Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee
His chastising and correcting hand, to show his resentment at their sins, and bring them to a sense of them, and repentance for them: and have diminished thine ordinary [food];
their stated allowances, the common mercies and blessings of life they had been indulged with, but now were lessened; and particularly a famine was brought upon them, as well as they were deprived of other favours for their sins; God dealing with them as husbands with their wanton wives, who keep them to stricter allowance, and closer confinement, in order to check and tame them: and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters
of the Philistines;
which perhaps may refer to the times of Ahaz, when the Philistines invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and took many of their cities, and brought Judah low, ( 2 Chronicles 28:18 2 Chronicles 28:19 ) ; which are ashamed of thy lewd way:
of their inconstancy in changing their religion, relinquishing the worship of the true God, and embracing that of others, when they abode by their ancient religion and worship, ( Jeremiah 2:10 Jeremiah 2:11 ) . The Targum is,
``to whom if I had sent my prophets, they would have been ashamed;''see ( Matthew 11:21 Matthew 11:23 ) .