1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| II Kings 1:1 | And Moab rebelled against Israel, after the death of Achab.* | Year of the World 3108, Year before Christ 896. Rebelled: literally, "prevaricated." (Haydock) --- The kings of Israel kept some of the nations, which David had conquered, in subjection, while the kings of Juda ruled over the others. In consequence of the late disaster, these people began to throw off the yoke. (Tirinus) --- Joram made war upon Moab, 4 Kings 3:5. God began to punish the house of Achab, by these means. (Calmet) --- The Moabites refused to pay tribute, (Menochius) as the Israelites would not acknowledge the divine authority. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 1:2 | And Ochozias fell through the lattices of his upper chamber, which he had in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, saying to them: Go, consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron, whether I shall recover of this my illness. | Lattices, by a skylight, (Haydock) or trap-door, designed to give light to the room below, into which the king fell. The roofs are generally flat in the East, and covered with earth mixed with straw, with the light at the top, to prevent the excessive heats. --- Of. Hebrew, etc., "into." (Calmet) --- If the lattices be understood to mean the rails, which were ordered to be placed round the roof, (Deuteronomy 22:8.) Ochozias might fall into the street. (Menochius) --- Josephus thinks he fell from the staircase. At any rate, he was much hurt, (Haydock) and thus was made to feel the indignation of God. (Tirinus) --- God. Septuagint, "Baal, the god-fly;" (Calmet) the Jupiter of the Greeks, or their chief god; and the prince of devils, Matthew xii. --- Accaron. Hence Pliny ([Natural History?] 8:29.) styles the god Achor, (Tirinus) and Myiodis, (B. xxxvi.) which is the name given to him by Josephus, 9:2. (Haydock) --- He was supposed to free the people of the country from being infested with flies; or the many victims offered up to him, drew those insects together. (Vatable) --- Grotius supposes that the Phoenicians styled their god, Beelsemen, (Bálssomin) "God of heaven;" and that the Hebrews called him, Bálzobub, "god of flies," out of contempt. But perhaps he is too favourable to the idolaters. (Du Hamel) --- Selden is convinced that Ochozias gives the idol its real name. Scaliger rather thinks that Balzobéim, "the lord of victims," was the original title. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 1:3 | And an angel of the Lord spoke to Elias, the Thesbite, saying: Arise, and go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them: Is there not a God in Israel, that ye go to consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron? | |
| II Kings 1:4 | Wherefore, thus saith the Lord: From the bed, on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die. And Elias went away. | Away; probably to his usual abode, at Carmel, where the king sent to seize him. |
| II Kings 1:5 | And the messengers turned back to Ochozias. And he said to them: Why are you come back? | Messengers. They were perhaps citizens of Accaron, who had extolled the sagacity of their god, but were totally unacquainted with Elias. Yet as he shewed his knowledge of secret things, by telling them what they were going about, (Salien) and spoke with such assurance, (Haydock) they thought proper to return, lest they should incur a similar punishment. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 1:6 | But they answered him: A man met us, and said to us: Go, and return to the king, that sent you, and you shall say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Is it because there was no God in Israel, that thou sendest to Beelzebub, the god of Accaron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed, on which thou art gone up, but thou shalt surely die. | |
| II Kings 1:7 | And he said to them: What manner of man was he who met you, and spoke these words? | |
| II Kings 1:8 | But they said: A hairy man, with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said: It is Elias, the Thesbite. | Man. Hebrew ish bahal sehar, "a man lord of hair," or all covered with it, having a long beard, like the ancient sages, (St. Jerome, in Ezechiel xxxv.) and clothed with a skin, (Bochart) as the first inhabitants of the earth, the heroes, prophets and St. John the Baptist, are described, Hebrews 11:37., and Matthew 3:4. So Statius (ii., and iv.) says: Tiresiae vultus, voces et vellera nota Induitur. |
| II Kings 1:9 | And he sent to him a captain of fifty, and the fifty men that were under him. And he went up to him, and as he was sitting on the top of a hill, said to him: Man of God, the king hath commanded that thou come down. | Under him; his own guards. The captain was to request him to pray for the king's recovery; (Calmet) or rather, (Haydock) to punish him for what he had said to the messengers. (Calmet) --- Of God. Procopius and others think that he spoke contemptuously, and was therefore punished. (Menochius) --- Down. The prophets are not bound to obey kings, in the exercise of their ministry. (Grotius) --- Elias complies as soon as he had orders from God. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 1:10 | And Elias answering, said to the captain of fifty: If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee, and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven and consumed him, and the fifty that were with him. | Let fire, etc. Elias was inspired to call down fire from heaven upon these captains, who came to apprehend him; not out of a desire to gratify any private passion, but to punish the insult offered to religion, to confirm his mission, and to shew how vain are the efforts of men against God and his servants, whom he has a mind to protect. (Challoner) --- The Roman laws authorize a person, in authority, to punish those who refuse to obey. (Ulpin 1 D.) Si quis jus dicenti non obtemperaverit, omnibus concessum est suam jurisdictionem defendere poenali judicio. Elias acted as God's envoy, and the insult reverted upon him. (St. Thomas Aquinas, 2. 2. q. 108, a. 2.) --- The Manichees have blamed the conduct of the prophet: but the miracle justifies him, as God would never countenance the private revenge of any one; and the Holy Ghost places this transaction on a level with that when Elias shut up the heavens, Ecclesiasticus 48:3. St. Peter was moved with the like zeal, Acts 5:5. The sons of Zebedee gave way to some private indignation, when they wished our Saviour to call down fire from heaven upon a city of Samaria, Luke 9:54. But he reprimanded them for it; as the citizens might not be so well acquainted with him, as these soldiers must have been with Elias: and he came to display the spirit of mildness, (Calmet) to attract all to his holy religion; while Elias had manifested the severity of the divine judgments, conformably to the law of terror, under which he lived. (Haydock) --- In zeal of justice, Elias procured fire to burn these wicked men, as he had done for the holocaust. (St. Augustine) (Worthington) |
| II Kings 1:11 | And again he sent to him another captain of fifty men, and his fifty with him. And he said to him: Man of God, Thus saith the king: Make haste and come down. | Another, not knowing what was become of the first, or why he did not return; as Ochozias was eager to have the prophet in his power. (Menochius) --- If he were acquainted with his fate, (Haydock) this second captain was guilty of greater insolence. But there are such generally to be found at courts; men who are ready to execute the king's orders, without considering whether they be contrary to God's law or not. |
| II Kings 1:12 | Elias answering, said: If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee, and thy fifty. And fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. | |
| II Kings 1:13 | Again he sent a third captain of fifty men, and the fifty that were with him. And when he was come, he fell upon his knees before Elias, and besought him and said: Man of God, despise not my life, and the lives of thy servants that are with me. | Again. This third captain is commonly supposed to be Abdias, (3 Kings 18:3.) though without much reason. (Calmet) --- John of Jerus, (c. 15) says he left the court, and became a disciple of Elias, and a prophet. (Menochius) --- But he is very different from the prophet, whose writings are still extant. (Calmet) --- The report of the two miracles had come to his ears, and filled him with fear. (Menochius) --- Despise not. Hebrew, "let my life....be precious in thy sight," 1 Kings 26:21., and Psalm 115:15. |
| II Kings 1:14 | Behold fire came down from heaven, and consumed the two first captains of fifty men, and the fifties that were with them: but now I beseech thee to spare my life. | |
| II Kings 1:15 | And the angel of the Lord spoke to Elias, saying: Go down with him, fear not. He arose therefore, and went down with him to the king, | |
| II Kings 1:16 | And said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast sent messengers to consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron, as though there were not a God in Israel, of whom thou mightest inquire the word; therefore, from the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die. | |
| II Kings 1:17 | So he died, according to the word of the Lord, which Elias spoke; and Joram, his brother, reigned in his stead, in the second *year of Joram, the son of Josaphat, king of Juda, because he had no son. | Year of the World 3108, Year before Christ 896. The second year of Joram, etc., counted from the time that he was associated to the throne of his father Josaphat; (Challoner) so that it is said that he reigned also in the 18th year of Josaphat, 4 Kings 3:1. See also 4 Kings 8:16. To obviate these apparent contradictions, chronologists suppose that Joram reigned over Israel in the 18th of Josaphat, king of Juda, and in the second year after the latter had appointed his son Joram viceroy. He was associated with his father on the throne two years before his death, and in the 5th of Joram, king of Israel. Examples of this kind are frequent among the Hebrews, and particularly among the Persians, whose chronology is thus rendered very difficult. Why should we allow that the numbers are erroneous, when this explanation will suffice? (Calmet) --- Grotius leaves the matter undecided. (Du Hamel) --- Capel (Crit. p. 414.) maintains that the numbers have been ill transcribed; and so does Houbigant, who asserts that such a mode of writing would not be tolerated in a profane author; thus to mention different dates, without intimating how they are to be reconciled. If we should read, that Heraclius began to reign "in the 18th year of Chosroes," and a little after, that he ascended the throne "in the second year of the son of Chosroes," without ever specifying how Heraclius began his reign at two different periods, who would not suspect a mistake? Is it not more rational to throw the blame on the transcriber, than on the author? The modern chronologists seem to have invented the idea of viceroys and simultaneous kings, among the Hebrews, merely to get over difficulties; though the Scripture be entirely silent on this head. Houbigant would therefore read, "in the 22d year of Josaphat," as the mention of Joram seems here improper, (absurda) his father reigning 25 years. Ochozias began to reign when Josaphat had almost completed his 17th year. See 3 Kings 22:52. (Haydock) --- His brother is not specified in Hebrew, Chaldean, Arabic, and in some copies of the Septuagint, but it is in most others, as well as in the Syriac, (Calmet) Josephus, etc., (Haydock) and this is the common opinion. The Roman edition here inserts (Calmet) after Elias spoke, (18) "And the, etc....and Joram," etc., nearly as 4 Kings 3:1, 2, 3; only for father, it substitutes, "not like his brothers;" and adds, "the wrath of the Lord was enkindled against the house of Achab." No mention is made of the second year of Joram, etc., (Haydock) in any edition of the Septuagint. (Capel) --- In the mean time Josaphat, being returned from the unfortunate expedition with Achab, set his kingdom in order, purifying it from all the vestiges of idolatry, as much as he was able, and appointing proper judges, 2 Paralipomenon xix. |
| II Kings 1:18 | But the rest of the acts of Ochozias, which he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| II Kings 2:0 | Eliseus will not part from Elias. The water of the Jordan is divided by Elias's cloak. Elias is taken up in a fiery chariot, and his double spirit is given to Eliseus. Eliseus healeth the waters by casting in salt. Boys are torn by bears, for mocking Eliseus. | |
| II Kings 2:1 | And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias, into heaven, by a whirlwind, *that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal. | Year of the World 3108. Heaven. By heaven here is meant, the air, the lowest of the heavenly regions, (Challoner) through which he was carried by the ministry of angels, who directed the storm, (Haydock ) to the place designed for him. --- It is generally supposed to be Paradise, (Calmet) whither Henoch had been translated. (Haydock) --- They are still living, (Calmet) and must come again, to invite all to repent. After which they will die martyrs, in the persecution of Antichrist. (Haydock) --- See St. Augustine, de Gen. ad lit. 9:6., and Apocalypse xi. (Worthington) --- Ecclesiasticus 48:10. (Menochius) --- They are a proof of a future resurrection. (Calmet) --- To decide where the paradise which they inhabit, (Haydock) is situated, would be rash. (St. Chrysostom, hom. 21. in Gen. etc.) Some suppose it is still in some unknown region of the earth: others place it above the sky, (Menochius) or in the bosom of Abraham. (Calmet) --- The Jews (following Munster) assert that Elias penetrated the sphere of fire, where his body was consumed. (Vatable) --- The earthly paradise is very probably no longer existing, in its ancient luxuriant state. (Haydock) --- It may now be covered with the waters of the Persian Gulf. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 2:2 | And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel, | |
| II Kings 2:3 | The sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that, this day, the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it: hold your peace. | The sons of the prophets. That is, the disciples of the prophets; who seem to have had their schools, like colleges or communities, in Bethel, Jericho, and other places, in the days of Elias and Eliseus. (Challoner) --- Many of these disciples might be also their children. Elias collected some fervent souls together even at Bethel, to preserve the true religion, as much as possible. He visited them before his departure. (Calmet) --- Peace: let not Elias hear us. |
| II Kings 2:4 | And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho, | |
| II Kings 2:5 | The sons of the prophets, that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that, this day, the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it: hold your peace. | From thee. Hebrew, "from thy head," thy superior, and raise him into the air, ver. 3. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 2:6 | And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on together. | Thee. Elias had tried the constancy of his disciple three times, as Christ required of St. Peter a triple confession of love, John 21:17. (Haydock) --- Humility might also prompt the prophet to desire to be alone. (Salien) |
| II Kings 2:7 | And fifty men, of the sons of the prophets, followed them, and stood in sight, at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan. | |
| II Kings 2:8 | And Elias took his mantle, and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground. | Mantle. Septuagint meloten, "sheep skin," (Menochius) such as the prophets wore. The Syriac explains it of an ornament or bandage of the head; others, of a leathren mantle to keep off rain. Ad subitas nunquam scortea desit aquas. (Martial xiv.) |
| II Kings 2:9 | And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee, that in me may be thy double spirit. | Double spirit. A double portion of thy spirit, as thy eldest son and heir: or thy spirit, which is double, in comparison of that which God usually imparteth to his prophets; (Challoner) or the power of working miracles, as well as of prophesying. (Worthington) --- He wishes to excel his fellow disciples, rather than his master. (Tirinus) (Cajetan) (Amama) --- Double often means, great and perfect, Jeremias 17:18. If Eliseus even begged that he might perform more and greater wonders than his master, (as Christ enabled his disciples to surpass himself, in this particular, John 14:12.; Haydock) he might do it without pride, purely for the glory of God. He certainly shone forth with peculiar splendour; and some have enumerated sixteen or twenty-four of his miracles, while they can only find eight (Lyranus) or twelve recorded of Elias. See Cornelius a Lapide, in Ecclesiasticus 48:13. (Calmet) --- We read a similar expression in Pindar, (Olym. vi.) where Neptune gave his son Jamus (Thesauron didumon mantosunas) "the double treasure of divination," p. 50. Ed. Step. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 2:10 | And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it. | Hard thing. Hebrew literally, "thou art hardened to ask" a thing so difficult, and which I have not the power to grant. But I will pray that thou mayst receive it; (Calmet) and I feel confident that thou wilt, if God shall grant thee the power to see me, at my departure. (Haydock) --- This he did, ver. 12. (Menochius) --- Elias had perhaps imagined that his disciple would have desired some of his clothes, or some advice. (Calmet) --- He left him his mantle, (ver. 13.; Haydock) and by prayer was enabled to communicate his spirit to him; as Moses and the apostles did to their assistants in the ministry. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 2:11 | And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold, a fiery chariot and fiery horses parted them both asunder: *and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Ecclesiasticus 48:13.; 1 Machabees 2:58. | Horses. Angels assumed these forms, (Grotius) or a cloud, resembling a fiery chariot and horses, was impelled by a strong wind, under their guidance. (Tostat) (Menochius) (Salien, the year before Christ 914.) --- As the name of Elias is very like Helios, "the sun," some have supposed that they have the same meaning: (Sedulius, pasc. 1.) but the Hebrew term signifies, "He is my God." The pagans have taken occasion from this history to represent the sun drawn in a fiery chariot, by horses composed of the same element. Animosos ignibus illis, Quos in pectore habent, quos ore et naribus efflant. (Ovid, Metam. xii.) (Calmet) --- Heaven; (see ver. 1.) where he lives free from all disturbance. (Tirinus) --- It is a constant belief, that he will come again before the last judgment; as his representative, John the Baptist, announced the first appearance of our Redeemer. (St. Gregory, hom. 7. in Ev.) Of this the Jews were convinced. (St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho) See Malachias 4:5. |
| II Kings 2:12 | And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces. | Thereof. Thou alone wast equal to an army, in our defence. Chariots were then very common. (Calmet) --- Chaldean and Vatable, "Thou wast, by thy prayer, better to Israel than chariots and horses." So we should call a person, a pillar of the state, etc. (Tirinus) --- In giving the character of Elias, the Holy Ghost dwells in a particular manner on his burning zeal. (Calmet) --- Elias stood up as a fire, and his word burnt like a torch...he brought down fire from heaven thrice, on the holocaust, and on the captains. (Haydock) --- Who can glory like to thee? Ecclesiasticus 48:1, 4. See Sts. Ambrose and Chrysostom on Elias. His resemblance with Christ is very striking. His name puts us in mind of Christ's divinity; who burnt with zeal for God's house, (John 2:17.) was persecuted, (Calmet) raised the dead to life, rose again and ascended triumphant into heaven, having imparted his blessing (Haydock) and his sacraments to his disciples. (Calmet) --- No more, as he was taken from the company of men. (Haydock) --- Pieces, to express his grief, at being deprived of so excellent a master. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 2:13 | And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him: and going back; he stood on the bank of the Jordan; | Mantle, as an earnest of his affection. By the imposition of this mantle, he had been called to be a prophet, 3 Kings 19:19. |
| II Kings 2:14 | And he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said: Where is now the God of Elias? And he struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and Eliseus passed over. | Not divided. God thus prevented him from giving way to vanity, (Abulensis, q. 28.) or thinking that he could do any thing of himself. (Haydock) --- Elias. Hebrew, "where is he?" (Calmet) --- The original and Septuagint (Alexandrian and Vatican) do not specify that he struck the waters twice, or that they did not divide at first. (Haydock) --- This is taken from other copies of the Septuagint. (Amama) --- The exclamation contains a most fervent prayer. Hebrew, "he smote the waters, and said: Where is the Lord God of Elias? and when he had stricken the," etc., which removes the idea of presumption, which (Haydock) some discover in the words of Eliseus. (Tirinus) (Sanctius) --- Now. Hebrew aph hu. Septuagint aphpho, retaining the words which Theodotion renders "the hidden" god. (Haydock) --- "Even he himself." (Aquila) (Calmet) --- When I stand so much in need of his assistance, (Menochius) having to perform his important functions, which cannot be done without his spirit, nor without the confirmation of miracles, before an unbelieving people. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 2:15 | And the sons of the prophets, at Jericho, who were over-against him, seeing it, said: The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground, | They worshipped him; viz., with an inferior, yet religious veneration, not for any temporal, but spiritual excellency. (Challoner) (Worthington) --- They had stopped on a hill, (Menochius) to see the event, ver. 7. (Haydock) --- Jericho itself is two hours' journey from the Jordan. (Adrichomius) --- The sons of the prophets had seen what had happened at the translation of Elias, and perceiving that Eliseus was invested with his mantle, and with the power of working miracles, they did not hesitate to acknowledge him for their superior, during the absence of Elias, who they expected would return. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 2:16 | And they said to him: Behold, there are with thy servants, fifty strong men, that can go, and seek thy master, lest, perhaps, the spirit of the Lord, hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said: Do not send. | Valley. It seems such translations were not uncommon, 3 Kings 18:12. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 2:17 | But they pressed him, till he consented, and said: Send. And they sent fifty men: and they sought three days, but found him not. | Send. He acquiesces, lest they might think that he was afraid of losing his superiority. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 2:18 | And they came back to him: for he abode at Jericho, and he said to them: Did I not say to you? Do not send. | |
| II Kings 2:19 | And the men of the city, said to Eliseus: Behold, the situation of this city is very good, as thou, my lord, seest: but the waters are very bad, and the ground barren. | Barren, owing to the salt or bituminous waters. Some think that they were muddy and of a loathsome smell. The fountain is still to be seen very abundant and excellent, watering the plain on the west of the city. Its source is about two miles distant on the road to Jerusalem. (Maundrell, p. 134.) (Calmet) --- Other parts of the environs were very fertile. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 2:20 | And he said: Bring me a new vessel, and put salt into it. And when they had brought it, | Put salt. He removes every suspicion of imposture: if the waters were already saline, the remedy would seem contrary to his design, but it would display the miracle in a stronger light; and if they were only fetid and muddy, (Calmet) though (Haydock) salt might rectify a small quantity, (Palladius tit. 9. Vales, etc.) it could never correct the bad qualities of such a fountain for a length of time, by the mere force of nature. (Haydock) --- Josephus (Jewish Wars 4:8.) represents Eliseus acting like a magician, being desirous to please the pagan readers with various embellishments. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 2:21 | He went out to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt into it, and said: Thus saith the Lord: I have healed these waters, and there shall be no more in them death or barrenness. | Barrenness. By the divine power they are become salubrious. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 2:22 | And the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Eliseus, which he spoke. | |
| II Kings 2:23 | And he went up from thence to Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, little boys came out of the city and mocked him, saying: Go up, thou bald-head, go up, thou bald-head. | Bald-head. It is not known whether Eliseus was really bald, or only wore his hair short, like the priests of the Lord, and the monks at present. It may also be a term of reproach, of which the emperors Julius Caesar, Domitian, and Otho, were very sensible. Caesar wore a crown of laurel, and Otho a sort of false hair, to hide this deformity. (Suetonius) Quod summum formae decus est, periere capilli. (Petronius) (Calmet) |
| II Kings 2:24 | And looking back, he saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord: and there came forth two bears out of the forest, and tore of them, two and forty boys. | Cursed them. This curse, which was followed by so visible a judgment of God, was not the effect of passion, or of a desire of revenging himself; but of zeal for religion, which was insulted by these boys, in the person of the prophet, and of a divine inspiration; God being determined to punish in this manner the inhabitants of Bethel, (the chief seat of the calf-worship) who had trained up their children in a prejudice against the true religion and its ministers. (Challoner) --- The boys themselves were not so little as not to be aware of the insult they were offering to a minister of the God of Juda; and probably they acted thus out of hatred to him, at the instigation of their idolatrous parents. (Sanctius) (Calmet) --- Lord. He called on him (Menochius) to revenge his own cause, (Haydock) "that the people might learn to take care of their souls, by the fear of death." (St. Augustine) (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 2:25 | And from thence he went to Mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. | Carmel. To avoid the indignation of the populace, and to instruct his disciples. --- Samaria. That he might be ready to give advice to the two kings, who were meditating an expedition against Moab. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 3:0 | The kings of Israel, Juda, and Edom, fight against the king of Moab. They want water, which Eliseus procureth without rain; and prophesieth victory. The king of Moab is overthrown: his city is besieged: he sacrificeth his first-born son: so the Israelites raise the siege. | |
| II Kings 3:1 | And Joram, the son of Achab, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of *Josaphat, king of Juda. And he reigned twelve years. | Year of the World 3108, Year before Christ 896. Achab. Joram succeeded his brother, 4 Kings 1:17. |
| II Kings 3:2 | And he did evil before the Lord, but not like his father and his mother: for he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had made. | Baal. This happened after his victory over Moab, ver. 13. (Calmet) --- Salien thinks rather that Josaphat refused to assist him, except he would destroy what had been lately introduced by his parents, as the league with Achab had been blamed. See 2 Paralipomenon 19:2. The golden calves were of an older standing, and could not be so easily taken from the people. (Menochius) --- Joram was not so wicked as might have been expected. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 3:3 | Nevertheless, he stuck to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he depart from them. | |
| II Kings 3:4 | Now Mesa, king of Moab, nourished many sheep, and he paid to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with their fleeces. | Nourished. Hebrew noked, a term which the Septuagint leave untranslated, means literally, "marked" with some colour by the master. Aut pecori signum, aut numeros impressit acervo. (Georg. i.) Sheep, Symmachus, "large cattle." --- Fleeces; is it commonly supposed every year. This mode of tribute was more usual than paying money. The Moabites were chiefly employed in feeding sheep and cattle; so that it is not wonderful that they should have such great numbers. Dejotarus is represented not only as "a noble Tetrarch, but also as a diligent husbandman and herdsman," pecuarius: (Cicero) which last is the idea which some attach to Mesa. |
| II Kings 3:5 | And when Achab was dead, he broke the league which he had made with the king of Israel. | |
| II Kings 3:6 | And king Joram went out that day from Samaria, and mustered all Israel. | |
| II Kings 3:7 | And he sent to Josaphat, king of Juda, saying: The king of Moab is revolted from me: come with me against him to battle. And he answered: I will come up: he that is mine, is thine: my people are thy people: and my horses, thy horses. | He entered cordially into this war, as he perceived that if Moab succeeded, Edom would follow the same plan. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 3:8 | And he said: Which way shall we go up? But he answered: By the desert of Edom. | Edom though more circuitous (Calmet) than to cross over the Jordan at Galgal, as the enemy might thus be taken unawares, (Menochius) and fresh recruits might be procured from the tributary king of Edom, ver. 9. (Haydock) Yet the want of water made this road more dangerous. |
| II Kings 3:9 | *So the king of Israel, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom, went, and they fetched a compass of seven days journey, and there was no water for the army, and for the beasts, that followed them. | Year of the World 3109, Year before Christ 895. |
| II Kings 3:10 | And the king of Israel said: Alas, alas, alas, the Lord hath gathered us three kings together, to deliver us into the hands of Moab. | |
| II Kings 3:11 | And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may beseech the Lord by him? And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered: Here is Eliseus, the son of Saphat, who poured water on the hands of Elias. | Elias, a proverbial expression to denote that he waited upon him, though the prophet's rough manner of living would require but little attendance. So John the Baptist speaks of untying our Saviour's shoes, Matthew 3:(Calmet) --- Providence had sent Eliseus to attend the army (Haydock) contrary to his custom. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 3:12 | And Josaphat said: The word of the Lord is with him. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, and the king of Edom, went down to him. | With him. I am content. (Haydock) --- Others read with an interrogation, as if the reputation of Eliseus was not yet established. (Menochius) --- Him: they go to his tent. No one ever supported the character of God's envoy, or shewed his authority over the most haughty, better than Eliseus. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 3:13 | And Eliseus said to the king of Israel: What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him: Why hath the Lord gathered together these three kings, to deliver them into the hands of Moab? | Mother, whom thou supportest. This is not an order, but a sarcasm (Haydock) which the king deserved. (Calmet) --- Christ said to Judas, what thou dost, do quickly, John 13:27. (Haydock) --- With what liberty does the prophet speak to an impious king! shewing himself worthy to succeed Elias, and actuated by the like zeal for God. |
| II Kings 3:14 | And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord of hosts liveth, in whose sight I stand, if I did not reverence the face of Josaphat, king of Juda, I would not have hearkened to thee, nor looked on thee. | Reverence, (erubescerem) "blush at," may imply a degree of censure at Josaphat's being again found in such bad company, ver. 2. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "If I did not receive (Calmet) or regard the face." (Haydock) |
| II Kings 3:15 | But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said: | Minstrel. The priests and Levites, who officiated in the temple, accompanied the army. Eliseus wants no profane music, (Calmet) but, by this request, shews his respect for the true religion, (Haydock) and by sounding forth the divine praises, in some of David's psalms, wishes to obtain of God the favour which was desired. (Theodoret) (Menochius) --- He had felt some emotion at the sight of Joram, and was sensible that God required a calm. (Calmet) --- He dwells not in a violent wind, etc., 3 Kings 19:11. (Haydock) --- The surprising effects of ancient music to calm the passions are well attested, 1 Kings 16:17. By this means St. Francis was raised to the contemplation of heavenly things; and St. Augustine says of himself: "How I wept when I heard thy hymns and canticles, being greatly moved at the delightful harmony of thy church:" suavesonantis Ecclesiae tuae vocibus commotus acriter. (Conf. 9:6. de C. 14:24.) --- Upon him, so that he experienced that enthusiasm which shewed that he was actuated by the divine spirit, to speak with all the authority requisite. The pagans strove to imitate the true prophets, but the difference was very evident; no less than the spirit with which they were filled; the former were agitated in a furious manner; the latter were composed and majestic. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 3:16 | Thus saith the Lord: Make the channel of this torrent full of ditches. | Ditches. It was then quite dry; the water which should come in the night, would both refresh the army, and bring on the ruin of the Moabites. |
| II Kings 3:17 | For thus saith the Lord: You shall not see wind, nor rain: and yet this channel shall be filled with waters, and you shall drink, you and your families, and your beasts. | |
| II Kings 3:18 | And this is a small thing in the sight of the Lord: moreover, he will deliver, also, Moab into your hands. | |
| II Kings 3:19 | And you shall destroy every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall cut down every fruitful tree, and shall stop up all the springs of waters, and every goodly field you shall cover with stones. | Tree. This was an exception from the general law; (Deuteronomy 20:19.; Calmet) or it might only regard the land of Chanaan, which the Hebrews should occupy. (Menochius) (Worthington) --- Stones, which had been gathered off into heaps, Isaias 5:1. Persius calls a field thus cleared, Exossatus ager; (Calmet) as if the bones were taken out. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 3:20 | And it came to pass in the morning, when the sacrifices used to be offered, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. | Offered, at sun-rise, Exodus 29:38. --- Water, produced miraculously, without any rain being seen; (ver. 17.; Calmet) though it might fall at a distance in Idumea. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 3:21 | And all the Moabites hearing that the kings were come up to fight against them, gathered together all that were girded with a belt upon them, and stood in the borders. | Upon them. Hebrew, "and upward," both soldiers and those who were usually exempt from service. |
| II Kings 3:22 | And they rose early in the morning, and the sun being now up, and shining upon the waters, the Moabites saw the waters over-against them red, like blood, | Blood. The clouds have frequently a reddish colour at sun-rise, which would be reflected in the waters: the sand might also be red. As the Moabites knew that no water could be expected there at that season of the year, and as some examples had occurred of people turning their arms one against another in the night, (Judges 7:11., and 1 Kings 14:20.) they concluded that what they saw was blood. (Calmet) --- God had also destined them for slaughter, (Abulensis, q. 21.) and suffered their imagination and judgment to be deluded. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 3:23 | And they said: It is the blood of the sword: the kings have fought among themselves, and they have killed one another: go now, Moab, to the spoils. | |
| II Kings 3:24 | And they went into the camp of Israel: but Israel, rising up, defeated Moab, who fled before them. And they being conquerors, went and smote Moab. | Moab. Hebrew adds, "even in the country." |
| II Kings 3:25 | And they destroyed the cities: And they filled every goodly field, every man casting his stone: and they stopt up all the springs of waters: and cut down all the trees that bore fruit, so that brick walls only remained: and the city was beset by the slingers, and a great part thereof destroyed. | Brick walls. It was the proper name of the city of the Moabites. In Hebrew, Kir-Charaseth. (Challoner) --- Isaias xv., and 16:7. It was also called Ar, or Arcopolis. --- Remained. Hebrew adds, "with the stones unmolested." They laid siege to it. (Haydock) --- Slingers. Grotius would understand those who attended the machines designed to throw stones, etc. But the slingers kept off the enemy, while others undermined the walls. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 3:26 | And when the king of Moab saw this, to wit, that the enemies had prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men that drew the sword, to break in upon the king of Edom: but they could not. | Edom, hoping that he would favour their escape, or because that part seemed the weakest. |
| II Kings 3:27 | Then he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall: and there was great indignation in Israel, and presently they departed from him, and returned into their own country. | Wall, to Chamos, the idol of Moab; (Menochius) or to Moloc, to appease the wrath of the gods. Horrible blindness! The pagans believed, that the most precious thing ought to be sacrificed in very imminent dangers. (Philo Biblius, following Eusebius, praep. 4:16.) --- The Phoenicians offered such victims to Saturn. Many devoted themselves to death for the safety of the Roman republic; and some were ready to do so, to preserve the lives of Caligula and Nero, before they had given proof of their evil dispositions. (Seutonius xiv.) --- It is thought that Sennacherib intended to treat his two sons in this manner, if they had not prevented him. (Abulensis, in 4 Kings 19:37.) --- Some imagine that Mesa sacrificed his son to the God of Israel, in imitation of Abraham; (Josephus; Grotius) others, that he slew the son of the king of Edom, out of revenge. (Kimchi, in Amos 2:1.) --- The Hebrew is ambiguous. (Amama) --- But interpreters generally believe, that the heir of Mesa fell a victim (Calmet) to his father's mistaken zeal, or to his desire to make the enemy retire, when they saw him reduced to such a state of desperation. It had, at least, this effect. (Haydock) --- Indignation, at such a cruel action. (Menochius) --- Septuagint, "there was great repentance" and sorrow. The text may also imply, that God was displeased at Israel for pushing the king to such an extremity; or, they became an object of horror to the surrounding nations. (Calmet) --- The first explanation seems the best; as the Israelites thought the king had been sufficiently punished, and therefore retired. They had no reason to suspect that he would have given way to such madness, nor were they to blame for it. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 4:0 | Miracles of Eliseus. He raiseth a dead child to life. | |
| II Kings 4:1 | Now a certain woman of the wives of the prophets, *cried to Eliseus, saying: Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant was one that feared God, and behold the creditor is come to take away my two sons to serve him. | Year of the World 3109, Year before Christ 895. Prophets. Josephus ([Antiquities?] 9:4.) intimates that this man was Abdias; (3 Kings 18:13.) and the Rabbins pretend that Joram was the creditor. But these traditions are destitute of proof; and we know not that Abdias was a prophet. (Calmet) --- Serve him, not as slaves, for the Hebrews were not thus to be sold, except they had commited some crime. (Salien, the year before Christ 913.) See Leviticus 25:39. --- But the condition of mercenaries was perhaps little different; (Haydock) and we find that people were sold for debt, Exodus 21:7., and Isaias 50:1. The same practice seems to have continued till our Saviour's time, Matthew 18:25. Children were regarded as part of a person's property. The Romans, Athenians, and other nations, claimed the same right over them. (Halicar. 2:p. 96.; Plutarch, in Solon et Lucullus.) The custom of selling children continued for a long time in our [British] islands. |
| II Kings 4:2 | And Eliseus said to her: What wilt thou have me to do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thy house? And she answered: I, thy handmaid, have nothing in my house but a little oil, to anoint me. | Anoint me, for delicacy or health, Matthew 6:17. (Menochius) --- To abstain from this unction, in the East, was a great mortification, 2 Kings 14:2., and Deuteronomy 28:40. Sanctius supposes, that the woman intended the oil to anoint her body for interment, Matthew 26:12. Hebrew asuc, occurs no where else, and my signify a pot, or "skin of oil." The woman had nothing else. The original does not say what she intended to do with it. (Calmet) --- She might use it for food: (3 Kings 17:12.) but the Septuagint agree with the Vulgate. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 4:3 | And he said to her: Go, borrow of all thy neighbours empty vessels, not a few. | |
| II Kings 4:4 | And go in, and shut thy door, when thou art within, and thy sons: and pour out thereof into all those vessels: and when they are full, take them away. | |
| II Kings 4:5 | So the woman went, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons: they brought her the vessels, and she poured in. | |
| II Kings 4:6 | And when the vessels were full, she said to her son: Bring me yet a vessel. And he answered: I have no more. And the oil stood. | Stood. The grace of God ceases to flow, when the soul is full of vanity. (St. Bernard) --- Charity does not increase, when it bestows nothing. (St. Augustine, ser. 206. de Temp.) |
| II Kings 4:7 | And she came, and told the man of God. And he said: Go, sell the oil, and pay thy creditor: and thou and thy sons live of the rest. | |
| II Kings 4:8 | And there was a day when Eliseus passed by Sunam: now there was a great woman there, who detained him to eat bread: and as he passed often that way, he turned into her house to eat bread. | Sunam, the birth-place of the beautiful virgin Abisag, (3 Kings 1:3.) at the foot of Thabor, (Calmet) and not above a mile from Carmel, ver. 23. (Tirinus) --- Great woman, "renowned for piety" (Arabic) and riches, ver. 13. (Tirinus) (Menochius) --- "Fearing sins." (Chaldean) This was true greatness! (Haydock) --- Eliseus often passed by her house, when he went to visit the colleges [of prophets] at Bethel, Jericho, etc. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 4:9 | And she said to her husband: I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who often passeth by us. | |
| II Kings 4:10 | Let us, therefore, make him a little chamber, and put a little bed in it for him, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick, that when he cometh to us he may abide there. | Chamber. Hebrew adds, "on the wall," (Haydock) or surrounded "with walls," at the top of the house, where strangers usually lodged. (Calmet) --- After being entertained the first day with the family, they might retire, and live, as if they were at home; some presents being sent to them daily, at least among the Greeks of rank. (Vitruv. 6:10.) --- The apartment of Eliseus might be separate from the house, that he might be less distracted in his meditations. (Menochius) (Vatable) --- Candlestick, on which many lamps, or even wood, might burn, Exodus 25:27. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 4:11 | Now, there was a certain day, when he came, and turned into the chamber, and rested there. | |
