JEREMIAH, son of Hilkiah, one of the ordinary priests, dwelling in Anathoth of Benjamin ( Jer 1:1), not the Hilkiah the high priest who discovered the book of the law ( 2Ki 22:8); had he been the same, the designation would have been "the priest", or "the high priest". Besides, his residence at Anathoth shows that he belonged to the line of Abiathar, who was deposed from the high priesthood by Solomon ( 1Ki 2:26-35), after which the office remained in Zadok's line. Mention occurs of Jeremiah in 2Ch 35:25; 36:12, 21. In 629 B.C. the thirteenth year of King Josiah, while still very young ( Jer 1:5), he received his prophetical call in Anathoth ( Jer 1:2); and along with Hilkiah the high priest, the prophetess Huldah, and the prophet Zephaniah, he helped forward Josiah's reformation of religion ( 2Ki 23:1-25). Among the first charges to him was one that he should go and proclaim God's message in Jerusalem ( Jer 2:2). He also took an official tour to announce to the cities of Judah the contents of the book of the law, found in the temple ( Jer 11:6) five years after his call to prophesy. On his return to Anathoth, his countrymen, offended at his reproofs, conspired against his life. To escape their persecutions ( Jer 11:21), as well as those of his own family ( Jer 12:6), he left Anathoth and resided at Jerusalem. During the eighteen years of his ministry in Josiah's reign he was unmolested; also during the three months of Jehoahaz or Shallum's reign ( Jer 22:10-12). On Jehoiakim's accession it became evident that Josiah's reformation effected nothing more than a forcible repression of idolatry and the establishment of the worship of God outwardly. The priests, prophets, and people then brought Jeremiah before the authorities, urging that he should be put to death for his denunciations of evil against the city ( Jer 26:8-11). The princes, however, especially Ahikam, interposed in his behalf ( Jer 26:16, 24), but he was put under restraint, or at least deemed it prudent not to appear in public. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim (606 B.C.), he was commanded to write the predictions given orally through him, and to read them to the people. Being "shut up", he could not himself go into the house of the Lord ( Jer 36:5); he therefore deputed Baruch, his amanuensis, to read them in public on the fast day. The princes thereupon advised Baruch and Jeremiah to hide themselves from the king's displeasure. Meanwhile they read the roll to the king, who was so enraged that he cut it with a knife and threw it into the fire; at the same time giving orders for the apprehension of the prophet and Baruch. They escaped Jehoiakim's violence, which had already killed the prophet Urijah ( Jer 26:20-23). Baruch rewrote the words, with additional prophecies, on another roll ( Jer 36:27-32). In the three months' reign of Jehoiachin or Jeconiah, he prophesied the carrying away of the king and the queen mother ( Jer 13:18; 22:24-30; compare 2Ki 24:12). In this reign he was imprisoned for a short time by Pashur ( Jer 20:1-18), the chief governor of the Lord's house; but at Zedekiah's accession he was free ( Jer 37:4), for the king sent to him to "inquire of the Lord" when Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jerusalem ( Jer 21:1-3, &c.; Jer 37:3). The Chaldeans drew off on hearing of the approach of Pharaoh's army ( Jer 37:5); but Jeremiah warned the king that the Egyptians would forsake him, and the Chaldeans return and burn up the city ( Jer 37:7, 8). The princes, irritated at this, made the departure of Jeremiah from the city during the respite a pretext for imprisoning him, on the allegation of his deserting to the Chaldeans ( Jer 38:1-5). He would have been left to perish in the dungeon of Malchiah, but for the intercession of Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian ( Jer 38:6-13). Zedekiah, though he consulted Jeremiah in secret yet was induced by his princes to leave Jeremiah in prison ( Jer 38:14-28) until Jerusalem was taken. Nebuchadnezzar directed his captain, Nebuzar-adan, to give him his freedom, so that he might either go to Babylon or stay with the remnant of his people as he chose. As a true patriot, notwithstanding the forty and a half years during which his country had repaid his services with neglect and persecution, he stayed with Gedaliah, the ruler appointed by Nebuchadnezzar over Judea ( Jer 40:6). After the murder of Gedaliah by Ishmael, Johanan, the recognized ruler of the people, in fear of the Chaldeans avenging the murder of Gedaliah, fled with the people to Egypt, and forced Jeremiah and Baruch to accompany him, in spite of the prophet's warning that the people should perish if they went to Egypt, but be preserved by remaining in their land ( Jer 41:1-43:13). At Tahpanhes, a boundary city on the Tanitic or Pelustan branch of the Nile, he prophesied the overthrow of Egypt ( Jer 43:8-13). Tradition says he died in Egypt. According to the P SEUDO-EPIPHANIUS, he was stoned at Taphnæ or Tahpanhes. The Jews so venerated him that they believed he would rise from the dead and be the forerunner of Messiah ( Mt 16:14).
HAVERNICK observes that the combination of features in Jeremiah's character proves his divine mission; mild, timid, and susceptible of melancholy, yet intrepid in the discharge of his prophetic functions, not sparing the prince any more than the meanest of his subjects--the Spirit of prophecy controlling his natural temper and qualifying him for his hazardous undertaking, without doing violence to his individuality. Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Daniel, and Ezekiel were his contemporaries. The last forms a good contrast to Jeremiah, the Spirit in his case acting on a temperament as strongly marked by firmness as Jeremiah's was by shrinking and delicate sensitiveness. Ezekiel views the nation's sins as opposed to righteousness--Jeremiah, as productive of misery; the former takes the objective, the latter the subjective, view of the evils of the times. Jeremiah's style corresponds to his character: he is peculiarly marked by pathos, and sympathy with the wretched; his Lamentations illustrate this; the whole series of elegies has but one object--to express sorrow for his fallen country; yet the lights and images in which he presents this are so many, that the reader, so far from feeling it monotonous, is charmed with the variety of the plaintive strains throughout. The language is marked by Aramæisms, which probably was the ground of JEROME'S charge that the style is "rustic". LOWTH denies the charge and considers him in portions not inferior to Isaiah. His heaping of phrase on phrase, the repetition of stereotyped forms--and these often three times--are due to his affected feelings and to his desire to intensify the expression of them; he is at times more concise, energetic, and sublime, especially against foreign nations, and in the rhythmical parts.
The principle of the arrangement of his prophecies is hard to ascertain. The order of kings was--Josiah (under whom he prophesied eighteen years), Jehoahaz (three months), Jehoiakim (eleven years), Jeconiah (three months), Zedekiah (eleven years). But his prophecies under Josiah (the first through twentieth chapters) are immediately followed by a portion under Zedekiah (the twenty-first chapter). Again, Jer 24:8-10, as to Zedekiah, comes in the midst of the section as to Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah (the twenty-second, twenty-third, twenty-fifth chapters, &c.) So the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth chapters as to Jehoiakim, follow the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, thirty-third, thirty-fourth chapters, as to Zedekiah; and the forty-fifth chapter, dated the fourth year of Jehoiakim, comes after predictions as to the Jews who fled to Egypt after the overthrow of Jerusalem. EWALD thinks the present arrangement substantially Jeremiah's own; the various portions are prefaced by the same formula, "The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord" ( Jer 7:1; 11:1; 18:1; 21:1; 25:1; 30:1; 32:1; 34:1, 8; 35:1; 40:1; 44:1; compare Jer 14:1; 46:1; 47:1; 49:34). Notes of time mark other divisions more or less historical ( Jer 26:1; 27:1; 36:1; 37:1). Two other portions are distinct of themselves ( Jer 29:1; 45:1). The second chapter has the shorter introduction which marks the beginning of a strophe; the third chapter seems imperfect, having as the introduction merely "saying" ( Jer 3:1, Hebrew). Thus in the poetical parts, there are twenty-three sections divided into strophes of from seven to nine verses, marked some way thus, "The Lord said also unto me". They form five books: I. The Introduction, first chapter II. Reproofs of the Jews, the second through twenty-fourth chapters, made up of seven sections: (1) the second chapter (2) the third through sixth chapters; (3) the seventh through tenth chapters; (4) the eleventh through thirteenth chapters; (5) the fourteenth through seventeenth chapters; (6) the seventeenth through nineteenth and twentieth chapters; (7) the twenty-first through twenty-fourth chapters. III. Review of all nations in two sections: the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth through forty-ninth chapters, with a historical appendix of three sections, (1) the twenty-sixth chapter; (2) the twenty-seventh chapter; (3) the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth chapters. IV. Two sections picturing the hopes of brighter times, (1) the thirtieth and thirty-first chapters; (2) the thirty-second and thirty-third chapters; and an historical appendix in three sections: (1) Jer 34:1-7; (2) Jer 34:8-22; (3) Jer 35:1-19. V. The conclusion, in two sections: (1) Jer 36:2; (2) Jer 45:1-5. Subsequently, in Egypt, he added Jer 46:13-26 to the previous prophecy as to Egypt; also the three sections, the thirty-seventh through thirty-ninth chapters; fortieth through forty-third chapters; and forty-fourth chapter. The fifty-second chapter was probably (see Jer 51:64) an appendix from a later hand, taken from 2Ki 24:18, &c.; 2Ki 25:30. The prophecies against the several foreign nations stand in a different order in the Hebrew from that of the Septuagint; also the prophecies against them in the Hebrew (the forty-sixth through fifty-first chapters) are in the Septuagint placed after Jer 25:14, forming the twenty-sixth and thirty-first chapters; the remainder of the twenty-fifth chapter of the Hebrew is the thirty-second chapter of the Septuagint. Some passages in the Hebrew ( Jer 27:19-22; 33:14-26; 39:4-14 Jer 48:45-47) are not found in the Septuagint; the Greek translators must have had a different recension before them; probably an earlier one. The Hebrew is probably the latest and fullest edition from Jeremiah's own hand. See on Jer 25:13. The canonicity of his prophecies is established by quotations of them in the New Testament (see Mt 2:17; 16:14; Heb 8:8-12; on Mt 27:9, see on Introduction to Zechariah); also by the testimony of Ecclesiasticus 49:7, which quotes Jer 1:10; of PHILO, who quotes his word as an "oracle"; and of the list of canonical books in MELITO, O RIGEN, JEROME, and the Talmud.
