A fruitfull commentarie vpon the twelue small prophets briefe, plaine, and easie, going ouer the same verse by verse, and shewing every where the method, points of doctrine, and figures of rhetoricke, to the no small profit of all godly and well disposed readers, with very necessarie fore-notes for the vnderstanding of both of these, and also all other the prophets. The text of these prophets together with that of the quotations omitted by the author, faithfully supplied by the translatour, and purged of faults in the Latine coppie almost innumerable, with a table of all the chiefe matters herein handled, and marginall notes very plentifull and profitable; so that it may in manner be counted a new booke in regard of these additions. VVritten in Latin by Lambertus Danæus, and newly turned into English by Iohn Stockwood minister and preacher at Tunbridge.

Ver. 3.

Therefore will he giue them vp, vntill the time that she which shall beare, shall trauaile: then the remnant of their brethren shall returne vnto the children of Israell.

THis place also is an hypophora, or answering an obiection, lest the godly Iewes should in the meane season faint and bee dismayed in mind, vntill that same promised Captaine doo come forth out of Beth-leem, because that in the meane while they shall suffer and feele great miseries. For the prophet granteth that this shall come to passe: but out of which they shall be also deliuered by God, so that those which haue liued in that captinity and misery of Babilon shal returne vnto their own, and shal either themselues, or their posterity remaine aliue. And the confuting or ouerthrow∣ing of this obiection was necessarie, because that euen the godly were greatly troubled, whilest they felt those bitter miseries, when the citie Sion was destroyed. Wherefore a most assured remedie, to wit, this redoubled promise was to be opposed or set against this their doubting and combat.

Further this verse hath both a recitall of that most hard affliction, the which the Iewes suffered afterwards at the hands of the Baby∣lonians, and also a promise of comfort. The affliction is described in these wordes, that the Iewes are to be giuen and deliuered vp in∣to the hands of the Babylonians, vntill they shall haue suffered vn∣der them most grieuous troubles, yea and such as women great with childe doe suffer, whilest they are in trauaile. For so is the whole time of their captiuitie called, The sorrow of a woman in tra∣uaile. So in the 12. of the Reuelation of Saint Iohn ver. 2. the affli∣cted estate of the Church is resembled vnto a woman with childe, [unspec 1] and crying in trauaile, and being in paines readie to be deliuered.

[unspec 2] The comfort is added in these words: The remnant of the bre∣thren of this captaine which is promised, shall returne vnto the Sonnes of Israel. Now the brethren of this promised Captaine are the Iewes themselues, of whome is Christ according vnto the flesh Rom. 1. ver. 3. Where Christ is said to haue been made of the seede of Dauid according to the flesh. And cap. 9. ver. 5. it is written, That of the Iewes are the fathers, and of whome concerning the flesh Christ came, &c. These therefore, not all of them in deed, but a remnant, that is, those whome God shall cause to be left, shall returne vnto the sonnes of Israel, that is, vnto their owne people, and into their

countrey, the which was done by Zorobabel, and afterwards vnder the captaines Esdras and Nehemias.

Notes

• What the fi∣gure Hypopho∣ra is, see Amos cap. 5. ver. 21.
• Two parts of this verse.
• 1 The affliction of the Iewes.
• 2. A promise of their deliue∣rance.