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XXII. 6 And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield,

The men of Persia bare the quiver, that their archers might second and guard the chariots and horsemen; and those of Media addressed their target for a present defence.

XXII. 8 And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst Look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

And here one discovered the closely-reserved magazines of Judea; and thou, on the other side, wert glad to run for munition to that common armoury, in that house which Solomon built in the forest of Lebanon: all shall be glad to bustle into arms for their defence. XXII. 9 Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.

Ye were glad to survey diligently the breaches of the walls of the inner citadel, to make them up, how many soever; and dammed in the waters of the lower pool, for the necessary use of the besieged.

XXII. 11 Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.

Ye have made good provisions, both for your water and for your fortifications of the city; but, in the mean time, ye have not looked up to the hand of the Almighty, who hath made all these creatures, and can either curse them or use them to your comfort and defence.

XXII. 13 Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we shall die. It was the careless and desperate resolution of too many amongst you: What do we make spare of these provisions? Let us feed, and drink liberally. Our time is but short; let us spend it merrily sorrow will come too soon; to-morrow we shall die.

XXII. 15 Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,

Go, get thee to this perfidious officer, even to Shebna, who, though a foreigner in blood and false in heart, yet hath command in the house of Hezekiah, and say,

XXII. 16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?

What dost thou, being a stranger here, go about to build thee a stately tomb in Jerusalem; as if thou wert some great prince, and wouldest leave some worthy monument of thy undeserving name, to all perpetuity of times?

XXII. 18 And there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.

Those chariots, which thine ambition had prepared for thy glory and greatness, shall be the shame and reproach of Hezekiah, amongst foreigners; for that he entertained so wicked and unworthy an officer.

XXII. 22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

I will put into his hand, as a faithful officer, the whole administration of the court; and will trust him with the managing of the weighty affairs of the kingdom, under his sovereign: if he command, none shall forbid; and if he forbid, none shall obtain. XXII. 23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.

And I will set him firm and sure in this place of authority, so as he shall no more be removed, than a nail, that is driven up to the head; and he shall be an honour, both to the royal throne which he shall attend, and to his father's house.

XXII. 24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups even to all the vessels of flagons.

Upon him shall depend all the glory of his father's house, both for the present and for the future; and his government shall be so just, that all affairs, both great and small, of the king's household or the commonwealth, shall be devolved upon his fidelity.

XXII. 25 In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place, be removed, and be cut down, and fall.

In that day shall the present steward, Shebna, who seemed sure enough established in his place, be removed, and put out of office.

XXIII. 1 The burden of Tyre: Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

The heavy tidings sent to Tyre: That famous and rich city of Tyre shall be laid waste; howl, therefore, and lament, O all ye seafaring men, which had wont to make your traffic there; for now there is no harbour for you any more: they shall hear of this fearful news from the Grecians and other western nations, whose help shall be used by Nebuchadnezzar in this war.

XXIII. 2 Ye inhabitants of the isle: thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.

Ye inhabitants of Tyre and the neighbouring isles, which have had so rich trading with the Zidonian merchants, may now sit still at home: there shall be no more work for you.

XXIII. 3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

And by the commodity of the sea, on which it stands, the flax, that grows in Sihor, and all other the profits, that are brought down by the waters of Nilus, have been, as it were, a constant revenue to it; and it hath been the universal staple of trade for all nations.

XXIII. 4 Be thou ashamed, 0 Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.

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And thou, the famous port of Zidon near adjoining, be thou also out of countenance; for the sea,, over which Tyre hath wont to rule, hath now disclaimed all benefit of trade and intercourse; and hath professed a barrenness of all further profits, and a cessation of navigation hereafter, whether for the increase of wealth, or for the multiplying of colonies deduced thence.

XXIII. 5 is at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.

As these bordering nations were troubled at the news of Egypt's overthrow, so they shall be extremely afflicted at the like report concerning Tyre.

XXIII. 6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

All ye inhabitants and neighbour merchants, now turn your trade another way: pass over to Cilicia, and there fix your traffic.

XXIII. 7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.

Is this the glorious and jocund city, that was wont so to boast of her antiquity above all others, as founded by the ancient Phenicians, beyond the memory of records? now, she shall be pulled low enough; for her own feet shall carry her afar off into captivity and exile.