Jer 1:1-19. THE GENERAL TITLE OR INTRODUCTION
Jer 1:1-3, probably prefixed by Jeremiah, when he collected his prophecies and gave them to his countrymen to take with them to Babylon [M ICHAELIS].
1. Anathoth--a town in Benjamin, twenty stadia, that is, two or three miles north of Jerusalem; now Anata (compare Isa 10:30, and the context, Isa 10:28-32). One of the four cities allotted to the Kohathites in Benjamin ( Jos 21:18). Compare 1Ki 2:26, 27; a stigma was cast thenceforth on the whole sacerdotal family resident there; this may be alluded to in the words here, "the priests . . . in Anathoth." God chooses "the weak, base, and despised things . . . to confound the mighty."
2, 3. Jehoiakim . . . Josiah . . . Zedekiah--Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin are omitted for they reigned only three months each. The first and last of the kings under whom each prophet prophesied are often thus specified in the general title. See on these kings, and Jeremiah's life, my Introduction.
thirteenth . . . of his reign-- ( Jer 25:3).
fifth month-- ( 2Ki 25:8).
4-10. Jeremiah's call to the prophetical office.
unto me--other manuscripts read "to him"; but English Version probably represents the true Hebrew text; this inscription was doubtless made by Jeremiah himself.
5. knew--approved of thee as My chosen instrument ( Ex 33:12, 17; compare Isa 49:1, 5; Ro 8:29).
sanctified--rather, "separated." The primary meaning is, "to set apart" from a common to a special use; hence arose the secondary sense, "to sanctify," ceremonially and morally. It is not here meant that Jehovah cleansed Jeremiah from original sin or regenerated him by His Spirit; but separated him to his peculiar prophetical office, including in its range, not merely the Hebrews, but also the nations hostile to them ( Jer 25:12-38; 27:1-21; 46:1-51:64), [HENDERSON]. Not the effect, but the predestination in Jehovah's secret counsel, is meant by the sanctification here (compare Lu 1:15, 41; Ac 15:18; Ga 1:15; Eph 1:11).
6. From the long duration of his office ( Jer 1:2, 3; Jer 40:1, &c.; Jer 43:8, &c.), it is supposed that he was at the time of his call under twenty-five years of age.
child--the same word is translated, "young man" ( 2Sa 18:5). The reluctance often shown by inspired ministers of God ( Ex 4:10; 6:12, 30; Jon 1:3) to accept the call, shows that they did not assume the office under the impulse of self-deceiving fanaticism, as false prophets often did.
7. to all that--to all "to whom" [ROSENMULLER]. Rather, "to all against whom"; in a hostile sense (compare Jer 1:8, 17, 18, 19) [MAURER]. Such was the perversity of the rulers and people of Judea at that time, that whoever would desire to be a faithful prophet needed to arm himself with an intrepid mind; Jeremiah was naturally timid and sensitive; yet the Spirit moulded him to the necessary degree of courage without taking away his peculiar individuality.
8. ( Eze 2:6; 3:9).
I am with thee-- ( Ex 3:12; Jos 1:5).
9. touched my mouth--a symbolical act in supernatural vision, implying that God would give him utterance, notwithstanding his inability to speak ( Jer 1:6). So Isaiah's lips were touched with a living coal ( Isa 6:7; compare Eze 2:8, 9, 10; Da 10:16).
10. set thee over--literally, "appointed thee to the oversight." He was to have his eye upon the nations, and to predict their destruction, or restoration, according as their conduct was bad or good. Prophets are said to do that which they foretell shall be done; for their word is God's word; and His word is His instrument whereby He doeth all things ( Ge 1:3; Ps 33:6, 9). Word and deed are one thing with Him. What His prophet saith is as certain as if it were done. The prophet's own consciousness was absorbed into that of God; so closely united to God did he feel himself, that Jehovah's words and deeds are described as his. In Jer 31:28, God is said to do what Jeremiah here is represented as doing (compare Jer 18:7; 1Ki 19:17; Eze 43:3).
root out-- ( Mt 15:13).
pull down--change of metaphor to architecture ( 2Co 10:4). There is a play on the similar sounds, linthosh, linthotz, in the Hebrew for "root out . . . pull down."
build . . . plant--restore upon their repenting. His predictions were to be chiefly, and in the first instance, denunciatory; therefore the destruction of the nations is put first, and with a greater variety of terms than their restoration.
11. rod--shoot, or branch.
almond tree--literally, "the wakeful tree," because it awakes from the sleep of winter earlier than the other trees, flowering in January, and bearing fruit in March; symbol of God's early execution of His purpose; Jer 1:12, "hasten My word" (compare Am 8:3).
12. hasten--rather, "I will be wakeful as to My word," &c.; alluding to Jer 1:11, "the wakeful tree" [MAURER].
13. Another vision, signifying what is the "word" about to be "performed," and by what instrumentality.
seething--literally, "blown under"; so boiling by reason of the flame under it kept brisk by blowing. An Oriental symbol of a raging war.
toward--rather, "from the north." Literally, "from the face of the region situated towards the north" (compare Jer 1:14, 15) [MAURER]. The pot in the north rested on one side, its mouth being about to pour forth its contents southwards, namely, on Judea. Babylon, though east of Judea, was regarded by the Hebrews as north, because they appropriated the term "east" to Arabia-Deserta, stretching from Palestine to the Euphrates; or rather [BOCHART], the reference here is not to the site, but to the route of the Babylonians; not being able to cross the desert, they must enter the Holy Land by the northern frontier, through Riblah in Hamath ( Jer 39:5; 52:9).
14. break forth--"shall disclose itself."
Out of the north-- ( Jer 4:6; 6:1, 22; 10:22; 25:9; Eze 26:7). The Chaldeans did not cast off the yoke of Assyria till several years after, under Nabopolassar, 625 B.C.; but long previously they had so increased as to threaten Assyria, which was now grown weak, and other neighboring peoples.
15. families--the tribes or clans composing the various kingdoms of Babylon; the specification of these aggravates the picture of calamity ( Jer 25:9).
throne at . . . gates--the usual place of administering justice. The conquering princes will set up their tribunal there ( Jer 39:3, 5; 52:9). Or the reference is to the military pavilion ( Jer 43:10) [MAURER].
16. utter--pronounce. The judicial sentences, pronounced against the Jews by the invading princes, would be virtually the "judgments of God" ( Isa 10:5).
works--idols.
17. gird . . . loins--resolutely prepare for thy appointed task. Metaphor from the flowing robes worn in the East, which have to be girt up with a girdle, so as not to incommode one, when undertaking any active work ( Job 38:3; Lu 12:35; 1Pe 1:13).
dismayed . . . confound--the same Hebrew word; literally, "to break." Be not dismayed at their faces (before them), lest I make thee dismayed before their faces (before them), that is, "lest I should permit thee to be overcome by them" (compare Jer 49:37).
18. defenced city, &c.--that is, I will give thee strength which no power of thine enemies shall overcome ( Jer 6:27; 15:20; Isa 50:7; 54:17; Lu 21:15; Ac 6:10).
walls--plural, to express the abundant strength to be given him. DE ROSSI'S'S manuscripts read singular, "wall."
people of the land--the general masses, as distinguished from the princes and priests.
Jer 2:1-37. EXPOSTULATION WITH THE JEWS, REMINDING THEM OF THEIR FORMER DEVOTEDNESS, AND GOD'S CONSEQUENT FAVOR, AND A DENUNCIATION OF GOD'S COMING JUDGMENTS FOR THEIR IDOLATRY.
Probably in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah ( Jer 1:2; compare Jer 3:6, "also . . . in . . . days of Josiah"). The warning not to rely as they did on Egypt ( Jer 2:18), was in accordance with Josiah's policy, who took part with Assyria and Babylon against Egypt ( 2Ki 23:29). Jeremiah, doubtless, supported the reformation begun by Josiah, in the previous year (the twelfth of his reign), and fully carried out in the eighteenth.
2. cry--proclaim.
