Exposition of the Whole Bible

the good of the country in times of war or peace; or fchools were kept here for the inftruction of perfons in various arts and fciences; and which had continued to this time, but now would be no more. The Targum is, ‘ is there no more wifdom in the fouth?” but Zerchi better interprets it of Edom, which lay fouth to the land of J/rael. Is counfel perifbed from the prudent? it was fo, even from thofe that were the moft famous for being prudent and underftanding men; they were now at their wits end, and knew not what courfe to take, nor what advice to give, in this their time of diftrefs. The Targum renders it, from the chil- dren, the fons of the Temanites, ftrangely degene- rated. from their anceftors. Js their wiflom vanifbed? or corrupted, as the Targum; or does it ftink, according to the Radvédinical fenfe of the word, or infatuated, and become good for nothing? verily it was, it was ufelefs, difregarded, and de- {pifed.

to take, and whither to flee for fafety; all will be.

y. 8. Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan, &c.| Another city in idumea; though fome take it to be a country in radia, bordering on Edom, and fubdued by the Edomites: the inhabitants of this place are advifed to flee for their lives, fince the enemy was juft upon them; and turn back, left they fhould fall into his hands; and hide themfelves in fome deep caverns of the earth, in holes, and dens of rocks, and fuch like places. It is a prophecy that they fhould flee from, and turn their backs on their enemies, and betake themfelves to fome very fecret places for fafety. For 1 will bring the calamity of Efau upon him; which was determined concerning him, threatned to him, and was his juft defert; even the utter deftruction of the whole land: the time of bis vifitation; the time fixed to vifit him in a way of wrath and punifhment being come.

¥. 9. If grape-gatherers come to thee, would they not leave fome gleaning grapes? &c.] If gatherers of grapes, at the time of the vintage, fhould come into thy fields to gather the grapes, being mpe, would not they leave fome for the poor to glean? certainly they would, and not take every clufter. The Targum renders it, ‘‘ if thy fpoilers, as grape- ‘< gatherers, fhould come to thee, Gc.” If thieves by night, they will deftroy till they have enough, who break into houfes by night, thefe will eat and drink as much as is fufficient, and carry off what ferves their turn; but they feldom take away every thing they find in an houfe; they leave fome things be~ hind them; but it is fuggefted, that the Chaldeans fhould take away all trom the Edomites, and leave them nothing; fee Obad. y. 5, 6.

y. 10. But I have made Efau bare, &c.) By the hand of the Chaldeans; tripped him of every thing that is valuable; of his cities, caitles, villages, people, wealth and treafure: J have uncovered his fecret places; where either his fubftance was hid, or his people; thefe were made known to their enemies, who feized on both: and he foall not be able to hide himfelf; even in his deep in the caves and dens of the earth, but his enemy fhall find him out: bis feed is fpciled, and bis brethren, and his neighbours; his children, as the Tar __ gum and his brethren, the Ammonites and Moab- _ ites; and his neighbours, the Péelijflines; or as many as were ‘with him, and belonged unto him:

; and be is not; his kingdom is not; he is no more a people and nation, but all deftroyed by the word, or carried captive; or there fhall be none left of his brethren, and neighbours, and friends, to fa to him what follows, leave thy fatkerle/s children, &c. So Kimchi and Ben Melech fay, this phrafe is in connexion with the following verfe.

¥. 11. Leave thy fatherle/s children, I will preferve them alive, &c.| Leave them with me; commit them to my care; Pll provide for them; they fhall have food and raiment, and want nothing to make them comfortable: to have fuch a friend or friends, promifing fuch things to a man, when he is obliged to flee and leave his family, or is at the-point of death, ferves to make him eafy; but there would be none left of the Edomites to fay fuch kind words, or do fuch a friendly part. Some think they are the words of God, either fpoken ironically or ferioufly; fuggefting, that they fhould have no children or widows to leave, all fhould be deftroyed; or if any left, they could not expedct that he would take care of them, whom they had fo provoked; or that fuch would be their miferable cafe, unlefs he had mercy on them, and took care of their fatherlefs children, there would be none to do it. Others think it refpects a remnant of the Edomites that fhould be preferved, and be converted to Chrift in gofpel-times. The Targum takes them to be an addrets to the people of J/rae, paraphrafing them thus; ‘* you, O houfe of J/- *¢ rael, your orphans fhall not be left, I will fu- “¢ ftain them, and your widows fhall truft in my “© word:” which laft claufe we render, Jet your widows truft in me, which, could they be conftdered as the words of God, agree well with him, who is the father of the fatherlefs, and judge of the widows, P/: Ixvili. 5. and a great encouragement to perfons in fuch circumftances, to place their confidence in him; and it muft be right fo to do.

y. 12. For thus faith the Lord, &c.] This that follows fhows, that what goes before is not faid by way of promife and comfort, but threatning: bebold, they whofe judgment was not to drink of the cup, have affuredly arunken, meaning either fome ‘of the other nations, who had not dealt {fo ill with the Fews as the Hdomites had, at leaft their fins were not fo aggravated as theirs were; they being a-kin to the ews, and having ufed them in a very injurious and fcornful manner; or the Fews themfelves, who, in comparifon of ‘them, had not deferved divine vengeance, fignified by a cup, a portion of wrath, and punifhment righteoufly allotted them, and which they had partook of, being carried captive into Badylon: for this is not to be underftood ftrictly of proper juftice, but in a comparative fenfe; for otherwife, it was but juft and right: that they fhould be treated in the manner they were; only they were not fo guilty as thee were. Aud art thou be that fhalt altogether go unpunifbed? if \effer finners are not let go free, how fhould it be thought that greater ones fhould? and efpecially, if judgment had begun at God’s own people, the wicked Edomites could not expect to efcape. Thou fhalt not go unpunifbed, but thou fhalt Jurely drink of it; the cup of wrath and vengeance;

or have the juft punifhment inflicted on them, threatened them.

¥. 13. For I have fworn by myfelf, faith the Lord, &c.] This he did, becaufe he could fwear by no greater, and to fhow the certain and infallible accomplifhment of the event, and the importance of it; and which was fo extraordinary, that it was fearce thought credible, and therefore an oath is ufed to confirm it: that Bozrab shall become a defolation, a reproach, a wafte, and a curfe, not Rome, as Abarbinel, nor Ferufalem, as Cocceius 3 nor Bozrah of Moab, ch. xlviii. 24. but Bozrab of Idumea, If. \xiii. 1. the royal city of Edom, as Kimchi; this fhould be utterly deftroyed, and be fpoken of contemptibly, and ufed proverbially, to exprefs a curfe; the Lord curfe thee, as Bozrah is curfed. It may be put for the whole country of Edom, of which it was the metropolis, fince it follows, and all the cities thereof fhall be perpetual waftes; either thofe in the neighbourhood of it, and belonging to it, it being the capital or mother-city; or all the cities in the land of Edom; fo general fhould be the defolation.

