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 PSEUDO-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, ORIGEN, 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 [MICHAELIS].

      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 [MAURER]. 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 [HENGSTENBERG].
      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 [MAURER].
      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. MAURER 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]. HENDERSON 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" [MAURER].

      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" [MAURER].
      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 (Jer 18:11; 26:13).

      4. The Jews falsely thought that because their temple had been chosen by Jehovah as His peculiar dwelling, it could never be destroyed. Men think that ceremonial observances will supersede the need of holiness (Isa 48:2; Mic 3:11). The triple repetition of "the temple of Jehovah" expresses the intense confidence of the Jews (see Jer 22:29; Isa 6:3).
      these--the temple buildings which the prophet points to with his finger (Jer 7:2).

      5. For--"But" [MAURER].
      judgment--justice (Jer 22:3).

      6. this place--this city and land (Jer 7:7).
      to your hurt--so Jer 7:19; "to the confusion or their own faces" (Jer 13:10; Pr 8:36).

      7. The apodosis to the "if . . . if" (Jer 7:5, 6).
      to dwell--to continue to dwell.
      for ever and ever--joined with "to dwell," not with the words "gave to your fathers" (compare Jer 3:18; De 4:40).

      8. that cannot profit--MAURER translates, "so that you profit nothing" (see Jer 7:4; Jer 5:31).

      9, 10. "Will ye steal . . . and then come and stand before Me?"
      whom ye know not--Ye have no grounds of "knowing" that they are gods; but I have manifested My Godhead by My law, by benefits conferred, and by miracles. This aggravates their crime [CALVIN] (Jud 5:8).

      10. And come--And yet come (Eze 23:39).
      We are delivered--namely, from all impending calamities. In spite of the prophet's threats, we have nothing to fear; we have offered our sacrifices, and therefore Jehovah will "deliver" us.
      to do all these abominations--namely, those enumerated (Jer 7:9). These words are not to be connected with "we are delivered," but thus: "Is it with this design that ye come and stand before Me in this house," in order that having offered your worthless sacrifices ye may be taken into My favor and so do all these abominations (Jer 7:9) with impunity? [MAURER].

      11. den of robbers--Do you regard My temple as being what robbers make their den, namely, an asylum wherein ye may obtain impunity for your abominations (Jer 7:10)?
      seen it--namely, that ye treat My house as if it were a den of thieves. Jehovah implies more than is expressed, "I have seen and will punish it" (Isa 56:7; Mt 21:13).

      12. my place . . . in Shiloh--God caused His tabernacle to be set up in Shiloh in Joshua's days (Jos 18:1; Jud 18:31). In Eli's time God gave the ark, which had been at Shiloh, into the hands of the Philistines (Jer 26:6; 1Sa 4:10, 11; Ps 78:56-61). Shiloh was situated between Beth-el and Shechem in Ephraim.
      at the first--implying that Shiloh exceeded the Jewish temple in antiquity. But God's favor is not tied down to localities (Ac 7:44).
      my people Israel--Israel was God's people, yet He spared it not when rebellious: neither will He spare Judah, now that it rebels, though heretofore it has been His people.

      13. rising . . . early--implying unwearied earnestness in soliciting them (Jer 7:25; Jer 11:17; 2Ch 36:15).

      14. I gave--and I therefore can revoke the gift for it is still Mine (Le 25:23), now that ye fail in the only object for which it was given, the promotion of My glory.
      Shiloh--as I ceased to dwell there, transferring My temple to Jerusalem; so I will cease to dwell at Jerusalem.

      15. your brethren--children of Abraham, as much as you.
      whole seed of Ephraim--They were superior to you in numbers and power: they were ten tribes: ye but two. "Ephraim," as the leading tribe, stands for the whole ten tribes (2Ki 17:23; Ps 78:67, 68).

      16. When people are given up to judicial hardness of heart, intercessory prayer for them is unavailing (Jer 11:14; 14:11; 15:1; Ex 32:10; 1Jo 5:16).

      17. Jehovah leaves it to Jeremiah himself to decide, is there not good reason that prayers should not be heard in behalf of such rebels?

      18. children . . . fathers . . . women--Not merely isolated individuals practised idolatry; young and old, men and women, and whole families, contributed their joint efforts to promote it. Oh, that there were the same zeal for the worship of God as there is for error (Jer 44:17, 19; 19:13)!
      cakes . . . queen of heaven--Cakes were made of honey, fine flour, &c., in a round flat shape to resemble the disc of the moon, to which they were offered. Others read as Margin, "the frame of heaven," that is, the planets generally; so the Septuagint here; but elsewhere the Septuagint translates, "queen of heaven." The Phœnicians called the moon Ashtoreth or Astarte: the wife of Baal or Moloch, the king of heaven. The male and female pair of deities symbolized the generative powers of nature; hence arose the introduction of prostitution in the worship. The Babylonians worshipped Ashtoreth as Mylitta, that is, generative. Our Monday, or Moon-day, indicates the former prevalence of moon worship (see on Isa 65:11).
      that they may provoke me--implying design: in worshipping strange gods they seemed as if purposely to provoke Jehovah.

      19. Is it I that they provoke to anger? Is it not themselves? (De 32:16, 21; Job 35:6, 8; Pr 8:36).

      20. beast . . . trees . . . ground--Why doth God vent His fury on these? On account of man, for whom these were created, that the sad spectacle may strike terror into him (Ro 8:20-22).

      21. Put . . . burnt offerings unto . . . sacrifices . . . eat flesh--Add the former (which the law required to be wholly burnt) to the latter (which were burnt only in part), and "eat flesh" even off the holocausts or burnt offerings. As far as I am concerned, saith Jehovah, you may do with one and the other alike. I will have neither (Isa 1:11; Ho 8:13; Am 5:21, 22).

      22. Not contradicting the divine obligation of the legal sacrifices. But, "I did not require sacrifices, unless combined with moral obedience" (Ps 50:8; 51:16, 17). The superior claim of the moral above the positive precepts of the law was marked by the ten commandments having been delivered first, and by the two tables of stone being deposited alone in the ark (De 5:6). The negative in Hebrew often supplies the want of the comparative: not excluding the thing denied, but only implying the prior claim of the thing set in opposition to it (Ho 6:6). "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice" (1Sa 15:22). Love to God is the supreme end, external observances only means towards that end. "The mere sacrifice was not so much what I commanded, as the sincere submission to My will gives to the sacrifice all its virtue" [MAGEE, Atonement, Note 57].

      23. (Ex 15:26; 19:5).

      24. hearkened not--They did not give even a partial hearing to Me (Ps 81:11, 12).
      imagination--rather, as Margin, "the stubbornness."
      backward, &c.-- (Jer 2:27; 32:33; Ho 4:16).

      25. rising . . . early-- (Jer 7:13).

      26. hardened . . . neck-- (De 31:27; Isa 48:4; Ac 7:51).
      worse than their fathers-- (Jer 16:12). In Jer 7:22 He had said, "your fathers"; here He says, "their fathers"; the change to the third person marks growing alienation from them. He no longer addresses themselves, as it would be a waste of words in the case of such hardened rebels.

      27. Therefore--rather, "Though thou speak . . . yet they will not hearken" [MAURER], (Eze 2:7), a trial to the prophet's faith; though he knew his warnings would be unheeded, still he was to give them in obedience to God.

      28. unto them--that is, in reference to them.
      a nation--The word usually applied to the Gentile nations is here applied to the Jews, as being east off and classed by God among the Gentiles.
      nor receiveth correction-- (Jer 5:3).
      truth . . . perished-- (Jer 9:3).

      29. Jeremiah addresses Jerusalem under the figure of a woman, who, in grief for her lost children, deprives her head of its chief ornament and goes up to the hills to weep (Jud 11:37, 38; Isa 15:2).
      hair--flowing locks, like those of a Nazarite.
      high places--The scene of her idolatries is to be the scene of her mourning (Jer 3:21).
      generation of his wrath--the generation with which He is wroth. So Isa 10:6; "the people of My wrath."

      30. set their abominations in the house-- (Jer 32:34; 2Ki 21:4, 7; 23:4; Eze 8:5-14).

      31. high places of Tophet--the altars [HORSLEY] of Tophet; erected to Moloch, on the heights along the south of the valley facing Zion.
      burn . . . sons-- (Ps 106:38).
      commanded . . . not--put for, "I forbade expressly" (De 17:3; 12:31). See on Jer 2:23; Isa 30:33.

      32. valley of slaughter--so named because of the great slaughter of the Jews about to take place at Jerusalem: a just retribution of their sin in slaying their children to Moloch in Tophet.
      no place--no room, namely, to bury in, so many shall be those slain by the Chaldeans (Jer 19:11; Eze 6:5).

      33. fray--scare or frighten (De 28:26). Typical of the last great battle between the Lord's host and the apostasy (Re 19:17, 18, 21).

      34. Referring to the joyous songs and music with which the bride and bridegroom were escorted in the procession to the home of the latter from that of the former; a custom still prevalent in the East (Jer 16:9; Isa 24:7, 8; Re 18:23).

      Jer 8:1-22. THE JEW'S COMING PUNISHMENT; THEIR UNIVERSAL AND INCURABLE IMPENITENCE.

      1. The victorious Babylonians were about to violate the sanctuaries of the dead in search of plunder; for ornaments, treasures, and insignia of royalty were usually buried with kings. Or rather, their purpose was to do the greatest dishonor to the dead (Isa 14:19).

      2. spread . . . before the sun, &c.--retribution in kind. The very objects which received their idolatries shall unconcernedly witness their dishonor.
      loved . . . served . . . after . . . walked . . . sought . . . worshipped--Words are accumulated, as if enough could not be said fully to express the mad fervor of their idolatry to the heavenly host (2Ki 23:5).
      nor . . . buried-- (Jer 22:19).
      dung-- (Jer 9:22; Ps 83:10).

      3. The survivors shall be still worse off than the dead (Job 3:21, 22; Re 9:6).
      which remain in all the places--"in all places of them that remain, whither I . . . that is, in all places whither I have driven them that remain [MAURER].

      4. "Is it not a natural instinct, that if one falls, he rises again; if one turns away (that is, wanders from the way), he will return to the point from which he wandered? Why then does not Jerusalem do so?" He plays on the double sense of return; literal and metaphorical (Jer 3:12; 4:1).

      5. slidden . . . backsliding--rather, as the Hebrew is the same as in Jer 8:4, to which this verse refers, "turned away with a perpetual turning away."
      perpetual--in contrast to the "arise" ("rise again," Jer 8:4).
      refuse to return--in contrast to, "shall he . . . not return" (Jer 8:4; Jer 5:3).

      6. spake not aright--that is, not so as penitently to confess that they acted wrong. Compare what follows.
      every one . . . his course--The Keri reads "course," but the Chetib, "courses." "They persevere in the courses whatever they have once entered on." Their wicked ways were diversified.
      horse rusheth--literally, "pours himself forth," as water that has burst its embankment. The mad rapidity of the war horse is the point of comparison (Job 39:19-25).

      7. The instinct of the migratory birds leads them with unfailing regularity to return every spring from their winter abodes in summer climes (So 2:12); but God's people will not return to Him even when the winter of His wrath is past, and He invites them back to the spring of His favor.
      in the heaven--emphatical. The birds whose very element is the air, in which they are never at rest, yet show a steady sagacity, which God's people do not.
      times--namely, of migrating, and of returning.
      my people--This honorable title aggravates the unnatural perversity of the Jews towards their God.
      know not, &c.-- (Jer 5:4, 5; Isa 1:3).

      8. law . . . with us-- (Ro 2:17). Possessing the law, on which they prided themselves, the Jews might have become the wisest of nations; but by their neglecting its precepts, the law became given "in vain," as far as they were concerned.
      scribes--copyists. "In vain" copies were multiplied. MAURER translates, "The false pen of the scribes hath converted it [the law] into a lie." See Margin, which agrees with Vulgate.

      9. dismayed--confounded.
      what wisdom--literally, "the wisdom of what?" that is, "wisdom in what respect?" the Word of the Lord being the only true source of wisdom (Ps 119:98-100; Pr 1:7; 9:10).

      10-12. Repeated from Jer 6:12-15. See a similar repetition, Jer 8:15; Jer 14:19.
      inherit--succeed to the possession of them.

      11. (Eze 13:10).

      13. surely consume--literally, "gathering I will gather," or "consuming I will consume."
      no grapes . . . nor figs-- (Joe 1:7; Mt 21:19).
      things that I have given . . . shall pass away--rather, "I will appoint to them those who shall overwhelm (pass over) them," that is, I will send the enemy upon them [MAURER]. English Version accords well with the context; Though their grapes and figs ripen, they shall not be allowed to enjoy them.

      14. assemble--for defense.
      let us be silent--not assault the enemy, but merely defend ourselves in quiet, until the storm blow over.
      put us to silence--brought us to that state that we can no longer resist the foe; implying silent despair.
      water of gall--literally, "water of the poisonous plant," perhaps the poppy (Jer 9:15; 23:15).

      15. Repeated (Jer 14:19).
      We looked for--owing to the expectations held out by the false prophets.
      health--healing; that is, restoration from adversity.

      16. his horses--the Chaldean's.
      was heard--the prophetical past for the future.
      from Dan--bordering on Phœnicia. This was to be Nebuchadnezzar's route in invading Israel; the cavalry in advance of the infantry would scour the country.
      strong ones--a poetical phrase for steeds, peculiar to Jeremiah (Jer 47:3; compare Jer 4:13, 29; 6:23).

      17. I--Jehovah.
      cockatrices--basilisks (Isa 11:8), that is, enemies whose destructive power no means, by persuasion or otherwise, can counteract. Serpent-charmers in the East entice serpents by music, and by a particular pressure on the neck render them incapable of darting (Ps 58:4, 5).

      18. (Isa 22:4). The lamentation of the prophet for the impending calamity of his country.
      against sorrow--or, with respect to sorrow. MAURER translates, "Oh, my exhilaration as to sorrow!" that is, "Oh, that exhilaration ('comfort', from an Arabic root, to shine as the rising sun) would shine upon me as to my sorrow!"
      in me--within me.

      19. The prophet in vision hears the cry of the exiled Jews, wondering that God should have delivered them up to the enemy, seeing that He is Zion's king, dwelling in her (Mic 3:11). In the latter half of the verse God replies that their own idolatry, not want of faithfulness on His part, is the cause.
      because of them that dwell in a far country--rather, "from a land of distances," that is, a distant land (Isa 39:3). English Version understands the cry to be of the Jews in their own land, because of the enemy coming from their far-off country.
      strange vanities--foreign gods.

      20. Proverbial. Meaning: One season of hope after another has passed, but the looked-for deliverance never came, and now all hope is gone.

      21. black--sad in visage with grief (Joe 2:6).

      22. balm--balsam; to be applied to the wounds of my people. Brought into Judea first from Arabia Felix, by the queen of Sheba, in Solomon's time [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 8.2]. The opobalsamum of PLINY; or else [BOCHART] the resin drawn from the terebinth. It abounded in Gilead, east of Jordan, where, in consequence, many "physicians" established themselves (Jer 46:11; 51:8; Ge 37:25; 43:11).
      health . . . recovered--The Hebrew is literally, "lengthening out . . . gone up"; hence, the long bandage applied to bind up a wound. So the Arabic also [GESENIUS].

      Jer 9:1-26. JEREMIAH'S LAMENTATION FOR THE JEWS' SINS AND CONSEQUENT PUNISHMENT.

      1. This verse is more fitly joined to the last chapter, as verse 23 in the Hebrew (compare Isa 22:4; La 2:11; 3:48).

      2. lodging-place--a caravanseral for caravans, or companies travelling in the desert, remote from towns. It was a square building enclosing an open court. Though a lonely and often filthy dwelling, Jeremiah would prefer even it to the comforts of Jerusalem, so as to be removed from the pollutions of the capital (Ps 55:7, 8).

      3. bend . . . tongues . . . for lies--that is, with lies as their arrows; they direct lies on their tongue as their bow (Ps 64:3, 4).
      not valiant for . . . truth-- (Jer 7:28). MAURER translates, "They do not prevail by truth" or faith (Ps 12:4). Their tongue, not faith, is their weapon.
      upon . . . earth--rather, "in the land."
      know not me-- (Ho 4:1).

      4. supplant--literally, "trip up by the heel" (Ho 12:3).
      walk with slanders-- (Jer 6:28).

      5. weary themselves--are at laborious pains to act perversely [MAURER]. Sin is a hard bondage (Hab 2:13).

      6. Thine--God addresses Jeremiah, who dwelt in the midst of deceitful men.
      refuse to know me--Their ignorance of God is wilful (Jer 9:3; 5:4, 5).

      7. melt . . . try them--by sending calamities on them.
      for how shall I do--"What else can I do for the sake of the daughter of My people?" [MAURER], (Isa 1:25; Mal 3:3).

      8. tongue . . . arrow shot out--rather, "a murdering arrow" [MAURER] (Jer 9:3).
      speaketh peaceably . . . in heart . . . layeth . . . wait--layeth his ambush [HENDERSON], (Ps 55:21).

      9. (Jer 5:9, 29).

      10. Jeremiah breaks in upon Jehovah's threats of wrath with lamentation for his desolated country.
      mountains--once cultivated and fruitful: the hillsides were cultivated in terraces between the rocks.
      habitations of . . . wilderness--rather, "the pleasant herbage (literally, 'the choice parts' of any thing) of the pasture plain." The Hebrew for "wilderness" expresses not a barren desert, but an untilled plain, fit for pasture.
      burned up--because no one waters them, the inhabitants being all gone.
      none can pass through them--much less inhabit them.
      fowl-- (Jer 4:25).

      11. And--omit "And." Jehovah here resumes His speech from Jer 9:9.
      heaps--(see on Isa 25:2).
      dragons--jackals.

      12. Rather, "Who is a wise man? (that is, Whosoever has inspired wisdom, 2Pe 3:15); let him understand this (weigh well the evils impending, and the causes of their being sent); and he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken (that is, whosoever is prophetically inspired), let him declare it to his fellow countrymen," if haply they may be roused to repentance, the only hope of safety.

      13. Answer to the "for what the land perisheth" (Jer 9:12).

      14. (Jer 7:24).
      Baalim--plural of Baal, to express his supposed manifold powers.
      fathers taught them-- (Ga 1:14; 1Pe 1:18). We are not to follow the errors of the fathers, but the authority of Scripture and of God [JEROME].

      15. feed-- (Jer 8:14; 23:15; Ps 80:5).

      16. nor their fathers have known--alluding to Jer 9:14, "Their fathers taught them" idolatry; therefore the children shall be scattered to a land which neither their fathers nor they have known.
      send a sword after them--Not even in flight shall they be safe.

      17. mourning women--hired to heighten lamentation by plaintive cries baring the breast, beating the arms, and suffering the hair to flow dishevelled (2Ch 35:25; Ec 12:5; Mt 9:23).
      cunning--skilled in wailing.

      18. (Jer 14:17).

      19. The cry of "the mourning women."
      spoiled--laid waste.
      dwellings cast us out--fulfilling Le 18:28; 20:22. CALVIN translates, "The enemy have cast down our habitations."

      20. Yet--rather, "Only" [HENDERSON]. This particle calls attention to what follows.
      teach . . . daughters wailing--The deaths will be so many that there will be a lack of mourning women to bewail them. The mothers, therefore, must teach their daughters the science to supply the want.

      21. death . . . windows--The death-inflicting soldiery, finding the doors closed, burst in by the windows.
      to cut off . . . children from . . . streets--Death cannot be said to enter the windows to cut off the children in the streets, but to cut them off, so as no more to play in the streets without (Zec 8:5).

      22. saith the Lord--continuing the thread of discourse from Jer 9:20.
      dung-- (Jer 8:2).
      handful . . . none . . . gather them--implying that the handful has been so trodden as to be not worth even the poor gleaner's effort to gather it. Or the Eastern custom may be referred to: the reaper cuts the grain and is followed by another who gathers it. This grain shall not be worth gathering. How galling to the pride of the Jews to hear that so shall their carcasses be trodden contemptuously under foot!

      23. wisdom--political sagacity; as if it could rescue from the impending calamities.
      might--military prowess.

      24. Nothing but an experimental knowledge of God will save the nation.
      understandeth--theoretically; in the intellect.
      knoweth--practically: so as to walk in My ways (Jer 22:16; Job 22:21; 1Co 1:31).
      loving kindness--God's mercy is put in the first and highest place, because without it we should flee from God in fear and despair.
      judgment . . . righteousness--loving-kindness towards the godly; judgment towards the ungodly; righteousness the most perfect fairness in all cases [GROTIUS]. Faithfulness to His promises to preserve the godly, as well as stern execution of judgment on the ungodly, is included in "righteousness."
      in the earth--contrary to the dogma of some philosophers, that God does not interfere in terrestrial concerns (Ps 58:11).
      in these . . . I delight--as well in doing them as in seeing them done by others (Mic 6:8; 7:18).

      25. with the uncircumcised--rather, "all that are circumcised in uncircumcision" [HENDERSON]. The Hebrew is an abstract term, not a concrete, as English Version translates, and as the pious "circumcised" is. The nations specified, Egypt, Judah, &c., were outwardly "circumcised," but in heart were "uncircumcised." The heathen nations were defiled, in spite of their literal circumcision, by idolatry. The Jews, with all their glorying in their spiritual privileges, were no better (Jer 4:4; De 10:16; 30:6; Ro 2:28, 29; Col 2:11). However, Eze 31:18; 32:19, may imply that the Egyptians were uncircumcised; and it is uncertain as to the other nations specified whether they were at that early time circumcised. HERODOTUS says the Egyptians were so; but others think this applies only to the priests and others having a sacred character, not to the mass of the nation; so English Version may be right (Ro 2:28, 29).

      26. Egypt--put first to degrade Judah, who, though in privileges above the Gentiles, by unfaithfulness sank below them. Egypt, too, was the power in which the Jews were so prone to trust, and by whose instigation they, as well as the other peoples specified, revolted from Babylon.
      in the utmost corners--rather, "having the hair shaven (or clipped) in angles," that is, having the beard on the cheek narrowed or cut: a Canaanitish custom, forbidden to the Israelites (Le 19:27; 21:5). The Arabs are hereby referred to (compare Jer 25:23; 49:32), as the words in apposition show, "that dwell in the wilderness."
      uncircumcised . . . uncircumcised in the heart--The addition of "in the heart" in Israel's case marks its greater guilt in proportion to its greater privileges, as compared with the rest.

      Jer 10:1-25. CONTRAST BETWEEN THE IDOLS AND JEHOVAH. THE PROPHET'S LAMENTATION AND PRAYER.

      1. Israel--the Jews, the surviving representatives of the nation.

      2. EICHORN thinks the reference here to be to some celestial portent which had appeared at that time, causing the Jews' dismay. Probably the reference is general, namely, to the Chaldeans, famed as astrologers, through contact with whom the Jews were likely to fall into the same superstition.
      way--the precepts or ordinances (Le 18:3; Ac 9:2).
      signs of heaven--The Gentiles did not acknowledge a Great First Cause: many thought events depended on the power of the stars, which some, as PLATO, thought to be endued with spirit and reason. All heavenly phenomena, eclipses, comets, &c., are included.
      one cutteth a tree, &c.--rather, "It (that which they busy themselves about: a sample of their 'customs') is a tree cut out of the forest" [MAURER].

      4. fasten . . . move not--that is, that it may stand upright without risk of falling, which the god (!) would do, if left to itself (Isa 41:7).

      5. upright--or, "They are of turned work, resembling a palm tree" [MAURER]. The point of comparison between the idol and the palm is in the pillar-like uprightness of the latter, it having no branches except at the top.
      speak not-- (Ps 115:5).
      cannot go--that is, walk (Ps 115:7; Isa 46:1, 7).
      neither . . . do good-- (Isa 41:23).

      6. none--literally, "no particle of nothing": nothing whatever; the strongest possible denial (Ex 15:11; Ps 86:8, 10).

      7. (Re 15:4).
      to thee doth it appertain--to Thee it properly belongs, namely, that Thou shouldest be "feared" (taken out of the previous "fear Thee") (compare Eze 21:27). He alone is the becoming object of worship. To worship any other is unseemly and an infringement of His inalienable prerogative.
      none--nothing whatever (see on Jer 10:6; Ps 89:6).

