A grievous vision is declared unto me
The prophet; meaning the vision of Babylon's destruction, which
was "hard", as the word signifies, and might seem harsh and
cruel; not to him, nor to the Jews, but to the Chaldeans:
the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the
spoiler
spoileth;
that is, according to Jarchi, one treacherous dealer deals
treacherously with another, and one spoiler spoils another; the
Medes and Persians deal treacherously with and spoil the
Babylonians, who had dealt treacherously with and spoiled other
nations: and to this sense some read the words, "the treacherous
dealer hath found a treacherous dealer, and the spoiler one that
spoileth" F14: some take it to be a compellation
of the Medes and Persians, calling upon them, under these
characters, to go up and besiege Babylon, as, "O treacherous
dealer, O spoiler" F15; though the words may be understood
of the perfidy and treachery of the Babylonians, of which they
had been frequently guilty, and which is given as a reason of
their fall and ruin; or rather they suggest the treacherous means
by which they should be ruined, even by some from among
themselves; particularly, history