Y Gi. I have beard a rumour from the Lord, &c.] A bearing’; or a report, concerning the deftruction of Edom, made to him in a dream or vifion, by the Spirit of God, as a fpirit of prophecy: and an embaffador is fent to the heathen; or a meflenger; Feremiab the prophet, as fome; or an angel, as Kimchi fuggefts, tent to gather the nations to ‘war again{ft’ Bozrab; or a divine impulfe, as others, with which the Chaldeans were imprefied,; which was as a voice to them, faying, gather ye together, and come againft her, and rife up to tbe battel;. get your forces together, and come againft Bozrah or Edom, to invade and fubdue it; attack it in a military way, not doubting of victory; fee Obad. ¥. 1.:

y¥. 15. For lo, Iwill make thee finall among the heathen, &c.| Or, I have given thee, or made thee"; as if it refpected what Edom was at firft, a people few in number, and their country not large, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi, and after them Adarbine: but it rather intends what Edom fhould be"; and which was the reafon of gathering the Chaldeans againft them, to reduce their number, weaken their ftrength, and deftroy their fub{ftance, and fo make them a fmall, feeble, and contemptible people, as follows: and de/pifed among men, for the fewnefs of their men, the defolation of their country, the confumption of their wealth and riches, their poverty and meannefs; fee Obad. y¥. 2.

¥. 16. Thy terriblenefs bath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, &c.] Some render it, thine idol °; fee 1 Kings xv. 13. which, being terrible to them, they thought it might be fo to others, and ‘protect them. In the place referred to, the word Miphlezeth is ufed, and comes from the fame root ' with this, which fignifies to be terrible and formidable, and caufe to tremble, as the idols of the Gentiles were to their worfhippers, and others. The Vulgate Latin verfion of the above place interprets it, of Priapus, which was an idol fet up in gardens to fright birds and thieves from coming thither °. So Kimchi obferves, that fome interpret it here of idolatrous worfhip or fuperftition; but it is to be underftood, either of the roughnefs and terriblenefs of their country, abounding with rocks and mountains, which made it inacceffible; or rather of that terror which they ftruck into their neighbouring nations, by their wealth and riches, their power and ftrength, their courage and valour, and fkill in military affairs; and having fuch ftrong cities, fortrefles and faftneffes, natural and artificial, of which they were proud; and on account of all which, fanfied that none would dare to invade them; or if they did, their attempts would be fruitlefs; and this deceived them, making them carelefs and fecure: O thou that dwelleft in the clefts of the rock; the land of Idumea being very hilly and rocky. ‘erem * fays, who lived near it, that all the fouthern part of Jdumea, from Eleutheropolis to Petra and Hailah, had their habitations in caves cut out of rocks: that holdeft the beight of the bill, that dwelt on the tops of hills and mountains, and in towers and fortified places built upon them, as Kimchi and Ben Melech, who think refpect is had particularly to mount Ser, The Targum is, ‘ for ‘* thou art like to an eagle that dwells in the clefts “* of the rock, whofe high habitation is in a ftrong “¢ place;” hence it follows: tho’ thou foouldii make thy neft as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, faith the Lord, fignifying, tho’ they might think themfelves as fafe and as much out of the reach of men as an eagle’s neft, and were as high and as fecure in their own imaginations; yet they fhould be come at by their enemies, be fetched out of their ftrong holds, and reduced to the loweft and moft miferable ftate and condition; of which they might be affured, fince the Lord had fpoken it, who would do it by the hand of the Chaldeans. The allufion to the eagle is very pertinent to illuftrate the felf-exaltation’ and {felf-fecurity of the Edomites,; the eagle being a bird that flies higher than any other, as Kimchi on the place obferves, even up to the clouds, and out of fight; hence Homer * calls it, the high-flying eagle; and which builds its neft in high places, in the tops of rocks; fo Ariftotle * fays, they make their nefts, not in plains, but in high places, efpecially in cragged rocks; and Pliny‘ relates, that they build their nefts in rocks; and he alfo fays * of the vultures, who feem to be meant by the eagles in Mast. xxiv. 28. that they build their nefts in the higheft rocks, and which no man can reach.

¥.17. Alfo Edom fhall be a defolation, &c.| Not only Bozrab, its principal city, before fpoken of, but the whole country of Jdumea fhould be laid wafte; its fortified cities deftroyed; its riches plundered; and its inhabitants flain with the fword, or carried captive: every one that goeth by it foall be aftonifbed; at the defolation made, fo fuddenly and fo univerfally: and fhall hifs at all the plagues thereof rejoice at them; clap their hands, and fhake their heads, as the Targum; and hifs with their tongues, infulting and deriding them.

¥.18. As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrak, &c.| Which was fo fudden and general, that nothing was left, or any fpared; fo fhould it be with Edom: and the neighbour cities thereof, faith the Lord; the cities that were in the plain, Admab and Zeboim: no man fall abide there, neither foall

D YIN MY IIN 1D nam momento currere faciam eum (nempe Nebuchadanofarem) {upra eam, De a fon of man dwell in it; that is, of the race of Edom; no Idumean fhould inhabit it; otherwile thofe who conquered it fhould, and doubtlefs did. There feems to be fome allufion to the dead fea, thefe cities became, to which Hdom is compared, and {0 were quite uninhabitable. ¥.19. Bebold, be fhall come up like a lion from the fwelling of Fordan, &c.) ‘The Targum rightly interprets it, of a king and his army, paraphrafing the words thus, * behold, a king with his army ** fhall come up again{ft them, as a lion comes up ** from the height of Yordan;? not the king of Edom that fhould come up againft Fudea, or to defend himfelf againft thofe that invaded him; but Nebuchadnezzar and his army that fhould come up again{t the Hdomites from the land of Fudea, where Jordan was, having firft fubdued that; or fhould come with that ftrength, fury and fiercenefs, as a”

lion when forced out of its covert near the river Jordan, by the overflowing of its banks, and obli-

} ged to betake himfelf to higher grounds; who, being enraged, roars and tears in pieces all in his way. Monfieur Thevenot “ fays, that Jordan is befet on both fides with little, thick, and pleafant woods; and Mr. Maundrel * obferves, that, ** there

