The mother - Old Jerusalem, when the seat of the Jebusites, or the land of Canaan, when full of the idolatrous, bloody, barbarous nations. Her daughter - Jerusalem, or the Jews who are more like those accursed nations in sin, than near them in place of abode.
Thou - The nation of the Jews. Thy mother's daughter - As much in thy inclinations, as for thy original. Loatheth - That was weary of the best husband.
Thine elder sister - The greater for power, riches, and numbers of people. Her daughters - The lesser cities of the kingdom of Israel. Thy left hand - Northward as you look toward the east. Thy younger sister - Which was smaller and less populous. Thy right hand - Southward from Jerusalem.
Not walked after their ways - For they, all things considered, were less sinners than thou. Nor done - Their doings were abominable, but thine have been worse.
This was - The fountain and occasion of all. Fulness of bread - Excess in eating and drinking. Strengthen - She refused to help strangers.
Hast justified - Not made them righteous, but declared them less unrighteous, than thou; of the two they are less faulty.
Hast judged - Condemned their apostacy, and hast judged their punishment just.
When - Sodom and Samaria never were restored to that state they had been in; nor were the two tribes ever made so rich, mighty, and renowned, though God brought some of them out of Babylon: the words confirm an irrecoverably low, and despised state, of the Jews in their temporals. Then - Then, not before.
A comfort - Encouraging sinners like those of Sodom and Samaria.
Not mentioned - The sins of Sodom, and her plagues, were not minded or mentioned by thee.
Before - The time of her pride was, when they were not yet afflicted, and despised by the Syrians. And all - The nations that were round about and combined in league against the house of David. Her - Syria, the chief whereof were the Philistines.
Thy lewdness - The punishment thereof.
In breaking the covenant - So will I break my covenant with thee.
Nevertheless - The Lord having denounced a perpetual punishment to the impenitent body of the Jewish nation, doth now promise to the remnant, that they shall be remembered, and obtain covenanted mercy. My covenant - In which I promised I would not utterly cut off the seed of Israel, nor fail to send the redeemer, who should turn away iniquity from Jacob. With thee - In the loins of Abraham, and solemnly renewed after their coming out of Egypt, which is the time, called the days of thy youth, Isa 44:2. Establish - Confirm and ratify. It shall be sure, and unfailing. An everlasting covenant - Of long continuance, as to their condition in the land of Canaan, and in what is spiritual, it shall be absolutely everlasting.
Then - When that new covenant shall take effect. Receive - Admit into church - communion, the Gentiles, now strangers, but then sisters. Thine elder - Those that are greater and mightier than thou; that by their power, wealth and honour are as much above thee as the elder children are above the younger. Thy younger - Thy lesser or meaner sister. For daughters - As daughters hearken to, and obey, so shall the Gentiles brought into the church, hearken to the word of God, which sounded out from Jerusalem. But not - Not by that old covenant which was violated; nor by external ceremonies, which were a great part of the first covenant, but by that covenant which writes the law in the heart, and puts the fear of God into the inward parts.
Open thy mouth - Neither to justify thyself, or to condemn others, or to quarrel with thy God. Because of thy shame - Such a confusion for thy sin will cover thee. Indeed the more we feel of God's love, the more ashamed we are that ever we offended him. And the more our shame for sin is increased, the more will our comfort in God be increased also.
A riddle - A dark saying. The house of Israel - The remainders of the house of Israel, whether of the ten, or of the two tribes.
A great eagle - Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is compared to a great eagle, the king of birds, swift, strong, rapacious. Great wings - Mighty provinces on each side of his kingdom. Long winged - His kingdom was widely extended. Full of feathers - And full of people. Divers colours - Who were of divert nations, languages and manners. Lebanon - Jerusalem the chief city of the country where this great, fruitful and pleasant hill was. And took - Took, captive and carried away with him the king of Judah, Jehoiachin. The cedar - The nation.
The top - Both the king of Judah, now eighteen years old, and the nobles and chief of the land. Into a land - Babylon, which was a city of mighty trade.
The seed - Mattaniah, whom he called Zedekiah. Planted - Settled him on the throne of Judah. As a willow - The prophet compares this new made king to a willow, which grows no where so well as near great waters.
