i

22 Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.

23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, 1 do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

24 Behold, m ye are " of nothing, and your work of naught an abomination is he that chooseth you.

Vanity of idols.

B. C. cir. 712.

Olymp. XVII. 1.

cir. annum

Numa Pompilii,

25 I have raised up one from A. M cir. 3292. the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun P shall he call upon my name : and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay.

r

R. Roman., 4.

26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. 27 The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.

S

:

t

Or, worse than nothing.- o Or, worse than of a viper. P Ezra i. 2. Verse 2.- Chapter xliii. 9.Verse 4.- Chapter xl. 9.—" Chapter lxix. 5.v Heb. return. w Ver. 24.

haply ye have any thing." The false gods are called upon to come forth and appear in person; and to give evident demonstration of their foreknowledge and power by foretelling future events, and exerting their power in doing good or evil.

them with abundant water, when distressed with thirst, in allusion to the exodus. This verse expresses the relief afforded to them, fainting with heat in their journey through that hot country, destitute of shelter, by causing shady trees, and those of the tallest and most beautiful kinds, to spring up for their defence. Verse 23. That we may be dismayed, and behold it The apocryphal Baruch, speaking of the return from together—"Then shall we be struck at once with Babylon, expresses God's protection of his people by admiration and terror."] The word venere is the same image: "Even the woods and every sweet- written imperfectly in the Hebrew text; the Masoretes smelling tree shall overshadow Israel by the command-supply he at the end; and so it is read in twentyment of God." Chap. v. 8.

The oil tree] This, Kimchi says, is not to be understood of the olive tree, for the olive is distinguished, Neh. viii. 15; but it means the pine or fir, from which pitch is extracted.

two MSS. and four editions; that is, ¡N) venireh, and we shall see. But the true reading seems to be

venira, and we shall fear, with yod supplied, from xт yara.

Verse 24. Your work of naught—" Your operation Verse 20. And consider] The verb ' yasimu, is less than naught"] For yox meepha, read DDND without leb added, cannot signify to apply the heart, meephes; so the Chaldee and Vulgate. A manifest or to attend to a thing, as Houbigant has observed; error of the text; compare chap. xl. 17. The rabbins he therefore reads ID yashshemu, they shall wonder. acknowledge no such error, but say that the former The conjecture is ingenious; but it is much more pro-word signifies the same with the latter, by a change bable that the word ↳ leb is lost out of the text; for of the two letters □ samech and y ain.-Sal ben Melec all the ancient versions render the phrase to the same in loc. sense, as if it were fully expressed, ♫ my yasimu leb; and the Chaldee renders it paraphrastically, yet still retaining the very words in his paraphrase, jab by vishavvun dechalti al lebehon, "that they may put my fear in their heart." See also ver. 22, where the same phrase is used.

Verse 21. Bring forth your strong reasons— "Produce these your mighty powers"] "Let your idols come forward which you consider to be so very strong." Hieron. in loc. I prefer this to all other interpretations of this place; and to Jerome's own translation of it, which he adds immediately after, Afferte, si quid forte habetis, "Bring it forward, if

Verse 25. I have raised up one from the north] "That is," says Kimchi, "the Messiah. The king of Assyria placed the ten tribes in Chalach and Chabar by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 2 Kings xvii. 6, which lands lie northerly and easterly."

He shall come upon princes" He shall trample on princes"] For x yabo, Le Clerc reads Dɔ` yebes, from the Chaldee, who seems to read both words. "Forte legend. Da vaiyebes vel DDTI vaiyirmos : sequitur ▷.” "This should perhaps be read D' vaiyebes, or vaiyirmos: a D samech follows."-Secker. See Nah. iii. 14.

Verse 26. Your words] ' imratheychem ';

CHAPTER XLII.

The prophet sets forth the meekness of Messiah's character, and the extent and blessings of his kingdom, particularly among the Gentiles, 1-9. In consequence of this he calls on the whole creation to join him in one song of praise to God, 10-12. After which he seems again to glance at the deliverance from the captivity; although the words may full as well apply to the deliverance vouchsafed to the Church; to the overthrow of her most powerful enemies; and to the prevalency of true religion over idolatry and error, 13-17. The prophet then reproves the Jews for their blindness and infidelity in rejecting the Messiah, and gives intimations of those judgments which their guilt would draw on them, 18-25.

