Exposition of the Whole Bible

Ch. x1. ¥. 16. the river Euphrates was drained by feven ditches or rivulets by Cyrus, when Babylon was taken, by which. means his foldiers entered the city dry-fhod, to which the allufion may be here;. and it may denote the entire’ deftruction of the Turki/b empire, in all its branches;' for eve, as Kimebi obferves,. may fignify a multitude, even the many kingdoms, people, and nations under that jurifdi¢tion: and make men go over’ dry-fhod;: or with fhoes, with. them on, there being no need to pluck them off, the river and its ftreams being dried up;. by the men: are meant the kings of the eaft, of which fee the note on Rev. xvi. 42. all thefe phrafes denote. the removal of. all impediments out of the way of God’s people in thofe parts, in coming over to the: chriftian religion,, and their embracing and profeffing that. _ ig

¥. 16. And there fall be an high-way for the remnant of his people, &c.] ‘That is, thro? the river;. that being dried up, and all hinderances:and obftacles: being removed, the way will be clear for multitudes to walk in without interruption, like a large common high-way or caufe-way; fo the Mabometan, Pagan, and Papal kingdoms being deftroyed,. and with them their feveral religions, the way of. pruth, righteoufnefs, and holinefs will be manifeft to the remnant of the Lord’s.people; who will be at this time in thofe parts, in which they will be direéted to walk, and will walk, and not err, fee chap. xxxv. 8: which fhall be left from Affyria; the. Septuagint and Arabic verfions read, which is left in Egypt; and defigns the remnant, according to, the election of grace, that fhall be in any of the: antichriftian countries, either Mabametan or. Papal;. rather the former feems intended,. who fhall.at this. time be brought to the knowledge of Chrift, and: to walk in his ways: /ike as it. was to Ifrael in that day that he came up out of the land of Egypt; thatis, as there was a high-way made thro’ the redfea, in which Jrael pafled, as on dry land, whens. ‘they came out of dernefs to Canaan’s land.

HIS chapter contains a fong of praife and thank{giving for redemption and falvation by Chrift, of which the preceding chapter is a famous prophecy. It begins with an account of the church’s former uncomfortable, and now comfortable ftate and condition, y. r. the foundation of whofe comfort, was. Chrift her falvation and ftrength, and fo her. fong, which engaged her truft, and difpelled her fears, ¥. 2: hence encouragement to others to apply to the fulnefs of Chrift for grace and frefh fupplies of. it, to be had with joy, y. 3. and then follow certain mutual exhortations to praife, exalt, and glorify Chrift,, with reafons enforcing them, ¥..4, 5, 6.

-¥.1. And in that day thou fhali fay, &c.. The following fong of praife; juft as J/rael did, when they were brought thro’ the red-fea, and faved out of the hands of their énemies.;- to which there are feveral allufions and references in it;- that. deliverance being typical of falvation. by Chrift; the gofpel-day, or the times of the gofpel' are here: meant: O Lord, I will praife thee; or confefs thee’;

to be my Lord, redeemer and faviour, my hufband,.

and by means of the word and ordinances, head and king; or confefs to thee 3, my fins and tranfgreffions, and unworthinefs to receive any fa— vour from thee, and gratefully acknowledge alk the favours beftowed upon me: ¢ho’ thou waft angry with me as it appeared to the church, and. according to her apprehenfions of things, tho’ not in reality, or ftrictly or properly {peaking; for anger is not to be afcribed to God; but it is a fpeaking after the manner of men; and the Lord feems to be angry when he hides his face from his. people, when he refufes to hear their cries, when. he afflicts them, and continues his hand upon them,.

and when he lets in a fenfe of wrath into their con-

{ciences: thine anger is turned away, he granting:

his gracious prefence; taking off his affliéting hand;. manifefting his love, particularly his pardoning. grace and mercy; peace and reconciliation being, made by the blood of Chrift, and juftice fatisfi

Egypt, and went thro’ the wil— the effects of refentment and. difpleafure ceafe: and thou comfortedft me; by fhedding abroad his love im — her heart; by difcovering the free and full forgivenefs of fin; by lifting up the light of his. countenance; by an application of precious promifes 5 the influence of the bleffed Spirit as a comforter; who leads in this way for comfort to the perfon, _ blood, righteoufnefs, facrifice, and fulnefs of Chrift, and comforts with thefe, by applying them; and fhewing intereft in them. The Targum is, ** and ** thou fhalt fay at that time, I will confefs before * the Lord; for that I have finned before thee, ** thine anger is upon me; but when I am turned “to the law, thine anger will turn from me, and ** thou wilt have mercy oh me 3” or rather turned to Chrift, and embrace his gofpel, which is the only way to have comfort.

y.2. Behold, God is my falvation, &c.] Or Saviour; that is, Chrift, who is God, the great God, and fo fit to be a Saviour, and is one, was appointed by the Father, provided in covenant, promifed in the word, fent in the fulnefs of time, and is become the author of falvation, which a creature could not be; and this the church faw her intereft in, and which was the ground of her comfort before declared, and to which fhe prefixed the word behold, as a note of affeveration, affirming him to be her Saviour; and of admiration, wondering at it; and of exclufion of all others from being concerned therein; and of attention and direction to others, pointing him put as the only one to look unto. J will trujft, and not be afraid; truft in Chritt for falvation, be confident of enjoying it, and look upon mytfelf fafe and fecure from all wrath and condemnation, and from every enemy; and not be afraid of fin, fatan, the world, death, hell, and wrath to come. The Zargum joins this and the preceding claufe together, ‘‘ behold, in the word “< of God my falvation I truft, and fhall not be «< moved:” for the Lord Fehovah is my ftrength, and my fong; the author of her fpiritual ftrength; the firength of her life, and of her heart, which maintained the one, and fupported the other; the ftrength of her graces, and of her duties, by which fhe exerciféd the one, and performed the other: and the fubject-matter of her /ong were his perfon, and the fulnefs and fitnefs of it, his righreoufnefs, and falvation by him; this claufe, and the following one, are taken out of Exod. xv. 2: be alfo is become my falvation; falvation is wrought out by Chrift, and believers have it in him, and they know it, and believe it, and fo are already faved in him. __

