Τούτου συ, βασιλου, τον πολυν ζώοις βίον, Δει νεουργών, και κρατηνών την φυσιν. Long mayest thou live, O king; still like the eagle Renew thy youth and still retain thy vigour. To this many fabulous and absurd circumstances are added by several ancient writers and commentators on scripture: see Bochart, Hieroz. ii. 2. 1, Whether the notion of the eagle's renewing his youth is in any degree well founded or not, I need not inquire; it is enough for a poet, whether profane or sacred, to have the authority of popular opinion to support an image introduced for illustration or ornament. CHAP. XLI. 1. repair to me with new sentiments] Eyxamıle☛de, LXX.; for 1, be silent, they certainly read in their copy w, be renewed; which is parallel and synonymous with, recover their strength: that is, their strength of mind, their powers of reason; that they may overcome those prejudices, by which they have been so long held enslaved to idolatry. A MS. has upon a rasure. The same mistake seems to have been made in this word, Zephan. iii. 17. For manka, “silebit în dilectione sua," as the Vulgate renders it; which seems not consistent with what immediately follows, "exultabit super te in laude;" LXX. and Syr. read 0282 W*77, "renovabitur in amore suo." 2. the righteous man.] The Chald. and Vulg. seem to have read pay. But Jerom, though his translation has justum, appears to have read pr; for in his comment he expresses it by justum, sive justitiam. However, I think all interpreters understand it of a person. So the LXX. in MS. Pachom. εκάλεσεν αυτόν, but the other copies have aur. They are divided in ascertaining this person: some explain it of Abraham; others of Cyrus. I rather think, that the former is meant : because the character of the righ teous man, or righteousness, agrees better with Abraham than with Cyrus. Besides, immediately after the description of the success given by God to Abraham, and his posterity, (who, I presume, are to be taken into the account,) the idolaters are introduced as greatly alarmed at this event. Abraham was called out of the East; and his posterity were introduced into the land of Canaan, in order to destroy the idolaters of that country; and they were established there, on purpose to stand as a barrier against idolatry, then prevailing, and threatening to overrun the whole face of the earth. Cyrus, though not properly an idolater, or worshipper of images, yet had nothing in his character to cause such an alarm among the idolaters, ver. 5-7. Further, after having just touched upon that circumstance, the prophet with great ease returns to his former subject, and resumes Abraham and the Israelites; and assures them, that as God had called them, and chosen them for this purpose, he would uphold and support them to the utmost, and at length give them victory over all the heathen nations, their enemies; ver. 8-16. Ibid. -made them like the dust-] The image is strong and beautiful : it is often made use of by the sacred poets; see PSA. i. 4, xxxv. 5, Jon xxi. 18, and by Isaiah himself in other places, chap. xvii. 13, xxix. 5. But there is great difficulty in making out the construction. The LXX. read dan, onup, their sword, their bow, understanding it of the sword and bow of the conquered kings: but this is not so agreeable to the analogy of the image, as employed in other places. The Chaldee Paraphrast and Kimchi solve the difficulty by supposing an ellipsis of before those words. It must be owned, that the ellipsis is hard and unusual: but I choose rather to submit to this, than, by adhering with Vitringa to the more obvious construction, to destroy intirely both the image and the sense. But the Vulgate by gladio ejus, and arcui ejus, seems to express 12b and inwpb; the admission of which reading may perhaps be thought preferable to Kimchi's ellipsis. 3. -he passeth in safety] The preposition seems to have been omitted in the text by mistake: LXX. and Vulg. seem to have had it in their copies: spy, in pace, orbwa. 4. and made these things] A word is here lost out of the text. It is supplied by an ancient MS. bx, these things; and, by LXX. Taura; and by Vulg. hæc, and by Chald. r. 5. and they were terrified] Three MSS. have 7, adding the conjunction, which restores the second member of the sentence to its true poetical form. 7. —that it shall not move.] Five MSS. (two ancient,) and the ancient versions, add the conjunction, reading &; which seems to be right. 