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I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord. 22. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

23. Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a violent whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. 24. The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the end of days* ye shall clearly understand it.

xxxi. 1. In that time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people-3. The Lord hath appeared from afar unto me, Yea, I have loved thee with an éverlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. 4. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel †: thou shalt be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

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* In the end of days.] Compare this with Dan. xi. 40-45. xii. 1-10.

+ Virgin of Israel.] "The virgin of Israel is of the same "extent with all the families of Israel (ver. 1.). For the "blessings here promised shall receive their utmost comple"tion, when Israel and Judah shall again be united into one people." Mr. Lowth in loc.

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Thou shalt be adorned.] Or, as the passage ought perhaps more properly to be translated, thou shalt pass over, that is, thou shalt trip along the path. Vide infra Note on Proph. xxxiv.

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Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall sing praises-7. For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the head of the nations publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people the remnant of Israel. 8. Behold, I will bring them from the north-country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. 9. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim

* Samaria.] "Samaria, being the metropolis of the ten "tribes, seems to be put for the kingdom of Israel, as it was "distinct from that of Judah-Taking Samaria in this sense, "it implies, that the deliverance here spoken of shall extend "to Isruel as well as Judah." Mr. Lowth in loc.

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The head of the nations.] Israel shall, after his restora tion, become the joy of the whole earth, the first of all nations; not in the carnal sense which the Jews expected at the first advent of our Lord, but in a sublime and spiritual sense. This term," says Dr. Blayney, "I look upon to be synonymous with Jacob or Israel, who, being the peculiar people of God, was thereby exalted to a preeminence above "other nations. The privileges of primogeniture are asserted "to belong to him (Ver. 9.), which is equivalent to calling "him the chief or head of the nations; the first-born being commonly entitled to the rank of chief or head among many brethren."

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is my first-born *. 10. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock. 11. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he-15. Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel, weeping for her children †, refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16. Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17. And there is hope in thy last end ‡, saith the Lord; and thy children shall come again to their own borders. 18. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning him

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*Ephraim is my first-born.] "Ephraim is often equiva"lent to Israel, especially when Israel denotes the ten tribes as distinct from Judah-This implies, that God will restore "the nation of the Jews to their primitive state, as it stood "before their separation into two kingdoms," Mr. Lowth in loc.

Rachel, weeping for her children.] This is applied by St. Matthew to the murder of the innocents by Herod but he undoubtedly cites the prophecy only in the way of application. The whole context clearly shews, that it properly relates to the figurative mourning of the mother of the house of Joseph, on account of the dispersion of the ten tribes. See Dr. Blayney in loc. See also Mr. Lowth.

There is hope in thy last end.] The allegorical last end of Rachel is the reestablishment of her children as a people.

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self thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. 19. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and, after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for, since I spake against him, I do carnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. Set thee up way-marks, make thee, high-heaps: set thine heart toward the high-way, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities-27. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast *. 28. And it

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* I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.] I will cause there to be a great increase both of men and cattle. Suscitabo do;num Israel et domum Juda: multiplicabo eos hominibus, et prosperabo eos pecoribus (Chal. Paraph.). Seminabo domum Israel et domum Juda semine hominum et semine jumentorum (Vulg. Lat.). Seminabo Israelitis et Judæis semen hominum et semen jumentorum (Vers. Syriac.). Seminabo Israelem et Judum semine humano et semine jumenti (Vers. Arab.). The passage nearly resembles a parallel prophecy of Ezekiel. "But ye, O moun"tains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and

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shall come to pass, that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build, and to plant, saith the Lord-21. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 32. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord; 33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34. And they shall teach no more, every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their

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yield your fruit to my people of Israel: for they are at "hand to come. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn "unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown. And I will "multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel even all of "it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall

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be builded. And I will multiply upon you man and beast; " and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you " than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the "Lord." Ezek. xxxvi, 8-11.

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