¥. 3. Therefore with joy fhall ye draw water, 8c.) Thefe words are either an exhortation to others, as the Septuagint and Arabic Verfions render it, draw ye; and fo likewife an encouragement to them by her example, or a prophecy that they fhould do this; that is, apply to Chrift for grace, and receive it from him: for by wafer is meant grace, which is compared to it, -becaufe it is foftening, purifying, fructifying, cooling and refrefhing, and extinguifhes thirft, and this is to be drawn, it is to be come at, tho’ the well in which it is be deep, and not in the reach of every one; the bucket is faith that it is drawn with, and this is the gift of God; and it is in the exercife of this grace, which requires diligence, ftrength and labour, that faints receive from Chrift, and grace for gtace; and this is exercifed in the ufe of means, by prayer, reading of the fcriptures, and attendance on the word and ordinances, by which faith draws hard, and receives much, and when it does, it is attended with joy: falvation itfelf is received with joy, and fo is the Saviour; as alfo a juftifying righteoufnefs, and pardoning grace, and likewife every fupply of vocated, together with faith in him, and Pe grace; which joy is of a fpiritual kind, is in a way of believing, what a ftranger intermeddles not with, and is unfpeakable and full of glory: out of the wells of falvation, or fountains; as all the three perfons are; Febovah the Father, as he is called the fountain of living water, Fer. ii. 12. fo he is the fountain of falvation; it fprings from him, from his everlafting love, his eternal purpofes; his infinite wifdom, his fure and unalterable covenant, his free grace in the miffion of his Son; and he himfelf is the God of grace; from whence it all comes, and every fupply of it. The Spirit and his grace are called a well of kving water, Fohn iv. 14. and he alfo is a well of falvation; it is he that convinces men of their need of it, that brings near this falvation to them, and fhews them their intereft in it, and bears witnefs to it, and is the earneft and pledge of it; and he is the author of all that grace which makes them meet for it, and from whom are all the fupplies of it by the way. But more efpecially Chrift is meant, who is the fountain of gardens, and well of living water; Cant. iv. 15. in whom falvation is, and in no other: ‘the words may be rendered, che wells or fountains of the Saviour ', yea, of Fefus; and which are no other than the fulnefs of grace in him: the phrafe denotes the abundance of grace in Chrift, much of which is given out in converfion; an abundance of it is received with the free gift of righteoufnefs for juftification; and a large meafure of it in the pardon of fins, and in all the after-fupplies, thro’ the wildernefs of this world, till the faints come to glory; and which is vouchfafed to a great number, to all the elect angels and elect men, to all the churches, and the members thereof, in all ages; and this always has been; and ever will be communicating to them: The Zargum iss ‘‘ and ye ‘¢ fhall receive a new doétrine from the chofen, the ** righteous;” or of the righteous; which is true of the doétrine of the gofpel, received by the hands of chofen men, the apoftles of Chrift. The Jews * make ufe of this paflage, in confirmation of the ceremony of drawing of water at the feaft of Tabernacles, and fay ‘, it fignifies the drawing of the Holy Ghoft; that is, his grace.

¥. 4. In that day, fhall ye fay, praife the Lord, &c.] On account of his being and perfections, for bleflings received from him, efpecially fpiritual ones; and particularly fuch as are before-mentioned, fulnefs of grace in him, ftrength and falvation by him, a view of intereft in him as a Saviour, and divine comforts communicated from him; which is done by giving him the glory of them, and thanks for them: This is a work very proper for gofpeltimes; it always was a duty, and there was ever reafon for it under the former difpenfation; and much more under the prefent one; and there will be ftill more reafon for it in the latter day here referred to, wher antichrift will be deftroyed, the kingdom of Chrift will be enlarged, and his church will be in a very glorious ftate and condition, her walls will be falvation, and her gates praife; when the faints will be ftirring up one another to this fervice, and engaging in it with all readinefs and chearfulnefs; fee Rev. xi. 15, 16, 17. and xv. 2, 3. and xix. 1—7. Jf Ix. 18: call upon his name; which takes in the whole of religious worfhip, of which Chrift is the object, being the true Jehovah; and particularly prayer, in which his name is in-

/ of affection to his name; which is precious to believers, and is as ointment poured out,: declare bis doings among the people; not merely his works of creation, in which he was equally concerned with his divine Father; rior fo much fiis miratles which he wrought wher on earth, in proof of his Deity and Meffiahfhip, and in confirmation of his doctrine; but his acts of obediente and righteoufnels, which were perfect; and his bearing the fins of his people, and the punifhment due to them; and fo fulfilled the whole law, and hereby accomplifhed the great work of redemption anid falvation, which, according to his orders, have been publifhed among the Gentiles, for their good, and his glory: make mention that his name is exalted; that is, he himfelf, who has a name given him above every name; for having obeyed, fuffered, and died in the roorn of his people, he is by his Father, according to promife, exalted, by raifing him from the dead, receiving him into heaven, placing him at his right hand, giving him all power in heaven and in earth, and caufing angels, authorities, principalities, and powers, to be fubject to him; all which is to be made mention of, to the honour of his name: or elfe the fenfe is, to fpeak of him, to make mention of his name, of his perfon, of his offices, of his grace and falvation, that he may be exalted in each of them by his people; for he is, and ought to be exalted in their hearts, and with their lips, fince he is above all in the excellency of his perfon, and is their only Saviour and Redeemer, head and hufband; ahd fo he will be exalted more abundantly

“in the latter day. See the note on ch. ii. 11.

y¥. 5. Sing unto the Lord, &c.| Pfalms, hymns, and fpiritual fongs, vocally and together, as gofpel-churches, to the gloty of God; or fing the Lord *, let him be the fubje¢t-matter of the fong, as in y. 2. fing how great and good he is; fing what he is in himfelf, and what he is to others: for he bath done excellent things; he hath wrought out an excellent falvation, which excels all others, being of a fpiritual nature, compleat and everlafting: it is emphatically a great one, in which God is glorified in all his perfections, and which iffues in the eternal glory and happinefs of his people. He has brought in an excellent righteoufnefs, a righteoufnefs that excels any righteoufnefs of the

