45 Thou hast made us as the "offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people. 46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. 47 "Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction. 48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission, 50 Till the LORD look down, and behold from heaven. 51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart "because of all the daughters of my city. 52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause. 56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. 57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. 58 O LORD, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. 59 O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. 60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. 61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me; 62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. 63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick. 64 Render unto them a recompence, 53 They have cut off my life in the dun-O LORD, according to the work of their geon, and cast a stone upon me. 54 Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off. 55 I called upon thy name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon. 15 1 Cor. 4. 13. 17 Isa. 24.17. 18 Heb. my soul. hands. 65 Give them "sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. 66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD. 19 Or, more than all. 20 Or, obstinacy of heart. 21 Psal. 8. 3. Verse 10. "A bear lying in wait."-As the bear does not, like the lion and other animals of the feline race, spring forth from its secret covert upon its prey, the fact of its lying in wait has not been so much noticed. It is true however that the bear remains in ambush in some suitable place, as under a thicket, or on the skirts of a wood, and there waits patiently till an unwary passenger, or some other victim, not only appears, but seems to be off his guard, and then steals in silence upon him. If the intended human victim discovers the bear's approach, the animal will seldom persevere in its design, but withdraws sulkily to its covert, frequently looking back as if expecting to be pursued. That the bear comes suddenly upon the unwary, without its approach having been noticed, has been frequently mentioned. but it has not so often been stated, which, however, is obvious, that it had previously been on the watch for the favour able moment. Compare Lewis and Clarke's 'Travels, vol. i. p. 362, with various anecdotes in the Third Voyage of William Barents,' in Harris's Collection, p. 552, &c. 13. "The arrows of his quiver."-Literally, "the sons of his quiver." It is thus frequent in Hebrew, and indeed in most Oriental languages, to call the subject, adjunct, accident, effect, &c., the son or daughter of the object, place, eircumstance, or feeling. (See chap. ii. 18.) Perhaps, in the present instance, there is, as Aben Ezra conjectures, a more definite comparison of the quiver to a pregnant woman-the arrows being then properly the "sons" of its womb. This comparison is very natural, and is not unknown in classical poetry. Thus Horace (lib. i. Ode 22): "The man, who knows not guilty fear, The quiver, teeming with the poison'd dart."-FRANCIS. the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. 4 The tongue of the sucking child cleareth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them. 5 They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills. 6 For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. 7 Her Nazarites were purer than snow 1 Or, sea-calves. 2 Or, iniquity. 3 Gen. 19, 25, L they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire : 8 Their visage is 'blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. 9 They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. 10 The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their 'meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11 The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof. 12 The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem. 13 For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, 14 They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments. this 15 They cried unto them, Depart ye; it | Heb. darker than blackness. is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there. 16 The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders. 17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us. 18 They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come. 19 Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness. 20 The "breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen. 21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked. 22 The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins. 5 Heb. flow out. Verse 3. "Even the sea-monsters... give suck to their young ones."-The word here rendered "sea-monsters" )תנין tannin) is the same that is translated "great whales" in Gen. i. We there observed that it seemed to include all the mammiferous animals of the deep; and the truth of that observation is established by the present text. All the creatures of this class suckle their young ones, and exhibit the greatest attachment to them, encountering any danger in their defence. The cerebral hemispheres in cetaceous animals are large and well developed; and, whether from or other causes, they far exceed the other inhabitants of the sea in sagacity, as well as in maternal tenderness. 1. " Her Nazarites," &c. The word נזר nazar means to separate, set apart, distinguish, from the common. Hence it gave a title to the Nazarites, who were separated and distinguished by a religious vow; but it also applies to nobles, chiefs, and others, distinguished from the mass of the people by their dignity or rank. The context commonly distinguishes the sense in which the term is to be understood. In the present instance it does not so very clearly; but it seems more properly to refer to the nobles and persons delicately brought up, than to the religious Nazarites. "Their polishing was of sapphire." This is not very easily understood, nor is it clear how the sense of "to polish" should be assigned to the word גזר gazar. Its usual meaning is to divide or intersect; and as the veins thus intersect the body, and moreover present a blue appearance, which is considered beautiful, and may be compared in colour to the sapphire, Braunius, and, after him, Blayney, Boothroyd, and others, think the veins must be intended, translating-"Their veining was that of sapphires." Chaldeans. 20. The breath of our nostrils, &c.