Jerusalem--the headquarters and center of their idolatry; therefore addressed first.
thee--rather, "I remember in regard to thee" [HENDERSON]; "for thee" [MAURER].
kindness of thy youth--not so much Israel's kindness towards God, as the kindness which Israel experienced from God in their early history (compare Eze 16:8, 22, 60; 23:3, 8, 19; Ho 2:15). For Israel from the first showed perversity rather than kindness towards God (compare Ex 14:11, 12; 15:24; 32:1-7, &c.). The greater were God's favors to them from the first, the fouler was their ingratitude in forsaking Him ( Jer 2:3, 5, &c.).
espousals--the intervals between Israel's betrothal to God at the exodus from Egypt, and the formal execution of the marriage contract at Sinai. EWALD takes the "kindness" and "love" to be Israel's towards God at first ( Ex 19:8; 24:3; 35:20-29; 36:5; Jos 24:16-17). But compare De 32:16, 17; Eze 16:5, 6, 15, 22 ("days of thy youth") implies that the love here meant was on God's side, not Israel's.
thou wentest after me in . . . wilderness--the next act of God's love, His leading them in the desert without needing any strange god, such as they since worshipped, to help Him ( De 2:7; 32:12). Jer 2:6 shows it is God's "leading" of them, not their following after God in the wilderness, which is implied.
3. holiness unto the Lord--that is, was consecrated to the service of Jehovah ( Ex 19:5, 6). They thus answered to the motto on their high priest's breastplate, "Holiness to the Lord" ( De 7:6; 14:2, 21).
first-fruits of his increase--that is, of Jehovah's produce. As the first-fruits of the whole produce of the land were devoted to God ( Ex 23:19; Nu 18:12, 13), so Israel was devoted to Him as the first-fruit and representative nation among all nations. So the spiritual Israel ( Jas 1:18; Re 14:4).
devour--carrying on the image of first-fruits which were eaten before the Lord by the priests as the Lord's representatives; all who ate (injured) Jehovah's first-fruits (Israel), contracted guilt: for example, Amalek, the Amorites, &c., were extirpated for their guilt towards Israel.
shall come--rather, "came."
4. Jacob . . . Israel--the whole nation.
families--(See on Jer 1:15). Hear God's word not only collectively, but individually ( Zec 12:12-14).
5. iniquity--wrong done to them ( Isa 5:4; Mic 6:3; compare De 32:4).
walked after vanity--contrasted with "walkest after me in the wilderness" ( Jer 2:2): then I was their guide in the barren desert; now they take idols as their guides.
vanity . . . vain--An idol is not only vain (impotent and empty), but vanity itself. Its worshippers acquire its character, becoming vain as it is ( De 7:26; Ps 115:8). A people's character never rises above that of its gods, which are its "better nature" [BACON] ( 2Ki 17:15; Jon 2:8).
6. Neither said they, Where, &c.--The very words which God uses ( Isa 63:9, 11, 13), when, as it were, reminding Himself of His former acts of love to Israel as a ground for interposing in their behalf again. When they would not say, Where is Jehovah, &c., God Himself at last said it for them (compare see on Jer 2:2).
deserts . . . pits--The desert between Mount Sinai and Palestine abounds in chasms and pits, in which beasts of burden often sink down to the knees. "Shadow of death" refers to the darkness of the caverns amidst the rocky precipices ( De 8:15; 32:10).
7. plentiful--literally, "a land of Carmel," or "well-cultivated land": a garden land, in contrast to the "land of deserts" ( Jer 2:6).
defiled--by idolatries ( Jud 2:10-17; Ps 78:58, 59; 106:38).
you . . . ye--change to the second person from the third, "they" ( Jer 2:6), in order to bring home the guilt to the living generation.
8. The three leading classes, whose very office under the theocracy was to lead the people to God, disowned Him in the same language as the nation at large, "Where is the Lord?" (See Jer 2:6).
priests--whose office it was to expound the law ( Mal 2:6, 7).
handle--are occupied with the law as the subject of their profession.
pastors--civil, not religious: princes ( Jer 3:15), whose duty it was to tend their people.
prophets--who should have reclaimed the people from their apostasy, encouraged them in it by pretended oracles from Baal, the Phœnician false god.
by Baal--in his name and by his authority (compare Jer 11:21).
walked after things . . . not profit--answering to, "walked after vanity," that is, idols ( Jer 2:5; compare Jer 2:11; Hab 2:18).
9. yet plead--namely, by inflicting still further judgments on you.
children's children--Three manuscripts and JEROME omit "children's"; they seem to have thought it unsuitable to read "children's children," when "children" had not preceded. But it is designedly so written, to intimate that the final judgment on the nation would be suspended for many generations [HORSLEY]. (Compare Eze 20:35, 36; Mic 6:2).
10. pass over the isles--rather, "cross over to the isles."
Chittim . . . Kedar--that is, the heathen nations, west and east. Go where you will, you cannot find an instance of any heathen nation forsaking their own for other gods. Israel alone does this. Yet the heathen gods are false gods; whereas Israel, in forsaking Me for other gods, forsake their "glory" for unprofitable idols.
Chittim--Cyprus, colonized by Phœnicians, who built in it the city of Citium, the modern Chitti. Then the term came to be applied to all maritime coasts of the Mediterranean, especially Greece ( Nu 24:24; Isa 23:1; Da 11:30).
Kedar--descended from Ishmael; the Bedouins and Arabs, east of Palestine.
11. glory--Jehovah, the glory of Israel ( Ps 106:20; Ro 1:23). The Shekinah, or cloud resting on the sanctuary, was the symbol of "the glory of the Lord" ( 1Ki 8:11; compare Ro 9:4). The golden calf was intended as an image of the true God (compare Ex 32:4, 5), yet it is called an "idol" ( Ac 7:41). It (like Roman Catholic images) was a violation of the second commandment, as the heathen multiplying of gods is a violation of the first.
not profit-- ( Jer 2:8).
12. Impassioned personification ( Isa 1:2).
horribly afraid--rather, be horrified."
be . . . very desolate--rather, "be exceedingly aghast" at the monstrous spectacle. Literally, "to be dried up," or "devastated," (places devastated have such an unsightly look) [MAURER].
13. two evils--not merely one evil, like the idolaters who know no better; besides simple idolatry, My people add the sin of forsaking the true God whom they have known; the heathen, though having the sin of idolatry, are free from the further sin of changing the true God for idols ( Jer 2:11).
forsaken me--The Hebrew collocation brings out the only living God into more prominent contrast with idol nonentities. "Me they have forsaken, the Fountain," &c. ( Jer 17:13; Ps 36:9; Joh 4:14).
broken cisterns--tanks for rain water, common in the East, where wells are scarce. The tanks not only cannot give forth an ever-flowing fresh supply as fountains can, but cannot even retain the water poured into them; the stonework within being broken, the earth drinks up the collected water. So, in general, all earthly, compared with heavenly, means of satisfying man's highest wants ( Isa 55:1, 2; compare Lu 12:33).
14. is he a homeborn slave--No. "Israel is Jehovah's son, even His first-born" ( Ex 4:22). Jer 2:16, 18, 36, and the absence of any express contrast of the two parts of the nation are against EICHORN'S view, that the prophet proposes to Judah, as yet spared, the case of Israel (the ten tribes) which had been carried away by Assyria as a warning of what they might expect if they should still put their trust in Egypt. "Were Israel's ten tribes of meaner birth than Judah? Certainly not. If, then, the former fell before Assyria, what can Judah hope from Egypt against Assyria? . . . Israel" is rather here the whole of the remnant still left in their own land, that is, Judah. "How comes it to pass that the nation which once was under God's special protection ( Jer 2:3) is now left at the mercy of the foe as a worthless slave?" The prophet sees this event as if present, though it was still future to Judah ( Jer 2:19).
15. lions--the Babylonian princes ( Jer 4:7; compare Am 3:4). The disaster from the Babylonians in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, and again three years later when, relying on Egypt, he revolted from Nebuchadnezzar, is here referred to ( Jer 46:2; 2Ki 24:1, 2).
16. Noph . . . Tahapanes--Memphis, capital of Lower Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile, near the pyramids of Gizeh, opposite the site of modern Cairo. Daphne, on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, near Pelusium, on the frontier of Egypt towards Palestine. Isa 30:4 contracts it, Hanes. These two cities, one the capital, the other that with which the Jews came most in contact, stand for the whole of Egypt. Tahapanes takes its name from a goddess, Tphnet [CHAMPOLLION]. Memphis is from Man-nofri, "the abode of good men"; written in Hebrew, Moph ( Ho 9:6), or Noph. The reference is to the coming invasion of Judah by Pharaoh-necho of Egypt, on his return from the Euphrates, when he deposed Jehoahaz and levied a heavy tribute on the land ( 2Ki 23:33-35). Josiah's death in battle with the same Pharaoh is probably included ( 2Ki 23:29, 30).
have broken--rather, shall feed down the crown, &c., that is, affect with the greatest ignominy, such as baldness was regarded in the East ( Jer 48:37; 2Ki 2:23). Instead of "also," translate, "even" the Egyptians, in whom thou dost trust, shall miserably disappoint thy expectation [M AURER]. Jehoiakim was twice leagued with them ( 2Ki 23:34, 35): when he received the crown from them, and when he revolted from Nebuchadnezzar ( 2Ki 24:1, 2, 7). The Chaldeans, having become masters of Asia, threatened Egypt. Judea, situated between the contending powers, was thus exposed to the inroads of the one or other of the hostile armies; and unfortunately, except in Josiah's reign, took side with Egypt, contrary to God's warnings.
