Commentary on the Holy Bible

29 And this shall he a sign unto you, saith the LoRf), that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall 1 surely stand against you for evil:

30 Thus saitli the Lord; Behold, "■ I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of tiiem that seek his life; as I gave ^ Zedekiah king of Judah into the jiand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.

sis, one of his generals, to reduce them to their duty. But no sooner had Amasis begun to make his speech, than they fixed a helmet on his head, and proclaimed him king. Amasis accepted the title, and confirmed the Egyptians in their revolt; and the greater part of the nation declaring for him, Apries was obliged to retire into Upper Egypt, and the country being thu.<i weakened by intestine war, was attacked and easily overcome by Nebuchadnezzar, who on quitting it loft A7nasis his viceroy. After Nebuchadnezzar's departure, Apries marched against Amasis; but, being defeated at Memphis, was taken prisoner, carried to Sais, and was strangled in his own palace, thus verifying this prophecy. See Herodotus in Euterpe.

Thus Nebuchadnezzar made an easy conque.sl of the land. He conquered it as easily as " a shepherd puts on his cloak: he went thence in peace," having clothed himself with its spoils; and left all quiet under a viceroy of his own choosing. The rebellion of Pha- raoh's subjects was the " fire that God kindled in Egypt," chap. xhii. 12. And thus was he " delivered into the hands of his enemies," his revolted people;

and " into the hand of him who sought his life," i. e., Amasis his general. And thus the whole prophecy was literally fulfilled.

This chapter is evidently connected with the subject treated oj in the thirty-sixth. Baruch, ivho had written the prophecies of Jeremiah, and read them publicly m the temple, and afterwards to many of the princes, IS in great affliction because of the awful judgments with which the land of Judah was about to be visited; and also on account of the imminent danger to which his own life was exposed, in publishing such unwelcome tidings, 1-3. To remove BarvcVs fear with respect to this latter circumstance, the prophet assures him that though the total destruction of Judea was determined because of the great wickedness of the inhabitants, yet his life should be preserved amidst the general desolation, 4, 5.

son of Neriah, when he had written these words m a book at the

tnouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim '' the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

2 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch,

3 Thou didst say. Wo is me now! for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.

Verse 1. The word that Jeremiah — spake unto Baruch] This is another instance of shameless transposition. This discoui'se was delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, several years before Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldeans. It is a simple appendage to chap, xxxvi., and there it should have been inserted.

Verse 3. Thou didst say, Wo is me noio.'] All that were the enemies of Jeremiah became his enemies too;.and he needed these promises of support.

The Lord hath added grief to my sorroio] He had mourned for the desolations that were coming on his country, and now he mourns for the dangers to which he feels his own life exposed; for we find, from chap, xxxvi. 26, that the king had given commandment to take both Baruch and Jeremiah, in order that they might be put to death at the instance of his nobles.

Verse 4. Behold, that which I have built] I most ceitainly will fulfil all those threatenings contained in the roll thou hast written; for I will destroy this whole land.

Verse 5. And seekest thou great things for thyself?] Nothing better can be expected of this people: thy hopes in reference to them are vain. Expect no na-

4 Thus shall thou say unto him. The Lord saith thus; Behold, " that which I have built Tarquimi Prisci

which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.

5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, '' I will bring evil vipon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give imto thee ^ for a prey in all places whither thou goest.

tional amendment, tUl national judgments have taker place. And as for any benejit to thyself, think it suf ficient that God has determined to preserve thy life amidst all these dangers.

But thy life tvill I give unto thee for a prey] This is a proverbial expression. We have met with it before, chap. xxi. 9, xxxviii. 2, xxxix. 18; and it appears to have this meaning. As a prey or spoil is that which is gained from a vanquished enemy, so it is preserved with pleasure as the proof and reward of a man's own valour. So Baruch's life should be doubly precious unto him, not only on account of the dangers through which God had caused him to pass safely, but also on account of those services he had been enabled to render, the consolations he had received, and the continual and very evident interposition of God in his behalf. All these would be dearer to him than the spoils of a vanquished foe to the hero who had overcome in battle.

Spoil may signify mlooked-for gain. The preservation of his life, in such circumstances, must be more than he could reasonably expect; but his life should be safe, and he should have it as a spod, whithersoever he should go. This assurance must have quieted all his fears.

The difference between the preceding and the subsequent prophecies in point of composition ts very remarkable; the last excelling much in majesty and elegance. This chapter {of which the first verse forms a general title to this and the Jive chapters following) contains two distinct prophecies relating to Egypt.

The first was delivered previous to an engagement between Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt, and Ncbuciiudnezzar, king of Babylon; in ivhich the Egyptians tvere routed in Carchemish with great slaughter, as here predicted. The prophet sees the mighty preparations; but they are all declared to be of no avail, as God had decreed their fall, 1-6. The king of Egypt, hoivever, is represented as marching with all the confidence of victory, like a river ovcrflotvtng its banks, and threatening all around with its inundation, 1, 8. But this immense armament of Pharaoh-necho, consisting of various nations, shall, by a righteous judgment of God, receive such a signal overthrow near the river Euphrates, that the political consequence of Egypt shall be thereby irretrievably ruined, and its remaining power become contemptible in the sight of the nations, 9-13. The other prophecy, beginning at the thirteenth verse, relates to the memorable overthrow of the Egyptians by Nebuchadnezzar, subsequent to his siege of Tyre, in the sixteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, 13-26. The promise, in the conclusion of the chapter, of preservation to the Jeivs, {who have for many ages continued a distinct people, when the various nations of antiquity who oppressed them, or with whom they had any intercourse, have long ago ceased to have any separate and visible existence,) has been most remarkably fulfilled; and is a very signal act of providence, and a pledge of the restoration of Israel to the Divine favour, when the time of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, 27, 28.

'PHE word of tlie Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against " the Gentiles;

army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euplirates in Carchemish, which Nebucliadrezzar king of Bab3'lon smote in the fourth year of Jelioiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah.

3 ' Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.

4 Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines.

5 Wherefore have I seen them dismayed

Verse 1. The word of the Lord — against the Gentiles] This is a general title to the following collection of prophecies, written concerning (hiferent nations, which had less or more conne.xion with the Jews, either as enemies, neighbours, or allies.

They were not WTitten at the s.ime time; and though some of them bear dates, yet it would he difficult to give them any chronological arrangement. Dahler's mode of ascertaining the times of their delivery may be seen in the table in the introduction.

Xetse 2. Pharaoh-necho] This was the person who defeated the army of Josiah, in wliich engagement Josiah received a mortal wound, of which he died, greatly regretted, soon after at Megiddn. After this victory, he defeated the Babylonians, and took Clrchemisli: and, having fortified it, returned to his own country. Nabopolas.tnr sent his son Nebuchadnezzar with an armv against him, defeated him with immense slaughter near the river Euphrates, retool Carchemish, and.subdued aU the revolted provinces, according to the following prophecies.

Verse 3. Order ye the buckler] This is the call to the general armament of the people against the Chaldeans.

and turned away back? and their mighty ones are ^ beaten down, and are ' fled apace, and look not back: for f fear was round about,

6 Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall e stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates.

7 Who is this that cometh up '' as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?

8 Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved hke the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

Brigandines.] A coat of mail, especially that which was made scale fashion; one plate overlapping the other, like the scales of fish.

Verse 5. Wherefore have I seen them dismayeif] What! such a numerous, formidable, and well-appointed army panic-struck 1 So that they have t-umcd hack — -fled apace, and looked not round; while their mighty ones — their generals and commanders, striving to rally them, are beaten down.

Verse 6. Let not the swift fee away] Even the swiftest shall not be able to escape.

They shall— fall toward the north] By the Euphrates, which was northward of Judea. Here the Egyptian army was routed with great slaughter.

^'erse 7. Who is this that cometh up as a food] The vast concourse of people is here represented as a river: for instance, the Jordan, suddenly swollen with the rains in harvest, rolling its waters along, and overflowing the wliole country. A fine image to represent the incursions of vast armies caiTying all before them. Such was the army of Pharaoh-necho in its march to Carchemish.

■\'erse 9. The Ethiopian.';] Heb. Cush, Phut, and the Ludim. This army was composed of many nations. Cush, which we translate Ethiopians, almost invariably means the Arabians; and liere, those Arabs that bordered on Egypt near the Red Sea. Phut pro-

10 For this is "the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and " the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord G od of hosts ° hath a sacrifice in the north countrj^ by the river Euphrates.

1 ] p Go up into Gilead, and take balm, iQ virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shall thou use many medicines; for ^ thou ' shalt not be cured.

12 The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hatli filled the land: for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both together.

13 The word that the Lord spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king

14 Declare ye in Egypt, and R.''"Ronian.r' publish in Migdol, and publish in <="■ """""'ii- Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, ° Stand fast, and prepare thee; for ^ the sword shall devour round about thee.

15 Why are thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the Lord did drive

16 He "made many to fall, yea, ^ 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 hut a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.

