Notes on Hosea

Notes on Hosea
From the Original 1599 Geneva Bible Notes

Ho 1:1

1:1 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days {a} of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, {b} kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

The Argument - After the ten tribes had fallen away from God by the wicked and subtle counsel of Jeroboam, the son of Neba, and instead of his true service commanded by his word, worshipped him according to their own imaginings and traditions of men, giving themselves to most vile idolatry and superstition, the Lord from time to time sent them Prophets to call them to repentance. But they grew even worse and worse, and still abused God's benefits. Therefore now when their prosperity was at the highest under Jeroboam, the son of Joash, God sent Hosea and Amos to the Israelites (as he did at the same time send Isaiah and Micah to those of Judah) to condemn them for their ingratitude. And whereas they thought themselves to be greatly in the favour of God, and to be his people, the Prophet calls them bastards and children born in adultery: and therefore shows them that God would take away their kingdom, and give them to the Assyrians to be led away captives. Thus Hosea faithfully executed his office for the space of seventy years, though they remained still in their vices and wickedness and derided the Prophets, and condemned God's judgments. And because they would neither be discouraged with threatening only, nor should they flatter themselves by the sweetness of God's promises, he sets before them the two principal parts of the Law, which are the promise of salvation, and the doctrine of life. For the first part he directs the faithful to the Messiah, by whom alone they would have true deliverance: and for the second, he uses threatenings and menaces to bring them from their wicked manners and vices: and this is the chief scope of all the Prophets, either by God's promises to allure them to be godly, or else by threatenings of his judgments to scare them from vice. And even though the whole Law contains these two points, yet the Prophets moreover note distinctly both the time of God's judgments and the manner.

(a) Also called Azariah, who being a leper was disposed from his kingdom.
(b) So that it may be gathered by the reign of these four kings that he preached about eighty years.

Ho 1:2

1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife {c} of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, [departing] from the LORD.

(c) That is, one that has been a harlot for a long time: not that the Prophet did this thing in effect, but he saw this in a vision, or else was commanded by God to set forth under this parable or figure the idolatry of the Synagogue, and of the people her children.

Ho 1:3

1:3 So he went and took {d} Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

(d) Gomer signifies a consumption or corruption, and rotten clusters of figs, declaring that they were all corrupt like rotten figs.

Ho 1:4

1:4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his name {e} Jezreel; for yet a little [while], and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of {f} Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

(e) Meaning that they would no longer be called Israelites, which name they boasted because Israel did prevail with God: but that they were as bastards, and therefore should be called Jezreelites, that is, scattered people, alluding to Jezreel, which was the chief city of the ten tribes under Ahab, where Jehu shed so much blood; 1Ki 18:45
(f) I will be avenged upon Jehu for the blood that he shed in Jezreel: for even though God stirred him up to execute his judgments, yet he did them for his own ambition, and not for the glory of God as the intended goal: for he built up that idolatry which he had destroyed.

Ho 1:5

1:5 And it shall come to pass at that {g} day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

(g) When the measure of their iniquity is full, and I will take vengeance and destroy all their administration and strength.

Ho 1:6

1:6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And [God] said unto him, Call her name {h} Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly {i} take them away.

(h) That is, not obtaining mercy: by which he signifies that God's favour had departed from them.
(i) For the Israelites never returned after they were taken captives by the Assyrians.

Ho 1:7

1:7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will {k} save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

(k) For after their captivity he restored them miraculously by the means of Cyrus; Ezr 1:1 .

Ho 1:9

1:9 Then said [God], Call his name {l} Loammi: for ye [are] not my people, and I will not be your [God].

(l) That is, not my people.

Ho 1:10

1:10 Yet the number of the {m} children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye [are] not my people, [there] it shall be said unto them, [Ye are] the sons of the living God.

(m) Because they thought that God could not have been true in his promise unless he had preserved them, he declares that though they were destroyed, yet the true Israelites who are the sons of the promise, would be without number, who consist both of the Jews and the Gentiles; Ro 9:26 .

Ho 1:11

1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be {n} gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great [shall be] the day of Jezreel.

(n) That is, after the captivity of Babylon, when the Jews were restored: but chiefly this refers to the time of Christ, who would be the head both of the Jews and Gentiles.
(o) The calamity and destruction of Israel will be so great, that to restore them will be a miracle.

Ho 2:1

2:1 Say ye unto your {a} brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.

(a) Seeing that I have promised you deliverance, it remains that you encourage one another to embrace this promise, considering that you are my people on whom I will have mercy.

Ho 2:2

2:2 Plead with your {b} mother, plead: for she [is] not my wife, neither [am] I her husband: let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries {c} from between her breasts;

(b) God shows that the fault was not in him, that he forsook them, but in their Synagogue, and their idolatries; Isa 50:1 .
(c) Meaning that their idolatry was so great, that they were not ashamed, but boasted of it; Eze 16:25 .

Ho 2:3

2:3 Lest I strip her naked, and {d} set her as in the day that she was {e} born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

(d) For even though his people were as a harlot for their idolatries, yet he had left them with their dress and dowry and certain signs of his favour, but if they continued still, he would utterly destroy them.
(e) When I brought her out of Egypt. See Geneva "Eze 16:4"

Ho 2:4

2:4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they [be] the {f} children of whoredoms.

(f) That is bastards, and begotten in adultery.

Ho 2:5

2:5 For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my {g} lovers, that give [me] my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

(g) Meaning the idol which they served, and by whom they thought they had wealth and abundance.

Ho 2:6

2:6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up {h} thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.

(h) I will punish you so that you may then test whether your idols can help you, and bring you into such straightness that you will have no lust to play the harlot.

Ho 2:7

2:7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find [them]: then shall she say, {i} I will go and return to my first husband; for then [was it] better with me than now.

(i) This he speaks of the faithful, who are truly converted, and also shows the use and profit of God's punishments.

Ho 2:8

2:8 For she did not know that I {k} gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, [which] they prepared for Baal.

(k) This declares that idolaters defraud God of his honour, when they attribute his benefits to their idols.

Ho 2:9

2:9 Therefore will I return, and take away {l} my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax [given] to cover her nakedness.

(l) Signifying that God will take away his benefits, when man by his ingratitude abuses them.

Ho 2:10

2:10 And now will I discover her {m} lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

(m) That is, all her service, ceremonies, and inventions by which she worshipped her idols.

Ho 2:13

2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of {n} Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her {o} earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.

(n) I will punish her for her idolatry.
(o) By showing how harlots trim themselves to please others, he declares how superstitious idolaters set a great part of their religion in adorning themselves on their holy days.

Ho 2:14

2:14 Therefore, behold, I will {p} allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

(p) By my benefits in offering her grace and mercy, even in that place where she will think herself destitute of all help and comfort.

Ho 2:15

2:15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley {q} of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall {r} sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

(q) Which was a plentiful valley, and in which they had great comfort when they came out of the wilderness, as in Jos 7:26 , and is called the door of hope, because it was a departing from death and an entry into life.
(r) She will then praise God as she did when she was delivered out of Egypt.

Ho 2:16

2:16 And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, [that] thou shalt call me {s} Ishi; and shalt call me no more {t} Baali.

(s) That is, my husband, knowing that I am united to you by a covenant which could not be violated.
(t) That is, my master: which name was applied to their idols.

Ho 2:17

2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their {u} name.

(u) No idolatry will come into their mouth at all, but they will fear me purely according to my word.

Ho 2:18

2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the {x} beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

(x) Meaning that he will so bless them that all creatures will favour them.

Ho 2:20

2:20 I will even betroth thee unto me in {y} faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

(y) With a covenant that will never be broken.

Ho 2:21

2:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD, I will hear {z} the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

(z) Then will the heaven desire rain for the earth, which will bring forth things for the use of man.

Ho 3:1

3:1 Then said the LORD unto me, {a} Go yet, love a woman beloved of [her] friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and {b} love flagons of wine.

(a) In this the Prophet represents the person of God, who loved his Church before he called her, and did not withdraw his love when she gave herself to idols.
(b) That is, gave themselves wholly to pleasure, and could not stop, as those that are given to drunkenness.

Ho 3:2

3:2 So {c} I bought her to me for fifteen [pieces] of silver, and [for] an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

(c) Yet I loved her and paid a small portion for her, lest she would have perceived the greatness of my love, and abused me, and not been under duty: for fifteen pieces of silver was but half the price of a slave; Ex 21:32 .

Ho 3:3

3:3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for {d} me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for [another] man: so [will] I also [be] for thee.

(d) I will try you a long time as in your widowhood, whether you will be mine or not.

Ho 3:4

3:4 For the children of Israel shall {e} abide many days without a king, and without a {f} prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and [without] teraphim:

(e) Meaning not only all the time of their captivity, but also until Christ.
(f) That is, they would neither have administration nor religion, and their idols also in which they put their confidence, would be destroyed.

Ho 3:5

3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and {g} David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

(g) This is meant of Christ's kingdom, which was promised to David to be eternal; Ps 72:17 .

Ho 4:1

4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD {a} hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because [there is] no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

(a) Because the people would not obey the admonitions of the Prophets, he accuses them before the judgment seat of God, against whom they chiefly offended; Isa 7:13 Zec 12:10 Mic 6:1,2 .

Ho 4:2

4:2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and {b} blood toucheth blood.

(b) In every place appears a liberality to most wicked vices, so that one follows right after another.

Ho 4:4

4:4 Yet {c} let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people [are] as they that strive with the priest.

(c) As though he would say that it was in vain to rebuke them, for no man can endure it: indeed, they will speak against the prophets and priests whose office it is chiefly to rebuke them.

Ho 4:5

4:5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the {d} day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy {e} mother.

(d) You will both perish together as one, because the former would not obey, and the other, because he would not admonish.
(e) That is, the synagogue in which you boast.

Ho 4:6

4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because {f} thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing {g} thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

(f) That is, the priests will be cast off, because for lack of knowledge they are not able to execute their charge, and instruct others; De 33:3, Mal 2:7 .
(g) Meaning the whole body of the people, who were weary with hearing the word of God.

Ho 4:7

4:7 As they were {h} increased, so they sinned against me: [therefore] will I change their glory into shame.

(h) The more I was beneficial to them.

Ho 4:8

4:8 {i} They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.

(i) That is, the priests seek to eat the people's offerings, and flatter them in their sins.

Ho 4:9

4:9 And there shall be, like people, like {k} priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

(k) Signifying that as they have sinned together, so will they be punished together.

Ho 4:10

4:10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall {l} commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.

(l) Showing that their wickedness will be punished in all ways: for even though they think by the multitude of wives to have many children, yet they will be deceived of their hope.

Ho 4:11

4:11 {m} Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.

(m) In giving themselves to pleasures, they become like brute beasts.

Ho 4:12

4:12 My {n} people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the {o} spirit of whoredoms hath caused [them] to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

(n) Thus he speaks by derision in calling them his people, who now because of their sins they were not his people: for they sought help from stocks or wooden images and sticks or idols.
(o) They are carried away with madness.

Ho 4:13

4:13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof [is] good: therefore your daughters shall {p} commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.

(p) Because they take away God's honour, and give it to idols: therefore he will give them up to their lusts, so that they will dishonour their own bodies; Ro 1:28 .

Ho 4:14

4:14 I will not {q} punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people [that] doth not understand shall fall.

(q) I will not correct your shame to bring you to proper living, but will let you run headlong to your own damnation.

Ho 4:15

4:15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, [yet] {r} let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto {s} Gilgal, neither go ye up to {t} Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.

(r) God complains that Judah is infected, and wants them to learn to return in time.
(s) For even though the Lord had honoured this place by his presence, yet because it was abused by their idolatry, he did not want his people to resort there.
(t) He calls Bethel, that is, the house of God, Bethaven, that is, the house of iniquity, because of their abominations set up there, signifying that no place is holy, where God is not purely worshipped.

Ho 4:16

4:16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a {u} lamb in a large place.

(u) God will so disperse them, that they will not remain in any certain place.

Ho 4:18

4:18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers [with] shame do love, {x} Give ye.

(x) They are so shameless in receiving bribes, that they command men to bring them to them.

Ho 4:19

4:19 The wind hath {y} bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

(y) To carry them suddenly away.

Ho 5:1

5:1 Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment [is] toward you, because ye have been a {a} snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

(a) The priests and princes caught the poor people in their snares, as the fowlers did the birds, in these two high mountains.

Ho 5:2

5:2 And the revolters are profound to make {b} slaughter, though I [have been] a {c} rebuker of them all.

(b) Even though they seemed to be given altogether to holiness, and to sacrifices which here he calls slaughter in contempt.
(c) Though I had admonished them continually by my Prophets.

Ho 5:3

5:3 I know {d} Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, [and] Israel is defiled.

(d) They boasted themselves not only to be Israelites, but also Ephraimites, because their King Jeroboam came from that tribe.

Ho 5:5

5:5 And the {e} pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.

(e) Meaning their condemning of all admonitions.

Ho 5:7

5:7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten {f} strange children: now shall {g} a month devour them with their portions.

(f) That is, their children are degenerate, so that there is no hope in them.
(g) Their destruction is not far off.

Ho 5:8

5:8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud [at] Bethaven, after thee, O {h} Benjamin.

(h) That is, all of Israel that was included under this tribe, signifying that the Lord's plagues would pursue them from place to place until they were destroyed.

Ho 5:9

5:9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made {i} known that which shall surely be.

(i) By the success they will know that I have surely determined this.

Ho 5:10

5:10 The princes of Judah were like them that {k} remove the bound: [therefore] I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.

(k) They have turned upside down all political order and all manner of religion.

Ho 5:11

5:11 Ephraim [is] oppressed [and] broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the {l} commandment.

(l) That is, after King Jeroboam's commandment, and did not rather follow God.

Ho 5:13

5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah [saw] his wound, then went Ephraim to {m} the Assyrian, and sent to king {n} Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.

(m) Instead of seeking for remedy from God's hand.
(n) Who was king of the Assyrians.

Ho 6:1

6:1 Come, and let {a} us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

(a) He shows the people that they ought to turn to the Lord, so that he might stop his plagues.

Ho 6:2

6:2 After two days will {b} he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

(b) Though he correct us from time to time, yet his help will not be far off, if we return to him.

Ho 6:4

6:4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for {c} your goodness [is] as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

Ho 6:5

6:5 Therefore have I {d} hewed [them] by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy {e} judgments [are as] the light [that] goeth forth.

(d) I have still laboured by my prophets, and as it were prepared you to bring you to correction, but all was in vain: for my word was not food to feed them, but a sword to slay them.
(e) My doctrine which I taught you, was most evident.

Ho 6:6

6:6 For I desired {f} mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

(f) He shows to what his doctrine was aimed at, that they should unite the obedience of God, and the love of their neighbour, with outward sacrifices.

Ho 6:7

6:7 But they {g} like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

(g) That is, like small and weak persons.

Ho 6:8

6:8 {h} Gilead [is] a city of them that work iniquity, [and is] polluted with blood.

(h) Which was the place where the priests dwelt, and which should have been best instructed in my word.

Ho 6:11

6:11 Also, O Judah, he hath set an {i} harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.

(i) That is, imitates your idolatry, and has taken grafts of your trees.

Ho 7:1

7:1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and {a} the thief cometh in, [and] the troop of robbers spoileth without.

(a) Meaning that there was no one type of vice among them, but that they were subject to all wickedness, both secret and open.

Ho 7:3

7:3 They make the {b} king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

(b) They esteem their wicked king Jeroboam above God, and seek how to flatter and please him.

Ho 7:4

7:4 They [are] all adulterers, as an {c} oven heated by the baker, [who] ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

Ho 7:5

7:5 In the {d} day of our king the princes have made [him] sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

(d) They used all indulgence and excess in their feasts and solemnities, by which their king was overcome with being fed too much, and brought into diseases, and who delighted in flatteries.

Ho 7:7

7:7 They are all hot as an oven, and have {e} devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: [there is] none among them that calleth unto me.

(e) By their doing God has deprived them of all good rulers.

Ho 7:8

7:8 Ephraim, he hath {f} mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

(f) That is, he counterfeited the religion of the Gentiles, yet is but as a cake baked on the one side, and raw on the other, that is, neither thoroughly hot, nor thoroughly cold, but partly a Jew, and partly a Gentile.

Ho 7:9

7:9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth [it] not: yea, {g} gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

(g) Which are a token of his manifold afflictions.

Ho 7:11

7:11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without {h} heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

(h) That is, without all judgment, as those that cannot tell whether it is better to cleave only to God, or to seek the help of man.

Ho 7:12

7:12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their {i} congregation hath heard.

(i) According to my curses made to the whole congregation of Israel.

Ho 7:13

7:13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have {k} redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

(k) That is, at different times redeemed them, and delivered them from death.

Ho 7:14

7:14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, {l} when they howled upon their beds: {m} they assemble themselves for corn and wine, [and] they rebel against me.

(l) When they were in affliction, and cried out in pain, they did not seek me for help.
(m) They only seek their own benefit and wealth, and care not for me their God.

Ho 7:16

7:16 They return, [but] not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage {n} of their tongue: this [shall be] their derision in the land of Egypt.

(n) Because they boast of their own strength, and do not care what they speak against me and my servants; Ps 73:9 .

Ho 8:1

8:1 [Set] the trumpet to thy {a} mouth. [He shall come] as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.

(a) God encourages the Prophet to signify the speedy coming of the enemy against Israel, which was once the people of God.

Ho 8:2

8:2 Israel shall {b} cry unto me, My God, we know thee.

(b) They will cry like hypocrites, but not from the heart, as their deeds declare.

Ho 8:4

8:4 They have set up {c} kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew [it] not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

Ho 8:5

8:5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast [thee] off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long [will it be] ere they attain to {d} innocency?

(d) That is, upright judgment and a godly life.

Ho 8:6

8:6 {e} For from Israel [was] it also: the workman made it; therefore it [is] not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

(e) Meaning the calf was invented by themselves, and by their fathers in the wilderness.

Ho 8:7

8:7 For they have {f} sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

(f) Showing that their religion has but a show, and in itself is but vanity.

Ho 8:9

8:9 For they are gone up to Assyria, a {g} wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

(g) They never cease, but run to and fro to seek help.

Ho 8:10

8:10 Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the {h} burden of the king of princes.

(h) That is, for the king and the princes will lay upon them: and by this means the Lord brings them to repentance.

Ho 8:12

8:12 I have written to him the great things of my law, [but] they were counted as a {i} strange thing.

(i) In this way the idolaters consider the word of God as strange with regard to their own invention.

Ho 8:13

8:13 They sacrifice flesh [for] the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat [it; but] the {k} LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

(k) Saying that they offer it to the Lord, but he accepts no service which he himself has not appointed.

Ho 9:1

9:1 Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, {a} as [other] people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved {b} a reward upon every cornfloor.

(a) For even though all other people should escape, yet you will be punished.
(b) You have committed idolatry in hope of reward, and to have your barns filled ( Jer 44:17 ), as a harlot that had rather live by playing the whore, than to be provided for by her own husband.

Ho 9:2

9:2 {c} The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

Ho 9:4

9:4 They shall not offer {d} wine [offerings] to the LORD, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices [shall be] unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread {e} for their soul shall not come into the house of the LORD.

(d) All their doings both with regard to administration and religion, will be rejected as polluted things.
(e) The meat offering which they offered for themselves.

Ho 9:5

9:5 What will ye do {f} in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?

(f) When the Lord will take away all the occasions of serving him, which will be the most grievous part of your captivity, when you will see yourselves cut off from God.

Ho 9:6

9:6 For, lo, they are gone because of {g} destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant [places] for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns [shall be] in their tabernacles.

(g) Even though they think to escape by fleeing the destruction that is at hand, yet they will be destroyed in the place where they flee for help.

