| Barnes' Notes on the Bible That they may do evil with both hands earnestly - (Literally, upon evil both hands to do well,) that is, "both their hands are upon evil to do it well," or "earnestly" , as our translation gives the meaning; only the Hebrew expresses more, that evil is their good, and their good or excellence is in evil. Bad men gain a dreadful skill and wisdom in evil, as Satan has; and cleverness in evil is their delight. Jerome: "They call the evil of their hands good." "The prince asketh, and the judge asketh (or, it may more readily be supplied, judgeth, doth that which is his office,) against right "for a reward", (which was strictly forbidden,) "and the great man he uttereth his mischievos desire" (Deuteronomy 16:19. See above Micah 3:11), (or the "desire of his soul".) Even the shew of good is laid aside; whatever the heart conceives and covets, it utters; - mischief to others and in the end to itself. The mischief comes forth from the soul, and returns upon it. "The elders and nobles in the city" 1 Kings 21:8, 1 Kings 21:11, as well as Ahab, took part, (as one instance,) in the murder of Naboth. The great man, however, here, is rather the source of the evil, which he induces others to effect; so that as many as there were great, so many sources were there of oppression. All, prince, judges, the great, unite in the ill, and this not once only, but they are ever doing it and "so they wrap it up", (literally, twist, intertwine it.) Things are twisted, either to strengthen, or to pervert or intricate them. It might mean, they "strengthen" it, that which their soul covets against; the poor, or they "pervert" it, the cause of the poor.
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleThat they may do evil with both hands - That is, earnestly, greedily, to the uttermost of their power. The Vulgate translates: Malum manuum suarum dicunt bonum; "The evil of their hands they call good." The prince asketh - A bribe, to forward claims in his court. The judge asketh for a reward - That he may decide the cause in favor of him who gives most money, whether the cause be good or evil. This was notoriously the case in our own country before the giving of Magna Charta; and hence that provision, Nulli vendemus justitiam aut rectum: "We will not sell justice to any man." And this was not the only country in which justice and judgment were put to sale. The great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire - Such consider themselves above law, and they make no secret of their unjust determinations. And so they wrap it up - they all conjoin in doing evil in their several offices, and oppressing the poor; so our translators have interpreted the original ויעבתוה vayeabtuha, which the versions translate variously. Newcome has, "And they do abominably."
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThat they may do evil with both hands earnestly,.... Or "well" (t), strenuously, diligently, to the utmost of their power, labouring at it with all their might and main; as wicked men generally are more industrious, and exert themselves more to do evil than good men do to do good; and even weary themselves to commit iniquity: or, "instead of doing good", as Marinus in Aben Ezra, take a great deal of pains to do evil; work with both hands at it, instead of doing good. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "they prepare their hands for evil"; the Syriac version is, "their hands are read? to evil, and they do not do good"; with which agrees the Targum, "they do evil with their hands, and do not do good.'' Some make the sense to depend on what goes before and follows; "to do evil, both hands" are open and ready, and they hurt with them; "but to do, good the prince asketh, and the judge for a reward" (u); forward enough to do evil, but very backward to do any good office; the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and, if they do it, must be bribed, and have a reward for it, even persons of such high character; but this sense is not favoured by, the accents; besides, by what follows, it seems as if the "prince", by whom may be meant the king upon the throne, and the "judge" he that sits upon the bench under him, sought for bribes to do an ill thing; to give a cause wrong against a poor man, and in favour of a rich man that will bribe high: and the great man he uttereth his mischievous desire; the depravity, corruption, and perverseness of his soul; who is either some great man at court, that, being encouraged by the example of the prince and judge, openly and publicly requires a bribe also to do an ill thing; and without any shame or blushing promises to do it on that consideration; or a counsellor at the bar, who openly declares that he will speak in such a cause, though a bad one, and defend it, and not doubt of carrying it; or else this is some rich wicked man, that seeks to oppress his poor neighbour, and, being favoured by the prince and judge he has bribed, does without fear or shame speak out the wickedness of his heart, and what an ill design he has against his neighbour, whose mischief, hurt, and ruin, he seeks: so they wrap it up together; or, "twist it together" (w); as cords are, which thereby become strong; slid so these three work up this mischievous business, and strengthen and establish it; and such a threefold cord of wickedness is not easily broken or unravelled: or, "they perplex it" (x); as thick branches of trees are implicated and wrapped together; so these agree to puzzle and perplex a cause, that they may have some show of carrying it with justice and truth. So the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "they trouble it"; confound the matter, and make it dark, dubious, and difficult. The Targum is, "they corrupt it"; or deprave it; put an ill sense on things, and make a wrong construction of them. (t) "bene", Drusius. (u) So Grotius. (w) "contorquent", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius; "contorquere solent", Burkius; "contortuplicant", Junius, Grotius; so R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 38. 2.((x) "A radice quae intricare significat, atque confusum reddere, atque perplexum", Sanctius,
Geneva Study BibleThat they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the {c} great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so {d} they wrap it up. (c) That is, the rich man that is able to give money, abstains from no wickedness or injury. (d) These men agree among themselves, and conspire with one another to do evil.
