it, And fay unto it, Thus faith the LORD God; Behold, I (am) against thee, O mount Seir, and I will ftretch out mine hand against thee, and will make thee a defolation and an aftonishment. Thy cities I will lay wafte, and thou shalt be defolate; and thou fhalt know that I (am) the LORD." And, because the hatred of Edom to the children of Ifrael, hath been perpetual, even from the very birth of Efau; they are therefore to be made a perpetual defolation: ver, "Because thou haft borne a per5-11. petual hatred, and haft fhed* (the blood of) the children of Ifrael by the fword, in the time of their calamity, in the time of (the punishment of) iniquity, (even in) the end† (thereof;) Therefore, (as) I live, faith the LORD God, furely in blood will I deal with thee, and blood fhall pursue thee: fince thou hast not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue thee. Thus will I make mount Seir a defolation and an astonishment, and will Heb. And didst pour out. This denotes the deftruction of the fecond temple by the Romans; as being the laft captivity, and which will be the end of their punishment. cut cut off from it him that paffeth out, and him that returneth. And I will fill thy* mountains with thy flain: (as for) thine hills, and thy vallies, and all thy ftreams, they that are flain by the sword shall fall therein. I will make thee perpetual + defolations, and thy cities fhall not be inhabited ‡, and ye fhall know that I (am) the LORD." For this deftruction of Edom, (which is the fourth beaft) will be fo great and extraordinary, that they will be fully convinced, that it is the finger of God, that hath done it. And all this will be, "Because thou haft faid, These two nations§ and these two countries fhall be mine, and we will poffefs it, whereas the LORD was there: Therefore (as) I live, faith the LORD God, I will do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy, which thou haft ufed from thine hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I shall judge thee." Heb. His. † Heb. Everlasting defolations. Or return: that is, the inhabitants fhall not re turn, as fhall thofe of Ifrael. Ifrael and Judah. His holy temple. The The Prophet then proceeds to speak of the erroneous doctrines and opinions which they have promulgated, in oppofition to the word of God; efpecially that of the miraculous conception; of the trinity, &c. And also that Ifrael was to be perfecuted to death and deftruction; and totally destroyed: because they crucified the lord of life. ver. 12-13. "And thou shalt know that I (am) the LORD, (and that) I have heard all thy blafphemies which thou haft spoken against the mountains of Ifrael, faying, They are laid defolate, unto us are they given to be devoured. Thus with your mouth have ye magnified (yourselves) against me, and multiplied your words against me: I have heard (them). The Prophet then goes on to fhew that, the whole earth fhall rejoice at their defolation as the world will then be freed from intolerance and fuperftition: ver. 14--15. "Thus faith the LORD God; when the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee defolate. As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the houfe of Ifrael, because it was defolate, fo will I do unto thee: thou fhalt be defolate, O mount Seir; and all Edom, (even) all of it: and they fhall know that I am the LORD.” And, because the confolation and redemption of Ifrael will arife from the defolation of Edom; the Prophet therefore received the following vifion. Chap. xxxvi. ver. 1ft &c. "Alfo, thou fon of man, prophefy unto the mountains of Ifrael, and fay, Ye mountains of Ifrael, hear the word of the LORD: Thus faith the LORD God: Because the enemy hath faid against you. Aha! even the ancient high places are become our poffeffion : Therefore prophefy, and fay; Thus faith the LORD God: Because they have made (you) defolate, and swallowed you up on every fide, that ye might be a poffeffion to the refidue of the nations; and ye are taken up in the fpeech of every tongue, and (in) the defamation of (every) people;" By "the refidue of the nations," the Prophet alluded to the Saracens, Turks, &c. who alfo at different times had poffeffion of it: for the land of Ifrael had for a long time been a bone of contention between the Chriftians and Mahometans; as is well known from the Croifade, or holy war, (as it was called) which the Christian powers waged waged against the Turks and infidels for the recovery of Palestine. And by "the speech of every tongue," &c. the Prophet pointed to the flander, reproach, and indignity, with which the nation is treated, by all people; and in all languages. And, because Ifrael hath thus borne the reproach of the nations; therefore fhall they all, Chriftians, Mahometans &c. all bear their reproach. ver. 4— 8. Therefore, ye mountains of Ifrael, hear the word of the LORD God: Thus faith the LORD God to the mountains and to the hills, to the streams and to the vallies, to the defolate waftes and the forfaken cities, which are become a prey to the refidue of the nations that are round about: Therefore thus faith the LORD God: Surely in the fire of my jealoufy have I spoken against the refidue of the nations, and against all Edom, who appointed my land to themselves for a poffeffion, with the joy of (their) whole heart, and with a despiteful* mind, to cast it out for a prey. Prophefy therefore concerning the land of Ifrael, and fay to the mountains and to the hills, to the ftreams and to VOL. II. Heb. With despite of foul. the |