Ho 9:7

9:7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know [it]: {h} the prophet [is] a fool, the spiritual man [is] mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

(h) Then they will know that they were deluded by those who claimed themselves to be their prophets and spiritual men.

Ho 9:8

9:8 The watchman of Ephraim {i} [was] with my God: [but] the prophet [is] a snare of a fowler in all his ways, [and] hatred in the house of his God.

(i) The Prophet's duty is to bring men to God, and not to be a snare to pull them from God.

Ho 9:9

9:9 They {k} have deeply corrupted [themselves], as in the days of Gibeah: [therefore] he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

(k) This people is so rooted in their wickedness, that Gibeah, which was similar to Sodom, was never more corrupt; Jud 19:22 .

Ho 9:10

9:10 I found Israel like {l} grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: [but] they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto [that] shame; and [their] abominations were according {m} as they loved.

(l) Meaning, that he esteemed them and delighted in them in this way.
(m) They were as abominable to me, as their lovers the idols.

Ho 9:11

9:11 [As for] Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, {n} and from the womb, and from the conception.

(n) Signifying that God would destroy their children by these different means, and so consume them by little and little.

Ho 9:13

9:13 Ephraim, as I saw {o} Tyrus, [is] planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

(o) As they kept tender plants in their houses in Tyrus to preserve them from the cold air of the sea, so was Ephraim at the first to me: but now I will give him to the slaughter.

Ho 9:14

9:14 Give them, O LORD: what wilt thou give? give them a {p} miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

(p) The Prophet seeing the great plagues of God toward Ephraim, prays to God to make them barren, rather than that this great slaughter should come upon their children.

Ho 9:15

9:15 All their wickedness [is] in {q} Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes [are] revolters.

(q) The chief cause of their destruction is that they commit idolatry, and corrupt my religion in Gilgal.

Ho 10:1

10:1 Israel [is] an {a} empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the {b} goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

(a) Of which though the grapes were gathered, yet always as it gathered new strength it increased in new wickedness, so that the correction which should have brought them to obedience, only proclaimed their stubbornness.
(b) As they were rich and had abundance.

Ho 10:2

10:2 Their heart is {c} divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.

Ho 10:3

10:3 For now they shall say, We have no {d} king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?

(d) The day will come that God will take away their king, and then they will feel the fruit of their sins, and how they trusted in him in vain; 2Ki 17:6-7 .

Ho 10:4

10:4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making {e} a covenant: thus {f} judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

(e) In promising to be faithful toward God.
(f) In this way their integrity and fidelity which they pretended, was nothing but bitterness and grief.

Ho 10:5

10:5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall {g} fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the {h} priests thereof [that] rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.

(g) When the calf will be carried away.
(h) These were certain idolatrous priests, who wore black apparel during their sacrifices, and cried with a loud voice: which superstition Elijah derided, 1Ki 18:27 . See Geneva "2Ki 23:5"

Ho 10:8

10:8 The high places also of {i} Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.

(i) This he speaks in contempt of Bethel. Read Geneva (t) "Ho 4:15"

Ho 10:9

10:9 O Israel, thou hast {k} sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they {l} stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not {m} overtake them.

(k) In those days you were as wicked as the Gibeonites, as God there partly declared: for your zeal could not be good in executing God's judgments, seeing your own deeds were as wicked as theirs.
(l) That is, to fight, or, the Israelites remained in that stubbornness from that time.
(m) The Israelites were not moved by the example of the Gibeonites to cease from their sins.

Ho 10:10

10:10 [It is] in my desire {n} that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two {o} furrows.

(n) Because they are so desperate, I will delight to destroy them.
(o) That is, when they have gathered all their strength together.

Ho 10:11

10:11 And Ephraim [is as] an heifer [that is] taught, [and] loveth to {p} tread out [the corn]; but I passed over upon her {q} fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, [and] Jacob shall break his clods.

(p) In which is pleasure, whereas in plowing there is labour and pain.
(q) I will lay my yoke upon her fat neck.

Ho 10:12

10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; {r} break up your fallow ground: for [it is] time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

(r) Read Geneva "Jer 4:3" See Jer 4:4

Ho 10:14

10:14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as {s} Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon [her] children.

(s) That is, Shalmaneser in the destruction of that city spared neither type nor age.

Ho 11:1

11:1 When Israel {a} [was] a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

(a) While the Israelites were in Egypt, and did not provoke my wrath by their malice and ingratitude.

Ho 11:2

11:2 [As] they called them, so they {b} went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

(b) They rebelled and went a contrary way when the Prophets called them to repentance.

Ho 11:4

11:4 I drew them with cords {c} of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

Ho 11:5

11:5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his {d} king, because they refused to return.

(d) Seeing that they condemn all this kindness, they will be led captive into Assyria.

Ho 11:7

11:7 And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though {e} they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt [him].

(e) That is, the Prophets.

Ho 11:8

11:8 {f} How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? [how] shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as {g} Admah? [how] shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, {h} my repentings are kindled together.

(f) God considers with himself, and that with a certain grief, how to punish them.
(g) Which were two of the cities that were destroyed with Sodom; De 29:23 .
(h) Meaning that his love with which he first loved them positioned him between doubt and assurance in terms of what to do: and in this appears his Fatherly affection, that his mercy toward his own will overcome his judgments, as he declares in the next verse.

Ho 11:9

11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I [am] God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not {i} enter into the city.

(i) To consume you, but will cause you to yield, and so have mercy on you: and this is meant of the final number who will walk after the Lord.

Ho 11:11

11:11 {k} They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.

(k) The Egyptians and the Assyrians will be afraid when the Lord maintains his people.

Ho 11:12

11:12 Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with {l} God, and is faithful with the saints.

(l) Governs their state according to God's word, and does not degenerate.

Ho 12:1

12:1 Ephraim feedeth {a} on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and {b} oil is carried into Egypt.

(a) That is, flatters himself with vain confidence.
(b) Meaning presents to get friendship.

Ho 12:2

12:2 The LORD hath also a controversy with {c} Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

Ho 12:3

12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had {d} power with God:

(d) Seeing that God in this way preferred Jacob their father, Judah's ingratitude was the more to be abhorred.

Ho 12:4

12:4 Yea, he had {e} power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: {f} he found him [in] Bethel, and there he spake with us;

(e) Read Ge 32:24-32 .
(f) God found Jacob as he lay sleeping in Bethel Ge 28:12 , and spoke with him there in such a way that the fruit of that speech appertained to the whole body of the people, of which we are.

Ho 12:7

12:7 [He is] {g} a merchant, the balances of deceit [are] in his hand: he loveth to oppress.

(g) As for Ephraim, he is more like the wicked Canaanites than godly Abraham or Jacob.

Ho 12:8

12:8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: [in] all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me {h} that [were] sin.

(h) Thus way the wicked measure God's favour by outward prosperity, and like hypocrites cannot endure that any should reprove their doings.

Ho 12:9

12:9 And I [that am] the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in {i} the days of the solemn feast.

(i) Seeing you will not acknowledge my benefits, I will bring you again to dwell in tents, as in the feast of the Tabernacles, which you now condemn.

Ho 12:11

12:11 [Is there] {k} iniquity [in] Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars [are] as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

(k) The people thought that no man dare have spoken against Gilead, that holy place, and yet the Prophet says that all their religion was but vanity.

Ho 12:12

12:12 {l} And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept [sheep].

(l) If you boast of your riches and nobility, you seem to reproach your father, who was a poor fugitive and servant.

Ho 12:13

12:13 And by a {m} prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

(m) Meaning Moses, by which appears that whatever they have, it comes from God's free goodness.

Ho 13:1

13:1 When Ephraim spake {a} trembling, he {b} exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, {c} he died.

(a) He shows the excellency and authority that this tribe had above all the rest.
(b) He made a king of his tribe.
(c) The Ephraimites are not far from destruction, and have lost their authority.

Ho 13:2

13:2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, [and] idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, {d} Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

(d) "Let the men that sacrifice" or "while they sacrifice men". The false prophets persuaded the idolaters to offer their children after the example of Abraham, and he shows how they would exhort one another to the same, and to kiss and worship these calves which were their idols.

Ho 13:4

13:4 Yet I [am] the LORD thy God {e} from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for [there is] no saviour beside me.

(e) He calls them to repentance, and reproves their ingratitude.

Ho 13:9

13:9 O Israel, thou {f} hast destroyed thyself; but in me [is] thine help.

(f) Your destruction is certain, and my benefits toward you declare that it comes not from me: therefore your own malice, idolatry, and vain confidence in men must necessarily be the cause of it.

Ho 13:10

13:10 {g} I will be thy king: where [is any other] that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?

(g) I am all one; Jas 1:17 .

Ho 13:12

13:12 The iniquity of Ephraim [is] {h} bound up; his sin [is] hid.

(h) It is surely laid up to be punished, as in Jer 17:1 .

Ho 13:13

13:13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he [is] an unwise son; for he should not stay long in [the place of] the {i} breaking forth of children.

(i) But would come out of the womb, that is out of these dangers in which he is, and not wait to be suppressed.

Ho 13:14

13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O {k} death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: {l} repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

(k) Meaning that no power will resist God when he will deliver his own, but even in death he will give them life.
(l) Because they will not turn to me, I will change my purpose.

Ho 14:1

14:1 O Israel, {a} return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

(a) He exhorts them to repentance to avoid all these plagues, exhorting them to declare by words their obedience and repentance.

Ho 14:2

14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, {b} Take away all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously: so will we render the calves of our {c} lips.

(b) He shows them that they ought to confess their sins.
(c) Declaring that this is the true sacrifice that the faithful can offer, even thanks and praise; He 13:15 .

Ho 14:3

14:3 Asshur shall {d} not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Ye are] our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

(d) We will forsake all vain confidence and pride.

Ho 14:4

14:4 {e} I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.

(e) He declares how ready God is to receive those that do repent.

Ho 14:7

14:7 They that dwell under his {f} shadow shall return; they shall revive [as] the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof [shall be] as the wine of Lebanon.

(f) Whoever unites themselves to this people will be blessed.

Ho 14:8

14:8 Ephraim [shall say], What have I to do any more with idols? I {g} have heard [him], and observed him: I [am] like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

(g) God shows how prompt he is to hear his own when they repent, and to offer himself as a protection and safeguard for them, as a most sufficient fruit and benefit.

Ho 14:9

14:9 Who [is] {h} wise, and he shall understand these [things]? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD [are] right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

(h) Signifying that the true wisdom and knowledge consists in this, even to rest upon God.

Joe 1:1

1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

The Argument - The Prophet Joel first rebukes those of Judah, that being now punished with a great plague of famine, still remain obstinate. Secondly, he threatens greater plagues, because they grow daily to a more hardness of heart and rebellion against God in spite of his punishments. Thirdly, he exhorts them to repentance, showing that it must be earnest, and proceed from the heart, because they had grievously offended God. And in doing this, Joel promises that God will be merciful, and not forget his covenant that he made with their fathers, but will send his Christ, who will gather the scattered sheep, and restore them to life and liberty, even though they seem to be dead.

Joe 1:2

1:2 Hear this, ye {a} old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath {b} this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

(a) Signifying the princes, the priests, and the governors.
(b) He calls the Jews to the consideration of God's judgments, who had now plagued the fruits of the ground for the space of four years, which was because of their sins, and to call them to repentance.

Joe 1:5

1:5 Awake, ye {c} drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

Joe 1:6

1:6 For {d} a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth [are] the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.

(d) This was another plague with which God had punished them when he stirred up the Assyrians against them.

Joe 1:8

1:8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the {e} husband of her youth.

(e) Mourn grievously as a woman who has lost her husband, to whom she has been married in her youth.

Joe 1:9

1:9 The meat offering and the drink offering is {f} cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD'S ministers, mourn.

(f) The signs of God's wrath appeared in his temple, in so much that God's service was discontinued.

Joe 1:10

1:10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: {g} the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

(g) All comfort and substance for nourishment is taken away.

Joe 1:13

1:13 {h} Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

(h) He shows that the only means to avoid God's wrath, and to have all things restored, is true repentance.

Joe 1:15

1:15 Alas for the day! for the {i} day of the LORD [is] at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

(i) We see by these great plagues that utter destruction is at hand.

Joe 1:20

1:20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the {k} fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

(k) That is, drought.

Joe 2:1

2:1 Blow ye {a} the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for [it is] nigh at hand;

(a) He shows the great judgments of God which are at hand, unless they repent.

Joe 2:2

2:2 A {b} day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a {c} great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, [even] to the years of many generations.

(b) Of affliction and trouble.
(c) Meaning, the Assyrians.

Joe 2:3

2:3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land [is] as the garden of {d} Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

(d) The enemy destroyed our plentiful country, wherever he went.

Joe 2:6

2:6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces {e} shall gather blackness.

(e) They will be pale and black because of fear, as in Na 2:10 .

Joe 2:8

2:8 Neither shall one {f} thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and [when] they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

(f) For none will be able to resist them.

Joe 2:10

2:10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the {g} sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

(g) Read Joe 2:31 Isa 13:10 Eze 32:7 Joe 3:15 Mt 24:29

Joe 2:11

2:11 And the LORD shall {h} utter his voice before his army: for his camp [is] very great: for [he is] strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD [is] great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

(h) The Lord will stir up the Assyrians to execute his judgments.

Joe 2:13

2:13 And {i} rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he [is] gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

(i) Mortify your affections and serve God with pureness of heart, and not with ceremonies.

Joe 2:14

2:14 Who knoweth [if] he will {k} return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; [even] a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

(k) He speaks this to stir up their slothfulness, and not that he doubted of God's mercies, if they did repent. For the way in which God repents, read Geneva "Jer 18:8"

Joe 2:16

2:16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the {l} children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

(l) That as all have sinned, so all may show forth signs of their repentance, so that men seeing the children who are not free from God's wrath, might be the more deeply touched with the consideration of their own sins.

Joe 2:18

2:18 Then will the LORD be {m} jealous for his land, and pity his people.

(m) If they repent he shows that God will preserve and defend them with a most fervent affection.

Joe 2:20

2:20 But I will remove far off from you the {n} northern [army], and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the {o} east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

(n) That is, the Assyrians your enemies.
(o) Called the Salt Sea, or Persian Sea: meaning, that even though this army was so great that it filled all from this sea to the Mediterranean Sea, yet he would scatter them.

Joe 2:23

2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain {p} moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first [month].

(p) That is, such as would come by just measure, and would be sent when God was reconciled with them.

Joe 2:28

2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, [that] I will pour {q} out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream {r} dreams, your young men shall see visions:

(q) That is, in greater abundance, and more broadly than in times past. And this was fulfilled under Christ, when God's graces and his Spirit under the Gospel were abundantly given to the Church; Isa 44:3 Ac 2:17 Joh 7:38-39 .
(r) As they had visions and dreams in ancient times, so will they now have clearer revelations.

Joe 2:30

2:30 And I will shew {s} wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

(s) He warns the faithful what terrible things would come, with the intent that they should not look for continual quietness in this world: and yet in all these troubles he would preserve them.

Joe 2:31

2:31 The {t} sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

(t) The order of nature will seem to be changed because of the horrible afflictions that will be in the world; Isa 13:10 Eze 32:7 Joe 3:15 Mt 24:29 .

Joe 2:32

2:32 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call {u} on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the {x} remnant whom the LORD shall call.

(u) God's judgments are for the destruction of the unbelievers, and to exhort the godly to call upon the name of God, who will give them salvation.
(x) Meaning the Gentiles by this; Ro 10:13 .

Joe 3:1

3:1 For, behold, in {a} those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

(a) When I will deliver my Church, which consists of both Jews and Gentiles.

Joe 3:2

3:2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the {b} valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

(b) It appears that he alludes to the great victory of Jehoshaphat, whom God used without man's help to destroy the enemies, 2Ch 20:20-26 ; also he is referring to this word Jehoshaphat, which signifies pleading or judgment, because God would judge the enemies of his Church, as he did there.

Joe 3:3

3:3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have {c} given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

Joe 3:4

3:4 Yea, and {d} what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me {e} a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly [and] speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

(d) He takes the cause of his Church in hand against the enemy, as though the injury were done to himself.
(e) Have I done you wrong, that you will render me the same?

Joe 3:8

3:8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they {f} shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken [it].

(f) For afterward God sold them by Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great, because of the love he had for his people, and by this they were comforted, as though they themselves had sold them.

Joe 3:10

3:10 {g} Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong.

(g) When I will execute my judgments against my enemies, I will cause everyone to be ready, and to prepare their weapons to destroy one another, for my Church's sake.

Joe 3:13

3:13 Put ye in the {h} sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great.

(h) In this way he will encourage the enemies when their wickedness is completely ripe to destroy one another, which he calls the valley of God's judgment.

Joe 3:16

3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD [will be] the {i} hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

(i) God assures his own against all trouble, that when he destroys his enemies, his children will be delivered.

Joe 3:17

3:17 So shall ye know that I [am] the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass {k} through her any more.

(k) The strangers will no longer destroy his Church: and if they do, it is the fault of the people, who by their sins make the breach for the enemy.

Joe 3:18

3:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the mountains shall {l} drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

(l) He promises to his Church abundance of graces, see Geneva "Eze 47:1", which would water and comfort the most barren places; Am 9:13 .

Joe 3:19

3:19 {m} Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence [against] the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

(m) The malicious enemies will have no part of these graces.

Joe 3:21

3:21 For I will {n} cleanse their blood [that] I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

(n) He had allowed his Church before this to lie in their filthiness, but now he promises to cleanse them and to make them pure unto himself.

Am 1:1

1:1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of {a} Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of {b} Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the {c} earthquake.

The Argument - Among many other Prophets that God raised up to admonish the Israelites of his plagues for their wickedness and idolatry, he stirred up Amos, who was a herdman or shepherd of a poor town, and gave him both knowledge and constancy to reprove all estates and degrees, and to make known God's horrible judgments against them, unless they repented in time. And he showed them, that if God did not spare the other nations around them, who had lived as it were in ignorance of God compared to them, but for their sins punished them, then they could look for nothing, but a horrible destruction, unless they turned to the Lord in true repentance. And finally, he comforts the godly with hope of the coming of the Messiah, by whom they would have perfect deliverance and salvation.

(a) Which was a town five miles from Jerusalem in Judea, but he prophesied in Israel.
(b) In his days the kingdom of Israel flourished the most.
(c) Which as Josephus writes, was when Uzziah would have usurped the priest's office, and therefore was smitten with leprosy.

Am 1:2

1:2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top {d} of Carmel shall wither.

(d) Whatever is fruitful and pleasant in Israel, will shortly perish.

Am 1:3

1:3 Thus saith the LORD; For {e} three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they have {f} threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

(e) He shows first that all the people round about would be destroyed for their manifold sins: which are meant by three and four, which make seven, so that the Israelites would the more deeply consider God's judgments toward them.
(f) If the Syrians will not be spared for committing this cruelty against one city, it is not possible that Israel would escape punishment, which has committed so many and such grievous sins against God and man.

Am 1:4

1:4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the {g} palaces of Benhadad.

(g) The antiquity of their buildings will not avoid my judgments. Read Geneva "Jer 49:27"

Am 1:5

1:5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto {h} Kir, saith the LORD.

(h) Tiglath Pileser led the Assyrians captive, and brought them to Cyrene, which he here calls Kir.

Am 1:6

1:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they {i} carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver [them] up to Edom:

(i) They united themselves with the Edomites their enemies, who carried them away captive.

Am 1:9

1:9 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the {k} brotherly covenant:

(k) For Esau (from whom came the Edomites) and Jacob were brothers, therefore they ought to have admonished them by their brotherly friendship, and not to have provoked them to hatred.

Am 1:11

1:11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath {l} for ever:

(l) He was a continual enemy to him.

Am 1:13

1:13 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they {m} have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

(m) He notes the great cruelty of the Ammonites, that did not spare the women, but most tyrannously tormented them, and yet the Ammonites came from Lot, who was of the household of Abraham.

