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Amos Chapter
Two
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 2
In
this chapter the prophet foretells the calamities that should come upon the
Moabites for their transgressions, Amos 2:1; and the
destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for their iniquities, Amos 2:4; also the
judgments of God that should come upon Israel the ten tribes for their sins,
which sins are enumerated; their oppression of the poor, their lewdness and
idolatry, Amos 2:6; and which
are aggravated by the blessings of goodness bestowed upon them, both temporal
and spiritual, Amos 2:9; wherefore
they are threatened with ruin, which would be inevitable, notwithstanding their
swiftness, strength, and courage, and their skill in shooting arrows, and
riding horses, Amos 2:13.
Amos 2:1 Thus says the Lord: “For three
transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because
he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
YLT
1Thus said Jehovah: For
three transgressions of Moab, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of his
burning the bones of the king of Edom to lime,
Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Moab,.... Or the
Moabites, who descended from the eldest son of Lot, by one of his daughters;
and, though related, were great enemies to the Israelites; they sent for Balaam
to curse them when on their borders, and greatly oppressed them in the times of
the judges:
and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; See Gill on Amos 1:3. Idolatry,
as well as the sin next charged, must be one of these four transgressions: the
idols of Moab were Chemosh and Baalpeor; of the former See Gill on Jeremiah 48:7; and
of the latter See Gill on Hosea 9:10;
because he burnt the bones of the king of Edom into lime; either like
"to lime", or "for lime"; he burnt them thoroughly, till
they came to powder as small and as white as lime, and used them instead of it
to plaster the walls of his palace, by way of contempt, as the Targum; and so
Jarchi and Kimchi: this is thought probable by QuinquarboreusF13Scholia
in Targum in loc. , for which he is blamed by Sanctius, who observes, there is
no foundation for it in Scripture; and that the ashes of the bones of one man
would not be sufficient to plaster a wall; and, besides, could never be brought
to such a consistence as to be fit for such a purpose; yet, if it only means
bare burning them, so as that they became like lime, as the colour of it, it
could not be thought so very barbarous and inhuman, since it was the usage of
some nations, especially the Romans, to burn their dead: no doubt something
shocking is intended, and which usage to the dead is resented by the Lord. Sir
Paul RycautF14The Present State of the Greek Church, c. 2. relates a
piece of barbarity similar to this, that the city of Philadelphia was built
with the bones of the besieged, by the prince that took it by storm. Kimchi
thinks, as other interpreters also do, that it refers to the history in 2 Kings 3:27; where
the king of Moab is said to offer his eldest son that should have reigned in
his stead for a burnt offering; which he understands, not of the king of Moab's
son, but of the king of Edom's son, here called a king, because he was to have
succeeded his father in the kingdom; but it seems rather to be the king of
Moab's own son that he offered; nor is it likely that the king of Edom's son
was in his lands; for he would have broke through into the king of Edom, but
could not; and then did this rash action; not in wrath and fury, but in a religious
way. The prophet here refers to some fact, notorious in those times, the truth
of which is not to be questioned, though we have no other account of it in
Scripture; very probably it was the same king of Moab that did it, and the same
king of Edom that was so used, mentioned in the above history; the king of Moab
being enraged at him for joining with the kings of Israel and Judah against
him, who afterwards falling into his hands, he used him in this barbarous
manner; or very likely being possessed of his country after his death, or
however of his grave, he took him out of it, and burnt his bones to lime, in
revenge of what he had done to him. This was a very cruel action thus to use a
human body, and this not the body of a private person, but of a king; and was
an act of impiety, as well as of inhumanity, to take the bones of the dead out
of his grave, and burn them; and which though done to a Heathen prince. God,
who is the Creator of all, and Governor of the whole world, and whose
vicegerents princes are, resented; and therefore threatened the Moabites with
utter destruction for it.
Amos 2:2 2 But
I will send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; Moab
shall die with tumult, With shouting and trumpet sound.