18 As 1 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 0 ^ thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, " furnish thyself '" to go into captivity: for

bably means the Libyans; for Phut settled in Libya, according to Josephus. Phut and Cush were two of the sons of Ham, and brothers to Mitsraim, the father of the Egyptians, Gen. x. C; and the Ludim were descended from Mitsraim; see Gen. x. 13. Bochart contends that the Ludim were Ethiopians, and that they were famous for the use of the bow. Phaleg, lib.

Terse 10. For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts'] The prophet represents this as a mighty sacrifice, where innumerable victims were slain.

Verse 11. Go up into Gilead, and tahe balm] An irony. Egypt is so completely enfeebled by this oveithrow, that her political wound is utterly incurable. This figure is used with the more propriety here, as the Egyptians liave been celebrated from tlie remotest antiquity for their knowledge of medicine.

Verse 12. The nations have heard of thy shame] Of thy disgi-ace, by this prodigious slaughter of thy troops.

Verse 13. How Nebuchadrezzar — should come and smite the land of Egijpt.] See on chap. xliv. This was after Amasis had driven Pharaoh-necho into Upper Eg}'pt. See chap. xliv. 30.

Round about thee.] The Phffinicians, Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites, all prostrated by the arms of the Chaldeans.

Verse 16. Ch^e fell upon another] In their terror and confusion ranks fell on ranks, and overturned each other.

Let us go again to our oum people] Let us flee to our own country with aU possible speed. These were the auxiliaries.

A tumult hath frustrated the appointed meeting." These allies sent their excuse to Pharaoh, that the disasters they had met with had prevented them from joining him as they had intended.

Verse 18. As Tabor is among the 7noiintains] This mountain is situated in the plain of Esdraelon in Galilee, on the confines of the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar, Josh. xix. 22. It stood by itself, separated from all the other mountains by deep valleys, and is the highest of the whole.

And as Carmel by the sea] Carmel is a mountain on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, on the southern frontier of the tribe of Asher. Were the Egyptians as distinguished for valour and strength as the mountains Tabor and Carmel are for height among the other mountains in their vicinity, they should not be able to stand the shock of the Chaldean army.

Verse 19. Furnish thyself to go into captivity] The thing is unavoidable; prepare for this calamity.

21 Also her hired men are m the midst of her like " fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because ^ the day of their calamity was come uj^on them, and the time of their visitation.

22 ff 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 are innumerable.

24 The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded: 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 ' multitude ""

Verse 20. Egypt is like a very fair heifer] Fruitful and useful; but destruction cometh out of the north, from Chaldea. It may be that there is an allusion here to Isis, worshipped in Egypt under the form of a beautiful cow.

Verse 21. Are fled away together] Perhaps there is a reference here to the case of a cow stung with gnats. She runs hither and thither, not knowing where to go; so shall it be with this scattered

Verse 22. The voice — shall go like a serpent] See Isa. xxix. 4, and the note there.

Verse 23. They shall cut down her forest] Supposed to mean her cities, of which Egypt had no fewer than one thousand and tiventy.

Verse 25. The multitude of No] N'JO pas Amon minno, the Amon of No, called by the Greeks AioO'- iroXis, or Jupilcr^s city. It was the famous Thebes, celebrated anciently for its hundred gates. Amon was the name by which the Egyptians called Jupiter, who had a famous temple at Thebes.

The word Pharaoh is tvvice repeated here; and Dr. Dahler thinks that one may design Pharaoh Hophrah, and the other Amnsis, the new king.

Verse 26. Afterward it shall be inhabited] That is, within forty years, as Ezekiel had predicted, chap, xxix. 13.

A'^erse 27. Fear not — my servant Jacob] In the midst of wrath God remembers mercy. Though Judah

26 p And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and i afterward it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith

27 "■ But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel; for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

28 Fear thou not, 0 Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I a?/t 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, yet will I ' not leave thee wholly unpunished.

shall be destroyed, Jerusalem taken, the temple burnt to the ground, and the people carried into captivity, yet the nation shall not be destroyed. A seed shall be preserved, out of which the nation shall revive.

Verse 28. / will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee; but I will not make a full end of thee] The Jews still remain as a distinct people, while the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, &c. are no more!

On this subject, I cannot withhold from my readers the following very judicious remarks of Bp. Newton, in his Dissertations on the Prophecies.

" The preservation of the Jews through so many ages, and the total destruction of their enemies, are wonderful events; and are made still more wonderful by being signified beforehand by the spirit of prophecy, as particularly in the passage before us. Their preservation is really one of the most illustrious acts of Divine Providence. They are dispersed among all nations, yet not confounded with any. The drops of rai" which fall, nay the great rivers which flow into the ocean, are soon mingled with and lost in that immense body of waters. And the same, in all human probability, would have been the fate of the Jews; they would have been mingled and lost in the common mass of mankind: but, on the contrary, they flow into all parts of the world, mix with all nations, and yet keep separate from all. They still live as a distinct people; and yet they nowhere live according to their own laws, nowhere elect their own magistrates, nowhere enjoy the full exercise of their religion. Their solemn feasts and sacrifices are limited to one certain place; and that hath been now for many ages in the hands of strangers and aliens, who will not suffer them to come thither. No people have continued unmixed so long as they have done; not only of those who have sent colonies into foreign countries, but even of those who have remained in their own country. The northern nations have come in swarms into the more southern parts of Europe: but where are they now to be discerned and distinguished 1 The Gauls went forth in great bodies to seek their fortune in foreign parts; but what traces or footsteps of them are now remaining any where f In France, who can separate the race of the ancient Gauls from the various other people who from time to time have settled there 1 In Spain, who can distinguish between the first possessors, the Spaniards, and the Goths and Moors, wlio conquered and kept possession of the country for some ages ■? In England, who can pretend to say certainly which families are derived from the ancient Britons, and which from the Romans, Saxons, Danes, and Normans ] The most ancient and honourable pedigrees can be traced up only to a certain period; and beyond that there is nothing but conjecture and uncertainty, obscurity and ignorance. But the Jews can go up higher than any nation; they can even deduce their pedigree from the beginning of the world. They may not know from what particular tribe or family they are descended; but they know certainly that they all sprang from the stock of Abraham. And yet the contempt with which they have been treated, and the hardships they have undergone in almost all countries, should, one would tliink, have made thera desirous to forget or renounce their original: but they profess it; they glory in it; and after so many wars, massacres, and persecutions, they still subsist; they are still very numerous. And what but a supernatural power could have preserved them in such a manner as no other nation upon earth has been preserved 1 Nor is the providence of God less remarkable in the destruction of their enemies, than in their own preservation. For, from the beginning, who have been the great enemies and oppressors of the Jewish nation, removed them from their own land, and compelled them into captivity and slavery? The Egyptians afHicted them much, and detained them in bondage several years. The Assyrians carried away captive the ten tribes of Israel;

and the Babylonians, afterwards, the two remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Syro-Macedonians, especially Antiochus Epiphanes, cruelly persecuted them; and the Romans utterly dissolved the Jewish state, and dispersed the people so as that they have never been able to recover their city and countr)- again. And where are now those great and famous monarchies, which in their turn subdued and oppressed the people of God 1 Are they not vanished as a dream; and not only their power, but their very names, lost in the earth? The Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians were overthrown and entirely subjugated by the Persians; and the Persians, it is remarkable, were the restorers of the Jews as well as the destroyers of their enemies. The Syro-Macedonians were swallowed up by the Romans; and the Roman empire, great and powerful as it was, was broken into pieces by the incursions of the northern nations; while the Jews are subsisting as a distinct people at this day. And what a wonder of providence is it, that the vanquished should so many ages survive the victors; and the former be spread all over the world, while the latter are no more! Nay, not only nations have been punished for their cruelties to the Jews, but Divine vengeance has pursued even single persons who have been their persecutors and oppressors. The first-born of Pharaoh was destroyed; and he himself, with his host, drowned in the sea. Nebuchadnezzar was stricken with madness, and the crown was transferred from his family to strangers. Antiochus Epiphanes and Herod died in great agonies, with ulcers and vermin issuing from them. Flaccus, governor of Egypt, who barbarously plundered and oppressed the Jews of Alexandria, was afterwards banished and slain; and Caligula, who persecuted the Jews for refusing to do Divine honours to his statue, was murdered in the flower of his age, after a short and wicked reign. But where are now, — since they have absolutely rejected the Gospel, and been no longer the"" peculiar people of God, — where are now such visible manifestations of a Divine interposition in their favour 1 The Jews would do well to consider this point; for, rightly considered., it may be an effectual means of opening their eyes, and of taming them to Christ our Saviour." See Bp. Newton on the prophecies, dissert, viii. sect. 2. And see the notes on Ezekiel, where the calamities of these miserable people are largely detailed.

A?nong the nations doomed to suffer from the hostilities of Nebuchadnezzar are the Philistines, (see chap. XXT. 20.) And the calamities predicted in this chapter befell them prohahly during the long siege of Tyre, when their country tvas desolated to prevent their giving Tyre or Sidon any assistance, 1—5. The whole of this chapter is remarkably elegant. The address to the sword of Jehovah, at the close of it, is particularly a very beautiful and bold personification, 6, 7.