‘¢ is a firft and outermoft bank to the river, about ‘¢ a furlong, upon a level, before you come to the “* fecond bank, to which it may be fuppofed the *¢ river did, and {till does, overflow; and the ie- ‘¢ cond: bank is fo befet with bufhes and trees, “¢ fuch as tamarifk, willows and oleanders, Ge. «« that you can fee no water till you have made ** your way thro’ them. In this thicket anciently, ‘¢ (and the fame is reported of at this day) feyeral “* forts of wild beafts were wont to harbour them- ‘* felves, whofe being wafhed out of the covert “< by the overflowings of the river, gave occafion “* to the allufion, Fer.xlix.19.”? So Ferom” peaks of

lions in his time, taking up their abode by the river Fordan, near which were defert places, reeds and fedges: againft the habitation of the firong; the land of Edom, a country well fortified, in which mighty men dwelt; particulatly mount Ser, where their king was, and which was the fold of the mighty; either of the mighty fhepherd, as it may be rendered *; or, of the ftrong place *; but what is this to a lion? dut I will make him fuddenly run away from her; that is, either the mighty fhepherd, the king of Edom, from his fold, upon the approach of the lion, the king of Babylon; or elfe, as it may be rendered, and I will caufe him to run upon it” fuddenly;, that is, caufe the king of Babylon to come fpeedily into the land of Edom, and feize upon it, over-run it, prevail over it, and be mafter of it, as Farchi interprets it: and who is a chofen man that I may appoint over ber? a choice perfon in Nebu- nor over the land of Edom: for who is like me? ~ for wifdom and power; able to do whatever I pleafe, and to furnifh thofe with proper abilities to perform and accomplifh whatever I giye them in charge and commiffion to do: and who will appoint me the time? fet a time to difpute the matter with me, or engage in war againft me: and who is that fhepherd that will fiand before me? or king, as the Targum and Ben Melech; any king, prince or potentate, who both in fcripture, and in other

‘other writings, are often called thepherds; the king of Edom is particularly pointed at, whofe habitation or fold is beforé obferved: alas! what could fuch a fhepherd do? or how could he ftand before the almighty God, or any lion he fhould fend?

¥. 20. Therefore bear the counfel of the Lord tbat he bath taken againft Edom, &c.] The decree of the Lord; the purpofe and refolution he had taken up in his heart againft the Jdumeaus, which was wifely formed, and upon juft and good grounds: and his purpofes that be hath purpojed againft the inhabitants of Temau; a principal place in Edom, the inhabitants of which were famous for their wifdom, y. 7. and therefore are here particularly mentioned, there being no wifdom, nor underftanding, nor counfel againft the Lord, fo as to fruftrate his purpofes and defigns, which have always their etiect, Prov. xiX. 21. and xxi. 30: furely the leaft of the flock hall draw them out; not the Perfians, the leait of the fons of Fapbet, as fome Rabbins in Farchi *; nor the I/raelites, as Kimchi, particularly Rachel’s fons, or the pofterity of Fo/eph and Benjamin, but the common foldiers, the weakeft and moft feeble jn the Chaldean army: as princes are compared to fhepherds, their people are like flocks; and now the leaft of thefe in the king of Babylon’s army fhould be a match for the ftrongeft of the Edomites; and fhould draw. them out of their habitations, as dogs or wolves drag fheep out of the folds, and draw about dead carcafes, and devour them. ‘The words are in the form of an oath, if the leaft of the flock do not draw them out; that is, as I live they fhall; or I fwear by myielf they fhall certainly do it; fo the Targum, <* if they do ** not draw and kill the mighty of the people:” Jurely be foall make their habitations defolate with them; or, their folds; the fheep fhall be deftroyed, and their folds fhall be demolifhed; that is, the inhabitants of Edom fhall be flain with. the fword, and their cities, towns and villages fhall be laid watte.

¥.21. The earth is moved at the noife of their fall, &c.] Of the Edomites; whofe fall was from the height of greatnefs and glory, to a very low condition indeed; and as things the higher they are from whence they fall, the greater noife they make, fo it was with the Edomites; perhaps there may be fome allufion to the falling of rocks and hills, with which Edom abounded: this may refpect either the noife and fhout of the conquerors, when they fell; or the cry of the Edomites, when taken and deftroyed; or the report of their deftruction, when it came into the world; which ftruck the inhabitants of the whole earth with terror and amazement, fo that they trembled at it; an hyperbolical expreffion, as Kimchi obferves: at the cry, the noife thereof was beard in the Red-fea; or, fea of fupb, or weeds; where weeds and rufhes grew in great abundance, from whence it had its name. This is the 4vabian gulph, which wafhed the fhores of Edom, and was called the Red-/ea from thence, Edom fignifying red. The meaning is, that the cry of the flain, or of the conquerors at the flaughter of them, fhould be heard to the borders of the land, to the fea-fhore, and by thofe in fhips there;

who fhould carry the report of it to the féveral parts of the world,

¥..22. Bebold, he jhall come up, and fly as the eagle, &c.|. The Targum is, * behold, as an eaglé ‘** comes up and flies, fo fhall a king come up ** with his army;” the king of Babylon with his army, compared to an eagle for his iwiftnels and voracioufnefs, as before to a lion for his ftrength and fiercenefs: and /pread bis wings over Bozrab; befiege that city, inveft it, and feize upon it; very fitly are the wings of an army exprefied by the wings of this bird, denoting,.both their extent and force; the fame is faid concerning Moad, ch. xlviii. 40: and at that day fhall the heart of the mighty men of Moab be as the heart of a woman in her pangs;. when jutt ready to be delivered; not only weak and timorous, but full of anguifh, and quite difpirited; fee the note on ch, xlviii. 41.

¥. 23. Concerning Damajcus, Sc.) Or, unto Damafcus*; or, againft Damafcus *, that is, thus faith the Lord; which is to be repeated from the foregoing inftances, ¥. 1,.7« ‘This is to-be underftood, not only of the city of Damafcus, but of the whole kingdom of Syria, of which Damafcus was the metropolis; fee If, vii. 8: Hamath is confounded; and Arpad two cities in Syria; the firft is generally thought to be Axtioch of Syria, fometimes called | Epiphania, and the other the fame with Arvad; inhabited by the 4rvadim, or Aradians, lee 2 Kinzs xviii. 34.) Uf x. 9, Ezek. xxvii. 11. thefe, that is; the inhabitants of them, as the Targum, were covered, with fhame, thrown into the utmoit confufion and contternation: for they have heard evil tidings; of the Chaldean army invading the land of Syria, and of their coming again{ft them; and perhaps of their taking of Dama/cus their capital city; all which muft be bad news unto them, and give them great uneafinefs: they are faint bearted; or melted‘, their hearts melted like wax, and Howed like water; they had no heart nor ipirit left in them, thro’ fear of the enemy. There is /orrow in the fea, it cannot be quiet, the Targum is, ** fear “¢ in the fea, carefulnefs hath taken hold on them; “¢ behold, as thofe that. go down to the fea to ‘¢ reft, and cannot reft;” or as other copies, cannot flee. So Farchi and Kimchi interpret it, as if the note of fimilitude was wanting, and the fenfe this, that the inhabitants of the above places were either like the troubled fea itlelf, which cannot reft; or like perfons in a ftorm at fea, who are in the utmoft uneafinefs and diftrefs: or elfe it des figns fuch that belonged to the kingdom of Syria, that dwelt in the ifles of the fea; who were in a great fright, when they heard of the invafion of their country by theChaldeans, particularly the Autaradians;

