Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay "He is mighty to recompense; he that is mighty to recompense will requite" - The former part of this verse, as it stands at present in the Hebrew text, seems to me to be very imperfect, and absolutely unintelligible. The learned Vitringa has taken a great deal of pains upon it after Cocceius, who he says is the only one of all the interpreters, ancient or modern, who has at all understood it, and has opened the way for him. He thinks that both of them together have clearly made out the sense; I do not expect that any third person will ever be of that opinion. He says , Videtur sententia AD verbum sonare: quasi propter facta [adversariorum ] quasi propter rependet; excandescentiam, etc., et sic reddidit Pagnimus . "According to the height of their demerits, he will repay them to the height: fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies," etc. - Waterland. This he converts, by a process which will not much edify my reader, into Secundum summe merita, secundum summe (merita ) rependet ; which is his translation. They that hold the present Hebrew text to be absolutely infallible must make their way through it as they can; but they ought surely to give us somewhat that has at least the appearance of sense. However, I hope the case here is not quite desperate; the Chaldee leads us very fairly to the correction of the text, which is both corrupted and defective. The paraphrase runs thus: marey gumlaiya hu simla yeshallem , "The Lord of retribution, he will render recompense." He manifestly read baal instead of keal . marey gumlaiya is baal gemuloth ; as marey merirutha is baal aph . Proverbs 22:24. And so in the Chaldee paraphrase on Isaiah 35:4 : marey gamlaiya yeya hu yithgeley , "The Lord of retribution, Jehovah himself, shall be revealed;" words very near to those of the prophet in this place.
The second keal , which the Chaldee has omitted, must be read baal likewise. With this only addition to the Chaldee, which the Hebrew text justifies, we are supplied with the following clear reading of the passage: -
\trowd \trgaph108 \trleft-108 x1350 x2790 x3690
d \qr
d \row \trowd \trgaph108 \trleft-108 x1350 x2790 x3690
d \qr hu gemuloth baal
d \row
d \qr
d \row
d \qr
d \row \trowd \trgaph108 \trleft-108 x1350 x2790 x3690
d \qr yeshallem gemuloth baal
d \row
d The Lord of retributions he
The Lord of retributions, shall repay.
The caph in keal twice seems to have been at first beth , in MS. This verse in the Septuagint is very imperfect. In the first part of it they give us no assistance: the latter part is wholly omitted in the printed copies; but it is thus supplied by MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. II: ̔ · · . - L.
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