elsewhere. ver. 7th. "Therefore thus faith the LORD God; Your flain whom ye have laid in the midft of it, they (are) the flesh, and this city is the caldron :" and ver. 9th. "And I will bring you forth out of the midft thereof, and will deliver you into the hand of ftrangers," &c. And because Ezekiel feemed greatly affected at this; verfe 13. "Then fell I down upon my face, and cried. (with) a loud voice; and faid, Ah, LORD God, wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Ifrael? It therefore was neceffary, that God fhould inform the Prophet of the evil discourse which they held concerning their brethren that were carried into captivity; and for which, they alfo were defervedly doomed to go into captivity: and for this reason, the Prophet had the following vision, verfe 14. &c. "And the word of the LORD came unto me, faying: Son of man, thy brethren, (even) thy brethren, thy fellow cap tives, and all the house of Ifrael (even) all of them; of whom the inhabitants of Jerufalem have faid, they are removed far from the LORD: unto us this land is given for an inheritance." Chriftian commentators have thought that, the fecond T thy brethren,

ought

ought to be omitted *: but this is owing to their not being able to enter into the spirit of the idiom of the prophetic language; for the firft 78 thy brethren, denotes thofe that were carried captive with him: and the fecond T8 thy brethren, denotes the ten tribes: and on account of the great number of them, he fays, And all the house of Ifrael (even) all of them." and "of whom the inhabitants of Jerufalem faid, they are removed, &c. unto us this land is given" &c. And in answer to which, the Prophet fays, ver. 16. "Therefore fay, Thus faith the LORD God; Although I have caft them far off among the nations, and although I have fcattered them in the countries; yet will I be unto them as a little fanctuary, in the

* See the Note on this place, in the Archbishop

of Armagh's new Tranflation of Ezekiel.

+ Dr. Newcome tranflates by wpb." A fanctuary for a short time," What was his reafon for thus perverting the text, from its true fenfe, contrary to the opinion of the Hebrew Commentators, and to the received reading, I know not as he has not thought proper to acquaint us what authority he had for fo doing; nor of the ufe he intended to make of it: unless it was, to expofe as much as in his power, the corruptions of the prefent printed text; and which feems. to be the fole aim of all the authors of the new and metrical tranflations.

coun

That

great

countries whither they fhall come." is, although they are removed from the fanctuary; yet will I give them fuch favour among fome of the nations where they are driven, that they fhall be allowed to have Synagogues, which thall be to them, as little temples, as having fome fmall holiness, in comparison of the great temple at Jerufalem and where they fhall affemble to pray unto me, to deliver them from their affliction and which, it is well known, hath often been the cafe during this woful captivity, when the nation hath laboured under fome dreadful perfecution, &c.

;

The Prophet then proceeds to tell them, that those that were already carried captive, and thofe that are to be carried into captivity; fhall all be redeemed in the latter days. ver. 17. "Therefore fay, Thus faith the LORD God; I will affemble you from the people*, and I will gather you from the countries where ye have been scattered; and I will give you the land of Ifrael.” Then fhall the ten tribes alfo be gathered; and of whom the Prophet speaks in the third person: ver. *Heb. Peoples.

18th.

"And they fhall come thither, and fhall take away from thence all the deteftable things thereof, and all the abominations. thereof." Thus, will thofe that return from captivity in the latter days, cleanse the land from all the pollutions of the false worfhip of thofe nations, that fhall then be in poffeffion of the land.

And although in former times, there was great enmity between Judah and Ifrael: nay, even between those of Judah that remained with Zedekiah, and those that were carried captive with Jehoiachin; yet the Prophet affures us, that a spirit of unanimity will then reign among them; verfe 19th. “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit will I put within you :"

And because when

They forfook the

they were in the land, LORD; provoked the Holy One of Ifrael; and went backward: he therefore tells them, in the latter member of the verse,& verse 20th. “And I will take away the heart of ftone from their flesh, and I will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep my Judgments, and do

them;

them; And they fhall be my people, and I will be their God:

The Prophet then proceeds to speak again of those that remained in Jerufalem; and who had so shamefully traduced their brethren in captivity; though they were by far more wicked: and therefore tells them, that they shall soon be removed from Jerusalem; ver. 21. &c. "But (as for them) whofe heart walketh in the true fpirit‡ of their detestable things, and their abominations; their way will I recompenfe upon their heads,

Heb. Unto me for a people.

+ Heb. Unto them for a God.

This is the real sense of the word the heart of their detestable things; for the Prophet meant to fhew the eagerness and avidity with which they purfued the commis fion of these abominations; even to the very heart and spirit of them: the which, if those profound critics, who are fo fond of finding corruptions in the poor printed text, had rightly understood, it would have faved them a deal of trouble in forming conjectures; as may be feen from the following Note of Dr. Newcome 2 1. "But if all—] I read

Mr. Dimock makes the fame conjecture, and refers to v. 18. fignifies fi, quod fi, Nold. §60. was the original reading of MS. 116. Houbigant obferves that the former as is manifeft corruption: and propofes 585." Thus do thefe critics bewilder themselves, in forming conjectures to murder the printed text. VOL. II.

Ff

faith