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Amos Chapter
Four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 4
In
this chapter, the great ones, or the people of Israel, are threatened with
calamities for their oppression of the poor, Amos 4:1; and in an
ironic manner are reproved for their idolatry, Amos 4:4; then
follows an enumeration of several judgments that had been upon them, yet had had
no effect on them, to bring them to repentance, nor even mercies, Amos 4:6; and
notwithstanding all this, in a wonderful gracious manner, they are called upon
to prepare to meet their God, who is described by his power, greatness, and
goodness, Amos 4:12.
Amos 4:1 Hear this word,
you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the
poor, Who crush the needy, Who say to your husbands,[a] “Bring wine,
let us drink!”
YLT
1Hear this word, ye kine of
Bashan, Who [are] in the mountain of Samaria, Who are oppressing the poor, Who
are bruising the needy, Who are saying to their lords: `Bring in, and we do
drink.'
Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan,.... Or "cows of
Bashan"F14פרות הבשן
"vaccae Basan", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator, Vatablus, Drusius, Mercerus, Grotius, Cocceius. ; a country beyond
Jordan, inhabited by the tribes of Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of
Manasseh, very fruitful of pasturage, and where abundance of fat cattle were
brought up; to whom persons of distinction, and of the first rank, are here
compared. Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret them of the wives of the
king, princes, ministers of state, and great men; and so it may be thought that
Amos, a herdsman, in his rustic manner, compliments the court ladies with this
epithet, for their plumpness, wantonness, and petulancy. Though it may be the
princes and great men themselves may be rather intended, and be so called for
their effeminacy, and perhaps with some regard to the calves they worshipped;
and chiefly because being fat and flourishing, and abounding with wealth and
riches, they became wanton and mischievous; like fat cattle, broke down their
fences, and would be under no restraint of the laws of God and man; entered
into their neighbours' fields, seized on their property, and spoiled them of
it. So the Targum paraphrases it,
"ye
rich of substance.'
In
like manner the principal men among the Jews, in the times of Christ, are
called bulls of Bashan, Psalm 22:12;
that are in the mountains of Samaria; like cattle
grazing on a mountain; the metaphor is still continued: Samaria was the
principal city of Ephraim, the metropolis of the ten tribes, Isaiah 7:9;
situated on a mountain; Mr. MaundrellF15Journey from Aleppo to
Jerusalem, p. 59. Ed. 7. says, upon a long mount, of an oval figure, having
first a fruitful valley, and then a ring of hills running about it. Here the
kings of Israel had their palace, and kept their court, and where their princes
and nobles resided. Ahab is said to be king of Samaria, 1 Kings 21:1;
which oppress the poor, which crush the needy; by laying
heavy taxes upon them; exacting more of them than they are able to pay;
lessening their wages for work done, or withholding it from them; or by taking
from them that little they have, and so reducing them to the utmost extremity,
and refusing to do them justice in courts of judicature:
which say to their masters, bring, and let us drink; Kimchi, who interprets
these words of the wives of great men, supposes their husbands are here
addressed, who are, and acknowledged to be, their masters or lords; see 1 Peter 3:6; whom
they call upon to bring them money taken from the poor, or for which they have
sold them, that they may have wherewith to eat and drink, fare sumptuously, and
live in a grand manner, feasting themselves and their visitors: or these are
the words of inferior officers to superior ones, desiring they might have leave
to pillage the poor, that so they might live in a more gay and splendid manner,
and in rioting and drunkenness, in chambering and wantonness. So the Targum,
"give
us power, that we may spoil it.'
Or
rather these words are directed to the masters of the poor, who had power over
them, had them in their clutches, in whose debt they were; or they had
something against them, and therefore these corrupt judges, and wicked
magistrates, desire they might be brought before them; who for a bribe would
give the cause against them, right or wrong, so long as they got something to
feast themselves with; or they are spoken by the rich, to the masters of the
poor, to whom they had sold them, to bring them the purchase money, that they
might indulge and gratify their sensual appetites; see Amos 2:6.
Amos 4:2 2 The
Lord God
has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days shall come upon you When He will
take you away with fishhooks, And your posterity with fishhooks.
