arm and of much people, * that it should not be taken 10 away by the roots thereof. Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? in the beds of its branching it shall wither.

12

Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying: Say now to the rebellious house: Know ye not what these things mean? Say: Lo, the King of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes, and ‡ led 13 them with him to Babylon: and took of || the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and § took an oath of him : 14 he took also the mighty of the land: that the kingdom might be ** low, so as not to lift itself up; but that it might keep his covenant, †† and might stand. But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into

15

*H. that one should not take it away.
+ H. wither in withering.
Or, carried.

H. the seed of the kingdom. § H. brought him to an oath. Or, humble, or, base.

**

†† H. that it might stand.

in the power of a mighty arm.—See Nold. ≥ §. 19. So we say, in man, for in the power of man. The meaning is explained, v. 15, 17.

66

66

ne

_that it should not be taken away.-new, 3 MSS. 2 ed. ut ne quis tollat. See Nold. §. 21. But Houbigant reads devastetur:" literally, "ne vastet quis:" and renders, "Neque efficiet brachium potens, nec multitudo magna, ne radicitus evellatur." The ancients give this sense: Nor shall it require a mighty arm and much people, that it should be taken away by the roots thereof." It is an effect which may be produced with ease, God being their enemy. nswo is supposed to be the Syriac or Chaldee infinitive; and is alleged as an instance of the prophet's debased style.

10 Yea, behold.-п7, 3 MSS. V. Syr.

―――utterly wither.-w' 6 MSS. 2 edd. arescendo.

13. —and took an oath of him.—Read §'2"). Five MSS. read 1018. See ó. Chald. But Syr. reads 12 and 1s: "and entered with him into an oath."

14. —and might stand.-The kingdom.

2, 1 MS."that it

might serve." But Chald. “ that it might serve him.”

15. -into Egypt.-2 Chron. xxxvi. 13. Jer. lii. 3. xxxvii. 5, 7.

G

Egypt, that they might give him horses, and much people. Shall he prosper, shall he escape, that doeth these things? when he hath broken the covenant, shall he 16 escape? As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, surely in the place of the king's dwelling that made him king, whose oath he hath despised, and whose covenant he hath 17 broken, even in the midst of Babylon he shall die. Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army, and great company, deal with him in war; * when mounts are cast up, and towers are built, to cut off many persons. 18 Because he hath despised the oath † by breaking the covenant, (when, lo, he had given his hand,) and hath 19 done all these things, he shall not escape. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath 20 broken, I will recompense it upon his own head: and I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my

* H. in the pouring out of a mount, and in the building of a tower.
H. so as to break.

Zedekiah must have sent his ambassadors into Egypt, between the sixth month of his sixth year and the fifth month of his seventh year. Compare c. viii. 1. c. xx. 1.

16.

-he hath broken.—Vulg. very properly places the stop at 18, cum eo. But 6. Syr. read ' and ': "because he hath despised my oath, [the oath taken in my name] and because he hath broken my covenant [the covenant to which I was a witness] with him, [the king of Babylon.]" Observe that the Arabic version supposes the stop at μer' avroû in ó. and see v. 19, and 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13.

17. -deal with him.—The King of Babylon. 18 MSS. and edd. See the phrase c. xx. 44. xxii. 14. Houbigant renders with Vatablus, subveniet ei," sc. Sedecia. All the ancients and one MS. read п, shall make war with him," sc. Nebuchadnezzar. That this is elegant Hebrew, see Gen. xiv. 2.

Accordingly, the Vulgate version renders thus: Et non in exercitu grandi, neque in populo multo, faciet contra eum Pharaoh prælium.

18.

—his hand.-Dextræ, quæ fidei testes esse solebant, perfidiâ sunt & scelere violatæ. Cic. Philipp. xi. 5.

snare: and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there, for his trespass which he hath trespassed 21 against me. And all his fugitives, with all his bands,

2.2

shall fall by the sword; and they that remain shall be scattered to every wind: and ye shall know that I Jehovah have spoken it.

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will take from the highest branch of a lofty cedar, and will set it; from the top of its young twigs I will crop off a tender one, and 23 will plant it; upon a mountain which is high and eminent, in * a lofty mountain of Israel, will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and shall become a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell every fowl of every wing; in the shadow of its branches shall they 24 dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I

Jehovah have brought low the high tree, have raised high the low tree; have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish. I Jehovah have spoken, and will do it.

* H. a mountain of loftiness.

20.