y. 24. Damafcus is waxed feebles &c.] Ory, is become remifs ®; her hands hang down; not being able thro’ tear and fright to litt them up againtt the enemy; that is, the inhabitants of Dama/cusy as the Targum: and turneth berfelf to fiee; inttead of going out to meet the enemy, the inhabitants of this city meditated a flight, and turned their backs upon him, in order to flee from him, and efeape falling into his hands: and fear hath jeized on ber ot, foe Jeized on fear »; inftead of feizing on arms, and laying hold on them to defend herfelf with, fhe feized on that; or however that feized on her, and made her quite unfit to ftand up in her own defence: anguifh and forrows have taken her as a woman in travail; fee the note on ¥. 22. A phrafe often ufed to exprefs the fudden and inevitable deftruction of a people, and their diftrefs and inability to help themfelves.

¥.25. How is the city of praife not left, &c.] The city of Damajfcus, famous for its antiquity, its wealth and riches, ftrength and power; and with the heathens for its devotion and fuperftition. So Fulian' the emperor calls it, “* the truly city “ of Fupiter; the eye of the whole eaft; Dama- ‘* fcus the holy and the greateft;” but more efpecially for its delightful and pleafant fituation. Benjamin Tudelenfis * {ays it was in his time, ‘* a very ‘* creat and beautitul city, furrounded with a wall; ‘«¢ and the country about it was full of gardens and orchards, fifteen miles walk on every fide of it; *¢ and no city in the whole world appeared with “ fuch plenty of fruit as that did.’ Monfieur

Thevenot ' relates, that “ the city of Dama/cus is ‘* in the middle of a fpacious plain, furrounded “¢ with hills, but all diftant from the town, almoft “ out of fight; thofe on the north-fide are the “© neareft, on which fide it hath a great many gar- “¢ dens, full of trees, and moft fruit-trees; thefe ‘* oardens take up the ground from the hill of “* the forty martyrs, even to the town; fo that at “¢ a diftance it feems to be a foreft.” Mr. Maun-

drel®™ tells us, that the Turks relate this ftory of their prophet Mahomet, that ‘* coming near Da-

« majcus, he took his {tation at a high precipice, <¢ in order to view it; and confidering the ravith- “ ing beauty and delightfulnefs of it, he would “* not tempt his frailty by entring into it; but in- “«* ftantly departed with this reflection on it, that «< there was but one paradife defigned for men, and ‘* for his part he was refolved not to take his in « this world,” and adds the fame traveller, ** you «« have indeed from the precipice the moft perfect “* profpect of Damafcus; and certainly no place in “© the world can promife the beholder at a diftance ‘< creater voluptuoufnels. It is fituate in an even “« plain, of fo great extent, that you can but juft «* difcern the mountains that compafs it on the «¢ further fide. In its length it extends near two <¢ miles, and is encompafied with gardens, extend- *< ing no lefs, according to common eftimation, “ than thirty miles round; which makes. it look “¢ like a noble city in a vaft wood.” Strabo ™ fays

of this city, that it is worthy of praife, and almoft the moft famous city of all near Perfia. The fenfe of it either is, how is it that fo famous a city was not fpared by the enemy, that they did not leave it untouched, but deftroyed and demolifhed it? or how is it, that it was not fortified by the inhabitants of it; that a parapet was not built about the wall all around, to ftrengthen it, and keep out the enemy? This fenfe, as well as the former, is mentioned both by Farchi and Kimchi, who direé& to Nab, iii. 8. for the confirmation of this fenfe of the word: the city of my joy? thefe are either the words of the prophet, who had a great regard to the city of Damafcus, as an ancient, well-built and opulent city, and lamented its deftruction; or rather of the king of it, as Farchi; or of the inhabitants of it, who faid this to one another as they fled; fo Kimchi: but there is no neceffiry of rendring it, my ja, only joy; for the jod affixed, may not be confidered as a pronoun, but as paragogic, or 3 Syriac termination, which is common; tho’ fome interpret this of the city of Yeru/alem, and‘as fpoken by the Lord, or by the prophet in his name, - braiding the Syrians for their hatred to it, and dif turbance they gave it; and which is now mentioned as one caufe and reafon of their ruins fee

¥.26. Therefore her young men fball fall in ber ftreets, &c.| Or verily®; fo Farchi interprets it as an oath; Jehovah {wearing that fo it fhould be; that her young men, her choice ones, fuch who were the flower of the city, and on whom its future profperity depended; thefe fhould fall by the fword of the Chaldeans in the ftreets of the city, when having entered, and taken it: and all the men of war fhall be cut off in that day, faith the Lord of bots; foldiers and officers, men of ftrength and valour, in whom the inhabitants of Damafeus trufted for their defence; thefe fhould be cut off by the fword of the enemy at the time of the fiege, and taking of it. ‘ y.27. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damajcus, &c.] Signitying either that a breach being made there, the deftruction of the city fhould begin, and be carried on until it was completed; or it may be underftood literally, that firft the houfes built upon the wall fhould be fet on fire by the Chajdeans, thro’ the divine permiffion, and accordi to his order and will, and therefore afcribed to him, which fhould proceed further. Compare with this 2 Cor. xi. 32, 33: and it fhail confume the pan laces of Ben-hadad, not only the houfes of the common people in general, but particularly the palaces of their king and his nobles: Ben-hadad being a name of one of the kings of Syria, 1 Kings xx. 1. and which, according to Kimchi, was the name of the king of Syria at the time of the deftruétion of Damajfcus by Nebuchadnezzar. Some think that this was a common name of the kings of Syria, as Pharaoh and Ptolemy with the Egyptians, It fignifies the fon of Hadad, which was the name of their idol; from whence their kings might be called, as was ufual with the Afjrians and Babylonians.

