A. M. cir. 3291. deliver it; and passing over he sword, not of a mighty man; B. C. cir. 713. Olymp. XVI. 4. will preserve it.. cir. annum Numa Pompilii, m 6 Turn ye unto him from R. Roman., 3. whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. 7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. protect Zion. A. M. cir. 3291. cir. annum and the sword, not of a mean V Or, tributary Heb. for melting or tribute. Chap. xxxvii. Αίας δ' ουκ αμελησε κασιγνήτοιο πέσοντος, 66 -But Ajax his broad shield displayed, On this verse Kimchi says, "The angel of the Lord which destroyed the Assyrians is compared to a lion, ver. 4, for his strength; and here (ver. 5) to flying birds, for his swiftness. Verse 6. Have deeply revolted-"Have so deeply engaged in revolt."] All the ancient Versions read pyn laamiku, in the second person, instead of pyn heemiku, they have deeply revolted, &c. houses of the Israelites is, that in going through the land of Egypt to smite the first-born, seeing the blood on the door of the houses of the Israelites, he passed over, or skipped, those houses, and forbore to smite And screened his brother with a mighty shade." them. But that this is not the true notion of the Ος Χρύσην αμφιβέβηκας. Il. i. 37. thing, will be plain from considering the words of the sacred historian, where he describes very explicitly Which the scholiast explains by Tegßeßnxas, izsgμathe action: "For JEHOVAH will pass through to smitexes, i. e., "Thou who strictly guardest Chryses."—L. the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood on the lintels and on the two side posts, JEHOVAH will spring forward over (or before) the door, non by nin' noo upasach Yehovah al happethach, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you," Exod. xii. 23. Here are manifestly two distinct agents, with which the notion of passing over is not consistent, for that supposes but one agent. The two agents are the destroying angel passing through to smite every house, and JEHOVAH the Protector keeping pace with him; and who, seeing the door of the Israelite marked with the blood, the token prescribed, leaps forward, throws himself with a sudden motion in the way, opposes the destroying angel, and covers and protects that house against the destroying angel, nor suffers him to smite it. In this way of considering the action, the beautiful similitude of the bird protecting her young answers exactly to the application by the allusion to the deliverance in Egypt. As the mother bird spreads her wings to cover her young, throws herself before them, and opposes the rapacious bird that assaults them, so shall JEHOVAH protect, as with a shield, Jerusalem from the enemy, protecting and delivering, springing forward and rescuing her; repßaivwv, as the three other Greek interpreters, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, render it. The Septuagint, repironderar instead of which MS. Pachom. has regnora, circumeundo proteget, "in going about he shall protect," which I think is the true reading.Homer, Il. viii. 329, expresses the very same image by this word; Verse 7. Which your own hands have made unto you for a sin-" The sin, which their own hands have made."] The construction of the word on chet, sin, in this place is not easy. The Septuagint have omitted it: MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 11. and Cod. Marchal. in margine, supply the omission by the word ȧpaprav, sin, or ȧuagrnua, said to be from Aquila's Version, which I have followed. The learned Professor Schroeder, Institut. Ling. Heb. p. 298, makes it to be in regimine with D yedeychem, as an epithet, your sinful hands. The Septuagint render the pronoun in the third person, ai xepes auswv, their hands; and an ancient MS. has, agreeable to that rendering, ons lahem, to them, for ▷ lachem, to you; which word they have likewise omitted, as not necessary to complete the sense. Verse 8. Then shall the Assyrian fall, &c.] Because he was to be discomfited by the angel of the Lord, destroying in his camp, in one night, upwards of one hundred and eighty thousand men; and Sennacherib himself fell by the hands of the princes, his own sons. Not mighty men, for they were not soldiers; not mean men, for they were princes. CHAPTER XXXII. The future Prophecy of great prosperity under Hezekiah; but, in its highest sense, applicable to Christ, 1-8. Description of impending calamities, 9-14. Rejection of the Jews, and calling of the Gentiles, 15. prosperity of the Church, 16-20, The righteous king A. M. cir. 3291. Olymp. XVI. 4. cir. annum Numa Pompilii, R. Roman., 3. a ISAIAH. BEHOLD, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. and his prosperous reign 5 The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. 