Jer 5:15-12:1 | JFB | STEP | 15. ( ; 6:22). Alluding to , &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 ). language ... knowest not-- 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.

‏ Jeremiah 5:15-31

15. (Jr 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 Is 23:13).

language ... knowest not--Is 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 Psa 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--(Jr 5:10; Jr 4:27).

19. Retribution in kind. As ye have forsaken Me (Jr 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; Is 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. (Jr 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 Jr 5:24 (compare Jr 3:3).

26. (Pr 1:11, 17, 18; Ha 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--(Psa 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 (Jr 2:33; Eze 5:6, 7).

judge not ... fatherless--(Is 1:23).

yet ... prosper--(Jr 12:1).

29. (Jr 5:9; Mal 3:5).

30. (Jr 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 Jr 29:24-32.

love to have it so--(Mi 2:11).

end thereof--the fatal issue of this sinful course when divine judgments shall come.

‏ Jeremiah 6

CHAPTER 6 Jr 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 (Jr 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 Is 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 Is 13:3).

at noon--the hottest part of the day when attacks were rarely made (Jr 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 (Jr 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; Is 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 (Jr 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--(Jr 20:8).

11. fury of ... Lord--His denunciations against Judah communicated to the prophet.

weary with holding in--(Jr 20:9).

I will pour--or else imperative: the command of God (see Jr 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; Is 65:20).

12. The very punishments threatened by Moses in the event of disobedience to God (De 28:30).

turned--transferred.

13. (Jr 8:10; Is 56:11; Mi 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 (Jr 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 (Jr 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" (Jr 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 (Jr 18:15; Psa 139:24; Mal 4:4).

rest--(Is 28:12; Mt 11:29).

17. watchmen--prophets, whose duty it was to announce impending calamities, so as to lead the people to repentance (Is 21:11; 58:1; Eze 3:17; Ha 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 (Jr 6:16, 17), and that they deserve the severe punishment about to be inflicted on them (Jr 6:19).

what is among them--what deeds are committed by the Israelites (Jr 6:16, 17) [Maurer]. Or, "what punishments are about to be inflicted on them" [Calvin].

19. (Is 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--(Is 43:24; 60:6). No external services are accepted by God without obedience of the heart and life (Jr 7:21; Psa 50:7-9; Is 1:11; Mi 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; Is 8:14; 1Pe 2:8). God Himself ("I") lays them before the reprobate (Psa 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 Is 14:13) of the earth. The Chaldees are meant (Jr 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 (Jr 50:41-43).

23. like the sea--(Is 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" (Jr 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--(Jr 25:34; Mi 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--(Jr 1:18), rather, "an assayer (and) explorer." By a metaphor from metallurgy in Jr 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 Jr 5:23; Ho 4:16.

walking with slanders--(Jr 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 (Is 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 (Jr 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 (Is 1:22). The Jews were fit only for rejection.

‏ Jeremiah 7

CHAPTER 7 Jr 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 Jr 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 (Jr 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 (Jr 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 (Is 48:2; Mi 3:11). The triple repetition of "the temple of Jehovah" expresses the intense confidence of the Jews (see Jr 22:29; Is 6:3).

these--the temple buildings which the prophet points to with his finger (Jr 7:2).

5. For--"But" [Maurer].

judgment--justice (Jr 22:3).

6. this place--this city and land (Jr 7:7).

to your hurt--so Jr 7:19; "to the confusion or their own faces" (Jr 13:10; Pr 8:36).

7. The apodosis to the "if ... if" (Jr 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 Jr 3:18; De 4:40).

8. that cannot profit--Maurer translates, "so that you profit nothing" (see Jr 7:4; Jr 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).

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 (Jr 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" (Is 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 (Jr 26:6; 1Sa 4:10, 11; Psa 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 (Jr 7:25; Jr 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; Psa 78:67, 68).

16. When people are given up to judicial hardness of heart, intercessory prayer for them is unavailing (Jr 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 (Jr 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 Phoenicians 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 Is 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 (Is 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" (Psa 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 (Psa 81:11, 12).

imagination--rather, as Margin, "the stubbornness."

backward, &c.--(Jr 2:27; 32:33; Ho 4:16).

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

26. hardened ... neck--(De 31:27; Is 48:4; Ac 7:51).

worse than their fathers--(Jr 16:12). In Jr 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--(Jr 5:3).

truth ... perished--(Jr 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; Is 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 (Jr 3:21).

generation of his wrath--the generation with which He is wroth. So Is 10:6; "the people of My wrath."

30. set their abominations in the house--(Jr 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--(Psa 106:38).

commanded ... not--put for, "I forbade expressly" (De 17:3; 12:31). See on Jr 2:23; Is 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 (Jr 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 (Jr 16:9; Is 24:7, 8; Re 18:23).

‏ Jeremiah 8

CHAPTER 8 Jr 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 (Is 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--(Jr 22:19).

dung--(Jr 9:22; Psa 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 (Jr 3:12; 4:1).

5. slidden ... backsliding--rather, as the Hebrew is the same as in Jr 8:4, to which this verse refers, "turned away with a perpetual turning away."

perpetual--in contrast to the "arise" ("rise again," Jr 8:4).

refuse to return--in contrast to, "shall he ... not return" (Jr 8:4; Jr 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.--(Jr 5:4, 5; Is 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 (Psa 119:98-100; Pr 1:7; 9:10).