2 Thus saith the Lord; Behold, •^ waters rise up " out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and ^ 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 K noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his ciiariots, a?id at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;

Verse 1. The word of the; Lord — against the Philistines] The dale of this prophecy ciinnot be easily ascertained. Dr. Blayney thinks it was delivered about the fourth year of Zedekiah, while Dahler assigns it some time in the reign of Josiah.

Before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.] We have no historical relation of any Egyptian king smiting Gaza. It was no doubt smitten bj' some of them; but ichen, and by whom, does not appear either from sacred or profane history.

Verse 2. Waters ri.ie up out of the north] Waters is a common prophetic image for a mullilude of people. The north here, as in otlier places of this prophecy, means Chaldea.

is a line of Virgil, {JEn. viii. 596,) much celebrated; and quoted here by Blayney, where the galloping sound of the horses' hoofs is heard. In the stamping of the /{orses, the rushing of the chariots, and the rumbling of the it'heels, our translators intended to convey the sense by the sound of the words; and they have not been unsuccessful. Their translation of the original is at the same time sufficiently literal.

The fathers shall not look back] Though their children are left behind, they have neither strength nor courage to go back to bring them off.

Verse 4. To.yml all the Phitisltnci] These people, of whom there were /ice srignorics, occupied the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, to the south of the Phoenicians.

Tyrvs and Zidon] Places sufficiently remarkable both in the Old and New Testament, and in profane history. They belonged to the Phoenicians; and at this time were depending on the succour of their allies, the Pliilistines. But their expectation was cm off.

and to cut oft irom " iyrus and r. Roman., Zidon every helper that remain- "^' """""' '^■*- eth: for the Lord will spoil the Philistines, ^» ' the remnant of '' the country of ' Caphtor.

5 "Baldness is come upon Gaza; " Ashkclon is cut off icith the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou ° cut thyself?

6 0 thou p sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? ■• put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.

7 ' How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord liath = given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he ' appointed it.

The remnant of the comitry of Caphtor.] Crete, or Cyprus. Some think it was a district along the coast of the Mediterranean, belonging to the Philistines; others, that the Cappadocians are meant.

Vers6 5. Baldness is come upon Gaza] They have cut off their hair in token of deep sorrow and distress.

Ashkelon is cut off^ Or put to silence; another mark of the deepest sorrow. Ashkelon was one of the Jive scignories of the Philistines, Gaza was another.

The remnant of their valley] Or plain; for the whole land of the Philistines was a vast plain, which extended along the coast of the Jlediterranean Sea from Phoenicia to the frontiers of Egypt. The whole of this plain, the territory of the Philistines, shall be desolated.

'\'crse 6. O thou sword of the Lord] This is a most grand ptosopopceia — a dialogue between the sword of the Lord and the prophet. Nothing can be imagined more sublime.

Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.] Shed no more blood, destroy no more lives, erase no more cities, desolate no more countries. Rest; — hast thou not been long enough at this work of judgment ' O be still: — ^let wars and desolations cease for ever.

Verse 7. How can it he quiet] This is the answer of the Sword. I am the officer of God's judgments, and he has given me a commission against Ashkelon. and against the sea shore; all the coast where the Philistines have their territories. The measure of their iniquities is full; and these God hath appointed this sword to ravage. The Philistines were ever the implacable enemies of the Jews, and the basest and worst of all idolaters. On these accoimts the sword of the Lord had its commission against them; and it did its office most fearfully and effiectually by the hand of the Chaldeans.

The following prophecy concerning the Moabites is supposed to have had its accomplishment during the long siege of Tyre in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. The whole of this chapter is poetry of the first order. The distress of the cities of Moab, with which it opens, is finely described. The cries of one ruined city resound to those of another, 1—3. The doleful helpless cry of the children is heard, 4; the highways, on either hand, resound with the voice of weeping, 5; and the few that remain resemble a blasted tree in the wide howling waste, 6. Chemosh, the chief god of the Moabites, and the capital figure in the triumph, is represented as carried off in chains, with all his trumpery of piiesls and officers, 7. The desolation of the country shall be so general and sudden that, by a strong figure, it is intimated that there shall be no possibility of escape, except it be in the speediest flight, 8, 9. And some idea may be formed of the dreadful wickedness of this people from the consideration that the prophet, under the immediate inspiration of the Almighty, pronounces a curse on those who do the work of the Lord negligently, in not proceeding to their utter extermination, 10. The subject is then diversified by an elegant and well-supported comparison, importing that the Moabites increased in insolence and pride in proportion to the duration of their prosperity, 1 1; but this prosperity is declared to be nearly at an end; the destroyer is already commissioned against Moab, and his neighbours called to sing the usual lamentation at his funeral, 13—18. The prophet then represents some of the women of -iroer and Amman, (the extreme borders of Moab,) standing in the highways, and asking the fugitives of Moab, What intelligence? They inform hi?n of the complete discomfiture of Moab, 19-24, and of the total annihilation of its political existence, 25. The Divine judgments about to fall upon Moab are farther represented under the expressive metaphor of a cup of intoxicating liquor, by which he should become an object of derision because of his intolerable pride, his magnifying himself against Jehovah, and his great contempt for the children of Israel in the day of their calamity, 26, 27. The prophet then points out the great distress of Moab by a variety of striking figures, viz., by the failure of the customary rejoicings at the end of harvest, by the mournful sort of music used at funerals, by the signs ivhich were expressive among the ancients of deep mourning, as shaving the head, clipping the beard, cutting the flesh, and wearing sackcloth; and by the methods of catching wild beasts in toils, and by the terror and pitfall, 28—46. In the close of the chapter it is intimated that a remnant shall be preserved from this general calamity whose descendants shall be prosperous in the latter days, 47.

"^"Ro'manr'' of Israel; Wo unto '' Nebo! for en. annum 33. jj jg gpojigd; c Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: '^ Misgab is confounded and dismayed.

2 " There shall be no more praise of Moab: in ^ Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shall ^ be cut down, O Madmen; the svt^ord shall ^ pursue thee.

Verse 1. Against Moab] This was delivered some time after the destruction of Jerusalem. The Moabites were in the neighbourhood of the Ammonites, and whatever evils fell on the one would naturally involve the other. See Isa. xv. and xvi. on this same subject.

Wo unto Nebo! for it is spoiled] This was a city in the tribe of Reuben, afterwards possessed by the Moabites. It probably had its name from Nebo, one of the principal idols of the Moabites.

Misgab is confounded] There is no place of this name known; and therefore several learned men translate 2Jtyon hammisgab, literally, The high tower, or fortress, which may apply to Kiriathaim, or any other high and well-fortified place.

crymg snail be '^■^c';";,^: from Horonaim, spoiling and 01..XLIX. i great destruction.

4 Moab is destroyed; her little _^ ones have caused a cry to be heard.

5 '' For in the going up of Luliith ' continual weeping shall go up; for in the.going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.

6 " Flee, save your lives, and be like " the "heath in the wilderness.

Verse 2. No more praise of Moah] " The glory of Moab, that it had never been conquered," (Dahler,) is now at an end. Dr. Blayney translates: —

" Moab shall have no more glorying in Heshbon; They have devised evil against her (saying.)" And this most certainly is the best translation of the original. He has marked also a double paronomasia in this and the next verse, a figure in which the prophets delight; ^yZ'V, JlDBTin hecheshbmi chashebu, " in Cheshbon they have devised," and 'iDnn p"iD madmen tiddommi, " Madmena, thou shalt be dumb."

A''erse 3. Horonaim] Another city of Moab, near to Luhith. At this latter place the hill country of I\Ioab commenced " It is a place," says Dahler, " situated upon a height between Areopolis and Zoar."

01. XLix. 1. in thy works and in thy treasures, R^^Roman., ' thou shalt also be taken: and cir. annum 33. p chcmosh shall go forth into

8 Ajid "^the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no citv 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 ' Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord " deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

1 1 Moab hath been at ease from liis 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 "remained in him, and liis scent is not changed.

Verse 6. Flee, save your lives] The enemy is in full pursuit of you.

Be like the heath] 1i'11i'3 caaroer, " like Aroer;" which some take for a city, others for a blasted or withered tree. It is supposed that a place of this name lay towards the north, in the land of the Ammonites, on a branch of the river Jabbok; surrounded by deserts. Save yourselves by getting into the wilderness, where the pursuing foe will scarcely think it worth his while to follow you, as the wilderness itself must soon destroy you.

A'erse 7. Chemosh shall go forth into captivity] The grand national idol of the Moahites, Num. xxi. 29; Judg. xi. 24. Ancient idolaters used to take their gods with them to the field of battle. This was probably in imitation of the Israelites, who took the ark with them in such cases.

Verse 9. Give wings unto Moah] There is no hope in resistance, and to escape requires the speediest flight. I cannot conceive how Dahler came to translate thus: Tirez Moab par les chevaux, " Drag Moab away by the hair of the head."