17. Literally, "Has not thy forsaking the Lord . . . procured this (calamity) to thee?" So the Septuagint: the Masoretic accents make "this" the subject of the verb, leaving the object to be understood. "Has not this procured (it, that is, the impending calamity) unto thee, that hast forsaken?" &c. ( Jer 4:18).
led-- ( De 32:10).
the way--The article expresses the right way, the way of the Lord: namely, the moral training which they enjoyed in the Mosaic covenant.
18. now--used in a reasoning sense, not of time.
the way of Egypt--What hast thou to do with the way, that is, with going down to Egypt; or what . . . with going to Assyria?
drink . . . waters--that is, to seek reinvigorating aid from them; so Jer 2:13, 36; compare "waters," meaning numerous forces ( Isa 8:7).
Sihor--that is, the black river, in Greek, Melas ("black"), the Nile: so called from the black deposit or soil it leaves after the inundation ( Isa 23:3). The Septuagint identifies it with Gihon, one of the rivers of Paradise.
the river--Euphrates, called by pre-eminence, the river; figurative for the Assyrian power. In 625 B.C., the seventeenth year of Josiah, and the fourth of Jeremiah's office, the kingdom of Assyria fell before Babylon, therefore Assyria is here put for Babylon its successor: so in 2Ki 23:29; La 5:6. There was doubtless a league between Judea and Assyria (that is, Babylon), which caused Josiah to march against Pharaoh-necho of Egypt when that king went against Babylon: the evil consequences of this league are foretold in this verse and Jer 2:36.
19. correct . . . reprove--rather, in the severer sense, "chastise . . . punish" [MAURER].
backslidings--"apostasies"; plural, to express the number and variety of their defections. The very confederacies they entered into were the occasion of their overthrow ( Pr 1:31; Isa 3:9; Ho 5:5).
know . . . see--imperative for futures: Thou shalt know and see to thy cost.
my fear--rather, "the fear of Me."
20. I--the Hebrew should be pointed as the second person feminine, a form common in Jeremiah: "Thou hast broken," &c. So the Septuagint, and the sense requires it.
thy yoke . . . bands--the yoke and bands which I laid on thee, My laws ( Jer 5:5).
transgress--so the Keri, and many manuscripts read. But the Septuagint and most authorities read, "I will not serve," that is, obey. The sense of English Version is, "I broke thy yoke (in Egypt)," &c., "and (at that time) thou saidst, I will not transgress; whereas thou hast (since then) wandered (from Me)" ( Ex 19:8).
hill . . . green tree--the scene of idolatries ( De 12:2; Isa 57:5, 7).
wanderest--rather, "thou hast bowed down thyself" (for the act of adultery: figurative of shameless idolatry, Ex 34:15, 16; compare Job 31:10).
21. The same image as in De 32:32; Ps 80:8, 9; Isa 5:1, &c.
unto me--with respect to Me.
22. nitre--not what is now so called, namely, saltpeter; but the natron of Egypt, a mineral alkali, an incrustation at the bottom of the lakes, after the summer heat has evaporated the water: used for washing (compare Job 9:30; Pr 25:20).
soap--potash, the carbonate of which is obtained impure from burning different plants, especially the kali of Egypt and Arabia. Mixed with oil it was used for washing.
marked--deeply ingrained, indelibly marked; the Hebrew, catham, being equivalent to cathab. Others translate, "is treasured up," from the Arabic. MAURER from a Syriac root, "is polluted."
23. ( Pr 30:12).
Baalim--plural, to express manifold excellency: compare Elohim.
see--consider.
the valley--namely, of Hinnom, or Tophet, south and east of Jerusalem: rendered infamous by the human sacrifices to Moloch in it (compare Jer 19:2, 6, 13, 14; 32:35; see on Isa 30:33).
thou art--omit. The substantive that follows in this verse (and also that in Jer 2:24) is in apposition with the preceding "thou."
dromedary--rather, a "young she-camel."
traversing--literally, "enfolding"; making its ways complicated by wandering hither and thither, lusting after the male. Compare as to the Jews' spiritual lust, Ho 2:6, 7.
24. ( Jer 14:6; Job 39:5). "A wild ass," agreeing with "thou" ( Jer 2:23).
at her pleasure--rather, "in her ardor," namely, in pursuit of a male, sniffing the wind to ascertain where one is to be found [MAURER].
occasion--either from a Hebrew root, "to meet"; "her meeting (with the male for sexual intercourse), who can avert it?" Or better from an Arabic root: "her heat (sexual impulse), who can allay it?" [MAURER].
all they--whichever of the males desire her company [HORSLEY].
will not weary themselves--have no need to weary themselves in searching for her.
her month--in the season of the year when her sexual impulse is strongest, she puts herself in the way of the males, so that they have no difficulty in finding her.
25. Withhold, &c.--that is, abstain from incontinence; figuratively for idolatry [HOUBIGANT].
unshod, &c.--do not run so violently in pursuing lovers, as to wear out thy shoes: do not "thirst" so incontinently after sexual intercourse. HITZIG thinks the reference is to penances performed barefoot to idols, and the thirst occasioned by loud and continued invocations to them.
no hope-- ( Jer 18:12; Isa 57:10). "It is hopeless," that is, I am desperately resolved to go on in my own course.
strangers--that is, laying aside the metaphor, "strange gods" ( Jer 3:13; De 32:16).
26. is ashamed--is put to shame.
thief-- ( Joh 10:1).
Israel--that is, Judah ( Jer 2:28).
27. Thou art my father--(Contrast Jer 3:4; Isa 64:8).
in . . . trouble they will say--namely, to God ( Ps 78:34; Isa 26:16). Trouble often brings men to their senses ( Lu 15:16-18).
28. But--God sends them to the gods for whom they forsook Him, to see if they can help them ( De 32:37, 38; Jud 10:14).
according to the number of thy cities--Besides national deities, each city had its tutelary god ( Jer 11:13).
29. plead with me--that is, contend with Me for afflicting you ( Jer 2:23, 35).
30. ( Jer 5:3; 6:29; Isa 1:5; 9:13).
your children--that is, your people, you.
your . . . sword . . . devoured . . . prophets-- ( 2Ch 36:16; Ne 9:26; Mt 23:29, 31).
31. The Hebrew collocation is, "O, the generation, ye," that is, "O ye who now live." The generation needed only to be named, to call its degeneracy to view, so palpable was it.
wilderness--in which all the necessaries of life are wanting. On the contrary, Jehovah was a never-failing source of supply for all Israel's wants in the wilderness, and afterwards in Canaan.
darkness--literally, "darkness of Jehovah," the strongest Hebrew term for "darkness; the densest darkness"; compare "land of the shadow of death" ( Jer 2:6).
We are lords--that is, We are our own masters. We will worship what gods we like ( Ps 12:4; 82:6). But it is better to translate from a different Hebrew root: "We ramble at large," without restraint pursuing our idolatrous lusts.
32. Oriental women greatly pride themselves on their ornaments (compare Isa 61:10).
attire--girdles for the breast.
forgotten me-- ( Jer 13:25; Ho 8:14).
33. Why trimmest--MAURER translates, "How skilfully thou dost prepare thy way," &c. But see 2Ki 9:30. "Trimmest" best suits the image of one decking herself as a harlot.
way--course of life.
therefore--accordingly. Or else, "nay, thou hast even," &c.
also . . . wicked ones--even the wicked harlots, that is, (laying aside the metaphor) even the Gentiles who are wicked, thou teachest to be still more so [GROTIUS].
34. Also--not only art thou polluted with idolatry, but also with the guilt of shedding innocent blood [MAURER]. ROSENMULLER not so well translates, "even in thy skirts," &c.; that is, there is no part of thee (not even thy skirts) that is not stained with innocent blood ( Jer 19:4; 2Ki 21:16; Ps 106:38). See as to innocent blood shed, not as here in honor of idols, but of prophets for having reproved them ( Jer 2:30; Jer 26:20-23).
souls--that is, persons.
search--I did not need to "search deep" to find proof of thy guilt; for it was "upon all these" thy skirts. Not in deep caverns didst thou perpetrate these atrocities, but openly in the vale of Hinnom and within the precincts of the temple.
35. ( Jer 2:23, 29).
36. gaddest--runnest to and fro, now seeking help from Assyria ( 2Ch 28:16-21), now from Egypt ( Jer 37:7, 8; Isa 30:3).
37. him--Egypt.
hands upon . . . head--expressive of mourning ( 2Sa 13:19).
in them--in those stays in which thou trustest.
Jer 3:1-25. GOD'S MERCY NOTWITHSTANDING JUDAH'S VILENESS.
Contrary to all precedent in the case of adultery, Jehovah offers a return to Judah, the spiritual adulteress ( Jer 3:1-5). A new portion of the book, ending with the sixth chapter. Judah worse than Israel; yet both shall be restored in the last days ( Jer 3:6-25).
