Ibid. —he shall in his bed: even the perfect man] This obscure sentence is reduced to a perfectly good sense, and easy construction, by an ingénious remark of Dr. Durell. He reads by mr on ɔw. Two MSS. (one of them ancient) have, singular; and so Vulg. renders it, requiescat. The verb was probably altered to make it plural, and so consistent with what follows, after the mistake had been made in the following words, by uniting 1 and into one word. See Merrick's Annotations on the Psalms, Addenda; where the reader will find, that J. S. Moerlius by the same sort of correction, and by rescuing the adjective, which had been swallowed up in another word in the same manner, has restored to a clear sense a passage before absolutely unintelligible:

כי אין חרצבות למו

תם ובריא אולם :

"For no distresses happen to them;

Perfect and firm is their strength."

Psal. lxxii. 4.

6. Among the smooth stones of the valley-] The Jews were extremely addicted to the practice of many superstitious and idolatrous rites, which the prophet here inveighs against with great vehemence. Of the worship of rude stones consecrated there are many testimonies of the ancients. They were called Bairvλot and Bairvλia; probably from the stone which Jacob erected at Bethel, pouring oil upon the top of it. The practice was very common in different ages and places. Arnobius, lib. i. gives an account of his own practice in this respect, before he became a Christian: "Si quando conspexeram lubricatum lapidem, et ex olivi unguine sordidatum; tanquam inesset vis præsens, adulabar, affabar, et beneficia poscebam nihil sentiente de trunco." Clemens Alex. Strom. lib. vii. speaks of a worshipper of every smooth stone in a proverbial way, to denote one given up to superstition. And accordingly Theophrastus has marked this as one strong feature in the character of the superstitious man: Και των λιπαρων λίθων των εν ταις τριόδοις παρίων, εκ της ληκυθου ελαιον καταχειν, και επι γονατα πεσών και προσκυνησας απαλλαττεσθαι. Passing by the anointed stones in the streets, he takes out his phial of oil, and pours it on them; and having fallen on his knees, and made his adorations, he departs."

8. Behind the door, and the door-posts, hast thou set thy memorial] That is, the image of their tutelary gods, or something dedicated to them; in direct opposition to the law of God, which commanded them to write upon the door-posts of their house, and upon their gates, the words of God's law. Deut. vi. 9. xi. 20. If they chose for them such a situation as more private, it was in defiance of a particular curse denounced in the law against the man who should make a graven or molten image, and put in a secret place. Deut. xxvii. 15. An ancient MS., with another, has, without the conjunction ..

9. And thou hast visited the king with a present of oil] That is, the king of Assyria, or Egypt. Hosea reproacheth the Israelites for the same practice:

"They make a covenant with Assyria,

And oil is carried to Egypt."

Hos. xii. 1.

It is well known, that in all parts of the east, whoever visits a great per

son must carry him a present. "It is counted uncivil," says Maundrell, p. 26. "to visit in this country without an offering in hand. All great men expect it as a tribute due to their character and authority; and look upon themselves as affronted, and indeed defrauded, when the compliment is omitted." Hence, , to visit a person, is equivalent to making him a present; and signifies a present made on such occasions; as our translators have rightly rendered it, 1 Sam. ix. 7. on which Jarchi says, "Menachem exponit quod significet oblationem sive munus, ut aliquis aspiciat faciem regis, aut alicujus magnatis."

10. Thou hast said, There is no hope] In one of the MSS. at Koningsberg collated by Lilienthal, the words are left in the text unpointed, as suspected; and in the margin, the corrector has written

. Now if we compare Jer. ii. 25. and xviii. 12. we shall find, that the subject is in both places quite the same with this of Isaiah, and the sentiment expressed, that of a desperate resolution to continue at all hazard in their idolatrous practices; the very thing that in all reason we might expect here. Probably therefore the latter is the true reading in this place.

11. —nor revolved it--] Eight MSS. (four ancient), and the two oldest editions, with another, add the conjunction 1, 1; which is confirmed by all the ancient versions.

Ibid.-and winked] Fory, which makes no good sense or construction in this place, twenty-three MSS. (seven ancient), and three editions, have by (to be thus pointed by), Tapopw, LXX; quasi non videns, Vulg. see Psal. x. 1. The truth of this reading so confirmed, admits of no doubt.

12. my righteousness] For TPTY, thy righteousness, Syr. LXX, MSS. Alex. and Pachom. and 1. D.II. and Marchal. and oi г, and Arab. read 'py, my righteousness.

13. let thine associates deliver thee] Thirty-nine MSS. (ten ancient), and the two oldest editions, have, plural.