HIS chapter contains a prophecy of the deftruction of Badylon, literally underftood as a type and exemplar of the deftruétion of the my- {tical Babylon, fo often fpoken of in the book of the Revelation: an account is given of the perfons that fhould be the inftruments of it, and of the defolation they fhould make; which would iffue in the utter ruin of that once famous city. The title of the prophecy, and the perfon that had it, and brought it, are expreffed, y¥.1. orders are given to the Medes and Perfians td prepare for war, y. 2. and are defcribed as the Lord’s fanétified ones, his mighty ones, and who rejoiced in his highnefs,_y¥. 3. by the multitude of them, by the length of the way they came, and the end of their coming, by divine direction, and as the inftruments of God’s wrath, to deftroy the land of the Chaldeans, ¥. 4, 5. wherefore the inhabitants of it are called to howling, beeatife that deftruction fiom the Lord was at hand, ¥. 6, g. the effects of which were fainting,

«PT WDI; canite Jehovam, Cocceitiss vwsueare ro ovopia xupie, Sept.

creature, men or angels; it being the ri hteouf inefs of God, a perfect, pure, and {potlefs ie | ferves for many, even all his fpiritual feed, and is everlafting: he has offered up an excellent facrifice, a facrifice that excels all that were offered up under the law; in the matter, which is himfelf; in the ufe and efficacy of it, to atone for fin, and take it away; in the continuance of that efficacy, and in its acceptablenefs unto God: and he has obtained an excellent victory over all his a his peoples enemies, fin, fatan, the world, and death, and made them fharers in his conquefts; reference feems to be had to Exod. xv.1: this is knot min all the earth, that fuch a falvation is finifhed; fuch a righteoufnefs is brought in; that peace, pardon, and atonement are procured, and all enemies are conquered; for the gofpel publifhing all this, has been fent into all the world, and will be more fully preached throughout it in the latter day. | y¥. 6. Cry out, and foout, &c.] By finging aloud, with the high praifes of God in the mouth: thon inhabitant of Zion; born and brought up there, free of Zion, that is fettled and dwells there, and fo happy; fince there plenty of proyifions is had, health is enjoyed, and the inhabitants in the utmoft fafety and protection, having the greateft privileges and immunities; and therefore have reafon to fing and fhout for joy, and efpecially for what follows: for great is the holy one of Ifrael in the midft of thee; by the holy one of Ifrael is meant Chrift, the redeemer and hufband of his church; fee ch. xlviif. 17. and liv. 5. becaufe as God, he is the God of Jrael, the fpiritual J/rae/, and as fuch is holy, even glorious in holinefs; and as man, {prung from Tfrael, literal J/rael, and as fuch is holy in his nature, acts, and offices; and is the fanétifier of the. whole J/rael of God, from whom they receive all their holinefs: he-is iz the midft of his church, in the midft of Zion,- and the inhabitants of it, to whom he has promifed his prefence, and grants it, and which caufes fuch joy and gladnefs, as nothing elfe can, give; and here he is great,» and fhows himfelf to be fo, the great God, and our Sayijour; a Saviour, and a great one; a great king over the holy hill of Zion; and a great high-prieft over the houfe of God;. wherefore greatnefs fhould be afcribed unto him, and praife be givenhim.

fear, confternation, pain and forrow, without the leaft relief and comfort, ¥. 7, 8, 10. the caufes of which were their fin and iniquity, particularly their arrogance, pride, and haughtinefs, ¥. 11. which deftruétion is farther defcribed, by the fewnefs of men that fhould be left in the land, y. 42. - the ITULION

{trange revolution made in it, and the ec it fhould be in, y. E3« by the fear a flight. men, both of their own and otitis fhould be among them, y. 14. by the - of men and children, the plunder of their houfes, and the ravifhing of their wives, ¥. 15, 16. the perfons that fhould be employed as inft are mentioned by name, and reprefented as. be bribedwith gold and filver; arid as merci. paffionate, that fhould {pare neither young me children, ¥. 17, 18. and the chapter is with a particular account of the deftrué bylon; which is aggravated, by ob!

glory; by comparing its ruin to.

Sodont and Gomorrba; by its being no mote to be inhabited by men within, nor to have Arabian fhepherds pitching their tents without it; and by being the habitation of wild beafts, fatyrs, dragons, and doleful creatures, ¥. 19, 20, 21, 22.

¥. 1. The burden of Babylon, &c.| That is, a prophecy concerning Badylon, as the word is rendered, Prov. xxxi. 1. The Septuagint and Aradic verfions tranflate it the vifion; it fignifies a taking up “a fpeech againft it, and pronouncing an heavy fentence on it, fuch a one as fhould fink it into utter deftruction; which will be the cafe of myftical Babylon, when it fhall be as a milftone caft into the fea, never to be brought up again, Rev. xviii. 21. The Zargum is, ‘* the burden of the ** cup of curfing to give Babylon to drink:” after fome prophecies concerning. the Meffiah and his Kingdom, and the church’s fong of praife for falvation by him; others are delivered out concerning the enemies of the people of God, and their deftruction, and begin with Babylon the chief of thefe enemies, and into whofe hands the people of Jrae/ would be delivered for a while; wherefore this prophecy is given forth, in order to lay a foundation for comfort and relief, when that fhould be their cafe; by which it would appear, that they fhould have deliverance from them, by the fame hand that fhould overthrow them: which Ifaiah the fon of Amoz did fee; by a fpirit of prophecy; for this he faw not with his bodily eyes, tho’ it was as clear and certain to him as if he had. The Targum is, ** which J/aiah the fon of Amoz prophefied.”

¥. 2. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, &e.] Or upon the mountain Nifhpbab; fome high mountain in Media or Perfia, proper to fet a ftandard on, or erect a banner for the gathering mien together, to enlift themfelves as foldiers, and fo form an army to march into the land of Chaldea. Vitringa thinks there may be an allufion to the mountain Zagrius, which divides Media and Perfia from Affyria, mentioned by Sirabo*. Or upon a high meuntein, any high mountain fit for fuch a purpofe; or againft the high mountain, as fome ¥ read it; meaning Babylon, called a mountain, Fer. li, 25. not becauie of its fituation, for it was in a plain; but becaufe of its eminence above other cities and ftates. The Zargum is, ‘* againft the city ** that dwells fecurely, lift up a fign;” a token of war, proclaim war againft it, that lives at eafe, and is in peace; and fo the word is ufed in the Talmudic language, as Kimchi obferves, and to this agrees Farchi’s note, ‘to gather again{t the. moun- ** tain that is quiet, and trufts in its tranquillity, << lift up a banner to the nations,” Exalt the voice unto them; the Medes, mentioned:by name in ¥. 17. fuch as were within call, or were gathered together by the lifting up of the banner; fuch were to be urged with great vehemency to enlift themfelves, and engage in a war againft Babylon: hake the hand, becken with it to them that are afar off, that can’t hear the voice: shat they may go into the ’ gates of the nobles, that dwell in the city of Babyloa, where they might expect to find rich-plunder; tho’ fome underftand this of the nobles or princes of the Medes and Perfians, as Kimchi obferves,:that fhould enter thro’ the gates of Babylon into the city; and by others it is interpreted of the foldiers coming to the doors of the leaders or generals of the army, to give in their names, and enlift themfelves in their fervice; which well agrees with what goes before,

