18 So I spake unto the people in the morn-cording to all that he hath done shall ye do: ing and at even my wife died; and I did in and when this cometh, ye shall know that the morning as I was commanded. I am the Lord God. 19 And the people said unto me," Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, that thou doest so? 25 Also, thou son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, 20 Then I answered them, The word of the and that whereupon they set their minds, LORD came unto me, saying, their sons and their daughters, 21 Speak unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength, y the desire of your eyes, and that which your soul pitieth; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left, shall fall by the sword. 22 And ye a 26 That he that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause thee to hear it with thine ears? 27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb and thou shalt be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I shall do as I have done: ye am the LORD. griefs affect the more easily moved passions; great ones affect the soul itself, in its powers of reasoning, reflecting, comparing, recollecting, &c., when the sufferer feels all the weight of wo. Neither shall thy tears run down.] Touro yap idov των οφθαλμών εν τοις μεγαλοις κακοις· εν μεν γας τοις μετρίαις συμφοραίς αφθόνως τα δακρυα καταρρει, εν δε τοις ὑπερβαλλουσι δεινοις φεύγει και τα δακρυα και προδίδωσι και τους οφθαλμους Achill. Tat. lib. 3. c. 11. For this is the case with the eyes in great calamities: in light misfortunes tears flow freely, but in heavy afflictions tears fly away, and betray the eyes. Verse 17. Make no mourning] As a priest, he could make no public mourning, Lev. xxi. 1, &c. Bind the tire of thine head] This seems to refer to the high priest's bonnet; or perhaps, one worn by the ordinary priests: it might have been a black veil to cover the head. Put on thy shoes upon thy feet] Walking barefoot was a sign of grief.. Cover not thy lips] Mourners covered the under part of the face, from the nose to the bottom of the chin. Eat not the bread of men.] No lechem anashim, "the bread of miserable men," i. e., mourners; probably, the funeral banquet. 492 b Jer. xvi. 6, 7; ver. 17. Job xxvii, 15; Psa. Ixxviii. 64.——d Lev. xxvi. 39; chap. xxxiii. 10.— Isa. xx. 3; chap. iv. 3; xii. 6, 11. Jer. xvii. 15; John xiii. 19; xiv. 29. Chap. vi. 7; xxv. 5.- Ver. 21. Heb. the lifting up of Chap. iii. 21, 22. Chap. iii. 26, 27; xxix. 21 ; Ver. 24. their soul. xxxiii. 22.— Verse 18. At even my wife died] The prophet's wife was a type of the city, which was to him exceedingly dear. The death of his wife represented the destruction of the city by the Chaldeans; see ver. 21, where the temple is represented to be the desire of his eyes, as his wife was, ver. 16. Verse 19. Wilt thou not tell us] In the following verses he explains and applies the whole of what he had done and said. Verse 27. In that day shall thy mouth be opened} That is, When some one who shall have escaped from Jerusalem, having arrived among the captives, shall inform them of the destruction of the city, the temple, the royal family, and the people at large; till then he might suppress his tears and lamentations. And we find from chap. xxxiii. 21, that one did actually escape from the city, and informed the prophet and his brethren in captivity that the city was smitten. Thus he was not only a prophet to foretell such things, but he was also a sign or portent, shadowing them out by circumstances in his own person and family; and thus the prediction, agreeing so perfectly with the event, proved that the previous information was from the Lord. Heavy judgments threatened CHAP. XXV. CHAPTER XXV. against the Ammonites This chapter contains threatenings of the heavy judgments of God against the Ammonites, 1–7; Moabites, 8-11; Edomites, 12-14; and Philistines, 15-17; on account of their hatred to his people, and their insulting them in the time of their distress. These prophecies were fulfilled by the instrumentality of Nebuchadnezzar, about five years after the destruction of Jerusalem. The same events were predicted by several of the other prophets, as may be seen from the citation of parallel texts in the margin. A. M. 3414. B. C. 590. Tarquinii Prisci, THE word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, a set thy face R. Roman., 27. b against the Ammonites, and prophesy against them; 3 And say unto the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou saidst, Aha, against my sanctuary, when it was profaned; and against the land of Israel, when it was desolate; and against the house of Judah, when they went into captivity; 4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the d men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk. a Chap. vi. 2; xxxv. 2. b Jer. xlix. 1, &c.; chap. xxi. 28; i Heb. hand. XXV. Job NOTES ON CHAP. Y 7 Behold, therefore I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and will deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen; and I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause thee to perish out of the countries: I will destroy thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. 