And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.
At evening-tide trouble; (and) before the morning he (is) not - fulfilled to the letter in the destruction 'before morning' of the vast host that "at evening-tide" was such a terror ("trouble") to Judah. On the phrase, see Psalms 90:6; Psalms 30:5.
He is not - namely, the enemy.
This (is) the portion of them that spoil us - the Jews. A general declaration of the doom that awaits the foes of God's people (Isaiah 54:17).
Remarks: They who league together against the people of God, as Damascus and Israel did against Judah, shall be brought to ruin. No strongholds can avail against the strength of Yahweh. Glory and prosperity are but of short duration when they are arrayed against the will of God. Yet such are God's mercy and faithfulness to His covenant of old with Israel that He still leaves gleanings of Ephraim-a remnant elected in grace-who are reserved for the mercy of God, about to be manifested to all Israel in the latter days. Then shall Jew and Gentile no longer look to their idols of any kind, but "shall have respect to" their "Maker" alone, "the Holy One of Israel." The root of Israel's sin, and therefore of Israel's sorrow, was, they "forgot the God of their salvation, and were not mindful of the Rock of their strength." Whenever any of us falls into this condemning sin, however prosperously our undertakings may "flourish" like a plant "in the morning," yet, like Israel's league with Syria, they shall at last yield a "harvest only of "grief and desperate sorrow."