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Selected Verse: Micah 1:13 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Mic 1:13	Strong Concordance	O thou inhabitant [03427] of Lachish [03923], bind [07573] the chariot [04818] to the swift beast [07409]: she is the beginning [07225] of the sin [02403] to the daughter [01323] of Zion [06726]: for the transgressions [06588] of Israel [03478] were found [04672] in thee.
	King James	O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
"Bind the chariot to the swift steed," in order by a hasty flight to escape the invading foe. Compare Note, see on Isa 36:2, on "Lachish," at which Sennacherib fixed his headquarters (Kg2 18:14, Kg2 18:17; Jer 34:7). she is the beginning of the sin to . . . Zion--Lachish was the first of the cities of Judah, according to this passage, to introduce the worship of false gods, imitating what Jeroboam had introduced in Israel. As lying near the border of the north kingdom, Lachish was first to be infected by its idolatry, which thence spread to Jerusalem.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

"Bind the chariot to the swift steed," in order by a hasty flight to escape the invading foe. Compare Note, see on Isa 36:2, on "Lachish," at which Sennacherib fixed his headquarters (Kg2 18:14, Kg2 18:17; Jer 34:7).

she is the beginning of the sin to . . . Zion--Lachish was the first of the cities of Judah, according to this passage, to introduce the worship of false gods, imitating what Jeroboam had introduced in Israel. As lying near the border of the north kingdom, Lachish was first to be infected by its idolatry, which thence spread to Jerusalem.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast - (steed.) Lachish was always a strong city, as its name probably denoted, (probably "compact." It was one of the royal cities of the Amorites, and its king one of the five, who went out to battle with Joshua Jos 10:3. It lay in the low country, Shephelah, of Judah Jos 15:33, Jos 15:39, between Adoraim and Azekah Ch2 11:9, Ch2 11:7 Roman miles south of Eleutheropolis (Onomasticon), and so, probably, close to the hill-country, although on the plain; partaking perhaps of the advantages of both. Rehoboam fortified it. Amaziah fled to it from the conspiracy at Jerusalem Kg2 14:19, as a place of strength. It, with Azekah, alone remained, when Nebuchadnezzar had taken the rest, just before the capture of Jerusalem Jer 34:7. When Sennacherib took all the defensed cities of Judah, it seems to have been his last and proudest conquest, for from it he sent his contemptuous message to Hezekiah Isa 36:1-2. The whole power of the great king seems to have been called forth to take this stronghold. The Assyrian bas-reliefs, the record of the conquests of Sennacherib, if (as the accompanying inscription is deciphered), they represent the taking of Lachish, exhibit it as "a city of great extent and importance, defended by double walls with battlements and towers, and by fortified riggings. In no other sculptures were so many armed warriors drawn up in array against a besieged city. Against the fortifications had been thrown up as many as ten banks or mounts compactly built - and seven battering-rams had already been rolled up against the walls." Its situation, on the extremity probably of the plain, fitted it for a depot of cavalry. The swift steeds, to which it was bidden to bind the chariot, are mentioned as part of the magnificence of Solomon, as distinct from his ordinary horses (Kg1 4:28, English (Kg1 5:8 in Hebrew)). They were used by the posts of the king of Persia Est 8:10, Est 8:14. They were doubtless part of the strength of the kings of Judah, the cavalry in which their statesmen trusted, instead of God. Now, its swift horses in which it prided itself should avail but to flee. Probably, it is an ideal picture. Lachish is bidden to bind its chariots to horses of the utmost speed, which should carry them far away, if their strength were equal to their swiftness. It had great need; for it was subjected under Sennacherib to the consequences of Assyrian conquest. If the Assyrian accounts relate to its capture, impalement and flaying alive were among the tortures of the captive-people; and awfully did Sennacherib, in his pride, avenge the sins against God whom he disbelieved. She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion - Jerome: "She was at the gate through which the transgressions of Israel flooded Judah." How she came first to apostatise and to be the infectress of Judah, Scripture does not tell us . She scarcely bordered on Philistia; Jerusalem lay between her and Israel. But the course of sin follows no geographical lines. It was the greater sin to Lachish that she, locally so far removed from Israel's sin, was the first to import into Judah the idolatries of Israel. Scripture does not say, what seduced Lachish herself, whether the pride of military strength, or her importance, or commercial intercourse, for her swift steeds; with Egypt, the common parent of Israel's and her sin. Scripture does not give the genealogy of her sin, but stamps her as the heresiarch of Judah. We know the fact from this place only, that she, apparently so removed from the occasion of sin, became, like the propagators of heresy, the authoress of evil, the cause of countless loss of souls. Beginning of sin to - , what a world of evil lies in the three words!

