 1 Co. 14. 25. x Ps. 44.24. c.8.17. y Pa. 97. 7. z Ro.2.28, 29; 11.26. i Je.31.3. b Ps.25.2,3. c 1 Pe.2.6. d De. 29.29. 30.11,&c. e Ps.9.10. 69.32. f Ep.2. 12.. g Ro.3.26. h Ps. 22.27. Jti.3.14,15 i Ge.22.16. He. 6. 13. j Ph.2.10. k De.6.13. 1 or, he shall say of me, In the LORD is all right- eousness and strength. m right- eous- nesses. Re. 19.8. n Je.23.6. 1 Co. 1.30, 31. o Zee. 10.6, 12. £p.6.10. p Jn.12.32. q Ro.5.1. a Je.50.51. b Je.48.1, &c. c Je.10.5. d their souL -CHAP. XLVL Vanity uj idols. 15 Verily thou art a God that 11 hidest thyself, 0 God of Israel, the Saviour. 16 They shall be ashamed, and also con- founded, all of them : they shall go to confu- sion y together that are makers ol idols. 17 But Israel 1 shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting a salvation : ye shall not be b ashamed nor c confounded world without end. 18 For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens ; God himself that formed the earth and made it ; he hath established it, he cre- ated it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabit- ed : I am the Lord ; and there is none else. 19 I have not spoken in d secret, in a daik place of the earth : I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me c in vain : I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right, 20 TT Assemble yourselves and come ; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the f na- tions: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. 21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together : who hath declar- ed this from ancient time ? who hath told it from that time ? have not I the Lord ? and there is no God else beside me ; a just e God and a Saviour ; there is none beside me. 22 T[ Look h unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth : for I am God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn ‘ by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto j me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall k swear. 24 Surely, > shall one say, in the Lord have I ra righteousness n and ° strength : even to him p shall men come ; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. 25 In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be « justified, and shall glory. CHAPTER XLVI. 1 The idols of Babylon could not save themselves. 3 God savelh his people to the end. 5 Idols are not comparable to God for power, 12 or present salvation. B EL “ boweth down, Nebo b stoopeth, their idols were upon the c beasts, and upon the cattle : your carriages were heavy loaden ; they are a burden to the weary beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together ; they could not deliver the burden, but d themselves are gone into captivity. The omnipotence of God. ISAIAH. - ness, and hidden riches ol secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which d call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name : I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. 5 Tf I e am the Lord, and f there is none else, there is no God beside me : I girded e thee, though thou hast not known me : 6 That h they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. 7 I > form the light, and create darkness : I make i peace, and create k evil : I the Lord do all these things. 8 Drop i down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness : let the earth open, and let them bring forth salva- tion, and m let righteousness spring up toge- ther ; I the Lord have created it. 9 Wo unto him that striveth with his Maker ! Let the potsherd n strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou ? or thy work, He hath no hands 1 10 Wo unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou 1 or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth ? 11 Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Is- rael, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my 0 sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye p me. 12 I ^ have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I com- manded. 13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will r direct all his ways : he shall build 8 my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price ‘ nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. 14 Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sa- beans, men of stature, shall come over u unto thee, and they shall be thine : they shall come after thee ; in r chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying , Surely w God is in thee ; and there is none else, there is no God. . note ver. 1.) The same historians mention, that the treasures which Cyrus found there and in Sardis (the court of Croesus) amounted to more than 550 millions of our money. That Cy- rus might know to whom he was indebted for this wonderful success, and on what account, the prophet tells him that it was to the God of Israel ; and then exposes the absurd opinion of the Persians, (of whom Cyrus was king,) that there were two supreme beings, an evil and a good one, represented by light and darkness, which are here declared to be both the work of the One great Supreme. From this the prophet, in his usual way, makes a transition to the still greater work of salvation dis- played in the dispensation of the gospel, and calls, in a strain of sublime eloquence, for righteousness and truth to spring out of the earth, and to drop down from heaven. (See Psalm lxxxv. 10—14.) To this subject the latter part of the chapter is devoted ; and the magnificent language employed respecting God, the Creator and Saviour of the world, is expressly applied to Jesus Christ, in St. Paul’s Epistles. (See Rom. xiv. 10 — 12. Phil. ii. 10, 11.) Whether the passages were originally intended by the prophet in reference to the Messiah, or only accommodated to him by St. Paul, as Dr. Pye Smith observes, it equally affords a proof of his divine nature, since an inspired apostle would never ap- ply to a mere creature the peculiar honours of the Creator. Chap. XLVI. Ver. 1 — 13. The idols of Babylon could neither save their worshippers , nor themselves. — The prophet here re- presents the gods of Babylon as so far from being able to save others, that they should themselves be carried into captivity by common beasts of burden, themselves “a burden to the weary beasts.” With this description he then contrasts the tender care of the God of Israel toward his people, whom, as a ten- der father, he had carried in his arms from their earliest days: delivering them from time to time from all their enemies, and from all their troubles. (See Numb. x. 12.) The prophet then adverts to his favourite topic, and forcibly exposes the folly of idolatry, and the utter uselessness of those idols, who, instead of protecting their devotees, on every vic- tory obtained over them, were usually carried captive with them. (See Jer. xlviii. 7. Dan. xi. 8.) He then returns (ver. 9) to a contemplation of the perfections of the true God, particu- larly that prescience which foretold events so distant as the deliverance of Israel from Babylon by Cyrus, and an eternal salvation by Messiah. — It is remarkable that Cyrus, compared in verse 11 to an Eagle , (so the word translated ravenous bird Ver. ll. Ask me — or, '‘Ask ye me?” direct ye me? This whole verse should certainly be rendered in the interrogative, as by GataJcer, Loioth, and Booth- royd Ver 13. I have raised him up .— That is, Cyrus ; mentioned ver. 1. and in chap. xli. 2. called “ the righteous man from the east!” Here is another in- stance of referring to a remote antecedent, remarked expos, chap. xlii. Ver. 14. Sabeans . — [That the Sabeans were of a most majestic appearance is particularly remarked by Agatharchides , an ancient Greek historian quoted by Bochart.Y-Bagster. 98 Ver. 15. Hidest thyself — That is, thy counsels and designs. Ver. 19. In a dark place , &c. — ' This alludes to the heathen oracles, which were generally in deep and obscure caverns, as particularly that at. Delphi. Chap. XLVI. Ver. 1. Bel was the chief idol of the Babylonians, called by profane writers Jupiter Belus, and supposed to be the same with the Baal of the Canaanites. Nebo delivered oracles, and is said to have presided over prophecy. Ver. 2 . They could not deliver the burden— That is, they could not save themselves from being carried away captive. See Jer. x. 5 777 Idols not cjmparable to God. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XLVil. God’s judgment upon Babylon. 3 1[ Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which ate borne c by me from the belly, which are Carried from the womb : 4 And even to your old age f I am he ; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear ; even I will carry, and will deliver you. 5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? 6 They t lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a gold- smith ; and he maketh it a god : they fall down, yea, they worship. 7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they car- ry him, and set him in his place, and he stand- eth ; from his place shall he not remove : yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and show yourselves men : bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else ; / am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure : 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man h that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass ; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 12 Tf Hearken unto me, ye > stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness : 13 I bring near my ) righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not k tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for i Israel my glory. CHAPTER XL VII. I God’s judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea, 6 for their unmercifulness, 7 pride, 10 and overbold ness, 11 shall be unresistible. C OME a down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground : there is no throne, O daughter of the Chal- deans : for thou shalt no more be called ten- der and delicate. 2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: un- cover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 3 Thy nakedness shall be b uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen : I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. A M. 3292. U. C. 712. r Ps.92.14. gc.41.7,&c. h of my. I Ac. 7.51. J Ro.1.17. k Ps.46.1,5. Hab.2.3. I Ps. 14.7. a Ps. 18.27. Je.48.18. b Je. 13.22, 26. Na.3.5. c Je.50.34. d 2CH.28.9. Zee. 1.15. e Ob.l0..l6. f Re. 18.7. g Zep.2. 15. h Ec.8.8. i Ps.94.7. j or , caused thee to turn aicay. k the morn - ing there- of 1 expiate . m l Tli. 5. 3. n Eze.24.12. o viewers of the heavens. p Da. 2.2. q that give knowledge concern- ing the months. r Na.1.10. s their souls- t c. 56.11. 4 /Is for our c redeemer, the Lord of hosts it his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness. 0 daughter of the Chaldeans : for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. 6 I d was wroth with my people, I have pol- luted mine inheritance, and given them into thy hand : thou ' didst show them no mercy ; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. 7 And thou saidst, I f shall be a lady for ever : so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end ofit. 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that s dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and none else beside me ; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children : 9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood : they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude ofthy sorceries , and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. 10 For thou hast trusted in thy h wickedness : thou hast said, Noneseeth > me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath ) perverted thee ; and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and none else beside me. 11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee ; thou shalt not know k from whence it riseth : and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to i put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee "suddenly , which thoushaltnotknow 12 K Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, where- in thou hast laboured from thy youth ; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou may- est prevail. 13 Thou art wearied n in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the 0 p astrologers, the star- gazers, i the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. 14 Behold, they shall be as r stubble ; the fire shall burn them ; they shall not deliver • them- selves from the power of the flame : there shaV not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. 15 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth : they shall wander every one to his 1 quarter ; none shall save thee. should be rendered,) is said by Xenophon to have had a golden eagle for his ensign, using, without knowing it, the identical word of the prophet. So exact is the correspondence between the prophet and the historian ; between the prediction and the event. (See Bp. Loicth.) Chap. XLVII. Ver. 1 — 15. God’s judgments against Baby- lon . — The destruction of Babylon is denounced by a beautiful detail of particulars, in which her state of high prosperity is contrasted with her approaching adverse and miserable con- dition. She is represented as a tender and delicate virgin, re- duced to the work and abject condition of a slave, and bereaved of every comfort and enjoyment. This reverse of circum- stances is stated to be on account of her cruelty, (particularly to God’s people,) her pride, voluptuousness, sorceries, and in- cantations. The folly of these superstitious practices, the prophet elegantly exposes in the latter part of the chapter, in terms strikingly applicable to our modern prognosticators and almanac makers — “ the astrologers, the star-gazers, the month- ly prognosticators:”— Let them “stand up and save thee!” As the deliverance of the Jews was intimately connected with the fall of Babylon, a chorus of that nation breaks in (ver. 4.) in the very middle of the prophet’s denunciations, to praise God, in a distich (in the original) of a different measure and construction, whicl) adds to its fine effect, considered in Ver. II. A ravenous bird— Ait, “ the ea^le,” the very word, remarks Loioth, used by Xenophon, with a Greek termination, ( aetos ,) in speaking of the ensign of Cyrus. Ver. 12. Ye stout-hearted— Loioth, “Stubborn of heart.” Ver. 13. 1 will bring near my righteousness. — That is, make it evident in the fulfilment of my promises. Chap. XLVII. Ver. 2. Take the millstones— Loioth, “The mill.” In the East, it was (and still is) the custom to employ female slaves to grind the com, with hand mills. Matt. xxiv. 41. See Hcrmer's Obs. Pass over. — Loioth, “ Wade through.” Ver. 3. I will not meet thee as a man— Loioth, “ I will suffer no man to in- tercede.” Ver. 5. Lady of kingdoms. — f After Babylon was taken by Cyrus, instead of being, “ the lady of kingdoms.” the metropolis of a great empire, and mistress of all the East, it became subject to the Persians ; and the imperial seat being removed to Susa, instead of having a king, it had only a deputy residing there, who governed it as a province of the Persian empire. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 6. I was wroth.— From this verse we may leam. that when God is angry with any, we ought rather to be compassionate and kind, for we also are sinners. Ver. 7. Not remember the latter end of it.- Loioth, “ Thou didst not think what was in the end to befall thee.” 778 Ver. 9. In a moment. —[ That is, suddenly. Cyrus suddenly and unexpectedly entering the city while the Babylonians were engaged in revelling and drunken- ness, slew their king and many of the inhabitants ; and when Darius took the city by stratagem, A. M. 3888, B. C. 516, he heat down the walls from 200 to 50 cubits ; and impaled 3000 of its principal inhabitants.]— Bagster. In their perfection.— Hch. "Completely, entirely;" or. according to some, “all at once.” So LXX., Loioth, Boothroyd, &c. For —Loioth, “ Notwithstand- ing,” &c. Ver. 11. Thou shalt not know from whence it riseth.— See margin. Not be able to put it off".— See margin. That is, by any idolatrous sacrifices Which thou shalt not know. — Loioth, “ Of which thou shalt have no ap- prehension.” Ver. 12. Stand now with, Sic —Loioth," Persist now in,” &c. Ver. 14. Not a coal.— That is, they shall all be quickly and entirely destroy ed, like a blaze of stubble ; not a coal, that is, no remains of them, shall be left. Ver. 15. Even thy merchants.— That is, those (meaning the astrologers, &c.) with whom thou hast trafficked (or done business) from thy youth. Shall wander— [ Babylon was replenished from all nations by a concourse of people, whom Jeremiah (chap. 1. 37.) calls “ the mingled people ;” and JEschylus de- nominates the inhabitants of the same capital, “ a mixture of all sorts.” All these, at the approach of Cyrus, sought to escape to their several countries. 1 —Bagster. Israel's obstinacy iSAlAH. — CHAP. XLVIII., XLIX. Backwardness of the people, OH A PTLK XLVIII. 1 God, to convince the people of their foreknown obstinacy, revealed his prophecies. ■> lie savetli them for lira own sake. 12 He exhortelh them to obedience, because of .us power and providence. 16 He lamenteth their backwardness. 20 He powerfully uelivereth his people out of Babylon. H EAR ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters a of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not b in truth, nor in righteousness. 2 For they call themselves of the holy c city, and stay d themselves upon the God of Israel ; The Lord of hosts is his name. 3 I have declared the former things from the beginning ; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them ; I did them sud- denly, and they came to pass. 4 Because Iknew thatthou art e obstinate, and thy neck f is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass ; 5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee ; before it came to pass I showed it thee : lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them ; and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. 6 Thou hast heard, see all this ; and will not ye declare it ? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden « things, and thou didst not know them. 7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not ; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. 8 Yea, thou heardest not ; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened : for I h knew that thou wouldest deal very > treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from i the womb. 9 11 For k my name’s sake will I defer mine an- ger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not olf. 10 Behold, I have refined > thee, but not m with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace "of affliction. 11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will T do it : for 0 how should my name be polluted 7 and p I will not give my glory unto another. 12 T[ Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I tarn the first, I also am the last. 13 My r hand also hath laid the foundation of A. M 3292. B. C. 712. a Ps.6H.2G. b Do. 9. 28, 29. Je.5.2. Jn.4.24. c c.52. 1. d Mi. 3.11. e hard f De.3l.27. g lCo.2.9. 10. h Ps. 139.1., 4. i Je.5.11. Ho.5.7. 67. j Ps.51.5. k Ps.79.9. 106.8. Eze.20.9, &c. 1 Ps.66.10. m or, for. Eze.22.20 ..22. n Zec.13.9. 1 Pe.4.12. o De.32.26, 27. p c.42.8. q Re. 22. 13. r Fs.102.25. 8 or , the palm of my right hand hath spread out. t c. 40.26. u Ma. 10.21. v c.44.23. vv Ezr.1.2. x c'61.1. Zec.2.8.. 11. Lu 4.18.. 21 . y Mi. 4.2. zDe.8.17,18 a Ps.32.8. 73.24. b Ps.81.13.. 16. c Ps.119. 165. d Je.51.6,45 g c.57.21. a Je.1.5. Lu. 1.15, 31. Ga.1.15. b Ho.6.5. He. 4. 12. Re. 1.16. c c.51.16. d Ps.45.5. the earth, and 8 my right hand hath spanned the heavens : when I 1 call unto them, they stand up together. 14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear ; which among them hath declared these things ? The Lord hath loved “ him : he will v do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken ; yea, I have called him : I w have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous, 16 If Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the begin- ning; from the time that it was, there am I ; and now the x Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. 17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel ; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth ? thee to 1 profit, which leadeth a thee by the way that thou shouldest go. 18 O b that thou hadst hearkened to my com- mandments ! then had thy c peace been as a ri- ver, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea : 19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof ; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. 20 If Go d ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth ; say ye, the Lord hath redeemed e his servant Jacob. 21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts : he caused the waters f to flow out of the rock for them : he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. 22 There is no e peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. CHAPTER XLIX. 1 Christ, being sent to the Jews, complained) of them. 5 He is sent to the Gentiles with gracious promises. 13 God’s love is perpetual to his church. 18 The ample restoration of the church. 24 The powerful deliverance out of captivity. L ISTEN, O isles, unto me ; and hearken, ye people, from far ; The Lord hath called me from a the womb ; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. 2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp b sword ; in c the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished d shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me ; die light of poetry. “ As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts 9 his name, the Holy One of Israel.” Chap. XLVIII. Ver. 1 — 22. Israel reproved for not attend- ing to God's warning by his prophets. — The Jews are reproved in this chapter for their obstinate attachment to idolatry, not- withstanding their experience of the divine providence over them, and of the divine prescience, which revealed by the pro- phets the most remarkable events that concerned them. That they should have no pretext for ascribing the least of their suc- cess to their idols, they are challenged below, (ver. 14,) to give the like proof of their knowledge of futurity. Yet God, after bringing them to the furnace for their perverseness, (in which he treats them with great tenderness,) repeats his gracious promises of deliverance and consolation ; from the benefits of which, however, the guilty and impenitent are, in the last verse, excluded. It is hardly necessary to observe, that many passages in this chapter, and indeed the general strain of these prophecies, have a plain aspect to some farther restoration of the church in the latter times, when the fall of the mystical or spiritual Babylon, (Rev., xviii. 21.) of which the other was a type, shall introduce, by some great revolutions, the most glo- rious era of the gospel. — No person of sensibility can read this chapter without admiring that tender, beautiful, and passionate exclamation put into the mouth of our heavenly Father, who afflicts his children only if need be, and who in all their afflic- tions is (himself) afflicted. “O that thou hadst observed my commandments !” In the close of this chapter, the protection afforded to the Jews in their return from Babylon, is compared to God’s mira- culous care over Israel in their passage through the wilderness : and it was only by faith in this protection, that Ezra and his company adventured to return without a guard: for consider- ing the strength of their enemies, and the treasures they carried with them, their safe arrival seems little short of miraculous. (See Ezraviii. 21, 22.) Chap. XLIX. Ver. 1—26. The Messiah being rejected by the Jews , his mission is directed to the Gentiles. — “ Hitherto (says Bp. Lowth ) the subject of the prophecy has been chiefly Chap. XLVIIL Ver. 1. And are come forth out of. &c. — Loioth, “Ye that flow from,” &c. — fAbp. Seeker conjectures, that we should read mimmeey. " from the bowels of,” instead of mimmey, “ out of the waters of ;” but no alteration seems necessary. We have the parallel expressions ain kaakov, ' the fountain of Jacob,” De. xxxiii. 28 ; and mekor yisrael, “the fountain of Israel,” Ps. lxviil. 26.1 — Bagster. Vet. 6. Thou hast heard. &c.— That is, thou hast heard this aforetime; thou seest it accomplished, and will not ye declare it 1 or, acknowledge it ? See Lowth. Ver. 10 . Not with — Lowth, " Not as” silver ; i. e. not with so great a heat as silver requires. — -I have chosen thee. — To choose, is to prefer one person pefbre another ; the great refiner tempers the heat to the metal. Some ver- sions read with the Syriac and Chaldee, “ 1 have tried so Lowth and Booth- royd. v«r 14. Which among them. — Twenty-one MSS. and two editions read. “among you.” The Lord hath loved him. — Namely, Cyrus. See chap. xliv. 28. and xlv. 1, 2 . Loioth, “ He whom the Lord hath loved.” Ver. 16 . The Lord God and his Spirit hath sent me. — Some consider these as the words of the prophet : so Boothroyd. But Dr. Pye Smith contends, from a comparison of the preceding verses, 12 — 15, with cnap. xlv. latter part, that they are the words of the Messiah, and Bishop Lowth quotes Origen , as thus applying them. So also Dr. Dwight. Ver. 19. Like the gravel thereof .—Lowth, “ Like that of the bowels there- of,” namely, the issue of the fishes, here called the bowels of the sea : so the most learned Rabbins. See note on Gen. i. 21. Chap. XLIX. Ver. 1 . The Lord hath called me.—' This refers not to Isaiah, but to Messiah himself, as appears by the next verse. Ver. 2. Polished shaft. — [The polished shaft, says Bishop Lowth, denotes the same efficacious word which is before represented by the sharp sword. The doctrine of the Gospel pierced the hearts of its ^hearers, bunging into Christ sent to the O'enliles. ISAIAH. — CHAP. XL1X. God's love to the churcn. 3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom 1 will be 'glorified. 4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my r work with my God. 5 If And now, sailh the Lord that formed me from the womb to he his servant, to bring Ja- cob again to him, * Though Israel be not h ga- thered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said, i It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the i preserved of Is- rael : I will also give thee for a light 11 to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. 7 Thussaiththe Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One ; To him ' whom man m de- spiseth, to him whom the " nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, ° kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. 8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable p time have I heard thee, and in a day of sal- vation have I helped thee : and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to i establish the earth, to cause to in- herit the desolate heritages ; 9 That thou mayest say to the 'prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in 'darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. 10 They shall not hunger 1 nor thirst ; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them : for he that hath mercy on them shall "lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. 11 And v I will make all my mountains a- way, and my highways shall be exalted. 12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west ; and these from the land of Sinim. 13 H Sing, O heavens ; and be joyful, O earth ; and break forth into singing, O mountains : for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. 14 But Zion w said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, A. M. 3m B. C. 71i J ii. 13 31 . 1 Pe.2.9. f or ^reward c.40.10. g or, Thai Israel may be gathered, lo him , and I may. h M«t23.37 i or, Art thou lighter than that thou, Sic. J or, desolar lions. k Ac. 13.47. 1 or, that is desjnsed in soul. m c.53.3. n Lu.23.18 ..23. o Pa. 72. 10, 11. p Ps.69.I3. 2 Co.6.2. Ep.1.6. q or, raise up. r Zec.9.12. s 1 Pe.2.9. t Re. 7. 16. u Ps.23.2. v Ps. 107.4,7 w Pe.77.9, 10 . x from ha- vingcoin- passion. y c. 4-1.21. Mat7.ll. z Ca.8.6. a Eze.28.24 Mni. 13. 41,42. Re. 22. 15. b C.60.& Zee. 2.4. 10 . 10 . c Ro.ll.ll, &c. d c. 66.20. e bosom. f nourish - ers. g princesses h Ps.72.9, &c. i Ro.9.33. J Mat 12.29. k the cap- tivity of the just. 1 captivity. * that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet ? will I not forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven 1 thee upon the palms of my hands ; thy walls are continually before me. 17 Thy children shall make haste ; thy a de- stroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. 18 H Lift up thine eyes round about, and be- hold : all these b gather themselves together and. come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee , as a bride doelli. 19 For thy waste and thy desolate places and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabit- ants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20 The children which thou shalt have, after 'thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me give place to me that I may dwell. 21 Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing 1 have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and re- moving to and fro? and who hath brought up these ? Behold, I was left alone ; these, where had they been 1 22 Thus d saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people : and they shall bring thy sons in their ' arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 23 And kings shall be thy f nursing fathers, and their s queens thy nursing mothers : they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick h up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord : for they shall not be ashamed « that wait for me. 24 If Shall the prey be taken from the l mighty, or k the lawful captive delivered ? 25 But thus saith the Lord, Even the i cap- tives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered : for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their ownflesh; and they shall be drunken confined to the redemption from the captivity of Babylon, with strong intimations of a more important deliverance sometimes thrown in : to the refutation of idolatry, and the demonstration of the infinite power, wisdom, and foreknowledge of God. The character and office of the Messiah was exhibited in general terms at the beginning of chapter xlii., but here he is intro- duced in person, declaring the full extent of his commission; which is not only to restore the Israelites and reconcile them to their Lord and Father, from whom they had so often re- captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” This hold yet just meta- phor has been employed by the most ingenious heathen writers, if with equal elegance, not with equal force. It is said of Pericles by Aristophanes, " His powerful speech pierced the hearer’s soul, and left behind deep in his bosom its keen point infixl.”)— Bagster. Ver. 3. O Israel .—' This ‘'cannot (says Bishop Lowth ) be Isaiah;" but it may apply to Messiah, wiio, in correspondence witli the import of the name, as a prince had power with God, and prevailed.” Compare Gen. xxxii. 28. and Hos. xn. 3, 4. with Hcb. v. 7. Ver. 5. Though Israel be not gathered .— Instead of the negative in this verse, u\c Ken (which is confirmed by five MSS. two ancient) reads to him ; so most of the ancient versions. Loioth therefore reads, “ ... to bring back Jacob to him, anil that to him Israel may be fathered : therefore shall I be glorious,” &c. The latter part of this verse should be read in a parenthesis. Ver. 6. It is a light thing. See margin. That is, comparatively, inasmuch as Israel is but a small nation, compared with the whole world. The pre- served. — Lowth, “ The branches of Israel.” So Boothroyd. Ver. 7. To him whom man despiseth.—Scc margin. Lowth, “ To him whose person is despised ” See chap. liii. 3. And arise.— Lowth, “ Rise up,” in respect of him. See chap. lii. 15. And he shall choose thee— Lowth. For he hath chosen thee.” Ver. 8. For a covenant of the people .— That is, the only Mediator between God and man See l Tim ii. 5. Ver. 9. Goforth — Compare chap. xlii. 7. In all high places — The best pastures, in the East, are in fe.tile mountains. See Orient. Lit. No. 937. Ver. 12 . Sinim.— [From the connexion, it is evident that “ the land of Si- nim" must be situated either on the south or cast. The Chaldee, Jerome , %nd the Hebrew interpreters, render it “ the land of the south,” theLXX. " the 7S0 volted : but to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, to call them to the Knowledge and obedience of the true God, and to bring them to be one church together with the Israelites, lo partake with them of the same common salvation, procured for all by the great Redeemer and reconciler of man to God.” Tne prophet then glancing towards the happy though dis- tant period of these events, makes a beautiful apostrophe to heaven and earth, to shout forth the praises of God on the opening prospect. The tender mercies of God to his people, land of the Persians," and the Syriac, “ the sea of Senjam.” Some under- stand by it Sin, or Pehisium, and others Syene, the southern frontier of Egypt. But it seems more probable that it denotes China; called by the na- tives Sin , and by the Arabians and Syrians Zin.\— Bagster. Ver. 16. I have graven thee on the 'palms of my hands — This alliu.os to the eastern custom of tracing out on their hands the sketches of certain places (with the points of needles) and then rubbing them with the powder of henna, or cypress, and thereby making them perpetual. Maundrcll says, the modern pilgrims to Jerusalem have a similar way of marking their arms, ace Orient C-ust. No. 265. Thy walls are continually before we —That is, delineated on my hands, as just explained. _ , Ver. 17. Thy children shall make haste .— That is. to return home. They that made thee waste .— That is, thine enemies shall go forth, or hasten to re- treat. But Bishop Loioth , from a different pointing of the Hebrew, rends, “They that destroy thee shall soon become thy builders, and they that laid thee waste shall become thine offspring.” So Boothroyd. Ver. 18. As a bride doeth— what? The LXX. supplies “ her jewels.” So Lowth. , Ver. 21. Where had they been 1 — Lowth, These then, where were they?” Ver. 23. Nursing. — Literally, “Suckling mothers.” Sec Exod. ii. 7, &c. — [Cyrus, Darius, Artaxcrxes, and other Persian monarchs. as well as Alexander the Great, and his successors, particularly Demetrius, conferred many privi- leges and immunities on the Jewish people, and were munificent benefactors to their temple. Though it cannot be disputed that the grand and signal ac- complishment of these predictions is yet future.] — Bagster. Ver. 24. Or the lawful captive delivered.— Lowth reads, on authority of the Syriac and Vulgate, and verse following, “ Or the prey seized by the terrible be reserved.” So Boothroyd The dereliction of the Jews. ISAIAH. — CHAP. L., LI. Exhortation to trust in Christ. ra with their own blood, as with n sweet wine : and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. CHAPTER L. i Christ shnweth that the dereliction of the Jews is not to be imputed to him, by his ability to save, 5 by his obedience in that work, 7 and by his confidence in that assist- ance. 10 An exhortation to trust in God, and not in ourselves. T HUS saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother’s a divorcement, whom I have put away ? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you ? Behold, for your ini- quities have ye sold b yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. 2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to an- swer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deli- ver ? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness : their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. 4 T[ The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the c learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is d weary : he wakeneth morning by morning, he waken- eth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5 T[ The Lord God hath opened e mine ear, and I was not f rebellious, neither turned away back. 61 s gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair : I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 T[ For the Lord God will help me ; there- fore shall I not be confounded : therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. S He h is near that justifieth me ; who will contend with me ? let us stand together : who is i mine s adversary? let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord God will help me ; who is he that shall condemn me ? k lo, they all shall wax old as a garment ; the i moth shall eat them up. 10 Tf Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in m darkness, and hath no light? A. M. 3292. B. C. 712. m Re. 16.6. n or, new. a Je.3.8. Ho.2.2. b c.52.3. c Mat. 13.54 cl Mat. 11.28 ePs.‘10.6..8. f Mat.Q6.39. Jn.li.3l. g Mat.26.67 27.28. h Ro.8.32.. 34. i the master of my cause. j Zec.3.1, &c. Re. 12. 10. k Job 13.23. 1 c.51.8. m Ps.23.4. Mi.7.8. n Job 13.15. Ps.52.8. Na.1.7. He. 10.35 ..37. 0 Ec.ll. 9. p Ps.16.4. a ver.7. b Ro.9.30, 31. c He. 11.8.. 12 . d Ge.12.1,2. e Ge.22.17. 24.1,35. f Ps.35.8. c.52.9. g 1 Pe.1.8. h Ro.8.2. 1 c.56.1. j Ps.93.9. k c.42.4. 60.9. 1 He. 1.11,12 2 Pe.3. 10, 12 . m Da.9.24. n ver.l..4. o Ps.37.3l. p Mat 10.28 q Job 4.19.. 21 . let him trust n in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. 11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that com- pass yourselves about with sparks : walk 0 in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of my hand ; ye shall lie down in p sorrow. CHAPTER LI. 1 An exhortation, after tit pattern of Abraham, to trust in Christ, 3 by rewton of his comfortable promises, 1 -> ' nis righteous salvation, 7 and man’s mortality 9 Christ, by his sanctified arm, defended) his from the fear of man. 17 He bewailed) the olilic- tions of Jerusalem, 21 and promiseth deliverance. H EARKEN a to me, ye that b follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord : look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. 2 Look c unto Abraham your father, and un- to Sarah that bare you: for I called d him alone; and blessed e him, and increased him. 3 For the Lord shall comfort f Zion : he will comfort all her waste places ; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord ; joy e and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 4 1[ Hearken unto me, my people ; and gi\ e ear unto me, O my nation : for a h law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judg- ment to rest for a light of the people. 5 My ' righteousness is near ; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge i the people ; the isles k shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath : for ' the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner : but my sal- vation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not m be abolished. 7 Tf Hearken "unto me, ye that know right- eousness, the people in whose 0 heart is my law ; fear ye not p the reproach of men, nei- ther be ye afraid of their revilings. 8 For the moth i shall eat them up like a gar- ment, and the worm shall eat them like wool : but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation. with the prosperity of his church in general, and the overthrow of all its enemies, make the subject of the remaining part of the chapter.— “ Some of the images in this chapter are tender and pathetic in the highest degree. A whole volume could not express the love which God bears to his people, so well as the affecting iraa^e in the 15th verse. ‘Can a woman forget her sucking child, &c. It is the same to the fainting soul, that a spring of water is to the weary traveller in the parched desert.” Or. J. Smith. Chap. L. Ver. 1 — 11. God justifies his own conduct: Mes- siah predicts his own sufferings— Jewish husbands, through moroseness or levity of temper, often sent bills of divorcement to their wives on slight occasions, as they were permitted to do by the law of Moses. (Deut. xxiv. l.) And fathers, being oppressed with debt, often sold their children ; which they might do till the year of release. (Exod. xxi. 7.) That this was frequently practised appears from many passages of scripture. The widow (2 Kings iv. l.) complains, that the creditor was come to take her two sons to be bondmen. And in the para- ble, (Matt, xviii. 25,) the Lord, forasmuch as his servant had not to pay, commands him to be sold, and his wife and child- ren, and all that be had, and payment to be made. “But this (saith God) cannot be my case;” I am not governed by any such motives, nor urged by any such necessity : your captivity, Chap. L. Ver. 2. When 1 came.— That is, into the public court. Sec Ruth iv. l. 4. Ver. 7, Is my hand, shortened!— See Num. xi. 23. 1 make the rivers a tenderness.— That is, dry as a desert. Their fish stinketh— See Ex. vii. 21 Ver. 4. The Lord, hath given me.— That is, Messiah, whose office it was to address the weary. He wakeneth. &c.— This seems an allusion to the man- ner of prophetic inspiration. See 1 Sam. iii. 4— to. Ver. 8 Plucked off the hair. — IThe eastern people always held the beard in irreat veneration ; and to pluck a man’s beard is one of the grossest indig- nities that can be offered.]— Bagsler. From shame and spitting.— See notes on N'um. xii. 14. Deut. xxv. 9 — [Another instance of the utmost con- tempt and detestation. Throughout the East it is highly offensive to spit in any one’s presence ; and if this is such an indignity, how much more spitting in the face i]— Bagsler. Ver. 8. Who U mine adversary 1— See margin ; i. e. the accuser See John dr. 80. Rom. viii. 33—33 therefore, and your afflictions, are to be imputed to yourselves, and to your own folly and wickedness! Thus God justifies himself against the murmurs and repinings of his ungrateful people. At verse 4, the Messiah is evidently introduced, and some of his bitterest sufferings predicted, according to the interpreta- tion of St. Matthew, (chap. xxvi. 67; xxvii. 26.) But he ap- peals to the Almighty Father as his protector, so far as was consistent with the great object of his incarnation. (See Matt, xxvi. 39, 53, 54.) The two last verses contain an exhortation to faith and confidence in God, with a warning to those who trusted in their own strength and righteousness. Chap. LI. Ver. 1—23. Jews and Gentiles directed to pul their trust in the Messiah . — In the opening of this chapter the Jews are considered as living stones dug out of the rock of human nature, and from the quarry of the Chaldees: and the object of thus referring them to their humble origin is to remind them that they, like their early ancestors, were barren as the rock itself, and indebted to the great God their Creator, for all they were, and all they had. Hereby they are at once ex- cited to gratitude in the reflection on past mercies, and to con- fidence in the fulfilment of God’s promise of future blessings, especially under the dispensation of the Messiah. They are then directed to turn their eyes to the nations round, who, un- Ver. 11. All ye that kindle— V itringa thinks this may refer particularly to those seditious Jews, who, by exciting the indignation of the Romans, brought destruction both on themselves and their city. Chap. LI. Ver. 4. My people .... my nation— Lore th, as supposing this addressed to the. Gentiles, reads. “Ye peoples, . . . . ye nations;” but we see no necessity for alteration, and we are averse to it without 1 mill make my judgment to rest— Rather, “ to break forth.” So Gataker and Lowth. Ver. 5. My righteousness.— [ The word tzedek, “ righteousness,” observes Bp. Lowth , is used in such a great latitude of signification, for justice, truth, faithfulness, goodness, mercy, deliverance, salvation, &c. that it is not easy sometimes to give the precise meaning of it without circumlocution ; it means here the faithful completion of God’s promises to deliver his people. )—Bag- 8ter. Mine arm shall judge.— That is, my power shall avenge the people. Ver. 6. Shall die in like manner.— That is, shall wear out like every object around them ; but Bishop Lrnoth, (changing the Hebrew point,) reads. Like the vilest insect.” Sep Ex. viii. 17. 7«1 Afflictions of Jerusalem bewailed. ISAIAH. — CHAP. LII. Christ's Jree redemption 9 If Awake, awake, put on r strengtn, O arm of the Lord ; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut * Rahab, and wounded the < dra- gon? 10 Art thou not it which hath “dried the sea, the waters of the great deep ; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over ? 11 Therefore ’the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion ; and everlasting joy w shall be upon their head : they shall obtain gladness and joy ; and sorrow 11 and mourning shall flee away. 12 Tf I, * even I, am he that comforteth you : who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; 13 And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth ; and hast feared con- tinually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he z were ready to destroy ? and a where is the fury of the oppressor? 14 The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the b pit, nor that his bread should fail. 15 But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared : The Lord of hosts is his name. 16 And I have put my words c in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow d of my hand, that I may plant the e heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. 17 H Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury ; r thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. 18 There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth ; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. 19 These two things s are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee ? desolation, and h destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by > whom shall I comfort thee ? 20 Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net : they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God. 21 Tf Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and i drunken, but not with wine : a. m. am B. C 711 r Re. II 17. ■ l’s.89.10. t Rn.74.13, 14. c.27.1. u Ex. 14.21. v c.35. ID w Jude 24. x Re.21.4. y ver.3. 2 Co. 1.3. z or, made himself ready. a Job 20.7. b Zee. 9. 11. c Jn.3.34. d c.49.2. e 2 Pe.3.13. f Ps.75.8. ver. 22. g happened. h breaking. i La.2.11.. 13. Am.7.2. j La. 3. 15. k Ps.35.1. Je. 50.34. Mi.7.9. 1 c. 54.7. .9. m Je.25.17.. 29. n Ps.66.ll, 12 . a Ne.ll.l. Re. 21. 2, 27. b Na.1.15. c Zec.2.7. d Ro.7.14.. 25. e Ro.2.24. f Na.1.15. Ro. 10. 15. g Ca.2.8. c. 25.6, 7. h Lu.2.10, 11 . i l Co. 13. 12. J P*. 98. 2,3. k Lu.3.6. 22 Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth k the cause of his people, Be- hold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury ; thou shalt no > more drink it again : 23 But m I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee ; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over : and thou hast laid " thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over. CHAPTER LII. 1 Christ perBuadeth the church to believe his free redemption, 7 to receive the minis- ters thereof, 9 to Joy in the power thereof, 11 and to free themselves from bondage. 13 Clirisi’s kingdom shall be exalted. A WAKE, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy * city : for b henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncir- cumcised and the unclean. 2 Shake c thyself from the dust ; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem : loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 3 For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold d yourselves for nought ; and ye shall be re- deemed without money. 4 For thus saith the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them with- out cause. 5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to how], saith the Lord ; and my name continually every day is ‘blasphemed. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name : therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak : behold, it is I. 7 Tf How f beautiful upon the mountains e are the feet of him that bringth good tidings, that publisheth peace ; that bringeth good tidings h of good, that publisheth salvation ; that saith unto Zion, Thy Godreigncth 8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice ; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see > eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. 9 Tf Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem : for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Je- rusalem. 10 The (Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations ; and all k the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. der the new and everlasting dispensation here spoken of were to be admitted to communion with them, and to be made par- takers of the same redemption. The faithful then with exaltation and joy lift their voices, reminding God of his wondrous works of old, which encourage them to look now for the like glorious display of his power and goodness.— “Awake, awake, O arm of the Lord!” &c. In answer to this, God is introduced comforting his people un- der their trials, and telling them (ver. 14.) that the deliverer (He that hasteneth to set the captive free) was already on his way to save them. (See note.) On this the prophet turns to Jerusalem to comfort and congratulate her on so happy a prospect. She is represented by a bold image, as a woman lying in the streets with her children round her, under the in- toxicating effects of the cup of the divine wrath; destitute of every assistance, and trodden under the feet of her, enemies till an avenging God takes pity on her, raises and recovers her. Chap. LII. Ver. 1 — VS. Zion roused from her stupor by the glad tidings of salvation.— In allusion, perhaps, to the image in the close of the preceding chapter, Jerusalem is represented as fallen asleep in the dust, and in that helpless state bound by her enemies. The Prophet, with all the ardour \ er, 9. Awake, awake, &c — [The prophet, by an eleeant figure, addresses Himself to God, desiring him to exert his power in behalf of his distressed peo- ple. as he had done in ancient times, when he delivered them from the slavery of Egypt. RaJiab, we have seen, denotes Lower Egypt : and under the image of tne dragon , or crocodile, the Sacred Writers generally designate Pharaoh, and sometimes any tyrant, or cruel persecutor of the church.]- 1 Bagster. Ver. 10. Art thou not it, &c.— Compare ch. xxxv. 10 Ver. 14. The captive exile, &c.—Boothroyd, “ He hasteneth on who shall set free the captive : that he should not die in the prison, and that his bread may not fail.” In the first and literal sense, this evidently refers to Cyrus; but secondly and principally to Messiah. So Lowth. Ver. 16 . That I may plant the heavens— The original term rendered plant. Gesenius remarks, that the word is used for pitching or planting a tent, Dan. xi. 45.; it may therefore be considered nearly synonymous with spreading, the word used in ver. 13. and which, Loioth thinks, was originally used here. Ver. 19. These two things.— [That is, savs Bishop Lowth, desolation bv famine, and destruction by the sword; taking the numbers alternately.]— Bagster. Ver. 20. Wild bull. — [The oryx, which Pliny reckons among the wild goats : and which is probably the same as the Bekker-el-wash, which Dr. Sham de- 7*2 cribes as “ a species of the deer kind, whose horns are exactly in the fashion of our stag, but whose size is only between the red and fallow deer. 1— Bagster. Ver. 21.' Drunken. &c.— [ JEschyhts has the same expression ; “ Intoxicate with passion, not with wine.” 1 — Bagster. . Chap. LII. Ver. 2. Sit doion — (The common mode of sitting in the East, is upon the floor with the legs crossed ; and when sitting is spoken of as a pos- ture of more than ordinary state, it means sitting on high, on a chair of state, or throne. \— Bagster. Lowth renders It. “ Ascend thy lofty seat !” meaning, a chair of state, in direct contrast to her lying in the dust, as in the close of the preceding chapter. The bands of thy neclc. — Captives often wore iron col- lars. like some Negro slaves in the West Indies. Ver. 7. How beautiful— [This is a highly poetical expression, for. How wel come is his arrival ! how agreeable are the tidingswhich he brings Bagster Ver. 8. Lift up the voice.— [Bishop Lowth reads, ‘‘All thy watchmen lift up their voice, they shout together.” But we may render'with Bishop Stock , “ The voice of thy watchmen ( They lift up their voice together.” & c.}— Bag- ster. They shall see eye to eye— The same Hebrew phrase in Numb. xiv. 14. is rendered “ face to face,” (as by Lowth here ) and is explainer! by the Chaldee to mean, 11 with their own eyes or, as Ainsworth thereexplams it “ visibly apparently, plainly.” &c. Uimsi s sufferings joretold. ISAIAH. — CHAP. L1II. Benefits of Christ's passion 11 TT Depart ■ ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch m no unclean thing ; go ye out of the midst of her ; be "ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. 12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight : for the Lord will go before you ; and the God of Israel 0 will be your rereward. 13 Tf Behold, my servant shall Pdeal prudent- ly, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonished at thee ; his vi- sage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sens of men : 15 So shall he sprinkle ■) many nations ; the kings shall shut their mouths at him : for that which had not been told them shall they see ; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. CHAPTER LIII. 1 The prophet, complaining of incredulity, excuseth the scandal of the cross, 4 by the benefit of his passion, 10 and the good success thereof. W HO hath believed a our b report? and to whom c is the arm of the Lord revealed ? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a ten- der plant, and as a root out of a dry ground : he hath no form nor comeliness ; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected d of men ; a man of sorrows, and acquainted e with grief : and f we hid as it were our faces from him ; ne was despised, and we esteemed him not. n or , away by di stress and judgment : but who. o Da. 9. 26. p the stroke upon him.. 4 Tf Surely he hath borne our griefs, and car ried our e sorrows : yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was h wounded for our transgres- sions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his * stripes i we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath k laid on him the iniquity of us i all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep be- fore her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He m was taken n from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his genera- tion? for he ° was cut off out of the land of the living : for the transgression of my people was p he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich 9 in his r death ; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Tf Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; he hath put him to grief: s when thou shall make his soul an ‘ offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure u of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. q Mat. 27.57. r deaths, s when his soul shall make, t 2Co.5.2l. He.9.24..26. u 2 Tit. 1.1 1. 1 Zee. 2.6,7. 2 Co. 6. 17. Re. 18.4. m Le.15.5, &c. Hag. 2. 13. n Le.22.2. &c. ) gather you up. p or, pro»- per. c.53.10. q Ezc.36.25 a Jn. 1.7,12. Ep.1.18, b hearing , or, doc- trine. : Jn. 12.37. Ro.10.16. d Lu.23.18, &o. e He. 4. 15. f as a hiding of faces from him , or, from us : or, he hid as it were his face from us. g Mat 26. 37 n or, tor- mented i bruise. j 1 Pe.2.24, 25. k made the iniquities of us all to meet on him. 1 Ro.4.25. 1 Pe.3.18. m Ac. 8. 32.. 35. natural to one who had such joyful news to communicate, bids her awake, arise, and put on her strength and beauty ; and then he delivers the message he had in charge. Awakening from her stupefaction, Jerusalem sees the messenger of these good tidings on the eminence from which he espied the approaching deliverance. She expresses, in beautiful terms, her joy at the news, repeating with peculiar elegance the words of the cryer; “How beautiful,” &c. The tidings immediately spread to others on the watch, who all join in the glad acclamation ; and, in the ardour of their joy, call to the very ruins of Jeru- salem to sing along with them, (ver. 9, 10.) The Prophet then, to complete the deliverance, bids them march, as it were, in triumph out of Babylon : “Depart ye,” &c. We must always remember that the words of our Prophet extend generally be- yond the deliverance from Babylon, which is but the type of a greater redemption. That this chapter relates in the highest sense to the Messiah, see Rom. x. 15. The last three verses introduce a fresh subject, which is con- tinued throughout the following chapter, and should therefore have been connected with it. The Prophet here drops all inferi- or topics, and introduces a series of predictions relative to the character and sufferings of Messiah, the most interesting and extraordinary of any throughout the Old Testament. The reader is taken to the foot of the cross, and while be sees the Saviourhangingthere, with the blood streamingfrom “hishead, his hands, his feet;” he is told that many nations shall be sprinkled with his blood — that Kings (the highest rank of socie- Ver. 11. Touch no unclean thing. — That is, “ Contract no ceremonial pol- lution, and especially keep yourselves from idols.” See 1 John v. 21. ic Ver. n. At thee— The Syriac and Chaldee, with a few ancient MSS. read, “ ut him.” The difference in the Hebrew is out half a letter, and the sense is evidently clearer. Ver. 15. So shall he sprinkle. — This word is difficult of interpretation. The original idea of the Hebrew root seems to be, that of leaping, (or causing to leap.) either with surprise or joy ; so Schuftens explains the cognate verb in Arabic, and from thence seems to be derived its secondary and more common meaning, to spurt out , as from a wound, from a brush or bunch of hyssop, by way of sprinkling, fee Le. vi. 27. 2 Ki. ix. 33. Le. xiv. 6, 7, &c. See Park- hurst and Gesenius, in Nazah. Eut taking the word in the former sense, “ He shall cause many nations to leap with surprise and joy,” (i. e. he shall surprise and rejoice many nations,) the words may be applied to the effects produced by the propagation of the gospel (which is no other than the report cf his work and sufferings) among both Jews ana Gentiles. This agrees with the following clause, Kings (not the kings) shall shut their mouths at him , or be silent witn surprise and ad- miration in his presence ; for they shall see such things as they never before heard or thought of. See Job xxix. 9, 10. If this sprinkling be considered as of water, to an Asiatic it must yield pleasure as well as surprise ; but we read, Heb. xii. 24. of” the blood of sprinkling,” which refers undoubtedly to its atoning efficacy ; and thus, metaphorically, has he sprinkled many nations with his blood. Chap. LIII. Ver. I. The arm of the Lord. — That is, his power: generally considered in its exertion for the salvation of his people. See chap. xl. 10. ; Ji. 5, 9. Ver. 2. For he — That is, Messiah, shall ctow up before him. namely, Jeho- vah. Some ancient Jewish writers, have thus explained it. See Scott's An svver to R. Crool. A tender plant — is here, a sickly one, drooping for want jf water. A root out of a dry ground.— Compare ch. xi. 1. Ver. 3. I Vehid as it locre our faces from him— That is, we, speaking in the person of the Jewish nation, eave him no countenance, but turned away from him. aj* disgusted with his mean appearance. This seems to us the most natural interpretation ; it cannot, however, be de- ty) shall be struck with astonishment, and their subjects leap with surprise and joy, at the effects produced by the circula- tion of these extraordinary tidings through the world. Chap. LIII. Ver. 1 — 12. The rejection , death , and suffer- ings of Messiah . — This chapter (.pens with the question “ Who hath believed oizr report,” as implying, 1. That the re- port he was now making was not that of himself alone, but one in which other prophets coincided with him, as maybe instanced in the writings of the Psalmist David, and others. (See Psalm xxii. 5 — 18; lxix. 20, 21, &c.) And, 2. That the re- port he was about to deliver, though thus confirmed by others, should be so little regarded by his countrymen, that they should unwittingly fulfil all his predictions in their treatment of this Messiah. We are then led back to contemplate the great person spoken of, as the servant of the Lord, in the close of the preceding chapter; of whom we have these seem- ingly inconsistent accounts, that “he shall be extolled and be very high ;” yet that his visage should be “marred more than any other man’s ;” can only be reconciled, by admitting the di- vinity of his character and mission : ana the infidelity of his countrymen in his rejection, persecution, and murder. It is stated of him that, as to his external form, he should grow up “as a plant out of a dry ground,” (a scion from the root of David,) having no splendour in his appearance, to dis- tinguish him from other men : that in consequence, his nation, whose hearts were set upon a temporal Messiah, instead ol believing in hjm, would execute him as an impostor. In this nied, that tbe LXX., Vulgate, and some MSS., read as our margin, and as Lowth has rendered it, “As one that hidctli his face from us that is, as a mourner, (2 Sa. xix. 4. Ps. lxix. 7.) or a leper; and so some ancient versions and commentators understand it. See Le. xiii. 45. Ver. 4. lie hath borne our griefs. — This he did in two ways ; 1. Bv healing the diseases and infirmities of men, Mat. viii. 17.; 2. And principally by suffer- ing for our sins, as in the next verse. Compare 1 Pet. ii. 24. Ver. 5. The chastisement of our peace— Lowth, “ By which our peace was effected.” Ver. 8. lie was taken from prison and from judgment.— See margin. Ra- ther, “ It was exacted, (i. e. the penalty of sin,) and he was made answer aide.” Bishops Chandler and Loioth, Dr. Boothroyd and Scott. Though Christ was not literally in p.ison, he was in custody, from his surrender to his death. And who shall declare his generation i — The meaning of this term has been much disputed, Loioth renders it, “ His manner of life/’ and refers to Kennicort, who cites the Mishna, and other Jewish authorities, to prove, that on trials among the Jews for capital offences, proclamation used to he made, that any person who knew any thing of the prisoner’s innocence should come forward and declare it ; but no such proclamation was mode on the tri- al of Jesus, though he has been thought to refer to such a custom, John xviii. 20, 21. So St. Paul in like manner, Acts xxvi. 4, 5 —Generation means ” Hi-tory:” so when the Rajah of Tan j ore spoke to Bishop Middle- ton, of the Historv of England, he called it 11 The Book of the Generations of the Kings of England.” Was he stricken.— ' Smitten to death,” LXX., Coptic, Origen, &c. See Lowth. Ver. 9. He made his grave with the wicked , &c .—Loioth, “ And his grave was appointed with the wicked ; but with the rich man was his tomb.” Ken- nicott and Boothroyd, by the transposition of two words, render it, “ He was placed with the wicked in his death ; but with the rich man was his sepul chre.” This answers literally to the history. Bishop Marsh, however, agrees with Loioth. Ver. 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise.— Lowth, “ Crush him” (see Ps. lxxii. 4, &c.) with affliction. When thou shaft make his soul an offering for sin.— See margin. Lowth, “ If his soul shall make a propitiatory sacri- fice. ’ 783 -CHAP. LIV. Their sure preservation . v Jn. 17.3. 2Pe. 1.2,3. y lie. 12.2. x He.7.25. 1 Jn.2.1. a Zep.aU. Ga.4.27. f Re.21.ia g Jn.6.45. h Pr.3.25, 26. i c. 37. 26 ,27. 7 For a small moment have I c forsaken thee ; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment ; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. 9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 10 For d the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant e of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. 1 1 TT O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones f with fair colours, and lay thy foun- dations with sapphires. 12 And 1 will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy bor- ders of pleasant stones. 13 And e all thy children shall be taught of the Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy children. 14 In righteousness shalt thou be established thou shalt be far from oppression ; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror ; for h it shall not come near thee. 15 Tf Behold, they shall surely gather toge- | ther, but not by me : whosoever shall gather i together against thee shall fall for thy sake. 16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bring- eth forth an instrument for his work ; and 1 | ' have created the waster to destroy. 1 17 No weapon that is formed against thee The call of the Gentiles. ISAIAH 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied : by his T knowledge shall my righteous w servant 1 justify many ; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him abortion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong ; because r he hath poured out his soul unto death : and he was numbered with the transgressors ; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession z for the transgressors. CHAPTER LIV. The prophet, for the comfort of the Gentiles, prophesieth the amplitude of their church, 4 their safety, 6 their certain deliverance out of affliction, 11 their fair edifi- cation, 15 und their sure preservation. S ING, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child : for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. 2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let. them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; 3 For thou shalt break foith on the right hand and on the left ; and thy seed shall in- herit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. 4 Tf Fear not ; for thou shalt not be ashamed : neither be thou confounded ; for thou shalt not be put to shame : for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. 5 For thy maker is thy b husband ; the Lord of hosts is his name ; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel ; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. very fact, however, was offered to God the only acceptable sacrifice for human guilt : and he, while bleeding and dying by the hand of murder, made intercession for his murderers. His conduct under all this was meek and humble ; he was “ the Lamb of God” taking “away the sins of the world.” Thus was he hurried from imprisonment to judgment, from judgment to execution, and by a mysterious providence, though he died with the vilest criminals, he was buried in the tomb of a man rich and honourable. No tomb, however, could detain him : it is plainly intimated that he should rise again — prolong his days — and that “ the travail of his soul,” that is. his unpa- ralleled labour and sufferings, should meet a rich reward. Though condemned as a sinner, he was just, and should jus- tify many through their knowledge and faith in him, and final- ly triumph over all his and our enemies. (See Psalm lxviii. 18. Ephes. iv. 8. Col. ii. 15.) After reading this chapter, it seems difficult to conceive how, in prophetic language, our Redeemer’s sufferings could have been more accurately described, or his atoning sacrifice more distinctly stated : and yet, alas ! “Who hath believed the re- port 1” Thousands, indeed, both of Jews and Gentiles, have believed it, and been saved thereby : but the nation at large treated him as an impostor, and do so to the present day. The late Scott (in his answer to Rabbi Crool, mentions it as a cur- rent and uncontradicted report, that the Jews are forbidden by l heir Rabbis to read this important chapter. It is observable, that this Rabbi, (who calls himself “Teacher of Hebrew in the University of Cambridge,”) in treating of the prophecies respecting Messiah, takes no notice of it. Still more sin- mtlar does it seem, that the late Leri, in his two volumes of ‘ Dissertations on the prophecies applicable to the Messiah,” though he has considered the chapters both preceding and fol- lowing, has contrived to pass over the 53d, (and the close of the 52d, as connected with it,) in the most perfect silence. We say contrived ; for it is remarkable that he has closed his 9th series of Isaiah’s prophecies in the 1st vol. with chap. lii. 12; and begins his 2nd vol. with chap. liv. as commencing the 10th Ver. 11. Shall be satisfied — That is, with the fiuit of his travail, with a nu- merous offspring. Grotius quotes an ancient Rahbin, who explains this of con- verts. or disciples. Compare Ps. cx. 3. and notes. By his knowledge. —Bishops Chandler and Lowth, " By the knowledge of him Boothroyd, • Of himself.” Shall my righteous servan t —Boothroyd , ‘ Shall my ser- vant, the righteous (or just) one, justify many.” For he shall bear their ini quilies. — Lowth and Boothroyd. " The punishment of their iniquities.” Ver. 12. Therefore will I divide, &c. — Boothroyd. “ Therefore will X give him, as a portion, the great, (Lowth, “ many ;") and the mighty lie shall pos- sess as a spoil.” See Ps. ii. 8. ; lxviii. 18. Chap. LIV. Ver. 9 As the waters of Noah, &c .—Lcioth, " The same will I o now, as in the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters,” &c "SI series ! This we are only able, to account for on the principle that he dare not examine this most interesting chapter; cer- tainly one of the most important in the prophetic writings. Long as we have dwelt upon this prophecy, we cannot close our exposition without adverting to another circumstance, as forming a happy contrast to this instance of Jewish obstinacy and infidelity. It is well known that the celebrated Earl of Rochester was one of the greatest wits and infidels of the 17th century. In his last illness, however, Parsons (the chap- lain of Lady R.) directed his attention to this chapter, and he thus speaks of the manner in which his mind was affected by it. “He said to me, (relates Parsons) — that as he heard it read, he felt an inward force upon him, that did so enlighten his mind and convince him, that he could resist it no longer; for the words had an authority which did shoot like rays or beams in his mind, so that he was not only convinced by the reasonings he had about it, which satisfied nis understanding; but by a power which did so effectually constrain him, that he did ever after as firmly believe in his Saviour as if he had seen him in the clouds.” Chap. LIV. Ver. 1—17. The Jewish Church called to rejoice in her great accession of converts from the Gentiles. — “ The Church of God under the Old Testament, confined within the narrow bounds of the Jewish nation, and still more so, in re- spect of the very small number of true believers, and which sometimes seems to be deserted by God her husband ; is the barren woman, that did not bear, and was desolate : she is ex- horted to rejoice, and to express her joy in the strongest man- ner, on the reconciliation of her husband to her, and on the accession of the Gentiles to her family.” (Bp. Lowth.) This accession had before been strongly predicted ; (chap. xlix. 20, 21.) and when she is here called upon (ver. 4) to forget the shame of her youth, and the reproach of her widowhood, we understand (with Abp. Seeker) by the former, her slavery in Egypt, and by the latter, her captivity in Babylon. When it is predicted that her walls shall be rebuilt with precious, instead of common stones, it must, at the least, imply an increase ol Ver. ll. I will lay thy stones with fair colours. — “ In cement and vermilion.” [These seem to he general images, says Bishop Lowth, to express beauty, magnificence, purity, strength, and solidity, agreeable to the ideas of eastern nations ; and to have never been intended to be strictly scrutinized, or minute- ly and particularly explained, as if they had each of them some precise moral or spiritual meaning. ] — Bagsler. Ver. 12. Windows of agates. — Loivth. “ Battlements of rubies.’ Thy borders of pleasant stones.— Lmoth, “ The circuit of thy walls of precious stones.” . , _ , ,, Ver. 16. Behold, I have created, &c.— [That is, says Bishop Stock, the maker of the weapon, and the soldier who wields it, are alike my work and can do nothing without my leave and guidance.”! — Bagster Isaiah calls to repentance, ISAIAH. — CHAP. LV., LVI. and to holiness of life. shall prosper ; and i every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt con- demn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness k is of me, saith the Lord. CHAPTER LV. I The prophet, with the promises of Christ, calleth to faith, 6 and to repentance. 8 The happy success of them that believe. H O, every one that a thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, b buy, and c eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye d spend money for that which is not bread ? and your labour for that which satisfieth not ? hearken diligently e unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in f fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me : hear, and your soul shall live ; and I will make an everlasting covenant s with you, even the sure h mercies of David. 4 Behold, I have given him i for a witness i to the people, a leader and commander k to the people. 5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations i that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel ; for he hath glorified thee. G IT Seek ye the Lord while ra he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the " unrighteous man his 0 thoughts : and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for he will p abun- dantly void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where- to I sent it. 12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace : the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. A. M. 3292. B. C. 712. ) Ro.8.1,33. k Ps.71.16, 19 . Ph.3.9. a Jn.4.10, 14; 7.37. Re.21.6. 22.17. b Mat. 13.44 ..46. Re.3.18. c Ca.5.1. d weigh. e Mat. 22.4. f Ps.63.5. 2Sa.2i.5. Je.32.40 h Ac. 13.34. i Eze.34.2a j Jn. 18.37. Re. 1.5. !c Ep.5.24. 1 c.60.5. Zee. 8.23. m.Tn.7,34. Iie.2.3. z. man of iniquity. o Ma.7.21.. 23. p multiply to par- don. q Ps. 130.7. r Ps.lQ3.11. s De.32.2. t Mat.24.35 u Ro.6.19. v Je. 13.11. a or, equity. t Lu. 12.43. c c.53.13. d Nu. 18.4,7 Ac. 10.34, 35. e Ac. 8.27, &c. f lTi.3.15. g Jn.1.12. h Je.50.5. i Ejj.2.11.. j lPe.2.5 k Mat-21.13 1 Pa. 147.2 ra Jn.10.16. n lohiegar therea. o or, dream- ing, or, talking in their sleep p strong of appetite. q know not to he satis- fied. 13 Instead u of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree : and v it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. CHAPTER LVI. 1 The prophet exhorteth to sanctification. 3 Ho promiseth it shall be general without respect of persons. 9 He inveigheth against blind watchmen. npHUS saith the Lord, Keep ye a judgment, - 1 - and do justice : for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed b is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it ; that keep- eth the sabbath c from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. 3 H Neither let the son of the A stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the e eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 4 For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things tnat please me, and take hold of my covenant; 5 Even unto them will I give in my f house and within my walls a place and a name better e than of sons and of daughters : I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. 6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join h themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from pol- luting it, and taketh hold of my covenant ; 7 Even * them will I bring to my holy moun- tain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer : their burnt-offerings and their sacri- fices ) shall be accepted upon mine altar ; for k my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. 8 The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts 1 of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others m to him, n beside those that are gathered unto him. 9 Tf All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea , all ye beasts in the forest. 10 His watchmen are blind : they are all ig- norant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark ; “sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 11 Yea, they are p greedy dogs which ^can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand : they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine ; and we will fill ourselves with strong drink ; and to-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. beauty and glory unprecedented, and forming a type of hea- ven and the celestial paradise. (Compare Rev. xxi. 18 — 21.) Chap. LV. .Ver. 1—13. Invitation to partake freely of di- vine blessings. — This comfortable chapter first displays the fulness, freeness, excellence, and everlasting nature of the blessings of the gospel; and remonstrates with men, against spending their talents and their energies in the pursuit of ob- jects, which can neither afford them satisfaction in present en- joyment, nor yield the hope of happiness in a future world. Eut as the great things promised, both here and in the preced- ing chapters, might seem almost incredible, the Prophet ad- verts to the divine omnipotence, as abundantly able lo accom- plish all his promises. This he illustrates in allusion to the rain and snow which fructify the earth : so shall the word of God, and the preaching of the gospel, under the gracious in- fluence of God’s Holy Spirit, bring forth the fruits of joy, and righteousness and peace, in all the world. Chap. LVI. Ver. 1 — 12. Exhortation to piety: and judg- ments on wicked rulers and teachers. — Whoever partakes of the blessings of the gospel, is required to be holy in all manner of life and conversation. And he that will be so, is declared to be accepted according to this gracious dispensa- tion, the benefits of which are extensive as the human race, without any respect to persons, or to nations. The stran- ger or the eunuch that obeys God’s precepts, is preferred to a Hebrew of the Hebrews who neglects them. (See Acts x. 34, 35.) At the 9th verse a new section of prophecy begins. “The Prophet, in the foregoing chapters, having comforted the faith- ful Jews with many great promises of God’s favour to be ex- tended to them, in the restoration of their ruined state, and the enlargement of his church by the admission of the Gen- tiles; here, on a sudden, makes a transition to the more disa- greeable part of the prospect ; and to a sharp reproof of the wicked and unbelievers, and especially of the negligent and faithless governors and teachers of the idolaters and hypo- crites, who would still draw down his judgments on the na- tions. Probably having in view the destruction of their city Ver. 17. Their righteousness— Lowth, “ Justification.” Chap LV. V,rr 4. Given him. — Unquestionably the Messiah. Compare shop. xlii. 6 ; also Acts xiii. 34. Ver. =>. A nation that thou knowest not. — This was repeatedly fulfilled in the catling of the Gentiles. Ver. 12. Break forth into singing. — Those are highly poetical images, to express a state attended withjov ana exultation. 99 Ver. 13. Instead of the thorn , &c.— (These likewise are general poetical im- ages ; expressing a great and happy change for the better. I — Bagster. Chap. LVI. Ver. 8. Beside those that are gathered.— See margin. — That is already gathered. Ver. 10. Bleeping. — Or murmuring in their sleep, as dogs are wont to do. Ver. 12. I will fetch wine.— By this verse it appears that these greedy, war* also drunken dogs ; like the diunkanis of Ephraim, chap. xxvir .. 786 Blessed death uj the righteous. ISAlAli. — CHAP. LVII., LVIII. The penitent promised happiness. C H A P T F. R LVII. 1 The ulcsKtl dentil of the riehteoiiR. 3 Gotl rcprovjjlh the Jew* for their whorUli idola- try. 13 lie giveili evangelical proniides to the pci.itenL T HE righteous perisheth, and no man iayeth it to heart : and u merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away b from the evil to come. 2 He shall c enter into peace : they shall rest in their beds, each one walking ll in his e up- rightness. 3 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore. 4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, 5 Enflaming yourselves f with idols s under every green tree, slaying 11 the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks ? 6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink-offering, thou hast offered a meat-offering. Should I receive comfort in these ? 7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed : even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. S Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance : > for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up ; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and ) made thee a covenant with them ; thou lo- vedst their bed k where thou sawest it. 9 And thou i wentest to the king with m oint- ment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell. 10 Thou art wearied in the " greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the 0 life of thy hand ; there- fore thou wast not grieved. 11 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not re- membered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have A. M. 3*92. I! C. 712. a. wen of kindness , or, gudli- b or, dint •which is evil. c or, co in peace. cl or, before him. e Ro. 14.13. f or, among the oaks. c. 1.129. g2Ki.l7.10, &c. h 2Ki. 16.3,4 i Em. 16.25, &c. 23.2, &c. J or, hewed it for thy- self Unger than theirs. k or, thou pro oldest room. 1 or, rc- spectcdst. m IIo. 12.1. n Je.2.3G. o or, living. p Ps.50.2l. q Ps.37.3..9. r 1 Co. 1.23. s Zee. 2.13. t Ps.34.13. 138.6. c. 66. 1,2. u Mat.5 4. v Ps. 103.9. Mi. 7. 18. w Je.6.13. x turning (two y. d3.o. Ho. 14 4. z Ho. 14.2. He. 13. 15. a Ep.2.13, 17. b Pr.4.16, 17. c 2 Ki.9.22. a with the throat. b De.5.28, 29. i’ not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not ? 12 1 will declare thy righteousness, and thy works.; for they shall not profit thee. 13 If When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee ; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them : but i he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain; 14 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block r out of the way of my people. 15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabited) eternity, whose name is Holy ; 1 dwell in the high and 8 holy place, with him also 1 that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive u the spirit of the humble, and to re- vive the heart, of the contrite ones. 16 For v I will not contend for ever, neither will 1 be always wroth : for the spirit should fail before me, and thesouls which 1 have made. 17 For the iniquity of his w covetousness was I wroth, and smote him : I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on * frowardly in the way of his heart. 18 I have seen his ways, and will y heal him : I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. 19 I create the fruit 8 of the lips ; Peace, peace to him that is far :l off, and to him that is near, saith the Loan; and I will heal him. 20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot b rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21 There is no 'peace, saith my God, to the wicked. CHAPTER LVIII. 1 The prophet, being sent to reprove hypocrisy, 3 expresseth a counterfeit fast and n true. 8 He declared) what promises are due unto godliness, 13 and to tr.< xeej ing of the sabbath. C fRY a aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice 1 like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet b they seek me daily, and delight to and polity by the Chaldeans, and perhaps by the Romans.” (Bp. Lowth.) The call upon the wild beasts of the forest to execute judg- ments upon these apostates from religion and piety, is indeed highly poetical; but when they are resembled to dumb, dream- ing, and greedy dogs, the wolves and lions of the forest are certainly the proper instruments of their correction. (Com- pare Jer. xii. 7, 9.) CttAr. LVII. Ver. I — 21. The deathof the righteous lament- ed, and the hypocrisy of idolaters reproved , with promises to the penitent. — After lamenting the decease of the righteous, (perhaps with reference either to Hezekiah or Josiah,) and the insensibility of the people on the occasion, the prophet pro- ceeds to charge the nation in general with apostacy, and as in some preceding chapters, with a partiality for alliances with pagan princes. In opposition to this, they are recommended to humble themselves before the God of Israel, whose name is holy, and whose Habitation is eternity, but who, though he holds his court on high, disdains not to hold communion with the meek and humble upon earth. For though, while man perseveres in rebellion, he can have no ground to hope for mercy; yet, when a sinner falls at the footstool of a throne of grace, God will no more contend with him, lest “the spirit (of man) should fail before him.” (Compare Psalm Ixxviii 38, 39. ciii. ; 9, 13, 14.) This chapter concludes, like ch. xlviii., with excluding the wicked and impenitent from any share of the blessings pro- mised to the humble and believing. Chap. LVIII. Ver. 1 — 14. The hypocrisy of the Jews re proved , with encouragement to the penitent.— This chaplet might properly be called, The unmasking of hypocrisy, which it appears the Jews of Isaiah’s time earned to a height not to be exceeded by either Jews or Christians in any future age . though we fear it may not be without a parallel in both. To set apart a day professedly to God, and at the same time. to convert it into a day of pleasure or business, is a crime here admirably described, and pointedly condemned : yetis not this exactly the way in which multitudes of Christians keep the sabbath ? Still more similar is it to the case before us when persons pretend to sanctify the sabbath themselves, and oblige their servants to devote the whole, or the far greater part of it, to business or domestic labour. The reverse of this character Chap. LVII. Ver. 2. He shall enter into peace. — See margin. So Lowth. Compare Gen. xv. 15. — -They shall rest in their beds.— That is. each of them. Walking in his upright ness — That is, perhaps, walking 11 through the val- ley of the shadow of death.” Ps. xxiii. 4. Lowth, however, renders tins verse very differently : “ He shall rest in his bed, even the perfect man : lie that walketh in the straight path." Ver. 3. Seed of the adulterer.—' That is, the idolater. See ver. 5. Ver. 5. Inflaming yourselves— Lowth, “ Burning with the lust of” idols. Slaying the children in the valleys— That is, m passing through the fire to Moloch, which was no doubt fatal to many, though others might escape. Ver. 6. Among the smooth stones of the stream.— These were worshipped ny the superstitious heathen, and Clement of Alexandria uses the phrase, " the worshipper of a smooth stone’’ proverbially, for an idolater.— [Arnobiu's gives an account of his own practice in this respect before he became a Chris- tian : *' When I saw a smooth stone, smeared with oil, as if some power had been present. I worshipped it, addressed it, I requested benefits, not at all thinking of the block.” Hence Theophrastus marked this as a strong feature of a superstitious man : ” Passing by the anointed stones in the streets, he takes out his phial of oil, and pours it on them, and having fallen on Ids knees, and made his adorations, he departs.”] -Bagster. Ver. 7. Set thy bed. —That is. set up idolatry. Ver. 8. Behind the doors. . . .thy remembrance. — That is, domestic idols. Thou lovedst their bed— That is, the apparatus of their idolatry, ver. -.—where 786 thou sawest it. — See margin. Loioth , “Thou hast provided a place for it meaning, for the idol and its altar. Ver. 9. And thou wentest, &c. — Lowth. " Thou hast visited the king with a present of oil." This may reler to either the king of Assyria or Egypt. Com pare Hosea xii. 1. Even to hell. — Lowth , “ To hades,” meaning to the very iowest degree. , * Ver. to. In the greatness.— Lowth, “ Length of thy ways,” or journey. Thou hast found, the life of thy hand . — Rather, “ thou hast found (support ed) life by thy hand i. e. by the labour of thy hand. To tl:e same sense. Gataker. Lowth, and Boothroyd. Ver. 11. That thou hast lied— Lowth, " Dealt falsely.” Ver. 12. Declare thy righteousness. — Perhaps the word might be rendered " expose,” develop, or lay, open thy righteousness, and show its hypocrisy. St. Gataker. Lowth. on the authority ofthe LXX, Syriac, and Arabic, reads, ' vip righteousness hut we tiiink without occasion. Ver. 19. Fruit of the tips.— 1“ The sacrifice of praise,” says SI. Patti, “is the fruit of tire lilts.” God creates litis fruit of the iips, by giving new* subject and cause of thanksgiving by His mercies conferred on His people. The great subject of thanksgiving is peace ; reconciliation and pardon offered to then: that are nigli and to them that are far of!’, not only to the Jew, out also to the Gentile. Chap. LVin. Ver 1. Cry aloud.— See margin ; i. e., perhaps, “ Cry till tiny art hoarse.” The promises Lo godliness. ISAIAH.— CHAP. LIX. Punishment of Israel for sin. know my ways, as a nation that did right- eousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God : they ask of me the ordinances of justice ; they take delight in approaching to God. 3 c Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted d our soul, and thou takest no knowledge ? Be- hold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your e labours. 4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite f with the fist of wickedness : ye e shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is it such h a fast that I have chosen ? > a day for a man to afflict hi"s soul ? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread i sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord ? 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose k the bands of wickedness, to undo the Hieavy '“burdens, and to let the "oppressed ° go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are p cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him ; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh ? 8 T[ Then i shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall spring forth speedily : and thy righteousness shall go be- fore thee ; the glory of the Lord shall r be thy rereward. 9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer : thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity ; 10 And if thou draw out: thy soul to the hun- gry, and satisfy the afflicted soul ; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day : 1 1 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in 8 1 drought, and make fat thy bones : and thou shalt be like a wa- c Mai. 3. 14. d Le.16.S9. e griefs, or, things wherewith g or, fast not as this day. h Zec.7.S i or, to af- flict his soul for a day. j Da. 9. 3. b Jo.3.5.,10 1 bundles of the yoke. p or, afjlict- ed. q Job 11.17. ■ or, gather thee up. s droughts. t Ps.37.19. b c.l.la c or, adders. d or, sprin- kled is as if there brake out a viper. g brealcing. is that of the Christian, who to the exercise of piety towards God, unites that of sympathy and benevolence to the poor and the afflicted, of which we have many happy examples, in those who, without omitting their own religious duties, employ those spare moments which others devote to indolence or luxury, in visiting the sick, and assisting to instruct the ig- norant. Chap. LIX. Ver. 1 — 21. Farther disclosures of iniquity ; with encouragements to repentance , and hopes of pardon . — While one part of the nation put on the mask of hypocrisy, and pretended to be religious, another part ran into the opposite extreme, and became openly vicious and profane : their lips were polluted with falsehood, and their hands defiled with blood. What is said of their hatching the eggs of serpents seems to refer to the dangerous speculations in which they engaged, to promote their own interests, and the gratification of their ambition ; and their manufacture of spiders’ webs, to the flimsy excuses and pretences by which they thought to screen their crimes. While their schemes were hatching, their Ver. 3. La! cur 8.— See margin ; i. e. the grievous labours required of slaves, who. by God's law, were not allowed to work on fast days. Compare ver. '6, also Levit. xvi. 29, and Zech. vii. 5. Ver. 6. Let the oppressed. — That is, broken down by labour and oppression, is slaves doubtless often were. Wr. 7. The poor that are cast out— See margin. Lowth, “ The wandering poor.” Ver. S. Shall be thy rererward — Sec margin. That is, “ Gather up all the - Ver. 9. The ‘putting ‘forth— That is, pointing of the finger, by way of ri- dicule. And speaking vanity. — Lowth, “The injurious,” perhaps rather ” the contemptuous speech.” Ver. 10 . Drato out thy soul. — That is, thy affections, which implies both sympathy anti benevolence.— {Instead of naphshecha, “thy soul,” eleven MSS. read tachmccha, “ thy bread,” which is adopted by Bishop Lowth; hut ” to dra w oat r lie soul” in relieving the poor, probably means to do it not of corfitfraint. but cheerfully.!' —Bagster. Ver. il. Mal e fat thy bones.— That is, make them strong, as being full of marrow : so the term is used by the Hebrews. See Prov. iii. 8.; xv. 30.; xvi. i\. — [Bishop Lowth adopts a conjecture of Abp. Seeker's, and renders, “shall renew thy strength but the original atzmothecha yachalitz, is literally, as tered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters 11 fail not.. 12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shall raise up the foundations of many generations ; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 13 If If thou turn away thy foot from the sab- bath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day ; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words : 14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord ; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. CHAPTER LIX. 1 The damnable nature of sin. 3 The sins of the Jews. 9 Calamity is for sin. 16 Saivation is only of God. 20 The covenant of the Redeemer. B EHOLD, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save ; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear : 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have a hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 3 For b your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity ; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered per- verseness. 4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth : they trust in vanity, and speak lies; theyconceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. 5 They hatch c cockatrice’s eggs, and weave the spider’s web : he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is d crushed breaketh out into a e viper. 6 Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. 7 Their f feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood : their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity ; wasting and e destruction are in their paths. pernicious nature was perhaps generally unsuspected; but when disclose !, they were found to conceal a fatal poison. So their webs were finely wrought; but could not conceal their wickedness and folly front men of penetration, much less from the omniscient eye of God. Notwithstanding, however, the abounding of sin and folly, the Lord avows his readiness as well as ability to restore his chosen nation: and will do it in a manner worthy of himself: the mighty Redeemer shall come to Zion, and his own arm shall bring salvation. Independent of a primary reference to the return from Ba- bylon, the common subject of these latter chapters, the con- cluding verses may have a more remote allusion to the con- version of the-Western Isles and the eastern Continent, and even possibly to the last great conflict upon earth. See Rev. xxii. 8 — 10. In addition to the great importance of the truths contained in this chapter, Bishop Lowth observes, it “is remarkable for the beauty, strength and variety of the images with which it the Vulgate renders, “ he shall make thy bones free,” or pliant, which is the consequence of a well fed succulent body.] — Bagster. Fail not— Or deceive not, the expectation of the thirsty traveller. Ver. 12. And they . ... of thee.— That is, “ thy posterity shall build,” &c. So Lowth , &c. Ver. 13. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, &c.— The Jews were forbidden to journey on that sacred day, farther than to the tabernacle, &c.; they were not to employ it either in business or pleasure, as here follows : Not speaking thine own words. — That is, not spending it in secular con- versation. Chap. LIX. Ver. 5. They hatch cockatrice's eggs— Lowth, “ The eggs of the basilisk.” Spider'sweb. — [Weak and unstable, says Pa.rton , as the spider’s web, are all the professions and works of the hypocrite. The filaments which compose the flimsy texture in which she dwells are finely spun, and curiously woven ; but a single touch dissolves the fabric: equally frail and evanescent are his wisest and most elaborate contrivances. She fabricates her web to be at once a covering to herself, and a snare to her neighbour ; and for the same odious purposes he assumes the earl) of religion ; but the deceitful veil which he throws over the deformity of his character can remajn only a short time ; like the spider's web, it shall soon be swept away, and his loathsome form ex- posed to every eye. Like he he shall perish in the ruins of the habitation 787 Sin Ike cause of calamity. ISAIAH. — CHAP. LX. Abundant access of the shall come : they shall bring ) gold and incense ; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I k will glorify the house of my glory. 8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows 7 9 Surely the isles ' shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their m silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. 10 And the sons of strangers n shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee : for 0 in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 11 Therefore thy gates shall be p open con- tinually ; they shall not be shut day nor night ; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. 12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish ; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 13 The glory of Lebanon « shall come unto abounds;” and distinguished by the elegance of its compo- sition. Chap. LX. Vet. 1 —22. The glorivas state of the Church 'n the tattler days . — The subject of this chapter (says Bishop Lowth) is the great increase and flourishing state of the church of God, by the conversion and accession of the heathen na- tions ; which is set forth in such ample terms, as plainly show, that the full completion of the prophecy is reserved for future times.” So, at least, the above learned prelate, and other able commentators on the Prophecies, conceive. “ This subject is displayed in the most splendid colours, under a great variety of images highly poetical, designed to give a general idea of the glories of that perfect state of the church of God, which we are taught to expect in the latter times ; when the fulness which he constructed with so much care, and where he reposed with such fatal security.]— Bagster. That xohichis crushed— Rather, “when it is crushed,*’ or broken. Ver. 10. In desolate places as dead men.— Or, “ like the dead alluding-, perhaps, to the dark sepulchral caverns in which they were buried. So the Chaldee. Ver. ll. We roar all like hears. — Rather, “we all gTowl like bears so Parkhurst. Ver. 12. Our transgressions are with us— Lowth, “ Cleave fast to us.” Our iniquities toe know— Lowth, “ Acknowledge.” Ver. 15. Maketh himself a prey. — Lowth , “ Exposeth himself to be plun- dered.” Ver. 18. According to their deeds. — Taking the text as it stands, (which we are always disposed to do when we can draw from it an intelligible meaning,) we should render it, “ According to the (law o0 recompenses, accordingly will he repay,” or “ recompense them ;” i. e. as the heathen (Egypt, perhaps, more especially) had treated Israel, so would the Lord recompense the heathen. Compare chap. Ixv. 6, 7., Jer. xvii. 18. and especially xxv. 14. Ver. 19. From the west— Probably Europe, and especially the British isles. The rising of the sun. — The vast continent of India, China, &c. When the enemy .... like a flood.— That is, with an overwhelming force. - — The Lord shall lift up a standard against him— See margin. That is, oppose him by almighty power. Chap. LX. Ver. l. Arise , shine. — See margip. Zion can only shine in pro- portion Q9 she is enlightened from above. The last verse of rhe preceding 788 chapter, or, according to Dr. Boothroyd , the last two verses, should be con- nected with this chapter. Ver. 4. Nursed by thy side— [Bishop Lowth reads, with the LXX. and Chaldee, “ shall be carried at the side and Sir J. Chardin says, in his MS. note on this place, that it is a general custom in the East to carry their chil- dren astride upon the hip, with the arm round the body. One MS. has, “shall be carried on the shoulder;” which is also a common mode in the Eust.l — B. Ver. 5. Thou shalt see and flow together.— Hare forty MSS. and one edi- tion, for see read fear , with the addition only of a yod. — Lowth. The present text, however, yields an excellent sense: “Thou shalt see thy children com ing on every side, flowing tpgether like an inundation ; at first, perhaps, with alarm, but afterwards with joy, and enlargement of heart. The abundance —Lowth, “ Wealth” of the sea. The forces of the Gentiles.— Lowth, “ Riches of the nations.” Ver. 7. The rams of Nebaioth.— This idea of sacrifices coming voluntarily from all quarters, must certainly be explained figuratively. Ver. 8. Like doves to their windows. — That i3, the windows of their dove- cotes. Ver. ll. The forces of the Gentiles.— Rather, “ the riches of the nation*-,” as ver. 5. Compare Rev. xxi. 24, 25. Ver. 13. Glory of Lebanon .—{ That is, the cedar ; and, as the choice timber of Lebanon beautified Solomon’s temple, that footstool of Jehovah— so shall the peculiar advantages of every nation, and of every description of men, concur to beautify the church ot Christ, w-hich He lias determined to make glorious. The language then becomes more energetic ; and the images em The glory of the church. ISAIAH. — CHAP. LXI., LX1I. Blessings oj the faithful. thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify r the place of my sanc- tuary ; and I will make the place of my feet » glorious. 14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee ; and all they that despised thee shall t bowthemselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion u of the Holy One of Israel. 15 H Whereas thou hast been v forsaken and nated, so that w no man went through thee , I will make thee an eternal 1 excellency, a joy of many generations. 16 Thou r shalt also suck the milk of the Gen- tiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings : and thou shalt know that Z I the Lord am thy Sa- viour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. 17 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron : I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors 1 righteousness. 18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy bor- ders ; but thou shalt call thy b walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. 19 The c sun shall be no more thy light by day ; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee : but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God d thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself : for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy e mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy people also shall be all f righteous: they s shall inherit the land h for ever, the > branch of my ) planting, the work k of my hands, that I may be glorified. 22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation : I the Lord will hasten it in his time. CHAPTER L X I . 1 The office of ChrisL 4 The forwardness, 7 and blessings of the faithful. T HE a Spirit of the Lord God is upon b me ; because the Lord hath c anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the d broken-hearted, to pro- claim liberty to e the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are f bound ; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year s of the A. M. 3292. B. C. 712. r Pb.96.6. 6 Pa 132.7. t Re. 3.9. u He. 12.22. v Ps.78.60, 61. w La.1.4. x Re. 3. 12. y c. 65.11,12. z c.43.3. a 2Pe.3 13. b c.26.1. c Re.2l.23. 22.5. d Zee. 2.5. e Re.21.4. f c.4.3. Re.2l.27. g Mat. 5.3. h c.62.4. i in. 15.2. J Ps.92.13. k Ep.2.10. a Lu.4.16.. 21. b Jn.1.32. 3.34. c Ps.45.7. d Ps. 147.3. e Jn.8.31.. 36. f Ro.7.23.. 25. g Le.25.9, &c. 2 Co. 6. 2. h 2Th.l.9. i Ma.5.4. j Jn. 16.20. It c. 60.21. 1 c.58.12. m Ex. 19.6. 1 Pe.2.5,9. Re. 1.6. n Eze.44.1l Ep.4.11, 12 . o c.40.2. Zee. 9. 12. p Ps.50.5. c.55.3. q Ne.8.10. Hab.3.17. 18. Ro. 14. 17. r Re. 19.8. b as a priest. t Re.21.2. u Ps.72.3. 85.11. v c.62.7. a ver.6,7. Lord, and the day of vengeance h of our God ; to comfort all that ■ mourn, 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy j for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting k of the Lord, that he might be glorified. 4 TT And they shall build i the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and your vine-dressers. 6 But ye shall be named the m Priests of the Lord : men shall call you the n Ministers of our God : ye shall eat the riches of the Gen- tiles, and in their glory shall ye boast your- selves. 7 For your shame ye shall have “double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion : therefore in their land they shall possess the double : everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I the Lord love judgment, I hate rob- bery for burnt-offering ; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant p with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the peo- ple : all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice i in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of r righteous- ness, as a bridegroom s decketh himself with ornaments, and' as a bride adorneth 1 herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth ; so the Lord God will cause u righteousness and praise v to spring forth before all the nations. CHAPTER L X 1 1 . 1 The fervent desire of the prophet to confirm the church in God’s promises. 5 The office of the ministers (unto which they are incited) in preaching the gospel, 10 and preparing the people thereto. F OR Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not a rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as of the Gentiles shall come in, and the Jews shall bec 9 nverted and gathered from their dispersions ; when all the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of nis Christ.” (Rev. xi. 15.1 We must be cautious, however, of a too minute and literal interpretation of the poetical images used by the prophets, and attend rather to their general scope and design; for it is cer- tain they were never intended to be separately, minutely, or literally explained. Great and magnificent objects will sel- dom admit of minute criticism Chap. LXI. Ver. 1 — 11. Messiah announces his office, and the Church rejoices in his work. — The same subject is continu- ed ; and, to give it the greater solemnity, the Messiah is intro- duced describing his own character and office, and confirming the large promises made before. In conse^ience of this, verse 10, the Jewish church is represented praising God for the ho- nour done her, by her restoration to his favour, and by the ac- cession of the Gentiles, which is beautifully described in a ployed more grand and magnificent; and nothing can answer to the glorious description, but some future exalted state of the church on earth, or the church triumphant in heaven, though several expressions seem to limit it to tiie church beiow.]— Bagster. The place of m.y feet. — That is, the ark considered as Jehovah’s footstool, 1 Chron. xxviii. 2. Chap. LXI. Ver. 1. Liberty, Sic. — [The proclaiming of perfect liberty to the bound, and the year of acceptance with Jehovah, is a manifest allusion to the proclaiming of the year of Jubilee by sound of trumpet : and our Saviour, by applying this text to himself, plainly declares the typical design of that insti- tution .}— Bagster. Ver. 3. Beauty for ashes.— [Rather, as Bishop Lowth renders, a beautiful crown instead or ashes.” In times of mourning the Jews put on sackcloth, or coarse sordid raiment, and spread dust and ashes on their heads ; and on the happy allusion to the rich pontifical dress of the Jewish high- priest. “The acceptable year of the Lord, mentioned, verse 2, certainly alludes to the year of Jubilee among the Hebrews, which afforded a fine image of the Gospel dispensation. (See our exposition of Lev. xxv. 1 — 22.) And we can have no hesi- tation in applying the words to our Saviour, since he has claimed them for his own. (Luke iv. 18.) The 10th verse of this chapter seems to allude to an ancient and instructive custom of covering accused or obnoxious per- sons with the mantle of the Emperor : so Julian covered a certain prefect “ with the imperial mantle” to protect him. (See Orient. Lit. No. 946.) And thus it is that the Lord our Redeemer covers his people with his imperial robe of right- eousness, and adorns them with the diadem of his merits. (See Rev. iv. 4.) Chap. LXII. Ver. 1 — 12. Promises of Judah' s restoration . — Isaiah opens this chapter with announcing his determination to persevere in prayer for Zion and Jerusalem, and expresses contrary, splendid clothing, and ointment poured on the head, were the signs of joy. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 5. Strangers (i. e. foreigners) shall feed your flocks, &c.— Meaning, that those who had formerly made slaves of them, should now become their shepherds, and farming men. Ver. 10. Decketh himself.— [Or, as Bishop Lowth renders, “as the bride- groom decketh himself with a priestly crown.” An allusion, he observes, to the magnificent dress of the high priest, when performing his functions ; and particularly to the mitre, and crown, or plate of gold, in the front of it. Exod. xxviii. 40,]— Bagster. Chap. LXII. Ver. 1. Until the righteousness thereof— Lowth, ” Until hei righteousness break forth as a strong light, and her salvation as a blazina torch.” God’s promises to his church. ISAIAH. — CHAP. LX1II. Christ showcth his power. J brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burnetii. 2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteous- CHAPTER L X I 1 J . 1 Christ showed) who he is, 2 what his victory over hit enemies, 7 ami what his rreicy toward his church. 10 In his just wrath lie remembereth I » free mercy 16 Thi church, in their prayer, 17 and complaint, profess their faith. ness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new c name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. 3 Thou shalt also be a crown d of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. 4 Thou shalt no more be termed e Forsaken ; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate : but thou shalt be called f Hephzi- bah, and thy land e Beulah : for the Lord de- lighteth in thee, and thy land shall be 11 married. 5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and i as the bride- groom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice i over thee. 6 If I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that k make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, 7 And give him no ' rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 8 If The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, m Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured : 9 But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord ; and they that have Drought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. 10 If Go through, go through the gates; " pre- pare ye the way of the people ; cast up, cast up the highway ; gather out the stones ; lift up a standard ° for the people. 11 Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy p salvation cometh; be- hold, his reward i is with him, and his r work before him. 12 And they shall call them, The holy peo- ple, The redeemed of the Lord : and thou shalt be called, Sought 6 out, A city not forsaken. d Zec.9.10. e Ilo. 1.10. Me. 13.5. f i. e. my ddight is in tier. g i. e. Mar- ried. h Re.21.9, 10 . i icith the joy of the bi ule- groom. ) Je. 32.41. k or, that are the LORD'S remem- brancers. 1 silence. m If 1 give. n c.57,14. o Ex. 17.15. c.18.3 p Zee. 9. 9. Jn. 12.14. 15. q Re. 22. 12. r or, recom- pense. s Eze.34.ll ..16. Jn.4.23. a decked. b Re. 19. 13, 15. c Zep.3.8. d Je.25.26, 27. e Ho.2.19. f Ps.63.3. g Ju.10.16. Zee. 2 8. Mat. 25. 40.45. Ac.9.4. h Ex. 14. 19. i De.32.il, 12 . 1 Ac. 7.51. Ep.4.30. k La. 2.5. 1 Le.26.42. WHO is this that cometh from Edom, with ’ ’ dyed garments from Bozrah ? this that is a glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength 1 I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 AYherefore b art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat ? 3 I have trodden the wine-press alone ; and of the people there was none with me : for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my rai- ment. 4 For the day c of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to help ; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me ; and my fury, it upheld me. 6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk d in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. 7 If I will mention the e loving-kindnesses of the Lord, and thepraises f of the Lord, accord- ing to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house oi Israel, which he hath bestowed on them accord- ing to his mercies, and according to the mul- titude of his loving-kindnesses. 8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Sa viour. 9 In all their affliction e he was afflicted, and the angel h of his presence saved them : in his love and in his pity he redeemed them ; and he bare ( them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled, and vexed ibis holy Spirit : therefore he was turned to be their k enemy, and he fought against them. 11 Then he remembered 'the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he the utmost confidence in their being delivered from all their enemies. He calls also upon all the watchmen of Zion, her Priests and Levites, who kept watch day and night in the pur- lieus of the temple, and whom he calls “the Lord’s Remem- brancers,” to unite with him in prayers for her prosperity. (See Psalm exxx. 6. cxxxiv.) Then, after reciting the Lord’s oath and promise for their restoration, as if he had already seen them setting out from Babylon, he calls upon them to prepare the way, and li t up a standard to encourage their re- turn. But the application of the concluding verses to our Sa- viour when on earth, by the Evangelists, plainly shows that these chapters had a farther reference than to any temporal salvation ; and that all these temporal promises were typical of blessings spiritual and eternal; and that Jerusalem restored on earth was typical of the “Jerusalem above, which is the Mother of us all.” (See Matt. xxi. 5. John xii. 15. Gal. iv. 26.) Chap. LXIII. Ver. 1 — 19. The triumph of JWessiah, and deliverance of the Church.— “In the first six verses of this Ver. 5. Asa young man marrieth a virgin— Sir .7. Chardin says, in the East, youths marry only virgins, and widowers, widows. Orient. Cust. No. 274 So shall thy sons marry thee—i. e. obtain possession of thy land, as a nushand claims possession of his wife. Ver. 6. Set watchmen. — [Watches in the East, observes Bishop Lowth, even to this day, are performed by a loud cry, from time to lime, of the watchmen, and that very frequently, to mark the lime, and in order to show that they themselves are constantly attentive to their duty. Hence the watchmen are said by the Prophet, (chap. lii. 8.) “ to lift up their voice and here they are commanded, “ not to keep silence;” and the greatest reproach to them is, " that they are dumb dogs ; they cannot hark ; dreamers, sluggards, loving to slumber,” (chap. Ivi. 10.) “ The watchmen in the camp of the caravans,” says Tavernier, “ go their rounds crying one after another, ‘ God is one, He is merciful and often add. ‘Take heed to yo.rselves.’ ”J — Bagster. Ver. 11. Thy salvation cometh.— See chap. xl. 9, 10, and note. All the an- cient versions read, “ Saviour.” Chap. LXIU. Ver. 1 — 6. Who is this ? &c. — Bishop Lowth places these ver- ges in dialogue form, thus : Ver. 1. Who. &c. the chorus. The last Line, ” I who speak.” Arc. Messiah. Ver. 3. chorus. Ver. 4 to 6. Messiah. Ver. 2. The wine-fat —Lowth, vat, as the word is alwayB now spelt ; mean- ng, the vessel in which the grapes were trodden. Ver. 3. People there was none.— IThe very remarkable passage contained 79(1 chapter, the Prophet (or rather the church lie represents,) sees the great Deliverer, long promised and expected, making his appearance, after having crushed his enemies, like grapes in the wine-press. The comparison suggests a tremendous idea of the wrath of omnipotence, which its unhappy objects can no more resist than the grapes can resist the treader. Indeed, there is so much patho3, energy, and sublimity in this remark- able passage, as hardly any thing can be conceived to exceed. The period to which it refers is, probably, the same with that predicted in Revelations, chapter xix., some parts of which (ver. 13) are expressed in the same terms, and are generally understood of the fall of Antichrist and his followers, of which the destruction of Babylon, Edom or Bozrah, may he con- sidered as an emblem. “The remaining part of this chapter, with the whole pf the following, contain a penitential confession and supplication of the Jews, as uttered in their present dispersion, apparently de- serted and rejected by the God of their fathers. They begin (ver. 7) with acknowledging the great mercies of God to their in the first six verses of this chapter, seems in a manner detached from the rest, and to stand singly by itselt ; containing a prophetical representation ol the victories of the Messiah over the enemies of his church, here designated by the names of Edom and Bozrah. Though, as Bishop Lowth observes, this prophecy must have its accomplishment, there is no necessity of supposing that it has been already accomplished. There are prophecies which intimate a great slaughter of the enemies of God and his people, which remain to be fulfilled : those in Ezek. xxxviii. and Rev. xx. are called Gog and Magog. This prophecy of Isaiah may possibly refer to the same, or the like event.]— Bagster. Ver. 9. In all their afflictions he was afflicted— So our version, but the word is used for external, not internal troubles, and might he better rendered. “ In all their distresses he was distressed.” It must be remarked, however, that all the ancient versions read with the Keri aleph instead of ran, which implies a negative, and has occasioned very different renderings. Boothroyd reads, “ In all their distresses he was not opposed to tnem.” Lowth. “ It was not an en- voy, nor an angel, &c but he himself redeemed them.” We incline, however, with Gatakcr , to the common version, changing afflictions for ‘‘distresses meaning, from their enemies. The angel of his presence. —That is, Christ. See Ex. xxiii. 20, 21. He bare than. — Compare Ex. xix. 4. Ver. 11. Where is he, &c. — Lowth , " How he (i- e. God) brought.”— “ With the shepherd, (i. e. Moses.) How' he put within them his Holy Spirit ’ Trie church's prayer to God. ISAIAH. — CHAP LXIV., LXV. It complains of its afflictions. that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock ? where is lie that put his holy Spirit " within him 1 12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the “water be- fore them, to make himself an everlasting name 1 13 That led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble ? 14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest : so didst thou lead thy people, to p make thyself a glorious name. 15 Tf Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation « of thy holiness and of thy glory : where is thy zeal and thy strength, the r sounding of thy “bowels and of thy mer- cies toward me ? are they restrained ? 16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abra- ham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not : thou, O Lord, art our father, ' our re- deemer ; thy name is from everlasting. 17 O Lord, why hast thou made us to err u from thy ways, and hardened T our heart from thy fear ? Return w for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. 18 The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down * * thy sanctuary. 19 We are thine : thou never barest rule over them ; y they were not called by thy name. CHAPTER LXIV. 1 The church prayeth for the illustration of God’s power. 5 Celebrating God’s mercy, it maketh confession of their natural corruptions. 9 It complainelh of their affliction. O H 1 that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains b might flow down at thy presence, 2 As when c the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence ! 3 When thou didst terrible d things which we looked not for, thou earnest down, the moun- tains “flowed down at thy presence. 4 If For f since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the A. M. 3292. B. C 712. in or, shep- herds. Ps. 77.20. 'n Nu.ll.17, 25. Ne.9.20. o Ex. 14.21, &c. p 2 Sa.7.23. q 2Ch.30.27 r or, multi- tude. s Je.31.20. Ho. 11.8. t or, our re- deemer in S is thij name. u Ps. 119.10. v c.6.10. Ro.9.17, 18. w Ps. 90.13. x Ps.74.6..8 y «r, (Ay not call- ea upon them. a Ps. 144.5. b Jn.5.5. Mi. 1.4. c the fire of meltings. d Ps.65.5. e Hab. 3.3,6. f 1 Co.2.9. g or, seen a God be- side thee which do- elh so for him. Ii Ac. 10.35. i Mai. 3.6. j Pit. 3.9. k Ho.7 7. 1 Ho. 5. 15. m melted. n by the hand. Job 8.4. o Je?18.6. p Ps.79.8, &c. q La. 2. 7. r c.42.14. a Ro.9.24, 30. b Ro. 10.21. c De.32.21. d Le. 17.5. e bricks. ear, neither hath the eye s seen, O God, be- side thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. 5 Thou h meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways : behold, thou art wroth ; for we have sinned : in those is continu- ance, and we shall be saved. 6 But we are all as an unclean thing , and all our j. righteousnesses are as filthy rags ; and we all do fade as a leaf ; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7 And k there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee : for thou hast hid i thy face from us, and hast m consumed us, " because of our iniquities. 8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father ; we ° are the clay, and thou our potter ; and we all are the work of thy hand. 9 IT Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither p remember iniquity for ever : behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 10 Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 11 Our holy and our beautiful chouse, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire and all our pleasant things are laid waste. 12 Wilt thou refrain Thyself for these things, 0 Lord ? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore ? CHAPTER LXV. 1 The calling of the Gentiles. 2 The Jews, for .heir incredulity, Idolatry, and hypo- crisy, are rejected. 8 A remnant shall be saved. 12 Judgments on the wicked, and blessings on the godly. 17 The blessed stale of the new Jerusalem. I a AM sought of them that asked not for me ; I am found of them that sought me not : I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. 2 1 b have spread out my hands all the day un- to a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts ; 3 A people that provoketb c me to anger con- tinually to my face ; that d sacrificeth in gar- dens, and burneth incense upon “ altars of brick ; 4 Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s nation, and the unm-ateful returns which they made to them, by which they rendered him their enemy. Induced, however, by the remembrance of his former mercies, they humbly pray for the renewal of them ; beseech him to remember his former kindness; plead their relation to him; confess their wicked- ness and obstinacy ; entreat his forgiveness, and deplore their miserable situation.” Dr. J. Smith. Chap. LXIV. Ver. 1 — 12. A prayer for divine mercy , and a confession of Israel’s sin. — This chapter contains an appeal to the mercy of God, in the most ardent and pathetic language, imploring God to appear for the salvation of his people no w, with the same power and splendour as he appeared at the giv- ing of the law. The Prophet acknowledges what great things God had formerly done for the salvation of his people, and expresses his confidence that things no less great and won- derful were still in reserve for them, notwithstanding their un- worthiness. This unworthiness is expressed in terms of the greatest contrition and humility; “All our righteousnesses (says he) are as filthy rags.” This is certainly a very comprehensive proposition, and a very humbling doctrine. It inch des not merely the ceremo- nial righteousness of the Jew, or the hypocritical righteous- ness of the Pharisee; but, as Gataker remarks, the Hebrew using the plural by way of emphasis, “ righteousnesses,” and especially “ all our righteousnesses,” includes that of the best and sincerest believers, which, compared with the purity of the divine law, (which is a counterpart of the divine purity,) and as it respects the cause of our salvation, are not only useless as a worn out garment, but obnoxious as a polluted one, to which a wise and good man will say with abhorr&nee, “ Get thee hence!” (Chap. xxx. 22.) Chap. LXV. Ver. 1 — 25. The calling of the Gentiles , and Oe final restoration of the Jews. — This chapter contains a vindication of God’s dealings with the Jews, having reference, perhaps, to their prayer and complaint in the preceding chapter. It sets forth that, though for their sins he had rejected them, and called the Gentiles who sought him not, (Romans ix. 24 — 26,) yet would he preserve a remnant, to whom he would at length makegood all his promises. Severe punishments are threatened against the wicked (alluding perhaps to the destruction by the Romans,) and great rewards promised to the obedient in a future state of the Church, which is. described in the most magnificent terms that can be imagined. That these splendid promises could not be fully accomplish- ed in the return of the Jews from Babylon is self-evident ; nor can all their meaning be exhausted, in any state of the Church Ver. 14. As a beast.— Lowth, “As the herd descendeth into the valley (to rest) go,” &c. Ver. 15. Toioardme.— LXX. and Lowth “us.” Ver. 16. Our Redeemer— is thy name from, &c .— Koothroyd. Ver. 17. Made vs to err.— That is, says Gatalccr , “ Giving us up to a spirit of error, and obstinacy.” Chap. LXIV. Ver. 1. Oh that thou wouldest— [This chapter continues the orayer begun in the preceding, ver. 7.; containing a penitential confession and supplication of the Israelites in their present dispersion, in which they have *o marvellously subsisted, and continue to subsist, as a people.]'— Bagster. Ver. 2 . The melting Jire . — See margin ; i. c. the fire of a furnace for smelt- ing metals. Here seems an evident allusion to the Lord’s appearing on Mount Sinai. See Judges v. 5. Ps. xcvii. 5.; cxliv. 5, 6. Ver. 5. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth. &c.— Lowth. “ Thou meetest with joy him that worketh ” 6cc. In those is continuance.— \n what ? after con- sklerfngthe variety of interpretations and conjectures offered, we are- inclined to prefer the following, including one of the clauses in a parenthesis. Thou meetest .... those that remember thee in thy ways : (Behold 1 thou art wroth, for we have sinned :) in those (the ways of God) is continuance, per- petuity, even for ever, as the word often means : and therefore, shall ice le saved.— This, though somewhat obscure, appears to us to agree with both the verses which precede and follow. Compare Mai. iii. 6. Ver. 6. As filthy rags— polluted garments; Lowth saj’S, “ rejected j” but pollution, and that the most disgusting, is certainly the idea of the original. See Gataker. Chap. LXV. Ver. l. I am sought. — Lowth. “ lam made known.” St. Paul, (who transposes the sentences,) “ I was made manifest.” Ver. 3. Upon altars of brick — which was contrary to the Mosaic law. Ex. Ver. 4. Which remain among the graves . — This they did, according to Sir J. Chardin , for purposes of necromancy. And broth, &c.— This was for the purpose of lustration, magical arts, and other superstitions. Sec Lowth. 701 The calling of the Gentiles. ISAIAH. — CHAP. LXVI. Blessings of the new Jerusalem. flosh, and f broth of abominable things is ir. their vessels ; f. Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me ; for 1 am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my e nose, a fire that burneth all the day. 6 Behold, it is written before me : I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even re- compense into their bosom, 7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blas- phemed me upon the hills : therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom. 8 T[ Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not ; for a blessing is in it : so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all. 9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my moun- tains : and mine h elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. 10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. 11 T[ But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that '< troop, and that furnish the drink-o ffering unto that ) number. 12 Therefore k will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaugh- ter: because when >1 called, ye did not an- swer ; when I spake, ye did not hear ; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Be- hold, my servants shall eat, but j r e shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty : behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed : 14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye m shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for n vexation of spirit. 15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse 0 unto my chosen : for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name : 16 That he who blesseth p himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth ; and he i A. M. 3U92. li. C. 712. f or, pieces. g or, anger. h Ro. 11.5,7 i or, Cad. ) or, Meni. kZep.l 4. .6 1 2Ch.36.15. Hr. 1.21, &c. m Mat. 8. 12. n breaking. o Zee. 8. 13- p Je.4.2. q De.6.13. Pb.63.11. r 2 Pe 3. 13. Re.21.1. a upon the heart. t c.51.11. lTh.5.16. u c.62.5. v Re.7.17. w Ec.8.12, 13 . x Am. 9. 14. y Le. 26.16. De.28.30. z Ps.92.12. a make them con- tinue long, or. wear out. b c.61.9. Ro.9.7,8. c Ps.32.5. Da. 9. 20, 21 . d C.11.6..9. e Ge.3.14. a 2Cli.G.l8. Mat.5.34. Ac. 7. 17, 24. that sweareth i in the earth shall swear by the God of truth ; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes. 17 T[ For, behold, I create new r heavens and a new earth : and the former shall not be re- membered, nor come ■ into mind. 18 But be ye glad and rejoice 1 for ever in that which I create : for, behold, I create Je- rusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 And u I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people : and the voice of weeping ’ shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days : lor the child shall die a hundred years old ; but the w sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 And * they shall build houses, and inhabit them , and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and ? another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree 2 are the days of my people, and mine elect shall R long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble ; for b they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and 'while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The d wolf and the lamb shall feed toge- ther, and the lion shall eat straw like the bul- lock : and dust e shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. CHAPTER LXVI. 1 The glorious God will be served in humble sincerity. 5 He comforteth the humbi® with the marvellous generation, 10 and with the gracious benefits of the church. 15 God’s severe judgments against the wicked. 19 The Gentiles shall have a holy church, 24 and see the damnation of the wicked. T HUS saith the Lord, The heaven a is my throne, and the earth is my footstool : where is the house that ye build unto me ? and where is the place of my rest ? 2 For all those things hath my hand made, and all those things have been, saith the | Lord : but to this man will I look, even to which has yet appeared. The creation of “ new heavens and a new earth” must imply a new state of things, both morally and politically. It must imply a state of permanent purity and perpetual happiness : and the close of the chapter seems to imply even a prolongation of human life. Thus much is cer- tain, that through crime and folly, a great part of mankind do 1 not live out naif their days (Psalm lv. 23.) and conse- quently the suppression of vice and of war, together with the improvements in medical science, must have a powerful ten- dency, both to prolong man’s life, and increase his happiness. (Compare Rev. chap, xxi.) Chap. LXVI. Ver. 1 — 24. God must be worshipped in spirit and in truth : his awful judgments on the wicked. — This chapter continues the same subject as the foregoing. The Ver. 11 . That troop .... that number. — [The disquisitions and con- jectures of the learned, says Bishop Lowth , concerning Gad and Meni, are infinite and uncertain : perhaps the most probable may be, that Gad means good fortune, and Meni, the moon. “ But why should we be solicitous about it?” says Schmidius ; “it appears sufficiently from the circumstances, that they were false gods ; either stais, or some natural object • or a mere fiction. The Holy Scriptures did not deign to explain more clearly what those objects of idolatrous worship were ; but chose rather, that the memory of the knowledge of them should be utterly abolished. And God be praised, that they are so to- tally abolished, that we are now quite at a loss to know what and what sort of things they were.”]— Baxter. Ver. 13. Mij servant sha'l ear.— Throughout this chapter, and indeed through- out the Scnptures, two classes of people are pointed out, to one of which be- long its promises, and to the other its threatenings. This distinction should be carefully marked. Ver. id. But be you glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create.— Lowth. “ But ye shall rejoice and exult in the age to come, which I create.” So Bishop Chandler ; but Boothroyd adheres nearly to the established version, as we are also inclined ; yet it is certain that the ancient Rabbins called the days of Messiah “ the age to come.” Ver. 20 . An infant of days.—[ “ That is,” says Kimchi. " the people shall live to three or five hundred years of age, as in the days of the patriarchs ; and if one die at one hundred years, it is because of his sin ; and even at that age 792 Lord reminds the Jews, who valued themselves much on their temple and pompous worship, that the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; and that no outward rites of worship can please Him who looketh at the heart, while the worshippers are idolatrous and impure. (See 1 Kings viii. 23.) This leads to a threat of divine vengeance fqr their guilt ; alluding probably to their rejection of Christ, their persecution of his followers, and their consequent destruction by the Ro- mans. The increase of the Church is announced to be sudden and astonishing; which may be understood of the surprising success of the gospel when first preached, both among Jews and Gentiles; and especially of the future conversion of the Jews and fulness of the Gentiles, who shall eventually be gathered from all quarters to Messiah’s standard. Then, be- he shall be reputed an infant ; and they shall say of him, an infant is dead. These things shall happen to Israel in the days of the Messiah. ”J — Bagster. Ver. 22. 2s the days of a tree.— \ It is commonly supposed, observes Bishop Lowth , that the oak, one of the most long-lived of the trees, lasts about 1000 years ; being 500 years growing to full perfection, and as many decaying ; \\ hich seems to be a moderate and probable computation. The prophet’s idea seems to be that they shall live to the age of the antediluvians ; which seems to be very justly expressed by the days of a tree, according to our notions.]— Bag- ster. Ver. 23. Nor bring forth for trouble.— Lowth, “ Nor generate a short-lived race.” Compare Ps. lxxvih. 33. Chap. LXVI. Ver. 1. Thus saith, &c.— [This, and the preceding chapter, as Bishop Loioth observes, manifestly relate to the calling of the Gentiles, the es- tablishment of the Christian dispensation, and the reprobation of the apostate Jews, and their destruction executed by the Romans. The Jews valued them- selves much upon their Temple, and the pompous system of services perform- ed in it, which they supposed were to be of perpetual duration ; and ih-jy as- sumed great confidence and merit to themselves for the strict observance of all the externals of their religion. And, at the very time when the judgments denounced in ver. 6 and 12 of the preceding chapter were hanging over their heads, they were rebuilding the Temple, by Herod’s munificence, in a most magnificent manner. God admonishes them, that “ the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands •” and that a mere external worship, howdlli- God's benefits to the church. ISAIAH. — CHAP. LXVI. His judgments against the wicked. him that is h poor and of a contrite c spirit, and trembleth d at my word. 3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man ; he that sacrificeth a e lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood ; he that f burneth in- cense, as ?yhe blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delight- eth in their abominations. 4 I also will choose their s h delusions, and will bring their fears upon them ; because > when I called, none did answer ; when I spake, they did not hear : but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. 5 IT Hear the word of the Lord, ye that trem- nle i at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified : but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. 6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that render- eth recompense to his enemies. 7 Ti Before she travailed, she brought forth ; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day ? or shall a k nation be born at once ? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not i cause to bring forth ? saith the Lord : shall I cause to oring forth, and shut the womb ? saith thy God. 10 T| Rejoice m ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her : 11 That ye may " suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations ; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the 0 abun- dance of her glory. 12 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will ex- tend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream : then shall ye suck, ye p shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. A. M. 3292. B. C. 712. b Mat. 5- 3. c c.57.15. d Ezr.9.4. 1U.3. Pr,23.14. e or, kid. t maketh a memorial of. Le.2.2. g or, de- vices. h 2Th.2.11. i c.65.12. Je.7. 13,11. j ver.2. k Ac. 2.4 1, 17 1 or, beget. in Ps.26.8. 84.1. .4. 122 . 6 . n lPe.2.2. o ox, bright- ness. p c. 60.4,16. q Jn. 16.22. r Pr.3.8. Ez.e.37.1.. 14. s 2Th.l.8. t c. 65. 3,4. u or, one after an- other. v c. 18.3,7. Lu.2.34. w Mai. 1.11. Mat.28.19 x Ro. 15.16. y or, coaches. z Re.1.6. / a c.65.17. b Zee 11.14. moon to his new moon , and from sabbath to his sab- bath. d Ps.65.2. e Ma.9.44.. 48. f Da. 12.2. 14 And when ye see this, your heart shall q rejoice, and your bones r shall flourish like an herb : and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indigna- tion toward his enemies. 15 II 6 For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. 17 They 1 that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens u behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomi- nation, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. 18 T[ For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that 1 will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 19 And I will set a sign v among them, and I will send those that escape of them, unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory ; w and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. 20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering * unto the Lord, out of all na- tions upon horses, and in chariots, and in y lit- ters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. 21 And I will also take of them for 2 priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. 22 For as the new 11 heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And b it shall come to pass, that from c one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all d flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me : for their worm shall e not die, neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an abhorring f unto all flesh. ing united in the new economy, they shall see every enemy of the true Church destroyed, and behold the final perdition of infidels and ungodly men. Here, after tracing the principal events of time, the predictions seem to terminate in eternity, gently soever attended, when accompanied with wicked and idolatrous prac tices in the worshippers, would never he accepted by Him.]— Bagster. Ver. 3. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man , &c.— The sense of our common version is not clear. Our translators probably meant, that they show- ed as little religious feeling in the sacrificing an ox, as in the sacrifice of a man, or an unclean animal. By omitting the words in italic, supplied in our version, Bishop Lrnoth gives the passage a very different turn, as thus : “ He that slay- eth an ox, killeth a man ; that maketh an oblation, beheadeth a dog -, that maketh an oblation, (offereth) swine’s blood ; that burneth incense, blesseth an idol,” &c. The import of which version we take to be, that the people ser- ved Baal, as well as Jehovah ; and while on the sabbath they served the God of Israel, on other days, with equal zeal, they offered sacrifices, and even hu- man sacrifices, to their idols. Compare Ezek. xxiii. 39. Ver. 7. Before she travailed.— 'That is, Zion. Ver. 12. Borne upon her sides. — It is customary in the East for women to carry their children on their hips. — Sir J. Chardin. See Orient. Oust. No. 271. Ver. 17. Behind onetreein the midst. — See margin. [Or, as Bishop Lowth renders, “ after the rites of Achad which is supposed to be the same as the Syrian god Adad , whom t hey held to be the highest and greatest of the gods, and the same with Jupiter and the sun ; and whose name, says Macrobius , signifies one; as does also the word Achad , in this passage. 1 — Bolster. Many other interpretations have been offered, all of which refer to the idolatrous rites practised in gardens. In tloe midst.. — Lowth connects this /with the follow- ing clause ; ‘ In the midst of those who eat swine’s flesh,” &c. where all revolutions cease ; where the blessedness of the righteous shall be unchangeable as the new heavens; and the misery of the wicked, as the fire that shall not be quenched. (See Rev. xxi. 1 . Mark ix. 44.) Ver. 19. Tarshish. — [ Tarshish (see on 2 Chron. ix. 21.) seems to be used here for the east; Pul and Lud, (two African nations,) for the south ; Tubal and Javan, (the Tiberenians and Grecians,) for the north ; and “ the isles alar off,” for the west. Draw the botv.— Bishop Lowth suspects that, the words moshechcy keshelh, “ who draw the bow,” are a corruption of Meshech, the Moschi, a nation situated between the Eu.xine and Caspian seas ; and proper- ly joined with Tubal, the T\\yo.xem.]—Bagster. Ver. 20. In litters— Lowth, “ In counes these are large hampers, slung on each side a camel. Swift beasts— [Kirkaroth, rendered by the LXX. “ shaded vehicles,” and by the Vulgate, carrucis, ‘ cars,” probably denotes the same as the kar, the coune or pannier used for riding in. See on Gen. xxxi. 34.1 —Bagster. Ver. 24 . Their worm, shall not die. &c.— This evidently alludes to Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom, on the south and east of Jerusalem, where the idola- ters used to sacrifice their children to Moloch ; in abhorrence of which, king Josiah ordered all the filth and ordure of the city to be thrown there, with the carcasses of dead dogs, and dead men’s bones. These, putrifying, produced worms, and other vermin ; to prevent any fatal consequences from which, fires were kept continually burning, and probably on the very spot in which they had formerly sacrificed their children. See 2 Kings xxiii. 10. Jer. vii. 31, 32. ; xix. 13. Mark ix. 44.— [The worm that preyed on the dead bodies in Ge- henna died, and the fire which consumed them, was soon extinguished ; but in the figurative Gehenna the means of punishment are everlasting.]— Bag- ster. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. [Isaiah has, with singular propriety, been denominated the Evangelical Prophet, on account of the number and variety of his prophecies concerning the advent and character, the ministry and preaching, the sufferings and death, and the extensive and permanent kingdom of the Messiah. So explicit and determinate arc his predictions, as well as so numerous, that he seems to speak rather of things past than of events yet future ; and he may be rather called an evangelist than a prophet. Though later critics, especially those on the continent, have expended much labour and learning in order to rob the prophet 100 of his title ; yet no one, whose mind is unprejudiced, can be at a loss in ap- plying select portions of these prophecies to the mission and character of Jesus Christ, and to the events in his history which they are cited to illustrate by the sacred writers of the New Testament. In fact, his prophecies concerning the Messiah seem almost to anticipate the Gospel history ; so clearly do thpy predict his divine character, (Comp. ch. vii. 14. with Mat. i. 18 — 23. and Luke i. 27—35. ch. vi. ix. 6. xxxv. 4. xl. 5, 9, 19. xlii. 6—8. Ixi. J. with Lu. iv. 18. ch. lxii. li. Jjriii. 1—4.) ; his miracles, (ch. xxxv. 5. 6.) ; his peculiar character and 793 The cad o f Jerem iah virtues, (th. .\i. 2,3. xl. 11. xliii. 1—3.) ; his rejection, (Comp. Hi. vi. 9—12. with Mar. xiii. H. Hi. vii. 14. 15. Ii:i. 3 ) ; his suffcrm?* f«»r our sins. (cn. I. 6. hii. 4—11.) ; his death ami burial, (Hi. hii. 8, 9 ) ; his victory over ilcath, (ell. xxv. 8. liii. 10 , 12.) ; his tiuul glory, (Hi. \li\. 7, 22 . 33. lii. 13—15. Iiii.4,5.); ami the establishment, increase, and perfection ol 1 » i > kingdom, (Hi. ii. 2—4. ix. 2, 7. xi. a -10. xvi. 0. xxix. 1 > — 2 1. xxxii. l. xl. 1,3. \ lii A xlvi. 13. xlix. 9-13. li. 3-6. lii. 6— lu. Iv. 1-3. lix. 16 -21. lx. Ixi. I 5. Ixv. 25.); i nch specifically pointed out, and portrayed with the most striking and discriminating charac- ters. It is impossible, indeed, to rt fled on these, and on the whole chain ol his illustrious propheciesund not lie sensible that they liirnl-li the most incontestable evidences in support ol'Christianity. The style of Isaiah bus been universally ad- mired as the most jierfect model of elegance and sublimity ; ami as distinguish- ed for all the mairniticence, and for a I lilies wei tncss, ot’tlie Hebrew language. “ Isaiah,” says Bishop I.oioth , “ the first of the prophets, both in order and dignity, abounds in such transcendent excellencies, that he may be properly said to afford the most perfect model of the prophetic poetry. He is at once elegant and sublime, forcible and ornamental ; he unites energy with copious- ness;, and dignity with variety. In his sentiments, there is extraordinary ele- vation and majesty ; in his imagery, tbs utmost propriety, elegance, dignity, and diversify ; in his language, uncommon beauty and energy : anti not with- standing the obscurity of his subjects, a surprising degree of clearness and simplicity. To these we may add. there is such sweetness in the poetical composition of his sentences, whether it proceed from art or genius, that if to the prophetic office. the Hebrew poetry at present s possessed of uny remains of its native t, u .c* and harmony, we shall chieliy find them in the writings oflsuiuh ; so U.al’.be saving of Ezekiel may justly he applied I <» this prophet : Thou art the confirmed exc mpliir of measures, Full of wisdom and perfect in bounty.- Iv/.. eluip. xxvii. J2. Isaiah also greatly excels in all the a races of method, order, connexion, and arrangement ; though, in asserting this, we must not ibrget the naiuie of tl'.o l»rophetic Impulse, which bears away tin* mind with irresistible violence, and frequently in rapid transitions from near to remote objects, from human to divine : we must likew ise he careful in remarking the limits of | articular pic- dictions, since, as they are now extant, they are often improperly connected, w it bout any mat ks ol discrimination, w I.iHi injudicious arrungemeiit, on some occasions, creates almost insuperable diUiouhies.” But. though the variety of his images, and the warmth of his expressions, characterize him as tmciiuuHcd in eloquence ^ and. though the marks of a cultivated mind arc stamped in every page of his hook , yet these are almost eclipsed by the splendour of his inspired knowledge. In the delivery of his prophecies and instructions, ho utters his enraptured strains with an elevation and majesty that unhallowed lips could never attain ; and from the grand exordium in the first chapter to the concluding description of the Gospel, to “ bo brought fort If in wondi rs, and to terminate in the dispensation of eternity, there is me continued display of inspired wisdom, revealing its oracles ami precepts lor the instruction and salvation of man.] — Bagster. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. i. THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. Jeremiah was a Priest, who resided at Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, i and was called to the prophetic office when very young, in the 13th year of king Josiah, and about 71) years after the death of Isaiah, A. M. 3375. B. C. 629. I He exercised his ministry about 42 years, with great faithfulness and zeal, and in very unfavourable circumstances ; till after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans ; and is generally supposed to have died about two years after- : wards in Egypt. At the commencement of his labours, the sms of Judah were I come to their full measure, after a reformation had in vain been attempted by good Josiah, who was called to Heaven at an early age, as a punishment for their transgressions. His two sons, who successively filled the throne after him, were as remarkable for vice, as their father was for virtue. Their history we have already seen, 2 Kings, xxiii. to xxv. compared with 2 Citron, xxxv. and xxxyi. Jeremiah was a man of sincere piety, unblemished integrity, and warm pa- triotism : so much so, that rather than seek a separate asylum, which he might have undoubtedly enjoyed under t lie king of Babylon, he chose to flee with his brethren into Egypt, though in that step they acted contrary to Ins advice. There is a tradition that tin* Jews of Tahapanes stoned him for the fidelity of his remonstrances against their idolatry and other vices. If so, a few years after- wards they weie uroperly rewarded by the armies of the king of Babylon, ac- cording to his ov. ! prediction, chap. xliv. 27, 28. The style of Jeremiah was tender and pathetic to a high degree, especially in his Lamentations ; but he sometime emulates the snhlimily of Isaiah. The chapters merely narrative are in prose, hut the prophetic parts, which form the hulk of the hook, are in the usual poetical style. Horne divide* the hook into four parts ; the first comprising the introduction, and all the prophecies supposed to be delivered under the reign of king Josiah.— 2. The prophecies under the reign ofJehoiakim. — 3. Those in therein ofZedekiah : and. 4. An ac- count of the affairs of Judah, from the capture of Jerusalem to their flight into Egypt.* The chapters in our present copies arc evidently not arranged according to the time in which they were delivered, and perhaps cannot now be so arranged with certainty : we shall, however, give the order adopted by Dr. Ji/aney , though we cannot from the nature of our work, adopt it. Tins order is exactly adopted by Dr. Boothroyd. I)r. J. G. Dahler , Professor of Theology in the Protestant seminary of Strasburg, in an elaborate and very judicious transla- tion of this Prophet, lias divided the whole into sections, each of which is in- troduced with excellent observations relative to time, place, circiimsfancos- and mutter contained in that section. The discourses, or prophecies, deliver- ed under a particular reign, are all produced in their chronological older. Town- send, however, comparing and examining the systenis of other commentators, has given a table of chronological arrangement, differing in several particulars, which we should be glad to copy ; hut, for want of room, we can only refer to it. Chap. I. -XX. XXIf. XXIII. XXV. XXVI. xxxv. XXXVI. Arrangement of the Prophecies of Jeremiah, according to Dr. Blayney. Chap. XLV. XXIV. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXVII. XXVIII. Chap. XXI. XXXIV. XXXVII. XXXII. XXXIII. XXXVIII. I XXXIX. 15—19. Chap. XXXIX 1-14. XL. XLT. xlie XLIII. XLIV. XLVI. &c. Under Josiah. Chap. I. 1—19. IV. 5— VI. 30. II. 1.— III. 5. III. 6.— IV. 4. XVII. 19-27. XLVII. 1—7. Under Jelioiakim. Chap. VII. 1.— IX. 26. XXVI. 1—24. XLVI. 2— 12. X. 1—16. XIV. 1.— XV. 2!. XVI. 1.— XVII. 18. XVIII. 1—23. XIX. 1.— XX. 13. XX. 14—18 According to Dr. Dahler. Chap. XXIII. 9-40. XXXV. 1-19. XXV. 1—38. XXXVI. 1—32. XLV. 1—5. XII. 14—17. X. 17—25. Under Jechoniah. Chap. XIII. 1—27. Under Zedekiah. Chap. XXVII. 1 — XXVIII. 17. XLIX. 34—39. LI. 59—64. XXI. 1—14. XXXIV. 1—7. XXXVII. I— 10. XXXIV. 8—22. XXXVII. 11—21. XXXVIII. 1—28. XXXIX. 15—18. XXXII. 1—44. XXXIII. 1—10. XXXIX. 1—10. Chap. xxn. 1 — XXIII. 8. XI. 1—17. XI. IS— XII. 13. XXIV. 1—10. XXIX. 1—32. After the destruction of Jeru- salem. Chap. XXXIX. 11—14. XL 1.— XLI. 18. Chap. XLII. 1 . -XLIII. 7. XXX. 1.— XXXI. 40 Delivered ir. Egypt. Chap. XLIII. 8—13. XLIV. 1—30. XLVI. 13—28. Relative to strange nations. Chap. XLVI. l. and XUX., 6. XLVJII. 1—47. XLIX. 7—22. XLIX. 23—27. XLIX. 2S— 33. L. 1.— LI. 5S Historical appendix. Chap. LII. 1—34. CHAPTER I. I The time, 3 and die calling of Jeremiah. 11 His prophetical visions of an almond- rod and a seelhing-poL 15 His heavy message ugainst Judah. 17 God encouraged) him with his promise of assistance. T HE words of Jeremiah a the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in b Anathoth in the land of Benjamin : 2 To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of, A. M. 3375. B. C. 629. a 2Ch.36.21 b 1 Ch.6.60. c c.25.3. d c.39.2. e c.52.12, &c- f 2 Ki.25.8. Judah, in c the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto d the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Jo siah king of Judah, unto the carrying away e of Jerusalem captive in the fifth f month. 4 T[ Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Chap. I. Ver. 1 — 19. Prefatory chapter , with the call of Jeremiah to the prophetic office. — This solemn designation of the prophet is stated to have been in the 13th year of the young king Josiah. at which time lie speaks of himself as a child, (ver. 6.) and probably was little more, as we find him neither named nor consulted in that king’s reforms. (See 2 Kings xxii. 14.) Like Moses of old time, he seems to have had a deep sense of his own inability, which is generally the case with those whom God calls to services of difficulty and importance. But the Lord, in a visible appearance, touched his lips, and put words into his mouth. The high commission given him is thus expressed : “ See, I have this dav set thee over the na- tions and over the kingdoms by which we are not to under- stand the conferring any authority ; but in the prophetic style, God’s servants are said to do what they merely predict. His pulling down or putting up, was merely the delineating of Chap. I. Ver. 1. Words of Jeremiah . — (The three first verses form the titte to the whole book ; and were probably added by Ezra when he collected and 794 what God was about to do, which was farther explained to him in two preparatory visions. The “ rod,” or branch ‘‘of almond tree,” which is said to be the first tree that blossoms, was evidently intended to signify the speedy accomplishment of the judgments he was commissioned to predict; and “the seething (or boiling) pot” their great severity ; and both being turned from the north, farther intimated the quarter from which they were to come, namely, Chaldea, which was north of Jerusalem. The concluding verses at once point out the arduous nature of his work, and assure him of strength and support to perform it. He shall be an iron pillar, or a brazen wall, whom the Lord supports and fortifies. This first chap ter is considered as prose, but the following opens in poetic numbers. “The Lord raises up and qualifies proper instruments for hi:> work, in every age and circumstance of his church : and when arranged the Sacred Books, ana placed them in the order in which they are generally found in Hebrew Bibles.] — Bagster. Jt) vinuik's message against Judah. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. II. God e.rposlulateth with Israel. 5 Before = I formed thee in the belly I knew thee ; and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I h ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 6 Then > said I, Ah, Lord God ! behold, 1 can- not speak : for I am a child. 7 But the Lord said unto me, Say not, 1 am a child : for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and i whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be k not afraid of their faces: for ' I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched m my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 10 See. I have this da}' set thee over the na- tions and over the kingdoms, to root " out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. 11 ^ Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen : for I will hasten my word to per- form it. 13 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou ? And 1 said, I see a "seething pot; and the face thereof is p toward the north. 14 Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north ’an evil shall r break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Je- rusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the citiesof Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who 6 have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. 17 If Thou therefore gird 1 up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be " not dismayed at their faces, lest I ’confound thee before them. A. M. 3375. r. c. m . g Is «. 1,5. Hit. I 15, 16. h gave. \ Ex.4.10, &c. 1 Mat.2S.20 Ac.20.27. lc Kze.2.6. 3.9. 1 He.13.6. m Is. 6.7. n c. 18.7. 2Co. 10.4,5 o Eze.11.3, 7 ; 24.3, &c. p from the fore of. q c.4.6. 6.1,22. r be opened. s De. 23.20. c. 17. 13. t Job 38.3. u Ez.e.2.6. v break thee to pieces. w c. 15.20. x Jos.1.9. a or, forth]/ sake. b Ho. 2. 15. c De.2.7. d Ex. 19.5,6. 1 l'e.2.9. e Ps.105.14. f Joel 1.3,7, 8 . g Is. 5.4. h 2Ki.17.15 i Ps.77 5. j Is. 63. 11.. 13. Ho. 13.4. k De.32.10. 1 or, the land of Carmel. m Ps.106.33 n Mai. 2.6,7 o c.5.31. p Hab.2.18. q Eze.20.35. 18 For, behold, I w have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19 And they shall fight against thee ; but they shall not prevail against thee ; for X I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee. CHAPTER II. 1 God, having showed his former kindness, expost nlaleth with the Jews for their causelesj revolt, 9 beyond uny example. 14 They are the causes of their own calamities. 20 The sins of Judah. 31 Her confidence is rejected. M OREOVER the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, say- ing, Thus saith the Lord; I remember a thee, the kindness of thy b youth, the love of thine espousals, when c thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 3 Israel was holiness d unto the Lord, and the first fruits of his increase : e all that devour him shall offend ; evil f shall come upon them, saith the Lord. 4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Ja- cob. and all the families of the house of Israel : 5 Thus saith the Lord, What s iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and h have walked after vanity, and are become vain ? G > Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up j out of the land of Egypt, that led k us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, thro ugh a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? 7 And I brought you into ' a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof ; but when ye entered, ye defiled m my land, and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the " law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and 0 the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that p do not profit 9 Wherefore I i will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with your children’s children will 1 plead. their labours fail to reform degenerate nations, they prove use- ful to individuals, and leave others without excuse. He, who formed us in the womb, knew beforehand for what services or purposes he intended us : and if we desire to serve him, he will qualify us for all which he has for us to do or suffer in this world, and carry us through it. But except he ‘sanctify’ us by his new creating Spirit, we shall neither be fit for his holy service on earth, nor his holy happiness in heaven. This is a most invaluable mercy, whenever it is vouchsafed ; but the earlier in life, the happier for us and for others: and as the Lord sometimes sanctifies even infants, parents may be en- couraged to pray for this blessing on their offspring, even from their conception in the womb. He who gives grace can alone efficaciously ordain men to be his ministers. In general, young ■persons are not so proper for the discharge of the sacred office, in important stations and difficult times, a9 their seniors ; and a modest diffidence, arising from conscious unworthiness and inability, is a more favourable token than self-c mfidence and a-hasty eagerness to be employed Whatever the wise men and politicians of the world may suppose or devise, the safety of kingdoms is decided, according to the purpose and word of God; and it greatly depends on the reception which is given to his faithful ministers. When their labours are unsuccessful, and their ‘prayers return into their own bosom:’ and when they are persecuted, injured, and driven away, nations ripen apace for judgments ‘ to root up and destroy’ them. But when they are protected and prospered, when their prayers are answered, and the number of true believers is greatly in- Ver. 5. I sanctified. — That, is, separated thee to my service, &c. Ver. 10. To root out.—Lowth y “ To pluck up.” Ver. II. An udmond tree .—[ There is here both an allusion to the nature of the almond tree, and a sinking paronomasia. “ I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the Lord to me, Thou hast well seen ; for 1 will hasten my word to perform it.” The almond tree, which is like the peach tree in its leaves and bfosaorns, blossoms in January or February, when other tree3 are locked up in creased ; there will be more and more, by their prayers, exam- ples, ana exertions, to check the progress of impiety and ini- quity ; and thus faithful ministers are useful ‘to build, and to plant;’ and to prolong the external prosperity of the commu- nity, as well as to promote the salvation of souls.” — T. Scott. Chap. II. Ver. 1 — 37. The Lord's kindness , and Israel's ingratitude. — In the opening of this chapter, God expresses the continuance of his regard: “I have called to mind in thy behalf, the kindness shown thee in thy youth,” &c. So Dr. Blayncy , who remarks, that the kindness shown was ail on tlie part of God, and was perfectly gratuitous, as the word pro- perly signifies ; and it was his affection for them, and not theirs for him. that led him to espouse them. And thus the words are explained in our ancient English Bible, (1553, folio,) to be “ that grace and favour which I showed thee from the begin- ning, when I did first choose thee to be my people, and mar- rieef thee to myself.” (Comp. Ps. cvi. 45. Is. lxiii. li. Eze. xvi. 60.) So what is said of Israel being “holiness to the Lord,” must not be understood of their own holiness, but of their being separated, or consecrated to his service, “as a kind of first-fruits:” (James i. 18.) and this is. here mentioned, not in their commendation; but to show that the Lord still bore the same kindness as ever toward his people, and was still ready to receive them on their returning to him. At the same time it forms the ground of his remonstrance with them, (ver. 5,1 “What iniquity have your fathers found in me?” &c., and leads to the exposure of their folly, in forsaking “ The fountain of living waters,” and putting their trust in idols, who were their winter repose ; and bears fruit in March or April, when other trees only begin to hud.] — Dayster. Sue note on Eccles. xii. 5. Ver. 16. I will utter . — Bltijney. “I will discourse my judgments.” See chap, xxxix. 5.; Hi. 9. Chap II. Ver 2. I remember thee.— See exposition, and Mr. G a ta- ker approves the sense there given. A land not soton.— That is, unculti vated. 795 'Phe siiis of Judah. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. 11. Her coujidenct is rejected. 10 For pass r over the isles o f • Chittim, and see ; and send unto 1 Kedar, and consider dili- gently, and see if there be such a thing. 11 Hath “ a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed * their glory for that which doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, O ye ' v heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. 13 For my people have committed two evils ; they have forsaken x me the fountain i of liv- ing waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. 14 1[ Is Israel a 'servant? is he a home -born slave ? why is he "-spoiled? 15 The young lions b roared upon him, and 6 yelled, and they made his land w T aste : his cities are burned without inhabitant. 16 Also the children of Noph and J Tahapa- nes " have broken the crown of thy f head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto s thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way ? IS And now what hast thou to do in the way of h Egypt, to drink the waters of • Si- hor ? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? 19 Thine own j wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee : know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. 20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands ; and k thou saidst, I will not i transgress ; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the m harlot. 21 Yet I had planted thee a noble "vine, wiiolly a right seed : how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange 0 vine unto me? 22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked p before me, saith the Lord God. A M. 3373. I). C. C innocents: I have not found it by J secret search, but upon all these. like “broken cisterns which could hold no water that is, which could yield them neither support nor comfort. Why- leave Jehovah, their great patron and protector, and fly to the muddy streams of Egypt or Assyria?” “In the latter part of the chapter, the nation is pointedly and severely reproved for their adultery, which, it must be remem- bered, throughout the Prophets, generally means idolatj-y : and if it be thought that some of the images are too bold, it should be recollected that the prophet’s object is to excite disgust and abhorrence of the crime. (Comp. Isaiah lvii. 5, &c.) It is very desirable and honourable to be early numbered among his worshippers, and admitted to those sacred ordi- nances, which are as the solemn espousals of the soul to God our Saviour. Yet numbers, on such occasions, express much zeal and love, and appear ready to follow him through every trial and difficulty, who afterward give cause to suspect, that their affections were indeed moved, while their hearts were not changed; and that they had no root in themselves, and therefore in time of temptation fell away.’ “ But, not hypocrites alone, and such persons as openly dis- grace their profession, are criminal in these things: even true believers are often constrained to plead guilty. After having been delivered from the bondage of Satan, relieved in the hour of distress and dismay, conducted through many dan- gers and perplexities, and rendered comfortable in the hopes and earnests of heavenly felicity; they have evidently made unsuitablere turns for these immense obligations, and have declined from that zeal and love which marked their first en- trance on a religious course. “Indeed, we all have committed, and are still prone to com- mit, the two evils of which Israel was proved guilty', even apos- tacy from God, and idolatrous love of some created object, or ob- jects, from which we seek and expect our felicity. How do we forsake the pure joys to be found in the favour and service of God, for the polluting and wasting pleasures and interests of the world and sin ! How apt are we to refuse the glorious salvation of Christ, and to prefer our own foolish ways of recommending ourselves to our offended Creator! How prone are we to forsake the unerring word of God to follow human teachers, and the traditions of men ! and to forego the conso- Ver. to. Pass over the isles. — Blayney , “ Pass over to the countries," &c. See note on Isa. xxiii. 1. Ver. 14. Is (or was) Israel a servant . ... he a home-born slave 1 — The question seems to imply that Israel did not go down into Egypt in a state of servitude, but as Joseph’s kindred ; Egypt, therefore, had no rigiit to enslave them. He was also God’s son : ’’ When Israel was a child, then l loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” Hos. ,\i. l. If Israel were free, the ques- tion then is, ’’ t) hy is he spoiled )” “Why do all the nations round oppress him ?” Ver. 15. The young lions (the kings of Egypt and Babylon) yelled.— See margin. Ver 16. yoph and Tahapanes . — The cities of Memphis and Daphnae, in Egypt. See 2 Kings xxiii. 33, 34. Have broken, &c.— See margin. Blay- ney. “ Shall bruise," &c. So Bonthroyd. Ver. IS. Sihor .— That is, the bile. See note on Isa. xxiii. 3. And the ri- ver —That is. the Euphrates ; both were remarkable for sediment ; the latter required to settle before it could he drank. See Orient. Lit. No. 954. Ver. 20. I have broken thy yoke.— That is, the yoke of Egyptian bondage. - ; — Then thou saidst. 1 will not transgress.— That is, to provoke fresh pu- nishments. So Chaldee and 15 MSS. This is not The Keri, but the Ketib, ' I will not obey i. e. not submit to slavery any more. v -r. 2*2. Wash thee with nitre — [ Not what we call nitre, or saltpetre, but the natn/m of the ancients : which is found in abundance in Egypt and many 796 parts of Asia, where it is called soap-earth, because it is dissolved in water and used like soap in washing. See note on Pr. xxv. 20.1 — liagster. Ver. 23. Traversing her ways. — That is. running wild in the desert. B’ciy- ney, and other moderns, connect this verse with the following, instead of the preceding, which seems more natural. But Boothroyd supplies the particle c f comparison, ” (As) a swill dromedary ; (as) a wild ass.” meaning, that Israel was thus mad after her idolatries. The valley in ver. 23. probably refers to that of Hinnom. See chap. vii. 31.; xix. 2 — 4. Ver. 25. Withhold thy foot from being unshod. — That is, as we conceive. Go not into the idol temples, which probably was not permitted in shoes, and the next clause, and thy throat from thirst, may refer to the drinking the potalions of idolatry, which were perhaps of mixed and strong liquors. Ver. 27. Turned their back. — See margin ; i. e. turned away their heads, as in aversion. Ver. 30. Your own sword. — Tiiat i.s, they killed their own prophets. Matt, xxiii. 29 — 37. Ver. 31. In thy skirts. — Figuratively, " In thy garments,” which are stained therewith. (See Isa. Ixiii. 3.) Literally, "In the skirts (or borders) of thy country.”— — Blood of the souls. — Bonthroyd, ’ the life blood” of poor inno cents ; i. e. children sacrificed to idols. See above, ver. 23. By secret search, — See margin. This is supposed to allude to Levit. xvii. 13. Compare Ezell xxiv. 7 (ro'l s great, mercy to Judah. 35 If Yet thou sayest, Because lam k innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, 1 have not sinned. 36 Why gaddestthou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of > Egypt, as thou wast m ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thy hands n upon thy head : for the Lord hath re- jected thy confidences, and 0 thou shalt not prosper in them. CHAPTER III. 1 God’s great mercy in Judah’s vile whoredom. 6 Judah is worse than Israel. 12 The promises of the gospel to the penitent. 20 Israel reproved, anJ called by God, maketh a solemn confession of their sins. T HEY a say, if a man put-away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her b again ? shall not that land be greatly polluted ? but thou c hast played the harlot with many lovers ; yet return d again to me, saith the Lord. 2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways e hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. 3 Therefore f the showers have been with- holden, and there hath been no latter rain ; and s thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou re- fusedst to be ashamed. 4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of h my youth ? 5 Will > he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end l Behold, thou hast spo- ken and done evil things as thou couldest. 6 If The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon i every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. 7 And I k said after she had done all these things. Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah ) saw it. 8 And I saw, when for ail the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce ; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. JEItEMIAH.— CHAP. III. A. M 3375. D. C. G29. k Ro.7.9. lJn.1.8,10 a saying. b De.24.4. d Zee. 1.3. e 1Y.23.28. f Le.26. 19. De. 28.23, 24. c.9.12. 14.4. g Eze.3.7. h Pr.2.17. i Ps.77.7,9. j IKi. 14.23. m or, fame. n c.2.27. o in false- hood. q De.30. 1..6 r Is. 54. 5. s Ep.4.11. t Jn.21.15.. 17. Ac.20.23. 1 Pe.5.2. w or, it be magnified x Ro.6.14. y or, stub- bornness. z Is. 11.13. E/e. 37. 16 .. 22 . a or, to. b or , caused your far- thers to possess. c land of desire. Promises to the penitent. 9 And it came to pass through the m lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with " stocks. