be made in thy Perfon, thy Habit, and all other Cir- Chapter cumftances, obvious to the View, that thofe who were XIV. intimately acquainted with thee, fhall not know thee at first fight, 'till by long gazing on thy Countenance, they recollect fome faint refemblance of thee, they fhall fcarce believe their Eyes, and feem to doubt whether thou art the fame Perfon. Is this the Man, at whofe Anger the whole World trembled, who when he pleas'd could make the most potent Kingdom fhake? Is this he who turn'd the World upfide down, and made many flourishing Regions of it defolate, by butchering the Inhabitants, or driving them out of their Poffeffions? Who, among other particular Inftances of his Inhumanity, was remark able for this, that he never fet any of his Captives at liberty, but kept them in clofe Confinement at hard Labour all their lives: Which is the meaning of not opening the House of his Prifoners; and is added by the Prophet to fet off the Deliverance of the Jews, which was a thing extraordinary, and could not have been brought to pass without the Ruin of that Monarchy, which was govern'd by fuch Maxims. Ver. 18. All the kings of the nations, even all of them lie in glory, every one in his own houfe.] That is, all Kings in general, or all their Royal Predeceffors lie buried in ftately Monuments, every one in his earthly Manfion, enjoying uninterrupted Repofe Ver. 19, 20, But thou art caft out of thy grave like an abominable branch: and as the raiment of those that are flain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the ftones of the pit, as a carcafe trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joyned with them in burial, because thou haft destroyed thy land, and flain thy people: the feed of evil doers fhall never be renown[ed.] By this the Prophet means not that he fhould be drag'd out of his Grave after he had been bury'd, but that his Body fhould be caft out, and kept from ever coming to be laid up in the Sepulchre of his Royal Progenitors. This Grotius thinks was fulfill'd in Sennacherib; (a) others in Nebuchodonofor, whofe Son took Poffeffion of his Throne during the Interval of his Meta- (a) Hieron. morphofis, for which his Father when reftor'd to his Senfes and Kingdom, kept him in Prifon 'till by death he Chapter he made way for his Succeffion; the Son would not believe XIV. his Father was dead when the Nobility came to prefent him with the Crown, for fear of worfe Effects of his Refentment if he fhould happen to be alive, upon which they dug up his Corps to convince him; but these are meer Fictions, its more likely he means that Baltazar's Corps fhould be caft out and lye above Ground, he being flain in the Night, upon the Surprizal of the City, when all was in Confufion, and no Body at Leifure to interr him. Santius. (a) Chaldee Ver. 21, 22. Prepare flaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they do not rife nor poffefs the land; ; nor fill the face of the world with cities. For I will rife up against them, faith the Lord of hofts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and fon, and nephew, faith the Lord.] We need not understand by his Sons either his Nobles or Subjects, but his natural Issue, which, without any Distinction, were all cut off in the Tumult of that bloody Night; and this fhews that the Prophet must be understood of Baltazar, because Sennacherib was fucceeded by Efarhaddon his Son, and Nebuchodonofor by Evilmerodach and Baltazar his Son and Grandfon; whereas the Prophet faith, the Sons of the King he speaks of fhall not rife and poffefs the land, nor fucceed their Father in his Throne, nor fill the face of the world with cities; that is, they fhall not recover this Blow, nor raife up their Heads again and replenish the World, by difperfing themselves into feveral Regions, and enlarging their Dominions with great Cities; but Narim may be render'd Adverfaries as well as Cities, and fince the Prophet accuses their Father of making the World a Wilderness, by deftroying the cities thereof, and their Inhabitants, there was no fear, if they fhould be Masters of that great Empire, but they would carry on the fame destructive Defighs, and ruin more Cities than they would build; the Words therefore may be render'd, and fill the World with (a) Enemies, or with (b) Wars. Ver. 23. I will alfo make it a poffeffion for the bittern, and pools of water and I will sweep it with the befome of deftruEtion, faith the Lord of hofts.] Babylon was built in a low Cyril. Pagnin. marthy Ground, fecur'd from the overflowing of Euphrates only by Banks, which being broken down by the Medes, the the City muft needs become a Pool of Water. By the Chapter Ver. 24, 25. The Lord of hofts bath fworn, faying, Surely as I have thought, fo fhall it come to pafs; and as I have purpofed, fo shall it stand. That I will break the Affyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then fhall his yoke depart from off them, and his burthen depart from off their fhoulders.] The Prophet answers to a fuppos'd Objection of the Jews of his own Time, What Good will the Destruction of Babylon do us? It were fome Comfort if God would destroy the Affyrian, who is coming against us with fuch an Army as we are not able to refift: To which God answers, I will certainly deftroy the Affyrian in my land, that is, in Judea, and upon my mountains will I tread him under foot; and as furely as ye shall fee this perform'd in a fhort Time, fo certainly shall the Destruction of the Chaldeans, of which the Prophet has been fpeaking, come to pafs. Ver. 26, 27. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who fhall difanul it? and his hand is ftretched out, and who shall turn it back That is, upon this great Empire of the Chalde ans, of which the Prophet fpeaks, as if it comprehended almost all the World at that Time known; as if he had faid, The fame Purpose is purposed against the Babylonians as against the Affyrians,and the fame Hand fhall be stretch'd out against all the Nations belonging to it as fhall, shortly, to your Amazement, be exerted in the Deftruction of the Affyrian Hoft: For the Lord of Hofts has refolv'd it, and then, tho' Babylon be the chief City of the most powerful Empire in the World, it fhall not be able to prevent its Destruction. Ver. 28, 29. In the year that king Ahaz died, was this burthen. Rejoyce not thou whole Palestina, because the rod of him that fmote thee is broken: for out of the ferpents root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit fhall be a fiery flying fer pent.] Chapter pent. Here begins a new Prophecy, wherein he threatenXIV. eth Calamities to the Enemies of their Nation which lay nearer to them, the Philistines, who were every now and then disturbing their Repofe; this Prophecy was deliver'd in the Year that King Ahaz dy'd, and confequently in the 2Ckron.26.6. first of Hezekiah's Reign. Uzziah, Grand-father of Abaz, was a Scourge to the Philistines, at whofe Death there was univerfal Rejoicing thro' all Palestine, as we may fuppofe there was at the Death of Ahaz, which is upon that Account mention'd, who having left Things in Confusion, and his Son being young and unexperienc'd in Affairs of War, the Philistines began to hope they had now a fair Opportunity of retrieving the Honour of their Arms; but the Prophet bids them not rejoice on this Occafion, for they fhould have no Reafou to do fo, for out of that old Serpents root, that fo often ftung them, shall proceed a Cockatrice, one that fhall do their Nation more Harm than ever Uzziah did, meaning Hezekiah, who, as we find in 2 Kings 18. 8. the Hiftory of that Prince, fmote the Philistines even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. Ver. 30. And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy fhall lye down in fafety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he fhall flay thy remnant.] This is added to take off that Dread the People might conceive at the Character of their new King, reprefented by the Prophet like a Cockatrice and fiery Serpent; he fhould indeed prove fuch to their Enemies the Philistines, but be of a mild Difpofition, tender and regardful of the Welfare of his own Subjects, under whofe aufpicious Reign the poor exhausted Nation fhould recover Strength, the Inhabitants be no more scar'd from their Dwellings by hoftile Incurfions, but enjoy Peace and Profperity. And I will kill thy root with famine, and I will flay thy remnant; fo the Words should be tranflated, there being an Enallage of the Perfon; for the Prophet does not mean Hezekiah, but God, for this was not done by any one Man at any one time; Hezekiah indeed was very fuccefsful against them, but did not entirely ruin them. The first-born of the poor, that is, thofe who are brought to extreme Poverty, as the Jews at this Time were, in which Sense, says St. Jerom, Marcion is call'd call'd by Polycarp Primogenitus Diaboli, the First-born be- Chapter ing the Chief, or having the largest Portion. Ver. 31. Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou whole Palestina art diffolved: for there fhall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.] From the North, that is, from Affyria, by Sennacherib, fays Jerom, but it's more probable Judea is meant, which bore N. É. of Paleftine. From Judea there fhall come a smoke, that is, a great Army, raifing the Duft as they march, which fhall traverse thy whole Country and plunder thy open Cities. And none fhall be alone in his appointed times. Our Tranflators feem not to have guefs'd the meaning of this Place, which made them render it Word for Word unintelligibly, the Obfcurity of which proceeds from the Uncertainty of the Signification of Bemonatham, and, the Uncertainty of the Perfons spoke of; if the Words be understood of the Jews invading Palestine, they fet forth the Alacrity of the Soldiers to revenge their Countries Wrongs, there fhall not one stay at Home or decline the Expedition; if of the Philistines, the meaning is, In the Places of Public Refort there fhall not a Man be feen, they fhall forfake their Cities for fear of Hezekiah's conquering Army. XIV. Ver. 32. What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people fhall trust in it.] It was the Custom of thofe Times, when any thing extraordinary happen'd, for neighbouring Princes to fend Ambaffadors to congratulate one another, and pay their Compliments, as we call it, upon any joyful Occafion, and condole upon any Accident or unlucky Turn of Affairs; thus David fent to the King of the Ammonites to condole with him on his Father's Death, and Toi King 2 Sam. 10. 1. of Hamath fent his Son to congratulate David on his Succefs against the Philistines; therefore, fays the Prophet, when Foreign Nations fhall wonder at our Succefs, and depute Amballadors to congratulate our good Fortune, and inform themselves of the Particulars, what Answer fhall we return them when they ask how our Arms become fo fuccefsful? What but this? That God is our Defender, he first founded our City, and now bleffes our Arms, and will always fo defend Jerufalem that the poor People may be fure of a fafe Retreat. 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