Wesley's Notes 7:3 Both hands - With all diligence. The great man - The great man at court, who can do what he will there. Uttereth - Is bold to speak plainly. Desire - His unjust, oppressive design. They - They all jointly promote violence and cruelty.
King James Translators' Noteshis...: Heb. the mischief of his soul
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary3. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly-literally, "Their hands are for evil that they may do it well" (that is, cleverly and successfully). the great man, he-emphatic repetition. As for the great man, he no sooner has expressed his bad desire (literally, the "mischief" or "lust of his soul"), than the venal judges are ready to wrest the decision of the case according to his wish. so they wrap it up-The Hebrew is used of intertwining cords together. The "threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ec 4:12); here the "prince," the "judge," and the "great man" are the three in guilty complicity. "They wrap it up," namely, they conspire to carry out the great man's desire at the sacrifice of justice.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary7:1-7 The prophet bemoans himself that he lived among a people ripening apace for ruin, in which many good persons would suffer. Men had no comfort, no satisfaction in their own families or in their nearest relations. Contempt and violation of domestic duties are a sad symptom of universal corruption. Those are never likely to come to good who are undutiful to their parents. The prophet saw no safety or comfort but in looking to the Lord, and waiting on God his salvation. When under trials, we should look continually to our Divine Redeemer, that we may have strength and grace to trust in him, and to be examples to those around us.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible CommentaryChapter 7 In this chapter, I. The prophet, in the name of the church, sadly laments the woeful decay of religion in the age wherein he lived, and the deluge of impiety and immorality which overwhelmed the nation, which levelled the differences, and bore down the fences, of all that is just and sacred (v. 1-6). II. The prophet, for the sake of the church, prescribes comforts, which may be of use at such a time, and gives counsel what to do. 1. They must have an eye to God (v. 7). 2. They must courageously bear up against the insolences of the enemy (v. 8-10). 3. They must patiently lie down under the rebukes of their God (v. 9). 4. They must expect no other than that the trouble would continue long, and must endeavour to make the best of it (v. 11-13). 5. They must encourage themselves with God's promises, in answer to the prophet's prayers (v. 14, 15). 6. They must foresee the fall of their enemies, that now triumphed over them (v. 16, 17). 7. They must themselves triumph in the mercy and grace of God, and his faithfulness to his covenant (v. 18-20), and with that comfortable word the prophecy concludes. Verses 1-6 This is such a description of bad times as, some think, could scarcely agree to the times of Hezekiah, when this prophet prophesied; and therefore they rather take it as a prediction of what should be in the reign of Manasseh. But we may rather suppose it to be in the reign of Ahaz (and in that reign he prophesied, ch. 1:1) or in the beginning of Hezekiah's time, before the reformation he was instrumental in; nay, in the best of his days, and when he had done his best to purge out corruptions, still there was much amiss. The prophet cries out, Woe is me! He bemoans himself that his lot was cast in such a degenerate age, and thinks it his great unhappiness that he lived among a people that were ripening apace for a ruin which many a good man would unavoidably be involved in. Thus David cries out, Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech! He laments, 1. That there were so few good people to be found, even among those that were God's people; and this was their reproach: The good man has perished out of the earth, or out of the land, the land of Canaan; it was a good land, and a land of uprightness (Isa. 26:10), but there were few good men in it, none upright among them, v. 2. The good man is a godly man and a merciful man; the word signifies both. Those are completely good men that are devout towards God and compassionate and beneficent towards men, that love mercy and walk with God. "These have perished; those few honest men that some time ago enriched and adorned our country are now dead and gone, and there are none risen up in their stead that tread in their steps; honesty is banished, and there is no such thing as a good man to be met with. Those that were of religious education have degenerated, and become as bad as the worst; the godly man ceases," Ps. 12:1. This is illustrated by a comparison (v. 1): they were as when they have gathered the summer fruits; it was as hard a thing to find a good man as to find any of the summer-fruits (which were the choicest and best, and therefore must carefully be gathered in) when the harvest is over. The prophet is ready to say, as Elijah in his time (1 Ki. 19:10), I, even I only, am left. Good men, who used to hang in clusters, are now as the grape-gleanings of the vintage, here and there a berry, Isa. 17:6. You can find no societies of them as bunches of grapes, but those that are are single persons: There is no cluster to eat; and the best and fullest grapes are those that grow in large clusters. Some think that this intimates not only that good people were few, but that those few who remained, who went for good people, were good for little, like the small withered grapes, the refuse that were left behind, not only by the gatherer, but by the gleaner. When the prophet observed this universal degeneracy it made him desire the first-ripe fruit; he wished to see such worthy good men as were in the former ages, were the ornaments of the primitive times, and as far excelled the best of all the present age as the first and full-ripe fruits do those of the latter growth, that never come to maturity. When we read and hear of the wisdom and zeal, the strictness and conscientiousness, the devotion and charity, of the professors of religion in former ages, and see the reverse of this in those of the present age, we cannot but sit down, and wish, with a sigh, O for primitive Christianity again! Where are the plainness and integrity of those that went before us? Where are the Israelites indeed, without guile? Our souls