6 For the vile person will A. M. cir. 3291. B. C. cir. 713. Olymp. XVI. 4. cir annum Numa Pompilii, R. Roman., 3. 2 And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. C 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. 4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. Psa. xlv. 1, &c.; Jer. xxiii, 5; Hos. iii. 5; Zech. ix. 9.iv. 6; xxv. 4.- - Heb. heavy. Chap. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXII. Verse 1. Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness] If King Hezekiah were a type of Christ, then this prophecy may refer to his time; but otherwise it seems to have Hezekiah primarily in view. It is evident, however, that in the fullest sense these words cannot be applied to any man; GoD alone can do all that is promised here, 7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. Chap. xxix. 18; xxxv. 5, 6. Heb. hasty.—Or, elegantly. Or, when he speaketh against the poor in judgment. Liberal-nadib; the generous, open-hearted, princely man, who writes on all his possessions, For myself and mankind, and lives only to get and to do good. The churl kilai, the avaricious man; he who starves himself amidst his plenty, and will not take the necessaries of life for fear of lessening his stock. Thus he differs from a nabal, who feeds himself And princes] D ve-sarim, without lamed, to; to the full, and regards no one else; like the rich man so the ancient Versions. An ancient MS. has vesaraiv, and his princes. HESIOD. ii. 206. "When Sirius rages, and thine aching head, Parched skin, and feeble knees refreshment need; Then to the rock's projected shade retire, With Biblin wine recruit thy wasted powers." Verse 3. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim" And him the eyes of those that see shall regard"] For velo, and not, Le Clerc reads 11 in the Gospel. The avaricious man is called From back and belly too their proper fare : Verse 6. The vile person will speak villany—“ The fool will still utter folly"] A sort of proverbial saying, which Euripides (Bacchæ, 369) has expressed in the very same manner and words: Μωρα γαρ μωρος λε γει "The fool speaks folly." Of this kind of simple and unadorned proverb or parable, see De S. Poës Hebr. Prælect. xxiv. Against the Lord-" Against JEHOVAH"] For El, two MSS. read by al, more properly; but both are of nearly the same meaning. Verse 7. The instruments also of the churl are velo, and to him, of which mistake the Masoretes ac-evil-" As for the niggard, his instruments are evil"] knowledge there are fifteen instances; and many more His machinations, his designs. The paronomasia, are reckoned by others. The removal of the negative which the prophet frequently deals in, suggested this restores to the verb its true and usual sense. expression vechelai kelaiv, The first word is expressed with some variety in the MSS. Seven MSS, read vekili, one vechol, another 11 vecoli. Verse 5. The vile person shall no more be called liberal] The different epithets here employed require minute explanation. The vile person- nabal, the pampered, fattened, brainless fellow, who eats to live, and lives to eat; who will scarcely part with any thing, and that which he does give he gives with an evil eye and a grudging heart. To destroy the poor with lying words—“ To defeat the assertions of the poor in judgment"] A word seems to have been lost here, and two others to have suffered a small alteration, which has made the sentence very obscure. The Septuagint have happily 12 They shall lament for the teats, for the peace; and the effect of righteousness quiet- retained the rendering of the lost word, and restored 18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; nOr, burning upon, &c.- Chap. xxii. 22. Chap. xxvii. 10. Or, clifts and watch-towers.- Psa. civ. 30; Joel ii. 28 Chap. xxix. 17; xxxv. 2.— James iii. 18. thorn and the brier shall come up"] All the ancient Versions read veshamir, with the conjunction.` taaleh bo, & shall תעלה בו lehapher And an ancient MS. has ולהפר דברי אביון במשפט Farsivan sv apidsi dibrey ebyon bemishpat, "And disperse the words of Verse 8. Liberal things-"Generous purposes"] แ come up in it," which seems to be right; or rather bah: and there is a rasure in the place of 12 bo in another ancient MS. Yea, upon all the houses of joy] For ki, the ancient Versions, except the Vulgate, seem to have read 1 ve. ki may perhaps be a mistake for 12 bo, or a bah, in it, above mentioned. It is not necessary in this place. The description of impending distress which begins at ver. 13 belongs to other times than that of Sennacherib's invasion, from which they were so soon delivered. It must at least extend to the ruin of the Verse 9. Rise up, ye women- 66 ye provinces." "Ye country and city by the Chaldeans. And the promise careless daughters—“ ye cities.”