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sis- ter Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but 0 feignedly, saith the Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto me, The back- sliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. 12 1[ Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord ; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you : for I am, f mer- ciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. 13 Only acknowledge i thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the stran- gers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. 14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord ; for I am r married unto you : and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion : 15 And I will give you pastors s according to my heart, which shall feed 1 you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord : neither u shall it come v to mind : neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it ; nei- ther shall that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord ; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem : neither shall they walk any more 1 after the y imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of 2 Judah shall walk * with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have h given for an inheritance unto your fathers. 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a c pleasant land, lations of the Holy Spirit, for the worthless joys of the enthu- siast and hypocrite! With great labour do men frame and resort to these and many other broken cisterns; instead of ‘ drawing with joy ihi waters of life from the wells of salva- tion.’ Thus man became, and thus unbelievers continue, the slave.s of sin and Satan, and persisting in this course must re- main so for ever.” — T. Scott. Chap. III. Ver. 1 — 25. Judah’s sin , and God’s mercy ex- citing to repentance. — The first five verses of this chapter be- long to the preceding, and contain exhortations to repentance, with gracious promises of pardon, notwithstanding the aggra- vations of their guilt. Blayney considers this prophecy as de- livered soon after Jeremiah received his commission. The second section of prophecy beginning at the sixth verse, is continued to the end of the sixth chapter. It begins with a complaint against Judah, for having exceeded in guilt her sis- ter Israel, already cast oft' for her idolatry, but not for ever. For to this same Israel, whose place of captivity (Assyria) lay to the north of Judea, pardon is promised on her repentance, togelhe r with a restoration to the church of God, along with the Gentiles, in the latter days. The charge of hypocrisy against Judah, in the 10th verse, seems to fix the date of this V or. 37. With thy hands upon thy head.— An attitude of great grief and lamentation. See 2 Sam. xiii. 19. Chap III Ver. 1. Thei/say.— See margin. Or, “ Thus saith,” (viz. the law.) V.-r 2. Lien with. — This refers not lo literal, hut to figurative prostitution, or tin? worshipping of idols, whir.h was generally “in high places,” or in proves ; see ver. 6 A x the Arabian. — (Sir J. Chardin . in a MS. note cited ay Warmer, slates, that 11 the Arabs wait for caravans with the most violent avidity, ire, king at, out them on all sides, raising themselves up on their horses, running here and there, to see if Ihey can perceive any smoke, or dust, or tracks on the ground, or any other marks of people passing along.]— Bagster. So eager are the Jews represented in their idolatry. Ver. 3. Therefore the showers, &c. — See Deut. xxviii. 2 t. — [The former rain., which prepared the land for tillage, fell in autumn ; and the latter rain, (Blayney. ‘‘ Harvest rain,”) which fifled the ears of com, generally fell in Apri’ ; after which there was scarcely any more rain.]— Bagster. Aiohore's forehead. — See chap. v. 3. ; vi. 15. V »r 1 The Lord said, & c. — [This is a new discourse supposed to have prophecy subsequent to the 18th year of king Josiah. It is also hinted, (ver. 18,) that Judah, copying the sins of Israel, after sharing the same fate, should, upon their repentance, receive the same mercy. Israel renewing their repen tings, (ver. 21,) God again renews his gracious promises ; and they again humbly confess their sins, especially their idolatry. In this confession, their not deigning to name the idol Baal, the source of their calamities, but calling him in the abstract, shame , or a thing of shame , is a touch of the poetic pencil, extremely beautiful and natural. “The Lord is so ‘ rr-h in mercy,’ and has made such abun- dant provision for the honourable exercise of it, that he is evet ready to receive to full favour the vilest of transgressors; even when it would be contrary to the most approved rules ot society, exactly to copy his example, in pur conduct to those who grossly violate their relative obligations. But whilst he glorifies the abundance of his grace, by inviting rebels and apostates to return to him ; he will also bring their iniquities to remembrance: nor can any man expect the tokens of his favour, who is not humbled and ashamed on account of his sins, and in some proportion to their aggravations. If then we should escape rebukes, corrections, or ruinous judgments, been delivered after the 18th year of Josiah ; in which the prophet shows the people of Judah the transgressions, idolatry, obstinacy, and punishment of Is- rael ; who were, nevertheless, less culpable than they who practised the same iniquities, while they had the punishment and ruin of the others before their eyes.]— Bagster. Ver. 9. The lightness.— Blayney, “Wantonness.” Ver. 12. Toioards the north . — Because Israel was gone into captivity in the north. N. B. From the beginning of ver. 6 to these words, Dr. Blayney trans- lates as prose, and here again commences the Hebrew verse. Ver. 13. Scattered thy ways.—Thcd is, “ Thou hast run after various heathen nations in their several idolatries.” Parkhurst. Ver. 16 . Neither shall they visit it.— Blayney , “ Care about it.” Neither shall that be done — Blayney . “ made” any more. The ark was wanting ir the second temple. The privileges of the Jewish establishment were to bL superseded by the blessings of the Christian dispensation. Ver. 17. All nations shall be gathered— Gentiles as well as Je\v9. After the imagination — See margin. Blayney , “ Lusting.” 797 Israel called to repentance. JEREMIAH. — C1IAP. IV. Fearful judgments upon Judah. d a goodly heritage of the hostsof nations ? and l said, Thou shalt call me, My e father; and shalt not turn away 1 from me. 20 II Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her e husband, so have ye dealt treacher- ously h with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord. 21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping ' and supplications of the children of Israel : for they have perverted their) way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God. 22 k Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for > thou art the Loud our God. 23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped, for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly m in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. 24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth ; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 We "lie down in our shame, and our con- fusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God. CHAPTER IV. 1 God calleth Israel by his promise. 3 He exhorteih Judah to repentance by fearful judgments. 19 A grievous lamentation for the miseries of Judah. I F thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.- 2 And thou shalt 11 swear, The Lord liveth, in b truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations c shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall ll they glory. 3 H For thus saith the Lord to the men of Ju- dah and Jerusalem, Break e up your fallow ground, and sow not among f thorns.- 4 Circumcise s yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem : lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that A. M. 33W. B. < x oia. d a fieri- e Ro.8.15. f from after g friend. h Is.48. S. i 2 Co. 7. 10. j Pr.19.3. k Ho. 6.1. 1 Ho. 13.4. m Hu. 121.1, 2 . Is. 63. 16. n Ezx.9.6,7. Ro.6 21. a De. 10.20. b Is. 13.1. c Gc.22. 13. I»s. 72. 17. d Is.45.25. 1 Co. 1.31. e Ho. 10. 12. f Mai. 13.7. 22 . g De. 10. 16. Ro.2.23, 29. strengthen i breaking. j Da.7.4. k 2 Ki.21.1. 25.1. 1 c.25.9. rn Is. 22. 12. n Is. 37. 35. o La. 2. 21. p or, fuller •wind than those. q utter judg- ments. r Ja.4.8. none can quench it, because of the evil ofyoui doings. 5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jeru- salem ; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in tin- land : cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities. 6 Set up the standard toward Zion : h retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north and a great > destruction. 7 The lion ) is come up k from his thicket, and the destroyer 'of the Gentiles is on his way, he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate ; and thy cities shall he laid waste, without an inhabitant. 8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl : for the fierce anger of the Lord is not tinned back from us. 9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. 10 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusa- lem, saying, Ye shall have " peace ; whereas the sword ° reacbeth unto the soul. 11 At that time shall it he said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high pla- ces in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, 12 Even a p full wind from those places shall come unto me : now also will I « give sentence against them. 13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind : his horses are swifter than eagles. Wo unto us! for we are spoiled. 14 O Jerusalem, wash thy heart "from wick- edness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? 15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and pub- lisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. 16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, we must judge ourselves, and examine, with minute exactness, all the sins which we remember to have committed, that we may condemn ourselves for them before God. In this frame of mind, the greatest transgressor may approach him as a kind Father, and may plead with him all the favours which he has bestowed, as the Creator, Preserver, and Saviour of men. All the mercies of God to his church in every age may suggest encouragement to the humble inquirer: and v hat can be so desirable for the young and inexperienced, in this ensnaring, perilous world, as to have the Lord Almighty for 1 their Father, and the Guide of their youth?’ ” — T. Scott. Chap. IV. Ver. 1 — 31. Exhortations to repentance, and. warnings of divine judgments. — The first two verses of this chapter are a repetition of the exhortations and promises ad- dressed to Israel, in the preceding chapter, of which they ought to make a part. The prophet then addresses the people of Judah and Jerusalem ; exhorting them to repentance and reformation, in order to prevent, if possible, the dreadful visit- ation that approached them. He then (ver. 5.) sounds the alarm of war. Nebuchadnezzar is seen, like a fierce lion on his march, and the disastrous issue is announced. As God can neither tempt nor be tempted to evil, (James i. 13, If,) so, most assuredly, neither can he deceive nor be de- ceived. But as false prophets spoke in the name of the Lord, and promised the people peace without reform, the prophet here, speaking ironically to reprove them, says, “ Surely, Lord, thou must have deceived this people, permitting the false prophets to assure them, Ye shall have peace, until the sword penetrateth to the soul. ’ Thus the passage is explained both by Drs. Blayncy and Boothroyd. (Compare our remarks on chap, xx. 7; and on 1 Kings xxii. 20. ; also Ezek. xiv. 9.) There is Ver. 20. As a -wife treacherously — Blayncy. " As a wicked woman," &c. Husband. — Margin, ** Friend," but meaning the same. Ver. 22. Backslidings. — 1'1'lie term lacks' iding seems to be taken from oxen, when they turn back, instead of drawing forward, in the yoke, j— B. Ver. 2i. Shame.— B'ayney. "That thing of shame Boothroyd, "That shameful idol. " See chap, xi 13. Hos. ix. 10 . Chap. IV. Ver. 3. Break up. &c.— [Fallow ground, is either that which, having been once tilled, has lain long uncultivated, or. ground slightly plough- ed, in order to be ploughed again previously to ils being sown ; and it is here applied to a fruitless ami hardened heart, which must he broken up by true repentance, and prepared for the reception of the good seed of the word of til- 1 , in order to bring forth the fruits of holiness.] Bagstrr 798 not the slightest ground, however, to suppose that any of the Lord’s real prophets had supported the delusion. After announcing the approach of Nebuchadnezzar, and the destruction which must attend his arrival the prophet (ver. 19.) bleaks out into an agony of distress — sees, as in a trance, the whole earth depopulated — the heavens clothed with mourning, and nature returning to her primitive chaos. “The Lord commonly warns before he strikes: but if his warnings are despised, they will soon be realized in judgments; and when he arises to execute vengeance, sinners will find it in vain to combine for mutual defence, or to flee any whither for refuge; and no ' roaring lion,’ or destroyer of the nations,’ is to be dreaded, in comparison with ‘him who is able to_ de- stroy both body and soui in hell.’ Yet when he uses ambitious men, besides their intention, as his instruments of temporal punishment, the sufferers are made to howl and lament nmst dolefully. When he contends, men are soon dispirited and in- fatuated; their resolution and capacity fail them, and their hearts sink and perish within them : but none are more stupi- fied with astonishment and terror on such occasions than ungodly priests and false teachers. The justice of God. in leaving sinners to be deceived, and to ‘expect peace when vengeance reacheth to the soui,’ is very awful. The faithful servants of God deprecate from the people this judgment, above all others; yet they often perceive that he sees good to inflict it. On this account they are treated as malevolent, censorious, and spiritually proud; for they cannot but remind their hearers of the distinction betwixt a faithful minister of the gospel, and a blind guide, or a teacher of lies in the garb of a priest : but the event will justify their conduct, and con- vince all the world of the reality and immense importance o( Ver. 4. Circumcise yohrselves. — The moral design of this rite is explaii.cd by St. Paul, Rom. ii. 25 — 29. Ver. 6. Retire. — That is, into the fortress of Zion. Ver. 7. The lion is come up. — Doubtless Nebuchadnezzar. Gentiles.-- Blayncy. “ Nations.” Ver. 10. Surely thou hast greatly deceived.— Heb. “ Deceiving thou hast deceived.” Ver. 11. A dry toind of the high places. — Boothroyd , ‘a scorching wind from the hills,” burning up the earth, and suffocating its inhabitants. Ver. 13. He shall come up. — That is. Nebuchadnezzar, as in ver. 7. Ver. 15. From Dan .... and Ephraim. — Both which bordered “upon the kingdom of Judah northwards.” Li nnen tat ions over Judah. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. V. God’s judgments on the Jews publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. 17 As keepers of a held, are they against her roundabout; because s she hath been rebellious against me, saith the Lord. 13 Thy < way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee ; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thy heart. 19 Tf My bowels, my bowels ! I am pained at u my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me ; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trum- pet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction r upon destruction is cried ; for the whole land is spoiled : suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. 21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet ? -22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me ; they are sottish children, and they" have none understanding: they are wise w to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without * form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they - v trem- bled, and all the hills moved lightly. 25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds z of the heavens were fled. 26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce a anger. 27 For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate ; yet will I not make a full end. 28 For b this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black : because I have spo- ken it. I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. 29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks : every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. 30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crim- son, though thou c deck'est thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy d face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy e lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life. 31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman A. M. 3292. B C. 712. s Ne.9.26, 30. La. 1.8. Da. 9.7, &c. t Is.50.1. c.2. 17,19. u Uie walls of my heart. v Ps.42.7. Eze.7.26. w Mi.2.1. Ro. 16.19. x Is. 24. 19. y Is. 5. 25. Eze. 38.20. Hab. 3. 6. z Zep.1.3. a Ps.76.7. b Ho.4.3. c Eze. 23. 40. d eyes. ec.22.20..22 La. 1.2,19. f Is. 1.15. La. 1.17. a Ge. 18.23, &c. Eze.22.30. b Tit. 1.16. c 2Ch.l6.9. d Is. 9. 13. c.7.28. Zep.3.1,2. e He. 12. 9. f Mat. 11.5. g Mic.3.1. h Ps.2.3. i Ho. 13.7. Am. 5. 18, 19. j Eze. 22. 27. Zep.3.3. k or, deserts. 1 strong. m Jos. 23.7. Zep. 1.5. n c 13.27. o ver.29. c. 9.9. c.4.27. 30. in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth f her hands, saying , Wo is me now ! for my soul is wearied because of mur- derers. CHAPTER V. 1 The judgments of God upon the Jews, for their perverseness, 7 for their adultery, 10 for their impiety, 19 for their contempt of God, 25 and for their great corruption in the civil state, 30 and ecclesiastical. R UN ye to and fro through the streets of Je- rusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, a if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judg- ment, that seeketh the truth ; and I will par- don it. 2 And though they b say, The Lord liveth surely they swear falsely. 3 O Lord, are. not thine eyes c upon the truth ? thou hast stricken them, but they d have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused e to receive correction : they have made their faces harder than a rock ; they have refused to return. 4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor ; they are foolish : for they f know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God. 5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak nrito them ; for they " have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken h the yoke, and burst the bonds. 6 Wherefore a lion out * of the forest shall slay them, and a j wolf of the 11 evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities : every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgres- sions are many, and their backslidings are i increased. 7 U How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and m sworn by them that are no gods : when I had fed them to the full, they then committed " adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots- houses. 8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife. 9 Shall 0 1 not visit for these things ? saith the Lord : and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 10 U Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy ; but p make not a full end : take away her bat- tlements ; for they are not the Lord’s. 11 For the house of Israel and the house'ol Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. this disregarded distinction. When light calamities are not effectual to fan and cleanse congregations, churches, or nations professing Christianity, God will give sentence upon them : a whirlwind and storm of vengeance will be commissioned to execute his word ; and then it will be unavailing to say, ‘ Wo unto us! for we are undone.’ ” — T. Scott. Chap. V. Ver. 1 — 31. The wickedness of the nation, and the awfulness of God’s judgments. — The prophet, having described the judgments impending over his countrymen, enlarges (in this and the next chapter) on the corruptions which prevailed among them, and which were the cause of their approaching calamities. — More particularly, God is introduced complaining of the general depravity of the people, insomuch that if one righteous person could save Jerusalem, in Jerusalem one VVr. J G. Watchers— By “Watchers,” Blayney understands “Besiegers;” i. e. the advance guard of* the enemy, placing patrols round the city. Ver. 23. I beheld the earth. &c. — [The prophet here describes the impending ruin of Jerusalem and desolation of Judea by the Chaldeans, m language and imagery scarcely to be paralleled. The earth is brought hack to its primitive slate of chaos ; the light of heaven is withdrawn, and succeeded by a dismal gloom ; the mountains tremble, under dreadful apprehensions of the Al- mighty’s displeasure ; a frightful solitude reigns around ; not a vestige is seen of the human race ; even the birds have deserted the fields, unable to find tneir usual food ; the face of the country, once so fertile, is overgrown with Wners and thorns, and assumes the dreary wildness of the desert ; and the ci- >ii h and villages have crumbled into ruins.] — Bolster. '»'<•/ 24. Moved lightly— Blayney , “ Shook.” See Rev. vi. 14. righteous person was not to be found ; all the profession ot religion among them was false and hypocritical. The prophet then carries on the complaint in his own person, adding, that though they were corrected, they were not amended, but per- severed in their crimes; and that this was not the case with the low and ignorant only; but more especially so with those of the higher order, from whose education and opportunities better things might have been expected ; and then, in God’s name, appeals to themselves, if they should be permitted to practise such sins unpunished, (ver. 7.) The Lord issues or- ders to their enemies to break down the walls of Jerusalem, that devoted city, whose inhabitants added to all their other sins, the highest contempt of God’s word and prophets, whom they ridiculed as inflated by the wind : wherefore God declares Ver. 30. Rentest thy face— Blayney, “ Distendest thy eyes with paint.” Compare note on Isa. iii. 16. Ver. 31. Is wearied. — Blayney, “Fainteth.” Chap. V. Ver. 1. Find a man.— That is, a good man. This may remind us of Diogenes, who is said to have searched the city with a lantern at noon day, to find an honest rnan. But compare Gen. xviii. 23 — 32. Ver. 3. Harder than a rock.— Compare chap. iii. 3. Ver. 4. These are poor.— Or, “ These, the poor,” are foolish. Ver. 7. In the harlots' houses. — It should seem that this must here be under- stood literally, though the crimes of whoredom and idolatry were closely con- nected. The chief recommendation of the latter seems to be, that it gava full toleration to vice. Ver. 8. As fed horses— That i9 high fed stallions. 799 God's judgments upon the Jews, JEREMIAH. — CHAP. VI. for their manifold corruptions. 12 They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither r shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: 13 And the prophets • shall become wind, and the word is not in them : thus shall it be done unto them. 14 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth 1 fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 15 i Lo, I will bring a nation u upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither un- derstandest what they say. 16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. 17 And they shall eat up v thy harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daugh- ters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds : they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. 18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full w end with you. 19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore x doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so ? shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours. 20 If Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, 21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and with- out z understanding ; which a have eyes, and see not ; which have ears, and hear not: 22 Fear b ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble c at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound d of the sea by a per- petual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail ; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? 23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious e heart ; they are f revolted and gone. 24 Neither say they in their heart, let us now A. M. 33M B. U 612. q 2UI>.36. 16 r la. 28. 15. a c. 14. 13,15. t c. 20.9, 11. u Dc.28.49. Is. 5. 26. 39.3,6. v Le.26.16. De.28.31, 33. w ver. 10. x De.29.24, &o. 1 Ki. 9.8,9. y De.23.48. z heart. Ho.7.11. a Is.6.9. Eze. 1*2.2. Jn. 12.40. Ro.11.8. b e.10.7. Re. 15 4. c Pa. 99. 1. d Job 33.11. Pr.8.29. e Ho.4.8. f Is. 31. 6. g De.ll.13, 14. h Ge.8.22. i c.3.3. j or, pry as fowlers lie in wait. k or, coop. 1 Mi. 1.12. m De.32.15. n c.22.15.. 19. o or, asto- nishment and filthi- ness. p H o.6. 10. q Eze. 13.6. r or, take into their hands. s Mi.2.11. t De.32.29. La. 1.9. a Ne.3.14. b Eze.26.7, &c. c or, woman dwelling at home. d 2 Ki.25.1. e c.8.20. f Ca 2. 17. fear the Lord our God, that giveth k l ain, both the former and the latter, in his season : he reserveth h unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. 25 Your iniquities • have turned away these things , and your sins have withholden good things from you. 26 For among my people are found wicked men : they J lay wait, as he that setteth snares ; they set a trap, they catch men. 27 As a k cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit : therefore they are be- come great, and waxen i rich. 28 They are waxen m fat, they shine: yea they overpass the deeds of the wicked : they judge not the "cause, the cause of the father- less, yet they prosper ; and the right of the needy do they not judge. 29 Shall I not visit for these things ? saith the Lord : shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ? 30 If 0 A wonderful and p horrible thing is committed in the land ; 31 The prophets prophesy "> falsely, and the priests "bear rule by their means; and my people love s to have it so : and what will ye do in the end ‘thereof? CHAPTER VI. 1 The enemies sent against Jnclali, 4 encourage themselves. 6 God setteth them on work because of their sins. 9 The prophet lameiUclh the judgments of God because of their sins. 18 lie proclaimed! God’s wrath. 26 He culleth toe people to mourn for the judgment on their sins. O YE children of Benjamin, gather your- selves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in a Beth-haccerem: for evil appear- eth out of the b north, and great destruction. 2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a c comely and delicate woman. 3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her ; they shall pitch d their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. 4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Wo unto us ! for e the day goetb away, for the f shadows of the evening are stretched out. 5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces. 6 IT For thus hath the Lord of hosts said, Hew that his word, in the mouth of his piophet, shall be as fire to consume them. The approaching enemy are now announced, (ver. 15,) as a distant, ancient, mighty, numerous people, and of a foreign language, all which circumstances agree to the Chaldeans, and the other instruments of divine judgments on the nation. Chap. VI. Ver. 1 — 30. An alarm, excited by the enemy' s ap- proach . — The prophet, seeing the Chaldeans on their march, bids his people set up the usual signals of distress, spread the general alarm, and betake themselves to flight. The rapidity of the movements and the quickness of the transactions in verse 1, are highly expressive of the great emotion of the pro- phet’s mind, and peculiarly suited to the alarming occasion: then, by a beautiful allusion to the custom of shepherds moving their flocks lo the richest pastures, Jerusalem is singled out as a place devoted to be eaten up or trodden down, by the armies of the Chaldeans who are called up against her, and whose ardour and impatience is so great, that Ihe soldiers, when they arrive in the evening, regret they have no more day, and de- sire to begin the attack without waiting for the light of the morning. (See note on ver. 4.) God is even represented as animating and directing the besiegers against this guilty city, which sinned as incessantly as a fountain flows. (Ver. 7.) He intimates also (by the figure of gleaning grapes) that one in- vasion should carry away the remains of another, till the whole should effect their total overthrow. The Lord then, to justify the severity of his dispensations towards Israel, men- tions his having in vain repeatedly admonished and warned them, and calls upon the whole world to witness the equity of his proceedings in punishing his perverse and hypocritical Ver. 12. They have belied. — Blayney , “ Denied” the word of the Lord’s true prophets, and treated them as empty air ; therefore shall their word be as fire, to consume them. Ver. 13. Become wind. — Blayney, “ Be as wind more literally, “ to the wind,” which we understand as spoken in ridicule : “ They shall be prophets to the wind !” having no wmrd from God, no divine oracle. Ver. 15. Bring a nation, &c. — [The Babylonians, whose antiquity was great ; the empire being founded by Nimrod, soon after the flood.] —Bagster. Whose language, &c — [The Chaldee , which, though a dialect, of (he He- brew'. is so very different, in its words and construction, that in hearing it spoken they could not possibly understand it ]— Bagster. Ver. 16. Their quiver an oven sepulchre— A ^poetical phrase, meaning, that their arrow's were fatal. Compare Fs. v. 9. Ver. 22. Placed the sand for the bound. — [Should ye not fear me? who con- fine the restless and impetuous w'aves of the ocean, that immense mass of waters, and prevent them from overflowing the earth ; not by immense moun- tains and rocks, but by the sand; no particle of which is in cohesion with an- other ; and yet the most tremendous waves cannot displace, or overstep, this simple barrier.]— Bagster. Ver. 24. Appointed weeks. — [Dr. B'ayney, with the LXX. and Vulgate, enders, “ a sufficiency (reading sevaath, instead of shevuoth,) of the appoint- ed things of harvest He secureth us.” But the present reading, which is that of the Masoretie text, appears to be greatly preferable. God appoints * the 800 weeks of harvest,” and, in his good providence, he generally gives harvest weather. ]— Bagster. Ver. 27. Their cage.— Margin, “coop” is full of birds ; That is. of poul- try, which they have ensnared, as in ver. 26.— [This is without doubt a re- ference to a decoy, or trap-cage, as Dr. Blayney renders ; in which fow lers place several tame birds, to decoy the others into the snare piepared for them. Re. xviii. 2.] — Bagster. The passage means, that the rich and great had en- snared the poor and ignorant Ver. 31. The priests bear rule by their means.— See margin ; i. e. the priests combine with the rich to oppress the poor. Chap. VI. Ver. ) Tekoa, accordingto Jerome, was about 12 miles from Je- rusalem, and Beth-hacccrem, a village somewdiat nearer. In the latter, sur rounded with vineyards, was, according to Kimchi, a very high watch- towel for the keepers, and here they were ordered to place a beacon, or pan of fire, to alarm the country. Ver. 2. I have likened— Blayney renders this vvortl, “ doomed to destruc- tion but we are inclined to take the words as they lie in the Hebrew, thus : “ The fair and delicate one will I destroy, (even) the daughter of Zion.” See Gataker. Ver. 3. The shepherds, &c. — That is, the Babylonian army. Ver. 4. Prepare ye 'tear, &c.— [These are the words of the invaders, excit- ing each other to the assault. Though it w as late in the day, they were eager to march immediately under the scorching noon day sun : and. though the The prophet's lamentation. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. VII. The people called upon to mourn ye down trees, and e cast a mount against Je- rusalem : this is the city to be visited ; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. 7 As h a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness ; ■ violence and spoil is heard in her ; before me continually is grief and wounds. 8 Be thou i instructed, O Jerusalem, lest k my soul i depart from thee ; lest I make thee de- solate, a land not inhabited. 9 Tf Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine : turn back thy hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. 10 To whom m shall I speak, and give warn- ing, that they may hear ? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken : behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a 0 reproach ; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in : I will pour it out upon the r children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife <> shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. 12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together : fori will stretch out my hand upon the inha- bitants of the land, saith the Lord. 13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to r co- vetousness ; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 14 They 8 have healed also the 1 hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace ; when u there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed T when they had com- mitted abomination ? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush : there- fore w they shall fall among them that fall : at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. 16 Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask x for the old * paths, where is the good z way, and walk a therein, and ye shall find rest b, for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set watchmen c over you, saying , Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, we will not d hearken. A. M. 3392. B. C. 612. g or, pour out the engine of shot. h Is.57.20. i Eze.7.11, 23. Pr.4.13 Zep.3.7. k Eze.23.18. 1 be loosed or ? dis- jointed. m Is.53.1. n Ac.7.51. o c. 20.8, 9. p c.9.21. q De. 28.30. c.8.10. r Mi.3.5,11. s c.8. 11,12. t bruise, or, breach. u La.2.14 v c.3.3. w Pr.29.1. x c.50.5. y c.18.15. Mai. 4.4 z Ca.1.7. a Col. 2.6. b Matll.29 c Eze.3.17. Hab.2.1. d Zec.7 11. e Pr.1.31. f Pr.23.9. g Ps.50.7..9. Is.l.ll. Am.5.21, 22. Mi. 6. 6.. 8. h Eze.3.20. Ro.11.9. i ver.l. J Is. 5.30. k Pr. 1.27 ,28 c. 13.21. La. 1.12. 1 Is. 1.20. c.4.10. m c.25.34. Mi. 1.10. o c.9.1 p Is. 1.22,25. q or, refuse. r Mat.5.13. 18 Tf Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. 19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit e of then- thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my f Jaw, but rejected it. 20 To what e purpose cometh there to me in- cense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not ac ceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. 21 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks h before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them ; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. 22 Thus saith the Lord, > Behold, a people com- eth from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. 23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear ; they are cruel, and have no mercy ; their voice roareth i like the sea ; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. 24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble : anguish k hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. 25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way ; for the sword ' of the enemy and fear is on every side. 26 If O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow ,n thyself in ashes: make thee " mourning, as for an only son, most bit- ter lamenta tion : for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. 27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. 28 They are all grievous revolters, walking 0 with slanders : they are p brass and iron ; they are all corrupters. 29 The bellows are burned, the lead is con- sumed of the fire ; the founder melteth in vain : for the wicked are not plucked away. 30 Reprobate r silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them. CHAPTER VII. 1 Jeremiah is sent to call for true repentance, to prevent the Jews’ captivity. 8 He re- jecteth their vain confidence, 12 by the.example of Shiloh. 17 He threateneth them for their idolatry. 21 He rejected! the sacrifices of the disobedient. 29 He exhorteth to mourn for their abominations in Tophet, 32 and the judgments for the same. T HE word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, people, by the instrumentality of the cruel Chaldeans. Upon this a chorus of Jews is introduced, (ver. 24, 25,) expressing their alarm, to which the prophet, in the next verse, re-eohoes a response of sympathy and tenderness, exhorting to speedy penitence. The concluding verses, by metaphors taken from the process of refining the precious metals, represent all the methods hitherto used to amend them as ineffectual, and de- clare their case desperate. They had been long in the refiner’s fire; but instead of being purified, came out mere dross. “ Ungodly prosperity, when the Lord is provoked to withdraw his protection, renders men the richer prey to the rapacious, and affords them no security against their depredations : and the more admired, indulged, or delicate they are, the more dreadful will they find it to endure hardship. Those who are intent on worldly gain, or glory and dominion, (though by in- flicting miseries on others.) are assiduous and indefatigable; they lose no time, deny themselves even ordinary refreshments, and consider hinderances as grievous calamities: how shame- ful then is it, that we should be so attached to our own ease and indulgence, when the glory of God, the welfare of our neighbours, and the salvation of our own souls, demand our vigorous and patient activity !” — T. Scott. Chap. VII. Ver. 1 — 34. The Prophet Jeremiah guardeth Judah against vain confidence . — Anew section of prophecy here begins, which continues to the end of chapter x. It is evi- dent that, besides Jeremiah and a few other prophets of the Lord, who warned the people against the danger of self-decep- tion, there was a class of pretended prophets, who endeavour- ed to counteract their labours, and fill the people with vain confidence and false security. Among all the delusions in the religious world, certainly no one is more fatal than that of trusting to a mere profession, crying, “ The temple of the Lord are these,” pointing to its consecrated stones, while men themselves are indifferent, both to the true interest of religion shadows of evening stretched around them before they reached the place, they were too impatient to wait for morning, and exclaimed, “ let us go by night.”J —Bagbter. Ver. 6. Cast (i. e. raise up) a mount— fox the purpose of placing thereon mi- litary instruments. Ver. 8. Lest my soul depart. — See margin. Blayney , “ Be alienated.” Ver. 9. Turn back thv hand— That is, to fill the baskets. Ver. 11. Therefore 1 am full of the fury (or wrath) of the Lord— That is, >he prophet had imbibed the spirit of his master. Ver. 16 . Thus saith. — Blayney , “ Said.” The old paths.— That is, which God of old appointed. Ver. 20 Street cane.—[ The calamus aromalicus , or sweet cane, (see on Ex. xxx. 23.;) which when cut down, dried, and pulverized, forms an ingredient in the richest perfumes. This plant was a native of Arabia ; and grew parti- cularly in Sheba, or Saba, a 3 we are informed by Strabo and Diodorus Sicu- lus . which also was famous for the best incense !— Bagster. See note on Is. xliii. 24. Ver. 21. Stumbling blocks— alluding, perhaps, to some military instruments cast in their way, to prevent their flight. Ver. 27. I have set thee for a tower, &c. — Taking our authorized translation, it is very natural to reter back to chan. i. 18. But [Dr. Blayney, agreeably to the LXX. and Vulgate, renders, “I nave appointed thee to make an assay among my people;” referring to the office of an assayer of silver and gold: to separate which from the alloy they added a portion of lead, before the use of quicksilver was known ; and when all was fused together, and brought into a state of ebullition, the cupel absorbed the lead, and with it the dross or al- loy ; and the silver was left pure on the top.] — Bagster. "Which is partly adopted by Dr. Boothroyd. But Betser is used for both the precious metals. Job xxii. 24 , 25.; and by verse 30, should be here confined to silver. Ver. 28. They are brass and iron— not pure gold or silver. See Eze. xxii. 18 Ver. 29. The bellows are burned— with perpetual use — The lead is consu- med.— Lead was used in the refining of silver, and when this was expended refining was stopped. (See note, ver. 27.) Ver. 30. Reprobate silvcr.^Sf}e margin ; scoria, dross. m 101 An exhortation to repentance. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. VII. The Jews threatened for idol at < 2 Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend " your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Trust ye not b in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. 5 For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if yeT thoroughly execute judg- ment between a man and his neighbour; 6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the father- less, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, c neither walk after other gods to your hurt : 7 Then 11 will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. 8 T[ Behold, ye trust in lying words, that can- not profit. 9 Will e ye steal, murder, and commit adul- tery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods, whom ye know not ; 10 And come r and stand before me in this house, e which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? 11 Is this house, which h is called by my name, become a den ■ of robbers in your eyes ? Be- hold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord. 12 But go ye now unto my i place which was in Shiloh, where k I set my name at the first, and see what > I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising "'up early and n speaking, but ye heard not ; and I called you, 0 but ye answered not; 14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to 3 mur fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast p you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of <> Ephraim. 16 Therefore pray not r thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me : for » I will not hear thee. 17 Tf Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ? 18 The children gather wood, and the fathers A. M. 3394. B. C. CIO. a III. 16, 17. Mat.3.8. b Mi. 3.11. Mat. 3.9, 10 . c De-6.14,15 d De.-I.40. e Ho.4.1,2. Ro.2.2,17, &c. f Eze.23.29. g where- upon my name is called. h SCIi.6.33. i Mat.21.13. J J os.18. 1. Ic De.12.11. 1 ISa.4.11, &c. Ps.78.60. 61. c.26.6. ra 2di.36.15 n Ne.9.29, 30. o Is.65.I2. 66.4. p2Ki. 17.23. q Ps-78 67. Ho.9.3. s c.15.1. t or, frame , or, work- manship. u 1 Co. 10-22. v Am. 5.21. wlSa. 15.22. Pc.4C.G. Ho.6.6. x concern- ing the mailer of ; F.x.19.5. Le.26.3,12 a Ps.81.11, 12 . b or, stub- bornness. c c. 11.7,8. d were, e Ho.4.16. f Ne.9. 17,29 g c.16.12. h c.32.33. i or, in- m struction. 1 Job 1.20. Mi. 1.16. k 2Ki.21.4,7 Eze.8.5, &c. 1 2 Ki.23.10. kindle the fire, and the women knead then dough, to make cakes to the * queen of hea- ven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. 19 X) o u they provoke me to anger ? saith the Lord : do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces? 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Be- hold, mine anger and my fury shall be pour- ed out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground ; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. 21 if Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God ol Israel ; Put v your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. 22 For w I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, * concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices : 23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey i my voice, and I J will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. 24 But" they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the b imagination c of their evil heart, and u went 'backward, and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the pro- phets, daily rising up early and sending them : 26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor in- clined their ear, but hardened f their neck: they did worse e than their fathers. 27 Therefore thou shaltspeak all these words unto them ; but they will not hearken to thee : thou shait also call unto them ; but they will not answer thee. 28 But thou shait say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor h receiveth i correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. 29 If Cut off i thy hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places ; for the Lord hath rejected and forsa- ken the generation of his wrath. 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord : they have set their abominations in the house which k is called by my name, to pollute it. 31 And they have built the high places of i Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of and of mankind. They persuaded themselves that God would not suffer the temple to be profaned by heathens, though them- selves had profaned it by their hypocrisy and idolatry. In reply to this foolish presumption, the Lord, by his prophet, directs them to look at Shiloh, where his name was first recorded, and to profit by the fate of their sister kingdom of Israel, which had been ruined by the like vain confidence that they now indulged. “ The great doctrines and precepts of the Scriptures shouldbe proclaimed in the most public manner; and those who are employed in this service, must not fear the faces or respect the persons of men, whatever be their rank or office. Faithful Chap. VII. Ver. 4. The temple of the Lord are these— Compare Matt, xxiv. l, 2. Ver. 10. Which is called by my name— See margin. See 1 Ki. viii. 29, &c. Ver. 18. The children gather wood, &c.— This verse has been cited as an instance of the zeal and activity of idolaters ; men. women, and children, all employed. O that Christians were as zealous as the heathen ! The queen of heaven— or of the heavens. Some versions render it, “ the hosts of hea- ven others, “ the regency of the heavens hut some copies read as in our margin. I I’hoturh several MSS. and editions have me'achath, “workman- ship," instead of melecheth, “ queen,” yet the latter reading seems the true one, as the LXX. in the parallel place, and the Vulgate uniformly, have “ the queen of heaven by which there can be little doubt is meant tile Moon 1— Bagster Ver. 21. Pul your burnt-offerings unto your sacrifices— That is, takeaway boln together, and eat them as food : what care I for them? Ver. 22. Concerning burnt- offerings, &c.— See margin. This passage has been brought to oppose the divmo authority of the Jewishsacrifie.es. Many 802 preaching ought to attend on the administration of other sacred ordinances; that men may be warned not to rest in forms, and to beware of irreverence and hypocrisy.— No observances, creeds, or experiences, in which men glory and confide, will profit them ; if they do not sincerely and thoroughly amend their ways and doings. They may in various ways 1 trust in lying words,’ and in the words of lying teachers, presuming themselves to be the people of God, and entitled to all the blessings of his covenant; whilst they neglect justice and equity, oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and widow, or com- mit other atrocious crimes: but if God would not suffer Israel to inhabit Canaan, when they thus abused their privileges ; learned men have remarked, that it is an idiom of the Hebrew language, to affirm one thing and deny another, when the writer means only logivc a strong preference of one before the other: thus Hos. vi. 6. “ I will have mercy and not sacrifice i. e. I greatly prefer mercy before sacrifice. See Dr. S. Clarke' 9 Sermon on Government of Passion. Also Gataker , Blayney , Bouthroyd , &c. in loc. Doddridge in Matt. xii. 7. [Or rather, as the particle, al, also signifies. “ for the sake of.” (Sec Ge. xxvi. l. Le. iv. 3. La. v. 17. Am. i. 36.) God certainly did speak to the people when he brought them out of Egypt, and ave them positive ordinances concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices ; but edid not command these things purely on his own account, and merely for the sake of them, but as a means to lead the people to sincere obedience.]— Bagster. Ver. 24. Went backward— That is, like a refractory heifer. Hos. iv. 16. Ver. 29 Cutoff thy hair— a sign of deep mourning. See Isaiah xv. 2. Jer. xvi. 6. Ver. 30. Abominations — That js, idois. Ver. 31. Tophet . — Sec note on Isn. xxx. 33. ; Ixvi. 24. Compare De. xii. 31. t'lit: calamity of the Jews. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. VIII. 'l'keir grievous judgment. Hin nom, to burn their m sons and their daugh- ters in the lire , which I commanded them not, neither came n it into my heart. 32 If Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be called To- phet, nor ‘he valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter : for 0 they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. 33 And p the carcasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth ; and none shall fray them away. 34 Then will I cause to cease q from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride : for the land shall be r desolate. CHAPT ER VIII. 1 The calamity of the Jews, both dead and alive. 4 He upbraideth their foolisli and shameless impenitency. 13 He showeth their grievous judgment, 18 and bewaileth their desperate estate. A T that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones 1 of the kings of Ju- dah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves : 2 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of b heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped : they shall not be gathered, nor be buried ; they shall be for dung c upon the face of the earth. 3 And death d shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the pla- ces whither I have driven them, saith the Lord of hosts. 4 1\ Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord ; shall they fall, and not arise ? shall he turn away, and not return ? 5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slid- den back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse e to return. A. M. 3394. B. C. 610. m Vb. 106.38 n upon. o c.19.6,11. Eze.6.5, &c, p De.28.26. Ps.79.2. q Is. 24. 7, 8. Ho. 2.11. r Le.26.33. Is. 3.26 a Eze.37.1. b 2 Ki.23.5. c 2 Ki.9.37. d Re.9.6. e Jn.5.40. f Ca.2.12. g Jn.9.41. Ro.2.17, &c. h or, the false pen of the scribe* loorketh for false- hood. Is. 10.1,2. i Mat 15.6. j or, have they been ashamed. k the wis- dom of what thing. 1 Is.8.20. m Is.56. 1 1. n Eze.13.10. o De.32.35. Ho.5.9. p or, in gathering I will consume. q H0.2.8.S. r e.23.15. s or, poison. t c.14.19. 6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright : no man repented him of his wicked- ness, saying, What have I done ? every one turned to his course, as the horse ruslieth into the battle. 7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times ; and the r turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their com- ing ; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. 8 How do ye say, We are e wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly h in vain i made he it ; the pen of the scribes is in vain. 9 i The wise men are ashamed, they are dis- mayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord ; and k what wisdom is 1 in them ? 10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall in- herit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to m covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 11 For they have healed the hurt of the daugh- ter of my people slightly, saying, n Peace, peace; when there is no peace. 12 Were they ashamed when they had com- mitted abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush : there- fore shall they fall among them that fall : in the time °of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord. 13 Tf p I will surely consume them, saith the Lord : There shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade • and the things that I have given them shall pass q away from them. 14 Why do we sit still ? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there : for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, r and given us water of 8 gall to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord. 15 We looked 1 for peace, but no good came ; and for a time of health, and behold trouble ! will he admit those into heaven who copy their example.” — T. Scott. Chap. VIII. Ver. 1 — 22. Farther judgments denounced against Judah and Jerusalem . — The first three verses of this chapter should have been joined to the preceding. There the carcasses of the people are cast out for a prey to the fowls of heaven, or to be burnt among the filth and offal which the fires of Hinnom were kept burning to consume: here the tombs of the great are ransacked for concealed treasures. In the anticipation of these awful scenes, the Prophet severely reproves the folly and insensibility of the nation, which he re- proaches as inferior in sagacity to the Stork and other birds of passage. In vcr. 13, a chorus of Jews is introduced, expressing their terror and alarm on the news of the invasion, which is greatly heightened by hearing the snorting of horses, even from Dan, and marking the devastations made by the army, whose cruel- ties are compared to the stings of the mo9t terrible serpents of the wilderness, which cannot be charmed. The Prophet then laments mo3t bitterly the fate of the daughter of his people, changing the scene unawares to the place of captivity, where she is introduced answering in mournful responses to tne Pro- phet’s dirge (IS — 22.) The variety of distressing images used by the Prophet to diversify this mournful subject is equally striking and astounding; and the chapter concludes with the earnest and pathetic inquiry, whether no spiritual physician can be found, to heal the moral and political wounds of the people of Judah ? “ Is there no balm in Gilead,” &c., that is Is there no remedy? Are there no means of cure? “ O that my head were waters ! and mine eyes a fountain of tears!” “Happy are they, who by calamities, or bv any means, are brought to be silent in submission and self-abasement before God : for all, who are not thus humbled, will be silenced before his judgment-seat, and made to drink the water of gall for their sins. — While transgressors look for peace and prosperity sudden destruction overtakes them : and there will be no charming or escaping the executioners of divine vengeance • no comforting of themselves under these sorrows. But, how- ever the servants of God may grieve for the miseries, which they foresee coming upon those whom they love ; they will Vcr. 33. Fowls of the heaven — that is, birds of prey. Fray— that is, drive away. Chap VIII. Ver. 1. The bones of the king of Judah— The motive to this outrage is supposed to have been the hope of plunder, since it. was customary to bury great treasures in the tombs of royalty, as Josephus informs us was t he rase with David’s. But we have no account of his tomb being opened !>efore the times of Hyrcanus and Herod the Great.— [This was no uncommon prac- tice at the sacking of cities ; and it was the highest expression of hatred and contempt .—Horace, “ And her great founder’s hallowed ashes spurn, That slept uninjured in the sacred urn.”— Francis.] — Bagster. Ver. 4. Moreover thou shalt say , Szc.— {Blayney iustly observes, that the change of speakers here requires to be carefully attended to. The prophet first, in the name of God , reproves the people, and threatens them with grievous ca- lamities. v. 4—13. Then, apostrophizing his countrymen, he advises them to retire with him to some fortified city, ver. 14—16. God then threatens to bring foes against them that are irresistible, ver. 17. The prophet next commiserates ‘lie daughter of his people, who is heard bewailing ner forlorn case : whilst the voice of God breaks in upon her complaints, and shows that all this ruin is •irought upon her by her infidelities, v. 19—20. The prophet regrets that her wounds had not been healed, and laments over her slain, v. 21— ch. 9. 1.] — Bagster. — Shall they fall and notarise again?— That is, shall they persist in their apostacy, and not accept the merciful invitation to return? Ver. 6. Every one turned to his course.— B/ayney, “ Every one that tum- eth away, runneth on full speed,” Ver. 7. Yea, the stork, &c.— IRather, “and the swallow, and the crane.” &c.: for the first word sis, is rendered swallow by the LXX., Synwwchus (in Is. xxxviii. 14..) and Vulgate : and Bochart, who assigns the note of this bird for the reason of its name, says, that the Italians about Venice call it zisil/a, and its twittering, zisillare. The second word agur, is rendered a crane by the Targumist ; who is followed by ihe Rabbins, and the most learned Chris- tian interpreters ; and Bochart thinks it is so called from its cry; observing, that the names of this bird in several languages, are formed by onomato- poeia. ]— Bagster. These migratory birds, who all know their time of return to their country, are brought forward to shame these people, who know not when to return to God. Ver. 8 . In vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.— See margin. That is, God made the law in vain, and the scribes copy it in vain, if men will not regard it. So Gataker. See Hosea viii. 12. Ver. 14. Water of gall— See margin.— Blayney, * Of hemlock. So our translators render it, Hosea x. 4. Amos vi. 12. Ver. 15. We looked. — Blayney, " Look” for peace; but no good came.— Blayney, " There is no gootf ” 803 Jeremiah lamenteth the Jews JEREMIAH.— CHAP. IX. for their manifold sins. 16 The snorting of his horses was heard from u Dan : the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his v strong ones ; for they are come, and have devoured the land ; and w all that is in it ; the city, and those that dwell therein. 17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cock- atrices, among you, which will not be 1 charm- ed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. 18 If When y I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint 1 in me. 19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daugh- ter of my people because of a them that dwell in a far b country : Is not the Lord in c Zion 1 is not her king lt in her ? Why have they pro- voked e me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities ? 20 The harvest is f past, the summer is.end- ed, and we are not saved. 21 For the hurt of the daughter of my peo- ple am I hurt ; I am s black ; astonishment hath taken hold on me. 22 Is there no balm h in Gilead ; is there no physician * there ? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people i recovered ? CHAPTER IX. 1 Jeremiah lamenteth the Jews for their manifold sins, 9 and for their judgment. 12 Disobedience is the cause of their bitter calamity. 17 He exhorteth to mourn for their destruction, 23 and to trust not in themselves, but in God. 25 He threatened! both Jews and Gentiles. O H a that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep b day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people ! 2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men ; that I might leave my people, and go from them ! for they be all c adulterers, an assembly of treacherous d men. 3 And they bend their tongues e like their bow for lies : but they are not valiant f for the truth upon the earth ; for they proceed s from evil to evil, and h they know not me, saith the Lord. 4 Take ye heed every one of his ■ neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother : for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neigh- bour will walk with slanders. 5 And they will i deceive everyone his neigh- bour, and will not speak the truth : they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and. weary themselves to commit iniquity. A. M. 3391. 13. C. 610, u c.4.15. » J ii. 5.22. w the ful- thereof, x Pa.58.4,5. y La. 1. 16, 17. z upon. a the coun- try of them that arc far off. b Is.39.3. c Pe. 135.21. c.31.6. Re. 2.1. d Is.33.22. e De.32.21. f Mat 25.1.. 12. g Joel 2.6. h Ge.37.25. c.46.11. i Mat.9.11, 12 . J gone up. a who will give my liead. b Is. 22. 4. La. 2. 11. 3.48. c c.5.7,8. d Mi.7.2..5. e Is. 59.3,4. f. Jude 3. g 2Ti.3.13. h Ho.4.1..3. i or, friend. J mock. k Is. 1.25. 1 Ps.64.3,4. m Ps.28.3. n the midst of him. o or, wait for him. p or, pas- tures. q or, deso- late. r from the fowl even to. s La. 2.2,7 ,8 t desolation. u Ho. 14.9. v De.29.24.. 28. w or, stuly- bomness. c.7.24. x Ps.80.5. y La. 3. 15, 19. z Le.26.33. De.28.64. 6 Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit ; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt k them, and try them ; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people 7 8 Their tongue is as an arrow i shot out; it speaketh deceit : one m speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in " heart he layeth ° his wait. 9 U Shall I not visit them for these things ? saith the Lord ; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ? 10 For the mountains will I take up a weep- ing and wailing, and for the p habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are i burned up, so that none can pass through them ; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle ; r both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled ; they are gone. 11 And I will make Jerusalem " heaps, and a den of dragons ; and I will make the cities of Judah i desolate, without an inhabitant. 12 Who “ is the wise man, that may un- derstand this ? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none pass- eth through ? 13 And the Lord saith, Because v they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein ; 14 But have walked after the w imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them : 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Behold, I will feed x them, even this people, with * wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16 I will scatter 2 them also among the hea- then, whom neither they nor their fathers have known : and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them. 17 Tf Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come : 18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down soon be satisfied with the reasons of the divine conduct, and 1 their sorrow will be turned into joy.’ — The justice of God is peculiarly manifest in the punishment of those who deem them- selves secured, by the engagements of the new covenant and their relation to God ; whilst they idolize the world and are slaves to their lusts. — As salvation by Christ can only be found in this life, so the present opportunity should be seized; lest at the hour of death, or the day of judgment, any should dole- fully exclaim, ‘ The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.’ — The Lord hath graciously become our Physician ; and the blood of Christ, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, are more effectual to heal the wounded conscience, and the distempered heart, than any medicines to cure the diseases of the body. Why then are sinners not healed? Is there no Saviour, no sanctifier? Alas! they deem them- selves whole, or are in love with their disease, or hate the Phy- sician and his means of cure, or employ ‘physicians of no Ver. 16 . Snorting of horses. — [Grotius observes after Jerome , that Nebu- chadnezzar. having subdued Phoenicia, passed through Dan, in his way to Je- rusalem.) — Bagster.- — Of his strong ones. — [Of his war-horses. This is a fine image : so terrible was the united neighings of the cavalry of the Baby- lonians, that the reverberation of the air caused the ground to tremble. 1 —B. Ver. 17. Cockatrices —Blayney. “ Basilisks.” See note, Prov. xxiii. 32. Ver. 19. Behold the voice of the cry, &c.— [The country of them that are afar ofi . }— Bagster.— " From a far country.” Blayney. The words because of &c. are properly omitted. s Ver. 22. Is there no halm in Gilead ?— This balm, (or balsam,) according to Bruce, is a native of Abyssinia. Josephus says, it was first brought to Judea by the Queen of Sheba ; but Bruce thinks it was imported 1000 years before. Taylor's Scrip. Index. Bochart , however, thinks it nothing but the resin of the Terebinth, or turpentine tree, well known to have healing virtues, and a na- tive of Gilead. See Gen. xxxvii. 25. Chap. IX. Ver. 2 . In the wilderness— or desert. A lodging place— That is. a temporary hut. Ver. 7. J loillmelt them , &c.— rA metaphorical expression, derived from the 804 value,’ and madly attempt other methods of recovery. Thus they die unpardoned and unchanged; for they will not come ♦o Christ for life and salvation.” — T. Scott. Chap. IX. Ver. 1 — 26. The Prophet laments the sins and, miseries of his country. This chapter connects so intimately with the preceding, that both are injured by the separation. The immediate cause of the Prophet's exclamation, “O that my head were watet s !” &c., appears to have been his despair of Zion’s recovery, arising from the desperate depravity of her children, in his dilating upon which, a gradation has been ob- served. First, (ver. 7,) the people are cast into the furnace of affliction, to try if this may purify them : this failing, they are visited by sevei'Cr judgments. Jerusalem, their capital, is then destroyed ; next, all tne other cities of the land suffer nearly the same fate, and afford them no refuge : only the wretched inhabitants are reserved for farther calamities, and their mise- rable life preserved by gall and wormwood. “To hear such process of refining metals. I will put them in the furnace of affliction, and see if there he any means of purging away their dross )— Bagster. Ver. 12. Who is the wise, altogether brutish and fool- ish : the stock is a doctrine of J vanities. 9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and k gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the found- er : blue and purple is their c/othing : they are all the work of cunning men. 10 But the Lord is the > true God, he is the living ni God, and an " everlasting °king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the na- tions shall not be able to abide his indignation. 11 p Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they q shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. 12 He r hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the \vorld by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. 13 When he G uttereth his voice, there is a 1 multitude of waters in the heavens, and he " causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth ; he maketh lightnings v with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. 14 Every man is ""brutish x in his knowledge : every founder is confounded by the graven image : for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 16 The portion y of Jacob is not like them : for he is the former of all things ; and Israel is the rod z of his inheritance : The Lord of hosts a is his name. 17 H Gather up thy wares out of the land, O b inhabitant of the fortress. 18 BYr thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will sling c out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it d so. 19 Tf Wo is me for my hurt! my wound is existence might be still tolerable to a Jew, were he only per- mitted to stay in his own country, weep over the ashes of his dear Jerusalem, and find a grave in the holy land. But even tins melancholy comfort is denied. They must be dragged, the slaves of cruel masters, to a foreign and a heathen coun- try. There the sword pursues them; there they suffer and there they die. But this is not all. By a beautiful allusion to an ancient custom, the subject is still pursued : a band of mourning women is called to lament over them, (ver. 17,) and even the funeral dirge (on the occasion) is given us in terms full of beauty, elegance, and pathos. At length, however, to relieve this mournful scene, a gleam of hope springs up amidst the gloom. God is introduced, declaring that ne has still loving-kindness in reserve for them that know him, and threat- ening to take vengeance on the enemies of his people” at a future period. — Dr. J. Smith. Chap. X. Ver. 1 — 25. 7 'he folly and mischiefs of idolatry Ver. 21. The children from without— Who played in the streets. Compare p.h. vl It. and Matt. x. 17. Ver. 26. AU that ate in the utmost corners. — See margin.— [Dra. Durell and Boothroyd justly consider the marginal as far preferable ; as being descrip- tive of the mode in which the Arabians cut their hair and beard. See notes on Levit. xxi. 5 .]— Bolster. By this practice, the Arabs were distinguished fiom the Jews. See Levit. xix. 27. Chap. X. Vert. Hear ye. Sec. —\Dahler supposes this discourse to have been delivered in the 4th year of Jehoiakim.J— Bolster. Ver. 3. For the customs.— See margin.— Compare Isa. xl. 19, 20 ; xliv. 12—17 ; xivi. 1 7. — With the axe— or some other sharp tool. See Isa.xliv. 13. and note. Ver. 7. For to thee doth it appertain— Blayney, “ When it shall approach unto thee,” So Boothroyd. Ver. 8. Altogether brinish.— See margin. The stock is a doctrine of confessed , with an earnest plea for mercy . — The Jews being doomed to captivity, are here warned against the superstition and idolatry of that country, to which they were going. Chal dea was famous for astrology; the Prophet therefore begins with warning them against it. He then exposes the absurdity of idolatry in short but elegant satire; in the midst of which he turns, (ver. 6,) in a beautiful apostrophe, to the One great God, whose adorable attributes are contrasted with those despicable inanities, at which the ignorant heathen trembled It is remarkable, that verse 11 is written, not in Hebrew, but in Chaldaic, as some think, both to intimate to them the country whither they were to be carried away captive, and to furnish them with a ready answer to the heathen, in their own lan guage, if they should attempt to draw them into idolatry. The following verses enlarge upon the power and majesty of the God of Israel, as placing him infinitely above the pretended deities of other nations. vanities. — Blayney , “ The very wood itself being a rebuker of vanities,” (or idols.) Ver. 9. Silver spread into plates.— Blayney, “ Beaten silver :” their idols appear to have been covered with gold or silver, beaten out tnin, l'ko loaf gold, &c. Ver. 10. True God. . .Everlasting king.— See margin.— 1 “King of eternity.” Ver. 13. Uttereth his voice.— [This is plainly an allusion to a storm of thun- der and lightning, and the abundance of rain which is the consequence. See on Job xxxviii. 2 6.]—Bagster. Ver. 14. Every man is brutish in his knowledge.— Blayney, “ By acknow- ledging i. e. by owning his own work, that he hath made a god ! Ver. 17. Thy wares— That is, goods, merchandise. Ver. 18. J will sling out the inhabitants— That is, throw them out of the country, “ at once,” as a stone from a sling. 805 God's covenant proclaimed. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XI. Evils prophesied by Jeremiah grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear • it. 20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not : there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. 21 For the pastors f are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord : therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scat- tered. 22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north coun- try, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons. 23 If O Lord, I know that the way e of man is not in himself : it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 24 O Lord, correct me, but h with judgment ; not in thine anger, lest thou f bring me to nothing. 25 Pour ) out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Ja- cob, and devoured him, and consumed k him, and have made his habitation desolate. CHAPTER XI. 1 Jeremiah procluimeth God’s covenant, 8 rebuketh the Jews’ disobeying thereof, 11 prophesieth evils ta come upon them, 18 and upon the men of Anuthoth, for con- spiring to kill Jeremiah. fpHE word that came to Jeremiah from the J- Lord, saying, 2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inha- bitants of Jerusalem; 3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel ; Cursed a be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, 4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron b furnace, saying, Obey c my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you : so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God : 5 That d I may perform the e oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, f So be it, O Lord. 6 Then the Lord said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the A. M. 3397. B. C. 61/7 e Mi.7.9. f c.2.8. Eze.34.2.. 10. Zee. 10.3. g h Pr.16. 1. 20.24. P8.6.1. c.30.11. J Ps.79.6,7. k La. 2. 22. A. M. S106. B. C. 698. a De. 27.28. Ga.3.10. b De.4.20. c c.7.23. d De.7.12, 13. e Ps.105.8.. 11 . f Arrun. De.27,15.. 26. i or, siub- . bornness c.7.24. 9.14. 1 Eze.20.27 ..30. k go forth of. 1 De.32.37. m evil. n c.2.23. o shame. c.3.24. Ho.9.10. p Ex.32.10. c.7.16. q evil. r is to my beloved in my house? a Mat. 22. 11. t Hag.2.12.. 14. u or, thy evil is. v Pr.2.14. w Ro. 11.17. x c.2.21. streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do « them. 7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that. 1 brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising h early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the i imagination ol their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do ; but they did them not. 9 And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their ) forefathers, which refused to hear my words ; and they went after other gods to serve them : the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which 1 made with their fathers. 11 11 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to k escape ; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. 12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inha- bitants of Jerusalem go, and cry uiito the gods i unto whom they offer incense : but they shall not save them at all in the time of their m trouble. 13 For " according to the number of thy ci- ties were thy gods, O Judah ; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that “shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal. 14 Therefore pray not p thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them : for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their i trouble. 15 What r hath my beloved to do in my house, seeing 8 she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy ' flesh is passed from thee ? when u thou doest evil, then thou T rejoicest. 16 The Lord called thy name, A green w olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. 17 For the Lord of hosts, that 1 planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil Ver. 17. The Prophet returns to the denunciation of God’s judgments against JudaE which fill him with an agony of grief and trouble and in the concluding verses of fihe chapter, in the person of a pious Israelite, he deprec ites the divine ven- geance, as if with a hope to turn the approaching judgments upon the heathen : as if he had said, “ We indeed are frail and fallible ; do thou therefore correct us leniently and in mercy ; and turn thine anger against our enemies, who, after being themselves our tempters, now- threaten to destroy us.” “ We are continually warned to beware of resting in mere profession, and external forms and advantages. No place is so sacred, or so fortified, as to secure the workers of iniquity : and those who do not believe thf.t God will execute his awful threateniiigs, will ‘find it so,’ when their wound will be far more grievous than they can now conceive. A gracious resig- nation indeed will support the believer under every grief, which the Lord may allot him: but what can render the load of divine and eternal vengeance tolerable to those, who fall under it in sullen despair 1 Alas! that the pastors of God’s church should very often become so brutish, as to be given up to the pursuit of worldly interests and pleasures, to the neglect of him and his service ! Such men cannot prosper, and their Ver. 22. Noise of the bruit (or report) is come. — Blayney, “ Hark ! a noise : oehold, it advanceth V’— [Bruit, from the Gothic brut, signifies a rumour or report. [—Bagster. Ver. 24. l.est thou bring me to nothing.— See margin.— Blayney, “ Crush the to atoms.” Ver. 25. Pour out thy fury, Vc— [Let the heathen, and they who acknow- ledge thee not, and especially they who have unwittingly been the executers of thy justice upon us, in their turn feel its scourge, and have thy fury poured out upon them. Tins was fulfilled in the Chaldeans : Nebuchadnezzar was punished with madness, his son was slain in his revels, the city taken and sacked by Cyrus, and the Babylonian empire finally destroyed.] — Bagster. Chap. XI. Ver. 1. The word, &c — IThis discourse is supposed to have been delivered in the first year of the reign of Zedckiab. See Dahlcr.] — Bagster. Tire first eight verses of this chapter are rendered, by Dr. Blayney, in prose, he rest in Hebrew metre. 806 misconduct not only scatters their flocks, but brings down di- vine judgments on guilty nations. —But ‘the way of man is not in himself:’ if the Lord has directed our steps into the vvays of peace and righteousness ; let us continually entreat him to enable ns still to walk in them, and to ‘ hold up our goings that we slip not :’ and let us lift up our prayer for others, that they may be guided and directed in the same path. — If even severe corrections lead sinners to a conviction of these salutary truths, they will have abundant cause for gratitude: they will then humble themselves before God, and seek his guidance and assistance; they will submit to his cor- recting rod, and only deprecate the destroying sword of his avenging justice ; and they will no longer remain under the condemnation of those nations, families, or individuals, ‘ who call not upon the name of the Lord.’ But whilst he visits the offences of his people with sharp corrections, and destroys hypocrites ; his hot displeasure will be poured out on those who have not known and worshipped him, and especially on the persecutors of his chosen people.” T. Scott. Chap. XI. Ver. 1 — 23. God's covenant with Israel , and their violation of it . — This is considered as the commence- ment of a new series of predictions, continued to the end ot Ver. 10. Are turned back, &c. — fA great reformation had taken place in the reign of Josiah ; but under the reign of his son and successors, they turned back again to idolatry, and became worse than ever.J — Basster. Ver. 13. Shameful thing— Or, thing of shame.— [Bosheth, “ shame,” was a nick-name for Baal. Hence Jerubbaal was called Jerubbesheth.]— Bagster. See note on chap. iii. 24. Ver. 15. What hath my beloved to do in my house, seeing she, &c. — Sec margin. Blayney , “Whilst she practiseth wickedness?” And the holy flesh is passed from thee . — When Israel was redeemed from Egypt, he wa9 “ holiness ;” i. e. dedicated “ to the Lord :” chap. ii. 3 ; but by the practice ol sin, the nation was no more holy : by “ holy flesh,” however, many understand the sacrifices, which had grown into disuse, and so were “passed away.” But Dr. Blaynsy and others render this interrogatively, “Shall (vows and) holy flesh be allowed to come from thee?” Ver. 16. A ereen olive tree — [That is He had planted thee in the land of prosperity of the wicked lamented, JEREMIAH.— CHAP. XII. and their ruin foreseen. of the house of Israel and of the house of Ju- dah, which they have done aga ; nst themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal. IS If And the Lord hath given me knowledge y of it, and I know it : then thou showedst 1 me their doings. pj But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices a against me, saying, Let b us destroy the c tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more re- membered. 20 But, O Lord of hosts, that judgest right- eously, that triest d the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them : for unto thee e have I revealed my cause. 21 Therefore thus saith the Lord of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Pro- phesy not r in the name of the Lord, that thou die not by our hand : 22 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will s punish them : the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine : 23 And there shall be no remnant of them : for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their h visitation. CHAPTER XII. I Jeremiah, complaining of the wicked’s prosperity, by faith seetli their ruin. 5 God admonished) him of his brethren’s treachery against him, 7 and lamenteth his heri- tage. 14 He proraiseth to the penitent return from captivity. TMGHTEOUS a art thou, O Lord, when I It plead with thee : yet let me b talk with thee of thy judgments : c Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper ? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously ? 2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they d grow, yea, they bring forth A. M. 3406. B. C. 593. y Am. 3. 7. z Eze.8.6. &c. a c. 18.18. b Lu 20. 10.. 15. c stalk with his bread. d l Ch.28.9. Re. 2. 23. e Ps.57.l. f Is. 30 10. Am. 2. 12. 7.13,16. Mi. 2.6. g visit upon. h Lu. 19.44. a Ps.51.4. Da. 9.7. b or, reason the case. c Job 21.7, &c. Ps.73.3, &c. d go on. e Tit. 1.16. f Ps.17.3. 139.1.. 23. g with. h Ja.5.5. i Ps. 107.34. J Jos.3.15. k Mi.7.6. 1 or, cried after thee fully. m Pr.2G.24, 25. n good things. o Ps.78.59, 60. p love of. q givet/iout his voice, or, yelleth. r or, having talons. s Is. 56. 9. t or, cause them to come. u portion of desire. v Is.42.25. fruit: thou art near e in their mouth, and far from their reins. 3 But thou, O Lord, knowest f me : thou hast seen me, and tried my heart e toward thee : pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of h slaughter. 4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for i the wicked- ness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds ; because they said, He shall not see our last end. 5 T[ If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wii tthou do in the swelling j ofJordan? 6 For even thy k brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee ; yea, they > have called a multitude after thee : m believe them not, though they speak 11 fair words unto thee. 7 T[ I have forsaken 0 my house, I have left my heritage ; I have given the p dearly belo- ved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. 8 My heritage is unto me as a lion in the fo- rest ; it “i crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it. 9My heritage is unto me as a ■' speckled bird, the birds round about are against her ; come 8 ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, ‘ come to devour. 10 Many pastors have destroyed my vine- yard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my u pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me ; the whole land is made desolate, v because no man layeth it to heart. the following chapter. Several verses, however, in this chap- ter, seem to have a reference to the preceding. In answer to the attempt to soften down the offence of Judah, the covenant made with Israel is brought forward, with the curse annexed to its violation ; and they are charged with a conspiracy to de- pose the God of Israel, and to set up pagan idols upon his throne ; and so aggravated is this offence considered in the sight of God, that the Prophet is even forbidden to pray for them, and the Lord expresses his determination not to near them in praying for themselves. The latter part of the chapter discloses a plot against the Prophet’s life by the men of Anathoth, among whom he lived, and who had attempted to suppress his labours, charging him, at the peril of his life, no more to prophesy in the name of the Lord. Against these he predicts their utter extirpation by the Chaldean army. 1 Those who venture to address presumptuous professors of religion, after the manner in which Jeremiah addressed the Jews, must expect to be hated for their faithfulness ; how much soever they weep over them, and pray for them, or spend them- selves in labouring for their good. Though they be harmless and gentle as the lamb, and patient and laborious as the ox, and devoid of guile and suspicion, they will be persecuted, in- stead ‘of highly esteemed, for their works’ sake:’ for such men as crucified the holy Lamb of God, will always abhor those who rebuke and warn them as he did : and they would put them to death also, if they had it in their power, and if they could not otherwise silence them. For they want to de- stroy their reprovers, that they may no more remember or be tormented by their faithful testimony. But the Lord knows his servants, and can protect them against all the devices of Canaan, and made thee like a green olive tree in a rich soil, fair, flourishing, and fruitful ; but now thou art degenerated, and God hath given thee up to be consumed by the furious Chaldeans.] — Bagster. Compare Ps. lii. 8.; Isa. xvii. 3.; xxiv. 13. With the noise of a great tumult ; — i. e. the shout of the Chal- dean army. Ver. 18. And the Lori, Sec.—Blayney, Jehovah also acquainted me, and 1 knew ; then didst thou show me their proceedings.” This is understood to refer to a secret plot against the prophet’s life, by the men of Anathoth, who were not able to endure his faithful reproofs and warnings. See verses 19, 21, 23, and compare chap. i. 1. Ver. 19. Like a lamb, or an ox. — Blayney, “Like a tame lamb;” who quotes the authority of the ancient versions, particularly the LXX. Let us destroy the tree, &c. — 3ee margin. — [Let us kill the prophet, and bum his pro- phecies.’ ’ 1 —Bagster. Ver. 20. Let me see thy vengeance, fie. — [Rather, ” I Bhall see thy ven- geance on them.” I foresee and predict that they will ruin themselves in seeking my ruin.l — Bagster. Chap XII. Ver s He shall not see, &c — That is , ' he shall never live to persecutors : and he will certainly plead their cause, and exe- cute vengeance on their enemies. — In every age*of the church, ungodly priests have been ringleaders in this diabolical work ; ‘ a man’s foes are often those of his own household :’ and a prophet will be sure to be most without honour in his own country. — When the Lord, by any means, discovers to us the enmity and devices of our opposers ; we shall find it a peculiar comfort to be able to appeal to him, as the heart-searching and righteous Judge, that we suffer for well-doing, and notfor evil- doing: and we should reveal our cause, and refer the whole matter to him. We should, however, also look well to our spirits, that we * 1 be not overcome with evil but that, by pa- tient continuance in praying for our enemies, and showing them kindness, we may, if possible, ‘ overcome evil with good.’ ” — T. Scott. Chap. XII. Ver. 1 — 17. The Prophet pleads xcitli God re- specting the prosperity of the wicked. — Good men in all ages have been perplexed at the inequalities of Providence, which were the more mysterious under a dispensation which held out temporal rewards to virtue, mid a less distinct reference to those of a future state. In our remarks on the 73d Psalm, yve have considered this temp'ation as it affected Asaph, with whom Jeremiah seems to have accorded in his feelings. The latter is given however to expect, and cautioned to prepare for, trials greater than he had yet experienced. He had been with the 'men of Anathoth, who were his neighbours and equals : but he would have to contend with the chiefs and ru- lers of his nation, far more powerful adversaries than he had yet met with; and even with his own kindred, who had dealt treacherously with him under the mask of friendship and oi kindness. see his predictions accomplished alluding, probably, to their design to mur- der him. Ver. 5. The swelling of Jordan — Refers to its periodical overflowing of its banks ; at which time, not only was the adjacent country overflowed, but the wild beasts which harboured on its banks, were driven into the intenor of the country, which made this a striking emblem of an invading army. See chap, xlix. 19. Ver. 7. The dearly beloved of my soul . — Omit dearly, there is no word for it in the text. See margin. Ver. 8. It crieth out . — See margin ; — i. e. roareth ; showeth hostility and rage against God ; and thereby made him its enemy. Ver. 9. My heritage— [Bochart renders, “ Is then my heritage (people) to me as a fierce hyaena? Is there a wild beast all around upon her?” i. e. the land of Canaan. The Hyaena is a kind of wolf, a little bigger than a mastiff; colour gray, streaked with black ; it is of a solitary and savage disposition.] — Bagster. — -A speckled bird.— Or, a bird having talons. The original term signifies striped, or spotted, and, according to Bochart , is applied to beasts J and serpents, as well as birds. The term appears to us to mean, a bird of 307 The. penitent promised relief. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XIII. The type of a linen girdle. 12 The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land : no flesh shall have peace. 13 They have sown wheat, but w shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit : and * they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord. 14 If Thus saith the Lord against all mine evil neighbours, that touch i the inheritance which f have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will 'return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will dili- gently learn the ways u of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth ; as they taught my people to swear by Baal ; then shall they be b built in the midst of my people. 17 But if c they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord. CHAPTER XIII. A. M. 9108. B. C. 593. w Ce.S8.16. x or, ye. A. M. 3-101. B. C. GU3. y Zee. ‘2.8, 9. z De.30.3. Eze. 28.25. a Cr.1.8. b Ep.2.19.. 1 Pe.2.5. c Ib.60.12. A. M. 3405. B. C. 599. a Le.26.19. b. e.16.12. I In the type of a linen girdle, hidden at Euphrates, God prefi^ureth the destruction of his people. 12 Under the parable of the bottles filled with wine, lie foretelleth their drunkenness in misery. 15 He exhortelh to prevent their future judgments. 22 He showeih their abominations are the cause thereof. T HUS saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. 2 So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins. 3 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, 4 Take the girdle that thou hast got, which c or, stub- bornness. d Is.3.24. e Ex. 19.5. f Is.51.17,21 63.6. c 25. 15,27 is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates and hide it there in a hole of the rock. 5 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to Euphra- tes, and take the girdle from thence, which 1 commanded thee to hide there. 7 Then 1 went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. 8 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9 Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar “ the pride of Judah, and the great p ride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk b in the ‘imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this d girdle, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord ; e that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear 12 H Therefore thou shaft speak unto them this word ; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine : and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? 13 Then shaft thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the pro- phets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with 1 drunkenness. Ver. 7. The Lord again denounces judgment against his | apostate people by means of the Chaldeans. In the issue, however, Israel should be rescued, and their enemies requited : a threatening which applies not only to the then neighbouring nations, but to all who unjustly oppress his people in their dis- tress. A father may justly frown upon and chastise his child- ren ; but if his servants take advantage of their being under the parent’s displeasure, to taunt over, or impose upon them, they must expect to be called to account for it. We fear that several nations of Europe, as well as Asia, will yet have to account for their conduct toward the Jews in former ages, and this consideration should be an inducement even to us, to show kindness to the seed of Abraham. “The Lord allows his people to spread their perplexities before him, and humbly to plead with him concerning his judg- ments : but he expects it to be always taken for granted, that ‘ he is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.’ — The success and prosperity of the wicked, and especially that of persecutors and deceivers, who oppose the cause of God ; terrify or seduce multitudes into impiety, infidelity, or hypo- crisy; and bringdown judgments on churches and nations, is very embarrassing to the pious mind. Vet the Lord never permits such men to prosper; except it be for the salutary trial or correction of his people ; or for just judgments on those who hate his truths and precepts: and those who are spared to be executioners of wrath on others, and 1 to treasure up wrath for themselves,’ should not be called happy. For if they be 1 planted, and take root, and bear fruit,’ it is unto death and condemnation. It is not easy, however, in trying circumstances, to avoid every degree of impatience; even when the Lord himself may safely be appealed to for our in- tegrity, and when the hypocrisy of our opponents is most evi- dent. We ought, then, on such occasions, to watch our hearts, and to bridle our tongues, that we may not speak or act un- advisedly, and in our own spirit.” — T. Scott. i Chap. XIII. Ver. I — 27. The symbolic predictions of the girdle and bottles of wine.—' This chapter, which begins the se- cond part of these prophecies, contains an entire prophecy of itself. (See note, ver. 1.) The symbol of the linen girdle left to rot for a course of time, was the type of the manner in which the glory of the Jews should be marred during the course of their long captivity. The scene of hiding the girdle (which is supposed to have been transacted in a vision, see chap. xxv. 15, &c.) being laid near the Euphrates, intimated that the scene of the nation’s distress should be Chaldea, which that river waters. The learned Bochart however remarks that the word river is not here (as usually) connected with Euphrates ; he therefore thinks that the town Euphrata (or Bethlehem) is here intended, which was but a short distance from Jerusalem. This was built on the side of a hill, and the ancients maintain that Jesus Christ was born in a rocky cave under the hill. (See Calmet’s Dictionary.) What if this Ephod were hid in the very cave where Christ was born ? It was in his humble and obscure birth that the Lord stained the pride of all human glory. (See ver. 9.) The next three verses, by another emblem, a number ol earthen bottles of wine, (see ch. xix. 1.) often used to repre- sent the judgments of God, are designed to show the sangui- nary-nature of the calamities threatened by the invasion ot the Chaldean army, which would inevitably extend to all ranks and classes of society. In verse 15, the Prophet ad- dresses, to the heads of the nation, a most earnest and affec- tionate exhortation to repentance and humility; but this being not attended to, the former threatenings are repeated, with a pointed declaration of the guilty cause of all their misfortunes, even their barefaced idolatry and immorality. “ When the gifts of God render men proud and presumptuous, they will either be torn from them, or increase their disgrace and misery : but whatever the Lord takes from us, or lays upon us ; if he ‘ mar the great pride’ of our hearts, and bring strange feathers, exciting all the birds of the air to peck at her. Bhiyney takes it for a species of eagle, or falcon, variegated, perhaps, or spotted. Come— Or cause them to come, to devour. Chap. XIII. Ver. 1. Thus saith the Lord . — [This chapter contains a single anti distinct prophecy, supposed to have been delivered under the reign of Je- coniah, the son and successor of Jehoiakim, who came to the throne in the ISth year of his ace : when the Chaldean generals had encamped near Jeru- salem. but ditl not besiege it in form till Nebuchadnezzar came up with the main body of the army. In these circumstances, the prophet predicts the cap- tivity, and the utter destruction which is about to fall on the whole Jewish na- tion ; whom he represents under the emblem of a rotten girdle, to show their corrupt slate ; and by another of bottles filled with wine, he shows the dis- raction and madness of tbeir counsels, and the confusion that must ensue.] 808 — Bagster. The first eight verses of this chapter are prose narrative, the rest metrical. * Ver. 4. Goto Euphrates . — [Intending to point out. by this distant place the country. Chaldea, into which they were to be carried captive.]— Bagster. Ver. 12. Do we not certainly know 7 — By this question it should seem, that the people affected to understand this message as the intimation of a plentiful vintage, instead of a terrible slaughter. Ver. 13. With drunkenness. — Not of wine, but infatuation. See Isa. xxix. 9, 10 .— [You pretend to take this literally, hut it is cnly a symbol. You, and your kings, priests, and prophets, are represented by these bottles; the wine is God's wrath against you ; which shall first be shown by confounding your deliberations, an 1 dividing your counsels, so that like drunken men you shall reel about, and jostle each ether, defend yourselves without plan, and Trio. Jews exhorted to repent. 14 And I will dash s them h one against ano- ther, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord : I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, ■ but destroy them. 15 IT Hear ye, and give ear ; be not proud : for the Lord hath spoken. 16 Give i glory to the Lord your God, before he cause k darkness, and before your feet stum- ble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look i for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. 17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep m in secret places for your pride ; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. 18 Say unto the king n and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down : for your ° prin- cipalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. 19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them : p Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. 20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the “ north : where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock ? 21 What wilt thou say v/hen he shall r punish thee 1 for thou hast taught them to be cap- tains, and as chief over thee : shall not sor- rows take thee, as a woman in travail ? 22 T[ And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore E come these things upon me ? For the great- ness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discover- ed, and thy heels ' made bare. 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots 1 then may ye also do good, that are " accustomed to do evil. 21 Therefore will I scatter them as the stub- ble v that passeth away by the wind of the wil- derness. 25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord ; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in w falsehood. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. XIV. g Pa. 2.9. h a man against /ns brother. i from de- stroying them. j Jos.7.19. k Am.8.9. 1 Is.59.9. m Ps.119. 136. c.9.l. n 2Ki.24.12. Jo.3.6. c.22.6. o or, head Aires. p 2Ki.25.21. q c. 6. 22. .24. r visit upont sc.16.10,11. Ho. 12/8. t or, shall be violent- ly taken away. u taught. Pr. 19.27. v Ps.1.4. Ho. 13.3. wls.28.15. x Ho.2.10. y c.5.8. a after when yet. b Ho.8.5. A. M. 3399. B. C. 605. a words of the dearths , or, re- straints. b Is.3.26. La.2.9, &c. d c.17.13. Joel 3.16. I Ti.l.l. e Ps.46.1. f Is. 59.1. g Ex. 29. 45, 4G. A grievous famine. 26 Therefore will I discover x thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear. 27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy r neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills z in the fields. Wo unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean ? a when u shall it once be ? CHAPTER XIV. 1 The grievous famine 7 causeth Jeremiah to pray. 10 The Lord will not be entreated for the people 13 Lying prophets are no excuse for them. 17 Jeremiah is moved to complain for them. T HE word of the Lord that came to Jere- miah concerning the a dearth. 2 Judah mourneth, and the b gates thereof languish ; they are black unto the ground ; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters : they came to the pits, and found no water ; they returned with their vessels empty ; they were ashamed and con- founded, and covered their heads. 4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the ploughmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. 6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons ; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass. 7 Tf O Lord, though c our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake : for our backslidings are many ; we have sin- ned against thee. 8 O the hope d of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of e trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night ? 9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that r cannot save ? yet thou, O Lord, art in the s midst of us, and h we are called by thy name ; leave us not. 10 1[ Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained > their feet, therefore the Lord us to self-abasement and true repentance, we shall have cause to be very thankful. Every kind of sin shows men to be 1 vessels of wrath fitted for destruction but pride and im- penitence continue them in that state. — When nations are ripened for destruction, all ranks of men may expect to be filled with the indignation of Almighty God ; and when this i the case, they are often so given up to ambition, envy, sus- picion, and revenge, as to destroy one another by civil wars and intestine discords; in which even parents and children tngage in opposite parties, and destroy one another! When God is provoked to say, T will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them rage, misery, and desperation must be the dire effect.” — T. Scott. Chap. XIV. Ver. 1 — 22. A grievous dearth predicted : Je- remiah prays for the country, but in vain . — This chapter be- gins with foretelling a drought that should greatly distress the land of Judea; the effects of which are described in a most elegant and pathetic manner. The Prophet then, in the peo- ple's name, makes a confession of sin and supplication for pardon. (Ver. 7 .) But God declares his decree to punish irre- versible. Jeremiah pleads that the people had been deceived fight without order, till you all fall an easy prey into the hands of the enemy. The ancient adage is here fulfilled : “ Those whom God determines to destroy, he first renders foolish.”] — Bagster. Ver. 18. Your •principalities— See margin. Blayney , “ The diadem of your glory.” This Dr. B. supposes to have Been addressed to Jehoiakim and his queen. Ver. 19. The cities of the south.— That is, of Judea, Chaldea being on the north. * Ver. 21. Captains— Blayney . “ Rulers in chief over thee.” Thy heels made bare — Like the meanest slaves, or captives. Ver. 23. Can the Ethiopian. — Blayney. ‘ The Cushite.” The ablest com- mentators think this refers not to the black skins of the negroes, but the dark and tawny complexion of the Arabs, on the borders of the Red sea. See 2 Chron. xiv. 9. and note ; also, xxi. 16. Accustomed:— Heb. “ taught;” both may be included ; the bad instructions they had received in early life, had grown into a second nature. Ver. 26. That thy shame may appear.— Lowth 9ays, this was a usual punishment of lewd women. Ver. 27. Wilt thou not be made clean. — -All the ancient versions read, “ Thou wilt not be made clean.” — —When shall it once bet— See margin ; i e. How long shall it be ? Chap. XIv! Ver 1. Word of the Lord. — [This discourse is supposed to have boen delivered after the fourth year of Jehoiakim. The Hebrew batzaroth, 102 by false prophets, against whom are denounced the judgments they had derided and contradicted : but this does not excuse the people, who had been willingly deceived. (See Is. xxx. 9 , 10 .) The Prophet therefore bewails their misery ; and though he had been just forbidden to intercede for them, yet, like a tender pastor, who could not cease to be concerned for their welfare, he falls on the happy expedient of introducing themselves as supplicating, in their own name, that mercy which he was not allowed to ask for them : and how singularly pathetic is his address! “O the hope of Israel, and the Saviour thereof in the time of trouble!” “When man’s iniquity has provoked the Lord thus to visit any land, the inhabitants often lament their miseries, without any due regard to him, or humiliation for their sins ; and they ex- press their anguish in much the same way as the innocent animals do, which are involved in their punishment; except that their complaints are rebellious as well as bitter. And often, when fasts are proclaimed, and formal confessions and supplications made before God ; the insincerity of those con- cerned is demonstrated, by the want of ‘ fruits meet for re- rendered dearth , signifies restraint, that is, “when the heaven is shut up that there is no rain which Houbigant thinks happened early in the reign of Zedekiah.j— Bagster. Concerning the dearth.— See margin. Dr. Blay- ney connects these words with the next verse thus : “ Because of the drought Judah mourneth.” Ver. 2. They are blacTc unto the ground.— Blayney, “They are in deep mourning for the land.” By the gates, we may understand the magistrates, &c. who assembled there, who were greatly dejected, and, perhaps, many of them clothed in sackcloth. Ver. 6. Snuffed uy — (They sucked in the air, for want of water, to cool their internal heat. Bochart observes, that the comparison to dragons , or reat serpents, is very just ; for JElian describes animals so called as standing aily for some hours with the head erect, and the mouth wide open towards the sky. By the force of their breath, as by an attractive charm, they are said to draw to them not only the air, but the birds as they fly along. And he adds, that the eyes of the wild asses are properly noticed, as being by nature extremely sharp sighted.] — Bagster. Ver. 7. Do thou it. — Blayney , “ Do thou act which the original fully war- rants. Ver. 8. As a stranger, &c.— That is, as one who takes no interest in the fate of the country. Ver. 9. As a man astonished.—' That is, confounded. We are called by thy name.— See margin. Either version is correct. 809 The prayer oj the prophet. doth not accept them ; he will now remember fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them ; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For mine m eyes are upon all their ways : they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity "hid from mine eyes. 18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin "double; because they p have defiled my land, they have filled mine inherit- ance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things. 19 O Lord, my i strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of r affliction, the Gentiles shall come 5 unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say. Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein 1 there is no profit. 20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no u gods ? 21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know my hand and my might ; and they shall know that 'my name is w The Loro. CHAPTER XVII. 1 The captivity of Judah for her sin. 5 Trust in man is cursed. 7 in Gal is blessed. 9 The deceitful heart cannot deceive God. 12 The salvation of God. 15 The pro- phet complained) of the mockers of his prophecy. 19 He is sent to renew the cove- nant in hallowing the sabbath. T HE sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the a point of a diamond : it is graven upon the table b of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars ; 2 Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves c by the green trees upon the high hills. 3 O my mountain J in the field, I e will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders. 4 And thou, even f tliyselfj shalt discontinue! k c.24.6. 30.1 3137. I Am. 4.2. Hnb.1.13. m Pb. 139.3. c.32.19. n Job 34.21, 22 . o Is. 40.2. p E.ie. 43. 7, 9. q Pb. 18.2. r Ps.27.5. b Is. 60. 3. 62.2. t Is.44.10. u Is.37. 19. v c.33.2. Am. 5 8. w or, JE- HOVAH. Ps.83.18. u naiL b Pr.3.3. 2 Co. 3.3. c 2CH.24. 18. Is. 1.29. d La. 5. 17, 18. e c 15.13. f in thyself l Ne.9.28. ) Ps. 146.3. . 5. Is. 30. 12. i Ju.9.45. j Ps.2.12. 34.8. 84.12. Pr. 16.20. k Ps. 1.3. 1 or, re- straint. n Mat 15. 19 n Ec.9.3. o 1 Ch.28.9. Ro.8.27. Re.2.23. p Ga.6.7,8. q or gaiher- elh young i r hie It she hath not brouehl forth. r Flab. 2. G.. 11. s I. u. 12.20. t Ps.103.19. u Ps.96.6. Lu. 10.20. w c.2.13. Jn. 4. 10.14 x De. 10.21. y 2 Pe.3.4. from thy heritage that I gave thee ; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies k in the land which thou knowest not : for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever. 5 H Thus saith the Lord ; Cursed h be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the de- sert, and shall not see when good cometh ; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilder- ness, in a salt i land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed ) is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree k planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green ; and shall not be careful in the year of i drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 ]f The heart m is deceitful above all things , and desperately n wicked: who can know it? 10 I the Lord search 0 the heart, / try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit p of his doings. 1 1 As the partridge i sitteth on eggs, and hatch- eth them not ; so he r that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a ■ fool. 12 If A glorious high throne ‘ from the begin- ning is the place of our " sanctuary. 13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written v in the earth, be- cause they have forsaken the Lord, the foun- tain w of living waters. 14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed ; save me, and I shall be saved : for thou * art my praise. 15 ff Behold, they say unto me, y Where is the word of the Lord ? let it come now. 16 As for me, I have not hastened from being 14, &c.) and after they have been scattered into all nations, as the fishes in the ocean, or the deer upon the mountains, fishers and hunters shall be sent again to collect them together; and the Gentiles, having renounced their idols, shall be united with them in the service of the true God. '‘The servants of God have continual occasion for self-denial in their implicit obedience : and he may very properly require them to forego the most innocent comforts of life, for his glory, and to render them instructive examples to the people. For lie can make them more easy and satisfied in the situa- tion allotted, than they who are not bound by such restric- tions can imagine. — None can be sure, that if they had child- ren, or if their children were continued to them, they would add to their comfort ; and many events may take place, which might cause them to wish that their children had never been born, or that they had died in their infancy: so that entire re- signation to the will of God, in all these matters, is our only wisdom.” — T. Scott. Ch.,p. XVII. Ver. 1—27. Phe barefaced idolatry of Ju- dah, and their open profanation of the Sabbath. — This chap- ter, which connects with the preceding, exposes the growth of idolatry in the nation, and the folly of their trusting in human able, would be more remembered than their former deliverance from Egypt.] — B. Ver. 16 . i wiJl send for many fishers, &c. — [I will raise up enemies against them, some of whom shad destroy them by wiles, and otiiers shall ruin them by violence. The Chaldeans shall make an entire conquest of the whole land, and strip it of its riciies and inhabitants ; and those who may escape one par- ty shall fall into the hands of another. ]—Bagster. Most commentators con- sider this as a threatening ; hut its connexion with t tie promise of their resto- ration in the preceding verse, induces us to consider these words as referring to the final recall of the Jews, (together with the fulness of the Gentiles, ver. 19 ) by means of apostles, evangelists, and missionaries. In order to this, God says, I. That they were not hidden from his face, wherever scattered : and, 2. Nei- ther were their iniquities forgotten. See next note. Ver. 13. And (or “ but,” Heb. van ) first I will recompense their iniquity . . . . double— That is, by the Babylonish captivity ; and then shall they he brought back. Carcasses.— [Either meaning the idols themselves, which were carcasses without life ; or the sacrifice w, especially those of their sons and daughters, which wore made to them 1 —Burster. Chap. XVII. V er. 1. A pen of iron.— I Heb. Shamir, in Arabic samoor, certain- ly means the diamond, as it is rendered In* the LXX. andVulgale : though Bo- chart and Schcuchzcr, without, any authority, except a similarity of name, think it denotes tile srniris, a hard stone also used for cutting*, engraving, and volishing other hard stones and crystals. The sin of Judah was as deeply and tidelibly written on their heart, as if engraved on a writing tablet; and it was as indelibly written in their punishment.]— J?. See Job xix. 21. nnd note. I 312 aid, instead of the God of Israel. The former, who trust in idols or in men, are compared to the stinted heath or lichen of the northern mountains; the latter, whose hope is in the Lord, to the tree planted by the waters, that never withers, nor even fades. The comparison (ver. 11) of a bird's hatching eggs which are not her own, to the covetousness of a man who accumu- lates ill-gotten wealth, is beautiful and expressive ; such “riches” often “make to themselves -wings and flyaway.” (Prov. xxiii. 5.) Ver. 12. The Prophet appeals to “ the glorious high throne” of God for his integrity, and prays, in harmony with the dis- pensation under which he lived, that all their designs against him might return upon their own heads. The remaining part of the chapter (ver. 19, &c.) is a distinct prophecy, relating the due observance of the sabbath, en- forced both by promises and by threatenings. The date of it is unknown ; hut it must have been in a period of very relaxed morals. It is certain that idolaters paid little or no regard to the sabbath ; and as to the Jewish rulers, while they enjoyed themselves in ease and luxury on that day, they obliged the poor to work for them. Ver. 3. O my mountain in the field. — This is generally understood of Jeru- salem, which is often called God’s mountain: hut Blayney and others construe the sentence thus : “ O my mountain ! thy substance in the field, and all thy stores will I give,” &c. Thy high places for sin — That is, for sacrifice for sin. But Dr. DureXl here understands “ fortifications,” which were to be given up to the enemy for the sin of Judah. Ver. 4. Ami thou. even thyself.— Hebrew, “ in (or by) thyself, shalt dis- continue," &c. or, * 1 thou shalt dismiss thyself,” by a forfeiture of the inherit- ance. Boothroyd following the Syriac and Arabic, reads, ” I will remove thee from,” &o. Ver. 6. The heath in the desert. — C. Taylor supposes it to mean a species of lichen; hut Dr. Blayney and others read. “ a blasted tree.” Ver. 11 . As the partridge.— See margin. The species here meant, is proba- bly the bartarvella , or Greek partridge, which Bitffon reckons a distinct spe cies, and the only species known on the shores of the Mediterranean. Like some other birds, it often sitteth on eggs it not doth hatch, consequently, when the true parent comes, it is liable to be dispossessed. So is the man who ob- tains wealth dishonestly. — Dr. Harris's Natural History of the Bible, in Partridge. Ver. 13. They that depart from me.— Blayney ” They shall be recorded (Heb. 1 written’) in the earth Rcvolters.” This is more literal, as well aa more intelligible than our version. So Boothroyd. Ver. 14. My praise— That is, the object of it. Ver 16 I have not hastened from . &c.~More literacy. “I have not flod The hallowing of the sabbath. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. XVIII. The type of the potter. a pastor 2 to follow thee : neither have I desi- red the woful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. 17 Be not a terror unto me: thou a art my hope in the day of evil. 18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed : bring upon them the day of evil, and b de- stroy them with double destruction. 19 T[ Thus saith the Lord unto me ; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem ; 20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates : 21 Thus saith the Lord ; Take heed to your- selves, and bear no burden on the c sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem ; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I com- manded your fathers. 23 But d they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their e neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. 24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but f hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein ; 25 Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem : and this city shall remain for ever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places e about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the h plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and meat-offerings, and incense, and bringing A. M. 3400. U. C. 604. l after. a c.16.19. b break them with a double breach. c.14.17. A. M. 3393. B. C. 611. c Ne.13.19. d c.7.24,26. e Pr.29.1. f Is. 58.13, 14 g c.32.44. h Zec.7.7. i Ps. 107.22. 116.17. He. 13. 15. j Eze.22.8. 1c La. 4. 11. Am.2.4,5. 1 2KL25.9. A. M. 3396. B. C. 603. a frames, or, seats. b or, was marred , as clay. c returned and. made d Is. 45. 9. Ro.9 20, 21 . e Is.64.8. h 2Ki.l7. 13. c.7.3. 25.5. 26 . ia 35.15. sacrifices < of praise, unto the house of the Lord. 27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the ) sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jeru- salem on the sabbath day ; then will I kindle a k fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the i palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. CHAPTER XVIII. 1 Under the type of a potter is showed God’s absolute power in disposing of nations 11 Judgments threatened to Judah for her strange revolt. 18 Jeremiah prayeth against his conspirators. THE word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the a wheels. 4 And the vessel that he made b of clay was marred in the hand of the potter : so he c made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, cannot d I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as e the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it ; 8 If f that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will re- pent s of the evil that I' thought to do unto them. 9 And at what, instant I shall speak concern- ing a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it ; 10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. 11 11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you : return h ye now every one from his evil “The daring impiety of mankind appears exceedingly in the contempt which is generally shown to the commandment of hallowihg the sabbath. The degree of strictness with which this ordinance is observed, or the contrary, is a good test of the degree of spiritual religion in any land. But by this rule, how awful is our condition in this nati n, especially in the metropolis and its environs'? A very small number in propor- tion, in most parts of the land, pay any decent respect to the Lord’s day, or the ends for which it was instituted. Various secular employments, and some not fit to be tolerated on any day, are openly conducted on it; and, probably, more gross licentiousness and impiety are perpetrated on that, than on all the other days of the week. If this have a similar connexion with our national peace and prosperity, as it had with those of Judah: we have abundant reason to take heed to ourselves, and tO-fear lest a fire should be kindled in our gates to devour our most magnificent palaces; in too many of which God’s holy day is more daringly violated, than in almost any of the houses of the poor, or in their resorts of intemperance and revelry. Doubtless he may say in this land also, ‘I com- manded, but they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear ; but made their neck stiff that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.’ It behooves the ministers of religion in every place to 3ound the alarm in this respect, that all who go in and out at our gates may hear : and that rulers, magistrates, and all the inhabitants of the land, by their authority, influence, and example; by attention to their families, and by avoiding all intercourse with those who will not hallow the Lord’s day, may combine to check the progress of this growing evil : that so, true religion may revive, general reformation may take place, our national prosperity be preserved and increased; and above all, that the souls of men may be led into the way of eternal salvation.” — T. Scott. from feeding after thee,” as (in the East) sheep follow their shepherd. See Blayney. The woful day— of Judah’s calamity. Ver. 19. Thus saith, &c — Hence to the end of the chapter is prose. Chap. XVIII. Vor. 3 A work on the. wheels . — See margin. Dr. Blayney Chap. XVIII. Ver. 1 — 23. God’ s sovereign dominion illus- trated by the pouter of the potter over his clay. — The prophecies and transactions contained in this and the two following chap- ters, must, as Dr. Blayney conceives, be referred to the three first years of the reign of king Jehoiakim. The prophet is shojyn first, under the type of the potter, God’s absolute au- thority over nations and kingdoms, to regulate and alter their condition at his pleasure ; that pleasure, we must recollect, however, is always in harmony with his justice and his truth. He can do what he pleases ; but he can do no wrong. “ The great Creator and Lord of the universe has an undoubt- ed right and uncontrollable power to dispose of us and of al 1 creatures as he pleases : this extends equally to other nations astolsrael; andlikewisetoindividuals; toour temporal and our eternal concerns : and as fallen creatures, we are entirely with- out plea or claim, having forfeited every thing by sin. The Lord may, therefore, ‘according to the counsel of his own will,’ either leave us to ourselves, as ‘vessels of wrath fitted for destruction ;’ or cast us into a new shape, as ‘ vessels o mercy prepared before for his eternal glory.’ But this abso- lute sovereignty is always directed by unerring wisdom, and exercised with the most perfect justice, truth, goodness, and mercy: so that none have aught to fear from it but the deter- mined enemies. of God; and none can object to it without finding fault with infinite perfection. What then can rational creatures deem preferable to this absolute dominion? what can a penitent sinner desire more than the uncontrollable rule of infinite mercy?” — T. Scott. As respects the Jewish nation, God had dug them from the pit of human nature, and formed them for himself, that they might show forth his glory. (Isa. li. 1 ; xliii. 21.) When they refused to do this, he returned them to the pit, and from ano- ther lump of clay he formed the Gentile church : still he hath considers, this machine of the potter as consist inc of" a pair of circulai stones , {so the Heb.) placed upon one another like mill-stones, of which the lower one was immoveable, but the upper one turned upon the foot ot a spin, die, or axis, and had motion communicated to it by the foot of the potter sit. Judgments threatened. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. XIX. Desolation oj the Jews foreshown. way, and make your ways and your doings good. 12 And they said, There • is no hope : but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord; ) Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible k thing. 1 1 Will i a man leave m the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken ? 15 Because my people hath forgotten "me, they have burned incense to 0 vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient p paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up ; 1G To make i their land desolate, and a per- petual r hissing; every one that passeth there- by shall be 8 astonished, and wag his head. 17 I will scatter them as with t an east windbe- fore the enemy ; I will show them the " back, and not the face, in the day of their v calamity. 18 If Then said they, Come, and let us devise w devices against Jeremiah ; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him * with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. 19 Give y heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. 20 Shall 1 evil be recompensed for good ? for they have digged 1 a pit for my soul. Remem- ber that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. 21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour b out their blood by the force of the sword ; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows ; and let their men be put to death ; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them : for they have digged a pit to take me. and hid snares for my feet. 23 Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel A. M. 3396. li C. 608. It c.5.30. 1 Jn.6.68. m %\Dor a rock, or, for the snow of Lebanon 7 shall the running waters be forsaken for Vie strange cold waters 7 n 0.2.32. o Tb. 41 29. p c.6.16. q Mi.fi. 16. s Dc. 28.59. t Pe.48.7. u c.2.27. v Pr. 1.25,26 wc.ll.19. x or, for. j Ps.64.1..4. z Ps.109.4, &c- Pr.17.ia a Ps.35.7. b them out. c for death. a Jos.15.8. c.7.31. b sun gale. c c. 17.20. d 2Ki.21.12. e De.28.20. Is. 65.11. c.2 13,14. Dc.32.17. g 2Ki.21.16. 24.4. J Ps.79.2. k C.1&16. 1 1 Ki.9.8. m Le. 26.29. De.28.53. Is. 9.20. La. 4. 10. against me c to slay J me : forgive not their ini- quity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee ; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger. CHAPTER XIX. Under the type of breaking a potter’s vewel is foreshowed the desolation of the Jew« for their Bins. T HUS saith the Lord, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests ; 2 And go forth unto the “valley oftheson ofHin- nom, which is by the entry of the b east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, 3 And c say, Hear ye the word of the Loud, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusa- lem ; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; d Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. 4 Because e they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they f nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood ' of innocents ; 5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt- offerings unto Baal, which I commanded h not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind : 6 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son ofHinnom. but The valley of Slaughter. 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the > sword before their ene- mies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives : and their carcasses ) will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. 8 And I k will make this city desolate, and a hissing ; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and > hiss because of all the plagues thereof. 9 And I will cause them to eat m the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith not wholly given up his former people, but will at a future day new-mould them ; or, as it is sometimes expressed, “ create all things new.” Such is the analogy the great Creator is pleased to draw between the potter and himself; and, in con- sequence of this state of things, again he threatens them with I he judgments necessary to re-model them for his service. “As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hands, O house of Israel !” What is said in this chapter of God’s threatening nations for disobedience, and revoking those threatenings upon repent- ance, is perfectly wise and just. The master who threatens a disobedient servant, has certainly a right to pardon, and re- voke those threatenings, upon repentance and reform. But ting at work, (as may lie learned from Eccles. xxxviii. 29.) Upon the top of this upper stone, which was flat, the clay was placed, which the potter, hav- me given the stone the due velocity, formed into shape with his hands.” Ver. 14. It ill a man leave , &c. — See margin. “ The two similitudes in this verse, are evidently designed to illustrate the unnatural and absurd conduct of the Jewish nation, m deserting their own God, and adopting the superstitions ot a strange idolatry, in preference to the good old paths which God had or- dained for them to walk in. As to the first, Lebanon was the highest moun- tain iri Israel, and having its summit almost always covered with snow, (from the whiteness of which, it is supposed to have derived its name.) .... It would therefore, be very unnatural, if the snow should quit the tons of Le- banon, while the rocks of less height were covered with it ."—Blayney. \ Park - renders. Will the snow of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field ? or ' v j'l , M th ! c i ssu JJ? ?co,d "aters (from that mountain namely) he exhaust- ed . (See Targum, LXX., and \ulgate.) No more could I fail my people if they trusted in me. (Compare eh. 11 . 13.) ** The chief benefit, the mountain of Lebanon serves for, is, that by its exceeding height, it proves a conservatory lor abundance ot snow, which, thawing in the heat of summer, affords sup- plies of water to the rivers and fountains in the valleys below.” Maun dr ell ]— hamster. ” Strange waters” (as the margin) are waters brought from a dis- tance by pipe9, or other artificial means. See 2 Kings xix. 24. The sense of the prophet is, Will men bring waters from a distance, at great expense while they have a good supply at home ? Ver. 15. My people have forsaken— See ch. ii. 13. To walk in paths— That is, in by paths, where no road ha9 been made. Ver. 16. Wa g — Blayney. “Shnke.” 314 the book of the prophet Jonah will furnish the best illustra- tion of these verses. The latter part of the chapter relates to a conspiracy against the prophet on account of his fidelity and zeal, with a prediction of the punishment of the conspirators. (Compare chap. xi. 21—23.) Chap. XIX. Ver. 1 — 15. The potter' s vessel broken, and its import. — “Under the type of breaking a potter’s vessel, Jere- miah, in the presence of the elders, the priests, and people, foreshoweth the ruin and desolation of Judah and Jerusalem for their sins, and repeateth the like denunciations in the court of the temple.” — Blayney. Henry remarks on this chapter, “ Whatever man may think Ver. 17. With an east wind— Blayney (reading caph instead of beth) ren- ders it, ” Likean east wind.” So the ancient versions. Ver. 18. Smite him with the tongue— That is. bring a charge against him : but Blayney reads, “ On the tongue :” i. e. stop his mouth. Ver. 21. Therefore , &c.— See Psalm cix. 4, &c. Pour out. — See margin ; i. e. perhaps their lives, as a libation to divine justice. Chap. XIX. Ver. l. Thus saith the Lord. &c.— (This discourse was also de- livered some time in the rei?n of Jehoiakim. Under the emblem of a potter’s earthen bottle, or jug, the prophet signified that God could and would as easily and utterly destroy the city and people, as the earthen vessel was broken. |- Bagster. Ver. 2. East gate.— See margin ; i. e. the gate toward the rising of the sun. Ver. 6. Valley of the son of Hin nom. —[The valley of the son of Hinnom was situated on the south side of Jerusalem, as mavbe inferred from Jos. xv. 8. and is expressly affirmed by Sandy 8 : “ On the eaot is Mount Olivet, separated from the city by the valley of Jehosnapliat. which also circleth a part of the north, on the south, the mountain of offence, interspersed with the valley of Gehinnom.” Hence the gate by which Jeremiah entered this valley could scarcely be term ed the east gate , or the sun-gate , as it is in our version of verse 2 ; and it o probable that we should render the original Harsith, with Blayney, as a propet name. The Targumist renders it “ the dung-gale and it is most likely to have been the same with that which is so called iri Ne. iii 13, 14. because all the filth of the citv was carried through this gate, and laid in the valley of Hinnom, af ter Josian had defiled it. See note on Isa. lxvi. 24.1— Bagster. Ver. 9. To eat the flesh of their sons, &c.— See DeuL xxviii. 53. Ezek. v. 10 and for its fulfilment. Lam. iv. 10 Pashur 7 s new name and doom. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XX. The complaint of Jeremiah. their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them. 10 Then " shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee, 11 And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Even so 0 will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be p made whole again : and they shall bury them in Tophet, till i there he no place to bury. 12 Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet: 13 And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as r the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs 8 they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink-offerings ‘ unto other gods. 14 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy ; and he stood in the court u of the Lord’s house ; and said to all the people, 15 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pro- nounced against it, because T they have har- dened their necks, that they might not hear w my words. CHAPTER XX. 1 Pashur, smiting Jeremiah, receiveth a new name, and a fearful doom. 7 Jeremiah coraplaineth of contempt, 10 of treachery, 14 and of his birth. N OW Pashur the son of Immer 1 the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. 2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord, 3 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but 0 Magor-missabib. 4 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make A. M. 3306. B. C. 608. n c.51. 63,64 o Pa.2.9. Is. 30.14. La.4.2. p healed. q c.7.32. r 2Ki.23.10, 12 . s c. 32.29. Zep.1.5. t c.7.13. u 2 Ch.20.5. v c. 17.23. w Ps.58.2.,5 A. M. 3397. B. C. 607. a lCh.24.14. b i. e. fear round about Ps.3l.13. c.6.25. ver.10. c.46.5. c 2Ki.20.17. 24. 12.. 16. 25.13,&c. d c. 14. 13.. 15 29.21. e or, enticed f La. 3- 14. g c.5.1. 6.7 ; 7.9. h Job 32.18, 19. 1 Co.9.16, 17. i Ac.4.20. 13.5. j P8.31.13. k Pr.10.18. 1 every man of my peace. m Job 19.19. Ps.41.9. 55.13,14. Lu.ll.53. n c. 1.8,19. o De.32.35, 36. p c. 15.20. q c.23.40. r C.L7.10. thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends , and they shall fall by the sword of their ene- mies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. 5 Moreover c I will deliver all the strength o e this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the trea- sures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. 6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thy house shall go into captivity : and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied J lies. 7 Tf O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was e deceived : thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed : I am in f derision daily, every one mocketh me. 8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried e vio- lence and spoil ; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision daily. 9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But h his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and i I could not stay. 10 T[ For j I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they , and we k will report it. > All my m familiars watched for my halting, saying , Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him. 11 But "the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one : therefore my persecutors shall 0 stumble, and they shall not p prevail : they shall be greatly ashamed ; for they shall not prosper : their everlasting confusion shall ne- ver 'i be forgotten. 12 But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the 'right- to the contrary, the execution of God’s providence will fully answer the predictions of his word; and God will appear as terrible against sin and sinners as the scriptures represent him. There is no way of escaping from his justice, but by fleeing to his mercy.” “ Man’ s un teachableness and unbelief render it proper to use a variety of methods to engage his attention ; repetitions become unavoidable; and sometimes a mere circumstance may im- press those, who remained unaffected under the most solemn warnings of the word of God. We ought therefore to avail ourselves of every proper expedient, and to observe every di- rection for that purpose. Those who stop their ears, and harden their hearts, against the threatenings of God, will not only have their ears made to tingle at the report of dire calami- ties, but their hearts filled w’ith anguish and dismay, at feeling the truth of what they would not believe Men may often read their sins in their punishment ; persecutors and oppress- ors commonly come to a dreadful and violent end; abused plenty often terminates in wretched penury; and children trained up in ungodliness become the misery of their offending parents. They who despise God, must sink into contempt and ruin : and he will ‘ make void the counsels’ of all those who will not obey his commandments. The power of the mightiest na- tions is as easily broken by him as an earthen vessel ; and he often destroys them so entirely,' that none can make them whole : but he is chiefly to be feared, as ‘ able to destroy both body and soul in hell.’ That is a ruin which will never be re- paired : but all other afflictions, personal or public, 1 will work together for good’ to those whom ‘Jesus delivereth from the wrath to come.’” — T. Scott. Chap. XX. Ver. 1 — 18. Jeremiah punished for his fidelity , and Pashur severely threatened for his presumption. — Pashur the son of Immer, one of the chief priests, and head of the 16th course, (1 Citron, xxiv. 14.) hearing of the boldness of Jeremiah, smote him and put him in the stocks : but next day, when he was brought out of prison for a hearing, a most awful denunciation was pronounced against the priest himself, and his name was called Magor-missabib , implying that he should be encircled with “ terrors all around him.” “In this evil world, of which Satan is the God and prince, they who boldly stand up for the authority, truth, and right- eousness of Jehovah, will certainly meet with persecution in one form or another; and the more plain and convincing the truth is made to the minds and consciences of sinners, the more violent will be their resentment; except the Lord power- fully restrain them, or change their hearts. Superior rank, affluence, reputation, and authority, render men more apt to take umbrage at the humbling truths, and sharp reproofs, and awful denunciations of God’s word: and thus, they who are exalted to do justice, preserve peace, and maintain truth, of Ver. 11. Dr. Blayney renders the whole of this, and the first six verses of the chapter following, in prose. Ver. 15. Hardened, their necks— This is a metaphor taken from unruly and unbroken oxen, who resist the yoke, and break and run away with their gears. Chap. XX. Ver. 1. Pashur— [Pashur was probably one of the chief priests ofthe twenty four classes. But if he was, in a strict sense, “ chief governor of the house of God,” he may have been the same officer that is called “ captain ofthe temple.” Ac. iv. l.J— Bagster. Ver. 2. Stocks.— [ Heb. hammahpecheth, from haphach, “ to overturn, sub- vert, distort,” generally denotes an overthroio, (De. xxix. 22. Is. i. 7.; x. 19.) and seems to signify here a sort of stocks, by which the limbs were distorted nto uneasy postures. So the Chaldee, keephtha, and Jerome , nervus, which ne explains in his comment as ” a kind of wooden fetter, into which the feet were thrust.” Some learned men understand it as merely signifying a place of confinement, or house of correction : but thp word is never used for on v of the I prisons into which the prophet was afterwards cast ; and the punishme.nl seems to have been public and ignominious.]— Bagster. Ver. 7. Thou hast deceived me , and I ions deceived.— On examining the ori- ginal of this passage, we can find nothing to justify tins version , so dishonour- able to the prophet. Blayney and Boothroyd render it, “ Thou didst allure me, and I was allured but we prefer the version of Gataker. “ Thou didst per - suade me, and I was persuaded — [that is, to go and prophesy to this people. I went, and faithfully declared tny message ; and now I am likely to perish by their cruelty.] — Bolster. Buxtorf and Schindler, Gataker and Amsiuorth, Parkhurst and Gesenius, all agree that the word signifies to persuade : often, indeed, to evil, but sometimes to good, as in Gen. ix. 27. Marg. Hos. u 14. Thou art stronger than I —Blayney and Boothroyd, Thou didst en courage for strengthen) me, and didst prevail.” . ... Ver. 9. I could not stay. — The last word is supplementary, and better \*nut ted. See Pa. xxxlx. 3. 815 Jeremiah foretelleth a hard, JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXI. siege , and miserable captivity. eous, and seest the reins and the heart, let * me see thy vengeance on them : for * unto thee have I opened my cause. 13 Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for u he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evil-doers. 14 TI Cursed v be the day wherein I was born : let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. 15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man-child is born unto thee ; making him very glad. 16 And let that man be as the cities which the Lord w overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noon-tide; 17 Because 1 he slew me not from the womb ; or that my molher might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. 18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see r labour and 1 sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame? CHAPTER XXI. Zedekiah sendeth to Jeremiah to inquire the event of NebQchadrezzar’s war. 3 Jere- miah foretelleth a hard siege and miserable captivity. 8 He counselleth the people to fall to '.he Chaldeans, 11 and upbruideth the king’s house. T HE word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur a the son of Melchiah, and Zepha- niah b the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2 c Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us ; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us ; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us. 3 H Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah : 4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel ; Behold, l will turn back d the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. 5 And I e myself will fight against you with A. M. 3397. B. C. 6u7. > Pa. 59. 10. I ls.3S.14. 1 Pe.2.23. 4.19. u I’a.34.6. 35.9,10 109.30,31. v Job 3.1, Sc. c. 15.10, w Ge.19.25. x Ec.6.3. y La.3.1. z Ps.90.10. A. M. cir. 3415. B. C. cir. 539. u c.38.1. b 2Ki.25.18 c.29.25. : c.37.3,7. Eze.14.4,5 d c. 52.18. e Is. 13.4. La. 2. 5. f Ex. 6.6. g 2Ki.25.5, &c. c.37.17. 39.5,&c. 52.9.&C. h Dc.2S.50. 2Ch.36. 17. i c.38.2,17. j c.39.18. k c.44.11. Am. 9.4. I c.52.13. m Judge. n Zec.7.9. 10 . o Zep.3.5. p innabit- q c- 19.4,5. r visit upon. b Pr. 1.31. is.3.io,n. t 2Ch.36. 19 an f outstretched hand and with a strong arm even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward, saith the Lord, I will de liver e Zedekiah king of Judah, and his ser vants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebu- chadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword ; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. 8 TI And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord ; Behold. 1 set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 Pie ‘ that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pesti- lence : but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a i prey. 10 For I have set k my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord : it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall i burn it with fire. 11 TI And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord; 12 O house of David, thus saith the Lord ; m Execute "judgment in the' 0 morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 13 Behold, I am against thee, O p inhabitant ol the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lor d • which say, i Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations? 14 But I will r punish you according to the fruit B of your doings, saith the Lord : and 1 will kindle a. fire in the forest thereof and it 1 shall devour all things round about it. ten take the lead in opposing the cause of God, and in perse- cuting his servants. -The worthless caterers to men’s vain pleasures, and the flatterers of their pride and passions, may expect favour, affluence, and distinction; but contempt and penury, dungeons, stripes, and the stocks, or more severe and bloody sufferings, have been the general recompense of those who have sought the salvation of souls. But the Lord can easily make those a terror to themselves and to each Uther, who attempt to terrify his ministers from declaring faithfully the word of God, or to put them to silence and disgrace: no mitigation of die sentence can possibly be attained, by perse- cuting those who proclaim it : and lying prophets, and those who trust in them, will miserably perish together.” — T. Scott. Ver. 7. The prophet, in a fit of despondency, remonstrates with’ the Almighty, not for deceiving him, (as our translators represent it, see note,’) but for persuading, and by his promise encouraging him to undertake an office, which he now found extremely trying and unpleasant. The prophet, in the former part of the verse, doubtless alludes to his prophetic call, and to the promises of support and guidance in his office : (chap. i. 7 — 9.) of which he now claims fulfilment. Like many other good men, he does not seem so much discouraged by stripes and imprisonment, as by derision and ridicule, which had well nigh stopped his mouth; but the prophetic word was like “a fire shut up in his bones,” and he could not forbear. He there- fore encourages himself in God, as present w T ith him for his support. Yet soon after (such is human nature) he again falls into despondency, and, like Job of old, curses the day wherein he was born. Chap. XXI. Ver. 1 — 14. Zedekiah’ s application to Jere- miah , andhis answer. — This chapter is evidently outof chrono- logical order. It is believed to have been delivered in the 9th or 10th year of Zedekiah. CSee note.) The king of Babylon coming up against Jerusalem, the prophet is requested to in- quire of God respecting the issue, and to intercede with him in behalf of his people Judah. But the Lord is declared to be against them, and the only mitigation of their punishment, they are told, must proceed from their surrendering voluntari- ly to tne king of Babylon. Lowth, (father of the Bishop,) in his commentary, is ofppinion. with other learned men, that the four last verses of this chap- ter must have been delivered at a more early period, before the decree for Judah’s destruction was made peremptory : if so, they should be connected with the chapter following. (Chap, xxit.) Dr. Blayney , however, argues from chap, xviit. 7, 8. that reform could not have been too late if sincere and thorough; he therefore retains these verses in their present connexion. On this we shall only remark, that though repentance, if real, can never be too late, it is extremely dangerous and unwise to defer it, even for a day. “ To-day, if ye will hear his voice,” &c. (See Ps. xcv. 7, 8.) “ The most obstinate sinners, yea the most virulent persecu- tors, have seasons of compunction, and are sometimes con- vinced that their faithful reprovers are wiser and happier than they themselves are. So that in seasons of urgent distress ana peril, men frequently desire the counsels and prayers ot the very persons whom at other times they despise or oppose: and thus the servants of God pass ‘through honour and dis- Ver. 12. Let me see. — Blayney, " I shall see.’ 1 So also chap. xi. 20. The Hebrew is future. Ver. 15. Cursed be the man. — This imprecation cannot be construed into personal hatred, but must be considered merely as a strong poetical expression of his present misery. Chap. XXI. [This discourse was delivered about the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah. This chapter, observes Dr. Blayney , contains the first of those prophecies which were delivered by Jeremiah subsequent to the revolt of Ze- dekiah. and the breaking out of the war thereupon ; and which are continued on to the taking of Jerusalem, related in ch. xxxix. in the following order : ch. xxi., xxx iv. , xxxii., xxxiii . xxxviii., xxxix. ]—Bagster. Ver. 1. Pashur — not the son of Irnmer, mentioned chap. xx. l. butofanother family. Ver. 2- Nebuchadrezzar.— [Instead of Nebuchadrezzar, which is the reading m in twenty-six places in this book, many MSS. have Nebuchadnezzar, which is the common reading ; and here all the versions, except the Arabic, which omits it, have it in this form. This prince succeeded his father Nabopollasar in the throne of Babylon, A. M 3399. B. C. 605, and died, after a reign of forty-three years, A. M. 3442. B. C. 562.1— Bolster. Ver. 9. For a prey— or spoil. This is a proverbial phrase. Whatever was taken in spod was considered as clear gain— it cost nothing. Ver. 12. Execute judgment in “ the' morning" — See margin. ThaUis, ex- ecute speedy justice. The morning was the usual time for judgment. Ver. 13. O thou inhabitant of the valley and rock of the plain.— See mar- gin. Blayney , “ Of the deeply levelled rock.” Zion r ‘ was a very steep and rocky mountain on every side but its top was levelled by art for the founda- tion of its buildings. Ver. 14. Jn the forest thereof— That is. in the midst of the palaces or houses An exhortation to repeniance. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. XXII. The judgment of Jehoiakim. CHAPTER XXII. I lie exhortetli to repentance, with promises and threats. 10 The judgment ot Sliallum, 13 of Jelioiakim, 20 and of Coniol). T HUS saiththe Lord ; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, 2 And say, Hear a the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy peo- ple that enter in by these gates : 3 Thus saith the Lord ; Execute b ye judg- ment and righteousness, and deliver the spoil- ed out of the hand of the oppressor : and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed inno- cent blood in this place. 4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting c upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. 5 But if d ye will not hear these words, I swear by e myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king’s house of Judah ; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon : yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. 7 And l will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and ' they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and ’ cast them into the fire. 8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore h hath the Lord done thus unto this great city ? 9 Then they shall answer, Because they ■ have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. 10 If Weep ye not for the i dead, neither be- moan him : but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. 11 For thus saith the Lord touching k Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reign- A. M. cir. 3WS. B. C. cir. a c. 17.20, &c. b c.21.12. c for David, upon his throne. d 2 Ch.7.19, 22 . e He.6.13,17 f Is. 37.24. g c.21.14. h De.29.24, 25. 1 Ki.9.8,9. i 2 Ki.22. 17. 2CI).34.25. j Ec.4.2. Is. 57.1. k 2Ki. 23.30. LCh.3.15. 1 2Ki.23.34. ver.18. in Mi. 3. 10. Hab.2.9. n Le.19.13. De.24.14, o thorough- aired. P or, viy windows. q 2Ki. 23.25. r Is. 3. 10. s or, incur- t Eze.19 6. u c. 16.4.6. v IKi. 13.30. w c.36.30. fulfilled 599. x c. 30.14. y prosperi- ties. z c.3.25. 7.23,&c. ac.23.1,&c. b inhabit- res6. c.21.13. ed instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place ; He shall not return thither any more : 12 But i he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. 13 T[ Wo m unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong ; that " useth his neighbour’s service without wages, andgiveth him not for his work; 14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and 0 large chambers, and cutteth him out p windows ; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. 15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar ? did not thy father i eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him 1 1G He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well r with him: was not this to know me ? saith the Lord. 17 But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for £ ‘ violence, to do it. IS Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah ; They “shall not lament for him , saying, Ah my v brother ! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying , Ah lord ! or, Ah his glory ! 19 He w shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. 20 Tf Go up to Lebanon, and cry ; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the pas- sages: for all thy lovers x are destroyed. 21 l spake unto thee in thy y prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from z thy youth, that thou obey- edst not my voice. 22 The wind shall eat up all thy a pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity : surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. 23 O 1 inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest honour, through evil and good report.’ Such men indeed only inquire after deliverance from punishment: if the Lord would deal with them according to the riches of his power and mercy, in saving them from suffering, and then leave them to indulge themselves in sin, they would be reconciled to him and to his ministers: and they will meet with teachers, who will en- courage them on this plan, for a valuable consideration to themselves. But the faithful servant of God is zealous for his Master’s honour, and adheres to his instructions: he can en- courage no man who refuses to ‘repent and do works meet for repentance:’ he will constantly maintain, that those who hale and disobey the precepts, have no interest in the promises of God ; and that he will not deal with hypocrites according to the wonders which he performs for his people. When sinners therefore inquire about events, they should be directed to the duties of their stations: those who are descended from pious ancestors, should be exhorted to imitate them ; and they who are placed in authority, should be reminded to execute justice and do good : otherwise these distinctions will the more ex- pose men, when the ‘fury of the Lord goeth forth like fire, o( the great, which were generally built of cedar from Lebanon. See chap, xxti. 23. Chap. XXII. Vcr. 6. Thou art Gilead , &c . — [Gilead was the most fertile part of the country, and renowned for its rich pastures ; and Lebanon was the highest mountain in Israel, celebrated for its stately cedars; and both were, therefore, proper emblems of the reigning family. " But though thou art the richest and most powerful, 1, who raised thee up, can bring thee down, and make thee a wilderness.”!— Bolster. Ver. lit. Wte-p ye not for the dead— |The ruin of the kingdom of Judah com- menced wilh the death of Josiah, in consequence of the wounds he had recei- ved at Mcgiddo : and the prophet therefore referred to that event ; and also to predictions which were delivered soon after, when Jehoahoz, or Shallum, was carried by Pheraoh-necho into Egypt, where he died. [—Bolster. Rut weep tore for him that goeth (htayney, ‘‘is gone”) away — meaning Shallum, who, on c-eeitriing the throne, probably, had taken the name of Jehoahaz. Ver 12 . In the plane — That is, Egypt, whither he had been carried captive, anil where, in about three months, he died. See 2 Kings xxiii. 31. Ver. 11. CtileA with cedar . — I Dr. Russel, speaking ofthe houses of Aleppo, says. ** their ceilings are of wood, neatly painted, and sometimes gilded, as arc the window shutters the panels of some of their rooms and the cup- tos and burnetii, that none can quench it, because of the evil of their doings.’ He sets himself especially against those, who presumptuously defy his thrertenings : and he will let them know, that none of their devices or confidences can withstand the power of his righteous indignation.”— 7'. Scott. Chap. XXII. Ver. 1 — 30. Exhortation to repentance ad- dressed to the royal family of Judah . — This prophecy, to the 9th verse of the next chapter, was evidently delivered (says Dr. Blayney) in the reign of Jehoiakim ; for it speaks of his immediate predecessor (Shallum or Jehoahaz, who reigned three months only) as already gone into captivity, (ver. 11,) and foretels the death of Jehoiakim himself: (ver. 19.) It is likewise probable (says the same learned commentator) that it followed immediately after what is said in the xixth and xxth chapters to have passed in the temple precincts, from whence, as from higher ground, the prophet is ordered to gc down to the house of the king of Judah. (Compare chap, xxxvi. 12.) The beginning of this prophecy is addressed to the king of Judah and his court. It recommends to them the practice of board doors, of which they have great numbers ; these taken together have a very agreeable effect.”]— Bagster. Ver. 15. Closest tbyself in cedar — That is, art surrounded with cedar. G» senius renders it, “ Because thou viest” (with others.) Boothroyd , “ Rival- est others in cedar:” hut Blayney translates, “ Frettest thyself in cedar.” "V^e prefer the text. Ver. 18 . Ah, sister — That is, the queen . —His glory —Blayney , “ her glory,’ and so Hebrew. Ver. 19. Cast forth beyond the gates, &c.— Dr. Blayney tbu3 explains tho history of this king. On Nebuchadnezzar’s first attack, Jelioiakim submitted, and was leniently treated ; but afterwards rebelling, he was pul in chains to be carried to Babylon : in the moan time, dying, he was ca9t forth without the walls, and, probably, into the detested valley of Hinnom. See 2 Kings xxiv. 2 Chron. xxxvi. Ezek. xix. 8. 9. Jer. xxxvi. 30. Ver. 20 . Go up to Lebanon.— Blayney considers this addressed to the royal house of Judah, who are, ironically, counselled to go up to the mountains and call for help. Ver. 23. Inhabitant.— Heb. “ Tnhabitress of Lebanon.” See chap. xxii. 6. Hozo graciovs !- Some read, “ How wilt thou groan'” So Seeker and Bnothrovd. BIT Against the false prophets, thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail ! 24 /Is I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah e the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet d upon my right hand, yet would 1 pluck thee thence ; 25 And e I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And r I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born ; and there shall ye die. 27 But to the land whereunto they e desire to return, thither shall they not return. 28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol ? is he a vessel h wherein is no pleasure ? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not ? 29 O i earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. 30 Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man ) childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. CHAPTER XXIII. 1 He prophesieth a restoration of the scattered flock. 5 Christ shall rule anti save them. 9 Against false prophets, 33 and mockers of the true prophets. W O “be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture ! .saith the Lord. 2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye JEREMIAH.— CHAP XXIII. A. M. cir. 3406. B. C. cir. 593. c 2Ki.24.6.. 8 1 Ch.3.16. c.37.1. d Ca.8.6. Hag. 2. 23. e c.34.20. f 2Ki.24.15. g lift up. their mind c.44.14. h Ho.8.8. i Is. 1.2. 1 c.36.30. Matl.il, 12 . b Ac.20.29. c De.30.1,6. c.32.37. E7e.34.13, &c. d c.3.15. c ls.4.2. 11.1. . 5. 40.9.. II. c-33.1 1.. 16. Zee. 3. 8. 6 . 12 . Jn.1.45. f Da. 9.24. g Ps.72.2. h De.33.27, 23. Zee. 14.9, 11 . i Jehovah , tsid-kenu. 1 Co. 1.30: j c.16.14,15 k Zep.3.20. 1 Is. 43.5,6. m A in. 9. 14, 15. A. M. 3399. B. C. 605. u Hab.3.16. 0 Is.6.5 p Ro.7.9. and mockers of true prophets b have scattered my flock / and driven them away, and have not visited them : behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. 3 And c 1 will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds ; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And d I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them : and they shall fear nc more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. 5 Tf Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a e righteous Branch, and a King shall f reign and prosper, and e shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. C In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell h safely : and thisfs his name where- by he shall be called, i THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 i Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ; 8 But, The Lord 11 liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all 1 coun- tries whither I had driven them; and m they shall dwell in their own land. 9 If My heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my "bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the 0 Lord, and because of the p words of his holiness. justice and equity, as the only means to prevent their total ruin. The captivity of the late king is however declared to be irreversible, and the miserable and unlamented end of the present explicitly foretold, (verses 18, 19.) His family is threat- ened with the like calamity, and his seed declared to be for ever excluded from the throne. Surely “it is a fearful thing,” insensible and impenitent, “ to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. x. 31.) “ Men imagine that wealth, magnificence, elegant mansions, furniture, paintings, and splendid vanities, give happiness to their • ossessors : and in order to acquire them, they often com- mit ti.e most atrocious crimes, and expose themselves to the severest vengeance of their offended Judge. How many grand houses have thus been budded by unrighteousness ! How many live in magnificence and luxury, by oppressing and defraud- ing the poor; and by constraining them to excessive labour, without any adequate compensation for their work! How many thus run into debt, and defraud their creditors ; at least so delay payment, as to ruin honest families, to gratify their infamous ostentation ! And indeed all who determine to be rich, or luxurious, will fall into these and various other temptations, and he betrayed into some species of injustice. Generally, the pride and vanity of young persons, in wanting to make a more genteel appearance than their prudent or pious parents did, prove them defective in more valuable accom- plishments; especially if their circumstances are not more affluent. It is unspeakably more respectable and comfortable to have food and raiment, and other accommodations, in a plain style, with honesty and piety; and to use hospitality, be friendly to the poor, and to have an interest in their prayers ; than to fare sumptuously, to lodge magnificently, to be sur- rounded with numerous servants and visitants; whilst extra- vagance puts an edge on rapacity, and ‘ the eyes and heart are only after covetousness,’ oppression, and other crimes, which luxury renders necessary. They who ‘ know God, will do justice and love mercy ; and it will be well with them Ver. 24. Though Coniah (or Jeconiah) be the signet upon my right hand— with which, probably, kings sealed their royal decrees and despatches. See Esther viii. 8. Ver. 28 . Is this man , &c. — [This appears to be the application of the whole discourse to Zedeki&h ; for it is to be observed, that Jeconiah is spoken of as absent , and already in captivity. Now if he and his seed had been for their sins thrown aside ns a broken idol, or as a vessel which a man despises, how could Zedckiah, who copied and far exceeded them, expect to prosper on the throne of David?] — Bagster. Ver. 30. Write this man childless. — Not that he was so absolutely, for he had several children, (1 Chron. iii. 17, 18.) but it was equivalent to his being childless, since none of his race were allowed to ascend the throne of Judah ; for Zoiubbahel was only a provincial governor under the king of Persia. The Hebrew word ( eriri ) means, not only childless, but also desolate and forsaken. 3ee Gesenius, in verb, and Davison on Prophecy. So Dr. Hales.— [Zedekiah was taken prisoner by Nebuchadnezzar ; his sons slain before his eyes ; and his eyes being put out, he was carried to Babylon ; and we read no more either of him or his posterity.]— Bagster. Chap. XXIII. Ver. 1. Wo to the pastors — [Under the term pastors are in- 818 living and dying: but those who dishonour him will be dis- graced ; and when ostentatious and oppressive rulers are re- moved, and none lament their death, it is an awful token that they are gone to receive the due recompense of their crimes.” — r. Scott. Chap. XXIII. Ver. 1 — 8. A wo denounced against wicked shepherds, and a promise to restore Israel by Messiah.— Leaving the first four verses of the chapter, to those whom it may more immediately concern ; we apply ourselves to ex- amine this prophecy ot the Messiah, who has been already in- troduced to us by Isaiah, (chap. xi. 1,) as a branch of the house of David. The name here given to Messiah is expressive of his character and office, as Jehovah our Righteousness. This construction of the text, w hich we think most natural, is sup- ported by the general current of Trinitarian writers, ancient and modern ; and of late ably defended by Dr. Pye Smith and Dr. Boothroyd. So far as respects the divinity of our Saviour, it may be considered parallel to the title ascribed to the same august personage by Isaiah, namely, Immanuel, or “ God with us:” but it also announces another scriptural truth of the first importance, that Messiah is the righteousness of his people ; or, as St. Paul expresses it, that he is “ of God made unto us righteousness” as well as wisdom and other important bene- fits. (l Cor. i. 30.) To this application of the passage it has been objected, both by Jews and Unitarians, that when the name Jehovah is used in combination with other words, as Jireh, Nissi, Sham- mah , &c., they form a proposition of which Jehovah is the nominative; thus Jehovah Jireh is rendered “The Lord will provide” — Jehovah nissi, “ the Lord is my banner,” and Jeho- vah Shammah , “ the Lord is there ;” and indeed, if other scriptures did not satisfy us of the proper deitv of the Son of Goa, we might feel it necessary to recur to this explication : but as we think many passages of the Old Testament, and still more of the New, establish this doctrine, (though we cannot here recite them,) we conceive the common interpretation the eluded all who were employed in governing or directing the people.)— Bagster See Isa. xliv. 28 . Ver. 6. This is the name whereby he shall be called. — Heb. “ The name he for they, for it may be either singular or plural) shall call or annource to him.” Smith's Messiah. Blaynty (as quoted in our exposition) follows the LXX but ” the other versions, with the Masoretic text, and the best Jewish exposi tors, consider Jehovah to be in construction with “ our righteousness.” Booth- royd.— On this passage, Dr. Hales (Analysis of Chronology, has cited the followin'.' remarks from Sepher Ikkarim , which, he observes, well expresses the reason of the appellalisn. the Lord our righteousness TheScriptuie calls the name of the Messiah, Jaoh, our righteousness ; to intimate that he will be a mediatorial God, by whose hand we shall obtain justification from the name : wherefore it calls him by the name of the name, (that is, the ineffable name Jaoh, here put for God himself.") Veri 9. My heart within me.— In the original, the order of the words is inverted, beginning, “Because (or 'concerning*) the prophets, my heart is broken,” &e. Blayney, therefore, and Boothroyd, consider the first word as a sort of title " concerning the prophets similar instances occur in the open* ing of chap. xlvi. xlviii. xlix. &c. Against the false prophets, JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXIII. and mockers of true prophets. 10 For the land is full of « adulterers ; for because, of r swearing s the land mourneth ; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their ' course is evil, and their force is not right. 11 For both " prophet and priest are profane ; yea, in my house v have I found their wicked- ness, saith the Lord. 12 Wherefore their way w shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness : they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their x visita- tion, saith the Lord. 13 And I have seen f folly in the prophets of Samaria ; they prophesied in 1 Baal, andcaus- ed my people Israel to err. 11 I have seen also in the prophets of Jeru- salem a a horrible thing: they commit adul- tery, and walk in b lies : they strengthen c also the hands of evil-doers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as d Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with e wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall : for from the prophets of Jerusalem is f profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. 17 They e say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Y e shall have peace ; and they say unto every one that walketh after the h imagination of his own heart, No > evil shall come upon you. 18 For who hath stood in the i counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word ? who k hath marked his word, and heard it ? 19 Behold, a whirlwind i of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind : it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. A. M. 3399. li. C. 605. q c.9.2. r or , cursing. s Ho.4.2,3. t or ^violence. u Zep.3.4. v Eze.8.16, 17. 23.39. Mat.21.13. w Pr.4.19 x Ex. 32. 34. y an unsa- voury, or, absurd tiling. z c.2.8. a or, filthi- ness. b ver.26,32. c Is. 41. 6,7. d Is. 1.9,10. e c.9 15. f or, hy- pocrisy. g Eze.13.10. Zee. 10.2. h or, stub- bornness. c.13.10. i Mi.ail. j or, secret. k2Ch. 18.23. 1 c. 30. 23, 24. mPr.21.30. a 1 Tli.5.6. o Am.9.2,3. p 1 Ki.8.27. q Jti.3.7. 8.33,34. r icith whom is. s He.4.12. t or, smooth. a Ib. 3.12. Am.2.4. 20 The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have per- formed m the thoughts of his neart : in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran : I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then n they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. 23 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide 0 himself in secret places that I shall not see him ? saith the Lord. Do not I fill p heaven and earth? saith the Lord. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to for- get my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers “> have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet r that hath a dream, let him tell a dream ; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the Lord. 29 Is not my word 6 like as a fire ? saith the Lord ; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the pro- phets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that <• use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to " err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them : therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord. 33 Tf And when this people, or the prophet, or most correct. Nor do we see the necessity of caution in this respect, since, as Dr. Pye Smith remarks, the “ sacred writers seein never to have felt the need of cautions or restrictions, when they were pouring out the fulness of their minds in the most unmeasured greatness of expression, on the glory of their Redeemer.” There is a third interpretation, in which many Jews and Christians meet; and which, though it does not in our view contain the whole, yet certainly contains a truth of great im- portance, when explained in harmony with other scriptures. Thus Mr. Leri himself translates it, — “ The Lord shall call him (Messiah) our Righteousness which is the identical version of Dr. Blayney, though he does not reduce the mean- ing of this important proppsition, as the Jew does, (and we fear many professing Christians,) to “ the example of his vir- tuous life and actions.” It is chiefly with respect to his atone- ment and our justification thereby, that we understand the term, which we shall hereafter endeavour to explain more fully. (See Rom. x. 4. Phil. iii. 8, 9.) Ver. 9 — 40. Judgments denounced against wicked Priests and false Prophets. — Jeremiah expresses his horror at the wickedness of the priests and prophets of Judah, and at the vengeance hanging over them, for their evil doctrines and ex- Ver. 10 . Because of sic earing. —By a different pointing, Blayney and Booth- rtnjd read, “ Because of these," &c. So LXX. and Syriac. Ver. 13. I have seen folly —See margin. Blayney, "That which was dis- puting.” They -prophesied in Boat— That is, in the name of Baal. So Blayney, &c. Concerning Baal's prophets, see 1 Kings xviii. 13, 21.; xxii. 6, 7. Ver. is. Counsel. — See margin. Blayney, “ Privy council.” See 1 Kings xxii. 19. &c. So ver. 22. Ver. 19. Whirlwind in fury. — f As whirlwinds are sometimes fatal to tra- vellers. who are overwhelmed by them in the desert, they are elegantly em- ployed to denote the certainty, as well as suddenness, of the destruction of the wicked. Morler, describing the whirlwinds of Persia, gays, they swept along the country in different directions, in a manner truly terrific, carrying away in their vortex sand, branches, and the stubble of the fields, and really appearing to make a communication between the earth and the clouds.)— B. Ver. 27. As their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal— See Deut. xiil 1—3. Ver. 23. Let him tell a dream.