Bible Commentaries

Nehemiah 4:7-14 — (Nehemiah 4:9). (3) He set armed men at "the lowest parts," i.e., places were the walls might be most easily attacked (Nehemiah 4:13). (4) He brought in the Jews with their families from the outlying areas, armed them and kept them overnight in the city. (5) He stationed armed men throughout the city near the construction workers. (6) He kept a close eye himself upon the situation. (7) He kept a trumpeter by his side, so that in case of an attack, he could promptly order all hands to repel it (Nehemiah

Job 14:1-6 — had not come; the apostles had not yet lived. And although Job recognized the fact of countless troubles, he might not have known why. Paul tells us why. "By one man, sin entered the world, and death by sin; so that death passed upon all men" (Romans 5:12). Also, that Evil One who engineered the entry of death into our mortal life through that `one man,' Adam, was also the architect of all those evils that came upon Job. Although Job mentions human misery and suffering here, "His emphasis in this

Job 18:5-21 — As they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, And this is the place of him that knoweth not God." "Bildad here painted a dark picture of the fate of the wicked."International Critical Commentary, Job, p. 157. The only thing wrong with it was that it bore no resemblance to the truth. How could he have thought that, "The remembrance of the wicked shall perish from the earth" (Job 18:17)? Even a fool should have known that the extremely wicked make up the

Psalms 118:21-24 — builders, ignorant of the head architect's plans, had put to one side, as having no place in the building, but was found afterwards to be that on which the completeness of the structure depended, as the chief corner stone"!The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 15-B, p. 356. (2)    The second fulfillment and the Great One was in Jesus Christ who applied the words to himself. Did ye never read the scriptures? The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This

Psalms 31:1-8 — preventing his use of a sword or other weapon of defense, while they closed in upon him and destroyed him. David felt that the evil plot laid against him by Saul was the equivalent of just such a device. "Into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Psalms 31:5). Our Lord himself made these the last of his seven words from the Cross, adding only the word "Father," at the beginning (Luke 23:46). However, quite unlike the verse quoted from Psalms 22 on that same occasion, we cannot believe that Jesus' use of

Psalms 80:1-7 — two prayers here (Psalms 80:1-3 and Psalms 80:4-7), but there are similarities. God is petitioned for salvation in both; He is requested to "Turn us again" in both (Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7); and the reference to the Aaronic blessings of Numbers 6:25, "Cause thy face to shine," is in both (Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7). The problem in these verses is the mention of Ephraim and Manasseh and Benjamin with no specific reference to any other of the tribes of Israel. Some have made this the basis of supposing

Proverbs 2:1-8 — upright; He is a shield to them that walk in integrity; That he may guard the paths of justice, And preserve the way of his saints." "My son" "This address occurs thirteen times in the first seven chapters of Proverbs,"Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 559. not only indicating the unity of this section, but also revealing the format here as a succession of speeches to a young person by some teacher. "Incline thine ear to wisdom… thy heart to understanding" The use of the words wisdom and understanding

Proverbs 3:21-35 — or depart from thine eyes. Therefore a constant guard must be posted against such a disaster. "Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely" "Here it becomes very clear that wisdom means walking with God,"Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, op. cit., p. 65. doing his will, keeping his commandments, and doing so continually. Lawton reminds us that, "No wisdom is sound that is not taught in the Word of God. Some kinds of wisdom highly esteemed in the world are not merely useless, but folly."George Lawson's

Isaiah 53:1-3 — behind obscurity, poverty, humiliation, misery, and shame; and this is the great example that "God's thoughts and God's ways are as much higher than those of men as the heavens are higher than the earth," as Isaiah would more fully elaborate in Isaiah 55:8. In Isaiah 53:1, the language suggests that "no one" believed the report, or hearkened to the Word of God; but the apostle Paul's word shows that the statements here are hyperbole; for he said, "Not all hearkened to the good tidings" (Romans 10:16).

