CHAPTER XI.

1 The ingratitude of Israel unto God for his bene-
fits. 5 His judgment. 8 God's mercy toward
them.
WHEN Israel was a child, then I loved him,
and 'called my son out of Egypt.

2 As they called them, so they went from them they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

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3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love and I was to them as they that 'take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them.

5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

6 And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.

from me though they called them to the most High, 'none at all would exalt him.

8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as 'Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.

9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.

10 They shall walk after the LORD: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.

11 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.

12 Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faith

7 And my people are bent to backsliding | ful 'with the saints.

1 Matt. 2. 15. Heb. lift up.

Heb. together they exalted not. ♦ Gen. 19. 24. Amos 4. 11. 5 Or, with the most holy.

Verse 4. "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love."--That is, they were drawn by such ties of reason and affection as those by which man acts upon and induces his children and fellow men; as contrasted with those bands of force and compulsion by which he constrains the brute creatures subject to him, but to whose reason and affection he can make no appeal. It is observable that it is still a popular expression in the East to describe as "the cords of love" the ties which bind a child to its parent, or a wife to her husband.

"Take off the yoke on their jaws.”—The yoke was laid upon the neck and shoulders of the labouring animal, not in any way upon the jaws: hence some suppose that here we should understand the word, which usually denotes a yoke, rather of a bridle or muzzle, the kind removal of which enabled the animal to refresh himself with food, as the following clause seems to intimate. However, it is very likely that the word rendered "jaw" is to be understood in a loose sense for the forepart of the animal, and that the yoke is really intended, in which case we may probably understand that it refers to the custom of raising the yoke forward occasionally, to relieve and cool the neck of the labouring Ox. Pocock illustrates this view by an extract from Columella, containing a rule of ancient Roman husbandry: "When they come to a turning, let him thrust the yoke forward, and stop the oxen, that their necks may cool; for they quickly become hot, and, unless thus refreshed, swellings arise, followed by ulcers." The Targum seems to combine both the interpretations suggested. thus paraphrasing: "My word was to them as a good husbandman, who lightens the shoulder of oxen, and looses the bridles in their jaws."

8. "Admah... Zeboim.' —These were two of the "cities of the plain," which the Lord overthrew, as recorded in Gen. xviii. The names are mentioned with those of Sodom and Gomorrah in Deut. xxix. 23.

11. "They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria."-The allusion seems to be rather to the speed of an alarmed bird-a dove in particular-than to the alarm itself. Hence Horsley renders: "They shall hurry like the sparrow from Egypt, and like the dove from Assyria." No doubt many Jews of the ten tribes who had been captives in Assyria, or who had sought refuge in Egypt, returned to their own country, as well as the captives of Judah, after the decree of Cyrus in favour of the nation. And to this the prophet appears to refer.

CHAPTER XII.

1 A reproof of Ephraim, Judah, and Jacob. 3 By former favours he exhorteth to repentance. 7 Ephraim's sins provoke God.

EPHRAIM feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.

2 The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will 'punish Jacob according to

his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

3 He took his brother "by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:

4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in 'Beth-el, and there he spake with us;

5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.

1 Heb, visit upon. * Gen. 25. 26. Heb. was a prince, or, behaved himsel fprincely. 4 Gen. 32. 24, &c. Gen. 35, 9, 10.

Exod 3.15

6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

7 He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to "op

press.

8 And Ephraim said, Yet I am become rich, I have found me out substance: 'in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.

9 And I that am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feasts.

10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used

7 Or, Cannan. 8 Or, dereive. 1 Heb. by the hand.

similitudes, "by the ministry of the prophets.

11 Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in "Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

12 And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel "served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.

13 "And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

14 Ephraim provoked him to anger most bitterly therefore shall he leave his blood upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.

9 Or, al my labours suffice me not: he shall have punishment of iniquity in whom is sin. 10 Heb. which.
1 Chap. 4. 15, and 9. 15 13 Gen. 28. 5. 14 Gen. 29, 20, 28. 15 Exod. 12. 50, 51, and 13. 3.
17 Heb. bloods.