- That is, relate it as a dream. What is ample: and he exhorts the people not to listen to their false E romises of peace and safety, while God’s judgments were astening to overwhelm them. They are charged, not only with deceiving the people by pretended prophecies, but with the most awful profaneness, and the grossest vices, whereby they involved themselves and their country in inevitable ruin and perpetual shame. The folly of people in giving out their dreams for divine oracles, (like Brothers and Mrs. Southcott,) is here severely reprobated, and is only to be equalled by the simplicity of their followers, who will believe any thing— but the Bible! The latter verses of this chapter are “directed against those who called the word of God, spoken by the true prophets, a burden, by way of reproach; meaning that it always portended evil, and never good ; a burden signifying a calamitous pro- phecy.” (Blayney. See note on Isa. xvii. 1.) “It is a mark of great and daring impiety for men to jest with the words of God, or to ridicule the expressive language of faithful ministers. The enmity of the carnal heart powerfully urges men thus to ‘pervert the words of the living God:’ they who expect impunity in sin, and despise or abuse the sal- vation of the gospel, are always prone to revile or deride those, who, in the most scriptural manner, preach to sinners their the chaff to the loheat ? — [That is, when the dreamers declare their dreams, and the true prophets faithfully declare their message, the difference between them will be as evident as that between “ the chaff and the wheat.”)— B. Ver. 29. Word like fire, &c. — [As fire penetrates, enlivens, illuminates, softens, melts, purifies, consumes, or transforms every substance into its own nature ; so the Sacred Word, applied by the Spirit of God, penetrates the con- science, quickens and illuminates the mind, softens and melts the heart, puri- fies the affections, consumes the dross of sin, and transforms the believer's soul into its own holy nature; and, as a hammer, it breaks down the ] ire- sumptuous confidence of the proud and stout-hearted. Dr. Adam Clarke thinks there may be an allusion to the practice, in some mining countries, of roasting stones containing ore, before they are subjected to the hammer, in order to pulverize them. In Cornwall, they roast the tin atones, by which the arsenic is separated from the ore. and they are then easily reduced to powder in the stamp mill ; and, being afterwards washed, the grains of tin sink to the bottom, while the lighter parts go off' with the water, and the metal is then procured clean and pure.]— Bagster. 819 Wit type oj good and bad Jigs. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXIV., XXV. Restoration oj’ the captives. a priest shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden v of the Lord ? thou slialt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake w you, saith the Lord. 34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even * 1 punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neigh- bour, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered ? and, What hath the Lord spoken ? 36 And the burden of the Lord shall ye men- tion no more: for every ? man’s word shall be his burden ; for ye have perverted 1 the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee ? and, What hath the Lord spoken ? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the Lord ; therefore thus saith the Lord ; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord ; 39 K Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence : 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach '•upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten. CHAPTER XXIV. 1 Under the type of good and bad figs, 4 he loreshoweth the restoration of them that were in captivity, 8 and the desolation of Zedekiah and the rest. T HE Lord showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadrezzar a king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconi- ah b the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the c carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other bas- ket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, 11 they were so bad. A. M. 3399. C. C. GU5. v Mal.l.l. w 2CIU5.2. x visit upon. y (in.6.5. z 2Pe.3.!6. a Pr.13-13. b Ho.4.7. A. M. 340G. B. C. 598. a 2Ki.24 12, ftc. b c. 22.24, &c. c 1 Sa. 13-19. d for bad- ness. e Mat. 25. 32,33. f the cap- tivity. g He. 12. 10. h c.29.10.. 19. i De.30.6. c. 32. 39,40 E 7.e. 11.19. 36.26,27. j c.31.33. k c.3.10. Ro.6.17. 1 for re- moving, or, vexa- tion. m De.28.2S, 37. 1 Ki.9.7. n Ps.44.13, 14. o c.34.17. 3 Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good ; and • the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 4 If Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel ; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge f them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their e good. 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and h I will bring them again to this land : and I will build them, and not pull them down ; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them a heart i to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my j people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole k heart. 8 If And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil : surely thus saith the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: 9 And I will deliver them ■ to be m removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a " taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. 10 And 0 1 will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be con- sumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. CHAPTER XXV. I Jeremiah, reproving the Jews’ disobedience to the prophets, 8 foretrlleth the seventy years’ captivity, 12 ami after that, tire destruction of Babylon. 15 Under the iyje of a cup of wine, lie fureshoweth the destruction of all nations. 34 The howling of the shepherds. T HE word that came to Jeremiah concern- ing all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchad- rezzar king of Babylon ; 2 The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabit- ants of Jerusalem, saying, danger of eternal damnation : and numbers only inquire con- cerning the word of God, for their diversion, or to ridicule it. But every idle and profane word will add to the sinner’s insupportable burden of wrath and misery, in the day when the Judge shall bid him ‘depart accursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels and when, being for- saken of God, everlasting shame and reproach will be his portion : and that which may seem in itself to men a light matter, will be found a most heinous act of desperate rebellion, when sinners, by persisting in it, set God himself at defiance; when God says, Thou, shalt not; and the sinner’s words or actions answer, I will. Let us then so inquire after the word of the Lord, that we may believe, reverence, and obey it for our good.”— T. Scott. Chap. XXIV. Ver. 1 — 10. The vision of two baskets of figs explained. — Drs. Blayney and Boothroyd place this chap- ter in the first year of Zedekiah’s reign. Herein, under the emblem of two baskets of good and bad figs, is represented the fate of the Jews already gone into captivity with Jeconiah, and of those that remained still in their own country with Zedekiah. It is likewise intimated that God would deal kind- ly with the former, but that his wrath would still pursue the latter. Severe as the dispensation might seem to those who were first carried captive, it appears to nave been merciful, for it was “ for their good.” They were taken “from the evil to come,” and safely protected in Babylon, while those left be- hind were exposed to all the horrors of the siege : and when Ver. 33. What is the burden?— See note on Isa. xvii. 1 . Here seems to be a play of words, not uncommon even in the sacred writings. They ask what burden ? meaning a threatening prophecy : the reply is. " Yc are the burdep i. e. a burden to the country— a load which the Lord will cast from off it. Ver. 39. Chap. XXIV. Ver. I. Carpenters and smiths.— Blayney, “Artificers and armourers.” Ver. 2 . Like the figs first ripe.— Those which Dr. Shaw calls the boccore are consider'd far the best. Tlicy ripen in June. Naughty. — Rather, ‘bud." Which could not be eaten. — IThe wintsr fig, probably, then in crude or unripe state. ]—Bagster. R20 the time of their captivity was fulfilled, they were probably amon« the first who returned with Ezra and Nehemiah. “ The professors of true religion are presented before God, to be devoted to his glory, and employed in doing good to man- kind; as the first-fruits of the fig tree were brought to the temple, to be consecrated to God, and used by the priests and Levites. Indeed none of the human race are so good and use- ful as true believers; and none are so vile and worthless as hypocrites : thus 1 the good are very good, and the had very bad,’ more than among other men. But the Lord often spares those longest, and exempts them most from present suffering, whom he has ‘appointed unto wrath.’ ‘As many as he loves, he rebukes and chastens :’ and when the loss of estates, liberty, and country, and a complication of hardships and ca- lamities, are sanctified to the saving of their souls ; these ap- pear to be the methods by which God acknowledges his choice of them, and his purpose of doing them good. He alone can re move the pride, enmity, and blindness of the carnal mind, and give men hearts to know, fear, love, and trust hint : when this change takes place, they cordially return to him in his ap- pointed way. Thus they become his accepted, obedient ser- vants and worshippers; and he becomes their God and Fa- ther.”— 77 Scott. Chap. XXV. Ver. 1—38. Jeremiah reproves the Jews — marks the period of their captivity , and threatens the instru- ments of their punishment. — This chapter, which is dated in the 4th year of Jehoiakim, contains a summary of the judg- N. B— This chapter, ami the whole of the five following chapters, are in prose, to the end of chap, xxix. Chap. XXV. Ver. 1. In the .fourth year of Jehoiakim.— Blayney reckons it in the beginning of the year, und at the very commencement of Nebuchad- nezzar's expedition — iicfore the defeat of the Egyptians. The first year of Nebuchadnezzar . — [ Nebuchadnezzar was associated with his father Nabopol- lasar two years before the death of the latter; and from this time the Jewish computation of Nebuchadnezzar's reign begins ; that is, from the end of the thirif year of Jehoiakim ; and, tlierefore. according to them, the fourth year of Jehoiakim was the first your of Nebuchadnezzar. But the Babylonians date the ftommenoement of ins reign two vears later, that is, on the death of hi* Babylonish captivity foretold. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXV. Prophecy of general destruction. 3 From 1 the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Anion king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the Lord hath coine unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising b early and speaking; but ye have not c hearkened. 4 And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and send- ing them j but ye have not hearkened, nor in- clined your ear to hear. 5 They d said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: 6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me e not to anger with the works of your hands ; and I will do you no hurt. 7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own f hurt. 8 T[ Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, 9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchad- rezzar the king of Babylon, my e servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will h take from them the voice > of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the i sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. 11 And this whole land shall be a k desola- tion, and an astonishment ; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy 1 years. 12 H And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will m punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and n will make it perpetual deso- lations. 13 And 0 1 will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jere- miah hath prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall serve p themselves of them also: and I will re- compense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. 15 IT For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me ; Take the wine-cup « of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom l send thee, to drink it. a. m. sm B. C. 606. a from 629 till 606. b c.7. 13.4c. I1.7,&c. 29.19. c Ps.81.13. Is. 55. 2. Jn.8 47. d 2Ki. 17.13. c. IS. 11. 35.15. e Do.32.21. 1 Ki.14.22. f Pr.8.36. g Pr.21.1. Is. 10. 5. 44.23. h cause to perish from them. i Is.24.7,8. Ho.2.11. j Ec.l2.2..4. k Le.2G.34, 35. 1 Beginning 606. 2 Ki.24.1. Ending 536. Ezr.l.l. Da.9.2. m visit upon. n Is.14.23. 21.1,4c. 47.1. c.50,51 - o Da-5.28, 31. p c.27.7. q Job 21.20. Bb.7S.GL Is. 51. 17. Re. 14. 10. r Eze. 23.34. Na.ail. s ver.9,1 1. t C.46.2.&C. n Ex. 12.33. N«. 11. 4. v Job 1.1. w c. 47. 1,4c x Ne. 13.23 ..27. y c. 48,49. z or, region by the seaside. a cut off into cor- ners , or, having the cor- ners of the hair polled. c.9.26. 49.32. b Eze. 30.5. c O.50.9. d c. 51.41. e Hab.2.16. f Is.51.2l. 63.G. g Eze. 9. 6. h upon which my name is called. i Pr. 11.31. c.49.12. L> 1.23.31. 1 Pe.4.17. j Eze. 38. 21. k la. 42.13. 1 2C7i.30.27. m Is. 16.9. 16 And r they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 17 Then took 1 the cup at the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me : 18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to £ make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse; as it is this day ; 19 Pharaoh 1 king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people ; 20 And all the mingled u people, and all the kings of the land of v Uz, and all the kings ol the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of 11 Ashdod, 21 y Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, 22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the z isles which are beyond the sea, 23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all *that are in the utmost corners, 24 And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled b people that dwell in the desert, 25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, 26 And c all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth r and the king of Sheshach d shall drink after them. 27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink e ye, and be f drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Ye shall certainly drink. 29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil e on the city '■ which is called by my name, and should ye ■ be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be un- punished : for I will j call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts. 30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar k from on high, and utter his voice from his holy 1 habitation ; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation ; be shall give a shout, as they m that tread the grapes , against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth ; for the Lord hath a controversy with merits threatened by Jeremiah against Judah, Babylon, and other nations. It begins with reproving the Jews for disobey- ing the calls o'’ God to repentance, on which account their captivity, together with that of the neighbouring nations, during 70 years, is foretold. At the expiration of that period, computing from the invasion of Nebucbadne7,zar, in the 4th year of Jehoiakim, to the famous edict in the 1st year of Cyrus, father : which computation is followed by Daniel, who wrote in Chaldee. See prhleaux.) — Bagster. Vcr. 4 All his servants, &c. — lUri.jah the son of Shemaiah, and Huldah thn prophetess lived about this time. Zcphaniah also prophesied during part of th ; time : and it is probable that Habakkuk was contemporary with them. Rising e/trhj—Tb^X is, “ sending them diligently.”] — Bagster. Ver. 10 . The voice of mirth. —See margin. See chap. vii. 34.; xvi. 9.- The sound of the millstones, and the light of a. candle— ox lamp. [Sir J. Chardin remarks, that in the East, every where in the morning may he heard the noise of the mills, which often awakens people; for they generally grind every day just as much as may he necessary for the day’s consumption. Where, then, the noise of the mill is not heard in the morning 1 , nor the light of the canfjle seen in the evening, there must be an utter desolation 1 — Bagster. Ver. II. Severity years. — (This prophecy was delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and began to be accomplished immediately; and it. was exactly seventy years from this time to the proclamation of Cvrns for the return of fbe Jews.! -Bagster. \ an end was to be pul to the Babylonian empire. (Comp. ver. 8—11. with Dan. v. 30, 31.) All this is again declared by the emblem of that cup of wrath which was tendered to all the nations he enumerates. (Ver. 15 — 29.) And for farther con- firmation, it is a third time repeated, in a very beautiful and elevated strain of poetry, from the 30th verse to the end of the chapter. It is a part of the divine economy to employ Ver. 14. Serve th eras elves of them. —Blayney, “ Exact service.” Ver. 16 . Be moved— Blayney," Stagger.” Ver. 17. Made all the nations to drink. — This cannot be understood literal- ly, but is generally supposed to be the relation of a prophetic vision ; Mher- wise, we may suppose that these cups, like the yokes mentioned chap, xxvii. 2, 3, mi if lit be delivered to the messengers, or ambassadors, of the different powers resident at Jerusalem.— fThat is. I declared publicly the vengeance of God upon Judah and Jerusalem, and all the nations upon whom it was to fall.] —Bagster. Ver. 19. Pharaoh.— \ Pharaoh u echo, who principally instigated the other nations to form a league against the Chaldeans. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 21. Edtjm and Moab, &c — For the different cups, burdens, (or oracles , ) respecting these several powers, see chap. xlvi. to li. Ver. 26 . Sheshach is evidently Babylon ; see chap. li. 41 ; but why so called is unknown. Ver. 31. A noise shall come. — (The dreadful devastations made by the Chat cleans through all the nations of thp East and afterwards the destruction o 821 Prophecy oj general destruction. the nations, He n will plead with all flesh ; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. 32 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from 0 nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 33 And the slain p of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth : they shall not be la- mented, neither gathered, nor buried ; they shall be dung upon the ground. 34 T[ Howl, ye shepherds, and « cry ; and wallow yourselves in the ashes , ye principal of the flock : for '' the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished ; and ye shall fall like a ■ pleasant vessel. 35 And ‘the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock, shall he heard : for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture. 37 And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord. 33 He hath forsaken u his covert, as the lion : for their land is v desolate because of the fierce- ness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger. CHAPTER XXVI. 1 Jeremiah, by promises and threatenings, exhorteth to repentance. 8 He is therefore apprehended, 10 and arraigned. 12 His apology. 16 He is quit in Judgment, by the example of Micah, 20 and of Urijah, 24 and by the care of Ahikam. I N the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king^of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord ; Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak unto all the cities A. M. 3398. D. C. 606. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXVI. Jeremiah is arraigned. of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, a all the words that I command thee to speak unto them ; diminish not a word ; 3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that 1 may repent b me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. 4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord ; If c ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, 5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent d unto you, both rising up early, and sending them , but ye have not hearkened ; 6 Then will I make this house like ' Shiloh, and will make this city a f curse to all the nations of the earth. 7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 If Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. 9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shi- loh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down s in the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house. 11 Then spake the priests and the prophets n Is.C6.16. o Zcp.3.8. slaughter 8 vessel of desire. t Jlight shall pe- rish from the shep- herds and escaping from. Am. 2. 14. v a desola- tion . A. M. 3394. B. C. 610. a c.23.23. Eze.3.10, b lKi.2l.27, 29. J n.3. 8.. 10 c Lc.26.14, d c. 25.3,4. e 1 Sa.4.10.. sinners to punish one another. The Lord will “plead with all flesh,” and “give them that are wicked (of whatever na- tion) to the sword.” “ How grand and awful a view have we here given us of di- vine Providence! How affecting a representation of the state of fallen man! The judgments of God have ever been going round from one nation to another, and have never been suf- fered to rest; because of the wickedness of mankind. When we consider the fury and rage with which the several nations of the earth have, in every age, rushed upon mutual carnage and destruction; we must allow that their conduct has re- sembled that of men who are intoxicated and mad: but we need not wonder at these effects, when we reflect that they have been drinking of the cup of God’s indignation, and have been given up to their own mad passions to execute his ven- geance on each other. This emblem also may instruct us, what an odious and pernicious vice drunkenness is : and how dreadful the wrath of God must be to those who fall under it to rise no more. It is vain to struggle against the sentence which he has denounced, or to object to Ins righteousness : he will constrain men tp drink of this bitter cup ; he will destroy them with his avenging sword. He will not even spare those cities or countries which have been called by his name : but if his judgments begin with degenerate professors of Christian- ity, let not the impious and profligate expect to be ‘ altogether unpunished;’ for ‘from his holy habitation he will utter his voice against all flesh.’ But the Lord will preserve his peo- ple in all changes : and whatever removes them from this world of sin and sorrow, they will then enter into those peace- ful mansions, where war, changes, sickness, and death, can find no admission: because no sin will be found in them for ever.” — T. Scott. Chap. XXVI. Ver. 1 — 24. Jeremiah delivering a -prophetic oracle is tried for his life, and escapes with difficulty. — In the beginning of the reign of king Jehoiakim, Jeremiah fore- tels the destruction of the temple and city, if not prevented by the speedy repentance of the people. By this unwelcome prophecy his life was in great danger : the priests and false Prophets with some of the people drag him before the princes of Judah, and demand sentence of death against him. He justifies himself, on the ground of acting by a divine commis- sion, and some of the elders of the nation take his part, par- ticularly Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, by whose means he is acquitted. Alas, for us, that it should be considered ns a crime in any man to warn sinners to repent — especially in one, who, like Jeremiah, was accredited as a Prophet of the Most High ! By verse 2, it should seem that this event (like the mock trial of Messiah himself) texpk place at one of the great Jewish fes- tivals, when “all the cities” — that is, inhabitants from all the cities of Judah, were assembled to worship at the temple, where a prophet ought to have been heard with attention ; but “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! (it is thou) which killest the Pro- phets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee!” “ The ambassadors of God should speak his word with all boldness, and adhere strictly to their instructions : but in so doing they will often be exposed to danger, and to the censure even of their more timid and less zealous friends. — A minister of religion, who diminishes aught from the message which he is sent to deliver, is as justly chargeable with unfaithfulness, as he who alters any thing in it: ministers should therefore be very diligent in obtaining an acquaintance with the whole revealed counsel of God, as well as careful to declare it with- out respect of persons. — It must not be expected that the Lord will abate any thing of what he requires, or alter his method of delivering sinners from deserved punishment, in compliance with the perverse desires of his rebellious subjects. It is his invariable rule to pour contempt on all external distinctions and performances, when men rest in them and neglect ‘ the power of godliness :’ and indeed the most implacable enemies to true religion have often been most zealous for forms and no- tions ; especially when their interests and characters were con- cerned. It has therefore sometimes been safer to denounce the judgments of God against wicked princes, and even in the palaces of kings, than in the precincts of the temple, and be- fore hypocritical priests and prophets ; who have in every age been ready to inquire of those whom the Lord has employed as his messengers, ‘ By whose authority’ do ye such things? and to pronounce them worthy to die for doing his will. They Babylon by the Medes and Persians, are here primarily foretold in this awful language ; hut it also accords very much with the passages in which the ruin of all the antichristian powers is evidently predicted. I — Bolster. Ver. 34. Uoiot, ye shepherds— That is, princes and rulers. See chap, xxiii. 1. and note. The days of your slaughter.— See margin. Probably, “ days of feasting.” A pleasant vessel.— See margin.— [As a fall will break and utterly ruin a precious vessel of crystal, agate, &c. so your overthrow will be to you irreparable ruin. 1— Bagster. Ver. 38. Forsaken his covert.— [Nebuchadnezzar has left the covert of Ba- jylon, like a lion leaving the banks of Jordan when overflowed, to destroy the nations, especially Judea.]— Bagster. 822 Chap. XXVI. Ver. 2. Court of the Lord.— [This was the great outer court where the people assembled for the purpose of religious worship on ordinary occasions, when they brought no sacrifices ; but when they offered a sacrifice they were to bring it into the inner court, or that of the priests. See Light fool.}— Bagster. Ver. 6. Make this place like Shiloh.— See chap. vii. 12—14. A curse , — [So that when they would curse any, they should say, " God do to thee ar, to Jerusalem.”] — Bagster. Ver. 8. Thou shalt surely die. — Heb. ” Dying thou shalt die.” Ver. 9, Why hast thou prophesied?— I The priests and false prophets, who were the prosecutors of Jeremiah, seem to Iravc utterly disregarded wlrat he .hremiah is acquitted. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXVII. Urijah is slain. unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die ; for ' he hath pro- phesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. 12 Tf Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. 13 Therefore now amend iyour ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God ; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. 14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand : do with me k as seemeth good and meet unto you. 15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof : for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears. 16 If Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets ; This man is not worthy to die : for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. 17 Then i rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18 Micah the Morasthite m prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Zion shall be ploughed " like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest. 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear “the Lord, and besought the p Lord, and the Lord repented q him of the evil which he had pro- nounced against them ? Thus might we pro- cure great evil against our souls. 20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land accord- ing to all the words of Jeremiah : 21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought r to put him to death : A. M. 3394. B. C. 610. h the judg- ment of death is for this man. i c. 33.4, 5. j C.7.3..7. k it is good and right in your eyes. 1 Ac. 5.34, &c. m Mi. 1.1. u Mi. 3. 12. o 2Ch.32.2G. p face of the LORD. q 2Sa.24.16. x Ps.119. 109. s Mat. 10.23. t sons of the people u 2Ki 22.12, 14. c.39.14. v Is. 37.32,33 A. M. 3409. B. C. 595. a or, hath the LORD said. b Eze.4.1. 12.3. c or, con- cerning their mas- ; ters, say- ; ing. d Ps.146.6. Is. 45. 12. e De.32.8,9. Ps.115.16. Da.4.17, 32. f c.28.14. •13. III. Eze.29.18 ..20. h Da. 2. 38. i 2Ch.3G.20. Da. 5. L9. but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and 8 fled, and went into Egypt; 22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely , Elnathan the son of Achbor. and certain men with him into Egypt. 23 And they fetched forth Urijah outof Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king ; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the ' common people. 24 Nevertheless the hand of u Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of v the people to put him to death. CHAPTER XXVII. 1 Under the type of bonds and yokes lie prophesieth the subduing of the neighbouring kings unto Nebuchadnezzar. 8 He exhorteth them to yield, and not to believe the false prophets. 12 The like he doeth to Zedekiah. 19 He foretelleth, the remnant of the vessels shall be carried to Babylon, and there continue until the day of visitation. I N the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus i ' saith the Lord to me ; Make thee b bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, 3 And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messen- gers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah ; 4 And command them c to say unto their masters, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Thus shall ye say unto your masters ; 5 I d have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it 6 unto whom it seemed meet unto me. 6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of f Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my s servant; and the beasts h of the field have I given him also to serve him. 7 And i all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of j his land come : and then k many nations and i c.25.12. 50.27 Dii.5.26, 31. k c.25.14. 50.9,10. 51.27,28. great kings shall serve themselves of him. 8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and ‘ that will not put their neck under the yoke of have also frequently seduced the people into such an unac- countable reverence for them, that they have been ready to concur in their persecuting designs, without farther inquiry.”— T. Scott. Chap. XXVII. Ver. 1 — 22. Jeremiah, by a significant pro- phetic action, recommends to the kings of Judah, and of the surrounding countries, submission to the yoke of Nebuchad- nezzar .— Ambassadors being come from several neighbouring nations to solicit Zedekiah, king of Judah, to join in a con- federacy against the king of Babylon, Jeremiah is directed to Dut bands and yokes upon his neck, (the common emblems of had spoken concerning repentance and turning from their evil ways ; and merely to have noticed the prophecy against the city and temple, as if it had been absolute ; and thus they in effect bore false witness against him 1 — B. Ver. ll. This man is worthy to die. — Heb. “The judgment of death (is) for this man.” Ver. 18. Micah the Morasthite— See, Micah iii. 12. He prophesied many years before Jeremiah. See Micah iii. 12. Zion shall be ploughed.— [Jose- phus relates, that Titus, after he had taken Jerusalem, ordered his soldiers to demolish it, except three of the largest and most beautiful towers, and the western wall of the city ; all the rest was levelled, so that they, who had ne- ver before seen it, could scarcely persuade themselves it had been inhabited. The Jewish w riters also inform us, that Turnus Rufus, whom Titus had left in command, ploughed up the very foundations of the temple. When Dr. Richardson visited this sacred spot in 1818 , he found one part of Mount Zion supporting a crop of barley, arid another undergoing the labour of the plough: the soil turned up consisted of stone and lime mixed with earth, such as is usually met with in foundations of ruined cities. It is nearly a mile in circum- ference ; is highest, on the west side, and, towards the east, falls down in broad terraces on the upper part of the mountain, as it slopes down towards th £ brook Kcdron. ] — Bags ter. Ver. 20. Urijah. — The hjstory of this prophet, seems totally unknown, and ii' he date of this chapter is the beginningof Jclioiakim’s reign, it is difficult to account for the mention of this event. It was evidently not stated by Ahikam, out by some other “ elder,” a hitter enemy of Jeremiah and of the truth, who would not have dared to mention it, hut that he considered it as a meritorious action in Jehoiakim, and wished to sec it repeated toward Jeremiah. The other elders, however, might be shocked at the recital, and therefore the more .nclined to follow the counsel of Ahikam. who had been one of good king Jo- siahV counsellors. 2 Kings xxii. 12. subjection,) and to send them afterwards by those ambassa- dors to their respective princes j intimating by this significant type, that God had decreed their subjection to the king of Ba- bvion, and that it was their wisdom to submit. Zedekiah is also admonished not to join in the revolt, and warned against trusting to the suggestions of false Prophets, who would mis- lead him. The chapter concludes with foretelling that what still remained of the sacred vessels of the Temple should be carried to Babylon; but he restored at the end of the period already mentioned. (See Ezra i. 7, &c.) “The whole earth is the property, as well as the work, of its Chap. XXVII. Ver. 1. Jehoiakim.— Though we are extremely cautious of introducing corrections into the sacred text, yet it cannot he denied, but that the Hebrew scribes have committed many literal and verbal errors, of which this is certainly one of the most glaring.— [It seems perfectly evident, that this prophecy was delivered about the fourth year of Zedekiah . and not Jehoi- akim, as in the text. Three of Dr. Kennicott's MSS. (one, 224, in the text, another, 590, in the margin, and a third, 154, upon a rasure.) have Zedekiah; us have also the Syriac and Arabic. Houbigant, Loivth, Blayney, Dahler , Dr. Adam Clarke , and others, declare for this reading, against That of the present text; and it is clear, from Zedekiah being mentioned through tne whole transaction, that it is the genuine reading.]— Bagster. See also the first verse of the next chapter. Ver. 2 . Bonds and yokes. — See what is said of prophetic action in our In troduction to the prophets. Ver. 8. The nation and kingdom — [ There is a peculiar grandeur, as wel. as propriety, in this method of predicting Nebuchadnezzar’s rapid successes. The God of Israel, declaring himself to be the Lord of armies, and the Creator and owner of the whole earth, with all its inhabitants and productions, and claiming full sovereignty over his creatures, avows his determination, for rea- sons he does not deign to assign, to give all the countries of the world to the king of Babylon, whom he calls his servant , because he would accomplish an important part of his most righteous designs. They, therefore, who would escape the most dreadful judgments, must submit to the God of Israel, by sub- mitting to Nebuchadnezzar ; they must hearken to the prophets of Israel, and not to their own diviners ; and they must observe, that Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson, would, whatever opposition should be made, possess the full dominion of all these countries, till the appointed time was expiree , and then, these haughty conquerors would in their turn become the prey o other powerful conquerors ; aU of which was most exactly fulfilled. 1 — P. R23 Jeremiah exhot tn Zedekiah. JEKEM1AH. — CHAP. XXV1I1. Jlanuniuh’s false prophecy. the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the Lord, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your ' dreamers, nor to your m enchanters, nor to your sorcer- ers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon : 10 For " they prophesy a lie unto you, to re- move you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish. 11 But the nations that bring their neck un- der the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the Lord ; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. 12 T[ I spake also "to Zedekiah king of Ju- dah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and p live. 13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore hearken not i unto the words of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon : for they prophesy r a lie unto you. 15 For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy r a lie in my name ; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and s the prophets thatprophesy unto you. 16 TI Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the Lord ; Hearken not to the words of your prophets that pro- phesy unto you, * saying, Behold, the vessels u of the Lord’s house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon : for they prophesy a lie unto you. 17 Hearken not unto them ; serve the king of Babylon, and live : wherefore should this city be laid waste ? 18 But v if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make j intercession to the Lord of hosts, that theves-j p Pr.1.33. n c.14.14. 23.21. 29.8,9. r in a lie , or, lyingly. i 2 Ch.36.7, 10. Da. 1.2. v lKi.18.24, v 2Ki.25.13 ..17. c.52.17.. 23. x2Ki.24.14, 15. c.24.1. 2Ch.36.10 y c.32.5. a c.27.1. b e.27.12. c c.27.16. d years of days. e captivity. f lTi.5.10. sels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. 19 H For thus saith the Lord of hosts concern ing the w pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the re- sidue of the vessels that remain in this city, 20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he carried away 1 captive Je coniali the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem ; 21 Yea, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem ; 22 They shall be carried to y Babylon, and there z shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the Lord ; then will a I bring them up, and restore them to this place. CHAPTER XXVIII. I Hananiah prophesied) falsely the return of the vessels, and of Jeconiah. 5 Jeremiah wishing it to he true, showeth that the eve^t will declare who are true prophets. If Hanamah brenketh Jeremiah’s yoke. 12 Jeremiah telleth of an iron yoke, 15 anu foretelleth Hanauiah’sdeadi. A ND a it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke b ol the king of Babylon. 3 Within c two d full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the Lord’? house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon : 4 And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the e captives of Judah, that went into Baby- lon, saith the Lord : for I will break the .yoke of the king of Babylon. 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people f that stood in the house of the Lord, omnipotent Creator; and ‘he eiveth it to whomsoever it seemeth meet to him but the character of those, who have hitherto had the largest share of its power and riches allotted to them, teaches us now very worthless he deems such acqui- sitions, compared with spiritual blessings. — The Lord does not now expressly inform us whom lie has appointed to rule the nations ; and therefore the efforts of men to defend their liber- ties from usurpers or invaders, are not indiscriminately to be condemned. But when his will is made known by the event, it behooves us in our private capacity to consider ‘ the powers that be, as ordained of God and to submit to them accord- ing to the laws and constitution of our country ; without respect to their characters or conduct, for which they must render an account to their own Master. — As every comfort or calamity is at the disposal of God ; it must in all cases be our interest to obey his will, by what means soever it is made known : and those who will not believe this, must be con- vinced of it by the event ; and of the fallacy of all the reason- ings and devices, by which they were encouraged to seek hap- iness, in following their own inclinations. But if all men are ound to obey God, as far as they are able in any way to dis- cover his will ; how inexcusable are they who live at the foun- tain-head of instruction, and have repeated warnings, exhor- Ver. 17. Serve the king, &c. — [This address of the prophet to Zedekiah had a particular weight in it -. for Zedekiah was made king by Nebuchadnezzar, and had taken an oath of being faithful to him. and never resisting liis autho- rity.]— Bagster. Ver. 19. Concerning the pillar s. —[The two brazen columns, eighteen cu- bits high, and twelve in circumference, placed by Solomon in the pronaos, or portico, of the temple. The sea. — The brazen sea. ten cubits in diameter, and thirty in circumference, which contained water for different washings in the Divine worship, and which was supported on twelve brazen oxen, nere probably denominated bases.]— Bagster. Ver. 22. Carried to Babylon— [So far from those already taken being Drought back, these which now remain shall be carried thither, unless ye sub- mit to the Chaldeans. They did not submit, and the prophecy was literally fulfilled. Until the day.— Until their restoration by Cyrus; whom I will excite to be gracious to my people.] — Bagster 824 tations, and encouragements sent to them, and yet persist in rebellion! They may be said to be in love with death, and bent on their own destruction: and those who encourage them to expect impunity, by contradicting the word of God, and ‘speaking lies in his name,’ are more criminal than the diviners and sorcerers of the Gentiles, and will be an- swerable for all the souls which perish by their means.”— T 1 . Scott. Chai\ XXVIII. Ver. 1 — 17. A false Prophet openly op- poses Jeremiah , who forclels his speedy death. — Hananiah, one of the Prophets spoken of in the preceding chapter, (verses 14, 15,) openly opposes and contradicts Jeremiah, predicts the speedy return of the king and people from Babylon, with all the sacred vessels, and tears the symbolic yokes of wood from off the Prophet’s neck. Jeremiah, in return, is ordered to get yokes of iron, as indicative of heavier servitude ; and de- nounces by inspiration the death of Hananiah within the cur- rent year. This was indeed fulfilled within two months — an awful warning against falsehood and presumption in religion. Dr. Blayney remarks on this chapter, that the Prophets “were an order of men among the Jews devoted to sacred literature (and he might have added music) and qualified by their attainments in religious knowledge to advise and instruct Chap. XXVIII. Ver. l. In the same year , &c.— [This obviously refers lo the time specified at the beginning of !he last chapter ; and proves that Zede- kiah , and not Jehoiakim. is the name that should he read there.]— Bagster. In the beginning— That is. the early part of the reign of king Zedekiah. He reigned eleven years, his fourth year was therefore in the early part of his reign. Fifth month— [Which commenced with the first new moon of Au- gust, according to our calendar.]— Bagster. Ver. 2. Thus speaketh . &c — [This false prophet imitated the style and manner of the true prophets ; hut he unconditionally promised prosperity to an abandoned generation.]— Bagster. Ver. 4. I will bring again.— [This was doubtless grateful news to the peo- ple, who looked upon Zedekiah only as Nebuchadnezzar’s deputy. Hananiah seems to have been more desirous of popular than regal favour ; for this pre diction could not be altogether agreeable to Zedekiah. But he was evidently a weak, as well as a wicked prince, and very generally despised ] — Bagster Jeremiah's yoke broken. JEREMIAH. — CHAR XXIX. He Joretellelh HannaniaK's death. 6 Even the prophet Jeremiah said, s Amen : the Lord do so : the Lord perform h thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the Lord’s house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. 7 ■ Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people ; S The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old, prophesied both against many j countries, and against great k king- doms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. 9 The 'prophet which prophesieth of™ peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him. 10 T[ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke " from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and brake it. 11 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord ; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchad- nezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went 0 his way. 12 If Then the word of the Lord came unto Teremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord ; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood ; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. 14 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; I have put a yoke of p iron upon the neck of all these nations, i that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ; and A. M. 3409. B. C. 595. g 1 Ki.1.36. h c.11.5. 17.16. 18.20. i 1 Ki.22.18. j D.13.1S. Am.c.1,2. k Jo. 1.2. 1 De. 18.22. ra Eze.13. 10, &c. n e.27.2. o Pr.14.7. p De-28.48. q c. 27.6, 7. r Da.2.38. s c. 29.31 ,32. t La.2. 14. u De.13.5. v revolt. c.29.32. w Is. 44.25, 26. A. M. cir. •3407. B. C cir. 597. a 2 Ki.24.12 ..16. b or, cham- berlains. c ver.28. they shall serve him : and I have given him the be'asts of r the field also. 15 If Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The Lord hath not sent thee ; e but thOu makest this people to trust in a ‘ lie. 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth : this year thou shalt die, because 11 thou hast taught T rebellion against the Lord. 17 So Hananiah the prophet w died the same year in the seventh month. CHAPTER XXIX. 1 Jeremiah sendeth a letter to the captives in Babylon, (o be quiet there, 8 and not to believe the dreams of their prophets, 10 and that they shall return with grace after seventy years. 15 He foretellelh the destruction of the rest for their disobedience. 20 He Showeth the fearful end of A hub and Zedekiah. two lying prophets. 24 She* maiah writeth a letter against Jeremiah. 30 Jeremiah readeih his doom. N OW these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were car- ried away captives, and to the priests and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Ne- buchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; 2 (After that “Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the b eunuchs, the princes of Ju- dah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) 3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Ze- dekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,) saying, 4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon ; 5 Build c ye houses, and dwell in them , and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them ; 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daugh- the people who earne (occasionally) to consult them.” They were generally educated in those seminaries, called schools of the prophets, under some eminent and inspired seer. They formedjhe clerical order, and were at some times very nume- rous. " Kings xviii. 4 ; xxii. 6.) They were not, however, all inspired, nor even ail religious, many being drawn to these schools probably from a love of literature, music, and a retired life. The students were called “ sons of the Prophets.” From the pious among them, the Lord usually (but not always, Amos vii. 14) chose his own Prophets; and from the worst, Baal and his worshippers were abundantly supplied. Even the pretended Prophets spoken of in this hook were not all avowed idolaters, but many of them professed to he Prophets of Jehovah, though neither gifted with the spirit of prophecy, nor endowed with piety. “No true prophet ever delivered his message with greater confidence, than false prophets have expressed when speaking lies in the name of God: and yet many well-meaning people are apt to regard men the more for being very confident, as if this were an evidence that they were in the right. But that which renders false teachers acceptable to multitudes, evi- dently distinguishes them from the faithful servants of God : namely, the coincidence of their doctrine with the pride and self-flattery of the human heart; and its tendency to encou- rage impenitent sinners with the hopes of impunity, and pros- perity, and eternal salvation. This so flatly contradicts the whole tenor of Scripture, that none, who are acquainted with it and reverence it, can he deluded by them.— Those ministers who are most full of love and compassion for sinners, and who most fervently seek and pray for their salvation, will be the most determined not to Hatter their pride, or sooth their con- sciences with delusive hopes. They will most plainly declare the alarming, as well as the encouraging parts of the sacred oracles; and call men to repentance, faith, and holiness, as Ver. 6. Jeremiah said, Amen. — [“ O that it may be according to thy word : May the people find it to he true!” The prophet thus expressed his fervent love to the people ; and would rejoice if the predicted miseries siiouid t-e averted, even though he might incur the disgrace of being deemed a false pro- phe 1. 1 — Bottler. Ver. 8. The 'prophets. — f As Hosea. Joel, Amos, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Ha- bakkuk, Zephaniah, and others, all of whom had denounced similar evils against a corrupt people. So that they wiio opposed Jeremiah also opposed those who preceded him ; and it was altogether unprecedented for a true pro- phet to promise deliverance to a guilty nation, without calling them to repent- ance. ] — Bolster. Per. 15. The Lord hathnol sent thee. — IThis was a hold speech in the pre- sence of those priests and people who were prejudiced in favour of the false prophets, who prophesied to them smooth things. I — Hamster. Ver. 16. Thou hast taught rebellion . — See margin ; also note on Dcut. rui. ;. indispensably necessary in order lo escape the present and fu- ture wrath of God. Such as are most solemn in these warn- ings and exhortations, copy the examples of the prophets and apostles, and ‘ men of God,’ who have been before them : but smooth teachers, who deal almost exclusively in comfort, and unqualified promises, and assurances of peace and safety, without discriminating ‘ betwixt the precious and the vile’ among the people, tread in the steps of the false prophets; and the event, will prove that the Lord did not send them.” — T. Scott. _ Chap. XXIX. Ver. 1 — 32. Jeremiah writes to warn and comfort the captives already sent lo Babylon. — This chapter contains the substance of a letter sent by the Prophet to the captives already in Babylon, in which he recommends to them patience and composure under their present circumstances, which were to endure for 70 years, during which, however, he assured them they should fare better than their brethren who remained behind ; and warns them against the suggestions of false Prophets, who flattered them with the hopes of a speedy end to their captivity. He likewise, in a second letter (ver. 24) denounces heavy judgments against those false Prophets that deceived them, and particularly against Shemaiah, (the dream- er,) who had sent a letter of complaint against Jeremiah to the Jews at Jerusalem. “ The zealous servant of God considers himself as bound to use every means in his power, to profit those who are far off', as well as those who are near. Writingis peculiarly profitable in this respect : and it is rendered immensely more beneficial by the invention of printing, in circulating the knowledge of the word of God. — Submission to Providence is always our duty and interest : and it is as foolish as ungrateful, to under- value and reject the comforts within our reach, by repining for the want of those which we cannot obtain.— The interest of the church, or of posterity, should by no means be neglected, Ver. 17. Seventh month.— \ The prophecy was delivered in the fifth months (ver. 1.) and Hananiah died in the seventh month ; exactly two months after he had delivered his false prophecy, which he declared, in the name of God, would be fulfilled in two years. Here then t he true prophet was demonstrated, and the false prophet detected. The death of Hananiah, thus predicted, wan God’s seal to the words of his prophet ; and must have gained his other pre- dictions great credit among the people ; though it is evident that it did not in- duce them to forsake their sins, and return to the God of Israel.]— Bagster. Chap. XXIX. Ver. 1. These are the words. — [This transaction is supposed to have taken place in the first or second year of Zedekiah.]— Bagster. Ver. 5. Build ye houses. — [The prophet here corrects the false expectation of a speedy return to their own land, which their false prophets had excited in the minds of the Jews at Babylon : and which had lea them to neglect their personal and domestic interests and comforts, and the good of the nation ; and also tended to betray them int6 measures calculated to excite the jealousy oj their victors, and to increase their own miseries.] — Bagster. 826 104 JEREMIAH.— CHAP. XXIX A. M. cir. 3-KT7. B. C. cir. 597. e Ezr.6.10. lTi.2.1,2. h 2Ch. 36.21 ..23. Ear. 1.1. c. 27.22. Da. 9.2. i c.32.42.,44 J Is. 55. 8 ,9. k end and expecta- tion. 1 La. 3. 26. m Ne.2.4, &c. Da.9.3,&c n Is. 65.24. o Le.26.40, p De.4.7. q c.24.7. r Ps.32.6. 46.1. Is.45.19. 55.6. s Ps. 126. 1,4. t c.23.3. 30.3. 32.37. Eze. 36.24 Am. 9.14. Mi. 4. 12. Zep.3.20. x Eze. 1.1,3. i c. 24.8.. 10. A r Le.2S.33. De.28.25. c.l-5.4. 34.17. xfor. y c.26.6. b c.24.5. c Is.G5.15. d Da.3.6. sc.23.14,21. h c.20.1,2. k ver.5. 1 ver.20. captives of Babylon , 19 Because they have not hearkened io my words, saith the Loud, which I 1 sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up eany and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Loan. 20 Tf Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the a captivity, whom I have b sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Ze- dekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name ; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrez- zar king of Babylon ; and he shall slay them before your eyes ; 22 And of them shall be taken up a curse c by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the d fire ; 23 Because 'they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not com- manded them ; even I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord. 24 If Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the f Nehelamite, saying, 25 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name UDto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah s the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be h officers in the house of the Lord, for ever} man that is > mad, and maketh himself a pro- phet, that thou shouldest put him in i prison, and in the stocks. 2? Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketlr himself a prophet to you? 28 For therefore he sent unto ns in Babylon, saying, This captivity fslong: build k ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 1[ Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the 'captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because '"that Shemaiah hath Jeremiah's letter to the ters ; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters ; that ye may be in- creased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek d the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray 'unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. 8 If For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Let not 1 your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy s falsely unto you in my name : I have not sent them, saith the Lord. 10 If For thus saith the Lord, That after h se- venty years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good ' word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think J to- ward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an k expected ' end. 12 Then shall ye call m upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken n unto you. 13 And 0 ye shall seek me, and p find me, when ye shall search for me with all •< your heart. 14 And I will be found r of you, saith the Lord : and I will turn s away your captivity, and I will gather 'you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have dri- ven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 15 If Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in " Babylon ; 16 Know that thus saith the Lord of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity ; 17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; Behold, I will send v upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed w to all the Kingdoms of the earth, x to be a i curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a re- proach, among all the nations whither I have driven them : because we may not live to witness or share them. — Wherever our lot is cast, we ought to approve ourselves peaceable mem- bers of the community, even though subjected to hardship and oppression : considering our situation and its disadvantages, as the appointmen: of God: and assured that good behaviour will render it more tolerable than turbulence and factipn. — It is our duty to pray for the peace of the country in which we reside, and the welfare of those rulers who afford us any mea- sure of protection ; and if this was the duty of the Jews at Babylon, and of the Christians under Nero, it must be that of all the people of God in every age and place. Christians should therefore exceedingly fear being seduced into factious measures, which are contrary to Scripture, and disgraceful to the gospel. “ The promises of God will certainly be performed in their ap- pointed season ; but that must be waited for, in the use of authorized means alone. — We know not what the thoughts of God are respecting our personal concerns, and he has ‘put the times and seasons in his own power:’ but i( should suffice us to know in general, that he has ‘ thoughts of good and not of evil,’ towards his church, which shall at length have an expected end of her long-continued oppression; and that ‘ail things shall work together’ for the believer’s good, till his trials shall be ended, and his most enlarged hopes im- mensely exceeded in the rest and felicity of heaven. In gene- ral, wc are assured, that all who ‘seek the Lobd, and call upon him, and search for him with their whole hearts,’ shall find him, and be made joyful in Ins salvation : and that the Ver. 11. I know the thoughts, &c. — r Jehovah had this plan before him ; and neither the impatience ofthe Jews, nor the power of the Chaldeans could alter it. He had determined that the Chaldean monarchy should continue till the se- venty years expired, and so long the Jews must remain in captivity, and have no enlargement till that period was terminated.]— Bagster. Ver. 15. Because ye have said, 6c c. — This verse certainly appears to be mis- placed. B'ayney, Boothroyd, and others, following the LXX., place it imme- diately after verse 20, which seems to render the connexion ofthe whole much clearer, thus : “ Whereas (Ki) ye have said, the Lord hath raised up for us prophets in Babylon: Thus saith the Lord of hosts,” &c. and then follows an awful denunciation against the false prophets, Ahab and Zedekiah, whom Ne- buchadnezzar burnt for adultery, ver. 23. Ver. 20. Hear ye therefore.— [Dr. Blayney thinks there were two letters writ- ten by the prophet to the captives in Babylon, anil the first ends with this verse. That having heard, on the return ofthe embassy, that the captives had received 826 his advices favourably, and because they were deceived by false prophets who promised them a speedier deliverance, he therefore wrote a second letter, be- ginning with the fifteenth verse, and going on with the twenty-first, &c., (in which order these verses are read in the Septuagint.) in which he denounce God’s judgments on the three chief of those, Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah. J Bagster. Ver. 25. Zephaniah.— [Zephaniah was the sagan, the second priest, oi chief priest’s deputy, and Seraiah, liigh priest, when Jerusalem was taken; which latter is suppose*? to have been called here Jehoiada , from his emulating the remarkable zeal and courage of that pontiff Zephaniah does not seem to have regarded this letter; and perhaps he was favourably disposed to Jere- miah. J— Bagster. Ver. 26. For every man, 8cc.—Blai/ney, “ In the case of any one.” &c. — Every man. — GataJcer, “ Every mad.i an that maketh,” &c, Ver. 29. Read this letter.— GataJcer ’ Had read,” See. Return of the Jews shown. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXX. Jacob is comforted. prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie : 32 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed : he shall not have a man to dwell among this people ; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord ; because he hath taught 11 rebellion against the Lord. CHAPTER XXX. God ahoweth Jeremiah the return of the Jews. 4 After their trouble they shall have deliverance. 10 He comforieth Jacob. 18 Their return shall be gracious. 23 Wrath shall fail on the wicked. riVHE word that came to Jeremiah from the J- Lord, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, say- ing, Write a thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. 3 For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord ; that I b will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to c return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4T[And these are the words thattheLoRD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 For thus saith the Lord ; We have heard a voice of trembling, d of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a e man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness ? 7 Alas ! for that day f is great, so s that none is like it : it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble ; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him : 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David h their king, whom I will raise up t unto them. 10 If Therefore fear thou j not, O my servant A. M. cir. &07. B. C. cir. 597. n revolt. c.28.16. A. M. 3417. B. C. 587. a 2 Pe. 1.21. Re. 1.19. 10.4. b ver.18. c.32.37. Eze.39.25. 26. Am. 9. 14, 15. c Ezt 3.1,8, 12 . c. 13.15. Eze.36.24. d or, there is /ear and not “peace, e male. f Joel 2.11, 31. Zep.1.14. Re. 6. 17. g Da. 12.1. h Ho.3.5. i Lu.1.69. j I s.41. 13. 43.5; 44.2. c.46.27,28. k Am. 9. 8. 1 2Ch.36.lfl. m 1 Ti.2.5,6. 1 Jn.2.1. d for bind- ing up, or, pressing. o Is. 1.6. c. 8.22. p La. 1.2. Ho.2.5,7. q La.25. r La.5. 16,17 s Ex.23.22. Is. 33.1. 41.11,12. t Ps.23.3. 103.3. 107.20. c.33.6. u Ps.102.13. v or .little hill. Ps.6S.15. 16. w Is.51.11. x Ps.42.4. Jacob, saith the Lord ; neither be dismayed, O Israel : for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee : though I make a full end of ail nations whither I have scattered thee, k yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee alto- gether unpunished. 12 For thus saith the Lord, thy bruise is > in- curable, and thy wound is grievous. 13 There is none to plead m thy cause, " that thou mayest be bound up: 0 thou hast no heal- ing medicines. 14 All p thy lovers have forgotten thee ; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an ^ enemy, with the chastise- ment of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity ; because thy sins were increased. 15 Why criest thou for thine affliction ? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity : because thy r sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. 16 Therefore all they that devour 8 thee shall be devoured ; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. 17 For I will restore health ‘ unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord ; because they called thee an outcast, saying , This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. 18 If Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and “have mercy on his dwelling-places; and the city shall be budded upon her own v heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. 19 And out of them shall proceed thanks- giving w and the voice of them * that make Lord introduces great revivals of religion, by exciting his peo- ple to fervent, and united, and persevering prayers and suppli- cations. Thus they go forth to meet him, when he conies to perform his promises; and thus let us seek for that universal prevalence of the gospel, which he has taught us to expect; as well as by improving our talents in every way that we can : and heartily concurring with the efforts of those, to whom God has intrusted other and greater talents, and given superior op- portunities of exerting them.” — T. Scott. Chap. XXX. Yer. 1 — 24. Promises of all Israel’s return and reconciliation to the God of Jacob . — This and the follow'- ing chapter must relate, in part at least, to a still future resto- ration of the Jews from their several dispersions; as no deli- verance hitherto afforded them comes up to the terms of it : for the return from Babylon, included little more than the tribe of Judah, and they were again enslaved by the Greeks and Romans (contrary to ver. 8,) and in no place in the world are they at present independent of the Gentiles ; so that the prophecy remains still to be fulfilled in the days of the Mes- siah. In this light the Jews themselves consider it ; for they expect, when their Messiah comes, (the son of David,) that he will gather the outcasts from all nations, and defeat their enemies. This al3o we expect, though in a different point of view ; for we consider his reign to be rather moral (or spirit- ual) in the hearts of his people, in which he will write his covenant and his law. But as moral reform leads to national prosperity, and individual conversion to eternal life; so an ac- cumulation of blessings, both temporal and spiritual, shall distinguish the .promised spiritual reign of Christ upon the earth. The prophecy opens by an easy transition from the temporal deliverance before spoken of ; and describes the great revolu- tions that shall precede the final restoration of Israel, who are encouraged to trust in the promises of God. They must expect corrections; but they shall have a happy issue at a fu- ture period in the blessings of Messiah’s reign, from which the wicked and impenitent shall be excluded. “Let none of those who devotedly and zealously serve God, fear or be dismayed on his own account, or on that of the church ; for victory and triumph await them. Believers shall he gathered into his heavenly kingdom from afar, and out of all their dispersions ; faith, with submission to God, will give them rest and quietness here on earth ; and none shall durably make them afraid. He will be with them to save them : though he ‘correct them,’ it shall be ‘in measure,’ and for their good; and he will ‘not make a full end of them,’ as of the wicked around them. — Yet the wounds and bruises which he sometimes inflicts, seem very grievous, and are incurable by any hand but his. Every effort to heal ourselves must prove fruitless : for we have none to plead our cause that we may be bound up; nor any healing medicines, so long as we neglect the heavenly Advocate and the sanctifying Spirit. All earthly comforts and comforters will soon fail us; and when we con- sider the number and heinousness of our sins, we may be ready to consider God himself as our irreconcileable enemy, and every chastisement as ‘ the wound of a cruel one;’ and so long as we only repine at our affliction, our sorrows remain incurable. But. when we are thus driven from every false refuge, and led to acknowledge that God is just in all which he inflicts or threatens, and that we suffer far less than we deserve; we Chap. XXX. Ver. 1. The w or d that, &c. — I Dahler supposes that this pro- phecy was delivered about a year after the taking of Jerusalem ; which ap- pears highly probable. Dr. Blayney justly supposes this and the following chap- ter to refer to the future restoration of the Jews and Israelites in the times of the Gosnel ; though also touching at the restoration from the Babylonish capti- vity. The ninth verse is expressly referred to the limes of the Messiah by the Chaldee paraphrast ; who renders, “ They shall serve before Jehovah their God,” weyishtarnmeoon Umsheecha var Dawid malkehon daakaim tehon, and shall obey Messiah the son of David, w hom I shall raise up to them.”] — B. Ver. 4. These are the words. — Namely , those w’hich the prophet, ver. 2. was commanded to write. Ver. 6. Ask yrno andsee .— IThe prophet uses this figure to represent the fear oft he Babylonians, when surprised by the Medes and Persians under Cyrus.]— B. I Ver. 8. His yoke — That is, the king of Babylon's . — - Sti angers shall no | more serve themselves of him.—'We should rather read, “Be subservient tt him.” See Ciataker. There is, however, great difficulty in this passage Blayney and others have recourse to conjectural criticism, with which we an not satisfied. We should rather read this verse as a parenthesis, and connec the 7th and 9th verses thus ; “ lie (Jacob) shallbe saved out of it (trouble) . . . But (or and) they (Israel) shall serve,” &c. Ver. 9. David their king — that is, Messiah, the son of David. See Isa. iv. 3. 4. Matt. xxi. 9. . Ver. 13. That thou mayest be bound up — See margin. By this it should seem, that the cure of wounds by tight binding up, is a very ancient practice. Ver. 16. Therefore. — Blayney, ir Afterwards Boothroyd, Yet. See chap. xvi. 14. ^ Ver. 18. Its oton heap — namely, of ruins. See margin. Mount Sion : eithei phrase implies the city being rebuilt on its ancient site. 82 ? Wrath, shall fall on Ike wicked. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. XXXI. The restoration of Israel. merry: and I will multiply >' them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 20 Their children also shall be as 1 aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all a that oppress them. 21 And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor b shall proceed from the midst of them ; and I will cause him c to draw near, and he shall approach unto me : for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me ? saith the Lord. 22 And d ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 23 H Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a c continuing whirl- wind : it shall f fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. 21 The fierce anger of the Lord shall not re- turn, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the lat- ter days ye shall consider it. CHAPTER XXXI. I The restoration of Israel. 10 The publication thereof. 15 Rachel mourning is com- forted. 18 Ephraim repenting is brought home again. 22 Christ is promised. 27 His care over the church. 31 His new covenant. 35 The stability, 33 and amplitude of the church. A T the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of ail the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 2 Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilder- ness ; even Israel, when a I went to cause him to rest. 3 The Lord hath appeared 0 of old unto me, saying , Yea, I have loved c thee with an ever- lasting d love : therefore 0 with loving-kindness have 1 drawn f thee. 4 Again l will build thee, and thou shalt be luilt, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy s tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. 5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the moun- tains of Samaria : the planters shall plant, and shall h eat them as common things. 6 For there shall be a day, that the watch- A. M. 307. B. C. 587. y Zec.lU.8. z Ik. 1 .05. a c.2 .3. b fie.49.10. c Nu.16.5. d Eze.37.27. c rutting. f or, remain, a Nu.IU.33. De.1.33. b from afar. c Mai. 1.2. d Ro.ll.S8, 29. e or, have I extended. kindnesa unto thee. f Ho. 1 1.4. g or, tim- brels. h profane i Mi.4.2. 1 Eze. 20.34, 41. k l5.40.ll. 1 Ps. 126.5,6. c.50.4. Mat-5.4. in or. fa- vours. Zec.12.10 n na.9.17, 18. Ro.8.26. 0 Ph.23.2. Is. 35.7, 8. 43.10. 49.10,11. Rc.7.17. p Is. 63.16. 64.8. c.3.4,19. Mat 6. 9. q Ex.4.22. r Eze.34.12 ..14. s Is. 44.23. 48.20. 1 Is.49.24,25 Mat 22.29 u Is. 35. 10. v Eze. 17.23. 20.40. w Is. 58.11. x Re.21.4. y Mat-2. 17. men upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up i to Zion unto the Lord our God. 7 For thus saith the Lord ; Sing with glad- ness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather I them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child k together : a great com- pany shall return thither. 9 They shall come with > weeping, and with m supplications " will I lead them : 1 will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters 0 in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father p to Israel, and Ephraim is my i first-born. 10 Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep r him, as a shepherd doth his flock. 11 For * the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger « than he. 12 Therefore they shall come and “ sing in the height v of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd : and their soul shall be as a watered w garden; and they shall not sorrow * any more at all. 13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together : for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from theirsorrow. 14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. 15 If Thus saith the Lord; A -' voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weep- ing ; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. submit to his righteousness and accept of his mercy. Then he rebukes our enemies, and rescues us from the jaws of the devourer: he binds up the broken heart, and cures the sin- distempered soul ; ana gives complete and eternal salvation. The dealings of his grace with every true convert, and every returning backslider, are exactly the same upon a smaller scale as nis dealings with the Jews. And in the same manner he corrects, humbles, pardons, heals, and restores offending churches from age to age: for the Redeemer of Israel is ‘the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.’” — T. Scott. Chap. XXXI. Ver. 1 — 20. Farther promises of Israel's restoration. — The first verse of this chapter should doubtless be added to the preceding. In the 2d verse begins a new series of promises and predictions relative to Israel’s restoration, and the happy events therewith connected. The Prophet, in a sa- cred vision, looks back to Israel’s escape from Pharaoh and his host by God’s miraculous interference. The Jewish church is brought in, acknowledging the Lord’s miraculous interposi- tion on that occasion ; and the Lord replies that he well re- members his ancient kindness, which had been continued, under all circumstances, to the present day. (Compare ch. ii. 2, 3.) Upon the same principle, lie promises to renew the ex- ertions of his Almighty power in their recovery from all their captivities, and in their final re-establishment as a nation, notwithstanding the then unfavourable appearances. _ A change of scenery is now introduced. Rachel is repre- Ver. 21. Their nobles shall be of themse'ves — That is. not foreigners. For irho is this ? &c. — That is, For who will draw near to me, except I first draw him ? Verse? 23. 24. Behold, &c.— Compare ch. xxiii. 19, and note. Chap. XXXI. Ver. 3 Of old. — See margin. But the original term may refer either to distance of time or space. We here prefer the firmer. Ver. 5. Eat them . &c — See margin. This refers to the law, Lev. xix. 23— 2-5. and implies, that they should remain in the land to enjoy its fruits. Ver. 6. For there shall be a da to these thy cities. 22 Tf How long j wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter ? for the Lord hath cre- ated a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. 23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when 1 shall bring again their captivity ; The Lord bless thee, O habitation of k justice, and moun- tain i of holiness. 24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. 25 For I m have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished n every sorrowful soul. 26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld ; and my sleep was sweet unto me. 27 Tf Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, A. M. 3417. B. of righteousness to grow up unto David ; and he shall execute judg ment and righteousness ° in the land. 16 In v those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely : and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, w The Lord our x righteousness. 17 For thus saith the Lord ; ? David shall never 2 want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel ; 18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer “burnt-offerings, and to kindle meat-offerings, and to do sacri- fice continually. 19 Tf And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, 20 Thus saith the Lord; If b ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of Chap. XXXIII. Ver. 1 — 26. Farther promises of restora- tion and of extraordinary prosperity under the Messiah. — It is the prerogative of the Most High to say, “ I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal.” (Deut. xxii. 39.) Accordingly, in the openingof this chapter, he distinctly states (ver. 5) that the Chaldeans have power only over those whom he delivers up for their wickedness unto the sword. Then at the appointed time will he “ bring health and cure;” and will not only bring back his people to their own land, but pardon their iniquities, and eventually send them a Messiah, whose name is “ The Lord our Righteousness.” (See note on ver. 16.) These promises have been fulfilled, so far as respects the re- turn of Judah, and we look forward to a period when “all Israel shall be saved” — no more to revolt from God, or to go into captivity. (See Rom. xi. 26.) Then shall “ the branch of righteousness,” the Son and heir of David, establish (as before predicted) his perpetual and eternal kingdom : and this is as- serted to be as sure and as permanent as the regular alterna- tion of day and night in nature. “ When the Lord's time comes, he will ‘ perform every good thing’ which he hath promised to his church : and, as lie ful- filled his word, in giving his Son to be the sacrifice for our sins and 1 the Lord our Righteousness,’ who was emphatically ‘that Good thing promised to the house of Israel,’ it would be the most inexcusable incredulity, to question the perform- ance of any of his other engagements. Through this our righteous King, who reigns on the throne of David, and is our High ‘Priest upon his throne,’ let us bring our spiritual ‘sa- crifices continually, giving thanks’ to our God and Father by him. Let us pray, that the royal priesthood may be multiplied, as the sand of the sea: and, in order to this, that able and faithful ministers may be sent forth into every place, to call sinners to the knowledge of salvation, and to excite his peo- ple to glorify God with their lips and in their lives. Whilst we there remaineth yet a rest for the ancient people of G od.]— Bagster. The whole ol this chapter is in prose ; the next poetical . Chap. XXXIII. V er. 1. Moreover the word. — (This was the eleventh year of Zedckiah, Jeremiah being still shut up in prison ; but he was now in the court ot tne prison, where the elders-and Uie king’s officers might consult him with the greater ease . ]— Bagster. Ver. 2. The maker thereof —\Osdh, rather “the Doer of it:” that is, He who is to perform that which He is now about to promise ; thus rendered by Dah- ler. “ Thus saith the Eternal, who doeth that tohich he hath said.”]— D. Ver. 5. They come— This we understand of the Jews, who attempted to re- sist the Chaldeans ; hut who, being given up of God, supply only victims to the enemy. See Gataker. Ver. 6. Brin g it health— [Aruchah ; not a plaster, as some, or progress, as others ; but health, or the healing or c\os\ng o\' a wound, as the cognate Ara- oio areekat. signifies, from araka, to heal.]— Bagster. Vor. 13. Under the hands of him that telleth them— This was done by the 332 shepherd, to find if any were missing ; or rather, perhaps, by the priests, in taking tithe. Ver. 16. She shall be called. — fBishop Pearson and others render, “ He that shall call her is The Lord our righteousness or. adopting the reading of some MSS. and versions, “ And this is his name ( shemo , as five MSS. have) by which he do, as one or two MSS., the Vulgate, Chaldee, and Syriac r ead) shall he called, Jehovah our righteousness agreeably to the parallel passage chap, xxiii. 6. Dr. Bloyney renders, “ And this is he whom Jehovah shall call. Our righteousness and the parallel passage, “ This is the name by which Jeho- vah shall call nim. Our righteousness but this is not only contrary to all the ancient versions, but has no consistent meaning; for owr is ht-re a pronoun, without any antecedent. \— Bagster. Several of Kennicott's MSS. , and one at least, of De Rossi’s, read this verse like chap, xxiii. 6. And the Author has be- fore him a Cambridge Bible, of 1777, which reads also \r the masculine, (though doubtless by mistake) “ He shall he called.” Both Blayney and Boothrnyd mad here as in the former passage, and Dr. P. Smrth strongly con- Stability of a blessed seed. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXXIV. Zedekiali's captivity foretold- the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season ; 21 Then may also my covenant c be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne ; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22 As the host of heaven d cannot be num- bered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so ' will I multiply the seed of David my ser- vant, and the Levites that minister unto me. 23 1[ Moreover the woi d of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two ‘ families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 25 Thus saith the Lord ; If my e covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not ap- pointed the ordinances of heaven and earth ; 26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, andDavid myservant, so thatl will nottake any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob : for I h will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them. CHAPTER XXXIV. L Jeremiah prophesieth the captivity of Zedekiah and the city. 8 The princes and the people having dismissed their bond-servants, contrary to the covenant of God, rcas- sume them. 12 Jeremiah, for their disobedience, giveth them and Zedekiah into the han ds of their enemies. rpHE word which came unto Jeremiah from J- the Lord, when a Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the king- doms of the earth b of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel ; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I c will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire : 3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand ; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and d he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah A. M. 3416. B. C. c 2Su.5J.o. d c.31.37. e Re.7.9,10. f ver.21,22. g Gc.8.22. Ps.74.16, 17. h Ezr.2.1, 70. A. M. 3-115. B. C. 589. a 2 Ki.25.1, &c. c.39.1,&c. 52.4, &c. b the domi nion of his hand. c c.21.10. 32.23,29. d his mouth shall speak to thy mo utk. e 2Ch.16.l4. 21.19. f c.22.18. g 2Ki.18.l3. 19.8. h Le-25.10. i Ne.5.11. i Le.25.39.. ' 46. I Co.6.8. k Ex. 21. 2. De. 15.12. 1 or, sold himself. king of Judah ; Thus saith the Lord of thee. Thou shalt not die by the sword : 5 Bat thou shalt die in peace: and with (he burnings e of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee ; and they will lament f thee, saying , Ah lord ! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord. 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jeru- salem, 7 When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah : for s these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah. 8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty h unto them ; 9 That ■ every man should let his man-ser- vant, and every man his maid-servant, being a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free ; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his i brother. 10 Now when all the princes, and all the peo- ple, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his man-ser- vant, and every one his maid-servant go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go. 11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. ]2 IT Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 13 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel ; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, 14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother a Hebrew, which hath i been sold unto thee ; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: value our privileges, as the people of God, let us not despise those families, which were of old his chosen, though for a time they seem to be cast off: for as he has appointed the ordi- nances of heaven and earth, and the sun and moon know their appointed seasons ; so surely will he cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them : and as he, who rules over the whole spiritual seed of Abraham, sprang from that nation according to the flesh ; he will deem his honour concerned in bringing them again into his church, and restoring them to heir former privileges.” — T. Scott. Chap. XXXIV. Ver. 1 — 22. — Predictions respecting the cap- tivity of Zedekiah, and the destruction of the city. — This chap- ter contains two prophecies ; the first, delivered during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, in the latter part of the ninth year of Zedekiah, to whom it announces the de- struction of the city ; with his own peaceful (or natural) death, and honourable burial. The second prophecy, (ver. S, &c.) wa3 delivered afterwards, when the Chaldeans had for some time broken up the siege. It reproves the rulers for their con- duct toward their brethren of the poorer sort, whom they re- leased by a solemn covenant from bondage, in the extremity of their danger, but compelled them to return to it, when they thought that danger over. For this conduct, God threatens tends for this as the true reading, “ This is he who shall call to her, Jehovah our righteousness.” So also the Syriac version. Blayrtey also conceives that the Hebrew pronoun is the Chaldee form masculine ; so that, upon the whole, there can be no doubt but this name refers, not to the church, but to Messiah, as in chap, xxiii. See Smith's Messiah. Ver. 21 . Should not have a son to reign— [From the destruction of Jerusa- lem to the present time, a period of nearly eighteen hundred years, the Jews have had neither a king nor any form of government whatever ; nor has the office of high-priest, or priest of any kina, offering sacrifice, been exercised among them during the same period. Hence this must be understood of the spiritual David, Jesus Christ, both the King and High Priest of his Church, ‘‘the Israel of God," (Ga. vi. 16.) in whom the covenant of royalty with Da- vid and his seed, and that of priesthood with Aaron and his seed, have received theix filll accomplishment ; and all the sacrifices of that dispensation were su- perseded by hia “ one oblation of himself,” the efficacy of which remains for ever.]— Bagster. Chap. XXXIV. Ver. 5. Die in peace— That is, not by war, nor by violence ; 105 them with the sword, pestilence, and famine, and with the re- turn of the Chaldeans, who should then burn and utterly destroy both the city and the temple, as in fact they did, after their victory over the Egyptians. “In the midst of wrath the Lord remembers mercy: and whatever calamities a sinner endures through life, or however he ends his days ; if he dies at peace with God, he is highly favoured : and as faithful reproofs and severe corrections tend far more to this happy event, than flattery and prosperity; they are in themselves far preferable, though seldom chosen. But when reformation springs only from terror, and the pros- pect of imminent destruction, it is seldom durable. Many, m such circumstances, seem very penitent, make hasty resolu- tions and solemn engagements, and do many things; but when the terror is subsided, they repent of their repentance, fall more entirely under the power of their sins, and seem in haste to undo the little good which they had done. Solemn vows and sacramental engagements, thus entered into, only pollute the name and profane the ordinances of God : ana they, who are most forward to bind themselves by impreca- tions to perform their engagements, are commonly most ready to violate them. But if men repent of their repentance, God will repent of his forbearance: ‘they shall have judgment for though after he had seen the kirnr his eyes were put out, that cruel pun- ishment was seldom fatal, and some lived many years afterwards. See Ori- ent. Lit. No. 614. With the burnings of thy fathers.— Who! those were, see 2 Cliron. xvi. 14. But we have no account of his funeral. Ver. 8. This is the word, &c.— [Here the second discourse begins, which was probably delivered a short time after the former. When Jerusalem was besieged by the Chaldeans, the king, perhaps excited by Jeremiah, had entered into a solemn covenant with the people, to set at liberty their Hebrew slaves ; which was accordingly complied with. But when Pharaoh Hophra with a great army came out of Egypt to their relief; and the Chaldeans had raised the siege of Jerusalem to meet them, (ver. 21. ch. xxxix. 5.;) the people, thinking that, the danger was over, impiously violated their solemn covenant, and with the most cruel injustice, reduced to slavery the very persons to whom tbpy had just be- fore given freedom. For this inhuman and unjust act, and tneir breach of the covenant, Jeremiah, in the name of God, proclaimed liberty to the sword, pes- tilence, and famine, to execute the wrath of God upon them. Ver. 17— 2$. J— Bagster. 833 The Jews' disobedience. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXXV. Temperance oj the Rechabites but your fathers hearkened not unto me, nei- ther inclined their ear. 15 And ye were m now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour ; and ye had made a covenant "before me in the house “which is called by my name: 16 But ye turned and polluted my p name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into i subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. 17 Therefore thus saith the Lord ; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour : behold, I proclaim r a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to 5 the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine ; and I will rmike you ‘to be removed u into all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And I will give the men that have trans- gressed my covenant, which have not per- formed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, v when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, 19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed be- tween the parts of the calf ; 20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life : and their w dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their ene- mies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Ba- bylon’s army, which 1 are gone up from you. 22 Behold, I will command, saith the Lord, and cause them to return to this city ; and y they shall fight against it, and take z it, and burn it with fire : and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without a an inhabitant. A. M. 34 15 B C. 5s9. in ln-day. n 2K1.23.3. Ne. 10.29. o where- upon my name is called. p Ex.20.7. Le.19.12. q Mat. 18.28 ..34. r Mat.7.2. Ga.6.7. Ja/2.13. s c. 32.36. t for a re- moving. u De.28.25, 64. c.29.18. v Ge.15.10, 17. w c.7.33. 16.4; 19.7. xc. 37.5. 11. y c. 40. 2,3. z c.52.7,13. a c.44.2,6. La.l.l. A. M. 3397. B. C. 607. a 2Ki. 10.15. 1 Ch.2 55. b lKi.6.5. c 1 Ch.9.18, 19. d Ps.84.10. e thrtshold, or, vessel. f He. 11. 9, 13 g 1 Pe 2.11. h ver.7. CHAPTER XXXV. I By Uie obedience of the Rechabiles, 12 Jeremiah condemned) the disobedience of lh» Jews. 18 God blcweth the Rechabiles for their obedience. T HE word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2 Go unto the house of the a Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the b chambers, and give them wine to drink. 3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Re- chabites ; 4 And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of c Shallum, the keeper d of the e door : 5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. 6 But they said, We will drink no wine : for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father com- manded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: 7 Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in f tents ; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be e strangei s. 8 Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters ; 9 Nor to Duild houses for us to dwell in : nei- ther have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed : 10 But we have dwelt h in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jona- dab our father commanded us. 11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians : so we dwell at Je- rusalem. without mercy, who have showed no mercy;’ and they, who will not obey God in their conduct towards such as they have been accustomed to oppress, will be cast out of his protection, and exposed to his temporal and eternal judgments. — Let us then look to our hearts; that our repentance maybe genuine, and that the law of loving God with all our hearts, and our neighbour as ourselves, may be so written in our hearts, as to regulate our conduct in all our transactions.” — T. Scott. Chap. XXXV. Ver. 1 — 19. The Rechabites proposed as a pattern to the Jewish, nation . — All the intermediate chapters, from the 26th to this, Dr. Blaynev considers as clearly belong- ing to the reign of Zedekiah, and consequently subsequent to this chapter and the following, which are dated in the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah. In this chapter, Jeremiah is ordered to go to the Rechabites, who, on the first invasion of the Chaldeans, ha 1 fled to Jerusalem for refuge; to take them into one of the chambers of the temple, and try their attach- ment and obedience to their father and founder, by inviting them to drink wine. He did so; but they remained firm to Ver. 14. But your fathers. — [It appears from this and several other passages, that the sabbatical year had been wholly neglected some centuries before the captivity; and the author of the second book ofChronicles (ch.xxxvi.21.) assigns this as a reason for the captivity, — “ that the land might enjoy her sabbaths.” Now. if we reckon the seventy years’ captivity as a punishment for this neg- lect, it will follow that the law on this subject had been disregarded for about 490 years. )— Bagster. Ver. 16 . Pollutedmy rnzme.— [The transaction which had taken place was a solemn cpvenant made in the temple in the name of Jehovah ; so that the vio- lation of it ‘ polluted his name,” and was a most atrocious act of perjury. 1 — B. Ver. 17. Proclaiming liberty. — IWhen they proclaimed liberty to their slaves, God restrained the sword from cutting them off ; but now having resumed their authority over them, he proclaimed liberty to these dire judgments to seize upon and destroy them.]— Bagster. Ver. 18. When they cut the calf in twain— [This was the ancient mode of making a covenant : see on Gen. xv. 10 . De. xxix.12. J 09 . ix. 6.]— Bolster. Ver. 22. Cause them to return.— [ They did return, and reinvested the city ; and. after an obstinate defence, took it, plundered it, and burnt it to the ground, taking Zedekiah. his princes, and people, captive.]— Bagster.— N. B. This and the following chapters, to the end of the xlvth, are in prose. Chap. XXXV. Ver. 1. The loord, &c.— [This discourse was probably deli- vered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign, when the king of Babylon made war against him.]— Bagster. Vpt. 2. The Rechabites.— [ The Rechabites were a family of the Kenites, (1 834 the rules of their order, for which they arc held out as an ex- ample to the people of Judah, who at the same time are point- edly reproved for not paying that regard to God their Creator and Redeemer, which these Rechabites paid to Jonadab their founder. “ We should habituate our appetites to brook denial, even in things lawful; and thus inure ourselves to resist temptation, to be contented with mean fare, and to be prepared for all events. — It is not generally desirable, for young persons to for- sake the plain, honest employments of their parents; or to be ambitious of living in a more elegant or fashionable style; that is, amid stronger temptations to pride, luxury, sensuality, and rapacity. — Prudence and moderation are conducive to piety; and tend to preserve families from the contagion of prevailing iniquity and ungodliness : by shunning competition and envy, they conduce to peace and comfort ; and by avoid- ing excess, they promote health and long life : the more mor- tified we are to this present world, the readier we shall be to leave it, that we may go to a better : and thus we may live and Ch. ii. 55.;) and were most probably the descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. (Compare Nu. x. 29 — 32. with Jud. i. 16 . ; iv. 11.) Though they dwelt among the Israelites from the first, they were never incorporated with them, nor had any inheritance assigned them, but were merely regarded as friends and allies.]— Bagster. Ver. 4. A man of God— That is, a prophet. Ver. 6. Jonadab the son of Rechab. — l Jonadab, a man of fervent zeal for the pure worship of God. and who lived about three hundred years before this time, (2 Ki. x. 15, 16, &c.,) had probably practised these rules himself ; and, having trained up his children to habits ot abstemiousness, he enjoined them and their posterity to adhere to them. In these regulations, lie seem9 to have had no religious, but merely a prudential view, as is intimated in the reason annexed to them, “ that ye may live many days in the land where ye be stran- gers.” And this would be the natural consequence of observing these rules tor their temperate mode of living would very much contribute to preserve health, and prolong life ; and they would avoid giving umbrage, or exciting the jealousy or envy of the Jews, who might have been provoked bv their engaging and succeeding in the principal business in which they themselves were enga- ged, agriculture and vine-dressing, to expel them their country ; by which they would have been deprived of the religious advantages they enjoyed. In 1 Ch. ii. 55., they are termed scribes , which intimates that they were engaged in some kind of literary employments. See Jenning's Jewish Antiquities.)— Bagster. Also, Anderson on the Domestic Constitution. Thi9 was the first temperance society on the plan of total abstinence. (rod btesseth the Rechabites. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXXVI. Jeremiah's prophecy wnllen. 12 If Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, 13 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction i to hearken to my words? saith the Lord. 14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed ; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding i I have spoken unto you, ri- sing early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. 15 I k have sent also unto you all my servants the i prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return m ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers : but n ye have not inclined your ear. nor hearkened unto me. 16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them ; but this people hath not hearkened unto me : 17 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel ; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusa- lem all the evil that I have pronounced against 0 them : because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard ; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered. 18 If And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; because p ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you : 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; i Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not wanf a man to stand r before me for ever. CHAPTER XXXVI. 1 Jeremiah causeili Baruch to write his prophecy, 5 and publicly to read it 11 The princes, having intelligence thereof by Miehaiah, send Jehudi to fetch the roll, and read it 19 They will Baruch to hide himself and Jeremiah. 20 The king Jehoia- kim, being certified thereof, heareth part of it, and burnetii the roll. 27 Jeremiah de- nounced! lii* judgment 32 Baruch writeth a new copy. A ND it came to pass in the fourth year of ^ Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, lhat this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, A. M. 3397. B. C. 607. i c.32.33. j 2Ch.36.15, 16. k c.7. 13,25. 25. a. 6. 1 Lu. 10.16. 1 Th. 4.8. me. 18.11. n Lu. 13.34, 35. o Pr.1.24, &c 13.13. 16.2. Is. 65. 12. 66.4. p Ex. 20. 12. Ep. 6.2,3. q There shall not a man be cut off from Jo- nadab the son of Rechab. r Ps.5.5. c.15.19. Lu.2l.36. a Is. 8.1. E/,e.2.9. Zec.5. 1,2. b c.30.2. Ho.8 12. c c. 25.15, &c. d c.26.3. ver.7. e c.18.8. Jo.3.8,lG. f Ac. 3. 19. g c.32.12. 45.1,2. h ver.2l.23, 32. i ver.8. Eze.2.3..7 j Le.16.29.. 31. 23.27,32. Ac.27.9. k ver.3. 1 their sup- plication shall fall. m2Ki.22.13, 17. n Ne.8.3. Lu.4.16, &c. o Joel 2.15, &c. p ver.6,8. q or, door. r c.26.10. 2 Take thee a roll a of a book, and write b therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the c nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. 3 It may be d that the house of Judah will bear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them ; that they may e return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive f their ini- quity and their sin. 4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch s the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll h of a book. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up ; I cannot go into the house of the Lord : 6 Therefore go thou, and read ■ in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord’s house upon the j fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. 7 It k may be i they will present their suppli- cation before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way : for great m is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people. 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did accord- ing to-all that Jeremiah the prophet command- ed him, reading in the book the words of "the Lord in the Lord’s house. 9 And it came to pass in the fifth year of Je- hoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast 0 before the Lord to all the people in Jerusa- lem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem. 10 Then p read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the Gentry r of the new gate of the Lord’s house, in the cars of all the people. 11 If When Miehaiah the son of Gemariah, (he son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, 12 Then he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber : a nd,lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe, and Dela- die happy, though we never possess houses or lands, or any of those envied acquisitions, which most men waste their lives in pursuing. — But. whatever rules we prescribe to ourselves, or receive from others ; we must count nothing indispensable but : the law of God : for there will be circumstances, when regard ; to safety may render it necessary to dispense with them. Yet no prudence, or good behaviour, can exempt us from sharing the common calamities, to which sin has subjected man- kind. — How common is it for men to be more observant of the rules of their order, circle, or sect, or of the traditions of their fathers, than professed Christians are of the precepts of God’s word! — Respect to the memory, authority, or counsel of pious parents, will always meet with some recompense from God, and is commonly made effectual for the continuance of true religion in families through successive generations. But those who can neither be awed by the terror, nor allured by the goodness of God, to repent of sin and return to him ; who despise his authority which is absolute, their obligations to him which are infinite, his justice and wrath which are al- mighty to punish, and his mercy and readiness to forgive which are boundless and everlasting, will perish miserably; and all the world will see the justice of God in the condemna- tion of those who disobey his commandments, and neglect his great salvation.” — T. Scott. Chap. XXXVI. Ver. 1—32. Baruch writes the words of Jeremiah in a book , and reads . — Baruch is commanded to write the prophecies of Jeremiah in one volume, (or roll,) and to read them to the people on a fast day. This he did : and the princes, hearing of it, sent for Baruch, who read the roll to them also : they seem thunderstruck, and advise both him and the prophet to hide themselves for safety. At the same time they inform the king, (Jehoiakim,) who Ver. 19. Jonadab. . . . shall not want. . . . to stand before me.— See mate. Heb. [There shall not a man he cutoff from Jonadab the son of Rechab to stand, &c. Seeonch. xxxiii. 17. 1 Ch. ii. 53. The meaning of this promise, in its full extent, seems to be. not only that the race of Jonadab should never he extinct, but that some of the family should always be found among the worshippers of the true God. Nothing is known respecting the fulfilment of this promise ; but doubtless it was performed, and may be so to this day ; and perhaps in every age, some of this singular family may have been found among the spiritual worship- pers of J.. ho vein Benjamin of Tudela says, that, in his travels, he saw a large country inhabited by the sons of Rechab ; but his whole relation has the air of a fable. Bolster. Chap. XXXVI. Ver. 1. The word. &c.— This and the following chapter are, in Dr. Blayney’s arrangement, placed immediately after the 26th. Ver. 2. Take thee a roll. — The most ancient books, it is well known, were written upon rolls, either of papyrus or of skins. See Ezra vi. 1 , Ver 4 . Baruch. — Baruch is supposed to have been a disciple of Jeremiah’s ; and, being a ready scribe, he was employed by the prophet as his amanuensis. Ver. 5. 1 am shut up. — Not that the prophet was yet in prison ; but either confined by sickness, or prevented from going to the temple by some ceremo- nial uncleanness, as dentil in his family, &c. Ver. 6. The fasting day.—Blayney, “ On a fast day a national fast, see verses 9, 10. This is supposed to have been the great day of expiation, called by way of eminence, the fast , which was kept on the 10th day of the month Tisra, answering to our September. Immediately after this, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judea ; and, having besieged Jerusalem, made himself master of it, on the 18th of the ninth month Cisleu, corresponding to our November. — Jehoi- akim, having been taken prisoner, submitted to become tributary to Nebu- chadnezzar; and ivns again restored to his kingdom. 2 Ch. xxxvi.6. 2 Ki.xxiv. 1. Ver. 7. They will present— See margin.— Alluding, perhaps, to petitioners falling on their knees. See ch. xxxvii. £ 0 . . Ver. 9. Fast before the Lord. — [This fast was held in cpmmemoration of the calamities they had suffered on the taking of Jerusalem in the preceding year i 835 Jehoiakim burneth the roll. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXXVII. Jeremiah denounceth judgments. iah '.he son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Sha- phan, and Zedekiah the son ofHananiah, and all the princes. 13 Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. 14 Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thy hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them. 15 And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. 16 Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth ? 18 Then Baruch answered them. He pronoun- ced * all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. 19 Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide ‘ thee, thou and Jeremiah ; and let no man know where ye be. 20 If And they went into the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king. 21 So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll : and he took it out of Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it “ in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. 22 Now the king sat in the winter v house in the ninth month : and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. 23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it w with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. 24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their x garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. A. M. 3398. B. C. 606. a ver.2,4. t 2Ch.25.15, 16. Pr.28.12. Ac. 5. 40. u c.23.28. 26. 2. Eze.2.4,5. v Am. 3.15. w Ps.50.17. Pr. 13.13. 19.21. 21.30. Re.22.19. x 2Ki.22.ll. Is. 36.22. 37.1. y c. 13.15. . 17. a or , the king. b Ps.27.5. 32.7. 64.2. c Mat. 24.35 dc.22.19,30. e visit upon c. 23.34. f De.2S.15, ire. Pr-29.1. g Mat.23.37 h words as they. a 2Ki.24.J7. 2Ch.3G.10. b 2Ch.36.12 ..16. 25 Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made ? intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll : but he 1 would not hear them. 26 But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of * Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the pro- phet: but b the Lord hid them. 27 ]f Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, 28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words c that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned. 29 And thou slialt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thussaith the Lord; Thou hast burn- ed this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy thisland, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? 30 Therefore thus saith the Lord of Jehoia- kim king of Judah ; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his d dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost 31 And I will 'punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity ; and I f will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them ; but they s hearkened not. 32 If Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son ofNeriah ; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah hadburned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many h like words. CHAPTER XXXVII. I The Egyptians having raised the siege of the Chaldeans, king Zedekiah sendeth to Jeremiah to pray for the people. 6 Jeremiah prophesiedi the Chaldeans’ certain re- turn and victory. 11 He is taken fora fugitive, beaten, *and pul in prison. 16 He assureth Zedekiah of the captivity. 18 Entreating for his liberty, he obtainelh tome favour. A ND king a Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Je- hoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Baby- lon made king in the land of Judah. 2 But b neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words sends for the roll, and had a few leaves of it read to him, which threw him into a rage, when, cutting it to pieces with a snife, he cast the whole into the fire. Upon this Jeremiah is commanded to repeat his prophecies, and to denounce the judgments of God, particularly; against the king. Baruch ac- cordingly writes a new copv with additions to the same effect ; or, as it is here expressed, with “ many like words.” So little did the king ga n by his presumption. “There are degrees of guilt even among the ungodly: and condemnation will be proportioned to them. Some rapidly arrive at the height of impiety and presumption ; and none more so, than they who have broken off from a religious edu- cation. Many act, as if their outrages against the word of God could save them fr >m the condemnation denounced by it; or as if their irrational infidelity could invalidate all the de- monstrations which are given of its divine original, and ren- der the sacred oracles of none effect! But such persons should and which has ever since been annually observed by the Jews on the lSth day of the month Cisleu. It evidently appears that Baruch read the roll twice ; once in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, when it was little noticed ; and now again, in the fifth year, after the taking of Jerusalem. See Prideaus. I — 2f. Ver. 18. With ink in the book.—\Badeyo is rendered by some after him; but deyo, (in Chaldee and Syriac deyoolha, and in Welsh du,) certainly denotes ink; whence are derived the Arabic dawar, and deetoeet, and Persian deeveel, an inkholder ; the Syriac dayoivo, and Persian div, the devil. So the Alexandrian copy of the LXX., has En melani, and Vulgate atramenlo. " with ink.” Perhaps the princes supposed that Baruch had written his roll from memory ; and that it was rather to be considered as his composition, than thrr substance of Jeremiah’s prophecies; and they might ask this apparently frivolous question in order to allay the alarms excited by considering it as thn wnrd of God. But Baruch with great simplicity, so answered their question, as to show that he only acted as Jeremiah’s amanuensis, and wrote verbatim what he hail dictated ] — Bolster. Ver. 22. Winter house— [A warm apartment suited to the season of the yeor, (December, when snow is often upon the ground in Palestine.) in which 836 be openly opposed, whatever their rank in life or abilities may be; and a few general persuasions do not form a sufficient testimony aeainst their impiety; but their contempt of God’s word should be noticed with unequivocal tokens of disappro- bation, concern, yea, abhorrence. The Lord himself will pro- tect those who are valiant for his truth, from all their enemies, until they ‘have finished their testimony:’ and then it is of small consequence by what means they are removed to heaven. But all their opposers will treasure tip wrath, and add to the weight of that condemnation, of which they would not endure to be told : for God will ‘honour those who hoimur him,’ and in proportion as men despise him, they must sink into contempt and misery.” — T. Scott. Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 1—21. The Chaldeans having left Jerusalem to meet the Egyptians , Zedekiah the king sends for Jeremiah. — The date of this chapter is ascertained by its in- troduction. In point of time it comes before the 32d and 33d, was a pan nr brazier iach. or ikhkh. as it is pronounced in Arabic) of burning charcoal ; for we learn from Bishop Pococke and Dr. Russell , that this wui the mode in which the Orientals warmed their apartments.]— Bagster. Ver. 23. His pen-knife— Blayney , “ With tiie scribe’s knife.” Three or four leaves. — Blayney. " Sections.” Ver. 30. Day to the heat, andnighl to the frost.— ISir J. Chardin (as cited by Harmer ,) observes, ” In the Lower Asia, in particular, the day is always hot ; and as soon as the sun is filleen degrees above the horizon, no cold is feit, in the depth of winter itself On the contrary, in the height of summer the nights arc as cold as at Paris in the month of March. It is for this reason that in Persia ami Turkey they always make use of furred habits in the country, such only being sufficient to resist the cold of the nights. I have travelled in Arabia, and in Mesopotamia (the theatre of the adventures of Jacob,) botn m winter and in summer, and have found the truth of what the Patriarch said, 1 That he was scorched with the heat in the day, and stiffened .with cold in the night.’ (Ge. xxxi. 40.) This contrariety in the qualities of the air in twen- ty-four hours is extremely great in some places, and not conceivable by those that have not seen it ; one would imagine that they bad passed in a moment —CHAP. XXXVIII. A. M. 3414. B. C. 590. c by the hand of. d c.29.25. 82.21. e c-2.27. 21.1,2 42.2,20. h c.21.2. ver.3. i c. 34. 21 ,22. ] Job 15.31. p or, slip away. q false- hood, or, a lie. r Mat.5.11, s Ac.5.23, 40. 23.2,3. 2Co. 11.23 ..27. t c.33.6. u or, cells v Pr.17.13, 26. c.26.19. Ac.25.ll, 25. 26.31. w c.2.28. y fait. c.32.2. S3. 1 3,23. ana cast into prisvii. 14 Then said Jeremiah, It is « r false ; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearken- ed not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. 15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote ■ him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. 16 If When Jeremiah was entered into the > dungeon, and into the u cabins, and Jere- miah had remained there many days ; 17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out : and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the Lord ? And Jeremiah said, There is : for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 18 Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zede- kiah, What v have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? 19 Where w are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not x come against you, nor against this land ? 20 Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, y be accepted before thee ; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court 2 of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of a bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were b spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. CHAPTER XXXVIII 1 Jeremiah, by a false suggestion, is put into the dungeon of Mulchiah. 7 Ebed-melech, by suit, getteth him some enlargement. 14 Upon secret conference he coimselleth the king by yielding to save his life. 24 13y the king’s instructions he concealeth the con* I ference from the princes. T HEN Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and a Jucal Jeretniali is beaten, JEREMIAH, of the Lord, which he spake c by the prophet Jeremiah. 3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son ofShelemiah and Zephaniah the d son ofMaa- seiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, say- ing, Pray now e unto the Lord our God for us. 4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. 5 Then f Pharaoh’s army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that Desieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed e from Jerusalem. 6 T[ Then came the word of the Lord unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent h you unto me to inquire of me ; Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. 8 And i the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. 9 Thus saith the Lord ; Deceive i not " your- selves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely de- part from us : for they shall not depart. 10 For i though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight againstyou, and there remained but m wounded men among them, yet "should they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire. 11 If And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was 0 broken up from Jeru- salem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to p separate himself thence in the midst of the people. 13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. and it is proper to recollect that it does rmt refer to the same reign as the preceding. We here find that immediately on the siege being raised, by the news arriving that Pharaoh was coming to assist the people of Judah, the kin:; and his princes flatter themselves that they should escape all the threatened evils, and the king sends to Jeremiah to aid them with his prayers. But the prophet receives direction to confirm all his former predictions; and assures them that even were all the Chaldean army wounded men, they should rise up and burn Jerusalem. The prophet, however, took the opportunity of this interval of peace to leave the city, and retire into the land of Benjamin : but in so doing, he was seized as a traitor going over to the Chaldean army, which, indeed, could not be the fact, as that was gone in pursuit of the Egyptians. But it was enough to be suspected : He was committed to the cells of a wretched dungeon, and it was perhaps several days before the king heard of it ; then he sent for him privately to examine him, and on his return ordered some alleviation to his confinement. “ Numbers witness the fatal effects of other men’s sins, and vet heedlessly step into their places, and proceed in the same destructive course : and mans’, who pay no regard to the in- structions and warnings of faithful ministers, will, in great extremities, desire their prayers. It is unspeakably wearisome to zealous ministers, to witness those crimes and miseries, which they cannot prevent : and cruel treatment, united with from the violent heats of summer to the depth of winter. Thus it hath pleased Cod to temper the heat of the sun by the coldness of the nig lit, without which the greatest part of the East would he barren, and a desert.”] — Bagster. Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 5. Pharaoh's army.— ['This was Pharaoh Hophra, or Apries, as he is called hy Herodotus , who succeeded his father Psammis on the throne of Egypt, A. M. 3110, B. C. 591, and reigned twenty-five years. Having entered into a confederacy with Zedekiah, (Eze. xvii. 15.) he marched out of Egypt with a great army to his relief ; which caused Nebuchadnezzar to raise the siege of Jerusalem to meet him ; during which period the transac- tions detailed here look place.)— Bagster. Ver, 7. Pharaoh's army shall return , &c — IThe Egyptians, on the approach A the Chaldeans, not daring to engage in battle with so numerous and well appointed an army, retired into their own country ; treacherously leaving Ze- dekiah and his people to perish in the war into which they had drawn them ; for which cause the prophet Ezekiel (ch. xxix.) reproaching them for their per- fidy, denounces against them the judgments of God. 1— Bagster. Ver. 11. Was broken up.— Sec. margin ; i. e. from the valleys which sur- 'cnnrled Jerusalem. Ver. 12 . To separate himself.— Seemttrgin. Blarney," To receive a portion ill success, is apt to render them reluctant to their work, and disposed to court privacy and obscurity. But every step which they take will be misrepresented by perverse opposers : the most disinterested friends of their country are frequently treated as traitors or rebels, and the most upright and blame- less accused of the worst of crimes; and such calumnies will meet with more credit than all their asseverations and pleas in their own behalf. Thus, whilst the enemies of God have lodged in palaces and indulged in luxury, his faithful servants have been suffering with wounds, loaded with ignominy and fetters, immured in loathsome dungeons, or dying by famine or tor- ture. But ere long it will be said of the afflicted believer, and to the prosperous sinner, ‘Now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.,’ Many secretly favour .the servants of God, who, through fear of man and love of sin, will not follow their coun- sel. No respect of persons, or carnal policy, must warp the plain and direct testimony of the faithful minister, even when addressing himself to the proudest and most powerful of the sons of men, whose frown he has most cause to fear and from whose favour he might hope for many temporal advan- tages. The Lord has all hearts in his hands, and can incline his enemies to favour his servants, ns much as he sees good : yet those who would be faithful to him, must prepare for en- during hardship and tribulation in this evil world.” — 7'. Scott. Chap. XXXVill. Ver. 1—28. Jeremiah' s farther imprison- ment and release by Zedekiah.— The princes of Judah, taking thereof among the people i. e. in Anatlioth, where he had before resided. See ch. i. t. Ver. 15. Made that the prison. — [Sir./. Chardin (as cited by Warmer), in- forms us, that the eastern prisons are not public buildings erected for that purpose ; hut a part of the house in which their criminal judges dwell. As the governor and provost of a town, or the captain of the watch, imprisoned such as are accused in their own houses, they set apart a canton of it for that pur- pose, when they are put into these offices, ami choose for -the jailor the most proper person they can find of their domestics.” Hence it is probablethat Jo- nathan’s house became a prison when he was made a royal scribe, or secretary of state. 1 —Bagster. Ver. 16. Into the dungeon. —Dr. B(«t/net/ thinks this dungeon was probably a deep pit. like a weli sunk in the court yard, and open to the sky at top ; in the sides of which were niches (called in the text cabins, and in the margin, “ cells,”) where the prisoners were placed : hence the allusion, Isa. xiv. 15. Ver. 20. Let my supplication be accepted..— See margin. Paine, in order to raise an apparent contradiction, says, Jeremiah " did not make supplication but the text is pointedly against him. Chap. XXX VRI. Vet. 1. Then Shephatiah. Ac.— In Dr. Blayney's arranga- 837 Jeremiah is imprisoned. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XXXVIII. lie is drawn out of Ike dungeon. tiie son of Slielemiah, and b Pasliur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, 2 Thussaith the Lord, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by thefumine, and by the pestilence: but he thatgoeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live ; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. 3 Thus saitli the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Baby- lon’s army, which shall take it. 4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to c death : for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them : for this man seeketh not the d welfare of this people, but the hurt. 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand : for the king is not/ie that can do any thing against you. 6 Then 'took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of r Ham- rnelech, that was in the court of the prison : and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire. 7 If Now when Ebed-melech s the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon ; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin ; 8 Ebed-melech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, 9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dun- geon ; and he 11 is like to die for hunger in the place where he is : for there is no more bread ■ in the city. 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men ) with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. 11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by- cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. A. M. 3413. a c. 5 jo. b C.21.1..10. c c.26.11. J peace. e Ps. 109.5. c.37.21. Lu.3.19, 20 . king. c.36.26. g c.39.16. h wilt i c.37.21. j in thy hand. k or, prin- cipal. 2Ki.16.18. 1 *2 Ki.2.2 ra Nu. 16.22. 27.16. Ie.57. 16. Zee. 12.1. n Ps. 80.7, 14 Am.5.27. olCh. 17.24. Ezr.9.4. p 2Ki.24.l2. ver.2 q c.39.3. ver.23. s 1 Sa.31.4. t 2Ch. 20.20. Jn.1.22 u Is.55.3. v Pr. 1.30.31 Is. 1.19,20. \v men of thy peace. x La. 1.2 Mi.7.5. y P3.69.2- 14. ■A Is. 42 17. 12 And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unco Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rot ten rags under thine armholes under the cords And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon : and Jere- miah remained in the court of the prison. 14 T[ Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the k third entry that is in the house of the Lord: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. 15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death 1 and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? 16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As i the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. 17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saitli the Lord, the God of " hosts, the God of 0 Israel ; Ifthou wilt assuredly go forth p unto the king of Babylon’s i princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire ; and thou shalt live, and thy house. 18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou r shalt not es- cape out of their hand. 19 A nd Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, 1 am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand and they mock ■ me. 20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not delivei thee. * 1 Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee : so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul u shall live. ! 21 But if thou refuse v to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath showed me: | 22 And, behold, all the women that are left ! in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought ! forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and | those women shall say, w Thy friends x have j set thee on, and have prevailed against thee; ! thy feet are sunk in the y mire, and they are turned 2 away back. offence at Jeremiah, cause him to be cast into a deep and miry dungeon ; but Ebed-melech the Cushite gets the king’s per- mission to take him out. The king then gives him a private audience in the purlieus of the temple, and the prophet coun- sels him privately to surrender to the Chaldeans. The king in return promises Jeremiah his protection ; but requires him not to reveal what had passed between them to the princes. To them, therefore, he gives an evasive answer, repeating only so much of the conference as related to his request for his life, and that he might not be sent back to the miserable dungeon in which he had been before confined. Some infidel writers ment, chapters xxxii. and xxxiii. intervene between this chapter and the pre- ceding. Ver. 5. In your hand—\. e. “power;” meaning, that they had grasped all the power into their own hands. Ver. 6. The son of Hammelech.—See margin. Most "rcat men, it appears, had dungeons of their own. See oh. xxxvii. 15.— 1 This dungeon, which seems to have belonged to one of Zedekiah’s sons, appears to have been a most dreadful place ; the horrors of which were probably augmented by the cruelty of the jailer. The eastern people, observes Sir J. Chardin , (cited in Harrner ,) “ have not different prisons for the different classes of criminals ; the judges do not trouble themselves about where the prisoners are confined, or how they are treated, they considering it merely as a place of safety ; and all that they re- quire of the jailer is, that the prisoner be forthcoming when called for. As to the rest, he is master to do as he pleases ; to treat him well or ill ; to put him in irons or not ; to shut him up close, or hold him in easier restraint ; to admit people to him, or to suffer nobody to see him. If the jailer and his servants have large tecs, let the person be the greatest rascal in the world, he shall be lodged in the jailer’s own apartment, and the best part of it ; and on the con- trary. if those that have imprisoned a man give the jailer greater presents, or that he has a greater regard for them, he will treat the prisoner with the great- est inhumanity." This adds a double energy to those passages which speak of “ the sighing of the prisoner;” and to Jeremiah’s supplicating that he might not be remanded to the dungeon of Jonathan, ver. 26. ch xxxvii. 20 .]— Bolster. Ver. 10 . Take thirty men. — This seems to imply the great depth of the lungeon, to require such strength. The rags were to prevent the cords from cutting his flesh. Ver. 12 . Ebed-melech, &c.— [Ebed-mcfech, whose name implies that he was 838 have found fault with Jeremiah as a prevaricator, because he did not fully answer all the inquiries of the Jewish princes, though he had been forbidden by a higher authority so to do. We are not bound to answer questions which others have no right to ask. “ Man’s cruel ingenuity has invented various inethodsof tor- ture and destruction; and persecutors have always been most remarkable for refinement in cruelty. Besides the numbers who have been openly tortured and put to death, it will never be known how many servantsof God havebeen privately murdered before that time when ‘the earth shall disclose her blood, and the king’s slave, was probably a black eunuch, serving in the court ofZedckiah When Baron du Toil's wife and mother-in-law visited the Asma Sultana daughter of the emperor Achmet, he informs us, that at the opening of the thiro gate of her palace, several black eunuchs presented themselves, who, witl each a white staff in his hand, preceded the visiters, leading them to a spacious apartment, called the chamber of strangers. “ These beings,” says he, “ are in Turkey only an article of luxury ; and scarcely met with but in the seraglio of the Grand Seignior, and those of the Sujtunas. The pride of some of the grandees has indeed gone so far as to make use of them, but with moderation ; and the richest among them have not more than one or two black eunuchs at most The manners of these are always harsh and brutal.” Ebed-mc* lech, however, is every way entitled to the honour of being an exception to this unamiable character; he was a humane and noble spirited man. See Harrner.]— Bolster. Ver. 14. Third entry— Rather, “ entrance.” Ver. 15. Wilt thounol.—Dx. Blayney renders this, “Thou wilt not,” without the interrogation. Ver. 22. Those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on.— See marg. i. e. Thy friends have urged thee to this imprudent course, and (in the English phrase) left thee in the lurch.— [Harrner would render, “ and here (hennah, or reading hinneh, behold,) the women (wont to sing on public occasions) shall say,” &c. : observing, “ that these bitter speeches much better suit the lips of women belonging to the conquering nation, singing before a captive prince, than of his own wives and concubines.” This fie illustrates by the foilow'ing extract from Della Valle : When he was at Lar in Persia, the king of Ormuz was brought thither in triumph ; and 1 this poor unfortunate king entered Lar, with liis people, in the morning, music playing, and girls and women of pica- c bum. dc.37. 15,20. l 2 Ki.25.1, &c. c.52.4,&c. .—CHAP. XXXIX. Zedekiah' s eyes put out. 4 \\ And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls : and he went out the way of the plain. 5 But c the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook d Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho : and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he ' gave judgment upon him. 6 Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah. 7 f Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with e chains, to carry him to Ba- bylon. 8 ][" And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses h of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Then Nebuzar-adan the ■ captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him, with the rest of the people that remained. 10 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields i at the same time. 11 1[ Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah k to Ne- buzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, l'2 Take him, and 'look well to him, and do him no m harm ; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. 13 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, n Rab-saris, and Ner- gal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes ; 14 Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court °of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah p the son of Ahikam q the son c c.32.4. 33. 18,23. d La. 1.3. e spake with him jitdg- menu. c.4.12. g two brazen chains, or, fetters. h La.2.2. i chief of the execu- tioners, or slaughter- men. or chief marshal ; and 30 ver.10,11. Ge.37 36. j in that day k by the hand of. 1 set thine eyes upon rn Ps 105.15 n ver.3. o c.33.23. p c.40.5. q c.26.24. Jerusalem besieged and taken. JEREMIAH 23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children a to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be b taken by the hand of the king of Baby- lon : and thou shalt c cause this city to be burned with fire. 24 Tf Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death ; also what the king said unto thee : 26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I present- ed my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s d house, to die there. 27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had command- ed. So they 'left off speaking with him ; for the matter was not perceived. 28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison f until the day that Jerusalem was taken : and he was there when Jerusalem was taken. CHAPTER XXXIX. 1 Jerusalem is taken. 4 Zedekiah is made blind, and sent to Babylon. 8 The city ruinatedj 9 the people captivated. 11 Nebuchadrezzar’s charge tor the good usage of Jeremiah. 15 God’s promise to Ebed-melech. I N the “ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. 2 And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. 3 And all the princes b of the king of Baby- lon came in, and set in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Ba- bylon. no more cover her slain.’ But till the 1 witnesses have finished their testimony,’ the malice of their enemies must be frus- trated : for God will raise up instruments for their protection, where they might have been least expected. Equity, humani- ty, piety, and zealous boldness in a good cause, have been found in persons of every climate, complexion, or rank in life : and the Lord often chooses those who by birth, education, and outward circumstances, labour under peculiar disadvantages ; in order to shame the conduct of degenerate professors of true religion. Even the retirements or engagements of princes should be interrupted, to prevent the shedding of innocent blood. In such a cause we should not fear either the dis- pleasure of man, or any personal consequence ; for where so great evil is about to be done, decided plain language is be- coming, though the greatest princes be the perpetrators of the mischief. They who use their influence in the fear of God, to prevent injustice, oppression, or murder, may expect that he will protect and prosper them : and those timid temp rs which are easily seduced into sinful compliances, may often be as easily engaged by firm expostulation to retract, and to prevent the consequences. Promptitude and tenderness should always concur in our efforts to relieve the distressed ; and the manner of showing kindness is sometimes as expressive and as agree- able as the favour itself.” — T. Scott. The humanity and tenderness of Ebed-melech to Jeremiah, in drawing him up from the dungeon, merits a particular re- mark; ana Henry founds upon this incident a useful lesson of economy : 11 Old rotten rags should not be wasted even in the king’s house,” since they may be put to so important a use, in easing the sufferings of a prophet. sure singing and dancing before him, according to tile custom of Persia, and the people flocking together with a prodigious concourse, and conducting him in a pompous and magnificent manner, particularly with colours displayed, like what the Messenians formerly did to Philopmmen, the general of the Athe- nians, their prisoner of war, according to the report of Justin."]— Bagster. Chap. XXXIX. Ver. 1. Tenth month.—] This was the month Teheth (Es. ii. ’.6.) which began with the first moon of January ; and it was on the 10th of this month that Nebuchadnezzar invested the city.J —Bagster. Ver. 2. Fourth month.—] This was the month Tammuz, which commences with the first moon of July : the siege had lasted just eighteen months.]— B. Ver. 3. tiergal-sharezer, &c.— It is difficult to distinguish here between the names of these captains and their titles of office Nergal and Nebo were idols I Chap. XXXIX. Ver. 1 — 13. Jerusalem is taken, and Zede- kiah sent blind to Babylon; but Jeremiah is set at liberty . — As respects Zedekiah, he appears to have acted a base and wicked, as well as foolish part ; for having been placed on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar, to whom also he had sworn alle- giance, all opposition now was no other than insurrection. (See2Chron. xxxvi. 10 — 12.) And having been divinely ad- monished to submit himself to the king of Babylon, this con- duct was no less rebellion against God than against him. The last four verses relate to the subject of the precedirm chapter, and contain promises of personal safety to Ebed-melech, amidst the public calamities, on account of his pietv, and his humanity to the prophet. Tliese are therefore placed by Blay- ney in the beginning of the chapter. “ How precarious are earthly possessions ! And how soon they are shifted from one hand to another, especially in times of public calamity ! But whether the Lord makes men poor or rich, nothing can durably profit them, whilst they cleave to their sins. The servants of God alone are prepared for all events: they are delivered and comforted, when the wicked are suffering for their crimes; and they o. ten meet with more respect and kindness from the profane, or from idolaters, than from hypocrites and formalists. God however will raise them up friends, and do them good, and perform all his promises to them. ‘In every nation, he that fearelh God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted of him:’ and he will reward men for the kindness which they show to his people for his sake. He gives encouragement to his servants, according to their perils, fears, and trials ; and will never suffer those to be con- founded or perish, who trust in his mercy and obey his com- of the Cushites and Babylonians, (2 Kings xvii. 30. Isa. xlvi. I.) which it was usual to prefix to the names of their great men. Dan. iv. 8. — [These were the principal commanders : but Dr. Blayney thinks that, instead of six persons, we have in reality hut three , as the name that follows each is the title of office. Thus Nergal-sharezer , who was Samgar-nebo , or keeper, i. e. priest of Nebo ; Sarsechim , who was Rab-saris, or chief eunuch ; and Nergal-sharezer, who was Rab-mag, or chief magi ; as the words mag, in Persian, magoos, in Ara- bic, magooshai , in Syriac, and magos , in Greek, signify ; and we learn from Justin and Curtins , that the magi attended the king in war.]— Bagster. Ver. 11. Noio Nebuchadnezzar. — [Nebuchadnezzar must have frequently heard of Jeremiah’s predictions, many of which were now fulfilled, which I would dispose him to respect his character, and treat him with kindness. J—J?. 839 Jeremiah sec at liberty. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XL. The Jews repair to Gedaliah of Shaphan, that he should carry him home : so lie dwelt among the people. J. r > If Now the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court o: the prison, saying, 16 Go and speak to r Ebed-melech the Ethio- pian, saying, Thussaith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Behold, I will ■ bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good ; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee. 17 But I will deliver thee in that > day, saith the Lord : and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men " of whom thou art afraid. 18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life v shall be for a prey unto thee : because w thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord. CHAPTER XL. . Jeremiah, being set free by Nebuzar-adan, goetli to Gedaliah. 7 The dispersed JewB repair unto him. 13 Joluuian revealing lshmael’s conspiracy is not believed. T HE word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him a go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in b chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. 2 And the captain of the guard took Jere- miah, and c said unto him, The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place. 3 Now the Lord hath brought it, and done according as he hath said : d because ye have sinned againstthe Lord, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. 4 And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which e were upon thy hand. If r it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will s look well unto thee : but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee : whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. 5 Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to 11 Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shapnan, wnom liie king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people : or go wheresoever it seemeth con- A. M. 3416. B C. 533. r C.38.7.1Z . Da.9-12. t Job 5.19.. 21 . Ps.50.15. Du.6.16. u 2Sa.24.14. v c 21.9. 45.5 w lCh.5.20. Ps.37.39, 40. a c.39.14. b or, mana- cle*. c c.50.7. d De. 29.24, 25. Ne.9.28, 33. Da.9.11. e or, are. f c.39.12. g set mine eye upon. h c.41.2. k c.41.1,&c. 1 c.43.2,4,5. m Ezr.2.22. n Jos. 12.5. > stand before. De.1.33. p c.39.10. r Ezr 25.2. i c.41.10. venient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. 6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to ‘ Mizpah ; and dwelt with him among the people that were leftin the land. 7 T| Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the kir.g of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in thf land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor ) of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon ; 8 Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael k the son of Nethaniah, and 'Johanan and Jonathan the sons of ICareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhuu eth, and the sons of Ephai the m Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son ofa n Maachathite, they and their men. 9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, F ear not to serve the Chaldeans : dwell in the land, and serve the kingofBaby- lon, and it shall be well with you. 10 As for me. behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to 0 serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us : but ye, gather pye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken. 11 Likewise when all the Jews that were in ‘i Moab, and among the r Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a rem- nant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Sha- phan ; 12 Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much. 13 If Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, 14 And said unto him,’ Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent 'Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to mandments. And if it be a great favour for those who live in perilous times, to have their ‘life given them for a prey;’ what cause shall we have fur gratitude, if we escape the temptations, and are carried through the trials of this evil world, and finally obtain the eternal salvation of our souls !” — T. Scott. Chap. XL. Ver. 1 — 16. Jeremiah being liberated , goes to j Gedaliah the governor , and the dispersed Jews resort to him. \ — This, and the four following chapters, record the events which occurred in Judea from die taking of Jerusalem to the retreat of the remnant of the people to Egypt; and contain several prophecies of Jeremiah concerning them there; which were “the word which came to Jeremiah from the Loud.” It appears that Jeremiah, after being freed from prison, continu- ■ ed among the Jews, till he was bound with others of them, and earned to Ramah ; where he was set at liberty in the manner related. Jeremiah is directed to go to Gedaliah, who was appointed governor of the land, and to whom the Jews repair, who haa been dispersed throughout the country. Jo- hanan in'orms the governor of a conspiracy against him, but is unhappily not believed. The incredulity of Gedaliah. how- ever, showed an amiable disposition to “ think no evil,” even against his enemies. “Many can see the justice of God’s judgments, and the truths of his words, in the case of others, who are heedless, or blind, as to those things which relate to themselves. Nay, some plead the prophecies against the Jews, and the descendants of Ham, in vindication of their own or other men’s cruel oppres- sions of them; and think themselves justified, because the Scripture is ulfilled : though it was equally fulfilled by the treachery of Judas, and the malice of those who crucified Christ ! None, however, are so hardened as apostate profes- sors of religion. It is allowable for faithful ministers to re- ceive the proffered kindness even of ungodly men, when it can be done without appearance of selfishness; when it does not tend to deceive or prejudice the giver; and when it is not to be purchased, or repaid, by any sinful compliances or flatteries. We have, however, need to be ‘wise as serpents, as well as \ er -|'?' P' 1 a f“ speak to Ebed-melech. — [This message was sent to Ebed- melech before the taking of the city ; in which he is assured, that the princes, whom he had offended by his kindness to Jeremiah, would be very soon de- prived o t all power to injure him, by the destruction of the city by the Chal- deans. And, at the same time, he was assured of protection in this catastrophe : that he should escape with his life, while others fell by the sword ; seeing he had trusted in God, and exposed himself to danger by rescuing the prophot : he feared Jehovah, and not the king or his princes ; and therefore God would take care ol him. and preserve lum amidst the impending desolation.]— Bolster. Chap. XL. Ver. 5. While he teas not yet gone back— [The prophet seems to have hesitated, at first, what course to take. Which being perceived by Ne- ouzar-adan. he told him that, if it was his intention to stay in his own land, he nad hotter put himself under the protection of his own countryman, Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had made governor of the land ; though he was at perfect liberty to go where he pleased.]— Bags ter. Ver. 6. Then went Jeremiah— [ It has been doubted whether Jeremiah acted prudently in this decision, as the event seems to indicate the contrary ; and, as t was the evident meaning of all his predictions, that the Jews should not 840 prosper in their own country till the expiration of seventy years. But he was evidently influenced by the most unbounded love to bis country, for whose wel- fare he had watched, prayed, and lived ; and he now chose rather to share her adversities, her sorrows, her wants, her afflictions, and her disgrace, than to be the companion of piinces, and to sit at the table of kings ! His patriotism was as unbounded as it was sincere : he only ceased to live for his country when he ceased to breathe. \—Bagster. Ver. 13. Johanan. & c. — f Johanan and his companions seem to have acted honestly in this affair. They had received intelligence of designs formed against Gedaliah’s life, ami consequently against the whole new settlement Ishmael, being a branch of David’s family, was probably displeased that ano- ther was preferred above him ; and the king of trie Ammonites, out of hatred to the Jews, employed him to slay Gedaliah. But Gedaliah, conscious of his own integrity and benevolence, took the portrait of others from his own mind ; and therefore believed evil of no man, because be felt none towards any in \»a own breast. He may be reproached for being too credulous and confiding ; but this only serves to show the greatness of his soul ; for a little mind is always suspicious, and ready to believe the worst of every person and thing.] — B. lshmael slays Gedaliah. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XLI. Jolianan recovers the captives 1 sJay thee l But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not. 15 ThenJohanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay lshmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish 1 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing : for thou speakest falsely of lshmael. CHAPTER XLI. i lshmael, treacherously killing Gedaliah and others, purposeth with the residue to fiee unto the Ammonites. 11 Johanan recovered! the captives, and iniiideih to flee into Egypt N OW it came to pass in the seventh month, that lshmael a the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah ; and there they did eat bread toge- ther in Mizpah. 2 Then arose lshmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Sha- phan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. 3 lshmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war. 4 And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew 1 it, 5 That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even four- score men, having their beards c shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with u offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. 6 And lshmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, e weeping all along as he went : and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Geda- liah the son of Ahikclm. 7 And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that lshmael the son of Ne- thaniah slew them, and cast them into the A. M. 3116. B. C. 588. t strike thee in soul. a 2Ki. 25.25. c.40.6,8. b lSa.27.11. c Le. 19.27, 28. Dc. 14.1. 2Sa. 10.4. Is. 15.2. d 1 Sa. 1.7. 2 Ki.25.9. f Job 2.4. Hr. 13.8. Mat. 6.25. g by the hand , or, side of, h l Ki. 15.22 i 2 Cb. 16.6. j c.43.6. k Ne.2.10. 19 Je.40.14. 1 ver. 2,3,7. in 2Sa.2.13. midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him. 8 But ten men were found among them that said unto lshmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures f in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren. 9 Now the pit wherein lshmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain s because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the h king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and lshmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain. 10 Then lshmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in > Mizpah, j even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam : and lshmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the k Am- monites. 11 TI But when Johanan the son of Kereah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil i that lshmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 Then they took all the men, and went to tight with lshmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters m that are in Gibeon. 13 Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with lshmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. 14 So all the people that lshmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and re- turned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But lshmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. 16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from lshmael the son of Ne- thaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and ' armless as doves not only for our own preservation, but ;o prevent ‘one sinner from destroying much good.’ Vet we should especially learn to trust in God alone ; as the most towerful earthly protectors cannot secure us from the base designs even of very mean and inconsiderable enemies.” — 7'. Scott. Chap. XLI. Ver. I — 18. lshmael treacherously murders Ge- daliah , and many of his people , and, flies to the Ammonites , with a number of captive Jews ; but the latter are rescued from him by Johanan. — lshmael himself appears to have been a character of uncommon depravity ; first, from his treacherous conduct to Gedaliah, even while eating with him ; and, 2dly, by his hypocrisy toward the fourscore men, coming to sacri- fice at Jerusalem, whom he met with weeping, pretending to participate in their sorrows, till he got them safe within his reach to murder them. “When God is provoked to leave men to themselves, and to Ver. 16. Thou shall not do. &c.— [He thought it quite possible that the man who was capable of becoming an assassin, was capable of telling a lie. Had noble Gedaliah been a little more distrustful, he might have saved his life ; bu:. this be lo3t by not believing that evil of others of which he found himself inca- pable. ] — Bolster. Chap. XLI. Ver. 1 . It came to pass. — ' This was the month Tisri , answer- ing to the new moon of September, the seventh of the sacred, but the first of the civil year ; on the third day of which the Jews keep a fast in commemora- tion of the death of Gedaliah. to which the prophet Zechariah refers, ch. viii. 19. Ver. 4. No man knew it — That is, the report had not got abroad. Ver. 5. Beards shaven. — [All these were signs of deep mourning: which, though forbidden on funeral occasions, were customary, and perhaps counted allowable, on seasons of public calamity ; and this mourning was probably on account of the destruction of Jerusalem.]— Boaster. Ver. 6. lshmael , &c. — [The dissimulation of this felonious hypocrite can only be matched by that masterly delineation of treachery and art in the character of 3inon, Virgil, JEn. ; to which our great dramatic poet thus alludes “ And Sinon’s weeping Did scandal many anolv tear.”] — Bagster. Ver. 7. Into the mid s' of the pit . — [This was probably a large reservoir for 106 the temptations of Satan, they are hurried on into every kind of wickedness: their impetuous passions burst through all re- straints, and misery and destruction attend their ways. While divine judgments are executing on guilty nations, the best men are often first cut ofli for the punishment of the survivors. Candour and generosity frequently expose men to the base designs of those wretches, who are of ‘ their father the devil,’ and who closely copy his example of subtlety, malice, and murder. They who hate the worshippers of God, can asstime the appearance of piety and love, that they may better accom- plish their purposes : and the thirst for blood, like other de- praved appetites, becomes more insatiable by every gratifica- tion; until men delight in murder for its own sake. It is well for mankind, that one selfish passion very often restrains an- other, in the conduct of the multitudes who are not influenced by a better motive. Thus avarice checks the progress of cruelty ; ambition and pride that of licentiousness: the love of receiving rain water, which Asa had caused to be made in the midst of the city, in case of a siege .]— Bagster Ver. 8. Treasures in the field— [ These “treasures hid in the field” were doubtless laid up in subterranean pits, similar to the mattamores in Barbary, in which, Dr. Shaw informs us, they deposit the grain when winnowed ; two or three hundred of them being sometimes together, and the smallest holding four hundred bushels. The same mode of keeping corn also prevails in Syria, and the Holy Land. See Dr. Russel, Le Bruyn , Rauivotff, and Banner.!— B. Ver. 12. The great waters .— The pool, or lake, of Gibeon. Ver. 13. Saw Johanan— [They appear to have been weary of the tyranny of lshmael, and glad of an opportunity to abandon him.] — Bagster. Ver. 15. Eight men— [Isnmael came to Gedaliah with ten men, who are supposed to have been princes of Judah, with their retinues ; and as lie fled with only eight men, perhaps the others had before left him, or had lost their lives in these deeds of blood ; and if they had any retainers, these might think it safer to join Johanan, than to accompany lshmael in his night.]— Bagster Ver. 16. And the women .— [These were all, it is probable, persons who be- longed to the palace and harem of Zcdekiah ; some of them his own concu- bine. 1 - .-.lid their children.]— Bolster. 841 Jeremiah desired to inquire of God. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XLII. Hajety in Judea assured. the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon : 17 And they departed, and dwelt in the habi- tation of n Chimham, which is by Beth lehem, to go to enter into Egypt, 18 Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahi- kam, whom 0 the king of Babylon made go- vernor in the land. CHAPTER XLII. i Johanna desireth Jeremiah to inquire of God, promising obedience to his will. 7 Jeremiah assureth him of safety in Judea, 13 and destruction in Egypt. 19 He re- proveth their hypocrisy, in requiring of the Lord that which they meant not. r T^HEN all the captains “of the forces, and -1- Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, 2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication b be accepted before thee, and pray c for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few d of many, as thine eyes do be- hold us :) 3 That e the Lord thy God may show us the way f wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. 4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray e unto the Lord your God according to your words ; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever h thing the Lord shall answer you, I will de- clare it unto you ; I will keep > nothing back from you. 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, the Lord i be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. 6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will k obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee ; i that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God. 7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. 8 Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were A. M. 3416. B. C. 5S). n 2Sa.19.37, 3J. 0 c.40.5. a c.40.8. b or, falL c lSa.7.8. 12.19,23. Is. 1. 15. c. 17. 15,16 d Le.26.22. La. 1.1. e De .5.28,29 f Ezr.8.21. g Ex. 9.29. h lKi.22.14. 1 lSa.3.18 Ac. 20. 20. J Ge.31.50. Ex. 20.7. k De.5.27. I De.6.3. c.7.23. m c.31.28. n De.32.36. C.18.& o Mat. 10.28 p Is. 43.5. Ro.8.31. q Ps. 106.45. r e.41.16. s De.29.19, 20 . t De. 17. 16. u c.44.13. v E ze.il. 8. w clear c. x all the men be. y c.24.10. ver.22. 7 . c.7.20. a c.39.2. La. 2.5. b c.24.9. 29.18,22. 44.12. Zee. 8. 13. with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest, 9 And said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him ; 10 If ye will still abide in this land, then wi'l I build you, and not pull you down, and 1 will plant you, and not pluck you up : for I re pent " me of the evil that I have done unto you. 11 Be not afraid 0 of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I Pam with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 12 And 'll will show mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. 13 But if ye say, We will not r dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, 14 Saying, No ; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where * we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hun ger of bread ; and there will we dwell : 15 And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into 1 Egypt, and go to sojourn there ; 16 Then " it shall come to pass, that the sword, which v ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall w follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. 17 So shall x it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there ; they y shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence : and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. 18 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; As 1 mine anger and my fury hath been a poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem ; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and b ye shall be an execration, and an asto- licentious pleasures, that of avarice, ambition, and revenge; and the fear of consequences, restrains all the other selfish passions. By these and similar means, the Lord bounds and overrules the wickedness of ungodly men ; and provides for the accomplishment of his own wise designs, whether of judg- ment or of mercy. — As death, in such varied forms, meets men in those places where they least expect it, we should continu- ally inquire, whether we be in such a state and frame of mind, as we should desire to be found in, when called to appear be- fore our Judge.” — T. Scott. As to those men from Shechem, &c. they seem to have been a sort of mongrel Jews, who came to worship at Jerusalem with a mixture of Jewish and Pagan rites; for they not only shaved, but ‘‘cut themselves” like the worshippers of Baal, which they were commanded not to do. (See Deuteronomy xiv. 1. 1 Kings xviii. 28.) They had probably vowed a pil- grimage to Jerusalem before they knew that the temple was destroyed. Chap. XLII. Ver. 1 — 22. Jeremiah earaestly entreated to inquire of the Lord. — Johanan and the remnant of the people desire Jeremiah to ask counsel of God what they should do, and promise to obey him : when, however, they are directed to Ver. 17. Chimiiam. [This seems to have been a resilience and estate which David had settled on Chimham, the son olBarzillai, out of his own patrimony. Into Egypt —As J.riianan and the other princes had taken a decided part against Ishiiiach they had no sufficient reason to fear that t lie Chaldeans would revenge on them the murder of Gedaliah ; hut perhaps Johanan was unwilling to he superseded in the command which he had rightly assumed, and so used his influence to induce the whole company to take refuge in Egypt ; and their old attachment to the Egyptians rendered them more ready to concur in this ruinous measure.] — Bolster. Chap. XLII. Ver. 4. Then Jeremiah. — [The princes seem to have wholly neglected Jeremiah, till on this occasion, they wanted his sanction to their pur- pose cf going to Egypt. In order to induce him to favour them, they applied to him With one consent, in the most respectful and plausible manner : they used language to prepossess him with a favourable opinion of them, and to move his compassion: and, in words expressing great humility, they entreated his prayers in their behalf, and that he would inquire ofthe Lord what he would have them to dp. The prophet readily acquiesced ; and doubted not but that lie should receive an answer from God, which he would unreservedly declare to them ; 842 remain in the land, instead of going to Egypt, as it is plain (from ch. xli. 17.) they had previously resolved, their hypocrisy appears. The answer was delayed for some time, to allow them to deliberate on their request ; but when it comes, not being according to their wishes, it is neglected on that account. Thus, when men makeup their minds as to any course of con- duct they are determined to pursue, and then ask divine direc- tion, it is the direct way to provoke the displeasure of the Al- mighty, as in the case before us. “ But many, who promise, with much solemnity, to do what- ever the Lord requires, so long as they can hope to have their pride flattered, and their fa\ ourite inclinations gratified; can- not endure to be contradicted, or called to exercise self-denial: and generally, something in the language of such persons, be- trays the state of their hearts to those, who ‘ have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. 5 For how could men, if they were not greatly attached to their own wills, suppose that the Lord would require of them any thing evil in itself, or pre- judicial to them ? All his commands are noly, just, and good, however they may thwart our inclinations : and not only will it be well with us at last, if we 1 obey the voice of the Lord our God;’ but, ‘in keeping of his precepts there is great re- and they called the Lord to witness, that they would implicitly follow His di rections. J— Bagster. Ver. 7. Ten days.— [At this time he was waiting for a revelation from God in answer to the inquiries of the people; who probably thus delayed to make known his will, in order to show them, that Jeremiah did not speak of his own mind, but when and as he was directed. The delay was also suited to give time for consideration, and to retard their rash project ; and as it would render them impatient, it tended to detect their hypocrisy, and to show more clearly their determined rebellion against God ]— Bagster. Ver. 15. Wholly set your faces— [If ye are determined to go into Egypt, the evils which ye dreaded by staying in your own land shall overtake and destroy you there ; “ and there shall ye aie.” God turned the policy of the wicked to their own destruction ; for while they thought themselves safe in Egypt, there Nebuchadnezzar destroyed both them and the Egyptians.!— Bagster. Ver. 18. .4s mine anger .— [The people had witnessed the tremendous effects of the wrath of God, in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem ; and had the" not been nast feeling, this denunciation must have made their ears to tingle and appalled their very souls. 1 —Bagster. Jeremiah's prophecy discredited. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XLIII. Conquest of Egypt foretold nishment, and a curse, and a reproach ; and ve shall see this place no more. 19 IT The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah ; Go ye not into Egypt : know certainly that I have c admonished you this day. 20 For ye d dissembled c in your f hearts, when ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray e for us unto the Lord our God ; and according unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. 21 And now I have this day h declared it to you ; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, nor any thing for the which he hath sent me unto you. 22 Now therefore know > certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the i place whither ye desire k to go and to sojourn. CHAPTER XLIII. Johanan, discrediting Jeremiah’s prophecy, carrielh Jeremiah and others into Egypt. 8 Jeremiah prophesieth by a type the conquest of Egypt by the Babylonians. A ND it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words, 2 Then a spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud b men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely : the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there : 3 But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Ba- bylon. 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah. A. M. 3416. B. C. 539. c testified you. d or, have used deceit against your souls. Nu. 16.38. e Ga.6.7. f c.17.10. g ver.2. h De. 11.26, 27. i ver.17. Eze.6.11. j Ho. 9.6. k or, to go to sojourn. a c.42.1. b Pr.8.13. 16.5. Is.9.9,10. Ja.4.6. cc. 40.11, 12. d c. 41.10. e one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. 17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise ; he hath passed the time ap pointed. 18 As I live, saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come. 19 O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, z fur- nish thyself to go into a captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desefiate without an inha- bitant. 20 Egypt is like a very fair b heifer, but de- struction cometh ; it cometh out of the 'north. 21 Also her hired men are in the midst of her like d fatted bullocks ; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together : they did not stand, because the day e of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their visitation. 22 The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood. 23 They shall cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched ; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and art innumerable. 24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confound- ed ; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north. 25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith ; Behold, I will punish the f multitude ol with great slaughter, as here predicted. — Jeremiah sees the mighty preparations ; but they are all to no purpose, since God had doomed their fall. The king of Egypt, however, is here represented as marching with all the confidence of victory, and his a/my is compared to the mighty Nile overflowing its banks, and threatening all the country around with inundation. He is heard animating his troops to battle ; but the Prophet states that this is the time destined for their fall ; and this prophecy “ concludes with an apostrophe to the virgin daughter (mean- ing the inhabitants) of Egypt, whose wound is pronounced in- curable, and her disgrace universally known; forasmuch as the number of her warriors have only served to augment the general disorder, and more effectually to destroy each other.” -- Blayney. At verse 13 begins the second prophecy respecting Egypt. “ There appears no ground,” says Dr. Blarney, “for fixing the date when this second prophecy was delivered: but the desolation foretold in it is undoubtedly the same which Ezekiel has predicted, (chapters xxix. to xxxii.) and came to pass in the 27th year of Jehoiakim’s captivity, (in the 16th after the all the nations were to drink, beginning with Egypt. fThey were not deli- vered at the same time : to some the date is annexed ; in others it is left un- certain. 1 —Bagster. Ver. 3. Order ye the buckler. — (This is a poetical and ironical call to the Egyptiuns to muster their forces ; and implies, that all their courage and efforts would be vain. | —Bagster. Ver. 4. Brigandines — Armour, coat9 of mail ; [especially those made in the form of scales; one plate overlapping another. \— Bagster. Ver. 5. Fear teas round about — That is, alarm and danger, chap. vi. 25. Ver. 9. The Ethiopians and the Lybians. — See margin ; the former, probably, referring to the Arabians on the borders of the Red sea. See note on 2 Kings xix. 9. Isa. xviii. 1, &c. Ver 11 . Go up unto Gilead.— See note on chap. viii. 22. Ver. 13. Word that the Lord spake. — [The preceding prophecy relates to a great victory of Nebuchadnezzar over the king of Egypt near the Euphrates ; but this foretels his entire conquest of that country, about seventeen years after the destruction of Jerusalem, after Amasis had driven Apries into Upper Egypt. See on ch. xliv. 30.]— Bagster. Ver. 14. Migdol.—[Migdol is doubtless the same as the Magdolus of the Greek and Latin writers ; which was a city of Lower Egypt, at the entrance into that country from Palestine : and according to Antoninus, about twelve miles from Pelusium. Sicard thinks it is a hill now called Kouabe.]—B 84ft destruction of Jerusalem,) as may be collected from Ezekiel xxix. 17. where Nebuchadnezzar’s army is spoken of as hav- ing at that time suffered a great deal in the siege of Tyre; on which account the spoils of Egypt are promised for their wages, or indemnification ; and the promise was accordingly made good that same year,” — as related by Josephus. (Antiq. lib. x. chap. 9.) The two last verses respect Israel, and are a repetition of the comfortable promises we have already seen in chap. xxx. ver. 10, 11. “Neither valour, strength, speed, nor numbers, can avail those, whom the righteous God determines to make sacrifices to his justice : but they must be dismayed, flee away, and not escape ; and all their vain-glorious boasts and sanguine expec- tations, must end in disappointment and confusion. — Those nations, which were ‘ the terror of the mighty,’ and seemed ready to obtain dominion over the whole earth, are speedily so weakened that they cannot defend themselves ! But nothing so exposes kingdoms to hostile invaders, as intestine discords: whilst mighty men thus stumble one against another, they all Ver. 17. Pharaoh .... is but a noise— That is, he lias made a great noise of what lie will do ; but it is noise only. But Blayney renders this verse. “ They cried there, O Pharaoh . . . . a tumult has frustrated the appointed meeting?" i. e. he disappointed his allies. Ver. 19. Noph— [Or Movh, is the celebrated city of Memphis, as the Chaldee and LXX. render : long tne residence of the ancient Egyptian kings ; and situ- ated fifteen miles above where the Delta begins, on the western side of the Nile. (.Strabo and Pliny.) It was in the neighbourhood of Memphis that the famous pyramids were erected, whose grandeur and beauty still astonish the modern traveller : they are about twenty in number ; the largest of which is 481 feet perpendicular height, and the area of its basis is on 480,249 square feet, or something more than eleven acres, being exactly the size of Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London. The immense ruins between the northern and southern py- ramids, and about fourteen miles from Cairo, still called Memf Men/, or Menouf, seem to mark the site of this city. See Maillet, Savary, &c.]