Page images
PDF
EPUB

(35)

NOTE.

Mt. ii. 23. HE SHALL BE CALLED A NAZARENE. CHRIST is spoken of by the prophets as the BRANCH. There are, in the Hebrew, seven different words of this signification, supposed to be used to designate the Saviour, the second of which is Natzer, the same as that from which the word Nazareth is derived. It more particularly expresses a branch, slip, or sprout which is tender, and requires careful preservation. The 'Nazarene' is predicted by all the larger prophets. Thus

ISAIAH speaks of Christ as a 'Rod out of the stem of Jesse,' and a Branch' out of the roots of David, ch. xi. 1, p. (48). So again, ch. liii. 2, p. (55), he was 'as a Tender Plant, and as a Root out of a dry ground:' despised of men, although the beloved of the Father.

JEREMIAH speaks of a Righteous Branch,' ch. xxiii. 5,6, p. (42). 'Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6, In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.' And in ch. xxxiii. 14-.6, p. (73), the Branch of Righteousness.' Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah. 15, In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16, In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our,' &c. EZEKIEL speaks of him as the Highest Branch of the High Cedar;' as 'a Tender One' cropped from the top of his young twigs,' planted in the mountain of the height of Israel,' ch. xvii. 22-4-see p. (55).-See the Transfiguration, Mt. xvii. 1, 2, &c., § 51.

In ZECHARIAH, The LORD of hosts' first speaks of him as My servant The BRANCH,' ch. iii. 8-10. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant The BRANCH. 9, For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10, In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under,' &c.

In the same prophet he is afterwards spoken of as 'the man whose name is The BRANCH,' and who shall bear the glory,' ch. vi. 9-15. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 10, Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniali; 11, then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12, and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 13, even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 14, And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. 15, And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me. unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God."

He is the root of David, who hath prevailed, and unto whom the praise for redemption is due, Rev. v. 5-10. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6, And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7, And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8, And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." It is Jesus, the once despised

Nazarene, who says, ch. xxii. 16, 'I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.'

MICAH I. The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concern2 ing Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is [Heb. the fulness thereof]: and let the Lord God be witness 3 against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the 4 earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep 5 place. For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusa6 lem? Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I 7 will discover the foundations thereof. And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the 8 hire of an harlot. Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like 9 the dragons, and mourning as the owls. For her wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all in the 11 house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust. away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the morning of Beth-ezel; he shall receive of you his 12 standing. For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto 13 the gate of Jerusalem. O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.

10

14

Pass ye

There

fore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath: the houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel. 15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of 16 Israel. Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.

MICAH II. Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of 2 their hand. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress [or, defraud) a man and his house, even a 3 man and his heritage. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.

4

In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lainentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turn5 ing away he hath divided our fields. Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the 6 congregation of the LORD. Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.

7

O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh up8 rightly? Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. 9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken 10 away my glory for ever. Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy If a man walking 11 you, even with a sore destruction. in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

12

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by The breaker is 13 reason of the multitude of men.

come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.

AS A ROARING LION, AND A RANGING BEAR; SO IS A WICKED RULER OVER THE POOR PEOPLE.- Prov. xxviii. 15.

(G. 14.) After the death of Herod, Joseph is again warned of God to return from Egypt; he settles at Nazareth. Matt. ii. 19-23; Luke ii. 39. At Nazareth.

19 But when-Herod -was-dead, behold, an-angel of-the-Lord ap20 peareth in a-dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and-take the young-child and his mother, and go into the-land of Israel: for they 21 are-dead which-sought the young-child's life. And he arose, andtook the young-child and his mother, and came into the-land of22 Israel. But when-he-heard that Archelaus did-reign in Judæa in-the-room of his father Herod, he-was-afraid to-go thither: notwithstanding, being-warned-of-God in a-dream, he-turned-aside into 23 the parts of Galilee: and he-came and-dwelt in a-city called Nazareth that it-might-be-fulfilled which-was-spoken by the prophets, He-shall-be-called a-Nazarene. [For Matt. iii. 1, see ? vii.] *On the return to Nazareth, Lu. ii. 39-see ADDENDA, p. 39.

