The river of Kishon. — Judges 4:7; Psalms 83:9. Either from this massacre, or that of the Baal priests of Elijah, the Kishon is now called the Nahr Mukatta, or “river of slaughter” (1 Kings 18:40).
That ancient river. — The Vulgate renders this, “the torrent Kedumim,” and the LXX. (Cod. Vat.), “the river of the ancients” (comp. Deuteronomy 33:15). The Chaldee paraphrases it, “the torrent on whose banks illustrious deeds have been done from the ancient times of Israel.” As the Plain of Jezreel has been in all ages the battle-field of Israel, the Kishon must always have played an important part in these struggles, as when the Turks were drowned in its swollen waves on April 16th, 1799. We know, however, of no ancient fame of Kishon before these events; and some render it. “the torrent of meeting armies,” or “of slaughters” (Ewald), deriving Kedumim from an Arabic root; or “the torrent of succours,” connecting the word with Kiddeem (see Psalms 79:8, &c., Heb.). Aquila renders it by “the torrent of siroccos” (Kausônôn); and Symmachus, “the torrent of goats” (wild waves, egers, and bores).
O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. — These sudden exclamations, which break the flow of the poem, add greatly to its fire and impetuosity. The verb may be an imperative, and the Vulgate renders it, “Trample down, O my soul, the mighty.” The word “trample” recalls the image of treading the vintage.