promises, and a reliance on other means of strength and support than the Divine favour.

Verse 9. "And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself." The very same words occur in chap. v, 15, where the verbs are necessarily passive. Bishop Lowth takes them as passives here; but I think, here, they are active. They describe the corruption as so general, that men of all ranks, high and low, prostrate and humble themselves before idols.

-"forgive them not." The LXX render the verb in the first person: "I will not forgive them.” If this verb was originally in the first person, God is the speaker from the middle of the 8th verse [" Yes, they are replenished," &c.] to this place. And the Prophet's admonition, which begins in the next verse, is founded upon the accusation which God, in his own person, brings against the Jews in this speech. Verses 10, 11. See Durell's and Bishop Lowth's emendations.

Verse 12. "For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be," &c. is properly the dative case, and the literal rendering of the Hebrew words is thus : "[Est] enim Jehovæ exercituum dies adversus superbum et altum," &c. "For there is unto Jehovah

a day [i. e. Jehovah has appointed a day] against all pride and loftiness."

CHAP. iii, 2. —“ and the prudent”— rather "the diviner," Bishop Lowth; "ariolum," Vulgate.

Verse 3. " artificer." This word is ill changed into artist by Bishop Lowth. An artificer is one that is employed in common handicraft works; a carpenter, a mason, a tailor, &c. An artist is a very superior workman; one that employs himself in the fine arts, painting, music, sculpture, &c.

“and the eloquent orator;" rather, “the skilful in incantation." -"prudentem eloquii mystici," Vulgate; and to the same purpose Theodotion and Symmachus.

Verse 6. "When"- rather, "Therefore," Bishop Lowth.

I think Bishop Lowth's conjecture, that the word Nhas been lost out of the text between the words " and ", is very probable. But see Bishop Stock.

After ny, read, with Houbigant and Bishop Lowth, N. See LXX, and Vulgate.

לאמר,Lowth

"Therefore shall a man take his brother, the head of his father's house, by the garment, saying, Be thou," &c.

Verse 7. "In that day shall he swear, saying,"ON'S NI O N. It should seem, from St Jerome's note upon this passage, that the word was not found in his copies; and that for *, they

.יאמר had

"I will not be"- rather, with Queen Elizabeth's translators, "I cannot be❞—

Verse 10.-" for they shall eat"- Bishop Lowth, upon the authority of the Vulgate and one antient MS. reads in the singular," he shall eat;" i. e. the just shall eat. But there is no necessity to reject the plural verb, which has the suffrage of St Jerome and the LXX. If 8 be the true reading at the beginning of the former clause, the whole verse should be rendered thus:

"Say unto the just one, it is well:

For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds."

They, isti. This is the thing which the just one is told "is well," that those sinners shall eat the fruit of their evil deeds. For 77, one good MS. of De

לצדיך

Rossi's has . But upon these three verses (9,

10, 11) see the notes of the layman: his emendations, founded on the LXX, deserve great attention.

Verse 12. "As for my people children are their oppressors, and women rule over them."

of

Λαος μου οἱ πρακτορες ὑμων καλαμωνται ὑμας

Και οἱ ἀπαιτοῦντες κυριευουσιν ὑμων.

LXX.

ἀπαιτουντες. Aq. ἀπαιτοῦντας. Theod. δανειστας.

"Populum meum exactores sui spoliaverunt,

Et mulieres dominatæ sunt eis."

St Jerom. et Vulg.

Hence it should seem that the reading of the LXX

was thus:

עמי נגשיך מעולליך וגשיך * משלו בך :

"O my people, thy oppressors are gleaning thee,

And thy usurious creditors lord it over thee."

The copies of St Jerome and the Vulgate gave the passage with less variation from the modern Masoretic text:

עמי נגשיו מעוללים

&c. 1

"My people, their oppressors glean them,

And women," &c.

Unless the use of the nouny, for a child,' can be supported by examples, the reading of the LXX seems to deserve the preference. It is to be remarked, that the principal variation of the reading of the LXX from the modern text is in T, instead of

,ומנושיו,Or *

; and in this their reading has the concurrent testimony of Aquila and Theodotion.

-"destroy the way of their paths."

"efface

the track of their paths." The track of their paths is the line of moral conduct prescribed by God's law, or of political conduct advised by his prophets; which line the wicked leaders here mentioned effaced and obliterated, by bad advice and bad example., properly signifies to swallow up; thence to cause in any way to disappear; to destroy, so as to leave no vestige remaining. According to the different things to which it is in this sense applied, it may be rendered by the English words, to devour, to swallow up, to annihilate, to rase, expunge, efface, obliterate, In Numb. iv, 20, it is rendered in our modern Bible, to cover, and in Queen Elizabeth's, to fold up. But that verse should be rendered thus: "But let them not go in to see, when the sanctuary is taken to pieces, lest they die.' When the camp was to break up, the tabernacle was to be taken down, and the sacred utensils packed up by the priests, before the Kohathites approached. The taking of the sanctuary to pieces, and the packing up of its parts and furniture, was an entire abolition of its figure and form; a making of it to dis