John Calvin Commentary Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah first mentions the time in which he prophesied; it was under King Josiah. The reason why he records the name of his father, Amon, is not clear to me. The Prophet would not, as a mark of honor, have publicized a lineage that was disgraceful and infamous. Amon was the son of Manasseh, an impious and wicked king, and he was no better than his father. We therefore see that his name is recorded not for the sake of honor, but rather of reproach. It may have been that the Prophet meant to intimate what was then well known to all: that the people had become so hardened in their superstitions that it was no easy matter to restore them to a sound mind. However, we can offer nothing but conjecture, so I will leave the matter without claiming to settle it.

Regarding the Prophet's lineage, I have mentioned elsewhere what the Jews affirm—that when the prophets record the names of their fathers, they themselves were descended from prophets. However, Zephaniah mentions not only his father and grandfather but also his great-grandfather and his great-great-grandfather; it is scarcely believable that they were all prophets, and there is not a word about them in Scripture.

I do not think, as I have said elsewhere, that such a rule is well-founded. The Jews in this case, as is their custom, engage in trivialities; for in unknown matters, they do not hesitate to assert whatever comes to their minds, even if it lacks any appearance of truth.

It is possible that the Prophet's father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather were persons who excelled in piety, but this also is uncertain. What is especially noteworthy is that he begins by saying that he brought nothing of his own, but faithfully, and, as it were, directly delivered what he had received from God.

Regarding his lineage, then, it is a matter of little consequence. However, it is of great importance to know that God was the author of his doctrine and that Zephaniah was His faithful minister, who did not introduce his own inventions but was only the proclaimer of celestial truth. Let us now proceed to the contents.

The Prophet explains still more clearly why he directed his discourse in the last verse against the beasts of the earth and the birds of heaven, for this purpose: that the Jews might understand that God was angry with them. I will stretch forth, he says, my hand on Judah and on Jerusalem.

God, then, by executing His vengeance on animals, intended to exhibit to the Jews, as in a picture, the dreadfulness of His wrath, which yet they despised and regarded as nothing. The stretching forth of God’s hand I have elsewhere explained; and it means simply this: that He stretches forth His hand when He acts in an unusual manner and employs means beyond what is common.

We indeed know that God has no hands, and we also know that He performs all things by His command alone. But as everything seen in the world is called the work of His hands, so He is said to stretch forth His hand when He mentions a work that is remarkable and worthy of being remembered.

In the same way, when I intend to do some slight work, I only move my hand; but when I have some difficult work to do, I prepare myself more carefully and also stretch forth my arms. This metaphor, then, is intended only for this purpose: to make men more attentive to God’s works, when He is set forth as stretching forth His hand.

But He says, on Judah and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The kingdom of Israel had now been abolished, and the ten tribes had been led into exile; and only a few of the lowest and the poorest remained. The Jews thought themselves safe forever because they had escaped that calamity.

This is the reason why the Prophet declares that God’s judgment was impending not only over the kingdom of Judah but also over the holy city. This city thought itself exempt from all such evil because the sacrifices were performed there, it was the royal city, and, in short, because God had testified that His habitation was to be there forever.

Since, then, by this vain confidence the inhabitants of Jerusalem deceived themselves and others, Zephaniah specifically addresses them. And as he had before spoken of the wicked, he intended here, no doubt, sharply to reprove the Jews, as though he said by way of anticipation: There is no reason for you to inquire who are the wicked, for you yourselves are they. Even you who are the holy people of God and God’s chosen inheritance, you who are the race of Abraham, who flatter yourselves so much on account of your excellency—you are the wicked, who have not until now ceased to provoke the vengeance of God. And at the same time he shows, as it were, with his finger, some of their sins, though he mentions others afterwards; but he speaks now of their superstitions.

I will cut off, he says, the remnants of Baal and the name of Chamerim. The severity of the Prophet may seem here again to be excessive, for being so incensed against superstitions which had been abolished by the great zeal and singular diligence of the king; but, as we have already intimated, he regarded not so much the king as the people.