      8. altogether--rather, "all alike" [MAURER]. Even the so-called "wise" men (Jer 10:7) of the Gentiles are on a level with the brutes and "foolish," namely, because they connive at the popular idolatry (compare Ro 1:21-28). Therefore, in Daniel and Revelation, the world power is represented under a bestial form. Man divests himself of his true humanity, and sinks to the level of the brute, when he severs his connection with God (Ps 115:8; Jon 2:8).
      stock is a doctrine of vanities--The stock (put for the worship of all idols whatever, made out of a stock) speaks for itself that the whole theory of idolatry is vanity (Isa 44:9-11). CASTALIO translates, "the very wood itself confuting the vanity" (of the idol).

      9. Everything connected with idols is the result of human effort.
      Silver spread--(See on Isa 30:22; Isa 40:19).
      Tarshish--Tartessus, in Spain, famed for precious metals.
      Uphaz-- (Da 10:5). As the Septuagint in the Syrian Hexapla in the Margin, THEODOTUS, the Syrian and Chaldee versions have "Ophir," GESENIUS thinks "Uphaz" a colloquial corruption (one letter only being changed) for "Ophir." Ophir, in Ge 10:29, is mentioned among Arabian countries. Perhaps Malacca is the country meant, the natives of which still call their gold mines Ophirs. HEEREN thinks Ophir the general name for the rich countries of the south, on the Arabian, African, and Indian coasts; just as our term, East Indies.
      cunning--skilful.

      10. true God--literally, "God Jehovah is truth"; not merely true, that is, veracious, but truth in the reality of His essence, as opposed to the "vanity" or emptiness which all idols are (Jer 10:3, 8, 15; 2Ch 15:3; Ps 31:5; 1Jo 5:20).
      living God-- (Joh 5:26; 1Ti 6:17). He hath life in Himself which no creature has. All else "live in Him" (Ac 17:28). In contrast to dead idols.
      everlasting-- (Ps 10:16). In contrast to the temporary existence of all other objects of worship.

      11. This verse is in Chaldee, Jeremiah supplying his countrymen with a formula of reply to Chaldee idolaters in the tongue most intelligible to the latter. There may be also derision intended in imitating their barbarous dialect. ROSENMULLER objects to this view, that not merely the words put in the mouths of the Israelites, but Jeremiah's own introductory words, "Thus shall ye say to them," are in Chaldee, and thinks it to be a marginal gloss. But it is found in all the oldest versions. It was an old Greek saying: "Whoever thinks himself a god besides the one God, let him make another world" (Ps 96:5).
      shall perish-- (Isa 2:18; Zec 13:2).
      these heavens--the speaker pointing to them with his fingers.

      12. Continuation of Jer 10:10, after the interruption of the thread of the discourse in Jer 10:11 (Ps 136:5, 6).

      13. Literally, "At the voice of His giving forth," that is, when He thunders. (Job 38:34; Ps 29:3-5).
      waters-- (Ge 1:7) --above the firmament; heavy rains accompany thunder.
      vapours . . . ascend-- (Ps 135:7).
      treasures--His stores.

      14. in his knowledge--"is rendered brutish by his skill," namely, in idol-making (Jer 10:8, 9). Thus the parallel, "confounded by the graven image," corresponds (so Jer 51:17). Others not so well translate, "without knowledge," namely, of God (see Isa 42:17; 45:16; Ho 4:6).

      15. errors--deceptions; from a Hebrew root, "to stutter"; then meaning "to mock."
      their visitation they--When God shall punish the idol-worshippers (namely, by Cyrus), the idols themselves shall be destroyed [ROSENMULLER] (Jer 10:11).

      16. portion--from a Hebrew root, "to divide." God is the all-sufficient Good of His people (Nu 18:20; Ps 16:5; 73:26; La 3:24).
      not like them--not like the idols, a vain object of trust (De 32:31).
      former of all things--the Fashioner (as a potter, Isa 64:8) of the universe.
      rod of his inheritance--The portion marked off as His inheritance by the measuring rod (Eze 48:21). As He is their portion, so are they His portion (De 32:9). A reciprocal tie (compare Jer 51:19; Ps 74:2, Margin). Others make "rod" refer to the tribal rod or scepter.

      17. wares--thine effects or movable goods (Eze 12:3). Prepare for migrating as captives to Babylon. The address is to Jerusalem, as representative of the whole people.
      inhabitant of the fortress--rather, "inhabitress of the fortress." Though thou now seemest to inhabit an impregnable fortress, thou shalt have to remove. "The land" is the champaign region opposed to the "fortified" cities. The "fortress" being taken, the whole "land" will share the disaster. HENDERSON translates, "Gather up thy packages from the ground." ROSENMULLER, for "fortress," translates, "siege," that is, the besieged city. The various articles, in this view, are supposed to be lying about in confusion on the ground during the siege.

      18. sling out--expressing the violence and suddenness of the removal to Babylon. A similar image occurs in Jer 16:13; 1Sa 25:29; Isa 22:17, 18.
      at this once--at this time, now.
      find it so--find it by experience, that is, feel it (Eze 6:10). MICHAELIS translates, "I will bind them together (as in a sling) that they may reach the goal" (Babylon). English Version is best: "that they may find it so as I have said" (Nu 23:19; Eze 6:10).

      19. Judea bewails its calamity.
      wound--the stroke I suffer under.
      I must bear--not humble submission to God's will (Mic 7:9), but sullen impenitence. Or, rather, it is prophetical of their ultimate acknowledgment of their guilt as the cause of their calamity (La 3:39).

      20. tabernacle is spoiled--metaphor from the tents of nomadic life; as these are taken down in a few moments, so as not to leave a vestige of them, so Judea (Jer 4:20).
      cords--with which the coverings of the tent are extended.
      curtains--tent-curtains.

      21. pastors--the rulers, civil and religious. This verse gives the cause of the impending calamity.

      22. bruit--rumor of invasion. The antithesis is between the voice of God in His prophets to whom they turned a deaf ear, and the cry of the enemy, a new teacher, whom they must hear [CALVIN].
      north country--Babylon (Jer 1:15).

      23. Despairing of influencing the people, he turns to God.
      way of man not in himself-- (Pr 16:1; 20:24; Jas 4:13, 14). I know, O Jehovah, that the march of the Babylonian conqueror against me (Jeremiah identifying himself with his people) is not at his own discretion, but is overruled by Thee (Isa 10:5-7; compare Jer 10:19).
      that walketh--when he walketh, that is, sets out in any undertaking.
      direct . . . steps--to give a prosperous issue to (Ps 73:23).

      24, 25. Since I (my nation) must be corrected (justice requiring it because of the deep guilt of the nation), I do not deprecate all chastisement, but pray only for moderation in it (Jer 30:11; Ps 6:1; 38:1); and that the full tide of Thy fury may be poured out on the heathen invaders for their cruelty towards Thy people. Ps 79:6, 7, a psalm to be referred to the time of the captivity, its composer probably repeated this from Jeremiah. The imperative, "Pour out," is used instead of the future, expressing vividly the certainty of the prediction, and that the word of God itself effects its own declarations. Accordingly, the Jews were restored after correction; the Babylonians were utterly extinguished.
      know thee . . . call . . . on thy name--Knowledge of God is the beginning of piety; calling on Him the fruit.
      heathen . . . Jacob--He reminds God of the distinction He has made between His people whom Jacob represents, and the heathen aliens. Correct us as Thy adopted sons, the seed of Jacob; destroy them as outcasts (Zec 1:14, 15, 21).

      Jer 11:1-23. EPITOME OF THE COVENANT FOUND IN THE TEMPLE IN JOSIAH'S REIGN. JUDAH'S REVOLT FROM IT, AND GOD'S CONSEQUENT WRATH.

      2. this covenant--alluding to the book of the law (De 31:26) found in the temple by Hilkiah the high priest, five years after Jeremiah's call to the prophetic office (2Ki 22:8-23:25).
      Hear ye--Others besides Jeremiah were to promulgate God's will to the people; it was the duty of the priests to read the law to them (Mal 2:7).

      3. (De 27:26; Ga 3:10).

      4. in the day--that is, when. The Sinaitic covenant was made some time after the exodus, but the two events are so connected as to be viewed as one.
      iron furnace-- (De 4:20; 1Ki 8:51). "Furnace" expresses the searching ordeal; "iron," the long duration of it. The furnace was of earth, not of iron (Ps 12:6); a furnace, in heat and duration enough to melt even iron. God's deliverance of them from such an ordeal aggravates their present guilt.
      do them--namely, the words of the covenant (Jer 11:3).
      so, &c.-- (Le 26:3, 12).

      5. oath-- (Ps 105:9, 10).
      a land flowing with milk and honey--(See on Nu 14:8).
      as it is this day--These are the concluding words of God to the Israelites when formerly brought out of Egypt, "Obey . . . that I may at this time make good the promise I made to your fathers, to give," &c. [MAURER]. English Version makes the words apply to Jeremiah's time, "As ye know at this time, that God's promise has been fulfilled," namely, in Israel's acquisition of Canaan.
      So be it--Hebrew, Amen. Taken from De 27:15-26. Jeremiah hereby solemnly concurs in the justice of the curses pronounced there (see Jer 11:3).

      6. Jeremiah was to take a prophetic tour throughout Judah, to proclaim everywhere the denunciations in the book of the law found in the temple.
      Hear . . . do-- (Ro 2:13; Jas 1:22).

      7. rising early-- (Jer 7:13).

      8. imagination--rather, "stubbornness."
      will bring--The words, "even unto this day" (Jer 11:7), confirm English Version rather than the rendering of ROSENMULLER: "I brought upon them."
      words--threats (Jer 11:3; De 27:15-26).

      9. conspiracy--a deliberate combination against God and against Josiah's reformation. Their idolatry is not the result of a hasty impulse (Ps 83:5; Eze 22:25).

      11. cry unto me--contrasted with "cry unto the gods," (Jer 11:12).
      not hearken-- (Ps 18:41; Pr 1:28; Isa 1:15; Mic 3:4).

      12. cry unto the gods . . . not save-- (De 32:37, 38). Compare this verse and beginning of Jer 11:13; Jer 2:28.
      in the time of their trouble--that is, calamity (Jer 2:27).

      13. shameful thing--Hebrew, "shame," namely, the idol, not merely shameful, but the essence of all that is shameful (Jer 3:24; Ho 9:10), which will bring shame and confusion on yourselves [CALVIN].

      14. There is a climax of guilt which admits of no further intercessory prayer (Ex 32:10, in the Chaldee version, "leave off praying"; Jer 7:16; 1Sa 16:1; 15:35; 1Jo 5:16). Our mind should be at one with God in all that He is doing, even in the rejection of the reprobate.
      for their trouble--on account of their trouble. Other manuscripts read, "in the time of their trouble;" a gloss from Jer 11:12.

      15. my beloved--My elect people, Judea; this aggravates their ingratitude (Jer 12:7).
      lewdness with many-- (Eze 16:25). Rather, "that great (or, manifold) enormity"; literally, "the enormity, the manifold"; namely, their idolatry, which made their worship of God in the temple a mockery (compare Jer 7:10; Eze 23:39) [HENDERSON].
      holy flesh-- (Hag 2:12-14; Tit 1:15), namely, the sacrifices, which, through the guilt of the Jews, were no longer holy, that is, acceptable to God. The sacrifices on which they relied will, therefore, no longer protect them. Judah is represented as a priest's wife, who, by adultery, has forfeited her share in the flesh of the sacrifices, and yet boasts of her prerogative at the very same time [HORSLEY].
      when thou doest evil--literally, "when thy evil" (is at hand). PISCATOR translates, "When thy calamity is at hand (according to God's threats), thou gloriest" (against God, instead of humbling thyself). English Version is best (compare Pr 2:14).

      16. called thy name--made thee.
      olive-- (Ps 52:8; Ro 11:17). The "olive" is chosen to represent the adoption of Judah by the free grace of God, as its oil is the image of richness (compare Ps 23:5; 104:15).
      with . . . noise of . . . tumult--or, "at the noise," &c., namely, at the tumult of the invading army (Isa 13:4) [MAURER]. Or, rather, "with the sound of a mighty voice," namely, that of God, that is, the thunder; thus there is no confusion of metaphors. The tree stricken with lightning has "fire kindled upon it, and the branches are broken," at one and the same time [HOUBIGANT].

      17. that planted thee-- (Jer 2:21; Isa 5:2).
      against themselves--The sinner's sin is to his own hurt (see on Jer 7:19).

      18, 19. Jeremiah here digresses to notice the attempt on his life plotted by his townsmen of Anathoth. He had no suspicion of it, until Jehovah revealed it to him (Jer 12:6).
      the Lord . . . thou--The change of person from the third to the second accords with the excited feelings of the prophet.
      then--when I was in peril of my life.
      their doings--those of the men of Anathoth. His thus alluding to them, before he has mentioned their name, is due to his excitement.

      19. lamb--literally, a "pet lamb," such as the Jews often had in their houses, for their children to play with; and the Arabs still have (2Sa 12:3). His own familiar friends had plotted against the prophet. The language is exactly the same as that applied to Messiah (Isa 53:7). Each prophet and patriarch exemplified in his own person some one feature or more in the manifold attributes and sufferings of the Messiah to come; just as the saints have done since His coming (Ga 2:20; Php 3:10; Col 1:24). This adapted both the more experimentally to testify of Christ.
      devices-- (Jer 18:18).
      tree with . . . fruit--literally, "in its fruit" or "food," that is, when it is in fruit. Proverbial, to express the destruction of cause and effect together. The man is the tree; his teaching, the fruit. Let us destroy the prophet and his prophecies; namely, those threatening destruction to the nation, which offended them. Compare Mt 7:17, which also refers to prophets and their doctrines.

      20. triest . . . heart-- (Re 2:23).
      revealed--committed my cause. Jeremiah's wish for vengeance was not personal but ministerial, and accorded with God's purpose revealed to him against the enemies alike of God and of His servant (Ps 37:34; 54:7; 112:8; 118:7).

      21. Prophesy not-- (Isa 30:10; Am 2:12; Mic 2:6). If Jeremiah had not uttered his denunciatory predictions, they would not have plotted against him. None were more bitter than his own fellow townsmen. Compare the conduct of the Nazarites towards Jesus of Nazareth (Lu 4:24-29).

      22. The retribution of their intended murder shall be in kind; just as in Messiah's case (Ps 69:8-28).

      23. (Jer 23:12).
      the year of . . . visitation--The Septuagint translates, "in the year of their," &c., that is, at the time when I shall visit them in wrath. JEROME supports English Version. "Year" often means a determined time.

      Jer 12:1-17. CONTINUATION OF THE SUBJECT AT THE CLOSE OF THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER.

      He ventures to expostulate with Jehovah as to the prosperity of the wicked, who had plotted against his life (Jer 12:1-4); in reply he is told that he will have worse to endure, and that from his own relatives (Jer 12:5, 6). The heaviest judgments, however, would be inflicted on the faithless people (Jer 12:7-13); and then on the nations co-operating with the Chaldeans against Judah, with, however, a promise of mercy on repentance (Jer 12:14-17).

      1. (Ps 51:4).
      let me talk, &c.--only let me reason the case with Thee: inquire of Thee the causes why such wicked men as these plotters against my life prosper (compare Job 12:6; 21:7; Ps 37:1, 35; 73:3; Mal 3:15). It is right, when hard thoughts of God's providence suggest themselves, to fortify our minds by justifying God beforehand (as did Jeremiah), even before we hear the reasons of His dealings.

      2. grow--literally, "go on," "progress." Thou givest them sure dwellings and increasing prosperity.
      near in . . . mouth . . . far from . . . reins-- (Isa 29:13; Mt 15:8). Hypocrites.

      3. knowest me-- (Ps 139:1).
      tried . . . heart-- (Jer 11:20).
      toward thee--rather, "with Thee," that is, entirely devoted to Thee; contrasted with the hypocrites (Jer 12:2), "near in . . . mouth, and far from . . . reins." This being so, how is it that I fare so ill, they so well?
      pull . . . out--containing the metaphor, from a "rooted tree" (Jer 12:2).
      prepare--literally, "separate," or "set apart as devoted."
      day of slaughter-- (Jas 5:5).

      4. land mourn--personification (Jer 14:2; 23:10).
      for the wickedness-- (Ps 107:34).
      beasts-- (Ho 4:3).
      He shall not see our last end--Jehovah knows not what is about to happen to us (Jer 5:12) [ROSENMULLER]. So the Septuagint. (Ps 10:11; Eze 8:12; 9:9). Rather, "The prophet (Jeremiah, to whom the whole context refers) shall not see our last end." We need not trouble ourselves about his boding predictions. We shall not be destroyed as he says (Jer 5:12, 13).

      5. Jehovah's reply to Jeremiah's complaint.
      horses--that is, horsemen: the argument a fortiori. A proverbial phrase. The injuries done thee by the men of Anathoth ("the footmen") are small compared with those which the men of Jerusalem ("the horsemen") are about to inflict on thee. If the former weary thee out, how wilt thou contend with the king, the court, and the priests at Jerusalem?
      wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee--English Version thus fills up the sentence with the italicized words, to answer to the parallel clause in the first sentence of the verse. The parallelism is, however, sufficiently retained with a less ellipsis: "If (it is only) in a land of peace thou art confident" [MAURER].
      swelling of Jordan--In harvest-time and earlier (April and May) it overflows its banks (Jos 3:15), and fills the valley called the Ghor. Or, "the pride of Jordan," namely, its wooded banks abounding in lions and other wild beasts (Jer 49:19; 50:44; Zec 11:3; compare 2Ki 6:2). MAUNDRELL says that between the Sea of Tiberias and Lake Merom the banks are so wooded that the traveller cannot see the river at all without first passing through the woods. If in the champaign country (alone) thou art secure, how wilt thou do when thou fallest into the wooded haunts of wild beasts?

      6. even thy brethren--as in Christ's case (Ps 69:8; Joh 1:11; 7:5; compare Jer 9:4; 11:19, 21; Mt 10:36). Godly faithfulness is sure to provoke the ungodly, even of one's own family.
      called a multitude after thee-- (Isa 31:4). JEROME translates, "cry after thee with a loud (literally, 'full') voice."
      believe . . . not . . . though . . . speak fair-- (Pr 26:25).

      7. I have forsaken--Jehovah will forsake His temple and the people peculiarly His. The mention of God's close tie to them, as heretofore His, aggravates their ingratitude, and shows that their past spiritual privileges will not prevent God from punishing them.
      beloved of my soul--image from a wife (Jer 11:15; Isa 54:5).

      8. is unto me--is become unto Me: behaves towards Me as a lion which roars against a man, so that he withdraws from the place where he hears it: so I withdrew from My people, once beloved, but now an object of abhorrence because of their rebellious cries against Me.

      9. speckled bird--Many translate, "a ravenous beast, the hyena"; the corresponding Arabic word means hyena; so the Septuagint. But the Hebrew always elsewhere means "a bird of prey." The Hebrew for "speckled" is from a root "to color"; answering to the Jewish blending together with paganism the altogether diverse Mosaic ritual. The neighboring nations, birds of prey like herself (for she had sinfully assimilated herself to them), were ready to pounce upon her.
      assemble . . . beasts of . . . field--The Chaldeans are told to gather the surrounding heathen peoples as allies against Judah (Isa 56:9; Eze 34:5).

      10. pastors--the Babylonian leaders (compare Jer 12:12; Jer 6:3).
      my vineyard-- (Isa 5:1, 5).
      trodden my portion-- (Isa 63:18).

      11. mourneth unto me--that is, before Me. EICHORN translates, "by reason of Me," because I have given it to desolation (Jer 12:7).
      because no man layeth it to heart--because none by repentance and prayer seek to deprecate God's wrath. Or, "yet none lays it to heart"; as in Jer 5:3 [CALVIN].

      12. high places--Before, He had threatened the plains; now, the hills.
      wilderness--not an uninhabited desert, but high lands of pasturage, lying between Judea and Chaldea (Jer 4:11).

      13. Description in detail of the devastation of the land (Mic 6:15).
      they shall be ashamed of your--The change of persons, in passing from indirect to direct address, is frequent in the prophets. Equivalent to, "Ye shall be put to the shame of disappointment at the smallness of your produce."

      14-17. Prophecy as to the surrounding nations, the Syrians, Ammonites, &c., who helped forward Judah's calamity: they shall share her fall; and, on their conversion, they shall share with her in the future restoration. This is a brief anticipation of the predictions in the forty-seventh, forty-eighth, and forty-ninth chapters.
      touch-- (Zec 2:8).
      pluck them out . . . pluck out . . . Judah--(Compare end of Jer 12:16). During the thirteen years that the Babylonians besieged Tyre, Nebuchadnezzar, after subduing Cœlo-Syria, brought Ammon, Moab, &c., and finally Egypt, into subjection [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 10:9.7]. On the restoration of these nations, they were to exchange places with the Jews. The latter were now in the midst of them, but on their restoration they were to be "in the midst of the Jews," that is, as proselytes to the true God (compare Mic 5:7; Zec 14:16). "Pluck them," namely, the Gentile nations: in a bad sense. "Pluck Judah": in a good sense; used to express the force which was needed to snatch Judah from the tyranny of those nations by whom they had been made captives, or to whom they had fled; otherwise they never would have let Judah go. Previously he had been forbidden to pray for the mass of the Jewish people. But here he speaks consolation to the elect remnant among them. Whatever the Jews might be, God keeps His covenant.

      15. A promise, applying to Judah, as well as to the nations specified (Am 9:14). As to Moab, compare Jer 48:47; as to Ammon, Jer 49:6.

      16. swear by my name-- (Jer 4:2; Isa 19:18; 65:16); that is, confess solemnly the true God.
      built--be made spiritually and temporally prosperous: fixed in sure habitations (compare Jer 24:6; 42:10; 45:4; Ps 87:4, 5; Eph 2:20, 21; 1Pe 2:5).

      17. (Isa 60:12).

      Jer 13:1-27. SYMBOLICAL PROPHECY (Jer 13:1-7).

      Many of these figurative acts being either not possible, or not probable, or decorous, seem to have existed only in the mind of the prophet as part of his inward vision. [So CALVIN]. The world he moved in was not the sensible, but the spiritual, world. Inward acts were, however, when it was possible and proper, materialized by outward performance, but not always, and necessarily so. The internal act made a naked statement more impressive and presented the subject when extending over long portions of space and time more concentrated. The interruption of Jeremiah's official duty by a journey of more than two hundred miles twice is not likely to have literally taken place.

      1. put it upon thy loins, &c.--expressing the close intimacy wherewith Jehovah had joined Israel and Judah to Him (Jer 13:11).
      linen--implying it was the inner garment next the skin, not the outer one.
      put it not in water--signifying the moral filth of His people, like the literal filth of a garment worn constantly next the skin, without being washed (Jer 13:10). GROTIUS understands a garment not bleached, but left in its native roughness, just as Judah had no beauty, but was adopted by the sole grace of God (Eze 16:4-6). "Neither wast thou washed in water," &c.

      4. Euphrates--In order to support the view that Jeremiah's act was outward, HENDERSON considers that the Hebrew Phrath here is Ephratha, the original name of Beth-lehem, six miles south of Jerusalem, a journey easy to be made by Jeremiah. The non-addition of the word "river," which usually precedes Phrath, when meaning Euphrates, favors this view. But I prefer English Version. The Euphrates is specified as being near Babylon, the Jews future place of exile.
      hole--typical of the prisons in which the Jews were to be confined.
      the rock--some well-known rock. A sterile region, such as was that to which the Jews were led away (compare Isa 7:19) [GROTIUS].

      6. after many days--Time enough was given for the girdle to become unfit for use. So, in course of time, the Jews became corrupted by the heathen idolatries around, so as to cease to be witnesses of Jehovah; they must, therefore, be cast away as a "marred" or spoiled girdle.

      9. (Le 26:19).

      10. imagination--rather, "obstinacy."

      11. (Jer 33:9; Ex 19:5).
      glory--an ornament to glory in.

      12. A new image.
      Do we not . . . know . . . wine--The "bottles" are those used in the East, made of skins; our word "hogshead," originally "oxhide," alludes to the same custom. As they were used to hold water, milk, and other liquids, what the prophet said (namely, that they should be all filled with wine) was not, as the Jews' taunting reply implied, a truism even literally. The figurative sense which is what Jeremiah chiefly meant, they affected not to understand. As wine intoxicates, so God's wrath and judgments shall reduce them to that state of helpless distraction that they shall rush on to their own ruin (Jer 25:15; 49:12; Isa 51:17, 21, 22; 63:6).

      13. upon David's throne--literally, who sit for David on his throne; implying the succession of the Davidic family (Jer 22:4).
      all--indiscriminately of every rank.

      14. dash-- (Ps 2:9). As a potter's vessel (Re 2:27).