¥.28. Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazer, &c.} A new prophecy concerning the Argbians,; for Kedar was a fon of Jfhimael, Gen. xxv. 13. whofe pofterity inhabited 4rahia Petrea. Hazor was Petra itfelf, the metropolis of the country, whofe king had feveral petty kings and kingdoms under him; for this is not the Hazor in the land of Canaan deftroyed by Fofoua, which had ~ been the head of feveral kingdoms; and where Fabin king of Canaan afterwards reigned, o/b. xis 10. Fudg. iv. 2. tho’ fome think that fome of thofe Haxorites in Fofbua’s time made their efcape, nt fled intq thefe parts, and built a city, and called it after the name of the former: which Nebuchadrexzar king of Babylon foall finite, thus faith she. Lord; that is, thus faith the Lord concer or unto, or againft Kedar °, &c. as in ¥. 1. which the king of Babylon bath fmitten, the paft forthe future, common in prophetic language: or, 7s about to fmite*; would do it in a very little time; for the phrale, thus faith the Lord, is not to be connected with what follows after, but with what goes before; tho’ indeed. the next words are the words of the Lord to the Chaldeans: arife ye, go up to Kedar, in an_hoftile manner; invade that country, and poffefs it: aud fpoil the men of the eaji, the Arabians, which. lay eaft of fudea and Babylon: or; the children of Kedem'; the fame with Kedemah, another fon of IJjbinael, Gen. xxv. 15. - whofe poiteriry dwelt ftill more to the eaft; fo Kimchi; tho’ the Targum renders it, the children of the eat. ¥. 29. Their tents and their flocks foall they take away, &c.| The Kedarenes were a people whofe bufinefs chiefly lay in feeding flocks, and of which their fubftance confifted; and they moftly dwelt in tents, which they removed from place to place for the fake of pafturage for their flocks; hence they were fometimes called Scenites, and fometimes Nomades, fee Pf-.cxx. 5. Cant.i. 5. but now both their habitations, fuch as they were, and their flocks too, wherein lay their riches, would be taken away from them: ‘hey fhall take to themfelves their curtains, and all their veffels, and their camels. their curtains made of fkins of beafts, of which their tents were made; or with which they were covered to protect them fram the inclemencies of the weather; and all the furniture of them, their houfhold-goods; their vefiels for domeftic ufe; and utenfils for their calling and employment; and their camels, which were much ufed in thofe countries for travelling from place to place; on which they put their tents, curtains, and veffels, when they removed from one pafturage to another;_thefe they, not the Kedarenes, fhould take to themfelves, - and flee with them; but the Chaldeans fhould feize on them for themfebves, as their booty and prey: and they foall cry unto them, fear is on everyi fide; or, Magor-miflabib; this is the word the Chaldeans fhall ufe, and with it fright the Kedarenes out of their tents; or by the found of their trumpets, the alarm of war, and by their fhouts and cries, and the clafhing of their arms, they fhall put them in fear all around: or elfe the Kedarenes and Hazorites, when they fhall fee the Chaldean army approaching, fhall fay one to another, fear is on all fides of us; nothing but ruin and deftruction attend us from every quarter.

¥.30. Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, faith the Lord, &c.} The fame is faid to the inhabitants of Dedan, y¥.8. fee the note there: for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counfel againft you, and hath conceived a purpofe againft you, had determined upon their deftruction, and had copfulted and contrived ways and means to effect it; and therefore fince fo powerful an enemy had fuch a defign upon them, it was high time to flee, and get as far off as they could, and hide themfelves in the caverns of the earth.

y. 31. Arife, get you up unto the wealthy nation, &c.] Or, to the nation that is at eafe*; the people that live quietly and in peace; have no wars with their neighbours, nor any among themfelves; which feems to be the better fenfe of the word, for thefe Kedarenes were not a very wealthy people: thefe words do not exprefs the counfel and purpofe of Nebuchadnezzar, or are an addrefs of his to his army, commanding them to arife, and invade the country of Arabia; for they are the words of the _

Lord, and are addreffed to him and his army to go up in an‘hoftile. manner againft the Kedarenes, here defcribed: that dwelleth without care, faith tke Lord; not without the care of their flocks, or without providing things neceflary for themfelves and families; they were not an indolent people, that lived an idle and inaCtive life; but they dwelt confidently, or fecurely*, as it may be- rendered; they had no thought nor care to defend themfelves from an enemy; they had no fear of any, imagining that no one would think it worth while to give themfelves any trouble to invade them; their meannefs they fuppofed was a proteétion to them: which have neither gates, nor bars; to their cities, or to their houfes, being in no fear of an enemy to come and plunder them: which dwell alone; being in no alliance with other nations; nor dwelling together in cities, towns and villages, at leaft the common people; the greater part of them being fcattered up and down, a few in one place, and a few in another; thus they dwelt for the convenience of feeding their flocks.

¥. 32. And their camels fhall be a booty, &c.] To the Chaldean army, as before, ¥.29: and the multitude of their cattel a fpoil; to the fame; the Kedarenes had large flocks of fheep, as well as a multitude of camels, on which they lived, and in which their fubftance lay; fee J/: lx. 6, 7. Fobi. 3: and I will fcatter into all winds them that are in the uimoft corners; them that were gone with their flocks to feed them in the uttermoft parts of their land; who, on hearing of the Chaldean army being entered and ravaging their country, would leave their flocks, and flee and be difperfed in the feveral parts of the world: or, them that are cut in the corner“; in the corners of their beard; that have their hair cut all around, as the Arabians had; fee the note on ch. ix. 26: and I will bring their cala-~ mity from all fides thereof, faith the Lord; faggefting that Nebuchadnezzar fhould furround them with his army, and fo difpofe of his troops, by placing them fome in one part, and fome in another, that they fhould not be able to efcape on any fide. It denotes their utter deftruction and defolation.:

¥. 33. And Hazor fhall be a dwelling for dragons, and a defolation for ever, &c.| The city of Hazor, as well as the kingdoms of it; the royal city where their king and principal men dwelt; even this fhould be no more inhabited by men, but by dragons, and the wild beafts of the field, and {fo remain for ever, at leaft a long time; fee J/ xiii. 20, 21,22: there fhall no man abide there, nor any fon of man dwell in it, fignifying the utter defolation of it; fee the note on y. 18.

¥. 34. Ihe word of the Lord thai came unto Feremiah the prophet againfi Elam, &c.| The Perfians,. | as it is commonly underftood, who defcended from

Elam the fon of Shem, Gen. x. 22. according to Fofepbus*; but rather the country of ELiymais is here defigned; which, tho’ in the times of Cyrus, was added to, and made a part of, the Per/ian em= pire, yet was a country diftiné&t both from Perfia and Media; and as fuch is fpoken of by Pliny*, tho’ as near unto Perfia, and bordering on Media, according to Stephanus”, the Elymaites were a coun-

Y De urbibus apud Cocceium in loc,.

“try that belohged to the Afrians; and fo Strabo * places the Ejymeans in Aluria or Alyria, and it feems very manifeft that E/am ferved under Sennacherib king of Ajffyria, when he befieged Feru alem,

Jf. xxii. 6. and afterwards fell into the hands of.