YLT
2And I have sent a fire
against Moab, And it hath consumed the palaces of Kerioth, And dying with noise
is Moab, With shouting, with voice of a trumpet.
But I will send a fire upon Moab,.... Either on the whole
country, or on some particular city so called, as in all the other prophecies;
and there was a city called Moab, now Areopolis; see Gill on Jeremiah 48:4;
though it may be put for the whole country, into which an enemy should be sent
to destroy it, even Nebuchadnezzar:
and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; a principal
city in the land of Moab; according to Kimchi, it was the royal city, and
therefore mention is made of the palaces of it, here being the palace of the
king and his princes; see Jeremiah 48:24;
though the word may be rendered cities, as it is by the Septuagint and Arabic
versions; and so the Targum,
"and
shall consume the palaces of the fortified place;'
and
so may signify all the cities of Moab, and their palaces: or however may be put
for them:
and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the
sound of the trumpet: that is, the Moabites shall die, not in their beds, and in
peace, but in war, amidst the howlings of the wounded, the shouts of soldiers,
the clashing of arms, and the sound of trumpets,
Amos 2:3 3 And
I will cut off the judge from its midst, And slay all its princes with him,” Says
the Lord.
YLT
3And I have cut off a judge
from her midst, And all its heads I slay with him, said Jehovah.
And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof,.... Either
from the midst of Moab, the country in general; or from Kerioth in particular,
so Kimchi; meaning their principal governor, their king, as Aben Ezra; for
kings sometimes have acted as judges, took the bench, and sat and administered
justice to their subjects:
and I will stay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord; the king, and
the princes of the blood, and his nobles; so that there should be none to
succeed him, or to protect and defend the people; the destruction should be an
entire one, and inevitable, for the mouth of the Lord had spoken it. This was
fulfilled at the same time as the prophecy against the children of Ammon by
Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the destruction of JerusalemF15Joseph.
Antiqu. l. 10. c. 9. sect. 7. Vid. Judith i. 12. , which is next threatened.
Amos 2:4 4 Thus
says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they have despised the law of the Lord, And have not
kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their
fathers followed.
YLT
4Thus said Jehovah: For
three transgressions of Judah, And for four, I do not reserve it, Because of
their loathing the law of Jehovah, And His statutes they have not kept, And
their lies do cause them to err, After which their fathers did walk,
Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Judah,.... With whom
Benjamin must be joined; for the two tribes are meant as distinct from the ten
tribes, under the name of Israel, following. The prophet proceeds from the
Heathens round about to the people of God themselves, for the ill usage of whom
chiefly the above nations are threatened with ruin, lest they should promise
themselves impunity in sin; though, if they rightly considered things, they
could not expect it; since, if the Heathens, ignorant of the will of God, and
his law, were punished for their sins, then much more those who knew it, and
did it not, Luke 12:47; and he
begins with Judah, partly because he was of that tribe, lest he should be charged
with flattery and partiality, and partly because of the order of his prophecy,
which being chiefly concerned with Israel, it was proper that what he had to
say to Judah should be delivered first:
and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; the prophet
retains the same form as in his prophecies against the Heathen nations; his own
people, and God's professing people, being guilty of numerous transgressions,
as well as they, and more aggravated than theirs; See Gill on Amos 1:3;
because they have despised the law of the Lord; a law so
holy, just, and good, and so righteous, as no other nation had; and yet was not
only not observed, but contemned: other nations sinned against the light of
nature, and are not charged with breaches of the law of God, which was not
given them; but these people had it, yet lightly esteemed it; counted it as a
strange thing; walked not according to it, but cast it away from them; which
was a great affront to the sovereignty of God, and a trampling upon his
legislative power and authority:
and have not kept his commandments; or "statutes"F16חקיו "statuta ejus", Pagninus, Montanus,
Mercerus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, &c. ; the ordinances
of the ceremonial law, which he appointed them to observe for the honour of his
name, as parts of his worship; and to lead them into the designs of his grace
and salvation by the Messiah:
and their lies caused them to err; either, their idols, as
the Vulgate Latin version renders it; which are lying vanities, and deceive,
and by which they were made to err from the pure worship of the living and true
God to superstition and idolatry; or the words of the false prophets, as Kimchi;
the false doctrines their taught, contrary to the word of God, directing them
to seek for life by their own works; and promising them peace, when destruction
was at hand; and daubing with untempered mortar; and as no lie is of the truth,
but against it, so one untruth leads on to another:
after the which their fathers have walked; after which
lies, idols, and errors, as in Ur of the Chaldees, in Egypt, in the wilderness,
and even in later times: this was no excuse to them that they followed the way
of their ancestors, but rather an aggravation of their guilt, that they
imitated them, took no warning by them; but filled up the measure of their
iniquities, and showed themselves to be a seed of evildoers, a generation of
wicked men, the sons of rebellious parents.
