תגבל (or לבגת) _to set bounds to_, in the Hiphil, occurs in Exod. xix. 12 & 23.—It here appears to be the Huphal or passive of Hiphil—signifying _to be bounded_, or _to be set bounds to_. It is only necessary to remark, that leaving aside the punctuation, the form of the future tense will be identical in both these voices. The sense as it stands is scarcely intelligible. What is meant by _border thereby_, it is not easy to conceive; but by discarding the points we readily obtain a meaning that is perfectly intelligible. תגבל (or לבגת) may then be rendered in the passive voice, instead of the active, and will signify _to be limited_, or _have bounds set to_; and בה (or הב) _on_ or _to her_, which follows, accords with, and seems to demand its being so rendered. _And Hamath also shall have bounds set to her_; that is, her growing greatness shall be checked. _Tyre, and also Sidon though she be very wise_, חכמה (or המכח), _wise_, no doubt, means here, _worldly wise_, or very subtle. Verse 5. :תרא אשקלון ותירא ועזה ותחיל מאד ועקרון כי הוביש מבטה _Ashkalon shall see and fear, Gaza also, and she shall be very sorrowful, and Ekron for her expectation shall be ashamed._ הוביש (or שיבוה) may be derived either from בוש (or שוב) _to be ashamed_, or from יבש (or שבי) _to dry up_, and whither as a plant for want of moisture. The latter seems preferable here, but it is not very material to the sense. Verse 6. :וישב ממזר באשדוד והכרתי גאון פלשתים _A bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines._ ממזר (or רזממ) may be rendered a _stranger_, as well as a _bastard_, αλλογενεις in the Septuagint, which renders the sense more obvious. _And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines._ These denunciations appear chiefly directed against the Philistines, in whom pride, avarice, and ambition, are specified as the great offences. The delivery of Ashdod into the hands of a stranger is the judgment pronounced against them in this verse, as the last means of their humiliation. But here the tone of the prophecy changes, and instead of further punishments, we find repeated promises of blessings and mercy; _he that is left shall be for our God, and as a Governor in Judah_,—and in the verse following—_He_ (the Messiah being manifestly meant here) _shall speak peace to the Heathen_.—Whence then this change? We are led to seek, and naturally expect to find, some ground for it. And accordingly the next verse unfolds the reason, and explains the occasion of this change in the counsel of Heaven; a change resting not on their own merits, but on Divine Mercy. For such a construction will this verse bear, quite as well as the one usually put upon it; and this construction is far more in unison with the context, than the received one. Verse 7. :והסרתי דמיו מפיו ושקציו מבין שניו ונשאר גמ-הוא לאלהינו והיה כאלף ביהודה ועקרון כיבוסי