I uphold; mine elect, in up, nor cause his voice to Numa Pompilii, whom my soul delighteth;

Blessings of the

A. M. cir. 3292.

B. C. cir. 712.

e

quench: he shall bring forth sit in a darkness out of the A. M. cir, 3292,

Olymp. XVII. 1 judgment unto truth.

cir, annum

Numa Pompilii,
R. Roman., 4.

4 He shall not fail nor be f discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall I wait for his law.

prison house.

r

B. C. cir. 712. Olymp. XVII. 1.

cir. annum

Numa Pompilii,

R, Roman., 4.

8 I am the LORD: that is my name and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

5 Thus saith God the LORD, he that created 9 Behold, the former things are come to the heavens, and stretched them out; he that pass, and new things do I declare: before spread forth the earth, and that which cometh they spring forth I tell you of them. out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk

shall publish judgment to the nations"] Four MSS. two ancient, add the conjunction i vemishpat. See Matt. xii. 18.

The word mishpat, judgment, like py tsedakah, righteousness, is taken in a great latitude of signification. It means rule, form, order, model, plan; rule of right, or of religion; an ordinance, institution; judicial process, cause, trial, sentence, condemnation, acquittal, deliverance, mercy, &c. It certainly means in this place the law to be published by Messiah, the institution of the Gospel.

Verse 4. He shall not fail nor be discouraged "His force shall not be abated nor broken"] Rabbi Meir ita citat locum istum, ut post yaruts, addat In cocho, robur ejus, quod hodie non comparet in textu Hebræo, sed addendum videtur, ut sensus fiat planior. "Rabbi Meir cites this passage so as to add after 1 yaruts cocho, his force, which word is not found in the present Hebrew text, but seems necessary to be added to make the sense more distinct." Capell. Crit. Sac. p. 382. For which reason I had added it in the translation, before I observed this remark of Capellus.—L.

8

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10 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

Verse 10. Ye that go down to the sea] This seems not to belong to this place; it does not well consist with what follows," and the fulness thereof." They that go down upon the sea means navigators, sailors, traders, such as do business in great waters; an idea much too confined for the prophet, who means the sea in general, as it is used by the Hebrews, for the distant nations, the islands, the dwellers on the seacoasts all over the world. I suspect that some transcriber had the 23d verse of Psalm cvii. running in his head, N) ON '11' yoredey haiyam booniyoth, and · wrote in this place on yoredey haiyam instead of On Oy yiram haiyam, or y yari, or 1 yaran; "let the sea roar, or shout, or exult." But as this is Verse 6. A covenant of the people-" A covenant so different in appearance from the present reading, I to the people"] For Oy am, two MSS. of Dr. Ken- do not take the liberty of introducing it into the transnicott's, and of my own, read by olam, the cove- lation. Conjeceram legendum 17'' yegidu, ut ver. 12; nant of the age to come, or the everlasting covenant; sed non favent Versiones. "I would propose to read which seems to give a clearer and better sense. But 17 yegidu, as in ver. 12; but this is not supported I think the word n berith, here, should not be translated covenant, but covenant sacrifice, which meaning it often has; and undoubtedly in this place. This gives a still stronger and clearer sense.

by the Versions."-Secker.

Verse 11. Let the wilderness] The most uncultivated countries, and the most rude and uncivilized people, shall confess and celebrate with thanksgiving Verse 7. To open the blind eyes] In this verse the the blessing of the knowledge of God graciously improphet seems to set forth the spiritual redemption, parted to them. By the desert is meant Arabia Deunder images borrowed from the temporal deliverance. serta; by the rocky country, Arabía Petræa; by the Out of the prison house—“ And from the dungeon."] mountains, probably those celebrated ones, Paran, HoThe Septuagint, Syriac, and four MSS., one ancient, reb, Sinai, in the same country; to which also belonged

Verse 15. I will make the rivers islands-" I will make the rivers dry deserts"] Instead of □” iyim, islands, read "Y tsiim; a very probable conjecture of Houbigant.