Amos 2:5 5 But
I will send a fire upon Judah, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
YLT
5And I have sent a fire
against Judah, And it hath consumed palaces of Jerusalem.
But I will send a fire upon Judah,.... An enemy,
Nebuchadnezzar, who should burn, waste, and destroy, all that were in his way:
and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem; the chief
city of Judah, the royal city, where stood the temple, the palace of the most
High, and the palaces of the king and his nobles; these were burnt with fire
when it was taken by the Chaldean army, about two hundred years after this
prophecy, Jeremiah 52:13.
Amos 2:6 6 Thus
says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of
sandals.
YLT
6Thus said Jehovah: For
three transgressions of Israel, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of
their selling for silver the righteous, And the needy for a pair of sandals.
Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Israel,.... The ten
tribes rent from the house of David in the times of Rehoboam, and who departed
from the true worship of God, and set up calves at Dan and Bethel:
and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; the following
part of this prophecy is taken up in pointing at the sins and punishment of
Israel; now the prophet is come to the main business he was sent to do:
because they sold the righteous for silver; meaning not
any particular person, as Joseph sold by his brethren, for in that they were
all concerned, Judah as well as the rest; nor Christ, as othersF17Vid.
Galatin. Cathol. Ver. Arcan. l. 4. c. 24. , sold for thirty pieces of silver;
since the persons here charged with it, and the times in which it was done,
will not agree with that case; but the sense is, that the judges of Israel were
so corrupt, that for a piece of money they would give a cause against a
righteous man, and in favour of an unjust man that bribed them:
and the poor for a pair of shoes; that is, for a mere
trifle they would pervert justice; if two men came before them with a cause,
and both poor; yet if one could but give a pair of shoes, or anything he could
part with, though he could not give money; so mean and sordid were they, they
would take it, and give the cause for him, however unjust it was.
Amos 2:7 7 They
pant after[a] the dust
of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of
the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My
holy name.
YLT
7Who are panting for the
dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And the way of the humble they turn
aside, And a man and his father go unto the damsel, So as to pollute My holy
name.
That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor,.... Either
were greedy after money, the dust of the earth, and even that small portion of
it the poor were possessed of; they could not be easy that they should enjoy
that little of it they did, but were desirous to get it out of their hands by
oppression and injustice: or they were eagerly desirous of throwing the poor
upon the earth, and trampling upon them, and dragging them through the dust of
it, thereby filling their heads and covering their faces with it; and caused
them to put their mouths in the dust, and be humble suppliants to them. Some
think there is an allusion to an ancient custom, which Joseph ben GorionF18Hist.
Heb. c. 44. apud Drusium in loc. speaks of, that a guilty person should stand
before the judges, clad in black, and his head covered with dust; and this
these judges desired here might be done by the rich, that the poor might be
accused by them from whom they expected gifts:
and turn aside the way of the meek; decline doing them
justice, pervert it, and hinder the course of it, denying it to those who are
humble, meek, and modest; or else by one means or another turned them from the
good ways in which they were walking, and by degrees at length brought them to
such impudence and immodesty as is next expressed, so Aben Ezra:
and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to
profane my holy name; that is, will be guilty of such uncleanness, as not only to have
and enjoy the same harlot, but of such incest, as that the son would lie with
his father's wife, and the father lie with his son's wife; a sin which was not
named among the Gentiles, 1 Corinthians 5:1;
and whereby the name of God was blasphemed among them, as if their religion
taught them and encouraged them in such filthy actions; see Romans 2:24.