Am 2:1

2:1 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because he burned the {a} bones of the king of Edom into lime:

(a) For the Moabites were so cruel against the King of Edom, that they burnt his bones after he was dead: which declared their barbarous rage, that they would avenge themselves upon the dead.

Am 2:4

2:4 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, {b} I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

(b) Seeing that the Gentiles who did have as much knowledge were punished in this way, Judah which was so fully instructed by the Lord's will, should not think that they would escape.

Am 2:6

2:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of {c} Israel, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of {d} shoes;

(c) If he did not spare Judah unto whom his promises were made, much more he will not spare this degenerate kingdom.
(d) They esteemed most vile bribes more than men's lives.

Am 2:7

2:7 That pant after the {e} dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the [same] maid, to profane my holy name:

(e) When they have robbed him and thrown him to the ground, they open wide their mouths for his life.

Am 2:8

2:8 And they lay [themselves] down upon clothes laid to pledge {f} by every altar, and they {g} drink the wine of the condemned [in] the house of their god.

(f) Thinking that by these ceremonies, that is, by sacrificing, and by being near my altar, they may excuse all of their other wickedness.
(g) They rob others and offer it to God, thinking that he will exempt them, when he is made partaker of their iniquity.

Am 2:9

2:9 Yet destroyed I the {h} Amorite before them, whose height [was] like the height of the cedars, and he [was] strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

(h) The destruction of their enemies and his mercy toward them, should have caused their hearts to melt because of love toward him.

Am 2:11

2:11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of {i} your young men for Nazarites. [Is it] not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

(i) You condemned my benefits, and abused my graces, and craftily went about to stop the mouths of my Prophets.

Am 2:13

2:13 Behold, I am {k} pressed under you, as a cart is pressed [that is] full of sheaves.

(k) You have wearied me with your sins; Isa 1:14 .

Am 2:14

2:14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the {l} swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

(l) None will be delivered by any means.

Am 3:2

3:2 You {a} only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

(a) I have only chosen you to be mine among all other people, and yet you have forsaken me.

Am 3:3

3:3 Can two walk together, except they be {b} agreed?

(b) By this the Prophet signifies that he speaks not of himself, but as God guides and moves him, which is called the agreement between God and his Prophets.

Am 3:4

3:4 Will a {c} lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

Am 3:5

3:5 {d} Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [is] for him? shall [one] take up a {e} snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?

(d) Can anything come without God's providence?
(e) Will his threatenings be in vain?

Am 3:6

3:6 {f} Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there {g} be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]?

(f) Will the Prophet's threaten God's judgments and the people not be afraid?
(g) Does any adversity come without God's appointment? Isa 45:7

Am 3:7

3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he {h} revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

(h) God does not deal with the Israelites as he does with other people: for he always warns them before of his plagues by his Prophets.

Am 3:8

3:8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but {i} prophesy?

(i) Because the people always murmured against the Prophets, he shows that God's Spirit moved them to speak as they did.

Am 3:9

3:9 Publish in the palaces at {k} Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.

(k) He calls the strangers, such as the Philistines and Egyptians, to be witness of God's judgments against the Israelites for their cruelty and oppression.

Am 3:10

3:10 For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery {l} in their palaces.

(l) The fruit of their cruelty and theft appears by their great riches, which they have in their houses.

Am 3:12

3:12 Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh {m} out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in {n} Damascus [in] a couch.

(m) When the lion has satisfied his hunger, the shepherd finds a leg or a piece of an ear, to show that the sheep have been torn by his teeth.
(n) Where they thought to have had a sure stronghold, and to have been in safety.

Am 4:1

4:1 Hear this word, ye {a} kine of Bashan, that [are] in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, {b} Bring, and let us drink.

(a) Thus he calls the princes and governors, who being overwhelmed with the great abundance of God's benefits, forgot God, and therefore he calls them by the name of beasts and not of men.
(b) They encourage those who have authority over the people to oppress them, so that they may have profit by it.

Am 4:2

4:2 The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with {c} hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

Am 4:4

4:4 Come to {d} Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, [and] your tithes after three {e} years:

(d) He speaks this in contempt of those who resorted to those places, thinking that their great devotion and good intention was sufficient to have bound God to them.
(e) Read De 14:28 .

Am 4:5

4:5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving {f} with leaven, and proclaim [and] publish the free offerings: for this {g} liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

(f) As Le 7:13 .
(g) You only delight in these outward ceremonies and care for nothing else.

Am 4:6

4:6 And I also have given you {h} cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

(h) That is, lack of bread and meat.

Am 4:7

4:7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when [there were] yet three {i} months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.

(i) I stopped the rain until the fruits of the earth were destroyed with drought, and yet you would not consider to return to me by repentance.

Am 4:8

4:8 So two [or] three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were {k} not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

(k) They could not find enough water where they had heard that it had rained.

Am 4:10

4:10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of {l} Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

(l) As I plagued the Egyptians; Ex 9:10 .

Am 4:11

4:11 I have overthrown [some] of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a {m} firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

(m) You were almost all consumed, and a few of you were wonderfully preserved; 2Ki 14:26 .

Am 4:12

4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: [and] because I will do this unto thee, prepare to {n} meet thy God, O Israel.

(n) Turn to him by repentance.

Am 5:2

5:2 The {a} virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; [there is] none to raise her up.

(a) He so calls them, because they so boasted of themselves, or because they were given to lustfulness and daintiness.

Am 5:3

5:3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave {b} an hundred, and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

(b) Meaning, that the tenth part would hardly be saved.

Am 5:5

5:5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into {c} Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

(c) In those places they worshipped new idols, which before served for the true honour of God: therefore he says that these will not save them.

Am 5:7

5:7 Ye who turn {d} judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,

(d) Instead of judgment and fairness they execute cruelty and oppression.

Am 5:8

5:8 [Seek him] that {e} maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name:

(e) He describes the power of God; Job 9:9 .

Am 5:10

5:10 They hate him {f} that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.

(f) They hate the Prophets, who reprove them in the open assemblies.

Am 5:11

5:11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading [is] upon the poor, and {g} ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.

(g) You take both his money and also his food, with which he should live.

Am 5:13

5:13 Therefore {h} the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is] an evil time.

(h) God will so plague them that they will not allow the godly to open their mouths once to admonish them of their faults.

Am 5:16

5:16 Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing [shall be] in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the {i} husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.

(i) So that people of all types will have reason to lament because of the great plagues.

Am 5:18

5:18 Woe unto you that {k} desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light.

(k) He speaks in this way because the wicked and hypocrites said they were content to endure God's judgments, whereas the godly tremble and fear; Jer 30:7, Joe 2:2,11 , Zep 1:15 .

Am 5:22

5:22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, {l} I will not accept [them]: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

(l) Because you have corrupted my true service, and remain obstinate in your vices; Isa 1:11, Jer 6:10 .

Am 5:24

5:24 But let judgment run down as {m} waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

(m) Do your duty to God, and to your neighbour, and so you will plentifully feel his grace, if you show your abundant affections according to God's word.

Am 5:26

5:26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your {n} Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

(n) That idol which you esteemed as your king, and carried about as you did Chiun, in which images you thought that there was a certain divinity.

Am 6:1

6:1 Woe to {a} them [that are] at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, {b} [which are] named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

(a) The Prophet threatens the wealthy, who did not regard God's plagues, nor threatenings by his Prophets.
(b) These two cities were famous from their first inhabitants the Canaanites: and seeing that before they did not avail those that were born here, why should you think that they should save you who were brought in to dwell in other men's possessions?

Am 6:2

6:2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: [be {c} they] better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

(c) If God has destroyed these excellent cities in three different kingdoms, that is Babylon, Syria, and that of the Philistines, and has narrowed their wide borders more than yours yet are, do you think that you are better, or that you will escape?

Am 6:3

6:3 Ye that put far away the {d} evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

(d) You that continue still in your wickedness, and think that God's plagues are not at hand, but give yourselves to all idleness, lustfulness, and disorder.

Am 6:5

6:5 That chant to the sound of the viol, [and] invent to themselves instruments of musick, like {e} David;

(e) As he caused different types of instruments to be made to serve God's glory, so these did strive to invent as many to serve their unrestrained affections and lusts.

Am 6:6

6:6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not {f} grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

(f) They did not pity their brethren, of which many were now slain and carried away captive.

Am 6:7

6:7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the {g} banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

(g) Some read "the sorrow of them that stretched themselves is at hand".

Am 6:8

6:8 {h} The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor {i} the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.

(h) Read Jer 51:14 .
(i) That is, the riches and pomp.

Am 6:10

6:10 And a man's uncle {k} shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that [is] by the {l} sides of the house, [Is there] yet [any] with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, {m} Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the LORD.

(k) The destruction will be so great, that almost none will be left to bury the dead: and therefore they will burn them at home, to carry out the burnt ashes with more ease.
(l) That is, to some neighbour that dwells near by.
(m) They will be so astonished at this destruction, that they will not boast any more of the name of God, and that they are his people: but they will be silent when they hear God's name, and abhor it, as those that are desperate, or reprobate.

Am 6:12

6:12 Shall horses {n} run upon the rock? will [one] plow [there] with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into {o} hemlock:

(n) He compares them to barren rocks, upon which it is in vain to bestow labour: showing that God's benefits can have no place among them.
(o) Read Am 5:7 .

Am 6:13

6:13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us {p} horns by our own strength?

(p) That is, power and glory.

Am 6:14

6:14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of {q} Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.

(q) From one corner of the country to another.

Am 7:1

7:1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed {a} grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, [it was] the latter growth {b} after the king's mowings.

(a) To devour the land: and he alludes to the invading of the enemies.
(b) After the public commandment for mowing was given: or as some read, when the kings sheep were shorn.

Am 7:3

7:3 The LORD {c} repented for this: It shall not be, saith the LORD.

Am 7:4

7:4 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, {d} and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.

(d) Meaning, that God's indignation was inflamed against the stubbornness of this people.

Am 7:7

7:7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall [made] by a plumbline, {e} with a plumbline in his hand.

(e) Signifying that this would be the last measuring of the people, and that he would defer his judgment no longer.

Am 7:10

7:10 {f} Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

(f) That is, when Amos had prophesied that the king would be destroyed: for the wicked priest more for hatred he had for the Prophet than for love toward the king, thought this accusation sufficient to condemn him. However, only what the Prophet said could take place.

Am 7:12

7:12 Also {g} Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

(g) When this instrument of Satan was not able to accomplish his purpose by the king, he tried by another practice, that was, to scare the Prophet, that he might depart, and not reprove their idolatry there openly, and so hinder his profit.

Am 7:14

7:14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I [was] no {h} prophet, neither [was] I a prophet's son; but I [was] an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:

(h) Thus he shows by his extraordinary calling, that God had given him a charge, which he must necessarily execute.

Am 7:17

7:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; {i} Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.

(i) In this way God used to approve the authority of his Prophets, by his plagues and judgments against those who were malicious enemies as in Jer 28:12-17 29:21-26, as this day he does against those that persecute the ministers of his Gospel.

Am 8:2

8:2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of {a} summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

(a) Which signified the ripeness of their sins, and the readiness of God's judgments.

Am 8:3

8:3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: [there shall be] many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast [them] forth with {b} silence.

(b) There will be none left to mourn for them.

Am 8:4

8:4 Hear this, O ye that {c} swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

(c) By stopping the sale of food and necessary things which you have gotten into your own hands, and so cause the poor to spend quickly that little that they have, and at length because of need to become your slaves.

Am 8:5

8:5 Saying, When will the {d} new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making {e} the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

(d) When the scarcity had come they were so greedy for gain, that they thought the holy day to be a hindrance to them.
(e) That is, the measure small, and the price great.

Am 8:8

8:8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and {f} drowned, as [by] the flood of Egypt.

(f) That is, the inhabitants of the land will be drowned, as the Nile drowns many when it overflows.

Am 8:9

8:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the {g} sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

(g) In the midst of their prosperity, I will send great affliction.

Am 8:12

8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the {h} word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].

(h) By which he shows that they will not only perish in body, but also in soul for lack of God's word, which is the food of it.

Am 8:14

8:14 They that swear by the sin {i} of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, {k} The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

(i) For the idolaters used to swear by their idols, which here he calls their sin: and the papists yet swear by theirs.
(k) That is, the common manner of worshipping, and the service or religion used there.

Am 9:1

9:1 I saw the Lord standing upon the {a} altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the {b} head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

(a) Which was at Jerusalem: for he did not appear in the idolatrous places of Israel.
(b) Both the most important of them, and also the common people.

Am 9:3

9:3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the {c} serpent, and he shall bite them:

(c) He shows that God will declare himself as an enemy to them in all places, and that his elements and all his creatures will be enemies to destroy them.

Am 9:6

9:6 [It is] he that buildeth his {d} stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name.

(d) He declares by the wonderful power of God, by the making of the heavens and the elements, that it is not possible for man to escape his judgments when he punishes.

Am 9:7

9:7 [Are] ye not as children of the Ethiopians {e} unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from {f} Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?

(e) Am I more bound to you than to the Ethiopians, or other people? Yet I have bestowed upon you greater benefits.
(f) Read Jer 47:4 .

Am 9:8

9:8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD [are] upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly {g} destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.

(g) Though he destroys the rebellious multitude, yet he will always reserve the remnant of his Church to call upon his name.

Am 9:9

9:9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the {h} least grain fall upon the earth.

(h) Meaning that none of his own would perish in his wrath.

Am 9:11

9:11 In that day will I raise up the {i} tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

(i) I will send the promised Messiah, and restore by him the spiritual Israel; Ac 15:16 .

Am 9:12

9:12 That they may possess the remnant of {k} Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

(k) Meaning, the very enemies (as were the Edomites) and others would be united with the Jews in one society and body, of which Christ would be the head.

Am 9:13

9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall {l} overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall {m} drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

(l) Signifying, that there will be great abundance of all things, so that when one type of fruit is ripe, another would follow, and every one in order; Le 26:5 .
(m) Read Joe 3:18 .

Am 9:14

9:14 {n} And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

(n) The accomplishment of this is under Christ, when they are planted in this Church, out of which they can never be pulled, after they have once been grafted into it.

Ob 1:1

1:1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; {a} We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and {b} let us rise up against her in battle.

The Argument - The Idumeans, who came from Esau, were mortal enemies always to the Israelites, who came from Jacob, and therefore did not only vex them continually with various types of cruelty, but also stirred up others to fight against them. Therefore when they were now in their greatest prosperity, and did most triumph against Israel, which was in great affliction and misery, God raised up his Prophet to comfort the Israelites. For God had now determined to destroy their adversaries, who did so severely vex them, and to send them those who would deliver them, and set up the kingdom of the Messiah which he had promised.

(a) God has certainly revealed to his prophets, that he will raise up the heathen to destroy the Edomites, concerning which the rumour is now proclaimed; Jer 49:14 .
(b) Thus the heathen encourage themselves to rise against Edom.

Ob 1:3

1:3 The {c} pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation [is] high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

(c) Which despises all others in respect of yourself, and yet you are but a handful in comparison with others, and you are shut up among the hills as separate from the rest of the world.

Ob 1:5

1:5 {d} If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave [some] grapes?

(d) God will so destroy them that he will leave none, even though thieves when they come take but until they have enough, and they that gather grapes always leave some behind them. See Geneva "Jer 49:9"

Ob 1:7

1:7 All the men of thy confederacy {e} have brought thee [even] to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, [and] prevailed against thee; [they that eat] thy {f} bread have laid a wound under thee: [there is] none understanding in him.

(e) Those in whom you trusted to have help and friendship, will be your enemies and destroy you.
(f) That is, your familiar friends and guests have by secret practices destroyed you.

Ob 1:10

1:10 For [thy] violence against thy {g} brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

(g) He shows the reason why the Edomites were so severely punished: that is, because they were enemies to his Church, whom he now comforts by punishing their enemies.

Ob 1:11

1:11 In the day that thou stoodest {h} on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou [wast] as one of them.

(h) When Nebuchadnezzar came against Jerusalem, you joined with him, and had part of the spoil, and so rejoiced when my people (that is, your brother), were afflicted, whereas you should have pitied and helped your brother.

Ob 1:12

1:12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became {i} a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

(i) When the Lord deprived them of their former dignity, and delivered them to be carried into captivity.

Ob 1:15

1:15 For the day {k} of the LORD [is] near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

(k) When he will summon all the heathen, and send them to destroy you.

Ob 1:16

1:16 For as ye have {l} drunk upon my holy mountain, [so] shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be {m} as though they had not been.

(l) That is, rejoiced and triumphed.
(m) The Edomites will be utterly destroyed, and yet in spite of all the enemies I will reserve my Church and restore it.

Ob 1:18

1:18 And the house of Jacob shall be {n} a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be [any] remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken [it].

(n) God attributes this power to consume his enemies to his Church, which power properly belongs only to himself; Isa 10:17, De 4:24, He 12:29 .

Ob 1:19

1:19 And [they of] the south shall possess the {o} mount of Esau; and [they of] the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead.

(o) He describes how the Church will be enlarged and have great possessions: but this is mainly accomplished under Christ, when that faithful are made heirs and lords of all things by him who is their head.

Ob 1:20

1:20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] that of the {p} Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.

(p) By the Canaanites, the Jews mean the Dutchmen, and by Zarephath, France, and by Sepharad, Spain.

Ob 1:21

1:21 And {q} saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.

(q) Meaning that God will raise up in his Church those who will rule and govern for the defence of it, and for the destruction of his enemies under the Messiah, whom the Prophet here calls the Lord and head of this kingdom.

Jon 1:1

1:1 Now the word of the LORD came {a} unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

The Argument - When Jonah had long prophesied in Israel and had little profited, God gave him specific charge to go and denounce his judgments against Nineveh, the chief city of the Assyrians, because he had appointed that those who were of the heathen, should convert by the mighty power of his word. And this was so that within three day's preaching, Israel might see how horribly they had provoked God's wrath, who for the space of so many years, had not converted to the Lord, for so many prophets and such diligent preaching. He prophesied under Jonah, and Jeroboam; 2Ki 14:25 .

(a) After he had preached a long time in Israel: and so Ezekiel, after he had prophesied in Judah for a time, had visions in Babylon; Eze 1:1 .

Jon 1:2

1:2 Arise, go to {b} Nineveh, that {c} great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

(b) For seeing the great obstipation of the Israelites, he sent his Prophet to the Gentiles, that they might provoke them to repentance, or at least make them inexcusable: for Nineveh was the chief city of the Assyrians.
(c) For as authors write, it contained in circuit about forty-eight miles, and had 1500 towers, and at this time there were 120,000 children in it; Jon 4:11 .

Jon 1:3

1:3 But Jonah rose up to {d} flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to {e} Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the {f} presence of the LORD.

(d) By which he declares his weakness, that would not promptly follow the Lord's calling, but gave place to his own reason, which persuaded him that he would not profit these people at all, seeing he had done such little good among his own people; Jon 4:2 .
(e) Which was the haven, and port to take shipping there, also called Joppa.
(f) From that vocation to which God had called him, and in which he would have assisted him.

Jon 1:5

1:5 Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that [were] in the ship into the sea, to lighten [it] of them. But Jonah was gone down {g} into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.

(g) As one that would have cast off this care and concern by seeking rest and quietness.

Jon 1:6

1:6 So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy {h} God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.

(h) As they had called on their idols, which declares that idolaters have no rest nor certainty, but in their troubles seek what they do not even know.

Jon 1:7

1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast {i} lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil [is] upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

(i) Which declares that the matter was very extreme and in doubt, which was God's way of getting them to test for the cause: and this may not be done except in matters of great importance.

Jon 1:14

1:14 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, {k} We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.

(k) This declares that the very wicked in their time of need flee to God for help, and also that they are touched with a certain fear of shedding man's blood, whereas they know no manifest sign of wickedness.