1. They say--rather, as Hebrew, "saying," in agreement with "the LORD"; Jer 2:37 of last chapter [MAURER]. Or, it is equivalent to, "Suppose this case." Some copyist may have omitted, "The word of the Lord came to me," saying.
shall he return unto her--will he take her back? It was unlawful to do so ( De 24:1-4).
shall not--Should not the land be polluted if this were done?
yet return-- ( Jer 3:22; Jer 4:1; Zec 1:3; compare Eze 16:51, 58, 60). "Nevertheless," &c. (see on Isa 50:1).
2. high places--the scene of idolatries which were spiritual adulteries.
In . . . ways . . . sat for them--watching for lovers like a prostitute ( Ge 38:14, 21; Pr 7:12; 23:28; Eze 16:24, 25), and like an Arab who lies in wait for travellers. The Arabs of the desert, east and south of Palestine, are still notorious as robbers.
3. no latter rain--essential to the crops in Palestine; withheld in judgment ( Le 26:19; compare Joe 2:23).
whore's forehead-- ( Jer 8:12; Eze 3:8).
4. from this time--not referring, as MICHAELIS thinks, to the reformation begun the year before, that is, the twelfth of Josiah; it means--now at once, now at last.
me--contrasted with the "stock" whom they had heretofore called on as "father" ( Jer 2:27; Lu 15:18).
thou art--rather, "thou wast."
guide of . . . youth--that is, husband ( Jer 2:2; Pr 2:17; Ho 2:7, 15). Husband and father are the two most endearing of ties.
5. he--"thou," the second person, had preceded. The change to the third person implies a putting away of God to a greater distance from them; instead of repenting and forsaking their idols, they merely deprecate the continuance of their punishment. Jer 3:12 and Ps 103:9, answer their question in the event of their penitence.
spoken and--rather (God's reply to them), "Thou hast spoken (thus), and yet (all the while) thou hast done evil," &c.
as thou couldest--with all thy might; with incorrigible persistency [CALVIN].
6. Jer 3:6-6:30, is a new discourse, delivered in Josiah's reign. It consists of two parts, the former extending to Jer 4:3, in which he warns Judah from the example of Israel's doom, and yet promises Israel final restoration; the latter a threat of Babylonian invasion; as Nabopolassar founded the Babylonian empire, 625 B.C., the seventeenth of Josiah, this prophecy is perhaps not earlier than that date ( Jer 4:5, &c.; Jer 5:14, &c.; Jer 6:1, &c.; Jer 22:1-30); and probably not later than the second thorough reformation in the eighteenth year of the same reign.
backsliding--literally, "apostasy"; not merely apostate, but apostasy itself, the essence of it ( Jer 3:14, 22).
7. I said-- ( 2Ki 17:13).
sister-- ( Eze 16:46; 23:2, 4).
8. I saw that, though (whereas) it was for this very reason (namely), because backsliding (apostate) Israel had committed adultery I had put her away ( 2Ki 17:6, 18), and given her a bill of divorce, yet Judah, &c. ( Eze 23:11, &c.).
bill of divorce--literally, "a writing of cuttings off." The plural implies the completeness of the severance. The use of this metaphor here, as in the former discourse ( Jer 3:1), implies a close connection between the discourses. The epithets are characteristic; Israel "apostate" (as the Hebrew for "backsliding" is better rendered); Judah, not as yet utterly apostate, but treacherous or faithless.
also--herself also, like Israel.
9. it--Some take this verse of Judah, to whom the end of Jer 3:8 refers. But Jer 3:10 puts Judah in contrast to Israel in this verse. "Yet for all this," referring to the sad example of Israel; if Jer 3:9 referred to Judah, "she" would have been written in Jer 3:10, not "Judah." Translate, "It (the putting away of Israel) had come to pass through . . . whoredom; and (that is, for) she (Israel) had defiled the land" &c. [MAURER]. English Version, however, may be explained to refer to Israel.
lightness--"infamy." [EWALD]. MAURER not so well takes it from the Hebrew root, "voice," "fame."
10. yet--notwithstanding the lesson given in Israel's case of the fatal results of apostasy.
not . . . whole heart--The reformation in the eighteenth year of Josiah was not thorough on the part of the people, for at his death they relapsed into idolatry ( 2Ch 34:33; Ho 7:14).
11. justified herself--has been made to appear almost just (that is, comparatively innocent) by the surpassing guilt of Judah, who adds hypocrisy and treachery to her sin; and who had the example of Israel to warn her, but in vain (compare Eze 16:51; 23:11).
more than--in comparison with.
12. Go--not actually; but turn and proclaim towards the north (Media and Assyria, where the ten tribes were located by Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser, 2Ki 15:29; 17:6; 18:9, 11).
Return . . . backsliding--Hebrew, Shubah, Meshubah, a play on sounds. In order to excite Judah to godly jealousy ( Ro 11:14), Jehovah addresses the exiled ten tribes of Israel with a loving invitation.
cause . . . anger to fall--literally, "I will not let fall My countenance" (compare Ge 4:5, 6; Job 29:3), that is, I will not continue to frown on you.
keep--"anger" is to be supplied (see on Jer 3:5).
13. Only acknowledge-- ( De 30:1, 3; Pr 28:13).
scattered thy ways, &c.-- ( Jer 2:25). Not merely the calves at Beth-el, but the idols in every direction, were the objects of their worship ( Eze 16:15, 24, 25).
14. I am married--literally, "I am Lord," that is, husband to you (so Jer 31:32; compare Ho 2:19, 20; Isa 54:5). GESENIUS, following the Septuagint version of Jer 31:32, and Paul's quotation of it ( Heb 8:9), translates, "I have rejected you"; so the corresponding Arabic, and the idea of lordship, may pass into that of looking down upon, and so rejecting. But the Septuagint in this passage translates, "I will be Lord over you." And the "for" has much more force in English Version than in that of GESENIUS. The Hebrew hardly admits the rendering though [H ENGSTENBERG].
take you one of a city--Though but one or two Israelites were in a (foreign) city, they shall not be forgotten; all shall be restored ( Am 9:9). So, in the spiritual Israel, God gathers one convert here, another there, into His Church; not the least one is lost ( Mt 18:14; Ro 11:5; compare Jer 24:5-7).
family--a clan or tribe.
15. pastors--not religious, but civil rulers, as Zerubbabel, Nehemiah ( Jer 23:4; 2:8).
16. they shall say no more--The Jews shall no longer glory in the possession of the ark; it shall not be missed, so great shall be the blessings of the new dispensation. The throne of the Lord, present Himself, shall eclipse and put out of mind the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat between the cherubim, God's former throne. The ark, containing the two tables of the law, disappeared at the Babylonian captivity, and was not restored to the second temple, implying that the symbolical "glory" was to be superseded by a "greater glory" ( Hag 2:9).
neither . . . visit it--rather, "neither shall it be missed" (so in Jer 23:4).
done--rather, "neither shall it (the ark) be made (that is, be restored) any more" [MAURER].
17. Jerusalem--the whole city, not merely the temple. As it has been the center of the Hebrew theocracy, so it shall be the point of attraction to the whole earth ( Isa 2:2-4; Zec 2:10, 11; 14:16-21).
throne of . . . Lord--The Shekinah, the symbol of God's peculiar nearness to Israel ( De 4:7) shall be surpassed by the antitype, God's own throne in Jerusalem ( Ps 2:6, 8; Eze 34:23, 24; Zec 2:5).
imagination--rather, as Margin, "the obstinacy" or stubbornness.
18. Judah . . . Israel . . . together--Two distinct apostasies, that of Israel and that of Judah, were foretold ( Jer 3:8, 10). The two have never been united since the Babylonish captivity; therefore their joint restoration must be still future ( Isa 11:12, 13; Eze 37:16-22; Ho 1:11).
north-- ( Jer 3:12).
land . . . given . . . inheritance-- ( Am 9:15).
19. The good land covenanted to Abraham is to be restored to his seed. But the question arises, How shall this be done?
put . . . among . . . children--the Greek for adoption means, literally, "putting among the sons."
the children--that is, My children. "How shall I receive thee back into My family, after thou hast so long forsaken Me for idols?" The answer is, they would acknowledge Him as "Father," and no longer turn away from Him. God assumes the language of one wondering how so desperate apostates could be restored to His family and its privileges (compare Eze 37:3; CALVIN makes it, How the race of Abraham can be propagated again, being as it were dead); yet as His purpose has decreed it so, He shows how it shall be effected, namely, they shall receive from Him the spirit of adoption to cry, "My Father" ( Joh 1:12; Ga 4:6). The elect are "children" already in God's purpose; this is the ground of the subsequent realization of this relationship ( Eph 1:5; Heb 2:13).
pleasant land-- ( Jer 11:5; Eze 20:6; Da 11:16, Margin).
heritage of . . . hosts--a heritage the most goodly of all nations [MAURER]; or a "heritage possessed by powerful hosts" ( De 4:38; Am 2:9). The rendering "splendors," instead of "hosts," is opposed by the fact that the Hebrew for "splendor" is not found in the plural.
20. Surely--rather, "But."
husband--literally, "friend."