For though they dared not openly to adulterate God’s worship, they yet cherished those corruptions at home to which they had before been accustomed, as we see to be done today. For when it is not allowed to worship idols, many mutter their prayers in secret and invoke their idols. In short, they are restrained only by the fear of men from manifesting their own impiety; and in the meantime, they retain before God the same abominations.

So it was in the time of Josiah; the people were wedded to their corruptions, and this we may easily conclude from the words of Zephaniah. For the remnants of Baal were not seen in the temple, nor in the streets, nor in their chapels, nor in the high places; but their hidden impiety is here discovered by the Spirit of God. And no doubt their sin was the more heinous and less excusable because the people refused to follow their pious leader.

It was indeed the most abominable ingratitude; for when they saw that the right worship was restored to them, they preferred to remain fixed in their own filth, rather than to return to God, even when they had liberty to do so, and also when that pious king extended his hand to them.

As to the word כמרים, chemarim, it designated either the worshipers of Baal or some such men as our monks today. They are supposed by some to have been called this because they were clothed in black vestments, while others think that they derived this name from their fervor, because they were madly devoted to their superstitions, or because they had marks on their foreheads, or because they deceived, as is commonly the case, the simple by the ardor of their zeal.

The name is also found in 2 Kings 23:1 in the account given of Josiah: for it is said there, that the כמרים, chemarim, were taken away, together with other abominations of superstition. But as Zephaniah connects priests with them, it is probable that they were a kind of people like the monks, who did not themselves offer sacrifices but were a sort of attendants who undertook vows and offered prayers in the name of the whole people. For what some think, that they were called this because they burnt incense, does not seem probable to me, for then they must have been priests. They were then inferior to the sacrificers, and occupying a station between them and the people, like the monks and hermits today, who deceive foolish men by their sanctity. Such, then, were the Chemarim.

But as Josiah could not attain his object, so as immediately to cleanse the land from these pollutions, we need not wonder that today we are not able immediately to remove superstitions from the world. But let us in the meantime ever proceed in our course. Let those endowed with authority, who bear the sword—that is, all magistrates—perform their office with greater diligence, since they see how difficult and protracted is the contest with the ministers of idolatry. Let also the ministers of the gospel earnestly cry against idolatry and all ungodly ceremonies, and not desist. Though they may not accomplish as much as they wish, yet let them follow the example of Josiah. If God should in the meantime thunder from heaven, let them not be discouraged but, on the contrary, know that their labor is approved by Him, and never doubt their own safety. For though all were destroyed, their godly efforts would not be in vain, nor fail of a reward before God. Thus, then, all God’s servants should encourage themselves, each in his particular sphere and vocation, whenever they have to contend with superstitions and with such corruptions as vitiate and adulterate the pure worship of God.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we are so prone to corruptions, and so easily turn from the right course after having begun it, and so easily degenerate from the truth once known—O grant that, strengthened by Your Spirit, we may persevere to the end in the right way which You show to us in Your word, and that we may also labor to restore the many who abandon themselves to various errors; and though we may accomplish nothing, let us not yet be led away after them, but remain firm in the obedience of faith, until at last, having finished all these contests, we shall be gathered into that blessed rest which is prepared for us in heaven, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Zephaniah continues with the subject from the verse I explained yesterday. Since the majority of the people still adhered to their superstitions, though the pure worship of the law had been restored by Josiah, the Prophet here threatens that God would punish such ingratitude. Just as he had spoken in the last verse about the worshipers of Baal and their sacrifices, so now he goes further—stating that the Lord would execute vengeance on all the people who prayed to the host of heaven, or bowed down before the host of heaven.

It is well known that in Scripture, this term refers to those stars to which the Gentiles, because of their superior brightness, ascribed some sort of divinity. Therefore, they worshiped the sun as God, called the moon the queen of heaven, and also adored the stars.

