Bible Commentaries

2 Kings 3:25 — Kings 3:25. On every good piece of land — On all cultivated ground, and especially fields that were sown.Only in Kir-haraseth — This was the royal city of the Moabites, and, as we learn from Scripture, exceedingly strong; (see Isaiah 16:7; Isaiah 16:11); so that it is probable the confederate armies could not easily reduce it. The slingers, we are informed, went about the wall, and smote all the men that appeared on it, while no doubt the besieging army was employed in sapping the foundations.

2 Kings 4:7 — Verse 2 Kings 4:7. Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt — He does not inveigh against the cruelty of this creditor, because the law and custom of the country gave him the authority on which he acted; and rather than permit a poor honest widow to have her children sold, or that even a Philistine should suffer loss who had given credit to a genuine Israelite, he would work a miracle to pay a debt which, in the course of providence, it was out of her power to discharge.

1 Chronicles 3:24 — Verse 1 Chronicles 3:24. And Anani — "This is the King Messiah who is to be revealed." - T. Jarchi says the same, and refers to Daniel 7:13: Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds (ענני ananey) of heaven. For this application of the word he gives a fanciful reason, not worthy to be repeated. The Syriac and Arabic omit several names in this table, and make only twenty-three verses in the chapter: but such differences are frequent in the books of Chronicles.

1 Chronicles 7:2 — Verse 1 Chronicles 7:2. Whose number was in the days of David — Whether this was the number returned by Joab and his assistants, when they made that census of the people with which God was so much displeased, we know not. It is worthy of remark that we read here the

2 Chronicles 7:22 — Verse 2 Chronicles 7:22. Because they forsook the Lord — While they cleaved to God, the most powerful enemy could make no impression on them; but when they forsook him, then the weakest and most inconsiderable of their foes harassed, oppressed, and reduced them to

Ezra 7:8 — Verse Ezra 7:8. He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month — From the following verse we learn that Ezra and his company set off from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and thus we find they were upwards of four months on their journey. They could not travel fast, as they were a great company, composed in part of the aged and infirm, besides multitudes of women and children. They appear also to have taken a circuitous route. See on Ezra 8:24-32,

Esther 7:1 — CHAPTER VII The king at the banquet urges Esther to prefer her petition, with the positive assurance that it shall be granted, 1, 2. She petitions for her own life, and the life of her people, who were sold to be destroyed, 3, 4. The king inquires the author of this project, and Haman is accused by the queen, 5, 6. The king is enraged: Haman supplicates for his life; but the king orders him to be hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, 7-10. NOTES ON CHAP. VII

Esther 7:5 — Verse Esther 7:5. Who is he, and where is he — There is a wonderful abruptness and confusion in the original words, highly expressive of the state of mind in which the king then was: מי הוא זה ואי זה הוא אשר מלאו לבו לעשות כן mi hu zeh veey zeh hu asher melao libbo laasoth ken. "Who? He? This one? And where? This one? He? Who hath filled his heart to do thus?" He was at once struck with the horrible nature of a conspiracy so cruel and diabolic.

Job 19:3 — Verse Job 19:3. These ten times — The exact arithmetical number is not to be regarded; ten times being put for many times, as we have already seen. See particularly Clarke's note on "Genesis 31:7".Ye make yourselves strange to me. — When I was in affluence and prosperity, ye were my intimates, and appeared to rejoice in my happiness; but now ye scarcely know me, or ye profess to consider me a wicked man because I am in adversity. Of this

Job 29:7 — Verse Job 29:7. When I went out to the gate — Courts of justice were held at the gates or entrances of the cities of the East; and Job, being an emir, was supreme magistrate: and here he speaks of his going to the gate to administer justice.I prepared my seat in the street — I administered judgment openly, in the most public manner, and none could say that I, in any case, perverted justice. Mr. Good translates: - "As I went forth the city rejoiced at me, as I took my seat abroad."

Job 42:1 — CHAPTER XLII Job humbles himself before God, 1-6. God accepts him; censures his three friends; and commands Job to offer sacrifices for then, that he might pardon and accept them, as they had not spoken what was right concerning their Maker, 7-9. The Lord turns Job's captivity; and his friends visit him, and bring him presents, 10, 11. Job's affluence becomes double to what it was before, 12. His family is also increased, 13-15. Having lived one hundred and forty years after his calamities,

Job 7:4 — Verse Job 7:4. When I lie down — I have so little rest, that when I do lie down I long for the return of the light, that I may rise. Nothing can better depict the state of a man under continual afflictions, which afford him no respite, his days and his nights being spent in constant anguish, utterly unable to be in any one posture, so that he is continually changing his position in his bed, finding ease nowhere: thus, as himself expresses it, he is full of tossings.

Psalms 12:7 — Verse Psalms 12:7. Thou shalt keep them - thou shalt preserve them — Instead of the pronoun them in these clauses, several MSS., with the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Arabic, have us. The sense is equally good in both readings. God did bring forth the Israelites

Psalms 18:6 — hope of his destruction unless God should abandon him. They hoped that this was the case, and that therefore they should prevail. But God heard his cry and came down to his help; and this interference is most majestically described in the Psalms 18:7 and following verses. Dr. Dodd has collected some excellent observations on these verses from Chandler, Delaney, and others, which I shall transcribe, as I know not that any thing better can be offered on the subject.

Psalms 27:7 — Verse Psalms 27:7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry — This is the utmost that any man of common sense can expect - to be heard when he cries. But there are multitudes who suppose God will bless them whether they cry or not; and there are others, and not a few, who although they listlessly pray and cry not, yet imagine God must and will hear them! God will answer them that pray and cry; those who do not are most likely to be without the blessings which they so much need.

Psalms 46:7 — Verse Psalms 46:7. The Lord of hosts is with us — We, feeble Jews, were but a handful of men; but the Lord of hosts - the God of armies, was on our side. Him none could attack with hope of success, and his legions could not be over-thrown.The God of Jacob — The God who appeared to Jacob in his distress, and saved him out of all his troubles, appeared also for us his descendants, and has amply proved to us that he has not forgotten his covenant.

Psalms 47:7 — Verse Psalms 47:7. For God is the King of all the earth — He is not your King only, but the King of the universe. He has no limited power, no confined dominion.Sing ye praises with understanding — זמרו משכיל zammeru maskil, sing an instructive song. Let

Psalms 52:3 — the power to do evil.2. His tongue devised, studied, planned, and spoke mischiefs.3. He was a deceitful worker.4. He loved evil and not good.5. He loved lying; his delight was in falsity.6. Every word that tended to the destruction of others he loved.7. His tongue was deceitful; he pretended friendship while his heart was full of enmity, Psalms 52:1-4. Now behold the punishment: -

Psalms 58:3 — Verse Psalms 58:3. The wicked are estranged from the womb — "This," says Dr. Kennicott, "and the next two verses, I take to be the answer of Jehovah to the question in the two first verses, as the Psalms 58:6, Psalms 58:7, and Psalms 58:8, are the answer of the psalmist, and the remainder contains the decree of Jehovah." He calls these wicked men, men who had been always wicked, originally and naturally bad, and brought up in falsehood, flattery, and lying. The part

Psalms 7:3 — Verse Psalms 7:3. If I have done this — David was accused by Saul of affecting the kingdom; and of waiting for an opportunity to take away the life of his king, his patron, and his friend. In his application to God he refers to these charges; meets them with indignation; and clears himself of them by a strong appeal to his Judge; and an imprecation that, if he had meditated or designed any such thing, he might meet with nothing but curse and calamity either from God or man.