9. from the extremities thereof] : N signifies the arm, axilla, ala; and is used like, the wing, for any thing extended from the extremity of another, or joined on to it. It is here parallel and synonymous to mypp, from the ends, in the preceding member. 15. - a threshing wain,-a corn-drag] See Note on Chap. xxviii. 27, 28. 19. In the wilderness I will give the cedar] The two preceding verses express God's mercy to them in their passage through the dry deserts, in supplying them with abundant water, when distressed with thirst, in allusion to the Exodus: this verse expresses the relief afforded to them, fainting with heat in their journey through that hot country, destitute of shelter, by causing shady trees, and those of the tallest and most beautiful kinds, to spring up for their defence. The Apocryphal Baruch, speaking of the return from Babylon, expresses God's protection of his people by the same image: "Even the woods and every sweet-smelling tree shall overshadow Israel by the commandment of God." Chap. v. 8. : 20. -and may consider] The verb w, without added, cannot signify to apply the heart, or to attend to a thing, as Houbigant has ob served; he therefore reads “, they shall wonder. The conjecture is in genious but it is much more probable that the word 5 is lost out of the text; for all the ancient versions render the phrase to the same sense, as if it were fully expressed, a w; and the Chaldee renders it paraphrastically, yet still retaining the very words in his paraphrase, by nina 1110** 125, "ut ponant timorem meum in corde suo." See also verse 22, where the same phrase is used. 21. Produce these your mighty powers]" Accedant, inquit, idola vestra, quæ putatis esse fortissima." Hieron. Com. in loc. I prefer this to all other interpretations of this place, and to Jerom's own translation of it, which he adds immediately after. "Afferte, si quid forte habetis." The false gods are called upon to come forth, and appear in person; and to give evident demonstration of their foreknowledge and power, by foretelling future events, and exerting their power in doing good or evil. 23. and terror] The word is written imperfectly in the Hebrew text: the Masoretes supply at the end; and so it is read in twenty-two MSS. and four editions: that is 7, and we shall see. But the true reading seems to be 7, and we shall fear, with • supplied, from *7*. 24. than nought] For y read D; so Chald. and Vulg. A manifest error of the text; compare chap. xl. 17. The Rabbins acknowledge no such error: but say, that the former word signifies the same with the latter, by a change of the two letters □ and y. S. ben Melech in loc. 25. he shall trample-] For 2, Le Clerc reads D, from the Chaldee, who seems to read both words. "Forte legend. Da“, vel dar: sequitur D." SECKER. See NAHUM iii. 14. 27. I first to Sion-] This verse is somewhat obscure by the transposition of the parts of the sentence, and the peculiar manner in which it is divided into two parallel lines. The verb at the end of the sentence belongs to both parts; and the phrase, Behold, they are here! is parallel to the messenger of glad tidings; and stands, like it, as the accusative case to the verb. The following paraphrase will explain the form and the sense of it. "I first, by my prophets, give notice of these events, saying: Behold, they are at hand! and I give to Jerusalem a messenger of glad tidings." 28. And among the idols-] For x, I read on, with the LXX TULI ATO TWV EldwλWv. See EXOD xv. 11, ISAIAH lvii. 5. CHAP. XLII. THE prophet, having opened his subject with the preparation for the return from captivity at Babylon, and intimated that a much greater de liverance was covered under the veil of that event; proceeded to vindicate the power of God, as Creator and disposer of all things; and his infinite knowledge, from his prediction of future events, and in particular of that deliverance: he went still further, and pointed out the instrument by which he should effect the redemption of his people the Jews from slavery, namely, a great conqueror, whom he would call forth from the North and the East to execute his orders. In this chapter he proceeds to the greater deliverance; and at once brings forth into full view, without throwing any veil of allegory over the subject, the Messiah. "Behold, my servant, Messiah," says the Chaldee. St. Matthew has applied it directly to Christ; nor can it with any justice or propriety be applied to any other person or character whatever. 