10-12. Repeated from Jr 6:12-15. See a similar repetition, Jr 8:15; Jr 14:19.

inherit--succeed to the possession of them.

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 (Jr 9:15; 23:15).

15. Repeated (Jr 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 Phoenicia. 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 (Jr 47:3; compare Jr 4:13, 29; 6:23).

17. I--Jehovah.

cockatrices--basilisks (Is 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 (Psa 58:4, 5).

18. (Is 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 (Mi 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 (Is 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 (Jr 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].

‏ Jeremiah 9

CHAPTER 9 Jr 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 Is 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 (Psa 55:7, 8).

3. bend ... tongues ... for lies--that is, with lies as their arrows; they direct lies on their tongue as their bow (Psa 64:3, 4).

not valiant for ... truth--(Jr 7:28). Maurer translates, "They do not prevail by truth" or faith (Psa 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--(Jr 6:28).

5. weary themselves--are at laborious pains to act perversely [Maurer]. Sin is a hard bondage (Ha 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 (Jr 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], (Is 1:25; Mal 3:3).

8. tongue ... arrow shot out--rather, "a murdering arrow" [Maurer] (Jr 9:3).

speaketh peaceably ... in heart ... layeth ... wait--layeth his ambush [Henderson], (Psa 55:21).

9. (Jr 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--(Jr 4:25).

11. And--omit "And." Jehovah here resumes His speech from Jr 9:9.

heaps--(see on Is 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" (Jr 9:12).

14. (Jr 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--(Jr 8:14; 23:15; Psa 80:5).

16. nor their fathers have known--alluding to Jr 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. (Jr 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 Jr 9:20.

dung--(Jr 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 (Jr 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 (Psa 58:11).

in these ... I delight--as well in doing them as in seeing them done by others (Mi 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 (Jr 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 Jr 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.

‏ Jeremiah 10

CHAPTER 10 Jr 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 (Is 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--(Psa 115:5).

cannot go--that is, walk (Psa 115:7; Is 46:1, 7).

neither ... do good--(Is 41:23).

6. none--literally, "no particle of nothing": nothing whatever; the strongest possible denial (Ex 15:11; Psa 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 Jr 10:6; Psa 89:6).

8. altogether--rather, "all alike" [Maurer]. Even the so-called "wise" men (Jr 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 (Psa 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 (Is 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 Is 30:22; Is 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 (Jr 10:3, 8, 15; 2Ch 15:3; Psa 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--(Psa 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" (Psa 96:5).

shall perish--(Is 2:18; Zec 13:2).

these heavens--the speaker pointing to them with his fingers.

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

13. Literally, "At the voice of His giving forth," that is, when He thunders. (Job 38:34; Psa 29:3-5).

waters--(Ge 1:7)--above the firmament; heavy rains accompany thunder.

vapours ... ascend--(Psa 135:7).

treasures--His stores.

14. in his knowledge--"is rendered brutish by his skill," namely, in idol-making (Jr 10:8, 9). Thus the parallel, "confounded by the graven image," corresponds (so Jr 51:17). Others not so well translate, "without knowledge," namely, of God (see Is 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] (Jr 10:11).

16. portion--from a Hebrew root, "to divide." God is the all-sufficient Good of His people (Nu 18:20; Psa 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, Is 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 Jr 51:19; Psa 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 Jr 16:13; 1Sa 25:29; Is 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 (Mi 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 (Jr 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 (Jr 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 (Is 10:5-7; compare Jr 10:19).

that walketh--when he walketh, that is, sets out in any undertaking.

direct ... steps--to give a prosperous issue to (Psa 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 (Jr 30:11; Psa 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. Psa 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).

‏ Jeremiah 11

CHAPTER 11 Jr 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 (Psa 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 (Jr 11:3).

so, &c.--(Le 26:3, 12).

5. oath--(Psa 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 Jr 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--(Jr 7:13).

8. imagination--rather, "stubbornness."

will bring--The words, "even unto this day" (Jr 11:7), confirm English Version rather than the rendering of Rosenmuller: "I brought upon them."

words--threats (Jr 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 (Psa 83:5; Eze 22:25).

11. cry unto me--contrasted with "cry unto the gods," (Jr 11:12).

not hearken--(Psa 18:41; Pr 1:28; Is 1:15; Mi 3:4).

12. cry unto the gods ... not save--(De 32:37, 38). Compare this verse and beginning of Jr 11:13; Jr 2:28.

in the time of their trouble--that is, calamity (Jr 2:27).

13. shameful thing--Hebrew, "shame," namely, the idol, not merely shameful, but the essence of all that is shameful (Jr 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"; Jr 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 Jr 11:12.

15. my beloved--My elect people, Judea; this aggravates their ingratitude (Jr 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 Jr 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--(Psa 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 Psa 23:5; 104:15).

with ... noise of ... tumult--or, "at the noise," &c., namely, at the tumult of the invading army (Is 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--(Jr 2:21; Is 5:2).

against themselves--The sinner's sin is to his own hurt (see on Jr 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 (Jr 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.

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 (Psa 37:34; 54:7; 112:8; 118:7).

21. Prophesy not--(Is 30:10; Am 2:12; Mi 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 (Psa 69:8-28).

23. (Jr 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.

‏ Jeremiah 12:1

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

1. (Psa 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; Psa 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.