      15. be not proud--Pride was the cause of their contumacy, as humility is the first step to obedience (Jer 13:17; Ps 10:4).

      16. Give glory, &c.--Show by repentance and obedience to God, that you revere His majesty. So Joshua exhorted Achan to "give glory to God" by confessing his crime, thereby showing he revered the All-knowing God.
      stumble--image from travellers stumbling into a fatal abyss when overtaken by nightfall (Isa 5:30; 59:9, 10; Am 8:9).
      dark mountains--literally, "mountains of twilight" or "gloom," which cast such a gloomy shadow that the traveller stumbles against an opposing rock before he sees it (Joh 11:10; 12:35).
      shadow of death--the densest gloom; death shade (Ps 44:19). Light and darkness are images of prosperity and adversity.

      17. hear it--my exhortation.
      in secret--as one mourning and humbling himself for their sin, not self-righteously condemning them (Php 3:18).
      pride--(see on Jer 13:15; Job 33:17).
      flock-- (Jer 13:20), just as kings and leaders are called pastors.

      18. king--Jehoiachin or Jeconiah.
      queen--the queen mother who, as the king was not more than eighteen years old, held the chief power. Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan, carried away captive with Jehoiachin by Nebuchadnezzar (2Ki 24:8-15).
      Humble yourselves--that is, Ye shall be humbled, or brought low (Jer 22:26; 28:2).
      your principalities--rather, "your head ornament."

      19. cities of the south--namely, south of Judea; farthest off from the enemy, who advanced from the north.
      shut up--that is, deserted (Isa 24:10); so that none shall be left to open the gates to travellers and merchants again [HENDERSON]. Rather, shut up so closely by Nebuchadnezzar's forces, sent on before (2Ki 24:10, 11), that none shall be allowed by the enemy to get out (compare Jer 13:20).
      wholly--literally, "fully"; completely.

      20. from . . . north--Nebuchadnezzar and his hostile army (Jer 1:14; 6:22).
      flock . . . given thee--Jeremiah, amazed at the depopulation caused by Nebuchadnezzar's forces, addresses Jerusalem (a noun of multitude, which accounts for the blending of plural and singular, Your eyes . . . thee . . . thy flock), and asks where is the population (Jer 13:17, "flock") which God had given her?

      21. captains, and as chief--literally, "princes as to headship"; or "over thy head," namely, the Chaldeans. Rather, translate, "What wilt thou say when God will set them (the enemies, Jer 13:20) above thee, seeing that thou thyself hast accustomed them (to be) with thee as (thy) lovers in the highest place (literally, 'at thy head')? Thou canst not say God does thee wrong, seeing it was thou that gave occasion to His dealing so with thee, by so eagerly courting their intimacy." Compare Jer 2:18, 36; 2Ki 23:29, as to the league of Judah with Babylon, which led Josiah to march against Pharaoh-necho, when the latter was about to attack Babylon [MAURER].
      sorrows--pains, throes.

      22. if thou say--connecting this verse with "What wilt thou say" (Jer 13:21)?
      skirts discovered--that is, are thrown up so as to expose the person (Jer 13:26; Isa 3:17; Na 3:5).
      heels made bare--The sandal was fastened by a thong above the heel to the instep. The Hebrew, is, "are violently handled," or "torn off"; that is, thou art exposed to ignominy. Image from an adulteress.

      23. Ethiopian--the Cushite of Abyssinia. Habit is second nature; as therefore it is morally impossible that the Jews can alter their inveterate habits of sin, nothing remains but the infliction of the extremest punishment, their expatriation (Jer 13:24).

      24. (Ps 1:4).
      by the wind--before the wind.
      of the wilderness--where the wind has full sweep, not being broken by any obstacle.

      25. portion of thy measures--the portion which I have measured out to thee (Job 20:29; Ps 11:6).
      falsehood-- (Jer 13:27), false gods and alliances with foreign idolaters.

      26. discover . . . upon thy face--rather, "throw up thy skirts over thy face," or head; done by way of ignominy to captive women and to prostitutes (Na 3:5). The Jews' punishment should answer to their crime. As their sin had been perpetrated in the most public places, so God would expose them to the contempt of other nations most openly (La 1:8).

      27. neighings-- (Jer 5:8), image from the lust of horses; the lust after idols degrades to the level of the brute.
      hills--where, as being nearer heaven, sacrifices were thought most acceptable to the gods.
      wilt thou not . . . ? when--literally, "thou wilt not be made clean after how long a time yet." (So Jer 13:23). Jeremiah denies the moral possibility of one so long hardened in sin becoming soon cleansed. But see Jer 32:17; Lu 18:27.

      Jer 14:1-22. PROPHECIES ON THE OCCASION OF A DROUGHT SENT IN JUDGMENT ON JUDEA.

      1. Literally, "That which was the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah concerning the dearth"
      drought--literally, the "withholdings," namely, of rain (De 11:17; 2Ch 7:13). This word should be used especially of the withholding of rain because rain is in those regions of all things the one chiefly needed (Jer 17:8, Margin).

      2. gates--The place of public concourse in each city looks sad, as being no longer frequented (Isa 3:26; 24:4).
      black--that is, they mourn (blackness being indicative of sorrow), (Jer 8:21).
      unto the ground--bowing towards it.
      cry--of distress (1Sa 5:12; Isa 24:11).

      3. little ones--rather, "their inferiors," that is, domestics.
      pits--cisterns for collecting rain water, often met with in the East where there are no springs.
      covered . . . heads-- (2Sa 15:30). A sign of humiliation and mourning.

      5. The brute creation is reduced to the utmost extremity for the want of food. The "hind," famed for her affection to her young, abandons them.

      6. wild asses--They repair to "the high places" most exposed to the winds, which they "snuff in" to relieve their thirst.
      dragons--jackals [HENDERSON].
      eyes--which are usually most keen in detecting grass or water from the "heights," so much so that the traveller guesses from their presence that there must be herbage and water near; but now "their eyes fail." Rather the reference is to the great boas and python serpents which raise a large portion of their body up in a vertical column ten or twelve feet high, to survey the neighborhood above the surrounding bushes, while with open jaws they drink in the air. These giant serpents originated the widely spread notions which typified the deluge and all destructive agents under the form of a dragon or monster serpent; hence, the dragon temples always near water, in Asia, Africa, and Britain; for example, at Abury, in Wiltshire; a symbol of the ark is often associated with the dragon as the preserver from the waters [KITTO, Biblical Cyclopædia].

      7. do thou it--what we beg of Thee; interpose to remove the drought. Jeremiah pleads in the name of his nation (Ps 109:21). So "work for us," absolutely used (1Sa 14:6).
      for thy name's sake--"for our backslidings are so many" that we cannot urge Thee for the sake of our doings, but for the glory of Thy name; lest, if Thou give us not aid, it should be said it was owing to Thy want of power (Jos 7:9; Ps 79:9; 106:8; Isa 48:9; Eze 20:44). The same appeal to God's mercy, "for His name's sake," as our only hope, since our sin precludes trust in ourselves, occurs in Ps 25:11.

      8. The reference is, not to the faith of Israel which had almost ceased, but to the promise and everlasting covenant of God. None but the true Israel make God their "hope." (Jer 17:13).
      turneth aside to tarry--The traveller cares little for the land he tarries but a night in; but Thou hast promised to dwell always in the midst of Thy people (2Ch 33:7, 8). MAURER translates, "spreadeth," namely, his tent.

      9. astonied--like a "mighty man," at other times able to help (Isa 59:1), but now stunned by a sudden calamity so as to disappoint the hopes drawn from him.
      art in the midst of us-- (Ex 29:45, 46; Le 26:11, 12).
      called by thy name-- (Da 9:18, 19) as Thine own peculiar people (De 9:29).

      10. Jehovah's reply to the prayer (Jer 14:7-9; Jer 2:23-25).
      Thus--So greatly.
      loved-- (Jer 5:31).
      not refrained . . . feet--They did not obey God's command; "withhold thy foot" (Jer 2:25), namely, from following after idols.
      remember . . . iniquity-- (Ho 8:13; 9:9). Their sin is so great, God must punish them.

      11. (Jer 7:16; Ex 32:10).

      12. not hear--because their prayers are hypocritical: their hearts are still idolatrous. God never refuses to hear real prayer (Jer 7:21, 22; Pr 1:28; Isa 1:15; 58:3).
      sword . . . famine . . . pestilence--the three sorest judgments at once; any one of which would be enough for their ruin (2Sa 24:12, 13).

      13. Jeremiah urges that much of the guilt of the people is due to the false prophets' influence.
      assured peace--solid and lasting peace. Literally, "peace of truth" (Isa 39:8).

      14. (Jer 23:21).

      15. (Jer 5:12, 13).
      By sword and famine . . . consumed--retribution in kind both to the false prophets and to their hearers (Jer 14:16).

      16. none to bury-- (Ps 79:3).
      pour their wickedness--that is, the punishment incurred by their wickedness (Jer 2:19).

      17. (Jer 9:1; La 1:16). Jeremiah is desired to weep ceaselessly for the calamities coming on his nation (called a "virgin," as being heretofore never under foreign yoke), (Isa 23:4).

      18. go about--that is, shall have to migrate into a land of exile. HORSLEY translates, "go trafficking about the land (see Jer 5:31, Margin; 2Co 4:2; 2Pe 2:3), and take no knowledge" (that is, pay no regard to the miseries before their eyes) (Isa 1:3; 58:3). If the literal sense of the Hebrew verb be retained, I would with English Version understand the words as referring to the exile to Babylon; thus, "the prophet and the priest shall have to go to a strange land to practise their religious traffic (Isa 56:11; Eze 34:2, 3; Mic 3:11).

      19. The people plead with God, Jeremiah being forbidden to do so.
      no healing-- (Jer 15:18).
      peace . . . no good-- (Jer 8:15).

      20. (Da 9:8).

      21. us--"the throne of Thy glory" may be the object of "abhor not" ("reject not"); or "Zion" (Jer 14:19).
      throne of thy glory--Jerusalem, or, the temple, called God's "footstool" and "habitation" (1Ch 28:2; Ps 132:5).
      thy covenant-- (Ps 106:45; Da 9:19).

      22. vanities--idols (De 32:21).
      rain-- (Zec 10:1, 2).
      heavens--namely, of themselves without God (Mt 5:45; Ac 14:17); they are not the First Cause, and ought not to be deified, as they were by the heathen. The disjunctive "or" favors CALVIN'S explanation: "Not even the heavens themselves can give rain, much less can the idol vanities."
      art not thou he--namely, who canst give rain?

      Jer 15:1-21. GOD'S REPLY TO JEREMIAH'S INTERCESSORY PRAYER.

      1. Moses . . . Samuel--eminent in intercessions (Ex 32:11, 12; 1Sa 7:9; Ps 99:6).
      be toward--could not be favorably inclined toward them.
      out of my sight--God speaks as if the people were present before Him, along with Jeremiah.

      2. death--deadly plague (Jer 18:21; 43:11; Eze 5:2, 12; Zec 11:9).

      3. appoint-- (Le 26:16).
      kinds--of punishments.

      4. cause . . . to be removed-- (De 28:25; Eze 23:46). Rather, "I will give them up to vexation," I will cause them to wander so as nowhere to have repose [CALVIN]; (2Ch 29:8, "trouble;" Margin, "commotion").
      because of Manasseh--He was now dead, but the effects of his sins still remained. How much evil one bad man can cause! The evil fruits remain even after he himself has received repentance and forgiveness. The people had followed his wicked example ever since; and it is implied that it was only through the long-suffering of God that the penal consequences had been suspended up to the present time (compare 1Ki 14:16; 2Ki 21:11; 23:26; 24:3, 4).

      5. go aside . . . how thou doest--Who will turn aside (in passing by) to salute thee (to wish thee "peace")?

      6. weary with repenting-- (Ho 13:14; 11:8). I have so often repented of the evil that I threatened (Jer 26:19; Ex 32:14; 1Ch 21:15), and have spared them, without My forbearance moving them to repentance, that I will not again change My purpose (God speaking in condescension to human modes of thought), but will take vengeance on them now.

      7. fan--tribulation--from tribulum, a threshing instrument, which separates the chaff from the wheat (Mt 3:12).
      gates of the land--that is, the extreme bounds of the land through which the entrance to and exit from it lie. MAURER translates, "I will fan," that is, cast them forth "to the gates of the land" (Na 3:13). "In the gates"; English Version draws the image from a man cleaning corn with a fan; he stands at the gate of the threshing-floor in the open air, to remove the wheat from the chaff by means of the wind; so God threatens to remove Israel out of the bounds of the land [HOUBIGANT].

      8. Their widows--My people's (Jer 15:7).
      have brought--prophetical past: I will bring.
      mother of the young men--"mother" is collective; after the "widows," He naturally mentions bereavement of their sons ("young men"), brought on the "mothers" by "the spoiler"; it was owing to the number of men slain that the "widows" were so many [CALVIN]. Others take "mother," as in 2Sa 20:19, of Jerusalem, the metropolis; "I have brought on them, against the 'mother,' a young spoiler," namely, Nebuchadnezzar, sent by his father, Nabopolassar, to repulse the Egyptian invaders (2Ki 23:29; 24:1), and occupy Judea. But Jer 15:7 shows the future, not the past, is referred to; and "widows" being literal, "mother" is probably so, too.
      at noonday--the hottest part of the day, when military operations were usually suspended; thus it means unexpectedly, answering to the parallel, "suddenly"; openly, as others explain it, will not suit the parallelism (compare Ps 91:6).
      it--English Version seems to understand by "it" the mother city, and by "him" the "spoiler"; thus "it" will be parallel to "city." Rather, "I will cause to fall upon them (the 'mothers' about to be bereft of their sons) suddenly anguish and terrors."
      the city--rather, from a root "heat," anguish, or consternation. So the Septuagint.

      9. borne seven-- (1Sa 2:5). Seven being the perfect number indicates full fruitfulness.
      languisheth--because not even one is left of all her sons (Jer 15:8).
      sun is gone down while . . . yet day--Fortune deserts her at the very height of her prosperity (Am 8:9).
      she . . . ashamed--The mothers (she being collective) are put to the shame of disappointed hopes through the loss of all their children.

      10. (Jer 20:14; Job 3:1, &c.). Jeremiah seems to have been of a peculiarly sensitive temperament; yet the Holy Spirit enabled him to deliver his message at the certain cost of having his sensitiveness wounded by the enmities of those whom his words offended.
      man of strife--exposed to strifes on the part of "the whole earth" (Ps 80:6).
      I have neither lent, &c.--proverbial for, "I have given no cause for strife against me."

      11. Verily--literally, "Shall it not be?" that is, "Surely it shall be."
      thy remnant--the final issue of thy life; thy life, which now seems to thee so sad, shall eventuate in prosperity [CALVIN]. They who think that they shall be the surviving remnant, whereas thou shalt perish, shall themselves fall, whereas thou shalt remain and be favored by the conquerors [JUNIUS], (Jer 40:4, 5; 39:11, 12). The Keri reads, "I will set thee free (or as MAURER, 'I will establish thee') for good" (Jer 14:11; Ezr 8:22; Ps 119:122).
      to entreat thee well--literally, "to meet thee"; so "to be placable, nay, of their own accord to anticipate in meeting thee with kindness" [CALVIN]. I prefer this translation as according with the event (Jer 39:11, 12; 40:4, 5). GESENIUS, from Jer 7:16; 27:18; Job 21:15, translates (not only will I relieve thee from the enemy's vexations, but) "I will make thine enemy (that now vexeth thee) apply to thee with prayers" (Jer 38:14; 42:2-6).

      12. steel--rather, brass or copper, which mixed with "iron" (by the Chalybes near the Euxine Pontus, far north of Palestine), formed the hardest metal, like our steel. Can the Jews, hardy like common iron though they be, break the still hardier Chaldees of the north (Jer 1:14), who resemble the Chalybian iron hardened with copper? Certainly not [CALVIN]. HENDERSON translates. "Can one break iron, (even) the northern iron, and brass," on the ground that English Version makes ordinary iron not so hard as brass. But it is not brass, but a particular mixture of iron and brass, which is represented as harder than common iron, which was probably then of inferior texture, owing to ignorance of modern modes of preparation.

      13. Thy substance . . . sins--Judea's, not Jeremiah's.
      without price--God casts His people away as a thing worth naught (Ps 44:12). So, on the contrary, Jehovah, when about to restore His people, says, He will give Egypt, &c., for their "ransom" (Isa 43:3).
      even in all thy borders--joined with "Thy substance . . . treasures, as also with "all thy sins," their sin and punishment being commensurate (Jer 17:3).

      14. thee--MAURER supplies "them," namely, "thy treasures." EICHORN, needlessly, from Syriac and the Septuagint, reads, "I will make thee to serve thine enemies"; a reading doubtless interpolated from Jer 17:4.
      fire-- (De 32:22).

      15. thou knowest--namely, my case; what wrongs my adversaries have done me (Jer 12:3).
      revenge me--(See on Jer 11:20). The prophet in this had regard to, not his own personal feelings of revenge, but the cause of God; he speaks by inspiration God's will against the ungodly. Contrast in this the law with the gospel (Lu 23:34; Ac 7:60).
      take me not away in thy long-suffering--By Thy long-suffering towards them, suffer them not meanwhile to take away my life.
      for thy sake I have suffered rebuke--the very words of the antitype, Jesus Christ (Ps 69:7, 22-28), which last compare with Jeremiah's prayer in the beginning of this verse.

      16. eat-- (Eze 2:8; 3:1, 3; Re 10:9, 10). As soon as Thy words were found by me, I eagerly laid hold of and appropriated them. The Keri reads, "Thy word."
      thy word . . . joy-- (Job 23:12; Ps 119:72, 111; compare Mt 13:44).
      called by thy name--I am Thine, Thy minister. So the antitype, Jesus Christ (Ex 23:21).

      17. My "rejoicing" (Jer 15:16) was not that of the profane mockers (Ps 1:1; 26:4, 5) at feasts. So far from having fellowship with these, he was expelled from society, and made to sit "alone," because of his faithful prophecies.
      because of thy hand--that is, Thine inspiration (Isa 8:11; Eze 1:3; 3:14).
      filled me with indignation--So Jer 6:11, "full of the fury of the Lord"; so full was he of the subject (God's "indignation" against the ungodly) with which God had inspired him, as not to be able to contain himself from expressing it. The same comparison by contrast between the effect of inspiration, and that of wine, both taking a man out of himself, occurs (Ac 2:13, 15, 18).

      18. (Jer 30:15). "Pain," namely, the perpetual persecution to which he was exposed, and his being left by God without consolation and "alone." Contrast his feeling here with that in Jer 15:16, when he enjoyed the full presence of God, and was inspired by His words. Therefore he utters words of his natural "infirmity" (so David, Ps 77:10) here; as before he spoke under the higher spiritual nature given him.
      as a liar, and as--rather, "as a deceiving (river) . . . waters that are not sure (lasting)"; opposed to "living (perennial) waters" (Job 6:15). Streams that the thirsty traveller had calculated on being full in winter, but which disappoint him in his sorest need, having run dry in the heat of summer. Jehovah had promised Jeremiah protection from his enemies (Jer 1:18, 19); his infirmity suggests that God had failed to do so.

      19. God's reply to Jeremiah.
      return . . . bring . . . again--Jeremiah, by his impatient language, had left his proper posture towards God; God saith, "If thou wilt return (to thy former patient discharge of thy prophetic function) I will bring thee back" to thy former position: in the Hebrew there is a play of words, "return . . . turn again" (Jer 8:4; 4:1).
      stand before me--minister acceptably to Me (De 10:8; 1Ki 17:1; 18:15).
      take . . . precious from . . . vile--image from metals: "If thou wilt separate what is precious in thee (the divine graces imparted) from what is vile (thy natural corruptions, impatience, and hasty words), thou shall be as My mouth": my mouthpiece (Ex 4:16).
      return not thou unto them--Let not them lead you into their profane ways (as Jeremiah had spoken irreverently, Jer 15:18), but lead thou them to the ways of godliness (Jer 15:16, 17). Eze 22:26 accords with the other interpretation, which, however, does not so well suit the context, "If thou wilt separate from the promiscuous mass the better ones, and lead them to conversion by faithful warnings," &c.

      20, 21. The promise of Jer 1:18, 19, in almost the same words, but with the addition, adapted to the present attacks of Jeremiah's formidable enemies, "I will deliver thee out of . . . wicked . . . redeem . . . terrible"; the repetition is in order to assure Jeremiah that God is the same now as when He first made the promise, in opposition to the prophet's irreverent accusation of unfaithfulness (Jer 15:18).

      Jer 16:1-21. CONTINUATION OF THE PREVIOUS PROPHECY.

      2. in this place--in Judea. The direction to remain single was (whether literally obeyed, or only in prophetic vision) to symbolize the coming calamities of the Jews (Eze 24:15-27) as so severe that the single state would be then (contrary to the ordinary course of things) preferable to the married (compare 1Co 7:8, 26, 29; Mt 24:19; Lu 23:29).

      4. grievous deaths--rather, "deadly diseases" (Jer 15:2).
      not . . . lamented--so many shall be the slain (Jer 22:18).
      dung-- (Ps 83:10).

      5. (Eze 24:17, 22, 23).
      house of mourning-- (Mr 5:38). Margin, "mourning-feast"; such feasts were usual at funerals. The Hebrew means, in Am 6:7, the cry of joy at a banquet; here, and La 2:19, the cry of sorrow.

      6. cut themselves--indicating extravagant grief (Jer 41:5; 47:5), prohibited by the law (Le 19:28).
      bald-- (Jer 7:29; Isa 22:12).

      7. tear themselves--rather, "break bread," namely, that eaten at the funeral-feast (De 26:14; Job 42:11; Eze 24:17; Ho 9:4). "Bread" is to be supplied, as in La 4:4; compare "take" (food) (Ge 42:33).
      give . . . cup of consolation . . . for . . . father--It was the Oriental custom for friends to send viands and wine (the "cup of consolation") to console relatives in mourning-feasts, for example, to children upon the death of a "father" or "mother."

      8. house of feasting--joyous: as distinguished from mourning-feasts. Have no more to do with this people whether in mourning or joyous feasts.

      9. (Jer 7:34; 25:10; Eze 26:13).

      10. (De 29:24; 1Ki 9:8, 9).

      11. (Jer 5:19; 13:22; 22:8, 9).

      12. ye--emphatic: so far from avoiding your fathers' bad example, ye have done worse (Jer 7:26; 1Ki 14:9).
      imagination--rather, "stubborn perversity."
      that they may not hearken--rather, connected with "ye"; "ye have walked . . . so as not to hearken to Me."

      13. serve other gods--That which was their sin in their own land was their punishment in exile. Retribution in kind. They voluntarily forsook God for idols at home; they were not allowed to serve God, if they wished it, in captivity (Da 3:12; 6:7).
      day and night--irony. You may there serve idols, which ye are so mad after, even to satiety, and without intermission.

      14. Therefore--So severe shall be the Jews' bondage that their deliverance from it shall be a greater benefit than that out of Egypt. The consolation is incidental here; the prominent thought is the severity of their punishment, so great that their rescue from it will be greater than that from Egypt [CALVIN]; so the context, Jer 16:13, 17, 18, proves (Jer 23:7, 8; Isa 43:18).

      15. the north--Chaldea. But while the return from Babylon is primarily meant, the return hereafter is the full and final accomplishment contemplated, as "from all the lands" proves. "Israel" was not, save in a very limited sense, "gathered from all the lands" at the return from Babylon (see on Jer 24:6; Jer 30:3; Jer 32:15).

      16. send for--translate, "I will send many"; "I will give the commission to many" (2Ch 17:7).
      fishers . . . hunters--successive invaders of Judea (Am 4:2; Hab 1:14, 15). So "net" (Eze 12:13). As to "hunters," see Ge 10:9; Mic 7:2. The Chaldees were famous in hunting, as the Egyptians, the other enemy of Judea, were in fishing. "Fishers" expresses the ease of their victory over the Jews as that of the angler over fishes; "hunters," the keenness of their pursuit of them into every cave and nook. It is remarkable, the same image is used in a good sense of the Jews' restoration, implying that just as their enemies were employed by God to take them in hand for destruction, so the same shall be employed for their restoration (Eze 47:9, 10). So spiritually, those once enemies by nature (fishermen many of them literally) were employed by God to be heralds of salvation, "catching men" for life (Mt 4:19; Lu 5:10; Ac 2:41; 4:4); compare here Jer 16:19, "the Gentiles shall come unto thee" (2Co 12:16).

      17. (Jer 32:19; Pr 5:21; 15:3).
      their iniquity--the cause of God's judgments on them.