Jon 1:16

1:16 Then the men {l} feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

(l) They were touched with a certain repentance of their past life, and began to worship the true God by whom they saw themselves as wonderfully delivered. But this was done for fear, and not from a pure heart and affection, neither according to God's word.

Jon 1:17

1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the {m} belly of the fish three days and three nights.

(m) Thus the Lord would chastise his Prophet with a most terrible spectacle of death, and by this also strengthened and encouraged him of his favour and support in this duty which was commanded him.

Jon 2:1

2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God {a} out of the fish's belly,

(a) Being now swallowed up by death, and seeing no remedy to escape, his faith broke out to the Lord, knowing that out of this very hell he was able to deliver him.

Jon 2:2

2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly {b} of hell cried I, [and] thou heardest my voice.

(b) For he was now in the fishes belly as in a grave or place of darkness.

Jon 2:4

2:4 Then I said, I am {c} cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

(c) This declared what his prayer was, and how he laboured between hope and despair, considering the neglect of his vocation, and God's judgments for it: but yet in the end faith gained the victory.

Jon 2:6

2:6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars [was] about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my {d} life from corruption, O LORD my God.

(d) You have delivered me from the belly of the fish and all these dangers, as it were raising me from death to life.

Jon 2:8

2:8 They that observe lying {e} vanities forsake their own {f} mercy.

(e) Those that depend upon anything except on God alone.
(f) They refuse their own felicity, and that goodness which they would otherwise receive from God.

Jon 3:1

3:1 And the word of the LORD came unto {a} Jonah the second time, saying,

(a) This is a great declaration of God's mercy, that he receives him again, and sends him forth as his Prophet, who had before shown such great weakness.

Jon 3:3

3:3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding {b} great city of three days' journey.

(b) Read Geneva (c) "Jon 1:2"

Jon 3:4

3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's {c} journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Jon 3:5

3:5 So the people of Nineveh {d} believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

(d) For he declared that he was a Prophet sent to them from God, to make known his judgments against them.

Jon 3:7

3:7 And he caused [it] to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor {e} beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

(e) Not that the dumb beasts had sinned or could repent, but that by their example man might be astonished, considering that for his sin the anger of God hung over all creatures.

Jon 3:8

3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and {f} cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that [is] in their hands.

(f) He exhorted that the men should earnestly call to God for mercy.

Jon 3:9

3:9 {g} Who can tell [if] God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

(g) For partly from the threatening of the prophet, and partly from his own conscience, he doubted whether God would show them mercy.

Jon 3:10

3:10 And God saw their {h} works, that they turned from their evil way; and {i} God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did [it] not.

(h) That is, the fruits of their repentance, which proceeded from faith, which God had planted by the ministry of his Prophet.
(i) Read Geneva "Jer 18:8"

Jon 4:1

4:1 But it displeased {a} Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.

(a) Because by this he would be taken as a false prophet, and so the name of God, which he preached, would be blasphemed.

Jon 4:2

4:2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, [was] not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto {b} Tarshish: for I knew that thou [art] a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

(b) Read Jon 1:3 .

Jon 4:3

4:3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life {c} from me; for [it is] better for me to die than to live.

(c) Thus he prayed from grief, fearing that God's name by this forgiveness might be blasphemed, as though he sent his Prophets forth to make known his judgments in vain.

Jon 4:4

4:4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be {d} angry?

(d) Will you judge when I do things for my glory, and when I do not?

Jon 4:5

4:5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, {e} till he might see what would become of the city.

(e) For he doubted as yet whether God would show them mercy or not, and therefore after forty days he departed out of the city, to see what God would do.

Jon 4:6

4:6 And the LORD God prepared a {f} gourd, and made [it] to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.

(f) Which was a further means to cover him from the heat of the sun, as he remained in his booth.

Jon 4:9

4:9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be {g} angry, [even] unto death.

(g) This declares the great inconveniences into which God's servants fall when they give place to their own affections, and do not in all things willingly submit themselves to God.

Jon 4:11

4:11 And should {h} not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that {i} cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much cattle?

(h) Thus God mercifully reproves him who would pity himself and this gourd, and yet would keep God from showing his compassion to so many thousand people.
(i) Meaning that they were children and infants.

Mic 1:1

1:1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah the {a} Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

The Argument - Micah the prophet of the tribe of Judah served in the work of the Lord concerning Judah and Israel at least thirty years: during which time Isaiah prophesied. He declares the destruction first of the one kingdom, and then of the other, because of their manifold wickedness, but chiefly because of their idolatry. And to this end he notes the wickedness of the people, the cruelty of the princes and governors, and the allowing of the false prophets, and the delighting in them. Then he sets forth the coming of Christ, his kingdom, and the felicity of it. This Prophet was not that Micah who resisted Ahab and all his false prophets, 1Ki 22:8 but another with the same name.

(a) Born in Mareshah, a city of Judah.

Mic 1:2

1:2 Hear, {b} all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.

(b) Because of the malice and obstinacy of the people, whom he had so often exhorted to repentance, he summons them to God's judgments, taking all creatures, and God himself as witness, that the preaching of the Prophets, which they have abused, will be avenged.

Mic 1:3

1:3 For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come {c} down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

Mic 1:5

1:5 For the transgression of Jacob [is] all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What [is] the transgression of Jacob? [is it] not {d} Samaria? and what [are] the high {e} places of Judah? [are they] not Jerusalem?

(d) Samaria, which should have been an example to all Israel of true religion and justice, was the dirty pool and the tank that all idolatry and corruption was kept alive in, and who prided themselves in their father Jacob, and boasted of him.
(e) That is, the idolatry and infection.

Mic 1:7

1:7 And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the {f} hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered [it] of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return {g} to the hire of an harlot.

(f) Which they gathered by evil practices, and thought that their idols had enriched them with these wages because of their service to them.
(g) The gain that came by their idols will be consumed as a thing of nothing: for as the wages or riches of harlots are wickedly gotten, so are they vilely and quickly spent.

Mic 1:10

1:10 Declare ye [it] not at {h} Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of {i} Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.

(h) Lest the Philistines our enemies rejoice at our destruction.
(i) Which was a city near to Jerusalem Jos 18:23 , there called Ophrah, and signifies dust: therefore he wants them to mourn and roll themselves in the dust, for their dusty city.

Mic 1:11

1:11 Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of {k} Saphir, having thy shame naked: the inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; he shall {l} receive of you his standing.

(k) These were cities by which the enemy would pass as he came to Judah.
(l) He will not depart before he has overcome you, and so you will pay for his staying.

Mic 1:12

1:12 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: but evil came down from the LORD unto the {m} gate of Jerusalem.

(m) For Rabshakeh had shut up Jerusalem, so that they could not send to help them.

Mic 1:13

1:13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the {n} swift beast: she {o} [is] the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.

(n) To flee away: for Sennacherib laid siege first to that city, and remained there when he sent his captains and army against Jerusalem.
(o) You first received the idolatry of Jeroboam, and so infected Jerusalem.

Mic 1:14

1:14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to {p} Moreshethgath: the houses of Achzib [shall be] a lie to the kings of Israel.

(p) You will bribe the Philistines your neighbours, but they will deceive you, as well as those of Jerusalem.

Mic 1:15

1:15 Yet will I bring an {q} heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam {r} the glory of Israel.

(q) He prophesies against his own city: and because it signified a heritage, he says that God would send an heir to possess it.
(r) For so they thought themselves because of the strength of their cities.

Mic 2:1

2:1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! {a} when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.

(a) As soon as they rise, they execute their wicked devices of the night, and according to their ability hurt others.

Mic 2:4

2:4 In that day shall [one] take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, [and] say, {b} We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed [it] from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

(b) Thus the Jews lament and say that there is no hope of restitution, seeing their possessions are divided among the enemies.

Mic 2:5

2:5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in {c} the congregation of the LORD.

Mic 2:6

2:6 {d} Prophesy ye not, [say they to them that] prophesy: {e} they shall not prophesy to them, [that] they shall not take shame.

(d) Thus the people warn the prophets that they speak to them no more, for they cannot endure their threatenings.
(e) God says that they will not prophesy, nor receive any more of their rebukes or taunts.

Mic 2:7

2:7 O [thou that art] named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? {f} [are] these his doings? do not my words do good to him {g} that walketh uprightly?

(f) Are these your works according to his Law?
(g) Do not the godly find my words comfortable?

Mic 2:8

2:8 Even {h} of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the {i} robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.

(h) That is, in past times.
(i) The poor can have no benefit from them, but they rob them, as though they were enemies.

Mic 2:9

2:9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away {k} my glory for ever.

(k) That is, their substance and living, which is God's blessing, and as it were part of his glory.

Mic 2:10

2:10 Arise ye, and depart; for this [is] not [your] {l} rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy [you], even with a sore destruction.

(l) Jerusalem will not be your safeguard, but rather the cause of your destruction.

Mic 2:11

2:11 If a man {m} walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, [saying], {n} I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.

(m) That is, show himself to be a prophet.
(n) He shows what prophets they delight in, that is, in flatterers, who tell them pleasant tales, and speak of their benefits.

Mic 2:12

2:12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, {o} all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of [the multitude of] men.

(o) To destroy you.

Mic 2:13

2:13 The {p} breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD {q} on the head of them.

(p) The enemy will break their gates and walls, and lead them into Chaldea.
(q) To drive them forward, and to help their enemies.

Mic 3:1

3:1 And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; [Is it] not for you to know {a} judgment?

(a) That thing which is just and lawful, both to govern my people properly, and also to clear your own conscience.

Mic 3:2

3:2 Who hate the good, and love the evil; {b} who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones;

(b) The Prophet condemns the wicked governors not only of covetousness, theft, and murder, but compares them to wolves, lions, and most cruel beasts.

Mic 3:4

3:4 Then {c} shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

(c) That is, when I will punish their wickedness: for though I hear the godly before they cry Isa 65:24 , yet I will not hear these even though they cry; Isa 1:15 Eze 8:18 Jas 2:13 1Pe 3:11-12 .

Mic 3:5

3:5 Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that {d} bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him.

(d) They devour all their substance, and then flatter them, promising that all will go well. But if someone does not feed them, then they invent all ways to do evil.

Mic 3:6

3:6 Therefore {e} night [shall be] unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.

(e) As you have loved to walk in darkness, and to prophesy lies, so God will reward you with gross blindness and ignorance, so that when all others will see the bright beams of God's grace, you will as blind men grope as in the night.

Mic 3:7

3:7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover {f} their lips; for [there is] no answer of God.

(f) When God will reveal them to the world, they will be afraid to speak: for all will know that they were but false prophets, and did give a false notion of the word of God.

Mic 3:8

3:8 But truly I am full {g} of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

(g) The Prophet being assured of his vocation by the Spirit of God, sets himself alone against all the wicked, showing how God gave him gifts, ability and knowledge, to discern between good and evil, and also steadfastness and endurance to reprove the sins of the people, and not to flatter them.

Mic 3:10

3:10 They build up Zion with {h} blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

(h) They will say that they are the people of God, and abuse his name, as a pretence to disguise their hypocrisy.

Mic 3:12

3:12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be {k} plowed [as] a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.

(k) Read Jer 26:18 .

Mic 4:1

4:1 But in the {a} last days it shall come to pass, [that] the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the {b} hills; and people shall flow unto it.

(a) When Christ will come, and the temple will be destroyed.
(b) Read Geneva (a),(b),(c) "Isa 2:2"

Mic 4:2

4:2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will {c} teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Mic 4:3

4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and {d} rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into {e} pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they {f} learn war any more.

(d) By his corrections and threatenings he will bring the people into subjection who are in the utmost corners of the world.
(e) They will abstain from all evil doing, and exercise themselves in godliness and in well doing to others.
(f) Read Isa 2:4

Mic 4:5

4:5 For all people will walk {g} every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.

(g) He shows that the people of God ought to remain constant in their religion, even if all the world should give themselves to their superstition and idolatry.

Mic 4:7

4:7 And I will make her that halted {h} a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

(h) I will cause that Israel, who is now as one lame and halting, and so almost destroyed, to live again, and grow into a great people.

Mic 4:8

4:8 And thou, O {i} tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even {k} the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

(i) Meaning Jerusalem, where the Lord's flock was gathered.
(k) The flourishing state of the kingdom, as it was under David and Solomon, which thing was accomplished for the Church by the coming of Christ.

Mic 4:9

4:9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? [is {l} there] no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.

(l) In the meantime he shows that they would endure great troubles and temptations, when they saw themselves neither to have king nor counsel.

Mic 4:12

4:12 But they {m} know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.

(m) He shows that the faithful ought not to measure God's judgments by the braggings and threatenings of the wicked, but by these are admonished to lift up their hearts to God to call for deliverance.

Mic 4:13

4:13 Arise and thresh, {n} O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

(n) God gives his Church this victory, as often as he overcomes their enemies: but the accomplishment of this will be at the last coming of Christ.

Mic 5:1

5:1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter {a} of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

(a) He forewarns them of the dangers that will come before they enjoy these comforts, showing that inasmuch as Jerusalem was accustomed with her garrisons to trouble others, the Lord would now cause other garrisons to vex her, and that her rulers would be hit on the face most contemptuously.

Mic 5:2

5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be {b} little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose {c} goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.

(b) For so the Jews divided their country that for every thousand there was a chief captain: and because Bethlehem was not able to make a thousand, he calls it little. But yet God will raise up his captain and governor in it: and thus it is not the least by reason of this benefit. See Geneva "Mt 2:6"
(c) He shows that the coming of Christ and all his ways were appointed by God from all eternity.

Mic 5:3

5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time [that] {d} she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

(d) He compares the Jews to women with child, who for a time would have great sorrows, but at length they would have a comfortable deliverance; Joh 16:21 .

Mic 5:4

5:4 And he shall {e} 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.

(e) That is, Christ's kingdom will be stable and everlasting, and his people, the Gentiles as well as the Jews, will dwell in safety.

Mic 5:5

5:5 And this [man] {f} 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.

(f) This Messiah will be a sufficient safeguard for us, and though the enemy invades us for a time, yet will God stir up many who will be able to deliver us.

Mic 5:6

5:6 And they shall waste the {g} land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he {h} deliver [us] from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

(g) These whom God will raise up for the deliverance of his Church, will destroy all the enemies of it, who are meant here by the Assyrians and Babylonians, who were the chief enemies at that time.
(h) By these governors will God deliver us when the enemy comes into our land.

Mic 5:7

5:7 And the {i} 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.

(i) This remnant or Church which God will deliver will only depend on God's power and defence (as does the grass of the field), and not on the hope of man.

Mic 5:10

5:10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy {k} horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots:

(k) I will destroy all things in which you put your confidence, such as your vain self-reliance and idolatry, and in doing this I will be helping you.

Mic 5:15

5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, {l} such as they have not heard.

(l) It will be so terrible that nothing like it has been heard of.

Mic 6:1

6:1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the {a} mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.

(a) He took the high mountains and hard rocks as witnesses against the obstinacy of his people.

Mic 6:4

6:4 For I {b} brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

(b) I have not hurt you, but bestowed infinite benefits upon you.

Mic 6:5

6:5 O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from {c} Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the {d} righteousness of the LORD.

(c) That is, remember my benefits from the beginning, how I delivered you from Balaam's curse, and also spared you from Shittim which was in the plain of Moab, until I brought you into the promised land.
(d) That is, the truth of his promise and his manifold benefits toward you.

Mic 6:6

6:6 Wherewith {e} shall I come before the LORD, [and] bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

(e) Thus the people by hypocrisy ask how to please God, and are content to offer sacrifices, but will not change their lives.

Mic 6:7

6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, [or] with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my {f} firstborn [for] my transgression, the fruit of my body [for] the sin of my soul?

(f) There is nothing so dear to man, but the hypocrites will offer it to God, if they think by this to avoid his anger. But they will never by brought to mortify their own affections, and to give themselves willingly to serve God as he commands.

Mic 6:8

6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, {g} but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

(g) The Prophet in few words calls them to the observation of the second table of the ten commandments, to know if they will obey God correctly or not, saying that God has commanded them to do this.

Mic 6:9

6:9 The LORD'S voice crieth unto the {h} city, and [the man of] wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.

(h) Meaning, that when God speaks to any city or nation, the godly will acknowledge his majesty and not consider the mortal man that brings the threatening, but God that sends it.

Mic 6:12

6:12 For the rich men thereof {i} are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue [is] deceitful in their mouth.

(i) That is, of Jerusalem.

Mic 6:14

6:14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and {k} thy casting down [shall be] in the midst of thee; and thou {l} shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and [that] which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.

(k) You will be consumed with inward grief and evils.
(l) Meaning that the city would go about to save her men, as they that lay hold of that which they would preserve.

Mic 6:16

6:16 For the {m} statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.

(m) You have received all the corruption and idolatry with which the ten tribes were infected under Omri and Ahab his son: and to excuse your doings, you allege the King's authority by his statutes, and also wisdom and policy in so doing, but you will not escape punishment. But as I have shown you great favour, and taken you for my people, so will your plagues be according as your sins; Lu 12:47 .

Mic 7:1

7:1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the {a} summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: [there is] no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.

(a) The Prophet takes upon himself the voice of the earth, which complains that all her fruits are gone, so that none are left: that is, that there is no godly man remaining, for all are given to cruelty and deceit, so that none spares his own brother.

Mic 7:2

7:2 The good [man] is perished out of the earth: and [there is] none upright among men: {b} they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

(b) He shows that the prince, the judge, and the rich man are all linked together to do evil, and to disguise the deeds of one another.

Mic 7:3

7:3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge [asketh] for a reward; and the {c} great [man], he uttereth his mischievous desire: so {d} they wrap it up.

(c) That is, the rich man that is able to give money, abstains from no wickedness or injury.
(d) These men agree among themselves, and conspire with one another to do evil.

Mic 7:4

7:4 The best of them [is] as {e} a brier: the most upright [is sharper] than a thorn hedge: the day of {f} thy watchmen [and] thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

(e) They that are of most estimation and are counted most honest among them, are but thorns and briers to prick.
(f) Meaning the prophets and governors.

Mic 7:7

7:7 Therefore {g} I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

(g) The Prophet shows that the only remedy for the godly in desperate evils, is to flee to God for help.

Mic 7:8

7:8 Rejoice not against me, {h} O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be] a light unto me.

(h) This is spoken in the voice of the Church, which calls the malignant church her enemy.

Mic 7:11

7:11 [In] {i} the day that thy walls are to be built, [in] that day shall {k} the decree be far removed.

(i) That is, when God will show himself to be a deliverer of his Church, and a destroyer of his enemies.
(k) Meaning the cruel empire of the Babylonians.

Mic 7:12

7:12 [In] that day [also] he shall come even to thee from {l} Assyria, and [from] the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and [from] mountain to mountain.

(l) When the Church will be restored, those that were enemies before will come out of all the corners of the world to her, so that neither fortresses, rivers, seas, nor mountains will be able to stop them.

Mic 7:13

7:13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of {m} their doings.

(m) Before this grace appears, he shows how grievously the hypocrites themselves will be punished, seeing that the earth itself, which cannot sin, will be made waste because of their wickedness.

Mic 7:14

7:14 {n} Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily [in] the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed [in] Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

(n) The Prophet prays to God to be merciful to his Church, when they would be scattered abroad as in solitary places in Babylon, and to be beneficial to them as in times past.

Mic 7:15

7:15 {o} According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous [things].

(o) God promises to be favourable to his people, as he had been before.

Mic 7:16

7:16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall {p} lay [their] hand upon [their] mouth, {q} their ears shall be deaf.

(p) They will be as dumb men, and dare brag no more.
(q) They will be astonished and afraid to hear men speak, lest they should hear of their destruction.

Mic 7:17

7:17 They shall {r} lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.

(r) They will fall flat on the ground because of fear.