¥. 3. Ihave commanded my fanéified ones, &c.] The Medes and Perfians, fo called, not becaufe fanctified by the Spirit of God, or made holy perfons thro’ the regenerating and renewing grace of God, or. purified by the blood of Chrift, and prepared for glory; but becaufe they were fet apart in the mind and counfel of God for a fpecial work and fervice, and were qualified by him with courage and ftrength to perform it, and therefore faid to be his; and this command that was given them, was not by a voice from heaven, or in a meflage by one of his prophets; but by a fecret inftinét, and by the power of his providence, ftirring them up to engage in fuch an enterprize*. J have alfo called my mighty ones; meaning Cyrus and Darius, and the officers of their armies, with the common foldiers, who were furnifhed with might and ftrength to do his will, to which they were called in his providence: for mine anger; to execute his wrath upon the Babylonians; fo the Targum, ‘* that they may avenge my wrath upon them:” or, i” mine anger; which being ftirred up, put him upon calling thofe mighty ones to his fervice, and fitting them for it: literally it is, to myp-nofe*; to be before him, to be at his beck and will, and to minifter his wrath and vengeance: even them that rejoice in my highne/s 5 in doing that which tended to the exaltation and glory of God; they went chearfully about the work, and exulted and triumphed in their fuccefs: or, that rejoice my highnefs®, make me glad, becaufe Iam glorified by them. So feven angels, the Lord’s holy and mighty ones, will be employed in pouring out the vials of his wrath on myftical Babylon, Rev. xv. 1, 6, 7. and xvi. I.

¥. 4. The noife of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people, &c.] That is, like the noife of a very numerous people; this noife was heard either on the mountains of Media, where they flocked in vaft numbers to the ftandard fet; or on the mountains upon the borders of Chaldea, when the army under Cyrus was marching towards Babylon: a tumultuous noife of the kingdoms of nations gathered together; for Cyrus’s army confifted of feveral kingdoms and nations; for befides the thirty thoufand Perfians he brought with him into Media, where he was made general of the Medes alfo, and was fent with the joint forces of both nations againft Babylon; the kingdoms of Ararat, Minnj, and Afhchenaz, were prepared, gathered together, and called forth againft it, Yer. li. 27, 28: the Lord of hofts muftereth the hoft of the battel, or the warlike army: it was the Lord, that has the armies of heaven and earth at his command, who in his providence caufed fuch a numerous army to be formed, direéted them where to march, and put them in: battel-array, and gave them the vic~ tory. nis 5. They come froma far country, from the end of heaven, 8c.) The eaft, as Kimchi obferves; the Targum is, from the ends of the earth; the furthermoft parts of it, as Perfia and Media were: the former is bounded’ on the fouth-fide by the main ocean; and the’ latter, part of it, by the Ca/pian fea, and between Babylon and thefe king-

Gets y 50) In by, contra montem excelfum, off. in ib. - in ira mea, Vatablus; ad iram doms lay the large kingdom, of Afpria; fo that this army might be truly faid to come from a far

- country: even'the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation; the Medes and Perfians, who were the

_ inftruments of his-wrath and vengeance again t Badylon; jult as Affyria is called the rod of his anger, ch. x. 5. with thefe he is faid to come, becaufe this army was of his gathering, muftering, ordering and directing, in his providence; the end and defign of which was, to deftroy the whole land; not thewhole world, as the Septuagint render it, but the whole land of Chaldea, of which Babylon was the metropolis. The Targum is, ** to deftroy all the wicked of the soaéarth:”

‘y¥. 6. Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand, &cc.] Thefe words are an addrefs to the Badylonians, who inftead of rejoicing and feafting, as Belfhazzar and his nobles were the night that Ba- 4ylon was taken, had reafon to howl and lament; feeing the day that the Lord had fixed for their deftruction was very near, and he was juft about to: come forth as a judge to take vengeance on them; for tho’ it was about two hundred and fifty years from the time of this prophecy to the taking of Babylon, yet it is reprefented as at hand, to fhew the certainty of it, both for the comfort of the: ‘Yewi/h captives, when they fhould be in it, and for the awakening of the fluggifh inhabitants, who were fecure, and thought themfelves out of danger: zt fhall come as a deftruttion from the Almighty; fuddenly, fwiftly, and irrefiftibly: there is a beautiful paronomafia in the Hebrew text, cefood mifbaddai*; as deftruction from the deftroyer; from God, who is able to fave, and to deftroy; he is almighty and all-fufficient, fo fome render the word; the hand of God was vifible in it.

¥. 7. Therefore foall all hands be faint, &c.] Or hang down; that is, the hands of all the Badbylonians, the city being taken fuddenly and at once, fo that they fhould not be able to lift them up to lay hold on a: weapon, and defend themfelves: and every man’s heart fball melt; like wax before the fire; be difpirited, and lofe all their valour and courage, have neither power nor heart to refift. their enemies, and attempt to fave themfelves.