16 Heb. with bitternesses.

Verse 1. “ Oil is carried into Egypt.”—When the Hebrews wanted to pay their court to the Egyptians, they could hardly transmit a more acceptable offering than a quantity of the excellent olive oil which their country produced in such abundance and perfection. The difference between Egypt and Palestine in this respect has been already noticed. The present inhabitants of Egypt consume as much oil, perhaps, as any people. It is used not only for lamps, but with food. But as Egypt is not a country of the olive. the Egyptians, although they value highly its oil, are obliged for the most part to content themselves with inferior vegetable oils, less palatable to the taste with food, and burning less brightly and smelling disagreeably in lamps If this was the case anciently, as no doubt it was, we may find a good reason for the sending of oil to Egypt. It is here evidently regarded as a criminal act; and that criminality is usually supposed to consist in its being offered as a bribe to Pharaoh to induce him to render that assistance which the Hebrews should not have sought. But as much oil was consumed in honour of idols, Harmer ingeniously conjectures that the Jews are considered culpable in sending oil to Egypt, with the knowledge that it would be, and with the intention that it should be, thus employed.

11. “Their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.”—This probably means to express the number of the idolatrous altars dispersed over the country, by comparing them to the frequent heaps of stones thrown up by husbandmen on lands cleared for the plough. It has, however, been suggested by some writers, that the passage may rather be understood to describe the ruined condition to which such altars should be reduced.

CHAPTER XIII.

1 Ephraim's glory, by reason of idolatry, vanisheth.
5 God's anger for their unkindness. 9 A promise
of God's mercy.
15 A judgment for rebellion.
WHEN Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted
himself in Israel; but when he offended in
Baal, he died.

2 And now 'they sin more and more, and
have made them molten images of their sil-
ver, and idols according to their own under-
standing, all of it the work of the craftsmen:
they say
of them, Let the men that sacrifice
kiss the calves.

3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.

4 Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

1 Heb. they add to sin, *Or, the sacrifices of men. Heb. in thy help.

5 ¶ I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of 'great drought.

6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten

me.

7 Therefore I will be unto them as a lion as a leopard by the way will I observe them:

8 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: "the wild beast shall tear them.

9¶O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

10 I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?

11 I gave thee a 'king in mine anger, a and took him away in my wrath.

3 Isa. 43. 11. Chap. 12. 9. Heb. droughts. 5 Heb, the beast of the field. 71 Sam. 8. 5, &c., and 15. 23, and 16. 1.

12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.

13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.

14 I will ransom them from 'the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

8 Heb. a time.

15 ¶ Though he be fruitful among his brethren, "an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all "pleasant vessels.

16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.

11 Ezek. 19. 12. 12 Heb. vessels of desire.

9 Heb. the hand. 10 1 Cor. 15. 54, 55. Verse 2. "Kiss the calves."-This has already been mentioned as an act of reverence and worship. We may add here the very apposite instance which Horsley cites from Cicero (in Verrem), who mentions a brazen statue of Hercules at Agrigentum, in which the workmanship of the mouth was sensibly worn by the frequent kisses of the worshippers. 3. "Smoke out of the chimney."-The only thing in the East that approaches to a chimney, is a funnel above the fireplace, to conduct the smoke out of the room. A structure rising above the roof, for the same purpose and to increase the draught, is not known, nor is the other much in use. There is no evidence for the existence of a chimney in ancient times. It is not clear that even the Romans had any, and none certainly occur at Pompeii or Herculaneum. They employed charred wood, or wood that emitted no smoke, or let the smoke escape at the windows, or at holes made for the purpose. In the present instance, the word rendered "chimney," arubeh, means any kind of hole or opening, and particularly a window; hence, as Jerome explains, it is here to be understood of a hole or opening of some kind at which the smoke escaped, without saying what kind of hole or opening it might be.

CHAPTER XIV.

1 An exhortation to repentance. 4 A promise of God's blessing.

O ISRAEL, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and 'receive us graciously: so will we render the 'calves of our lips.

3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods for in thee the fatherless findeth inercy.

5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall 'grow as the lily, and 'cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

6 His branches 'shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return: they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the 'scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.