Mic 7:18

7:18 Who [is] a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and {s} passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth [in] mercy.

(s) As though he did not see it, ignoring it.

Mic 7:19

7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all {t} their sins into the depths of the sea.

(t) Meaning his elect.

Mic 7:20

7:20 Thou wilt perform the {u} truth to Jacob, [and] the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

(u) The Church is assured that God will perform the truth of his merciful promise, which he had made long ago to Abraham, and to all that would apprehend the promise by faith.

Na 1:1

1:1 The {a} burden of Nineveh. {b} The book of the vision of Nahum the {c} Elkoshite.

The Argument - As those of Nineveh showed themselves prompt and ready to receive the word of God at Jonah's preaching, and so turned to the Lord by repentance, so after a certain time they gave themselves to worldly means to increase their dominion, rather than seeking to continue in that fear of God, and path in which they had begun. They cast off the care of religion, and so returned to their vomit and provoked God's just judgment against them, in afflicting his people. Therefore their city Nineveh was destroyed, and Meroch-baladan, king of Babel (or as some think, Nebuchadnezzar) enjoyed the empire of the Assyrians. But because God has a continual care for his Church, he stirs up his Prophet to comfort the godly, showing that the destruction of their enemies would be for their consolation: and as it seems, he prophesies around the time of Hezekiah, and not in the time of Manasseh his son, as the Jews write.

(a) Read Geneva "Isa 13:1"
(b) The vision or revelation, which God commanded Nahum to write concerning the Ninevites.
(c) That is, born in a poor village in the tribe of Simeon.

Na 1:2

1:2 God [is] {d} jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and {e} [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies.

(d) Meaning, of his glory.
(e) With his own he is but angry for a time, but his anger is never appeased toward the reprobate, even though he defers it for a time.

Na 1:3

1:3 The {f} LORD [is] slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit [the wicked]: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds [are] the dust of his feet.

(f) Thus the wicked would make God's mercy an occasion to sin, but the Prophet wishes them to consider his power and justice.

Na 1:6

1:6 {g} Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

(g) If all creatures are at God's commandment, and none are able to resist his wrath, will man flatter himself, and think by any means to escape, when he provokes his God to anger?

Na 1:7

1:7 The LORD [is] good, {h} a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

(h) Lest the faithful should be discouraged by hearing the power of God, he shows them that his mercy appertains to them, and that he has care over them.

Na 1:8

1:8 But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the {i} place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.

(i) Signifying that God will suddenly destroy Nineveh and the Assyrians in such a way, that they will lie in perpetual darkness, and never recover their strength again.

Na 1:9

1:9 What do ye {k} imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.

(k) He shows that the undertakings of the Assyrians against Judah and the Church were against God, and therefore he would so destroy them the first time, that he would not need to return the second time.

Na 1:10

1:10 For while [they be] folden together [as] {l} thorns, and while they are drunken [as] drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.

(l) Though the Assyrians think themselves like thorns that prick on all sides, yet the Lord will set fire on them, and as drunken men are not able to stand against any force, so they will not be able to resist him at all.

Na 1:11

1:11 There is [one] {m} come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor.

(m) Which may be understood either of Sennacherib, or of the whole body of the people of Nineveh.

Na 1:12

1:12 Thus saith the LORD; Though [they be] {n} quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.

(n) Though they think themselves in most safety, and of greatest strength, yet when God will pass by, he will destroy them: nonetheless, he comforts his Church, and promises to stop punishing them by the Assyrians.

Na 1:14

1:14 And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, [that] no more of thy name be {o} sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.

(o) Meaning, Sennacherib, who would have no more children, but be slain in the house of his gods; 2Ki 19:36-37 .

Na 1:15

1:15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth {p} peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

(p) Which peace the Jews would enjoy by the death of Sennacherib.

Na 2:1

2:1 {a} He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munition, watch the way, make [thy] loins strong, fortify [thy] power mightily.

(a) That is, Nebuchadnezzar is in readiness to destroy the Assyrians: and the Prophet derides the undertakings of the Assyrians who prepared to resist him.

Na 2:2

2:2 For the LORD hath {b} turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and {c} marred their vine branches.

(b) Seeing God has punished his own people Judah and Israel, he will now punish the enemies by whom he scourged them; read Isa 10:12 .
(c) Signifying that the Israelites were utterly destroyed.

Na 2:3

2:3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, {d} the valiant men [are] in scarlet: the chariots [shall be] with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and {e} the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.

(d) Both to put fear into the enemy, and also that they themselves should not so soon detect blood among one another, to discourage them.
(e) Meaning their spears would shake and crash together.

Na 2:5

2:5 {f} He shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.

(f) Then the Assyrians will seek by all means to gather their power, but all things will fail them.

Na 2:8

2:8 But Nineveh [is] of {g} old like a pool of water: yet they shall flee away. Stand, stand, [shall they cry]; but none shall look back.

(g) The Assyrians will flatter themselves and say that Nineveh is so ancient that it can never perish, and is as a fishpool, whose waters cannot be touched by those that walk on the banks. But they will be scattered, and will not look back, even if men call them.

Na 2:9

2:9 {h} Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold: for [there is] none end of the store [and] glory out of all the pleasant furniture.

(h) God commands the enemies to spoil Nineveh, and promises them infinite riches and treasures.

Na 2:10

2:10 {i} She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain [is] in all loins, and the faces {k} of them all gather blackness.

(i) That is, Nineveh, and the men of it will be after this manner.
(k) Read Geneva "Joe 2:6"

Na 2:11

2:11 Where [is] the {l} dwelling of the lions, and the feedingplace of the young lions, where the lion, [even] the old lion, walked, [and] the lion's whelp, and none made [them] afraid?

(l) Meaning, Nineveh, whose inhabitants were cruel like the lions, and given to all oppression, and spared no violence or tyranny to provide for their wives and children.

Na 2:13

2:13 Behold, I [am] against thee, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will burn her chariots in the {m} smoke, and the sword shall devour thy young lions: and I will cut off thy prey from the earth, and the voice of thy {n} messengers shall no more be heard.

(m) That is, as soon as my wrath begins to burn.
(n) Signifying the heralds, who were accustomed to proclaim war. Some read, "of you gum teeth", with which Nineveh was accustomed to bruise the bones of the poor.

Na 3:1

3:1 Woe to the bloody city! it [is] all full of lies [and] robbery; {a} the prey departeth not;

(a) It never ceases to spoil and rob.

Na 3:2

3:2 The noise of a whip, {b} and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

(b) He shows how the Chaldeans will hasten, and how courageous their horses will be in beating the ground when they come against the Assyrians.

Na 3:4

3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured {c} harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

Na 3:8

3:8 Art thou better than populous {d} No, that was situate among the rivers, [that had] the waters round about it, whose rampart [was] the sea, [and] her wall [was] from the sea?

(d) Meaning Alexandria, which had a compact of peace with so many nations, and yet was now destroyed.

Na 3:15

3:15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the {e} cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

(c) Signifying that God's judgments would suddenly destroy the Assyrians, as these vermin do with rain or change of weather.

Na 3:18

3:18 Thy {f} shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell [in the dust]: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth [them].

(f) Your princes and counsellors.

Na 3:19

3:19 [There is] no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon {g} whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

(g) Meaning that the Assyrians had done hurt to all people.

Hab 1:1

1:1 The burden which Habakkuk the prophet saw.

The Argument - The Prophet complains to God, considering the great felicity of the wicked, and the miserable oppression of the godly, who endure all types of affliction and cruelty, and yet can see no end. Therefore he had this revelation shown to him by God, that the Chaldeans would come and take them away as captives, so that they could look for no end of their troubles as yet, because of their stubbornness and rebellion against the Lord. And lest the godly should despair, seeing this horrible confusion, he comforts them by this, that God will punish the Chaldeans their enemies, when their pride and cruelty will be at height. And for this reason he exhorts the faithful to patience by his own example, and shows them a form of prayer, with which they should comfort themselves.

Hab 1:2

1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! [even] cry out to thee {a} [of] violence, and thou wilt not save!

(a) The Prophet complains to God, and bewails that among the Jews is left no fairness and brotherly love: but instead of these reigns cruelty, theft, contention, and strife.

Hab 1:4

1:4 Therefore the law is feeble, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth {b} surround the righteous; therefore judgment goeth forth {c} perverted

(b) To suppress him, if any should show himself zealous of God's cause.
(c) Because the judges who should remedy this excess, are as evil as the rest.

Hab 1:5

1:5 Behold ye among the nations, and regard, and wonder marvellously: for [I] will work a work in your days, [which] {d} ye will not believe, though it be told [you].

(d) As in times past you would not believe God's word, so you will not now believe the strange plagues which are at hand.

Hab 1:7

1:7 They [are] terrible and dreadful: {e} their judgment and their dignity shall proceed from themselves.

(e) They themselves will be your judges in this cause, and none will have authority over them to control them.

Hab 1:9

1:9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up [as] the {f} east wind, and they shall gather the captives {g} as the sand.

(f) For the Jews most feared this wind, because it destroyed their fruits.
(g) They will be so many in number.

Hab 1:10

1:10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn to them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap {h} dust, and take it.

(h) They will cast up mounds against it.

Hab 1:11

1:11 Then shall [his] mind change, and he shall {i} pass over, and offend, [imputing] this his power to his god.

(i) The Prophet comforts the faithful that God will also destroy the Babylonians, because they will abuse this victory, and become proud and insolent, attributing the praise of this to their idols.

Hab 1:12

1:12 [Art] thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? we shall not {k} die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

(k) He assures the godly of God's protection, showing that the enemy can do no more than God has appointed, and also that their sins require such a sharp rod.

Hab 1:14

1:14 And makest men as the {l} fishes of the sea, as the creeping animals, [that have] no ruler over them?

(l) So that the great devours the small, and the Chaldeans destroy all the world.

Hab 1:16

1:16 Therefore they sacrifice to their {m} net, and burn incense to their drag; because by them their portion [is] fat, and their food plenteous.

(m) Meaning that the enemies flatter themselves, and glory in their own strength, power, and intellect.

Hab 1:17

1:17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay {n} the nations?

(n) Meaning, that they would not.

Hab 2:1

2:1 I will stand upon my {a} watch, and seat myself upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say to me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

(a) I will renounce my own judgment, and only depend on God to be instructed what I will answer those that abuse my preaching, and to be armed against all temptations.

Hab 2:2

2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make [it] plain upon tablets, that he may run {b} that readeth it.

(b) Write it in great letters, that he that runneth may read it.

Hab 2:3

2:3 For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time, but at the {c} end it shall speak, and not lie: though it may tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

(c) Which contained the destruction of the enemy, and the comfort of the Church. And even though God does not execute this according to man's hasty affections, yet the issue of both is certain at his appointed time.

Hab 2:4

2:4 Behold, {d} his soul [which] is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

(d) To trust in himself, or in any worldly thing, is never to be at peace: for the only rest is to trust in God by faith; Ro 1:17, Ga 3:11, He 10:38 .

Hab 2:5

2:5 Yea also, because {e} he transgresseth by wine, [he is] a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and [is] as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth to him all nations, and heapeth to him all people:

(e) He compares the proud and covetous man to a drunkard that is without reason and sense, whom God will punish and make a laughing stock to all the world: and this he speaks for the comfort of the godly, and against the Chaldeans.

Hab 2:6

2:6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth [that which is] not his! {f} how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

(f) Signifying that all the world will wish the destruction of tyrants, and that by their oppression and covetousness, they heap but upon themselves more heavy burdens: for the more they get, the more are they troubled.

Hab 2:7

2:7 Shall {g} they not rise suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall oppress thee, and thou shalt be for booty to them?

(g) That is, the Medes and persians, that would destroy the Babylonians?

Hab 2:10

2:10 Thou {h} gavest shameful counsel to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned [against] thy soul.

(h) Signifying that the covetous man is the ruin of his own house, when he thinks to enrich it be cruelty and oppression.

Hab 2:11

2:11 For the {i} stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

(i) The stones of the house will cry, and say that they are built from blood, and the wood will answer and say the same of itself.

Hab 2:13

2:13 Behold, [is it] not from the {k} LORD of hosts that the people shall labour [only] for fire, and the nations shall weary themselves for nothing?

(k) Meaning, that God will not defer his vengeance long, but will come and destroy all their labours, as though they were consumed with fire.

Hab 2:14

2:14 For the earth shall {l} be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

(l) In the destruction of the Babylonians his glory will appear through all the world.

Hab 2:15

2:15 Woe to him that giveth his neighbour {m} drink, that puttest thy bottle to [him], and makest [him] drunk also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!

(m) He reproaches by this the king of Babylon, who as he was drunken with covetousness and cruelty, so he provoked others to the same, and inflamed them by his madness, and so in the end brought them to shame.

Hab 2:16

2:16 Thou art filled with shame {n} for glory: drink thou also, and let thy shame come upon thee: the cup of the LORD'S right hand shall be turned to thee, and utter shame [shall be] on thy glory.

(n) Whereas you thought to have the glory of these your doings, they will turn to your shame: for you will drink of the same cup with others in your turn.

Hab 2:17

2:17 For the {o} violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, [which] made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell in it.

(o) Because the Babylonians were cruel not only against other nations, but also against the people of God, which is meant by Lebanon and the beast in it, he shows that the same cruelly will be executed against them.

Hab 2:18

2:18 What profiteth the graven {p} image that its maker hath engraved it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth in it, to make dumb idols?

(p) He shows that the Babylonian gods could not help them at all, for they were but blocks or stones. See Geneva Jer "10:8"

Hab 2:19

2:19 Woe to him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! {q} Behold, it [is] laid over with gold and silver, and [there is] no breath at all within it.

(q) If you will consider what it is, and how it has neither breath nor life, but is a dead thing.

Hab 3:1

3:1 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet {a} upon Shigionoth.

(a) "upon Shigionoth" or "for the ignorance". The prophet instructs his people to pray to God, not only because of their great sins, but also for those they had committed in ignorance.

Hab 3:2

3:2 {b} O LORD, I have heard thy speech, [and] was afraid: O LORD, revive thy {c} work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

(b) Thus the people were afraid when they heard God's threatenings, and prayed.
(c) That is, the state of your Church which is now ready to perish, before it comes to half a perfect age, which would be under Christ.

Hab 3:3

3:3 God came from {d} Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.

(d) Teman and Paran were near Sinai, where the Law was given: by which is signified that his deliverance was as present now as it was then.

Hab 3:4

3:4 And [his] brightness was as the light; {e} he had horns [coming] out of his hand: and there [was] the hiding of his power.

(e) By which is meant a power that was joined with his brightness, which was hidden to the rest of the world, but was revealed at Mount Sinai to his people; Ps 31:16 .

Hab 3:6

3:6 He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his {f} ways [are] everlasting.

(f) Signifying that God has wonderful means, and always has a marvellous power when he will deliver his Church.

Hab 3:7

3:7 {g} I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction: [and] the curtains of the land of Midian trembled.

(g) The iniquity of the king of Syria in vexing your people was made manifest by your judgment, to the comfort of your Church, Jud 5:10 , and also of the Midianites, who destroyed themselves, Jud 7:22 .

Hab 3:8

3:8 Was the LORD displeased against the {h} rivers? [was] thy anger against the rivers? [was] thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride {i} upon thy horses [and] thy chariots of salvation?

(h) Meaning that God was not angry with the waters, but that by this means he would destroy his enemies, and deliver his Church.
(i) And so did use all the elements as instruments for the destruction of your enemies.

Hab 3:9

3:9 Thy {k} bow was made quite naked, [according] to the {l} oaths of the tribes, [even thy] word. Selah. Thou {m} didst cleave the earth with rivers.

(k) That is, your power.
(l) For he had not only made a covenant with Abraham, but renewed it with his posterity.
(m) Read Nu 20:11 .

Hab 3:10

3:10 The mountains saw thee, [and] they trembled: the overflowing of the water {n} passed by: the deep uttered his voice, [and] lifted up his hands on high.

(n) He alludes to the Red Sea and Jordan, which gave passage to God's people, and showed signs of their obedience as it were by the lifting up of their hands.

Hab 3:11

3:11 The {o} sun [and] moon stood still in their habitation: {p} at the light of thy arrows they went, [and] at the shining of thy glittering spear.

(o) As appears in Jos 10:12 .
(p) According to your command the sun was directed by the weapons of your people, that fought in your cause, as though it dare not go forward.

Hab 3:13

3:13 Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, [even] for salvation with thy {q} anointed; thou didst wound the head out of the house of the wicked, by laying bare the foundation to the {r} neck. Selah.

(q) Signifying that there is no salvation, except by Christ.
(r) From the top to the bottom you have destroyed the enemies.

Hab 3:14

3:14 Thou didst {s} strike through with his staffs the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing [was] as to devour the poor secretly.

(s) God destroyed his enemies both great and small with their own weapons, though they were ever so fierce against his Church.

Hab 3:16

3:16 When I {t} heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in {u} the day of trouble: when he cometh up {x} to the people, he will invade them with his troops.

(t) He returns to that which he spoke as in, Hab 3:2 and shows how he was afraid of God's judgments.
(u) He shows that the faithful can never have true rest, except that which they feel before the weight of God's judgments.
(x) That is, the enemy, but the godly will be quiet, knowing that all things will turn to good for them.

Hab 3:18

3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy {y} in the God of my salvation.

(y) He declares in what the joy of the faithful consists, though they see ever so great afflictions prepared.

Hab 3:19

3:19 The LORD God [is] my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' [feet], and he will make me to walk upon my high places. {z} To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

(z) The chief singer upon the instruments of music, will have occasion to praise God for this great deliverance of his Church.

Zep 1:1

1:1 The word of the LORD which came unto Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.

The Argument - Seeing the great rebellion of the people, and that there was now no hope of amendment, he gives notice of the great judgment of God, which was at hand, showing that their country would be utterly destroyed, and they would be carried away captives by the Babylonians. Yet for the comfort of the faithful he prophesied of God's vengeance against their enemies, such as the Philistines, Moabites, Assyrians, and others, to assure them that God had a continual care over them. And as the wicked would be punished for their sins and transgressions, so he exhorts the godly to patience, and to trust to find mercy by reason of the free promise of God made to Abraham: and therefore quietly to wait until God shows them the effect of that grace, by which in the end they should be gathered to him, and counted as his people and children.

Zep 1:3

1:3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the {a} fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

(a) Not that God was angry with these dumb creatures, but because man was so wicked for whose cause they were created, God makes them to take part of the punishments with him.

Zep 1:4

1:4 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, [and] the name of the {b} Chemarims with the priests;

(b) Who were an order of superstitious priests appointed to minister in the service of Baal, and were as his special chaplains; read 2Ki 23:5, Ho 10:5 .

Zep 1:5

1:5 And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship [and] that swear by the LORD, and that swear by {c} Malcham;

(c) He alludes to their idol Molech, which was forbidden; read Le 20:2 , yet they called him their king, and made him as a god: therefore he here notes those that will both say they worship God, and yet will swear by idols and serve them: which faltering is here condemned, as in Eze 20:39, 1Ki 18:21, 2Ki 17:33 .

Zep 1:8

1:8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with {d} strange apparel.

(d) Meaning, the courtiers, who did imitate the strange apparel of other nations to win their favour by it, and to appear glorious in the eyes of all others; read Eze 23:14-15 .

Zep 1:9

1:9 In the same day also will I punish all those that {e} leap on the threshold, which fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.

(e) He means the servants of the rulers who invade other men's houses, and rejoice and leap for joy, when they can get any gain to please their master with.

Zep 1:10

1:10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, [that there shall be] the noise of a cry from the {f} fish gate, and an howling from the second, and a great crashing from the hills.

(f) Signifying that all the corners of the city of Jerusalem would be full of trouble.

Zep 1:11

1:11 Howl, ye inhabitants of {g} Maktesh, for all the merchant people are cut down; all they that bear silver are cut off.