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast - (steed.) Lachish was always a strong city, as its name probably denoted, (probably "compact." It was one of the royal cities of the Amorites, and its king one of the five, who went out to battle with Joshua Jos 10:3. It lay in the low country, Shephelah, of Judah Jos 15:33, Jos 15:39, between Adoraim and Azekah Ch2 11:9, Ch2 11:7 Roman miles south of Eleutheropolis (Onomasticon), and so, probably, close to the hill-country, although on the plain; partaking perhaps of the advantages of both. Rehoboam fortified it. Amaziah fled to it from the conspiracy at Jerusalem Kg2 14:19, as a place of strength. It, with Azekah, alone remained, when Nebuchadnezzar had taken the rest, just before the capture of Jerusalem Jer 34:7. When Sennacherib took all the defensed cities of Judah, it seems to have been his last and proudest conquest, for from it he sent his contemptuous message to Hezekiah Isa 36:1-2.

The whole power of the great king seems to have been called forth to take this stronghold. The Assyrian bas-reliefs, the record of the conquests of Sennacherib, if (as the accompanying inscription is deciphered), they represent the taking of Lachish, exhibit it as "a city of great extent and importance, defended by double walls with battlements and towers, and by fortified riggings. In no other sculptures were so many armed warriors drawn up in array against a besieged city. Against the fortifications had been thrown up as many as ten banks or mounts compactly built - and seven battering-rams had already been rolled up against the walls." Its situation, on the extremity probably of the plain, fitted it for a depot of cavalry. The swift steeds, to which it was bidden to bind the chariot, are mentioned as part of the magnificence of Solomon, as distinct from his ordinary horses (Kg1 4:28, English (Kg1 5:8 in Hebrew)). They were used by the posts of the king of Persia Est 8:10, Est 8:14.

They were doubtless part of the strength of the kings of Judah, the cavalry in which their statesmen trusted, instead of God. Now, its swift horses in which it prided itself should avail but to flee. Probably, it is an ideal picture. Lachish is bidden to bind its chariots to horses of the utmost speed, which should carry them far away, if their strength were equal to their swiftness. It had great need; for it was subjected under Sennacherib to the consequences of Assyrian conquest. If the Assyrian accounts relate to its capture, impalement and flaying alive were among the tortures of the captive-people; and awfully did Sennacherib, in his pride, avenge the sins against God whom he disbelieved.

She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion - Jerome: "She was at the gate through which the transgressions of Israel flooded Judah." How she came first to apostatise and to be the infectress of Judah, Scripture does not tell us . She scarcely bordered on Philistia; Jerusalem lay between her and Israel. But the course of sin follows no geographical lines. It was the greater sin to Lachish that she, locally so far removed from Israel's sin, was the first to import into Judah the idolatries of Israel. Scripture does not say, what seduced Lachish herself, whether the pride of military strength, or her importance, or commercial intercourse, for her swift steeds; with Egypt, the common parent of Israel's and her sin. Scripture does not give the genealogy of her sin, but stamps her as the heresiarch of Judah. We know the fact from this place only, that she, apparently so removed from the occasion of sin, became, like the propagators of heresy, the authoress of evil, the cause of countless loss of souls. Beginning of sin to - , what a world of evil lies in the three words!