Verse 10. Cursed be he that doeth the loork of the Lord deceitfully] Moab is doomed to destruction, and the Lord pronounces a curse on their enemies if they do not proceed to utter extirpation. God is the Author of life, and has a sovereign right to dispose of it as he pleases; and these liad forfeited theirs long ago by their idolatry and other crimes.

Verse 1 1. Moab hath been at ease] The metaphor here is taken from the mode of preserving wines.

him to wander, and shall empty r. Roman., his vessels, and break their bottles. ■^"- """""^ ^^-

13 And Moab sliall be ashamed of == Chemosh, as the house of Israel >" was ashamed of ^ Bethel their confidence.

14 How say ye, '^ We are mighty and strong men for the war?

15 "^ Moab is spoiled, and gone up out of her cities, and "^ his chosen young men aie '^ gone down to the slaughter, saith ° the King, whose name 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 is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

18 s Thou daughter that dost inhabit ""Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for ' the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

They let them rest upon their lees for a considerable time, as this improves them both in strength and flavour; and when this is sufiiciently done, they rack, or pour them off into other vessels. Moab had been very little molested by war since he was a nation; he had never gone out of his own land. Though some had been carried away by Shalnianeser forty years before this, he has had neither wars nor captivity.

Therefore his taste remained in him] Still carrying on the allusion to the curing of wines; by resting long upon the lees, the taste and smell are both improved. See the note on Isa. xxv. 6.

Verse 12. / will send unto him ivanderers, that shall cause him to icander] Dr. Blayney renders □";'!: tsaim, titters; those who elevate one end of the wine cask when nearly run out, that the remains of the liquor may be the more effectually drawn off at the cock. And this seems to be well supported by the following words, —

And shall empty his vessels] I will send such as will carry the whole nation into captivity.

Verse 13. Beth-el their confidence.] Alluding to the golden calves which Jeroboam had there set up, and commanded all the Israelites to worship.

Verse 17. Hoio is the strong staff broken] The sceptre. The sovereignty of Moab is destroyed.

Verse 18. That dost inhabit Dibon] This was anciently a city of the Reubenites, afterwards inhabited by the Moahites, about two leagues north of the river Arnon, and about six to the east of the Dead Sea.— ^ Dahler.

19 0'' inhabitant of ' Aroer, I stand by the wa)', and espy; R'^RomanT'' 3sk him that fleeth, and her that cir. annum 33. ggcapeth, and say, What is done?

20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: " howl and cry; tell ye it in ° Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,

2 1 And judgment is come upon p the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath,

22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblatliaim,

23 And upon Kiriatliaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon,

24 And upon iKerioth, 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 is broken, saitli the Lord.

26 ' Make ye him drunken: for he magnified /i/mseZ/" against the Lord: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

27 For " was not Israel a derision unto thee? " was he found among tliieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou " 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 of Moab, (he is exceeding proud,) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.

31 Therefore <> will I howl for "'"■ """""' ^^- Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; nuiu. 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 summer 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 winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; thei?- shouting shall be no shouting.

34 ' From the cry of Heshbon evejj unto Elealeh, 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 ^ 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

36 Therefore ''mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine 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 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 housetops of Moab, and in tlie

Verse 19. O inhabitant of Aroei-\ See the note on ver. 6. This place, being at a greater distance, is counselled to watch for its own safety, and inquire of every passenger. What is done f that it may know when to pack up and he gone.

Verse 20. Tell ye it in A7-non] Apprize the inhabitants there that the territories of Moab are invaded, and the country about to he destroyed, that they may provide for their own safety.

Verse 21. Upon Holon, i^c] All these were cities of the Moabites, but several i!" hem are mentioned in no other place.

Verse 25. The horn of Moah?.s cut off. and his arm is broken] His political and physical powers are no more.

Verse 27. Was not Israel a derision unto thee] Didst thou nut mock mv people, and say their God '378 was no better than the gods of other nations 1 See Ezek. XXV. 8.

Was he found among thieves?] Did the Israelites come to rob and plunder you 1 ^^^ly then mock them, and rejoice at their desolation, when their enemies prevailed over them? This the Lord particularly resents.

Verse 28. Dwell in the rock] Go to the most inaccessible places in the mountains.

Verse 34. As a heifer of three years old] Which runs lowing from place to place in search of her calf, which is lost or taken from her.

*b'c "^rir 584°' sti"^^'s thereof: for I have broken 01. XLIX.!. Moab like fa vessel wherein is

How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the iback with shame! so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about

40 For thus saiththe Lord; Behold, 'he shall fly as an eagle, and shall ^ spread his wings over Moab.

41 *Kerioth "is taken, and the strong holds ai-e surprised, and '•' the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

42 And Moab shall be destroyed '^ from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord.

43 ' Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be

we have seen before, were signs of the deepest distress and desolation.

Verse 40. He shall fiy as an eagle] The enemy will pounce upon him, carry him off, and tear him to pieces.

Verse -1'3. yioab shall be destroyed from being a people] The}' shall not have a king or civil governor: and I doubt whether there be any evidence that they were ever reinstated in their national character. They were captivated by the Chaldeans; and probably many returned with the Jews on the edict of Cyrus: but as to their being an independent nation after this, where is the positive proof?

Verse 45. They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon] Heshbon being a fortified place, they who were worsted in the fight fled to it, and rallied under its walls; but, instead of safety, they found themselves disappointed, betrayed, and ruined. See ver. 2, and the note there.

But afire shall come forth out of Heshbon] Jeremiah has borrowed tliis part of his discourse from an ancient poet quoted by Moses, Num. xxi. 28; where see the notes.

44 He tliat neeth from the i(;ar r. Roman., shall fall into the pit; and he that

gctteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for J' I will bring upon it, evcti upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

4 5 They that fled «tood under the shadow ol Heshbon because of the force: but '■ a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and " shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the ■^ tumultuous ones.

46 "^ Wo be unto thee, 0 Moab! tlie people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken '' captives, and thy daughters captives.

47 Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab ^ in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.

Verse 46. The people of Chemosh] The Moabites, who worshipped Chemosh as their supreme god.

Verse 47. Will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days] I have already expressed doubts (see ver. 42) whether the Moabites were ever restored to their national distinction. The expressions in this chapter, relative to their total destruction as a people, are so strong and so frequent, that they leave little room for a limited interpretation. That many of them returned on the edict of Cyrus, by virtue of which the Jews were restored, I doubt not; but neither the Ammonites, Moabites, Philistines, nor even the Jews them selves, were ever restored to their national consequence. Perhaps the restoration spoken of here, which was to take place in the latter days, may mean the conversion of these people, in their existing remnants, to the faith of the Gospel. Several judicious interpreters are of this opinion. The Moabites were partially restored; but never, as far as I have been able to learn, to their national consequence. Their conversion to the Christian faith must be the main end designed bv this prophecy.

This chapter is a collection of prophecies relating to several nations in the neighbourhood of Judea; and, like those preceding, arc.mppo.-ied to have been fulfilled by the ministry of Nebuchadnezzar during the thirteen years' siege of Tyre. The chapter opens with a prophecy concerning the Ammonites, whose chief city, Rabhah, shall be destroyed; and Malcom, the supreme divinity of the people, with all his retinue of priests and officers, carried into captivity, 1-5. Promise that the Ammonites shall he restored to their liberty, 6. Prophecy against the Edomites, {very like that most dreadful one in the thirty -fourth chapter of Isaiah against the same people,) who shall be utterly exterminated, after the similitude of Sodom and

Gomorrah, 7—22. Prophecy against Damascus, 23—27; and against Kedar, 28, 29. Utter desolation of the kingdoms of Hazor foretold, 30-33. The polity of the Elamites shall he completely dissolved, and the people dispersed throughout the nations, 34—38. The Elamites shall he delivered from their captivity in the latter days, 39. It will be proper here to observe that these predictions should 7iot be so explained as if they admitted of merely a private interpretation; for, as Bishop Lowth remarks upon Isaiah's prophecy concerning the Idumeans, " by a figure very common in the prophetical ivritings, any city or people, remarkably distinguished as enemies of the people and kingdom of God, is put for those enemies in general;" therefore, it is under the Gospel dispensation that these prophecies shall be accomplished to their fullest extent upon all the antichrislian nations that have sinned after the similitude of the ancient enemies of the people of God undei^the Mosaic economy.

king inherit "^ Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?

2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, tliat 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 lire: then shall Israel be heir \mto 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 run to and fro by the hedges; for? their king shall go into captivity, a?id his '' priests and his princes together.

4 Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, ' thy

Verse I. Concerning the Ammonites] This prophetic discourse was also delivered after the capture

Hath Israel no sons? — no heir?] The Ammonites, it appears, took advantage of the depressed state of Israel, and invaded their territories in the tribe of Gad, hoping to make them their own for ever. But the prophet intimates that God will preserve the descendants of Israel, and will bring them back to their forfeited inheritances.