--This doubtless refers to the king Zedekiah, whose flight was intercepted by the "Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen." - The word rendered "heathen" )גיםom) means nations and peoples in the widest sense; and also, in the more restricted, of foreign nations, as distinguished from the Jews. It is probably here to be understood of "nations" indefinitely; and would then suggest that the Hebrews, in expecting to live under their king's shadow among the nations, had hoped, to the last, that their distinct political existence, as one among the nations, under their own king, would be preserved, as it had been on former occasions, whatever else might happen to them. VOL. III. P 105 CHAPTER V. A pitiful complaint of Zion in prayer unto God. REMEMBER, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. 2 Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 3 We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows. 4 We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us. 5 Our necks are under persecution: we labour, and have no rest. 6 We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. 8 Servants have ruled over us: there is none that doth deliver us out of their hand. 9 We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilder ness. 10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the 'terrible famine. 1 Heb cometh for price. 2 Heb. on our necks are we persecuted. • Heb. the crown of our head is fallen. 11 They ravished the women in Zion, and the maids in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes are hanged up by their hand: the faces of elders were not honoured. 13 They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood. 14 The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their musick. 15 The joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. 16 "The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! 17 For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim. 18 Because of the mountain of Zion, whica is desolate, the foxes walk upon it. 19 Thou, O LORD, 'remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. 20 Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? 21 Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. 22 "But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us. 8 Jer. 31. 29. Ezek. 18.2. Psal. 119. 83. 5 Or, terrors, or, storms. 7 Psal. 9. 7, and 29. 10, and 102. 12, and 145. 13. 8 Heb. for length of days. 9 Jer. 31. 18. 10 Or, For wilt thou utterly reject us? Verse 4. "We have drunken our water for money." -- In the East all water, except at a private well or fountain, is free; but it is so far bought, that householders, who have no supply of water close at hand, are necessarily obliged to pay per sons for the labour of bringing it, as often as wanted, to their houses, unless this is done by members or servants of the family. Such payment can scarcely be supposed the present subject of complaint, since it is voluntary, and may be avoided by those who choose rather to labour than pay the price of labour. If the prophet speaks of Jerusalem, or places in its neighbourhood, we know that there were no streams or rivers which furnished a constant and full supply of water, the most considerable being dry for a great part of the year. It appears that the supply was, in summer at least. derived from wells, fountains, and pools, which were free to the people, as appears from many passages of Scripture. The most obvious explanation of this passage is therefore to suppose that the Chaldeans took possession of those sources of supply, and required payment from the persons who applied for water. This may have been a measure either of gain or precaution, or both: but it does appear, from the frequent mention of suffering from thirst, here and in the prophecy, that a drought at this time prevailed: and this fact will perhaps, better than anything else, supply the required explanation; for the Chaldeans, or any other ruling power, would naturally under such circumstances take possession of the existing public supply of water, and sell it to the mass of the people, to ensure a diminished consumption. "Our wood is sold unto us." -This is less remarkable than that, as the complaint implies, their wood should not previously have been sold to them. It appears, however, that the woods in Israel were anciently common to the inhabit ants; so that those persons who lived in towns or villages, the vicinity of which did not supply them with sufficient wood for fuel or other purposes, might obtain what they required from the common forests and wooded places. The Jews allege a regulation of Joshua to this effect. Thus they had nothing to pay for wood, unless they saw fit to employ others to perform for them the service of cutting the wood and bringing it to their homes. It may therefore be conjectured that the Chaldeans, coming from a country where wood was scarce and costly, did not understand this state of things, but appropriated the forests as royal property, and obliged the remaining inhabitants to pay for the wood they required. Some conjecture that this verse, if not the whole chapter, applies to the condition of the Jews in captivity at Babylon. If so, they most certainly had to pay, for the wood they needed there, a price which must have seemed to them enormous. The condition of that country with respect to wood seems, from the ancient historians, to have been then much the same as at present. The fuel chiefly consists of brushwood, with which the rivers are in some parts very thickly lined. It is cut down by men who make it their employment, and who convey it to the towns for sale in clumsy boats laden half mast high. On account of the distance from which it is brought, and the time and labour employed in cutting it down and transporting it, such a price is required from the consumer as renders it, although very sparingly used, one of the most costly articles of domestic consumption in the country. It is sold by weight, and the sellers are notorious for fraudulence in their dealings. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, 3 The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him. 4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7 And their feet were 'straight feet; the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. 8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. 9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were 'stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their 'rings were full of eyes round about them four. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. 23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered 1 Heb. captivity. Heb. Jehezkel. 3 Heb, catching itself. on that side, their bodies. Heb. a straight foot. 5 Or, divided above. 6 Or, strakes. 8 Or, of life. |