Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why [then] doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? Ver. 1. _Concerning the Ammonites._] Who are taxed in Scripture for their pride, petulance, and contempt of God's Israel, whom they had al... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD. Ver. 2. _Behold, the day... [ Continue Reading ]
Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, [and] his priests and his princes together. Ver. 3. _Howl, O Heshbon._] A city of the Gadites, but seized upon, it seemeth, fir... [ Continue Reading ]
Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, [saying], Who shall come unto me? Ver. 4. _Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys?_] Because fat and fertile, as being near to Sodom and Gomorrah, that pleasant plain. Gen 13:10 _ O b... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth. Ver. 5. _Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee._] _Panicum vel bellicum._ Panic or war.... [ Continue Reading ]
And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD. Ver. 6. _I will bring again the captivity._] Then, when Christ shall come, the Gentiles also shall be freed from the tyranny of sin, and terror of hell.... [ Continue Reading ]
Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; [Is] wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? Ver. 7. _Is wisdom nowhere in Teman?_] The Edomites, and especially the Temanites (of whom Eliphaz, Job's friend, was one), were famous for wisdom, Oba 1:8 wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time [that] I will visit him. Ver. 8. _Dwell deep._] Hide yourselves in holes of the earth, grots in the ground, clefts of the rocks, where you may best secure yourselves from the pursuing en... [ Continue Reading ]
If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave [some] gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till they have enough. Ver. 9. _If grape gatherers, &c._] See on Obadiah 1:5 .... [ Continue Reading ]
But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he [is] not. Ver. 10. _I have uncovered his secret places._] Where he had hid himself, or his treasures, those sinews of war. _ An... [ Continue Reading ]
Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve [them] alive; and let thy widows trust in me. Ver. 11. _Leave thy fatherless children, &c._] Thus God speaketh to the profane Edomites in derision, but to all true Israelites in serious sadness: and so it is very comfortable, and must needs be a good s... [ Continue Reading ]
For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment [was] not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and [art] thou he [that] shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink [of it]. Ver. 12. _Behold they whose judgment, &c._] See Jeremiah 25:29 Obadi... [ Continue Reading ]
For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. Ver. 13. _I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord._] Because it seemed incredible that Bozrah should be beaten down; as also to s... [ Continue Reading ]
I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, [saying], Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle. Ver. 14. _I have heard a rumour from the Lord._] See on Obadiah 1:1 .... [ Continue Reading ]
For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, [and] despised among men. Ver. 15. _For, lo, I will make thee._] See on Obadiah 1:2, whence Jeremiah took this, and more besides, or else Obadiah from him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, [and] the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD. Ver. 16. _Thy terribleness,_] _i.e.... [ Continue Reading ]
Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. Ver. 17. _And Edom shall be a desolation_] Heb., For a desolation. See on Jeremiah 49:13 .... [ Continue Reading ]
As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour [cities] thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. Ver. 18. _As in the overthrow of Sodom._] See Genesis 19:24,25 . _ And the neighbour cities._] Whereof see Deuteronomy 29:23 . _ No man s... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who [is] a chosen [man, that] I may appoint over her? for who [is] like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who [is] that shepherd that wil... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. Ver. 20. _Therefore hear the counsel._] No... [ Continue Reading ]
The earth is moved at the noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. Ver. 21. _In the Red Sea,_] _i.e., _ A long way off; yet not so far as the doting Talmudists say the serpent's cry was heard (when the angels came down and cut off his legs, according to that doom... [ Continue Reading ]
Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. Ver. 22. _Behold, he shall come up and fly._] See Jeremiah 48:40,41 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; [there is] sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. Ver. 23. _Concerning Damascus._] The chief city of Syria, so pleasantly situated, so rich and luxurious, that one compareth it to Corinth... [ Continue Reading ]
Damascus is waxed feeble, [and] turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on [her]: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail. Ver. 24. _And fear hath seized on her._] _Horrorem febrilem apprehendit; _ _a_ she shaketh as in a fit of an ague. _ a_ Piscat.... [ Continue Reading ]
How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! Ver. 25. _How is the city of praise not left?_] Why is so praiseworthy and renowned a city so demolished? See Jeremiah 49:23. Cause enough there was, because it was a valley of vanity, Amo 1:3-5 and Comus, Venus, and Bacchus there made their d... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts. Ver. 26. _Therefore her young men._] Or, Surely.... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad. Ver. 27. _And I will kindle a fire._] See on Amos 1:4 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. Ver. 28. _Concerning Kedar._] These Kedarenes, the offspring of Kedar, Ishmael's son, Gen 25:13 dwelt, or rather ab... [ Continue Reading ]
_Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear [is] on every side._ Ver. 29. _Their tents and their flocks._] For which they were termed _scenitae_ and _nomades,_ as living... [ Continue Reading ]
_Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you._ Ver. 30. _Flee, get you far off._] See on Jeremiah 49:8 .... [ Continue Reading ]
Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars, [which] dwell alone. Ver. 31. _Arise, go you up into the wealthy nation._] Or, Quiet nation, that dwelleth without care. Heb., In confidence: but such a security doth not secure... [ Continue Reading ]
And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them [that are] in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD. Ver. 32. _Them that are in the uttermost corners._] Or, That have the corner... [ Continue Reading ]
And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, [and] a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor [any] son of man dwell in it. Ver. 33. _And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons._] See Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 51:37 .... [ Continue Reading ]
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Ver. 34. _Against Elam,_] _i.e., _ The Medes, say some; the Persians, say others; or a people between both, whose head city was that Susa where Alexander found fifty... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. Ver. 35. _Behold, I will break the bow of Elam._] In the use whereof they excelled, being very skilful archers. Isa 22:6 Guns today carry it as bows of old.... [ Continue Reading ]
And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. Ver. 36. _And upon Elam will I bring the four winds,_] _i.e., _ Great concussions, enemies on all sides... [ Continue Reading ]
For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, [even] my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: Ver. 37. _For I will cause Elam to be dismayed,_] _q.d., _ They... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD. Ver. 38. _And I will set my throne in Elam,_] _i.e., _ I will solemnly execute my judgments upon these people, as if I sat in my judgment seat in a public court in the midst of them. _a_ a Diod... [ Continue Reading ]
But it shall come to pass in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD. Ver. 39. _I will bring again the captivity of Elam._] Principally by bringing them to Jesus Christ. And so we read Act 2:9 of Parthians, Medes, and Elamites among those first and best beli... [ Continue Reading ]