Why then doth their kijig] DllSn Malcom or Milcom, the chief idol of the Ammonites. That the idol Mtlcom is here meant is sufficiently evident from ver. 3, ■where it is said: " Milcom (not their king) shall go into captivity; his priests and his princes together." Milcom is also called Molech. Malcom is put here for the Ammonites, as the people of Chemosh in the preceding chapter are put for the Moabites in general.

Verse 3. Run to and fro by the hedges] It is supposed that this may refer to the women making lamentations for the dead, that were in general buried by the walls of their gardens; but others think that it refers to the smaller cities or villages, called here the datishters of Rabbah, the metropolis; the inhabitants of

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 And " afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the

wisdom no more in 1 eman.' r. Roman., p is counsel perished firom the ""'• """""' ^"- prudent?, is their wisdom vanished?

which are exliorted to seek safety somewhere else, as none can be expected from them, now that the enemy is at hand.

Verse 4. Wherefore gloriest thou] Though thy valleys be fruitful, yet glory not in them. Though thou have much political and military power, do not trust in them, nor in the multitude of thy cities; a stronger than thou is coming against thee.

Verse 6. Afterward I ivill bring again] The Ammonites are supposed to have returned with the Moabites and Israelites, on permission given by the edict of Cyrus.

Verse 8. Dwell deep] An allusion to the custom of the ^\jabs, who, when about to be attacked by a powerful foe, strike their tents, pack up their utensils, lade their camels, which they can do in a couple of hours, and set off to the great desert, and so bury themselves in it that no enemy either will or can pursue, as it is the Arabs alone that know the deserts, and can find tvater and provender for their support.

gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy " till they have enough.

10 ^' But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered 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 not.

1 1 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

12 For thus saith the Lord; Behold, '^ they whose judgment u-as not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.

13 For yJ have sworn 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 from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen,

Verse 9. If grape-gatherers] Both in vintage and iiarvest every grape and every stalk are not gathered; hence the gleaners get something for tlieir pains: but your enemies shall not leave one of you behind; all shall be carried into caplivilv.

Verse 10. I have made Esau hare] I have stripped him of all defence, and have discovered his hidingplaces to his enemies.

Verse 11. Leave Ihy fatherless children] The connexion of this with the context is not easy to be discerned; but, as a general maxim, it is of great importance. Widows and orphans are the peculiar care of God. He is as the best of fathers to the one, and the most loving of husbands to the other. Even the widows and orphans of Esau, who escape the general destruction, shall be taken care of by the Lord.

Verse 19.. Art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished.'J A similar form of speech appears, chap. x.\T. 29. Others, less wicked than thou, have been punished; and canst thou expect to escape ^ Thou shalt not escape.

Verse 13. Bozrah shall become a desolation] Bozrah, a city of Idumea, is here put for the whole country.

Verse 14. I have heard a rumour] The Lord has revealed to me what he is about to do to the Edomites.

-4n ambassador is.^enl] I believe this means only that God has given permission, and has stirred up the

16 Thy terriblcncss hath deceived thee, and the pride of tliine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that boldest the height of the hill: *> though thou shouldest make thy ■= nest as high as the eagle, ^ I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.

17 Also Edom shall be a desolation: "every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

18 'As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it.

19 B Behold, he shall come up like a lion from •• the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for ' who is like me? and who will ^ appoint me the time? and ' who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

convenl me in judgment. 1 Job xli. 10.

Verse 16. O thou that divellest] All Idumea is full of mountains and rocks, and these rocks and mountains full of caves, w^here, in time of great heats, and in time of war, the people take shelter.

Averse 18. As in the overthrow of Sodom] The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbouring cities was so terrible, that, when God denounces judgments against incorrigible sinners, he tells them they shall be like Sodom and Gomorrah.

No man shall abide there] It shall be so desolate as not to be habitable. Travellers may lodge on the ground for a night; but it cannot become a permanent dwelling.

A'erse 1 9. Behold, he shall come up like a lion] See the note on chap. xii. 5. The similitude used here is well illustrated by Dr. Blayney: " AATien I shall occasion a like commotion in her (Idumea) as a fierce and strong lion may be supposed to do in the sheepfolds, then I will cause him (the man of whom it is said in the preceding verse that he should not dwell in it) to run away from her as the affrighted shepherds and their flocks run from the lion."

A chosen man] Nebuchadnezzar. That is, God has chosen this man, and given him a commission against Idumea.

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 Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with

21 " The earth is moved at the noise of their fail, at tlie cry the noise thereof was heard in the " Red Sea.

22 Behold, ^he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrali: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her

R? Roman., Arpad: tor they have heard evil cir. annum 17. tj(jjj.,gs. tjigy r ^re faint-hcartod; ' tliere is sorrow ^ on the sea; it cannot be quiet.

24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her:

Verse 20. The inhabitants of Teman] Taken here for the whole of Idumea. These are a kind of synonyms which prevent monotony, and give variety to the poet's versification.

Surely Ike least of the flock shall draw them nut] They shall be like timid sheep; the weakest foe shall overcome them.

Verse 21. The earth is moved] The whole state is represented here as a vast Intilding suddenly thrown down, so as to cause the earth to tremble, and the noise to be heard at a great distance.

Verse 29. He shall come up and fly as the eagle] Nebuchadnezzar. See chap, xlviii. 40.

Verse 23. Concerning D.im-\scus.] This is the head or title of another prophecy. Damascus was one of the principal cities of Syria. It was taken by David, 2 Sam. viii. 6, was retaken in the reign of Solomon, 1 Kings xi. 24, &c., and regained its independence. Its kings were often at war with the ten tribes, and once it joined with them for the destruction of Judah. To defend himself against the.se powerful enemies Ahaz made a league with the king of As.syria, who besieged Damascus, took, and demolished it. From that time we hear nothing of Damascus till we meet with it in this prophecy. It appears to have been rebuilt and restored to some consequence. It made an obstinate resistance to Nebuchadnezzar; but was at last taken and sacked by him. At present it is both a large and populous city, with considerable commerce.

^ anguish and son'ows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

25 How is ' the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!

26 ^' Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.

27 And I will kindle a •'^ fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad.

saith the Lord; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil ^ the men of the east.

29 Their ^ tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels, and they shall cry unto them, '' Fear is on every side.

30 '^ Flee, "^ get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken coun-

Hamath is confounded] This is a city of Syria, on the Oronles. The Greeks called it Epiphania.

Verse 25. How is the city of praise not left] Da mascus is so mined that she can no more be called a praiseworthy or happy city.

Verse 27. The palaces of Ben-hadad.] Damascus was a seat of the Syrian kings, and Ben-hadad was a name common to several of its kings.

Verse 28. Concerning Ked.^r, and concerning the KINGDOMS OF IIazob] This is the title of another new prophecy.

Kedar was the name of one of the sons of Ishmael (Gen. XXV. 13) who settled in Arabia, and who gave name to a powerful tribe of Arabs who used to traffic with the Tyrians in cattle. It appears from this prophecy that Nel)uchadnezzar got a commission to go against and reduce them to great misery.

Verse 29. Their tents and their flocks] This description of properly shows that they were Scenile or Nomad Arabs; persons who dwell in tents, and whose principal property was cattle, especially camels, of the whole of which they were plundered by the Chaldeans.

Verse 30. Dwell deep] Retire into the depths of the desert. See on ver. 8.

Inhabitants of Hazor] I cannot find tliis place. It was no doubt in Ai-abia, and a place of considerable importance; but it is now no more.

without care, saith the Lord, which have nei ther gates nor bars, loliich ' dwell alone.

32 And their camels shall be a booty, and the miUtitude of their cattle a spoil; and I will '' scatter into all winds ' them that are ^ in the utmost corners, and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the

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.

" B.^c. c'i soT' 34 The word of the Lord that 01. cir. XLV. 3. came to Jeremiah the prophet

R. Roman., agauist " Llam m the beginning ''''•'"°"°"^- of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying.

Have neither gates nor bars\ The Arabs, who had nothing but tlieir tents; no cities, nor even permanent villages.

Verse 32. The utmost corners} Even in these utmost inacces.sible recesses the sword and pillage shall

Verse 33. Hazor shall he a dwelling for dragons'] Shall be turned into a wilderness.

There shall no man abide there] It may occasionally be visited, but never made a permanent abode.

Verse 34. The word — against Elam] Another new head of prophecy. As this was delivered in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, it can have no natural nor historical connexion with the other prophecies in this various chapter. Some think that by Elam Persia is always meant; but this is not at all likely. It was a part of the Babylonian empire in the time of Daniel, (chap. viii. 2,) and is most probably what is called Elymais by the Greeks. This, with Susiana, Nebuchadnezzar subdued, and took from Astvai^es, kins of Media. - J ^ B

Verse 35. / tvill break the bom of Elam] They were eminent archers; and had acquired their power and eminence by their dexterity in the use of the bow.

36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and p 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 to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the Lord; 1 and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed 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 it shall come to pass " in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.

See Isa. xxii. 6. Strabo, Livy, and others speak of their eminence in archery.

Verse 36. Will I bring the four rvinds] Nebuchadnezzar and his armies, gathered out of different provinces, and attacking this people at all points in the same time.

