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Amos Chapter
Three
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 3
In
this chapter the prophet goes on with his prophecy against Israel
whom God had
highly favoured
and yet sinned against him
and therefore must expect to be
punished by him; and the rather
since he and they were not agreed; and
therefore there could be no communion between them
Amos 3:1; and by
various similes are set forth the cause of divine judgments
the certain design
of them
and their continuance
till the end is answered; which should be
attended to
since every thing of this kind is of God
who giving his prophets
notice of it
they are under an absolute necessity of declaring it; nor should
they be blamed for it
Amos 3:4; and even
the Heathen nations are appealed unto as witnesses of the sins of Israel
that
caused such a denunciation of wrath; their tumults
oppression
injustice
violence
and robbery
Amos 3:9; wherefore
an adversary is threatened to be sent among them
that should utterly destroy
them
so that few should escape
Amos 3:11;
particularly their idolatry and luxury seem to have been reigning sins
which
had a great hand in bringing on their rum
and for which the Lord would punish
them
Amos 3:13.
Amos 3:1 Hear this word
that the Lord
has spoken against you
O children of Israel
against the whole family which I
brought up from the land of Egypt
saying:
YLT
1Hear ye this word that
Jehovah hath spoken concerning you
O sons of Israel
concerning all the family
that I brought up from the land of Egypt
saying:
Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you
O children
of Israel
.... The prophecy against Israel begins in the preceding chapter
where notice is taken of their sins
at least some of them
and of their
aggravated circumstances
and sure destruction; and here they are called upon
to hearken and listen to what the Lord by his prophet had spoken
and was about
to speak unto them; and to "receive" this word
as the Targum; to
receive it as the word of God
and not men
and with all humility and
reverence; and to take it
and apply it to themselves
to whom it justly belonged;
and to make a proper use and improvement of it by humiliation and reformation.
A word this was
against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt; it was but a
family that went down into Egypt
and
though it greatly increased there
it
was no more when it was brought up from thence: a family under the peculiar
care of Jehovah
as the bringing them out of Egypt
out of the house of
bondage
when greatly distressed there
abundantly shows; and which was a
wonderful blessing and favour; and therefore often mentioned
and led on to
many other blessings and mercies: a family which was the Lord's own
and
therefore he had a right to chastise and correct them for their sins. It seems
by this phrase
"the whole family"
as if the two tribes of Judah and
Benjamin were included: though the prophecy seems chiefly intended against the
ten tribes
which went by the name of Israel
ever since the breach in
Rehoboam's time
as distinct from Judah;
saying; as follows:
Amos 3:2 2 “You
only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.”
YLT
2Only you I have known of
all families of the land
Therefore I charge on you all your iniquities.
You only have I known of all the families of the earth
.... All the
families or nations of the earth
and all the inhabitants of it
are known by
the Lord
as he is the omniscient God; but none had been known by him as a
family
or a nation
with that love and affection as this family had been
or
distinguished by his favours and blessings as they
not only temporal
but
spiritual; besides the land of Canaan
and all the good things in it
they had
the law of the Lord
his word
worship
and ordinances
among them; he chose
them for himself above all people
and gave peculiar marks of his affection to
them
and special instances of his goodness
and of his care over them
and
concern for them; see Deuteronomy 4:6;
therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities; or
"visit upon you"F3אפקד עליכם "visitabo super vos"
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus; "visito"
i.e. "visitare soleo"
Mercerus;
"super vobis"
Cocceius; "contra vos"
Piscator. ; or
"against you"; in a way of chastisement and correction; they were a
family he had highly favoured
and yet departed from him; children he had
brought up in a tender manner
and brought out of a most miserable condition
and yet rebelled against him; he had followed and loaded them with his
benefits
and they had proved ungrateful to him; he had given them a revelation
of his mind and will
and they had rejected it
and therefore knowing
and not
doing it
were worthy of more stripes; their sins were more aggravated than
others
being against goodness and mercy
light and knowledge; and therefore
the Lord was determined to make an example of them; see 1 Peter 4:17.
Amos 3:3 3 Can
two walk together
unless they are agreed?
YLT
3Do two walk together if
they have not met?
