And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
Ver. 10. And they shall scoff at the kings] Heb. He shall scoff, i.e. Nebuchadnezzar shall, and that not once only, but often; shall make a practice of it, as the Hebrew word signifieth. Hithpael notat assiduam illusionem. Thus Adonibezek dealt by the kings he took, the Philistines by Saul, 1 Samuel 31:8,10, Nebuchadnezzar by Zedekiah, Jer 25:1-38 Jeremiah 29:1,32 2 Kings 25:1,30; as also by the kings of Egypt, Tyre, Arabia, and others whom he had taken, and used them, haply, as Tamerlane did Bajazet, or those other captive kings whom he caused as horses to draw his chariot. How much better Evilmerodach, who (mindful of the instability of all human affairs) lifted up the head and spoke to the heart of his prisoner, Jehoiachin, King of Judah, Jeremiah 52:31; Cyrus, who honoured his captive Croesus, and made him of his council (neither was he less enriched by the good counsel Croesus gave him, than by all the wealth he had from him); our Edward III, who having the King of Scotland and the French king his prisoners here in England both together at one time, gave them stately entertainment, and made them princely pastime, by holding royal jousts in Smithfield for their delight!
And the princes shall be a scorn unto them] Through the just judgment of God, "who scorneth the scorners," Proverbs 3:34, that is, saith Rabbi Levi, facit ut aliis sint ludibrio, he maketh others mock them in their misery who in prosperity scoffed at those that were better than they. "Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong," &c., Isaiah 28:22 .
They shall deride every stronghold] As that which cannot long hold out against their assault. How should they, when God breaketh the bars and setteth open the gates to them? Amos 1:5; Amo 9:3 Proverbs 21:30 .
For they shall heap dust, and take it] i.e. By casting up mounts and ramparts, take it with as much ease as if they were in sport. The Turks have their Asapi, or common soldiers, of whom they make no great reckoning, but to blunt the swords of their enemies and to fill up ditches with their dead bodies, that they may the better come at the town or fort which they would take.