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

19. angel of the Lord-see § 1, p. 3-so was Joseph encouraged to take Mary to wife, Mt. i. 20, p. 13, § 2. in a dream-see § 2, p. 13.; and pp. 33, .4.

23. Nazareth-sig. 'a branch'-see Note-Jesus

all

And when 39 they-had-performed things according-to the law of-the-Lord, they-returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.* [ch.ii.38,p.27.]

called of Nazareth,' Mk. i. 24; Lu. iv. 34, § 17-so named to Peter, Mk. xiv. 67, § 89-to the women at his resurrection, Mk. xvi. 6, § 93-by the two disciples, going to Emmaus, Lu. xxiv. 19, § 94-title on the cross, Jno. xix. 19, § 91-also Ac. ií. 22; iv. 10;

NOTES.

19. When Herod was dead. Herod died of a most, painful and loathsome disease about March, at Jericho, in the 37th year of his reign, U.C. 751, B.C. 3, and in his seventieth year. At his funeral 500 slaves or freedmen are said to have been employed in carrying the spices merely.-See ADDENDA, p. 39.

An angel of the Lord.-See Lu. i. 11, § 1, p. 3, and ver. 26, § 2, p. 9.

20. Land of Israel. The land given to Abraham and his seed for ever. It was called THE LAND OF CANAAN,' from CANAAN, the eldest son of HAM: PALESTINE,' from the Philistines; they occupied the sea coast; their ancestors were the PHILISTIM, who anciently came from Egypt: THE PROMISED LAND,' from God's covenant with Abraham, that his seed should possess it: THE LAND OF JUDAH,' from the two tribes, Judah' and Benjamin,' who remained with king Rehoboam at the revolt of the ten tribes. JUDEA was properly the south part of the land, but the term was applied to the whole land after the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. It is called the HOLY LAND,' because Jesus was born and crucified there. Herod the Great was king over all that land; but at his death, the land was divided among his three sons.-See 22 ver., But when he heard,' &c.

They are dead, &c. Both Herod and Antipater his son; though some think that the plural is here used for the singular, and that the death of Herod alone. is here intended. Mr. Manne conjectures that Antipater, the son of Herod, who at the time when Christ was born was heir-apparent to the throne, and had cruelly procured the death of his two elder brothers to clear his way to the succession, would very probably be an active instrument in seeking the destruc. tion of the new-born Jesus, and in advising to the slaughter of the infants. And as Antipater died but five days before his father, both might be referred to in these words of the angel.

22. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign. Herod having put Antipater to death in consequence of a conspiracy formed against him, of which he (Antipater) was the author, altered his will, and disposed of his dominions in the following manner. tetrarchy of Galilee and Perea to his son Antipas; the tetrarchy of Gaulonitis, Trachonitis, Batanea,

The

Paneadis, to his son Philip; and left Judæa to his eldest remaining son, Archelaus. This son inherited the bloodthirsty disposition of his father, and is properly styled the heir of Herod's cruelty. In the very beginning of his reign he massacred three thousand Jews who had behaved themselves tumultuously in the temple. Joseph's fears might well be excited, when he heard that Archelaus swayed the sceptre in Judæa; for it was a common Jewish proverb; It were better for us to be without a king, than that Archelaus should reign over us.' In the tenth year of his reign he was banished by Augustus to Vienne in Gaul, (on a complaint alleged against him by the chief of the Jews for his various cruelties), where he died. Into the parts of Galilee. Galilee was not within the government of Archelaus, but of his brother Herod Antipas. 23. Nazareth.-See § 2, p. 9, Scrip. Illus.' [That it might be fulfilled by the prophets, &c. The words here are not found in any of the books of the Old Testament; and there has been much difficulty in ascertaining the meaning of this passage. No particular prophet is meant, but the substance of what occurs in all those passages of the Old Testament, which were supposed to refer to the contempt with which Messiah should be treated. 1st. Matthew does not say, by the prophet,' as in ch. i. 22, § 2, p. 14; ii. 5, 15-see pp. 32,4; but, by the prophets,' meaning no one particularly, but the general character of the prophecies. 2nd. The leading and most prominent prophecies respecting him were, that he was to be of humble life; to be despised, and rejected.-See Is. liii. 2, 3, 7-9, 12; Ps. xxii.]

