the second table of the law; and by all brought de-
struction upon themselves, which was near at hand,
and would certainly come, as here threatened; though
they promised themselves peace, and expected assist-
ance from neighbouring nations, but in vain, having
made the Lord their enemy, by breaking his. laws:
though [ have redeemed them; out of Egypt formerly,
and out of the hands of the Moabites, Ammonites,
Phillstines, and others, in the times of the judges; and
more lately in the times of Joash and Jeroboam the se-
cond, who recovered many cities out of the hands of
the Syrians. Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret
this of the good disposition of God towards them,
having it in his heart 'to redeem them now from their
present afflictions and distresses, but that they were so
impious and wicked, and so unfaithful to him: yet
the!/have spoken lies against me , against his being and
providence, being atheistically inclined; or pretending
repentance for their sins, when they were hypocrites,
and returned to their former courses; or setting up
idols in opposition to him, which were vanity to him;
attributing all their good thingi to them, and charging
him with all their evils. Abendana reads the words
interrogatively, should I redeem them, when they have
spolcen lies against me t ? no, I will not.
Ver. 14. And the?! have not cried unto me with thcir
heart, &c.] In their distress, indeed, they cried unto
the Lord, and said they repented of their sins, and
promised reformation, and made a shew of worshipping
God; as invocation is sometimes put for the whole
worship of God; but then this was not heartily, but
hypocritically; their hearts and their mouths did not
go together, anti therefore was not reckoned prayer;
nothing but howling, as follows: when the?/howled
upon their beds; lying sick or wounded there; or, as
some, in their idol-temples, those beds of adultery,
where they pretended to worship God by them, and to
pray to him through them; but such idolstrous prayers
were no better than the howlings of clogs to him; even
though they expressed outwardly their cries with great
vehemency, as the word used denotes, having one letter
more in it than common: tltey assemble themselves for
corn and wine: either at their banquets, to feast upon
them, as Aben Ezra; or to the markets, to buy them.
as Kimchi suggests; or rather to their idol-ten,ples, to
deprecate a famine, and to pray for rain and fruitful
seasons; or if they g:tther together to pray to the
Lord, it is only for carnal and worl,lly things; they
only seek themselves, and their own interest, and not
the glory of God, and ask for these things, to consume
them on their lust. The Septuagint version is, for
corn and wine they were cut, or cut themselves, as Baal's
priests did, whe, they cried to him, 1 Kings xviii. 28.
and Theodoret here observes, that they performed the
Heathen rites, and in idol-temples made incisions on
their bodies: and they rebel against me: not only flee
from him. transgt'ess his laws. but cast off' all allegiance
to him. and take up arms, and commit hostilities
against him. The Targum joins this with the pre-
ceding Clause, "because of the multitude of corn and
"wine which they have gathered. they have rebelled
"against my word ;" and to the saute sense Jarchi;
thus, Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked.
Vet. 15. 1'hough 1 have bound and strengthened their
arms, &c,] As a surgeon sets a broken arm. and swathes
and binds it, and so restores it to its former strength.
or at least to a goo{l degree of strength again, so the
Lord deaIt with Israel; tht'ir arms were broken, and
their strength weakened, and they greatly distressed
and reduced by the Syrians in the times of Jehoahaz;
but they were brought into a better state and condition
in the times of Joash and Jeroboam the second; the
former retook several cities out of the hands of the
Syrians, and the latter restored the border of Israel,
and greatly entargetl it; anti as all this was done through
the .blessing of divine Proviolence, the Lord is said to
do it himself. Some render it, though I have chas-
tised, I have strengthened their arms {}; though he cor-
rected them for their sins in the times of Jehoahaz, and
suffered their arms to be broken by their enemies, for
their instruction, and in order to bring them to re-
pentance for their sins; yet he strengthened them again
in the following reigns: yet do they imagine ndschie. f
against me; so ungaateful were they, they contrived
to do hurt 16 his prophets that were sent to them in
his name, to warn them of their sins and danger, and
exhort them to repent, and forsake their 'idolatrous
worship, and other sins; and they sought by all means
to dishonour the name of the Lord, by imputing
their success in the reigns of Joash and Jeroboam to
their idols, and not nnto him; arid so hardened them-
selves against him, and in their evil ways.
Ver. 16. T'hey retttrn, but not to the most High, &c.]
To F. gypt, and not to Jerusalem, and the temple there,
and the worship of it; to their idols, and not to him
whose name alone is Jehovah, and is the most High
a11 the earth, the God of gods, and Lord of lords, and
King of kings; though they made some feint as if they
wouid return, and did begin, and take some steps
towards repentance and reformation; but then they
presently fell back again, as in Jehu's time, and did
not go on to make a thorough retbrmation; nor re-
turned to God alone, and to his pure worship they pre-
:ended to, and ought to have done: or, not on high,
upu,ards, above {w}; their affections and desires are not
after things above; they don't look upwards to God in
heaven for help and assistance, but to men and things
on earth, on which all their affection and dependence
are placed: thc!l are like a deceitful bow; which misses
the mark it is directed. to; which being designed to
send its arrow one way, causes it to go the reverse; or
its arrow returns upon the archer, or drops at his feet;
so these people deviated from the law of God, acted
contrary to their profession and promises, and relapsed
into their former idolatries and irapieties, and sunk
into earth and earthly things; see Psul. ixxviii..57:
their princes shall fall by the sword: either of their con-
spirators, as Zachariah, Shallum, Pekahiah, and Pekah;
or by the sword of the Assynans, as Hoshea, and the
princes with him, by Salmaneser; for the rage oftheir

{t} \^Mdpa yknaw\^ "& ego redimerem eos?" so some in Rivet.
{u} \^Mtewrz ytqzx ytroy ynaw\^ "castigavi", Junius & Tremellius, Pis-
cator, Vatablus, Cocceius, Tarnovius.
{w} \^le al\^ "non supra", Montanus; "non sursum", De Dieu, Gussetius;
"non erecte", Cocceius.