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
And the judgment will not even stop at Jerusalem, but will spread still further over the land. This spreading is depicted in Mic 1:13-15 in the same manner as before. Mic 1:13. "Harness the horse to the chariot, O inhabitress of Lachish! It was the beginning of sin to the daughter Zion, that the iniquities of Israel were found in her. Mic 1:14. Therefore wilt thou give dismissal-presents to Moresheth-gath (i.e., the betrothed of Gath); the houses of Achzib (lying fountain) become a lying brook for Israel's kings. Mic 1:15. I will still bring thee the heir, O inhabitress of Mareshah (hereditary city); the nobility of Israel will come to Adullam. Mic 1:16. Make thyself bald, and shave thyself upon the sons of thy delights: spread out thy baldness like the eagle; for they have wandered away from thee." The inhabitants of Lachish, a fortified city in the Shephelah, to the west of Eleutheropolis, preserved in the ruins of Um Lakis (see at Jos 10:3), are to harness the horses to the chariot (rekhesh, a runner; see at Kg1 5:8 : the word is used as ringing with lâkhı̄sh), namely, to flee as rapidly as possible before the advancing foe. רתם, ἁπ. λεγ. "to bind ... the horse to the chariot," answering to the Latin currum jungere equis. Upon this city will the judgment fall with especial severity, because it has grievously sinned. It was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, i.e., to the population of Jerusalem; it was the first to grant admission to the iniquities of Israel, i.e., to the idolatry of the image-worship of the ten tribes (for פּשׁעי ישׂראל, see Mic 1:5 and Amo 3:14), which penetrated even to the capital. Nothing more is known of this, as the historical books contain no account of it. For this reason, namely, because the sin of Israel found admission into Jerusalem, she (the daughter Zion) will be obliged to renounce Moresheth-gath. This is the thought of Mic 1:14, the drapery of which rests upon the resemblance in sound between Moresheth and me'orâsâh, the betrothed (Deu 22:23). Shillūchı̄m, dismissal, denotes anything belonging to a man, which he dismisses or gives up for a time, or for ever. It is applied in Exo 18:2 to the sending away of wife and children to the father-in-law for a time; and in Kg1 9:16 to a dowry, or the present which a father gives to his daughter when she is married and leaves his house. The meaning "divorce," i.e., sēpher kerı̄thuth (Deu 24:1, Deu 24:3), has been arbitrarily forced upon the word. The meaning is not to be determined from shillēăch in Jer 3:8, as Hitzig supposes, but from Kg1 9:16, where the same expression occurs, except that it is construed with ל, which makes no material difference. For נתן אל signifies to give to a person, either to lay upon him or to hand to him; נתן ל, to give to him. The object given by Zion to Moresheth as a parting present is not mentioned, but it is really the city itself; for the meaning is simply this: Zion will be obliged to relinquish all further claim to Moresheth, to give it up to the enemy. Mōresheth is not an appellative, as the old translators suppose, but the proper name of Micah's home; and Gath is a more precise definition of its situation - "by Gath," viz., the well-known Philistian capital, analogous to Bethlehem-Judah in Jdg 17:7-9; Jdg 19:1, or Abel-maim (Abel by the water) in Ch2 16:4. According to Jerome (comm. in Mich. Prol.), Morasthi, qui usque hodie juxta Eleutheropolin, urbem Palaestinae, haud grandis est viculus (cf. Robinson, Pal. ii. p. 423). The context does not admit of our taking the word in an appellative sense, "possession of Gath," since the prophet does not mean to say that Judah will have to give up to the enemy a place belonging to Gath, but rather that it will have to give up the cities of its own possession. For, as Maurer correctly observes, "when the enemy is at the gate, men think of defending the kingdom, not of enlarging it." But if the addition of the term Gath is not merely intended to define the situation of Moresheth with greater minuteness, or to distinguish it from other places of the same name, and if the play upon words in Moresheth was intended to point to a closer relation to Gath, the thought expressed could only be, that the place situated in the neighbourhood of Gath had frequently been taken by the Philistines, or claimed as their property, and not that they were in actual possession of Gath at this time. The play upon words in the second clause of the verse also points to the loss of places in Judaea: "the houses of Achzib will become Achzab to the kings of Israel." אכזב, a lie, for נחל אכזב, is a stream which dries up in the hot season, and deceives the expectation of the traveller that he shall find water (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15.). Achzib, a city in the plain of Judah, whose name has been preserved in the ruins of Kussabeh, to the south-west of Beit-Jibrin (see at Jos 15:44). The houses of Achzib are mentioned, because they are, properly speaking, to be compared to the contents of the river's bed, whereas the ground on which they stood, with the wall that surrounded them, answered to the river's bed itself (Hitzig), so that the words do not denote the loss or destruction of the houses so much as the loss of the city itself. The "kings of Israel" are not the kings of Samaria and Judah, for Achzib belonged to the kingdom of Judah alone, but the kings of Judah who followed one another (cf. Jer 19:13); so that the plural is to be understood as relating to the monarchy of Israel (Judah). Mareshah will also pass into other hands. This is affirmed in the words, "I will bring the heir to thee again" (אבי for אביא, as in Kg1 21:29). The first heir of Mareshah was the Israelites, who received the city, which had been previously occupied by the Canaanites, for their possession on the conquest of the land. The second heir will be the enemy, into whose possession the land is now to pass. Mareshah, also in the lowland of Judah, has been preserved, so far as the name is concerned, in the ruins of Marash (see at Jos 15:44, and Tobler, Dritte Wanderung, pp. 129, 142-3). To the north of this was Adullam (see at Jos 12:15), which has not yet been discovered, but which Tobler (p. 151) erroneously seeks for in Bêt Dûla. Micah mentions it simply on account of the cave there (Sa1 22:1), as a place of refuge, to which the great and glorious of Israel would flee ("the glory of Israel," as in Isa 5:13). The description is rounded off in Mic 1:16, by returning to the thought that Zion would mourn deeply over the carrying away of the people, with which it had first set out in Mic 1:8. In קרחי וגזּי Zion is addressed as the mother of the people. קרח, to shave smooth, and גּזז, to cut off the hair, are synonyms, which are here combined to strengthen the meaning. The children of thy delights, in whom thou hast thy pleasure, are the members of the nation. Shaving the head bald, or shaving a bald place, was a sing of mourning, which had been handed down as a traditional custom in Israel, in spite of the prohibition in Deu 14:1 (see at Lev 19:28). The bald place is to be made to spread out like that of a nesher, i.e., not the true eagle, but the vulture, which was also commonly classed in the eagle family, - either the bearded vulture, vultur barbatus (see Oedmann, Verm. Samml. i. p. 54ff.), or more probably the carrion vulture, vultur percnopterus L., common in Egypt, and also in Palestine, which has the front part of the head completely bald, and only a few hairs at the back of the head, so that a bald place may very well be attributed to it (see Hasselquist, Reise, p. 286ff.). The words cannot possibly be understood as referring to the yearly moulting of the eagle itself. If we inquire still further as to the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning Judah (Mic 1:8-16), it cannot be referred, or speaking more correctly, it must not be restricted, to the Assyrian invasion, as Theod., Cyril, Marck, and others suppose. For the carrying away of Judah, which is hinted at in Mic 1:11, and clearly expressed in Mic 1:16, was not effected by the Assyrians, but by the Chaldeans; and that Micah himself did not expect this judgment from the Assyrians, but from Babel, is perfectly obvious from Mic 4:10, where he mentions Babel as the place to which Judah was to be carried into exile. At the same time, we must not exclude the Assyrian oppression altogether; for Sennacherib had not only already conquered the greater part of Judah, and penetrated to the very gates of Jerusalem (Kg2 18:13-14, Kg2 18:19; Isaiah 36:1-38:22), but would have destroyed the kingdom of Judah, as his predecessor Shalmaneser had destroyed the kingdom of Israel, if the Lord had not heard the prayer of His servant Hezekiah, and miraculously destroyed Sennacherib's army before the walls of Jerusalem. Micah prophesies throughout this chapter, not of certain distinct judgment, but of judgment in general, without any special allusions to the way in which it would be realized; so that the proclamation embraces all the judgments that have fallen upon Judah from the Assyrian invasion down to the Roman catastrophe.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