A Nazarene. The character of the people of Nazareth was such, that they were proverbially despised and contemned.--See Jno. i. 46, § 10, And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? To come from Nazareth, therefore, or to be a Nazarene, was the same as to be despised, and esteemed of low birth; to be a root out of a dry ground, having no form or comeliness: hence Jesus and his disciples were called Nazarenes in contempt. Most of the prophets spoke of Christ as a person reputed vile and despised, so that the meaning is, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken in effect by many of the prophets.'-See Is. xi. 1, p opp. Nazarene,

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

1-22 ver. The visit of the wise men was one of the most favourable opportunities for making known to the Jews the birth of Jesus. Even the malicious design of Herod was overruled for giving a knowledge of this to the great body of the teachers of the people. Let us be warned to improve our advantages by the case of those teachers, who seem to have so little profited, by that whereby those that were far off were brought nigh unto Jesus.

19-21 ver. Although the child of promise was taken into Egypt, he was not to remain there. He was to be brought up where his people had been, in the land of Israel.

22, .3 ver. Though under the especial protection of God, we are to use all prudence in escaping from needless danger, and in seeking to be free from the oppression of the wicked.

BOAST NOT THYSELF OF TO-MORROW.-Prov. xxvii. 1.

THERE IS NO WISDOM NOR UNDERSTANDING NOR COUNSEL AGAINST THE LORD.

Prov. xxi. 30.

[35

I WILL MAKE JERUSALEM HEAPS, AND A DEN OF DRAGONS; AND

GEOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

JERUSALEM, Jebus, or Salem.-The most noted city of Canaan, about 25 miles westward of Jordan, and forty east of the Mediterranean sea. First named Salem, which is by interpretation Peace.' Afterwards it was compounded of both Jebus and Salem, probably to denote that the city consisted of two parts, of which one was the old city, where . . . . . .

. the Jebusites dwelt; and the other the new city, built by David and his successors, which, for its extent, might be regarded as a new city, or new Jerusalem. All this is doubtful, but

If so, it was founded nearly 2,000 years before the b. of Christ. It is certain that it constituted one of the more powerful kingdoms of Canaan in the days of Joshua, who routed Adonizedek the king of it: but it does not appear that he reduced the city; for the Jebusites long retained possession of the fortress. It was partly given to the tribe of Judah, and partly to the Benjamites, Jos. xv. 63, As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.' xviii. 28, And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.' Not long after Joshua's death, the tribe of Judah took and burnt it, Ju. i. 8. Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.' The Jebusites rebuilt and fortified it to such a degree, that they thought their blind and lame sufficient to defend it against all David's forces. David, however, by means of Joab, made himself master of it, and changed its name to The city of David,' to signify the importance of the conquest, and to perpetuate the memory of the event.-See 1 Ch. xi. 4-8; 2 Sa. v. 6-9. He built a new city on the N. W. of the former; and a valley ran from W. to E., between the two hills of Zion on the S. and Acra on the N. Under David and Solomon this city was exceedingly enlarged. Ps. xlviii. 12..3. 12, Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. 13, Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.' For beauty and splendour it was the admiration of the world. Its magnificence was chiefly owing to the works of Solomon, who adorned it with sumptuous edifices and over against the N. E. end of Zion, on M. Moriah, i. e., The mount of Vision,' he built the temple for the worship of the true God, which has in no age been excelled in splendour.-See Sect. i. p. 8. In the height of its glory, the city was spread over four hills; viz., Moriah on the E., Acra on the N. W., Zion on the S. W., and Bezetha on the N. E. Josephus (who nowhere mentions Zion) says, The city is built upon two hills, which are opposite to each other, and a valley divides them. Of these hills, that on which is the upper city is the higher, and was called "the Citadel" by king David; but it is by us called the "Upper Market-place."-De Bell. B. v. ch. iv. Acra, on the N. W., contained the lower city: over against this was another hill, Bezetha, and parted from it by a valley, but which was afterwards filled up by the Asmoneans. On the outsides, these hills are surrounded by deep valleys, and, by reason of the precipices belonging to them on both sides, are every where impassable.' We find ten or eleven gates of it mentioned, which we suppose situated in the following manner: the sheep-gate, near to which was the sheep-market, on the north-east and northward of the temple; the fish-gate, at some considerable distance to the westward; the old gate, or gate of Damascus, still farther westward, and which is perhaps the same as the high gate of Benjamin; the gate of Ephraim, on the north-west; the valley-gate, at the west end; the dung-gate, on the south-west; east from it the fountain-gate; on the south-east corner, the water-gate; and at the east end, south of the temple, the horse gate, and the Miphkad or prisongate. The walls round Jerusalem never seem to have been above four miles and a half, if they were anciently so much. On these walls towers were built; 2 Ch. xxvi. 9, Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them; the tower of Meah on the east, of Hanaueel on the north-east, Ne. xii. 39, (and in the future restoration of Jerusalem, Hananeel is referred to, Zec.

