Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_300.lzh/6_394.TXT

Text File | 1994-09-06 | 7KB | 126 lines

Some render it, they thieveo; or act the part of thieves
and robbers: and the Targum, "they beget sons of
"their neighhours' wives ;" and so Abarbinel interprets
it of breaking through the hedge of another man's
wife; but these sins are observed before: and blood
tonebeth blood; which some understand of sins in
general, so called, because filthy and abominable; and
of the addition and multiplication of them, there being
as it were heaps of them, or rather a chain of them
linked together. So the Targum, "and they add sins
"to sins." Others interpret it of impure mixtureS, of
incestuous lusts, or marriages contrary to the ties of
blood, and laws of consanguinity, Lev. xviii..6. gzek.
xxii. 11. or rather it is to be understood of the great
effusion of blood, and. frequency of murders; so that
there was scarce any interval between them, but a
continued series of them. Some think respect is had
to the frequent slaughter of their kings; Zachariah the
son of Jeroboam was slain by Shallurn, when he had
reigned but six months;.and Shailum was slain by
Menahem when he had reigned but one month; and
this Menahem was a murderer of many, smote many
places, and ripped up the women with-child; Pckahiah
his son was killed by Pekah the son of Reinaliah, and
he again by Hoshea, c2 Kings xv. 8, 10, 13, 14, 16,
c25, 30.
VeT. 3. Therefore shall the land mourn, &c.] Be-
cause of the calamities on it, the devastations made in
it; nothing growing upon it, through a violent drought;
or the grass and corn being trodden down, or eaten up,
by a foreign army: and every one that dwelleth therein
shall languish; that is, every man, an inhabitant
thereof, shall become weak, languish away, and die
through wounds received by the enemy; or for want
of food, or being infected with the wasting and de-
stroying pestilence: with the beasts of the field, and
with thefowls of heaven; the one shall die in the field
tbr want of grass to eat, and the other shall drop to
the earth through the infection of the air: yea, the
fishes of the sea also shall be talcen away; or gathered P;
to some other place, so as to disappear; or they shall
be consumed and die, as Kimchi interprets it; and as
all these creatures are for the good of men, for suste-
nance, comfort, and delight, when they are taken
away. it is by Way of punishment for their sins. So
the Targum, "the tishes of the sea shall be lessened
"for their sins."
Ver. 4. Yet. let no man strive, nor. reprove another,
&c.] Or rather, let no man strive, nor any man re-
prove us {q}.; and are either the words of the people,
forbidding the prophet, or any other man, to contend
with them, or reprove them for their sins, though
guilty of so many, and their land in. so much danger
on that account: so the Targum, ". but yet they say,
"let not the scribe teach, nor -the prophet reprove :"
or else they are the words of God to the pr.ophct, re-
straining him from striving with and reproving such a
people, that were incorrigible,. and despised all re-
proof; see Ezek. iii. 26. or of the prophet to other
good men, to forbear any thing of thiS kind, since
was all to no purpose; it was but casting pearls before
swine; it was all labour lost, and in vain:for thypeo-
ple are as they that strive with the priest; they are, so
thr from receiving correction and reproof kindly from
any good men. that they will rise up against, and
strive with, the priests, to whom not to hearken was
a capital crime, Dent. xvii. 1'2. Abarbinei interprets
it, and some i. Abendana, like the company of' Korah,
that contended with Aaron; suggcsting that this pen'-
pie were as impudent and wicked as they, and there
was no dealing with them. So the Targum, "but
"thy people contend with their teachers ;" and will
submit to no correction, and therefore it is in vain to
give it them. Though some think the sense is, that
all sorts of men were so corrupt, that there were none
fit to be reprovcrs; the people were like the priests,
and the priests likc the people, yet. 9. so that when
the priests reproved them,they contended with them.
and said, physician, heal thyself'; take the beam out of
your own eye; look to yourselves, and your own sins,
and don't reprove us.
Ver. 5. T/terefore shall thou fall in the day, &c.]
Either, O ye people. every one of' you, being so re-
fractory and incorrigible; or, O thou priest, hei,g as
bad as the people; tbr bofh, on account of their sins,
should fall from their present prosperity and happiness
into great evils arid calamities; particularly into the
hands of their enemies, and be carried captive into
another land: and this should be in the day, or to-day {r};
immediately, quickly, in a very short time; or in the
day-time, openly, publicly, in the sight ofall, of all
the nations round about, who shall rejoice at it; or in
the day of prosperity, while things go well, amidst
great plenty of all good things, and when such a fall
was least expected: and the prophet also shall fall with
thee in the night: or the false prophets that are with
you, as the Targum, and so Jarchi; either with .you,
O people, that dwell with. you, teach you, and cause
you to err; or with thee, O priest, being of the same
family, as the prophets, many of them, were priests;
now these should fall likewise into the same calamities,
as it was but just they should, being the occasion of
them: and this should be in the night; in the night of
adversity and affliction, in the common calamity; or in
the night of darkncss, when they could not see at what
they stumbled and fell, and so the more uncomfortable
to them; or as the one falls in the day, the other falls
in the night; as certainly as the one falls, so shall the
other, and that very quickly, immediately, as the
night follows the day: and I will destroy thy mother;
either Samaria, the metropolis of the nation; or the
whole body of the people, tim congregation, as
the Targum, and Kimchi, and Ben Melech, being
as a mother ,with respect to individuals; and are
threatened with destruction. because the corruption
was general among prophets. priests, and people.
and therefore none could hop,,, to escape.
Vcr. 6. My people are destroyed for lack of know-

{o} \^wurp\^ "latrocinantur, vel latrones agunt", Schmidt
{p} \^wpoay\^ "congregabuntur", V.L.; "collgentur", Montanus, Vatablus,
Drusius, Schmidt.
{q} \^vya hkwy law\^ "& ne reprehendito quisquam, scil. nos", Schmidt.
{r} \^Mwyh\^ "hodie", Munster, Montanus, Drusius, Tarnovius, Rivet; hoc
tempore", Pagninus. So Kimchi and Ben Melech.