And the judgment will not even stop at Jerusalem, but will spread still further over the land. This spreading is depicted in Mic 1:13-15 in the same manner as before. Mic 1:13. "Harness the horse to the chariot, O inhabitress of Lachish! It was the beginning of sin to the daughter Zion, that the iniquities of Israel were found in her. Mic 1:14. Therefore wilt thou give dismissal-presents to Moresheth-gath (i.e., the betrothed of Gath); the houses of Achzib (lying fountain) become a lying brook for Israel's kings. Mic 1:15. I will still bring thee the heir, O inhabitress of Mareshah (hereditary city); the nobility of Israel will come to Adullam. Mic 1:16. Make thyself bald, and shave thyself upon the sons of thy delights: spread out thy baldness like the eagle; for they have wandered away from thee." The inhabitants of Lachish, a fortified city in the Shephelah, to the west of Eleutheropolis, preserved in the ruins of Um Lakis (see at Jos 10:3), are to harness the horses to the chariot (rekhesh, a runner; see at Kg1 5:8 : the word is used as ringing with lâkhı̄sh), namely, to flee as rapidly as possible before the advancing foe. רתם, ἁπ. λεγ. "to bind ... the horse to the chariot," answering to the Latin currum jungere equis. Upon this city will the judgment fall with especial severity, because it has grievously sinned. It was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, i.e., to the population of Jerusalem; it was the first to grant admission to the iniquities of Israel, i.e., to the idolatry of the image-worship of the ten tribes (for פּשׁעי ישׂראל, see Mic 1:5 and Amo 3:14), which penetrated even to the capital. Nothing more is known of this, as the historical books contain no account of it. For this reason, namely, because the sin of Israel found admission into Jerusalem, she (the daughter Zion) will be obliged to renounce Moresheth-gath. This is the thought of Mic 1:14, the drapery of which rests upon the resemblance in sound between Moresheth and me'orâsâh, the betrothed (Deu 22:23). Shillūchı̄m, dismissal, denotes anything belonging to a man, which he dismisses or gives up for a time, or for ever. It is applied in Exo 18:2 to the sending away of wife and children to the father-in-law for a time; and in Kg1 9:16 to a dowry, or the present which a father gives to his daughter when she is married and leaves his house. The meaning "divorce," i.e., sēpher kerı̄thuth (Deu 24:1, Deu 24:3), has been arbitrarily forced upon the word. The meaning is not to be determined from shillēăch in Jer 3:8, as Hitzig supposes, but from Kg1 9:16, where the same expression occurs, except that it is construed with ל, which makes no material difference. For נתן אל signifies to give to a person, either to lay upon him or to hand to him; נתן ל, to give to him. The object given by Zion to Moresheth as a parting present is not mentioned, but it is really the city itself; for the meaning is simply this: Zion will be obliged to relinquish all further claim to Moresheth, to give it up to the enemy. Mōresheth is not an appellative, as the old translators suppose, but the proper name of Micah's home; and Gath is a more precise definition of its situation - "by Gath," viz., the well-known Philistian capital, analogous to Bethlehem-Judah in Jdg 17:7-9; Jdg 19:1, or Abel-maim (Abel by the water) in Ch2 16:4. According to Jerome (comm. in Mich. Prol.), Morasthi, qui usque hodie juxta Eleutheropolin, urbem Palaestinae, haud grandis est viculus (cf. Robinson, Pal. ii. p. 423). The context does not admit of our taking the word in an appellative sense, "possession of Gath," since the prophet does not mean to say that Judah will have to give up to the enemy a place belonging to Gath, but rather that it will have to give up the cities of its own possession. For, as Maurer correctly observes, "when the enemy is at the gate, men think of defending the kingdom, not of enlarging it." But if the addition of the term Gath is not merely intended to define the situation of Moresheth with greater minuteness, or to distinguish it from other places of the same name, and if the play upon words in Moresheth was intended to point to a closer relation to Gath, the thought expressed could only be, that the place situated in the neighbourhood of Gath had frequently been taken by the Philistines, or claimed as their property, and not that they were in actual possession of Gath at this time.