Nebuchadiexzar king ot Babylon, and became fubject to him, which is the calamity here threatened them; for*certain it is, that in Belfbazzar’s time, Shufoan in Elam was the royal feat of the kings of Babylon, Dan. viii. 2: now this prophecy againtt Elam was delivered out in the beginning of the reign of Ledekiah king of Fudahs perhaps in the firft year of his reign, ten or eleven years before the deftruction of ‘ferufalem, how long.before it had its accomplifhment is not certain: /aying, as follows:

¥. 35. Thus faith the Lord of bofis, I will break the bow of Elam, &c.| The inhabitants of this country were tamous for their fkill in archery; fee the note on J/. xxii. 6. this the Lord threatens to break, fo that it fhould be ufelefs, and of no more fervice to them to defend themfelves, or annoy others. Their ftreneth, as the Zergum,; that in which their great ftrength and fecurity lay; in which they put their traft and confidence, as follows: the chief of their might; which may be interpreted by way of appofition, of their bow, the chief inftrument of their might and power; or may defign their mighty men, the archers themfelves, who fhould be deftroyed, even E/am itfelf, and all the inhabitants of it; efpecially their warriors, who fhould be flain or carried captive.

¥. 36. And upen Elam will I bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, &c.| The Targum interprets it, the four kingdoms; fee Dan. vii. 2. Some think this had its accomplifhment in the times of Alexander; or elfe after his death, in the times of his four fucceflors; but rather in the times of Nebuchednezzar, who fhould bring with him in his army, people that dwelt in the feveral parts of the world, comparable to the winds for their fwittnefs and ftrength; whofe blaft would be fo great, as to drive the E/amites to every part of the world, as every light thing is by the wind: and will fcatter them towards all thofe winds, thofe four winds, eaft, weft, north and fouth: azd there feall be no nation, whither the outcafts of Elam foall not come; thofe that are driven out of it, forced to flee from it, or are taken captive, fhould come into the feveral nations of the world; fo that there would not be any in which an Elamite was not. |

¥. 37. For I will caufe Elam to be difmayed before their enemies, &c.] Frightened; thrown into the utmoft coniternation, fo that they fhall have no heart nor {pirit to go out againit them, and meet them, and defend themfelves; but make all hatte imaginable to flee from them, fuch a pannic oS Reg and the following chapter contain a di long prophecy concerning the deftruétion of Babylon; and which is exprefled in fuch language, that it may be, and is to be, accommodated to the deftru€tion of myftical Babylon; and feveral pafiages in the book of the Revelation are borrowed from hence; and it is intermixed with promifes and prophecies of the deliverance of God’s people from thence, and of the converfion of the Jews, and would ftize them: and before them that feek their life, a further defcription of their enemies; they being fuch, who, not content with their fubitance, fought to take away their lives; nothing lefs would fatisfy them, being crue] and blood-thirfty ones: and I will-bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger’, faith the Lord and a greater evil than that cannot be; fignifying, that the deftruction that fhould be made among them would be the effect of the wrath of God upon them for their fins: end I will fend the fword after them, till I have confumed them, that is, thofe that flay with the fword, as the Targum; thefe fhould go after thofe that fled, and deftroy them, till the greater part of them were confumed; for all of them that were taken were not deftroyed; or otherwife there would have been none to return from captivity, as is promifed at the clofe of this prophecy. |.. ¥. 38. And I will fet my throne in Elam, &c.] Either when Alexander fubdued it, or Cyrus, or rather Nebuchadnezzar, whofe palace probably was, as it is certain his fucceflor’s was, in Shufhan in Elam, as before obferved from Den. viii. 2. This is called the Lord’s throne, becaufe he gave it to him; his conqueft of Elam, and his dominion over it, were from him: and will deflroy from thence the king and the princes, faith the Lord; {o that there fhould be no more kings of Elam, and princes, and nobles of their own, after this time; and becaufe mention is made of the kings of Elam in the times of Nebuchadnezzar, Fer. XXv. 25. tho’ that is obferved in the firlt year of his reign, fome have thought {that it is beft to underftand it of Cyrus, the Lord’s fervant and anointed; and whofe throne might well be called the throne of God, which he gave him, and fet him on in an eminent manner, not only there, but elfewhere; fee Ezrai. 2. Jf. xlv. 1. and when this country of Elam, or Elymais, became a part of the Per/ian empire, and never had any more kings to reign over it feparately. Some of the Fewifh Rabbins», as Kimchi obferves, interpret the king and princes of Vajbti of Haman and his fons; but very wrongly. ¥. 39. But it foall come to ‘pals in the latter days, &c.] Not in the times. of Cyrus, when thefe people enjoyed their liberty, as the Yews and other nations did, freed by him from the Babylonifh yoke; which cannot with propriety be called the latter days, being but 70 or 80 years at moft after this prophecy; but in the times of the Meffiah, often _ in prophecy called the latter days: that J will bring again the captivity of Elam, faith the Lord, which was accomplifhed in a {piritual, fenfe; when fome of thefe people, the E/amites, were converted to Chrift, and delivered by him from the captivity of fin and fatan, and were brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God; fee As ii. g.

the reftoration of them to their own land, wl will be at that time; fee ¥. 4, 5, 8, 197 105 3:

The deftruction of Babylon in general is proctaiur and declared, and the manner and caufe of up and animated to proceed againft her, and execute the judgments of God upon her, ¥.

Next follows the Lord’s controverfy with caufe of her pride and oppreffion of fe of it, y. 1—13. then the enemies of Babylon are ftirred

4nd threatens her with the fword, drought, and utter deftruction, ¥. 31—40. and then a defcription is given of her enemies, that fhould be the inftruments of her deftruction, ¥. 41—44. and the chapter is clofed with obferving, that this is all according to the counfel and purpofe of God, y.

¥. 1. The word that the Lord fpake againft Babylon, &c.] Or to, or of Babylon*, the city of Babylon, the metropolis of the Chaldean empire; fometimes it fignifies the whole country, here the city only, as appears by what follows: and againft the land of the Chaldeans; whither the Fews were carried captive, for whofe comfort this prophecy is delivered out; and which had fubdued other nations, and was become an univerfal monarchy; thefe people are mentioned laft, becaufe the reft of the nations were to drink the cup of God’s wrath at their hands, and then they were:to drink it after them; fee ch. xxv. 9, 26. this is to be underftood not only of Babylon and its empire, literally taken, but of myftical Badylon and its dependencies; of Kome, and its jurifdiction; of antichrift, and the antichriftian ftates, the laft enemies of the church and people of God, who will be deftroyed by the pouring out of the feven vials; fee Rev. xv. 1. and xvi. 19.. This prophecy, which is called the word that the Lord /pake, for it was from him, the thing was decreed and declared by him, came by Feremiah the prophet, to whom the king of Babylon had been very kind; but yet he muft be, and was faithful as a prophet, to deliver what he had from the Lord concerning the ruin of his empire.