— B. Ver. 22 . Like a serpent. — Blayney , “ Like ‘hat of an enchanter i. e. low, and inarticulate, through fear. So Bur ell; but Boothroyd adheres to the com mon version. See Isa. xxix. 4. and note. Ve»- 25. I roil! punish the multitude of No. — Hebrew, “ I will visit upon Ammon of No i. e. the Theban Jupiter. When an idolatrous nation is doomed to destruction, God 19 said to execute vengeance upon its idols. See ch. xliii. 12. 13. Destruction of the Philistines. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XLVII., XLVIII. TJ.e judgment oj Moab. s No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him : 26 And h I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar kingof Babylon, and into the hand of his servants : and afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord. 27 If But fear not i thou, O my servant Ja- cob, and be not dismayed, O Israel : for, be- hold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity ; and Ja- cob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. 28 Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord : for I am with thee ; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee : but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yeti will I not k leave thee wholly unpunished. CHAPTER XLVII. The destruction of the Philistines. T HE word of the Lord that came to Jere- miah the prophet against the a Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote b c Gaza. 2 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, waters rise up out of the d north, and shall be an over- flowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and e all that is therein ; the city, and them that dwell therein : then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the. land shall howl. 3 At the noise f of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses , at the rushing of his cha- riots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the A. M. 3393. B. C. 606. g Na.3 8. h c.44.30. i Is.43.1,5. 1 Is.27.7..9. He. 12.5.. 10. Re.3.19. k or, utter- ly cut thee off. A. M. cir. 3387. B. C. cir. 617. n Eze.25.15. Zep.2.4,5 b Azzch. c.F.20. c Am. 1.6.. 8. 1 c.46.20. i the ful- ness Uierc- of. f c.8.16. Na.3.2. h Ge.10.14. i Zee. 9.5. j De.32.41. Eze.21.3.. 5. k gather. 1 cansl thou 7 m Eze.14.17 n Mi. 6.9. A. M. cir. 3420. B. C. cir. 534. 25.10. Eze-25.8,9 Am. 2. 1,2. b or, the high place. c Nu.32.37. d or, brought to silence. # Is. 15.1. e go after. f t ceeping with weep- fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands ; 4 Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the Lord will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the s country of h Caphtor. 5 Baldness is come upon i Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? 6 O thou sword i of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? k put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. 7 How i can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore ? there hath he appoint- ed n it. CHAPTER XLVIII. 1 The judgment of Moab, 7 for their pride, 11 for their security, 14 for their carral confidence, 26 and for their contempt of God and his people. 47 The restoration of Moab. A GAINST Moab “thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Wo unto Nebo ! for it is spoiled : Kiriathaim is confounded and taken : b Misgab is confounded and dismayed. 2 There shall be no more praise of Moab : in c Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a na- tion. Also thou shalt d be cut down, O Mad- men ; the sword shall e pursue thee. 3 A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spo : mg and great destruction. 4 r Ioab is destroyed ; her little ones have ca .sed a cry to be heard. 5 For in the going up of Luhith f continual fall together ; and the state becomes incapable of defending itself against the devouring sword of its enemies. When such events take place, when allies prove treacherous, and renown- ed princes and captains but a noise: when valiant men are swept away or put to flight, the hand of the Lord should be acknowledged : for how can they stand whom he drives away? or be courageous, whom he surrounds w th terrors ? But there is an appointed period to all earthly calamities : and therefore our grand concern is to ‘ flee from the wrath to come.’ In- stead of ‘ making provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof,’ we should be daily preparing-for death and judgment. Having sought reconciliation to our offended God through Je- sus Christ, we should stand fast in the faith, and seek to be furnished with patience and hope against every event; for we know not what captivity, poverty, or tribulation, may await us: and therefore habitual self-denial, and mortification to the world, constitute our highest wisdom, as well as our bounden duty. But nothing should dismay the servants of the Lord : he will save them from every place where they have been scat- tered, and bring them to enjoy his rest and peace : he will be with them, and only correct them in measure; and will not unish any of them with that everlasting destruction from is presence,’ which awaits all impenitent transgressors.” — T. Scott. Chap. XLVII. Ver. 1 — 7. Prophecy against the Philis- tines. — Among the nations doomed to suffer from the hostilities of Nebuchadnezzar, were the Philistines. And the calamities predicted in this chapter befell them, probably, during the long siege of Tyre, already mentioned, when their country was de- solated to prevent their giving Tyre or Sidon any assistance : but as to the capture of Gaza by Nebuchadnezzar, as Dr. Blayney remarks, no history, sacred or profane, distinctly Ver. 26 . Afterward it shall be inhabited. — See Ezek. xxix. 41 — 13. And into. — Blayney. “ Even into,” &c. Chap. XLVII. Ver. 1 . Gaza — On the division of Canaan, was given to the tribe of Judah, and wrested from them by the Philistines : but after many chan- ges. finally conquered by Hezekiah, 2 Ki. xviii. 8. It was also called Aza. as in Deut. ii. 23. above quoted, (the Heb. Gnain being sometimes pronounced as an A, and sometimes as G, or Gn.) Ver. 4 . Every helper. &c. — “ The destruction of the Philistines would tend to weaken the power of their confederates, the Tyrians and Zidonians ; and to prepare the way for their subjection by Nebuchadnezzar. But some understand the words to signify, that the ruin of Tyre and Zidon, the helpers of the Philis- tines, would leave them without resource in their abject condition.”— T. Scott. ■ The remnant of the country of Caphtor. — The Caphtorim, as well as the Philiatim, (or Philistines,) were descended from Mizraim, the father of the Egyptians. Gen. x. 13, 14. Ver. 5. Baldness.—" This represents the total desolations of Gaza, which, with those of Ashkelon, would cause inconsolable grief to the inhabi&nts : this they would express, by tearing or shaving off their hair, and cutting their flesh.”— T. Scott.— The remnant of their valley.— Sandys, (the celebrated travel- ler.) describes the valley in which stood Ashkelon and Gaza, (about twelve miles apart,) as the most ‘ pleasant that ever eye beheld.” Travels, lib. m. p. ISO. Ver. 6. O sword of the Lord — So is the Assyrian called “ the rod of his an- ger. Isa, x. 5. Some understand this verse as the words of the Philistines ; out it iB not likely, that they should consider Nebuchadnezzar, or the Chal- states the fact. Townsend is of opinion, that during Nebu- chadnezzar’s rapid success in Palestine, (when he came to in- vade Jerusalem,) the king of Egypt, in union with the Philis- tines, was making an attempt to recover the sea coast where Gaza stood, and which formerly belonged to them, as he infers from Deut. ii. 23. But as his argument will not admit abridg- ment, we can only refer to it. (Old Test, arranged, vol. ii. p. 501, 2.) The apostrophe in the close of this chapter, addressed to the Babylonish monarch as “the sword of the Lord,” is re- markably animated and poetical. — “Arise, OLord ; . . . deliver my soul from the wicked, which are thy sword.” (Ps. xvii. 13.) “ Men often apprehend no danger from that quarter, whence evil is appointed against them. The height of ungodly pros- perity is the forerunner of destruction ; and sinful pleasures terminate in outcries and howlings of misery. We should commit our children to the Lord’s keeping ; for we know not how soon we may be deprived of power, or heart, to take any care of them ourselves. When he intends to destroy the wicked, he will ‘cut off every helper;’ and where he inflicts vengeance, he will remove all consolation. The miseries oc- casioned by war should be deeply lamented by us; and we should earnestly desire and pray, that this ‘ sword of the Lord may return into the scabbard, and be still :’ yet we should he ready humbly to acquiesce in his appointments, who, in per- fect wisdom and justice, gives it commission, and will cause it to effect his purposes, notwithstanding all the power of those who attempt to arrest its progress.” — T. Scott. Chap. XLVIII. Ver. 1 — 25. Prophecies against the Moab- ites. — The ensuing prophecies concerning this and other neighbouring nations, are supposed to have had their accom- plishment also during the same period as the preceding. “ The deans, as ‘ The sword of Jehovah.’ It is rather a most animated and pa- thetic lamentation of the prophet, over the miseries which tire just vengeance of God was inflicting on the nations for their sins.” — T. Scott. Ver. 7. Bow can it be quiet. — 11 ‘ The prophet here returns an answer to the foregoing verse, importing that Ihe havoc, made by the sword among the Philis- tines, was the effect of God’s irreversible purpose and decree.’— Lowth. The original continues the animated apostrophe of the question, ‘ Howcanst thou be quiet)’ Arc. The sea shore — (included in this commission) would take in Tyre and Zidon, which generally shared the fortunes of the Philistines : and this confirms the opinion, that the prophecy was fulfilled during the siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar.”— T. Scott. Chap. XLVIII. Ver. I. Nebo— Seems to have been a favourite idol of the Babylonians. See Isaiah xlvi. 1 . Misgab — means a high tower, probably in Kiriathaim. Ver. 2. In Heshbon. — Blayney connects this with the first clause of the verse, “ Moab shall have no more glorying in Heshbon : They,” &c. Mad- men. — Boothrr.yd, Madena it is a proper name. Ver. 4. Moab is destroyed. — [This prophecy against Moab, as well as the following ones concerning Ammon, Edom, and the neighbouring countries, seem to have been fulfilled during the long siege of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar. Josephus places these events five years after the destruction of Jerusalem.] — Bagster. Ver. 5. Luhith.— [Luhith is placed by Eusebius between Areopolis, or Ar, and Zoar. (See ver. 34.) It was evidently situated upon a height ; as was also Horonaim, which was probably not far from Luhith.]— Bagster. S47 77te pride, security, JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XLVIII. and corruption of Moab. weeping shall go up; for in the going clown of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. 6 s Flee, save your lives, and be like h the heath in the wilderness. 7 Tf For because thou hast trusted < in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken : and Chemosh ) shall go forth into cap- tivity with his k priests and his princes toge- ther. 8 And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape : the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord hath spoken. 9 Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away : for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein. 10 i Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord m deceitfully, and cursed be he that keep- etl) back his sword from blood. 11 Tf Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled "on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity : therefore his taste 0 remained in him, and his scent is not changed. 12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wander- ers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bot- tles. 13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth- el p their confidence. 14 T[ Howsay ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war? 15 Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and i his chosen young r men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the king, whose name 8 is the Lord of hosts. 16 The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast. 17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him ; and all ye that know his name, say, How 1 is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod ! 18 Thou " daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, j come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst ; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, 1 and he shall destroy thy strong holds. 19 O v inhabitant of w Aroer, stand by the way, and espy ; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What is done ? 20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken A. M. clr. 3m B. C. cir. 584. g c.61.6. Ma. 13.14 ..16. h or, a na- ked. tree. i lTi.6.17. J Nu. 21. 29 Ju. 11.24. k c.49.3. 1 Ju.5.23. 1 Sa. 15.3, 9. lKi.20.42. m or, negli- gently. it Zep. 1.12. o stood. p lKi. 12.29. q the choice of- r Is.40.30, 31. s c.51.57. Ja.5.4. t ls.9.4. 14.4,5,12. u c.46.19. v inhabit- w De.2.36. x Ps.75.10. y Eze.30.21. z c.25. 15,17. a Job 9.4. h I .a. 1.21. c Zep. 2. 8.. 10 . d or, mo- ved st thrj- sdf. t Pr.8.13. Is. 13. 11. f bars , or, those on whom he slayeth. g desola- tions. down : howl and cry ; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled, 21 And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath, 22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim, 23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth- garnul, and upon Bethmeon, 24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. 25 The horn * of Moab is cut off, and his arm y is broken, saith the Lord. 26 IF Make ye him 2 drunken : for he magni- fied himself against the "Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also b shall be in derision. 27 For was not Israel c a derision unto thee ? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou d skippedst for joy 28 O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the hole’s mouth. 29 We have heard the pride e of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughti- ness of his heart. 30 I know his wrath, saith the Lord ; but it shall not be so; his f lies shall not so ef- fect it. 31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab ; my heart shall mourn for the men of Kir-heres. 32 O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to the sea of Jazer : the spoiler is fallen upon thy sum- mer fruits and upon thy vintage. 33 And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the wine- presses: none shall tread with shouting ; their shouting shall be no shouting. 34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Ele- aleh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as a heifer of three years old : for the waters also of Nimrim shall be e desolate. 35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods. whole of this chapter is poetry of the first order. The distress of the cities of Moab with which it opens is finely described. You hear the cries of one ruined city resounded to those of another ; you hear the doleful cry of the helpless children ; the highways on either hand resound with the voice of W’eeping; and the few that escape, resemble a blasted tree in the wide howling waste. (Ver. G.) And then you see the tutelar god Chemosh, the capital figure in the triumph, carried off in chains, with all his trumpery of priests and officers. You hear wings ordered for Moab as having no chance to escape, if it be not in another element ; and you hear the victors animating each other in the ardour of the pursuit, and imprecating the man who executes his work with slackness. The subject is then diversified by an elegant and well supported comparison, importing that the Moabites increased in spirit and insolence in proportion to the duration of their prosperity : but this pros- Vcr. 6. Like the heath.— See ch. xvii. 6, and note. Ver. 7. Chemosh . — See Jude. xi. 24. Ver. 11. On hie lees .— Wine on its lees, is at rest and undisturbed : so had Moab been. Ver. 12 Wanderers— Blayney. “ Tilters, that shall tilt him down allu- ding to tilting vessels, to draw off their liquors. Ver. 13. Bethel — That is. the golden call, 1 Ki. xii. 28, 29. Ver. 15. Moab is spoiled. &c. — Blayney, “ A spoiler of Moab and her cities is gone up .” — To the slaughter — That is, to slay. Ver. 17. Strong staff— Blayney, “Sceptre.” Rod— that is, staff of of- fice. Isa. ix. 4. Ver 25 The horn .... and the arm— Are emblems of dignity and power. 848 perity is declared to be at an end : the destroyer is commis- sioned against Moab, and his neighbours called to sing the usual lament at his funeral. And lest any part of Moab might flatter themselves with the hopes of an exemption from this calamity, the Prophet (in an enumeration of all its principal cities) declares it to be general.” — Dr. J. Smith. “In vain do men say, that they are 1 mighty and strong for the battle:’ when ‘the King, the Lord of hosts,’ has a con- troversy with a people, their young men go down to the slaughter, rather than to battle; and all the beauty and strength of nations, only tend to increase the astonishment of those who bemoan their ruin, and exclaim, ‘How is the strong staff broken and the beautiful rod !’ Every circumstance which In- creased their glory, now enhances their misery; and every in- quiry about wnat is done, makes known their terror and dis- tress. But ‘ the Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy Ver. 26. Drunken — but not with wine. See Isa. XN1X. 9. Ver. 27. For since. &c.— Blayney, " That thou shouldest insult him with all the power of thy words i. e. abuse him. Ver. 28. TheJiole’s.— Blayney. “ Pit’s” mouth. Ver. 30. It shall not be so —' That is, he is not able to effect his purpose. His lies. &c.— Margin. “Those on whom he stayeth,” rather, “ they cannot effect it i. e. neither himself nor his allies. See Isa. xvi- 6. [Baddim., as Lcnvth observes, sometimes means those who pretend to the art of divination : though the soothsayers of Moab, upon whose skill he relics, promise him suc- cess, yet in the event it will appear, there was no truth m what they said.]— B. Ver. 32. O vine ! — Compare Isa. xvi. 8, 9. , . , . . ,, Ver. 31. As a heifer .—[As a young cow, when deprived ot her brat call. 'She restoration oj Moab. JEREMIAH. — CHAP. XLIX. Judgment of the Ammonites 36 Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and my heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres : because the riches that he hath gotten are perished. 37 For every head shall be h bald, and every beard ■ clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the ) loins sackcloth. 38 There shall be lamentation generally upon all the house-tops of Moab, and in the streets thereof : for I have broken Moab like a vessel k wherein is no pleasure, saith the Lord. 39 They shall howl, saying , How is it broken down ! how hath Moab turned the i back with shame ! so shall Moab be a derision and a dis- maying ter all them about him. 40 For thus saith the Lord ; Behold, he shall fly as an ra eagle, and shall spread his wings " over Moab. 41 0 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman p in her pangs. 4-2 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because <• he hath magnified himselj against the Lord. 43 r Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord. . 44 He that fleet!) from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out t>f the pit shall be taken in the snare : for 1 will bring upon it, even upon Moab. the yeai “ of theii visitation, saith the Lord. 45 They that fled stood under the shadow ot Heshbon because of tiie force : but a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihod, and shall devour the cor- ner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the 1 tumultuous ones. 46 Wo be unto thee, O Moab ! the people of Chemosh perisheth : for thy sons are taken ° captives, and thy daughters captives. A. M. cir. 3420. B. C. cir. 534. h c.47.5. i diminish- ed. j Ge.37.34. k c. 22.28. Ro.9.‘2l. I neck. m De. 28.49. c. 49.22. Da.7.4. Hah. 1.8. n Is.8.8. o or, the cities. P q Is. 21 .3. Mi.4.9. ver.26. Is.24.17, 18. c. 11.23. t children of noise, n incap- acity. v c.49.6,39. A. M. 3421. B. C. 583. a or, against. b Eze.2l.23. 25.2, &c. Am.l- 13-. 15. Zep.2.8.. 10. c or, Mcl- com. d Ps.9.6. e or, Md- com. I Ki.ll.5, 1 33. f or, r alley Jloweth away, g c.48.7. h c.21.13. i c.48.47. ver.39. j Eze.25.12, &c. Ain.1.11, 12. k Ob.8,&c. 1 Job 5. 12, 13. m or, they are turn- ed hack. n c.25.23. 47 Tf Yet ' will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab. CHAPTER XLIX. I The judgment of the Ammonites. 6 Their restoration. 7 The judgment of Edorn : 23 ot Damascus, 23 of Kedur, 30 of Hazor. 34 and of Elam. 39 The restoration of Elam. C ONCERNING 1 the b Ammonites, thus saith the Lord ; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth c their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his d cities? 2 Therefore behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire : then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord. 3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled : cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and i un to and fro by the hedges ; for e their king shall go into captivity,arccZ his priests and his princes together. 4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy f flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted e in her treasures, saying, Who h shall come unto me ? 5 Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth ; and none shall gather up him that wandereth. 6 *1 And i afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the Lord. 7 T| Concerning ) Edom, thus saith the Lord of hosts; Is wisdom k no more in Teman ? is counsel ■perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? 8 Flee ye, ,n turn back, dwell deep, O inhabit- ants of ” Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time that I will visit him. in all his works and he does not 1 cut off the horn and break the arm’ of any, except of such as 1 magnifv them- selves against him.’”— T. Scott. .Ver. 26 — 47. Farther denunciations against Moab . — God himself is here introduced, as ordering for Moab the cup of awful and intoxicating judgments which was ordained for her. Among other crimes, Moab is reproached with rejoicing in the calamities of Judah, and leaping for joy at her destruction : and therefore shall joy and gladness be withdrawn, and mourn- ing and lamentation cover all the country. The destruction of Moab, however, shall not be final. “Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord.” When Israel is restored, then also shall 1 the fulness of the Gentiles” be brought in, and the whole earth be covered with the knowledge and the glory of the Lord. This prophecy concerning Moab, as respects much of the imagery, may be compared with the 15th and 16th chapters of Isaiah : only it should be remarked, that Isaiah is understood to refer to the misfortunes of that country from Shalmanezer, Jeremiah to its subsequent conquest by Nebuchadnezzar. There were 130 years or more between the two events. “When sinners become intoxicated with pride and ungodly lusts, the Lord will make them drunken with his judgments, and expose them to shame and derision. He abhors those who rejoice in the calamities of their neighbours, and insult over the miserable, especially over his inoffensive worshippers : yet this is the general effect of the envy, malice, selfishness, and impiety of the human heart. But pride, in its multiplied exercises, is the fruitful root of unnumbered crimes; and when this diabolical vice grows stronger continually, disgraee and ruin are at hand: ‘for a haughty spirit goes before a fall;’ and the Lord knows the rage, malice, deceit, and lies of his enemies, and will disappoint them. — It becomes us to compas- sionate the sufferings even of our enemies : when ‘joy and gladness are taken away from the plentiful field when penury and famine succeed luxury and abundance, and the riches of those who price lived in splendour are perished; we should sympathize in their sorrows, and be ready to afford them such relief as we are able. But we should also take warning to avoid their transgressions ; and amidst the changes and ca- lamities which surround us, we should learn to ‘ set our affec- tion on things above, and not on things on the earth.’ If our sins be. pardoned and our hearts renewed, out; God will pre- serve us from every fear, pit, and snare, into which others fall : and whilst ‘ the vessels of wrath ’ in whom he has no plea- sure, and which are ‘ fitted for destruction,’ shall perish for ever, he will effectually take care pf those ‘ vessels of mercy, whom he hath afore prepared for his glory.’ ” — T. Scott. Chap. XLIX. Ver. 1—22. Predictions concerning the Am- monites and Edomites . — This chapter contains prophecies which runs about from place to place, filling the air with loud and repeated lowings. expressive of the deepest distress.]— Bolster. Ver. 36. Like pines. — Compare Isa. xvi. 11. [Strange as it may seem to us, Galen compares the hoarse and dead sound of the bowels, when empty, to that of the flutes used at funerals.] — Bagster. Ver. 37. Upon an hands are cuttings— D’ Arvieux says, the Arabs used to Bear their arms witli knives, as marksof love for their mistresses. Orient. Oust. No 1106. Compare note chap. xvi. 6. Ver. 40. He shall fly — That is, the enemy, the king of Babylon, or bis gene- ral. See ch. xlix. 22. Ver. 42. Moab shall be destroyed. — [Moab has long since ceased to be a na- tion ; while the Jews, agreeably to the Divine promise, (chap. xlvi. 28.1 though successively subdued and oppressed by the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Syro-Macedonians, and Romans, (which have also ail passed away, and are no more.) and dispersed over she face of the earth, subsist to this day as a dis- tinct people from all the nations of the world ! ]— Bagster. Ver. 45. They that fled —[Heshbon being a strongly fortified city, they wiio were worsted m the fivht fled to il, and rallied under its walls ; but, instead of *-tety they found themselves disappointed, betrayed, and mined.]— Bagster. Tnmultuous ones. — With this verse compare Num. xxi. 2S. : xxiv. 17. 107 Ver. 47. Yet will I bring— [ Many of the Moabites were afterwards resto- red to their country- by Cyrus, as we learn from Josephus : but they never were restored to their national consequence : and perhaps their restoration in the latter days, refers to the conversion of their scattered remnants to the Gob- pel.i— Bagster. Chap. XLIX. Ver. 1. Why doth their king. — “ Melcom,” or Milcom, the chief idol of the Ammonites. 1 Ki. xi. 5. It is supposed that when the Assyri- ans carried away captive the Gadites, who dwelt beyond Jordan, the Ammon- ites seized upon their territory. See Amos i. 13. Ver. 2. Rabbah .... and her daughters— That is, the lesser towns dependant on the metropolis. Shall Israel be heir. — Compare Zeph. ii. 9. This w as fulfilied when Judas Maccabeus defeated the Ammonites, 1 Mac. v. 6. 7. “ He passed over to the children of Ammon .... and fought many battles with them, till at length they were discomfited before him,” &c. Ver. 3. By the hedges. — Blayney , “ Within the fences,” the enclosures ot small towns, like garden wails. Ver. 4. Thy flowing vallies.— See Ex. m. 8. Ver. 8. Turn back.— See margin. Blayney renders, “ Turn your backs.” Dwell deep— l This is an allusion to the custom of the Arabs, who, when attacked by a powerful foe. withdraw into the depths ol the wilderness, 349 The judgment of Edom, JEREMIAH. 0 If grape-gatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes ? if thieves by night, they will destroy ° till they have enough. 10 But 1 have made Esau p bare, I have un- covered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is q not. 11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will pre- serve them alive ; and let thy widows trust in me. 12 For thus saith the Lord ; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken ; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished ? thou shalt not go unpunished, but though alt surely drink of it. 13 For I have sworn r by myself, saith the Lord, that Bozrah “shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual Wastes. 14 I have heard a rumour 1 from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying , Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. 15 For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised u among men. 16 Thy terribleness v hath deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that boldest the height of the hill : w though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, 1 will bring thee down from thence, sailh the Lord. 17 Also Edom shall be a desolation : every one that goeth by it shall be x astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. 18 As y in the overthrow of z Sodom and Go- morrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. A. M. 3121. is. c. so. -CHAP. XL1X. Damascus, Kedar, 19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan “against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make hirn run away from her : and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who b is like me? and who will 'appoint me the time? and who d is that shepherd that will stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the counsel ' of the Lord, that he hath taken against Edom ; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of f Temun : Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. 21 The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the e Red sea. 22 Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and atthatday shall the heartof the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. 23 \\ Concerning h Damascus. ' Hamath is confounded, and Arpad : for they have heard evil tidings: they are l faint-hearted : there is sorrow k on the sea ; it cannot be quiet. 24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her ; anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. 25 How is the city of praise i not left, the city of my joy ! 26 Therefore m her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut o-ff in that day, saith the Lord of hosts. 27 And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Da- mascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad. 28 If Concerning " Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar o their suf- ficiency. P Mai. 1.3. q Is. 17. 14. r Am. 6.8. t Eze.7.25, 26. u 1 Sa.*230. Ps.53.5. Ob. 2. v Is. 25. 4,5. 49.25. y De.29.23. c 50.40. Ain.4.11. c or, con- vent me in judgment cl Job 41.10. Ps.76.7. Re.6.17. h Is.17.1, &c. Am. 1.3.. 5 Zee. 9. 1,2. i ls.37.13. j melted. k or, cut on. relating to several nations in the neighbourhood of Judea, and, like those preceding, are supposed to have been fulfilled by the ministry of Nebuchadnezzar, and the first part of the chapter regards the Ammonites and Edomites. The downfall of the Ammonites is likewise predicted by Ezekiel, Amos, and Ze- phaniah. That of Edom bv Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah. The same facts are referred to, and the images employed very similar, as will appear by consulting the references in our notes. “ It is vain for those who rebel against God, to glory in fruit- ful fields, and ‘ flowing valleys or to tmst in fleets, armies, treasures, or advantageous situations. His terror can make even the stoutest to flee : and at his word, kings, princes, and priests, must go into captivity together. But, however the peo- ple of God may be plundered and injured, they will ‘inherit the earth, 1 and ‘the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.’— Wisdom and counsel cannot be preserved from vanish- ing and perishing, when the time of God’s visitation comes. By a blow, or a fever, the finest genius may be rendered an idiot, and the gravest statesman a lunatic. Even when men’s faculties are preserved, their counsels may be so infatuated, that they may appear as fools and madmen to all around them : and, in short, without true piety there can be no valu- able or durable wisdom. — When the Lord lets loose victorious armies to spoil guilty nations, they often cause tremendous desolations, not only for the sake of plunder, but out of wan- ton cruelty : then the inhabitants are driven into dens and caves, or hunted out of their fastnesses, and cut off by the de- vounng sword; and the case of widows and fatherless child- ren is very deplorable. But the Lord has given gracious inti- mations of his special care of them; and if the dying believer have neither friend nor brother, to take charge of those whom he leaves behind : if he can make no provision for them, nor direct them to any earthly protection: he maybe satisfied in hearing his God and Saviour say to him, ‘ Leave thy father- less children, and 1 will preserve them alive, and let thy widows trust in me.’ This is 1 a strong tower, into which the right- eous may flee,’ and be safe in every emergency ; but no secret places can hide the sinner from the wrath to come.” — T. Scott. Ver. 23 — 39. Judgments pronounced against the Syrians, the Arabs, and the Elamites. — Damascus was the capital of Syria, and Amath and Arphad also principal cities, all of which are here represented as confounded and overwhelmed with the prospect of approaching troubles. Kedar and Hazor were an- cient Arab tribes, the former descended from Ishmael ; (Gen. xxv. 13.) and the latter perhaps of still higher origin, of the race of Joktan. (Gen. x. 26.) Elam often signifies Persia, but Dr. Blayney thinks it here means, not the empire, but the pro- vince of Elam, (Dan. viii. 2.) called by Pliny, Elymais. Of this nation, however, as of Moab and Ammon, a return to prosperity is promised in the latter days — those happy days in which all nations are encouraged to look for blessings under the peaceful reign of the Messiah. “ Divine judgments continually go round from nation to na- tion : dismal tidings are heard : the earth is full of commotion, and cannot be quiet : admired and joyous cities are desolated, and their splendid palaces are consumed ; and those who dwell in tents, ana have neither gates nor bars, cannot escape the rapacity of the executioners of divine vengeance. In all these events, the righteousness of God should be observed, amidst the violence and injustice of men. He ‘ sits on his throne judging light:’ by his judgments he shows Iris own holiness and the evil of sin, and gives an earnest of the day of future righteous retribution. He thus calls sinners to repentance ; as Niebuhr ex presses it, whither none run follow them. So M. Savary says, speaking of the Bedouins. Always on their guard against tyranny, on the least discontent that is given them, they pack up their tents, lade their camels with them, ravage the Hat country, and. laden with plunder, plunge into the burning sands, where none can pursue them."]— answer Ver. 13. Bozrah.— A. capital city on the confines of F.dom in Arabia See Isa. lxin. 1. Ver. 14. A rumour, &c. — Compare Obad. ver. I- 5. Ver. 19. He shall conic up— Namely, Nebuchadnezzar ; compare chap. iv. 7. ——As a l\on.— See chap. xii. 5. (This similitude is well illustrated iiv Dr Blayney : w hen I shall occasion a commotion in her (Idumea) as a fierce and strong don may be supposed to do in the sheep-folds, then I will cause him (the man of whom it is said in the preceding verse that he should not dwell in t) to run away from her as the affrighted shepherds and their flocks run from rhe hon.”l— liagslCT. " This and thefollowing verse are very difficult either to translate or to expound: Gatakcr, who gives a variety of interpretations noth tioni Jewish and Christian commentators, prefers the following ; that Ne- buchadnezzar, after overrunning Edom, should as suddenly leave it, for that God holds an uncontrollable sovereignty over the inhabitants of the earth.’ (Dan. iv. 35.) Ver. 20. The least of the flock— Blayney reads, “They shall he dragged away from the little ones of the flock.” (The prophet having given the name of shepherd to the generals of the army, pursues the same metaphor, calling the common soldiers " (he least of the flock who shall have strength and courage enough to defeat the Idumean forces.]— Bagster. Ver. 22. Like an eagle.— The same Nebuchadnezzar who, in ver. 19. is call- ed a lion. Ver. 23. Damascus.- Isaiah and Amos had foretold its captivity by Tiglath- pileser : but it had recovered, and was doomed to iresh calamities, from the king of Babylon, which are reckoned to have taken place about the timeof the siege of Tyre, before mentioned. Sec 2 Ki. xviii. 34. They are faint- hearted.— See margin. Blayney, “ Melted into a sea of solicitude Booth roird, “ Dissolved with fear as the sea, which cannot," &c. Ver. 25. The city of praise— i. e. the celebrated city. Judgment of Uaz.ur , JEREMIAH.— CHAP. L. Elam , and Babylon king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord : Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. 29 Their 0 tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their cur- tains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side. 30 T[ Flee, p get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord ; for Ne- buchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you. 31 Arise, get you up unto the « wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which r have neither gates nor bars, which dwell s alone. 32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are 1 in the utmost corners ; and 1 will bring their cala- mity from all sides thereof, saith the Lord. 33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, “ and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it. 34 If The word of the Lord that came to Jere- miah the prophet against Eiam in the begin- ning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, 1 will break the bow of 7 Elam, the chief of their might. 36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. 37 For I will cause Elam tube dismayed be- fore their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the Lord; and I will send the sword after them, till I have con- sumed them : 38 And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord. 39 But w it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord. CHAPTER L. 1 , 9, 21 , The judgment of Babylon. 4, 17. 33 The redemption of Israel. T HE word that the Lord spake against R Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans b by Jeremiah the prophet. A. M. 3421. B. C. 583. o Ps. 120.5. vM greatly. cj or, lhaX is at ease. r Eze.33.11. s Nu.23.9. Mi.7.11. t cut off into cor- ners, or, that have the cor- ners of their hair polled. « Mai. 1.3. A. M. cir. 3406. B. C. cir. 593. v Is. 22. 6. c. 25.25. \v ver.6. A. M. 3409. B. C. 595. a Is. 13.21, 47. b by the hand of. c lift up. d Is.46.1. c.51.41. e Ro. 11.1, &c. f Ho. Ml. g Ezr.3.12, 13. Ps. 126.5,6 c.31.9. Zee. 12.10. Ac.i2.37. h Ho. 3.5. i Ps.81.7. k Ca.8.6. Is. 55. 3. c. 3 1.33,34 1 Is. 53. 6 1 Pe. 2.25. ni c. 3. 6,23. n place to lie down S. 23. 2. o Ca. 1.7,8. p Ps.79.7. q c.2.3. r Da. 9.6. s Ps.90.1. t Ps.22.4. u Is. 48. 20. c. 5 1.6, 45. v or, de- stroyer. w big, or, corpu- lent. x or, neigh as steeds. y Zee. 1.15. z c.25.12. 2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and c set up a standard ; publish, and conceal not : say, Babylon is taken, 11 Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces ; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces. 3 For out of the north there cometh up a na- tion against her, which shall make her land de- solate, and none shall dwell therein : they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast. 4 If In "those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah f together, going and * weeping: they shall go, and seek h the Lord their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion i with their faces thitherward, saying , Come, and let us join i ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual k co- venant that shall not be forgotten. 6 My people hath been lost 'sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the moun- tains: they have "'gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their " 0 resting-place. 7 All that found them have devoured p them: and their adversaries said, We offend mot, because r they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation 5 of justice, even the Lord, the hope 1 of their fathers. 8 Remove " out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and he as the he-goats before the flocks. 9 If For, lo. I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great na- tions from the north country : and they shall set themselves in array against her ; from thence she shall be taken : their arrows shall be as of a mighty v expert man; none shall return in vain. 10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord. 11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of my heritage, because ye are grown w fat as the heifer at grass, and x bellow as bulls ; 12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wil- derness, a dry land, and a desert.' 13 Because of the wrath v of the Lord it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly 2 deso- late : every one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all Tier plagues. 14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about : all ye that bend the bow, shoot he confirms the faith and hope of his people, and warns them not to abuse his mercy ; and they learn not to fear any pur- poses of man against them, when they can rejoice in the as- surance, that ‘the Lord of hosts is with them, the God of Ja- cob is their Refuge and to expect, that by all these convul- sions and revolutions, way will be made for the more complete establishment of the Redeemer’s kingdom, 1 in the latter davs,’ when peace, holiness, and truth, shall fill the whole earth.” — T. Scott. Chap. L. Ver. 1 — 20. The judgments on Babylon, and. the redemption of Israel . — The judgments on Babylon had been largely predicted by Isaiah, (ch. xiii. xxi. xlvii.) and are referred to Sy other prophets. This empire and Egypt were indeed the chief enemies of Israel, and were also typical of the principal Ver. 29. Of the Etut.—Blayney, “ Of Kedar.’’ Ver. 29. Their curtains — That i.-. tent curtains ; I hey were Scenites, or wan- dering Arabs. Ver. 32. In the utmost comers.— B7qy net/. “ In every quarter of the insu- lated coast i. e. the peninsula of Arabia. But our margin gives the Hebrew thus : “ Of those that cut off the comers of their hair.” So Buothroyd. Com- pare chap. xi. 26. and note ; also xxv. 23. Ver. 33. Razor.— [Hazor, as well as Kedar, with which it is joined, (ver. 28.) was no doubt situated in Arabia, and a place of considerable importance ; but it is now no more, and its very name seems to have perished.] — Bolster. Ver. 34. Elam.— [Elam, the Ehfmais of the Greeks and Romans, was pro- perly a province of the Persian empire, bet ween .Media and Susiana, [Strabo,) out sometimes the name Elam is used in a larger sense, including Susiana and other provinces, (sec Dan. viii. 2.) all of which were subdued by Nebuchad- lcrzar : and afterwards restored, and raised to dignity by Cyrus.’— Bolster. opposers of the Christian church, especially the former. Npt only was the intermixture of promises with threatenings, in the prophetic writings, calculated to encourage captive Israel, but the threatenings tnemselves still more so, since the fall of their enemies was the signal of their deliverance. Thus is the Christian church called upon to rejoice in the fall of mystic Babylon — “ for in her is found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” Rev. xviii. 24. There is a remarkable passage in verse 11, which, though it has been often applied to the children of Israel, evidently be- longs to Edom, who, it should be remembered, was not of the accursed race, of Canaan: “Leave thy fatherless children,” &c. from which we infer two things, 1. That their children should all be orphans, and their women widows : 2. Thathow- Ver. 35. The bow of Elam.— [Strabo says that the mountainous part of Ely- mais chiefly bred archers ; and Livy speaks of “ the Elymean archers.”]— B. Ver. 36. The four winds —' Tliat is, enemies from all quarters. See above, ver. 32. Ver. 38. Sef m?/ tfirowe— That is, establish my supremacy. Chap. L. Ver. 2. Merodach— An idol of which nothing certain is known. When an idol is fractured, the deity is supposed to have abandoned it. Orient. Lit. No. 6S7. _ , Ver. 3. Out of the north .— [ The Medes, who formed the greater part of the army of Cyrus : Media layN. E. of Babylon.]— Bagster. Ver. 8. Be as the he-goats — That is, lead the flock. Ver. 9. Assembly of great nations .— [ The army of Cyrus was composed of Medes, Persians, Armenians, Caducians, San®, &c.; allot which arranged un- der the Medes, came from the north.]— Bagster. Expert man. Butune it. “ SkillfoT warrior.” 861 JEREMIAH.— CHAP. L. she hath sinned The judgment oj Babylon. at her, spare no arrows : for against the Lord. 15 Shout against her round about: she Lath given u her hand : her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down : for it is the ven- geance b of the Lord: take vengeance upon her ; as c she hath done, do unto her. 16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the “sickle in the time of har- vest : for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to ins people, and they shall flee every one to his own land. 17 T[ Israel is a scattered sheep ; the lions have driven him away : first e the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last r this Nebuchad- rezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. 18 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have s punished the king of Assyria. 19 And h I will bring Israel again to his ha- bitation, and he shall feed on^ Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and j Gilead. 20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought k for, and i there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found : for I will pardon them whom I m reserve. 21 Tf Go up against the land of" Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of ° p Pekod : waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do according to all Mhat I have commanded thee. 22 A sound r of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. 23 How is the hammer ‘of the whole earth cut asunder and broken ! how is Babylon be- come a desolation among the nations ! 24 I have laid a snare 1 for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and u thou wast not aware : thou art found, and also caught, be- cause thou hast striven against the Lord. 25 The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the v weapons of his indig- nation : for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come against her from the w utmost bor- der, open her storehouses : 31 cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly : let nothing of her be left. 27 Slay all her - v bullocks ; let them go down and the redemption of Israel. n 1 Ch. 29.24 b It4.G3. l- c Re. 18.6. d or, scythe. e 2 Hi. 17.6. f 2Ki.24.10, Sic. h Ie.65.9,10. c.33.12. Kze.34.13, 15. I Mi. 7. 14, 18. j Ca.6.5. k Ro.8.33, p Eze.23.23. q c. 48.10. r c.51.54. s Is.14.6. c.51.20. i Da. 5. 30, 31. end. or, tread. a Da. 1.10. 2.6,7. b ver.15. c pride. e Re. 18.8. f Is. 47. 4. g Is. 51. 22. h Is. 47. 13. i bars, or, chief stays. ) Is. 44. 25. k 2Th.2.11. 1 c. 25.20, 24. Eze.30.5. o Is. 13.20. c.25.12. p Ge 19.24, to the slaughter: wo unto them ! for their day is come, the time of their visitation. 28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance 1 of the Lord our God, the ven- geance of his * temple. 29 Cal) together the archers against Baby- lon : all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about ; let none thereof escape : re- compense b her according to her work ; ac- cording to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel. 0 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut oil' in that day, saith the Lord. 31 Behold, I am against thee, O thou c most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts : for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. 32 And c the most proud shall “stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire e in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him. 33 Tf Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The child- ren of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them cap tivesheld them fast; they refused to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is r strong ; the Lord ol hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead s their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. 35 H A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise 1 * wen. 36 A sword is upon the < j liars ; and they shall k dote : a sword is upon her mighty men ; and they shall be dismayed. 37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled > peo- ple that are in the midst of her ; and they shall become as ra women : a sword is upon her treasures ; and they shall be robbed. 38 A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried n up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols: 39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein : and it shall be no more inhabited for “ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 As God overthrew p Sodom and Gomor- rah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the ever they might be involved in general calamities, there is en- | them pre-eminence, should be as 'the he-goats before the couragement for all the afflicted to put their trust in God. It flocks/ in every pious and zealous endeavour to do good.”— is against 11 the proud in heart” only, that he declareth war; T. Scott. (ver. 16.) the penitent and humble may always find a shelter Ver. 21 — 46. Israel avenged for her sufferings, by the judg- in ‘‘the hollow of his hand.” As to Israel and Jndah, they ! merits inflicted upon Babylon. — Babylon, always distinguished are called upon to return to their city and their God. Their as the head-quarters of idolatry, even from the lime of Nim- pardon is announced, and all their sins declared to be forever rod, is here described as the land of “bitterness,” and rebel- cancelled. ; lious against the Most High : and its enemies are summoned “He, who will not save his pe 9 ple in their sins, will never from all quarters to unite in its destruction, and rejoice in its countenance the wickedness of his open enemies, who upbraid downfall. The Lord of Hosts gives them their commission, them with their crimes, and then commit still viler abomina- and calls together the powers of nature, and the wild beasts of tions.— We should avail ourselves of opportunities given us of the forest, to assist in their destruction. Awful indeed is it to separating more entirely from ungodly persons, and idolatrous contend with him, who commands all the armies both of earth and corrupt professors of the gospel. Every one should be and heaven; and yet this is the case with all obstinate and prompt in taking the lead, and setting the example, in such pi- impenitent sinners. ous singularity; and they especially, whose office or rank gives “His enemies, after having, perhaps, been employed as his Ver. 15. She hath given her hand— That 19 , 9he hath surrendered. Ver. 21. Of Merathaim— See margin. Blayney , “Of bitternesses,’’ be- cause she hath been the source of so much bitterness to Israel. — Inhabitants of "Pekod.— Boothroyd, “Punish (Hebrew, “visit”) it, and its inhabitants, O word.” Ver. 23. The hammer of the whole earth— That is, Babylon, which destroy- ed all other nations, is herself destroyed. Ver. 24. A snare for thee— (Cyrus took the city by surprise, by diverting the waters of the Euphrates ; and entering it by the channel. See Herodotus.]— Bag s ter. Ver. 26. Open her storehouses.— [ At the time Cyrus took the city, it was furnished with provisions for twenty years, and the void ground within the wall9 was able both by tillage and pasturage to supply them with much more.] —Bags ter. Ver. 30. Young men fall in the streets .— [Gobrias and Gadafes, when they 852 entered Babylon, marched directly to the palace, killing all they met. Xeno- phon.]— Bagster. Ver. 36. A sword is upon the liars.— See margin ; i. e. supporters ; mean ing probably, her diviners, or pretended prophets ; Blayney, “ The impostors. * They shall dote— Blayney , “ Be infatuated.” Ver. 37. Her treasures— The amount of the gold and silver taken by Cyrue when lie conquered Asia, according to the account of Pliny, was more than $ 560 , 000,000 of our money ; to which Sardis and Babylon greatly contributed. Ver. 38. A drought is upon her waters.— [ The Euphrates was more than two furlongs broad, and deeper than two men standingupon one another, so that the city was thought to he better fortified by the river than by the walls. (Xeno- phon;) yet Cyrus, by draining the channel, marched his army into the heail of the city. Herodotus.]— Bagster. Ver. 39. Therefore the wild beasts. &c. — Compare this and four following vorses with Isa. xiii. 17—22. and notes Judgment against Babylon, Lord ; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein. 41 Behold, a people* shall come from the i north, and a great nation, and r many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are 3 cruel, and will not show mercy : their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in ar- ray, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. 43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble : anguish < took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. 44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her ? for who is like me ? and who will u appoint me the time? and who v is that shepherd that will stand before me ? 45 Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon ; and his purposes, w that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans : Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out : surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. 46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard 31 among the nations. CHAPTER LI. 1 The severe judgment of God against Babylon in revenge of Israel. 59 Jeremiah de- livered! the book of this prophecy to Seraiah, to be cast into Euphrates, in token of the perpetual sinking of Babylon. T HUS saith the Lord; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the a 'midst ofthem that rise up against me, a destroying b wind ; 2 And will send unto Babylon c fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land : for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. 3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth him- self up in his brigandine : and spare ye not her young men ; destroy ye utterly all her host. 4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through d in her streets. 5 For Israel e hath not been f forsaken, nor e Judah of his God, of the LoRDof hosts ; though in revenge of Israel. h their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee i out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cutoffinher iniquity ; for this is the time of the Lord’s ven- geance; he will render unto her a ) recom- pense. 7 Babylon hath been a golden cup k in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken : the nations have drunken i of her wine; there- fore the nations are m mad. ; 8 Babylon is suddenly ” fallen and destroy- I ed : howl 0 for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not i 3 healed : forsake her and let us go every one into his own country: for her judg- ment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. 10 The Lord hath brought forth i our right- eousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. 11 Make r bright 3 the arrows; gather the shields : the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes : for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it ; because ‘ it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple. 12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the u ambushes : for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 O thou that dwellest upon many v waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy w covetousness. 14 The Lord of hosts hath sworn by 1 him self, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with f caterpillars ; and they shall 1 lift up a snom against thee. 15 He a hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath b stretched out the heaven by his c understanding. 16 When d he uttereth his voice, there is a e multitude of waters in the heavens ; and he f causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. 17 FiVery man s is brutish by his h knowledge ; every founder is confounded by the graven JEREMIAH.— CHAP. LI. A. M. 3)09. B. C. 595. q c.6.22. r c.51.27. Re. 17. 16. s In. 13. 17, 13. I Dn.5.6. u or, con- vent me to plead. v Job -11. 10. w Is. 1 4.24, 27. x Re. 18.9, IS. a heart. b 2 Ki.19.7. ' 0.4.11,12. c c.15.7. Mai. 3. 12. d c. 49.26. e Ho. 1.10. f Is. 44.21 . 49.14.15. g Zec.2.12. 12 . 6 .. 8 . h c.31.37. Mi.7.13.. 20. i Ge.19.16, n. j c.50.8,&c. j c.25. 11,16. k Re. 17.4. j 1 Re. 14.8. I 18.3, &c. j m c.25. 16. n Da. 5.24.. | 31. o Is. 13. 6, 7. I p c.8.20. Mat. 25. 10 ! ..13. q Ps.37.6. Mi. 7.9, 10. r puic. s c.46.4. t c. 50.28. u hers in wait. v Re. 17.1, w Hub.2.9, 10. x his soul. y Na.3.15, 17. z utter. a Ge. 1.1,6. b Job 9.8 Ps. 1 04.2. Is. 40.22. c Pr.3.19. d c.10.12, &c. Ps. 107.25. e or, noise. f Ps. 135.7. g or, is more brutish than to know. hammer to dash in pieces their fellow criminals, will them- selves be broken in pieces: they will be taken in a snare, when they least suspect it : their treasures will be robbed, and they led away as fatted bullocks for the slaughter : for it is the work of God, against whom they have dared to contend. The vengeance of his broken law is terrible, and that of his despised or abused gospel still more so : but the vengeance of his temple, the punishment of those, who have used all their power to put down his worship and extirpate his people, is most tremendous. — From the judgments denounced against prosperous Babylon, and the mercies promised to afflicted Israel, we should learn to ‘choose affliction with the people of God,’ rather than 1 the pleasures of sin for a season.’ And in the exact accomplishment which has taken place of these ancient predictions, we may be encouraged to expect, with realizing faith, the performance of all the promises and pro- phecies of the sacred Scriptures : for ‘ heaven and earth shall pass away, but the words of our Lord shall not pass away. ” — T. Scott. Chap. LI. Ver. 1— 32. A farther poetical description of the judgments of God against Babylon. — Any great power or po- tentate may, in prophetic language, be called a mountain — but Babylon is here compared to a volcano , a burning or destroy- ing mountain,” and it is the crater that seems more particularly intended — the burning top is to be rolled down the rocks into the sea. (See Rev. viii. 8,) Then it becomes, not a burning, hut a burnt mountain, whose fires are exhausted, and whose bowels are changed to pumice stone, and therefore utterly unfit for building, as is here stated. These sublime prophecies, though undoubtedly relating, m their first and primary sense, to the literal Babylon, have evi- dently a farther reference to the fall of mystic Babylon; and most of the images are so applied by the apostle John, in his equally sublime description of the latter’s complete and Vrtr. 44. Behold , &c. — Compare oh. xlix. 44 -46. Ver. 45. Habitations desolate— [W a have already adverted to the comple- tion of the prophecies respecting the final destruction of Babylon, (on Isa. xiii. 19 : ) and shall only add a few more observations, in order to show more clear- ly the full accomplishment of some of these predictions. Strabo says, that in his time, about the Christian ana, a great part of it was a desert. Jerome x ays. that in his time, cir. A. D. 340. it was quite in ruins, the walls merely ser- ving for an inciosure for wild beasts, for the bunting of the kings of Parthia ; and modem travellers universally concur in describing it in a state of utter desolation, and the habitation of wild leasts, and noxious reptiles.]— B. Chap. LI. Ver. 2. Fanners . . . . shall empty her land— That is, winnow it from the chaff. See ch. iv. 11 .; xv. 7. Ver. 3. Brigandine— See ch. xlvi. 4 Ver. 6. Flee . — Compare Rev. xviii. 4. Ver. 7. A golden cup.— According to IJomer, the Greeks used golden cups in their libation3 to their gods. See ch. xxv. 15. and Rev xiv 8. /er 11 Spirit of the Icings . — I Of Cyaxares king of Media, called “ Darius • Mede” in Scripture ; and of Cyrus his nephew, king of Persia, presump- i* heir of the throne of his uncle.]— Bagster. / cr 12. Upon the walls .- Those who consider these words as addressed to . . _ I . i. . hnf lli. In > / *3 i / cnnrvicpc thpm to IIP an- X Must; >v IIU UUIIMUCI WUIIIO W cally ; but Dr. Blayney supposes them to be ad- 1 renders the preposition “ before Boothroyd, V ’ To olant our colours on the walls of an ene- bylon, explain them ironically :sscd to their enemies, and renueis uio ^ic^umuu.. > .. — x ear but why not “ upon ?” To plant our colours on the walls ot an ene- ■A fortress, is an art of heroism. . „ . „ T er. 13. Coon.— Blayney, By the side of” many waters ;— that is, en- red in foreign commerce. Compare Rev. xvii. 1, 15. The rtieasure of t covetousness— that is, the full measure. Compare Mat. xxin. 32. ter. 14. Caterpillars— Blayney," Locusts.’ See Ex. x. 14— 16. L?Jt up Icb. “ Utter.” Morier mentions that, as soon as the locusts appeared in rsia. the gardeners and fanners used to set up a shout, if possible to prevent ir settling.— Orient. Lit. No. 990 . .... ’ersea-15 to 19 are copied verbatim from cn. x. \z io- 853 Judgment against Babylon , JEREMIAH.— CHAP. LI. in revenge of Israel. image : for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath i in them. 18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 19 The portion ) of Jacob is not like them ; for he is the former of all things : and Israel is the rod k of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name. 20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war : for ' with thee will 1 break in pieces the nations, and with thee will 1 destroy kingdoms ; 21 And with thee will 1 break in pieces the horse and his rider ; and with thee will l break in pieces the chariot and his rider ; 22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young ; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid ; 23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock ; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen ; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. 24 And I will render " unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord. 25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying ° mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth : and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down p from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain. 26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations ; but Hhoushaltbe r desolate for ever, saith the Lord. 27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashclie- naz ; appoint a captain against her ; cause the horses to come up as the rough s caterpillars. 28 Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the <■ Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. 29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow : for every purpose of the Lord shall be per- formed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. 30 The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became u as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars v are broken. 31 One post shall run to meet another, and A M. MOO. B. C. 595. i Ph. 1 15.5, &c. j IV 16.5. 73.26. La. 3. 21. k De.32.9. 1V74.2. I or, in, or, fry. m Is. 41. 15, 16. Mi. 4. 13. n c. 50. 15,29 o Is 13.2. Zec.4.7. p Re.3.8. q c.50 40,41. r everlast- ing deso- lations. s ver. 14. t ver. II. u Is. 19. 16. v c.50. 36. La. 2.9. Am. 1.5. Na.3.13. w or, in the time that he thresh- eth her. x IIab.3.12. y Is. 17.5. Joel 3.13. Mai. 13.39 Re. 14. 15, 18 . z c.50. 17. a La. US. b My. c or, re- mainder. d Ps. 137.8,9 e inhabil- ress. f or, shake themselves. g ver.57. h Da.5.4. &c. i Is.S.7. J ver. 58. k c.50. 8. Re. 18.4. 1 or, let not. Pr.3.25,26 m Ma.7.13. one messenger to meet another, to show the kingof Babylon that hiscity is taken at cmeend, 32 And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fin.', and the men of war are affrighted. 33 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, w it tstime to thresh * her: yet a little while, and the time ofher harvest * shall come. 34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath "crushed me, lie hath made me an empty “vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out. 35 b The violence done to me and to my c flesh be upon 11 Babylon, shall the “inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. 36 Therefore thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I will plead thy cause, aud take vengeance for thee ; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry. 37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwell- ing place for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant. 38 They shall roar together like lions: they shall f yell as lions’ whelps. 39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them e drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord. 40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats. 41 How is Sheshach taken ! and how is the praise of the whole earth h surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations ! 42 The * sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. 43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby. 44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and 1 will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up : and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall i of Babylon shall fall. 45 My people, go ye out k of the midst ofher. and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord. 46 And i lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour ,r that shall be heard in the land ; a rumour shall both come one year, and after external overthrow, in the eighteenth chapter of his Apoca- lypse. “The splendid achievements of mighty conquerors, and the majesty of haughty monarchs and oppressive empires, only render them a golden cup in the hand of God, to make the na- tions mad and miserable: and too often idolatry and iniquity have spread, in proportion to the enlargement of flourishing monarchies. But these have their rise, progress, continuance, and decline : some of them gradually decav ; others fall, ana are destroyed suddenly and irreparably: and the just judg- ^ Gou are conspicuous to all beholders, in their ruin. — W hen riches and prosperity are depended on, and no end is put to men s desires ot increasing their possessions ; severe ca- amities may be expected to assign a measure to their insatia- ble covetousness, and to tear from them their idolized trea- sures. — What idol, or created arm, can withstand the Creatoi and Upholder of the world ; who is also the portion of his people? He is able to save and to destroy; and whatever use lie makes of ungodly men, he will execute vengeance on them at last : but those who trust, love, and serve him, shall be gra- ciously protected and abundantly recompensed.” — T. Scott. Ver. 33 — 64. The description of Babylon's final overthrow continued, in the same sublime poetical language.— Front the close of this chapter it has been inferred that Zedekiah, in the fourth year of his reign went to Babylon accompanied by Se- raiah, to pay the tribute which Nebuchadnezzar had imposed on hint ; but the ablest commentators are of opinion that Se- raiah went, not with, but from Zedekiah. However this might Ver. 20. My battle axe.— See Isa. x. 15. Ver. 27. Ararat. Minni and Ashchenaz-lBochart reasonably concha Aral at and Minni to be the greater and less Armenia; and Ishchenaz thinks formed Part ol Phrygia near the Hellespont, part of that count™ I we called Ascania by Homer. Cyrus had conquered Armenia, as well as C SU8 king ot Lydia, and subdued several nations from the Ecean sea lo I Euphrates, belore he marched against Babylon ; and Xenophon also infor us. that there were not only Armenians, hut both Phrygians and Capnadocii in the army of Cyrus. V-Bagster. Cause the horses to come up as caterpillars— Blayney. "Like the bristled locust.” See Joel ii ^er. 30. Mighty men of Babylon .— \ Accordingly the Babylonians after I rnmim b l . e or , Wo, never recovered their courage to face the enemy in I field : they retired within their walls ; and the first time that Cyrus came w 354 his army before the place, he could not provoke them to venture forth, though he challenged the king to fight a duel with him ; and the Inst time he came, he consulted with his officers respecting - the best mode of carrying on tno siege, “ since,” said be, “ they do not come out to fight.” Xenophon.]— B. Ver. 35. The violence done , 6tc.—B!ayney, “ Let the violence done to mv flesh be upon Babylon.” Ver. 39. Make their feasts— Boolhroyd, “banquets.” Ver. 41. Sheshach.— [Sheshach was probably anjdol worshipped at Babylon, from which the city derived this name ; and the festival which was held when the city was taken, when they were heated with wine, was perhaps observed in honour of itl —Bagster. Ver. 44. That which he hath swallvtced up — May perhaps refer particularly to sacred vessels of the temples. 2Chron. xxxvi. 10. Ezra i. 7. Judgment of Babylon. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. LII. Zedekiah rebelleth Ui.u in another year shall come a rumour, and violence in (he land, ruler against ruler. (7 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will "do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be con- founded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing 0 for Babylon : for the spoilers shall come unto her from the p north, saith the Loud. 49 q As Babylon hath caused the slain of Is- rael to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the r earth. 50 Ye that have escaped s the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the Lord afar off, and let Jerusalem * 1 come into your mind. 51 We are confounded, because we have heard reproach : shame hath covered our faces: for strangers " are come into the sanc- tuaries of the Lord’s house. 52 Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will do judgment upon her graven T images: and through all her land the wounded w shall groan. 53 Though Babylon should mount x up to hea- ven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the Lord. 54 A sound tof a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans : 55 Because the Lord hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice ; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered : 56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their z bows is broken : for the Lord God of recompenses shall surely “re- quite. 57 And I will make drunk b her princes, and her wise men , her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men : and they shall sleep a per- petual sleep, and not wake, saith the king, “whose name is the Lord of hosts. A. M. 3409. B. C 595. n visit. 0 Re. 18.20. p c.50.3,41. q or, both Babylon u to fall , O ye slain of Israel and with Babylon. r or, country. s e.44.28. 1 Ps. 122.6. 137.5,6. u La. 1.10. v ver. 47. w Is. 13. 15, 16. Da. 5.30, 31. x Ps. 139.8.. 10. ' Is. 14. 13. c.19.16. Am. 9.2. Ob. 4. >• c. 50. 22.29 z lSa.2.1. a Ps.91.1. 137.S. b c. 25.27. Hab.2.16. c c.46.18. 43 15. desolate for ever. 69 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone i to it, and cast it into the midst of Eu- phrates : 64 And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise frcm the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be k weary, Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. CHAPTER LII. 1 Zedekiah rebelleth. 4 Jerusalem Is besieged and taken. 8 Zedekiah’e sons killed, and his own eyes put out. 12 Nebuzar-adan burnelh and spoileth the city. 24 He carrieth away the captives. 31 Evil-merodach advanceth Jehoiachin. y'EDEKIALI “ was one and twenty years old JL - i when he b began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Librrah. 2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah re- belled against the king of Babylon. 4 If And c it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of be, the prophet took this opportunity of sending to his brethren of the captivity, a book or roll containing a synopsis of all his prophecies against Babylon, for their comfort and encourage- ment. He also desired that, “ after it had been read at Baby- lon, it should be sunk to rise no more, in the river Euphrates; thereby intimating the perpetual destruction of that proud city. More than 2000 years have passed since Cyrus took possession of Babylon, from which time it began to decay, ana has now, for a long period, been a land wherein no man dwelleth, nei- ther doth any son of man pass thereby.” “ We may indeed, even at this day, complain of reproach, and shame; because the sanctuaries of his house are possessed and profaned by those who are strangers and enemies to his truth and grace : but let us still ‘ remember the Lord our God,’ and pray for the promised, and not far distant, peace of Jerusalem : let us use every means which he has appointed, to Ver. 32. Judgment upon her graven images.- [Tins was verified when Xerxes destroyed all the temples of Babylon. B. C. 479. Herodotus.] — B. Ver. 54. A sound of a cry. — Blayney. " The voice of a cry.” Ver. 55. The great voice— Boothroyd, “ The boisterous noise.” Ver. 58. The broad walls of Babylon.— Historians relate, that the walls of Babylon were of sufficient width to admit the passing of two chariots on the top. and th ir depth from their foundation above 200 feet. The bricks oi this wall were dug out of the surroundin'.' ditch, and being mixed up with chopped straw amt dried, were then cemented with warm bitumen, (or asphaltum.) JAc- cordine to the testimony of Herodotus, the circumference of the walls of Ba- bylon was 480 stadia, or sixty rnde9, their breadth titty cubits, and their help lit *200 cubits : but when Darius became master of the place, B. C. 516, he took a way all their 100 sates of brass, and beat down their walls to fifty cubits ; and now not a vestige of these immense fori ifications remain to mark the site of this once mighty city ! ]— Bays ter. The poetical part of Jeremiah ends with this verae. , . , ' . ,, , , „ Ver. 59. With Zedekiah.— So the particle cth is most usually rendered. But Blayney and Boothroyd here render it/ “ ori the behalf of:” and the same particle is used in fbo sense of from, Gen. iv. 1 .; xliv. 4. &c. In the fourth year— fTbis was fifty-six years before the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, seven- ty-nine before its rapture by Darius, 150 before the time of Herodotus , 250 be- fore that of Xenovhr/n, ami 2421 from the present time; and all historians, geographers, and travellers, agree to show that these predictions have been sue ressivciy accomplished to the latest period. ^—Bagster. Seraiah was a promote the cause of genuine Christianity; and confideni/y expect, that Babylon and every Antichrist will soon sink to rise no more for ever. We need not be dismayed at the haugh- tiness, prosperity, or power of the wicked; or at the prospect of mountainous difficulties in our way: for there is ‘ nothing too hard for the Lord.’ Let us therefore hope in his word, and quietly wait for his salvation : and then we shall see, but never share, the destruction of the wicked who rise up against us.” — V. Scott. Chap. LII. Ver. 1—34. Punishment certain . — “When na- tions provoke God to give them up to ruin, he leaves their princes to infatuated counsels, which bring deserved punish- ment on them and their subjects. Would we then have wise and successful rulers, we must pray for them, and study our- selves to walk conscientiously before God.— When sinners fol- low one another in the ways of rebellion it may be expected quiet prince —Blayney -And Boothroyd, “Seraiah carried a present.” See 1 Sam. x. 27. 2 Sam viii. 2 ami 6. 1 Ki. iv. 21, &c. Ver. 63. Bind a stone— [This was the emblem of its overthrow and irretrie- vable ruin ; and the same emblem is emploj'ed in Rev. xviii. 21. to denote the utter ruin of mystical Babylon. Herodotus relates a similar action of the Pho- ceans, who having resolved to leave their country and never more to return to it. “ threw a mass of iron into the sea, and swore that they would never return to Phocea, t • 1! that iron mass should swim on the top.”] — Bagster. Ver. 64. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah— [Thin seems to intimate, that the next chapter was added by some one after Jeremiah’s time, probably by Ezra, intended to present a nearer view of the exact accomplishment of the preceding predictions, and perhaps also as a preface to the Book of Lamenta- tions. 1 — Bagster. Chap. LII.— The concluding words of the preceding chapter inform us, that this was not written by Jeremiah. Indeed it contains little more than a literal copy of part of the 24th, and the whole (or nearly so) of the 25th chapter of the 2d hook of Kings. The particular references will be marked in the notes sub- joined. Ver. 1 to 3. are copied from 2 Kines xxiv. 18 — 20. Ver. 4 to the end, are almost a literal copy of chap. xxv. throughout. For farther illustration, however, the reader may compare ver. 21—23 with 2 Chr. iii. 15, 16, and verses 28, 29, with 2 Kings xxiv. 12—14. The object of collecting those passages into this chapter evidently was, to furnish the captives (who had not Bibles and Concordances to turn to, as we 866 Ztdekiah's sufferings. JEREMIAH.— CHAP. Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about. 5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famirte was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was broken up, and ail the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden ; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain. 8 IT But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scat- tered from him. 9 Then d they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him. 10 Aiid the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 11 Then e he r put out the eyes of Zedekiah ; and the king of Babylon bound him in s chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in h prison till the day of his death. 12 IT Now in the fifth ■ month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth i year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, k captain of the guard, which i served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, 13 And burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house ; and all the houses of Je- rusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire : 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. 15 Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. 16 But Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor ra of the land for vine- dressers and for husbandmen. 17 IT Also "the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the Lord. the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. 18 The “caldrons also, and the p shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. d c.aj.4,5. e L/.e. 12.13. f blinded. g or, fetters h house of the wards J ver. 29. k chief of the execu- tion era, or, slaughter- men , or, chief marshal, and so ver. 14,&c and Oa.2.14. 1 stood before. n 1 Ki.7.15, &c. c.27.19.. p or, instru- ments to remove the ashes. q or, boffins r or, censers. s their. I thread. u 2Ch.3. 15. v 2Ki.25.ld. y saw the face of the king. 7. or. scribe of the captain of the host a La. 1.1,3. that God will follow them with similar judgments. Ring- leaders in impiety will have the heavier load of misery: exter- nal privileges and sacredness of character aggravate the wick- edness of transgressors, and will increase their punishment; and the ruin of churches and nations is often chargeable on the crimes of the leading ministers of religion. — But let us, with serious application to ourselves, observe, how certainly the word of God takes effect, and how fatal are the conse- LU. Jerusalem spoiled. 19 And the basins, and the r fire-pans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candle- sticks, and the spoons, and the cups ; that which was of gold in gold, and that which wus of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away. 20 The two pillars, one sea, and twelve bra- zen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made in the house of the Lord: “the brass of all these vessels was with- out weight. 21 And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits ; and a 1 fillet of twelve cubits did compass it ; and the thick- ness thereof was four fingers : it was hollow. 22 And a chapiter " of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with net-work and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The se- cond pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these. 23 And there were ninety and six pomegra nates on a side ; and all the pomegranates upon the net-work were a hundred round about. 24 And the captain of the guard took Se- raiah v the chief priest, and w Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the * door : 25 He took also out of the city a eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war ; and seven men of them that * were near the king’s person, whicli were found in the city; and the z principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land ; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. 26 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Ha- math. Thus Judah was carried away captive out a of his own land. 2S IT This b is the people whom Nebuchad- rezzar carried away captive : in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and twenty: 29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two “persons: 30 In the three and twentieth year of Nebu- chadrezzar, Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the per- sons were four thousand and six hundred. 31 IT And d it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil- merodach king of Babylon in the first year of quences of obstinate iniquity and impiety. Let us consider the manifold changes of this world ; that we may mourn without desponding, even under long-continued afflictions, as we know not what good may be reserved for us ; and rejoice in pros- perity without presuming, for we know not what fatal reverse may await us. And let us 1 set our affections on things above, where there are no changes or death, because no more temptation or sin for evermore.” — T. S-olt. have) with a series of facts, necessary to the understanding of the preceding prophecies. Ver. 13. Fifth month— fit appears from the parallel passage of Kings, that Nebuzar-adan came from Riblah to Jerusalem on the seventh of the fifth month ; but it seems that he did not set fire to the temple and city till the tenth day, being probably occupied on the intervening days in taking the ves- sels out of the house of the Lord, and collecting together all the riches that could be found. In memory of this calamity, the Jews keep two fasts to this day ; the seventeenth of the fourth month, which falls in June, for the destruc- tion of Jerusalem, and the ninth of the fifth month, which falls in July, for the 856 destruction of the temple ; both of which are mentioned by Zechariah as kept trom this event till his time, a period ofseventy years, under the names of the fast ol the fourth month, and the fast, of the fifth month.)— Bolster. Ver. 28. Seventh year, &c.— [Archbishop Usher justly observes, that the sacred lustonan in these verses meant to give an account of three minor cap- tivities, not elsewhere mentioned in direct terms in Scripture. The first of these, in the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, was of those picked up by the Chaldeans, Syrians, and others, sent against Judea, previous to his ov.n coming, (2 Ki. xxiv. 2.;) the second in his eighteenth year, was probably oi those who were in the camp of the Chaldeans, when thev broke off the siege of Jehoiadnu taken out uj -prison , JEREMIAH.— CHAP. Lil. his reign lifted up the head e of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, 32 And spake f kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon, 33 And changed s his prison garments : and A. M. 3242. C. C. 562- and treated kindly e Ge.40.13, 20 . f good things with him. g Zec.3.3..5 he did continually eat bread h before him all the days of his life. 34 A nd for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, ■ every day j a portion until the day of his death, all the i, 2 st am. I days of his life. i the matter of thi day in his day. j La. 11.3. Jerusalem to meet the Egyptians; and the last, in his twenty-third year, was. it is probable, of the remnant that remained in the land after Johanari retired into Egypt, at the time Nebuchadnezzar was engaged in the siege of Tyre, when he sent Nebuzar-adan against the Ammonites, Moabites, and other neighbouring nations. There were three other deportations more con- siderable than these, in the first, (Da. i. 3,6.;) eighth, (2 Ki xxiv. 12 ;) and nineteenth, (ver. iv. 11.) year of Nebuchadnezzar ; sufficiently distinguished from those in the seventh , eighteenth , and twenty-third year. See Blayney. — Bags ter. Ver. 31. Lift up the head . — [This phrase is founded on the observation that those in sorrow hold down their heads ; and, when comforted, or the cause of their sorrow removed, they lift up their heads. )—Bagster. Ver. 33. Prison garment— [Presented him with a caftan , or robe, as a mark of favour, as is still the practice in the East. ] — Bagster. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH. IJeremiah, as a prophet and patriot, must ever occupy the highest rank. He discharged the duties of the prophetic office, for upwards of forty, years, with the most unremitting diligence and fidelity ; though, in the course of his mi- nistry, lie met with great difficulties and opposition from his countrymen of all ranks, whose persecution and ill usage sometimes wrought so far on bis mind, as to draw from him, in the bitterness of his soul, expressions which many have thought hard to reconcile with his religious principles: but which, when duly weighed, may he found to demand pity rather than censure. lie was a man of the most unblemished piety ‘and conscientious integrity ; loved his country, for the welfare of which he watched, prayed, and lived, with all the ardour of enthusiasm, and deplored her miseries with the most pathetic elo- quence; and so affectionately attached was he to his countrymen, notwith- standing their injurious treatment of him, that he chose rather to abide with them, and share their hardships, than separately to enjoy ease and affluence at ih court of Babylon ! His prophecies, the circumstantial accomplishment of which is often specified in the Sacred Writings, are of a very distinguished, de- terminate, and illustrious character. He foretold the fate of Zedekiah, and the calamities which impended over his country; representing in the most de- scriptive terms, and under ihe most expressive images, the destruction which the invading army should produce; and bewailing, in pathetic expostulation, the spiritual adulteries which had provoked Jehovah, after long forbearance, to threaten Judah with condign punishment, at a time when the false pro- phets deluded the nation with promises of “ assured peace.” and when the peo- ple, in impious contempt of “ the word of the Lord.” defied its accomplishment. He also predicted the Babylonish captivity, anil the precise period of its dura- tion ; the destruction of Babylon, and the downfall of many nations : the gra- dual and successive completion of which predictions kept up the confidence of the Jews, for the accomplishment of those prophecies which he delivered rela- tive to the Messiah and his period his miraculous conception his divinity and mediatorial kingdom ; and particularly the new and everlasting covenant which was to be established with the true Israel of God upon the sacrifice of* the Messiah. The character of Jeremiah, as a writer, is thus ably drawn by Bp. Lowth : “ Jeremiah is by no means wanting eitherin elegance orsublimity, although, generally speaking, inferior to Isaiah in both. St. Jerome has ob- jected to him a certain rusticity in his diction ; of which, I mu«t confess, I do not discover the smallest trace. His thoughts, indeed, are somewhat less eleva- j ted, and lie is commonly more copious and diffuse in his sentences : but therea- I son of this maybe, that he is mostly token up with the gentler passions of grief and pity, tor the expressing of which he has a peculiar talent. This is most evi- dent in the Lamentations, where those passions altogether predominates but it is oiten visible also in his Prophecies ; in the former part of the book more especially, which is principally * helical . The middle part9 are, for the most part, historical : but the last part, consisting of six chapters, is entirely poeti- cal; and contains several oracles distinctly marked, in which this Prophet falls very little short of the loftiest style of Isaiah.” His images are, in general, perhaps less lofty, and his expressions less dignified, thantaose of some others of the sacred writers ; hut the character of his work, which breathes a tender- ness of sorrow calculated to awaken and interest the milder affections, led him to reject the majestic and declamatory tone in which the prophetic censures ami denunciations were sometimes conveyed. The holy zeal of the prophet is. however, often excited to a very vigorous and overwhelming eloquence, in in- veighing against the audacity with which the Jews gloried in their abomina- tions ; and his descriptions’, especially the last six chapters, have all the vivid colouring that might he expected from a painter of contemporary scenes. The # historic^ part, which chiefly relates to his own conduct, and the completion of those predictions which he had delivered, is characterized by much simplicity of style , and possesses some marks of antiquity that ascertain the date of its composition. Thus the months are reckoned by numbers ; a mode which did not obtain after the captivity, when they were distinguished by Chaldaic names. J —Bagster. THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH. [This Book is denominated in Hebrew, Aichah , “ How,” from its first word and sometimes Kinoth, “ Lamentations,” from its subject ; whence it is term- ed in the Septuagint Threnoi tou Jeremoiu, “the Lamentations of Jere- miah ;” which is followed by the Syriac and Arabic, and also by the Vulgate, from the Larnenta Hones of which is derived its name in our language. That Jeremiah was the author of this Book is evident, not only from the current opi- nion of both ancient and modern times, but also from the exact correspondence of the style with that of his prophecies ; and. though some eminent writers, as Josephus. Jerome, Junius, and Abp. Usher, have thought that it was com- posed on the death of Josiah. (2 Chronicles xxxv. 25.) yet the whole tenor of it, as well as its phraseology, plainly shows that it was composed on the oc- casion of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the various desolations connected with it. This inimitable poem is very properly divided into five chapters, each ofthem containing a distinct elegy, consisting of twenty-two stanzas, according to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet ; although it is in the four first chap- ters only that the several stanzas begin, after the manner of an acrostic, with the different letters following each other in alphabetical order. In the first two chapters, each verse, or stanza, forms a triplet, except the seventh verse of the first, and the nineteenth of the second, which have each a supernumerary line. In tlie third chapter, each stanza consists of three verses, which have all the same initial letter, so that the whole alphabet is thrice repeated. The fourth chapter resembles the three former in metre, but the stanzas are only couplets ; and in the fifth chapter, which is not arranged according to the initial letter, the stanzas are also couplels, but of a considerably shorter measure. The prophet begins with lamenting the sad reverse of fortune which had befallen his coun- try, confessing at the same time that her calamities were the just consequence of her sins ; ih the midst of which Jerusalem herself is introduced to continue the sad complaint, and to solicit, the Divine mercy; he then shows the dire effects of the Divine angrer. in the calamities brought upon his country ; the un- paralleled calamities of which he charges, in a great measure, upon the false prophets ; and in this desperate condition, the astonishment and by-word of all who see her, he directs Jerusalem to seek for mercy and pardon ; he next, by enumerating his own severe trials, and showing his trust in God, encourages ihe people to the same resignation and trust in the Divine mercy ; vindicates the goodness of God in all his dispensations, and shows the unreasonableness of murmuring under them ; recommends self-examination and repentance ; and from past deliverances, encourages them to expect pardon of their sins, and retribution on their enemies ; he then contrasts the deplorable state or the nation with its ancient prosperity ; ascribes the unhappy change, in a great degree, to the profligacy of the priests and prophets ; deeply and tenderly la- ments the national calamities; predicts the ruin of the insulting Edomites; and promises deliverance from captivity ; and in conclusion, he introduces the nation groaning under their calamities, and humbly supplicating ihe Divine fa- vour, to commiserate their wretchedness, and to restore them to their ancient prosperity.] — Bagster. CHAPTER I. I Tlie miserable estate of Jerusalem by reason of her sin. 12 She complained! of her grief, 18 and confessed! God’s judgment to be righteous. H OW doth the city sit a solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a b widow ! she that was great among the na- tions, and c princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary ! 2 She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers A. M. 3416. B. C. 588. a Je.S2.27. b Is.47.8. c 2 Oh. 9.26. Ezr.4.20. d Je.4.30. 30.14,15. e for the greatness of. f De.23.64. d she hath none to comfort her : all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they.are become her enemies. 3 Judah is gone into captivity because of af- fliction, and e because of great servitude: she dwelleth r among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. 4 The ways of Zion do mourn, because none Chap. I. Ver. 1 — 22. Jeremiah lament* the miseries of Je- rusalem as brought on by sin . — The Septuagint and Vulgate versions introduce these mournful odes with the following short paragraph, as a key to their contents : “ And it came to pass, after that Israel had been carried away captive, and Je- rusalem had become desolate, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented this lamentation over Jerusalem.” Of the style of these compositions, we have given Dr. South’s opinion in our introduction to Jeremiah's prophecies, and shall here add that of a more modem critic, (Bp. Lowth.) who says, “ Never was Chap. I. — This short book, which may properly be considered as an Appen- dix to Jeremiah’s prophecies, contains five distinct odes, of which tlie first four are in the acrostic, ibrm, each paragraph beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. Ver. l. Princes among the provinces— Blayney , “She that was sovereign 103 there a more rich and elegant variety of beautiful images ar- ranged together within so small a compass.” Jeremiah begins with lamenting the dismal reverse of cir- cumstances which befell his country ; confessing at the same time that her calamities were the just consequence of her sins. The Prophet then withdraws, and Jerusalem herself is per- sonified, and brought forward to continue the sad complaint, and to solicit that mercy from God, which she could hope for from no other quarter. Professor John thinks this ode par- ticularly laments the deportation of king Jehoiakim, and among the provinces, is become tributary.” See 2 Kings viii. 1 — 14.; x. 6 — 19. Ver. 2. She weepeth sore. — “ Weeping she weepeth. ” Ver. 3. Because of great servitude. — “ For affliction and for great servi- tude :” i. e. under her oppressors. In the straits — That is, narrow passes, in which she could not avoid them. 857 Misery of Jerusalem. LAMENTATIONS. — CHAP. 11. Her compluinl and confession. tome to the solemn feasts : all her gates are desolate : her priests sigh, her virgins are af- flicted, and she is in bitterness. 5 Her adversaries are the & chief, her enemies prosper ; for the Lonn hath afflicted her for the multitude of her h transgressions : her children are gone into captivity befoie the enemy. 6 And from the daughter of Zion ail her beauty is departed : her 1 princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer. 7 Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her J pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her : the adversaries saw her, and did mock k at her sabbaths. 8 Jerusalem hath grievously sinned ; there- fore > she is m removed : all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen " her nakedness : yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward. 9 Her filthiness is in her skirts ; she reniem- bereth not her last 0 end ; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O Lord, behold mine affliction : for the enemy hath magnified himself. 10 The adversary hath spread out his hand upon all her p pleasant things: for she hath seen that the heathen i entered into her sanc- tuary, whom thou didst command 'that they should not enter into thy congregation. 11 All her people sigh, they seek bread ; they have given their pleasant things for meat to s relieve the soul : see, O Lord, and consider; for I am become « vile. 12 Tf u Is H nothing to you, all ye that pass T by ? behold, and see if there be any ' v sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. 13 From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them : he hath spread a net x for my feet, he hath turned me back : he hath made me desolate and faint all the day. 14 The yoke of my transgressions is bound Dy his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck : he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom z I am not able to rise up. 15 The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me : he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord “hath trodden the l ' virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a wine-press. 16 For “these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should d relieve my soul is far A. .\l. SII6. B. O. e rvaa.13, 44. Ii Du.3.7,16. i Jo-32. 8,11. ] or , desira- ble, v cr.10. k Ps. 137.3. 1 1 K i.8.46. in become a removing, or, wan- dering. u Kze.Wi.37. lio.2.9,10 o Dti 32.20. Ro.6.21. p cr.de ira- bU. q ic.5i.5l. 52.13. r Pe.23.3. s or, make the soul to come again. t .lob 40.4. u or, It is. v by the way. w Da 9.12. x Eze. 17.20 Ilu.7.12. y De.28.43. z 1 10.5.14. a Ia.63.3. b or, the fee's of the virgin. c Je 13.17. 14.17. d bring back. e Ho. 9. 12. f ver.2.9. g Ho.8.8. h Ne.9.33. Da.9.7,14 i mouth. k Ps 51.3,4. 1 De 32.25. Eze.7. 15. m Is. 13.6, fee. Je.J.6.10. 50.15,31. n or, pro- claimed. 0 Ps. 137.7.. 9 Je.51.35. p Lit. 23.31. q c.5.17. a Joel 2.2. b 2 Sa. 1.19. c 1 Ch.28.2. Ps. 132.7. d Jc.13.14. e made to touch. f Ps.89.39. g Ps.74.ll. h Ps.89.46. 1 Is.63.10. Je.30.14. j the de- sirable of, k Is. 5.5. 1 or, hedge. Job 1.10. 'from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. 17 Zion spreadeth forth f her hands, un i there is none to comfort her: the Lord hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his ad- versaries should he round b about him : Jeru- salem is as a menstruous woman among them 18 If The Lord is 11 righteous ; for I have re- belled against his 'commandment: hear, I pray yon, all people, and behold my sorrow : my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. 19 1 called for my lovers, hut ) they deceived me : my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls. 20 Behold, O Lord ; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled ; my heart is turned within me; for I k have grievously rebelled : abroad the sword 'bereaveth, at home there is as death. 21 They have heard that I sigh ■ there is none to comfort me : ail mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it: thou wilt bring the day m that thou hast "called, and they shall be like unto me. 22 Let ° all their wickedness come before thee; and do unto them, as p thou hast done unto me for all my transgressions: for my sighs are many, and my heart is q faint. CHAPTER II. 1 Jeremiah lamented! the misery of Jerusalem. 20 He complained) thereof to God. H OW hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud “ in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty |J of Israel, and remembered not his footstool c in the day of his anger ! 2 The Lord hath swallowed up all the habi tntions of Jacob, and hath not d pitied : he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath e brought them down to the f ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof 3 He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his e right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a ''flaming fire, which de- voured! round about. 4 He hath bent his bow like an * enemy : he stood with his right hand as an adversary, and slew all i that were pleasant to the eye in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion: he poured out his fury like fire. 5 The Lord was as an enemy : he hath swal lowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. 6 And he hath violently taken k away his 'ta- bernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath 10,000 principal Jews with him, to Babylon. (See 2 Kings xxiv. 14, 15.) Chap. II. Ver. 1 — 22. The miseries of Jerusalem and Ju- dra bewailed .— The Prophet shows the dire effects of the divine anger in the miseries brought on his country by the subversion o! its religion and government ; the unparalleled calamities which he charges, and no doubt justly, in a great measure on Ver. 5. Before the enemy — That is, in subjection to her enemy. Ver 7. When her people, &c . — Blayney renders this much clearer, by a Tifterent punctuation. After placing a semicolon at old; he reads, “ When her people fell into the hand, &c., the adversaries saw, and mocked at her discon- tinuance,” or, destruction,” as Boothroyd renders it Ver. 9. She remembered not her last end — That is, she did not recollect the necessary consequences of her course of sin. The enemy hath magnified— Instead of ” himself.” Dr. Blayney supplies the word “ affliction hath ag- gravated mine affliction. Ver. it. To relieve the soul— Blayney, “ To sustain life.” Ver. 12. 13 it nothing to you This is a beautiful apostrophe to the passing Iraveller. Ver. 15. In a wine-press— \Und\ng to the great effusion of blood. Ver. 16 . Relieve my soul.— Boothroyd. Restore my life i. c. recover 85fi the false prophets. — In this desperate condition, the astonish- ment and by- word of all who see her, Jerusalem is directed to sue earnestly for mercy and pardon.— Many of the images in this chapter, though objected to by some critics, appear to U3 very beautiful, as we have observed in our notes below. Pro- fessor Jahn supposes this second lament was composed on the storming of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army. Ver. 19. Relieve their souls— Blayney. “ Support their life.” Ver. 20 . As death.— Blayney, " Pestilence.” See chap. xiv. 12. Ver. 21. The day that thou hast called— Blayney , “ P.unounced i. e. pre- dicted. Chap. II. Ver. 1 . Hie footstool — That is, the ark. Sec 1 Chron. xxviii 2 Ver. 3. Cut off . . . . the horn . — The horns are the strength and glory- of cattle. Drawn back his right hand, from the enemy - When God stretches forth his right hand, it means an exertion of his power, and the reverse v. hep he withdraws it. Vor. 6. Taken away his tabernacle— Margin, “ hedge Blayney, “ He hath done violence to the garden of his own hedging.” So Bacthroyd. See Isa. v. 1—7. I” He hath destroyed the temple, as if it had been no better than a cot- tage erected in a garden, while the fruit is gathering, and then removed, or sm fered to decay.” See Banner . |— Bagster. Jerusalem's misery bewailed. LAMENTATIONS. — CHAP. III. Jeremiah's complaint. ilestroyed his places of the assembly: the Loro hath caused the m solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. 7 The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred " his sanctuary, he hath 0 given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise Pin the house of the Lord, as in the day of a solemn feast. S The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a i line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from r destroying : therefore he made the ram - part and the wall to lament; they languished together. 9 Her gates are sunk into the ground ; he hath destroyed and broken her "bars: her 1 king and her princes are among the Gen- tiles : the law is no mure; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord. 10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit ■* upon the ground, and keep silence : they have cast up dust upon their heads ; they have girded themselves with sackcloth : the virgins of Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground. 11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of* my people ; because the children and the sucklings 'swoon in the streets of the city. 12 They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mother’s bosom. 13 What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion ? for thy breach is great like the sea : who can heal thee? 14 Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee : and they have not discovered x thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity ; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment. 15 All that pass y by clap their hands at thee ; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying , Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth ? 16 All thine enemies have bpened their mouth 8 against thee : they hiss and gnash the teeth : they say, We have swallowed her up: cer- tainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it. 17 The Lord hath done that which he had a devised ; he hath fulfilled his word that he had commanded in the days of old: he hath thrown down, and hath not pitied: and b he hath caused thine enemy to rejoice over thee, he hath set up the horn of thine adversaries. 18 Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let c tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest ; let not the apple of thine eye cease. 19 Arise, cry out in the night : in the begin- ning of the watches pour out d thy heart like water before the face of the Lord : lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger e in the top of every street. 20 If Behold, O Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their f fruit, and children e of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctu- ary of the Lord ? 21 The h young and the old lie on the ground in the streets : my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword ; thou hast slain them i/j the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied. 22 Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round > about, so that in the day of the Lord’s anger none escaped nor remained : those that I have swaddled and brought up i hath mine enemy consumed. CHAPTER III. I The faithful bewail their calamities. 22 By the mercies of God they nourish their hope. 37 They acknowledge God’s justice. 55 They pray for deliverance, 64 and vengeance on their enemies. T AM the man that hath seen affliction by the -*- rod of his wrath. 2 He hath led me, and brought me into a dark- ness. but not into light. 3 Surely against me is he turned ; he turneth his hand against me all the day. 4 My b flesh and my skin hath he made old ; he hath broken c my bones. A. M. 3113. Ii. C. 5M. m c. l.-l- ii f.e. 36.31.. 44. o shut up. p Ps.74.4, & c. q 2Ki.21.13. 14. r s wallow- ing up. s Je.5l.30- t -De.23.3f>. 2Ki.24.15. 25.7. u Is. 3. 26. v or, faint. w Je. 27.14, 15. x Is. 53.1. Je.23.22. y by the way. z Ps.B5.21. a Le.2S.16, De.23.15, &c. Je.l3.ll. Mi.2.3. b Ps.89.-12. c Je. 14. 17. d Ps.62.S. e Kfce.5.10, 16. f De.23.53. Je. 19. 9. g or, swad- dled with their hands. h 2Ch.3617 i Je.6.25. J Ho. 9. 12, 13. a Am. 5.20 b Job 16.3, &c. c Ps.51.8. Je.50.17. Bishop Hebei- has entered so deeply into the spirit of the .veeping prophet, as it appears in this and the preceding chap- ter, that we cannot forbear to ornament our pages with a few lines from him. Addressing Jerusalem, he cries— “ ‘Where’s now thy pomp, which kings with envy view’d 1 Where now thy power, which all those kings subdued? No martial myriads muster in thy gates ; No suppliant nation at thy temple waits ; No prophet hard, thy giilteiin^ courts among, Wakes the full lyre, and swells the tide of song; But lawless force and meagre want is there, And the quick darling eye of restless fear ; While cold Oblivion, mid the ruins laid. Holds his dark reign beneath the ivy shade.” Chap. III. Ver. 1 — 66. Calamities bewailed , mercies ac- knowledged, and deliverance implored . — “ The construction of this chapter differs from that of those which have been con- sidered. It consists of the safne number of stanzas, accord- ing to the number of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet : but every stanza is divided into three parts, or verses, each of which begins with the same Hebrew letter ; the first three verses with Alejph , the three next with Betli, &e. and in one instance the order of the letters varies from that which is else- where observed. — It also forms a distinct elegy, or lamenta- tion, arranged differently from those which precede. The pro- phet speaks throughout the whole, lamenting his afflictions, seeking consolatory topics, and giving counsel and encourage- ment to his fellow-mourners. Some indeed understand it to be the language of a chorus of Jews, speaking as one person : but so many passages evidently refer to Jeremiah’s own per- sonal trials, that this interpretation seems inadmissible. ‘The subject of the chapter is penitential meditations upon the pro- d bet’s own calamities, as well as those of the public; together with pious reflections upon the end which God proposes in sending afflictions, and the good use which men ought to make of such chastisements.’ Lowth . — ‘ I am the man that has seen this great affliction, which the Lord hath in just anger brought upon his people.’ Bishop Hall— Probably, he spake in his own person, as one who, besides his peculiar afflictions, Ver. 7. Made an') tee— By their profane songs, instead of the songs of Zion. Ver. 10. Zion sit upon the ground.— [Sitting on. the ground was a pos- ture of mourning and deep distress. Hence the coin struck by Vespasian on the capture of Jerusalem, ha*, on the obverse side, a palm tree, the emblem of Judea, and under it a woman, the emblem of Jerusalem, sitting down, with ner elbow on her knee, and her head supported by her hand, with the legend IvxUza capra. Sec Addison on Medals.]- —Bagater. Ver. 11. Mg liver is poured.— Grip? of mind often occasions redundancy of bil which produces the effect here intended. Compare Jobxvi. 13. Ver. 13. Thy breach is like the sea.— Judah’s wound is compared to an inun- dation of the sea, when it bursts its natural boundaries. Ver. ll. False burdens . — See Jer. xxiii 33 — 33. Ver. 15. All that pass— [The combination ofHeorn, enmity, rage, and exul- tation. which the conquerors and spectators manifested at the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, arc here described with peculiar pathos and energy. The whole scene is presented to view as in an exquisitely finished historical painting. \—Bagster. The perfection of beauty.— Psalm xlviii. 2. Ver. 15. O wall— Compare ver. 8. By a figure, the wall may be called upon to weep, as well as stones to cry out , Luke xix. 40. This appears to us a beautiful prosopopoeia, alluding to walls running down with the breath of a large congregation. Apple of thine eye— [Bath ayin , which sometimes means the pupil of the eye, seems here to denote tears , the produce of the eye ; and therefore elegantly termed the daughter of the eye.]—Bagster Ver. 20. Children of a span long.—Blayney, “Little ones dandled in the hands.” See Levit. xxvi. 29. Deut. xxviii. 53. . Chap. III. Ver. 2 . Darkness— [Darkness denotes calamity; and light sig- nifies prosperity.]— Bagster. , , . , . , Ver. 4. My flesh andmy skin hath he made old.— [Strong metaphoncaJ ex- pressions, denoting the severest affliction?. 1 — Bagster. Wasted and decayed by affliction. 859 Jeremiah bewails LAMENT ATIOISS.— CHAP. 111. b He hath builded against me, and compass- ed me with gall and travail. 0 He hath set me in dark 11 places, as they that be dead of old. 7 He hath hedged e me about, that 1 cannot get out : he hath made my chain heavy. 8 Also when I r cry and shout, he shuttelh out my prayer. 9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked. 10 He was unto me as a bear s lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places. 11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pull- ed h me in pieces: he hath made me desolate. 12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark ‘ for the arrow. 13 He hath caused the J arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. 14 I was a derision to all my people ; and their song k all the day. 15 He hath filled me with i bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. 16 He hath also broken my teeth with gra- vel stones, he hath n covered me with ashes. 17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace : I forgat 0 prosperity. 18 And I i’ said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord : 19 i Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the r wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is 8 humbled in me. 21 This 1 1 recall to my mind, therefore u have I hope. 22 H It is T of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because w his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The Lord is my x portion, saith my soul ; therefore will I hope * in him. 25 The Lord is good unto them that w T ait * for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke 1 in his youth. 28 He sitteth b alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. 29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope. 30 He c giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him : he is filled full with reproach. 31 For d the Lord will not cast off for ever: 32 But though e he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. 33 For he doth not afflict f s willingly nor grieve the children of men. 34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners af the earth, p Ps.31.2i ^ member, r Je.9.15. s bowed. t made to return to my heart. u Ps.77.5, &c. w Mai. 3. 6. x Ps.73.28. y Ps. 130.7. z Is. 30. 13. Mi.7.7. a Mat. 11.29 b Je.15.17. c Is. 50. 6. d Ps.94.14. e Ps.30.5. g Jc.31.20. F.ze.33.1l. He. 12.10. h or, a su- perior. i or, seeth noL Hab.1.13. J Is. 45. 7. k Mi.7.9. m Hug. 1.5,7 n Da. 9.5. o2Ch.36.17. p Is.24.17. q Is.5l.19. r la 63.15. s my soul u Da. 16. 17. ! v Jo.2.3,4,7. wPs. 130.1. x Is. 43. 1,2. | y Je.51.36. { z Ps.35.1,23. j a Je.Il. 19, 20 . | shared largely in those of his nation, and sympathized with them in those from which he was most exempted. He spake of himself as a public character, for the common benefit; be- ing one of many, who thus shared and mourned over the ca- lamities of Israel. — We have before met with some passages in the writings of Jeremiah, like the bitter complaints of Job: here we find various expressions similar to those used by that afflicted and tempted servant of God; and this favours the supposition, that he related the more gloomy and discouraging Ver. 5. He hath builded against. Boothroyd, “Around me:” this agrees with the following clause. Ver. 6. Dark places— The sepulchral caverns. Ver. 7. Their polishing. Blayney, “Their veining referring to the blue ’ ems of the body. Ver. 10. Asa bear, &c.— See Job x. 16. Isa. xxxviii. 13 . Ver. 13. Arrows — [The issue or effect ; the subject, adjunct, accident or produce of a thing, is frequently in Hebrew denominated the son. So arrows tnat issue from a quiver are termed btney ashpatho. or. “the sons of the quiver.”]— Bagster. 860 Ins own calamities 35 To turn aside the right of a man before tiie face of h the Most High, 36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord ' approved) not. 37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commanded] it not? 38 Out of die mouth of the Most High pro- ceeded! not j evil and good? 39 Wherefore 11 doth a living man ' complain a man for die punishment of bis sins? 40 Let us ‘"search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. 41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens. 42 We have " transgressed and have rebel- led: thou hast not pardoned. 43 Tliou hast covered with anger, and perse- cuted us: tliou hast ° slain, thou hast not pitied. 44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through. 45 Thou bast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people f 46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. 47 p Fear and a snare is come upon us, <) deso- lation and destruction. 48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 Mine eye tricldeth r down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission, 50 Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven. 51 Mine eye affecteth 8 my heart ' because of all the daughters of my city. 52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause. 53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone 11 upon me. 54 Waters v flowed over my head; then I said, 1 am cut off. 55 U 1 called w upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. 56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. 57 Thou drewest near in the day that I call- ed upon thee: thou saidst, Fear x not. 5S O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes r of my soul ; thou hast redeemed my life. 59 O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong: judge * thou my cause. 60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations a against me. 61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me; 62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. 63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up ; I am their music. 64 Render unto them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands. part of his own experience, and the way in which he found support and relief, as the best method of instructing and com- forting his fellow-sufferers. — In this view of the chapter, we consider the prophet addressing the afflicted Jews, in order to counsel and encourage them ; and speaking as one who knew the heart of mourners, and could sympathize with them. He was ‘the man,’ who had been peculiarly conversant with affliction, haying experienced the effects of God’s anger, both for his own sins, and as sharing the punishment inflicted on Ver. H. A derision . — See Jer. xx. 7. Ps. lxix. 12. Ver. 29. His mouth in the dust . — See Job xlii. 6. Ver. 47. Fear and a snare. — Blayney , “ Terror and the pit.” Pits were used as snares for wild beasts. Ver. 53. Cast a stone upon me.— See Dan. vi. 17. Ver. 54. Over my head — Ps. lxix. 2. Ver. 56. Thou heardest my voice . — Here Blayney and others supply, ’ which said,” or “ saying.” Ver. 64. Bender unto them. — Blaynay and Boothroyd render these last three verses in the future, as the original warrants Zion's pitiful estate bewailed. LAMENTATIONS.— CHAP. IV. She confesses her sins. 65 Give them b sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. 66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the Lord. CHAPTER IV. 1 Zion bewaileih her pitiful estate. 13 She confesseth her sins. 2L Edom is threatened- 22 Zion is comforted. A. M. 3-416. 13. C. 533. b or, ob'ti- 1S0. a 2Ki.25.9, 10 . b 2Ti.2.C0. c or, sea- calves. H OW is the gold become dim ! hoio is the most fine gold changed ! the a stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. 2 The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine b gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the pot- ter ! 3 Even the c sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones : the daugh- ter of my people is become cruel, like the os- triches d in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and e no man breaketh it unto them. 5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace f dunghills. 6 For the s punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a h moment, and no hands stayed on her. 7 Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sap- phire : 3 Their visage is i blacker ) than a coal ; they are not known in the streets : their skin k cleaveth to their bones ; it is withered, it is become like a stick. 9 They that be slain with the sword are bet- ter than they that be slain with hunger: for these i pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. 10 The hands of the pitiful m women have sodden their own children: they were their | tl Job 39.13, 16. e De.32.S4. f Job 24.8. g or ,iniqui- $ 0 . 7 . 13 . h Ge. 19.25. i darker than blackness. j c.5. 10. k Fs. 102.5. 1 foie out. m Is.49. 15. n De.28.56, 57. 2 Ki.6.28, 29. o Je.7.20. p Je.21.14. q Je.5.31. Eze.22.2G, 23. Zep.3.4. r Mat. 23. 31 ,37. s Je.2.34. i or, in that they could not but. u Nu. 19.16. v or, ye ; ’polluted . w or, face. x Is. 30.6, 7. 31.1,3. Je.37.7,8. y Eze.7.2,3, 6 . z De.23.49. Je.4.13. a Je.52.9. b Ec.11.9. c Ob. 10,1 5. meat n in the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11 The Lord hath accomplished his fury ; he hath poured out 0 his fierce anger, and hath kindled p a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof. 12 The kings of the earth, and all the inha- bitants of the world, would not have believed that- the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. 13 For i the sins of her prophets, and the ini- quities of her priests, that r have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, 14 They have wandered as blind mew in the streets, they s have polluted themselves with blood, 1 so that “ men could not touch their gar- ments. 15 They cried unto them, Depart 11 ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn tli ere. 16 The w anger of the Lord hath divided them ; he will no more regard them : they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders. 17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain x help : in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us. 18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled ; for our end v is come. 19 Our persecutors are swifter 2 than the ea- gles of the heaven : they pursued us upon, the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wil- derness. 20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken a in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen. 21 U Rejoice b and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz ; the cup also c shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked. his people. ‘ It is worthy to be observed, that Jeremiah, in endeavouring to promote resignation in his countrymen, repre- sents his own deportment under afflictions, in terms which have a prophetic cast ; so strikingly are they descriptive of the patience and conduct of our Saviour under his sufferings. The prophet indeed, in the meek endurance of unmerited perse- cution, was an illustrious type of Christ.’ ” — T. Scott. Chap. IV. Ver. 1 — 22. Zion deeply bewails her situation , and laments her sins. Edom is then threatened , and Zion comforted. — The prophet contrasts, in various affecting in- stances, the wretched and deplorable circumstances ot the Jewish nation with the flourishing state of their affairs in former times; and ascribes the unhappy change, principally, to the profligacy of their priests and prophets, which had drawn upon them the universal abhorrence of God and man. The whole people proceed with lamenting their hopeless condition ; and, in a particular manner, the captivity of their sovereign. Chap. IV. Ver. 3. Sea monsters. — “Sea-calves,” or seals. The os- triches. — [The ostrich is a distinct genus of birds, of the order gallince. It measures seven or eight feet in height when erect, and in length, with the neck stretched out, six feet from the head to the rump, and the tail about a foot more. Its legs are very long and naked ; and it lias only two toes, both placed forward, on each foot. When full grown, the nock, which before was almost naked, particularly that of the male, is beautifully covered with red feathers ; ami the plumage upon the shoulders, back, and some parts of the wings, from oeingof a darkish gray, becomes jet black, whilst the rest of the feathers are white. The ostrich is so devoid of natural affection, that on the least trivial noise, she forsakes her eggs or her young ones, and perhaps never returns.] — B. See Job xxxix. 14— IS. and note. Ver. 6. No hands stayed on her. — Boothroyd,, “ Without the hands of men.” Ver. 7. Her Nazarites. — Blayney , "Nobles.” The term Nazir is applied to Joseph, Gen. xhx. 26, from whence I)r. Durell infers, that it does not al- ways imply a vow. but. is sometimes used for any distinguished persons, as in this verse. Polishing.— [Gizrathom,, rendered by Dr. Blayney, “ their vein- ing,” from gazar , to divide, intersect, as the Hue veins do the surface of the body. This is approved by Dr. A. Clarke, who remarks. “ Milk will most cer- tainly well apply to the whiteness of the skin : the beautiful ruby to the rud- diness of the flesh ; and the sapphire, in its clear transcendent purple, to the veins in a fine complexion.”]— B agster. Ver. 8. Blacker than a coal.— See margin. [Or, as Dr. Blayney renders, duskier than the dawn,” shachar, signifying “ the dawn of the day, when it w neither light nor dark, but between both, at which time objects are not easi- ly distinipmh**d.”]— Bagster Which is more literal and accurate. The judgment of Edom is at length foretold, together with a final cessation of Zion’s calamities. (Dr. Blayney.) “The glory of outward distinctions and privileges may soon be obscured; sin tarnishes the beauty of the most excellent gifts ; and when the Lord leaves churches or nations, their ‘glory is departed.’ But that ‘gold tried in the fire,’ which Christ bestipws, will never be taken from us ; nor can its excel- lency be diminished.— The stones of the earthly sanctuary were repeatedly poured out in the streets, so that not one oi them was left upon another : but the spiritual temple experi- ences no such demolitions ; it is built upon a Rock, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail; and every believer be- ing one with Christ, is ‘a habitation of God through the Spirit.’ — Indeed the most ‘precious of the sons of Zion,’ in- comparably more valuable in the sight of God than the finest gold, are esteemed by ungodly men ‘ as earthen pitchers,’ fit for nothing but the basest uses, or to be dashed in pieces; and Ver. 10. The pitiful.— Blayney, “ Tender-hearted.” Compare ch. ii. 20. Ver. 14. So that men could not touch their garments.— Boothroyd, “So that their garments could not be touched.” The meaning appears to be, that they ran frantic through the streets, slaying, or beating, all they met ; and when they were overpowered by any, they touched them, which made them polluted. Ver. 15. It is unclean— Or, “ Ye are unclean.” The sense seem9 to be, that they behaved so wicked, and so frantic, that the very heathen would not suffer them to “ sojourn” with them. This regards the false prophets and apostate priests. Ver. 17. Our eyes as yet failed, &c— Blayney , “Our eyes failed (with looking) for our help ; in vain on our watch-tower have we watched for a na- tion that cannot save namely, Egypt — [Who were their pretended allies ; but who were neither able nor willing to help them.]— Bagster. Ver. 13. They hunt our steps— See 2 Kings xxv. 4 — 6. Ver. 19. Eagles of heaven. — [The eagle , whose Mings are of an extraordi- nary length, darts with amazing rapidity through the voids of heaven : — " He rushes,” says Apuleius, “ upon the devoted victim, like a flash of lightning.” Homer , describing the career of the amiable but ill-fated Hector, says, “ Turn- ing, lie rushed upon him like a high-soaring eagle, which descends into the plain through the obscure clouds.” &.c.]— Bagster. Ver. 20 The breath of our nostrils.—' That is, their only hope, Zedekiah under whom they expected still to subsist as a nation. Ver. 21. Rejoice— An ironical address, like Eccles. vi. 9. Make thyself naked.— It was a natural consequence of drunkenness in a hot country, wheie they wore loose garments, to strip themselves when heated with wine 861 T10NS.— CHAP. V. in prayer unto God. .1 or, 77,1, i« inu/uily. c Is. 10.* I Ft. 137.7. g or, carry thee rap- lint for. a Po.b9.50, 51. z cornelh for price. e Ke 9.3G.37 f Ne.5.15. g or, Er- rors, or, •towwqf h Zee. 14 2. i o/ our head, is fallen. ) Mi. 6. 13. k Flab. 1.12. 1 for length of days. m Ps.80.3, &c. n Hab.3.2. utterly re- ject us 7 10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the s terrible famine 11 They ravished h the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes are hanged up by their hand : the faces of elders were not honoured. 13 They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood. 14 The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music. 15 The joy of our heart is ceased ; our dance is turned into mourning. 16 The crown ' is fallen from our head: wo unto us, that we have sinned 1 17 For this our heart is ) faint ; for these things our eyes are dim. IS Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate, the foxes walk upon it. 19 Thou, O Loud, remainest for k ever ; thy throne from generation to generation. 20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us i so long time 1 21 Turn m thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned ; renew " our days as of old. 22 0 But thou hast utterly rejected us ; thou art very wroth against us, A pitiful complaint of Zion, LAMENT A 22 11 The punishment of thine iniquity is e ac- complished, O daughter of Zion ; he will no more carry thee away into capt i v ity : he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of 1 Edom ; he will e discover thy sins. CHAPTER V. A pitiful complaint of Zion in prayer unto God. *■ T> EMEMBER, O Lord, what is come upon -Lt us : consider, and behold our reprbach. 2 Our b inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 3 We are orphans and fatherless, our mo- thers are as widows. 4 We have drunken our water for money; our wood c is sold unto us. 5 d Our necks are under persecution: we e la- bour, and have no rest. 6 We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. 8 Servants f have ruled over us : there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand. 9 We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness. not only were prophets and apostles treated in this manner, but even Christ himself was despised and vilified more than any of them. — All the troubles of the church will soon he ac- complished ; and believers ere long will have done with cap- tivity, punishment, sin, and sorrow: but the doom of their insulting enemies approaches; the Lord will soon bring their sins to light ; he will put the cup of vengeance into their hands ; and they shall drink it to the dregs, and lie down in denial shame and sorrow.’"’ — T. Scott. Chap. V. Ver. 1 — 22. Zion' s complaint and prayer to God. — In the Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate versions, this chapter is entitled The Prayer of Jeremiah ; but no such title appears, either in the Hebrew or the Septuagint : it is rather a memo- rial, representing, in the name of the whole body of Jewish exiles, the many and grievous hardships they groaned under, and humbly entreating God to commiserate their wretched- ness, and to restore them once more to Ins favour, and to their ancient prosperity. The whole may be considered as an epi- logue or conclusion, well adapted to the contents of the pre- ceding chapters. “In all troubles, prayer is our great duty and privilege, and the best means of relief: and all our sorrows should lead us to beseech the Lord to remember and help us. Though our sins and his just displeasure have caused our sufferings; yet we may hope in his pardoning mercy, his sanctifying grace, and his kind providence. — As wasting wars, terrible famines, and heavy oppressions, or persecutions, come upon nations, for the sins of former and present generations, when their ap- pointed measure of iniquity is filled up ; so the accumulating sins of a man’s whole life will be punished with tremendous vengeance at last ; except he obtain by faith an interest in Ver. 22. He will discover thy sins.— Margin, " Carry thee captive tor thy Bins.” which is agreed to be the sense. Chap. V. Ver. 4. Is sold unto us. — “ Cometh for price i. e. they were ob- liged to purchase, not only wood, but water also. Ver. 5. Our necks are under persecution. — ” On oar necks arc we perse- cuted i. e. we are under the yoke of foreigners. Ver. 6. IVe have given the hand— i. e. submitted. See. Jer. I. 13. Him, ‘ who bare our sins in his own body on the tree.’ — The wrath of God turns the sinner’s mirth into mourning, his liberty into bondage, and his honour into disgrace: 1 for this the crown is fallen from our heads, and wo unto us that we have sinned!’ This first reduced the race of man to its pre- sent wretched condition ; and the desolations of the church originate from the same source. — But though we should mourn over the miseries of the world, and the low estate of the church ; yet the true Zion, to which believers are come, cannot be desolated, but remains for ever, even as the throne of our God in heaven. This inheritance cannot be forfeited or alienated : nor can our mansions be possessed by strangers; or our rela- tion to God, as espoused and adopted into his family, abro- gated ; or ‘ the liberty, wherewith Christ hath made us free,’ taken from us ; the freeness of our salvation disannulled ; or our joy and glorying in Christ made void. Various tribula- tions may make bur hearts faint and our eyes dim ; but our way to the mercy-seat of our reconciled God is still open : and we may beseech him not to forsake or forget us; and plead with him to turn and renew uSj more and more, by his grace, that our hopes may revive, ancl our consolations abound, ‘ aa in the days of old.’ For the eternal and unchangeable God will not utterly reject his church, or any true believer, what- ever our trials, fears, or lamentations may be. Let us then, ‘in all our troubles, put our whole trust and confidence in his mercy ;’ let us confess our sins, and pour out our hearts before him ; and let us watch against repinings or despondency, whatever we sulfer, or whatever we witness of the troubles ol our brethren ; for this we surely know, that it shall be well in the event, with all who trust, fear, love, and serve God.”- T. Scott. Ver. 9. The sword of the wilderness. — ' That is, the Arabian freebooters, to which they were probably exposed, in seeking for wood, &c. Ver. 10. Our skin was black —That is, scorched, or burnt, by the heat of the climate, with the want of drink and food. See Job xxx. 30. Jer. iv. 8.; viii. 21. Ver. 12. Princes are hanged by their hand— i. e. tied up by one hand and left to perisli : a ciuel inode of execution, sometimes practised. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS. [The Lamentations of Jeremiah, as Bishop Loioth observes, consist of a number of plaintive effusions, composed upon the plan of the funeral dirges, all upon the same subject, and uttered without connexion as they rose in the mind, in a long course of separate stanzas. These have afterwards been put together, and formed into a collection or correspondent whole. In the charac wer of a mourner, lie celebrates in plaintive strains the obsequies ol his ruined country: whatever presented itselt to his mind in the midst of desolation and misery, whatever struck him as particularly wretched and calamitous, what- ever the instant sentiment of sorrow dictated, he pours forth in a kind of spontaneous effusion. The prophet has so copiously, so tenderly, and poeti- cally bewailed the misfortunes of his country, that he seems completely to have fulfilled the office and duly of a mourner. It may he doubted, if there be extant any poem, which displays such a happy and splendid selection of ima- gery in so concentrated a state. Never was there a more rich and elegant variety of beautiful images and adjuncts arranged together within so small a compass, nor more happily chosen and applied ; and though there is no artifi- cial or methodical arrangement in these incomparable elegies, yet they are totally free from wild incohorency, or abrupt transition. What can be more elegant and poetical than the description of that once flourishing city, lately chief among the nations, sitting in the character of a female, solitary, afflict- ed, in a state of widowhood, deserted by her friends, betrayed by her dearest connexions, imploring relief, and seeking consolation in vain ! What a beau- tiful personification is that of “ the ways of Zion mourning because none are come to her solemn feasts!” How tender and pathetic is the following com- plaint : *' Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me. w herewith the Lord HU2 hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger!” But to detail its beauties would be to transcribe the entire poem. “Nor can we too much admire,” says Dr. B/ayney , “ the full and grateful flow of that pathetic eloquence, in which the author pours forth the effusions of a patriotic heart, and piously weeps over the ruins of his venerably country . . . But the prophet’s peediut talent lay in working up, and expressing the passions of grief and pity ; und. unhappily for him, as a man and a citizen, he nu t with a subject hut too well calculated to give his genius its full display.” “ One would think,” says Dr South , “ that every letter was w ritten w ith a tear— every word the noise of a broken heart that, the author w as a man compacted of sorrows, disciplined to grief from his infancy ; one who never breathed but in sighs, nor spoke hut in a groan.” ‘David,’’ observes Dr. A. Clarke , “has forcibly depicted the sorrows of a heart oppressed with penitential sorrow: hut where, in a compo- sition of such length, have bodily misery and mental agony been more suc- cessfully painted 1 All the expressions and images of sorrow are here exhibit- ed in various combinations, und in various points of view. Misery has no expression that the author of the Lamentations has not employed. Patriots! you who tell us you bum for your country’s welfare, look at the prophecies and history of this extraordinary man j— look at his Lamentations take him through his life to his death, and learn from him what true patriotism n.»-ans f The man who watched, prayed, and lived, for the welfare of his country ; who chose to share her adversities, her sorrow s, her wants, her afflictions, and dise grac-, when he might have been a companion of princes, and have sat at the table of kings ! — \viio only ceased to live lor his country when he ceased to breathe that was a patriot, in comparison with whom almost all others are obscured, minished, and brought low ; or are totally annihilated - Bags ter THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. \\'e have now come lo the prophecies of Ezekiel , which were addressed to the captives at Babylon, before and after the captivity of Zcdchiah, and the destruction of the temple. They must therefore be delivered at the same time, and against the same crimes, against which Jeremiah was denouncing the judgments of God at Jerusalem. Both prophets predicted the same events, promised to the faithful the same consolations, and threatened the dis- obedient and idolatrous among their countrymen with the same punishments. Both prophets united in denunciation against the false prophets, and in antici- pations of the ultimat restoration of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity." Ezekiel, as himself tells us, (chap. i. 3.) was the son of Buzi, and a priest, as well as Jeremiah, though of a different family. He was, according to the Pseudo Epiphanies, born at a place called Saresa. He was carried cap- tive from Jerusalem at the same time with Jehoiachin, and stationed on the borders of the river Chebar, where he continued statedly to reside. In the tifh year of this captivity, the era from which be dates bis prophe- cies, Ezekiel began his office, which he exercised about 25 years. The com- mencement of this period falls on the year before Christ 595, and 34 years after Jeremiah had begun Ins office : so that the last eight years of Jeremiah coin- cide with the first eight of Ezekiel. The design of this prophet seems to he, chiefly, to- convince Ins fellow captives in Babylon, that they were mistaken in supposing that their brethren, who still remained in Judea, were in happier : circumstances than themselves: for this end, Ik.* describes the awful judg- j rue nts impending over that country, with the complete destruction of Jerusa- "em, both city and temple; and inveighs against those heinous sms which were the cause of such calamities. Chronological Arrangement of Ezekiel's prt As to the style of the prophet Ezekiel, Bishop Lowth , the most unquestion- able judge of Hebrew composition, thus describes it Ezekiel is mich in lerior to Jeremiah in elegance ; in sublimity, he is not even excelled by Isaiah ; hut his sublimity is of a totally different Kind.— He is deep, vehement, tragi- cal ; the only sensation lie affects to excite, is the terrible ; his sentiments are elevated, fervid, full of fire, indignant,” &c. He is generally charged with being obscure ; but his obscurity is that necessary to the sublime ; and the great critic just quoted remarks, " His diction is sufficiently perspicuous ; all Ins obscurity consists in the nature of the subject.” In our introduction to Isaiah we have remarked, that the prophets frequent- ly made use of actions as well as words, in the delivery of their predictions ; and this was particularly the case with Ezekiel, “ who delineates the siege of Jerusalem on a tile— weighs the hair of his heard in balances — carries out his household stuff— and joins together the two sticks of Judah and Israel. By these actions, the prophets instructed the people in the will of God, and con- versed with them in signs : hut where God teaches the prophet, and in com- pliance with the custom of that lime, condescends to the same mode of in- struction, then the signification is generally changed into a vision, either na- tural or extraordinary, as (in the prophet Ezekiel) the ideal scene of the re- surrection of dry bones.” In our exposition of this sublime prophet, besides the general commentators referred to on preceding books, we have constantly consulted, and frequently referred to, Archbishop Newcome’s scarce and valuable work on this prophet. That learned prelate fully justifies the character given of him by Bp. Lowth , and vindicates the sublimity of his style, in reply to some eminent foreign critics phecies , according to Archbishop Neiocome. Chap. I. to VII. inclusive - - - VIII. to XIX. XX. to XXIII. - - - - XXIV. XXV. to XXVIII. - - XXIX. to ver. 16. ) XXX. ver. 20 to 26. [ - - XXXI. to XXXIII. ) XXXIV. to XXXIX. - XL. to XLVIll. - - - XXIX. 17, to the end, and XXX. ver. 1-19. Year 5 of Jehoiachin’s captivity.— B. C. 595. 6 — Ditto. 7— Ditto. 9 — Ditto, when the siege began. After the destruction of Jerusalem. Bet ween 10 and 12 of Jehoiachin’s captivity. After the destruction of Jerusalem. Year 25 of Jehoiachin’s captivity. 27— Ditto. CHAPTER I. 1 1 hft t ir.e ot Ezekiel’s prophecy ai Chebar. _ 4 His vision ol'tbur clieriibims, 15 of the lour wheels, 26 and of the glory of Go I. N OW it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the 11 captives by the river of b Chebar, that the heavens were c open- ed, and I saw visions 11 of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king 'Jehoiachin’s Captivity, 3 The word of the Lord came expressly unto r Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar ; and the hand s of the Lord was there upon him. 4 Tf And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire h infolding itselfj and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour' of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also out of the midst thereof came the like- ness of four < living creatures. And this j was their appearance ; they had the likeness of a man. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7 And their feet were 11 straight feet ; the sole A. M. 3409. B. C. 595. a captivity. b c.3. L5J23- c Re.19.1 1. d c.S.3. e 2Ki.24.I2, 15. f Jeherkel. g IKi. 18.46. h catching. i Re.4.6,&c. j c.lO.S,&e. k a straight foot. 1 Da. 10.6. Re. 1.15. m or, di- vided, above. o Ge. 15.17. of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled 'like the colour of burnish- ed brass. 8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides ; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went ; they went every one straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side ; they four also had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces : and their wings were m stretched upward ; two wings of every one icerc joined one to another, and two co- vered 11 their bodies. 12 And they went every one straightforward : whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps : it went 0 up and down among the living creatures; Chap. I. Ver. 1 — 14 . Kzckiel's prophetic call, and introduc- tory vision .— It is difficult to conceive any tiling more magni- ficent or sublime, than the scene now before us. It has been considered as the chariot of the Deity; and the living creatures, or cherubic figures, as the agents employed to convey it through the universe. Two objects here particularly demand our at- tention, the vehicle itself, and the animals attached to it. The toriner we consider as emblematic of the immense machine of Providence (so to speak ;) and the latter of the various agenev by which that Providence is administered. The introduction to this scene may remind us of the first cherubic exhibition recorded in the Bible. When God drove Adam without the boundaries of Paradise, he placed there Cherubim and a flaming sword : that is, a terrific revolving flame, in which the Deity is supposed to have resided. (See Gen. iii. 24. with our exposition.) Here we have “ a whirl- wind from the north, a great cloud, a fire infolding itself," surrounded with a glory, and out of the centre of all this splendour, comes forth the stupendous figures there exhibited (Compare also 1 Kings xix. 12.) With respect to the living creatures , there can be no doubt that they were the seraphim which Isaiah saw when he re- ceived his prophetic mission. (Is. vi. 2, &c.) From the readi ness also with which Ezekiel knew them to be the Cherubim Chap. I. Ver. 1. In the thirtieth year. — That is, of the prophet’s life, as it is generally understood ; but Ca met thinks these years must rather he dated from the revival of religion, and the covenant made with God in the time of kinp Josiah. I he river of Chebar — The station here referred to, is sup- posed to have been aliout 200 miles north of Babylon. See chap. iii. 15.— \Che- tor. ealledjiow Khabour is a river of Mesopotamia, which, taking its rise in the Marian mountains, falls into the Euphrates near Carcliemish orCircesium now Karkisia, about 35° 20 X. lat. and 40° 25 E. Ion.]— Burster. Ver. 2. The fifth year of Jehoiachin' s captivity, was also tile fifth of Z°- dekiah s reign who immediately succeeded him, 2 Kings xxiv 17 • and us tile City and temple were destroyed in the Ilth year of Zede-kiali, 2 kin-s x xv. 2 the prophet, of course, had this vision six years before that event took place. Ver. 3. The hand of the Lord was there upon him.— That is, lie was under prophetic influence. See 1 Kings xviii. (6.; 2 Kings iii. 15, &c Ver. 5 Four living creatures.— Chap. x. 20, the prophet says he knew them to be the cherubim ; hut gives no farther information. The Author is perfectly awa.e u f the different systems of interpretation advanced on this subject, and piriicularly (hat of the ingenious Hutchinson, who supposed them 'intended to represent the several offices and relations of Ihe persons of the Trinity. But to tiiis he lias two most decided objections : 1. The Jews were utterly forbidden to make any representations of the Deity. See Exod. xx. 4.; Deut. iv. 12, 16 , &c. -2. These living creatures are represented as worshipping the groat Being he supposes them to represent. Isa. vi. 3.; Rev. v. 8, 14. — ITiiese living crea- tures were probably hieroglyphical representations of the holy angels, the nt- tendanls on “ the King of Glory,” and the ministers of his providence. They w ere four. apparently to denote that they were employed in tiie four quarters of the world ; and they had the likeness of a man, to signify that they were intelligent and rational creatures.] — Jtagster. Ver. 6. Every one four wings.— The seraphim in Isaiah had each six wings, and so the living creatures in Rev. iv. 8. ^ But in both places it may be recol- lected t hey arc described as in the act of worship. _ Compare Isa. vi. 2. Ver. 7. Straight feet. — Fee margin. This description supposes the body of eacli covered by its two lower wings, and terminating in one straight and round foot, like a calf’s. See Parkhurst. Ver. It. Stretched upward.— That is, the upper pair ot wings belonging to each figure being spread open, were, as the margin expresses it, ” divided.” or opened “ above •" and joined to or touched those ot the other figure 863 Ezekiel's vision . EZEKIEL. — CHAP. II. llis commission to Israel. and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And tiie living creatures p ran and return- ed as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15 Now as 1 beheld the living creatures, be- hold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl : and they four had one likeness: and their appear- ance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their r rings were full of eyes 8 round about them four. , 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them : and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Whithersoever ‘ the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go ; and the wheels were lifted up over against them : for the spiritof u the living creature was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went ; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them : for the spirit of "the living creature was in the wheels. 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible v crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other : every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, then- bodies. 24 And when they -went, I heard the noise of A. M. 3109 I!. C. 593. P IV 147. 15. Z.O.-4.I0. <1 Is. 55 9. r ov,strenJcs. h Pr. 15.3. c. 10.12. t ver. 12. I Co. 14.32 u °r» life- y Job 37.22. w c.43.2. Dn. 10.6. Re. 1.15. x Job 37.2.. 5. Ps. 29.3,4. 63.33. y 2 Ki.7.6. z Pa.45.6. Da.7.9. Mat. 25.31 He.8.1. 12 . 2 . a Ex. 24. 10. b Re.3.2l. 4.2,3. c Ge.9.13. Re.4.3. 10 . 1 . d Ex. 16. 7, 10 . 24.16,17. 1 Ki.8.10, 11 . e c.3.23. Da.8.17. Ac. 9.4. Re. 1.17,18 a Da. 10. 11. b c.3.24. c nation/!. d De.9.27. Je.3.25. c.20.18.. 30. Ac. 7.51. e hard of face. f Mat. 10. 16. g c.3.1 1 ,27. their wings, like w the noise of great waters, as the x voiceof the Almighty, the voiceof speech, as the noise of a ' host ■ when they stood they let down their wings. 25 And there was a voice from the firma- ment that v'us over their heads, when thev stood, and had let down their wings. 26 If And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a 8 throne, as “the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the like- ness as theappearanceofa man above upon b it. 27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even down- ward, T saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness .ound about. 28 As the appearance of the bow c that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so v/as the ap- pearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likenessof the glory d of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell 8 upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake CHAPTER II. 1 Ezekiel’s commission. 6 His instruction. 9 The roll of his heavy prophecy. A ND lie said unto me, Son of man, stand “ upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. 2 And b the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that 1 heard him that spake unto me. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious c nation that hath rebelled against me : they and their fathers d have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. 4 For they are e impudent children and stiff- hearted. I do send f thee unto them ; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. 5 And they, whether e they will hear, or whe- as well as the similitude of description, there is as little doubt that they strongly resembled the Mosaic emblems in the tem- ple. Divines, however, are much divided as to the class of in- telligences they are intended to represent. The strength and courage of the lion, the patient laboriousness of the ox, and the soaring eye of the eagle, are all proverbial, and “the hu- man face divine” seems the proper emblem of philanthropy. That these attributes are applicable to angels will hardly be denied, or that these angels are ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation. (See Heb. i. 14.) That they are also ministers of justice is no less evident from the sacred scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments: but our limits will not admit of amplification. Ver. 15 — 23. The vision of the immense wheels and the celestial throne. — The whole vision being now before us, we shall offer a few remarks on its general import, considering it designed to represent, as already hinted, the doctrine of divine agency and a universal providence. 1. We are called upon to admire the immensity and magni- ficence of God’s providence These wheels (like Jacob’s lad- der) reached from earth to heaven, extending to ail the works ana ways of God. The magnitude and the splendour of their appearance, gave them also a high degree of sublimity : they were dreadful to behold. — 2. Here was a display of infinite wisdom and intelligence. Not only had one of these living creatures the eyes of an eagle, commanding the whole hori- zon, but the wheels themselves were full of eyes. All the plans of the Almighty are full of intelligence, and all his Ver. 15. With his four faces. — That is, as Archbishop Neiocome explains it, “ One wheel intersected another at right angles, like the two colures ; and the four spherical portions thus formed, seem to he called the four faces, or sides ver. 17. See chap. x. 13. Ver. 16. Colour of a beryl. — That is, pale sea-green. Wheel in the mid- dle of a wheel. —[These are supposed to denote the revolutions of God’s pro- vidence, which are regular, though intricate ; and by “ a wheel in the middle of a wheel,” that is. like two circles in a sphere, catting each other at right angles, is expressed the stability and uniformity of their motion, and the sub- •erviency of one part of Divine providence to another.]— Basrster. Ver. 18. Their rings.— That is, the outer circles. Ver. 29. Firmament upon.— Rather, “expanse over,” d:c.— See note on Gen. i. 8. As the terrible.— Or '’sparkling” crystal; perhaps so called from its resemblance to icicles in the sun. — 1 Keraeh , which generally denotes ice. doubtless here signifies crystal, krystallos. from k-ryos. cold, ice. and stcl- lomai, to concrete, as it is rendered by the LXX. and Vulgate. It is a very aree class of silicious minerals, hard, pellucid, naturally colourless, of resu- arly angular figures, and of simple plates ; not flexible, nor elastic, but giving fire with steel ; not fermenting by acid menstrua, hut calculable in a strong fire. There are three orders of pure crystal ■ the first is perfect columnar crys- HU4 , agents are under divine guidance. — 3. We see the absolute irre- sistibility of God’s providence. The wheels went straight for- ward, and no impediments could make them change their course.— 4. We may remark the unity and harmony of divine providence. Not only was there a perfect consistency between all the parts of this machine, but they were animated with the same spirit. — The spirit which directed these mysterious ani- mals was also in the wheels. — 5. We should notice the intri- cate complication of this machinery, which was, as it were, “ a wheel within a wheel :” that is, as Archbishop Newcome and others explain it, consisting of rings crossing within each other, as in an armillary sphere, whereby they could move with equal ease and celerity in any direction. — 6. The divine operation which guided them — they had “ the hands of a man under their wings on the four sides” — ” The hand unseen, Which moves and guides the vast machine.” Above all this mysterious and sublime machinery we have a crystal firmament, and above that firmament a sapphire throne — and on that throne the appearance of a man in glory, who could be no other than the Son of God, in an anticipated human form, surrounded with a radiant flame, and with a brilliant rainbow, as he appeared to the apostle John in the book of Revelations. (Rev. iv. 2, 3. x. 1.) . Chap. II. Ver. 1—10. Ezekiel receives his commission, with the roll of prophecies he was to deliver .—The Prophet, having been overwhelmed with the glorious vision in the preceding chapter, is here strengthened and comforted : and then com- tals, with double pyramids, of 18 planes, in a hexangular pjramid at each end ; the second is that of perfect crystals without a column otu or 16 planes in two hexangular pyramids ; and the third is that of imperfect crystals, with single pyramids, of 10 or 12 planes, in a hexangular or pentangular column. Terrible crystal seems to denote that winch was well cut and polished, vividly refracting the rays of light. 1 Bagster . , , , Ver. 25. And had let down their w/ngs — These words are omitted by the LXX., Syriac, and Arabic, and supposed to be here repeated by mistake from the verse preceding. ^ _ , Ver. 28. Sapphire stone— See note on Exod. xxiv. 10. Ver! 27. And it had brightness round about.— Ncwconie, “ And a bright- ness was round about him:” i. e. the man in glory: “the representative of the invisible God. his ever blessed and only begotten Son.” Compare kev. iv. 3 — [Archbishop Sewcome judiciously observes, “ We need not allegorize the circumstances of this august vision too minutely. Many of them may serve only to till up the splendour of the scene, though others, no doubt, have much significance : which should be pointed out rather by a correct judgment, than a luxuriant imagination.”]— Bagster. ... Chap II. Ver. 2. The spirit entered into me— By this it should 9eem, that the ,»ronhet bad been overpowered with the vision, and had fainted. Ezekiel eateth, the roll. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. III. God encourageth him ther they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet h shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. 6 )f And thou, son of man, be t not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though i briers and thorns k be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions : be not afraid 1 of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. 7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are m most rebellious. 8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou " rebellious like that rebel- lious house : open thy mouth, and eat ° that I give thee. 9 )f And when I looked, behold, a hand pwas sent unto me ; and, lo, a ‘troll of a book was therein ; 10 And he spread it before me : and it was writ- ten within and without : and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and wo. CHAPTER III. 1 Ezekiel eateth the roll. 4 God encourageth him. 15 God showetli him the rule of prophecy. 22 God shutteih and openeth the prophet’s mouth. M OREOVER he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest ; eat this a roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and b it was in my mouth as c honey for sweetness. 4 T[ And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them. 5 For thou art not sent to a people d of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel ; 6 Not to many people d of a strange speech and of a hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, “had f Isentthee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee. 7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee ; for s they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are h impudent and hard-hearted. 8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 As an adamant harder than i flint have I made thy forehead : fear them not, neither be A. M. 3109. B. C. 535. h c. 33.33. i Je.1.8,17. I.u.12.4. Ac. 4.29, 31. j or, rebels. k 2Sa. 23.0,7 Is. 9. 18. Mi. 7.4. 1 l Pe.3.14. m rebellion. n Is.50.5. o Re. 10.9,10 p c.8.3. q c.3.1. a ver.2,8,9. b Je. 15.16. c Ps,l9.10. 119.103. d deep of lip , and heavy of longue. e or, if I had. sent thee to them, ■would they not. f Mat. 11.23. 12.41. g Jn 15.20. h stiff of fo rehead, and hard of heart. i Is.50.7. Mi. 3.8. j 2 Ti.2.3. k 2Ti.2.6. 1 lKi.18.12. 2 Ki.2. 1G. c.8.3. Ac.8.39. m kissed. n vcr.12. o bitter. p hot anger. q 2 Ki.3. 15. r Ps. 137.1. s Is. 52. 8. 5*3.10. Je.6.17. Hc.13.17. t c.33.6. n Jn. 8.21, 24 v Is.49.4,5. Ac. 20. 26. \vc. 18.24. 33.12,13. x righteous- nesses. y lPe.2.6..8 dismayed at their i looks, though they be a re- bellious house. 10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man. all my words that I shall speak unto thee re- ceive k in thy heart, and hear with thine ears. 11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, 'and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord God ; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. 12 Then the spirit > took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, t Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place. 13 I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that ,n touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing. 14 So 11 the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went 0 in bitterness, in the p heat of my spirit ; but the hand * of the Lord was strong upon me. 15 *ff Then 1 came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat r where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. 16 And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 17 Son of man, I have made thee a watch- man 5 unto the house of Israel : therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warn- ing from me. 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die ; and thou ‘ givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life ; the same wicked man shall die in his "iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. 19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity ; but thou v hast delivered thy soul. 20 Again, when w a righteous man doth turn from his x righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay ?a stumbling-block before him, he shall die : because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his right- eousness which he hath done shall not be remembered ; but his blood will I require at thy hand. 21 Nevertheless, if thou warn the righteous man , that the righteous sin not, and he doth missioned to his office, and encouraged to be resolute and faithful in the discharge of it, although he must expect to be ill received and uncourteously treated. He is addressed by the title “ Son of Man,” a title applied only to himself and to Daniel, among the prophets, for which we can assign no rea- son, unless it were to remind them, that notwithstanding the extraordinary prophetic visions with which they were favour- ed, they were still but mortal. in the close of this chapter, a hand appears to the prophet, as it should seem in a vision, holding the roll of a book, writ- ten on both sides ; and when spread out, behold it is covered with “lamentations and mourning and wo,” alluding doubt- less to the nature of these prophecies. This book he is com- manded to tat, a figurative action, meaning, according to Archbishop Seeker, “ to take in, retain, and digest from which we may draw this practical reflection, that it is the duty of ministers themselves, to study and digest whatever they deliver to their people. (Compare ch. iii. 10.) Chap. III. Ver. 1—27. Ezekiel eats the prophetic roll, and finch it sweet in taste , bvt is warned to expect bitter conse- quences. — The Prophet in this chapter receives more explicit in- structions in his office. At first his views seem to have been raised to expect a ready reception of his message ; but be is warned of the perverse character of the persons to whom he is sent to minister, and how ungratefully he would be requited. He is however ordered to persevere in his duty notwithstand- ing, and is promised all necessary support. He is then carried by the spirit to a neighbouring colony of his captive brethren, where he remains seven days overwhelmed with astonish- ment ; but he is roused to the performance of his duty, as a Ver. 8. Eat that I give thee. — That is, the book, ver. 9, 10. Compare Rev. x. 9. Ver. 9. Roll of a book.—[ All ancient books were written so a9to be rolled up : hence volumen , a volume, from volvo, I roll.] — Bagster. Ver. 10. It was written loithin and without.— That is, on both sides, which was contrary to the state of rolls in general, which are written on the inside only. Chap. III. Ver. 1. Eat that thou findest.— [This must have passed in a vision ; but the meaning is plain. Receive my word into thy mind, — let it enter into thy soul ; digest it,— let it he thy nourishment,— thy meat and thy drink to do the will of thy Father who is in heaven.]— Bagster. Ver. o Thy face strong. — Newcome, “ Firm.” So in next clause. Ver. 12. A voice of a great rushing.— Heb. “ A voice for sound) of a great rustling.” So ver. 13. Compare Isa. vi. 2, 3. Ver. 14. In the heal of my spirit. -Heb. “ In hot anger.” The hand of the Lord.— See chap. L 3. Ver. 15. At Tel-abib. at some distance from his first station, for ioy he was carried thither.— [Tel-abib, a place in Mesopotamia on the river Che- bar is probably the same as Thelabba, which is placed in D'Anvilte's Chart of the Euphrates and Tigris between 36° and 37° N. lat. and 53° and 54° E. Ion.] Bagster. Seven days. See Job ii. 13. Chebar— See chap. i. 1. and note. Ver. 17. A watchman .—' 1 The watchmen were stationed to keep a constant look out, that they might discern enemies or dangers at a distance, and warn the people to avoid or repel them : but if they neglected to watch, or to give warning, they would be charges u • with the murder of such as pensned through their negligence. But if the watchman gave notice of the approach- ing danger, and the people neglected .) profit by the warding ; they might in- deed be cut off, but he would be guiltless. Thus the Loi hud appointed the prophet to observe and to report to his people the dangers to which their sin* exposed them : this he wa9 required to do, by hearing the word ot the Lord, and ‘ warning them from him.’ ’'—Scott. . . . , Ver. 18. Save his life.—" ' To cause him to live.’ In giving warning, tho prophet would do what he could to save the souls of the wicked ; but if bo neglected this, he would be in some sense their murderer. Scott, 865 'The type of Jerusalem's siege. EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IV. The hardness of the famine. not sin, he shall surely live, because he is 1 warned ; also thou hast delivered thy soul. 22 Tf And the hand of the Lord was there upon me; and he said unto me, Arise, go forth into the plain, and I will there talk with thee. 23 Then I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar : and I fell on my face. 24 Then the spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet, and spake with me, and said unto me, Go, shut thyself within thy house. . 25 But thou, O son of man, behold, they shall put bands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them : 26 And I will make thy tongue “ cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not b be to them c a d reprover : for they are a rebellious house. 27 But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; He that heareth, let him hear ; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear : for they are a rebellious house. CHAPTER IV. I Under the type of a siege is showed the time from the defection of Jeroboam to the captivity. 9 By the provision of the siege is showed the hardness of the famine. T HOU also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem : 2 And lay siege “against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it ; set the camp also against it, and set b battering rams against it round about. 3 Moreover take thou unto thee c an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city : and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign d to the house of Israel. 4 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: d Pb.3S.13, 14. b or, chief lenders. e.21. 22. : or, a Jlat plate , or, slice. d c. 12.6,11. e Beginning 97 o. lKi. 12.23. ending 585. f Nu. 14. 3, 4. g a day for a year, a day for a year. i thy side to thy side. j or, spelt. k Ho.9.3. 1 Ac. 10. 14. according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and “ninety days: so shalt thou bear f the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days : I have appointed thee s each day for a year. 7 Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it. 8 And, behold, I will lay bands h upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from i one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege. 9 Tf Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and ) fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. 10 And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day : from time to time shalt thou eat it. 11 Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shait thou drink. 12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight. 13 And the Lord said, Even k thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them. 14 Then said I, Ah Lord God ! behold, my soul hath not been polluted : for ' from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that | m which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; spiritual watchman of the house of Israel, by being informed, 1 that if any perished through his default of warning, he would ! have to answer for the consequences. But how, it may be asked, is it consistent with the divine character, to lay stum- bling blocks in the way of men, as is intimated (ver. 2!t.) that j the Lord himself does? This may be elucidated in the case of | the promised Messiah, who, though given as the foundation of our salvation, is expressly called a stone of stumbling; (Isa. viii. 14, 15.) because the unbelieving Jews, instead of building upon that foundation, stumbled thereon and fell, by taking offence at the doctrine of the cross. Thus not only occasions of sin may be found in the course of providence ; but even the best blessings of grace may be rendered stumbling blocks through man’s unbelief. Chap. IV. Ver. 1—17. The sin of Jerusalem foretold by the type of a painted tile.— “The Prophets taught by actions as well as by words; thus Ezekiel delineates Jerusalem [upon a large tile] and [in the same manner] lays siege to it, as a type of the manner in which the Chaldean army should sur- round that city. The number of days which the Prophet was to lie on his side, probably during part of each day, denoted— First, The number of years which Go 1 bore with the idola- trous practices of the ten tribes; there being just 390 years from the time of Jeroboam’s setting up the calves in Dan and Bethel, to the migration of the last gleanings of those tribes in the captivity of Zedekiah. 2dly, The number of years he bore with the excessive sins of Judah, under the forty years ol Manasseh’s evil reign, or the forty years from the solemn league [or covenant] of Josiah, to the destruction of Jerusalem. And 3dly, The duration of the siege, which was to last a day Ver. 23. As the glory, &c.— See chap. i. 1 , &c. Ver. 24 . Spake with me. — “ ’ Then the Spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet: and he spake unto me.’ Bishop Newcome. Loioth. The ori- ginal requires to be thus rendered. The last verb is masculine, the others fe- minine ; and the Speaker is evidently distinguished from the Spirit, who en- tered into Ezekiel: probably a voice came to him from the visible glory of Jehovah ." — Scott. Ver. 25. They shall put hands on thee.— That is, “at thy command, thy domestics shall bind thee.” Newcome. 1 V . V er. 1. A tile. The bricks and tiles of the East, being generally only dried in the sun, are nearly white, and sometimes painted, though not glazed, a little similar to our Dutch tiles of the last century. Babylonian bucks, with the cruciform (or wedgelike) character, are in existence to the present day. See Orient. Lit. No. 1005. Also, Taylor's Culmet, plate to Pen chap, xi— ILevainah, generally denotes a brick, and Palladius informs us that the bricks in common use among tlie ancients were “ two feet long, one foot broad and tour inches thick and on such a surface the whole siege might be easily poitraved Perhaps, however, it may here denote a flat tile, hke a Roman brick, which were commonly used for tablets, as we learn from Pliny, Hist. Nat. 1. vn. c. 57.]— Bagster. Vet. 3. An iron pan — See margin. Probably such as cakes were baked on. This might represent the outer wall of the city, against which he was directed to set his face, as it he were an enemy, and to besiege it. See Newcome. Ver. 4. Lie thou upon thy left side. This lying upon first one side and then the other, could not, we may naturally sur'*>se. refer to his rest at night, for the house of Israel were not likely to wi* ri ss this ; but, as it was customarv for all that could get the opportunity, to ake rest in the middle of the day es- pecially during the ho* season : if he thus retired under the shade of a tree or a tent, many would e likely to notice it in him. as a public character. Sai / the punishment .— That is, Declare that you thu3 represent the punishment ” Newcome. Ver. 5. Three hundred and ninety days .— See a note in the margin —[This number o? years will take us back from the year in which Judea was finally desolated by Nebuzar-adan, B. C. 975, to the establishment of idolatry in Is- rael by Jeroboam, B. C. 584.]— Bagster. 86G Ver. 6. Forty days— [Beginning from 2 Kings xxiii. 