Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were,.... Obstinate and refractory, like heifers unaccustomed to the yoke, which draw back from it, and will not submit to it: but yield yourselves unto the Lord; be subject unto him, or "give the hand" (q) to him, as a token of subjection and homage, or of entering into covenant with him, promising for the future to serve and obey him: and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever; set apart for worship and service, until the Messiah should come: and serve the Lord your God; there, in the temple, according to his prescribed will: that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you; which had already broke out, in suffering the Assyrians to invade their land, and distress them. (q) "date manum", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.