Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture, Scripture 19 · Chapter 14 – Chapter 18
CAP. XIIII.
1 For the Lord will have mercy on Iacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land, and the strangers shall bee joyned with them; and they shall cleave to the house of Iacob.THe Lord will yet by the renuing of his mercies, shew, that he hath a tender respect to the seed of Jacob; and that Israel is the people whom hee hath chosen to himselfe. And the Gentiles shall come in, and joyne with Gods faithfull people, and shall be one Church with the true Israel.
And the Israel of God, which is the true Church, shall receive them into their family;2 And the house of Israel shall possesse them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaides. and unite them into one holy society, with themselves, &c.
4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, how hath the oppressor ceased, the golden city ceased?Then shalt thou insult upon the proud King of Babylon, and say; where is now this great Tyran, that so oppressed us? What is become of this glorious city of Babylon, that exacted so much tribute from us?
8 Yea the firre trees rejoyce at thee, and the Cedars of Lebanon, saying, since thou art laiddown, no felleris come up against us.Yea, the very senselesse creatures, the trees of the forrest triumph in thy ruine, O Babylon; and say, wee were wont to be cut downe to build thy palaces, but now wee can stand quietly, no feller offers to put an axe unto us.
9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meete thee at thy comming, it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chiefe ones of the earth, &c.Yea the very dead shall rise to applaud thy destruction; hell shall send up her guests, to welcome thee with a scornfull gratulation; even all those great Kings, and Princes, whom thou hast tyrannized over.
10 All they shall speak and say unto thee: art thou also become weake as we, art thou become like unto us?All they shall scoffe, and jeere thee; and say, what is great Babylon become as weake as we? is the pomp therof brought downe like to one of ours?
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, soune of the morning? how art thou cut downe to the ground, which didst weaken the nations.O thou proud King of Babylon, which shinedst in the world, like the glorious morning starre; how art thou now fallen from thy state and magnificence? how art thou, which hadst wont to tyrannize over many nations, cut downe, and utterly destroyed.
For thou in the pride of thy heart wouldst needs exalt thy selfe above God himselfe;13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the North. and saidst within thy selfe; Earth is too low for me, my throne shall be advanced above the stars of God; I will frustrate the designes of the Almighty; and, in spight of him, will conquer the mount of Sion, the seat of his Temple.
So verse 14.
That held all nations captive,17 That opened not the house of his prisoners. and would not dismisse his prisoners, that they might returne to their owne home.
Loe, now, how the world is changed, All others Kings,18 All the Kings of the nations, even all of them lie in glory, every one in his owne house. even those petty Princes whom thou subduedst, are in glory and magnificence, each one in his owne court.
But thou shalt not be suffered so much,19 But thou art cast out of thy grave, like an abominable branch: and as the raiment of those that are slaine, thrust through with a sword, that goe down to the stones of the pit, as a carke is troden under feet. as to enjoy thine owne grave; but art cast out as a rotten tree, that is not worthy to be set in the ground; or as a garment of a man slaine by the sword, which is all gashed, and soiled with blood, not worth taking up; or, as an abominable carcasse, which no man dares to come neare, for the ill savour it yeeldeth.
O yee avengers of blood,21 Prepare slaughter for his children, for the iniquitie of their fathers, that they doe not rise nor possesse the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. prepare yee an exquisite slaughter, not only for the King of Babylon himselfe, but for his progenie, and posterity; see that yee root them out: let them not live to be great in the world, either in possessions of land, or building of cities.
I will turne the low-seated Babylon into a standing poole, and make it a possession for Bitterns,23 I will also make it a possession for the bitterne, and pools of waters. and for Otters, in stead of men, &c.
But, before this time of the destruction of Babylon,25 That I will breake the Assyrian in my land, & upon my mountaines tread him under foot. I will overthrow the proud Assyrian, in the land of Judah, and will doe execution upon him, in the mountaines of Israel, sending away Senacherib, with a miraculous, and shamefull defeat, &c.
Rejoyce not, O thou whole land of Palestine,29 Rejoyce not thou whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken, for out of the serpents root shall come forth a Cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. for that the Jewes, which formerly subdued thee, are now driven out, and vanquished; for there is yet more mischiefe towards thee from those, whom thou thinkest to be utterly crushed; if the serpents egge be broken, as thou weenest, yet a cockatrice (which is more deadly) shall arise, out of that cracked shell; and thou shalt be more annoyed by this later brood, then thou wert by the former.
