Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
Howl, O gate - i:e., ye who throng the gate; the chief place of concourse in a city.
There shall come from the north - Judea, north and east of Philistia.
A smoke - from the signal fire, whereby the hostile army was called together. The Jews' signal-fire is meant here, the "pillar of cloud and fire" (Exodus 13:21; Nehemiah 9:19); or else "a smoke" from the region devastated by fire (Maurer). Gesenius less probably, refers it to the cloud of dust raised by the invading army.
None shall be alone in his appointed times - rather, 'there shall not be a straggler among his (the enemy's) levies.' The Jewish host shall advance on Palestine in close array; none shall fall back or lag from weariness (Isaiah 5:26-27) (Lowth). Maurer thinks the Hebrew [mow`ad] will not bear the rendering, levies or armies. He translates, 'there is not one (of the Philistine watchguards) who will remain alone (separated from his fellow-soldiers, and exposed to the enemy) at his post,' through fright. One Rabbi similarly refers it to the Philistines. Not one of them will dare to remain in their strongholds when the Jewish soldiery burst in: as when "smoke" of fire assails a house, all go out. On "alone," cf. Psalms 102:7; Hosea 8:9. The Hebrew, mow`ad (H4151), means an assembly, the time and the place of which has been appointed. The English version is thus appropriate. None shall separate himself "alone" from the rest: all the Jewish volunteers shall come with alacrity to the place and at the times appointed by Hezekiah. Not one that shall not be full of alacrity, not one shall remain in his tent.