8 Thus saith the Lord GoD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen; 9 Therefore, behold, I will open the side of Moab from the cities, from his cities which are on his frontiers, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, 10 Unto the men of the east" with the Ammonites, and will give them in possession, that the Ammonites may not be remembered among the nations. sequently, that he had brought under his dominion the Ammonites, Moabites, and Idumeans, who were included among the Philistines. See Calmet. Verse 4. Will deliver thee to the men of the east] Probably the Scenite Arabs, Ishmaelites, and people of Kedar, who seized upon the provinces of the vanquished Ammonites, &c. The following description suits this people only, living on fruits, the milk of their flocks, using camels, &c. Some think the people of the east mean the Chaldeans. Verse 7. I will cause thee to perish] Except in history, the name of the Ammonites does not now exist. Verse 2. Set thy face against the Ammonites] We have already seen, chap. xxi. 19, &c., that when Nebuchadnezzar left Babylon, he was in doubt whether he should besiege Riblath, the capital of the Ammonites, or Jerusalem, the capital of the Jews, first and having used his divination, he was determined, by the result, to attack Jerusalem the first. He did so; and the Ammonites, seeing the success of his arms, made friends with him, and exulted in the ruin of the Jews. God resents this, and predicts their downfall with that of Edom, Moab, and the Philistines. The fulfilment of this prediction is not noted in Scripture: but Josephus tells us, that about five years after the taking of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar turned his arms against the Ammonites and Moabites, and afterwards against Egypt; and having subdued those nations, he returned to Babylon. Joseph. Antiq., 1. x., c. ii. Berosus states, as quoted by Josephus, contra App., that Nebuchadnezzar Verse 10. That the Ammonites] The Syriac has, subdued Syria, Arabia, Phoenicia, and Egypt: and con- "That Rabbah of the sons of Ammon be not remembered." Verse 8. Moab and Seir do say] Seir means the Idumeans. It appears that both these, with the Ammonites, had made a league with Zedekiah, Jer. xxvii. 3, which they did not keep; and it is supposed that they even joined with the Chaldeans. Verse 9. I will open the side] ketheph, the shoulder, the strongest frontier place. Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim were strong frontier towns of Moab. Prophecies against Ammon, A. M. 3414. Ol. XLVII. 3. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., 27. 11 And I will execute judg- anger and according to my fury; ments upon Moab; and they and they shall know my venshall know that I am the LORD. geance, saith the Lord GOD. 12 Thus saith the Lord GOD; w Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; a A. M. 3414. Tarquinii Prisci, 15 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; e g 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Bewill also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and hold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the will cut off man and beast from it; and I will Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, make it desolate from Teman; and they off and destroy the remnant of the sea coasts. Dedan shall fall by the sword. 17 And I will execute great i vengeance 14 And I will lay my vengeance upon upon them with furious rebukes; ́1 and they Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall they shall do in Edom according to mine lay my vengeance upon them. w2 Chron. xxviii. 17; Psa. cxxxvii. 7; Jer. xlix. 7, 8, &c.; chap. xxxv. 2, &c.; Amos i. 11; Obad. 10, &c.; 1 Esd. iv. 45. Heb. by revenging revengement. -y Or, they shall fall by the sword unto Dedan. -z See Isa. xi. 14; Jer. xlix. 2; 1 Mac. v. 3; 2 Mac. x. 16, 17.—a Jer. xxv. 20; xlvii, 1, &c.; Joel iii. 4, &c.; Verse 12. Because that Edom hath dealt] The Edomites were the most inveterate enemies of the Jews from the very earliest times, and ever did all that they could to annoy them. Verse 13. I will make it desolate from Teman] Teman and Dedan were both cities of the Moabites, and apparently at each extremity of the land. Verse 14. I will lay my vengeance upon Edom] God will not allow men to insult those whom he has cast down. His judgment is sufficient; to add more is an insult to God. By the hand of my people Israel] This was fulfilled by the Maccabees, who not only defeated them and brought them under complete subjection, but obliged k Amos i. 6.2 Chron. xxviii. 18.- c Or, with perpetual ha tred.- Zeph. ii. 4, &c.- -e1 Sam. xxx. 14.- Jer. xlvii. 4.- - Or, haven of the sea. Chap. v. 15.-i Heb. vengean. ces.- 1 Chron. xii. 17; Psa. lxviii. 30; Isa. ii. 4; xvii. 13; Mic. iv. 3; Mal. iii. 11. P.sa. ix. 16. them to receive circumcision, Joseph. Antiq. 