Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture, Scripture 30
NAHVM.
CAP. I.
1 The burden of Niniveh.THe heavy tidings that God sent to Niniveh, and to the whole kingdome of Assyria, &c.
3 God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth, the Lord revengeth and is furious, the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and hee reserveth wrath for his enemies.The Lord comes to revenge in fury, and terror, as in a whirlewinde and tempest; and as the march of a great hoast raises dust in their passage, so in this motion of the Lord to his vengeāce, the clouds are as the dust of his feete.
The fruitfullest regions of Bashan, and Carmel, and Lebanon,4 Bashan languisheth, and Carmel & the flowre of Lebanon languisheth. at his command grow seare, and barren.
7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him.He takes gracious notice of them that trust in him; & will deliver them.
9 Affliction shall not rise up the second time.God will make so full dispatch of his enemies the Assyrians at once, that there be no place for a second onset.
10 For while they bee folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully drie.For, whiles they combine themselves, and plot together in wickednesse, as thornes are folded up together in an hedge; and whiles they are consorting together in their drunkennesse, and excesse, then, even then, shall the judgement of God fall upon them, and devoure them, as the fire consumes the drie stubble.
11 There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evill against the Lord, a wicked counseller.There is one comne out of thee, even Rabshakeh, that both imagineth, and dareth to utter evill, against the Lord; a man that speaketh blasphemous words, and gives wicked counsells to my people.
12 Thus saith the Lord, though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut downe, when hee shall passe thorough, though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.Thus saith the Lord; Though the Assyrians be secure and many, and strong, yet they shall be cut downe, when the destroying Angell shall passe through their campe; and for thee, O Jerusalem, if I have afflicted thee by his siege, yet I will afflict thee no more.
For now I will confound his power,13 For now will I breake his yoake from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder. and disappoint that yoake of servitude, which he had intended to thee; and free thee from the bonds of his subjection.
And the Lord hath decreed concerning thee, O Senacherib, that thou shalt be slaine of thine owne sonnes,14 And the Lord hath given a commandement concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sowen, out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image, and the molten image; I will make thy grave, for thou art vile. and shalt have no more of thy posterity to succeed in the following generations; and out of the house of Nisroch thy god, and other of thine Idoll Temples, will I cut the graven, and molten images; I will prepare for thee a speedy and miserable death, for thou art vile.
Behold, upon the mountaine of Sion,15 Behold, upon the mountaines the feet of him that bringeth good tidings that publisheth peace: O Iudah keepe thy solemne feasts, performe thy vows, for the wicked shall no more passe through thee, he is utterly cut off. and the other mountaines of Judah and Israel, there shall be a joyfull gratulation of thy deliverance and peace, O Judah; and doe thou rejoyce accordingly, in thy God; Keepe thou thy solemne feasts, and performe thy vowes cheerfully to the Lord thy deliverer; for this wicked Tyran shall no more passe through thy borders, he is utterly cut off.
CAP. II.
THe King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar,1 He that dasheth in peeces is come up before thy face, keep the munition, watch the way, make thy loines strong, fortifie thy power mightily. who subdueth all before him, is comne up before thy gates; looke well to thy selfe therefore; stand upon thy gard, fortifie thy bulwarks, and rouze up thy courage to defend thy selfe.
But notwithstanding all thy preparation,2 For the Lord hath turned away the excellency of Iacob, as the excellency of Israel, for the emptiers have emptied them out, & marred their vine branches and warlike forces, he shall prevaile against thee, O Niniveh; For, if the Lord have turned away the excellency of Jacob, and Israel; and hath given it over to the spoile of the Assyrians; who have destroyed their vineyards, how much more will he deface the glory of Niniveh?
Thine enemy of Babylon shall come fiercely upon thee, and with great pompe of terror;3 The shield of his mightie men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet, the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the firre trees shall be terribly shaken. the shield of his mighty warriours shall glitter with brightnesse, his valiant men shall be deckt with scarlet; his charets shall whirle with such fury, that the fire shall sparkle out of their wheeles; and the earth, and woods adjoyning shal shake with the noise.
So also verse 4.
5 He shall recount his worthies, they shall stumble in their walke, they shal make haste to the wal thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.Then shall the Assyrian muster up his forces, and call together his choise commanders; they shall so hasten towards Ninivehs defence, that they shall stumble in the way; they shall make speed to the wall thereof, and prepare their best fortifications.
6 The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved.But all in vaine, for those ports which lead to the river, shall be broken open; and the palace of the King, and Temple of Jupiter Belus shall be demolished.
7 And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up, and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabring upon their breasts.And the Queene shall be led away captive; shee shall be led away with her maids following her in a sad mourning, and lamentation, like to the dolefull voice of doves, and beating their breasts for the anguish of her deportation.
8 But Niniveh is of old like a poole of water, yet they shall flee away; stand, stand, shall they cry, but none shall looke backe.Though Niniveh be noted of old, for rich and strong, and furnished with multitudes of inhabitants, as a pond with spawne of fishes; yet all this shall not availe her; for, all her inhabitants shall betake themselves to flight; they shall call up to each other to stand▪ but all shall run away; no one shall dare so much as to looke backe.
