This chapter contains prophecies of the restoration of the Jews, of the fall of the king of Babylon, and the destruction of the Assyrian empire, and of the ruin of Palestine.

For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, will yet choose Israel While the Jews were in captivity, the Lord seemed to have no pity for them, or compassion on them, and it looked as if he had rejected them, and wholly cast them off; but by delivering them from thence, he showed that he had a merciful…

And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place That is, the people among whom the Jews dwelt in Babylon, who had a kindness for them, and especially such of them as were proselyted to their religion should attend them in their journey home, and supply them with all necessaries for…

And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow In captivity, and on account of that, being out of their own land, deprived of the free exercise of their religion, and at a distance from the house of God, and continually hearing the reproaches and blaspheming…

That thou shall take up this proverb against the king of Babylon Or “concerning” him, his fall, and the fall of the Babylonish monarchy with him; if we understand this of any particular king of Babylon, it seems best not to interpret it of Nebuchadnezzar, whom Jerom mentions, in whom the empire was…

The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked This is an answer to the above question, how the exactor and his tribute came to cease; this was not by man, but by the Lord himself; for though he made use of Cyrus, the work was his own, he broke the power of the wicked kings of Babylon: and the…

He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, &c.] The king of Babylon, who made war with the people and nations of the earth, and conquered them, smote them with the edge of the sword to gratify his passions, and satiate his bloodthirsty mind; and those that were spared, he ruled with…

The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet The troubler of them being gone; and which will be the ease of the people of God, who in the latter day will fill the face of the earth, when the beast and false prophet will be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire; and especially when Satan shall be…

Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon Which by, a prosopopoeia are represented as singing and rejoicing, as inanimate creatures often are in Scripture, these being now in no danger of being cut down, to make way for his armies; see or to furnish him with timber for shipping,…

Hell from beneath is moved for thee Or the “grave”, or the place and state of the dead, and particularly of the damned, meaning those that are in such a place and state; and the sense is, that not only the inhabitants of the earth, and the trees upon it, express their joy at the fall of the king of…

All they shall speak, and say unto thee So they would say, could they speak, and are here represented as if they did: art thou become also weak as we? who had been more powerful than they, had been too many for them, and had subdued them, and ruled over them, and was not only looked upon as…

Thy pomp is brought down to the grave Or “hell”; all the state and majesty in which he appeared, when sitting on the throne of his kingdom, with a glittering crown on his head, a sceptre in his hand, clad in the richest apparel, and attended by his princes and nobles with the utmost reverence and…

How art thou fallen from heaven This is not to be understood of the fall of Satan, and the apostate angels, from their first estate, when they were cast down from heaven to hell, though there may be an allusion to it; see but the words are a continuation of the speech of the dead to the king of…

For thou hast said in thine heart Which shows the pride and haughtiness that were in his heart; and were the cause and reason of his fall, for pride goes before a fall; it was the cause of the fall of angels, and of Adam, and of many kings and kingdoms; see with this compare (Rev. 18:7, Rev.

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds Which are the chariots of God, and in which he rides, and so this proud monarch affected to be as he; perhaps some reference is had to the cloud in which Jehovah dwelt in the temple.

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell Into a very low and miserable condition; see instead of ascending to heaven: or “to the grave”; though, inasmuch as afterwards a burial is denied him, the word may be taken for the infernal pit, and so is, as much as can be, opposed to heaven; and this will be…

They that see thee These are the words of the dead, speaking of the living, who when they should see the carcass of the king of Babylon lying on the ground, shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee; whether it is he or not, not knowing at first sight who he was, the alteration being so…

That made the world as a wilderness Both by destroying the inhabitants of it, and by laying waste cities, towns, villages, fields, vineyards, gardens, and all places improved and cultivated, wherever he came, as it follows: and destroyed the cities thereof; as the Assyrian kings had done, some of…

All the kings of the nations Of other nations, besides those he governed, and even of those whom he had subdued, at least their ancestors, the greatest part of them however; for the word “all” does not always signify every individual, though by the repetition of it, it here bids fair for such a…

But thou art cast out of thy grave Or rather “from” it [[3]]; that is, he was not suffered to be put into it, or to have a burial, as the following words show, at least not to be laid in the grave designed for him; though the Jews [[4]], who apply this to Nebuchadnezzar, have a fabulous story that…

Thou shall not be joined with them in burial The kings before mentioned; not that the sense is that he should not be interred in the same place they were, or lie in the same stately monuments they did, for that was never designed by him or others; but that he should not be buried in like manner, be…

Prepare slaughter for his children These words are directed to the Medes and Persians, to prepare instruments of slaughter, and make use of them; and prepare themselves for the slaughter of the whole royal family, Belshazzar and all his children.

For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, &c.] That is, against the children of the Babylonish monarch; and therefore they shall not rise and possess the earth, and disturb it, since he who is the Lord of armies in heaven and earth, and has all power in both worlds, and has…

I will also make it a possession for the bittern Instead of being possessed by any of the family of the king of Babylon. The “bittern” is a kind of water fowl, which, by putting its bill into mire, or a broken reed, is said to make a most horrible noise.

The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying The Septuagint only read, “these things saith the Lord of hosts”; for, as Kimchi on the place observes, his word is his oath; but for the comfort of his people, and for the confirmation either of the prophecies concerning the fall of Babylon, or of the following…

That I will break the Assyrian in my land This was his thought, counsel, purpose, and decree; which must be understood either of the king of Babylon, as before, called the Assyrian; as the king of Babylon seems to be called the king of Assyria in , but then his destruction was not in the land of…

This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth, &c] Or, “counsel that is counselled”. The Targum is, “all the inhabitants of the earth;” and the Septuagint version, “the whole world”, meaning the Assyrian empire, and all states depending on it; as the Roman empire is called, for this…

For the Lord of hosts hath purposed What is before declared, the fall of Babylon, and the destruction of the Assyrian, and everything else that comes to pass in this world; there is nothing comes to pass but he has purposed, and everything he has purposed does come to pass: and who shall disannul…

In the year that King Ahaz died was this burden. ] The following heavy prophecy, concerning the destruction of the Philistines; whether it was delivered out before or after his death is not certain.

Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina The land of the Philistines; the inhabitants of Palestine are meant, who rejoiced at the death of Uzziah, who was too powerful for them, and during the reign of Ahaz, of whom they had the better; and, now he was dead, they hoped things would still be more…

And the firstborn of the poor shall feed That is, the Jews, who were brought very low in the times of Ahaz, reduced to the greatest straits and difficulties; for so the word “firstborn” may signify the chief, or those who were of all the poorest, and in the greatest distress; these, in the times of…

Howl, O gate Or gates of the cities of Palestine; the magistrates that sat there to execute judgment, or the people that passed through there; or because now obliged to open to their enemies; wherefore, instead of rejoicing, they are called to howling: cry, O city; or cities, the several cities of…

What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? &c.] Or nations, of any of the nations. Not the messengers sent to Hezekiah, but rather such as were sent to him, to congratulate him upon his victory over the Philistines; or any others that were sent, and came from other nations, that…