Of low stature - They grew and flourish, while they owned their state tributary to Babylon. Toward him - Nebuchadnezzar as their protector, and sovereign lord. The roots - All the firmness, fruitfulness, and life of this state, was in subjection to him.
Another - The king of Egypt. This vine - Zedekiah, his nobles and people. Did bend - Sought his friendship. Shot forth - Sent ambassadors, and trusted to the power of Egypt. Water it - That they might add to their greatness, as trees grow by seasonable watering them. By the furrows - Alluding to the manner of watering used in Egypt, by furrows or trenches to convey the water from the river Nile.
Was planted - By Nebuchadnezzar, in a very hopeful condition, where it might have been fruitful, and flourished.
Say - Tell them what will be the issue of all this, and tell it to them in my name. It prosper - Shall Zedekiah and his people thrive by this? Pull up - Utterly overthrow this kingdom. Cut Off - Put to the sword the children of Zedekiah, and of the nobles. The leaves - All the promising hope they had shall vanish. Without great power - The king of Babylon shall do this easily, when it is God that sends him. For God needs not great power and many people, to effect his purposes. He can without any difficulty overturn a sinful king and kingdom, and make no more of it than we do of rooting up a tree that cumbers the ground.
Yea - Suppose this vine were planted by the help of Egypt. The east wind - When the king of Babylon, who like the blasting wind comes from the north - east, shall but touch it, it shall wither. In the furrows - Even amidst its greatest helps, to make it flourish.
He - Zedekiah. Shall he break - Can perjury be the way for deliverance?
Given his hand - Solemnly confirming the oath.
Plead - I will punish him.
All - Not strictly, but the greatest part.
The highest branch - Of the royal seed; of the highest branch that is heir to the throne; namely, the Messiah. An high mountain - Upon mount Zion. Eminent - Not for outward splendor, but for spiritual advantages.
In the mountain - In Jerusalem. All fowl - All nations. In the shadow - There they shall find peace and safety.
The trees - The great ones on earth. The high tree - The kingdom of Babylon, which was brought low indeed, when overthrown by Darius and Cyrus.
The land of Israel - The two tribes, not the ten. The fathers - Our fore - fathers. Have eaten - Have sinned. The childrens - We their children, who were unborn, suffer for their sins.
Behold - There can be no colour of partial judgment in the proceedings of God, who is equally God to all. All souls - All persons. The soul - The person, whether father or son, shall die, shall bear his own punishment.
Hath not eaten - Hath not committed idolatry, offering sacrifice, and eating of the things sacrificed to idols; whose temples and altars were on mountains, chap. 20. & 28. Hos 4:13.
Increase - Illegal interest. Iniquity - Injustice of every kind.
Shall live - Shall be delivered from famine, pestilence, and sword, and shall see good days.
His blood - Heb. 'Tis plural, bloods; both the blood of the innocent which he murdered, and his own blood which thereby he forfeited; the blood of his own soul and life: that is the whole blame of his misery in time and eternity, shall lie upon himself.
Hath taken off - Withdrawn his hand from hurting or wronging the poor, tho' he had power to do it securely.
Shall not bear - This is a most unquestionable truth; and tho' perhaps it may seem otherwise in some cases, yet could we see perfectly the connexion between persons and persons; could we see the connexion of sins and sins, and how easily, secretly, and undiscerned men become guilty of the same sins, we should see father and son, though perhaps one of them might not do the evil, both guilty, and neither punished for the sin farther than if it was his own: nor do the scriptures, Exod 20:5 Deut 28:18, doom persons to punishment for sins from which they are wholly free; but if children shall follow their fathers in sin, then if they die for those sins, 'tis because these are their own, not as they are their fathers. The righteousness - It shall be well with the righteous, for he shall eat the fruit of his doing, he shall be rewarded as a righteous one. The wickedness - The reward of wickedness. "The son shall not die, not die eternally, for the iniquity of the father, if he do not tread in the steps of it: nor the father for the iniquity of the son, if he do all he can to prevent it.
Not mentioned - Not to him.
The way - His whole management of affairs. Not equal - Not right, or consistent with his own declaration, and law.
He shall surely live - "That is, he shall be restored to the favour of God, which is the life of the soul."
Make you a new heart - Suffer me to do it in you.
I have no pleasure - Sinners displease God when they undo themselves; they please him when they return.