| II Kings 4:12 | And he said to Giezi, his servant: Call this Sunamitess. And when he had called her, and she stood before him, | |
| II Kings 4:13 | He said to his servant: Say to her: Behold, thou hast diligently served us in all things; what wilt thou have me to do for thee? Hast thou any business, and wilt thou, that I speak to the king, or to the general of the army? And she answered: I dwell in the midst of my own people. | He said, or "he had said;" (Junius and Piscator) so that we may include this and the following verse within a parenthesis, as alluding to what had passed before; (Calmet) unless the woman, out of modesty, did not come into the chamber of the prophet, who addressed her by an interpreter, (Menochius) or servant. (Haydock) --- Army. Eliseus had acquired great influence with Joram, in the war with Moab. (Calmet) --- The ancient canons exhort bishops to present the petitions of the poor to the prince. (Grotius) --- People. I have nothing to fear, (Haydock) and am not in want. (Tirinus) --- I have no quarrel with any person. (Calmet) --- I am of too mean a condition to have any thing to do at court. (Abulensis) |
| II Kings 4:14 | And he said: What will she then that I do for her? And Giezi said: Do not ask, for she hath no son, and her husband is old. | No son. The desire of one was very natural, particularly to people in good circumstances (Menochius) and of the Hebrew nation. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 4:15 | Then he bid him call her. And when she was called, and stood before the door, | |
| II Kings 4:16 | He said to her: At this time, and this same hour, if life be in company, thou shalt have a son in thy womb. But she answered: Do not, I beseech thee, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid. | Womb. Hebrew, "At this season, according to the time of life, (Haydock; or of a woman with child, Menochius) thou shalt embrace a son" in thy arms. (Haydock) See Genesis 18:10. (Calmet) --- If is added by St. Jerome, agreeably to an usual form of speaking. (Menochius) --- The prophet assures the woman, that she will not only live, but also bear a son, and nurse him. --- Lie, deceive, (ver. 28; Haydock) or flatter me with vain hopes. (Calmet) She might think that the prophet was not actually inspired. (Menochius) --- Through joy, she could hardly believe. See Luke 24:41. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 4:17 | And the woman conceived, and brought forth a son in the time, *and at the same hour that Eliseus had said. | Year of the World 3110. |
| II Kings 4:18 | And the child grew. And on a certain day, when he went out to his father to the reapers, | |
| II Kings 4:19 | He said to his father: My head acheth, my head acheth. But he said to his servant: Take him and carry him to his mother. | Carry. This interpretation suits with the occasion, and is conformable to the Septuagint and Chaldean. (Menochius) --- Literally, "conduct him," but he was sick and little. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 4:20 | And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, she sat him on her knees, until noon, and then he died. | |
| II Kings 4:21 | And she went up, and laid him upon the bed of the man of God, and shut the door: and going out, | Bed, esteeming it as a relic, (Haydock) or wishing to excite the man of God to pray for her child, and to conceal its death from her husband. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 4:22 | She called her husband, and said: Send with me, I beseech thee, one of thy servants, and an ass, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. | |
| II Kings 4:23 | And he said to her: Why dost thou go to him? to-day is neither new moon nor sabbath. She answered: I will go. | Moon, a day of devotion, (Numbers 10:10.; Calmet) or probably of obligation, like the sabbath, on which no long journey could be undertaken, (Tirinus; ver. 8.) unless for the sake of piety, (Exodus 26:8.) as Sunam is a place six or seven leagues, (Calmet) or eight hours' walk from Carmel. (Adrichomius) (Menochius) --- Piety was not so far decayed in Israel but many fervent souls still went to hear the prophets. (Calmet) It seems this woman had often made such journeys. (Menochius) --- Go. Hebrew, "peace." Protestants, "it shall be well:" let me depart. She is unwilling to reveal the reason of her journey; but her husband was so well convinced of her virtue, that he placed no obstacle in her way. Perhaps he might partly guess what was the matter, as he had sent the child home sick, and saw his wife so desirous to visit the prophet. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 4:24 | And she saddled an ass, and commanded her servant: Drive, and make haste, make no stay in going: And do that which I bid thee. | And do. Hebrew, "unless I bid thee." Some translate, "urge me not to get up, unless," etc. (Chaldean; Arabic, etc.) They suppose that she went on foot, and that the ass was designed for Eliseus. (Vatable) |
| II Kings 4:25 | So she went forward, and came to the man of God, to Mount Carmel: and when the mall of God saw her coming towards, he said to Giezi, his servant: Behold that Sunamitess. | |
| II Kings 4:26 | Go, therefore, to meet her, and say to her: Is all well with thee, and with thy husband, and with thy son? And she answered: Well. | Well. She declines mentioning what she wanted to the servant, in order that she might speak to the prophet in person. (Menochius) --- She might also rationally hope that the child was well in another world. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 4:27 | And when she came to the man of God, to the mount, she caught hold on his feet: and Giezi came to remove her. And the man of God said: Let her alone, for her soul is in anguish, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. | Her. Being aware of the extreme circumspection and modesty of his master. --- Told me. Hence it appears that the prophets were not inspired at all times, 2 Kings 7:3, "that they might be sensible that what they had was a gift of God." (St. Gregory, hom. in Ezech. 11) |
| II Kings 4:28 | And she said to him: Did I ask a son of my lord? did I not say to thee: Do not deceive me? | A son. Better had it been for me not to have become a mother, than to be so soon delivered of my child. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 4:29 | Then he said to Giezi: Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go. If any man meet thee, salute him not: and if any man salute thee, answer him not: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. | Salute him not. He that is sent to raise to life the sinner spiritually dead, must not suffer himself to be called off, or diverted from his enterprise, by the salutations or ceremonies of the world. (Challoner) --- So must the preachers of the gospel diligently fulfil their important office, Luke 10:4. (St. Gregory, hom. 17.) Urbanity is not reprehended; but no human transaction ought to impede what is divine. (St. Ambrose, ibid.[Luke 10:4.?]) In ancient comedies, slaves are always represented in a hurry. The Jews will not salute any person when they are going to their synagogues, for fear of being distracted in their devotions. (Calmet) --- Eliseus requires the utmost expedition, that the favour might be the greater, Qui cito dat, bis dat. (Menochius) --- He would also prevent his servant from telling any one what he was about, that he might not be touched with vanity, and thus hinder the miracle, which some think was nevertheless the case. (R. Salomon) (Theodoret, q. 17.) (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 4:30 | But the mother of the child said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. He arose, therefore, and followed her. | |
| II Kings 4:31 | But Giezi was gone before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child, and there was no voice nor sense: and he returned to meet him, and told him, saying: The child is not risen. | The child is not risen. By the staff of Eliseus is represented the rod of Moses, or the old law, which was incapable of restoring life to mankind, then dead by sin. It was necessary that Christ himself should come in our flesh, to restore us to life again. In this, Eliseus, as a figure of Christ, behoved to go in person to restore the dead child to life. (Challoner) --- St. Augustine (contra Faust. 12:35.) shews that many like things recorded in the Old Testament are figures of the New. (Worthington) --- Many of the fathers observe, that this miracle was intended to shew the necessity of the Incarnation to redeem lost man. The staff did not therefore restore life. Some lay the blame on Giezi; others on the woman, who required the prophet to come in person; and others suppose that Eliseus followed herein his own spirit. But all this is destitute of proof. (Calmet) --- He might alter his mind (Tirinus) at the request of the woman, and to imitate Elias; (3 Kings 17:21.) all by God's direction. (Haydock) --- He had before trusted that God would perform the miracle by means of the staff, as he did formerly by the rod of Moses, or by the mantle of Elias. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 4:32 | Eliseus, therefore, went into the house, and behold the child lay dead on his bed: | |
| II Kings 4:33 | And going in, he shut the door upon him, and upon the child, and prayed to the Lord. | |
| II Kings 4:34 | And he went up, and lay upon the child: and he put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he bowed himself upon him, and the child's flesh grew warm. | Warm. Arabic adds, "by his breath," as when God breathed a soul into Adam. (Theodoret, q. 18.) --- Some Greek interpreters have, "he breathed upon him," etc. |
| II Kings 4:35 | Then he returned and walked in the house, once to and fro: and he went up, and lay upon him: and the child gaped seven times, and opened his eyes. | Upon him. Septuagint, "he breathed," etc. (Calmet) --- Other copies, (Alexandrian and Vatican) "he bent down upon the child seven times, and the child opened his eyes." --- Gaped. Protestants, "sneezed;" (Haydock) in which interpretation, Junius, Montanus, etc., agree. Arabic, "he turned his eyes about seven times." Others, "he trembled," (Calmet) or sighed; (ver. 19.) and sneezing is accounted good for alleviating the pain. Sternutamenta capitis gravedinem emendant. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 28:6.) (Calmet) |
| II Kings 4:36 | And he called Giezi, and said to him: Call this Sunamitess. And she being called, went in to him: and he said: Take up thy son. | |
| II Kings 4:37 | She came and fell at his feet, and worshipped upon the ground: and took up her son, and went out. | Ground. To honour the saint, who had done her such a kindness. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 4:38 | And Eliseus returned to Galgal, and there was a famine in the land, and the sons of the prophets dwelt before him: And he said to one of his servants: Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. | Galgal, where he had been often before. --- Dwelt. Hebrew, "sat," like disciples attending to the instructions of their master, Acts 22:3. (Calmet) --- To one, etc. Hebrew and Septuagint, "to his servant," Giezi. (Menochius) --- Eliseus provided for the temporal as well as for the spiritual wants of his followers. (Haydock) --- The famine had been sent by God, to punish the idolatry of the people, 4 Kings 8:1. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 4:39 | And one went out into the field to gather wild herbs: and he found something like a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds of the field, and filled his mantle, and coming back, he shred them into the pot of pottage; for he knew not what it was. | Wild herbs. Hebrew oroth. Septuagint arioth, may denote any thing that could be "gathered." --- Gourds: colocynthides. They resembled cucumbers; but were so bitter, that they were styled, "the gall of the earth." Vallesius, (Phil. C. 36.) who observes, that a small quantity may cause death, (c. 37.) and that the remedy used by the prophet was supernatural; though Lemnius (c. 7.) asserts, that the mixture of barley-flour would take away the bitterness. (Tirinus) --- It has, in effect, that tendency; but the hand of God must still be acknowledged. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 4:40 | And they poured it out for their companions to eat: and when they had tasted of the pottage, they cried out, saying: Death is in the pot, O man of God. And they could not eat thereof. | Death, poison, etc. Matthiole accounts this fruit poisonous. |
| II Kings 4:41 | But he said: Bring some meal. And when they had brought it, he cast it into the pot, and said: Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was now no bitterness in the pot. | |
| II Kings 4:42 | And a certain man came from Baalsalisa, bringing to the man of God, bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and new corn in his scrip. And he said: Give to the people, that they may eat. | Baalsalisa, 15 miles south of Diospolis, and to the north of Jerusalem. (Calmet) --- His scrip. Hebrew bctsiklono. Protestants, "in the husk thereof." Carmel, means a greenish ear of corn, (Haydock) which might be rubbed in the hand, and so eaten. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 4:43 | And his servant answered him: How much is this, that I should set it before a hundred men? He said again: Give to the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the Lord: They shall eat, and there shall be left. | Men. The disciples of Christ found the like difficulty, John 6:9. (Menochius) --- God multiplied the provisions for these 100 men, (Calmet) living in the community at Galgal. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 4:44 | So he set it before them: and they ate, and there was left, according to the word of the Lord. | |
| II Kings 5:0 | Naaman, the Syrian, is cleansed of his leprosy. He professeth his belief in one God, promising to serve him. Giezi taketh gifts of Naaman, and is struck with leprosy. | |
| II Kings 5:1 | Naaman, general of the army, of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable: for by him the Lord gave deliverance to Syria: and he was a valiant man, and rich, but a leper. | King, Benadad, who had defeated Achab, and was slain by Hazael; (chap. 8.; Tirinus) or, according to Salien, Hazael was already king. (Menochius) --- Josephus passes over this history. It is not known for what reason, (Calmet) unless he was staggered at the petition of Naaman, ver. 18, 19. (Haydock) --- Syria. The Rabbins say, by killing Achab, 3 Kings 22:34. But their authority is very small; (Haydock) and he might signalize himself on many other occasions. --- Leper. This malady did not exclude him from court. The Hebrews allowed such to appear in public, till the priests had declared them unclean; and other nations viewed the leprosy with less horror. |
| II Kings 5:2 | Now there had gone out robbers from Syria, and had led away captive out of the land of Israel, a little maid, and she waited upon Naaman's wife. | Robbers; soldiers. (Tirinus) (2 Kings 4:2.) --- Such invaded the dominions of Joachin, 4 Kings 24:2. Irruptions of this nature were then very common, (see Judges 11:3., and Job 1:15.) and regarded as noble military exploits. When the Greeks first became acquainted with navigation, they exercised themselves in this manner; (Thucydides l.) and the Germans allowed their citizens to take from other people. Juventutis exercendae ac desidiae minuendae causa. (Caesar, Bel. Gal. vi.) Those who had been plundered, were allowed to redeem their goods. (Strabo xi.) --- The Arabs still maintain their right to live upon their neighbours. (Calmet) --- The Christian religion has introduced more gentle manners. --- Maid. It seems, however, she was well informed of the miraculous powers and goodness of Eliseus. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 5:3 | And she said to her mistress: I wish my master had been with the prophet that is in Samaria: he would certainly have healed him of the leprosy which he hath. | |
| II Kings 5:4 | Then Naaman went in to his lord, and told him, saying: Thus and thus said tile girl from the land of Israel. | |
| II Kings 5:5 | And the king of Syria said to him: Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment; | Raiment; the tunic and the cloak, (Calmet) of a finer sort. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 5:6 | And brought the letter to the king of Israel, in these words: When thou shalt receive this letter, know that I have sent to thee Naaman, my servant, that thou mayst heal him of his leprosy. | |
| II Kings 5:7 | And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he rent his garments, and said: Am I God, to be able to kill and give life, that this man hath sent to me to heal a man of his leprosy? mark, and see how he seeketh occasions against me. | Leprosy. The cure was deemed very difficult; as it generally kept gaining ground, and destroyed the constitution. See Numbers 12:12., and Isaias 53:4. (Calmet) --- Me. The letter was, in effect, written in a haughty style, (Menochius) and the king might naturally infer that war would be the consequence. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 5:8 | And when Eliseus, the man of God, had heard this, to wit, that the king of Israel had rent his garments, he sent to him, saying: Why hast thou rent thy garments? let him come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel. | Israel; able to perform much greater wonders, by God's assistance. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 5:9 | So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Eliseus: | |
| II Kings 5:10 | And Eliseus sent a messenger to him, saying: Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and thou shalt be clean. | Messenger. Eliseus supports the dignity of God's envoy, and shews the general that his cure was to be attributed, not to the presence of the prophet, but to the will and goodness of God. |
| II Kings 5:11 | Naaman was angry, and went away, saying: I thought he would have come out to me, and standing, would have invoked the name of the Lord, his God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me. | |
| II Kings 5:12 | Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them, and be made clean? So as he turned, and was going away with indignation, | Pharphar. Benjamin (p. 53) informs us that the former river serves to water the city, and the second the surrounding gardens. Maundrell could discover no vestiges of these names in Syria, but he describes the Barrady, which supplies Damascus with abundance of water. Stephanus calls it Bardine; and others, the Chrysorroas. The Orontes, which is supposed to be one of these rivers, flows by Antioch into the Mediterranean sea. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 5:13 | His servants came to him, and said to him: Father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst have done it: how much rather what he now hath said to thee: Wash, and thou shalt be clean? | Father; a title given to masters, kings, etc. The Romans senators were styled, "conscript fathers;" and Homer calls kings "the fathers and shepherds of the people." See Genesis 45:8. (Calmet) --- Masters may often derive benefit from the observations of their servants, as Naaman did repeatedly, ver. 2. This may serve to correct their pride. (Haydock) --- Clean. The patient ought not to prescribe rules to his physician. (Menochius) --- How justly might these words be addressed to delicate penitents! (Haydock) |
| II Kings 5:14 | *Then he went down, and washed in the Jordan seven times: according to the word of the man of God: and his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a little child, and he was made clean. Luke 4:27. | Clean. If bathing seven times in the Jordan had been an infallible remedy, there would soon have been no lepers in the land; and our Saviour plainly intimates that the cure was miraculous, Luke 4:27. The leprosy of Naaman, though inveterate, was cured in an instant. To bathe in a rapid stream, is allowed to be very salutary for removing the diseases of the skin. (Calmet) (Vales. 38.) --- The fathers discover in this miracle, a figure of the Gentiles called to the faith by the Synagogue, which is in servitude, Galatians 4:25. Baptism cleanses us from all the seven capital sins, (Tertullian, contra Marc. 4.) so that no vestiges remain. (St. Ambrose, etc.) (Calmet) |
| II Kings 5:15 | And returning to the man of God with all his train, he came, and stood before him, and said: In truth, I know there is no other God, in all the earth, but only in Israel: I beseech thee, therefore, take a blessing of thy servant. | A blessing. A present, (Challoner) accompanied with wishes of happiness, on both sides. We have seen that the prophets generally received such presents. But Eliseus acts with more reserve in regard of this stranger, as St. Paul did towards the new converts; though he received some sustenance from those, who would be less in danger of suspecting that he was actuated by selfish views in preaching the gospel, 2 Corinthians 10:7., and 12:14., and Matthew 10:8. (Calmet) --- They abstained from every appearance of evil, (Haydock) though they might lawfully have accepted such presents. Eliseus wished to convince Naaman that God's grace was not to be purchased, and to leave a lesson of moderation to future teachers. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 5:16 | But he answered: As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And when he pressed him, he still refused. | |
| II Kings 5:17 | And Naaman said: As thou wilt: but I beseech thee, grant to me, thy servant, to take from hence two mules' burden of earth: for thy servant will not henceforth offer holocaust, or victim, to other gods, but to the Lord. | Mule; (burdonum,) the offspring of a horse and of an ass. (Menochius) --- Earth, to make brick for an altar, or to inclose within a box of brass, as was done in the altar of holocausts in the desert; or, in fine, to sprinkle on some clean place, where an altar might be erected, in honour of the true God. He does not inquire what ceremonies were used in the land of Israel, (Calmet) as he was not enrolled by circumcision, among the Hebrews, as an observer of their law; but intended to serve God, like Job, and many other righteous Gentiles, who kept themselves clear of idolatry, and observed the ancient patriarchal religion with a clean heart. (Haydock) --- As God had sanctified the land by the observance of his true religion, Naaman rightly judged that it was fitter for an altar than the earth of his own country. (Worthington) --- The Jews had a particular veneration for it, Psalm 101:15. They built a synagogue in Persia, with earth and stones taken from Jerusalem. (Benjamin) --- Christians sometimes carry away the same earth. (St. Augustine, de C.[City of God?] 22:8.) (Turon. 1:7.) --- The Donatists had a sovereign respect for it; (St. Augustine, ep. 52.) and it is said that St. Helena brought a great quantity to the church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, at Rome. (Mabillon, Itin. p. 187.) (Calmet) --- Lord. Out of Palestine, the Gentiles were not prohibited to offer sacrifice to the true God any where; nor were they under any obligation of following the law of Moses. (Abulensis) (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 5:18 | But there is only this, for which thou shalt entreat the Lord for thy servant; when my master goeth into the temple of Remmon, to worship there: and he leaneth upon my hand, if I bow down in the temple of Remmon, when he boweth down in the same place, that the Lord pardon me, thy servant, for this thing. | Remmon, denotes "a pomegranate," or something "elevated," and is probably an epithet of the sun, the chief idol of the Syrians, which was also styled Adad, "one," as both are united, Zacharias 12:11. --- Rempham is probably the same divinity, Acts 7:43. Septuagint here read, Remman. Hesychius explains Ramas, "the highest god." Selden thinks the Elion of the Phoenicians is understood; Grotius, that Saturn, the highest of the planets, is meant. Serarius declares for Venus, to whom pomegranates were sacred; and P. Martyr for Juno, who held one of these apples in her hand. (Pausan. in Corinth) --- Remmon occurs no where else. --- Hand. This was an honour of the chief favourite, 4 Kings 7:2. (Calmet) --- Thing. He does not ask leave to commit sin, which would be absurd; though Protestants are not ashamed to accuse the Catholic Church, as if her "indulgences" were pardons for sins to come; though they be in reality no pardon for sin at all, but only a remission of temporal punishment, after the sin has been remitted by penance. Why do they not manfully attack what we really profess to believe? --- When he. Hebrew, "when I bow," etc. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 5:19 | And he said to him: Go in peace. So he departed from him, in the spring time of the earth. | Go in peace. What the prophet here allowed, was not an outward conformity to an idolatrous worship, but only a service which by his office he owed to his master; who, on all public occasions, leaned on him: so that his bowing down when his master bowed himself down, was not in effect adoring the idols; nor was it so understood by the standers by, (since he publicly professed himself a worshipper of the only true and living God) but it was no more than doing a civil office to the king, his master, whose leaning upon him obliged him to bow at the same time that he bowed. (Challoner) --- Some assert that the prophet does not even authorize this civil assistance in the temple of idols, but simply tells Naaman to go in peace, and to think no more of his former religion; that he will beseech the Lord not to suffer him to be exposed to the danger. (Junius and Piscator) (Calmet) --- Some formerly pleaded this example, to excuse their occasional conformity in going to the Protestant churches, as the law required. But the case was very different. Greater perfection is required in the new law. They had not to act in the capacity of Naaman; and their attendance was considered as a profession of a false religion. Their directors loudly condemned the practice. They ought rather to have imitated Eleazar, etc., who refused to eat swine's flesh, 2 Machabees vi., and vii. (Worthington) --- Though the king intended to adore the idol, Naaman referred his worship to God alone. (Bristow, Mot. 23.; Theodoret, q. 19.; and a Greek interpreter.) --- The Hebrew term signifies, either to adore mentally, or to bend down; which latter is the sense applicable to Naaman. (Cajetan) (Amama) --- His "request must certainly refer to the time past, and not to that to come; as if he begged an indulgence in idolatry, or of countenancing his master's idol-worship, by his presence." (Button, Dict.) --- The Jews foolishly pretend (Calmet) that "the proselyte of dwelling," like Naaman, might return to the service of idols, in his own country, without its being imputed to him. (Selden, Jur. 2:11.) (Maimonides) --- The conduct of the Syrian convert, whether past or future, undoubtedly filled him with alarm. If he considered the danger of a merely civil attendance upon the king, in an idolatrous temple, we cannot condemn him of idle scrupulosity; (Haycock) since many have found a difficulty in admitting the lawfulness of such a practice, and have even blamed both Naaman and the prophet. (Greg. de Valentia, etc., ep. Cornelius a Lapide) (Calmet) --- But if the practice was irreprehensible, as most interpreters assert, the answer of Eliseus might give this assurance to Naaman, and inform him that he need be under no farther apprehension on that account. Go in peace. These words do not expressly solve the difficulty; but the mode in which they were uttered might intimate, either that the general would be no longer under that embarrassment, (as we do not read that he ever attended the king of Syria into the temple afterwards) or that God had forgiven his former offences, and particularly the scandalous idolatry which now gave him so much pain. The original, ver. 18, which is generally translated in the present or future, (Haydock) may be better rendered in the past tense, as the Chaldean has it. "In this thing the Lord pardon thy servant. My master going into the temple of Remmon to worship there, and leaning upon my hand, and I worshipped in the temple of Remmon, when I did worship in the temple of Remmon, that the Lord pardon," etc. St. Jerome and the Septuagint seem to have read more correctly, when he, etc. We may also render it in the present tense, "and I worship," or, "am wont to adore;" not that he meant to prevaricate any longer. The Syriac and Arabic read with an interrogation. "When I shall adore....(Calmet; or bow down, Haydock) will the Lord pardon me?" But this rather increases the difficulty. (Calmet) --- We may therefore conclude either that Naaman had no decision, or that he had leave to serve his master, (Haydock) in a civil capacity even in the temple; (Menochius; Tirinus; Alex. 2. dis. 7.; Santius, etc.) or, that he obtained pardon for his past transgressions. (Bochart; Calmet, etc.) --- Earth, as the expression is rendered [in] Genesis 35:16., thoug here it is literally, "at the chosen season;" electo, not verno. The sense is the same. Cibrath, untranslated by the Septuagint, may denote a certain space, or village; (Haydock) "a furrow," of 240 feet long, and half that breadth; (Calmet) "a mile;" (Chaldean; Pagnin) or a portion of time allowed by the law, about a quarter of an hour, during which a mile, or sabbath-day's journey, might be performed. (Tirinus) --- Protestants, "a little way." |
| II Kings 5:20 | But Giezi, the servant of the man of God, said: My master hath spared Naaman, this Syrian, in not receiving of him that which he brought: as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take something of him. | Liveth. How unnecessary was this oath! But the Simoniac has no regard for any thing but money. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 5:21 | And Giezi followed after Naaman: and when he saw him running after him, he leapt down from his chariot to meet him, and said: Is all well? | |
| II Kings 5:22 | And he said: All is well: my master hath sent me to thee, saying: Just now there are come to me from Mount Ephraim, two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. | |
| II Kings 5:23 | And Naaman said: It is better that thou take two talents. And he forced him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, and two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants, and they carried them before him. | Him. The weight must have been considerable, (6000 sicles, ver. 26., and Exodus 38:25.; Haydock) otherwise Giezi would have preferred carrying them himself, that his master might not know. (Calmet) --- He had pretended a reluctance to take more than one talent, not to swerve from his master's injunctions. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 5:24 | And when he was come, and now it was the evening, he took them from their hands, and laid them up in the house, and sent the men away, and they departed. | Evening. Septuagint, Syriac, etc., seems to have read aupol, instead of the present Hebrew hopel, eminence," (Calmet) Protestants, "tower," (Haydock) at or near Samaria; when Giezi thought proper to take the burden himself to prevent detection. Eliseus would hardly dismiss the Syrians, when the night was so near at hand. (Calmet) --- It might however be found more eligible to travel in the evening, (Haydock) as it was now the spring or summer season, (Tirinus) or at least warm, ver. 10. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 5:25 | But he went in, and stood before his master. And Eliseus said: Whence comest thou, Giezi? He answered: Thy servant went no whither. | |
| II Kings 5:26 | But he said: Was not my heart present, when the man turned back, from his chariot, to meet thee? So now thou hast received money, and received garments, to buy olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and maid-servants. | Present is not expressed in Hebrew but must be understood. Protestants, "Went not mine heart with thee." (Haydock) --- God has revealed the whole transaction to me. (Menochius) --- Heart in Scripture, often denotes the spirit or soul. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 5:27 | But the leprosy of Naaman, shall also stick to thee, and to thy seed for ever. And he went out from him a leper, as white as snow. | For ever. Not perhaps to those who might be already born, unless they were accomplices in the crime. The leprosy is hereditary. Giezi was punished for simony, in selling the miracle, as well as for lying and disobedience. (Calmet) --- He might also have given occasion to Naaman to judge ill of his master; as the false prophets were noted for such avarice, Micheas 3:11. But Eliseus would probably take care to give him better information. (Tirinus) --- He did not require his servant to give up what he had unjustly received, as the general had made over the property to him; and he thought proper to leave it in the hands of Giezi, to indemnify him for past services, and that he might have wherewith to support himself, as he now dismissed him from his company. (Salien, the year before Christ 903.) --- Snow, and therefore more incurable. (Tirinus) --- See Leviticus xiii. (Calmet) --- "All the covetous and misers, together with their riches, possess the leprosy of Giezi:" thesaurum criminum congregarunt. (St. Ambrose) Giezi prefigured Judas, the false apostle of Christ, and all those who buy or sell spiritual things. By their avarice, they procure infamy in this world, and damnation in the next. (St. Augustine, ep. 208, de Temp.) (Worthington) |
| II Kings 6:0 | Eliseus maketh iron to swim upon the water: he leadeth the Syrians, that were sent to apprehend him, into Samaria, where their eyes being opened, they are courteously entertained. The Syrians besiege Samaria: the famine there causeth a woman to eat her own child. Upon which the king commandeth Eliseus to be put to death. | |
| II Kings 6:1 | And the sons of the prophets said to Eliseus: *Behold, the place where we dwell with thee is too straight for us. | Year of the World 3115. |
| II Kings 6:2 | Let us go as far as the Jordan, and take out of the wood every man a piece of timber, that we may build us there a place to dwell in. And he said: Go. | Timber. Hebrew and Septuagint, "a beam." Salien supposes that these prophets resided at Galgal. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 6:3 | And one of them said: But come thou also with thy servants. He answered: I will come. | |
| II Kings 6:4 | So he went with them. And when they were come to the Jordan, they cut down wood. | |
| II Kings 6:5 | And it happened, as one was felling some timber, that the head of the ax fell into the water: and he cried out, and said: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, for this same was borrowed. | Borrowed. He was grieved because he could not repair the loss. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 6:6 | And the man of God said: Where did it fall? and he shewed him the place: Then he cut off a piece of wood, and cast it in thither: and the iron swam. | Swam. So; Demersam fluvio relevavit virga securim. (Tertullian, contra Marc.) The Fathers here remark a figure of the cross of Jesus Christ; the virtue of which, in baptism, reclaims the hardened sinner from the ways of vanity. (Tertullian, contra Judaeos xiii.) (Calmet) --- Those who would explain the reason of every miracle, may here inform the infidel why recourse was had to a supernatural interference, in a matter apparently of such a trifling nature. They ask why God should cause the eyes of various pictures in Italy to move on a late occasion; and because they cannot assign a satisfactory reason, they boldly assert that all was an imposture. But this mode of argumentation is very delusive, if not impious. "Who hath been his (God's) counsellor?" (Romans 11:34.) All that we have to do is to believe, when the proofs are of such a nature as to require our rational assent. |
| II Kings 6:7 | And he said: Take it up. And he put out his hand, and took it. | |
| II Kings 6:8 | And the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying: In such and such a place, let us lay an ambush. | And such, which the king would mention. (Menochius) --- The causes of this war are not known; but an ambitious prince always finds pretexts to cover his injustice. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 6:9 | And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying: Beware that thou pass not to such a place: for the Syrians are there in ambush. | |
| II Kings 6:10 | And the king of Israel, sent to the place which the man of God had told him, and prevented him, and looked well to himself there not once nor twice. | Twice, but very frequently: so that the Syrian feared some treachery. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 6:11 | And the heart of the king of Syria, was troubled for this thing. And calling together his servants, he said: Why do you not tell me who it is that betrays me to the king of Israel? | |
| II Kings 6:12 | And one of his servants said: No one, my lord, O king: but Eliseus, the prophet, that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel all the words, that thou speakest in thy privy chamber. | Chamber. Is it difficult therefore for the saints in heaven to hear our prayers? though they have not such long ears as Calvin ridicules. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 6:13 | And he said to them: Go, and see where he is: that I may send and take him. And they told him: saying: Behold he is in Dothan. | Take him. Foolish attempt! as if the prophet could not foresee his own danger. (Salien) --- Dothan or Dothain, (Genesis 37:17.) twelve miles north of Samaria. (Eusebius; Calmet) Adrichomius says, in the tribe of Zabulon. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 6:14 | *Therefore, he sent thither horses, and chariots, and the strength of an army: and they came by night, and beset the city. | Year of the World 3116. Of an, or, "of the army." To take one man was judged of such consequence; and Benadad feared lest the Israelites should rise up in his defence. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 6:15 | And the servant of the man of God, rising early, went out, and saw an army round about the city, and horses and chariots: and he told him, saying: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, what shall we do? | Servant, Giezi; as his leprosy is placed too soon. (Salien) (Menochius) |
| II Kings 6:16 | But he answered: Fear not: for there are more with us than with them. | |
| II Kings 6:17 | And Eliseus prayed, and said: Lord, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses, and chariots of fire round about Eliseus. | Of fire. The angels assumed such a glorious and terrible appearance. One of them would have sufficed to destroy all the army of Syria; and thus the servant might be convinced how vain were all attempts against God's servants, Psalm 144:19. (Salien, the year before Christ 907.) Jacob beheld such camps of angels, (Genesis 32:1, 2.) and our Saviour speaks of the legions which he could have brought forward, Matthew 26:53. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 6:18 | And the enemies came down to him: but Eliseus prayed to the Lord, saying: Strike, I beseech thee, this people with blindness: and the Lord struck them with blindness, according to the word of Eliseus. | Blindness. The blindness here spoken of was of a particular kind, which hindered them from seeing the objects that were really before them; and represented other different objects to their imagination; so that they no longer perceived the city of Dothan, nor were able to know the person of Eliseus; but were easily led by him, whom they took to be another man, to Samaria. So that he truly told them; this is not the way, neither is this the city, etc., because he spoke with relation to the way, and to the city which was represented to them. (Challoner) --- Stratagems in war are lawful. (St. Chrysostom, etc.) (Grotius, Jur. 3:1, 17.) The words of the prophet might be merely ironical. --- Blindness, Septuagint aorasia, "not seeing" certain objects, while they could perceive others; as was the case of the men who sought Lot's door at Sodom; (Genesis 19:11.; Calmet) and the eyes of the disciples were held, that they might not know our Saviour. Eliseus had left his house, going towards Samaria to meet the soldiers; and when they asked him where the prophet dwelt, he answered truly, This, etc. For he was then near the royal city, and his abode was at Dothan. (Salien) (Haydock) --- The reprobate will thus acknowledge their error, when it is too late, at the last day. |
| II Kings 6:19 | And Eliseus said to them: This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will shew you the man whom you seek. So he led them into Samaria. | |
| II Kings 6:20 | And when they were come into Samaria, Eliseus said: Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria. | |
| II Kings 6:21 | And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them: My father, shall I kill them? | |
| II Kings 6:22 | And he said: Thou shalt not kill them: for thou didst not take them with thy sword, or thy bow, that thou mayst kill them: but set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. | For thou. Hebrew, "Dost thou kill, etc.?" If those who have surrendered themselves in battle be often spared, though they might be slain by the strict laws of war, how much less ought these men to be treated with such severity? (Calmet) --- Sicut bellanti et resistenti violentia redditur: ita victo vel capto misericorida jam debetur. (St. Augustine, ep. 1. ad Bonif.) (Grotius) --- And water, all necessary provisions. (Worthington) --- These men were suffered to live that they might relate the wonders of God. (Theodoret, q. 20.) |
| II Kings 6:23 | And a great provision of meats was set before them, and they ate and drank; and he let them go: and they went away to their master: and the robbers of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. | Meats. So the apostle orders us to treat our enemies, Romans 12:20. --- The robbers, these soldiers, who were dismissed. (Haydock) --- No more, (ultra) or, "no farther," (Haydock) during this war, or in small troops; but, a little later, Benadad came with all his forces to besiege Samaria. (Tirinus) --- He was enraged at Eliseus and Joram, as if they despised his power. (Salien) |
| II Kings 6:24 | *And it came to pass, after these things, that Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria. | Year of the World 3117. |
| II Kings 6:25 | And there was a great famine in Samaria: and so long did the siege continue, till the head of an ass was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cabe of pigeon's dung, for five pieces of silver. | In Samaria. It had raged in all the country above three years, (Salien) and continued other four, 4 Kings 8:1. The continuance of the siege added fresh horrors. --- Pieces is not expressed in Hebrew: a sicle is understood. (Haydock) --- Lyranus supposes that the whole ass was sold for about 38 crowns, (Haydock) or 130 livres; as we say commonly, "so much a head." But interpreters generally assert that the price of the head alone is given; which shews more forcibly the greatness of the famine. On other occasions the animal could not be eaten by the Jews. Artaxerxes was forced to kill his beasts of burden; and an ass's head was then sold for 60 drachms, or 25 livres. When Hannibal besieged Casilinum, a mouse (or rat) was sold for above 70, or for 200 denarii. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 8:57.) (V. Max. 7:6, 3.) --- Cabe. Sufficient measure of corn for a man's daily sustenance. (Menochius) --- The fourth part would be about a gill. (Haydock) --- Dung. Bochart maintains that "chick-peas" are designated. The Arabic usnen and kali, "pigeon or sparrows' dung," are real eatables. Those who suppose that the Samaritans bought the dung of pigeons to use as salt or for food, or to burn, or to manure the earth, etc., produce not satisfactory reasons; no more than the Rabbins, who pretend that the corn which they had picked up was taken from their crop. (Tr. Megil. 3., and the Scholastic History.) Junius and Fuller would translate "belly," which is refuted by Bochart. (Anim. T. ii. B. 1:7.) Very disgusting things have often been used through extreme hunger, (Grotius) and some sort of birds' dung is said to fatten oxen and swine. (Varro 38.; Pliny 17:9.) --- But what nutriment can there be in that of pigeons, that people should go to buy it? (Calmet) --- Houbigant understands a sort of peas to be meant. (Haydock) --- The Hebrews called them kali when they were parched; and such food was very common, 2 Kings 17:28. (Bellon. 2:53, and 99.) (Calmet) |
