Thou hast increased the nation... — The nation is, if we follow this rendering, Israel, whose prosperity the prophet contrasts with the downfall of its oppressors (comp. Isaiah 9:3). The LXX., however, gives, “Add thou evils to all the glorious ones,” as if referring to the “chastening” of exile in the next verse, and the use of the word “nation” (i.e., heathen) instead of “people,” is, perhaps, in favour of this rendering. “Nation,” however, is used for Israel in Isaiah 9:3, which is partly parallel to this passage.
Thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earths — Better, Thou hast moved far off the borders of the land. The English Version seems to speak of the exile and dispersion of the people. “What is really meant is, probably, that Jehovah will restore it to its old remoter boundaries, as in the days of David and Solomon. This belongs, of course, to the ideal, and not the historical, restoration.