23. For the Lord God of hosts will make destruction and execution in the midst of all the land. 24. Therefore, thus saith the Lord the God of hosts: O My people that dwelleth in Sion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he will strike thee with his rod, and he will lift up his staff over thee in the way of Egypt. 25. For yet a little and a very little while, and My indignation shall cease, and My wrath shall be upon their wickedness. 26. And the Lord of hosts will raise up a scourge against him, according to the slaughter of Madian,38 in the rock of Oreb, and His rod over the sea, and He shall lift it up in the way of Egypt."0 39 27. And it shall come to pass on that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall putrefy because of the oil." 41 28. He shall come into Aiath," he shall pass into Magron: at Machmas he shall lay up his baggage. 46 29. They pass in haste,44 Gaba is our lodging: Rama was astonished, Gabaath of Saul fled away." 48 30. Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim," listen,50 O Laisa, poor Anathoth,51 31. Medemena is removed: ye inhabitants of Gabim, take courage.52 32. It is yet day enough to remain in Nobe :53 he will shake his * Infra 37: 36. "Judges 7:25. The punishment of the Assyrian king should resemble that of Oreb, the Madianite prince, slain at the rock, which thenceforward bore his name. 29 By the agency of Moses. 40 The entire destruction of the Assyrians was to resemble that of the Egyptians, although different in the mode of its accomplishment. 41 L. "The yoke shall be broken, because of the fatness." The people is compared to a fat ox, from whose shoulders the yoke is taken, on account of its neck being fat. P. resembles V.: "The yoke shall be destroyed, because of the anointing." It is explained of anointing the yoke, so as to ease and loose it. The advance of the Assyrian king against Jerusalem is described. The town Aiath, or Ai, was about twenty miles from that city. 43 To prepare for the attack. "So confident will he be of taking the city, that he will leave his baggage at Machmas, intending to return speedily after taking the city; and, having left it there, he will march forward without delay." St. Jerome. 44 P. "They have gone over the passage." It may be understood of a mountain pass, or of a ford. 45 P. "They have taken up their lodging at Geba." St. Jerome took 117 for a pronoun: it is now be lieved to be a verb, in the third person plural, from ¡14. 46 Six miles from Jerusalem. "The birthplace of Saul. 1 Kings 11 : 4. 20 L. 48 The inhabitants fled on the approach of the hostile army. 49 A town of this name in the tribe of Juda is apostrophized. 51 P. "Cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth." This town, in the neighborhood of Jerusa lem, is called on to cause her wail to be heard afar off. Laisa is mentioned, 1 Macc. 9: 9. P. "Gather themselves to flee." R. rejects this translation, but renders the verb simply: "Flee." St. Jerome gave it a meaning which it generally bears, although in Jer. 4: 6, it means to flee. 53 This city of the priests was close to Jerusalem. The prophet described the Assyrian as shaking his hand towards the holy city with contempt. hand against the mountain of the daughter of Sion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33. Behold the sovereign Lord of hosts will break the earthen vessel with terror, and the tall of stature shall be cut down, and the lofty shall be humbled. 34. And the thickets of the forest shall be cut down with iron, and Libanus with its high ones shall fall. CHAPTER XI. OF THE SPIRITUAL KINGDOM OF CHRIST, TO WHICH ALL NATIONS SHALL REPAIR. 1. AND there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,' and a flower shall rise out of his root. 2. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.2 3. And He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord." He will not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove3 according to the hearing of the ears. 4. But He will judge the poor with justice, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:6 and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 7 "St. Jerome considers him as "either despising the city, or insulting it with threats, and feeling astonished that, whilst all the East yielded to his authority, so small a city should dare resist his power." "P. "Lop the bough." The reading followed by St. Jerome is still found in 62 MSS. K. 22. R. Aquila agrees with him in the interpretation; but the other reading suits the context better. St. Jerome takes the broken flagon to be a type of the passion of Christ. * The high trees, emblems of the proud Assyrians. *H. P. "By a mighty one." The Messiah is meant. He triumphs over the infernal legions, of whom the Assyrians, signified by the trees of Libanus, were types. Acts 13:22. The Jews, as St. Jerome remarks, explain this passage of the Messiah Himself: "But let us," he says, "understand by the stem from the root of Jesse the holy Virgin Mary.... The Lord our Savior is the flower." * No corresponding term is in the text. It appears to be an exposition of the meaning of "the fear of the Lord," mentioned afterwards. 