The people, then, not only sinned by worshiping Baal but were also addicted to many superstitions, as we see happens whenever people degenerate from the genuine doctrine of true religion. They then seek out various inventions from all sides, so that they observe no limits and keep within no boundaries.

But he says that they worshipped the stars on their roofs. It is probable, as interpreters remind us, that they chose this higher place because they thought they were more visible to the stars the nearer they were to them.

For since people are crude in their ideas, they never think God is favorable to them unless he exhibits some proof or sign of a bodily presence. In short, they always seek God according to their own earthly notions.

Since, then, the Jews thought there were as many gods as there are stars in heaven, it is no wonder they ascended to the roofs of their houses, so that they might be, as it were, in the sight of their gods, and thus not waste their efforts. The superstitious never think that their devotion is observed by God unless they have before their eyes, as we have just said, some sign of his presence.

We now see, then, how this verse connects with the last. God declares that he would punish all idolaters. But since the Jews worshiped Baal, the Prophet first condemned that foreign religion; and now he adds other practices to which the Jews perversely devoted themselves, for they also worshiped all the stars, ascribing some sort of divinity to them. Then he mentions all those who worshipped and swore by their own king, and swore by Jehovah.

By these last words, the Prophet implies that the Jews had not completely rejected the law of God, for they still boasted that they worshiped the God who had adopted them and by whom they had been redeemed—the God who had commanded the temple to be built for him, and an altar on Mount Zion.

They then did not openly reject the worship of the true God, but formed such a mixture for themselves that they joined their own idols to the true God, as we see is the state of things today under the Papacy.

It seems a sufficient excuse to foolish people that they retain the name of God, and they confidently boast that the true God is worshiped by them. Yet we see that they mix many of Satan's delusions with this worship, for under the Papacy there is no end to their inventions.

When anyone devises some peculiar mode of worship, it is then connected with the rest; and thus they form such a mixture that from one God, divided into many parts, they produce a vast troop of deities. Just as today the Papists worship God and idols too, so Zephaniah had to condemn the same wickedness among the Jews.

We learn here that God’s name was not then wholly obliterated, as though the world had openly fallen away from God. For though they worshiped Jupiter, Mercury, Apollo, and other fictitious gods, they still professed to worship the only true and eternal God, the Creator of heaven and earth.

What then did the Prophet condemn? That they were not content with what the law simply and plainly prescribed, but that they devised for themselves various and foreign modes of worship. For when people take such a liberty for themselves, they no longer worship the true God, however much they may pretend to do so, since God rejects all spurious modes of worship, as he testifies especially in Ezekiel 20—he says, Go ye, worship your idols.

He shows that all kinds of worship are abominable to him whenever people depart in any measure from his pure word. For we must hold this as the main principle—that obedience is more valued by God than all sacrifices. Whenever people run after their own inventions, they depart from the true God, for they refuse to render to him what he principally requires: obedience.

But our Prophet speaks according to the common notions of people, for they pretended to be the true worshipers of God while they still adhered to their own inventions. They did not, indeed, properly speaking, worship the true God. But as they thought they did, and openly professed to do so, Zephaniah, making this concession, says: God will not allow his own worship to be profaned in this way. You seek to blend it with that of your idols; this he will not endure.

You worship the true God, and you worship your idols; but he would have himself be worshiped alone, and this he deserves. But the division which you make is nothing less than the mangling of true worship, and God will not have himself be worshiped in part in this way.

We now understand what the Prophet means here. The Jews covered their abominations with the pretext that their purpose was to worship the God of Abraham. The Prophet does not simply deny that they did this, but declares that this worship was useless and disapproved by God.

Indeed, he goes further and says that this worship, made up of various inventions, was an abominable corruption which God would punish. For he can by no means bear such an alliance—that idols should be substituted in his place, and that a part of his glory should be transferred to the inventions of people. This is the true meaning.