YLT
2Sworn hath the Lord Jehovah
by His holiness, That lo, days are coming upon you, And he hath taken you away
with hooks, And your posterity with fish-hooks.
The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness,.... That is,
by himself, holiness being his nature, and an essential attribute of his; this
is done to ascertain the truth of what is after said, and that men may be
assured of the certain performance of it. Some render it, "by his holy
place"; and interpret it of heaven; so Aben Ezra and Kimchi; which is not
likely; see Matthew 5:34. The
Targum is,
"the
Lord God hath sworn by his word in his holiness;'
that, lo, the days shall come upon you; speedily,
swiftly, and at an unawares:
that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with
fish hooks; the enemy, the king of Assyria, or God by him, would take them
out of their own land, as fish out of water, out of their own element, and
carry them captive into a strange land, both them and their posterity; and
which should be as easily done as fish are taken with the hook, even though
they were as the kine of Bashan. The word for fish hooks signifies
"thorns"F16בסירות
"spinis", Mercerus, Liveleus, Drusius, Grotius. , and is by some so
rendered; these perhaps being used in angling, before iron hooks were invented.
The Targum is,
"that
people shall take you away on their shields, and your daughters in fishermen'sF17So
it is interpreted by R. Sol Urbin Ohel Moed, fol. 65. 2. likewise Elias says
the word signifies a small ship, or a boat that is in a large ship, Tishbi, p.
59. So Vatablus interprets it, "scaphas piscatorias, sive
cymbas"; and some in Munster. boats;'
see
Jeremiah 16:16.
Amos 4:3 3 You
will go out through broken walls, Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will be cast into Harmon,” Says the Lord.
YLT
3And [by] breaches ye go
forth, A woman [at that] over-against her, And ye have cast down the high
place, An affirmation of Jehovah.
And ye shall go out at the breaches,.... Not at the gates of
the city, as they had used to do at pleasure; but at the breaches of the walls
of it, made by the enemy, in order to make their escape, if possible; they who
had broke down the fences of law and justice, and injured the poor and needy,
shall now have the walls of their city broken down and they themselves exposed to
the most imminent danger, and glad to get out of them to save their lives:
every cow at that which is before her; every woman,
as Jarchi and Kimchi; or every great person, compared to the kine of Bashan,
shall make up as fast as he can to the breach before him, to get out; shall
follow one another as quick as they can, and clamber on one another's backs, as
such cattle do, to get out first; which shows the hurry and confusion they
should be in, upon the taking of their city Samaria:
and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord; either their
children, or their substance, which they shall cast into the royal palace, or
fort, or citadel, for safety. Some render it, "ye shall cast
yourselves"; so Abarbinel; that is, such as could not get out at the
breaches should betake themselves to the palace or fort for their security. The
Targum of the whole is,
"and
they shall break down the wall upon you, and bring you out, gathered everyone
before him, and carry you beyond the mountains of Armenia.'
And
so some others, taking it to be the name of a place, render it, "ye shall
be cast into Armon", or Mona; which BochartF18Geograph. Sacr.
l. 1. c. 3. col. 20. suspects to be the same with Minni, mentioned with Ararat,
a mountain in Armenia, Jeremiah 51:27.
Amos 4:4 4 “Come
to Bethel and transgress, At Gilgal multiply transgression; Bring your
sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days.[b]
YLT
4Enter ye Beth-El, and
transgress, At Gilgal multiply transgression, And bring in every morning your
sacrifices, Every third year your tithes.
