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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. |
Mercy on Jacob – Natural Israel. A300
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| 2 And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors. |
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| 3 And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve, |
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| 4 that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! |
Of Babylon – Mystic Babylon, Christendom. D26
The golden city – The exactress of gold, see margin. D473
Ceased! – Gone to sheol, oblivion. Babylon shall be utterly lost sight of and forgotten. E369[E369]
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| 5 Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; |
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| 6 that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained. |
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| 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. |
Earth is at rest – Will be, as a result of the establishment of God's Kingdom. R3053:4, R1248:5
Into singing – The prospect even now puts a new song into our mouths. R1262:3
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| 8 Yes, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us. |
The fir trees – The Lord's people. R480:5*
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| 9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming; it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. |
Hell from beneath – Sheol, oblivion (Margin: grave). E369; R2599:5
The preface to the Revised Version says that the word "hell" was left in this passage because of the familiarity of the passage. Elsewhere they translate "sheol" with either "grave" or "pit." R829:1*
Learned translators could not agree to render this word "grave" or "tomb" and left it untranslated. PD29/41
At thy coming – At the destruction of Great Babylon, soon. E369
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| 10 All they shall answer and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? |
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| 11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and scarlet worms cover thee. |
Pomp is brought down – Babylon's greatness will soon be a thing of the past. E369
To the grave – Sheol, oblivion, not to a burning hell. E369; R2600:2
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| 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, that didst lay low the nations! |
How art thou fallen – This description primarily fits Satan's own course, and in a secondary sense is applicable to the rise and fall of literal Babylon; and in a yet further sense to the rise and fall of mystic Babylon. F618[F618:1]
From heaven – God has found it necessary to perform the unpleasant duties of discipline. In justice he must disown the disloyal sons and deal with them as enemies. R1833:4[R1833:6]
Lucifer – A glorious angelic being of a high order. OV306:3; SM63:1; R5843:3[R5843:7]
The shining one, God's first opponent. R5896:1[R5896:3]
His name was changed to that of Satan, meaning the hater, the accuser. R5896:1[R5896:3]
Primarily Satan, whose existence many deny. F609[F609:1]
Secondarily, applies to literal and mystic Babylon. F618; R1686:2
Son of the morning – One of the earliest of creation. R1642:1, R1686:1
If Satan had known the results of his course, he probably would not have taken it. R5576:5
Cut down to the ground – Limited to the earth and sentenced to final destruction. R1686:3
Cut off from all association with holy beings. R5896:1
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| 13 And thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit in the mount of congregation in the uttermost parts of the north; |
I will ascend – Ambition is good, but only when it is based on humility. Any spirit that does not respect God's wisdom is foolish. R5186:2
Lucifer had long cherished in his heart ambitious designs. PD15/24; R4928:6, R5665:3
A man has no right to aspire to be an angel, never having been invited to that position; nor has an angel any right to aspire to the divine nature, that never having been offered to him. A189
It was by permitting pride and ambition to gain control of his heart that Satan became an opponent of God and of righteousness. R5183:3
"Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased." (Luke 14:11) A189; R5844:5
Ambition is necessary in the Church, as in the world; but it must not be a selfish ambition for greatness or prominence, but a loving ambition to serve the Lord and his people, even the very humblest. F296
He became ambitious to become some great one, thereby necessitating his abasement; for "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Prov. 16:18) R1892:3
Illustrating the principle that no kind of pride is more detestable in God's sight than pride of the truth. R5001:1
Nothing in the Scriptures indicates that Satan assumed any evil disposition or opposition to the Almighty prior to his seduction of our first parents. This was the time of Satan's temptation and fall into sin. R2839:6, R1678:1
Into heaven – Power of spiritual control. A318; R1686:2
Exalt my throne – Authority and rulership. A92
Satan thought to exalt himself; Jesus, to humble himself. R5186:2; E80
Above – A position already filled by the only begotten Son of God. R1686:2
The stars of God – Others of the sons of God. F297, R1686:2
Satan wanted to be higher than the other angels, their captain and leader. SM95:1; R5955:4, R1515:2, R4928:6; OV15:3; PD15/24
Upon the mount – The Kingdom. F618
Of the congregation – God's people. F618
Sides of the north – The Pleiades, in the north, long esteemed the center of the universe, the Throne of Jehovah. F618
The farthest end of the north-universal dominion. R1686:2
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| 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. |
Like the most High – A monarch, or king, over the human family. E113; R2839:6, R1678:1; OV15:3; SM63:1; PD15/24
