Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. NOW GATHER THYSELF IN TROOPS - i:e., thou shalt do so, to resist the enemy. Lest the faithful should fall into carnal security because of the previou... [ Continue Reading ]
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. BETH-LEHEM EPHRATAH - (Genesis 48:7, where Jacob says, "Rachel died by me in th... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. THEREFORE WILL HE GIVE THEM UP UNTIL THE TIME THAT - `Therefore (because of His settled plan) will God give up to their foes His pe... [ Continue Reading ]
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. AND HE SHALL STAND - i:e., persevere: implying the endurance of His kingdom (Calvin). Rather, His sedulous care and... [ Continue Reading ]
And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. THIS MAN - in Hebrew simply this. The One just mentioned; He and He alone. Emphatic for Messiah (cf. the... [ Continue Reading ]
And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. AND THEY SHALL WASTE - literally, eat up: following up the metaphor of shep... [ Continue Reading ]
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. AND THE REMNANT OF JACOB SHALL BE IN THE MIDST OF MANY PEOPLE AS A DEW - already mentioned in Micah 5:3. It in its compa... [ Continue Reading ]
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. THE REMNANT OF JACOB SHALL BE AMONG THE GEN... [ Continue Reading ]
Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. THINE HAND SHALL BE LIFTED UP UPON THINE ADVERSARIES. In ("Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see) it is Yahweh's hand that is lifted up; here Israel's, as implies, just as "Zion" is addres... [ Continue Reading ]
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: I WILL CUT OFF THY HORSES ... CHARIOTS - namely, those used for the purposes of war. Israel had been forbidden the use of cavalry, or to go to Egypt for... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: AND I WILL CUT OFF THE CITIES OF THY LAND, AND THROW DOWN ALL THY STRONG HOLDS - such as are fortified for war. In that time of peace men shall live in "unwalled villages," in the Holy Land, especially the "land of u... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: I WILL CUT OFF WITCHCRAFTS OUT OF THINE HAND - i:e., which thou now usest.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. THY GRAVEN IMAGES ALSO WILL I CUT OFF - (cf. ; Isaiah 2:18; ; ). AND THY STANDING IMAGES - statues.... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. AND I WILL PLUCK UP THY GROVES ... SO WILL I DESTROY THY CITIES. The "groves" are the idolatrous symbol of Astarte (, "Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God:" s... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. AND I WILL EXECUTE VENGEANCE IN ANGER AND FURY UPON THE HEATHEN, SUCH AS THEY HAVE NOT HEARD - or, as the Hebrew order favours, 'the nations that have not hearkened to my warnings.' So the Septuagint ()... [ Continue Reading ]