      18. first . . . double--HORSLEY translates, "I will recompense . . . once and again"; literally, "the first time repeated": alluding to the two captivities--the Babylonian and the Roman. MAURER, "I will recompense their former iniquities (those long ago committed by their fathers) and their (own) repeated sins" (Jer 16:11, 12). English Version gives a good sense, "First (before 'I bring them again into their land'), I will doubly (that is, fully and amply, Jer 17:18; Isa 40:2) recompense."
      carcasses--not sweet-smelling sacrifices acceptable to God, but "carcasses" offered to idols, an offensive odor to God: human victims (Jer 19:5; Eze 16:20), and unclean animals (Isa 65:4; 66:17). MAURER explains it, "the carcasses" of the idols: their images void of sense and life. Compare Jer 16:19, 20. Le 26:30 favors this.

      19, 20. The result of God's judgments on the Jews will be that both the Jews when restored, and the Gentiles who have witnessed those judgments, shall renounce idolatry for the worship of Jehovah. Fulfilled partly at the return from Babylon, after which the Jews entirely renounced idols, and many proselytes were gathered in from the Gentiles, but not to be realized in its fulness till the final restoration of Israel (Isa 2:1-17).

      20. indignant protest of Jeremiah against idols.
      and they (are) no gods-- (Jer 2:11; Isa 37:19; Ga 4:8). "They" refers to the idols. A man (a creature himself) making God is a contradiction in terms. Vulgate takes "they" thus: "Shall man make gods, though men themselves are not gods?"

      21. Therefore--In order that all may be turned from idols to Jehovah, He will now give awful proof of His divine power in the judgments He will inflict.
      this once--If the punishments I have heretofore inflicted have not been severe enough to teach them.
      my name . . . Lord--Jehovah (Ps 83:18): God's incommunicable name, to apply which to idols would be blasphemy. Keeping His threats and promises (Ex 6:3).

      Jer 17:1-27. THE JEWS' INVETERATE LOVE OF IDOLATRY.

      The the Septuagint omits the first four verses, but other Greek versions have them.

      1. The first of the four clauses relates to the third, the second to the fourth, by alternate parallelism. The sense is: They are as keen after idols as if their propensity was "graven with an iron pen (Job 19:24) on their hearts," or as if it were sanctioned by a law "inscribed with a diamond point" on their altars. The names of their gods used to be written on "the horns of the altars" (Ac 17:23). As the clause "on their hearts" refers to their inward propensity, so "on . . . altars," the outward exhibition of it. Others refer "on the horns of . . . altars" to their staining them with the blood of victims, in imitation of the Levitical precept (Ex 29:12; Le 4:7, 18), but "written . . . graven," would thus be inappropriate.
      table of . . . heart--which God intended to be inscribed very differently, namely, with His truths (Pr 3:3; 2Co 3:3).
      your--Though "their" preceded, He directly addresses them to charge the guilt home to them in particular.

      2. children remember--Instead of forsaking the idolatries of their fathers, they keep them up (Jer 7:18). This is given as proof that their sin is "graven upon . . . altars" (Jer 17:1), that is, is not merely temporary. They corrupt their posterity after them. CASTALIO less probably translates, "They remember their altars as (fondly as) they do their children."
      groves--rather, "images of Astarte," the goddess of the heavenly hosts, represented as a sacred tree, such as is seen in the Assyrian sculptures (2Ki 21:7; 2Ch 24:18). "Image of the grove." The Hebrew for "grove" is Asherah, that is, Assarak, Astarte, or Ashtaroth.
      by the green trees--that is, near them: the sacred trees (idol symbols) of Astarte being placed in the midst of natural trees: "green trees" is thus distinguished from "groves," artificial trees. HENDERSON, to avoid taking the same Hebrew particle in the same sentence differently, "by . . . upon" translates "images of Astarte on the green trees." But it is not probable that images, in the form of a sacred tree, should be hung on trees, rather than near them.

      3. mountain--Jerusalem, and especially Zion and the temple.
      in the field--As Jerusalem was surrounded by mountains (Ps 125:2), the sense probably is, Ye rely on your mountainous position (Jer 3:23), but I will make "My mountain" to become as if it were in a plain (field), so as to give thy substance an easy prey to the enemy [CALVIN]. "Field" may, however, mean all Judea; it and "My mountain" will thus express the country and its capital. (GESENIUS translates, "together with," instead of "in"; as the Hebrew is translated in Jer 11:19; Ho 5:6; but this is not absolutely needed), "the substance" of both of which God "will give to the spoil."
      thy high places--corresponding in parallelism to "My mountain" (compare Isa 11:9), as "all thy borders," to "the field" (which confirms the view that "field" means all Judea).
      for sin--connected with high places" in English Version, namely, frequented for sin, that is, for idolatrous sacrifices. But Jer 15:13 makes the rendering probable, "I will give thy substance . . . to . . . spoil . . . on account of thy sin throughout all thy borders."

      4. even thyself--rather, "owing to thyself," that is, by thy own fault (Jer 15:13).
      discontinue from--be dispossessed of. Not only thy substance, but thyself shall be carried off to a strange land (Jer 15:14).

      5. Referring to the Jews' proneness to rely on Egypt, in its fear of Assyria and Babylon (Isa 31:1, 3).
      trusteth--This word is emphatic. We may expect help from men, so far as God enables them to help us, but we must rest our trust in God alone (Ps 62:5).

      6. heath--In Ps 102:17; Isa 32:11; Hab 3:9, the Hebrew is translated, "bare," "naked," "destitute"; but as the parallel in Jer 17:8 is "tree," some plant must be meant of which this is the characteristic epithet (Jer 48:6, Margin), "a naked tree." ROBINSON translates, "the juniper tree," found in the Arabah or Great Valley, here called "the desert," south of the Dead Sea. The "heath" was one of the plants, according to PLINY (13.21; 16.26), excluded from religious uses, because it has neither fruit nor seed, and is neither sown nor planted.
      not see . . . good-- (Job 20:17).
      salt land-- (De 29:23), barren ground.

      7. (Ps 34:8; Pr 16:20; Isa 30:18). Jeremiah first removed the weeds (false trusts), so that there might be room for the good grain [CALVIN].

      8. (Ps 1:3).
      shall not see--that is, feel. Answering to Jer 17:6; whereas the unbelievers "shall not see (even) when good cometh," the believer "shall not see (so as to be overwhelmed by it even) when heat (fiery trial) cometh." Trials shall come upon him as on all, nay, upon him especially (Heb 12:6); but he shall not sink under them, because the Lord is his secret strength, just as the "roots spread out by a river" (or, "water-course") draw hidden support from it (2Co 4:8-11).
      careful--anxious, as one desponding (Lu 12:29; 1Pe 5:7).
      drought--literally, "withholding," namely, of rain (Jer 14:1); he here probably alludes to the drought which had prevailed, but makes it the type of all kinds of distress.

      9. deceitful--from a root, "supplanting," "tripping up insidiously by the heel," from which Jacob (Ho 12:3) took his name. In speaking of the Jews' deceit of heart, he appropriately uses a term alluding to their forefather, whose deceit, but not whose faith, they followed. His "supplanting" was in order to obtain Jehovah's blessing. They plant Jehovah for "trust in man" (Jer 17:5), and then think to deceive God, as if it could escape His notice, that it is in man, not in Him, they trust.
      desperately wicked--"incurable" [HORSLEY], (Mic 1:9). Trust in one's own heart is as foolish as in our fellow man (Pr 28:26).

      10. Lest any should infer from Jer 17:9, "who can know it?" that even the Lord does not know, and therefore cannot punish, the hidden treachery of the heart, He says, "I the Lord search the heart," &c. (1Ch 28:9; Ps 7:9; Pr 17:3; Re 2:23).
      even to give--and that in order that I may give (Jer 32:19).

      11. partridge-- (1Sa 26:20). Hebrew, korea, from a root, "to call," alluding to its cry; a name still applied to a bustard by the Arabs. Its nest is liable, being on the ground, to be trodden under foot, or robbed by carnivorous animals, notwithstanding all the beautiful manoeuvres of the parent birds to save the brood. The translation, "sitteth on eggs which it has not laid," alludes to the ancient notion that she stole the eggs of other birds and hatched them as her own; and that the young birds when grown left her for the true mother. It is not needful to make Scripture allude to an exploded notion, as if it were true. MAURER thinks the reference is to Jehoiakim's grasping cupidity (Jer 22:13-17). Probably the sense is more general; as previously He condemned trust in man (Jer 17:5), He now condemns another object of the deceitful hearts' trust, unjustly gotten riches (Ps 39:6; 49:16, 17; 55:23).
      fool-- (Pr 23:5; Lu 12:20); "their folly" (Ps 49:13). He himself, and all, shall at last perceive he was not the wise man he thought he was.

      12. throne--the temple of Jerusalem, the throne of Jehovah. Having condemned false objects of trust, "high places for sin" (Jer 17:3), and an "arm of flesh," he next sets forth Jehovah, and His temple, which was ever open to the Jews, as the true object of confidence, and sanctuary to flee to. HENDERSON makes Jehovah, in Jer 17:13, the subject, and this verse predicate, "A throne of glory, high from the beginning, the place of our sanctuary, the hope of Israel is Jehovah." "Throne" is thus used for Him who sits on it; compare thrones (Col 1:16). He is called a "sanctuary" to His people (Isa 8:14; Eze 11:16). So Syriac and Arabic.

      13. me--"Jehovah." Though "Thee" precedes. This sudden transition is usual in the prophetic style, owing to the prophet's continual realization of Jehovah's presence.
      all that forsake thee-- (Ps 73:27; Isa 1:28).
      written in the earth--in the dust, that is, shall be consigned to oblivion. So Jesus' significant writing "on the ground (probably the accusers' names)" (Joh 8:6). Names written in the dust are obliterated by a very slight wind. Their hopes and celebrity are wholly in the earth, not in the heavenly book of life (Re 13:8; 20:12, 15). The Jews, though boasting that they were the people of God, had no portion in heaven, no status before God and His angels. Contrast "written in heaven," that is, in the muster-roll of its blessed citizens (Lu 10:20). Also, contrast "written in a book," and "in the rock for ever" (Job 19:23, 24).
      living waters-- (Jer 2:13).

      14-18. Prayer of the prophet for deliverance from the enemies whom he excited by his faithful denunciations.
      Heal . . . save--not only make me whole (as to the evils of soul as well as body which I am exposed to by contact with ungodly foes, Jer 15:18), but keep me so.
      my praise--He whom I have to praise for past favors, and therefore to whom alone I look for the time to come.

      15. Where is the word?-- (Isa 5:19; Am 5:18). Where is the fulfilment of the threats which thou didst utter as from God? A characteristic of the last stage of apostasy (2Pe 3:4).

      16. I have not refused Thy call of me to be a prophet (Jon 1:3), however painful to me it was to utter what would be sure to irritate the hearers (Jer 1:4, &c.).; therefore Thou shouldest not forsake me (Jer 15:15, &c.).
      to follow thee--literally, "after thee"; as an under-pastor following Thee, the Chief Shepherd (Ec 12:11; 1Pe 5:4).
      neither . . . desired--I have not wished for the day of calamity, though I foretell it as about to come on my countrymen; therefore they have no reason for persecuting me.
      thou knowest--I appeal to Thee for the truth of what I assert.
      that which came out of my lips--my words (De 23:23).
      right before thee--rather, "was before Thee"; was known to Thee-- (Pr 5:21).

      17. a terror--namely, by deserting me: all I fear is Thine abandoning me; if Thou art with me, I have no fear of evil from enemies.

      18. destroy . . . destruction--"break them with a double breach," Hebrew (Jer 14:17). On "double," see on Jer 16:18.

      19-27. Delivered in the reign of Jehoiakim, who undid the good effected by Josiah's reformation, especially as to the observance of the Sabbath [EICHORN].
      gate of . . . children of . . . people--The gate next the king's palace, called the gate of David, and the gate of the people, from its being the principal thoroughfare: now the Jaffa gate. It is probably the same as "the gate of the fountain" at the foot of Zion, near which were the king's garden and pool (Jer 39:4; 2Ki 25:4; Ne 2:14; 3:15; 12:37).

      20. kings--He begins with the kings, as they ought to have repressed such a glaring profanation.

      21. Take heed to yourselves--literally, "to your souls." MAURER explains, "as ye love your lives"; a phrase used here to give the greater weight to the command.
      sabbath--The non-observance of it was a chief cause of the captivity, the number of years of the latter, seventy, being exactly made to agree with the number of Sabbaths which elapsed during the four hundred ninety years of their possession of Canaan from Saul to their removal (Le 26:34, 35; 2Ch 36:21). On the restoration, therefore, stress was especially laid on Sabbath observance (Ne 13:19).
      Jerusalem--It would have been scandalous anywhere; but in the capital, Jerusalem, it was an open insult to God. Sabbath-hallowing is intended as a symbol of holiness in general (Eze 20:12); therefore much stress is laid on it; the Jews' gross impiety is manifested in their setting God's will at naught, in the case of such an easy and positive command.

      23. (Jer 7:24, 26).

      24. A part put for the whole, "If ye keep the Sabbath and My other laws."

      25. kings . . . in chariots--The kingdom at this time had been brought so low that this promise here was a special favor.
      remain--Hebrew, "be inhabited" (Jer 17:6; Isa 13:20).

      26. plain mountains . . . south-- (Jos 15:1-4). The southern border had extended to the river of Egypt, but was now much curtailed by Egyptian invasions (2Ch 35:20; 36:3, 4). The Hebrew for "south" means dry; the arid desert south of Judea is meant. The enumeration of all the parts of Judea, city, country, plain, hill, and desert, implies that no longer shall there be aught wanting of the integrity of the Jewish land (Zec 7:7).
      sacrifices--As in Jer 17:22, one constituent of Judea's prosperity is mentioned, namely, its kings on David's throne, the pledge of God being its guardian; so in this verse another constituent, namely, its priests, a pledge of God being propitious to it (Ps 107:22).

      27. burden . . . in . . . gates . . . fire in the gates--retribution answering to the sin. The scene of their sin shall be the scene of their punishment (Jer 52:13; 2Ki 25:9).

      Jer 18:1-23. GOD, AS THE SOLE SOVEREIGN, HAS AN ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO DEAL WITH NATIONS ACCORDING TO THEIR CONDUCT TOWARDS HIM; ILLUSTRATED IN A TANGIBLE FORM BY THE POTTER'S MOULDING OF VESSELS FROM CLAY.

      2. go down--namely, from the high ground on which the temple stood, near which Jeremiah exercised his prophetic office, to the low ground, where some well-known (this is the force of "the") potter had his workshop.

      3. wheels--literally, "on both stones." The potter's horizontal lathe consisted of two round plates, the lower one larger, the upper smaller; of stone originally, but afterwards of wood. On the upper the potter moulded the clay into what shapes he pleased. They are found represented in Egyptian remains. In Ex 1:16 alone is the Hebrew word found elsewhere, but in a different sense.

      4. marred--spoiled. "Of clay" is the true reading, which was corrupted into "as clay" (Margin), through the similarity of the two Hebrew letters, and from Jer 18:6, "as the clay."

      6. Refuting the Jews' reliance on their external privileges as God's elect people, as if God could never cast them off. But if the potter, a mere creature, has power to throw away a marred vessel and raise up other clay from the ground, a fortiori God, the Creator, can cast away the people who prove unfaithful to His election and can raise others in their stead (compare Isa 45:9; 64:8; Ro 9:20, 21). It is curious that the potter's field should have been the purchase made with the price of Judas' treachery (Mt 27:9, 10: a potter's vessel dashed to pieces, compare Ps 2:8, 9; Re 2:27), because of its failing to answer the maker's design, being the very image to depict God's sovereign power to give reprobates to destruction, not by caprice, but in the exercise of His righteous judgment. Matthew quotes Zechariah's words (Zec 11:12, 13) as Jeremiah's because the latter (Jer 18:1-19:15) was the source from which the former derived his summary in Zec 11:12, 13 [HENGSTENBERG].

      7. At what instant--in a moment, when the nation least expects it. Hereby he reminds the Jews how marvellously God had delivered them from their original degradation, that is, In one and the same day ye were the most wretched, and then the most favored of all people [CALVIN].

      8. their evil--in antithesis to, "the evil that I thought to do."
      repent--God herein adapts Himself to human conceptions. The change is not in God, but in the circumstances which regulate God's dealings: just as we say the land recedes from us when we sail forth, whereas it is we who recede from the land (Eze 18:21; 33:11). God's unchangeable principle is to do the best that can be done under all circumstances; if then He did not take into account the moral change in His people (their prayers, &c.), He would not be acting according to His own unchanging principle (Jer 18:9, 10). This is applied practically to the Jews' case (Jer 18:11; see Jer 26:3; Jon 3:10).

      11. frame evil--alluding to the preceding image of "the potter," that is, I, Jehovah, am now as it were the potter framing evil against you; but in the event of your repenting, it is in My power to frame anew My course of dealing towards you.
      return, &c.-- (2Ki 17:13).

      12. no hope--Thy threats and exhortations are all thrown away (Jer 2:25). Our case is desperate; we are hopelessly abandoned to our sins and their penalty. In this and the following clauses, "We will walk after our own devices," Jeremiah makes them express the real state of the case, rather than the hypocritical subterfuges which they would have been inclined to put forth. So Isa 30:10, 11.

      13. (Jer 2:10, 11). Even among the heathen it was a thing unheard of, that a nation should lay aside its gods for foreign gods, though their gods are false gods. But Israel forsook the true God for foreign false gods.
      virgin of Israel-- (2Ki 19:21). It enhances their guilt, that Israel was the virgin whom God had specially betrothed to Him.
      horrible thing-- (Jer 5:30).

      14. Is there any man (living near it) who would leave the snow of Lebanon (that is, the cool melted snow water of Lebanon, as he presently explains), which cometh from the rock of the field (a poetical name for Lebanon, which towers aloft above the surrounding field, or comparatively plain country)? None. Yet Israel forsakes Jehovah, the living fountain close at hand, for foreign broken cisterns. Jer 17:13; 2:13, accord with English Version here. MAURER translates, "Shall the snow of Lebanon cease from the rock to water (literally, 'forsake') My fields" (the whole land around being peculiarly Jehovah's)? Lebanon means the "white mountain"; so called from the perpetual snow which covers that part called Hermon, stretching northeast of Palestine.
      that come from another place--that come from far, namely, from the distant lofty rocks of Lebanon. HENDERSON translates, "the compressed waters," namely, contracted within a narrow channel while descending through the gorges of the rocks; "flowing" may in this view be rather "flowing down" (So 4:15). But the parallelism in English Version is better, "which cometh from the rock," "that cometh from another place."
      be forsaken--answering to the parallel, "Will a man leave," &c. MAURER translates, "dry up," or "fail" (Isa 19:5); the sense thus being, Will nature ever turn aside from its fixed course? The "cold waters" (compare Pr 25:25) refer to the perennial streams, fed from the partial melting of the snow in the hot weather.

      15. Because--rather, "And yet"; in defiance of the natural order of things.
      forgotten me-- (Jer 2:32). This implies a previous knowledge of God, whereas He was unknown to the Gentiles; the Jews' forgetting of God, therefore, arose from determined perversity.
      they have caused . . . to stumble--namely the false prophets and idolatrous priests have.
      ancient paths-- (Jer 6:16): the paths which their pious ancestors trod. Not antiquity indiscriminately, but the example of the fathers who trod the right way, is here commended.
      them--the Jews.
      not cast up--not duly prepared: referring to the raised center of the road. CALVIN translates, "not trodden." They had no precedent of former saints to induce them to devise for themselves a new worship.

      16. hissing-- (1Ki 9:8). In sign of contempt. That which was to be only the event is ascribed to the purpose of the people, although altogether different from what they would have been likely to hope for. Their purpose is represented as being the destruction of their country, because it was the inevitable result of their course of acting.
      wag . . . head--in mockery (2Ki 19:21; Mt 27:39). As "wag . . . head" answers to "hissing," so "astonished" answers to "desolate," for which, therefore, MUNSTER and others rather translate, "an object of wonder" (Jer 19:8).

      17. as with an east wind--literally, "I will scatter them, as an east wind (scatters all before it)": a most violent wind (Job 27:21; Ps 48:7; Isa 27:8). Thirty-two manuscripts read (without as), "with an east wind."
      I will show them the back . . . not . . . face--just retribution: as "they turned their back unto Me . . . not their face" (Jer 2:27).

      18. (Jer 11:19). Let us bring a capital charge against him, as a false prophet; "for (whereas he foretells that this land shall be left without priests to teach the law, Mal 2:7; without scribes to explain its difficulties; and without prophets to reveal God's will), the law shall not perish from the prophet," &c.; since God has made these a lasting institution in His church, and the law declares they shall never perish (Le 6:18; 10:11; compare Jer 5:12) [GROTIUS].
      the wise--scribes and elders joined to the priests. Perhaps they mean to say, we must have right on our side, in spite of Jeremiah's words against us and our prophets (Jer 28:15, 16; 29:25, 32; 5:31); "for the law shall not perish," &c. I prefer GROTIUS' explanation.
      with . . . tongue--by a false accusation (Ps 57:4; 64:3; 12:4; 50:19). "For the tongue" (Margin), that is, for his speaking against us. "In the tongue," that is, let us kill him, that he may speak no more against us [CASTALIO].

      19. Give heed--contrasted with, "let us not give heed" (Jer 18:18). As they give no heed to me, do Thou, O Lord, give heed to me, and let my words at least have their weight with Thee.

      20. In the particulars here specified, Jeremiah was a type of Jesus Christ (Ps 109:4, 5; Joh 15:25).
      my soul--my life; me (Ps 35:7).
      I stood before thee . . . to turn away thy wrath--so Moses (Ps 106:23; compare Eze 22:30). So Jesus Christ, the antitype of previous partial intercessors (Isa 59:16).

      21. pour out their blood by the force of the sword--literally, "by the hands of the sword." So Eze 35:5. MAURER with JEROME translates, "deliver them over to the power of the sword." But compare Ps 63:10, Margin; Isa 53:12. In this prayer he does not indulge in personal revenge, as if it were his own cause that was at stake; but he speaks under the dictation of the Spirit, ceasing to intercede, and speaking prophetically, knowing they were doomed to destruction as reprobates; for those not so, he doubtless ceased not to intercede. We are not to draw an example from this, which is a special case.
      put to death--or, as in Jer 15:2, "perish by the death plague" [MAURER].
      men . . . young men--HORSLEY distinguishes the former as married men past middle age; the latter, the flower of unmarried youth.

      22. cry--by reason of the enemy bursting in: let their houses be no shelter to them in their calamities [CALVIN].
      digged . . . pit-- (Jer 18:20; Ps 57:6; 119:85).

      23. forgive not-- (Ps 109:9, 10, 14).
      blot out--image from an account-book (Re 20:12).
      before thee--Hypocrites suppose God is not near, so long as they escape punishment; but when He punishes, they are said to stand before Him, because they can no longer flatter themselves they can escape His eye (compare Ps 90:8).
      deal thus--exert Thy power against them [MAURER].
      time of thine anger--Though He seems to tarry, His time shall come at last (Ec 8:11, 12; 2Pe 3:9, 10).

      Jer 19:1-15. THE DESOLATION OF THE JEWS FOR THEIR SINS FORETOLD IN THE VALLEY OF HINNOM; THE SYMBOL OF BREAKING A BOTTLE.

      Referred by MAURER, &c., to the beginning of Zedekiah's reign.

      1. bottle--Hebrew, bakuk, so called from the gurgling sound which it makes when being emptied.
      ancients--elders. As witnesses of the symbolic action (Jer 19:10; Isa 8:1, 2), that the Jews might not afterwards plead ignorance of the prophecy. The seventy-two elders, composing the Sanhedrim, or Great Council, were taken partly from "the priests," partly from the other tribes, that is, "the people," the former presiding over spiritual matters, the latter over civil; the seventy-two represented the whole people.

      2. valley of the son of Hinnom--or Tophet, south of Jerusalem, where human victims were offered, and children made to pass through the fire, in honor of Molech.
      east gate--Margin, "sun gate," sunrise being in the east. MAURER translates, the "potter's gate." Through it lay the road to the valley of Hinnom (Jos 15:8). The potters there formed vessels for the use of the temple, which was close by (compare Jer 19:10, 14; Jer 18:2; Zec 11:13). The same as "the water gate toward the east" (Ne 3:26; 12:37); so called from the brook Kedron. CALVIN translates, as English Version and Margin. "It was monstrous perversity to tread the law under foot in so conspicuous a place, over which the sun daily rising reminded them of the light of God's law."