(g) This is meant of the street of the merchants which was lower than the rest of the place around it.

Zep 1:12

1:12 And it shall come to pass at that time, [that] I will search Jerusalem with {h} candles, and punish the men that are settled {i} on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.

(h) So that nothing will escape me.
(i) By their prosperity they are hardened in their wickedness.

Zep 1:14

1:14 The great day of the LORD [is] near, [it is] near, and hasteth greatly, [even] the voice of the day of the LORD: {k} the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

(k) They that trusted in their own strength and condemned the Prophets of God.

Zep 2:1

2:1 Gather {a} yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;

(a) He exhorts them to repentance, and wills them to descend into themselves and gather themselves, lest they be scattered like chaff.

Zep 2:3

2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which {b} have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

(b) That is, who have lived uprightly and godly according as he prescribes by his word.

Zep 2:4

2:4 For {c} Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

(c) He comforts the faithful in that God would change his punishments from them to the Philistines their enemies, and other nations.

Zep 2:5

2:5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea {d} coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD [is] against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

(d) That is, Galilee: by these nations he means the people that dwelt near to the Jews, and instead of friendship were their enemies: therefore he calls them Canaanites, whom the Lord appointed to be slain.

Zep 2:7

2:7 And the coast shall be for the {e} remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.

(e) He shows why God would destroy their enemies, because their country would be a resting place for his Church.

Zep 2:8

2:8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and {f} magnified [themselves] against their border.

(f) These nations presumed to take from the Jews that country which the Lord had given them.

Zep 2:11

2:11 The LORD [will be] terrible unto them: {g} for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and [men] shall worship him, every one from his place, [even] all the isles of the heathen.

(g) When he will deliver his people and destroy their enemies and idols, his glory will shine throughout all the world.

Zep 2:14

2:14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the {h} cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it; [their] voice shall sing in the windows; desolation [shall be] in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

(h) Read Isa 34:11

Zep 2:15

2:15 This [is] the {i} rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I [am], and [there is] none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, [and] wag his hand.

(i) Meaning, Nineveh, which rejoicing so much of her strength and prosperity, should be thus made waste, and God's people delivered.

Zep 3:1

3:1 Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing {a} city!

(a) That is, Jerusalem.

Zep 3:3

3:3 Her princes within her [are] roaring lions; her judges [are] evening wolves; they {b} gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

(b) They are so greedy, that they eat up bones and all.

Zep 3:5

3:5 The {c} just LORD [is] in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

(c) The wicked thus boasted that God was ever among them, but the Prophet answers that that cannot excuse their wickedness: for God will not bear with their sins. Yet he did patiently abide and sent his Prophets continually to call them to repentance, but he profited nothing.

Zep 3:6

3:6 I have {d} cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.

(d) By the destruction of other nations he shows that the Jews should have learned to fear God.

Zep 3:7

3:7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but {e} they rose early, [and] corrupted all their doings.

(e) They were most earnest and ready to do wickedly.

Zep 3:8

3:8 Therefore {f} wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination [is] to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, [even] all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

(f) Seeing that you will not repent, you can expect my vengeance as well as other nations.

Zep 3:9

3:9 For {g} then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

(g) Lest any should then think that God's glory should have perished when Judah was destroyed, he shows that he will proclaim his grace through all the world.

Zep 3:10

3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, [even] the {h} daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.

(h) That is, the Jews will come as well as the Gentiles: which is to be understood as referring to the time of the Gospel.

Zep 3:11

3:11 In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for {i} all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.

(i) For they will have full remission of their sins, and the hypocrites who boasted of the temple, which was also your pride in times past, will be taken from you.

Zep 3:15

3:15 The LORD hath taken away thy {k} judgments, he hath cast out thine {l} enemy: the king of Israel, [even] the LORD, [is] in the midst of {m} thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.

(k) That is, the punishment for your sin.
(l) As the Assyrians, Chaldaeans, Egyptians, and other nations.
(m) To defend you, as by your sins you have put him away, and left yourself naked, as in Ex 32:25 .

Zep 3:17

3:17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in {n} his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

(n) Signifying, that God delights to show his love and great affection toward his Church.

Zep 3:18

3:18 I will gather [them that are] sorrowful for the solemn assembly, [who] are of thee, [to whom] the reproach of {o} it [was] a burden.

(o) That is, those that were held in hatred and reviled for the Church, and because of their religion.

Zep 3:19

3:19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will {p} save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every {q} land where they have been put to shame.

(p) I will deliver the Church, which now is afflicted, as in Mic 4:6 .
(q) As among the Assyrians and Chaldaeans, who mocked them and put them to shame.

Hag 1:1

1:1 In the second year of {a} Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto {b} Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,

The Argument - When the time of the seventy years captivity prophesied by Jeremiah was expired, God raised up Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, to comfort the Jews, and to exhort them to the building of the temple, which was a figure of the spiritual Temple and Church of God, whose perfection and excellency depended on Christ. And because all were given to their own pleasures and benefits, he declares that that plague of famine, which God then sent among them, was a just reward for their ingratitude, in that they condemned God's honour, who had delivered them. Yet he comforts them, if they will return to the Lord, with the promise of great felicity, since the Lord will finish the work that he has begun, and send Christ whom he had promised, and by whom they would attain to perfect joy and glory.

(a) Who was the son of Histaspis and the third king of the Persians, as some think.
(b) Because the building of the temple began to cease, by reason that the people were discouraged by their enemies: and if these two notable men had need to be stirred up and admonished of their duties, what will we think of other governors, whose doings are either against God, or very cold in his cause?

Hag 1:2

1:2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time {c} that the LORD'S house should be built.

(c) Not that they condemned the building of it, but they preferred policy and personal profit to religion, being content with small beginnings.

Hag 1:4

1:4 [Is it] time for you, O ye, to dwell in your {d} cieled houses, and this house [lie] waste?

(d) Showing that they sought not only their necessities, but their very pleasures before God's honour.

Hag 1:6

1:6 {e} Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages [to put it] into a bag with holes.

(e) Consider the plagues of God upon you for preferring your policies to his religion, and because you do not seek him above all else.

Hag 1:8

1:8 Go {f} up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and {g} I will take pleasure in it, and I will {h} be glorified, saith the LORD.

(f) Meaning, that they should leave their own benefits, and go forward in the building of God's temple, and in the setting forth of his religion.
(g) That is, I will hear your prayers according to my promise; 1Ki 8:22,29 .
(h) That is, my glory will be set forth by you.

Hag 1:9

1:9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, [it came] to little; and when ye brought [it] home, I did blow {i} upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that [is] waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

(i) And so bring it to nothing.

Hag 1:12

1:12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the {k} voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD.

(k) This declares that God was the author of the doctrine, and that Haggai was but the minister, as in Ex 14:31 , Jud 7:20, Ac 15:28 .

Hag 1:14

1:14 And the LORD stirred up {l} the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,

(l) Which declares that men are unable and dull to serve the Lord, neither can they obey his word or his messengers, before God reforms their hearts, and gives them new spirits; Joh 6:44 .

Hag 2:3

2:3 Who [is] left among you that saw this {a} house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? [is it] not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

(a) For the people according as had been prophesied in Isa 2:2 and Eze 41:1-26 , thought this temple should have been more excellent than Solomon's temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians, but the Prophets meant the spiritual Temple, the Church of Christ.

Hag 2:4

2:4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and {b} work: for I [am] with you, saith the LORD of hosts:

(b) That is, go forward in building the temple.

Hag 2:6

2:6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; {c} Yet once, it [is] a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land];

(c) He exhorts them to patience though they do not see as yet this temple so glorious as the Prophets had declared: for this should be accomplished in Christ, by whom all things should be renewed.

Hag 2:7

2:7 And I will shake all nations, and {d} the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

(d) Meaning Christ, whom all ought to look for and desire: or by desire he may signify all precious things, such as riches, and things like them.

Hag 2:8

2:8 The {e} silver [is] mine, and the gold [is] mine, saith the LORD of hosts.

(e) Therefore when his time comes he can make all the treasures of the world to serve his purpose: but the glory of this second Temple does not consist of material things, neither can it be built.

Hag 2:9

2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give {f} peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

(f) Meaning all spiritual blessings and felicity purchased by Christ; Php 4:7 .

Hag 2:12

2:12 If one bear {g} holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.

(g) That is, the flesh of the sacrifices, by which he means that a thing which of itself is good, cannot make another thing so: and therefore they ought not to justify themselves by their sacrifices and ceremonies: but contrary to this, he that is unclean and not pure of heart, does corrupt those things and make them detestable to God, which otherwise are good and godly.

Hag 2:15

2:15 And now, I pray you, consider from this {h} day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:

(h) Consider how God plagued you with famine before you began to build the temple.

Hag 2:16

2:16 {i} Since those [days] were, when [one] came to an heap of twenty [measures], there were [but] ten: when [one] came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty [vessels] out of the press, there were [but] twenty.

(i) That is, before the building was begun.

Hag 2:18

2:18 Consider now from {k} this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth [month, even] from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider [it].

(k) From the time they began to build the temple, he promises that God would bless them: and even though the fruit has not yet come forth, yet in the gathering they would have plenty.

Hag 2:19

2:19 Is the {l} seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless [you].

(l) He exhorts them to have patience, and to remain until the harvest came, and then they would see God's blessings.

Hag 2:21

2:21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I {m} will shake the heavens and the earth;

(m) I will make a change, and renew all things in Christ, of whom Zerubbabel is here a figure.

Hag 2:22

2:22 And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the {n} kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

(n) By this he shows that there will be no stop or hindrance, when God will make this wonderful restitution of his Church.

Hag 2:23

2:23 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a {o} signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.

(o) Signifying that his dignity would be most excellent, which thing was accomplished in Christ.

Zec 1:1

1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of {a} Darius, came the word of the LORD unto {b} Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

The Argument - Two months after Haggai had begun to prophesy, Zechariah was also sent of the Lord to help him in the labour, and to confirm the same doctrine. First therefore, he puts them in remembrance for what reason God had so severely punished their fathers: and yet comforts them if they will truly repent, and not abuse this great benefit of God in their deliverance which was a figure of that true deliverance, that all the faithful should have from death and sin, by Christ. But because they remained still in their wickedness, and lack of desire to set forth God's glory, and were not yet made better by their long banishment, he rebukes them most sharply: yet for the comfort of the repentant, he ever mixes the promise of grace, that they might by this means be prepared to receive Christ, in whom all should be sanctified to the Lord.

(a) Who was the son of Histaspis.
(b) This was not the Zechariah, of which mention is made in 2Ch 24:20 , but he had the same name, and is called the son of Berechiah, as he was, because he came of those progenitors, as of Joiada or Berechiah, and Iddo.

Zec 1:2

1:2 The LORD hath been {c} sore displeased with your fathers.

(c) He speaks this to make them afraid of God's judgments, so that they should not provoke him as their fathers had done, whom he so grievously punished.

Zec 1:3

1:3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; {d} Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

(d) Let your fruits declare that you are God's people, and that he has wrought in you by his Spirit, and mortified you: for otherwise man has no power to return to God, but God must convert him; Jer 31:18 La 5:21 Isa 31:6 45:21

Zec 1:5

1:5 Your fathers, where {e} [are] they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

(e) Though your fathers are dead, yet God's judgments in punishing them ought still to be before your eyes: and though the prophets are dead, yet their doctrine remains for ever; 2Pe 1:15 .

Zec 1:6

1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of {f} your fathers? and {g} they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

(f) Seeing you saw the force of my doctrine in punishing your fathers, why do you not fear the threatenings contained in the same, and declared by my Prophets?
(g) As men astonished with my judgments, and not that they were touched with true repentance.

Zec 1:7

1:7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which [is] the month {h} Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

(h) Which includes part of January and part of February.

Zec 1:8

1:8 I {i} saw by night, and behold {k} a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that [were] in the bottom; and behind him [were there] {l} red horses, speckled, and white.

(i) This vision signifies the restoration of the Church: but as yet it would not appear to man's eyes, which is here meant by the night, by the bottom, and by the myrtle trees, which are black, and give a dark shadow. Yet he compares God to a King who has his posts and messengers abroad, by whom he still works his purpose and brings his matters to pass.
(k) Who was the chief among the rest of the horsemen.
(l) These signify the various offices of God's angels, by whom God sometimes punishes, and sometimes comforts, and brings forth his works in various ways.

Zec 1:12

1:12 Then the {m} angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?

(m) That is, Christ the mediator prayed for the salvation of his Church, which was now troubled, when all the countries about them were at rest.

Zec 1:14

1:14 So the angel that talked with me said to me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am {n} jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

(n) Though for a time God defers his help and comfort from his Church, yet this declares that he still loves them most dearly, as a most merciful father his children, or a husband his wife, and when it is expedient for them, his help is ever ready.

Zec 1:15

1:15 And I am very greatly displeased with the nations [that are] at ease: for I was but {o} a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

(o) In destroying the reprobate, I showed myself but a little angry toward my Church, but the enemy would have destroyed them also, and did not consider the goal of my chastisements.

Zec 1:16

1:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I have returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line {p} shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

(p) To measure out the buildings.

Zec 1:17

1:17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet {q} be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

(q) The abundance will be so great, that the places of storage will not be able to contain these blessings that God will send, but will even break because of fullness.

Zec 1:18

1:18 Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold {r} four horns.

(r) Which signifies all the enemies of the Church: east, west, north, and south.

Zec 1:20

1:20 And the LORD showed me four {s} craftsmen.

(s) These craftsmen or smiths are God's instruments, who with their mallets and hammers break these hard and strong horns which would overthrow the Church, and declare that no enemies' horn is so strong, but God has a hammer to break it in pieces.

Zec 2:1

2:1 I lifted up my eyes again, and looked, and behold a {a} man with a measuring line in his hand.

(a) This is the angel who was Christ: for in respect of his office he is often called an angel, but in respect of his eternal essence, is God, and so called.

Zec 2:4

2:4 And said to him, Run, speak to this {b} young man, saying, {c} Jerusalem shall be inhabited [as] towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle in it:

(b) Meaning himself, Zechariah.
(c) Signifying the spiritual Jerusalem and Church under Christ, which would be extended by the Gospel through all the world, and would need no material walls, nor trust in any worldly strength, but would be safely preserved and dwell in peace among all their enemies.

Zec 2:5

2:5 For I, saith the LORD, will be to her a wall of {d} fire on every side, and will {e} be the glory in the midst of her.

(d) To defend my Church, to strike fear in the enemies, and to destroy them if they approach near.
(e) In me they will have their full felicity and glory.

Zec 2:6

2:6 Ho, ho, [come {f} forth], and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four {g} winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.

(f) He calls to those who partly for fear, and partly for their own case, remained still in captivity, and so preferred their own personal benefits to the benefits of God promised in his Church.
(g) As it was I that scattered you, so I have power to restore you.

Zec 2:7

2:7 {h} Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest [with] the daughter of Babylon.

(h) By fleeing from Babylon, and coming to the Church.

Zec 2:8

2:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the {i} glory hath he sent me to the nations which wasted you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the {k} apple of his eye.

(i) Seeing that God had begun to show his grace among you by delivering you, he continues the same still toward you, and therefore sends me his angel and his Christ to defend you from your enemies, so that they will not hurt you, neither along the way nor at home.
(k) You are so dear to God, that he can no more allow your enemies to hurt you, than a man can endure to be thrust in the eye; Ps 17:8 .

Zec 2:9

2:9 For, behold, I will shake my hand {l} upon them, and {m} they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath {n} sent me.

(l) Upon the heathen your enemies.
(m) They will be your servants, as you have been theirs.
(n) This must necessarily be understood of Christ, who being God equal with his Father, was sent, as he was Mediator to dwell in his Church and to govern them.

Zec 3:1

3:1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest {a} standing before the angel of the LORD, and {b} Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

(a) He prayed to Christ the Mediator for the state of the Church.
(b) Which declares that the faithful do not only war with flesh and blood, but with Satan himself, and spiritual wickedness; Eph 6:12 .

Zec 3:2

3:2 And the {c} LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a {d} brand plucked out of the fire?

(c) That is, Christ speaks to God as the mediator of his Church, that he would rebuke Satan: and here he shows himself to be the continual preserver of his Church.
(d) Meaning that Joshua was wonderfully preserved in the captivity, and now Satan sought to afflict and trouble him when he was doing his office.

Zec 3:3

3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with {e} filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

(e) With regard to the glorious garments and precious stones that the priests wore before the captivity: and by this contemptible state the Prophet signifies, that these small beginnings would be made excellent when Christ will make the full restitution of his Church.

Zec 3:4

3:4 And he answered and spoke to those that stood before him, saying, Take away the {e} filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have {f} caused thy iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

(e) See Geneva "Zec 3:3"
(f) He shows of what apparel he speaks, which is, when our filthy sins are taken away, and we are clothed with God's mercies, which refers to the spiritual restitution.

Zec 3:5

3:5 And I said, Let them {g} set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.

(g) The Prophet prays that besides the raiment, the Priest might also have attire for his head accordingly, that is, that the dignity of the priesthood might be perfect: and this was fulfilled in Christ, who was both Priest and King. And here all those are condemned, that can content themselves with any average reformation in religion, seeing the Prophet desires the perfection, and obtains it.

Zec 3:7

3:7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also {h} judge my house, and shalt also keep my {i} courts, and I will give thee places to walk among {k} these that stand by.

(h) That is, have rule and government in my Church, as your predecessors have had.
(i) By which he means to have the whole charge and ministry of the Church.
(k) That is, the angels, who represented the whole number of the faithful: signifying that all the godly would willingly receive him.

Zec 3:8

3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they {l} [are] men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the {m} BRANCH.

(l) Because they follow my word, they are condemned in the world, and esteemed as monsters. See Geneva "Isa 8:18"
(m) That is, Christ, who did so humble himself, that he not only became the servant of God, but also the servant of men: and therefore in him they should have comfort, even though in the world they are condemned; Isa 11:1 Jer 23:5 33:14-15 .

Zec 3:9

3:9 For behold the {n} stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone [shall be] seven eyes: behold, I {o} will engrave the engraving of it, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will {p} remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

(n) He shows that the ministers cannot build before God lay the first stone, which is Christ, who is full of eyes, both because he gives light to all others, and that all ought to seek light from him; Zec 4:10 .
(o) That is, I will make perfect in all points, as a thing done by the hand of God.
(p) Though I have punished this land for a time, yet I will even now be pacified, and punish their sins no more.

Zec 3:10

3:10 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the {q} vine and under the fig tree.

(q) You will then live in peace and quietness, that is, in the kingdom of Christ; Isa 2:2 Mic 4:4 Ha 2:9 .

Zec 4:2

4:2 And said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a {a} lamp stand all [of] gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps, and seven {b} pipes to the seven lamps, which [were] upon the top of it:

(a) Which was ever in the midst of the temple, signifying that the graces of God's Spirit would shine, here in most abundance, and in all perfection.
(b) Which conveyed the oil that dropped from the trees into the lamps, so that the light never went out: and this vision was to strengthen and encourage the faithful that God had sufficient power in himself to continue his graces, and to bring his promise to pass even though he had no help from man.

Zec 4:6

4:6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD to {c} Zerubbabel, saying, Not by {d} might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

(c) Who was a figure of Christ, and therefore this doctrine was directed to all the Church who are his body and members.
(d) He shows that God's power alone is sufficient to preserve his Church, even though he does not use man's help to do it.

Zec 4:7

4:7 Who [art] thou, O {e} great mountain? before Zerubbabel [thou shalt become] a plain: and {f} he shall bring forth its headstone [with] shoutings, [crying], Grace, grace to it.

