Ver. 3. "_Strengthen ye the slack hands, and confirm ye the tottering knees._" The words are addressed to all the members of the people of God; they are to strengthen and confirm _one another_ by pointing to the future revelation of the glory of the Lord. Ver. 4. "_Say to them that are of a fearful heart: Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come for vengeance, for a gift of God: He will come and save you._" "To them that are of a fearful heart,"--literally of a "hasty heart," who allow themselves to be carried away by the Present, and are unmindful of the _respice finem_.--נקם and גמול are Accusatives, used in the same manner as in verbs of motion, to designate the object of the motion.--On גמול, "gift," comp. remarks on Ps. vii. 5. "The gift of God" forms a contrast to the poor gifts, such as men offer. He comes for vengeance upon His enemies, and for bestowing the most glorious divine gifts upon His people. The words: "He will come and save you," are an explanation of "the gift of God." It is in Christ that the words: "He will come and save you," found their true fulfilment,--a fulfilment to which every lower blessing pointed, and which is still going on, and constantly advancing.--That which, in the subsequent verses, is said of the concomitant circumstances of this salvation, is by far too high to admit of the fulfilment being sought in any other than Christ. All these forced explanations, such as: "In their joy they feel _as if_ they were healed" (_Knobel_, after the example of _Gesenius_), only serve to show this more clearly. They are overthrown even by the parallel announcement of the impending resurrection of the dead in chap. xxv. 8; xxvi. 19. [Pg 160] Ver. 5. "_Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped._"