21. In harmony with the preceding promises of God, the penitential confessions of Israel are heard.
high places--The scene of their idolatries is the scene of their confessions. Compare Jer 3:23, in which they cast aside their trust in these idolatrous high places. The publicity of their penitence is also implied (compare Jer 7:29; 48:38).
22. Jehovah's renewed invitation ( Jer 3:12, 14) and their immediate response.
heal--forgive ( 2Ch 30:18, 20; Ho 14:4).
unto thee--rather, "in obedience to thee"; literally, "for thee" [ROSENMULLER].
23. multitude of mountains--that is, the multitude of gods worshipped on them (compare Ps 121:1, 2, Margin).
24. shame--that is, the idols, whose worship only covers us with shame ( Jer 11:13; Ho 9:10). So far from bringing us "salvation," they have cost us our cattle and even our children, whom we have sacrificed to them.
25. ( Ezr 9:7).
Jer 4:1-31. CONTINUATION OF ADDRESS TO THE TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL. ( Jer 4:1, 2). THE PROPHET TURNS AGAIN TO JUDAH, TO WHOM HE HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN SENT ( Jer 4:3-31).
1. return . . . return--play on words. "If thou wouldest return to thy land (thou must first), return (by conversion and repentance) to Me."
not remove--no longer be an unsettled wanderer in a strange land. So Cain ( Ge 4:12, 14).
2. And thou--rather, "And if (carried on from Jer 4:1) thou shalt swear, 'Jehovah liveth,' in truth, &c.", that is, if thou shalt worship Him (for we swear by the God whom we worship; compare De 6:13; 10:20; Isa 19:18; Am 8:14) in sincerity, &c.
and the nations--Rather, this is apodosis to the "if"; then shall the nations bless themselves in (by) Him" ( Isa 65:16). The conversion of the nations will be the consequence of Israel's conversion ( Ps 102:13, 15; Ro 11:12, 15).
3. Transition to Judah. Supply mentally. All which (the foregoing declaration as to Israel) applies to Judah.
and Jerusalem--that is, and especially the men of Jerusalem, as being the most prominent in Judea.
Break . . . fallow ground--that is, Repent of your idolatry, and so be prepared to serve the Lord in truth ( Ho 10:12; Mt 13:7). The unhumbled heart is like ground which may be improved, being let out to us for that purpose, but which is as yet fallow, overgrown with weeds, its natural product.
4. Remove your natural corruption of heart ( De 10:16; 30:6; Ro 2:29; Col 2:11).
5. cry, gather together--rather, "cry fully" that is, loudly. The Jews are warned to take measures against the impending Chaldean invasion (compare Jer 8:14).
6. Zion--The standard toward Zion intimated that the people of the surrounding country were to fly to it, as being the strongest of their fortresses.
7. lion--Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans ( Jer 2:15; 5:6; Da 7:14).
his thicket--lair; Babylon.
destroyer of the Gentiles--rather, "the nations" ( Jer 25:9).
8. Nothing is left to the Jews but to bewail their desperate condition.
anger . . . not turned back-- ( Isa 9:12, 17, 21).
9. heart--The wisdom of the most leading men will be utterly at a loss to devise means of relief.
10. thou hast . . . deceived--God, having even the false prophets in His hands, is here said to do that which for inscrutable purposes He permits them to do ( Ex 9:12; 2Th 2:11; compare Jer 8:15; which passage shows that the dupes of error were self-prepared for it, and that God's predestination did not destroy their moral freedom as voluntary agents). The false prophets foretold "peace," and the Jews believed them; God overruled this to His purposes ( Jer 5:12; 14:13; Eze 14:9).
soul--rather, "reacheth to the life."
11. dry wind--the simoom, terrific and destructive, blowing from the southeast across the sandy deserts east of Palestine. Image of the invading Babylonian army ( Ho 13:15). Babylon in its turn shall be visited by a similar "destroying wind" ( Jer 51:1).
of . . . high places--that is, that sweeps over the high places.
daughter--that is, the children of my people.
not to fan--a very different wind from those ordinary winds employed for fanning the grain in the open air.
12. full . . . from those places--rather, "a wind fuller (that is, more impetuous) than those winds" (which fan the corn) ( Jer 4:11) [ROSENMULLER].
unto me--"for Me," as My instrument for executing My purpose.
sentence--judgments against them ( Jer 1:16).
13. clouds--continuing the metaphor in Jer 4:11:12. Clouds of sand and dust accompany the simoom, and after rapid gyrations ascend like a pillar.
eagles-- ( De 28:49; Hab 1:8).
Woe unto us--The people are graphically presented before us, without it being formally so stated, bursting out in these exclamations.
14. Only one means of deliverance is left to the Jews--a thorough repentance.
vain thoughts--namely, projects for deliverance, such as enlisting the Egyptians on their side. GESENIUS translates, "How long wilt thou harbor vain thoughts?"
15. For . . . from Dan--The connection is: There is danger in delay; for the voice of a messenger announces the approach of the Chaldean enemy from Dan, the northern frontier of Palestine ( Jer 8:16; compare Jer 4:6; Jer 1:14).
Mount Ephraim--which borders closely on Judah; so that the foe is coming nearer and nearer. Dan and Beth-el in Ephraim were the two places where Jeroboam set up the idolatrous calves ( 1Ki 12:29); just retribution.
16. The neighboring foreign "nations" are summoned to witness Jehovah's judgments on His rebel people ( Jer 6:18, 19).
watchers--that is, besiegers (compare 2Sa 11:16); observed or watched, that is, besieged.
their voice--the war shout.
17. keepers of a field--metaphor from those who watch a field, to frighten away the wild beasts.
18. ( Jer 2:17, 19; Ps 107:17).
this is thy wickedness--that is, the fruit of thy wickedness.
19. The prophet suddenly assumes the language of the Jewish state personified, lamenting its affliction ( Jer 10:19, 20; 9:1, 10; Isa 15:5; compare Lu 19:41).
at my very heart--Hebrew, "at the walls of my heart"; the muscles round the heart. There is a climax, the "bowels," the pericardium, the "heart" itself.
maketh . . . noise--moaneth [HENDERSON].
alarm--the battle shout.
20. Destruction . . . cried--Breach upon breach is announced ( Ps 42:7; Eze 7:26). The war "trumpet" . . . the battle shout . . . the "destructions" . . . the havoc throughout "the whole land" . . . the spoiling of the shepherds' "tents" ( Jer 10:20; or, "tents" means cities, which should be overthrown as easily as tents [CALVIN]), form a gradation.
21. Judah in perplexity asks, How long is this state of things to continue?
22. Jehovah's reply; they cannot be otherwise than miserable, since they persevere in sin. The repetition of clauses gives greater force to the sentiment.
wise . . . evil . . . to do good . . . no knowledge--reversing the rule ( Ro 16:19) "wise unto . . . good, simple concerning evil."
23. Graphic picture of the utter desolation about to visit Palestine. "I beheld, and lo!" four times solemnly repeated, heightens the awful effect of the scene (compare Isa 24:19; 34:11).
without form and void--reduced to the primeval chaos ( Ge 1:2).
24. mountains-- ( Isa 5:25).
moved lightly--shook vehemently.
25. no man . . . birds--No vestige of the human, or of the feathered creation, is to be seen ( Eze 38:20; Zep 1:3).
26. fruitful place--Hebrew, Carmel.
a wilderness--Hebrew, "the wilderness," in contrast to "the fruitful place"; the great desert, where Carmel was, there is now the desert of Arabia [M AURER].
cities--in contrast to the fruitful place or field.
27. full end--utter destruction: I will leave some hope of restoration ( Jer 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28; compare Le 26:44).
28. For this--on account of the desolations just described ( Isa 5:30; Ho 4:3).
not repent-- ( Nu 23:19).
29. whole city--Jerusalem: to it the inhabitants of the country had fled for refuge; but when it, too, is likely to fall, they flee out of it to hide in the "thickets." HENDERSON translates, "every city."
noise--The mere noise of the hostile horsemen shall put you to flight.
30. when thou art spoiled--rather, "thou, O destroyed one" [MAURER].
rentest . . . face with painting--Oriental women paint their eyes with stibium, or antimony, to make them look full and sparkling, the black margin causing the white of the eyes to appear the brighter by contrast ( 2Ki 9:30). He uses the term "distendest" in derision of their effort to make their eyes look large [MAURER]; or else, "rentest," that is, dost lacerate by puncturing the eyelid in order to make the antimony adhere [ROSENMULLER]. So the Jews use every artifice to secure the aid of Egypt against Babylon.
face--rather, thy eyes ( Eze 23:40).
31. anguish--namely, occasioned by the attack of the enemy.
daughter of Zion--There is peculiar beauty in suppressing the name of the person in trouble, until that trouble had been fully described [HENDERSON].
bewaileth herself--rather, "draweth her breath short" [HORSLEY]; "panteth."
spreadeth . . . hands-- ( La 1:17).
Jer 5:1-31. THE CAUSE OF THE JUDGMENTS TO BE INFLICTED IS THE UNIVERSAL CORRUPTION OF THE PEOPLE.
