Bible Commentaries

Jeremiah 21:2 — committed the command of the army against Egypt, at Carchemish, and against Judea, to the crown prince. according to all his wondrous works—Zedekiah hopes for God's special interposition, such as was vouchsafed to Hezekiah against Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:35; 2 Kings 19:36). he—Nebuchadnezzar. go up from us—rise up from the siege which he sat down to lay (Jeremiah 37:5; Jeremiah 37:11, Margin; Numbers 16:24; Numbers 16:27; 1 Kings 15:19, Margin).

Jeremiah 31:6 — the whole mountainous region of the ten tribes. our God—from whom we formerly revolted, but who is now our God. An earnest of that good time to come is given in the partial success of the gospel in its first preaching in Samaria (John 4:1-42; Acts 8:5-25).

Jeremiah 50:34 — justice; appropriate as God delivers His people not by mere might, but by righteousness. His plea against Satan and all their enemies is His own everlasting love, reconciling mercy and justice in the Redeemer's work and person (Micah 7:9; Zechariah 3:1-5; 1 John 2:1). give rest . . . disquiet—There is a play on the similarity of sounds in the two Hebrew verbs to express more vividly the contrast: "that He may give quiet to the land of Judah (heretofore disquieted by Babylon); but disquiet to the inhabitants

Ezekiel 30:5 — 5. the mingled people—the mercenary troops of Egypt from various lands, mostly from the interior of Africa (compare Ezekiel 27:10; Jeremiah 25:20; Jeremiah 25:24; Jeremiah 46:9; Jeremiah 46:21). Chub—the people named Kufa on the monuments [HAVERNICK], a

Hosea 11:5 — 5. He shall not return into . . . Egypt—namely, to seek help against Assyria (compare :-), as Israel lately had done ( :-), after having revolted from Assyria, to whom they had been tributary from the times of Menahem ( :-). In a figurative sense, "he

Hosea 8:5 — 5. hath cast thee off—As the ellipsis of thee is unusual, MAURER translates, "thy calf is abominable." But the antithesis to Hosea 8:3 establishes English Version, "Israel hath cast off the thing that is good"; therefore, in just retribution, "thy calf hath

Amos 1:2 — 2. will roar—as a lion ( :-). Whereas Jehovah is there represented roaring in Israel's behalf, here He roars against her (compare Psalms 18:13; Jeremiah 25:30). from Zion . . . Jerusalem—the seat of the theocracy, from which ye have revolted; not from Dan and Beth-el, the seat of your idolatrous worship of the calves. habitations . . . mourn—poetical personification. Their inhabitants shall mourn,

Amos 5:2 — the existing order of things: in the Messianic dispensation it is to rise again, according to many prophecies. Compare 2 Kings 6:23; 2 Kings 24:7, for the restricted sense of "no more." forsaken upon her land—or, "prostrated upon," c. (compare Ezekiel 29:5 Ezekiel 32:4) [MAURER].

Obadiah 1:5 — 5. The spoliation which thou shalt suffer shall not be such as that which thieves cause, bad as that is, for these when they have seized enough, or all they can get in a hurry, leave the rest—nor such as grape-gatherers cause in a vineyard, for they,

Micah 3:8 — 8. I—in contrast to the false prophets (Micah 3:5; Micah 3:7). full of power—that which "the Spirit of Jehovah" imparts for the discharge of the prophetical function (Luke 1:17; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). judgment—a sense of justice [MAURER]; as opposed to the false prophets' speaking to please men,

Micah 7:10 — her—a just retribution in kind upon the foe who had said, "Let our eye look upon Zion." Zion shall behold her foe prostrate, not with the carnal joy of revenge, but with spiritual joy in God's vindicating His own righteousness (Isaiah 66:24; Revelation 16:5-7). shall she be trodden down—herself, who had trodden down me.

Micah 7:20 — Jacob . . . Abraham—Thou shalt make good to their posterity the promise made to the patriarchs. God's promises are called "mercy," because they flow slowly from grace; "truth," because they will be surely performed (Luke 1:72; Luke 1:73; 1 Thessalonians 5:24). sworn unto our fathers— (Psalms 105:9; Psalms 105:10). The promise to Abraham is in Psalms 105:10- :; to Isaac, in Genesis 26:24; to Jacob, in Genesis 28:13. This unchangeable promise implied an engagement that the seed of the patriarchs should

Micah 7:5 — 5. Trust ye not in a friend—Faith is kept nowhere: all to a man are treacherous ( :-). When justice is perverted by the great, faith nowhere is safe. So, in gospel times of persecution, "a man's foes are they of his own household" (Matthew 10:35; Matthew

Zechariah 6:5 — 5. four spirits of the heavens—heavenly spirits who "stand before Jehovah" to receive God's commands (Zechariah 4:14; 1 Kings 22:19; Job 2:1; Luke 1:19) in heaven (of which Zion is the counterpart on earth, see on Luke 1:19- :), and proceed with chariot

Zechariah 6:8 — 8. north . . . quieted . . . my spirit—that is, caused My anger to rest ( :-, Margin; Ecclesiastes 10:4; Ezekiel 5:13; Ezekiel 16:42). Babylon alone of the four great world kingdoms had in Zechariah's time been finally punished; therefore, in its case alone does God now say His anger is satisfied; the others had as yet to expiate their sin; the fourth has still

Zechariah 8:13 — 24:9; Jeremiah 29:18); so your name shall be a formula of blessing, so that men shall say to their friend, May thy lot be as happy as that of Judah (Jeremiah 29:18- :). Including also the idea of the Jews being a source of blessing to the Gentile nations (Micah 5:7; Zephaniah 3:20). The distinct mention of "Judah" and "Israel" proves that the prophecy has not yet had its full accomplishment, as Israel (the ten tribes) has never yet been restored, though individuals of Israel returned with Judah.

Malachi 2:14 — 14. Wherefore?—Why does God reject our offerings? Lord . . . witness between thee and . . . wife—(so Genesis 31:49; Genesis 31:50). of thy youth—The Jews still marry very young, the husband often being but thirteen years of age, the wife younger (Proverbs 5:18; Isaiah 54:6). wife of thy covenant—not merely joined to thee by the marriage covenant generally, but by the covenant

Mark 5:26 — treatment, but to the much varied treatment which she underwent. and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse—pitiable case, and affectingly aggravated; emblem of our natural state as fallen creatures (Ezekiel 16:5; Ezekiel 16:6), and illustrating the worse than vanity of all human remedies for spiritual maladies (Ezekiel 16:6- :). The higher design of all our Lord's miracles of healing irresistibly suggests this way of viewing the present case, the propriety

Luke 9:54 — 54. James and John—not Peter, as we should have expected, but those "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17), who afterwards wanted to have all the highest honors of the Kingdom to themselves, and the younger of whom had been rebuked already for his exclusiveness

John 3:36 — 36. hath everlasting life—already has it. (See on John 3:18 and John 5:24). shall not see life—The contrast here is striking: The one has already a life that will endure for ever—the other not only has it not now, but shall never have it—never see it. abideth on him—It was on Him before, and not being removed in the