| II Kings 6:26 | And as the king of Israel was passing by the wall, a certain woman cried out to him, saying: Save me, my lord, O king. | |
| II Kings 6:27 | And he said: If the Lord doth not save thee: how can I save thee? out of the barn-floor, or out of the wine-press? And the king said to her: What aileth thee? And she answered: | Save (salvat.) Many ancient manuscripts read salvet, conformably to the Hebrew and Septuagint, as if the king cursed the woman: "Let not the Lord save thee," Josephus [Antiquities?] 9:4. Others place the stops differently: "He said, no: the Lord save thee." (Calmet) --- He is the author of life. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 6:28 | This woman said to me: Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. | |
| II Kings 6:29 | So we boiled my son, and eat him. And I said to her on the next day: Give thy son, that we may eat him. And she hath hid her son. | Eat him. Strange cruelty! foretold [in] Deuteronomy 28:53, and again verified at Jerusalem, Ezechiel 5:10. |
| II Kings 6:30 | When the king heard this, he rent his garments, and passed by upon the wall. And all the people saw the hair-cloth which he wore within next to his flesh. | Passed by, without punishing such a horrid crime, as he esteemed his own sins the occasion of it. (Menochius) --- Flesh. Behold the advantage to be derived from afflictions! They make the most hardened enter into sentiments of humility and penance. (Calmet) --- Abulensis thinks that God was pleased to cause the siege to be raised, to reward this act; as a similar one of Joram's father had merited a delay and mitigation of punishment, (Haydock) 3 Kings 21:27. (Salien) |
| II Kings 6:31 | And the king said: May God do so and so to me, and may he add more, if the head of Eliseus, the son of Saphat, shall stand on him this day. | Day. This was said in a fit of sudden passion, which may give us reason to conclude that the repentance was insincere, or of short duration. (Haydock) --- The king supposed that Eliseus could remedy the evil: but God was not moved by his prayers to grant such a favour, till all were convinced that human aid was fruitless. (Calmet) --- The prophet might have answered Joram in the words of Elias, 3 Kings 18:18. (Menochius) --- Probably he had dissuaded the king from making peace. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 6:32 | But Eliseus sat in his house, and the ancients sat with him. So he sent a man before: and before that messenger came, he said to the ancients: Do you know that this son of a murderer hath sent to cut off my head? Look then when the messenger shall come, shut the door, and suffer him not to come in: for behold the sound of his master's feet is behind him. | Murderer. Achab had slain Naboth, and Jezabel had destroyed the prophets. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 6:33 | While he was yet speaking to them, the messenger appeared, who was coming to him. And he said: Behold, so great an evil is from the Lord: what shall I look for more from the Lord | And he, Joram, (Menochius, etc.) after (Haydock) his messenger. (Estius) (Piscator) --- What, etc. All is desperate; (Calmet) our miseries cannot increase. (Menochius) --- I have nothing now to fear or to hope for. (Salien) |
| II Kings 7:0 | Eliseus prophesieth a great plenty, which presently ensueth upon the sudden flight of the Syrians; of which four lepers bring the news to the city. The incredulous nobleman is trod to death. | |
| II Kings 7:1 | And *Eliseus said: Hear ye the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord: To-morrow, about this time, a bushel of fine hour shall be sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley for a stater, in the gate of Samaria. | Year of the World 3119. A stater. It is the same as a sicle or shekel. (Challoner) --- As it is in Hebrew and Septuagint. --- Bushel, or "measure," (Haydock) above 9 pints. --- Gate, where the market place commonly was. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 7:2 | Then one of the lords, upon whose hand the king leaned, answering the man of God, said: If the Lord should make flood-gates in heaven, can that possibly be, which thou sayest? And he said: Thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. | Lords. Hebrew shalish, "an officer" of the first rank, Exodus 14:7. Septuagint tristates, which Josephus explains of one who "commanded a third part of the army." (Calmet) --- Flood-gates. If corn should fall with the same abundance as water does from the cataracts of the Nile; or, Hebrew, "if the Lord should make windows," etc., to pour it down, (Calmet) could it possibly be so cheap? (Menochius) --- Thereof. Thus his incredulity was punished, ver. 17. (Salien) --- Reason must not pretend to reach the power of God, but ought to believe what he says. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 7:3 | Now there were four lepers, at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another: What mean we, to stay here, till we die? | Lepers. They were excluded from society, though the laws of religion were ill observed in Israel. The Rabbins say, these four were Giezi and his three sons. (Calmet) --- But this is without foundation, (Haydock) as Giezi was not yet a leper, 4 Kings 8:5. --- Salien places that judgment two years later. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 7:4 | If we will enter into the city, we shall die with the famine: and if we will remain here, we must also die: come therefore, and let us run over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare us, we shall live: but if they kill us, we shall but die. | |
| II Kings 7:5 | So they arose in the evening, to go to the Syrian camp. And when they were come to the first part of the camp of the Syrians, they found no man there. | Evening. Hebrew, "twilight." --- First part, where the advanced guard should be, or the nearest tents. |
| II Kings 7:6 | For the Lord had made them hear, in the camp of Syria, the noise of chariots, and of horses, and of a very great army: and they said one to another: Behold, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hethites, and of the Egyptians; and they are come upon us. | Hethites. Septuagint, "Chetteans." Josephus, "the islands" of Cyprus, etc. He seems to have read Cethim in the text, as they peopled Cyprus. (Calmet) --- See Jeremias 2:10. (Menochius) --- These Hethites seem to have dwelt in the stony Arabia, (Judges 1:26.) or in Syria. (Haydock) --- Solomon had connexions with them, 3 Kings 10:29. (Calmet) --- Angels made the noise of a mighty army, and probably appeared, as they had done to Giezi, 4 Kings 6:17. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 7:7 | Wherefore they arose, and fled away in the dark, and left their tents, and their horses and asses in the camp, and fled, desiring to save their lives. | |
| II Kings 7:8 | So when these lepers were come to the beginning of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drank: and they took from thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went, and hid it: and they came again, and went into another tent, and carried from thence in like manner, and hid it. | |
| II Kings 7:9 | Then they said one to another: We do not well: for this is a day of good tidings. If we hold our peace, and do not tell it till the morning, we shall be charged with a crime: come, let us go, and tell it in the king's court. | Crime, and punished. Hebrew, "iniquity shall find us." Citizens are bound to give notice of what may tend to the common good. (Calmet) --- Court. Not in person, but by means of others. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 7:10 | So they came to the gate of the city, and told them, saying: We went to the camp of the Syrians, and we found no man there, but horses, and asses tied, and the tents standing. | Tied to the mangers, or rather by the hind-legs, as it is still the custom in the East. (Xenophon. Anab. 3:Martyr legat. Babyl.) |
| II Kings 7:11 | Then the guards of the gate went, and told it within in the king's palace. | |
| II Kings 7:12 | And he arose in the night, and said to his servants: I tell you what the Syrians have done to us: They know that we suffer great famine, and therefore they are gone out of the camp, and lie hid in the fields, saying: When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and then we may get into the city. | |
| II Kings 7:13 | And one of his servants answered: Let us take the five horses that are remaining in the city (because there are no more in the whole multitude of Israel, for the rest are consumed), and let us send and see. | Consumed, for food. (Menochius) --- Septuagint, "Let them take five of the horses left. Those which are left here, behold they are to all the remaining multitude of Israel, and let us send them." They have read in a different manner from the present Hebrew, which has, "Let them take five of the horses there remaining; behold they are like all the multitude of Israel which is left; they are like all the multitude of Israel who are lost; let us send them." Arabic, "Let us send thither five horsemen who remain; if they escape, we shall look upon them as those Israelites who continue alive; if they perish, they well be numbered with the other Israelites who are dead." Both horses and horsemen were dreadfully lean, and they could not expect a better fate than those already consumed by famine. (Calmet) --- The truth of the report ought at least to be fully ascertained. By following the timid advice of the king no prospect of redress appeared. At last the king consented to send two horsemen. (Haydock) (Septuagint, ver. 14.) (Junius, etc.) |
| II Kings 7:14 | They brought therefore two horses, and the king sent into the camp of the Syrians, saying: Go, and see. | Horses. Hebrew, "chariot horses," or two chariots with (each) two horses, as it was customary to go to war, and to travel on chariots. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 7:15 | And they went after them, as far as the Jordan: and behold, all the way was full of garments, and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away, in their fright, and the messengers returned, and told the king. | |
| II Kings 7:16 | And the people going out, pillaged the camp of the Syrians: and a bushel of fine flour was sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley for a stater, according to the word of the Lord. | |
| II Kings 7:17 | And the king appointed that lord on whose hand he leaned, to stand at the gate: and the people trod upon him in the entrance of the gate; and he died, as the man of God had said, when the king came down to him. | Gate, to prevent confusion and accidents, (Josephus) or to guard against any return of the enemy. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 7:18 | And it came to pass, according to the word of the man of God, which he spoke to the king, when he said: Two bushels of barley shall be for a stater, and a bushel of fine flour for a stater, at this very time to-morrow, in the gate of Samaria. | |
| II Kings 7:19 | When that lord answered the man of God, and said: Although the Lord should make flood-gates in heaven, could this come to pass which thou sayest? And he said to him: Thou shalt see it with thy eyes, and shalt not eat thereof. | |
| II Kings 7:20 | And so it fell out to him, as it was foretold: and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died. | |
| II Kings 8:0 | After seven years famine foretold by Eliseus, the Sunamitess returning home, recovereth her lands and revenues. Eliseus foresheweth the death of Benadad, king of Syria, and the reign of Hazael. Joram's wicked reign in Juda. He dieth, and his son, Ochozias, succeedeth him. | |
| II Kings 8:1 | And Eliseus spoke to the woman, *whose son he had restored to life, saying: Arise, and go thou, and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst find: for the Lord hath called a famine, and it shall come upon the land seven years. 4 Kings 4:37. | Famine. God disposes of all things. (Calmet) --- Famine, etc., are his executioners. (Du Hamel) --- This dreadful visitation took place before the siege of Samaria, (Salien) and had even commenced when Eliseus raise the child to life; (chap. 4:38.) so that we might translate, "Eliseus had spoken," etc. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 8:2 | And she arose, and did according to the word of the man of God: and going with her household, she sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days. | |
| II Kings 8:3 | *And when the seven years were ended, the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, and she went forth to speak to the king for her house, and for her lands. | Year of the World 3120. Lands, which others had seized. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 8:4 | And the king talked with Giezi, the servant of the man of God, saying: Tell me all the great things that Eliseus hath done. | Giezi was not yet infected; (Salien; Menochius) or if he was, (Haydock) the king spoke to him at a distance, overcoming his natural repugnance, in order to know some particulars of the life of Eliseus. (Calmet) --- This he would more readily do, if Giezi had brought the glad tidings of plenty. (Tirinus) --- Providence ordered that he should be present at this time, that he might bear witness to the woman. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 8:5 | And when he was telling the king how he had raised one dead to life, the woman appeared, whose son he had restored to life, crying to the king for her house and her lands. And Giezi said: My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Eliseus raised to life. | |
| II Kings 8:6 | And the king asked the woman: and she told him. And the king appointed her an eunuch, saying: Restore her all that is hers, and all the revenues of the lands, from the day that she left the land to this present. | Restore. "Restituere est possessorem facere fructusque reddere." (Caius.) --- Some think that the lands had been confiscated to the king, as being abandoned; or his authority was requisite, at least, to make the present occupiers give them up. |
| II Kings 8:7 | Eliseus also came to Damascus, and Benadad, king of Syria, was sick; and they told him, saying: The man of God is come hither. | Damascus, the territory, (ver. 8.) to announce the king's death, and to anoint Hazael, as God had ordered Elias, 3 Kings 19:15. (Calmet) --- Sick, at the ill success of his late expedition. (Josephus) (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 8:8 | And the king said to Hazael: Take with thee presents, and go to meet the man of God, and consult the Lord by him, saying: Can I recover of this my illness? | |
| II Kings 8:9 | And Hazael went to meet him, taking with him presents, and all the good things of Damascus, the burdens of forty camels. And when he stood before him, he said: Thy son, Benadad, the king of Syria, hath sent me to thee, saying: Can I recover of this my illness? | Camels. It does not appear that Eliseus rejected these presents. (Menochius) --- Thy son. The kings of Israel and Juda styled the prophet father, and this title was given by Christians of antiquity to bishops and priests. |
| II Kings 8:10 | And Eliseus said to him: Go tell him: Thou shalt recover: but the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die. | Tell him: Thou shalt recover. By these words the prophet signified that the king's disease was not mortal: and that he would recover, if no violence were used. Or he might only express himself in this manner, by way of giving Hazael to understand that he knew both what he would say and do; that he would indeed tell the king he should recover, but would be himself the instrument of his death. (Challoner) -- The imperative is often used for the future tense. (Gloss 3:3.) (John 2:19.) The present Hebrew reads, "Thou shalt not live: for," etc., which removes the difficulty. But the Chaldean, Septuagint, Syriac, etc., agree with the Vulgate, (Calmet) as the Protestant version also does. "Thou mayst certainly recover, howbeit the Lord," etc. (Haydock) --- Lo, "not," in the Hebrew text, seems however preferable to the marginal reading, lu, "to him." This mistake has been sometimes made elsewhere, and ought to be carefully examined. (Kennicott, 1 Paralipomenon 11:20.) |
| II Kings 8:11 | And he stood with him, and was troubled so far as to blush: and the man of God wept. | Blush. This may be referred either to Hazael, who was astonished at the words and looks of the prophet, (Haydock) or to Eliseus. (Menochius) --- Septuagint Complutensian, "and Hazael stood before his face, and he displayed the presents before him, till he blushed, and the," etc. Though this has the appearance of a gloss, it is perhaps most conformable to the Hebrew and to an ancient Greek version. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "he settled his countenance steadfastly, until he was ashamed." |
| II Kings 8:12 | And Hazael said to him: Why doth my lord weep? And he said: Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel. *Their strong cities thou wilt burn with fire, and their young men thou wilt kill with the sword, and thou wilt dash their children, and rip up their pregnant women. 4 Kings 12:7. | |
| II Kings 8:13 | And Hazael said: But what am I, thy servant, a dog, that I should do this great thing? And Eliseus said: The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king of Syria. | A dog. He speaks with indignation, as if he could not be so brutal; (Tirinus) or he could not yet think that he should be king. (Calmet) --- He afterwards proved as cruel as the prophet had signified, 4 Kings 10:32., and Amos 1:3. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 8:14 | And when he was departed from Eliseus he came to his master, who said to him: What said Eliseus to thee? And he answered: He told me: Thou shalt recover. | |
| II Kings 8:15 | And on the next day, he took a blanket, and pouted water on it, and spread it upon his face: and he died, and Hazael reigned in his stead. | Blanket. Hebrew macber, a word which the Septuagint retain. (Haydock) --- It denotes a hairy coverlet, pillow, etc. Tiberius and Frederic II met with the like fate. (Calmet) --- some think that Hazael was only guilty of imprudence; (Menochius) or that Benadad killed himself; as the Hebrew might be rendered, if the sequel did not evince that his death was caused by Hazael's malice. (Calmet) --- He might pretend that the wet cloth would give Benadad refreshment. (Haydock) --- But it would bring on present death, with most exquisite torture. (Tirinus) --- The names of both these kings were in great veneration among the Syrians, who paid them divine honours. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 9:4.) --- Perhaps they might not know that the latter had been guilty of such a base murder. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 8:16 | In the fifth year of Joram, son of Achab, king of Israel, and of Josaphat, king of Juda, reigned Joram, son of Josaphat, king of Juda. | Fifth. Houbigant would read "third," p. 100. See 4 Kings 1:17. (Haydock) --- Josaphat. That is, Josaphat being yet alive, who some time before his death made his son Joram king; as David had done before by his son Solomon. (Challoner) --- The words are omitted in some copies of the Septuagint (Du Hamel) and are perhaps inserted from the end of the verse. (Haydock) --- Protestants, "Jehosaphat being then king," in his 22d year. (Haydock) --- Joram had been appointed viceroy in the sixteenth year of his father's reign, and was now raised to sit on the throne with him. Thus the Scripture may be reconciled. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 8:17 | *He was two and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 2 Paralipomenon 21:5. | |
| II Kings 8:18 | And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Achab had walked: for the daughter of Achab was his wife: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. | Achab, Athalia. She led her husband into all wickedness. (Tirinus) (2 Paralipomenon xxi.) |
| II Kings 8:19 | *But the Lord would not destroy Juda, for David his servant's sake, as he had promised him, to give him a light, and to his children always. 2 Kings 7:16. | Light, or lamp, posterity and regal power, 3 Kings 11:36. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 8:20 | *In his days Edom revolted from being under Juda, and made themselves a king. Genesis 27:40.; 2 Paralipomenon 21:8. | King. The one under Josaphat was dependant, 4 Kings 3:9., and 3 Kings 22:48. Thus the prediction of Jacob was verified, (Genesis 27:40.; Calmet) and Joram punished. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 8:21 | *And Joram came to Seira, and all the chariots with him: and he arose in the night, and defeated the Edomites that had surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots, but the people fled into their tents. | Year of the World 3115, Year before Christ 889. Seira, or Idumea, Genesis 14:6. --- Defeated. The Syriac and Arabic explain it in a contrary sense, as the Hebrew may well signify, and the sequel seems to prove, as the Edomites became independent. Hebrew, "He rose....and attacked Edom that surrounded him, (with superior numbers) and the princes... and the people (of Israel) fled." But the text will also bear the sense of the Vulgate, which is conformable to 2 Paralipomenon 21:9., which does not say the people, etc., though these words may be understood of the Edomites. Joram could not derive such advantage from his victory, as to reduce the nation under his obedience. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 8:22 | So Edom revolted from being under Juda, unto this day. Then Lobna also revolted at the same time. | Day, when Jeremias, the author, lived. (Tostat) --- Lobna, a frontier town bordering on Idumea. It was a strong place assigned to the priests; but strangers had probably again taken possession of it, and caused it now to revolt. The kings of Juda had retaken it when Sennacherib laid siege to the place. See 4 Kings 19:8., and Josue 10:30., and 21:13. |
| II Kings 8:23 | But the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | |
| II Kings 8:24 | And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, and Ochozias, his son, reigned in his stead. | Slept, after a lingering and painful illness of two years' continuance. Joram was not buried in the tomb of the other kings, nor were perfumes burnt over his corpse; (Calmet) as his memory was abhorred, 2 Paralipomenon xxi. |
| II Kings 8:25 | *In the twelfth year of Joram, son of Achab, king of Israel, reigned *Ochozias, son of Joram, king of Juda. 2 Paralipomenon 22:1. | Year of the World 3119. Twelfth, more correctly than "the eleventh," 4 Kings 9:29. (Houbigant) |
| II Kings 8:26 | Ochozias was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Athalia, the daughter of Amri, king of Israel. | Twenty. In 2 Paralipomenon 22:2., we read forty, by mistake of the transcribers, as Ochozias, (Joachaz, or Azarias, 2 Paralipomenon 21:17.) would thus be older than his father, who died at the age of forty, 2 Paralipomenon 21:20. All the original versions, and many copies of the Septuagint read "twenty-two" in both passages; and those who would admit no mistake, are forced to have recourse to explanations which can give no satisfaction. De Dieu would include in the reign of Ochozias the six years of Athalia's usurpation, and the thirteen of Joas, during his minority. Others would date from the separation of the two kingdoms, etc. But would the Holy Ghost cause the same fact to be recorded in two places in such a different manner? The best chronologists acknowledge a mistake in the Hebrew text of Paralipomenon. (Cajetan; Salien; Petau; Tirinus, etc.; Calmet) as the letters which denote these numbers are not unlike (Mariana:) c (20) might easily be exchanged for m (40.) (Haydock) --- Daughter. That is, grand-daughter; for she was daughter of Achab, son of Amri, ver. 18., (Challoner) unless she was only adopted by Achab. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 8:27 | And he walked in the ways of the house of Achab: and he did evil before the Lord, as did the house of Achab: for he was the son-in-law of the house of Achab. | |
| II Kings 8:28 | *He went also with Joram, son of Achab, to fight against Hazael, king of Syria, in Ramoth Galaad, and the Syrians wounded Joram: | Year of the World 3120. Galaad. The same city had proved fatal to Achab, 3 Kings xxii. Joram took it, but received (Calmet) many wounds; so that he left Jehu to attack the citadel. The latter was anointed king, and acknowledged by the army. He immediately proceeded to Jezrahel, and put his master to death. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 8:29 | And he went back to be healed, in Jezrahel: because the Syrians had wounded him in Ramoth, when he fought against Hazael, king of Syria. And Ochozias, the son of Joram, king of Juda, went down to visit Joram, the son of Achab, in Jezrahel, because he was sick there. | |
| II Kings 9:0 | Jehu is anointed king of Israel, to destroy the house of Achab and Jezabel. He killeth Joram, king of Israel, and Ochozias, king of Juda. Jezabel is eaten by dogs. | |
| II Kings 9:1 | And *Eliseus the prophet, called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him: Gird up thy loins, and take this little bottle of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth Galaad. | Year of the World 3120. One. The Rabbins say Jonas; who at this rate, must have been very young, as he prophesied 50 years afterwards, under Jeroboam 2:(Calmet) --- Eliseus did not go himself, to avoid giving umbrage, and in obedience to God's order. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 9:2 | *And when thou art come thither, thou shalt see Jehu, the son of Josaphat, the son of Namsi: and going in, thou shalt make him rise up from amongst his brethren, and carry him into an inner chamber. 3 Kings 19:16. | Brethren. The captains, ver. 5. |
| II Kings 9:3 | Then taking the little bottle of oil, thou shalt pour it on his head, and shalt say: Thus saith the Lord: I have anointed thee king over Israel. And thou shalt open the door and flee, and shalt not stay there. | Bottle. See 1 Kings 10:1. Elias had received orders to anoint Jehu, 3 Kings 19:16. (Calmet) --- There. The utmost expedition was necessary, that Joram might be surprised, as well as Ochozias, and their devoted families. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 9:4 | So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went away to Ramoth Galaad, | |
| II Kings 9:5 | And went in thither: and behold the captains of the army were sitting, and he said: I have a word to thee, O prince. And Jehu said: Unto whom of us all? And he said: To thee, O prince. | |
| II Kings 9:6 | And he arose, and went into the chamber: and he poured the oil upon his head, and said: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: I have anointed thee king over Israel, the people of the Lord. | |
| II Kings 9:7 | And thou shalt cut off the house of Achab, thy master, and I will revenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezabel. | Jezabel, who had persecuted the prophets unto death, 3 Kings 18:4. |
| II Kings 9:8 | *And I will destroy all the house of Achab, and I will cut off from Achab, him that pisseth against the well, and him that is shut up, and the meanest in Israel. 3 Kings 21:21. | Israel. See Deuteronomy 32:36., and 3 Kings 14:10., for an explanation of these expressions. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 9:9 | And I will make the house of Achab, like *the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and like the house of* Baasa, the son of Ahias. 3 Kings 15:29. --- ** 3 Kings 16:3. | |
| II Kings 9:10 | And the dogs shall eat Jezabel, in the field of Jezrahel, and there shall be no one to bury her. And he opened the door and fled. | Field, between the inner and the outer wall. Her body shall be left exposed to be eaten by the dogs. |
| II Kings 9:11 | Then Jehu went forth to the servants of his lord: and they said to him: Are all things well? why came this madman to thee? And he said to them: You know the man, and what he said. | Madman. The extravagant motions of the false prophets caused even the true ones to be treated with contempt. Warriors are but too apt to give way to sentiments of irreligion, (Menochius) and to despise men who lead a retired and penitential life. (Haydock) --- How often were Ezechiel and Jeremias treated as fools, (Ezechiel 33:30., and Jeremias 29:26.; Calmet) as well as our divine Saviour? The pagans looked upon those who were inspired by Apollo in the same light. (Haydock) --- Ut primum cessit furor et rabida ora quierunt, Virgil, Aeneid vi. "What authority has this fury, which you call divine, that the insane should behold what escapes the observation of the wise, and that he who has lost common (human) sense should possess divine?" ea videat insanus, et is qui humanos sensus amiserit, divinos assecutus sit? (Cicero, Divin. ii.) |
| II Kings 9:12 | But they answered: It is false; but rather do thou tell us. And he said to them: Thus and thus did he speak to me: and he said: Thus saith the Lord: I have anointed thee king over Israel. | False. We know not who he was, or what he said; though, from his conduct, we judge that he was one of the prophets. Hence they so readily acquiesced in saluting Jehu king. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 9:13 | Then they made haste, and taking every man his garment, laid it under his feet, after the manner of a judgment-seat, and they sounded the trumpet, and said: Jehu is king. | Garment, out of respect, as the multitude honoured Jesus Christ, Matthew 21:7. The pagans sometimes did the like when they carried their idols in procession. (Plutarch, in Alcib.) The king of Persia walked on carpets in the court of the guards, who were styled immortal. (Atheneus 12.) --- Trumpet, according to custom, 3 Kings 1:40. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 9:14 | So Jehu, the son of Josaphat, the son of Namsi, conspired against Joram. *Now Joram had besieged Ramoth Galaad, he, and all Israel, fighting with Hazael, king of Syria: 4 Kings 8:28. | Conspired, with the captains. (Menochius) -- Besieged, as it is observed above, 4 Kings 28:29. Hebrew, "had kept (Haydock) or observed;" watching the motions of Hazael, lest he should return, or succour the citadel. |
| II Kings 9:15 | And was returned to be healed in Jezrahel of his wounds; for the Syrians had wounded him, when he fought with Hazael, king of Syria. And Jehu said: If it please you, let no man go forth or flee out of the city, lest he go, and tell in Jezrahel. | |
| II Kings 9:16 | And he got up, and went into Jezrahel: for Joram was sick there, and Ochozias, king of Juda, was come down to visit Joram. | |
| II Kings 9:17 | The watchman therefore, that stood upon the tower of Jezrahel, saw the troop of Jehu coming, and said: I see a troop. And Joram said: Take a chariot, and send to meet them, and let him that goeth say: Is all well? | Watchman. Such were very common, (2 Kings 18:24., and 1 Machabees 12:26.) and as the army was at Ramoth, the attention of the people would be drawn that way. (Calmet) --- Troop. Septuagint, "the dust of the," etc. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 9:18 | So there went one in a chariot to meet him, and said: Thus saith the king: Are all things peaceable? And Jehu said: What hast thou to do with peace? go behind and follow me. And the watchman told, saying: The messenger came to them, but he returneth not. | Peace? As this expression sufficiently vindicated the designs of Jehu, he would not suffer the messenger to return before him. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 9:19 | And he sent a second chariot of horses: and he came to them, and said: Thus saith the king: Is there peace? And Jehu said: What hast thou to do with peace? pass, and follow me. | |
| II Kings 9:20 | And the watchman told, saying: He came even to them, but returneth not: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the son of Namsi; for he drives furiously. | Furiously. The Chaldean and Arabic say, "he marcheth slowly." But the whole conduct of Jehu was marked with eagerness and severity, like that of Cato of Utica, (Grotius) and the utmost expedition was requisite. |
| II Kings 9:21 | And Joram said: Make ready the chariot. And they made ready his chariot: and Joram, king of Israel, and Ochozias, king of Juda, went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him in the field of Naboth, the Jezrahelite. | |
| II Kings 9:22 | And when Joram saw Jehu, he said: Is there peace, Jehu? And he answered: What peace? so long as the fornications of Jezabel, thy mother, and her many sorceries, are in their vigour. | Jehu? The king supposed that he had meet with some defeat, (Calmet) or that he wished to announce the good tidings in person. (Menochius) (Salien, the year before Christ 902.) --- Vigour? How can Israel prosper? (Haydock) |
| II Kings 9:23 | And Joram turned his hand, and fleeing, said to Ochozias: There is treachery, Ochozias. | Hand. Or ordered his charioteer to flee with all speed. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 9:24 | But Jehu bent his bow with his hand, and shot Joram between the shoulders: and the arrow went out through his heart, and immediately he fell in his chariot. | |
| II Kings 9:25 | And Jehu said to Badacer, his captain: Take him, and cast him into the field of Naboth, the Jezrahelite: for I remember, when I and thou, sitting in a chariot followed Achab, this man's father, that the Lord laid this burden upon him, saying: | Sitting. Hebrew, "rode together after," as if they were two abreast. (Calmet) --- Burden, or dreadful misfortune. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 9:26 | *If I do not requite thee in this field, saith the Lord, for the blood of Naboth, and for the blood of his children, which I saw yesterday, saith the Lord. So now take him, and cast him into the field, according to the word of the Lord. 3 Kings 21:22. | Children. We do not read these words before, or that the children of Naboth were slain; but it is very usual to supply in one place what has been omitted in another, and Achab was not required to make restitution, (Calmet) as there were no heirs probably left. (Menochius) (Worthington) |
| II Kings 9:27 | But Ochozias, king of Juda, seeing this, fled by the way of the garden-house: and Jehu pursued him, and said: Strike him also in his chariot. And they struck him in the going up to Gaver, which is by Jeblaam: and he fled into Mageddo, and died there. | House. Septuagint retain "Baithgan," the original term, as if it were the name of that road. (Menochius) --- Ochozias wanted to reach the palace by that garden, which was the source of the miseries of Achab's family. --- There. Being brought back from Samaria, 2 Paralipomenon 22:9., (Calmet) or lurking in that kingdom, (Menochius) and slain by Jehu, as being the grandson of Jezabel. Great troubles took place in Juda, in consequence of his death. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 9:28 | And his servants laid him upon his chariot, and carried him to Jerusalem: and they buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers, in the city of David. | |
| II Kings 9:29 | In the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Achab, Ochozias reigned over Juda; | Eleventh, or rather the twelfth, (chap. 8:25.; Houbigant) unless he had been associated with his father on the throne a year before his death. (Calmet) (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 9:30 | And Jehu came into Jezrahel. But Jezabel, hearing of his coming in, painted her face with stibic stone, and adorned her head, and looked out of a window | Stone, or antimony, to make the eyes look black and large. If (Calmet) Jezabel thought that she would thus command respect or love, (Abulensis) she was extremely imprudent and rash, in her present condition. Pride might suggest that she ought not to appear unadorned. (Calmet) (Tirinus) --- The women of the Eastern countries delight much in painting, (Pliny, [Natural History?] 11:37., and 33:6.) and some men have not been ashamed to follow their example. (St. Cyprian) --- Sardanapalus had his eyes and his eye-lids painted. (Atheneus xii.) The Arabs, etc., think that this black colour protects the eyes against the sun-beams. (Valle 2:Ep. 17.) To express the affection of Jezabel, Hebrew has, "she placed her eyes in antimony," (fuc, or puc, whence the Latin fucus is visibly derived) as if she plunged them in it. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 9:31 | At Jehu coming in at the gate, and said: *Can there be peace for Zambri, that hath killed his master? 3 Kings 16:10. | Master. Being convinced that she could not gain the affections of Jehu, (Haydock) and thinking that he would not lay hands on a woman, (Menochius) she insolently, or in despair, (Haydock) upbraids him as a new Zambri, who might expect a similar fate, 3 Kings xvi. (Calmet) --- The name of Zambri was used proverbially to denote an ungrateful rebel; as with us Judas is used for a traitor. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 9:32 | And Jehu lifted up his face to the window, and said: Who is this? And two or three eunuchs bowed down to him. | This. "Who dares address me with such provoking language?" Hebrew, "Who with me, who?" will punish the wretch? The eunuchs, who had hitherto waited upon Jezabel, immediately shewed their readiness to take part with her enemy: so little dependence can be placed on servants in the hour of adversity, when they have long been witnesses of their masters' crimes. --- Hoofs. Hebrew, "and the horses, and he trod her under foot." (Haydock) --- Jehu shewed the example. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 9:33 | And he said to them: Throw her down headlong; and they threw her down, and the wall was sprinkled with her blood, and the hoofs of the horses trod upon her. | |
| II Kings 9:34 | And when he was come in to eat, and to drink, he said: Go, and see after that cursed woman, and bury her; because she is a king's daughter. | Bury. He had forgotten the prediction of Elias, ver. 36. (Salien) --- Daughter of Ethbaal, wife of Achab, mother of Joram king of Israel, and mother-in-law of Joram king of Juda, and grandmother of his son Ochozias. (Calmet) --- Her great connexions seemed to entitle her to the rights of sepulture. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 9:35 | And when they went to bury her, they found nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the extremities of her hands. | Hands. All the rest had been presently devoured, or carried off by dogs. (Haydock) --- Her precious jewels had been plundered by the soldiers. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 9:36 | And coming back they told him. And Jehu said: *It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elias, the Thesbite, saying: In the field of Jezrahel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezabel. 3 Kings 21:23. | Field, or space between the walls, 3 Kings 21:23. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 9:37 | And the flesh of Jezabel shall be as dung upon the face of the earth in the field of Jezrahel; so that they who pass by shall say: Is this that same Jezabel? | Jezabel? So fallen (Menochius) and degraded, though once possessed of so much power and beauty! sic transit gloria mundi. Hebrew and Septuagint, "that they shall not say, This is Jezabel!" (Haydock) --- No monument shall recall her to the remembrance of men. (Calmet) --- Her body cannot be recognized. This will be the fate of the greatest mortal beauties, a few days after their departure. St. Francis Borgia durst not take an oath that the corpse which he had to attend, was that of the late beautiful empress Isabella: so much was it already disfigured. This sight was the beginning of his conversion, and of that eminent sanctity to which he attained, by despising all that the world can give or take away. (Haydock) --- The Spanish interpreters call Achab's widow, Isabella: and she seems to have been the sister, or relation, of Dido, who founded Carthage about this time; (Tirinus) Salien says in the 16th year of Jehu, the year before Christ 887. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 10:0 | Jehu destroyeth the house of Achab: abolisheth the worship of Baal, and killeth the worshippers: but sticks to the calves of Jeroboam. Israel is afflicted by the Syrians. | |
| II Kings 10:1 | And *Achab had seventy sons in Samaria: so Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the chief men of the city, and to the ancients, and to them that brought up Achab's children, saying: | Year of the World 3120, Year before Christ 884. Seventy sons, as he had many wives. Gedeon had 70. (Calmet) --- Grand-children might also be included. (Du Hamel) --- But this is not necessary. (Calmet) --- City, Hebrew, "of Jezrahel," a word which has probably been substituted instead of "Israel," which is more conformable to the Septuagint and Vulgate. Those who adhere to the Hebrew pretend that the princes had all fled from Jezrahel. --- Children. This is the sense generally given to Nutritios Achab, which literally signifies, "nursing-fathers (preceptors, counsellors, etc.) of Achab," ver. 5. The king's children were perhaps educated in the most noble families, (ver. 6.) and in the best cities, 2 Paralipomenon 11:23. Isaias (xlix. 23.) foretelling the happiness of the Israelites after the captivity, says, that kings and queens will nurse them. |
| II Kings 10:2 | As soon as you receive these letters, ye that have your master's sons, and chariots, and horses, and fenced cities, and armour, | |
| II Kings 10:3 | Choose the best, and him that shall please you most of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for the house of your master. | Master. Jehu would lead them into a snare, and insultingly challenges them to battle, shewing how little he feared their power. (Calmet) --- He speaks ironically. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 10:4 | But they were exceedingly afraid, and said: Behold two kings could not stand before him, and how shall we be able to resist? | |
| II Kings 10:5 | Therefore they that were over the king's house, and the rulers of the city, and the ancients, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying: We are thy servants: whatsoever thou shalt command us we will do; we will not make us a king: do thou all that pleaseth thee. | |
| II Kings 10:6 | And he wrote letters the second time to them, saying: If you be mine, and will obey me, take the heads of the sons of your master, and come to me to Jezrahel by to-morrow at this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy men, were brought up with the chief men of the city. | |
| II Kings 10:7 | And when the letters came to them, they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezrahel. | |
| II Kings 10:8 | And a messenger came, and told him, saying: They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said: Lay ye them in two heaps by the entering in of the gate until the morning. | Morning, that all the people might see them. (Calmet) --- Jehu did not choose to admit the Samaritans into the city during the night. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 10:9 | And when it was light, he went out, and standing, said to all the people: You are just: if I conspired against my master, and slew him: who hath slain all these? | Just executioners of the divine wrath. (Du Hamel) --- You know what is right. (Menochius) --- You are now in the same predicament with myself. (Haydock) --- All the chief men had thus rendered themselves odious to the people, who could not choose them for leaders. He captiously infers, from his astonishing success, (Calmet) that his conduct is pleasing to God. (Menochius) --- All the people seeing that so many had armed (Tirinus) against the house of Achab, might conclude that what they did was just. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 10:10 | *See therefore now that there hath not fallen to the ground any of the words of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Achab; and the Lord hath done that which he spoke in the hand of his servant Elias. 3 Kings 21:19. | |
