_In that day_ When the Lamb of God shall be offered up a sacrifice for mankind, and the gospel shall be preached, in which the glad tidings of our redemption are published. This seems to be a continuation of the prophecy begun at the ninth verse of the preceding chapter; and the meaning to be that,... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will cut off the names of the idols_ I will utterly destroy idols and idolatry. The Jews were forbidden to mention the names of the heathen idols, Exodus 23:13; Joshua 23:7; and when idolatry should be utterly extirpated, the names of the idols should be buried in oblivion. “It has been urged, in... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when any shall yet prophesy_ Namely, falsely; _then his father and his mother shall say unto him_ His dearest friends shall discourse with him, and inform him what the law of Moses directs in this case; _Thou shalt not live_ This probably is not to be considered as the condemnatory sentence; fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_The prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision_ That is, of the extraordinary communication which he pretended to have received, when he uttered a prophecy which he knew to be false. _Neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive_ The true prophets were wont to wear rough or hairy garme... [ Continue Reading ]
_What are these wounds in thy hands_ “Two ancient usages,” Blayney thinks, “are alluded to; the one, that of the idolatrous priests and prophets, who sought to engage the attention and favour of their deity by cutting and slashing themselves, as the priests of Baal did, 1 Kings 18:28; the other, tha... [ Continue Reading ]
_Awake, O sword, against my shepherd_ Here “the prophet goes back to the great subject of prophecy, the Messiah, after having foretold some events posterior to his appearance; and he then proceeds to other events subsequent to that grand epocha in the history of the Jews, and of mankind; some near i... [ Continue Reading ]