John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 5. And he put down the idolatrous priests , etc.] The Cemarim, so called, because they wore black clothes, as Kimchi and others, whereas the priests of the Lord were clothed in white linen, (see Gill on “ Zephaniah 1:4”). whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem ; for though those high places were destroyed by Hezekiah, they were rebuilt by Manasseh his son, and priests put in them to officiate there, whom Josiah now deposed, ( 2 Kings 21:3), them also that burnt incense unto Baal ; in the same high places; these were the priests, and the others in the preceding clause are thought to be ministers unto them: to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets ; the five planets besides the sun and moon, as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and Venus; or to the twelve celestial signs in the firmament, as some f263 ; though Theodoret takes it to be a single star, the evening star: and to all the host of heaven ; or even to the host of heaven, all the stars thereof: this part of worship, burning incense , which was peculiar to the most high God, yet was frequently made by idolaters to their deities; and from the word by which it is here and elsewhere expressed may “nectar” be derived, so much spoken of by the Heathen poets as of a sweet smell f265 , and as delicious to their gods; and so Porphyry represents the gods as living on smoke, vapours, and perfumes; and frankincense is said, by Diodorus Siculus f267 , to be most grateful to them, and beloved by them; this therefore is a much better derivation of the word “nectar” than what Suidas gives, that is, as if it was “nectar”, because it makes those young that drink it; or than the account Athenaeus gives of it, that it is a wine in Babylon so called.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 4-14 - What abundance of wickedness in Judah and Jerusalem! One would not have believed it possible, that in Judah, where God was known, in Israel where his name was great, in Salem, in Zion, where his dwelling-plac was, such abominations should be found. Josiah had reigned eightee years, and had himself set the people a good example, and kept u religion according to the Divine law; yet, when he came to search for idolatry, the depth and extent were very great. Both common history and the records of God's word, teach, that all the real godliness of goodness ever found on earth, is derived from the new-creating Spiri of Jesus Christ.
Original Hebrew והשׁבית7673 את853 הכמרים3649 אשׁר834 נתנו5414 מלכי4428 יהודה3063 ויקטר6999 בבמות1116 בערי5892 יהודה3063 ומסבי4524 ירושׁלם3389 ואת853 המקטרים6999 לבעל1168 לשׁמשׁ8121 ולירח3394 ולמזלות4208 ולכל3605 צבא6635 השׁמים׃8064