'H. means literally to smell: it is here understood of delighting in the fear of God. L. "He shall be animated by." P. "Shall make him of quick understanding." * Filial fear, springing from love. He was replenished with heavenly gifts and prerogatives. 'This here bears a judicial meaning. Christ spoke with authority, condemning vice. In the last judgment He will condemn the wicked to everlasting fire. Chastising by His sentence their oppressors. 12 Thes. 2: 8. The terms express the act of a judge who condemns culprits. His sentence serves as a rod to scourge the wicked, and as an axe inflicting death. Christ our Lord exercises power in a different way. 5. And justice shall be the girdle of His loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6. The wolf' shall dwell with the lamb:10 and the leopard shall lie down with the kid: the calf and the lion, and the sheep11 shall abide together, and a little child shall lead them. 7. The calf, and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall rest together and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp: and the weaned child shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk. 9. They shall not do hurt, nor shall they kill in all My holy mountain, for the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters covering the sea. 10. In that day the root of Jesse, who standeth for an ensign of the peoples,12 Him the Gentiles shall beseech,13 and His sepulchre1 shall be glorious. 11. And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will set His hand the second time15 to possess the remnant of His people, ' which shall be left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt, and from Phetros,16 and from Ethiopia, and from Elam, and from Sennaar, and from Emath, and from the islands of the sea.17 12. And He will set up a standard for the nations, 18 and He will assemble the fugitives of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Juda from the four quarters of the earth. 13. And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Juda1 shall perish: Ephraim shall not envy Juda, and Juda shall not fight against Ephraim. P. Truth, sincerity. V. "Fides." 9 H. P. "Also." 19 Infra 65: 25. The security to be enjoyed under the Messiah, is represented under a variety of images. The conversion of infidels and sinners of every class, and their subsequent harmony in faith and practice, are strikingly described. Unhappily all do not imbibe the Christian spirit, or remain faithful to grace, so that this beautiful imagery is in sad contrast with the conduct of Christians. St. Jerome rejects the literal interpretation of these texts as Judaical, and insists on their spiritual meaning: “We see it daily in the church: the rich and the poor, the powerful and the lowly, kings and princes, alike dwell together, and are governed in the church by small children, by which we understand the Apostles and Apostolic men, unskilled in speech, but not in knowledge." "H. P. "The fatling." 12 The son of David shall be as a standard around which the people shall rally. 13 Seek. 14 L. "His resting-place." St. Jerome remarks that all interpreters understand the Hebrew term of rest. He says, that it means that the repose of Christ in death is full of honor. 15 The former time was when He delivered them from Egyptian bondage. 16 Thebais, or Upper Egypt was so called. It means the south. 11 Many places are here specified, in which the Jews are not known to have been in bondage. Some of them may have been sold as slaves into different countries; but the general conversion of their nation scattered over the earth, and of all nations, may be understood. See v. 12. 18 Supra v. 10. He shall invite them to rally round Him, as generals were wont to do, by planting a standard on an eminence. 19 Schultens understands those of Juda who were hostile to the Ephraimites, which interpretation 21 14. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines20 by the sea, together shall they spoil the children of the east: Edom, and Moab shall be under the rule of their hand, and the children of Ammon shall be obedient. 15. And the Lord will lay waste the tongue of the sea" of Egypt, and lift up His hand over the river23 in the strength of His spirit:24 and He will strike it in the seven streams, so that men may pass through it in their shoes. 