For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy
bands,
&c.] The yoke of the people, as the Targum expresses it, that
was upon their necks, and the bands in which they were bound by
them; referring to the deliverance of them of old from Egyptian
bondage by the hands of Moses, and out of their several
captivities among their neighbours by the means of the judges,
and in their time; though the Vulgate Latin version renders it,
"of old thou hast broken my yoke, and burst my bands"; or "thy
yoke", and "thy bands", as the Septuagint and Arabic versions;
the yoke of the law that the Lord put upon them, and the bands of
statutes and ordinances which he enjoined them; but the former
sense is best: and thou saidst, I will not
transgress;
here is a double reading; the Cetib or writing is (dwbea) , "I will not serve"; which is
followed by the Vulgate Latin, which so renders it; and by the
Septuagint version, "I will not serve thee"; and which is the
sense of the Arabic version, "I will not subject myself", that
is, to the law and will of God; and so the Syriac version, though
to a quite different sense, "I will serve no other god any more":
which agrees with the Keri or reading, which is (rwbea) , "I will not transgress"; and
this is confirmed by the Targum, which paraphrases the words
thus,
``and ye said, we will not add any more to transgress thy word;''and by Jarchi and Kimchi, who interpret it of transgressing the words and commands of God; both have one and the same sense. For whether it be read, "I will not serve"; the meaning is, as Kimchi observes, "I will not serve idols"; or no other god, as the Syriac version: or whether, "I will not transgress"; that is, the command of the Lord, by serving other gods. Hillerus F16 reconciles the writing and reading after this manner, rendering (dwbea al) , "I will not serve", and (rwbea al) , "I will not pass", to servitude; though, in another place