| II Kings 10:11 | So Jehu slew all that were left of the house of Achab in Jezrahel, and all his chief men, and his friends, and his priests, till there were no remains left of him. | Chief men, probably including those perfidious wretches, who had so basely betrayed their trust, and slain the 70 sons of Achab, "the nobles of the kingdom, his kinsmen, and friends." (Chaldean; Arabic) --- Friends. Some copies of the Septuagint have connoisseurs, or magicians, Leviticus 19:31. --- Priests, princes of the court (2 Kings 8:18.) and those who offered sacrifice to idols, (Calmet) being of Achab's descendants. (Menochius) --- He afterwards inveigled all the priests of Baal, to their entire ruin, ver. 19. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 10:12 | And he arose, and went to Samaria: and when he was come to the shepherds' cabin in the way, | Cabin. Hebrew Beth-heked, (Haydock) a term which the Septuagint do not translate. It means, "house of tying," as the sheep were tied to be shorn. (Menochius) --- Eusebius places it in the great plain, 15 miles from Legion. (Calmet) --- It was not a despicable hut, (Haydock) but like the houses where Nabal and Absalom shore their sheep, 1 Kings xxv., etc. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 10:13 | He met with the brethren of Ochozias, king of Juda, and he said to them: Who are you? And they answered: We are the brethren of Ochozias, and are come down to salute the sons of the king, and the sons of the queen. | Brethren. The Arabs had destroyed all his brothers by the same mother; (2 Paralipomenon 22:1.) but these were near relations, and they durst not deny the fact. (Menochius) --- In 2 Paralipomenon 22:8., they are styled princes of Juda, and sons of the brethren of Ochozias. Jehu must have used surprising diligence (Calmet) and secrecy (Haydock) to prevent the many important transactions and changes which had lately taken place from being known at Jerusalem, or even at Beth-heked, ver. 12., which was so little distant from Samaria. (Calmet) --- Queen. The wife of Joram, or the children of Jezabel, (Menochius) with whom they were connected by affinity and friendship, to their great detriment. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 10:14 | And he said: Take them alive. And they took them alive, and killed them at the pit by the cabin, two and forty men, and he left not any of them. | Alive. That they might not attempt to defend themselves, (Menochius) as they might hope that Jehu would, at least, spare their lives. (Haydock) --- Of them, as they were in some degree related to Achab, (Menochius) or might endeavour to obstruct his dominion. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 10:15 | And when he was departed thence, he found Jonadab, the son of Rechab, coming to meet him, and he blessed him. And he said to him: Is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? And Jonadab said: It is. If it be, said he, give me thy hand. He gave him his hand. And he lifted him up to him into the chariot, | Jonadab, a holy personage, Jeremias 35:6. The Rechabites were a sort of religious, descended from Jethro and the Cinites. (Calmet) --- They dwelt in the country, and fed sheep, etc., Numbers 10:29. (Tirinus) --- John of Jerus.[Jerusalem?] (c. 25.) says that Jonadab was a disciple of Eliseus, and followed his institute in all things, except continency. (Menochius) --- Blessed him, wishing his peace and prosperity. (Menochius) --- It is not clear whether Jehu or Jonadab pronounced this blessing. (Haydock) --- Heart. Art thou friendly to my cause? --- Thy hand, in sign of concord, and to help him up into his chariot. (Calmet) --- It was of great consequence to obtain the approbation of a man (Haydock) who must have been so revered by the people. (Menochius) --- Jehu acted with the utmost policy. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 10:16 | And he said to him: Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. So he made him ride in his chariot, | |
| II Kings 10:17 | And brought him into Samaria. And he slew all that were left of Achab, in Samaria, to a man, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elias. | |
| II Kings 10:18 | And Jehu gathered together all the people, and said to them: *Achab worshipped Baal a little, but I will worship him more. 3 Kings 16:31. | I will worship him more. Jehu sinned in thus pretending to worship Baal, and causing sacrifices to be offered to him: because evil in not to be done, that good may come of it, Romans 3:8. (Challoner) (Worthington) --- St. Jerome, etc., excuse him from mortal sin, as his intention was good. (Tirinus) --- If he had not thus dissembled, he could not have so effectually destroyed the adorers of Baal, who would have concealed themselves. But God rewarded his zeal, and not his falsehood. (Calmet) --- He might speak ironically; though Theodoret, etc., admit a lie. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 10:19 | Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, and all his servants, and all his priests: let none be wanting, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal: whosoever shall be wanting, shall not live. Now Jehu did this craftily, that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. | Servants. The number had greatly decreased under Joram. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 10:20 | And he said: Proclaim a festival for Baal. And he called, | Proclaim. Literally, "sanctify (Hebrew) a prohibition" to work, or to be absent, (Calmet) "and they proclaimed it." |
| II Kings 10:21 | And he sent into all the borders of Israel; and all the servants of Baal came: there was not one left that did not come. And they went into the temple of Baal: and the house of Baal was filled, from one end to the other. | Other. Literally, "from top to top." Hebrew, "from mouth to mouth," (Haydock) like a vessel brimfull. (Calmet) --- Every corner was filled. All the priests and prophets made their appearance, through zeal to re-establish the honour of their idol, and for fear of death. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 10:22 | And he said to them that were over the wardrobe: Bring forth garments for all the servants of Baal. And they brought them forth garments. | Wardrobe, of vestments used in the service of Baal. The worship chiefly consisted in such outward pomp. The priests were probably adorned like those at the pillars of Hercules, who were from the same country. Sil. Ital. iii., velantur corpora lino, etc. |
| II Kings 10:23 | And Jehu, and Jonadab, the son of Rechab, went to the temple of Baal, and said to the worshippers of Baal: Search, and see that there be not any with you of the servants of the Lord, but that there be the servants of Baal only. | |
| II Kings 10:24 | And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings: but Jehu had prepared him fourscore men without, and said to them: If any of the men escape, whom I have brought into your hands, he that letteth him go, shall answer life for life. | Life. These 80 were stationed at the doors, while the rest slaughtered the unhappy idolaters, (Menochius) who were all by themselves, like the reprobate separated from the elect, at the last day. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 10:25 | And it came to pass, when the burnt-offering was ended, that Jehu commanded his soldiers and captains, saying: Go in, and kill them, let none escape. And the soldiers and captains slew them with the edge of the sword, and cast them out: and they went into the city of the temple of Baal, | Soldiers. Hebrew, "runners, (or foot-guards, 3 Kings 1:5,) and chief officers," Exodus 14:7. --- Out. Hebrew, "cast out" their carcasses, or "rushed out (themselves) into the city," which was styled "the temple of Baal;" or "penetrated into the fortress" and inmost recesses of that structure. (Osiander.) --- We read of such a fortress, Judges 9:46. (Haydock) --- In every city where there was a temple of Baal, the fabric and idols were demolished. (Salien) |
| II Kings 10:26 | And brought the statue out of Baal's temple, and burnt it, | |
| II Kings 10:27 | And broke it in pieces. They destroyed also the temple of Baal, and made a jakes in its place unto this day. | A jakes, or necessary [latrine]. (Haydock) --- See 1 Esdras 6:11., and Daniel 2:5. |
| II Kings 10:28 | So Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel: | |
| II Kings 10:29 | But yet he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he forsake the golden calves that were in Bethel, and Dan. | Dan. This wicked policy, which was designed to prevent his subjects from submitting again to the kings of Juda, proved his ruin. |
| II Kings 10:30 | And the Lord said to Jehu: Because thou hast diligently executed that which was right and pleasing in my eyes, and hast done to the house of Achab according to all that was in my heart: *thy children shall sit upon the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. 4 Kings 15:12. | Generation. So Joachaz, Joas, Jeroboam II, and Zacharias, succeeded to the throne. This small temporal reward he obtained for the little good which he had done; while, on the other hand, he was punished for his manifold transgressions. Osee 1:4, reproaches him even for the blood which he had spilt in Jezrahel; for, though Achab and Joram were guilty, was Jehu innocent? Can this murder of Ochozias be justified? (Calmet) --- "What advantage was it to him that he received some little transitory reward of a temporal kingdom, for his obedience in exterminating the house of Achab; which he indeed exhibited to gratify his own lust of dominion?" (St Augustine, contra mend. 2:c. 2.) This holy doctor observes, that moral good works are thus rewarded. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 10:31 | But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel to sin. | |
| II Kings 10:32 | In those days the Lord began to be weary of Israel: and Hazael ravaged them in all the coasts of Israel, | Weary. Hebrew, "to retrench or destroy." Hazael took occasion, from the absence of Jehu (Calmet) from Galaad, and the disturbances on the west of the Jordan, to dismember the provinces on the east, and to commit the horrid ravages foretold by Eliseus, 4 Kings 8:12. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 10:33 | From the Jordan eastward, all the land of Galaad, and Gad, and Ruben, and Manasses, from Aroer, which is upon the torrent Arnon, and Galaad, and Basan. | Aroer. See Josue 13:25. This was a most severe scourge, (Menochius) as all the eastern tribes were lost to Israel. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 10:34 | But the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and his strength, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| II Kings 10:35 | And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria: and Joachaz, his son, reigned in his stead. | |
| II Kings 10:36 | And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel, in Samaria, was eight and twenty years. | |
| II Kings 11:0 | Athalia usurpation and tyranny. Joas is made king. Athalia is slain. | |
| II Kings 11:1 | And *Athalia, the mother of Ochozias, seeing that her son was dead, arose and slew all the royal seed. 2 Paralipomenon 22:10. | Year of the World 3120. Seed. What cruelties are occasioned by ambition! (Worthington) --- This is one of the most extraordinary proofs recorded in history. Agrippina was but a faint copy of the unnatural Athalia, (Calmet) who knew that she was destined for slaughter, if she should fall into the hands of Jehu. (Menochius) --- Her impiety might also prompt her to destroy all the posterity of David, that she might introduce the worship of idols more easily. (Theodoret) |
| II Kings 11:2 | But Josaba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ochozias, took Joas, the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, out of the bed-chamber with his nurse: and hid him from the face of Athalia; so that he was not slain. | Sister. She had probably a different mother, as she consented to the death of Athalia. (Calmet) --- But the crimes of the latter required such a punishment; and even a daughter would have done wrong to screen her. (Haydock) --- Josabeth, as she is called in 2 Paralipomenon 22:11., was married to Joiada the high priest, ibid.[2 Paralipomenon 22:11.] --- Out of. Hebrew and Paralipomenon, "hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bed-chamber" of the priest, in the temple; (Salien) different from that bed-chamber in which he had hitherto been nursed. Thus the passage may be reconciled. (Menochius) (Calmet) --- Some maintain that Joas was not the son of Ochozias, in whom the line of Solomon ended, but a descendant of David by Nathan. But he is always styled the king's son, and the authority of the false Philo of Annius is of no weight. (Calmet) --- Joiada is called Barachias, "blessed of the Lord," on account of his justice, (St. Jerome) in Matthew xxiii. |
| II Kings 11:3 | And he was with her six years, hid in the house of the Lord. And Athalia reigned over the land. | Lord. The case was so extraordinary, that he high priest dispensed with a woman lodging in those apartments. --- Land, for six years, by usurpation. Women were commonly excluded, and she was not of the race of David, 4 Kings 8:26. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 11:4 | *And in the seventh year Joiada seat, and taking the centurions and the soldiers, brought them in to him into the temple of the Lord, and made a covenant with them: and taking an oath of them in the house of the Lord, shewed them the king's son: 2 Paralipomenon 23:1. | Year of the World 3126, Year before Christ 878. Year, of the age of Joas, ver. 21. (Menochius) --- Centurions. Five in number of the tribe of Levi, (Menochius) commanding each 100 men. Hebrew adds "the rams," (Calmet) to denote "the captains (Protestants) and the runners," or guards. (Haydock) --- Joiada was a man of great authority, virtue, and discretion; so that he was able to manage this delicate affair, and no one gave information to Athalia, as she was detested. The Levites and principal men of Juda were admonished, underhand, to be present on the day appointed. The quality of high priest, and the known probity and zeal for the public good, which were conspicuous in Joiada, as well as his being so nearly related to the lawful heir to the crown, made the people readily come forward. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 11:5 | And he commanded them, saying: This is the thing that you must do. | |
| II Kings 11:6 | Let a third part of you go in on the sabbath, and keep the watch of the king's house. And let a third part be at the gate of Sur; and let a third part be at the gate behind the dwelling of the shield-bearers; and you shall keep the watch of the house of Messa. | Sabbath. On this day the Levites replaced each other; so that many might assemble without suspicion. They guarded the king's apartments in the temple. --- The gate of Sur, or of the foundation, (2 Paralipomenon 23:5.) and the western gate leading to the palace. (Calmet) --- Sur, or "the gate of the lords," (Chaldean) is generally supposed to be on the opposite side. (Menochius) --- But this is uncertain, as well as the situation of Messa, which is perhaps the Musach, 4 Kings 16:18. This was probably some building or covert adjoining the temple, (Calmet) either belonging to some private person, (Menochius) or designed to contain the ashes, etc., taken from the temple; (Villalpand 2:32.) or a tribune for the king in the temple. (Haydock) -- The Chaldean seems to have explained it as an adverb, sollicitè, "with diligence," (Menochius) as well as the Septuagint, (Du Hamel) which is consonant to Vatable; you shall guard the house "from desertion." Let no one quit his post. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 11:7 | But let two parts of you all that go forth on the sabbath, keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king. | Of you. Levites, who waited on the king's person alternately. (Calmet) --- They were divided into three parts, being in actual service, ver. 6. Those who went out of office were twice the number, and are here told what to do. Sa thinks that those who entered upon duty, and those who went out, formed two thirds of the Levites, ver. 9., and 2 Paralipomenon 23:8. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 11:8 | And you shall compass him round about, having weapons in your hands: and if any man shall enter the precinct of the temple, let him be slain: and you shall be with the king, coming in and going out. | Temple, to cause confusion, Syriac, etc. The court of the priests, (Ezechiel 41:9.) and that of Israel, (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 8:4.) were separated by walls, beyond which strangers were not allowed to pass. (Calmet) --- Slain, being first cast out, ver. 15. (Menochius) --- Great respect is due to holy places, and hence comes the privilege of sanctuaries. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 11:9 | And the centurions did according to all things that Joiada, the priest, had commanded them: and taking every one their men, that went in on the sabbath, with them that went out in the sabbath, came to Joiada, the priest. | |
| II Kings 11:10 | And he gave them the spears, and the arms of king David, which were in the house of the Lord. | David. There was a sort of arsenal in the temple, containing arms consecrated to the Lord by David and his valiant men, in memory of their victories, 2 Kings 8:11., and 1 Paralipomenon 18:11. The usual band of Levites had proper arms, but more were employed on this occasion. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 11:11 | And they stood, having every one their weapons in their hands, from the right side of the temple, unto the left side of the altar, and of the temple, about the king. | Right, or south, leading to the palace, (Menochius) whence the greatest danger was feared. (Calmet) --- Altar of holocausts, that it might not impede the sight of the king. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 11:12 | And he brought forth the king's son, and put the diadem upon him, and the testimony: and they made him king, and anointed him: and clapping their hands, they said: God save the king. | The testimony. The book of the law. (Challoner) --- So Job (xxxi. 35, 36.) wished to have the sentence pronounced by God as a crown upon his head. The Orientals still lift to their heads the letters which they have received from people whom they wish to honour. (Thevenot, 46.) --- Some think that the diadem was adorned with phylacteries, or scrolls, containing parts of the law, (Grotius) particularly what related to the king; (Haydock) or that Joas held in his hand a roll of vellum, containing those instructions, (Deuteronomy 17:18., and 2 Paralipomenon 23:11.) instead of a sceptre. --- Anointed him, by the hands of Joiada; as this ceremony was requisite on account of the usurpation of Athalia. In peaceable times the unction was not given, (Calmet) according to the Jews, (Haydock) whose sentiment is elsewhere shewn to be unsatisfactory. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 11:13 | And Athalia heard the noise of the people running: and going in to the people into the temple of the Lord, | Going in. She must have been attended by a strong guard, to force the passage through the Levites at the door. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 11:14 | She saw the king standing upon a tribunal, as the manner was, and the singers, and the trumpets near him, and all the people of the land rejoicing, and sounding the trumpets: and she rent her garments, and cried: A conspiracy, a conspiracy. | A tribunal. A tribune, or place elevated above the rest. (Challoner) --- Hebrew, "on a pillar." Solomon had stood upon one of brass, three cubits high and five broad. See 4 Kings 23:3., and 2 Paralipomenon 6:13. |
| II Kings 11:15 | But Joiada commanded the centurions that were over the army, and said to them: Have her forth without the precinct of the temple, and whosoever shall follow her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest had said: Let her not be slain in the temple of the Lord. | Precinct. Hebrew sederoth, (untranslated by the Septuagint and (Haydock) improperly supposed by Josephus to be the torrent Cedron) means, "the ranks" of the guards, (Calmet) or, "ranges" of the sacred buildings, which her impure blood must not defile. (Haydock) --- Follow her, as an accomplice. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 11:16 | And they laid hands on her: and thrust her out by the way by which the horses go in, by the palace, and she was slain there. | Thrust. Hebrew, "and she went by the way by which the horses enter the king's house. When she was come within the horse-gate of the palace, they killed her there," 2 Paralipomenon 23:15. Such was the ignominious end of this true daughter of Jezabel! (Haydock) |
| II Kings 11:17 | And Joiada made a covenant between the Lord, and the king, and the people, that they should be the people of the Lord; and between the king and the people. | People. Joiada, as mediator (Calmet) between God, the king, and the people, engaged the two latter to be faithful to their common Lord, and to each other. They promised mutually to observe the laws, and, on that condition, the high priest gave them an assurance that God would protect them. (Haydock) --- The covenant entered into by their fathers (Exodus 19:5.) was renewed. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 11:18 | And all the people of the land went into the temple of Baal, and broke down his altars, and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly: they slew also Mathan, the priest of Baal, before the altar. And the priest set guards in the house of the Lord. | Altar. Many of the sacred ornaments belonging to the temple had been transported to the house of Baal, probably on Mount Olivet, where Solomon had formerly erected such buildings, 3 Kings 11:5., and 2 Paralipomenon 24:7. The reform of the state justly, therefore, began with the destruction of this profane and sacrilegious place. --- Lord, according to the former regulations, which had been lately ill observed, to prevent any thing unclean from coming in, 2 Paralipomenon 23:19. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "the priest placed overseers (episkopons) in the house of the Lord. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 11:19 | And he took the centurions, and the bands of the Cerethi, and the Phelethi, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king from the house of the Lord: and they came by the way of the gate of the shield-bearers into the palace, and he sat on the throne of the kings. | Phelethi. In the Hebrew of the books of Kings we read nothing of these bands after the reign of David. The same expressions occur here as [in] ver. 4., "the centurions, the rams, (or captains) and the runners," (Calmet) or guards. (Protestants) (Haydock) --- Gate, on the west. Athalia had probably entered by the south. --- Kings. It was made of ivory, etc., 3 Kings 10:18. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 11:20 | And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet: but Athalia was slain with the sword in the king's house. | |
| II Kings 11:21 | Now Joas was seven years old when he began to reign. | |
| II Kings 12:0 | The temple is repaired. Hazael is bought off from attacking Jerusalem. Joas is slain. | |
| II Kings 12:1 | In the seventh year* of Jehu, Joas began to reign: and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Sebia, of Bersabee. | Year of the World 3126. |
| II Kings 12:2 | And Joas did that which was right before the Lord all the days that Joiada, the priest, taught him. | Taught him. Joiada lived, at least, till the 23d year of the reign of Joas, (ver. 6.) and the king seems to have persevered some time longer in virtue. |
| II Kings 12:3 | But yet he took not away the high places: for the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. | Places, to the true God, but contrary to his law. The king was deterred from overturning these altars, through human policy; which did not meet with the divine approbation. (Calmet) See 3 Kings 22:24., and Deuteronomy 12:8. |
| II Kings 12:4 | And Joas said to the priests: *All the money of the sanctified things, which is brought into the temple of the Lord by those that pass, which is offered for the price of a soul, and which of their own accord, and of their own free heart, they bring into the temple of the Lord: | Year of the World 3147, Year before Christ 857. Sanctified. That is, dedicated to God's service. (Challoner) --- Literally, "of the holy" sanctorum. (Haydock) --- For the use of the sanctuary. --- Pass, as strangers, (3 Kings 8:41.) desiring sacrifice to be offered, (Grotius) or who pass in the roll of those who have attained their 20th year, and are obliged to pay half a sicle, Exodus 20:13, 14. This was the first fund which had been turned to a different purpose by the priests, (Calmet) under the wicked kings. (Haydock) --- Soul. that is, the ordinary oblation, which every soul was to offer by the law, Exodus xxx. (Challoner) --- Or, this was a second fund arising from the redemption of vows, Leviticus 27:2. --- Lord. Voluntary contributions, like that of the widow, (Luke 21:2.) were also recommended; and Joas sent Levites throughout the land, every year, to collect what they could, for the reparation of the temple, 2 Paralipomenon 24:5. |
| II Kings 12:5 | Let the priests take it according to their order, and repair the house, wheresoever they shall see any thing that wanteth repairing. | Order. Hebrew, "acquaintance." Let them receive the contributions on the spot where they reside; or, let those who are on duty in the temple take them. (Calmet) --- Thing. Hebrew, "breach," badek, a term which the Septuagint retain. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 12:6 | Now till the three and twentieth year of king Joas, the priests did not make the repairs of the temple. | Temple. It is not known when the king gave his orders; but they were executed with negligence, as they seemed to interfere (Calmet) with the emoluments assigned by the law to the Levites, 2 Paralipomenon 24:5. (Haydock) --- The latter Jews were obliged to pay half a sicle towards the repairs of the temple. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 12:7 | And king *Joas called Joiada, the high priest, and the priests, saying to them: Why do you not repair the temple? Take you, therefore, money no more according to your order, but restore it for the repairing of the temple. | Year of the World 3148. |
| II Kings 12:8 | And the priests were forbidden to take any more money of the people, and to make the repairs of the house. | Forbidden. Hebrew, Septuagint, etc., "And the priests consented to take no," etc. They were also obliged to restore what they had already received. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 12:9 | And Joiada, the high priest, took a chest, and bored a hole in the top, and set it by the altar at the right hand of them that came into the house of the Lord; and the priests that kept the doors, put therein all the money that was brought to the temple of the Lord. | By the altar, yet without the enclosure, that any person might freely put in what he thought proper, 2 Paralipomenon 24:8. Priests were still appointed to watch, that no fraud was committed: and they counted the money which the law ordained to be paid. Josephus (Jewish Wars 6:5.) speaks of many coffers; one might be near the altar, and another out of the door. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 12:10 | And when they saw that there was very much money in the chest, the king's scribe, and the high priest, came up, and poured it out, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord: | Priest, or his deputy. (Paralipomenon) (Calmet) --- Out. Protestants, "put it up in bags," (Haydock) or tied and afterwards weighed it. |
| II Kings 12:11 | And they gave it out by number and measure into the hands of them that were over the builders of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters, and the masons, that wrought in the house of the Lord, | And they. The king and the high priest conjointly. (Paralipomenon) |
| II Kings 12:12 | And made the repairs: and to them that cut stones, and to buy timber, and stones to be hewed, that the repairs of the house of the Lord might be completely finished, and wheresoever there was need of expenses to uphold the house. | |
| II Kings 12:13 | But there were not made of the same money for the temple of the Lord, bowls, or flesh-hooks, or censers, or trumpets, or any vessel of gold and silver, of the money that was brought into the temple of the Lord: | Bowls. Chaldean, "silver chalices." The precise import of the Hebrew term is not well known. (Menochius) --- Lord. After the repairs were finished, the remaining money, which was very considerable, was however employed for these purposes, 2 Paralipomenon 24:14. (Calmet) (Menochius) |
| II Kings 12:14 | For it was given to them that did the work, that the temple of the Lord might be repaired. | |
| II Kings 12:15 | And they reckoned not with the men that received the money to distribute it to the workmen, but they bestowed it faithfully. | Faithfully, and corresponded with the trust reposed in them. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 12:16 | But the money for trespass, and the money for sins, they brought not into the temple of the Lord, because it was for the priests. | Sins. These terms seem to be synonymous, though they may be distinguished, Leviticus 4:2., and 5:15. If any one forgot to pay tithes, he was bound to make full reparation to the priests; (Tostat) and the money which was given to them by strangers, to offer sacrifice, was not taken from them. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 12:17 | *Then Hazael, king of Syria, went up, and fought against Geth, and took it, and set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 2 Paralipomenon 24:23. | Year of the World 3165, Year before Christ 839. Then. After the death of Joiada, the king gave way to the greatest excesses of idolatry, and even murdered the son of his greatest benefactor. Hereupon the justice of God fell heavy upon him; Geth was taken, Jerusalem only saved by giving up all the sacred treasures, etc.: yea, the very next year, Hazael returned, routed the forces of Juda, and wounded the king, who on his return to the palace was murdered by conspirators, (Calmet) to revenge the death of Zacharias, 2 Paralipomenon 24:25. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 9:8.) |
| II Kings 12:18 | Wherefore Joas, king of Juda, took all the sanctified things, which Josaphat, and Joram, and Ochozias, his fathers, the kings of Juda, had dedicated to holy uses, and which he himself had offered: and all the silver that could be found in the treasures of the temple of the Lord, and in the king's palace: and sent it to Hazael, king of Syria, and he went off from Jerusalem. | Joram, etc. These are accused of plundering the temple, 2 Paralipomenon 24:7. But they might make some presents, through ostentation. How many rob the poor, while they erect magnificent altars to the God of the poor! (Calmet) |
| II Kings 12:19 | And the rest of the acts of Joas, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | |
| II Kings 12:20 | And his servants arose, and conspired among themselves, and slew Joas, in the house of Mello, in the descent of Sella. | Sella. A flight of steps leading to the temple. (Haydock) --- The palace was at the bottom of it, and had been built by Solomon. Here Joas was slain in his bed. (Paralipomenon) |
| II Kings 12:21 | For Josachar, the son of Semaath, and Jozabad, the son of Somer, his servants, struck him, and he died: and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David; and Amasias, his son, reigned in his stead. | Josachar, or Zabad, the son of Semmaath, an Ammonitess, and Jozabad, the son of Semarith, a Moabitess. (Paralipomenon) Both their mothers were of foreign extraction. (Calmet) --- People have frequently two names. --- Somer is the father of Jozabad. (Menochius) --- David. Achaz was treated in like manner. The fear of this infamy might tend to keep the kings in awe. After death, the kings of Egypt might be accused, and deprived of sepulture, if their crimes deserved it: as many of them were. (Diodorus 1:p. 46.) (Calmet) --- Thus Joas was covered with eternal infamy, after he had begun so well. Finis coronat opus. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 13:0 | The reign of Joachaz, and of Joas, kings of Israel. The last acts and death of Eliseus, the prophet: a dead man is raised to life by the touch of his bones. | |
| II Kings 13:1 | In the three and twentieth year *of Joas, son of Ochozias, king of Juda, Joachaz, the son of Jehu, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, seventeen years. | Year of the World 3148, Year before Christ 856. Years. Two with his son Joas, (Usher) or three. (Capell) (Du Hamel) See ver. 10. |
| II Kings 13:2 | And he did evil before the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin; and he departed not from them. | |
| II Kings 13:3 | And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael, the king of Syria, and into the hand of Benadad, the son of Hazael, all days. | Days, while Joachaz lived, ver. 22. (Menochius) --- Yet Benadad only molested his son. (Calmet) --- Hazael proved a dreadful scourge in the hand of God, to punish his people, 4 Kings 8:12. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 13:4 | But Joachaz besought the face of the Lord, and the Lord heard him: for he saw the distress of Israel, because the king of Syria had oppressed them: | |
| II Kings 13:5 | And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, and they were delivered out of the hand of the king of Syria: and the children of Israel dwelt in their pavilions as yesterday and the day before. | Saviour, in the person of Joas, (ver. 23.; Tostat) after the death of Joachaz, whose repentance preserved him, at least, in this world. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 13:6 | But yet they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin, but walked in them: and there still remained a grove also in Samaria. | A grove, dedicated to the worship of idols. (Challoner) --- Hebrew, "and the Ascera (grove of Astarte) was standing even in Samaria." That impure worship had gained ground again, after Jehu was dead. |
| II Kings 13:7 | And Joachaz had no more left of the people than fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen: for the king of Syria had slain them, and had brought them low as dust by threshing in the barn-floor. | Floor. Amos (1:3.) informs us, that Hazael had crushed the inhabitants of Galaad to death with iron chariots. |
| II Kings 13:8 | But the rest of the acts of Joachaz, and all that he did, and his valour, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | Valour, or personal courage, (Calmet) though he gained no complete victory. The most valiant are not always successful. (Tirinus) --- Fortiter ille facit qui miser esse potest. (Martial) (Haydock) --- Joachaz did not quite sink under his troubles. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 13:9 | And *Joachaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria: and Joas, his son, reigned in his stead. | Year of the World 3165, Year before Christ 839. |
| II Kings 13:10 | In the seven and thirtieth year of *Joas, king of Juda, Joas, the son of Joachaz, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, sixteen years. | Year of the World 3163, Year before Christ 841. Seven. To complete the number seventeen, (ver. 1.) it ought to be "nine" ending. (Houbigant, p. 109.) See 4 Kings 14:23. --- Years. If Jeroboam reigned in the 15th year of Amasias, and his father in the 37th of Joas, and not in the 39th almost complete, this king would have held dominion eighteen years. (Ibid.[Houbigant, p. 109.?]) |
| II Kings 13:11 | And he did that which is evil in the sight of the Lord: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin; but he walked in them. | |
| II Kings 13:12 | But the rest of the acts of Joas, and all that he did, and his valour wherewith he fought against Amasias, king of Juda, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | Juda, who was the aggressor. See 2 Paralipomenon 25:23. |
| II Kings 13:13 | And Joas slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne. But Joas was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel. | Throne, for ten years, along with his father. From this period the reign of Azarias must be dated, 4 Kings 15:1. (Usher) (Calmet) |
| II Kings 13:14 | Now Eliseus was sick of the illness whereof he died: and Joas, king *of Israel, went down to him, and wept before him, and said: O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the guider thereof. | Year of the World 3165. The illness. Hebrew, Septuagint, and Chaldean, "of his sickness whereof he also died;" insinuating that he had been before afflicted with this infirmity. --- To him, probably in the same city of Samaria. --- Wept. See how he loved him! He was concerned for the welfare of his kingdom. (Menochius) --- Thereof. Eliseus had addressed Elias in the same terms, 4 Kings 2:12. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 13:15 | And Eliseus said to him: Bring a bow and arrows. And when he had brought him a bow and arrows, | |
| II Kings 13:16 | He said to the king of Israel: Put thy hand upon the bow. And when he had put his hand, Eliseus put his hands over the king's hands, | |
| II Kings 13:17 | And said: Open the window to the east. And when he had opened it, Eliseus said: Shoot an arrow. And he shot. And Eliseus said: The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of the deliverance from Syria: and thou shalt strike the Syrians in Aphec, till thou consume them. | East, looking towards Galaad, (Hadock) which the Syrians occupied. (Menochius) --- These actions were all significative and prophetical. The throwing of a dart was formerly the mode of declaring war. (Virgil, Aeneid ix.) Justin (ii.) says, "Alexander first threw a javelin, as against a hostile country." Thus also the ancients took possession. (Varro) (V. Max. iii., etc.) The people of Andros and Chalcis, sent each a deputy to seize Acanthos, when it had been abandoned by its inhabitants. The man from Andros, perceiving the other before him, threw his dart at the gate, and it was decided that he had thus lawfully obtained possession. (Plutarch, q. Graec.; Selden, Mare. Claus. iv.) --- The action of Joas may be considered in both lights. --- Them. We do not read the particulars of this battle: but it must have been very bloody. One of the three victories (ver. 25.) of Joas was probably obtained at Aphec, (Calmet) a place memorable for the victory of Achab, over the same Syrians, 3 Kings 20:26. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 13:18 | And he said: Take the arrows. And when he had taken them, he said to him: Strike with an arrow upon the ground. And he struck three times, and stood still. | Still. This shewed a degree of remissness. (Haydock) --- It was natural for the king to conclude, that the more he struck the earth, the greater would be his success; (Calmet) and the prophet had, perhaps, insinuated as much. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 13:19 | And the man of God was angry with him, and said: If thou hadst smitten five or six, or seven times, thou hadst smitten Syria even to utter destruction: but now three times shalt thou smite it. | Angry. Septuagint, "grieved." (Haydock) --- Or seven is omitted in Hebrew and Septuagint. This text proves that God knows what would take place conditionally. (Tirinus) --- If, etc. By this it appears, that God had revealed to the prophet that the king should overcome the Syrians, as many times as he should then strike on the ground; but, as he had not, at the same time, revealed to him how often the king would strike, the prophet was concerned to see that he struck but thrice. (Challoner) --- Joas was assured that he should consume the Syrians. But this was to be understood, provided he performed his part, (Menochius; Tirinus) and that destruction was not said to be entire. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 13:20 | And Eliseus died, and they buried him. And the rovers from Moab came into the land the same year. | Buried him, near Samaria. (Menochius) --- He had been chosen by Elias sixty-eight years before, and had lived eleven with him. His perfect character is given, Ecclesiasticus 48:13. His double spirit represents the plentitude of grace in Jesus Christ; as his raising of the child to life, in such a wonderful manner, denotes his incarnation. The waters of Jericho made sweet, and the healing of Naaman, set before us the virtue of baptism: as the widow's oil shews the great graces which are bestowed by Christ upon his Church. The children devoured, and the Syrians struck blind, remind us of the perversity and blindness of infidels, who will not acknowledge the truth, Matthew 13:14. We must now see how the bones of Eliseus prophesied: 1. By raising the dead to life, as a confirmation of all his former predictions; 2. as proof of a future resurrection, of the virtue of relics, and of the influence of the saints in heaven, whose souls were formerly united to their bodies, and were filled with the Holy Spirit; (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, cat. xviii. Illum.) 3. in as much as this miracle was a figure of Christ's resurrection, who raised himself to life, and those who believe in him: (Calmet) while Eliseus, in the like state of death, had only raised another. (Haydock) (St. Max., hom. 1:de pasc.) --- Same. Septuagint, Hebrew, and Syriac, "at the coming in of the year;" (Haydock) or, "the next year." (Pagnin) |
| II Kings 13:21 | *And some that were burying a man, saw the rovers, and cast the body into the sepulchre of Eliseus. And when it had touched the bones of Eliseus, the man came to life, and stood upon his feet. Ecclesiasticus 48:14. | Eliseus. His tomb was not in the city, but in a spacious cave, the entrance of which was secured with a stone, according to custom. This was removed in the hurry, and the corpse thrown into the same recess, which had been prepared for the remains of the prophet. Josephus ([Antiquities?] 9:8.) relates the history in a different manner, and pretends that robbers having slain a person, threw his corpse accidentally into the tomb of Eliseus. The Rabbins tell us his name was Sellum, and that he died again immediately, because he was a wicked man, which would render the miracle, in a manner, useless. (Calmet) --- By it God honoured his servant, and convinced the Israelites that what he had so lately foretold, respecting the Syrians, would undoubtedly take place. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 13:22 | Now Hazael, king of Syria, afflicted Israel all the days of Joachaz. | |
| II Kings 13:23 | And the Lord had mercy on them, and returned to them, because of his covenant, which he had made with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob: and he would not destroy them, nor utterly cast them away, unto this present time. | Time. Long before the captivity of Babylon, the Israelites had been led captives, to return no more in a body. Some stragglers mixed with the Jews, and inhabited the country under that appellation. It would seem that this was written before the overturning of the kingdom of Israel. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 13:24 | And Hazael, king of Syria, died; and Benadad, his son, reigned in his stead. | |
| II Kings 13:25 | Now Joas, *the son of Joachaz, took the cities out of the hand of Benadad, the son of Hazael, which he had taken out of the hand of Joachaz, his father, by war; three times did Joas beat him, and he restored the cities to Israel. | Year of the World 3168. Israel, on the east side of the Jordan; (chap. 10:33.; Calmet) at least (Haydock) those which had been taken from his father. Jeroboam retook what had been lost by Jehu. (Menochius) --- Hence both these kings are styled saviours, ver. 5., and 4 Kings 14:27. (Salien) |
| II Kings 14:0 | Amasias reigneth in Juda: he overcometh the Edomites, but is overcome by Joas, king of Israel. Jeroboam, the second, reigneth in Israel. | |
| II Kings 14:1 | In the second year* of Joas, son of Joachaz, king of Israel, reigned Amasias, son of Joas, king of Juda. | Year of the World 3165. Second, from his being associated in the empire. It was the first of his reigning alone. |
| II Kings 14:2 | *He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign; and nine and twenty years he reigned in Jerusalem; the name of his mother was Joadan, of Jerusalem. 2 Paralipomenon 25:1. | |