And those miserably distressed Iewes (the heires of beggery and sorrow) shall be releeved,30 And the first borne of the poore shal feed, and the needy shall lie downe in safetie: and I will kill thy root with famine and he shall slay thy remnant. and dwell quietly; and for thee, O Palestine, I will kill the remainder of thee with famine, and the sword of the enemy.
31 Howle, O gate, cry, O City, thou whole Palestina art dissolved, for there shall come from the North a smoake, and none shal be alone in his appointed times.O yee defenced cities, and walled townes of Palestine, howle and lament; and thou whole country mourne, for thou art utterly wasted; There shall come from the north armies of Assyrians, and Iewes, which shall begin with a smoake, but end in a fire; they shall come banded together, and no man shall be left at home, alone, in that day of thy intended destruction.
32 What shall one then answere the messengers of the nations, that the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poore of his people shall trust n it.What reason then shall be given to the world, when people shall be inquiring into the cause of this desolation of Palestine? Even this; that the Lord hath had a gratious respect unto Sion; and that he would have his poor despised people, to finde a sure refuge there, through his mighty protection, from the fury of their enemies.
CAP. XV.
1 The burdens of Moab, because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence, because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence.THe heavy tydings, which God sends by his prophet to Moab; Because the two great cities of Moab, Ar, and Kir, are suddenly, and inexpectedly surprized, and sacked.
Therefore the foolish Moabites are gone up to their high places to weep,2 He is gone up to Baiith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep; Moab shal howle over Nebo, and over Medeba, on all their heads shall be baldnesse, and every beard cut off. and complaine to their Idoll Chemosh, they make moane for their other cities also, both those in the heart, and in the skirts of the land, and they testifie their mourning, by shaving of their heads, and beards.
4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh; their voice shall be heard even unto Iahaz: therefore the armed souldiers of Moab shall cry out, his life shall be grievous u…to him.Their two other famous cities, of Heshbon, and Elealeh shall shriek, and howle, so loud, that their noise shal be heard to the utmost confines of the land; even the men of warre, which should by their courage, cheare up others, shall in a despaire of successe, cry and lament, and their life shall be but a griefe and burden to them, for that they are in a sad expectation of death.
5 My heart shall cry out for Moab, his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three yeares old, for by the mounting up of I uhith with weeping shall they goe it up: for in the way of Heronaim, they shall raise up a cry of destruction.My heart tels me that Moab shall cry out to his cowardly fugitives, which run away to the utmost borders of Judah, even, as a yong heifer of three yeares old belloweth after her fellowes, for they shall follow them, over hils and dales, from one side of the country unto another; and shall raise a woefull hubbub after them.
And the waters that flow through the plaines of Moab,6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate, for the hay is withered away, the grasse faileth, there is no greene thing. and the vale of Nimra, shall be utterly dried up, the grasse shall faile, the hay shall be parched up, and there shall be no shew of ought, but drought and barrennesse.
The fearefull cries and howlings of the Moabites are universall; no place is free; they fill the whole land,8 For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab, the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer Elim. and all the obscurest corners thereof.
For the river of Dimon, which runs through Moab, shall (according to the name of it) be bloody with the slaughter of his people; and yet I have a further judgement in store, beyond this staine of Dimon;9 For the waters of Dimō shal be ful of blood: For I will bring more upon Dimon, Lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land. for the man that escapeth from the sword of the enemie, in that vally will I give up to be a prey to the wilde beasts, the lions shall devoure him.
CAP. XVI.
YEt, Moab, if at last, thou shalt relent,1 Send ye the lambe to the ruler of the land, from Sela to the wildernesse, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. there may be a possibility of life, and recovery; which if thou desire to hearken unto, send then, first, according to thy old promise, and ingagement, that tribute of lambes which thou oughtest to have paid to the King of Judah; send it humbly unto him, even all of you from the utmost boūds of Edom, to mount Sion, where his court resideth.