There shall be no nation, ^-c] They shall be scattered through the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of which the Babylonish empire is composed.

Verse 38. / will set my throne in Elam] This is spoken either of Nebuchadnezzar or Cyrus. It is certain that CjTus did render himself ma.ster of Elymais and Media, which are in the land of Elam.

Verse 39. / will bring again the captivity of Elam] As this is to be in the latter days, probably it may mean the spiritual freedom which these people would receive under the Gospel dispensation. Under Cyrus, the Elamites, collected out of all quarters, were united with the Persians their neighbours, and became, with them, masters of the east. See Calmet and Dahkr. There are still, however, difficulties on this subject. Who the Elamites were is still a question. That which appears to be nearest the truth is, that the Elmnites and Persians were two distinct people, and continued so till blended together under Cyrus. It is in this light that I have considered the subject in the preceding notes. Neighbouring people are frequently confounded in history, and sometimes the name of a people is given to those who have the same character.

This and the following chapter contain a prophecy relating to the fall of Babylon, interspersed with several predictions relative to the restoration of Israel and Judah, who were to survive their oppressors, and, cm their repentance, to be pardoned and brought to their own land. This chapter opens with a prediction of the complete destruction of all the Babylonish idols, and the utter desolation of Chaldea, through the instrumentality of a great northern nation, 1-3. Israel and Judah shall be reinstated m the land of their forefathers after the total overthrow of the great Babylonish empire, 4, 5. Very oppressive and cruel bondage of the Jeieish people during the captivity, 6, 7. The people of God are commanded to remove speedily from Babylon, because an assembly of great nations are coming out of the north to desolate the whole land, 8-10. Babylon, the hammer of the whole earth, the great desolator of nations, shall itself become a desolation on account of its intolerable pride, and because of the iron yoke it has rejoiced to put upon a people whom a mysterious Providence had placed under its domination, 11-34. The judgments which shall fall upon Chaldea, a country addicted to the grossest idolatry, and to every species of superstition, shall be most awful and general, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, 35-40. Character of the people appointed to execute the Divine judgments upon the oppressors of Israel, 41-45. Great sensation among the nations at the very terrible and sudden fall of Babylon, 46.

'T^HE word that the Lord spake | desolate, and none shall dwell •*; ^- ^^o^- ''against Babylon rtWfZ against therein: they shall remove, they 01. XLVI. 2.

Tarquinii Prisci, the land of the Chaldeans ''by ^ ^°""'"' ^^- Jeremiah the prophet.

2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and " set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, ^ Bel is confoimdea, 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 nation against her, which shall make her land

Verse 1. The word that the LORD spake AtfAiNST Babtlon] This is also a new head of discourse.

The prophecy contained in this and the following chapter was sent to the captives in Bahylon in the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah. They are very important; they predict the total destruction of the Babylonish empire, and the return of the Jevi-s from their captivity. These chapters ^^•ere probably composed, with several additions, out of the book that was then sent by Jeremiah to the captives by the hand of Seraian. See chap. li. 59—64.

Say, Babylon is lalicn] It is a thing so firmly determined, that it is as good as already done.

Bel] The tutelar deity of Babylon is confounded, because it cannot save its own city.

Mei-odach] Another of their idols, is broken to pieces; it was not able to save itself, much less the whole empire.

4 In those days, and in that «■ Boman., 22. time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, '' they and the children of Judah together, ' going and weeping: they shall go, ^ and seek the Lord their God.

5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying. Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in ' a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.

Verse 3. Out of the north there cometh up a nation] The Medes, who formed the chief part of the army of Cyrus, lay to the north or north-east of Babylon.

Shall make her land desolate] This war, and the consequent taking of the city, began those disasters that brought Babylon in process of time to complete desolation; so that now it is not known where it stood, the whole country being a total solitude.

Verse 4. In those days, and in that time] In the times in which Babylon shall be opposed by the Medes and Persians, both Israel and Judah, seeing the commencement of the fulfilling of the prophecies, shall begin to seek the Lord with much prayer, and broken and contrite hearts. When the decree of Cyrus comes, they shall be ready to set off for their own country, deploring their offences, yet rejoicing in the mercy of God which has given them this reviving in their bondage.

Verse 5. Let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant] All o\iX former covenants have been broken; let us now make one that shall last for ever. He shall be the Lord our God, and we will no more worship idols. This covenant they have kept to the present day; whatever their present moral and spiritual state may be, they are no idolaters, in the gross sense of the term.

OL XLVi. 2. sheep: their shepherds have Tarnuinii Prisci, Caused them to go astray, they R. Roman., 23. ^i^^q tumcd them a'.vay on ° the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their ° resting place.

7 All that found them have p devoured them: and 1 their adversaries said, ■■ We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, ' the habitation of justice, even the Lord, ' the Hope of their fathers.

8 " Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and

The description that is here given of the state of this people, their feehngs and their conduct, finely exhibit the state of real penitents, who are fervently seeking the salvation of their sotds.

1. In those days, when Jesus Christ is manifested in the flesh; and in tliat time, when through him is preached the remission of sins, and the people who hear are pricked in their conscience.

S. The children of Israel and the children of Judah together. — No distinctions being then felt or attended to; for all feel themselves sinners, who have come short of the glory of God. Even national distinctions and religious differences, which bind men fastest, and hold them longest, are absorbed in the deep and overpowering concern they feel for their eternal interests.

3. Going and ivee/jing shall they go. — Religious.sorrow does not preclude activity and diligence. While they are iceeping for their sins, they are going on in the path of duty, seeking the Lord while he may be found, and calling upon him while he is near.

4. They shall ask the U'ay to Zion. — Real penitents are the most inquisitive of all mortals; but their inquiries are limited to one object, they ask the way to Zion. Wliat shall we do to be saved? How shall we shim the perdition of ungodly men, &c.

5. With their faces thitherward. — -They have turned FROJi sin, and turned to God. They have left the paths of the destroyer, and their hearts are towards God, and the remembrance of his name. Thus they are profiting by that light which has convinced them of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

6. C'nine, and let us join ourselves to the Lord. — Religion is a social principle, and begets a social feeling in the soul. No man who feels his own sore, and the plague of Iiis heart, wishes to venture alone in the way to heaven. He feels he wants counsel, support, comfort, and the company of those who wUl watch over him in love. Like David, the true penitent is a companion of all those who fear the Lord. These heavenly feelings come from one and the same Spirit, and lead to the same end; hence they say, —

7. Let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant. It is said, that to be undecided, is to be decided. They who are not determined to go to heaven, will never reach it. If the heart be not laid under obligation, it will do nothing. " I hope I am in ear-

9 ' For, lo, I will raise and "" ^°""^"- •'^- cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall " set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall he as of a mighty ^ expert man; y none shall return in vain.

10 And Chaldea shall be a spoil: ^ all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.

nest; I trust I shall be in earnest about the salvation of my soul; it is very proper I shoidd be so;" and such like, show an irresolute sold. Such persons are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Let us therefore bind ourselves. We have trifled too long; been indecisive too long; have halted too long between two opinions. We know now that Jehovah is God; let us, therefore, enter into a covenant with him. Let this covenant be a perpetual one: let us not make it for a day, for any particular time, hat for ever; and let it never be broken. Let our part be kept inviolable: we ARE and will be thy people; and God's part will never fail, I am and will be your God.

The covenant requires a sacrifice. — Hence n'13 berith signifies both. Christ crucified is the great covenant sacrifice. By him God becomes united to us, and through him we become united to God.

Verse 6. My people hath been lost sheep] He pities them; for their pastors, kings, and prophets have caused them to err.

They have gone from mountain to hill] In aU high places they have practised idolatry.

Verse 7. Their adversaries said. We offend not] God has abandoned them; we are only fulfilling his designs in plaguing them.

Verse 8. Remove out of the midst of Babylon] The sentence of destruction is gone out against it; prepare for your flight, that ye be not overwhelmed in its ruin.

Be as the he-goats before the flocks.] Who always run to the head of the flock, giving the example for others to follow. This may be addressed to the elders and persons of authority among the people.

Verse 9. An assembly of great nations] The armv of Cyrus was composed of Medes, Persians, Armenians, Caducians, Sacae, &c. Though all these did not come from the north; yet they were arranged under the Medes, who did come from the north, in reference to Babylon.

Their arrows] They are such expert archers, that they shall never miss their mark.

Verse 10. Chaldea shall be a spoil] She has been a spoUer, and she shall be spoiled. They had destroyed Judea, God's heritage; and now God shall cause her to be destroyed.

11^ Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye

shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land.

1 7 Israel is p a scattered sheep; 1 the lions have driven him away: first ' the king of AssjTia hath devoured him; and last

she that bai'e you shall be ashamed: behold, i this " Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath the hindermost of the nations shall he a wilder-; broken his bones.

1 3 Because of the wrath of the Lord it [ the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the

shall not be inhabited, " but it shall be wholly; king of Babylon and his land, as I have

Ion shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

14 s Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye '^ that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for «he hath sinned against the Lord.