We learn from this how greatly deceived the Papists are, who think it is enough, provided they do not depart wholly from the worship of the only true God. For God allows and approves of no worship except when we listen to his voice, and do not turn aside either to the left hand or to the right, but submit only to what he has prescribed.

It is not strange that he connects swearing with worship, for it is a kind of divine worship. Hence the Scripture, stating a part for the whole, often mentions swearing in this sense, as including the service due to God. But the Prophet here generally pronounces a curse on all the superstitious who worshiped fictitious gods; and then he adds one kind of worship, which is swearing.

I will not speak at length here, nor is it necessary, on the subject of swearing. We know that the use of an oath is lawful when God is appealed to as a witness and a judge on important occasions. For God’s name may be invoked when a matter requires proof and is important; but God’s name is not to be introduced thoughtlessly.

Hence, two things are especially required in an oath:

1. All who swear by his name should present themselves with reverence before his tribunal and acknowledge him to be the avenger if they take his name falsely or inconsiderately.
2. The matter itself, on account of which we swear, must be considered. For if people allow themselves to swear by God’s name regarding trifling and frivolous things, it is a shameful profanation and by no means to be tolerated.

For it is a unique favor from God that he allows us to use his name when there is any controversy among us and when confirmation is necessary. Since we thus receive the use of God’s name through his kindness, it is surely a great favor. For how great is the sanctity of that name, though it serves even earthly concerns?

God then accommodates himself to us to such an extent that it is lawful for us to swear by his name. Hence, we ought to observe greater seriousness in oaths, so that no one should dare to use an oath except when necessity requires. And we should also especially be careful that God is not called as a witness to what is false.

For what a great sacrilege it is to cover a falsehood with his name, who is the eternal and immutable truth! Those then who swear falsely by his name change God, as far as they can, into what he is not.

We now sufficiently understand how swearing is a kind of divine worship, because his honor is thereby given to God. For his majesty is, as it were, brought before us; and since it is his unique role to know and discover hidden things, and also to maintain the truth, this his own work is ascribed to him.

Now when anyone swears by a mortal, or by the sun, or by the moon, or by creatures, he deprives God in part of his own honor.

We see from this that in superstitious oaths there was clear proof of idolatry. This is the reason the Prophet here condemns those who did swear by Jehovah and by Malkom; that is, those who joined their idols with the true and eternal God when they swore.

For it is a clear precept of God’s law, By the name of thy God shalt thou swear (Deuteronomy 6:13). And when the Prophets speak of the renewal of the Church, they use this form: Ye shall swear by the name of God; To me shall bend every knee; Every tongue shall swear to me.

What does all this mean? The whole world shall acknowledge me as the true God; and as every knee shall bow to me, so everyone will submit himself to my judgment. We may therefore doubtlessly conclude that God is deprived of his right whenever we swear by the sun, or by the moon, or by the dead, or by any creatures.

This evil has been common in all ages, and it still prevails today under the Papacy. They swear by the Virgin, by angels, and by the dead. They do not think that they thereby take away anything from the sovereignty of the only true God; but we see what he declares concerning them.

The Papists therefore foolishly excuse themselves when they swear by their saints, for they cannot escape the charge of sacrilege, which the Holy Spirit has stamped with perpetual infamy, since he has said that all those are abominable in the sight of God who swear by any other name than his own. And the reason is evident: for the sun, moon, and stars, and also dead or living people, are honored with the name of God when they are set up as judges.

For those who swear by the sun do the same as though they said, 'The sun is my witness and judge'; that is, 'The sun is my God.' Those who swear by the name of a king, or as profane people formerly swore, 'By the genius of their king,' ascribe to a mortal what is unique to the true God alone.

But when anyone swears by heaven or the temple, and does not think that there is any divinity in the heavens or in the temple, it is the same as though he swore by God himself, as it appears from Matthew 23:20-22. And Christ, when he forbade us to swear by heaven or by the earth, did not condemn such modes of swearing as inconsistent with his word, but only as useless and vain.