Amos 2:8 8 They
lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the
condemned in the house of their god.
YLT
8And on pledged garments
they stretch themselves near every altar, And the wine of fined ones they drink
[in] the house of their gods.
And they laid themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge
by every altar,.... That is, the clothes they took in pledge of poor people,
which they should have restored before sun setting, Exodus 22:26; these
they spread by every altar, of which they had many erected to their idols, and
on these as on carpets they slept by them, as was usual with the Gentiles; who
not only in common used to lie and sleep on garments, or carpets, or skins
spread on the floorF19Vid. Gloss in Aristophan. Plutum, p. 55. &
Nubes, p. 125. , but upon such in the temples of their idols, in order to
obtain good dreams; so in the temple of Amphiaraus in Greece, after purgations
and sacrifices to him, and to the gods whose names were engraven on the same
altar, they slew a ram, and spread the skin, on which they laid themselves
down, and had dreams, the signification and events of which they presently
interpretedF20Pausanias, Attica, sive l. 1. p. 65. Vid. Alex. ab
Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 6. c. 2. ; and Jerom saysF21Comment. in Isa.
lxv. 4. , they used to spread the skins of the sacrifices, and lie upon them,
that they might by dreams know things to come, which custom in the temple of
Aesculapius continued to his times; and this custom might be imitated by the
Jews; and so they are described by such, "who sleep in the temples of
idols", in the Vulgate Latin version of Isaiah 65:4; See
Gill on Isaiah 65:4; but
very false it is what StraboF23Geograph. l. 16. p. 523. says, that
the Jews were taught this custom by Moses; telling them that such as lived
soberly and righteously ought to sleep in the temple, where they might expect
good dreams for themselves and others, as good gifts and signs from God, which
others might not expect: or else the sense is, they laid themselves down on
these clothes, and feasted on them; it being their custom at meals not to sit
upright, but to recline on couches; or as the manner of the Turks and other
eastern nations to sit on carpets; and it was also the custom of the Heathens
to feast in their temples, and by their altars, in honour of their gods. So
Herodotus relatesF24Clio, sive l. 1. c. 31. , that at a festival of
June with the Argives, the mother of Cleobis and Biton prayed the goddess, whom
they had drawn to the temple, oxen not being ready, that she would give to them
what was best for men; after which prayer, it is said, they sacrificed and
"feasted"; and the young men falling asleep in the temple, never rose
more, but finished this life: the deity judging it better for a man to die than
to live; and this custom of feasting in idols' temples obtained, in the times
of the apostles, as appears from 1 Corinthians 8:10;
and which was now observed by the Israelites, with this aggravation of their
sin, that they laid themselves on the garments of the poor they had taken for a
pawn, when they were performing their idolatrous rites; which must be very
provoking to God:
and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god: either wine
which used to be given to condemned malefactors to cheer and refresh them;
which custom among the Jews was founded on Proverbs 31:6; See
Gill on Proverbs 31:6; See
Gill on Proverbs 31:7; The
manner was to put a grain of frankincense into a cup of wine, which they gave
to the malefactor just as he was going to be executed, that his mind might be
disturbed and become insensible; and which was usually the free gift of
honourable women, out of compassion to the sufferer; and if they did it not, it
was provided at the expense of the publicF25T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol.