15 Sliout against her round about: she hath ' given her hand: her foundations are fallen, ''her walls are tlirown 'down: for 'it is the vengeance of the Lord: take vengeance upon her; "* as she hath done, do unto her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the ° sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword ° they

Terse 11. As the heifer at grass] Ye were wanton in the desolations ye brought upon Judea.

Verse 12. Your mother] Speaking to the Chaldeans: BABYLON, the metropolis, or mother city, shall be a wilderness, a dry land, a desert, neither fit for man nor beast.

Verse 15. S!iout against her round about] Encompass her with lines and \rith troops; let none go in with relief, none come out to escape from her ruin.

Verse 16. Cut off the sou-er] Destroy the gardens and the fields, that there may be neither fruits nor tillage.

Verse 17. Israel] All the descendants of Jacob have been harassed and spoiled, first by the Assyrians, and afterwards by the Chaldeans. They acted towards them as a lion to a sheep wliich he has caught; first he devours all the flesh, next he breaks aU the bones to extract the marrow.

Verse 18. -Is I have punished the king of Assyria.] The Assyrians were overthrown by the Medes and the Chaldeans. The king is here taken for all their kings, generals, &c., Tiglath-pUeser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, Esar-haddon, &c. To them succeeded the Chaldean or Babylonish kings. Nebuchadnezzar came

1 9 ' And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon Moimt Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, " the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them '^ whom I reserve.

21 Go up against the land "of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of ^ Pekod: ^ waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the Lord, and do ^ according to all that I have commanded thee.

Verse 19. / ttiill bring Israel again] This seems to refer wholly to the ten tribes; for Carmel, Bashan, Mount Ephraim, and Gilead, were in their territories.

Verse 20. In those days and in that time] This phrase appears to take in the whole of an epoch, from its commencement to its end. See ver. 4.

/ toill pardon them] So as to deliver them from their captivity, and exact no more punishment from them whom I reserve; namely, the remnant left in the Babylonish captivity.

Verse 21. Go vp against the land of Merathaim^ and against the inhabitants of Pekod] No such places as these are to be found any where else; and it is not likely that places are at all meant. The ancient Versions agree in rendering the first as an appellative, and the last as a verb, except the Chaldee, which has Pekod as a proper name. Dr. Blayney translates: — " Against the land of bitternesses, go up:

Upon it, and upon its inhabitants, visit, O sword!" Dr. Dahler renders thus: — " March against the country doubly rebellious, against Judea several times; and at last took the city and burnt it, profaned and demolished the temple, wasted I The latter of these two versions 1 take to be the most

23 How is •> the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, 0 Babylon, "and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the Lord.

25 The Lord hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth >> the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come against her » from the utmost border, open her storehouses: f cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let notliing of her be left.

27 Slay all her s bullocks; let them go down 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 of the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple.

29 Call together the archers against Babylon: i' all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape:

30 » Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the Lord.

3 1 Behold, I am against thee, O thou " most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for nhy day is come, the time that I will visit thee.

32 And "! the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and ' I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.

33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah ivere oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.

34 ^ Their Redeemer is strong; « the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and upon the inhabitants of Baby Ion, and " upon her princes, and upon ' her wise men.

literal. The words are addressed to the Medes and Persians; and the country is Chaldea, doubly rebellious by its idolatry and its insufferable pride. In these two, it was exceeded by no other land.

Verse 23. The hammer of the xchole earth] Nebuchadnezzar dashed to pieces the nations against whom he warred. He was the scourge of the Lord.

Verse 24. I have laid a snare for thee] It was not by storm that Cyrus took the city. The Euphrates ran through it; he dug a channel for the river in another direction, to divert its stream; he waited for that time m wliich the inhabitants had delivered themselves up to debauchery: in the dead of the night he turned off the stream, and he and his army entered by the old channel, now void of its waters. This was the snare of which the prophet here spealcs. See Herodotus, lib. 1., c. 191.

Verse 26. Open her stor'e-houses] At the time that Cyrus took the city, it was foil of provisions and treasures of all kinds; the walls had suffered no injury ■ and when the inhabitants heard that the enemy was within, they thought they must have arisen out of the earth in the centre of the city!

Verse 28. Declare in Zion the vengeance of the Lordl Zion was desolated by Babylon; tell Zion that God hath desolated the desolator.

The vengeance of his temple.] WTiich Nebuchadnezzar had pUlaged, profaned, and demolished, transporting its sacred vessels to Babylon, and putting them in the temple of his god Bel.

Verse 29. Call together the archers] The preceding verses are the prediction: here, God calls the Medes and Persians to fulfil it.

Verse 31. O thou most proud] \)n zadon. Pride in the abstract; proudest of all people.

Verse 32. And the most proud];nT zadon, as before. Here pride is personified and addressed, as if possessing a being and rational powers.

Verse 3t. Their Redeemer is strong] And it was not that he wanted power, and that Nebuchadnezzar had much, that Jerusalem was taken; but because the people had.sinned, and would not return; and therefore national sins called for national punishments. These have taken place; and now the Lord of hosts shows them that the potver of the Chaldeaiis is mere weakness against his might.

Verse 35. A siowd] War and its calamities, or any grievous plague; and so in the following verses.

37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all ^ the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and "they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.

38 '^ A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried 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 thei-e, 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 f As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the Lord; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.

4 1 f Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

42 '^ They shall hold the bow and the lance:

Verse 38. A drought is upon her waters] May not this refer to tiie draining of the channel of the Euphrates, by wiiich tlie army of Cyrus entered tiie city. See on ver. 24. Tiie original is, liowever, 3"in chereb, a sword, as in tlie preceding verses, vviiich signifies war, or any calamity by which the thing on which it falls is ruined.

Verse 39. The wild beasts of the desert] Dahler translates these various terms, " The wild cats, the jaelials, and the ostriches." And Blayney the same. Wicldif, " Dragons, woodewoses, and ostriches." Coverdale, " Wild beestes, apes, and estriches."

Verse 40. As God overthrew Undom] As the very ground on which these cities stood, with all the plain, now lies under the Dead Sea; so Babylon and the adjacent country shall be rendered totally barren and un-

' they are cruel, and will not show ^- ^?*°3- me-cy: •' their voice shall roar oi. XLvi. 2. like the sea, and they shall ride Tarquinii Prisci, upon horses, every one put in R- Roman.. 22. array, 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 " appoint me the time? and ° who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

45 Therefore hear ye p the counsel of the Lord, that he hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make ^/iezr habitation desolate with them.

46 "i At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.

fruitful, and utterly incapable of being inhabited. And tliis is the fact concerning both countries. See chap, xlix. 18.

Verse 41. Behold, a people shall come from the north] This and the two following verses are nearly the same with chap. vi. 22-24. But here, destroyers against Babylon are intended; there, destroyers against

Verse 44. Behold, he shall come up like a lion] The same words as in chap. xlix. 19, &c., where see the note.

Verse 46. At the noise of the taking of Babylon] See the note on the parallel place, chap. xlix. 21. In the forty-ninth chapter, these words are spoken of Ne buchadnezzar; here, of Cyrus. The taking of Babylon was a wonder to all the surrounding nations. It was thought to be impregnable.

Sequel of the prophecies of Jeremiah against Babylon. The dreadful, sudden, and final ruin that shall fall upon the Chaldeans, who have compelled the nations to receive their idolatrous rites, (see an instance m the third chapter of Daniel,) set forth by a variety of beautiful figures; with a command to the people of

God, {who have made continual intercession for the conversion of their heathen rulers,) to Jlce from the impending vengeance, 1—14. Jehovah, IsraeVs God, whose infinite poxoer, wisdom, and understanding are every where visible in the works of creation, elegantly contrasted with the utterly contemptible objects if the Chaldean worship, 15-19. Because of their great oppression of God's people, the Babylonians shall be visited ivilh cruel enemies from the north, whose innumerable hosts shall fill the land, and utterly extirpate the original inhabitants, 20—44. One of the figures by which this formidable invasion is represented is awfully sublime. " The.ska is come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of the leaves thereof.^'' And the accoimt of the sudden desolation produced by this great armament of a multitude of nations, {which the prophet, dropping the figure, immediately subjoins,) is deeply afflictive. " 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." The people of God a third time admonished to escape from Babylon, lest they be overtaken with her plagues, 45, 46. Ocher figures setting forth in a variety of lights the atvful judgments with which the Chaldeans shall be visited on account of their very gross idolatries, 47-58. The significant emblem with ivhich the chapter concludes, of Seraiah, after having read the book of the Prophet Jeremiah against Babylon, binding a stone to it, and casting it into the river Euphrates, thereby prefiguring the very sudden downfall of the Chaldean city and empire, 59—64, is beautifully improved by the loriter of the Apocalypse, cliap. xviii. 21, in speaking of Babylon the Great, of which the other teas a most expressive type; and to which many of the passages interspersed throughout the Old Testament Scriptures relative to Babylon must be ultimately referred, if tee would give an interpretation in every respect equal to the terrible import of the language in which these prophecies are conceived.