At the same time, he showed that God’s name is profaned by such expressions: They who swear by heaven, swear also by him who inhabits heaven; they who swear by the temple, swear also by him who is worshipped in the temple, and to whom sacrifices are offered.

When one swears by his head or by his life, it is a protestation, as though he said, 'As my life is dear to me.'

But those who swear by the saints, either living or dead, ascribe to mortals what is due to God. Those who swear by the sun place a dead created thing on the throne of God himself.

As for the term מלכם (melkom), it may be properly translated 'their king.' For מלך (melak), as is well known, means 'a king'; but it is here put in construction, מלכם (melkom), 'their king.' They swear by their own king.

The Prophet, I doubt not, alludes to the word מולך (Molok), which is derived from the verb 'to reign.' For though that word was commonly used by all as a proper name, it is still certain that false god was so called, as though he were a king.

And the Prophet increases the indignity by saying, They swear by Malkom. He might have simply said, 'They swear by Moloch'; but he says, They swear by Malkom. That is, they forget that I am their king and transfer my sovereignty to a dead and empty image.

God then, by an implied contrast, here exaggerates the sin of the Jews, as they sought another king for themselves when they knew that under his protection they always enjoyed sure and real safety.

The Prophet seems here to include, as it were, in one bundle, the proud despisers of God, as well as those idolaters about whom he had spoken. However, it may be that he describes the same persons in different words, meaning that they were addicted to their own superstitions because they were unwilling to serve God sincerely and from the heart, and even shunned everything that might lead their attention to true religion.

I mostly approve of this view, for the idea some have—that their gross contempt of God is pointed out here—is not sufficiently supported. Therefore, I rather think that the idolaters are reproved here so that they might not suppose they could wash away their guilt by subterfuges. For they were accustomed to cover themselves with the shield of ignorance when they were refuted and their impiety was fully proven: 'I did not think so; but, on the contrary, my purpose was to worship God.'

Since, then, the superstitious are accustomed to hide themselves under the covering of ignorance, the Prophet here defines the idolatry of the people and briefly shows that it was connected with obstinacy and wickedness.

They did not seek Jehovah; but, on the contrary, they willfully turned away from Him and sought, as if intentionally, to extinguish true religion. Nor was it surprising that such a grievous and severe sentence was pronounced on them, for they had been taught by the Law how God was to be served.

How was it, then, that such gross errors had crept in? Undoubtedly, God had kindled the light of celestial truth, which clearly showed the way of true religion. But as people always seek to perform some frivolous trifles, the Israelites and the Jews, when they felt ashamed to reject the true God openly and manifestly, at the same time labored to add many ceremonies, so that their impiety might be concealed in this way.

This is the reason why the Prophet says that they turned back; that is, they could not be excused on the ground of ignorance, but were treacherous and apostates who had preferred their own idols to the true God. Even though they knew that He could not be rightly worshiped except according to the rule prescribed in the Law, yet they neglected this and heaped together many superstitions.

And undoubtedly, we will find that the source of all false worship is this: that people are unwilling to serve God truly and from the heart, and at the same time, they wish to retain some appearance of religion. For nothing is omitted in the Law that is necessary for the perfect worship of God. But as God requires a spiritual worship in the Law, this is why people seek hiding-places and devise many ceremonies for themselves, so that they may turn back from God and yet pretend that they are coming to Him.

While they diligently labor in their own ceremonies, it is indeed true that the worship of God and religion are continually on their lips. But, as I have said, it is all hypocrisy and deception, for they accumulate ceremonies so that there might be something intervening between God and them. It is not, therefore, without reason that the Prophet here accuses the Jews that they turned back from Jehovah, and that they sought Him not. How so? For there was no need for a long, difficult, or perplexing inquiry, because the Lord had freely offered Himself to them. How, then, was it that they were blind in the midst of light, except that they knowingly and willfully followed their own inventions?