_ yt. 2. Declare ye among the nations, &c.| The taking of Babylon; a piece of news, in which the nations of the world had a concern, as well as the Fews, being brought under the Badylonifh yoke, from which they would now be freed; and therefore fuch a declaration mutt be very acceptable and joyful to them. Some take thefe words to be the words of God to the prophet; others, the words of Feremiah to the nations; the meaning is only, that fuch a declaration fhould be made, and fuch things done, as follow: and publifh, and fet up a fiandard, publifo, and conceal not, caufe it to be heard far and near; and that it may be heard, fet up a fign or ftandard, to gather the people together to hear it; for this ftandard was not to be fet up for the enlifting of men, or gathering them together, to go up and fight again{t Badylon, fince it was now taken; but as a token of victory, and as expreflive of joy, on account of it; or rather for the reafon given; fee If xiii. 2: fay, Babylon is taken, this is the thing to be declared, publifhed, and not concealed; but with an audible voice to be pronounced, and rung throughout the feveral nations of the earth. Thus, when the everlafting gofpel is preached to every nation on earth, and Chrift is fet up in it as an enfign and ftandard to the people; it fhall be every where publifhed, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, Rev. xiv. 6, 8. and xviii. 1,-2. Bel is confounded an idol of the Ba- Aylonians, thought by fome to be the fame with Baal by contraction; he is by the Septuagint called Belus, the name of one of their kings; who might “be idolized after his death, as was ufual among ‘the heathen nations: he is faid to be confounded, becaufe he muft have been, could he have beer fenfible of the taking of Babylon, where his temple - ftood, and he was worfhipped, fince he was not able to protect it; or rather, becaufe his worfhippers were confounded, that gloried in him, and put their truft in him. So the Targum, <* they ‘* are confounded that worfhip Be/;” fee the note on Jf. xlvi.'1. Merodach is broken in pieces; another of their idols, which fignifies a pure lord; fome of their kings had this as one of their names, If. xxxix. 1. Fer. lit! 31. The Targum is,‘ they ‘are broken that worfhipped Merodach.” Her idols are confounded, ber images are broken to pieces thefe were their leffer deities, as the other two were their greater ones; all fhould be deftroyed along with it; as all the idols and images of the church of Rome will, when that is deftroyed, Rev. ix: 20. ¥. 3. For out of the north there cometh up a nation againft ber, &c.] The Medes and Perfians, which under Cyrus were one nation; and which not only lay north of fudea, where this prophecy came; but of Babylon, againft which they were to come; and might lay more north to it, before the enlargement of their dominions; and befides, Cyrus came thro’ Afyria to Babylon, which lay north of it; fee Jf xli. 25. Thus, as Rome pagan was facked and taken by the Goths and Vandals, that came out of the north; fo Rome papal, and the antichriftian ftates, will be deftroyed by the chri- {tian princes of the north, or thofe who have embraced what the papifts call the northern herefy; tidings out of the north fhall trouble antichrift, Dan. xi. 44. Which fhall make her land defolate; and none foall dwell therein, that is, in procefs of time; for this defolation was not made at once; it was begun by Cyrus, made greater by Darius, and compleated by Seleucus Nicator. They fhall remove, they foall depart, both man and beaft, or, from man to beaft*; fach as were not flain, fhould either flee away, or be carried captive; fo that in time none fhould remain, either of man or beaft; fee Jf. xiii, 1g—22. and for the accomplifhment of it on myttical Babylon, fee Rev. xviil. 2; 21, 225238 ¥. 4. Inthofe days, and at that time, faith the Lord, &c.] When Babylon fhall be taken and deftroyed, then what follows fhall be accomplifhed; which, as it refpects the converfion of the Fews, fhows, that this prophecy is -not to be reftrained to litera

Babylon: the children of Ifrael fhall come, they and the children of ‘fudab together; wpon the taking of Babylon, in a literal fenfe, by Cyrus, the children of Jrael, or the ten tribes, carried away by the Afyrians, did not 1:eturn; only the children of Judah, or the tribes of Fudah and Benjamin, with the Levites, and a few of the other tribes, that might be mixed among them: but when myftical Babylon is fallen, then the whole body of the Fews will be converted, and return to their own land, D/rael and Fudabh; which is foretold in other prophecies, as here, which {peak of their general converfion; fee Fer, xxx. 3, 9. Ezek. xxxvil. 16—25. Hof. i. 11. Going and weeping; which is another circumftance, which fhows, that this does not refpeét the return of the Fews from the Badylonifh captivity; for that was attended with joy, and not with tears; fee P/. cxxvi. 1, 2. unlefs it is to be underftood of weeping for joy, and of tears of joy, as as Kimcbi interprets it; but it is better to underftand it of that godly forrow and mourning for fin, which will appear in the ews at the time of their converfion; particularly for their fathers ill treatment of the Meffiah, their unbelief and rejection of him, and their continued obftinacy and perverfenefs, and other fins; fee Fer. xxxi. 9. Zech. xii. 10. They foall go and feek the Lord their God, even David their king, the,true Meffiah, who is Lord and God; to him they fhall feek for peace, pardon, righteoufnefs, and eternal life; and acknowledge him to be the Meffiah, their Lord, and their God; embrace his gofpel, and fubmit to his ordinances; fee Fer. xxx. 9. Hof. iii. 5. The Targum is, “* when they were carried captive, they «© went weeping; but when they return from the <¢ Jand of their captivity, they fhall feek the wor- “¢ fhip of the Lord their God.”

¥. 5. They fhall afe the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, 8cc.] Either to Ferufalem, near to which mount Zion was; or to the land of J/- yael, fo called, from a principal part of it: and this alfo is not to be underftood of their return thither, upon the taking of Badylon by*Cyrus, and the liberty he gave them; for they had no need to enquire their way thither, nor do we find any where that they did; for tho’ there might be many among them born in the captivity, who knew not the way; yet there were others that did, and could direct and go before them, even fuch who had feen the former temple, Ezra iii. 12. but this fuits better with the Yews in the latter day, upon the fall of myttical Babylon, when they fhall be converted and return to their own land, and fhail afk their way thither; being under a {trong impulfe of mind, and being bent upon it, and having full refolution to go thither: or elfe, by Zion, may be meant the church of God in gofpel-times, as it often is; the way into which the converted Yews will afk, being determined to give up themfelves to it, and become members of it; which way is not a religious education, mere morality, or a bare attendance on worfhip; but faith in Chrift, and a profeffion of it, and fubmiffion to the ordinance of baptifm. Saying, come, and let us join ourfelves unto the Lord in a perpetual covenant that fball not be forgotten, and then may they be faid to join themfelves to the Lord, when, under a divine influence, they fhall give up themfelves to Chritt, to be faved by him; when they fhall lay hold on him, embrace him, and believe in him; when they fhall follow him in his own ways, and cleave unto him with full purpofe of heart; and alfo, when they fhall join themfelves to his people, to the churches of Chrift, and abide by his truths and ordinances; to all which they fhall ftir up and encourage one another; either laying hold on the covenant of grace, which is an everlafting one, and will never be forgotten: by the Lord; he is ever mindful of it, and keeps it; which is done, when men join themfelves to the Lord, Jf lvi. 6. or making an agreement or covenant with one another, and the churches to which they join themfelves, to walk together in all the ways, ordinances, and commandments of the Lord; which agreement or covenant ought to be perpetually obferved, and never forgotten. Kimchi owns, that this part of the verfe belongs to the days of the Meffiah, The Targum is, “ they fhall come and be added unto “* the people of the Lord, and he fhall make with