Kedar, a clan of Arabians, dwelling for the most part diwrnoquar according to MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 11. in tents; but there were others of them who inhabited and Edit. Complut.; which word, bwyn haleolam, or frequented cities and villages, as may be collected has been omitted in the text by an easy mistake of from this place of the prophet. Pietro della Valle, a transcriber, because of the similitude of the word speaking of the people of Arabia Deserta, says: preceding. Shall I always keep silence? like that of "There is a sort of Arabs of that country called Juvenal: Semper ego auditor tantum? Shall. I always Maédi, who with their herds, of buffaloes for the most be a hearer only? part, sometimes live in the deserts, and sometimes in cities; from whence they have their name, which signifies wandering, going from place to place. They have no professed houses; nor are they properly Bedaui, or Beduui, that is, Deserticoli, who are the most noble among them, and never abide within walls, but always go wandering through the open country with their black tents; nor are they properly called Hhadesi, as they call those who dwell in cities, and lands with fixed houses. These by the latter are esteemed ignoble and base; but both are considered as of low condition." Viaggi, Parte III. lett. ii.

Verse 16. In paths] The Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and nine MSS., (two ancient,) read in ubenotiboth.

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Will I do unto them] Onvy asitem. This word, so written as it is in the text, means "thou wilt do,” in the second person. The Masoretes have indeed pointed it for the first person; but the yod in the last syllable is absolutely necessary to distinguish the The villages that Kedar doth inhabit] The Arabs, first person; and so it is written in forty MSS., according to the Targum.

.asithim עשיתים

myself," for "I have made for myself," Ezek. xxix. 2; and in the celebrated passage of Jephthah's vow, Judges xi. 31, nhy winbym veheelitihu olah for

The inhabitants of the rock] They who dwell in Jarchi, Kimchi, Sal. ben Melec, &c., agree that fortified places. The Vulgate has habitatores Petrææ, the past time is here put for the future, 'nvy asithi "the inhabitants of Arabia Petræa." Those who for nys; and indeed the context necessarily requires make the rock Jesus Christ, the inhabitants of the that interpretation. Farther it is to be observed that rock, true believers in him; the singing, rejoicing for any asithim is put for on wy asithi lahem, “I the salvation they have received; abuse and disgrace have done them," for "I have done for them;" as the passage and the pulpit. I have heard a clergy-y asitheni is for ↳ '♫wy asiti li, “I have made man, a magistrate, a justice of the quorum, spend an hour in showing from these words, 1. That they meant Jesus Christ, and none other. 2. That he might be fully compared to a rock, as the foundation on which yn heelithi lo olah, "I will offer him a his Church was built, and on which all true believers burnt-offering," for "I will offer unto him (that is, rested for their salvation. 3. A rock, because of his unto JEHOVAH) a burnt-offering;" by an ellipsis of the strength and might in destroying his enemies, and preposition of which Buxtorf gives many other examsupporting his friends. 4. A refreshing rock, like that ples, Thes. Grammat. lib. ii. 17. See also note on in the wilderness; and that rock was Christ. 5. A chap. lxv. 5. A late happy application of this gramperspective rock, from which true believers could dis-matical remark to that much disputed passage has cover their heavenly inheritance: "When my heart perfectly cleared up a difficulty which for two thousand is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I," &c. Now all this is true in itself; but false in respect to the words on which it was professedly built, for they have no such meaning.

Verse 14. I have been still-" Shall I keep silence for ever"] After by meolam, in the copy which the Septuagint had before them, followed the word haleolam, εσιώπησα απ' αιώνος. Μη και αει

years had puzzled all the translators and expositors, had given occasion to dissertations without number, and caused endless disputes among the learned on the question, whether Jephthah sacrificed his daughter or not; in which both parties have been equally ignorant of the meaning of the place, of the state of the fact, and of the very terms of the vow; which now at last has been cleared up beyond all doubt by my learned

CHAP. XLII.

a Chap. xliii. 8; Ezek. xii. 2; see John ix. 39, 41.- b Rom. ii. 21. Heb. a treading. Or, him. d Or, in snaring all the young men of them.

Verse 22. They are all of them snared in holes"All their chosen youths are taken in the toils"] For on hapheach read in huphachu, in the plural number, hophal; as an hochbau, which answers to it in the following member of the sentence. Le Clerc, As he that is perfect-" As he who is perfectly in- Houbigant. non huppach, Secker. structed"] See note on chap. xliv. 2.