2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape

them.

4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

7 They shall run like mighty men ; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one

[alarm sounded.

on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks :

8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded,

9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

12 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and mer

CHAP. II. Ver. 1. Blow ye the trumpet, &c.he same alarm is given as if they had been invaded the most powerful enemies. A Jewish writer, entioning a swarm of locusts which once appeared Saxony, says, so terrified are the Jews on such ocsions, that they immediately sound a trumpet, and claim a fast.

ver. 2. A day of darkness and of gloominess.· Chandler (p. 52) quotes, from a German Chrole of the 9th century, that "so great a multitude ocusts” passed over that country from the east, during two months," they oftentimes obscured rays of the sun for the space of a whole mile; when they alighted, in one hour consumed every that was green upon 100 acres, or more; and afterwards driven into the sea by the wind, and in back by the waves, they corrupted the air eir stench, and produced no small pestilence." similar accourts may be found in modern rs, the most authentic. The following is one of the ecent and extraordinary. The narrator being › understand it) in the neighbourhood of Gibsaw a dense cloud slowly advancing to the ih sore, and darkening the sun as it passed, suddenly it burst, and "there fell (says he) such multitude of locusts as exceeded the thickest of bail or snow that I ever saw. All around « immediately covered with these crawling and yet they continued to fall so thick, th the swing of my case, I knocked down There was not, in a day or two, the i to be seen on a tree, nor any green thing in The close of this account illustrates aid in ver. 20 of the defeat and destruction of northem army. "When, glutton like, they ›ured every thing around them, they took brooks, and pools," probably from exces.

78,

sive thirst, and drowned themselves; and lay drowned in heaps, like little hills, with a stench so noisome that it gave reason to fear pestilence, See Asiat, Journ. Aug. 1825, p. 216.

Ver. 3. A fire devoureth before them.-" They consume like a general conflagration." Ludolf says, "Wherever they fed, their leavings seem, as it were, parched with fire." Newcome.

Ver. 4. Like horses, &c. An Arab, describing them, compared the heads of the locust to those of horses, their breast to that of a lion, their feet to those of a camel, their belly to that of a serpent, their tail to that of a scorpion, and their feelers to female hair. (Comp. Rev. ix. 7.) Niebuhr's Arabia, p. 173.

Ver. 5. Like the noise of chariots.—(See Rev. ix. 9.) Volney compares the noise they make in browsing to that of an army en secret, marching without music. -Of á flame.-Cyril compares the noise of their teeth to a crackling flame.In battle array-Heb. "Arrayed for war." "Many writers mention the order of locusts in their flight and march; and their manner of proceeding directly forward, whatever obstacles were interposed." Newcome.

Ver. 6. All faces shall gather blackness - Heb. "pot." Tavernier (and other travellers) afirm that, by way of mourning, the Orientals sometimes daub their faces with the black of a kettle. Orienţ. Lit. No. 1068.

Ver. 7. They shall run, &c.— Compare verses 2, 4, 5, &c.

Ver. 10. The earth shall quake-this may be taken figuratively, for the great alarm which they shall create, but literally, the heavens are darkened by their flight. See on ver. 2.

Ver. 11. The Lord shall utter his voice--that is, it is by his command that they advance or retire.

ciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

14 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice for the LORD will do great things.

22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field for the pastures of the wilderness

[mercy and grace.

do spring; for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wonderously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.

27 And ye shall know that I as in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions :

29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

32 And it shall come to pass,

Ver. 17. That the heathen should rule over themMarg. Use a by-word against them."

Ver. 20. The northern army.--These locusts probably came from Circassia, or Mingrelia, to the north of Judea. Some were to be driven into the desert; some into the Eastern or Dea 1 sea, and some into the utmost, or Mediterranean sea. His stink, &c.See what is quoted from Dr. Chandler and the Asiatic Journal on ver. 2.-Because he hath done great things-Heb. "Magnified to do," &c. It is difficult to apply this to an army of locusts. They had executed the divine command, and their being

that

ended with their commission. Dr. Chandler there fore applies the words to Jehoval, as in the verse following, "He (the LORD) will do (or hath done! greatly, or great things, to advance...s own." See a like repetition, ver. 25, 27.

Ver. 23. He hath given -- Newcome, “He giveth you-he causeth to come down," &c.

