Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Ver. 1. _Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together_] _Excutite vos, iterumque excutite._ Fan yourselves, yea, fan yourselves (Tremell.). The precept is doubled, as it is likewise Numbers 3:40 2 Corinthians 13:5, to show... [ Continue Reading ]
Before the decree bring forth, [before] the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you. Ver. 2. _Before the decree bring forth_] The decree is great bellied, and will shortly bring forth, if not prevented. There is an e... [ Continue Reading ]
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger. Ver. 3. _Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth_] Here the prophet turneth himself to the better sort; for upon those hypocri... [ Continue Reading ]
For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Ver. 4. _For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Askelon, &c._] Here is dainty rhetoric in the original. This prophet was (as Quintilian saith a good orator ought to be) _Vir bo... [ Continue Reading ]
Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD [is] against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. Ver. 5. _Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast_] These were the Philistines; they la... [ Continue Reading ]
And the sea coast shall be dwellings [and] cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. Ver. 6. _And the sea coasts shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds_] It shall be waste and untilled, and therefore unfrequented by any but shepherds, who pitch their tents up and down, where they may bes... [ Continue Reading ]
And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity. Ver. 7. _And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah_] Who... [ Continue Reading ]
I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified [themselves] against their border. Ver. 8. _I have heard the reproach of Moab_] How can he but hear who is all ear? who is both above us, and within us, in whom we su... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore [as] I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, [even] the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess the... [ Continue Reading ]
This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified [themselves] against the people of the LORD of hosts. Ver. 10. _This shall they have for their pride_] Moabites were as much noted for their pride as now the Spaniards are; and are therefore here devoted to destruction... [ Continue Reading ]
The LORD [will be] terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and [men] shall worship him, every one from his place, [even] all the isles of the heathen. Ver. 11. _The Lord will be terrible unto them_] For he shall march forth in battle array against proud persons, 1 Peter 5:... [ Continue Reading ]
Ye Ethiopians also, ye [shall be] slain by my sword. Ver. 12. _Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword_] Which is long enough to reach you, though far remote. The poets feign that Jupiter was wont to be feasted by the Ethiopians; but that shall not save them from God's sore and great stro... [ Continue Reading ]
And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, [and] dry like a wilderness. Ver. 13. _And he will stretch out his hand against the north_] _i.e._ Against Assyria (which lay north from Judea), as is presently added by way of exposition. T... [ Continue Reading ]
And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; [their] voice shall sing in the windows; desolation [shall be] in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work. Ver. 14. _And flocks shall... [ Continue Reading ]
This [is] the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I [am], and [there is] none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, [and] wag his hand. Ver. 15. _This is the rejoicing city_] _Exultabunda,_ t... [ Continue Reading ]