43. 1. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 10. fol. 198. 4. Maimon. Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 13.
sect. 2, 3. ; but this seems to be done rather to intoxicate and stupefy them,
that they might not feel their pain and misery, than to cheer; and is thought
to be the potion which was offered to Christ, and he refused, Mark 15:23; but
whether such a custom obtained in the times of the prophet is a question; nor
does it seem very likely that these men would choose such sort of wine;
wherefore rather wine bought with the money they received by the fines and
amercements of those they unjustly condemned is intended. The Targum renders it
the wine of rapine; and this they were not content to drink only in their own
houses, but drank it at their festivals in the temples of their idols, such as
were built for the calves of Dan and Bethel, and other idols.
Amos 2:9 9 “Yet
it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was
like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I
destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.
YLT
9And I -- I have destroyed
the Amorite from before them, Whose height [is] as the height of cedars, And
strong he [is] as the oaks, And I destroy his fruit from above, And his roots
from beneath.
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them,.... Here the
Lord by the prophet reckons up the many favours and blessings he had bestowed
upon Israel, which was an aggravation of their sins, and showed them to be
guilty of great ingratitude, and a justification of him in his punishment of
them he drove out the seven nations of Canaanites from before them, to make way
for them, and destroyed them, of which the Amorite was a principal, and is here
put for all the rest:
whose height was like the height of the cedars; being both
tall of stature, and in great honour and dignity with the other nations, and in
very opulent and flourishing circumstances:
and he was strong as the oaks: not only like the tall
cedars of Lebanon for their height and largeness of stature, but like the
sturdy oaks for the strength of their bodies, being of the race of the giants, Numbers 13:28;
yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath; that is,
utterly destroyed him, root and branch, so that nothing of him remained; still
persisting in the metaphor of a tree. Jarchi interprets it of their superior
and inferior princes; but it seems best to understand it of children with their
parents, the one being the fruit, the other the root; and, both being
destroyed, there must be utter ruin.
Amos 2:10 10 Also
it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you
forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite.
YLT
10And I -- I have brought you
up from the land of Egypt, And cause you to go in a wilderness forty years, To
possess the land of the Amorite.
Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt,.... Where
they were bond slaves, and in great affliction and distress, and unable to help
themselves; but the Lord wrought deliverance for them, and brought them out of
this house of bondage with a high hand and a mighty arm:
and led you forty years through the wilderness: going before
them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night; providing
them with all things necessary, with food and raiment, and protecting them from
all their enemies:
to possess the land of the Amorite; the whole land of
Canaan, so called from a principal nation of it.
Amos 2:11 11 I
raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as
Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the Lord.
YLT
11And I raise of your sons
for prophets, And of your choice ones for Nazarites, Is not this true, O sons
of Israel? An affirmation of Jehovah.
And I raised up of your sons for prophets,.... Such as
Moses, Joshua, and the seventy elders, and others; not only to foretell things
to come, but to teach and instruct the people in the doctrines and duties of
religion, and to warn them of their sins, and the danger of them:
and of your young men for Nazarites: as Samson, Samuel, and
others; whose vow not only obliged them from shaving their hair, but to abstain
from drinking wine, and eating grapes, which the youthful age is inclined unto;
but such grace was given them, as enabled them to deny themselves sensual
gratifications, and to be examples of piety and constant attendance on the
service of God, and instructing the people. The Targum is,
"of
your young men for teachers;'
these
were the spiritual mercies, as the former were the temporal ones, the Lord
bestowed on these people, for the truth of which he appeals to them:
is it not even thus,
O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord? can ye deny it? the
thing was too notorious to be contradicted.
Amos 2:12 12 “But
you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do
not prophesy!’
YLT
12And ye cause the Nazarites
to drink wine, And on the prophets ye have laid a charge, Saying, `Do not
prophecy!'
But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink,.... Contrary
to their vow and calling, and in contempt of it, and to make them like
themselves; they either persuaded them, or forced them to it:
and commanded the prophets, saying, prophesy not; hard and
heavy things, judgments and denunciations of vengeance, only smooth things; by
this authoritative language it appears that this is said of the rulers and
governors of the people, as king, princes, and priests; see Amos 7:12.
