That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion on thee,.... Return them from their captivity, or bring them out of it, both in a temporal and spiritual sense; free them from their present exile, and deliver them from the bondage of sin, Satan, and the law; and all this as the effect of his grace and mercy towards them, and compassion on them; see Jeremiah 30:18; The Targum of Jonathan is,

"his Word shall receive with good will your repentance;''

it being cordial and unfeigned, and fruits meet for it brought forth:

and will return and gather thee from all the nations whither the Lord thy God scattered thee; or, "will again gather thee" k; as he had gathered them out of all places where they had been scattered, on their return from the Babylonish captivity; so will he again gather them from all the nations of the earth, east, west, north, and south, where they are now dispersed; when they shall turn to the Lord, and seek David their King, the true Messiah. Maimonides l understands this passage of their present captivity, and deliverance from it by the Messiah.

k ושב וקבצך και παλιν συναξει, Sept. "et rursum congregabit te", V. L. "et iterum colliget te", Piscator. l Hilchot Melachim, c. 11. sect. 1.

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