3, 23 ; ending Je lii. 30. This represented the forty years during which gross idolatry prevailed in Ju dah, from the reformation of Josiah, B. C. 624. to the same final desolation of the land. Some think that the period of 390 days also predicts the duration of the siege by the Babylonians, (ver. 9,) deducting from it five months and twenty- nine days, when the besiegers went to meet the Egyptians, (2 Kings xxv. l—l. Je. xxxvii. 5.) and that forty days may have been employed in de- solating the temple and city.]— Bagster. Ver. 7. Thine arm iincovered.—Harmerf\\\nks \h\s might be to show the bruises he had given himself, as emblems of the effects of war : but io “ make bare the arm,” in Scripture, implies rather the exertion of strength ; Isa. lii. 10 . He was to prophesy, as it were, with all his might, and, as Bishop Chand ler thinks, with his arm extended toward Jerusalem. Ver. 8. I will lay hands. — That is, I will order thee to be bound. See chap iii. 25. From one side to another. — Or rather, “the other;” "From thy side to thy side ;” or, as we say, “ from side to side.” Ver 9. Millet.— [Dochan, in Arabic dokhn,ihe holcus dochna of Forskal is a kind of millet of considerable use as food ; the cultivation of which b described by Broione.]— Bagster. Fitches.— See margin. An inferior kind of grain : all these ingredients w r ere to form a coarse kind of bread. — [Kusse- mim , is doubtless spelt as Aquila and Symachus render here ; and so LXX. and Theodotion. In times of scarcity it is customary to mix several kinds of coarser grain with the finer, to make it last the longer.]— Bagster. Ver. 10 Twenty shekels. — “ Not ten ounces.” Newcome. Ver. 11. Water. . . the sixth part of a hin.— Little more than a pint and a half. These measures denote great scarcity. Ver. 12. Thou shalt bake. &.c.—Neiacon/e, “ With duns, that cometh out o. man, shalt thou bake it in their sight.” The usual fuel in the East, is the dried dung of cattle and camels ; but Sandys (the traveller) mentions that the lowest classes in Egypt use human dung to bake with. Sec Orient. lit. No. 1007, 1008. — [Dried cow-dung is a common fuel in the East, as it is in many parts of England, to the present day ; but the prophet was ordered to prepare his bread with human ordure, to show the extreme degree of wretch- edness to which the besieged should be exposed, a9 they would he obliged lite- rally to use it, from not being able to leave the city to collect other fuel.] — B. The type of the prophet's hair. EZEKIEL.— CHAP. V. The judgment oj Jerusalem neither came there abominable "flesh into my mouth. 15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith. 16 If Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff ° of bread in Je- rusalem : and p they shall eat bread by weight, and with care ; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment: 17 That they may want bread and water, and be astonished one with another, and consume q away for their iniquity. CHAPTER V. 1 Under the type of hair, 5 is showed the judgment ol - Jerusalem for their rebellion, 12 by famine, sword, and dispersion. A ND thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. 2 Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege a are fulfilled : and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind ; and I will draw out a sword after them. 3 Thou shalt also take thereof a b few in number, and bind them in thy c skirts. 4 Then take d of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire ; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel. 5 Tf Thus saith the Lord God; This is Jeru- salem : I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. 6 And she hath changed e my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more f than the countries that are round about her: for they have s refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, A. M. ano. D. C. 594. n De. 14.3. Is. 65.4. o Le.26.26. Ps.105.16. Is. 3.1. c.5.16. 14.13. p c.12.19. q Le.26.39. c.24.23. a c.4. 1,8,9. b Je.52.16. c wings. d Je. 44.14. e Jude 4. f c. 16.47. 1 Co. 5.1. g Ne.9.16, 17. Je.5.3. h La.4.6. Da.9.12. Am. 3.2. i Le.26.29. De.28.53. La.2.20. 4.10. j De.28.64. c.12.14. Zee. 2. 6. k 2Ch.36.14 c.8 5,&c. I Je 44.4. c.11.21. mPs. 107.39. n La. 2.21. o ver. 2. Jc. 15.2. 21.9. c.6.12. p Je.9.16. r c.21.17. 6 Is. 1.24. c. 16.63. t Ne.2.17. u De.23.37. 1 Ki.9.7. Ps.79.4. Je.24.9. La. 2. 15.. 17. v c.25.17. Nil. 1.2. w De.32.23. neither have done according to the judg- ments of the nations that are round about you ; S Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations. 9 And I will do in thee that h which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abomi- nations. 10 Therefore the fathers shall eat < the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter j into all the winds. 11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord God; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctu- ary k with all thy ' detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish m thee ; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any " pity. 12 T[ A third ° part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be con- sumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee ; and I will scatter p a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. 13 Thus shall mine anger be i accomplish- ed, and I will cause my fury to r rest upon them, and I will be s comforted : and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them. 14 Moreover I will make thee t waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. 15 So it shall be a " reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious v rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it. 16 When w 1 shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their de- struction, and. which I will send to destroy for every year they had sinned. It appears, indeed, (from 2 Ki. xxv. 1 — 4.) that there were seventeen months from the begin- ning to the end of the siege ; but as it was raised for some time, in order to intercept the forces of the Egyptians (Jer. xxxvii. 5,) this intermission probably reduced it to thirteen months, or3:iO days. — Thus God takes account of all our sins, and thus he numbers all our days. — According to Jerome, both the 3.J0 and the 40 days were typical of the duration o': the captivities of Israel and Judah. “ The scanty provision allowed the Prophet during his sym- bolical siege, (being only about ten ounces of bread,) consisting chiefly of the worst kinds of grain, and that ill prepared, all tended to denote the scarcity of provision, fuel, and every necessary of life, which the Jev\ s should experience during the siege of Jerusalem.— 1 The scarcity of fuel in the East is often supplied by the dung of animals dried, which is used even in preparing victuals.” — Dr. J. Smith. Chap. V. Ver. 1 — 17. Under the type of hair clipped and burned , is farther shown the awful judgments of Jerusalem . — Ver. 16 . The staff of bread. — Bread is commonly called the staff of life. By weight and by measure .— [ The prophet was allowed each day only twenty shekels weight, or about ten ounces, of the coarse food he had pre- pared. and the sixth part of a Inn, scarcely a pint and a half of water ; all of which was intended to snow, that they should be obliged to eat the 111 ' anest and coarsest ii»od, and that by weight, anti their water by measure . }— Baggier. Chap. V. Ver. 1. A sharp knife— Sewcome. “Tool, or instrument.”— |In this expressive emblem, the prophet represents the Jewish nation ; his hair, the people ; the razor, the Chaldeans ; the culling of the hair, the calamities and disgrace coming upon them ; the balances, the exact distribution of the Divine jurlgments , the third part of the hair burnt, those destroyed in the city ; the third part, smitten with a knife, those slain in attempting to escape ; the third part scattered to the winds, those wdio escaped to other countries : the tew hairs in his skirt, those left with Gedaliah ; and the burning of these, their de- struction in Egypt.]— bagsler. Ver. 2 . 7 will draw out a sword after them — This may refer to those who fled into Egypt, See Jer. xlii. 16 ; xliii. 11 ; xliv. 12, 27. Ver. 3. Skirts.— ' Wings namely, the borders of his outer garment. Ver. 5. Setit— Newcrsme. “ Her.” „ . . Ver. 6. Changed my judgments— 'Thai is, the Pagans adhered more closely lo their superstitions than the Jews to their religion. Ver 7. Because ye multiplied . — Newcowte reads, by coniccture, changed ; The citv (ver. 2) intends the portraiture he had drawn of it on a tile (chap. iv. 1 ) ; the balance was an emblem of the divine justice; th c razor, or knife, and the fire, signified the divine wrath. The hairs which the. prophet cut offfrom his head and beard represented the Jews; and the dividing of the hair the fate or punishment of individuals : the hair scattered by the wind prefigure those who fled into Egypt ; the few bound up in the skirt of his garment intend the small remnant that should be left in the land ; and those which he burnt (ver. 4) allude to the fate of these few, after the murder of Gedaliah. (See notes.) The lype or allegory is then dropped, and God is introduced declaring, in express terms, the awful judgments which he was about to bring on this nation, which had proved so unworthy of the many mercies by which it bad hitherto been distinguish- ed The most transient view of ihe calamities inflicted on the Jewish nation, first by the Chaldeans, and afterwards by the Romans and the miseries and dispersions consequent on both, may show how fully those predictions have had their accom- plishment. — “Ask every wind of heaven, ask every nation of but we think this alteration unnecessary. The word in the present text sig- nifies to he turbulent, noisy, outrageous, like the waves of the sea, (Ps. xlvi. 2.) and hence Boothroyd. renders it “rebellious.” Compare chap. vii. ver. 7 and il.— — Neither have done. — If this reading be retained, it must mean (as Ncwcome observes) the same as the preceding verse ; that they had not ad- hered to their religion like the heathen. !t should not be concealed, however, that the last negative in this verse, “neither” (in Heb. lo) is omitted in 22 MSS. four Editions, and the Syriac. Abp. Newcvme therefore reads, “ hut have done,” &c. as in chap. xi. 12 . So Boothroyd. Ver. 10. The fathers shall eat the son 8 , &c — See Le. xxvi.33. Dc. xxviii.53. 2Ki. vi. 28, 29. Je. xix. 9. La. iv.10. Scatter.— ' This is another judgment threaten- ed against them by Moses, (De. xxviii. 64.) and remarkably fulfilled in their last dispersion ; when every known part of the world hath some share of them, and yet they live every where like strangers, only upon sufferance.” — Loicth. Ver. 11. I loill diminish.— Six or seven MSS. read, “ Cut off ;” but the pre- sent text may he rendered “ Cut short,” or close. It is applied to clipping the bearJ in token of mourning, Isa. xv. 2 ; and to making small the drops of rain. Job xxxvi. 27. . . , , r i/mi j • . , Ver. 12. I to ill draw, &r —See ver. 2.— [This was particularly fulfilled in the destruction of those who retired to Egypt ; and has been remarkably verified in the many persecutions and miseries which the Jews have suffered at differ- ent times, in the various countries in'o which they are dispersed.] Bagstor . Israel's idolatry threatened. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. VI., VII. - Final desolation of Israel. you : and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread. 1? So will 1 send upon you famine and evil 1 beasts, and they shall bereave thee ; and t pestilence and blood shall pass through thee ; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it. CHAPTER VI. ■1 Th? Judgment of Israel for their idolatry. 8 A remnant shall be blessed. 11 The faithful ore exhorted to lament their calamities. A ND the word of the Lord came unto me, -tl- saying, 2 Son of man, set” thy face toward the moun- tains b of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 And say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys ; Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will de- stroy your high c places. 4 And your altars shall be desolate, and your d images shall be broken : and I will cast down your slain men before your idols. 5 And I will e lay the dead carcasses of the children of Israel before their idols; and I will scatter your bones f round about your altars. 6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate ; that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols may be broken and cease, and your s images may be cut down, and your works may be abolished. 7 And the slain shall fall in the midst of you, and h ye shall know that I am the Lord. 8 Tf Yet will I leave a ■ remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. 9 And they that escape of you shall remem- oer i me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken k with their whorish 1 heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall loathe ! n themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the Lord, ! A. M. 3410. U. C. 531. x Le.26.22. y c. 33.22. a c.20.46. b c.36.1. Mi. 6.1,2. c Le.26.30. d sun images. e give. f lKi.13.2. 2Ki.23.14, 16. g cun images. h ver. 13. Is. 6. 13 .44.28. J Ps. 137.1. Da.9.2,3. k Ps.78.40. Is. 43.24. 1 Je.3.6,13. m Nu. 15.39. C.14.4..7. n Job 42- c. c.20.43 36-31. o c.21.14. p c.5. 12,13. q ls.57.5,7. Je.2.20. Ho. 4. 13. r 1 s.5.25. s or, deso- late from the wild- erness. a La. 1.9. h give. c C.S.W. (l Ho.9.7. e awdketh againa and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them. 11 If Thus saith the Lord God ; 0 Smite with thy hand, and stamp with thy foot, and say, Alas for all the evil abominations of the house of Israel ! for p they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 12 He that is far off shall die of the pesti- lence ; and he that is near shall fall by the sword ; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accom- plish my fury upon them. 13 Then shall ye know that I am the Lord, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon 1 every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet sa- vour to all their idols. 14 So will I stretch out r my hand upon them, and make the land desolate, yea, more ' de- solate than the wilderness toward Diblath, in all their habitations : and they shall know that I am the Lord. CHAPTER VII. I The final desolation of Israel. 16 The mournful repentance of them that escape 20 The enemies defile the sanctuary because of the Israeliies’ abominations. 23 Un- der the type of a chain is showed their miserable captivity. T\/T OREOVER the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel; An 1 end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will b recom- pense upon thee all thine abominations. 4 And c mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense d thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee : and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 5 Thus saith the Lord God; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. 6 An end is come, the end is come : it ' watch- eth for thee ; behold, it is come. 7 The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land : the time is come, the earth, and they will show their scattered monuments : pre- served, as it were, on purpose to evince the fulfilling of these awful prophecies.” Chap. VI. Ver. 1 — 14. The destruction 0/ the nation with the exception of a remnant. — In this chapter, which forms a distinct section, the Prophet denounces the judgments of God against the Jews for their idolatry. It is promised, however, that a remnant should be preserved and brought to a proper sense of their transgressions by their severe afflictions. It is with great propriety and elegance that the Prophet, in the be- ginning of this chapter, directs his speech to the mountains of J udea, in order to upbraid the stupidity of his countrymen, from whom he seems to expect less attention than even from the inanimate creation. Stupid, however, as thev were, he assures them that God would awfully make himself known to them oy his judgments. A severe denunciation, often repeated by the Prophet, as an epiphonema, or conclusion to his threnten- mgs. We may here also remark, the earnestness with which the prophet is commanded (ver. 11) to smite with his hand and stamp with his foot in warning them of their danger : for though sin may seem but a trifle to men who are indulging in its forbidden pleasures; those who are awakened to a just sense of its nature and consequences know, that it is “ an evil thing and bitter to forsake the Lord,” or turn our back upon his precepts. Chap. VII. Ver. 1 — 27. The desolation of the country and de- filement of the sanctuary. — Tins chapter, which forms another distinct prophecy, foretells the final desolation of the land of Israel or Judah, (for after the captivity of the ten tribes these terms are often used for the Jews in general,) on account of the heinous sins of its inhabitants, and the great distress of the small remnant that should eventually escape. The temple itself, which they had polluted with idolatry, is devoted to de- struction, and the Prophet is directed to make a chain, as a type of their being led, both king and people, in bonds of cap- tivity to Babylon. The whole chapter abounds in bold and beautiful figures, flowing in an easy and forcible stream ol poetical language. The higher classes of the Jews, as appears by the prophetic writings, were generally the most criminal. Their gold and silver became their snare; partly by fostering their pride, and partly by supporting their idolatry. Thus riches become “ the stumbling block of their iniquity.” Our punishment often Ver. 17. Evil beasts— That is, wild beasts. Chap. VI. Ver. 1. Word of the Lord.— [This is a new prophecy, and was probably given after the 430 days ot his lying- on his left and right side were accomplished. By Israel here Judea is simply meant; not tne ten tribes, who had long before been earned captive.] — Bagstcr. Ver. 4. Images. Sun-images.” So ver. 6. Cyrus, just before his death, offered sacrifices to Jupiter, the sun. &c. Vet. 3. That yemay have. St c. “ In that there shall be unto you escapers from the sword.” V * *ir. 9. Whorish heart. This term evidently means idolatrous as appears ay the next clause. — -Shall loathe, &c.— [They shall humble themselves on account of their abominations, forsake their idolatry, and worship Me alone • and this they have done from the Babylonish captivity to the present day ]—B St i 0eet f avour -—' A ‘ savour of rest.” Diblath.— [Diblath was a city of Mcab, and appears from the parallel passages to have been situated '*twQon Dibon and Abanm or Nebo. Jerome says that Jahaz was shown in $09 his time between Medeba and Diblatai. Some MSS., however, instead ol Diblatha have Riblatha, which some think is the correct reading, and that it is the same as Riblah, where Nebuchadnezzar slew the princes of Israel, and put out Zedekiah’s eyes. J —Bagster. N. B. A bp. Netocome renders these first S!X chapters in prose. So Boothroyd. The next chapter is in measured lines : tnen all is prose again to chap, xviii. • • ^ HAP Y U Ver , 2 - ^ en d.' & c - — (Two or three MSS. read ketz ba, bahakketz, the end comelh, come is the end which is supported by all the ancient versions J— Bagster. Ver. 5. An evil, an only evil. — Netocome reads “ Evil after evil,” upon the authority ot 27 MSS., and three Editions. — The difference is only part of a letter in the original. Ver. 6. An end is come. — [This is similar to the second verse ; but there is a paronomasia, or play upon the words, here, deserving of notice. Ketz ba, ba hakketz , haikeetz ailayich, “ the end comet.n, come is the end : it waketh for thee.” Ketz , is an ena : haikeetz. is to make or i*atch.] — Bag&te.r. liepentance of them that escape. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. VIII. The type of a chain. the day f of trouble is neai, and not the e sounding again of the mountains. 8 Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee : and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abo- minations. 9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity : I will recompense u thee accord- ing to thy ■ ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee ; and ye shall know that I j am the Lord that smiteth. 10 Behold the day, behold, it is come : the morning is gone forth ; the rod hath blossom- ed, pride k hath budded. 11 Violence > is risen up into a rod of wick- edness : none of them shall remain , nor of their m multitude, nor of any of " theirs : nei- ther shall there he wailing for them. 12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn : for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 13 For the seller shall not return to that which is sold, 0 although they were yet alive : for the vision is touching the whole multitude thereof, which shall not return ; neither p shall any strengthen himself « in r the iniquity of his life. 14 They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready : but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof. 15 The sword ‘Is without, and the pestilence and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die with the sword ; and he that is in the city, famine and pestilence shall devour him. 16 Tf But they that escape of them shall es- cape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. 17 All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall 1 be weak as water. 18 They “shall also gird, themselves with sack- cloth, and horror shall cover them ; and shame shall he upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. 19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be v removed : their w sil- ver, and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord : they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill A. M. 3410. B. C. 591. f Zep.1.14, 15. g or, echo. h ujion thee. i Ga.6.7. Re. 20. 13. j Mi.6.9. k Pr.16.18. 1 Je.6.7. m or, tumult. n or, their tumultu- ous per- o though their life were yet among the living. p Ec.8.8. q or. -whose life is in his ini- quity. r his- ini- quity. s La. 1.20. t go into. u Am. 8. 10. v fora se- partition, or, un- cleanness w Pr.11.4. x or, their iniquity is their stumbling block. y c. 14. 3,4. z Je.7.30. a or, make it unto them an unclean thing. b or,. burg- lars. c ZKi.21.16. d Pb.106.41. e or, they shall in- herit their holy places. f 2 Ch.7.20. Ps.B3.12. their bowels: because 1 it is the stumbling- block » of their iniquity. 20 H As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made 1 the images of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I a set it far from them. 21 And I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil ; and they shall pollute it. 22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the b robbers shall enter into it, and defile it. 23 Tf Make a chain : for c the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence. 24 Wherefore I will bring the worst of the d heathen, and they shall possess their houses : I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease ; and * their holy f places shall be defiled. 25 e Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall he none. 26 Mischief h shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour ; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the < law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients. 27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled : I will do unto them after their way, and i according to their deserts will I judge them ; and they shall know that I am the Lord. CHAPTER VIII. I Ezekiel, in a vision of God at Jerusalem, 5 is showed the image of jealousy, 7 the chambers of imagery, 13 the mourners for Tanunuz, 15 the worshippers towards the sun. 13 God’s wrath for their idolatry. A ND it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month , in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders a of Judah sat before me, that the b hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. 2 Then 1 beheld, and c lo a likeness as the ap- pearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire ; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of J amber. 3 A nd he put forth the form of e a hand, and took me by a lock of my head ; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and f brought me in the visions of God to Je- anses out of our pride : and those things in which men place their confidence and their glory, are sometimes made to them objects of horror and detestation. C'h.ap. VIII. Ver. I — 18 . Ezekiel shown the image oj jea- lousy— the chambers of imagery. &c.— Here begins a seclion of prophecy extending to chap. xii. In this chapter the Prophet is conveyed by the spirit to Jerusalem, and there shown the idolatries committed by the rulers of the Jews, even within the temple. In the beginning of the vision, Idolatry itself is per- sonified as an idol, the resemblance probably of Baal or Mo- loch, and the image sublimely called, from the provocation it gave to the God of Israel, the Image of Jealousy, (ver. 5.) The Prophet then proceeds to describe the three chief idolatries of the times : theEgyptian, the Phoenician, and the Persian ; giving the principal features of each ; and concluding with declaring the abhorrence with which they were all viewed by the eye of God. 1 . The sacred rites, or mysteries of the Egyptian idolatry, above referred to, were performed by the most ancient and ho- nourable of the people, who alone were admitted to be present; and who offered incense in a mystic cell or subterraneous vault, called by the Prophet a hole or chamber in the wall, on which were portrayed the creeping things and abominable beasts they worshipped : such as serpents, dogs, cats, &c. with Apis, (the sacred bull,) and as Faber thinks, a variety of monstrous forms borrowed from the symbols of astronomy : such as have been described by M. Belzoni, and other modern travellers. Bp. Warburton understands the description from ver. 6 to 13, as relating to the rites of I£is and Osiris, under the form of a male and female calf, which rites were celebrated and attended only by princes and persons of the first rank and consequence. 2. Among the Phoenicians, the god whom they supposed to preside over the fruits of the earth, was believed to suffer when those fruits were cut down; and therefore, in sympathy with Ter. 7. The day of trouble.— Newcryme, “ Tumult.” See Isaiah xxii 5. The sounding again of the mountains— That is, in joyful acclamations. Newcome and Michaelis, “ Joyful shoutings.” Ver. 10. The rod fi. e. of oppression) hath blossomed — Meaning a wanton display of arbitrary power. See the next verse. Ver. 11. Nor of their multitude. — “ Tumult, or tumultuous persons:” Boothrayd. following Jarchi, understands this of the rabble and their leaders. Ver. 13. Shall not return — Namely, in the year of jubilee, (See Levit. xxv. 10 .) although they were yet alive. — See margin. The wholemultitude — Or, perhaps, “ all the turbulent shall not return.” Compare note on chap. v. 7. Ver. 16. They that escape.— “The escapers of them i. e. according to Nevjcome, " They that are to escape, shall escape.” On the mountains — That is, moaning among the cliffs. Ver. 17. Be sneak as water.— “ Go into water.” Newcome, “ Flow fwith) water.” See Joei iii. 18. Ver. 19. Their gold shall be removed. — See margin. — Shall be abhorred as an unclean thing ; as being not only useless but detrimental, by bringing upon them the vengeance of their enemies. Ver. 20 . As for the beauty of his ornament.— Newcome, " Of their orna- ments.” He set it in pride— Newcome, “They turned it lo pride.”—— Therein— rather, “ thereof” The sense appears to be, that their ornaments were abused to the ends of pride and idolatry. Ver. 23. Make a chain — That is, to lead them into captivity. Bloody crimes—' Judgments ofbloods.” Ver. 24. The worst of the heathen— Newcome, “ Cruel nations." Seechap. xxx. 24.— [That is, “the Chaldeans shall possess the houses of the Jews.” The antecedents of pronouns are thus frequently understood in Hebrew poetry. Pomp .— That is, tiie magnificence of their greatest and haughties. princes.] — Bagster. Chap. VIII. Ver. 2. As the appearance of fire— For ash, “ fire," the LXX. read ish (or aish) “ a man,” which makes this verse nearly synonymous with chap. i. 26, 27. Seeker, Newcome Boothroyd, & c. consider this the true read- ing, and it seems implied in the following sentence. “ From the appearance of his loins, ” &c. Colour of amber. — [ Amber is a hard, inflammable, bitumi- nous substances of a beautiful yellow colour, very transparent, and susceptible of an exquisite polish. When rubbed, it is highly endowed with electricity ; a name which the moderns have formed from its Greek nam e Elektron. But, as amber becomes dim as soon as it feels the fire, and is speedily consumed, it u 869 Ezekiel's vision of jealousy. rusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north ; where e was the seat ofthe image of jealousy, which provoketli h to jealousy. 4 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw i in the plain. 5 If Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the ) north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. 6 He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do ? even the great abo- minations that the house of Israel committeth k here, that I should go far off from 1 my sanc- tuary ? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations. 7 TT And he brought me to the door of the court ; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. 8 Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall : and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. 9 And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations m that they do here. 10 So I went " in and saw ; and behold every 0 form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of 'Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. 11 And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients p of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer 1 in his hand ; and a thick cloud of incense went up. 12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the r dark, every man in the cham- bers of his imagery? for they say, the 8 Lord seeth us not ; the Lord hath forsaken the earth. 13 T[ He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abomina- tions that they do. 14 Then he brought me to the door of the EZEKIEL.— CHAP. IX. g cutting off. Ii De.3v».23. Je.4.20. i P&74 9. Ln.2.9. c.20.3. ) until their judgments Lit. 19.22. Ja.2.13. a c.20.1. b c.3. 14,22. c c. 1.26,27. d c.1.4. e Dh. 5.5. f c.40.2 g Je.32.34. i c.3.22,23. J 1*8.48.2. k i*r.5. 14. I Ps.73.60. m c.20.8. n Je.53.1l. o Ro.1.23. p Je. 19.1. q Nu. 16. 17. r F-p.5.12. s Ps.73.11. t 2Ti.3.13 ii Joel 2.17. v c.11.1. w Je.2.27. x De.4.19. 2 Ki.23.5. Je.41.17. y or, Is there any thing lighter than to. z c.5.11. a Pr.1.28. Mi. 3.4. Zee. 7. 13. a is turned. b veapon of his breaking in j/ieres. c Re. 15.6. him, the women mourned for several days every year, at the end of harvest. “ To this rite of Phoenician idolatry (says Dr. J. Smith) the Prophet alludes, when he speaks of the women mourning forTammuz: a rite well known in the mythological fables of the Greeks and Romans, under the title of Venus weeping for the death of Adonis.” — 3. The Persian worship, as performed by the priests or Magi, consisted chiefly in ado- rations to the sun, with the faces of the worshippers directed to the East, as described by the Prophet. This also was adopted by the Jewish leaders, and in so doing, of course they lurned their backs upon the temple, which was behind them. It has been a matter of debate among commentators, whe- ther these scenes were presented to Ezekiel in vision only, or whether he was really transported from Babylon to Jerusalem. That the prophets were sometimes locally removed is certain, from the instance of Elijah, who was wont to be thus removed : (See 1 Kings xviii. 12 ; 2 Kings ii. 16 :) as was also Philip the probable that the original chashmal , which Bochart derives from the Chaldee nechash, copper, and melata , gold, was a mixed metal, similar to that which the Greeks called Elektron, elecirurn, as the LXX. and Vulgate rentier, from ts resemblance to amber in colour.] — Bagster. Ver. 5. At the gate of the altar. — “Probably so called from the time of Ahaz.” 2 Kings xvi 14, 15. Ver. 6. That 1 should go— That is, to provoke me to go ; so Vulgate and Chaldee : or, “ that they should go," (or be driven) from niy sanctuary, LXX. and Syriac. See chap. ix. 3. Ver. 7. A hole in the toall. — Maurice considers this as the description of a cavern temple, with its mystic ceils ; such as are to be found in the mountains of Chusislan to this day.— Indian Antitj. Ver. 10. Abominable beasts. — [These images portrayed on the wall were no doubt the objects of Egyptian idolatry — the ox, ape. crocodile, ibis, beetle, &c. — as we find those idols were painted on the walls ofthe tombs of kings and nobles. See the plates to Belznni's Travels .1 — Boaster. Diodorus Siculus relates, that ' round the room where the body of King Osyinanduas seemed to be buried, a multitude of chambers was built, which had elegant paintings of all the beasts sacred in Egypt," Seeker in Nerocome. Round about.— ' About, about.” Ver. 11. Jaazaniah— One of the princes of the people. Chap. xi. 1 Ver. 12. Do in the dark — “ His eye surveyed the dark idolatries Of alienated Judah.” — Par. Lost. Ver. 14. Women weeping for Tammuz.— I Tammuz, in Syriac, Tomuz vaa certainly the Phcenican Adonis, who was fabled to have been a beautiful south beloved by Venus, and killed by a wild boar in Mount Lebanon ; whence 870 Uod's wrath f or idolau y gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north ; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, 0 son of man ? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater ‘abominations than these. 16 II And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between “ the porch and the altar, were about v five and twenty men, with their backs toward w the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east: and they worshipped the sun * toward the east. 17 TT Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this , O son of man ? f Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abomi- nations which they commit here ? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger : and, lo they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not “spare, neither will I have pity: and though 11 they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them. CHAPTER IX. 1 A vision, whereby is showed the preservation of some, 5 and the destruetkn of the rest. 8 God cannot be entreated for them. E cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. 2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which 11 lieth toward the north, and every man a b slaughter weapon in his hand ; and one man among them was clothed c with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn ll by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar. 3 And the glory e of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side; 4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Je- evangelist, under the New Dispensation. (See Acts viii. 39.) So we have understood the removal of Ezekiel to Tel-abib : (ch. iii. 14, 15;) and not only does there seem nothing absurd in a literal exposition of the passage now before us, but the text itself (ver. 3) appears to us to lead to such an interpretation. Was not the hand which raised him by the hair, one ofthe hands of the man in glory? And does not his being borne up “ be- tween the earth and the heaven,” correspond exactly with the course of this celestial chariot. It must not be concealed, how- ever, that Newcome, Boothroyd, and other respectable com- mentators, conceive the whole transaction to be in vision ; and its having taken place in his own house, and before the elders, seems to favour their hypothesis. Compare chap. xi. 25. Chap. IX. Ver. 1 — li. A vision intimating the preserva- tion of the pious few, and the destruction of the others. — The vision in this chapter seems intended to denote the general de- struction of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, except the few pious springs the river Adonis, which was said to run with blood at his impure festi- val in August.] — Eagster. “ The love-tale Infected Sion’s daughters with like heat, Whose .vanton passions in the sacred porch Ezekit. -saw.” — Par. Lost. Ver. 16. Between the 1 ) 01-011 and the altar. — See Joel ii. 17. About Jive and twenty men. — “ Probably the priests and Levites of the weekly service, with the high priest at their head.” Faber , quoted in Townsend. Wor- shipped the sun. — [It seems that the Jews hud incorporated every species ol idolatry into their worship : Egyptian, Phcenician, and Persian; for this evi- dently was the Magian worship of the sun.]— Eagster. Ver. 17. They put the branch to their nose.— The Persians, in their worship held in their left hand a bunch of twigs of different trees, called the barsoni. Rosmrnuller. See Orient. Lit. No. 1013. — [So the Vulgate has “ they apply the branch to their nose,” which Jermne explains by ‘‘ a branch of the palm tree with which they adored the idols and it seems plainly to allude to the Magian fire-worshippers, who, Strabo tell us, held a little hunch of twigs in their hand, when praying before the fire. See Hyde Hist. Rel. Pers.]—B Chap. IX. Ver 1. He cried— That is, the Lord. Ver. 2. Inkhorn by his side. — Heb. “ Upon his loins.”— [Keseth, (in Chaldee kista, Syriac kesto , Ethiopic kasnt,) denotes a bottle , or vessel , to hold any fluid ; and being here united to sophair, a writer, is not improperly rendered an inkhorn.]— Bagster . Dr. Shaio mentions that the Easterns wear their inkhdms suspended from their girdles. So Hanway says of the Persians. Pococke says they used ink in sealing as well as writing. Ver. 3. From. — Literally, ‘‘From above the cherub,” where the shechinah had been accustomed to reside, in the most holy place. Vision of the coals of Jive, EZEKIEL. — CHAP. X. and of the cherubims. i nsalein, and 1 set a mark upon ethe foreheads ol the men that h sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5 II And to the others he said in my * hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and i smite : let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity : 6 Slay k utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women : but i come not near any man upon whom is the mark ; and begin m at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city. 8 TI And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue 11 of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fuiy upon Jerusalem 1 9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding ° great, and the land is p full of <) blood, and the city full of r perverseness : for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth 6 not. 10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will re- compense their way upon their head. 11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, < reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. CH APTER X. The vision of the coals of fire, to be scattered over the city. 8 The vision of the cherubims. T HEN I looked, and, behold, in the firma- ment 1 that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne. a. m. ano. B. C. 594. f mark. g Ex. 12.7. Re.7.3. h Ps.119. 136. Je.13.17. i ears. j Ex. 32. 27. N u. 25.7.8 lKi.18.40. k to de- struction. 1 Re.9.4. m Je.25.29. lPe.4.17. n Ge. 18.23, &c. o Je.5.1. p filled with- q 2 Ki.24.4. r or, wrest- ing of judgment. s Ps. 10.11. Is. 29. 15. t returned the word. a c. 1.22,26. b c.9.2,3. c the hollow of thine. d c.1.13. e Ex. 9.8.. 10 Re.8.5. f Nu. 16.19. g was lifted. h 1 Ki.8.10, 11. c.43.5. i c. 1.24. j Ps.80.1. 99.1. k sent forth. 1 ver.21. m c.l,15,&e 2 And he spake unto the man b clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill c thy hand with coals a of fire from between the cherubims, and ‘scatter e them over the city. And he went in in my sight. 3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in ; and the cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory f of the Lord e went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house ; and the house was filled h with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s glory. 5 And the sound ‘ of the cherubims’ wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh. 6 And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, say- ing, Take fire from between the wheels, from between j the cherubims ; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels. 7 And one cherub k stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof and put it into the hands of him that was clo- thed with linen : who took it, and went out. 8 If And i there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s hand under their wings. 9 And when I looked, m behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub : and the appearance of the wheels was as the co- lour of a beryl stone. 10 And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel. 1 1 When they went, they went upon their four sides ; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it ; they turned not as they went. individuals just referred to, who, in order to be delivered from the general calamity, were marked, in allusion perhaps to a very ancient eastern custom, or rather to E.xod. xii. 22 , 23 . The persons introduced ver. 2, are evidently supernatural or angelic; one appointed to be an angel of mercy, the other five angels of destruction, to execute the sentence of the Almighty on the idolaters. To indicate likewise, that God was soon to forsake the Temple, the Shechinah , or symbol of his presence, is seen to remove from the inner sanctuary to the threshold or door of the temple, ready to depart. The Prophet intercedes in behalf of his people ; but God refuses to be entreated for them. The door of mercy was shut against them. “They, who mourn neither for their own sins, nor the sins of others, must expect no mercy : nor can any be looked on as the servants of God, who are indifferent to his cause, and un- concerned at the abominatio'ns which are committed against him. — In temporal calamities, even infants are often involved in the common destruction: in the eternal punishment of the wicked, no discrimination will be regarded, except with refer- ence to degrees ofguilt: and in this respect, those who have been nearest to God in profession, privilege, or office, will be most severely punished. — If we be saved while others perish, we must ascribe the difference wholly to the mercy of our God ; for we too have deserved wrath : and we should still con- tinue to plead in behalf of our fellow-sinners, for the remnant of the church, and for the continuance and revival of religion upon earth. — But indeed the wickedness of man is great, and deserves severe vengeance: even where the Lord shows no mercy, he does no injustice; as he only recompenses men’s . ways on their heads: and his commands will certainly be ex- ecuted both for the salvation of his people, and the destruction of his enemies.” — T. Scott. Chap. X. Ver. 1 — 22. The vision of the cherubim repeated, and the departure uf the Divine glory. — The same august vi- sion which appeared to the Prophet at first is here repeated, and coals of fire are scattered over the city to intimate that it was to be burned by the Chaldeans. The symbol of the Divine j presence is represented (ver. 4 , 18 , 19 .) as removing gradually from the Temple, to signify that God’s protection was about to be wholly withdrawn from it: and it requires no argument to prove the wretchedness of that nation or individual whom God forsakes. On the mysterious wheels, or rolling spheres here exhibited, we shall not repeat our former observations (see ch. i.) ; but we farther remark, that they are here addressed as in them- selves intelligent, (for they were full of eyes,) and subject to the Great Supreme — Devolve, O wheel ! — The same almighty fiat which called the universe into being, gave it laws ; and vvliat is Providence, but the superintendence of those laws? Thus roll on the wheels of nature and of providence, in obe- dience to that spirit by which they are animated and directed ; and still will they roll on till all the prophecies shall be fulfilled — till all God’s designs of mercy to mankind shall be accom- plished 1 “We suppose him, who sat upon the throne, to have beet* the eternal Son of God, the second person in the sacred Trinity ; and the vision to represent his glory as 1 the King of Israel,’ Ver. 4. Set a murk.—" Mark a mark," or Tau, for Tau signifies a mark ; but the Jews have from hence inferred, that the mark consisted in this letter, .he last of the Hebrew alphabet. Some of the Christian fathers also pleased themselves in discovering that one of the most ancient forms of the Samari- .an Tau resembled the Roman cross i The Eramins, it seems, distinguish the worshippers of Vee.shnu and Sheva by marks of different colours (red or yellow) an their foreheads. Maurice’ s Ind. Antiq. Ver. 6. Slay utterly . — This foretold the unpitying carnage which the Chal- deans wouid make of the ungodly Jews . — Begin at the sanctuary — “ The des- troyers were also directed to begin at the sanctuary : and, lest they should hesi- tate to shed blood, and throw the dead carcasses in the courts and sanctuary of God, they were expressly ordered thus to defile them ; for this act of signal justice, though a ceremonial defilement, was indeed amoral purification of the temple." — Scott. Ver. 9. Perverseness.— Margin, “ Wresting of judgment.” Ver. 11. Reported the matter— Heb. " Returned the word.” Cuap X. Ver. 1. In the firmament— She notes on chap. i. 22 29 Ver. 2 . Between the wheels . — The word “even," supplied in Italics, would be, perhaps, better omitted. Newcome remarks, “ The wheels were below the cherubim, and the firmament above.” Ver. 5. As the voice of the Almighty God — That is, thunder. See Psalm xxix. 3—9. Ver. 9. Beryl stone.— [Tarshish, is generally rendered by the LXX. and the Vulgate, the chrysolite , so called by the ancients, (from chrusos, gold, and lithos , a stone,) because of its fine gold yellow colour. It is now called by the moderns the topaz ; is a very beautiful and valuable gem in its pure and perfect slate, though very rarely found 90 ; and the finer pieces of it are in hardness second only to the diamond. The Vulgate, however, in ch. i. 16 . renders, “ os the appearance of the seas,” i. e. azure ; and Dr. Geddes, (on Ex. xxviii. io.) says, that, with Aharbanel, he believes the beryl to be intended. It is a pellu- cid gem, called by our lapidaries aqua marina, of a sea or bluish green colour, found in the East Indies and about the gold mines of Peru. The genuine beryl never receives any other mixture of colour ; and in its perfect state approaches to the hardness of the garnet. 1 — Bagstcr. 871 The uresumption of the princes. EZEICfEL. — CHAP. XI. Their sin and judgment. 12 And their whole " body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. 13 As for the wheels, 0 it was cried unto tflem in my hearing, O wheel. 14 And p every one had four faces : the first face was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. 15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature i that l saw by the river of Chebar. 16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them : and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them. 17 When they stood, these stood ; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also : for the spirit of r the living creature was in them. 18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood 1 over the cherubims. 19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were be- side them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house ^ and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 20 This is the living creature that I saw un- der the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubims. 21 Every one had four faces a-piece, and every one four wings ; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. 22 And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Che- bar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward. CHAPTER XI. 1 The presumption of the princes. 4 Their sin and Judgment. 13 Ezekiel complain- ing. God showeih him his purpose in saving a remnant, 21 and punishing the wicked. 22 The glory of God leaveth the city. 24 Ezekiel is returned to the captivity. M OREOVER a the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the b east gate of the Lord’s house, which lookeLh eastward : and c behold at the door of the gate fi ve and twenty men ; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son A. M. 3410. B. C. 694 n Jlssh. o or, they ire re call- ed in my hearing, wheel , or, galgal. p c. 1.6,10. q c.1.5. r life. s Ge.3.94. c. 11.22. a c.S.3. b c. 10.19. c c.8.16. d Ie. 1.10,23. c.22.27. Ho. 5. 10. e Mi.2.1. f or,' for us to build houses near. c. 12.22,27. 2 Pe.3.4 h Je.1.13. c.24 3,&c. i Is.5S.l. c.2.7. j Ps. 139.2,3. Jn.2.24.25. Hc.4.13. Re. 2.23. k Is. 1.15. Je.2.34. c,7.23. 22.3,4. Ho. 4.2. Mi. 3.2, 3. 1 De.23.36. •2 Ki.24.4. Ne. 9. 36,37 PA 106.41. m c. 16.38. n Je.52.10. o 2Ki.14.25. p Ps. 9.16. q or, which. r Ezr.9.7. Ne.9.31. s 2Ki.18.12. t I. e. 18.3, De. 12.30, 31. Ps. 106.35. c.8.l0,&c u De.7.4. Pr.6.15. ver.l. Ao.5.5,10. v c.9.8. of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes J of the people. 2 Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise c mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city : 3 Which say, It is not f e near; let us build houses: this city is the h caldron, and we be the flesh. 4 If Therefore prophesy against them, pro- phesy, O son of man. 5 And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and said unto me, i Speak ; Thus saith the Lord ; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel ; for I know j the things that come into your mind, every one of them. 6 Ye have multiplied your slain k in this city, and ye have filled the streets thereof with the slain. 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Your slain whom ye have laid in the midst of it, they are the flesh, and this city is the caldron . but I will bring you forth out of the midst of it. 8 Ye have feared the sword ; and I will bring a sword upon you, saith the Lord God. 9 And I will bring you out of the midst thereof, and deliver you into the hands of i strangers, and will execute judgments among you. 10 Ye shall fall 11 by the sword; I will judge yon in the border 0 of Israel; and ye shall know p that 1 am the Lord. 11 This city shall not be your caldron, nei- ther shall ye be the flesh in the midst thereof, but I will judge you in the border of Israel : 12 And ye shall know that I am the Lord: ■> for ye have not r walked in my statutes, nei- ther 3 executed my judgments, but have done ■ after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. 13 H And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that 11 Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then v fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God ! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel ? 14 If Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 15 Son of man, thy brethren, even thy bre- thren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom appearing from above the mercy-seat ; the fire therefore from between the wheels, under the cherubim, seems to have signi- fied the wrath of God to be executed by the Chaldeans upon Jerusalem, for their contempt of his mercy, their abuse of his favours, tneir profanation of his ordinances and temple, the wickedness of the priests, and their murder of the prophets.” — T. Scott. Chap. XI. Ver. 1 — 22. Judgments announced against those whe neglected the Divine warnings ; particularly against those Ver. 13. O wheel ! — It is observable, two words are here used. As for the loheels — Hebrew, Ophenim. This word is plural, and though used for chariot wheels, more properly signifies a sphere, as we have remarked on chap. i. ; and so, Maurice says, the Targurn of Jonathan there renders ir, “A sphere within a sphere.” But the second word ( liaga'.egal) is used in reference to any rolling body ; and Par/churst here explains it as implying a command to revolve. — “ If our translation be retained ; the call to the four wheels as one, may denote the unity of design and operation, which form the innumerable dispensations of Providence into one grand and consistent plan." — Scott. Ver. 14. Face of a cherub. — [In ch. i. 10. instead of “the face of a cherub,” it is “ the face of an ox hence a cherub was in the likeness of an ox, at least as to its head. The extraordinary shape of these angelic beings, which appeared to the prophet in vision, is manifestly symbolical ; for it is not to be supposed that these heavenly beings are really thus formed. The four faces, wings, and the arms of a man, denote the sublime qualities of these immedi- ate ministers of the Deity ; qualities entirely essential to fill up the extent of their duty. The lace of a man denotes their intelligence ; of a lion , their in- trepid courage ; of an ox. their patience and perseverance in labour ; and of an eagle, their great penetration, their sublime sight into heavenly things, and their readiness to rise up into all that is great and divine. The t oirigs being stretched out, signifies their readiness and rapidity in obeying the commands of heir Master ; the wings bent down, denote their profound respect before the Lord of the universe ; and the man's arms under the wings, show that zeal produces application and labour. See a Dissertation by the Continuator of Saurin's Historical Discourses.]— Bagster. Ver. 19. And. every one stood— That is, the prophet saw, in vision, the con- gregation gazing with astonishment at the glory now departing. Chap. XI. Ver. 1. At the door (or entrance) q f the gate five and twenty tnen. — See note on ch. viii. 16. 872 rulers who made a mock of the types and predictions of the Prophets. (Comp. ver. 3, with Jer. -i. 13.) When sinners go to the length of scoffing at religion, the judgments of God seldom slumber. Pelatiah, who is accused of this in the 1st verse, is suddenly cut off in the 13th. — God promises to favour those who were gone, t 9 captivity, and intimates the general restoration and conversion of the nation in aftertimes. Ver. 23. The Shcchinah., or symbol of the Divine presence is then represented as forsaking the city, as in the foregoing Ver. 3. It is not near—TWdX. is, the destruction of the city. “ Let us, there- fore, ” say they, “repair and rebuild” the ruins. This city is the caldron, &c . — “This is an impious scoff, yet mixed with some fear. They deride the prophets, yet secretly dread the thing. Jerusalem is the pot, we the flesh that are to be boiled therein, but this will take up some time however ; we were bet- ter to be so de stroyed than to fall by the hands of the Chaldeans, who may per- haps roast what is not boiled here.”— Pool. The proverb means, “ We will share her fate, whether we are preserved or perish. ’ ’ — Michaelis. This is an evident allusion to the manner ol preparing the Jewish sacrifices, 1 Sa. ii. 13, 14. Ver. 6. Multiplied your slain, &c. — That is, many murders, and great ones, have you committed, either by fraud or violence, and sometimes under pretence of law. You have left them in the streets. Such was their iniquity. Ver. 7. Your slain. & c.— That is, many of you shall perish in the city; hut others shall be carried away to a foreign land, and there slain. See Jer. hi. 27. Ver. 12. For.—Newcome, “Because” ye have not, &c. Ver. 13. When I prophesied— It appears, from this verse, that Jeremiah did prophesy to these men, as commanded, ver. 4. and that Pelatiah died as he was addressing them. See Acts v. 5. — [Whilst the prophet, in vision, wa3 deliver- ing this message to the princes, Pelatiah suddenly died ; and it is highly pro- bable, that he was actually struck dead at this very time, in so remarkable a manner as to render the vision much noticed. The prophet, alarmed and dis- tressed for the welfare of his people, anxiously enquired whether the Lord meant to destroy the remnant of Israel.]— Bagster. Ver. 15. Thy brethren , even thy brethren. — Mr. Levi understands this of those of Judah and of the ten tribes. But we rather understand the term bre- thren, 1. Of his countrymen the Jews, who had been carried captive .nto Ba- bylon ; and, 2. more strictly, of his immediate kin : “ Thy brethren, the men of thy kindred.” These having left Jerusalem, were treated by the Jews who remained, as having no farther interest in the holy city. / Le.26.14. De.30.3,4. y Je.30.18. c.28.25. 34.13. 36.24. Am. 9. 14. z c. 37.23. Col.3.5..8. Tit.2.12. a Je.32.39. 1 Co. 1.10. b Ps.51.10. c.18.31. Lu.11.13. Jn. 14.26. c Zec.7.12. d 2Ki.22.19. c.36.26. e Ps. 105.45. Ro. 16.26. f La. 1.6. 1 Co. 11.2. g Je.24.7. Ho.2.23. h He. 10.38. Jude 19. i c. 22.31. J c.10.19. k Zee. 14.4. 1 c.3.12. m c.2.7. a C.2.3..8. 3.26,27. : or, inslru menls. Gods glory leaves the city. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XII. the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the Lord : unto us is this land given in possession. 16 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Although w I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little 1 sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. 17 Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God $ I y will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 18 And they shall come * thither, and they shad take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. 19 And I will give them one a heart, and I will put a new b spirit within you ; and I will take the stony c heart out of their flesh, and will. give them a heart of d flesh : 20 That e they may walk in my statutes, and keep f mine ordinances, and do them: and e they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for them h whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense • their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God. 22 T[ Then did the cherubims lift ) up their wings, and the wheels beside them ; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the moun- tain k which is on the east side of the city. 24 H Afterwards the spirit took 1 me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 Then I spake unto them of the captivity all m the things that the Lord had showed me. CHAPTER XII. I The type of Ezekiel's removing. 8 It showed the captivity of Zedekiah. 17 Eze- r iel 3 trembling showeth the Jews' desolation. 21 The Jews' presumptuous proverb .3 reproved. 26 The speediness of the vision. THE word of the Lord also came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious 1 house, which have b eyes to see, and see not ; they have ears to hear, and hear not : for they are a rebellious house. 3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee 'stuff for removing, and remove by day in chapter it did the temple; and the Prophet returns to the place from which he was carried, and by the same extraordinary means, in order to communicate his instructions to his brethren of the captivity. To these he was sent with promises, not only of return, but of a new heart and a new spirit, when effectually cured of their attachment to idolatry. 1 From the circumstance that the glory of the Lord rested on the Mount of Olives after it had left the temple, the Jews Yer. 16. A little sanctuary — In their absence from the temple ; or as \ew- come. a sanctuary lor a litt e time," even to the end of the 70 years’ canli nty. The word is used Ps. vm. 5. " ■ V , er ‘ 19 Within you— ' The ancients, many MSS. and Editions, read “With- in them.” Newcome. Yer. 21. After the heart — That is, in the true spirit of their detestable idoJa- tries. D. Levi. Vet. 23. On the east— namely, the Mount of Olives. Zech. xiv. 4. 24 ' fit 6 J had seen Namely, in the two preceding chapters. C? AP XI1 , Ver - 3 - Prepare thee stuff.— Sec margin.— Or utensils —lily fluff our translators meant furniture or goods, os the word frequently denotes in our early writers : but the original keley , has not only this sense (as in v. -I ) but !S a'so used for any kind of utensils or instruments whatever; arid here probably denotes carriages, or otner means for removing goods. This was in- 1 ended to signify that the captivity was at hand .]-Bagster. Sir J. Chardin explains this in reference to the eastern caravans. Those who were to start in l ;n5’ii ir J?r ft' S °°nf ln ? I, P n for packing ; those who started r K nl ? h h brought out theirs in the evening. Michaelis Ihinks t hat the former refers to the removal of the greater part of the people, i:i the l nA Si o , n? a 1 °f ZeC K J ^ 1 a A-; V 1 ! j at f r 10 tlle subsequent captivity of the king f.L d 7 h, i. ^it r N&c^ a ^; d 8t o fl ;4r u cS re overtaken by ,he chaldeans - Jer - an^simoui^d^dth^walff t^iTrUg^g^hrough UnTwall'in Tlm^.venir.g? U in!yv Zedekiutds captivity typified. Vail} 0 ' their sight; and thou shait remove from tny place to another place in their sight: it may be d they will consider, though they be a re- bellious house. 4 Then shait thou bring forth thy stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing: and thou shait go forth at even in their sight, as e they that go forth into captivity. 5 Dig f thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. 6 In their sight shait thou bear it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shait cover thy face, that thou see not the ground : for I have set thee for a sign z unto the house of Israel. 7 And I did so as I was commanded : I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for captivity, and in the even I digged h through the wall with my hand ; *1 brought it forth in the twilight, and I bare it upon my shoulder in their sight. 8 And in the morning came the word of the Lord unto me, saying, 9 Son of man, hath not the house of Israel, the rebellious house, said unto thee, What ■ doest thou ? 10 Say i thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; This burden k concerneth the prince in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel that are among them. 11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them : they shall 1 re- move and go m into captivity. 12 And the prince " that is among them shall bear upon his shoulder in the twilight, and shall go forth : they shall dig through the wall to carry out thereby : he shall cover his face, that he see not the ground with his eyes. 13 My net 0 also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken Pin my snare : and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chal- deans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die 4 there. 14 And 1 will scatter r toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands ; and I will draw out the sword after them. 15 And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries. 16 But s I will leave ‘ a few men of them from the sword, from the famine, and from the i pestilence; that they may declare all their formed an expectation that the Messiah would frequent this Mount, as in fact he did, and there predicted the last destruc- tion of the city and temple. (Luke xix. 42, &c.) Chap. XII. Ver. 1—23. Ezekiel again typically predicts the captivity of y.edekiah and the people. — In this and the follow- ing chapters, the Prophet endeavours, by a variety of types and parables, to convince those of the captivity, who are here called “ a rebellious house,” because of their unbelief, that d 2 Ti.2.25. e the goings forth of. f for thee. g c.24.24. h for we. c.24.19. j c.17.12. k Mn.1. 1.1. 1 by re- moving go into captivity. m 2 Ivi.25.4, &c. n Je.39.4. 0 La. 1.13. Ho. 7. 12. p Je.52.8, &c. q c.17.16. r c.5. 10.12. a c.6.8. 10. 1 men of therefore intimate Zedekiali’s attempt to escape clandestinely, probably as Newcome suggests, through a breach in the wall. y Ver 6, Cover thy face .- 1 This intimated, that Zedekiah should steal out of ft? f‘ t L ,n the twdight, carrying on his shoulders some of his property, with his head covered, not only as in distress, hut to eseace detection These pro- hi uifciress, dui io escape de Fn h rK-«w«7T7 a TT at i? ,y y! f “ lfil,ed ’ f r< l opposed to hive been delivered in the sixth year ot Zedekiah, Jive years before the taking of Jerusalem .]— B antin' 1 am ,y° ur sign— lb . at is, mj person is the emblem of yours, and rr 0f bat f°1 sl,al1 do. Says Bishop Chandler, K a pattern of what shall befall you, as is here explained. the ground .— This is a typical intime tion (though obscure) that he should never see the land to which lie went, &s in ver. ia This prefigures Zedekiah s future loss of his eyes Ver. 1 ;* My net also will I spread .- That is, he shall be taken, as in the nit^rh!. [This was to intimate, that though he escaped out of the city, the Chaldeans should overtake him, and carry him to Babylon. Jeremiah had predicted, that his eyes should see the eyes of the king of Babylon," and here Ezekiel foretold, that he should not see Babylon, though he should die there ; and Josephus says, that he thought the two prophecies so inconsistent with each other, that he believed neither : yet both were exactly fulfilled, and the enigma of Ezekiel explained, when Zedekiah was brought to Nebuchad- nezzar at Kiblah, where he had his eyes put out, and was then carried to Ba- hvlnn and thorn A iaA 1 bylon, and there died ] — Bagster. Ver. 16. A few men. — “ Men of number i. e. easily numbered. 873 Trie Jews' 'presumptuous proverb. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. Xlll. The reproof oj false prophets abominations among the heathen whither they come ; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 17 If Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 Son of man, eat u thy bread with quaking, and drink thy water with trembling and with carefulness, 19 And say unto the people of the land, Thus saith the Lord God of the inhabitants of Jeru- salem, and of the land of Israel ; They shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their w T ater with astonishment, that her land may be v desolate from w all that is therein, because of the violence * of all them that dwell therein. 20 And the cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste, and the land shall be desolate ; and ye shall know fchat I am the Lord. 21 Tf And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 22 Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days 31 are prolonged, and every vision faileth ? 23 Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God ; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Is- rael ; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. 24 For there shall be no more any vain vi- sion nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. 25 For I am the Lord : I will speak, and the word that I shall speak z shall come to pass ; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God. 2b Tf Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 27 Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for ma- ny days a to come , and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. 28 Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be u done, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XIII. I he reproof of lying prophets, 1U and their unlempcred mortar. 17 Of prophetesses and their pillows. A ND the word of the Loud came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto A. M. 3410. D. C. 594. u c.4.16. v Zec.7.14. w the ful- ness thereof. x Ps.l07.ai. y A in. 6.3. 5 Is. 14.24. 55.11. La. 2. 17. Da. 9.12. Lu.21.33. a 2 Pe.3.4. b Je.44.2B. a are prophets. b Je. 14.14. 23.16,26. ver.lv. c walk after. d or, things which they have not seen. e or, breaches. f Ps. 106.23. g hedged. h Ep.6.13, 14. i Re.6.17. j La. 2. 14. k Mat. 24. 23,24. 1 1 Ti.4.1,2. m Ps.101.7. n or, re- ret , or , council Ge.49.6. o Ezr.2.62. Ne.7.5. Ps. 69.23. Re.20.12. p Ho.9.3. Re. 22. 15. q Je.6.14. 8 . 11 . r or. slight ualL s c.22.23. t Is. 23.2, 18. c.33.22. u Is 30.30. Hag.2.17. v Mal.7.26, 27. w ver.9.2l, 23. them that “prophesy out of their own b hearts Hear ye the word of the Lord ; 3 Thus saith the Lord God ; Wo unto the foolish prophets, that c follow their own spirit, and ll have seen nothing ! 4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. 5 Ye have not gone up into the • f gaps, nei- ther s made up the hedge for the house of Israel ,to stand h in the battle in the day i of the Lord. 6 They have seen ) vanity and lying divina- tion, saying, The Lord saith : and the Lord hath not sent them : and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. 7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it ; k albeit I have not spoken ? 8 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Be- cause ye have spoken vanity, and seen 1 lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. 9 And my hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies : they shall not be in the " assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing 0 of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land i* of Israel ; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. 10 Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, “> Peace ; and there was no peace; and one built up a r wall, and, lo, others daubed * it with untempered mortar: 11 Say unto them which daub it with untem- pered mortar , that it shall fall : there 1 shall be an overflowing shower ; and ye, O great hail- stones, shall fall ; and a stormy wind shall rend it. 12 Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing where- with ye have daubed it ? 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great u hailstones in my fury to consume it. 14 So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall v fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall w know that 1 am the Lord. 15 Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon their brethren, who were left behind to sustain the miseries of a siege and the insults of a conqueror, would be in a much worse condition than themselves, who were already settled in a foreign land. In the beginning of this chapter he signifies the approaching captivity of Judah, by removing his “stuff” as it is called; intimating the removal of the people into captivity, and particularly of Zedekiah and his adherents. He is com- manded to eat his food with trembling and signs of terror, as an emblem of the consternation of the Jews when surrounded by their enemies. He then reproves the objections and bye- words of scoffers and infidels, who either disbelieved his threat- enings, or supposed the accomplishment of them very distant. Josephus (Antiq, xi. 10.) tells us that Zedekiah thought this prophecy of Ezekiel (ver. 13.) inconsistent with that of Jer. xxxiv. 3, and then fore resolved to believe neither. Both, how- ever, in the issue, were literally fulfilled. See notes. Thus, blinded by infidelity, sinners often “kick against the pricks. Ver. 22. The days are "prolonged . — See chap. xi. 3, &c. and compare ver. 27, below. Ver. 27. He seeth, &c.— Abp. Sewcome remarks, “ In ver. 21—25, there is a reference to the visions of all prophets ; hut ver. 26—28 refer particularly to Ezekiel's prophecy.” Chap. XIII. Ver. 2. Them that prophesy. &c.— " Them that are prophets rut ot their own hearts.” See Pte. vi. 8. Ver. 4 . Foxes.— Newcome, “Jackalls.” [Crafty, mischievous, and raven- ous ; always scheming something for their own interest ; while they would not risk 1 heir persons to avert the mischief which they had caused. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 5. Made up the hedge.—" Hedged up the hedge or " walled up the vmll.” Ver. 6. Vanity ti. e. falsehood) and lying divination. — Heb. " Divination 87-1 and rush on to that destruction against which they have re- peatedly been warned. Chap. XIII. Ver. 1—23. A wful denunciations against false prophets. — This chapter denounces heavy judgments against deceivers, who flattered the people in the midst of sin and dan- ger, with false hopes of peace and security. Themselves, or their attempts rather, are compared to a rude wall of loose stones, badly cemented by mortar not pro- perly prepared, (as Professor Michaelis understands it,) and which therefore could not withstand the battering artillery ot heaven. The prophet Ezekiel then reproves the various arts which his opponents employed lo seduce the people to idolatry : consist- ing partly in its indulgences, and partly in its attractions ; par- ticularly in the gayety and splendour of its rites. By these the idle and the voluptuous were seduced (or hunted) into the tem- ples of their idols, where every kind of vice was perpetrated of a lie.” Hope to confirm thexoord. — That is, they hoped that their i ire- dictions might prove true. Ver. 9. The writing.— Xeiccoine, “ The roll of those who shall return.” Ver. ID. One built up a wall.— That is, one gave out a pretended oracle, and the others attempted to support it. See verse 16. IThese false prophets pre- tend to be a loafl of defence; but their wall is had. and their mortar is worse. One ffives a lying vision; another pledges himrelf that it is true; and the people believe what they say, and trust not in God, nor turn from their sins i —Bagster. Ver. 11. Overflowing shower— [It shall wash off this bad mortar, sweep away the wall, and level it with the earth. In the East, where the walls are often built with unbaked bricks, desolations of this kind are frequent y occa- sioned by tempestuous rains.] — Bagster. Of prophetesses and their piLows. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XIV. God's irrevocable jud gmenis . the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered mortar , and will say unto you, The wall is no more, neither they that daubed it; 16 To wit, the prophets of Israel which pro- jhesy x concerning Jerusalem, and which see risions of peace'for her, y and there is no peace, saith the Lord God. 17 If Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart ; and prophesy thou against them, 18 And say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Wo to the women that sew pillows to all 2 arm- holes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls ! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save a the souls alive that come unto you ? 19 And will ye pollute me among my people for b handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear c your lies ? 20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God ; Be- hold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls d to make them fly, and 1 will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly. 21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted ; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and e strengthened the hands ofthe wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, f by s promising him life : 23 Therefore ye shall see no more h vanity, nor divine divinations : for I will deliver my people > out of your hand : and ye shall know that I am the Lord. CHAPTER XIV. I God auswereth idolaters according to their own heart. 6 They are exhorted to repent, for fear of judgments, by means of seduced prophets. 12 God’s irrevocable sentence of famine, 15 ot noisome beasts, 17 of the sword, 19 and of pestilence. 22 A remnant shall be reserved for example of others. T HEN came certain of the elders a of Israel unto me, and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put b the stumbling- A. M. 3110. B. C. 594. x Jc.5,31. 28. l,&c. 29 31. y ver.10. z or, elbows a 2Pe.2.14. b 1 Sa.2.10, 17. Pr.28.21. Mi. 3.5. Mai. 1.10. IPe.5.2. c Pr. 19.27. d or, into gardens. e Je.23.14. f or, that I should save his life. g quicken- ing him. h c.12.24 Mi.3 6. i Ma.13.22. Jude 24. a c.8.1. b c.7.19. c Ps.101.3. Is. 33. 15. d 2 Ki.3.13, 14. Je.42.20, 21 . c Ga.6.7. f or, others. g Le.20.3..6 h Nit. 26. 10. De. 28.37. lCo.10.ll. i Ps. 37.22. Ro.H.22. j 1 Ki.22.23. Job 12.16. 2 Th.2.11, 12 . k Ps.119.G7. 1 Pe.2.25. 1 c.37.27. m Le.26.26. n Je.15.1. p DaJO.U. block of their iniquity c before their face : should I d be inquired of at all by them ? 4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according • to the multitude of his idols; 5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. 6 U Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn f yourselves from your idols ; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling- block of his iniquity before his face, and co- meth to a prophet to inquire of him concern- ing me ; I the Lord will answer him by myself : 8 And si will set my face against that man, and will make him a h sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off ■ from the midst of my peo- ple ; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I j the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity : the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him ; 11 That the house of Israel may go no more astray k from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that 'they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God. 12 Tf The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break the staff m of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it - 14 Though n these three men, "Noah, p D a- destructive to the souls of either priests or people. The absur- dity of idolatry is not more evident than its immoral tendency. Chap. XIV. Ver. 1 — 23. r Ihc idolaters exhorted to repentance , in order to avert the judgments threatened . — By comparing this with other passages in the same book, it appears that certain of the elders of Israel were so convinced of the divine mission of the prophet, that they attended frequently, if not statedly upon his ministry. (See ch. viii. 1 ; xx. 1 ; xxxiii. 31.) Their attendance was, however, merely formal and hypocritical : they had set up their idols on the throne of their heart : and had their images (the stumbling block of their iniquity) before Ver. 15. Theioo.ll is no more. — Heb. “Is not; and they .... are not.” Ver. 18. Seio pillows.— \ Rather, “ that fasten cushions," kesathoth . in Ara- bic kisa; so LXX. and Vulgate. By which they intimated, that they might indulge and repose themselves in security, for no enemy would disturb them. The apartments of the Easterns are well supplied with cushions, on which they sit, lean, rest their heads, and prop up their arms. See Lady M. IF. Mon- tague's Letters.]— Bolster. The Persians and Asiatics are very luxurious in cushions, both to sit on, and to support their arms. See Orient. Oust. No. 31 1. And 'nuilce kerchiefs upon the head of every stature— I The word ker- chief, from the French couvre chef, properly denotes a covering for the head ; hut probably mispechoth, signifies pillows, or bolsters, as the Vulgate renders, cervicalia. Michaetis, however, remarks, “The Easterns had and still have, frequent amulets and ribbands of charms, which they put principal- ly on their hands and heads and such he thinks were fabricated by these fe- male prophets. 1— Bagster. These kerchiefs were probably of silk, very ele- gant and adapted to persons of every stature. Some think that they were used as amulets, or charms. At least they were intended to attract, and to draw persons into idolatry. Will ye save the souls alive that come unto you 1—lsewcome, ' Will ye save your own souls alive?” Ver. 19. For handfuls of barley ? — That is, fora very small reward. See Prov. xxviii. 21. Ver. 20. Wherewith ye there hunt the souls— This alludes to the snares of the sportsman, used in hunting.— To wake them Jiy.—Newcome, “ That they may escape ;” that is, the Lord would take away u the cushions,” and other instruments of seduction, that his people might escape their snares their faces: “ Should I be inquired of at all by them V 9 saith the Lord. Nothing can surely be a greater insult to the Deity than such presumption ; and if they receive an answer, it shall be, says the Lord, “ according to the number of their idols the more idolatry, the severer vengeance. The most gross idolaters are not, however, beyond the boundary of divine mer- cy. Let them repent and return, and then will the ear of God be open to their inquiries. God can only deceive man by ordering the events of his pro- vidence contrary to all human expectation, and such disposal of events can in no case excuse man’s presumption. Those Ver. 22. By promising him life.— See margin; i. e. animating and encou- raging him in nis evil ways. Chap. XIV. Ver. 5. That I may take. — “ Catch, surprise i.I.cm in their con- sciences ; when they perceive that I am acquainted with their secret idola- tries.” — Newcome. Ver. 9. I have deceived that prophet— [That is, I have suffered him to be deceived ; 1 have given him up to “ strong delusions to believe a lie,” as a just judgment upon him for izoing after idols, and settingup false pretensions to in- spiration. God, according to the genius of the Hebrew language, is often said to do a thing, which he only suffers or permits.]— Bagster. “When any false prophet is deceived, the probable event proving contrary to his prophecy ; I. Jehovah, have so superintended the course of things as to deceive that pro- phet.” — Nevwome. Ver. 13. Then will 1. — “ And I stretch .... and break .... and send.”— Archbishop Seeker. That is, “ When the inhabitants of a land have filled up the measure of their iniquities, the few righteous shall not deliver it.” Ver. 14. These three men, &c.— Most eminent for holy upright walking with God, very dear to God, exceedingly desirous of the welfare of others, power- ful in prayer : Noah, who probably prevailed with God to spare the world for some years, and saved his near relations when the flood came; Daniel, who prevailed for the life of the wise men of Chaldea ; and Job, who daily offered sacrifice for his children, and at last reconciled God to those who had offended These should not prevail for any one of this wicked generation. How dreadful — how certain is the ruin, when God gives a man up. — Pool. See also note on verse 20. 875 .4 remnant shall he reserved. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XV., XVI. The rejection of Jerusalem *ne , and ’Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their r righteousness, «aitli the Lord Gon. 15 11 Ifl causenoisome beasts ■ to pass through the land, and they « spoil it, so that it be deso- late, that no man may pass through because of the beasts : 16 Though these three men were “ in it, as 1 live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver nei- ther sons nor daughters ; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword v upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land ; so that I cutoff w man and beast from it : 18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. 19 TJ Or if I send a pestilence * into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast : 20 Though y Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall de- liver neither son nor daughter ; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. 21 TJ For thus saith the Lord God; ‘ How much more when I send my four “ sore judg- ments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pesti- lence, to cut off from it man and beast ? 22 b Yet, behold, therein shall be left a rem- nant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters : behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall c see their way and their do- ings: and ye shall be comforted d concerning the evil e that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings : and ye shall know : that I have not done without cause s all that I have done in it, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XV. By the unfitness of the vine branch for any work, 6 is showed the rejection of Jeru- salem. A ND the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, What is the a vine tree more A. M. 3410. B. C. 504 q Job 428. x Pr.11.4. > Le.26.22. t or, be- reave* u the midst of it. v Le.20.25. w Zep. 1.3. x2Sa.24.15. y ver.14. z or, Also. a c.5.17. 33.27. b De.4.31. c.6.8. c c. 20.43. d I*. 40.1, 2 e He 12.6.. 11 . f De.8.2. Je. 22.8,9. Da.9.7. g Pr 26.2. a Pb. 80.8, &c. Is.5.2,7. Je.2.21. Ho. 10.1. b Jn.15.6. c Will it prosper i d made fit. e Is.24.13. Am. 5. 18, 19. f c.14.8. g trespass- ed. a Is. 58.1. b cutting out , or, habitat tion. c Ge.ll.26, 29. Nc.9.7. d Ho.2.3. e or, ichen / looked upon thee. f or, trod- den un- der foot. than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest ? 3 Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work ? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon ? 4 Behold, it is cast 1 into the fire for fuel ; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. c Is it meet for any work ? 5 Behold, when it was whole, it was d meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned ? 6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 And I will set my face against them ; they shall go out from one fire, and another e fire shall devour them ; and f ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set my face against them. 8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have e committed a trespass, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XVI. 1 Under the similitude of a wretched infant is showed the natural state of Jerusalem. 6 God’s extraordinary love towards her. 15 Her monstrous whoredom. 35 Her grievous judgment 44 Her sin, matching her mother, and exceeding her sisters, Sodom and Samarfa, calletli for judgments. 60 Mercy is promised her in the end. A GAIN the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, cause ‘Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Je- rusalem ; Thy b birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan : thy c father was an Amo- rite, and thy mother a Hittite. 4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou d wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water e to supple thee ; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. 5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee ; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. 6 1[ And when I passed by thee, and saw thee f polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee who predict from apparent circumstances, will often be thus deceived : but that God is not the proper cause of man’s sin, see our exposition of Jer. iv. The latter part of the chapter represents the guilt of this na- tion so aggravated, that neither prophet nor patriarch could be heard on their behalf; though at the same time we are given to understand, that such have great power to prevail with God. We happily, however, have an advocate more powerful than Patriarchs, Prophets, or Apostles, whom “the Father hear- eth always.” Chap. XV. Ver. 1 — 8. The Jews compared to a fruitless vine. Jit only to be consumed. — In this and other passages of Scripture, the Jews are compared to a barren and unfruitful vine, which is good for nothing but the fire, and therefore a Ver. 20. Noah, Daniel, and Job. — [Danis’, says Archbishop N tree cyme, was “ taken captive in the third year of .lehoiakim, of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms. 26 Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians j thy neighbours, great of flesh ; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger. 27 Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine h ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that > hate thee, the m daughters of the " Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way. 28 Thou hast played the whore also with the 0 Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable ; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied. 29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy forni- cation in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith. conviction is absolutely necessary to repentance and faith in Christ : so it is the duty of ministers frequently to set before them their sins, with all the aggravations of them, as the ap- pointed means of this humiliation. — None are with more diffi- culty convinced of their abominations than hypocrites: nor should any be reproved and exposed, with so great severity and abhorrence — Human depravity is most evident in the wicked- ness of those, who have been most favoured with the means of becoming holy, and in the similarity, hitherto lamentably ob- servable, between the visible church and the rest of the world, except as the former has produced the most monstrous abomi- nations. Jerusalem has too generally appeared to be the daughter of the Amorite and the Hittite, and the sister of Sa- Ver. 7. Caused thee to multiply —Sec margin. Heb. “ Mads thee a great number.” As the bud of the fields— That is. of the grass. Ver. 8. Spread my skirt. — See Ruth iii. 21 . Ver. 12. Forehead.— See note on Isa. iii. 21. A beautiful crown.— Heb. “A crown of goodliness.” “A very rich and beautiful crown, as virgins es- poused and married had crowns set on their heads. (Cant. iii. 11.) So, to com- plete the solemnity, and make the magnificence of these nuptials full, acrown of beauty is set on the head of the Jewish nation, now married to God.” — Pool. Ver. 15. Because of ren/non.— [Raised from the most abject state to dignity and splendour by Jehovah, Israel became proud of her numbers, riches, strength, and reputation, forgetting that it was “ through his comeliness which he nad put upon them ;” and thus departing from God, -made alliances with heathen nations, and worshipped their idols. ) — Bagster. Ver. 17. Images of men— See note on Numb. xxv. 3. This refers to their idolatry, in which they devoted to their idols the sacrifices appointed to Je- liovah. Ver. 19. Broidered garments — [This seems to intimate, that the Israelites not only spent their own wealth and abundance in building and decorating idol temples, and in maintaining their worship, but that they made use of the noly vestments, and the various kinds of offerings which belonged to Jehovah, in order to honour and serve the idols of the heathen.]— Bagster. Verses 19, 20. My meat— New come, “ Food.” For a sweet savour.— The LXX. and Arabic here place a full point, and begin the next sentence. And thus it wa.3. . . . {Newcome and Seeker *' And if hath come to pass) . . . . ■ t;, . . . -Mt tak'.n " &r* maria and Sodom. If we could survey the Christian church, in ail the various forms and places in which it has been estab- lished in different ages, we should have a picture before us, not much, if at all, more attractive than this of the nation of Israel: though there has always been, in both of them, ‘a remnant according to the election of grace , 5 whose pious and quiet lives have been little noticed in history. Otherwise the annals of the church would be the most melancholy subject that could be contemplated. —Let us turn our thoughts to the first establishment of Christianity in the Gentile world, and especially in the Roman empire. The state of the Gentiles was indeed such, as rendered them a loathsome object in the eyes of a holy God : yet, in a time of pity and love, he passed Ver. 21. To pass through , &c.— See note on Le. xx. 2. In addition to what is there said, we quote from Newcome the following passage of Dionysius of Halicarnassus : “ After this, having ordered that fires should be made before the tents, he brings out the people to leap over the flames, for the purifying of their pollutions.” Ver. 22 . Naked and bare.— Heb. 4 Nakedness and bareness.” So verse 39. Polluted. — See verse 6. Ver. 24. An eminent place.— An 44 arch,” or ‘‘arched vault.”— Gesenius. So Newcome. English margin, Vulgate, and LXX., 44 a brothel such being em- ployed for that purpose. Ver. 25. At every head of the loay.—Neiocome , At the head of every way. ” Ver. 26 . The Egyptians— Heb. “The sons ofMizraim.” Great of flesh —That is, lusty anti lustful. Ver. 27. Ordinary food. — [Chukkach, 44 thy portion;” the household pro- vision of a wife— food, clothes, and money. Delivered thee. — The Jews , un- der IVIanasseh, and the succeeding kings of Judah, made the temple itself the scene of their open and abominable idolatries, in addition to all their other idol-temples ! which appears to be meant by 44 the eminent place,” and high places in every street,” ver. 24. Allured by the prosperity of the Egyptians, they also connected themselves with them, and jmned in their mu. iiplied and abominable idolatries. And when Jehovah punished them by wars and ta mines, and by the Philistines, whose daughters are represented as ashamed oi their enormous idolatries, instead of being amended, they formed alliances with the Assyrians, and worshipped their gods ; and they even followed every . idol whieh was worshipped between Canaan and Chaldee.) Tiagste God's judgments on Jerusalem , 30 How weak is thy heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things , the work of an imperious p whorish woman; 31 In ‘i that thou buildest thine eminent place in tiie head of every r way, and makest thy high place in every street; and hast not been as a harlot, in that thou scornest hire ; 32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, v'hich taketh strangers instead of her husband ! 33 They give gilts to all whores: but thou s givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and 1 hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. 34 And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none fol- lowed! thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary. 35 If Wherefore, O harlot, hear 11 the word of the Lord: 36 Thus saith the Lord God ; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered * through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abomina- tions, and by the blood w of thy children, which thou didst give unto them ; 37 Behold, 11 therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will dis- cover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. 38 And I will judge thee, »as women that break 2 wedlock and shed blood a are judged ; and I will give thee blood in b fury and jea- lousy. 39 And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent c place, and shall break down thy high places : they shall strip d thee also of thy clothes, and shall take c thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. 40 They shall also bring up a company against f thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords. 41 And they shall burn e thy houses with fire, and execute judgments u[ on thee in the sight h of many women : and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more. 42 So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVI. p Pr.7.ll. w Je.2.34. x Je.13.22, 26. I.a.1. 8. Ho.2.3,10. ywith judg- ments of. e ver.24,31. d Ho.2.3. e instru- ments of thine or- nament. g 2 Ki.25.9. h Job 34.26. c.5.8,13. I Ti.S.20. k sister lesser than thou n or, that vas loath- ed as a small thing. n 2 Ki.2L9. 1 Co.5.1. p Ge.13.10, 13. 18.20. De.32.15. for her exceeding sins. and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry 43 Because thou hast not i remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will re- compense ) thy way upon thy head, saith the Lord God : and thou shalt not commit this 'iewdness above all thine abominations. 44 H Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying. As is the mother, so is her daughter. 45 Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children ; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which loathed their husbands and their children : your mo- ther was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite. 46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand : and thy k younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is i Sodom and her daughters. 47 Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, m as if that were a very little thing , thou wast cor- rupted more "than they in all thy ways. 48 As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom "thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters. 49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness p of bread, and abun- dance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were *> haughty, and committed abomination before me : therefore I took them away r as I saw good. 51 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abo- minations more than they, and hast justified 8 thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done. 52 Thou ‘ also, which hast judged thy sisters bear u thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they : they are more righteous than thou : yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters. 53 When I shall bring again v their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daugh- ters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them : 54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded w in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them. 55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daugh- by, and said to them, as they lay perishing in sin and pollution, ‘ Live, yea, he said unto them, Live !’ He planted his gospel among them, and caused Christians to multiply exceedingly. At length, the Roman emperors professing themselves Chris- tians, the church grew great and honourable ; Christianity became the established religion ; abundance of liberty and en- couragement was given to its preachers and professors: the places for public worship were multiplied, decorated, and en- riched by ample donations and endowments, and the church prospered into a kingdom. But what were the consequences'? The pride, ambition, rapacity, and licentiousness, the furious contests and cruel persecutions, the superstitions, blasphemies, impostures, and idolatries, which came in, and continued loin- crease for ages, at length rendered the Christian Roman em- pire a genuine daughter of the Pagan Roman empire: and all that used proverbs might well say, “ As was the mother so is the daughter.” Nor was there ever a heathen city, or kingdom, on the face of the earth, of which the iniquities, cruelties, and unnatural lusts, the whoredom and adultery, corporal and spi- ritual, have not been justified, and far exceeded, by the church Ver. 33. I will give thee hlooil, &c. — This is thought to allude to the water of jealousy, which the accused woman might be required to drink. See DeuL v. 17, and note ; and compare Rev. xvi. 6. Ver. 39. Thine eminent vlace . — [For the enormous idolatries and cruelties of Judah and Jerusalem, Jehovah determined to gather together the surround- ing nations, both those with whom they had formed alliances, as the Egyp- tians and the Assyrians, and such as had always been inimical to them, as Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Plnlistia, — to indict, or to witness, his judgments upon them. Haying exposed their enormous crimes to view, he would pass sentence upon them: he would give Jerusalem into the hands of the Chal- deans, who would destroy the city and temple which they had polluted ; level their cities and high places with the ground ; slay, plunder and enslave the people. 1 —Bagster. Ver. 41. Many women . — That is, nations. Ver. 43. Fretted— Xewcomc, '•Provoked.” This lewdness above all thy abominations.— Or, (which is) above all thine (other) abominations " Ido- latry is the crime here referred to, which being high I reason against their God and King, was the highest crime in the Jewish code : but of this crime they seem long since cured. Ver. 44. As is th^mother fir. —That is, the whole family are idolaters 878 Ver. 46. Her daughters at thy left hand.—' The Jews, in reckoning the points of tiie compass, place their face toward the east, when consequently Samaria, in the north, was on their left hand, and Sodom, in the south, upon their right. Ver. 47. But as, fir .. — Xewcomc, and English margin, (” That was loathed as a small thing,) but thou hast been corrupted,” &c.~ Ver. 49. Sister Sodom.— [Jerusalem had not only copied the example ot Samaria, — called her elder sister, because the kingdom of Israel was larger than Judah, and first apostatized into open idolatry, — but had also proved her relationship to Sodom itself, — called her younger sister as being an interior city and state, — by imitating her abominations, and exceeding her in wickedness. 1 — Bagster . Fulness of bread, See . — Sec Gen. xiii. 10 Abundance of idleness. — Hebrew, ” Prosperity of rest.” N. B. A superabundance of the blessings of Providence olten tends to luxury and idleness, which lead to every other vice. Ver. 53. When 1 shall bring. See. — Seeker, Newcorne, and Boothroyd , ren- der this whole passage as a promise ; ” Yet I will bring again, .... and I will bring again thy captivity in the midst of them.” Ver. 54. Thou art a comfort.— Seech, xiv. 22, 23, Ver. 55. When thy sisters. — Xewcome, ‘‘And tin sisters,” Sec — Then thou. — Xeiocome, And thou." Mercy promised to Jerusalem. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XVII. The two eagles and the vine. lers, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daugh- ters shall return to your former estate. 56 For thy sister Sodom was not * mentioned T by ihy mouth in the day of thy z pride, 57 Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time a of thy reproach of the daughters of b Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which c de- spise d thee round about. 58 Thou hast borne e thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord. 59 For thus saith the Lord God ; I will even deal with thee as f thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the e cove- nant. 60 H Nevertheless I will h remember my co- venant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting i covenant. 61 Then thou shalt remember thy ways, i and be ashamed, when thou Shalt receive thy sis- ters, thine elder and thy younger : and I will give them unto thee for k daughters, but 1 not by thy m covenant. 62 And I will establish n my covenant with thee ; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord : 63 That thou mayest remember, and be 0 con- founded, and never open thy p mouth any more because of thy shame,, when I am pacified to- ward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XVII. • Under the parable of two eagles and a vine, 11 is showed God’s judgment upon Jeru- salem for revolting from Babylon to Egypt. 22 God promiseth to plant the cedar of the gospel. A ND the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel ; 3 And say, Thus saith the Lord God ; A great a eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had 0 divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest c branch of the cedar : 4 He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffic ; he set it in a city of merchants. 5 He took also of the seed of the land, and d planted it in a fruitful e field ; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow f tree. 6 And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low s stature, whose branches turned to- ward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs. 7 There was also another great eagle with A. M. 3110. B. C. 531. x for a re- port. or, hearing. y 18.65.5. Lu.I8.ll. z prides, or, excel- lencies. a 2 Ki. 16.5. Is.7.1. b Aram, c or, spoil. d Je. 33.24. e them. f Mat.7.1,2. g De.29.12.. 15. h Ps. 106.45. i 2 So. 23.5. Je.32.40. 50.5. j Ps. 119.59. k Is. 54.1. 60.4. Ga.4.26.. 31. 1 Je.31.31. mJ n.15. 16. n Ho.2.19, 20. o Ezr.9.6. Da.9.7,8. p Ro.3.19. a Ho.8.1. b embroi- dering. c 2Ki.24. 12. d put it in a field of seed, e De. 8.7.. 9. f Is. 44.4. g ver.14. h ver.15. i field, ) 2 Ki.25.7. k c.19.12. 1 Ho. 12.1. 13.15. m c.2.5. n ver.3. 2 Ki.24.ll ..17. o brought him to. p 2Ch.36. 13 q c.29.14. r to keep his covenant to stand to it. s 2 Ki.24.20. t Ib.31.1..3. u ver.9. v Je.52.ll. c.12.13. w Je.37.7. x lCh.29.24 great wings and many feathers : and, behold, this vine did bend h her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her planta- tion. 8 It was planted in a good i soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine. 9 Say thou, Thus saith the Lord God; Shall it prosper ? shall he not pull up the roots there of, and cut off the fruit i thereof, that it with- er? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof. 10 Yea, behold, being planted, shall it pros- per? shall it not utterly wither, k when the east wind > toucheth it ? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew. 1 1 TT Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Say now to the rebellious m house, Know ye not what these things mean ? tell them, Be- hold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusa- lem, and hath taken n the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Ba- bylon ; 13 And hath taken of the king’s seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath 0 taken an oath p of him : he hath also taken the mighty of the land : 14 That the kingdom might be ‘•base, that it might not lift itself up, r but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand. 15 But s he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into 1 Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall “ he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things ? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered ? 16 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely in the place where the king dwelletli that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose co- venant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall v die. 17 Neither w shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons : 18 Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his x hand, and hath done all these things , he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head. of Rome and her dependencies: which long formed so large a part of Christendom, as to give occasion to her assuming the arrogant title of the Holy Catholic Church 1” — T. Scott. Chap. XVII. Ver. 1 — 24. God? s judgments on Judea repre- sented by the parable of two eagles and a vine . — In the fable before us, Nebuchadnezzar is represented as a great eagle which perched on the highest branch of one of the mighty cedars of Ver. 56. For thy sister.— Newcome , “ Although thy sister Sodom was not beard of from thy mouth.” Ver. 58. Thou hast borne .— Thou hast already began to receive the punish- ment ! See ver. 59. Ver. 61 . Not by thy covenant . — The old covenant of Sinai, which thou hast oroken, but “ by the new covenant, under the gospel dispensation.”— Netocome. Chap. XVII. Ver. 2. A riddle.— See Ju. xiv. 12. Newcome renders it “a dark saying,” as in Psalm lxxviii. 2. Ver. 3. Great eagle— Nebuchadnezzar, so called from his towering ambi- tion and rapaciousness. With great wings. — Heb. “ Great of wings.” It is said that they are frequently seven feet in extent. — Extensive empire, both in length and breadth. Divers colours . — ‘‘An allusion to the various na- tions which composed the Babylonian empire.” Michaelis. Came to Leba- non . — Came against Judah and Jerusalem. A modern traveller (La Roque ) found at Lebanon a large number of eagles’ feathers. Orient. Lit. No. 1021 . Ver. 4. City of merchants.— [Babylon, which hv means of the Euphrates and Tigris, had communication with the richest and most distant nations.]— B. Ver. 5. Seed of the land.— Zedekiah, brother to Jekoniah. As the parent verb si', nif eg to plant. Neiocome thinks the noun here used may signify a scion, Lebanon. This branch represents king Jehoiachim, whom he carried off to Babylon, “a land of traffic:]’ he took also a young shoot, meaning Zedekiah, and, planting it in a lniitful soil, it flourished and became a spreading tree, like a willow growing by the waters. Another eagle is now introduced, to represent the king of Egypt, and the tree just mentioned (Ze- deliiah) spreads forth its branches toward this second eagle:' or shoot ; and by this last word Boothroyd renders it, since the vine is thus pro pagated, and not by seed: Planted it . — Made him king of Judea. Great luaters . — [ Made him dependent on Babylon, the city of great waters, as the willow is on humidity. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 6. Branches turned, &c. — [The Jewish state had then no height of dominion ; and Zedekiah was wholly dependant on Nebuchadnezzar.] — B. Ver. 10. Utterly Loither.—['The regal government shall be finally destroyed, like a tree blasted by the east wind : Zedekiah shall be the last king ; and the monarchy shall terminate with him. ]— Bagster. Ver. 14. Base.— Neiocome, “ Low, or humble.” That by keeping of his covenant it might stand.— Neiocome, “ That it might keep his covenant, and might stand.” Ver. 17. By casting up mounts, &c.— See chap. iv. 2. Ver. 13. Despised the oath .— [Though Zedekiah’s oath had been given to a heathen, a conqueror, and a tyrant, yet God considered the violation of it a most aggravated sin against him, and determined to punish him for it.]— B. Ver. 19. Mine oath . — Zechariah doubtless swore by the name ol the God of Israel. My covenant.— The Lord regards himsell as a party to every covo riant made in his name. 87 ft Unjust parable of sour grapes 20 And l will spread my net * upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me. 21 And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered 2 toward all winds : and ye shall know that I the Lokd have spoken it. 22 H Thus saith the Lord God ; I will also take of the highest a branch of the high cedar, and will set it ; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender b one, and will plant it upon a high c mountain and eminent : 23 In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all d fowl of every wing ; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have e brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green ' tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish : I the Lord have spoken and have done it. CHAPTER XVIII. I God reprovetn the unjust parable of sour grapes. 5 He showeth how he dealeth with a just father : 10 with a wicked son of a just father : 14 with a just son of a wicked father: 19 with a wicked man repenting: 24 with a just man revolting. 25 He de- fend eth his justice, 31 and exhorteth to repentance. HPHE word of the Lord came unto me again, J- saying, 2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers a have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge ? 3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine ; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine : the soul that sinneth, it shall b die. 5 1[ But if a man be just, and do c that which is lawful and right, 6 And d hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to * a menstruous woman, 7 And hath not oppressed f any, but hath re- stored to the debtor his e pledge, hath spoil- ed none by violence, hath given his bread to the h hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment ; 8 He that hath not given forth upon ■ usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath exe- cuted true i judgment between man and man, EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XVIII. c P».2.6. 72.16. Is. 2.2,3. c. 00.40- Mi.4.1,2. d c.31.6. Du. 4. 12. Mat. 13. 47,48. Lu. 14.21 ..23. e Hu. 1.52, 53. 1 Co. 1.27, justice. f Ex. 22.21, fee. Pr.3.31. h De. 15.7,8. Ib. 53.7. Mat. 25. 35 i Le.25.36, 37. Ne.5.7. Pb. 15.5. j Le.19.15. Zec.8.16. 1 o r, breaker up of a house. m Na. 35.31. n or, to his brother besides any of these. o bloods. q ver.28. r pledged , or, taken to pledge. s Jn.8.24. t Ex.20.5. 2Ki.23.26. 24.3,4. u De.24.16. 2Ki. 145,6 v Is. 3.10, 11. w Ro.2.9. x Pr.23.13. God's dealings with men 9 Hath walked k in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly ; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God. 10 if If he beget a son that is a 1 robber, a m shedder of blood, and that doeth n the like to any one of these things, 11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife, 12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live : he hath done all these abomina- tions ; he shall surely die; his “blood shall be p upon him. 14 If Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, 15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols ol the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neigh- bour’s wife, 16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not r withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, 17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor in- crease, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes ; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he cruelh' op- pressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in 5 his iniquity. 19 If Yet say ye, Why? doth not < the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son " shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son : the righteousness v of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness " of the wick- ed shall be upon him. 21 If But if the wicked will turn 1 from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep ’ all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 All 7 his transgressions that he hath com.- mitted, they shall not be 1 mentioned unto him : yet it prospers not ; but, being smitten by an eastern wind, withers in the soil wherein it grew. Such is the outline of this allegory, which is more fully explained in the following part of the chapter. But in the last three verses we read of another branch, which shall be planted in a lofty mountain, and be- come a lofty cedar, in whose boughs birds of every wing should lodge. Neiccome thinks “ these verses may have a reference to Zerubbabel, to the Maccabees, to the Messiah, and to the Ver. 20 . Spread my net. — See chap. xii. 13. note. Ver. 22. I to ill take , &c.— [The projihet pursuing the same metaphor, de- clares that Jehovah would not forget his covenant with the familyof David, while heDunished this degenerate branch of it : He would plant a tender shoot cropped from the highest branch of this cedar : which should, however, become high and eminent. This appears only applicable to Je3us of Nazareth, the 6on of David, and the Messiah of God 1 — Bagster. Ver 23. Boughs.— \ .Apostles, evangelists, and their successors in the minis- try of the Gospel. Fruit. — Multitudes shall be converted by their preaching. — -Fowl. — All the nations of the earth shall submit to his dominion ; and shall trust in Him alone for salvation. ]— Bagster. Ver. 24. The high tree, &c. — The high free and the green tree refer to Nebuchadnezzar, (Daniel iv. 12.) The low tree and the dry tree, to the Jews. Newcome. Have done it.— What God decrees, may be considered s certain as if done. Chap XVIII. Ver. 2. What mean ye, &c — What cause have you, or what •vould you have men think of your carriage to me, and of mine towards you. Use this proverb.— Openly, unjustly, and impudently justify yourselves and condemn your God, by tart but false accusations of his ways. The fathers 880 future restoration of the Jews but Boothroyd .remarks, that no king of the house of David, since the captivity, ever an- swered this description., or was able to afford that protection to the neighbouring powers here implied : he therefore refers the whole exclusively to the Messiah. Chap. XVIII. Ver. 1 — 32. God vindicates the equity of his Providence . — The Jews complain to Ezekiel (as they haa be- fore done to Jeremiah) of God’s dealing hardly with them, in &c.— Our fathers have sinned, and we their children, who were unborn, do suf- fer now for their sins. This complaint was common, both in Babylon and Je- rusalem, and thus they strove to be thought innocent, and to prove the ways oJ God to be unjust and cruel. How sinners willingly overlook their personal sins. See Jer. xxxi. 29. Ver. 4. All souls arc mint .— That is, they originate from me, and are ac- countable to me. There can be no just colour of partial judgment in God when he is equally God to all. Ver. 6. Not eaten upon the mountains — That is, not partaken of the idol sacrifices on the high places. Ver. 8. Usury — Biting usury (as the word implies) which is prohibited, be- cause of the injury it docs to the borrower, and the undue gain it brings to thfe lender. This is against the law of charity and the express will of God. Ex xxii. 25. Lev. xxv. 35—37. Deut. xxiii. 19, 20. Ver. 13. His blood shall be upon him . — That is, he shall be answerable for his sins, if not repented of. His (plural) bloods .— Both the blood of the inno- cent, which he murdered, and his own blood, which thereby he forfeited ; that is, the whole blame of his misery in time and eternity shall lie upon himself — Pool . Oocl dtfendelh his justice. EZEKIEL. - in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23 Have b I any pleasure at all that the wick- ed should die ? saith the Lord God : and not that he should return from his ways, and live ? 24 If But when the righteous c turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth ini- quity, and doeth according to all the abomina- tions that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. 25 If Yet ye say, The way of the Loud is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel ; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal ? t 26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them ; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. 27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. 23 Because he d considered, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 29 \ et saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord 'is notequal. Ohouseof Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal ? 30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Is- rael, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. f Repent, and turn e yourselves from all your transgressions ; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. 31 TI Cast away b from you all your trans- gressions, whereby ye have transgressed ; and make you a new > heart and a new spirit : for why will ye die, O house of Israel ? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God : wherefore turn « yourselves, and live ye. , ,, CHAPTER XIX. I A lamentation tor the princes of Israel, under the parable of lions’ whelps taken in a M pit, 10 and for Jerusalem, under the parable of a wasted vine. OREOVER take thou up a lamentation a for the princes of Israel, A. M. 3410 B. C. 594. b lTi.2.4. 2Pe.3.9. c He.G.4..6. 10.26,27. 2 Pe.2.20. d Lu.15.17, &c. f Re. 2.5. g or, others P3.51.13. Lit. 22. 32. h Ep.4.22, 23. Pa.51.lfl. Je.32.39. b 2 Ki. 23.31 ..34. 2Ch.36.4 c or, widows. d La. 4.20. e or, hooks. f c.l7.6.&m g or, quiet- ness, or, likeness. h IV.8.7..9. i c. 17.10. Ho. 13. 15. j Ps.63.1. k Ju.9.15. 2Ki.24.20. Ps.80.16. 1 Ps.79.7. m Ne.9.37. H 0.3.4. A m. 9.1 1. CHAP. XIX. Parable of the lions' whelps 2 And say, What is thy mother? A lioness- she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. 3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it L became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey ; it devoured men. 4 The nations also heard of him ; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. 5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. 6 And he went up and down among the li- ons, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and, devoured men. 7 And he knew their 'desolate palaces^ and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. 8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him : he was taken in their d pit. 9 And they put him in ward in 'chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. 101! Thy mother is like a vine 1 in thy s blood, planted by the waters : she h was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. 11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. 12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind ' dried up her fruit: her strong rods were bro- ken and withered.; the tire consumed them. 13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a j dry and thirsty ground. 14 And fire k is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured i her fruit, so that she hath no m strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. punishing them for the sins of their forefathers, their calami- ties having been long threatened as the consequence of the na- tional guilt. The Lord tells them that he had no respect of persons : but that every one should eventually be rewarded ac- cording to his works. (Mat. xvi. 27.) This ne instances by a variety of examples; such as that pf a just father and his wicked son, and the just son of this wicked father; then a wicked man repenting, and a just man revolting. In vindication of the equity of Providence, we have offered a u W r ? mark - 3 i in ar J swer to the same objection made to the Pro- phet Jeremiah, which we need nor here repeat. (See exposi- tion of Jer. xxxi. 27, &c.) For a fuller discussion of this sub- ject, see Doddridge s Lectures, cxlvii. V er. 24 . Righteousness. — Hel>. “ Righteous nesses.” S? SK a v4 turn . from, &c.-The word “yourselves,” 8n Vn H n f n - r were better omitted, both here and in ver. 32.— vir fi r , ~ Heb - Let not ,n, n«ity be to you for a stumbling-block.” > h transgressions.—" Not-only cease from sin, but with indignation throw it away as a loathsome, pernicious thing, or as a bur- den that will sink you. Make you a new heart .— As God requires, so it is the property of true repentance, that it does frame the heart against its own sms Open your eyes, and let the clear convincing light of my words, argu- fTients, and proceedings, shine upon you: do not obstinately harden your Peart. s. -Pool. Making a new heart and repentance, or the turning away trom transgression, are in Ezekiel the same thing. It is therefore proper to call upon a jinner to repent, and as proper to call upon him to make a new nuart. His duty does not militate against the gra'-e of God. Chap. XIX — This chapter is poetical throughout; the eleven preceding chapters are in prose. ^ r 2 lioness. (See Gen. xlix. 9. Judea which possessed strength, cou- rage and sovereignty.— —Ley doipnauumg lions.— B ad confederacy with the nugliiioanng kings, and learnt their manners. Nourished tier whelps. — The sons ot Jo si an. who learnt to be oppressive tyrants from the surrounding ounces] —Bagster. Gen. xlix. 9. Ver. 3. One of her whelps. — [Jehoahaz, made king instead of Josiah, who became cruel and oppressive. )— Bagster. Ver. 4. Taken in their 'pit.— [Taken prisoner by Pharaoh-necho, and brought nto Egypt.]— Bagster. Ver 5. Another of her whelps.— J ehoiakim, (or Eliakim) 2 Kings xxiii. 34. Ver. 6. Went up and doron, &c. — (Became a perfect heathen: he reigned 11 ye*»rs, a monster of iniquity 1— Bagster. J* ^ nd he knew, &c.— On the authority of some ancient versions and • few MBS. . Netocam* and Boothrd read. “He brought evil on their pa- When the Jews are here commanded to make themselves a new heart, &c. which is elsewhere promised as the gift of God, it can only intend that they should earnestly seek it from Him who alone can give it, ana who giveth his Holy Spirit to all who ask it in sincerity. (See Luke xi. 13. Consult the note to ver. 31, where is given the exposition of Pool.) Chap. XIX. Ver. 1 — 14. A lamentation for the princes of Is- rael . — Ezekiel was a great master of the parabolic kind of wri- ting, of which this chapter contains two beautiful examples. Ver. i to 9, the Prophet laments the sad catastrophe of Jeho- ahaz and Jehoiakirn, and then, ver. 10 to 14, he describes the desolation and captivity of the whole nation. In the first pa- rable, the lioness is the land of Judea, the first of the young laces the present text, however, seems to .admit a very good sense. He kneio — That is, found out, explored, their “ widowed,” i. e. desolate, deserted palaces. Ver. 8. In their pit.— This .alludes to a covered pit, employed to snare wild beasts. Ver. 9. Into holds.— New come, “ Strong holds ;” i. e. confined him. Ver. 10. Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood.— The latter part of this sentence is hard to explain. Some of the Hebrew letters being very similar has led Neiocome and others to suppose, that instead of it, we should read’ “ As a Wne— as a pomegranate which is countenanced by the LXX • and’ other renderings have been suggested, with none of which is the writer satis- fied ; and if he suggests another, it may be not more satisfactory to others It is certain that blood is sometimes used for manure to fruit trees, (see Encv Brit.) and if so used by the ancients, might, with “the waters,” be an addi- tional cause ot fruitfulness It is also true that the kingdom of Israel was planted in the blood of the Canaamtes, and other enemies. This, however, is onlj ottered in preference to conjectural corrections of the text, which the Author is always reluctant to admit into the Cottage Bible. Ver. 11 . Strong rods for sceptres. — This implied what was unusual in the vine, (chap. xv. 3.) tor sceptres were sometimes used for walking sticks, (Ori- ent. Cust. No. 1118,) and even to dig with. See exposition of Num. xxi. 17 &c. (Many powerful sovereigns, who rendered Judah very considerable among the nations.]— Bagster. Ver. 12. Plucked up— [The kingdom was entirely ruined, and her princes cut off] — Bagster. Ver. 13. In the wilderness. — [In Chaldea, whither they were carried captive. 1 —Bagster. Ver. 14. Afire is gone forth.— May allude to the conspirt-'y of Ishmaa. against Gedahah. Jer. xli. 2.; Ezek. xv. 7.; or, as some think, to the rebellion of Zedekiah, 2 Kings suriv. 20 . 881 tiad shotcelh the manifold EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XX. rebellions of Israel. CHAPTER XX. I God rrtutetf- to be consulted by the elders of Israel. He showed i the story of their rebellu'ii* iia Egypt, 10 i*i the wilderness, 27 fitwl in till* l.m l. 3d lb* promiseth to gatha*. them by the gospel. 45 Under die mime ol a forest he ahoweth die derirnetien of Jerusalem. A ND it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month , the tenth day of the month, that certain of the a elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lokd, and sat before me. 2 Then came the word of the Lord unto me, A. N1. 3111. B. <;. 5513. a c.8. 1. b c 111,3, &c. Jn.4.24. e or, plead far. d c.lG.2. e De.7.6. f or, aware. F/X.G.b. ver.6. saying, 3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Is- rael. and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; are ye come to inquire of me ? As I live, saith the Lord God, 1 will b not be in- quired of by you. 4 II Wilt thou c judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them ? cause -them to know of all lands : 7 Then said I i unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. 8 But k they rebelled against me. and would not hearken unto me : they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will > pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish mine anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But m I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were in whose sight n I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt. 10 Wherefore 1 caused them to go forth “out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. 11 And I gave them p my statutes, and « show- ed them my judgments, which ''if a man do, he shall even live in them. 12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign 8 between me and them, that they might know that 1 am the Lord that sanctify them. ! g Ex.3.8, &c. IJe.4.34, 35. h De.9.7, &c. i Ps.43.2. I, e. 19.3 De.-29.1S.. ia Job. ‘21. 14. k J it.2. 11?.. 15. 1 Ki. 1 1.5.. 8 . *2Ki.21.3, foe. 1 ‘2Ki.22.16, 17. m De.9.‘23. c.36.*21,22 n Nu. 14.13, &c. o Ex. 13. 18. p De.4.3. Ne.9.r3,14 rs.M7.l9. q made them to know, r Le. 18.5. 19.3,30. s Ex.31.13. t ls.63.10. n Ne.13.13. v Nu.2G.65. iv Ps.95.tl. x Pr.1.30, 31. y Ps.78.33. Aid. .5. 25, 2G. z Pb.7S.33. b Je.9 14. Am. 2.4. c Ex. 20.2. Le. 19.4, foe. d Ps. 119.3 e Jc. 17.22 f Nu.25.T,2. De.9.23, 24. 31.27. g ver.13,16. h ver. 17. r ver.9,14. j Ps.98.2. k Le.26.33. De.2S.64. Ps.106.26, 27. 1 Ps. 119.37. c.6.9. m P8.81.12. H 0.8.11. ver.39. Ro.1.24. 2 Th.2.11. n 13.1.11.. 15 13 TT But the house of Israel ‘ rebelled against my in the wilderness : they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my “ sabbaths they greatly polluted : then I said, 1 would pour out my fury upon them in the “wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out. 15 Yet also 1 lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that 1 would w not bring them into the land which I had given them , flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; 16 Because they despised * my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my sabbaths : for their y heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless 1 mine eyes spared them from destroying them, neither did 1 make an end of them in the wilderness. 18 But I said a unto their children in the wil derness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your b fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: 19 I c am the Lord your God; ;l walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them ; 20 And hallow 'my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God. 21 Notwithstanding the children f rebelled against me : they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they s polluted my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish mine anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless h I -withdrew my hand, and wrought for my name’s > sake, that it should not be polluted in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight j I brought them forth. 23 I lifted up my hand unto them also in the wilderness, that k I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries ; 24 Because they had not executed my judg- ments, but had despised my statutes, and had polluted my sabbaths, and their eyes > were after their fathers’ idols. 25 Wherefore ra I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live ; 26 And I polluted them in their n ow*n gifts, , in that they caused to pass through the fre all lions is Jehoahaz, deposed hy the king of Egypt ; and the se- cond lion is Jehoiakim, whose rebellion drew on himself the vengeance of the king of Babylon. (2 Kings xxiv. 1, &c.) In the second parable, the vine is the Jewish nation, which long prospered, its land being fertile, its princes powerful, and its people flourishing ; but the judgments of God, in consequence of their guilt, had now destroyed a great part of the people, and doomed the rest to captivity. Chap. XX. Ver. 1 — 26. The Lord refuses to hear the elders of Israel , on account of their national sins. — A deputation of the elders of Israel, as was usual in their distress, waits on the Prophet, to inquire of God for them, and plead with him on their behalf. Their offended God, however, refuses to have any communication with them; but directs his servant Eze- kiel, if disposed either to judge or advocate their cause, to lay before them the history of their rebellion, (they and their fathers,) front their redemption in Egypt to the then present time. The expression, (ver. 25,) l: I gave them statutes which were not good,” &c. is certainly obscure and much controverted. Dr. S. Clark and Bp. Warburton understand it of the ceremo- nial laws, not absolutely or of themselves good ; but consider- Chap. XX. Ver. 1. seventh year. — [The seventh year of the captivity of Jeconiah ; and, according to Usher , Monday, Aug. 27, 3411. J— Bolster. Ver. 4. Wilt them judge them?— See margin. The word shephot is used very extensively, for the office of an advocate as well as of a judge, and is here differently taken. Ver. 5. I lifted up my hand — That is, " 1 sware,” as the phrase always sig- nifies. particularly in this chapter. Ver. 6. A land xohich l had espied — That is, had looked out, or selected for them. Ver. 8. Neither did they forsake. &r,.— By this chapter, it is evident that the Jews learnt and practised idolatry in Egypt. Ver. 12. To be a sign— That is, to distinguish them from the heathen. So ver. 20. Ver. 16. Went after idols— [ They still had a hankering after the idolatries hey had learn ‘d in Egypt, to which they added new idols which they had •een in the countries through which they had travelled, as those of the Midian- Ues, Amoritas, &c.]— Bagster. 882 Ver. 18. Said unto their children.— [The commands and exhortations here referred to, occupy nearly the whole of Deuteronomy ; in which Moses, at the mouth of God, most, pathetically addressed that generation, just before his death, which under Joshua was put in possession of Canaan f-Bagster. Ver. 23. Scatter them— {The predictions of the dispersion of Israel, deli- vered by Moses just before his death, are evidently here referred to : they re- ceived a partial accomplishment at the Babylonian captivity, but are more exactly fulfilling at this day.]— Bagster. Ver. 25. Not good— Means decidedly bad, Prov. xvi. 29.; xvii. 26. [The sim- ple meaning of this place is, that when the Israelites bad rebelled against God, despised his statutes, and polluted his sabbaths, — in effect, cast him off, and given themselves up wholly to their idols. — then he, in a just judgment for their disobedience^ abandoned them, “ gave them up to a reprobate mind," (Rom. i. 28.) and suffered them to walk after the idolatrous, cruel, and impi- ous customs and ordinances of the heathen ; by which they were ripened for the destruction which he intended to bring upon them, that they might loam to know God by his judgments, seeing they had despised L*a mercies. In the t fid's promise to gather Israel. “that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord. 27 If Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers nave p blasphemed me, in that they have ’committed a trespass against me. * 28 For when I had brought them into the land, for the which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they saw every high r hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the pro- vocation s of their offering : there also they made their 1 sweet savour, and poured out there their drink-offerings. 29 Then I u said unto them, What is the high place whereunto ye go? And the name thereof is called Bamah unto this day. 30 IT Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Are ye polluted after the manner of your v fathers? and com- mit ye whoredom after their abominations ? 31 For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even unto this day : w and shall 1 be inquired of by you, O house of Israel ? /Is I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you. 32 And that which cometh * into your mind shall not >'be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. 33 T[ As I live, saith the Lord God, surely 1 with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you : 34 And I will bring you out 1 from the peo- ple, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness b of the people, and there will I plead c with you d face to face. 36 Like as I pleaded 6 with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. 37 And I will cause you to pass r under the EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XX. A. M. 3411 B. C. 593. p Ro.2.24. q trespassed. r Is. 57.5. &c. Je.3.6. t c.16.19. u or, told them what the high place Hamah. v ver.18. w ver.3. x c.11.5. y ver.40. z Jc.21.5. a De.30.5. bHo.2.14,15 c Je.2.9. d Is. 1.18. f Le.27.32. Je.33.13. I.a.3.1. ML7.14. g or, a de- livering. h c.34.17. Mat.‘25. 32,33. Re.21.27. k Ps.8l.13. 1 Is.1.13. n Is. 60.7. Zee. 8.20, &c. Mai. 3.4. o or, chief. p savour of rest. q Ph.4.18. r 1 Pe.2.9. s Is.5.16 t c.33.23. ii c. 16.61. v Job 42.6. w Pd. 25. 11. 115.1. 1 Jn.2.12. x Ps.103.10. y Je.2l.14. ed by St. Peter as a yoke too heavy to be borne, and therefore abrogated. (Acts xv. 10.) But Abp. Newcome objects to this, that the Mosaic laws are expressly here stated (verses 11, 18, 21.) to be such that if a man did, he should live by them. Dr. Boothroyd therefore considers the expression as elliptical, and thus renders it : “I gave them [up also to observe] statutes that were not good;” that is, idolatrous institutions ; and the next verse gives an instance in the sacrificed' children. And though our version here reads, “I polluted them in their own gifts,” the learned prelate himself explains this, “ I suffered them to pollute themselves.” See note. The following passages may be referred to, as in some mea- sure parallel and elucidatory. Psalm lxxxi. 12., cvi. 15.; Acts vii. 42.; Rom. i. 24, 26., ii 28.; 2 Thess. ii. 11. same sense God is said judicially to “ send a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie,” to those who “ received not the love of the truth, but had plea- sure in unrighteousness. ”)—Bagster. Ver. 28. The ‘provocation of their offering— hew come. Their provoking oblation,” or offering. Their sweet savour.— Heb. "The savour of their fC Ver. 29.° The high place (Heb. Bamah) whereunto ye go?— That is, “ Why do ye prefer your high place to my sanctuary?” And (or yet) the name thereof is called Bamah (or the high place) to this day.— Some think the last clause is a sort of marginal note by the transcriber ; otherwise, Seeker thinks it must refer to something not now to he explained. See Newcome. Ver. so. Commit ye whoredom ?— That is, idolatry. Ver. 32. Shall not be at all.— Web. “ In being shall not be meaning, that they should not he wholly given up to idolatry, as were the heathen ; but should be severely corrected, as in the following verses, in order to their reform and restoration, ver. 33, &c. Ver. 35. Wilderness (or desert) of the people.— Michaelis says, this “ refers to the desert in the neighbourhood of the Chaldeans,” &c. where they were stationed in the captivity. Verses 35 , 36. There will I plead, with, or judge you, as 1 pleaded with , or judged, your fathers, &c. See note on ver. 4. •’er. 37. Cause you to pass under the rod. — An allusion, probably, to the Destruction oj Jerusalem shown. rod, and I will bring you e into the bond of the covenant : 38 And I will purge out h from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me : I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not i enter into the land of Israel : and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God ; Go j ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken 11 unto me : i but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols. 40 For in my holy "’mountain, in the moun tain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me ; there will I accept "them, and there will I require your offerings, and the ° first-fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you with your p sweet ’ sa- vour, when I bring you out r from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered ; and I will be sancti- fied 8 in you before the heathen. 42 And ye shall know ‘ that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers. 43 And ” there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall v loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not 1 according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God. 45 IT Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and pro- phesy against the forest of the south field ; 47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I y will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree : the flaming flame shall not be Ver. 27 — 49. farther threatenings to the house of Israel, fol lowed with promises of restoration. — As the Lord by his judg- ments pleaded with their fathers in the wilderness of Sinai ; so he promises to plead with their descendants in the wilderness of their captivity. And as Manasseh in his captivity was “greatly humbled, and besought the Lord his God,” (2 Citron, xxxiii. 12.) so there is good reason to hope did many others: for there are perhaps more who learn to fear God in the school of affliction than in any other school. Of those Jews, how- ever, who fled to Egypt on the murder of Gedaliah, though many of them were afterwards carried into Chaldea, very few or none lived to go back to the land of Judah. When the Jews are told, “ Go ye, serve every one his idols,” we have a happy exposition of the difficulty considered in the tithing of a flock. The tenth animal was devoted to the Lord, and may repre- sent those who were brought into the bond tor discipline) of the covenant. See next verse, and compare Levit. xxvii. 32, and note. “ Either referring to the manner of shepherds in that country, which tell their sheep in and out of the fold ; or rather as a king, whose sceptre protects some, and dasheth others, and maintains his own right. I will difference persons and persons, that I may deal with each suitably to their state and carriage.” Pool. Ver. 38. I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and (or but) they shall not enter into the land of Judah.— Newccme tliinks this refers to the Jews who fled into Egypt. See Jer. xliv. 14. Ver. 40. In my holy mountain— Compare Isaiah ii. 2, 3. [These pre- dictions received a partial accomplishment by the restoration of the Jew's from the Babylonian captivity ; but they seem chiefly to relate to the establishment of the Christian church, and mure especially to the future conversion of the Jews, and their restoration to their own land. ]—Bagster. Ver. 46. The south— Three different words are used for the south in these verses. See next chapter, ver. 2. Ezekiel being in the north of Chaldea, the whole of Judea was in the south to him. Forest of the Southfield. — [The city of Jerusalem, as full of inhabitants as the forest is of trees.] — Earner. Ver. 47. Kindle a fire. — [I will send war ; and it shall destroy ai! ranks and characters of the people. 1 — B. The flaming flame. — Heb. flame of fla- ming.” From the. south to the north— That is. the whole extent of Judea 8*3 A Lrovhticy against Jerusalem. EZEfvlEL. — CHAV. XXI. The sharp and bright sword. quenched, and all faces from 2 the south to the north shall be burned therein. 48 And all flesh shall see that I the Loud have kindled it: it shall not be a quenched. 49 Then said I, Ah Lord God! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables ? CHAPTER XXI. Ezekiel prophesied against Jerusalem with ft sign of sighing. 8 The sharp and bright iworo, 18 against Jerusalem, 25 against the kingdom, 28 and against the Am- monites. A ND the word of the Loan came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop a thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel, 3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, l am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee b the righteous and the wicked. 4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword c go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north : 5 That all flesh may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath : it shall not return d any more. 6 e Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins ; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes. 7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou ? that thou shalt an- swer, For the ' tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall s be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God. 8 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 9 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord ; Say, A h sword, a sword is sharp- ened, and also furbished : 10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter : should we then make mirth ? it ' contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree. 11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled : this sword is sharpened, A. M. Jill. I!. C. 593. z c.21.4. a Ma.9.44. a De.32.2. b Job c Ps.45.3. d 1 8. 5-5.1 1. e ls.22.4. f ls.28.I9. g gn into. h De.32.4L i or, is the rod of my son, it do- sjnsetli ecery true ) ver.19. k or, they a re thrust down to the sword with my. 1 De.32.25. m Je-31.19. n or, When the trial hathlieen, what then 1 shall they not aUo belong to the despi- sing rod? o Mai. 3.2, 3. 1 Co. 3. 13. p hand, to hand . q or, glitter- ing, or, fear. r c.22.11. s or, sharp- ened. t set thyself , take the left hand. u Je.49.2. v mother. w or.knives. i. or t tera- phim. y rams , or, battering rams. and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the ) slayer. 12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall bn upon all the princes of Israel : k ' terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite m therefore upon thy thigh. 13*" Because it is a ° trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod ? it shall be no more, saith the Lord God. 14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite p thy hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain : it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which enterethinto their privy cham- bers. 15 I have set the i point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may r faint, and their ruins be multiplied : ah ! it is made bl ight, it is " wrapped up for the slaughter. 16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, * 1 or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set. 17 1 will also smite my hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the Lord have said it. 18 T[ The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, 19 Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land : and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. 20 Appoint a way, that the sword may come to u Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced. 21 For the king of Babylon stood at the v parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination : he made his w ar- rows bright, he consulted with 1 images, he looked in the liver. 22 At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint f captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort. 23 And it shall be unto them as a false divi- forraer part of this chapter, and we see how it is that persons may be corrected by their own wickedness, and reproved by their own backslidings. (Jer. li. 19.) The last five verses of this chapter are evidently connected with the following, and according to Newcome and others should begin it. Chap. XXI. Ver. 1 — 32. 7'he prophet with a heavy heart con- tinues his denunciations against Jerusalem and Judea . — The sword of justice is unsheathed, and, as often happens in na- tional calamities, destroys the righteous with the wicked.— The king of Babylon, the great agent in this judgment, is represented as preparing for the expedition by consulting his diviners. He is described as standing at the parting of the roads leading to the respective capitals of the Jews and Am- monites : and, doubting which to attack first, he commits the decision to the art of divination by arrows. This was perform- Ver. 49. Doth he not speak parables— That is. they pretended not to under- stand his figurative style. Its it not his usual custom to deal in enigmas? His figures are not to be understood ; we should not trouble ourselves with them. God, therefore, commands the prophet to declare, in the next chapter, the same things in the plainest terms, so that they snould not complain of his pa. rabies.]— JBagster. The whole of this chapter, and all that follows, to verse 12 of chap, xxviii. , is considered prose. Chap. XXI. Vet. 2,3. Toward Jerusalem.— This verse seems an exposi- tion of ver. 46, 47, of the last chapter. Jerusalem, the holy places, the land of Israel, Newcome thinks may correspond to the three Hebrew words used for south in ver. 46, 47, of the preceding chapter. Judea may be compared to a forest, not so much for its buddings, as the rough character of its inhabitants— 1 the green tree and the dry;" the righteous and the wicked. Compare ver. 34 with ver. 47. of the precedingchapier. Ver. 7. All knees shall be weak as water.- Heb. “ Shall go into water.” See chap. vii. 17, and note. Ver. 10. It contemneth the rod. —Archbishop Newcome thinks the text cor- rupt, and reads, ” Alas ! the sceptre of my son is destroyed : it despiseth every tree ” But of tliis it is difficult to make sense. The textseems a highly poet- ical expression, signifying, that the sword of Nebuchadnezzar would make no distinction between the sceptre of royalty and the poor man’s staff; or be- tween the very highest and lowest in Israel, here called my son, as in Ex. iv. 22. Ver. 12. Smite upon thy thigh— This was an expression of deep affliction. So Uomer , “ She spake ; and with expanded arms, his thighs smiting, thus sorrowful the god exclaimed.” — Cowper. Ver 13. Because it is a trial.— See margin. Newcome. " For it is tried.” The rod— Thai is, the sceptre, as ver. in. It shall be no more. — New- come, “ It shalt not remain ;” i. e. the regal succession shall be cut off from the time of Zedekiah to the coming of Messiah Ver. 14. Smile thy hands together— Heb. “The palm of the hand to the l»lm of the hand." Let the sword be doubled the third time. — Heb. “ Dou- 884 ble the sword, yea, treble it.” The sword of the slain. — Newcome , ‘ Of great slaughter.” Ver. 15. The point.— Nezocome, “The terror.” Their ruins.— New- come, “ Their overthrown.” Wrapped up. — Newcome, “Furbished.” Ver. 16. Get thee one way or the other.— Newcome, “ Different ways.” On the right, Ac. — cither, and oi, may be omitted. Whithersoever thy face — Meaning, the face, or edge of the sword — is set. Ver. 17. I will also smile “the palm,” &c. See ver. 14. My fury to rest —That is, on thee. Ver. 19. Choose thou a place.— Hob. “ A hand.” It is clear from other pas- sages that the Hebrews were wont to erect monuments in the form of a hand See notes on t Sam. xv. 12. 2 Sam. xviii. 18. And from this place it should appear, that these hands were sometimes used as directing posts, and pointed two ways — the way to Rabbah and to Jerusalem. Ver. 20. To Judah in Jerusalem. — Newcome , “Towards Judah, agains, Jerusalem.” Ver. 21. At the parting of the way — ' The mother of the way." Any point of a road from which two ways parted, was considered as the mother of them both. To use divination— That is, by arrows, which Jerome thus explains : “They wrote on several arrows, the names of the cities they intended to make war against, and then putting tltem promiscuously into a quiver, they iiad them drawn out in the manner of lots, and the city whose name was on tire arrow first drawn, was the first assaulted.” Orient. Cust. No. 314. lie made his arrows bright.— Pococke and Newcome. " Mixed his arrows.” Dr. Pococke says, the Arabs usually took three arrows, on one of which was- writ- ten “ My Lord hath commanded,” and on the other, " My Lord hath forbid den me,” andthe third was blank, lfthe third happened to be first drawn, the arrows were again mingled, and a fresh drawing made, till one of the others gave a decisive answer. Consulted with images— See margin. That is, oracular images, in the human form. 1 Sam. xix. 13—16. He looked, in the liver— That is, of the sacrifices, to predict thereby. See Potters Ant. ut Greece. Ver. 22. To appoint captain*.— Rams i. e. battering rams, at in tn«i The Ammonites threatened. EZEKIEL. -CHAP. XXII. Catalogue of Jerusalem's sins. nation in their sight, 1 to them that have sworn oaths : but he will call to remembrance a the iniquity, that they may be taken. 24 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Be- cause ye have made your iniquity b to be re- membered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all c your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, tiiat ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. 25 IT And thou, profane d wicked prince of Israel, whose day e is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 26 Thus saith the Lord God ; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown : this shall not be the same : exalt f him that, is low, and abase him that is high. 27 s I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it : and it shall be no more, until he h come whose right it is ; and I will give it him. 28 TI And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God concerning the Ammonites, and concerning their reproach ; even say thou, The sword, the sword is drawn : for the slaughter it is furbished, to consume because of the glittering : 29 While they see vanity unto thee, while they divine a lie unto thee, to bring thee upon the necks of them that are slain, of the wick- ed, whose day is come, when their iniquity shall have an end. 30 i Shall I cause it to return into his sheath ? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy nativity. 31 AndT will pour out mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of my \yrath, and deliver thee into the hand of ) bru- tish men, and skilful to destroy. 32 Thou shalt be for fuel to the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land ; thou shalt be no more remembered : for I the Lord have spoken it. CHAPTER XXII. I A catalogue of sins in Jerusalem. 17 God will burn them ae dross in his furnace. 23 The general corruption of prophets, priests, princes, and people. M OREOVER the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou ‘judge, wilt thou judge the b bloody city 1 yea, thou shalt c show her all her abominations. z the oaths made unto them. a Nu.32.23. b Ho.7.2. c Is. 64. 6. d Je.52.2. e c. 17. 19,24. f Lu. 1 52. g Perverted, perverted, perverted , ■will I make it. h Ge.49 10. Lu.1.32. 33. i or, cause it to. j or, burn- ing. a or, plead for. b city of bloods. c make her known. c.16.2. d2Ki.21.16. e polluted of name , much in vexation. f arm. g or, deceit h c.l8.6,&c. i of slan- ders. J or, every one. k or, by lewdness. 1 De.3-2.18. m Job 9.4. Is. 31 .3. c.28.9. n Da.-1.27. o c.93.27. 3 Then say thou, Thus saith the Lord God ; The city sheddelh blood in the midst of it, that her time may come, and maketh idols against herself to defile herself. 4 Thou art become guilty in thy d blood tnat thou hast shed ; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made ; and thou hast caused thy days to draw near, and art come even unto thy years: therefore have I made thee a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries. 5 Those that be near, and those that be far from thee, shall mock thee, which art 'infa- mous and much vexed. 6 Behold, the princes of Israel, every one were in thee to their f power to shed blood. 7 In thee ha\e they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by s oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow. 8 Thou hast despised my holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths. 9 In thee h are men f that carry tales to shed blood : and in thee they eat upon the moun- tains : in the midst of thee they commit lewd- ness. 10 In thee have they discovered their fathers’ nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. 11 And i one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife ; and j another hath k lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law ; and an- other in thee hath humbled his sister, his fa- ther’s daughter. 12 In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood ; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten i me, saith the Lord God. 13 Behold, therefore I have smitten my hand at thy dishonest gain wTiich thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee. 14 Can m thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee ? 1 the Lord have spoken it, and will do if. 15 And 1 will scatter n thee among the hea- then, and disperse thee in the countries, and will consume 0 thy filthiness out of thee. ed by mingling arrows in a quiver, which were inscribed with the names of the different cities intended to be attacked, and drawing them promiscuously ; they marched against that city whose name was written on the arrow first drawn. In this case the name Jerusalem comes forward, and therefore he first proceeds against that city. See note. The perjured Ze- dekiah and his nobles are then declared to be given up of God. and his kingdom utterly destroyed, for his breach of faith and violation of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar. The last five verses form a distinct prophecy, relating to the destruction of the Ammonites, who, like the Jews, took part with Egypt against Babylon. This prophecy was fulfilled about five years after Jerusalem was destroyed. These, as well as the Jews, were deceived, as it should seem, by their false prophets and diviners. The oracle concerning Judah concludes, as we conceive, with a most important prophecy concerning the Messiah. The kingdom of Judah was now overturned , and was from this time the subject of perpetual changes and revolutions till he came whose right it is, — the Son of David and of God. See Acts ii. 30—36, compared with Gen. xlix. 10. Chap. XXII. Ver. 1 — 31. The sin and punishment of Je- rusalem recapitulated.— The corruption is stated to be univer- sil, including all classes, princes, prophets, priests, and people; next clause, and in ch. iv. 2. To open the mouth.— The ancients generally attacked with loud shouts and cries. Jer. i. 14. To cast (i. e. to cast up) a mount — See Jer. vi. 6, and note. Ver. 23. To them that have sworn oaths — 'I' hat is, to them that have taken the oath of allegiance to the king of Babylon. Ver. 21. With the hand — That is, without difficulty. See Num. xi. 32. Ver. 2s. Wicked prince — That is. Zedekiah. Ver. 26. This shall not he the same. &c. — Ncwcome, " Hath not this (i. e. Babylon) abased the exalted, and exalted the abased J” Ver. 31. Skilful to destroy. — Heb. “ Artificer* of destruction ;” i. e a well disciplined army. and the ruin is srated to be no less so. Those who conspire together to work wickedness must expect to be classed to- gether in their sufferings, when God arises to execute judg- ment. The ease of Judah appears in this instance to have been worse than that of Sodom, which was destroyed for the want of ten righteous : here were not half the number: “I sought for a man, (says God,) but I found none for the few faithful prophets who might have inte posed were persecuted and im- prisoned. Her punishment was a'so worse than that of Sodom, Lam. iv. 6. For it is better to fall into the hand of God than into the hand of man. (See 2 Sam. xxiv. 14.) “ How strong must the stream of human depravity he, when it can burst through so many powerful obstructions, and inundate even the city of God with such a torrent of horrible wickedness, as is in this chapter described ! — We must not excuse, or scru- ple to expose, the crimes of men, because they live in 1 holy places,’ or occupy sacred functions: for when nominal Chris- tians, or the clergy, become odious by their vices, the glory of God requires, that they should be made a reproach and a mocking even to the heathen : and if they be sheltered from deserved punishment and contempt, religion itself will be dis- graced, or the sacrc- 1 ministry despised ; but their infamy and vexafjon show, that God will nor connive at wickedness in persons of any name or station. — It is happy for mankind, that Ver. 32. No more remembered— [ This prophecy against the Ammonite* was fulfilled about five years after the taking of Jerusalem, ( Josephus' Anti- quities ;) and their name has utterly perished from the face of the earth.]— B. Chap. XXII. Ver. 2. Wilt thou judge— See chap. xx. 4. Ver. '3. That her time may come— That is, her idolatries will be sure to hasten her destruction, as-in the next verse. Ver. 5. Infamous, &c. — Newcofne, “ Whose name i9 defiled, and (was aitj much troubled.” . Ver. 6. To their power— That is. to the utmost of their power. Ver. 10. Uncovered, &c.— That is, ‘‘ By defiling his wife.”— Newcome. Ver. 13. I have smitten my hand —See chap. xxi. 14, 17. S85 Corruption of (he prophets, <$c. EZEK.1EL.— CHAP. XXII I. Whoredoms oj Aholah and Aholibah. 16 And thou shalt p take thine inheritance in thyself in the sight of the heathen, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 17 And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become q dross : all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the fur- nace ; they are even the r dross * of silver. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Be- cause ye are all become dross, behold, there- fore I will gather you into the midst of Jeru- salem. 20 t As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it ; so " will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there , and melt you. 21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in tne fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of file fur- nace, so shall ye be melted in the midst there- of; and ye shall know that I the Lord have poured out v my fury upon you. 23 T[ And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation. 25 There is a conspiracy w of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey ; they have devoured x souls ; they have taken y the treasure and precious things ; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. 26 Her priests 2 have a violated my law, and have profaned my holy things : they have put no difference b between the holy and pro- fane, neither have they showed difference be- tween the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. A. M. 3111. 1J. C. 593. p or, be profaned. ci Pa. 11 9. 119. I«. 1.22,25. r drosses. Je.6.30. s Is. 1.25. t according to the ga titering of. u Zee. 13.9. v c.20.8,33. w Ho.6.9. x c. 13.18. . 20 . Mi. 3. 11. Zep.3.3,4. 7. Mai. 2.7, 8. a offered violence to 2 Pe.3.16. b Le.10.10. c La.2.14. d Je.5.26..31 e or, deceit. f Ex. 23.9. g vrithoul right. h Is. 63. 5. i Je.5.1. j Pr.1.31. a Je.3.7..11. b Le.17.7. Jo3.24.ll. c.20.8. c c.l6.8,&c. d i. e. His lent , or, tabernacle. e i. e. My taberna- cle in her. 1 Ki.8.29. f 2Ki.15.19. 16.7 ; 17.3. Ho.8.9. g bestowed her whore- doms upon. h choice of the child- ren of Ashur. 27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar , seeing c vanity, and divin- ing lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken. 29 The d people of the land have used e op- pression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy : yea, they have f oppressed the stranger b wrongfully. 30 And I sought h for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it : but l ‘ found none. 31 Therefore have I poured out mine indig- nation upon them ; 1 have consumed them with the fire of my wrath : their own way ) have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XXIII. I The whoredoms of Aholah and Aholibah. 22 Aholibah is to lie plagued by her lovers. 3 6 Th e prophet reproved) the adulteries of them bod), 45 and showed) their Judgments. r priE word of the Lord came again unto me, saying. 2 Son of man, there were two a women, the daughters of one mother : 3 And b they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their c youth : there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity. 4 And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister : and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is d Aholah, and Jerusalem e Aholibah. 5 And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine ; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians f her neighbours, 6 Which, were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horse- men riding upon horses. 7 Thus she s committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the h chosen men the power of ungodly men is limited : for they who perpetrate the most injustice and murder, would do still more were it ‘ in their power.’ But while they greatly harass and afflict others, thev destroy themselves.— The Lord notes the sins of men with all their aggravations : and as he will call them to ac- count for their idolatries, murders, and outrageous cruelties : so he will not overlook the neglect and contempt shown by children to their parents ; the oppression of those of other reli- gions, nations, or complexions; the vexation of orphans and widows; the slanders by which characters and even lives arede- stroyed ; the profanation of his holy sabbaths ; the neglect of his ordinances, or hypocrisy in attending on them; the preference given by men to their own traditions and superstitions, above his truths and precepts; their multiplied violations of his holy law, in the gratification of their sensual appetites, and in every spe- cies of lewdness ; or their bribery, extortion, and greediness of gain, however acquired. It is very common for sinners secretly to indulge their worldly lusts ; and to varnish it over with a zea- lous profession of religion, and a great attachment to some of its doctrines or observances : and thus they impose on them- selves, or on others ; and perhaps exclaim against those who warn them of their danger, as precise or over rigorous. But can ‘their hearts endure, or their hands be strong, in the day that God shall deal with them,’ as he has spoken ?” — T. Scott. Chap. XXIII. Ver. t — 49. Evil example destructive. — “Those who first seduce others into wickedness will have a dreadful ac- count to render : for when the fence of modesty, fear, and con- science, are broken down, and habits of sinful indulgence are contracted, it is extremely difficult to reclaim the offenders. Evil habits, conversation, and connexions, so pollute the memo- ry, the imagination, and the affections, and so weaken the autho- rity of reason and conscience over the animal inclinations and corrupt propensities of our fallen nature, that, even after appa- rent reformation, the offenders are very prone to relapse into their former practices. Every object tends to bring them to re- membrance, associated with the idea of pleasure, and separated from the recollection of the painful consequences ; and thus they are again tempted to return to them. When sinful ima- ginations are indulged, and former scenes of vice reviewed with delight, there can be no true repentance or change of heart; for true penitents reflect, with loathing and remorse, on the iniquities of their former years. Whilst our ears and minds are wounded with the mention of the practices of those, who ‘work all uneleanness with greediness;’ we are not ge- nerally aware, that these abominations have in them less tur- pitude, than our ingratitude to God, and rebellion and enmity against him; except as they partake of that criminality in common with more decent transgressions. — If we would not be polluted with wickedness, we must avert our eyes from it. and close our senses against those objects which excite sinful Ver. 16 . And thou shalt take thine inheritance in thyself. — Newcome, “ I will be profaned of thee in the sight,” &c. So margin. Ver. 18 . Become dross, &c.— See Jer. vi. 28—30. Ver. 19. Jerusalem. — [Jerusalem is here represented as the fining pot : all he people, who had become dross , are to be gathered together in it ; and the fire of the Chaldeans, blown by the wrath of God, is to melt the whole. No ordinary means will avail to purge their impurities ; the most violent must therefore be resorted to. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 24. Unto ter--That is, Jerusalem. Ver. 25. Ravening the prey.— [That is, from the Saxon reafian , seizing and devouring it with eagerness and rapacity. )— Bagster. Ver. 26 . Her priests . — Compare Zeph. iii. 4. Ver. 28 . Daubed them .—[ The prophets employed all their ingenuity to var- niRh over the crimes of the princes, (the antecedent to them,) to palliate their offences, and to conceal their faults, while they were like ravening wolves and took bribes to shed innocent blood. By these means they shared the disho- nest gains with the princes, or availed themselves of their authority to gratify -heir avarice, or revenge.] — Bagster. Compare chap. xiii. lu — 12 . Ver. 30. Sought for a man— [God, speaking after the manner of men 886 sought for some Moses- Phinehas, or Samuel, to stand in the gap on this occa- sion ; but as he fouiia none, its destruction was inevitable.] — Bagster. Make up the hedge.— See Jer. v. 1 . and chap. xiii. 5- Chap. XXIII. Ver. 2. Two women.— The idolatries of Samaria and Jeru- salem are here compared to the lewd practices of two common ha riots, who were sisters, and rivalled each other in wickedness. The allegory is similar to that of chap. xvi. Ver. 3. In Egypt.— See chap. xx. 8. Ver. 4. Names of them . — l The kingdom of Israel, of which Samaria was the capital, containing ten tribes, and occupying a larger extent of country than that of Judah, is therefore called "her elder sister;” and Aholah, the name given to her, implies that the whole religious establishment in Israel was a human invention, a temple and service of their own, and not of God's ap- pointment. Aholibah, the name given to Judah, implies that the worship es- tablished there was from God, and that His temple was truly at Jerusalem.]— Bagster. Aholah — That is, " Her tent.” Aholibah , " Mv tent is in her.’* Samaria had a tabernacle of her own ; but God pitched his tabernacle in Judah. Ver. 6. When she ivas mine — That is, before she set up a separate Form of Ahnlibah is to be EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XXIII. plagued by her lovers. oi Assyria, and with all on whom she doted : with all their idols she defiled herself. 8 Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her vir- ginity, and poured their whoredom upon her. 9 Wherefore I have delivered her into the ('.and i of her lovers, into the hand of the As- syrians, upon whom she doted. 10 These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword : and she became i famous among women ; for they had executed judg- ment upon her. 11 And when her sister Aho'ibah saw this , she k was more > corrupt in her inordinate love than she, and in her whoredoms more than m her sister in her whoredoms. 12 She doted upon the Assyrians ” her neigh- bours, captains and rulers clothed most gor- geously, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men. 13 Then I saw that she was defiled, that they look both one way, 14 And that she increased her whoredoms : for when she saw men portrayed upon 0 the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portray- ed with vermilion, 15 Girded with girdles upon their loins, ex- ceeding in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity : 16 And p as soon as she saw them with her eyes, she doted upon them, and sent messen- gers unto them into Chaldea. 17 And the r Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was a alienated from them. 18 So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness : then my mind was alienated ‘from her, like as my mind was alien- ated from her sister. 19 Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in call- ing to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt. 20 For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses. A. M. 3111. B. C. 593. i 2 Ki.18.9.. 11 . J a name. k corrupted, her inor- dinate love more. 1 2Ch.33.9. in the whore- doms of her sister. n2Ch.2J.16. o c.8.10,1 1. p at the sight of her eyes. q 2Ki.20. 12, &c. r children of Babel. s loosed , or, dis- jointed. t Je.15.1. u Je.ll.ll. 12 . v 2Sa.13.15. w La. 1.3. x Je.50 21. y Je-52.6, &c. z If. 39. 4.. 7. a instru- ments of thy deck- ing. b c. 16.41. 22.15. c ver.3,19. d ver.17. e La. 1.8. f 1 Ti.5.24. g c.6.9. h Je.25.15. &c. i c.22.4,5, &c. 21 Thus thou calledst to remembrance the lewdness of thy youth, in bruising thy teats by the Egyptians for the paps of thy youth. 22 If Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I " will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom v thy mind is alien- ated, and I will bring them against thee on every ' v side ; 23 The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, x Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the As- syrians with them : all of them desirable young men. captains and rulers, great lords and re- nowned, all of them riding upon horses. 24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. 25 And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously y with thee : they shall take away thy nose and thine ears ; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters ; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire. ■26 They z shall also strip thee out of thy clothes, and take away thy tt fair jewels. 27 Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease b from thee, and thy whoredom brought c from the land of Egypt : so that thou shalt not lift up thine eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more. 28 For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of the'n whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom d thy mind is alienated : 29 And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare : and the nakedness e of thy whoredoms shall be f discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. 30 I will do these things unto thee, because s thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. 31 Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister ; therefore will I give her cup into h thy hand. 32 Thus saith the Lord God ; Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to ■ scorn and had in derision ; it containeth much. 33 Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and thoughts and inclinations. So long as men are attracted with personal accomplishments and external embellishments, and with the pomp and pride of life, they will always be tempted to prefer worldly connexions, fashions and maxims, to the worship and service of God, and the company of his people : and an inter- course with polished, but irreligious nations, always occasions an increase of vanity and iniquity. That love, which is ce- mented by concurrence in sin, generally terminates in disgust, contempt, and enmity, and God commonly employs tempters to punish those who listen to them. When sinners will not take warning by the punishment of others ; they will be made warnings themselves, to teach men not to copy their crimes. — Contempt, astonishment, desolation, rage, and despair, will be the portion of the cup of all who forget God, turn their backs on him, and refuse to return : but they, who are his people by profession, and by sacramental vows and engage- ments, and yet apostatize, will be punished most severely; and especially such as, after having done those abominable things which God hates, venture to go into his sanctuary and profane his ordinances, to compromise for their crimes, or cloak them. If the grace of God do not change men’s hearts, old age will not cure them of the love of sin : nay, the filthiness of the heart often seems to increase with the decays of nature ; and worn out debauchees, like rotten wood, become more inflammable when ready to moulder into dust. How dreadful must it be for men to enter the eternal world in such a temper of soul, and with such vile affections ! — Unrepented, unmortified, un- pardoned sin must end in the destruction of body and soul, in time and to eternity : families, churches, and nations are ruin- ed by it continually : and all righteous men and holy angels worship. [The Israelites, in addition to their former gross idolatries, received the impure idolatrous worship of the Assyrians, who became their neighbours by the conquest of Syria. \— Bolster. Ver 8. Lay with her —This is to be taken allegorically, in reference to their idolatiies. Ver. 10 . Famous.— Famous was used by our translators in the sense of no- torious or celebrated, whether in a good or bad sense. Ver 14. Portrayed upon the wall.—Maurice'says, this exactly answers to the manner in winch their idols were painted and decorated ; and so the Brah- mins of India dress themselves and their idols to the present day. Ind. Antiq. Ver. 15. In dyed attire , &c.— This alludes to their beautiful and flowing tur- bar.s. Princes to look to .— [ That is, “ princes in appearance which seem to have been the deified men worshipped by the Chaldeans. The inhabitants of Judah, like the Israelites, connected themselves with the Assyrians, and were enamoured with their idojs ; and then with the Chaldeans, and followed their idols ; still retaining their attachment to the Egyptians and their idolatrous *ite*Lj —Bag tier. Ver. 20 . Flesh of as3es .. ... horses — That is, very hardy and very lustful. Ver. 22. Thy lovers, &c.— This refers to the Chaldeans, whom she had of- fended by her rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. Ver. 23. Pekod and Shoa — Names of places. See Jer. i. 21 . All the As- syrians.— The Assyrians were now under the Babylonians, and served in their armies.