7 31 Howl, O gate; cry, Ocity; thou, | smoke, and noue shall be alone in whole Palestina, art dissolved: for his appointed times. there shall come from the north a 6 or, he shall not. New Translation. 31. Howl, O gate! cry out, O city! O Philistia, thou art altogether dissolved with fear. And there shall not be a straggler among his armies. assemblies. proceed from the descendants of Jesse the Messiah, and his works shall be among you as a flying serpent." This interpretation Rosenmüller supposes is correct; but it is evidently foreign to the scope of the passage. 30. And the first-born of the poor shall feed. That is, there shall be safety to those parts of Judah which have long been exposed to the invasions of the Philistines. Philistia bordered on Judea, was constantly making wars upon it and committing ravages, so that there was no safety felt. Isaiah now says, that Hezekiah would so effectually and completely subdue them that there should be no alarm felt, and no danger from their invasion. The phrase "the first-born of the poor" is an Hebraism-a strong, emphatic expression, denoting those who are the most poor; the most abject sons of poverty; those who have an eminence or a double portion of want-as the first-born among the Hebrews were entitled to peculiar distinctions and privileges. The idea is, that even the most poor and defenceless shall be safe. Shall feed. That is, they shall be supplied with food; they shall feed safely as a flock does that is guarded from wild beasts. They shall be no longer alarmed, but shall dwell in security, peace, and plenty. And 1 will kill thy root. The word rendered root denotes properly the root of a plant, which being dried up or killed, the plant of course withers and dies. So God says that he would ef fectually and entirely destroy the power of the Philistines. Slay thy remnant. That is, shall slay all that appertains to thee. Or, he shall dry up the root, and the branches shall wither and die also. The whole power of the nation shall be withered and destroyed. 31. Howl, O gate. That is, ye who throng the gate. The gales of a city were the chief places of concourse, and often places for holding courts of justice. ¶ Cry, O city. The prophet here fixes the attention upon some principal city of Philistia, and calls upon it to 32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That" the Ps. 87. 1-6. LORD hath founded Zion, and the, poor of his people shall trust in it. Zeph. 3. 12. 8 betake themselves unto. New Translation. 32. And what answer shall be given to the ambassadors of a nation ?— That JEHOVAH hath laid the foundation of Zion, And the poor of his people take refuge in her. be alarmed in view of the judgments that were about to come upon the whole land. Art dissolved. Art about to be destroyed. The word dissolved ( mugh) is applied to that which melts, or which wastes away gradually-and then to that which faints or disappears. It means here that the kingdom of Philistia would disappear, or be destroyed. It probably conveys the idea of its fainting, or becoming feeble from fear or apprehension. From the north a smoke. From the regions of Judah, which lay north and east of Philistia. The smoke here probably refers to a cloud of dust that should be seen to rise in that direction made by an invading army. And none shall be alone in his appointed times. There has been a great variety of interpretation in regard to this passage. Lowth renders it, "And there shall not be a straggler among his levies." The Hebrew is as in the margin, "And not solitary in his assemblies." The LXX render it και ουκ ἔσται του ειναι—and it is not to be endured. Thompson. The Chaldee," And there shall be none who shall retard him in his times." The Arabic, "Neither is there any one who can stand in his footsteps." The Vulgate," Neither is there any one who can escape his army." Aben Ezra renders it, "No one of the Philistines shall dare to remain in their palaces, as when a smoke comes into a house all are driven out." Probably the correct idea is given by Lowth; and the same interpretation is given by Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Dathe, and Michaelis. No one of the invading army of Hezekiah shall come by himself; no one shall be weary or be a straggler; the army shall advance in close, military array, and in dense columus; and this is represented as the cause of the cloud or smoke that the prophet saw rising the cloud of dust that was made by the close ranks of the invading host. Comp. Isa. v. 27. 32. What shall one then answer, &c. The design of this verse is obvious. It is to show that Judea would be safe from the invasions of the Philistines, and that God was the protector of Zion. For this purpose the prophet refers to messengers or ambassadors who should be sent for any purpose to Jerusalem-either to congratulate Hezekiah, or to form an alliance with the Jews. To these messengers the prophet asks what answer or information shall be given respecting their state? and the reply is, that JEHOVAH has evinced his purpose to protect his people. Of the nation. Of any nation whose ambassadors should be sent into Judea. ¶ That the LORD hath founded Zion. That he is its original founder, and that he has now shown his regard for it by protecting it from the Philistines. It would be safe from their attacks, and JEHOVAH would thus show that he had it under his own protection. The LXX render this, " And what shall the kings of the Gentiles then answer? That the Lord hath founded Zion," &c. The scope of the passage is the certain assurance that Zion should be safe, being founded and preserved by JEHOVAH; and that the Philistines had no cause of triumph at the death of Ahaz, since God would still be the protector of his people. The doctrine established by this passage is, that in all the changes which take place by the death of kings, princes, magistrates, and ministers; and in all the revolutions which occur in kingdoms, the enemies of the people of God have no cause for rejoicing as if they could destroy them. God is the protector of his church; and he will show that he has founded Zion, and that his people are safe. No weapon that is formed against his people shall prosper, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church. Shall trust in it. In Zion. It was a strongly fortified city, God was its protector, and in times of calamity his people could betake themselves there in safety. In this strong place the most weak and defenceless-the poorest of the people would be safe. In the church of God, the poor are the objects of as deep regard as the rich; the humble, the meek, the weak, the feeble, are there safe, and no power of an enemy can reach or affect them. God is their defen. der and their friend; and in his arms they are secure. |