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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of his burning the bones of the king of Edom to lime, |
Moab – To the south. R3423:6
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| 2 And I have sent a fire against Moab, And it hath consumed the palaces of Kerioth, And dying with noise is Moab, With shouting, with voice of a trumpet. |
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| 3 And I have cut off a judge from her midst, And all its heads I slay with him, said Jehovah. |
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| 4 Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, And for four, I do not reserve it, Because of their loathing the law of Jehovah, And His statutes they have not kept, And their lies do cause them to err, After which their fathers did walk, |
For three transgressions – The basis of the Jewish Rabbis' teaching of forgiveness for three repented wrongs. R2665:3
Of Judah – To the south. R3423:6
And for four – Peter adds the three and the four, inquiring whether the Lord would have his followers forgive seven times. R2665:3
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| 5 And I have sent a fire against Judah, And it hath consumed palaces of Jerusalem. |
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| 6 Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their selling for silver the righteous, And the needy for a pair of sandals. |
Transgressions of Israel – The ten-tribe kingdom, the center of the prophet's message. R3423:6, R2356:1
Having captured their attention with words descriptive of the troubles coming upon their surrounding enemies, the circle grew narrower; the weight of the prophet's message was especially against themselves, and they were indignant. R3423:6
The punishment – The denunciation of Israel occurs chiefly in chapters 3 to 6 and in chapter 7:9-17. R3423:6
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| 7 Who are panting for the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And the way of the humble they turn aside, And a man and his father go unto the damsel, So as to pollute My holy name. |
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| 8 And on pledged garments they stretch themselves near every altar, And the wine of fined ones they drink [in] the house of their gods. |
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| 9 And I I have destroyed the Amorite from before them, Whose height [is] as the height of cedars, And strong he [is] as the oaks, And I destroy his fruit from above, And his roots from beneath. |
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| 10 And I I have brought you up from the land of Egypt, And cause you to go in a wilderness forty years, To possess the land of the Amorite. |
Forty years – Prefiguring the 19 centuries of the Gospel age. R3079:3
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| 11 And I raise of your sons for prophets, And of your choice ones for Nazarites, Is not this true, O sons of Israel An affirmation of Jehovah. |
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| 12 And ye cause the Nazarites to drink wine, And on the prophets ye have laid a charge, Saying, 'Do not prophecy!' |
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| 13 Lo, I am pressing you under, As the full cart doth press for itself a sheaf. |
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| 14 And perished hath refuge from the swift, And the strong strengtheneth not his power, And the mighty delivereth not his soul. |
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| 15 And the handler of the bow standeth not, And the swift with his feet delivereth not [himself], And the rider of the horse delivereth not his soul. |
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| 16 And the courageous of heart among the mighty, Naked doth flee in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah! |
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