Ver. 28. And it shall come, &c. - See Acts 16-21.

Ver. 30, 31. Blood and fire, &c.—This is generally supposed to refer to the prodigies mentioned by Lord, Matt. xxiv. 29, which see.

whosoever shall call on the name of LORD shall be delivered for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. (B)

CHAP. III.

FOR, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people, and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return. your recompence upon your own head; 5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

CHAP. II.

[Jehoshaphat.

6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:

8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off for the LORD hath spoken it.

9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe come, get you down; for

(B) An alarm sounded through the couny.-The priests are ordered to sound their umpets on the approach of this aërial my. The locusts are described-They e compared to cavalry; and the noise and of their approach to the rattling of r-chariots and the crackling of burning bble. The regularity and rapidity of ir march is then stated; and their incibility, as it respects human weapons. e heavens are clothed in blackness, and voice of God announces their approach is army.

The nation is then pathetically exhorted to deep and humble repentance; to rend, not their garments only, but their hearts also; as the only means to avert national judgments. In the conclusion, as is common with many of the prophets, the days of the Messiah and the gospel dispensation are adverted to, especially the miraculous effusion of the Holy Spirit on the day of pentecost, and the awful indications of divine judgment preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, and the consequent dispersion of the Jews.

AP. III. Ver. 2. The valley of Jehoshaphatrally "the valley of God's judgment," and not, perhaps, to be contined to any one spot; there is probably an allusion to the victory oshaphat. Newcome. 2 Chron. xxii. 8. 3. They have cast lots.-A spirit of gambling to have prevailed very early in the world, and - no doubt but human life has often been the of such speculations, in the case of slaves. Chardin says, "In Mingrelia, they often seil

children for provisions and for wine." Harmer, vol. ii. p. 74.

Ver. 4. Tyre and Zidon.-See Jer. xxv. 20-30. Ver. 6. To the Grecians.-See Ezek. xxvii. 13. & N. Ver. 8 I will sell your sons.-This might happen on occasion of Judas Maccabeus's victories. 1 Macc. v. 3, 7, 15, 21.

Ver. 10. Beat your plowshares.-See Isa. ii. 4. Ver. 13. The fats-Newcome, "vats." See Rev.

xiv. 15-20.

the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

[Israel's enemies.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion. (C)

CHAP. III.

(C) As the latter part of the preceding chapter referred to gospel times, and the blessings to accompany the dispensation of Messiah, so this appears to refer to a still more distant period, when the Jews shall be released from all their captivities, de livered from all their enemies, and finally restored to their own land; after which there seems an allusion to the same distant and mysterious events, that we have seen mentioned in the latter chapters of Ezekiel, and shall have farther occasion to notice in the close of the New Testament.

The judgment of the valley of Jeboshtphat, must not be confounded with the final judgment of the world. It relates evidently to the punishment of certa heathen nations-perhaps the Gog a Magog referred to by Ezekiel and St. Johr. (See Ezek. xxxviii, xxxíx ; Rev. xx, xxi.

It is an encouraging circumstance to the church, that the denunciation of God judgments generally end with promises it mercy to his people. When God sha have cleared the earth of crime, his people shall reign with him in everlasting peace and happiness. (See Rev. xxi.)

Ver 14. Valley of decision-Newcome," excision." Jonathan's Targum renders this, "The valley of the division of judgment;" i. e. the judgment of the Lord, as ver 2. Chandler.

Ver. 15. The sun and the moon-Comp, ch. ii. 31. Ver. 16. Roar out of Zion-Jer. xxv. 30.-The hope of-Newcome, "A refuge to."

Ver. 17. My holy mountain-Heb. "The mountain of my holiness."Be holy-Heb. "holiness." Ver. 18. Drop down new wine.-See Amos ix. 13.

A fountain shall come forth, &c.-See Ent xlvii. I, &c.-Valley of Shittin-in the plazas á Moab, near Jordan, Num. xxxii. 49.

Ver. 20. Judah shall dwell-Marg," abide."

Ver. 21. I will cleanse - Newcome, "A" That is, God will cleanse the world from her guiltiness, by avenging his people of their exams See Prov. xviii. 20; xix. 2, &c. For the LonMarg. "Even I the Lord that dwelleth," &c.