XXIII. 8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, &c?

Say then, in whose power was it, or can it be, to bring this desolation upon the mighty and rich state of Tyre; that royal city, whose merchants are as wealthy as the princes of other countries, &c?

XXIII. 10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tar shish: there is no more strength.

Pass away through thine own land into captivity, O thou renowned daughter of the sea, as swiftly as a headlong river through his channel: there is no more strength in thee, to hold out, or subsist any longer.

XXIII. 12 Pass over to Chittim ;- there also shalt thou have no rest. Get thee for shelter to Cilicia, or to Greece; but there thou shalt have no rest.

XXIII. 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

Behold the Chaldeans and Assyrians: they shall be thy destroyers; neither think thou strange of this, O Tyre; for consider well, the Chaldees were no people of note, till the Assyrians raised them up from a wild unsettled course of life in the wilderness; yet now these Chaldees shall be employed for to overthrow the Assyrians: how much more shall both of them be able to overthrow thee?

XXIII. 15 That Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.

Tyre shall lie waste and remain in bondage, according to the just number of years of the captivity of my people, even for the space of seventy years; according to the utmost extent of the life and reign of any one king, in common account; and, after that seventy years expired, Tyre shall begin to draw customers to her, by her plausible allurements, even as a beautiful harlot enticeth her lovers by the voice of her singing. So verse 16.

XXIII. 17 She shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. She shall return to her wonted trading, and shall exercise her deceitful and meretricious traffic with all the nations of the world ; enriching herself by the uttering of those adulterated commodities, which she shall put off to all other kingdoms.

XXIII. 18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

But, at last, both Tyre itself and her merchandise and trade shall be sincerely consecrated unto the Lord: she shall not covetously scrape together, and lay up treasure for the enriching of herself, but shall distribute it rather, and lay it forth for the benefit and behoof of God's saints.

XXIV. 1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, &c.

Behold, the Lord will bring great judgments and fearful desolation, upon all the regions round about, &c.

XXIV. 2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; &c. All shall fare alike from the hand of God, for they shall be swept away at once, as well the people as the priest; &c.

XXIV. 10 The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, &c.

And, as other nations about shall be thus plagued, so even Jerusalem itself shall be broken down, and laid in confused heaps, &c. XXIV. 13 There shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.

Yet, there shall be reserved a small number, on whom I will have mercy; as some few olives, that are left upon the tree after the shaking thereof, and some few grapes left growing after the vintage. XXIV. 14 They shall cry aloud from the sea.

They shall sound forth their thankful acknowledgments of God's mercy, and the professions of their holy confidence in him, even from remote countries.

XXIV. 16 From the uttermost parts of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.

Even from the Gentiles in all parts of the world have we heard songs of rejoicing, and praises given to the righteous and mer

ciful God. But yet I felt within me a sensible apprehension of the secret complaints of God's Church; in the sense whereof, I could not but cry out, Woe is me! I am even consumed with sorrow, to see the miscarriage of men; to see the bosom-enemies of the Church treacherously conspiring against her.

XXIV. 17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.

O ye inhabitants of the earth, there are unavoidable judgments prepared for you: ye shall be sure not to escape the hand of God: he will certainly meet with you; and, if you can eschew one plague, yet ye shall be sure to fall into another. So verse 18.

XXIV. 18 For the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

For, be ye assured, that the Lord will arm heaven and earth against you; neither shall any place be able to secure you from his judg

ments.

XXIV. 20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.

I will testify my wrath by fearful earthquakes; whereby the earth shall be so moved, as that it shall totter and reel on all sides, like a drunken man: and so will I revenge the sins of the inhabitants thereof upon them, as that they shall be pressed down under the weight thereof, and not be able to rise any more.

XXIV. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall not forbear to punish the greatest potentates of the earth, as well as the meanest of their subjects: all shall taste alike of his wrath.

XXIV. 22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

They shall be all shut up in one common destruction, reserved for the just revenge of God; but yet, after the patient enduring of many calamities, shall God, in his great mercy, condescend to have compassion on the remnant of them.

XXIV. 23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

Then the Lord shall be pleased to erect such a glorious govern ment in mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as that it shall put down the glory and brightness of the sun and moon in the heavens: it shall outshine those bright and lightsome planets; when the Messiah shall reign with power and majesty in his Church, before his holy and eminent ministers.

XXV. 2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be

built.

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