Bible Commentaries

Psalms 148:6 — and systems - which have endured so many million of ages may continue to exist any number of million of ages to come. Of course, however, all this is dependent on the will of God. On the meaning of this passage, compare Psalms 119:90, note; Psalms 72:5, note; Psalms 89:2, note; Psalms 89:36-37, note. See also 2 Peter 3:7, note; 2 Peter 3:10, note; 2 Peter 3:13, note.He hath made a decree which shall not pass - He has given a law or statute which they cannot pass. The word rendered decree here seems

Ecclesiastes 9:7-12 — Read these six verses connectedly, in order to arrive at the meaning of the writer; and compare Ecclesiastes 2:1-12.After the description Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 of the portionless condition of the dead, the next thought which occurs is that the man who is prosperous and active should simply enjoy his portion all through this life Ecclesiastes 9:7-10; and then Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 follows the correcting thought

Isaiah 10:17 — And the light of Israel - That is, Yahweh. The word “light” here, אור 'ôr, is used also to denote a “fire,” or that which causes light and heat; see Ezekiel 5:2; Isaiah 44:16; Isaiah 47:14. Here it is used in the same sense, denoting that Yahweh would be “the fire” אור 'ôr that would cause the “flame” (אשׁ 'êsh) which would consume the Assyrian. Jehovah is often compared to a burning flame, or fire; Deuteronomy

Isaiah 10:6 — if, as has been supposed, the prophecy was uttered after the captivity of the ten tribes; see Isaiah 10:20. It need scarcely be remarked, that it was eminently the characteristic of the nation that they were hypocritical; compare Isaiah 9:17; Matthew 15:17; Mark 7:6.And against the people of my wrath - That is, those who were the objects of my wrath; or the people on whom I am about to pour out my indignation.To take the spoil - To plunder them.And to tread them down - Hebrew, ‘And to make them a treading

Isaiah 14:21 — pride, haughtiness, and oppression of the kings of Babylon. This is the statement of a general principle of the divine administration, that the consequences of crime often pass over from the perpetrator, and impinge on his descendants (see Exodus 20:5).That they do not rise - That they do not rise to occupy the places of their fathers; that they be degraded and reduced from their elevation and honored.Nor fill the face of the world with cities - The Septuagint renders this, ‘And fill the land with

Isaiah 17:2 — of “Aroer.” One was on the river Arnon in the land of Moab Deuteronomy 2:36; Deuteronomy 3:12; Joshua 12:3. Burckhardt found this city under the name of Aroer. There was another city of this name further north, over against Rabbath-Ammon Joshua 13:25. There was a third city of this name in the tribe of Judah 1 Samuel 30:28. Of the city of Araayr which Burckhardt visited, nothing is now remarkable but its entire desolation. Gesenius supposes (“Commentary in loc.”) that the phrase ‘the cities of Aroer’

Isaiah 26:7 — The word ‘uprightness’ in the original is in the plural number, but is often used in the sense of straightness Proverbs 23:31; Song of Solomon 7:10; of sincerity, or uprightness Song of Solomon 1:4; or of righteousness as a judge Psalms 9:9; Psalms 58:2; Psalms 99:4.Thou most upright - Evidently an address to God, as being most just, and as having now evinced his uprightness in the deliverance of his people. The same epithet is applied to him in Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalms 25:8; 92:16.Dost weigh the

Isaiah 36:10 — Rabshakeh here speaks in the name of his master; and he means to say that he had the express command of Yahweh to inflict punishment on the Jews. It is possible that there had been conveyed to Sennacherib a rumour of what Isaiah had said (see Isaiah 10:5-6) that God would bring the Assyrians upon the Jewish people to punish them for their sins, and that Rabshakeh now pleads that as his authority, in order to show them that resistance would be vain. Or it may be that he uses the name Yahweh here as synonymous

Isaiah 49:18 — country, from the north, the west, and the south, Isaiah 49:12.As I live, saith the Lord - The customary form of an oath when Yahweh swears It is a solemn assurance that the event shall as certainly occur as he has an existence (see the note at Isaiah 45:23; compare Jeremiah 22:24; Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 14:16, Ezekiel 14:18, Ezekiel 14:20; Ezekiel 16:48).Thou shalt surely clothe thee with them - Zion is here represented, as it is often elsewhere, as a female (see the note at Isaiah 1:8); and the accession

Isaiah 8:22 — find no relief, and then in despair cast their eyes to the earth to obtain help there. Yet equally in vain. The whole image is one of intense anguish brought on the nation for leaving the counselor the true God.And behold ... - see the note at Isaiah 5:30.Trouble - Anguish, oppression, צרה tsârâh, from צור tsûr, to oppress, to straiten, to afflict. This is a remarkable instance of the prophet Isaiah’s manner - of a rapid, impetuous, and bold style of utterance. He accumulates images; piles words