| II Kings 14:3 | And he did that which was right before the Lord, but yet not like David, his father. He did according to all things that Joas, his father, did, | David. Yet not with a perfect heart, 2 Paralipomenon 25:2. --- Father. He imitated his early piety, as well as his miserable end. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 14:4 | But this only, that he took not away the high places; for yet the people sacrificed, and burnt incense in the high places: | But, etc. All that Amasias did, at first, was right, (ver. 3.) but this only. See 3 Kings 22:24. (Haydock) --- Joas had also left such high places, 4 Kings 12:3. |
| II Kings 14:5 | And when he had possession of the kingdom, he put his servants to death that had slain the king, his father. | |
| II Kings 14:6 | But the children of the murderers he did not put to death, according to that which is written in the Book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying: *The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: but every man shall die for his own sin. Deuteronomy 24:16.; Ezechiel 18:20. | Sin. This is the rule for human tribunals, to which God is not restrained. (Salien) (Ezechiel 18:20.) (Menochius) --- The action of Amasias is commended as something unusual (Calmet) among princes, who are but too apt to exceed the bounds of moderation (Haydock) to revenge their murdered parents. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 14:7 | He slew of Edom, *in the valley of the Salt-pits, ten thousand men, and took the rock by war, and called the name thereof Jectehel, unto this day. | Year of the World 3177, Year before Christ 827. Edom, who had rebelled under Joram, 4 Kings 8:20. The particulars of this war are given, 2 Paralipomenon 25:5. Josephus ([Antiquities?] 9:9.) says, Amasias designed also to attack Amalec and Gebal in the same country. --- Pits. Called the woody vale, Genesis 14:8., (Menochius) south-west of the Dead Sea, (Adrichomius) or rather to the south of Palmyra, towards Bosra, 3 Kings 9:18. --- Rock. Petra, the capital of the country, formerly called Rekem Arke, or Hagor. Most of the houses are hewn out of the rock. Hebrew Selá signifies "a rock;" and many think that this was some other place, whence the Idumeans were hurled down, after the victory. Amasias gave it the name of Jectehel, "obedience of God," in memory of his having obtained this success, in consequence of his having obeyed the prophet, and sent away 100,000, for whom he had paid 100 talents to the king of Israel. |
| II Kings 14:8 | Then Amasias sent messengers to Joas, son of Joachaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying: Come let us see one another. | Let us see one another. This was a challenge to fight. (Challoner) (Worthington) --- The interviews of ambitious kings are often baneful. (Haydock) --- Abner said in the same sense, "Let the young men rise and play," 2 Kings 2:14; and Virgil, (Aeneid xii.) Inter se coiisse viros et cernere ferro. Amasias had many reasons to be displeased with the king of Israel. He might justly redemand part of the money, (Calmet) as he had not employed the soldiers. (Haydock) --- They had also committed depredations in Juda. (Paralipomenon) Jehu had slain Ochozias, and many of his relations. (Calmet) --- Josephus also observes that he now required Israel to return to his obedience, and acknowledge the power of the lawful descendants of David. (Sanctius) |
| II Kings 14:9 | And Joas, king of Israel, sent again to Amasias, king of Juda, saying: A thistle of Libanus sent to a cedar-tree, which is in Libanus, saying: Give thy daughter to my son to wife. And the beasts of the forest, that are in Libanus, passed, and trod down the thistle. | Thistle. Hebrew choach, something prickly; (Haydock) "a thorn." Syriac and Arabic, "a plum-tree." Nothing could be more cutting (Calmet) than this answer of Joas, to shew the king of Juda how much he despised his power. (Haydock) --- The ancients were much pleased with such ingenious similes. See Judges 9:7. |
| II Kings 14:10 | Thou hast beaten and prevailed over Edom, and thy heart hath lifted thee up; be content with this glory, and sit at home; why provokest thou evil, that thou shouldst fall, and Juda with thee? | Home, to boast of thy victory, (Haydock) but do not offer to molest others. (Calmet) --- God permitted that Amasias should pay no attention to this advice, nor to the prophet who reproached him for adoring the idols which he had brought from Edom, 2 Paralipomenon 25:14. |
| II Kings 14:11 | But Amasias did not rest satisfied. So Joas, king of Israel, went up; and he and Amasias, king of Juda, saw one another in Bethsames, a town in Juda. | Saw, or fought, ver. 8., and 4 Kings 23:29. Bethsames was in the tribe of Dan, (Calmet) but belonging to the king of Juda. |
| II Kings 14:12 | And Juda was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to their dwellings. | |
| II Kings 14:13 | But Joas, king of Israel, took Amasias, king of Juda, the son of Joas, the son of Ochozias, in Bethsames, and brought him into Jerusalem; and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem, from the gate of Ephraim to the gate of the corner, four hundred cubits. | Cubits. Josephus says 300, and that he led Amasias in triumph through the ruins, (Antiquities 9:10.) on the west side, (Calmet) or on the north. (Villalpand) (Menochius) |
| II Kings 14:14 | And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the king's treasures, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. | Hostages, as he left Amasias, on condition he should pay tribute, (Menochius) and took "the children of the nobles" (Chaldean) to secure his fidelity. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 14:15 | But the rest of the acts of Joas, which he did, and his valour, wherewith he fought against Amasias, king of Juda, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | Valour. Hence it appears that Juda made a stout resistance, though Josephus would insinuate the contrary. |
| II Kings 14:16 | And Joas slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, with the kings of Israel: and Jeroboam, his son, reigned in his stead. | |
| II Kings 14:17 | And Amasias, the son of Joas, king of Juda, lived after the death of Joas, son of Joachaz, king of Israel, fifteen years. | |
| II Kings 14:18 | And the rest of the acts of Amasias, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | |
| II Kings 14:19 | Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachis. *And they sent after him to Lachis, and killed him there. | Year of the World 3194, Year before Christ 810. Lachis, in the tribe of Dan. Some say that the king resided there twelve years, in a kind of exile. (Malvenda) --- But the conspiracy only took place in the last year of his reign. (Usher, the year of the world 3194.) --- Some powerful men rose up against him, and the people were displeased with his conduct. (Menochius) --- But the majority did not approve of his death, so that they granted him the funeral honours, and appointed his son to succeed. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 14:20 | And they brought him away upon horses, and he was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers, in the city of David. | |
| II Kings 14:21 | *And all the people of Juda took Azarias, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father, Amasias. 2 Paralipomenon 26:1. | Azarias. Hebrew Hazarya. Sometimes printed more correctly Azieu, at others Azrien, (Haydock) by the blundering of transcribers, who have confounded the name of the king Ozihu (Azieu or Ozias) with that of the priest Ozrichu. (Azrien.) Carpzovius maintains that Azarias and Usias are two names of the same person. (Crit. p. 789.) But if he should find Carpzovius, Carpzorvius, and Carpzoviu, in the same book, would he not think them the same name erroneously printed? Kennicott, (Dis. 1:p. 478.) who observes that the Syriac and Arabic versions have here, as in the sequel, Uzia, and St. Matthew (1:8.) calls the king Ozias, conformably to 2 Paralipomenon 26:1., etc. The manuscripts also vary. (Kennicott) |
| II Kings 14:22 | He built Elath, and restored it to Juda, after that the king slept with his fathers. | Built, or rebuilt Elath; which gives its name to the eastern branch of the Red Sea. David had possession of all Idumea. Amasias had reconquered a great part, and his son pushed his conquests still further. |
| II Kings 14:23 | In the fifteenth year of Amasias, *son of Joas, king of Juda, reigned Jeroboam, the son of Joas, king of Israel, in Samaria, one and forty years: | Year of the World 3179, Year before Christ 825. |
| II Kings 14:24 | And he did that which was evil before the Lord. He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. | |
| II Kings 14:25 | He restored the borders of *Israel from the entrance of Emath, unto the sea of the wilderness, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant, **Jonas, the son of Amathi, the prophet, who was of Geth, which is in Opher. Numbers 13:22. --- ** Jonas 1:1. | Wilderness, or the Dead Sea, to which place the dominion of Israel originally extended, under Jeroboam 1:(Calmet) --- Opher, in the tribe of Zabulon. (Challoner) --- Protestants, "which was of Gath-hepher." (Haydock) --- We have not all the works of the prophets, nor did they write all their predictions. (Calmet) --- Here we learn at what time Jonas lived. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 14:26 | For the Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was exceedingly bitter, and that they were consumed even to them that were shut up in prison, and the lowest persons, and that there was no one to help Israel. | In prison is not expressed in the original, (Calmet) which has, "not any shut up, nor last." Neither those who had strong castles, nor the poorest people, were exempt from suffering. (Haydock) --- None durst appear, 3 Kings 14:10. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 14:27 | And the Lord did not say that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joas. | Israel, like Amalec, 1 Kings 15:3. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 14:28 | But the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his valour, wherewith he fought, and how he restored Damascus and Emath to Juda, in Israel, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | To Juda, or "of Juda;" Judae; (Haydock) as those strong cities had been conquered by David. The Syriac and Arabic omit this word entirely, and suppose, with many others, that Jeroboam kept possession of these cities. (Calmet) (Tirinus) --- In Israel, or "to Israel," over which he reigned. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 14:29 | And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, the kings of Israel; and Zacharias, his son, reigned in his stead. | Slept, dying a natural death; though the idolatrous priests of Bethel falsely asserted, that Amos had foretold he should fall by the sword, Amos 7:11. |
| II Kings 15:0 | The reign of Azarias, and Joatham, in Juda: and of Zacharias, Sellum, Manahem, Phaceia, and Phacee, in Israel. | |
| II Kings 15:1 | In the seven and twentieth year* of Jeroboam, king of Israel, reigned Azarias, son of Amasias, king of Juda. | Year of the World 3194, Year before Christ 810. Twentieth. Houbigant endeavours to shew it should be, "the 14th;" Capellus says, the 17th; (Haydock) and others have suspected that the number is incorrectly printed. (Grotius, etc.) --- But this expedient ought only to be adopted when no other can give satisfaction; and this difficulty may be obviated by saying, that Jeroboam's reign with his father continued six years, and that after he had held the septre nineteen years alone, Azarias commenced; (Calmet; Usher) or, that there was an interregnum of eleven years, which is not probable. (Capel) --- Azarias; otherwise called Ozias; (Challoner) and this was his real name. (Grotius) See 4 Kings 14:21. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 15:2 | He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Jechelia, of Jerusalem. | |
| II Kings 15:3 | And he did that which was pleasing before the Lord, according to all that his father, Amasias, had done. | Lord. Many laudable actions are specified, 2 Paralipomenon 26:4. But at last, forgetting the instructions of the prophet Zacharias, he opened his heart to pride, the bane of great souls, and would arrogate to himself the rights of the priesthood, which brought on his leprosy. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 15:4 | But the high places he did not destroy, for the people sacrificed, and burnt incense in the high places. | But. In this he was not different from his father, 4 Kings 14:4. |
| II Kings 15:5 | *And the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and he dwelt in a free house apart: but Joatham, the king's son, governed the palace, and judged the people of the land. 2 Paralipomenon 26:21. | A leper. In punishment of his usurping the priestly functions, 2 Paralipomenon 26:19. (Challoner) (Worthington) --- The priests boldly remonstrated with him, but to no effect; till the king perceived himself stricken with the leprosy. Josephus ([Antiquities?] 9:10.) says, a dreadful earthquake was felt at the same time, which is supposed to be that mentioned [in] Amos 1:1., and Zacharias 14:5; (St. Jerome, etc.) though Usher produces some chronological difficulties against this opinion: but they are founded on error. (Calmet) --- Free. Paralipomenon apart; at a distance from all. (Haydock) --- The like rules were observed in cities, as in the camp, Leviticus 13:46. (Menochius) --- Ozias was in a manner dead to all civil transactions; and Isaias 6:1. probably refers to this event. Syriac and Arabic, "he remained hidden." Josephus (ibid.[IX. 10.]) says, "leading a private life." Thus aiming at too much, he lost all! (Haydock) |
| II Kings 15:6 | And the rest of the acts of Azarias, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | |
| II Kings 15:7 | And Azarias *slept with his fathers: and they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David, and Joatham, his son, reigned in his stead. | Year of the World 3246, Year before Christ 758. David: or, Ozias slept....and they buried him in the field of the royal sepulchre, because he was a leper, and Joatham, etc., 2 Paralipomenon 26:23. (Haydock) --- Such an aversion had people for lepers, that they would not even bury them with others. (Calmet) --- Yet he was treated with some honour. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 15:8 | *In the eight and thirtieth year of Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Zacharias, son of Jeroboam, over Israel, in Samaria, six months: | Year of the World 3232, Year before Christ 772. Thirtieth. Usher would place an interregnum of eleven years and a half, after the death of Jeroboam, to make the first year of Zacharias correspond with the 38th of Azarias, during which, he supposes, the troubles mentioned [in] Amos vii., and viii., happened. But this interregnum has no foundation, ver. 5. (Calmet) --- Capellus says it would have lasted above 22 years. He and Houbigant would read, 28th: the latter adds ten years to the reign of Zacharias. The transcriber might easily omit the years, as they end in the same manner as months. Arabic has "six years;" whence we may infer, that the copies formerly varied. The exploits of Zacharias require a longer space than six months. (Chron. sac. p. 107, 110.) |
| II Kings 15:9 | And he did that which is evil before the Lord, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. | |
| II Kings 15:10 | And Sellum, the son of Jabes, conspired against him: and struck him publicly, and killed him, and reigned in his place. | Place, having before taken his measures with the conspirators; (ver. 15.) so that he had not to fear the resentment of the people. He cut off the last king of the family of Jehu; (Haydock) probably at Jezrahel, Osee 1:5. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 15:11 | Now the rest of the acts of Zacharias, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| II Kings 15:12 | *This was the word of the Lord, which he spoke to Jehu, saying: Thy children, to the fourth generation, shall sit upon the throne of Israel. And so it came to pass. 4 Kings 10:30. | |
| II Kings 15:13 | Sellum, the son of Jabes, began to reign in the *nine and thirtieth year of Azarias, king of Juda: and reigned one month in Samaria. | Year of the World 3223. |
| II Kings 15:14 | And Manahem, the son of Gadi, went up from Thersa, and he came into Samaria, and struck Sellum, the son of Jabes, in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. | Manahem, general of Zacharias, revenged his death, and then returning to Tharsa[Thersa?], treated it and the neighbouring city, Thapsa, with the utmost fury. So Josephus, [Antiquities?] 9:11. But his conjectures are to be received with caution. |
| II Kings 15:15 | And the rest of the acts of Sellum, and his conspiracy which he made, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| II Kings 15:16 | Then Manahem destroyed Thapsa and all that were in it, and the borders thereof from Thersa, because they would not open to him: and he slew all the women thereof that were with child, and ripped them up. | |
| II Kings 15:17 | In the nine and thirtieth year of Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Manahem, son of Gadi, over Israel, ten years, in Samaria. | Ten years. Dating from the time that he was enabled to enjoy the throne in peace, after a struggle of eleven months. (Usher, the year of the world 3233.) --- Phul rendered him this service, having received presents, and one of the golden calves, (Osee 10:6., and xiii.) besides 1000 talents, ver. 19. |
| II Kings 15:18 | And he did that which was evil before the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, all his days. | Days. During which Jeroboam or Manahem swayed the sceptre. (Calmet) --- The Septuagint refer all his days to the following verse, (Haydock) which seems to intimate that the tribute was required annually, as may be gathered from the Vulgate veniebat. (Menochius) --- But Phul probably received the talents only once, to indemnify him for his trouble. He was perhaps the father of Sardanapalus, Anacindaraxes, etc. Phul was the first of the Assyrian monarchs who came into the land of Israel, where we shall find them too often in the sequel. He probably repented on the preaching of Jonas, and averted the scourge (Calmet) which fell upon the city during the reign of his son. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 15:19 | And Phul, king of the Assyrians, came into the land, and Manahem gave Phul a thousand talents of silver, to aid him and to establish him in the kingdom. | |
| II Kings 15:20 | And Manahem laid a tax upon Israel, on all that were mighty and rich, to give the king of the Assyrians, each man fifty sicles of silver: so the king of the Assyrians turned back, and did not stay in the land. | Rich. The lower classes were not perhaps entirely exempted. |
| II Kings 15:21 | And the rest of the acts of Manahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | |
| II Kings 15:22 | And Manahem slept with his fathers: and Phaceia, his son, reigned in his stead. | |
| II Kings 15:23 | In the fiftieth year of *Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Phaceia, the son of Manahem, over Israel, in Samaria, two years. | Year of the World 3243, Year before Christ 761. |
| II Kings 15:24 | And he did that which was evil before the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. | |
| II Kings 15:25 | And Phacee, the son of Romelia, his captain, conspired against him, *and smote him in Samaria, in the tower of the king's house, near Argob, and near Arie, and with him fifty men of the sons of the Galaadites, and he slew him, and reigned in his stead. | Year of the World 3245, Year before Christ 759. Near. Hebrew, "may be along with Argob, etc." who were in the conspiracy. (Chaldean, Septaugint, etc.) (Calmet) |
| II Kings 15:26 | And the rest of the acts of Phaceia, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | Israel. This book is lost. (Haydock) --- The Paralipomenon takes no notice of these kings; but relates only the transactions of the kings of Juda after Joas gained the victory; which greatly abridged their power, 4 Kings 14:14. |
| II Kings 15:27 | In the two and fiftieth year of Azarias, king of Juda, reigned Phacee, the son of Romelia, over Israel, in Samaria, twenty years. | Romelia. St. Jerome (ep. 142.) places the birth of Romulus in this year, which preceded the famous Olympiads. But Salien differs that event 14 years. (The year before Christ 769.) (Haydock) |
| II Kings 15:28 | And he did that which was evil before the Lord: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin. | |
| II Kings 15:29 | In the days of Phacee, king of Israel, came Theglathphalasar, king of Assyria, and took Aion, and Abel, the house of Maacha, and Janoe, and Cedes, and Asor, and Galaad, and Galilee, and all the land of Nephthali: and carried them captives into Assyria. | Assyria, at the invitation of Achaz, 4 Kings 16:7. --- Theglathphalasar is probably the same who is called Ninus the younger, or Thilgam, (Aelian. animal. 12:21.) by profane writers. He re-established the kingdom of Nineve in part, after the city had been taken, under his father Sardanapalus, by Arbaces, founder of the empire of the Medes, and by Belesus, Narbonassar, or Baladan, who reigned at Babylon. Such was the state of the eastern empires at this time. (Calmet) --- Aion, or Ahion, (3 Kings 15:20.) perhaps the Enan of Ezechiel 48:1. (Haydock) --- Maacha, whither Seba had retreatd, 2 Kings 20:14. Hebrew Abel-beth-maacha. --- Galaad, comprising all the east of the Jordan. (Calmet) --- Nephthali, to the north-west. (Haydock) --- Thus the Galileans and Nephthali were transported into Assyria, to repeople it after the late ravages. The tribe in Galaad were fixed on the river Gozan, 1 Paralipomenon 5:26. |
| II Kings 15:30 | Now Osee, son of Ela, conspired, and formed a plot against Phacee, the son of Romelia, and struck him, and slew him: and reigned in his stead in the twentieth year of Joatham, the son of Ozias. | In the twentieth year of Joatham. That is, in the twentieth year from the beginning of Joatham's reign. The sacred writer chooses rather to follow here this date, than to speak of the years of Achaz, who had not yet been mentioned. (Challoner) --- But Joatham reigned only 16 years, (ver. 33.) so that this was the fourth year of Achaz. (Haydock) --- Usher says that Osee did not ascend the throne till nine years after the death of Phacee, as he is asserted to have commenced his reign in the twelfth year of Achaz, 4 Kings 17:1. But another difficulty arises from the mention of this 20th year, as Phacee would have reigned 22, instead of 20; (ver. 27.) for Joatham only commenced in the second year of Phacee. To reconcile these passages, we may conclude that Osee conspired against the king of Israel in the 18th year of Joatham, gained possession of part of the kingdom in the 20th of the same prince, and of the whole in the 12th of Achaz. (Calmet) --- The pretended interregnum ought to be rejected, as the murderer of the late king would not delay to ascend the throne. Houbigant adds 10 years to the reign of Phacee, as well as to that of Zacharias: the dates assigned to the kings of Israel being otherwise so much deficient, p. 113. |
| II Kings 15:31 | But the rest of the acts of Phacee, *and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? | Year of the World 3246, Year before Christ 758. |
| II Kings 15:32 | In the second year of Phacee, the son of Romelia, king of Israel, reigned Joatham, son of Ozias, king of Juda. | |
| II Kings 15:33 | *He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Jerusa, the daughter of Sadoc. 2 Paralipomenon 27:1. | |
| II Kings 15:34 | And he did that which was right before the Lord: according to all that his father Ozias had done, so did he. | Did he. Yet he did not imitate his presumption. God gave great success to his enterprises, 2 Paralipomenon 27:2. |
| II Kings 15:35 | But the high places he took not away: the people still sacrificed, and burnt incense in the high places: he built the highest gate of the house of the Lord. | Gate, repairing that on the east. Jeremias (xxvi. 10.) mentions the new gate. Joatham also made great additions to the walls of Jerusalem. (Paralipomenon) |
| II Kings 15:36 | But the rest of the acts of Joatham, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | |
| II Kings 15:37 | In those days the Lord began to send into* Juda Rasin, king of Syria, and Phacee, the son of Romelia. Isaias 7:1. | Began. Achaz was much more infested by these princes. |
| II Kings 15:38 | And Joatham slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, his father; and Achaz, his son, reigned in his stead. | |
| II Kings 16:0 | The wicked reign of Achaz: the kings of Syria and Israel war against him: he hireth the king of the Assyrians to assist him: he causeth an altar to be made after the pattern of that of Damascus. | |
| II Kings 16:1 | In the seventeenth year of Phacee, the son of Romelia, reigned Achaz, the son of Joatham, king of Juda. | |
| II Kings 16:2 | *Achaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years **in Jerusalem: he did not that which was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, his God, as David, his father. 2 Paralipomenon 28:1. | Year of the World 3262, Year before Christ 742. When he, Joatham, "had begun," coepisset. (Haydock) --- Thus Junius evades the following difficulty. (Du Hamel) --- Sixteen, consequently he died when he was 36 years old. As Ezechias was 25 when he came to the throne, Achab must have been a father at 11 (Calmet) or 12 years of age. (Bochart, Dissert. xxiii.) --- St. Jerome asserts the same of Solomon, and observes, that "many things which seem incredible in Scripture, are nevertheless true." (ep. ad Vital.) He, with some others, has recourse to a miracle. Others suppose that Ezechias was an adopted son, or kinsman, or that the numbers are incorrect, etc. But we are assured by respectable authors, (Haydock) that people have children very soon in the hotter climates. Busbeque (Ep. 3.) says, in Colchis many are mothers at ten years of age; and to convince the incredulous, produce their infants "not much bigger than a large frog." Albert the Great says he knew one who had a child at 10, and Navarre (following Sanchez, Matthew 7:2, 5. disp. 104.) was credibly informed that a similar fact was seen at Naples. Mandesle observes that this is common in India. He says one had lately a child at six years of age, which was there thought remarkable. St. Jerome mentions a boy who became a father at 10, and Sanchez relates that the same happened in Spain. A boy under 12 had a child by a girl of 10, in Provence. (Scaliger Elenc.) The Romans laws fix upon the age of 14 for males, and 12 for females' lawfully marrying; (Haydock) though many examples of people having children before that age are produced by Tiraqueau, 6. conn. 36. Yet physicians require 13 in males, and 14 years complete in females before they are capable of this effect. (Genebrard) St. Augustine (City of God 15:11., and xvi. c. ult. and in psalm civ.) maintains that a person of 10 years of age is unfit for generation. (Calmet) --- Malitia supplet aetatem. Achaz was a monster of wickedness. (Haydock) --- In the first year of his reign, and in the fifth Olympiad, the Ephori were appointed at Sparta under Theopompus, nephew of Lycurgus. (Salien, the year before Christ 59.) |
| II Kings 16:3 | But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel: moreover, he consecrated also his son, making him pass through the fire, according to the idols of the nations which the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel. | Fire, to purify him (or them, Paralipomenon filios, all were treated thus. Haydock) according to the superstitions of the pagans: omnia purgat edax ignis. (Ovid, Fast.) (Theodoret, q. 16.) (Menochius) --- Others believe that the child was burnt to death in honour of Moloch, and in imitation of the Chanaanites, Psalm 105:37., and Deuteronomy 18:10. The Carthaginians were required by Gelon, king of Syracuse, to lay aside this most barbarous custom. (Phil. apoph.) Yet, "infants were publicly immolated to Saturn, in Africa, till the proconsulate of Tiberius, who ordered the priests to be exposed on those same trees which shaded their crimes, as on votive crosses. This the soldiers, my countrymen, who executed the proconsul's orders, can testify; and still the sacred crime is perpetrated in secret." (Tertullian, Apol. viii.) --- How tenacious are people of old errors! (Haydock) |
| II Kings 16:4 | He sacrificed also, and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. | |
| II Kings 16:5 | *Then Rasin, king of Syria, and Phacee, son of Romelia, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to fight: and they besieged Achaz, but were not able to overcome him. Isaias 7:1. | Then. In punishment of such enormous crimes, God first delivered Achaz into the hands of Rasin, (2 Paralipomenon xxviii.; St. Jerome, in Isaias vii.) and afterwards Phacee destroyed 120,000 in one battle, and took 200,000 prisoners, whom the prophet Oded persuaded him to release, 2 Paralipomenon 28:8, 11. Salien (the year before Christ 759.) observes that the two kings then joined their forces, and besieged Jerusalem the following year, but to no purpose. (Haydock) --- Isaias was sent before the siege to encourage Achaz, and to promise the miraculous birth of the Messias, as a sign that he should be delivered: and to convince him of it the more, he foretold that the two kings should be destroyed before his own son should be able to say father, Isaias 7:8., etc. Yet as Achaz did not still amend his life, God sent the same kings the following year (the year of the world 3263.) to lay waste the country. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 16:6 | At that time Rasin, king of Syria, restored Aila to Syria, and drove the men of Juda out of Aila: *and the Edomites came into Aila, and dwelt there unto this day. | Year of the World 3263. Juda. Literally, "Jews," Judaeos, (Haydock) which is the first time we find this appellation. (Du Hamel) --- Aila, or Elath, which had been taken by Ozias, 4 Kings 14:22. (Menochius) --- It seems never to have belonged to Syria, as it was too far from Damascus. Instead of Aram, we should therefore probably read Edom, which words in Hebrew are extremely similar, and have been often mistaken, (Judges 11:17.; Calmet) particularly as we find that the Edomites took possession of the city. This latter word is indeed Syrians in Hebrew, etc. (Haydock) --- Josephus and others maintain that the Syrians seized and kept the place. But they were most likely only invited by the Idumeans to come to their assistance. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 16:7 | *And Achaz sent messengers to Theglathphalasar, king of the Assyrians, saying: I am thy servant, and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, who are risen up together against me. | Year of the World 3264. Son, vassal, or under thy protection. (Calmet) --- Save me. Achaz sinned by this placing his confidence in man, after the prophet had given him such assurance from the Lord. (Menochius) --- He has soon reason to repent of having brought this proud ally into his dominions, as he proved a great scourge; (2 Paralipomenon 28:20.) no less than the Saxons did to the ancient Britons. |
| II Kings 16:8 | And when he had gathered together the silver and gold that could be found in the house of the Lord, and in the king's treasures, he sent it for a present to the king of the Assyrians. | |
| II Kings 16:9 | And he agreed to his desire: for the king of the Assyrians went up against Damascus, and laid it waste: and he carried away the inhabitants thereof to Cyrene, but Rasin he slew. | Cyrene, not in Egypt, where he had no power, but near the river Cyrus, (Calmet) in higher Media. (Josephus) --- Hebrew, "and took it and carried the inhabitants captives to Kir," (Haydock) whence the Syrians had come originally, Amos 9:7. Arbaces, who had dismembered Media from the Assyrians empire, was now dead, and the king of Nineve had retaken several cities, occupying Rages, etc., (Tobias 1:16., etc.) before Dejoces mounted the throne, and extended the empire of the Medes. (Usher) --- The people of Sepharvaim lived also on the borders of Media, 4 Kings 18:11. |
| II Kings 16:10 | And king Achaz went to Damascus to meet Theglathphalasar, king of the Assyrians, and when he had seen the altar of Damascus, king Achaz sent to Urias, the priest, a pattern of it, and its likeness, according to all the work thereof. | To meet, and congratulate the king on his victory, and perhaps to divert him from proceeding any father. (Calmet) --- But it was too late, ver. 7. (Haydock) --- The same year Phacee hastened to defend his dominions, but was slain by Osee. (Salien, the year before Christ 757.) |
| II Kings 16:11 | And Urias, the priest, built an altar according to all that king Achaz had commanded from Damascus, so did Urias, the priest, until king Achaz came from Damascus. | Priest, or pontiff, as no other would have dared to make this innovation. (Salien) --- He was guilty of a great weakness; as the altar of Solomon had been so solemnly consecrated by God's presence. All changes in religion are dangerous. The Machabees behaved with far greater respect, with regard to the altar which had been profaned, 1 Machabees 4:45. (Calmet) --- Isaias 8:2. calls this priest a faithful, or competent, witness, (Haydock) on account of his dignity, not approving his conduct. (Salien) --- But he had not erected this altar when the prophet spoke thus to him. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 16:12 | And when the king was come from Damascus, he saw the altar and worshipped it: and went up and offered holocausts, and his own sacrifice; | And worshipped. Hebrew simply, "and the king approached to the altar, and offered on it (13) his holocaust and his meat (or flour) offering, and poured his drink-offering, and the blood of his peace-offerings, upon the altar." (Haydock) --- He dedicated it with all sorts of sacrifices, forbidding any other to be used in the temple. But shortly after he shut up the temple entirely, 2 Paralipomenon 28:24., and 29:3. He offered sacrifice to the true God, (ver. 15.; Menochius) unlawfully. |
| II Kings 16:13 | And he offered libations, and poured the blood of the peace-offerings, which he had offered, upon the altar. | |
| II Kings 16:14 | But the altar of brass that was before the Lord, he removed from the face of the temple, and from the place of the altar, and from the place of the temple of the Lord: and he set it at the side of the altar towards the north. | And from. Hebrew, "from between the new altar and the house of," etc. (Haydock) --- Achaz had placed his altar before that of Solomon: but he afterwards removed the latter from the right-hand of the sanctuary, to a corner of the court, on the north side. (Calmet) --- In the midst of his distress, he despised God; sacrificed to the gods of the Syrians, as more powerful and victorious than the Lord; pillaged the temple, which he shut up during the remainder of his reign, (Haydock) and erected altars for himself in all the corners of Jerusalem, 2 Paralipomenon 28:24. |
| II Kings 16:15 | And king Achaz commanded Urias, the priest, saying: Upon the great altar offer the morning holocaust, and the evening sacrifice, and the king's holocaust, and his sacrifice, and the holocaust of the whole people of the land, and their sacrifices, and their libations: and all the blood of the holocaust, and all the blood of the victim, thou shalt pour out upon it: but the altar of brass shall be ready at my pleasure. | Morning, as prescribed in the law, Exodus 29:38. --- King's ordained for sin: (Leviticus 4:22.) or instituted by Solomon, who left a fund. (Haydock) (2 Paralipomenon 8:12.) (Menochius) --- The law says nothing about the king's daily holocaust and sacrifice of flour. (Haydock) --- But it probably was offered after the morning and evening sacrifices. This Achaz calls his own, (ver. 12.; Calmet) as he had not yet laid aside the practice. --- Pleasure. Hebrew, "to inquire about." (Haydock) --- I shall do what I think proper with it. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 16:16 | So Urias, the priest, did according to all that king Achaz had commanded him. | |
| II Kings 16:17 | And king Achaz took away the graven bases, and the laver that was upon them: and he took down the sea from the brazen oxen that held it up, and put it upon a pavement of stone. | Stone, all out of avarice, (Haydock) and contempt of the Lord, who chastized him. (Menochius) --- He took away the plates of brass, c., from the doors, (Calmet) which Ezechias was forced to replace, (Haydock) afterwards to take down for the Assyrian, 4 Kings 18:16. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 16:18 | The musach also for the sabbath, which he had built in the temple, and the king's entry from without, he turned into the temple of the Lord, because of the king of the Assyrians. | Musach. The covert, or pavilion, or tribune for the king. (Challoner) --- Achaz would not have his ally to be in the court, but placed his throne in the temple. (Du Hamel) --- Septuagint, "and the foundation of the chair he built in the house of the Lord." (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "and the (musac) covert, or tribune of the sabbath, which they had built in the temple, and the king's entry without, the turned (Haydock) round (Menochius) from the temple, for the king of Assur." He despoiled these rich ornaments, to gratify the Assyrian. (Haydock) --- Solomon had built a most magnificent tribune, 2 Paralipomenon 6:13. See 4 Kings 11:6. The musach of Juda, was the pulpit; from which the law was read, Isaias 22:8. The king's tribune was near the eastern gate, which was only opened on the sabbath, Ezechiel 46:1. Some believe that the musach was a large curtain, suspended over the court, to keep off the sun's beams. Eupolemus speaks of some very magnificent ones, (Eusebius, praep. 9:34.) as does also Josephus; such as those which covered the Roman theatres. Others think it was a tent for the priests to take a little rest, or for the door-keepers, or a chest designed to receive the contributions for the repairs of the temple, or for the king to distribute his alms, or a covered throne for him to sit down on. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 16:19 | Now the rest of the acts of Achaz which he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | Book. Hebrew, "in the chronicles;" or, "in the book of the annals." (Haydock) |
| II Kings 16:20 | And Achaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, *and Ezechias, his son, reigned in his stead. 2 Paralipomenon 28:27. | With them; but not in the same sepulchre, on account of his impiety, 2 Paralipomenon 28:27. (Calmet) --- In the 5th year of his reign, the Idumeans harassed the country, and in the 6th, the Philistines took several towns; (Salien) so that he fell a prey to enemies on all sides, and was memorable for nothing but impiety and disasters. (Haydock) --- Rome was built, and Numa born, on the 21st of April, in the 9th year of Achaz, and the first of the 7th Olympiad. (Salien, the year before Christ 751.) |
| II Kings 17:0 | The reign of Osee. The Israelites, for their sins, are carried into captivity: other inhabitants are sent to Samaria, who make a mixture of religions. | |
| II Kings 17:1 | In the twelfth year of* Achaz, king of Juda, Osee, the son of Ela, reigned in Samaria, over Israel, nine years. | Year of the World 3274, Year before Christ 730. Twelfth. Houbigant would substitute 14th, to make the dates agree, p. 113. See 4 Kings 15:30. (Haydock) --- Till this time, Osee had been tributary to the Assyrian monarch. (Grotius) --- Hebrew may be, "in the 12th year....Osee....had reigned....nine years; which is true. (Calmet) --- He reigned so long afterwards, ver. 6. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 17:2 | And he did evil before the Lord: but not as the kings of Israel that had been before him. | Him. The Jews say, that he did not hinder his subjects from going to Jerusalem to adore. One of the golden calves had been sent away by Manahem, Osee 10:5. (Calmet) --- Yet under this less wicked king the nation is destroyed, as their crimes were come to the height; and Osee had not sufficient virtue to suspend the stroke of divine justice any longer. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 17:3 | *Against him came up Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians; and Osee became his servant, and paid him tribute. 4 Kings 18:9.; Tobias 1:2. | Salmanasar, who is called Salman, or Salomo; (Osee 10:14.) and Enemassar, in the Greek of Toby[Tobias]. The Tyrians relate that he took many of their towns, but that Tyre sustained a siege of five years. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 9:14.) |
| II Kings 17:4 | And when the king of the Assyrians found that Osee, endeavouring to rebel, had sent messengers to Sua, the king of Egypt, that he might not pay tribute to the king of the Assyrians, as he had done every year, he besieged him, bound him, and cast him into prison. | Sua; probably Sabachon, king of Ethiopia, who made himself master of Egypt, and burnt king Bocchoris alive. Herodotus (II. 137.) calls him Abacus. Jocquelot thinks that Sethon is meant, and that he was invaded by Sennacherib on account of this league with Osee. (Calmet) --- Prison, after he had taken the city, (Haydock) which held out three years. This great city was then reduced to a heap of ruins, and so continued till after the captivity of the Jews, (1 Esdras 4:17.) when it began to be peopled again. The inhabitants revolted against Alexander the Great, who placed Macedonians in their city, and gave the territory to the Jews. It was afterwards seized by the kings of Egypt and of Syria. But Hyrcan retook it, and levelled it with the ground. Gabinius built another town here, which bore his name till Herod greatly enlarged it, and called it Sebaste. (Calmet) --- The prophets describe the distress of Samaria, Osee 10:4., and 14:1., Micheas 1:6., and Jeremias 31:5.) |
| II Kings 17:5 | And he went through all the land: and going up to Samaria, he besieged it three years. | |
| II Kings 17:6 | *And in the ninth year of Osee, the king of the Assyrians took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria: and he placed them in Hala, and Habor, by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes. 4 Kings 18:10. | Year of the World 3283. Medes. See 4 Kings 16:9. The great maxim and policy of these nations, was to transport the conquered nations to a distant country, in order to prevent any revolts. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 17:7 | For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord, their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharao, king of Egypt; and they worshipped strange gods. | |
| II Kings 17:8 | And they walked according to the way of the nations which the Lord had destroyed in the sight of the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel: because they had done in like manner. | |
| II Kings 17:9 | And the children of Israel offended the Lord, their God, with things that were not right: and built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. | Offended. Hebrew, "They concealed (or spoke secretly; Haydock) words, which were not right before the Lord:" (Calmet) being guilty of hypocrisy or of blasphemy. (Haydock) --- Watchmen: the meanest huts. (Tirinus) --- All was contaminated. (Calmet) --- Towers were erected to guard the flocks from thieves, 2 Paralipomenon 26:10. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 17:10 | And they made them statues and groves on every high hill, and under every shady tree: | Groves. Hebrew Asherim, Astarte or Venus, to whom "the groves" were consecrated, 4 Kings 21:7., and 23:4. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 17:11 | And they burnt incense there upon altars, after the manner of the nations which the Lord had removed from their face: and they did wicked things, provoking the Lord. | Removed by the sword, (Menochius) or by flight. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 17:12 | And they worshipped abominations, concerning which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do this thing. | Abominations. Hebrew gillulim, "idols of dung." --- Thing. Literally, "word." |
