2. And when she is departed out of his house, she may goe and be another mans wife.
THat which is the only discommodity of speaking in a cleer matter, the abundance of argument that presses to bee utter'd, and the suspence of judgement what to choose, and how in the multitude of reason, to be not tedious, is the greatest difficulty which I expect heer to meet with. Yet much hath bin said formerly concerning this Law in the Doctrine of divorce; Wherof I shall repeat no more then what is necessary. Two things are heer doubted: First, and that but of late, whether this bee a Law or no; next what this reason of uncleannes might mean for which the Law is granted; That it is a plain Law no man ever question'd, till Vatablus within these hunder'd years profess'd Hebrew at Paris, a man of no Religion, as Beza deciphers him. Yet som there be who follow him, not only against the current of all antiquity, both Jewish and Christian, but the evidence of Scripture also, Malach. 2. 16. Let him who hateth put away saith the Lord God of Israel. Although this place also hath bin tamper'd with, as if it were to be thus render'd, The Lord God saith, that hee hateth putting away. But this new interpretation rests only in the autority of Junius; for neither Calvin, nor Vatablus himself, nor any other known Divine so interpreted before. And they of best note who have translated the Scripture since, and Diodati for one, follow not his reading. And perhaps they might reject it, if for nothing els, for these two reasons: First, it introduces in a new manner the person of God speaking less Majestic then he is ever wont; When God speaks by his Profet, he ever speaks in the first person, thereby signifying his Majesty and omni-presence. Hee would have said, I hate puttting away, saith the Lord; and not sent word by Malachi in a sudden falln stile, The Lord God saith that hee hateth putting away: that were the phrase to shrink the glorious omnipresence of God speaking, into a kind of circumscriptive absence. And were as if a Herald in the Atcheivement of a King, should commit the indecorum to set his helmet side-waies and close, not full fac't and open in the posture of direction and command. Wee cannot think therfore that this last Profet would thus in a new fashion absent the person of God from his own words as if he came not along with them. For it would also be wide from the proper scope of this place: hee that reads attentively will soon