Come to Bethel and transgress,.... and what follows,
are ironic and sarcastic speeches, not giving liberty to sin, but in this way
reproving for it: Bethel was one of the places where the calves were placed and
worshipped: and here they are bid to go thither, and go on with and continue in
their idolatrous worship, by which they transgressed the law of God, and mark
what would be the issue of it. The sense is the same with Ecclesiastes 11:9;
see Ezekiel 20:29;
at Gilgal multiply transgression; that is, multiply acts
of idolatry: Gilgal was a place where high places and altars were erected, and
idols worshipped; as it had formerly been a place of religious worship of the
true God, the ten tribes made use of it in the times of their apostasy for
idolatrous worship; see Hosea 4:15;
and bring your sacrifices every morning; and offer
them to your idols, as you were wont formerly to offer them unto the true God,
according to the law of Moses, Exodus 29:38;
and your tithes after three
years; the third year after the sabbatical year was the year of
tithing; and after the tithe of the increase of the fruits of the earth, there
was "maaser sheni", the second tithe, the same with "maaser
ani", the poor's tithe, which was given to the Levite, the stranger, the
fatherless; and the widow, to eat with them, Deuteronomy 14:22;
and this they are sarcastically bid to observe in their idolatrous way. It is,
in the Hebrew text, "after three days"; and so the Targum,
"your
tithes in three days;'
days
being put for years, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe. It may be rendered,
"after three years of days"F19לשלשת
ימים "post tres annos dierum",
Piscator. ; three complete years.
Amos 4:5 5 Offer
a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, Proclaim and announce the
freewill offerings; For this you love, You children of Israel!” Says the
Lord God.
YLT
5And perfume with leaven a
thank-offering, And proclaim willing gifts, sound ye! For so ye have loved, O
sons of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,.... Which
some observe was contrary to the law, which forbids all leaven in a meat
offering; or "burning" it in any offering, Leviticus 2:11;
which the wordF20קטר
"incendendo", Munster, Tigurine version; "incendito
incensum", Vatablus. here used suggests was done by these idolaters, as
well as eaten by them, their priests not liking to eat unleavened bread; but;
though it was forbidden in the meat offering, was allowed, yea, ordered, with
the sacrifice of thanksgiving, Leviticus 7:13. So
Abarbinel understands it here, as what was according, to law, but ironically
commanded to be offered to idols:
and proclaim and publish the free offerings; let all know
of them when you make your freewill offerings, and invite them to partake of
them:
for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God; or ye love to
offer such sacrifices to your idols, rather than to the Lord God; preferring
these to him, and delighting more in the worship of them than of him.
Amos 4:6 6 “Also
I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, And lack of bread in all your
places; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the Lord.
YLT
6And I also -- I have given
to you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, And lack of bread in all your
places, And ye have not turned back unto Me, an affirmation of Jehovah.
And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,.... Meaning a
famine, having no food to foul them with, or to stick in them. This was not the
famine in Samaria, 2 Kings 6:25; for
that was only in that city, and for a short time, while besieged; whereas this
was in all the cities in Israel; rather therefore it designs the famine
predicted by Elisha, which should be upon the land for seven years, 2 Kings 8:1;
and want of bread in all your places: this is the
same with the former clause, and explains it, and still makes the famine more
general, not only in their cities, but in all their places of abode, their
towns and villages:
yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord; this judgment
had no influence upon them, to bring them to a sense of their evils,
particularly their idolatry, and to repentance them, and to reclaim them from
them, and return them to the Lord, and to his worship, as the Targum
paraphrases it.
Amos 4:7 7 “I
also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to the
harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part
was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered.
YLT
7And I also -- I have
withheld from you the rain. While yet three months to harvest, And I have sent
rain on one city, And on another city I do not send rain, One portion is rained
on, And the portion on which it raineth not withereth.
And also I have withholden the rain from you,.... As he did
for the space of three years successively in the days of Ahab, as predicted by
Elijah, 1 Kings 17:1; the
consequences of which are very bad to men and beast, and bring on a scarcity of
food for both, and a famine if long withheld:
when there were yet three months to the harvest; that is,
three months before the harvest, as Jarchi; when, as Kimchi observes, there was
need of rain: this was the latter rain which was usually given and expected
about this time, and on which the goodness of the crop, and so of the harvest,
greatly depended; these three months before barley harvest were December,
January, and February, that being in March; and before the wheat harvest,
February, March, and April, that being in May usually:
and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain
upon another city; so that it might appear to be not by the course of nature, or
through the influence of the planets, or by chance; but was according to the
direction of divine Providence, the hand of God was manifestly in it: yea,
one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not
withered; one piece of ground or field had a plentiful shower on it,
whereby it became fruitful; and another field or close on the other side of the
hedge or partition had none, whereby what did spring up withered away and came
to nothing: or "one inheritance"F21חלקה
"fundus", Mercerus, Vatablus; "hereditas", Targum. , or
farm, as some render it; one man's estate was well watered with rain from
heaven, and brought forth much fruit; and another man's estate, for want of it,
was barren, and brought forth nothing: thus God was pleased to do in his
providence, to show his sovereignty, and to chastise men for their sins; and in
such a manner as that they might, if not blind easily perceive his hand in it.
