:

11. nor revolved it-] Eight MSS (four ancient), and the two oldest editions, with another, add the conjunction, which is confirmed by all the ancient versions. Ibid. —and winked] For by, which makes no good sense or construction in this place, twenty-three MSS (seven ancient), and three editions, have by, (to be thus pointed D); agogw, LXX; quasi non videns, Vulg.: see Psal. x. 1. The truth of this reading so confirmed admits of no doubt.

12.—my righteouness] For TPTY, thy righteousness, Syr. LXX, MSS Alex. and Pachom. and 1. D. II., and Marchal. and i r, and Arab. read PT, my righteousness.

13. —let thine associates deliver thee] Thirty nine MSS (ten ancient), and the two oldest editions, have 7, plural. 14. Then will I say] N, to be pointed as the first person future: they are the words of God, as it is plain from the conclusion of the verse; my people, "y.

15. For thus saith JEHOVAH] A MS adds

after

, and edition Prag. 1518. So LXX, Alex. and Arab. An ancient MS adds T.

Ibid. And with the contrite-] Twelve MSS have ЛN, without the conjunction . "Pro N, forte legendum

: confer Psal. cxiii. 5. et cxxxviii. 6.:" SECKER. 16. For I will not alway-] The learned have taken a great deal of pains to little purpose on the latter part of this verse, which they suppose to be very obscure. After all their labours upon it, I think the best and easiest explanation of it is given in the two following elegant passages of the Psalms, which I presume are exactly parallel to it, and very clearly express the same sentiment.

"But He in his tender mercy will forgive their sin,

And will not destroy them;

Yea oftentimes will he turn away his wrath,

And will not rouse up all his indigation:

For he remembereth that they are but flesh,
A breath that passeth, and returneth not."

"He will not always contend,

Neither will he for ever hold his wrath:

As a father yearneth towards his children,

lxxviii. 38, 39.

So is JEHOVAH tenderly compassionate towards them that fear him:

For he knoweth our frame;

He remembereth that we are but dust.”

ciii. 9. 13, 14.

In the former of these two passages, the second line seems to be defective both in measure and sense: I suppose the

word N, them, is lost at the end; which seems to be acknowledged by Chald. and Vulg. who render as if they had

ולא ישחית אותם read

17. Because of his iniquity for a short time I was wroth] For y, I read yy, paululum, à y, abscidit; as LXX read and render it, βραχυ τι. "Propter iniquitatem avaritia ejus," the rendering of Vulg., which our translators, and I believe all others follow, is surely quite beside the purpose. 19. I create the fruit of the lips ;-] "The sacrifice of praise," saith St Paul, Heb. xiii. 15. " is the fruit of the lips." God creates this fruit of the lips, by giving new subject and cause of thanksgiving, by his mercies conferred on those among his people who acknowledge and bewail their transgressions, and return to him. The great subject of thanksgiving is peace; reconciliation and pardon offered to them that are nigh, and to them that are afar off; not only to the Jew, but also to the Gentile, as St Paul more than once applies these terms, Eph. ii. 13. 17. see also Acts ii. 39.

אלהי For

21. There is no peace, saith my God-] twenty-two MSS (five ancient) read . Vulg. LXX, Alex. Arab. and three MSS, have both. This verse has reference to the 19th. The wicked and impenitent are excluded from all share in that peace above-mentioned, that reconcilement and pardon, which is promised to the penitent only. The xlviiith chapter ends with the same declaration; to express the exclusion of the unbelievers and impenitent from the benefit of the foregoing promises.

CHAPTER LVIII.

3. —afflicted our souls-] Twenty-seven MSS (six ancient), and the old edition of 1488, have the noun in the plural number, "W): and so LXX, Chald. Vulg.

:

4. And to smite with the fist the poor, Wherefore fust ye unto me- -] I follow the version of the LXX, which gives a much better sense than the present reading of the Hebrew. Instead of y, they seem to have read in their copy by the four first letters are the same, but otherwise divided in regard to the words; the four last are lost, and added in their place, in order to make some sort of sense withy. The version of the LXX is na TUTTETE πυγμαις ταπεινον· ἵνα τι μοι νηστεύετε 7.-the wandering poor-], nos vagosque, Vulg.; and

•

TWXous aσTeyous, LXX; egebo, Chald. They read, in

πτωχους αστέγους,

is upon a rasure in the Bodleitun מר. הנודים מרודים stead of

MS. The same MS reads , in domum.

8. And thy wounds shall speedily be healed] "Et cicatrix vulneris tui cito obducetur." Aquila's version, as reported by Jerom; with which agrees that of the Chaldee. Ibid. And the glory-] Sixteen MSS (five ancient), and LXX, Syr. Vulg. add the conjunction 1,

10. If thou bring forth thy bread-] "To draw out thy soul to the hungry," as our translators rightly enough express the present Hebrew text, is an obscure phrase, and without example in any other place. But instead of TV, thy soul, eight MSS (three ancient) read T5, thy bread; and so the Syriac renders it. The LXX express both words, Tov agrov Ex ans Juxns oou, thy bread from thy soul. 11. And he shall renew thy strength] "Chaldæus forte Confer cap. xl. 29. 31. et xli. 1.:" SECKER. Chald. has by "", "et corpus tuum vivificabit in vita æterna." The rest of the ancients

יחליף עָצְמָתְךָ legit

y

seem not to know what to make of ; and the rendering of the Vulgate, which seems to be the only proper one, ossa tua liberabit, makes no sense. I follow this excellent emendation; to favour which, it is still further to be observed, that three MSS, instead of Tsy, have Ty, singular. 12. to be frequented by inhabitants] To this To this purpose it is rendered Syr. Sym, and Theod.

