Bible Commentaries

Nahum 1:4 — Verse 4. He rebuketh the sea — The Red Sea, and the rivers: probably an allusion to the passage of the Red Sea and Jordan.The description of the coming of Jehovah, from the third to the sixth verse, is dreadfully majestic. Nahum 1:3-6 He is represented as controlling universal nature. The sea and the rivers are dried up, the mountains tremble, the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at his presence. Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon are withered and languish: streams of fire are poured

Habakkuk 3:16 — Verse Habakkuk 3:16. When I heard, my belly trembled — The prophet, having finished his account of the wonders done by Jehovah, in bringing their fathers from Egypt into the promised land, now returns to the desolate state of his countrymen, who are shortly to

Zechariah 12:10 — Jews themselves shall be brought into the Christian Church.1. "They shall have the spirit of grace," God will show them that he yet bears favour to them.2. They shall be excited to fervent and continual prayer for the restoration of the Divine favour.3. Christ shall be preached unto them; and they shall look upon and believe in him whom they pierced, whom they crucified at Jerusalem.4. This shall produce deep and sincere repentance; they shall mourn, and be in bitterness of soul, to think that they

Malachi 3:17 — Verse Malachi 3:17. They shall be mine — I will acknowledge them as my subjects and followers; in the day, especially, when I come to punish the wicked and reward the righteous.When I make up my jewels — סגלה segullah, my peculium, my proper treasure; that

Matthew 16:3 — Verse Matthew 16:3. The sky is red and lowering. — The signs of fair and foul weather were observed in a similar manner among the Romans, and indeed among most other people. Many treatises have been written on the subject: thus a poet: - Caeruleus pluviam denunciant,

Matthew 5:10 — suffer persecution in one form or other. As the religion of Christ gives no quarter to vice, so the vicious will give no quarter to this religion, or to its professors.For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. — That spiritual kingdom, explained Matthew 3:2, and that kingdom of glory which is its counterpart and consequence.

Mark 1:28 — Verse 28. And immediately his fame spread abroad — The miracle which he had performed was -1. great;2. evidenced much benevolence in the worker of it; and3. was very public, being wrought in the synagogue.The many who saw it published it wherever they went; and thus the fame of Christ, as an incomparable teacher, and unparalleled worker of miracles, became soon spread abroad through the land.The word,

Mark 1:4 — of the world.For the remission of sins. — Or, toward the remission - εις αφεσιν. They were to repent, and be baptized in reference to the remission of sins. REPENTANCE prepared the soul for it, and BAPTISM was the type or pledge of it. Matthew 3:2.

Mark 5:40 — Verse Mark 5:40. The father and the mother — Prudence required that they should be present, and be witnesses of the miracle.And them that were with him — That is, Peter, James, and John, Mark 5:37. It is remarkable that our Lord gave a particular preference to these three disciples, beyond all the rest, on three very important occasions:1. They were present at the transfiguration.2. At the raising of Jairus's daughter.3. At his agony in the

John 1:15 — convinced of the importance and truth of the subject, he delivered his testimony with the utmost zeal and earnestness, - saying, This is he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me - for I am no other than the voice of the crier in the wilderness, Isaiah 40:3, the forerunner of the Messiah.Was before me. — Speaking by the prophets, and warning your fathers to repent and return to God, as I now warn you; for he was before me-he was from eternity, and from him I have derived both my being and my ministry.

John 12:20 — Greeks — There are three opinions concerning these:1. That they were proselytes of the gate or covenant, who came up to worship the true God at this feast.2. That they were real Jews, who lived in Grecian provinces, and spoke the Greek language.3. That they were mere Gentiles, who never knew the true God: and hearing of the fame of the temple, or the miracles of our Lord, came to offer sacrifices to Jehovah, and to worship him according to the manner of the people of that land. This was not

John 3:12 — Verse John 3:12. If I have told you earthly things — If, after I have illustrated this new birth by a most expressive metaphor taken from earthly things, and after all you believe not; how can you believe, should I tell you of heavenly things, in such language

John 3:29 — place. John considers himself as standing in this relation to the Lord Jesus, while espousing human nature, and converting souls to himself: this is the meaning of standeth by, i.e. ready to serve. See the observations at the end of the chapter. John 3:36.

John 3:9 — Verse John 3:9. How can these things be? — Our Lord had very plainly told him how these things could be, and illustrated the new birth by one of the most proper similes that could be chosen; but so intent was this great man an making every thing submit to

John 5:33 — Verse 33. Ye sent unto John — I am not without human testimony of the most respectable kind:-Ye sent to John, and he bare witness. There are several circumstances in John's character which render his testimony unexceptionable.1. He is consulted by the

Acts 7:7 — — κρινωεγω, I will punish, for in this sense the Greek word is frequently taken. "When," says Bp. Pearce, "a malefactor is brought before a judge, the judge does three things:1. he tries or judges him;2. he then gives his judgment or sentence; and,3. he puts the law in execution, and punishes him.Hence κρινω, at different times, signifies each of these things; and the sense of the word is to be determined by the context. Here it signifies to punish, as κριμα is used for punishment, in Romans 13:2;

Romans 3:9 — Verse Romans 3:9. JEW. What then? — After all, have not we Jews a better claim to the privileges of the kingdom of God than the Gentiles have?APOSTLE. No, in no wise — For I have already proved that both Jews and Gentiles are under the guilt of sin; that

Galatians 3:22 — of the glory of God; and, being tried and found guilty, συνεκλεισεν ἡ γραφη, the Scripture hath shut them up-put them in prison, and locked them up, till the time should come in which the sentence of the law should be executed upon them: (See Romans 3:9-20, and the notes there; and particularly Romans 11:32, where the apostle uses the same metaphor, and which in the note is particularly explained.)That the promise of justification, by faith of Jesus Christ, might be given to them that believe.

Galatians 4:3 — Verse Galatians 4:3. Even so we — The whole Jewish people were in a state of nonage while under the law.The elements of the world — A mere Jewish phrase, יסודי עולם הזה yesodey olam hazzeh, "the principles of this world;" that is, the rudiments or principles

1 Timothy 2:14 — the hand of his wife; he knew he was transgressing, he was not deceived; however, she led the way, and in consequence of this she was subjected to the domination of her husband: Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee; Genesis 3:16. There is a Greek verse, but it is not English law, that speaks a language nearly similar to that above:- Γυναικι δ' αρχειν ου διδωσιν ἡ φυσις. For nature suffers not a woman's rule. God has not only rendered her unfit for it, but he has subjected