5—9. Prepare the table, &c.] The Prophet describes the carelessness of the Babylonians, and in the midst of their feasting the sudden alarm of war. The event is then declared in a very singular manner: God orders the Prophet to set a watchman to look out, and to report what he sees; and though the passage, which relates what he sees, is extremely obscure, (owing to the ambiguity of a word which occurs three times, and may signify a chariot or the rider in it; or a rider on a horse or other animal; or a company of chariots or riders; it is pretty clear, that Darius and Cyrus, the Medes and the Persians, are intended to be distinguished by the two riders, or two sorts of cattle. Bp. Lowth. 8. And he cried, A lion:] The marginal reading, "as a lion," gives an easier sense; with a strong voice, like a lion: the particle as is frequently understood; see chap. xv. 5. W. Lowth, Bp. Hall.