9th. Thirty MSS. read, which is more regular.

12th. The various attempts to clear up the difficulty, in the latter part of this verse, are not very satisfactory; see Bishop Newcome.

in the corner * ;ובדמשק instead of ובממשק Might we venture to read

of a bed, and in the segment, or shred, of a couch?" For which sense see Castel. Lexic. signifying, hereby, that they should be glad to take any, the least, refuge they could find.

14th. Instead of repeating p, which is needless, and not countenanced by any version, I think we should, with one MS. supply the

,פשעי before את article

C. iv. 5th. The word en does not seem at all necessary to complete the sense in this place. May it not be written, through mistake, for sen; "and proclaim free-will offerings of shame;" i. e. shameful free-will offerings?" See Exod. xxxii. 25.

9th.

;השמצה

It seems probable, that, instead of an, we should read ; "I have smitten you with blasting and with mildew; your gardens are desolate, and your vineyards, and your fig-trees," &c.

11th. Perhaps we should read 5, "as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah," both here and in the other passages where this expression is found. See Isai. xiii. 19; Jerem. 1. 40. Or, rather,

and by this means the grammatical construction is ;כמהפך האלהים

perfectly rectified in all the places.

C. v. 3d.

We should certainly read uniformly, in both places,

היוצאת or היצאת

7th. There can be no doubt, as Dr Durell and Bishop Newcome have observed, that, in conformity with c. vi. 12, instead of xs, we should read ; but would not the antithesis be much more striking,

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who * ; לעונה and לרשע we might read ללענה and לראש if, instead of

turn judgement into iniquity, and righteousness into wickedness?"

8th.

לילה for ללילה,Thirteen MSS. read, rightly

26th. See my Dissertation on this verse.

C. vi. 10th.

Grotius conjectures, very probably, that we should supply the word ny before ; for it is not a time to remember the name of Jehovah."

Twenty-one MSS. read , which is a still better

and * ;לרב האש might we venture to read לרב באש reading, but, for

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behold the Lord Jehovah called to a great fire, and it devoured the great deep?" Should we not supply after phnn; " and it devoured the portion of Israel?" Agrum Israeliticum say Mercer and Drusius; see Poole's Synopsis.

C. viii. 3d. Those two words, Dhe, do not seem to give the right sense, and might not they originally be one word,

"cast them forth;" to wit, the dead bodies just mentioned?

The grammatical construction seems to require, that, instead

and that make the poor of the * ; והשביתים we should read ,ולשבית of

land to cease;" which is countenanced by the Sept. and Vulg. and takes off the necessity of supposing an ellipsis, according to Bishop Newcome.

8th.

i. 8.

May not be written by mistake, here and c. ix. 5, for ;" and her consumption shall come up as a flood?". See Nah.

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12th. Instead of , should we not read ; "from north even to the south?" Bishop Newcome's transposition seems harsh and unusual.

פרך

14th. 777. These two words have greatly puzzled the critics and commentators. Liveleius supposes that the Sept. reads 778, or , instead of 777. See Poole's Synopsis. Bishop Secker conjectures that it might be 7, "thy heifer." Bishops Lowth and Newcome think that may signify way or worship, which sense Grotius says the Jews give it. But, as Bishop Secker has observed, “vix puto ʼn de cultu usurpari, sed neque de vitulo fusili." May we then, with a very small alteration, read 777," and thy beloved, O Beersheba, liveth," i. e. thy beloved idol? And, unless ya is written by mistake for ', Bethel, the former may be mentioned by the prophet instead of the latter, because it was a city much addicted to idolatry; or because, from its distance from Dan and Bethel, it shewed the universal prevalence of idolatrous worship. See Mercer in Poole's Synopsis.

Bishop Newcome adopts Houbigant's conjecture, which

but I am ; אלהיכם is written by mistake for אהיה לכם supposes that

rather inclined to think, from comparing the several passages where the

same expression occurs, that, from the great similitude of me and , the former has been dropped, and that the text stood originally 8), “and I will not be a God unto you."

thus;

C. ii. 3d. It would be more grammatical to read 'nym. Six MSS. have '', which is more regular, and more than fifty 'ny..

18th. The change of the pronoun in this verse seems very improper; and, though neither versions nor MSS. countenance it, I cannot

; והשכבתיך and likewise ,להם instead of לך but think we should read

" and I will make for thee a covenant in that day, and I will make thee to lie down in safety."

23d.

-

To complete the sense it is necessary to read n after 78; but the Sept. seems to have read “and he shall say, (i. e. the people,) Jehovah, thou art my God," which is still more emphatical..

C. iii. 3d.. There is some word wanting to complete the sense. Bishop Newcome, after the Syr. and Ar.. supplies,; but it seems more probable that we should add N after 'N, "for, I am also a husband unto thee." The Sept.. supplies after. xh, so our

לאיש אהר

One old MS. reads '1', conformably to the former

,התמים we should read תרפים part of the verse ; perhaps instead of

"and without Thummim.”

5th. Would not the latter part of this verse bear this construction; "afterwards shall the children of Israel return and seek Jehovah, their

God,

God, and fear David, their king, because of Jehovah, and because of his goodness, in the latter days?" See c. x. 3. Sixteen MSS. read 131 which is more regular.

; לשקר we should read לשמר also, that for

C. iv. 10th. Does not answer better in this place; "they have committed fornication, and shall not be fruitful?" It strikes me, "for, they have forsaken Jehovah for a lie," as idols are called, Isai. xliv. 20; and the 12th v. strengthens this conjecture.

12th. Three MSS. read bynn for my, and the grammatical construction, as well as the Syr. Chald. and Vulg. vers. requires that reading. See Amos ii. 4. May not □ be written by mistake for," and they have committed fornication under their oaks ?” See c. i. 2, and Isai. i. 29.

אליהם

16th. Archbishop Secker seems inclined to read Dyn' for by, see Bishop Newcome; but, in that case, should we not read also

; במרחב

instead of ; "now will Jehovah make them to wander as a lamb in the wilderness," i. e. without a pastor or guide?

18th. No interpretation of the two first words of this verse is altogether satisfactory; there seems to be a nominative case wanting to the following verb: as I cannot think that is the nominative case, 127 See Dathius in Newcome.

is most probably put by mistake for 2. Might we venture to read the whole thus:

– אהב אהבו קלון מגנות סרר האם הזנה הזנו

"This rebellious people have committed fornication, they have greatly loved shame in the gardens?" where they committed their spiritual whoredoms. See v. 12, and Isai. i. 29.

19th.