5

6

Unto the ends of the earth:

And He shall be peace.

When the Assyrian shall have come into our land, And when he shall have trodden in our palaces; Then shall be raised up against him seven | rulers, And eight princes of men:

And they shall devour the land of Assyria with the sword,

Even the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof; And they shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he shall have come into our land,

Hebr. shepherds.

differs from the Masoretic punctuation, which I have not observed elsewhere.

--shall he be great] By the extent of his kingdom. 6. Ar. shall they be great: i. e. the Jews, at their final resto

read ration.

5.

peace] The cause of peace and reconciliation. "And this man shall be [our] peace." Dr. Wheeler. When the Assyrian] After the illustrious prophecy relating to the Messiah, in the three foregoing verses, the prophet passes on to the subversion of the Assyrian empire.

"Transponitur, Ps. cxviii. 10, 11, 12: et cxxxviii. 2.”

Secker.

shall be raised up] . read op i. e. 1 imeyi Onsorial. -seven rulers-eight princes] Perhaps a definite number for an indefinite: as Eccl. xi. 2. Job v. 19. The prophet means the chiefs of the Medes and Babylonians, the prefects of differ ent provinces who took Nineveh: whose number may have been what is here specified. "Seven and eight may be for ant indefinite number, as Eccl. xi. 2." Secker.

-princes] Anointed. Ps. ii. 6.

6.-with the sword]" Videtur leg. n. Notat n gladium stringere." Secker.

-of Nimrod] See on Nahum i. 1.

-they shall deliver us] So Houbigant, who reads by: and observes that Chald. and Syr. read the affix 1 us. The reading of Chald. and Syr. was hy in which word the vau after may have been supplied by a point, as it often is. Or we may render, "And one shall deliver us:" that is, And we shall be delivered, See on Jon. iii. 7.

7

8

And when he shall have trodden in our borders. Also the residue of Jacob shall be among the nations,

In the midst of many *

people,

As the dew from Jehovah,

As the showers upon the grass;
Which tarrieth not for man,

Neither waiteth for the sons of men.

And the residue of Jacob shall be among the nations,
In the midst of many † people,

As a devouring lion among the cattle of the forest,
As a young lion among the flocks of sheep:
Who, when he passeth through, treadeth down,

-in our borders] Fourteen MSS. and five editions read the original word plurally, with the versions and Chald. It is very observable that two MSS. read in our palaces; and a third : two of them making this line an exact repetition of what occurs v. 5: which is what a reader, acquainted with the manner of the Hebrew writers, would naturally expect. See v. 7, 8.

7.-among the nations] is supplied by the 6. Ar. Syr. and by MS. 154, a very ancient and excellent one. The following verse shews that it is the genuine reading.

As the dew] The Jews contributed to spread the knowledge of the one true God during their captivity. See Dan. ii. 47. iii. 29. iv. 34, 5. vi. 26.

The gospel was preached by them, when the Messiah appeared: and it shall again be propagated by their future glorious restoration. Rom. xi. 12, 15.

Which tarrieth not] Which grass springeth up without the attention and culture of men.

-of men] Of so mean and humble a creature as man: mortals." Dr. Wheeler.

66 Of

8. As a young lion] Eighteen MSS. and two editions read "And as a young lion:" two read so originally: two read so now; and perhaps three more. This is also the reading of the versions and Chald.

The victories of the Jews under the Maccabees, and those which will hereafter be reaped by them, are foretold in this and the next verse.

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

And teareth, and none delivereth.

Thine hand shall be lifted up over thine adversaries,
And all thine enemies shall be cut off.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith
Jehovali,

That I will cut off thine horses from the midst of
thee,

And I will destroy thy chariots:

I will also cut off the cities of thy land,

And I will throw down all thy strong holds.
I will also cut off the sorcerers from thy border;
And thou shalt have no soothsayers.

I will also cut off thy graven images and thy sta
tues from the midst of thee;

And thou shalt no longer bow down thyself to the
work of thine hands:

And I will root up thy groves from the midst of thee.
I will also destroy thine enemies:

And I will execute vengeance, in anger and in fury,
Upon the nations which have not hearkened unto me.

+

Hebr. And soothsayers shall not be unto thee.

12. the sorcerers] 6. read 75w thy sorcerers. So does

MS. 383.