The same is the case today with the Papists: for though they may proclaim loudly a hundred times that they seek to worship God, it is quite evident that they willfully go astray, since they so delight in their own inventions that they do not purely and from the heart devote and consecrate themselves to God.

We now see, then, that this verse was added as an explanation by the Prophet, so that he might deprive the Jews of their false plea of ignorance and show that they sinned willfully. For they would have been sufficiently taught by the Law, had they not adopted their own inventions, which dazzled their eyes and all their senses. It follows—

The Prophet confirms here what he has previously taught, when he bids all to be silent before God; for this way of speaking is the same as if he had said that he did not terrify the Jews in vain, but seriously set before them God’s judgment, which they would find by experience to be even more than terrible. He also records some of their sins, so that the Jews might know that he did not threaten them for nothing, but that there were just reasons why God declared that he would punish them. This is the substance of the whole.

Let us first see what the Prophet means by the word silence. Something has been said of this in the second chapter of Habakkuk. We said then that by silence is meant submission; and to make this clearer, we said that we should notice the contrast between the silence to which men calmly submit, and the contumacy, which is always clamorous. For when men seek to be wise of themselves, and do not acquiesce in God’s word, it is then said that they are not silent, for they refuse to listen to his word; and when men give free rein to their own will, they observe no bounds.

Until God then obtains authority in the world, all places are full of clamor, and the whole life of men is in a state of confusion, for they run to and fro in their wanderings; and there is no restraint where God is not heard. It is for the same reason that the Prophet now demands silence, but the expression is adapted to the subject he is addressing.

To be silent at the presence of God, it is true, is to submit to God’s authority; but the connection must be considered, for Zephaniah saw then that God’s judgment was despised and regarded as nothing. And he intimates here that God had spoken in such a way that the execution was near at hand.

Hence he says, Be silent; that is, know that I have not spoken merely for the purpose of terrifying you. But as God is prepared to execute vengeance, he now reminds you of this, so that if there is any hope of repentance, you may in time seek to return to favor with him; if not, that you may be without excuse.

So now we understand why the Prophet bids them to be silent before the Lord Jehovah; and the context is a confirmation of the same view, for the reason is added, Because the day of Jehovah is nigh. For profane men always promise themselves some respite and think that they gain much by delay. The Prophet, on the contrary, now exposes to scorn this self-security and says that the day of Jehovah was near at hand. It is then the same as if he had said that his judgment should have been quickly anticipated, and even with fear and trembling.

He afterwards uses a metaphor to explain what he taught—that God had prepared a sacrifice, indeed, that he had already appointed and set apart his guests. By the word sacrifice, the Prophet reminded them that the punishment of which he had spoken would be just, and that the glory of God would thereby shine forth.

We indeed know how ready the world is to make complaints; when it is pressed by God’s hand, it expostulates on account of too much rigor, and many openly give utterance to their blasphemies. Since, then, they do not acknowledge God’s justice in his punishment, the Prophet calls it a sacrifice; and sacrifices, we know, are evidences of divine worship, and he who offers a sacrifice to God acknowledges him to be just.

So also by this kind of speaking Zephaniah intimates that God would not act cruelly in cutting off the city Jerusalem and its inhabitants, for this would be a sacrifice, according to the language often employed by the Prophets, and especially by Isaiah, who says of Bozrah, ‘A sacrifice is prepared in Bozrah’ (Isaiah 34:6), and who also says of Jerusalem itself, ‘Oh! Ariel! Ariel!’ (Isaiah 29:1), where Jerusalem itself is represented as the altar. It is as if he had said: In all the streets, in the open places, there will be altars to me, for I will collect together great masses of men, whom I will slay as a sacrifice to me. For all who were not willing to offer worship to God, and who did not freely offer themselves as spiritual victims to him, were to be drawn to the slaughter and were at the same time called sacrifices.