      3. The scene of their guilt is chosen as the scene of the denunciation against them.
      kings--the king and queen (Jer 13:18); or including the king's counsellors and governors under him.
      tingle--as if struck by a thunder peal (1Sa 3:11; 2Ki 21:12).

      4. (Isa 65:11).
      estranged this place--devoted it to the worship of strange gods: alienating a portion of the sacred city from God, the rightful Lord of the temple, city, and whole land.
      nor their fathers--namely, the godly among them; their ungodly fathers God makes no account of.
      blood of innocents--slain in honor of Molech (Jer 7:31; Ps 106:37).

      5. commanded not--nay, more, I commanded the opposite (Le 18:21; see Jer 7:31, 32).

      6. no more . . . Tophet--from Hebrew, toph, "drum"; for in sacrificing children to Molech drums were beaten to drown their cries. Thus the name indicated the joy of the people at the fancied propitiation of the god by this sacrifice; in antithesis to its joyless name subsequently.
      valley of slaughter--It should be the scene of slaughter, no longer of children, but of men; not of "innocents" (Jer 19:4), but of those who richly deserved their fate. The city could not be assailed without first occupying the valley of Hinnom, in which was the only fountain: hence arose the violent battle there.

      7. make void the counsel--defeat their plans for repelling the enemy (2Ch 32:1-4; Isa 19:3; 22:9, 11). Or their schemes of getting help by having recourse to idols [CALVIN].
      in this place--The valley of Hinnom was to be the place of the Chaldean encampment; the very place where they looked for help from idols was to be the scene of their own slaughter.

      8. (See on Jer 18:16).

      9. (De 28:53; La 4:10).

      10. break . . . bottle--a symbolical action, explained in Jer 19:11.
      the men--the elders of the people and of the priests (Jer 19:1; compare Jer 51:63, 64).

      11. as one breaketh a potter's vessel--expressing God's absolute sovereignty (Jer 18:6; Ps 2:9; Isa 30:14, Margin; La 4:2; Ro 9:20, 21).
      cannot be made whole again--A broken potter's vessel cannot be restored, but a new one may be made of the same material. So God raised a new Jewish seed, not identical with the destroyed rebels, but by substituting another generation in their stead [GROTIUS].
      no place to bury-- (Jer 7:32).

      12. make this city as Tophet--that is, as defiled with dead bodies as Tophet.

      13. shall be defiled--with dead bodies (Jer 19:12; 2Ki 23:10).
      because of all the houses--Rather, (explanatory of the previous "the houses . . . and . . . houses"), "even all the houses," &c. [CALVIN].
      roofs--being flat, they were used as high places for sacrifices to the sun and planets (Jer 32:29; 2Ki 23:11, 12; Zep 1:5). The Nabateans, south and east of the Dead Sea, a nation most friendly to the Jews, according to STRABO, had the same usage.

      14. court of the Lord's house--near Tophet; the largest court, under the open air, where was the greatest crowd (2Ch 20:5).

      15. her towns--the suburban villages and towns near Jerusalem, such as Bethany.

      Jer 20:1-18. JEREMIAH'S INCARCERATION BY PASHUR, THE PRINCIPAL OFFICER OF THE TEMPLE, FOR PROPHESYING WITHIN ITS PRECINCTS; HIS RENEWED PREDICTIONS AGAINST THE CITY, &c., ON HIS LIBERATION.

      1. son--descendant.
      of Immer--one of the original "governors of the sanctuary and of the house of God," twenty-four in all, that is, sixteen of the sons of Eleazar and eight of the sons of Ithamar (1Ch 24:14). This Pashur is distinct from Pashur, son of Melchiah (Jer 21:1). The "captains" (Lu 22:4) seem to have been over the twenty-four guards of the temple, and had only the right of apprehending any who were guilty of delinquency within it; but the Sanhedrim had the judicial power over such delinquents [GROTIUS] (Jer 26:8, 10, 16).

      2. The fact that Pashur was of the same order and of the same family as Jeremiah aggravates the indignity of the blow (1Ki 22:24; Mt 26:67).
      stocks--an instrument of torture with five holes, in which the neck, two hands, and two feet were thrust, the body being kept in a crooked posture (Jer 29:26). From a Hebrew root, to "turn," or "rack." This marks Pashur's cruelty.
      high--that is, the upper gate (2Ki 15:35).
      gate of Benjamin--a gate in the temple wall, corresponding to the gate of Benjamin, properly so called, in the city wall, in the direction of the territory of Benjamin (Jer 7:2; 37:13; 38:7). The temple gate of Benjamin, being on a lofty position, was called "the high gate," to distinguish it from the city wall gate of Benjamin.

      3. Pashur--compounded of two roots, meaning "largeness (and so 'security') on every side"; in antithesis to Magor-missabib, "terror round about" (Jer 20:10; Jer 6:25; 46:5; 49:29; Ps 31:13).

      4. terror . . . to all thy friends--who have believed thy false promises (Jer 20:6). The sense must be in order to accord with "fear round about" (Jer 20:3). I will bring terror on thee and on all thy friends, that terror arising from thyself, namely, thy false prophecies. Thou and thy prophecies will be seen, to the dismay both of thee and thy dupes, to have caused their ruin and thine. MAURER'S translation is therefore not needed, "I will give up thee and all thy friends to terror."

      5. strength--that is, resources.
      labours--fruits of labor, gain, wealth.

      6. prophesied lies--namely, that God cannot possibly leave this land without prophets, priests, and teachers ("the wise") (Jer 18:18; compare Jer 5:31).

      7. Jeremiah's complaint, not unlike that of Job, breathing somewhat of human infirmity in consequence of his imprisonment. Thou didst promise never to give me up to the will of mine enemies, and yet Thou hast done so. But Jeremiah misunderstood God's promise, which was not that he should have nothing to suffer, but that God would deliver him out of sufferings (Jer 1:19).
      deceived--Others translate as Margin, "Thou hast enticed" or "persuaded me," namely, to undertake the prophetic office, "and I was persuaded," that is, suffered myself to be persuaded to undertake what I find too hard for me. So the Hebrew word is used in a good sense (Ge 9:27, Margin; Pr 25:15; Ho 2:14).
      stronger than I--Thou whose strength I could not resist hast laid this burden on me, and hast prevailed (hast made me prophesy, in spite of my reluctance) (Jer 1:5-7); yet, when I exercise my office, I am treated with derision (La 3:14).

      8. Rather, "Whenever I speak, I cry out. Concerning violence and spoil, I (am compelled to) cry out," that is, complain [MAURER]. English Version in the last clause is more graphic, "I cried violence and spoil" (Jer 6:7)! I could not speak in a calm tone; their desperate wickedness compelled me to "cry out."
      because--rather, "therefore," the apodosis of the previous sentence; because in discharging my prophetic functions, I not merely spake, but cried; and cried, violence . . . ; therefore the word of the Lord was made a reproach to me (Jer 20:7).

      9. his word was--or literally, "there was in my heart, as it were, a burning fire," that is, the divine afflatus or impulse to speak was as . . . (Job 32:18, 19; Ps 39:3).
      weary with forbearing, and I could not--"I labored to contain myself, but I could not" (Ac 18:5; compare Jer 23:9; 1Co 9:16, 17).

      10. For--not referring to the words immediately preceding, but to "I will not make mention of Him." The "defaming" or detraction of the enemy on every side (see Ps 31:13) tempted him to think of prophesying no more.
      Report . . . we will report--The words of his adversaries one to the other; give any information against him (true or false) which will give color for accusing him; and "we will report it," namely, to the Sanhedrim, in order to crush him.
      familiars--literally, "men of my peace"; those who pretended to be on peaceable terms with me (Ps 41:9). Jeremiah is a type of Messiah, referred to in that Psalm. (See Jer 38:22; Job 19:19; Ps 55:13, 14; Lu 11:53, 54).
      watched for my halting-- (Ps 35:15, Margin, "halting"; Ps 38:17; 71:10, Margin). GESENIUS not so well translates, according to Arabic idiom, "those guarding my side" (that is, my most intimate friends always at my side), in apposition to "familiars," and the subject of "say" (instead of "saying"). The Hebrew means properly "side," then "halting," as the halt bend on one side.
      enticed--to commit some sin.

      11. not prevail--as they hoped to do (Jer 20:10; Jer 15:20).
      prosper--in their plot.

      12. triest the righteous--in latent contrast to the hasty judgments of men (Jer 11:20; 17:10).
      opened--that is, committed (compare 2Ki 19:14; Ps 35:1).

      13. delivered . . . soul--This deliverance took place when Zedekiah succeeded Jeconiah.

      14-18. The contrast between the spirit of this passage and the preceding thanksgiving is to be explained thus: to show how great was the deliverance (Jer 20:13), he subjoins a picture of what his wounded spirit had been previous to his deliverance; I had said in the time of my imprisonment, "Cursed be the day"; my feeling was that of Job (Job 3:3, 10, 11, whose words Jeremiah therefore copies). Though Jeremiah's zeal had been stirred up, not so much for self as for God's honor trampled on by the rejection of the prophet's words, yet it was intemperate when he made his birth a subject for cursing, which was really a ground for thanksgiving.

      15. A man child--The birth of a son is in the East a special subject of joy; whereas that of a daughter is often not so.

      16. the cities--Sodom and Gomorrah.
      cry . . . morning . . . noontide--that is, Let him be kept in alarm the whole day (not merely at night when terrors ordinarily prevail, but in daytime when it is something extraordinary) with terrifying war shouts, as those in a besieged city (Jer 18:22).

      17. he--"that man" (Jer 20:15, 16).
      from the womb--that is, at that time while I was still in the womb.

      Jer 21:1-44. ZEDEKIAH CONSULTS JEREMIAH WHAT IS TO BE THE EVENT OF THE WAR: GOD'S ANSWER.

      Written probably when, after having repulsed the Egyptians who brought succors to the Jews (Jer 37:5-8; 2Ki 24:7), the Chaldees were a second time advancing against Jerusalem, but were not yet closely besieging it (Jer 21:4, 13) [ROSENMULLER]. This chapter probably ought to be placed between the thirty-seventh and thirty-eight chapters; since what the "princes," in Jer 38:2, represent Jeremiah as having said, is exactly what we find in Jer 21:9. Moreover, the same persons as here (Jer 21:1) are mentioned in Jer 37:3; 38:1, namely, Pashur and Zephaniah. What is here more fully related is there simply referred to in the historical narrative. Compare Jer 52:24; 2Ki 25:18 [MAURER].

      1. Zedekiah--a prince having some reverence for sacred things, for which reason he sends an honorable embassy to Jeremiah; but not having moral courage to obey his better impulses.
      Pashur--son of Melchiah, of the fifth order of priests, distinct from Pashur, son of Immer (Jer 20:1), of the sixteenth order (1Ch 24:9, 14).
      Zephaniah--of the twenty-fourth order. They are designated, not by their father, but by their family (1Ch 24:18).

      2. Nebuchadrezzar--the more usual way of spelling the name in Jeremiah than Nebuchadnezzar. From Persiac roots, meaning either "Nebo, the chief of the gods," or, "Nebo, the god of fire." He was son of Nabopolassar, who committed the command of the army against Egypt, at Carchemish, and against Judea, to the crown prince.
      according to all his wondrous works--Zedekiah hopes for God's special interposition, such as was vouchsafed to Hezekiah against Sennacherib (2Ki 19:35, 36).
      he--Nebuchadnezzar.
      go up from us--rise up from the siege which he sat down to lay (Jer 37:5, 11, Margin; Nu 16:24, 27; 1Ki 15:19, Margin).

      4. God of Israel--Those "wondrous works" (Jer 21:2) do not belong to you; God is faithful; it is you who forfeit the privileges of the covenant by unfaithfulness. "God will always remain the God of Israel, though He destroy thee and thy people" [CALVIN].
      turn back the weapons--I will turn them to a very different use from what you intend them. With them you now fight against the Chaldees "without the walls" (the Jewish defenders being as yet able to sally forth more freely, and defend the fountains outside the walls in the valley under Mount Zion; see Jer 21:13; Jer 19:6, 7); but soon ye shall be driven back within the city [MAURER], and "in the midst" of it, I will cause all your arms to be gathered in one place ("I will assemble them," namely, your arms) by the Chaldean conquerors [GROTIUS], who shall slay you with those very arms [MENOCHIUS].

      5. The Jews shall have not merely the Chaldees, but Jehovah Himself in wrath at their provocations, fighting against them. Every word enhances the formidable character of God's opposition, "I myself . . . outstretched hand . . . strong arm (no longer as in Ex 6:6, and in the case of Sennacherib, in your behalf, but) in anger . . . fury . . . great wrath."

      7. the people, and such--rather, explanatory, "the people," namely, "such as are left."
      seek their life--content with nothing short of their death; not content with plundering and enslaving them.
      smite with . . . sword--This was the fate of Zedekiah's sons and many of the Jewish nobles. Zedekiah himself, though not put to a violent death, died of grief. Compare as to the accurate fulfilment, Jer 34:4; Eze 12:13; 2Ki 25:6, 7.

      8. "Life," if ye surrender; "death," if ye persist in opposing the Chaldees (compare De 30:19). The individuality of Jeremiah's mission from God is shown in that he urges to unconditional surrender; whereas all former prophets had urged the people to oppose their invaders (Isa 7:16; 37:33, 35).

      9. (Jer 38:2, 17, 18).
      falleth to--deserts to.
      life . . . a prey--proverbial, to make one's escape with life, like a valuable spoil or prey that one carries off; the narrowness of the escape, and the joy felt at it, are included in the idea (Jer 39:18).

      10. set . . . face against--determined to punish (See on Le 17:10).

      12. house of David--the royal family and all in office about the king. He calls them so, because it was the greater disgrace that they had so degenerated from the piety of their forefather, David; and to repress their glorying in their descent from him, as if they were therefore inviolable; but God will not spare them as apostates.
      in the morning--alluding to the time of dispensing justice (Job 24:17; Ps 101:8); but the sense is mainly proverbial, for "with promptness" (Ps 90:14; 143:8). MAURER translates, "every morning."
      lest my fury . . . like fire--Already it was kindled, and the decree of God gone forth against the city (Jer 21:4, 5), but the king and his house may yet be preserved by repentance and reformation. God urges to righteousness, not as if they can thereby escape punishment wholly, but as the condition of a mitigation of it.

      13. inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain--Jerusalem personified; situated for the most part on hills, with valleys at the bottom of them, as the valley of Hinnom, &c.; and beyond the valleys and mountains again, a position most fortified by nature, whence the inhabitants fancied themselves beyond the reach of enemies; but since God is "against" them, their position will avail nothing for them. The "valley" between Mount Zion and Moriah is called Tyropœon. ROBINSON takes, "rock of the plain" as Mount Zion, on which is a level tract of some extent. It is appropriately here referred to, being the site of the royal residence of the "house of David," addressed (Jer 21:12).

      14. fruit of your doings-- (Pr 1:31; Isa 3:10, 11).
      forest thereof--namely of your city, taken from Jer 21:13. "Forest" refers to the dense mass of houses built of cedar, &c., brought from Lebanon (Jer 22:7; 52:13; 2Ki 25:9).

      Jer 22:1-30. EXHORTATION TO REPENTANCE; JUDGMENT ON SHALLUM, JEHOIAKIM, AND CONIAH.

      Belonging to an earlier period than the twenty-first chapter, namely, the reigns of Shallum or Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah (Jer 22:10, 13, 20). Jeremiah often groups his prophecies, not by chronological order, but by similarity of subjects; thus Jer 22:3 corresponds to Jer 21:12. GROTIUS thinks that Jeremiah here repeats to Zedekiah what he had announced to that king's predecessors formerly (namely, his brother and brother's son), of a similar bearing, and which had since come to pass; a warning to Zedekiah. Probably, in arranging his prophecies they were grouped for the first time in the present order, designed by the Holy Spirit to set forth the series of kings of Judah, all four alike, failing in "righteousness," followed at last by the "King," a righteous Branch raised unto David, in the house of Judah, "the Lord our righteousness" (Jer 23:6). The unrighteousness of Zedekiah suggested the review of his predecessors' failure in the same respects, and consequent punishment, which ought to have warned him, but did not.

      1. Go down--The temple (where Jeremiah had been prophesying) was higher than the king's palace on Mount Zion (Jer 36:10, 12; 2Ch 23:20). Hence the phrase, "Go down."
      the king of Judah--perhaps including each of the four successive kings, to whom it was consecutively addressed, here brought together in one picture: Shallum, Jer 22:11; Jehoiakim, Jer 22:13-18; Jeconiah, Jer 22:24; Zedekiah, the address to whom (Jer 21:1, 11, 12) suggests notice of the rest.

      2. these gates--of the king's palace.

      3. Jehoiakim is meant here especially: he, by oppression, levied the tribute imposed on him by Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt (2Ch 36:3), and taxed his people, and took their labor without pay, to build gorgeous palaces for himself (Jer 22:13-17), and shed innocent blood, for example, that of Urijah the prophet (Jer 26:20-24; 2Ki 23:35; 24:4).

      4. upon the throne of David--literally, "or David on his throne" (see on Jer 13:13). This verse is repeated substantially from Jer 17:25.
      his servants--so the Keri. But Chetib, singular, "his servant;" that is, distributively, "each with his servants;" Jer 17:25, "their princes."

      5. I swear by myself-- (Heb 6:13, 17). God swears because it seemed to them incredible that the family of David should be cast off.
      this house--the king's, where Jeremiah spake (Jer 22:4).

      6. Though thou art as beautiful as Gilead, and as majestic in Mine eyes (before Me) as the summit of Lebanon, yet surely (the Hebrew is a formula of swearing to express certainly: "If I do not make thee . . . believe Me not ever hereafter": so "as truly as I live," Nu 14:28; "surely," Nu 14:35). The mention of Gilead may allude not only to its past beauty, but covertly also to its desolation by the judgment on Israel; a warning now to Judah and the house of David. "Lebanon" is appropriately mentioned, as the king's house was built of its noble cedars.
      cities--not other cities, but the different parts of the city of Jerusalem (2Sa 12:27; 2Ki 10:25) [MAURER].

      7. prepare--literally, "sanctify," or solemnly set apart for a particular work (compare Isa 13:3).
      thy choice cedars-- (Isa 37:24). Thy palaces built of choice cedars (So 1:17).

      8. (De 29:24, 25). The Gentile nations, more intelligent than you, shall understand that which ye do not, namely, that this city is a spectacle of God's vengeance [CALVIN].

      9. (2Ki 22:17).

      10, 11. Weep . . . not for--that is, not so much for Josiah, who was taken away by death from the evil to come (2Ki 22:20; Isa 57:1); as for Shallum or Jehoahaz, his son (2Ki 23:30), who, after a three months' reign, was carried off by Pharaoh-necho into Egypt, never to see his native land again (2Ki 23:31-34). Dying saints are justly to be envied, while living sinners are to be pitied. The allusion is to the great weeping of the people at the death of Josiah, and on each anniversary of it, in which Jeremiah himself took a prominent part (2Ch 35:24, 25). The name "Shallum" is here given in irony to Jehoahaz, who reigned but three months; as if he were a second Shallum, son of Jabesh, who reigned only one month in Samaria (2Ki 15:13; 2Ch 36:1-4). Shallum means "retribution," a name of no good omen to him [GROTIUS]; originally the people called him Shallom, indicative of peace and prosperity. But Jeremiah applies it in irony. 1Ch 3:15, calls Shallum the fourth son of Josiah. The people raised him to the throne before his brother Eliakim or Jehoiakim, though the latter was the older (2Ki 23:31, 36; 2Ch 36:1); perhaps on account of Jehoiakim's extravagance (Jer 22:13, 15). Jehoiakim was put in Shallum's (Jehoahaz') stead by Pharaoh-necho. Jeconiah, his son, succeeded. Zedekiah (Mattaniah), uncle of Jeconiah, and brother of Jehoiakim and Jehoahaz, was last of all raised to the throne by Nebuchadnezzar.
      He shall not return--The people perhaps entertained hopes of Shallum's return from Egypt, in which case they would replace him on the throne, and thereby free themselves from the oppressive taxes imposed by Jehoiakim.

      13. Not only did Jehoiakim tax the people (2Ki 23:35) for Pharaoh's tribute, but also took their forced labor, without pay, for building a splendid palace; in violation of Le 19:13; De 24:14, 15. Compare Mic 3:10; Hab 2:9; Jas 5:4. God will repay in justice those who will not in justice pay those whom they employ.

      14. wide--literally, "a house of dimensions" ("measures"). Compare Nu 13:32, Margin, "men of statures."
      large--rather, as Margin, "airy" from Hebrew root, "to breathe freely." Upper rooms in the East are the principal apartments.
      cutteth him out windows--The Hebrew, if a noun, is rather, "my windows"; then the translation ought to be, "and let my windows (Jehoiakim speaking) be cut out for it," that is, in the house; or, "and let (the workman) cut out my windows for it." But the word is rather an adjective; "he cutteth it (the house) out for himself, so as to be full of windows." The following words accord with this construction, "and (he makes it) ceiled with cedar," &c. [MAURER]. Retaining English Version, there must be understood something remarkable about the windows, since they are deemed worthy of notice. GESENIUS thinks the word dual, "double windows," the blinds being two-leaved.
      vermilion--Hebrew, shashar, called so from a people of India beyond the Ganges, by whom it is exported [PLINY, 6.19]. The old vermilion was composed of sulphur and quicksilver; not of red lead, as our vermilion.

      15. closest thyself--rather, "thou viest," that is, art emulous to surpass thy forefathers in the magnificence of thy palaces.
      eat and drink--Did not Josiah, thy father, enjoy all that man really needs for his bodily wants? Did he need to build costly palaces to secure his throne? Nay, he did secure it by "judgment and justice"; whereas thou, with all thy luxurious building, sittest on a tottering throne.
      then--on that account, therefore.

      16. was not this to know me--namely, to show by deeds that one knows God's will, as was the case with Josiah (compare Joh 13:17; contrast Tit 1:16).

      17. thine--as opposed to thy father, Josiah.

      18. Ah my brother! . . . sister!--addressing him with such titles of affection as one would address to a deceased friend beloved as a brother or sister (compare 1Ki 13:30). This expresses, They shall not lament him with the lamentation of private individuals [VATABLUS], or of blood relatives [GROTIUS]: as "Ah! lord," expresses public lamentation in the case of a king [VATABLUS], or that of subjects [GROTIUS]. HENDERSON thinks, "Ah! sister," refers to Jehoiakim's queen, who, though taken to Babylon and not left unburied on the way, as Jehoiakim, yet was not honored at her death with royal lamentations, such as would have been poured forth over her at Jerusalem. He notices the beauty of Jeremiah's manner in his prophecy against Jehoiakim. In Jer 22:13, 14 he describes him in general terms; then, in Jer 22:15-17, he directly addresses him without naming him; at last, in Jer 22:18, he names him, but in the third person, to imply that God puts him to a distance from Him. The boldness of the Hebrew prophets proves their divine mission; were it not so, their reproofs to the Hebrew kings, who held the throne by divine authority, would have been treason.
      Ah his glory!--"Alas! his majesty."

      19. burial of an ass--that is, he shall have the same burial as an ass would get, namely, he shall be left a prey for beasts and birds [JEROME]. This is not formally narrated. But 2Ch 36:6 states that "Nebuchadnezzar bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon"; his treatment there is nowhere mentioned. The prophecy here, and in Jer 36:30, harmonizes these two facts. He was slain by Nebuchadnezzar, who changed his purpose of taking him to Babylon, on the way thither, and left him unburied outside Jerusalem. 2Ki 24:6, "Jehoiakim slept with his fathers," does not contradict this; it simply expresses his being gathered to his fathers by death, not his being buried with his fathers (Ps 49:19). The two phrases are found together, as expressing two distinct ideas (2Ki 15:38; 16:20).

      20. Delivered in the reign of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah or Coniah), son of Jehoiakim; appended to the previous prophecy respecting Jehoiakim, on account of the similarity of the two prophecies. He calls on Jerusalem, personified as a mourning female, to go up to the highest points visible from Jerusalem, and lament there (see on Jer 3:21) the calamity of herself, bereft of allies and of her princes, who are one after the other being cast down.
      Bashan--north of the region beyond Jordan; the mountains of Anti-libanus are referred to (Ps 68:15).
      from the passages--namely, of the rivers (Jud 12:6); or else the borders of the country (1Sa 13:23; Isa 10:29). The passes (1Sa 14:4). MAURER translates, "Abarim," a mountainous tract beyond Jordan, opposite Jericho, and south of Bashan; this accords with the mention of the mountains Lebanon and Bashan (Nu 27:12; 33:47).
      lovers--the allies of Judea, especially Egypt, now unable to help the Jews, being crippled by Babylon (2Ki 24:7).