Amos 4:8 8 So
two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they
were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the Lord.
YLT
8And wandered have two or
three cities, Unto the same city to drink water, And they are not satisfied,
And ye have not turned back unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.
So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink
water,.... Two or three cities, that is, the inhabitants of them, being
without water, went up and down in quest of any city or place where they could
find water for themselves and cattle to drink:
but they were not satisfied; could not get enough for
their present use and much less to carry back with them to supply them for any
length of time; such a scarcity there was of it in other parts; see 1 Kings 18:5;
yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord; this had no
more effect upon them than the other to relinquish their former courses, and
return unto the Lord by humiliation and repentance.
Amos 4:9 9 “I
blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your
vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet
you have not returned to Me,” Says the Lord.
YLT
9I have smitten you with
blasting and with mildew, The abundance of your gardens and of your vineyards,
And of your figs, and of your olives, Eat doth the palmer-worm, And ye have not
turned back unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew,....
"Blasting" is what we commonly call "blights", generally
occasioned by an east wind; and so Kimchi interprets the word here used; and
the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "a burning wind"; which causes
the buds and leaves of trees to shrivel up as if they were burnt with fire.
"Mildew" is a kind of clammy dew, which falling upon corn, &c.
corrupts and destroys by its moisture; and is a kind of jaundice to the fruits
of the earth; and has its name as that, from yellowness, in the Hebrew language:
when the Lord is said to smite them with these the sense is, that he sent these
upon the fruits of their gardens, fields and vineyards, which consumed them:
when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your
olive trees increased, the palmer worm devoured them; just when
they were budding and blossoming, and bringing forth fruit; and so what the
blasting and mildew did not consume, that the palmer worm, a kind of locust,
did; which has its name from its biting and cutting off the leaves and branches
of trees, as of those mentioned vines, olives and fig trees, with which the
land of Canaan abounded, the cutting off which was a great calamity. The Targum
is,
"the
multitude of your gardens, &c. the palmer worm hath eaten:'
yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord; this
dispensation of Providence was also without its desired fruit and effect; See
Gill on Amos 4:6.
Amos 4:10 10 “I
sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; Your young men I killed with
a sword, Along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come
up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says the Lord.
YLT
10I have sent among you
pestilence by the way of Egypt, I have slain by sword your choice ones, With
your captive horses, And I cause the stink of your camps to come up -- even
into your nostrils, And ye have not turned back unto Me, An affirmation of
Jehovah.
I have sent among you the pestilence, after the manner of Egypt,.... Like that
which was sent among the firstborn of Egypt, and cut them off in one night; or
when in the way of Egypt, as the Targum; either as in the wilderness, when they
came out of Egypt, so Jarchi interprets it; see Numbers 16:46; or
the Lord sent the pestilence as they went in the way to Egypt for help and
assistence, or for shelter, for food in time of famine; for they went thither,
as Kimchi says, because of the famine, to fetch food, from thence; and this was
displeasing to the Lord, and he sent the plague among them, which cut them off
in the way:
your young men have I slain with the sword; of the enemy
in battle; or as they were in the way to Egypt, being sent there to fetch food,
but were intercepted by the enemy:
and have taken away your horses; on which they rode to
Egypt on the above errand; or rather which they brought up from thence,
contrary to the command of God:
and have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your
nostrils; such numbers of their armies being slain, and these lying
unburied, the smell of them was very noisome:
yet have ye not returned unto me saith the Lord; still they
continued obstinate and impenitent; See Gill on Amos 4:6.