So the executions on the gallows, when the wicked suffer, may be said to be sacrifices to God, for the Lord arms the magistrate with the sword to restrain wickedness, so that the wicked may not have such liberty as to banish all equity from the world. The cities also, which, being forcibly taken, are subjected to slaughter, and the fields where armies are slain, become altars, for God makes the rebellious a sacrifice because they refuse willingly to offer themselves.

So also in this place the Prophet says, Jehovah has prepared for himself a sacrifice—Where? At Jerusalem, throughout the whole city, as has appeared from the quotation from Isaiah; for as they had not rightly sacrificed to God on Mount Zion, but vitiated his whole worship, God himself declares that he would become a priest, so that he might slay, as he thought right, those beasts who had obstinately refused his yoke: And he has prepared his guests. But I cannot finish today.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we continue in so many ways to provoke your wrath against us, we may patiently bear the punishment by which you would correct our faults, and also anticipate your judgment. And since you are pleased to recall us in due time to yourself, let us not turn deaf ears to your counsels, but so obey and submit ourselves to you that we may become partakers of that mercy which you offer to us, provided we seek to be reconciled to you, and so proceed in your service that, under the government of Christ your Son, whom you have appointed to be our supreme and only king, we may so strive to be wholly devoted to you that you may be glorified through our whole life, until we at last become partakers of that celestial glory which has been procured for us by the blood of your only-begotten Son. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We stated yesterday why God compares the slaughter of the wicked to a sacrifice—because in punishing the ungodly, he shows himself to be the judge of the world. And this slaying is a sacrifice of sweet odor, because it makes known this glory. And he immediately adds that he had prepared his guests.

The word he uses is קדש, kodash, which means to sanctify but is often to be taken in a different sense. It may be explained as meaning that God had prepared his guests; but as express mention is made of sacrifice, Zephaniah, I have no doubt, continues the same metaphor.

The meaning, then, is that the Chaldeans, who were ministers of God’s vengeance, were already not only chosen for the purpose of executing it but were divinely consecrated for that end. This unwelcome saying was uttered by the Prophet so that he might more sharply touch the feelings of his own nation. The Jews indeed ought to have acknowledged God’s judgment even when executed by heathens; but this they would not have done if they had not understood that these, in exercising their cruelty, were, as it were, the priests of God, for the royal priesthood at Jerusalem had been profaned.

So now we see why the Prophet says that those were sanctified by the Lord who had been invited to feed on the flesh of the chosen people, as they were accustomed to eat the remainder of their sacrifices on festal days.

I yesterday repeated this verse: And it shall be, on the day of the sacrifice of Jehovah, that I will then visit the princes, and the sons of the king, and those who are clothed with strange apparel. The Prophet shows that he not only threatened the common people but also the chief leaders, so that he did not spare even the king’s sons.

So here he attacks the principal men among the people, for they were justly led to punishment in the first place, as they had been the cause of others' errors. We indeed know that those who excel in dignity give a much greater offense when they abuse their power in promoting what is sinful.

This is why God often seemed to have sent his Prophets to them only. For though the lowly and humble in the community were not exempt from punishment, yet it was only reasonable that God should more severely punish their leaders.

Hence the Prophet now says that God would visit the princes and the king’s sons. He did not indeed intend here to flatter obscure men, as if God meant to overlook them; but since the king and his counselors had sinned more grievously, God was angrier with them.

We also know that kings and others who exercise power are not easily moved, for the splendor of their fortune blinds them, and they think that they are in a way exempt from laws because they occupy a higher station. So now we see why the Prophet speaks especially of the princes and the king’s sons.

He also adds, And those who wear foreign apparel. Some refer this to the worshipers of Baal or his priests, but the context does not allow us to apply it to anyone but courtiers, whose great delight was in apparel. For what Christ says is proved by the experience of all ages to be too true—that those who wear soft clothing are in king’s courts.