9 Take ye the spoile of silver, take the spoile of gold; for there is none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture.Goe to then, ye Babylonians, take yee the spoile of the silver and gold, which the fearefull citizens have left behinde them; neither can ye be able to carry away that store of glorious, and rich furniture wherewith that city aboundeth.
10 She is emptie and voide and waste, and the heart melteth, & the knees smite together, and much paine is in al loines, and the faces of them all gather blacknesse.Now is that great city empty, and voide, and utterly despoiled; the hearts of the Ninivites melt with griefe, their knees knocke together with feare; they lay their hands on their loines (as if those were pained) in the vehement gesture of their lamentation, and the faces of them all are deformed with passion, and astonishment.
11 Where is the dwelling of the lyons, and the feeding place of the young lyons, where the lion, even the old lion walketh and the lyons whelp, and none made them afraid.Where now is the place that was the feared dwelling of the Lyon-like Assyrians? What is becomne of the place, where the old Lion, even the Tyrans of Assyria walked, and where his Princes made themselves so secure, that nothing could affright them?
12 The Lyon did teare in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dennes with ravine.These Assyrian Tyrans did not only take that prey from other nations, which might suffice themselves; but they purvayed for their children, for their followers, for their wives; and filled their store houses with abundance of the rich booties of the world.
There shall be no more regard had to thine ambassadors, nor to those commanding officers of thine,13 And the voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard. which lately held the world in awe.
CAP. III.
WOe to the bloody city of Niniveh,1 Woe to the bloody citie, it is all full of lies, and robbery, the pray departeth not. &c. thou canst not make an end of fraud and rapine.
Vengeance is neere thee;2 The noyse of a whip, and the noyse of the ratling of the wheeles. I doe already heare the noise of the Babylonian whips in the hands of the charetiers, driving them furiously against thee, &c.
Because of the multitudes of those spirituall fornications, whereinto (like some faire and tempting harlot,4 Because of the multitude of the whoredomes of the well-favoured harlot, the mistresse of witchcrafts, that selleth nations thorow her whoredomes, and families through her witchcrafts. the mistresse of witchcrafts) thou hast drawne other nations; having so besotted them that thou hast made them the slaves of thy lust.
See Ezek. 36. verse 37.5 And I will discover.
Art thou better then the famous and populous city Alexandria, in Aegypt,8 Art thou better then populus No, that was scituate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea. which is situate upon the river Nilus, and had the waters to environ it; and is defenced with that great and Sea-like lake of Mareotis?
O Alexandria, besides thine owne strength, Aethiopia and Aegypt were thy sure stay;9 Aethiopia and Aegypt were her strength, and it was infinite, Put and Lubim were thy helpers. thine assistants were without number; all the Africans, and, above all, the Libyans were thy helpers.
Even so thou also, O Niniveh, shalt drinke deepe of the cup of Gods vengeance;11 Thou also shalt bee drunken: thou shalt be hid. thou that wast once renowned over the world, shalt be glad to bee wrapped up in obscurity, and forgetfulnesse, &c.
Thy people in the midst of thee are faint hearted as women, &c.13 Behold thy people in the midst of thee are women.
Goe to then,14 Draw the waters for the siege, fortifie thy strong holds, goe into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the bricke hill. furnish thy selfe with provision for a siege; fill thy cisternes with water, fortifie thy strong holds, make ready store of bricks to repayre thy battered walls.
But, all this shall availe thee nothing;15 There shall the fire devoure thee: the Sword shall cut thee off: it shall eate thee up like the canker-worme: make thy selfe many as the canker-worme: make thy selfe many as the locusts. notwithstanding all thy preparation, the fire, and the sword shall devoure thee, it shall eate thee up, as the canker-worme doth the greene leafe: were thy troupes as many, as there are caterpillers upon the boughes; this number shall doe thee no good for thy defence.
16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the starres of heaven, the cankerworme spoyleth & fleeth away.Neither art thou any better for those multitudes of merchants, that pertaine unto thee, (as thou hast many, like the starres in the heaven for number) for they (like to those canker-wormes) when they have spoyled what they may in their deceitfull trade, flie away from thee, and leave thee destitute.
So also verse 17.
17 The crowned are as the locust.Thy rulers also are like unto locusts, &c.
18 Thy Shepheards slumber, O King of Assyria, thy nobles shall dwell in the dust.Thy Princes, O King of Assyria, shall bee dull, and dead-hearted; & they together with thy Nobles shall be laid in the dust mangled, and slaine, &c.
There is no hope of healing this deadly wound, which thou shalt receive from the Chaldees;19 There is no healing of thy bruise, thy wound is grievous: all that heare the bruit of thee, shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickednesse passed continually. no, rather all nations round about shall applaud thy ruine, and clap their hands, for joy of thy destruction; for whom hast not thou provoked by thy wickednesse continually?