lated < nevertheless' e{] Nevertheless, all that devour thee shall be devoured ; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity ; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil : and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey : for / will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord ; because they called thee an outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after ;" that is, 'I will take occasion, from the contempt that is poured upon thee, to manifest the regard which, even in thy lowest state, I bear towards thee, and to restore thee to my favour : yea, the very complacency which thine enemies express in the view of thy degradation, shall call forth my indignation against them, and my compassion for thee.'
The words thus explained, will lead us to consider the treatment shewn to the Jewish people, and the light in which their conduct is viewed by Almighty God.
I. We shall notice the treatment that is almost uni- versally shewn to the Jewish people.
We might enter here into an historical view of the conduct of different nations towards them, and espe- cially since their dispersion by the Romans. We might state the cruelties inflicted on them by the different potentates of Europe, not excepting those of our own country. But this would be unnecessary ; since it is well known to all, that they have been, and still are, a proverb of reproach amongst our- selves, as well as in foreign lands : and that, if we wished to stigmatize any one with a name comprising every thing that was odious and contemptible, the
e The particle laken, translated therefore, sometimes signifies never- theless, or yet surely. See the note on Isai. xxx. 26 ; and so it is translated, chap. v. 2. of this prophecy; which sense agrees best with this place, and connects this verse with the words foregoing : " So it should be rendered likewise, chap. xxx. 16. and xxxii. 36." See Dr. Lowth on Jer. xvi. 14. Dr. Blaney thinks it should rather be translated " after this." It is obvious, that it cannot be used as an illative particle in this place. Between the other two senses the author does not undertake to determine ; any further than to say, that Dr. Lowth's translation is the more agreeable to the context.