| II Kings 17:13 | And the Lord testified to them in Israel, and in Juda, by the hand of all the prophets and seers, saying: *Return from your wicked ways, and keep my precepts, and ceremonies, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers: and as I have sent to you in the hand of my servants the prophets. Jeremias 25:5. | Seers. See 1 Kings 9:9. (Menochius) --- God never ceased to admonish the rebels. (Haydock) --- Jeremias 25:5. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 17:14 | And they hearkened not, but hardened their necks like to the neck of their fathers, who would not obey the Lord, their God. | |
| II Kings 17:15 | And they rejected his ordinances, and the covenant that he made with their fathers, and the testimonies which he testified against them: and they followed vanities, and acted vainly: and they followed the nations that were round about them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them that they should not do as they did. | Testimonies. The ceremonial law was in memory of some great transactions, as the sabbath was of the creation; and the whole law was given with great solemnity, in presence of witnesses. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 17:16 | And they forsook all the precepts of the Lord, their God: and made to themselves two molten calves, and groves, and adored all the host of heaven: and they served Baal, | Heaven: sun and moon; and the stars, which were like the soldiers of the two former. This expression is very common in Scripture. |
| II Kings 17:17 | And consecrated their sons, and their daughters, through fire: and they gave themselves to divinations, and soothsayings: and they delivered themselves up to do evil before the Lord, to provoke him. | Fire. See 4 Kings 16:3. --- Delivered. Hebrew, "sold," 3 Kings 21:20., and 1 Machabees 1:16. (Calmet) --- To provoke. This was the consequence of their wickedness. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 17:18 | And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from his sight, and there remained only the tribe of Juda. | Sight, as objects of horror, cast away from the temple, and from the promised land. --- Tribe, or kingdom. See 3 Kings 12:20. Israel began to be rejected by God, when the schism took place. (Haydock) --- It was entirely lost, when Salmanasar took the people into captivity. Some few were left; and these formed a part of the kingdom of Josias, on their returning to the service of the true God, (2 Paralipomenon 34:6.) while others fled into Egypt, Osee 8:13., and 9:3. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 17:19 | But neither did Juda itself keep the commandments of the Lord, their God: but they walked in the errors of Israel, which they had wrought. | |
| II Kings 17:20 | And the Lord cast off all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, till he cast them away from his face: | |
| II Kings 17:21 | *Even from that time, when Israel was rent from the house of David, and made Jeroboam, son of Nabat, their king: for Jeroboam separated Israel from the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. 3 Kings 12:19. | |
| II Kings 17:22 | And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he had done: and they departed not from them, | |
| II Kings 17:23 | *Till the Lord removed Israel from his face, as he had spoken in the hand of all his servants, the prophets: and Israel was carried away out of their land to Assyria, unto this day. Jeremias 25:9. | Day. If Esdras was the author of this book, as it is very probable, this observation would tend to show how much more favourably the Jews were treated than the kingdom of Israel, which was still, for the most part, in captivity. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 17:24 | And the king of the Assyrians brought people from Babylon, and from Cutha, and from Avah, and from Emath, and from Sepharvaim: and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. | King, Assaraddon, who led away the remnants of Israel, and fulfilled the prediction, Isaias 7:8. (Du Hamel) --- Babylon, or the territory. These people had been lately conquered from the Babylonian empire, from Syria, etc. --- Cutha: the greatest part were from this city; so that the Samaritans were afterwards called Cutheans. --- Emath, on the Orontes. --- Sepharvaim; or the Saspires, near Media. (Calmet) --- We find several other places mentioned, 1 Esdras 4:9. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 17:25 | And when they began to dwell there, they feared not the Lord: and the Lord sent lions among them, which killed them. | Lions. The Samaritan Chronicle says the fruits, though beautiful to the eye, were of a poisonous quality; and Josephus, as usual, ([Antiquities?] 9:14.) alters the text, saying that the people were afflicted with pestilence, and the oracle being consulted, told them to worship the High God; on which account, they desired the king to send them a priest. (Calmet) --- These nations had not been accustomed to fear the Lord in their own country; but God was more offended when they exercised their idolatrous worship in that land, which he had chosen in a particular manner for himself. (Menochius) --- He suffers wickedness and infidelity to prevail to a certain point; but when his patience is exhausted, (Calmet) all nature fights for him against the wicked. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 17:26 | And it was told the king of the Assyrians, and it was said: The nations which thou hast removed, and made to dwell in the cities of Samaria, know not the ordinances of the God of the land: and the Lord hath sent lions among them: and behold they kill them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. | King; Assar-adon, 1 Esdras 4:2. They did not send as soon as they came into the country. --- Land. They reason according to their false notions, as if a plurality of gods were not incompatible: and all would go on well, if each were served according to his will. On the same principle, they united the worship of the true God with that of idols, (Calmet) as had been done before by the Israelites. (Menochius) --- Yet God having shewn that he could have forced them to comply, (Tostat) was pleased to remove the scourge; as if he preferred that imperfect worship rather than to suffer pure idolatry to reign. (Genebrard) |
| II Kings 17:27 | And the king of the Assyrians commanded, saying: Carry thither one of the priests whom you brought from thence captive, and let him go, and dwell with them: and let him teach them the ordinances of the God of the land. | Let him. Hebrew, Chaldean, Septuagint, "them go." Probably more went; but one was of superior dignity. He might have been priest of the golden calves, as none of the priests of Jerusalem had yet been taken. Hence he taught the Cutheans to join the worship of God with that of idols. Some think that no part of the Scripture was used among them, till the building of the temple by Sanballat, on Mount Garizim: (Le Quien, Antiquitè. 5:13.) but this is extremely improbable. How should he pretend to teach the law without the books of Moses? (Haydock) --- The Samaritans have retained the Pentateuch in the Phoenician character, while the Jews have insensibly adopted the Chaldee, during their captivity. On some occasions, these people have boasted of their descent from the patriarchs, John 4:12., and 20. But in times of danger, they have confessed their true origin. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] ix. fin., and 12:5. |
| II Kings 17:28 | So one of the priests, who had been carried away captive from Samaria, came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should worship the Lord. | Bethel. Garizim was not then honoured with the temple, as the Samaritans would pretend. (Chronicles) They wished to join in building that at Jerusalem, under Esdras. (Calmet) --- Lord. Collins would make us believe, that the Samaritans continued "for a long time" without the Pentateuch, and all "heathens for many ages." But the first supposition "is to me incredible," says Kennicott; and Hottinger himself allows, that the priests did bring back a copy of the law "exactly corresponding with the autograph of Moses." (Exert. p. 8.) And as for the Samaritans being heathens, Prideaux, whom this infidel writer quotes, (Haydock) says, "consistently with his Bible, that they continued in that gross idolatry of worshipping other gods in conjunction with the True; which last words are very unfairly omitted." (Kennicott, Diss. 2:p. 115.) --- This was the true origin and state of this mixture of nations, who were sent to cultivate the lands of Samaria. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 17:29 | And every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the temples of the high places, which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities where they dwelt. | Dwelt. This impure service did not deserve a mitigation of the late chastisement. But God often punishes in this world (Haydock) to manifest his glory, (John 9:3.) and spares to display his power (Calmet) and goodness. (Haydock) --- He had sufficiently convinced these nations of his dominion over all. |
| II Kings 17:30 | For the men of Babylon made Sochothbenoth: and the Cuthites made Nergel: and the men of Emath made Asima. | Socoth-benoth, "the tents of young women," who prostituted themselves once in their lives at Babylon, in honour of Mylitta. (Herodotus 2:199.) --- Nergel, "light." (Calmet) --- The Pyreia (Haydock) of the Persians are famous in history. (Strabo xv.) (Selden, Synt. 2:8.) --- Asima, like an ape, goat, etc. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 17:31 | And the Hevites made Nebahaz, and Tharthac. And they that were of Sepharvaim burnt their children in fire, to Adramelech and Anamelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. | Hevites, who came from Ava. --- Nebahaz. "Nebo the seeing, or living and possessing." Nebo was a famous idol of Babylon. --- Tharthac; perhaps Sar, (prince) Sak, or Sesac, (Jeremias 25:26., and 51:41.) the sun, etc. --- Adramelech, "the magnificent king," and Anamelech, "the king of clemency," may denote the sun and moon; as these were the divinities commonly adored in the East, under various names. The same victims were offered to these as to Moloc and Saturn; whence we may infer, that they were the same idols. St. Jerome translates the work of Eusebius on the Hebrews, (Calmet) and places without any disapprobation of his opinion, that Socoth-benoth, etc., were the names of towns, which the people built in Samaria. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 17:32 | And nevertheless they worshipped the Lord. And they made to themselves, of the lowest of the people, priests of the high places, and they placed them in the temples of the high places. | Worshipped, or appeared to worship: for true religion admits of no false god. (Worthington) --- Lowest. This expression sometimes means the most noble. (Haydock) --- But the priests were chosen from the midst of the people, without examination. They employed the priest, whom the king had sent for the worship of the true God, whilst others were appointed to serve the idols. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 17:33 | And when they worshipped the Lord, they served also their own gods, according to the custom of the nations out of which they were brought to Samaria: | |
| II Kings 17:34 | Unto this day they follow the old manner: they fear not the Lord, neither do they keep his ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and the commandment, which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he surnamed Israel:* Genesis 32:28. | His ceremonies. Hebrew, "they fear not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes." (Protestants) (Haydock) --- This involves a sort of contradiction, unless we explain it of the Israelites; though they had not been mentioned before. There is a confusion in the original text; and ver. 41 seems to require that we should understand it iin this manner, as the Cutheans could hardly be blamed for neglecting a thing of which they had before no knowledge. The Israelites are justly blamed for obstinately continuing in their prevarication, even in the midst of their captivity. The Syriac and Arabic translate, "The Israelites have been forced to leave their country, because they have abandoned the Lord; and they have not obeyed his laws, his precepts, and his ordinances, which he gave to," etc. Many adopt this explanation. (Junius; Vatable, etc.) (Calmet) --- Septuagint make these people unite the true and the false worship, as ver. 41. "They did according to their judgment. These fear, and do according to their justifications (dikaiomata) and decision; and according to the law," etc. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 17:35 | With whom he made a covenant, and charged them, saying: You shall not fear strange gods, nor shall you adore them, nor worship them, nor sacrifice to them. | |
| II Kings 17:36 | But the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and a stretched-out arm, him shall you fear, and him shall you adore, and to him shall you sacrifice. | |
| II Kings 17:37 | And the ceremonies, and judgments, and law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do them always: and you shall not fear strange gods. | |
| II Kings 17:38 | And the covenant that he made with you, you shall not forget: neither shall ye worship strange gods, | |
| II Kings 17:39 | But fear the Lord, your God, and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. | |
| II Kings 17:40 | But they did not hearken to this, but did according to their old custom. | |
| II Kings 17:41 | So these nations feared the Lord, but nevertheless served also their idols: their children also, and grand-children, as their fathers did, so do they unto this day. | |
| II Kings 18:0 | The reign of Ezechias: he abolisheth idolatry, and prospereth. Sennacherib cometh up against him: Rabsaces soliciteth the people to revolt; and blasphemeth the Lord. | |
| II Kings 18:1 | In *the third year of Osee, the son of Ela, king of Israel, reigned** Ezechias, the son of Achaz, king of Juda. 2 Paralipomenon 28:27.; 2 Paralipomenon 29:1. | Year of the World 3277, Year before Christ 727. Third, far advanced, as he was associated by his father in the last year of his reign, (Calmet) or three years before its termination. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 18:2 | He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Abi, the daughter of Zacharias. | |
| II Kings 18:3 | And he did that which was good before the Lord, according to all that David, his father, had done. | Good; opening the temple, celebrating the Passover with extraordinary magnificence, etc. He had invited people from all Israel, and at their return they broke many statues. Ezechias provided for the subsistence of the Levitical tribe, by ordering the laws to be put in execution in their favour, 2 Paralipomenon xxix., and xxx. |
| II Kings 18:4 | He destroyed the *high places, and broke the statues in pieces, and cut down the groves, and broke the brazen serpent, **which Moses had made: for till that time the children of Israel burnt incense to it: and he called its name Nohestan. Numbers 21:9. | Year of the World 3278. Groves. The people were now more obedient, being terrified at the chastisement of Israel, (Calmet) though Samaria was not taken till the sixth year of this good king; who carried his reform rather than most of his predecessors, (Haydock) in destroying the high places which had been unlawfully (Calmet) retained, as consecrated to the true God. See ver. 22. (Haydock) --- Yet Josias had still some to remove. (Menochius) --- Nohestan; that is, their brass, or a little brass. So he called it in comtempt, because they had made a god of it. (Challoner) --- Before, this image had been treated with due respect. When any relic or image becomes the occasion of abuse in the Catholic Church, it is thus taken away, or the error is otherwise corrected. See St. Augustine, City of God 10:8., Ser. 14., de Verb. Ap., etc. (Worthington) --- Some of the ancients assert, that Ezechias suppressed many books of Solomon, on account of similar abuses. But this seems not to be well attested. We know that he made a collection of some of some of his sentences, Proverbs 25:1. |
| II Kings 18:5 | He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel: so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Juda, nor any of them that were before him: | Like him. Ezechias was remarkable for many excellent qualities. Yet we must not push these comparisons too far, contrary to the intention of the sacred writers. The same eulogium is given to Josias, (chap. 23:25.) and David seems to be preferred, 4 Kings 19:34. These three are particularly commended, Ecclesiasticus 49:5. (Calmet) --- Their virtues were certainly different in some respects. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 18:6 | And he stuck to the Lord, and departed not from his steps, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses. | |
| II Kings 18:7 | Wherefore the Lord also was with him, and in all things, to which he went forth, he behaved himself wisely. And he rebelled against the king of the Assyrians, and served him not. | Wisely. Hebrew, "with success." Syriac, etc., "he was victorious wherever he went." --- Rebelled. The Assyrian assumed an undue authority in consequence of the words of Achaz, (chap. 16:7.) and arrogated to himself the authority of doing what he pleased with the people, ver. 32. Ezechias having formed various alliances, judged it necessary to make some resistance. Yet the prophet Isaias (xxx. 1.) complains of his applying to the Egyptians. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 18:8 | He smote the Philistines as far as Gaza, and all their borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. | City. Thus he punished them for their late invasion, 2 Paralipomenon 28:18. |
| II Kings 18:9 | *In the fourth year of king Ezechias, which was the seventh year of Osee, the son of Ela, king of Israel, Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians, came up to Samaria, and besieged it, 4 Kings 17:6.; Tobias 1:2. | Samaria. The same history is given, 4 Kings 17:3. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 18:10 | And took it. For after three years, in the sixth year of Ezechias, that is, in the ninth year of Osee, king of Israel, Samaria was taken:* | Year of the World 3283. |
| II Kings 18:11 | And the king of the Assyrians carried away Israel into Assyria, and placed them in Hala, and in Habor, by the rivers of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes: | By the rivers. Gozan was the name of the river, as above; (Haydock) so that Salien suspects it should be fluvii, "of the river." (Menochius) |
| II Kings 18:12 | Because they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord, their God, but transgressed his covenant: all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded, they would not hear, nor do. | |
| II Kings 18:13 | *In the fourteenth year of king Ezechias, Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, came up against the fenced cities of Juda, and took them. 2 Paralipomenon 32:1.; Ecclesiasticus 48:20.; Isaias 36:1. | Sennacherib's expedition in Egypt and Asia are mentioned by Herodotus (II. 141.) and Berosus, (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 10:1.) but they do not say that he passed farther then Pelusium, (Calmet) the frontier on the Egyptian side of Palestine. (Haydock) --- These expeditions might have been performed in less than eight months, during the 14th year of Ezechias, who fell sick, perhaps soon after the ruin of Sennacherib's army, 4 Kings 20:1. Isaias 10:28. represents the Assyrian proceeding from Gabaa towards Egypt, and thence he ascended to attack the cities of Juda, (ver. 25.) Manresa, (Micheas 1:15.) etc. While he was before Lachis, Ezechias, dreading the horrors of war, purchased a peace: but the tyrant soon after sent to require him to surrender at discretion; and in the mean time he went to besiege Lebna, where his envoys found him, having received no answer from the king of Juda. The haughty Assyrian being obliged to go to meet the king of Chus, sent insolent letters to Ezechias; but the latter was assured that all his menaces were to be despised, and on the same night that Sennacherib left Lebna, the angel destroyed 185,000 of his men. It is thought that the siege of Lachis did not take place till three years after Sennacherib had come into Palestine, and after he had spent that time in attacking Egypt, 4 Kings 19:24. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 10:2., and 3.) --- He attempted afterwards to take the southern cities of Juda, in order to cut off all communication with Egypt; as Nabuchodonosor, Holofernes, and Eupator probably intended to do, Jeremias 24:7., Judith vi., and vii., and 1 Machabees 6:31. (Calmet) --- Offended, and been imprudent. (Menochius) --- Gold, so that the value of each was equal. (Du Hamel) --- Josephus reads, "or thirty," as if that quantity of gold would suffice. (Haydock) --- The talent contains 3000 sicles. (Menochius) --- The heart of Ezechias fainted at the approach of so great an army, though he had before made the greatest preparations, 4 Kings 20:2., 2 Paralipomenon 32:5., and Ecclesiasticus 48:19. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 18:14 | Then Ezechias, king of Juda, sent messengers to the king of the Assyrians, to Lachis, saying: I have offended, depart from me: and all that thou shalt put upon me, I will bear. And the king of the Assyrians put a tax upon Ezechias, king of Juda, of three hundred talents of silver, and thirty talents of gold. | |
| II Kings 18:15 | And Ezechias gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the king's treasures. | |
| II Kings 18:16 | At that time Ezechias broke the doors of the temple of the Lord, and the plates of gold which he had fastened on them, and gave them to the king of the Assyrians. | On them. All must go to meet the exigencies of the state. (Grotius, Jur. 2:5.) --- The doors of temples and palaces were frequently adorned with the most precious metals, as Homer describes the palace of Alcinous; (Odyssey; H) and Tavernier (VII. 12.) speaks of some mosques in Persia, the doors of which are covered with plates of silver. See Josephus, Jewish Wars 6:6. |
| II Kings 18:17 | And the king of the Assyrians sent Tharthan, and Rabsaris, and Rabsaces, from Lachis, to king Ezechias, with a strong army, to Jerusalem: and they went up and came to Jerusalem, and they stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the way of the fuller's field. | Tharthan, or Thathania, (1 Esdras 5:3.) and in the Greek of Isaias 20:1., means "the president of tributes," or presents. The two other names denote "the chief eunuch," and "the chief butler," and are not proper names. These officers were sent at the head of a strong army to Jerusalem. --- Field, by the torrent Cedron, to the east. There they defied the king, or perhaps endeavoured to persuade him to come out, that they might seize his person. (Calmet) They came in a military capacity, rather than as ambassadors. |
| II Kings 18:18 | And they called for the king: and there went out to them Eliacim, the son of Helcias, who was over the house, and Sobna, the scribe, and Joahe, the son of Asaph, the recorder. | House. Josephus says, "procurator of the palace or kingdom." (Haydock) --- The house often refers to the temple, when placed without any explanation, Isaias 22:15. (Calmet) --- Eliacim was prefect of the praetorium, (Salien) or grand master of the palace. He was richly dressed, and possessed a great authority over the people. --- Scribe. See Judges 8:14. This Sobna, according to St. Jerome, is different from the one who was over the house in the days of Manasses, before Eliacim was restored to his office, (Calmet) unless he also was a different person. (Tirinus) --- The Jews say Sobna was deprived of his dignity, on account of his having betrayed the lower city to Sennacherib. See Isaias 22:21. --- Recorder, or chancellor, etc., 2 Kings 8:16. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 18:19 | And Rabsaces said to them: Speak to Ezechias: Thus saith the great king, the king of the Assyrians: What is this confidence, wherein thou trustest? | |
| II Kings 18:20 | Perhaps thou hast taken counsel, to prepare thyself for battle. On whom dost thou trust, that thou darest to rebel? | Counsel. Hebrew, "Thou sayest (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for the war." (Protestants) (Haydock) --- You have vainly boasted. (Calmet) --- Isaias 26:5. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 18:21 | Dost thou trust in Egypt, a staff of a broken reed, upon which if a man lean, it will break and go into his hand, and pierce it? so is Pharao, king of Egypt, to all that trust in him. | Pierce it. He alludes to the reeds which grow on the Nile. See Delrio, adag. 210. Egypt had been already greatly harassed in the expedition of Sennacherib, so that no succour could be expected thence. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 18:22 | But if you say to me: We trust in the Lord, our God: is it not he, whose high places and altars Ezechias hath taken away: and hath commanded Juda and Jerusalem: You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? | Jerusalem. Many were perhaps displeased at this injunction, and Rabsaces endeavoured to excite them to revolt, and insinuates (Calmet) that the king had made God his enemy, (Haydock) and must expect punishment from him. (Theodoret, in Isaias 36:5.) He perhaps was ignorant that these altars were contrary to his law. (Menochius) --- Yet the Jews say that Rabsaces was son of Isaias, (ap. St. Jerome, bib.) or a Samaritan. |
| II Kings 18:23 | Now, therefore, come over to my master, the king of the Assyrians, and I will give you two thousand horses, and see whether you be able to have riders for them. | Over. Josephus insinuates that it is a challenge to fight, and that Rabsaces was so confident of victory, that he made this contemptuous proposal, (Haydock) knowing that the subjects of Ezechias were not good horsemen, (Calmet) or that they were comparatively (Haydock) so few in number. (Menochius) --- Hebrew, "agree, or give pledges to my master." |
| II Kings 18:24 | And how can you stand against one lord of the least of my master's servants? Dost thou trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? | |
| II Kings 18:25 | Is it without the will of the Lord that I am come up to this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me: Go up to this land, and destroy it. | Destroy. Prosperity renders a man insolent, and the passions blind him. Rabsaces interprets success to be a sure proof of the divine approbation, and thus attempts to justify all the excesses of his master. (Calmet) --- God only used Sennacherib as a rod to chastise his people. (Menochius) --- The most wicked often represent themselves as the executioners of God's will, and attribute their ambition to his decrees. (Haydock) --- God did not order the Assyrians to destroy the land: he rather threatened to destroy them, Isaias xxxvii., and 2 Paralipomenon xxxii. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 18:26 | Then Eliacim, the son of Helcias, and Sobna, and Joahe, said to Rabsaces: We pray thee, speak to us, thy servants, in Syriac: for we understand that tongue: and speak not to us in the Jews' language, in the hearing of the people that are upon the wall. | Syriac, or Chaldean language, which was spoken at the Assyrian court, 1 Esdras 4:7., and Daniel 2:4. Rabsaces was acquainted with both the languages; as the Jews say he was an apostate, which they infer from this passage, and from the legates tearing their clothes when they heard him blaspheme; as they pretend this was only done when blasphemy came from the mouth of an Israelite. (Grotius) --- But these reasons are very weak. (Calmet) --- The like was practised when any thing terrifying was heard, ver. 37. (Haydock) --- The reasons why the legates desire Rabsaces not to speak in a language which the common soldiers understood, was to prevent them from shewing their indignation by shooting at him, or out of fear, lest they should be induced to cause some sedition. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 18:27 | And Rabsaces answered them, saying: Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words, and not rather to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their urine with you? | With you. Insolent bravado! whence some have inferred the probability of pigeons' dung being really eaten, 4 Kings 6:25. (Calmet) --- Rabsaces threatens them with all the horrors of famine, so that they shall eat such things, if they refuse to give up the city. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 18:28 | Then Rabsaces stood, and cried out with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and said: Hear the words of the great king, the king of the Assyrians. | |
| II Kings 18:29 | Thus saith the king: Let not Ezechias deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of my hand. | My. Hebrew and Vatican Septuagint, "his (Sennacherib's) hand." But the other reading of the Syriac, etc., is more natural. These words do not occur [in] Isaias 36:14. |
| II Kings 18:30 | Neither let him make you trust in the Lord, saying: The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of the Assyrians. | |
| II Kings 18:31 | Do not hearken to Ezechias. For thus saith the king of the Assyrians: Do with me that which is for your advantage, and come out to me: and every man of you shall eat of his own vineyard, and of his own fig-tree: and you shall drink water of your own cisterns, | Advantage. Hebrew, "make a blessing," or present. (Calmet) --- Chaldean and Syriac, "peace." |
| II Kings 18:32 | Till I come, and take you away, to a land, like to your own land, a fruitful land, and plentiful in wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olives, and oil, and honey, and you shall live, and not die. Hearken not to Ezechias, who deceiveth you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. | Till. Sennacherib will remove you to another country, but it will be as good as this. He requires you to surrender at discretion. (Calmet) --- Deliver us. This will not be in his power, no more than it was in that of the other tutelary gods. (Menochius) --- Infidels and heretics are very foolish thus to compare their delusions with God, and his holy religion. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 18:33 | Have any of the gods of the nations delivered their land from the hand of the king of Assyria? | |
| II Kings 18:34 | *Where is the god of Emath, and of Arphad? where is the god of Sepharvaim, of Ana, and of Ava? **have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 4 Kings 19:13.; Isaias 10:9.; Isaias 37:13.; 4 Kings 17:24. | Emath, Emesa. --- Arphad, or Arad, an island and city on the continent, (Calmet) near Tyre. --- Of Ana, etc., "of," is not expressed in the Vulgate, (Haydock) and it may be explained as if Ana and Ava were idols of Sepharvaim. (Menochius) --- But they are commonly supposed to be cities. (Haydock) --- Ana is probably a city (Du Hamel) built on both sides of the Euphrates, four days' journey from Bagdat. Isaias does not specify these cities in the parallel passage, but they are found in the letter addressed to Ezechias, Isaias 37:13. --- Samaria, or the inhabitants who had come from distant parts, and had perhaps revolted. We do not however find that Sennacherib had conquered them, nor does the pretend that all these conquests were made by himself. (Calmet) --- He gives part of the honour to his ancestors, 4 Kings 19:12., and 2 Paralipomenon 32:13. But he asserts that all the gods of the respective countries of Samaria, etc., had yielded to his superior force. (Haydock) --- Strange infatuation in a man who looked upon the idols as gods! They are in effect nothing, 1 Corinthians 8:4. But as their votaries were of a different persuasion, ought they not to have acted and spoken consistently? Yet Suetonius (Caius, C. 5.) informs us, that "on the day when Germanicus died, the temples were stoned, the altars of the gods overturned, the domestic lares thrown out by some into the open air;" all to express their grief and indignation at the gods, for not preserving his life. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 18:35 | Who are they among all the gods of the nations that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the Lord may deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? | |
| II Kings 18:36 | But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for they had received commandment from the king that they should not answer him. | The people. The three legates, (Calmet) Isaias 36:21. And they held their peace. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 18:37 | And Eliacim, the son of Helcias, who was over the house, and Sobna, the scribe, and Joahe, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Ezechias, with their garments rent, and told him the words of Rabsaces. | Rent, as was customary on such dismal occasions. Joakim is reprehended for not shewing this mark of consternation, when he heard the dreadful predictions of Jeremias, 36:24. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 19:0 | Ezechias is assured of God's help by Isaias, the prophet. The king of the Assyrians still threateneth and blasphemeth. Ezechias prayeth, and God promiseth to protect Jerusalem. An angel destroyeth the army of the Assyrians; their king returneth to Ninive, and is slain by his own sons. | |
| II Kings 19:1 | And *when king Ezechias heard these words, he rent his garments, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. Isaias 37:1. | |
| II Kings 19:2 | *And he sent Eliacim, who was over the house, and Sobna, the scribe, and the ancients of the priests, covered with sackcloths, to Isaias, the prophet, the son of Amos. | Year of the World 3294, Year before Christ 710. |
| II Kings 19:3 | And they said to him: Thus saith Ezechias: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: the children are come to the birth, and the woman in travail hath not strength. | Blasphemy. The enemy insults over us (Calmet) and over God. (Haydock) --- Birth. Hebrew, "the mouth of the womb." (Vatable) --- This comparison shews the utmost distress to which the people of Jerusalem were reduced. Any great anguish is denoted by a woman in travail, Deuteronomy 2:25., and Psalm 47:7. Homer (Iliad A) thus describes the uneasiness of Agamemnon. (Calmet) --- Ezechias found himself unable to contend with the Assyrian, though he wished to do it. (Menochius) --- Without courage, all hope of escaping is lost. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 19:4 | It may be the Lord, thy God, will hear all the words of Rabsaces, whom the king of the Assyrians, his master, hath sent to reproach the living God, and to reprove with words, which the Lord, thy God, hath heard: and do thou offer prayer for the remnants that are found. | It may. Literally, "if perhaps the Lord hear." (Haydock) --- Found. After such devastation has been made in the country, particularly by carrying away the ten tribes, (Calmet) Ezechias recommends the kingdom to the prayers of the prophet; as we are exhorted to have recourse to the intercession of the saints. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 19:5 | So the servants of king Ezechias came to Isaias. | |
| II Kings 19:6 | And Isaias said to them: Thus shall you say to your master: Thus saith the Lord: Be not afraid for the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of the Assyrians have blasphemed me. | |
| II Kings 19:7 | Behold I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a message, and shall return into his own country, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own country. | Upon him, so that he shall be eager enough to return, (Calmet) being filled with consternation at the approach of Tharaca, (Menochius) and at the destruction of his men by an angel, ver. 35. (Haydock) --- Lachis and Lobna were both in the mountains of Juda, to the south of Jerusalem, Josue 10:31. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 19:8 | And Rabsaces returned, and found the king of the Assyrians besieging Lobna: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachis. | |
| II Kings 19:9 | And when he heard say of Tharaca, king of Ethiopia: Behold, he is come out to fight with thee: and was going against him, he sent messengers to Ezechias, saying: | When he, Sennacherib, though it would seem to refer to Rabsaces. (Haydock) --- Tharaca, called Thearchon by Strabo, (i., and xv. p. 653.) extended his conquests as far as the pillars of Hercules. (Megasthenes) --- The Egyptians seem to have called him Sethon, and assert that the god (Vulcan) appeared to him on the approach of Sennacherib, assuring him of his protection. He encamped near Pelusium, where the enemy's army on its arrival was infested with rats, which destroyed their armour, and made them an easy prey. (Herodotus 2:141.) It is probable that Taphnes, near Pelusium, was the capital city of Tharaca, Isaias xviii., and 30:4. He does not appear to have joined battle with Sennacherib, whose army was destroyed on its march (Isaias 10:24.) the very night that the prophet promised Ezechias a deliverance. |
| II Kings 19:10 | Thus shall you say to Ezechias, king of Juda: Let not thy God deceive thee, in whom thou trustest: and do not say: Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hands of the king of the Assyrians. | |
| II Kings 19:11 | Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of the Assyrians have done to all countries, how they have laid them waste: and canst thou alone be delivered? | |
| II Kings 19:12 | Have the gods of the nations delivered any of them, whom my fathers have destroyed, to wit, Gozan, and Haran, and Reseph, and the children of Eden, that were in Thelassar? | Gozan, in Less Armenia; Haran and Reseph in Palmerene Syria. Thelassar, or Syria. They were nations not very remote. See 4 Kings 18:34. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 19:13 | Where is the king of Emath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, and of Ana and of Ava? | |
| II Kings 19:14 | And when Ezechias had received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and had read it, he went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord, | Before the Lord, to move him to revenge his own cause, (Haydock) and to shew that he looked upon the Lord, as a father, with the utmost confidence (Menochius) and resignation. He spreads the blasphemous letter (Haydock) before the ark, which was the special place for prayer. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 19:15 | And he prayed in his sight, saying: O Lord God of Israel, who sitteth upon the cherubims, thou alone art the God of all the kings of the earth: thou madest heaven and earth: | Earth. He attempts to make some reparation for the blasphemies which had been uttered (Calmet) and written. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 19:16 | Incline thy ear, and hear: open, O Lord, thy eyes, and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to upbraid unto us the living God. | Unto us is not in Hebrew or Septuagint. (Du Hamel) --- God, as if he were not able to deliver us. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 19:17 | Of a truth, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have destroyed nations, and the lands of them all. | |
| II Kings 19:18 | And they have cast their gods into the fire: for they were not gods, but the works of men's hands, of wood and stone, and they destroyed them. | |
| II Kings 19:19 | Now therefore, O Lord, our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, the only God. | |
| II Kings 19:20 | And Isaias, the son of Amos, sent to Ezechias, saying: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: I have heard the prayer thou hast made to me concerning Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians. | |
| II Kings 19:21 | This is the word, that the Lord hath spoken of him: The virgin, the daughter of Sion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn: the daughter of Jerusalem hath wagged her head behind thy back. | Virgin. The few who adhere to the Lord despise all idols and their votaries. (Worthington) --- Of Sion and of Jerusalem may denote those places. Towns and provinces are often represented as women: the daughter of Babylon, the daughter of the sea, mean Babylon and a maritime town. Perhaps this comparison is used through tenderness and affection for a place. (Calmet) --- Even the most timid female would shortly despise the fallen tyrant. (Haydock) --- Wagged, out of contempt, or in a threatening manner, Psalm 21:8., and Matthew 27:39. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 19:22 | Whom hast thou reproached, and whom hast thou blasphemed? against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high? against the holy one of Israel. | Of Israel. This title is often found in Isaias; 45:11., and 47:4., etc. |
| II Kings 19:23 | By the hand of thy servants thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said: With the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the height of the mountains, to the top of Libanus, and have cut down its tall cedars, and its choice fir-trees. And I have entered into the furthest parts thereof, and the forest of its Carmel. | Carmel. A pleasant fruitful hill in the forest. These expressions are figurative, signifying, under the names of mountains and forests, the kings and provinces whom the Assyrians had triumphed over. (Challoner) --- He must have passed by Libanus, and might boast of this exploit. Other proud words to the same purpose are mentioned [in] Isaias 10:9., and 33:9. He had made himself master of Mount Carmel, as well as of Libanus. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 19:24 | I have cut down. And I have drunk strange waters, and have dried up with the soles of my feet all the shut-up waters. | Strange waters, which did not run in my original dominions, (Haydock) or which were found by opening springs before unknown. --- Shut-up, with mounds of earth, or in the banks of rivers. The army of Xerxes is said to have drunk whole rivers dry. We might also translate, "I have dried up the waters, which served as ramparts for cities." Thus Cyrus diverted the streams of the Gnidus, and of the Euphrates. Hebrew also, perhaps most literally, "I will dry up the rivulets of Egypt." See Isaias 19:6., and 37:25. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "all the rivers of besieged places." (Haydock) |
| II Kings 19:25 | Hast thou not heard what I have done from the beginning? from the days of old I have formed it, and now I have brought it to effect: that fenced cities of fighting men should be turned to heaps of ruins: | I have formed it, etc. All thy exploits, in which thou takest pride, are no more than what I have decreed; and are not to be ascribed to thy wisdom or strength, but to my will and ordinance: who have give to thee to take and destroy so many fenced cities, and to carry terror wherever thou comest. --- Ruins. Literally, "ruin of hills." (Challoner) --- Protestants, "Now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps." (Haydock) |
| II Kings 19:26 | And the inhabitants of them were weak of hand, they trembled and were confounded, they became like the grass of the field, and the green herb on the tops of houses, which withered before it came to maturity. | Of hand. Hebrew, "short, (Calmet) or contracted in hand," or power. This does not add to the glory of Sennacherib; and if the enemy had been less valiant, the victory was still to be attributed to God. (Haydock) --- The Assyrian found but little resistance, 4 Kings 18:13. |
| II Kings 19:27 | Thy dwelling, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy way I knew before, and thy rage against me. | In. All thy actions. (Menochius) --- I knew, or disposed of, for wise purposes. Nothing shews more forcibly the dominion of God, even over the most impious. They cannot frustrate the divine decrees. |
