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. 5.

He shall remember his strong men: they shall stumble as they go: they shall make hast to the walles thereof, and the defence shall be prepared.

A partition. A Partition. The Prophet before spake of the enemies of the As∣syrians, what manner of men they should be: [Obiection.] Now he descri∣beth what manner of ones the Assyrians themselues shall be. [Answere.] Wherein he answereth a secret obiection that might be made, as thus namely, shall I pray you at that time the Assyrians, and espe∣cially the Niniuites be sleepy, sluggish, hauing no care of their daungers, whom, O Nachum, thou writest shall be brought vnto such feare, that they may so easily be ouercome? The Prophet an∣swereth, no: but they shall diligently prouide for their daunger. Yet shall they not therefore escape: nay they shall be ouercome of the Chaldees. For that which is in the Psal. 76. ver. 6. At thy re∣buke, O God of Iacob, both the chariot and horse are cast asleepe: appeareth in all those, whom God in his iust iudgement will pu∣nish, to wit, that howsoeuer they take paines in defending of them selues, bestur them, and seeme to be wise and couragious: yet when as they come to the point, & vnto the fight they are vāquished: yea and that so easily, as if they had bin in a dead sleepe, and could not then find their handes, albeit they were most excellent warriours. Therefore the king of Niniuch shall remember, or reckon vp his strong men, & his warriours: he shal muster them: he shall gather an armie: he shall moreouer fortifie himselfe. But what of all this? yet shall he not escape. For these strong and valiant men mustered by the king of the Assyrians, shall stumble and fall downe, as they go: because that God shall take from them strength and heart, that they shal not then be able to stay vp them selues for feare and trembling. They shall make hast vnto the walles to man them, & to defend the bull∣warke,

that the citie be not taken: they shall prepare stuffe and li∣ning or couering for the walles against the slings, or battering in∣struments, or fires of the enemies, that the walles be not cast down, battered, or set on fire. Caesar libr. 2. Bell. Ciuil. speaking of Massilia,* 1.1 witnesseth, that they of old time in the defence of their walles vsed these kinds of couerings of their walles, which they called quilting or matting of them. For with these they letted the darts, and such instruments as they cast stones withall, from battering of their walles, and kept them from firing,* 1.2 the which A. Gellius lib. 15. Noct. Attie. cap. 1. writeth to haue been done by Scylla at the besieging of Athens. But all these things notwithstanding cannot deliuer the Assyrians out of the hands of the Chaldees.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Caesar.
• * 1.2

  A. Gellius.