14. Then will I say] to be pointed as the first person future;, they are the words of God, as it is plain from the conclusion of the verse; my people,

y.

15. For thus saith JEHOVAH] A MS. adds

after, and edi

tion Prag. 1518. So LXX, Alex. and Arab. An ancient MS. adds. Ibid. And with the contrite-] Twelve MSS. have, without the conjunction. “Pro forte legendum : confer Psal. cxiii. 5. et exxxviii. 6." SECKER.

16. For I will not alway-] The learned have taken a great deal of pains to little purpose on the latter part of this verse, which they suppose to be very obscure. After all their labours upon it, I think the best and easiest explication of it is given in the two following elegant passages of the Psalms, which I presume are exactly parallel to it, and very clearly express the same sentiment.

"Bat He in his tender mercy will forgive their sin;

And will not destroy them;

Yea oftentimes will be turn away his wrath,
And will not rouse up all bis indignation:
For he remembereth that they are but flesh,
A breath that passeth, and returneth not."

Psal. lxxviii. 38, 39.

"He will not always contend,

Neither will be for ever hold his wrath;

As a father yearneth towards his children,

So is JEHOVAH tenderly compassionate towards them that fear him :
For he knoweth our frame;

He remembereth that we are but dust."

Psal. ciii. 9. 13, 14.

In the former of these two passages the second line seems to be defective both in measure and sense: I suppose the word N, them, is lost at the end; which seems to be acknowledged by Chald. and Vulg. who

.ולא ישחית אותם render as if they had read

46

17. Because of his iniquity for a short time I was wroth] For wyn, I ready, paululum, à yy, abscidit; as LXX read and render it βραχυ τι Propter iniquitatem avaritiæ ejus," the rendering of Vulg. which our translators, and I believe all others follow, is surely quite beside the purpose.

19. I create the fruit of the lips ;-] "The sacrifice of praise," saith St. Paul, Heb. xiii. 15. “is the fruit of the lips." God creates this fruit of the lips, by giving new subject and cause of thanksgiving by his mercies conferred on those among his people, who acknowledge and bewail their transgressions, and return to him. The great subject of thanksgiving is peace; reconciliation and pardon offered to them that are nigh, and to them that are afar off; not only to the Jew, but also to the Gentile, as St. Paul more than once applies those terms, Eph. ii. 13, 17. See also - Acts ii. 39.

21. There is no peace, saith my God—] For, twenty-two MSS. (five ancient) read . Vulg. LXX, Alex. Arab. and three MSS., have both. This verse has reference to the 19th. The wicked and impenitent are excluded from all share in that peace above-mentioned, that reconcilement and pardon, which is promised to the penitent only. The forty-eighth chapter ends with the same declaration; to express the exclusion of the unbelievers and impenitent from the benefit of the foregoing promises.

CHAP. LVIII.

3. -afflicted our souls-] Twenty-seven MSS. (six ancient), and the old edition of 1488, have the noun in the plural number, W: and so LXX, Chald. Vulg.

4. And to smite with the fist the poor. Wherefore fast ye unto me- -] I follow the version of the LXX, which gives a much better sense than the present reading of the Hebrew. Instead of y, they seem to have read in their copy by : the four first letters are the same, but otherwise divided in regard to the words; the four last are lost, aud

added in their place, in order to make some sort of sense with yo¬. The version of the LXX is και τυπτετε πυγμαις ταπεινον· ἕνα τι μοι νη

στεύετε

7. —the wandering poor~] πтwxoνç aσTeyous, LXX ; egenos vagosque,

הנודים מרודים Chald. They read, instead of מטלטלין Vulg. and

is upon a rasure in the Bodleian MS. The same MS. reads, in domum.

8. And thy wounds shall speedily be healed] "Et cicatrix vulneris tui

cito obducetur." Aquila's version, as reported by Jerom: with which agrees that of the Chaldee.

Ibid. And the glory-] Sixteen MSS. (five ancient), and LXX, Syr. Vulg. add the conjunction, T.

10. If thou bring forth thy bread-] "To draw out thy soul to the bungry," as our translators rightly enough express the present Hebrew text, is an obscure phrase, and without example in any other place. But instead of TD, thy soul, eight MSS. (three ancient) read, thy bread, and so the Syriac renders it. The LXX express both words, rov αρτον εκ της ψυχης σου• thy bread from ily soul.