** them an everlafting covenant, which fhall not “eiceale,””

¥. 6. My people hath been loft fleep, &c.|). Or like loft fheep, without a fhepherd, going aftray’ from the fold, wandering from place to place,’ having none to take care of them, guide, and direct them, or to go in and out before them, and lead them into fuitable paftures; fo it was with the Fews in the Babylonifh captivity, and fo it is with them now, and yet the Lord’s people. fill in fome fenfe; he has a defign of grace concerning them, a {tore of mercy for them, and thoughts of peace towards them, which will take place in due time; and fuch is the cafe of all God’s eleét. in.a {tate of nature, they are fheep, but loft fheep, and yet his people. Their fhepherds have caufed them to go afiray; from God and his worfhip, from the true religion; fo their civil and ecclefiaftical governors, their kings, princes, priefts, and prophets, were the caufes of leading them into errors, by their laws, doctrines, and examples; fo Farchi and Kimchi interpret it of their kings; but the Targum feems to underiftand it of other kings, that carried them captive, ‘* kings carried them away, rulers ‘* {poiled them;” fo their priefts and rabbins now caufe them to err from the true Meffiah, his gofpel and ordinances, as their falfe Chrifts and falfe prophets have done in all ages fince the times of Chrift..They have turned them away on the mountains; or, to them‘; where idols were worfhipped, as archi; this was their cafe before and at the Bacylonifh captivity, tho’ never fince: or, from the mountains; from the mountains of J/rae/, and the good paftures there; from the gofpel of Chrift, and the ordinances of it. They have gone from mountain to hill, from one religion to another, from duty to duty, feeking reft and happinefs there, in the law of Mo/es, and traditions of the elders; or from kingdom to kingdom, wandering about from place to place, as they do to this day. They have forgotten their refting-place; either the land of Canaan, which was their reft, Deut. xii. g. or rather God himfelf, the refting-place of his people,. Pf. cxvi. 7. or the Lord Jefus Chrift, in whofe perfon, blood, righteoufneis, facrifice, and fulnefs, is the true reft of his people; and which is forgotten, when men reft in themfelves and their duties, and feek elfewhere than in Chrift for peace and comfort.:

¥. 7. All that found them have devoured them, &c.] As loft and wandering theep are liable to be found, and to be devoured, by every beaft of prey, lions, wolves, and bears; fo the Jews were found by their neighbours, their enemies, and efpecially by the Chaldeans, having forfaken God, and being forfaken by him; and which is their cafe now, and are often found and feized upon by — their enemies, and made a prey of under one pretence or another: and their adverfaries faid, we offend not; we are not guilty of any evil, in away their lives: or itripping them of their fubftance: ecaufe they have finned againft the Lord; and therefore are juftly punifhed in this way; an it is no ey than what the Lord drexened with, and foretold by his prophets fhould come upon them: this they bid wad that they feared the Lord, or had any regard to hi glory, but to excufe themfelyes, which would not do; for tho’ they finned againft the Lord, they had not finned againft them, and they had no t right to deftroy them, and pluiider them of their fubftance; and fo it is now, many think it no cfime to injure the Yews in their perfons and property; becaufe they have finned againft Chrift, and rejected him as the Meffiah, who is the haditation of jujice; the dwelling place of the faints, the city of refuge, and ftrong tower, whither the righteous run, and are fafe: even the Lord, the hope of their fathers; whom their ‘fathers hoped for and expected, he being fpoken and prophefied of by all the prophets that were from the beginning of the world, and therefore called the hope of J/rae/, ch. xiv. 8. and xvii. 13. ¥. 8. Remove out of the midft of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, &c.| This, in the literal fenfe, is a call to the ews in Babylon, and in other parts of Chaldea, to go out from thence, upon the proclamation of Cyrus; and efpecially to the chief of them, to animate the reft, and fet them an example; fuch as Zorobabel, Fojfoua, Ezra, and others: and, in the myftical fenfe, is a call to the people of God in Rome, and the antichriftian ftates, to come out from thence, a Jittle before the deftruction thereof, as in Rev. xviii. 4. which feems to refer to this paflage: and be as the be-goats before the flocks; which walk - ftately and nimbly, chearfully and readily, without fear and dread, boldly and confidently, and encourage others to follow them. The Zargum is, ‘* as princes at the head of their people.” ¥. 9. For lo, Iwill raife and caufe to come up againft Babylon, &c.] The work was of the Lord; it was he that would give a commiffion and a command to the enemies of Babylon; that would incline them, and ftir them up, to come againit her; that would direct their motions, and guide them thither, fo that it would affuredly be; wherefore it behoves the people of God to make hafte out of it: an affembly of great nations from the north country; the Medes and Perfians, with their allies and auxiliaries, which came with them from the north; as alfo a collection of chriftian nations from the north of Europe, againft antichrift: and they frall fet themfelves in array againft ber, draw up their army in form of battel, or prepare and dif- - pofe their inftruments of war for the fiege of Babylon: from thence fhall fhe be taken; on the north fide, from which quarter the enemy fhould come; or from the place where their army is drawn up in battel-array; or fuddenly, and at once: fo Babylon was deftroyed by Cyrus; and the deftruction of Rome, or myftical Babylon, will be fudden, and at an unawares, Rev. xviii. 8! their arrows fhall be as of a mighty expert man; or that bereaves ® women of their hufbands, and parents of their children: the Medes and Perfians were famous -for archery, {trong to draw the bow, and fkilful to guide and direct the arrow. Strabo" fays of Media major, that it fometimes furnifhed out thirteen thoufand archers to the Elymeans or Perfians, againit the Sufans and Babylonians.. None fhall return in vain; not one of the arrows but fhall do execution, kill aman: or it, or be, which or who, /hall not return in vain; the aflembly.of nations, or any one of the archers or foldiers. ° y. 10. And Chaldea foall be a fpoil, &c.] The land of the Chaldeans, as the Targum, fhould be-