— Newcome. Ver. 24. With chariots , wagons, and wheels. — Newcomc, .With scythed cars, chariots, and (wheel) carriages.” So Boothroyd. Care with scythes at- tached to their wheels, were terrible instruments of destruction in war, before the invention of gunpowder. r . . _ 4 Ver. 25. Take away thy nose and thine ears . — [This refers to the seveie vengeance which enraged husbands anciently took on their faithless wives: and implies that God would employ the Chaldeans to destroy the princes and priests of Judah, for violating their covenants and treaties. Such punishments were common among the Chaldeans and Persians, and other nations. To this Martial refers : “ Who persuaded you to cut off the adulterer s nose. J Boos- ter. Jerome mentions this as a common punishment of JdiHtetfers. Ver. =7, Not lift 887 .—CHAP. XXIV. k De.8.11, 14. Je. 13.25. 1 1 Ki. 14.9. Ne.9.26. mor, plead. far. n c.20.4. o Ho. 4.2. p Ps. 106.37. q c.5.11. r 2Ki.21.4,7 s coining. t ls.57.9. u 2 Ki.9.30. Je 4.30. y multitude of men. & her whore- dome. b Je.3.1. 6 . 8 . Ho.2.5 cPb. 149.5. .9 Mat. 19.28 1 Co. 6.2. Re-20.4. e for a re- moving and spoil. f Is. 6.11, 12. g Je.4.13,30 i 2Ch.36.17, 19. c.24.21. j ver.27. 1 Nn. 14.34. 19.23. ls.53.ll. 1 Pe.2.24. a 2 Ki.25.1. Je.39.1. 52.4. b Je.1.13. c or, heap. d Pr.30.12. e 2 Sa.8.2. f Le.17.13. g Ge.4.10. h Na.3.1 i Ro.2.5. ) c.22.15. k Is.44.20 Destruction oj Jerusalem shown. 47 And the company shall stone them -with stones, and h despatch them with their swords; they shall slay i their sons and their daughters and burn up their houses with fire. 48 Thus will I cause lewdness to cease out )of the land, that k all women may be taught not to do after your lewdness. 49 And they shall recompense your lewdness upon you, and ye shall bear the > sins of your idols: and ye shall know that I am the Lord Gon. CHAPTER XXIV. 1 Cutler the parable o! a boiling pot, 6 is showed the irrevocable destruction of Jerusa- lem. 15 liy the sign of Ezekiel not mourning for the death of his wife, 19 is showed the calamity of the Jews to be beyond all sorrow. A GAIN ill the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same 11 day. 3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Set on a b pot, set it on, and also pour water into it : 4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones. 5 Take the choice of the flock, and c burn also the bones under it, and make it boil well, and let them seethe the bones of it therein. 6 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Wo to the bloody city, to the pot whose scum d is therein, and whose scum is not gone out of it ! bring it out piece by piece ; let no lot ' fall upon it. 7 For her blood is in the midst of her ; she set it upon the top of a rock ; she poured it not upon the f ground, to cover it with dust; 8 That it might cause e fury to come up to take vengeance ; I have set her blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered. 9 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Wo to the bloody h city ! I will even make the pile for fire great. 10 Heap on ■ wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. 11 Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that j the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed. 12 She hath wearied k herself with lies, and her great scum went not forth out of her: her scum shall be in the fire. Judgments on Aiuiluh and Aholibuh. EZEKIEL sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and de- solation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. 34 Thou shalt even drink ) it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts : for 1 have spo- ken it , saith the Lord God. 35 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Be- cause thou hast forgotten k me, and i cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewd ness and thy whoredoms. 36 H The Lord said moreover unto me ; Son of man, wilt thou m judge Aholah and Aholi- bah ? yea, declare " unto them their abomi- nations ; 37 That they have committed adultery, and ° blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused p their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire , to devour them. 38 Moreover this they have done unto me : they have defiled my sanctuary <• in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. 39 For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it ; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of r my house. 40 And furthermore, that ye have sent for men * to come from far, unto <■ whom a mes- senger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst u thine eyes, ana deckedst thyself with ornaments, 41 And satest upon a 7 stately w bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine 11 incense and mine oil. 42 And a voice of a multitude being at ease icas with her: and with the men of the ? com- mon sort were brought z Sabeans from the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon their heads. 43 Then said I unto her that was old in adul- teries, Will they now commit a whoredoms with her, and she with them ? 44 Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that b playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women. 45 TT And the righteous c men, they shall judge them after the manner of adulteresses, and after the manner of women that shed blood ; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands. 46 For thus saith the Lord God; I d will bring up a company upon them, and will give them c to be f removed and s spoiled. yea, the whole assembled world will applaud the sentence, which at the last day the Judge shall pronounce against the workers of iniquity.” — T. Scott. Chap. XXIV. Ver. 1—27. The destruction of Jerusalem signified by other typical representations . — On the very day on repeated prediction has received a most wonderful accomplishment. For nei- ther the authority, frowns, examples, or favour of their conquerors or powerful neighbours, nor their own fears, hope9, interests, or predilection for the sensual worship of idols, could prevail with them to run into gross idolatry, either during the captivity, or ever afterwards, to the present day, a period of 2414 years ! Ver. 34. Thou shall even drink , &c.— This i9 very strong language, and in- timates, after drinking from the cup, that she should break the cup, and tear her breasts with its fragments. Ver. 37. To devour them.— By this it appears that, though passing through the tire might be often no more than an idolatrous ceremony, in other cases it was fatal. Compare expos, of 2 Kings xvi., and note on Ezek. xvi. 21. Ver. 40- Paintedst thine eyes.— [Kachalt aineycha, rendered by the LXX. tnou didst paint thine eyes with stibium,” and Vulgate, “ thou didst paint round thine eyes with stibium,” or lead ore ; whence it is called in Arabic kochl, and in Syriac kechulo , and koochlo. See note on 2 Ki. ix.30.]— B. See Isa. iii.16. Ver. 41. A stately bed. “ Honourable,” or 44 glorious.” Prepared — for an idolatrous feast. , ^P r - Voice of a multitude. — [This seems to bean account of an idolatrous estival, perhaps that of Bacchus ; in which a riotous and drunken multitude assembled, adorned with bracelets and chaplets, accompanied with music, •ongs, and dances. 1 —Bolster. Men of the common sort— Heb. 41 Of the multitude of men ;” that is, of the lower classes. Sabeans from thewilder- ness, or desert : which put bracelets, &c.— That is, which wore coronets and Bracelets.— Newcome. Ver. 45. Righteous men.— [The Chaldeans, so called, because appointed by Ood to execute his judgments on these criminals.]— Bagster. 888 which Nebuchadne?zar laid siege to Jerusalem, the Prophet describes the fate of that city -and its inhabitants, by the em- blem of a seething (or boiling) pot.— The pot signifies Jerusa- lem; the flesh and pieces for sacrifice, the inhabitants; the coals and boiling water , the calamities they were to endure. Ver. 47. Stone them with stones.— This was a Jewish punishment, John viii. 5. Despatch themwith swords.— See chap. xvi. 40. Chap. XXIV. Ver. 1. In the ninth year , dec.— (This was the ninth year of Zedekiah, about Thursday, January 30, A. M. 3414, the very day in which Ne- buchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem. 1 — Bagster. Compaie Jer. lii. 4.; also Ezek. xi. 3, 7, &c. Ver. 3. Set on a pot— [The pot was Jerusalem ; the flesh , the inhabitant* in general : “every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder,” Zedekiah, his family, and princes ; the bones, the soldiers ; the fire and water, the calami- ties they were to suffer ; and the setting 07i of the pot, the commencement of the siege. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 4. Gather the pieces. — It appears from this and other texts, that a part of the sacrifices were seethed (or boiled) in a pot, ot caldron. See 1 Sam. ii. 13. The thigh— or “leg,” namely, of a sheep, or kid. Choice bones— Newcoitie, “Joints.” See note on ver. 3. Ver. 5. And burn— See margin.— Newcome, “ Pile” the bones. This New- come understands of the useless bones deprived of meat, (see ver. 10.) those containing meat were to be boiled in it. Ver. 6. Whose scum, &.c.—“ Scum denotes wickedness.”— Newcomt. See note to ver. 12. Let no lot , &c.— That is, let no chance screen it. Ver. 8. I have set it (her blood) upon the top of a rock— that is, have expos- ed all her guilt— that it shall not be covered, or concealed. Ver. 10. Spice it luell.—Hob. “ Spice it with a compound of spices.” Tho same term is applied to perfumes, &c. Exod. xxx. 25—35. Ver. 12. Her scum shall be in the fire— (The pot being polluted with the scum, must be heated, melted, and even burned with fire, till purified ; that is Uriewus calamity of the Jews. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XX V . God’s judgments on Moab, 13 In thy filthiness is lewdness : because I have purged thee, and thou wast ‘ not purged, thou slialt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest m upon thee. 14 I the Lord have spoken it : it shall come to pass, and I will do it ; I will n not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent ; ac- cording to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God. 15 If Also the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 16 Son of man, behold, I " take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke : yet neither shalt thou p mourn nor weep, nei- ther shall thy tears <> run down. 17 r Forbear to cry, make 5 no mourning for the dead, bind ' the tire of thy head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy u lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18 So I spake unto the people in the morning : and at even v my wife died ; and 1 did in the morning as I was commanded. 19 j[ And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so ? 20 Then I answered them, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will profane " my sanctuary, the excellency * of your strength, the desire - v of your eyes, and 2 that which your soul pitieth ; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left shall fall 11 by the sword. 22 And ye. shall do as I have done : ye shall not b cover your lips, nor eat c the bread of men. 23 And your tires shall he upon your heads, and your shoes upon your feet: ye shall not d mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine 5 away for your iniquities, and mourn one toward another. 24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign : accord- ing to all that he hath done shall ye do : and when f this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord God. 25 If Also, thou son of man, shall it not l>e in the day when I take from them their e strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and b that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters, 26 That he that escapeth in that day shall A. M. 3414. B. C. 5 U. 1 Re:2.!d, 22 . m c.S.13. 8.18. 16.42. n lSa.15.29. 0 Job 1.21. p Is. 57.1. q gu- r Be silent. Pa. 39. 9. s Je. 16.5..7. 1 Le. 1(1.6. 21.10. u upper lip. and so ver.22. Le. 13.45. Mi.3.7. v Ps.90.5,6. w 1 Ki.9.8. Je.7. 14. La. 1.9,10 x Ps.43.L..3 y Ps.27.4. 84.2,10. z die pity of your soul. a 2Ch.36. 17 b Je. 16.6,7. c La. 4. 10. d Ps.78.64. e Le.2G.39. c.33.10,11. f Jn. 14.29. g ver. 21. li the lifting ,rp of their soul . i c. 33.21. &e. a Je.49.1, &c. c.21.23.. 32 . Am. 1.13.. ' 15. Zep.2.9.. 11 . b Ps. 70.2,3. Pr. 17 5. 24.17,18. c.25.2,&e. c children. d c.35.9. e hand. f foot, g soul h or, meat. i Ia.c. 15,16. Je.48.1, &c. Am. 2.1. .3 j shoulder. k or , against the childr Ammon. 1 2C1).2S. 17, . 18. Ob.l0,&c. come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27 In that day i shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb : and thou shalt be a sign unto them ; and they shall know that I am the Lord. CHAPTER XXV. 1 God’s vengeance, for their inBolency against the Jews, upon the Ammonites, 8 upon Moab and Seir, 12 upon Edom, 15 and upon the Philistines. r PHE word of the Lord came again unto A me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against the a Am- monites, and prophesy against them ; 3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God ; Thus saith the Lord God; Because b thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned ; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity ; 4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the c men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee : they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. 5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for ca- mels, and the Ammonites a couching-place for flocks : and d ye shall know that I am the Lord. 6 For thus saith the Lord God ; Because thou hast clapped thy ‘ hands, and stamped with the 1 feet, and rejoiced in e heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel ; 7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for h a spoil to the heathen ; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cau«e thee to perish out of the countries : 1 will destroy thee, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 8 T[ Thus saith the Lord God; Because that i Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen ; 9 Therefore, behold, I will open the i side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, 10 Unto the men of the east k with the Am- monites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. 11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 12 T[ Thus saith the Lord God ; Because that Edom i hath dealt against the house of Judah See notes. Their crimes were very aggravated ; so, it is declar- ed, should be their punishment. As another sign of the greatness of those calamities, Ezekiel is forbidden to mourn for his wife, of whom God tells him he was to be immediately deprived ; intimating thereby, that the sufferings of the Jews should be so overwhelming as to sur- pass all expression of grief ; and that private sorrow, how- ever affectionate and tender the object, must be absorbed in the public calamities. The Prophet, having farther expressed nis message in plain terms, intimates that he was to speak to them no more, till the prediction should be fulfilled ; in the mean time, they would be left to mourn secretly one to ano- ther. (See chap, xxxiii. 21, 22.) Chap. XXV. Ver. 1—17. God's judgment on the heathen na- tions . — The chronological order of this chapter, is after chap, xxxiii. 21, &c. It contains predictions of God’s heavy judg- ments against the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and Phi- listines, on account of their conduct toward his people in their time of distress. When we see the judgments of God upon others, we should always bear in mind that we also are sinners, and deserve like punishment ; but what made the conduct of these nations the more criminal was. that they had themselves led the Jews into those idolatries which brought on them all their sufferings. Nor could they be ignorant of this, since Ezekiel, and others who dwelt among them, made no secret of their predictions. But it was not only against the house of Judah that they had sinned, but against the God of Israel, whose temple they Jerusalem 9 ha.ll be entirely levelled with the ground, a3 nothing short of this will purify it from the relics of its idolatrous abominations. \—Bagster. Ver. 13. I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged — That is, purified ; all the means used have failed. Ver. 16 . The desire of thine eyes— That is, his wife, (Gen. iv. 7.)— With a stroke. In hot countries, diseases are often fatal in a very few hours. Ver. 17. Bind the tire— Neiocome, “The ornament” of thy head; that is, the turban. Dean Addison , in his account of the Jews in Barbary, says, that during their time of moumjng for the dead, they wear no shoes, even if com- pelled to go abroad ; and hind up their jaws, as they do those of the dead. Eat not the breadofmen.—\Lechem anoshim, not “ the bread of mourners.” as some render, but “the bread of other men,” i. e. such as was commonly lent to mourners on 9uch occasions by their friends. See on Jer. xvi. 7.] — B. Ver. 18. I didin the morning — That is, the morning following. Ver. 23. Mourn one toward another , &c.— “ Moan every man to his bro- ther;” i e secretly. 112 Ver. 25. That whereupon they set their minds. — Heb. “ The lifting up of the soul this refers to the temple. See ver. 21. Chap. XXV. Ver. 4^ Men of the East— [Josephus expressly states, that five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar turned his arms against the Ammonites and Moabites , and entirely subjugated them ; and it is probable, that the Arabs, and other nations east of Judan, then took possession of their cities, and enjoyed the fruits of their land. The country of Moab and Ammon is now inhabited by the Bedouin Arabs : where they pasture their flocks, and, no doubt, make the ruins of Rabbah , their once proud capital, “a stable for camels,” and other cattle. See note on 2 Sam. xii. 26-1 — Bagster. Ver. 5. A stable for camels. — Camels hre seldom kept in stables, but often browze upon the weeds that grow among ruins. Harmer's Obs. The Am- monites.— That is, the land of the children of Ammon. Ver. 9. I will open the side— Heb. “ The shoulders of Moab.” For the ge- ography of this country, see Num. xxxiv. 11., where the same term defines it« Fall oj Tyrus threatened. EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXVI. The power of Nebuchadrezzar. i) or. shall fall by the o or, i"ith ptr/nilnal. Je.25.2L 47 : c.27.28. Am. 1.9,10 Zee. 9.3, 4. : c.38.3. d Is.5.30. e c. 27.32. h or, jxtur out the engine of shot. i according to the en- terings of a cil y broken up. J Is. 26.5. k houses of thy desire. p trem- blings. 6 And lier daughters which are in the Indu shall be slain by the sword ; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 7 For thus saith the Lord Gon ; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar icing of Babylon, a king f of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horse- men, and companies, and much people. 8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field : and he shall make a s fort against thee, and 11 cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. 9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. 10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall en- ter into thy gates, ■ as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. 11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down J to the ground. 12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy k thy pleasant houses : and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. 13 And i I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease ; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. 14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon ; thou shalt be built no more : for I “ the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord God. 15 If Thus saith the Lord Gon to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound n of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee ? 16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away 0 their robes, and put off their broidered garments : they shall clothe themselves with p trembling; by m taking vengeance, and hath greatly of- fended, and revenged himself upon them ; 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will also stretch out my hand upon Edom, and will cutoff man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they "of Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God. 15 If Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it °for the old hatred ; 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Be- hold, I will stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the Psea coast. 17 And I will execute great « vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them. CHAPTER XXVI. 1 Tyrus, for insulting against Jerusalem, is threatened. 7 The power ol Nebuchad- rezzar against her. 15 The mourning and astonishment of the sea at her fall. A ND it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, because that a Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, b Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people : she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: 3 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Be- hold, I c am. against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea d causeth his waves to come up. 4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers : I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in e the midst of the sea : for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God : and it shall become a spoil to the nations. had profaned ; and said, “Aha!” and rejoiced in heart, with all their spite, against the land of Israel. (See verses 3 and 6.) Edom is censured with peculiar severity, because, as it should appear, they were in the habit of taking advantage of Israel when in distress; and, it is believed, had cutoff many of the fugitives that escaped the sword of the Babylonians. (See 2 Chron. xxviii. 17. Ezek. xxxv. 2, &c.) These judgments, which were also predicted by several other prophets, began to be fulfilled about five years after the de- struction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Chap. XXVI. Ver. 1 — 21. Prophecies aeainst Pyre. — The prophecy beginning here, and ending at the 20th verse of chap, xxviii. foretels the destruction of Tyre, (or Tyrus,) which, within twenty years from this period, was taken by Nebuchad- nezzar, after a siege of thirteen years. The city called Old Tyre, stood on a peninsula, from which a great part of the inhabitants fled, with their effects, before it was taken, to an island half a mile from the shore, and built New Tyre, afterwards taken by Alexander the Great. The prophecy relates chiefly to Old Tyre, though it is thought to comprehend both, which were often considered as one city. The same event was foretold by Isaiah, cb. xxiii. (See note on ver. 3.) The Prophet begins with introducing Tyre as insulting Jeru- salem, and congratulating herself on the prospect of accessions to her commerce, now that city was no more. Upon this, God, . by his Prophet, denounces utter destruction to Tyre, and all the lesser cities depending on her, which are called her daugh- ters. We have then a particular account of the monarch charged with this work : “We, as it were, see his mighty hosts raising the mounds, setting the engines, and shaking the walls ; Ver. 14. Vengeance upon Edom- — [This was fulfilled by the Maccabees, who not only entirely subjugated them, but obliged them to receive circumci- sion. Josephus , Ant. 1 Mac. v. 65. 2 Mac. x. 16.1— Bagster. Ver. 15. For the old hatred— Marg. “ Perpetual hatred.” Ver. 16 . My hand upon the Philistines— [These predictions aeainst the Philistines, Edomites, and others, seem to have been fulfilled by Nebuohadnez- zar during the sieee of Tyre. Berostis (apud Josephus , Cont. Ap.) states, that he subdued Syria, Arabia, Phoenicia, and Egypt ; and now their very names have no existence, except in history. )—Bagster. Cherethims.— See 1 Sam. xxx. 14. Chap. XXVI. Ver. 1 . In the eleventh year. — Newcome, Boothroyd, and others, read, the twelfth year, on the authority of one ancient MS. and two versions. If. indeed, Jerusalem was taken in the fourth month of the 1 1th year of Zedekiah. as we find Jer. lii. 6, 7, this oracle, which speaks of Jeru- salem as already taken, could not be delivered in the first month of the same year. The difference between llth and 12 th being only one letter in the ori- ginal, it is easy to account for such a mistake in a transcriber ; but it is not easy to account for so glaring an error spreading throueh all the MSS. Some therefore understand by the first month, not the first of the year, but the first after Jerusalem was taken. Of these difficulties, the reader has his choice. Ver. 2. Tyrus — In English, more properly, “ Tyre.” Ver. 3. Behold , / am against thee — (These verses, (3 — 6.) contain a sum- mary prediction of what befell both the coniinental and insular Tyre, during a tf>ng succession of ages. The former was totally destroyed by Nebuchadnez- zar, after a siege of 13 years, B. C. 573 ; and the latter, which arose out of its ruins, after 70 years, recovered its ancient wealth and splendour, as foretold by Isaiah, (chap, xxiii. 15 — 17.) After it was taken and burnt by Alexander, B C. ^ 890 332, it speedily recovered its strength and dignity, and 19 years afterwards withstood both the fleets and armies of Anligonus. Agreeably to the prophe- tic declarations, (Ps. xlv. 12. Ixxi. 10. Is. xxiii. 18. Zee. Lx. 1—7.) it was early converted to Christianity ; and after being successively taken by the Saracens. Christians, Mamelukes, and Turks, in \\hose hands it still remains, it became 11 a place for the spreading of nets.”]— Bagster. See note on ver. 14. Ver. 4. Scrape her dust.— Neiocome, “Earth.” See exposition above ; also note to ver. 12. Ver. 5. For the spreading of nets. — This evidently refers to New Tyre, which was upon an island, as observed in the exposition. Maundrell , and other travellers, state, that they saw the literal fulfilment of this prediction, See Bishop Newton on the Prophecies, Diss. xi.; also note of ver. 14. Ver. 7. With horses and loith chariots.— This evidently refers to Old Tyre upon the continent ; but see" ver. 12. and chap, xxvii. 4 ; xxviii. 8, which appear to refer to the insular situation of New Tyre. Ver. 8. Cast amount.— -See chap. iv. 2. Ver. 10 . A city wherein is made a breach.— See margin. — Heb. “ Which is broken up.” Ver. 12. Lay thy stones and timber &c. in the water. — [The ruins of old Tyre contributed much to the taking of the new city ; for with the stones, tim- ber, and rubbish. Alexander built a bank, or causeway, from the continent to the island, thereby literally fulfilling the words of the prophet. Q. Curtius, Diodorus.}— Bagster. (See exposition above.) Ver. 14. Like the top of a rock, &c. — [Old Tyre was never rebuilt after its de- struction by Nebuchadnezzar ; and there are now no traces left to mark its site (see Pococke,) and the new city, when viaited by Maundrell, Bruce, and other travellers, was literally “ a place for fishers to dry their nets on.]— B. 7Vie mourning for Tyrus. EZEKIEL. tney shall sit upon the ground, i and shall tremble r at every moment, avid be " astonish- ed at thee. 17 And they shall take up a lamentation ' for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroy- ed, that wast inhabited " of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it ! 18 Now shall the isles v tremble in the day of thy fall ; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. 19 For thus saith the Lord God ; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited ; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee ; 20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend w into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inha- bited ; and I shall set glory in the land of the living ; 21 I * will make thee y a terror, and thou ska It be no more: 2 though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XXVII. i The rich supply of Tyrus. 26 The great at:d unrecoverable fall thereof. T HE word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamenta- tion a for Tyrus ; 3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situ- ate at the entry of the sea, which art a mer- chant b of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God ; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am 2 of perfect beauty. 4 Thy borders are in the d midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. 5 They have e made all thy ship boards of fir trees of f Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee. 6 Of the oaks s of Bashan have they made thine oars; h the * company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of i Chittim. A. M. 3416. B. C. 5 33. CHAP. XXV 11. The rich supply of Tyrus. 7 Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; k blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee. 8 The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners : thy wise men , O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. 9 The ancients of > Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy m calkers : all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise. 10 They of n Persia and of Lud a.nd of Phut were in thine army, thy men of “war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee ; they set forth thy comeliness. 11 The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gamma- dimswere in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about ; they have made thy beauty perfect. 12 Tarshish p was thy. merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches ; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs. 13^ Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants : they traded the r persons of men and vessels of brass in thy 8 market. 14 They of the house of 1 Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules. 15 The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thy hand : they brought thee for a present horns of “ ivory and ebony. 16 Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of v the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and w agate. 17 Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants : they x traded in thy market wheat of >' Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and 2 a balm. 18 Damascus was thy merchant in the mul- titude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches ; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool. 19 Dan also and b Javan going to and fro q Job 2.13. r c.32.10. a c.27.35. t Re 18.9. u the seas. v ver. 15. w Nu. 16.30, 33. Ps.28.1. c.32. 18,24 x c 28.19. y terrors, z Ps.37.3G. a c.26.17. b Id.23.3, &e. c perfect of d heart. e built f De.3.9. li or, they have made thy hatches of ivory well trod- den. i daughters. j Je.2.10. k or, purple and scar- let. 1 Ps.83.7. m strength- stoppers of chinks. o Je.46.9. p 2Ch.20.36 chan Vise. t c.33.6. u lKi.10.22. v thy works w chryso- prase. x lKi.5.9,ll Ezr.3.7. Ac. 12.20. y J a. 11.33. z or, rosin. a Je.8.22. b or ,Meuzal. we hear the noise of the horsemen, and the sound of their cars ; we view the clouds of smoke and dust: we see the sword bathed in blood, and hear the groans of the dying. Tyre immediately disappears; her strong towers shrink down into the earth, and her very dust is buried in the sea. Nothing remains but the bare rock (on which the city stood.) The scene is then varied. Theisles and adjacent regions shake, as by a mighty earthquake, with the cf'-cussion occasioned by the fall of Tyre. The groans of the dying reach the ears of the people inhabiting those re- gions. Their princes, alarmed for themselves, and grieved for Tyre, descend from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and clothe themselves — with sackcloth? no, but with trembling ! Arrayed in this astonishing attire, the Prophet introduces them as a chorus of mourners, lamenting Tyre, in a funeral song, or dirpe, as customary on the death of renowned personages. “Such is the prophecy concerning Tyre, comprehending both the city on the continent, and that on the island, and punctu- ally fulfilled in regard to both. That on the continent was Ver. 17. Inhabited, fee. — Heb. “ Peopled from the sea.” Ver. 20. I will set glory— Newcome, *’ When 1 shall appoint glory, &c. I will (then) make thee,” &c. Chap. XX VII. Ver. 3. Entry of the sea— That is, ‘‘A sea port.”— [Tyre was situated in the Mediterranean, at the nearest entrance to it from the inte- rior and eastern part of Asia ; and every way conveniently placed to unite in commerce, Asia, Africa, and Europe.] — Bagster. Ver. 4. In the midst (Heb. “ heart”) of the sea.— Newcome thinks this re- fers to Old Tyre, which stood on a peninsula ; others refer it to New Tyre, built on an adjacent island. Ver. 6. Benches of ivory.— [ They have made thy hatches of ivory well trod- den. Rather, “ thy benches have they made of ivory inlaid in box, ( batteashu - rim, in one word, as Bochart, Scheuchzer, and others, read, see Tar gum,] from the isle9 of Chitten.” Vulgate. “ from the Islands of Italy,” which were always famous for box-trees.] — Bagster. Ver. 7. ElishaJi — ( Elis, part of the Peloponnesus, extending along the western coast, west of Arcadia, north of Messenia, and south of Achaia .]— Bagster. Ver. 8. Arvad— {Aradus, now Ruad , a city and island of Phcenicia, oppo- site Antaradus. which is placed in the Antonine Itinerary, 131 miles south •f Antioch, and 50 N. of Tripoli.]— Bagster. Ver. 9. Thy calkers.— Hoc margin. — hath broken thee in the m midst of the seas. 27 Thy " riches, and thy fairs,, thy merchan- dise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, 0 and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin. 28 The p suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots. 29 And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land ; 30 And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry i bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wal- low themselves in the r ashes : 31 And they shall make themselves utterly bald 6 for thee, and gird them with < sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. 32 And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the des- troyed in the midst of the sea ? 33 When thy w r ares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people ; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multi- tude u of thy riches and of thy merchandise. A M. ?nia. 1). U. 5iS. c G*25.3. (1 c\oUm of freedom. e Ge.2j.13. Is. 60.7. f were the merchant* of thy hand. IKi. 10.1,2 P .72 10. 13. la. 60.6. h th . li .w 2Ki. 19.12. i or, excel- lent thjiga J foldi tgs. k IKi. o.a. ls.2.16. 23.14. 60.9. 1 Ps.4S.7. m heart. n Pr.11.4. o or, even with. p or , waves. q Re. 18.9, 19. r Je.6.26. Jo. 3.6. s Mi. 1.16. t Es.4.1..4. u ver.27. c 28.16. v Je. 18-16. w terrors. x c. 28.21. y shalt not be forever a Hab.2.4. b heart. c Is.31.3. d 2Th.2.4. e Zee. 9. 2,3. f Da.5.11, 12 . g the great- ness of thy wis- dom. h Ps.62.10. i Pr. 11.28. Ja.1.11. j c.30.11. 31.12. 32.12. k ver.2. 1 or, wound- ettu mc.32.19, See. n c-31.6 9, 34 In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy mer- chandise and all tiiy company in the midst of thee shall fall. 35 All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance. 30 The merchants among the people, shall hiss u at thee ; thou shalt be w a * terror, and v never shall he any more. CHAPTER XXVIII. I God's Judgment upon the prince of Tyrus for his sacrilegious nride. 11 A lamenta- tion ol Ins great glory corrupted by sin. 20 The judgment of Zidon. 24 The resto* ruliun of lrrael. r pHE word of the Lord came again unto - 4 - me, saying, 2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God ; Because thy heart is lifted a up, and thou hast said, I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, in the *’ midst of the seas; yet c thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thy heart d as the heart of God : 3 Behold, thou art wiser e than f Daniel ; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: 4 With thy wisdom and with thine under- standing thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: 5 By s thy great wisdom and by thy traffic hast thou increased h thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of > thy riches: 6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Be- cause thou hast set thy heart as the heart of God ; 7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible ) of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. 8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of th'em that are slain in the midst of the seas. 9 Wilt thou yet say k before him that slayeth thee, I am God ? but thou shalt he a man, and no God, in the hand of him that 1 slayeth thee. 10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncir- cumcised m by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saitli the Lord God. 11 Tf Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God ; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in "beauty. commercial world are represented as grieved and astonished at her fate, and greatly alarmed for their own. “ Besides the view which this chapter gives of the conduct of Providence, and of the truth of prophecy ; and besides the example it affords the critic, of a very elegant and highly finished piece of composition, it likewise affords the antiquary a very curious and interesting view of the wealth and commerce of ancient times. — And to the mind that looks for a city that hath foundations, what a picture does the whole present of the mutability and inanity of all earthly things ! Almost all the places mentioned, like Tyre, are now no more : they are sunk in the deep waters of oblivion; the east wind hath carried them away.” — Dr. J. Smith. Ver. 26. Thy rowers. — New come and others understand this of their states- men. or political pilots, which had brought them into great difficulty and dan- ger. Compare this chapter witn Rev. xviii. throughout. Ver. 27. Thy riches. &c. — [In these beautiful and expressive fig-urcs, Tyre is represented as a ship at sea. wrecked through the mistakes of her pilots and rowers ; that is. destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and afterwards by Alexander, in consequence of her mlers having pertinaciottsiv resolved to withstand those haughty conquerors. This vast ship, laden withall kinds of valuable wares, be- ing wrecked, all her valuables, sailors, offieers, &c. went to the bottom.]— B. Ver. 23. Thy suburbs .— (When the ship was dashed against the rocks, and all hope of life was taken away, then a universal cry was set up by all on joard. )— Bolster. Ver. 30. Their voice to be oeard.—t All that were on land, seeing this gallant ship perishing with all her men and goods, are here represented as settingup a diurnal erv at the heart rending sight. 1— Bolster. Chap. XXVin. Ver. 2. Prince cf Tyrus— I Josephus states, on the autho- 892 Chap. XXVIII. Ver. 1 — 26. Another lamentation for the king of fare; and a prediction of the fall of Zidon (or Si- don) and the restoration of Israel. — The greater part of this chapter relates to the king of Tyre, called in the Phoenician annals, lthobalus. He appears to have been a vain and im- ious man, who affected divine honours. The Prophet treats is foolish pretensions with severe irony, and predicts his doom. He then takes up a funeral dirge and lamentation over him, in which his former pomp and splendour are finely contrasted with his fall, in terms that seem frequently to allude to the fall of Lucifer from heaven. This dirge (ver. 12 — 18) is of course poetical. The latter part of the chapter announces the fall of Zidon rityof Menander, who translated the Phoenician annals into Greek, and Philos- tratus, that this prince was Irlioha). in whose reign Nebuchadnezzar besieg- ed and took Tyr e.\—Bagster. Set thy heart as the heart of God.— The heart is the seat of understanding : to set his heart as the heart of God. was to magnify his own wisdom, as divine and unsearchable ; see ver. 3 and 5. Ver. 3. Thou art toiser Ulan Daniel . — This is said ironically, but serves to show that the prophet Daniel had, by this time, established a character for extraordinary and inspired wisdom. Ver 9. Wilt thou yet (or indeed) say, &c. Ver in The death of the uncircumcised — That is, remained unburied. Sea chap. xxxi. IS ; xxxii. 19. &c. Ver. 12 . Thou sealest up the sum. — Newcome, “ Thou (art like) a signet ol curious engraving. 1 ' So the ancient versions Dr. Boothroyd confidently says, " No sense (whatever) can be made of the present text.” Bishop Lmolh, however, thought otherwise, and rendered the firet clause, “ Thou art the con finned exemplar of meaeures." which wo understand as parallel to " thou art The judgment of Zidon. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God : ev r ery precious stone was thy covering, the ° sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the p beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sap- phire, the i emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold : the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed r cherub that cover- eth ; and I have set thee so : thou wast upon the holy mountain ■ of God: thou hast walk- ed up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till » iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned : therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God : and I will destroy thee, O covering u cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted v thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness : I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy w traffic ; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the peo- ple shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be x a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. 20 T[ Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 21 Son of man, set thy face against * Zidon, and prophesy against it, 22 And say, Thus saith the Lord God ; 2 Be- hold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and T will be glorified a in the midst of thee : and they shall know b that I am the I ord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her. 23 For I will send into her c pestilence, and blood into her streets ; and the wounded shall be judged in the mid- f of her by the sword EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXIX o or, ruby. q or, ch ry- su prase. u ver. 14. v R o.l. 22. w Ma.8.36. X terrors. y Is. 23-4, 12. J--.25.22. 27.3. c. 32.30. z c.39.3,13. a Ex. 14.4, 17. b Ps.9.16. c c. 38.22. d Nu. 33. 55. Jos. 23. 13. Is. 35. 9. 55.13. Rc.21.4. e Is.ll. 12,13 f c. 36. 23,28. g Je.23.6. h Ge.23.13, 14. i or, with confidence. j Is. 65.21. k or, spoil. 1 La. 1.8. c Is.c.19. Je.c.46. c.32. cl Ps.74.13, 14. Is. 27.1. 51.9. e Da.4.30,31 f Is. 37.29. c.38.4. gfnce of the field. h Je 25.33. i Je.34.20. j 2Ki.18.21. k Is.30.2. .7. The judgment of Pharaoh. upon her on every side ; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 24 Tf And there shall be no more a pricking brier d unto the house of Israel, nor any griev- ing thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them ; and they shall know that 1 am the Lord God. 25 Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered e the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified f in them in the sight of the heathen, then s shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant h Jacob. 26 And they shall dwell ■ safely therein, find shall build j houses, and plant vineyards ; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that k de- spise i them round about them ; and they shall know*that I am the Lord their God. CHAPTER XXIX. I The judgment of Pharaoh for his treachery to Israel. 8 The desolation of Egypt. 13 1 he restoration thereof after forty years. 17 Egypt the reward of Nebuchadrez- zar. 21 Israel shall be restored. TN the tenth year, in the tenth month , in the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set a thy face against Pharaoh b king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all c Egypt: 3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon d that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine e own, and I have made it for myself. 4 But I will put hooks f in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. 5 And I will leave thee thrown into the wil- derness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the s open fields ; thou h shalt not be brought together, nor gather- ed: I have given thee for meat to the beasts ' of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. 6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed j to the house of Israel. 7 When k they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: the mother city of Tyre ; and it concludes with promises of de- liverance to the people of Israel from all their enemies, and a restoration to their land after all their dispersions; promises which chiefly apply to the general restoration of the Jews, which is yet future and perhaps distant, after all the enemies of the truth and of the church are brought into subjection. Chaf. XXIX. Ver. 1 — 16. 'I'ht judgment of Pharaoh and of Egypt. — This chapter foretels the conquest of Egypt by Ne- buchadnezzar, which took place B. C. 573, seventeen years after the prediction, which was evidently delivered before se- veral of the preceding chapters. The same event we have seen foretold by Jeremiah, (ch. xlvi. 13.) The chapter opens by charging Pharaoh Hophra (commonly called Apnes, see note ver. 2,) with the same pride and profane- ness as was in the chapter preceding alleged against the Prince of Tyre. He was so confident of the strength of his kingdom, that, according to Plerodotus, he impiously boasted, that nei- ther God nor man was able lo dispossess him. Wherefore, the model of perfection.’' It must be confessed, that these various readings differ but in the corner of a letter, or in the difference between C 'aph and Beth. This and the two following verses are evidently ironical. Ver. 13. Thou hast been in Eden And ha9t brought thence all the precious productions of Paradise ! Ver. 14. The anointed cherub that cover eth— The ark of God. See Exod. rxv. is, 21 ; xxx. 26 . 'T^ie stones of fire — are supposed to he the precious g ittering stones in the high priests breastplate, deposited in the most holy place ; but we should rather refer to the sapphire pavement. Exod xxiv 10 and note Ver 15. Perfect till Iniquity was found in thee.-lThz irony is still continu- ed; Thou hast been like the angels -like Moses,— like the Cherubs,— like Adam —like Goa,— till thine iniquity was found out.]— Bagster. Xtao/7..— i Tyre was a colony of the Zidonians, {see on 19. xxxiii. 12 ;) and consequently Zulcm was a more ancient, though a less considerable city r.u P r P, baf 'le that it was taken by the Chaldeans soon after the L destructmn of the. alter. It was afterwards burnt to the ground by the in- habitant* to prevuit it falling into the bands of Qchus. See JPrideaua;.]— B. the Prophet, addressing him under the image of a crocodile the great dragon” of Egypt, tells him that with as much ease as a fisher drags the fish he has hooked, God would drag him and his people into captivity, where their carcasses wouFd fall a prey to wild beasts and ravenous birds. The figure is then dropped, and God denounces judgments against him and his people, by subjecting them to the Babylonian yoke till that em- pire should fall : and after that period, it is declared, that Egypt should always remain the basest of kingdoms ; a prophecy which has been hitherto most remarkably fulfilled. It became first subject to the Babylonians, and then successively to the Persians, Macedonians, Romans, and Saracens; then to the Mamelukes (or slave-usurpers,) and after them to the Ottoman empire, of which it now forms a province, governed by a Turk- ish Bashaw and 24 Begs, Beys, or chiefs, advanced from among the slaves to the administration of public affairs ; the Egyp- tians being possessed with a superstitious notion that fate has decreed that slaves must always rule, and the natives be in /> Chap. XXIX. Ver. 1. In the tenth year — That is, of Jehoiachin ’9 captivity, rrom which epoch all Ezekiel s dates appear to he reckoned, though, at this distance of lime, there is much difficulty in reconciling them with eacii other. Ver. 2 . Pharaoh — [ This was Pharaoh- novhr a , or Aprxes , who, Herodotus informs ; us, agreeably to the character given him by the prophet, “ proudly and wickedly boasted of having established his kingdom so surely, that it. was not m the power of any God to dispossess him of it.”— See on Jer. xliv. 30 ]— B. Ver. 3. The great dragon— See note on Isa. xxvii. l. My river— That is the Nile. Ver. 4. Hooks.— See Isa. xxxvii. 29. Stick unto thy scales— Pharaoh is the crocodile, and all the fish adhering to hi9 scales, the inferior powers, depen- dant on him. Ver 5. i Into the wilderness— Or, “in the desert.” Nexocome thinks this may allude to the heavy loss which this Pharaoh (Aprie 9 ) sustained in his ex- pedition against the Cyrenians, toward whom he must have marched through the desert. He was taken prisoner “ on the face of the field,” (so Heb.'i and afterwards strangled by his own subjects. Ver. 6. A staff of reed .— See Isa. rxxvi. 6. 393 Thi desolation of Kgypt. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XXX. Israel shall be restored and when they leaned upon thee, thou bralcest, and madest all their loins to be at a > stand. 8 T[ Therefore thus saith the Lord God : Be- hold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. 9 And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath m said, the river is mine, and I have made it. 10 Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy " rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt 0 utterly waste and desolate, from p the tower of << Syene r even unto the border of Ethiopia. 11 No “foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years. 12 And I will make the land of Egypt de- solate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years : and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 13 Yet < thus saith the Lord God ; At the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the people whither they were scattered : 14 And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their u habita- tion; and v they shall be there a w base kingdom. 15 It shall be the basest of the kingdoms ; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. 16 And it shall be no more the confidence of 1 the house of Israel, which bringeth their ini- quity to remembrance, when they shall look after them : but they shall know that I am the Lord God. 17 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month , in the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 18 Son of man, Nebuchadrezzar - v king of Babylon caused his army to serve z a great service against Tyrus : every head was made i I Je.2.36. rn ver.3. p or, Migdol to Syene. Ex. 14.2. Je.44.1. q Seventh. r c.30.6. s c.32.13. t I». 19.23. u or, birth. W lute. x Is. 31. 1,3. 36.4,6. Je/236,37 La.4.17. Ho. 7.11. A. M. 3432. B. C. 572. y Je.27.6. c.26.7,&e. a spoil her spoil, and prey her prey. b or, hire. c Ps. 132.17. a Joel 2.1. b or, fear. e children. f Job 9. 13. g or, Migdol to Syene. hc.29. 10,12. i Ps.58.11. j broken. bald, and every shoulder was peeled : yet had he no wages, nor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it : 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Be- hold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Ne- buchadrezzar king of Babylon ; and he shall take her multitude, and a take her spoil, and take her prey ; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his b labour wherewith he served against it, be- cause they wrought for me, saith the Lord God. 21 If In that day will I cause the c horn of the house of Israel to bud forth, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them ; and they shall know that I am . the Lord. CHAPTER XXX. 1 The desolation of Egypt mid her helpers. 20 The arm of Babylon shall be strength- eived to break the arm of Egypt rPHE word of the Lord came again unto J- me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord G^d ; Howl ye, Wo worth the day! 3 For B the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day ; it shall be the time of the heathen. 4 And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great b pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down. 5 Ethiopia, and c Libya, and Lydia, and all the d mingled people, and Chub, and the ' men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword. 6 Thus saith the Lord; They also that up- hold f Egypt shall fall ; and the pride of her power shall come down: from s the tower of Syene h shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord God. 7 And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted. 8 And they shall know ■ that I am the Lord, when I have set a fire in Egypt, and when all her helpers shall be i destroyed. subjection. — “Surely,” says the late Editor of Calmet, “the country be-lorded by slaves, may be justly considered as * 1 the basest of kingdoms ” Frag. No. Ixxxix. And though it was well known, as Townsend, has remarked, to have been a fa- vourite project with the late Emperor Napoleon to raise Egypt again to consequence : and though at first Heaven seemed to favour his design, and his success for a time appeared certain, Providence remarkably interfered to disappoint him, and to protect the credit of the sacred prophecies. (See Towns. O. T. Arr. vol. ii. p. 579.) Ver. 17 — 21. A farther prophecy respecting Egypt.— By the date of this prophecy, (which we have no ground to question,) it appears to have been the last which Ezekiel delivered, and de- livered only just before its accomplishment, which took place, according to Prideaux , 573 years before Christ. For the pro- phetic writings are evidently arranged, not according to chro- nological order, but rather with a regard to the connexion of the subjects: those relative to Egypt, for instance, being here placed together. It appears that Nebuchadnezzar was greatly disappointed in the capture of Tyre, in finding that the principal inhabitants had retired by sea to an adjacent island, and taken with them all their valuable property, wdiich was the founding, or rather the re-establishment of New Tyre. God therefore promises to Nebuchadnezzar, who had been the instrument of his just judgments on the Tynans, that Egypt should he given to the king of Babylon as a compensation. Thus the Most High ruleth among the children of men. It is remarkable that most of God’s judgments against the heathen conclude with a promise of mercy to his people Israel: and such is the case with the short portion of prophecy now before us, though commentators are not agreed whether the budding of Israel’s horn referred to the promotion of Daniel and his brethren in Babylon, or to the appointment of Zerub- babel. Perhaps both may be included. Chap. XXX. Ver. t — 26. Farther prophecies against Egypt. — This chapter describes with great elegance and force the ruin of Egypt and all her aliies by Nebuchadnezzar and his forces; with an amplification of the distress of the principal cities of Egypt on that occasion.— The last six verses contain another short prophecy relative to the same event, and therefore an- nexed to the preceding, though predicted at an early period. “The cities mentioned m this chapter were afterwards known by different names ; Noph is the same with Memphis ; Pathros Ver. 7. Madest all their loins, &c.— Net u come, “ Didst strain ail their loins.” Ver. 10. From the tower of Syene.— Margin, “From Migdol to Syene;” i. e. fr.»m the north to the south of Egypt. So Preb. LowthfNeiccome, &c. — ( Syene. Hcb. Seveneh, now Essuan, i9 situated at the southern extremity of Egypt, (as Migdol was at the northern,) on the confines of Ethiopia, near the tropic of Cancer, and about lat. 24° N. long. 32° E.l -Bagster. Ver. 12. Scatter the Egyptians. — fWe learn from Berosus, (apud Josephus,) that Nebuchadnezzar sent several captive Egyptians to Babylon ; and from Megasthenes, (apud Euseb.) that he transplanted others to Pontus ; and it is probable, that at the dissolution of the Babylonian empire, about 40 years after, Cyrus permitted them to return to their native country. ]—Bagster. Ver. 13. At the end of forty years— From the defeat of Apries', just men- tioned, probably at the settlement of the kingdom by Cyrus. Compare Isaiah xlvi. 26. Ver. 14. Pathros — According to Bochart, Thebais, or Upper Egypt. See Jer. xliv. 1 . Ver. 15. Basest of the kingdoms— {For upwards of 2000 years Egypt has oeen a base or tributary kingdom ; being successively under the dominion of 894 the Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Saracens, Mameluke slaves, and Turks, to whom it remains in most abject servitude to this day. See Bishop Z'ewton.) — Eagster. (See exposition above.) Ver. 18 . Great service, &c. — [Nebuchadnezzar was thirteen years employen in the siege. (See Josephus.) During this long siege, the soldiers must have endured great hardships : their heads would become bald by constantly wear- ing their helmets ; and their shoulders be peeled by carrying materials to form the works.]— Bagster. Yet he had no wages.— [Si. Jerome asserts, on the authority of the Assyrian histories, that when the Tyrians saw their city must fall, they put their most valuable effects on board their ships, and fled with them to the islands, and their colonies, “ so that the city being taken, Nebu- chadnezzar found nothing worthy of his labour.”]— Bagster. Ver. 21. The opening of the mouth— That is, an opportunity to open tny mouth in the midst of tnem. Chap. XXX. Ver. 2. Wo toorth—TWaX is, “ wo be !” or alas ! Ver. 5. Chub — In Mareotis, an Egyptian province. Grotius. Men (Hcb “ Sons”) of the land — That is, of every land that is in league with Egypt. Ver. 6. From the tower.— ' Migdol.” See note on ch. xxix. 10. Egypt shall he conquered. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XXXI. 'The glory and fall of Assyria. 9 In that day shall messengers k go forth from me in ships to make the > careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt : for, lo, it cometh. 10 Thus saith the Lord Goo ; I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease by the hand = of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon. 11 He and his people with him, the terrible n of the nations, shall be brought to destroy the land : and they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain. 12 And 0 I will make the rivers v dry, and sell the land into the hand of the wicked : and I will make the land waste, and i all that is therein, by the hand of strangers: I the Lord have spoken it. 13 Thus saith the Lord God; I will also de- stroy the r idols, and I will cause their images to cease out of Noph; and there shall be no more a prince s of the land of Egypt : and 1 will put a fear in the land of Egypt 11 And I will make Pathros 1 desolate, and will set fire in u v Zoan, and will execute judg- ments in No. 15 And I will pour my fury upon w Sin, the strength of Egypt; and I will cut off the mul- titude of 1 No. 16 And I will set fire in Egypt : Sin shall have great pain, and No shall be rent asunder, and Noph shall have distresses daily. 17 The young men of ? Aven and of 2 Pi- besetli shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity. 18 At Tehaphnehes 1 also the day shall be b darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her : as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. 19 Thus will I execute judgments in Egypt: and they shall know that I am the Lord. 20 j[ A nd it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 21 Son of man, I have broken c the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt ; and, lo, it shall not be bound up d to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to bold the sword. 22 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Be- hold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break E his arms, the r strong, and that which was broken ; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. 23 And I will scatter the Egyptians among A M. 3132. R. C. 572. k Is. 13. 1,2. 1 Is. 32. 9.. 11 m ver.24,25. n c.28.7. 0 IS.19.4..6. Re. 16. 12. p drought. q the ful- thereof r Is.19. l,&c Je.43.12. 46.25. Zee. 13. 2. s Zee. 10. 11. t c.29.14. u oT,Tanis. v Ps.7jt.12, 43. w or, Fclii- siutn. x Na.3.8..l0 y or, Helio- polis. 7 . or, Pu- hastum. a Je.2.16. b or, re- strained. A. M. 3116. B. C. 538. c Je.48.25. d Is. 1.6. Je.46.11. e Ps.37.17. c.34.16. g Je.27.6..8. h Ts.10.15. 1 c.29.12. ver.23. j Da.ll. 42. k ver.8. a ver.18. b Da. 4.20.. 22 . c fair of b ranches. eor , brought. f Je.51.36. g or, con- duits. h or, it sent them forth. i c. 17.23. j Ge.2.3. 13.10. Is.5l.a k c. 16. 1-1. the nations, and will disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword in his hand : but I will break Pharaoh’s arms, and he shall groan before him with the groanings of a deadly wounded man. 25 But I will strengthen the arms of the king of e Babylon, and the arms of Pharaoh shall fall down ; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall put my h sword into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall stretch it out upon the land of i Egypt. 26 And I will scatter i the Egyptians among the nations, and disperse them among the coun- tries ; and they shall know k that I am the Lord. CHAPTER XXXI. 1 A relation unto Pharaoh. 3 of the glory of Assyria. 10 and the fall thereof for pride. 18 The like destruction of Egypt. A ND it came to pass in the eleventh year, TA- in the third month , in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude ; a Whom art thou like in thy greatness ? 3 Behold, Ihe Assyrian was a cedar b in Le- banon c with fair branches, and with a sha- dowing shroud and of a high stature ; and his fop was among the thick boughs. 4 The waters d made him great, the deep e set him up on high with her rivers f running round about his plants, and sent out her s lit- tle rivers unto all the trees of the field. 5 Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long be- cause of the multitude of waters, when h he shot forth. 6 All the fowls ■ of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. 7 Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches : for his root was by great waters. 8 The cedars in the garden i of God could not hide him : the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. 9 I have made him fair k by the multitude of his branches : so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. the same with Thebais; Zoan, the same with Tania, and the metropolis in Moses’ time; No, (or Hamon-No,) was Thebes; •Sin, the same with Pelusium ; Aven (or On) was Heliopolis; Pi-beseth was Bubastam ; and Tehaphanhes, Daphne Pelusia- cte, where the Prophet Jeremiah is said to have been put to death.” — (Dr. J. Smith.) Chap. XXXI. Ver. 1 — 18. Farther ’prophecies against Egypt and Assyria . — In this chapter the Prophet resumes the poetical style, and describes to Pharaoh the fall of the king of Nineveh, (seeNahum, Jonah, and Zephaniah,) under theimage of a fair cedar of Lebanon, once tall, flourishing, and majestic, but now cut down and withered, with its broken branches strewed around. He then concludes with bringing the matter home to the king of Babylon, by telling him that this was a picture of his own fate. This beautiful cedar of Lebanon, now cut down and destroyed, gives a lively image of the glory and ruin of both the Assyrian and Egyptian monarchs. The manner in which the Prophet has embellished his subject is very interesting, and the moral highly important : God delightetn to abase those that exalt Ver. 15. Upon Sin— See margin.— [Now Tineh, a town of Egypt, situated at the eastern extremity of the Delta, 20 stadia from the Mediterranean, near the lake of Menz.aleh, and upon a branch of the Nile, to whirh it gavename. it was the key of Egypt on the side of Judea and Syria, and was therefore strongly fortified and garrisoned ; hut it is now quite in ruins. J —Bagster. Ver. 17. Pi-beseth. — (Situated on the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, near the top of tne Delta. Herod.]— Bagster. Ver. 13. Tehaphnehes— or Tehapanes. Ver 21. Broken the arm of Pharaoh. — [This prophecy was delivered soon after the Egyptians under Fharaoh-hophra had come to relieve Jerusalem, and some months before that city was taken, being the eleventh year of Jeremiah’s captivity, and answering to April 26, A. M. 3416. When the king of Babylon took from the king of Egypt, in the days of Pharaoh-necho, all his dominions in Asia, one of his arms was broken. God now declared that he should never recover these territories, or gain any ascendancy in that part of the world: nay. that his other arm, which was now strong, should soon be broken, and rendered utterly useless This was fulfilled when Hopbra was dethroned and driven into Upper Egypt by Amasis ; and then Nebuchadnezzar, taking ad- /antage of this civil discord, invaded and conquered that kingdom, and ensla- ved, dispersed, and carried captive the Egyptians. See on Jer xliv 30.)— B. Ver 28. Twill scatter — See chap. xxix. 12. Chap. XXXI. Ver. 1. Eleventh year— lOn Sunday, June 19, A. M. 3416, according to Usher : and about a month before the capture of Jerusalem.]— B. Ver. 2. Whom— Rather, “ Unto whom.” Ver. 3. Whose top (the king of Assyria) was among the thick boughs— This is, subordinate and pendant princes. Ver. 4. The waters made him great. — As a tree is enriched by the waters which nourish its roots, so was Assyria, so are kingdoms and states by com- merce. Running round about his plants. — This alludes to the method of watering gardens in the East, by small artificial channels. When he shot forth— That is, branches. Ver. 5. His height was exalted , &c.— [The Assyrian king, to whom Pha- raoh is compared, from his great power, extensive dominion, and the protec - t : on he afforded, resembled the spreading branches, thick shade, and high stature of a flourishing cedar on mount Lebanon. The fruitful lands of Assy- ria : the immense revenues he drew from vast multitudes in his extensive ter- ritories ; his lucrative commerce, by the river Tigris, with the countries on the Indian ocean ; and ail the various sources of his wealth and prosperity, resem bled the rivers and streams which cause the trees planted by them to grow ant. flourish exceedingly ; and hence the empire and its head were exalted above all the kingdoms of the earth.]— Bagster. Ver. a. The garden of God — That is Paradise Gen. xi. 6. 896 A lamentation for the EZEKIEL. — C'HAlk XXXII. fearful fall oj Egypt. 10 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Be- cause thou hast lifted up thyself ‘ in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his m heart is lifted up in his height ; 11 I have therefore delivered him into the. hand of the mighty one of the heathen ; " he shall surely deal with him : I have driven him out for his 0 wickedness. 12 And strangers, the terrible p of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him : upon the mountains « and in all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land ; and all the people of the earth are gone down from his shadow, and have left him. 13 Upon r his ruin shall all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of, the field shall be upon his branches : 14 To the end * that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees ‘ stand up in their height, all that drink water : for u they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them v that go down to the pit. 15 Thus saith the Lord God ; In the day when he went down to the grave l caused a w mourn- ing : I covered the deep for him, and I restrain- ed the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed : and I caused Lebanon to x mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. 16 I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him v down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted z in the nether parts of the earth. 17 They also went do wn into hell with him unto them that he slain with the sword ; and they that were his arm, that dwelt a under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. 18 T[ To whom b art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden ? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth : thou shalt lie in the midst of the 0 uncircum- cised with them that he slain by the sword. A. M. 3416. B. C. S38. I Mat.23.12. m Da. 5.20. i in doing he fthfiU do unto. o La. 1.21, 22 . Na.3.18, 19. p c.29.7. (i c.32.4,5. 35.5. r Is. 18.6. » Da 4.32. t or, upon thi 77/if elves for. u Pa. 82.7. v c.32.18. w Rc 18.11. x be black. Mai. 3. 14. y c.26. 15. z Is 14.15. a c. 32.31. La. 4.20. b vcr.2. c.32.19. c 23a. 1.20. Je. 9.25,26. A. M. 3417. B. C. 587. a c.27.2. ver. 16. b c. 19.3,6. 33. ia c or, dr a* oil. c.29.3. (1 c.34.18. e c. 12.13. Ec.9.12. f Joel 3.19. g c. 3 1.13. h Ex.7.17. Re. 16.6. i or, of thy swimming. j or, extin- guish thee. k Is. 13. 10. Joel 3.15. Mat. 24. 29 1 light of Hie light in. in them dark. n Ex. 10.21 ..23. o provoke to anger , or, gnef. p c. 27.35. q De.32.4l. r Je. 46.24.. 26. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XXXII. 1 A lamentation for die fearful full of Egypt. 1 1 The word of Babylon shall destroy tt 17 It shall be brought down to hell, uriiong all the uucircumcised nations. A ND it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Loud came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, take up a “lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion b of the nations, and thou art as a c whale in the seas: and thou earnest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst d their rivers. 3 Thus saith the Lord God; I will therefore spread c out my net over thee with a company of many people ; and they shall bring thee up in my net. 4 Then f will I leave thee upon the land, 1 will cast thee forth upon the open field, and e will cause all the fowls of the heaven to re- main upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee. 5 And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains and fill the valleys with thy height. 6 I will also water with thy blood h the f land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains and the rivers shall be full of thee. 7 And when I shall J put thee out, k I will co- ver the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark ; 1 will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. 8 All the i bright lights of heaven will I make ra dark over thee, and set darkness " upon thy land, saith the Lord God. 9 I will also 0 vex the hearts of many people when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast nol known. 10 Yea, I will make many p people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of A M. 3417. B. C. 587. ■ c.28.7. 30.4. t Is. 25.2,3. u c.59.11. v desolate ■from the fulness thereof w Ex.7.5. 14.4,18. x ver. 2. y 2 Sa. 1 17 2Ch. 35.25. a c.31.14. b ver.21,24. c or, the sword is laid. d Is. 1.31. e Is. 14.9,10. f Is. 14.15. g Is. 51. 12, 13 h or, dis- maying. i Je. 49.34, &c. j Je.3.24,25. IIab.2.16. k Lu.12.4,5. 1 Ge.10.12. c.27.13. 38.2. ro Is. 14- 18, 19. n weapons of their o Ps.92.7,9. p c.25.12, &c. Ob.2,&c. q given , or, put. r Je.1.14. 4.6. c.38.6,15. 39.2. s c. 28.21. t c.31.16. u Ge.35.5. Job 31.23. 2 Co.5.11. the living; yet have they borne their shame j with them that go down to the pit. 25 They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude : her graves are round about him : all of them uncircum- cised, slain by the sword : though their terror 11 was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit : he is put in the midst of them that be slain. 26 There is > Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude : her graves are round about him : all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living. 27 And m they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with “ their weapons of war : and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities “shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the liv,ng. 28 Yea, thou shalt be broke, n in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword. 29 There is p Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are i laid by them that were slain by the sword : they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. 30 There be the princes of the r north, all of them, and all the s Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain ; with their terror they are ashamed of their might ; and they lie un- circumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. 31 Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be com- forted ‘ over ail his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord God. 32 For I have caused my "terror in the land of the living : and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his mul- titude, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XXXIII. 1 According to the duty of a watchman, in wan. ing the people, 7 Ezekiel is admonished of his duly. 10 God showeth the justice of his ways towards the penitent, and to- wards revolters. 17 He inaintaineih his justice. 21 Upon the news of the taking of Jerusalem, he prophesielh the desolation of the land. 30 God’s judgment upon the mockers of the prophets. A GAIN the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, lion opens in terms very similar to those in the preceding chapter (ver. 2 ;) u Whom art thou like in thy greatness ?” So here, “Whom dost thou pass (that is, surpass) in beauty?” However great, however beautiful, “ Go down” to the grave, “ and be thou laid with the uncircumcised” in the field of battle — unpitied and unburied. The king is then introduced below the grave, into the region of shades, to take his station among the mighty shades of former ages : where their weapons of war, now done with, are laid in silence beneath their heads. But wherefore are they here deposited? Is it not as the wit- nesses of their crimes? They “bear their shame,” and their iniquities lie “ upon their bones” till the great day of retribution. Ver. 14. Rivera to run like oil. -[The neighbouring countries shall be in a state of quietness, like a river that smoothly glides along, having no longer a political crocodile to foul their waters, or to disturb their peace.] -Bagster. Ver. 17. Of the month— That is. “ Of the first month. "—Newco?ne. [That is. of the 12 th month, just a fortnight after the preceding prophecy. ]— Bagster. Ver. 13. Cast her down— [That is, predict that they shall be cast down. The daughters— The cities and colonies of the celebrated nations afterwards enumerate!, j — Bolster. Ver. 19. Whom dost thou pass (or surpass) in beauty ?— This we think best agrees with ver 2 and 18 in tne preceding chapter. Abp. Neiocomc, and others, however, on the authority of some ancient versions, render this line very dif- ferently ; “ Come down from the pleasant waters meaning those of the Nile, which were the boast of Egypt. Ver. 21. The strong, &c.— [Pharaoh is here represented as descending into the regions of the dead, whither many mighty warriors and potentates had gone before him, who welcome him to their dreary mansion.]— B. Com. Is. xiv. 9,10. Ver. 23. Graves.— [ The niches in the sides of the subterranean burying places.] — Bagster. Ver. 23. A bed— [A cell, or bier, in the sepulchral vault, in which the corpse was deposited.] — Bagster. Ver, 26 . Meshech — fSonoosed to be the Moschi, a people between Iberia 113 Chap. XXXIII. Ver. 1 — 33. Prophets , watchmen of thehouse of Israel , their duty stated and enforced— The same doctrine which had been advanced in chapter iii. is here repeated and amplified. God’s ministers are like sentinels on the walls of Zion, who, with the trumpet of the Gospel in their hands, are ordered to warn men of their danger, and to guard them against the consequences of their sin. Not to repeat the ob- servations we have made on the chapter just referred to, we may here remark 1. It is required of a watchman, as well as of a steward (1 Cor. iv. 2.) that he be found faithful; and God’s ministers fulfilling both characters, under the New Tes- tament, as well as under the Old, are under a double obliga- and Armenia, from whom, probably, the Muscovites descended. Tubal. — Probably the Tibarenians, a people of Pontus, west of the Moschians.] — B. Ver. 27. The uncircumcised.— The priests and principal persons among the Egyptians, it may be recollected, practised circumcision. They are gone down to hell (Sheol) with their weapons of war— [That is , to the grave; and are buried in their armour, with their weapons lying by their sides, as was a very ancient practice in various nations. Sir J. Chardin , in a MS. note on this place, observes, “ In Mingrelia they always sleep with their swords under their heads, and their other arms by their sides : and they inter them with their arms placed in the'same manner.”— This practice seems to have arisen from the belief that they attended them into a future state of existence. Virgil describes his heroes thus in the Elysjan fields ; “ These pleasing cares the heroes felt alive, For chariots, studs, and arms, in death survive.”]— Bagster. Ver. 30. The Princes.— [The kings of Media, Armenia, and other nations north of Chaldea, or of the Syrians and others north of Judah, with “ -all tne Zidonians,” kings of Zidon, Tyre, and other cities of Phoenicia.]— Bagster. Ver. 31. Pharaoh shall see them— [Pharaoh, who said he was a god, 9nal' be found among the dead. Shall be comforted.— Shall console himself when he sees all these mighty nations and proud conquerors in the same con dition as himself. 1— Bagster £97 Kte.kiel admonished of his duty. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XXXIII. Justice of God’s ways. 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, “ When I bring b the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their c watchman : 3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blotf the trumpet, and warn the people ; 4 Then d whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard e the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning ; his blood f shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned ; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity ; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. 7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee sa watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore h thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn 1 them from me. 8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man , thou j shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his k iniquity ; but his blood will I require at thy hand. 9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it ; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die > in his iniquity ; but thou m hast delivered thy soul. 10 If Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thusye speak, say- ing, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine " away in them, how ° should we then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I p have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live : turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness ''of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression : as for the wickedness of the wicked, he r shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness ; nei- a A land to hen I bring a sword upon her. b c. 14.17. c 2 Sa. 18.24. 2 Ki.9.17. Ho.9.8. d he that hearing heareth. f c.18.13, &c. m Ac. 20. 26. n c.24.23. o Ps. 130.7. Is. 49.14. c.37.11. p 2Sa.14.14, La.3.33. IIo 11.8. 2 Pe.3.9. .3.20 5.24, &c. r 2 Ch.7.14. Ro.3.25. s 1 Jn.2.1. t Ro.10.3. Ph.3.9. u Pr.28.13. Ac. 3. 19. v judgment ana. justice. \vc.18.7,&c x Ex.22.1,4 Le.6.2..5. Lu.19.8. y Le.18.5. Ps. 119.93. z Mi.7.18, 19. Ro.5.16, 21. a He. 10.33. b Pr.19.3. c 2Co.5.10. Re. 20. 13. d c. 24. 26, 27. e 16.51.2. Jn.8.39. f Je.7.9,10. ther shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness ■ in the day that he sinneth. 13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own ‘ right- eousness, and commit iniquity, all his right- eousnesses shall not be remembered ; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if ° he turn from his sin, and do v that which is lawful and right; 15 If the w wicked restore the pledge, give again * that he had robbed, walk in the sta- tutes y of life, without committing iniquity ; he shall surely live, he shall not die. 1G None 2 of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him : he hath done that which is lawful and right ; he shall surely live. 17 Tf Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. 18 When the righteous turneth 1 from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. 19 But if the wicked turn from his wicked ness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. 20 Yet b ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one c after his ways. 21 it And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month , in the fifth day of the month, that ‘'one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten. 22 Now the hand of the Lord was upon me in the evening, afore he that was escaped came; and had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning ; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more dumb. 23 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 24 Son of man, they that inhabit those wastes ot the land of Israel speak, saying, Abraham e was one, and lie inherited the land : but we are ma- ny ; the land is given us for inheritance. 25 Wherefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Ye eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood : and shall ye f possess the land? 26 Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abo- tion to fidelity toward their people.— 2. Though men are com- manded to do works of righteousness, they are utterly forbid- den to trust in them ; for, as Jeremiah says, (chap, xxiii. 6.) “The Lord is our righteousness;” and, as Isaiah teaches us, “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isa. lxiv. 6.) — 3. Confidence in our own righteousness leads to a false security, and opens the door to apostacy and ruin. On the other hand. —4. Transgression, however provoking, will not be punished after being repented of and forsaken. Lastly -Punishment, in itself, is so far from affording pleasure to the Almighty, that it is his delight to see sinners turn from their evil ways ; and for this end he beseeches and conjures them to repent and to re- turn ; but warns them against hypocrisy, in imagining that they are righteous or religious, merely because they are charmed with the eloquence of a preacher, while (alas !) " their heart goeth after covetousness.” It is plain that what is here said of watchmen , and of the Chap. XXXIII. Ver. 8. Thou shalt surely die. — Heb. “ Dying thou shalt die.” Sover.lt. Ver. 10 . If our transgressions.— [The impenitent Jews seem to have charg- ed the prophet’a messages with inconsistency ; for whilst he warned them to repent, ami assured the penitent of forgiveness, he also predicted that the people” would pine away in their transgressions.” The prediction, however, merely implied, that God foresaw that the people in general would be impeni- tent ; though some individuals would repent ami he pardoned.! —Bagster. Ver. 13. He shall surely live.— Heb. “Living he shall live.” So ver. 15 . Ver. 15. Restore the pie lire. — I” The sin is not. forgiven, unless that which is taken away be restored,” says Augustine.)— Bagster. Ver. til. Twelfth year— (This was on Wednesday, January 25, A. M. 3116 or 3417. According to the date here given, this escaped Jew did not come to the prophet, with intelligence of Jerusalem being smitten, till about 18 months after tho event ]— Bagster. Syriac and eight MSS. read "eleventh year,” which ieapprovedhv Bathe Dndtrlein. and others. City is smitten. — [This duty of attending to their warning, must have been delivered prior to the fall of Jerusalem ; yet the latter part of the chap- ter, from verse 20, was evidently subsequent to that event. It is so difficult to account for 17 months elapsing after that event, ere the news should be brought to Eabylon, that some' read the eleventh year for the twelfth ; but a learned and sen- sible writer, after remarking that this address was delivered to the captive Jews in Babylon, adds : “In order then that this address might make the stronger impression on them, .... he immediately subjoins an information which here presents it- self, as having been just then received, of the actual capture of Jerusalem, agreeably to his foregoing prophecies against it: the accomplishment of which prediction against the Jews, [with those already fulfilled against the heathen,] would com- pletely establish the credit and veracity of his predictions against Egypt and other nations ; and also prove, by a con- spicuous example, the truth of that maxim, with which he had was the very message which God had promised the prophet, ch. xxiv. 26.]— B. Ver. 22. Until he came— That is, his mouth continued open until, &c. Ver. 24. They that inhabit those wastes of the house of Israel— [That is, the small remnant which continued in the land under Gedaliah, after the dc solution of Jerusalem, flattered themselves, notwithstanding all their crimes, that they should inherit the whole land.]— Bagster. See Newcome, who thinks this was spoken to Ezekiel (ver. 23 to 33) before the messenger came : if so, it must be considered a distinct prophecy. Indeed these predictions seem to be arranged (as before mentioned) with little or no regard to the order of delivery, which, in many cases, can now be only guessed at Ver. 25. Ye eat with the blood. — This was not only contrary to the Mosaic, but to the patriarchal law, Gen. ix. 4. which shows their utter neglect of the divine commands. t Ver. 26 . Ye stand uvon your sioord. — Newcome , “ With your sword. * This is supposed to refer to some idolatrous rites performed with swords drawn ; or else it means, to govern with the sword ; that is, by might, and not by light. A reproof of the shepherds. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XXXIV. God's providence for his flock. mination, and ye defile every one his neigh- bour’s wife : and shall ye possess the land? 27 Say thou thus unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; As I live, surely they that are. in the wastes shall fall by the sword, and him that is in the open field will I give to the beasts to s be devoured, and they that be in the forts and in the caves shall die of the pestilence. 28 For I will lay the land b most ‘ desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease ; and the mountains i of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. 29 Then shall they know that I am the Lord, when I have laid the land most desolate be- cause of ail their abominations which they have committed. 30 j[ Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking k against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, say- ing, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. 31 And they come lunto thee m as the people cometh, and "they sit before thee as my peo- ple, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them : for 0 with their mouth p they show much love, but their heart goeth after theii covetousness. , 32 And lo, thou art unto them as 'a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then r shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. CHAPTER XXXIV. I A reproof of the shepherds- 7 God’s judgment against them. 11 His providence tor his flock. 20 The Kingdom of Christ. A ND the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shep- herds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds ; Wo a be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves ! should not the shepherds feed the flocks ? 3 Ye b eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill c them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4 The d diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was bro- ken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought e that which was lost ; but with f force and with cru- elty have ye ruled them. 5 And e they were scattered, h because > there is no shepherd : and they became meat ) to all the a. m. wn. 13. U. 537. g devour him. h desolation and deso- lation. i Je.44.2,&c j c.6.2,.6. k or, of. 1 c.14.1. 20.1. m accord- ing lo the coming of the people. n or, my people. 0 De.5.28, 29. Ps.73.36. Is. 29. 13. p make loves , or, jests. q song of loves. r 1 Sa.3.19. a Je.23.1. Zec.ll.16 b ls.56.ll. c Mi. 3. 1,3. d Je.8.22. He. 12. 12. e Lu.15.4. f 1 Pe.5.2,3. g Mat 9. 36. h or, with- out a shepherd. 1 Zee. 10.2,3 j Je. 12.9 . 12 J n.10.12. k l Pe.2.25. 1 Jn.10.16. m Ac. 20. 33. 1 Co-9.15. n c. 3. 13,20. He. 13. 17. 0 lSa.2.29.. 36. p Ps.119. 175. Lu.19.10. q accord- ing to the seeking. r Is.50.10. Joel 2.1. .3 s Is. 65. 9,10. Je.23.3,4. 1 Ps.23. 1 ,2. Is. 40. 11. u Je.33.12. v Je.3.15. Ju.2I.15. w Mi. 4.6. Mat. 18. 11 ..14. Ma.2.17. Lu.5.32. x Am. 4. 1,2. y Je. 10.24. Mi.7.14. z small cattle , of lambs and kids. a Mat. 25.32 b great he- goats. c Lu.ll.52. beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered k through all the moun- tains, and upon every high hill : yea, my flock was scattered i upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. 7 jf Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord ; 8 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely be- cause my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, be- cause there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shep- herds fed m themselves, and fed not my flock; 9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord ; 10 Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require "my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease 0 from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds, feed themselves any more ; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not bS meat for them. 11 jjFor thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek p them out. 12 q As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scat- tered ; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark r day. 13 And s I will bring them out from the peo- ple, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the ri- vers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I 1 will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be : there u shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the moun- tains of Israel. 15 I will feed v my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. 16 I will seek w that which was lost, and bring again that, which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick : but I will de- stroy *the fat and the strong; I will feed them with y judgment. 17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between z cattle and cattle, between a the rams and the b he-goats. 18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down c with your feet the residue of your pas- tures ? and to have drunk of the deep waters, I but ye must foul the residue with your feet? concluded his late address to the captive Jews — that God will judge every one after his ways, both Jews and heathens.” (See Newcome in loc.) Chap. XXXIV. Ver. I — 31. A reproof to unfaithful shep- herds, and a promise of the good shepherd — the Messiah. — In this chapter God reproves the conduct of the rulers and guides of his people, under the metaphor of shepherds, and promises to take the charge of them himself; to gather tnemfrom theii dispersions ; and restore them to their own land under the Messiah ; where their prosperity and permanent security is set forth by avariety of beautiful images, which must undoubtedly be referred to a period yet to come. Michcelis thinks this prophecy followed immediately the pre ceding : and the judicious writer quoted in our last chapter re- marks, li Considering that in part the people suffered for the faults of their shepherds, mercy now urged the Prophet to de Ver. 28 . Must desolate.— Newcome, “ Desolation and an astonishment.” Ver. 30. Against thee.— See margin. The prophet was a subject of curiosity ;tnd conversation, and even of admiration, though his precepts were utterly disregarded. Ver. 32. A very lovely song. — Among the Hebrews, singers generally ac- companied themselves upon the harp, as the Greeks did upon the lyre. Chap. XXXIV. Ver. 2. Shepherds of Israel.— \ The shepherds of Israel, signify their kings and princes, priests and prophets ; the flock , the whole of the people ; the fat and wool , the tithes and offerings, taxes and imposts: these they exacts with great rigour, and even oppressed and destroyed the peonle to enrich themselves ; but they bestowed no pains to provide for the welfare of the state, or for the souls of those intrusteu to them. They knew nothing about their flock: it might be diseased, infirm, bruised, maimed, strayed, or lost,— for they watched not over them. When they got the fat sheep for their table, and the wool for their clothing, they regarded nothing else.] — Bagster. See ver. 4. Also our note on chap, xxiii. l. Should not the shepherds feed ? &«. — A good king is the father of his people : and it is his duty to feed them as well as to feed himself. So with respect to teachers, they are not to clothe themselves with the wool, and leave the flock to starve. Ver. ll. Seek them out —New came, “ Diligently seek them.” Ver. 12 . As a sh ipherd seeketh— Heb. “ According to the diligent seeking.” The cloudy and dark day. — That is, the day of calamity. See Joel ii. 2. Ver. 16. But I loill destroy the fat and the strong.— In the early part of the chapter, the rulers of Israel are compared to shepherds, and the people to sheep. Here the allegory is changed : they are all considered as cattle ; the oppressors as “ great ne-goats ;” tne oppressed, as lambs and kids. The greac Shephertl promises to treat the latter with great care and tenderness ; but the former he will '* feed with judgment ;” i. e. execute judgment or justice on them. See Ps. ciii. 6. Amos iv i. For want of observing this, several an- cient versions and modern cri*xs read, “preserve,” instead of “ destroy but, we think, without occasion. Compare next verse. Ver. 17. Between cattle and cattle.— Heb. “ The small cattle, of lambs and kids,” between the rams and the he-goats ; the former leading the sheep, and the latter the kids. S99 Tht kingdom of Christ. EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXV. Judgment of mount b'eir. 19 And us for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet ; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. 20 ^ Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the d diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey ; and I will judge be- tween cattle and cattle. 23 And I will set up one ' shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David ; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I f the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince s among them ; I the Lord have spoken it. 25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause, the evil beasts 11 to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely ' in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make j them and the k places round about my hill a blessing ; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season ; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served them- selves of them. 23 And they shall no more be a prey to the neatben, neither shall the beast of the land devour them ; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And 'I will raise up for them a plant m of renown, and they shall be no more " consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 30 Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. 31 And ye my Hock, the flock °of my pas- ture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XXXV. The judgment of mount Seir for their hatred of Israel. M OREOVER the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, a. m. am. B. C. 587. d Lu.I3.14 ..16. e Je.23.4.5. Jn lu ll. He. 13.20. f Lx. 29.45. Is. 4 3. Vi ,3. Ke.21.3. g La. 1.32, 33. h 1 8. 35.9. i Je.23.6. J Zec.8.13. k Ps.133.3. 1 18.11.1, &C. m or, for. n taken away. o Lu.12.32. a De.2.5. b Je.49.7, &c. c. 25.12, &o. Am.1.11, 12 . Ob.lO,&c. c desolation and deso- lation. d or, hatred e poured out the children. f hands. g c. 21. 25, 29. h Pa. 137.7. i Ps.109.17. j desolation and deso- lation. ver.3. k J u.5.6,7. 1 c.32.5. m Mai. 1.3,4 n or, though. o Ps.43.1,13 132.13. c.45.35. p Ja.2.13. q Ps.94.9,10 r Ps.83.12, 13. c.36.2. s devour. t magnified. u 1 Sa.2.3. Ps.73.8,9. v Is.65. 13,14 2 Son of man, set thy face against mount “Seir, and prophesy b against it, 3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will make thee c most desolate. 4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 5 Because thou hast had a d perpetual hatred, and hast 'shed the blood of the children of Is- rael by the r force of the sword in the time oi their calamity, in the time that tlieir iniquity had an e end. 6 ''Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee : since > thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. 7 Thus will I make mount Seir i most deso- late, and cut off from it him k that passeth out and him that returneth. 8 And I will fill his mountains > with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword. 9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities m shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 10 Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it ; n whereas the Lord ° was there: 11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord God, I will even do according p to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them ; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee. 12 And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, and that I have heard i all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us r to 'consume. 13 Thus with your mouth ye have ‘boasted against me, and have multiplied u your words against me : I have heard them. 14 Thus saith the Lord God; When the v whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee de- solate. 15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee : thou shalt be desolate, O. mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the Lord. clare from God that he would judge between them, save the flocks, and set up one shepherd over them, who should feed them, even his servant David,” the Messiah. So far the Jews agree with us ; but they vainly hope for a merely temporal Messiah; a mortal hero, and an earthly sovereign. (See notes.) Chap. XXXV. Ver. 1 — 15. Ezekiel resumes his prophecy against Edom. — Edom is here distinguished by the name of Mount Seir, which was the heritage of Esau, where he dwelt. (See Deut. ii. 5.) God had already (chap. xxv. 12.) devoted Edom to destruction on account of its “perpetual hatred” against Israel, as we have before observed ; for though other nations, as well as the Jews, are promised the recovery of their freedom after the fall of Babylon, no such favour is in reserve for Edom. Accordingly the nation has been annihilated ; many thousands of them being destroyed by Judas Maccabeus, (l Macc. v.) and by this they were so weakened, that Hyrca- nus, his nephew, compelled them to embrace the Jewish reli- gion ; after which we hear no more about them. (See note on ver. 9.) Ver. 20. Between the fat cattle and betioeen the lean cattle. — As in the pre- ceding verses, to chastise the one, and nourish the other. Ver. 23. Ong shepherd. — See Isa. xl. ll, &c. Jer. xxx. 9. My servant David. — [ David king of Israel had been dead upwards of 400 years ; and from that time till now there never was a ruler of any kind in the Jewish nation of the name of David. By David , then, we must understand the Messiah , as the Jews themselves acknowledge, (see on Jer. ix. 1.) so called because descended from him, and also as being the well beloved son of the Father, as the name imports, and in whom all the promises made to David were ful- fil 1 ed. ]—Bagste r. Ver. 28. No more a prey , &c.— fit is evident that this prophecy could at most have only a typical accomplishment in the return from captivity under Zerubbabcl, and in their subsequent prosperity ; but the restoration of the Jews from their present captivity, and the consequent peace and prosperity of the church and world, fully answer to this energetic language. J — Bolster. Ver. 29. A plant of renown— Or, “ a plantation for my name,” or honour. As, however, the word is singular, it may be applied to Messiah. See Isa. xi. 1. Chap. XXXV. Ver. 5. Perpetual hatred.—" Hatred of old.” See chap. %xv. I?. And hast shed.— Heb. “ Hast poured out the children of Israel (i. e. 900 their lives or souls) by the hand of the sword i. e. by war, or murder. In the time that their iniquity had an end.—Newcome, “ In the time of the punishment of iniquity, (even in) the end (thereof.) Ver. 6. Blood (i. e. vengeance) shall pursue thee, since thou hast not hated — but rather hast appeared to delight in blood. Ver. 9. Perpetual desolations .— \ Alter being subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, many of the Edomites, during the Babylonian captivity, being driven from their ancient habitation by the Nabatheans, seized upon the south-western part of Judea, (Strabo;) but afterwards they were conquered by Hyrcanus, and reduced to the necessity of embracing the Jewish religion ; ( Josephus , Ant.) and at last became either incorporated with that nation, or swallowed up and lost among the Nabathean Arabs, so that the very name was abolished and disused about the end of the first century after Christ. Their country is now barren and unfruitful ; and their cities, even their ancient capitals Bozra and Petra, totally demolished and in ruins. See Prideaux's Connexion, Newton on the Prophecies, Dis- sert. iii., and Burckhardt's Travels in Syria/ '[—Bagster. Ver. 10. IVhereas (or although) the Lord was there — That is, there was no respect paid to the residence of Jehovah. See chap, xlviii. 35. IVie land of Israel comforted. EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XXXVI. The cause of Israel's rejection. CHAPTER XXXVI. . The land of Israel is comforted, both by destruction of the heathen, who spitefully used it, 8 and by the blessings of God promised unto it. 16 Israel was rejected tor their sin. 21 and shall l>e restored without their desert. 25 The blessings of Christ’s triugdom. A LSO, thou son of man. prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye moun- tains of Israel, near the word of the Lord : 2 Thus saith the Lord God ; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high 11 places are ours in b possession: 3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God ; c Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the resi- due of the heathen, and ye are d taken up c in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people : 4 Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God ; T hus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the f rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which be- came a e prey and derision h to the residue of the heathen that are round about; 5 Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Surely in the fire > of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all i Idumea, which have appointed k my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. 6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the i shame of the heathen : 7 Therefore thus saith the Lord God : I have lifted m up my hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. 8 But ye, O mountains "of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel ; for they are at hand to come. 9 For behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto 0 you, and ye shall be tilled and sown. 10 And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and p the wastes shall be builded : 11 And 1 1 will multiply upon you man and beast : and they shall increase and bring fruit : and I will settle you after your old estates, and i A. M. 3417. B. C. 587. a De. 32.13. b C.35.1C- c Because for be- cause. d or, made to come upon the lip of the longue. e P3.79.10. f or, bot- toms, or, dales. g Je.25.7..13 29.10. h Ps.79.4. l Zep.3.8. j Is.34.5,6. La. 4.21. kc. 35.10, 11. 1 Ps. 123.3,4. m c.20.5. n Am. 9.13, 14. p Is.61.4. q Je.31.27. 33.12. r Is.54.7..10 s Is. 52. 4.. 6. t Ob. 17, &c. u Nu. 13.32. v or, cause to fall. w Ps.89.50, 51. Zep.2.8. x Le. 13.25 ..28. Je.2.7. y Le.15.19, &c. z c. 16. 36,38. 23.37. a Ro.2.24. b Ps.71.18. c Ps. 115.1. d Ps.106.8. e Ps.46.10. f c. 20.41. 28.22. 1 Pe.2.9. g or, your. will do better r unto you than at your begin- nings: and ye shall know "that I am the Lord. 12 Y ea, I will cause men to walk upon you even my people Israel ; and ‘ they shall pos^- sess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. 13 Thus saith the Lord God ; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up u men, and hast bereaved thy nations; 14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither v bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord God. 15 Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach w of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord God. 16 If Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 17 Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled *itby their own way and by their doings : their way was before me as the uncleanness y of a remo- ved woman. 18 Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood z that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it : 19 And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the coun- tries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them. 20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they a profaned my holy name, when they said to them, these are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land. 21 But I had pity for my holy L name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God ; I do not this for your c sakes, O house of Israel, but for my d holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 23 And e I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them ; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you f before s their eyes. Chap. XXXVI. Ver. 1 — 15. Farther judgments against Edom and Judah, with the latter's restoration. — The Edom- ites. (or Idumeans,) during the Babylonish captivity, appear to have taken possession of the mountainous parts of Judea, and the fortified places on its borders, intending to exclude the Jews from returning at the conclusion of their captivity. The Pro- phet therefore uses the bold figure of prosopopoeia, (or personi- fication,) and ascribing to them feelings similar to his own, congratulates them on the prospect of being rid of their ty- rannical and idolatrous possessors, and of returning to their former state of fruitfulness and verdure, of which the crimes of the people had deprived them. As we are now about to consider the final restoratipn of the Jews, a question here arises, whether their conversion is to Chap. XXXVI. Ver. 2. Ancient high 'places. — That is, Zion and Jerusalem. Boothroyd. Ver. 3. Ye are taken up, &c.— See margin ; i. e. because ye are made the theme of talkers, or gossippers. See chap, xxxiii. 30. And are an infamy. —Newcome, “ And in the defaming of the people i. e. the common topic of the slanderer. Verses 6, 7. Behold, I have spoken , &c. — Archbishop New come says, these verse? may he thus pointed ; “ Behold I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury. Pecause ye have home the shame of the heal hen, therefore thus saith the Lord,’’ &c. 1 have lifted up my fazwd— That is, “ I have sworn.” Ver. 8. At. hand to come— That is, to come back from Babylon.— [The Edomites and other enemies of the Jews, yvho thought they would soon be in possession of the whole land of Judea, might be assured, that the predicted seventy years of the captivity were wearing away, and the time would soon arrive when the Jews would repossess and cultivate their own land, and eat its fruits.]— Bagster. Ver. 11. After your old estates— [The circumstances of the Jews were never so prosperous after the captivity as they had been before ; hence this take place before or after their return to their own land? But as it is promised even in ihis chapter, that when the children of Israel return to the Lord, it shall be with one heart, and that a new heart, and under divine. influences, we conceive this to be scarcely reconcilable with their coming back in a state of impenitence and unbelief. But see Rom. xi. 25, &c. Ver. 16 — 38. Israel' s conversion and restoration. — We have above expressed our opinion, that the Jews will return to their own land a converted people ; and indeed we scarcely know any other motive that could induce them to return. The rich among them are the money merchants of Europe^ and have no taste for agriculture, nor wish to change their situation : the poor are reduced to the most sordid and mercenary habits : and by their own accounts, a great part of both rich and poor prophecy must refer to the times of the Gospel, and the future conversion and restoration of the Jews.l —Bagster. Ver. 12. No more bereave them of men — That is, by thine idolatries. [The prophet is still personifying the mountains, valleys, and wastes of Judea.]— B. Ver. 15. The shame. — Newcome, “ The reproach.” Ver. 20. To them. — Newcome, ‘‘Concerning them.” The Hebrew admits of both senses : they were doubtless pointed at by the heathen, and reproach- ed, not only with their captivity, but with their idolatry, as the cause of it.— [The Jews, when thus scattered, appeared to them an abject and wretched company of people. They were recognized as the worshippers of Jehovah wherever they went ; but they were looked upon as a viler and more worthless race than any of the idolaters among whom they were driven. Many would ascribe their wickedness to the tendency of their religion, which they abhor- red, and not to their having acted inconsistently with it ; and regard their mi- series, not as the punishment of their sin9, but as proofs of God’s inability to protect them. This orofanation of his holy name, Jehovah was determined to wipe away, by showing mercy unto them.]— Bagster. Ver. 23. In you— Boothroyd, “ By you.” 901 Blessmgs of Christ's kingdom. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XXXVII The resurrection of dry hones. 24 For h I will take you from among the hea- then, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 25 Then > will I sprinkle clean i water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all your K fil- thiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse vou. 26 A new heart i also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away the stony m heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of " flesh. 27 And I will put my 0 spirit within you, and cause you to walk p in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers ; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will also save r you from all your un- cleannesses : and I will call ! for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall re- ceive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. 31 Then shall ye remember < your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe u yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. 32 Not v for your sakes do I this , saith the Lord God, be it known unto you : be asham- ed and confounded for your own ways, 0 house of Israel. 33 Thus saith the Lord God ; In the day that l shall have cleansed you from all your ini- ptiities I will also cause you to dwell w in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of * Eden ; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. 36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the Lord build the ruin- ed places , and plant that that was desolate : I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do * it. 37 Thus saith the Lord God ; I will yet for this be inquired of 2 by the house of a Israel, to do it for them ; I will increase them with men like a flock. 3S As the b holy flock, as the flock of Jerusa- lem in her solemn feasts ; so shall the waste A. M. MI7. B C. 5H7. h p».iurii,3 c.34 13 37.21.fte i lR.tt.1 b. He. 10.22. J Jn.3.5. k Jc.33.8. Zee. 13.1. 1 Co. 6. 11. I Pa. 51. 10. c. 11-19. Je.32.39. ni Zee. 7. 12. n De.30.6. 2 Co.3.3. o Ro.8.9,14 1 Co.3.16. Ep.1.13. 1 J n. 3. 24. p Ga.5.16. Col. 2.6. 1 J n. 1.6,7. 2 J n.6. r, Ho. 1.10. r Mat 1.21. Ho. 6. 14. 12.26. a Ho.2.21 ,22 t c. 16.61, 63. u Ro.6.21. v De.9.5. w Zec.8.7,8. x Joel 2.3. y Ho.14.4, 9. z Zcc.10. 6.9. 13.9. He.4.16. 1 J n.5. 14. a c.20.31. He. 10.21, 22 . b flock of holy things. a Lu.4.1. Ac.8.39. b or, cham- paign. c De.32.39. Jn.5.21. 11.25,26. Ro.4.17. d ver.9,10. e Joel 2.27. f Ac.2.2, &c. g or, breath. h Cn.4.16. i Pa. 104.30. Re. 11. 11. j 2 Co.5.14. Ep.2.1. k Ps.77.7..9. Is. 49. 14. 1 Job 35. 14, 15. mis. 26. 19. Hos.13.14. 1 Th.4.16. Re.20.13. cities be filled with flocks of men : and they shall know that I am the Lord. CHAPTER X X X V 1 1 . 1 Bv ifle resurrection ot dry bonea, II the rieivi hope of larne: ir revived. 16 toy the uniting ol' txvo alieka. IS fa allowed Lite ;neuq)oratioii of ltm«ei into Judah. 21 The promise* of Chrint'* ititiguom. THE hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the * spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open h valley ; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou c knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause d breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall e know that I am the Lord. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded : and as I prophesied, there was a f noise, and be- hold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin cover- ed them above: buttherewas no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the s wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God ; h Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came > into them, and they li- ved, and stood up upon their feet, an exceed- ing great army. 11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole i house of Israel : behold, they k say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12 Therefore 1 prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, O my peo- ple, I m will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my peo- ple, and brought you up out of your graves, are sunk into principles of infidelity, and weary of waiting for their Messiah. Nothing, therefore, short of the influences of God’s Holy Spirit, vouchsafed in some remarkable manner and degree, can be sufficient to excite them to brave the dan- ger and fatigue of returning from the most distant parts of the world. We must remember also, that this return implies a cordial and complete reconciliation with the converted Gentiles; for the blessmgs here promised are to the spiritual seed of Abra- ham and of the promise. (Rom. ix. 6 — 8.) Besides the important theological points to which we have just adverted, one principle is here strongly stated, which ap- pears to have influenced the divine Being under every dispen- sation, and to have formed the leading motive of the Almigh- ty s conduct toward every class of his creatures. “ Thus saith the Lord God ; 1 do not this for your sakes. but for my holy name’s sake.” That creatures can merit of their Creator by ' hap. XXXVII. \ er. 1. Valle*/ full of bones. — tin this vision, t he dr*/ hone/ r.ptiy represent the ruined and desperate state of both Israel and Judah ; and tlie revivification ot these bones signifies their restoration to their own land utter their captivity, and also their recovery from their present long dispersion. Although this is the primary und genuine scope of the vision, yet the doctrine °. f resurrection of the dead may justly he inferred from it ; for " a simile of the resurrection,” says Jerome, after Tertullian and others “ would never have been used to signify the restoration of the people of Israel unless HUch a future resurrection had been believed und known ; because no'one at- 'empts to confirm uncertain things, by things which have no existence ” — B Ver. 4. Prophesy upon. — Newcome, " Over.” Ver. It. We are cut off. &c — Newcome , “ (As for) us. we are cut off.” Ver. III. Out of your graves.— The Jews, in their dispersion, considered 902 obedience enjoined on them, is inconsistent with common sense : that sinners, who have disobeyed, can do this, is one ol the most flagrant absurdities that can be broached. That sal- vation is of grace and of grace alone, is one of the first princi- ples of Christianity. (Lukexvii. 9, 10. Rom. xi. 5, &c.) Chap. XXXVII. Ver. 1 — 28. The vision of the resurrection of dry bones, and the parable of the two staves . — Under the em- blem of dead and dry bones is represented the hopeless state ol the Jews in their captivity, and especially in their general dis- persion. But God, contrary to every human probability, re- stores flesh to these bones, and renews to them life and vi- gour : to intimate not only the return of that people fi-om the Babylonish captivity, but also their restoration and conversion in the latter day, bv the efficacy of the Spirit of grace, which will be to them as life from the dead. The accomplishment of the former event may be considered as an earnest of the ge- neral restoration here promised to the whole house of Israel. themselves as dead, and buried from the world — [This is a pointed allusion to the resurrection : under which figure Isaiah (chap. xxvi. 9.) also describes >he restoration of the house of Israel, when he says, “ thy dead men shall live at which time their, bone-s are said to flourish, (chap. Ixvi. 14 .) or to he restored to their former strength and vigour ; and, in like manner. St. Paul (Ro. xi. 15.) expresses their conversion by n life from the dead.” In the land of their cap- tivity, they seemed as absolutely deprived of their country os persons commu- ted to the grave are cut off from the land of the living ; but when Cyrus issued his proclamation. Jehovah, as it were, opened their graves, and when he stir- red up their spirits to embrace the proffered liberty, he put his Spirit, rooac/t, the same word rendered loind and breath , within them, that they might .ive , and their re-establishment in their own land evinced the truth of God in the prediction, and his power in its accomplishment \—Bagster. Christ’s kingdom promised. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XXXVIII. The army of Gog. 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land : then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it , and performed it, saith the Lord. 15 If The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, 16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel n his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Jo- seph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions : 17 And join them one to another into one stick ; and they shall become one in thy hand. 18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these ? 19 Say “unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my. hand. 20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thy hand before their eyes. 21 TI And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land : 22 And p I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel ; and one king shall be king to them all : and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all : 23 Neither i shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions : but I r will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse a them : so ‘shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24 And David ” my servant shall be king over them ; and they all shall have v one shepherd : A. M. 3417. B. C. 537. n 2 Cli.30. 11.. 18. o Zee. 10.6. p 18.11.12, 13. Je.3.18. 50.4. Ho. 1.11. q c. 36.25, &c. r Le.20.7, a Mi.7.19. s £j).5.26, He. 9. 13, 14. 1 Jn.1.7,9. t Re.21.3,4. u c.34.23, 24. v Jn.10.16. Ep.4.4..6. w 1 J n.2.6. x 1 Co. 11.2. y Is.60.21. Am. 9. 15. z Lu.1.32, 33. a c.34.25. Jn. 14.27. b Is. 55. 3. Je. 32.40. c 2 Co.6.16. d c.43.7. Re. 21. 3. a Re.20.8,9. b or. prince of the chief. c c.39.2, &c. d 2 Ki. 19. 28. c.29.4. e c.23.12. 1* or. Phut. c.27.10. 30.5. g Ge.10.2. h c.27.14. i Am. 4. 12. j Is.29 S. they shall also walk w in my judgments, and observe x my statutes, and do them. 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt ; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children * for ever : and my servant David shall be their prince z for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace a with them ; it shall be an everlasting cove- nant b with them : and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary c in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle d also shall be with them : yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shalfbe in the midst of them for evermore. CHAPTER XXXVIII. I The army, 8 and malice of Gog. 14 God’s judgment against him. A ND the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set thy face against a Gog, the land of Magog, b the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 And say, Thus c saith the Lord God ; Be- hold, lam against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal : 4 And I will turn thee back, and put d hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed e with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all pf them handling swords : 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and f Libya with them ; all of them with shield and helmet: 6 e Gorner, and all his bands ; the house of h Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands : and. many people with thee. 7 Be thou i prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. 8 After many days thou shalt be J visited : in the latter years thou shalt come into the These, according to the significant emblem of the union of the two sticks or staves, representing Ephraim and Judah, will be united in one kingdom, which will enjoy both the land of Ca- naan, and the blessings of the gospel, under the Messiah. The vision of the dry bones reviving is also considered by some as having a remote view to the general resurrection ; at least it supposes that the doctrine of a resurrection was at that period received among the Jews, who still retain it, and consider this chapter as referring not only figuratively to their return from their dispersion, but to a literal resurrection of their nation, (which they call the first resurrection, Rev. xx. 5.) prior to the general resurrection of mankind : so Maimonides, Abarbanel, &c. (See Levi’s Dissert, and notes on ver. 1, 12.) Chap. XXXVIII. Ver. I — 23. Prophecies against Gog and Magog. — “ The sublime prophecy contained in this and the following chapter, concerning Israel’s victory over Gog and Magog, relates to a period still very distant, and is therefore very obscure. It begins with representing a prodigious arma- ment of many nations combined together, under the conduct of Gog, [supposed to mean the descendants of the ancient Scy- thians, who had their origin from Gog the son of Japhet,] all together attacking the Jews, after having been for some time resettled in their fand, after their return from the general dis- persion. [These enemies are represented as making their at- tack with all the impetuosity of a sudden storm.] In this crit- ical juncture, when the cloud is just ready to burst over Israel, God appears to execute by terrible judgments the vengeance threatened against these enemies of his people. The Prophet, in terms borrowed from human passions, describes with awful emphasis the fury [of the Almighty] as coming up to his face, and the effects of it so dreadful, as to make all the animate and inanimate creation tremble, and even the whole frame of nature convulsed with terror.” (Dr J. Smith.) It is a contested point among the ablest commentators, whe- ther this invasion of the Holy Land by Gog and Magog, be an event t > take place in the commencement or the close of the Millennium. (Compare Rev. xix. 17, 18, with Rev. xx. 7 — 10.) The learned Jos. Mede and Bp. Newton incline. to theformer; Faber, Abp. Newcome, and Lowman, to the la'tter. On sub- jects of this delicate nature, the author is fully sensible that the utmost diffidence becomes him, and cannot better express his feelings than in the following modest andpious quotation from Townsend: “I cannot venture to express an opinion on this subject. The prophecy certainly refers to those great events which are repeatedly alluded to in other predictions of Holy Writ, as about to take place at the end of the world. In this and similar passages, it maybe said, ‘coming events cast their shadows before yet we cannot penetrate into the clouds of Ver. 16. Take one stick — Or rod. See Num. xvii. 2. Ver. 18 . What thou meanest by these— Heb. “ What these (are) unto thee.” Ver. 22. One king— Namely, Messiah. Ver. 24, compared with Jer. xxiii. 5. 6. Hos. i. 11 .— [It is evident that the grand union of Israel and Judah here predicted, and their government under one king, and that king to be David, must still be future ; tor, politically speaking, they never had a king from that day to this, far less a king or prince of that name. See notes on chap, xxxiv. 2.4. Je. xxx. l.J —Bagster. Ver. 26 . A covenant of 'peace— Isa. liv. 10. Eph. ii. 14—18. Ver. 27 My taberruicle — That is, the divine presence shall certainly reside among them. Chap, xliii. 7. 2 Cor. vi. 16. Chap. XXXVIII. Ver. 2. Gog , the land of Magog —By Gen. x. 2, we learn that Magog was the second son of Japheth, who doubtless gave his name to the land here referred to. — [Rather “ Gog (the prince) of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.” By Magog is most proba- bly meant the Scythians or Tartars, called so by Arabian and Syrian writers, tnd especially the Turks, who were originally natives of Tartary ; and by Rosh, the Russians, descendants of the ancient inhabitants on the river Araxes or Rosh. See Bochart, Michaelis, D'Herbelot, and others.]— Bagster. ‘‘It is generally ailmitted that this relates to Scythia, or Tartary, and that Gog was the common name of their kings, as Pharaoh was of the kings of Egynt.” Roothroyd in loc. “ Michaelis compares the word Gog with Kak, or Chak, the general name of kings among the ancient Turks, Moguls, Tartars Ca- talans, and Chinese and thinks that Magog denotes those vast tracts of country to the north of India and China, which the Greeks call Scythia, and we Tartary. Scythopolis and Hieropohs, which the Scythians took when they overcame Syria, were ever after, by the Scythians, called Magog. Tne Arabs call the Chinese wall Sud Yagog et Magog."— Newcome. Ver. 4. J will put hooks into thy jaws .— See chap. xxix. 4. Ver. 6. Gorner, &c.— The Celts, or Cimmerians. Under these names may probably be included the descendants of all the barbariun bands in the north of Asia. See ver. 15. ...... . V i. 8. After many days thou shalt be visited. — Boothroyd, following the Chaldee, “ Thou shalt number (or enrol) them ;” i. e. all the barbarian forces 9G3 * 'I’he malice of Gog. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XXXVIII. God's judgment against him. land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains k of Israel, which have been always waste : but it is brought forth i out of the na- tions, and they shall dwell safely all m of them. 9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy "bands, and many people with thee. 10 Thus saith the Lord God ; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt 0 think an evil thought : 11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages ; I will go to them p that are at rest, that dwell i safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12 To r take a spoil, and to take a prey, to turn thy hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the 8 midst of the land. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the 1 young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil ? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey 1 to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil ? 14 Tf Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God ; In that day when my people of Israel u dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know v it ? 15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army : 16 And thou shalt come up against my peo- ple of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that w the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17 Thus saith the Lord God ; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time * by my ser- vants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them ? 18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Is- rael, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. | A. M. 9)17. | B. C. ,5X7. I k c.38.1.1, 8 . I 1 Pe.2.9. m c.28.26. n Is. 8.9, 10. o or ; con- ceive a mischiev- ous pur- pose. p Je.49.3L q or, confi- dently. r spoil the spoil, and to prey the prey. a navel. Ju.9.37. t Ps.57.4. c.19.3,5. a Je. 523.6. v c. 37.28. w Ex. 14.4. x by the hands of. y Joel 2.18. z Joel 3.16. Zec.14.4, &c. a or, toicers, or, stairs. b Re.16.21. a c.33.2, &c. b or, strike thee with six plagues ; or, draw thee back ivilh a hook of six teeth. c sides of the north. d Re. 19.17. . 21 . e wing. f devour face the field. h Am. 1.4, &c. i or, confi- dently. j Is. 66. 19. Je. 25.22. Zep.2. II. k Ex.20.7. Le. 18.21. 19 For in my - T jealousy and, in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely inthatday 'there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel ; 20 So that the fishes of the sea. and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the * sleep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21 And 1 will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God : every man’s sword shall be against his brother. 22 And I will plead against him with pesti- lence and with blood ; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great b hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself ; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord. , CHAPTER XXXIX. I God’s judgment upon Gog. 8 Israel's victory. 11 Gog’s burial in Hamon-go g. 1< The feast of the fowls. 23 Israel, having been plagued for their sins, shall be gathered again with eternal favour. T HEREFORE, thou son of man, prophesy against" Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal : 2 And I will turn thee back, and b leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the c north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel : 3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Is- rael, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ra- venous birds d of every e sort, and to the beasts of the field f to be devoured. 5 Thou shalt fall upon the e open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. 6. And I will send a fire h on Magog, and among them that dwell ‘ carelessly in the ) isles • and they shall know that I am the Lord. 7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy k name any more : and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. thick darkness that encircle the future. We are both exhorted and encouraged to study the word of prophecy, not with a view of indulging curiosity, but of enforcing humility ; to strengthen our faitn, by enabling us so plainly to see the hand of Provi- dence in the past and present, that we may believe the pro- mises which relate to the future. As the present dispensation of the kingdom of the Messiah was predicted in general and indefinite terms to the ancient Jews, so is the millennial pe- riod of the world predicted to us. As the Jew was called on to believe in those ages of the church, so is the Christian required to believe at present. As the former prophecies have been ful- filled, so will the latter be accomplished.” Chap. XXXIX. Ver. 1 — 29. "The defeat and utter destruction of Gob’s immense army. — The Prophet goes on to denounce the judgments of God against those formidable enemies of his churcn and people. He describes the awful slaughter and bu- rial of the combined forces, in such lofty and comprehensive language, as must certainly imply one of the greatest and hap- piest revolutions that the world has ever witnessed. And to make the subject more impressive, the Prophet delays sum- moning the birds and beasts of prey to feast on the slam (in al- lusion to the custom of feasting on the remains of sacrifices) till after the greater multitudes are buried; to intimate that even these remains would be more than enough to satisfy the appetites of these rapacious creatures. He then concludes as usual with a reference to the return of his people from their -Against. — Rather, -Which have been always —Newcome, from the north. See Hebrew of Num. i. 44 ; iii. 39, 6sc.- ‘‘upon” tgnal) the mountains. Which have been long” waste. Ver. ll. Dwell safely.— See margin. Without fear or suspicion. Ver. 12. To take a spoil. Heb. '* To spoil the spoil, ana to prey the prey.” So ver. 13. - In the midst.— Heb. */ Navel,” or highest part. Ver. 16 . Latter days. (Though it is not generally agreed what people or transactions are here predicted, yet it seems evident that the prophecy is not yet accomplished Nothing occurred in the wars of Cambyses, or Antiochus Epiphanes, with the Jews that answers to it ; and the expression here used — in the latter days plainly implies, that there should be a succession of many ages between the publication of the prediction and its accomplishment It is therefore supposed, with much probability, that its fulfilment will he posterior to the conversion of the Jews, and their restoration to their own land • and that the Turks, Tarta pi, or Scythians, from the northern parts of Asia,’ perhaps uniting with the inhabitants of some more southern regions, will make war upon the Jews, and be cut off in the manner here predicted .]— Bagster . Ver. 17. By my servants.— ' By the hand of,” &c. This, it seems had l 904 I been predicted from the most ancient times ; perhaps even by Enoch. See Jude 14. Ver. 20 . Steep places.— Terraces, perhaps, artificially supported on the sides of mountains. Chap. XXXIX. Ver. 1. Gog— See chap, xxxviii/ 2 . Ver. 2 . 1 will tarn thee back.— [It is probable that none of the invaders will escape : but perhaps the inhabitants of Magog in general are meant. The im- mense army of Gog, led forth against Israel, will almost empty his land ; and the subsequent judgments of God upon those that remain at home, will reduce them to a sixth of the whole.] — Bagster. Leave but the sixth part of thee. —This is variously rendered, as may he seen in the margin. Newcome follows our version in the text, but remarks that the Chaldee reads, “ to deceive.” So Rosenmuller, Dathe, Dimock, &c. Boothroyd translates, ** I will turn thee and lead thee about.” From the north parts — Heb. *' From the sides of the north.” Ver. 6. I loill send a fire — { Some terrible judgment will destroy the coun- tries whence the army of Gog was led forth, about the same time that the ar- my itself shall be cut off.]— Bagster. Carelessly in the isles. — Newcome, ” Securely in the sea-coasts ” The victory of IsraeL EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XL. Israel shall be gathered again. 8 If Behold, it > is come, and it is done, saith the Lord Cod; this is the day whereof I have spoken. 9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the m hand- staves, and the spears, and they shall n burn ° them with fire seven years: 10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests ; for they shall burn the weapons with fire : and they shall spoil p those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God. 11 Tf And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea : and it shall stop the i noses of the passengers : and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude : and they shall call it The valley of r Hamon-gog. 12 And seven months shall the house of Is- rael be burying of them, that they may cleanse * the land. 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them ; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I 1 shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. 14 And they shall sever out men of " conti- nual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it : after the end of seven months shall they search. 15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he v set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. 16 And also the name of the city shall be w Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 17 If And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God ; Speak 1 unto every feathered y fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble your- selves, and come ; gather yourselves on every side to my z sacrifice a that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of b goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of c Bashan. 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink A. M. 3417. B. C. 587. 1 Ke.16,17. 21.5. m or, jave- lins. n or, make afire of them. o Ps.46.9. p Is. 14.2. q or, mouths r that is, the multi- tude of Gog. a De.21.23. ver.14,16. t c. 28.22. u continu- ance, v build. withal is, the multi- tude. x to the fowl of every wing. y Re. 19. 17, 18. Is. 18. 6. z or, slaughter. a Zep.1.7. b great goats. c De.32.14. Ps.22.12. d Ps. 70.5,6. e Ex. 7.4. f Ps.9.16. 5.16.17. c.36.18, See. h De.31.17. Is. 1.15. 8.17. 50.2. i Le. 26.25. Ps. 106.41. j Je.30.3, 18. c.34.13. k Ho.1.11. 1 Ps.99.8. Je. 30.11. mDe.28.47, 48 32.14,15. n by my causing of. o De.30.3,4. Ne. 1.8.. 10 . p Is.54.3. q Zee. 12.10. Ac.2.17. 1 Jn.3.24. A. M. 3430. B. G. 574. a c. 33.21. blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with rt horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. 21 Tf And I will set my glory among the hea- then, and all the heathen shall see my judg- ment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid ' upon them. 22 So the house of Israel shall f know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward. 23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their « iniqui- ty : because they trespassed against me, there- fore hid h I my face from them, and gave them into the hand >’ of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and ac- cording to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 25 H Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now i will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the k whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name ; 26 After > that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, m when they dwelt safe- ly in their land, and none made them, afraid. 27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations ; 28 Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, n which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen : but I have ga- thered them unto their own land, and have left 0 none of them anymore there. 29 Neither p will I hide my face any more from them : for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God. CHAPTER XL. 1 The time, manner, and end of the vision. 6 The description of the eaat gate, 20 of the north eate, 24 of the eoulh gate. 32 of the east gate. 35 and of the north gate, 39 Eight tables. 44 The chambers 48 The porch of the house. I N the five and twentieth year of our captivi- ty, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city a was smitten, in the self-same day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and brought me thither. then captivity, and promises a final restoration to all Is- rael. From a short view of this remarkable section of prophecy, it will appear, that it must refer to some event of extraordina- ry interest. The writer, full of his subject, sets it in all the variety of lights it will bear, and leaves no room for any one that snail come after him either to add or to improve ; except, indeed, the inspired author of the Apocalypse, who in one sub- lime passage must be admitted to have excelled his model. (See Rev. xix. 17, IS.) Ver. 8. It is done. — (So Rev. xvi. 17.) When God determines to do any thing, it may be considered as done ; for “ who hath resisted his will?” Dan. iv. 35. Rom. ix. 19. Ver. 9. Set on fire and burn— [The language here employed seems to inti- mate. that the army of Gog will he cut off by miracle, as that of Sennacherib ; for the people are described as going forth, not to fight and conquer, but merely to gather the spoil, and to destroy the weapons of war, as no longer of use.] — Bagster. The hand- staves— Lowth, “ Clubs.” They shall burn them. —Margin, “ Make a fire of them for seven years.” See note on Isa. ix. 5. — [When the immense number and destruction of the invaders are considered, and also the little fuel comparatively which is necessary in warm climates, we may easily conceive of this being literally fulfilled. Mariana, in his History of Spain, says, that after the Spaniards had given that signal overthrow to the Saracens, A. D. 1212, they found such a vast quantity of lances, javelins, and such like, as served them for four years for fuel.]— Bagster. Ver. ll. On the east of the sea.— (Probably the valley near the sea of Gen- nesareth, as the Targum renders, and so called because it was the great road by which the merchants and traders from Syria and other Eastern countries went into Egypt. Perhaps what is now called the plains of Haouran, south of Damascus.]— Bolster. And it shall stop , &c.— 1 That is, the heat and offensive smell of putrid carcasses shall prevent the passengers from coming near, till they are all buried. Hamon-gog— That is. the multitude of Gog. Ver. 13. A renr/wn— That is. a credit, an honour, that they have interred them. Ver. 14. Men of continual employment. --Hah. ‘‘Men of continuance (or perseverance) in the employment.” Ver. 16. Hamonah.— That is, the multitude. 114 Chap. XL. Ver. 1 — 49. The vision of anew Temple on a grand scale— There is no doubt that this whole scene was vi- sionary. There neither then was, nor had been, any temple in existence, which could fully answer to the description. Eze- kiel represents himself as stationed upon a high mountain, on the south of which he saw “ the frame (or building) of a city” — probably, the buildings in their unfinished state. Here ap- peared to him a celestial agent in the character of 1 a surveyor, with a measuring rod in his hand ; and as he measured, he gave the dimensions to the Prophet, that he might report them Ver. 17. Every feathered fowl.— Heb. “Fowl (or birds) of every wing.” To my sacrifice— See Isa. xxxiv. 6. , . Ver. 19 . Ye shall eat fat.—[ Not the Jews, as Voltaire falsely and most ma- liciously asserted, hut the fowls and beasts which God invites (ver. 17.) to par- take of the sacrifice of his enemies.] — Bagster. Ver. 20 . Tilled at my table.—" The table of God is the field covered with dead bodies, the place of the slaughter of Magog. It is impossible to conceive how unbelievers could quote this verse to prove that the Jews of old times (did) eat the flesh of horses and even of men. Voltaire, though cautioned that not Jews, nor men, but wild beasts and birds, were invited to this feast of slaughter, (i. e. to the consumption of the slain,) yet insisted, to the last, on his strange accusation.” Michaelis. Ver. 21. Horses and chariots— New come, “ Horses and their riders.” So LXX., Syriac, Vulgate, and all modem translators. Ver. 25. Bring again the captivity. — [The return of a few Jews from Ba- bylon, and their continuance, increase, partial reformation, and prosperity, till the days of Christ, followed by their present long continued dispersion, un- der the frown of God, and destitute of his Spirit, could in no degree answer to these predictions. Hence we must conclude, that some future events, exactly suitable to them, shall yet take place relative to the nation of Israel.] — B. Ver. 28. Which caused them — Hob. “ By my causing them,” &c. Chap. XL. Ver. 1. In the five. &c.— “ The llth year of Zedekiah, when Je- rusalem was taken, was also the llth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity, ironi which the prophet dates ; and therefore the 25th year of Jehoiachm s captivity was the 14th year after the taking of Jerusalem.” Newcome — lOn luesday April 20.] —Bagster. 905 t'z. e/r i c Ps description EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XL. oj the temple. 9. In the visions b of God brought he me into thV land of Israel, and set me upon a very high 'mountain, d by which was as the frame of a city on the south. 3 And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose 'appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. 4 And the man said unto me, Son of man, be- hold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall show thee; for to the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou brought hither: declare 1 all that thou seest to the house of Israel. 5 And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and a hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed. 6 IT Then came he unto the gate s which look- eth toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad ; and the other threshold of the gale , which was one reed broad. 7 And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad ; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed. 8 He measured also the porch of the gate within, one reed. 9 Then measured he theporch ofthe gate, eight cubits; and the posts h thereof, two cubits ;.and the porch of the gate was inward. 10 And the little chambers ■ of the gate east- ward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side. 11 And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits ; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. 12 The i space also before the little chambers was one cubit on tliis side , and the space was one cubit on that side : and the little cham- bers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side. 13 He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door. A. M. 3430. B. U. 571. b c.8.3. c Re.21.10, Sic. d or ,upon. c Da. 10.6. f c.43.10. g whose SHF the east. h c.45.19. i ver.7. j limit, or, bound. k Ex.27.9. c.42.1. 1 closed. in 1 Ki.6.4. n or, galle- ries, ( r, porches. o or, within p Re. 11.2. q 1 Ki.6.5. J 11.14.2. r c.45.5. s or , from without. t whose face was. u or, galle- ries, or, porches. 1 4 He made also posts ofthreescore cubits, even unto the postof the k court roundabout the gate. 15 And from the face of the gate of the en- trance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits. 16 And there were 1 narrow “windows to the little chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the n arches : and windows were round about ° inward : and upon each post were palm trees. 17 Then brought he me into the outward p court, and, lo, there were « chambers, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty r chambers were upon the pavement. 18 And the pavement by the side of the gates over against the length of the gates was the lower pavement. 19 Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court 8 without, a hundred cubits eastward and northward. 20 If And the gate of the outward court ‘that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof. 21 And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the “ arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate : the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 22 And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them. 23 And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east ; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits. 24 TT After that he brought me toward the south, and behold a gate toward the south : and he measured the posts thereof and the arches thereof according to these measures. 25 And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those win- dows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 26 And there were seven steps to go up to it, and the arches thereof were before them: and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, upon the posts thereof. 27 TT And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits. to his people. Notwithstandins; the apparent magnitude of the dimensions, Villalpandus and Vitringa, both deeply versed in such studies, contend that the ground plan of the temple here laid down did not exceed that of Solomon, and therefore might well be proposed as a pattern of the new temple to he j erected on their return from the captivity, and which might probably have been more nearly followed, had all the tribe? been equally anxious to return. (See note on ver 2.) Abp. Seeker (who has written a dissertation on this vision) thinks the who'e should be literally unde’ stood, except only the vision of waters, &c. in chapter xlvii., which will be there consi- dered. Ver. 2. In the visions of God. — [There can he little doubt, that the grand outlines of the description of the temple, in the following extraordinary vision, were taken from that of Solomon’s, with all the additions made to it in after aces ; and we may suppose that Zcrubbabel, and the other Jews, had respect to it. as tar as circumstances would permit, in rebuilding the temple after the *u!v lvl i y ' • r ® f V rt *; however, many circumstances which conclusively show, that something infinitely superior to either the first or second temple was in- m , r description must be considered as a figure and -ii u ss,n ^ s * Probably the more immediate accomplishment t - G Ju° j GC . y b e subsequent to the conversion and restoration of the destruction of Gog and Magog, and the pouring out of the Spirit, mentioned at the close of the last chapter ; but whether there will be any ex- j? SiS kf°V 3 » theso cannot determined, though in some respects it seems improbable.]— Bagster. Ver. 3. Brass That is Witt ami sparkling. See Rev. i. 45. A reed.— X' Z A 911 prints, ver. 5.) wluoli. according to the tables affixed lo the Old l ran 5 la ‘ or h wera somewhat more than 11 feet, hut, accord- •T5nT,,i;T , T i i f °" ly - To compare the size of this lernple vuth Soiomon s, see exposition ot 1 Kings, chaps, vi. vii. and notes, rnnfr wer f,°S °? e measure.— IThe entrance into the outer cou t seems to have been through a porch with doors at both ends ; anrl on each side of this porch were three small chambers, or rooms, for the use of the porters, a reed square in size, with a passage of five cubits between them The J2r.KJli.fi"?*'’ , 5 r rt ,he ' c f Ut »•'“ man,*’ (Oe. iii. li.) was about. 18 inches ; out the cubit used by the angel was, as we leam from chap, xliii. 13 “a cubit 906 and a hand breadth,” or about three inches more than the common cubit, that is, 21 inches. Hence the measuring reed, which was " six cubits long, by the cubit and the hand breadth.” (ver. 5.) must have been about 10 1-2 feet. I— B. Ver. 12. Space— Heb. ” Limit,” bound, or boundary. Some understand this of a projecting rail, or balustrade.— Newcomc. Ver. 13. Gate from the roof. — [The whole arch of the east gate, measured from the southern extremity of one room to the northern extremity of the op- posite room, was 25 cubits ; including the dimensions of the two rooms, or 12 cubits, (ver. 7.) the spaces before the rooms, or 2 cubits, (ver. 12.) and the breadth ofthe entrance, 10 cubits, (ver. 11.) making in all 24 cubits, leaving one cubit for the thickness of the walls.] — Bagster. Ver. 15. Face of the gate, &c.— [This was the whole length of the porch, from the outward front, (chap.xli. 21, 25.) to the inner side which looks into the first court, (ver. 17.) including the thickness of the walls, (ver. 6.) cham- bers, (ver. 7.) and spaces between them.]— Bolster. Ver. 22 . Before them. — [Or, “ suitable to them,” that, is, to the arches ofthe east gate. The north gate into the outward court, and every thing belonging to it, were exactly the same as the east gate. 1— Bagster. Ver. 23. Gate of the inner court— [That is, the gate of the jnner court was opposite, and exactly answered to the gate of the outward court, both on the north and east side ; and between the gates of the outward ana inner court was a space of a hundred cubiis.]— Bagster. Ver. 24. These measures. — IThat is, according to the measures of the east- ern and northern gates. There does not appear to have been any gates on the west though the courts seem to have extended to the western waiJ.l* -B Ezekiel's description EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XL1. of the temple, 28 And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures ; 29 And the little chambers T thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, accord- ing to these measures : and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about : it was w fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. 30 And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits x broad. 31 And the arches thereof were toward the outer court ; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof : and the going up to it had eight steps. 32 Tf And he brought me into the inner court toward the east : and he measured the gate according to these measures. 33 And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were ac- cording to these measures : and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad. 34 And the arches thereof were toward the outward court; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side : and the going up to it had eight steps. 35 T[ And he brought me to the * north gate, and measured it according to these measures ; 36 The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the win- dows to it round about : the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits. 37 And the posts thereof were toward the out- er court ; and palm trees were upon the posts thereof, on this side, and on that side : and the going up to it had eight steps. 38 And the chambers and the entries thereof were by the posts of the gates, where they washed the burnt-offering. 39 TI And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the 2 burnt-offering and the “ sin-offering and the b trespass-offering. 40 And at the side without, c as one goeth up to the entry of the north gate, were two tables ; and on the other side r which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables. A. M. 3430. B. C. 574. v lCh.‘78. It, 12 2 Cli.31. 11 . Ne.13.9. Je.35.2,4. 36.10. w ver.21,25, 33,36. x breadth. y c.44.4. 47.2. z Le.1.3, &c. a Le.4.2,3. b Le.5.6, Ac. 6 . 6 . 7.1, Ac. c or, at the step. d or, andi- rons. , or, the two hearth- stones. e 1 Cl i.6. 31, Ac. f c.8.5. g Le.8.35. Nu.3.27.. 38. 18.5. 1 Ch.9.23. 2 Ch.13. 11. Ps. 134.1. Mai. 2.4. . 7. 1 Ti.6.20. h or, ward , or, ordi- nance, ver. 46. i Nu.18.5. c.44.15. j l Ki.2.35. c.43.19. 44.15,16. k 1 Ki.6.3. 1 1 Ki.7.21. Re.3.12. a Re.21.15. b or, en- trance. 41 Four tables were on this side, and four ta- bles on that side, by the side of the gate ; eight tables, whereupon they slew their sacrifices. 42 And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt-offering, of a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high : whereupon also they laid the in- struments wherewith they slew the burnt-offer- ing and the sacrifice. 43 And within were- d hooks, a hand broad, fastened round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering. 44 Tf And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers e in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate ; and their prospect was toward the south : one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north. 45 And he said unto me, This chamber, whose prospect is toward the f south, is for the priests, the s keepers of the h charge of the house. 46 And the chamber whose prospect is to- ward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the < altar : these are the sons of i Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the Lord to minister unto him. 47 So he measured the court, a hundred cu- bits long, and a hundred cubits broad, four- square ; and the altar that was before the house. 48 T| And he brought me to the porch of the house, and. measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side : and the breadth of the gate was three cu- bits on this side, and three cubits on that side. 49 The length k of the porch was twenty cu- bits, and the breadth eleven cubits ; and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars i by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side. CHAPTER X L I . The measures, parts, chambers, and ornaments of the temple. A FTERWARD he brought me to the tem- pie, and measured » the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle. 2 And the breadth of the b door was ten cu- bits; and the sides of the door ivere five cubits Chap. XLI. Ver. 1 — 26. Progress of the Temple, or en- largement of the Church. — “ When we carefully improve our in- structions, concerning the introductory parts of religion, we shall be led forward by our great Teacher into the interior parts of divine truth ; that we may go forward in knowledge, wis- dom, and experience, till we arrive in the most holy place above. The spiritual building, which the Lord is erecting, will prove both eminent and durable: our standing in the grace of God will be firmer, and our views and hearts more enlarged, in pro- portion as we mount upward in our affections and conversa- tion ; and all the windings and intricacies of a Christian’s path still lead him upward. The peace and enlargement of the church, and the believer's comfort and growth in grace, com- monly make progress together. The cause of God gains ground gradually amidst all revolutions, under every dispensa- tion : the boundaries of the church were vastly extended by the first preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles; but they will be much more enlarged, when the Jews shall be converted, and all nations shall do service to the great Redeemer. We have fellowship with angels in our employment and felicity, in proportion as we grow devoted to the service of our God and Saviour. Prudence, affection, and fortitude, should unite with fervency, in all our services. The ordinances of God have hi- therto been rendered more simple and spiritual : the table of the Ver. 28. By the south gate. — [As the outward court inclosed the inner, the prophet was led from the south gate of the outward court to the south gate of the inner, which was opposite it, and so into the inner court itself.] — Bagster. Ver. 29. Little chambers.— [The entrance into the inner court seems to have been through a portico, exactly like that at each gate of the outward court ; but the ascent was by 8 steps, instead of 7.] — Bagster. Ver. 30. Arches. — IThese are supposed to have been built over the spaces which separated the little chambers, or porters’ lodges. Five cubits —In- stead of 5 cubits, it seems evident, from the parallel places, that we should read twenty Jive : the word esrim, appears to have been lost out of the text.] —Bolster. Ver. 34. Palm trees. — [That is, probably, the capital of each pillar was or- namented with sculpture, representing leaves or branches of the palm tree.]— Bagster. . Ver. 35. Measured it. — [The north gate, as well as the east, was built in the game manner, and of the same dimensions as the south gate.] — Bagster. Ver. 38. They washed..— \ This place, where the legs and entrails of the sa- crifices, especially of the burnt-offerings, were washed, was just, within the portico of the north entrance to the inner court, or court of the priests.] — B. Ver. 40. Side without— [ Two tables were on each side, as you come into the porch of tl»e gate ; and two on each side of the inner part of the gate that looked towards the altar ; in all eight tables, on which they slew and cut up the victims. It does not appear that any such tables were used either in the tabernacle or temple ; and this seems to intimate the introduction of a new and more spiritual dispensation )— Bagster. 41. Whereupon they slew. Sec. — This shows that they were int nded for Jewish worshippers, and therefore this part, at least, can refer to no Christian temple. . , _ , Ver. 43. Hooks.— New come, Edges.” So most of the ancient versions. — [These were probably Ibr hanging up the victims in order to flay them. 1 —B. Ver. 45. This chamber. — [The word chamber probably here denotes a row of chambers, of which there seems to have been three : one for the singers : one for the priests who in their courses took charge of the sacred vessels and treasures ; and one for the priests who attended on the altar and sacrifices.] — B. Ver. 47. The court. — [This was the inner court, or court of the priests, which was of the same dimensions with each division of the outer court ; ana the altar stood directly before the porch of the temple.] — Bagster. Ver. 48. Porch of the house. — [The length of the porch was 20 cubits, the same as the breadth of the temple, and the breadth eleven cubits, i. e. one cu- bit more than in Solomon’s temple. Two bivalve, or folding doors, each leaf of them being three cubits wide, seem to have formed the entrance ; which, with five cubits, perhaps of brick or stone work, on each side, called “ the post of the porch,” amount to 16 cubits ; and the other four cubits may be supposed to have been the distance from these posts tc the outside of the walls of the temple.]— Bagster. , Ver. 49. The steps. — [This was a flight of steps which led from the inner court into the temple.] — Bagster. Chap. XLII. Ver. 1. The posts. — [These were probably a sort of door-case on each side of the entrance ; and the tabernacle perhaps was a kind of co- vering to the door, of the same dimensions.] — Bagster. Ver. 2. The door.— [This was the door out of the porch into the sanctuary which seems to have been wider than that from the court to the porch.] — B. 907 Of the parts, chambers, and on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits. 3 Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits ; and the door, six cubits ; and the breadth of the door, seven cuoits. I So c he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits ; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple : and he said unto me, This is the most holy place. 5 After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits ; and the breadth of every side- chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side. “6 And the d side-chambers were three, • one over another, and 1 thirty in order ; and they entered into the wall which was of the house for the side-chambers round about, that they might s have hold, but they had not hold in the wall of the house. 7 And h there was f an enlarging, and a wind- ing about still upward to the side-chambers: for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house : therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the high- est by the midst. 8 I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed i of six great cubits. 9 The thickness of the wall, which was for the side-chamber without, was five cubits : and that which was left was the place of the side-chambers that were within. 10 And between the chambers was the wide- ness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side. II And the doors of the side-chambers were toward the place that was left, one door to- ward the north, and another door toward the south : and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about. 12 Now the building that was before the sepa- rate k place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad ; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick, round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits. 13 So he measured the house, a hundred cu- bits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, a hundred cubits long ; 14 Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, a hundred cubits. EZEKIEL.— CHAP. XL1I. e side- chamber, over side- chamber. f or, three and Uiir- ty times, or, feet g be holden. h it was made broader, and went round. ) c.40.5. k c.42.1. Re-21. 27. 22.14,15. 1 or, seve- ral walks , or, walks with pil- lars. i ceiling of. o or, the ground unto the windows. u C.44.1G. Mal.1.7, ornaments of the temple. 15 And he measured the length of the build- ing over against the separate place which was behind it, and the ‘galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, a hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court; 16 T he door posts, and the narrow m windows, and the galleries round about on their three stories, over against the door, n ceiled with wood round about, and ° from the ground up to the windows, and the windows were co- vered ; 17 To that above the door, even unto the in- ner house, and without, and by all the wall round about within and without, by p measure. 18 And it was made with « cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub ; and every cherub had two faces; 19 So that the face r of a man was toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side : it was made through all the house round about. 20 From the ground unto above the door were cherubims and palm trees made, and on the wall of the temple. 21 The 8 posts of the temple were squared, and the face of the sanctuary; the appear- ance of the one as the appearance of the other. 22 The altar of wood <■ was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits ; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood : and he said unto me, This is the table u that is before T the Lord. 23 And the temple and the sanctuary had two w doors. 24 And the doors had two leaves a-piece , two turning leaves; two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other door. 25 And there were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubims and palm trees, like as were made upon the 1 walls; andlhert were thick planks upon the face of the porch without. 26 And y there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side-chambers of the house, and thick planks. CHAPTER X L 1 1 . I The chambers for the priests. 13 The use thereof. 11 The measures of the outward court T HEN he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north : and he brought me into the a chamber that was over Lord has succeeded to altars and sacrifices; and the worship of God ‘in spirit and truth,’ and the beauty of holiness, to the burdensome rites and costly ornaments of the old dispen- sation. We should therefore endeavour to grow more simple in our dependence, and in our intentions and pursuits, and more spiritual in our affections and worship; for these things evidently mark the progress of the church, and of every belie- ver, towards the perfection of the heavenly world.”.— T. Scott. Chap. XLII. Ver. I — 20. Importance of worship . — “The pub- lic worship of God in his courts, the secret devotion of the clo- ver. 3. Two cubits.— [This was the thickness of the partition wall between the sanctuary (ver. 2.) and holy of holies (ver. 4 :) the breadth of the wall on each side of the gate being seven cubits, and the entrance into the holy place six cubits in width.] — Bagster. Ver. 6. And the side chambers, » tween. J — Bagster. Ver. 12. Wall of the building— IThis appears to have been a building erected at the west end of the temple.] — Bagster. Ver. 13. Measured the house. — [These verses (13—15.) seem to intimate, that all the buildings of the temple occupied an area of 100 square cubits.]— B. Ver. 16. Ceiled.— Newcome. “ Overlaid with wood.” Windows covered. — [Probably either by the jetting out of the main wall of the temple ; or by lattice work, or curtains, or by both.] — Bagster. Ver. 17. Above the door — [That is, the windows were placed above the height of the door, at the east end of the temple, and thus continued, at the same height, and at measured distances, along both sides of the holy place* to the wall of the inner sanctuary, in which there were no windows.] — B. Ver. 22 . Altar of tvood. — [This must signify the altar of incense ; which, both in the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple, was covered with plates of gold. It is very remarkable, that in this temple described by Ezekiel, there is not the least mention of gold or silver, though there was such a profusion of these metals in the former ; which may probably imply, that a glory of a more spi- ritual nature was intended under these emblems.]— Bagster. The length thereof. — These words, the second time of occurring, seem to be a mistake in copying. Newcome, following LXX. reads, “ the base thereof. ^ The letters are very similar in Heb. The table. — [This is probably an intimation, that un- der the New Testament dispensation a table would be substituted for an altar, in the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper.] — Bagster. Chap. XLII. Ver. 1 Chaynber.— [This seems to denote a row of cham- The. chambers of the priests. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XLIII. Measures of the outward court. against the separate place, and which was be- fore the building toward the north. 2 Before the length of a hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits. 3 Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pave- ment which was for the outer court, was gal- lery b against gallery in three stories. 4 And before the chambers was a c walk of ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cu- bit ; and their doors toward the north. 5 Now the upper chambers were shorter : for the galleries d were higher than these, e than the lower, and than the middlemost of the building. 6 For they were in three stories, but had not pillars as the pillars of the courts : therefore the building was straitened more than the lowest and the middlemost from the ground. 7 And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the outer court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits. 8 For the length of the chambers that were in the outer court was fifty cubits : and, lo, be- fore the temple were a hundred cubits. 9 And from f under these chambers was s the entry on the east side, as h one goeth into them from the outer court. 10 The chambers were in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, over against the separate place, and over against the building. 11 And the way > before them was like the appearance of the chambers which were to- ward the north, as long as they, and as broad as they : and all their goings out were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors. 12 And according to the doors of the cham- bers that were toward the south was a door in the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one enter- eth into them. 13 TT Then said he unto me, The north cham- bers and the south chambers, which are be- fore the separate place, they be holy cham- a. m. am B. C.574. b C a. 1.17 7.5. c.41.16. c ver.ll. d or, did eat of these. e or, and the build- ing con- sisted of the lower and the middle- most. f or, the place of. g or, he that brought me. h or, he came. i ver.4. j Le.6.16, 26. 10.13,14. k Ne.13.5. 1 Le.2.3,10. mNu.18.9, 10 . n Le.6.14, &c. o c.44.19. q wind. r Re. 21. 16. s Ca.2.9. Is.2Q-l. 60.18. c.40.5. Mi.7.11. t c.45.2. u Lu. 16.26. a c. 10. 19. 44.1. 46.1. b c. 11.23. c c.1.24. Re. 1.15. d c.10.4. Re. 18.1. e c.8.4. f or, proph- esy that the city should be destroyed. c.9.1,5. g Je.1.10 h c.1.3. bers, where i the priests that approach unto the Lord shall eat the most holy things : there shall they k lay the most holy things, and the 1 meat-offering, and the m sin-offering, and the " trespass-offering; for the place is holy. 14 When 0 the priests enter therein, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the out- er court, but there they shall lay their gar- ments wherein they minister; for they are holy ; and shall put on other p garments, and shall approach to those things which are for the people. 15 T[ Now when he had made an end of mea- suring the inner house, he brought me forth toward the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it round about. • 16 He measured the east side with the mea- suring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 17 He measured the north side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 18 He measured the south side, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed. 19 He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measur- ing reed. 20 He measured it by the four r sides : it had a wall s round about, five hundred reeds < long and five hundred broad, to make a u separa- tion between the sanctuary and the profane place. CHAPTER XLIII. 1 The returning of the glory of God into the ten pie. 7 The sin of Israel hindered God’« presence. 10 The prophet exhorteth them to epentance, and observation of the .fe'V of the house. 13 The measures, 18 and the ordinances of the altar. A FTERWARD he brought me to the gate, even the gate a that looketh toward the east : 2 And, behold, the glory b of the God of Is- rael came from the way of the east: and his voice c was like a noise of many waters : and the earth shined u with his glory. 3 And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision e that I saw when I came to f destroy i the city : and the visions were like the vision that I saw h by the river Chebar ; and I fell upon my face. set, and the social intercourse of Christians, should all be at- tended to in their places ; in order to produce a 1 conversation becoming the Gospel of Christ.’ — When true religion shall diffuse its benign influence through the nations, and the churches of the saints shall be exceedingly multiplied, we may expect greater unity in judgment, worship, and practice, than there is in the present low and divided state of vital godliness. — Whilst as spiritual priests we approach to the Lord through our glorified High-Priest, feed on the sacrifice that he has of- fered! and appear before God clothed in his robe of spotless righteousness: we should be careful to exemplify the efficacy of our principles in the holiness of our lives. We should in every thing support the distinction between sacred and pro- fane : the minister must not leave the sanctuary to pollute himself by sin, to involve himself in secular concerns, or to re- nounce his ministry. The man that ‘hath put his hand to Ders in three stories ; which appear to have been situated in the inner court, here called the outer court in reference to the temple, (ver. 13—14.) just before the separate place, at the entrance from the north. J —Bagster. Ver. 2. Length of a hundred cubits. — [Perhaps this means, that the north door was 100 cubits from the entrance into the court ; and that the door-way up portico, was 50 cubits in length ; or, that it faced one of the cloisters, the length of which was 100 cubits, and its breadth 50, which was the proportion of all the cloisters.]— Bagster. Ver. 3. Over against , &c.— [One side of these buildings looked upon the void space about the temple of 20 cubit3, and the other toward the pavement belonging to the outer court.]— Bagster. Ver. 4. Before the chambers.— ['There seems to have been two rows of these chambers, and a walk between of ten cubits width ; with an entrance into it from the chambers, of one cubit in width.] — Bagster. Ver. 5. Upper chambers— [ The two upper stories had balconies or galleries, standing out from them, which were not supported by pillars on the outside of the walls, but merely by a breadth taken out of the wall itself ; and therefore the chambers became narrower in the second story than in the first, and in the third than in the second. \— Bagster. Ver. 8. Before the temple.— [Passing from the north to the south side of the temple, (ver. 11, 12.) the prophet was shown that the space of ground, which was before the temple on the east, measured 100 cubits.]— Bagster. Ver. 10. Thickness of the wall.