The play upon words in the second clause of the verse also points to the loss of places in Judaea: "the houses of Achzib will become Achzab to the kings of Israel." אכזב, a lie, for נחל אכזב, is a stream which dries up in the hot season, and deceives the expectation of the traveller that he shall find water (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15.). Achzib, a city in the plain of Judah, whose name has been preserved in the ruins of Kussabeh, to the south-west of Beit-Jibrin (see at Jos 15:44). The houses of Achzib are mentioned, because they are, properly speaking, to be compared to the contents of the river's bed, whereas the ground on which they stood, with the wall that surrounded them, answered to the river's bed itself (Hitzig), so that the words do not denote the loss or destruction of the houses so much as the loss of the city itself. The "kings of Israel" are not the kings of Samaria and Judah, for Achzib belonged to the kingdom of Judah alone, but the kings of Judah who followed one another (cf. Jer 19:13); so that the plural is to be understood as relating to the monarchy of Israel (Judah). Mareshah will also pass into other hands. This is affirmed in the words, "I will bring the heir to thee again" (אבי for אביא, as in Kg1 21:29). The first heir of Mareshah was the Israelites, who received the city, which had been previously occupied by the Canaanites, for their possession on the conquest of the land. The second heir will be the enemy, into whose possession the land is now to pass. Mareshah, also in the lowland of Judah, has been preserved, so far as the name is concerned, in the ruins of Marash (see at Jos 15:44, and Tobler, Dritte Wanderung, pp. 129, 142-3). To the north of this was Adullam (see at Jos 12:15), which has not yet been discovered, but which Tobler (p. 151) erroneously seeks for in Bêt Dûla. Micah mentions it simply on account of the cave there (Sa1 22:1), as a place of refuge, to which the great and glorious of Israel would flee ("the glory of Israel," as in Isa 5:13). The description is rounded off in Mic 1:16, by returning to the thought that Zion would mourn deeply over the carrying away of the people, with which it had first set out in Mic 1:8. In קרחי וגזּי Zion is addressed as the mother of the people. קרח, to shave smooth, and גּזז, to cut off the hair, are synonyms, which are here combined to strengthen the meaning. The children of thy delights, in whom thou hast thy pleasure, are the members of the nation. Shaving the head bald, or shaving a bald place, was a sing of mourning, which had been handed down as a traditional custom in Israel, in spite of the prohibition in Deu 14:1 (see at Lev 19:28). The bald place is to be made to spread out like that of a nesher, i.e., not the true eagle, but the vulture, which was also commonly classed in the eagle family, - either the bearded vulture, vultur barbatus (see Oedmann, Verm. Samml. i. p. 54ff.), or more probably the carrion vulture, vultur percnopterus L., common in Egypt, and also in Palestine, which has the front part of the head completely bald, and only a few hairs at the back of the head, so that a bald place may very well be attributed to it (see Hasselquist, Reise, p. 286ff.). The words cannot possibly be understood as referring to the yearly moulting of the eagle itself.

If we inquire still further as to the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning Judah (Mic 1:8-16), it cannot be referred, or speaking more correctly, it must not be restricted, to the Assyrian invasion, as Theod., Cyril, Marck, and others suppose. For the carrying away of Judah, which is hinted at in Mic 1:11, and clearly expressed in Mic 1:16, was not effected by the Assyrians, but by the Chaldeans; and that Micah himself did not expect this judgment from the Assyrians, but from Babel, is perfectly obvious from Mic 4:10, where he mentions Babel as the place to which Judah was to be carried into exile. At the same time, we must not exclude the Assyrian oppression altogether; for Sennacherib had not only already conquered the greater part of Judah, and penetrated to the very gates of Jerusalem (Kg2 18:13-14, Kg2 18:19; Isaiah 36:1-38:22), but would have destroyed the kingdom of Judah, as his predecessor Shalmaneser had destroyed the kingdom of Israel, if the Lord had not heard the prayer of His servant Hezekiah, and miraculously destroyed Sennacherib's army before the walls of Jerusalem. Micah prophesies throughout this chapter, not of certain distinct judgment, but of judgment in general, without any special allusions to the way in which it would be realized; so that the proclamation embraces all the judgments that have fallen upon Judah from the Assyrian invasion down to the Roman catastrophe.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Lachish - A strong fortress on the confines of Judah. Bind the chariot - To fly from the sword of the enemy. She - Lachish, which being the nearest to idolatrous Israel, took the infection of them, and conveyed it to Jerusalem. The transgressions - Not only the idolatry, but other sins also. Of Israel - Of the ten tribes.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Inhabitant of Lachish - This city was in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:39, and was taken by Sennacherib when he was coming against Jerusalem, Kg2 18:13, etc., and it is supposed that he wished to reduce this city first, that, possessing it, he might prevent Hezekiah's receiving any help from Egypt. She is the beginning of the sin - This seems to intimate that Lachish was the first city in Judah which received the idolatrous worship of Israel.

