Jeremiah 31:6-9
Verse 6 For there shall be a day - Literally, for this is the day, or the day is come. The watchmen - the prophets. Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion - Let both Israelites and Jews join together in the worship of the Lord. Verse 7 The chief of the nations - The same as Jacob or Israel; for most certainly this people was once the most honorable on the face of the earth. O Lord, save thy people - Let the Jews earnestly intercede in behalf of their Israelitish brethren; or let them rejoice and praise the Lord, who hath saved the remnant of Israel. So Dr. Blayney thinks the clause should be understood. Verse 8 I will bring them from the north country - From Babylon. From the coasts of the earth - The ten tribes were carried away partly into Assyria by Tiglath-pileser, and partly into Mesopotamia and Media by Shalmaneser, 2Kgs 15:29; 2Kgs 17:6. Assyria and Media, being very distant from Palestine, might have been called, in prophetic language, the coasts of the earth. The blind and the lame - I will so effectually remove all difficulties out of the way, so provide for them on the journey, so supernaturally support their bodies and minds, that the veriest invalids shall safely proceed to, and happily arrive at, the end of their journey. Verse 9 They shall come with weeping - Duly penetrated with a sense of their sins, they shall deeply deplore them; and, while weeping for them, earnestly supplicate God to have mercy upon them. By the rivers of waters - I will so guide and provide for them in the arid deserts, that they shall find streams of water whenever necessary. Every one knows of how much consequence water is to travelers in the eastern deserts. Ephraim is my first-born - Ephraim, being the most considerable, is often put for the whole of the ten tribes.
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