— [ Rather, “ the breadth of the wall,” that is, the breadth of ground which it enclosed, chap. xli. 12. Over against, &c. the plough, and looketh back, is not fit for the kingdom of God:’ true believers cipntinue to the end in the ways and ser- vice of the Lord : this is their privilege, their desire, and their practice. Sacrecl things must not be made subservient to se- cular interests : but these must be subordinated to the concerns of religion, and kept distinct from them, or rendered subser- vient to them. However the privileges and liberty of believers may be enlarged, or the boundaries of the church extended ; a separation still subsists between the righteous and the wicked, which will be manifested, and made final and eternal, in the approaching day of righteous retribution.” — T. Scott.. Chap. XLIII. Ver. 1 — 27. Another vision of the divine gloru^ with reproof and admonitions. — Part of this chapter evidently relates to the former temples that had been grossly polluted by idolatry, which, upon the return of the divine presence, they are warned against repeating. From what is said, (ver. 7 and —These south chambers in situation with respect to the temple, the way that led to them, proportions, windows, doors, and passages belonging to them, were exactly like those on the north.]— Bagster. Ver. 16. Five hundred reeds.— New come and Boothroyd, following the LXX. and Arabic, read, “ Cubits,” instead of reeds ; the mountain itself, ac- cording to Josephus, not being large enough to admit the other measure. It may be recollected, however, that this temple was only seen in vision.— [Esti- mating the reed at 10 1-2 feet, 500 reeds will be nearly equal to a mile ; so that from this statement we find the temple, with its outbuildings, was built on a square, nearly an English mile on each side, and four miles in circumference. This not only far exceeds the size of Solomon’9 temple, or that after the cap- tivity, which was only 500 cubits, or a furlong, on each side, ( Tahn . Middoth. Josephus , Ant.) and exactly half a mile in circuit; but is nearly equal to tho whole extent of Jerusalem itself, which, when greatest, was but 33 furlongs in circumference, somewhat less than 4 1-2 miles. (Josephus.) This seema clearly to intimate, that the vision cannot be explained of any temple that has hitherto been built, or indeed of any literal temple, but figuratively and mystically of the spiritual temple, the church under the Gospel, and its spi- ritual glory. 1 — Bagster. Ver. 20. The profane place^-x. e. the place for the common people. Chap. XLIII. Ver. 2. Glory of God— [The glory of God was one of the five things which the Jews say were wanting in the second temple, and we must therefore look beyond that period for the accomplishment of these ere dictions. ]— Bagster. 909 The return of God's glory. EZEKIEL 4 And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. 5 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory i of the Lord filled the house. 6 And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house ; and the man ) stood by me. 7 IT And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my k throne, and the place i of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell m in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more " defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of ° their Rings in their high places. 8 In their setting p of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, pattern. 11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form u of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances ' thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all w the ordinances .thereof, and do them. 12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. 13 TT And these are the measures of the altar j after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and a hand breadth ; even the 1 bottom shall ben cu- bit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the redge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar. 14 And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit ; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit. .—CHAP. XLIII. The ordinances of the altar. ) c.40.3. n c.39.7. o Je.16.18. p 2 Ki.21. 4..7. c.23.39. q or, for there was but a wall. r Ho.2.2. s 2Co.6.16. t or, sum , or, num- ber. n He. 8.5. v l Co. 11.2. w Mat 28. 20. x bosom. y lip. z Harcl,\.e. the moun- tain of God. a Ariel, i.e. the lion of God. Is.29.1. d c.44.15. e Ex. 29. 10, &c. Le.8.14, &c. c.45.18, &c. f He.13.11. 12 . g Le.2.13. i fill their hands. Ex.29.24. j Le-8.33. k Le.9.1. 1 or, thank- offerings. m Ho.8.13. c.20. 40,41 Ep. 1.6. 1 re. 2.5. 15 So 2 the altar shall be four cubits; and from 2 the altar and upward shall be four horns. 16 And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof. 17 And the settle shall be fourteen cubits mng and fourteen broad in the four squares there- of; and the border about it shall be half a cu- bit ; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about ; and his stairs b shall look toward the east. 18 Tf And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord God ; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt-flfferings thereon, and to sprinkle c blood thereon. 19 And thou shalt give to the d priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord God, a young 'bullock for a sin-of- fering. 20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about : thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it. 21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin-offering, and he shall burn it in the ap- pointed place of the house, without f the sanctuary. 22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin-offer- ing ; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock. 23 When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish. 24 And thou shalt offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall cast s salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt-offering unto the Lord. 25 Seven 11 days shalt thou prepare everyday a goat for a sin-offering: they shall also pre- pare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish. 26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it ; and they shall < consecrate ) them- selves. 27 And when these days are k expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so for ward, the priests shall make your burnt-offer- ings upon the altar, and your 1 peace-offer- ings; and I will accept m you, saith the Lord God. 8.) it seems to be justly inferrible that some of their idolatrous kings had been buried within the precincts of the temple — monuments perhaps erected to them, (as in our churches,) and their effigies even idolized. Thus idolatry became practised under the same roof with the worship of Jehovah, with only an inner wall between the jealous God of Israel and the ob- Ver. 4. Glonj of the Lord— [Though the personal presence of Immanuel in the second temple rendered it more glorious than that of Solomon, (Hag. ii. 5, 9.) yet this part of the vision rather relates to the time9 predicted in the whole of this description— those which shall succeed the conversion of the Jews, and their restoration to their own land.l— Bolster. Ver. 7. By the carcasses of their kings.— Michae/is supposed that some of their idolatrous kings might have been buried in the precincts of Solomon’s temple, and perhaps afterwards idolized. See 2 Kings xxi. IS— 26 .— [Probably the idols worshipped by the kings of Judah, which were as lifeless and as loathsome before God as dead putrid carcas'es. 1— Bagster. Ver. 8. Their thresholds , &c. — The thresholds of the idol temples are pecu- liarly sacred, and there they are wont to pay their humblest adorations. Ori- ent. Oust. No. 327. See also chap. xlvi. 2—3. And the wall between , &c. —Newcome, “ There was only a wall between me and them.” Ver 9. Put away their whoredom — (Bather, “Now shall they put away tneii whoredom and the carcasses of their kings far from me. and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.” It is a prediction and promise, and not an exhortation. |— Bagster. Ver. 10 . Measure the pattern. — The original term means image, or model, according to Gesenius. Ver. 13. Even the bottom.— Heb. “ Bosom,” this altar having a rim (Heb. ‘ lip”) round it 910 jects of his holy jealousy; and therefore was that glorious- temple with all its treasures utterly destroyed. They are now warned to consider this, before they attempt to build another temple on the model here before them ; and they are admo- nished to remember that holiness was the law of the house through all its departments and appurtenances. Ver. 14. Lower settle— [These settles , were ledges by which the altar was narrowed towards the top ; and the whole of it may be thus computed:— Height : cuuits. I Breadth : cubits Base, v. 13. 1 Upper ledge, v. 17. 14 To 1st ledge, v. 14. - - - - 1 I For higher ledge, v. 14. .... 2 To upper ledge, v. 14. 4 | For lower ledge, v. 14. - - 5 To hearth, v. 15. 4 1 For base, v. 13. 2 In all, 10 I # In aU, 2C Hence the upper part of the altar was only 12 cubits square, (ver. 16 .) the up- per settle, or ledge, (being in all 14 cubits, ver. 17.) deducting 2 cubiis from its dimensions. Thqugh this altar wa9 the same in height and breadth with that of Solomon, yet it differed materially from if in having settles or ledges ; on which the priests walked round the altar, to officiate in offering sacrifices.] — B. Ver. 15. So the altar.— [Heb. Harel, that is. the mountain of God — probably so called in opposition to the idolatrous high-places. From the altar. — Heb. Ariel, that is, the lion of God ; rather, “ the hearth of God,” from the Arabic, irat, or iryat , a hearth, and ail, God.]— Bagster. See notes on Isa. xxix. 1,2. Ver. 17. His stairs. — [Rather. “ its ascents,” maalothehoo ; prooably an in clined plane ; for the law ordained, that the priests should not ascend b» stairs. ]— Bagster. The priests reproved. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XLIV. Ordinances for the priests CHAPTER XL1 V. The east gate assigned only to the prince. 4 The priests reproved for polluting of the sanctuary 9 Idolaters incapaUe of the priest’s office. 15 The sons of Zauok are accepted thereto. 17 Ordinances for the priests. T HEN he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary a which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. 2 Then said the Lord unto me ; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it ; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, there- fore it shall be shut. 3 It is for the prince ; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread b before the Lord ; he shall enter by the way c of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same. 4 H Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house : and I looked, d and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord : and I fell upon my face. 5 And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, e mark well, and f behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all the laws thereof ; and mark well s the entering in h of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary. 6 And thou shalt say to the • rebellious, even to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God ; O ye house of Israel, let it suffice i you of all your abominations, 7 In that ye have brought k into my sanctuary i strangers, m uncircumcised " in heart, and un- eircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have Droken my covenant because of all your abo- minations. 8 And ye have not kept “the charge of my holy things : but ye have set keepers of my p charge in my sanctuary for yourselves. 9 T[ Thus saith the Lord God; No stranger, uncircumcised i in heart, nor uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any stranger that is among the children of Israel. 10 And the Levites that are r gone away far from me, when Israel s went astray, which went astray away from me after their idols ; they shall even bear their iniquity. A. M. 3130. B. C. 574. a c.43.1,4. b 1 Co. 10. 18, &c. c c. 46.2, 8. <1 c.43.5. h Pfc 96.8,9. i c.2.5. I Pe.4.3. .43.8 k Le 22.25. 1 children of a stranger. Is.56.6,7. m Le. 26.41. Ro.2.23, 29. n Le.21.6, 8 . o Le.22.9, &c. Ac.7.53. p or, ward , or, ordi- nance. q Ma.16.I6. r 2 Ki.23.8, &c. s l Ti.5.22. t 1 Ch.26. &c. u 2 Ch.29. 34. v Nu.16.9. w were for a stum- iniquity unto. c. 14. 3,4. x Nu. 18.3, 4. 2 Ki.23.9. y 1 Ki.2.35. z De.10.8. a Le.3.16. b Le. 17.5,6. c Re. 1. 6. d Ex. 28. 39, &c. sweaty or, in sweating places. f Le.6.27. c.42.14. g 1 Co.3.5,6 h Le.21.5, &c. 11 Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctu- ary, having charge at the gates 1 of the house, and ministering to the house: they shall slay u the burnt-offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them ’ to minister unto them. 12 Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and w caused 1 the house of Israel to fall into iniquity ; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, saith the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. 13 And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place : but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which the}'’ have com- mitted. 14 But I will make them keepers of the charge of the house, for all the service thereof, and for all that shall be done therein. 15 T[ But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept * the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and z they shall stand before me to offer unto me the a fat and the b blood, saith the Lord God: 16 They c shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge. 17 If And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with a linen garments ; and no wool shall come upon them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. 18 They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins ; they shall not gird themselves e with any thing that causeth sweat. 19 And when they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off f their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other gar- ments ; and they shall not sanctify the people with their e garments. 20 Neither h shall they shave their heads, nor Chap. XLIV. Ver. 1 — 31. Regulations of worship. — “No man should presume, even in appearance, to arrogate to him- self that glory which belongs to God alone. It is also very proper that Christ our Prince should ‘ in all things have the pre-eminence but though the way, by which he has entered into heaven, is for ever shut against the whole fallen race of Adam ; yet he has opened for us ‘ a new and living way,’ by which we mav find access and acceptance through faith in his blood. He also graciously comes among his assembled peo- le, to commune wdth them, before they go to be with him in eaven. Then the glory of the Lord fills his sanctuary, and his people adore him with humble gratitude : and we should care- fully meditate on these goings of our God and King, and hear- ken to all that he says to us, concerning ‘ the ordinances and law-s of his house:’ and we should mark well the entrance into his courts, and all the goings out of them. Thus we shall be .able to see, how rebelliousfy even professed Christians have prostituted his sacraments, and the sacred ministry, by throw- Chap. XLIV. Ver. 1. The outward sanctuary— i. e. the court of the Priests. Houbig ant. —[So called in opposition to the temple itself, which was the inner sanctuary.] — Bagster. Ver. 2. This gate shall le shut— That is, to the public. Among other marks of respect paid to a sovereign in the East, this is one, that the gate whereby he enters i3 in future closed to all other persons. Harmer's Obs. Ver. 3. It is for the prince. — [It is probable, that the prince mentioned here and elsewhere, does not mean the Messiah, but the ruler of the Jewish nation for the time being. For it is not only directed where he should sit in the temple, ana eat his portion of the sacrifices, and when and how he should go out: but it is also ordered (chap. xlv. 22 .) that at the passover he shall offer a bullock, a sin-offering for himself and the people ; and to guard him against any temptation of oppressing the people, he had a provision of land allotted to him, (chap. xlv. 8.) out of which he is to give an inheritance for his sons, (chap. xlvi. 18.) These appear plainly to be political rules for common princes, and for a succession of them ; but as no such rules were observed un- der the second temple, the fulfilment of it must still be future.]— Bagster. Ver. 7. Uncircumcised.— \ The introduction of uncircumcised persons to eat of the peace- offerings and oblations, would have been a gross violation of the Mosaic law ; but, a9 there was no law to exclude the uncircumcised of ing them open to strangers, enemies, and evidently unregene . rate persons; to the disgrace of the gospel, and the grief of true believers, and the encouragement of wicked men. “ All who are employed in the important work of the minis- try, should be of harmless and blameless conversation ; sound in the faith, full of good works; of exemplary temperance, sobriety, and gravity ; walking humbly before God, and cir- cumspectly in the sight of men ; not arrogating honour to themselves, or leading the people into a superstitimis venera- tion of them ; yet acting honourably, and maintaining a sober peculiarity in their whole conduct. They should perform the most common actions of life in a pious and sanctified manner ; their apparel, and the whole of their style of living, should be plain, simple, frugal, and such as manifests their indifference about worldly things : they should be careful in forming con- nexions, and in the choice of wives, and prudent in the ma- nagement of their families: showing that they are governed by reason, conscience, and tne fear of God, not by passion and heart," who were circumcised and ritually clean, this seems to point out a new and different, constitution.]— Bagster. Ver. 10. They shall bear their iniquity. — Many Levites survived the cap- tivity, some of whom in early life had probably served the altar of the ido- laters ; neither they nor their children should now be admitted to their full pri- vileges, but be subservient to others ; and thus “ bear their iniquity.” Ver. 11. Ministers — [As few, if any, of those who, before the captivity, bad been guilty in these respects, lived to witness the restoration of the temple service ; and as it does not appear that their descendants were thus degraded for the idolatry of their ancestors ; it is probable that a thorough reformation of the whole church, or the prevalence of pure religion among the converteu Jews, is here predicted.] — Bagster. Ver. 12. I lifted up my hand— That is, T have sworn, &c. Ver. 16. Near to my table. — [To place the shew-bread there. It is observ- able. that the table in the sanctuary is mentioned rather than the altar of in- cense ; perhaps intimating the change in the external institutions of Divine worship which should take place before the accomplishment of the prophecy It is not easy to determine, whether any external regulations, with respect to Divine ordinances, answerable to these predictions, will be made among the converted Jews, when reinstated in their own land, or not.]— Bagster. 91 I Various ordinances and regulations. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XLV. The division of the land suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. 21 Neither shall any priest drink i wine, when they enter into the inner court. 22 Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her that is ) put away : but they shall take maidens of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow ^ that had a piiest before. 23 And they shall 'teach my people the differ- ence between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. . 24 And in controversy > they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my m laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my "sabbaths. 25 And they shall come at no “dead person to defile themselves : but for father, or for mo- ther, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister that hath had no husband, they may defile themselves. 26 And after p he is cleansed, they shall reckon unto him seven days. 27 And in the day that he goeth into the sanc- tuary, unto the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall " offer his sin-offering, saith the Lord God. 28 And it shall be unto them for an inherit- ance : I r am their inheritance : and ye shall give them no possession in Israel : I am their possession. 29 They ! shall eat the meat-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespass-offering; and t every u dedicated thing in Israel shall be tlicirs. 30 And the v first of all the w first-fruits of all things , and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priest’s: ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your 1 dough, that he may cause the blessing * to rest in thy house. 31 The priest shall not eat of any thing that is dead of z itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast. A. M. 3-130. B. C. 574. i I, r. 10.9. 1 Ti.3.3. ) thrust forth. k from a ■priest. 1 2Ch.l9.8, 10. m 1 Ti.3.16. n la. 58. 13, 14. c.22.06. o Lc.21.1, &c. p Nu. 6. 10, &c. 10. II, Ac. q Lc.4.3. r Nu. 18.20. Del 8. 1,2. Job.13.14, 33. s i.o.6.18, 29 ; 7.6. t Nu.18.14. u or. devo- ted. v or, chief. w Ex. 22.29, 30. xNu. 15.20. Ne. 10.37. y Pr.3.9,10. Mai. 3. 10. z Le.22.8. a cause the land to fall. b c.47.22. c holiness. d c.48.8. e c. 42.20. f or, void places. z c.48.10, &c. h vcr.l. i 1 Co.9.13, 14. j c.40.17. k c.48.21. I Pr.28.16. Je.22.17. c.22.27. 46.18. m Jos. 11. 23. CHAPTER XLV l The portion of land for the sanctuary, 6 for tlie city, 7 and for the prince. 9 Ordi- nances for the prince. M OREOVER, when ye a shall b divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, c a holy portion d of the land : the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds , and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. 2 Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five 0 hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the f suburbs thereof. 3 And of this measure shalt thou measure the length of five and twenty thousand, and the breadth of ten thousand : and e in it shall be the sanctuary and the most holy place. 4 'I’he holy portion h of the land shall be for the priests the ministers of the sanctuary, which shall come near to minister unto the Lord : and it shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary. 5 And the five and twenty thousand of length, and the ten thousand of breadth, shall also the Levites, the ministers « of the house, have for themselves, for a possession for twenty ) chambers. 6 H And ye shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and five and twenty thousand long, over against the obla- tion of the holy portion : it shall be for the whole house of Israel. 7 If And k a portion shall be for the prince on the one side and on the other side of the ob- lation of the holy portion, and of the posses- sion of the city, before the oblation of the holy portion, and before the possession of the city, from the west side westward, and from the east side eastward : and the length shall be over against one of the portions, from the west border unto the east border. 8 In the land shall be his possession in Israel : and my princes ishallno more oppressmvpeo- ple ; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according '“to their tribes. humour, in all these matters. They should teach the people, both by word and example, the difference between the holy and pro- fane, the clean and the unclean : they should study to be peace- makers, and should regulate their judgment and decisions in all cases by the commandments of God, and not according to their own humours, interests, or partialities: they should observe, and teach others to observe, the statutes of the Lord, in all the ordinances of his house, and in hallowing his sabbaths: they should govern their passions, and moderate their sorrows, not suffering their work to be interrupted, or improperly perform- ed.’ 5 — 7^. Scott. Chap. XLV. Ver. 1—25. Provisions for the sanctuary , t by litigations before human tribunals, according to the laws of inan.l— Bagster. . Ver. 25. They shall come , &c.— The following regulations are chiefly repeti- tions of the Mosaic law. ..... Chap. XLV. Ver. 1. When ye shall divide , &c. — See Josh. xxm. 4, &c. Five and twenty thousand reeds. — The word reeds is not in the original ; Michaelis. Xewcome , Boothroyd, &c. t therefore supply cubits , as far more probable than reeds : 25,000 of the latter would be 150,000 cubits, which would amount* to more than 42 miles in length, and upwards of 16 in breadth, at the lowest calculation ; and reckoning the larger rubit, chap. xl. 5.. 52 miles by 20, much too lar£e for the hills on which Jerusalem was built.— [That our trans- .ators rightly added the word reeds, is evident from the length and breadth of the sanctuary being exactly the same as before. (Compare ver. 2. with chap, xlii. 16 — 19.) Estimating the reed at 3 1-2 yards, this holy oblation vvould con- stitute a square of nearly 50 miles on every side. From the north side, a por- 912 the vain hurry of the world : that they may ‘ give themselves to the word of God and prayer;’ and that every thing per- taining to them may savour of holiness and piety. These are the duties of men in every age : and the happy time is coming, when all ranks in every part of the earth will attend to them. Then there will be no more fraud, oppression, misery, war, or devastation; but universal righteousness peace, and prospe- rity. It is an important part of the will of God, that men should deal with exact honesty in all the transactions of life: no zeal, orthodoxy, or diligence in religion, can compensate for the want of truth and justice in our moral conduct ; though for a time they may cloak it. The Lord requires a .just weight and a true balance, and exactness in every one of our dealings. All should use their influence, and improve their talents, in promoting the cause of godliness. The sabbaths and ordi- nances of God, and the commemoration of his benefits, should be our chief delight and satisfaction : and we should atm to re- duce our various duties to some regular methpd, that they may not interfere with each other ; and to persist in it till it become habitual. And, though nothing we do can atone for sin ; our zealous services testify our acceptance of the sacrifice of Lnrist our Prince and High Priest, which according to his part, he lion of nearly 20 miles in width, and nearly SO in length was appointed for tbe priests; and in the midst of this portion, the area of the sanctuary, about a mile square, to be enclosed by a wall. (ver. 1, 2.) ISext to this, on the sou , was the Levites' portion of the same dimensions as that ot the priests 2 (ver. 5 ;) and south of this, was die portion for the city, of the same length as those of tlie priests and Levites, but only half the uidth. (ver. 6.) These three formed the square of 25,000 reeds, or nearly 50 miles ; and that set apart for the prince, the breadth of which is not mentioned, extended in length from north to south, along the east and west sides of the square. As Canaan would not admit of so large a portion for the sanctuary &c. this was no cloutH intended to intimate the large extent of the church in the glorious Umes pre dieted.]— Bagster. . . - „ « „ Ver. 6. Five thousand , &c. — Archbishop Newcome reckons this full lour times the size of Jerusalem, according to Josephus. . , t . ... Ver. 8. Princes no more oppress— [In the predicted penod, not only shall the ministers and worshippers of God be liberally provided for ; but the princes will he both able and willing to defray the expenses of government, without oppressing their subjects ; and will rule over tnem with equity and elemenen as the vicegerents of God ; while the people will submit to them conscien- tiously and live in peace, prosperity, and holiness. These things seem to c*e Various ordinances EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XLVI. for the prince. 9 If Thus saith the Lord God ; " Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel : 0 remove violence and spoil, and execute p judgment and justice, take away your 4 exactions r from my people, saith the Lord God. 10 Ye shall have just B balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. 11 The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer : the measure thereof shall be after the homer. 12 And the shekel '■shall he twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fif- teen shekels, shall be your maneh. 13 This is the oblation that ye shall offer ; the sixth part of an ephah of a homer of wheat, and ye shall give the sixth part of an ephah of a homer of barley : 14 Concerning the ordinance of oil, the bath of oil, ye shall offer the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is a homer of ten baths ; for ten baths are a homer : 15 And one " lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel ; for a meat-offering, and for a burnt-offering, and for v peace-offerings, to make reconcilia- tion w for them, saith the Lord God. 16 All the people of the land shall * give this y oblation 'for the prince in Israel. 17 And it shall be the prince’s part to give “burnt-offerings, and meat-offerings, and drink- offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel : he shall prepare the sin-offer- ing, and the meat-offering, and the burnt-of- fering, and the b peace-offerings, to make re- conciliation for the house of Israel. 18 Thus saith the Lord God ; In the first ! month , in the first day of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and ! cleanse the c sanctuary : 19 And the priest shall take of d the blood of the sin-offering, and put it upon the posts of the house, and upon the four corners of the settle of the altar, and upon the posts of the gate of the inner court. A. M. 3430. B. C. 574. n c.44.6. o Je.223. r Ne.5.1.. 13. 1 Co. 6.7, i Le. 19.35, 36. Pr.11.1. u or, kid. v or, thank- offerings. w Le.1.4. .He. 9.22, 23. x be for. y Ex.30.14, 15. z or, with. a 2 Ch.5.6. 30.24. b o rAhank- offeri ngs. c Le.16.16. d c.43.20. e Le.,4.27. f Ex. 12. 18. Le.23.5, &c. Nu.9.2,3. De.16.1, &c. S l Co.5.7, j c. 46. 5,7. k Nu.29.12. I De.16.13. a c.44.3. ver.8. bln. 10.1.. 3. c Col. 1.28. d Jn.10.9. e c.45.17. f c. 45.21. 20 And so thou shalt do the seventh day or the month for every one that e erreth, and for him that is simple : so shall ye reconcile the house. 21 In f the first month , in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days ; s unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22 And upon that day shall the prince pre- pare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock h for a sin-offering. 23 And seven days of the feast he shall pre- pare a burnt-offering to the Lord, seven bul- locks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days ; and a kid i of the goats daily for a sin-offering. 24 And he shall prepare a ) meat-offering of an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil for an ephah. 25 In the seventh month , in the l[ fifteenth day of the month, shall he do the like in the feast of the seven i days, according to the sin-offer- ing, according to the burnt-offering, and ac- cording to the meat-offering, and according to the oil. CHAPTER XLVI . 1 Ordinances for the prince in his worship, 9 and for the people. 16 An order for the prince’s inheritance. 19 The courts for boiling and baking. r T'HUS saith the Lord God ; The gate of the 'inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days ; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2 And the prince a shall enter by the way b of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare c his burnt-offering and his peace-offer- ings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate : then he shall go forth ; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 3 Likewise the people of the land shall wor- ship at the door d of this gate before the Loud in the sabbaths and in the new moons. 4 And the burnt-offering that e the prince shall offer unto the Lord in the sabbath day shall he six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish. 5 And the < meat-offering shall be an ephah for a ram, and the meat-offering for the lambs has most graciously prepared for us, and to which we must have continual respect in all our approaches to God. For our very best duties are polluted with sin ; we pollute the ordi- nances in which we join, and all that we are connected with, till they are cleansed in the fountain of his blood : and our er- rors, ignorance, and simplicity, as well as our wilful sins, need the same cleansing. As therefore 1 Christ our Passover is sa- crificed for us ; let us keep the feast’ of faith and communion _witn him, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, out with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth: let us begin our years, our months, our weeks, and days, with self- examination, repentance, faith, prayer, and devotedness to God ; and spend them in the same manner. Let us live like strangers and pilgrims on earth, rejoicing in Christ, as we pass through this desert to heaven : and then we shall soon arrive in those mansions above, ‘ where is fulness of joy, and plea- sures at God s right hand for evermore.’ T. Scott. Chap. XLVI. Ver. 1 — 24. Ordinances for worship . — “We should worship and commune with God every day, in our clo- sets and families, and in public as we have time and opportu- nity- On six days of the week indeed, men are called to serve God m their temporal employments ; and must not neglect those duties, even for the sake of spending all their time in his more immediate worship. But on his own day we all should occupy ourselves wholly in his sacred service; arid, laying aside every other employment and all avocations, as much as may be, and shaking off sloth and inactivity, we must learn to delight in the succession of one religious exercise to another, as the proper business of the whole day : and it may be right occasionally to appropriate a day from the other six, to be spent in a similar manner. It behooves those in authority to use their influence and example, in promoting a general regard to the worship of God, and their wealth in preparing every thing for it : they should frequent his holy ordinances with re- verence and attention, and without betraying any symptoms of weariness : for, however they may be distinguished in other matters from their subjects, they are in the sight of God en- tirely upon a level with them ; and every distinction admissi- represented in language taken from the customs of the times in which the prophet wrote. Tithes are not mentioned in any part of the vision, which shows that the ritual Mosaic law will not be in force .]— Pansier Ver. 11 . Ephah.-[The ephah was adry measure, and the bath a liquid mea- sure, containing about 7 gallons, 4 pints, or 3 pecks, 3 pints ; and th ehtrmer about 75 gallons, 5 pints. J —Bagster. \cr 12. Twenty shekels. -]TbM is, 20-1-25 15 = 60 ; for the maneh as a weight w is equal to 60 shekels, though as a coin it was only equal to 60, weighing about 2 lb. 6 oz.; and reckoning the shekel at 56 cents, being in va- lue -ius.so cents.]— Bagster. This appears lo be much like the manner of reckoning in the East at the present time. See Orient. Oust. Ver, 17. Pr ince's part .— [The prince is never mentioned in the ritual ap- pointments ot Moses, but here he is required to provide the oblations ; and the variations in the Mosaic law, in the number of the several sacrifices, and the p oporiion of the meat-ofiering to each being ten times as much as the law prescribed, with several other circumstances, seem more like enacting a nev/ law than enforcing that of Moses. These variations may intimate a change in the external constitution of the church ; arid it is probable that Iney a e to lie understood emblematically.]— Bagster. Ver. is. In the first month. &r. — (This seems to enjoin, not a me-c dedi- cation, but an annual purification of the sanctuary; of which there is nothing said in tlie Mosaic law.)— Bagster. Michaelis says the following regulations differ materially from the Mosaic. Ver. 25. Seventh month .— \ The prince shall do at the feast of tabernacles the same thing he was desired to do on the passover.]— Bagster. Chap. XLVI. Ver. I. Gate of the inner. —(The prophet had before observed, that the east gate of the outer court was shut, and was told, that it must only be opened for the prince ; and now he is informed, that the gate of the inner court on the east was also shut, and is to be opened only on the sabbath and new moons till the evening.] — Bagster. Ver 2. Prepare burnt-offerings.— (Or, “ Offer,” as the word asah fre- quenlly denotes. I'lie whole of this seems to intimate the constant, referen- tial, and exemplary attendance of kings on the pure ordinances of religion, in the approaching nourishing days of the church.]— Bagster. Ver. 4. Six lambs . . . erd a ram . — The Mosaic law appointed only two Jambs, without a ram. — [The proportions of the burnt-offerings, and also of the meat and drink-offerings, are very different here from those prescribed in the Mosaic law. The meat-offering under the law. was only three tenths of an ephah to a bullock, two tenths for a vam and one tenth for a Inmh. with the fourth pari of a bin of nil.]— Bagster. Ordinances for the people. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XL VII. The prince's inheritance. f as he shall be able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 6 And in the day of the new moon it shall be a young bullock without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram : they shall be without blemish. 7 And he shall prepare a meat-offering, an ephah for a bullock, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs according as his hand shall attain unto, and a hin of oil to an ephah. 8 And h when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of that gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof. 9 T[ But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the solemn ■ feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate ; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate : he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it. 10 And the prince in the midst of them, when they go in, shall go in ; and when they go forth, shall go forth. 11 And in the feasts and in the solemnities the ) meat-offering shall be an ephah to a bul- lock, and an ephah to a ram, and to the lambs as he is able to give, and ahin of oil to anephah. 12 Now when the prince shall prepare a vo- luntary burnt-offering or peace-offerings vo- luntarily unto the Lord, one shall then open him the gate k that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt-offering and his peace-offerings, as he did on the sabbath day : then he shall go forth ; and after his go- ing forth one shall shut the gate. 13 Thou shalt daily i prepare a burnt-offer- ing unto the Lord of a lamb m of the first year without blemish : thou shalt prepare it n every morning. 14 And thou shalt prepare a meat-offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour ; a meat-offeringcon- tinually by a perpetual ordinance unto the Lord. 15 Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meat-offering, and the oil, every morning for a continual burnt-offering. A. M. 3430. 11. C. 571. g the gift of hie hand. De.16.17. h ver.2. i Ex. 23.14 ..17. De. 16. 16. Mai. 4. 4. j ver.5. k c.44.3. ver.2. , 1 Ex. 29.33. | N u.23.3. in a son of I his year. n morning by mom- I iu S- o Le.25.10. p c.45.8. |.q c.34.5,6. r 1 Sa.2.13. 14. I 2 Ch.35. 13. b Le.2.4,.7. t c.44.19. u a court in a cor- ner of a ' court y t and a court in a I corner of i a court. I v or, made with chim- neys. vj cornered. x ver.20. a Is. 55.1. Je.2.13. Joel 3.18. Zee. 13.1. 14.8. Re.22.1, 17. b Is.2.3. ver. 12. 16 If Thus saith the Lord God ; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inherit- ance thereof shall be his sons’ ; it shall be their possession by inheritance. 17 But if he give a gift of his inheritance to one of his servants, then it shall be his to the year ° of liberty ; after it shall return to ttie prince : but his inheritance shall be his sons* for them. 18 Moreover the prince shall not p take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession ; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession : that my people be not scattered 9 every man from his possession. 19 T[ After he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy chambers of the priests, which looked toward the north : and, behold, there was a place on the two sides westward. 20 Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil r the tresoass •offer- ing and the sin-offering, where they shall bake s the meat-offering ; that they bear them not out into the outer court, to sanctify 1 the people. 21 Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four cor- ners of the court ; and, behold, " in every cor- ner of the court there was a court. 22 In the four corners of the court there were courts 'joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad : these four w corners were of one mea- sure. 23 And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling-places under the rows round about. 24 Then said he unto me, These 1 are the places of them that boil, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people. CHAPTER XL VI I . 1 The vision of the holy waters. 6 The virtue of them. 13 The borders of the land. 22 The division of it by lot A FTERWARD he brought me again unto the door of the house ; and, behold, waters a issued out from under b the threshold of the house eastward : for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. ble respecting his worship, between them and others, must be confined merely to external circumstances. But whether ru- lers will or will not join with us, in attending on the lively ordinances, in which 1 Christ is set forth as evidently crucified among us:’ .he, our Prince of Peace, will surely manifest his presence amidst us : and especially when we spend his holy day with his assembled saints, and feed by humble faith on the Sacrifice, which he has prepared and offered for us. In expec- tation and assurance of nis glorious and gracious presence, we should worship with reverence in his courts ; abound in spi- irtual sacrifices ; consecrate our talents and substance to him, according to our ability ; and take care that every thing be done decently and in order. We should recollect, that Press forwardls the Christian’s motto : we must still depart farther and farther from our sins, and sinful pursuits and connex- ions ; and get farther into the knowledge, practice, and ex- perience of tire gospel : and we should dread a hypocritical profession and worship, which generally terminate in a man’3 returning into his old course of sin and death.— The Lord has rescribed us many duties, as of indispensable obligation ; but e has also graciously left many things to our voluntary choice; especially as to the proportion of our time and substance to be appropriated to his immediate worship and service; that they,, who ‘ greatly delight in his commandments,’ may abound in them to his glory^ the edification of their brethren, and their own benefit ; without entangling their own consciences, or prescribing rules that might be inexpedient to others ; or indu- cing them to formal services, for which they have no heart, and in which God could have no pleasure. But we must never omit our daily worship, nor neglect to apply the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, to our souis, for pardon, peace, and salvation. Chap. XLVII. Ver. 1 — 12. The vision of the holy waters Ve i r '. 9 ' °f * te land . — (This may intimate that every thing should be regulated in divine worship, so as to prevent disorder and interruption, and also that men should go forward and make progress in reiigion, and not turn their backs upon God. 1 -Bag slur. Ver. 13. Daily -prepare .— lit is i observable, that there is nothing said about evening sacrifice. or the additional lamb, morning and evening, on the sabbath, which makes an important difference between this and the old laws ; and it is probably an intimation of that change in the external forms of reli- gion which the coming ot the Messiah should introduce 1 Bagster Ver. H. Every morning— Heb. “ Morning by morning."— Here is no men- tion ol an evening sacrifice, which forms another important variation from the Mosaic law. See Exod. xxix 38—40. Ver. 17. Year of liberty.— (That is, to the year of Jubilee, called the year of liberty, because there was then a general release : all servanls had their liber- ty ; and all alienated estates returned to their former owni:^ ! — Bagster Ver. 19. Entry— [This entry was at the west side of the north gate of the inner court : see ch xliv. 4, 5. Place — This place was at the west comers of the inner court, or court of the priests ; where they prepared the most lioly things, the trespass and sin-offering, which none but the priests might eat ; that they might not " bear them nut into the outer court, to sanctify the peo 914 pie,” that is, by touching them incapacitate them from discharging their ordi- nary occupations. ] — Bagster. Ver. 22. There were courts joined, &c. — [These courts in the comers of the outer court, or court of the people, npp. ar to have been a kind of uncover ed apartments, surrounded with little chambers for the cooks, and used for dressing the peace-offerings of the people. On these their families and friends feasted ; and portions were sent to the lioor, the widow, and the orphan ; and thus the spirit of devotion preserved the spirit of mercy, charity, and benevo- lence, in the land. I — Bagster. Sewcome, "Small courts, 48 cubits long," &c. But our margin reads, " made with chimneys.” Chap. XLVII. Ver. 1. Under the threshold . — See note on chap, xliii. 8 ; also chan. xlvi. 2, 3. — [Solomon’s temple and the second temple were doubtless well supplied with water, probably conveyed there by means of pipes ; but these waters flowed from the temple, not as a common sewer, hut as a ferti- lizing river. A fountain producing abundance of water was not in the temple, and could not be there on the top of such a hill ; and consequently these waters, as well as those spoken of by Joel and Zechariah, must be understood figuratively and typically. These waters doubtless were an emblem of the " gospel preached with the Holy Gliost sent down from heaven and theit gradual rise beautifully represents its progress, from small beginnings to aa The vision of the holy waters. EZEKIEL. — CHAP. XLVI1. The borders of the land. 2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the outer gate by the way that looketh eastward ; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. 3 And when the man c that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thou- sand cubits, and he brought me through the waters ; the d waters were to the ankles. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters ; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, arid brought me through ; the waters were to the loins. 5 Afterward he measured a thousand ; and it was a river that I could not pass over : for the waters were risen, waters c to swim in, a river f that could not be passed over. b If And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the 6 bank of the river were very many trees !l on the one side and on the other. 8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into > the > desert, and go into the sea : which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. 9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that k liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the i rivers shall come, sTiall live : and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither : for they shall be m healed ; and every thing shall live whi- ther the river cometh. 10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers n shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim ; they shall be a place to spread A. M. 3430. B. C. 574. c c. 10.3. d waters of the ankles, e of swim- ming. f Is.11.9. Hab.2.14. Mat. 13. 31,32. E HP- h ver. 12. i Is. 35. 1,7. j or, plain. De.3.17. 4.49. Job. 3- 16. k Jn.3.16. 11.26. 1 two riv- ers. m Ex. 15.26. Ps. 103.3. Is.30.26. n Mat.4.19. q or, and that which shall not. r Je.17.6. s ver.7. t come up. u Psl.3. Je.17.8. v or, prin- cipal. w Re. 22.2. x or , bruises and sores Is. 1.6. y Ge.48.5. 49.26. c.48.5. z or, swore. Ge.26.3. a c.48.29. b c.48.1. c Nu. 34.8. d 2 Sa.8.8. e or, the middle village. forth nets ; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great 0 sea, ex- ceeding p many. 11 But the miry places thereof and the mar- ishes thereof their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. 31 TI Thou, O king, i sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose bright- ness was excellent, stood before thee ; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image’s head was of line gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his k thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. A. M. KOI. B. C. 603. a That l. b children of the captivity. c Is. 47. 13, 14. ' d Ge.40.8. I 41.16. j e hath made. j f came up. g Ain.4.13. h Ac. 3.12. i or, the intent that the interpre- tation may be j made j known. | j uaat seeing. k or, sides, j 1 or, which | icon not in hands. ! m Zec..4.6. Jn. 1.13. n Ps.1.4. Ho. 13.3. o Ps.37.36. p Is. 2.2, 3. q lCo. 15.25. r Ezr.7.12. Is. 47.5. Eze.26.7. Ho.8.10. s Ezr.1.2. t Je.27.G. u c.5.28. v c.7.7,23. w brittle. x this with this. y their. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out 'without ,n hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together and became like "the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that 0 no place was found for them : and the stone that smote the image became a great p mountain, and filled f the whole earth. 36 This is the dream ; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king: 37 Thou, O king, art a king r of kings : for a the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given 1 into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another king- dom inferior u to thee, and another third king- dom of brass, which v shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron : forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided ; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly w broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men : but they shall not cleave * one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44 And in y the days of these kings shall the to the highest honours a subject could attain. The thing was indeed utterly beyond the reach of human wisdom; but was revealed to him in a prophetic vision ; and hence the holy Prophet is particularly careful not to attribute the discovery to his own sagacity or merit. “There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets : — But as to me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have, more than any living; but for the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king.” Ver. 31 — 49. Nebuchadnezzar's dream , and its interpreta- tion, followed by the Prophet's promotion. — Both the dream and its interpretation are so clearly related, that nothing re- mains, but for us to point out the mighty powers hereby repre- sented. 1. Daniel explains this golden head, of the Babylonian Empire, (in which the Assyrian was now absorbed,) particu- larly of Nebuchadnezzar, its high and haughty sovereign. This head is represented to be of gold from its riches and its splen- dour, of which that metal was the established emblem. 2. The breast and arms of silver are said to indicate a second Empire, still rich and splendid, but inferior to the former, which can mean no other than the Persian or Medo-Persian Empire, of which Cyrus was properly the founder. The third empire is described by a belly (or trunk) and thighs of brass, which very Ver. 28. Maketh known. — Chald. “ Hath made known i. e. in vision. Ver. 30. But for their sakes that shall make known. — Chald. “ But for the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king.” Ver. 31. Thou sawest. — Chald. “ Wast seeing,” or looking. A great image.— It appears from ancient coins and medals, that cities and people were often represented by the figures of men and women ; and Florus, in the proaemium to his Roman History, represents the Roman empire under the form of a human being, in its different states from infancy to old age. A stu- pendous human figure, therefore, was not an improper emblem of sovereign power and dominion ; and the various metals of which it was composed not unfitly represented the various kingdoms which should arise ; while the order of the succession is clearly denoted by that of their parts. }—Bagstei Ter- rible.— Perhaps gigantic, or colossal. See chap. iii. 1 . Ver. 34. Cut out.— Wintle , “ Tom out Gesentus, “ Detached separated ” probably as by an earthquake. Without bonds— That is, without human aid i so St. Paul uses the expression, Col. ii. 11. And brake them to pieces. This stone, detached by an invisible power, appeared to fall on the feet of the Image. Vet. 38. Head of gold. — (The Chaldean monarchy, over which Nebuchad- nezzar was the only king of note ; in whose time it extended over Chaldea, 920 appositely represent the Macedonian Empire, founded by Alex- ander the Great; the Greeks being commonly called brazen coated, from wearing brazen armour. This Empire, though perhaps more extensive than either of the preceding (as the belly is larger than the head or breast) was yet in some respects inferior. The fourth, or Roman Empire, was represented by legs of iron, and, feet of iron mixed with clay ; intimating that though art of its elements were strong as iron, its constitution being eterogeneous, had in itself the elements of division; beside which, the legs may represent the east and western branches of the empire, and the toes the smaller petty kingdoms which afterwards succeeded. But in explaining emblems, as well as parables, we must not descend to every minute particular. Thus much is certain, that by this image was represented the government of the then known world in several successive ages. The golden empire of Babvlon indeed lasted but about 70 years after this period; but the Persian continued about 200. the Grecian upwards of 300, and the Roman, which subdued the former, still longer. The fifth monarchy was of a different and superior nature; it is Christ’s kingdom, and is itself a rock over the affairs of the province of Baby- lon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; these men, O king, i have not regarded k thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 13 If Then Nebuchadnezzar in his 1 rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed nego. Then they brought these men before the king. llNebuchadnezzarspake and saiduntothem, Is it m true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye Nebuchaanezzur dedicateth DANIEL. God '■ of heaven set up a kingaom, which shall never be destroyed : and the a kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break b in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain c without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold ; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass J hereafter : and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. 46 Tf Then the king Nebuchadnezzar ■ fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great e gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Baby- lon, and chief of the *' governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and s he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon : but Daniel sat h in the gate of the king. CHAPTER III. Nebuchadnezzar dedicateth a golden image in Dura. 8 Shadrach, Meshach, and AbeJ-nego are accused for not worshipping the image. 13 They, being threatened, make a good confession. 19 God delivereth them out of the furnace. 26 Nebuchad- nezzar seeing the miracle blessetb God. N EBUCHADNEZZAR the king a made an image of gold, whose height was three- score cubits, and the breadth thereof six cu- bits : he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to ga- ther together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, and cap- tains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, and survive all the changes of human governments, and ex- tend into the eternal state. Such is Christianity, which was established, in the first instance, not only without, but in op- position to all the powers of earth and hell. When Daniel was relating to this mighty monarch his su- pernatural dream, his recollection no doubt revived as he pro- ceeded, and the interpretation appeared so natural and consist- ent, that in the close he was completely overwhelmed ; and, considering the Prophet as the representative of the supreme Deity, “ a God of gods, and a Lord of kings,” he falls down before him, and pays him divine honours, which (though it be not distinctly stated) we may safely believe he never would accept. He was however generously rewarded, and (like Jo- seph in the court of Pharaoh) promoted to the highest honours of the state: he sat in the king’s gate, doubtless as his deputy or lieutenant, and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego, were placed in high and confidential offices under him. “ Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are his !” (For a full exposition of this Prophecy, see Bp. Newton, Diss. xiii. ; also Keith's Signs of the Times.) Should it be thought strange for the Almighty to make such revelations to an idolatrous prince, we may remark, that spe- cial mercy was in reserve for him ; and that in the end he bore a noble testimony respecting God’s everlasting kingdom. Chap. III. Ver. 1 — 18. Nebuchadnezzar’ s Golden Idol wor- shipped , and the Hebrews punished for refusing. — The account of this golden image has been objected to as out of all propor- tion ; and so it is, if the image itself is to be understood as ten times its breadth ; but we are to recollect that statues are usually placed on pedestals, or pillars, and there are two reasons to suppose that this might be a high one; 1. To place it (as be- ing of gold) the farther out of danger of mutilation; and, 2. That it might be seen at a great distance, and by an immense number of worshippers. Supposing the figure to be erect, four times and a half the breadth of the shoulders is stated to be the usual height of a man. Now the breadth of the statue spiritual kingdom of the Messiah, which shall yet “ become a gTeat mountain, and fill the whole earth. 1 ’] — Bagster. Ver. 45. Forasmuch. &c.— See ver. 34. The Old Testament Scriptures in many places speak of Messiah as the foundation stone of itis church, as Ps. cxviii. 22 . Isa. v. 14, &c., and Bishop Chandler says, the old Rabbins are una- nimous in applying to him the passage now before us. Chap. III. Ver. 1. Image of gold . — Several circumstances lead to tiie sup- position that this image was intended to represent the solar orb. The astro- nomical character for the sun, is the chemical character for gold, and the La- tin sol applies equally to both. The sun was worshipped by fiery rites, and it is possible that this furnace was primarily intended for them, though converted into a place of punishment. See Fragments to Calmet, No. cxlix-r cl. Dura was a large plain, near Babylon ; the name seems to intimate that it was cir- cular, and the LXX. appear to have considered it as an appellative for a kind of Circus. See CaJmet and Wintle. The latter hints, that the furnace might be a fiery pit within this area. Ver. 3. Princes.— [ Achashdarpenayu, rendered lieutenants in Es. iii. 12, dec. probably chief satraps or viceroys, from the Persian, achash, great, emi- nent, and sitrah. a satrap. Governors.— Sygnaya, in Persian, shagnah, 110 • deputies or lieutenants. Captains— Pacaioatha, governors of provinces. See Es. iii. 13. Judges. — Adargazraya, chief judges, or senators, from adar, great, and the Chaldee, gezar , to judge, decree. Treasurers. — Ge- davraya, written gizzavraya, Ezra vii. 21 treasurers from the Persian gunjvar: Counsellors.— Dethavraya, counsellors, judges, from doth, in Persian, dad, law, and var, possessor or guardian. Sheriffs. — Tiphtaya, probably the same as the Arabic. Mufti, or.head officer of law.] — Bagster. Ver. 5. The cornet, flute, &c. — It is not easy to ascertain the distinct cha- racter of these instruments ; but it is evident they embraced the three classes of wind, stringed, and pulsative, which, on this occasion, seem to have been ail sounded together, and certainly made more noise than music.— -The dul- cimer. — Chald. “ Symphony,” lias been taken for almost every kind of instru- ment; and from its name was, perhaps, an attempt to combine the powers ol different instruments. See note on ver. 15. Ver. 8. Certain Chaldeans. — The term is here national. In some places it seems to indicate the professors of Chaldee science, as chap. ii. to : tv. 7, &c. Ver. 14. Is it true )— See margin. Or intentionally J or was it inadvertently 1 So Gesenius. Mr. Wintle renders it 11 insultingly,” but we think without sufficient authority. 921 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego . DANIEL. — CHAP. III. cast into the fiery Jurnact. hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sack- but, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall n down and worship the image which I have made; 0 well : but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace ; and p who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Id Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, an- swered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnez- zar, we are not careful <• to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom r we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery fur- nace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. 18 But if ■ not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve * 1 * * * * thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 19 Tf Then was Nebuchadnezzar u full of v fu- ry, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego : therefore he spake, and commanded w that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the x most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their ^coats, their hosen, and their z hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king’s a command- ment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the b flame of the fire slew those c men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- nego. A. M. 3424. B. C. 680. u I. u. 4.7.8. o Ex. 32.32. 1 41.18.9. p Kx.5.2. 2Ki.l8.S5. q Mat. 10.19 r Pa. 121.5. . 7. Ac.27.23, 2.5. a Job 13.15. Ac.4.19. t Ex. 20.3.. 5 Le.19.4 u filed. v Is. 51. 13. Lu.12.4,5 w Pr.16.14. 21 .24. 27.3,4. x mighty of strength, y or, man- \ ties. z or, tur- bans. a word. b or , spark. , c c.6.24. d or, go- vernors. e la. 43.2. f there is no hurl in them. Pr.30.4 Lu.1.35. .1.4 h door. i Ga.1.10. J Go. 14.18. k Is.43.2. He. 11.34. 1 Ge. 19.15, 16. Ps. 34.7,8, 103.20. He.1.14. m Je. 17.7. c.G.22,23. n Ro.12.1. He. 11.37. o a decree is made by me. p c.6.26,27. q error. r made. 8 c.2.5. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 If Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was as- tonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his d counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking ' in the midst of the fire, and f they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the e son of God. 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the ‘“mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye ' servants of the most high )God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered to- gether, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had k no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his > angel, and delivered his servants that trusted m in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yield- ed their 11 bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore ° I make a p decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak ““any thing amiss against the God of Shad- rach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be r cut in 'pieces, and their houses shall be made a being 6 cubits, the proper height would then be 27, leaving 33 for pedestal, which does not appear to us unlikely, the above circumstances considered ; and whether we take the cubit at 18 inches or 22, the proportion will be the same. But this was an image of gold ; how immense therefore must be its value! True; but if the pedestal were of stone, as we suppose, this would reduce it more than half: and if the statue were hollow instead of solid, as we conceive most probable, it would make another considerable reduction in its supposed value. Golden images are, however, not uncommon in the east. Diodorus Siculus mentions one of forty feet high (with- out a pedestal) and two others nearly of the same value, beside altars and utensils of the same precious metal. Herodotus mentions one of Jupiter, in a sitting posture, of solid gold, with a table of the same before him, estimated at 800 talents of gold. It maybe asked, of whom was this statue the representation ^ Some suppose of the king himself, and others of his father; but from the text, it is evident that it was of some deity, pro- bably Bel, the representative of the Sun or Solar fire : for the enraged king charges the Hebrew children, not with personal disrespect, but with refusing to adore his gods, (ver. 14.) The greatest difficulty in this history seems to be, to account for Nebuchadnezzar here setting up an idol, who but in the chapter before was fallingdown before Daniel, and worshipping his God. It may be observed, however, that though the events follow so closely in thenarrative, Abp. Usher and other respect- able Chronologers, place more than 20 years between the events themselves. Nebuchadnezzar forgot his vows to the God of Israel in 20 years : but how many have done this in less than half that time! Ver. 19 — 30. The three Hebrew youths , nobly refusing to worship this image, are cast into a fiery furnace , but mira- culously delivered. — Nebuchadnezzar, by an error too common among tyrants, supposing he had a right to prescribe the reli- gion of his subjects, and rule their consciences, is now in as great a rage with the Hebrew youths, as he had been with his own soothsayers, and orders them to be thrown into this bed of fire, and the flames being blown perhaps directly in the face of their executioners, are to them fatal, while to the intended martyrs they are perfectly harmless. The king, who had pro- bably hoped to gratify his temper in witnessing their destruc- tion, is now perfectly astounded — struck with wonder and confusion. Yes; the Angel which had conducted the tribes of Israel on dry land through the Red sea, is now coolly walk- ing with the three children amidst the fiery furnace. Probably He, who by his wind divided the sea, by the same, or other means equally within his command, divided the flames also, and turned their fury against their executioners. A question may here arise, Where was Daniel all this time, and how came it that he was not involved in the same perse- cution with his Hebrew brethren. Perhaps the singular honours Daniel had received by interpreting the king’s dreams, might intimidate the Chaldeans fr im attacking him; and as to his interfering on their behalf, he doubtless knew the king’s ca- pricious temper, and thought himself better employed, in in- terceding for them with the King of heaven than with the ty- rant of Babylonia. We have mentioned (in our introduction to this book) that there are some apocryphal fragments appended to it by the Church of Rome, of which by far the most interesting and valuable is “The Song of the Three Holy Children ,” supposed to be uttered by them in the midst of the fiery furnace. It con- tains many passages frorp the book of Psalms (and particularly Ver. 15. Harp. — [Ka'ihros, in Arabic kitharat. Greek kithara, the guitar. Sackbut.—Sabbec/ui, the sambuke, a kind of harp. Psaltery. — Pesan- ? eT i\ a strm ^ et ^ instrument struck with a plectrum ; probably similar to what 13 ca jpa a psalterium in Egypt, which Husselquist (Trav.) describes as a large oblique triangle, with two bottoms two inches from each other, and about 20 catguts o t dinerent sizes.— -Dulcimer.— SoompTianya, probably the same as the Talmudic, a pipe.]— Bagster. Well. — This word, though not in the i®*. “ properly supplied. See Exod. xxxii. 32. Luke xiii. 9. Who is that God that shall deliver you 7 And who is the king that says this 7 Compare chan, il 47. \ er. 18 . Thy gods. The word may be rendered either singular or plural. \ e r. 19. The form of his visage. Thai is. his countenance was changed. — — Owe seven times. That is, a great deal hotter. According to the apocry- phal hymn above referred to, this was done by throwing in " resin (or naph- tha.) pitch, tow, and small wood.” i r M8 ?Z' ar ^ thfirhats -Rather, "their turbans, and their cloaks.” Wintlc. and Bootlvoyd— [Herodotus says, the Babylonish dress was a linen tunic, another of woollen, a white short cloak, and a turban ]—B Ver. 24. Then— That is, immediately after, when he saw them walking 922 Ver. 25. The Son of God . — Winlle and Boolhrqyd (following the LXX.) read, A son of God,” or of the gods, supposing him to speak as a heathen. Ver. 26. To the mouth. — ” Door, or gate." This furnace is commonly sup- posed to be a kind of oven. So it is called in “ the song of the three child- ren ;” and it is certain that, in the East, for atrocious crimes, men are put into flaming ovens. The late Editor of Calmet, however, has proved that the fur- nace was open above ; and, indeed, it must have been so, for the king to sec all that passed ; it must also have been of considerable extent, for four persons to walk in the midst of the flames. In our exposition we have suggested the possibility of the wind being employed to cool this furnace : the idea is taken from the song of the three children, above referred to, which says, “ He (i. e. God) made t he midst of the fiery furnace a.s it had been a moist (Marg. "cool”) whistling wind ; so that the fire touched them not.” Ver. 27. Nor the smell of fire had.— Wint'e, “ Nor had the smell of fire set- tled on them.’— [The heathen boasted that their priests could walk on burning coals unhurt ; and Virgil mentions this of the priests of Apollo of Sorncto Varro . however, tells us, that they anointed the soles of their feet with a spe- cies of unguent, that preserved them from being burnt hut here all was super natural, as the king himself Acknowledged. )— Bagster. Nebuchadnezzar maketh DANIEL. — CHAP, IV. relation oj his dreamt. dunghill : because there is no other God that | can deliver after this sort. 30 1| Then the king ‘promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon. CHAPTER IV. i Nebuchadnezzar confeaseth God’s kingdom, 4 maketh relation of his dreams, which the magicians could not interpret 8 Daniel heareth the dream. 19 He interpreted! it 28 The story of the event N ebuchadnezzar the king, a unto ail people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth ; Peace b be multiplied unto you. 2 c I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high d God hath wrought toward me. 3 How great are his e signs ! and how mighty are his f wonders ! his kingdom is an ever- lasting s kingdom, and his dominion h is from generation to generation. 4 T[ I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace : 5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. 6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then * came in the magicians, the astrolo- gers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers : and I told the dream before them ; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. 8 If But at th$ last Daniel came in before me, whose name i was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit if of the holy gods : and before him I told the dream, saying , 9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods A. M. 3424. B. C. 580. t made to prosper. A. M. cir. 3434. B. C. cir. 510. a c.3.4. 6.25,27. b lPe.1.2. c It was seemly be- fore me. d c.3.26. e De.4.34. Ps. 105.27. He. 2. 4. f P3.72.18. 86 . 10 . 13.25.1. 23.29. h Job 25.2. lPc.4.11. i c.2.1,2. ) c.1.7. k Nu.11.17, &c. Is. 63. 11. 1 Is.33.18. 54.14. m was see- ing. n Eze.31.3, &c. o Eze.17.23. p La. 4 20. q ver. 17,23. r Mat.25.31 Re. 14. 10. s with might. c.3.4. t Mat. 3. 10. La. 13.7. u Job 14.7.. 9. v la.6.10. wc.12.7. x ver. 13,14. y Ps.9. 16,20 z ver.25,32, 35. a Pa. 75. 6,7. b Ex. 9.16. IKi.2I.25. 2 Ki.21.6, 2 Ch.28.22 : ver. 8. is in thee, and no secret troubleth > thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. 10 Thus were the visions of my head in my bed ; I m saw, and behold a n tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. 11 The tree grew, and was strong, and tne height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth : 12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all : the beasts 0 of the field had p shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. 13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a <> watcher and a r holy one came down from heaven ; 14 He cried 8 aloud, and said thus, Hew ‘ down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit : let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches : 15 Nevertheless leave the u stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field ; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth : 16 Let his heart be changed v from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him ; and let seven times w pass over him. 17 This matter is by the decree * of the watch- ers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may y know that the Most High 2 ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever a he will, and setteth up over it the basest b of men. 18 This dream 1 king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch c as all the from the 148th) not ill-suited to their character and circumstan- ces, though we cannot consider the Song itself as holy scripture. They could not, however, be ill employed while their divine guardian, the Angel of the covenant, was walking with them. Nebuchadnezzar, who had seated himself where he could view the whole process, was now overwhelmed with astonish- ment, as were all his courtiers, and commanded the three holy youths to come forth from the furnace; upon doing which they were strictly examined, and it was found that neither was their hair singed, nor was the smell of fire found upon them. The true God was therefore again acknowledged, and his servants promoted to higher honours. Thus was literally fulfilled, a promise, (which must not too generally be so construed,) r ‘ When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” (Isa. xliii. 2.) This is true only when the Son of God is with us. Chap. I V. Ver. 1 — 18. Nebuchadnezzar relates his dream of a great tree, which is interpreted by Daniel.— In several versions, and in some editions of the original, the three first erses of this chapter are attached to the preceding; they are, however, equally striking and appropriate, whether th ey be Ver. 30. The king 'prmnoted. — Chald. “ Made to prosper,” or flourish, so that they were no more molested. Chap. IV. Ver. 1. Peace he multiplied.— A usual form of address, as ap- pears from comparing chap. vi. 25.— [This is a regular decree , and one of the most ancient extant ; and no doubt contains the exact words of Nebuchadnez- zar, copied out by Daniel from the state papers of Babylon, and preserved in the original language. \— Bagster. „ Ver. 4. At rest — l After he had successfully finished his wars in Syria, Egypt, &c. and the immense impiovements and buildings at Babylon ; and being in the enjoyment of uninterrupted peace and prosperity in his palace.]— Bagster. Ver. S. According to the name of my God— That is, Bel. See chap. i. 7. The spirit of the holy gods— Nebuchadnezzar, it is evident, was to this time an idolater, and seems to have entertained very confused notions of the divinity. 41 Perhaps (says Dr. Boothroyd) he thought his own god the same as Daniel’s, under another name.” f _ . . rr _,. . , , . Ver. to. A tree in the midst of the earth— Or land.— [This represented ms exceedingly prosperous condition, the heieht of his exaltation, the extent of his dominions and renown, the splendour of his kingdom, the multitude of his sub- jects who received protection from him, and the peace and plenty they enjoyed.] Vex *\\ T Reached unto heaven— An hyperbole for very high. See Gen. xi. 4. Deut. i. 28. Job xx. 6. 2 Chron. xxviii. 9 Ver. 13. A watcher and a holy one.— [Either a holy angel, or a Divine per- son, called a watcher, as watching over the affairs of men.l —Bagster. See ° n Ver 15 ? With a hand of iron., &c.— That is, secure it to the ground, that no human force mav eradicate it : meaning, that during his disease, no foreign power nhould be suffered to seize his kingdom. To render this verse more per- t cuous. Dr. Boothroyd removes the semicolon from field to brass ; and intro- Be g tbn masculine pronoun he. instead of it. The passage then reads. 44 In considered as pious reflections, arising from the event just before mentioned, or as dictated after his illness and recovery, here about to be related. The dream here recorded took place, as is supposed, ten or twelve years after the events of the preceding chapter, and near the close of Nebuchadnezzar’s life. Having subdued all the neighbouring countries, and greatly embellished and en- riched the metropolis in which he resided, he became intoxi- cated with self-admiration and applause, and in that state of mind saw the vision here related. On the dream itself we have little to remark, since we shall find it fully explained by the Prophet himself, in the latter part of the chapter. It may seem strange that, after having expe- rienced the imbecility of his Chaldean soothsayers, in respect of his former dream, he should again apply to tnem, in prefer- ence to Daniel : but perhaps he might think, as he was still an idolater, that though they could not bring back the lost recol- lection of his former dream, yet. hearing the dream related, (as they then said,) they might be able to interpret it ; and it appears extraordinary that this was not attempted. It is possible, however, that the lung might wish to try them ; (or with) the tender grass of the field he shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and his portion shall be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.” Ver. 16. Let his heart he changed from man's— \ Here a transition is made from the tree to Nebuchadnezzar, whom it represented ; the tree being lost sight of, a person came in its stead j as the imagination in dreams frequently passes from one thing to another, m a wild incoherent manner This person having lost the heart or disposition of a man, and conceiving himself a beast, should act as such, and herd among them.]— Bagster. Wintle, " 4 His heart shall be changed from the human i. e. he shall be deprived of his understand- ing, which was the case i and he appears to have become 44 a wild man of the woods,” feeding with the beasts of the forest on fruits and vegetables, and ex- posed to all the inclemency of the weather. Perhaps those who assumed the overnment, gave themselves no trouble to prevent this ; and maniacs, we now, can endure a great deal of wet and cold. Seven times— [ That is, seven years, a time in the prophetic language denoting a year .] — Bagster. Ver. 17. This matter is by the decree of the watchers. — By the watchers are generally understood angels, and particularly guardian angels, which we conceive to be the true sense of the Chaldee term. But is the world governed by the decrees of angels? Certainly not ; the verv text asserts the contrary ; for it says, that the direct object of the decree and demand is, that the living (by which we understand all living) may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men. By “ the decree of the watchers ” we therefore under- stand, the decree which 44 the watcher and holy one” came down from heaven (ver. 14) to execute ; and the demand which these angels were sent to enforce was, that the root of this tree should he preserved. Compare Isa. xliv. 26. We are aware that Parkhurst, Bishop Horsley , and others, explain the watchere to be the persons of the Holy Trinity ; but we conceive they are ex- pressly distinguished from them by the words just quoted. Dr. Good gives tho words a different rendering, but this we eonceivo unnecessary. See Good on I Job Ixxi. fac 923 Daniel interpreteth the dream. wise men of my kingdom are notable to make known unto me the interpretation ■ but thou art able ; (or the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. 19 if Then Daniel, whose name was Belte- shazzar, was astonished for one hour, and his thoughts troubled J him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belte- shazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them « that hate thee, and the interpre- tation thereof to thine enemies. 20 The tree f that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth ; 21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit there- of much, and in it was meat for all ; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation : 22 It is s thou, O king, that art grown and become strong : for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy domi- nion h to the end of the earth. 23 And whereas i the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it ; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field ; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till se- ven times pass over him ; 24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king : 25 That they shall drive i thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass k as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High i ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots ; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the m heavens do rule. and that they, suspecting his real design, dreaded again to ap- pear in competition with the illustrious Prophet. Him, how- ever, the haughty monarch addresses in terms not only of respect, but of flattery. “ O Belteshazzar, master of the ma- gicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods (or rather, of the Holy God) is in thee.’’ Or it may be, that Nebuchadnez- zar’s conscience smote him, and he feared to receive from Da- niel those reproofs which he deserved, and which in the end he did meet with. Ver. 19 — 37. Daniel's interpretation of the preceding dream. — Daniel, we are told, “ was astonished for one hour.” No doubt he paused to pray; but this was not all; he found the dream contained painful tidings, and his thoughts troubled him. “ My lord, (said he,) the dream be to them that hate thee !” How- ever, painful as might be the task, and serious as might be the consequences, he must be faithful. Bp. Lowth remarks, that in prophetic language, “ Cedars of Lebanon, and oaks of Ba- Ver. 19. Astonished.— [He saw the design of the dream ; and felt acutely for his prince and benefactor. Accordingly he expresses himself with the greatest delicacy and kindly feeling.l— Bagster. Ver. 22 . Reacheth unto heaven. — See note on ver. 11. Ver. 23. Iron and brass. — Compare note on ver. 15. Ver. 25. Thy dwelling shall be with the beasts. — l All the circumstances of Nebuchadnezzar’s case, says Dr. Mead , (Medica Sacra.) agree so well with a hypochondriasis, that to me it appears evident he was seized with this distem- per. and under its influence ran wild into the fields : then fancying himself transformed into an ox, he fed on grass, after the manner of cattle; and. through neglect of himself, his hair and nails grew to an excessive length, so that the latter became thick and crooked, resembling birds’ claws. Virgil says of the daughters of Pnetus, who are related to have been mad. “ With mi- mic lo wines they filled the fields.”]— Bagster. Eat grass.— The original term includes as well herbs for man as grass for cattle. See Gen. ii. 5. Exod. x. 12, 15, &c. Ver. 26. That the heavens do rule— The heavens Cor heaven) is here, by a common metonymy, put for God. See Luke xv. 18. Ver. 27. A lengthening, &c.— See margin. See 1 Kings xxi. 39. Ver. 29. At the end of twelve months.— By this delay of his sentence, some have supposed that the king commenced the work of reformation recommend- 924 The story of the event. 27 Wherefore. O king, let my counsel be ac- ceptable unto thee, and break 11 off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor ; if 0 it may be -» a length- ening of thy tranquillity. 28 If All this came upon the king Nebuchad nezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he walked 9 in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30 The king r spake, and said, Is not thi3 great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31 While 8 the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying , O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And • they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field : they shall make thee to eat grass as ox- en, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomso- ever he will. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar : and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles 'feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. 34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchad- nezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, an«d I praised and honoured him “that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an v everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation w to genera- tion : 35 And * all the inhabitants of the earth are re- puted as nothing : and he 7 doelh according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth : and none can stay z his hand, or say unto him, What ‘ doest thou ? 36 At the same time my reason returned unto me ; and for the glory of my kingdom, my honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought shan, areused in the way of metaphor and allegory, for kings, princes, and potentates, of the highest rank.” (Isa. ii. 13 — 16.) And the prophet Ezekiel (chap, xxxi.) has represented both the monarchs of Assyria and of Egypt under the figure of mighty cedars. But here Nebuchadnezzar is represented as a fruit tree ; not only lofty and strong, but having borne fruit to feed, as well as branches to protect, his numerous provinces. He, however, who is “ Higher than the highest,” saw the extent to which his power and ambition had grown, and sent down his orders by a heavenly messenger, to hew down the tree;” but yet to spare the stump, and protect the root, that after a while it might sprout and grow again. It is useless to specu- late on the order of celestial beings here intended. The angels of God are in constant attendance on his presence, and wait to execute his commands. (See chap. vii. 10 .) They are here called watchers, or guardians, because it is their office to watch, with unremitting attention, the objects committed to their care, ed by the prophet, ver. 27. But soon growing weary, (as often is the case,) he began again to glory in himself, and thus brought down instant judgment. He walked in— See margin. It well known that all great houses in the East have flat and terraced roofs. See 2 Sam. xi. 2. Ver. 30. Is not this great Babylon.— See exposition of Isa. xiii. also note on Jer. Ii. 58. Which I have built.— Though built ages before, it was greatly embellished and improved, and perhaps in great part rebuilt by Nebuchadnez- zar. Bochart thinks it was as much indebted to him as Rome was to Julki' Caesar. Ver. 33. His hair like eagle's feathers. — Being totally neglected, it not only grew long, hut was probably matted together, like feathers. Tliia includes the beard. Ver. 34. At the ertd of the days. — That is, of the “seven times,” or years, predicted ver. 25. Ver. 36. My reason returned — [Every thing was fulfilled that was exhibited in the dream and its interpretation ; and God so ordered it in his providence, that Nebuchadnezzar’s counsellors and lords sought for him and gladly rein- stated him in his kingdom. It is highly probable that he was a true convert, und died in the faith of the God of Israel }— Bagster. 1 teas established.— It is probable this great king lived only a year after his recovery- His death happened about the 37th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity, after reigning 43 rears DANIEL.— CHAP. IV. A. M. clr. 343U B. ( cir- 570. d ver.9. e 23a. 18.32. Je.29.7. f ver.l0..12. g c.2.38. Ii Je.27 6.. 8. i ver.l3,i5. J ver.33. k Ps. 106.20. ] Ps.83.1& m Mat.5.34. Lu.15.18, 21 . n 18.55.7. o Ps.41.l,2. p or, a healing of thine error. q or, upon. r Lu.12.19, 20 . s l Th.5.3. t ver.25,26. A. M. 3441. B. C. 563. u c.12.7. Re. 4. 10. v IV 10.16. Je. 10.10. c.2.44. 7.14. Mi.4.7. Lu.1.33. w Ps.90.1. x Is. 40. 15, 17. y Ps.ll5.a 135.6. z Is-43.13. a Job 9.12. Is. 45.9. Ro.9.20. CHAP. V. A hand writing on the wall c De.32.4. Pa. 33. 4. Re. 15.3. d Ex. 18.11. Job 40.11, 12 . c.5.20. A. M. cir. 3466. B. ('. cir. 538. c or, grand- father, as Je.27.7. 2 Sa.9.7. ver. 11,18. d brought forth. e Re. 9.20. f c.4.31. g Is. 21. 2.. 4. h bright- ver. 9. i changed it. ) bindings , or, knots ; or, girdles Is. 5. 27. k Na.2.10. 1 with might. p bright- nesses. ver. 6. q c.4.8,9. r or, grand- father. ver. 2. t or, of an interpreter. w or, grand- father. gold about his neck, and shall Le the third J ruler in the kingdom. S Then came in all the king’s wise men : but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. 9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly trou- bled, and his p countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished. 10 Tf Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the ban- quet-house : and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever : let not thy thoughts trou- ble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed : 11 There q is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods ; and in the days of thy r father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him ; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy r father, the king, I say, thy r father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chal- deans, and soothsayers ; 12 Forasmuch as an excellent 6 spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, « interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and 11 dissolving of v doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belte- shazzar : now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. 13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Da- niel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my w father brought out of Jewry? 14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and un- derstanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15 And now the wise men , the astrologers have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they I could not show the interpretation of the thing : Belshazzar's impious feast. DANIEL. — unto me ; and I was established in my king- dom and excellent majesty was added b unto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works c are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride d he is abie to abase. CHAPTER V. 1 Belshazzar’s impious feast. 5 A hand-writing, unknown to the magicians, troubleth the king. 10 At the commendation of the queen Daniel is brought. 17 He, reproving the king of pride and idolatry. 25 readeth and interpreted! the writing. 30 The mo- narchy is translated to the Medes. ELSHAZZ AR the king made a great feast a to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, com- manded to bring the golden and silver vessels b which his c father Nebuchadnezzar had d ta- ken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem ; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, e and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. 5 H In the same hour f came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace : and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then s the king’s h countenance > was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the i joints *of his loins were loosed, and his knees k smote one against another. 7 The king cried i aloud to bring in the m as- trologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with "scarlet, and have a chain of as in the case before us: and under the new dispensation, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for (or to) them who shall be heirs of salvation ?” (Heb. i. 14.) Daniel closes his prediction with an intimation to the king, that there was yet room for his repentance ; and that by works of righteousness and mercy, the judgment might be, at least, protracted, and his tranquillity lengthened. But, alas! how quiekly do the most solemn impressions on the human mind wear off? Distressed as he doubtless was at the moment, he soon forgets his dreams, and in one short year again begins to boast, “ Is not this great Babylon, which I have built ?” though he had only embellished and enlarged it : “ built by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?” Alas ! poor vain mortal! — “ While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, O king Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom is departed from thee !” What follows need not be strained to an exactly literal interpretation. (See notes.) He lost his rea- son ; and, becoming a maniac, was driven from human society; associating, probably, with the animals in the parks and plea- sure-grounds of his own palace ; totally neglected by those who assumed his authority, and that, for seven years successively, he became more like a satyr than a man. This judgment was designed, however, not for his utter de- struction, but reform ; at the end of the appointed period, not only did his understanding return to him, but he appears to have been completely humbled, and gave glory to that God who is “ able to abase those who walk in pride,” as he had done. Tills declaration is in perfect harmony with the opening verses of the chapter, which many suppose had reference to this humbling providence. While looking down upon his own performances, he lost his reason ; in looking up to heaven, it was restored. Chap. V. Ver. 1 — 31. Belshazzar' s feast, his death, and the end of the Babylonian empire. — Nebuchadnezzar, it is ge- nerally believed, did not survive his recovery more than a year or two ; and it may have been in mercy that he was taken away, to preserve him from another apostaey. An hiatus oc- curs here, in the chronology of Daniel, between the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, who, as appears by Jere- miah, (ch. lii. 31, &c.) was not his immediate successor, Evil- merodach having intervened, and perhaps another. Belshaz- zar was, however, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, and the intervening reign was short. This impious monarch seems to have placed his chief hap- piness in carousing, and thought to give a zest to this enjoy- ment by drinking his wine in the golden vessels which h;.d Chap. V. Ver. 1. Belshazzar— [Belshazzar is said by Josephus, (Ant.) to be the same as Naboandelus, the Nobonadius of Ptolemy , and the Labyne- tus of Herodotus. He reigned 7 years, during which time he was engaged in I unsuccessful wars with the Medes and Persians ; and at this very lime w-as besieged by Cyrus.]— Bagster. A great feast— Probably continued for a I considerable time. See Esther i. 3, &c. Ver. -2. White he lasted. — It was customary at the commencement of a fes- 1 tai solemnity, to offer a libation to their gods, and to this the tasting here men- [ tinned is supposed to refer. See Wintle, who conceives the occasion of this I feast to have been, a dedication of the kingdom to his idols, which makes his { calling for the sacred vessels of the Jews the more impious. His father . — I See margin. So ver. 11 and 13. Compare 2 Sam. ix. 7. Jer. xxvii. 7. Ver. 5. The candlestick. — Probably a chandelier, having several branches, with lamps, which shone full against the wall where the band wrote. Ver. 6. Countenance . — See margin. Or rather, 44 sparkiings.” So we say, 44 the eyes sparkle,” the countenance is 11 lighted up with joy.” It often refers to festivity, or inebriety, as in this verse ; but alas 1 it was changed to a melan- choly consternation.- The joints .... loosed . — The term is sometimes applied to loosening the dress, but here evidently has a stronger import : his frame was unnerved. Ver. 7. The astrologers, &c.— See notes on chap. i. 20. Scarlet— See margin. So Wintle and Boothroryd: and the same ver. 28. ''et. 8. They could not read. — Prom this, Dr. Boothroyd infers that the writing was in the old Samaritan character ; it is possible, however, that they might know the characters, without being able to extract any intelligible meaning from lliem. See on ver. 25. Vc-r. 10 . The queen.— [This was probably Nitocris, the queen-mother, widow of Evil-merodach, son of Nebuchadnezzar, and father of Belshazzar.]— B. Ver. 11. Thy father.— See margin. (Nebuchadnezzar was certainly the grandfather of Belshazzar ; but the term father in Hebrew and Chaldee is frequently used to denote a progenitor or ancestor, however remote.]— B. Made master, &c.—‘ To account for Daniel’s being out of office, (as is evident from several circumstances,) Harmer quotes Sir John Chardin, as saying, that “ in the East, when the king dies, the physicians and astrologers are dis- placed : the first for not having driven away death, and the other for not hav- ing predicted it.” Ver. 12. Dissolving doubts.— See margin. Chaldee, literally, “ Untying ol knots.” . Ver. 13. Art thou that Daniel. — [Though Daniel was one of the chief mi- nisters of state, who did 41 the king’s business” in the palace, (chap. viii. 27,) yet Belshazzar seems to have known nothing of him. This shows tiiat lie was a weak and vicious prince, who minded pleasure more than business, accord- ing to the character given him by historians. He appears to have left the care of public affairs to his mother, Nitocris, a lady celebrated for ber wisdom, who evidently knew Daniel well, and probably constantly employed him in the government of the kingdom.] — Bagster. S26 Daniel rewleth , and DANIEL. — CHAP. VI. interpreteth the writing 16 And I have heard of thee, that thou eanst * make interpretations, and dissolve doubts : now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 17 T[ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let » thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy 'rewards to another; yet I will read the writing “ unto tht king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O thou king, the most high God gave Ne- buchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and ma- jesty, and glory, and honour : 19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all b people, nations, and languages, , trembled and feared before him : whom he would he slew ; and whom he would he kept alive ; and whom he would he set up ; and whom he would he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened 'in pride, he was d deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him : 21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and 'his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses : they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven ; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomso- ever he will. 22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled f thy heart, though thou knewest all this; 23 But e hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven ; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and A. 1!. -ir. 346C E. C. cir. 53h. x interpret, y Ge. 14.23. b Je 27.7. c.4.22,&c. c or , to deal proudly. Ex.18.fl. d made to come down. e or, he made hie heart equal. f 20h. 33.23. 36.12. Ja.4.6. g ver.3,4 i Ps. 115.5.. 8 Ib.37.19. J Ac. 17.23, k Je. 10.23. I Ro.1.21. m Job 31.6. Ps.62.9. n Mat.22. 11 , 12 . 1 Co.3.13. p ver.31. q c.6.28. r ver.7. s Je.51.31, 39. t c.9.1. u he as the son of. v or, now. a lPe.2.14. b Es.1.1. c Lu.19.13, &c. I Co.4.2. thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them ; and thou hast "praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which i see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy ) breath is, and whose are all thy k ways, hast thou not * glorified : 24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. 25 H And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing : MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed m in the ba- lances, and art found "wanting. 28 PERES ; Thy kingdom is divided, and given ° to the pMedes and i Persians. 29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain ol gold about his neck, and made a proclama- tion concerning him, that r lie should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 TT In that night * was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31 And Darius ‘the Median took the king- dom, u being 'about threescore and two years old CHAPTER VI. 1 Daniel is made chief of the presidents. 4 They, conspiring against nim, obtain %n idolatrous decree. 10 Daniel, accused of the breach thereof, is cast into the lion’i den. 18 Daniel is saved. 24 His adversaries devoured, 25 and God magnified by a decree. I T pleased Darius to set "over the kingdom ahundred and twenty b princes, which should be over the whole kingdom ; 2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and ' the king should have no damage. 3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the been captured from the sacred temple of the Jews. He, there- fore, with his princes, wives, and concubines, “ drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and silver, brass, wood, and stone;” but paid no reverence to “ the King of heaven,” whom Nebuchadnezzar had, in his last days, so grate ully extolled. But the Most High witnessed this procedure ; and, behold, a hand is seen writing some mysterious characters upon the wall, facing his chandelier. His countenance is changed from its former joyous brightness to gloom and horror. His mind is filled with alarm and terror; the joints of his loins are loosed, and his knees smite together. The king flies to the usual re- source of the ignorant and superstitious,— the astrologers and soothsayers : but they failed him, as they had done his grand- father. One may wonder that, seeing the characters, they made no attempt to decipher and interpret them ; but it is pos- sible they might be as much alarmed as the king himself, and had no time for planning an imposition. The queen dowager, that is, Nebuchadnezzar’s queen, who appears not to have been of this joyous party, hearing of their consternation, re- commends an immediate application to Daniel, whom she de- scribes as having in him “ the spirit of the holy gods ;” and he appears without delay, though he seems to have been now out of office. Great honours and rewards are again proffered him : but he had learned the vanity of all earthly honours, and spurned at the proposal. He was willing, however, to under- take the task required ; but began with a severe reproof of the king’s idolatry, and inattention to his Maker; a reproof, alas! too applicable both to the writer and the reader of these lines : “The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, thou hast not glorified.” To him, indeed, the warning Ver. 17. Let thy gifts be, Arc. — [Daniel, on this occasion, behaved in a very different manner to Belshazzar, than he had formerly done to Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar had that very nizht insulted the God of heaven in the most daring manner ; and the venerable prophet, as his delegate, denounced sentence against him. |— Bagster. Ver. 20. Hardened in pride. — Mare. " To deal proudly." See Exod xviii. 11. Was deposed. Chaldee, " Made to come down." Ver. 22. His son. [He was, strictly speaking, " his grandson but the term eon. is trequently used to denote filiation at any distance.] — Bagster. Though thou knowest. His guilt was much aggravated by this knowledge. Ver. 25. This is the writing.- (Had these words been written in the Chal- dean character, every one who knew the alphabet of the language could at least have read them : they are pure Chaldee, and literally denote " He is num- bered, he is numbered ; he is weighed ; they are divided."]— Bagster Mene numbered, or counted ; Tekel, weighed ; Uphars/n, and parted, or divided • the it answering to the vau, and only meaning “ and.” Now it is very possible the Chaldeans might be able to read the words, " Numbered, weighed, and parted,” without being uble to make any intelligible sentence from them ; at he same t.one we deny not that the characters themselves might be unknown was too late,— may it not be so to us ! The enemy was at their gates, and while one part of the company was stupified with liquor, and the other horrified by the message from hea- ven, Cyrus entered the impregnable city; the king was slain, and the empire was transferred to the Medes and Persians. Chap. VI. Ver. 1 — 28. Daniel cast into the lions' den, but saved by an angel, and his enemies destroyed. — Darius, to whom his nephew Cyrus gave the kingdom of Babylon when he had taken it, having heard of Daniel’s extraordinary ta- lents, purposed to make him his prime minister, or viceroy over all the provinces of the kingdom. This raised him, ol course, many enemies, who contrived a scheme to ruin him. Knowing his great prudence, honour, and integrity, they wisely concluded, there was no point in which he was vulnerable, but his religion. It seems to have been the custom for these princes and counsellors to draw up the royal edicts, and bring them for the king to sign, which probably he often did without much deliberation ; at least such appears to have been the case in the present instance. Coming to the king in a body, and their proposal being clothed in the form of a loyal address, and in- tended to do him honour, Darius seems to have entertained no suspicion of a plot for the destruction of any man, much less' the prime minister of his empire. Daniel, they well knew, was of that unyielding character in his religious principles, that he would not decline his duties, even to save his life. Having, therefore, previously learned that it was customary for the venerable Prophet to pray three times a day, they con- trived a prohibitory decree, and affixed to that decree a penal- ty, which they calculated would certainly destroy him. The king, having been hurried into this strange and blasphemous Ver. 28. Peres. — This is the root of Upharsin, without the vau. But it wad also, as Bishop Chandler remarks, the proper name of Persia, or the Persians, which made the phrase equivocal. Ver. 29. They clothed Daniel.— See Esther vi. 8. Ver. 31. Darius.— [This was Cyaxares, son of Astyages, king of Media, and maternal uncle to Cyrus, who allowed him the title of las conquests, as long as he lived.]— Bagster. Chap. VI. Ver. l. Darius— Called also Cyaxares, whose father was-Aha- suerus, (chap. ix. 1.) or Astyages. king of Media, who concurred with the king of Assyria in the destruction of Nineveh. Herodotus and Xenophon both mention a gold coin called a Daric , from this prince, of which Sir Isaac New- ton mentions having seen one. — (When Cyrus had settled his affairs at Baby- lon, he went into Persia to visit bis father and mother; and, on his return through Media, he married the only daughter of his uncle, Darius or Cyaxares. And Cyaxares, being earnestly invited, accompanied him to Babylon ; where they divided the whole empire into 120 provinces, distributing the government of them among those who had borne the chief burden of the war with Cyrus. (See Xenophon , Cyr.) To these provinces were afterwards added seven othe'f by the victories of Cambvses and Darius Hystaspis, Es. i. 2 J —Bagster .4 conspiracy against Daniel. DANIEL. — CHAP. VI. He is cast into the lions' den. presidents and princes, because an excellent d spirit was in him ; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4 If Then e the presidents and princes f sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom ; but they could find none occa- sion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. 6 Then these presidents and princes s assem- bled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live h for ever. 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the go- vernors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together ‘ to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm ] decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, ac- cording to the law k of the Medes and Persians, which laltereth not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 Tf Now when Daniel knew m that the wri- ting was signed, he went into his house ; and his windows being open in his chamber to- ward "Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times 0 a day, and prayed, and gave thanks p before his God, as he did aforetime. 11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication be- fore his God. 12 Then they came i near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree ; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions ? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alter- eth r not. 13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which 8 is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth <■ not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased “ with himself, and set his A. M. cir. 3460. B. C. cir. 533. d Pr. 17.27. c.5.12. A M. cir. 3407. B. C. cir. SSI. e Ec.4.4. f Ps.37.12, &c. g or, came tumullu- ousiy. h Ne.2.3. ver.21. i Ps.2.2. j or, inter- dict. k Es.1.19. 8 . 8 . 1 passetk. m Lu.14.26. Ac. 4. 17.. 19. n lKi.8.44, 48. Ps.5.7. Jo.2.4. o Ps.55.17. ver. 13. Ac. 2. 15. 3.1. 10.9. p Ph.4.6. q c.3.8. r ver.8. s c.5.13. t c.3.12. Ac.5.29. u Ma.6.26. v Je.26.14. Ac.25.ll. w Ps.37.39, 40. c.3.15, 1. x La. 3. 53. y Mat.27.66 z or, table. b He. 11.33. c Ps. 13.20, 24. 26.6. d De.19.19. e De.24.16. 2 Ki. 14.6. Es.9.10. f Ps.54.5. g c.4.l. h Ps.99.1. heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he la- boured till the going down of the sun to deli- ver him. 15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. 16 Then the king commanded, and they brought y Daniel, and cast him, into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Da- niel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver w thee. 17 And a stone * was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den ; and the king sealed y it with his own signet, and with the signet his lords ; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Tf Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were. 1 instru- ments of music brought before him : and his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel : and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? 21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. 22 My God hath sent his 1 angel, and hath shut b the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency c was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. 23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. 24 Tf And the king commanded, and they brought those men d which had accused Da- niel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their e children, and their wives ; and the lions had the f mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. 25 Tf Then s king Darius wrote unto all peo- ple, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth ; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men h tremble and fear before edict, finds himself now compelled to enforce it, since the law admitted of no reversion. It is impossible, however, to justify his conduct, since what he knew of Daniel, and of Daniel’s God, ought to have urged him rather to have risked his em- pire, than to have violated his conscience. He sold his peace, and risked his soul, for fear of endangering his kingdom. Da- niel, indeed, hazarded his life in the preservation of his fidelity to God ; but he came off more than conqueror, and is enrolled among the heroes of faith, and the servants of the most high God. Ver. 3. King thought to set , &c.— [Intended to make him grand vizier or emiru'l umra. Daniel had now been employed full 65 years as prime minister under the kings of Babylon ; and was justly entitled, from his acknowledged wisdom, to this preference. ]—Bagster. Ver. 6. Assembled together— See margin. Perhaps in a large body, and in great bustle, to take the king by surprise, as it appears they did. Ver. 8. Which altereth not— Chaldee, “ Passeth not away i. e. abides in perpetual obligation. Ver. 10. In his chamber — LXX. “Upper-chamber,” which looked toward Jerusalem, (see 2 Kings viii. 48.) and where he was not likely, probably, to be overlooked, or overheard, had not these diabolical men placed themselves as spies, to watch him, ver. 11. As aforetime.— [Vie saw what was designed, Put he knew whom he served ; and therefore, as a public and eminent person, be determined to set a decided example of his religion, without fearing wnat man could do to him.] —Bagster. Ver. 12. Signed a decree.— Wintle, “ An obligation Gesenius, “ A prohi- bition.” Den of lions .— [It is probable that these lions were kept for the jurpose of devouring certain criminals, whom the laws might consign to that kind of death .}— Bagster. Ver. 14 Sore disylectsed with himself. —Boothroyd. “ Exceedingly distress- Darius, however, is very anxious for the result, and could not but hope that Daniel’s God, of whom he had heard so much, in reference to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, would preserve him from the lions, as he had preserved the three Hebrew youths from the fiery furnace. After a sleepless night, and tortured both by his conscience and his fears, lie goes early in the morning, and with a melancholy voice calls down the en- trance of the den, to inquire if he were yet alive; and when he finds that he is still living, in a paroxysm of joy and revenge, he delivers Daniel from the den, and sends down the most ed in himself.”— [The king now clearly perceived for what purpose the decreo had been solicited ; and was exceedingly displeased with himself that lie had suffered himself to be so deluded. Going doion of the sun .— He strove during the whole day, by every means, to evade or annul the edict ; but tho foolish constitution of his government, did not allow them to pardon any per- son who had broken one of their decrees, however arbitrary ana unreasonable.] —Bagster. Ver. 17. A stone was brought— By this it should seem, that thi9 den was a natural cavern, the descent to which was such as to prevent the lion9 from es- caping; on this entrance, by the officiousness of those lords, a stone was placed and sealed, in like manner, and to as little use, as that placed on the mouth of our Lord’9 sepulchre. See Matt, xxvii. 66.— [All this precaution served the purposes of Divine Providence. There could be no trick or collusion here ; if Daniel be preserved, it must be by the power of Jehovah the God ol Israel.]— Bagster. Ver. 18. Neither were instruments of music .— See margin. Most of the versions read, “ And food was not brought.” Ver. 24. Their children . — [This savage act accorded with the^customs of those times ; contrary to the Divine law, which enacted that “ The fathers should not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers.” 9?7 Daniel's vision DANIEL.— CHAP. VII. of four beasts the God of Daniel : for i he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom ) that which shall not be destroyed, and his domi- nion shall be even unto the end. 27 He k delivereth and rescueth, and he work- eth i signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, v;ho hath delivered Daniel from the m power of the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the rtign of" Cyrus the Persian. CHAPTER VII. ] Daniel’s vision of four beasts. 9 Of God’s kingdom. 15 The interpretation thereof I N the first year of Belshazzar king of Baby- lon Daniel a had a b dream and visions of his head upon his bed : then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the c matters. 2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came d up from the sea, diverse one from another. 4 The first was like a ' lion, and had eagle’s f wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were A. IVI. cir. 3467. B. C. cir. 537. i c.4.34. ) c.2.44. k Ps. 18.50. 32 7. I c.4.3. m hand. n c.1.21. Ezr. 1.1,2. A. M. cir. 3449. B. C. cir. 555. a saw. b Nu. 12. 6. c.2.28. Am. 3.7. c or, worth d Re. 13.1. e Je.4.7. f De.28.49. Eze. 17.3. Hab. 1.8. g or, where- with. h c.2.39. i or, one dominion. J c. 8. 8,22. k c.2.40. ver. 19,23. 1 c. 2. 4 1,42. m ver.20,21, 24. plucked, e and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. 5 And behold another h beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up ' itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it be- tween the teeth of it : and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four J heads; and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth k beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth : it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it ; and it had ten > horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little m horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, active of his enemies, to meet the fate they had designed for him ; and then issues a decree, as had been done by his pre- decessor Nebuchadnezzar, in honour of God most high. We must not here omit to remark, the agent or instrument by whom Daniel was thus miraculously preserved. God sent his angel into the lion’s den, to close their mouths and protect his prophet : but when his enemies came into the same place, there was no angel for their protection. Chap. VII. Ver. 1 — 8. Daniel's vision of the four beasts . — Here begins the second part of this sublime book, which con- tains several prophetic visions imparted to Daniel, at various intervals, during the course of more than - twenty years, from the first of Belshazzar to the third of Cyrus. The vision of the four beasts in this chapter evidently cor- responds with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, of thesplendid image of gold and other metals, (chap, ii.) both referring to the four great monarchies, which were successively to arise and conti- nue, till they should all eventually give place to the universal kingdom of the Messiah. These monarchies are represented by beasts on account of their tyranny and oppression : they arise out of a stormy and tempestuous ocean ; that is, out of the wars and revolutions of the world. They are indeed mon- strous productions, (a lion with eagles’ wings, &c.;) but such emblems were usual among the eastern nations, as appears from the monuments of Egyptian antiquity, and from the ruins of Persepolis. where winged lions, and the like fictitious ani- mals, are still to be seen. These figures are supposed to have been the emblems of particular nations, and are not more strange than many others still used in heraldry. _ The first of these beasts, (like the golden head in Nebuchad- nezzar’s dream,) evidently intends the Babylonian monarchy, and is described as a lion with eagles’ wings, having been be- fore compared to those animals separately, both by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. (See Jer. iv. 7.; xlviii. 40. Ezek. xvii. 3, 12.) When we are informed that its wings had been plucked, we readily understand that its progress had been checked, and its gl try was in the wane. Its standingon its hind feet as a man, and having a human heart given to it, may intimate the beast’s approach to reason and humanity, the proper characteristics of a man. It may also allude to the circumstances of Nebu- chadnezzar himself, who, after being transformed for his pu- nishment into the figure of a beast, was restored, not only to the privileges of humanity, but to his celebrated rank in so- ciety. The second animal here named was a bear, and represents, as did the silver part of Nebuchadnezzar’s image, tne com- bined kingdom of the Medes and Persians. This bear is said to raise himself on one side, on which it is remarked, that at the siege of Babylon the Persians were subject to the Medes ; but raised themselves in the person of Cyrus to pre-eminence. This animal was furnished with what our translators call three ribs, but which, from their situation in the mouth, should be either tus/cs or rows of teeth. The last idea agrees with the command given to “ devour much flesh,” and is quite in har- mony with the nature of the animal, which is remarkably vo- racious. The third beast was a leopard, with four heads, and four wings of a fowl, or bird rather; and this is understood to re- present the Macedonian empire. This animal was swift of foot, and variegated in the colours of its skin, which commen- tators explain, as intimating the rapidity of Alexander’s con- quests, (who w'as the founder of this Empire,) and the various nations of which his army was composed. The four heads of this beast may well represent the partition of the Empire aftet Alexander’s death, under his four captains, Cassander, Lysi machus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus : and the number of wings answering to the four heads, may perhaps intimate that each of them partook, in some degree, of their master’s character and success. The fourth beast, which represented the Roman Empire, was anonymous and nondescript. It has no name, and its form is the more terrible, from being left to our imagination to con- jecture. It is evident, however, that it was made to raven and destroy, being furnished with teeth of iron, wilh nails of brass, and with feet of great strength to trample down its prey. But its chief peculiarity consisted in its numerous horns. “It had ten horns,” by which we are taught to understand ten minor kingdoms, answering to the ten toes on Nebuchadnezzar’s image. These kingdoms are variously stated, (as mav be seen in our notes,) and cannot, perhaps, at this distance of time, be ascertained with certainty; in most ages since, there have been about that number of inferior states which sprung out ot the Roman empire (here doubtless intended ;) but the most remarkable was the little horn, which rose after the others, and is by Protestant Commentators, (and we think with good reason,) explained of the ecclesiastical dominion of the Pope or Bishop of Borne. This is described by its small beginning; it was “ a little horn ;” by its pretensions to wisdom, for this little horn had the eyes, that is, the discernment of a man ; a tongue also “ speaking great things.” Of this little horn, we shall have occasion to speak more particularly when we come to St. Paul’s “Man of Sin,” and to the mystical beasts ot St. John in the Apocalypse. (See 2 Thess. i. 3, &c. Rev. xiii. xvii. and xix. Keith/s Signs of the Times.) Chap. VII. Ver. 1. Daniel had— Chaldee, “saw” a dream. He wrote the dream , and related , &c.— This may refute the idle report of some Talmu- dists, that Daniel did not write his own prophecies. Ver. 2 . Srrorv? upon the great sea. — This refers to a storm in the Mediter- ranean, called Eurochydon, or, in modern terms, a Levanter. See Acts xxvii. 14 ; and compare Psalm ii. l. Ver. 4. The first— [The Chaldean monarchy, as raised to the pinnacle of glory by the rapid and exrensive conquests of Nebuchadnezzar, and as de- clining and ruined under Belshazzar.] — Bagster And it teas.— 1 ' Where- with it was” lifted , &c. So Wintle , Boothroyd , &c. And made stand.— Wintle, “ And became erect.” See exposition. Yer. 5. Another beast. — [The empire of the Medes and Persians, forming one kingdom, compared to a bear from their cruelty and thirst for blood.] — B. It raised up itself on one side— Wintle, “Which was raised.” And it had three ribs.— [Babvlon, Lydia, and Ecypt. ]— Bagster. Wintle and Boothroyd, “tusks;” others, “rows of teeth;” either of which will aeree with the command to devour much flesh; Father Calmet says, “ The Per- sians have exercised the most severe and cruel government that we know of.” Ver. 6. A leopard— 19 proverbial for swiftness. See Hab. i. 8. The four wings may differently express the same thing, and corresponding with the four heads, show the similar character of Alexander’s successors. Tor fowl we should read “ bird the domestic fowl cannot be here intended. Ver. 7. A fourth beast.— [The Roman empire, which destroyed the Grecian and became mistress of the world.]— Bagster. Great iron teeth — Veree 19 99.S it is added ,andhis nails of brass— he was calculated in every way to destroy, whether by tearing, trampling, or devouring. The ten horns here answer to the “ ten toes” in Nebuchadnezzar's image. The ten homs of this fourth beast are also explained by Daniel, (ver. 24.) to be “ ten kings.” or kingdoms, which shall successively arise, and these are variously reckoned by commentators. Messrs. Horne and Toionserid give five different lists from Machiavel, Mede, Hales , Sir Isaac Neioto /?, and Bishop Neioton, who differ both in the names of these minor kingdoms, (or horns,) and in the order of placing them. We shall give two of them, the most modem and popular. Bishop Newton num- bers them thus : I. The senate of Rome. 2. Ravenna. 3. The Lombards. 4. The Huns. 5. The Alemanni. 6. The Franks. 7. The Burgundians. 8. The Goths. 9. The Britons. 10. The Saxons. — [The ten kingdoms into which the western Roman empire was divided, were, primarily, according to Machi- avel and Bishop Lloyd: 1 . The Huns in Hungary, A. D. 356. 2. The Os- trogoths in Mcesia, 377. 3. The Visigoths in Pannonia, 378. 4. The Sueves and Alans in Gascoigne and Spain, 407. 5. The Vandals in Africa, 407. 6. The Franks in France, 407. 7. The Burgundians in Burgundy, 407. 8. The HeruL and Turingi in Italy, 476. 9. The Saxons and Angles in Britain, 476. 10 . The Lombards, first upon the Danube, 526, and afterwards in Italy. Though the ten kingdoms differed from these in later periods, and were sometimes more or les9, yet they were still known by that name.J —Bagster. Ver. 8. Another little horn— This may be considered as a new and singu- lar power, which plucked up three of the ten kingdoms by the root. Bishop Neicton applies this to the three first in his list DANIEL INTERPRETING NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM. My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the inter- pretation thereof to thine enemies. — D aniel iv, 19 . Hsion of God’s kingdom. DANIEL. -CHAP. VIII. The interpretation of the vision. in this horn were eyes like the eyes of " man, and a mouth 0 speaking great things. 9 TT T beheld till the thrones were cast p down, and the Anciezit i of days did sit, whose gar- ment r was white 8 as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool : his throne ‘ was like the fiery flame, and his wheels u as burning fire. 10 A fiery v stream issued and came forth from before him : thousand thousands minis- tered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood "before him: the judgment 1 was set, and the books were opened. Ill beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake : I beheld even till the beast was y slain, and his body de- stroyed, and given to the burning flame. 12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away : yet z their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and 1 came to the Ancient b of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And c there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him : his domi- nion is an everlasting d dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not e be destroyed. 15 If I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my f body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near unto one of them that stood Dy, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know' the interpre- tation of the things. 17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the s Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom h for ever, even for ever and ever. 19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all '< the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, a. m. m a. Li. a mm. ii m.9.7. o Re 13.5. ;.2.44 Co. 15. 24,25. q Is.9.6. ver.22. r Ps.45.8. Pli.3.9. a He. 1.14. I Ac.230,33 u Eze. 1.15, 16. v Ps.50.3. Is.66.15, 16. w lKi.22 19 Ps.63.17. fie. 12.22. x Re.20.4, 12. y Re. 19.20. z a pro- a Mat.24.30 25.31. 23.64. Re. 1.7,13. 14.14. b ver.9. e Ps.2.6..8. Mat. 23. 18 Jn.3.35. I Co. 15. 27 Ep. 1.20. d Po.145.13. e He.12.23. f sheath. 2 Pc. 1.14. ghigh ones, i.e. things or, place . Ep.1.3. 6 . 12 . h Re.3.21. i those. j Re.13.7, &c. k or, rulers. and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet ; 20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell ; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21 I beheld, and i the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them ; 22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judg ment was given to the saints of the Most High ; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall de vour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise : and another shall rise after them ; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and law's : and they shall be given into his hand un- til a time and times and the dividing of time. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, w'hose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all 1[ dominions shall serve and obey him. 28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart. CHAPTER VIII. 1 Daniel’s vision of the ram and he-goat. 13 The two thousand three hundred days of sacrifice. 15 Gabriel comforteih Daniel, and interpreteth the vision. TN the third year of the reign of king Bel- shazzar a vision appeared unto me, even Ver.9 28. The establishment of Messiah's kingdom. — We now come to a fifth monarchy, answerable to the stone that Nebuchadnezzar saw grow into a mountain. But it is here represented by a very different set of images. Heaven is open- ed, and presents a vision of the Eternal preparing his throne for judgment; not the universal judgment of the great day; but the judgment of the nations, preparatory to the establish- ment of Messiah’s Mediatorial Sovereignty over all the earth. It seems to have special reference to his ascension to glory, when it was said unto him, “ Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” (Compare Ps. ii. 6, &c. ; I x v 1 1 1 . 17, 18. ; cx. 1.) The apparatus of Deity is similar to the descriptions of the Psalmist, and to the burning wheels that accompanied the chariot of the cherubim. (Eze. ch. i.) This scene is so admirably explained in a few lines by Bishop Chandler , that we cannot withhold t!ie passage from our readers. “There is no doubt that the stone in the former vlS n°j (Nebuchadnezzar’s) signifies the same person that is called the Son of Man in this, or that the Messiah is intended in both places. Here, indeed, we have him only in one view, and that is, in his judicial capacity, or in the most conspicuous manifestation of his kingdom. Not that he then began to be. but to appear to be, so great. .Ana his greatness was exhibited only to the one purpose explained in this vision. It was newly explained, why the fourth beast was destroyed, and in so ex- emplary a manner; now the vision opens by whom, and how it was done; even by a man vested with royal dignity and power in heaven. The truth of the thing is set forth m the solemnity wherewith earthly princes were wont to associate the prince royal into sovereignty with themselves; or to dele- gate their whole authority for the execution of their justice. I beheld (saith he) till the thrones were placed , as they were on very great occasions, and, the Ancient of days did sit ; . and , , behold , one like the Son of man (the King’s son) came in the clouds of heaven , and they brought him before Him (the Ancient of days) to take investiture of his new dignity [as mediator] .... his universal and everlasting kingdom.” (See also Keith's Signs of the Times.) Chap. VIII. Ver. 1 — 27. The vision of the ram and he goat— This vision is, in the latter part of tne chapter, explain- Ver. 9. The thrones xoere cast doion.—Wintle , “ Were placed.” So Booth- roydt. But both come to the same meaning. The Asiatics have neither chairs nor stools, but, to receive persons of rank, “cast down” or“ place” cushions sound the room, for seats, which seem to be here alluded to. See Matt. xix. 28. Rev. xx- 4. The Ancient of days— Compare Rev. i. II, 14.; xx. 11. Ver. ii. The beast was slain .— The same power here represented as a little hom, is represented by St. John as a false prophet, in league with the beast, and doomed to the same terrible end. See Rev. xix. 20. Ver. 12. The rest of the beasts .— We learn from this verse, compared with the 6th, that no earthly prince can either acquire or retain dominion , otherwise than from God. See John xix. ll. These all had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged .—See margin. For a season and time. —Boothrr/yd, “ For an appointed time.” Ver. 13. One like the Son of man .— One in human form-, though riding on the clouds of heaven. Compare Matt. xxiv. 30. Ver. 15. In the midst of my body .— See margin. For the body, according to Aben Ezra, may be considered as the sheath of the mind, as one said to Alex- ander the Great, “ Dost thou not know that man’s exterior form Is but the scabbard to the enlivening mind.” Orient. Lit. Ver. 16. The truth .— That is, the true meaning of all this. So Boothroyd. Ver. 18. The saints of the Most High— See margin. Referring doubtless to the blessed Trinity. Ver. 20 . The ten horns , &«.— See note on ver. 7. 117 Ver. 22. The saints possessed the kingdom.— Thai is, the kingdom of the Messiah was established. Ver. 23. Devour the whole earth . — The Romans boasted the conquest of the world. See Luke ii. 1 . Ver. 24. Another shall arise . — [This evidently points out the papal supre- macy, in every respect diverse from the former, which, from small beginnings, thrust itself up among the ten kingdoms, till at length it successively eradi- cated three of them, — the kingdom of the Heruli, of the Ostrogoths, and of the Lombards. ]— Bagster. Ver. 25. Speak great ioords .—[ In assuming infallibility, professing to for- give sins, and to open and shut heaven, thundering out bulls and anathemas, excommunicating princes, absolving subjects from their allegiance, and exact- ing obedience to nis decrees in open violation of reason and Scripture. ]— B. Wear out the saints . — That is, with exactions and oppressions. Until a time (i. e. a year,) times (two years,) and the dividing of f/mc'(that is, half a year) -Making in the whole three prophetic years and a half. [Or, reck- oning 30 day9 to a month, 1260 days, eaual to the same number of years in prophetic language ; which, dated from tne decree of Phocas constituting him the supreme nead of the church, A. D. 606, will terminate 1866 .] — Bagster. See chap. xii. 7. Ver. 28. Hitherto (at this place) is the end of the matter — That is, of the angel’s explanation. , * Chap. VIII. Ver. 1. In the third year, &c.— With the preceding chapter ends the Chaldee part of the book ; tne rest is Hebrew. 929 Daniel's vision oj DANIEL.— CHAP. VIII. the ram and he-goul unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. 2 And I saw in a vision ; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at a Shushan in the pa- lace. which is in the province of Elam ; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai. 2 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, benold. there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high ; but one was higher than the b other, and the higher came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand ; but he did according to his c will, and became great. 5 And as I was considering, behold, a lie- goat d came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and e touched not the ground : and the goat had a f notable horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. 7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns : and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him : and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8 Therefore the he-goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken ; and for it came up four s notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And h out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant i land. 10 And it waxed great, even ) to the host k of heaven ; and it cast down i some of the host A . M. 3451. B. C. 653. a Es. 1.2. b second. c Is. 10. 13, 14. c.5.19. 11.3,16. d Ver. 21. e or, none touched him in the earth. f a horn of eight. g c 7.6, ic. h c. 11.25, &c. i Pb.48.2. Eze.20.15. J or, against. k Is. 14. 13. I Re. 12.1. m ver.25. n or, against, o or, from. p Ex.29.38. q or, the host teas given over for the trans- gression against the daily sacrifice. r 1 Pe.1.12. s Palmoni , or, the numberer of secrets, or, the wonder- ful num- berer. t or , making desolate. c.11.31. 1211 . u evening morning. v justified. w Lu.1.19, 26. x c. 10.9, in. y made me stand up- on mu standing, z Hab.2.3. Re. 10-7 a ver.3. and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. 11 Yea, he m magnified himself even ” to the prince of the host, and 0 by him the daily p sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And q a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground ; and it practised, and prospered. 13 Tf Then I heard one saint r speaking, and another saint said unto ’that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice , and the trans- gression of 1 desolation, to give both the sanc- tuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred " days ; then shall the sanc- tuary be v cleansed. 15 If And it came to pass, when I, even 1 Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Ga- briel, make this man to understand the vision. 17 So he came near where I stood : and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face : but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man : for at the time of the end shall be the vision. 18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep 1 on my face toward the ground : but he touched me. and y set me upright. 19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the in- dignation : for at the time appointed 2 the end shall be. 20 The ram a which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: ed by a celestial expositor, to refer to the Persian an 1 Greek monarchies. The propriety of the emblems may be seen in our notes ; we shall only Here observe, that the ram was the royal ensign of Persia, and the goat the accredited emblem of the Greeks, two centuries before the time of Daniel. The ram had two horns of unequal height, representing the Medo-Persian Empire, and answering to the former emblem of the bear, (chap. vii. 5.) which raised itself on one side ; i. e. the Persian Empire under Cyrus raised itself above the Medes, and pushed its conquests on every side as far as possible. A he-goat , how- ever, is seen coining from the west, evidently pointing to the Greek or Macedonian Empire. The rapidity of its advance is well described by his flying, or skimming, as it were, over the ground, so as not to touch it ; and the energy of his attack upon the ram may well describe the fury with which the Gre- cian army, under Alexander the Great, rushed against him and broke his horns. This goat is said to have a third and notable horn between his eyes, which is explained as referring to the first kingdom, or to the dynasty of Alexander himself, (ver. 21. ;) and it is re- markable, that when he went to Jerusalem with a hostile in- tention, but was pacified by meeting the High Priest, Josephus tells us (Antiq. Bit. xi. 8.) that these prophecies were shown to him in the temple, in the Greek translation, as predicting the conquest of the Medes and Persians by a Greek, which he ap- plied to himself, and was not a little animated thereby. This horn was soon broken by the death of Alexander, and the murder of his heirs : a few years after this, however, four Ver. 2. At Shushan. &c.— Commentators differ as to the fact, whether Daniel was personally there, as he might be, officially ; or whether it was in vision onli/ : the point is unimportant. Ver. 4. A ram.— Heb. "One ram.” It is remarked by Ammianus Marcel- Itnus. that a ram was the royal ensign of Persia ; and it is said that figures of rams’ heads, with boms of unequal height, are still to he seen in the ruins of Persepolis. Throughout the East, a horn was the emblem of power, us we have had frequent o-easion to remark. See Orient. Lit. No. 1054. Pushing westward, to the bounds of Asia ; north 'card, to Armenia and Cappadocia ; and southward, to Egypt. — Bishop Newton. Ver. 5. A he-goat. — This is a very proper emblem of the Greeks, or Mace- donians, who were called the Algeadse, or people of the goat, from the follow- ing circumstance, as related by their own historians. Caranus, their first king, going with a large party of Greeks to seek a habitation in Macedonia, was commanded by the oracle which they consulted, to follow a herd of goats ; this he did to Edessa, and there fixed his capital, which he called JEgea. or Goat’s fown, and made the goat his standard. One of Alexander’s sons was named AEgus, .and some of his successors are represented with goats’ horns upon their coins. A notable horn — Or a conspicuous horn, which is after- wards explained m reference to Alexander the Great and his successors, ver. 21. Ver. 6. Kan unto him.— [He attacked Darius at the river Granicus, with the utmost fury ; and after a few engagements subdued the Persian empire.] — B. \ ey - 9- And out of one of them, &c. — From this horn increasing toward the floulh and east particularly, Sir Isaac Newton sagaciously infers, that it arose m (lie north-west part of the goat's dominions ; i. e. in Italy, which points di- rectly to the Romans. t he pleasant land — Means, undoubtedly, that of Ju- utfl. b?6 Ezek. xx. 6. Ver. 10. And it waxed great ?ven to That is, “till” he imagined himself immortal, and ranked himself among the gods. See Isa. xiv 12— li Antio- chus Ep-phanes to whom tins has been generally applied, abolished the Jew- ish sacnfaces, and. after sacrificing a swine upon the altar of burnt-offering, to pollute it, he placed there an image of Jupiter Obmipius. h cast down ^ ntl £ ch r U8 d . e P oaed |*?e high priest, and persecuted to death those who adhered *x> the Jewish worship. See 1 Maa. i.; 2 Mao. v' and vii. ; also Joseph Antiq. h xu. 6. Ver. 11. The 'prince of the host— Namely, the Lord of hosts. And by ■ him.— See margin ; i. e. the prince of the host. So Wintle and Boothroyd. Ver. 12. And a host was given — See margin. Antiochus placed a “ host,” or garrison, in the temple, to prevent the Jewish worship. The word him is not in the Hebrew. — By reason of transgression — Wintle, “By a bold transgression more literally, “in wickedness,” or rebellion. Cast down the truth.— By destroying the sacred books, l Mac. i 56. Y hat Antiochus did. However, in the supj rcssion of the Jewish worship and persecution of the Jews, will he found but little, compared w ith w hat the Romans did, lor which we must refer to our exposition of our Lord’s prophe cies respecting the destruction of Jerusalem. Matt. xxiv. > u r -. 13. That certain saint.— See margin. A certain one, or such an one. Ruth iv. 2. It is a compound word, but there seems no sufficient authority for the marginal gloss, a numberer of secrets.” Sec Gesenws. Hmo long shall be the vision concerning? — In this question it may beremarkod that the word concerning is supplied by our translators in Italics, and, os Bishop Neivton thinks, improperly ; he therefore reads, “ How long shall Hip vision last, the daily sacrifice (be taken away,) and the transgression of desolation, (or trans- gression making desolate,) continue? See Matt. xxiv. 15. Wintle and Booth- royd to the same effect. Ver. 14. Two thousand and three hundred days.- See margin.— [That is. 2300 years, hich, reckoned from the time Alexander invaded Asia. B. C. 334! will be A. D. 1966.1 Bagster . See Gen. i. 5, 8, 13, &c. Those who apply this prediction to Antiochus, must confine it to the last six years of his life : but those who take the days tor years, bring down the period nearly to the sup- posed time of the millennium. See on chap. xii. Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed — See margin ; i. e. (says Gesenius) " its honour be maintained.’*^ Ver. 17. At the time.— ' To [lamed) the time ; i. e. the vision extends to the end.” Boothroyd renders it, “ At the appointed time shall the vision be accomplished.” But is not this rather an expository paraphrase than a trans- lation; See ver. 19. Ver. 18. A deep sleep — Wintle and Boothroyd, “ 1 sunk flat into a deep swoon.” Ver. 19. At the time appointed the end shall be.— Wintle, “ There shall he an end.” 930 The vision interpreted. DANIEL. — CHAP. IX. Daniel's confession and pray tJ and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. 23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are b come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understand- ing dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, c but not by his own power: and he shall destroy won- derfully, and d shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the c holy people. 25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand ; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by f peace shall destroy many : he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes ; but he shall be broken without hand. 26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut s thou up the vision ; for it shall be for many days. 27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days ; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s nusiness; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. CHAPTER IX. I Daniel, considering the time of the cantivity, 3 maketh confession of sins, 16 and 1 prayetn for the restoration of Jerusalem. 20 Gabriel inforiueih him of the seventy I weeks. I N the first year of * Darius the son of Aha- j suerus, of the seed of the Medes, b which was made king over the realm of the Chal- deans ; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel un- derstood by books the number of the years, A. M. 3451. B. C. 553. b accom- plished. c Re. 17. 13. 17. d ver. 10,12, &c. e people of Vie holy ones. f or, pros- perity. g Re. 10.4. A. M. 3466. B. C. 538. a c 5.31. b or, in ■which he. c Je.25.ll, 12. d Ne.1.4, &C. Je.29.10-. 13. e Ne.9.32, &c. f Ex. 20. 6. g Ps. 106.6. Is.64.6,7. h2Ch.3S.15, 16. i or, thou hast. ) Ps.51.4. k Le.-26.33, 34. 1 Eze. 16.63. in Ps. 130.4,7 whereof the word of the Lord came to Jere- miah c the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3 T[ And d I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications, with fast- ing, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God. and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the 'great and dreadful God, keeping f the cove- nant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We e have sinned, and have committed ini- quity, and have done wickedly, and have re- belled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither h have we hearkened unto thy ser- vants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness ' belongeth unto J thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, lliat are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither k thou hast driven them, be- cause of their trespass that they have tres- passed against thee. 8 O Lord, to us belongeth i confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fa- thers, because we have sinned against thee. 9 To the Lord our God m belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him ; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. horns of inferior strength arose instead of one. From four rf his commanders, as mentioned in chap, vii., proceeded the kingdoms of Greece, Thrace, Syria, and Egypt. Out of one of these arose another “ little horn,” which many writers, both ancient and modern, have interpreted of Antiochus F.pi- phanes, who persecuted the Jews with great cruelty: but some important objections have been raised »o this hypothe- sis ; and Hartwell Horne says, that “ Sir Isaac Newton , Bishop Newton , and Dr. Hales , have clearly shown that the Roman temporal power, and no other, is intended. ... It was the Roman power that destroyed the polity and temple of the Jews, and left the nation and noly city in that slate in which they are to remain to the end of 2300 prophetic days” or years. A discourse is here introduced -between two angels, or holy ones , (ch. iv. 13—23.) as to the duration of these calamities, and the answer is given to Daniel himself, on which lie faints and is sick ; as well he might be, as a Jewish patriot, if the in- terpretation of years for days be adopted; but if he had under- stood the period to be about six years only, this is not so easy to be accounted for, since he had himselt lived to survive the 70 years’ captivity. Chap. IX. Ver. 1—27. Daniel’s pvophecy of the seventy weeks. — The Prophet’s mind having been occupied in consider- ing Jeremiah’s prophecy of the 70 years’ captivity, and finding them drawing to a close, he earnestly implores pardon and restoration of his captive countrymen, though he appears to have been himself too old to participate in the national felicity. His prayers are heard in the very moment of their beihg pre- sented, and the angel Gabriel is sent to assure him of their acceptance ; and at the same time to deliver, by his means, the very interesting and important prophecies which form the four last verses of this chapter : wherein the angel announces to the Prophet that the holy city should be rebuilt and peopled within seven weeks of years, and should continue for seventy weeks, or 490 years ; after which it should be utterly destroyed, for putting the Messiah to death. The commencement of this period is, by Prideaux and others, fixed to the time when the order was issued for rebuilding the temple, in the 7tlj year of the reign of Artaxerxes. “ Seven weeks, or 49 years, was the city and temple in building; sixty-two weeks, or 434 years more, bring us to the public manifestation of the Messiah,” by the preaching of John the Baptist ; “ and one week, or 7 years after this, will bring us to the time of our Saviour’s passion, or the 33d year of the Christian era; in all 490 years, according to the prophecy. The latter part of the prediction relates to the subversion of the Jewish temple and polity, by the Ro- mans, (A. D. 70,) and to the second coming of the Messiah.” (Horne's Crit. Introd.) In the first verse of the prophecy (ver. 24,) Dr. Boothroyd (who, in this place, adheres very closely to our authorized ver- sion,) interprets the several expressions, “to finish transgres- sion, and make an end of sin,” &c. in reference to the work of the Messiah. “ All these (says Dr. B.j refer to the sufferings, doctrine, and righteousness of our Lord, who died for our sins, and made peace by the blood of his cross ; so that through him, sin is pardoned, righteousness obtained, and reconcilia- tion effected.” The word rendered “ to make an end” of sins, means literally, as in the margin, to seal them up as in a bag: so Job speaks of his sins as “ sealed up in a bag, to be brought in evidence against him ;” (Job xiv. 17.) here they are sealed up for another purpose, to be cast into oblivion, yea, into “the depths of the sea,” that they may be found no more for ever. (See Isa. xxxviii. 17. Jer. 1. 20. Micahvii. 19.) In the latter part of this verse, the same word is used in reference to “ vision and prophecy,” and means, we apprehend, to close them, so far as concerns the Jewish dispensation. We have already re- marked, that Daniel’s prophecies are considered as prosaic; yet, as Dr. Boothroyd has remarked one exception, (chap. ii. 20—23,) and Bishop Jebb another, (chap. vii. 26,) so we beg to propose this as a third, and venture to render this verse as a Hebrew triplet, or trimetre, thus— “ To finish the transgression, and to seal up the sins ; To make atonement for iniquity, and bring in everlasting’ righteousness ; To seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” Ver. 22. Being broken , four stood up.—[ Aftei Alexander’s death, in the prime of life, and in the height of his conquests, his brother and two sons were all murdered ; and the kingdom was divided among four of his generals : l. Seleucus, who had Syria and Babylon. 2. Lysimachus, who had Asia Minor. 3. Ptolemy, who had Egypt ; and, 4. Cassander, who had Greece. &c.]— B. Ver. 23. When the transgressors are come to the full.— See Matt, xxiii. 32. ■ — Of fierce countenance. — [The Roman empire, which reduced Judea to a province, burnt the city and temple, and scattered the Jews to the four winds of heaven.]— Bagsler. Deut. xxviii. 5. Understanding dark sayings. — The Romans wer*- a literary as well as a warlike nation. Ver. 24. Sot by his own power . — That is, not by strength derived from the parent goat, (Greece,) but from Italy. Newton. The holy people.— See margin. Perhaps the Trinity, as chan. vii. 18. . Ver. 25. By peace.— Boothroyd, In peace.” The Prince of princes.— t Aga'oit Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah ; for it was by the authority of the Romans that he was condemned and crucified : and his followers were persecuted with the most unrelenting cruelty, first by the Roman emperom, and then by the Roman pontiffs.]— Bagster. Broken without hand.— See chap. ii. 34—45. Ver. 26. Shall be for many days.—] It is now 2381 years since Daniel had this vision, and the utter desolation of the sanctuary has continued 1760 years • and no doubt the end of the 2300 years is not far distant. J — Bagster. Chap. IX. Ver. 1. Ahasuerus.—] This was the Astyages of the heathen historians, as we learn from Tobit xiv. 15, where the taking of Nineveh is as- cribed to Nebuchadnezzar and Assuei'us, who were the same with Nabopol- lasar and Astyages.]- Bagster. . Ver. 2. Seventy years— See Jer. xxv. 11, 12. xxix. 10. He had doubtless copies of these prophecies. _ , . . . Ver. 9. Belong mercies.— [From God’s goodness flow his mercies; and from bis mercies , forgivenesses.]— Bagster. Reu'.or ation of Jerusalem prayed for. DANIEL. — CHAP. l£. 11 Yea, all "Israel have transgressed thy aw, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice ; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13 As it is written 0 in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet r made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us : for the Lord our God is righteous i in all his works which he doeth : for we obeyed not his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast "gotten thee renown, as at this day ; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 If O Lord, according to all thy righteous- ness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the pray- er of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. 18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city ! which is called by thy name : n I&1.4..6. o Le.26.14, &c. Dc. 28.15, tic. La. 2.15.. 17. p entreated we not the face of. q Ne.9.33. s where- upon thy name is called. t cause to fall. ii with wear rincss , or, flight. v make thee skilful of gin from the 20th of Artn- xerxes. b or , seal up. c He.9.12. d prophet. e or, build again. f return and be build ed. g or, breach, or, ditch. h Ne.4.8, &c. ; 6.15. L strait of. Prophecy of the seventy weeks for we do not ‘present our supplications be- fore thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear ; O Lord, forgive ; O Lord, hearken and do ; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God : for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 20 lj And while I was speaking, and pray- ing, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy moun- tain of my God; 21 Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vi- sion at the beginning, being caused to fly “ swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth ’ to give thee skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of thy supplications the "commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art * greatly beloved; therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. 24 >' Seventy z weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to a finish the transgression, and to b make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in c everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and d prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to e re- store and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three- score and two weeks: the street shall f be built again, and the e wall, even h in i trou- blous times. In the last line, we confess that we prefer applj-inglhe whole to the Messiah. He sealed up “ the vision and prophecy.” be- cause in him the prophecies, as well as promises, “are all yea and amen and to ‘‘him give all the prophets witness.” (Acts x. 43.) He was also “the Lord our Righteousness,” and therefore the Most Holy One. As to anointing “the most holy place,” the temple here referred to was to be destroyed, instead of being consecrated. But Messias means, literally, “ the anointed and he was so, not only in his prophetic and priestly offices, but also in his kingly office, to which his re- surrection was the necessary introduction. (See Psalm ii. 2, 6. lxviii. 18; compared with Acts iv. 27. ; x. 38. Ephes. iv. 8.) We cannot enter thus minutely into all the parts of this im- portant prophecy ; but there is one passage of pre-eminent im- portance: “Messiah shall be cut off but not for himself.” We have, in the notes below, subjoined both the literal read- ing, and the various translations given of this clause ; and after much reflection, we humbly conceive the passage to be nearly parallel with Isaiah, (chap. liii. 8,) in one of the following in- terpretations, all which harmonize with each other, and with the evangelical Prophet, as Isaiah is frequently called. Daniel says of the Messiah, “He shall be cutoff;” Isaiah adds, “from the land of the living.” If the latter clause in Daniel be rendered as by Wintle and Stonard, “None shall be for him,” it will perfectly correspond with Isaiah’s question, “Who shall declare his generation?” or speak to his charac- ter 1 (see our note there,) and with the fact that “ all his disci- ples forsook him, and fled or, 2dly, If our common transla- tion be preferred, (as we are inclined to prefer it,) “Not for himself,” it is perfectly in harmony with the following clause in Isaiah, “ For the transgression of my people was he stricken.” Or, 3d!y, Should we adopt Dr. Boothroyd' srendei- ing, “ He had no fault,” Isaiah will give us an expression per- fectly parallel ; “ He had done no violence, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” Either way, Isaiah is the best commen- tator on Daniel, and both bear a noble testimony to the atone- ment offered by Messiah. We have given the above as the most generally received in- terpretation, and probably the true one, though attended with considerable difficulties. Some of these seem to be avoided (though others may be created) by commencing the calcula- tion in the 20th of Artaxerxes, when orders were given for re- building the city as well as the temple. The great difficulty, however, regards the last week of years, when the Romans destroyed the temple, and which, instead of following the death of Messiah within seven years, was almost 40 years after that event. In order to avoid this difficulty, Dr. Stonard divides the pro- ven 11. By departing, &c. — Wintle, * So as to revolt from hearkening to thy voice.” And the oath that is written.— Namely, Deut. xxx. 15—19; xxxi. 17, 18 ; xxxii. 19, &c. Ver. 12 . Done upon Jerusalem .— [The destruction of Jerusalem by the Ro- mans, and the condition of the Jews during almost eighteen centuries, have far more exceeded all the miseries of the capture of Jerusalem hy the Chal- deans, and in Ihe Babylonish captivity, than those miseries exceeded the judg- ments indicted on other nations ; for the guilt of crucifying the Messiah, and rejecting Ills Gospel, was immensely more atrocious than all their other trans- gressions. ] — Bagsrer. Ver. 13. 4s it is written. — Levit. xxvi. 14, &c. — (Tims every succeeding part ot the Sacred Writings attests and proves the Divine authority of the pre- ceding. rhe history relates the fulfilment of former predictions; and then new prophecies are added, which future events accomplish, and thus demon- strate their inspiration to the latest ages.]— Bagster. Ver. 18 . No? present.— Heb. “ Not cause to fall.” See note on Jer. xxxvi 7. Ver. 2 J; The man Gabriel.-^Th&t is, the angel in human form Ver. 24. Seventy toeeks. IThat is, seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, which reckoned from the seventh year of Artaxerxes, coinciding with the 4256th year of the Julian Period, and in the month Nisan, in which Ezra was commissioned to restore the Jewish state and polity, (Ezra vii 9—26 ) will unng us io the month Nisan of the 4746th year of the same period or A D 33 the very month and year in which our Lord suffered, and completed the work ot our salvation. J —Bolster. To .finish.— See margin. Dr. Stonard, “Put a stop to.” To make an end.—" To seal up,” which is literal, and refers to sealing up any thing in a bag. And to make reconciliation for iniquity. -So Boothroyd and Dr. Stonard ; but Dr. Blavnev reads, " to make atone- ment,” and Mr. Wintle, “to expiate all referring to the atonement of oui Saviour on the cross. Everlasting righteousness— So Boothroyd ; but Wintle, Faber , and Stonard, read, “ the righteousness of ages,” i. e. to come ; and Blayney, (on the contrary,) “of ancient times.” To seal up the vi- sion and prophecy. — Heb. “prophet:” So Wintle and Stonard. And to anoint the most holy. — Wintle and Stonard, “ The holy of holies ;” Blay- ney. “ The most holy things Faber, “ The Most Holy One.” Abarhanel is quoted as applying this to the Messiah. Unto Messiah the Prince. — Stonard, “Until Messiah shall be leader.” Strictly, perhaps, a prince, ot nobleman of sufficient rank, or merit, to stand before kings. See Prov. xxii. 29. "Secst thou a man diligent, &c he shall stand before kings.” Ver. 25. From the going forth of the commandment.— [The seventy weeks are here divided into three periods. 1. Seven weeks, or 49 years, for the resto> ration of Jerusalem. 2. Sixty-two weeks, or 434 years, from that time to the announcement of the Messiah by John the Baptist. 3. One week, or seven years, for the ministry of John and of Christ himself to the crucifixion.]—!?. But it should be remarked, that it is almost impossible, at this distance of time, to fix these dates to a month, or even a year, since the Jews had two years, one beginning in the spring, and the other in autumn. Nor are we cer- tain of the exact length of their year : beside which, before the commence ment of the New Testament Chronology, there is an hiatus of three or foul years. The date of our Lord’s passion is, however, astronomically settled by ^ Ferguson. at A. D. 33. The way of dividing a greater number into two or three smaller, as in this verse, i3 quite in the oriental taste. See Ezek. xlv. 12. and note. To restore and to build— Marg. “ To build again.” See 2 Sam. xv. 25. Ps. lxxi. 20 . And the wall. Marg. “ The breach Stonard, “ The lanes.” Even in trovbloxi * times.— Heh. “In strait times i. e. times of Daniel seeth a glorious vision. DANIEL. — CHAP. X. He is comforted by an angel. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall j Messiah be cut off. k but not for himself : and i the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary ; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war m desolations are deter- mined. 27 And he shall confirm the "covenant with many for one week : and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the ob- lation to cease, and for "the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the p desolate. CHAPTER X. 1 Daniel having humbled himself seeth a vision. 10 Being troubled with tear he is comforted by the angel. I N the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar ; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was a long : and he understood the thing, and had under- standing of the vision. 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three b full weeks. 3 I ate no c pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were ful- filled. 4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold d a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body ' also was like the beryl, and his A. M. 3466. B. C. 538. 1 I.ii. 24.26, 46. k or, and shall have nothing. Jn.14.3). 1 or, and they ( the Jews ) shall he no more his people Ho. 1.9. or, the prince's ( Messi- ah's , ver. ‘25.) fu- ture people. m or, it shall be cut off by desola- tions. n or, a. 0 or, upon the battle- ments shall be the idols of the de- solater. p or, deso- later. A. M. 3470. B. C. 531. a great. b weeks of days. c bread of desires. d one. e Re. 1.13.. 17. f or, vigour. g moved. h of desires 1 upon thy standing. ] Ac. 10.30, 31. k or, the first Jude 9. Re. 12.7. face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision : for the men that were with me saw not the vision ; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me : for my f comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face to- ward the ground. 10 T[ And, behold, a hand touched me, which s set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man h greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand > upright : for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel : for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were ) heard, and I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days : but, lo, Michael, k one of the chief princes, came to help me ; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I am come to make thee understand phecy into two parts, and reckons the first week as completed in the building of the temple ; but this week, he considers as previous to, and forming no part of the 70 weeks, which he commences from the completion, and not the foundation, of the temple; and terminates with its destruction in A. D. 70. In this view, he applies the whole of verse 26 to the Messiah, the middle clause of which he thus renders: “And he (Mes- siah) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the leader which cometh, (Titus :) and his end shall be with an inunda- tion, &c. (p. 42.) We mention this hypothesis merely to recommend it lo ex- amination, for which we have here no room. Chap. X. Ver. 1 — 21. Daniel’s self-humiliation, and last •prophetic vision. — The early part of this chapter gives a pleas- ing view of Daniel, as a Jewish saint and patriot. Hearing, probably, of the difficulties his brethren in Judea met with, in attempting to rebuild the house of their God, and the city of their fathers; and having understood, by divine revelation that these troubles were to be of long continuance, he applies himself to prayer and fasting for “ three full weeks not fast- ing absolutely, for being now upwards of 90 years of age, such an attempt would be a species of suicide ; but he ate “ no pleasant bread;” indulged in none of the delicacies to which his age and. rank entitled him, but spent the time in humiliation straitness or distress, which appears throughout the books of Ezra and Nelie- rniah. Ver. 26. But not for himself '. — See margin. Boothroyd, “though he have no (fault;)” or, “ And they (the Jews) shall he no more hi.s people.” So Blayney and Faber. Wintle , “None shall be for him Stonard, “ No one will be on his side.” The expression is certainly elliptical, the Hebrew read- ing, literally, and (or but) nothing (or none) to him: to which ambiguity may be traced all the versions above given. Our translators, following the Jews, have here placed only a colon, but Dr. Boothroyd and others, (in bur opinion very judiciously,) a full point ; here ending the prophecy, so far as concerns the Messiah. And. the people of the prince. — This certainly ought not to be applied to the Messiah, but to Titus and his army ; for the city was not de- stroyed by Christians, but by the Romans. The wrong pointing led to a faulty division of the verses, and confounded two parts of the prophecy, perfectly dis- tinct. The Romans destroyed both the city o.nd the sanctuary ; and the end thereof was with a flood , attended with nothing but desolation and destruc- tion. till the nation was destroyed, or scattered through the earth. Ver. 27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week— That is, of years. Boothroyd , in explanation of this, remarks, that the Romans made a league with the Medes, Parthians, and others, that they might be at liberty, with all their strength, to prosecute the war with the Jews. They did bo, and in the midst of this period. A. D. 70, all Jewish sacrifices ceased for ever. The reckoning days for years, and weeks of such years, is not pecu- liar to the Scriptures. Varro says, he was entered into the 12th week of his yearB, i. e. his 84th year. Quoted in Bp. Chandler's Def. And for the over- spreading. &c— See margin. “ Wintle , “ The abomination of desolation Stonard, “ Upon the border of abominations shall he the desolater, and that” — Even until the consummation.— Stonard, “ Until he (the desolater) be consumed, and the determined judgment shall have been poured out upon the desolated. But Faber reads with our margin, “ the desolater.” For a fuller account of the fulfilment of this part of the prophecy, see our remarks on Matt. xxiv. In our Introduction to this book, we promised to consult Dr. Stonard's ela- borate work on this subject, published in 1825. We have done so ; and have before God, and in earnest prayer for himself and his country. And here we have a glance into the world of spirits, from which the vail of flesh separates us, and into which, by faith only, can we obtain a view, until this vail is rent in twain, and buried in the earth. Ah! little do we know of the scenes passing “above, beneath, around us.” While Daniel is on his knees on earth, there is war in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the devil and his angels, till the latter shall be cast down and confined in hell for ever. The first conten- tion we read of between the two worlds of spirits since the fall regarded “ the body of Moses (Jude 9.) but the nature of their dispute, we cannot dare even to conjecture. In going through the Old Testament, we have had several glimpses of this spiritual warfare. Job was long a sufferer bv it. Satan has his prophets and angels, as well as the Almighty, and we find them often clashing and disputing in the history of the prophets. See 2 Kings xxii. 15—23; also here, (in Daniel,) and in Zech. i. iii. and vi. To us it appears to be the doctrine of the Bible, and we shall therefore not shrink from it, that God employs evil men and demons, as well as saints and angels, in the government of the moral world ; and that under the same control as he em- ploys storms and hurricanes, as well as genial showers and sunshine, in the government of the world natural. It seems quoted some of his observations ; but we are sorry to be obliged to confess, that we are by no means satisfied with the novel parts of his hypothesis ; particu- larly, not with his making Christ’s ministry to commence at 12 years old ; nor with his translating “Messiah the leader and making him the leader (or prince) of the Roman armies ; nor with several parts of his translation, which we have quoted without adopting : it is but justice to add, however, that it is a work of great, erudition and the purest intentions, and well worthy the perusal of Biblical students. Chap. X. Ver. l. The time appointed was long.— The text is ambiguous, and might be rendered, “the warfare is great.” Boothroyd. See note on Job vii. 1. Ver. 2 . Three full weeks— See margin. So ver. 3. Dr. Stonard (p. 125) thinks the term is here used in distinction from the xoeeks of years in the pre- ceding chapter. Ver. 3. No pleasant bread— See margin.— Or delicate food. Ver. 4. Hiddekel. — Syriac, “The Euphrates ;” Vulgate, “ Tygris Greek and Arabic, “ Tygris Eddekel.” Probably some part where these rivers united. Wintle. Ver. 7. The men— So Acts ix. 7. Ver. 9. In a deep sleep.— See note on ch. viii. 18. Ver. 11. Greatly beloved— See chap. ix. 23. Ver. 12. From the first day.— [Daniel, as Bp. Newton observes, was now very far advanced in years ; for the third year of Cyrus was the 73d of his cap- tivity ; and being a youth when carried captive, he cannot be supposed to have been less than ninety. Old as he was, “ ne set his heart to understand” the former revelations which had been made to him. and particularly the vision of the ram and he-goat, as may be collected from tne sequel ; and for this purpose he prayed and fasted three weeks. His fasting and prayers had the desired effect ; for an angel was sent to unfold to him those mysteries ; and whoever would excel in divine knowledge, must imitate Daniel, and habituate himself to study, temperance, and devotion.] — Bagster. Ver. 13. The prince, &c. opposed me. — Heb. “Stood before me;" i. e. to stop my way. Michael, one of the chief (or first) princes . — See Jude 9. Rev. xii. 7. 933 The. overthrow oj Persia , DANIEL. — CHAP. XI. by the king oj Urrxi.i. what shall befall thy people in the latter > days : for ” yet the vision is for many days. 15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and 1 became dumb. 16 And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched " my lips : then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have re- tained no ° strength. 17 For how can p the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straight- way there remained no strength in me, nei- ther is there breath left in me. 18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak ; for i thou hast strengthened me. 20 Then said he, Knovvest thou wherefore I come unto thee ? and now will 1 return to tight with the prince r of Persia : and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21 But I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth : and there is none that ” holdeth with me in these things, but Mi- chael 1 your prince. CHAPTER XI. 1 The overthrow of Persia bv the king of Grecia. 5 Leagues and conflicts between the Icings of the south and of the north. 30 The invasion and tyranny of the Romans. \ LSO I in the first a year of Darius the TA. Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. 2 And now will I show b thee the truth. Be- hold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia ; and the fourth shall be far richer than A. M. W70. B. C. 5J4. 1 Ge.49.1. ms.1. m c.8.26. He.2.3. n Is. 6.7,8. Je.1.9. o ver.8. p or, this servant of q 2 Co. 12.9. r ver.13. ■ strength- enethhim- "if. t ver.13. a c.9.1. b Am.3.7. c c.8.4,&c. d associate. e rights. f or, whom she brought forth. g place or, office. ver.20. h vessels of their desire. i or, war. Is. 8.8 ,9.k6. they all : and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm ol Grecia. 3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do ac cording to his will. 4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom c shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven ; and not to his pos- terity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled : for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those. 5 Tf And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes ; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion ; his dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And in the end of years they shall d join themselves together ; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to thekingof the north to make ' an agreement : but she shall not re- tain the power of the arm ; neither shall he stand, nor his arm : but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and r he that be- gat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. 