1. And he shall publish judgement] Four MSS. (two ancient) add the See MATTH. xii. 18. ומשפט,conjunction The word on, judgement, like ¡p¶, righteousness, is taken in a great latitude of signification. It means rule, form, order, model, plan; rule of right, or of religion; an ordinance, institution; judicial process, cause, trial, sentence, condemnation, acquittal, deliverance, mercy, &c. It certainly means in this place the law to be published by Messiah; the institution of the gospel. 4. His force shall not be abated nor broken] "Rabbi Meir ita citat locum istum, ut post yn addat 115, robur ejus, quod hodie non comparet in Textu Hebræo, sed addendum videtur, ut sensus fiat planior." Capell. Crit. Sac. p. 382. For which reason I had added it in the translation, before I observed this remark of Capellus. 6. —a covenant of the people] For oy, two MSS. read oby, the covenant of the age to come, or the everlasting covenant: which seems to give a clearer and better sense. 7. To open the eyes of the blind-] In this verse the prophet seems to set forth the spiritual redemption, under images borrowed from the temporal deliverance. Ibid. and from the dungeon-] The LXX. Syr. and four MSS. (one ancient) add the conjunction 1, M'apı. 10. Ye that go down upon the sea] This seems not to belong to this place it does not well consist with what follows: "and the fullness thereof." They that go down upon the sea, means navigators, sailors, traders, such as do business in great waters: an idea much too confined for the prophet, who means the sea in general; as it is used by the Hebrews, for the distant nations, the islands, the dwellers on the sea-coasts all over the world. I suspect that some transcriber had the 23d verse of Ps. cvii. run instead יורדי הים and wrote in this place ; יורדי הים באניות,ning in his head TT of om by, or y, or 1; "let the sea roar, or shout, or exult." But as this is so different in appearance from the present reading, I do not take the liberty of introducing it into the translation. Conjeceram legendum TT, ut ver. 12; sed non favent Versiones." SECKER. 66 11. Let the desert-] The most uncultivated countries, and the most rude and uncivilized people, shall confess and celebrate with thanksgiving the blessing of the knowledge of God graciously imparted to them. By the desert is meant Arabia Deserta; by the rocky country, Arabia Petræa; by the mountains, probably those celebrated ones Paran, Horeb, Sinai, in the same country; to which also belonged Kedar, a clan of Arabians, dwelling for the most part in tents: but there were others of them, who inhab ited or frequented cities and villages, as may be collected from this place of the prophet. Pietro della Valle, speaking of the people of Arabia Deserta, says, "there is a sort of Arabs of that country called Maédi, who with their herds, of buffaloes for the most part, sometimes live in the deserts, and sometimes in cities; from whence they have their name, which signifies wandering, going from place to place; they have no profest houses: nor are they probably Bedaui, or Beduui, that is, Deserticoli, who are the most noble among them, and never abide within walls, but always go wandering through the open country with their black tents; nor are they properly Hhadesi, as they call those who dwell in cities, and lands with fixed houses: these by the latter are esteemed ignoble and base; but by both are considered as of low condition." Viaggi Parte iii. Lett. ii. 14. shall I keep silence forever?] After obyn, in the copy, which the LXX. had before them, followed the word abbi, sonoa az alvos. fn no aɛ incoμai; according to MSS. Pachom. and i. D .ii. and Edition Complut. which word abb has been omitted in the text by an easy mistake of a transcriber, because of the similitude of the word preceding. 15. -dry deserts] Instead of ox, islands, read Dy; a very probable conjecture of Houbigant. 16. And through paths-] The LXX. Syr. Vulg. and nine MSS. (two ובנתיבות ancient, read Ibid. will I do for them] onwy, this word so written, as it is in the text, means thou wilt do, in the second person: the Masoretes have indeed pointed it for the first person; but the in the last syllable is absolutely necessary to distinguish the first person; and so it is written in forty MSS. .עשיתים Jarchi, Kimchi, Sal. b. Melech, &c. agree, that the past time is here put for the future, nwy, for nwyx; and indeed the context necessarily requires that interpretation. Further, it is to be observed, that Drwy is for wy I have ,עשיתי לי is for עשיתני I have done them, for I have done for them ; as להם made myself, for I have made for myself; EZEK, xxix. 3, and in the celebrat, |