Matthew 11:8. And it is probable that courtiers, through a foolish affectation, often changed their clothes; as is the case with men who seek to appear great, they daily devise some new way of spending money. And though they may be more splendidly clothed than necessary, yet they think it almost too sordid to wear the same apparel for a whole month; and so that their prodigality may be more evident, they also change the forms of their dress.

This affectation prevails far too much today in the world. But even then in the age of the Prophet, as it appears, the courtiers and those who had power among the people often changed their dress, so that they might better display their pomp and attract the admiration of the simple and poor people.

And it was not simple ambition, but it brought with it a contempt for others; for the rich in this way upbraided the poor, implying that they themselves alone were worthy of this superfluity and opulence.

It was not enough for them that they were clothed for their own comfort, and also that ornament and splendor were added; but they would willingly have made all others bare. And as it was a shame to do this, they nevertheless showed, as far as they could, by their superfluous abundance, that they alone were worthy of such display. It was then no wonder that the Lord threatened them with such severity.

As this vice over time had greatly increased, this passage of the Prophet deserves particular notice. And the more luxurious men become and the more they indulge in such varieties, and thus manifest their pride, the more carefully we ought to learn to restrain the desires of our flesh, so that they may not leap over the bounds of moderation. Let those who abound in wealth be content with what is modest and becoming, and let them especially abstain from that absurd affectation which the Prophet evidently condemns here.

It may, however, have been that the Jews then sought new and unusual fashions for their clothes from remote countries, like the French today, who delight in Turkish attire, for they have too much contact with Turkey.

So also at that time a foolish desire had possessed the hearts of the people, wishing to ingratiate themselves with the Chaldeans and to make friends of them by similarity in dress.

And we may learn this from a passage in Ezekiel, where he compares them to harlots or to foolish lovers (Ezekiel 23:2 and following). For just as lovers paint harlots on walls, and whoremongers and adulterers do the same, so Ezekiel accuses the Jews that they were so inflamed with a mad desire of making a covenant with the Chaldean nation that they had their images painted in their chambers. They also no doubt imitated their dress in order to show that they regarded it a great happiness if they became their friends and confederates.

Now follows what I also repeated yesterday: I will visit every one who danceth on the threshold. Some explain this as referring to the worshipers of Baal, but improperly; for as I have already said, the context will not allow us to understand this as referring to anyone except the servants of princes, who cruelly harassed the people and deprived helpless men of their property, who were not able to resist them.

The Prophet, then, after having spoken of the chief governors of the kingdom and of the king’s sons, now comes to their servants, who, like hunting dogs, were everywhere ready to seize the prey. Those who understand this to be said of the sacrifices of Baal adduce a passage from sacred history—that since the image of Dagon had been found on the threshold of the temple, they dared not tread on the threshold but leaped over it; but this is too far-fetched.

Others also offer different kinds of expositions; but the Prophet, I have no doubt, refers here to the liberty they took in plundering when he says that they danced on the threshold, as persons triumphing. For he afterwards adds that they filled, by rapine and fraud, the houses of the princes.

To leap or dance then on the threshold is nothing other than to take possession of other people’s houses and insolently to triumph over them, as is usually done by conquerors. For he who takes possession of what belongs to another does not quietly rest there as in his own habitation, but boasts and exults.

So also here, the Prophet vividly portrays the wantonness that the servants of princes showed when they entered the houses of others. He therefore says that they danced and said, "This is my house; and who will dare to say a word to the contrary?" Since, then, the servants of princes took such liberty, the Prophet here denounces God’s vengeance on them.

He then adds that they filled their masters’ houses by rapine and fraud. By rapine and fraud he means the prey gathered, partly by armed force and partly by deceit and craft, for courtiers have their nets by which they lay wait for helpless men.

But if they cannot obtain by fraud what they hope for, they have recourse to armed force. However this may be, they enrich themselves, sometimes by plundering and sometimes by fraud. Hence the Prophet mentions both here. It follows—