Judgments]

CHAP. IV.

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,

2 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.

3 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.

4 Come to Beth-el, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:

5 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.

6 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.

7 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:

[against Israel.

one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

8 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.

9 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.

10 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.

11 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.

12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

13 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

Le

CHAP. IV. Ver. 1. Ye kine of Bashan. Bruyn describes the ladies of the Levant as very extravagant in their dress and ornaments; and Sir John Chardin gives the same account of the Persian ladies; so that the poor were much oppressed to maintain the harems of the rich.--That say to their masters (i. e. husbands, Gen. xviii. 12), Bring us drink-satisfy our craving desires.

Ver. 2. And fish-hooks-Newcome," Nets;" i. e. different kinds of fishing tackle. The meaning is, that they should be taken away by force.

Ver. 3. Every cow- Boothroyd, Every fish;" Newcome, "Every one at that which is before it." Perhaps these ladies, before called cows (as their husbands are elsewhere called bulls of Bashan," P、, xxii. 12.), may here be compared to fishes, eaught in the net of the harem; but who, on the city being taken, should make their escape severally, as they could, like hes through a broken net; but the greater part should he carried captive, perhaps into Armenia.

Ibid. Ye shall cast them into the palace.-Newcome reads, "I will cast it forth and utterly destroy it." Qu. What? Gesenius, who follows Kimchi,

thinks the Hebrew word means a seraglio (or harem), which is the female department of the palace; but Boothroyd and others take it for a proper name, "Armenia;" the sense is very doubtful, and we must so leave it.

Ver. 4. Come to Beth-el.-This is spoken ironically, as Eccles. xi. 9. "Rejoice," &c.— Three years— Heb. Three years of days," Boothroyd, "Every three days." See Deut. xxvi. 12.

Ver. 5. Offer a sacrifice-Heb. "Offer by burning;" Newcome, "Burn a thankoffering."This liketh you-Heb. "So you love (to do)."

Ver. 9. When your gardens, &c.-Marg. "The multitude of your gardens,"&c.- The palmer worm -or locust. See Note on Joel i. 4. Ver. 10. After the manner of Egypt. The un-. wholesome effluvia, on the subsiding of the Nile, often occasion pestilence. See Deat. vii. 15.

Ver. 13. That maketh the morning darkness, &c. -Perhaps the sense may be, He walketh forth in the early dawn, stepping from mountain to mountain, arrayed in clouds and vapours.' See P's, xevii. 2; civ. 3.

Exhortations]

is his name. (D)

CHAP. V.

HEAR ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.

2 The virgin of Israel is fallen, she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.

3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:

5 But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come to nought.

6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Beth-el.

7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

8 Seek him that maketh the seven

CHAP. IV.

dow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.

10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.

13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it an evil time.

14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

15 Hate the evil, and love the

(D) We are not aware that there is any thing more abhorrent to the God of Israel than "crushing the needy, or oppressing the poor," and that to the end that their masters may indulge in luxury and drunkenness. Let those rich manufacturers consider this, who enjoy the luxuries mentioned in the last chapter; who have elegant houses, richly furnished, while the poor, from whose labours all their wealth has been derived, are pining in their garrets, surrounded with needy families. "Shall not I visit for these things? saith the Lord." Yes: the fat "kine of Bashan," the ladies of their seraglios (as Le Bruyn explains it) shall be dragged, as with fish

hooks, from their palaces, and shall be visited with famine and pestilence, with the sword and with the tempest.

This chapter traces a close connection between luxurious indulgence in the rich, and criminal oppression of the poor; be tween luxury also and idolatry. When Je shurun waxed fat, he kicked against the divine ordinances, and spurned against re straint, even from the Almighty. But it is hard for us to kick against the pricks As idleness, and luxury, and vice, brought down the fiery tempest that destroyed Sodom; so will the same crimes (sooner or later) insure the ruin of any nation or individual: very solemn, therefore, is the warning here given, “ Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel,"

CHAP. V. Ver. 2. Shall no more rise-Boothroyd, "She cannot rise;" nor shall be raised by any human power, till the time comes that God himself will raise her. See chap. ix. 15; Joel ini 20.

Ver. 3. The city that went out, &c.-The meaning is, the population shall be reduced to a tenth of what it had been.

Ver. 8. The seven stars and Orion—(Heb. Cias and Cecil.) See Jub ix. 9; xxxviii. 31. 32. Notes.That turneth, &C.-that is, produceti 154 alternate succession of day and night.