25 16. And there shall be a highway for the remnant of My people," which shall be left from the Assyrians: as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. CHAPTER XII. A CANTICLE OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE BENEFITS OF CHRIST. 1. AND thou shalt say in that day: I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord, for Thou wast angry with me: Thy wrath is turned away, and Thou hast comforted me. 2. Behold, God is my Savior,2 I will deal confidently, and will not fear; because the Lord is my strength, and my praise, and He is become my salvation.3 3. Ye shall draw waters with joy out of the fountains of salvation." sustains the parallel. The union of various nations and classes of men in the Christian church is the fulfilment of these predictions. "As birds of prey, they will attack them suddenly, lighting on them from behind. "This may be translated, towards the sea, westward. * R, understands by this the Arabic gulf. Ges. takes it for the Euphrates. "As with a strong wind. The bay. "He shall dry it up, by opening many channels through which its waters may flow off. It is a figurative expression, signifying that the people shall be led forth from captivity. *The remaining captives of those whom the Assyrians had led away. St. Jerome refers the whole to the conversion of the Gentiles, or the temporal events connected with it: "He will raise His hand over the rivers of Egypt in the strength of His spirit, or with a most vehement wind, by which we understand the power of the Romans. For in the reign of Cæsar Augustus, when the flower rose from the root of Jesse, and the first enrolment was made in the Roman empire, the kingdom of the Egyptians, which before had been very powerful, and which had lasted many ages, was destroyed at the death of Cleopatra, and the river of Egypt was divided into seven rivulets, or valleys. For the Nile, a river of deep water, which flowed in one bed, and which was impassable, was divided and distributed into seven channels, so as to be fordable on foot." 9 This is the force of the Hebrew particle; but thanks are given for the reconciliation. See Rom. 6: 17. H. P. "And." H. P. "Wells of salvation." This figure implies the abundant reception of Divine favors. Our Lord invites men to drink of the water "which springeth up unto life everlasting." John, 4: 14. 4. And ye shall say in that day: Praise ye the Lord, and call on His name make His works known among the peoples: remember that His name is high. 5. Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath done a great thing: show this forth in all the earth. 6. Rejoice, and praise, O thou habitation of Sion: for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel. CHAPTER XIII. THE DESOLATION OF BABYLON. 1. THE burden' of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amos saw. 2. Upon the dark2 mountain lift ye up a banner, raise the voice,3 lift up the hand, and let the rulers go into the gates.* 3. I have commanded My sanctified ones," and have called My strong ones in My wrath, them that rejoice in My glory. 4. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as it were of many peoples, the noise of the sound of kings, of nations gathered together, the Lord of hosts hath given charge to the troops of war. 5. To them that come from a country afar off, from the end of heaven: the Lord and the weapons of His wrath, to destroy the whole land."1 6. Wail ye, for the day of the Lord is near: it shall come as a destruction from the Lord. H. P. "Inhabitant." The people, or church, is addressed. This hymn is well suited to express gratitude for the blessings of redemption. 1 L. "Doom." The term which has been translated onus, means a comminatory sentence. St. Jerome observes, that threats abound wherever it occurs. Some take it simply for an announcement. P. "High." St. Jerome derived from which signifies twilight. H. P. "Unto them:" the enemies, the Medes. V. 17. The pronoun is wanting in the text of a MS. K. The hearers are addressed as well acquainted with those of whom the prophet speaks. H. P. "That they may go into the gates of the nobles." The enemies are summoned to execute the Divine vengeance on the tyrants, who oppress His people. Those called and devoted to punish his enemies. L. "My prepared ones." P. "Highness." Vitringa understands it of proud combatants, exulting in their own strength and bravery. The affix of the second noun is sometimes taken in connection with the first, as it were: "my proud rejoicers." H. P. "A great people." Medes, Persians, and Armenians were in the army of Cyrus, when he advanced against Babylon. P. "Mustereth." It may mean, enrols, or reviews. 10 Remote regions are so called. The expression is equivalent to "end of the earth." "This regards only the province in question, as St. Jerome remarks. |