      21. I admonished thee in time. Thy sin has not been a sin of ignorance or thoughtlessness, but wilful.
      prosperity--given thee by Me; yet thou wouldest not hearken to the gracious Giver. The Hebrew is plural, to express, "In the height of thy prosperity"; so "droughts" (Isa 58:11).
      thou saidst--not in words, but in thy conduct, virtually.
      thy youth--from the time that I brought thee out of Egypt, and formed thee into a people (Jer 7:25; 2:2; Isa 47:12).

      22. wind--the Chaldees, as a parching wind that sweeps over rapidly and withers vegetation (Jer 4:11, 12; Ps 103:16; Isa 40:7).
      eat up . . . pastors--that is, thy kings (Jer 2:8). There is a happy play on words. The pastors, whose office it is to feed the sheep, shall themselves be fed on. They who should drive the flock from place to place for pasture shall be driven into exile by the Chaldees.

      23. inhabitant of Lebanon--namely, Jerusalem, whose temple, palaces, and principal habitations were built of cedars of Lebanon.
      how gracious--irony. How graciously thou wilt be treated by the Chaldees, when they come on thee suddenly, as pangs on a woman in travail (Jer 6:24)! Nay, all thy fine buildings will win no favor for thee from them. MAURER translates, "How shalt thou be to be pitied!"

      24. As I live--God's most solemn formula of oath (Jer 46:18; 4:2; De 32:40; 1Sa 25:34).
      Coniah--Jeconiah or Jehoiachin. The contraction of the name is meant in contempt.
      signet--Such ring seals were often of the greatest value (So 8:6; Hag 2:23). Jehoiachin's popularity is probably here referred to.
      right hand--the hand most valued.
      I would pluck thee thence--(Compare Ob 4); on account of thy father's sins, as well as thine own (2Ch 36:9). There is a change here, as often in Hebrew poetry, from the third to the second person, to bring the threat more directly home to him. After a three months' and ten days' reign, the Chaldees deposed him. In Babylon, however, by God's favor he was ultimately treated more kindly than other royal captives (Jer 52:31-34). But none of his direct posterity ever came to the throne.

      25. give . . . into . . . hand--"I will pluck thee" from "my right hand," and "will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life."

      26. thy mother--Nehushta, the queen dowager (2Ki 24:6, 8, 15; see Jer 13:18).

      27. they--Coniah and his mother. He passes from the second person (Jer 22:26) to the third person here, to express alienation. The king is as it were put out of sight, as if unworthy of being spoken with directly.
      desire--literally, "lift up their soul" (Jer 44:14; Ps 24:4; 25:1). Judea was the land which they in Babylon should pine after in vain.

      28. broken idol--Coniah was idolized once by the Jews; Jeremiah, therefore, in their person, expresses their astonishment at one from whom so much had been expected being now so utterly cast aside.
      vessel . . . no pleasure-- (Ps 31:12; Ho 8:8). The answer to this is given (Ro 9:20-23; contrast 2Ti 2:21).
      his seed--(See on Jer 22:29).

      29, 30. O earth! earth! earth!--Jeconiah was not actually without offspring (compare Jer 22:28, "his seed"; 1Ch 3:17, 18; Mt 1:12), but he was to be "written childless," as a warning to posterity, that is, without a lineal heir to his throne. It is with a reference to the three kings, Shallum, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah, that the earth is thrice invoked [BENGEL]. Or, the triple invocation is to give intensity to the call for attention to the announcement of the end of the royal line, so far as Jehoiachin's seed is concerned. Though Messiah (Mt 1:1-17), the heir of David's throne, was lineally descended from Jeconiah, it was only through Joseph, who, though His legal, was not His real father. Matthew gives the legal pedigree through Solomon down to Joseph; Luke the real pedigree, from Mary, the real parent, through Nathan, brother of Solomon, upwards (Lu 3:31).
      no man of his seed . . . upon the throne--This explains the sense in which "childless" is used. Though the succession to the throne failed in his line, still the promise to David (Ps 89:30-37) was revived in Zerubbabel and consummated in Christ.

      Jer 23:1-40. THE WICKED RULERS TO BE SUPERSEDED BY THE KING, WHO SHOULD REIGN OVER THE AGAIN UNITED PEOPLES, ISRAEL AND JUDAH.

      This forms the epilogue to the denunciations of the four kings, in Jer 21:1-22:30.

      1. pastors--Shallum, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah (Eze 34:2).

      2. Ye have not . . . visited them . . . I will visit upon you--just retribution. Play upon the double sense of "visit." "Visit upon," namely, in wrath (Ex 32:34).

      3, 4. Restoration of Judah from Babylon foretold in language which in its fulness can only apply to the final restoration of both "Judah" and "Israel" (compare Jer 23:6); also "out of all countries," in this verse and Jer 23:8; also, "neither shall they be lacking," that is, none shall be missing or detached from the rest: a prophecy never yet fully accomplished. It holds good also of the spiritual Israel, the elect of both Jews and Gentiles (Mal 3:16, 17; Joh 10:28; 17:12). As to the literal Israel also, see Jer 32:37; Isa 54:13; 60:21; Eze 34:11-16.
      shepherds . . . shall feed them-- (Jer 3:15; Eze 34:23-31). Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees were but typical of the consummating fulfilment of these prophecies under Messiah.

      5. As Messianic prophecy extended over many years in which many political changes took place in harmony with these, it displayed its riches by a variety more effective than if it had been manifested all at once. As the moral condition of the Jews required in each instance, so Messiah was exhibited in a corresponding phase, thus becoming more and more the soul of the nation's life: so that He is represented as the antitypical Israel (Isa 49:3).
      unto David--HENGSTENBERG observes that Isaiah dwells more on His prophetical and priestly office, which had already been partly set forth (De 18:18; Ps 110:4). Other prophets dwell more on His kingly office. Therefore here He is associated with "David" the king: but in Isa 11:1 with the then poor and unknown "Jesse."
      righteous Branch--"the Branch of righteousness" (Jer 33:15); "The Branch" simply (Zec 3:8; 6:12); "The Branch of the Lord" (Isa 4:2).
      prosper--the very term applied to Messiah's undertaking (Isa 52:13, Margin; Isa 53:10). Righteousness or justice is the characteristic of Messiah elsewhere, too, in connection with our salvation or justification (Isa 53:11; Da 9:24; Zec 9:9). So in the New Testament He is not merely "righteous" Himself, but "righteousness to us" (1Co 1:30), so that we become "the righteousness of God in Him" (Ro 10:3, 4; 2Co 5:19-21; Php 3:9).
      execute judgment and justice in the earth-- (Ps 72:2; Isa 9:7; 32:1, 18). Not merely a spiritual reign in the sense in which He is "our righteousness," but a righteous reign "in the earth" (Jer 3:17, 18). In some passages He is said to come to judge, in others to reign. In Mt 25:34, He is called "the King." Ps 9:7 unites them. Compare Da 7:22, 26, 27.

      6. Judah . . . Israel . . . dwell safely--Compare Jer 33:16, where "Jerusalem" is substituted for "Israel" here. Only Judah, and that only in part, has as yet returned. So far are the Jews from having enjoyed, as yet, the temporal blessings here foretold as the result of Messiah's reign, that their lot has been, for eighteen centuries, worse than ever before. The accomplishment must, therefore, be still future, when both Judah and Israel in their own land shall dwell safely under a Christocracy, far more privileged than even the old theocracy (Jer 32:37; De 33:28; Isa 54:1-17; 60:1-22; 65:17-25; Zec 14:11).
      shall be called, the Lord--that is, shall be (Isa 9:6) "Jehovah," God's incommunicable name. Though when applied to created things, it expresses only some peculiar connection they have with Jehovah (Ge 22:14; Ex 17:15), yet when applied to Messiah it must express His Godhead manifested in justifying power towards us (1Ti 3:16).
      our--marks His manhood, which is also implied in His being a Branch raised unto David, whence His human title, "Son of David" (compare Mt 22:42-45).
      Righteousness--marks His Godhead, for God alone can justify the ungodly (compare Ro 4:5; Isa 45:17, 24, 25).

      7, 8. Repeated from Jer 16:14, 15. The prophet said the same things often, in order that his sayings might make the more impression. The same promise as in Jer 23:3, 4. The wide dispersion of the Jews at the Babylonish captivity prefigures their present wider dispersion (Isa 11:11; Joe 3:6). Their second deliverance is to exceed far the former one from Egypt. But the deliverance from Babylon was inferior to that from Egypt in respect to the miracles performed and the numbers delivered. The final deliverance under Messiah must, therefore, be meant, of which that from Babylon was the earnest.

      9. because of the prophets--so the Masorites and Targum. But Vulgate, Septuagint, &c., make this the inscription of the prophecy, CONCERNING THE PROPHETS: as in Jer 46:2; 48:1; 49:1. Jeremiah expresses his horror at the so-called "prophets" not warning the people, though iniquity so fearfully abounded, soon to be followed by awful judgments.
      bones shake-- (Hab 3:16).
      drunken--God's judgments are represented as stupefying like wine. The effects of the Holy Spirit also are compared to those of wine (Ac 2:17). In both cases ecstasy was produced. This accounts for the denial of wine to those likely to be inspired, Nazarites, &c. (Lu 1:15). It was necessary to put it out of men's power to ascribe inspired ecstasy to the effects of wine.
      because of . . . words of . . . holiness--because of Jehovah's holy words, wherewith He threatened severe penalties, soon to be inflicted, against the breakers of His law.

      10. adulterers--spiritual, that is, forsakers of God, Israel's true Husband (Isa 54:5) for idols, at the instigation of the false "prophets" (Jer 23:9, 15). Literal adultery and fornication, the usual concomitants of idolatry, are also meant.
      swearing--MAURER, &c., translate, "Because of the curse (of God on it), the land mourneth" (De 27:15-26; 28:15-68; Isa 24:6). More than usual notoriety had been given to the curses of the law, by the finding and reading of it in Josiah's time (2Ki 22:11, &c.). But Ho 4:2, 3, favors English Version (compare Jer 12:4). A drought was sent by God on the pastures ("pleasant places," oases) in the desert, on account of the "profaneness" of the priests, prophets, and people (Jer 23:11).
      course . . . evil--They (both prophets and people) rush into wickedness (Jer 23:21; Isa 59:7).
      force . . . not right--Their powers are used not on the side of rectitude, but on that of falsehood.

      11. profane-- (Eze 23:39; Zep 3:4).
      in my house-- (Jer 7:30). They built altars to idols in the very temple (2Ki 23:12; Eze 8:3-16). Compare as to covetousness under the roof of the sanctuary, Mt 21:13; Joh 2:16.

      12. slippery ways in . . . darkness--Their "way" is their false doctrine which proves fatal to them (Jer 13:16; Ps 35:6; Pr 4:19).
      I will bring evil . . . visitation--still more calamities than those already inflicted. See on Jer 11:23; "visitation," namely, in wrath.

      13. folly--literally, "insipidity," "unsavouriness" (Job 6:6), not having the salt of godliness (Col 4:6).
      in Baal--in the name of Baal; in connection with his worship (see Jer 2:8).
      caused . . . to err-- (Isa 9:16).

      14. "Jerusalem" and Judah were even worse than "Samaria" and the ten tribes; the greater were the privileges of the former, the greater was their guilt. They had the temple in their midst, which the ten tribes had not; yet in the temple itself they practised idolatry.
      strengthen . . . hands of evildoers-- (Eze 13:22).
      as Sodom-- (De 32:32; Isa 1:10).

      15. gall--poison (see on Jer 8:14; Jer 9:15).

      16. make you vain--They seduce you to vanity, that is, idolatry, which will prove a vain trust to you (Jer 2:5; 2Ki 17:15; Jon 2:8), [GESENIUS]. Rather, "they delude you with vain promises of security" (Jer 23:17; compare Ps 62:10) [MAURER].
      of their own heart--of their own invention (Jer 23:21; Jer 14:14).

      17. say still--Hebrew, "say in saying," that is, say incessantly.
      peace-- (Jer 6:14; Eze 13:10; Zec 10:2).
      imagination--Hebrew, "obstinacy."
      no evil-- (Mic 3:11).

      18. A reason is given why the false prophets should not be heeded: They have not stood in the counsels of Jehovah (an image from ministers present in a standing posture at councils of Eastern kings) (compare Jer 23:22; Job 15:8). The spiritual man alone has the privilege (Ge 18:17; Ps 25:14; Am 3:7; Joh 15:15; 1Co 2:16).

      19. So far from all prosperity awaiting the people as the false prophets say (Jer 23:17), wrath is in store for them.
      grievous--literally, "eddying," whirling itself about, a tornado. In Jer 30:23, "continuing" is substituted for "grievous."
      fall grievously--it shall be hurled on.

      20. in . . . latter days--that is, "the year of their visitation" (Jer 23:12). Primarily the meaning is: the Jews will not "consider" now God's warnings (De 32:29); but when the prophecies shall be fulfilled in their Babylonish exile, they will consider and see, by bitter experience, their sinful folly. The ultimate scope of the prophecy is: the Jews, in their final dispersion, shall at last "consider" their sin and turn to Messiah "perfectly" (Ho 3:5; Zec 12:5, 10-14; Lu 13:35).

      21. sent . . . spoken--"sent" refers to the primary call: "spoken" to the subsequent charges given to be executed. A call is required, not only external, on the part of men, but also internal from God, that one should undertake a pastor's office [CALVIN].

      22. stood in . . . counsel-- (Jer 23:18).
      they should have turned them from their evil way--They would have given such counsels to the people as would have turned them from their sins (Jer 25:5; Isa 55:11), and so would have averted punishment. Their not teaching the law in which God's counsel is set forth proves they are not His prophets, though they boast of being so (Mt 7:15-20).

      23. Let not the false prophets fancy that their devices (Jer 23:25) are unknown to Me. Are ye so ignorant as to suppose that I can only see things near Me, namely, things in heaven, and not earthly things as being too remote?

      24. (Ps 139:7, &c.; Am 9:2, 3).
      fill heaven and earth--with My omniscience, providence, power, and essential being (1Ki 8:27).

      25. dreamed--I have received a prophetic communication by dream (Nu 12:6; De 13:1, &c. Joe 2:28).

      26. prophets--a different Hebrew form from the usual one, "prophesiers." "How long," cries Jeremiah, impatient of their impious audacity, "shall these prophecy-mongers go on prophesying lies?" The answer is given in Jer 23:29-34.

      27. They "think" to make My people utterly to forget Me. But I will oppose to those dreamers my true prophets.
      fathers . . . for Baal-- (Jud 3:7; 8:33, 34).

      28. God answers the objection which might be stated, "What, then, must we do, when lies are spoken as truths, and prophets oppose prophets?" Do the same as when wheat is mixed with chaff: do not reject the wheat because of the chaff mixed with it, but discriminate between the false and the true revelations. The test is adherence to, or forgetfulness of, Me and My law (Jer 23:27).
      that hath a dream--that pretends to have a divine communication by dream, let him tell it "faithfully," that it may be compared with "my word" (2Co 4:2). The result will be the former (both the prophets and their fictions) will soon be seen to be chaff; the latter (the true prophets and the word of God in their mouth) wheat (Ps 1:4; Ho 13:3).

      29. As the "fire" consumes the "chaff," [Jer 23:28], so "My word" will consume the false prophets (Mt 3:12; Heb 4:12). "My word" which is "wheat" [Jer 23:28], that is, food to the true prophet and his hearers, is a consuming "fire," and a crushing "hammer" (Mt 21:44) to false prophets and their followers (2Co 2:16). The Word of the false prophets may be known by its promising men peace in sin. "My word," on the contrary, burns and breaks the hard-hearted (Jer 20:9). The "hammer" symbolizes destructive power (Jer 50:23; Na 2:1, Margin).

      30. steal my words--a twofold plagiarism; one steals from the other, and all steal words from Jehovah's true prophets, but misapply them (see Jer 28:2; Joh 10:1; Re 22:19).

      31. use--rather, "take" their tongue: a second class (compare Jer 23:30) require, in order to bring forth a revelation, nothing more than their tongues, wherewith they say, He (Jehovah) saith: they bungle in the very formula instead of the usual "Jehovah saith," being only able to say "(He) saith."

      32. Third class: inventors of lies: the climax, and worst of the three.
      lightness--wanton inventions (Zep 3:4).
      not profit--that is, greatly injure.

      33. What is the burden--play on the double sense of the Hebrew: an oracle and a burden. They scoffingly ask, Has he got any new burden (burdensome oracle: for all his prophecies are disasters) to announce (Mal 1:1)? Jeremiah indignantly repeats their own question, Do you ask, What burden? This, then, it is, "I will forsake you." My word is burdensome in your eyes, and you long to be rid if it. You shall get your wish. There will be no more prophecy: I will forsake you, and that will be a far worse "burden" to you.

      34. The burden--Whoever shall in mockery call the Lord's word "a burden," shall be visited (Margin) in wrath.

      35. The result of My judgments shall be, ye shall address the prophet more reverentially hereafter, no longer calling his message a burden, but a divine response or word. "What hath the LORD answered?"

      36. every man's word . . . his burden--As they mockingly call all prophecies burdens, as if calamities were the sole subject of prophecy, so it shall prove to them. God will take them at their own word.
      living God--not lifeless as their dumb idols, ever living so as to be able to punish.

      39. I will . . . forget you--just retribution for their forgetting Him (Ho 4:6). But God cannot possibly forget His children (Isa 49:15). Rather for "forget" translate, "I will altogether lift you up (like a 'burden,' alluding to their mocking term for God's messages) and cast you off." God makes their wicked language fall on their own head [CALVIN]. Compare Jer 23:36: "every man's word shall be his burden."

      40. not be forgotten--If we translate Jer 23:39 as English Version, the antithesis is, though I forget you, your shame shall not be forgotten.

      Jer 24:1-10. THE RESTORATION OF THE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE REFRACTORY PARTY IN JUDEA AND IN EGYPT, REPRESENTED UNDER THE TYPE OF A BASKET OF GOOD, AND ONE OF BAD, FIGS.

      1. Lord showed me-- Am 7:1, 4, 7; 8:1, contains the same formula, with the addition of "thus" prefixed.
      carried . . . captive Jeconiah-- (Jer 22:24; 2Ki 24:12, &c.; 2Ch 36:10).
      carpenters, &c.--One thousand artisans were carried to Babylon, both to work for the king there, and to deprive Jerusalem of their services in the event of a future siege (2Ki 24:16).

      2. figs . . . first ripe--the "boccora," or early fig (see on Isa 28:4). Baskets of figs used to be offered as first-fruits in the temple. The good figs represent Jeconiah and the exiles in Babylon; the bad, Zedekiah and the obstinate Jews in Judea. They are called good and bad respectively, not in an absolute, but a comparative sense, and in reference to the punishment of the latter. This prophecy was designed to encourage the despairing exiles, and to reprove the people at home, who prided themselves as superior to those in Babylon and abused the forbearance of God (compare Jer 52:31-34).

      5. acknowledge--regard with favor, like as thou lookest on the good figs favorably.
      for their good--Their removal to Babylon saved them from the calamities which befell the rest of the nation and led them to repentance there: so God bettered their condition (2Ki 25:27-30). Daniel and Ezekiel were among these captives.

      6. (Jer 12:15).
      not pull . . . down . . . not pluck . . . up--only partially fulfilled in the restoration from Babylon; antitypically and fully to be fulfilled hereafter (Jer 32:41; 33:7).

      7. (Jer 30:22; 31:33; 32:38). Their conversion from idolatry to the one true God, through the chastening effect of the Babylonish captivity, is here expressed in language which, in its fulness, applies to the more complete conversion hereafter of the Jews, "with their whole heart" (Jer 29:13), through the painful discipline of their present dispersion. The source of their conversion is here stated to be God's prevenient grace.
      for they shall return--Repentance, though not the cause of pardon, is its invariable accompaniment: it is the effect of God's giving a heart to know Him.

      8. in . . . Egypt--Many Jews had fled for refuge to Egypt, which was leagued with Judea against Babylon.

      9. removed, &c.-- (Jer 15:4). CALVIN translates, "I will give them up to agitation, in all," &c.; This verse quotes the curse (De 28:25, 37). Compare Jer 29:18, 22; Ps 44:13, 14.

      Jer 25:1-38. PROPHECY OF THE SEVENTY YEARS' CAPTIVITY; AND AFTER THAT THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON, AND OF ALL THE NATIONS THAT OPPRESSED THE JEWS.

      1. fourth year of Jehoiakim--called the third year in Da 1:1. But probably Jehoiakim was set on the throne by Pharaoh-necho on his return from Carchemish about July, whereas Nebuchadnezzar mounted the throne January 21, 604 B.C.; so that Nebuchadnezzar's first year was partly the third, partly the fourth, of Jehoiakim's. Here first Jeremiah gives specific dates. Nebuchadnezzar had previously entered Judea in the reign of his father Nabopolassar.

      3. From the thirteenth year of Josiah, in which Jeremiah began to prophesy (Jer 1:1), to the end of Josiah's reign, was nineteen years (2Ki 22:1); the three months 2 Kings 23. 31) of Jehoahaz' reign, with the not quite complete four years of Jehoiakim (Jer 25:1), added to the nineteen years, make up twenty-three years in all.

      4. rising early--(See on Jer 7:13). "The prophets" refer to Urijah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, &c. It aggravates their sin, that God sent not merely one but many messengers, and those messengers, prophets; and, that during all those years specified, Jeremiah and his fellow prophets spared no effort, late and early.

      5. Turn . . . dwell--In Hebrew there is expressed by sameness of sounds the correspondence between their turning to God and God's turning to them to permit them to dwell in their land: Shubu . . . shebu, "Return" . . . so shall ye "remain."
      every one from . . . evil--Each must separately repent and turn from his own sin. None is excepted, lest they should think their guilt extenuated because the evil is general.

      6. He instances one sin, idolatry, as representative of all their sins; as nothing is dearer to God than a pure worship of Himself.

      7. Though ye provoke Me to anger (De 32:21), yet it is not I, but yourselves, whom ye thereby hurt (Pr 8:36; 20:2).

      9. the north--(see on Jer 1:14, 15). The Medes and other northern peoples, confederate with Babylon, are included with the Chaldeans.
      my servant--My agent for punishing (Jer 27:6; 43:10; compare Jer 40:2). Compare Isa 44:28; Cyrus, "My shepherd." God makes even unbelievers unconsciously to fulfil His designs. A reproof to the Jews, who boasted that they were the servants of God; yet a heathen king is to be more the servant of God than they, and that as the agent of their punishment.

      10. (Jer 7:34; Re 18:23). The land shall be so desolated that even in the houses left standing there shall be no inhabitant; a terrible stillness shall prevail; no sound of the hand-mill (two circular stones, one above the other, for grinding corn, worked by two women, Ex 11:5; Mt 24:41; in daily use in every house, and therefore forbidden to be taken in pledge, De 24:6); no night-light, so universal in the East that the poorest house has it, burning all night.
      candle--lamp (Job 21:17; 18:6).

      11. seventy years-- (Jer 27:7). The exact number of years of Sabbaths in four hundred ninety years, the period from Saul to the Babylonian captivity; righteous retribution for their violation of the Sabbath (Le 26:34, 35; 2Ch 36:21). The seventy years probably begin from the fourth year of Jehoiakim, when Jerusalem was first captured, and many captives, as well as the treasures of the temple, were carried away; they end with the first year of Cyrus, who, on taking Babylon, issued an edict for the restoration of the Jews (Ezr 1:1). Daniel's seventy prophetic weeks are based on the seventy years of the captivity (compare Da 9:2, 24).

      13. all . . . written in this book, which Jeremiah . . . prophesied against all . . . nations--It follows from this, that the prophecies against foreign nations (forty-sixth through fifty-first chapters) must have been already written. Hence the Septuagint inserts here those prophecies. But if they had followed immediately (Jer 25:13), there would have been no propriety in the observation in the verse. The very wording of the reference shows that they existed in some other part of the book, and not in the immediate context. It was in this very year, the fourth of Jehoiakim (Jer 36:1, 2), that Jeremiah was directed to write in a regular book for the first time all that he had prophesied against Judah and foreign "nations" from the beginning of his ministry. Probably, at a subsequent time, when he completed the whole work, including the forty-sixth through fifty-first chapters, Jeremiah himself inserted the clause, "all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations." The prophecies in question may have been repeated, as others in Jeremiah, more than once; so in the original smaller collection they may have stood in an earlier position; and, in the fuller subsequent collection, in their later and present position.