Amos 4:11 11 “I
overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were
like a firebrand plucked from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me,” Says
the Lord.
YLT
11I have overturned among
you, Like the overturn by God of Sodom and Gomorrah, And ye are as a brand
delivered from a burning, And ye have not turned back unto Me, An affirmation
of Jehovah.
I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah,.... Either their houses were burnt, or their bodies consumed by
fire from heaven, with lightning; not whole cities, but the habitations of some
particular persons, or they themselves:
and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning; some escaped
such an awful calamity, their houses were not consumed, while others were; and
their persons were safe, while others, just by them, were struck dead at once:
yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord; neither the
judgments of God on themselves and others had any effect upon them to humble
and reclaim them: such dispensations, without the grace of God is exerted,
rather harden than soften; and, instead of bringing men to repentance, cause
them to blaspheme; see Revelation 16:8;
nor will the mercy and goodness of God, which should lead persons to
repentance, attain that end, unless accompanied with the Spirit and grace of
God; who, notwithstanding such mercies and deliverances, will remain senseless,
stupid obdurate, and impenitent; see Revelation 9:20.
Amos 4:12 12 “Therefore
thus will I do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet
your God, O Israel!”
YLT
12Therefore, thus I do to
thee, O Israel, at last, Because this I do to thee, Prepare to meet thy God, O
Israel.
Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel,.... What he
would do is not expressly and particularly said; it is commonly understood to
be something in a way of judgment, and worse than what he had done, since they
had no effect upon them; or these things should be done over again, until an
utter end was made of them; or the reference is to Amos 3:11; and the
following words are usually interpreted, either, ironically, since the Lord was
coming forth as an enemy to issue the controversy with them; they are called
upon to meet, him in a hostile way, and muster up all their forces, exert all
their power and strength, and make use of their best weapons and military skill,
and see what would be the consequence of all this; feeble worms set in
opposition to the mighty God; thorns and briers he can easily go through, and
burn up quickly: or else they are seriously addressed, and exhorted to meet the
Lord in the way of his judgments, by humiliation, repentance, and reformation;
not knowing but that after all he may be gracious and merciful to them, and
turn away the fierceness of his anger from them; see Amos 5:15; but I
rather think the words are a promise or intimation of doing something to Israel
in a way of special grace and kindness, notwithstanding their conduct and
behaviour, and the ineffectualness both of judgments and providential mercies;
for the words may be rendered, as the same particle should be in Hosea 2:14;
"notwithstanding", or "nevertheless, thus will I do unto
thee"F23לכן "nihilominus
tamen". Vid. Noldium, p. 507. ; what I have from all eternity purposed and
resolved to do, and what I have promised again and again, by the mouth of all
the holy prophets, from the beginning of the world, I would do; namely, send my
Son to be thy Saviour and Redeemer:
and because I will do this
unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel; the Messiah that was
then to come was God, and so equal to the work of redemption and salvation he
was to do; and the God of spiritual and mystical Israel, even all the elect,
Jews and Gentiles, to be redeemed by him; was to be their Immanuel, God in
their nature, and therefore to be met with the utmost joy and pleasure; see Zechariah 9:9; for
this meeting him is not to be understood in a hostile way, and as spoken
ironically to the enemies of Christ to oppose him, encounter with him, and mark
the issue of it, who in time would cause them to be brought before him and slain,
as some interpret the words; but in a friendly manner, as he was met by those
that were waiting for his coming, such as Simeon and others; and by those John
the Baptist called upon to prepare the way of the Lord; and as he was by his
own disciples, who embraced him by faith, received him with joy, and left all
and followed him; and as all such are prepared to meet him who are made truly
sensible of sin, and of their own righteousness as insufficient to justify from
it, and have seen the glory, fulness, and suitableness of his salvation. Christ
is to be met with in his house and ordinances; and men are prepared for it when
the desires of their hearts are towards him, and their graces are exercised on
him; which preparation is from himself: he will be met at his second coming by
his spiritual Israel; and they will be prepared for it who believe it, love it,
and long for it; have their loins girt, and their lights burning, and they
waiting for their Lord's coming; see Matthew 25:1; and
so at the hour of death, which is the day of the Lord; a preparation and
readiness for which lies not in external humiliation, outward reformation, a
moral righteousness, or a bare profession of religion, and submission to
ordinances; but in regeneration, in faith in Christ, and spiritual knowledge of
him; in a being washed in his blood, and clothed with his righteousness; for
which readiness all truly sensible sinners will be concerned, and which is all
from the grace of God; see Matthew 24:43. The
Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read it, "prepare to call upon
thy God"; and the Targum paraphrases it,
"to
receive the doctrine of the law of thy God;'
rather
the doctrine of the Gospel; but the former sense is best; for the confirmation
of which it may be observed, that when God is said to do a thing to any, it is
usually in a way of grace; and that when preparation is made to meet a divine
Person, it is always meant of the Son of God; and that it is a common thing in
prophecy, that when the Lord is threatening men with his judgments, to throw in
a promise or prophecy of the Messiah, for the comfort of his people.
