Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 10:10 — Verse 1 Kings 10:10. A hundred and twenty talents of gold — The worth of these one hundred and twenty talents of gold, according to Mr. Reynolds, is equal to £843,905. 10s. 4 3/4d. of our British sterling. But the spices and precious stones might have been yet of more value. After this verse the 13th should be read, which is here most evidently misplaced; and then the account of the queen of Sheba will be concluded, and that of Solomon's revenue will stand without interruption.

1 Kings 16:25 — Verse 25. Did worse than all - before him — Omri was,1. An idolater in principle;2. An idolater in practice;3. He led the people to idolatry by precept and example; and, which was that in which he did worse than all before him,4. He made statutes in favour of idolatry, and obliged the people by law to commit it.See Micah 6:16, where this seems to be intended: For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab.

1 Kings 3:28 — Verse 1 Kings 3:28. They feared the king — This decision proved that they could not impose upon him; and they were afraid to do those things which might bring them before his judgment-seat.They saw that the wisdom of God was in him — They perceived that he was taught of God, judged impartially, and could not be deceived. What was done to the other woman we are not told; justice certainly required that she should be punished for her lies and fraud.

Psalms 130:3 — Verse Psalms 130:3. If thou - shouldest mark iniquities — If thou shouldst set down every deviation in thought, word, and deed from thy holy law; and if thou shouldst call us into judgment for all our infidelities, both of heart and life; O Lord, who could stand? Who could stand such a trial, and who could stand acquitted in the judgment? This is a most solemn saying; and if we had not the doctrine that is in the next verse, who could be saved?

Psalms 77:17 — Verse Psalms 77:17. The clouds poured out water — It appears from this that there was a violent tempest at the time of the passage of the Red Sea. There was a violent storm of thunder, lightning, and rain. These three things are distinctly marked here.1. "The skies sent out a sound:" the THUNDER.2. "Thine arrows went abroad:" the LIGHTNING.3. "The clouds poured out water:" the RAIN. In the next verse we have,4. An EARTHQUAKE: "The earth trembled and shook," Psalms 77:18.

Psalms 95:3 — Verse Psalms 95:3. For the Lord is a great God — Or, "A great God is Jehovah, and a great King above all gods;" or, "God is a great King over all." The Supreme Being has three names here: אל EL, יהוה JEHOVAH, אלהים ELOHIM, and we should apply none of them to false gods. The first implies his strength; the second his being and essence; the third, his covenant relation to mankind. In public worship these are the views we should entertain of the Divine Being.

Isaiah 29:3 — Verse Isaiah 29:3. And I will camp against thee round about - "And I will encamp against thee like David"] For כדור caddur, some kind of military engine, כדוד kedavid, like David, is the reading of the Septuagint, two MSS. of Kennicott's, if not two more: but though Bishop Lowth adopts this reading, I think it harsh and unnecessary.Forts - "Towers"] For מצרת metsuroth, read מצדות metsudoth: so the Septuagint and five MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, one of them ancient, and four of De Rossi's.

Jeremiah 18:3 — Verse Jeremiah 18:3. He wrought a work on the wheels. — אל האבנים al haabnayim, upon the stones, the potter's wheel being usually made of such; the spindle of the moving stone being placed on a stone below, on which it turned, and supported the stone above, on which the vessel was manufactured, and which alone had a rotatory motion. The potter's wheel in the present day seems to differ very little from that which was in use between two and three thousand years ago.

Jeremiah 4:3 — Verse Jeremiah 4:3. Break up your fallow ground — Fallow ground is either that which, having been once tilled, has lain long uncultivated; or, ground slightly ploughed, in order to be ploughed again previously to its being sown. Ye have been long uncultivated in righteousness; let true repentance break up your fruitless and hardened hearts; and when the seed of the word of life is sown in them, take heed that worldly cares and concerns do not arise, and, like thorns, choke the good seed.