But the prepo

-and I will bring him.—17'27 14 MSS. 2 edd. -for his trespass.- 5 MSS. 4 originally. sition is frequently omitted. by by, 1 MS.

21.

.chosen ones מבחריו

fugitives. MSS. But Chald Syr. seem to read Καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐκλεκτοὶ αὐτοῦ, is one of the two versions which we find in Theodoret. See Cappellus. Secker approves of rendering chosen men.

Ductores Danaûm, delecti, prima virorum.

with all his bands.-1, and all, 7 MSS. Syr. 22-24.

Lucret. i. 87.

These verses may have a reference to Zerubbabel, to the Maccabees, to the Messiah, and to the future restoration of the Jews. 22. —and will set it.-6. MS. Vat. Syr. 1 MS. Houb. omit F. n. See v. 5. and Bp. Lowth on Isai. ii. 2.

23.

-fruit.—“ The cones which the cedar produces." Michaelis. 24. The high tree and the green tree refer to Nebuchadnezzar ; the low and the dry tree, to the Jews.

1

2

CHAPTER XVIII.

MOREOVER the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying:

* What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, "The fathers eat sour grapes, 3 and the children's teeth are set on edge?" As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, † ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Lo, all souls ‡ are H. what is it to you, O ye, using † H. if there shall be to you occasion any more. H. souls, they are mine.

4

&c.

In this chapter we have a beautiful instance of the clear and flowing style.

2. At the beginning of this v. ó. Ar. Syr. read □ 12, Son of man. -eat.-In the parallel place, Jer. xxxi, 29, 10 MSS. and 1 ed. read 1, 1 MS. read so originally, and 5 MSS. have a rasure where the should stand. There are many instances where the future has the force of the present. See Numb. xxiii. 9. Jon. i. 8.

Chald. explains the proverb rightly: "the fathers have sinned, and the sons are smitten." In the second commandment, it is expressly declared that the children should be punished in this life for the idolatry of the fathers. Idolatry was high treason, while the theocracy subsisted; and was to be restrained by the severest sanctions under a dispensation appointed for these among other wise purposes, to preserve the Israelites from the general taint of idolatry, and to maintain and propagate the knowledge of the one God. The general principle of the law cannot be better explained than in Tully's words: "Hoc præclare legibus comparatum est, ut caritas liberorum amiciores parentes reipublicæ redderet.” Epist. ad Brutum. xii.

3.

―ye shall not—use.-In the destruction by the Babylonians, the good were to escape: c. ix. 4, 6: but they were only to deliver themselves. c. xiv. 14, 20, 21. Whenever the children had suffered temporal evils for the idolatry of their fathers, they had justly incurred a punishment solemnly denounced. With respect to the impending calamity from Nebuchadnezzar, God's purpose was to observe another rule of conduct. 4. souls.-Persons, and their lives.

mine: as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the

son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

5 6 But if a man be just, and do judgment and justice; if he

have not eaten upon the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, nor defiled his neigh7 bour's wife; if he come not near to † a removed woman, and do not oppress any, if he restore the debtor his pledge, spoil none by violence, give his food to the hungry, and cover the naked with a garment, give not forth upon usury and take not encrease, withdraw his hand from iniquity, execute true judgment between man and man, walk in

8

9

* H. son, they are mine.

† Or, a woman set apart for unclean.

H. the judgement of truth.

6. —-eaten upon the mountains.-Feasted on the sacrifices there offered to false gods. See c. vi. 2.

-lifted up his eyes.-In prayer and adoration.

・come not near.-7p 2 MSS. But the vau may convert at a distance; or the future tense may have the force of the present, or of the past. There being a change in the original from the past form to the future, here and in the three following verses; this change is denoted by the use of the present tense, though 'w, v. 12, shews that the version of our translators is a just one.

-a removed woman.-Lev. xx. 18. Our translators use this rendering, c. xxxvi. 17.

7.

the debtor.- is understood. The preposition is often thus omitted in English; as in the translation of this passage. See the law,

Ex. xxii. 26.

-spoil none by violence.-Hebr. rapinam non rapiat, äрπауμа oυx ȧρmán, Lev. vi. 2.; xix. 13.

8.

—upon usury.—See Deut. xxiii. 19, 20: whence it follows that taking encrease is not malum per se; but agreeable to justice, if duly circumstanced. Every kind and degree of usury was forbidden to the Israelites among each other, to promote a spirit of mutual kindness. But this law was peculiar to them; like their not reaping the corners of their fields, and their not gleaning their vine-trees and olive-trees. Lev. xix. 9, 10. Deut. xxiv. 19-22.