The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are woven together, and come up upon my neck: he has made my strength to fall, the Lord has delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.
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George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Watched. This metaphor is not too harsh, chap. xxxi. 28. The Masorets prefer, (Calmet) "is bound by his hand. "(Protestants) But miskad is explained (Haydock) by the Septuagint, in the sense of the Vulgate. God lays the yoke on my neck suddenly. My iniquities are like bands, and Nabuchodonosor has power over me.
IS WEAKENED: the sixth topic of complaint, as when looking forward to
receiving good from the Lord he fell into the greatest distress.
Historical interpretation THE YOKE HAS WATCHED: THE YOKE of iniquity is to sleep, to rest securely and unpunished in the numbness of negligence, but it watches in the HAND of the Lord, whence Jeremiah: I see a rod watching, to whom the Lord: I will watch over my word to perform it. Indeed, the sins are skulking for us being sluggish, but they watch in the HAND of the Lord, when they accuse us as revenge of just retribution. Hence: The voice of thy brother’s blood cries to me from the earth. THEY ARE FOLDED, just as a weight to press, AND PUT UPON MY NECK. Instead of a golden necklace she is encircled by a cord of iniquity, whence: Everyone is fast bound with the ropes of his own sins. Thus, she is given into the hands of the sinners, and she would not be able to rise, until the fullness of the gentiles enters, which NUN signifies, that is interprete...
Nun- ‘eternal’; a concession.
has watched- as if: the vengeance punishes, which seemed to be asleep; while I am sleeping; provoking God to vengeance.
the yoke- to be put upon me.
my iniquities- which are from me.
folded together- by an unbreakable fetter.
put- as if they are about to choke.
my neck- like the halter of Judas.
is weakened- so that I cannot resist.
delivered me- by his just judgement.
a hand- of the Chaldean or rather of the Roman enemy or of the devil.
able to rise- whence: There is none to raise her up, the virgin of Israel.
Here is indicated the rigor in justice of the Lord God, insofar as a divine judge. Around this idea three further notions are proposed.
First is considered a diligent concorn about sin. As said""My transgressions were bound into a yoke. That is, as one diligently considers a yoke of affliction, that must be interpreted as from effects of many sins. For, the prophet Jeremiah declares: "And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Jeremiah, what do you see?' and I said, 'I see a rod of almond" (Jer l:ll).
Second is noticed the severe effect from the punishment. As expressed: "by his hand they were fastened together", Namely, such evils were like a chain, and unbreakable like a bond.
Then: "they were set upon my neck". That is, while one suffers punishments for sins. As Psalm 38(37):4 exclaims: "For my iniquities have gone over my head; they weigh like a burden too heavy for me."
Third, an evasion of time is excluded, due to a weakness. As: "he caused my strength to fail". An...