      14. serve themselves-- (Jer 27:7; 30:8; 34:10). Avail themselves of their services as slaves.
      them also--the Chaldees, who heretofore have made other nations their slaves, shall themselves also in their turn be slaves to them. MAURER translates, "shall impose servitude on them, even them."
      recompense them--namely, the Chaldees and other nations against whom Jeremiah had prophesied (Jer 25:13), as having oppressed the Jews.
      their deeds--rather, "deed," namely, their bad treatment of the Jews (Jer 50:29; 51:6, 24; compare 2Ch 36:17).

      15. wine cup--Compare Jer 13:12, 13, as to this image, to express stupefying judgments; also Jer 49:12; 51:7. Jeremiah often embodies the imagery of Isaiah in his prophecies (La 4:21; Isa 51:17-22; Re 16:19; 18:6). The wine cup was not literally given by Jeremiah to the representatives of the different nations; but only in symbolical vision.

      16. be moved--reel (Na 3:11).

      18. Jerusalem--put first: for "judgment begins at the house of God"; they being most guilty whose religious privileges are greatest (1Pe 4:17).
      kings--Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah.
      as it is this day--The accomplishment of the curse had already begun under Jehoiakim. This clause, however, may have been inserted by Jeremiah at his final revision of his prophecies in Egypt.

      19. Pharaoh--put next after Jerusalem, because the Jews had relied most on him, and Egypt and Judea stood on a common footing (Jer 46:2, 25).

      20. mingled people--mercenary foreign troops serving under Pharaoh-hophra in the time of Jeremiah. The employment of these foreigners provoked the native Egyptians to overthrow him. Psammetichus, father of Pharaoh-necho, also had given a settlement in Egypt to Ionian and Carian adventurers [HERODOTUS, 2.152, 154]. (Compare Jer 50:37; see on Isa 19:2, 3; Isa 20:1; Eze 30:5. The term is first found in Ex 12:38.
      Uz--in the geographical order here, between Egypt and the states along the Mediterranean; therefore not the "Uz" of Job 1:1 (north of Arabia-Deserta), but the northern part of Arabia-Petræa, between the sea and Idumea (La 4:21; see Ge 36:20, 28).
      remnant of Ashdod--called a "remnant," because Ashdod had lost most of its inhabitants in the twenty-nine years siege by Psammetichus. Compare also see on Isa 20:1. Gath is not mentioned because it was overthrown in the same war.

      21. Edom . . . Moab . . . Ammon--joined together, as being related to Israel (see Jer 48:1-49:39).

      22. all the kings of Tyrus--the petty kings of the various dependencies of Tyre.
      isles--a term including all maritime regions (Ps 72:10).

      23. Dedan--north of Arabia (Ge 25:3, 4).
      Tema . . . Buz--neighboring tribes north of Arabia (Job 32:2).
      all . . . in . . . utmost corners--rather, "having the hair cut in angles," a heathenish custom (see on Jer 9:26).

      24. mingled people--not in the same sense as in Jer 25:20; the "motley crowd," so called in contempt (compare Jer 49:28, 31; 50:37). By a different pointing it may be translated the "Arabs"; but the repetition of the name is not likely. BLANEY thinks there were two divisions of what we call Arabia, the west (Araba) and the east. The west included Arabia-Petræa and the parts on the sea bordering on Egypt, the land of Cush; the east, Arabia-Felix and Deserta. The latter are "the mixed race" inhabiting the desert.

      25. Zimri--perhaps the Zabra mentioned by PTOLEMY between Mecca and Medina. Zimran also, as Dedan, was one of Abraham's sons by Keturah (Ge 25:2).
      Elam--properly, west of Persia; but used for Persia in general.

      26. Sheshach--Babylon; as the parallelism in Jer 51:41 proves. In the Cabalistic system (called Athbash, the first Hebrew letter in the alphabet being expressed by the last) Sheshach would exactly answer to Babel. Jeremiah may have used this system (as perhaps in Jer 51:41) for concealment at the time of this prediction, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, while Nebuchadnezzar was before Jerusalem. In Jer 51:41 there can be no concealment, as Babylon is expressly mentioned. MICHAELIS more simply explains the term "brazen-gated" (compare Isa 45:2); others, "the house of a prince." Rather, it comes from the Babylonian goddess, Shach, by reduplication of the first letter; from her Misael was named Meshach by the Babylonians. The term Shace was applied to a festival at Babylon, alluded to in Jer 51:39, 57; Isa 21:5. It was during this feast that Cyrus took Babylon [HERODOTUS, 1]. Thus Jeremiah mystically denotes the time of its capture by this term [GLASSIUS].

      27. rise no more--The heathen nations in question should fall to rise no more. The Jews should fall but for a time, and then rise again. Therefore, the epithet is given, "the God of Israel."

      28. if they refuse to take the cup--No effort of theirs to escape destruction will avail.

      29. If I spared not Mine elect people on account of sin, much less will I spare you (Eze 9:6; Ob 16; Lu 23:31; 1Pe 4:17).
      be unpunished--"be treated as innocent."

      30. roar--image from a destructive lion (Isa 42:13; Joe 3:16).
      upon his habitation--rather, "His pasturage"; keeping up the image of a lion roaring against the flock in the pasture. The roar was first to go forth over Judea wherein were "the sheep of His pasture" (Ps 100:3), and thence into heathen lands.
      shout . . . tread . . . grapes-- (Jer 48:33; Isa 16:9, 10).

      31. controversy--cause at issue (Mic 6:2).
      plead with all flesh-- (Isa 66:16). God shows the whole world that He does what is altogether just in punishing.

      32. from the coasts--rather, "from the uttermost regions." Like a storm which arises in one region and then diffuses itself far and wide, so God's judgments shall pass "from nation to nation," till all has been fulfilled; no distance shall prevent the fulfilment.
      not be lamented-- (Jer 16:4, 6).
      neither gathered--to their fathers, in their ancestral tombs (Jer 8:2).
      dung-- (Ps 83:10).

      34. shepherds--princes (Jer 22:22). Here he returns to the Jews and their rulers, using the same image as in Jer 25:30, "pasture" (see on Jer 25:30).
      wallow yourselves--Cover yourselves as thickly with ashes, in token of sorrow, as one who rolls in them (Jer 6:26; Eze 27:30) [MAURER].
      principal--leaders. The Septuagint translates "rams," carrying out the image (compare Isa 14:9, Margin; Zec 10:3).
      days of your slaughter . . . of . . . dispersions--rather, "your days for slaughter (that is, the time of your being slain), and your dispersions (not 'of your dispersions'), are accomplished (are come)."
      pleasant vessel--Ye were once a precious vessel, but ye shall fall, and so be a broken vessel (see on Jer 22:28). "Your past excellency shall not render you safe now. I will turn to your ignominy whatever glory I conferred on you" [CALVIN].

      35. Literally, "Flight shall fail the shepherds . . . escaping (shall fail) the principal," &c. (Am 2:14). The leaders will be the first objects for slaughter; escape by flight will be out of their power.

      37. habitations--rather, carrying out the image "pastures" (see on Jer 25:30). The pasturages where, peaceably and without incursion of wild beasts, the flocks have fed, shall be destroyed; that is, the regions where, heretofore, there was peace and security (alluding to the name Salem, or Jerusalem, "possessing peace").

      38. his covert--the temple, where heretofore, like a lion, as its defender, by the mere terror of His voice He warded off the foe; but now He leaves it a prey to the Gentiles [CALVIN].
      fierceness of . . . oppressor--rather, as the Hebrew, for "oppressor" is an adjective feminine, the word "sword" is understood, which, in Jer 46:16; 50:16, is expressed (indeed, some manuscripts and the Septuagint read "sword" instead of "fierceness" here; probably interpolated from Jer 46:16), "the oppressing sword." The Hebrew for "oppressing" means also a "dove": there may be, therefore, a covert allusion to the Chaldean standard bearing a dove on it, in honor of Semiramis, the first queen, said in popular superstition to have been nourished by doves when exposed at birth, and at death to have been transformed into a dove. Her name may come from a root referring to the cooing of a dove. That bird was held sacred to the goddess Venus. Vulgate so translates "the anger of the dove."
      his . . . anger--If the anger of Nebuchadnezzar cannot be evaded, how much less that of God (compare Jer 25:37)!

      Jer 26:1-24. JEREMIAH DECLARED WORTHY OF DEATH, BUT BY THE INTERPOSITION OF AHIKAM SAVED; THE SIMILAR CASES OF MICAH AND URIJAH BEING ADDUCED IN THE PROPHET'S FAVOR.

      The prophecies which gave the offense were those given in detail in the seventh, eighth, and ninth chapters (compare Jer 26:6 here with Jer 7:12, 14); and summarily referred to here [MAURER], probably pronounced at one of the great feasts (that of tabernacles, according to USSHER; for the inhabitants of "all the cities of Judah" are represented as present, Jer 26:2). See on Jer 7:1.

      2. in the court--the largest court, from which he could be heard by the whole people.
      come to worship--Worship is vain without obedience (1Sa 15:21, 22).
      all the words-- (Eze 3:10).
      diminish not a word-- (De 4:2; 12:32; Pr 30:6; Ac 20:27; 2Co 2:17; 4:2; Re 22:19). Not suppressing or softening aught for fear of giving offense; nor setting forth coldly and indirectly what can only by forcible statement do good.

      3. if so be--expressed according to human conceptions; not as if God did not foreknow all contingencies, but to mark the obstinacy of the people and the difficulty of healing them; and to show His own goodness in making the offer which left them without excuse [CALVIN].

      5. prophets--the inspired interpreters of the law (Jer 26:4), who adapted it to the use of the people.

      6. like Shiloh--(see on Jer 7:12, 14; 1Sa 4:10-12; Ps 78:60).
      curse-- (Jer 24:9; Isa 65:15).

      8. priests--The captain (or prefect) of the temple had the power of apprehending offenders in the temple with the sanction of the priests.
      prophets--the false prophets. The charge against Jeremiah was that of uttering falsehood in Jehovah's name, an act punishable with death (De 18:20). His prophecy against the temple and city (Jer 26:11) might speciously be represented as contradicting God's own words (Ps 132:14). Compare the similar charge against Stephen (Ac 6:13, 14).

      10. princes--members of the Council of State or Great Council, which took cognizance of such offenses.
      heard--the clamor of the popular tumult.
      came up--from the king's house to the temple, which stood higher than the palace.
      sat--as judges, in the gate, the usual place of trying such cases.
      new gate--originally built by Jotham ("the higher gate," 2Ki 15:35) and now recently restored.

      12. Lord sent me--a valid justification against any laws alleged against him.
      against . . . against--rather, "concerning." Jeremiah purposely avoids saying, "against," which would needlessly irritate. They had used the same Hebrew word (Jer 26:11), which ought to be translated "concerning," though they meant it in the unfavorable sense. Jeremiah takes up their word in a better sense, implying that there is still room for repentance: that his prophecies aim at the real good of the city; for or concerning this house . . . city [GROTIUS].

      13. (Jer 26:3, 19).

      14. Jeremiah's humility is herein shown, and submission to the powers that be (Ro 13:1).

      15. bring . . . upon yourselves--So far will you be from escaping the predicted evils by shedding my blood, that you will, by that very act, only incur heavier penalties (Mt 23:35).

      16. princes . . . all the people--The fickle people, as they were previously influenced by the priests to clamor for his death (Jer 26:8), so now under the princes' influence require that he shall not be put to death. Compare as to Jesus, Jeremiah's antitype, the hosannas of the multitude a few days before the same people, persuaded by the priests as in this case, cried, Away with Him, crucify Him (Mt 21:1-11; 27:20-25). The priests, through envy of his holy zeal, were more his enemies than the princes, whose office was more secular than religious. A prophet could not legally be put to death unless he prophesied in the name of other gods (therefore, they say, "in the name of the Lord"), or after his prophecy had failed in its accomplishment. Meanwhile, if he foretold calamity, he might be imprisoned. Compare Micaiah's case (1Ki 22:1-28).

      17. Compare Gamaliel's interposition (Ac 5:34, &c.).
      elders--some of the "princes" mentioned (Jer 26:16) those whose age, as well as dignity, would give weight to the precedents of past times which they adduce.

      18. (Mic 3:12).
      Morasthite--called so from a village of the tribe Judah.
      Hezekiah--The precedent in the reign of such a good king proved that Jeremiah was not the only prophet, or the first, who threatened the city and the temple without incurring death.
      mountain of the house--Moriah, on which stood the temple (peculiarly called "the house") shall be covered with woods instead of buildings. Jeremiah, in quoting previous prophecies, never does so without alteration; he adapts the language to his own style, showing thereby his authority in his treatment of Scripture, as being himself inspired.

      19. Hezekiah, so far from killing him, was led "to fear the Lord," and pray for remission of the sentence against Judah (2Ch 32:26).
      Lord repented-- (Ex 32:14; 2Sa 24:16).
      Thus--if we kill Jeremiah.

      20. As the flight and capture of Urijah must have occupied some time, "the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim" (Jer 26:1) must not mean the very beginning, but the second or third year of his eleven years' reign.
      And . . . also--perhaps connected with Jer 26:24, as the comment of the writer, not the continuation of the speech of the elders: "And although also a man that prophesied . . . Urijah . . . (proving how great was the danger in which Jeremiah stood, and how wonderful the providence of God in preserving him), nevertheless the hand of Ahikam," &c. [GLASSIUS]. The context, however, implies rather that the words are the continuation of the previous speech of the elders. They adduce another instance besides that of Micah, though of a different kind, namely, that of Urijah: he suffered for his prophecies, but they imply, though they do not venture to express it, that thereby sin has been added to sin, and that it has done no good to Jehoiakim, for that the notorious condition of the state at this time shows that a heavier vengeance is impending if they persevere in such acts of violence [CALVIN].

      22. Jehoiakim sent . . . into Egypt--He had been put on the throne by Pharaoh of Egypt (2Ki 23:34). This explains the readiness with which he got the Egyptians to give up Urijah to him, when that prophet had sought an asylum in Egypt. Urijah was faithful in delivering his message, but faulty in leaving his work, so God permitted him to lose his life, while Jeremiah was protected in danger. The path of duty is often the path of safety.

      23. graves of the common people--literally, "sons of the people" (compare 2Ki 23:6). The prophets seem to have had a separate cemetery (Mt 23:29). Urijah's corpse was denied this honor, in order that he should not be regarded as a true prophet.

      24. Ahikam--son of Shaphan the scribe, or royal secretary. He was one of those whom King Josiah, when struck by the words of the book of the law, sent to inquire of the Lord (2Ki 22:12, 14). Hence his interference here in behalf of Jeremiah is what we should expect from his past association with that good king. His son, Gedaliah, followed in his father's steps, so that he was chosen by the Babylonians as the one to whom they committed Jeremiah for safety after taking Jerusalem, and on whose loyalty they could depend in setting him over the remnant of the people in Judea (Jer 39:14; 2Ki 25:22).
      people to put him to death--Princes often, when they want to destroy a good man, prefer it to be done by a popular tumult rather than by their own order, so as to reap the fruit of the crime without odium to themselves (Mt 27:20).

      Jer 27:1-22. THE FUTILITY OF RESISTING NEBUCHADNEZZAR ILLUSTRATED TO THE AMBASSADORS OF THE KINGS, DESIRING TO HAVE THE KING OF JUDAH CONFEDERATE WITH THEM, UNDER THE TYPE OF YOKES. JEREMIAH EXHORTS THEM AND ZEDEKIAH TO YIELD.

      1. Jehoiakim--The prophecy that follows was according to this reading given in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, fifteen years before it was published in the reign of Zedekiah to whom it refers; it was thus long deposited in the prophet's bosom, in order that by it he might be supported under trials in his prophetic career in the interim [CALVIN]. But "Zedekiah" may be the true reading. So the Syriac and Arabic Versions. Jer 27:3, 12; Jer 28:1, confirm this; also, one of KENNICOTT'S manuscripts. The English Version reading may have originated from Jer 26:1. "Son of Josiah" applies to Zedekiah as truly as to "Jehoiakim" or "Eliakim." The fourth year may, in a general sense here, as in Jer 28:1, be called "the beginning of his reign," as it lasted eleven years (2Ki 24:18). It was not long after the fourth year of his reign that he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 51:59; 52:3; 2Ki 24:20), in violation of an oath before God (2Ch 36:13).

      2. bonds--by which the yoke is made fast to the neck (Jer 5:5).
      yokes--literally, the carved piece of wood attached at both ends to the two yokes on the necks of a pair of oxen, so as to connect them. Here the yoke itself. The plural is used, as he was to wear one himself, and give the others to the ambassadors; (Jer 27:3; 28:10, 12) proves that the symbolical act was in this instance (though not in others, Jer 25:15) actually done (compare Isa 20:2, &c.; Eze 12:3, 11, 18).

      3. And send them to the king of Edom, &c.--Appropriate symbol, as these ambassadors had come to Jerusalem to consult as to shaking off the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. According to PHERECYDES in CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 567], Idanthura, king of the Scythians, intimated to Darius, who had crossed the Danube, that he would lead an army against him, by sending him, instead of a letter, a mouse, a frog, a bird, an arrow, and a plough. The task assigned to Jeremiah required great faith, as it was sure to provoke alike his own countrymen and the foreign ambassadors and their kings, by a seeming insult, at the very time that all were full of confident hopes grounded on the confederacy.

      5. God here, as elsewhere, connects with the symbol doctrine, which is as it were its soul, without which it would be not only cold and frivolous, but even dead [CALVIN]. God's mention of His supreme power is in order to refute the pride of those who rely on their own power (Isa 45:12).
      given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me-- (Ps 115:15, 16; Da 4:17, 25, 32). Not for his merits, but of My own sole good pleasure [ESTIUS].

      6. beasts of the field--not merely the horses to carry his Chaldean soldiers, and oxen to draw his provisions [GROTIUS]; not merely the deserts, mountains, and woods, the haunts of wild beasts, implying his unlimited extent of empire [ESTIUS]; but the beasts themselves by a mysterious instinct of nature. A reproof to men that they did not recognize God's will, which the very beasts acknowledged (compare Isa 1:3). As the beasts are to submit to Christ, the Restorer of the dominion over nature, lost by the first Adam (compare Ge 1:28; 2:19, 20; Ps 8:6-8), so they were appointed to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, the representative of the world power and prefigurer of Antichrist; this universal power was suffered to be held by him to show the unfitness of any to wield it "until He come whose right it is" (Eze 21:27).

      7. son . . . son's son-- (2Ch 36:20). Nebuchadnezzar had four successors--Evil-merodach, his son; Neriglissar, husband of Nebuchadnezzar's daughter; his son, Labosodarchod; and Naboned (with whom his son, Belshazzar, was joint king), son of Evil-merodach. But Neriglissar and Labosodarchod were not in the direct male line; so that the prophecy held good to "his son and his son's son," and the intermediate two are omitted.
      time of his land--that is, of its subjugation or its being "visited" in wrath (Jer 27:22; Jer 25:12; 29:10; 50:27; Da 5:26).
      serve themselves of him--make him their servant (Jer 25:14; Isa 13:22). So "his day" for the destined day of his calamity (Job 18:20).

      8. until I have consumed them by his hand--until by these consuming visitations I have brought them under his power.

      9. ye--the Jews especially, for whom the address to the rest was intended.
      enchanters--augurs [CALVIN], from a root, the "eyes," that is, lookers at the stars and other means of taking omens of futurity; or another root, a "fixed time," observers of times: forbidden in the law (Le 19:26; De 18:10, 11, 14).

      10. to remove you--expressing the event which would result. The very thing they profess by their enchantments to avert, they are by them bringing on you. Better to submit to Nebuchadnezzar, and remain in your land, than to rebel, and be removed from it.

      11. serve . . . till it--The same Hebrew root expresses "serve" and "till," or "cultivate." Serve ye the king of Babylon, and the land will serve you [CALVIN].

      12. I spake also--translate, "And I spake," &c. Special application of the subject to Zedekiah.

      13. Why . . . die--by running on your own ruin in resisting Nebuchadnezzar after this warning (Eze 18:31).

      14. lie-- (Jer 14:14).

      15. in my name--The devil often makes God's name the plea for lies (Mt 4:6; 7:22, 23; Jer 27:15-20, the test whereby to know false prophets).

      16. The "vessels" had been carried away to Babylon in the reign of Jeconiah (2Ki 24:13); also previously in that of Jehoiakim (2Ch 36:5-7).

      18. at Jerusalem--that is, in other houses containing such vessels, besides the house of God and the king's palace. Nebuzara-dan, captain of the guard under Nebuchadnezzar, carried all away (2Ki 25:13-17; 2Ch 36:18). The more costly vessels had been previously removed in the reigns of Jehoiakim and Jeconiah.

      19. (Jer 52:17, 20, 21).

      22. until . . . I visit them--in wrath by Cyrus (Jer 32:5). In seventy years from the first carrying away of captives in Jehoiachin's reign (Jer 29:10; 2Ch 36:21).
      restore them--by the hand of Cyrus (Ezr 1:7). By Artaxerxes (Ezr 7:19).

      Jer 28:1-17. PROPHECIES IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THOSE IN THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER. HANANIAH BREAKS THE YOKES TO SIGNIFY THAT NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S YOKE SHALL BE BROKEN. JEREMIAH FORETELLS THAT YOKES OF IRON ARE TO SUCCEED THOSE OF WOOD, AND THAT HANANIAH SHALL DIE.

      1. in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah--The Jews often divided any period into two halves, the beginning and the end. As Zedekiah reigned eleven years, the fourth year would be called the beginning of his reign, especially as during the first three years affairs were in such a disturbed state that he had little power or dignity, being a tributary; but in the fourth year he became strong in power.
      Hananiah--Another of this name was one of the three godly youths who braved Nebuchadnezzar's wrath in the fear of God (Da 1:6, 7; 3:12). Probably a near relation, for Azariah is associated with him; as Azur with the Hananiah here. The godly and ungodly are often in the same family (Eze 18:14-20).
      Gibeon--one of the cities of the priests, to which order he must have belonged.

      2. broken the yoke--I have determined to break: referring to Jeremiah's prophecy (Jer 27:12).

      3. two full years--literally, "years of days." So "a month of days," that is, all its days complete (Ge 29:14, Margin; Ge 41:1). It was marvellous presumption to speak so definitely without having any divine revelation.

      4. bring again . . . Jeconiah--not necessarily implying that Hananiah wished Zedekiah to be superseded by Jeconiah. The main point intended was that the restoration from Babylon should be complete. But, doubtless, the false prophet foretold Jeconiah's return (2Ki 24:12-15), to ingratiate himself with the populace, with whom Jeconiah was a favorite (see on Jer 22:24).

      5. the prophet Jeremiah--the epithet, "the prophet," is prefixed to "Jeremiah" throughout this chapter, to correspond to the same epithet before "Hananiah"; except in Jer 28:12, where "the prophet" has been inserted in English Version. The rival claims of the true and the false prophet are thus put in the more prominent contrast.

      6. Amen--Jeremiah prays for the people, though constrained to prophesy against them (1Ki 1:36). The event was the appointed test between contradictory predictions (De 18:21, 22). "Would that what you say were true!" I prefer the safety of my country even to my own estimation. The prophets had no pleasure in announcing God's judgment, but did so as a matter of stern duty, not thereby divesting themselves of their natural feelings of sorrow for their country's woe. Compare Ex 32:32; Ro 9:3, as instances of how God's servants, intent only on the glory of God and the salvation of the country, forgot self and uttered wishes in a state of feeling transported out of themselves. So Jeremiah wished not to diminish aught from the word of God, though as a Jew he uttered the wish for his people [CALVIN].

      8. prophets . . . before me--Hosea, Joel, Amos, and others.
      evil--a few manuscripts, read "famine," which is more usually associated with the specification of war and pestilence (Jer 15:2; 18:21; 27:8, 13). But evil here includes all the calamities flowing from war, not merely famine, but also desolation, &c. Evil, being the more difficult reading, is less likely to be the interpolated one than famine, which probably originated in copying the parallel passages.

      9. peace--Hananiah had given no warning as to the need of conversion, but had foretold prosperity unconditionally. Jeremiah does not say that all are true prophets who foretell truths in any instance (which De 13:1, 2, disproves); but asserts only the converse, namely, that whoever, as Hananiah, predicts what the event does not confirm, is a false prophet. There are two tests of prophets: (1) The event, De 18:22. (2) The word of God, Isa 8:20.