36]

| xiv. 10.) of Hattanourim or the furnaces on the west,
and of Ophel on the south. The city had but a
moderate supply of water, and what they had was
brackish. Nor was the country around it proper for
digging wells. Solomon brought water, by an aque-
duct, from the country south of Bethlehem; the re-
mains of which pools are the wonder and admiration
of all modern travellers. In order to prevent Sen-
nacherib's army having plenty of water in the siege,
Hezekiah brought the stream of Gilion, which used
to run along the south of the city, into it, and caused
it to run straight eastward, 2 Ch. xxxii. 3, 4; (2 Ki.
XX. 20). Pilate brought water from Etam, by an
aqueduct, into the city. It is said that no trees ex-
cept rose-bushes grew there; that fire being not much
used in it, except of charcoal, there were no chimneys
in it, any more than latticed windows. Having be-
come the residence of the symbols of the divine pre-
sence, or the holy city, Jerusalem became as it were
common to all the tribes of Israel; they visited it
thrice a year at the solemn feasts; at the feast of the
passover nearly 3,000,000 of people have lodged in
it; and it was every whit as capable to lodge them
all in houses or tents, as Mecca, which contains but
about 1,000 families, is able to lodge 70,000 when the
caravans go thither. Under Rehoboam, it was taken
Under
and pillaged by Shishak, 2 Ch. xii. 2-9.
Amaziah, it was taken by Joash, king of Israel, 2 Ki.
No doubt the Assyrians took
xiv.; 2 Ch. xxv.
it in the time of Manasseh, 2 Ch. xxxiii. 11, Where-
fore the LORD brought upon them the captains of
the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh
among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and
carried him to Babylon.' Pharaoh-necho entered it;
but we do not find that he plundered it when he
made Jehoiakim king, 2 Ch. xxxvi. Nebuchadnezzar
ravaged it oftener than once. After a siege of about
two years, he committed terrible ravages, in the 11th
of Zedekiah's reign, razing the fortifications, setting
flames to the temple, and carrying away the inha
bitants to add to the population of Babylon; 2 Ki.
xxiv., xxv. ; 2 Ch. xxxvi.; Je. lii. Seventy years after-
ward they were restored, and Zorobabel began to re-
in ruins about 136 years, Nehemiah, together with
build the sacred structure. After it had lain almost
Eliashib the high-priest, and a great number of
others, repaired its walls, and it became populous, as
in former times. Alexander the Great became mas-
ter of it by the voluntary submission of the people,
and offered sacrifices in the temple. Long after,
Ptolemy took it by stratagem, and carried off 100,000
of the inhabitants to Egypt, whom he settled in
Alexandria and Cyrene. Antiochus Epiphanes ra-
vaged it, and murdered about 40,000, and sold as many
more to be slaves; and profaned the temple by sacri.
neing a swine on the altar, and making broth of its
flesh, sprinkled it all about the Holy place, and set
up the image of Jupiter in the temple. Two years
of the inhabitants. Many of the survivors left it to
after, Apollonius took it, and murdered multitudes
the Heathen and their idolatries. Judas Maccabeus
re-took it, and built a third part on the north side,
which was chiefly inhabited by artificers. Pompey
the Roman took it about sixty-three years before our
Saviour's birth. About twenty-four years after, it
was taken by Sosius the Roman, and Herod, sur-
named the Great.-See Herod,' p. 39. At the time
of our Lord, the city and temple existed in great
magnificence, having been richly beautified and ex-
tended by Herod; nevertheless it was doomed to
destruction. Of the temple, our Lord declared that
not one stone should be left upon another. - See
Sect. lxxxvi. At that time it was governed by the
Romans.