Jeremiah 18:5-10 — conditional, that the condition in every case must be assumed, whether stated or not; that condition being that the forgiven man continues in faith and obedience."Richard C. Trench, Notes on the Parables (Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953), p. 164. Upon the authority of the apostle Paul, we find another analogy in the potter's house, namely, that if the potter cannot make the vessel he intended out of the clay, he has the power to make another vessel, a vessel unto dishonor, instead

Jeremiah 23:1-4 — Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 441. Judicial hardening, for example, is done by God, and by Satan, and by men themselves. In the New Testament the crucifixion of Christ is said to have been done by (1) God; (2) by Christ; (3) by Satan; (4) by the Jews; (5) by the Romans, etc. "The remnant of my flock out of all the countries… and will bring them to their fold" This is a prophecy of the return of the righteous remnant from Babylon to Canaan, which in time, of course, duly came to pass; but there

Ezekiel 22:6-12 — observation of McFadyen here: "Although most of the evils listed here are social wrongs, it is significant that the low morality is traced to false religion."J. E. McFadyen, Peake's Commentary on the Bible (London: T.C. and E.C. Jack, Ltd., 1924),, p. 512. Amen! The false notion that the prophets of God were concerned only with social wrongs has made many of the comments of radical critics worthless, because, "All sin, in the final analysis, is nothing but a failure on the part of men to maintain the

Amos 7:17 — of youth, partition of property among the victors, and exile of the leaders were all part of the ordinary treatment of a conquered people by the victorious invaders."Hughell E.W. Fosbroke, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VI (New York: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 837. It is not necessary to assume that Amaziah's wife willingly became a harlot of the city, although some have assumed that she did. What seems more likely is that, violated by the soldiers of Assyria, and left behind with the residue of the

Amos 8:9 — "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in a clear day." This is Amos' answer to the question propounded by the dishonest traders in Amos 8:5, "When will the new moon... and the sabbath… be gone?" Very well, the answer was: "At that time when the sun goes down at noon, and the earth is darkened in a clear day," an undeniable reference to the crucifixion of the Son of God, that being

Micah 3:5 — "Thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that make my people to err: that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and whoso putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him." These verses (Micah 3:5-8) were directed principally against the reprobate priesthood and the false prophets associated with them. In later centuries, after the captivity and prior to the coming of Christ, there were indeed, here and there, a few righteous men to be found

Matthew 12:40 — the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The use of "whale" in this verse is in error; the Greek word is "sea-monster," as a glance at the English Revised Version (1885) margin will show; not that there is any essential difference, for the Bible states that "God prepared" a great fish (Jonah 1:17). In the book of Jonah is related also how God "prepared" a gourd (Jonah 4:6), a worm (Jonah 4:7), and

Mark 4:26-29 — E. B. Cranfield, op. cit., p. 168. Barnes, with reservations, made it the death of Christians: "As soon as he is prepared for heaven, he is taken there."Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1955), Mark-Luke, p. 344. McMillan viewed the harvest as then present at the time Christ spoke: "Harvest has come. The seed which God planted in Israel many generations past has now come to full fruit and is waiting to be gathered."Earle McMillan,

Ruth 3:6-13 — Ezekiel 16:8; and Morris tells us that such a method of proposing marriage, "still exists among some modern Arabs."Ibid., 289. "Skirt" "The same word in the plural is translated "wings" in Boaz' prayer (Ruth 2:12),"The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 2, p. 845. where he speaks of "Jehovah, under whose wings thou (Ruth) art come to take refuge." The metaphor comes from the protection that a mother hen provides for her chickens. Perhaps the connection intended by this resemblance is that, Boaz' spreading his

1 Samuel 25:23-31 — was a violation of God's law; and, in context, they were a reproof of David's intentions. Concerning those intentions, our abbreviated account does not tell us how Nabal's young men knew that evil was determined against Nabal and his house (1 Samuel 25:17), nor how Abigail was certainly aware of it here. Abigail's skillful warning here had the desired effect. "Never was such an admonition better given or better received. Abigail was a wise reprover of David's passion, and he gave an obedient ear to

2 Samuel 13:1-6 — Commentary, Revised, p. 308. That a son of David should have been so wicked as Amnon appears in this passage is actually no surprise; because, as Matthew Henry said, "Grace does not run in the blood but corruption does"!Matthew Henry's Commentary, Vol. 2., p. 507. None of David's children followed him in his devotion to God; but they followed him in his shameful sins and even went far beyond them. "Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab" We learn from 1 Chronicles 2:13 and 1 Samuel 16:9; 1 Samuel 17:13