| II Kings 19:28 | Thou hast been mad against me, and thy pride hath come up to my ears: therefore I will put a ring in thy nose, and a bit between thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. | Ring, or hook, like that with which fishes are taken. (Calmet) --- Bit. Protestants, "bridle," (Haydock) or a sort of muzzle. (Menochius) --- I will treat thee like a furious beast. --- Camest, without having effected what thou hadst designed. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 19:29 | And to thee, O Ezechias, this shall be a sign: *Eat this year what thou shalt find: and in the second year, such things as spring of themselves: but in the third year sow and reap: plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. Isaias 37:30. | O Ezechias is not in Hebrew or Septuagint; but they shew the sense. (Haydock) --- Second, which was a sabbatical year. (Usher) (Tirinus) --- We elsewhere find signs given as a proof of past events, and that they were from God, who enabled his prophet to foretell both, Exodus 3:12., and Isaias 8:4. Thus three things are proved. 1. That the prophet is truly animated with the divine spirit. 2. That God is the author of the miracle. 3. As also of the sign which follows it, particularly if the sign be likewise miraculous. It was of the utmost importance that the people should be convinced that all proceeded from the hand of Providence, in the overthrow of Sennacherib. (Calmet) --- Such things. Isaias (xxxvii. 30.) specifies apples, as they also supplied the people with food. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 19:30 | And whatsoever shall be left of the house of Juda, shall take root downward, and bear fruit upward. | Upward, like a fruitful tree. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 19:31 | For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and that which shall be saved out of Mount Sion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. | Sion. These shall repeople the land. In a higher sense, the Christian Church was propagated by the few Jews who believed. (Calmet) --- Zeal, or ardent love. (Menochius) --- Of hosts, is added in the Protestant version, as being deficient in the Hebrew. (Haydock) --- It is found in several manuscripts. (Kennicott) |
| II Kings 19:32 | Wherefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of the Assyrians: He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a trench about it. | About it, as was then the custom in besieging cities. Josephus and others suppose that Sennacherib's army was destroyed before Jerusalem. But it seems more probable it fell on the road to Egypt, ver. 7. The camp, which is still shewn, might be that of Rabsaces, 4 Kings 18:17. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 19:33 | By the way that he came he shall return: and into this city he shall not come, saith the Lord. | Return. Sennacherib's life was spared for a time, that he might be covered with ignominy the longer, and suffer a more disgraceful death. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 19:34 | And I will protect this city, and will save it for my own sake, and for David, my servant's sake. | Own sake, who have chosen this city for my sanctuary. (Menochius) --- David. Here again we behold the influence of the saints with God. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 19:35 | *And it came to pass that night, that an angel of the Lord came, and slew in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And when he arose early in the morning, he saw all the bodies of the dead. Tobias 1:21.; Ecclesiasticus 48:24.; Isaias 37:36.; 1 Machabees 7:41.; 2 Machabees 8:19. | Night following the prediction of Isaias, (Calmet) or that memorable night which would be so terrible to the Assyrians after three years, ver. 29. Thus we read, in that day, etc., Isaias xxvii. (Menochius) --- The exterminating angel, (Exodus 11:4.; Calmet) an evil spirit, (Psalm 77:49.) or the guardian of the synagogue. (Abulensis) --- When he, Sennacherib. Hebrew, etc., "when they," his few attendants who were spared to announce this judgment; (Isaias 37:36.; Calmet) or when the inhabitants of Jerusalem arose. (Haydock) It seems the carnage was effected without much noise, (Calmet) by fire (Rabbins) or by pestilence. (Josephus) (Menochius) |
| II Kings 19:36 | And Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians departing, went away, and he returned and abode in Ninive. | |
| II Kings 19:37 | *And as he was worshipping in the temple of Nesroch, his god, Adramelech and Sarasar, his sons, slew him with the sword, and they fled into the land of the Armenians, and Asarhaddon, his son, reigned in his stead. Tobias 1:24. | Nesroch. Jospehus calls both the idol and the temple Araskes. Sennacherib persecuted the Israelites for 45 (Greek 55) days. (Tobias 1:21.) --- Sons, as the Jews suppose they were destined for victims by their father, and got beforehand with him. (St. Jerome, in Isaias x.) (Calmet) --- Armenia. So the Protestants translate Ararath, (Haydock) where Noe's[Noah’s] ark rested. This nation has been esteemed very warlike, and has always asserted its liberty. --- Asarhaddon. His two elder brothers were excluded, on account of their parricide. (Josephus) --- This prince is called Sargon in Isaias 20:1., and Achirdon in Tobias 1:24. |
| II Kings 20:0 | Ezechias being sick, is told by Isaias that he shall die: but, praying to God, he obtaineth longer life, and in confirmation thereof receiveth a sign by the sun's returning back. He sheweth all his treasures to the ambassadors of the king of Babylon. Isaias reproving him for it, foretelleth the Babylonian captivity. | |
| II Kings 20:1 | In *those days Ezechias was sick unto death: and Isaias, the son of Amos, the prophet, came and said to him: Thus saith the Lord God: Give charge concerning thy house, for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Paralipomenon 32:24.; Isaias 38:1. | Year of the World 3291, Year before Christ 713. Days, before the destruction of Sennacherib's army; (ver. 6.; Menochius) though some suppose that Ezechias was afflicted with sickness, because he had not shewn sufficient gratitude for his deliverance, 2 Paralipomenon 32:24. (Eusebius and St. Jerome, in Isaias xxxix. (Calmet) --- But it might be sent only to purify him the more, etc. (Menochius) --- He fell ill the same year that the Assyrian invaded his dominions, ver. 6., and 4 Kings 18:13. The nature of his disorder in not fully known. (It was probably an abscess, (Calmet) brought on by a fever; or an ulcer, for which the things which promote suppuration, are always proper. Thus God teaches us to make use of natural remedies, yet so as to place our whole confidence in him. (Haydock) --- Others think it was a pleurisy, (John xxi. Thesaur. 26.) or a quinsey, (Barthol.) or the pestilence, etc. (Calmet) --- Unto death, of an illness, which would naturally have proved mortal; as that of Benadad was the reverse, 4 Kings 8:10. --- Not live, very shortly; though he does not express the time. We should always bear in mind this awful warning. (Haydock) --- The prediction was conditional, like that of Jonas 3:4.; Calmet) otherwise it would have been sinful to strive to render it ineffectual. (Estius) |
| II Kings 20:2 | And he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying: | Wall, towards the temple; (Chaldean, etc.) or that he might be less distracted, and indulge his grief without restraint. |
| II Kings 20:3 | I beseech thee, O Lord, remember how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is pleasing before thee. And Ezechias wept with much weeping. | Before thee. The saints of the old law frequently mention their good works, (Psalm 7:9., etc., and 2 Esdras 13:14.) which is less common in those of the new. When God rewards our good works, he only crowns his own gifts. (Calmet) --- Ezechias had sincerely desired to please God, though he might have given way to some imperfections, ver. 1. (Haydock) --- Weeping; because he thought that the Messias would not be one of his posterity, as he had yet no children, 4 Kings 21:1. (St. Jerome) --- The saints of the Old Testament could only be received into Abraham's bosom. We may be with Christ immediately after death; so that it is far less terrible, Philippians 1:23. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 20:4 | And before Isaias was gone out of the middle of the court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying: | Court. Hebrew her, "city:" but in the margin, (Calmet) etsor. Septuagint aule, "hall," or court, is retained, and followed by the Chaldean. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "the middle court." (Haydock) |
| II Kings 20:5 | Go back, and tell Ezechias, the captain of my people: Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father: I have heard thy prayer, and I have seen thy tears: and behold I have healed thee: on the third day thou shalt go up to the temple of the Lord. | Day, dating from the time when Isaias spoke. (Tostat) --- This shewed that the cure was miraculous, and not effected by natural remedies only. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 20:6 | And I will add to thy days fifteen years: and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of the Assyrians, and I will protect this city for my own sake, and for David, my servant's sake. | Assyrians. It is commonly supposed that this alludes to Sennacherib. But it might refer to his son, who was sending an army, Isaias 20:1. We ought not to alter the scriptural order of the transactions, without cogent reasons. |
| II Kings 20:7 | And Isaias said: Bring me a lump of figs. And when they had brought it, and laid it upon his boil. he was healed. | Figs; dried. They are very serviceable in various disorders of the throat, to mollify, etc. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 23:3.) (Aldrov. ii.) --- St. Jerome (in Isaias xxxviii.) acknowledges that they might help to removed the disorder. Grotius is of a contrary opinion; (Calmet) and this would enhance the miracle. See Vales. xxxix. (Menochius) --- At any rate, the discovery of this remedy to the prophet, and its sudden efficacy, were miraculous. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 20:8 | And Ezechias had said to Isaias: What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the temple of the Lord the third day? | Sign. He is not incredulous, but gives the prophet an occasion of declaring by what authority he spoke thus. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 20:9 | And Isaias said to him: This shall be the sign from the Lord, that the Lord will do the word which he hath spoken: Wilt thou that the shadow go forward ten lines, or that it go back so many degrees? | |
| II Kings 20:10 | And Ezechias said: It is an easy matter for the shadow to go forward ten lines: and I do not desire that this be done, but let it return back ten degrees. | Lines, according to the usual course of the sun. An instantaneous motion of this kind would, in reality, be as difficult, as the retrogradation. But it might not strike the people so much. (Haydock) --- Some take the lines to designate hours. But the sun is never up twenty hours in that country; and it must have been at such a height, as that it might appear visibly to recede, or to go forward, ten lines. We may therefore suppose, that they consisted only of half hours, (Tirinus) or less. (Calmet) --- If the retrograde motion were instantaneous, as Cajetan believes, the day would only be five hours longer than usual; (Menochius) but if otherwise, it would be ten; as the sun would occupy five hours in going back, and as many to regain its former station. (Tirinus) --- Usher supposes that the night was as much shortened, that so astronomical observations may still be verified without any confusion. But that would introduce a fresh miracle. Some assert that only the shadow went back, without any derangement in the heavenly bodies. Spinosa laughs at the ignorance of those people, who mistook the effects of a parhelion for a miracle. This author may boast of his superior knowledge. But how came the sages of Babylon (ver. 12.) to be unacquainted with such a natural cause? How came it so opportunely (Calmet) at the time appointed by the prophet? What improbable explanations are not those forced to admit, who deny to the Almighty the power of changing his own works! (Haydock) --- The silence of profane historians respecting this miracle, is of little consequence. Herodotus (II. 142.) seems to hint at it, as well as at that under Josue; (x.) being informed "by the Egyptians, that during 10340 years, the sun had risen four times in an extraordinary manner. It had risen twice where it ought naturally to set, and had set as often where it should rise." He might have said more simply, that the sun had twice gone back. See Solin, 45. (Calmet) --- St. Dion. Areop. ep. 7. ad Polycarp. --- This last author thinks that this day was twenty hours longer than usual, supposing that the lines designate so many hours, and that the sun kept going back for ten hours. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 20:11 | And Isaias, the prophet called upon the Lord, and he brought the shadow ten degrees backwards by the lines, by which it had already gone down on the dial of Achaz. | Dial. Hebrew also, "steps." St. Jerome confesses that he followed Symmachus in Isaias 38:7. Whether this dial resembled one of ours, (Grotius) or was made in the form of steps, (St. Cyril, hom. 3, in Isaias, etc.) or rather of a half globe, (Calmet) after the Babylonian fashion, (Vitruvius 9:9.) is not clear. Some have asserted that hours were not known to the Hebrews, before the captivity. (Usher, the year of the world 3291.) --- But Tobias 12:22 who wrote at Nineve, under the reign of Manasses, clearly speaks of them. The Egyptians pretend that they invented water hour-glasses. But the invention of dials is attributed to the Chaldeans, from whom Anaximander introduced them among the Greeks, under the reign of Cyrus. He died in the year of the world 3457. --- Achaz had much to do with Theglathphalasar; (chap. 17:8.) and probably obtained this curiosity from the same country. In more ancient times, people measured time by the length of their shadow, and were invited to a feast at such a foot, in the same manner as we should invite for such an hour. (Palladius, Rustic. xii.) (Calmet) --- Till the year of Rome 595, when Nasica dedicated the first water hour-glass, the Romans knew not how the time passed on cloudy days. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 7:60.) (Vitruvius 9:9.) --- Grotius supposes that the dial of Achaz was a concave semicircular gnomon, in which a globe was placed, the shadow of which fell on twenty-eight lines. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 20:12 | *At that time Berodach Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of the Babylonians, sent letters and presents to Ezechias: for he had heard that Ezechias had been sick. Isaias 39:1. | Berodach, or Merodac Baladan, Isaias 39:1. (Calmet) --- The latter was his father; the famous Nabonassar. (Du Hamel) --- Letters, or books, Isaias. --- Sick. They came to congratulate him on his recovery, and also (Menochius) to inquire of the wonder that had happened upon the earth. God left him that he might be tempted, and all things might be made known that were in his heart, 2 Paralipomenon 32:31. (Haydock) --- If this embassage took place after the fall of Sennacherib, the king of Babylon might thank Ezechias for having stopped the career of that ambitious monarch, from whom the former had every thing to fear. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 20:13 | And Ezechias rejoiced at their coming, and he shewed them the house of his aromatical spices, and the gold, and the silver, and divers precious odours, and ointments, and the house of his vessels, and all that he had in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion,s that Ezechias shewed them not. | Rejoiced, at being honoured by so great a prince, (Menochius) who afterwards defeated Asarhaddon. (Tirinus) --- Hebrew, "hearkened unto them." But the sense of the Vulgate is preferable, and the construction of the original seems to require it, as it is also understood by the Septuagint and Syriac, and by Isaias 39:2. --- Spices. Hebrew, "precious things," (Montanus) "treasures," (Chaldean; Syriac) "cabinet" of jewels, etc. (Vatable) --- Vessels, or armour, and all this fine furniture. St. Jerome says, that Ezechias also displayed before them the treasures of the temple, which chiefly drew upon him God's displeasure. (Calmet) --- He might be guilty only of a venial sin of vanity and of ingratitude: (Menochius) and God took occasion, from this offence to admonish the king of the impending ruin. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 20:14 | And Isaias, the prophet, came to king Ezechias, and said to him: What said these men? or from whence came they to thee? And Ezechias said to him: From a far country, they came to me out of Babylon. | |
| II Kings 20:15 | And he said: What did they see in thy house? Ezechias said: They saw all the things that are in my house: There is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. | |
| II Kings 20:16 | And Isaias said to Ezechias: Hear the word of the Lord. | |
| II Kings 20:17 | Behold the days shall come, that all that is in thy house, and that thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. | Babylon, under the last kings of Juda. It cannot be explained of Sennacherib, 4 Kings 18:15. |
| II Kings 20:18 | And of thy sons also that shall issue from thee, whom thou shalt beget, they shall take away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. | Eunuchs; servants, Daniel 1:3. We only read of Manasses, who was taken to Babylon. (Calmet) --- But he might have many brothers, who might be reduced to a menial condition; (Salien) as the text seems to refer to the immediate sons of Ezechias. (Haydock) --- It may, however, be explained of his descendants. (Menochius) (Chap. 24:12.) |
| II Kings 20:19 | Ezechias said to Isaias: The word of the Lord, which thou hast spoken, is good: let peace and truth be in my days. | Let. Hebrew, "and he added, let," etc. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "he said, is it not good, if peace and truth (or a solid and desirable peace) be in my days?" He is not indifferent about his family, as the Jews would insinuate (Eusebiuis and St. Jerome, in Isaias 39:7, 8.) from the prophet's adding, Be comforted....my people; (Isaias 40:1.; Haydock) but he submits with resignation to God's decrees, (St. Ambrose) and begs that God would be pleased to suffer him to die in peace, as the sentence did not seem to affect his person. (Haydock) --- Josephus insinuates that he was exceedingly grieved at the distress which hung over his posterity, (Antiquities 10:3.) and we are assured the Ezechias and the people entered into sentiments of humility and penance, which for a time averted the wrath of God, 2 Paralipomenon 32:26. |
| II Kings 20:20 | And the rest of the acts of Ezechias, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought waters into the city, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | City. Probably before it was besieged by Sennacherib, 2 Paralipomenon 32:4. --- Juda, and in the works of Isaias, 2 Paralipomenon 32:32., and Isaias xxxvii., xxxviii., and xxxix. The prophet gives us the canticle of this pious king, who shone with so great splendour, and did so much for the good of his people, 4 Kings 18:4, 5., and Ecclesiasticus 48:19. (Calmet) --- He generously opposed the reign of vice, and though threatened with the most imminent dangers, came off with victory. Thus Jesus Christ declared war against idolatry and all vice, and established his Church in the midst of persecution. (Haydock) --- Ezechias was conducted to the gates of death, and brought back; Christ rose victorious from the grave, as the holy king seems to have foreseen, Isaias 38:19. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 20:21 | And *Ezechias slept with his fathers, and Manasses, his son, reigned in his stead. | Year of the World 3306, Year before Christ 698. |
| II Kings 21:0 | The wickedness of Manasses: God's threats by his prophets. His wicked son, Amon, succeedeth him, and is slain by his servants. | |
| II Kings 21:1 | Manasses* was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned five and fifty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Haphsiba. 2 Paralipomenon 33:1. | Year of the World 3306. Twelve. Being born three years after his father's recovery. --- Fifty. Including the years of captivity. |
| II Kings 21:2 | And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the idols of the nations, which the Lord destroyed from before the face of the children of Israel. | Idols. Hebrew, "abominations," (Calmet) as their worship was attended with the greatest infamy and dissolution, and was in itself the source of God's chastisements. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 21:3 | *And he turned, and built up the high places, which Ezechias, his father, had destroyed: and he set up altars to Baal, and made groves, as Achab, the king of Israel, had done: and he adored all the host of heaven, and served them. 2 Paralipomenon 33:3. | Groves. Hebrew Ashera, "the grove," or the idol of Astarte, (Calmet) as both were worshipped. (Haydock) --- Achab, whom he imitated also in spilling the blood of the saints. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 21:4 | And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said: *In Jerusalem I will put my name. 2 Kings 7:10. | Altars, in honour of the sun, moon, and stars, (Haydock) in the courts of the priests and of the people, 2 Paralipomenon 33:4. |
| II Kings 21:5 | And he built altars for all the host of heaven, in the two courts of the temple of the Lord. | |
| II Kings 21:6 | And he made his son pass through fire: and he used divinations, and observed omens, and appointed pythons, and multiplied soothsayers, to do evil before the Lord, and to provoke him. | Fire, for purification, or as a holocaust to Moloch. See 4 Kings 16:3. --- Divination, or, "he observed times," Arabic. (Montanus) --- Omens. Protestants, "used enchantments," (Haydock) by means of brass or of serpents, etc. (Calmet) --- Septuagint agrees with the Vulgate, "he took notice of birds." (Haydock) --- Pythons. That is, diviners by spirits (Challoner) particularly by Apollo. He authorized and encouraged such ventriloquists, etc., Leviticus 19:31. --- Soothsayers, who inspected the entrails of victims, to foretell future things. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "He dealt with familiar spirits and wizards." (Haydock) |
| II Kings 21:7 | He set also an idol of the grove, which he had made, in the temple of the Lord: *concerning which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son: In this temple, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever. 2 Kings 7:26.; 3 Kings 8:16.; 3 Kings 9:5. | Of the grove. Hebrew, "a graven thing of Ashera," the grove or Astarte, (Haydock) ver. 3. This was an engraving in sculpture of a sacred grove. (Sa) (Chap. 23:6.) (Tirinus) --- My name. I alone will be adored, and there allow an altar to be erected. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 21:8 | And I will no more make the feet of Israel to be moved out of the land, which I gave to their fathers: only if they will observe to do all that I have commanded them, according to the law which my servant Moses commanded them. | |
| II Kings 21:9 | But they hearkened not: but were seduced by Manasses, to do evil more than the nations which the Lord destroyed before the children of Israel. | More, because they had received more favours and instructions from above. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 21:10 | And the Lord spoke in the hand of his servants, the prophets, saying: | Prophets, Joel, Osee, Amos, Nahum, Jonas, Abdias, Micheas, and particularly by Isaias, who was related to the king. (Tirinus) --- Tradition informs us, that Manasses was so irritated, that he ordered Isaias to be slain with a wooden saw, (St. Augustine, City of God 18:24.) for greater torment; (Calmet) and his companions were daily executed, Josephus, [Antiquities?] 10:3. --- Isaias (xxii. 13.) seems to pronounce his sin irremissible, (Calmet) or that he should not, at least, escape the punishment of it, as long as he lived. But we are assured that the eyes of Manasses were at last opened by adversity, and that he performed many laudable things after his return from captivity; (2 Paralipomenon xxxiii.) so that the latter part of his reign resembled that of his father; though the beginning had been like that of the impious Achab. His coming to the throne so soon, before his pious father could have time to impress upon his mind the truths of salvation, had nearly proved his ruin. The sins of my youth, and my ignorances, remember not, O Lord, Psalm 24:7. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 21:11 | *Because Manasses, king of Juda, hath done these most wicked abominations, beyond all that the Amorrhites did before him, and hath made Juda also to sin with his filthy doings: Jeremias 15:4. | Doings. Hebrew, "idols," ver. 2. See 4 Kings 17:12. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 21:12 | Therefore thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring on evils upon Jerusalem and Juda: that whosoever shall hear of them, both his ears shall tingle. | Tingle, through astonishment, as if he had been stunned with too loud a noise, 1 Kings 3:11. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 21:13 | And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the weight of the house of Achab: and I will efface Jerusalem, as writings upon tables are wont to be effaced, and I will erase and turn it, and draw the pencil often over the face thereof. | The line, or rope, to pull down the walls, Lamentations 2:8., (Calmet) and 2 Kings 17:13. Jerusalem, which has imitated Samaria in sinning, shall experience the same fate; the same weight of punishment shall fall upon the royal family, as upon the house of Achab. (Haydock) --- The prophets frequently entitle their menaces a weight, or burden, Isaias 13:1. (Menochius) --- Septuagint have, "the balance of the house," etc., as if God had weighed all the good and evil, and would now reward the people accordingly, (Haydock) with judgment. (Du Hamel) --- Table, or board, covered with wax. The ancients were accustomed to write in this manner with a style which was sharp at one end and blunt at the other. Altera pars revocat quicquid pars altera fecit. (Aenig. Symponii.) When the wax was rendered smooth, no vestige of the former writing could appear, and God threatens to destroy Jerusalem, in like manner. Hebrew is variously translated. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "I will wipe out Jerusalem as an alabaster vase is wiped, and turned downwards." Protestants, "as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down." (Haydock) --- Often. 1. Under Manasses; 2. under Josias and Joachaz; 3. under the last kings of Juda, 2 Paralipomenon xxiii., etc. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 21:14 | And I will leave the remnants of my inheritance, and will deliver them into the hands of their enemies: and they shall become a prey, and a spoil to all their enemies. | Leave. Septuagint, "with horror," apeasomai (Haydock) "I will cast off." So Chaldean, Syriac, etc. --- Remnants. Juda, etc., who shall be treated like the ten tribes. (Calmet) --- All shared in the punishment, though some preserved the true religion, Psalm 88:35. (Worthington) |
| II Kings 21:15 | Because they have done evil before me, and have continued to provoke me, from the day that their fathers came out of Egypt, even unto this day. | |
| II Kings 21:16 | Moreover, *Manasses shed also very much innocent blood, till he filled Jerusalem up to the mouth: besides his sins, wherewith he made Juda to sin, to do evil before the Lord. 4 Kings 24:4. | Mouth. Chaldean, "extremity." All was full of blood, and impure idols, ver. 11. --- Besides, (absque) "without" mentioning his other scandalous sins of idolatry. |
| II Kings 21:17 | Now the rest of the acts of Manasses, and all that he did, and his sin, which he sinned, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | Sinned. It is rather wonderful that his repentance is not here noticed; but we find it mentioned [in] 2 Paralipomenon 33:12. (Haydock) --- He was probably taken prisoner by Thartan, general of Sargon, or Asarhaddon, who had reunited the two kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon, Isaias 20:1. In prison Manasses composed a penitential prayer, which is not absolutely rejected by the Church, but left in the rank of Apocryphal writings; (Calmet) the authority of which is not clearly ascertained. (Haydock) --- The Greek church admits this prayer into her Euchologium, (Calmet) or Office-book. (Haydock) --- Being liberated, probably by Saosduchin, Manasses did all things well, only he left the high places, where the people had been accustomed to sacrifice to the Lord. Hozai wrote his history, 2 Paralipomenon 33:19. |
| II Kings 21:18 | And Manasses slept *with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Oza: and Amon, his son, reigned in his stead. | Year of the World 3361, Year before Christ 643. Oza, a private man, to whom it had belonged; (Menochius) or the place where the Levite had been punished for touching the ark; (1 Kings 6:8.) or, in fine, the garden to which king Ozias had retired after he became a leper. (Calmet) --- It is said, that Manasses chose this place for his tomb out of humility. (Grotius) |
| II Kings 21:19 | Two and twenty years old was Amon when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Messalemeth, the daughter of Harus, of Jeteba. | |
| II Kings 21:20 | And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manasses, his father, had done. | Done, in his youth, flattering himself that he should also repent, when he had gratified his passions, (Glycas) but God presently chastised this presumption, after suffering him to reign only two years. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 21:21 | And he walked in all the way in which his father had walked: and he served the abominations which his father had served, and he adored them; | |
| II Kings 21:22 | And forsook the Lord, the God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the Lord. | |
| II Kings 21:23 | And his servants plotted against him, and slew the king in his own house. | |
| II Kings 21:24 | But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon: and made Josias, his son, their king in his stead. | |
| II Kings 21:25 | But the rest of the acts of Amon, which he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | |
| II Kings 21:26 | And they buried him in his sepulchre in the garden of Oza: and his son, Josias, reigned in his stead. | |
| II Kings 22:0 | Josias repaireth the temple. The book of the law is found; upon which they consult the Lord, and are told that great evils shall fall upon them, but not in the time of Josias. | |
| II Kings 22:1 | Josias *was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned one and thirty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Idida, the daughter of Hadaia, of Besecath. 2 Paralipomenon 34:1. | Year of the World 3363, Year before Christ 641. Eight years. After he had reigned other eight, being still but a boy, he began more seriously to seek the Lord, and purified his dominions, and the neighbouring country, from all the vestiges of idolatry, 2 Paralipomenon 33:3. He was one of the three most excellent kings of Juda, (Haydock) and might be said to be the last; as those who followed were displaced at pleasure by Egypt, etc. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 22:2 | And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of David, his father: he turned not aside to the right hand, or to the left. | |
| II Kings 22:3 | And in the eighteenth year of *king Josias, the king sent Saphan, the son of Aslia, the son of Messulam, the scribe of the temple of the Lord, saying to him: | Year of the World 3380, Year before Christ 624. Scribe of. Hebrew, "to the temple." (Chaldean; Syriac, etc.) It is not certain that there was such an officer as scribe of the temple; but the king's secretary was ordered by Joas to take an account of the money contributed, 4 Kings 12:10. (Calmet) --- Josias followed the same plan. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 22:4 | Go to Helcias, the high priest, that the money may be put together which is brought into the temple of the Lord, which the door-keepers of the temple have gathered of the people. | Together, so as to be reduced into a mass, and refined by fire. (Pagnin) --- Septuagint, "seal up the money." Protestants, "that he may sum the silver which," etc. (Haydock) --- Let him make all be paid up that is due, (Piscator) and cease to demand any more. --- Door-keepers. Their office was of some consequence, 1 Paralipomenon 9:26, 29. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 22:5 | And let it be given to the workmen by the overseers of the house of the Lord: and let them distribute it to those that work in the temple of the Lord, to repair the temple: | Overseers, or undertakers. (Grotius) --- People of the great respectability were selected, so that no reckoning with them was requisite, ver. 7. (Haydock) --- They were thus encouraged to do the work with greater perfection. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 22:6 | That is, to carpenters and masons, and to such as mend breaches: and that timber may be bought, and stones out of the quarries, to repair the temple of the Lord. | |
| II Kings 22:7 | But let there be no reckoning made with them of the money which they receive, but let them have it in their power, and in their trust. | |
| II Kings 22:8 | And Helcias, the high priest, said to Saphan, the scribe: *I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord: and Helcias gave the book to Saphan, and he read it. 2 Paralipomenon 34:15. | The book of the law, (that is, Deuteronomy.; Challoner.; St. Chrysostom, hom. 9. in Matthew) or the Pentateuch. (Josephus) --- Achaz, Manasses, and Amon, had burnt (R. Solomon) as many copies as they could, (Haydock) but some zealous priests had concealed this copy, in a box, in the wall of the temple, (Lyranus) or in the treasury adjoining it. The very hand writing of Moses, containing the record of the covenant, (or the 28, 29, 30, and 31st chapters of Deuteronomy) which was placed in (Calmet) or beside the ark, was now happily discovered. (Haydock) --- It seems it had been misplaced, as the ark itself had been removed, 2 Paralipomenon 24:14., and 35:3. This venerable monument, and the dreadful menaces which it denounced, made the deepest impression upon all, as we should read the autographs of St. Matthew, etc., with far greater respect and emotion than we do the printed copies. It is not at all probably that all the books of Scripture had been destroyed, as there were always some religious souls in both kingdoms; and if some kings had already made the impious attempt, (Haydock) of which, however, they are never accused in Scripture, they would not have been able to carry their malicious designs into effect. Josias had, before his 18th year, made many excellent regulations, conformably to the law, which was well understood, and carefully preserved by the priests and prophets, (Calmet) 2 Paralipomenon 17:9. --- Read it. Scribes were generally chosen from among the Levites. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 22:9 | And Saphan, the scribe, came to the king, and brought him word again concerning that which he had commanded, and said: Thy servants have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord: and they have given it to be distributed to the workmen, by the overseers of the works of the temple of the Lord. | |
| II Kings 22:10 | And Saphan, the scribe, told the king, saying: Helcias, the priest, hath delivered to me a book. And when Saphan had read it before the king, | |
| II Kings 22:11 | And the king had heard the words of the law of the Lord, he rent his garments. | Garments, through zeal for God's honour, and fear of his indignation. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 22:12 | And he commanded Helcias, the priest, and Ahicam, the son of Saphan, and Achobor, the son of Micha, and Saphan, the scribe, and Asaia, the king's servant, saying: | |
| II Kings 22:13 | Go and consult the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Juda, concerning the words of this book which is found: for the great wrath of the Lord is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book, to do all that is written for us. | |
| II Kings 22:14 | So Helcias, the priest, and Ahicam, and Achobor, and Saphan, and Asaia, went to Holda, the prophetess, the wife of Sellum, the son of Thecua, the son of Araas, keeper of the wardrobe, who dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second: and they spoke to her. | Holda. She is known only by this honourable embassy. It is rather wonderful that Jeremias was not consulted, as he had began to prophesy five years before. But he probably resided at Anathoth. Sophonias appeared, perhaps, only towards the end of the reign of Josias. (Calmet) --- The Second, a street, or part of the city so called; in Hebrew, Massem. (Challoner) --- The Septuagint retain this word, (Menochius) or rather, "in Masena;" Hebrew mishne. (Haydock) --- Manasses inclosed Jerusalem with a second wall, (2 Paralipomenon 33:14.; Calmet) unless this was done by his father, 2 Paralipomenon 32:5. (Tirinus) --- Here Holda is said to have kept a school. (Calmet) --- Chaldean, "the house of doctrine," a place next in importance to the temple. (Vatable) --- St. Jerome speaks of this Second, as of a gate, or part of Jerusalem, between the inner and the outer wall. (Contra Pelag, 2 Irad. in 2 Par. and in Sophon. 1:10.) (Menochius) |
| II Kings 22:15 | And she said to them: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Tell the man that sent you to me: | |
| II Kings 22:16 | Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will bring evils upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, all the words of the law which the king of Juda hath read: | |
| II Kings 22:17 | Because they have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, provoking me by all the works of their hands: therefore my indignation shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. | |
| II Kings 22:18 | But to the king of Juda, who sent you to consult the Lord, thus shall you say: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: For as much as thou hast heard the words of the book, | |
| II Kings 22:19 | And thy heart hath been moved to fear, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, hearing the words against this place, and the inhabitants thereof, to wit, that they should become a wonder and a curse: and thou hast rent thy garments, and wept before me; I also have heard thee; saith the Lord: | |
| II Kings 22:20 | Therefore I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy sepulchre in peace; that thy eyes may not see all the evils which I will bring upon this place. | Peace, before these horrors overtake the city. Josias was interred with all the usual honours, have[having?] fallen in battle, 4 Kings 23:29. (Calmet) --- Instead of peace, the Alexandrian Septuagint reads, "in Jerusalem," to which city Josias was brought from Mageddo, where he had perhaps rashly attacked the king of Egypt, with whom he had not been engaged in war. (Haydock) --- This last good king was given to Juda, that he people might not pretend that they were forced to embrace idolatry by the royal power. (St. Jerome) (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 23:0 | Josias readeth the law before all the people: They promise to observe it. He abolisheth all idolatry; celebrateth the Phase: is slain in battle by the king of Egypt. The short reign of Joachaz, in whose place Joakim is made king. | |
| II Kings 23:1 | And* they brought the king word again what she had said. And he sent: and all the ancients of Juda and Jerusalem were assembled to him. 2 Paralipomenon 34:28-29.; | Year of the World 3380, Year before Christ 624. |
| II Kings 23:2 | And the king went up to the temple of the Lord, and all the men of Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both little and great: and in the hearing of them all he read all the words of the book of the covenant, which was found in the house of the Lord. | Prophets. Chaldean, "scribes." But there were many prophets at this time, who were ordered to come and renew the covenant with God. --- He read, in person, acting as a mediator, in imitation of Moses, Josue, Samuel, Joiada, and Ezechias. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 23:3 | And the king stood upon the step: and made a covenant with the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his ceremonies, with all their heart, and with all their soul, and to perform the words of this covenant, which were written in that book: and the people agreed to the covenant. | The step. His tribune or tribunal, a more eminent place, from whence he might be seen and heard by the people. (Challoner) --- This brazen tribune is described [in] 4 Kings 11:14., and 2 Paralipomenon 6:12. --- To the covenant, but with much less exactitude than the king. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 23:4 | And the king commanded Helcias, the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the door-keepers,* to cast out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that had been made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burnt them without Jerusalem, in the valley of Cedron, and he carried the ashes of them to Bethel. Ecclesiasticus 49:3. | Order, who presided over the 24 classes of inferior priests. (Menochius) --- Jonathas understands it of those who supplied the place of the high priest when he could not attend. (Grotius) --- Baal, the sun: (Calmet) in Hebrew, "for." --- The grove, Astarte, or the moon. (Haydock) --- Cedron, to the east and south of Jerusalem, where Topheth and the sepulchres of the poor, and all unclean things, were placed. Here the pagans burnt their children in honour of Moloch. See 3 Kings 15:13., and 2 Paralipomenon 29:16., and 30:14. --- Bethel, out of contempt for the golden calf, (Haydock) and to remove those impurities to a greater distance. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 23:5 | And he destroyed the soothsayers, whom the kings of Juda had appointed to sacrifice in the high places in the cities of Juda, and round about Jerusalem: them also that burnt incense to Baal, and to the sun, and to the moon, and to the twelve signs, and to all the host of heaven. | Soothsayers. Protestants, "the idolatrous priests." Grotius thinks that camilli, or "ministers of the gods," (Serv.[Servius?] and Varro. vi.) may be derived from the Hebrew hacemarim, "the black-vested," or cryers. The Rabbins give this title in derision to the religious of the Christian Church. There were some melanophori, or people "in black," who honoured Isis, or the moon, by this dress; as if to condole with her on the absence of the sun. Plutarch Apuleius describes a shining black veil, which was carried in the procession of her statue. --- Baal. Hebrew, "to Baal the son;" (Calmet) or rather, "to Baal, to the son." (Haydock) --- People are divided whether they were one and the same idol. The Hebrew mazatoth, (Calmet) Septuagint Mazouróth (Haydock) is not better understood. St. Jerome translates signs of the zodiac; others have, influences, planets, Lucifer, Venus, etc. Job (xxxviii. 32.) designates some stars by the name of Mozruth, and Mozrim. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 23:6 | And he caused the grove to be carried out from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, to the valley of Cedron, and he burnt it there, and reduced it to dust, and cast the dust upon the graves of the common people. | Grove. The idol of Astarte, or the representation of a grove in sculpture. (Haydock) --- People, who were not rich enough to have a sepulchre. Jeremias (xix. 11.) threatens the people of Jerusalem with such a burial. (Calmet) --- The common people here means the idolaters, 2 Paralipomenon 34:4. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 23:7 | He destroyed also the pavilions of the effeminate, which were in the house of the Lord, for which the women wove as it were little dwellings for the grove. | Effeminate. Hebrew, "consecrated" (Calmet) or "initiated" (Montanus) in the obscene mysteries of idols. See Deuteronomy 23:18., and 3 Kings 15:12., and 2 Machabees 6:4. These men prostituted themselves (Menochius) even in that sacred place. (Calmet) --- Protestants, "he broke down the houses of the Sodomites, that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the grove." These hangings, tents, or dwellings, (Haydock) were destined for the idol; (Syriac, etc.) or they were intended to hide the abominations which were committed. They were called "tents of the daughters," 4 Kings 17:30. (Calmet) --- For. Literally, "of the grove:" luci. But the other translation is conformable to the Septuagint. (Vatable, etc.) (Haydock) |