¥. 8. And they foall be afraid, &c.]|. Troubled, difmayed, affrighted, at the fudden taking of the city, and at the fight of Gyrus’s troops marching up into the very heart of it, and to the king’s palace: pangs and forrow fball take hold of thems; as convulfions, pains in the bowels, &c. more. fully explained in the next claufe: they hall be in pain, as a woman that travaileth; that is in labour, and ready to bring forth her child, whofe pains are very fharp, and agonies great; the fame is faid of the king of Babylon; Fer.\. 43:. they fhall be amazed one at another that fo great a city fhould be fo furprized, and» fo fuddenly taken; and that they fhall not be able to help one another; and that fuch as. were fo famous for: courage and valour, fhould be at once fo difpirited: ¢heir faces thall. be

—as flames; not red with blufhing, thro’ fhame, as Kimchi, but pale with fear, as the colour of flame, or as the faces of {miths, that work at a forge: the words may be rendered, their faces are as the faces of Lehabim*; the name of a people mentioned in Gen. x, 13. the fame with the Lydians, which were of a blackith or tawny colour; fo Farchi interprets it, and fays they were a people of a yellow complexion; and 4Jen Ezra obferves, that fome | comfortable, day and “night, roma roams yp, ut facies Lehabim, ve Lybiorem facies eoram. Gat interpret it of a nation like the Ethicpians; and fo it denotes, that the Babylonians, their faces fhould be black with diftrefs and anguifh, fee Foelti. 6.

y¥.9. Behold the day of the Lord. come sae Or is come*; faid in ¥. 6. to be at hand, but no it is reprefented in prophecy as already come: cruel both with wrath and fierce anger; which whether referred to the Lord, or to the day, the fenfe is the fame; the day may be faid to be cruel, and full of wrath and fury, becaufe of the feverity and fiercenefs of the Lord’s anger, exercifed upon t Babylonians in it; and he may be faid to be fo, not that he really is cruel, or exceeds the bounds of juftice, but becaufe he feemed.to be fo to the objetts of his difpleafure; as a judge may be thought ‘to be cruel and fevere by the malefactor, when he only pronounces and executes a righteous judgment on him; a heap of words are here made ule of, to expre{s the greatnefs and fiercenefs of divine wrath: to lay the land defolate, the land of the Chaldeans: and be foall defirey the finners thereof out of it, this fhows that what is before faid, moft properly belongs to the Lord, to whom the deftruction of Babylon, and the country belonging to it, muft be afcribed; and indeed it was fuch, as could not be brought about by human force; the moving caufe of which, was the fin of the inhabitants, fome of whom were notorious finners, for whofe fakes it was deftroyed by the Lord, and they in the midft of it, or out of it; fee Pf civ. 35.

y.10. For the ftars of heaven, &c.) This and what follows are to be underftood, not literally, but figuratively, as expreffive of the difmalnefs and gloominefs of the difpenfation, of the horror and terror of it, in which there was no light, no comfort, no relief, nor any hope of any; the heavens and all the ccleftial bodies frowning upon them, declaring the difpleafure of him that dwells there: and the conftellations thereof fhall not give their light; which are affemblages of ftars, or certain configurations of the heavenly bodies, devifed by the antients; to’which feveral names are given for the help of the imagination and memory; the number of them are forty-eight, twelve in the Zodiac, twenty-one on the northern fide of it, and fifteen on the fouthern. R&. Yonah, mentioned both by Aben Ezra and Kimchi, fays, that Cefl, the word here ufed, is a large ftar, called in the Aradic language Suel, and the ftars that are joined unto it are called by its name Ce/lim;, fo that according to this, only one conftellation is meant; and Aden

Ezra obferves, that there are fome that fay that

Cefil is a ftar near to the fouth pole, on which, if camels look, they die; but, fays he, in my opinion it is the fcorpion’s heart. ‘Ferom’s Hebrew mafter interpreted it to him Arfurus; and it

Fob ix. g. and xxxvili. 31. Amos v. 8._ Orion, and by the Septuagint here; w of the conftellations, and one of the’b and the word being here in the plural n fenfe may be, were there ever fo many Orion, the heavens, they fhould none of them give lig The Zargum and Farchi interpret it of the the fun foall We di teved in bree 1g didoey as it rifes, when it goes forth out as in Pf, xix. 5. either by an eclij dark clouds covering it: and th caufe her light to fline; by ni rows from the fun; fo that it woulc nor {tars appearing, fee 4s xxvii. 20. by the fun; moon, and ftars, may be meant king, queen, and nobles, whofe deftruétion is here prophefied of; it being ufual in prophetic language, as well as in ‘other writers ‘, to exprefs great perfonages hereby.

* ¥. 11. And I will punifh the world for their evil,

&c.] Not the whole world, but the kingdom of Babylon, fo called, becaute of its large extent, and the number of its inhabitants, juft as the Roman empire is called the whole world, Luke ii. 1. evil may be meant, either of the evil of fin, which was the caufe of punifhment, or elfe of the evil of punifhment itfelf,; and the fenfe be this, I will vifit, or in a way of vifitation, I will bring evil, or evils, upon the world; fo the Zargum, and the wicked for their iniquity, or on thé wicked their ini- guity; thats, I will vifit on them, or inflict upon them, the punifhment of their iniquity; meaning ‘the notorious and abandoned finners among them, fee 9.9: and I will caufe the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and I will lay low the bhaughtinefs of the terrible; fuch as Nebuchadnezzar and Belfhazzar, famous for their pride, arrogance, and haughtinefs, tyranny and oppreffion, whereby they became terrible to others.

¥.12. Iwill make a man more precious than fine gold, &c.| Which may denote either the fcarcity ef men in Babylon, thro’ the flaughter made of them; fo things that are fearce and rare, are faid to be precious, 1 Sam. iii. 1. or the refolution of the Medes to fpare none, tho’ ever fo much gold were offered to them, they being not to be bribed therewith, ¥.17. or that {uch fhould be the fear of men, that they would not be prevailed upon to take up arms to defend themfelves, or their king;

‘whatever quantity of gold, even the beft was propofed unto them, a man was not to be got for money: even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir, which defigns the fame thing in different words. The Targum gives another fenfe of the whole, paraphrafing it thus, ‘* I will love them that fear «* me more than gold, of which men glory; and *« thofe that keep the law, more than the fine gold << of Ophir;” underftanding it of the J/raelites, that were in Babylow when it was taken, and who were precious and in high efteem with the Medes and Perfians, more than gold, and whofe lives they fpared. archi interprets it particularly of Damiel, and of the honour that was done him by Bel/hazzar, upon his reading and interpreting the writing on the wall, Dan. v.29. This is interpreted by’ the Fews alfo of the king Meffiah,; for in an antient writing * of theirs, where having mentioned: this paflage, it is added, this is the Meffiah, that fhall afcend and. be more precious than all the children of the world, and all the children of the world fhall worfhip and bow before him. Some take Phaz, the word for fine gold, to be the name: of a place from whence it came, and therefore was fo called; and that the kingdom of Pez in Africa, has its name from hence; ard Opbir is taken to be Peru in America; tho’ others place it in India, and ‘thé Arabic verfion renders it, a man fhall be more