Can two walk together except they be agreed? Unless they
meet together
and appoint time and place
when and where they shall set out
what road they will take
and whither they will go; without such consultation
and agreement
it cannot be thought they should walk together; and not
amicably
unless united in friendship
and are of the same affection to each
other
and of the same sentiments one with another; or it is much if they do
not fall out by the way. The design of these words is to show
that without
friendship there is no fellowship
and without concord no communion; as this is
the case between man and man
so between God and man; and that Israel could not
expect that God should walk with them
and show himself friendly to them
and continue
his favours with them
when they walked contrary to him; when they were so
disagreeable to him in their sentiments of religion
in their worship
and the
rites of it
and in the whole of their conduct and behaviour. And to a
spiritual walk with God
and communion with him
agreement is requisite. God
and man were originally chief friends
but sin set them at variance; a
reconciliation became necessary to their walking together again; which was set
on foot
not by man
who had no inclination to it
nor knew how to go about it
if he had
and much less able to effect it; but by the Lord
the offended
party: it began in his thoughts
which were thoughts of peace; it was set on
foot by him in the council of peace
and concluded in the covenant of peace; and
his Son was sent to bring it about; and through his obedience
sufferings
and
death
through his sacrifice and satisfaction
the agreement is made on the
part of God
his justice is satisfied; but still it is necessary man should be
agreed too; this is brought out by the Spirit of God
who shows the sinner the
enmity of his mind
the sin and danger of it
slays this enmity
and puts in
new principles of light
life
and love; when the soul is reconciled to God's
way of salvation
and loves the Lord
and delights in him; and both being thus
agreed
the one by the satisfaction of Christ
and the other by the Spirit of
Christ
see Romans 5:10; they
walk comfortably together: the saint walks with God
not only as in his sight
and presence
but by faith
and in his fear
in the ways and ordinances of the
Lord; and particularly is frequent in prayer and meditation
in which much of
his walk with God lies: and God walks with him; he grants his gracious
presence; manifests his love and favour to him; talks with him by the way;
discloses the secrets of his heart; and indulges him with nearness and
communion with him; but all is founded on mutual agreement. And so it must be between
men and men
that walk in a religious way; regenerate and unregenerate persons
cannot walk together
there being no concord
2 Corinthians 6:14;
nor can all sorts of professors; they must agree in the way Christ
and in the
fundamental principles of religion; and in worship
and the manner of it; and
in all the ordinances of the Gospel
and the manner of administering them.
Amos 3:4 4 Will
a lion roar in the forest
when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of
his den
if he has caught nothing?
YLT
4Roar doth a lion in a
forest and prey he hath none? Give out doth a young lion his voice from his
habitation
If he hath not caught?
Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey?.... He will
not
unless he has it in his sight
or in his paws; he roars when he first sees
it
whereby he terrifies the creature
that it cannot move till he comes up to
it; and when he has got it in his paws
he roars over it
to invite others to
partake with him. Now prophecy from the Lord is compared to the roaring of a
lion
Amos 1:2; and this
is never in a way of judgment without a cause; the sin of men
or of a nation
which makes them a prey to the wrath and fury of God;
will a young lion cry
or "give forth his
voice";
out of his den
if he have taken nothing? that is
if
the old lion has taken nothing
and brought nothing unto him; which signifies
the same as before; unless by the young lion is meant the prophets of the Lord
who never prophesy but when they have a commission from him
and a people are
pointed out to them as the just prey of his wrath and vengeance. All the images
here used are very natural; the lion is for the most part in woods and forests
hence called the "lion out of the forest"
Jeremiah 5:6; as he
is by TheocritusF4 εκ
δρυμοιο λεων
Theocrit. Idyll. 1. ; where his voice is heard
but not unless
he is in sight of his prey
or has got it
even though ever so hungry; but when
he has it in view
he roars so terribly
that
as BasilF5In
Hexaemeron
Homil. 9. observes
many animals that could escape him through
their swiftness
yet are so frightened at his roaring
that they have no power
to move; and they have their dens either in caves or in thickets
where are the
she lioness and the young lions
to whom the prey is brought; see Nahum 2:11.
Amos 3:5 5 Will
a bird fall into a snare on the earth
where there is no trap for it? Will a
snare spring up from the earth
if it has caught nothing at all?
YLT
5Doth a bird fall into a
snare of the earth
And there is no gin for it? Doth a snare go up from the
ground
And prey it captureth not?
Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth
where no gin is
for him?.... No
there must be a snare set
or a bird can never be taken
in it; and that is done
not by chance
but with the design of the fowler; yea
with the knowledge and will of God himself
Matthew 10:29; the
design of this is to show
that no judgment or affliction comes upon a people
or they into one
by chance
or without the appointment of God; they are his
nets and snares
which he on purpose spreads and sets for persons
to take them
in; and unless he did do so
they would not fall into any; see Job 5:6;
shall one take up a snare from the earth; the Targum
adds
out of its time:
and have taken nothing at all? when men set a snare to
catch anything
do they take it up before anything is caught? they do not; they
let it stand till something is ensnared in it
and so their end answered
and
then they take it up
and not before. And thus when God denounces or brings a
judgment
or an affliction
upon a people
does he remove it before the end is
answered by it? he does not; if the end is to bring men to a sense of sin
and
humiliation for it; or to bring near to God who have been wandering from him;
or to try their graces
or take away their sin; when such an end is answered
then
and not till then
is the snare taken up
or the affliction removed; tilt
such an end is brought about
the distress is continued
or the threatening of
it; and of this Israel is hereby assured.
Amos 3:6 6 If
a trumpet is blown in a city
will not the people be afraid? If there is
calamity in a city
will not the Lord have done it?
YLT
6Is a trumpet blown in a
city
And do people not tremble? Is there affliction in a city
And Jehovah
hath not done [it]?
Shall a trumpet be blown in the city
.... Meaning
not any trumpet blown
as the silver trumpet for the gathering of the people to
worship
or the jubilee trumpet
which proclaimed liberty to them
or any other
expressive of joy and gladness; but the sound of the trumpet
the alarm of war
or what is blown by the watchmen on the walls
descrying an enemy
or some
danger
near:
and the people not be afraid? they must
they usually
are
lest their lives
and their children's
should be taken away
and their
substance become a prey to the enemy: or
"and the people not run
together"F6לא יחרדו
"non accurrit"
Drusius
Tarnovius. ; into some one place for
shelter
or to consult together how to provide for their safety
and secure
themselves from danger. So when the prophets of the Lord
by his order
lift up
their voice like a trumpet
to show his people their transgressions; or when
as watchmen
they blow the trumpet
to give notice of approaching danger; can they
hear such denunciations of his wrath for their sins
and not tremble at them
or not take some ways and methods to escape it?
shall there be evil in a city
and the Lord hath not done it? which is not
to be understood of the evil of sin
of which God is not the author
it being
contrary to his nature and will; and though he permits it to be done by others
yet he never does it himself
nor so much as tempts men to it
James 1:13; unless
the words should be rendered
as they may be
"shall there be evil in a
city
and shall not the Lord do" or "work"F7ויהוה לא עשה
"and shall not the Lord do somewhat?" margin of our
Bibles. ? shall sin be committed in a city
all sorts of sin
in the most bold
and extravagant manner
and will not the Lord do something to show his
resentment of it? is it not time for him to arise and work for his name's sake?
will he not visit for these things
and be avenged on such a city
and the
inhabitants of it? but this may be interpreted of the evil of affliction or
judgment; which
wherever it comes
is by the order and appointment of God
and
is inflicted by him; thus evil
as well as good
comes out of the mouth and
hand of the most High; and he creates the evil of adversity
as well as makes
peace and prosperity; see Job 2:10.
Amos 3:7 7 Surely
the Lord God
does nothing
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
YLT
7For the Lord Jehovah doth
nothing
Except He hath revealed His counsel unto His servants the prophets.
