Now therefore hear thou the word of the LORD: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not [thy word] against the house of Isaac.
Ver. 16. Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord] Hear, thou despiser, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in thy days, a work which thou wilt in nowise believe, though a man declare it unto thee, Acts 13:41. But whether thou wilt hear or forbear, believe or otherwise, thy doom is determined, and shall be pronounced, Ezekiel 3:27 : "Hear, therefore, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken it." Oh that thou wouldst give glory to the Lord, and confess thy sin! Jeremiah 13:15,16. Oh that thou wouldst submit to Divine justice, implore his mercy, and putting thy mouth in the dust, say, as once that good man did, Veniat, veniat, verbum Domini, et submittemus, ei sexcenta si nobis essent colla. Let the Lord speak, for his servant heareth! But because there is little hopes of that, stand forth and hear thy sentence, and the evil that shall befall thee, as sure as the coat is on thy back, or the heart in thy body. For hath the Lord spoken, and shall he not do it?
Thou sayest, Prophesy not] By a bold countermand to that of God in the former verse, "Go, prophesy," &c. "But woe to him that striveth with his Maker I Let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth," Isaiah 45:9; let men meddle with their matches, and not "with him that is mightier than they," Ecclesiastes 6:10 .
And drop not thy word] Which is as sharp as vinegar and nitre. Or, though it were as sweet as honey, yet it would cause pain to exulcerate parts when dropped upon them.
Against the house of Isaac] Though commanded so to do, Amos 7:9. Toothless truths would be better digested.