Else, be sure ye shall be like a wandring bird,2 For it shall be, that as a wandring bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the foords of Arnon. whose nest is pulled downe; disappointed of your habitations; so as the daughters of Moab. (though neare to you in blood) shall be glad to seeke their lodging in forraine parts.
Goe to then, bethinke thy selfe of better courses,3 Take counsell, execute Iudgement, make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noone day, hide the out-casts, bewray not him that wandreth. doe right to all men, be thou harborous, and kinde to thy brethren of Israel, yeelding them as coole a shadow, in the midst of the heat of the day, as if it were mid-night; give shelter and intertainment to their chased, & distressed exiles, and bewray not him that, in his wandring, seeks to thee for succour.
For God hath put an end to the calamities of his people, there shall be no more spoile,4 The spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. no more oppression of their cruell enemies to waste them.
And in great mercy to his Church shall the throne of the Messiah be established; and he shall sit upon it,5 And in mercy shall the throne be established, and he shall sit upon it in truth, in the Tabernacle of David. as a most just governour of his people; even in the place of his type and ancestor David, &c.
But his lying and vaine boasting shall deceive him,6 But his lies shall not be so. neither shall they come to any effect.
Therefore,7 Therefore shall Moab howle for Moab, every one shall howle, for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall yee mourne, surely they are stricken. one city of Moab shall condole with another, and all shall howle together, for the razing down of the prime city, Kir-hareseth; for the razing, even of the very foundations thereof, shall ye mourne in vaine, not one of the inhabitants shall escape, surely they shall bee all destroyed.
8 For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah, the lords of the heathen have broken downe the principall plants thereof, they are come even unto Iazer, &c.Yea, not only the chiefe cities, but the whole region shall be laid waste; the fruitfull fields and vineyards of Heshbon, and Sibmah, which were famous for their excellent grapes, shall be spoiled by the lords of the heathen; which shall not rest in the vastation of some parts of the land, but shall run over all, even to Jazer, which is in the utmost confines, &c.
9 Therefore I will bewaile with the weeping of Iazer, the vine of Sibmah, I will water thee with my teares, O Heshbon, and Elealeh, for the showting for thy summer fruits, &c.Therefore (shall the Moabite say) I will with a generall lamentation (such as shall be heard from the uttermost skirts of the land) bewaile the desolation of the excellent vineyards of Sibmah; &c. for the joy and acclamations that were wont to bee at the gathering of thy summer fruits, and for thy plentifull harvest, is now at an end, and shall be heard no more.
11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harpe for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kirharesh.Wherfore, my bowels shal in their yearning (through the vehemence of my passion) make a loud noise, and mine inward parts shall be moved for the chiefe city of Moab, to see the wofull desolation thereof.
It shall come to passe that Moab, finding no reliefe in the petty-idols of his high places,12 And it shall come to passe, when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray, but he shall not prevaile. shall come to his chiefe sanctuary, to implore the aid of Chemosh his god; but he shall not prevaile.
Within three yeares (which shall be as precisely set and observed, as the hireling uses to keep account of the time agreed upon for his service) all the glory of Moab shall be dashed,14 Within three years as the yeares of an hireling and the glory of Moab shal be contemned: &c.
CAP. XVII.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken, they shall be for flockes, which shall lie downe, and none shall make them afraid.THe cities of Aroer in the region of Syria, shall be forsaken; and turned desolate; nothing shall be seen there but coates for sheepheards, and their flocks, which shall feed in those solitary plaines, without feare.
3 The fortresse also shal cease from Ephraim, and the Kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall bee as the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hostes.And since Israel, and Syria will be joyning together against Juda, I will be avenged on them both; Ephraim (which is the prime tribe of Israel) shall lose his strength, and Damascus the prime city of Syria, shall lose his Kingdome; and so shall all Syria; it shall speed like to Israel, which it hath entised to joyne in this unjust warre.
5 And it shall bee as when the harvest-man gathereth the corne, and reapeth the eares with his arme: and it shall bee as he that gathereth eares in the valley of Rephaim.And it shall bee as when the harvest-man gathereth close within his arme all those stalkes of corne, which he can reach, that he may cut them off together; so shall the enemie deale with Israel, hee shall cut them off, at once; even as a labourers sickle cuts the eares of corne, in the fruitfull valley of Rephaim, where they stand thickest together.