_ precious than a little fone thatis brought from India;

and the Septuagint verfion is, than a ftone in, or of

_ dreadful thunders and lightenings; as well as what

1¢ think this was literally fulfilled at the taking ""Robylon, when the heavens were fhook with

2 & 75 is fad above of the fuh, moon, and ftars; net giving their light;' and fo is likewife what follows, and the earth fhall remove out of ber place, and that there was a violent fhock by an earthquake at the fame time; but rather all this is to be underftood figuratively, as expreffive of the great confufion men would then be in, it being as if all nature was convulfed, and heavett and earth were coming together, or rather diflolving: in the wrath of the Lord of hofts, and in the day of his fierce anger; when that fhould be; or thro’ it, or becaufé of it, as the Septuagint, fee ¥. 6, 9. compare with this Rev. xvi. 18, 19, 20. which expreffes the ‘deftruction of myftical Babylon, in much fuch language, ¥.14. And it fhall be as the chafed roe, &c.] That is, Babylon, and the inhabitants thereof fhall be like a roe when hunted by the dogs; which is a very fearful creature, and at the fight and noife of the dogs flies here and there for fafety; juft fo fhould be the moft courageous of the Babylonians, when their city fhould be taken: The Syriac verfion renders it, they /hall be; and the Septuagint and Arabic verfions, they that are left shall be as the fleeing roe, fach who fall not by the fword. Kimchi interprets it of people of other nations that fhould be in Babylon when taken, which agrees with the latter part of the verfe: and as a sheep that no man taketh up; the Septuagint and Arabic verfions read, as a ftraying Jheep, that flees from the wolf; and there being none to fetch it back, and bring it to the flock, it wanders about and perithes: they foall every man turn to his own people, and flee

-every one into his own land; this is to be under-

{tood of fuch foreigners, who were called in by the king of Babylon to his affiftance, and the defence of the city; who perceiving it to be taken, or in danger, fled to their own countries, from whence they came, and fo left the city naked and defencelefs, fee Fer. 1. 16. and li. 9. y¥. 15. Every one that is found foal be thruft thorough, &c.} With a fword, fpear, or lance, and be flain; that is, every one that is found in the city of Babylon, and fo the Targum adds, ‘* and ‘* every one that is found in it fhall be flain;” fo Kimchi, in the midft of it, or without; in the {treet, as Yarchi. ‘The orders of Cyrus were, that thofe that were found without (in the ftreets) fhould be flain; and to proclaim in the Syriac language, that thofe that were within doors fhould continue there, but if they were found without, they fhould be put to death; which orders were executed, and well agrees with this prophecy: and every one that is joined unto'them, fall fall by the fword; or added unto them; any of other nations that joined them as auxiliaries, fee Rev. xviii. 42 or that is gathered; fo the Septuagint, they that are gathered, that are gathered together in a body to refift the enemy, and defend themfelves. Some render the word, every one that is confumed, with age; neither old nor young, as follows, fhould be fpared. ‘The Targum is, “¢ every one that enters into the fortified cities,”

flees there for fafety and protection. ¥:16. Their children alfo fhall be dafbed to. pieces before their eyes, &c.] Upon the ground, or againft the wall, as was foretold fhould be, Pf. cxxxvii. 8,9. and in way of retaliation for what they did to the Yews, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17. and this was to ‘be done defore' their eyes, in the fight of the inhabitants, which muft make it the more diftreffing and afflicting; and, as Kimchi obferves, this phrafe in cis is to be applied to the following claufes: their houfes frail be fpoiled, plundered of the fubftance, wealth and riches in them, by the Pesan foldiers: and their wives ravifbed, by the fame, and both

. before their eyes, and after that flain, in like manner as they had ravifhed the women in Zion, Lam. ve IE.

y.17. Behold, I will fir up the Medes againft them, &c.| Vhe Babylonians; this explains who are meant by the fanctified and mighty ones, y¥. 3. the Medes were 2 people that defcended from Medai, one of the fons of faphet,, Gen.x.2. as Fofephus obferves ‘, under thefe the Pex/fans are included, tho’ they are only mentioned, becaufe Cyrus was fent by Cyaxares king of Media on this expedition againt{t Babylon, and was. made by him general of the Medes, and aéted as fuch under him; and when Balylow was taken,, and Belhazzar flain, Davius the Medien took the kingdom, Daz. v. 31. now thefe are mentioned by name fome hundreds of years before the thing came to pais, as Cyrus their general in chap. xlv. 1. which is a ftrong proof of the truth of prophecy, and of divine revelation; and whatever might be the moving caufes of this expedition, the affair was: of God; it was he that put it into the hearts of the Medes, and ftirred up their fpirits to make war againft Babylon, and tho’ God is not the author of fin, yet he not only fuffered the things to be done before and after mentioned, but in his providence erdered them as jué punifhments on a finful people: which fhall not vegard filver, and as for gold, they foall not delight in it; not but they had a regard for gold and filver, as appears by their {poiling of the houfes of the Babylonians, y. 16. but that they had not fo great a regard for thefe things,. as to fpare the lives of any for the fake of them,;. they were fo intent upon taking away their lives, that they difregarded their fubftance; their firft work was to flay, and: then to fpoil; they firft deftroyed,, and then plundered; no man with his gold and filver could obtain a ranfom of his life from them. Cyras* in his fpeech to his army faid, ‘* O ye Medes, and all prefent, <¢ T truly know that not for want of money, are *“ ye come out with me, &c.”

¥.. 18. Their bows alfo fhall dafh their young men to pieces, &c.] That is, the bows of the Medes fhould dafh in pieces the young men of the Badylonians.. The meaning is, either that they fhould put them into their bows, inftead of arrows, and fhoot them upon the ground, or againft a wall, and. fo dafh them to pieces; or that they fhould firft. fhoot them thro’ with their arrows, and then dafh them with their bows; according to Xenophon ', Cyrus came to Babylon with a great numbers. of ar-.

chers and flingers: and they fhall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; even of thofe that were in the womb, but fhould rip up women with child, and eut them in pieces: zbeir eyes fhall not fpare children; in the arms of their parents, or manning to them, fhricking and crying, and in the utmoft fright; and yet their tender and innocent age would meet with. no mercy. The Medes were notorious. for their cruelty", and which iffued at laft in the ruin of their empire. |

¥. 19. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, Sc.) The firft and moft antient kingdom, Gen. x. 10. and. now, at the time of its: fall, the largeft and moft extenfive; wherefore of the image Nebuchad-.