9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. Heb. 13. 15. 3 Or, blossom. 4 Heb. strike. 5 Heb. shall go. • Or, blossom.

4 ¶ I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely for mine anger is turned away from him.'

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1 Or, memorial.

1 Or, give good. Verse 5." He shall grow as the lily."-Dr. Russell, in his Natural History of Aleppo,' says:-" After the first rains in the autumn, the fields everywhere throw out the autumnal lily daffodil; and the few plants that have stood the summer now grow with fresh vigour." This lily grows also in the Holy Land, under the same circumstances.

7. "The wine of Lebanon.”—Harmer has collected from travellers some distinct notices of the still superior quality of the wine of Lebanon-or at least of one of its wines-and we can ourselves confirm their statements, having had opportunities of comparing it with other wines of the Levant. Rauwolff relates that the patriarch (at Canobin) gave him some white wine in Venice glasses, of which he was tempted to drink a good deal, for it was so pleasant that he never, in all his life, drank any like it. Le Bruyn, when at the same place, says he found there more delicate wines than were to be met with anywhere else in the world. "They are red, of a beautiful colour, and so oily that they adhere to the glass." After citing the present text, he adds, that there were other wines, not so good, but more abundant. "As the patriarch had a great esteem for us, he always caused the best to be given to us. I found it so excellent that I did not think I ever tasted any kind of drink more delicious." La Roque, at the same convent, observes that it would be difficult to find elsewhere more excellent wines than can be there obtained—“ Which caused us to think the reputation of the wine of Lebanon, of which the prophet speaks, was well founded. These wines are of two sorts: the most common is the red, and the most exquisite is of the colour of our muscadine wine. They call it 'golden wine' on account of its colour."

8. "Green fir tree."-The Septuagint translates äextudos muxálovca, an umbrageous juniper tree, but there is no need

to go wide from the English translation "fir tree," since the Pinus pinea, or stone pine, produces an edible nut within the scales of its cone. This handsome fruit measures about four inches in length, and about three in diameter; the scales are polygonal, with an umbilicated or depressed crown, and before expansion form a beautiful mosaic pavement. The meat of each nut is as sweet as an almond. and far more wholesome. These cones are occasionally brought to this country, and sold by foreign fruiterers, while the nuts disengaged from their confinement are made to form a part in comfits and other confections. The Portuguese call them Pinhao, and cultivate the tree for the sake of the fruit. The leaves are confined in pairs within a membranous hose or sheath at the base, and are five or six inches long. The male flowers occur in large red clusters at the extremity of the branches, and form an elegant setting off with the verdure around them. These male flowers are accompanied by the fertile cones, so that both conspire to ornament the same branch. The tree attains to a great height when in full prosperity, and illustrates in a striking manner the comparison used by the sacred penman: "I am like a green fir-tree. From me is thy fruit found." The Pinus pinea is, however, not the only fir-tree that bears an edible nut; for we have the Pinus cembra, or the Siberian stone pine, which among the Tartars and the Swiss serves for a dessert, and in seasons of plenty for a much relished article of diet. The leaves are clustered in fives, and the flowers present a most beautiful appearance. The kernel within each nut is about the size of a pea. The tree wears a very showy aspect, delights in marshy situations, and yields a timber that has a finer grain than that of the common deal. One or perhaps both of these trees may be referred to in the verse of the prophet; either of them will justify the comparison, which is all we require. We can easily conceive that they were the subject of cultivation, if not the native products of the Holy Land, since Palestine comprehends all that is excellent among the trees of Europe, and very many of the choicest kinds found in the more southern regions.

JOE L.

your days, is

or even in

9 The meat offering and the drink offer- | 1 Heb. the residue of the palmer-worm, 2 Heb. laid my fig tree for a barking.

Or, ashamed. 6 Isa. 13. 6. 7 Heb. grains. 8 Or, habitations.

JOEL.-That Joe. was the son of Pethuel is all the certain information we possess concerning him. That he was of the tribe of Reuben, and a native of the town of Bethoron, are reports which rest on very doubtful authority. Concerning the one in which this prophecy was delivered, such internal evidence, affirmative and negative, which it offers,