1. xiii., c. 17; i Macc. v. 65; 2 Macc. x. 16. Verse 15. Because the Philistines] They were as inimical to the Jews as the Ammonites, &c., were. Nebuchadnezzar punished them because they had assisted the Tyrians during the time he was besieging their city. I will cut off the Cherethims] See the note on 3 Sam. viii. 18. The remnant of the sea coasts.] The different seignories of the Philistines inhabited the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, from Judea to Egypt. For other matters relative to these prophecies, see the passages in the margin. CHAPTER XXVI. This prophecy, beginning here and ending in the twentieth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter, is a declaration of the judgments of God against Tyre, a very famous commercial city of antiquity, which was taken by Nebuchadnezzar after an arduous siege of thirteen years. The prophet begins with introducing Tyre insulting Jerusalem, and congratulating herself on the prospect of accession to her commerce now that this city was no more, 1, 2. Upon which God denounces utter destruction to Tyre, and the cities depending on her, 3-6. We have then a particular account of the person raised up in the course of the Divine providence to accomplish this work. We see, as it were, his mighty hosts, (which are likened to the waves of the sea for their multitude,) raising the mounds, setting the engines, and shaking the walls; we hear the noise of the horsemen, and the sound of their cars; we see the clouds of smoke and dust; we see the sword bathed in blood, and hear the groans of the dying. Tyre, (whose buildings were very splendid and magnificent, and whose walls were one hundred and fifty feet in height, with a proportionable breadth,) immediately disappears; her strong (and as she thought impregnable) towers are thrown down; and her very dust is buried in the sea. Nothing remains but the bare rock, 7-14. The scene is then varied. The isles and adjacent regions, by a very strong and beautiful figure, are represented to be shaken, as with a mighty earthquake by violent concussion occasioned by the fall of Tyre. The groans of the dying reach the ears of the people inhabiting these regions. Their princes, alarmed for themselves and grieved for Tyre, descend from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and clothe themselves with-sackcloth ?—no, but with trembling! Arrayed in this astonishing attire, the prophet introduces them as a chorus of mourners, lamenting Tyre in a funeral song or dirge, as customary on the death of renowned personages. And pursuing the same image still farther, in the person of God, he performs the last sad office for her. She is brought The prophecy CHAP. XXVI. against Tyre. forth from her place in solemn pomp; the pit is dug for her; and she is buried, to rise no more, 15–21. Such is the prophecy concerning Tyre, comprehending both the city on the continent and that on the island, and most punctually fulfilled in regard to both. That on the continent was razed to the ground by Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 572, and that on the island by Alexander the Great, B. C. 332. And at present, and for ages past, this ancient and renowned city, once the emporium of the world, and by her great naval superiority the centre of a powerful monarchy, is literally what the prophet has repeatedly foretold it should be, and what in his time was, humanly speaking, so highly improbable—a BARE rock, a place to spread nets on! A. M. 3416. B. C. 588. Ol. XLVIII. 1. . AND it came to pass in the 6 And her daughters which are eleventh year, in the first in the field shall be slain by the Tarquinii Prisci, day of the month, that the word sword; and they shall know R. Roman., 29. of the LORD came unto me, that I am the LORD. saying, b 2 Son of man, a because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid wasté: f 7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. 8 He shall slay with the sword thy daugh3 Therefore, thus saith the Lord GOD: Be-ters in the field and he shall make a fort hold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will against thee, and cast a mount against thee, cause many nations to come up against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. as the sea causeth his waves to come up. 4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets, in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. a Isa. xxiii.; Jer. xxv. 22; xlvii. 4; Amos i. 9; Zech. ix. 2. Chap. xxv. 3; xxxvi. 2.- Ver. 14.4 Chap. xxvii. 32. • Chap. xxv. 5. NOTES ON CHAP. XXVI. Verse 1. The eleventh year] This was the year in which Jerusalem was taken; the eleventh of the captivity of Jeconiah, and the eleventh of the reign of Zedekiah. What month we are not told, though the day is mentioned. There have been many conjectures about this, which are not of sufficient consequence to be detailed. Verse 2. Tyrus hath said] From this it would appear that Jerusalem had been taken, which was on the fourth month of this year; but it is possible that the prophet speaks of the event beforehand. She is broken that was the gates of the people] salem, a general emporium. 