(e) He compares the power of the adversaries to a great mountain, who thought the Jews were nothing with regard to them, and would have hindered Zerubbabel, who represented Christ, whom the enemies daily labour to stop in the building of his spiritual Temple, but all in vain.
(f) Though the enemies think to stop this building, yet Zerubbabel will lay the highest stone of it, and bring it to perfection, so that all the godly will rejoice, and pray to God that he would continue his grace and favour toward the Temple.

Zec 4:9

4:9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and {g} thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me to you.

(g) Meaning, the Prophet, that I am Christ sent from my Father for the building and preservation of my spiritual temple.

Zec 4:10

4:10 For who hath despised the day of {h} small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the {i} plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel [with] those seven; {k} they [are] the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

(h) Signifying that all were discouraged at the small and poor beginnings of the temple.
(i) By which he signifies the plummet and line, that is, that Zerubbabel who represented Christ, would go forward with his building to the joy and comfort of the godly, though the world was against him, and though his own for a while were discouraged, because they do not see things pleasant to the eye.
(k) That is, God has seven eyes: meaning, a continual providence, so that neither Satan nor any power in the world, can go about to bring anything to pass to hinder his work; Zec 5:9 .

Zec 4:14

4:14 Then said he, These [are] the two {l} anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

(l) Which were always green and full of oil, so that still they poured forth oil into the lamps: signifying, that God will continually maintain and preserve his Church, and endue it still with abundance and perfection of grace.

Zec 5:2

5:2 And he said to me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying {a} scroll; its length [is] twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits.

(a) Because the Jews had provoked God's plagues by condemning his word, and casting off all judgment and equity, he shows that God's curses written in this book had justly happened both to them and their fathers. But now if they would repent, God would send the same among the Chaldeans and their former enemies.

Zec 5:3

5:3 Then said he to me, This [is] the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that {b} stealeth shall be cut off [as] on this {c} side according to it; and every one that {d} sweareth shall be cut off [as] on that side according to it.

(b) That is, does any injury toward his neighbour.
(c) Meaning, wherever he is in the world.
(d) He that transgresses the first table of the ten commandments, and does not serve God correctly but abuses his name.

Zec 5:6

5:6 And I said, What [is] it? And he said, This [is] an {e} ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This [is] their {f} resemblance through all the earth.

(e) Which was a measure in dry things, containing about five gallons.
(f) That is, all the wickedness of the ungodly is in God's sight, which he keeps in a measure, and can shut it or open it at his pleasure.

Zec 5:7

5:7 And, behold, there was lifted up a {g} talent of lead: and this [is] a {h} woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.

(g) To cover the measure.
(h) Which represents iniquity, as in the next verse.

Zec 5:8

5:8 And he said, This [is] {i} wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon its mouth.

(i) Signifying that Satan would not have such power against the Jews to tempt them, as he had in times past, but that God would shut up iniquity in a measure as in a prison.

Zec 5:9

5:9 Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two {k} women, and the wind [was] in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.

(k) Which declared that God would execute his judgment by the means of the weak and infirm.

Zec 5:11

5:11 And he said to me, To build for it an house in the land of {l} Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

(l) To remove the iniquity and affliction that came from Judah because of the judgment, to place it forever in Babylon.

Zec 6:1

6:1 And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four {a} chariots out from between {b} two mountains; and the mountains [were] mountains of brass.

(a) By chariots here, as by horses before, he means the swift messengers of God to execute and declare his will.
(b) By the mountains he means the external counsel and providence of God, by which he has from before all eternity declared what will come to pass, and that which neither Satan nor all the world can alter.

Zec 6:2

6:2 In the first chariot [were] {c} red horses; and in the second chariot {d} black horses;

(c) Which signifies the great cruelty and persecution that the Church had endured under different enemies.
(d) Signifying that they had endured great afflictions under the Babylonians.

Zec 6:3

6:3 And in the third chariot {e} white horses; and in the fourth chariot {f} spotted and bay horses.

(e) These represented their state under the Persians, who restored them to their liberty.
(f) Which signified that God would sometimes give his Church rest, and pour his plagues upon their enemies, as he did in destroying Nineveh and Babylon, and other of their enemies.

Zec 6:5

6:5 And the angel answered and said to me, These [are] the four {g} spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

(g) Meaning, all the actions and motions of God's Spirit, whom according to his unchangeable counsel he causes to appear through all the world.

Zec 6:6

6:6 The black horses which [are] in it go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the spotted go forth toward the {h} south country.

(h) That is, towards Egypt, and other countries there about.

Zec 6:7

6:7 And the {i} bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Go from here, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.

(i) That is, those of different colours, which ask permission, to signify that Satan has no power to hurt or afflict, until God gives it to him; Job 1:12 .

Zec 6:8

6:8 Then he cried upon me, and spoke to me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my {k} spirit in the north country.

(k) By punishing the Chaldeans my anger ceased, and you were delivered.

Zec 6:10

6:10 Take of [them of] the captivity, [even] of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, who are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of {l} Josiah the son of Zephaniah;

(l) To receive from him and the other three, money to make the two crowns: who were men of great authority among the Jews, and doubted of the restitution of the kingdom, and of the priesthood, and hurt others by their example.

Zec 6:11

6:11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set [them] upon the {m} head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;

(m) Because this could not be attributed to any one according to the Law, therefore it follows that Joshua must represent the Messiah, who was both Priest and King.

Zec 6:12

6:12 And speak to him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name [is] The {n} BRANCH; and he shall grow {o} up out of his place, and he shall {p} build the temple of the LORD:

(n) Meaning Christ, of whom Joshua was the figure: for in Greek they were both called Jesus.
(o) That is, of himself without the help of man.
(p) Which declares that no one could build this temple of which Haggai speaks, but only Christ: and therefore it was spiritual, and not material; Ha 2:9 .

Zec 6:13

6:13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the {q} glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between {r} them both.

(q) Of which Joshua had but a shadow.
(r) The two offices of the kingdom and priesthood, will be joined together in such a way, that they will no longer be separated.

Zec 6:14

6:14 And the crowns shall be to {s} Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to {t} Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a {u} memorial in the temple of the LORD.

(s) Who was also called Heldai.
(t) He was also called Joshias.
(u) That they may acknowledge their infirmity, who thought that all things would be restored immediately: and of this their infidelity these two crowns will remain as tokens; Ac 1:6 .

Zec 6:15

6:15 And they [that are] {x} far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me to you. And [this] shall come to pass, if ye will diligently {y} obey the voice of the LORD your God.

(x) That is, the Gentiles by the preaching of the Gospel, will help toward the building of the spiritual temple.
(y) If you will believe and remain in the obedience of faith.

Zec 7:1

7:1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, [that] the word of the LORD came to Zechariah in the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in {a} Chisleu;

(a) Which contained part of November and part of December.

Zec 7:2

7:2 When {b} they had sent to the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,

(b) That is, the rest of the people that yet remained in Chaldea, sent to the Church at Jerusalem for the resolution of these questions, because these feasts were consented upon by the agreement of the whole Church, the one in the month that the temple was destroyed, and the other when Gedaliah was slain; Jer 41:2 .

Zec 7:3

7:3 [And] to speak to the priests who [were] in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I {c} weep in the fifth month, {d} separating myself, as I have done these so many {e} years?

(c) By weeping and mourning are shown what exercises they used in their fasting.
(d) That is, prepare myself with all devotion to his fast.
(e) Which had been since the time the temple was destroyed.

Zec 7:5

7:5 Speak to all the people of the land, and to the {f} priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh [month], even those seventy years, did ye at all fast to me, {g} [even] to me?

(f) For there were both of the people, and of the priests, those who doubted with regard to this controversy, besides those who as yet remained in Chaldea, and argue about it, as of one of the chief points of their religion.
(g) For they thought they had gained favour with God because of this fast, which they invented by themselves: and though fasting of itself is good, yet because they thought it a service toward God, and trusted in it, it is here reproved.

Zec 7:6

7:6 And when ye ate, and when ye drank, did ye not eat {h} [for yourselves], and drink [for yourselves]?

(h) Did you not eat and drink for your own benefit and necessity, and so likewise you abstained according to your own imaginings, and not after the command and direction of my Law.

Zec 7:7

7:7 [Should ye] not [hear] the words which the LORD {i} hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and her cities around her, when [men] inhabited the south and the plain?

(i) By this he condemns their hypocrisy, who thought by their fasting to please God, and by such things as they invented, and in the meantime would not serve him as he had commanded.

Zec 7:9

7:9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, {k} Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

(k) He shows that they did not fast with a sincere heart, but because of hypocrisy, and that it was not done from a pure religion, because they lacked these offices of charity which should have declared that they were godly; Mt 23:23 .

Zec 7:11

7:11 But they refused to hearken, and {l} withdrew the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

(l) And would not carry the Lord's burden, which was sweet and easy, but would bear their own, which was heavy and grievous to the flesh, thinking to gain merit by it: which metaphor is taken from oxen, which shrink at the yoke; Ne 9:29 .

Zec 7:12

7:12 Yea, they made their hearts [as] an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his {m} spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

(m) Which declares that they did not only rebel against the Prophets, but against the Spirit of God that spoke in them.

Zec 7:14

7:14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate {n} after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land {o} desolate.

(n) That is, after they were taken captive.
(o) By their sins by which they provoked God's anger.

Zec 8:2

8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was {a} jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

(a) I loved my city with a singular love, so that I could not endure that any should do her any injury.

Zec 8:3

8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a {b} city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

(b) Because she will be faithful and loyal toward me her husband.

Zec 8:4

8:4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old {c} men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.

(c) Though their enemies did greatly molest and trouble them, yet God would come and dwell among them, and so preserve them as long as nature would allow them to live, and increase their children in great abundance.

Zec 8:6

8:6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it is {d} marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in my eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.

(d) He shows in what our faith consists, that is, to believe that God can perform that which he has promised, though it seem ever so impossible to man; Ge 13:14, Rom 4:20 .

Zec 8:8

8:8 And I will bring them, and they shall {e} dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

(e) So that their return will not be in vain: for God will accomplish his promise, and their prosperity will be sure and stable.

Zec 8:9

8:9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your {f} hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, who [were] in the day [when] the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

(f) Let neither respect of your personal benefits, neither counsel of others, nor fear of enemies, discourage you in the going forward with the building of the temple, but be steadfast and obey the Prophets, who encourage you to that.

Zec 8:10

8:10 For before these days there was no hire for {g} man, nor any hire for beast; neither [was there any] peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

(g) For God cursed your work, so that neither man nor beast had profit from their labours.

Zec 8:14

8:14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish {h} you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:

(h) Read Eze 18:20 .

Zec 8:15

8:15 So again have I thought in these days {i} to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

(i) Which declares that man cannot turn to God until he changes man's heart by his Spirit, and so begin to do good to them, which is to pardon his sins and to give him his graces.

Zec 8:19

8:19 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth [month], and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the {k} tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

(k) Which fast was appointed when the city was besieged, and was the first fast of these four. And here the prophet shows that if the Jews will repent, and turn wholly to God, they will have no more occasion to fast, or to show signs of heaviness, for God will send them joy and gladness.

Zec 8:20

8:20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; [It shall] yet [come to pass], that there shall come {l} people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

(l) He declares the great zeal that God would give the Gentiles to come to his Church, and to unite with the Jews in his true religion, which would be in the kingdom of Christ.

Zec 9:1

9:1 The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of {a} Hadrach, and Damascus [shall be] the {b} rest of it: when the {c} eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, [shall be] toward the LORD.

(a) By which he means Syria.
(b) God's anger will remain upon their chief city, and not spare even as much as that.
(c) When the Jews will convert and repent, then God will destroy their enemies.

Zec 9:2

9:2 And Hamath also shall border {d} by it; Tyre, and Zidon, though it be {e} very wise.

(d) That is, by Damascus: meaning, that Harnath or Antiochia would be under the same rod and plague.
(e) He secretly shows the cause of their destruction, because they deceived all others by their craft and subtilty, which they cloaked with this name of wisdom.

Zec 9:4

9:4 Behold, the LORD will cast her out, and he will smite her {f} power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.

(f) Though those of Tyre think themselves invincible by reason of the sea that surrounds them, yet they will not escape God's judgments.

Zec 9:6

9:6 And a {g} bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

(g) Meaning, that all would be destroyed, save a very few, that would remain as strangers.

Zec 9:7

9:7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his {h} teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, [shall be] for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and {i} Ekron as a Jebusite.

(h) He promises to deliver the Jews when he will take vengeance on their enemies for their cruelty, and the wrongs they did to them.
(i) As the Jebusites had been destroyed, so would Ekron and all the Philistines.

Zec 9:8

9:8 And I will encamp about {k} my house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now {l} have I seen with my eyes.

(k) He shows that God's power alone will be sufficient to defend his Church against all adversaries, be they ever so cruel, or assert their power ever so often.
(l) That is, God has now seen the great injuries and afflictions with which they have been afflicted by their enemies.

Zec 9:9

9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh to thee: {m} he [is] just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a {n} donkey, and upon a colt the foal of a donkey.

(m) That is, he has righteousness and salvation in himself for the use and benefit of his Church.
(n) Which declares that they should not look for such a king as would be glorious in the eyes of man, but should be poor, and yet in himself have all power to deliver his own: and this is meant of Christ, as in Mt 21:5 .

Zec 9:10

9:10 And I will cut off the {o} chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace to the nations: and his dominion [shall be] from {p} sea to sea, and from the {q} river to the ends of the earth.

(o) No power of man or creature will be able to stop this kingdom of Christ, and he will peaceably govern them by his word.
(p) That is, from the Red Sea, to the Sea called Syriacum: and by these places which the Jews knew, he meant an infinite space and area over the whole world.
(q) That is, from the Euphrates.

Zec 9:11

9:11 {r} As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy {s} prisoners out of the pit in which [is] no water.

(r) Meaning Jerusalem, or the Church which is saved by the blood of Christ, of which the blood of the sacrifices was a figure. And it is here called the covenant of the Church, because God made it with his Church: and left it with them because of the love that he had for them.
(s) God shows that he will deliver his Church out of all dangers, no matter how great they may seem.

Zec 9:12

9:12 Turn ye to the {t} strong hold, ye {u} prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare [that] I will render {x} double to thee;

(t) That is, into the holy land where the city and the temple are, where God will defend you.
(u) Meaning the faithful, who seemed to be in danger of their enemies on every side, and yet lived in hope that God would restore them to liberty.
(x) That is, double benefits and prosperity, in respect of that which your fathers enjoyed from David's time to the captivity.

Zec 9:13

9:13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the {y} bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.

(y) I will make Judah and Ephraim, that is, my whole Church, victorious against all enemies, which he here means by the Greeks.

Zec 9:15

9:15 The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, {z} and subdue the sling stones; and they shall drink, [and] make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, [and] as the corners of the altar.

(z) He promises that the Jews will destroy their enemies, and have abundance and excess of all things, as there is abundance on the altar when the sacrifice is offered. And these things are not to move them to excess, but to sobriety, and a thankful remembrance of God's great liberality.

Zec 9:16

9:16 And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they [shall be as] the {a} stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.

(a) The faithful will be preserved, and reverenced by all, that their very enemies will be compelled to esteem them: for God's glory will shine in them, as Josephus declares of Alexander the great when he met Jadi the high priest.

Zec 10:1

10:1 Ask ye of the {a} LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; [so] the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

(a) The Prophet reproves the Jews, because by their own infidelity they turn away God's promised graces, and so famine came by God's just judgment. Therefore to avoid this plague, he exhorts them to turn to God, and to pray in faith to him, and so he will give them abundance.

Zec 10:2

10:2 For the {b} idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore {c} they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because [there was] no shepherd.

(b) He calls to remembrance God's punishments in times past, because they trusted not in him, but in their idols and sorcerers who always deceived them.
(c) That is, the Jews went into captivity.

Zec 10:3

10:3 My anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the {d} goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as {e} his majestic horse in the battle.

(d) Meaning, the cruel governors who did oppress the poor sheep; Eze 34:16-17 .
(e) He will be merciful to his Church, and cherish them as a king or prince does his best horse, which will be for his own use in war.

Zec 10:4

10:4 Out {f} of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every {g} oppressor together.

(f) Out of Judah will the chief governor proceed, who will be as a corner to uphold the building, and as a nail to fasten it together.
(g) Over their enemies.

Zec 10:6

10:6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the {h} house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I [am] the LORD their God, and will hear them.

(h) That is, the ten tribes, which would be united under Christ to the rest of the Church.

Zec 10:8

10:8 I will {i} hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

(i) By which he declares the power of God, who needs no great preparation when he will deliver his own: for with a gesture or hiss he can call them suddenly from all places.

Zec 10:9

10:9 And I will {k} sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and {l} turn again.

(k) Though they will yet be scattered and seem to be lost, yet it will be profitable to them: for there they will come to the knowledge of my name, which was accomplished under the Gospel, among whom it was first preached.
(l) Not that they would return into their country, but be gathered and joined in one faith by the doctrine of the Gospel.

Zec 10:11

10:11 And he {m} shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart.

(m) He alludes to the deliverance of the people out of Egypt, when the angel smote the floods and rivers.

Zec 11:1

11:1 Open thy doors, O {a} Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.

(a) Because the Jews thought themselves so strong by reason of this mountain, that no enemy could come to hurt them, the Prophet shows that when God sends the enemies, it will show itself ready to receive them.

Zec 11:2

11:2 Wail, {b} fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are laid waste: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the {c} vintage is come down.

(b) Showing that if the strong men were destroyed, the weaker were not able to resist.
(c) Seeing that Lebanon was destroyed, which was the strongest fortress, the weaker places could not hope to hold out.

Zec 11:3

11:3 [There is] a voice of the wailing of the shepherds; for their {d} glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is laid waste.

(d) That is, the fame of Judah and Israel would perish.

Zec 11:4

11:4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the {e} slaughter;

(e) Which being now destined to be slain, were delivered as out of the lion's mouth.

Zec 11:5

11:5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves {f} not guilty: and they that sell them say, {g} Blessed [be] the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

(f) Their governors destroy them without any remorse of conscience, or yet thinking that they do evil.
(g) He notes the hypocrites, who always have the name of God in their mouths, though in their life and doings they deny God, attributing their gain to God's blessings, which comes from the wealth of their brethren.

Zec 11:6

11:6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, {h} I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his {i} king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver [them].

(h) I will cause one to destroy another.
(i) Their governors will execute cruelty over them.

Zec 11:7

11:7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, [even] you, {k} O poor of the flock. And I took to me {l} two staffs; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

(k) That is, the small remnant, whom he though worthy to show mercy to.
(l) God shows his great benefits toward his people to convince them of greater ingratitude, who would neither be ruled by his most beautiful order of government, neither continue in the bands of brotherly unity, and therefore he breaks both the one and the other. Some read "Destroyers" instead of "Bands", but in Zec 11:14 the second reading is confirmed.

Zec 11:8

11:8 {m} Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed {n} them, and their soul also abhorred me.

(m) By which he shows his care and diligence that he would not allow them to have evil rulers, so that they would consider his great love.
(n) Meaning, the people, because they would not acknowledge these great benefits of God.

Zec 11:11

11:11 And it was broken in that day: and so the {o} poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it [was] the word of the LORD.

(o) He shows that the least always profit by God's judgments.

Zec 11:12

11:12 And I said to them, If ye think good, give [me] {p} my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty [pieces] of silver.

(p) Besides their ingratitude, God accuses them of malice and wickedness, who did not only forget his benefits, but esteemed them as nothing.

Zec 11:13

11:13 And the LORD said to me, Cast it to the {q} potter: a glorious price that I was valued at by them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

(q) Showing that it was too little to pay his wages with, which could hardly suffice to make a few tiles to cover the temple.

Zec 11:15

11:15 And the LORD said to me, Take to thee yet {r} the instruments of a foolish shepherd.

(r) Signifying that they should have a certain type of regiment and outward show of government: but in effect it would be nothing, for they would be wolves, and devouring beasts instead of shepherds.