      10. the yoke-- (Jer 27:2). Impious audacity to break what God had appointed as a solemn pledge of the fulfilment of His word. Hence Jeremiah deigns no reply (Jer 28:11; Mt 7:6).

      11. neck of all nations--opposed to Jer 27:7.

      13. Thou hast broken . . . wood . . . thou shalt make . . . iron--Not here, "Thou hast broken . . . wood," and "I will make . . . iron" (compare Jer 28:16). The same false prophets who, by urging the Jews to rebel, had caused them to throw off the then comparatively easy yoke of Babylon, thereby brought on them a more severe yoke imposed by that city. "Yokes of iron," alluding to De 28:48. It is better to take up a light cross in our way, than to pull a heavier on our own heads. We may escape destroying providences by submitting to humbling providences. So, spiritually, contrast the "easy yoke" of Christ with the "yoke of bondage" of the law (Ac 15:10; Ga 5:1).

      14. I have put--Though Hananiah and those like him were secondary instruments in bringing the iron yoke on Judea, God was the great First Cause (Jer 27:4-7).

      15. makest . . . trust in a lie-- (Jer 29:31; Eze 13:22).

      16. this year . . . die--The prediction was uttered in the fifth month (Jer 28:1); Hananiah's death took place in the seventh month, that is, within two months after the prediction, answering with awful significance to the two years in which Hananiah had foretold that the yoke imposed by Babylon would end.
      rebellion--opposition to God's plain direction, that all should submit to Babylon (Jer 29:32).

      Jer 29:1-32. LETTER OF JEREMIAH TO THE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON, TO COUNTERACT THE ASSURANCES GIVEN BY THE FALSE PROPHETS OF A SPEEDY RESTORATION.

      1. residue of the elders--those still surviving from the time when they were carried to Babylon with Jeconiah; the other elders of the captives had died by either a natural or a violent death.

      2. queen--Nehushta, the queen mother, daughter of Elnathan (2Ki 24:8, 15). (Elnathan, her father, is perhaps the same as the one mentioned in Jer 26:22). She reigned jointly with her son.
      princes--All the men of authority were taken away lest they should organize a rebellion. Jeremiah wrote his letter while the calamity was still recent, to console the captives under it.

      3. Zedekiah . . . sent unto Babylon--In Jer 51:59, Zedekiah himself goes to Babylon; here he sends ambassadors. Whatever was the object of the embassy, it shows that Zedekiah only reigned at the pleasure of the king of Babylon, who might have restored Jeconiah, had he pleased. Hence, Zedekiah permitted Jeremiah's letter to be sent, not only as being led by Hananiah's death to attach greater credit to the prophet's words, but also as the letter accorded with his own wish that the Jews should remain in Chaldea till Jeconiah's death.
      Hilkiah--the high priest who found the book of the law in the house of the Lord, and showed it to "Shaphan" the scribe (the same Shaphan probably as here), who showed it to King Josiah (2Ki 22:8, &c.). The sons of Hilkiah and Shaphan inherited from their fathers some respect for sacred things. So in Jer 36:25, "Gemariah" interceded with King Jehoiakim that the prophet's roll should not be burned.

      5. Build . . . houses--In opposition to the false prophets' suggestions, who told the captives that their captivity would soon cease, Jeremiah tells them that it will be of long duration, and that therefore they should build houses, as Babylon is to be for long their home.

      6. that ye . . . be . . . not diminished--It was God's will that the seed of Abraham should not fail; thus consolation is given them, and the hope, though not of an immediate, yet of an ultimate, return.

      7. (Ezr 6:10; Ro 13:1; 1Ti 2:2). Not only bear the Babylonian yoke patiently, but pray for your masters, that is, while the captivity lasts. God's good time was to come when they were to pray for Babylon's downfall (Jer 51:35; Ps 137:8). They were not to forestall that time. True religion teaches patient submission, not sedition, even though the prince be an unbeliever. In all states of life let us not throw away the comfort we may have, because we have not all we would have. There is here a foretaste of gospel love towards enemies (Mt 5:44).

      8. your dreams which ye caused to be dreamed--The Latin adage says, "The people wish to be deceived, so let them be deceived." Not mere credulity misleads men, but their own perverse "love of darkness rather than light." It was not priests who originated priestcraft, but the people's own morbid appetite to be deceived; for example, Aaron and the golden calf (Ex 32:1-4). So the Jews caused or made the prophets to tell them encouraging dreams (Jer 23:25, 26; Ec 5:7; Zec 10:2; Joh 3:19-21).

      10. (See on Jer 25:11; Jer 25:12; Da 9:2). This proves that the seventy years date from Jeconiah's captivity, not from the last captivity. The specification of time was to curb the impatience of the Jews lest they should hasten before God's time.
      good word--promise of a return.

      11. I know--I alone; not the false prophets who know nothing of My purposes, though they pretend to know.
      thoughts . . . I think-- (Isa 55:9). Glancing at the Jews who had no "thoughts of peace," but only of "evil" (misfortune), because they could not conceive how deliverance could come to them. The moral malady of man is twofold--at one time vain confidence; then, when that is disappointed, despair. So the Jews first laughed at God's threats, confident that they should speedily return; then, when cast down from that confidence, they sank in inconsolable despondency.
      expected end--literally, "end and expectation," that is, an end, and that such an end as you wish for. Two nouns joined by "and," standing for a noun and adjective. So in Jer 36:27, "the roll and the words," that is, the roll of words; Ge 3:16, "sorrow and conception," that is, sorrow in conception. Compare Pr 23:18, where, as here "end" means "a happy issue."

      12. Fulfilled (Da 9:3, &c.). When God designs mercy, He puts it into the hearts of His people to pray for the mercy designed. When such a spirit of prayer is poured out, it is a sure sign of coming mercy.
      go--to the temple and other places of prayer: contrasted with their previous sloth as to going to seek God.

      13. (Le 26:40-42, 44, 45).

      14. to be found-- (Ps 32:6; Isa 55:6).
      turn . . . captivity--play upon sounds, shabti . . . shebith.

      15. Because--referring not to the preceding words, but to Jer 29:10, 11, "Jehovah saith this to you" (that is, the prophecy of the continuance of the captivity seventy years), "because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon," namely, foretelling our speedy deliverance (this their prophecy is supposed, not expressed; accordingly, Jer 29:16-19 contradict this false hope again, Jer 29:8, 9, 21). He, in this fifteenth verse, turns his address from the godly (Jer 29:12-14) to the ungodly listeners, to false prophets.

      16. people . . . in this city . . . not gone forth--So far from your returning to Jerusalem soon, even your brethren still left dwelling there shall themselves also be cast into exile. He mentions "the throne of David," lest they should think that, because David's kingdom was to be perpetual, no severe, though temporary, chastisements could interpose (Ps 89:29-36).

      17. vile figs--Hebrew, "horrible," or nauseous, from a root, "to regard with loathing" (see Jer 24:8, 10).

      18. removed to all . . . kingdoms-- (Jer 15:4; De 28:25).
      curse, &c.-- (Jer 29:6; 18:16; 19:8).

      21. Zedekiah--brother of Zephaniah (Jer 29:25), both being sons of Maaseiah; probably of the same family as the false prophet under Ahab in Israel (1Ki 22:11, 24).

      22. shall be taken . . . a curse--that is, a formula of imprecation.
      Lord make thee like Zedekiah--(Compare Ge 48:20; Isa 65:15).
      roasted in the fire--a Chaldean punishment (Da 3:6).

      23. villainy--literally, "sinful folly" (Isa 32:6).

      24-32. A second communication which Jeremiah sent to Babylon, after the messenger who carried his first letter had brought a letter from the false prophet Shemaiah to Zephaniah, &c., condemning Jeremiah and reproving the authorities for not having apprehended him.
      Nehelamite--a name derived either from his father or from a place: alluding at the same time to the Hebrew meaning, "a dreamer" (compare Jer 29:8).

      25. in thy name--without sanction of "the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel," which words stand in antithesis to "thy name" (Joh 5:43).
      Zephaniah--the second priest, or substitute (Sagan) of the high priest. He was one of those sent to consult Jeremiah by Zedekiah (Jer 21:1). Slain by Nebuchadnezzar at the capture of Jerusalem (2Ki 25:18-21). Zephaniah was in particular addressed, as being likely to take up against Jeremiah the prophet's prediction against his brother Zedekiah at Babylon (Jer 29:21). Zephaniah was to read it to the priests, and in the presence of all the people, in the temple.

      26. thee . . . in the stead of Jehoiada--Zephaniah's promotion as second priest, owing to Jehoiada's being then in exile, was unexpected. Shemaiah thus accuses him of ingratitude towards God, who had so highly exalted him before his regular time.
      ye should be officers . . . for every man--Ye should, as bearing rule in the temple (see on Jer 20:1), apprehend every false prophet like Jeremiah.
      mad--Inspired prophets were often so called by the ungodly (2Ki 9:11; Ac 26:24; 2:13, 15, 17, 18). Jeremiah is in this a type of Christ, against whom the same charge was brought (Joh 10:20).
      prison--rather, "the stocks" (see on Jer 20:2).
      stocks--from a root, "to confine"; hence rather, "a narrow dungeon." According to De 17:8, 9, the priest was judge in such cases, but had no right to put into the stocks; this right he had assumed to himself in the troubled state of the times.

      27. of Anathoth--said contemptuously, as "Jesus of Nazareth."
      maketh himself--as if God had not made him one, but he himself had done so.

      28. Referring to Jeremiah's first letter to Babylon (Jer 29:5).

      29. Zephaniah . . . read . . . in the ears of Jeremiah--He seems to have been less prejudiced against Jeremiah than the others; hence he reads the charge to the prophet, that he should not be condemned without a hearing. This accords with Shemaiah's imputation against Zephaniah for want of zeal against Jeremiah (Jer 29:26, 27). Hence the latter was chosen by King Zedekiah as one of the deputation to Jeremiah (Jer 21:1; 37:3).

      30. This resumes the thread of the sentence which began at Jer 29:25, but was left there not completed. Here, in this thirtieth verse, it is completed, not however in continuity, but by a new period. The same construction occurs in Ro 5:12-15.

      32. not . . . a man to dwell-- (De 28:18).
      not . . . behold the good--As he despised the lawful time and wished to return before the time God had expressly announced, in just retribution he should not share in the restoration from Babylon at all.
      rebellion--going against God's revealed will as to the time (Jer 28:16).

      Jer 30:1-24. RESTORATION OF THE JEWS FROM BABYLON AFTER ITS CAPTURE, AND RAISING UP OF MESSIAH.

      2. Write . . . in a book--After the destruction of Jerusalem Jeremiah is not ordered as heretofore to speak, but to write the succeeding prophecy (Jer 30:4, &c.), so as thereby it might be read by his countrymen wheresoever they might be in their dispersion.

      3. bring again . . . captivity of . . . Israel and Judah--the restoration not merely of the Jews (treated of in this thirtieth chapter), but also of the ten tribes ("Israel"; treated in the thirty-first chapter), together forming the whole nation (Jer 30:18; Jer 32:44; Eze 39:25; Am 9:14, 15). "Israel" is mentioned first because its exile was longer than that of Judah. Some captives of the Israelite ten tribes returned with those of Judah (Lu 2:36; "Aser" is mentioned). But these are only a pledge of the full restoration hereafter (Ro 11:26, "All Israel"). Compare Jer 16:15. This third verse is a brief statement of the subject before the prophecy itself is given.

      5. We have heard . . . trembling--God introduces the Jews speaking that which they will be reduced to at last in spite of their stubbornness. Threat and promise are combined: the former briefly; namely, the misery of the Jews in the Babylonian captivity down to their "trembling" and "fear" arising from the approach of the Medo-Persian army of Cyrus against Babylon; the promise is more fully dwelt on; namely, their "trembling" will issue in a deliverance as speedy as is the transition from a woman's labor pangs to her joy at giving birth to a child (Jer 30:6).

      6. Ask--Consult all the authorities, men or books, you can, you will not find an instance. Yet in that coming day men will be seen with their hands pressed on their loins, as women do to repress their pangs. God will drive men through pain to gestures more fitting a woman than a man (Jer 4:31; 6:24). The metaphor is often used to express the previous pain followed by the sudden deliverance of Israel, as in the case of a woman in childbirth (Isa 66:7-9).
      paleness--properly the color of herbs blasted and fading: the green paleness of one in jaundice: the sickly paleness of terror.

      7. great--marked by great calamities (Joe 2:11, 31; Am 5:18; Zep 1:14).
      none like it . . . but he shall be saved-- (Da 12:1). The partial deliverance at Babylon's downfall prefigures the final, complete deliverance of Israel, literal and spiritual, at the downfall of the mystical Babylon (Re 18:1-19:21).

      8. his yoke . . . thy neck--his, that is, Jacob's (Jer 30:7), the yoke imposed on him. The transition to the second person is frequent, God speaking of Jacob or Israel, at the same time addressing him directly. So "him" rightly follows; "foreigners shall no more make him their servant" (Jer 25:14). After the deliverance by Cyrus, Persia, Alexander, Antiochus, and Rome made Judah their servant. The full of deliverance meant must, therefore, be still future.

      9. Instead of serving strangers (Jer 30:8), they shall serve the Lord, their rightful King in the theocracy (Eze 21:27).
      David, their king--No king of David's seed has held the scepter since the captivity; for Zerubbabel, though of David's line, never claimed the title of "king." The Son of David, Messiah, must therefore be meant; so the Targum (compare Isa 55:3, 4; Eze 34:23, 24; 37:24; Ho 3:5; Ro 11:25-32). He was appointed to the throne of David (Isa 9:7; Lu 1:32). He is here joined with Jehovah as claiming equal allegiance. God is our "King," only when we are subject to Christ; God rules us not immediately, but through His Son (Joh 5:22, 23, 27).
      raise up--applied to the judges whom God raised up as deliverers of Israel out of the hand of its oppressors (Jud 2:16; 3:9). So Christ was raised up as the antitypical Deliverer (Ps 2:6; Lu 1:69; Ac 2:30; 13:23).

      10. from afar--Be not afraid as if the distance of the places whither ye are to be dispersed precludes the possibility of return.
      seed--Though through the many years of captivity intervening, you yourselves may not see the restoration, the promise shall be fulfilled to your seed, primarily at the return from Babylon, fully at the final restoration.
      quiet . . . none . . . make . . . afraid-- (Jer 23:6; Zec 14:11).

      11. though . . . full end of all nations . . . yet . . . not . . . of thee-- (Am 9:8). The punishment of reprobates is final and fatal; that of God's people temporary and corrective. Babylon was utterly destroyed: Israel after chastisement was delivered.
      in measure--literally, "with judgment," that is, moderation, not in the full rigor of justice (Jer 10:24; 46:28; Ps 6:1; Isa 27:8).
      not . . . altogether unpunished-- (Ex 34:7).

      12. The desperate circumstances of the Jews are here represented as an incurable wound. Their sin is so grievous that their hope of the punishment (their exile) soon coming to an end is vain (Jer 8:22; 15:18; 2Ch 36:16).

      13. none to plead--a new image from a court of justice.
      bound up--namely, with the bandages applied to tie up a wound.
      no healing medicines--literally, "medicines of healing," or else applications, (literally, "ascensions") of medicaments.

      14. lovers--the peoples formerly allied to thee, Assyria and Egypt (compare La 1:2).
      seek thee not--have cast away all concern for thee in thy distress.
      wound of an enemy--a wound such as an enemy would inflict. God condescends to employ language adapted to human conceptions. He is incapable of "enmity" or "cruelty"; it was their grievous sin which righteously demanded a grievous punishment, as though He were an "enemy" (Jer 5:6; Job 13:24; 30:21).

      15. Why criest thou--as if God's severity was excessive. Thou hast no reason to complain, for thine affliction is just. Thy cry is too late, for the time of repentance and mercy is past [CALVIN].

      16. Therefore--connected with Jer 30:13, because "There is none to plead thy cause . . . therefore" I will plead thy cause, and heal thy wound, by overwhelming thy foes. This fifteenth verse is inserted to amplify what was said at the close of Jer 30:14. When the false ways of peace, suggested by the so-called prophets, had only ended in the people's irremediable ruin, the true prophet comes forward to announce the grace of God as bestowing repentance and healing.
      devour thee . . . be devoured . . . spoil . . . be a spoil . . . prey upon . . . give for a prey--retribution in kind (see on Jer 2:3; Ex 23:22; Isa 33:1).

      17. (Jer 8:22; 33:6).
      Outcast--as a wife put away by her husband (Isa 62:4, contrasted with Jer 30:12).
      Zion--alluding to its Hebrew meaning, "dryness"; "sought after" by none, as would be the case with an arid region (Isa 62:12). The extremity of the people, so far from being an obstacle to, will be the chosen opportunity of, God's grace.

      18. bring again . . . captivity-- (Jer 33:7, 11).
      tents--used to intimate that their present dwellings in Chaldea were but temporary as tents.
      have mercy on dwelling-places-- (Ps 102:13).
      own heap--on the same hill, that is, site, a hill being the usual site chosen for a city (compare Jos 11:13, Margin). This better answers the parallel clause, "after the manner thereof" (that is, in the same becoming ways as formerly), than the rendering, "its own heap of ruins," as in Jer 49:2.
      palace--the king's, on Mount Zion.
      remain--rather, "shall be inhabited" (see on Jer 17:6, Jer 17:25). This confirms English Version, "palace," not as others translate, "the temple" (see 1Ki 16:18; 2Ki 15:25).

      19. thanksgiving--The Hebrew word includes confession as well as praise; for, in the case of God, the highest praises we can bestow are only confessing what God really is [BENGEL], (Jer 17:26; 31:12, 13; 33:11; Isa 35:10; 51:11).
      multiply them-- (Zec 10:8).

      20. as aforetime--as flourishing as in the time of David.

      21. their nobles--rather, "their Glorious One," or "Leader" (compare Ac 3:15; Heb 2:10), answering to "their Governor" in the parallel clause.
      of themselves--of their own nation, a Jew, not a foreigner; applicable to Zerubbabel, or J. Hyrcanus (hereditary high priest and governor), only as types of Christ (Ge 49:10; Mic 5:2; Ro 9:5), the antitypical "David" (Jer 30:9).
      cause him to draw near--as the great Priest (Ex 19:22; Le 21:17), through whom believers also have access to God (Heb 10:19-22). His priestly and kingly characters are similarly combined (Ps 110:4; Zec 6:13).
      who . . . engaged . . . heart to approach--literally, "pledged his heart," that is, his life; a thing unique; Messiah alone has made His life responsible as the surety (Heb 7:22; 9:11-15), in order to gain access not only for Himself, but for us to God. Heart is here used for life, to express the courage which it needed to undertake such a tremendous suretyship. The question implies admiration at one being found competent by His twofold nature, as God and man, for the task. Compare the interrogation (Isa 63:1-3).

      22. ye shall be my people, &c.--The covenant shall be renewed between God and His people through Messiah's mediation (Jer 30:21; 31:1, 33; 32:38; Eze 11:20; 36:28).

      23, 24. (Jer 23:19). Vengeance upon God's foes always accompanies manifestations of His grace to His people.
      continuing--literally, "sojourning," abiding constantly; appropriately here in the case of Babylon, which was to be permanently destroyed, substituted for "whirling itself about" ("grievous" in English Version) (see on Jer 23:19,20), where the temporary downfall of Judea is spoken of.

      Jer 31:1-40. CONTINUATION OF THE PROPHECY IN THE THIRTIETH CHAPTER.

      As in that chapter the restoration of Judah, so in this the restoration of Israel's ten tribes is foretold.

      1. At the same time--"In the latter days" (Jer 30:24).
      the God of--manifesting My grace to (Ge 17:7; Mt 22:32; Re 21:3).
      all . . . Israel--not the exiles of the south kingdom of Judah only, but also the north kingdom of the ten tribes; and not merely Israel in general, but "all the families of Israel." Never yet fulfilled (Ro 11:26).

      2. Upon the grace manifested to Israel "in the wilderness" God grounds His argument for renewing His favors to them now in their exile; because His covenant is "everlasting" (Jer 31:3), and changes not. The same argument occurs in Ho 13:5, 9, 10; 14:4, 5, 8. Babylon is fitly compared to the "wilderness," as in both alike Israel was as a stranger far from his appointed "rest" or home, and Babylon is in Isa 40:3 called a "desert" (compare Jer 50:12).
      I went to cause him to rest--namely, in the pillar of cloud and fire, the symbol of God's presence, which went before Israel to search a resting-place (Nu 10:33; Isa 63:14) for the people, both a temporary one at each halt in the wilderness, and a permanent one in Canaan (Ex 33:14; De 3:20; Jos 21:44; Ps 95:11; Heb 3:11).

      3. Israel gratefully acknowledges in reply God's past grace; but at the same time tacitly implies by the expression "of old," that God does not appear to her now. "God appeared to me of old, but now I am forsaken!" God replies, Nay, I love thee with the same love now as of old. My love was not a momentary impulse, but from "everlasting" in My counsels, and to "everlasting" in its continuance; hence originated the covenant whereby I gratuitously adopted thee (Mal 1:2; Ro 11:28, 29). Margin translates, "from afar," which does not answer so well as "of old," to "in the wilderness" (Jer 31:2), which refers to the olden times of Israel's history.
      with loving kindness . . . drawn-- (Ho 11:4). Rather, "I have drawn out continually My loving kindness toward thee." So Ps 36:10, "Continue (Margin, 'Draw out at length') Thy loving kindness." By virtue of My everlasting love I will still extend My loving kindness to thee. So Isa 44:21, "O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of Me."

      4. I will build . . . thou shalt be built--The combination of the active and passive to express the same fact implies the infallible certainty of its accomplishment. "Build," that is, establish in prosperity (Jer 33:7).
      adorned with . . . tabrets-- (1Sa 18:6). Or, "adorn thyself with thy timbrels"; used by damsels on occasions of public rejoicings (Ex 15:20; Jud 11:34). Israel had cast away all instruments of joy in her exile (Ps 137:4).
      dances--holy joy, not carnal mirth.

      5. Samaria--the metropolis of the ten tribes; here equivalent to Israel. The mountainous nature of their country suited the growth of the vine.
      eat . . . as common--literally, "shall profane," that is, shall put to common use. For the first three years after planting, the vine was "not to be eaten of"; on the fourth year the fruit was to be "holy to praise the Lord withal"; on the fifth year the fruit was to be eaten as common, no longer restricted to holy use (Le 19:23-25; compare De 20:6; 28:30, Margin). Thus the idea here is, "The same persons who plant shall reap the fruits"; it shall no longer be that one shall plant and another reap the fruit.

      6. The watchmen stationed on eminences (types of the preachers of the gospel), shall summon the ten tribes to go up to the annual feasts at Jerusalem ("Zion"), as they used to do before the revolt and the setting up of the idol calves at Dan and Beer-sheba (Eze 37:21, 22).
      Mount Ephraim--not one single mountain, but the whole mountainous region of the ten tribes.
      our God--from whom we formerly revolted, but who is now our God. An earnest of that good time to come is given in the partial success of the gospel in its first preaching in Samaria (Joh 4:1-42; Ac 8:5-25).

      7. The people are urged with praises and prayers to supplicate for their universal restoration. Jehovah is represented in the context (Jer 31:1, 8), as promising immediately to restore Israel. They therefore praise God for the restoration, being as certain of it as if it were actually accomplished; and at the same time pray for it, as prayer was a means to the desired end. Prayer does not move God to grant our wishes, but when God has determined to grant our wishes, He puts it into our hearts to pray for the thing desired. Compare Ps 102:13-17, as to the connection of Israel's restoration with the prayers of His people (Isa 62:1-6).
      for Jacob--on account of Jacob; on account of his approaching deliverance by Jehovah.
      among--"for," that is, on account of, would more exactly suit the parallelism to "for Jacob."
      chief of the nations--Israel: as the parallelism to "Jacob" proves (compare Ex 19:5; Ps 135:4; Am 6:1). God estimates the greatness of nations not by man's standard of material resources, but by His electing favor.

      8. north--Assyria, Media, &c. (see on Jer 3:12; Jer 3:18; 23:8).
      gather from . . . coasts of . . . earth-- (Eze 20:34, 41; 34:13).
      blind . . . lame, &c.--Not even the most infirm and unfit persons for a journey shall be left behind, so universal shall be the restoration.
      a great company--or, they shall return "in a great company" [MAURER].

      9. weeping--for their past sins which caused their exile (Ps 126:5,