Jeremiah 4:4 — nature may take its place.Lest my fury ... - God is long-suffering, but unless this change take place, the time of judgment must at length come to all as it came to Jerusalem - “like fire” (compare 1 Corinthians 3:13; Philippians 2:12-13).Jeremiah 4:5-30 “God’s Judgment upon the Unrepentant”A group of prophecies now commences, extending to Jeremiah 10:25, but broken at the beginning of Jeremiah 7:0 by a new heading. The subject of them all is the same, namely, the approaching devastation of Judaea

Daniel 1:13 — Then let our countenances be looked upon - One of the “objects” to be secured by this whole trial was to promote their personal beauty, and their healthful appearance Daniel 1:4-5, and Daniel was willing that the trial should be made with reference to that, and that a judgment should be formed from the observed effect of their temperate mode of life. The Hebrew word rendered countenance (מראה mar'eh) is not limited to the “face,”

Daniel 2:20 — Scriptures, being often used to denote the person himself. It is common in the Bible to utter ascriptions of praise to God in view of important revelations, or in view of great mercies. Compare the song of Moses after the passage of the Red Sea, Exodus 15:0; the song of Deborah after the overthrow of Sisera, Judges 5:0; Isaiah 12:1-6.For wisdom, and might are his - Both these were manifested in a remarkable manner in the circumstances of this case, and therefore these were the beginnings of the song

Hosea 5:14 — yet not full-grown, with that of Judah.I, I will tear - “It is a fearful thing, to fall into the Hands of the Living God” Hebrews 10:31. The Assyrian was but the rod of God’s anger, and the staff, He says, in thine hand is His indignation” Isaiah 10:5. Whatever is done, is done or overruled by God, who gives to the evil his power to do, in an evil way, what He Himself overrules to the end of His wisdom or justice. God, Himself would tear them asunder, by giving the Assyrians power to carry them away.

Amos 6:7 — cry, which the mind cannot control, either in revelry or distress. Here it is probably, the drunken scream, or reckless cry of revelry, whose senseless shrillness is more piercing, in its way, than the scream of distress, of which Jeremiah Jeremiah 16:5 uses it. For it is the scream of the death of the soul. Amos seems to have purposely joined together similar harsh sibilants or guttural sounds in order the more to express the harshness of that scream of luxurious self-indulgence. סרוּחים מרזח mı̂rezach

Nahum 2:9 — i. e., however large the spoil, it would be but a portion only; yet all their wealth, though more than enough for the enemy and for them, could not save them. Her “glory,” was but a “weight” to weigh her down, that she should not rise again Zechariah 5:8; Exodus 15:10. Their wealth brought on the day of calamity, availed not therein, although it could not be drawn dry even by the spoiler. Jerome: “They could not spoil so much as she supplied to be spoiled.”

Zechariah 8:7 — is, the whole world; for Israel had been scattered in every part of the world.” God had said to Israel, “I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Keep not back” Isaiah 43:5-6. The two tribes had been carried to Babylon and had been dispersed, or had been allowed to migrate to the various provinces of the Babylonian or Persian empire. But these were in the East, though commonly called the north, because they invaded Israel

Matthew 5:4 — to what we cannot help: but they do not point to the true source of comfort. In the God of mercy only; in the Saviour; in the peace that flows from the hope of a better world, and there only, is there consolation, 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 2 Corinthians 5:1. Those that mourn thus shall be comforted. So those that grieve over sin; that sorrow that they have committed it, and are afflicted and wounded that they have offended God, shall find comfort in the gospel. Through the merciful Saviour those sins

Matthew 5:42 — is better to give sometimes to an undeserving person than to turn away one who is really in need. It is good to be in the habit of giving. At the same time, the rule must be interpreted so as to be consistent with our duty to our families 1 Timothy 5:8 and with other objects of justice and charity. It is seldom, perhaps never, good to give to a person who is able to work, 2 Thessalonians 3:10. To give to such is to encourage laziness, and to support the idle at the expense of the industrious. If

Matthew 6:30 — sand, warmed with the heat of the sun. They constructed, also, movable ovens made of clay, brick, or plates of iron. But the most common kind, and the one here probably referred to, was made by excavating the ground 2 1/2 feet in diameter, and from 5 to 6 feet deep. This kind of oven still exists in Persia. The bottom was paved with stones. It was heated by putting wood or dry grass into the oven, and, when heated, the ashes were removed and the bread was placed on the heated stones. Frequently,