-nexzer Saw in his dream, which was a reprefentatiom of feveral kingdoms, this was the head, the head of gold, Dan. ii. 31. fo Babylon is called the lady of kingdoms, If. x\vii. 5. the word here ufed for glory, is the fame with that which is rendered a roe, ¥. 14. Babylon was once as a pleafant roe, but now a chafed one: the beauty of the Chaldees excellency > ‘the glory of that nation; what they gloried in, being fo famous for pompous. buildings, number of inhabitants, riches and wealth, fee Daa. iv. 30. Pliny calls * it the head of the Chaldean wea:

and fays it obtained great fame in the whole world: foall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrab; which, tho’ not at once, and by fire from heaven, as that was, yet was of God, and when completed, -was like that itrecoverable,; which was begun by ‘Cyrus and Darius, and in after-times finifhed; and befides there was a circumftance which made it ‘fimilar to that; for as the men of Sodom were eating and drinking, when their deftruétion came ‘upon them, fo Beljbazzar and his nobles were feafting and revelling when the city was taken. The Fews ° fay that after Bel/hazzar was flain, Darius reigned one year, and in his fecond year the city was overthrown, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha by fire from heaven; but without any foundation.; for certain it is, that Babylon was in being many years after this, and continued to the times of Alexander the Great.

¥. 20. It foall never be inhabited, 8ec.| As it has not been fince its utter deftruction. Paufanias ®,,.who lived in the times of Adrian fays, Babylon the greateft city that ever the fun faw, that. then there was nothing left of it but a wall: what is now called Babtion is a new city, and built in another ‘place: neither fhall.it be dwelt in from generation to generation; which is the fame thing repeated in. other and ftronger terms, for the confirmation of it: neither fhall the Arabian, pitch tent there; that fort of the Arabians called Scenite, becaufe they dwelt in tents, and removed from place to placé with their flocks, for the fake of pafture; but here there fhould be none for them, and therefore would. not pitch their tents at it: neither shall the fhepherds make their folds there; as they had ufed to do in the paftures adjoining to it, which were formerly exceeding good,. but now would be barren and un- ‘fruitful; and as there would be no fhepherds in. ‘the city, fo neither would any neighbouring ones. ‘come hither, or any from diftant parts; partly becaufe of the unfruitfulnefs of the place, and partly thro’ fear of wild beafts, which had their habitation. ‘there, as follows. Pliny * fays it was reduced to a mere defert. eed - 21, But wild beafis of the defert foail lie theres. &c.] What fort of creatures are meant is not cer tain. The Targum renders it, by a word whi fignifies monftrous, aftonifhing creatures; ‘interpreter of it calls them apes. ‘Farchi chi fay, fach are intended as are called M Sables, a creature of the weafel-kind. The ‘word does not much differ from the # ‘ufed for wild-cats: and their houfes fhall:doleful creatures; whofe voices are very n ‘and unpleafant. ben Ezra fays f C: _are meant, that thofe that fee them are am ‘them. ‘archi declares they are a kind o: -he was ignorant of; and Kimebé thinks th ‘fame with furon, or ferrets; and the L preter of the Targum renders the word that ufes by weafels: and owls fall dwell there; or the daughters of the owl, or of the oftriches, as the Targum and _Syriac verfion; with which agrees the Vulgate Latin, rendering the word ofriches, as it is in Lam. iv. 3; the Septuagint verfion tranflates it, firens or mermaias: and fatyrs foall dance there, a fort of monttrous creatures with the ancients, - painted half men and half goats; the upper part of them like men, except the horns on their heads, and the lower parts like goats, and all over hairy; and the word here ufed fignifies hairy; and, is, ufed, for goats, and fometimes for devils, either becaufe they have appeared in this form, as Kimchi fays, to them that believe them; or becaufe they, by their appearance, inject fuch horror in men, as caufe their hair to ftand upright; hence the Targum, Farchi, and Kimchi, interpret it of devils here; and fo the Septuagint verfion, and thofe that follow it, the Syriac and Arabic, render it, and demons fhall dance there; with this agrees the account of ‘myftical Babylon, Rev. xviii. 2.

¥.22. And the wild beafts of the iflands foall. cry in their defolate boufes, &c.| The Targum and Syriac verfion, in their palaces, and fo the Vulgate Latin, or with their widows, fach as have loft their mates: what creatufes are here meant is very uncertain; we in general call them the wild beafts of the iflands, becaufe the word is fometimes. ufed for iflands; the Targum renders it, cats, wild ones; the Syriac verfion, firens; and the Arabic, the hyena; the Septuagint verfion, onocentaurs; and the Vulgate

WAHIIS chapter contains prophecies of the reftoration of the ews, of the fall of the king of Babylon, and the deitruction of the Afprian empire, and of the ruin of Paleftine. ‘The moving caufe of the reftoration of the Fews, and their fettlement in their own land, is the diftinguifhing mercy of God towards them; the concomitant of it, profelytes joined unto them; the means, people of other nations who fhould bring them into it, and whom they fhould pofféfs and rule over, and the confequence of it, reft from forrow, fear, and hard bondage, ¥. 1, 2, 3. upon. which they are, introduced as taking up a proverb, or a triumphant fong, concerning the king of Babylon, wondering at his fall, and afcribing it to the Lord, y. 4, 5. reprefenting the inhabitants of the earth, and great men of it, as at peace, and reft, and rejoicing, who before were continually difturbed, and {mitten by him, ¥. 6, 7, 8. introducing the dead, and thofe in hell, meeting him, and welcoming him into their regions, with taunts and jeers; upbraiding him with his weaknefs, fhame and difgrace he was corne into; putting him in mind of his former pomp and fplendor, pride, arrogance and haughtinefs, y. 9, 10, II, 12, 13,14, 15. fpectators are brought in, as amazed at the low, mean, and defpicable condition he was brought into, confidering what he had done in the world, in kingdoms and cities, but. was now denicd a burial, when other kings lay in their pompous fepulchres, y.16, 17, 18, 19, 20. and then it is forevold tha: «>t whole royal family fhould be cut off, 201 Babylon, the metropolis of his king- Wom, fhould b= utterly deftroyed, y. 21, 22, 23. Wl which was iettled and fixed by the purpofe of ss FE 77 Latin verfion, owls, which live in defolate houf-:s, and cry or anfwer to one another, which is the fenfe of the phrafe here: and dragons in their plra- Jani palaces, where they delight to be, tho’ other+ wife very difmal. The Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, bedge-hogs; the Syriac verfion, wild dogs; and: the Vulgate Latin verfions firens; the word is commonly ufed for whales, and fometimes for ferpents, which feems to be the fenfe here; and to this agrees the account that R. Benjainin Tudelenfis* gives of Babylon, who when he. was there, about five or fix hundred years ago, faw the: palace of Nebuchadnezzar in ruins, but men were afraid to enter into it, becaufe of ferpents and fcorpions, which were within it. Rawolf, a German traveller, about the year 1574, reports of the tower of Babylon, that it was fo ruinous, fo low; and fo full of venomous creatures, which lodge in holes made by them in the rubbifh, that no one durft' approach nearer to it, than within half a league, excepting during two months,in:the winter, when thefe animals neyer ftir out of their holes *: and her time is near to come; that is, the-time of the deftruction of Babylon, as the Targumexprefies it; which tho” two hundred years or more from the, time of this prophecy, yet but a fhort time with God; and when this was made ‘known, to’ the ‘fews in:captivity, for whofe comfort it is written, it was not afar off: and ber days jhall not be ~prolonged; the days of her profperity and happinefs, but fhould be fhortened.).