Joel 3:9 — Verse 9. Prepare war — Let all the enemies of God and of his people join together; let them even call all the tillers of the ground to their assistance, instead of labouring in the field; let every peasant become a soldier. Let them turn their agricultural implements into offensive weapons, so that the weak, being well armed, may confidently say, I am strong: yet, when thus collected and armed, Jehovah will bring down thy mighty ones; for so the clause in Joel 3:11 should be rendered.

Amos 2:4 — Verse Amos 2:4. For three transgressions of Judah — We may take the three and four here to any latitude; for this people lived in continual hostility to their God, from the days of David to the time of Uzziah, under whom Amos prophesied. Their iniquities are summed up under three general heads:1. They despised, or rejected the law of the Lord.2. They kept not his statutes.3. They followed lies, were idolaters, and followed false prophets rather than those sent by Jehovah.

Jonah 3:10 — Verse Jonah 3:10. And God saw their works — They repented, and brought forth fruits meet for repentance; works which showed that they did most earnestly repent. He therefore changed his purpose, and the city was saved. The purpose was: If the Ninevites do not

Zechariah 11:8 — high priests, Jason, Alcimus, and Menelaus; others, the three last princes of the Asmonean race, Alexander, Hyrcanus, and Antigonus.Perhaps three orders may be intended:1. The priesthood.2. The dictatorship, including the Scribes, Pharisees, &c.3. The magistracy, the great sanhedrin, and the smaller councils.These were all annihilated by the Roman conquest.

Zechariah 6:3 — Verse Zechariah 6:3. The third chariot white horses — The empire of the Greeks, founded by Alexander the Great, which destroyed the empire of the Persians.The fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. — That is party-coloured horses; or with horses, some grisled

Malachi 3:14 — Verse Malachi 3:14. Ye have said, It is vain to serve God — They strove to destroy the Divine worship; they asserted that it was vanity; that, if they performed acts of worship, they should be nothing the better; and if they abstained, they should be nothing the worse. This was their teaching to the people.Walked mournfully — Even repentance they have declared to be useless. This was a high pitch of ungodliness; but see what follows; behold the general conclusions of these reprobates-

Malachi 3:5 — Verse Malachi 3:5. I will come near to you to judgment — And what fearful cases does he get to judge! Sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, defrauders of the wages of the hireling, oppressors of widows and orphans, and perverters of the stranger and such as do not fear the Lord: a horrible crew; and the land at that time was full of them. Several were converted under the preaching of Christ and his apostles, and the rest the Romans destroyed or carried into captivity.

John 11:3 — Verse John 11:3. He whom thou lovest is sick. — Nothing could be more simple, nor more modest, than this prayer: they do not say, Come and heal him: or, Command the disease to depart even where thou art, and it will obey thee: - they content themselves with simply stating the case, and using an indirect but a most forcible argument, to induce our Lord to show forth his power and goodness: - He is sick, and thou lovest him; therefore thou canst neither abandon him, not us.

Acts 14:9 — Verse Acts 14:9. That he had faith to be healed — How did this faith come to this poor heathen? Why, by hearing the word of God preached: for it is said, the same heard Paul speak. And it appears that he credited the doctrine he heard, and believed that Jesus could, if he would, make him whole. Besides, he must have heard of the miracles which the apostles had wrought, see Acts 14:3; and this would raise his expectation of receiving a cure.

Romans 10:3 — Verse Romans 10:3. For - being ignorant of God's righteousness — Not knowing God's method of saving sinners, which is the only proper and efficient method: and going about to establish their own righteousness - seeking to procure their salvation by means of their

2 Samuel 23:3 — Verse 2 Samuel 23:3. The Rock of Israel — The Fountain whence Israel was derived.He that ruleth over men must be just — More literally, מושל באדם צדיק moshel baadam tsaddik, He that ruleth in man is the just one; or, The just one is the ruler among men.Ruling in the fear of God. — It is by God's fear that Jesus Christ rules the hearts of all his followers; and he who has not the fear of God before his eyes, can never be a Christian.