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⁷ When the king [04428] of Babylon's [0894] army [02428] fought [03898] against Jerusalem [03389], and against all the cities [05892] of Judah [03063] that were left [03498], against Lachish [03923], and against Azekah [05825]: for these defenced [04013] cities [05892] remained [07604] of the cities [05892] of Judah [03063].

¹⁷ And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] sent [07971] Tartan [08661] and Rabsaris [07249] and Rabshakeh [07262] from Lachish [03923] to king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] with a great [03515] host [02426] against Jerusalem [03389]. And they went up [05927] and came [0935] to Jerusalem [03389]. And when they were come up [05927], they came [0935] and stood [05975] by the conduit [08585] of the upper [05945] pool [01295], which is in the highway [04546] of the fuller's [03526] field [07704].

¹⁴ And Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] sent [07971] to the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] to Lachish [03923], saying [0559], I have offended [02398]; return [07725] from me: that which thou puttest [05414] on me will I bear [05375]. And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] appointed [07760] unto Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] three [07969] hundred [03967] talents [03603] of silver [03701] and thirty [07970] talents [03603] of gold [02091].

² And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] sent [07971] Rabshakeh [07262] from Lachish [03923] to Jerusalem [03389] unto king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] with a great [03515] army [02426]. And he stood [05975] by the conduit [08585] of the upper [05945] pool [01295] in the highway [04546] of the fuller's [03526] field [07704].

¹⁴ So the posts [07323] that rode [07392] upon mules [07409] and camels [0327] went out [03318], being hastened [0926] and pressed on [01765] by the king's [04428] commandment [01697]. And the decree [01881] was given [05414] at Shushan [07800] the palace [01002].

¹⁰ And he wrote [03789] in the king [04428] Ahasuerus [0325]' name [08034], and sealed [02856] it with the king's [04428] ring [02885], and sent [07971] letters [05612] by [03027] posts [07323] on horseback [05483], and riders [07392] on mules [07409], camels [0327], and young [01121] dromedaries [07424]:

⁸ And Hiram [02438] sent [07971] to Solomon [08010], saying [0559], I have considered [08085] the things which thou sentest [07971] to me for: and I will do [06213] all thy desire [02656] concerning timber [06086] of cedar [0730], and concerning timber [06086] of fir [01265].

²⁸ Barley [08184] also and straw [08401] for the horses [05483] and dromedaries [07409] brought [0935] they unto the place [04725] where the officers were, every man [0376] according to his charge [04941].

¹ Now it came to pass in the fourteenth [0702] [06240] year [08141] of king [04428] Hezekiah [02396], that Sennacherib [05576] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] came up [05927] against all the defenced [01219] cities [05892] of Judah [03063], and took [08610] them.
² And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] sent [07971] Rabshakeh [07262] from Lachish [03923] to Jerusalem [03389] unto king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] with a great [03515] army [02426]. And he stood [05975] by the conduit [08585] of the upper [05945] pool [01295] in the highway [04546] of the fuller's [03526] field [07704].

¹⁹ Now they made [07194] a conspiracy [07195] against him in Jerusalem [03389]: and he fled [05127] to Lachish [03923]; but they sent [07971] after [0310] him to Lachish [03923], and slew [04191] him there.

⁷ And Bethzur [01049], and Shoco [07755], and Adullam [05725],

⁹ And Adoraim [0115], and Lachish [03923], and Azekah [05825],

³⁹ Lachish [03923], and Bozkath [01218], and Eglon [05700],

³³ And in the valley [08219], Eshtaol [0847], and Zoreah [06881], and Ashnah [0823],

³ Wherefore Adonizedek [0139] king [04428] of Jerusalem [03389] sent [07971] unto Hoham [01944] king [04428] of Hebron [02275], and unto Piram [06502] king [04428] of Jarmuth [03412], and unto Japhia [03309] king [04428] of Lachish [03923], and unto Debir [01688] king [04428] of Eglon [05700], saying [0559],

¹⁹ And Rabshakeh [07262] said [0559] unto them, Speak [0559] ye now to Hezekiah [02396], Thus saith [0559] the great [01419] king [04428], the king [04428] of Assyria [0804], What confidence [0986] is this wherein thou trustest [0982]?

¹³ Now in the fourteenth [0702] [06240] year [08141] of king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] did Sennacherib [05576] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] come up [05927] against all the fenced [01219] cities [05892] of Judah [03063], and took [08610] them.
¹⁴ And Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] sent [07971] to the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] to Lachish [03923], saying [0559], I have offended [02398]; return [07725] from me: that which thou puttest [05414] on me will I bear [05375]. And the king [04428] of Assyria [0804] appointed [07760] unto Hezekiah [02396] king [04428] of Judah [03063] three [07969] hundred [03967] talents [03603] of silver [03701] and thirty [07970] talents [03603] of gold [02091].