His peer, his equal. R4928:6, R1515:2
Not to take Jehovah's place, but to establish a rival dominion. CR425:6; OV15:3; SM63:1, SM95:1
Indicating a covetous, selfish, presumptuous, ambitiously proud spirit, in opposition to God. R5665:3, R5955:4, R5183:3, R5001:2; SM63:1; OV298:4
The ambition to become ruler seems to have developed as he beheld the first human pair with their procreative powers, reasoning that if he could control this man he should have dominion over all his offspring. R1678:1; PD15/24; SM63:1, SM95:1; Q826:T; HG593:6
He thought that if he had an empire of his own he could improve upon the divine order of things. OV306:3
"As God is the Emperor of the entire universe, I should like to be the Emperor of some quarter of it where I might reign supreme and work out my own schemes and plans." Q826:T
He would prefer to be a monarch of happier subjects than the "groaning creation" and is thus willing to become a reformer in all particulars but one--his ambition must be gratified. E113
Satan's claim is contrasted with Jesus', who did not claim equality or aspire to a usurpation of God's authority. (Phil. 2:6, Diaglott) R1686:2, R369:3, R5844:5, R1515:2
The very exaltation which Satan sought and failed to reach by pride and rebellion is, in substance, obtained by the chief messenger who humbled himself and has now been exalted to the divine nature. R490:3
A man has no right to aspire to be an angel, never having been invited to that position; nor has an angel the right to aspire to the divine nature, that never having been offered to him. R612:3
A usurper of divine authority, without divine appointment, and contrary to divine regulation. F297, R1515:2, R4928:6; SM95:1
This language applies also symbolically to the Papacy, for the Papacy is Satan's own work, in his own likeness. R1686:2
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| 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the uttermost parts of the pit. |
Yet thou shalt be – "God is the Judge, he putteth down one and setteth up another." (Psa. 75:6,7) R5710:5
Down to hell – Sheol, oblivion. F618, R2599:5
The grave, so rendered in verse 11. R2599:5
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| 16 They that see thee shall gaze at thee, they shall consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; |
Is this the man – Perhaps suggesting that Satan would appear as a man in the last days. (In letter from Benjamin Barton. Brother Russell's view is different.) R5866:3*, R5867:1
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| 17 that made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; that let not loose his prisoners to their home? |
Of his prisoners – Death's captives. A112
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| 18 All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house. |
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| 19 But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain, that are thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a dead body trodden under foot. |
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| 20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever. |
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| 21 Prepare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities. |
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| 22 And I will rise up against them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son, saith Jehovah. |
For I will rise up – Not wholly fulfilled by Cyrus; much still awaits for fulfilment in mystic Babylon. R2498:3
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| 23 I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith Jehovah of hosts. |
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| 24 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: |
So shall it stand – God's original plan is still in progress. A66; R419:3; HG537:3
We have the assurance that all God's purposes shall be accomplished. R165:5
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| 25 that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulder. |
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| 26 This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. |
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| 27 For Jehovah of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? |
Hath purposed – God knows the end from the beginning; he changes not from his original purpose. R2026:6
Who shall disannul it? – God has a definite and systematic plan for the development of the race by which the largest possible proportion thereof shall be brought to ultimate and permanent good. R902:6*
God's righteous and benevolent plan could know no failure. R1834:6
Turn it back? – Having begun the work of salvation, God does not intend to abandon it. R2690:1
God's plans were perfect before they began to be executed; hence all the changes of God's course or conduct are working out the accomplishment of his original purpose which contemplated these very changes. R2026:6
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| 28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden. |
King Ahaz died – Check Bible chronology
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| 29 Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come forth an adder, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. |
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| 30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety; and I will kill thy root with famine, and thy remnant shall be slain. |
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| 31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee; for there cometh a smoke out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. |
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| 32 What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation? That Jehovah hath founded Zion, and in her shall the afflicted of his people take refuge. |
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