Surely the Lord God will do nothing
.... In the world
in a
nation or city; no remarkable event has happened
or shall happen
to the sons
of men:
but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets; what he
willed and determined to do
which was a secret in his own breast
till
revealed; and this generally
and for the most part
he makes known to those
that fear and serve him; and especially to whom he employs in public service
as his prophets and ministers
previous to his accomplishment of it: thus he
revealed to Noah the drowning of the old world by the flood; to Abraham the
burning of Sodom and Gomorrah; and to the same servant and friend of his the
affliction of his posterity four hundred years in a strange land
and then to
be brought out with great substance; to Abijah the Shilonite the rending of ten
tribes from the house of David; to Jeremiah the seventy years' captivity of the
Jews in Babylon; to Isaiah their deliverance from thence
through Cyrus by
name; to Daniel the four monarchies
the nature
rise
and fall of them; and to
John
the disciple of Christ
all the material things that should come to pass
relating to the church and world
from the first times of the Gospel to the
second coming of Christ; which that book is a revelation of that bears that
name; see Genesis 18:17; and
so that grand affair
which God has brought about in the world
the salvation
of his people by his Son
which was a secret hid in his heart before the world
began
this he revealed to his servants before it was effected; not only the
scheme of it
but the author of it
whom he very early gave notice of; and who
was spoken of by the mouth of all the prophets
from the beginning of the
world; declaring who and what he was
the Son of God; that he should be
incarnate
and born of a virgin; when he should appear
and where
and in what
part of the world; also in what way and manner he should obtain salvation
by
his obedience and sufferings; and all the circumstances relating thereunto are
most minutely and exactly declared by him. Yea
God reveals unto his saints in
common the secret of his purposes
respecting their election
redemption
and
regeneration
which is made known in the effectual calling; and of the
blessings of his grace in the covenant
and also of his providences; and of his
love
grace
and mercy; and of his Gospel
and the mysteries of it; thus he
deals with them as his friends
rather than as his servants; see Psalm 25:14.
Amos 3:8 8 A
lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who
can but prophesy?
YLT
8A lion hath roared -- who
doth not fear? The Lord Jehovah hath spoken -- who doth not prophesy?
The lion hath roared
who will not fear?.... Amos said
this from his own experience
who
having been a herdsman in the wilderness of
Tekoa
had often heard a lion roar
which had put him into a panic
both for
himself
and the cattle he kept; the figure is explained in the next clause:
the Lord God hath spoken
who can but prophesy? whether it be
to foretell future events
which the Lord has made known shall come to pass; or
to preach the word
which is to prophesy to edification
to exhortation
and
comfort
1 Corinthians 14:3;
or to perform the more private exercises of religion
as singing of psalms
praying
&c. 1 Chronicles 25:1;
these things who can forbear doing
to whom the Lord has spoken either in a
dream or vision
or in his word
and by his Spirit; and to whom he has given a
call and commissions
and gifts and graces
qualifying them for such service?
who that has the fear of God in his heart
and his glory in view
and the good
of others
that can refrain from it? nay
it is of dangerous consequence to
refuse it; for if the roaring of a lion is so terrible
and if the wrath of an
earthly king is as the roaring of a lion
much more the wrath and displeasure
of the King of kings. Jonah declined prophesying when the Lord spoke to him
but
what was the consequence of it? the prophet by this seems to justify himself in
prophesying
and that he ought not to be blamed for it
seeing the Lord had
given him the word
and therefore he ought to publish it. This may be
particularly applied to the ministers of the word
who have a call
a charge
and gifts from Christ
and on whom there is a necessity laid to preach the
Gospel; and who should not shut
to declare it on any account; nor can they
who have it in their hearts
and as fire in their bones; who have seen and
heard
and handled of the word of life
let what will be the consequence of it;
see Psalm 68:11.
Amos 3:9 9 “Proclaim
in the palaces at Ashdod
[a] And in the
palaces in the land of Egypt
and say: ‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; See
great tumults in her midst
And the oppressed within her.
YLT
9Sound ye unto palaces in
Ashdod
And to palaces in the land of Egypt
and say: Be ye gathered on
mountains of Samaria
And see many troubles within her
And oppressed ones in
her midst.
Publish in the palaces at Ashdod
and in the palaces in the land
of Egypt
.... This is spoken to the prophets
to publish and declare in
all the courts of the Philistines and Egyptians
and among all the princes and
great men therein
the sins of the people of Israel
and the punishment God
threatened them with; and let them
even these very Heathens
judge whether
there was not a just proportion between them
and whether their sins did not
deserve such calamities to be brought upon them
the Lord by his prophets had
denounced;
and say
assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; the
metropolis of the ten tribes
Isaiah 7:9; and
which was built upon a mountain
and several others were about it
and joined
to it; where these princes of Ashdod or Azotus in Palestine
and of Egypt
are
called to leave their courts
and meet together
to behold the iniquities
committed by Israel
and to sit in judgment upon them
and declare their sense
of what was just and fitting to be done to such a people:
and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof; the riots of
its inhabitants
the noise of the mob committing all manner of outrages and
wickedness:
and the oppressed in the midst thereof; the poor
the
fatherless
and the widow
injured in their persons and properties
plundered
of their substance
or defrauded of it.