desire them, but in vain. The golden age is gone, and past recall; we must make the best of what is, for we are not likely to see such times as have been. 2. That there were so many wicked mischievous people among them, not only none that did any good, but multitudes that did all the hurt they could: "They all lie in wait for blood, and hunt every man his brother. To get wealth to themselves, they care not what wrong, what hurt, they do to their neighbours and nearest relations. They act as if mankind were in a state of war, and force were the only right. They are as beasts of prey to their neighbours, for they all lie in wait for blood as lions for their prey; they thirst after it, make nothing of taking away any man's life or livelihood to serve a turn for themselves, and lie in wait for an opportunity to do it. Their neighbours are as beasts of prey to them, for they hunt every man his brother with a net; they persecute them as noxious creatures, fit to be taken and destroyed, though they are innocent excellent ones." We say of him that is outlawed, Caput gerit lupinum-He is to be hunted as a wolf. "Or they hunt them as men do the game, to feast upon it; they have a thousand cursed arts of ensnaring men to their ruin, so that they may but get by it. Thus they do mischief with both hands earnestly; their hearts desire it, their heads contrive it, and then both hands are ready to put it in execution." Note, The more eager and intent men are upon any sinful pursuit, and the more pains they take in it, the more provoking it is. 3. That the magistrates, who by their office ought to have been the patrons and protectors of right, were the practicers and promoters of wrong: That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, to excite and animate themselves in it, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh, for a reward, for a bribe, with which they well be hired to exert all their power for the supporting and carrying on of any wicked design with both hands. They do evil with both hands well (so some read it); they do evil with a great deal of art and dexterity; they praise themselves for doing it so well. Others read it thus: To do evil they have both hands (they catch at an opportunity of doing mischief), but to do good the prince and the judge ask for a reward; if they do any good offices they are mercenary in them, and must be paid for them. The great man, who has wealth and power to do good, is not ashamed to utter his mischievous desire in conjunction with the prince and the judge, who are ready to support him and stand by him in it. So they wrap it up; they perplex the matter, involve it, and make it intricate (so some understand it), that they may lose equity in a mist, and so make the cause turn which way they please. It is ill with a people when their princes, and judges, and great men are in a confederacy to pervert justice. And it is a sad character that is given of them (v. 4), that the best of them is as a brier, and the most upright is sharper than a thorn-hedge; it is a dangerous thing to have any thing to do with them; he that touches them must be fenced with iron (2 Sa. 23:6,7), he shall be sure to be scratched, to have his clothes torn, and his eyes almost pulled out. And, if this be the character of the best and most upright, what are the worst? And, when things have come to this pass, the day of thy watchmen comes, that is, as it follows, the day of thy visitation, when God will reckon with thee for all this wickedness, which is called the day of the watchmen, because their prophets, whom God set as watchmen over them, had often warned them of that day. When all flesh have corrupted their way, even the best and the most upright, what can be expected but a day of visitation, a deluge of judgments, as that which drowned the old world when the earth was filled with violence? 4. That there was no faith in man; people had grown so universally treacherous that one knew not whom to repose any confidence in, v. 5. "Those that have any sense of honour, or spark of virtue, remaining in them, have a firm regard to the laws of friendship; they would not discover what passed in private conversation, nor divulge secrets, to the prejudice of a friend. But those things are now made a jest of; you will not meet with a friend that you dare trust, whose word you dare take, or who will have any tenderness or concern for you; so that wise men shall give it and take it for a rule, trust you not in a friend, for you will find him false, you can trust him no further than you can see him; and even him that passes for an honest man you will find to be so only with good looking to. Nay, as for him that undertakes to be your guide, to lead you into any business which he professes to understand better than you, you cannot put a confidence in him, for he will be sure to mislead you if he can get any thing by it." Some by a guide understand a husband, who is called the guide of thy youth; and that agrees well enough with what follows, "Keep the doors of thy lips from her that lieth in thy bosom, from thy own wife; take heed what thou sayest before her, lest she betray thee, as Delilah did Samson, lest she be the bird of the air that carries the voice of that which thou sayest in thy bed-chamber," Eccl. 10:20. It is an evil time indeed when the prudent are obliged even thus far to keep silence. 5. That children were abusive to their parents, and men had no comfort, no satisfaction, in their own families and their nearest relations, v. 6. The times are bad indeed when the son dishonours his father, gives him bad language, exposes him, threatens him, and studies to do him a mischief, when the daughter rises up in rebellion against her own mother, having no sense of duty, or natural affection; and no marvel that then the daughter-in-law quarrels with her mother-in-law, and is vexatious to her. Either they cannot agree about their property and interest, or their humours and passions clash, or from a spirit of bigotry and persecution, the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child, Mt. 10:4; Lu. 21:16. It is sad when a man's betrayers and worst enemies are the men of his own house, his own children and servants, that should be his guard and his best friends. Note, The contempt and violation of the laws of domestic duties are a sad symptom of a universal corruption of manners. Those are never likely to come to good that are undutiful to their parents, and study to be provoking to them and cross them. |