Yet, as in a field, after the most carefull harvestman,6 Yet gleaning grapes shalbe left in it, as the shaking of an Olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough: foure or five in the out-most fruitfull branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel. there will be some gleanings left; and some grapes, after the gathering of the vintage, may be hid under the leaves, and some Olives left upon the out-boughes, after the tree is most shaken; so shall it be here with Israel, some few of them shall yet bee reserved after the common destruction.
And this correction shall have so prevailed, that now the remaining Israelites shall looke up to their Maker,7 At that day shall a man looke to his Maker. &c.
In that day shall the strong cities of the ten tribes,9 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left, because of the children of Israel; and there shall be desolation. be left unpeopled, and waste, even as a bough, whose Olives are shaken off; whose branch yet shall be left still for the sake of those Israelites, which I will reserve.
Thou maiest bestow thy best husbandry upon thy plants, and upon thy seed,11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to growe, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seede to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heape in the day of griefe, and of desperate sorrow. and expect a plentifull increase, but when it shall come to the harvest, thy hopes shall be utterly disappointed; and thou shalt finde no thing but cause of sorrow, and humiliation.
Woe be to that great and numerous armie of the Assyrians, & Ethiopians, which come up against Jerusalem,12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise, like the noise of the seas. whose noise is loud, and hideous, like the noise of the sea, &c.
The severall nations which shall bee confederate against Judah, shall rush like the gushing of many waters,13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters. &c.
Behold, in the evening, there is horror and confusion in the host,14 And behold at evening tide trouble, and before the morning hee is not. through the slaughter made by the Angell of God; and in the morning, there is not one left of an hundred fourescore and five thousand men; &c.
CAP. XVIII.
WOe to the land of Ethiopia,1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. and that part especially, which is comprehended in Aegypt, and the Maritine coast, whose frequent shipping doth shadow, as it were, other nations with her sailes.
That sendeth Ambassadors by sea,2 That sendeth ambassadours by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the water, saying, goe yee swift messengers to a nation scattered & peeled, to a people terrible frō their beginning hitherto, &c. in vessells fit for that purpose, artificially framed of bulrushes, to avoid the danger of that rocky passage; to call together united nations from remote parts, to come up against that miserable and spoiled people of the Jewes; whose land is over-runne and over-spread with an inundation of enemies.
3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when hee lifteth up an ensigne on the mountaines: and when he bloweth a trumpet, heare ye.Let all the inhabitants of the world, every where, take notice of the Lords revenge, which he will take of the enemies of his people; when he therefore lifts up his ensigne on high, and bloweth his trumpet to call his troopes to this battell, let all men consider and observe the certaine and terrible successe.
4 For so the Lord said unto me: I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a cleare heate upon herbes, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.I will for a time forbeare judgement, and be as a meete looker on, acting nothing, but in the meane time, I will have an eye to my Church, and people, and will bee to them, as a kindly heat is to the drooping herbes, or as a sweet dew in the scorching heat of harvest.
5 For afore the harvest when the bud is perfect, and the sower grape is ripening in the flower: he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hookes, and take away and cut downe the branches.Meane whiles, if their enemies prosper for a time, it shall not alwayes be so; for when their hopes are comne to the height, he shall defeate them; immediately before the autumne, when the bud is come to perfection, when the grape is upon the point of ripening, I will cut off their sprigs, and boughs, with pruning knives, and disappoint all their expectation.
6 They shall be left together unto the fowles of the mountaines, and to the beasts of the earth: & the fowles shall summer upon them, & all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.The carcasses of their enemies shall bee cast out as dung, and shall be a prey both to the foules of the mountaines, and the beasts of the field; and lie there rotting, both in the Summer and winter, till they be consumed.
In that day, through the mercy of God remembring the miseries of his people;7 In that time shall the present be brought unto the Lord of hosts, of a people scattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto: a nation meted out & troden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion. the remaining Jewes shall offer themselves to him, as an holy, lively, acceptable sacrifice; even that despised and forlorne people of the Jewes, that hath undergone all the despights, and oppressions of nations, and beene over-whelmed with the multitude of enemies, shall devote themselves to the Lord in mount Zion, and his holy Temple.