| II Kings 23:8 | And he gathered together all the priests out of the cities of Juda: and he defiled the high places, where the priests offered sacrifice, from Gabaa to Bersabee: and he broke down the altars of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Josue, governor of the city, which was on the left hand of the gate of the city. | Bersabee; to which the Israelites went in pilgrimages, Amos 5:5. This place was situated at the southern extremity of the dominions of Juda, as Gabaa was at the northern. The priests being unable to offer sacrifice in the temple, and desirous to gain a livelihood, had been so weak as to conform to the illegal practices of the country; though they seem to have intended to worship God, Deuteronomy 12:11. --- Altars. These might also be consecrated to the true God, but they were forbidden. There were others, placed in similar situations, in honour of Trivia, or the moon, Isaias 57:8., and 65:11. (Calmet) --- City, to a person entering. (Chaldean) Josue was the chief lay-judge, or magistrate. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 23:9 | However, the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord, in Jerusalem: but only eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren. | Brethren. Thus people are degraded in the Christian Church, that they may suffer some confusion (Calmet) in this world, and repent. (Haydock) --- The priests, who had offered sacrifice unlawfully, where only permitted to perform the minor offices; but provision was made for their support, that they might not be tempted to relapse, Leviticus 21:17, 22., and Ezechiel 44:10. (Calmet) --- They were reduced to the rank of Levites. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 23:10 | And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Ennom: that no man should consecrate there his son, or his daughter, through fire, to Moloch. | Defiled, or declared it unlawful. (Menochius) --- Topheth may signify "a drum;" which the Jews say the idolaters beat, to prevent their childrens' cries from being heard, when they were burning in the arms of Moloch. St. Jerome interprets it "latitude," as the vale was very wide, and beautifully adorned with gardens and springs. It formed a part of the vale of Josaphat and of Cedron; (Calmet) or the same valley went by these different names, as well as (Haydock) by that of Geh-hinnon, "the vale of Ennom," whence Gehenna is formed, and applied to hell, Matthew 5:22., and Mark 9:44., etc. (Calmet) --- Yet some think that the term denotes a place of torment on earth, which those deserve who say, thou fool. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 23:11 | And he took away the horses which the kings of Juda had given to the sun, at the entering in of the temple of the Lord, near the chamber of Nathanmelech, the eunuch, who was in Pharurim: and he burnt the chariots of the sun with fire. | Nathan-melech. Septuagint, "to the treasury (room.; Pagnin) of Nathan, the king's eunuch," or chamberlain. (Haydock) --- Pharurim, "the suburbs." (Vatable) (Menochius) (Chaldean) --- It perhaps denotes the guard-house. See 1 Paralipomenon 26:18. --- Chariots. The aforesaid horses were designed to draw them in honour of the sun. Some nations used to ride in this manner with all expedition, at its rising; and the Rabbins pretend that the king, or some other by his order, had been accustomed to ride from the eastern gate of the temple to the house of the governor, Nathan-melech. The horse was consecrated to the sun, on account of its agility. Placat equo Persis radiis Hyperiona cinctum, Ne detur celeri victima tarda Deo. (Ovid, Fast. i.) The Persians sacrificed the horse to the sun, that a slow victim may not be offered to the swift deity. The sun gives vigour to the whole material system, as the instrumental cause in the hand of God; and horses perceive the influence, more particularly in the warmer climates, and exult in their strength, Job 39:21. (Haydock) --- Perhaps these horses had been destined for sacrifice by the infidel kings of Juda, as well as the chariots. (Calmet) --- The Rhodeans threw some into the sea every year. (Festus.) --- Others think that what Josias took away, was only engraven, or, that the horses had been set at liberty for superstitious observations, as was customary among the pagans. (Tacitus, Mor. Germ.) (Suetonius, in Julio) |
| II Kings 23:12 | And the altars that were upon the top of the upper chamber of Achaz, which the kings of Juda had made, and the altars which Manasses had made in the two courts of the temple of the Lord, the king broke down: and he ran from thence, and cast the ashes of them into the torrent Cedron. | Upper chamber, to be nearer the host of heaven, which they adored. (Haydock) --- We are assured that the Arabs also adored the sun, and offered incense to it on the tops of their houses. The prophets often upbraid the people with this practice, Jeremias 19:13., and Sophonias 1:5. (Calmet) --- It is wonderful that Ezechias had not before removed these remnants of his father's infidelity; and still more that Manasses, after his repentance, had not destroyed what he had unlawfully erected in the courts of the priests and of the people. But Amon might have restored them. --- Ran. This shews the zeal of the king. Hebrew and Septuagint, "and thence he broke or tore them." |
| II Kings 23:13 | The high places also that were at Jerusalem, on the right side of the mount of offence, *which Solomon, king of Israel, had built to Astaroth, the idol of the Sidonians, and to Chamos, the scandal of Moab, and to Melchom, the abomination of the children of Ammon, the king defiled. 3 Kings 11:7. | Offence; Olivet. (Haydock) --- In the original, the terms are very much alike; and the Jews take a pleasure in deforming names, for which they had a horror. Solomon had erected temples here to various idols, (3 Kings 11:7.) which had probably been demolished by Ezechias, but had been rebuilt under Amon, etc., and subsisted during the minority of Josias; (Calmet) or they had been neglected by the pious kings of Juda, as no longer dangerous. But Josias, in the fervour of his zeal, thought proper to remove every thing that had been the occasion of offence: Hebrew, "of corruption." --- Idol, and scandal, and abomination, are the same in Hebrew. |
| II Kings 23:14 | And he broke in pieces the statues, and cut down the groves: and he filled their places with the bones of dead men. | Statues is more proper than the Protestant "images," which would rather be torn. --- Dead is not expressed in the Hebrew or Septuagint, but must be understood. (Haydock) --- The pagans had the same idea of their impurity: incestat funere classem. (Virgil, Aeneid vi.) |
| II Kings 23:15 | *Moreover, the altar also that was at Bethel, and the high place, which Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, had made: both the altar, and the high place, he broke down and burnt, and reduced to powder, and burnt the grove. 3 Kings 13:32. | Bethel had perhaps fallen into the hands of Juda, after the Israelites had been led away. (Calmet) --- Josias exercised the like authority throughout all Samaria, (ver. 19.) as the country properly belonged to the house of David, and was God's peculiar inheritance. (Haydock) --- We may, therefore conclude that He authorized Josias to act in this manner; and the new inhabitants had no interest in maintaining the superstition of those who had lived there before them. The priest sent by Asarhaddon, had taken up his residence at Bethel; whence it is inferred that the town, at that time, was in the hands of the Samaritans, (Calmet) as it might be still, though Josias might exercise dominion in it as lord paramount. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 23:16 | And as Josias turned himself, he saw there the sepulchres that were in the mount: and he sent and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burnt them upon the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the Lord, which the man of God spoke, who had foretold these things. | Spoke. Septuagint subjoin some words, which seem to be lost in the original: ["when Jeroboam was standing, on the festival day, upon the altar. And turning, he lifted up his eyes towards the tomb of the man of God,} who spoke these words." (Haydock) --- "The copies, from which this version was made, read differently from the modern copies," and often better. (Kennicott, diss. 2:p. 335.) |
| II Kings 23:17 | *And he said: What is that monument which I see? And the men of that city answered: It is the sepulchre of the man of God, who came from Juda, and foretold these things which thou hast done upon the altar of Bethel. 3 Kings 13:1. | Monument. Hebrew tsiun, "an eminence" of "dry" earth, (Ezechiel 39:15.) heaped upon a corpse; whence the Latin tumulus. (Servius) (Calmet) --- It seems some inscription was still to be seen on the tomb. (Menochius) --- Thou, etc. Septuagint, "which he proclaimed against the altar." (Haydock) |
| II Kings 23:18 | And he said: Let him alone, let no man move his bones. So his bones were left untouched with the bones of the prophet, that came out of Samaria. | Samaria. It seems this word has been inserted instead of Juda, as it is certain the prophet came thence, ver. 17., and 3 Kings 13:32. (Calmet) --- But thus both prophets would be identified. It would rather appear that the seducing prophet, who resided at Bethel, is here said to have come out of Samaria, though that place was not raised to the dignity of a royal city (Haydock) till 50 years afterwards. (Calmet) --- There might be a town there long before; and, at any rate, he belonged to the kingdom of Jeroboam, or of Samaria. (Haydock) --- His faith in the prophet's prediction was, perhaps, thus rewarded, (Menochius) as his bones were left unmolested, on account of their being buried in the same sepulchre with the man of God. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 23:19 | Moreover all the temples of the high places which were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord, Josias took away: and he did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel. | |
| II Kings 23:20 | And he slew all the priests of the high places, that were there, upon the altars; and he burnt men's bones upon them: and returned to Jerusalem. | Slew. Most of the Israelites who had been left, (Haydock) embraced the true religion, after the captivity of their brethren, (Calmet) and adhered to the kings of Juda, (ver. 15.; Haydock) who had taken possession of the whole country (Du Hamel) after the fall of the Assyrian empire; (Tirinus) unless the emperors of Chaldea had given it to them as to their vassels. See ver. 29. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 23:21 | *And he commanded all the people, saying: Keep the Phase to the Lord your God, according as it is written in the book of this covenant. 2 Paralipomenon 35:1.; | Year of the World 3381. Covenant, in Deuteronomy, 4 Kings 22:8. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 23:22 | Now there was no such a Phase kept from the days of the judges, who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Juda, | No such, in all respects. (Haydock) --- The number of paschal lambs was certainly greater when all Israel was assembled; but the other victims presented by the king and his officers during the octave is here noticed, (2 Paralipomenon 35:7.; Menochius) as they are also styled the Phase; (Haydock) and this explains John 18:28. (Tirinus) --- Neither ought we to push these expressions too far, as they only mean, that this solemnity was very great. See ver. 25., and 4 Kings 18:5. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 23:23 | As was this Phase, that was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem, in the eighteenth year of king Josias. | |
| II Kings 23:24 | Moreover the diviners by spirits, and soothsayers, and the figures of idols, and the uncleannesses, and the abominations, that had been in the land of Juda and Jerusalem, Josias took away: that he might perform the words of the law, that were written in the book, which Helcias the priest had found in the temple of the Lord. | Spirits. Literally, "the pythons," Deuteronomy 18:11., and Numbers 22:5. --- Idols. Hebrew Teraphim; Protestants, "images," Genesis 21:19. --- Uncleannesses. Hebrew, etc., "idols." |
| II Kings 23:25 | There was no king before him like unto him, that returned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, according to all the law of Moses: neither after him did there arise any like unto him. | Like him. Every person has some peculiarity, which distinguishes him from every other. (Haydock) --- Thus we say of many saints: There was none found like unto him, Ecclesiasticus 44:20. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 23:26 | But yet the Lord turned not away from the wrath of his great indignation, wherewith his anger was kindled against Juda: because of the provocations, wherewith Manasses had provoked him. | Had provoked him. The impiety of this king must have been extreme, since his repentance did not avert the scourge. (Haydock) --- Besides, many of the people were corrupt at heart, though they were afraid of shewing it, as we learn from the prophets Jeremias and Sophonias. God therefore withdrew the good Josias, who was their bulwark, that they might feel the effects of his just indignation. |
| II Kings 23:27 | *And the Lord said: I will remove Juda also from before my face, as I have removed Israel: and I will cast off this city Jerusalem, which I chose, and the house, of which I said: My name shall be there. 4 Kings 24:2. | |
| II Kings 23:28 | Now the rest of the acts of Josias, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? | |
| II Kings 23:29 | *In his days, Pharao Nechao, king of Egypt, **went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josias went to meet him: and was slain at Mageddo, when he had seen him. 2 Paralipomenon 35:20. | Year of the World 3394, Year before Christ 610. Nechao, six years (Usher, the year of the world 3394.) after he had succeeded his father Psammetichus, with whose ambitious views he was animated to attempt the conquest of Asia. (Marsham saec. 18.) Pharao pretends that God had sent him to attack the Assyrians, 2 Paralipomenon 35:21. But Josias thought he was only imposing on him, or speaking through fear. The Jews assert that Jeremias also opposed the king's design, 3 Esdras 1:28. (St. Jerome, ad Ctesip.) But this does not appear from the canonical Scripture. (Calmet) --- Meet him, in order to hinder him from passing through his dominions without leave; as this might prove dangerous. (Haydock) --- Seen him, and fought. (Menochius) --- He received a mortal wound at Mageddo, but died at Jerusalem, 2 Paralipomenon 35:23. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 10:6.) --- Mageddo lay to the south of Cison, where Barak had fought before, Judges 5:19. Herodotus (II. 159.) says, that Nechos gained a victory over the Syrians at Magdolum, and took Cadytis, which is probably Cades, a strong city of Galilee, though some take it to be Jerusalem, as it may be interpreted "the holy city." (Calmet) --- Mageddo is called Magdala in the Greek, and Magedan in other copies, and in the Vulgate, Matthew 15:39. |
| II Kings 23:30 | And his servants carried him dead from Mageddo: and they brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Joachaz, the son of Josias: and they anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead. | Sepulchre. Paralipomenon xxxv., in the monument (or mausoleum) of his fathers. Such was the end of Josias: he fell gloriously in defence of his country, as he had spent his life in promoting religion. God therefore withdrew him from the sight of the miseries which were shortly to fall on his devoted people, 4 Kings 22:20. (Haydock) --- He was a prince of most excellent disposition, and receives the highest encomium, ver. 25., and Ecclesiasticus 49:1. Jeremias composed his funeral canticle, which was sung on his anniversary for many years, 2 Paralipomenon 35:24. The mourning for this pious king became proverbial, and resembled that which should be made for the Messias, Zacharias 12:11. The life and death of Josias prefigured those of Jesus Christ; who should be long expected as the restorer of the true religion, the teacher of a more excellent law, and the most innocent victim for the sins of the people. The glorious Phase under Josias, was but a faint representation of the eucharistic sacrifice. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 23:31 | *Joachaz was three and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Amital, the daughter of Jeremias, of Lobna. 2 Paralipomenon 36:2. | Old. Eliacim his brother was 25. (Haydock) --- Perhaps Joachaz was esteemed more by the people, as fitter to defend them against the king of Egypt, who had proceeded on his journey to attack Charchamis on the Euphrates. (Calmet) --- Having placed a garrison in it, he was met by Joachaz, and gained a victory over him at Rebla, (Haydock) as Sanctius gathers from Ezechiel 19:4. Hence he treated the captive king with such severity, and sent him into Egypt to die in chains, Jeremias 22:11. Joachaz is called Sellum (in Jeremias) and Jechonias, 3 Esdras 1:34. (Calemt) --- He was a lion only against his own subjects. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 23:32 | And he did evil before the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. | |
| II Kings 23:33 | And Pharao Nechao bound him at Rebla, which is in the land of Emath, that he should not reign in Jerusalem: and he set a fine upon the land, of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. | Rebla. Syriac and Arabic, "Deblat;" probably (Calmet) Apamea on the Orontes. (Chaldean, on Numbers 34:11.) |
| II Kings 23:34 | And Pharao Nechao made Eliacim, the son of Josias, king in the room of Josias his father: and turned his name to Joakim. And he took Joachaz away and carried him into Egypt, and he died there. | Joakim. Thus he asserted his dominion over him, as Nabuchodonosor did afterwards over Matthanias, 4 Kings 24:17., and Daniel 1:6. (Calmet) --- Eliacim means nearly the same as Joakim, "the Lord's strength," or "appointment." (Menochius) |
| II Kings 23:35 | And Joakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharao, after he had taxed the land for every man, to contribute according to the commandment of Pharao: and he exacted both the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of every man according to his ability: to give to Pharao Nechao. | |
| II Kings 23:36 | *Joakim was five and twenty years old when he began to reign: **and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Zebida, the daughter of Phadaja, of Ruma. 2 Paralipomenon 36:5. | Year of the World 3395, Year before Christ 609. Old, of course Josias had him at 15. Some suspect we ought to read 15 here. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 23:37 | And he did evil before the Lord according to all that his fathers had done. | Fathers, or ancestors, not his immediate father Josias, ver. 32. (Haydock) --- Joakim chose to imitate the wicked, and was not deterred by the chastisement of his brother. (Calmet) --- His character was marked with avarice and cruelty. He slew the prophet Urias, Jeremias 22:13., and 26:23. (Haydock) --- St. Matthew (1:11.) calls him Jechonias, (Menochius) 1 Paralipomenon 3:15. |
| II Kings 24:0 | The reigns of Joakim, Joachin, and Sedecias. | |
| II Kings 24:1 | In his days Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came up, *and Joakim became his servant three years: then again he rebelled against him. | Year of the World 3398, Year before Christ 606. Days. At the end of the third year, Daniel 1:1., and Jeremias 25:1. Nabuchadonosor, in the first year of his reign, (Jeremias 25:1.) being associated in the empire by his aged father Nabopolassar, came up to attack Carchemis, (Jeremias 46:1.) and the other dominions of Egypt, (ver. 7.) and their ally or vassal Joakim. He took the city of Jerusalem, and carried off many of the sacred vessels and captives, (Daniel i.; Calmet) conducting the king himself to prison, for a short time, when he set him at liberty, on condition that he should pay tribute, 2 Paralipomenon 36:6. (Tirinus) --- Joakim obeyed for 3 years. --- Then again. Hebrew, "he turned and rebelled." This was the first time, as he had before been subject to Egypt, and was attacked on that account. He probably took advantage of the absence of Nabuchodonosor, who was gone with haste to secure all the dominions of his deceased father. In the 7th year of his reign, he sent rovers to punish Joakim. When the latter had reigned near 11 years, they reduced the kingdom, and treated the king's corpse with the utmost indignity, Jeremias 22:19. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 24:2 | And the Lord sent against him the rovers of the Chaldees, and the rovers of Syria, and the rovers of Moab, and the rovers of the children of Ammon: and he sent them against Juda, to destroy it;* according to the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by his servants, the prophets. 4 Kings 23:27. | The rovers. Latrunculos. Bands or parties of men, who pillaged and plundered wherever they came. (Challoner) See 4 Kings 5:2., and Judges 11:3. --- Nabuchodonosor could not come in person. --- Prophets. Holda, supra 4 Kings 22:16., and Isaias 20:17., and Jeremias xiv., xv., xvi., etc. |
| II Kings 24:3 | And this came by the word of the Lord against Juda, to remove them from before him for all the sins of Manasses which he did; | |
| II Kings 24:4 | And for the innocent blood that he shed, filling Jerusalem with innocent blood: and therefore the Lord would not be appeased. | |
| II Kings 24:5 | But the rest of the acts of Joakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda? And Joakim slept with his fathers: | Did. Paralipomenon, and his abominations which he wrought, and the things which were found in him. This St. Jerome, (Trad.) explains of certain diabolical marks on his body, shewing him to be devoted to the fiend Codonasar. Such are often found on magicians. (Menochius) --- Thus the priests of Baal cut themselves, 3 Kings 18:28. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 24:6 | And Joachin, his son, reigned in his stead. | Joachin, who is styled Jechonias, Matthew i., and Conias [in] Jeremias 22:24. The prophet counts his reign as nothing, because it was so limited by the Chaldeans, and continued only three months, Jeremias 36:30. |
| II Kings 24:7 | And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his own country: for the king of Babylon had taken all that had belonged to the king of Egypt, from the river of Egypt, unto the river Euphrates. | Egypt, at least from the eastern mouth of the Nile, at Damietta, to the Euphrates. Nechao had conquered all those countries: but now he was driven into his ancient territories. After some time he attempted to relieve Sedecias, but war repulsed by Nabuchodonosor, who soon after took Jerusalem, Jeremias 37:6. (Calmet) --- Again, during the reign of Joachin. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 24:8 | Joachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, *and he reigned three months in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Nohesta, the daughter of Elnathan, of Jerusalem. | Year of the World 3405, Year before Christ 599. Eighteen. One Hebrew manuscript reads "thirteen," (Haydock) or 3 instead of 8. (Kennicott) --- The number seems also (Haydock) to be incorrect in Paralipomenon, where we find that Joachin was only eight years old, as the Syriac and Arabic have 18 in both places, and it could not well be said, that he did evil, etc., (ver. 9.) at the age of 8, much less that he had wives so soon, ver. 15. (Calmet) --- Some attempt to reconcile both places, by saying that the eight years refer to the commencement of his father's reign; (Junius) which is very unusual: (Calmet) or to the servitude of Babylon, when Jerusalem was taken under Joakim. (Hardouin.) --- Sanctius conjectures that Joachin was associated with his father when he was 10 years old, and after 8 years became sole king. (Kimchi, etc.) (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 24:9 | And he did evil before the Lord, according to all that his father had done. | Done. Ezechiel 19:5., and Jeremias 22:24., speak of this king under the name of (Haydock) Jechonias. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 24:10 | *At that time the servants of Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came up against Jerusalem, and the city was surrounded with their forts. Daniel 1:1. | Came. Hebrew, "servants....he came." But several manuscripts are more accurate and grammatical, "they came." (Kennicott) (Haydock) |
| II Kings 24:11 | And Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came to the city, with his servants, to assault it. | |
| II Kings 24:12 | And Joachin, king of Juda, went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his nobles, and his eunuchs: and the king of Babylon received him in the eighth year of his reign. | Went out. Josephus (Jewish Wars 6:8.) insinuates, to save the vessels of the temple. --- Jeremias had persuaded him to desist from making resistance. (Tirinus) --- Nabuchodonosor did not comply with his promise, (Menochius) but took the king and all the artificers (ver. 14.) to Babylon, that the former might not attempt to revenge the injuries done to his father, nor the latter contribute to fortify the towns. The Philistines had deprived the Israelites of blacksmiths, with the same design, 1 Kings vii., and xiii. (Angelomus.) (Tirinus) --- Eighth; commencing, or at the end of the seventh, Jeremias lii. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 24:13 | And he brought out from thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house: and he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made in the temple of the Lord, according to the word of the Lord.* Isaias 30:6. | All, or a great part; for some were still left, 1 Esdras 1. --- Which: or like unto those which Solomon had made. The identical vessels had been perhaps (Du Hamel) plundered. (Menochius) --- Nabuchodonosor took away the sacred vessels at three different times: 1. under Joakim. These he placed in the temple of his god; and they were afterwards profaned by Baltassar, and restored by Cyrus, Daniel 1:2., and 5:5., and 1 Esdras 1:7. 2. Many he now broke in pieces. 3. Under Sedecias, he took probably what that prince had made, 4 Kings 25:13., and Baruch 1:7 --- Lord, by Isaias (xxxix. 6.; supra 4 Kings 20:17.) and Jeremias, 15:13. |
| II Kings 24:14 | And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the valiant men of the army, to the number of ten thousand, into captivity: and every artificer and smith: and none were left, but the poor sort of the people of the land. | All; the chief men, 4 Kings 25:18. Ezechiel and Mardocheus were in the number. --- Engraver. The first term means a workman in wood, stone, etc.; the latter seems to designate a mason, smith, or garrison-soldier; (Calmet) or one expert in making camps; (Sa) an engineer. (Tirinus) --- St. Jerome explains it of one who enchases jewels in gold. (Menochius) --- Hecateus and Demetrius (ap. Jos.[Josephus?] and Clement of Alexandria) mention this transportation. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 24:15 | *And he carried away Joachin into Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his eunuchs: and the judges of the land he carried into captivity, from Jerusalem, into Babylon. 2 Paralipomenon 36:10.; Esther 2:6.; Esther 11:4.; Ezechiel 17:12.; Jeremias 24:1.; Jeremias 39:2. | Judges. Hebrew, "the rams." Chaldean, "the grandees." These are not included in the 10,000, (ver. 14.) nor more than (Calmet) the 8,000 who were taken from the country (ver. 16.; Calmet) or 3,000 were taken from Jerusalem, and 7,000 from other places. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 24:16 | And all the strong men, seven thousand, and the artificers, and the smiths, a thousand, all that were valiant men, and fit for war: and the king of Babylon led them captives into Babylon. | |
| II Kings 24:17 | *And he appointed Matthanias, his uncle, in his stead: and called his name Sedecias. Jeremias 37:1.; Jeremias 52:1. | Uncle, the third son of Josias, who was placed on the throne. (Haydock) --- The eldest, (Menochius) called Johanan, seems to have died in his youth. (Calmet) --- Sedecias means, "the justice of God," (Tirinus) as Nabuchodonosor had adjured him, or made him swear by God; (2 Paralipomenon 36:15.; Haydock) and thus insinuated, that, if he proved faithless, he should feel the effects of God's justice, as it happened. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 24:18 | Sedecias was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Amital, the daughter of Jeremias, of Lobna. | |
| II Kings 24:19 | And he did evil before the Lord, according to all that Joakim had done. | Done. He was not deterred by his punishment, nor by the admonition of Jeremias, 37:2., and 2 Paralipomenon 36:12. The prophet informs us, that the priests and people defiled the temple of God. See Ezechiel viii., etc. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 24:20 | For the Lord was angry against Jerusalem and against Juda, till he cast them out from his face: and Sedecias revolted from the king of Babylon. | Revolted. Literally, "departed;" (Haydock) "broke his covenant;" (Septuagint) acting contrary to his oath, (Paralipomenon) and to the dictates of prudence. God permitted this to take place, in the 8th year of Sedecias. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 25:0 | Jerusalem is besieged and taken by Nabuchodonosor: Sedecias is taken: the city and temple are destoryed. Godolias, who is left governor, is slain. Joachin is exalted by Evilmerodach. | |
| II Kings 25:1 | And *it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, that Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem: and they surrounded it: and raised works round about it. and 52:4. | Year of the World 3414, Year before Christ 590.; Jeremias xxxix. Day, the 30th of January, the year of the world 3414. (Usher) --- Some time after Nabuchodonosor left the siege, to attack the Egyptians; (Jeremias 37:3.) and the people of Jerusalem, (Haydock) supposing that he would return no more, took back their slaves, whom Jeremias had prevailed on them to liberate, according to the law, during the sabbatical year, Jeremias 34:8. (Usher) --- The prophet reproached them for it; and announced the destruction of the city so plainly, that he was thrown into prison, Jeremias xxi., and xxxiv., and xxxviii. --- It. The Babylonians had already taken all the towns of Juda, except Azeca and Lachis, Jeremias 34:7. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 25:2 | And the city was shut up and besieged till the eleventh year of king Sedecias, | |
| II Kings 25:3 | The ninth day of the month: and a famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. | Of the. Protestants supply, "fourth month," as it is in the parallel passage, Jeremias 52:6., And in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month. In Jeremias 39:2., we read, in the fourth month, the fifth day of the month, the city was broken up, or a breach was made in the outer wall. In the course of a few days, the princes of Babylon seized the middle gate; and the famine became so intolerable, that, on the 9th, it was judged expedient to abandon the city. (Haydock) --- During this siege it is thought, (Calmet) that mothers eat their children, (Lamentations 4:10., and Baruch 2:3.) and children their parents, Ezechiel 5:10. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 25:4 | And a breach was made into the city: and all the men of war fled in the night between the two walls by the king's garden (now the Chaldees besieged the city round about), and Sedecias fled by the way that leadeth to the plains of the wilderness. | Walls, by a subterraneous passage, to the plains of Jericho; (Rabbins) or by the horse gate, which was the most private, and, it seems, had been walled up, Ezechiel 12:12. (Menochius) |
| II Kings 25:5 | And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all the warriors that were with him were scattered, and left him: | |
| II Kings 25:6 | So they took the king, and brought him to the king of Babylon, to Rablatha, and he gave judgment upon him. | Rablatha, the Antioch of Syria, (St. Jerome) which was styled also Epiphania, (Tirinus) or more probably Apamea, where Nabuchodonosor was, when Jerusalem was taken. --- Upon him, by the advice of his council, Jeremias 39:3, 13. Syriac, "they made him answer the charges brought against him," (Calmet) of ingratitude and rebellion, as he had been appointed by the king of Babylon, and had sworn to be faithful to him. (Menochius) --- This repeated infidelity made Nabuchodonosor resolve to remove the people from their own country. (Calmet) --- He sentenced the last of the kings of Juda to see his children slain, (Haydock) to have his eyes put out, and to remain in prison till his death, Jeremias 52:11., etc. (Calmet) --- Hebrew, he "spake judgments with him." Thus was accomplished the prediction of Jeremias 34:3, "thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak to thee." (Watson) --- The same prophet had said the same (Jeremias 32:4.) before he was thrown into prison. The sight of an angry judge is no small punishment. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 25:7 | And he slew the sons of Sedecias before his face, and he put out his eyes, and bound him with chains, and brought him to Babylon. | Eyes; after they had been excruciated by the sight of his slaughtered children. He thus might be convinced, that there was no reason to despise the predictions of Jeremias and of Ezechiel 12:13., as contradictory, because the latter informed him that he should not see Babylon; though the other said that he should die there. --- Babylon, where he was honourably buried, by order of Nabuchodonosor. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 10:11.) --- Seder (Olam XXVIII.) records that his attendants sung, at his funeral, "Alas! king Sedecias is dead, having drunk the dregs of all ages;" as he suffered also for the crimes of his predecessors. (Genebrard) (Tirinus) --- This is not indeed specified in Scripture: (Haydock) but it is highly probable that Nabuchodonosor would thus "revere royalty, even in its ruins," if Daniel and the other Jews in power, had not been careful to shew this mark of respect to their deceased monarch, conformably to the prediction of Jeremias 34:3 who foretold that he should die, not by a violent death, the usual fate of captive kings, but in peace, or on his bed, though in a prison. (Watson, let. 6.) |
| II Kings 25:8 | In the fifth month, the seventh day of the month, the same is the nineteenth year of the king of Babylon, came Nabuzardan, commander of the army, a servant of the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem. | Seventh. Jeremias (lii. 12.) mentions the tenth; on which day Nabuzardan probably arrived, or begun to put his orders in execution. Yet the Jews keep the ninth as an annual fast, Zacharias 7:3., and 8:19. The temple was destroyed on Saturday, 27th August, the year of the world 3416, (Usher) after it had stood 424 years, 3 months, and 8 days. (Calmet) --- Army. Hebrew, "of those who slay;" which may be fitly understood "of soldiers," as well as "of cooks," (Septuagint) "butchers." (Pagnin, etc.) (Menochius) |
| II Kings 25:9 | *And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and the houses of Jerusalem, and every great house he burnt with fire. Psalm 73:7.; | Year of the World 3416, Year before Christ 558. Great. This word is supplied from Jeremias 52:13., and Hebrew, "great man's house." (Protestants) But Jeremias 39:8., we read, they burnt the houses of the people, (Haydock) even the meanest, destroyed the walls, and took the people to Babylon, only leaving some countrymen to cultivate the land. Jeremias was set at liberty by Nabuzardan, (ibid. xi.[Jeremias 39:9.?]) and chose to continue with this remnant of the people, for their comfort and direction. (Haydock) --- They applied to him to know whether they should retire into Egypt; and after ten days, he gave them God's injunction to the contrary: but they despised it, Jeremias 42:7., and 43:1. The prophet, and his secretary, Baruch, followed them into Egypt. Thus was the country abandoned, and the monarchy at an end, after it had subsisted 468 years from the commencement of David's reign. (Calmet) --- Yet some little power remained in the family of David, even at Babylon; (ver. 27.) and the Jewish affairs were re-established, after the captivity, though not in such splendour as formerly, nor always under princes of the same royal family. (Haydock) |
| II Kings 25:10 | And all the army of the Chaldees, which was with the commander of the troops, broke down the walls of Jerusalem round about. | |
| II Kings 25:11 | And Nabuzardan, the commander of the army, carried away the rest of the people, that remained in the city, and the fugitives, that had gone over to the king of Babylon, and the remnant of the common people. | |
| II Kings 25:12 | But of the poor of the land he left some dressers of vines and husbandmen. | |
| II Kings 25:13 | *And the pillars of brass that were in the temple of the Lord, and the bases, and the sea of brass, which was in the house of the Lord, the Chaldees broke in pieces, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. Jeremias 27:19. | |
| II Kings 25:14 | They took away also the pots of brass, and the mazers, and the forks, and the cups, and the mortars, and all the vessels of brass, with which they ministered. | Mazers. Hebrew yahim, "shovels." (Protestants) Septuagint retain the original word, which St. Jerome translates differently. See 3 Kings 7:50., (Menochius) and Exodus. |
| II Kings 25:15 | Moreover also the censers, and the bowls, such as were of gold in gold: and such as were of silver in silver, the general of the army took away. | |
| II Kings 25:16 | That is, two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made in the temple of the Lord: the brass of all these vessels was without weight. | |
| II Kings 25:17 | *One pillar was eighteen cubits high, and the chapiter of brass, which was upon it, was three cubits high: and the net-work, and the pomegranates that were upon the chapiter of the pillar, were all of brass: and the second pillar had the like adorning. 3 Kings 7:15.; 2 Paralipomenon 3:15.; Jeremias 52:21. | |
| II Kings 25:18 | And the general of the army took Saraias, the chief priest, and Sophonias, the second priest, and three door-keepers. | Saraias, father of Esdras, and of Josedeck, who succeeded in the Pontificate, 1 Esdras 7:1., and 1 Paralipomenon 6:14. (Tirinus) --- Sophonias. He was perhaps chief of the fourth band of door-keepers, mentioned [in] 1 Paralipomenon 9:17, 24., and vice-gerent of the High-priest, to supply his place, in case of any accident. We find no mention of such a priest in the law, but Eleazar possessed a similar power, Numbers 3:32. (Calmet) --- Keepers. These seem to have concealed themselves in the temple. (Menochius) --- They were punished, as the counsellors of Sedecias, by being beheaded or crucified, Lamentations 5:12. (Tirinus) |
| II Kings 25:19 | And out of the city one eunuch, who was captain over the men of war: and five men of them that had stood before the king, whom he found in the city, and Sopher, the captain of the army, who exercised the young soldiers of the people of the land: and threescore men of the common people, who were found in the city: | Eunuch. Protestants, "officer." (Haydock) --- Five. Arabic and Jeremias 52:25., read seven, as two were probably discovered afterwards, (Calmet) or had fled. (Du Hamel) --- These were chief officers. --- Sopher. Septuagint, "and the secretary of the general." Syriac, "the secretary and chiefs of the armies." (Calmet) --- Protestants, "the principal scribe." (Haydock) --- It is not clear whether the general have this title of sopher, "scribe," himself; or it rather designates his secretary, or scribe, Judges 8:14. (Calmet) --- Many date the 70 years captivity from the last year of Joachin. (Du Hamel) |
| II Kings 25:20 | These Nabuzardan, the general of the army, took away, and carried them to the king of Babylon, to Rablatha. | |
| II Kings 25:21 | And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Rablatha, in the land of Emath: so Juda was carried away out of their land. | |
| II Kings 25:22 | *But over the people that remained in the land of Juda, which Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, had left, he gave the government to Godolias, the son of Ahicam, the son of Saphan. | Year of the World 3416. Godolias. The Rabbins say that he had gone over to the Chaldeans: Jeremias (xxxviii. 2, 17.) had advised all to do so, and Godolias was of an easy complying disposition. (Grotius) --- But God did not suffer him to collect the remnants of his unhappy people, (Calmet) at least for any long time, as he was slain by Ismael, (Jeremias 40:12., and 41:1.; Haydock) who probably envied his dignity. (Josephus) (Salien) |
| II Kings 25:23 | And when all the captains of the soldiers had heard this, they and the men that were with them, to wit, that the king of Babylon had made Godolias governor; they came to Godolias to Maspha, Ismael, the son of Nathanias, and Johanan, the son of Caree, and Saraia, the son of Thanehumeth, the Netophathite, and Jezonias, the son of Maachathi, they and their men. | |
| II Kings 25:24 | And Godolias swore to them and to their men, saying: Be not afraid to serve the Chaldees: stay in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. | |
| II Kings 25:25 | But it came to pass in the seventh month, *that Ismael, the son of Nathanias, the son of Elisama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Godolias; so that he died: and also the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him in Maspha. | Year of the World 3417, Year before Christ 587. |
| II Kings 25:26 | And all the people, both little and great, and the captains of the soldiers, rising up, went to Egypt, fearing the Chaldees. | Chaldees. They went under the conduct of Johanan, in opposition to the declaration of Jeremias, 43:7., and 44:1. (Calmet) |
| II Kings 25:27 | *And it came to pass in the **seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Joachin, king of Juda, in the twelfth month, the seven and twentieth day of the month: Evilmerodach, king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Joachin, king of Juda, out of prison. Jeremias 52:31. --- ** | Year of the World 3442, Year before Christ 562. Twentieth. Jeremias (lii. 31.) says the 25th, when Nabuchodonosor was buried, and (Du Hamel) the decree was made, though it was not put in execution till two days later. (Calmet) --- Evilmerodach, whose proper name was Baltassar, (Daniel 5:1.; Tirinus) or the latter was his son. The Jews say that he had been confined in prison, with Joachin, because he had not administered the kingdom well, during the seven years' illness of his father Nabuchodonosor. Berosus (apud Josephus, contra Apion 1., and Eusebius, praep. 9:40., who cites also Megasthenes) informs us that he reigned with insolence during two years, when he was treacherously murdered by his father-in-law, Neriglissor. |
| II Kings 25:28 | And he spoke kindly to him: and he set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon. | Kings, who had been made captives. Adonibezec had 70, Judges 1:7. Alexander kept Porus and Taxilus at his court, as Cyrus had done [to] Croesus, whom he treated with great distinction. The prosperity of Joachin does not seem to have been of long continuance, as his benefactor did not reign above two (ver. 27.) or three years, Daniel. 8:1. |
| II Kings 25:29 | And he changed his garments which he had in prison, and he ate bread always before him, all the days of his life. | |
| II Kings 25:30 | And he appointed him a continual allowance, which was also given him by the king, day by day, all the days of his life. | His life, may be referred to Evilmerodach, unless Joachin was involved in his disgrace, and perished at the same time. Perhaps the king of Juda did not always eat at the table of Evilmerodach, but received his meat from it, as was customary. (Syriac, etc.) (Calmet) --- He received all that was necessary to support his household, daily. (Grotius) --- In Jeremias 52:34., until the day of his death, seems to be an useless "tautology," which is omitted here, and in "our oldest manuscript," says Kennicott; who observes that whoever will compare these passages, "will find many variations, and some corruptions." But most of them may be easily explained, ver. 3, 8, 27, etc. (Haydock) |