1. a man--As the pious Josiah, Baruch, and Zephaniah lived in Jerusalem at that time, Jeremiah must here mean the mass of the people, the king, his counsellors, the false prophets, and the priests, as distinguished from the faithful few, whom God had openly separated from the reprobate people; among the latter not even one just person was to be found ( Isa 9:16) [CALVIN]; the godly, moreover, were forbidden to intercede for them ( Jer 7:16; compare Ge 18:23, &c.; Ps 12:1; Eze 22:30).
see . . . know--look . . . ascertain.
judgment--justice, righteousness.
pardon it--rather, her.
2. ( Tit 1:16).
swear falsely--not a judicial oath; but their profession of the worship of Jehovah is insincere ( Jer 5:7; Jer 4:2). The reformation under Josiah was merely superficial in the case of the majority.
3. eyes upon the truth-- ( De 32:4; 2Ch 16:9). "Truth" is in contrast with "swear falsely" ( Jer 5:2). The false-professing Jews could expect nothing but judgments from the God of truth.
stricken . . . not grieved-- ( Jer 2:30; Isa 1:5; 9:13).
refused . . . correction-- ( Jer 7:28; Zep 3:2).
4. poor--rather, "the poor." He supposes for the moment that this utter depravity is confined to the uninstructed poor, and that he would find a different state of things in the higher ranks: but there he finds unbridled profligacy.
5. they have known--rather, "they must know." The prophet supposes it as probable, considering their position.
but these--I found the very reverse to be the case.
burst . . . bonds--set God's law at defiance ( Ps 2:3).
6. lion . . . wolf . . . leopard--the strongest, the most ravenous, and the swiftest, respectively, of beasts: illustrating the formidable character of the Babylonians.
of the evenings--Others not so well translate, of the deserts. The plural means that it goes forth every evening to seek its prey ( Ps 104:20; Hab 1:8; Zep 3:3).
leopard . . . watch . . . cities-- ( Ho 13:7). It shall lie in wait about their cities.
7. It would not be consistent with God's holiness to let such wickedness pass unpunished.
sworn by-- ( Jer 5:2; Jer 4:2); that is, worshipped.
no gods-- ( De 32:21).
fed . . . to the full--so the Keri (Hebrew Margin) reads. God's bountifulness is contrasted with their apostasy ( De 32:15). Prosperity, the gift of God, designed to lead men to Him, often produces the opposite effect. The Hebrew Chetib (text) reads: "I bound them (to Me) by oath," namely, in the marriage covenant, sealed at Sinai between God and Israel; in contrast to which stands their "adultery"; the antithesis favors this.
adultery . . . harlots' houses--spiritually: idolatry in temples of idols; but literal prostitution is also included, being frequently part of idol-worship: for example, in the worship of the Babylonian Mylitta.
8. in the morning-- ( Isa 5:11). "Rising early in the morning" is a phrase for unceasing eagerness in any pursuit; such was the Jews' avidity after idol-worship. M AURER translates from a different Hebrew root, "continually wander to and fro," inflamed with lust ( Jer 2:23). But English Version is simpler (compare Jer 13:27; Eze 22:11).
9. ( Jer 5:29; Jer 9:9; 44:22).
10. Abrupt apostrophe to the Babylonians, to take Jerusalem, but not to destroy the nation utterly (see on Jer 4:27).
battlements--rather, tendrils [MAURER]: the state being compared to a vine ( Jer 12:10), the stem of which was to be spared, while the tendrils (the chief men) were to be removed.
11. ( Jer 3:20).
12. belied--denied.
It is not he--rather, "(Jehovah) is not HE," that is, the true and only God ( Jer 14:22; De 32:39; Isa 43:10, 13). By their idolatry they virtually denied Him. Or, referring to what follows, and to Jer 5:9, "(Jehovah) is not," namely, about to be the punisher of our sins ( Jer 14:13; Isa 28:15).
13. Continuation of the unbelieving language of the Jews.
the prophets--who prophesy punishment coming on us.
the word--the Holy Spirit, who speaks through true prophets, is not in them [MAURER]. Or else, "There is no word (divine communication) in them" ( Ho 1:2) [ROSENMULLER].
thus, &c.--Their ill-omened prophecies shall fall on themselves.
14. ye . . . thy . . . this people--He turns away from addressing the people to the prophet; implying that He puts them to a distance from Him, and only communicates with them through His prophet ( Jer 5:19).
fire . . . wood--Thy denunciations of judgments shall be fulfilled and shall consume them as fire does wood. In Jer 23:29 it is the penetrating energy of fire which is the point of comparison.
15. ( Jer 1:15; 6:22). Alluding to De 28:49, &c.
Israel--that is, Judah.
mighty--from an Arabic root, "enduring." The fourfold repetition of "nation" heightens the force.
ancient--The Chaldeans came originally from the Carduchian and Armenian mountains north of Mesopotamia, whence they immigrated into Babylonia; like all mountaineers, they were brave and hardy (see on Isa 23:13).
language . . . knowest not-- Isa 36:11 shows that Aramaic was not understood by the "multitude," but only by the educated classes [MAURER]. H ENDERSON refers it to the original language of the Babylonians, which, he thinks, they brought with them from their native hills, akin to the Persic, not to the Aramaic, or any other Semitic tongue, the parent of the modern Kurd.
16. open sepulchre--(Compare Ps 5:9). Their quiver is all-devouring, as the grave opened to receive the dead: as many as are the arrows, so many are the deaths.
17. ( Le 26:16).
18. Not even in those days of judgments, will God utterly exterminate His people.
I will not make a full end with you-- ( Jer 5:10; Jer 4:27).
19. Retribution in kind. As ye have forsaken Me ( Jer 2:13), so shall ye be forsaken by Me. As ye have served strange (foreign) gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers (foreigners) in a land not yours. Compare the similar retribution in De 28:47, 48.
21. eyes . . . ears, and--Translate, "and yet" (compare De 29:4; Isa 6:9). Having powers of perception, they did not use them: still they were responsible for the exercise of them.
22. sand--Though made up of particles easily shifting about, I render it sufficient to curb the violence of the sea. Such is your monstrous perversity, that the raging, senseless sea sooner obeys Me, than ye do who profess to be intelligent [CALVIN], ( Job 26:10; 38:10, 11; Pr 8:29; Re 15:4).
23. ( Jer 6:28).
24. rain . . . former . . . latter--The "former" falls from the middle of October to the beginning of December. The "latter," or spring rain in Palestine, falls before harvest in March and April, and is essential for ripening the crops ( De 11:14; Joe 2:23).
weeks of . . . harvest--the seven weeks between passover and pentecost, beginning on the sixteenth of Nisan ( De 16:9). By God's special providence no rain fell in Palestine during the harvest weeks, so that harvest work went on without interruption (see Ge 8:22).
25. National guilt had caused the suspension of these national mercies mentioned in Jer 5:24 (compare Jer 3:3).
26. ( Pr 1:11, 17, 18; Hab 1:15).
as he that setteth snares--rather, "as fowlers crouch" [MAURER].
trap--literally, "destruction": the instrument of destruction.
catch men--not as Peter, to save ( Lu 5:10), but to destroy men.
27. full of deceit--full of treasures got by deceit.
rich-- ( Ps 73:12, 18-20).
28. shine--the effect of fatness on the skin ( De 32:15). They live a life of self-indulgence.
overpass . . . the wicked--exceed even the Gentiles in wickedness ( Jer 2:33; Eze 5:6, 7).
judge not . . . fatherless-- ( Isa 1:23).
yet . . . prosper-- ( Jer 12:1).
29. ( Jer 5:9; Mal 3:5).
30. ( Jer 23:14; Ho 6:10).
31. bear rule by their means--literally, "according to their hands," that is, under their guidance ( 1Ch 25:3). As a sample of the priests lending themselves to the deceits of the false prophets, to gain influence over the people, see Jer 29:24-32.
love to have it so-- ( Mic 2:11).
end thereof--the fatal issue of this sinful course when divine judgments shall come.
Jer 6:1-30. ZION'S FOES PREPARE WAR AGAINST HER: HER SINS ARE THE CAUSE.
1. Benjamin--Jerusalem was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, which was here separated from that of Judah by the valley of Hinnom. Though it was inhabited partly by Benjamites, partly by men of Judah, he addresses the former as being his own countrymen.
blow . . . trumpet . . . Tekoa--Tikehu, Tekoa form a play on sounds. The birthplace of Amos.
Beth-haccerem--meaning in Hebrew, "vineyard-house." It and Tekoa were a few miles south of Jerusalem. As the enemy came from the north, the inhabitants of the surrounding country would naturally flee southwards. The fire-signal on the hills gave warning of danger approaching.
2. likened--rather, "I lay waste." Literally, "O comely and delicate one, I lay waste the daughter of Zion," that is, "thee." So Zec 3:9, "before Joshua," that is, "before thee" [M AURER].
3. shepherds--hostile leaders with their armies ( Jer 1:15; 4:17; 49:20; 50:45).
feed--They shall consume each one all that is near him; literally, "his hand," that is, the place which he occupies ( Nu 2:17; see on Isa 56:5).
4, 5. The invading soldiers encourage one another to the attack on Jerusalem.
Prepare--literally, "Sanctify" war, that is, Proclaim it formally with solemn rites; the invasion was solemnly ordered by God (compare Isa 13:3).
at noon--the hottest part of the day when attacks were rarely made ( Jer 15:8; 20:16). Even at this time they wished to attack, such is their eagerness.