Amos 3:10 10 For
they do not know to do right
’ Says the Lord
‘Who store up violence
and robbery in their palaces.’”
YLT
10And they have not known to
act straightforwardly
An affirmation of Jehovah
Who are treasuring up
violence and spoil in their palaces.
For they know not to do right
saith the Lord
.... What is
just and fight between man and man
no
not in one single instance; they did not
regard it
or advert to it; they were under no concern about it; and were so
much under the power of their lusts
that they knew not how to do it; and had
used themselves so long to such wicked and unjust ways
that they had lost at
least the practical knowledge of doing justice; they knew what was right in the
theory
but not in the practice; bribes blinded their eyes; for this seems to
design judges
civil magistrates
such who had the administration of justice
and the execution Of the laws in their hands. The Targum is
"they
know not to execute the law;'
see
Jeremiah 4:22;
who store up violence and robbery in their palaces; treasured up
riches in their palaces
gotten in a violent way
by oppression and injustice;
and which was no other
nor better
than robbery. This shows that persons in
power and authority
that lived in palaces
in great splendour and grandeur
are here meant.
Amos 3:11 11 Therefore
thus says the Lord God:
“An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength
from you
And your palaces shall be plundered.”
YLT
11Therefore
thus said the
Lord Jehovah: An adversary -- and surrounding the land
And he hath brought down
from thee thy strength
And spoiled have been thy palaces.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God
.... Because of these
tumults and riots
oppression and injustice
violence and robbery:
an adversary there shall be even round about the land: not Tyre
as
Theodoret renders the word; but the king of Assyria
who invaded the land of
Israel in the days of Hoshea
took Samaria
and carried Israel captive
and
placed them in foreign countries
2 Kings 17:6;
and he shall bring down thy strength from thee; take away
their riches
demolish their fortresses
and strip them of everything in which
they put their confidence:
and thy palaces shall be spoiled; plundered of the treasures
laid up in them
and pulled down to the ground; and a just retaliation this for
their being the repositories of ill gotten substance and wealth.
Amos 3:12 12 Thus
says the Lord:
“As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear
So shall the children of Israel
be taken out Who dwell in Samaria— In the corner of a bed and on the edge[b] of a
couch!
YLT
12Thus said Jehovah: As the
shepherd delivereth from the lion's mouth Two legs
or a piece of an ear
So
delivered are the sons of Israel
Who are sitting in Samaria on the corner of a
bed
And in Damascus [on that of] a couch.
Thus saith the Lord
as the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of
the lion
.... Or what the lion has left
to show to his master that it had
been seized and torn by a beast of prey; for otherwise it is a most daring
thing
and not usual
for a shepherd to take anything out of a lion's mouth
though David did: and here it is said to be not a whole sheep
or a lamb
but
two legs
or a piece of an ear; the body of the creature
being devoured by the lion
only some offal left he cared not for; two shanks
of the legs that had no flesh upon them
and the gristle of the ear
as the
Targum; having satisfied his hunger with the best of it: signifying hereby that
only a few of the Israelites should escape the enemy
and those poor and
insignificant
he made no account of; and this in a miraculous manner
it being
like taking anything out of the mouth of a lion
to which a powerful enemy is
compared
and particularly the king of Assyria
Jeremiah 50:17;
so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria; only a few of
them
and those the poorest; and their escape will be next to a miracle
when
the city will be taken; even such as are weak and sickly
or faint hearted:
being
in a corner of a bed; who either through
sickness lie there
or slothfulness
danger being near; or through poverty
having only a corner or a piece of a bed to lie on; or through cowardice they
hid themselves in one part of it:
and in Damascus in a couch; or "in a bed of
Damascus"F8בדמשק ערש
"in sponda Damasci"
Tigurine version; "in grabbato
Damasci"
so some in Drusius; "in lectis Damascenis"
Castalio;
so Abendana. ; the chief city in Syria
taken much about the same time as
Samaria was; and where some of the Israelites might betake themselves
and
think themselves secure as persons laid on a couch: or at the bed's feetF9"In
crure spondae"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator
Tarnovius.
as some
render it; or "in a corner of a couch"F11"Angulo
grabati"
Pagninus; "in angulo strati"
Montanus. So R. Sol.