¹⁰ Be in pain [02342], and labour to bring forth [01518], O daughter [01323] of Zion [06726], like a woman in travail [03205]: for now shalt thou go forth [03318] out of the city [07151], and thou shalt dwell [07931] in the field [07704], and thou shalt go [0935] even to Babylon [0894]; there shalt thou be delivered [05337]; there the LORD [03068] shall redeem [01350] thee from the hand [03709] of thine enemies [0341].

¹⁶ Make thee bald [07139], and poll [01494] thee for thy delicate [08588] children [01121]; enlarge [07337] thy baldness [07144] as the eagle [05404]; for they are gone into captivity [01540] from thee.

¹¹ Pass ye away [05674], thou inhabitant [03427] of Saphir [08208], having thy shame [01322] naked [06181]: the inhabitant [03427] of Zaanan [06630] came not forth [03318] in the mourning [04553] of Bethezel [01018]; he shall receive [03947] of you his standing [05979].

⁸ Therefore I will wail [05594] and howl [03213], I will go [03212] stripped [07758] [07758] and naked [06174]: I will make [06213] a wailing [04553] like the dragons [08577], and mourning [060] as the owls [01323] [03284].
⁹ For her wound [04347] is incurable [0605]; for it is come [0935] unto Judah [03063]; he is come [05060] unto the gate [08179] of my people [05971], even to Jerusalem [03389].
¹⁰ Declare [05046] ye it not at Gath [01661], weep [01058] ye not at all [01058]: in the house of Aphrah [01036] roll [06428] [06428] thyself in the dust [06083].
¹¹ Pass ye away [05674], thou inhabitant [03427] of Saphir [08208], having thy shame [01322] naked [06181]: the inhabitant [03427] of Zaanan [06630] came not forth [03318] in the mourning [04553] of Bethezel [01018]; he shall receive [03947] of you his standing [05979].
¹² For the inhabitant [03427] of Maroth [04796] waited carefully [02342] for good [02896]: but evil [07451] came down [03381] from the LORD [03068] unto the gate [08179] of Jerusalem [03389].
¹³ O thou inhabitant [03427] of Lachish [03923], bind [07573] the chariot [04818] to the swift beast [07409]: she is the beginning [07225] of the sin [02403] to the daughter [01323] of Zion [06726]: for the transgressions [06588] of Israel [03478] were found [04672] in thee.
¹⁴ Therefore shalt thou give [05414] presents [07964] to Moreshethgath [04182]: the houses [01004] of Achzib [0392] shall be a lie [0391] to the kings [04428] of Israel [03478].
¹⁵ Yet will I bring [0935] an heir [03423] unto thee, O inhabitant [03427] of Mareshah [04762]: he shall come [0935] unto Adullam [05725] the glory [03519] of Israel [03478].
¹⁶ Make thee bald [07139], and poll [01494] thee for thy delicate [08588] children [01121]; enlarge [07337] thy baldness [07144] as the eagle [05404]; for they are gone into captivity [01540] from thee.

²⁸ Ye shall not make [05414] any [03793] cuttings [08296] in your flesh [01320] for the dead [05315], nor print [05414] any marks [07085] upon you: I am the LORD [03068].

¹ Ye are the children [01121] of the LORD [03068] your God [0430]: ye shall not cut [01413] yourselves, nor make [07760] any baldness [07144] between your eyes [05869] for the dead [04191].

¹³ Therefore my people [05971] are gone into captivity [01540], because they have no knowledge [01847]: and their honourable [03519] men [04962] are famished [07458], and their multitude [01995] dried up [06704] with thirst [06772].

¹ David [01732] therefore departed [03212] thence, and escaped [04422] to the cave [04631] Adullam [05725]: and when his brethren [0251] and all his father's [01] house [01004] heard [08085] it, they went down [03381] thither to him.

¹⁵ The king [04428] of Libnah [03841], one [0259]; the king [04428] of Adullam [05725], one [0259];

⁴⁴ And Keilah [07084], and Achzib [0392], and Mareshah [04762]; nine [08672] cities [05892] with their villages [02691]:

²⁹ Seest [07200] thou how Ahab [0256] humbleth [03665] himself before [06440] me? because [03282] he humbleth [03665] himself before [06440] me, I will not bring [0935] the evil [07451] in his days [03117]: but in his son's [01121] days [03117] will I bring [0935] the evil [07451] upon his house [01004].

¹³ And the houses [01004] of Jerusalem [03389], and the houses [01004] of the kings [04428] of Judah [03063], shall be defiled [02931] as the place [04725] of Tophet [08612], because of all the houses [01004] upon whose roofs [01406] they have burned incense [06999] unto all the host [06635] of heaven [08064], and have poured out [05258] drink offerings [05262] unto other [0312] gods [0430].

⁴⁴ And Keilah [07084], and Achzib [0392], and Mareshah [04762]; nine [08672] cities [05892] with their villages [02691]:

¹⁵ My brethren [0251] have dealt deceitfully [0898] as a brook [05158], and as the stream [0650] of brooks [05158] they pass away [05674];

¹⁸ Why is my pain [03511] perpetual [05331], and my wound [04347] incurable [0605], which refuseth [03985] to be healed [07495]? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar [0391], and as waters [04325] that fail [0539]?

