the Sword ſhould come next unto your Countries. *F 15 Why are thy vallant me ſwept away ? they ſtood not, becauſe the LORD did drive them 7. £ The Prophet firſt propoundeth a Queſtion, then returneth an= fwer to himſelf. Egypt wasfull of valiant Men, yer faith the Pro- pher they ſhall be Pn away,, or broken down as fruit, or graſs is beaten down with. 4 violent Rtorm of Hail, ({9 the word is uſed Prov, 28. 3.) How comes this to paſs? ( faith the Prephet ) He an- {wereth himſelf, becauſe it was of God to deſtory Egypr, who work- eth and none can le! him, when he ſtrikes none can ſtand before him; none can ſtand up againſt him. * 16 He + made mavy to fall, yea, one fell upon a- nother «, and they ſaid, Ariſe, let us go again to our own people, and tothe Land of our nativity from the
oppreiling ſword w. "2 "The Prophet had before ſpoken of Nebuchadnezzar, as an In- firument in the hand of God, who being armed with his Commiſ- | fron and Power, made many to fall, yea God cauſed ſuch a fear to IJ fall upon them, that in their flight they fell upon one another. w And though they. had many Soldiers that came to help them from Cuſb and Pat, and Lybia, yet all was too little, the Prophet foretels they ſhould all be glad to go home again, and ſhould * ſpeak to one another to that purpoſe, for the ſucceſs of the King of Babylon's Sword ſhould be ſuch, as they ſhould quickly fee there would be no ſtanding before it.
17 They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt 5s but
a noiſe x, he hath paſſed the time appointed /.
x That is, the Ethiopians and Lubims that ſhould come to help the King of Egypt ſhould cry, or the Chaldeans, or the Egygtians them- ſelves ſhould cry, Pharaoh is but a noiſe, that is, hath made a great noiſe, bur it cometh to nothing ; Others make the ſenſe, Pharach is a Man of noiſe, or tumu't, that hath made a great deal of di- fturbance to himſ{clf and us- y Thar is, fay the moſt, he bath paſſed the time himſelf fixed whereat he would come, and fight the Chaldeans, But theſe words compared with the next Verſe, incline others to think, that eirher Pharaoh's Soldiers, or his Allies are here brought in mocking at Pharaoh, promiſing himſelf that the King of Babylon would not come, and laughing at Jeremia/''s Proe phecy, ſaying, Tie time appointed was paft, that is, the time of his coming mentioned by Jeremiah was paſt. Feremiah foretels that Pharazh's Army and Confederates would ſee reaſon to cry our, Pharaoh, in ſaying ſoy was but a noiſe.
18 As I live, ſaith the King, whoſe name zs the LORD of hoſts, ſurely as Tabor is amongſt the mountains,and
as Carmel by the ſea, ſo ſhall he come xz.
z Thar is, he ſhall as certainly come and encompaſs you with his Armies, as Tabor is encompaſſed with Mountains, and as Car- mel is by the Sea, or as Barak going down from Mount Tabor de- ſtroyed Siſera's Army, or as ſurely as the Rain came which £/1ah firſt diſcovered from Mount Carmel, 1 Kings 18. 41, 42. there are other gueſſes at the ſenſe of this Compariſon, bur the ſenſe is un- doubtedly no more than that Nebuchadnezzar ſhould certainly come againſt Egyp:, how vainly ſoever the Egyptians. flattered themſelves to the contrary, ſuppoſing the time paſt which the Pro- pher ſpke of. 3 6 + Hb. 19 Oh thou daughter dwelling in Egypt «a, ÞT fur- make thee niſh thy ſelf ro go into captivity b: For Noph ſhall be #nftraments graſte and deſolate without an inhabitant c.
of captivi= , That is, O you Inhabirants in the Land of Zgypr. b Make F- ready to go into another Country as Priſoners of War, for your Cities ſhall be deſtroyed. Noph particularly ſhall be wholly depo- pulated, and laid waſte and have none to dwell in it. 20 Egypt 3s like a very fair heifer; but deſtruction
cometh : it cometh out of the north 4.
d That is, Egypt is now in a thriving proſperous Condition, ha- ving not uſed to be under any Yoke like an Heifer, that is fair, and fat, bur ſhe will not be fo long, ſhe is but as aBeaſt fatted for the Slaughter, and there are Slaughter-men, coming out of Chal- dea that will kil! this fair Heifer, and make her a Sacrifice to the Juſtice of God. :
f Heb. "2s Alſo her hired men are in the mid of her, like
bullo.ks of + fatred bullocks e, for they alſo are turned back, azd we Sel. are fled away together ; they did not ſtand f becauſe the day of their calamity was come upon them, and
the time of their viſitation g.
e The mercegary Soldiers allo which the Egyptians have hired from Cuſb and Put, and other parts are at preſent in a flouriſhing proſperous State. Ff We have tranſlated \J here ll, it had been
etter tranſlated Bur, for that is manifeſtly the ſenſe. Though they at preſent lying in Garriſons be fat and flouriſhing, like Bul-
Jocks in the Stalls, yer when it cometh to it they ſhall not ſtand but turn back, and flee as well as the reſt. g Becauſe the time is come when God reſolverth to puniſh them, and bring calamity upon them. When the rime is come which God hath ſet in his Coun- ſels, wherein he will punith Perſons or Nations ; no probabilities to the contrary are much conſiderable, | 22 The voice thereof ſhall go like a ſerpent þ, for they ſhall march with an army, and come againſt her
with axes, as hewers of wood z. h Egypt is now like an Heifer that makes a great bellowing, but the time ſhall come when ſhe ſhall make a Iefltr noiſe like the hif-
Jcb.mul- ved the Mrs,
ERJEM7 4 4.
. ſing ofa Serpenr, when it ſecth it ſelf ſet upon.
Chap. XLYI1L:
; FI Fo I FT. = deans ſhali come with a greet Army, armed with ior f andre ” on they came to fell own tome Wood in a Forreſt, or Wood. ©
23 They (ball cut down her forreſt, {ich the LORD though it cannot be fearci,ed &, becauls they are more than the gralboppers, and are innumerable /;
; k Egypt is compared to a Forreſt either fer the multitude of Ci- ties, or of People in that Country, and to a thick Forreſt, becauſe as 1t 15 an'hard thing to make enes way through a Forreſt, fo it was judged as hard for an Enemy to make his way into that Country ; in humane probability Egyp# could not be ſearched, yer (ſaith G: d) the Chaldeans ſhall cut down this Forreſt, and ir thall be no more to them than for Hewers of Wood, with Tools fittcd for the PUTre poſe, to make their way through a Forreſt. / For the Army ofthe Chaldeans ſhall be as numerous as the Inhabitants of Egypt, more than the Graſhoppers which come in ſuch Troops, as in a ſhort time they devour every green Herb in a place.