9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. 10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. Ezra vii. 12; Dan. ii. 37. Chap. xxi. 22.-b Or, pour out the engine of shot.- iHeb. according to the enterings of a city broken up. Verse 5. A place for the spreading of nets] A place for the habitation of some poor fishermen, who spent the fishing season there, and were accustomed to dry their nets upon the rocks. See on ver. 11. Verse 6. And her daughters] The places dependent on Tyre. As there were two places called Tyre, Jeru-one on the main land, and the other on a rock in the sea, opposite to that on the main land, sometimes the one seems to be spoken of, and sometimes the other. That on the land, Palatyre, was soon taken; but that in the sea cost Nebuchadnezzar thirteen years of siege and blockade. The two formed only one city, and one I shall be replenished] The merchandise that went to Jerusalem will come to me, (to Tyre.) Verse 3. Will cause many nations to come up against thee] We have already seen that the empire of the Chaldeans was composed of many different provinces, and that Nebuchadnezzar's army was composed of soldiers from different nations; these may be the people meant; but I doubt whether this may not refer to the different nations which in successive ages fought against Tyre. It was at last finally destroyed in the sixteenth century of the Christian era. The destruction of A. M. 3416. Anno OL. XLVIII. 1. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., 29. EZEKIEL. 11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. 12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. 131 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. 14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. for forts, mounts, engines of war, horses, and chariots could not be brought to act against the other. Verse 12. And they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.] This answers to the taking of Tyre by Alexander; he actually took the timbers, stones, rubbish, &c. of old Tyre, and filled up the space between it and new Tyre, and thus connected the latter with the main land; and this he was obliged to do before he could take it. t Tyre foretold. and shall tremble at every mo- w to thee, How art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all that haunt it! 18 Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall;` yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure. 19 For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee; 20 When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in a places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living; Jer. vii. 29; chap. xix. 1; xxvii. 2, 32; xxviii. 12; xxxii. 2; Rev. xviii. 9. Heb. of the seas. Isa. xxii. 4. y Ver. 15. Chap. xxxii. 18, 24.a Job . 14; Psa, eix. 10; Isa. xlix. 19; lix. 10; Amos vii. 9. Chap. xxxi. 23, 26, 27, 32. Chap. xxvii. 36; xxviii. 19. Heb. terrors. e e Psa. xxxvii. 36. Divine Providence as a visible argument how God has fulfilled his word concerning Tyre, that it should be the top of a rock, a place for fishers to dry their nets on.” Verse 15. The isles shake at the sound of thy fall All those which had traded with this city, which was the grand mart, and on which they all depended. Her ruin involved them all, and caused general wailing. Verse 16. The princes of the sea] The chief maritime states, such as Leptis, Utica, Carthage, Gades, &c. See Calmet. work cost his army seven months of labour. Verse 20. And I shall set glory in the land of the living.] Judea so called, the land of the living God. Verse 14. Thou shalt be built no more] If this refer to Nebuchadnezzar's capture of the city, old Tyre Verse 17. Wast strong in the sea] The strength must be intended that was destroyed by him, and of Tyre was so great, that Alexander despaired of being never rebuilt. But I doubt whether the whole of this able to reduce it unless he could fill up that arm of the prophecy do not refer to the taking of Tyre by Alex-sea that ran between it and the main land. And this ander, three hundred years after its capture by Nebuchadnezzar. Indeed it may include more recent conquests of this important city. It went through a variety of vicissitudes till 1289, when it and the neigh- Verse 21. Yet shalt thou never be found again] bouring towns were sacked and ravaged by the Mame. This is literally true; there is not the smallest vestige lukes. Mr. Maundrell, who visited this place, says, of the ancient Tyre, that which was erected on the "it is a Babel of broken walls, pillars, vaults, &c., main land. Even the ground seems to have been there being not so much as one entire house left! Its washed away; and the new Tyre is in nearly a simipresent inhabitants are only a few poor wretches, har-lar state. I think this prophecy must be extended to bouring themselves in the vaults, and subsisting chiefly the whole duration of Tyre. If it now be found to be on fishing; who seem to be preserved in this place by in the state here described, it is sufficient to show the |