% c' wf THUS saith the Lord; Behold, though their land was filled with ^^ M. 3409.

Tarquinii Prisci, lon, and against them that dwell R.feoman.,22. j^ jj^g a j^idst of them that rise up against me, ^ a destroying wind;

2 And will send unto Babylon "^ 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 himself 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 in her streets.

5 For Israel hath not heen forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the Lord of hosts;

6 •> Flee out of the midst of «■ K"-"^". 22. Babylon, and deliver every man his soul; be not cut ^ofF in her iniquity; for ' this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; '' he will render unto her a recompense.

7 ' Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: "'the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations ° are mad.

8 Babylon is suddenly ° fallen and destroyed: f howl for her; 1 take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and ' let us go every one into his own country: ^ for her

Verse 1. Thus saith the Lord] This chapter is a continuation of the preceding prophecy.

A destroying wind.] Such as the pestilential winds in the east; and here the emblem of a destroying army, carrying all before them, and wasting with fire and sword.

Verse 2. And will send — fanner.i] When the corn is trodden out with the feet of cattle, or crushed out with a heavy wheel armed with iron, with a shovel they throw it up against the wind, that the chaff and Isoken straw may be separated from it. This is the image used by the prophet; these people shall be trodden, crushed, and fanned by their enemies.

Verse 5. For Israel hath not hcpn forsaken] God •till continued his prophets among them; he had never cast them wholly off. Even in the midst of lerath — highly deserved and inflicted punishment, he has remembered mercy; and is now about to crown w hat he has done by restoring them to their own land. I conceive nriyft asham, which we translate sin, as rather signifying punishment, which meaning it often has.

Verse 7. Made all the earth drunken] The cup of God's wTath is the plenitude of punishment, that he inflicts on transgressors. It is represented as intoxicating and makmg them mad.

Verse 8. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed\ These appear to be the words of some of the spectators of Babylon's misery.

Verse 9. We would have healed Babylon] Had it been in our power, wc would have saved her; but we could not turn away the judgment of God.

A^M. 3409. judgment reacheth unto heaven, 01. XL VI. 2. and is lifted up even to the skies.

and let us " declare in Zion the work of the

1 1 '' Make " bright 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 '' 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 waters, abimdant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.

14 '^ The Lord of hosts hath sworn " by himself, saying. Surely I will fill thee with

Verse 10. The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness] This is the answer of the Jews. God has vindicated our cause.

The Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Mcde.i] Of Cyaxares king of Media, called Darius the Mede in Scripture; and of Cyrus king of Persia, presumptive heir of the throne of Cyaxares, his uncle. Cambyses, his father, sent him, C\tus, with 30,000 men to assist his uncle Cyaxares, against Neriglissar king of Babylon, and by these was Babylon overthrown.

Verse 12. Set up the standard] A call to the enemies of Babylon to invest the city and press the siege.

Verse 13. O thou that dwellest upon many waters] Thou who hast an abundant supply of waters. It was buUt on the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates; the latter running through the city. But the many waters may mean the many nations which belonged to the Babylonish empire; nations and people are frequently so called in Scripture.

Verse 14. I loill fill Ihee with men] By means of these very waters through the channel of thy boasted river, thou shall be filled with men, suddenly appearing as an army of locusts; and, without being expected, shall lift up a terrific cry, as soon as they have risen from the channel of the river.

Verse 15. He hath made the earth by his power] The omnipotence of God is particularly manifested in the works of creation.

15 i He hath made the earth by «■ R""-^"- 22. his power, he hath established tlie world by his wisdom, and ''hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.

16 'When he uttereth his voice, there is a " multitude of waters in the heavens; and " he 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 ° Every man p is bnitish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: 1 for his molten image is falsehood, and there -is no breath in them.

18 "■ They are vanity, tiie work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

1 9 ^ The Portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.

He hath established the world by his wisdom] The omniscience of God is particularly seen in the government of "73n tebel, the inhabited surface of the globe. ^Vhat a profusion of wisdom and skill is apparent in that wondrous system of providence by which he governs and provides for every living thing.

Aiid hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.] Deep thought, comprehensive design, and consummate skUI are especially seen in the formation, magnitudes, distances, revolutions, and various affections of the heavenly bodies.

There is a multitude of waters] For the electric sparh, by decomposing atmospheric air, converts the hydrogen and oxygen gases, of which it is composed, into icater; which falls down in the form of rain.

Causeth the vapours to ascend] He is the Author of that power of evaporation by which the water is rarified, and, being lighter than the air, ascends in form of vapour, forms clouds, and is ready to be sent down again to water the earth by the action of his lightnings, as before,.^nd by those same lightnings, and the agency of heat in general, currents of air are formed, moving in various directions, which we call ■'.ciyuls.

Verse 17. Every man is brutish by his hioivleige] He is brutish for want of real knowledge; and he is brutish when he acknowledges that an idol is any thing in the world. These verses, from fifteen to ninetem, are transcribed from chap. x. 12-16.

■fl "c' ^' ^^ ' Thou art my battle axe and 01. xLvi. 2. weapons of war: for " with thee

iiiPrisci, will I break in pieces the nations, '•' ^^' and with thee will I destroy

2 1 And with thee will I break in pieces the liorsc and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;

22 Willi 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 wiU 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.

2-i " 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,

25 Behold, I a7n against thee, ^ 0 destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, y and will make thee a burnt momitain.

26 And they shall not take of thee a stone

Verse 20. Thou art my battle axe] I believe Nebuchadnezzar is meant, who is called, chap. 1. 23, the hammer of the whole earth. Others think the words are spoken of Cyrus. All the verbs are in the past tense: " With thee have I broken in pieces," &c., &c.

Verse 24. And I will render] The 1 vau should be translated but, of which it has here the full power^: " But I will render unto Babylon."

Verse 25. O destroying mountain] Another epithet which he applies to the Babylonish government; it is like a burning mountain, which, by vomiting continual streams of burning lava, inundates and destroys all towns, villages, fields, &c., in its vicinity.

And roll thcc down from the rods] I will tumble thee from the rocky base on which thou restest. The combustible matter in thy bowels being exhausted, thou shalt appear as an extinguished crater; and the stony matter which thou castest out shall not be of sufficient substance to make a, foundation stone for solidity, or a corner stone for beauty, ver. 26. Under this beautiful and most expressive metaphor, the prophet shows the nature of the Babylonish government; setting the nations on fire, deluging and destroying them by its troops, till at last, exliausted, it tumbles down, is extinguished, and leaves nothing as a basis to t'rect a new form of govermnent on; but is altogether

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 Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough 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 performed 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; s they became as women: they have biurned her dwellingplaces;/ ^ her bars are broken.

3 1 ' One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,

useless, like the cooled lava, which is, properly speaking, fit for no human purpose.

A'erse 27. Set ye up a standard] Another summons to the Mcdes and Persians to attack Babylon.

Calmet thinks that the Ascantes, who dwelt in the vicinity of the Tanais, are meant.

Verse 29. And the land shall tremble] It is represented here as trembling under the numerous armies that are passing over it, and the prancing of their horses.

Verse 30. The mighty men — have forborne to fight] They were panic-struck when they found the Medes and Persians within their walls, and at once saw that roeistance was useless.

Verse 31. One post shall run to meet another] As the city was taken by surprise, in the manner already

33 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is ' like a threshing-floor, " it " is time to thresh her: yet a little while, " and the time of her liarvest shall come.

34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath p devoured me, he hath crashed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my dclicates, he hath cast me out.

35 1 The violence done to me and to my ' flesh he upon Babylon, shall the ^ inhabitant of Zion say: and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, sliall Jerusalem say.

36 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold,

related, so now messengers, one after another, were despatched to give the king information of what was done; viz., that the city was taken at one end. Herodotus tells us that the extreme parts of the city were taken, before those of the centre knew any thing of the invasion. Herodot. lib. i. c. 191.

Verse 32. That the passages are stopped] Either the bridges or slips for boats, by which the inhabitants passed from one side to the other, and may mean the principal gates or passes in the city, which the victorious army would immediately seize, that they might prevent all communication betiveen the inhabitants.

The reeds they have burned u-ithfire] What this means I cannot tell, unless it refer to something done after the taking of the city. Setting fire to the reeds in the marshy ground, in order the better to clear the places, and give a freer passage to the water, that it may neither stagnate nor turn the solid ground into a marsh. Dr. Blayney thinks it refers to the firing of the houses, in order to throw the inhabitants into the greater confusion; but no historian makes any mention of burning the city, except what is said ver. 30, " They have burned her dwelling places;" and this may be a poetical expression. That they burnt nothing before they took the city must be evident from the circumstance of their taking the city by surprise, in the night time, with the greatest secrecy. Still there might have been some gates, barricadoes, or wooden works, serving for barracks or such like, which obstructed some of the great passages, which, when they had entered, they were obliged to bum, in order to get themselves a ready passage through the city. This is the more likely because this burning of reeds is connected with the stopping of the passages, burning the dwelling places, and breaking the bars.