Judæa revolting from the Roman yoke, Jerusalem was besieged by Titus, captured, and totally destroyed A.D. 70, when 97.000 persons were taken prisoners, and 110,000 perished. Reflecting on its former beauty, riches, and glory, Titus could not forbear weeping, and cursing the obstinacy of the seditious Jews, who forced him, against his inclination, to destroy so magnificent a city, and such a glorious temple as was not to be paralleled in the whole world-See Sect. lxxxvi. About A.D. 130, or a little later, Adrian began a new city on the ruins of the old, (which is supposed to be the present one,) and expelled every Hebrew: he made it death for any of them to enter it; and erected a temple to Jupiter on the site of the true temple; and the name of the city was changed to

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM.-Psalm cxxii. 6.

I WILL MAKE THE CITIES OF JUDAH DESOLATE, WITHOUT AN INHABITANT.-Jer. ix. 11.

MICAH VII. 9-20. 9, I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold 10 his righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as ll the mire of the streets. In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far 12 removed. In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to 13 sea, and from mountain to mountain. Notwith

standing the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. 14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, 15 as in the days of old. According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I show unto him marvellous things.

16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, 17 their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD 18 our God, and shall fear because of thee. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because 19 he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths 20 of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

HAGGAI I. In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, 2 saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that 3 the LORD's house should be built. Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, 5 and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith 6 the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be 9 glorified, saith the LORD. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every 10 man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from ll her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

12

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their Goi, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear 13 before the LORD. Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD's message unto the people, 14 saying, I am with you, saith the LORD. And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remuant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 in the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

HAGGAL II. In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the 2 LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and 3 to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in compa4 rison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work for I 5 am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: according to

the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear 6 ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and 7 the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the 8 LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is 9 mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

10

In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the ll Loup by Haggai the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the 12 law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And 13 the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answer14 ed and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is 15 unclean. And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone 16 in the temple of the LORD: since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but 17 twenty. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye 18 turned not to me, saith the LORD. Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid, con19 sider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

20

And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying. 21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I 22 will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come 23 down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

HOSEA V. Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor. 2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, 3 though I have been a rebuker of them all. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, 0 Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is 4 defiled. They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD. 5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; 6 Judah also shall fall with them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn him7 self from them. They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children now shall a month devour them with their 8 portions. Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after 9 thee, O Benjamin. Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I 10 made known that which shall surely be. The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like 11 water. Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judg ment, because he willingly walked after the com12 mandment. Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a 13 moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of 14 your wound. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: 1, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknow. ledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

H

DANIEL VII. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and 2 told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four 3 winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one 4 from another. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart 5 was given to it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much 6 flesh. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion 7 was given to it. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burn10 ing fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were 11 opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given 12 to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their 13 lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before 14 him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and lan guages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of 16 my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made 17 me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which 18 shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the 19 kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with 20 his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was 21 more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against 22 them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall 24 tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three 25 kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times 26 and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume 27 and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve 28 and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

GENESIS XIV. And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of 2 nations; that these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and 3 the king of Bela, which is Zoar. All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the 4 salt sea. Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, 5 and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and 6 the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the 7 wilderness. And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt 8 in Hazezon-tamar. And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with 9 them in the vale of Siddim; with Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of 10 Ellasar; four kings with five. And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that 11 remained fled to the mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their 12 victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13

And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained [or, instructed] servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, 15 and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is 16 on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17

And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, 18 which is the king's dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the 19 priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, pos20 sessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy 21 hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and 22 take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven 23 and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram 24 rich: save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

All ye

ISAIAH XVIII. Woe to the land shadowing with 2 wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of balrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled [or, outspread and polished], to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden 3 down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the moun4 tains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of 5 harvest. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and 6 take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.

7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion.

« PreviousContinue »