Woe unto us--The words of the invaders, mourning the approach of night which would suspend their hostile operations; still, even in spite of the darkness, at night they renew the attack ( Jer 6:5).
6. cast--Hebrew, "pour out"; referring to the emptying of the baskets of earth to make the mound, formed of "trees" and earthwork, to overtop the city walls. The "trees" were also used to make warlike engines.
this--pointing the invaders to Jerusalem.
visited--that is, punished.
wholly oppression--or join "wholly" with "visited," that is, she is altogether (in her whole extent) to be punished [MAURER].
7. fountain--rather, a well dug, from which water springs; distinct from a natural spring or fountain.
casteth out--causeth to flow; literally, "causeth to dig," the cause being put for the effect ( 2Ki 21:16, 24; Isa 57:20).
me--Jehovah.
8. Tender appeal in the midst of threats.
depart--Hebrew, "be torn away"; Jehovah's affection making Him unwilling to depart; His attachment to Jerusalem was such that an effort was needed to tear Himself from it ( Eze 23:18; Ho 9:12; 11:8).
9. The Jews are the grapes, their enemies the unsparing gleaners.
turn back . . . hand--again and again bring freshly gathered handfuls to the baskets; referring to the repeated carrying away of captives to Babylon ( Jer 52:28-30; 2Ki 24:14; 25:11).
10. ear is uncircumcised--closed against the precepts of God by the foreskin of carnality ( Le 26:41; Eze 44:7; Ac 7:51).
word . . . reproach-- ( Jer 20:8).
11. fury of . . . Lord--His denunciations against Judah communicated to the prophet.
weary with holding in-- ( Jer 20:9).
I will pour--or else imperative: the command of God (see Jer 6:12), "Pour it out" [MAURER].
aged . . . full of days--The former means one becoming old; the latter a decrepit old man [MAURER] ( Job 5:26; Isa 65:20).
12. The very punishments threatened by Moses in the event of disobedience to God ( De 28:30).
turned--transferred.
13. ( Jer 8:10; Isa 56:11; Mic 3:11).
14. hurt--the spiritual wound.
slightly--as if it were but a slight wound; or, in a slight manner, pronouncing all sound where there is no soundness.
saying--namely, the prophets and priests ( Jer 6:13). Whereas they ought to warn the people of impending judgments and the need of repentance, they say there is nothing to fear.
peace--including soundness. All is sound in the nation's moral state, so all will be peace as to its political state ( Jer 4:10; 8:11; 14:13; 23:17; Eze 13:5, 10; 22:28).
15. ROSENMULLER translates, "They ought to have been ashamed, because . . . but," &c.; the Hebrew verb often expressing, not the action, but the duty to perform it ( Ge 20:9; Mal 2:7). MAURER translates, "They shall be put to shame, for they commit abomination; nay (the prophet correcting himself), there is no shame in them" ( Jer 3:3; 8:12; Eze 3:7; Zep 3:5).
them that fall--They shall fall with the rest of their people who are doomed to fall, that is, I will now cease from words; I will execute vengeance [CALVIN].
16. Image from travellers who have lost their road, stopping and inquiring which is the right way on which they once had been, but from which they have wandered.
old paths--Idolatry and apostasy are the modern way; the worship of God the old way. Evil is not coeval with good, but a modern degeneracy from good. The forsaking of God is not, in a true sense, a "way cast up" at all ( Jer 18:15; Ps 139:24; Mal 4:4).
rest-- ( Isa 28:12; Mt 11:29).
17. watchmen--prophets, whose duty it was to announce impending calamities, so as to lead the people to repentance ( Isa 21:11; 58:1; Eze 3:17; Hab 2:1).
18. congregation--parallel to "nations"; it therefore means the gathered peoples who are invited to be witnesses as to how great is the perversity of the Israelites ( Jer 6:16, 17), and that they deserve the severe punishment about to be inflicted on them ( Jer 6:19).
what is among them--what deeds are committed by the Israelites ( Jer 6:16, 17) [MAURER]. Or, "what punishments are about to be inflicted on them" [CALVIN].
19. ( Isa 1:2).
fruit of . . . thoughts-- ( Pr 1:31).
nor to my law, but rejected it--literally, "and (as to) My law they have rejected it." The same construction occurs in Ge 22:24.
20. Literally, "To what purpose is this to Me, that incense cometh to Me?"
incense . . . cane-- ( Isa 43:24; 60:6). No external services are accepted by God without obedience of the heart and life ( Jer 7:21; Ps 50:7-9; Isa 1:11; Mic 6:6, &c.).
sweet . . . sweet--antithesis. Your sweet cane is not sweet to Me. The calamus.
21. stumbling-blocks--instruments of the Jews' ruin (compare Mt 21:44; Isa 8:14; 1Pe 2:8). God Himself ("I") lays them before the reprobate ( Ps 69:22; Ro 1:28; 11:9).
fathers . . . sons . . . neighbour . . . friend--indiscriminate ruin.
22. north . . . sides of the earth--The ancients were little acquainted with the north; therefore it is called the remotest regions (as the Hebrew for "sides" ought to be translated, see on Isa 14:13) of the earth. The Chaldees are meant ( Jer 1:15; 5:15). It is striking that the very same calamities which the Chaldeans had inflicted on Zion are threatened as the retribution to be dealt in turn to themselves by Jehovah ( Jer 50:41-43).
23. like the sea-- ( Isa 5:30).
as men for war--not that they were like warriors, for they were warriors; but "arrayed most perfectly as warriors" [MAURER].
24. fame thereof--the report of them.
25. He addresses "the daughter of Zion" ( Jer 6:23); caution to the citizens of Jerusalem not to expose themselves to the enemy by going outside of the city walls.
sword of the enemy--literally, "there is a sword to the enemy"; the enemy hath a sword.
26. wallow . . . in ashes-- ( Jer 25:34; Mic 1:10). As they usually in mourning only "cast ashes on the head," wallowing in them means something more, namely, so entirely to cover one's self with ashes as to be like one who had rolled in them ( Eze 27:30).
as for an only son-- ( Am 8:10; Zec 12:10).
lamentation--literally, "lamentation expressed by beating the breast."
27. tower . . . fortress-- ( Jer 1:18), rather, "an assayer (and) explorer." By a metaphor from metallurgy in Jer 6:27-30, Jehovah, in conclusion, confirms the prophet in his office, and the latter sums up the description of the reprobate people on whom he had to work. The Hebrew for "assayer" (English Version, "tower") is from a root "to try" metals. "Explorer" (English Version, "fortress") is from an Arabic root, "keen-sighted"; or a Hebrew root, "cutting," that is, separating the metal from the dross [EWALD]. GESENIUS translates as English Version, "fortress," which does not accord with the previous "assayer."
28. grievous revolters--literally, "contumacious of the contumacious," that is, most contumacious, the Hebrew mode of expressing a superlative. So "the strong among the mighty," that is, the strongest ( Eze 32:21). See Jer 5:23; Ho 4:16.
walking with slanders-- ( Jer 9:4). "Going about for the purpose of slandering" [M AURER].
brass, &c.--that is, copper. It and "iron" being the baser and harder metals express the debased and obdurate character of the Jews ( Isa 48:4; 60:17).
29. bellows . . . burned--So intense a heat is made that the very bellows are almost set on fire. ROSENMULLER translates not so well from a Hebrew root, "pant" or "snort," referring to the sound of the bellows blown hard.
lead--employed to separate the baser metal from the silver, as quicksilver is now used. In other words, the utmost pains have been used to purify Israel in the furnace of affliction, but in vain ( Jer 5:3; 1Pe 1:7).
consumed of the fire--In the Chetib, or Hebrew text, the "consumed" is supplied out of the previous "burned." Translating as ROSENMULLER, "pant," this will be inadmissible; and the Keri (Hebrew Margin) division of the Hebrew words will have to be read, to get "is consumed of the fire." This is an argument for the translation, "are burned."
founder--the refiner.
wicked . . . not plucked away--answering to the dross which has no good metal to be separated, the mass being all dross.
30. Reprobate--silver so full of alloy as to be utterly worthless ( Isa 1:22). The Jews were fit only for rejection.
Jer 7:1-34. THE SEVENTH THROUGH NINTH CHAPTERS. DELIVERED IN THE BEGINNING OF JEHOIAKIM'S REIGN, ON THE OCCASION OF SOME PUBLIC FESTIVAL.
The prophet stood at the gate of the temple in order that the multitudes from the country might hear him. His life was threatened, it appears from Jer 26:1-9, for this prophecy, denouncing the fate of Shiloh as about to befall the temple at Jerusalem. The prophecy given in detail here is summarily referred to there. After Josiah's death the nation relapsed into idolatry through Jehoiakim's bad influence; the worship of Jehovah was, however, combined with it ( Jer 7:4, 10).
2. the gate--that is, the gate of the court of Israel within that of the women. Those whom Jeremiah addresses came through the gate leading into the court of the women, and the gate leading into the outer court, or court of the Gentiles ("these gates").
3. cause you to dwell--permit you still to dwell (