Bible Commentaries

The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?

The burden. — See Isaiah 13:1 .

Of the valley of vision, — i.e., Of Zion or Jerusalem, as the Septuagint express it, which is called first a valley, though set upon a knoll - first, Because environed with mountains; Psalms 125:2 secondly, Because shortly to be laid low and levelled with the ground - ita ut vallis aut vorago dici posset.

Of vision. — So Jerusalem is called - first, Because there was God’s visible or aspectable presence; secondly, Because it was a seminary of seers, as Jerome elegantly termeth it, not without some allusion, as it is thought, to Mount Moriah, whereon stood the temple, which signifieth vision; q.d., O Zion, thou wast Moriah, but now thou art Marah; thou wast the mountain of vision, but now thou art a valley of tears and of darkness; thou wast the temple of God, but now thou art a den of thieves.

What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the house tops? — Luctus et salutis causa, saith Scultetus; there to lament thy distress, or else for safeguard in this distraction. Shouldst thou not rather go out to fight, than go up thus wholly and fully to the tops of thy terraces?

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Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain [men are] not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.

Thou that art full of stirs. — Clamoribus fragosis, Strepera [?Strepitus.] How soon hast thou changed thy cheer and thy note? thy joyful acclamations into doleful exclamations?

Thy slain men are not slain with the sword. — Sed mortui ex anxietate; but are foreslain with fear, or, as others, by the visible vengeance of God, as Titus acknowledged at the last sack of that city, Joseph., lib. vii. cap. 16. and as the poet sang of Troy -

“ Non tibi Tindaridis facies invisa Lacaenae,

Culpatusve Paris; verum inclcmcntia divum

Has evertit opes. ” - Virgil.

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All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, [which] have fled from far.

All thy rulers are fled together. — Vagantur, As not knowing what to do, or whither to turn themselves.

All that are found in thee are bound together. — Either in fetters, Jeremiah 52:11 or with fear. Psalms 76:5

Which have fled from far. — Or, They fly far away, even as fast and as far as they can out of danger.

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Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.

Therefore said I, Look away from me. — Ut luctui et lamentis me totum dedam; that unseen I may soak myself in the salt tears of sorrow for Zion.

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For [it is] a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.

For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down. — Great is the woe of war; no words how wide soever can set forth to the full the distress and destruction thereof.

And of perplexity. — Mebusah samebucah, so the original elegantly, as in the last words of the verse, rythmically.

Breaking down the walls. — Dominus exparietavit. - Vatab. According to Isaiah 5:5 .

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And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men [and] horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.

And Elam, — i.e., The Persians (great archers, as Corabo testifieth, lib. xvi.), as Kir standeth here for the Medians, 2 Kings 16:9 good at sword and buckler; called also Syromedians.

Uncovered the shield. — Kept covered till then for fear of rusting. These were desperate fellows, bloodily bent, skilful to destroy.

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And it shall come to pass, [that] thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.

Thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots. — Iron chariots armed with scythes. These were, saith Vegetius, first a terror, and then a scorn.

In array at the gate, — sc., To force entrance into the city. as Judges 9:44 ; Judges 9:52

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And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

And he discovered the covering of Judah. — That is, he that is the enemy took the city; Hoc enim significat nudari operimentum - i.e., Protectionem Iudae; or, as others sense it, Zeged., Diodat., Oecolamp. God took away his protection, the rampart and defence of their country; see Exodus 32:25 Numbers 14:9 Micah 1:11 or the enemy destroyed the temple, wherein the Jews so foolishly confided. Jeremiah 7:4

To the armour of the house. — To anything but whom they should have looked unto. Our hearts are topped full of harlotry, ready to shift and shark in every by corner for comfort; to hang their hopes on every hedge, rather than to roll themselves upon God, "the hope of Israel."

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