Bible Commentaries

Psalms 104:18 — rendered “wild goats,” see the notes at Job 39:1. The word occurs elsewhere only in 1 Samuel 24:2.And the rocks for the conies - The word here “employed” - שׁפן shâphân - denotes a quadruped that chews the cud, in the manner of a hare Leviticus 11:5; Deuteronomy 14:7, and living in flocks. The rabbis render it the “coney,” or rabbit, as our translators have done. The habits of the rabbit accord with this description. The word occurs nowhere else, except in Proverbs 30:26, where it is rendered,

Psalms 110:6 — among the heathen - Among the “nations.” That is, he shall set up a kingdom, or shall rule over the nations of the earth. He shall come to execute judgment and justice, and shall apportion to people what is due to them. See the notes at Isaiah 11:3-5.He shall fill the places with the dead bodies - He shall make a great slaughter - indicative of conquest, and of the subjugation of the world to himself. It would be “as if” the bodies of the slain in battle strewed the ground, or filled the valleys

Psalms 118:8 — faithless and deceitful - God never;(4) because there are emergencies, as death, in which man cannot aid us, however faithful, kind, and friendly he may be - but there are no circumstances in this life, and none in death, where God cannot assist us; and(5) because the ability of man to help us pertains at best only to this present life - the power of God will be commensurate with eternity.

Psalms 119:45 — much to external troubles or hindrances, to being oppressed and straitened by external foes, as to internal enemies - to the servitude of sin - to the slavery of appetite and passion. Compare the notes at Romans 7:9-14. See also Job 36:16; Psalms 118:5. The margin well expresses the sense of the passage.For I seek thy precepts - I seek or endeavor to obey them. I seek them as the guide of my life. I ask nothing else to direct me.

Psalms 119:73 — Thy hands have made me - This commences a new division of the psalm, in which each verse begins with the Hebrew letter Jod (י y) - or “i” - the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, called in Matthew 5:18, “jot;” “one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” The words “thy hands have made me” are expressive of the idea that he had been formed or moulded by God - as the “hands” are the instruments by which we do anything. See the notes at

Psalms 143:1 — Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear ... - See Psalms 4:1, note; Psalms 5:1, note.In thy faithfulness answer me - That is, Show thy faithfulness to thy promises. God had made gracious promises to David (compare Psalms 89:19-37), and he now pleads that he would remember those promises, and accomplish in his behalf what he

Psalms 147:8 — causing it to be taken from the sea, carried by the clouds, and conveyed through the air to the places where it is needed, and then gently sprinkled on the earth. Compare the notes at Psalms 104:13 : “He watereth the hills from his chambers.” See also Job 5:10, note; Job 28:26, note; Job 36:27-28, notes; Job 38:28, note; Job 38:37, note.Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains - Which would be barren but for the rain. Who conveys the water thus to the very tops of the mountains, and causes it to descend

Psalms 81:7 — when he gave them his law; when he recognized them as his people; when he entered into covenant with them.I proved thee - I tried you; I tested your fidelity.At the waters of Meribah - Margin, as in Hebrew, strife. This was at Mount Horeb. Exodus 17:5-7. The trial - the proof - consisted in his bringing water from the rock, showing that he was God - that he was their God.

Psalms 92:5 — O Lord, how great are thy works! - Compare Psalms 8:3; Psalms 40:5. See also the notes at Job 11:7. The meaning here is this: The psalmist, on the Sabbath, in giving himself to meditation on the works of God, is overwhelmed with a sense of their vastness, their incomprehensible nature, and the depth of wisdom evinced,

Song of Solomon 5:1 — bidding them in the gladness of his heart Song of Solomon 3:11 partake of the banquet. So ends this day of outward festivity and supreme heart-joy. The first half of the Song of Songs is fitly closed. The second half of the poem commences Song of Solomon 5:2 with a change of tone and reaction of feeling similar to that of Song of Solomon 3:1. It terminates with the sealing Song of Solomon 8:6-7 of yet deeper love.