God, which could not, be made void, y¥. 24, 25; 26, 27. and next follows a prophecy of the deftruction of Paleftine, the date of the prophecy is given y. 28. the inhabitants of Paleftine are bid not to rejoice at the death of one of the kings of Fudab, fince another fhould arife, who would be fatal to them, y. 29. and whilft the ews would be in fafety, they would be deftroyed by famine and war, y. 30, 31. from all which it would appear, and it might be told the meffengers of the nations, or any enquiring perfons, that Zion is of the Lord’s founding, and under his. care and protection, and that his people have great reafon and encouragement to truft.in him, y¥. 32. a Ay y¥. 1. For the Lord will have mercy on Facob, and will yet chufe Irael, &c.]. Whilft the Fews were in captivity, the Lord feemed to have no pity for them, or compaffion on them, and it looked ‘as if he had rejeéted them, and wholly caft them off; but by delivering them from thence, he fhewed that he had a merciful regard unto them, and made it to appear that they were his chofen people, and beloved by him; and this is a reafon why Badylon fhould be deftroyed, and her deftruction be’ no longer deferred, becaufe the Lord’s bowels of compaffion yerned towards his own people, fo that his mercy to them brought ruin upon others: a choice of perfons to everlafting falvation, tho’ it is not made in time, but before the foundation of the world, yet is made to appear by effectual vocation, which therefore is fometimes exprefled by chufing, 1 Cor. i. 26, 27. and is the fruit and effe& of’ fovereign grace and mercy, and may be fore ere 3 here; the, words. may be rendered, and will yet ehufe in Tfrael*, fome from among them; that is, have mercy on them, and call them by his grace, and fo fhew them to be a remant, according to the’ ele&tion of grace; and fuch a chofen remnant there: was among them in the times of Chrift, and his’ apoitles, by which it appeared that the Lord had} not caft off the people whom he foré-knew > and fet them in. their own land; or caufe’ them to reft upon their own land*; for the word not only de-| notes fettlément’ and continuance, ‘but reft, which’ they had not in Badylon.; but now fhovld have, when brought into their. owh land; and no doubt but reference is had to the original character of the land of Canaan, as a land of reft, and hither fhall the Fews be brought again, and be fettled, when) myftical Babylon is deftroyed # and the ftranger fhall be joined with them, and they hall cleave to thé houfe of Facob’; ‘by which is meant, that profelytes fhould be made to the Yewih religion, who fhould be admitted into their church-ftate, as. well‘as into their common-wealth, and fhould abide faithful to. the profeffion they made; which doubtlefs was fulfilled in part at the time of the Zews return from the Babylonifh captivity, when many, who had embraced their religion, cleaved to them, and. would not leave them, but went along with them into their land, that they might join with them in religious worfhip there; but had a. greater accomplifhment in gofpel-times, when Genfiles were incorporated into the fame” gofpel-church-ftate. with the believing Fews;. and. became: fellow’ heirs, and of the fame body,. and partakers of the*fame promifes and privileges;. and fo Kimchi and Ben Melech apply this to the times of the Mefliah 5 and “Farchi to time to come, when J/rae/ fhould be redeemed with a perfect redemption: becaufe from the word tranflated cleave, is derived another, which fignifies a fcab; hence the Fews” have a-faying, ‘* profe- « lytes are grievous to Trael as a {cab.”

¥. 2. And the people fhall take them, and bring them to their place, &c.] ‘That is, the people among whom the Jews dwelt in Baéylon, who had a kindnefs for them, and efpecially fuch of them as were profelyted to their religion, fhould attend them in their journey home, and fupply them with all neceflaries for provifion and carriage, as they were allowed to do: by the edict of Cyrus, Hzrai. 4. and this-will have'a farther accomplifhment inthe latter day, when: the Gentiles fhall bring their fons and daughters: in’ their arms,, and on their fhoulders, ' and on-horfes, and in chariots to Ferufalem, If: xlix. 2%. and Ixvi. 20. which laft paffage Kimchi refers to, as explanative of this: and the houfe of Irael fhall poffe/s them in the land of the Lord, for fervants and handmaids; by the land of the Lord, is. meant the land of J/rael, which was peculiarly his; for tho’ the whole earth is his, yet he chofe this above all others for the place of his worfhip, under the former difpenfation; and where his fon, in the fulnefs of time, fhould appear in human nature, -preach the gofpel, perform miracles, and work out the falvation of his people; and where his feet fhall ftand at the latter day, when he comes to judge the world; this is the fame with Jmmanuel’s land, chap. viii. 8. hither many of the Chaldeans coming along with the Yews, and having. embraced their religion, chofe rather to be fervants and handmaids to them, than to return to théir own land, and who were a kind of inheritance or pofiéffion to the t bese hy Ama & eliget adhue in Ifraelé, Pagninus, rejoicing that fo ic was’: the golden civ city of Bedylon, full of gold, drawn Montanus. LP oma) DP bs