LXX. seem to have read >'WN, »» « un añoses; unless we admit of aw in Kal being used in the sense of turning back or bringing again; of which there are frequent instances; See Ch. xxx. 3, 18. xxxi. 23. xxxiii, 26. xlviii. 47. Ps. xiv. 7. lxxxv. 1. Ezek, xvi. 53. Amos ix. 14. &c. &c.—Q¬"OND, "from those that come after them,” or "their posterity." So TN is properly rendered "thy posterity," 1 Kings xxi. 21. And on onnnx, “their children that come after them;" ver. 18, 39.

44.-in the land of Benjamin, &c.] For these divisions of the kingdom of Judah, see Ch, xvii. 26. and the Note there.

CHAP. XXXIII.

THIS Chapter contains a prophecy, which, though applicable in some parts to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, cannot however be so understood upon the whole, for reasons already touched upon in the Note prefixed to Ch. xxx, xxxi. and which hold equally good in the present instance.

God reveals his gracious purpose of healing the wounds of Jerusalem, restoring the captivity both of Israel and Judah, forgiving their sins, and distinguishing them with such blessings, as to strike the astonished nations with fear and trembling, v. 1-9.-He foretels that the land, whose desolation they deplored, should again flourish with multitudes both of men and cattle, v. 10-13. He confirms his former promise of establishing a kingdom of righteousness in a branch of the house of David, and rendering it perpetual, together with the priesthood of the sons of Levi, v. 14-18. He declares his covenant in this respect with David and the Levites to be as sure as the covenant of day and night, v. 19-22. And to remove the reproach of having cast off those families, whom he had once distinguished by his choice, he renews his protestations of infallibly restoring the seed of Jacob, and, of appointing the seed of David to rule over them for ever, v. 23—to the end.

2. the doer of it-] This place has been looked upon as corrupt, because the affix pronoun in wy seenis to be without an antecedent. Houbigant proposes two emendations; one suggested by the Syr. where ur is substituted instead of wy, and also n for

-But he inclines to give the pre .להכינן for להכינן and,אות

.עש יהוה instead of עשה האדמה

ference to another taken from the LXX. who render, own yov, xas. πλάσσων αυτην. Hence he infers, that the Greek interpreters read To give this conjecture its full force, we may add, that instead of 1 after wy, one MS. has been found to read ', which may be thought to come somewhat nearer the word .--. But I am persuaded in myself, that the roceived reading of the text is genuine, and conceive the pronoun, IT, to refer to the thing which God says. "Thus saith JEHOVAH, who himself is about to do IT," namely, what he saith. There is an instance of a similar kind to be met with, Isa. xxxvii. 26. where the antecedent of the same pronoun is to be sought in the sense of the context. The whole verse may be thus rendered--

Hast thou not heard? of old I have done it,

Of ancient times I have also formed it; now have I brought it

on;

And thou hast been for the desolating of flourishing nations,

strongly fortified cities.

The pronoun IT here evidently refers to "the desolating of flourishing nations, &c;" for this was the very thing which God says he had "done of old, and formed in ancient times," as Nebuchadnezzar might well be supposed to "have heard ;" and this was also that which he had brought about of late" by the agency of Nebuchadnezzar himself; who indeed had been vain enough to arrogate to himself the whole performance, although he had only borne the part of a subordinate minister in it.-Bishop Lowth in interpreting this verse adopts the reading

and I have done ; גלים נצים instead of גוים נצים .of the LXX

the same; but instead of "warlike nations," I have rendered "flourishing," from pra, to flourish.

Y),

3. And hidden things---] Two MSS. and the celebrated printed Bible called MINCHATH SHAI (see Dr Kennicott's Dissert. General. agrees with the Chaldee ; and is most likely to be the true reading. See Isa. xlviii. 6.

which ונצרות read ובצרון instead of (.62 $

5.--.That are come to make war on the part of the Chaldeans] is thus used with hon for it's subject, Ch. xxxii. 24. But ♬ must not be rendered, "against the Chaldeans," for it is evident those instruments of war were not employed against the Chaldeans, but in their service against the besieged. Therefore must either signify" on the part of the Chaldeans;" See Ch. li. 59. or else may be left by mistake for n, the initial being lost (as it often happens) in the same letter terminating the preceding word.