יחליף Chaldaeus forte legit »

11. And he shall renew thy strength]

. confer cap. xl. 29. 31. et xli. 1.” SECKER. Chald. "

,בחיי עלמא

"et corpus tuum vivificabit in vita æterna." The rest of the ancients seem not to know what to make of : and the rendering of the Vulgate, which seems to be the only proper one, ossa tua liberabit, makes no sense. I follow this excellent emendation: to favour which, it is still farther to be observed, that three MSS., instead of

.singular ,עצמתך have ,עצמתיך

12. to be frequented by inhabitants] To this purpose it is rendered by Syr. Sym. and Theod.

y

13. From doing thy pleasure] The LXX, Syr. and Chald. for manifestly express . So likewise a MS. has it; but with the

שבת רגליך omission of the words

Ibid. And the holy feast.] Twenty-eight MSS. (seven ancient) add the conjunction,p: and so Syr. Chald. and Vulg.

Ibid. and from speaking vain words] It is necessary to add some epithet to make out the sense: the LXX say, angry words; Chald. word. of violence. If any such epithet is lost here, the safest way is to supply it by the prophet's own expression, ver. 9. JIN 727), vain words: that is, profane, impious, injurious, &c.

"The additional epithet seems unnecessary. The Vulg. and Syr. have it not. And the sense is good without it: two ways, first by taking 7 for a noun, and 7 for the participle pahul, and rendering,

'From pursuing thy pleasure, and the thing resolved on.'

Or secondly, by supposing the force of the preposition to be continued from the verb to the verb immediately following, and ren

dering,

From executing thy pleasure, and from speaking words concerning it.' But the first seems the easier rendering." Dr. JUBB.

CHAP. LIX.

THE foregoing elegant chapter contained a severe reproof of the Jews, in particular for their hypocrisy in pretending to make themselves accepted with God, by fasting and outward humiliation without true repentance; while they still continued to oppress the poor, and to indulge their own passions and vices: with great promises however of God's favour on condition of their reformation. This chapter contains a more general

reproof of their wickedness; bloodshed, violence, falsehood, injustice. At ver. 9. they are introduced as making themselves an ample confession of their sins, and deploring their wretched state in consequence of them. On this act of humiliation a promise is given, that God, in his mercy and zeal for his people, will rescue them from this miserable condition; that the Redeemer will come like a mighty hero to deliver them: he will destroy his enemies, convert both Jews and Gentiles to himself, and give them a new covenant, and a law, which shall never be abolished.

As this chapter is remarkable for the beauty, strength, and variety of the images with which it abounds; so is it peculiarly distinguished by the elegance of the composition, and the exact construction of the sentences: from the first verse to the two last it falls regularly into stanzas of four lines, (see Prelim. Dissert. p. xxi.) which I have endeavoured to express as nearly as possible in the form of the original.

2. His face-] For ", faces, I read 1. his face. So Syr. LXX, Alex. Arab. Vulg., MS. "Forte legendum ; nam sequitur, et loquitur Deus; confer. Iviii. 14." SECKER. I rather think, that the speech of God was closed with the last chapter; and that this chapter is delivered in the person of the prophet.

3. And your tongue-] An ancient MS., and LXX, and Vulg. add the conjunction.

singular, read □ plural, with

is upon a rasure in MS. Or for singular, as it is in an an

8. Whoever goeth in them-] For LXX, Syr. Vulg. Chald. The O plural, we must read cient MS.; to preserve the grammatical concord.

10. And we wander-] I adopt here an emendation of Houbigant,

the repetition of which has a נגששה instead of the second נשגגה

poverty and inelegance extremely unworthy of the prophet, and unlike his manner. The mistake is of long standing, being prior to all the ancient versions: it was a very easy and obvious mistake; and I have little doubt of our having recovered the true reading in this ingenious correction.

11. and it is far distant from us] The conjunction must necessarily be prefixed to the verb, as Syr. Chald. Vulg. found it in their copies,

ורחקה

15. And JEHOVAH saw it, .] This third line of the stanza appears manifestly to me to be imperfect by the loss of a phrase. The reader will perhaps more perfectly conceive my idea of the matter, if I endeavour to supply the supposed defect. I imagine it might have stood originally in this manner:

וירא יהוה [ויחר לו]

וירע בעיניו כי אין משפט

"And JEHOVAH saw it, [and he was wroth ;]

And it displeased him, that there was no judgment."

We have had already many examples of mistakes of omission: this, if it be such, is very ancient, being prior to all the versions.

17. -for his clothing] nwn. -“I cannot but think, that wan is an interpolation. 1. It is in no one ancient version. 2. It is redundant in the sense, as it is before expressed in 7. 3. It makes the hemistich