Song of Solomon 5:2 — of the condition and feelings of Israel during the Babylonian captivity, when the glories and privileges of Solomon’s Temple were no more, and the manifested presence of the Holy One had been withdrawn. Israel in exile seeks the Lord Song of Solomon 5:8, and will find Him again in the second temple Song of Solomon 6:3-9.I sleep, but my heart waketh - A poetical periphrasis for “I dream.” Compare the ancient saying: “Dreams are the vigils of those who slumber, hopes are waking dreams.”The voice -

Isaiah 10:25 — ‛al-tabelı̂ytām from בלה bâlâh, to wear out; to consume; to be annihilated. It means here, that his anger would terminate in the entire annihilation of their power to injure them. Such was the complete overthrow of Sennacherib by the pestilence; 2 Kings 19:35. The word used here, occurs in this form in no other place in the Hebrew Bible, though the verb is used, and other forms of the noun. “The verb,” Deuteronomy 7:4; Deuteronomy 29:5; Joshua 9:13; Nehemiah 9:21, ...“Nouns,” Ezekiel 23:43; Isaiah 38:17;

Isaiah 22:4 — - an indication of deep grief, for sorrow seeks to be alone, and grief avoids publicity and exposure.I will weep bitterly - Hebrew, ‘I will be bitter in weeping.’ Thus we speak of “bitter” sorrow, indicating excessive grief (see the note at Isaiah 15:5; compare Jeremiah 13:17; Jeremiah 14:17; Lamentations 1:16; Lamentations 2:11; Micah 1:8-9).Labour not - The sense is, ‘My grief is so great that I cannot be comforted. There are no topics of consolation that can be presented. I must be alone, and

Isaiah 28:19 — every night, until everything is swept before them.And it shall be a vexation - It shall be an object of alarm, of agitation, of distress - זועה zevâ‛âh from זוע zûa‛, “to move oneself;” to tremble with alarm; to be troubled Ecclesiastes 12:3; Daniel 5:19; Daniel 6:27; Hebrews 2:7. Here it means that the calamity would be so great that it would fill the mind with horror only to hear of it. For similar expressions denoting the effect of hearing a report of the judgments of God, see 1 Samuel 3:11; 2

Isaiah 33:6 — evidently an address to Hezekiah, and asserts that his reign would be characterized by the prevalence of piety and knowledge. This chapter abounds in sudden transitions; and it accords with its general character that when Yahweh had been addressed Isaiah 33:5, there should then be a direct address to Hezekiah.The stability - This word denotes firmness, steadiness, constancy; and means that in his times knowledge and the fear of the Lord would be settled on a firm foundation. The whole history of the virtuous

Isaiah 37:33 — probably on the northeast side of the city, and his army was destroyed there (see the notes at Isaiah 10:28 ff.)Nor shoot an arrow there - That is, nor shoot an arrow within the walls of the city.Nor come before it with shields - (See the note at Isaiah 21:5). The meaning here is, that the army should not be permitted to come before the city defended with shields, and prepared with the means of attack and defense.Nor cast a bank against it - A mound; a pile of earth thrown up in the manner of a fort to

Isaiah 62:2 — And the Gentiles shall see - (see Isaiah 11:10 :÷ come a up I father me say Isaiah 49:22; Isaiah 60:3, Isaiah 60:5, Isaiah 60:16).And all kings thy glory - (See the notes at Isaiah 49:7, Isaiah 49:23; Isaiah 52:15; Isaiah 60:3, Isaiah 60:10-11, Isaiah 60:16).And thou shalt be called by a new name - A name which shall be significant and expressive of a greatly improved

Ezekiel 4:3 — - This “sign” was not necessarily acted before the people, but may simply have been described to them as a vivid representation of the event which it foretold. “Israel” stands here for the kingdom of Judah (compare Ezekiel 3:7, Ezekiel 3:17; Ezekiel 5:4; Ezekiel 8:6). After the captivity of the ten tribes the kingdom of Judah represented the whole nation. Hence, prophets writing after this event constantly address their countrymen as the house of Israel without distinction of tribes.

Daniel 5:18 — his recovery from the dreadful malady which God had brought upon him for his pride; and as he had not humbled himself, but had pursued the same course which Nebuchadnezzar did, he had the greater reason to apprehend the judgment of heaven. See Daniel 5:22-23. Daniel here traces all the glory which Nebuchadnezzar had to “the most high God,” reminding the king that whatever honor and majesty he had he was equally indebted for it to the same source, and that he must expect a similar treatment from him.

Daniel 5:9 — is dreaded is undefined as well as awful; when we know not how to meet it, or how long it may endure, or how terrific and wide may be the sweep of its desolation?And his countenance was changed in him - Margin, “brightnesses.” See the note at Daniel 5:6.And his lords were astonied - Amazed. The Chaldee word means to perplex, disturb, trouble. They were doubtless as much perplexed and troubled as the king himself.