6. Behold, I will make it perfectly sound and whole] The antecedent to is clearlyyn, ver. 5. The Vulg. and Chald. render as if they had read ; but the LXX. and Syr. confirm the present reading, which is found in all the collated MSS. and Editions, except one MS. which reads

Ibid.--and will heal them] For 1 forty two MSS. and nine Editions read 87, in conformity with all the ancient versions. The antecedent of the pronoun must be sought in the next verse ; namely, the captivity of Judah and Israel. See note on ver. 2.

Ibid. I will also grant their prayer for peace and truth] ny signifies to pray in a devout fervent manner. Hence ny may well be construed a devout and fervent prayer; and to manifest to any one his pe tition seems to imply the granting of it. I have therefore rendered

I will also grant their prayer * ואמת וגליתי לחם עתות שלום

for peace and truth; or, will shew them the blessings they have prayed for."

7. And I will build them-] For 'na thirty MSS. and five

ובניתים Editions read more correctly

Ibid.--that I procure unto them] All the ancient versions render

as if they had read on instead of, and there is one MS. that does so.

13.- and in the cites of the plain] Twenty MSS. read, and the LXX. Syr. and Vulg. likewise express the conjunction. For the divisions here enumerated, see Ch. xvii. 26. and Note there.

Ibid. According to the direction of him that numbereth] Our English Translation is, "under the hands of him that telleth them ;" as if meant the same as van nnn, Lev. xxvii. 32. But passing under the rod means only their being numbered, the shepherd striking every sheep with his rod or crook, as it passes out of the fold, and so counting them. But the expression here made use of seems to imply, that the sheep should not stray about at random, but pass according to the direction of a shepherd, who, in numbering them as they come out of the fold, at the same time points out to them with his hands the way they are to take. See Note on Ch. v. 31. in Appendix.

14. concerning the house of Israel, and concerning the house of

These two prepositions אל-ביתישראל ועל-בית יהודה [Judah

and by seem to be nearly of the same force; and we often find them applied in the same sentence, as if the variation was accounted a matter of elegance. Here undoubtedly no difference can be conceived between them. Some MSS. however affect an uniformity; two for reading, and on the other hand, four, perhaps five, for r substitute

.אל

15. a branch of righteousness] After 3 (three MSS. read p ) twenty one MSS. and four Editions add the words Tha Thai bow, "and a king shall reign and prosper," as Ch. xxiii. 5. The same is found in the Syr. and Arab. versions.

16. And this is he, whom JEHOVAH shall call OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS] This is the strict grammatical translation of the words of the text. The ancient versions seem to have been made from the parallel passage, Ch. xxiii. 6. where however the words differ extremely, though they amount to the same sense. See the Note there. Three MSS. read here, w

in

, and one of these omit. It must be observed, that the is not the feminine affix, but the masculine after the Chaldee form; which frequently occurs.

17. There shall not be a failure in the line of David of one sitting, &c.]. From the Babylonish captivity to the coming of Christ, David was without a successor of his family sitting upon the throne of Judah or Israel, in any sense whatsoever. And from the destruction of Jerusalem to the present time, the Jews have had neither a king nor a regular priesthood belonging to their nation. So that hitherto there has been a failure and interruption both in the royal line of David, and in the sacerdotal one of Levi. A plain proof that the prophecy alludes not to any time that is already past, but respects what is to come. is true indeed, that in a spiritual sense the kingdom of Christ, the son of David, has been for some time established over those whom the Apostle calls "the Israel of God,” (Gal. vi. 16.) and the "children of Abraham," (Gal. iii. 7.) meaning thereby all true believers, whether

It

of the Jews or of the Gentiles. of Christ there hath been a constant and uninterrupted succession of persons appointed to perform the public offices of religion in the room of, although not taken out of the family of, the priests the Levites. And the perpetuity of this kingdom and this priesthood, is, I know, in the opinion of many learned expositors, looked upon as a full and authentic completion of the intention of this prophecy. This however seems to be spiritualizing too far, when the case admits of a more direct and literal interpretation. The days, it is evident, are not yet arrived, though they certainly will come, for the performance of God's good promise concerning the restoration of the house of Israel and the house of Judah under Christ, THEIR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Admitting this, and that all the families of Israel shall again be re-established in their own possessions, what improbability is there, that the two families of David and Levi may actually revert also to their ancient privileges, subject only to the supreme authority of the Messiah, and continue to enjoy them, as it is here expressly declared, in uninterrupted succession to the end of the world?

