MPV Commentary
Read the modernized Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary, aligned with each Bible book and chapter, in clear, updated English.
Currently viewing commentary for 2 Kings 23
Read the modernized Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary, aligned with each Bible book and chapter, in clear, updated English.
Currently viewing commentary for 2 Kings 23
in the midst of me—They fell not on the battlefield, but in the heart
of the city; a sign of the divine wrath.
assembly—the collected forces of Babylon; a stark contrast to the solemn
gatherings that once took place at Jerusalem during its great festivals.
The Hebrew term literally means a solemn assembly or feast (compare Lamentations 2:22).
trodden... virgin... in a wine-press—her blood has burst forth, like red
wine from grapes trodden in a press (Isaiah 63:3; Revelation 14:19, 20;
19:15).
16. (Jeremiah 13:17; 14:17). Jerusalem is the speaker.
my eye, my eye—so Lamentations 4:18, "our end... our end"; repetition for
emphasis.
17. Like a woman in labor pains (Jeremiah 4:31).
menstruous woman—one considered unclean and shunned by all; separated from her
husband and the temple (compare Lamentations 1:8; Leviticus 14:19, etc.).
18. The sure sign of repentance; justifying God, condemning herself (Nehemiah 9:33;
Psalm 51:4; Daniel 9:7-14).
his commandment—literally, "mouth"; His word spoken through the prophets.
19. lovers—(Lamentations 1:2; Jeremiah 30:14).
elders—in dignity, not merely age.
sought... meat—their dignity did not exempt them from having to go and seek bread
(Lamentations 1:11).
20. bowels... troubled—(Job 30:27; Isaiah 16:11; Jeremiah 4:19; 31:20).
Extreme mental distress affects the internal frame.
heart... turned—is agitated or fluttered (Hosea 11:8).
abroad... sword... at home... as death—the "as" intensifies, not modifies.
Abroad, the sword brings bereavement, at home it is like death itself
(personified), in the form of famine and pestilence (2 Kings 25:3;
Jeremiah 14:18; 52:6). So Habakkuk 2:5, "as death" [Michaelis].
21. they are glad that thou hast done it—because they thought that therefore
Judah is irretrievably ruined (Jeremiah 40:3).
the day... called—but you will bring on them the day of calamity which you have announced,
namely, by the prophets (Jeremiah 50:1-46; 48:27).
like... me—in calamities (Psalm 137:8, 9; Jeremiah 51:25, etc.).
22. Such prayers against foes are lawful, if the foe be an enemy of God, and
if our concern is not for our own personal feeling, but for the glory of God
and the welfare of His people.
come before thee—so Revelation 16:19, "Babylon came in remembrance before God"
(compare Psalm 109:15).