bitterness, which is so far from leading them to humility that it rather aggravates their rage.

And curse their king and their God. By King some suppose that he means God. In this sense Zephaniah used the word (malchum), that is, their King. (Zeph. i. 5.) But here I draw a distinction between King and God; for wicked men are first blinded by a false confidence in idols, and afterwards they place their defence in earthly things. When the Jews had a king, they were proud of his glory and power; and when Isaiah preached, wicked men enraged the king against him, and even aroused the whole of the nation to follow the king as their standard-bearer. Since, therefore, their false boasting had been partly in the idols and partly in the king, he threatens that they will be afflicted with so many calamities, that they will be constrained to abhor both their gods and the king. And this is the beginning of repentance, to loathe and drive far from us everything that kept us back or led us away from God.

And look upward. He describes the trembling and agitation of mind by which wretched men are tormented until they have learned steadfastly to look up. There is, indeed, some proficiency, as I lately hinted, when, in consequence of having been taught by afflictions and chastisements, we throw away our indifference and endeavour to find out remedies. But we must advance farther. Fixing our eye on God alone we must not gaze on all sides, or through fickleness be tossed to and fro. (Eph. iv. 14.) However that may be, Isaiah threatens the utter destruction of the Jews; for so thoroughly were they hardened, that their rebellion could not be subdued by a light and moderate chastisement from the hand of God. Yet it might be taken in a good sense, that the Jews will at length raise their eyes to heaven; but in that case we must read separately what follows:

22. And when they shall look to the earth. The meaning will then be, that the Jews will be converted to God, because they will be deprived of every assistance on the earth, and will see nothing but frightful calamities, to whatever side they turn their eyes.

Behold, trouble and darkness. These words are partly

figurative and partly literal; for by dimness and darkness he means nothing else than adversity, according to the custom of Scripture. But he adds, driven to darkness. This aggravates the calamity to an amazing degree; for if one who is in darkness be driven or pushed forward, he is far more in danger of stumbling than before. Thus he intimates, that to a heavy calamity another still heavier will be added, that they may be more completely ruined; for he means nothing else than that the judgments of God will be so dreadful, and the punishments so severe, that, whether they will or not, they shall be constrained to look up to heaven.

CHAPTER IX.

1. Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

2. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

3. Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

4. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian.

5. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire.

6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

1. Non tamen obscuratio juxta angustiam quæ ei accidit tempore quò primùm leviter attigerunt terram Zabulon et terram Nephtali : nec posterius, cùm aggravarunt per viam maris ultra Iordanem, in Galilæa Gentium.

2. Populus ambulans in tenebris vidit lucem magnam. Qui habitabant in terra umbræ mortis, lux affulsit super eos.

3. Multiplicando gentem non auxisti lætitiam, lætati sunt coram te secundum lætitiam in messe, quemadmodum exultant dividendo spolia.

4. Quoniam jugum ejus onerosum, et virgam humeri ejus, sceptrum exactoris ejus confregisti, sicut in die Madian.

5. Quanquam omne prælium bellantis fit cum strepitu et volutatione vestis in sanguine; erit hoc in combustionem, cibum ignis.

6. Quia puer natus est nobis; et constitutus est principatus super humerum ejus; et vocabitur nomen ejus, Admirabilis, Consiliarius, Deus fortis, Pater seculi, princeps pacis.

and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

20. And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm :

21. Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

quasi cibus ignis. Nemo fratri suo parcet.

20. Rapiet quisque ad dexteram, et esuriet; comedet ad sinistram, et non saturabitur: quisque carnem brachii sui devorabit;

21. Menasse Ephraim, et Ephraim Menasse; pariter ipsi contra Iudam. Nec in hoc toto aversus erit furor ejus; sed manus ejus adhuc extenta.

1. Yet the darkness shall not be. He begins to comfort the wretched by the hope of alleviation, that they may not be swallowed up by the huge mass of distresses. Many take these words in quite an opposite meaning, that is, as a threatening which denounces against the Jews a heavier affliction than that with which Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings xv. 29) and Shalmanezer (2 Kings xvii. 6) afflicted them. The former inflicted a heavy calamity, the latter inflicted one still heavier, for he carried the twelve tribes into captivity, and blotted out the name of the nation. Some think that he now foretells the heaviest calamity of all, for if it be compared with the former two, it exceeds both of them. Though I am not prepared to reject this view, for it does not want plausibility, yet I rather favour a different opinion. The other interpretation is indeed more plausible, that the Prophet intended to deprive hypocrites of every enjoyment, that they might not imagine that this calamity would quickly pass away like a storm as the others had done, for it would be utterly destructive; and so we shall take the particle (ki) in its literal meaning.1

But in my opinion it is most appropriate to view it as a consolation, in which he begins to mitigate what he had said about that frightful darkness and driving, (Isa. viii. 22,) and, by allaying the bitterness of those punishments, encourages them to expect the favour of God. As if he had said, “and yet, amidst that shocking calamity which the Jews shall en

1 The Hebrew particle 2, (ki,) which is placed at the beginning of this verse, is rendered in the English version by Nevertheless; but CALVIN says that he is willing to translate it for.-Ed.

dure, the darkness will not be such as when the land of Israel was afflicted, first, by Tiglath-pileser, (2 Kings xv. 29,) and afterwards more grievously by Shalmanezer," (2 Kings xvii. 6.) Amidst so great extremities believers might otherwise - have fainted, if their hearts had not been cheered by some consolation. Isaiah therefore directs his discourse to them lest they should think that they were ruined, for he intimates that the chastisements which are now to be inflicted will be lighter than those which came before. That this is the natural interpretation will quickly appear from what immediately follows.

But why does the Prophet say that this calamity, which was far more dreadful, would be more mild and gentle? For Jerusalem was to be razed, the temple thrown down, and the sacrifices abolished, which had remained untouched during the former calamities. It might be thought that these were the severest of all, and that the former, in comparison of them, were light. But it ought to be observed, that while in the former instances there was no promise, an explicit promise was added to this threatening. By this alone can temptations be overcome and chastisements be rendered light. By this seasoning alone, I say, are our afflictions alleviated; and all who are destitute of it must despair. But if, by means of it, the Lord strengthen us by holding out the hope of assistance, there is no affliction so heavy that we shall not reckon it to be light.

This may be made plain by a comparison. A man may happen to be drowned in a small stream, and yet, though he had fallen into the open sea, if he had got hold of a plank he might have been rescued and brought on shore. In like manner the slightest calamities will overwhelm us if we are deprived of God's favour; but if we relied on the word of God, we might come out of the heaviest calamity safe and uninjured.

As to the words, some take (mūgnāph) for an adjective, as if the Prophet said, It shall not be darkened; but the feminine pronoun which immediately follows, (bàhh), in her, does not allow us to refer this to men. It is more accurately described by others to be a substantive noun; and,