—Targum. From this verse to the end of the fourteenth, the desolation of Judea by the Chaldeans appears to be foretold. Verse 11. Gird sackcloth] p sak, sackcloth, a word necessary to the sense, is here lost, but preserved by the Septuagint, MSS. Alex. and Pachom., and 1. D. 11., and edit. Ald. and Comp., and the Arabic and Syriac. Tremble-be troubled—strip you] peshotah, i regazah, &c. These are infinitives, with a paragogiche, according to Schultens, Institut. Ling. Hebr. p. 453, and are to be taken in an imperative sense. Verse 12. They shall lament-for the pleasant fields" Mourn ye for the pleasant field"] The Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read 170 siphdu, mourn ye, imperative; twelve MSS., (five ancient,) two editions, the Septuagint, Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, Syriac, and Vulgate, all read n sadeh, 4 field; not " shedey, breasts. of blessings which follows was not fulfilled under the Mosaic dispensation; they belong to the KINGdom of Messiah. Compare ver. 15 with chap. xxix. 17, and vehaccar Verse 15. And the fruitful field] mel. So fifteen MSS., six ancient, and two editions; which seems to make the noun an appellative. Verse 17. The work of righteousness] Righteousness works and produces peace. The effect of righteousness] ay abodath, the culRighteousness, cultivated by peace, produces Verse 13. Shall come up thorns and briers" The tranquillity of mind and permanent security. Reader, ture. hast thou the principle? If so, dost thou cultivate it? If" Rice is the food of two-thirds of mankind." Dr. Arthou dost, thou hast peace of conscience, joy in the Holy | buthnot. "It is cultivated in most of the eastern Ghost, and a sure and certain hope of everlasting life. countries." Miller. "It is good for all, and at all Verse 19. The city shall be low in a low place.— times." Sir J. Chardin, ib. "Le ris, qui est leur "The city shall be laid level with the plain."] For principal aliment et leur froment (i. e., des Siamois,) ubashephelah, the Syriac reads how uke- n'est jamais assez arrosé; il croit au milieu de l'eau, shephelah. The city probably Nineveh or Babylon: et les campagnes ou on le cultive ressemblent plutôt but this verse is very obscure. Saltus; Assyrio-à de maréts que non pas à des terres qu'on laboure rum regnum: civitas; magnifica Assyriorum castra. avec la charue. Le ris a bien cette force, que quoy Ephrem Syr. in loc.. For 111 ubarad, a MS. has qu'il y ait six ou sept pieds d'eau sur lui, il pousse vaiyered; and so conjectured Abp. Secker, refer- toujours sa tige au dessus; et le tuyau qui le porte ring to Zech. xi. 2. s'eleve et croit à proportion de la hauteur de l'eau qui noye son champ. Voyage de l'Evêque de Beryte, p. 144. Paris, 1666.-L. "Rice, which is the principal Verse 20. That sow beside all waters "Who sow your seed in every well-watered place"] Sir John Chardin's note on this place is :-" This exactly an-grain and aliment of the Siamese, ean never be too swers the manner of planting rice; for they sow it much watered. It grows in the water, and the fields upon the water, and before sowing, while the earth is where it is sown resemble marshes rather than fields covered with water, they cause the ground to be trod-cultivated by ploughing. Rice has that property that den by oxen, horses, and asses, who go mid-leg deep; although it be covered with water six or seven feet and this is the way of preparing the ground for sowing. deep, yet it raises its stalk above it; and this grows As they sow the rice on the water, they transplant it long in proportion to the depth of the water by which in the water." Harmer's Observ, vol. i. p. 280. the field is inundated.” CHAPTER XXXIII. Distress This chapter contains the sequel of the prophecy respecting Sennacherib. The prophet addresses himself to the Assyrian monarch, 1-4. The mercy and power of God acknowledged by the Jews, 5, 6. and despair of the Jews at the approach of Sennacherib, 7-9. Gracious promise of deliverance, 10-13. Dreadful apprehensions of the wicked, and security of the righteous, 14-17. The security of the Jews under the reign of Hezekiah, and the wretched condition of Sennacherib and his