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| 1 The righteous one, hath perished, And, not a man, hath taken it to heart–Yea, the men of lovingkindness, have been withdrawn, No one considering, That, from the presence of calamity, hath the righteous been withdrawn. |
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| 2 He entereth into peace, Let them rest upon their couches,–Each one who went on a straight path. |
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| 3 But, ye, . . . draw near hither, Ye sons of divination,–Ye seed of an adulterer, when [your mother] committed unchastity! |
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| 4 Against whom, would ye disport yourselves? Against whom, would ye widen the mouth, and lengthen the tongue,–Are not, ye, Children of transgression, A Seed of falsehood. |
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| 5 Who inflame yourselves, With the terebinths, Under every green tree–Slaying the children, In the torrent-valleys, Under the clefts of the crags: |
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| 6 Among the smooth stones of the torrent–valley, is thy portion, They, they, are thy lot; Even to them, hast thou, Poured out a drink-offering. Caused to ascend a gift. Over these things, can I cease to grieve? |
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| 7 On a mountain high and uplifted, hast thou set thy couch,–Even thither, hast thou gone up, to offer sacrifice; |
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| 8 And, behind the door and the post, hast thou set thy symbol, For, with another than me, hast thou uncovered thyself and gone up–Hast widened thy couch, And hast solemnised for thyself a covenant from them, Thou hast loved their couch, a sign, hast thou seen; |
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| 9 And hast gone to the king with oil, And hast multiplied thy perfumes,–And hast sent thy messengers afar, And . . . lowered thyself as far as hades! |
And thou – Israel, represented as a woman. E371
Wentest to the king – Made alliance with earthly kings. E371
Didst debase thyself – Oblivious to the Lord and to the principles of his truth and the righteousness which is of faith. E372
Even unto hell – Sheol, oblivion, becoming figuratively dead. E371
Figurative of deep degradation. R2599:5
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| 10 With the length of thy journey, thou wast wearied, Thou didst not say, Hopeless! The reviving of thy power, thou didst find, For this cause, hast thou not become sick. |
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| 11 Whom, then hadst thou been anxious about and feared, that thou shouldest speak falsely, When, me, thou rememberedst not, caredst not for me? Did not, I, keep silence, even from age-past times, Although, me, thou wouldest not fear? |
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| 12 I, will expose thy righteousness,–And thy works–but they will not profit thee! |
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| 13 When thou makest outcry, let thy gathered throngs deliver thee! But, all of them, shall, A wind, catch up–A breath, take away! Whereas, he that seeketh refuge in me, Shall inherit the land, And possess my holy, mountain. |
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| 14 And one said–Cast ye up–cast ye up, prepare ye a way,–Lift the stumbling-block out of the way of my people. |
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| 15 For, thus, saith he that is high, and lifted up–Inhabiting futurity, And, holy, is his name: A high and holy place, will I inhabit, Also with the crushed and lowly in spirit, To revive the spirit of the lowly, and, To revive the heart of them who are crushed;– |
High and lofty One – Jehovah. R5217:3
All who would be in harmony with God must be repentant in respect to their own shortcomings and must be appreciative of his lofty standards--his holy standards. R5218:4
Inhabiteth eternity – Before the mountains were brought forth, or the hills, before the First-born was created, he is God. R5217:3
Contrite – Quiet, deep, continual sorrow for acts not in harmony with righteousness. R5217:6
Our great and lofty God is particularly sympathetic toward those of a broken and contrite heart. R5217:3
Humble spirit – This humble, discouraged condition becomes a favorable one if the person will seek divine assistance. R5218:1
The lowly estate in the present life is only the necessary discipline to fit one for the glory and service of the time to come. R2139:5*
The aristocracy of the present age will not be the aristocracy of the new dispensation, but the poor in spirit will reign with Christ for the blessing of all the families of the earth. R2139:4*
Revive the spirit – Give strength and assist in the right way. R5217:6
Of the humble – Only the humble-minded can really appreciate their own condition. God will not only revive their spirit, but make them again sons of God, with all that this implies. R5218:4
To revive the heart – To such he is ever near, to revive and give them strength. R5217:6
This text applies not only to the present time, but will also have an application in the next age. R5218:5
Contrite ones – To be repentant is to be thoroughly submissive to the divine will, and implies a change of mental attitude toward sin. R5218:1
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| 16 For, not age-abidingly, will I contend, Nor perpetually, will I be wroth,–For, spirit, before me, would faint, Even, the breathing souls, which, I, had made. |
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| 17 Because of his iniquitous gain, was I wroth–and smote him, Hiding myself that I might be wroth,–But he went on, turning aside in the way of his own heart. |
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| 18 His ways, have I beheld, That I might heal him,–And guide him, And restore consolations to him, and to his mourners: |
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| 19 Creating the fruit of the lips–Prosperity! Prosperity! For him that is far off, and for him that is near, saith Yahweh, So should I heal him. |
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| 20 But, the lawless, are like the sea when tossed,–For, rest, it cannot! But its waters toss out mire and dirt. |
Cast up mire and dirt – "A froward man soweth strife, and a whisperer separateth chief friends." (Prov. 16:28) R2038:4
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| 21 No, well-being, saith my God, to the lawless! |
No peace... to the wicked – The peace, joy, rejoicing, blessing, comfort in the Scriptures are only for the Lord's beloved ones. SM334:i
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