_The word that came to Zephaniah_ The divine revelation that was made to him. _The son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah_, &c. If these were not prophets, as the Jewish doctors make them, yet it is probable they were persons of some note in Judah. _The son of Hizkiah_ Although both the letters and point... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will utterly consume all things_, &c. That is, I will make the land of Judea quite desolate. _I will consume man and beast_, &c. That is, beasts of the tame and domestic kind. _I will consume the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea_ Or of the waters, as we are wont to speak, for the Jew... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will also stretch out my hand upon Judah_ I will manifest my power upon Judah, as I have done upon Israel. _And I will cut off the remnant of Baal_ The altars, or places of worship, dedicated to Baal, which still remain in this place, namely, Jerusalem; _and the name of the Chemarims_ Of the idol... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord_ Keep silence in token of an awful reverence toward God. _For the day of the Lord is at hand_ Now he is coming to execute his judgments upon the land. Humble thyself under his mighty hand, without repining or murmuring at his corrections, which thy sins do... [ Continue Reading ]
_In that day I will punish the princes and the king's children _ In 2 Kings 25:7; 2 Kings 25:21, we read of the fulfilling of both these particulars; the sons of King Zedekiah, and the principal officers of the state, being slain by the order of the king of Babylon. _And all such as are clothed with... [ Continue Reading ]
_In that day there shall be the noise of a cry from the fish- gate_ Mentioned Nehemiah 3:3. It was opposite to Joppa, according to Jerome, and at the entering of the city from that quarter. The sundry expressions of this verse are intended to describe the cries and shrieks that should arise from all... [ Continue Reading ]
_At that time, I will search Jerusalem with candles_ I will deliver up Jerusalem into the hands of the Chaldeans, who shall let no corner of it escape them, but shall diligently search the houses, even with lights or torches, that they may plunder them of every thing. _And punish the men that are se... [ Continue Reading ]
_The great day of the Lord is near_ The time of God's executing his terrible judgments is nigh at hand. _Even the voice_, &c. The word _even_ is not in the Hebrew. This latter part of the sentence may, it seems, be better rendered thus: _The voice of the day of the Lord is bitter, and it vehemently... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will bring distress, &c., that they shall walk as blind men _ I will bring them into such straits that they shall no more know whither to turn themselves, or which way to go for safety, than if they were blind: compare Deuteronomy 28:29, and Isaiah 59:10; in both which places the image is heighte... [ Continue Reading ]