7 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his s estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: 8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with h their precious vessels of silver and of gold ; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. 9 So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. 10 But his sons shall i be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces : and one shall certainly come, and ) overflow, and very unnatural (as Wintle suggests) to understand by the prince of Persia, either Cyrus, or Cambyse3, as opposing the building of the temple, who had so freely given leave for its erection, nor are there facts to support such an idea. The most sober and judicious commentators, as Grotius, Newcome, and Lowth, as well as Wintle and Boothroyd, incline therefore to understand by this “prince of Persia,” a being of celestial rank, but of malignant intentions; for (as Dr. Watts remarks) he could not be a good angel, who would withstand either the angel Gabriel, or any of the holy angels. (See Keith's Signs of the Times.) Chap. XI. Ver. 1 — 19. The overthrow of Persia, by the king of Greece ; and various conflicts between the kings of the north and south. — Among the kings yet to stand up, Cyrus could not be included, because he was then the reigning prince. Bishop Newton (who is followed by WintL and most others) reckons them thus: Cambyses, (or Ahasuerus,) son of Cyrus; Smerdis, the Artaxerxes of Ezra, (ch. iv. 6, 7,) and Darius Hystaspes, who married the daughter of Cyrus. The second of these being a Magian usurper and impostor, reigned only eight months. Of the fourth it was said he should be far richer than the others, which was notoriously the case with Xerxes, whose immense riches fell into the hands of Alexan- der the Great, “the mighty king” here mentioned. It is ad- mitted that there were several other kings of Persia, who are Ver. 20. Return.— [He would return to defeat the devices of the princes of Persia against the Jews, till the monarchy should terminate ; when the prince of Grecia, Alexander and his successors, should come, from whom their great- est danger should arise.]— Briber. To fight.— Wintle, “Contend;” the contests of spiritual beings must be intellectual, not carnal, like those of Mil- ton’s angels. Theprince of Greece.— Another hostile demon. Ver. 21. That holdeth with me. — See margin ; i. e. that cordially unites with nie. The Scripture of truth.— Not the revealed word, but his secret record, and immutable decree. See Ps. lvi. 8. Isa. Ixv. 6. Mai. iii. 16. Chap. XI. Ver. 1. To confirm and to strengthen him — That is, Darius. Sec chap. ix. 1. Ver. 2. Three king 8— See exposition. The fourth. — [Xerxes son of Darius, of whom Justin .says, that “ there was so great an abundance of riches in his kingdom, that when rivers were dried up by his army, yet his wealth remained unexhausted. ——Stir up all, dec.— Herodotus says, his army consisted of 5,283,220 men, besides the forces of the Carthaginians, consisting of 300,000 men, and 200 ships. 1 -Eagster. Ver. 3. Mighty king. [Alexander the Great, whose kingdom after his death, as we have seen, was divided into four parts . ]— Eagster. Ver. 4. His kingdom shall be plucked.— Wintle, “ Tom up.” This was remarkably fulfilled in the destruction of his family and the distribution of his empire among strangers. Ver. 5. King of the south.—" Ptolemy the first, or Ptolemy Lagus, the founder of his dynasty, was, on the original division of the kingdom of AJexan- 934 not here enumerated, as not being connected with the sacred history. It was mentioned above, (ch. viii. 22,) that from Alexander’s empire, four kingdoms should arise, but not in his own family, for they were all miserably slain (as we are informed) by one another. After this, four of Alexander’s chief commanders divided the empire among themselves, of whom the two chief form the subject of the predictions now before us ; namely, the kings of Egypt and Syria, or the north and south, being so situated with respect of Judea, which lay between them. In a course of time, and after many contentions, these two kings formed an alliance, and Ptolemy Philadelphus (as here predicted) brought his daughter Berenice to Antiochus Theus, who was the grandson of Seleucus Nicanor ; and gave with her an immense dowry, on condition of Ptolemy putting away his former wife. He did so. but this “ preserved not the power of the arm that is, she did not maintain her interest with him ; for soon after he recalled his former wife Leodice, who caused him to be poisoned, lest he should again change his mind, and placed her eldest son upon the throne. After this she procured the murder of her rival Berenice, her attendants, and her son. In a few years more, however, the brother of Berenice, Ptolemy Euergetes, succeeding to the throne of Egypt, invaded Syria, slew the infamous Leodice, took Seleu- cia, overran the country, carried off great spoil, and survived der, the king of the South, or Egypt. He was the king of the South before the kingdom of Syria was established ; and as he i9 first named in the prophe- cy he was the first to reduce Judea and to take Jerusalem.”— Keith's Signs of t'ne Times. He shall be strong above him — [Seleucus Nicator, who had Syria, &c. to which he added Macedonia and Thrace.]— Eagster. Ver. 6. Shall join themselves together— See exposition. To make an agreement. — See exposition. Nor his arm — Wintle “ Nor the offspring.” There is an intimate relation between the Hebrew words for arm and off- spring, arising from the patriarchal idea that a man’s strength arises from his family. See Ps. cxxvii. 5. He that begat her.— Sue margin. Wintle. “Hergon.’' See expostion. Ver. 7. In his estate— See margin. Wintle, “ there shall stand up a shoot from her roots i. e. her brother. — [Ptolemy Euergetes, who, to avenge his sister’s death, marched with a great army against Callinicus, took all Asia from mount Taurus to India, and returned to Egypt with an immense booty.]— Bagster. Fortress. — Wintle, “ Fortifications.” Ver. 8. Their gods— See Isaiah, xlvi. l, 2. Continue more years. - [Callinicus died an exile, and Euergetes survived him four or five years.}— Eagster. Ver. 10. One shall certainly come and overflow. — [Seleucus Ceraunur and Antiochus the Great, sons of Callinicus.] — Eagster. Seleucus Ceraunus assembled a multitude of forces, but for want of money (the sinews ot war) could not proceed, but was poisoned by two of his generals ; but hia brother Antiochus was proclaimed king, retook Seleucia and Svria, and Leagues and conflicts between DANIEL. — CHAP. XI. the kings of the south and north pass tnrough : then shall he k return, and be stirred up, even to his i fortress. 1 1 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north : and he shall set forth a great multitude; but m the multitude shall be given into his hand. 12 And when he hath taken away the multi- tude, his heart shall be lifted up ; and he shall cast down many ten thousands : but he shall not be strengthened by it. 13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come 11 * i. after certain years with a great army and with much riches. 14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south : also the c robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision ; but they shall p fall. 15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the q most fenced cities : and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither r his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. 16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him : and he shall stand in the s glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. 17 He shall also set his face ‘to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and u up- right ones with him ; thus shall he do : and he shall give him the daughter of women, v cor- rupting her : but she shall not stand on his side , neither be for him. 18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for " his own behalf shall cause the * reproach offered by him to cease ; without his own re- proach he shall cause it to turn upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the A. M. 3470. B. C. 534. k I m up again. ver.7. Ps.33.16. Ec.9.11,12 n at the end of times, even years. c.4.16. 12.7. o children of robbers » p Re. 17. 17. q city of munitions r people of his choices. 8 the land of orna- ment , or, goodly land. t Pr. 19.21. u or, much upright- ness, or, eoual con- ditions. v to co rrupt . w him. x his re- proach. y Ps.37.36. z or, place. ver.7. a one that causelh an exac- ter to pass over. Fulfilled, 171 B. C. b angers. c place. ver.7. d ver.10. Fulfilled, 170 B. C. e e.8.25. f or, into the peace- able and fat. g think hu: thoughts. h their hearts. i c.8.19. ver.29,35, 40. fort of his own land : but he shall stumble and fall, and y not be found. 20 Then shall stand up in his 1 estate a * raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom : but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in b anger, nor in battle. 21 Tf And in his c estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the ho- nour of the kingdom : but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flat- teries. 22 And d with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken ; yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league made with him he shall work e deceitfully : for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 24 He shall enter f peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province ; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers ; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches : yea , and he shall e forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army ; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army ; but he shall not stand : for they shall forecast devices against him. 26 Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow : and many shall fall down slain. 27 And both these kings’ h hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table ; but it shall not prosper : for > yet the end shall be at the time appointed. 28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches ; and his heart shall be against Seleucu3 his antagonist several years. The sons of Seleucus (.king of the north) meditated a re-action, and raised a great army ; but Ceraunus, the elder, was poisoned within two or three years, and did nothing. His brother, however, Antio- chus the Great, invaded Egypt with all his force; but being defeated by Ptolemy Philopater in a most sanguinary battle, made peace and retreated. The king of Egypt being a most abandoned character, now gave himself up to every species of licentiousness, and wreak- ed his vengeance on all the Jews within his power, killing many thousands, until at length he died in consequence of his own debaucheries, and was succeeded by Ptolemy Epiphanes, then a child. Antiochus, after recovering strength, and preparing a great military force, had also recourse to artifice. He returned to Egypt, and gave to the young prince his daughter Cleopatra, with a royal dowry, in the hppe to induce her to betray her hus- band into his hands. But in this he was disappointed ; and then turning his army toward Greece, was completely defeated by the Romans ; and upon his returning home in disgrace, was slain by his own subjects. Thus doth the Almighty strike together “ the potsherds of the earth,” making them mutually the instruments of his just judgments upon each other. (See Keith’s Signs of the Times.' Ver. 20—45. Prophecies relative to the Greeks and Ro- mans.— This chapter contains a series of prophecies, in which are blended many minute and intricate circumstances, that were fulfilled with a degree of exactness, to which we scarcely recollect any parallel ; and its comparison with ancient his- tory, down to the middle ages, must greatly contribute to es- tablish the faith of candid, hut wavering minds. (Bp. Newton has done this at considerable length. (Diss. xvi. xvii.) Ours is an abstract.) We have already (though in a very cursory way) brought down the comparison to tne death of Antiochus the Great, as he has been commonly called, in comparison with his succes* then, aftera truce, returned and overcame the Egyptian forces.] Then shall he return, & c.— See margin — And proceed even “ to his fortress,” or tortified towns. Ver. 11. King of the south— [Ptolemy Philopater, enraged at Antiochus, inarched against him to Raphia, entirely defeated him, and obliged him to re- treat to Antioch.] — Bagster. Ver. 12. Many ten thousands.— ' Many” is an unnecessary supplement. Wintle reads, “Though he shall lay prostrate (or cast down) ten thousands, he shall not prevail.” Ver. 13. After cer tain years— See margin ; i. e. at the appointed time. Ver. 14. The. robbers, &c. — Wintle, “ The perverse sons (or children) of thy 1 Ver. 15. The most fenced cities— See margin. [After fourteen years. Ptole- my Philopater having been succeeded by Ptolemy Epiphanes, then a minor, Antiochus raised a greater army than before, and, haying defeated his best troops under Scopas, recovered possession of Ccelo-Syria and Palestine, with, all their fortified cities.]— Bagster. , Ver. 16. He that cometh— That is, Antiochus. The glorious land — Wintle , “The land of glory.” See margin; also Deut. iii. 25. Shall be consumed — Wintle, more literally, “finished:” i. e. completely subdued 14 under his power.” So Boothroyd. Ver. 17. Set his face to enter.— [Being assisted by the Jews, he purposed to subdue Egypt : but, entering into treaty with Ptolemy, he gave him his daugh- ter Cleopatra in marriage, thinking to engage her to betray the interests of her husband; but in which he was deceived.] —Bagster. Upright ones with him— Wintle, “ Proposals of alliance with him ;” but the Heb. is “ Upright- nesses.” which we should render “ fair proposals i. e. of alliance. See ex- position. „ “ . . _ Ver. 18. To the isles— Wintle, ' Mantime towns,” viz. of Greece IHe subdued most of the maritime places and isles of the Mediterranean ; but, be- in^ driven from Europe by the Roman consuls, he took refuge in Antioch ; and, inVdcr to raise the tribute they imposed upon him. he attempted to rob the temple of Elymais, and was there slain.]— Bagster . — But a prince.— Boothroyd, “ A commander shall cause the reproach offered to him to cease, and bring disgrace upon himself;” i. e. he was completely defeated by the Romans, and fled back to his own land ; where, laying heavy exactions upon it to pay the impositions of the Romans, he was slain by his own people at Elymais. „ , . , _ , Ver. 19. Tmoard the fort— Wintle, “ The fortresses ; i. e. the fortified parts of his own land. Ver. 20 . A raiser of taxes.— See margin. — Thi 3 refers to the agents employ- ed by Seleucus Philopater to collect the annual tribute ; for they were like a blight, or a cloud of“ locusts, passing “ over the glory of the kingdom.” Neither in anger nor in battle— That is, neither in duel nor in war. Ver. 21 . Vile person— [Antiochus Epiphanes, called also Lpinianes, oi madman, for his despicable conduct.]— Bagster. Ver. 22 . Withthe arms of a flood— Wintle, “ The arms of the overflowing land” (i. e. Egypt) “shall be overflown,” or conquered by him.— 7 — Also the covenanted prince — i. e. Philometer, with whom the young Antiochus had formed a league. Ver. 24. He shall scatter among them the prey. —Antiochus was remarkable for tlin his “estate shall he honour the god of ' forces : and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and w pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the 1 most strongholds with a strange god, whom he shall acknow- ledge and increase with glory : and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall di- vide the land for J gain. Nu.24 24. < Fulfilled, 168,161). 1 or, rislo- nisheth. n or, cause to aiseemr bit. n 2Ch.32.31 o or, by them p Hal). 2. 3. c.9.27. 2 Tli.2.4. as for Ike al- mighty. God , in his scat he shall honour. honour a God,& c. l or, stead. , hfiuz- Gocl'° r ’ protec- tors ; or, muni- tions. w things desired. Is. 44.9. x fortresses of muni- tions y a price. Hcneral resurrection foretold. DANIEL. — CHAP. XII. Daniel is informed of the times. 40 IT And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him : and the king of the north shall come against him like z a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships ; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 41 He shall enter also into the a glorious b land, and many countries shall be overthrown : but these shall escape out of his hand, even c Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42 He shall 0 stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt : and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palaces between the seas in the e glorious holy mountain ; yet f he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. CHAPTER XII. - Michael ahall deliver Ierael from their troubles. 5 Daniel is informed of the tinted. A ND at that time shall Michael a stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people : b and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time : and at that time c thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written d in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting ' life, and some to f shame and everlasting con- tempt. 3 And they that be e wise shall *• shine as the A. M. 3470. B. C. 534. i Zec.9.14. a land of delight, or, ornament or, goodly land. b ver. 16,45. c Is. 11.14, 15. d send forth. mountain of delight of holi- f 2Th5.a a c. 10. 13,21. Jude 9. b Mat.24.21 c Je.30.7. Ro. 11.26. d Re. 13.8. e Mat25.46. f Is. 66. 24. g or, teach- ers. h Mat. 13.43 i 1 Co. 15. 41, 42. j Re.10.4. k lip. 1 or. from above. m Re.l0.5..7 n or,a part. o Re. 22. 11. p to set up the abo- mination. q or, aulo- nisheth. r or, and. brigntness of the firmament ; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars i for ever and ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut j up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. 5 If Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the k bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 6 And one said to the man clothed in linen_ which was lupon the waters of the river, How long shall it. be to the end of these wonders ? 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he m held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and " a half ; and when he shall have accomplished to scat- ter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. 8 And I heard, but I understood not : then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things ? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. TO Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried ; but “the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand ; but the wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and p the abomination that 'i maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thir- ty days. 13 But go thou thy Avay till the end be: r for thou shaft rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. afterwards attacked by Austria on the south, Russia and Ger- many on the north, and dies in exile at St. Helena.— (See the admirable work of Rev. Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, for a view of this and other prophecies.) Chap. XII. Ver. 1—13. The prophecies summed up by a reference, to the resurrection and last judgment. — We have been obliged to place the concluding verses of the preceding chapter among the mysteries which yet “remain to be fulfil- led” in the latter ages : and we are here still hurried on in the vortex of Scripture prophecy to the second coining of our Lord, to the resurrection of the dead, and to the day of judgment. Michael , the prince, is generally understood to be the Son of God himself, who, under the Old Testament, often appeared as captain of the Lord’s hosts, and of his people’s salvation. The first verse brings us to the eve of the general resurrec- tion and final judgment ; when the books are opened, and all found written in the book of life (or mercy) shall be delivered. But hark! the trumpet sounds, and the graves are opened! And the many, the multitudes of them who sleep in tne dust of the earth, are awakened, some to “ everlasting life, and some to everlasting contempt and shame.” But the discovery is premature; the scene is instantly closed : — the words are shut up, and the book is sealed. One important fact, how- ever, is left revealed ; “Many shall run to and fro,” hither and thither, likecouriers in the time of war, and “knowledge shall be increased knowledge of the most important kind, the know- ledge of God’s salvation. Then, those who are wise them- selves, shall endeavour to enlighten others ; to “ turn then, from darkness to light,” and from sin to righteousness; a.nd those who are thus active, whether to instruct infants at homt, Ver. 40. At the time of the end the king of the south, &c.— In the time of Antiochus, the south meant Egypt ; but in the latter days, of which this pas- sage speaka, the south is supposed to refer to the Saracens, and the north to the Turks. Compare Ezek. cn. xxxviii. xxxix. Ver. 41. Children of Ammon.— Inhabitants of Arabia Petrasa. Ver. 42. He— That is, the Turk. Ver. 43. At his steps— That is, ready to follow his commands. — Mede. Ver. 45. Between the seas— That is, between the Dead sea and the Medi- terranean. In the glorious holy mountain—' Mount of delight of holi- ness.” Wintle. The tabernacles of hit* -palaces — That is, the tents of his princes and generals. Chap. XII. Ver. 1. Michael —Light foot, Horsley, Witsius, Faber, and many othere, apply this to our Saviour, Christ ; but Mede, Warburton , and other learned men. explain it of a created angel. Preb. Toionsend's O. T. Arr. The common explanation of Michael is, “one like God,” but nothing can be argued from Hebrew names. Gabriel signifies “The strong God;” Elijah, “ God the Lord ;” and Elisha, “ God the Saviour,” &c. Such as never was. —See Matt. xxiv. 21. Rev. xvi. 18. Written in the book— That is, of God’s remembrance. See Mai. iii. 16. Luke x. 20, &c. Rev. xx. 12. Ver. 2. Many of them —Wintle, “ Multitudes that sleep,” &c. Compare John v. 28. Ver. 3. They that be wise— See margin. — The same word as used chap. xi. 33. “ Tliey that understand shall instruct many.” Ver. 5. Upon the bank — “ Lip,” or margin. Var. 6. Upon the waters. — It should be remembered that these are re- presented as angelic, or aerial beings, who could walk equally well on water as on land. Ver. 7. His right hand and left.—\\. wa3 the usual form of swearing to lift up f/ne hand, and usually the right ; but we recollect no other instance of lift- ing up both ; it is supposed to give emphasis. For a time times , &c.— Mr. Wintle has shown, that both the New Testament and classic writers use times (or seasons) for years : so we sometimes say, so many summers, or •vinters. These years usually consisted of 360 days, prophetically used for 118 years. Thus three years and a half, or 1260 days, will stand for so many years, as in verses 11 and 12. (See note, chap. vii. ver. 25.) When he shall have accomplished to scatter, &c.— Wintle reads, (and Boothroyd to the same effect,) “ And after the accomplishment of ihe dispersions of the holy people, (i. e. Israel,) all these things shall he fulfilled.” This is the same period, it should be recollected, which is ascribed to “ the little horn,” the Roman An- tichrist, in chap. vii. 25. Ver. 11. And the abomination — [Probably Mohammedanism, whichsprang up in power the same year as the papal, A. D. 606 ; and 1290 years from that time will be A. D. 1896, and 1335 years, A. D. 1941.1 —Bagster. One thou- sand two hundred and ninety days.— This again is the same period, differently expressed ; for three years anu a half, of 360 days each, make just 1260 days. As the prophecies of these two la9t chapters refer chiefly to the Eastern empire, while the lilt. e horn, chap. vii. refers evidently to the west, commentators have distinguished between the east and western Antichrist, referring the former to Mahomet, and the latter to the Pope, both having arisen about the same time ; that is, the western Antichrist assumed his temporal authority, which mad him a prophetic beast, in 606, and Mahomet, according to Prideaujc, in the same year began the forgery of his Koran. If we date 1260 years from this period (as does Bp. Newton and most modern commentators,) it will bring us to A. D. 1866, toward the close of the present century, by which time many ex- pect, and more hope, that both Popery and Mahometanism will be overthrown. If we date the 1290 days in this chapter from the same period, it will bring us to very near the close of the present century, when we hope the ruins of both establishments may be cleared away ; perhaps also the Jews converted, and return to their own land ; and the blessed period alluded to in ver. 12, may be the eve of the Millennium, which is generally expected to commence with the 7000th year of the world, as we shall have farther occasion to remark. As to the 2300 days in chap. viii. 14. we have remarked above (see note there,) they may probably be literally intended : but since men so great as Sir Isaac and Bp. Newton have reckoned them as prophetic years, they may possibly ter- minate with some of the other periods. However, we have no disposition t«» prognosticate • “ Blessed * he that waiteth !” dud's judgment on Israel , HOSEA.— or Pagans abroad, shall shine with the splendour of the firma- ment, and as the stars, for ever. Here is certainly the best en- cour gement to ministerial and missionary exertions, for what- ever may be the labours and trials of such on earth, “great is their reward in heaven.” These things “ ihe angels desire to look into,” (l Peter i. 12,) and therefore, while they were walking on either side the river, one asked the recording angel, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders ? The answer is still clothed in mystical lan- guage: “ For a time, times, and half a time,” at the end of which, all these things shall be fulfilled. On the numbers here given in the Uth and 12th verses, Dr. Uootiiroyd thus remarks: “Here is a fixed point at which to begin our calculation ; but it is still difficult to determine when this period commenced. The taking away the daily sacrifice, and setting up the abomination of desolation, may be applied to various similar events. The profanation of the temple by CONCLUDING REMARKS C Daniel, as a writer, is simple, yet pure and correct, whether he writes He- brew or Chaldee ; and is so conscientious, that he relates the very words of the persons whom he introduces as speaking. Though his style is not so lofty and figurative as that of the other prophets, it is more suitable to his subject, being clear and concise ; his narratives and descriptions are simple and natural ; and, in short, he writes more like a historian than a prophet. His predictions are the most extraordinary and comprehensive of all that are found in the prophetical writings, for they include the general history of the world, as well as that of the church of God under the Jewish and Christian dispensations, from the period in which he lived to the final consummation of all things ; and he alone, of all the prophets, foretold the exact time when the Messiah should appear and finish the great work of human redemption. At the same time his prophecies are so minute and circumstantial, especially concerning the kingdoms of Egypt and Syria, from the death of Alexander to the time oF Antiochus Epiphanes, -CHAP. 1. Jor spiritual u nor t loin. Epiphanes ih said to be this setting up, (1 Mac. i. 54,) and our Lord applies it to the destruction of the temple by the Ro- mans. (Matt. xxiv. 15.) Some date it from tne rise of Anti clirist, and suppose ihe 30 years more respected the period when the Jews will be converted, and the latter 45, the time when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in.” But if Daniel heard and understood not, we surely need not blush to own our ignorance. Two things, however, are per- fectly clear : l. That the end of all the changes and revolu- tions in the world, is the purification of the church from error and from sin ; and, 2. That at the final close of a 1 ! these trans- actions, every good man will have an honourable lot assigned to him among those that are redeemed and purified. In the mean time, it is our duty to be diligent in studying the Scrip- tures, and active in promoting the great ends of providence, as there revealed, but not too curious to prv between the sacred leaves which God has “closed and sealed.” N THE BOOK OF DANIEL. that, as Ep. Newton remarks, “ there is not so complete and regular a senes of their kings, there is not so concise and comprehensive un account of theii alfairs, to be lound in any author of those times The prophecy is really more perfect titan any history. No one historian iiath related so many circumstances, and in such exact order of time, as the prophet hath foretold them : so that it was necessary to have recourse to several authors. Greek and Roman, Jewish and Christian, to collect here something from one. and to collect there some thing from another, for the better explaining the great variety of particulars contained in this prophecy. It was the circumstantial fulfilment of these pre- dictions which induced Porphyry to maintain that they were written in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, alter the events to which they refer had occurred ; though the book of Daniel had been translated into Greek one hundred years before Antiochus ; was particularly commended by Josephus ; and is frequently cited and appealed to in the Targums and Talmuds, and other Jewish writings THE BOOK OF HOSE A. Of Hosea the prophet, we have no certain information, except what he himself furnishes us with— that he was the son of Beeri, and prophesied in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam II. king of Israel, probably from about A. M. 3219. B C. 735. to A. M. 3279. B. C. 725. being a period of 60 years. It is probable that be was an Israelite, and lived in the kingdom of Samaria, or the ten tribes. Eptvha- nius says, that he was a native of Belemoth in the tribe of Issachar ; and the Rabbins say, that Bura, who is mentioned in the Chronicles, was bis father, und was prince of the tribe of Reuben when Tiglalh-pileser carried some of the tribes of Israel captive : if so. Hosea must have been of the tribe of Reu- ben ; and probably a native of Baalmeon, east of Jordan. Jerome and others believe him to be the oldest prophet whose writing- are in our possession ; and that he witnessed not only the first captivity by Tiglalh-pileser, but ulso the extinction of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser. “ His prophecies are chiefly (but by no means exclusively) directed to the ten tribes, before their captivity, reproving them for their sins, exhorting them to repentance, and threatening them with destruction, in case of impenitence ; but comforting the pious with the promise of the Messiah, and of the happy state of the church in the latter days. His style is so u!>nmt, sententious, and concise, that it borders sometimes on obscurity. And now should it not, when the subjects of 60 years’ prophecy are condensed inio a few pajres ? But it is, in manyplacps, moving and pathetic, and, not seldom, beautiful and sublime. Hosea is a bold reprover, not only of the vices of the ueople, but also of their kings, princes, and priests. Like most other of the Hebrew prophets, how- ever, he tempers his denunciations of vengeance with promises of mercy ■, and the transitions from the one to the other, are often sudden and unexpec* ed. ” Dr. John Sm ith. Through all the minor Prophets, we shall pay constant attention to Arch- bishop Newcome; and upon this prophet in particular to Bishop Horsley. who is one of its latest and ablest critics and commentators. The book is poetically rendered by all the modern translators, and the poetry is of the, most ancient cast : “ pointed, energetic, and concise,” says Bishop Lowth. Before we enter upon our exposition, we may here briefly consider a question which will necessarily meet us in the very entrance of the book : “ "Was Ho sea directed to, and did he really, marry a wife of whoredom? or is this only to be considered a9 a vision, as some think, or a parable, as others ?” Arch- bishop Newcome seems to consider it as a fact, and Bishop Horsley is most decidedly of that opinion. We confess that we are not fond of resolving all the prophetic actions into mere visionary transactions, nor do we see any ne- cessity for so doing in the present instance. The Prophet is not ordered to commit either adultery or fornication, but to marry; nor does it appear that the woman persevered in her criminality. The fact seems to us, that she had been previously married, during which connexion she had been criminal with another man ; and actually had, at this time, children living with her, who had been bom in adultery. This woman, who had been an adulteress, and these children of adultery, he is commanded to receive into his family ; but there is no intimation of her being false to him; and a change of character may, we think, fairly be presumed. It may be said to have been an unseemly connexion ; but the divine command justifies it; and all who knew of the Prophet’s conduct would, of course, know the reason of it, and the authority on which he acted. Bishop Horsley is. indeed, of opinion, that she was also unfaithful to the Prophet afterwards, which made her the more correct type ot the Jewish Church. Of this, however, we see no necessity, since the object was to teach them, not to practice, but to abhor idolatry. CHAPTER I. 1 Ilosea, lo show God’s judgment for spiritual whoredom, tnkeih Gumer. 4 and hath by herJeireel, 6 Lo-ruhamah, 8 and Lo-ammi. 10 The restoration of Judah and Israel. ^PHE word of the Lord that came unto a Ho- sea, theson of Beeri, in the daysof Uzziah, Jotham. Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 f The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take b unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for c the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. A M. cir. 3219. U. i \ cir. - 785. a Ro.9.25. Osee. b c.3.1. c De.31.16. Eze.16.23. d visit e 2 Ki.IO. 11. 15. 10, 5c c. 3 So he went and took Gomer the daugh- ter of Diblaim ; which conceived, and bare him a son. 4 And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel ; for yet a little while, and I will d avenge the blood of c Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley ot Jezreel. 6 Tf And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call hei Chap. I. Ver. 1 — 11. The Prophet commanded to marry an adulteress, that he might have children hy her , affording figurative instruction.— Under the figure of a xvife proving false to her marriage vows, and bearing children likely to fol- low her example, the prophet represents the shameful idolatry of Israel, which provoked God to cast them off. The whole passage contains information by action, instead of words. The Lord had been a husband unto Israel, and they owed him the Chap. I. Ver. 2. Great ichoredom. — That is, idolatry. See Dent. xxxi. 16. Ver. 2 . Wife of whoredoms.— [Thai is, says Archbishop Neiocoine, a wife from amony the Israelites, who were remarkable for spiritual fornication or dolatry. Others think that the prophet’s wife bore a good character when he married her, hut afterwards became “a wife of whoredoms,” and brought hor children under the suspicion of being “ children of who edoms.” See in- troduction. ] — Bagster. Ver. 4. And the Lord said .... Call his name Jezreel. — This name is differently interpreted ; cither, “ the seed of God,” (which is ad jpterl l.y Bishop Horsley,) or, God will sow.” which is ra»fenvJ l\v Dr. Boo"h> r,,ni : i< m «-a* •- ing that God would scatter Israel ov r all the < irtl. ^ covers attc.s seed 938 fidelity of a wife to a tender husband ; instead of this, how- ever. they had long addicted themselves to spiritual fornication, or idolatry. The names here given to the Prophet’s children, are all emblematical. The first is intended to put Israel in mind of their unrepented guilt, and the acts of cruelty com- mitted in their palace of Jezreel. (l Kings xxi. 1.) The second and third, signifying “ Not finding mercy,” and “Not my people,” denote tnat, in consequence of their guilt, they were See chap. ii. 23.— [God will disperse, as seed is when sown ; probably inti mating also the speedy dispersion of Israel by Shalmaneser.]— Bagster . — 1 toil l avenge the blood of Jezreel— Not the death of Jezebel in Jezreel, foi he was commanded to destroy the house of Ahab, (2 Kings ix. 7—10.) but bis cruelty in other instances, while residing at his palace at Jezreel. (1 Kings xxi.) Newcome. Indeed blood seemed to be the delight of Jehu ; and did he not go beyond bis commission. 2 Kings x. 11 — 14? And will cause to cease. — See 2 Kings xv. 8—12. 29. Ver Break the boio — That is. the military strength. It is supposed, eithei thal King Zecliariah died in this valley, (Jezreel,) or t 1 at some signal defeat w as here siisfnined. Idolatry of the people. HOSE A. — CHAP. ll. GotVs promises of reconciliation. name f Lo-ruhamah : for « I will h no more have mercy upon the house of Israel ; i but I will utterly take them away. 7 But I will have mercy upon the house of j Judah, and will save them by the Lord their 1 God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. 8 T[ Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. 9 Then said God, Call his name i Lo-ammi : for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. 10 H Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered ; and m it shall come to pass, that n in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not 0 my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons p of the living God. 1 1 Then « shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land : for great shall be the day of Jezreel. CHAPTER II. I The idolatry of the people. S God’s judgments against them. 1-1 His promises of reconciliation with them. S AY ye unto your brethren, “ Ammi; and to your sisters, b Ruhamah. 2 Plead with your mother, plead : for she is not my wife, neither am 1 her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms c out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts ; 3 Lest I strip d her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a e wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with r thirst. 4 And I will not have mercy upon her child- ren; for they be the children of whoredoms. 5 For their mother hath played the s harlot : she that conceived them hath done shamefully : for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give h me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my ‘ drink. 6 Therefore, behold, 1 will hedge j up thy way with thorns, and k make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. 7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but A. M. cir. 3219. B. C. clr. 785. f That is, not hav- ing ob- tained, mercy. g2 Ki.17.0, 23. h not add any more to. i or, that I should altogether ; pardon them. j Ia.c.36,37. k Zec.4.6. 1 That is, not my people. mRo.9.25,2G n or, in- stead of that. 0 c.2.23. 1 Pe.2.10. p Jn.1.12. q Is. 11.12, 13. Je.3.18. Eze.37.16 ..24. a That is, my people . b That is, having obtained mercy. c Eze. 16.25, &c. d Je. 13.22, 2S. e Eze. 19. 13. f Am. 8.11, 13. g Is. 1.21. Je.3. 1..9. h Je.44.17. 1 drinks. j Job 19.8. La.3.7,9. k wall a wall. 1 Lu. 15.18. rn new wine. n or, where- with they made. c.8 4. 0 or, take away. p folly , or, villany. q make de- solate, r Is.5.5,6. s Eze. 20.35. 1 to her heart , or, friendly. u Jos. 7 26. Is. 65. 10. v That is, my hus- band. w That is. my lord. x Zee. 13.2. y Zec.9.10. z Is. 54. 5. she shall not overtake them ; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them : then > shall she say, I will go and return to my first hus- band ; for then was it better with me than now. 8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and m wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, n which they prepared for Baal. 9 1 herefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will 0 recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness. 10 And now will I discover her p lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand. 11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sab- baths, and all her solemn feasts. 12 And I will * destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and r I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them. 13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baa- lim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her ear-rings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and for gat me, saith the Lord. 14 If Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and 8 bring her into the wilderness, and speak 1 comfortably unto her. 15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley u of Achor for a door of hope : and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. 16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me v Ishi ; and shalt call me no more ' v Baali. 17 For I will take away * the names of Baa- lim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. 18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground : and v I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. 19 And I will betroth 2 thee unto me for ever ; to be rejected and disowned by God. He promises, however, to repair the loss to his church, by calling in the Gentiles, and by uniting Israel and Judah under one head, the Messiah, in the latter days, when they shall again become “ God’s people,” and again “ find mercy.” (Chap. ii. 1.) Bishop Horsley finds, in the names of the Prophet’s three children, the different characters in Israel; but we conceive the meaning to be, that though God scattered his pepple over all the earth, and for a time rejected them from his visible church, it should in the end appear that they were not “as water spilt on the earth, which cannot be gathered up again,” (2 Sam. xix. 14;) but a3 seed scattered over a field, which, though long concealed, shall at length spring forth again — “for great shall be the day of Jezreel:” that ts, abundant shall be the harvest of their return. (Compare ver. 10. with Rom. Lx. 27, 28.) Chap. II. Ver. 1 — 23. Israel’s idolatries reproved, and Ver. 6. But I will utterly.— Newcome, "surely;” Hebrew, “Taking, 1 will take them away.” Ver. 7. Sot save than by bow, &c.— See 2 Kings xix. 35. Ver. 10. Yet the number. &c. — See Rom. ix. 27, 28. Ver. 11. Children, &c. be gathered.— [This seems to refer to the future conversion and restoration of the Jews and Israelites, under one Head, Jesus Christ ; so that there shall be one flock and one shepherd. Day of Jezreel. --[An allusion to the word Jezreel. God, who sowed them among the nations in his wrath, shall reap and gather them in his mercy. See chap. ii. 22,23. ]-— B. Chap, It- Ver. 2. She is not my wife— That is, “ Israel has forfeited all claims to my protection yet her children are directed to plead and to remon- strate with her, in the hope of pardon, notwithstanding she had attributed to her idols all the blessings of Jehovah’s providence. Ver. 3. Lest I strip her.— See notes on Isa. iii. 17. Jer. xiii. 26. Ver. 4. Children of whoredoms. — [They are all idolaters ; and have been consecrated to idols, whose marks they hear. ]— Boaster. Ver. 8. And multiplied, &c. — That is, when Goa gave them gold and silver, they made, or dressed, their idols with it. Ver. 13. The days of Baalim— That is, when they worshipped Baal Ver. 15. The valley of Achor. &c. — This seems a common proverbial ex- pardon promised. — The prophet having contemplated the re- conciliation which was to take place in the future age, exhorts his people to speak and to act as became those who obtained mercy of God, and to remonstrate strongly against the conduct of their mother, (Samaria,) whose captivity is threatened on account of her forsaking the Lord, and ascribing her prosperity to idols. As an amplification of this threatening, the Prophet enumerates a series of afflictions which were to Befall her, till she should be brought to a sense of her duty to God, and of her folly in seeking after idols, and falsely ascribing to them the blessings of providence. After these corrections, howevc-r, God promises to conduct his people safely to their own land ; leading them as through the desert of old, till they should enter the valley of Achor, which was (as it were) the door of hope to the land of promise. (See note.) He farther engages to deal with them as a tender husband, and not as a severe mas- ter, as were the idols which they worshipped. The rest of the pression. “ The vale of Achor, though a scene of trouble and distress, was a door of hope to the Israelites under Joshua ; .... for from this time Joshua drove on his conquests with uninterrupted success.” Bishop Horsley. Achor means trouble ; valley of trouble, from the double trouble expressed by Jo- shua to Achan. “Why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day.” Door of hope . — The cause of God’s wrath was there removed. By reason of Achan’s sin, the Israelites were defeated in battle, and despair took possession of their minds. But from the hour they stoned him, hone was kindled, and they were prosperous. Discipline is a door of hope to the church : for where has it been honoured and the blessing been withheld. Many re- vivals have commenced when the church were engaged in discipline. Ver. 16. Baali — “ My lord,” or master : they should regard him as a Inend, and not a tyrant, as they had been used to speak of him. “ The very name, though capable of a good sense, should be avoided by them, because it was also the name of false gods.” Newcome. Ver. 17. Baalim signifies “Lords,” or masters, in the plural. Ver. 18. A covenant with the beasts .— See Job v. 23. ‘With all the crea- tures that might either serve or hurt them. It is a full and gracious promise of abundance of peace, safety, and love, among all throughout the ere it ion, for the comfort of God’s people.” Pool. Break the bow. -Isa. n. 4 939 The desolation of Israel. HOSE A. --CHAP. III., IV. God's judgments against sin. yea, I will betroth thee unto mein » righteous- ness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies. 20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faith- fulness: and thou shalt know the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the hea- vens, and they shall hear the earth ; 22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil ; and they shall hear Jezreel. 23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth ; and b I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy ; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art c my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God. CHAPTER III. I By the expiation of an adulteress, 4 is showed the desolation of Israel before their restoration. T HEN said the Lord unto irm, a Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an b adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of c wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a d half homer of barley : 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days ; thou shalt not play the har- lot, and thou shalt not be for another man : so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without ' a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without f an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim : 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel re- turn, and seek e the Lord their God, and David h their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter '< days. CHAPTER IV. 1 0 .d’s Judgments against the sins of the people, 6 and of the priests, 12 and aguiust their idolatry. 15 Judah is exhorted to take warning by Israel’s calamity. H EAR the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel : for the Lord hath a a controversy A. M. clr. 3*219. B. C. cir. 785. a Ep.5.23.. 27. b c.1.6. c 1 Pe.2.10. a c.1.2. b Je.3.1,20. c grapes. d letheeh. e Je. 15.4,5. c.10.3. f a stand- ing, or, statue, or, pillar. Is. 19. 19, 20 . g c.5.15. h Je.30.9. Eze.34.23, 24. i Is.2.2,3. A. M. cir. ?224. B. C. cir. 780. a Mi. 6.2. b Je.4.22,28. c Is.59.7. d bloods. e Am. 5. 16. f Zep.1.3. g De l 7. 12. h cut off. i Is. 5. 13 J De.32.15. c.13.6. k Mtd.2.9. 1 lift up their soul to. m Kze.14.3, 7. n visit upon o cause to return. p Pr.31.3. q la. 28.7. with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor b knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and c killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and d blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore 'shall the land mourn, and every one r that dwelleth therein shall lan- guish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. 4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another, for thy people are as they that strive « with the priest. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will h destroy thy mother. 6 If My people are b destroyed for > lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected know- ledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me : seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. 7 As ) they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore k will I change their glory into shame. 8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they i set their heart ro on their iniquity. 9 And there shall be, like people, like priest : and I will "punish them for their ways, and 0 reward them their doings. 10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase : because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. 11 p Whoredom and i wine and new wine take away the heart. 12 TI My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them : for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. 13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the moun- chapter promises them security from every evil, with the pos- session of every blessing under a new covenant of mercy ; and that in terms full of Beauty and consolation. Heaven and earth, and whatever they contain ; all nature is represented, in obedience to the God of Nature, as combining to make the people of God happy: so that if they only breathe a wish, one part of nature echoes it to another, and all join in harmony to transmit their wish to the ear of God. Chap. III. Ver. 1 — 5. TVie desolate state of Israel , and their future hopes. — Commentators are not agreed in what light to consider the woman here named : some suppose her to be the wife Hosea had been directed to marry in the first chapter, and who had proved false to him : but surely she could have no claim to a dowry. Others suppose her to have been a temporary wife, such things being common among the heathen ; but they certainly were not tolerated by the law of Moses. We therefore consider the fact to be, that the Prophet purchased this woman, being a female slave, as a concubine, or secondary wife : and it is very remarkable, (as Michaelis observes,) that he paid the legal and established price of a female slave, namely, “ thirty shekels, half in money, and half in grain.” But this is never mentioned as the price of a harlot, nor could be. This parable seems to be intended to represent God’s love to, and redemption (or purchase) of, his people Israel : and the Prophet is commanded to love her, as the Lord does his people, that is, gratuitously , and without any merit on their part; slaves by nature, but redeemed by grace. This woman we rnay suppose to have been married, and dismissed for her un- worthy conduct, on which account she had been separated, without any of the ornaments or privileges of a wife ; so should Israel, while living in impenitence, remain long without those privileges, civil or religious, which they formerly enjoyed while acting in obedience to his laws ; without prince or priest, sa- crifice or oracle, or God. In the latter days, however, it is pro- mised they shall return and seek the Lord and his anointed; and fear Hod and his goodness ; that is, fear as well to abuse his goodness, as to provoke his anger. Chap. IV. Ver. 1 — 19. Judah warned by the calamities of Israel. — The Prophet charged Israel with their enormous guilt, and in consequence thereof, threatens them with heavy national judgments, particularly a grievous famine. Notwithstanding this warning, however, he complains, that there are no ten- dencies to reformation, no mutual exhortations to repentance. For this reason the Prophet again denounces the fall of the city and people. God himself is then introduced in person, Ver. 21 . 1 will hear (or answer) the heavens. — “ Asking (as it were) to pour down rain on the earth ; and they shall hear the earth when it supplicated for rain : this and the next verse implies that they bad had unfruitful seasons.” Boothroyd. Ver. 22 . Shall hear the corn , &c. — ” These two verses beautifully represent inanimate objects os speaking, and a chain of second causes as depending on the hrst, the Lord of all. Shall hear Jezreel. — The people whom God will sow again in his land. See chap. i. u, and verse following. Horsley. Ver. 23. I will say to them, &c.— Dr. Boothroyd makes this passage clearer by preserving the original names : “ I will have mercy on Lo-ruhamah ; and I will say to Lo-armni, ( Not my people,) Thou art my people, and they shall say, Thou art our God.” Chap. 111. Ver. 1 . Beloved of her friend, Cor husband.) yet an adulteress. — False to her marriage vows. The LXX. and other versions read, ” A woman that loveth evil, an adulteress.” Flagons of wine— See margin. The most ancient method of making wine was. by pressing the juice of the grapes into a cup, Gen. xl. 11 ; see note there. But some think that here the word refers to dried grapes, or. &c. See note on Cnnt. ii. 5. So I bought her, &c.— Namely, as a concubine. See Deut. xxi. it— it. Ver. t. The children of Israel shall abide many days, &c.— This is given as the mystical import of the preceding verse : and that this was tiie fact, our translators refer to the Song of the Three Children in the furnace, (ver. 15.) ' Neither is there at this time a prince or prophet o- leader, or burnt-offering 940 or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place to sacrifice before thee, and find mercy.” An image— See margin ; also Isa. xix. 19. Without an ephod. and without teraphim. — Without means of inquiring the will of God. Ver. 5. David. — That is, ” Messiah.” See Ezek. xxxiv. 23.— IThe Tarpum renders, weyishtammoon limsheecha var daioid matkehon, " and they shall obey the Messiah, the son of David, their king.” This doubtless foretels their future conversion. ] — Bagster. Chap. IV. Ver. 1 . A controversy.—" The whole Jewish religion, (says Ro- binson ,) was styled “ Jehovah’s controversy.” Jer. xxv. 31. They controvert- ed all his precepts : he controverted all their actions. Ver. 2 . Blood toucheth blood — That is. murders succeed each other without intermission. Ver. - 1 . As they that strive with the priest. — If the people strove with the Lord, it can be no wonder that they strove with the priests, disputing not only the dues of the priests, but the sacrifices demanded by God. Ver. 8. They set their heart on.— “They lift up their soul to” their ini- quity. Ver. 12. My people ask counsel of their stocks — That is, their idols. See Jer. ii. 27. They also used divination by staves, or rods, much in the same way as they did by arrows. See note on Ezek. xxi. 21. From under.— Boothroyd gives tne true sense of this passage: "They have gone astray from their God i. e. have revolted from their allegiance to him. See2Chron. xxi. 8. A. M. cir. 3m B. C. cir. 780. t 1 Co.6.16. u ver. 1.5 ,6. r or, be punished. — CHAB. V., VI. for manifold sins 5 And the pride of Israel dotli testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. 6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but « they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. 7 They have dealt treacherously h against the Lord : for they have begotten strange child- ren : now shall a month devour them with their portions. 8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Rarnah : cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin. 9 Ephraim shall be desolate > in the day of rebuke : among the tribes of Israel have I made known j that which shall surely be. 10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound : therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. 11 Ephraim ?'. in my wrath. 12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up ; his sin is hid. 13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him : he is an unwise son; for he should not stay m long in the place of the breaking forth of children. 14 I " will ransom them fr> m the c power of the grave ; I will redeem them from death : O death, I will be thy plagues ; O grave, I will be thy destruction : repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. 15 IT Though he be fruitful among his bre- a. m. ana. B. O. 725. c or, taerir Jictt of <1 1 Ki. 19.18 e Da. 2.35. f droughts. g Pa. 63.1. h beast of the field. 1 in thy. J or. Where is thy king 1 King Ho- sliea l>e> ing then in prison. 2Ki 17.4. k 1 Sa.8.7. 1 1 Sa.31. 2 .. 4 . m n time. n Is. 25. 8. o hand. p vessels of desire. q Fulfilled, 721. 2 Ki.17.6. a or, give good. b He. 1315. c or, blos- d strike. e go. f Ca.2.3. g or, blos- som. h or, memo- rial. thren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his foun tain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the trea- sure of all >’ pleasant vessels. 16 Samaria i shall become desolate ; for she hath rebelled against her God : they shall fall by the sword : their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. CHAPTER XIV. I An exhortation to repentance. 4 A promise of God’s blessing. O ISRAEL, return unto the Lord thy God ; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. 2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and a receive us graciously: so will we render the b calves of our lips. 3 Asshur shall not save us ; we will not ride upon horses : neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. 4 If I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. 5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall c grow as. the lily, and d cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 6 His branches shall e spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Le- banon. 7 They that dwell under his f shadow shall return ; they shall revive as the corn, and s grow as the vine : the h scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. 8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and ob- served him : I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. 9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things ? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them : but the transgressors shall fall therein. opens with a truth often asserted and exemplified in the Scrip- tures, “Before honour is humility, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Thus when Ephraim spake with modesty, diffidence, and trembling, then “He exalted himself in Israel;” but when he assumed the high and independent airs of a worshipper of Baal, then he offended God, and fell under his indignation. When he boasted, “ I am become rich, ajid have founcf me out substance.” then he was found poor, and wretched, and guilty, and is threatened with the just reward of his demerits. God tempers, however, these awful threatenings with gracious in- timations of mercy on their repentance. But, alas ! instead of repenting, Ephraim is filling up the measure of his iniquity, and foolishly protracting the season of deliverance, by making no struggle to attain to it. Notwithstanding this, God promises at length to exert his almighty power in their favour; and, as it were, to raise them from the dead ; although, in the mean time, they must he visited with national calamities, compared to the noxious and parching east wind, and described imme- I Kings xix. 18 ; and Cicero informs us this rite was common among the heathen. See Neiocome. For the men that sacrifice— Seeker, Horsley, and others, read with our margin, “ The sacrifices of men hut query ? Ver. 3. As early deio. — [To punish these abominable idolatries, the prospe- rity and tribe of Ephraim should be, like his goodness, “ as the morning cloud, the early dew, the chaff before the whirlwind, and the smoke out of the chim- ney,” driven about, dissipates, and speedily vanishing awa y.] -Bagster. Ver. 4. Thou shalt know— Neiocome, Boothroyd, &c. render it in the past tense, “Thou hast known.” We should rather render it in the imperfect, “Thou didst know ;” namely, at that time. See Deut. xxxii. 12. Ver. 11. I gave thee a king— Namely, Saul. 1 Sam. viii. 5, 19, &c.; xv. 23. Ver. 13. Stay long.— ' Any time i. e. loiter and hesitate in his decision. 1 Kings xviii. 21. Ver. 14. I will be thy plagues.— Literally, “Thy sentence.” The plague was understood to come immediately from God. St. Paul refers to this pas- sage, 1 Cor. xv. 55. Repentance shall be hid — That is, I will not repent of this decree. diately after in literal terms— they shall fall by the sword oi the enemy. Chap. XIV. Ver. 1 — 9. Exhortations to repentance , and promises of mercy . — “By the terrible denunciation of ven- geance which concludes the preceding chapter, the Prophet is led to exhort this people to repentance, furnishing them with a beautiful form of prayer, very suitable to the occasion. Upon this. God, ever ready to -pardon the penitent, is introduced, making large promises of blessings, in allusion to those copi- ous dews which refresh the green herbs, and which frequently denote, not only temporal salvation, but also the rich and re- freshing comforts of the gospel. Their reformation from idola- try is foretold, and their consequent prosperity, under the em- blem of a green flourishing fir tree; but then these promises are confined to the gqdly, and the wicked declared to have no share in them ; as might well be expected under the adminis- tration of the righteous Governor of the universe.” — Dr. J. Smith. Ver. 15. An east wind. — The east wind was blighting and drying. SeeEzek- xix. 12.— The wind of the Lord — That is, a wind specially sent by him. See Ps. Ixviii. 33. Ver. 16. They shall fall by the tnoord. — Compare 2 Chron. xxv. 13. Chap. XIV. Ver. 2. Calves of our lips.— The critics remark that this pas sage, as it now stands in Hebrew, is not grammatical ; that omitting one let- ter, (mem,) would make it correct, and at the same time agree with the LX X Arabic, and the Apostolic quotation, Heb. xiii. 15, “ the fruit of our lips.” Sr. Newoome and Boothroyd. Ver. 5. As the dew — That is, refresh and water, that they may grow, com fort, and make fruitful all who return to him. Ver. 7. The scent— Or, fragrance. See margin. Ver. 8. With idols. — Not the whole body of Ephraim, but converted Ephraim Those who in verses 1 and 2 were sensible of. and confessed sin. and begged for pardon. J am like.— Boothroyd, “ I will make him like.” So Neiocome and Horsley. Ver. 9. Who isioise ? &c. — These words are the prophet’s own conclusion. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [The prophecies of Hosea which were soon fulfilled are very numerous : but those relating to the state of Israel and Judah for many ages, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the future restoration of Israel, are peculiarly distinct and striking : they coincide with those of the other prophets ; and the extraordi- S ry fulfilment of several of them, in past and present times, both proves the vine inspiration of the writer, and gives assurance that the rest will in due 946 time be accomplished. His principal subject, as Bishop Horsley observer ia that which forms the principal subject of all the prophets—” the guilt of the Jewish nation in general, their disobedient refractory spirit, the heavy judg- ments that awaited them, their final conversion to God, and to a condition of the greatest national prosperity, and of high pre-eminence among the nation* of the earth, under the immediate protection of the Messiah, in the latter ages O .i * sundry judgments. JOEL.— CHAP. 1. A fust preset ibed, oi rue world. He confines himself more closely to this single subject than any c-'J.er prophet. He seems, indeed, of all the prophets, if 1 may so express my conception of his peculiar character, to have been the most of a Jew. Comparatively, he seems to care little about other people. He wanders not, like Ifaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, into the collateral history of the surround- ing heathen nations. He meddles not, like Daniel, with the revolutions of the great empires of the world. His own country seems to engross his whole attention ; her privileges, her crimes, her punishment, her pardon. He pre- dicts, indeed, in the strongest and clearest terms, the ingrafting of the Gen- tiles into the church of God. But he mentions it only generally ; he enters not, like Isaiah, into a minute detail of the progress of the business. Nor does he describe, in any detail, the previous contest with the apostate faction in the latter ages. He makes no explicit mention of the share which the converted Gentiles are to have in the re-establishment of the natural Israel in their an- cient seats ; subjects which make so striking a part of the prophecies of Isaiah Daniel, Zechariah, Haggai, and occasionally of the other prophets. He al- ludes to the calling of our Lord from Egypt, to the resurrection on the third day ; he touches, but only in general terms, upon the final overthrow of the Antichristian army in Palestine, by the immediate inteiposition of Jehovah ; and he celebrates, in the loftiest strains of triumph and exultation, the 8a- vmur’a final victory over death and hell. % But yet, of all the prophets, ne cer- tainly enters the least into the detail of the mysteries of redemption. We have nothing in him descriptive of the events between the two advents of our Lord. Nothing diffuse and circumstantial upon the great and interesting mys- teries of the incarnation and the atonement. His country, and his kindred, is the subject next his heart. Their crimes excite his indignation : their suffer- ings interesi his pity : their future exaltation is the object on which his ima- gination fixes with delight. ]—Bag8ter. THE BOOK OF JOEL. [Joel tne prophet, according to the Pseudo -Epiphanius, was of the tribe of Reuben, and a native of Bethoron, or rather Bethharan, in that tribe ; but no- thing certain is known respecting him, except that he was the son of Pethuel, as he informs U9 in the title of his predictions. It is even very uncertain during v/hat period he prophesied ; though it is evident he exercised the pro- phetic office in the kingdom of Judah. Terome, Vitringa , Rosenmulle.r , Horne, and others, think that he lived in the reign of Uzzian, and consequent- ly wOfc contemporary with Hosea and Amos : Calrnet , Ecktrmann , and others place him in the reign of Josiah ; Kimchi and others refer him to the reign cf Joram ; while the Jewish Chronicles called Sedar Olam, Jarchi, and several Jewish writers, followed by Drusius, Archbishop Newcome, Dr. A. Clarke, and others, maintain that he prophesied under Manasseh ; and, as collateral circumstances seem to preponderate in favour of this hypothesis, we have accordingly adopted it. The book of Joel consists of three chapters ; w which the prophet, in consequence of a dreadful famine caused by locusts and other noxious insects, calls upon both priests and peop'c to epent with prayer and fasting, cries unto God for them, and represents tne very beasts as oining in his supplications, he predicts still greater judgments Dy an army of ocusts, earnestly exhorts them to public fasting, prayer, and repentance, pro- mises the removal of these calamities on their repentance, with various other blessings, makes an elegant transition to the effusion of the Holy Spirit under the Gospel, and foretels the consequent destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, interspersed with promises of safety to the faithful and peni- tent ; he then predicts the divine judgments to be executed on the enemies of God’s people, and the Subsequent peace, prosperity, and purity of Israel.]— B. His style is highly poetical. Bishop Lowth says, “ he is elegant, perspicuous, copious, and fluent : sublime, animated, and energetic.” Besides Abp. Newcome, who is our guide through all the minor Prophets, on this prophecy we are particularly indebted to “ A paraphrase and Critical Notes” on it, by Dr. S. Chandler , a learned Dissenting Minister of the last century. CHAPTER I. 1 Joel, declaring sundry Judgments of God, exhorteth to observe them, 8 and to mourn. 14 He prescribed! a fast for complaint. mHE word of the Lord that came to Joel JL the son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell ye your children of it, and At your child- ren tell their children, and their children ano- ther generation. 4 1 That which b the palmer- worm hath left hath the locust c eaten ; and that which the lo- cust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten ; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine ; for d it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For 6 a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth { are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 7 He hath laid e my vine waste, and h barked my fig tree : he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away ; the branches thereof are made white. 8 If Lament like a virgin girded with sack- cloth for the husband of her youth. 9 The meat-offering and the drink-offering is cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord’s ministers, mourn. A. M. cir. 3314. B. C. cir. 690. a the resi- due of the palmer - worm. b c.2.25. c De.28.38. d Is.32.10. e c. 2.2,1 1. f Re. 9.7.. 10 . g ls.5.6. h laid my Jig tree for a barking. i or, ashamed. ver. 12. j Hab.3. 17,18. k Is. 2-1. 11. I Je.4.8. m2Ch.20.3, 4. c. 2. 15,16. n or, day of restraint. Ne.8.18. o Je.30.7. p Is. 13.6,9. q Ps.43.4. r grains. 6 Ho.4.3. 10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth ; for the corn is wasted : the new wine is ■ dried up, the oil languished. 11 Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen ; howl, O ye vine-dressers, for the wheat and for the barley ; because the harvest of the field is pe- rished. 12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree ) languished ; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, arc withered: because k joy is withered away from the sons of men. 13 Gird i yourselves, and lament, ye priests : howl, ye ministers of the altar : come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat-offering and the drink-offering is widholden from the house of your God. 14 Tf Sanctify ye a m fast, call a n solemn as- sembly, gather the elders and all the inhabit- ants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, 15 Alas 0 for the day ! for fthe day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. 16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea , i joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17 The r seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down ; for the corn is withered. 18 How do the beasts “groan ! the herds of Chap. I. Ver. 1 — 20. Israel invaded by a nation of locusts. — “This prophecy begins with threatening the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the land of Judah, with such a desolation of their country by swarms of locusts as had never happened to them before, and as should occasion the utmost distress to all sorts of persons amongst them.” The havoc that should be made by these creatures, is described in the highest style of Chap. I. Ver. 4. That which, & c.— See margin. Pour species of locust are supposed to be here mentioned : 1. The palmer-worm. (Heir. Gezam.) This, Bocharl says, is a locust, which, furnished with very sharp teeth, bites off, not only grass and grains, and the leaves of trees, but even their hark, and more tender branches. Net ocome renders it, “ Grasshopper but Michaelis, following the LXX. and Vulgate, thinks it means a species of caterpillar, _ whose mouth is furnished with a kind of sickle, which cuts the leaves of plants to pieces ; and which begins its ravages before the locust. 2. The lo- cust, (Arbeit,) whose name is supposed to be derived from its prodigious num- bers. 3. The canker-worm ( Ialek ) is either another species of locust, called by Newcr/me “ the devouring locust,” though others think it a species of lieetle, or hedge-chafer, devouring even the roots of trees. Orient. Lit. No. lust. Jer. li. 27. it is rendered the rough caterpillar ; but there appears to be a species of locusts, whose heads are covered with hair. Rev. ix. 8. 4. The ca- terpillar, (Chari l ,) rendered by Newcome "the consuming locust.” There are ten different species of locust (as is supposed) mentioned in Scripture ; ami if these are not locusts, it is certain they were most voracious and de- structive insects. See Harris's Natural History of the Bible, in Locust ; also ante on Exod. x. 4. Ver 6. A nation — That is, of these voracious insects. Compare Prov. xxx. 26 . 26 Cheek teeth —Newcome, “ Jaw teeth of a lion." Pliny says. poetry. The vegetation of every species should be devoured, and produce such a scarcity of provisions in the land, as not to leave enough to supply the offerings for God’s altar. At the same time the heat should be so great, as to occasion the destruction of many of the flocks and herds, partly through drought, and partly through the irritation of these noxious in- sects. their teeth are so sharp and strong, that they bite through even the doors of houses. Ver. 7. Barked my fig tree — That is, eaten off the bark ; but Newcome reads, ” Made my fig tree a broken branch,” like several of the ancient ver- sions. Dr. Forsayeth, ” My fig tree a foam and swelling,” being covered with the foam of caterpillars, and the leaves curled up, to enclose their eggs. The branches are made white— That is, stripped of all their hark, as in the preceding clause ; Heb. “ Stripping they have stripped it.” Ver. 8. Like a virgin .... for the husband of her youth— That is, a betrothed virgin, whose marriage was not consummated. Ver. 10. Is dried up — Or withered, as ver. 12; Heb. “Blusheth.” Ver. 12. The vine, &c. — [Dr. Shaw observes, that in Barbary, in the month of June, the locusts are no sooner hatched, than they collect themselves into compact bodies, each a ” furlong or more square ; and marching directly after wards, forwards directly towards the sea, they let nothing escape them, eating up every thing that is green or juicy, not only the lesser vegetables, hut the vine likewise, the fig tree, the pomegranate, the palm , and the apple tree even all the trees of the field.")— Bagster. „ Ver. 14. A solemn assembly. — Newcome, ‘ A solemn day, or day o! n* straint ; i. e. from work, or pleasure. . , , . , , , Ver. 17 The seed is rotten, — Newcome. ” The seeds have perished under 947 T'fn'ibleness of God’s judgment. JOEL catfm are perplexed, because they have no pasture ; yea, the flocks of sheep are made de- solate. 19 O Lord, to thee will I 1 cry : for the fire " hath devoured the ' pastures of the wilder- ness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. AO The beasts of the field cry also w unto thee : for 1 the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. CHAPTER II. I Hft showeth unto Zion the terribleness of God’s Judgment 12 He exhorteth to re- pentance, 15 prescribed a fast, IS promised u blessing thereon. 21 lie comforted Zion with present 28 and future blessings. B LOW ye the “trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm b in my holy mountain : let all the inhabitants of the land tremble : for c the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand ; 2 A day of d darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a 'strong; there hath not been ever the f like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of e many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them ; and behind them a flame burneth : the land is as the gar- den of Eden h before them, and behind f them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4 The appearance of them is as the appear- ance of horses ; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather i k blackness. 7 They shall run like mighty men ; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks : 8 Neither shall one thrust another ; they shall walk every one in his path : and when they fall upon the i sword, they shall not be wounded. -CHAP. II. A. M. clr. 3314. B. C. cir. 690. wPk 104.21. x 1 Ki.13.5. a or, cornet. b Nu.10.5, 9. c c.1.15. Zep. 1.14, 15. d Am. 5. 18, ‘. 0 . e c.1.6. f Ex. 10.14. h 16.51.3. i Zec.7.14. j Pot. k Je.8.21. La. 4.8. Na.2.10. 1 or, dart m Je 9.21. n Jn.10.1. o Pb.18.7. r La. 3. 40, t Pe. 86. 5,15. n 2 Ki.19.4. v e.1.9. w ver.l. x 2Ch.20.13 z or, use a by-word against. a Mi.7.10. b Zee. 1.14. c De.32.36. Some have thought that these predictions may have a far- ther reference to the army of the Assyrians : but for this vve find no sufficient ground. No body of armed men (not even that of Xerxes) was ever half so numerous, half so torment- ing or destructive, as an army of these noxious insects, who, while they lived, were a plague, and created a pestilence when they died. Chap. II. Ver. 1 — 32. An alarm sounded through the coun- Ver. 19. The pastures of the wilderness — Or desert ; and burnt up, &c. See chap. ii. 3. Fires were often made, (though in vain,) to stop the ravages of these insects, by which (fires) the trees and underwood were much injured. Chap. II. Ver. 1. Blow ye the trumpet, &c ; — The same alarm is can abide it? 12 11 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn r ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 And rend ■ your heart, and not your gar- ments, and turn unto the Lord your God : fox he t is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him ol the evil. 14 Who u knoweth if he will return and re- pent, and leave a blessing behind him ; even a v meat-offering and a drink-offering unto the Lord your God? 15 If Blow * the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: lb Gather the people, sanctify the congrega- tion, assemble the elders, 1 gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bride- groom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare y thy people, O Lord, and give not thy heritage to reproach, that the heathen should 'rule over them: wherefore a should they say among the people. Where is their God ? 18 If Then will the Lord be jealous b for his land, and pity c his people. 19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied there- with : and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen : try. — The priests are ordered to sound their trumpets on the approach of this aerial army. The locusts are described— They are compared to cavalry ; and the noise and din of their approach to the rattling of war-chariots and the crackling of burning stubble. The regularity and rapidity of their march is then stated; and their invincibility, as it respects human weapons. The heavens are clothed in blackness, and the voice of God announces their approach as his army. two, the least leaf to be seen on a tree, nor any green thing in a garden.” The close of this account illustrates what is said in ver. 20 of the defeat and des- truction of this great northern army. “ When, glutton-like, they had devoure d every thing around them, they took to ponds, brooks, and pools.” probably from excessive thirst, and drowned themselves ; and lay drowned in heaps, like little hills, with a stench so noisome that it gave reason to fear pestilence. See Asiat. Journ. Aug. 1825. Ver. 3. A fire devoureth before them " They consume like a general con- flagration.” Ludolf says, “ Wherever they fed, their leavings seem, as it were, parched with fire.” Newcnme. See note on ver. 2. Ver. 4. Like horses, &c. — An Arab, describing them, compared the heads .of the locust to thpse of horses, their breast to that of a lion, their feet to those of a camel, their belly to that of a serpent, their tail to that of a scorpion, and their feelers to female hair. (Compare Rev. ix. 7.) Niebuhr's Arabia. Ver. 5. Like the noise of chariots— See Rev. ix. 9. Volney compares the noise they make in browsing to that of an army in secret , marching without music. See note on ver. 2. Of a flame. — Cyril compares the noise of their teeth to a crackling flame. In battle array.— Woo. “Arrayed for war.’ " Many writers mention the order of locusts in their flight and march ; and their manner of proceeding directly forward, whatever obstacles were inter- posed.” Newcome. Ver. 6. All faces shall gather blackness— See margin. Tavernier (and other travellers) affirm that, by way of mourning, the Orientals sometimes daub their faces with the black of a kettle. Orient. Lit. No. 1068. Ver. 7. They shall run, &c. — [In their progress, says Dr. Shaio, “ they kept their ranks like men of war ; climbing over every tree or wall that was ia their way. Nay, they entered into our very houses and bed chambers, like so many thieves. Every effort of the inhabitants to stop them was unavail- ing : the trenches thev had dug were quickly filled up, and the fire9 they had kindled extinguished by infinite swarms succeeding each other.”] — Bagster. Compare verses 2, 4, 5, &c. Ver. 10 . The earth shall quake— This may be taken figuratively, for tho f reat alarm which they shall create ; but literally, the heavens are darkened y their flight. See on ver. 2. Ver. 11. The Lord shall utter his voice—' That is, it is by his command that they advance or retire. -CHAP. III. God? s sevti e judgment*. A. M. cir. 331-1. B. C. cir. 690. d magnified to do. f Is. 41 16. Zee. 10.7. teacher of right- eousness. h according to right- eousne e. j Zep.3.11. q Ro.ll 5,7. r Zec.14.2.. 4. c No.3.10. d Da. 5. 2,3. h sanctify. i or, scythes. J or, the LORD shall bring down. k Ps. 103.20. n Re. 14. 15, lem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the i remnant whom the Lord shall call. CHAPTER III. 1 God’s judgments against the enemies of his people. 9 God will be known In bis judgment. 13 11 is blessing upon die church. F OR, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I R will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehosbu- phat, and will plead L with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3 And they have cast lots c for my people; and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a gil l for wine, that they might drink. 4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Pales- tine 1 will ye render me a recompense ? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head ; 5 Because ye have taken d my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly e pleasant things : 6 The children also of Judah and the child- ren of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the r Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. 7 Behold, I e will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head: 8 And I will sell your sons and your daugh- ters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off - for the Lord hath spoken it. 9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ; h Pre- pare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near ; let them come up : 10 Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your ' pruning-hooks into spears : let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about : thither i cause thy mighty k ones to come down, O Lord. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley 'of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge m all the heathen round about. 13 Put n ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe : come, get you down ; for the press is A blessing pi omised thereon. JOEL 20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army , and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the ut- most sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath ■* done great things. 21 Tf Fear not, O land ; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord e will do great things. 22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field : for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice f in the Lord your God: for he hath given you e the former rain h moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army ‘ which I sent among you. 26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you : and ) my people shall never be ashamed. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. 28 If And k it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit i upon all flesh ; and your sons and your ra daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions : 29 And also upon the " servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will show 0 wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever p shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered : for in mount Zion and in Jerusa- The nation is then pathetically exhorted to deep and hum- ble repentance; to rend, not their garments only, but their hearts also: as the only means to avert national judgments. In the conclusion, as is common with many of the prophets, the days of the Messiah and the gospel dispensation are ad - verted to, especially the miraculous effusion of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the awful indications of divine judgment preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, and the con- sequent dispersion of the Jews. Chap. III. Ver. 1 — 21. — As the latter part of the preceding chapter referred to gospel times, and the blessings to accom- pany the dispensation of Messiah, so this appears to refer to a still more distant period, when the Jews shall be released from all their captivities, delivered from all their enemies, and finally Ver. 20. The northern army . — These locusts probably came from Circassia, or Minzrelia, to the north of Judea. Some were to be driven into the desert ; some into the Eastern or Dead sea, and somo into the utmost, or Mediterra- nean sea. His stink, &c. — See what is quoted from Dr. Chandler and the Asiatic Journal on ver. 2. Because he hath done great things— See marg. &c. It is difficult to apply this to an army of locusts. They had executed the divine command, and their being ended with their commission. Dr. Chandler therefore applies the words to Jehovah, as in the verse following. “ He (the Lord) will do (or hath done) greatly, or great things, to advance his own glory.” See a like repetition, ver. 26, 27. Ver. 23. He hath given— New corme, “ He giveth you— he causeth to come down,” &c. Ver. 28. And it shall come, &r.—[Kimchi says, that achari then , “ after thus,” is the same as bedAharith hyyamim, “ in the latter days,” which al- ways relates to the days of the Messiah; and accordingly this prophecy re- fers. as Sr. Peter applies it, (Acts ii. 17.) to the effusion of the Holy Spirit at the feast of Pentecost, to the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem, attended with the most awful portents, and to the dispersion of the unbelieving Jews. ]-B. Ver. 30, 31. Blood and fire, &c. — This is generally supposed to refer to the prodigies mentioned by our Lord, Mat. xxiv. ‘i9. which see. restored to their own land; after which there seems an allu- sion to the same distant and mysterious events, that we have seen mentioned in the latter chapters of Ezekiel, and shall have farther occasion to notice in the close of the New Testament. The judgment of the valley of Jehoshaphat, must not be confounded with the final judgment of the world. It relates evidently to the punishment of certain heathen nations — per- haps the Gog and Magog referred to by Ezekiel and St. John. (See Ezek. xxxviii. xxxix. Rev. xx. xxi.) It is an encouraging circumstance to the church, that the denunciations of God’s judgments generally end with promises of mercy to his people. When God shall have cleared the earth of crime, his people shall reign with him in everlasting peace and happiness. (See Rev. xxi.) Chap. III. Ver. 1. In those days — (According to the preceding prophecy, this must refer to the times of the Gospel, and the final restoration of the Jews. ]— Bagster. Ver. 2. The. valley of Jehoshaphat.- -Is literally “ the valley of God’s judg- ment,” and ought not, perhaps, to be confined to any one spot ; though there is probably an allusion to the victory of Jehoshaphat. Newcome. 2 Chron. xxii. 8. Ver. 3. Then have cast lots .— A spirit of gambling seems to have prevailed very early in tne world, and there is no doubt but human life has often been the subject of such speculations, in the case of slaves. Sir John Chardin says, “In Mingrelia, they often sell children for provisions and foi wine. Harmer. Ver. 4. Tyre and. Zidon .— See Jer. xxv. 20— 30. Ver. 6. To the Grecians . — See margin ; also Ezck. xxvu. 13, and note. Ver. 8. I ivill sell your sons . — This might happen on occasion oi Judas Maccabeus's victories. 1 Macc. v. 3, 7, 15, 21. .. Ver. 10 . Beat your ploughshares— See margin ; aiso Isa. ii. 4. Ver. 12. Jehoshaphat— [Jehoshaphat denotes the Judgment of the Lord and is probably a descriptive name of the same place which bt. Jonn can Armageddon.]-- Bagster. God will be known in judgment. JOEL.— CHAP. III. full, the fats overflow ; for their wickedness is great. H Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of 0 de- cision : for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The Lord also shall roar p out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the ’ heavens and the earth shall shake : r but the Lord will be the ■ hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 So shall ye know that I am the Lora your God dwelling ‘in Zion my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be u holy, and there shall no strangers v pass through her any more. Zec.14.8. Re.22.1. z or, abide. a Is.33.20. Am. 9. 15. A. M. clr. 3314. B. C. cir. <>90. o or, conci- sion : or, threshing. p Je. '25.30, 31. q Hag.2 6. r Pa.46.1, St c. 8 place of repair ; or, h>v- hour. t ver.2l. u holiness. v Is. 35.8,9. Na.1.15. Zee. 14.21 He. 21. 27. w Am. 9.13. x go. y Is.30.25. Ezc.47.2, See. 1 1 the LORD that. d Eze. 48.35. Re.21.a Ver. 13. The fats. — Neiocome, “ vats.” See Rev. xiv. 15—20. Ver. 14. Valley of decision.— Newcome, “ excision.” Jonathan's Targum renders this, “ The valley of the division of Judgment ;” i. e. the judgment of the Lord, as ver. 2. Chandler. Ver. 16. Roar out of Zion.— Jer. xxv. 30. The hope of— Neiocome, “ A refuge to.” Ver. 17. My holy mountain. — Heb. “ The mountain of my holiness.” Ver. 18. In that day.— [.Either the times of the Messiah, or Jerusalem after His blessing upon the rhwe] t. 18 H And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains "shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall ’flow with > wa- ters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall 1 dwell 11 for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will cleanse b their blood that I have not cleansed: c for the d Lord dwelleth in Zion. I its final restoration, are here described, when a golden age will commence and the knowledge of God be again diffused from it. I —Bagater. Drop down new wine— See Arnos ix. 13. A fountain shall come forth. &c.— See Ezek. xlvii. l, &c. Valley of Shittim— In the plains of Moat), near Jordan. Num. xxxiii. 49. Ver. 21. I will cleanse. — Neiocome , “Avenge.” That is, God will cleanse the world from blood-guiltiness, by avenging Jus people of their enemies. See Prov. xviii. 20.; xix. 2, &c. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF JOEL. [The style of Joel is allowed by the most competent judges to be inimitably beautiful ; containing such an assemblage of elegance, pathos, and sublimity, as can be found in few remains of ancient poetry. “ The style of Joel,” says Bishop Lowth, “ differs much from that of Hosea ; but, though of a different kind, is equally poetical. It is elegant, perspicuous, clear, diffusive, and flowing; and, at the same time, very sublime, nervous, and animated. He displays the whole power of poetic description in the first and second chap- ters ; and at the same time his fondness lor metaphors, comparisons, and alle- gories ; nor is the connexion of his subjects less remarkable than the graces of his diction. It is not to be denied that in some places he is very obscure ; which every attentive reader will perceive, especially in the end of liis pro- phecy.’ 1 This obscurity, however, does not proceed from the language, which is uncommonly perspicuous, but wholly from the nature of the subjects ; the beauties of his expression being somewhat shaded by allusions to circum- stances yet unfulfilled. His descriptions are highly animated ; and his lan- guage, in force, and often in sound, well adapted to his subject. The contex- ture of the prophecy in the first and second chapters is extremely curious, and wrought up with admirable force and beauty ; in which by an animated repre- sentation he anticipates the scenes of misery which lowered over Judea. It is generally supposed, that the prophet blends two subjects of affliction in one general consideration, or beautiful allegory ; and that, under the devastation to be produced by locusts in the vegetable world, he portrays the more dis- tant calamities to be inflicted by the armies of the Chaldeans in their inva- sion of Judea. Hence, probably, the studied ambiguity of some of the ex- pressions ; while the double destruction to be effected by these fearful insects, and those enemies of which tJiey were the harbingers, is painted with the most expressive force, in terms reciprocally metaphorical, and admirably adapted to the twofold character of the descriptions. These predictions are followed by a more general denunciation of God’s vengeance, delivered with such force and aggravation of circumstances, as to he in some measure de- scriptive of that final judgment, which some temporal dispensatipns of Provi- dence may be said to prefigure. These several declarations are intermingled with earnest exhortations to solemn fasting, repentance, and prayer, and with promises of deliverance and returning prosperity productive of Gospel bless- ings ; in treating of which, be foretels, in the clearest terms, the general effu- sion of the Holy Spirit, which was to characterize the Gospel dispensation, predicting, in the fullest and plainest manner, the awful consequences of ob- stinately rejecting the sacred influence, especially to the Jews, the event of which, to this day, fully attests his Divine inspiration. In conclusion, he fore- tels the righteous judgments of God in the final excision of his enemies, and the glorious 9tate of prosperity to be yet enjoyed by the church ; representing its perfections and blessings under the poetic emblems of a golden age.]— II. THE BOOK OF AMOS. Amos was contemporary with Hosea. though he did not. probably, live so long. He was not educated in the Schools of the Prophets, founded by Sa- muel ; but was called to the prophetic office from being a shepherd and herds- man in Tekoa, in the territory of Judah, and sent to exhort the people of Is- rael to repentance.— I He began to prophesy two years before the earthquake which happened in the reign of Uzziah king of Judah ; which Josephus, (Ant. 1. ix. chap. 9.) with mo9t ancient and modem commentators, refers to that prince’s invasion of the priest’s office, when he attempted to offer incense to the Lord. The book of Amos consists of nine chapters, of which Calmet and others think that the seventh is the first in order of time; in which the prophet denounces the judgments o t' God on Syria, Philistia, Tyre. Edom, and Ammon, for their cruelty and oppression of Israel ; upon Moab, for his impo- tent revenge on the dead body of the king of Edom ; on Judah, for his con- tempt of God's law ; and on Israel, for idolatry, iniquity, and ingratitude ; he then expostulates with Israel and Judah, warning them of approaching judg- ments ; calls the Philistines and Egyptians to behold the punishment of Sa- maria and the ten tribes for their sms ; reproves the Israelites for luxury and oppression, warning them to prepare to meet God , who is about to execute vengeance upon them ; laments over the destruction of Israel, exhorting them CHAPTER I. I Amos showeth God’9 Judgment upon Syria, 6 upon the Philistines, 9 upon Tyrus, 11 upon Edom, 13 upon Ammon. T HE words of Amos, who was among the herdmen 1 of b Tekoa, which he saw con- cerning Israel in the days c of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the d earthquake. 2 And he said, The Lord will 'roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; to renounce their idols and to seek the Lord ; declares the judgments of God on the scornful, presumptuous, and hypocritical Israelites, whom God sen- tences to captivity : denounces the most terrible calamities on the self-indul- gent and self-confident Jews and Israelites ; averts by prayer the judgments ol the grasshoppers and fire, and shows, by a wall and plumb-lino, the strict jus- tice of God in Israel’s punishment. Being accused to Jeroboam by Amaziah the priest, and forbidden to proi>hesy in Bethel, he shows how God called him to prophesy, and predicts the ruin of Amaziah and his family ; under u vision of a basket of summer-fruit, he shows the speedy ruin of Israel ; reproves their oppression and injustice: shows the complete ruin of Israel, and threat- ens a famine of the word of God ; he then declares the certainty of the judg- ments to be inflicted on Israel, though a remnant shall be preserved, and pre- dicts the blessings of Messiah's kingdom, and the conversion and restoration of Israel.]— Bagster. Several of this Prophet’s images are borrowed from those rural objects with which he was familiar. Hi9 sentiments are frequentlj lofty, and his style beautiful, as well as plain. “ The same celestial Spirit, (says Bishop Lowth,) actuated Isaiah and Daniel in the court, and Amos in the sheep-fold ; . . . . occasionally employing the natural eloquence of some, and occasionally making others eloquent.” A. M. cir. 3217. B.C.cir.787. i c.7.14 b 2 Ch.20.20 c Ho.l.l. d Zee. 14.5. e Je. 25.30. and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither. 3 TT Thus saith the Lord ; For three trans- gressions of Damascus, f and for four, I will not s turn away the h punishment thereof; be- cause * they have threshed Gilead with thresh- ing instruments of iron : 4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. Chap. I. Ver. 1—15. God’s judgments against several hea- then nations. — This chapter denounces judgments against se- veral nations bordering on Palestine, inimical to the Jews. The same judgments were predicted by other prophets, and had their accomplishment bv degrees, at different periods, and oy different instruments. The prophecy against the Syrians, whose capital was Damascus, was fulfilled by the king of As- syria. (2 Kings x vi. 9.) Those against the Philistines by He- Chap. I. Ver. 1. Tekoa— A city of Judah. Ver. 3. Not turn away. &c.--That is, says Newcome, not rescue it from punishment. Threshing internments.— Naocome, " Wains of iron ” 950 zekiah, 2 Kings xviii. 8; and by Uzziah, 2 Chr. xxvi. 6.— All Syria was also subdued by Pharaoh-Necho, and again by Ne- buchadnezzar. who took Tyre, as did afterwards Alexander Nebuchadnezzar also subdued the Edomites, Jer. xxv. 9, 21 and xxvii. 3, 6. Judas Maccabeus gained fresh victories oyer them, 1 Mac. v. 3. ; and Hyrcanus brought them under entire subjection. The Ammonites were likewise conquered by Ne- buchadnezzar. (Jer. xxvii. 3- 6.) which were driven over the com to thresh it, tlsa. xxviii. 27, 2S.) ar: . i which here mark the oppressions which tiiev inflicted on Israel. See 2 Kmgs X 32. 33. Gel's wrath against Moat , AMOS. — CHAP. II. Judah , and Israel. b l will break i also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from k the plain of Avon, and him that holdeth the sceptre from : the house of Eden : and the people of Syria shall so m into captivity unto Kir, saiththe Lord. 6 Thus saith the Lord; For three trans- gressions of " Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they ° carried away captive the whole cap- tivity, to deliver them up to Edom: 7 But p I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof : S And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn my hand against Ekron : and the remnant of the Phi- listines « shall perish, saith the Lord God. 9][Thus saith the Lord; For three trans- gressions of r Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the 8 brotherly covenant : 10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Ty- rus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. 11 IT Thus saith the Lord; For three trans- gressions of * Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and " did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear T perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: 12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. 13 H Thus saith the Lord ; For three trans- gressions of the children of w Ammon, and for four. I will not turn aw T ay the punishment thereof; because they have x ripped up * the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border : 11 But I wall kindle a fire in the wall of Rab- bah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tem- pest in the day of the whirlwind: 15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord. CHAPTER II. „ „ J t f Go I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. 14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver i him- self : The earthquake which the Prophet takes for his sera is re- ferred to Zecn. xiv. 5., (and probably in Isaiah v. 25.) Josephus ascribes it to Uzziah’s invasion of the priestly office. (See 2 Chron. xxvi. 16.) Chap. II. Vor. 1 —16. God's judgments against Moab , Ju- dah, and Israel.— It is observable, that though sin is not screened in any nation or individual, it is never so severely cen- sured as when found among the professors of true religion. The knowledge of God, and the blessings he bestows on those who know him, are great aggravations of their guilt; but we have here some circumstances peculiarly aggravating. The wicked Jews, after taking pledges from their brethren of the garments or coverlets in which they slept, instead of returning them at night, as they ought to have done, (F.xod. xxii. 26. 27.) took them with them to their idol temples to lounge or sleep on, where they ought never to have entered. The tempting their Nazarites with wine, which they knew to be forbidden, is a circumstance to which Henry compares the conduct of those who attempt to draw young professors into parties of mirth and pleasure. “Multitudes of young men (says he) that Ver. 5. Break the bar.—’ The LXX., Syriac, Newcome, &c. read “bars i e. force the pates. Compare Jer. li. 30. Lam. Li. 9. Nahum iii. 13 .—Plain of Aren. -[Probably Heliopolis, now Baalbek, situated between Libanusand Antilibanus, 56 miles north-west of Damascus, according to Antoninus, anti celebrated for its temple of the Sun. The house of Eden.— Probably the villa“eof.E(/cn m Mount Lebanon, marks the site of this place. It is delight- fully 0 simated bv the side of a most rich and cultivated valley, contains about 400 or 5C0 lamilies, and is, according to modern authorities, about 20 miles south-east of Tripoli, andsmiles from the cedars.)— Eagster. Ver. 6. The a hole captivity —The Philistines seized the Israelites, and gold them for slaves to the Edomites. Boothroyd. See 2 Chron. xxi. 16 . Ver. it. For three transgressions.— I This form of speech was neitherun- ftequent nor inelegant, denoting abundance, or excess, — very, very, exceed- ingly ■ simi'ar to the “ O thrice and four times happy I” of the Greeks and Romans, which was employed hy the most correct writers of antiquity. See Horner. Odyss. Virgil, Tit. Pausanias, and Senaca.X— Bagster. Did cast off a, pity. — See margin. “ The Edomites ever continued the most bit- ter enemies of Israel." Boothroyd. See2 Chron. xxviii. 17. Ye- vs. Kipped up the women.— See margin. Of this fact wehave no par- ticu'ar - tateiiient : but the act was not uncommon in the baibarous wars of those times See 2 Kings xv 16 . Chap. li. Ver. 1. Burned the bones of the king of Edom into time— The Chaldee s v<, " To plaster the walls of hishouse (the king of Edom’s) with it." S r t h’l Rycuut says, that the wall of Philadelphia, (in Natolia) was made of li-- bones of Hie liesicgcd by the prince who took it by storm. fir lent Cl st. > o. 345. Ver. 2. With the sound of the trumpet— That is, in war. Ver. 3. I will cut off the judge— That is, the chief magistrate. Neiocrrme. Ver. 4. Their lies.— Either their false gods, as Newcome, or perhaps tlieir false prophets. Ver. 6. Transgressions of Israel.— \ Amos, says Archbishop Newcome. first prophesies against the Syrians, Philistines Tynans, Edomites, Ammon- ites, and Moabites, who dwelt in the neighbourhood of the twelve tribes, and had occasionally become their enemies and persecutors. Having thus not only taught his countrymen, that the providence of God extended to other nations, but conciliated attention to himself hy such interesting predictions, he briefly mentions the idolatrous practices, and consequent, destruction of Judah, and then passes on to his proper subject, which was to exhort and reprove the kingdom of Israel, and to denounce against it the Divine judgments.) — B. A pair of shoes— Newcome, “ sandals.” Ver. 7. That pant after, &c. — Newcome, " They bruise the head of the poor in the dust,” &c. So Boothroyd. Same maid. — Neiocome, “ damsel.” My holy name . — Heb. “ The name of my holiness." Ver. 8. And they lay themselves down, (fee.— Newcome, “ And they stretch themselves on garments, orbed clothes, taken to pledge, nearevery altar.” They drink the wine of the condemned. — See margin. Newcome thinks this refers to wine procured by unjust mulcts, or fines. The LXX. says, they “drink wine earned hy their slanders.” Chaldee, “ Wine of rapine.” Such was the wine of Nabaoth’s vineyard. 1 Kings xxi. 15. Ver. 13. Behold, I am. pressed, . — See margin. The Chaldee and Syriac ver- sions. also CasteH. Houbiga.vt , Newcome, &r. give this verb an active signi- fication See Isa xxviii. 27. 2S 95 liif.i’a judgment against Israel. AMOS. — CHAP. III., IV. He reproveth Israel. 15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the oow; and he that is swift k of foot shall not deliver himself : neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. 16 And he that is i courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord. CHAPTER 111. * Tne necessity of God’» Juilgme it ugainut Israel. 9 The publication ot it, with the causes thereof. H EAR this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, 2 You* only have I known of all the families of the earth : therefore I will b punish you for all your iniquities. 3 Can two walk together, except they be * agreed ? * 4 Will a lion roar ll in the forest, when he hath no prey ? will a young lion ' cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? 5 Can a bird fall in a snare f upon the earth, where no gin is for him ? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all ? 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not s be afraid ? b shall there be evil in a city, < and the Lord hath not done it? 7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth ) his secret unto his servants the prophets. 8 The lion k hath roared, who will not fear ? the Lord God hath spoken, > who can but pro- phesy ? 9 H Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, As- semble yourselves upon the mountains of Sa- maria. and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the "oppressed in the midst thereof. 10 For they know not " to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and 0 robbery in their palaces. 11 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; An adversary p there shall be even round about the A. M. rU 3x17. 0. C. Au4. T3t. k JCc.tf.ll. 1 litioilgof a Pa.l47.20. b visit upon c 2 Co. 6. 14, 15. d Pi.104.2l. e eive forth hit voice. f Kc.9.12. g or, run together. h la. 45. 7. i or, and shall not the LORD do some- what 7 1 Ge.6.13. 18.17. Pg.25.14. Jn 15.15. k Re.5.5. 1 Je.20.9. 1 Co.9.16. m or, op- pressions. n Je.4.22. o or, spoiL p 2Ki. 17.3,6 18.9,11. q deliver eth. r Ro.ll.4,5. s or, on the bed's feet. t or , punish Israel for . u Ho.10.14, 15. r Je.SG.22. w Ju.3.20. x lKi.22.39. a Pa. 28. 12. b Pa.89.35. c Je.16.16. d Eze. 12.5, 12 . e or, cast away the things of. f c.3.14. g Ho.4.15. 12 , 11 . h Nu. 28.3, 4. i De. 14.28. j years of days. k by burn- ing. 1 Le.7.13. in Le.22.18, 21 . n so ye love. o Mat.23 23. p Eze. 16. 27. land ; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled. 12 Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd ‘itaketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear ; so r shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and * in Damascus in a couch. 13 Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob saith the Lord God, the God of hosts, 14 That in the day that I shall ‘visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of u Beth-el : and the horns of the altar shall be cut oft", and fall to the ground. 15 And I will smite the 'winter-house with the w summer-house; and the houses of ivory x shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord. CHAPTER IV. 1 He reproveth Israel for oppression, 4 for idolatry, 6 and for their lncorrigiblenese. H EAR this word, ye kine “of Baslian, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink. 2 The Lord God hath sworn by his b holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with c hooks, and your posterity with fish-hooks. 3 And ye shall go out at the d breaches, every cow at that which is before her ; and ye shall ' cast them into the palace, saith the Lord. 4 ^ Come to r Beth-el, and transgress ; at Gilgal e multiply transgressions; and bring your sacrifices h every morning, and your tithes i after i three years: 5 And offer k a sacrifice of thanksgiving 1 with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free-offerings : for 11 this liketh °you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God. 6 Tf And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want p of bread in all your places : yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 7 And also I have withholden the rain from have bid fair for eminent professors of religion, have erred through wine, and been undone for ever.” Chap. III. Ver. 1 — 15. God’s judgments denounced more especially against Israel.—' This chapter begins with reproving the twelve tribes in general, and then particularly the kingdom of Israel, whose capital was Samaria. He tells them, that while they were at variance with God, they had no right to ex- pect favour from him; but ought rather to tremble at his threatenings, as men do at the roaring of a lion. Nor should they flatter themselves with exemption from punishment on account of privileges which they had abused. We must never infer, from former deliverances, that we may therefore go on to sin with impunity. On the contrary, to Israel God says, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth that is, you only have I distinguished by peculiar favours, and, “you, Ver. 16. He that U courageous— See margin. Archbishop Newcome sup- poses tiiat the last four verses of this chapter refer to the earthquake men- tioned in the close of ver. I. Chap. III. Ver. 4. Will a lion roar, &c. — Naturalists assert, that when the lion sees bis prey, and also when he seizes on it, he roars. Newcome. Ver. 6. The people not be afraid l— See margin ; i. e. through fear, as is common on alarm being given. And the Lori hath not done iC!—[\. e. Shall there be any evil, or calamity, (not moral evil,) inflicted on a wicked city, which does not proceed from me, as the effect of my wrath ? These animated interrogatives were intended to convince the people that they had cause for alarm, as their monstrous iniquities called down the vengeance of God to punish them with these calamities.]— Bagster. Ver. 7. Surely the Lord will do nothing, but, &c. — Grammarians call this the Heh. future frequentative, “ is wont to do,” implying, that the Lord usu- ally gave warning of his judgments by the prophets. Ver. 8. Who can but prophesy— Compare Ps. lxviii. 2. Ver. to. Who store up violence, &c. — Newcome, 11 Who treasure up rapine and spoil.” &c. Ver 12. As the shepherd taketh.— See margin ; also 1 Sam. xvii. 34, 35. .4 piece of an ear. — Dr. Russell, (at Aleppo,) mentions a species of goats, with ears a foot long. Harmer. In the corner of a bed— Or divan. Har- mcr argues that this was considered as the most honourable place. In Da- mascus.— This prophecy may have been delivered when Jeroboam II. was in possession of Damascus, 2 Kings xiv. 28. In a couch.— See margin. New- come, “ On the sideof a couch Boothroyd. “ On a damascene,” an elegant piece of furniture, manufactured at Damascus. Michaelis. Ver. 15. Houses of ivory— That is, elegantly inlaid (or, as some think, overlaid) with ivory. See Ps xiv. 8. and note. Chap. IV. Ver. 1. Ye kine of Bashon.—L” Biuyn describes the ladies of 052 therefore, will I punish for all your iniquities.” Other neigh- bouring nations are then called upon to observe, and take warning from these awful judgments, from which only a small remnant should escape, like the remains of a lamb from the mouth of a lion. The close of the chapter shows, that the Israelites at this time had indulged in every Asiatic luxury; town and country houses, embellished with ivory, with divans and Damascenes of the most costly elegance. Chap. IV. Ver. 1 — 13. — We are not aware that there is any thing more abhorrent to the God of Israel than “ crushing the needy, or oppressing the poor,” and that to the end that their masters may indulge in luxury and drunkenness. Let those rich manufacturers consider this, who enjoy the luxu- ries mentioned in the last chapter; who have elegant houses, richly furnished, while the poor, from whose labours all theii the Levant as very extravagant in their dress and ornaments ; and Sir John Chardin gives the same account of the Persian ladies ; so that the poor were much oppressed to maintain the harems of the rich— [By the ‘‘kine of Ba- shan,” some understand the proud, luxurious matrons of Israel ; hut it is pro- bable the prophet speaks cataclirestically, and means the wealthy, effeminate, and profligate rulers and nobles of Samaria.]— Bagster. — — That say to their masters, (i. e. husbands, Gen. xviii. 12.) Bring us drink — Satisfy our craving desires. Ver. 2. And fish-hooks. — Newcome , “ Nets ;” i. e. different kinds of fishing tackle. The meaning is, that they should he taken away by force. Ver. 3. Every cow.— Boothroyd, “ Every fish Newcome. “Every one at that which is before it.” Perhaps these ladies, before called cores, (as their husbands are elsewhere called bulls of Bashnn,” Ps. xxii. 12.) may here ha compared to fishes, caught in the net of the harem ; but who, on the city be- ing taken, should make their escape severally, as they could, like fishes through a Broken net ; hut the greater part should be carried captive, perhaps into Armenia.- Ye shall cast them into the palace. — See margin. Newcome reads, “ I will cast it forth and utterly destroy it .” What ? Gesenius, who follows Kimchi, thinks the Hebrew word means u seraglio, (nr harem,) whicb is the female department of the palace ; but Boothroyd and others lake it for a proper name, “Armenia;” the sense is very doubtful, and we must sit leave it. Ver 4. Come to Beth-el. — IA bitter irony and sarcasm, addressed to the idolatrous Israelites. 1 — B. Eccles. xi. 9. Three years. — See margin. Boolh- royd. " Every three days.” See Deut. xxvi. 12. Ver. 5. Offer a sacrifice. — See margin. Newcome, “ Bum a thank -offering. ’* This liketh you. — " So you love (to do.”) Ver. 6. Cleanness of teeth.— [From want of food, occasioned by severe fn mine] — Bagster A Lamentation Jor Israel. AMOS. — CHAP. V. An exhortation to repentance. you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one cily, and caused it not to rain upon another city : one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. 8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not sa- tisfied : yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 9 I have smitten you with i blasting and mil- dew : r when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees in- creased, the palmer-worm devoured them: yet 5 have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 10 I have sent among you the pestilence 1 after u the manner of Egypt : your young men have I slain with the sword, v and have taken away your horses ; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew w Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand * plucked out of the burn- ing : yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Is- rael : and because I will do this unto thee, prepare ! to meet thy God, O Israel. 13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the z wind, and declareth unto man what is his a thought, that malceth the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name. CHAPTER V. 1 A lamentation for Israel. 4 An exhortation to repentance. 21 God rejecteth their hypocritical service. H EAR ye this word which I take up against you, even alamentation,0 house of Israel. 2 The 1 virgin of Israel is fallen ; she shall no more rise : she is forsaken upon her land ; there is none to raise her up. 3 For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave a hundred, and tiiat which went forth by a hun- dred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. 4 H For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek b ye me, and ye shall live : 5 But seek not c Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba : for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought. A. M. cir. 3217. B. C. cir. 187. q De. 23.22. r or, the multitude of. s Je.5.3. t or, in the way. u De.23.27, | 60. v with the captivity of 2 K 1.13. 7. wGe. 19.24, 25. x Zec.3.2. Jude 23. y Eze.13.5. Mat. 25. 13. z or, spirit. • I a Da.2.23. ! I a La-2.13, b Ia.55.6,7. ' c c .4.4. | _ 1 d spoil. j e Is.29.2l. f vineyards of desire. g Ja.5.6. h or, ran- som. \ Ps.26.9, 10 . J Is.29.2I. k Ex.3.7. c.6.10. 1 la. 55.2. m Ex. 32.30. 2 Ki. 19.4. Joel 2.14. n Je.9.17.. 19. o Joel 2.2. Zep.1.14, 6 Seek the Lord, and ye shall live ; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el. 7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, 8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth : The Lord is his name: 9 That strengthened] the d spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. 10 They hate c him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. 11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them ; ye have planted f pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink- wine of them. 12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the * just, they take a 11 i bribe, and they turn aside i the poor in the gate from their right. 13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence k in that time ; for it is an evil time. 14 Seek i good, and not evil, that ye may live : and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. 15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and es- tablish judgment in the gate : it m maybe that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord. saith thus; Wailin gshallbe in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas ! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such "as are skilful of lamenta- tion to wailing. 17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord. 18 Wo unto you that desire the day of the Lord ! to what end is it for you ? the 0 day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him ; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, wealth has been derived, are pining in their garrets, surround- ed with needy families. “Shall not I visit for these things? saith the Lord.” Yes; the fat “kine of Bashan,” the ladies of their seraglios, (as Le Bruyn explains it.) shall be-dragged, as with fish-hoolcs, from their palaces, and shall be visited with famine and pestilence, with the sword and with the tempest. (See notes.) This chapter traces a close connexion between luxurious indulgence in the rich, and criminal oppression of the poor; between luxury also and idolatry. When Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked against the divine ordinances, and spurned against restraint, even from the Almighty. But it is hard for us to kick against the pricks. As idleness, and luxury, and vice, brought down the fiery tempest that destroyed Sodom ; so will the same crimes (sooner or later) insure the ruin of any nation or individual: very solemn, therefore, is the warning here given, “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” Chap. V. \ er. 1 —27. The Prophet laments over Israel , and , Ver. 9 When your gardens. &c. — Marc. “ The multitude of your gardens,” ] eeo The palmer -w nr m — Or locust. Sec note on Ex. x. 4. and Joel i. 4. Ver to. Wf l er the manner of Egypt. — The unwholesome effluvia, on the subsiding of the Xile, olten occasions pestilence: See Dent. vii. 15. Ver. 13. That 'maketh the morning darkness, &c. — Perhaps the sense may ' be. ‘‘He wa] kef h forth in the early dawn, stepping from mountain to moun- tain. arrayed in clouds and vapours.” See Ps. xcvii. 2.; civ. 3 . Chap. V, Ver. 2. Shall no more rise.—Boothroyd. , “She cannot rise;” I nor shall he raised by any human power, till the time comes that God himself i will raise her. See chap. ix. 15. Joel iii. 20 . Ver. 3. The city that went out, &c. — The meaning is, the population shall . be reduced to a tenth of what it had been. Ver. 5. ail gal, &c.— [There is a 'paronomasia here both on the letters and 120 exhorts them to repentance— This chapter opens with a lamen- tation over the sins and miseries of the house of Israel ; in which the prophet complains bitterly of their idolatry, ana of their cruel oppression of the poor. He then exhorts them to repentance and reform ; and to excite them thereto, the Lord himself is introduced as expressing, in very strong terms, his abhorrence of their gross hypocrisy, in offering sacrifices with sweet incense and melodious music, while, at the same time, their hearts were attached to their idols. In the latter verses of the chapter occurs a passage which has been very differently interpreted. It seems to us a fact incontrovertible, that the Jews were tinctured with idolatry, even from their coming up out of Egypt, and to which probably they were. often excited by the mixed multitude which came up from Egypt with them. (Exod. xii. 33.) The first open indication of this appears in the fact of the golden calf; (Exod. xxxii.) and though doubt- less Moses was careful to repress every appearance of idola- try, it is very evident that they had their secret idols, (conceal- words : haggUgal galoh yigleh oovaith el yiheyeh leawen , “ Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el (the house of God) shall come to nought,’ or Aveh, i. e. Beth-aven, the house of iniquity.]— Bagster. . Ver. 8. The seven stars and Orion — (Heb. Cimah and Cecil.) See Joii ix. 9.: xxxviii. 31, 32, and notes. That tumeth; &c. — That is, produceth the alternate succession of day and night. Ver. 11. Burdens of wheat — By way of bribes, as in next verse. Ver. 19. As if a man went into the house , (for safety,) and when he leaned his hand on the wall , a serpent hit him. — Serpents often concealed them- selves in the walls of old buildings. Warmer. — [They should go from one evil lo another. “ Thinking to avoid Charybdis, he fell into Scylla. 1~ Bagster Ver. 20. Day of the Lord.— A strong asseveration is beautifu'ly conveyed in this interrogation.— Darkness is put for calamity, aDd light foi prosperity. The wantonness of Israel, AMOS.— CHAP. VI., Vll. shall be plagued with desola'ian. and not light? even very dark, and no bright- ness in it? 21 1[ I hate, I despise your feast days, and 1 will not smell Pin your solemn assemblies. 22 Though ye offer me burnt-offerings and your meat-offerings, I •> will not accept them: neither will I regard the r peace-offerings of your fat beasts. 23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; fori willnot hearthe melody of thy viols. 24 But ■ let judgment 1 run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. 25 Have ye offered unto me “sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel ? 26 But ye have borne ’ the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. 27 Therefore will I cause you to go into cap- tivity beyond w Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts. CHAPTER VI. • The wantonnesa of Israel, 7 shall be plagued with desolation, 12 and their incorrigi- blenesa. W O to them that “ areatease b in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named c chief d of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came ! 2 Pass ye unto 'Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great : then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they bet- ter than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? 3 Ye that put far away f the evil day, and cause the s seat of violence to come near ; 4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and h stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall ; 5 That f chant to the sound of the ) viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like k David ; 6 That drink 'wine in bowls, and anoint A. M. 3217. II. C. 7K7. p or, i/uur holy *. 20 . 8 , 24. v or,.Sfc- cuth your Icing. w 2 Ki.17.6. a or, secure. b 1 Pe.5.7. c or, first. fruits. d I*.M. e Is. 10.9. f Eze.12. 27. g or, habi- tations. h or, abound with su- perflui- ties. i or, qua- ver. ) Is. 5. 12. k 1 Ch.23.5. 1 or, in boiols of wine. m breach. n tie. 49.22. o Je.51.14. p Ps. 106.40. q Ps.47.4. r the ful- ness thereof. 8 c.5.13. t or, they will not , or, have not. u or, drop- pings. v c.5.7. w Ho. 10. 4. x Je.5.15. y Nu.34.8. 1 Ki.8.6o. z or, val- ley. a or, green worms. themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the m affliction of ’’Joseph. 7 If Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that gocuptive,and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. 8 The Lord God hath sworn by 0 himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor rilie excel- lency ‘'of Jacob, and hate his palaces: there- fore will I deliver up the city with all r that is therein. 9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die. 10 And a man’s uncle shall take him up, anil he that burnetii him, to bring out the oones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall ho say, Hold k thy tongue : for > we may not make mention of the name of the Lord. 11 For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with “breaches, and the little house with clefts. 12 II Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plough there with oxen ? for ye have turn- ed judgment v into gall, and the fruit of right- eousness into "hemlock: 13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength ? 14 But, behold, I will x raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the Lord the God of hosts ; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamath unto y the 1 river of the wilderness. CHAPTER VII. 1 The Judgments of the grasshoppers. 4 and of the fire, are diverted by the prayer of Amos. 7 By the wall of a plumb-line is signified the rejection of Israel. 10 Aina- ziah complaineih of Amos. 14 Amos showeth his calling, 16 and Amaziah’s judgment. HPHUS hath the Lord God showed unto me; -L and, behold, he formed a grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the lattei growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth af- ter the king’s mowings. ed probably a9 artfully as Rachel’s :) so that it was not to the Lord aZone, as Dr. Doddridge judiciously expresses it, that they offered sacrifice; but they mixed the worship of Moloch, or Baal, or Remphan, with the worship of Jehovah; and this was their prevailing sin even from the Exodus to the captivity in Babylon. Nor can this appear incredible to those who know the human heart ; since we find that, even in the pre- sent day, of those who call themselves Christians, a great majority are no less prone to unite the service of God and Mammon. (Matt. vi. 24.) Chap. VI. Ver. 1—14. The luxury, gay ety, vice , and incor- rigibleness of the people of Israel.— The Jews were undoubt- edly a musical people, and mingled their favourite art equally with their devotions and their amusements. Instead of seek- ing their pleasure in what pleased God, they seem to have sup- posed that God must needs be pleased with what pleased them — their noisy choruses of praise, and the melody of their viols, (or stringed instruments,) which probably performed the in- terludes between them. But music formed also a principal part of their amusements. Like too many Christians, they praised with equal ardour “Jehovah, Jove, or Lord.” The gods of beauty, wine, and mirth, have always been the favourite idols of men, who, while they indulge themselves in all the luxuries and gayeties of this life, “are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph.” Those however, who are thus equally insensible to their duty to Goa and their fellow-creatures, are announced to be among the first that shall be carried away into captivity in a foreign land. The latter part of the chapter, ver. 10, &c., is supposed to “describe the effects of famine and pestilence during the siegf- of Samaria when, contrary to the general custom of the Jews, the dead bodies were taken away to be burnt, to prevent the spreading of infection, and that without any funeral rites, or the usual lamentations. All was death and silence. (Chap, viii. 3.) See Abp. Newcome ; but, perhaps, the best comment on this melancholy scene may be found in the history of the plague in London, A. D. 1665. (See an interesting and in- structive account of this plague, written by De Foe, edited bv Rev. H. Stebbins.) Chap. VII. Ver. 1 — 17 . — God's judgments against Israel rc~ presented in three distinct visions. — In this chapter God repre- sents to Amos, by three several visions, the judgments he wa,« Ver. 21. / will not smell — That is, will not accept your incense. Ver. 25. Have ye offered?— Net o come, “ Did*ye ofter?” Ver. 26 . But ye have borne.— Bishop Loioth, “ Nay, but ye bare.” The tabernacle A portable shrine, or temple, in which the idol was contained. See Acts xix. 2J. And Chiun — [Chiun, in Arabic, kaiwan, most probably denotes Saturn ; rendered by the LXX. Raiphan, and in Acts vii. 43. Rem- phan, probably the same as the Coptic Rephan, of the same import. ]—B. — — The star of your god— Probably the figure of a star in the forehead of the idol, to show that : t was to represent some one of tlie heavenly bodies, as may be seen in many ancient coins. Ver. 27. Beyond Damascus — That is, into Assyria and Media. See 2 Kings xv. 29.; xvii. 6. Chap. VI. Ver. I. Named chief of the nations. — Newcome, “Named (after) the chief of the nations.” See note on Isa. xliv. 5. Probably they as- sumed the names of popular gods, or distinguished heroes. Ver. 2. Calneh A city in Babylonia.-; — Hamath — A Syrian city on the Orontes.- -Gath— A city ot the Philistines. These cities were probably famous for idolatry ; but what were they the better for that? Ver. 3. The seat of violence. — The seat of i»erverted judgment, is the seat of violence. Ver. 4 Beds of ivory. —[Either 9ofas to recline on at table, or beds to sleep on : which, among the ancieDts, were ornamented with ivorv inlaid, called lectos eburatos by Plautus, and lectos eburnos. by Horace.}— Bags! er. . Ver. 5. Invent to themselves instruments of music, like David— What instruments David invented is not known, nor does the expression appear to us intended as a censure on the royal prophet ; it might, however be vrrv ruloa 954 ble in these Jewish rulers to emulate his magnificence, in these times of dan ger and adversity: besides, David dedicated all his instruments to the service of God ; (1 Chron. xviii.) these men, to ther convivial pleasures. Ver. 6. Wine in bowls.— (This probably refers to the costliness and magni ficence of the drinking vessels, as well as to the Quantity drank. 1 —Bagsier With the chief ointments— Or rather, “with die choicest perfumes. See note on Ec.cles. vii. 1. Sol. Song, i. 3. Ver. 10 . A man's uncle.— Newcome . " Relation.” By the sides.— Booth royd. “ In a side room,” &c. Hold thy tongue— Gesenius, “Hush!”— (Archbishop Newcome says, that this obscure verse seems to describe the ef- fects of the famine and pestilence during the siege of Samaria. ]—Bagster. Ver. 12. Shall horses run upon the rocks, &c.— This seems to have l>een impracticable before the invention of shoes for horses. See Lowth in Ish ver. 28 Ver. 13. In a. thing of nought.— Their idols. See I Cor. viii. 4. Horns —That is, power, of which horns were the established emblem. Ver. 14. A nation— That is, the Assyrians. Hamath was on the north, and the river of I he desert, or of Egypt, on the south of Judea. Chap. VII. Ver. 1 . He formed grasshoppers.— See margin. (Heb. Gobai) generally considered to be a species of locusts, as Parkhvrst \ hinks, in their caterpillar state, wherein they do the greatest mischiefs. — [This is supposed to l ave been an emblem of the first invasion of the Assyrians.!— Bagvter. See .Harris's Nat. Hist, of the Bible, in Locust ; also, Harmer's Obs. Moiohigs — (Or rather, feedings ox grazings, as the people of the East make no buy. This was probably in the month of March, which is the only time of *be year that the Arabs to this day feed their horses with grass. ]—JJag8ter. ludgment oj the grasshoppers AMOfe. -CHAP. VIII. A And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech b thee: c by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is d small. 3 The Lord repented e for this- It shall not be, saith the Lord. 4 Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to con- tend by f fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. 5 Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for hers small. 6 The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God. 7 Tf Thus he showed me : and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou ? And I said, A plumb-line. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumb-line o in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by h them any more: 9 And the high places > of Isaac shall be de- solate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste ; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the j sword. 10 If Then Amaziah the priest k of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam iking of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel : the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. 12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there : 13 But prophesy not again any more at Beth- el : for m it is the king’s n chapel, and it is the 0 king’s court. 14 If Then answered Amos, and said to Ama- ziah, I Picas no prophet, neither was I a pro- phet’s son ; but I was a iherdman, and a ga- therer of r sycamore fruit : 15 And the Lord took me a as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, pro- phesy unto my people Israel. 16 f Now therefore hear thou the word of A. M 3217. B. C. 787. b Da. 9. 19. c or, who, of, or. for, Jacob shall stand. d Zee. 4. 10. e De.32.36. Jo.3.10. f He. 1.7. g Ln.2.8. h Mi. 7. 18. i Beer- Bheba. Ge.2G.25. 46.1. k 1 Ki.12. 32. 1 2 Ki. 14.23. m 1 Ki.12. 32.13.1 n or, sanc- tuary. o house of the king- dom. p Zee. 13.5. q c.1.1. r or, wild Jigs: s from be- hind. t Mi. 2.6. u Eze.21.2. v Je. 28.12, &c. 29.21, &c. \v Ho.4. 13. Zee. 14. 2. a Eze.7.2. b c.7.8. c c.5.23. d hotel. e c.6.9,10. f be silent, g Pr.30.14. h Mai. 1.13. i or, motith. k open. 1 De.25.13.. 16 . Mi.6.10, 11. m ■pervert- ing the balances of. Ho. 12 7. n Pr.20.23. p IIu.4.3. r F.ze 7.13, s Je.6.26. Israel's end typified. the Lord : Thou sayest, Prophesy * not against Israel, and drop u not thy word against the house of Isaac. 17 Therefore v thus saith the Lord ; thy wife shall be a harlot w in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land : and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land. CHAPTER VIII. 1 By a basket of summer fruit is showed the propinquity of Israel’* end. 4 Oppres- sion is reproved. 11 A famine of the word threatened- T HUS hath the Lord God showed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end a is come upon my people of Israel ; I b will not again pass by them any more. 3 And the songs c of the temple d shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there e shall be many dead bodies in every place ; they shall cast them forth f with silence. 4 Tf Hear this, O ye that swallow e up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, 5 Saying, When h will the ■ new moon be gone, that we may sell corn ? and the i sab- bath, that we may k set forth wheat, making the ephah i small, and the shekel great, and m falsifying the balances n by deceit ? 6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes ; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat ? 7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely, I will ° never forget any of their works. 8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn Ghat dwelleth therein ? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood ; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at i noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day : 10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and ail your songs into lamentations; and I will bring up r sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head ; and I will make it. as the a mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. 11 T[ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord about to bring on Israel; but most of which were averted or mitigated by the intercession of the Prophet. The first is a plague of locusts, threatep.ing to cut ofi' the hopes of the har- vest, by attacking it in the time of the second growth; the first luxuriances of the crop being probably m ,wed (or cut off) for the king’s horses. The second vision threatens a destruc- tive judgment by fire, which would consume a great part of the nation; and the third judgment, which is declared irrever- sible, a total overthrow of Israel, levelling the people, as it were, by a measuring line. The rest of the chapter is a de- nunciation of heavy judgments against Amaziah, priest of Bethel, who had brought an accusation to the king against this Prophet. This Amaziah was one of the courtly priests of Jeroboam’s calves, and felt quite indignant that the rural Pro- ohet should presume to interfere in his department : “It is the king’s chapel,” and in “ the king’s court.” But the herdsman of Tekoah puts to shame the priest of Bethel. Chap. VIII. Ver. 1 — 14. A fourth vision representing the near approach of Israel’s ruin . — A basket of ripe “summer fruits,” here represents, in one view, Israel’s ripeness for ruin, and the near approach of God’s vindictive judgments. The Prophet then proceeds to reprove them for their oppression and injustice, which appears to have been their ruling sin, and to have eaten up the vitals of their religion; so that, even while they were engaged in public worship, they were anxious for it to be over ; and were ready to take every advantage of the poor to enrich and aggrandize themselves. The Prophet then foretels, that in the time of one of their solemn festivals, the sky should be darkened by a solar eclipse, (in those days thought ominous,) which should turn their joy into mourning, Ver. 3. The Lord repented.— See exposition of Gen. vi. 1 — 7. Ver. 4. Contend by fire.—[ This is supposed Jo denote the invasion of Tig- lath-pilescr, which threatened entire destruction. ]— Bagster. It devoured the great deey.—' This seems to have been a subterraneous fire, which raised up a part of the bottom of the sea Ver. 8. Behold , I will set a plumb-line , &c. — ' That is, according to New- come, “I will destroy and level, as it were, by a line.,’ See 2 Sam. xviii. 2. 2 Kings xxi. 13. [Thi> was an emblem of strict justice; and intimated that God would now visit them according to their iniquities. 1 —Bagster. Ver. 10. Amos hath conspired— [ This was truly a lying prophet : there was not one won! of truth in his message to Jeroboam . ]— Bagster. Ver. 13. Prophesy not anymore. — Heb. “Add not to prophecy?” For it is the king's chapel.— See margin. Beth-el— Signifies “ the house of God.” Ver. 14. J was no prophet— Not brought up at the college, &c. A ga- therer (Harmer, “ a dresser”) of sycamore fruit (or wild figs.) This fruit grows from the tree, without leaves, and requires skill in dressing it. to make it good. (Rather, as bolais is rendered by the LXX. and Vulgate, “ u scrap- ing," or a scraper of sycamores : for the fruit does not ripen till it is rubbed with iron combs. See Theophrastus, Pliny, and Hasselquist.]— Bagster. Chap. VIII. Ver. l. A basket of summer fruit— Neio come, “ Of /a/e sum- mer fruits ;” by which we understand, such as had remained to nearly the end of the season, and were full ripe, and fast approaching to decay ; an apt re- presentation of Israel at this period. Ver. 2. End is come.—[ There is here not only an allusion to the nature of the summer fruit, which must be eaten as soon as gathered, hut also a paro- nomasia upon the words kayitz , “ summer fruit,” and ketz , “ an end.”l — B. Ver. 3. There shall be many dead , &c . — We should rather read, (“ So) ma- nv dead bodies .... (that) they shall be cast forth with silence.” Compare chap. vi. 10. _ . Ver. 5. Set forth wheat— That is, exhibit it for sale on the new moon, or sabbath. Ver. 6. The poor for silver.— See chap. ii. 6. ...... Ver. 8. Land tremble. — lit is supposed that an earthquake is here intended ; the rising and falling of the ground with a wave-like motion, and its leaving its proper place and bounds, in consequence of an earthquake, being jy 3 yy and beautifully compared to the swelling, overflowing, and subsiding oitne Nile. 1 Rise up as a flood— That is, like the inundation ot the Nile .— Bt cast down and drm.vned. — Newcome, “ Sink down as the river oi Egypt. Ver. 9. The sun to go down at noon. — [This is supposed to reier to an 955 Certainty of Israel's deeolation. AMOS. — CHAP. IX. The restoration if the tabernacle. Gno. that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for w ater, but \ of hearing the words of the Loud : 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for “ thirst. 14 They that swear v by the sin "of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth ; and, The 11 manner of Beer-sheba ^liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again. CHAPTER IX. I The certainty of the desolation. 1 1 The reflioring of the tabernacle of David. J SAW the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the “ lintel of the door, that the posts may shake : and b cut them in the ‘head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword : he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered., 2 Though d they dig into hell, thence shall my hand take them ; though they climb up to ' heaven, thence will I bring them down: 3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence ; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I com- mand the serpent, and he shall bite 'them : 4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence f will I command the sword, and it shall slay them : and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. 5 And the Lord God of hosts is he that touch- eth the land, and it shall s melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn : and it shall rise up wholly like a flood ; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. 6 It is he that buildeth his 11 stories in the heaven, and hath founded his i troop in the A. M. 3217. L J C. 7 07 l P».74.9. u Pa.63.1. Is. 1 1. 17.. 20 . v Ho. 1.15. w De.9.2l. x way. Ac.9.2. 19.9,23. y c.5.5. a or, chap- iter ■, or, knop. b or, wound. c Ps.68.21. d Ps. 139.8.. 10. e Ob. 4. f De. 28.65. Eze.5.12. g Mi. 1.4. h ascen- sions, or, spheres. i or, bun- dle. J Je.47.4. k De.4.31. 1 cause to move. m stone. n Ac. 15. 15. 17. n hedge, cr, wall. p upon whom my name is called. q Le.26.5. r draweth forth. s Joel 3.18, 20 . u Eze.36.33. v Je.32.4l. earth ; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth : The Loud is his name. 7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord. Have not 1 brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines 'from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from oflfthefaceoftheearth; savingthatl will nof'ut- terly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. 9 For, lo, 1 will command, and I will i sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least m grain fall upon the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not over- take nor prevent us. 11 H In n that day will I raise up the taberna- cle of David that is fallen, and 0 close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, p which are call- ed by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. 13 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that i the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that r soweth seed ; and £ the mountains shall drop 1 sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14 And u I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and^they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof ; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will v plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God. and be a sign of the calamities here predicted. He concludes with threatening a famine of the word of God, which they now made so light of, as to persecute the Prophet by whom it was delivered. Abp. Usher states that there was, about eleven years after Amos prophesied, a great eclipse of the sun, at the feast of tabernacles, which may be here alluded to; but the passage appears to us chiefly to refer to Israel’s political de- cline as a nation, while Judah still subsisted for full 150 years longer, and a great part of that time with much glory, particu- larly during the reigns of Hezekiah andJosiah. Chap. IX. Ver. 1 — 15. Israel's captivity certain; but its restoration under Messiah no less sure. — Goa is here represent- ed as standing upon his own altar, and solemnly denouncing his judgments against Israel, in the general dispersion of the people, without showing them anv more respect than to hea- then nations to whom his providence also extended. The lat- ter part of the chapter concludes the prophecy as usual with large and comfortable promises of restoration and prosperity under the kingdom of Messiah. Three things here merit our particular notice : 1. That God reckons his o wn people not ac- cording to the flesh, but according to the faith of their father Abraham, (Rom. ix. 8.) 2. That when the true Israelites re- turn, it shall be in harmony and union with converted Gen- tiles. So (ver. 12) “the heathen called by my name” are Christians. 3. That when the Jews shall be brought back to God, together with converted Gentiles, they shall enjoy in common, as well the blessings of peace and temporal pros- perity as those of grace and pardon. “ Godliness hath as well the promises of this life,” as of "that which is to come.” (l Tim. iv. 8.) eclipse ; and Archbishop Usher has shown that about eleven years after Amos prophesied, there were two great eclipses of the sun, one at the feast of ta- bernacles, and the other some time before the passover. ]— Bagster . Ver. 11. Famine not of bread , &c. — A spiritual famine. Either the written word or the word of prophecy. Though now they despise it, they shall yet hunt for prophets to tell them when their troubles shall end. How truly de- solate and wretched is any nation where the means of moral and religious insti action are inadequate for the population ; as the soul is more precious than the body, as eternity is of greater consequence than time, how to be dreaded is a spiritual famine. Ver. 14. The manner of Beer-sheba— Heb. “ Way i. e. of worship. Com- pare Acts xxiv. 14. Chap. IX. Ver. 1. Upon the altar. — What altar? Dr. Boothroyd thinks that at Beth-el ; but the scene is the temple at Jerusalem, as appears by the next clause. Smite the lintel of the door.— See margin. So Gesenius, “The knop, or capital of a pillar, perhaps in the form of a pomegranate, or its flower. ” See Zcph. ii. 14. 1 mill slay the last— That is, the whole of them. Ver. 2. Into hell.—Newcome, “ The grave Boothroyd, “ Hades.’’ Com- pare Ps. cxxxix 8.— [All these energetic expressions were intended to show the utter imposs'bilify of escape. ]— Bolster. Ver. 3. Carmel— A mountain of considerable extent, and said to contain gTeat cavities. See 1 Kings chap, xviii. The serpent — That is, doubtless, the great sea serpent. See exposition, Isa. xxvii. l. and note. Ver. 5. It shall rise up. — Compare chap. viii. 8. Ver. 6. His stories in the heaven. — [Or, spheres. Heb. ascensions. Maaloth , ‘'upper chambers,” which in eastern houses are the principal apartments.— Perhaps there is a reference here to the various systems which God has cre- ated in illimitable space, transcending each other as the planets do in our system ] — Bagster. Compare Ps. civ. 3. Troop.— \Agudd ah, probably is the same as tne Arabic if ad, “ an arch, vault,” and may here denote the vault of heaven, or atmosphere, which God “hath founded, or established, upon, or over, al, the earth,” and into which “ he calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth.”]— Bagster. Ver. 7. Children of the Ethiopians— Heb. "Cushites.” The Arabian Cushites, who, according to Bochart, were a powerful, though despised peo- ple. They were freebooters and idolaters. The Philistines' fram Caphtor. —See note on Jer. xlvii. 4. The sense of the verse is, that “ God had raised up and transplanted other nations, as well as the Israelites,” they must not, therefore, inter from their being brought up from Egypt, that they should ne- ver be rejected. See Boothroyd. Ver. 9. Yet shall not the least grain — That is, no true Israelite, no child of Abraham by faith. Ver. 12. That they may possess the remnant of Edom . — For Edom, the LXX. Arabic, and some Syriac MSS. road Adam, or “ men,” and so St. James quotes the passage, Acts xv. 17. See note there. Ver. 13. The ploughman shall overtake the reaper — That is, instead of the greater part of the year being spent in military campaigns, the whole shall Lo spent in cultivating and gathering in the fruits of the earth. Comp. Isa. ii. 4. Ver. 15. No more pulled up .— (As the Jews, after their return from Baby- lon, were driven from their land by the Romans, this can only refer to theit future conversion and restoration ; and to the security and peace of the church. ] — Bagster. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF AMOS. Amos was by profession a herdman and a dresser of the sycamore fruit ; and hence, as Archbishop Neiocome observes, he “ borrows many images 'rom the scenes in which he was engaged : but he introduces them with skill, and gives them tone and dignity by the eloquence and grandeur of his man- ner. We shall find in him many affecting and pathetic, many elegant and •ublime passages. No prophet has more magnificently described the Deity : 056 or more gravely rebuked ihe luxurious, or reproved injustice and oppression with greater warmth, and a more generous indignation.” Jerome is of oni nion. that there is nothing great or sublime in the style of Amos ; and calls him “ rude in speech, hut not in knowledge,” applying to him what St. Paul modestly professes of himself. (2 Cor. xi. 6.) Calmet and many others have followed the authority of Jerome, in speaking of this prophet, as if he were Obadiah prophesies the OBADIAH. destruction of Edom. indeed quite nide, void of eloquence, and destitute of all the embellishments of composition. The matter, however, as Bishop Loioth has remarked, is quite otherwise. “ Let any person, who has candour and perspicacity enough to judge, not from the man, but from his writings, open the volume of his pre- dictions. and lie will, I think, agree that our shepherd ‘ is not a whit behind the very chief of the prophets.’ (2 Cor. xi. 5.) He will agree, that, as in sub- limity and magnificence he is almost equal to the greatest, so in splendour of diction, and elegance of expression, he is scarcely inferior to any.” It should, however, be observed, that rustic employments were very general and honour- able among the Hebrews ; and that comparisons drawn from rural scenes, and the pastoral life, are by no means peculiar to Amos ; the principal images, and those of the greatest beauty and elegance, both in the poetical and prophetica. parts of Scripture, being derived from the same natural objects. \ -Bagster. ‘ But many of these images must lalsoiy appear mean and obscure to us, who differ so materially from the Hebrews in our manners and customs ; but in such cases it is our duty neither too rashly to blame, nor too suddenly to despair. The mind should rather exert itself to discover, if possible, the con- nexion between the literal and figurative meanings, which, in abstruse sub- jects, frequently depending upon some delicate and nice relation, eludes oui penetration. An obsolete custom, for instance, or some forgot ton circum- stance, opportunely adverted to, will sometimes restore its true perspicuity and credit to a very intricate passage.”— Lowth. THE BOOK OF OBADIAH. OF the prophet Obadiah nothing certain is known ; but it is highly pro- bable, as Abp. Newcome and others suppose, that he flourished between the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. B. C. 588, and the destruction of Idu- mea by the same monarch, which took place a few years afterwards. Conse- quently he was contempo r ary with Jeremiah, one of whose prophecies, respect- ing the destruction of Edom, bears a striking similarity to that of Obadiah. In tills book he foretels the subjugation and ruin of the Idumeans by the Chal- deans, and finally by the Jews, whom they had used most cruelly, when brought low by other enemies ; and he concludes, as almost all the other pro- phets do, with consolatory promises of restoration and prosperity to the Jews. The prophecy, according to Usher, began to be fulfilled about five years atler the destruction of Jerusalem ; that is, about 582 years before Christ. Toions - end , however, places the prophecy much earlier, viz..B. C. 740. See 2 Chroa xxviii. 17. 1 The destruction of Edom, 3 for their pride ? 10 and for their wrong unto Jacob. 17 The salvation and victory of Jacob. T HE vision of Obadiah. Thus saitb the Lord God concerning a Edom ; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an am- bassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. 2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen : thou art greatly despised. 3 If The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose 'habitation is high ; that saith b in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground ? 4 Though c thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord. 5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough ? if the grape-ga- therers came to thee, would they not leave i some grapes ? 6 How are the things of Esau searched out ! e how are his hidden f things sought up ! 7 Allthe men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border : the men s that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee ; h they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee : there ' is none understanding ) in him. 8 Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and un- derstanding out of the mount of Esau? 9 And thy mighty k men , O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. 10 Tf For thy violence i against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. A. M. cir. 3417. B. C. cir. 587. a Is. 21. 11. 34.5, Ac. Je.49.7, Ac. Eze.25.12. Joel 3.19. Mai. 1.3, 4. ' b Is.14.13.. 15 . Re. 18.7. c Job 20.6. d or, glean- ings. e Ps. 139.1. f Da. 2.22. g of thy peace. h the men of. i Is. 19. 11.. 14. j or, of it. k Ps.76.5. 1 Ps.137.7. Eze.35.5. mor, his substance. q magnified thy mouth. r or, forces. s oi ' f 8hul up, Ps.31.8. t Eze.30.3. u Hab.2.8. r or, sup up. w Joel 2.32. x or, they that es- cape, y or, it shall be holy. Joel 3.17. z Is. 10. 17. 11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots n upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. 12 But 0 thou shouldest not have looked p on the day of thy brother in the day that he be- came a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction ; neither shouldest thou have i spoken proudly in the day of dis- tress. 13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity ; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their r substance in the day of their calamity ; 14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did es- cape; neither shouldest thou have ■ delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. 15 For 1 the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen : as u thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee : thy reward shall return upon thine own head. 16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy moun- tain, so shall allthe heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall T swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been. 17 Tf But w upon mount Zion shall be * de- liverance, and i there shall be holiness ; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18 And the house of Jacob shall be a z fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in Ver. 1 — 21. This book contains but one chapter, which be- g ns with representing God as calling the nations against dom, denouncing his utter destruction, and declaring that all his strong holds should not save him, nor any of his allies stand by him. The Babylonians accordingly subdued and ex- pelled them from Arabia Petraea, of which they never after- wards recovered possession. The last four verses of this prophecy foretel the restoration of the Jews, their victory over all their enemies, and their flourishing state in the latter times. This prophecy was, no doubt, fulfilled in part by their return from the Babylonian captivity, and by the conquests of the Maccabees over the Edomites, (1 Mac. v. 3—5, 65, &c.) but may have a farther aspect to events still future. Ver. 1. We have heard a rumour .— See Jer. xlix. 14. Ver. 2. Small .... despised— Edom was comparatively a small, moun- tainous territory, on the south of Canaan. Ver. 3. Dwellest in clefts, &c . — \Jerorme observes, that all the southern parts of Palestine, from Eleutheropolis to Petra and Elarh, were full of caverns newn out of the rocks, and that the people had subterraneous dwellings similar to ovens. The whole of Idumea was very mountainous, and these cavem9 are the clefts of the rock here referred to ; in which they thought themselves safe, and that no power brought against them could dislodge them from their fastnesses.] — Bagster. Ver. 4. As the eagle.— Jer. xlix. 16. Ver. 5. Some grapes. — Newcome. “ Gleanings of grapes.” Jer. xlix. 5. Ver. 6. Sought up.— Newcome, Inquired after.” Ver. 7. Men of thy confederacy.— [The Chaldeans, whose agents they be- came in persecuting the' Jews.]— Bagster. Have laid a wound . — This Newccrme thinks unintelligible, and reads with ancient versions, “Laid a snare under thee.” But to us, to lay a wound under a person, appears to mean, to wound them secretly and unawares. Ver. 8 . Wise men out of Edom.—" Idumea (or Uz) was regarded by the Jews in the same light of elegance as Greece was by the Romans ; and Te- man as the Athens of Arabia Petraea.” Good, in Job, introduction. See Jer. xlix. 5, 7. _ , . Ver. 9. O Teman— [This was one of the strong places of Idumea ; and is here and elsewhere used, to avoid monotony, and to give variety to the Poet’s versification, for Idumea itself ] — Bagster. Ver. 10. For thy violence, &c.— Instead of “ Cut off by slaughter,” the an- cient versions join the last word of the preceding verse with this, thus : for slaughter and for violence against,” &c. Compare Amos i. 11. So Newcome and Boothroyd. , ^ . , . Ver. 11. Thou wast as one of them . — The following verses, by stating what Edom should not have done, give us to understand what they did do, which amounts (ver. 14.) to no less than robbery and murder. Ver. 12. Shouldest not have looked — fThat is, “Thou shouldst not have looked with pleasure on the day of thy brother’s calamity.” These verses de- scribe the guilty part which the Edomites took against the Jews, when the Chaldeans took Jerusalem and burnt the temple.] — Bagster. Ver. 16. As ye have drunk .— [This address is to the Jews. As they had drunk the cup of God’s indignation even on mount Zion, so the heathen in Jonah, sent to Nineveh, JONAH.— CHAP. 1. fler.th to Tarshish. them, and devour them ; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau ; for the Lord hath spoken it. 19 And they of the south shall possess the * mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines : and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. A. M 3117. U . C. 5K7. h Am. 9. 12. b or, bliall posse* that which ia in Seph- nrnrt. c Je 32.14. d 1 Ti.4.16. e Zee. 14.9. Lu. 1.33. 20 And the captivity of this host of the child- ren of Israel shall possess that of the Ca- naanites, even unto Zarephath: and the cap- tivity of Jerusalem, 1 which is in Sepharad shall possess the cities c of the south. 21 And saviours ll shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau ; and the kingdom c shall be the Lord’s. their respective countries should continually and abundantly drink of the same cup, until they were utterly destroyed. God’s judgments ure frequently repre- sented under the image of a cup of intoxicating liquors. 1 — Bolster. As you have drunk of the cup of my judgments ; so your enemies shall drink up the very dregs.” See Jer. xxv. 29. Ver. 19. And they of the south — That is, the Jews, brought back from Baby- lon, who should spread themselves on every side. Ver. 20. The captivity of this host— That is, this host of returned cuptivea. Ver. 21. And saviours. — Neiocorne , “ Deliverers,” referring to the Maces bees, who completely subdued the Edomites. See exposition. CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF OBADIAH. [The book of Obadiah is composed with much force and beauty, and un- folds a noble and very interesting scene of prophecy. These predictions began to be fulfilled about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, when the Chaldeans, with whom they bad formerly been in alliance, under Nebuchadnez- zar, ravaged Idumea, and dispossessed the Edomites of a great part of Arabia Petraea, of which they never after recovered possession. The Jews having re- turned to their own land, by the decree of (lyriis, at the termination of the se- venty years of the Babylonian captivity, their temple was rebuilt, and the wor- ship ot God restored : and Jerusalem was re-established in prosperity, and the land replenished with inhabitants. They also extended themselves in every direction : — to Edom on the south, — to the Philistines on the west, — to Ephraim and Phoenicia on the north,— and to Gilead on the east. Alexander the Great gave Samaria to the Jews ; and John Hyrcanus subdued the same country after his wars with the Syrians. (Josephus.) God at various times raised up certain persons as saviours or deliverers of his people, such us Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees. The Asmonean princes having united the priesthood with the state, the kingdom, or dominion, was actually pos- sessed and exercised by the Lord— that is, the high priest had both the civil and ecclesiastical power in his own hands. The house of Jacob and the house of Joseph did also break out as a flame upon the Tdumeans ; for under Juda3 Maccabseus they attacked and defeated them several times, killed no less than twenty thousand at one time, and more than twenty thousand at another, and took their chief city Hebron, “with the towns thereof, and pulled down the fortress of it, and burned the towns thereof round about (1 Mac. v. 2 Mac. x. ;) and at last his nephew, Hyrcanus son of Simon, took other of their cities, and reduced them to the necessity of either embracing the Jewish religion, or of leaving their country, and seeking other habitations; in conse- quence of which they submitted to he circumcised, became proselytes to the Jewish religion, and ever after were incorporated into the Jewish church and nation. (Josephus, Ant.) Thus they were actually masters of Edom, and judged and governed the mount of Esau. "We know, indeed, as Bp. Newton remarks, little more of the history of the Edomites than as it is connected with that of the Jews : and where is the name or the nation now? They wero swullowed up and lost, partly among the Nabathian Arabs, and partly among the Jews ; and the very name was abolished arid disused about the end of the first century after Christ. Thu9 were they rewarded for insulting and oppressing their brethren the Jews ; and, while at this day we see the Jews subsisting as a distinct people, Edom is no more. Agreeably to the words of this prophet, he has been “cut off for ever,” for his violence against his brother Jacob, (ver. 10. ;) and there is now “ not any remaining of the house of Esau, for the Lord had spoken it.” Thus the prophecy appears to have had a very literal and exact fulfilment; but it is probable it also refers to the future conver- sion and restoration of the Jews, the destruction of all antichristian op- posers, and that prosperous state of the church to which all the propbet3 hear witness, when “ the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ , and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Rev. xi. 15.1 —Bagster. This propnet, after describing the pride and cruelty of the Edomites, de- clares that though they dwelt in fancied security among the clefts of the rocks, yet, that the men of Teman should he dismayed, and every one of the mount of Esau should be cut off' by slaughter. The south part of Palestine, from EleutheropoHs to Petra, (the ancient capital of Idumea,) and Elah, was full of rocks, among which the Edomites dwelt. Obadiah’s name implies, the ser- vant of Jehovah, a title equivalent to that by which Moses was distinguished, (Num. xii. 7.) and to that in which Paul gloried. The prophet’s work is short, hut composed with much beauty: it unfolds a very interesting scene of pro- phecy, and an instructive lesson against human confidence and malicious ex- ultation.— Gray' 8 Key. THE BOOK OF JONAH. Jonah, the 6on of Amittai, was a native of Gath-hepher, in Galilee, and a type of our Saviour in his resurrection, is the most ancient of those Prophets whose writings are preserved in the sacred canon.— [He predicted the successes of Jereboam, II. the son of Joash, in whose reign he is supposed by Blair and others to have flourished ; but Bishop Lloyd and others think he exercised the prophetical office as early as the latter part of Jehu’s reign, or the beginning of that of Jehoahaz.l— Bagster. (See the Table of the Prophets, at the be- ginning of the prophetic writings ) His prophecy is a simple narrative, contain- ing nothing poetical, excepting his thanksgiving ode (chap, ii.) which is most beautiful and sublime. The first mention we have of Jonah is in 2 Ki. xiv. 25. CHAPTER I. 1 Jonah, sent to Nineveh, fleeth to Tarshisli. 4 He is bewrayed by a temper, II thrown into the aea, 17 and swallowed by a fish. N OW the word of die Lord came unto 11 Jonah the b son of Amittai, saying, 2 Arise, go to c Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it ; for their wickedness is come up d before me. 3 But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshisli from the presence e of the Lord, and went down to f Joppa ; and he found a ship going to Tar- shish : so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshisli from the presence of the Lord. 4 If But the Lord e sent out h a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship > was like to be broken. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and i cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to A. M. 3142. B. V. 862. a called Jonas. Mat. 12.39 b 2 Ki. 14.25 c Ge.10. 11, 12 . d Ezr.9.6. e Ps. 139.7. f Ac. 9. 36. g cast forth h Ps. 107.25. i thought. ) Ac.27.18, &c. k J 08.7. 14, 16. 1 Sa.14. 41,42. 1 or, JE- HOVAH. m Ps. 146.6. lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship ; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. 7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast k lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. 8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us ; What is thine occupation ? and whence com- est thou ? what is thy country? and of what people art thou ? 9 And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew ; and I fear ' the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Chap. I. Ver. 1 — 17. Jonah is sent to Nineveh, but flies to Tarshish, and is swallowed by a great .fish. — Jonah being sent with a threatening of some great calamity that should over- whelm the capita! of Assyria, flies a contrary way to avoid the mission, and that for the most extraordinary reason that ever influenced a prophet, or even a good man. He confesses af- terwards (chap. iv. 2.) it was not from the fear of personal danger; but lest God should relent from his threatening, and he should be thought a false prophet. He flies, however, in vain. A storm arrests him in his career, and a fish brings him back again. And here we have an answer to all the objections which infidelity can raise against the fact. God “had pre- pared a great fish but what could this fish be? a whale, it Chap. I. Ver. 2. Nineveh, that great city— The capital of Assyria. See Dole, cla. 111 . 3 ; iv. 11 ; also notes on Nahum iii. Ver. 3. Unto Tarshish.— [As Jonah embarked at Joppa, a sea-port on the Mediterranean, it was probably either Tarsus in Cilicia, or rather Tartessus i id Spain to wliich he intended to flee. When wc reflect how such a message 968 . is said, could not swallow a man, and the teeth of a shark would crush him to atoms. Perhaps not. He that prepared the whale could surely provide it with a sufficient gullet; or, if it were a shark, he who shu the mouths of Nebuchadnez- zar's lions, could doubtless secure the teeth of a shark from biting. We must not proceed, however, without remarking the con- trast between this Hebrew Prophet, and the pagan mariners. Jonah, as if totally insensibleof his situation and his crime, goes fast to sleep: thepagan mariners, on the contrary, are all alive to their situation, and each one call s upon his god ; and when they hear of Jonah’s God, they call upon him also, and earnestly im- plore his mercy. Nor is this all : they evince more humanity, as would be received in the streets of London at this djiy , we shall not wonder at the prophet's reluctance to announce the destruction of the proud and idolatrous Nineveh.]— Bossier. Ver. 4. Like (or likely) to he broken— Heb. " Thought to be broken " Ver 5. The sides — “ The covered part of the ship -Newconu. The prayer of Jonah. JONAH. — CHAP. II., III. The Ninevites repent. 10 Then were the men " exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For tne men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 If Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be ° calm unto us? for the sea p wrought, and was tem- pestuous. 12 And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea ; so shall the sea be calm unto you : for I know that for my q sake this great tempest is upon you. 13 Nevertheless the men r rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for Lhe sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. 14 Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and •lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. 15 So they took up Jonah, and cas’ him forth into the sea : and the sea ‘ ceased from her raging. 16 Then u the men feared the Lord exceed- ingly, and v offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and w made vows. 17 j[ Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. 1 And Jonah was in the y belly of the fish three days and three nights. CHAPTER II. 1 The prayer of Jonah. 10 He is delivered from the fish. T HEN Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly, 2 And said. I 1 cried b by reason of mine af- fliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out c of the belly of d hell cried I, and thou heard- est e my voice. 3 For f thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the § midst of the seas ; and the floods com- passed me about: all thy billows 11 and thy waves passed over me. A. .\1. 3112. 13. C. 862. n afraid with great fear, o Kilcnt from us. p went, or, grew more and more tempestu- ous. q Jo3.7.12. Ec.9.18. r digged. a De.21.8. t stood. u Is.26.9. Ac. 5. LI. v sacrificed a sacri- fice. w vowed vows. x Mat. 12. 40. y bowels. a Ps. 120.1. 130.1. I.a.3.55, 56. b or, out of c Ps.61.2. d or, the %sM.9. e Ps.Sl.6. f Ps.83.5-8. •g heart. h Ps.42.7. i Ps.3l.22. j 1 Ki.8.38, 39. k Ps.69.1. La.3.54. 1 cuttings off. mls.33.17. n or, the pit. o Ps.18.6. p 1 Sa.12. 21. 2 Ki.17. 15. q Ps.50.14, 23. Ro.12.1. He. 13. Ip. r Is. 50.2. a a city great of God. Ge.30.8. b Je.18.7.. 10. c said. d great men. 4 Then > I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward ) thy holy temple. 5 The waters compassed me k about, even to the soul : the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. 6 I went down to the > bottoms of the moun- tains ; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet m hast thou brought up my life from " corruption, O Lord my God. 7 When my soul fainted within me I remem- bered the Lord : and my prayer came 0 in unto thee, into thy holy temple. 8 They Pthat observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice 4 unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. 10 If And r the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. CHAPTER III. 1 Jonah, sent again, preacheth to the Ninevites. 5 Upon their repentance, 10 God repenteth. A ND the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, 2 Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. 3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an a exceeding great city of three days’ journey. 4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and b said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 5 Tf So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 6 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sack- cloth, and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and c published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his d nobles, saying, Let neither well as more piety, than the Prophet. He is content to give up one of the largest cities then existing with all its inhabit- ants, to plague or earthquake; they are struggling to save the life of a single individual, and that individual the very man whose sin and folly had brought them into danger.—How or what they' sacrificed, we are not told; but it is evident they were ready to sacrifice any thnm to pacify the angry deity, while the Prophet remained stupid and insensible, till he sunk . “ Sacrificed a sacrifice, and vowed vows.” Ver. 17. The belly. — Heh. ‘ Bowels,” or entrails. It is applied particularly to the womb of v.omen, Gen. xxv. 24. Ruth i. 11. The LXX. call this fish ketos. which word is adopted by St. Matthew, and properly signifies a whale, hut may certainly be applied to any sea-monster. Chap. II Ver. 2. The belly of hell — “ Or tho grave,” as in the margin, and as sheol is often rendered. Ver. 4. Yet will J look again— Heb. “ Add to look ;” i. e. “ again cast my eyes toward,”