army, 18–24. B. C. cir. 713. Olymp. XVI. 4. B. C, A. M. cir. 3291. WO to thee that spoilest, and when thou shalt cease to spoil, A. M. cir. 73. thou wast not spoiled; and thou shalt be spoiled; and Olymp. XVI. 4. dealest treacherously, and they when thou shalt make an end Nume Pompilii, dealt not treacherously with thee! to cir. annum Numa Pompilii, R. Roman., 3. Chap, xxi. 2; Hab. ii. 8. The plan of the prophecy continued in this chapter, and which is manifestly distinct from the foregoing, is peculiarly elegant. To set it in a proper light, it will be necessary to mark the transitions from one part of it to another. deal cir. annum treacherously, they R. Roman., 3. Rev, xiii. 10. invaded countries, yet he should fall, and become an easy prey to those whom he had intended to subdue. In verses 5 and 6, a chorus of Jews is introduced, acknowledging the mercy and power of God, who had undertaken to protect them; extolling it with di In ver. 1, the prophet addresses himself to Senna-rect opposition to the boasted power of their enemies, cherib, briefly, but strongly and elegantly, expressing the injustice of his ambitious designs, and the sudden disappointments of them. In ver. 2, the Jews are introduced offering up their earnest supplications to God in their present distressful condition; with expressions of their trust and confidence in his protection, In verses 3 and 4 the prophet in the name of God, or rather God himself, is introduced addressing himself to Sennacherib, and threatening him that, notwithstanding the terror which he had occasioned in the and celebrating the wisdom and piety of their king Hezekiah, who had placed his confidence in the favour of God. Then follows, in verses 7, 8, and 9, a description of the distress and despair of the Jews, upon the king of Assyria's marching against Jerusalem, and sending his summons to them to surrender, after the treaty he had made with Hezekiah on the conditions of his paying, as he actually did pay to him, three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 2 Kings xviii. 14-16. The Lord will be exalted CHAP. XXXIII. against his enemies. A. M. cir. 3291. shall deal treacherously with high: he hath filled Zion with A. M. cir. 3291. B. C. cir. 713. In ver. 10, God himself is again introduced, declaring that he will interpose in this critical situation B. C. cir. 713. cir. annum R. Roman., 3. judgment and righteousness. 7 Behold, their fvaliant ones shall cry with- 8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man. 2 Kings xviii. 18, 37. h Judg. v. 6.- 2 Kings xviii. 14, 15, When thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously of affairs, and disappoint the vain designs of the ene-cannelothecha, alibi non extat in s. s. nisi f. Job xv. mies of his people, by discomfiting and utterly consuming them. Then follows, ver. 11-22, still in the person of God, which however falls at last into that of the prophet, a description of the dreadful apprehensions of the wicked in those times of distress and imminent danger; finely contrasted with the confidence and security of the righteous, and their trust in the promises of God that he will be their never-failing strength and protector. The whole concludes, in the person of the prophet, with a description of the security of the Jews under the protection of God, and of the wretched state of Sennacherib and his army, wholly discomfited, and exposed to be plundered even by the weakest of the enemy. kechallothecha. Vid, 29-simplicius est legere thou our strength every morning"] For Dy zeroam, God's people; and yet this part of the prayer seems Much of the beauty of this passage depends on the Verse 3. At the noise of the tumult-"From thy daupos dou, Sym. He had in his copy 1 otsarcha, power of JEHOVAH, who would destroy that enemy. Thus Isaiah to Sennacherib: “When thou didst raise thyself up, the nations were dispersed" "But now will I arise, saith JEHOVAH; Now will I be exalted." And thus Joel, chap. ii. 20, 21: Ver. 3. Ver. 10. "His stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall Chaldee read op kashah, whom I follow. ascend; Though he hath done great things. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice; For JEHOVAH will do great things."-L. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIII. The word o erellam, which we translate valiant ones, is very difficult; no man knows what it means. Kimchi supposes that it is the name of the angel that Verse 1. And dealest treacherously "Thou plun-smote the Assyrian camp! The Vulgate, and my Old derer"] See note on chap. xxi. 2. |