Amos 2:13 13 “Behold,
I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.
YLT
13Lo, I am pressing you
under, As the full cart doth press for itself a sheaf.
Behold, I are pressed under you,.... With the weight of
their sins, with which they had made him to serve, and had wearied him; his patience
was quite wore out, he could bear them no longer:
as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves; as a cart in
harvest time, in which the sheaves of corn are carried home; when one sheaf is
laid upon another, till they can lay no more, and the cart is loaded and
overloaded with them, and ready to break, or be pressed into the earth with
them: thus. Jehovah represents himself as loaded and burdened with the sins of
these people, and therefore would visit for them, and inflict deserved
punishment. Some render it actively, "behold, I press"F26מעיק "angustabo", Vatablus;
"coarctans", Montanus; "arcto", Mercerus; "premo,
coarctabo, angustiis afficiam", Drusius; "pressurus sum", Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator, Tarnovius; "arctaturus sum", Liveleus. ,
or "am about to press your place, as a cart full of sheaves presseth"F1תעיק "coarctares", Montanus; "premit",
Junius & Tremellius; Piscator, Tarnovius. ; the horse or horses which draw
it, especially the last; or the ground it goes upon; or as a cart stuck with iron
spikes, and loaded with stones, being drawn over a corn floor, presses the full
sheaves, and beats out the grain, which was their way of pressing it: so the
Lord signifies he would afflict and distress this people, bring them into
strait circumstances, by a close siege, and other judgments, which should ruin
and destroy them; and which was first begun by Tiglathpileser king of Assyria,
and finished by Shalmaneser, who carried away the ten tribes captive. So the
Targum,
"behold,
I bring distress upon you, and it shall straiten you in your place, as a cart
is straitened which is loaded with sheaves.'
Amos 2:14 14 Therefore
flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor
shall the mighty deliver himself;
YLT
14And perished hath refuge
from the swift, And the strong strengtheneth not his power, And the mighty
delivereth not his soul.
Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift,.... They
should be so straitened and cooped up, and be so loaded with pressures, that those,
as swift of foot as Asahel, should not be able to make their escape by fleeing:
and the strong shall not strengthen his force; should not
increase it, or muster it up, and exert it to such a degree, as to be able to
defend and secure himself from the enemy:
neither shall the mighty deliver himself; "his
soul" or "life"; a soldier, a man of war, an expert and
courageous officer at the head of his troop, or even the general of the army;
see Psalm 33:16.
Amos 2:15 15 He
shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor
shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
YLT
15And the handler of the bow
standeth not, And the swift with his feet delivereth not [himself], And the
rider of the horse delivereth not his soul.
Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow,.... That is,
at some distance, and can make use of his instruments of war afar off; yet will
not think it safe to stand his ground, but will betake himself to his heels as
fast as he can to save himself:
and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; this is
repeated, lest any should place confidence in their agility, and to show how
complete and inevitable the affliction will be:
neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself; by fleeing on
horseback, no more than he that is on foot; no ways that can be devised or
thought on would preserve from this general calamity; see Psalm 33:17.
Amos 2:16 16 The
most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,” Says the Lord.
YLT
16And the courageous of heart
among the mighty, Naked doth flee in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah!
And he that is
courageous among the mighty,.... Or "strong in his heart"F2אמיץ לבו "fortis corde
suo", Vatablus, Piscator; "fortis animo", Junius &
Tremellius, Drusius; "validus corde suo", Mercerus; "qui corde
firmo est", Cocceius. ; one that is of a great heart, famous for courage
and bravery, that excels in it among the mighty; the most valiant soldiers and
officers:
shall flee away naked in that day: shall throw away his
armour, nay, put off his clothes, as being both a hinderance to him in his
flight; and that he may make the better speed:
saith the Lord: which is added to show the certainty of all
this; it might be depended upon that so it would be, since the Lord God of
truth had spoken it; and it was fulfilled about eighty years after this
prophecy.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)