And it is true also, that in the church

18.-and burning meat-offerings-] The verb 'op, which properly signifies burning incense, is not unfitly here applied; because part of every meat offering was covered with frankincense, and burned upon the altar for a memorial of sweet savour unto God. See Lev. ii. 1, 2, &c. It is not necessary however to suppose, that precisely the same sacrifices shall continue to be offered in the Christian Church, which are prescribed by the Mosaic law; but, as that law is abrogated, we may fairly understand those sacrifices figuratively to denote the offices of a more spiritual worship, substituted in their stead.

20. So that they be not daily and nightly in their season] Our Translators render," and that there should not be day and night in their season.' But in this case we should read □, and not mi'. ☐ is the adverb by day, or daily; and boy signifies, die et nocte, by day and by night, or daily and nightly, that is, always, or continually. So that the true construction of the words is, "that my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, be, or hold, not con. tinually in their season.' See ver. 25.

21.--that they shall not minister unto me] Here now seems to be the infinitive verb with the affix, and the preposition prefixed; answering to n used just before. But in the next verse inw followed by N is the participle plural in Pihel.

24. The two families which JEHOVAH hath chosen] It is plain from ver. 26. that the two families here meant are those of Jacob and David; though some have supposed the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah; others the royal and sacerdotal families of David and Levi, to be intended.

25. If my covenant be not, &c.] In this verse the Vulg. and Syr. both read nipmi, but the conjunction is not found in any of the collated MSS. or Editions. The same versions agree in expressing the negative but once; but Vulg. omits it after N, Syr. before now.

But the text needs no alteration; all that is necessary being to extend the influence of x, if, to the latter clause as well as to the former. It would perhaps be more clear, if we read nipri, but the Asyndeton appears to be often matter of choice. The covenant is that abovementioned of the day and of the night, ver. 20. which there is understood to be daily and nightly, that is, perpetual without interruption; and the ordinances of heaven and earth are the stated order of things in both, such as the system of numberless stars in the heavens, and the unmeasurable sand of the sea, ver. 22. all which God claims to be of his ordering and appointment.

26. But I will reverse their captivity---] For wx nineteen MSS. and three Editions read with the Masora 'wx. But it is questionable at least whether a be not as proper. See Note on Ch. xxxii. 40. ---These words, we may observe, are the regular inference of a Syllogism, the minor of which is suppressed, but may be thus supplied-.. "But my covenant is daily and nightly, and I have appointed these ordi nances, Therefore I will not cast off the seed of Jacob, c. but I will res verse their captivity, and will have mercy upon them."

CHAP. XXXVIII.

THIS Chapter (to which are subjoined the four last verses of Chap. xxxix. on account of their obvious connexion) contains the last transaction in which Jeremiah was prophetically concerned before the taking of Jerusalem. The princes of Judah offended with Jeremiah for repeating to the people who visited him in the court of the prison, the message he was charged with, Ch. xxi. 9, 10. caused him to be cast into a deep and miry dungeon; v. 1-6. Ebed-melech obtains an order from the king, and takes him up out of it; v. 7---13. The king consults with him in private; he seeks to persuade the king to give himself up to the king of Babylon's officers, as the only means of safety to himself, and of preserving the city from destruction; v. 14.-23. The king assures to him his life, but requires him not to divulge the se cret of his conference to the princes; who inquire about it, but receive an evasive answer; and Jeremiah remains in the court of the prison; v. 24---28. The piety of Ebed-melech is rewarded with a promise of personal safety amidst the ensuing public calamities. Ch. xxxix. 15-..

/18.

1.---used to speak---] This is the proper sense of 27, the conju gation Pihel specially denoting the diligent or repeated performing of

an action.

2.---and by famine---] Six MSS. read 22, as found in the Text, Ch. xxi. 9. The LXX, Syr. and Vulgate also express the conjunc tion.

Ibid.---and by pestilence] The common Editions of the LXX. totally omit 12121; but in the MS. Pachom. we find, xa v davati. Aquila and Theodotion express the same. Drusius also cites from one of the Greek interpreters, though without a name, xas by row.