Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that [are] in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink. Ver. 1. _Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan_] _Obesae et bene pastae,_ ye fat bawsons (as we use to call them), ye that are “... [ Continue Reading ]
The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. Ver. 2. _The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness_] He hath sworn for more assurance, Hebrews 6:16,18, it being hard to persuade secure sinners o... [ Continue Reading ]
And ye shall go out at the breaches, every [cow at that which is] before her; and ye shall cast [them] into the palace, saith the LORD. Ver. 3. _And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow_] _Qua data porta ruitis,_ ye shall be glad to get out at any breach to save your lives, which now hang in... [ Continue Reading ]
Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three years: Ver. 4. _Come to Bethel and transgress_] Do so, if you think it good; and since you are so set upon it, go on, despair, die and be damned: That which will... [ Continue Reading ]
And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim [and] publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. Ver. 5. _And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven_] Which I have flatly forbidden to be done, Leviticus 2:11. Neither leaven n... [ Continue Reading ]
And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Ver. 6. _And I have also given you cleanness of teeth_] So that you need not spend time in picking them, as those that are fully fed; for I have c... [ Continue Reading ]
And also I have withholden the rain from you, when [there were] yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. Ver. 7. _And also I have withholden the rai... [ Continue Reading ]
So two [or] three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Ver. 8. _So two or three cities wandered_] Necessity is a hard weapon: and want of water will make men wander far and part with anything for it; as Lysimac... [ Continue Reading ]
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured [them]: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Ver. 9. _I have smitten you with blasting and mildews_] This by immoderate rain; tha... [ Continue Reading ]
I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Ver. 10. _I have sent among you the p... [ Continue Reading ]
I have overthrown [some] of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Ver. 11. _I have overthrown some of you_] Some and not all: thus, in the midst of judgment he remembered mercy, he did not s... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: [and] because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. Ver. 12. _Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel_] Thus? how? _Non nominat mala ut omnia timeant,_ saith Ribera. He tells them not how, that they may fear the worst; even a... [ Continue Reading ]
For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what [is] his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, [is] his name. Ver. 13. _For lo, he that formeth the mountains, &c._] _q.d._ If... [ Continue Reading ]