-from thy border] So is sometimes rendered. See Ezek. xlviii. 1. Chald. has 7, from within thee, and probably read with two MSS. 7, from the midst of thee. Houbigant renders, "Ego auferam amuleta de manibus tuis:" reading 77, from thine hands, with 6. Ar. Syr. and five MSS.

14. thy groves] The usual scenes of idolatrous practices. -thine enemies] So Chald. agreeably to the Hebrew. 15. -hearkened unto me] See ó. MS. Al, εισήκεσαν με "So MS. Copt." Mr. Woide. And one MS. perhaps reads you. The ancients agree in the rendering proposed.

The Babylonians shall rout your armies and take your cities. v. 10, 11. See v. 1. They shall cut off your false prophets, and destroy the objects of your worship: v. 12, 13, 14. The nations hostile to you shall experience my anger, and shall be themselves subdued. v. 14, 15.

1

2

3

4

5

1.

CHAP. VI.

HEAR ye now what Jehovah saith:
Arise, contend thou before the mountains;
And let the hills hear thy voice.

Hear ye, O mountains, the controversy of Jehovah ;
And ye strong foundations of the earth.

For Jehovah hath a controversy with his people;
And with Israel he pleadeth.

O my people, what have I done unto thee?
And wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against me.
For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt;
And out of the house of slaves I redeemed thee.
And I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
O my people, remember now

What Balak the king of Moab consulted;

And what Balaam the son of Beor answered him;

before the mountains]

apud, coram, ad. Nold. Contend publicly, in the face of the creation.

2. strong] Many MSS. and four editions read D'in'nm.

"And ye vallies, the foundations of the earth.”

: והעמקים .6 Houbigant prefers the reading of

Houbigant העמקים מ sequitur האזינו Videtur legendum »

male." Secker.

.

According to this conjecture, the rendering would be: "And hearken, ye foundations of the earth."

3. wearied thee] By unnecessary burthens, or undeserved calamity.

4.Miriam] She was a prophetess. Ex. xv. 20. Numb. xii. 2. 5. O my people-] The structure of the words is such in the original, that the English language cannot represent what we may suppose to be the true measure of this passage: but the Vulg. may be thus distributed;

Popule meus, memento quæso quid cogitaverit

Balach rex Moab:

Et quid responderit ei

Balaam filius Beor, &c."

Balaam was called to curse Israel; but by my impulse he blessed them.

-consulted] Purposed. Secker.

answered] Some think what Balaam answered here means

6

7

From Shittim even unto Gilgal:

That ye may know the § righteousness of Jehovah.
Wherewith shall I || come before Jehovah?

Wherewith shall I bow myself unto the * High God?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings;
With calves of a year old?

Will Jehovah be well pleased with thousands of

rams;

With ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my first-born for my transgression;
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good:
Hebr. righteousnesses.
† prevent him.

8:

prevent Jehovah.
the sons of a year.

*the God of height. § belly, or, womb.

his advice, Numb. xxxi 16, how Balak should seduce Israel in their passage through Shittim to Gilgal. Ch. supplies, Did I not perform great things from Shittim to Gilgal? No one interpretation is probable." Secker.

From Shittim] From the encampment at Shittim, Numb. xxv. 1, on the way to that at Gilgal: Josh. iv. 19. Balaam gave different answers in the interval between these places. We may suppose that the encampments of Israel advanced slowly to that part of Jordan which was opposite Gilgal.

According to Chald. there seems an omission in the text:
"Were not great things done for you

From Shittim even unto Gilgal?"

See Josh. iii. 1. iv. 20. Thus there will be a reference to the miraculous passage over Jordan.

-even unto Gilgal] Many MSS. and two editions ready.

.ועדמא .So Syr

Dr.

-the righteousness] "The great righteousness." Wheeler. We may often observe that the original word includes the notion of mercy.

7. rivers of oil] Or, fatted sheep: if we read with V. 6. Ar. Houbigant.

-first-born] The dearest of my offspring. It is well known that the Phenicians, and their descendents the Carthaginians, sacrificed their children to Saturn. And some of the idolatrous Jews and Israelites imitated this horrid practice.

8. He hath shewed] V. Ar. Syr. read TN. I will shew. ó. ed. Ald. have any, instead of E anyyn, the reading of MS. Vat. and Alex.

D d