⁴ And Benhadad [01130] hearkened [08085] unto king [04428] Asa [0609], and sent [07971] the captains [08269] of his armies [02428] against the cities [05892] of Israel [03478]; and they smote [05221] Ijon [05859], and Dan [01835], and Abelmaim [066], and all the store [04543] cities [05892] of Naphtali [05321].

¹ And it came to pass in those days [03117], when there was no king [04428] in Israel [03478], that there was a certain [0376] Levite [03881] sojourning [01481] on the side [03411] of mount [02022] Ephraim [0669], who took [03947] to him a concubine [0802] [06370] out of Bethlehemjudah [01035] [03063].

⁷ And there was a young man [05288] out of Bethlehemjudah [01035] [03063] of the family [04940] of Judah [03063], who was a Levite [03881], and he sojourned [01481] there.
⁸ And the man [0376] departed [03212] out of the city [05892] from Bethlehemjudah [01035] [03063] to sojourn [01481] where he could find [04672] a place: and he came [0935] to mount [02022] Ephraim [0669] to the house [01004] of Micah [04318], as he journeyed [06213] [01870].
⁹ And Micah [04318] said [0559] unto him, Whence [0370] comest [0935] thou? And he said [0559] unto him, I am a Levite [03881] of Bethlehemjudah [01035] [03063], and I go [01980] to sojourn [01481] where I may find [04672] a place.

¹⁶ For Pharaoh [06547] king [04428] of Egypt [04714] had gone up [05927], and taken [03920] Gezer [01507], and burnt [08313] it with fire [0784], and slain [02026] the Canaanites [03669] that dwelt [03427] in the city [05892], and given [05414] it for a present [07964] unto his daughter [01323], Solomon's [08010] wife [0802].

⁸ And I saw [07200], when for all the causes [0182] whereby backsliding [04878] Israel [03478] committed adultery [05003] I had put her away [07971], and given [05414] her a bill [05612] of divorce [03748]; yet her treacherous [0898] sister [0269] Judah [03063] feared [03372] not, but went [03212] and played the harlot [02181] also.

³ And if the latter [0314] husband [0376] hate [08130] her, and write [03789] her a bill [05612] of divorcement [03748], and giveth [05414] it in her hand [03027], and sendeth [07971] her out of his house [01004]; or if the latter [0314] husband [0376] die [04191], which took [03947] her to be his wife [0802];

¹ When a man [0376] hath taken [03947] a wife [0802], and married [01166] her, and it come to pass that she find [04672] no favour [02580] in his eyes [05869], because he hath found [04672] some [01697] uncleanness [06172] in her: then let him write [03789] her a bill [05612] of divorcement [03748], and give [05414] it in her hand [03027], and send [07971] her out of his house [01004].

² Then Jethro [03503], Moses [04872]' father in law [02859], took [03947] Zipporah [06855], Moses [04872]' wife [0802], after [0310] he had sent her back [07964],

²³ If a damsel [05291] that is a virgin [01330] be betrothed [0781] unto an husband [0376], and a man [0376] find [04672] her in the city [05892], and lie [07901] with her;

¹⁴ Therefore shalt thou give [05414] presents [07964] to Moreshethgath [04182]: the houses [01004] of Achzib [0392] shall be a lie [0391] to the kings [04428] of Israel [03478].

¹⁴ That in the day [03117] that I shall visit [06485] the transgressions [06588] of Israel [03478] upon him I will also visit [06485] the altars [04196] of Bethel [01008]: and the horns [07161] of the altar [04196] shall be cut off [01438], and fall [05307] to the ground [0776].

⁵ For the transgression [06588] of Jacob [03290] is all this, and for the sins [02403] of the house [01004] of Israel [03478]. What is the transgression [06588] of Jacob [03290]? is it not Samaria [08111]? and what are the high places [01116] of Judah [03063]? are they not Jerusalem [03389]?

¹⁵ Yet will I bring [0935] an heir [03423] unto thee, O inhabitant [03427] of Mareshah [04762]: he shall come [0935] unto Adullam [05725] the glory [03519] of Israel [03478].

¹⁴ Therefore shalt thou give [05414] presents [07964] to Moreshethgath [04182]: the houses [01004] of Achzib [0392] shall be a lie [0391] to the kings [04428] of Israel [03478].

¹³ O thou inhabitant [03427] of Lachish [03923], bind [07573] the chariot [04818] to the swift beast [07409]: she is the beginning [07225] of the sin [02403] to the daughter [01323] of Zion [06726]: for the transgressions [06588] of Israel [03478] were found [04672] in thee.
¹⁴ Therefore shalt thou give [05414] presents [07964] to Moreshethgath [04182]: the houses [01004] of Achzib [0392] shall be a lie [0391] to the kings [04428] of Israel [03478].
¹⁵ Yet will I bring [0935] an heir [03423] unto thee, O inhabitant [03427] of Mareshah [04762]: he shall come [0935] unto Adullam [05725] the glory [03519] of Israel [03478].

³⁹ Lachish [03923], and Bozkath [01218], and Eglon [05700],