Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, There is a tacit antithesis between this lamentation and that of the Jews for their own miseries, the causes of which, however, they did not inquire. TAKE ... UP A LAMENTATION FOR THE PRINCES OF ISRAEL - i:e., of Judah, whose "princ... [ Continue Reading ]
And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions. AND SAY, WHAT IS THY MOTHER? - the mother of Jehoiachin, the representative of David's line, who was then in exile with Ezekiel. The "mother" is Judea: "a lioness," as being fierce in ca... [ Continue Reading ]
And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men. SHE BROUGHT UP ONE OF HER WHELPS: IT BECAME A YOUNG LION - Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, carried captive from Riblah to Egypt by Pharaoh-necho ().... [ Continue Reading ]
The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt. THE NATIONS ALSO HEARD OF HIM - Egypt, in the case of Jehoahaz, who probably provoked Pharaoh by trying to avenge the death of his father by assailing the bordering cities of Egypt... [ Continue Reading ]
Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion. NOW WHEN SHE SAW THAT SHE HAD WAITED, AND HER HOPE WAS LOST - i:e., that her long-waited for hope was disappointed, Jehoahaz not being restored to her from Egypt. THEN S... [ Continue Reading ]
And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men. AND HE WENT UP AND DOWN AMONG THE LIONS - imitated the recklessness, oppression, injustice, covetousness, and tyranny of the surrounding kings (Jeremiah 22:13). AND LEARNED TO CATC... [ Continue Reading ]
And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring. HE KNEW THEIR DESOLATE PALACES - i:e., claimed as his own their palaces, which he then proceeded to "desolate." The Hebrew literally means widows;... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit. THEN THE NATIONS SET AGAINST HIM - the Chaldeans, Syrians, Moab, and Ammon ().... [ Continue Reading ]
And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel. THEY PUT HIM IN WARD IN CHAINS - (; ) margin, 'hooks;' perhaps referring to the hook often passed through the nose of beas... [ Continue Reading ]
Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters. THY MOTHER IS LIKE A VINE IN THY BLOOD - a new metaphor, taken from the vine, the chief of the fruit-bearing trees, as the lion is of the beasts of prey (see ). IN THY... [ Continue Reading ]
And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches. SHE HAD STRONG RODS FOR THE SCEPTRES - princes of the royal house of David. The vine shot forth her branches l... [ Continue Reading ]
But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them. BUT SHE WAS PLUCKED UP IN FURY - not gradually withered. The sudden upturning of the state was designed to awaken the Jews out... [ Continue Reading ]
And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground. NOW SHE IS PLANTED IN THE WILDERNESS. "Planted" - i:e., transplanted. Though already "dried up," in regard to the nation generally, the vine is said to be 'transplanted' as regards God's mercy to the remnant in Babylon. IN... [ Continue Reading ]
And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation. FIRE IS GONE OUT OF A ROD OF HER BRANCHES. The Jews' disaster was to be ascribed, not so much to the Chalde... [ Continue Reading ]