Ver. 11. Burdens of wheat-by way of brides. #5 in next verse.--Pleasant vineyards-Heb. V yards of desire.”

good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus: Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.

18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

CHAP. V.

[exhortations.

21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty

stream.

25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?

26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts. (E)

(E) The Prophet laments over Israel, and exhorts them to repentance.-This chapter opens with a lamentation over the sius and miseries of the house of Israel; in which the Prophet complains bitterly of their idolatry, and of their cruel oppression of the poor. He then exhorts them to repentance and reform; and to excite them thereto, the Lord himself is introduced as expressing, in very strong terms, his abhorrence of their gross hypocrisy, in offering sacrifices with sweet incense and melodious music, while, at the same time, their hearts were attached to their idols. In the latter verses of the chapter occurs a passage which has been very differently interpreted. It seems to us a fact incontrovertible, that the Jews were tinctured with idolatry, even from their coming up out of Egypt, and to which probably they

were often excited by the mixed multitude which came up from Egypt with them. (Exod. xii. 38.) The first open indication of this appears in the fact of the golden calf (Exod. xxxii.); and though doubtless Moses was careful to repress every appearance of idolatry, it is very evident that they had their secret idols (concealed probably as artfully as Rachels); so that it was not to the Lord alone, as Dr. Doddridge judiciously expresses it, that they offered sacrifice; but they mixed the worship of Moloch, or Baal, or Remphan, with the worship of Jehovah; and this was their prevailing sin even from the Exodus to the captivity in Babylon. Nor can this appear incredible to those who know the human heart; since we find that, even in the present day, of those who call themselves Christians, a great majority are no less prone to unite the service of God and Mammon. (Matt. vi. 24.)

Ver.26. But ye have borne-Bp. Lowth, " Nay, ye bare.' "The tabernacle-a portable shrine,

or temple, in which the idol was contained. (See Acts xix. 24.)-And Chiun-that is, Saturn; so the Syriac and some Rabbins. The star of your god-probably the figure of a star in the forehead of the idol, to show that it was to represent some one of the heavenly bodies, as may be seen in many ancient coins. For St. Stephen's quotation of this passage, see Acts vii. 43.

Ver. 27. Beyond Damuscus-that is, into Assyria and Media. See 2 Kings xv. 29; xvii. 6.

Israel both licentious]

Wo

CHAP. VI.

OE to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came !

2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; 5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

8 The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of

CHAP. VI.

[and incorrigible.

hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

10 And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.

11 For, behold, the LORD com mandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:

13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?

14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness. (F)

(F) The luxury, gaiety, vice, and incorrigibleness of the people of Israel. The Jews were undoubtedly a musical people, and mingled their favourite art equally

with their devotions and their amusements. Instead of seeking their pleasure in what pleased God, they seem to have supposed that God must needs be pleased with what pleased them their noisy choruses of

CHAP. VI. Ver. 1. Named chief of the nationsNewcome," Named (after) the chief of the nations." See Note on Isa. xliv. 5. Probably they assumed the names of popular gods, or distinguished heroes.

Ver. 2. Calneh, a city in Babylonia.-Hamath, a Syrian city on the Orontes. - Gath, a city of the Philistines. These cities were probably famous for idolatry; but what were they the better for that?

Ver. 3. The seat of violence-the seat of perverted judgment, is the scat of violence.

Ver. 4. Beds of ivory.-These were probably a kind of sophas, of which the frame-work was inlaid, or ornamented with ivory; such as Homer speaks of, Odyss. xix. 55; xxiii. 199.

Ver. 5. Invent to themselves instruments of music, like David.-What instruments David invented is not known, nor does the expression appear to us intended as a censure on the royal prophet; it might, however, be very culpable in these Jewish rulers to

emulate his magnificence, in these times of danger and adversity: beside, David dedicated all his instruments to the service of God (1 Chron. XVI these men, to their convivial pleasures.

Ver. 6. With the chief ointments-or rather," with the choicest perfumes." See Note on Eccles, va 1 Sol. Song, i. 3.

&c.

Ver. 10. A man's uncle - Newcome, "Relation." By the sides-Boothroyd, "In a side ram," -Hold thy tongue-Gesenius," Hush!" Ver. 12. Shall horses run upon the rocks, St.This seems to have been impracticable before the invention of shoes for horses. See Lowth in Isa..

Ver. 13. In a thing of nought-their idols: 1 Cor. viii. 4.-Horns-that is, power, of what horns were the established emblem.

Ver. 14. A nation—that is, the Assyrians. Hamath was on the north, and the river of the desert, or of Egypt, on the south of Judea.