Amos 4:13 13 For
behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what
his[c] thought is,
And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The
Lord God of hosts is
His name.
YLT
13For, lo, the former of
mountains, and creator of wind, And the declarer to man what [is] His thought,
He is making dawn obscurity, And is treading on high places of earth, Jehovah,
God of Hosts, [is] His name!
For, lo, he that formeth the mountains,.... These
words are a description of the glorious Person, "thy God" and
Saviour, to be met; he is the Creator of all things, that formed the mountains,
and so was before them, as in Proverbs 8:25; and
able to surmount and remove all mountains of difficulties that lay in his way
of working out salvation for his people:
and createth the wind; or "spirit";
not the Holy Spirit, which is uncreated; but either angels, whom he makes
spirits; or the spirit and soul of man he is the Creator of; or rather the
natural wind is meant, which is his creature, he holds in his fists, restrains
and commands, at his pleasure, Matthew 8:26;
and declareth unto man what is his thought; not what is
man's thought, though he knows what is in man without any information, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and can reveal them to men,
and convince them that he knows them, Matthew 9:4; but
rather the thought of God, the meditation of his heart, concerning the
salvation of men; his thoughts of peace, which are the deep things of God, and
which Christ, lying in the bosom of his Father, was privy to, and has declared,
John 1:18. The
Septuagint and Arabic versions, reading the words wrong, render them,
"declaring to men his Christ"; which, though true of God, is not the
sense of this clause. The Targum is,
"what
are his worksF24So Kimchi and R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 4. 5.
?'
his
works of creation, providence, redemption, and grace:
that maketh the morning darkness; or "darkness
morning", or "the morning out of darkness"F25עושה שחר עיפה
"faciens obscuritatem auroram", Drusius. ; being the dayspring from
on high, the morning star, the sun of righteousness, that, rising, made the
Gospel day, after a long night of Jewish and Gentile darkness; and who made the
same dispensation a morning to one, and darkness to another, John 9:39. The
Septuagint version is, "making the morning and the cloud"; the
Vulgate Latin version, "making the morning cloud"; his coming was as
the morning, Hosea 6:3;
and treadeth upon the high places of the earth; the land of
Israel, which is Immanuel's land, is said by the Jews to be higher than other
lands; Jerusalem higher than any part of Judea, and the mountain the temple was
built on higher than Jerusalem: here Christ trod in the days of his flesh, and
from the mount of Olives ascended to heaven, after he had trampled upon and
spoiled principalities and powers, spiritual wickednesses in high places, and
when he led captivity captive. Jarchi interprets it of humbling the mighty and
proud, who are compared to the high places of the earth. The Targum is,
"to
declared to men what are his works, to prepare light for the righteous as the
morning light, who goes and prepares darkness for earth;'
the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name; he is the
Jehovah, the Lord our righteousness, the God and Governor of the armies of
heaven the hosts of angels, and to whom all creatures on earth are subject; all
power in heaven and earth belongs unto him; this is Israel's God, his Redeemer
and Saviour he is called upon to prepare to meet.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)