Urbin. Ohel Moed
fol. 75. 1.
as before. The Targum paraphrases it
"that
dwell in Samaria
in the strength of power
trusting in Damascus.'
Amos 3:13 13 Hear
and testify against the house of Jacob
” Says the Lord God
the God of hosts
YLT
13Hear ye and testify to the
house of Jacob
An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah
God of Hosts.
Hear ye
and testify in the house of Jacob
.... The
prophets and priests
whose business it was to speak to the people from the
Lord
and declare his will to them
and to admonish them of their sin and
danger
are here called upon to hearken to what the Lord was about to say
and
to testify and publish it to the people of Israel
the posterity of Jacob
though sadly degenerated:
saith the Lord God
the God of hosts; the eternal
Jehovah
the Being of beings
the God of the whole earth
the God of the armies
above and below; and
being so great
ought to be heard with the greatest
attention and reverence in what follows.
Amos 3:14 14 “That
in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions
I will also visit destruction
on the altars of Bethel; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall
to the ground.
YLT
14For in the day of My
charging the transgressions of Israel on him
I have laid a charge on the
altars of Beth-El
And cut off have been the horns of the altar
And they have
fallen to the earth.
That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel
upon him
.... The three or four mentioned in the preceding chapter
the
great multitude of them
their profaneness
uncleanness
and luxury
their
injustice and oppression of the poor; when he should visit and punish for these
sins
as he would by the hand of the Assyrian
he would not forget their
idolatry; though no notice is taken of this before
in the appeal to the
Heathen princes
who were likewise guilty of it:
I will also visit the altars of Bethel; where one of
the calves Jeroboam made was set up and worshipped; and where was an altar
erected
and sacrifice offered on it
1 Kings 12:28; and
here the plural number is put for the singular; though it may be
that in
process of time more altars might be set up as they increased in idolatry
and
as seems from Hosea 8:11; and now
the Lord would show his resentment at them
and punish those that worshipped
and sacrificed there. So the Targum
"that
worship at the altars in Bethel;'
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off
and fall to the
ground; for it seems this altar was made after the form of that at
Jerusalem
with four horns at the four corners of it; and which were reckoned
the more principal parts of it
and the more sacred
where the blood of the
sacrifices was poured
and to which persons in distress fled and laid hold of
for refuge; but now these should be of no use unto them
since they would be
entirely demolished by the enemy
and laid level with the ground.
Amos 3:15 15 I
will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; The houses of ivory
shall perish
And the great houses shall have an end
” Says the Lord.
YLT
15And I have smitten the
winter-house with the summer-house
And perished have houses of ivory
And
consumed have been many houses
An affirmation of Jehovah!
And I will smite the winter house with the summer house
.... Both the
one and
the other shall fall to the ground
being beat down by the enemy
or
shook and made to fall by the earthquake predicted
Amos 1:1; as Kimchi
thinks: kings and great personages had houses in the city in the winter season
in which they lived for warmth; and others in the country in the summertime
to
which they retired for the benefit of the air; or they had
in one and the same
house
a summer and a winter parlour; see Judges 3:20; it
signifies that the destruction should reach city and country
and deprive them
of what was for their comfort and pleasure:
and the houses of ivory shall perish; or "of
the tooth"F12בתי השן
"domus dentis"
Montanus
Mercerus
Vatablus. ; the elephant's tooth
of which ivory is made. Ahab made a house of ivory; and perhaps more were made
by others afterwards
following his example
1 Kings 22:39; not
that these houses were made wholly of ivory
only "covered" with it
as the Targum here paraphrases it; or they were cieled or wainscotted with it
or were inlaid and covered with it
and were reckoned very curious work; but
should be demolished
and perish in the general ruin:
and the great houses shall have an end
saith the Lord; the houses of
princes
nobles
and other persons of figure and distinction; houses great in
building
or many in number
as Kimchi observes
and as the wordF13בתים רבים "aedes
multi"
V. L. "domus multae"
Pagninus
Montanus
Mercerus
Cocceius
Burkius. will bear to be rendered; these
which the builders and
owners of them thought would have continued many ages
and have perpetuated
their names to posterity
should now be thrown down
and be no more; of which
they might assure themselves
since the Lord had said it.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)