13. From doing thy pleasure] The LXX, Syr. and Chald. for ny manifestly express yo. So likewise an MS has

.שבת רגליך it; but with the omission of the words

Ibid. And the holy feast] Twenty-eight MSS (seven ancient) add the conjunction 1, p: and so Syr. Chald. and Vulg.

Ibid. and from speaking vain words] It is necessary to add some epithet to make out the sense: the LXX say angry words; Chald. words of violence. If any such epithet is lost here, the safest way is to supply it by the Prophet's own expression, ver. 9. 17, vain words; that is, profane, impious, injurious, &c.

"The additional epithet seems unnecessary. The Vulg. and Syr. have it not. And the sense is good without it; two ways, first by taking 7 for a noun, and 7 for the participle pahul, and rendering,

"From pursuing thy pleasure, and the thing resolved on :" Or, secondly, by supposing the force of the preposition to be continued from the verb to the verb 77 immediately following and rendering.

"From executing thy pleasure, and from speaking words

concerning it."

But the first seems the easier rendering." Dr JUBB.

CHAPTER LIX.

THE foregoing elegant chapter contained a severe reproof of the Jews, in particular for their hypocrisy in pretending to make themselves accepted with God by fasting and outward humiliation without true repentance, while they still continued to oppress the poor, and to indulge their own passions and vices; with great promises, however, of God's favour on condition of their reformation. This chapter contains a more general reproof of their wickedness; bloodshed, violence, falsehood, injustice. At ver. 9. they are introduced as making themselves an ample confession of their sins, and deploring their wretched state in consequence of them. On this act of humiliation a promise is given, that God, in his mercy and zeal for his people, will rescue them from this miserable condition; that the Redeemer will come like a mighty hero to deliver them: he will destroy his enemies, convert both Jews and Gentiles to himself, and give them a new covenant, and a law which shall never be abolished.

As this chapter is remarkable for the beauty, strength, and variety of the images with which it abounds; so is it peculiarly distinguished by the elegance of the composition, and the exact construction of the sentences: from the first verse to the two last, it falls regularly into stanzas of four lines, (see Prel. Dissert. p. xi.), which I have endeavoured to express as nearly as possible in the form of the original.

2. His face-] For D, faces, I read 1, his face. So Syr. LXX, Alex. Arab. Vulg. D, MS. "Forte legendum ; nam sequitur, et loquitur Deus: confer lviii. 14." SECKER. I rather think that the speech of God was closed with the last chapter; and that this chapter is delivered in the person of the Prophet.

3. And your tongue-] An ancient MS, and LXX and Vulg. add the conjunction.

8. Whoever goeth in them-] For singular, read D plural, with LXX, Syr. Vulg. Chald. The is upon a rasure in MS. Or for a plural, we must read D' singular, as it is in an ancient MS, to preserve the grammatical concord.

10. And we wander-] I adopt here an emendation of Houbigant,, instead of the second , the repe tition of which has a poverty and inelegance extremely unworthy of the Prophet, and unlike his manner. The mistake is of long standing, being prior to all the ancient versions: it was a very easy and obvious mistake; and I have little doubt of our having recovered the true reading in this ingenious correction.

11.and it is far distant from us.] The conjunction 1 must necessarily be prefixed to the verb, as Syr. Chald. Vulg. found it in their copies, ¡Pп7).

15. And JEHOVAH saw it, .] This third line of the stanza appears manifestly to me to be imperfect by the loss of a phrase. The reader will perhaps more perfectly conceive my idea of the matter, if I endeavour to supply the supposed defect. I imagine it might have stood originally in this manner :

וירא יהוה ויחר לו]

וירע בעיניו כי אין סשפט :

And JEHOVAH saw it, [and he was wroth];

And it displeased him, that there was no judgment."

We have had already many examples of mistakes of omission: this, if it be such, is very ancient, being prior to all the versions.

בגרי expressed in

17. for his clothing] nwn. "I cannot but think that лwn is an interpolation. 1. It is in no one ancient version. 2. It is redundant in the sense, as it is before 3. It makes the hemistich just so much longer than it ought to be, if it is compared with the others adjoining. 4. It makes a form of construction in this clause less elegant than that in the others. 5. It might probably be in some margin a various reading for 2, and thence taken into the text. This is the more probable, as its form is such as it would be if it were in regimine, as it must be before :" Dr JUBB.

18. He is mighty-] The former part of this verse, as it stands at present in the Hebrew text, seems to me to be very imperfect, and absolutely unintelligible. The learned Vitringa has taken a great deal of pains upon it, after Cocceius; who, he says, is the only one of all the interpreters, ancient or modern, who has at all understood it, and has opened the way for him. He thinks that both of them together have clearly made out the sense: I do not expect