Therefore thus saith the LORD; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
Ver. 17. Therefore thus saith the Lord: Thy wife, &c.] Thou shalt be sure of thy share in the common calamity, which thou wilt not hear of; but thou shalt hear and be ashamed, &c., Isaiah 26:11. So little is gotten by thwarting with God, and seeking to frustrate his counsel. With these froward pieces God will show himself froward, Psalms 16:4; and if they walk contrary to him, he will also walk as cross to them, Leviticus 26:21; he will tame such sturdy rebels as he did Pharaoh, and that way raise him a name; all they shall get by him is but more weight of punishment: as when Jehoiakim had burnt Jeremiah's roll of curses, all that he gained was that the roll was renewed, "and there were added besides thereunto many like words," Jeremiah 36:32. See the like, Jeremiah 20:2 1 Kings 13:4; 1 Kings 22:25 Acts 5:38,39. The counsel of God (saith Gregory) while shunned is executed; the wisdom of man may wriggle, but cannot escape.
Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city]. A common strumpet, for a punishment of thy spiritual harlotry; together with thy "seducing my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols," Revelation 2:20 .
Or, thy wife shall be an harlot] That is, she shall be ravished by the enemy before thy face (Per vim stuprabitur); so Theodoret, Calvin, Mercer, &c. See Isa 13:16 Lamentations 5:11. The Irish rebels bound the husband to the bedpost, while they abused his wife before his face.
And thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword] Because thou hast taken my sons and my daughters, and these hast thou sacrificed unto devils to be devoured. "Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children," and brought them forth to the murderer? Ezekiel 16:20,21; that thou hast sent so many souls to hell, and nuzled up thine own sons and daughters in ignorance and superstition, being therein rather a parricide than a parent, peremptores potius quam parentes (Bern.)?
Thy land shall be divided by line] Thy purchases shall be parted among the enemies; thine ill gotten riches shall be made a spoil to the soldier.
And thou shalt die in a polluted land] i.e. In Assyria, filled with the uncleanness of the inhabitants from corner to corner, as Canaan was, Ezr 9:11 Leviticus 26:38. Here thou shalt die for thine abominable idolatries, to thy great regret. Seldom do such escape the visible vengeance of God, as by virulent tongues or violent hands persecute his true prophets. Whether Amos for his boldness was first scourged by Amaziah, and then wounded to death by his son Uzziah (as some will), is uncertain.
And Israel shall surely] Though thou wouldst not believe it, Amos 7:11 .