Zec 11:16

11:16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, [who] shall not visit those that are cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which {s} standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

(s) And is in health and sound.

Zec 11:17

11:17 Woe to the idle shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword [shall be] upon his {t} arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be wholly dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

(t) By the arm he signifies strength, as he does wisdom and judgments by the eye: that is, the plague of God will take away both your strength and judgment.

Zec 12:1

12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for {a} Israel, saith the LORD, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

(a) That is, the ten tribes, which neglected God's benefit in delivering their brethren, and had rather remain in captivity, than to return home when God called them.

Zec 12:2

12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a {b} cup of trembling to all the people around, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah [and] against Jerusalem.

(b) Jerusalem will be defended against all her enemies: so will God defend all Judah also, and will destroy the enemies.

Zec 12:5

12:5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The {c} inhabitants of Jerusalem [shall be] my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

(c) Every captain, that had many under him before, will now think that the small power of Jerusalem will be sufficient to defend them against all enemies, because the Lord is among them.

Zec 12:7

12:7 The LORD also shall save the {d} tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not magnify [themselves] against Judah.

(d) The people who are now as it were dispersed by the fields, and lie open to their enemies, will be preserved by my power just as if they were under their kings (which is meant by the house of David), or in their defended cities.

Zec 12:10

12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of {e} grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have {f} pierced, and they shall mourn for {g} him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

(e) They will have the feeling of my grace by faith, and know that I have compassion on them.
(f) That is, whom they have continually vexed with their obstinacy, and grieved my Spirit. In Joh 19:37 it is referred to Christ's body, whereas here it is referred to the Spirit of God.
(g) They will turn to God by true repentance, whom before they had so grievously offended by their ingratitude.

Zec 12:11

12:11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the {h} mourning of {i} Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

(h) They will exceedingly lament and repent for their offences against God.
(i) Which was the name of a town and place near to Megiddo, where Josiah was slain; 2Ch 35:22 .

Zec 12:12

12:12 And the {k} land shall mourn, every family {l} apart; the family of the {m} house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

(k) That is, in all places where the Jews will remain.
(l) Signifying, that this mourning or repentance would not be a vain ceremony: but every one touched with his own griefs will lament.
(m) Under these certain families he includes all the tribes, and shows that both the kings and the priests had by their sins pierced Christ.

Zec 12:13

12:13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of {n} Shimei apart, and their wives apart;

(n) Also called Simeon.

Zec 12:14

12:14 All the families that {o} remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

(o) That is, who were elect by grace, and preserved from the common destruction.

Zec 13:1

13:1 In that day there {a} shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

(a) He shows what will be the fruit of their repentance, that is, remission of sins by the blood of Christ, which will be a continual running fountain, and purge them from all uncleanness.

Zec 13:2

13:2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, [that] I will cut off the {b} names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the {c} prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

(b) He promises that God will also purge them from all superstition, and that their religion will be pure.
(c) Meaning, the false prophets and teachers, who are the corrupters of all religion, whom the Prophet here calls unclean spirits.

Zec 13:3

13:3 And it shall come to pass, [that] when any shall yet {d} prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say to him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him {e} shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

(d) That is, when they will prophesy lies, and make God, who is the author of truth, a cloak for them.
(e) He shows what zeal the godly will have under the kingdom of Christ; De 13:6,9 .

Zec 13:4

13:4 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the prophets shall {f} be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:

(f) God will make them ashamed of their errors and lies, and bring them to repentance, and they will no more wear prophet's apparel to make their doctrine seem more holy.

Zec 13:5

13:5 But he shall say, I [am] no {g} prophet, I [am] a farmer; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.

(g) They will confess their former ignorance, and be content to labour for their living.

Zec 13:6

13:6 And [one] shall say to him, What [are] these {h} wounds in thy hands? Then he shall answer, [Those] with which I was wounded [in] the house of my friends.

(h) By this he shows that though their parents and friends dealt more gently with them, and did not put them to death, yet they would so punish their children that became false prophets, that the marks and signs would remain forever.

Zec 13:7

13:7 Awake, O sword, against my {i} shepherd, and against the man [that is] my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.

(i) The Prophet warns the Jews, that before this great comfort under Christ would come, there would be a horrible dissipation among the people: for their governors and pastors would be destroyed, and the people would be as scattered sheep. And the evangelist applies this to Christ, because he was the head of all pastors; Mt 26:31 .

Zec 13:8

13:8 And it shall come to pass, [that] in all the land, saith the LORD, {k} two parts in it shall be cut off [and] die; but the third shall be left in it.

(k) The greatest part will have no portion of these blessings, and yet they that will enjoy them will be tried with great afflictions, so that is will be known that only God's power and his mercies preserve them.

Zec 14:1

14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be {a} divided in the midst of thee.

(a) He arms the godly against the great temptations that would come, before they enjoyed this prosperous estate promised under Christ, that when these dangers came, they might know that they were warned of them before.

Zec 14:3

14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he {b} fought in the day of battle.

(b) As your fathers and you have had experience both at the Red Sea, and at all other times.

Zec 14:4

14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the {c} mount of Olives, which [is] before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst of it toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great {d} valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

(c) By this manner of speech the Prophet shows God's power and care over his Church, and how he will as it were by a miracle save it.
(d) So that out of all the parts of the world, they will see Jerusalem, which was before his with this mountain: and this he means of the spiritual Jerusalem the Church.

Zec 14:5

14:5 And ye shall flee [to] the {e} valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal: yea, ye shall flee, as ye fled from before the {f} earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD {g} my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.

(e) He speaks of the hypocrites, who could not abide God's presence, but would flee into all places, where they might hide themselves among the mountains.
(f) Read Am 1:1 .
(g) Because they did not credit the Prophet's words, he turns to God and comforts himself in that that he knew that these things would come, and says, "You, O God, with your angels will come to perform this great thing."

Zec 14:7

14:7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, {h} not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, [that] at evening it shall be light.

(h) Signifying, that there would be great troubles in the Church, and that the time of it is in the Lord's hands, yet at length (which is here meant by the evening) God would send comfort.

Zec 14:8

14:8 And it shall be in that day, [that] living {i} waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

(i) That is, the spiritual graces of God, which would always continue in most abundance.

Zec 14:9

14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one {k} LORD, and his name one.

(k) All idolatry and superstition will be abolished, and there will be one God, one faith, and one religion.

Zec 14:10

14:10 All the land shall be turned {l} as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate to the place of the first gate, to the corner gate, and [from] the tower of Hananeel to the king's winepresses.

(l) This new Jerusalem will be seen through all the world, and will excel the first in excellency, wealth, and greatness.

Zec 14:13

14:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] {m} a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on {n} the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

(m) God will not only raise up war outside, but sedition at home to test them.
(n) To hurt and oppress him.

Zec 14:14

14:14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations around shall be gathered together, {o} gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

(o) The enemies are rich, and therefore will not come to entreat, but to destroy and shed blood.

Zec 14:15

14:15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the donkey, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this {p} plague.

(p) As the men would be destroyed, Zec 14:12 .

Zec 14:18

14:18 And if the family of {q} Egypt shall not go up, and shall not come, that [have] no [rain]; there shall be the plague, with which the LORD will smite the nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

(q) By the Egyptians, who were the greatest enemies to true religion, he means all the Gentiles.

Zec 14:20

14:20 In that day there shall be upon the {r} bells of the horses, HOLINESS TO THE LORD; and the {s} pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

(r) Signifying to whatever service they were put now
whether to labour, or to serve in war), they were now holy, because the Lord had sanctified them.
(s) The one as precious as the other, because they will be sanctified.

Zec 14:21

14:21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and boil in them: and in that day there shall be no more the {t} Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

(t) But all will be pure and clean, and there will neither by hypocrites, nor any that will corrupt the true service of God.

Mal 1:1

1:1 The {a} burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

The Argument - This Prophet was one of the three who God raised up for the comfort of the Church after the captivity, and after him there was no one else until John the Baptist was sent, which was either a token of God's wrath, or an admonition that they should with more fervent desires look for the coming of the Messiah. He confirms the same doctrine, that the two former do: chiefly he reproves the priests for their covetousness, and because they served God after their own fantasies, and not according to the direction of his word. He also notes certain distinct sins, which were then among them, such as the marrying of idolatrous and many wives, murmurings against God, impatience, and things such as these. Nonetheless, for the comfort of the godly he declares that God would not forget his promise made to their fathers, but would send Christ his messenger, in whom the covenant would be accomplished, whose coming would be terrible to the wicked, and bring all consolation and joy to the godly.

(a) See Geneva "Isa 13:1"

Mal 1:2

1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, {b} Wherein hast thou loved us? [Was] not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

(b) Which declares their great ingratitude that did not acknowledge this love, which was so evident, in that he chose Abraham from out of all the world, and next chose Jacob the younger brother from whom they came, and left Esau the elder.

Mal 1:3

1:3 And I {c} hated Esau, {1} and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

(c) For besides this the signs of my hatred appeared even when he was made servant to his younger brother, being yet in his mother's belly, and also afterward in that he was put from his birthright. Yet even now before your eyes the signs of this are evident, in that his country lies waste, and he will never return to inhabit it.
(d) Whereas you my people, whom the enemy hated more than them, are by my grace and love towards you delivered; read Ro 9:13 .

Mal 1:6

1:6 A son honoureth [his] father, and a servant his master: if then I [be] a father, where [is] mine honour? and if I [be] a master, where [is] my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, {d} O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, {e} Wherein have we despised thy name?

(d) Besides the rest of the people he mainly condemns the priests, because they should have reproved others for their hypocrisy, and for not yielding to God, and should not have hardened them by their example to do greater evils.
(e) He notes their great hypocrisy, who would not see their faults, but most impudently covered them, and so were blind guides.

Mal 1:7

1:7 Ye offer {f} polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD [is] (g) contemptible.

(f) You receive all types of offerings for your own greediness, and do not examine whether they are according to my Law or not.
(g) Not that they said this, but by their doings they declared it.

Mal 1:8

1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, [is it] {h} not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, [is it] not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

(h) You make it no fault: and by this he condemns them that think it sufficient to serve God partly as he has commanded, and partly after man's fantasy, and so do not come to the pureness of religion, which he requires. And therefore in reproach he shows them that a mortal man would not be content to be served in such a way.

Mal 1:9

1:9 And now, I pray you, {i} beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard {k} your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.

(i) He derides the priests who deceived the people in saying that they prayed for them, and shows that they were the occasion that these evils came upon the people.
(k) Will God consider your office and state, seeing you are so covetous and wicked?

Mal 1:10

1:10 Who [is there] even among you {l} that would shut the doors [for nought]? neither do ye kindle [fire] on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

(l) Because the Levites who kept the doors did not test whether the sacrifices that came in were according to the Law, God wishes that they would rather shut the doors, than to receive such as were not perfect.

Mal 1:11

1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name [shall be] {m} great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense [shall be] offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name [shall be] great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

(m) God shows that their ingratitude and neglect of his true service will be the cause of the calling of the Gentiles: and here the Prophet that was under the Law, used words that the people would understand, and by the altar and sacrifice he means the spiritual service of God, which should be under the Gospel, when an end would be made to all these legal ceremonies by Christ's sacrifice alone.

Mal 1:12

1:12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, {n} The table of the LORD [is] polluted; and the fruit thereof, [even] his meat, [is] contemptible.

(n) Both the priests and the people were infected with this error, that they did not regard what was offered: for they thought that God was as well content with the lean, as with the fat. But in the meantime they did not show the obedience to God which he required, and so committed impiety, and also showed their contempt of God, and covetousness.

Mal 1:13

1:13 Ye said also, Behold, what a {o} weariness [is it]! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought [that which was] torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.

(o) The priests and people were both weary with serving God, and did not regard what manner of sacrifice and service they gave to God: for that which was least profitable, was thought good enough for the Lord.

Mal 1:14

1:14 But cursed [be] the deceiver, which hath in his flock {p} a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I [am] a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name [is] dreadful among the heathen.

(p) That is, has ability to serve the Lord according to his word, and yet will serve him according to his covetous mind.

Mal 2:1

2:1 And now, O ye {a} priests, this commandment [is] for you.

(a) He speaks mainly to them, but under them he includes the people also.

Mal 2:2

2:2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay [it] to heart, to give glory {b} unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your {c} blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay [it] to heart.

(b) To serve me according to my word.
(c) That is, the abundance of God's benefits.

Mal 2:3

2:3 Behold, I will corrupt {d} your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, [even] the {e} dung of your solemn feasts; and [one] shall take you away with it.

(d) The seed you sow will come to no profit.
(e) You boast of your holiness, sacrifices, and feasts, but they will turn to your shame and be as vile as dung.

Mal 2:4

2:4 And ye shall know that I have {f} sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.

(f) The Priests objected against the Prophet that he could not remove them without speaking against the priesthood, and the office established by God by promise. But he shows that the office is nothing slandered, when these villains and dung are called by their own names.

Mal 2:5

2:5 My {g} covenant was with him of life and peace; and I {h} gave them to him [for] the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before {i} my name.

(g) He shows what were the two conditions of the covenant made with the tribe of Levi on God's part, that he would give them long life and felicity, and on their part, that they should faithfully serve him according to his word.
(h) I commanded Levi a certain law to serve me.
(i) He served me and set forth my glory with all humility and submission.

Mal 2:6

2:6 The law of {k} truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.

(k) He shows that the priests ought to have knowledge to instruct others in the word of the Lord.

Mal 2:7

2:7 For the priest's {l} lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he [is] the {m} messenger of the LORD of hosts.

(l) He is as the treasure house of God's word, and ought to give to everyone according to their need, and not to reserve it for himself.
(m) Showing that whoever does not declare God's will, is not his messenger, and priest.

Mal 2:10

2:10 Have we not all one {n} father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of {o} our fathers?

(n) The Prophet accuses the ingratitude of the Jews toward God and man: for seeing they were all born of one father Abraham, as God had elected them to be his holy people, they ought neither to offend God nor their brethren.
(o) By which they had bound themselves to God to be a holy people.

Mal 2:11

2:11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the {p} daughter of a strange god.

(p) They have united themselves in marriage with those that are of another religion.

Mal 2:12

2:12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that {q} offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.

(q) That is, the priest.

Mal 2:13

2:13 And this have ye done again, {r} covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth [it] with good will at your hand.

(r) Yet cause the people to lament, because God does not regard their sacrifices, so that they seem to sacrifice in vain.

Mal 2:14

2:14 Yet ye say, {s} Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet [is] she thy {t} companion, and the wife of thy {u} covenant.

(s) This is another fault, of which he accuses them, that is, that they broke the laws of marriage.
(t) As the one half of yourself.
(u) She that was united to you by a solemn covenant, and by the invocation of God's name.

Mal 2:15

2:15 And did not {x} he make one? Yet had he the {y} residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly {z} seed. Therefore take heed to your {a} spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.

(x) Did not God make man and woman as one flesh and not many?
(y) By his power and strength he could have made many women for one man.
(z) Those who should be born in lawful and moderate marriage, in which is no excess of lusts.
(a) Contain yourselves within your bounds, and be sober in mind, and bridle your affections.

Mal 2:16

2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he {b} hateth putting away: for [one] covereth {c} violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

(b) Not that he allows divorce, but of two faults he shows which is the less.
(c) He thinks it sufficient to keep his wife still, even though he takes others, and so as it were covers his fault.

Mal 2:17

2:17 Ye have {d} wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied [him]? When ye say, Every one that doeth {e} evil [is] good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where [is] the God of {f} judgment?

(d) You murmur against God, because he did not hear you as soon as you called.
(e) In thinking that God favoured the wicked, and had no respect for those that serve him.
(f) Thus they blasphemed God in condemning his power and justice, because he did not judge according to their imaginings.

Mal 3:1

3:1 Behold, I will send my {a} messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the {b} Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the {c} messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

(a) This is meant of John the Baptist, as Christ interprets it; Lu 7:27 .
(b) Meaning, the Messiah, as in Ps 40:17 Da 9:17,25 .
(c) That is, Christ, by whom the covenant was made and ratified, who is called the angel or messenger of the covenant, because he reconciles us to his Father, and is Lord or King, because he has the rule of his Church.

Mal 3:2

3:2 But who {d} may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

(d) He shows that the hypocrites who wish so much for the Lord's coming will not remain when he draws near: for he will consume them, and purge his own and make them clean.

Mal 3:3

3:3 And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of {e} Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

(e) He begins at the priests, that they might be lights, and shine unto others.

Mal 3:6

3:6 For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob {f} are not consumed.

(f) They murmured against God, because they did not see his help which was ever present to defend them: and therefore he accuses them of ingratitude, and shows that in that they are not daily consumed, it is a sign that he still defends them, and so his mercy towards them never changes.

Mal 3:7

3:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept [them]. {g} Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

(g) Read Zec 1:3 .

Mal 3:8

3:8 Will a {h} man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In {i} tithes and offerings.

(h) There are none of the heathen so barbarous, that will defraud their gods of their honour, or deal deceitfully with them.
(i) By which the service of God should have been maintained, and the priests and the poor relieved.

Mal 3:10

3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, {k} that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to receive it].

(k) Not having respect how much you need, but I will give you in all abundance, so that you will lack place to put my blessings in.

Mal 3:11

3:11 And I will rebuke the {l} devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

(l) Meaning the caterpillar, and whatever destroys corn and fruits.

Mal 3:13

3:13 Your words have been stout {m} against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken [so much] against thee?

(m) The Prophet condemns them of double blasphemy against God: first, in that they said that God had no respect for those that served him, and next, that the wicked were more in his favour than the godly.

Mal 3:15

3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, [they that] tempt God are even {n} delivered.

(n) They are not only preferred to honour, but also delivered from dangers.

Mal 3:16

3:16 {o} Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard [it], and a {p} book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

(o) After these admonitions of the Prophet, some were strongly touched, and encouraged others to fear God.
(p) Both because the thing was strange that some turned to God in that great and universal corruption, and also that this might be an example of God's mercies to all repentant sinners.

Mal 3:17

3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day {q} when I make up my jewels; and I will {r} spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

(q) When I will restore my Church according to my promise, they will be as my own proper goods.
(r) That is, forgive their sins, and govern them with my Spirit.

Mal 4:1

4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall {a} burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

(a) He prophesies of God's judgments against the wicked, who would not receive Christ, when God would send him for the restoration of his Church.

Mal 4:2

4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the {b} Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go {c} forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

(b) Meaning, Christ, who with his wings or beams of his grace would enlighten and comfort his Church; Eph 5:14 . And he is called the "Sun of righteousness", because in himself he has all perfection, and also the justice of the Father dwells in him: by which he regenerates us to righteousness, cleanses us from the filth of this world, and reforms us to the image of God.
(c) You will be set at liberty, and increase in the joy of the Spirit; 2Co 3:17 .

Mal 4:4

4:4 {d} Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, [with] the statutes and judgments.

(d) Because the time had come that the Jews would be destitute of Prophets until the time of Christ, because they should with more fervent minds desire his coming, the Prophet exhorts them to exercise themselves diligently in studying the Law of Moses in the meantime, by which they might continue in the true religion, and also be armed against all temptations.

Mal 4:5

4:5 Behold, I will send you {e} Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and {f} dreadful day of the LORD:

(e) This Christ interprets of John the Baptist, who both for his zeal, and restoring or religion, is aptly compared to Elijah; Mt 11:13,14 .
(f) Which as it is true for the wicked, so does it waken the godly, and call them to repentance.

Mal 4:6

4:6 And he shall {g} turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and {h} smite the earth with a curse.

(g) He shows in what John's office would consist: in the turning of men to God, and uniting the father and children in one voice of faith: so that the father will turn to the religion of his son who is converted to Christ, and the son will embrace the faith of the true fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
(h) The second point of his office was to give notice of God's judgment against those that would not receive Christ.

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